The website was having a sick one and sent this chapter to limbo. This is a reupload because it had completely disappeared. If you've already read it, cool. If not, please enjoy.
Chapter 67: Joint Training, Part 5
"So," said Sero, "the Quiet Team is going next."
"Huh?" Toru blurted. She, Momo, and Shinso had just returned from Recovery Girl. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean…" Sero nodded at the fourth Class A team, lining up in front of them for their match. "Just look at them. It's Todoroki, Tsu, Jiro, and Koda."
Shoji crossed his arms. "This seems like another team where it is difficult to tell who will step up and lead. Tsu is an excellent team player, and I'm not sure if Todoroki is the type."
"I disagree," said Doko, causing the other members of their friend group to look at him.
"None of you were on his team in the cavalry battle. He came up with an effective strategy right from the start that utilized everyone's Quirks, and his communication skills have only improved since then. I think Todoroki can step up and lead."
Tokoyami was eyeing up the opposing team. Honenuki, Rin, and Kaibara were standing back a bit, but Tetsutetsu was ahead of them, shouting something.
Along with the rest of Doko's team from Match 2, the Class B team had returned from Recovery Girl as well, Monoma and Kendo and the rest. Monoma was pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "While I was gone…you guys pulled out another victory…it makes me so proud…"
"And get ready to be even prouder!" Tetsutetsu roared, pointing a finger. "We're about to bulldoze this one!"
"Hmm," muttered Tokoyami, as the Class A students watched the scene from a distance. "Their team seems…headstrong. What do you think, Ashido?" He turned to look at Mina.
Mina was staring blankly at the piece of paper in her hands, like she'd been doing for the past five minutes. The paper that had Mirko's contact info written on it. "Yeah," she muttered absentmindedly, not meeting his eyes.
"Don't mind her," Doko said loudly. "She's just ascended beyond our plane of reality."
Toru snorted, and Sero waved his arms. "Hello? Earth to Ashido? Just because the best heroine in Japan dropped the mic on you doesn't mean you have to…"
"Oh, don't pretend like you weren't the same way after the festival, when you got all that positive press," said Toru. She rose up her sleeves like a ghost or a zombie. "All zoned out and stuff. The girl's dreams have just come true. Let her be vacant."
Doko smiled at the antics, but inwardly, he was a bit uncertain. I promised myself I would go wherever Mina went for her next work study. But if she goes to Mirko, I can't exactly follow, can I.
It was only a promise he'd made to himself, not her, but it still felt like a betrayal. I should have done better in my own match. I'm still not…he looked down at his fist, and closed it. I'm still not living up to the full potential of what my Quirk can do.
But how could he, when his Quirk was so dangerous? Something Mina didn't even seem to understand? Maybe I should just go back to Nighteye after all.
Meanwhile, the teams were lining up. Todoroki's phone went off again, and he sighed. He took it out of his pocket. "Bakugo. Hold onto my phone during the match, please."
Doko winced, half-expecting Bakugo to blow up at being assigned to such a mundane task, but the boy only scowled and asked, "Why me?"
"Because you're the only one I trust to not look at the messages that pop up on it."
"Because I don't give a shit about your life."
"Exactly."
Bakugo sighed and snatched it out of his hands. "Fine. Don't fuck up the match. I would hate for it to be left to me and fucking Deku to draw this thing."
That's right, Doko thought. Right now it's 2-1 to Class B, and there's only two matches left. If we don't win here, then our only options in Match 5 are to draw, or lose even worse.
…
Tsuyu Asui was, above all, a very observant person.
She'd observed Toru and Shoji dance around each other for a while before finally getting together. She'd observed Sero as he grew more and more dedicated to becoming a hero that stood out, culminating in his big battle and speech. And she'd observed, most recently and most concernedly, Doko and Mina's relationship starting to fray. Just a tad.
She knew that they were physical, that was no secret. And she knew they were pretty open with each other. During the festival, when Doko had pulled Mina aside, it had been to tell her something really important. So there wasn't necessarily anything he was keeping from her.
The problem seemed to be that Mina had been unprepared to accept all that honesty, and hadn't quite processed the things she'd been told. Tsuyu didn't even know what it was about, but she got the sense that it was something Doko took far more seriously than Mina did, and it was starting to frustrate him.
Added on now was the fact that Mina had just gotten the attention of a heroine she admired, potentially setting her on a path that would separate her from her peers, and Tsuyu was worried about the future.
She was the one who kept us together by starting that festival. If she becomes the catalyst now, is it up to me this time? Like it was after Kamino? Am I going to have to step in?
