Greetings, this is the author 13lack. First of all, thanks for all the support and interest in my fic. I wanted to let you guys know that ill be starting each new chapter with some replies to reviews. There was only one question so far, so I'll just answer that this time.
For chapter 5, I received a question about pairing from a guest. While I'd like to say that this fic won't be focused on romantic relationships all that much, I myself do enjoy the IzuMei setup I have going. Sorry IzuOcha fans, I like the Katsuki and Ochako pairing better.
The Alone Sage: Yeah that definitely the main point that I want to stress in this fic. Izuku's power and strength as a Hero won't come from his pure quirk power but from his intellect and cooperation with Mei.
Well, that's it, enjoy!
Chapter 6: Mounting Heat
All Might
"ALRIGHT YOUNG HEROES! LET'S START THE NEXT GROUP!"
All Might's smile was as wide as ever.
He had just finished reviewing the first combat with his students, and with Recovery Girl on call, the two injured boys were able to receive treatment while listening to the number 1's and their peers' criticism.
Young miss Yaoyorozu had much to say; she went on about how the intensity of the boy's fight had caused Bakugou to lose sight of the goal. Midoriya's plan was also criticized for its recklessness and lack of consideration for property damage or accidentally setting off the bomb.
All Might cringed as the girl expanded past even his observations, coughing loudly as the young lady concluded her explanation.
"THAT'S QUITE RIGHT! HOW VERY ASTUTE OF YOU MISS YAOYOROZU!" All Might bellowed as he followed his compliment with a hardy laugh.
"THE NEXT TEAMS TO GO ARE;
Heroes: Shoto Todoroki & Mezo Shoji vs. Villains: Mashirao Ojiro & Toru Hagakure."
"SAME SETUP! VILLAINS HAVE 5-MINUTE OF PREP TIME BEFORE HEROES ENTER!"
From the corner of his eye, All Might could see young Bakugo. He was abnormally quiet and still had the same shocked and sullen expression since the end of his battle.
While this was a definitive improvement to the outburst of RAGE the boy had lashed out with at the calling of the match, All Might knew that a prodigy like him wasn't accustomed to defeat.
How he handled his first loss would shape his future as a HERO!
And as his teacher, Toshi felt that he had to help the boy.
"ALRIGHT!" All Might yells into the mic, turning back towards the large monitor.
HEROES! BEGAN INFILTRATION!
—-
Katsuki Bakugou
Impossible….there was no way.
Deku had defeated him?
HIM?!
Katsuki was in a haze, his body fatigued from the battle and Recovery Girl's healing of his concussion. He was replaying the exercise over and over in his head.
What had he done wrong!?
"That tricky bastard! Had he planned all of that? WAS HE IN CONTROL OF THE WHOLE FIGHT?!" he wondered, the back of his neck heating up as his anger boiled.
No, Deku couldn't have been!
Katsuki had been winning! Absolutely destroying Deku as he should have been! So how did he go from dominating to losing in less than 30 seconds?!
Katsuki's eyes wander back to the screen displaying the next battle; he would have to figure it out later. For now, he had to accept this loss and rein in his rage. His mother's teachings came to him as he tried taking deep breaths.
{FLASH BACK
"Suki! You have to learn to control your anger!" Mitsuki says sternly, scolding her son for losing his temper and fighting on the playground.
"HE FUCKIN STARTED IT!" the boy yelled, tears in the corner of his eyes as his face was still contorted into his angry scowl.
*SMACK*
9-year-old Katsuki stumbled to the ground as his mother delivered a stinging but not hard slap.
"Watch your mouth brat!" she growled before shaking her head and calming down herself.
"Listen kid, if you let every little thing light your fuse then you'll never have control," she whispered as she pulled her son in for a hug.
Katsuki was confused about what she meant.
"If you allow people to control your emotions or if you let your emotions control you, you are letting THEM win. To be the you that you want to be, to be the HERO you want to be, you have to learn to first resist the urge to lash out because of your anger. Then You must learn to focus and channel it into actions and convictions that you can use."
