Just so y'all don't think I was joking about the whole story coming back thing, here we have another chapter. Please enjoy!
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, Spectator Area, 1420.
"FIRST ROUND! START!"
"You are way too into this, Vlad…" Eraserhead noted tiredly as he watched his coworker gearing up for the announcer gig that Present Mic normally filled in for.
Regardless, teachers and students alike now eyed the CCTV with great care. Stakes were high, and, at least in a manner of speaking, this was Shinso's debut. His first step towards his hero dream.
"So, anything you can tell us about the mind twister up there in the screens?" Sero did a half turn and asked, his attention still mostly focused on the battle that had just begun.
A few other students, from both classes, did the same. Machibuse, who just had sat down onto the railing was, for better or worse, their best shot at obtaining some intel on how far Shinso had progressed since his last showing back during the Sports Festival.
"Hmm. The is no need for this information to be classified anymore since you will be seeing it for yourselves." Machibuse pondered for a moment, eyes still focused on the screen that displayed Class A's team moving through the maze.
"Classified?" Kinoko Komori of Class B parroted, tilting her head slightly. Not everyone in the classroom across the hallway was really all that used to the military jargon and protocol speech.
"Been a while since I heard him using that one." Ashido leaned closer and whispered to Yaoyorozu.
"Old habits die hard, but I'd say Hakuba is improving." she responded with an awkward chuckle.
"So, how strong is the guy?" Mineta asked away.
"The Major's Brainwash has its flaws, of course, but no matter how you look at it, it is still a threat. Although I suppose this is not news to any of you." Machibuse began the explanation.
"Yeah, some of us got hit by it back then. But if he is wearing a Capturing Weapon like Eraserhead-sensei, then something has changed." Tetsutetsu pointed out.
"Ignore his stupid Quirk and he is just a pushover." Bakugo sneered. Yet, he paid close attention to the discussion. Shitty Deku had broken free of the Brainwash, but Bakugo now knew that there were other factors in play back in that fight.
"Not exactly. I would not put it above the Major's capabilities to beat a good deal of the non-combat oriented here, even if we are excluding Brainwash as a factor. He got faster, stronger and learned to handle his gear rather quickly. That he has defeated me once while we sparred proves that he can think on his feet." Machibuse responded, the crowd now focused on the broadcast.
As if to add emphasis to what Machibuse had just spoken, Shinso's new tool had come into play. And Shishida feel for the Brainwash.
Machibuse didn't knew the official name for Hatsume's prized "Adorable and Precious Baby Number Two-hundred and Sixty", but it surely was an incredible step up from the traffic cone that originated the idea.
He felt mildly nostalgic. It was a strange defeat, but defeat nonetheless.
Yet his brow furrowed slightly.
Shinso took an instant too long to act, and that resulted in him being trapped for the remaining of the exchange.
Machibuse just took a small sigh as he watched both teams disengaging for the moment. The score was two to one in favor of Class B.
"The issue, however, is that dedication and bravado do not fill in for experience."
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, Spectator Area, 1430.
In the end, Class 1-A managed to turn the tables and secure victory. But for most of the team it didn't feel like victory at all as they lined up in front of their teacher.
"Talk about what you learned or would've done differently." Aisawa more-or-less demanded as he stood in front of the winning team.
"If I'm not trying to brawl with my opponent, it is hard for my Quirk to be useful at all. If this were the real thing, I would've been killed the instant Shiozaki caught me." Kirishima spoke painfully as he took off his headgear.
"I need to be able to give more detailed orders to bugs." Koda admitted timidly. The boy had done well in getting over his fears, but that didn't mean he had already made up for the time he refused to use his powers in that sense.
"I did great, right? Didn't I make you love me? Go ahead and love me!" then there was Kaminari, the reason as to why only most and not all of the team wasn't feeling down. He went on for a while.
"Losing both Koda-chan and Kirishima-chan… I wish I could've won without losing anyone. We were all over the place." Asui gave her conclusion with visible weight on her shoulders.
"The binding cloth… I couldn't even use a tenth of what I learned. It's frustrating." Shinso also had a word. Not only he was to participate in the training, but apparently he would be judged alongside the heroes-in-training to feel the full experience.
