Argh… That… That… Horrible boy!
Even now, over an hour later, Momo was having a hard time focusing on anything besides her frustration with the horrible blonde that had been such a disruption earlier. It didn't help in the slightest that there hadn't been much work left to do after he left, leaving her to ruminate on her brief interaction.
There was a saying: 'people only remember the worst of things.'
The amount of time that the boy had been present in her day was inversely proportional to how much of an impact it had upon her mood. She knew it wasn't reasonable, but his comments had gotten under her skin enough that she found a hard time caring. Of course, in the end she wasn't going to let it affect her performance in the show…
…Speaking of which…
Glancing at the time, she realized that the pre-show would be starting soon.
Wonderful! I can finally focus on something of actual importance.
There were still a few minutes until she needed to lead her club on stage for the audience that was steadily gathering on the other side of the stage, so she made her way over to the small little changing tents that had been erected. Slipping inside the tent specifically for the girls to change within, she looked around to see if her competition was getting ready.
"Oh, hi!" Ashido exclaimed as Momo entered the tent. "Don't you need to be on stage?"
The girl was in the process of putting on something akin to a 'girly space suit.' It looked straight out of Raypunk science fiction with its mix of spandex, bright colors, and a glass bowl-like helmet, though it seemed to fit the somewhat alien aesthetic the girl's quirk gave her.
"In a few minutes," the dark-haired girl nodded. "I just wanted to make sure you were all getting ready. You'll be up on stage as soon as the pre-show is finished."
"Is that Yaoyorozu?" another voice asked from off to the side.
Hagakure Toru stood there in the most sparkly outfit Momo had ever seen. She seemed determined to mimic a disco ball, though she added a few puffy white segments around the joints of the clothing and streamers off the hem of the knee-length skirt. The reflective patterning was even present on the inside of the clothing, likely to take advantage of her constant invisibility and make her reflect light even more effectively.
"Who else is here?" Momo responded, attempting an informal roll call of sorts.
"...I am," a subdued tone said from the corner, hidden partially by the shade.
Yanagi stepped out in an incredibly flowy dress, with sleeves that trailed just above the floor because of her habitual posture and a skirt that would have been scraping across the ground if it wasn't for the fact that it floated behind her like a ghostly trail. Most of the dress was a somewhat opaque mixture of silvers, whites, and blues, though she wore a black bodysuit underneath it all so as to maintain modesty.
"I saw Aoyama head into his tent, too, so he's getting ready," Ashido added.
"Good to know," Momo nodded. "I received a text just a little while ago from Fuwa. Unfortunately, she had to cancel. There was a major accident, apparently, and the agency she's interned with was called on to help out."
"Aw… That sucks," Hagakure groaned in disappointment.
"Is Baiken here?" Momo went on. "She's the only one unaccounted for."
Silence reigned in the changing tent.
"I'll take that as a no…" the girl sighed.
Glancing at the time again, she realized she didn't have the time to worry about this particular problem.
"Keep an eye out for her please," she requested politely. "I'll be back to let you know when it's time for us to head out. You all remember the sequence, right?"
"Yeah! It's me, Hagakure, Aoyama, Baiken, Yanagi, and you last so you have time to change after the pre-show, right?" Ashida checked.
Momo nodded in confirmation.
"Correct."
Final check complete, there was nothing to do but head out to the stage with her club.
…Hopefully she'll make it in time…
…
Momo stepped off the stage, breathing a sigh of relief as she moved out of the public eye. It was nerve wracking being in front of so many people, especially because she didn't have any kind of script or speech to deliver. She'd tried to prepare something so as to properly introduce her club, but she was informed that none of the other clubs would be doing the same—choosing instead to just show off their individual projects one by one after their club leader led them on stage. It would be rude to stand out with a speech, so she was left with no choice but to walk her clubmates onto stage and stand there looking pretty.
It didn't sit well with her to do something so… hands off… but there wasn't really any choice in the matter.
