A microphone was pushed into my face, centimeters from hitting me. There was a huge crowd of media professionals just standing in the way of the school gate. It reminded me of the time I threw food into a koi pond and the fish all shoved each other to get the pellets.
"You're in the hero course? What's it like to learn under All Might?" Internally I groaned, of course this would happen. A lot of ranked Pro Heroes had a surge of paparazzi follow them around. With word getting out that All Might was teaching the news was blowing it up. If this was going to be a common thing I was going to be blinking past them instead.
"No comment..." I kept my face unimpressed. The reporters stared back at me just as amused, which meant not at all, then looked for another student. The green haired kid with the power boosting quirk had just come close enough. I took the opportunity and left, looking over my shoulder sympathizing. "Thank you for your sacrifice, Deku."
Bakugo called him, Deku, right?
"Hey, blue hair." Speak of the devil. Bakugo was just ahead of me and pinning me with a heated look. I kept walking and when I got close enough he kept pace with me. "What the hell did you talk to my old lady about?" I shrugged, not minding his attitude as much anymore. If he can dish it he can take it, his impression of me be damned.
"Nothing really. She just gave me permission to beat the shit out of you since you're an-," I brought my hands up and did air quotes, "-egotistical little shit."
"The hell did you say? You want to die!?" His hand sparked little explosions like a firecracker.
"I'm just repeating what your mother said to me." I glared at him, eyeing the threatening display. "If you wanna attack me that's fine, I doubt Mr. Aizawa will keep a student prone to violence in his hero class." My comment did get him to hesitate.
"Tch, whatever." Shoving his hands into his pockets. His face never dropping the scowl. "The old hag needs to butt out of my business."
He's not as tough as he wants us to think, huh?
"Curry." I said out of the blue. He looked back at me like I just told him the sky was green. "That's something that's better when it's spicy. The heat balances better across the whole dish."
"You just can't handle the heat, loser. If you turn into a snotting mess like you did with ramen then you wouldn't be able to handle how I eat my curry." His sneer morphed into a high and mighty smirk. Like he won a battle without trying.
"Ah hell, do you ruin curry too?!" My disappointment wiped his cocky smirk off.
"It's fucking better! Just because you're weak doesn't make it any less good." He rolled his eyes at me so I scoffed back at him. We entered the classroom and headed right for our seats. This time I didn't dread sitting in front of him. I sat down sideways to face him better, he didn't look impressed. I felt like pushing a bit farther to see what he'd do. Leaning forward I put my elbow on his desk and rested my head on my hand. His eyes narrowed but I spoke before he could.
"Do you just carry a jar of chili paste with you everywhere to ruin food?" His eyes snapped from looking at my elbow to my face. He looked insulted.
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"I don't know, just a thought." I turned back around putting my school items away and stowing my bag under my desk.
"You're fucking weird, Blue Hair." He grumbled and sat deeper in his seat. Stretching his legs out. He had to align them to either side of mine for more room.
We got through our English and Math classes with no issues. I honestly didn't expect any but you never know. Ectoplasm is a convenient math teacher, spitting up a double to help a student who's lost while still teaching the rest of the class. Eventually lunch comes around and I find myself drifting over to the line that's selling curry. I guess talking about it made me crave it.
"I'll have combo number two-," I hesitated. I was going to order a normal one, but then I saw they had a spicy option.
I'm not fucking weak, that asshole.
"Actually. I want number four instead." Picking up my order the steam wafting from the food drifted into my face, the spice was enough to make my eyes water.
Why the hell did I buy this?
At least I had the foresight to buy flavored milk. Scanning the room I noticed the table with the most seats available. Bakugo was sitting there.
He's going to think I'm following him around.
I walked over and sat near him but not directly in front or next to him. He looked up when I appeared but focused on himself. I was okay with that.
"Takaomi!" Mina had spotted me, her tray balanced on one arm. She sat next to me directly in front of Bakugo. She'd gotten some fried rice combo with meat. "Oh whoa, that smells spicy." Bakugo subtlety glances up. He looked to be eating the same thing from what I could tell.
"Yeah, it's the spicy curry. I'm kinda in the mood for it. Want some?" I push the plate in her direction and she leans away.
"I'm good. Just because I produce acid doesn't mean I like to eat acid." She jokes and eats her rice. I pull my plate back and take a bite. It's delicious, the spiciness isn't too overwhelming for me. Compared to last night's mess this is tame. I start shoveling it down, not bothering to strike up conversation. "Say, did you want to grab a drink after class? I was thinking of inviting Toru and a few others." Currently chewing I couldn't answer her right away.
