Chapter 63: Joint Training, Part 1

ATTENTION: NOW ENTERING MANGA TERRITORY. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

He could tell the difference between a normal dream and one sent from his Quirk immediately now.

There was a certain feeling, an edge that the Quirk dreams had. Even when they didn't show him anything explicitly disturbing. It was like an instant regret, bordering on panic, and a heavy sense of foreboding. It came upon him now as he walked into a UA bathroom, only the bathroom had impossible architecture. I'm dreaming, thought Doko Katayama, and then, a second later, ah shit. Not like this.

There were rats scurrying around in the bathroom. Why was he being shown rats? Are they your physical form? he asked his Quirk, dryly. No response.

Suddenly, one of the rats began to squeak. Then, it convulsed. Its companions scattered away from it, scared. The rat rolled on the ground, thrashing and screaming...and went limp. Its small mouth opened.

Out of its mouth erupted starlight. The lights filled Doko's vision, causing him to throw a hand over his face so as to not blind himself. Then…they resolved into the shape of an infant.

The glowing baby. The first Quirk. He'd seen it before in the dreams. Every time he saw the baby in a dream again, he remembered the countless other times he'd seen it…but they all went forgotten when he woke up.

Why are you showing me the first Quirk? No response. Were these images just meant to madden him? Make him go insane? Was that all there was to it? Make me think that it's showing me something important, only for it to be nothing…

Doko lifted his head. He was staring into the eyes of a muscular dark-haired woman. She had a spiky ponytail that wavered in some ethereal breeze. And she was scowling at him.

"Who're you?" she asked roughly. "Begone. This is not your place."

"I…" he could not seem to form words. "I didn't come here on purpose…"

More shapes were forming up around her. "Begone, creature," they all said together. "You don't belong here."

"Okay, okay! I'll try to leave, just…"

The shapes were converging on him, as if they meant to grab him. Doko's heart spiked in panic. He scrambled backward. "Stay away from me!" he shrieked.

"You stay away from us."

He was floating backward, repelled away from that place by their will. He windmilled his arms, trying to find purchase, but there was none in the void.

Beyond the shapes, he saw another person standing there. A boy. A boy he recognized. Fuck it, I'm calling out to him.

"MIDORIYA!" he yelled, waving his hands. "MIDORIYA, WHAT IS THIS? WHO ARE THEY?" Are they the previous users of your Quirk? Of All Might's Quirk? Of…ONE FOR ALL? He didn't have time to ask that, though. Because when Midoriya looked up at him, the boy's eyes widened in panic, and such a severe feeling of dread fell over Doko that he jolted awake.

Next to him in the bed, Mina yelped, her arms throwing themselves around him, and in the distance, he heard breaking glass.

Doko looked down at her. Her eyes were wide open, her chest heaving. "You…you scared me…" she mumbled. "Another nightmare?"

"I don't think so," he said. "At least, nothing particularly nightmarish happened in it." That was not really a lie. Nothing he'd seen had been scary, but what had that feeling of dread been?

"I heard something." Mina sat up, and looked toward the window of her room. "Breaking glass, maybe? A window? Do you think someone might be breaking in?"

"No," Doko said, feeling sick. That was Midoriya. He pretty much believed it now. The two of them had been sharing the same dreamspace. But how does that happen? Is it his Quirk? Mine? Both? I must talk to him.

"Let's go back to sleep," said Mina, after checking her phone. "It's 3:47…ah!"

Doko leaned forward and kissed her lips. He didn't know why, but he needed it. Wanted it. Right now, of all times.

They separated with a pop, Mina looking up at him, gasping. "Or," she breathed, "we could make love."

He simply nodded, and turned over to get completely on top of her, leaning down and kissing her again. This time, her mouth opened for his tongue, and the two of them forgot all else besides each other for a while.

…

The next morning, they took care to not exit the room at the same time like always. They'd been in Mina's room, so Mina would make sure the coast is clear for Doko to leave a few minutes after her. There were no cameras in the hallways, just in the common room, but still. It wouldn't do to be seen by Iida or Momo. Everyone else in the class was pretty much aware that Doko and Mina often slept together, but it was still better to avoid interaction, so they wouldn't get teased or harassed.

Down in the common room, there was only Jiro and Momo, who were talking about something near the doors and not paying the two new arrivals any attention. Mina yawned and took some toast off a plate left by Sato, smacking her lips. She had put on some actual pajamas that fit her pretty loosely, but as Doko walked behind the counter and past her, he impulsively grabbed her ass for a moment.

She let out a yelp, and then gave him an evil grin. "What's gotten into you?" she asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I just remembered how hot you are." He opened the fridge and pulled out some grapefruit juice. "That's all." I want to spend as much time with her as I can. He was frightened by his own desire, his own need for it. Briefly, he wondered if his Quirk was messing with that too.

Mina giggled, spreading peanut butter on her toast. "Well, I'm glad I could jog your memory. Though if I limp during training today, let it be known that it's your fault."