Tsuyu was fully aware that not everyone took kindly to her "observations." People had called her nosy in the past. But, it was as Midoriya had said one time: meddling where you don't need to is the essence of being a hero. She would always respect her friends' boundaries where she could, but if the happiness of the group was at stake…
Still, it was too early to tell, and she had a battle to focus on now, anyway. The two teams were walking side-by-side into the field.
Honenuki, the boy from Class B who could turn things soft with his hands, was talking to Todoroki. "You and I have the responsibility of being recommended students. We cannot afford to disgrace ourselves."
"Did you think disgracing myself was part of my plan?" Todoroki asked, testily. He's got a lot more attitude than he used to, Tsuyu observed.
Tetsutetsu cackled. "Part of your plan, huh? Well, we'll see about that!" He clashed his fists together, and then elbowed Kaibara in the shoulder. The two of them laughed. Behind them, the last boy Rin remained silent.
Tsuyu watched the other team carefully. All boys, two of them more reserved and calculating, two of them more headstrong and outgoing. In theory, it was balanced…but she wondered. Could this team actually clash with itself somehow? And, more importantly, is that something we can exploit?
…
"I have a plan," said Todoroki.
"Fantastic to hear," said Kyoka Jiro, stretching her arms behind her head. "Please bestow it upon us mere mortals."
Todoroki gave her a dry look, and then said, "It is likely that the enemy considers me their biggest threat. I have the most zone control of our team, after all. With this in mind, I will draw all attention to myself with ice attacks. I will narrow their playing field down by creating walls, and force them to look at me. As that happens, Asui-"
"Call me Tsu, ribbit."
"Err, yes, Tsu…" Todoroki paused for a moment, sweatdropping, and then continued. "...Tsu and Jiro, you will perform a pincer move. Jiro, you'll go left and lay down a suppressing sound attack. Tsu, you'll go right, and after Jiro attacks, pick up one or two of them with your tongue. Koda, you'll be waiting to assist her in carrying them back to the cage. From there, we simply avoid getting captured for the rest of the match."
Kyoka slouched her shoulders. Quick, oppressive, and overwhelming, just like his attack style. And it barely makes use of any of us. Does he not know what Koda is capable of? And Pretty Boy's stupid plan would probably work just fine anyway, so was it even worth it to protest…
"Now," Todoroki continued, "I've told you my plan, so please tell me everything wrong with it now."
The three of them gaped at him, then at each other. Koda's jaw was dropped in surprise.
"Are you…are you being sarcastic?" Kyoka asked, confused.
He shook his head. "I confess that I have not been very observant of the Quirks of the enemy, and so I don't know their potential counterattacks that could counter everything I've said. Also, I've likely diminished the potential of your own abilities, as well. With that in mind, please cover for me." He looked directly at Tsu.
"Well, ribbit…" Tsu breathed, seeming quite shocked at him blatantly appealing to her. "There actually is a member of the enemy team that rivals you in zone control…"
"Honenuki," Todoroki muttered. "I saw him in action at the recommended exam, and then again during the cavalry battle. He is quite problematic, isn't he?"
"He will definitely soften your ice, ribbit. It's the logical thing to do. Also, his Quirk spreads fast. If he sees all of us approaching from the ground, then he can simply…" She snapped her fingers.
"But we don't have to attack from the ground," Kyoka blurted. "Tsu-chan, I'm light. You can definitely carry me with your tongue."
"Where are you going with this, ribbit?"
"We start with the ice attack from Todoroki, which they will obviously counter…but we follow up immediately. With me in tow, you leap into the air over them, and throw me down into their midst with your tongue. I can lay down my sound attack from above. Immediately before I land, use your tongue to grab Honenuki. It doesn't need to be clean or graceful, just get him off the ground. He can't use his Quirk on the ground if he's not touching it. Some of them might focus on me, some of them might chase you, but no matter what happens, their attention will be split. And in the meantime, Todoroki can follow up with more ice, and Koda…" She looked to the quiet boy, who she felt she'd formed a connection with ever since he'd won them the final exam. "Koda, are there animals here? Bugs, perhaps?"
He nodded, and pointed down at the ground.
"Perfect. Class B never saw our final exam footage. They don't know what you're capable of doing with bugs. Send 'em up their legs, buddy."
He gave a thumbs-up, and a confident smile.
Todoroki smiled, too. "This already sounds much better. Thank you all. We will do this all together, or we won't win."
He's grown a lot, thought Kyoka…
…And the alarm sounded to begin the match.
