Disclaimer: I am not the owner of BNHA/MHA or its characters
An: I am crazy. I am mad. I am my own worst enemy.
If you hadn't noticed, it's extremely close to Lethal Intent's one-year anniversary on this website. I am frustrated with myself because I haven't even posted the equivalent of one chapter per month. I am so lazy, and I hate myself right now. Well, I have this hurriedly-typed thing(two chapters in one month, yay). Don't worry, I'll be posting on the anniversary too, which is the 27th if you didn't know. That means there'll be a total of eleven chapters posted over a year's span. I think I'm starting to feel a little sick, so before I implode on myself, enjoy!
Chapter 10: Competitive Companions
A hand extending towards a head,
everyone frozen, blood, red.
The grey hand crawling perch,
creepy smile, stomachs lurch.
A shot, blood,
A broken leg.
A grind, smash, hope knocked:
down a peg.
The shaky leader joyous from the arrival of All Might.
The worst of wrongs twisted right.
The children warmed by his radiant smile,
the happiness slain by villainous denial.
...
All Might grabbed the Nomu and began his first round of attacks. The creature's face took every pummel and, if possible, got even uglier. Then its skin magically repaired itself, leaving its onlookers in awe. The one in control of that prism of power laughed hysterically at the top hero's attempts.
"My Nomu is designed to take all of your power. The only way to possibly beat it would be to slowly gauge out its flesh." All Might smirked back.
"Thanks for the tip." Then, he went Plus Ultra on that duck. To Izuki it looked as if he might've even gone beyond. Predictably, the control freak got angry, yelling orders to his warp gate partner. Kurogiri stared back at him with a slightly despising look, but he stalked over to Shigaraki's side.
Izuki went to help Aizawa, hauling him away. Three boys shot passed her, joining the fight. Izuki figured they'd be fine, so she marched on. As she came to the foot of Thirteen's bridge however, a hand caught her by the throat, thrusting her backward. A scratchy voice chuckled in her ear.
"You thought you could get away that easily?" Izuki squirmed, picking at her captor's hands, but the angle was too awkward. Her legs flailed in empty air. She reached to tug his grey-blue hair. With nothing succeeding, she used her last resort, her quirk.
She grabbed his closest wrist, and let about 60% of her power flow through. He probably wouldn't die, but the damage would be permanent. Just as her veins turned black with overuse, the dry-lipped villain accidently placed all his fingers on her neck.
Their quirks clashed with crackling intensity, fighting for dominance. A hero and villain met on par, the game a stalemate. Their similar powers meant they had similar limits, but Izuki soon shattered that. They were only equals only as long as she held back.
She stretched the mental chains of dormancy as far as they'd go, brain straining. With the Librium unbalanced, Izuki slipped from his grasp, landing on the ground behind Todoroki. She knew it'd be all over if her adrenaline died now, so she pushed onward before the quirk overdose could incapacitate her.
In the dedicated movements of any INFJ-A, she thought of others first, doing the one thing she could. She threw herself at Shigaraki, restraining him with all the power she could muster. Unfortunately, he could still give orders. She felt herself retreating, once again, to the useless Deku hole where she belonged. While she pondered her worth, a group of heroes came to help, Iida at their head.
Snipe fired straight through Shigaraki's arm. She dropped him and stepped back, freeing him up for two more bullets. She glanced in All Might's direction and saw the black bird monster rocket through the roof. Meanwhile, the blonde superhero puffed out breaths of exhaustion. She watched him curiously until the teachers ordered them to leave after visiting the infirmary.
As she exited, she threw one last look over her shoulder, and her features widened. In All Might's stead was a scrawny frizzy-haired man. His blue gaze met hers, and he startled.
She disappeared before he could do anything else.
...
A few days passed, and the news of the USJ Incident spread like wildfire. Everyone feared one of the most popular events, the Yuuei Sports Festival, wouldn't go on. But Aizawa reassured them.
"We are, in fact, still going to be doing the Festival. Several teens muttered about unnecessary suspense, while others celebrated. Kirishima stood up excitedly while Mineta complained about the expectations of lazy adults. After the ruckus died out, the real discussion began, and they learned of the Festival's importance.