How do mother and father do this so often…? They give talks every year at I-Island, nevermind their other demonstrations at other institutions around the world…
Her current path would put her in the public eye just as much, if not more, so she would need to get used to at least this much attention, if not more, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
…It doesn't matter. I'll get through it. For now, I have more important things to focus on.
The girl made her way to the changing tent, ready to—
"Oh my god, there you are!"
Glancing up at the shout, the brunette noticed an unfamiliar girl, of average height, who's most notable feature was the short ponytail she had and the two arching bangs that hung to the sides of her face.
"S-Sorry…" a more familiar voice declared. "I lost track of time… Ran all the way here…!"
Baiken stood next to the girl, clearly out of breath.
"Nevermind that, just go get changed! The tent's clear, too, so no whining," the other girl declared, shoving a wrapped bundle in the girl's arms. "Do you have the bat?"
"Y-yeah…" the pink-haired girl nodded, finally catching her breath. "It's in the tent already."
Nodding contentedly, the as-yet unnamed girl nudged her compatriot lightly, gesturing at the tent behind her. Without waiting, the girl walked in, the tent-flaps falling shut behind her.
Now that she wouldn't be interrupting their conversation by walking over, Momo made her way to the tent herself. She may be on stage last, but she still needed to change after all.
Izuku breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she confirmed she was alone in the tent. It would have been incredibly embarrassing if there was anyone else here while she tried to change.
Medaka's… continued efforts… had rendered her numb to seeing herself out of the corners of her eyes—though direct looks were still very much out of the question—so changing alone wasn't that bad anymore. It was just a matter of not paying too much attention to what was happening. If there were other people here, though…
The girl shivered at the thought.
Thankfully that's not a problem, though…
Setting the bag on the bench in the middle of the tent, she began to unpack the costume Agoyamato had prepared. Most of the outfit was rather simple, shockingly. Agoyamato had felt inspired by the more 'casual' look of the clothing he'd made with Izuku for his 'Ryoko-form,' and adapted that feeling to suit Baiken's more punkish nature.
The main parts consisted of a gray wool sweater, worn above a short skirt with a trailing ash-like pattern and bandage-like leg wraps that extended halfway down the thighs towards leather combat boots. Above the skirt was a slanted leather belt that… didn't do anything practical, but it sure looked cool, especially when combined with the yellow scarf that hung off her neck. Izuku was even supposed to re-style her hair for this, beyond the fact that it was cut shorter. Agoyamato wanted the ponytail to be angled somewhat towards her left side, splaying out in that direction so it would draw attention away from the centerpiece of the entire outfit.
It was the single part of the costume that was probably going to win the competition for the designer, simply because—
The tent flap opened as someone stepped inside.
"It's good to see you, Baiken... I was worried something had happened when you weren't here before the pre-show," Yaoyorozu Momo stated.
Izuku froze like a kid caught opening a cookie jar.
"Y-yeah…" the temporary girl trailed off. "I got caught up with somethin' and ended up running late…"
The other girl accepted the excuse with a nod, stepping over to a small table in the corner and the bundle of clothes on top of it. Without a word she took out her earrings and began to… to…
"Eep!"
Izuku turned away from the brunette as she undressed, keeping her eyes locked on the opposite side of the tent as her face flushed red.
"What's wrong?" Yaoyorozu asked, her voice sounding a bit closer than it should…
Suddenly, the girl stepped in front of Izuku, dressed in nothing but her underwear.
…It took all of Izuku's willpower to keep from passing out.
"Odd. You're incredibly flushed. Do you have a fever…?" she went on, leaning forward to press her forehead against Izuku's.
"G-gah!" Izuku gasped, flinching back immediately and looking away respectfully. "I-I'm fine…! J-just, go back over there…!"
Momo cocked her hip, placing a hand on it as she gave a light glare.
"Have I done something to offend you…?" she asked.