…
"I know everyone treats me like an idiot," said Tetsutetsu, looking up to the sky, standing away from his three peers.
Rin, Kaibara, and Honenuki all gave him weird looks. "Where'd this come from?" asked Rin.
"But I still got into UA, right? I mean, it's not like I never use my head. This team we're up against…they'll overwhelm us if they can. And it will happen immediately."
"True enough," said Honenuki, calmly.
"So what's our move, then? Well, it should be OBVIOUS!"
"Yes, as we already discussed-"
Tetsutetsu turned himself to steel, and began to run forward straight through a pipe wall, kicking up all kinds of crashing debris in his path. "WE LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD!"
"Okay, that IS idiotic!" Kaibara protested. He and Rin stepped forward to catch up to the steel user. "Dude, did you forget that they have Todoroki on their side?"
"We can probably work with this," Honenuki sighed.
Rin whirled on him. "How? I know your whole thing is strategic flexibility, but…"
"Tetsutetsu's approach plays to our strengths," the softening user said calmly.
"GREAT TO HEAR IT!" Tetsutetsu roared. "STRENGTH IS WHAT WE'LL USE! TRICKS AND SCHEMES WON'T WORK, CLASS A! IT'S A HEAD-ON FIGHT OR NOTHIN'!"
…
ENDEAVOR AGENCY, SAME TIME
Enji Todoroki stood in the corner of his office, gaping down at his phone.
His sidekicks stood behind him. "We've got a load of team-up requests flooding in since your fight with the High-End Nomu. Should we handle them like usual?"
"Compile a list for me, please," Enji said softly, not looking up from his phone. "I'll run through them all later."
His sidekicks were clearly surprised by this response, but they walked away anyway, muttering. "His Shoto-itis is getting worse."
"The kid's probably just in class and can't use his phone right now…"
Come on Shoto, I know you are reading these. The scar on his face still hurt, but not as much as his son ignoring him now. I must make amends. If I am to carry the weight of society upon my shoulders, I must remove the weight of my family. So many people were looking to him now, especially after those two kids had fought in front of UA, and re-energized positive opinion of hero society. He could not afford to have skeletons in his closet now.
Just let me tell you this one thing, Shoto. I know I never considered your thoughts and feelings before, so just let me do it now. I am offering you this not as strict training…but as advice from a father.
Who was he kidding. He'd failed Shoto. Just like he'd failed Natsuo, Fuyumi…
…and Touya.
Something flashed through Enji's head. Blue flames. A laughing, scarred face…
If Mirko hadn't shown up, that man Dabi would have killed both me and Hawks. The High-End had already done all the damage to us.
Could it be…?
No. That was ridiculous. Shaking his head, Enji pocketed his phone. Shoto probably was just in class.
…
The Class A team rounded a corner, and suddenly, all four of the enemy were ahead of them in a wide street. Tetsutetsu in the front, charging forward. "COME ON!" he roared…
Shoto stomped his foot down, and sent up his ice wall. It reared up and filled the street in an instant.
CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!
My control's gotten better, he thought, letting out a shivery breath as he sent the ice specifically to the spots where they stood, constricting their bodies, but still shaping the structure in such a way that he did not block his own view or his teammates'.
"Go," he told the other three, and they took off, Tsuyu racing up the building on the right, and Jiro and Koda scrambling after her.
As expected, Honenuki lowered his hands to the structure, and the whole thing melted, falling apart into a rushing watery goop. That spreads fast! Shoto thought in alarm, taking a precautionary step backward.
"That ice blast is nothing!" Honenuki declared. "If you'd come at us with fire, then we wouldn't have been able to fight back…"
I also might hurt you, Shoto thought. Kaibara and Rin were regaining their footing. Tetsutetsu was stumbling forward, a snarl still on his face.
…
Tsuyu leapt from surface to surface, up through the industrial barrier of the street, taking care to not speed too far ahead of Jiro and Koda. Down below, three of the Class B boys stood in the midst of Todoroki's softened ice mess.
Honenuki lifted his helmeted head up toward their position. "We can see you," he said calmly.
Rin lifted his forearm, covered it in scales, and then fired them off.
"Oh shit!" Jiro swore, ducking as the projectiles came flying at them. "Since when can he shoot those?"
His Quirk is great for close combat AND has range. We may have underestimated Rin…
Jiro jumped to a different pipe to dodge the scales…and the pipe melted beneath her.
