The Okami Hero: Amaterasu
Arc 9: Academy of Heroes
Chapter 8: The Interclass Combat Trial Part 1
[Saturday 8th April 2282]
[1-A Classroom, U.A High School, Musutafu]
The first week of classes at U.A High School came and went in what seemed like a blink of an eye for the students of Class 1-A. After the disastrous first lesson with the Third Years, and Izumi's intense sparring match with Mirio, the Big Three had spent the rest of the afternoon with 1-A, ostensibly to help look after Eri since Izumi was too exhausted to stay awake much longer, but in reality they just wanted to scope out some of the new talent, and maybe convince them to join Internships at the Hero Offices they themselves were working at. Nejire in particular was interested in recruiting Izumi, having heard of her Provisional Licence Exam where she went up against Ryukyu, Nejire's mentor. Of course, Izumi already being a hero put a damper on that, but Ochako and Himiko were just as good!
Ochako didn't seem to mind Nejire's excited recruitment pitch, especially since the Gravity Girl got to sit on a common room couch with Izumi sleeping on her lap in Wolf Form. She got quite a few jealous looks from the other girls, and even a few boys who wanted to pet the Wolf Girl.
The rest of the week passed fairly quickly after that. The next afternoon, the Third Years repeated the class (the rebels apologised properly and were forgiven), and All-Might and Amaterasu's first proper Hero Class went off without a hitch. The next two days; Thursday and Friday, were spent on the Second Years Classes, which also went well with the students being excited to be taught by All-Might, and wary of disrespecting Amaterasu, leading to a tame but effective class environment.
Unfortunately, the Third Year's little rebellion led to a little snag… they had pushed all classes back a day, which meant that all of All-Might's classes were already behind, and the other teachers were stuck adjusting their schedules too, leading to a lot of confusion throughout the school. In order to deal with this, Nezu ordered the All-Might and Amaterasu to have both the First Year Classes finished on Saturday, which meant they either had to split up and each take one of the classes, or they had to double the classes up like they did with the Third Years.
The two ultimately came up with a plan, but they kept the students in the dark, deciding it would make for a nice surprise. The final lessons of the week began to drift past and finally, after a week of theory classes, the time came for 1-A's first Hero Basic Training!
Aizawa-sensei had just dismissed the afternoon Homeroom and left the class to eagerly await their teacher. They weren't waiting long.
"I AM HERE!" yelled the unmistakeable voice of All-Might, as he heroically leapt into class in a dramatic pose; "-COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
Izumi giggled as she entered the class behind him; there was nothing normal about how All-Might leapt into the room, dressed in his full red and blue Silver Age Costume, complete with cape. Everyone but Izumi's siblings (who were used to All-Might by now) erupted into excited cheers or sported happy grins, overjoyed that the Number One Hero was really going to be one of their teachers!
"It's really All-Might! He's our teacher!" Kaminari cheered.
"We knew he would be after Tuesday's fiasco, but it's still freaking cool!" Sero added.
"That Silver Age Costume… he looks so Manly! He's so different from us that it's giving me goosebumps!" Eijiro added, pumping his fist.
"Haha! That is quite the welcome, Young Students!" All-Might smiled, taking his spot in front of the lectern, "So far, you've only had Hero Law and Informatics, but today you will have your first class of Hero Basic Training! This class will put you through all sorts of different training courses to prepare you for the world of Heroics! Now, who can tell me some of the different types of work we heroes are expected to do?"
"Rescuing People!" Sero answered.
"Beating Villains!" Katsuki yelled.
"Investigating Crimes." Momo answered, the only one to raise her hand.
"Supporting other Heroes and the Emergency Services." Tenya added, following Momo's lead.
"Um, Patrolling?" Ochako piped up, a little unsure of her answer.
All-Might grinned and gave them each a thumbs up; "Well done! You five have correctly identified the Five Core Classifications of Hero Work! They are: Rescue, Support, Combat, Investigation and Patrol! As Heroes, our job is basically a combination of all the Emergency Services, something we are able to do thanks to our permission to use our quirks freely. While Combat and Rescue are the two most prominent forms of Hero Work, they are actually the minority of the tasks we complete. Today, we'll be completing a special trial to see how talented you are in one of these classifications." the Pro pulled out a card and proudly displayed into the class, showing the bright red letters spelling "COMBAT!"
"Today's activity is Combat Training!"
Himiko could almost hear Katsuki's face tearing as his smile grew freakishly big. Despite him having his back to her, she could tell he was bearing his teeth like a rabid dog. This was were Katsuki shined brightest, and was admittedly the area Himiko was weakest at of the five Heroic Classifications. Everyone else was showing varying levels of excitement, with even the stoic Todoroki stiffening in anticipation.