"Mmm!" I swallowed. "I mean, yes. I'd love that."
"Cool! Hey, let's swap numbers. We didn't get to last time." Mina pulled out her phone and I did the same. I just left it on the table and let her do it as I ate. While she was adding herself to my contacts my phone dinged in her hands. "Oh, oops. Sorry, I accidentally clicked it." I lean over still with a mouth full of curry. Pressing against her side seeing who messaged me. It was the Akuma group chat.
Masaru had sent a picture to the group. It looked like it was taken from behind the counter at his convenience store job. The text that accompanied it made me take a closer look.
[Guys, heads up. They're in town.]
There were two people in the picture but they didn't seem to be shopping together. One of them wearing a dark green hoodie with a print on the back.
"Mina, zoom in on his back. " I directed, opening my carton of strawberry milk. She did. The image now blown up revealed a blue Asian style dragon with European style dragon wings. I nearly coughed up my milk. Slapping my hand to my lips and putting the carton down.
"Are you okay?" Mina looks at me concerned and confused. "What's the blue dragon supposed to mean?" I motioned to take the phone and she handed it to me. Using my sleeve to clean up what little milk dribbled from my lips.
"Some guys we had beef with two years ago." I ran my eyes over the image again. The dragon symbol on the back was undeniable. The person in the picture, although hunched over, looked to be around Kenzou's age. My fingers flew over the keyboard.
[Holy shit, did he recognize you?]
Masaru - [No, I didn't recognize him either though. He bought a beer and some cigarettes then left.]
Kuroi - [Are you sure he was alone?]
Masaru - [He was the only other one in the store aside from the old lady.]
Kuroi - [Did you look outside?]
"Takaomi you look really serious right now." Mina spoke up. I didn't realize at the time but my jaw was clenched and I was glaring at my phone.
"Huh?" I turned my head to her suddenly. Her brows were drawn down as she was analyzing my expression.
"Is everything okay?" Her large yellow and black eyes shone with worry. "You look upset."
"I do?"
"You look pissed off is what she's trying to say." Bakugo clarified. He looked curious but didn't ask any further. My phone dinged again and I looked down immediately.
Masaru - [Not that I could see. I can run the cameras later before I get off work.].
[I hope not. I really don't want to get involved in gang shit again.]
"Gang?!" Mina yelped next to me. She was right at my side reading over my shoulder. I suppose I didn't stop her earlier so she felt she could. I closed the group chat and set my phone down. "I'm sorry, but did I read that right?"
"Don't worry about it, Mina." I ate the rest of the curry and chugged down the milk. "It's not a big deal." She didn't look like she believed it. I know I didn't.
I fucking hope he's just lost and they aren't in this city.
After lunch we had Heroics with All Might himself. He made a big entrance and strutted in with a well known costume. Most of the class was buzzing in excitement.
"No time to dilly dally! Today's activity will be Combat Training!" All Might pulled a remote from somewhere. "And for that, you'll need these!" The wall next to him popped out to display different metal briefcases with numbers on them.
"Costumes!" The class erupts again, getting fired up. Myself included. I was ecstatic and so hype to see my costume. All Might began passing out the costumes by seat order since the cases were numbered. I was the last to get mine and I almost opened it right there. He directed us to get changed in the locker rooms and then meet at ground beta afterwards.
The girls in the locker room were super supportive of one another. Most of the costumes were made with the idea that they'd be fast to put on but that's once you got the hang of it. Currently we were all helping those who had little idea of how to shimmy on a leotard.
"Does anyone have baby powder?" Mina asked while assisting Uraraka.
"No but give me a moment." Yaoyorozu made a small container appear out of her arm. Her costume was a lot more revealing than I pegged her for. Although, given the nature of her quirk it made sense. "Here, it's small so you'll need to purchase one in the future." Then handed it to Mina.
"Thanks Yaoyorozu!" Mina generously dumped some into the collar opening while Uraraka wiggled into her suit.
"Ugh, how'd you get yours on so easily?" Uraraka complained. Mina let go and the suit snapped into place with a puff of white powder.
"Oh that's simple, I make my own lubricant." Mina handed Uraraka her belt. "But I can control the amount so it isn't too slippery."
"That's convenient." I commented while sitting next to Jirou. Both of us are already dressed. We were supposed to head to the training ground as soon as we were ready, but in true girl fashion we waited for each other.
