Chapter 64: Joint Training, Part 2
"BEGIN!" Aizawa's voice rang over the speakers.
Tenya Iida synced his watch up with the man's voice. "That's twenty minutes," he said. "Ready, Uraraka?"
She nodded and lowered her helmet visor, a serious look on her face. "Ready," she said.
Tenya was secretly a bit worried about her. Uraraka had been one of his closest friends since the beginning of the year…the two of them and Midoriya had formed something of a trio. That trio was not as strong anymore, though. Midoriya spent a lot more time now hanging out with the upperclassmen, and Uraraka…she'd not talked to many people at all for a while there.
It upset Tenya that she'd never once come to him about her issues. Ever since the Bakugo rescue at Kamino…he wanted to know what was going on, but hadn't been let in on the secret. Maybe she'd just forgotten about him? In any case, she'd been acting more normal since the festival, so that was something…
But there was still a change.
"Good luck," Ojiro called with a nod, swinging himself up onto the top of the cage with his tail.
Sero had already taken off toward the roof structures, tape swinging from surface to surface. Long gone, headed for 1-B's base.
Tenya ran normally at the start, left and right and back and forth through the narrow corridors of Field Gamma. Letting Uraraka keep pace with him. He'd save his engines for the battle.
"Who d'you reckon will be out to meet us?" she wondered aloud, with just a trace of her country accent.
"Shiozaki and Shishida, I'm thinking. But you can counter her, Uraraka. Her vines only constrict us if they touch us, and you can simply float them off."
"Good call. And the beast guy? What d'we do about him?"
"Perhaps I should draw him to you, and you can float him as well. Be prepared to think on your feet."
"Obviously," she muttered dryly.
I wonder if I should tell her about my new move. It would definitely be helpful, but I want to save it for a moment in which we absolutely need it…can't reveal it too early.
They turned a corner…and the beast roared into their ears.
"LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!" Shishida cackled, rearing his furry head up to the sky. "I'M ALL FIRED UP! YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!"
In a split second, Tenya lifted his head, and saw that it was not Shiozaki riding on top of him, but the ghost girl - Reiko Yanagi. The one who wielded telekinesis.
"Uraraka, split!"
The two of them separated, the girl hopping away while Tenya put a short burst into his engines and went around to the left. Shishida charged right in, slamming into the wall of the corridor. Bits and pieces of metal and pipes rained down from the force of the impact, and suddenly floated in mid-air.
Tenya ran in a wide arc, his engines causing him to half-skate across the ground. He closed in on the back of Shishida, getting ready to plant a kick in his weak underbelly. But Yanagi whirled, and waved her arms.
The scrap metal went flying toward Tenya, and he came up short. He put a short burst into his left engine, and flew up into the air, kicking out his right leg in a swinging attack. He kicked the largest piece of metal flying at him back toward her, and the rest fell harmlessly around him.
Yanagi gasped, and ducked, letting the piece of scrap fly over her head. However, she caught it with her Quirk on the peak of its arc, and pivoted, throwing back down on the right side of the beast.
Uraraka slid sideways to avoid it, and Shishida's claws scraped across the ground as he scrambled back away from her.
"Do not let her make physical contact," Yanagi whispered to her partner.
"YEAH, I GOT THAT MUCH!"
Does his Quirk make him all excitable like this? Tenya wondered. He prepared his engines for another charge. Meanwhile, Uraraka was gathering up the fallen pipes and metal with her Quirk.
Shishida charged toward him again. "LET'S BRAWL, IIDA!"
Tenya gave the appearance of preparing to dash, putting one leg back. He didn't flinch as the massive beast headed for him. Because you're not the real threat.
At the last second, he used his engines to burst up into the air, going straight over Shishida's snout. The beast roared in confusion and tried to slide to a stop, but too late…his trajectory was sending Tenya and Yanagi on a collision course.
Reiko's eyes widened, as Tenya folded into a kicking position, getting ready to knock her off Shishida's back. She lifted her slender palm underhanded, and suddenly Tenya felt resistance, as if his forward momentum was being counteracted by a gust of wind. It grew stronger and stronger until he was floating in midair, kicking uselessly like a toddler with the girl only a few feet away.
Reiko's sleepy eyes relaxed again, and her lips lifted up in a hint of a smile. "Excellent attempt," she told him, and closed her fist, punching it outward.
