"Let's start the new semester with a bang, shall we?..."

"Shit…" Bakugou cursed under his breath as the bell sounded for the start of the activity. The explosive hero immediately launched into the air. "Get off the ground, you idiots!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Too late!" Kyo roared. Both of his hands already poised to release his quirk.

The sound of both hands snapping was instantly drowned out by several explosions and the terrified wails of his classmates. The ground cracked under their feet, sending debris and smoke flying in every direction. Bakugou watched the chaos unfold below him from his makeshift perch on top of the narrow row of orange tiles that protruded off of the cement walls.

"Fuck!"

Bakugou P. O. V.

BOOM!...BOOM!...BOOM!

The deafening sounds of explosions mixed with the terrified wails of Class-A reverberated off the violently shaking walls of Gym Gamma. It was only 15 seconds into the match, and already the cement floor had long deep fissures stretching every which way as if an earthquake had ravaged the area. Each explosion generated enough force to send clouds of dust and pieces of debris flying into the air. The thick smog impaired the class's vision and further split them up to create easier targets for their opponents to pick off. Meanwhile, the trio moved quickly through the smokescreen attacking opponents left and right. An embarrassing feat considering the shinobi were supposed to be on the defensive.

Kyo's opening move had knocked half the class prone with one attack, while the other half was thrown into the air a second later when the ground erupted under their feet with his second snap. After that, the shinobi unleashed a devastating series of controlled explosions, alternating between attacking a few students simultaneously to targeting a specific section of the floor. Each barrage announced with a corresponding snap of his fingers. It was a bitter pill to swallow when they realized that the explosions targeting people were nowhere near as strong as the ones that tore up the ground. Only strong enough to send them crashing to the floor with minimal burns and the bruised egos that came with being treated with kid gloves.

Bakugou watched the mayhem unfold below him from his relatively safe perch on top of the orange railing. Deciding to take a page out of Deku's scorched notebook, by examining the enemy before attacking. His crimson eyes strained to differentiate friend from foe within the shadows and random flashes of light moving within the smoke.

"Shit, these extras are getting wrecked," he muttered to himself, catching a glimpse of Ribbons incapacitating Ojiro and Sato with a simple hand chop to the neck through a brief break in the smog.

Impatient, the ash-blonde let go of the railing. Using his quirk to fly over the shifting mass of smoke. However, as he approached, Bakugou felt the pull of strong air currents deliberately interfering with his flight patterns. It took more effort than he would like to admit to keep himself afloat. The air trying its best to drag him down into the swirling dome below him. Pieces of debris mixed in with the wind already starting to tear at his hero costume.

Bakugou's crimson eyes widened slightly in understanding. The impenetrable wind barrier not only kept the rest of the class trapped, but it also prevented the smoke from Kyo's explosions from dispersing. Creating a continuously thickening smokescreen as time passed. The shinobi's ideal fighting environment if Bakugou's match yesterday was anything to go by.

The explosive hero continued to fight the strong air currents as he flew around the dome. Testing it for weaknesses by trying to disrupt the flow with his quirk, but also used himself as bait to draw the wind-user out from his hiding place.

"Tsk looks like I won't be able to break through it unscathed. At least not without killing a few extras in the process," Bakugou muttered in annoyance. His body fought the urge to wince when a piece of shrapnel grazed his cheek. A line of blood trickled sluggishly from the wound.

A sudden wall of air slammed into him. The force sending him rocketing backward until Bakugou was able to slow his momentum down with his quirk. He flipped off the spiraling wind dome before he retreated to the safety of the railing to gather his thoughts.

The explosive hero's plan to lure Tsubasa out in the open had failed. Feathers was still nowhere to be seen. His Tengu quirk, no doubt, kept him well hidden within the ever-shifting smoke. The only trace of him was the gusts of wind that occasionally blocked attacks for his comrades or the smoke shifting to hide them from view.

I had hoped to take that Copycat out first, but this bird wannabe's air-manipulation quirk is our biggest problem right now.

The ash-blonde choked back the cough that tickled the back of his throat due to the extremely dusty air. Even at this height, the grittiness of the air made it difficult to breathe. If the heroes wanted to turn the tides of this battle, they needed to do something about this harsh air and clear their field of vision.

As if reading his thoughts, Bakugou sensed a familiar surge of power below him. His eyes immediately zeroed in on the high energy source to see green flashes of electricity peaking through the dense fog. Bakugou's teeth ground together when he heard that all too familiar voice shout out, "Full Cowling: Shoot Style!" A second later, a large gust of wind blasted half of the smoke from the area. The power of One For All too much for Tsubasa's quirk to compete with. The force of Deku's attack even broke some of the gym's windows in the process.

"Watch your fucking aim, nerd!" Bakugou shouted furiously. His body dangling awkwardly from his one-handed grip on a hanging ceiling light. Multiple scratches and scrapes covered his body from the shards of broken glass created from Deku's attack since he had been perched right next to the windows.

The hothead's eye twitched angrily. Like everything the nerd did, Bakugou couldn't help but feel personally targeted by that attack. Deku might always claim to revere him, but instances like this couldn't have been an accident. Unless Deku actually was an idiot, which would anger Bakugou even more if that was the truth.

Future Symbol of Peace, my ass.

"Sorry, Kacchan!" Deku fretted, his face contorting into numerous nervous expressions. Each one was more aggravating than the last.

"Just attack them already!" Bakugou ordered, swinging his body with his one-handed grip on the light to launch himself into the fray below him.

The nerd's attack wasn't a complete waste. Besides clearing the majority of smoke from their area, it also removed Kyo and Tohru from their smokescreen. Both of them were in cat forms and vulnerable as their sensitive eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light. Momentarily leveling the playing field for their classmates to take advantage of. Deku nodded in agreement and immediately moved to attack the closest person, which happened to be Kyo. However, he was instantly knocked off balance from a concentrated explosion aimed at his shoulder from where the shinobi had leaned on him during homeroom.

Instead of helping him, Bakugou focused his attention on Tohru. Determined to win this exercise for his class. "You'd give me that headband if you know what's good for you, Ribbons. I'm not going to hold back just because you're a girl," Bakugou declared, as he closed in on the kunoichi.

"I wouldn't want you too," she replied nervously. Her body instantly fell into a defensive stance with her hands held out in front of her. Her brown cat ears lying flat against her head, while her body trembled slightly in anticipation. Though her sapphire eyes stay determined as she stared down the Beast of Class-A.

"It's your funeral," he retorted, aiming an explosive swing at her once she was in range.

In one fluid movement, she dodged his swing, grabbed hold of his wrist, and slammed her elbow into his ribs. His breath left his lungs with an audible WHOOSH! Even light-headed as he was, Bakugou noticed that she was twisting his wrist while pulling him forward. Preparing to throw him over her shoulder and smash him to the ground. A move identical to the once Deku used against him during their first class together.

Tapping into his anger and embarrassment, Bakugou swiftly backtracked. Using his superior strength and weight to fall in the opposite direction while dragging her with him. A counter move he prepared in case Deku ever tried to use that cheap move against him ever again. This unexpected change in momentum slammed her into the ground instead, with him landing heavily on top of her. A satisfying gasp escaped her lips when he pinned her hands roughly to her sides while he straddled her body.

Without hesitating, Bakugou reached for the headband on her head before her comrades could come to her aid. Just when he felt his fingertips brush against the silky material, he felt something strong wrap around his throat. Memories of Dabi's fingers latching themselves on the back of his neck flashed through his mind as he felt himself being pulled backward.

"Checkmate…" rang Dabi's voice in his ears.

Panicking, Bakugou forgot about the victory at his fingertips and launched himself back into the air. A knee-jerk response that would've actually strangled him, if it hadn't have been for the hold around his neck releasing itself the second he abandoned the pinned girl underneath him.