Jirou and myself were the only two in somewhat normal looking clothes. I had clothes more tactical in design while hers looked like something you'd wear to a concert. Heavy material and extra pockets for my dark blue cargo pants. A black nylon strap waist harness with D-rings for repelling and a sash of ropes diagonal across my black tank top. Sitting cross legged on the bench I was tapping on my metallic blue shin guards. Enjoying the dull thumping on the metal. They came up to my knees before forming into knee protection. I had similar protection for bracers that came up to my elbows. The black rash guard sleeve poked out from underneath and covered the inside bend of my elbow.
"I'm curious, ribbit. What's the rope for?" Tsuyu's frog outfit was so eye catching it was hard to miss her.
"Lots of things, really." I stood on top of the bench and tightened the rope, making it more snug on my torso. Then I lifted my feet.
"Whoa!" Jirou next to me had leaned away, thinking I was going to fall. "How'd you do that?" Dangling in the air it was clear my weight was being held up by the rope.
"I thought your quirk was Time Manipulation? Ribbit." Tsuyu tilted her head. I set my feet back on the bench and touched the ropes with my hand, unpausing them. They fell to a more natural position.
"It is, I can manipulate the time of other things too. I just stopped..uh.. I mean slowed down the rope's time and hung off of it." I didn't bother to sit back down, we were all ready to go.
"That's super cool, Takaomi." Mina said passing by as I stepped down. We all headed to the training ground. Meeting up halfway with the boys, and wow they were just as eye catching as some of the girls. The training ground was a large replica of an urban cityscape. All of us huddled together as All Might announced what we were going to be doing.
Battle simulations indoors.
"Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside. But if you look at the total number, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals. Truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows." All Might lectured.
"Without basic training?" Tsuyu spoke up. All Might raised his fist confidently.
"This is a real battle to understand those basics!" He lowered his fist. "However, the key this time is that there's no robot you can just beat up."
Robots? They must be talking about the standard entrance exam. I lucked out with a foot race.
Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "How will wins and losses be determined?"
"Can we beat them up anyway?" Bakugo asks.
Of course he asks that. I'd hate to get wailed by one of those massive grenade gauntlets.
"Will the punishment be expulsion like with Mr. Aizawa?" Uraraka asks tentatively. The man in a full suit of armor stiffly raises his hand.
"How shall we be splitting up?" All Might looked to be struggling to keep up with the questions.
"Listen up." Unfolding a paper he began to read from it like a script. More or less it was team based, heroes versus villains. One group defends the 'nuclear weapon' and or tries to capture the heroes. While the other is tasked to capture the weapon and or the villains. All within a time limit. "Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!"
Ah shit. Here comes the issues with being the odd one out.
"The teams are being picked so haphazardly?" The armored guy questions again. Deku is the one to answer him.
"Pros often have to create makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies, so maybe that's why?" Deku said. Yaoyorozu stepped forward.
"Won't there be an uneven amount since there are twenty one students in our class?" Of course she was the one to point it out, always having an air of professionalism. All Might rubbed his chin for a moment.
"Ah, it was this class. Hmm." He thinks for a moment. "I have a solution to that, but first let us draw teams of two." The class doesn't question him further. I hang back and let others pull their numbers from the box, it's by seat number again.
I see what Principal Nezu meant by classes being tailored to twenty.
Once all the people were paired I was left standing alone.
"Oh. You didn't get paired, Takaomi?" Mina asked standing next to the guy dressed as a knight. His purple cape looked like it was made with glitter it was so sparkly. I shook my head.
"No, I'm number twenty one. I don't think there were more than twenty balls to pick from." I just shrugged, knowing something like this was going to happen. I looked to All Might. "So what am I supposed to do, Teach'?" My informal addressing of All Might didn't go over well with the man dressed like a race car. He chopped his arms in my general direction.
"You need to address your teachers with respect!" I glanced his way, not really phased by his reprimand. Bakugo was standing next to him I noticed. All Might waved at the guy whose voice I recognized as Iida.
"It's alright. Now then," He turned to me. "For the time being you'll go last, I'll let you know what to do then." I nodded. Standing with my arms crossed, I just had to wait now. All Might walked up to the two boxes labeled Villain and Hero. "The first teams to fight will be..." He yanks out two balls and shows the class. "...These guys!" Team A and team D. Bakugo's team will be the villains, Deku's team the heroes.
Waiting in the monitoring room with the others we watch teams A and D take their places. All Might is wearing a headset so he can speak to the teams. In front of us is one large monitor with cameras set up in strategic locations. It's really state of the art technology.