"N-no…! I-It's just…" Izuku trailed off, scrambling for an excuse.
Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything. Yaoyorozu's presence was far too distracting.
'You're pathetic, boya,' Baiken interjected. 'Just say you're not used to changin' around other people if you don't have the guts to look at a girl. Most men would kill for this kinda opportunity.'
And you would kill me for taking it!
'...Heh. Maybe you are learning…'
"It's just…?" Yaoyorozu repeated, looking for an answer.
"I-I'm not used to changing around other people, okay?" Izuku stated, latching onto Baiken's suggestion like the lifeline it was.
"...Really?" the other girl asked in partial disbelief. "I see… My apologies then. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'll go finish up and leave you to it, then."
Breathing a grateful sigh of relief, Izuku actively did not watch as the girl walked back to her section of the tent…
…Even if a small part of her really wanted to.
…
A few nervous minutes later, Izuku waved awkwardly at Yaoyorozu as she left the tent in her outfit. It was an impressive piece of work, even if it was rather conventional.
The green dress had a single shoulder strap, crossing over her chest diagonally to hang from her shoulder, while the tresses of the dress hung at an angle matching the strap in parallel, creating a toga-inspired look for the whole piece. Combine that with the golden flakes sprinkles throughout the material and it had a very earthly and elegant feel to it. On top of that, the girl had completed the look with a golden hair clasp, twisting her normal ponytail into a spiral that hung down to her shoulders.
"Good luck!" the girl exclaimed in a friendly manner, moments before she left the tent.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Izuku began to change herself. Given how little time she had when she got here, it was really cutting it close, but… she probably would have taken the same amount of time if she was too distracted by her circumstances anyway.
…
Izuku slipped into the backstage area, idly twirling the pale red and white baseball bat that Agoyamato had given her with the costume. It completed the vaguely punkish look the outfit was going for, and it matched the color of—
"Hoho! Another dazzling rival! A valiant effort, but you cannot beat my incandescent prototype hero—Gah!"
Aoyama stood there in a… sparkling white suit of armor. It had gold and silver engravings along the seams, adding to the spectacular nature of the costume, even if they provided no tactical advantage whatsoever—as proven by the fact that an elbow to the gut had cut him off so successfully.
"What is that, Baiken?!" Ashido exclaimed. "It looks so cool!"
Izuku grinned, even through Baiken's natural tendency to smirk, and brandished the article of clothing the girl was so impressed by.
"This…?" she asked leadingly. "It's only something that my club leader—"
I worked on it too, but it's probably for the best that they don't know that…
"—managed to put together with Chamelo-Fabric! It's something that you only see in the Support Industry normally, and since the guy wants to get that kinda stuff into the fashion world he thought this was the perfect time to start," she explained. "I've got no idea how he managed to get his hands on the stuff, though."
Agoyamato's pride and joy was the half-cape he'd made, draped over Izuku's right side and held shut on the left by a thin but sturdy chain. What made it special was the Chamelo-Fabric that it was made of, however. It was a scientific marvel that was able to adjust what wavelengths of light flowed through it, kind of like a crystal making a rainbow at the proper angles. This allowed it to change colors almost as quickly as a TV screen!
It was even programmable to a certain extent, allowing animations to be saved and applied to the cloth. Unfortunately, this could only be done once and after that it was incredibly difficult to alter the patterning of the fabric, preventing it from adapting to its surrounding environment like its namesake and creating something akin to an invisibility cloak… unfortunately. Izuku had really been hoping something like that was possible, but sadly that particular ability was still reliant on quirks to exist, no matter how cool the idea was…
Still, it was incredible stuff.
"So pretty…!" Hagakure chimed in, almost startling Izuku with her sudden appearance.