Bakugou returned to the safety of his previous perch on top of the hanging lights. His breathing fast and irregular. The adrenaline in his body pushed his quirk to kick into overdrive to ward off the made-up threat. To compose himself, Bakugou bit the inside of his mouth. Relishing in the pain that grounded him to reality. He refused to have a panic attack here in front of everyone. He would never live it down. Bakugou was thankful that no one could see how shaken up he was from this height.

After a few moments, the ash-blonde willed himself to look back at Tohru to confirm that the villain he imagined wasn't there. He wasn't, of course. In his place was a confused looking kunoichi with a long monkey tail.

I was triggered by a fucking tail, the ash-blonde thought to himself. His head hanging in shame.

"Whatever. I'll deal with that later," Bakugou muttered to himself. Shoving his personal problems to the back of his mind to concentrate on the battle in front of him.

A flash of white attached itself to the hanging light next to Bakugou. A few seconds later, the familiar form of Sero landed on top of it. "Sup Blasty," he greeted with the usual smug look plastered on his face. "I can't believe you got your ass handed to you by a girl!" he laughed.

Without even looking, Bakugou landed an explosive swing at the hanging light beside him, which caused it to crash to the floor. The light fixture just barely missed Iida. After recovering from his shock, the class president began to yell at them, though they were too far up to hear his words. Sero had expected that violent response from the hothead, so he attached his tape to the light fixture Bakugou was resting on to avoid getting attacked again.

"Uncalled for," Sero muttered, swaying a few feet below the ash-blonde as he dangled in the air precariously. With his free arm, he rummaged through one of the pockets of his hero costume. "I've got a present for you, courtesy of Momo."

Bakugou raised an eyebrow as Sero tossed him a small case. He looked at it suspiciously. Not fully trusting his idiotic friends to not try to prank him during a class activity. He opened it regardless. Fully committed to blowing Sero out of the sky if it was some kind of joke. Inside he found a communication device. The same model as the ones they used in their first-ever team exercise.

"Don't tell me she expects me to listen to 20 people at once with this?" he complained bitterly but was already taking the device out of the case.

Tapearms shook his head. "She's only made a few communication devices. The rest of the class are getting headphones that pick up the signals," Sero explained, pulling himself on to the light on the other side of Bakugou. He pointed to his ear to show that he was already listening to their classmates' conversation. "She said you'll be very valuable since you've had the most success fighting off two of their members and can study their movements from the air."

"Yeah, no shit," Bakugou agreed. Iida's volume increased below them, but they still couldn't make out his words. Bakugou wasn't looking forward to having him yell straight in his ears. He contemplated throwing the device at Iida. With his hair still a bright shade of purple, there was no way he could miss.

Tapearms followed his friend's gaze and shook his head. "Dude, there's no way you'll make that. Not even you can account for the interference of random explosions."

"Watch me."

Sero rolled his eyes. "Are you going to help out or what?"

"What do you think?" The ash-blonde yelled, throwing the case down below with deadly accuracy. Not only hitting their class president but also managed to hit Deku, who had been was standing right beside him. With a satisfied smirk, Bakugou placed the communication device firmly in his ear.

"Oww, Kacchan…" the nerd's whine echoed over the wavelength.

"Shut up, you've dealt with worse," Bakugou berated harshly. He crossed his arms. His usual stance to brace himself against the storm of idiotic ideas he knew was coming his way. "So, what do you losers want?"

"Intel," Ponytail's voice explained a little winded. She was busy fighting with Tohru, who's Transformation quirk was giving her Creation quirk a run for its money. The kunoichi was fixated on Ponytail after their little dispute last period. She continually transformed whatever Momo created into something completely useless, like flowers or rocks. Thus, she was in no mood to beat around the bush, which Bakugou could respect. " You have had a clearer view of their movements than anyone else here. And have engaged in combat with two of the three members."

"Is there any kind of weaknesses you've noticed with their quirks or fighting styles?" Deku added.

Before Bakugou had the chance to insult the nerd, another voice cut in. "Don't forget this is a teamwork activity. Let's win this as a class!" Kirishima chirped. His voice already quelling most of Bakugou's anger and frustrations.

"Who is our biggest threat?" Kirishima prompted in a gentle tone. The redhead's way of getting Bakugou to talk that made him feel like it was just the two of them. That it was just another conversation they shared between classes or during their study sessions. Bakugou fought the smile that threatened to show on his face.

Damn, he sure gets me, he thought to himself. I guess I have no choice but to work with these extras.

The ash-blonde took a deep breath before answering. "Now that we have a way to deal with Feathers' wind, CarrotTop is our biggest threat. He's got you losers running around like a bunch of useless sidekicks," he sneered over the mic. Some angry muffled voices could be heard in the background from the rest of his classmates that didn't have actual communication devices.

"Classy dude," Sero sighed beside him though Bakugou ignored him.

"Any information you could provide to help deal with him?" Ponytail asked, her voice slightly exasperated. No doubt struggling to hold back her urge to scold him for his insolence or whatever.

Bakugou looked down at where Kyo fought with Kirishima and Iida. "Before this fight, I had assumed that Carrots could only set one explosion off at a time. However, it appears an ultimate move of his is too detonate multiple targets if they are within a certain distance to one another," Bakugou relayed to his classmates in a more controlled tone than he ever regarded them with.

He took another deep breath to curb his ever-present anger to prevent himself from blowing up with the thought that he was working with a bunch of amateurs. "I haven't figured out what the drawbacks are to his quirk yet. Other than you can tell when he's about to detonate a large explosion or is currently charging numerous explosions by the rise in temperature. Though that info won't help predict exactly where the explosion will detonate."

"What about a time limit?" Ponytail asked the group. "It's obvious that Kyo has to touch something to make it explode. But what's his time frame to do so? Or is it a quantity limit?"

"It would have to be some sort of time limit," Deku theorized after a brief pause. There was some undecipherable rambling before he added in a clearer voice, "If he had some sort of quantity limit, I don't think he would unleash so many large explosions at the beginning of the match."

"If it's a time limit, then it's probably a little less than an hour," Bakugou theorized in a neutral tone. He would never admit it, but it was nice to go over strategies with other people. It felt like the talks he had with All Might and Deku about One For All. But without all the guilt and self-deprecating thoughts. Deku was still here, so that still sucked a bit. "He was super friendly before class to make bombs, but I've noticed him detonating people he encountered near the end of homeroom as well."

"Since when have you been so helpful?" Icyhot suddenly cut in with his usual neutral tone. He hadn't been much of a player this fight. Unsure what to focus on since he didn't want to risk hurting any of his classmates. "I don't think I've ever seen you so docile."

"Screw you, Icyhot! I can be helpful if I wanna be!" Bakugou yelled, peaking everyone's mic. painfully. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go attack that quirk Copycat."

"Great idea Kacchan. A small group of us will attack Kyo to see if we can discover any other weaknesses with his quirk," Deku announced, motioning to a few people close by. "Kacchan, see if you notice anything from your higher vantage point."

"Don't give me orders, you damn nerd!" Bakugou retorted harshly. With the aid of his explosion quirk, he launched himself off of his pedestal to feign an attack on another target. His crimson eyes set on Tohru to give Ponytail a much-needed break. The class couldn't afford to have her exhaust her quirk or mind completely.

In a more controlled tone, he added, "Attack him fast and hard. Make him use his quirk. And if I see an opening, you better get out of the fucking way because I'll be hitting him with everything I've got," Bakugou warned in a voice dripping with bloodlust.

As he closed in on the kunoichi, the explosive hero couldn't help but think that there was something off about Kyo's fighting. He'd been using his quirk nonstop, but Bakugou wasn't any closer to uncovering the weakness to his quirk yet. It didn't seem to have the same drawbacks Bakugou's quirk had despite being similar.