"Now, let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training with Team A and Team D!" He turns to us. "Alright everyone, you all should think as well. Pay attention to your classmates and learn from them."
It starts off slow. We're just watching the hero team enter through a window and methodically make their way through the halls.
"Oh, there's Bakugo!" A blonde guy points to the top left screen. We see Bakugo running down a hallway. Looking between the two monitors it's clear he's gunning to intercept Deku and Uraraka. Somehow Bakugo knows the pair are around the corner and he jumps, aiming an explosive punch at Deku. Deku dodged and pushed Uraraka to safety, half his mask now burned off.
"A surprise attack from the start?"
"Bakugo, that's cheating!" The shirtless guy wearing gears for shoulder pads comments. "A surprise attack isn't manly at all!"
"He's playing the villain right now, surprise attacks are totally up their alley." I comment back. The gear guy doesn't seem to care either way, he still looks upset.
"Correct, miss Aoki." All Might agrees with me. "Most villains you will see in the news are the boisterous flashy ones. The more troublesome ones are far sneakier."
"Midoriya dodged it!" Mina looked hyped. This whole battle got her fired up.
"There goes Bakugo!" The blonde pointed out again. Bakugo was aiming straight for Deku, his right arm pulled back for an obvious right hook. Deku lunges and grabs Bakugo's arm then flung him over. Slamming Bakugo onto his back!
"Pfft!" I turned my head and tried not to laugh, but my shoulders shook a bit as I held in my giggles. I knew I shouldn't underestimate my classmates. Although the passive Deku getting the upper hand on Mr. Explosive Personality was just hilarious to me. Bakugo looked completely outraged.
"What was Bakugo saying?" The red gear guy, was his name Kirishima? "I can't tell with just the camera's in a fixed position and no sound."
"He's talking to his partner over the small wireless radio." All Might pointed to his own earpiece. "You can bring that plus the building's floor plan. As well as capture tape!" He reached over and picked up a normal looking tape roll. "Once this is wrapped around your opponent it shows you've captured them."
"Wait, so the time limit is fifteen minutes. The heroes have no idea where the weapon is? They're clearly at a disadvantage here!" Mina points out. All Might, still smiling, answers her.
"Heroes should be able to turn the tables on whatever predicament they're in." All Might gets the class to cheer in one big 'Plus Ultra'. I kept my eyes on the monitor, Bakugo was up to something.
"Hey, Teach'! Something's happening." I got his attention just as Bakugo blasted over to deliver a kick. Deku blocked it and attempted to use the capture tape but Bakugo was faster. He twisted midair and sent an explosion at Deku who surprisingly dodged it again, like he knew it was coming. The class was singing his praises, how he was going toe to toe with Bakugo who'd gotten first in the entrance exam.
Bakugo was the top of the class?
I wasn't aware of that, since I'd been admitted through recommendations. I probably could have found out if I wanted. Deku was currently retreating, making Bakugo chase him through the halls. Eventually he looks fed up with chasing and starts shouting something in hope Deku hears. From what we can tell on the monitor it doesn't lure Deku out. Bakugo was running around blasting in doors just looking for someone. His frustrations built with each empty room and it felt like only a matter of time before he blew his lid.
In the meantime Uraraka found where Iida was guarding the weapon. He'd moved all the objects that were scattered around the large room.
"Hey, he found him," The blonde, Kaminari, alerted us. The fight between Deku and Bakugo was more interesting. The two of them were talking but Bakugo was doing something with his gauntlets. Taking a ready stance he pulled back on a pin in his large grenade gauntlet. All Might noticed what was happening and shouted over the headpiece.
"Young Bakugo, stop! Are you trying to kill him!?" All Might looked legitimately concerned.
Then it happened.
Fire rocketed out of the grenade and roared like a dragon. The end of the hallway shot out like a party popper and shook the entire building. We could even feel the shockwaves from the monitoring room.
"This is supposed to be a class!" Kirishima and the others were on edge. All Might gripped the speaker of the head piece trying to get through to Deku.
"Young man! Young Midoriya!" We watched the smoke clear out, Deku looked a little worse for wear but otherwise alright. Bakugo was slowly approaching him and saying something.
"Sir, you should stop them!" Kirishima suggested. "That Bakugo's really crazy, he's gonna kill him!"
"That's a little much, have more faith in your classmates." I spoke up on Bakugo's behalf. I got a lot of bewildered glances.