"I wouldn't let that be known if I were you." He raised an eyebrow at her, and then nodded to Momo standing across the room. "Who knows how she and glasses might react."

"With jealousy?" Mina took a bite of her toast, and a smear of peanut butter was left on her lips. Doko's eyes flickered toward it, and she smirked.

"Whoops, I'm a mess. Can you get that for me?" She lowered her eyelids suggestively.

Doko sighed, and leaned forward, kissing her despite Jiro and Momo being nearby. Her hands snaked up under his shirt to feel his chest, and…

"God, I can't stand you two." Sero came swaggering into the kitchen, stretching his elbows behind his head, and cracking his neck back and forth. "I'd tell you to get a room, but you already do that. Where's the next step after that? What advice could I even provide?"

Mina turned to look at him with an annoyed expression, though her arms stayed wrapped around Doko. "Surely something you can keep in mind with your dearly beloved Shiozaki," she grumbled at him.

Sero stopped as he opened the fridge, and blushed. "I don't think she wants to do stuff like that. Her religion, and all."

"What a shame," said Mina, but Doko gave her a look. "It's good that you know and respect that," he told Sero, honestly. "That's a sign that you guys might last a while."

"That is, barring today's events," Sero said, digging around in the fridge.

Both Doko and Mina raised an eyebrow at this. "Huh?"

"You haven't heard? We're doing today's training with Class B," he said. "We're grouping up into teams and fighting them."

…

Doko looked around for Midoriya as the class prepared to walk up to the building together, but couldn't see him. He asked Iida about it.

"I believe Midoriya got up early for a run, and then went ahead to the building to speak to All Might," said Iida. "Why? Do you need to talk to him about something?"

Talking to All Might, huh? I wonder what that could be about, he thought dryly. "No, I'm planning on killing him. Yes, I need to talk to him."

"As class rep, I am here to help. If you need me to pass on a message of any kind…"

"I've got to do it myself, Iida. Thanks though."

As they continued their walk, Doko found himself lining up with Todoroki. The boy's phone went off, prompting Doko to raise his eyebrows, but Shoto just let it ring, not answering.

"Shouldn't you get that?"

"It's the old man. He's been calling me all morning."

"Oh. Right. How'd, uh, that go?" After the billboard chart in which Endeavor had been announced as number one, he and Hawks had gotten into a fight with an advanced Nomu. Endeavor had been badly injured, but public support for him had gone way up. That, combined with Sero and Ibara's fight, had greatly improved public opinion of heroes in the past week.

And Shoto had gone to visit him after his hospital release. He'd been gone from school for a full day. Doko was one of the few people who knew the full extent of their relationship, so to see his friend's reaction to his father fighting for his life on TV…

"It was fine. My older brother got upset and stormed out. My sister is trying to fix things, though."

"And…what about him?" Doko asked.

The phone rang again, and Todoroki winced. "He's…trying, too."

Personally, Doko had no forgiveness for abuse. He found himself relating to the older brother's reaction more than anything. Why couldn't that Hawks guy be number one? He's much more likeable, and he carries things out with a casualness that puts people at ease. Hawks was a mysterious character, though. Even more mysterious than that powerful Nomu showing up.

The League still has a place to make them. Where? We destroyed their warehouse in Kamino Ward. Where are they hiding? The fire user known as Dabi had made a brief appearance at the end, right before Mirko had shown up…but he'd disappeared just as quickly.

Doko frowned. If the League wasn't found and captured before the end of the school year, UA would close. And it was winter now. They didn't have much time left. Maybe if I can make a breakthrough with Kurogiri…

He had more of those visits to come, as well as more Quirk control training, and more Quirkless sparring. But all that could wait until after school. Because today we're fighting Class B.

A short while later, the boys all emerged from the locker room in their hero costumes. Doko's had remained functionally the same. The improved metal mask and boots with air-stabilization control, to help him land better, were relatively recent additions (thanks to Hatsume). But other than that, his only new alteration was cosmetic: a black waistcoat with a fur-lined collar, to match Mina's.

Ojiro had added a similar fur collar to his own outfit for the winter. Kirishima and Bakugo were both wearing sleeves now. Shoji, on the other hand, had added nothing, and his five arms remained bare. People like Aoyama and Iida in their armour and Tokoyami in his cloak were already set, and indeed Doko had to wonder how they'd not cooked in such heavy clothing during the warmer months.

"Kacchan, that's pretty clever!" Midoriya was saying. "With longer sleeves, you're more likely to work up a sweat, which is what you need to generate explosions-"

"I know that," Bakugo snapped. "I don't need your praise, you damn nerd."

"Right, yea, yea." Midoriya waved his hands and moved off.

Doko thought Bakugo had mellowed out recently, but something seemed to be putting him on edge today. He's eager to get his license. He thinks any day that he's not at those remedial courses is a waste of time. Doko could imagine himself feeling the same way, if he'd failed the first test.