Every quirk has a weakness. A vulnerability or function that someone else can exploit.

It was a truth that Aizawa had drilled into their brains with each lesson. Kyo would be no exception.

While Deku began his assault on Kyo with three other classmates. The ash-blonde pretended to be focused on chasing after Tohru. Bombarding her with vicious taunts and attacking her with unrelenting explosions from the air. Hoping to fool his opponents by playing off of his usual need to win by himself and his tendency to relentlessly attack those who insulted him in any way. All the while, keeping Deku's fight within his line of sight.

This proceeded for a couple of minutes without much luck. Bakugou was starting to get bored and began to focus more on the opponent in front of him. He was prepared to aim an explosive swing at Tohru's vulnerable back when three other simultaneous explosions ripped his attention away. Bakugou managed to look back at Deku's fight just in time to see Kyo takedown Frog, Round Face, and Icyhot with a single snap. Leaving only the future number one hero-who had already been sent to the ground earlier-unaffected by the shinobi's quirk. However, that still left the nerd open for a ground attack with the next snap. Deku's plan to counter Kyo's raw power with sheer numbers failed miserably. At least that's what Bakugou thought.

His crimson eyes narrowed slightly in perplexion. Instead of countering with a close-range explosion from the ground, Kyo lowered himself in a defensive position. Resorting to using a physical block for the first time during this entire fight by raising his arms to guard against Deku's new shoot style.

Did he reach some kind of limit? Bakugou wondered absentmindedly. Slowly backing off of his current opponent to get a better look at the developing situation from above. Kirishima and Mina faithfully moving in to keep Ribbons occupied for him.

Maybe he has to rest longer in between volleys when he detonates multiple targets at once?

A dark shadow fell over Deku a moment before he was sent flying with a strong kick. The nerd crashed into Icyhot, who had just managed to get back onto his feet, which sent them both to the ground in a daze. Long wings slowly unfolded to their full length to reveal Tsubasa still holding his kicking stance defensively in front of his brother. His eyes glowed an intimidating silverish blue. Everyone too shocked by the suddenness of the attack to move forward.

One of CarrotTop's cat ears flicked before he rolled his eyes at his brother. He then carefully stepped around one of his wings. His hand mimicked a petting gesture without actually touching the delicate appendage.

A precaution, maybe? Bakugou found himself wondering. Shaking himself out of his trance.

"You better take to the sky," Kyo warned his brother as he slowly crouched down until he was on all fours. Kicking off his shoes to better utilize his quirk. Steam already billowing from where his hands and feet touched the cement. Clawed fingers sunk into the hard ground in preparation to launch himself forward with the help of his quirk. "It's about to get pretty hectic down here."

"Heads up Idiots! We need to immobilize Carrots now!" Bakugou ordered, launching himself at the explosive shinobi.

There was only one problem.

When he shouted his order to his classmates. Three other voices had suddenly rung out through the earpiece he had forgotten he was still wearing. Each one contradicting the commands of the one before it. One of which literally stopped Bakugou in his tracks as a giant iceberg blocked his path.

"We need to keep our distance!" Icyhot declared as he created a wall of ice to keep Kyo away from the rest of the class.

"Everyone, we need to regroup!" Deku called loudly.

"Class spread out! We can't get caught up in the same explosions!" Four eyes contradicted.

Not waiting for them to get their act together, Kyo propelled himself toward the would-be heroes after he found a way around the Ice wall. Plummeting Class-A into utter chaos. Fully embracing the cat form he was given, Kyo ran through their class with impressive speed and increased reflexes. Dealing multiple blows all over his victims' bodies before moving on to the next. The shinobi stockpiled bombs with every hit and every footstep until he finally decided to detonate them when the need arose. Either to defend himself or his teammates from attacks or to send people flying in different directions. His detonation quirk also proved to be a powerful deterrent to get too close to allies since Kyo could control the range of the explosions to attack nearby people.

Meanwhile, the four leaders of Class-A continued to fumble over each other as they barked different orders at their classmates. Their friends paying the price for their lack of leadership, as they became easy targets for the shinobi while they struggled to decide which of them to follow. What little teamwork they had was soon abandoned as the class focused on keeping injuries to a bare minimum.

"What are you losers doing?! Get your asses in gear and attack them already!" Bakugou shouted over the deafening booms. Trying his best to gain control of the situation while blocking attacks for his teammates whenever he could. The ash-blonde had barely saved Uraraka from running straight into an explosion. His frustration growing with each student that converged around Deku. Their biases influencing them to follow Deku or Icyhot instead of him.

The realization that people were hesitant to put their trust in him stung more than Bakugou thought it would. Another painful reminder that he lacked something crucial. Something Deku had naturally that he flaunted in front of him every chance he got. Bakugou thought he had proven himself to everyone by exhibiting his leadership skills during last week's fight against Class-B, but it seemed it wasn't enough to change their low opinions of him. Bakugou could feel his blood begin to boil.

"You can't be afraid of getting blown up," he advised over the growing lump in his throat. Making an effort to keep his voice level.

"Kacchan, we need to regroup!" Deku argued back in that annoying self-righteous tone.

"Tsk," was all that came over the communication device in response. Frustrated, Bakugou flew at the nerd. Grabbed hold of Deku's metal mouth guard before he rocketed them both to the sky. Ignoring Deku's girly shrieks of protest.

"Take a good long look, you damn nerd," the ash-blonde commanded the crying teen in his grip. The communication device momentarily switched off.

From above, it became apparent that there was only so much the class could do against the shinobi's teamwork. It was leaps and bounds ahead of their own. In the sky, they witnessed Tsubasa's impressive wind defense protect his teammates from the ranged immobilization attacks from Frog and Tapearms. Observed the devastation left in Kyo's wake as he zig-zagged through their class. Littering the already hazardous terrain and even their allies with devastating booby-traps, which caused mass panic. And of course, both had already witnessed the versatility that Tohru's Transformation quirk provided her teammates when she gave her teammates and herself animal traits that could help them in any situation, as well as cover her teammates' blindspots.

"Do you understand now?" Bakugou boomed as he threw Deku down into the fray to help out a struggling group of their classmates. The ash-blond was stubborn and overwhelmingly tenacious, but he wasn't stupid. If Deku had the class's full support than Bakugou would just have to convince the nerd to back up his plan for them to win. "We need to break their formation by immobilizing CarrotTop now. Before he completely destroys our ranks."

The nerd landed in front of Asui and Koda just in time to break apart Tsubasa's wind attack with another one of his Full Cowling kicks. "Kacchan, we can't risk sending in a large group to confront him. With one touch, Kyo could use us to hurt our teammates," Deku fretted in his usual overthink everything mentality. Even though the longer they waited, the less likely they were to win the exercise. Kyo needed to be restrained right then if they had any hope to get to Tohru in time.

After a brief hesitation, the nerd continued, "We need to focus on trying to keep him at bay with our long-ranged attacks while the rest of us go after the headband."

Bakugou liked to think that he had calmed down a bit from the days where he actively tried to destroy Deku every time he saw him. The last couple of months, being officially in on his secret and training with him under All Might himself forced them to work together quite frequently. Bakugou's new philosophy to "win and save" was very important to him. That didn't mean the explosive hero was entirely at peace with his forced relationship with his new rival. Bakugou had plenty of opportunities to witness Deku grow in strength and dissect his fighting style and motivations. The nerd was extremely dedicated and had the heart of a "true hero." But even so, Bakugou couldn't shake the thought that Deku was just downright selfish.