Tenya went flying away, realizing what had happened a fraction of a second too late. I thought she couldn't use her Quirk on other humans…she was pushing my ARMOR!
He used his engines to right himself in midair and slow his descent, but he was still going to crash roughly…until he felt fingers brush against him, and he floated.
"Got you!" Uraraka declared, her eyebrows arched down in determination. "I'll release you with the rest!"
Tenya looked up, and saw all the scrap metal floating over the top of Yanagi and Shishida. The brunette pressed her fingertips together, and he fell to the ground…and so too did the scrap plummet.
"MOBILIZE!" Yanagi shouted, in a louder voice than Tenya had ever heard her use. Shishida tried to scramble out of the way, but the corridor they were in was narrow, and he slammed into another wall, causing even more debris to rain down.
Yanagi caught a lot of it with her Quirk, and threw it toward Tenya and Uraraka. A lot of the rest bounced off Shishida, most of it harmlessly…but then a huge pipe hit him in the head, and he swayed, scrambling for purchase.
Uraraka caught some of the oncoming attack with her own Quirk, making it weightless right as it arrived, and Tenya kicked through some more of it, pulverizing it. Then, he dashed forward, putting seventy percent into his engines.
Can't use my new special move yet. Not time yet…
Shishida roared in pain from the impacts to his head and lifted up onto his hind legs, howling. A drawback of his Quirk is that it clouds his judgement! He's gonna drop her!
Sure enough, Yanagi gasped, and began slipping off the back of his spine, windmilling her arms. Shishida whirled, his eyes widening as he realized what was happening. "YANAGI!" he roared, lifting up his massive beastly limbs to catch her…
Tenya arrived, and kicked him in the belly sideways. Reinforced with engines, it was a hard enough blow to at least halt the beast for a moment, and he missed his catch. Yanagi plummeted to the ground, gasping, and Uraraka was there, grabbing her by the arm. "GUNHEAD MARTIAL ARTS!"
She slammed the ghost girl into the ground, pinning her. Tenya stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. "Let's get her back to the cage-"
Shishida roared behind him. He whirled around, but he was slow. Do I Recipro…wait, AH!
The beast slammed right into him, knocking the wind out of his chest. Tenya tried to use his Quirk to escape, but he was caught by the sheer pressure of Shishida's force, as the other boy's snout drove him like a lance down the corridor. The boy's jaws snapped. Frantically, Tenya swung a punch at the top of the boy's nose, and managed to loosen himself free for a moment…but then Shishida's paw came swiping up…and knocked Tenya sideways down a dark corridor.
He had no choice.
"RECIPROBURST!" He righted himself in midair, firing his engines at full power to slow his crash. He could feel the energy burning right out of them. Damn it, damn it. He landed and stood up straight, briefly taking stock of his surroundings. He was in a smaller, more shadowy alley in between tall structures…but Shishida was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh?" he murmured, quickly running back toward the main street, where daylight still streamed. He had to rejoin the fight quickly, and help Uraraka.
In front of him, a wall of green vines began to form.
…
3 MINUTES EARLIER…
Hanta swung from pipe to pipe on his tape, heart barely racing at all. Last time I was here was for that rescue race we did after the first internships. And I won. This place was made for me.
He hoped Ibara wouldn't be too upset if he avoided fighting her, but he felt like part of the opposing team's strategy would be to push them together, and that he could subvert that by avoiding her on purpose. She's more competitive than she lets on. Maybe I can get her to chase me, even.
To tell the truth, Hanta wasn't really feeling competitive at all, just excited to get some practice in. Is this how Katayama felt at the sports festival? Coming off of a villain fight, this sort of thing felt…not unimportant, but certainly less important than before.
And that need to prove himself was gone. He had proved himself, not just in combat but in public relations as well. To tell the truth, it was still quite hard to believe. People kept telling him how much he'd changed the wave of opinion toward heroes with his speech…and it was hard to fathom. I won't let it go to my head. He couldn't discount the fact that Ibara had fought Gentle for much longer than he had, while he'd been unconscious from pulling that beam away from her…
We needed each other. Neither of us is more important than the other, and that's why I'm not rushing to fight her. He felt confident in his decision to head around toward 1-B's cage. Whoever he'd find there, he'd capture…probably Yanagi.
He continued to navigate the corridors. He could hear the roaring of a beast off to his left. Shishida, joining the battle.