Mitsuki smiled at her baby boy as she pulled back to look into his face.
"Momma has to work on it too! So how bout we get better at it together!"
FLASHBACK END}
His heart rate slowed, and his adrenaline ceased flowing throughout his body as he finished his deep breaths, finally calming down.
He was in control.
"I was too weak…" he thought, watching as the other students began the second match. "I have to become stronger… so strong that Deku's stupid tricks won't work on me."
Katsuki looked over at All Might, "A last minute hailmary like that would never have worked on him.."
He sighed, watching as the dual-eyed boy and the large teen with six arms began making their way into the building.
Shoji's extra senses moved and reacted as he scanned the building from the front entrance before he walked back and reported something to the other boy.
With his face still blank and emotionless, the boy with an ice suit covering his right side walks casually to the interior wall.
As he places his hand on the concrete, ice explodes out from it as it races to encase the wall. The cameras placed throughout the structure show the true magnitude of Todoroki's quirk, as the entire building was coated with a thick layer of ice.
The Villians Toru and Ojiro had barely gotten into their starting positions before the ice froze around their feet and legs, leaving them unable to move as they heard the clicking and crushing of footsteps approaching the room.
Shoto strolled up to the bomb, melting all the ice as he touched it.
HEROES WIN!
Katsuki's brain was spinning, trying to think of ways he could have beaten that insane quirk, but he couldn't come up with anything.
His anger was slowly building again as he watched the bored boy and the rest of the participants return to the observation room.
Was that punk looking down on everyone!?
Katsuki took another deep breath.
He would heed his mother's advice….
He would channel all these feelings into becoming stronger!
—-
The subsequent battles weren't as exciting or spectacular.
Heroes Denki Kaminari & Kyoka Jiro vs. Villains Neito Monoma & Momo Yaoyorozu was decent at best.
Jiro and Kaminari had relative ease in finding the bomb location thanks to Jiro's ear jacks, but the Villians were heavily defending the site.
Momo had explained her quirk to Neito and had allowed him to use her Yaoyorictionary as they created insulated gear and noise-reduction headphones.
Because of the lack of pure offensive power in their quirks, Neito and Momo have both trained in armed and unarmed combat. So they even the odds against their hero foes by using Momo's quirk to make appropriate weapons for themselves, a bow staff for Momo and a weighted ball and chain for Neito.
With these precautions and the "Villains" superior close combat skills, Neito quickly subdued Jiro in an arm lock before using her own capturing tape to restrain her. At the same time, Momo easily trapped a discharging Denki in an insulated weighted net.
VILLAINS WIN!
Heroes Mina Ashido & Yuga Aoyama vs. Villians Rikido Sato & Talaria Kaiba was also a one-sided fight.
Sometime between the second match and All Might's announcement for the start of the third, Kaiba had put on her new golden visor that came with her costume.
She was wearing a tight white and gold bodysuit (Think Captain Marvel's Suit but white and gold) with gold patterns of wings on the thighs and back. Her new visor also had little wings that protruded from the top corners.
As soon as the visor concealed her face, she shifted from that shy, timid girl to a bold and boisterous young woman as a huge smile crossed her face. Kaiba laughed loudly and began stretching her legs next to her partner and the bomb.
"HAHAHA, SO THE GODDESS MUST TAKE ON THE MANTLE OF A VILLIAN!" she shouted, finishing her stretching before looking over at Sato.
"YOU GUARD THE BOMB MINION! THE GODDESS WILL DESTROY THE HEROES!"
Sato was trying his best to hold in a laugh as he nodded at the girl; the switch in her personality was just too drastic!
As soon as All Might began the exercise, Kaiba took off! Stomping skyward out of the nearest window, she changed her trajectory as she burst through it and began to climb vertically into the air.
Her head spun in every direction until she caught sight of her foes; they were entering one of the building entrances.
"FOOLISH HEROES!" She bellowed, racing down toward the Mina and Aoyama, a white and gold blur speeding toward them from the sky.