The pattern Agoyamato had placed on the capelet was at once suited to Baiken and rather patriotic. A faded landscape of Japan's mountains—painted in a Sumi-E style on a white background—set the backdrop, with a perfectly circular red sun at the upper corner above Izuku's chest. Fog and sakura petals drifted across the surface in stylized lines, falling to the faded hem of the cloth. Finally, a living brushstroke slowly painted over the background, recreating the landscape in a new shape in a seemingly infinite pattern. Of course, there was a finite number of variations, but it would take dedicated attention to notice that detail.
"It's incredible work," Yaoyorozu interjected. "I'm impressed with Agoyamato's ingenuity. I don't think anyone in the fashion industry has dabbled with Support technology like this."
It really was amazing. The boy had outdone himself with this project. Between the fact that it was so high quality on its own and how well it suited Baiken, it wasn't a surprise that the watch had accepted it as an outfit for the girl once Izuku put on the finished product. 'Wandering Swordswoman: Punk Days' was the name it had been given.
"...I like it…" Yanagi added in her usual reserved tone.
Izuku's smile finally gave in to Baiken's habits, shifting into a confident smirk—
"NOW, AFTER OUR BRIEF BREAK… THE NEXT CONTESTANT IS HERE!"
"Did you guys have to—" Izuku began, worried they delayed the show for her.
"Nah… Part of the runway wasn't secured properly and Aoyama ended up tripping when it broke, so we needed to fix it. You're fine!" Ashido explained rapidly, giving Izuku a thumbs up.
That's lucky…!
"PLEASE WELCOME… BAIKEN!"
Taking a deep breath… Izuku made her way past the curtains.
Immediately, she was almost blinded by the spotlights, their constant glare catching her eyes as soon as she was visible to the audience. Stepping forward as she willed tears to stop forming in response to the lighting, the temporary girl angled her gaze towards…
T-That's a l-lot of people…
Staring back at her was a crowd thrice the size she had expected. Instead of several dozen people, there were several hundred. The clearing she'd seen in front of the stage earlier had seemed like it would be too big for the audience, but now…? It seemed too small.
Hell, there was even a professional camera setup aimed at the stage!
Swallowing nervously, Izuku started walking forward, following the line of the runway and using Baiken's arrogant mannerisms to fake her confidence. The smug look she knew was on her face and the prideful strut the woman naturally exhibited, combined with the way she was idly tapping the bat on her shoulder, reinforced the 'punk' look perfectly.
"Woah…!"
Gasps and cheers rang throughout the audience as she made her way down the runway.
"I've never seen animated clothes before!"
People really loved the outfit. Their intrigue only seemed to grow the longer Izuku was on stage and the moving patterns truly had the time to show off their complexities.
"Woohoo!"
A few people whistled as the temporary girl reached the end of the runway. She stopped there for a moment, resting the end of the bat on the ground and leaning on it slightly in a very casual posture that suited the look even more. Everything was going shockingly well…
Wow… This… Really isn't as bad as I thought it would be…
…and of course, that's when it all went to hell.
Momo watched from backstage as Baiken made her way down the runway, gauging the audience's reactions to the girl and her outfit.
Phooey… I think I've already lost.
It was unfortunate, but Agoyamato's design—combined with a model that suited the design perfectly—was just too good to be beaten. Using Support Tech was a stroke of genius that never would have occured to most fashion designers, though she still should have thought of it herself. Momo came from a family that specialized in the stuff, for god's sake!
Yet she hadn't… and it was going to cost her first place.
Well, at least I can learn from this defeat.
It was only truly a loss if she didn't learn anything, and it was clear she needed to think more outside of the box than she was used to. Fashion was a major aspect of creating Support Gear, given that she would also be involved in the creation of Hero Costumes, which is why she was in the club to begin with.
Hmm… What should I do for my next project…?
Baiken had reached the end of the runway, stopping briefly for a—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the stage, centered just behind where the pink-haired girl had been standing. The world shook from the force of the blast, knocking Momo off her feet and throwing every loose item backstage around. Mina was hit in the back of the head by a particularly heavy metal water bottle, knocking her out instantly, while Yanagi was trapped underneath a shelf more than twice her weight. Hagakure was sent into the giant curtain that separated the front of the stage from the back, taking Aoyama with her into their tumble and entwining themselves deeply into the fabric as it tore off it's hooks, falling onto them in a messy heap and trapping them in its tangled folds.