"If you could do it right away, then there wouldn't be necessary for you to work hard. It took me six years to master it. Don't forget this frustration but move on." Aisawa offered some solace towards his pupil.
"Yes, sir." Shinso nodded.
Then the teacher moved towards the class proper.
Watching the scene were the remaining students of Class 1-A.
"The two that went to work for the pros this semester have serious reflections." Aoyama pointed out.
"Isn't that what you expected? Shie Hassai-something…? I heard it was a pretty intense fight, and if you experience something like that it changes you." Sero gave a surprisingly serious response.
"We are bound to see people dying in this line of work, unfortunately. It is hard to not let that get to you." Machibuse nodded in accordance.
"And on the other hand, we have Jamming-yay. Out of place as always…" Jiro added, a hand in front of her mouth to hide her laughter.
In a moment the teacher had finished his commentary and moved on. There would be a brief pause, and soon round two would commence.
With that in mind, Machibuse took a moment to properly speak to today's main character. And perhaps give him a breather from Monoma.
"Monoma-san, mind if I steal him for a minute." Machibuse greeted in his usual monotone voice as he approached, both hands pocketed as he walked.
"As long as you do not use your leverage over him to sabotage our plans to overtake your despicable class." Monoma cordially jabbed as he excused himself.
"Please tell me that this is some inside joke from the Hero Course and this guy is not trying to start a war between the classes every chance he gets." Shinso took a deep breath as he pointed towards Monoma with his thumb.
"I would be lying if I said so." Machibuse resisted the urge to sigh.
"Great… Still, how are you? The stuff about you grandmother is already making the rounds in the trenches outside your class." Shinso asked, mild awkwardness in his voice as he reached for the back of his head. These topics were never easy to touch upon.
"I have been worse. Although I have come to ask you the same question. Is this what you expected from the Hero Course?" Machibuse mostly avoided the question before posing his own.
"It is… different from the usual sparring, that is for sure. Can't say I didn't feel like dead weight back there. That and I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be my entrance exam." Shinso's shoulders tightened as he laid out his suspicions.
"I see. It would explain why Aisawa-sensei wanted to make sure both classes would be attending in full." Machibuse informed, much to the Major's chagrin.
It wasn't as if the boy hadn't been nervous enough already.
"Just a moment ago you said something about not being able to use everything you learned… even if it is frustrating, keep in mind that this is what training is for. That you managed to employ a tenth of what you learned over the last few months in your first real hero activity is praiseworthy already. I have been an archer for almost ten years now, and there is still ground for me to cover before I can call myself a master." Machibuse offered, realizing what likely was going on inside Shinso's mind.
"And that is the second time you gave me the motivational speech. I guess it is good to have some encouragement." Shinso quirked an eyebrow in a mix of surprise and amusement.
"I am merely stating a fact." Machibuse dismissed.
"And you still suck at accepting compliments." Shinso added.
The broadcast turned back on.
"Round two should start soon." Machibuse quickly shifted the conversation towards another topic, now turning towards the screen.
"Your girlfriend is fighting in this one, right?… Actually, girlfriend or ex-girlfriend? You and her ever sorted that stuff out?" Shinso caught himself mid question. There was always gossip about the students from U.A.'s crown jewel, but he never really had cared for that stuff.
"We are together, yes." Machibuse responded simply.
"Spoke with her only once or twice. So far I'd say she balances out your weirdness." Shinso shrugged as Vlad King gave the match a go.
Machibuse just responded with a deadpan stare.
"Am I wrong? From what I puzzled out from your class's social dynamics, she and the guy with the glasses are the responsible ones. The girl that was on my team… Asui? Is that right? Also fits that bill well." Shinso assumed.
"You are not wrong." Machibuse nodded as the screens now showed the team from Class 1-A on the move.
"So, how does she fight?" Shinso asked, creating some small talk as to keep Monoma from realizing that he was available once again. Shinso needed at least a minute or two more before diving back into the seemingly bottomless pit of ranting that was the blonde.