At the end of the period, the classroom doors were unexpectedly blocked by Class 1-B and General Studies students. Iida explained they were "scoping the competition", but nobody seemed to care. They all just aimed to prove Class 1-B's Monoma wrong about their arrogance. Bakugou however, had his own agenda. He pushed through obnoxiously.
"Move it extras, I have places to be!" Izuki rolled her eyes, following in his wake. She noticed a familiar head of purple in the crowd. She pushed over to him, grinning. Shinsou greeted her with a wink.
"Heya," He looked sideways at the departing Bakugou. "Doesn't he realize extras are an important part of any movie production?" Izuki huffed.
"As if." She signed. "He doesn't care enough to know that." Shinou nodded, pulling a thumb over his chin in a mocking gesture. He patted her head teasingly.
"Don't worry, I'll put him in his place during the Festival." Izuki snickered, rolling her eyes and signing sarcastically.
"Sure." They shared smiles and laughter at Bakugou's expense, walking down to the gates together.
...
The next two weeks consisted of nothing but training. Izuki got it extra hard because Midnight didn't know how much they did in the Hero Course, so she still gave Izuki an almost full workout schedule. Izuki felt like a ball, bouncing back and forth between class practice battles and Midnight's gym. Once every two to three days, she'd get a break, choosing to spend most at that time with Shinsou because she only got to see him during lunch. They became even better friends, and part-time rivals. Really, everyone in Class 1-A had became her family.
...
The annoying voice of Present Mic filled the stadium, and brought with it a round of cheers. Their homeroom teacher sat beside him with a disheartened look. After introducing the other classes, they announced Class 1-A's entrance, receiving deafening applause. Everyone knew about the USJ students. The warm-hearted welcome finally concluded when a sleek-haired hero stepped into the spotlight.
Midnight winked at her and cracked her whip theatrically. Izuki rolled her eyes as her mentor explained proper festival procedures. Then, she-called forward their "class rep", Bakugou Katsuki. He shoved to the front, resting his simmering gaze on the crowd of children with a smirk. He spoke with a low growl.
"I'm gonna win." Izuki facepalmed while most students roared in outrage, and the audience went wild. Midnight moved on, holding up a random choice board with the words "Obstacle Course" in awe-inspiring neon orange. Izuki thanked all the mighty gods. She couldn't recall how many times she'd run the courses at Midnight's gym. It was almost too good to be a coincidence. She'd have a little chat with Midnight later. For now though, she focused on the competition, readying herself at the game's starting tunnel.
The buzzer rang, and she had just enough time to get aboveground before the entire area became sheathed in ice. This time, she thanked her over-prepared self, and began "ice-skating" past those who were temporary works of art. She sent a teasing finger wave to the hilariously frozen Shinsou while gliding past a maze of generously frozen androids. Sadly, her relaxing rink morphed back into a dirt path, leading to a canyon.
The gap had a choice of wobbly platforms, or a trip up death string alley. Izuki chose the string, letting her acrobatic skills shine through. She made it across, feeling a little proud, as she held the lead over most of the participants. Bakugou and Todoroki were somewhere ahead, so she amped up the dust.
She smirked as the next challenge came into sight. It was a minefield, spaced exactly like the floating lilies Midnight had drilled her over so many times. This however, would be even easier as she could aim for the large space between the mines instead of the mines themselves.
Even the flexible Tsuyu wouldv'e gaped in shock to witness Izuki's expertly timed consecutive backflips. Izuki was a smidge frustrated that her hair had come undone, meaning she had to tilt her head in a bit so it wouldn't set off the explosives. Unfortunately, her adjustment caused her leg to land slightly off-center, sending her cartwheeling right into Todoroki.
Bakugou laughed at their expense and easily strutted over the finish line. Todoroki and her untangled awkwardly, leaving no time to get flustered. Izuki scrambled to her feet, stooping to help Todoroki tup as well. He raised a questioning brow, and she remembered it was a competition. Whatever, heroes would be heroes. Just as the pair prepared to make a run for it, Izuki felt a pain flare up in her hamstring. She grunted, stumbling into Todoroki again. Todoroki caught her that time, and placed her on his shoulders. She smiled in gratitude as they stole second place.