"Since today is your first practical, you'll be needing these." All-Might said, clicking a button on a remote. The wall beside him suddenly opened up, revealing four shelves that each contained five numbered steel cases. "You filled out the request forms shortly after passing the Entrance Exam, and in accordance with those forms and the requirements listed on your Quirk Registrations, our partner Support Companies have completed these: your very own Hero Costumes!"
"YEAH!" everyone yelled, rushing to get the case containing their gear.
"Once you've changed, report to Training Ground Beta. Remember, this gear is what people will see first when you swoop into to save them; make sure you leave a good impression and lastly; once you put on that gear, you are Heroes!" All-Might said. The Class nodded enthusiastically and ran to change into their costumes.
Izumi led the girls to the changing rooms, then opted to wait outside since she was already in Hero Costume. The other girls looked surprised that she chose to wait outside, but Izumi knew that she was attracted to girls as well as boys, so didn't want to be seen as a pervert for watching the other girls change since she didn't need to change herself. Thankfully, none of the girls had particularly complicated costumes, so they didn't take long and they were soon following Izumi to their assigned training ground, joining the boys as they went. This walk gave Izumi the perfect opportunity to observe everyone's costumes, so that's what she did.
There were quite a few awesome ones: Tenya's mechanical knight-like armour, for example, was amazing and reminded Izumi of Ingenium. Momo's costume was fairly skimpy due to her needing exposed skin, and while it looked very good, Izumi had no idea where to look. Toru had opted for only gloves and boots for her costume, since she was invisible and clothes interfered with that, but it made Izumi shiver just looking at it. Speaking of shivering; Todoroki's costume was a simple white jumpsuit with his entire left side covered in ice… it was a shame too, since it covered half his face and made him look even more unapproachable.
When Izumi looked at Ochako's suit, she couldn't contain her blush; Ochako's costume was a pale pink and black skintight suit with large round boots, spherical bracers and a rounded visor that all combined to give her a super cute astronaut/idol look. It did absolutely nothing to hide Ochako's curves and as such, Izumi could barely look at her without blushing madly.
"I should have been more specific in my request form..." Ochako smiled nervously; "I ended up with a skintight suit… it's kinda embarrassing."
"You look really cute!" Izumi said, a little too quickly. Ochako blushed and both girls ended up stood awkwardly, blushing crimson and unsure of what to say next.
"Y-Your costume is pretty amazing too, Izumi!"
"Thanks Ochako. I kind of stuck with the Japanese theme from my hero name, huh? It's comfy though, and doesn't get torn up by my quirk. It's woven from my hair and cells, so it was kind of a pain in the butt to make!"
"Tell me about it!" said Himiko, approaching from the back of the group since she was the last girl to finish dressing. Katsuki was walking beside her, dressed in his own costume. Since Amaterasu was the unofficial leader of the Sunburst Hero Agency, both Himiko and Katsuki had chosen to follow her Japanese theme with their costumes, so they were a matching set.
Himiko's costume took the form of a short blood red Kimono in the same style as Izumi's, only with short sleeves too. It somewhat resembled the popular image of Kunoichi, and it left her arms and legs free. Himiko wore spats and a sports bra under it, and also wore shinobi style bracers and sandals with tabi socks. She covered her mouth and nose with a mask with a Hannya style mouth over it. The mask contained the ends of several clear plastic tubes that connected to a set of kunai strapped to her thighs. Each kunai looked like a normal weapon at first glance, but a brief twist of the handle would open the tip and reveal a hypodermic needle designed for quickly and painlessly draining blood and allowing Himiko to suck it up via the mask. The costume was completed by Himiko's messy twin buns hair style and a pair of tantos on the small of her back, where the sash of her Kimono was tied into a big bow. The whole costume gave her a Kunoichi/Vampire look.
Katsuki's costume was a combo of Japanese Samurai and more modern military commando gear. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with a light samurai style breastplate over the top and a bandolier designed to look like it was made from Japanese firecrackers. His pants were baggy and tucked into his boots, which were shaped like a commando's. The pants were black and decorated with flame patterns in a traditional Japanese art style rather than the traditional army camo. The boots themselves were designed to resemble the same sandals and tabi socks that Izumi and Himiko sported, but while maintaining the protection of proper boots. His knees had metal guards shaped like Oni faces (so he could "kill with his knees!" as he described it) and each arm sported a heavy glove connected to a different kind of giant weaponised bracer. His right bracer resembled an old fashioned cannon with an opening shaped like a serpentine dragon's maw on the top, while the left bracer resembled a revolving chamber made from metal firecrackers or dynamite. The costume was completed by a simple black and orange eye mask that was shaped like a blast.
"Himiko! Kacchan! You guys look awesome!" Izumi praised.
"Tell me about it! Those are some manly costumes!" Eijiro complimented, unable to tear his eyes away from Katsuki's, much to the explosive boy's happiness.