While the other teen dashed into the building, trying to take cover for Kaiba. Aoyama aimed his stomach at her and let off a burst of laser shots before diving after his partner into the building.
Changing her form from running to leaping side to side in midair, Kaiba dodged all the projectiles before slamming into the room where Mina and Aoyama squared up with her.
"Give up Villian!" Ashido screamed, laughing a bit as she was clearly having fun roleplaying.
"NEVER! THE GODDESS HEEDS NO WARNING! ESPECIALLY NOT FROM WEAKLINGS LIKE YOU!" Kaiba roars, shooting forward at Aoyama. She had caught the boy off guard with her speed as he was still bending over and holding his stomach.
With a quick front and then side kick to the head, Aoyama fell unconscious instantly from the whiplash Kaiba's winged feet gave him. Mina took this chance to run, using her acid to slide at an impressive speed down the hall.
Ashido spun as she skated, releasing acidic liquid onto the walls and ceiling, causing them to drip and melt. Mina hoped this would slow down her attacker, but the acid burns and falling rubble did nothing to stop Kaiba's foot from slamming her in the back and sending her to the ground.
Just as the pink girl goes to stand, she feels pressure on her shoulder blades, keeping her down.
"GIVE UP HERO! I DON'T WISH TO INJURE YOU MORE THAN NEED BE!"
After a moment of quiet struggle under the larger girl's weight, Ashido puffed out her cheeks as she raised her hands and conceded.
VILLIANS WIN!
The final battle of Heroes Tsuyu Asui & Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Villains Hanta Sero & Ejiro Kirishima was the fairest matchup by far.
Using Sero's tape, the villains set up sticky traps throughout the 3rd floor where they had hidden the bomb. Although it wasn't very manly, Kirishima understood that his partner had a different fighting style than him, so he hesitantly agreed. Still, the redhead would be sure that his fight was head-on and as manly as possible.
Standing in front of the bomb, the two villains could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching them. Sero stepped back a few feet as he readied his elbows, and Kirishima hardened his torso and arms smiling toward the room's entrance as a cloaked black figure stood in the doorway.
"Beware villains…for Justice waits in every shadow." the bird-head boy states coldly as his black cape billows in the slight breeze passing through the building. His frog partner was nowhere to be seen, but this didn't stop Kirishima from running at his feathered foe with reckless abandon.
Tokoyami slid backward, using one hand to open his cloak as a large shadowed birdlike head shot out of him.
"WOOOOOO! Let's get er' started!" the shadow yelled as it began fiercely battling the hardened boy.
Kirishima and the shadow fought back and forth while Tokoyami threw blunted knives and shurikens aimed at the redhead, but they all bounced off his hardened flesh leaving him unfazed as he slugged it out with the shadow.
Watching the other boys fight closely, Sero pulled his arms back, aiming his tape toward Fumikage to capture him, but a thick pink muscle shot out from above him, wrapping around him and pinning his arms to the sides.
It was Tsu! He could see her slightly iridescent eyes peering down at him from the ceiling. She must have snuck in while they were focused on Tokoyami!
Sero tried to struggle, but he felt his body being yanked upwards as he saw the green frog girl spring towards him, using her frog leap to propel her down while using her tongue to whip him up. The combined momentum of the movement knocks Sero unconscious as Tsu slams her feet into his face before crashing on top of him on the ground.
"I got Hanta! gero gero.." she stated blankly, looking up from her sprawled-out classmate toward the two fighting boys.
Kirishima was starting to push dark shadow backward as the sentient quirk couldn't keep the meat head down for long. Slamming a hardened fist into the shade, the horned boy sees it recoil back into the shadows.
Kirishima looked around; Tokoyami had disappeared!
Ejiro kept his eyes on the swivel; he could hear movement in the limited darkness but couldn't pinpoint the direction. He stepped back into the bomb just as a flash of black fired at him from the shadows.
He rehardened his arms to block the blow.
*Clang*
A sharp silver sword swiped into his arm, shattering on impact. The dark silhouette of Fumikage standing before him with his now broken blade extended.