She thanked Todoroki with a half-hug that made him tense up. He nodded to acknowledge her, and the both waited in uncomfortable silence for their classmates to finish. The elimination bell rang with everyone from Class 1-A barely skimming through. Students from the second hero class snickered at the last place finishing student, who was still puffing his exhaustion, Aoyama.
Izuki grinned at her classmates, and Shinsou, who'd all made her proud. She glance around self-consciously, finally realizing the way an audience could piece her. She was extremely glad when Midnight stole the spotlight, explaining the next part of the Sports Festival, which was called "Mecha Showdown".
"The students will be put into teams of three to five, co-piloting a Mech together. Each of the teams will have a certain amount of attack and defense points. The objective is to attack the least amount possible while gaining the most possible points. The amount of points your team has is determined by what place you finished." She paused to snicker maliciously at them, her eyes glowing a dangerous color.
"The first place winner gets 5 million of each type, meaning, if you bring his team down before he gets attacks in, you'll get 10 million points." Immediately Bakugou was pierced by greedy stares that made her glad she hadn't won. Midnight grinned at their eagerness.
"Alright, the time to choose your team is now!" Many students flocked to her and Todoroki, wanting to leech off their power for the win. Izuki ignored them, following her heart. Todoroki's hand reached out to her before she could escape the barrage of teens. He tentatively asked,
"Do you want to be on my team?" Izuki gave him a half-smile, retreating. He didn't need teammates as much as Bakugou, so she shook her head, declaring to truly befriend the boy at a later date.
She approached her temperamental friend with gliding steps. The eyes of several curious cowards marked her every move. Just as she came within range, Bakugou scooped her from the ground, backing her against the stadium's ring. He growled firmly.
"I don't like you, okay, but you're joining my team!" He ordered her, eyes flicking with slight paranoia. Izuki nodded, trying to tell him she'd be best piloting the head. He ignored her, glaring at the people of the stadium, who showed no signs of interest in joining his team. Izuki could understand; he wasn't exactly the best with teamwork.
Suddenly, a pink-haired girl covered in gadgets popped up from nowhere, smiling wide. She introduced herself as Hatsume Mei, a Support Course student. She ranted constantly about her babies, excitedly showing them off and saying she'd be the most reliable teammate. For some reason, Hatsume thought it'd be a good idea to start touching Bakugou. Izuki tried to warn her, but the bouncing-bubble of a girl did it anyway, earning herself flaming hair. Bakugou snarled at her violently.
"Piss off Clock-Head!" Hatsume shrugged, patting her hair, and looking curiously to Izuki. Izuki stood nonchalantly behind the flaming beast. The support student immediately galloped to Izuki's side, fondling her in appreciation. Izuki blushed furiously, freezing up. She shoved Hatsume off in a panic, backing away.
Bakugou appeared angered by Hatsume's forwardness as well, his face taking on a shade similar to Darth Vader's lightsaber. Hatsume must've saw his struggle, as she poked at him mockingly.
"I bet you'd let her tough you, wouldn't you?" The mentioned girl blushed tomato-red while Bakugou balked. He gritted his teeth angrily, wanting to rip the annoying girl to pieces. His rage however, stayed in its cage, as Midnight told them to hurry with the teams. With less than a minute left, the heroes hardened their hearts, some quite literally, and prepared for the real challenge to begin.
An: Btw, I'm sorry for the confusion(if you're confused), because my chapters went from nine to ten, back to nine, and now they're at ten again. It's because I updated it, deleted the poll, and then updated again. Thanks for reading, and here's a little something...
Monoma Neito: Phantom Thief ファントムシーフ
-His family is unknown, but I think of Itsuka Kendo as his older sister
-His quirk is Copy because he's a pompous brat and doesn't deserve anything "original"
-His eyes a deep, pensive blue, but sometimes they look lavender
-He has type A blood, which is the same as his personality
-He reminds me a lot of Togami from Danganronpa for some reason
-He is a student in Class 1-B
-He's probably my 2nd favorite character in the series
-He acts like a stereotypical gay seme