Chapter 20
Against All Odds
Twelve students in Class 1-L have passed the practical portion of the final exam. Everyone has stood up against their challenges, and some have done well, showing off a remarkable feat. Now, there are two of us left; me and Yuki Drago. This was the story of how we did it.
After Arisa and Junko passed the exam and completed their battle, Kai went to his exam location. His location for the match was a city landscape with taller buildings. His partner was Yuki Drago, his classmate and ace student in the class. It was a straight shot down the road they were on to the escape gate from where they see it.
Yuki Drago is wearing a new costume. He wears two silver armored shoulder pads for his shoulder, and light armor over his upper torso, except his arbs were exposed. He also wears silver leg armors and metal plating around his toe and heel areas. The armors have the face of a dragon and serpent-like dragon for design. He also wears a silver helmet that looked like a dragon's head with his hair exposed over the back of his neck and a soft neck collar.
His other classmates: Felica, Usagi, Tatsumi, Eli, and returned Arisa, watched from the monitor room with Recovery Girl. Few of them looked excited, but all of them looked a bit nervous.
"This is going to be exciting!" Eli commented as they could see Kai and Yuki standing together at the start of the testing field. "Though, I admit that this feels kind of nervous."
Thye knew what Eli meant. They were facing against the greatest Pro Hero in the world, All Might. Not only that, but they remembered the stuff that happened at the sports festival not too long ago.
Arisa was the one who looked the most worried. "I hope Kai will be OK with Yuki. I don't think they are very nice with each other."
"Indeed," Felicia agreed. "If they both want to pass, they have to work together."
"Just how are they going to do that?" Usagi asked Felicia. "They don't talk with each other that often, not that Yuki Drago talk with any of us so often, anyway, but especially Kai. Ever since that fight in the sports festival, the thing between them is sort of… rocky."
"You are right about that, Usagi," Tatsumi stated. "But like Felica said, the only way for them to pass this exam is by working together. They are up against none other than All Might!"
"We have to wait and see," Recovery Girl said, turning their attention to the exam as it was about to begin.
Back at the testing field, Kai glanced at Yuki, who looked straight at the escape gate. He decided to speak with him.
"Hey," Kai spoke up. "I know that we are not too friendly with each other since the sports festival, but let's just get this over with and do our best, OK?"
Yuki Drago didn't say anything in return. Kai glared at him and sighed. "OK then. Nice pep talk with you," he sighed as he rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the escape gate.
After what felt like an eternity, the buzzer sounded as the speaker announced, "Team Uno and Drago. Ready, go!"
Kai began running down the road silently. Yuki flapped out his wings and started flying. He was above a foot from touching the ground. He flew at the same speed as Kai's running. They didn't talk with each other about coming up with strategies or anything against their opponent, but they knew that it wouldn't be easy. There was no avoiding a fight. So they both knew that they just have to their challenges head-on.
From the monitoring room, their five classmates watched anxiously as their hearts beat nervously.
"So far, so good," Usagi said.
"Yeah. I don't see All Might anywhere," Eli pointed out.
"But he can come out anytime now," Tatsumi stated.
'Kai. Yuki Drago,' Arisa thought as she held her hand as if she were praying.
'What will you do, Yuki Drago? Are you going to work with Kai or not?' Felicia thought as she watched silently.
As Kai and Yuki Drago continued moving to the escape gate, they suddenly felt an immerse burst of pressure from out of nowhere. Kai dug his feet into the ground and braced himself. On the other hand, Yuki Dragon stopped flying and dug into the ground, too, from being blown away as he noticed lamppost detached and flew away, and the surrounding buildings' windows shattered suddenly. Once the gust of wind settled down, both boys could feel the great danger near them.
"As a villain, I am here!" All Might said as his figure finally became visible through the cloud of debris. "Now come at me, heroes."
"It's All Might! Hurry, let's get out of here!" Kai warned. "We don't have the power to…."
Kai gasped when he saw his partner, Yuki Drago, just flew towards All Might and punched him. As expected, All Might just block his punch with his bare palm.
Yuki Drago widened his eyes. "So this is the strength of the Number 1 Pro Hero," he finally spoke up. "I won't try to hurt you much, All Might, but I will do whatever I can to test your strength and defeat you."
"I humbly accept your challenge, Young Drago!" All Might exclaimed as he smirked and countered with his punch.
Yuki backed away by using his wings and began flapping vigorously to create a strong gust of wind. All Might didn't budge as he just jumped towards him. Yuki widened his eyes, but he didn't falter at all as he breathed out fire from his mouth at the incoming opponent. However, All Might went through his flame quickly and grabbed the boy's neck, almost choking him.
"Gah!" Yuki gasped as he choked by All Might's grip.
All Might, while still in mid-air, spun Yuki Dragon around and slammed to the ground.
"Yuki Drago!" Kai shouted as he covered himself from the dust of debris when his partner slammed into the ground.