"Momo is more of a strategist than a frontliner. That role falls to Tokoyami-san and Aoyama-san for now." Machibuse explained, noticing how Dark Shadow began scouting the battlefield now.
"So you are not the only one in class that likes to trip people up with schemes? Good to know…" Shinso sighed and resumed watching the match.
Machibuse just paused to pay attention on the broadcast as things began going sideways for his class.
In an instant Momo began giving away orders to get the situation back under control.
"People say I am a bad influence when it comes to that. But honestly, I am just the scout behind enemy lines… She is the general making sure that the platoon will be coming back safely."
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, 1500.
Today was a strange day when it came down to victory.
Class A had won the first round but came back with two captured teammates and overall feeling inadequate, with Shinso in tow feeling as if he had been just dead weight.
Class B made things even in the second match of the day. Momo had lost… but Kendo had been the one coming back as if defeated; her victory only happened because Tokoyami deliberately held back to not knock Komori out cold. Winning due an enemy deciding to stick to sparring etiquette didn't sit down well with the redhead.
Momo was spent. But this was different from what happened during the Sports Festival; even if her pride was a bit singed, her spirit was unbroken.
A shame Hakuba wouldn't be having the chance to be with her after such a battle. She needed to pass by Recovery Girl.
Likely she was making her way towards the spectator's area this very moment. Even if Momo ended up in rough shape, the delay between fights caused by the need to change locations was more than enough for her to heal and rest.
"Todoroki-kun? Are you alright? You had a puzzled look on your face for a moment." Iida called out, causing not only Todoroki to come back but also Machibuse to stop spacing out as the group walked.
Turns out that Machibuse also had to abstain from staying by his girlfriend's side for a moment because he too had his part to play in this joint training session.
It was his turn to fight.
"Really?" Todoroki asked back, mildly confused.
"Yeah. Are you worried about something?" Iida continued, being as mindful as always about people around him and wearing his badge of class president with pride.
"It's nothing. Thanks for asking." Todoroki responded.
Machibuse quirked an eyebrow, clearly it wasn't just "nothing", but he knew better than to push on these kinds of things.
"You on the other hand seem more cheerful than usual." Shoji pointed out, one mouth protruding from one of his extra arms.
"My brother's recovery has been going well." Iida informed with a clear smile on his face.
Machibuse couldn't help but smile underneath his mask. It wasn't his place to comment on Tensei's situation, given his own relationship with the Hero Killer, but it felt good to hear the news regardless.
"I have the duty to uphold my brother, Ingenium's honor. I'm watching everyone, but that means that everyone is watching me as back… I also got the third place back in the Sports Festival, this means I got to show the strong spirit of a successor!" Iida continued, now finally donning his trademark helmet.
"The spirit of a successor, huh… Who am I meant to succeed? Mother? Kamihara-san? The hag?... The Hero Killer?" Machibuse pondered. Truth be told, his mind was still a bit all over the place.
No rest for the wicked.
A deep breath.
Focus.
"You holding up?" Shoji turned towards him.
Machibuse just eyed him for a moment.
"We have a mission ahead of us, I will set my mind here for the moment." one masked teen responded to the other.
His three teammates shared a brief look.
"I have limited intel on the enemy. Kamakiri-san and Tetsutetsu-san are close range fighters, with the later taking on a similar approach to Kirishima-san. Tsunotori-san is more comfortable fighting at range, she is capable of controlling her horns after firing them but I am not sure to what extent… Honenuki-san is the biggest threat from a tactical standpoint, his Quirk will make it hard for us to move around and my combat tactics are particularly vulnerable to it." Machibuse informed, battle plans clearly going through his head.
"Softening is indeed a troublesome power." Iida agreed as the four lined up and waited for the signal to begin.
"Todoroki-san is likely their main concern, so it is safer to for the rest of us to pivot around him. The enemy however will foresee this and try to disturb our formation." Machibuse pointed out, now taking a moment to load his explosive arrow with something to knock people out. Tokoyami's mistake in the last round made it clear that playing nice wasn't an option.