"Are you watching the same thing I am?! He's going wild!" Kirishima pointed to the monitor. "Playing villain or not, that's going overboard."
"Young Bakugo, the next time you use that I'll stop the fight and your team will lose." All Might spoke over the headset. Bakugo turned in the direction of the voice, probably coming from a hidden speaker. "To attack on such a large scale inside is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That's a foolish plan for both heroes and villains! You will lose a lot of points for it." His speech really didn't look to temper Bakugo's anger, but he did lower his gauntlet. Only for a second. Throwing his arms back Bakugo shot out a propulsive explosion, launching him at Deku rapidly. At the last second Bakugo redirected his course mid-air. Flipping over to behind Deku and shooting him in the back.
"Whoa, that's impressive!" I said aloud smiling at his ingenuity. Mina gasped more concerned for Deku.
"What was that just now?" Kirishima wondered.
"He doesn't look like the type to think, but he's more subtle than I expected." Todoroki speaks up from behind me.
"Well that's not very nice." I crossed my arms, looking at the guy who'd covered half his body in ice. We'd met at the practical exam for recommendations, although we never spoke. He was a man of few words. "He's obviously got excellent battle instincts, although he may be a little overconfident."
"Just a little?" Todoroki pointedly looked at me. I raised my hands in mock surrender.
"Fine, you're right. The guy's a loose canon." I recrossed my arms. "I'd still prefer him on my team over the enemies."
"Am I missing something? What did you mean?" Kirishima asked Todoroki. He explained how well thought out Bakugo's quick actions truly were. How he changed course with an explosion doubling as a smoke screen. Then detonated two explosions to counteract the blowback from the attack on Deku. Yaoyorozu picked up the explanation.
"Getting a clean hit while fighting against inertia requires fine lateral adjustments to the power of his explosions."
"The guy's too talented." Kaminari complained. The fight meanwhile continued. Bakugo wailed Deku on the right with a gauntlet, then spun around and slammed him on the ground. Once again using his quirk creatively.
"This is too much! Bakugo can capture him for this exercise by just wrapping the tape around him!" Mina pointed out frustrated. Her and the others were getting fed up watching their classmates beating on each other, especially one sidedly. I was inclined to agree. They were running at each other now but it looked like Deku was going to use his quirk this time. There was a glow to his arm that hadn't been there before.
"This looks bad, Sir!" Kirishima spoke up again. He was trying to get All Might to stop the match. All Might began to mutter something over the radio but then stopped. The two fighting students collided in an explosion and all the windows in their building blew out. The roof came off the top and a surge of air blew debris up and out. On one of the monitors we saw Uraraka utilizing the distraction and capturing the weapon, winning the match for the heroes team. Then time ran out.
Everyone was speechless.
Deku's one arm looked swollen and red, the same as that one time with the softball but much worse. The other arm he used to block Bakugo's attack and it was burned to a bad degree. All Might announces the hero's team win as Deku collapses.
Heading out to meet the two teams, All Might left the rest of us in the monitoring room. The class was buzzing with retellings and opinions. I had my eyes glued to the monitor, Bakugo hadn't moved since the end of the fight.
"Something is... wrong?" I didn't mean for anyone to hear me, but Kirishima did.
"What do you mean? All Might is there so he'll take care of it." He looked at what I was staring at. "Oh, the guy's probably bummed he lost. He was so confident before. Sucks for him." He continued talking to the others. The fight had lit some kinda fire under them, urging them to give it everything they had. I still didn't know what my match was going to look like. Who I was going to compete against.
Was I going to fight alongside another team three to two? That didn't seem fair. Was I going to be assigned a team that's already gone? They'd be tired from their match. Again, that seems unfair. While I was musing the possibilities to myself Teams A and D sans Deku entered. Uraraka looked queasy, a side effect from her quirk. Bakugo was just...
Quiet.
All Might had the two teams stand off to the side while they were being graded. The scoreboard on the monitor clearly showed which team was victorious.
"Well, even if the battle is decided. The MVP for this battle was Young Iida!" His announcement caused more murmurs.
"It's not either of the winners?" Tsuyu questioned.
"Hmm. Why is that? Does anyone know!?" All Might energetically raised his hand, asking for a volunteer. It was Yaoyorozu who chose to answer. A seriously long and detailed answer. All Might, a bit stunned that she likely took all his key talking points, gave her a thumbs up. Then moved on with the class.