Their classmates had their mouths wide-opened at what they just saw. All Might easily overpower Yuki Drago. However, Yuki Drago stood back up as he cracked his neck, with some injuries as blood dripped from his mouth, and he wiped it with his hand.
"Holy Carrot! All Might is too strong, and yet, Yuki looks like he can still fight!" Usagi exclaimed.
"He and Kai should just run away! If this goes on, he will just tire himself out eventually!" Tatsumi yelled.
"Not only that but also waste their time!" Eli added.
Arisa looked scared and worried for the boys while Felica watched intensely.
"Yuki, what are you doing?!" Kai said. "You have no chance of beating All Might! He's on the whole completely different level than us!"
"Silence!" He roared. "He is my enemy, and I will do whatever I can to stop him!"
Kai looked deadpan at his partner but changed to an angrier expression. "Are you mad? You, of all people, should know we are no match for him! We have to get out of here when we have the chance!"
"You can run! I will stay and fight!" Yuki Drago yelled back.
All Might watched silently as he thought to himself. 'This fight is very similar to Young Midoriya and Young Bakugo's exam. If they don't figure it out, I will just defeat them here, leading to their failure in this exam!'
"If you are going to bicker with each other, then I will pummel both of you here and now!" All Might declared as he ran toward them with a punch. A pocket of air formed in his right fist.
"California Smash!" The force of the punch created a robust and powerful gust of wind, blowing the boys away.
Kai screamed, but he quickly grabbed the ground with his armored hands. Yuki Drago steadied himself by flapping his wings rapidly so that he won't get blown away easily. Fortunately, they weren't blown away too far away as they were still like four feet away from where they were standing.
As the wind died down, Yuki Dragon started attacking again. This time, he threw up a bunch of fireballs at All Might, but All Might just dodge and slapped the fireballs with the swipe of his arm as he slowly began walking their way.
"In this exam, the students have to learn to overcome their weaknesses," Recovery Girl said. "For Kai Uno and Yuki Drago, their weakness is teamwork, and they are both the most incompatible partners."
Their classmates watched nervously as they felt awful for them. Then again, they knew it was going to be this bad, but it was much worse than they thought initially. Yuki Drago won't listen. Kai wanted to escape, but All Might won't let them. At this rate, both of them will fail.
'What the hell am I supposed to do in this situation?! That idiot, Yuki, won't listen to me, and we are facing against the strongest hero in the world! Even so, there's got to be a way to get out of this mess while not wasting any more time we had spent here! I got to think! Got to think!'
'… There is one. I have to keep it a minimum so that I won't use too much of my energy. Just enough to temporarily blind All Might while we escape,' Kai thought as he held his arms and the small repulsion circles on his palm began glowing.
"This is the end for you, heroes!" All Might shouted as he had his right first ready.
Yuki Drago just roared back with his fist ready. Their fists were about to collide when a sudden burst of light happened right behind Yuki Drago. He glanced over his shoulder, and All Might watched as the light consumed them.
The light was bright that it also caused the monitor to flash it. The classmates and Recovery Girl covered their eyes.
"Holy Carrot! It's too bright!" Usagi complained.
"What's going on, bro?!" Eli exclaimed in question.
"What happened to Kai and Yuki?" Arisa asked as she tried to look back at the monitor.
"What is this?!" All Might jumped back as his eyes were blind temporarily. Once his vision returned to normal as the light died down, he noticed that Yuki and Kai were nowhere. "They escaped!"
He walked over to where Kai Uno stood and noticed a large circle of burned gravels for the road. He touched it, and it felt a bit warm.
"Young Uno must have used his Quirk to create a light to blind me and escape with Yuki Drago," All Might said as he looked at the buildings. "Though the road is damaged, he didn't destroy the surrounding buildings with the light or at least kept it minimized."
Kai and Yuki Drago ran through the back alleys. Once they felt safe enough, they sat down against a building to catch their breath.
"Hey," Yuki Drago said. "What… What did you do?"
"Me? I saved our butts," Kai scoffed as he stood up over Yuki Drago. "Why didn't you listen when I said we should run away back then? Why?"
Yuki Drago just stared at him, not saying any words. This made Kai mad as he grabbed on his collar and slammed him to the wall.
"Talk damn it! Don't give me the silent treatment! Just exactly what are you thinking, Yuki Drago?! Ever since the sports festival or even before it, I have no idea what you are thinking most of the time! Your demeanor pisses me off!" Kai shouted.
There was a moment of silence between them. After feeling like a minute, Yuki Drago grabbed Kai's arm and pulled it away from his collar.
"Why would I say anything to you?" The question confused Kai. "I will say this once, Kai Uno. I don't trust you."
"Trust me?" Kai repeated. "Why?"