"Don't be an idiot. Didn't you learn anything from my fight yesterday?" Bakugou yelled in exasperation. He knew that the stalker probably watched the fight closer than he had. No doubt writing enough notes to publish a book on the topic. "He can dodge long-ranged attacks like it's nothing. You have to get in close if you're going to have any sort of chance to beat him," Bakugou urged harder. His knuckles turning white with how hard he balled them at his sides.

Deku shook his head while he used another kick to break through Feather's wind attack. "We have enough powers amongst us to keep him at bay from a distance. There's no need to sacrifice people to get the job done."

This was precisely why Bakugou couldn't stand Deku sometimes. Once he had something in mind, he refused to give it up. For better or for worse. Confident that his way was the best way to handle any situation because of his stalker Esque knowledge or because he was All Might's successor. Bakugou noticed it a few times during their discussions with All Might. Bakugou would express his opinions about how One For All might work but would be shrugged off by Deku, who would immediately poke holes in his reasoning. Only ever accepting what he had to say if All Might himself acknowledged his opinions.

Bakugou was forced to accept that he wasn't perfect. But from what Bakugou witnessed, Deku had never been forced to admit that fact. His life had only gotten better by gaining All Might's powers. Deku had been chosen. Everything he set out to do miraculously working out for him in the end. Unlike Bakugou.

"Since when are you afraid of getting hurt to win?" the explosive hero sneered back. Dodging explosion after explosion as he tried to close in on Kyo. A task that would be so much easier if he had more people to help corral him. His anger was approaching nuclear levels. "Just be competent, and that won't be an issue. Stop playing into his hands!"

They were getting nowhere.

"Kacchan, we're running out of time. If we don't get that headband soon, then we're all going to fail. Is that what you want?" Deku chastised over the communication device. His desperation for Bakugou to submit to his stupid plan made his voice uncharacteristically harsh and even peaked the mic.

Bakugou ground his teeth together. That was childish, he thought to himself.

Deku might not have intended it, but his words painted Bakugou as the villain in this scenario. The passive-aggressive question marked the blonde as the catalyst for their crappy predicament. Even now, Bakugou could feel the atmosphere change as their classmates started to shoot him with undeserved dirty looks.

It's crap like this that makes me hate you so goddamn much Deku...

"News flash Einsteins', this is not the time to have this discussion!" Jirou sassed to Bakugou's right. She dodged a blow Kyo aimed at her stomach with a shield courtesy of Momo.

Her anger at the helplessness she felt outweighing her self-preservation instincts by insulting her hot-headed classmate while he was already in a foul mood. She'd gladly take on his wrath if it meant the two boys would put aside their differences and agree on a plan to win. However, she instantly regretted that decision when the muted shade of ash invaded her field of vision, followed by something substantial colliding into her side, which knocked her off her feet. The ground where she had previously stood exploded violently with a deafening BOOM!

Bakugou somehow managed to reach her in time with the help of his quirk, though not unscathed. A pained hiss escaped his lips as he felt one of his ears rupture due to the proximity of the explosion. Clenching his teeth through the pain. Bakugou wrapped his arms around the punk rocker protectively as they were thrown to the ground from the momentum. Doing his best to shield her from the intense heat and sharp rubble as they skidded across the ground.

"Why do I always end up saving your sorry ass?" Bakugou muttered when they finally came to a stop. Unable to hear his voice due to the painful ringing in his ears.

He pushed himself off of her with a pained grunt; his movements stiff due to his bruised muscles. Her violet eyes looked concerned, and her lips moved a mile a minute, though he couldn't hear what she said. Self-conscious, he turned away from her and raised his hand to gingerly touch his injured ear, only for it to come back covered in blood. The sight turning his stomach.

That's definitely going to speed up my hearing loss.

Bakugou jumped slightly when Jirou suddenly came into his line of sight. She was trying to ask him something, but the message was lost on him. Her purple eyes widened in realization when she recognized in his confused scowl. The punk rocker immediately removed the headphones off of her head and placed them over his ears. Utterly unconcerned about the blood.

In sloppy JSL, Jirou signed, "These headphones should help counter the ringing in your ears and protect them from further damage."

She was right. The low humming that the Bluetooth headphones produced had already lessened the ringing considerably. He still couldn't hear much, but it was relieving all the same. He muttered an awkward "thanks," hoping it was clear enough to understand.

A movement to his left announced the arrival of a worried Kirishima and Deku. The latter stopped in his tracks when he saw his bloodied hand and what still dripped from the side of his face. "See, we need to knock him out of commission before anyone else is taken out," Bakugou snapped harshly, holding his hand up for emphasis. Hoping his voice was at a reasonable level.

"Hang on, let me think," Deku urged, his voice too quiet and muffled to Bakugou's injured ears.

Bakugou saw red.

Deku talked a big game about not wanting to sacrifice anyone, but his hesitation was leaving everyone vulnerable. The explosive hero had enough. Irritated, Bakugou lashed out.

"Fuck, Deku! Why can't you ever go with my plan for once in your life?! You owe me that much!" Bakugou argued back. He was desperate for a chance to prove himself. To Deku, to the class, to All Might, to everyone that had ever doubted him. Bakugou would prove to all of them that he had what it took to be a leader. He would be a fucking great one too!

Deku was left speechless at his outburst, which to Bakugou meant he didn't value what he had to say. "Fuck it! Do whatever you want. I'm going to do it my way," Bakugou snapped, already sprinting full speed at his copper-haired target. Over his shoulders, he offered his classmates a last token of advice. "I'm going to create an opening for you to win, so you better complete things on your end."

And with that, he left them to their own devices. An uncomfortable looking Kirishima right on his heels. Good, according to his observations, Kyo's detonation quirk had just as much trouble breaking through the redhead's hardening quirk, as Bakugou's did.

That gave him an idea.

"Squad, on me!" he called over the chaos.

Glimpses of yellow, black, and pink moved into his peripheral vision. A smirk spread across his face. He didn't need to look back to know that his ragtag group of idiots had rallied behind him to attack as a unified front. Bakugou would never say it to any of their smug faces, but he absolutely loved his squad. He couldn't think of anyone he'd rather have charged into battle with him. They had always trusted that he knew what he was doing and that he would lead them to a glorious victory.

I'll show all of them, Bakugou vowed silently. He didn't need the rest of those fucking rejects. Bakugou would make his plan succeed with his own squad of heroes.

Bakugou adjusted the borrowed headphones on top of his head. "Thanks to Deku's hesitation earlier, my ears are mostly shot at the moment," Bakugou confided to his friends before they closed in on their opponent. All of them were aware of his ongoing battle with Tinnitus. "That means I can't hold your hand during this fight. So you all have to give him everything you got. You idiots understand?"

Four heads nodded in understanding.

"Good," he grinned. Bakugou looked over his shoulder at the only people crazy enough to follow him without a second thought. Idiots, the whole lot of them, but a force to be reckoned with if pointed in the right direction with clear instructions. "Now listen up, I'm only going to be giving your orders once, so you better pay attention."

"Shitty-Hair and Pikachu, we're going to be attacking that bastard head-on," the ash-blonde called over his shoulder. Bakugou and Kirishima had the best chance of approaching the explosive shinobi without being harmed, while Kaminari would be useful if he managed to stun him with his quirk.

"Horns, I want you to juggle your time between shrinking our fighting area by skating around us and also by using your quirk to offer us support whenever needed," he ordered, with a smirk. Mina's acid was incredibly versatile. If used correctly, her quirk should allow her to limit Kyo's movement considerably, as well as help her to evade his physical attacks, should he attempt to attack her.

"Leave it to me!" the pinkette saluted, her voice barely audible in his ears. She was already using her quirk to slide alongside them.