By his estimation, the 1-B cage should have been somewhere in the center-south end of the course, near where All Might had been waiting for them in the rescue race a million years ago. Hanta continued to swing forward. He came upon a large cross-barrier, attached his tape to the top of it, and retracted, pulling himself up over the precipice…
...And looked down upon a smiling Ibara.
"Why, hello dear," she said pleasantly, standing at the center of a swirling mass of vines like the epicenter of some green hurricane. She was blinking up at him with those long eyelashes he liked so much, and all the casualness of a simple meeting on the grounds.
Hanta was so stunned that he simply stood there for a moment, his jaw dropped. Behind her was the cage, and she noticed his eyes on it.
Ibara smirked. "It's got your name written on it, you know. Why don't you come on down and we'll have a chat…" Her vines lifted up together and reared back like cobras, aimed at him. "...Man to woman."
Hanta wordlessly sent his tape out to the left, found purchase, and went flying away, the vines in pursuit of him. I was thinking about how I'd fight Yanagi, not her! He had no new tricks in mind, nothing up his sleeve. Ibara knew all his movements, knew how he thought in combat. I have to outmatch her in speed. I can do that much, he thought, as the vines gave chase, constricting around pipes and breaking through barriers and snaking out toward him as he swung frantically around.
He landed on a long pipe and began running down it, arms pumping. The cage and Ibara, still standing still, were off to his right now. She was still smiling at him.
Hanta laughed. "You must think this is…" A vine stabbed down at his foot, and he was forced to leap, swinging with tape onto another pipe. "...Really funny, huh?"
"You seem unprepared for our fight. I confess I'm a little disappointed." She pouted cutely.
"You should be helping your teammates capture. How on Earth do you expect to catch any of my team from back here?"
"That's a trade secret." She winked. "Now be a man and face me head-on, won't you?"
Recklessly, he attached his tape to a pipe with both elbows, and flipped up backwards around it, launching himself forward like a swing. In close combat, I have reach on her! Just gotta get inside the vines…
He went flying at her, and she put up a vine wall between them that his foot planted against solidly. Immediately, the plant matter began to grow up around his foot, constricting it. He shot his tape backwards to escape, hoping it would stick to something…as it happened, it stuck to the bars of the cage.
Hanta yanked himself back, tearing some of her hair off with his foot. She let out a sharp gasp from behind the wall, and then lowered it, frowning at him cutely. "That was rude," she commented, and regathered all her hair behind her.
Hanta's back pressed against the bars of the cage, feeling the shadow of her hair pass over his face as it loomed over them. How many salads did she EAT before this? This is more hair than I've ever seen her have!
He lifted up his elbow to shoot at some far-away anchor, preparing to make a run for it. She was way too prepared for this. I…
Ibara was smiling. "Right where I want you."
He looked down.
A single detached vine was crawling up to the bars of the cage, and wrapped itself around one of the bars of…the cage door.
Which was right behind him.
It opened the door with a metallic creak, and then Ibara sent all of her hair forward into Hanta's chest, shoving him backward into the cage. Before he could regain his footing, the vines had wrapped around the door again, and slammed it shut with him inside.
He'd been captured. Just like that.
In disbelief, Hanta simply gaped at his girlfriend, as she pulled all her hair back to her. "Now then," she said brightly. "That's settled!"
"You're terrifying," he said flatly. "I mean, it's funny, but…" A laugh escaped his lips. "Oh my god, my teammates are gonna be so mad at me."
…
Class A and B were going mad with chatter as they watched the screens from the concrete platform. Ibara was striding away from the cage with a confident smirk on her face, perhaps even strutting her hips a little. Sero was barely visible inside the shadowy cage, but it seemed like he'd slumped against the bars.
"Bit of a certified Sero moment," said Doko. "What the heck happened to her?"
"I don't know, but I like it," said Mina next to him. "She's channeling some queen energy."
Meanwhile, Monoma was laughing maniacally. "AND THE FIRST CAPTURE OF THE DAY GOES TO CLASS B! JUST WAIT, THE REST OF YOU ARE NEXT!"
"I expected better from him," Aizawa muttered. "Five minutes have already passed, but it's not over yet…"
Doko's eyes passed over the other perspective screens. Ojiro was waiting at Class A's cage. Kamakiri was running through narrow corridors, under where Sero had been swinging just a couple of minutes prior, toward the tailed boy's position. Ibara was now setting up barriers with detached vines at various corridors in a wide perimeter around Class B's cage…
"They're more prepared," Doko muttered. "At least, Shiozaki is. This doesn't look great for our class."