"It came out pretty good. The fabric is tough, but comfy. You'd never guess this stuff was all synthesised from my hair and cells!" Himiko said, stretching her muscles. By making her costume out of her own cells, it could transform with her, meaning Himiko could finally imitate the clothes of others without ending up naked afterwards.
"Requiring clothing made from your own body must be difficult! I applaud your dedication!" Tenya proclaimed.
"Easy there, Robo Cop. Still, the Japanese look suits you three way too well." Hitoshi said, wandering over.
Hitoshi's Hero Costume was an armoured black body suit with combat boots, studded gauntlets, a variety of utility pouches containing useful tools, and a hood that also contained a full face visor designed like a one way mirror, so he could see through it while others would just seem themselves reflected. It was a very simple costume, but considering his quirk relied on his opponent not being ready for him, Hitoshi didn't want to be too recognisable, so everything was picked to be useful but somewhat generic.
"Looking good, Hitoshi. Are you ready for a fight?" Himiko asked.
"So long as I'm not fighting robots, I think I can handle it. So, want to give us a hint on what we're doing, Sensei?" the purple haired boy asked with a smirk.
Izumi blushed as the students of 1-A chuckled. It had become a sort of game through the week to call Izumi Sensei teasingly and see how she reacted, since it varied from cute whining to playful chasing in Wolf Form. Since she technically was their sensei at the moment though, she didn't do more than blush a little.
"You'll see. No hints for students that make fun of their teachers!" Izumi said, sticking her nose in the air and speaking in a tone of faux-distaste. The Students of Class 1-A (or at least the less serious ones) snickered and continued to follow her, making idle chit chat as they walked.
Moments later, the group assembled outside Training Ground Beta, the exact same mock city that Ochako, Tenya, and a few others in their class had taken the Practical Exam in, and found All-Might waiting outside… along with twenty other students in costume; Class 1-B.
Izumi smiled at the sight, then closed her eyes to sense the spiritual power of the second First Year Class, as this was the first time she'd seen them all together outside of the fiasco earlier in the week. She quickly opened her eyes wide; in terms of spiritual strength, these twenty were as powerful as Class 1-A! In fact, with All-Might standing so close to them, it was almost impossible to tell exactly which group was stronger. It was quite a unique group too; there was a girl with vines for hair, a large bestial man, and a large person whose skin was yellow and had a head resembling a weird mix of a Jack-O-lantern and the cap from a tube of glue. Izumi's friends vaguely recognised that last one from Togaru's descriptions, and of course, Togaru himself was in the class too, along with Setsuna Tokage and Juzo Honenuki; the other Recommendation Students.
"Ah! Right on time." All-Might said, gesturing for Class 1-A to group up on his right while the other kids were on his left, "You all look wonderful. Now, you've likely all noticed that there are two groups of you here."
"Yeah, what's up with that? You guys are 1-A, right?" asked a silver haired boy with sharp teeth and some kind of thick beige lining around his eyes.
"That's right." Kaminari nodded, "I guess that makes you 1-B."
"Now now, I will introduce you! You two groups are the two new Heroics Classes! Class 1-A to my right and Class 1-B to my left!" All-Might introduced.
The two Classes immediately began to eye each other more seriously, sizing each other up. Izumi stepped away from her class and took her place at All-Might's side, smiling softly as the students examined one another. They'd been too distracted by the fights when they met earlier in the week, so this was their first real time seeing each other.
"So we'll be having an Interclass Lesson today? I thought that was unusual in First Year." Momo asked.
"It is. According to the curriculum of past years, hero students don't tend to have joint class lessons until they've gotten their Provisional Licenses, but because of the incident on Tuesday, we've had no choice but to double up you guys, or split up All-Might and I." Izumi explained, smoothly shifting into the role of Amaterasu-sensei.
"Since Amaterasu is an Assistant Teacher, she isn't actually permitted to teach practical Hero Classes by herself, so splitting up wasn't truly an option. The Principal instead gave us approval to make your first practical Hero Lesson an Interclass Combat Trial!" All-Might declared with a broad smile, "Of course, there was one special condition for this trial!"
"What condition would that be?" asked a blond boy from Class 1-B. He looked fairly normal, though he had a smug expression. His costume was fairly interesting; a fancy black tuxedo that was double breasted and had coattails that stretched down to his ankles.
All-Might's grin widened; "That I wouldn't be paying any attention to your class divide. In this lesson, you are all one big class! No 1-A or 1-B, which means you will most certainly be working with people you've never met against those you've become friends with!"
Few people looked happy about that, especially the blond boy who'd questioned All-Might. Only Katsuki, Eijiro, and Togaru seemed interested, as they were the only ones with friends in other classes. Before anyone could react or argue, the Pro continued on with the lesson.