"THIRD ROUND! FIGHT! GO GET'EM CLASS B!" Vlad King's voice echoed from the speakers scattered throughout the arena, accompanied by the protesting cries against his biased commentary being picked up in the background.
"Mission start. Twelve-hundred seconds remaining." Machibuse began the countdown.
Immediately the four were moving.
Shoji was quick to deployed extra eyes and ears to scout the area, but that soon became unnecessary.
All of them could hear the chaos very well, super hearing or not.
"Metal banging against metal. Tetsutetsu is tearing the place down." Shoji informed, the group now watching as one taller structure topple over.
"They want a head-on fight." Todoroki concluded as the four began moving once more.
"We should give it to them. The longer Honenuki is left to act, the more restricted our options become." Machibuse agreed, now using his Chelicerae to climb the piping over them.
"Not sounding much like you. Sure you don't want to circle around?" Shoji turned an eyed tentacle around as to watch the resident ambush expert of Class 1-A.
"The only path that is surely clear of traps is the one directly between the enemy team and their jail cell. I am the most exploitable in our team when it comes to the possible matchups, so me risking being caught alone would put us at disadvantage." Machibuse responded as he continued to vault and weave through the terrain.
"If anything happens, I will be there in an instant to assist you." Iida stated firmly.
Clarity flashed on Machibuse's eyes for an instant.
He stopped, and in a moment he was reaching for three arrows in the quiver at his back.
"Actually… I am now counting on the fact that you don't."
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, Spectator Area, 1504.
"Now, what is that scoundrel doing?" Monoma asked to no one in specific as he watched the broadcast with visible curiosity, where one of the screens showed Machibuse breaking a handful of his delivery arrows over his knee and handing out the arrowheads to his teammates.
"Beats me. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around half the stuff he pulls off." Kirishima admitted with an honest shrug.
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, 1505.
Class 1-A's team was closing in the location Shoji pinpointed, and by now Machibuse also had the enemy's scent locked on as well.
One last deep breath.
Todoroki reached back, then swung his arm low to the ground. The ensuing wave of ice cleaved a path through the terrain and was almost instantly covering the enemy team.
On any other day, that could've ended the fight.
"Had you decided to come after us with fire, this would be much more difficult." Honenuki commented in a somewhat relaxed tone as he pushed away the ice around him, turning the solid cold structure into something more akin to goop.
In an instant an arrow flew through the semi-liquified ice.
But that was intercepted by a large blade before it could reach Honenuki.
"Pretty obvious who you'd be targeting!" Kamakiri grinned as he leap forward towards the archer, using something hidden in the softened ice as footing.
Machibuse was quick to store his bow with one hand and draw his combat knife with the other. He braced for impact and prepared to retreat.
But the piping under his feet suddenly sunk.
On the corner of his eye he could see Honenuki attempting to trap both him and Iida.
If Kamakiri was the one coming after him, then that meant Machibuse was right about Todoroki being the enemy's main target. Tetsutetsu had a very favorable matchup against both recommended students in Class 1-A's team.
But Kamakiri was the only one able to keep up with Machibuse's mobility and pressure him. Class 1-B definitely didn't want someone sneaking into their backline and picking off people with arrows.
Blades collided.
Machibuse was sent sprawling through the softened pipe he was standing on.
In an instant he sprung back to his feet, just in time to avoid the falling debris caused by Kamakiri slashing the terrain on his way down.
"Nowhere to hide!" Kamakiri taunted, his attacks cleaving apart all possible cover.
For the moment Machibuse was stuck on the defensive, dodging and parrying the attacks directed his way, the terrain under his feet still wobbly making things very difficult. His few attempts to counterstrike were met by his Chelicerae impacting the flat side of the blades Kamakiri instinctively deployed to act as shields.
One deep breath as he guided a blade away with his knife and jumped away once more the instant he felt trully solid ground.
Iida was back where both teams first met, that he hadn't moved much meant that Honenuki wasn't far… his scent had vanished just a second ago, which was worrying.
Todoroki and Tetsutetsu weren't far from there either, the two likely locked in a one-on-one situation.