Iida had just been knocked behind one of these vine-barriers. He'd been separated from Uraraka. Shishida was turning, abandoning the engine user to go help Yanagi…
The class gasped, as the camera adjusted perspectives.
"HAHA!" roared Mirko. "Now here's a fight!"
Reiko was pinned by Uraraka, but then she spat in the brunette's face and tried to lock her legs around the other girl's waist. Uraraka snarled, threw a punch, and then the two of them were rolling around on the ground, wrestling.
The class was going wild.
"Holy shit," muttered Mina. "I knew Ochaco had it in her, but still."
"YEAAAAH, GET HER YANAGI!" Tetsutetsu screamed, pumping his fist in the air.
"Oh my god, they're so vicious," Mirko cackled. "Look at 'em go!"
"Should we intervene?" suggested All Might, in alarm. Shishida was running back toward the position of the two girls, who were now kicking up dust in their catfight.
Aizawa held up an arm. "No. Let them sort it out and de-escalate."
"I agree," said Vlad King.
Doko wondered what Aizawa's motives were. He knew that Uraraka was one of the students their teacher was keeping a close eye on right now, considering their Quirkless sparring sessions…does he see this as a chance for her to prove herself?
In any case, this was not Quirkless sparring. Uraraka ended up on top, briefly gaining the upper hand. Doko guessed she probably had a slight weight advantage over the ghost girl. She slammed an elbow down against Yanagi's arm, but Yanagi stretched her other arm out…and grabbed a nearby piece of scrap metal with her Quirk.
It went flying low across the ground toward Uraraka's face, and the brunette gasped. She slapped it in mid-air, negating its gravity, but in that moment she'd loosed her hold on Yanagi. The ghost girl kicked up with both legs, knocking Uraraka off of her, and then spun, grabbing more material with her Quirk to throw.
Uraraka stood, folding into a fighting stance Doko recognized from her…and then Shishida slammed her in the side.
All the students yelped in surprise.
…
The force of his impact took everything from her, like an oncoming truck. In that split second, everything changed. Ochaco knew, in that moment as she flew back from the beast's charge…I am fighting a losing battle.
Yanagi had a better version of her own Quirk, and Shishida was simply too strong. I could try and touch him and float him up, but I'd need to release him at some point if I want to contend with Yanagi.
Still, she did not want to run. As long as she held these two opponents here with her, that was one less for each of her other teammates to contend with. I must keep them focused on me.
Shishida was coming at her again, shaking his great shaggy pelt and whopping, howling. "LET'S GOOOOOO!" he screamed.
Ochaco flexed her fingers, planting her feet solidly and standing her ground. I will sidestep him this time, and float him. Then, try to get in close on Yanagi again. Part of her helmet visor was broken, and she could feel part of her chest bruising over, but now was not the time to worry about that.
Shishida closed the distance. Fifteen meters. Ten. Ochaco lifted her hand…
And felt a tugging against the side of her head.
She gasped. Yanagi was pulling at her helmet with her Quirk, yanking her sideways. Ochaco planted her heels, trying to stay put, but it was no use. Frantically, she lifted her arms and threw her helmet off, letting it fly toward Yanagi at full velocity. You want it so bad, have it! She whirled back to face Shishida, preparing to slap her palm against his massive form…
Shishida shrunk. Her palm went against nothing but air.
For a moment, a normal-sized student was standing before her, smiling. "NICE DISTRACTION!" he roared to Yanagi. "RE-BEAST!"
Suddenly, he grew up again to beast size right in front of Ochaco, and his enlarging form knocked her aside and upward. Spinning in midair, she floated herself. Her brain and heart were doing flips. Her stomach felt queasy. Not good. Not good at all.
She landed on a rooftop, gasping. Shishida was looking up at her, his teeth bared in a gruesome expression of victory. Yanagi stood next to him.
Her chest heaved with exhaustion. "You want me, then COME AND GET ME!"
Shishida roared in happiness, and took a step forward to oblige, but then Yanagi called sharply, "No!"
The beast boy paused. "Huh?"
"She is distracting us. As long as the two of us are fighting one of her, the rest of our team is at a disadvantage. We shall pull back."