"SNEAK ATTACKS AREN'T MANLY DUDE!" Kirishima roared, rearing back an arm to deck the unarmed boy in the face.
"NOT THAT IT WOULD WORK ON ME ANYWAY!"
"Hmph….A True Hero uses every advantage they have." the darker boy whispered with a smirk.
Suddenly dark shadow slams into Ejiro from a different direction, causing him to skid back onto his heels. He tried to fight the pressure, but his surprise had given dark shadow the advantage it needed to get under him for leverage, sending him skating backward toward one of the windows.
"NO WAY BRO! YOU WON'T BEAT ME LIKE THAT!" he grins, using his hardened fingers to dig into the window frame, keeping dark shadow from throwing him off the third floor.
"Seems you forgot about me..gero gero." Tsu chuckles as she fires toward the struggling redhead, and Frog dropkicks him the remainder of the way out of the building. Both Heroes heard a heavy thud outside, but with his quirk, they assumed the boy was fine.
Tsu and Tokoyami shared a quick look as they walked over to the bomb before both placing a hand on it.
HEROES WIN!
—-
Izuku Midoriya
"GOOD WORK TODAY YOUNG HEROES! MAKE SURE YOU TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ALL THE THINGS WE DISCUSSED AND LEARNED IN THIS SESSION!" All Might laughed.
"NOW IF YOU WOULD EXCUSE ME I HAVE SOME VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF!" he shouts as he suddenly tears out of the room toward the teachers' area.
"That's strange.." Izuku thinks as he begins to head back toward the changing rooms. "But it makes sense that the number 1 hero is really busy I guess."
Izuku's smile was wide but weary as he changed back into his uniform and grabbed his bag to head to lunch. Not only did he beat Kacchan, but he got to do it in front of All Might and all his classmates! There was no way Kacchan could think he was useless now.
Quickly grabbing a tray of food, he begins heading out of the lunch room towards the support lab before he is hailed by a group of students sitting at a table.
"Heyyyyyyy, Midoriya ! You should come sit with us!" Toru yells from across the room.
Izuku looked over at the almost-filled table; Jiro, Kaiba, Toru, Mashirao, and Iida were seated there.
The boy gulped, he didn't want to decline her kind offer, but he really wanted to see Mei to tell her about his battle and give her his thoughts on his suit and equipment.
"Thanks, Toru but I have some business to take care of at the support lab so I'll be eating my lunch there," he said timidly, bowing in apology.
"Oh ok..well, maybe next time then!" The girl's voice sounded disappointed, but it quickly became cheerful again as she went back to talking to Mashirao excitedly.
Izuku took his leave, traveling down the large hallway to the lab. A soft and cute voice called out behind him as he knocked on the lab door.
"HEY DEKU! Are you putting in an order for your suit too?!"
Izuku jerked from the strange voice's use of his old nickname as he turned to see Ochako walking towards him. Behind her, the grumbling and sullen Katsuki ambled with his hands in his pockets.
As the greenette saw him, a lump formed in his throat, "Oh no, Kacchans here." he thought.
Surprisingly, Izuku didn't see the usual rage and bloodlust in Kacchan's face or body language as the blonde's eyes rose from the ground to meet Izuku's. A sneer appeared on his lips.
"OI, FUCK YOU STARING AT DEKU!?" Izuku flinched at the sudden outburst.
"YOU THINK YOUR HOT SHIT BECAUSE YOU WEASELED YOURSELF A WIN?! YOU ONLY WON CAUSE IT WAS TRAINING! NEXT TIME I GET A CHANCE I'LL SHOW THE TRUE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US!?"
Katsuki slammed his shoulder past Izuku's.
"Ochi, come find me when you're done getting your mods to your suit done. I'll put mine in later." Kacchan scoffs as he continues walking down the hallway, leaving Izuku and Ochako standing near the lab door.
"Well, that went better than expected." Ochako chuckled before looking up at Izuku.