"Today's Combat Trial will take the form of Indoor Anti-Personnel Combat! Now, I'm sure you're all aware that Villain Battles are usually seen outdoors, but statistically speaking, the cleverer and more dangerous villains tend to commit their crimes indoors, away from witnesses. That's why most villain battles aren't actually witnessed by the Public at all." All-Might explained, "Originally, we'd have divided you all into two man teams and had you fight each other in a series of indoor battles, but since that would lead to ten full battles, I've decided to have you form five man teams instead."
A black haired boy, whose costume made him resemble a Chinese Jiangshi, spoke up; "So we'll be fighting each other?"
"Without basic training first?" Tsu added, tilting her head questioningly.
"The best way to teach the basics is with some good ol' practical experience." All-Might pumped his fist.
Seeing the fear cross some of the students' faces, Amaterasu cut in; "This is your first Combat class, so we're also using it to get an idea of your skill in combat. Think of it like an assessment. Those who struggle here will be given extra help in this area, while those who excel might need help in other areas like Rescue. One of the advantages of having two teachers is that we can split our attention. Just do your best today and we'll give you the support you need."
That relaxed most of the fearful students, though many still looked unsure of themselves. The more confident combat types were already beginning to stretch and prepare for a good fight with varying levels of excitement. Unfortunately, All-Might and Amaterasu were soon bombarded by questions too fast for them to answer.
Yaoyorozu raised her hand; "What are the victory conditions?"
"Is there anything we're not allowed to do?" asked an orange haired girl wearing a turquoise sleeveless qipao and black corset.
"Can I just blow everyone away?" Katsuki growled.
"Is violence mandatory?" asked the Vine Girl.
"I-Is there a threat of expulsion, like with Aizawa-sensei?" Ochako asked nervously.
"How should we divide ourselves into teams?" asked Tenya, the only other person to bother raising his hand.
"Um, you speak slow please? Mine Japanese is no very good." said a blonde girl with horns and a horse's hind legs instead of a human's.
"Doesn't this cape look fabulous on me?" Aoyama added.
All-Might's smile faltered as he tried to keep track of all the questions; "One at a time! I don't have super hearing!" he complained.
"Ugh, I do, but I can't talk that fast!" Amaterasu groaned, pulling her wolf ears flat against her head.
The Number One Pro pulled out a slip of paper and began reading it; "Let's see… heroes vs villains, time limit, fake bomb… wait, this is the old trial! Goddamn it. Where did I…?" All-Might crumpled the paper and tossed it away, before searching his pockets for the correct one.
Izumi sweat-dropped; "A cheat sheet? Do your best, Toshinori!"
After a few seconds of awkwardness, All-Might found the right slip and began reading it; "Here we go! The forty of you will be divided into eight teams of five students, with each team having at least two members from each class. You'll then face each other in indoor matches with the goal of securing several fake civilians. Victory is decided by whoever has the most fake civilians in their possession by the end of the timer, or by whichever team successfully captures or defeats all five members of the opposite team. One team will be the Defenders and start off inside a building and in possession of all the civilians; you are the Heroes trying to stop Villains from kidnapping VIPs! The other team will start outside and will invade the building as the Attackers; you are also Heroes, but you're trying to rescue hostages!"
"So both teams are Heroes?" Eijiro asked.
"Yes! Originally the trial called for one team to be considered Villains, but Amaterasu pointed out that it would send the wrong message and suggested a twist. We both thought this twist would help you feel nice and heroic!" All-Might smiled, "From your team's perspective, you're heroes fighting villains, while your enemies will think the same. It's really just to psyche you up!"
"There is some logic to it too, since Heroes have to rescue Hostages and protect VIPs all the time." grinned Setsuna Tokage. The girl was wearing a dark blue bodysuit made from scales and a matching eye-mask, which gave her a kind of reptilian look.
"Correct! Now, you can move the Fake Civilians as you like, but if they are damaged or destroyed then they count as being permanently in the possession of whichever team DIDN'T kill them. Harming, or god forbid killing the people you're meant to be protecting/saving is the biggest taboo a Hero can commit, so be careful in there!" All-Might declared, wagging his finger.
"Lastly, even if they're unconscious, a Hero is only considered captured when you've bound them with this: Capture Tape!" Amaterasu said, revealing a small roll of bright yellow tape that had CAPTURE repeatedly written on it in block capitals
The Heroes then revealed a pair of small boxes containing slips of paper; "We'll be drawing lots to decide your teams." All-Might grinned.
"Isn't that rather haphazard?" Tenya asked.
"Pro Heroes are often required to assist others they may not have worked with, such as on the spot emergencies or on occasions where their quirks are needed." Amaterasu reasoned.