"But…she's almost done for…look at her!" Shishida pointed. "We could capture her right now-"
"We pull back," said Yanagi, firmly.
Shishida huffed. "Fine."
…
"What? They're leaving?!" Kirishima sputtered in disbelief, as Yanagi climbed aboard Shishida's back again and the two of them turned their backs on Uraraka.
"What are you guys doing?" Monoma complained. "Get the Class A brat in front of you!"
"It does seem counterintuitive," muttered Mirko. "What kind of hero turns their back on a fight?"
"One that's concerned with the distribution of the teams," said Aizawa. "In a four versus four where everyone's split up, it's easy to assume that having two of your team against one of the other is a good situation…however, that also means that elsewhere, your team could be dealing with the same numbers disadvantage, reversed. With the time limit in mind, one must balance offense, aka capturing the other team, with defense, aka keeping your team as free as possible."
"Yanagi definitely thought about this," said Vlad King with a nod. "She is a very thoughtful student, first and foremost. Not only is she taking into account the fact that Uraraka likely does not have the energy to give chase to them anymore, but also that Shishida will soon run out of energy, and may need to use it elsewhere besides chasing after a practically already-defeated opponent. If they absolutely need to capture Uraraka, they can come back and do it with ease in a few minutes."
"She's drawing out the exercise," Doko muttered, watching the ghost girl on the screen. "Seems like the two girls are the MVPs of the Class B team."
Elsewhere, Iida was being forced into a tighter and tighter space by Ibara, and Shishida and Yanagi were heading back toward his position. Three against one will be devastating. And our class's only option is…
He turned his head to the camera angle on the furthest right of the screen, which was showing Ojiro's perspective. Kamakiri had just leapt on top of the cage, snarling down at his opponent, their fight about to begin.
…
Ochaco was forced to watch the two of them turn around and head away, toward where she'd abandoned Iida. Her limbs felt like iron. She was still not ready to fight or even really move again yet…she felt well, and truly, helpless.
Even in an exercise, I back myself into a corner. Haaa, I'm so pathetic.
But she hadn't backed herself into a corner at the tournament. No, not there. She'd beaten Shinso, and made a draw with Ojiro, the best hand-to-hand combat expert in their class. I have improved. I can fight, I just need to choose my battles more wisely.
Ojiro…
Fighting the tailed boy had lit a fire in her that she'd not felt in a while. The fire of motivation. Katayama had stoked it a bit, but it was Ojiro who'd lit it. And now he's gonna try and fight that mantis guy again. But this time he'll be using his Quirk…what can Ojiro do against that?
A numbers advantage. With her and Iida split, Class A did not have one anywhere on this battleground. She could go and find him again…in fact, that'd be the right thing to do. But there were two of the enemy between them and possibly three. If Sero is still out there, he can probably help Iida.
In the meantime, she knew what she had to do.
Ochaco gathered what remained of her strength, set her face determinedly, and headed back toward Class A's cage.
…
As more vines closed off his path to the left, and he heard Shishida's roar again from the right, Tenya remembered his conversation with his brother.
I have a secret to share with you, Tenya. One that goes back through generations of heroes in our family.
Really? What is it?
Take out your mufflers. In time, new ones will grow in, stronger ones. It will be painful, but the reward will be more than you can imagine.
What? Why haven't you told me about this before?
It is our family's Quirk's way of protecting us. When we are young, the stronger engines would be enough to blow us away. That is why I haven't told you before. It has nothing to do with any character you've earned, because you're already a great hero.
Don't be patronizing, Tensei. I'm still not as great as you. I'm still not worthy of the Ingenium title.
I disagree. You've been worthy of it even before you fought the Hero Killer. Consider this an honorary promotion that should have been done ages ago.
When your new engines grow in, you will have one great trick up your sleeve…ten whole minutes of it.
His watch, which he'd synced up at the beginning of the match, now struck the halfway point. The ten-minute mark. Which meant…there were exactly ten minutes left in the exercise.
Shishida burst through the barrier of vines to his left. "MY LAST BURST OF ADRENALINE!" he was roaring, Yanagi barely hanging on for dear life by clinging to his fur. "COME ON AND FINISH IT, IIDA!"
Shiozaki appeared on his left, her vines carrying her along by growing across the ground, her hands folded against her chest. "My sincerest apologies for what's about to happen," she called to him.