To Sero, he added, "SoySauce, stick to the sidelines and wait for your chance to grab him." While the rest of them tried their best to back Kyo in a corner, it would be up to Sero to immobilize the shinobi when they finally managed to get the drop on him. His new ultimate move Double Tape Lasso-or stupidly shortened to DTL-would surely come in handy. The dark-haired hero had made great strides in converting his old habit of sharply angling his body to further the reach of his tape, into a way to hide a second lasso within the blindspot his angled body created. When a target tried to dodge one strand of tape, they would immediately get ensnared in the second. A technique that proved strong enough to capture Bakugou in mid-flight during a practice fight. Earning Sero, his first and only win against the ash-blonde hero.

Their trump card, however, was Kaminari. "Pikachu, when you get an opportunity, let him have it. Don't worry if you hit us," Bakugou authorized when they closed in on their target. Their friend group was more or less immune to Kaminari's electric quirk at this point. They all had been shocked both accidentally and on purpose countless times before. It still hurt like hell, but it no longer stunned them anymore. The pain they could live with, but they couldn't afford for Dunceface to hold back his attack. Not on this monster of an opponent.

"You sure you'll be enough to keep me pinned down?" Kyo taunted over his shoulder, before suddenly turning on his heels to face them. His trademark smirk on his face, which exposed one of his fangs. "Do me a favor and take a little dirt nap for a while," the shinobi laughed as he snapped both of his hands.

"Kirishima," The explosive hero called, veering off to the side with Kaminari firmly held in his grip. Sero and Mina slowing themselves down to let Kirishima charge on ahead of them.

"On it!" Kirishima called back, his body instantly transforming into his Unbreakable form. His sharp fingers ripped a large piece of stone from the floor and held it up in front of him to shield his teammates from the incoming explosions. Using his own body as a bracer to keep it firmly held together as he continued to charge forward. His body holding strong as blast after blast chipped away at his defenses. By the end of the barrage, Kirishima's improvised shield was reduced to nothing but dust in his hands, but he succeeded in his task of protecting his friends as they closed the distance to their target.

Bakugou erupted from the smog of Kyo's attack and landed a solid kick on the shinobi's shoulder. Forcing the other teen to take a knee from the strength of the blow. As expected, the copper-haired teen immediately prepared to detonate Bakugou's leg. With a smug grin, the hero-in-training twisted his body in mid-air. Positioning his marked leg right in front of the shinobi's face the second, Kyo snapped his fingers. With no time to cancel his attack, they both were struck with an impressive explosion at point-blank range.

Pain flared up the ash-blonde's leg, but he shoved it to the back of his mind. Bakugou knew that his surprise attack wouldn't be lucky enough to put Kyo down for the count. A ferocious growl sounded to his right, further supporting that hypothesis. The shinobi suddenly appeared in front of him. A clawed hand attempted to take a swipe at his face, but it was slightly off target due to the shinobi's frequently blinking eyes.

The explosive hero dodged the attack effortlessly. Despite missing his opponent, Kyo continued to follow through with his slash until it hit the ground. Once his hand made contact, the shinobi shifted his weight onto his wrist, twisting as he did so, to land a heavy kick at the ash-blonde's chest. The strike forcing Bakugou to fall backward.

Quick as a flash, a powerful jagged hand grabbed hold of Kyo's extended leg. Lifting him awkwardly into the air. Kyo snapped his fingers out of reflex, but the explosion bounced off the hardened hand harmlessly. His attack only served to burn his ankle in the process. Desperate, Kyo's sharp claws tried to grab hold of the floor to keep himself grounded to no avail. As soon as he was lifted over Kirishima's head, the Ball-of-Sunshine slammed the explosive shinobi to the ground with deadly force. Causing Kyo to cough up a small amount of blood from the strength of the blow.

The redhead's eyes widened in concern. "Hey, are you alright, man?" he asked his opponent. Worry caused Kirishima's grip to loosen around the limp body below him without realizing it.

"Idiot, don't lower your guard!" Bakugou scolded, rushing to restrain the shinobi with Sero right on his heels.

CarrotTop, of course, took advantage of the hero's kindness. He immediately kicked out of the redhead's hold and back-flipped out of reach. His burned ankle stumbling slightly on his landing a few feet away. Kyo's calculating eyes took a moment to study their positions around him. Noting how Bakugou and Kirishima stood in front of him, that Kaminari and Sero flanked each of his sides and, of course, how Mina circled them continuously as she covered the terrain with her acid. Efficiently, cutting off his escape.

He's starting to realize how much trouble he's in, Bakugou deduced. That means his next attack should be on the person he thinks is the highest threat.

Bakugou prepared himself to block an attack for either Sero or Mina. But he was caught entirely off guard when Kyo made a mad dash for Kaminari instead. The ash-blonde didn't even have a chance to shout a warning to the half-wit before Kyo snapped his fingers to send Bakugou to the ground. All while he raised his arm to deliver a blow at the electric user.

To everyone's surprise, Kaminari managed to dodge Kyo's swing. He even jumped out of the way of the shinobi's follow up attack to detonate the ground behind him a few milliseconds before Kyo snapped his fingers. The blonde's hair sparkled with the partial activation of his quirk. No one looked more shocked than Kyo did. Who blinked dumbly at the spot Kaminari should have been incapacitated on.

The Bakusquad took advantage of his surprise. Each of them attacked simultaneously to take down the troublesome shinobi. Bakugou launched himself at Kyo to steal his attention away from Mina, who slid in and kicked the legs out from under him with one of her break dancing moves. Her acid quirk also prevented their opponent from using his quirk to detonate the ground around them. Kaminari took advantage of the acid Kyo now laid in to send his quirk in a straight path toward their target.

The shinobi's muscles seizing up violently from the shock. At the same time, a series of massive explosions detonated across Gym Gamma all at once with the accidental release of Kyo's quirk. The result knocking several students prone, heroes and shinobi included, as well as tearing up a significant amount of the floor. Kirishima and Bakugou immediately tackled the copper-haired teen to the ground. Fighting the electric currents that flowed through Kyo's body while they grabbed hold of an arm each.

A strange gurgling growl sounded in Kyo's throat. The disturbing sound made Bakugou's blood curdle. "Kirishima, pry his mouth open. Make sure he doesn't bite his tongue off," Bakugou ordered urgently. It wouldn't look good if they ended up killing one of their new classmates on the second day of class.

The red-head obeyed. Managing to do so with little resistance from his captive by shoving a torn part of his hero costume in Kyo's mouth before helping Bakugou and Sero retrain his arms to his back with tape. As a precaution, they taped his fingers together so Kyo wouldn't be able to use his quirk. Only when Bakugou was sure that their target was fully restrained did Kaminari finally turn off his electric quirk. The extended-release of electricity short-circuiting his brain to make that dumb expression on his face.

A relieved sigh escaped Kyo's lips. To their surprise, he made no move to escape. Seemingly content to just rest limply against the ground. Not even shifting his weight to make himself more comfortable. Bakugou noted the sweat that dripped from Kyo's brow and that his breath came in short pants after spitting the rag out of his mouth.

He must have exhausted himself when he overused his quirk. The idiot probably can't move at all, Bakugou theorized. Especially when he didn't waste any energy to make any wisecracks at them.

Regardless, the explosive hero kept a firm hold of his prisoner. On the off chance that this was just part of an elaborate ruse to lull them into a false sense of security. With only a few minutes left until the time limit was up, they couldn't risk Kyo breaking free. Unlike Tohru, the twins could keep fighting if they manage to escape their captors. Bakugou's crimson gaze drifted toward the rest of the class to take in their progress.

Just as Bakugou had predicted. Once Kyo had been taken off the board, their hopeless situation turned around for the better. Allowing Deku's group to capture Tsubasa almost immediately. In the end, Class A managed to restrain both guards, but they couldn't retrieve Tohru's headband before their time limit expired. The kunoichi was miraculously able to dodge the class's advances until the very end.