Speaking of Midoriya, though…

The boy was chatting animatedly with Iida now, but he caught Doko approaching him out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes widened in panic. The exact same expression he'd made in the dream last night.

Yup. He knows. Doko wilted. He could tell, instantly: Midoriya was scared of him, or at least didn't want to talk to him right now. That was upsetting. Later, I guess. He moved off.

They met up with the six girls outside, on their way to the training ground.

"Ohhhmy god!" gushed Toru. "You two match now!" Her gloved hand wagged back and forth between Doko and Mina.

"Yep!" Mina stuck her tongue out. "Our new styles are cool as heck, huh?" She'd modified her waistcoat to be a bit longer on the sleeves, and the clasp over her collarbone now had an inkblot pattern that could be interpreted as either acid, or a reference to Doko's own costume logo.

"Aren't you freezing, though?" Sero asked Toru.

"Nah! And even if I did get cold, I've got this big guy to warm me up!" Hagakure scurried over to Shoji and leaned against his chest.

Shoji was the most flustered Doko had ever seen him. "I'm afraid that I don't have much warmth to give at the moment. I would have liked to change my costume but it's difficult to sleeve so many arms. Also, you're naked." He gently took Toru by the shoulders and unstuck her from his chest.

Doko had to admire how easily Shoji knew where every part of her body was. He's always been observant. I wonder how long they liked each other before.

He noticed Ojiro was deliberately looking away, but then Uraraka tapped him on the shoulder. "Ojiro-kun, I like your new collar there! It's neat and it matches the fluff on your tail, too!"

"Haha, yea…" the tail user answered sheepishly. "It seems you've made a few modifications as well. Are those for combat?"

"Yep!" Uraraka showed off her new gauntlets. "For my elbows and knees, just like you showed me! Muay Thai, right?"

Doko couldn't help but notice how much more bubbly she was around Ojiro. Like her old self, even. Still, something had definitely shifted. The months have changed us all, huh? Looking around at the class, he couldn't help but remember the first time they'd all seen each other in costume, at the first battle trial. So much had happened since then.

Oh, and Momo was wearing a cloak now. That was good. She should have had that the whole time.

They walked up to Field Gamma, AKA the labyrinthine place with all the pipes, where Class B waited. Doko's eyes widened. He'd never seen any of them in their hero costumes before.

"Oh ho!" Monoma spotted them approaching. "Getting here after us? Second rate as ever, Class A! Slacking off won't do today! TODAY IS THE DAY WE SETTLE OUR RIVALRY!"

He threw his head up to the sky and cackled. "A STUDENT SURVEY SHOWED OUR PLAY BEING MORE POPULAR THAN YOUR CONCERT BY TWO VOTES!" A paper was produced from nowhere, and thrown at Kirishima, who caught it against his face and read it in disbelief. "Oh man, really?" he mumbled.

"READ IT AND WEEP! I GUESS BEING THE ONES WHO MAKE THE FESTIVAL ISN'T EVERYTHING, HUH? I GUESS PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF ONE CLASS BEING THE CENTER OF ATTENTION ALL THE TIME, HUH? I GUESS-"

Itsuka Kendo had moved forward to intercept him, but Aizawa's capture scarf got there first, and choked him about the throat. "That's enough out of you," he mumbled. Vlad King was next to him, and behind them was another person.

"Sensei!" Iida raised his hand. "I am aware that this will be a training session where our classes are set against each other. With that in mind, how are we to account for the difference in number? Class A is nineteen, while Class B still has their full twenty."

Kaminari, Doko thought with a wince.

"I was just getting to that," said Aizawa. He and Vlad King stepped apart, revealing the boy standing behind them. "Some of you may remember him, but just in case: this is Hitoshi Shinso, from general studies Class C. He's hoping to transfer into the hero course."

Shinso was wearing a gym uniform, but he had a metal contraption in front of his mouth, and a version of Aizawa's capture scarf around his neck.

"Shinso?!" Midoriya and Ojiro exclaimed at the same time. A bunch of the others gasped.

He gave them all a deadpan look with tired eyes. "Hey."

"So this is who you've been training up," Doko said loudly to Aizawa. "With your capture scarf too, huh? I should have known."

"Watch it," warned Eraser Head. He looked back at Shinso. "Want to introduce yourself?"

"I met some of you at the Sports Festival, but don't think we're friends just because we fought or something. I'm already incredibly behind you all, and I have no time to do anything besides catch up. I will use my Quirk to help people, and that's that."

Murmurs around the two hero classes.

"How stiff."

"He reminds me of how Todoroki used to be."

"Hey, his Quirk is brainwashing, right?" Kirishima muttered in Ojiro's ear. "Scary!"

"I think I like him," Monoma said with approval, framing his chin with two fingers.

Aizawa seemed a little nonplussed, though Shinso kept a straight face. "Let's…get to it then." He nodded to Vlad King.