"Plus, this is only our first week together and the first practical; there probably isn't enough information on our skills and personalities to make informed team decisions." the large, beast-like boy said, fixing his goggles as he spoke. Himiko smiled at him; she wasn't sure if the shaggy brown fur on his upper body was his costume or his bare body, but either way it made him look a werewolf, which she thought was appropriate; 1-B had a Werewolf and 1-A had her, a Vampire!
"Oh, my mistake! I apologise for getting ahead of myself!" Tenya declared.
All-Might just sighed, "It's fine, but let's get this going! Team A is..." the Hero pulled three random names out of his box while Amaterasu pulled two from hers; "Yuga Aoyama, Tsuyu Asui and Ochako Uraraka from 1-A and Sen Kaibara and Shihai Kuroiro from Class 1-B!"
Ochako turned to look at her new teammates; Kaibara looked like a fairly normal boy with brown hair and black eyes, with his Hero Costume appearing as a hooded trench coat over black shirt and light coloured pants, as well as gloves with drill-like fingers. The second teammate, Shihai Kuroiro, was much more unique, with pitch black skin and fluffy white hair. His hero costume was a black jumpsuit and light coloured shoes and wristbands, making him look like a walking shadow. Kuroiro grinned sinisterly, while Kaibara just looked bored, which didn't give Ochako much confidence.
The teachers then drew five more names from the box and Amaterasu read them aloud, "Your opponents will be Team B, consisting of Mina Ashido and Tenya Iida from Class 1-A, and Yosetsu Awase, Togaru Kamakiri and Itsuka Kendo from Class 1-B!"
The Midoriya Lunch Squad (the nickname given to Izumi, Katsuki, Himiko, Hitoshi, Eijiro, Ochako, Tenya, and Togaru since they always ate lunch together, with Toru and Momo becoming members too after the first day) all looked slightly worried. This was the first time they'd have to fight each other, since Ochako was on one team and Tenya and Togaru were on the opposite team. Logically, they knew they'd have to at some point, and it was highly likely due to the size of the group, but that didn't mean they were fully prepared to face one another. Well, except Katsuki and Togaru, but they were Combat Junkies so they didn't count.
The two Class B students on Tenya's team that he didn't know looked fairly normal: Itsuka Kendo was the orange haired girl in the blue qipao and corset, while Yosetsu Awase was a boy with spiky black hair and grey eyes, dressed in a baggy body suit that went past his chin and had several plates attached to the torso, as well as a large utility pouch on the side of his waist. Compared to his classmates, Togaru's costume wasn't too strange considering his normal appearance; it comprised of plain black pants and boots as well as a large ragged black cloak that covered much of his body, though his bare arms were exposed. Kendo looked fairly confident in her skills, while Togaru looked eager to start. Compared to the more timid looking members of Ochako's Team A, Team B was a lot more battle ready.
"Since the first two teams has been decided, let's get this show on the road! Everyone take one of these." All-Might instructed as Amaterasu began handing an earpiece to the ten students preparing to fight; "With these, we'll be able to instruct you. We'll also provide both teams with a map of the building. Everyone else, follow us to the Observation Room."
Those not fighting yet obediently followed the teachers to the aforementioned location, finding themselves in a room filled with various monitors and a large terminal full of different controls. Once everyone was inside, Amaterasu used the earpieces to direct the combatants to their battleground, which was one of several identical empty buildings with numerous wide open floors and a stairwell between them. When the teams arrived at their building, Team B was assigned as the Defenders and given five minutes to prepare themselves inside the building while Team A prepared outside. The cameras in the area didn't record audio, so only All-Might and Amaterasu could actually hear what they were saying via the earpieces, but everyone in the Observation Room could still see them.
Katsuki stood beside Himiko; "Got any predictions on who'll win?" he asked.
Himiko shook her head; "I'm not sure. I don't know most of their quirks or skills, so I can't really guess how it'll go. Judging by the quirks I know, and what I can glean of their personalities via body language, I think Ochako's Team A might have an advantage? Ochako and Tsu can move vertically really easily, which is great for urban stuff, and Aoyama is a long-range guy. On Team B, Tenya, Ashido, and Togaru are all close combat types, so it might be tough for them, but without knowing the rest of the 1-B guys' quirks, I'm not confident enough to make a real guess."
Hitoshi nodded from the other side of her; "Yeah, the 1-B guys are unknowns, so we can't really predict what they'll do. Looks like Team B is working better together though; that Kendo Girl is leading them well." he said, eyeing the monitors and watching the orange haired girl directing her teammates, who listened obediently.
"Kendo is the best! She's our Class Rep!" piped up a girl with long brown hair, cut into a bob that covered her eyes, and dressed in a red and white cap and dress, which resembled a toadstool.