"You wouldn't believe how mad he was when I rubbed our victory in his face earlier!" the girl smiled, giving Izuku a wink. "Don't worry though, he should be fine in a bit."
The green-haired boy was taken aback.
Not by Katsuki's words, as he had grown accustomed to the loud and aggressive form of communication he employed, but by the blonde's attitude. This wasn't the Katsuki Bakugou that he used to know; he wasn't the violent boy that threw a tantrum whenever he didn't get his way or lost, usually sending a few people to the hospital when he did.
No, Kacchan had grown too.
Izuku smiled, "Maybe there is hope for our friendship somewhere down the line." he thought.
"NO MEI, I TOLD YOU NOT TO TEST THAT IN HERE! QUICK TURN IT O….."
*BOOM*
His wishful thinking was cut short by the metal door of the lab slamming into his face as an explosion sent him flying from the door as it erupted open.
The air was knocked out of Izuku's lungs as something relatively heavy landed on him.
"MGHEHEH well, BABY 120 needs some of the kinks worked out, but its as cute as ever!" Mei's bright voice stated as she lifted her head to see where she had landed.
"Oh, Izukun! Perfect timing, I was working on some BABIES I wanted you to see!" she smiled brightly at him, not even attempting to get up as she found lying on Izuku more comfortable.
"Umm Excuse me? I am I interrupting something?" The startled brunette asked as Izuku finally began standing up while having to lift the unwilling Mei off him as he did.
"No, No, No!" Izuku screamed, flustered, blushing bright red as he waved his hands at Ochako before turning back to Mei.
"Mei, be serious for a second. Ochako and I won our heor training battle today and I thought you would want to hear my feedback and data for your BABIES." he said quickly, ushering both girls back into the support lab.
Mei's eyes lit up.
"Yes, Yes, Yes Izukun, tell me everything so I can improve the BABIES I made for you." she beamed, eyes sparkling with ideas and motivation.
Izuku laughed a bit; she was so one-track-minded.
But then again, it was one of the many things he loved about her.
Izuku began retelling the story of his battle, with Ochako filling in her portion. Mei listens with wide eyes and a smile as he recounts his moves and use of her equipment, making notes and discussing possible improvements with him.
Elsewhere in the school, alarms blared as a breach was detected. The on-staff heroes investigated it and chalked it up to Reporters and the New crew making their way onto school property.
No one seems to notice the missing Hero course schedule that laid out classes for the next two weeks.
—-
Shōta Aizawa
"Hurry up and load onto the bus, we have a busy training session today!"
Shota yawns as his students line up and enter the field trip bus. Today he would be taking them to USJ for rescue training with thirteen and All Might, although the latter had called in to inform them that he would be late.
"Damn Symbol of Peace." the weary man thinks as he boards the bus last and rolls up in his sleeping bag to catch a few winks.
"I know he's busy but could it hurt him to be on time for once?"
Once they make it to the gigantic USJ center, Aizawa has them all change into their hero suits, though he notices the Midoriya only had on his gym clothes and battle parka with his respirator. His skin-tight suit and armor were nowhere to be seen.
When he questioned the boy about it, the teen informed him that his suit was currently being modified, and this was all he had at the moment.
"Oh well," the old teacher thinks, holding back another yawn, "He wouldn't need all his stuff for the training they had planned.
Entering the building with thirteen and all his students, both instructors began to explain the zones and training the kid would engage in today. Everything was going smoothly until Shota spotted a slowly forming purple mist gather in the center of the dome.
"Thirteen, watch the children!" Eraserhead grunted, stepping in front of the group and preparing his capture gear as a hoard of deviants, thugs, and intimidating persons emerged from the fog. Last to exit was a skinny man covered in disembodied hands and a tall, muscular thing with a visible brain and bird-beaked face.
The man covered in hands looked around, "Kuriguri, this is the place right? Where is the final boss?! I can only see small frie enemy here!" the handed man hissed, his raspy voice loud enough to reach the students and teachers standing on the platform above them.
"WHERE IS ALL MIGHT!"