Tsuyu's eyes widened. "Kyoka-cha…"
Jiro squealed, and went plummeting toward the ground, windmilling her arms. Tsuyu shot her tongue down to rescue her, but Koda dived as well, and found loose footing on another softened perch. He screamed and went plummeting down with her, and before she knew it, Tsuyu's tongue had wrapped around him instead.
"I took the liberty of softening random surfaces in the area!" Honenuki called out. "Don't trust your feet!"
Jiro landed hard on a lower pipe, the wind getting knocked out of her.
"I'll take Jiro!" Kaibara declared, his arms beginning to rotate like drills. His Quirk allows him to spin any part of his body…He was racing forward toward Jiro's position on the ground, but the other two stayed back…
"Koda, change of plans," Tsuyu growled, and with her hind legs, she kicked off the pipe as hard as she could.
The two of them sailed into the air, Tsuyu dragging Koda along with her tongue. Honenuki and Rin's heads tilted upward, following their movement. "TACKLE HIM!" she roared to Koda, and flipped in mid-air, swinging her tongue forward and releasing him with maximum momentum.
Koda tumbled downward, his trajectory taking him more toward Rin. He opened his limbs spread-eagled…
Tsuyu shot her tongue down and wrapped it around Honenuki, as her massive leap reached its pinnacle. As she began to fall, she yanked the softening user off the ground with her, and toward the far building.
Koda landed messily atop Rin, who covered his body with scales, rolled sideways, and jumped to his feet. He lifted his forearm again, and three more scales shot out toward Tsuyu's tongue as she dragged Honenuki away.
They found their target, and stuck there, stabbing her. Tsuyu cried out, and instinctively released Honenuki, pulling her tongue back to her. The boy dropped back to the ground, landing and bending his knees…
Meanwhile, Jiro got woozily back to her feet, and was immediately forced to dodge sideways, as Kaibara's drills came straight for her…
…And Todoroki sent up another barrier of ice, but Tetsutetsu smashed through it, and grabbed his face.
"That's cold, you know!" the steel user growled. "So freaking annoying! But I'll fight you bare-handed, Todoroki. HERE AND NOW!"
…
"Class A's plan is falling apart," All Might gasped.
Sero gulped. "It's turning…"
"...Into an all-out brawl!" Doko finished for him.
…
Hiryu Rin whirled, seeing Honenuki run toward him. "Rin, watch out. I'm going to soften the ground to trap him."
"It's fine! Focus on Asui!" Rin shot back, turning back toward his own opponent. Koda's big, but he's just a softie, really. With my scale armor, I can take care of him just fi…
Koda's fist took him full in the face.
"How DARE you hurt Tsu like that!" the boy roared, and his other fist came around, hard as a rock. Rin staggered backward, hacking up a cough. Oh, no. He's…
"I've never liked fighting, but I had to train anyway!" Koda declared. Rin lifted his scale-covered forearms to protect his face in a cross, and blocked the hit. But, in an instant, Koda's right had swung back in, and struck him in the chest. Then, his foot hooked around the back of Rin's leg, and pulled upward, knocking Rin off his feet. "Because a hero doesn't get to choose when he fights!"
Gotta completely cover in scales! Can't let him overwhelm me…
Honenuki arrived, and softened the ground beneath Koda's feet, causing the boy to sink. Koda tried to turn, his face scrunched up in a snarl, but he was already trapped, and getting more trapped by the second.
Rin backed away from the softening, breathing hard. "Okay, maybe I did need help," he admitted, as Koda struggled against the quicksand. "I…" He lifted his head, and saw a shadow plummeting down behind Honenuki's head. "MOVE!"
Tsuyu's kick slammed down into the ground, which Honenuki slid aside from a split second in time. He plunged his palms down as fast as he could to soften the ground beneath her while she stood on it, but she'd leapt back up in an instant, and landed atop Rin's shoulders, pushing him down and using him as a platform.
"AAARGH!" Rin screamed in pain, and fell forward, accidentally falling into the quicksand. Honenuki gasped in alarm, and re-solidified it to free him…
…Which had the added consequence of solidifying the ground around Koda as well.
Both Koda and Rin popped out, forced out of the space by the sudden compression of atoms. The side effect of Honenuki turning off his Quirk and re-solidifying something. Koda immediately regained his footing, and went charging straight for Rin. "Keep them close together, Tsu!" he called out. "Honenuki won't risk trapping his own teammate!"
"Ribbit," said her voice from above, and her kick came down upon Honenuki again. This time, when he tried to dodge, she brought around her other foot, and swung it against the side of his head. He reached up and grabbed her legs, trying to use his weight to pull her to the ground, but she shot out her tongue, and threw him against a nearby wall with it.