"So!" The blood hero clapped his hands together. "Battle training. Both classes will be divided into five teams of four. There will be five matches total, with each team going up against a team from the other class. Shinso will join one of the teams from Class A."

"That's sort of a disadvantage, isn't it?" Sero complained. "No offense, but if he hasn't had the same amount of training…"

"Less of a disadvantage than if you had nobody at all," Shinso said plainly. "I'll try not to embarrass myself."

"The rules will be fairly simple. Each team has a cage. Think of yourselves as heroes trying to capture a group of villains. Whichever side has captured more of the other side when the timer runs out is the winner. If one team captures all of the other team before time runs out, they are also obviously the winners. Once captured and put in prison, you cannot break out and rejoin the battle." Vlad King looked directly at Doko when he said this. In fact, pretty much all the students' eyes went to him as well.

He shrank back under their scrutiny. "Alright, I get it," he said. "No warping out of kiddy jail. You still have to actually capture me first." He narrowed his eyes at Monoma.

"Hmm…" the beast-looking guy from 1-B, who Doko believed was named Shishida, pondered. "If the cages are near the team's home base, then the best strategy would be to lure the other team all the way to your side, so you can get them into the cage fairly quickly. But of course, that's all easier said than done."

Aizawa and Vlad King both picked up boxes. "Time to draw lots," they said.

The two teachers fished around, and both picked out four slips of paper. Vlad King looked up first. "Shiozaki," he began. "Kamakiri, Shishida, Yanagi."

The four Class B students stepped up. Ibara, obviously, Doko knew, and had fought before. And beat. But she has villain experience now, and is way more confident than before. He saw her even wink at Sero as she passed him. The other three…Kamakiri was a tall boy with mantis features who was a bit of an asshole, from what he'd heard. Shishida seemed like more of an Iida type, though his beast Quirk was oddly incongruent with that. And lastly there was Yanagi, the girl with white hair and a slouched back. She had telekinesis. This would not be a fun team to go against.

Aizawa read his next. "Uraraka," he began. "Iida, Ojiro, Sero."

The classes gasped, and whistled. They all immediately knew what had happened: Sero and Ibara were going against each other.

The two partners looked at each other in alarm, but then Sero grinned, and so did Shiozaki. Iida stepped forward and shook hands with Shishida, both of their glasses glinting. "Let us have a good match," Iida said. "Likewise," Shishida echoed. My God, they are the SAME person.

"We're on the same team, Ojiro!" Uraraka said in excitement.

"Yep." Ojiro nodded, but his eyes were on the boy Kamakiri. Do they have history? Doko had to wonder. In any case, the Class A team that had formed was extremely high-mobility. They've got this.

Vlad King went again. "B-team Two," he announced, picking out four more slips. "Kendo, Monoma, Bondo, Fukidashi."

"Holy shit," someone from 1-B swore. "That's overpowered."

Itsuka, the proud class president, strode forward to take her spot. Monoma quickly followed her, cackling. "This is quite the team!" he swooned. "Oh, I pity whichever of you has to go against us!"

Kendo gave him a sideglance. "Why'd I have to get stuck with you," she muttered.

Bondo and Fukidashi were both strange-looking. The former had a metallic head like a nozzle, and the other's head was a speech bubble. Doko knew next to nothing about either of their Quirks, and they both seemed quiet and reserved. He knew Monoma could copy, though, and Itsuka could grow her hands in size.

Aizawa picked his slips next. "Yaoyorozu," he said. "Hagakure, Shinso, Katayama."

More gasps and murmurs. Doko's heart skipped a beat.

"Well, there's Shinso on a team. And with Yao-momo and Katayama as well…"

"HA!" Bakugo spat. "All that trash you talked," he called to Monoma. "And now you have to catch the crackhead. Good luck with that one, buddy!"

Monoma's eyes narrowed at Doko. "Hey, don't give me that look," Doko said to him as he followed Momo and Toru forward. "I didn't ask to fight you either." General laughter rang about the group at this.

Momo was keeping her head up high, and she made eye contact with Kendo, who grinned. "Let's have a good match, Yao-momo," the orange-haired girl called. Momo simply nodded back, smiling lightly.

Toru leaned in to whisper to Doko. "It'll be cool to fight together, Katayama-kun! Cloak and dagger all over again, huh?"

"It's true we've never been paired up before. Although I guess you would have preferred Shoji."

"I'll only admit it if you say you would have preferred Mina."

"Quiet, you two," Momo admonished them. "You'll set a bad example for our guest."

All three of them turned to look at Shinso, who blinked. "I don't really care," he said.

Doko offered him a hand. "Let's do this thing, partner."

Shinso looked at it for a moment, before shaking it dutifully. "I still remember how you blew me off outside your classroom door, before the sports festival. I probably needed that. I was being a bit overdramatic."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I was sort of distracted at the time. Sorry." That was back when the UA staff thought me and Bakugo were the traitors…

"Still, I was kind of hoping to stand out during this exercise. It'll be tough with you and creation girl running the show."