"Alright everyone! Let's change locations and start the second match. Go into this training thinking about what we just discussed!" All Might lead the next team to their building, one that wasn't destroyed. We all crowded around the monitor like before. Bakugo had decided to hang back at the edge of the group still silent. Todoroki and Shoji versus Toru and Ojiro. The battle didn't last long, Todoroki turned the entire building into an icebox. Our's included. I rubbed at my arms while considering adding a jacket to my costume. I glanced back, oddly worried about Bakugo. He seemed the type to talk shit about stuff like this. Did I assume wrong?
His expression caught me off guard, he looked stunned. No animosity whatsoever.
"Hero team wins!" All Might announces. I looked back at the monitor, Todoroki used his other half to thaw out everything he'd just frozen.
"H-holy crap!"
"What's up with that quirk?"
"As expected of someone who got through recommendations."
The rest of the training matches roll out smoothly. I can appreciate everyone's quirks and skills. It was obvious though that not everyone was very adept at combat, usually the ones left to guard the weapon. Occasionally I'd sneak a glance at Bakugo, the guy was still quiet.
Maybe it's not a big deal. He could just be serious about the class and is paying attention? Ugh, that doesn't feel right either. The guy probably doesn't take losing well.
It's the last team matchup and I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. All Might had already escorted them to their starting location. I was beginning to wonder if I'd been forgotten. I shook my head.
No, don't think that. You're the one who agreed to being the inconsistent cog in their system. I just have to take everything in stride.
"Villain team wins!" All Might calls the end of the match and we're back to the round of grading with our classmates. Once through with their analysis he looks at me. I'm standing near the back of the group, Bakugo still silently behind me. "Ah, right."
Wait! Did he forget!?
"What did you want me to do, Teach'? Same scenario?" I positioned my hands on my hips and leaned my weight to one side.
"You need to be more respectful!" Iida popped up from the crowd. All Might looked to be considering something and glanced between me and the other students.
"Your quirk, it controls time, correct?" He asks to clarify. I nod.
"I can slow time, yes. Officially it's Time Manipulation." The looks of surprise weren't new to me. I'd told Mina and some of the girls, but not anyone else. Time control quirks were more rare than teleportation quirks. I heard a small gasp behind me and glanced back. I couldn't read Bakugo's expression. He looked surprised but also something else.
"In the spirit of fairness I'll keep the scenario the same. Although considering your opponent, I'll adjust the time limit to three minutes." All Might handed his earpiece over to Yaoyorozu. "Once we're in position let us know when to begin." He turned and began heading in the direction of the starting point. "The rest of you all stay here and watch!" I looked between the class and All Might's retreating back, just as baffled as they were. Jogging after him while the class erupted in noise.
"Wait! Are you my opponent? Seriously?!" Walking alongside him he smiled down at me. "How am I supposed to win against the number one hero?"
"Whether you win or lose it's the experience we're trying to learn from." He stops at the entrance of the building. "Aizawa had mentioned you had mistaken your quirk for stopping time when you can only slow it. I can be quite fast myself." He motions for me to enter, I guess I'm the villain in this scenario. "Feel free to move the weapon. This'll be more a game of keep away." I nodded and made my way upstairs. Finding the papier-mâchémissile on the third floor. I walked up to it and tested the weight of it, I was sure I could carry it. I sighed and turned around facing the doorway.
"Are you ready, miss Aoki?" I heard Yaoyorozu's voice from a hidden speaker in the area. I nodded. "Alright then. Match, begin!" Immediately I held my breath, slowing time. I wasn't sure how fast All Might could be. I didn't see him in the doorway so I looked toward the windows just in case.
Oh shit shit shit!
He had jumped up from around the building and was coming through the window! The glass was breaking gradually like a slow motion video. The spider cracks opening like jagged ice flowers. I was so used to my quirk stopping everything that it terrified me. I grabbed the weapon and ran up the stairs with it. Stopping my quirk so I could take a quick breather. It wasn't that it was too heavy, just that it was awkward to carry. After a few breaths I held it again. Just in time too.
All Might was in the doorway.
It surprised me so much I gasped before quickly holding my breath again. Like a blink he was now directly in front of me reaching for the weapon. His arm a hair away from my face. I bit my lips so I wouldn't mess up like that again. Grabbing the missile and carefully leaving the room. Darting through hallways stealing breaths as I could. Whenever I turned and tried taking a breather he'd appear. It was like playing a horror video game with the monster's skin replaced by All Might.
I've never had to use my quirk this much before! He's seriously fast!
This was messing with my head.