No one took that loss harder than Momo. Ponytail had been attacked relentlessly by the kunoichi throughout the entirety of the match. The Vice-president tried her best to create useful gadgets to support her teammates, but Ribbons would attack her or her creations to prevent her from aiding her friends. It was a shock to everyone to see the bubbly ditzy girl fight so aggressively. Apparently, not over the rude words Ponytail had uttered to her teammate during Homeroom.

In the final seconds, Momo had managed to block a blow from the kunoichi by handcuffing one of Tohru's hands to herself. Blocking off her retreat and making her quirk useless in the process. Ponytail's onyx eyes had sparkled with triumph as she yanked Tohru to her to remove the headband from her person. The victory was theirs for the taking. At least, that's what they all believed.

The brunette swiftly pulled one of the dangly ribbons from her head. In a fluid movement, she gave the hair tie a little flick. Before their very eyes, the ribbon defied gravity as it remained completely straight in midair, as it morphed into a shimmering silver sai. Twirling the ninja weapon in her hands once before cutting through the chain connecting them-and their hopes of winning-like warm butter. Once free, Tohru transformed herself into a cheetah form and ran out of their reach.

"We'll class, that was an underwhelming showing on your part," Aizawa commented when they all gathered around after their lesson. His fellow teachers standing beside him. An assortment of expressions painted their features. Ranging from surprise to abashment. The trio stood to the side of them, with only Kyo looking a little worse for wear. The Underground hero didn't seem all that surprised by the outcome, but he was definitely disappointed by their lack of cooperation. "I expected better from you all. Who would like to make a guess as to why you failed so miserably?"

A gloomy silence washed over the class. Everyone's gaze dropped to their feet in shame. It was incredibly embarrassing to be beaten 3v20 when their opponents were supposed to be on the defensive. No wait, it was 3v21 now that Shinsou was in their class. Bakugou had worried that he wouldn't be able to hold his own in their class, but he had been the one that ended up catching the other Hitsuzen twin. With a replica of Aizawa's capture weapon no less.

The ash-blonde's crimson eyes narrowed at his new classmate. Compared to the rest of the class, he looked relatively unharmed. No signs of soot from Kyo's explosions or tears in his gym clothes from Tsubasa's wind attacks anywhere to be seen on his person.

How in the hell..?

"Sensei, may I?" Ponytail cut in self-consciously, her hand slightly raised.

Aizawa gave her a curt nod to continue with her explanation. "We were completely disorganized. We failed to heed All Might's words at the beginning of class about the importance of assigning roles within our group. As a result, we fell apart under the lack of leadership," she began sullenly. Her head lowered in shame, the longer she spoke, which spread to the rest of the class.

"In contrast, our opponents' teamwork was flawless. They covered each other's weaknesses and enhanced their teammates' strengths. Our enemies took advantage of our infighting and further sowed seeds of chaos within our ranks," she further explained for the class. Frustrated tears threatened to fall from her onyx eyes. "Then there was my screw up at the end. I allowed myself to celebrate our supposed victory before grabbing Honda-san's headband. I let everyone down, and for that, I am truly sorry," she finished with a disgraced bow.

Aizawa let out a long exasperated sigh. "Yeah, that pretty much sums up your questionable performance," he agreed bluntly, causing everyone to deflate. They had never failed so severely before. In teamwork, no less.

A loud cough stole their attention. "But it wasn't for nothing. It's important to remember that you can learn more from failure than you can from success. Besides that, we witnessed some creative skills exhibited on both sides. From Bakugou, Mina, Kaminari, Shinsou, Tohru, and Yaoyorozu, especially," Aizawa acknowledged. Everyone's spirits rose slightly from the praise.

Bakugou shot a smug smirk Deku's way.

"However, that doesn't mean any of you can afford to slack off," the underground continued. His expression was dark and difficult to read. His charcoal eyes scanned the crowd of students one by one. "Look alive, everyone. This is when the real training begins," he finished a little wickedly. And with that, Class A immediately resumed with their first-ever Quirkless lesson much to everyone's dismay. They about dropped dead.

Kyo P. O. V.

Everyone was utterly exhausted from the teamwork activity. Their poor abused muscles and minds still reeled from being pushed beyond their limits.

Good, that's what we want, Kyo purred to himself. Taking great pleasure from seeing their haggard forms prepare themselves for the next bout of training.

Every tear in their clothing, reddening burn on their skin and bruise forming on their person was a physical reminder of the lessons that he and his teammates had literally beaten into them. Each injury provided crucial hints about what they still needed to work on, whether that be defensive timing, offensive power, strategic planning, and of course, teamwork. Over the next semester, Aizawa and the trio would be responsible for building off the foundation of what they learned today; to help them improve their overall fighting capabilities and overcome their weaknesses.

It was no accident that they were starting the Quirkless activity while they're tired and beaten down. Aizawa and the shinobi wanted to replicate a simulation in which their quirks and bodies were nowhere near their top condition. This way, the class could easily relate to a realistic situation in which their quirks might be rendered useless due to fatigue. The most common reason they might find themselves left powerless one day.

Even if it's not the most pressing reason for this training, the carrot top couldn't help but think, as he too stretched his abused muscles to prepare himself for the intense fighting to come.

Kyo winced slightly when he stretched too far. Class A won't be the only ones fighting while exhausted. The brawl with Bakugou and his friends had aggravated his still-healing injuries. Not to mention that his accidental detonation at the end had zapped most of his stamina in one fell swoop. Even as he stood obediently beside Aizawa and his teammates, it took all his will power to keep himself at attention with his eyes open. If he wasn't careful, he could easily fall asleep on his feet.

A female voice suddenly got his attention. "Similar to the teamwork lesson, you'll be pitted against one of the shinobi," Midnight sensei started to explain. She held up a white flag with a red number 1 written on it. "Your task is simple. One by one, each of you will be trying to retrieve the flag with your seat number from one of these shinobi. Neither of you will be allowed to use your quirks, and doing so will disqualify you from the activity."

"To pass, you need to grab your numbered flag or showcase your competence to the shinobi testing you," She continued to explain before a student interrupted her.

"You mean they're the ones scoring us?" a disembodied voice asked suddenly. Her floating clothes moved back in forth to suggest she was waving to get everyone's attention. Kyo found the invisible girl's presence unsettling. Her aura, as well as her body, was challenging to pick out. Putting him on edge. "Is that fair?"

"It is," Aizawa answered in an authoritative tone. One that commanded you obey without question. A tone that always stirred Kyo's mischievous personality, even though he had nothing but respect for the dark-haired man standing a couple of feet to his left. "Just because they are your classmates, don't forget they are here to teach you as well. During the Quirkless lessons, they have as much authority as any other teacher here at UA. Do what you're told, or you'll be paying for it during your training sessions."

"We're gonna die," wept a bulky guy with big lips.

"We'll be here to supervise to make sure it doesn't get too out of hand," a skinny man with long golden hair promised cheerfully. Doing his best to look confident, but there were clear signs of unease painted on his features.

"That's not very comforting," a girl with large unblinking eyes pointed out.

"If that's everything, let's get started," Kyo interrupted impatiently. The longer he stayed awake without replenishing his stamina, the weaker he grew. He needed to get this lesson over with quickly and take a cat nap if he was going to have any sort of hope of making it the rest of the day. Even now, he felt his eyelids grow heavier. Screaming for him to fall asleep.

The trio randomly grabbed a string with seven flags attached to it and tied it across their chests. Not only did the future heroes have to retrieve their flags, but they also had to make sure to grab the correct one from the numerous ones that dangled from their person. Upping the ante just a little more.

"When I call your number step forward and line up away from your classmates," Kyo instructed. A precaution to dissuade the students from strategizing with one another. It would defeat the purpose of their aptitude test if they received support from their friends. "1, 4, 7, 8, 16, 19, and 20."