"Sorry to interrupt." An unfamiliar voice asked scratchily.
The smoke cleared, revealing a tall and skinny man with spiked red hair. He was dressed in a sleeveless black bodysuit, with a scarf the same hue as his hair wrapping around his muscled body repeatedly before stopping at his left hip. Ash coated his skin in patchwork spots, along with burn marks and thin scars.
"But I've got an important message to share with you all!" he continued.
Baiken was gone. All that remained was a pool of burning sludge and a crater where she had stood.
"Fires are the best!"
Screams echoed throughout the crowd as people realized what was happening.
A villain attack…! A… A villain is…
Immediately, the crowd began to disperse, moving as fast as they could to escape the—
"Hey! Where are you going?! There's no need to run!"
An orb of rock and flame sprung from his palms, spinning like a globe for a moment before…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
…He flung them at the edges of the crowd, creating several craters of magma and setting the surrounding environment aflame. The various decorations, trees, and nearby tents all began to burn, cutting off the audience's escape route and turning the area into a veritable hellscape. Already, breathing was growing more difficult because of the smoke and ash drifting through the air.
"Let's all enjoy the pretty fires together!" the villain shouted, giggling madly at his own statement like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
Move!
Shaking herself from her horrified shock, Momo created a simple staff from the palm of her hand—made of highly durable alloys that amounted to a manageable weight—and ran forward. There wasn't any time to create something more complicated or to come up with a plan. If she didn't take action now people were going to die.
The man hadn't moved from his original position at the end of the runway, and between the screams and the roaring flames, there was no way he would notice in time—
"Woah!" the man exclaimed, spinning around to glare at Momo's determined dash.
His hands came up, orbs of magma spiraling into existence above his fingertips as the girl's eyes widened.
"Don'tcha know it's rude to interrupt when someone's having a moment?!"
Momo stabbed her staff into the ground, using it like a pole-vault to fling herself into the air and well above the lethally hot material as it—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The force of the explosions flung her forward, burning much of the trailing parts of her dress away and eating away at the outermost layer of her skin painfully.
Crying out in pain, the girl hit the runway at an awkward angle. Luckily, nothing broke on impact, but the constant pain from the back half of her body and the way her vision was blurring dizzily were each reminders of the consequences for failure.
"Aw…! You're still alive…?" the villain whined.
Distantly, Momo was aware that the crowd was climbing onto the stage, scrambling over each other in a panicked attempt to get away from the burning environment. It made a certain kind of sense. The burning tents and the pools of magma cut off the path behind the audience, so obviously the only other option was to go forward and cut across the stage to safety—hoping the villain wouldn't focus on them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Another set of explosions knocked down the massive pillars that held up the curtains, lights, and camera station, physically cutting off the only other way out for the crowd. Worse still, the magma that remained began to slowly drip down off the metal, welding it in place to the stage and heating it far too much to be climbed over.
"It's almost like you guys don't wanna be here or something!" the villain exclaimed.
Momo scrambled to find a solution.
The moment I stand up he's going to notice… but he's already focused on the bystanders. If I take too long he's going to start hurting people, but I don't have a way to close the distance… Wait… I don't need to close the distance…!
Subtly, the girl began to create a small gun from the skin of her partially exposed stomach. Given how she was laying face down, her body would mask the distinctive light using her quirk caused and buy the several seconds it took her to load the special ammo she created in her hands. The rounds contained a special gel within them that would expand rapidly and harden, subduing the villain as long as she could hit center mass.
Come on… Come on…!