"Why would I trust someone who doesn't say anything about his Quirk or show his Quirk to others? Why would I trust someone who seems distant while hanging out with friends and keeping up with faces? Why would I trust someone who has some kind of issue with being at UA High? Why would I trust you at all for any reasons?" Yuki stated.
Kai let go of Yuki Drago, and he released his grip on Kai's arms. He looked the other away, not seeing eye to eye with Yuki.
"This isn't about me. I am just saying or has been saying that we need to work together if we want to pass this exam," Kai argued.
"If you want to pass, then you have to give a reason why I should trust you," Yuki Drago proclaimed. "If you don't give me that, then how would I work with you? Since you don't have any reasons, that is why I ignore what you said in the heat of battle. A true Pro Hero needs to have the same mindset to work together as a team. If either of us doesn't have the same mindset, then the whole team is broken."
Kai gripped his fist and punched against the wall next to Yuki Drago's face. He stared at him calmly despite he almost beat him.
"I get that! I just….," he sighed and then sat down on the wall.
Yuki Drago sighed and turned to exit the alleyway. "If you want to be useful for anything, then go to the escape gate. We still have time. I will distract All Might as much as I can. Use that time to make it to the gate and pass."
His partner flew off, leaving Kai in disarray.
Now that he was himself, he started talking to himself. "Just what the heck is he thinking?! Don't he see that he will lose to All Might, no matter what he does? Just why is he doing this? Why is he fighting where he cannot win? Why won't he just listen to me? Why?!"
All Might head to the escape gate. He expected that if the boys were heading somewhere, it would be it as that is the only logical place to go. He stopped when he felt a sudden gust of winds.
He looked up and saw Yuki Drago flying above him.
"So you have decided to show up! Ready for round two?" All Might said.
"Yes," Yuki replied as he roared and flew down to attack All Might.
All Might punched at him, but Yuki quickly twirled his tail around his arm, surprising him a bit. Then, he turned around to choke around his neck.
"Choking me to stop me? That's smart, but not effective enough against the like of me!" All Might laughed as he moved around and grabbed Yuki's tail. He began slamming him to the ground a few times before he stopped and looked at him.
Yuki was in pain, but he held on.
"You look like you won't give up, Yuki Drago." All Might said.
"I will never give up. I will fight to the bitter end!" Yuki responded as he opened his mouth and breathed out fire at All Might's face.
He quickly let go of him, allowing him to fly. Somewhere in the alleyway nearby, Kai was watching.
"It seems like Yuki is doing exactly what he said he would do," Kai noted. "This is a chance for me to run to the gate and pass through it. Then, they can stop fighting, and we pass the exam."
Kai was about to move, but he had a second thought. Was this the right thing to do?
He began moving until he heard a painful cry and turned back and saw it.
All Might pin down Yuki Drago.
"I admit, Young Drago. You give me quite a sweat, but this is the end for you," All Might said as he had his fist ready.
Their classmates watched in horror from the monitoring room as All Might was going to punch Yuki in his face.
"Holy Carrot! All Might's going to smash Yuki!" Usagi screamed.
"Where is Kai?! Is he going to help or save him?" Tatsumi asked, looking anxious.
"I have no idea, bro! Maybe he is going to the escape gate while Yuki keeps Teach All Might busy, but from the look of it, it looks like the dragon boy is going to lose!" Eli stated.
Arisa held her hands tighter. 'Kai, where are you?' she thought.
'Yuki Drago, are you going to give up yourself while Kai goes to the escape gate? Is that your plan?' Felicia thought.
"Hey, All Might!" All Might gasped as he and Yuki Drago looked over to Kai, who stood up against him.
"Hey, looks, dude and dudette! It's Kai, yo!" Eli pointed.
"Kai!" Arisa shouted.
Just then, a door opened behind them as someone came in. Only Arisa turned around to see who came in.
"Blimey! What are you all doing here?" Felica asked.
-My Hero Academia -
All Might watched with a surprised look but kept his composure.
"Young Uno, I've been wondering where you were, but here you are!" He exclaimed. "However, for you to show up here isn't a brilliant thing to do. You could've taken the opportunity while I was dealing with your partner here."
"What are you doing here?" Yuki asked in a raspy voice but still loud enough to hear. "Get out of here!"
"No, Yuki Drago!" He shouted back. "I won't back away!"
"What?! Why?" He asked. "You could've got to the gate, and we would've passed. You're just wasting our time!"
"I am aware of that, and that is why I am here instead!" Kai countered, surprising All Might and Yuki Drago. "I don't know exactly why I am here, but my body just moved on its own! So, I decided that I will stay and fight, but not just for myself! I will fight because I care enough for us to pass the exam!"
All Might felt a strong emotion from Kai's words. He sensed a slight sense of conviction in his words. He let go of Yuki Drago, leaving him and walking over to Kai.
"If you are determined to fight me, Young Uno, then go ahead and try!" All Might declared.
Kai jumped ahead with his fist ready. The metallic armor transformed into a fist as it glowed in green light.