Once the seven students stepped forward and stood in a half-circle around him, he continued with the instructions. "Now, before we start. I wanted to remind you that you're not allowed to use your quirks. Weapons, however-" he began, motioning to the cart Tohru rolled over to him. On it was an assortment of weapons from practice swords to daggers. "Are fair game," he finished with a smirk that revealed his fangs.

He casually grabbed a dagger and began to twirl it in his hands. "Before you throw a fit, they're all wooden. No way am I putting a real weapon in your hands yet. You'll probably end up stabbing yourself," Kyo explained with a halfhearted laugh. With that, they got started with the exercise.

Kyo was too lazy to read the info packets Aizawa provided him, so he didn't remember many of the student's names yet. Not that it would've helped much. He tended not to pay much attention when it came to people's names anyway. When you meet as many people as they do, it was incredibly challenging to keep them all straight. Not to mention that sometimes the other world versions of people they encountered before had entirely different names. To combat this, Kyo preferred to make up nicknames for the people he meets.

His crimson eyes scanned the students assigned to him. Let's see there's Sparkles, Eyebrows, Sparky, Kiri, Stalker, Disgusting, and Ponytail. There's a couple that looks interesting, but I don't expect much from the rest.

"Let's get this over with. Whoever wants to start, step forward," the explosive shinobi ordered impatiently. Dropping into a low crouch. His preferred defensive stance since Kyo's movements tended to be more animalistic.

A sparkly nitwit with golden hair doesn't hesitate to step forward. Surprising Kyo with his initiative. "First is me, mon ami," the teen announced in a heavy French accent that made him cringe with its exaggerated pronunciation. The shinobi knew his accent was weird to most people, but this one grated against his ears painfully. "Time to bring some class to your life."

As one would expect, the match ended a couple of seconds later. It wasn't even the taunt that had set the explosive shinobi off, though that didn't help things either. Mostly, it was because Kyo knew the guy wasn't worth his time. He knew that the second he laid eyes on the guy. Coupled that with his unjustified arrogance and Kyo had no choice but to knock some sense into him, the only way Kyo knew how. With a simple hand chop to the neck. Aizawa gave Kyo an earful before he was permitted to resume to the next match.

Next up was the purple-perv that Sparky had told him about the day before. Kyo's crimson eyes glowed red the second the little pipsqueak stepped forward. The explosive shinobi's anger and bloodlust instantly made the gym 20 degrees hotter than it had been a second before.

How dare he try to take indecent photos of Tohru!

His body towered over his soon to be victim threateningly. A cough from Aizawa reminded him that he wasn't allowed to kill the insignificant grape in front of him.

Fine.

But as that kid soon learned, there were all kinds of fates worse than death. The kid didn't stand a chance of getting a flag, but Kyo toyed with him regardless. Beating the grape juice out him until All Might finally intervened. In retrospect, Kyo was amazed they had let him go for as long as he did. Maybe the teachers were aware of his despicable behavior and decided to turn a blind eye to the justified beating.

After the first two, Kyo made a conscious effort to reign his antics in a bit. It wouldn't be fair if he didn't give the remaining students a chance at least. Eyebrow's speed was impressive, but his fighting style was too predictable, and the class president ran out of stamina quickly. It took Kyo no time at all to memorize his movements and find an opportune time to deliver counter-attacks to trip him up. In the end, he was unable to retrieve his flag before Kyo decided it was enough and ended the match.

Kirishima was one of the few names he knew, though Kyo quickly adopted the affectionate nickname "Kiri," that his new friend group called him by. The red-head was incredibly strong even without his quirk. He was also surprisingly fast Kyo noticed when he almost grabbed a flag after a sudden lunge forward, catching him off guard. Kiri required better form when fighting, but was impressive nonetheless. The hero could benefit from increasing his speed since it would transfer to his hardened form as well. While Kirishima didn't retrieve a flag, Kyo gave him a passing grade for the activity.

Momo had experience with weapons, but her form needed improvement. It was sloppy and easily broken. Though the craftsmanship of her weapons was impressive. Not entirely on par with his, but for someone who never made them the "correct" way. They were sufficient. Kyo, unfortunately, had to dock her points, because they were supposed to be using wooden weapons since none of them had been appropriately trained to wield the real thing yet. Regardless of that mistake, she passed the lesson.

The invisible stalker was a nightmare. Not only did Hagakure not take the lesson seriously, but she was also annoying, if not a bit terrifying. Her presence was hard to pinpoint, sometimes it even disappeared completely, even when he could see her floating clothes in front of him. With how sharp his senses were, that shouldn't be possible. That was why he had almost killed her at their sleepover the other night. He had felt something latch onto him roughly and hadn't noticed her presence in the slightest for a good few seconds after the initial physical contact. Since then, he could feel her invisible eyes on him now and then and felt her presence lurking in the background like an ominous shadow. In lamen terms, she creeped the hell out of him. Like sparkles, he ended up finishing her fight relatively quickly, just to get away from her.

The last one up was Kaminari or "Sparky," as Kyo liked to call him. Overall, he lacked a proper fighting style, but his instincts were on point. No, that's not right, Kyo realized when he saw the golden-haired boy land clumsily after expertly dodging a lightning-fast blow Kyo had aimed at his stomach.

It seemed Kaminari's fighting instincts were there but were slow and underutilized. The reason Kaminari surprised him during the last class and why he was currently able to dodge Kyo's advances now was because of something the shinobi had never experienced before. Kaminari's "quirk" was responding to Kyo's detonation powers. Notifying Sparky of his opponent's movements and converting the elemental nature of his quirk to speed up his reflexes in the process. Kyo could see it in the way Kaminari's hair stood up and how it sparked whenever he got close. Even when the electric-user wasn't actively calling on the use of his quirk.

Sparky was technically breaking the rules, but not of his own will. It was something Aizawa briefly explained as living quirks. Something that had a mind of its own or responded to outside influences regardless of what the user wished. Making these uncontrollable instances no fault of the person in question.

Take Bakugou; for example, his quirk allowed him to sweat a nitroglycerin-like substance from his palms. Even though it was Bakugou's quirk and he could make himself sweat more when fighting, it was something that occurred naturally and could never be turned off. Even Aizawa's cancelation powers couldn't keep the hothead from sweating, only from creating sparks to make his sweat explode. Kaminari's quirk somehow zeroed in on the latent lightning properties of Kyo's detonation ability to help Kaminari predict Kyo's movements.

Sparky probably can't duplicate this fighting style with anyone else at the moment, theorized the copper-haired teen. Noting how Kaminari didn't even seem aware that his quirk was activated to some extent. But if he's able to master this power, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

The shinobi was busy trying to figure out a way to help nurture Kaminari's new ability without exposing his secret when his sharp ears picked up a conversation on the sidelines.

"Wow, Kyo's been fighting Kaminari for a while now. Though it doesn't look like he's making any progress getting a flag. Do you think Kyo's tired or something?" a bubbly female voice asked.

His crimson eyes risked a glance in that direction to see a cheerful girl with light brown hair talking with Tohru.

"No, that's not it~" Tohru assured in her usual sweet voice. Beside her was Bakugou, TapeGuy, and Tsubasa's friend Freckles. She continued a little nervously, "Kyo loves to fight, but he doesn't like to waste his time on people he doesn't think are a challenge or interesting. If he doesn't think your worth his time, he'll knock you out with one hit. Kinda like what he did to poor Aoyama. If he enjoys a fight or an opponent, he'll drag it out to learn more about them. It's Kyo's way of showing respect for one's abilities. I believe he finds Kaminari to be a very interesting opponent. He probably wishes that Kaminari was allowed to use his quirk to see him at full power~"

Kyo smiles at that. Nice assessment Tohru, he praised as he sidestepped to prevent Kaminari from grabbing hold of his flag.