Meanwhile, Rin shot scales toward Koda's face, causing the boy to wince and flinch. In that brief moment, he rushed forward, slamming two scale-covered arms down upon the boy's shoulders, and then kicked out with a scale-covered foot, straight to his stomach. Regain the upper hand! We gotta!
Tsuyu leapt from a perch to another perch to against the wall, staying off the ground, dive-bombing Honenuki with kicks when she could. She bounced off another wall, and Honenuki attempted to soften it as she landed, forcing her off. In midair, she shot her tongue downward at him, and he grabbed it and yanked it, causing her to get pulled down toward the ground with a yelp.
Her feet planted themselves against his shoulders, her arms windmilling to keep from falling to the ground. The two of them struggled, and slammed backward against the wall. Asui wrenched her tongue free…
"KODA, CROSS!"
Honenuki gasped.
In a beautiful, graceful flip, Tsuyu leapt backwards off of him, and Koda turned away from Rin, showing the boy his back…and running straight for Honenuki.
The two of them passed each other, Tsuyu arcing high over Koda's head. She folded into a dive, kicking Rin squarely in the face, and Koda's left fist swung underhanded into Honenuki's chest. The two of them hit the wall hard, and Honenuki spun, softening the wall, and using his momentum to push Koda into it.
The larger boy gasped, his side being swallowed up by the goop as the wall awkwardly sloshed down upon him. Honenuki hopped backward, and softened the ground there as well, trapping the boy further.
He turned to help Rin, but Tsuyu was leaving, hopping away.
Still sinking, Koda looked up in alarm. "Wait," he half-whispered, a familiar shyness re-entering his voice. "Tsu, where are you going? Wai…"
"She must have seen something else that alarmed her," said Honenuki. "That was a good bit of improvisation, but now that we have completely ruined your strategy, all you have left is your instinctive thinking. That will tear your team apart. Rin, take this one back to the cage." He leaned down and created a long, softened path that led down the far corridor. "Use that. Drag him through it all the way there. Make sure he doesn't completely sink, but don't let him escape the mud, either."
"What are you going to do?" Rin asked through deep, pained breaths.
"I'll help Tetsutetsu take down Todoroki." Honenuki softened the ground beneath himself, and sunk into it.
He's swimming through the ground, thought Koji Koda. I have to do something. I have to help Todoroki somehow…
As Rin grabbed him about the shoulders and began to drag him through the mud, back toward the cage, Koda closed his eyes. He focused on the whispers he could hear.
Bugs…
Insects…
You're all in the ground. I know it.
That man who is swimming through your territory now…
Stop him.
…
The classes watched in shock and awe as Kaibara fought Jiro, his drill-like arms slamming and swinging toward her slim form as she dodged frantically backward, trying to regain her bearings. Just a few dozen yards away, Tetsutetsu continued to smash through Todoroki's ice walls, one at a time.
"Since he's made of steel, the cold doesn't affect him much," commented Sato. "And it keeps his skin from peeling off, I guess."
"Damn, I've got a lot to learn from you, Tetsutetsu!" said Kirishima, making a fist.
"Half-and-half is off his game, huh?" muttered Bakugo. "The ice ain't doing squat, but he keeps trying it anyway…"
Right as he said that, Todoroki swept his left hand sideways, and created a wall of flames.
"WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" all the students shouted together, their faces getting lit up by the screen.
…
Come on, please let that have stopped you…thought Shoto, breathing hard. Tetsutetsu had already landed two steel-reinforced hits on him, and he didn't think he could take many more. Let me get some distance at least…
A silhouette resolved in the midst of the orange inferno. "Do you know why I decided to take you on?" Tetsutetsu's voice asked at a mutter. "Figured it out yet? It's 'cause…"
He burst forward, his steel skin turned red from the overwhelming heat. "YOUR STUFF DOESN'T WORK ON ME!"
Shoto stumbled backward, panicking. The heat turned him red. If I get hit with that…
"TIME TO STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT! THIS WAS PART OF MY QUIRK TRAINING, YOU KNOW! EVER SPEND A DAY INSIDE A FURNACE?! I'LL BULLDOZE THROUGH ALL YOUR FANCY MOVES, AND PAST ALL MY LIMITS!"
Your limits, Shoto.
Shoto lifted up his arm to block Tetsutetsu's incoming blow, but he feared that this was it.
Raise your body heat up to the limit, and then surpass that limit!
B-but Dad…I can't…
Of course you can! You just haven't tried!
Endeavor's dark silhouette flashed through his brain. Damn, why am I thinking of the old man's BS right now of all times?!