"Detroit Smash!" All Might roared as he punched back.
Their punch collided, creating a powerful shockwave as the force of the wave caused the surrounding buildings' windows to shatter. All Might felt the immense power that caused him to bleed a bit from his mouth.
'Grr! My time limit is almost up, but this boy, the force and the power, is nothing I've ever felt before!' All Might thought as they fight.
Kai backed away as he stepped back and ground his feet. Metal claw dug deep into the road's gravel as the green circle on his chest armor began glowing.
"Hmm?" All Might watched as the circle on his chest turning brighter and brighter.
"Just a little bit. Not too much to destroy the city and hurt Yuki, but enough to blow All Might away," Kai said to himself. "I don't know it will be enough, but I have to see and try!"
"Hhhhhuu-uwaaaaahhhhhh!" Kai roared as energy gathered into his chest armor.
"What is this?" All Might said as he felt pressure, and the ground started shaking a little until it got a bit stronger.
"All Might!" He looked at Kai. "I will take that advice you told me about a few weeks ago. I will show you what my Quirk can do. Take this! Atomic Cannon Ray!"
The circle on the chest flashed a light, and then a giant beam of energy blasted out.
All Might covered his arm as he took in the beam.
"UUuuuuuuuuhhhh!" He held on, but the beam was so powerful that it dragged his feet back. It wasn't until a couple of seconds later that he got his feet back on the ground as the beam died down.
Part of his sleeves was burned away. All Might panted as his limit was almost up.
"My, my… what a power!" All Might said. "So, this is Kai's Quirk!"
Then the buzzer sounded. "Team Uno and Drago have passed!"
All Might noticed that Yuki Drago carried the fainted Kai through the escape gate after Kai's energy beam attack pushed him.
All Might couldn't help but smiled as steam started coming out of his body. "Impressive, Young Uno. It looks like you finally took the first step in becoming a hero, or in your words, a strong fighter. I can see the same flame burning in you, like all others, but more or less similar to Young Midoriya, especially the part where you appeared and came to save your classmate."
"All participants of the final exam have concluded. This concludes the practical exams," the system announced as everyone in the monitor room cheered.
Recovery Girl smiled. Maruto, Miru, Ai, Makoto, Akihiko, and Haia heard the announcement from the break room, and they grinned at each other. Junko, who was sleeping on the couch in the same break room, showed with a grin.
All members of Class 1-L have passed the practical exam.
- My Hero Academia –
Kai Uno and Yuki Drago were admitted to the nurse's office. Recovery Girl and her assistant, Ms. Heal, checked on them, and they were fined. Yuki Drago had to be bandaged while Kai didn't have any injury to leave anytime.
Kai was relaxing on the side of the bed while Yuki Drago slept in the bed next to him.
"Kai Uno." He looked at Yuki Drago. "… You did well out there. I congratulate you, and… I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Kai asked.
"I was stubborn in finding out your Quirk. I was too curious to know more about it ever since I heard you are younger brother to our teacher, Speed Girl, and your parents. I also apologize for thinking you are weak and have no conviction, but it seems like I was wrong. You have found it," Yuki said.
Kai stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "No, Yuki. You weren't wrong. I do not have conviction. I don't even know if I want to stay here at UA High or be a pro hero."
Yuki stayed quiet and just listened. "Why is that? Why do you not want to be a pro hero even when you are here, at UA?"
"That's because I…." Suddenly, a door opened as a crowd of familiar people came in.
"Hey Kai!" Usagi shouted as she and others barged in. "How are you and Yuki doing?"
Kai gasped, and Yuki's eyes widened.
"Hey! Why don't you kids ever learn not to barge into my office?!" Recovery Girl yelled as Ms. Heal smiled nervously with a sweatdrop.
"You two were awesome in your exam! We saw the whole thing," Eli said.
"It was a spectacle! It reminded me so much of the final epic battle in every Kamen Rider show I watched when I was a kid," Tatsumi commented.
"Kai, I am just happy that you are OK," Arisa said happily. "And you too, Yuki Drago-san. I am glad that you are OK despite some injuries you got."
"Indeed," Felica nodded. "It was truly a sight to witness."
"Kai," said a voice behind their classmates. They moved to the side to allow Midoriya, Ochaco, Iida, Asui, Kirishima, and Momo to come through.
"You guys saw it too?" Kai asked before they get to say anything.
"Yeah! We had some break time to see how you were doing for your practical exam," Midoriya explained. "And it was amazing! We didn't get to see the whole match, but we got to see the climax, and I have to say that was impressive to face up against All Might."
"I've never expected you to blast an energy beam at him, Kai! That was so intense, yet so cool!" Ochaco exclaimed.
"Seriously, man! That was some hot-blooded fight. Truly manly!" Kirishima gave him a thumb up.
"It was very heart-racing, Uno-Kun," Asui said.