Her hands shook—from the pain of her burns or fear, even she didn't know—as she fumbled to load the round into the simplistic flare-gun-like tool she had made. It would take too long to reload, and she had only memorized a one-shot variation of this particular tool—something she was going to fix if she got out of this alive—so there would only be one chance to hit her target.
"Come on, guys! Live a little!" the villain yelled, flinging multiple smaller magma orbs at the crowd. "Don't you want to burn?!"
The explosions sent people flying like bowling pins off of the stage, creating several empty spots in the tightly packed crowd, but didn't appear to actually harm anyone. The man was toying with them, getting his sadistic kicks from his victim's panicked screams.
Why hasn't a hero shown up yet?!
Momo's breath caught as the ammo finally clicked in place. It was time to make her move…
I-It doesn't matter. I'll stop him myself.
Forcing her breathing to calm down, the brunette shakily raised the capture gun and aimed it at the man, who seemed too focused on his tormenting to notice. Though, that's what she thought last time, so there was no good way to tell. For the sake of minimizing how noticeable she was, she didn't even try to push through her wounds and stand up… Though, if she was to be honest, she wasn't sure that she could stand up.
C-Careful… If you don't hit this shot…
Swallowing her fear, the girl lined up the barrel with the villain's torso, cutting off her breathing for a short moment and—
The weapon kicked back sharply, launching its payload at incredible speeds at the man. At the last moment, he whirled around to—
SPLAT!
The foam splattered into the villain's chest, already starting to spread and expand.
"What the—"
In seconds it had enveloped his torso, climbing up towards his face and wrapping around his limbs to—
"Get it off me!" the man roared, flinging a particularly large magma orb at his own feet.
IS HE INSANE?!
BOOOOOOM!
The smoke cleared moments later, revealing the worst possible scenario. Not only was the villain unharmed beyond light singing on his pant legs, the capture foam was gone. It had been utterly incinerated by the heat of the blast, ruining Momo's efforts before they could come to fruition.
All the girl could do was gape in horror at the sight.
She wasn't ready for this, for any of this! She was supposed to have time to train—to be taught by the experts—before ever facing something like this! It was too soon for this, too much for her to handle alone. Challenges were supposed to gradually ramp up in one's life, it's what had always happened to her with her studies, so why?! It just wasn't fair!
"You bitch! You tried to snuff out my flames!" the villain shrieked in anger.
Cupping both of his hands together, the man started creating the largest magma orb yet. The normal ones had been roughly the size of baseball, while the one's he'd tossed at the crowd had been the size of golf balls… This? It was already the size of a basketball and still growing… And, between the pain of her burns, the shock of her impact, and the overwhelming terror of the situation piercing through her mental defenses… Momo couldn't think straight enough to come up with anything to save herself. As her world shrank into a tunnel from the adrenaline, a single thought floated through her head.
Am I… Am I going to die…?
"No one gets to attack my pretty fires! No one!" the villain rambled as the orb grew steadily larger.
I am, aren't I?
Once the orb reached the size of a beach ball, the man's manic demeanor seemed to calm slightly.
"Don't worry, you'll get to burn just like the rest of these heathens! It'll be great, trust me!" he exclaimed. "Bye bye, bitch!"
The orb soared forward, moving slower than the others had but still fast enough to be terrifying. Moments before it would impact, Momo clenched her eyes shut and prayed.
Please… Someone, anyone! I'm not ready! I need help! I need… I need…
She felt the heat on her skin as the thing began to rupture, milliseconds left before the inevitable blast.
…I need a Hero!
BOO—CRACKA-BOOM!
Momo remained still for several long moments, waiting for… Whatever kind of sensation she expected from the magma bomb exploding in her face. Yet, it didn't come. Opening her eyes hesitantly, still not quite sure whether to believe if she was alive, the girl saw something impossible.
Standing in front of her, his back seeming impossibly broad from her angle, stood the crude blonde boy from earlier in the day. His hands were coated in soot and shaking terribly as he stood there protectively. Smoke wafted from his hands and thin trails of blood dripped from his palms while orange static crackled around his form. Breathing heavily, he spoke.