Tetsutetsu grabbed his shirt, reaching out with his other red-hot hand…
Surpass! Your! Limits!
YOUR POWER IS YOUR OWN!
Shoto burned hotter. And hotter.
Raise the heat! More! More!
The very air around them seemed to rend and flicker and melt. Tetsutetsu shimmered, growing redder and redder. He grinded his steel teeth…
"Get back…" Shoto forced out. "Unless you wanna melt!"
A sweeping plume of fire erupted from him, and the half the cameras fried. Some of the spectator screens back at the viewing area blacked out.
…
Hand-to-hand was not Kyoka's strong suit.
Kaibara's spinning hands and fingers seemed to be everywhere all at once, swiping and swinging at her from all angles. Her head was already spinning from her rough fall off the pipe, and it was all she could do to dodge, let alone block or counter-attack.
"You're lucky you're so slim!" Kaibara growled, continuing to gain ground on her as he attacked, attacked, attacked again.
What do I do? Try and attack with my jacks? But if she got them caught in that rotating drill mess of his, they might get torn up. That would be incredibly painful and she'd basically be out of it for good. I can't exactly block those attacks! They'll just tear me to pieces!
Her mind racing more and more, as more and more insecurities began to flood in. Lucky I'm so slim, huh? Yeah, I guess all I can do is dodge. I'm just…
He spun all four of his limbs at once, preparing to pounce on her.
Just some useless…
Tsuyu came out of nowhere, her tongue wrapping around Kaibara's throat, yanking him away from Kyoka. "I'll take thith one back to the cage, ribbit!" she reported with a lisp, her tongue being slightly occupied. Kyoka saw that it was bleeding from multiple places as well.
"Tsu, you're hurt…"
"It'th nothing! Go help Todoroki!"
"Hey, wait!" Kaibara struggled against his captivity as he was dragged away. "I didn't even get a chance to show off properly!"
"Help Todoroki?" Kyoka repeated, aghast. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? Why on Earth would he need…my help…"
"Becauthe you can do thomething he can't!" Tsuyu called back, as she leapt away toward their cage with Kaibara in tow. "BLOW THEM AWAY WITH YOUR THOUND!"
My thound…oh, my sound.
Just like the festival…
Tetsutetsu could handle the heat of the flames, and he could burst through the ice…and Honenuki could melt it…
But they couldn't do anything against pure waves of energy.
Kyoka gathered herself, took a deep breath, and her head stopped spinning.
She began to ran forward, toward where Todoroki was fighting, and winced.
Yeah, one small problem…
Shoto had turned the area into a flickering sphere of pure heat.
…
"Both Kaibara and Koda are now captured!" reported Vlad King. "If only we could get the full picture of what was happening…"
Only one camera remained to show the fight between Todoroki and Tetsutetsu, and it was at a distant, bird's-eye angle.
Aizawa's scarf flared up. "Should we call it off? That heat is getting to be too much."
"No!" All Might blurted.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Aren't you the one all about bringing out the full potential of your students, Aizawa?" the Symbol of Peace asked softly. "That Young Todoroki…the firepower he's using right now is on par with Endeavor's. He's finally using everything he's got."
…
"YOOOOWWCH, THAT'S HOT!" Tetsutetsu cried. "I get it, Todoroki! I really do!"
He leapt forward, unbelievably, for another attack, even as the very air seemed to melt and crackle around him. "I'm holding all kinds of heat inside me too! I know how rough it is on you!"
Shoto lifted his flaming left arm up to block, and Tetsutetsu grabbed it with both hands. They struggled against each other in the midst of the blaze.
"An endurance battle?" Tetsutetsu choked out. "That's my specialty! GO! FREAKIN'! BEYOND!"
A steel knee came up, and hit Shoto in the chest. He bent forward, gasping in pain…but kept the heat up. "Listen!" he coughed. "This will end up a whole lot worse…than just a few minor burns for you. If you keep this up…"
"ANYONE WHO ISN'T READY TO DIE IN TRAINING ISN'T READY TO RISK IT ALL WHEN IT MATTERS, EITHER!"
He's insane. What can I do? What can I do to stop him?
…
Juzo Honenuki was swimming underground when the wall of heat hit him like a wave.
Holy shit, that's tough. I need to go around.
He swam in an arc, knowing that Tetsu and Todoroki were somewhere above him. Todoroki will be focusing most of the heat forward. If I can get behind him….
Something was crawling up his leg.
Juzo looked down. His helmet had technology that allowed him to see in the murky darkness of softened ground, like night vision.