"It was a truly spectacular thing to see. I was very shocked myself as well," Iida nodded.
"I agree with everyone here. You impressed me, Uno-san," Yaoyorozu said.
"Um, yeah. Thank you all," Kai said as he got up.
"Well, thank you for all of you to come here," Ms. Heal said. "But it is getting a bit crowdy here. Why don't you all step out now and talk about it somewhere else? Mr. Drago needs his rest, and Miss Recovery Girl and I have some work to do."
"Ah, of course, maim!" Ida replied as he turned to everyone. "Everyone, let's all leave quietly! In order."
"Whatever, man," Eli replied.
"Not whatever! You have to politer in your manner, Mister Eli!" Ida scolded.
"Don't be too strict about it. We're getting out of the room alright," Eli said with a smirk.
"How can you be so lax even though you are your class's rep!" Ida accused.
They all left the nurse's office and continued their conversation as they walked down the hallway. Recovery Girl and Ms. Heal sighed, feeling stressed whenever members of Class 1-A or 1-L comes. Yuki Drago silently goes to sleep.
One day later, everyone was back in their regular school uniform. They were each talking about how they did in the final exam. Some of them looked relaxed and didn't say much, but others seemed very nervous.
"Holy Carrot! I hope I passed my written exam. I know I did well in the practical part, but I am not sure about the written one," Usagi said nervously.
"Don't worry, Usagi. You will be fine. You did a study and got help from Felicia, right?" Makoto questioned her.
"Uh ha," she nodded in return.
"I admit that the final was tough, both written and practical, but I did learn a lot from it and know what I need to work on," Tatsumi stated.
"Yeah, I agree, man," Eli nodded.
"Hey, guys! I think our teacher is coming now!" Miro yelled aloud as she opened her eyes, causing everyone to go back to their seat.
Just in time, Speed Girl came rushing in.
"Good morning, my class!" She announced happily.
"Good morning, Miss Speed Girl," everyone responded.
"My, my, you guys look terrific today, and I have bought some good news!" Speed Girl exclaimed. "All of you… have passed the final! Hurray! You all get a gold star!"
Speed Girl threw confetti everywhere as she blew those weird toy things that you blow through with your mouth. The entire class looked at her silently with a sweatdrop. Speed Girl noticed this and stopped herself.
"Ah-hem, anyway," she said. "You all have passed both the written and final exams. Congratulations! Though I said that, there are few things I want to comment on. While I did say that all of you have passed the final, not all of you did so well in the practical part of the exam. Few of you have either fainted or been knocked out easily during the matches. For that, you will work extra hard at the summer training camp, and we will make you do so, but the other good news is that none of you will take any extra lessons or anything since you all technically still pass in the written part of the exam."
Some of them, especially Usagi and Maruto, sighed. They were the most worried about the final exam but glad to hear that everyone passed the written exam. However, Arisa and Tatsumi knew what their teacher talked about when she mentioned working extra hard at the training camp.
"But hey, the most important thing is that you all passed, and I am very proud of every one of you," Speed Girl said. "Well, that is all I have to say, so enjoy your weekend and see you guys next week. Bye!"
Speed Girl quickly rushed out of the classroom as she did when she came in.
"Holy Carrot! We passed the written exam!" Usagi hopped in joy.
"Yeah, we did it!" Both Usagi and Maruto jumped in joy.
"See, I told you that you would pass, Usagi," Makoto said happily.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry, and we can all relax for the weekend," Felica noted before she turned to Arisa. "Hey, Arisa, do you have any plan for the weekend?"
"Now that you mention it, I don't actually," she admitted.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Usagi hopped to the front of the class. "Hey guys, listen! I remember that my friend, Hagakure said that some of her friends in Class 1-A are going to the mall tomorrow for little shopping to prepare for the training camp. She invited us if any of us want to come with her group. Anyone want to join?"
"That sounds like a cool idea," Eli said. "I'm in."
"I think I will join, too," Tatsumi said. "Now that we can leave the final exam behind."
"I guess I will go, too. I do have something to buy, like extra batteries for my video games if we are going to stay long at the camp," Maruto admitted.
"You will need more than batteries for the training camp," Miru mumbled.
"I will gladly join," Makoto said.
"I will pass," Aku said.
"Same here," Yuki added.
"I would like to go," Arisa joined.
"Indeed. I will accompany, too," Felica said.
Arisa turned to Kai. "What about you, Kai? Do you want to join, too? It would be fun."
"I guess so. It is not like I have anything else to do tomorrow anyway," Kai said.
"Then, that's decided!" Usagi declared.
The next day, Class 1-L joined with the group from Class 1-A at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. The mall was also called Wookiees.
"OK! Now that settles, let's all meet up here again at 3 pm!" Kirishima decided as everyone agreed on the time to meet up after their shopping is done.
They all went on their separate ways, leaving just Kai, Arisa, Midoriya, and Ochaco.