"You alright, rich girl…?"
Never in her wildest dreams did Momo imagine that something like this would happen to her… nor did she expect to be saved from certain death in such a dramatic fashion… but most of all…
She never expected to want to smack her savior upside the head.
A Bit Earlier…
Bakugo's day had gone… oddly.
He hadn't expected to have a good time with Baiken, nor had he expected to drop one of his most personal problems in her lap like he had… but in the heat of the moment… After such an important epiphany… He just couldn't stop himself once she asked about Midoriya.
Most of all, though… he hadn't expected her to hug him.
With a personality like his, he'd literally only ever been hugged by his parents, and even that had stopped once he got into his teenage years. The closest thing to physical affection he'd received besides that was the way All Might had ruffled his hair, and that had only happened once.
Was she pitying me?!
The scene kept replaying in his mind as he walked, letting the sun finish the job of drying off his clothes. Within the theater of his mind, it was hard not to focus on the girl's looks, even though he'd made his decision on that topic, but he pushed past that to focus on something far more important. The look in her eye was familiar… Almost painfully so.
It was the same look he'd seen in All Might's eyes when the man saved him from the sludge villain… and the same look he'd seen in Midoriya's eyes when he'd offered his help at the river.
…No. She wasn't…
Clenching his fists together and setting his jaw painfully tight, he continued to stomp along the dirt path back toward the festival's main areas.
I'm not a victim, dammit!
Yet, no matter how angry he was about that gently determined gaze being directed at him, he couldn't fault the girl for it. Just like Midoriya's held out hand, it was nothing more than a kindness. It wasn't meant as an insult, no matter how upsetting it was to know he'd been labeled as 'someone to help' in the girl's mind. He couldn't respond to it like he would have as an idiot kid. Not anymore…
And what the hell does she want to talk about, any—
Bakugo stopped in place, foot catching on the ground as his momentum halted.
What the fuck…? Is that…?
In the distance, he could see the orange and yellow glare of flames, trailing off into the sky and drifting apart into smoke-like trails. Distantly, memories of the fires he'd caused while fighting the sludge villain came to mind, reminding him of how much worse that could have gone…
Shit…!
He was running before he'd even started to think about the situation. The moment he recognized the trouble he was already moving.
This isn't fast enough! Fuck it! All Might can yell at me later!
Explosive blasts echoed behind him lightly as he propelled himself into the air, flinging himself towards the flames as fast as he could manage. It was not without consequences, however…
"Tch…!" he grimaced, his hands aching in protest at the use of his quirk.
His nerves still hadn't fully healed from the strain of overusing his Explosions to take down the Smoke villain. Using the ability at all right now was risky, but that didn't matter.
In the distance, he could see a redheaded blur flinging tiny dots of explosive redness at a crowd of terrified bystanders, knocking them around like dolls. This was all happening on the fashion stage he'd met Baiken at earlier, though the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Where the hell is she…? There's no way this idiot got her!
As the blonde approached, it got easier and easier to make out details… Like the rich girl from earlier pointing a flare gun at the villain. Moments later, she'd nailed the guy with her shot—which turned out to be some kind of support item meant for capturing people.
"Hah! At least she's not a useless damsel!" Bakugo exclaimed, his expression already shifting into a sharp grin as he approached the upcoming fight.
Of course, it would be too easy if her plan had actually worked. The villain burned off the foam with a magma blast, and then…
Shit!
Bakugo shot forward at twice his prior rate, pumping a single percent of One For All into his own quirk so he could get there faster. The villain was pissed. With the size of the orb he was making, Bakugo couldn't just shoot off one of his own explosions like a projectile and deflect it. The resulting blast may not harm the rich girl, but it certainly would get the crowd strewn throughout the stage and the grounds. Many of them were already unconscious on the ground, making them even bigger targets.