Before anyone from 1-A could react with surprise that 1-B already had a Class Representative, All-Might declared the beginning of the first battle, and everyone's attention was shifted to the monitors.
In the field, Ochako took a deep breath as she prepared to fight. Kaibara and Kuroiro had given brief explanations of their quirks: Kaibara had Gyrate, which allowed him to spin any part of his body like a drill, while Kuroiro had Black, a quirk that allowed him to merge his body with anything that was coloured black, and move around within the object at will. With those quirks combined with Aoyama, Tsu and Ochako, they made for a fairly balanced team so they had come up with a decent plan.
Kuroiro and Tsu would use their skills with stealth to scout the building for the locations of the enemy team and the Faux-Civilians, then relay the information to their teammates. Ochako would then use Zero Gravity to float Kaibara and Aoyama to the most appropriate access point so they could attack. Aoyama would use his Naval Laser to fight from a distance, and if an opponent got close enough, Kaibara would swoop in and engage them in hand-to-hand combat while Ochako floated the Civilians out of the building.
For the first five minutes of the twenty minute trial, their plan went well. Kuroiro merged with the shadows and successfully found Mina guarding all the civilians by herself, while Tsu managed to creep around and find Tenya with Togaru on the lower floors. There was no sign of Awase or Kendo, which worried Ochako, but Kaibara and Aoyama were confident, so she continued with the plan; floating both of them up to the window of the room Mina was in.
Mina yelped in surprise as Aoyama shot her in the back with his laser, which melted through the glass, and ended up slamming hard into the floor when she fell, falling unconscious. Aoyama preened over his flashy victory while Kaibara quickly used his quirk to spin one of his fingers and cut a large circle into the glass, giving enough room for the heroes to actually enter. He then glanced around to see if anyone else was around, and upon finding no one, looked out the window to Ochako.
"Uraraka, coast is clear. Get up here." he said. Ochako nodded and took a few deep breathes to settle her stomach before removing her gravity and floating up to the window. After carefully floating through the window and restoring her gravity, Ochako prepared to float the Civilian Dolls, which were essentially robots shaped like humans, so she could get them out. Unfortunately, that's when their plan fell apart.
A pillar from the floor above suddenly slid down from the ceiling and landed with a loud thud in front of the window, before being fixed in place by something that fused the concrete of the floor to the pillar. Kaibara touched it and frowned.
"This is Awase's work. His quirk is Weld, and lets him fuse objects together as if welding them." he explained.
"Can you break it?" Ochako asked.
"Yeah, but this is thick concrete; it'll take time for me to drill through." Kaibara answered.
Aoyama merely shrugged, "Then should we not use the door instead? No need to get ourselves all filthy with dust; it would ruin my sparkle."
Ochako frowned; they'd need to lug the civilians out of the room and to another window, assuming they weren't all blocked, and there was a good chance they'd be ambushed. On the other hand, since their team technically had control of all the Civilians now, they could just wait out the timer, but then they would be spending almost fifteen minutes standing around in a large room that they'd have to defend from four enemies, and if Tenya got to them, it would be a pain to pin him down in such a large space; the room was just barely big enough that Tenya would be able to manoeuvrer without losing his speed advantage. Indecisiveness gripped her, and she opted to contact Tsu and Kuroiro for additional information.
"Tsu, Kuroiro; come in. Our primary exit route's been blocked by a pillar, and it'll take time to clear and it'll make a lot of noise. We need to know if there's another, safer route. What's the situation outside?" she asked.
There was a moment of silence, then Kuroiro spoke over the earpiece; "Kehehe, clever little trap makers. They mean to make this our tomb. Kendo and Awase still elude me; I will hunt them down and report back."
Ochako shuddered. 'That guy is creepy!' she thought. Then Tsu spoke.
"Ochako, Iida is making his way to the top floor, the one directly above you. I lost sight of Kamakiri; he turned a corner and vanished before I could follow him. I'll follow Iida, but keep your eyes open for Kamakiri." Tsu warned.
"No, leave that to Kuroiro." Kaibara chimed in, having heard everything through his own earpiece, "He can't be hurt while inside an object unless the object is destroyed. Leave him to scout and come back us up: we'll need more people if we get ambushed."
"Do you have any ideas, Kaibara?" Ochako asked.
The boy shook his head; "No, but the fact we haven't seen Kendo yet freaks me out. Her Quirk is Big Fist, which let's her increase the size of her hands and makes her stronger in proportion to the size of her hands. If she's hiding and not attacking us while Ashido was left to defend the Civilians alone, then something's up. She's smart and a good fighter. That and her being dependable is why we made her our Class Rep."
Ochako frowned and thought of Izumi; smart, strong and dependable was a good description of her too. Her thoughts were interrupted by a very nervous Aoyama.
"Um, it appears that Ashido has disappeared." he said, pointing to the place Ashido had been knocked out.