"I happen to have a name," said Momo haughtily, "and we should devise a strategy that will require all of our unique talents. Especially against such a team as that."

Meanwhile, Vlad King was announcing the third team. "Kuroiro, Tsuburaba, Kodai, Komori."

Doko eyed up the team. He was pretty sure Kodai, the neutral-faced girl with the dark hair, had a Quirk that changed the size of things, and that Tsuburaba had a Quirk that created barriers out of air, but the other two were a mystery to him. A short girl with a mushroom-like hat over her head, and a boy with pitch black skin and a sly smile.

"Aoyama, Tokoyami, Ashido, Sato," said Aizawa.

Welp, there's Mina on a team. Doko winced. Sato had been working on his endurance, but overall Mina was at a bit of a disadvantage. Tokoyami was extremely powerful, but Aoyama was sort of a counter to him. He wasn't sure about the overall strength of the B team, but still. He gave Mina a look of pity as she walked past, but she just stuck her tongue out. I got this, she mouthed at him.

There were only eight people left on each side, and the remainers were starting to shift, looking nervously around to gauge who would be their teammates and opponents.

Vlad King drew again. "Tetsutetsu, Kaibara, Honenuki, Rin."

Awase whistled. "That's a whole lot of attack power."

Doko saw that it was true. Tetsutetsu turned his skin to steel, Kaibara turned his hands to drills, and Rin could create scale armor on his body…the only different sort of Quirk was Honenuki's, which he'd briefly seen in action during the cavalry battle. He can turn any ground into quicksand, and he's a recommended student as well…another powerhouse team.

"That means B-team five is you four," said Vlad King, nodding at the rest of his students. "Tokage, Tsunotori, Awase, Shoda."

Setsuna Tokage strutted out a hip. She was wearing a form-fitting bodysuit of purple scales. I haven't seen much of her since we trained together at the forest camp. "No sweat!" she said, taking charge with a grin. "Let's do this, people!"

The American exchange student, Pony Tsunotori, clapped her hands in delight, while the boy Awase rolled his eyes. That left Shoda, a short kid that had teamed up with Tsuyu and Shoji during the cavalry battle. Doko did not know his Quirk.

"Okay, the one I'm about to announce will be A-team Four. You'll go against Tetsutetsu's team," said Aizawa, picking out four more slips of paper from the A box. "Todoroki, Koda, Jiro, Asui."

Low whistles all around. That's one stoic team, thought Doko, but they might be the best sort of bunch to go against Tetsutetsu's gang of hotheads. Todoroki had all kinds of power, of course, and Tsu worked well with anyone. Koda and Jiro had worked together before as well, during the final exams.

"That means the rest of you are team five, and will go up against Tokage's bunch," said Aizawa. "And that's that."

All eyes went back to the remaining four members of Class A.

Kirishima, Shoji…and Midoriya and Bakugo.

Sero burst out laughing.

"Oh man," Doko muttered, as several Class A members gasped in shock. "That's tough."

"What? I don't get it," said Shinso.

Midoriya and Bakugo slowly turned to look at each other, slowly coming to the realization at the same time.

"K-KaAChan!" Midoriya squeaked, holding his hands up defensively, immediately. "L-l-l-let's work well together, and do our best, and uhh…."

Doko didn't like this one bit. He noticed the telltale signs: how Midoriya's body had reacted physiologically, how his old stutter had returned, how all signs of confidence had fled him. He just got flung right back into traumatic memories. God, I want to like Bakugo, but what the FUCK did he do for all those years to make it so bad?

Bakugo, for his part, had not exploded like one might predict. Kirishima had stepped up in front of him, as if prepared to have to calm him down, but the explosion user's fists simply flexed. Open, close, open. His whole body seemed tense…

"Alright, whatever," he muttered. "Let's kick their asses, then."

Kirishima's shoulders visibly relaxed. At least he's on their team to act as a mediator. And then there was Shoji, who would just have to suffer.

"Mezo deserves better," said Toru next to him. "Man, if only Midoriya and Bakugo could get along, and then that'd be the most powerful team out here."

"That's true enough," said Doko. "There's a lot of stacked teams, to be sure."

The ten teams had begun to gather up, mutter to each other, discuss strategy. Aizawa and Vlad King had given them five minutes before the start of the first match.

"Going first always sucks," said Toru. "At least we're second. Enough time to gauge what we wanna do, but not enough time to get nervous."

Shinso scratched his ear. "Are you sure? I feel nervous already."

"Really?" Toru gasped. "You don't look it."

"I'm positively trembling on the inside," he said in a completely dead tone.

"Let's be serious about this," Momo interrupted. "I realize that the two of you-" She looked at Doko and Toru in turn. "-Have a penchant for zany shenanigans, but…"

"You really want to kick Kendo's ass," Doko finished. "We get it." Toru giggled.