Tenya chuckled dryly. "Yeah," he said. "Mine, too."
Bright blue flame burst from his legs.
"RECIPRO-TURBO!"
…
Mashirao Ojiro looked up to the top of the cage, as Kamakiri snarled down at him. Blades were protruding from the other boy's arms, and he was grinning like Bakugo.
"I've been waiting for you!" Ojiro declared, folding into a fighting stance.
"Try and counter these, dickhead," Kamakiri growled, and leapt down.
Ojiro danced sideways, away from the cage. I need to keep him between me and the cage at all times. If I can manage to slam him into the bars and make him woozy…
Kamakiri moved forward to attack, swinging his arms. Three long blades were coming out from either side. Ojiro sucked in his chest to narrowly avoid getting scraped, and then ducked the other arm. His tail pressed against the ground, and he hopped aside as both of the boy's arms slammed against the pavement. The blades sent up sparks.
"Your evasive shit won't work this time! Not when I've got reach on my side!" Kamakiri yelled.
He punched out with one arm, and Ojiro sidestepped it…but the other came up, and there was no room to dodge. The blades passed across Ojiro's shoulder, slashing him.
The tail boy stepped back and hissed in pain. "You cut me," he growled. "What kind of hero do you even want to be?"
"One who terrifies the villains into submission!" Kamakiri laughed. "Don't worry, I'll only give you shallow cuts! I've got enough control of my Quirk to handle that! And I got permission from Vlad King before the exercise! After all, it wouldn't be much of a training exercise if I couldn't use my Quirk!"
The arms came swiping in again. Ojiro ducked low, spinning on his heels, and sent his tail around to sweep Kamakiri off his feet. The other boy tried to dodge, but still got tripped. Ojiro quickly moved to wrap his tail around the boy's legs…and felt the appendage get slashed.
He'd created blades out of his feet.
"OWWW!" Ojiro whirled back.
"You're not gonna snag me while I can make these," Kamakiri snarled. "Want to get me in the cage? You're gonna have to KNOCK ME THE FUCK OUT!"
Ojiro lifted his tail. It was dripping blood, but only a little.
I'm just not flashy enough to come up with alternate strategies. I have no tricks up my sleeve, no variety in my Quirk. I managed to bust up enough robots with this thing I have to get into UA, but after that? What can I do, really?
That's why Toru never saw me in that way.
Right, then. A brawl it is.
Ojiro lifted his palm, and beckoned Kamakiri forward. "Let's finish it, then," he growled.
Kamakiri smiled, and leapt forward, blades outstretched from his forearms. "HYAH!"
Ojiro countered with his right fist, blocking the boy's left blow under the blades. Precision. Gotta hit him at the right spots. His left elbow ducked low under the boy's right attack, and slammed into his chest. His tail lifted up to block the blades. They were slashed again, but he ignored the pain.
They exchanged blows rapidly, Ojiro using his tail to block the blades at all points where they came out, covering himself wherever he could. He slipped up here and there. The blades scraped his arm, his leg. But he continued to land blows with his elbows and knees, driving Kamakiri back toward the cage.
"Argh! That tail won't hold out forever!" He covered his entire arm with blades, and slashed down. Ojiro's eyes forced themselves shut, and his teeth ground together. God, it hurts…but I refuse to go down in front of everyone like this. I WILL prove myself…
He slammed a knee into Kamakiri's groin, stomped on his foot with his other leg, and sent out both fists to block the boy's arms. He could feel the blades stabbing him, but they were now locked in a four-on-four limb stalemate…and Ojiro still had his tail.
He shot his tail out and wrapped it around the boy's throat, hopped back, and slammed down with all his might.
Kamakiri went crashing into the pavement, his blades snapping as he hit the ground with a grunt. Ojiro lifted his tail again, the last of its strength rapidly being used up, and slammed him back. Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to slee…
Kamakiri created a blade out of the front of his face, and stabbed down.
Ojiro screamed, and his grip loosened. Kamakiri's wiry form slithered out, and he stood back up, swaying and bloodied but still awake. "Almost," he hissed. "But you're out of steam now too. None of the cuts I've dealt to you are deep, but that is an awful lot of blood you're losing across the board…"
"I'll…I'll…" Ojiro gasped, despairing. No, not while Toru is watching. I mean, I already have no chance, but I still can't look pathetic. I can't…
Kamakiri leapt forward for a final attack…and a huge pair of metallic white boots slammed into his face from above, kicking him aside.