"So, what are you two planning to buy here?" Arisa asked Midoriya and Ocahco.
"Oh well, I am here to buy… buy…." Ocahco's face started to blush, which the other three found to be weird. "I need to buy bug spray!"
She ran off quickly away from the three, leaving them with a surprised expression.
"What was that all about?" Midoriya asked.
"Beat me," Kai shrugged. "By the way, I am going to the second floor and check out some shoes. I need a new one."
"Oh, I will come with you, Kai! Maybe I will get some shoes suited for the training camp," Arisa said, joining with him and leaving Midoriya alone by myself until he was approached by a mysterious man in a black hood.
Kai and Arisa checked the shoe store on the second floor. As they did, some bystanders and other people noticed Kai, and they whispered to each other. Arisa saw this and looked a bit concerned.
"Don't mind them, Arisa." She snapped and looked at Kai, who looked indifferent while checking for the right shoes. "They remember us from the UA sports festival probably."
"Um, OK," she answered, though she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. "I am going to check the girls' shoe over there."
He nodded as she went to see the shelf area for girls' shoes. That was when someone approached Kai.
"Oh my! Are you Kai Uno, the boy from the UA High and who showed at the sports festival?" A female voice said, catching his attention.
He turned to face a young girl wearing a big black hat that obscured her face so that you couldn't see it. She was wearing an average light-colored one-piece, which didn't match with her hat. She stood around the same height as Kai.
She approached closer to Kai, maybe a bit too uncomfortable as she was almost close to his face.
"You were so lovely at the sports festival! Is it OK if I have your autograph, please?" The girl asked.
"Um, sure," Kai responded nervously. However, that was when he felt something very odd and frightening about this girl.
He looked at her face, which he could now see more clearly since he was standing very close to her. Her eyes were revealed to be the same eyes he had met before.
"You!" He growled under his mouth. "You are here! Reap…!"
"Now, now. Let's not make a commotion. Let's go somewhere where we can talk, and please," she said as she held a hidden knife at him, barely poking him on his side. "Don't make any funny moves."
Kai complied and followed the disguised Reaper to a café.
"Hey Kai, which one do you think is a better color on me? Pink or red?" She asked but noticed that he was gone. "Kai? Kai?"
Reaper took Kai hostage to a café on the third floor, where they could see all the floors and other people.
"Here you go, you lovebirds," the waiter said as he put their drinks down and some sweets. The waiter was happened to be Stan Lee himself. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Reaper said as she took a sip of soda with cream and cheery in it. "Ah, this tastes good."
"What do you want, Reaper?" Kai said in a whispering tone.
Reaper stared at him and looked over to the people in the mall.
"Have you noticed the hero shop you passed by when you and your friends came here?" She asked.
Kai remembered seeing the shop, but he didn't take a good look at it.
"Yeah, what about it?" He replied.
"If you haven't noticed, they are selling some merchandise based on my master," she said.
Kai heard that some stores were selling merchandise based on Hero Killer Stain, like his mask.
"Yeah, I heard about it. It is quite a hot and popular product right now," Kai stated.
Reaper looked distasteful as she looked over the people. "I hate it. I hate it all. My Master didn't fight to become famous. He wanted to let this corrupt society know that his action was to create a more just society, not turning himself into popular merchandise, like those unjust calling themselves a pro hero."
"Then, why don't you just say your criticism to the merch designer or the company who makes it?" Kai suggested.
She glanced at Kai. "Listen here, don't joke with me. We are serious in what we do, yet these people just laugh it up and don't understand what the true meaning behind my Master's last words is before he was arrested and sent to prison."
"You mean the one that's been on the Internet?" Kai said.
She nodded. "Yeah, that's right. The meaning behind this is that he will only allow the true hero to stop and kill him, who is All Might, and I am the only one who knows this, but these slimes, they think otherwise. What's worse is sympathizers are popping around who are far from Master Stain's ideal. This would never happen if he met the League of Villains, and someday, I would get back at them, and then the rest of the society! I will continue my Master's legacy, show the world the true meaning of his ideal, and create the just world that we dream of!"
Kai stared at Reaper, not saying anything until a few seconds later. "Then, why are you saying this all to me? You think I will stop you?"
"Are you, or will you?" Reaper asked in return.
What it felt like an eternity, Kai let out a sigh. "Look. I won't tell that I met you here, and quite frankly, I don't care what you will do, but if anyone else found out what you do, the pro heroes will stop you, no matter what."
"Let me they try," Reaper challenged.
"Kai?" Kai gasped a bit, and he glanced to his left to see Arisa standing by.
"What are you doing here? And who is this?" Arisa said.
Reaper glared at her, giving the same menacing aura when they first encountered. Arisa knew instantly who this person is.
"Please, let him go," she said, looking afraid.
Reaper moved her hand, making Kai think that she was going to pull out her knife. He hesitantly stands up, but then he realized that she just took out some money.