Momo blushed red. "I will admit that the two of us have something of a…rivalry. However, that will not get in the way of our teamwork. We will still devise a plan. In fact, I might be able to use this…"

"What do you mean?" asked Doko.

"I think Itsuka might try to separate me and goad me into fighting her alone. That leaves the rest of you to not have to deal with her. I can handle her just fine, I think."

Doko looked at Momo's face carefully for the old signs of her lack of confidence, and surprisingly didn't see it. She's grown a lot, too.

"Monoma is a wild card," she continued. "He could do any number of things with his Quirk, but I think our best bet is to try and separate him from his teammates. He has to touch the person to get their Quirk, right? If he has no Quirks he can use, then…"

"I can try and handle that," said Doko. "I can warp him away if necessary."

"I feel like he might try to copy your Quirk though, Katayama," said Toru doubtfully. "At least, that's what I'd do if I were their team. You're their biggest threat. Their only hope of matching you is if Monoma figures out how to use the same power."

Dark thoughts circled through Doko's mind. What would happen to Monoma if he tried to copy this…thing inside me? What if it attacked him or something? He could get seriously hurt. He masked his worry with a light comment. "If he tries, he'll probably forget to bring his clothes with him when he warps, and go naked. I realize that's fine for a gal like you, but it might hurt his pride a little."

"I think what Katayama is trying to say is that his Quirk is very complex to use, and he'd still have the advantage of practice over Monoma in the event of a warp-on-warp clash," said Momo. "As for the other two…I confess that I don't know their Quirks."

"I do," Shinso spoke up, and the three of them turned to him. "I fought them both during the cavalry battle for a bit. Bondo secretes a sticky glue-like substance that's really hard to get out of."

"I can get out of anything," Doko promised.

"And I can likely make something to counter it, if it's glue," Momo echoed. "Still, they will definitely try to use that to trap us. What about Fukidashi?"

For the first time, Shinso's eyes widened. "He's the real sleeper hit of the group. His quirk is fucking insane. He, like…creates…text. He makes a sound, and then a comic splash of that sound appears and does the action of the sound. If he shouts BOOM, then the word BOOM will appear…and explode. I think it fucks with his vocal chords a lot, though, so he may only have a few uses of it if he wants to use something big like that."

"Jesus Christ," Doko muttered. "So that's what they meant when they said the team was overpowered. I thought they were talking about Kendo and Monoma, but…"

Shinso shook his head. "And don't forget that Monoma can copy that one, too, so we may be dealing with double trouble."

"But it's fine!" said Toru. "All you have to do is talk to them, and they'll zone right out, right?"

"Not if they already know his Quirk," Momo muttered. "Which they do. You can bet they'll be on guard to not respond to Shinso."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Shinso adjusted his metal mask. "For one, in the heat of battle, it's easy to forget yourself. Not everyone has Midoriya's iron will. And-" A strange glint entered his eyes. "What happens if I don't sound like myself?"

…

The first two teams were getting into position out in the field, when the rest of the students heard other people approaching from the school building.

All Might and Midnight were coming up the steps.

Mina giggled, her legs tucked under her butt where she sat on the ground. "The two of them are arriving together? Could there be love in the air?"

"Cut that out," said Midnight. "I don't go for older men."

"We are here to watch," said All Might, and then his eyes passed over Doko. The former Symbol of Peace paused, and something like apprehension passed through his sunken gaze. Great. So Midoriya told him everything. They both know I know. The only question is when they confront me about it.

"We aren't the only ones," said Midnight, licking her lips. "We have another special guest today, from outside the school. You all may recognize her."

"Hello, students!" Nezu announced, coming up the stairs himself. His paws were raised in the air. He was riding on someone's shoulder.

Gasps rang about the group.

"Whoa!"

"Holy shit."

That someone was none other than Mirko, the rabbit hero, dressed in her costume and everything. Her red eyes glinted. Her long white hair swayed in rhythm with her hips.

Doko looked back at Mina with an excited smile. She smiled back at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. He hadn't seen her so ecstatic in a while.

"It's Mirko! The number five!"

"I thought she was like, super antisocial? What's she doing here?"

Those tall ears of hers were apparently sharp, because she narrowed her eyes at the kids. "I'm plenty social when I wanna be," she said. "And to answer your question, I guess I'm here to watch you brats beat the snot out of each other."

"Miss Usagiyama is indeed here to spectate your exercise," said Nezu from her shoulder. "In fact, if any of you manage to impress her, she might even take on some work study students for the first time ever."

"Hold on, rat. I never agreed to that. Also, get off me." She gave him a gentle nudge, and he slid off her arm and onto the ground.

Doko and Mina exchanged another glance. "Maybe your dream will come true after all," he said.

"Okay, now I'm pumped." She looked back at Tokoyami. "We have to win now."

The bird boy crossed his arms. "Losing was never part of the equation."

Some of the other students were peppering Mirko with questions, and she raised her muscular arms to get them to stop. "Jesus, slow down! Y'all have All Might as a teacher, and you still get all worked up over a number five like me?"