Ochako and Kaibara gaped at him. "Didn't you check that she was knocked out?" Ochako asked.
"Non, I struck her with my glorious quirk, I thought it pointless to confirm it." Aoyama admitted.
Kaibara grit his teeth; "And you didn't bother with the Capture Tape either, right? All-Might and Amaterasu said specifically that they aren't captured unless you tape them; unconscious or not!" he yelled. Mina had likely escaped in the distraction caused by the pillar blocking the window.
Just as they were all realising that mistake, a loud rumbling and crashing caught their attention. Ochako's hand flew to her earpiece; "Guys, what was that!?"
"The staircase leading from your floor to the top floor has been collapsed." Kuroiro reported.
"All of Team B must be up there. But where could they be hiding? There was nothing but a single room and an empty hallway." Tsu added.
"What the heck is going on?" Ochako grumbled. She thought about her opponents: Tenya had speed with Engine, Ashido could make Acid, Awase could weld things together and Kendo had big hands that gave her strength. None of that would give them the ability to hide so effectively… a piece was still missing.
"Kaibara, what is Togaru's quirk?" Ochako asked, realising she'd never asked the mantis boy while they were hanging out with their mutual friends.
"Razor Sharp. He can produce blades from anywhere on his body. They're sharp enough to cut stone and thin metal, plus they are pretty tough. From what he's said in class, Kamakiri said he was aiming on cutting thicker metals." Kaibara answered.
Ochako's eyes widened, "Would they be sharp enough to cut concrete?"
"Almost certainly… what are you thinking?" the boy asked.
"The blueprints we were given. I didn't memorise them completely, but each building is supposed to be five identical floors: a stairwell on the west and an L-shaped hallway that ran along the west and south sides of the building, right?" Ochako explained.
"Yeah, and the rest of each floor is divided into two large rooms, each with a window to the north and a door to the hallway to the south." Kaibara finished.
Ochako nodded; "So how come Tsu only found a single room on the top floor?"
Kaibara gasped; "No way… how'd they hide an entire room?"
"Not the room; just the entrance! Everything in this place is uniform concrete." Ochako pointed to the pillar blocking the window; it was identical in appearance to the walls and the other pillars in the room. "I think your classmates did it themselves: Kamakiri cut the pillars, Kendo moved them with her strength and then Awase welded them in place. If they did it well enough, they could have hidden the door completely." Ochako explained.
That was the moment Tsu arrived. "Kuroiro is using the shadows to get around the collapsed stairs. If you're theory is right, they probably got Kamakiri to cut the stairs apart once they thought you were about to figure them out." the Frog Girl said, adding to the theory.
At that moment, in a repeat of before, a pillar slid out from the ceiling and blocked the door, before being welded in place. With both the door and window trapped by pillars; Tsu, Ochako, Kaibara and Aoyama were trapped.
Kaibara grit his teeth; "They've been playing us this whole time. Leaving Ashido in here to guard the Civilians alone was just to make us let our guard down; they set the whole thing up to trap us!"
Ochako frowned in agreement. They'd likely cut the ceiling with Kamakiri's quirk, then carefully threaded the pillars into the holes and welded them so the base of the pillar looked like part of the ceiling. Once Team A was in position to be trapped, all Awase would have to do is deactivate the first weld, letting the pillar slide down, before re-welding it to stop them budging it easily. Team B had been in control from the very beginning, and with the exception of Kuroiro, had all of Team A trapped like rats.
"All is not lost!" Aoyama declared, "We possess the Civilians, and so long as we hold them for ten more minutes, we win."
"If Team B is smart enough to set this up, they're not going to be stupid enough to not predict something like that." Tsu pointed out.
"Nice of you to admit it!" shouted the voice of Kendo.
Suddenly a tiny hole, no wider than a pencil, began to expand as the concrete ceiling melted, revealing the entirety of Team B stood above them, looking down through the hole, which Mina was melted with her acid. Kendo grinned down at Team A; "Thanks for not checking on Ashido. If you'd caught her, we wouldn't have the numbers advantage."
Ochako grimaced as the five members of Team B looked ready to fight. They'd been listening to every word they'd said through that hole from the very beginning! Her dread only increased when Awase moved to show Kuroiro, bound with Capture Tape.
"No! How'd you catch him!?" Ochako demanded.
"Once Kendo worked out what shadow he was hiding in, all I had to do was cut open a little skylight to destroy his shadow and force him out before he could move. Tenya got him before he could think of escaping." Togaru grinned viciously.
Tenya shook his head sadly, his expression hidden by his helmet; "I apologise, Ochako, but in this exercise, we are enemies!"
"So now it's five VS four and we control the battlefield. Surrender now, and we'll just capture you and end this. Fight, and you might get hurt!" Kendo declared, moving into a combat stance.