"Oops, sorry! I guess you were with someone else today. Thank you for the autograph and nice meeting you," Reaper said in a much kinder, sweeter tone.
As she walked past Arisa and Kai, she whispered something to them. "Whatever you do, don't follow me, or else, I will kill you all."
As she stepped away and far from a safe distance, Arisa let out her breath, realizing how much she was holding.
"Arisa, are you OK?" Kai asked.
"Yeah, I am fine," she breathed. "Kai, that girl, she's!"
"It's alright now. She's gone now," Kai said. "It is best not to say anything about this."
Suddenly, they heard a police siren and checked the first floor to notice that the police had arrived and parked at the mall's front.
A little bit later, the mall was closed temporarily. Ocahco reported to them that Midoriya encountered Tomura Shigaraki, the supposed leader of the League of Villains. He had Midoriya as a hostage but left without doing anything. All of them were questioned, and Midoriya went with the police to keep him safe for a while and further questioning. Everyone else went straight home.
Kai and Arisa didn't report about their encounter with Reaper. Even though they should, they didn't want to risk it if Reaper was watching them from somewhere, making sure they don't speak out about her. Fortunately, nothing happened as they went home safely.
- My Hero Academia –
About a few hours before the encounter, Tomura Shigaraki was at the bar with Kurogiri, where they meet three recruits by their broker and ally, a man named Giran.
The first recruit was a young female student named Himiko Toga. She was a girl with dirty ash-blonde hair and is styled into two messy buns. She looked petite with fair skin and constantly looking blushed with her inward-tilting bright yellow eyes. She wore a plain female school student's uniform with a Kansai collar, both skirt and the shirt dark blue with a double white trim, which is paired with a red scarf that was loosely tied below. She also sported knee-length black socks and dark brown dress shoes.
The second recruit was a tall, young man with messy black hair, patches of gnarled, wrinkled, purple skin that cover much of his lower face and neck, all the way down past his collarbone, below his eyes, and on his arms and legs. The patches of skin were stapled on his normal white skin. His body was slim yet somewhat lanky built. He mainly wore black clothes, except for the white shirt underneath the opened jacket. He also had several silver piercings in both ears and a triple nostril piercing on the right side of his nose.
The third recruit was another young girl. This one had long black hair, red eyes, and, interestingly, some scratch marks on her neck and thighs. She also had bright red octopus tentacles, and she stood at 5 feet and 3 inches. Her costume was primarily black with gold trim on her cape with a length that went down to the ground. She also wore a black, fluffy scarf around her neck, some red tags attached around her thigh area, but it was covered by black skintight pants and black high-heel shoes.
"Kurogiri, who the hell are these people?" Tomura asked in a chiding tone. "Get them out of here!"
"Now, now. Our broker bought these three to join the League, Shigaraki," Kurogiri revealed. "Let's hear them out. Perhaps some introduction is needed."
"Right," Giran, the man behind the three people, spoke up as he finished smoking. "Just remember to pay me a commission, Kurogiri-san. Anyway, this young, pretty girl here may look like a cute schoolgirl, but the media kept tight under wraps about her identity. She's on the run as a suspect in a series of deaths by blood loss."
"I'm Toga! Himiko Toga!" Toga introduced. "Life is too hard! I want to make a world that's easier to live in! I wanna be Mr. Stainy! I want to kill Mr. Stainy! So lemme join you, Tomura-kun!"
His facial expression was hidden due to the severed hand over his face, but he looked a bit deadpanned.
"I don't get her. Is she crazy?" He asked straightforwardly.
"She can hold a conversation for the most part," Giran said, looking assured. "I'm sure she'll be a good use for you. Next, this guy over here."
He looked at the young, tall man. "He hasn't committed any flashy crimes, but he holds fast to the hero killer's ideology."
"I'm unsure about this," he said, making everyone looked at him. "Does this organization have a cause? Don't tell me you're going to let this crazy girl in and this other girl?"
Toga laughed and smiled, but Shigaraki doesn't look approved.
"Hey, you," Tomura said. "You can't even do what that crazy high school girl was able to do. Give your name first. You're an adult, right?"
The man shrugged, rolling his eyes. "The name's Dabi. That's what I call by currently."
"What kind of name is that?" Tomura accused as he pointed at him. "I meant your real identity. What's your real name?"
"I will tell that when the time is right," he answered back rudely, yet in a calm manner. "Anyway, I will say this much. I will carry out the will of the hero killer."
Tomura gritted as he scratched his neck. Then, he turned his attention to the last person. "And who the hell are you?"
"This young lady is a bonus," Giran said. "She is out of town, but Toga-chan here suggested me to her because she is searching or rather targeting someone in the UA."
"Someone from UA?" Kurogiri repeated.
Giran nodded as he smirked. "Why not allow her to speak about it?"