"He's an idiot for pulling that crap in his condition," Bakugou's voice suddenly muttered, giving both of them pause.

Kyo didn't need to glance at them to know that she was probably blinking at him in confusion. "I'm not sure I know what you mean," her voice responded after a brief pause.

There was another long pause before he whispered back, "He's injured, isn't he?"

The shock from that statement almost made him get hit by a punch from Kaminari. Thankfully he recovered in time to parry the blow. As he did so, he could hear Tohru trying to cover for him. Saying that he must be mistaken or something along those lines. But the ash-blonde didn't buy it.

His voice was low when he stressed, "I heard him arguing with his brother earlier. Something about 'not pushing himself."

Kyo's spirits dropped. Damn it. So they did hear us, he berated himself harshly. Was that all they heard?

After hearing that, Tohru doesn't deny it any further. Her voice was small when she hesitantly admitted that he was still recovering from an injury from their last mission. She doesn't say anything more on the matter, and while Bakugou was clearly still suspicious, he doesn't press the subject any further.

Shit, these kids are too perceptive for their own good.

Kaminari didn't end up getting a flag, but Kyo passed him anyway. He showed terrific potential if officially taught how to fight and utilize his powers. Kyo found a comfy spot and watched the rest of the matches while slowly regaining his stamina. His little brother was the next proctor. He would be testing Pinky, Toad, BubblyGirl, Rockhead, Tape, Candycane, and Freckles.

Pinky and Toad were both athletic but lacked the fighting skills to even touch his younger brother. Both failing to capture their flags or pass the class. Bubbly Girl had impressive fighting abilities. She managed to dodge one of Tsubasa's powerful kicks and impress everyone by successfully grabbing her flag before he could counter. Being the first of her classmates to grab their flag. Poor Rockhead and Tape tried their hardest, but it was clear that they both still had a long way to go before they could take anyone on quirkless. Everyone expected Candycane and Freckles to do the best, but that turned out not to be the case. Both of their fighting styles relied heavily on their quirks. They had a lot of trouble not using their powers and ended up getting disqualified for intentionally breaking the rules.

Tohru was the last teacher of the class. The students assigned to her were Tail, Big lips, Mask, Ears, Raven, Bakugou, and lastly, Shinsou. Ojiro had martial arts knowledge, but they all incorporated his tail. He had no idea what to do without using it. Downright embarrassing, he couldn't even throw a punch without getting knocked off balance. He failed, obviously.

Big lips and Mask were too slow to keep up with Tohru, let alone touch her. Ears picked a wooden dagger from the cart and was passable when wielding it. She just needed formal training but had potential. Tokoyami was not as skilled with a weapon of choice, a sword. His movements were clumsy and straightforward.

Bakugou had been busy studying Tohru's fighting style, and the timing of her moves carefully as everyone fought her. His crimson eyes watched how she moved, dodged, and of course, how she attacked. Coupling that with the knowledge he accumulated with his fight with her earlier, it was no surprise that he ended up retrieving his flag for her. His attacks were nowhere as fast or as strong without his explosions. However, Bakugou's intellect and tenacity was a force to be reckoned with even without his quirk aiding his endeavors.

Shinsou was also very skilled. Since he didn't typically rely on his quirk to fight, this lesson wasn't much different than the last one. Shinsou seemed well versed in standard ninja techniques because he was able to evade her attacks and anticipate hers. He used a replica of Aizawa's capture weapon to restrain Tohru's arm long enough to capture his flag to secure his victory.

Out of the 21 students in their care, only Uraraka, Shinsou, and Bakugou managed to reclaim their flags from the shinobi. Students who passed regardless of this were Kirishima, Kaminari, Momo, and Jirou. Making a total of 7 students out of 21. One third passed. Two-thirds failed.

Kyo was incredibly disturbed how reliant everyone was to their quirks since, without them, they are defenseless. It was stupid to depend solely on your powers no matter who you were. The trio knew that better than anyone since some worlds they had visited made their abilities utterly worthless. The copper-haired shinobi had conflicting feelings towards the source of his powers. Well versed in the benefits they provided, as well as their weaknesses. Each having a time and place to be utilized. And while not having access to them would be a blow to his fighting capabilities, they didn't make him utterly helpless without them. Judging from the faces of his teammates and Aizawa, they felt the same.

"7 out of 21 passed. Y'all suck," Kyo stated bluntly with his arms crossed. His P.E. clothes were torn and battered beyond repair. He felt like a slight breeze could knock him over with how exhausted he still felt, but his eyes burned with a fiery intensity as he stared down the class of would-be heroes.

"Hey man, we tried our best," Tape answered for the class. A few soot-covered heads nodded in agreement. "Give us a break."

Before one of the teachers could interject, Kyo continued to scold them. "You think that's all that matters?"

The class immediately fell silent.

"It doesn't in case you were wondering," the shinobi answered for them.

Kyo's intense gaze made a few of them break eye contact with him. "You think a villain is just going to spare your life because you tried your best? No, they're gonna kill you the second they have the opportunity," Kyo stated flatly. Earning him a couple of surprised gasps. Kyo didn't care if he was scaring them. Someone needed to give them all a wake-up call. They needed to understand how vulnerable they were if they suddenly didn't have their quirks.

"You probably think that what we're teaching you doesn't matter. That you just need to do is perform well enough to pass this section, but I'm telling you now. If you don't take this seriously, you will fucking die; and probably sooner rather than later," Kyo urged, hoping to scare them into taking this training seriously if they valued their lives.

Aizawa and his teammates gave him a displeased look, but none made a move to silence him, so he continued. Kyo reached into his pocket, grabbed hold of the wooden dagger hiding within, and tossed it straight at Midoriya. Kyo blew it up a few seconds before it made contact. The green-haired boy didn't even have time to register that something was coming for him. Reacting to the sound of the explosion by his head instead of the "deadly" weapon hurled at his face.

"Your instincts are shit," Kyo announced when Freckle's confused eyes stared back at him. "If that was a real weapon, you'd be dead right now."

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. His brother's way of telling him to tone it down while he took over for him. "Not only will we be teaching you how to fight without using your quirks. We'll also be teaching you how to defend against those that don't rely on a fancy quirk to fight," Tsubasa further explained for him. His tone was friendly, but an underlined seriousness still carried the importance of his words.

"By fighting like them, you'll start to notice how they will attack you and be able to better understand their movements~" Tohru continued with a smile. "Your combat instincts will sharpen, and your reaction time will increase exponentially~"

Their words seemed to give the heroes a better understanding of what this training would do for them, but they still missed the bigger picture of its importance.

They'll learn soon enough.

As punishment for the unimpressive skills they exhibited during the quirkless assessment, Class-A were all forced to do martial arts drills for the remainder of the period. Much to everyone's disappointment.

The class soon figured out that mischievous shinobi was a demanding teacher who was not afraid to beat them into shape. After demonstrating the drill once, Kyo would patrol them and deliver a "light" punch to their ribs if they messed up any of the moves up. All the while, the other teachers watched on and provided occasional moral support. All except Aizawa sensei, who seemed to enjoy their pain. The underground hero watched their progress with an unabashed smile on his face.

And so the next hour marked Class A's descent into Hell.

Sorry for the wait. I wanted to make the fight scenes as engaging as possible while still providing information about everyones abilities and where they needed improvement. That's also why this chapter is the longest one so far. I'm still trying to find the right balance of being long enough to cover multiple encounters, but also be fun and engaging. Left me know if you have a chapter length preference. Finally introduced Kyoru into the story, so that will be an adorable element to play with from no on. Like always, I hope you're enjoying the story so far and i hope you continue to keep reading.