Before anyone else could answer, Aoyama shot his laser at the enemy team, almost hitting Kendo in the chest. Thankfully for the Class 1-B Rep, Togaru immediately created a blade from his forearm and blocked the beam with the flat side. Taking that as a sign that Team A wouldn't be surrendering, Team B leapt down into the room.
The next few moments could only be described as a massacre.
Togaru attacked Aoyama, using blades that were blunt on the sides and only sharp at the tip so he could hit the Blond Boy without worry of serious injury. Aoyama responded by shrieking and firing his laser desperately, almost hitting teammates and enemies alike while sending himself flying in all directions due to not bracing himself before firing. The laser frenzy ended up striking Tsuyu, who was stunned long enough for Ashido to wrap Capture Tape around the girl. After seeing that he'd hit Tsu, Aoyama stopped firing but as he had no hand-to-hand combat skills, he was almost immediate clubbed over the head by Togaru and captured, reducing Team A to two members.
While this was happening, Kaibara was attempted to defend Ochako from the combined onslaught of Tenya, Kendo and Awase, and the two were putting up a valiant defence. Kaibara kept his hands and fingers spinning at top speeds, taking chunks of concrete out of the walls, which Ochako floated with her quirk and made rain down on the opponent. This worked to keep Team B at bay for a few minutes, but then Kendo put a hand above herself and increased the size to her maximum, blocking the remaining concrete chunks. Then, Awase feigned a failed dodge, forcing Kaibara to stop his quirk before he accidentally gouged out a chunk of his classmate. Awase responded by grabbing Kaibara's hands by the fingers and forcing him to the ground, where he welded the Drill Boy's metal gloves to the ground leaving him open for a swift capture by Tenya.
That left Ochako as the last remaining member of Team A, facing all five members of Team B, all of whom had quirks that could either defeat her in combat or at least stop her escaping while the rest beat her down. With a heavy heart, Ochako whispered an apology to her teammates and went to Plan B. During the fight, she had used her quirk to float as many as the fake civilians as she could and corral them into the hole Team B had jumped down through. This had gotten a few of the Civilians out of the fight, so Team B hadn't stopped her, but now Ochako floated herself up to join the Civilians she'd rescued.
Kendo's eyes widened as she realised Ochako's plan: Team B had blocked the door and window on the top floor with the Pillars, which had now slid down to block the door and window on the fourth floor instead, leaving the upper escape routes open. Ochako, floating out of Team B's reach, gathered the few Civilians she'd managed to get out of the fight and escaped with them out the window of the upper floor.
Ochako floated herself and the Civilians down to the ground outside the building, but before she could try to salvage a victory, All-Might 's voice echoed across the entire training ground via the speaker system.
"TIMES UP! THE MATCH IS OVER! THE VICTOR IS… TEAM B, WITH 70% OF THE CIVILIANS!"
The auburn haired girl slumped disappointedly to the ground… before vomiting from overusing her quirk.
"Oof. Uraraka, I have some stomach soothers ready for when you get back. Take it easy and rest a bit." Amaterasu announced, having to refer to the girl more formally since she was acting as a teacher.
Ochako whined quietly to herself; she'd lost and now she's thrown up in front of both classes AND the girl she admired. All in all, it was a pretty sad end to Ochako's first Hero Class…
Now it was time to return to the others and face the music for their failure...
Next Chapter: The Interclass Combat Trial Part 2
To be Released: January 5th 2022
I'm back! New Year, New Chapter! I hope everyone had a good holiday and new year! Here's hoping 2022 is less of an Endeavor than 2021!
We start the new year with the rest of Arc 9, specifically the first year combat trial! This is a fairly lengthy, four parter with every chapter having a battle between two teams! I included 1-B in this so that they get an early spotlight, and to make the canon events more interesting! Plus it worked out well with the classes being pushed back because of the Third Years' short lived rebellion! I also decided to mix and match the teams instead of having it be 1-A VS 1-B, just for the fun of it.
We also see Hero Costumes for Himiko, Katsuki, and Hitoshi! I went the Japanese route for the blond duo, since they've been influenced by Izumi and her own love of that aesthetic. Katsuki's is mostly a pallet swap of his canon outfit with some extras though, and Himiko's incorporates elements of her villain costume. For Hitoshi, I thought it would be best for him to have something simple and easily forgettable, since he's be better off as non-descript as possible, to stop himself being recognised.
Fun Fact: I made the teams almost completely at random! This led to some interesting combat encounters, so I hope you enjoyed reading them!
Next chapter, we will see the critique from the teachers for this first bout, and the entirety of the second one, in which a team of almost all brawlers go up against a much more balanced team of specialists!
Thank you all once again, and I look forward to reading your thoughts on this chapter and the ones to come!