"YOU'RE MINE NOW!" snarled Uraraka, helmetless, bruised and bloody, but with a furious grimace on her face, her lips pulled back from her teeth.
Kamakiri slammed back into the cage, and shook his head, woozy. "I should have known you'd come bacckkkk," he slurred. "Just because you've got the hotsss for the monkey boy doesn't mean…"
"Shut up, I don't care." Uraraka dashed forward and punched him in the stomach. Kamakiri tried to lift his blades to fight, but he was far too slow. In about four seconds, she landed six hits on crucial points, and just like that…the blade user was down.
Ojiro swayed, gaping in disbelief. She used those blows that we learned in the sparring training…
As their opponent slummed back against the cage, Uraraka stood back up straight, chest heaving, and turned back to look at Ojiro. Her big brown eyes blinked at him. A surprising concerned smile was on her lips.
"Are you alright, Ojiro?" she asked.
He was too stunned to respond. I've never noticed, but she's…really pretty.
Together, the two of them dragged Kamakiri into the cage. He was murmuring, sullen, barely conscious. "Aizawa and Recovery Girl are going to say we went too far," Ojiro murmured. "We'll probably get in trouble for all this."
"They should have known it would escalate in this situation," said Uraraka.
The two of them appraised each other. Both of them were worse for wear and tired, though Ojiro actually thought Uraraka was moreso, even though she had saved him.
"We have to go help Sero and Iida; there isn't much time left."
Ojiro's cuts were stinging, but he nodded. "We'll do what we can."
…
"Five minutes remain," said Vlad King. "Both sides have captured one person each."
"But, in this situation…" All Might murmured. "It doesn't look good for Class A."
Doko saw that it was true. While Uraraka and Ojiro were heading toward Iida's position as fast as they could, Iida was still alone against three of Class B."
"Man, that fight was crazy, though," said Kirishima. "Ojiro held his own pretty well, but Uraraka's just been on fire today. I hope Iida can hold out…"
"That new move he's got is crazy!" Midoriya gushed. "I can't believe he can run Recipro for ten minutes now! Though, it does seem a little hard to control…"
"All he has to do is avoid getting caught until his teammates arrive," said Midnight. "Though, I suspect they may not make it in time. They are moving quite slow."
Mirko clicked her teeth. "Damn, is this gonna end in a draw?"
"Both sides have nevertheless shown their stuff quite well, in my eyes," said All Might. "Particularly Young Shiozaki and Young Uraraka."
"Our match will begin soon," said Momo.
Doko turned. She, Hagakure, and Shinso had gathered behind him.
"Right then, let's get ready."
…
Reiko Yanagi considered herself to be observant. As such, she thought she had a clear picture of how their opponents would think.
Uraraka will likely retreat back to their cage, and with her there, Kamakiri will be overwhelmed and captured. She and Ojiro will then head back this way, but they will be far too slow to reach us in time.
However, that left her, Ibara, and Shishida with an interesting conundrum. With one person from each side captured, and time rapidly running out, it was now a race to see who could capture one more person.
No matter what, they had an advantage. There was only one Iida against three of them, if they opted to continue their capture operation on him. However, he was proving quite hard to catch.
"Here he comes!" Shishida called out, sniffing. The beast was tiring out rapidly, but his nose was as good as over.
The boy zoomed past the corridor in front of them, engines bursting, practically drifting across the ground.
Reiko reached out with her Quirk, and tried to snag his armor again as he passed. If I can get him into the air…
But she would reach her own weight limit soon…and his armor was already heavy enough. She felt her Quirk connect with it for the briefest moment, a passing snag, and then he was gone again, skating down past them.
Should we turn around and try to go capture Uraraka and Ojiro? With that, their numbers advantage was lessened, but Uraraka at least was already exhausted. And besides, there was no telling if they had enough time to reach them, make a fight of it, and bring at least one of them back to the cage before time ran out.
Iida dashed past again, and this time he burst himself into the air, aiming for a kick to Shishida's face.
Reiko's eyes widened in alarm. He's ATTACKING?!
"Go to sleep!" he yelled to Shishida, who was already a bit woozy and tired. Shishida was not going to dodge in time…
Ibara's vines snagged Iida's legs, and yanked him back to the ground. She was coming up from the side corridor, sending more vines out to constrict him as quickly as possible.