And lastly…
"Interested in changing up our partners for a moment? Third one from the back." Machibuse suggested nonchalantly as his back pressed against Shoji's and the two immediately pivoted around each other. It was only natural that both scouts wouldn't have any trouble finding each other even in this chaos.
Tsunotori Pony, with her surprisingly pleasant smell of apple pie was closing in.
"Grappling someone full of razors is not very appealing. On my signal." Shoji responded from a mouth close enough for only Machibuse to hear. With that he cracked the last flying horn sent after him and dashed towards his new enemy, all the while one of his arms extended into a tentacle that grew towards the ceiling.
"PONY, WATCH OUT!" Kamakiri shouted as he spotted his classmate turning around the corner, expecting to keep on chasing Shoji but instead meeting up with Machibuse reaching up for her ankles.
Machibuse wasn't only trying to escape, he and Shoji had been leading their respective opponents to the same place.
"Eek!" the girl immediately rose up into the air, riding one of her flying horns.
It was a close call, but something was definitely wrong as she now noticed a long tentacle wrapped around Machibuse's midsection.
On the opposite end of this tentacle was obviously Shoji, who despite the obviously terrible matchup continued to run towards Kamakiri.
Then there was a puff of pink smoke just as Kamakiri readied his weapons to fight his new opponent.
It was only then that Pony noticed the set of hands coming down on her as she rose up to avoid the venomous attack coming from below.
Shoji had snagged one of Machibuse's arrows when the two passed by one another. And just as the smoke blocked Kamakiri's view, Shoji whipped Machibuse towards him.
The two from Class 1-A never intended on changing opponents, they simply used each other to create the opening they needed.
"Jack Mantis! Jump!" Pony shouted in her visibly stressed Japanese as she fired her two horns towards the smoke in an attempt to save her blinded teammate. Soon after, hands pinned the newly grown pair on her head so she couldn't fire anymore.
Both Machibuse and the horns entered the smoke.
There was a clang.
And Kamakiri was pulled up by the horns, a coating of transparent, sticky liquid all over a blade jutting out from his foot. He managed to block Machibuse's knife at the very last second and his now pinned classmate managed to drag him away from the follow-up strike.
All the while Shoji closed in towards the girl to take her away.
It was just Kamakiri and the two floating horns versus Machibuse. The bladed teen couldn't waste a single second, because now Shoji just needed to run and secure the capture.
There was a small standstill that seemed to go on forever. The heat from Todoroki's fight now reaching their location.
Machibuse also had picked up the scent of Iida's exhausts.
His little plan was progressing wonderfully thus far.
And then the ground began to turn soft.
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, Spectator Area, 1507.
"HONENUKI COMES IN FOR THE SAVE!" Vlad King shouted enthusiastically as the tables turned.
"Vlad, calm down." Eraserhead tiredly commented.
"Those two came up with all that on the spot?" Tokage Setsuna couldn't deny she was impressed.
"They are both pretty good at improvising, but honestly I have no idea how they even read each other." Jiro guessed.
"Birds of a feather!" Kaminari quoted, proudly patting himself in the back for remembering something Shoji said the first time they sat down to have lunch together all the way back during the second day of school.
"Actually, those two sat down to plan a few tricks out after their fight against you and Todoroki-san before the Provisional License exam." a new voice came from the stairway.
"Yaomomo!" a couple of her classmates cheered up as Yaoyorozu returned from her trip to the infirmary. Still visibly tired, but the girl refused to be in bed any longer than strictly necessary.
"How's the match? I've only seen a bit of it from Recovery Girl's office." she asked, taking a moment to greet Hagakure, who just jumped in for a hug.
"About to turn sideways for your boyfriend." Kendo responded.
The cameras around the area where Todoroki and Tetsutetsu had been duking it out kept failing because of the heat, that meant that most of the observers where left to watch as Pony took the opportunity created by Honenuki to fire off another pair of horns.
And now four horns carried Machibuse towards the cage that belonged to Class 1-B.
Momo pressed her lips together in a flat line as she noticed how Hakuba had picked up both of the wire arrows strapped to his arm the instant Honenuki showed up.
She knew very well when her boyfriend was up to something.