There was a millipede on his leg.
Huh, that's weird. I guess there would be bugs down here, but they've never bothered me before. He briefly paused to reach down and flick the critter off of him…
And two more appeared. Three. Four. Five. On his other leg, as well.
Huh? What's going on?
One of them jumped from his leg to his outstretched hand, and began to crawl up his arm. Another followed it. Then two. Three. More. Everywhere. All over his legs, in an instant.
Horrid goosebumps traveled all over him, and all his hair stood up on end. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? IT'S…
The bugs began to overwhelm him, crawling all over his body.
"KODAAAAAAAAAA!" Honenuki screamed, his body contorting in panic and disgust.
I have to get through this. I have to get there. I have to…
He swam upward toward the surface…
…
"YOU'RE SLOWING DOWN, TODOROKI!" Tetsutetsu roared, swinging in another wide left hook.
"So…are you…!" Shoto gasped, closing his left fist, and preparing to attack back. A Flashfire Fist, huh? Just like the old ma…
The ground beneath him gave way.
Shoto was so shocked, his fire went out. He struggled to turn…
And saw Honenuki out of the corner of his eye, emerging from the quicksand. "Stay down, Todoroki!" he forced out, clearly pained by something.
The quicksand spread, and spread, and spread. Shoto tried to use ice to free himself, but Honenuki almost seemed to have lost control of his Quirk. It spread to a nearby water tower, and went up one support…
Tetsutetsu raced forward. "HONENUKI, LOOK OUT!"
The tower was sinking, crashing down upon them. Shoto looked up, still sinking, the shadow falling upon him…
Tetsutetsu jumped in at the last moment, finding purchase on one patch of hard ground, and raised his arms, bracing them against the falling tower. His steel was turning silver again, but it was still hot…and Shoto could tell the boy was reaching his limit…
"Honenuki…get clear…"
BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
A MASSIVE wave of sound energy enveloped them, as Jiro arrived on the scene, both jacks plugged into her boots as she sent the full force of her attack toward Tetsutetsu. The boy screamed out, and swayed, his knees buckling. Honenuki tried to swim out of the way, but Jiro's blast was affecting the tower now too, and it fell sideways, landed partially on his leg, pinning him. His mask shattered. In his last conscious moment, he reached out with a single palm under Jiro's sound wave, and softened the ground beneath her, causing her footing to loosen…
Tetsutetsu's steel form finally turned off, but he struggled his way forward toward Jiro anyway, trying to reach her and cut off her attack…
Tsuyu leapt out of the sky, and wrapped her tongue around his throat, slamming him into the ground, knocking him out cold. She leapt forward to free Jiro…
…And Rin's scales shot out of nowhere, stabbing her long green hair, and pinning it against the side of the fallen tower. Tsuyu slammed against it hard, swaying, half losing consciousness.
Rin stumbled, out of breath from racing back here and dragging Koda and from the hits he'd sustained before…
…And a swarm of bugs raced up his leg from the ground, and pulled him downward, causing him to fall forward onto his face.
Jiro's legs sank beneath the quicksand, and her sound attack ceased. She let out a huge exhale, and lowered her head, exhausted.
Shoto blinked. In a split second, the battlefield had turned to quiet.
…
Doko's jaw dropped.
"Wait…" muttered Uraraka.
They all gaped up at the one screen remaining to them, which showed the entire scene, plain as day.
Honenuki, Tetsutetsu, and Rin were all unconscious. Todoroki was fully awake but sunk too deep into the quicksand to move. Jiro and Tsuyu were half-conscious, but similarly trapped, the former in the mud and the latter pinned by scales against a wall.
No one moved.
"They're all…"
"THEY'RE ALL DOWN?!"
A few minutes later, the timer sounded. With both Koda and Kaibara caged, the score remained 1-1.
The fourth match of Joint Training ended in a draw.
…
"Since we have multiple unconscious competitors like in Match 2, we'll take a break. Also, Todoroki did a lot of damage to the field, so we're changing sectors," said Aizawa.
The former combatants were being escorted out on stretchers by the med bots. Kaibara, Koda, and Todoroki were the only ones walking.
"Senseiiii!" Monoma whined. "Koda used his Quirk from inside the cage to bring the match to a draw! Isn't that cheating?!"
Vlad King and Aizawa both opened their mouths, but it was Koda himself who responded. "I did not. My last use of my Quirk was while I was still outside the cage. I ordered the bugs to harass the enemy. Everything after, the bugs did of their own volition."