It was the best chance they'd had so far. Reiko's heart soared as Ibara's vines grew up around him. Go go capture capture…
Iida simply burst forward once he hit the ground again, and ripped her hair apart. Ibara cried out in pain, and the boy was gone again.
"My vines can't even hold him!" she said. "How shall we proceed with this in mind? Shall we attack the other two instead?"
Shishida sniffed the air. "Their scents are distant. I don't have the energy to reach them in time."
"TWO MINUTES!" Iida yelled at them as he zoomed past again.
"We've managed to successfully box him in a space, but…" Reiko looked back at Ibara. "All your vine barriers are still holding up, right?"
"They are thick enough to hold him even if he bursts straight at them with full speed…I hope. Yet that means I only have these to use to actually capture him."
Reiko wracked her brain, trying to think of a solution. If even Ibara was doubtful about the strength of her barriers, then they may not even have him boxed in. However, every time she formed up a barrier in front of him, he did not try to break through. He simply skated aside and tried a different path…
Could it be that he doesn't want to escape at all?
It hit her like a truck. Why had he attacked her and Shishida in that moment?
He doesn't want to simply end in a draw. He is still trying…to capture one of us!
"Ibara, get into position astride the cage," Reiko said. "I have a plan."
…
Tenya's heart was racing faster and faster.
I must try and capture Yanagi. Shishida is too large, and Shiozaki too evasive. It must be Yanagi. If I can knock out the beast with a good hit, then I can try and take her…
One minute left. He was rapidly losing hope.
Uraraka, Ojiro, where are you? I saw Sero in the cage. We're running out of time!
His Turbo made him impossible to catch, but it was hard to steer as well. He'd been getting a better grip on it as the minutes progressed. That previous attack had almost worked.
I need one more good setup. But will I get it? Will they line it up for me?
He didn't want it to end in a draw, or worse, a loss…if Kamakiri was still out there somewhere. He had to try and capture one of them. Even with only fifty seconds left, he had enough speed to get all the way back to their cage in time.
He came to an intersection of corridors, and saw them before him. Shishida and Yanagi. Shishida was rearing up for one last attack, roaring. He's out of juice. Tenya raced forward, eyes on the boy's soft furry underbelly. One good hit to that, and Yanagi will go flying…
Tenya burst up, preparing the kick…and then Yanagi leapt off the top of Shishida's head and crashed right into him.
For a moment they wrestled in mid-air, and then Tenya felt the full power of her Quirk slamming into his body at all angles. A full-strength telekinetic push on every single piece of his costume.
"YAAAAAAAAAH!" Yanagi screamed in effort, and Tenya went flying backward as if pulled along by a gust of wind.
Right at that moment, he realized…this corridor was the one that led right up to the cage. They'd waited at that intersection for him. They'd known he would attack, and lined their counter up perfectly.
Tenya braced himself to slam into the side of the cage, but it never happened. He was flying into the cage, its shadow falling over him, and he slammed into the back of it, right next to the defeated Sero.
Ibara's last remaining vines closed the door, the green-haired girl's shoulders relaxing in relief. "Iida-san captured!" she reported.
Turbo ended, and his engines sputtered, dying out. Yanagi lowered her arms in exhaustion. Shishida shrank down to normal form, his eyes shut. An alarm sounded.
With a 2-1 lead, the victory had gone to Class B.
…
Class A can't win 'em all.
If anyone is wondering, I used a randomizer to figure out the teams, but then chose which teams would fight each other based on interesting dynamics. So, Uraraka and Ojiro being on a team together was entirely random, though it suited my purposes very well. And with Sero on the same team, and Ibara and Kamakiri together on an opposing team, it wasn't hard to figure out that they should clash.
Also, Sero just had a big win for himself, and he's a pretty easygoing guy, so I thought it'd be fine narratively for him to take a loss here. Uraraka might be more upset about it, but she fought like hell and definitely captured people's attention.
The way this arc was handled in the manga made no sense as far as stakes. Class A had an easy margin of victory, with only one loss and one draw total. There was never any doubt that they would do better than Class B. For my version, I want things to be more up in the air. Besides, it's more about individual performance anyway.
Next time will be Doko, Shinso, Momo, and Toru vs Monoma, Kendo, Bondo, and Manga.