"GET HIM PONY!" Vlad King once more took advantage of his position as announcer to egg on his class.
"Down with the biased commentary!" a small group of Class 1-A protested, makeshift signs popping up from somewhere unknown.
Machibuse went flying across the battlefield, and during his first moments brief moments of airtime he managed to see Iida rushing to where Shoji was.
The spectators were on the edge for a moment, as they watched Machibuse hastily unwinding the wire arrow and tying it around his waist.
The jailcell was close.
No one dared to breathe.
With a quick throw, Machibuse tangled the wires on two nearby pipes.
The cage rocked hard.
Yet Machibuse wasn't in.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" both Vlad King and Monoma now shouted in disbelief.
The cables had snapped, but it did kill some of the momentum.
And now Machibuse was firmly anchored to the doorframe as the horns continued to push him.
Feet, hands and forearms kept him from even touching the door with his back.
He drew in a visibly long breath.
And absolutely refused to move.
"PUSH, PONY! PUSH!" Vlad King bellowed over the microphone.
"No way he's going to keep up with this!" Tokage was in disbelief, she had seen a single of those horns picking up a small person. And Machibuse was holding four at once.
On another screen, tables had turned once again.
Iida and Shoji were against Kamakiri and Honenuki, but the later two were stuck protecting Pony, who was using all four available horns to try and push Machibuse inside their cage.
That and the flames coming from where Todoroki was meant that pressure was now on Class 1-B.
"Pinprick's Quirk and these shitty plans of his are a pain in the ass, but if you clowns think that's the worst part then you all got dropped when you were babies." Bakugo sneered as he continued to watch the screen showing the struggle by the jailcell.
"Machibuse-san can break down lactic acid with his Quirk, and then further increase his stamina and muscular strength by various other means. No one here comes even close to him in a raw endurance contest." Midoriya explained, taking notes on his notebook and seemingly unfazed by Bakugo calling him names as he spoke.
At that, Uraraka's eyes widened.
"I ran alongside Machibuse-san once. Sixteen kilometers, and by the end he wasn't even sweating, I think. And it wasn't as if he just jogged the distance… It was a sixteen-kilometer run, and he wasn't even pushing to not leave me behind." she added, still watching as Machibuse continued to just take the punishment, one deep breath at a time.
The mental image of Machibuse treating the journey between the bus and the Pussycats' lodge like it was routine during the summer camp now clearly flashed in the minds of everyone from Class 1-A.
"Yeah, but that at least has to hurt like hell!" Monoma now turned towards the group; this still made no sense.
Yaoyorozu took a small sigh.
"That is hardly something that is going to phase Hakuba. For better or worse, he has been through much worse experiences." she commented, the many times her boyfriend ended up with wounded playing inside her mind.
The Murakumo. His shoulder dislocating before the Sports Festival. Having his hand exploding during the festival. Being stabbed in Hosu.
The list went on…
She was the only one there that knew that Hakuba had spent over two weeks facing the Hero Killer inside Tartarus. And she only saw how beaten up he was after Recovery Girl had fixed him up the best she could.
"You all take exams every so often to check up on stamina. And Machibuse has been at the top of those since the first day of school… so the Principal and Recovery Girl do a few simulations about him after they get his results." Midnight turned towards her students, biting her lower lip in excitement.
The students in return waited for the supposed results.
"Their latest model shows that, in theory, he could keep up peak physical activity for nearly a full hour as long as he doesn't dehydrate." Midnight finally answered after the expected tension.
"So he almost got captured on purpose? Why?" Kaminari was still very much in shock.
"To put my class in a tight spot. He turned the match into a game of chicken." Kendo frowned as she watched Kamakiri and Honenuki trying to keep Pony out of danger.
"And Pony can't let go of him…" Tokage realized the problem.
"Because if she does, then Hakuba will be freely able to move and pick people off from behind with his arrows. Honenuki-san wouldn't have softened the area around the jailcell in case his team needed to bring someone there to win." Yaoyorozu concluded.
It was a risky plan, but now Class 1-B had no safe way to deal with it.