"Humble," Doko muttered. It was strange that she was here. She seemed like a really cool hero, though…

If Mina impresses her enough to win a work study, then I have to do the same. I promised myself that I would go wherever Mina goes. But how would he go about impressing this woman? She seemed very…fiery. And she'd probably be watching the people with more physical Quirks, anyway…

She probably thinks guys like me are irritating. Like bugs to be crushed. He just couldn't see himself getting in her good graces. Bakugo or Midoriya, maybe. They had a better chance.

…

Class B's team stood by their cage, getting ready.

"So," said Shishida, "their team has a lot of mobility. If we want to trap them, we've got to really box them in. Shiozaki, your Quirk is the only one we've got that's really capable of trapping people. You got all your vines?"

"Fully stocked up," Ibara said. Her heart was racing. She was pretty excited to go up against Sero. We haven't properly sparred since the internship. And after their villain fight, she felt that she really had a handle on all his tricks…but he knew all her tricks as well.

"I assume that you have their adhesive user handled," Yanagi said to her. "As for Iida, I do believe that Shishida can counter him in close quarters. If Uraraka attempts to drop objects on us from above, I shall throw them aside with my Quirk."

"Who cares," snarled Kamakiri. "Just let me at the tailed freak. And his little brunette girlfriend, if she decides to help him."

"You seem quite perturbed by those two," Yanagi pointed out. "Might I inquire as to the reasoning?"

He gave the ghost girl a dark look. "Ojiro made a fool of me at the sparring competition during the festival. And then he had the audacity to fight that chick afterward to a draw. I think they like each other now and shit. It's sickening."

Ibara was uncomfortable with the boy's attitude. I would have preferred a different teammate, but perhaps his passion can be used to our advantage. "Perhaps we should split up," she suggested. "Shishida, Yanagi, you two should go out into the field. Shishida, make as much racket as possible. Yanagi, back him up. I might need you back here later on if they push in, so Shishida, if the choice comes down between you being captured or her…"

"Make it me who gets captured," Shishida nodded. "Anything else?"

Ibara felt proud. She had slipped right into a leadership role, it seemed. "Lure them in if you can. If they aren't taking the bait…"

"Where do I come into this?" Kamakiri asked. "I swear, if you make me hold back here…" His fist closed.

Ibara shook her head and grinned. "No. I have a better idea."

…

"I believe we should split up," said Iida, taking stock of the maze of pipes before them. Behind them stood the A-cage.

"Agreed," said Sero, cracking his knuckles. "Going too close to their side may be a disadvantage, because if you get immobilized somehow, it's only a short distance they have to carry you to the cage, and then you're out. But I'm slippery. I think I should go far ahead."

Ojiro deadpanned at him. "You wanna fight your girlfriend that badly?"

"Ibara will without a doubt be out in the field. It only makes sense that she goes to the front lines, because she's the only one on their team with very much capturing potential. She's wasted at the back."

"That might also mean that she stays back to keep herself protected," said Iida.

"Maybe, but I think she wants a fight with me. She'll expect me to be going out front. If I go ahead all the way to their cage instead, then I can grab whoever's guarding it and bring them back here. All behind the rest of the team's backs. Subterfuge. I think I'm fast enough to pull it off, while two more of you create the distraction that will be the main fight. All we have to do is capture one in twenty minutes, and as long as we all stay free, we win. And I have a good feeling about that. We're all pretty high mobility, 'cept for Uraraka."

Ochaco frowned. "So I guess I should stay here and guard, then?"

"No," said Ojiro, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's gotta be me. Kamakiri wants to take me out. If I can draw him back here to our cage, I could capture him pretty easily."

"But he'll be using his Quirk this time!" Ochaco told him. Why are boys so stubborn? "At least let me stay and help you…" She wasn't really sure why she wanted to help him with Kamakiri so much, but she felt very strongly about it.

"Uraraka-kun, you couldn't possibly leave me to fight their main force all by myself?" Iida said softly. "It will be the two of us going out forward. Ojiro will stay here, and Sero will go around wide and try to grab their cage guard. This plan seems solid to me. Be ready to think on your feet, though. We're going to start soon."

…

Rumi Usagiyama watched the two big screens that gave them a view of the two teams. Four against four. They seemed to both be talking strategy.

"A team exercise," she muttered. "You didn't tell me I'd be watching a team exercise. What's the point of this?"

"Not all our young heroes-to-be share your same desire to go solo," said Nezu at her feet, his eyes twinkling. "Though some might. Wouldn't you argue that teamwork is still important to learn for some, even if you don't personally need it?"

Rumi snorted. "Maybe if they've got weak Quirks, but I wouldn't expect that from any average UA hero course brat. You lot only get the best of the best, right?"

"In any case, you are here to watch, so you may as well watch. Who knows. You may even learn something yourself."