The third person stepped forward once, looking smugly and egotistic. "My name is Cecilia Jones. You call me by my villain name, Octo Lady if you want to. Yeah, Toga invited me to join this League of Villains or whatever you call. I am here only for one reason; for revenge."
"Revenge?" Kurogiri said.
"Revenge? Who do you want revenge for or at?" Tomura asked.
"There is someone I particularly despise who goes to the school that I heard from Mr. Giran here. She is the one who made me who I am now, and I will have my revenge, no matter what it takes," Cecilia stated, sounding a bit more severe at the end.
"OK, I heard enough. I admit that this girl, Cecilia Jones, can get used to it, but the other two are annoying. A crazy girl and a rude guy, and they are here because of that hero killer. Hero Killer this and hero killer that. Everyone's so hung about Stain, Stain…" Tomura got up from his chair. "—I don't like it."
The atmosphere changed as Kurogiri acted.
"You mustn't, Shigaraki!" He warned.
"I don't feel good," Tomura said with his eyes widened.
Toga and Dabi reacted as they felt it. It was the sense of danger incoming.
"Rest of you are all no good!" Tomura strike first. Toga quickly took out her knife while Dabi ignited his left hand in blue flame.
They were about to fight when Kurogiri stepped in and used his warp so that neither side hurt each other. Cecilia tensed as she blinked twice. Giran just stood still and smoke peacefully.
"Please calm down, Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri stated. "If what you wish is to come to pass, then we must increase our organization's numbers. Strangely enough, we're in the spotlight right now, so now's our chance."
Kurogiri stretched his head to speak through Tomura's ear. "We should not be rejecting them; we should be receiving them."
"You must use it, all of it…." Kurogiri whispered to Tomura's ear. "And all the ideology he left behind."
Tomura calmed down and walked past Dabi and Toga while the latter two watched him leave.
"Where are you going?" Giran asked.
"Shut up!" Tomura yelled as he left.
Kurogiri returned to his body.
"I don't want to complain about a client, but he's young, too young," Giran complained.
"I thought he was going to kill us," Toga commented.
"He makes me sick," Dabi mumbled.
"What do you think of him, Cecilia-chan?" Toga asked.
"To be honest, I don't like him, either, but as long as I gain my goal by joining this organization, then I can work with him, for now," she answered.
"Would it be all right to give you an answer at a later date?" Kurogiri questioned.
"How about instead let's give our recruits an entrance exam and see if they are worth it?" A voice said.
They turned to the monitor that only displays "Audio Only."
"Master! I didn't know you were listening to all this time!" Kurogiri gasped.
"Well, well, well," Giran said, looking cheerful. "It is a pleasure to hear you for a long time, Mr. All For One."
"It's a pleasure of mine, too, Giran," said the voice from the monitor. "And my apologies for Young Tomura's behavior. He's been quite mad lately due to Hero Killer's sudden popularity by the public and how media portrayed him."
"None at all, sir," Giran assured. "Anyway, you said something about the entrance exam. What would that entail?"
"I would like the recruits there and others that I have elsewhere to be tested. If they pass, they can join the league. If they don't, then that's that," the voice said.
"Interesting," Giran said. "What do you all say?"
"I hate exams, but whatever it is, I am curious to know! What is it?" Toga asked excitedly.
"Whatever. I will prove it to you just to make my point," Dabi stated.
"I accept the challenge," Cecilia said.
The owner's voice laughed at the end. "Very well. Kurogiri, open the warp."
"Yes, sir," he said as he summoned a black portal. Out of it, a six feet tall woman came out. She had long dark blue hair with a streak of white, cyan eyes and a mid-sized chest. She wore thin brown eyeglasses, black and purple dress, long and fingerless gloves, and a black witch hat.
"Wow! She's tall! Even taller than you, Dabi-Kun!" Toga commented.
"Don't refer to me like that as if I am your friend," Dabi growled.
"Hello, recruits. My name is Elemagus, and I serve for All For One, and you will all be tested by his exam," Elemagus claimed.
Hello everyone and Happy Memorial's Day, if you live in the States. Well, I guess it isn't so much a happy day because it is a day of remembering the veterans and the people who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and freedom. While not many people like war and violence, the reality isn't too kind and there are times when we need to fight in war. Nonetheless, we should honor the sacrifice that all veterans made, who are not with us and who are living still and telling the story to the younger generation, so that their tale is never be forgotten.
This chapter has a bit of episode 38 at the end. We also have two new OCs; Elemagus created by johannvanguard and Cecilia Jones by TGRickel.
We will see more about them in the next chapter, but their backstory will be revealed as the story progresses. Chapter 21 will be uploaded after this chapter, and we will have few more chapters to be uploaded in June. After that, there will be a bit of few weeks break, so that I can focus on my other stories.
Please leave any review and stay safe. The next chapter will come up after this, and as always, go beyond, Plus Ultra!