Suddenly, the horns pinning Machibuse fell to the ground, allowing him to move away from the cage.
Honenuki needed to leave in order to assist Tetsutetsu. His fight against Todoroki had been raging on for far too long and the heat didn't cease to increase.
This forced Pony to give up and escape, two of her horns carrying Kamakiri towards where Machibuse was.
The screen zoomed briefly on Shoji and Iida, both simply nodded and the former took off after Pony. Iida reached for the broken arrowhead Machibuse handed him earlier, placed it under a piece of rubble and stomped on it before accelerating towards Todoroki.
The spectators stopped once more.
Kaminari was the first one to speak.
"Now what?"
-.
November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, 1510.
The scent of sulfur reached Machibuse's nose almost immediately. This meant that one of his classmates used the chemical flare he had provided as the match began. A simple thiol that he could sense from much further than his standard ammonia-based tracker.
He just hopped it didn't get on someone's clothes. The thing was a pain to wash off.
Still, now he knew someone was coming to prevent him from moving freely.
The thiol unfortunately masked the scent of whoever was coming, it lingered in the air for a while.
Machibuse readied his bow and moved towards the piping. With a quick series of jumps he was well placed out of view. He flexed his wrist a bit, the crash from earlier hadn't been all that smooth after all.
A quick dose of painkillers would deal with that for the moment, but a stop by Recovery Girl's would be necessary afterwards.
It didn't really matter who intended on chasing after him, now that he was somewhere clear of Honenuki's softening, whoever came would be forced to fight on Machibuse's terms.
Kamakiri landed in the vicinity of the jailcell. He was on the highest alert possible as he scanned the area for any traces of Class 1-A's resident lowlife.
"Now we hunt." Machibuse stepped quietly as he maneuvered behind cover.
Twenty seconds… Thirty seconds…
There was a loud crash in the distance.
"THEY ARE ALL IMMOBILIZED!" Vlad King's voice boomed from one of the speakers, apparently things weren't as quiet out there as they were by the cage.
"Come on! Face me, you coward!" Kamakiri taunted, the tension and impatience clear in his voice.
Twitchy and prone to errors, just how Machibuse liked.
He drew his bow, his heart slowing down.
An arrow flew up, and Machibuse quietly began descending.
"Hey, cheese brain!" the speaker arrow landed. Quite close to Machibuse's location actually.
"Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that!" Kamakiri barely turned despite his instinct to react. It was common knowledge that Machibuse carried some trick arrows with him, the crazy girl that took care of his gear also had her fingers in a few of Class 1-B's equipment.
His mistake, the instant he began looking the opposite direction to find the archer, Machibuse had already began running towards his exposed back.
Kamakiri had already proved fast enough to react to arrows. And that meant Machibuse had to finish this hunt through other means.
"I am afraid that overthinking here will not do any favors, Kamakiri-san." Machibuse spoke as he tossed his bow along the ground and jumped as high as he could to clear his target's height, almost diving head-first.
Kamakiri turned an instant too late, his eyes focused on the source of the clanging sound low to the floor. By the time he noticed the shadow passing over him it was over.
The Chelicerae on Machibuse's feet hooked onto the blades Kamakiri had growing from his cheeks, and the ones in hands dug into the concrete floor. His momentum and chemically boosted strength made it easy to launch Kamakiri straight up into the air as the motion concluded into a cartwheel.
"THE HELL IS…?!" Kamakiri panicked when he realized that he was well over a meter and a half above the ground, with no nearby structures for him reach and maneuver.
Machibuse quickly scooped the bow that stopped by his feet and jumped away from his target.
Mid jump he fired the explosive arrowhead. And Kamakiri had absolutely no chance of escaping that in his situation.
"Killer Series: Instant Anti-Air - Juliett."
-.
Seven Years Ago, March 7th, Okinawa Prefecture, Naha, 1200.
It was a hot summer day in Okinawa. And for the agents of Squad Six it didn't mean training would stop. If anything, they could train by the beach and lunch time meant they had an excuse to kick back for an hour or two.
"Juliett-san…" the young Machibuse Hakuba shyly approached the winged woman that worked under his mother's orders.