"Damnit!" I cursed taking in needed gulps of air. I was extremely winded from running around carrying the bulky prop all while holding my breath. If I could breathe while pausing time then this wouldn't be such a big deal!
I couldn't stop though.
I had no idea how much time had passed.
Running into a dead end hallway on purpose so that I could see him coming. I held my breath. Nothing. I chanced another draw of breath and just as I held it All Might appeared. He was running down the hall in slow motion.
Already halfway to me.
If I took a breath now it'd be over.
What he said earlier, was he underestimating me? Of course. The experience levels between us were massive but I still disliked it. This is happening in a blink of an eye for him, but the effort to me was a quarter of an hour it seemed.
I wanted to win!
A game of keep away, huh? You don't think I can capture you?
I left the weapon behind me and instead ran toward All Might. Pulling the rope over my head I unwound it. Circling it around him and making sure to secure his arms as best I could before pausing the rope. I stepped back and took a breath to see if it worked. I wasn't sure if his brute strength could break free.
"Urk!" All Might came to a sudden halt, his legs kicked out but his tied up torso was halted. The ensnaring rope seemingly stuck in the air.
Hell yes! I got him!
Standing in shock that I, even for a moment, captured the number one hero. Chest heaving trying to catch my breath in this momentary break. My expression somewhere between shock and ecstatic, I wasn't sure. Just that my cheeks were hurting from how massive my smile was.
"What's this?!" His upper body is still in the running pose. His head tilted from side to side as he tried to break free. His hands squeezing into fists getting a feel for his lack of mobility.
"Holy shit that worked," Still amazed at myself but I could feel him struggling somehow. The pressure on the time paused object was like a pressure on my chest making it hard to breath. He was still moving, albeit very slowly.
"This is an interesting predicament. I wasn't aware you could use your quirk like this, miss Aoki." All Might casually comments. Then he flexes and I feel a new intense pressure on my chest. Like a stuttering similar to a hiccup pushing inward. My hands fly up and grab at my shirt trying to get an unseen object off of myself. The time hold breaks and he dashes forward capturing the weapon. The rope expertly unwound and coiled in his one hand as he stands victoriously next to the missile.
"Uh. All Might wins!" Yaoyorozu calls out, her voice unsure. I wonder how much time had actually passed? Each second in real time was more than a minute to me. I fell to my hands and knees, no longer having to conserve my breath. I'm panting like a dog holding my chest. I'd never felt that pressure before, I might have a weight limit on what objects I can pause.
"Are you alright, miss Aoki?" All Might approached me and put a steadying hand on my back. I gulped and sat up, my breath a more even rhythm now.
"I'll-" I gasped. "I'll be fine. Just... Need a second." After a moment I stood and we walked back to the monitoring room. He handed me back my rope and I looped it around myself. I was still slightly winded when we got there. Turning the corner and seeing all my classmates stare at me wasn't something I found comfortable. I looked up at the monitor seeing that Yaoyorozu had figured out how to use it. The team names were replaced with mine and All Mights, him labeled as the winner. What surprised me was the time stamp. It was just over one minute.
"I imagine this match will be hard to grade." All Might joked while walking to the monitor controls.
"Well no duh! We couldn't see any of it!" Kaminari said. All Might chuckled and rewound the video, it didn't take long. Pressing play we watched what our match looked like in real time. There was the call to begin and then I disappeared along with the weapon, All Might coming in through the window just as I did so. I appeared on a different monitor in a separate room. There's a bit of a dust cloud when All Might races away again, the camera's were having trouble keeping up with his speed. Whenever All Might got near I would blink into another area, the pattern continued until I got myself cornered in that hallway. I was standing guard and catching my breath one second and the next All Might was frozen mid stride. It's hard to see the moment All Might breaks free, his muscles tensed and I fell down to my knees. He'd ran forward and seized the weapon ending the match.
"Why did you stop there, All Might?" Kirishima asked.
"Actually, that was Takaomi's doing." Yaoyorozu spoke up, easily going back into her explanations. All Might gave her a thumbs up to continue. "In the locker room Takaomi demonstrated to us that she could pause the time of objects. I imagine she'd done that with the rope, am I right?" She looked at me and I nodded. "From what I could see, as Takaomi's quirk is activated by her breath, she'd lost more to a battle of endurance. If she weren't confined to the limitations of the building then the scenario may have played differently. That being said she did miss the opportunity to capture All Might with capture tape instead when he presented her the chance." I tensed, and surprisingly so did All Might. He hadn't given me the capture tape so I didn't even think about using it. None of us said anything about it though. If he did that on purpose then so be it, if he goofed and forgot then I'll not mention it.