"And your combat skills have improved remarkably as well," Aizawa commented. "Well done, Koda. And Todoroki…"
Shoto looked up at his teacher.
"This is only a training exercise, and as such I do not expect you to push yourself that hard again. With that being said, if I am ever out in the field with you, and the situation calls for you to use that much heat, and you don't…" He clicked his teeth. "There will be hell to pay."
"Understood, sensei."
Vlad King muttered some words into Kaibara's ear, sent him on his way, and said more loudly, "We can do the rest of the feedback when they are awake again. In the meantime, we shall prepare for the last match."
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Monoma cried out. "BECAUSE IT WAS A DRAW, CLASS A CAN NO LONGER PASS US! THE BEST THEY CAN DO IS DRAW THE WHOLE EXERCISE, AND THAT'S ONLY IF THEY WIN THIS NEXT ONE!"
"Only if we win?" Bakugo snarled. "I'm fighting next. It's not an only if. It's a guarantee."
"I wonder," said Setsuna Tokage playfully, hands on her hips. She seemed to lead the fifth Class B team, as Awase, Tsunotori, and Shoda stood a bit behind her.
Kirishima, Shoji, and Midoriya all stood behind Bakugo, and for a moment, it was like a schoolyard standoff, with both teams facing each other.
Kirishima and Awase began exchanging words, but most of the students spread out, not really listening anymore.
"Psst! Young Midoriya!"
Midoriya turned. Doko heard as well, and looked back.
"I am here unremarkably." All Might rubbed his arm. "Could I have a quick word with you before your match starts?"
"Sure." Midoriya followed him away, mostly unnoticed by everyone else. Doko watched them go. Wow, once you actually know the secret, it's kind of super obvious.
Surprisingly, he saw Bakugo follow them, with a scowl. His alarm bells went off. Wait! Isn't that bad! Should I put a stop to it-
A hand went to his shoulder. He turned; it was Shoji.
"Are you alright, Katayama?" Three different limb-eyes looked down at him.
Doko took a step back. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask? You're the one who is supposed to be nervous right now."
"I'm not nervous. I will carry our class's hopes admirably into the final confrontation."
"I think Tokoyami is rubbing off on you." Inwardly, he thought: Tsuyu and Shoji are far too observant. Even in the group chat lately it feels like they're interrogating me. How long before I have to come clean to them, and the rest of the class, with all the truth?
Meanwhile, Mina was still gaping down at Mirko's phone number.
"Did you watch the fourth match at all?" Sero asked her, exasperated.
"We tied, right?" Mina mumbled. "See. I got the gist of it."
Toru rolled her eyes. "Anyway, good luck Shoji! If your team loses, you owe me dinner!"
Shoji raised an eyebrow. "Is that what we agreed on?"
"It is now!"
Kirishima just chuckled. "C'mon, Shoji man. You should treat her to dinner whether we win or not."
"I like the sound of that!" said Toru.
Doko heard the sound of retreating footsteps. He turned, and behind Aoyama and Tokoyami, he saw Ojiro walking off somewhere. Where is he going? Uraraka noticed too, and followed him with a concerned expression on her face.
Doko rubbed his eyes. I don't even know what's going on anymore.
A few minutes later, Midoriya and Bakugo and All Might all returned together. Doko found that highly suspicious.
"Are we ready now?" Kirishima asked, as the two boys stepped up. All Might split off to join the teachers, slinking away like a shadow. Doko tried to make eye contact with him, but the man just wouldn't look in his direction.
"I've been ready for ages," Bakugo hissed. "Going last kinda sucks, but at least that means we get to leave it all on the field. DEKU!"
Midoriya went stiff like a board. "Y-yes!" he barked.
"Everyone thinks we're gonna mess up because of each other. I find that annoying, so let's not do it."
"G-got it!"
The B team watched from the other side of the area. Tokage frowned.
"Alright!" said Vlad King, stepping forward again and crossing his arms. "The last match will start soon! Teams, to your positions!"
…
To be honest, I know a lot of people don't like reading fights. And even more people don't like writing them. But I am not one of those people.
I love writing fights and I don't even really know why. I just enjoy it a lot, especially in the BNHA universe. I also try to make them as vivid as possible without getting too bogged down in details.
I know often when I try and read fights that my eyes just skip over all the action by default. I hope these chapters don't make your eyes glaze over, but if they do and you're just not into the fighting that much, I promise the next chapter will be the last, and then the next arc will have action scenes that are more spaced out. It'll be more about intrigue and intel collection.
See you next time, continued support is appreciated, please leave a review if you're so inclined.