"What is it, honey?" Juliett turned to meet the small boy she so very much enjoyed teasing.
"H-How does it feel to fly? Is it scary?" he stuttered.
Juliett pondered for a moment.
"Flying is the most liberating feeling in the world. Falling is what scares me, so I try not to fall."
-.
Present Day, November 24th, U.A. Highschool Ground Gamma, 1512.
Machibuse turned on his heel and left towards the path Pony was most likely to take. Shoji was still hot after her according to what Vlad King had been shouting for a while.
Kamakiri wobbled behind his back, he had taken the full brunt of an explosive arrow and was clearly struggling to stay conscious.
Machibuse stopped for an instant. It would be safer come back and secure Kamakiri after Pony had been dealt with, and in a real scenario the safety of his teammates had priority over the objective.
With that he left, and Kamakiri soon fell unconscious.
Moving quickly through the maze once again, Machibuse continued to use his nose to keep tabs on the battlefield, but his thiol flare was still a bit too strong for him to be accurate with his nose without focusing heavily.
His mouth felt dry, but he couldn't give himself the luxury of stopping for a drink.
"Machibuse! On your three, she's carrying Todoroki!" Shoji called from a mouth that sprouted at the very end of a long tentacle.
"Roger that! You go and secure Kamakiri!" Machibuse responded and immediately rushed up the wall by his right.
Just in time to see Pony speeding along the narrow corridor with Todoroki in her arms and both Tetsutetsu and Honenuki being carried by her horns.
No time to think.
Machibuse jumped at her, reaching for the straps of Todoroki's vest.
Pony resisted for an instant but allowed Machibuse to steal Todoroki from her arms. The girl had no time to fight back, and instead decided to focus on saving her teammates.
In that precise moment, Machibuse realized that Pony had given up on winning the match.
Both Tetsutetsu and Honenuki now shot straight upwards as Pony raced to rescue Kamakiri as well.
It was a close race.
But in the end Pony's mobility overshadowed Shoji's once she dropped Todoroki.
She decided to force an unwinnable situation, literally carrying her entire team high above the range of Machibuse's bow.
A well thought out solution that Machibuse couldn't object to, despite how utterly frustrating it was. Out of the eight combatants, four ended unconscious and one ended fully immobilized.
And none ended in the cells.
Round three ended in a draw, zero to zero.
…
..
.
AN: Hakuba finally did the special move thing! He named the entire set after the people from the Murakumo. It is in very poor taste, but he is a rather resentful little shit as you all know.
The whole thing with Izuku manifesting Black Whip aside, it feels really strange clearing an entire chunk of the story in a single chapter. Going over the Class A vs Class B arc without turning it into "OC overanalyzes four fights" leaves surprisingly little material for the arc as a whole. I assume everyone here has seen the fights, so I don't need to drag y'all through them.
For those of you that asked why I tagged Kaibara out of this fight: There is no bigger plot happening here, I just did so for balancing reasons. Hakuba has hooks for weapons… and him fighting against a guy that spins would get messy REAL FAST. Having Hakuba trading blows with such a fundamental advantage would be kinda boring, and, even if this story gets a bit graphical sometimes, we don't need Kaibara ripping himself to shreds during training.
And you might have noticed that Pony is the only one I repeatedly refer to by her first name. She is from the U.S., so I decided that keeping her naming conventions that way made more sense.
Still, don't write the joint training thing off yet. I got a surprise baking back here, which is why I still wanted round three to end in a draw.
Also, for those asking about the movies: I was informed that the second movie takes place after the fight between the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army. So I'll be going over that for sure when the time comes.
The same however can't be ensured when it comes to the third movie. It was a fun one, sure, even if I think it was the weakest of the three… Honestly, it is pretty much a Deku solo mission, with Bakugo and Todoroki showing up near the end to fill in their minimum screentime quota while the rest of the cast pop in and out to provide commentary. Not the format that lends itself to parallel storytelling like an OC story. I have something that resembles a sketch for a chapter going over it, but the third movie is far from being a focus right now.
Anyways,
Ciao for now!