With the matches over All Might ushered us to the exit of the training ground.
"Good work everyone! We didn't have any major injuries other than Young Midoriya. You guys approached this seriously and did a good job with your first training!" He gave us a big thumbs up. Then he raced away saying he needed to review Deku's results with him. The cloud of dust he'd kicked up drifting in a waft of wind.
"All Might's amazing!" Kaminari acting like a fanboy, still starstruck that such a famous person was our teacher.
"Why was he in such a rush?" The tailed guy asks. No one answered.
Even after coming back from my match against All Might I hung back from the rest of the group. I was thinking of all the things I could have done differently, how I could have been more creative with my quirk. How I felt when someone else was able to keep up in my time pause. It was unsettling. I thought I had the world to myself when I paused time. Knowing now that wasn't the case felt like an intruder casually strolled into my home while I was unaware. I really didn't like it.
"Come one Takaomi, let's head back." Mina was in front of me, I hadn't noticed. So lost in my thoughts I missed that the class was already walking away. The same could be said about Bakugo. He grunted and walked passed. "Jeez, that guy has problems." She remarked.
"Don't we all? Leave him be, he'll figure himself out." I patted Mina on the back as I passed her. She caught up and we walked together. Once changed out I took the time to check my phone. I'd had a lot of missed messages from my Akuma chat.
"You shouldn't dawdle, we were instructed to head back to the classroom." Yaoyorozu told me. I glanced at her and closed my locker.
"Right. I'll head there then." I paused time and got to the classroom first. Restarting time I sat in my chair and pulled my phone out scrolling through the chat. Masaru had checked the surveillance cameras to see if other Dragon members were hanging around outside, and to our dismay there were. Two others and one of them was looking in the window. He said he couldn't tell if either of them recognized him and the camera was too fuzzy to make out details, so he didn't recognize them either. I slid down my chair and let my head fall back against the top of the seat. "Fuck, this isn't good." I asked in the chat if Masaru had gotten home alright, I didn't live with them to know. If they recognized Masaru then shit was going down. They did not like us.
[I'm safe at home, Taka-chan 3!]
Masaru texted back. I rolled my eyes. A selfie of him holding a beer popped up on the chat. That idiot, he's underaged. I stretched my legs out, this time I was wearing leggings. No one had come back into the classroom yet so I chanced taking a selfie of my own. I stuck my tongue out and flipped the bird, sending the picture to the chat.
[Glad to hear.]
The rest of the day carried on as a normal school day, nothing spectacular. I just wanted the day to end. My Akuma's on my mind. The bell rings and I quickly gather my belongings marching toward the door.
"Wait, Takaomi!" Mina jogged over to stop me. "A couple of us are going to go over our training assessments from earlier today. Probably going to grab drinks afterward instead, if that's alright?" I had forgotten we were planning on hanging out.
"Sorry, raincheck. It's not like there's much for me to go over anyways. You guys could hardly see my match." I adjusted the straps on my bag a little tighter, I was planning on running home. Mina gave me a weird look.
"Are you worried about your friend?" She kept her voice down thankfully. "I saw you scrambled to check your phone after we got back to the locker room." She was pretty perceptive. I'd need to watch out for that.
Wait, why? I'm not hiding anything. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong.
"Hey, Bakugo, why don't you stay?" Uraraka called after him. He was leaving in a rush as well. I took advantage of the flow and dipped with him.
"See ya tomorrow, Mina." I waved and left before she could ask me more. I fell into step beside Bakugo, he didn't say a word. I didn't feel the need to say anything either. It wasn't until we almost walked out of the building did he speak.
"There's a place close to Daichi's that has decent curry. They make it the good way." His voice was gruff and he didn't look up. His hands stuffed in his pockets and his demeanor was introspective.
"Yeah? I'll have to check it out." I say distractedly, pulling my phone out and glancing to see if I had gotten any more messages. Nope. "I bet the curry can probably melt my face off, but I'm always up for a food challenge."
"Ka-chan!" We both stop and turn. It was Deku.
"What?" Bakugo turned, his glare looked intimidating but the heat wasn't there. Deku looks from Bakugo to me, unsure.
Oh, this is probably some personal thing.
"I'll see ya around, Bakugo." I blink down to the school gate and turn the corner. They can have their privacy, I didn't have to hear it. I wanted to get home so that I could visit Masaru and the others. I ran home, using my quirk to get me home faster.