Rumi looked down at the rodent, narrowing her eyes. "I wonder how far you will fly if I dropkicked you?" she said aloud.

"I pray I never find out."

"Whatever." She looked back up at the screens and huffed air out of her lips, her hair bouncing. "I'm only here because the Commission required me to do some community thing. I figured watching these toddlers beat each other up would be better than the other options."

"Well, I think you will be pleased," said All Might, looking back at her. "All forty of these students show remarkable potential, in my view."

And I suppose your view counts for a hell of a lot, Rumi thought grumpily to herself. "Well, it's a competition between two classes, right? Who would y'all bet on?"

Midnight and All Might exchanged a glance. "Well…" Midnight began. "Class A have certainly had some more shocking real-world experiences that give them a perspective that Class B might somewhat lack…"

"But Class B has been steadily improving and growing without interruption," All Might pointed out. "It's difficult to say at the outset."

"Meh. I should have known you'd both give wishy-washy answers. Whatever. I'll bet both classes are jumping at the chance to show who's superior. It's a matter of which side has stronger passion."

"Well, why don't you go talk to some of them and find out?" Midnight suggested, her eyes twinkling.

Mirko crossed her arms stubbornly for a moment, but then realized everyone was looking at her. "Fine. You're all too happy-go-lucky." Her eyes passed over Aizawa. "Except you. I like you."

Aizawa blinked. "Thanks?"

She walked over to the nearest group of brats. Weirdly, one of them seemed to be translucent. They were just a floating pair of gloves and boots. Fighting in the nude, huh? Bold. I like it. The girl sitting next to her had a skimpy outfit too, although she was covering it with a red cloak. And sitting next to them was…

"Oi," she said, recognizing the kid and walking over to him. "You won the sports festival thing at the beginning of the year, right?"

He lifted his head. His hair was grey like an old man's, but he had a handsome young face, and violet eyes that seemed to drill right into her. "Yeah, that's me," he said, with no trace of admiration or fanboyism. Hard kid to get a read on. "Did you watch it?"

"Some of it, yeah. I was bored that day. Slow business, as I recall."

The other kids around him were making noise and mischief about their conversation, but the boy was doing a pretty good job of ignoring it. "You don't seem like the type to bother with the sports festival," he said.

She curled her lips back into a snarl that was meant to intimidate him. "Easy on the assumptions, kid. Do you think I'd come here if I wasn't interested at all?"

"Maybe if you were forced," he said with a straight face.

Rumi opened her mouth to retort, but then another girl leaned over with a grin. "Don't mind Doko. He's as dry as the Sahara when he wants to be." She had curly hair, bright pink skin, and a pair of horns. She was dressed in a camouflage bodysuit, and Rumi only had to briefly give her a glance to know that she was the sporty type. She could tell from the shape of the girl's hips, the way she carried herself.

"And who might you be?" Rumi asked.

"I'm Mina Ashido, loser of the sports festival, specifically to this idiot right here in the quarterfinals." She nudged the boy, Doko, in the side, and he lost composure for the first time, blushing.

Rumi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you brats together or something?"

"Yeah," the boy said. "She was somehow still interested after I kicked her ass."

Rumi laughed at that. "Sometimes that makes a woman more interested, as a matter of fact."

The boy leaned forward with an expression of pure curiosity. "Could you be referring to yourself?"

She opened her mouth, and closed it. No, I am NOT letting this kid make me blush. She swallowed forcefully, and said, "what's your full name again?"

"Doko Katayama. Don't expect much from me out there. I may have won the sports festival but everyone's caught up a lot since then. Especially Mina." He nodded back to the pink girl.

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun to watch if it wasn't even," said Rumi. "See y'all on the battlefield." And she turned and moved on, leaving the two of them behind to go talk to other groups.

…

Doko let out a deep exhale as Mirko walked away. "Christ, she's frightening," he said with a gasp. "I was barely holding it together."

"Wait, that was all a facade?" Shinso asked. "Impressive. I think you actually almost flustered her."

Mina grinned. "That went great, I think! She's definitely got us on her mind now!"

"That doesn't mean she'll be convinced to take on work study students, though," Momo chimed in.

"Yeah," Doko muttered. "Plus, we still have to actually, you know, win."

…

"Team B!" Vlad King called through the sound system. "Ready?"

Ibara looked up, and gave the camera a thumbs-up. Yanagi and Shishida nodded. Kamakiri just smiled and cracked his neck.

"Ready, Team A?" asked Aizawa through his own mic.

"Ready, sensei!" Iida reported.

"Alright. The 20-minute timer starts now. BEGIN!"

…

Could you believe that I thought I was going to not only get to the first match this chapter, but finish it? I'm such a bad judge of how many words I write for scenes.

A guest reviewer asked if Mirko was number 7 in the previous rankings before going up to number 5. And I will say that may be true in canon, for the purposes of this fic, it is not. Doko was aware of the top 10 before coming to UA, and I wanted him to have no prior conceptions or thoughts about her before this arc.