The only solution was to land in front of the man's target and use a concentrated blast to incinerate his own before it detonated… and he had just thrown the oversized orb.
"FUCK!" he roared, feeling the strain of his quirk as he launched forward even faster.
Milliseconds later, he smashed into the stage in front of the dark-haired girl. Arms out in front of him, he cupped them together and thrust them forward. Despite how bad of an idea it was, he knew at that moment that what he could do wasn't going to be enough. He needed to go beyond his limits… Reach for the impossible…
One For All… Five Percent Explosion!
Pain lanced through his hands, shredding through the skin of his palms and cracking his bones as the condensed power shattered his limits, sending the hottest explosion he'd ever made forward to meet the magma orb.
His world exploded into light as the two forces warred for the briefest of moments… and then his own blast overwhelmed the villain's, incinerating it entirely before burning itself out from the difficulty of the clash.
The villain remained where he was, rooted with open-mouthed shock, but that didn't matter right now. Struggling to keep his broken arms steady so as to maintain the illusion he could rely upon them, he spoke the most important question a hero could ask.
"You alright, rich girl…?"
For a moment, there wasn't a response, and then…
"I… Thank you…" the girl mumbled in shock.
"Heh, don't force yourself," he chuckled. "Can't handle thanking the lower classes, right?"
He heard her sputter in response, clearly upset at the suggestion—
"YOU!" the villain screamed. "YOU DESTROYED MY MASTERPIECE!"
Bakugo smirked through the pain, standing a bit straighter before spitting off to the side rudely.
"Yeah, I did. You gonna do something about it, asshole?" he asked smugly.
The man's face turned a red comparable to his hair as a vein in his forehead began to throb.
"DIE!"
Instantly, he created multiple orbs of magma, each roughly the size of a baseball, but Bakugo was already moving.
"Fuck off! That's my line!" he shouted.
The shots peppered the ground behind him, knocking him off his feet but not properly damaging him. Spinning through the air, he narrowly managed to stop a reflexive use of Explosion to right himself, choosing to land on the ground more awkwardly than he normally would so he didn't keep using his arms.
I need a way to handle this fucker…
His arms were nothing but dead weight right now. He could force through the pain and use his own quirk again, but the likelihood of the pain overwhelming his brain and forcing him into unconsciousness—nevermind the long-term consequences—was too high to risk. Right now, he was the only person able to keep the villain occupied until the heroes arri—
"Hah! What the fuck am I thinking?!" he roared.
One For All… Five Percent.
Orange sparks skittered across his muscled form as he crouched low, readying himself like a sprinter at the start of a race… barring his mostly limp arms anyway. For a little while there, he'd forgotten that he didn't need to combine his quirks… That was just a goalpost he'd set for himself so he could be distinct from his teacher and eventually surpass the man.
"I'm not waiting for the heroes! You're going down now, you fucking extra!"
The boy shot forward, blurring lightly into an orange line as he charged the flame-wielding villain. The man's eyes widened in a panic as he began lobbing a multitude of magma orbs in Bakugo's path.
"Stay away!" the man shouted in a panic as the blonde zipped and bounced around the various attacks
"Fat chance, asshole!"
Ducking under the latest orb of magma, he pressed off the ground with both feet—twisting himself around so that his feet faced his opponent as he flew at the man… who raised his arms desperately and started to form another super-sized globe—
"STOP!"
Bakugo's eyes widened as he saw what the villain had done.
GOD DAMNIT!
A single small explosion erupted from his palms, sending daggers of pain throughout his broken limbs but achieving exactly what he needed… Smashing him down into the floor.
Bouncing and skidding, he came to an awkward stop several meters from the villain, glaring at him with the heat of a thousand suns. If looks could kill, the man would be nothing more than ashes in the wind right now…
"Hehe… Haha… Phew!" the man giggled, still holding his beach-ball sized orb aloft and directed at the terrified crowd in the background.
How the fuck did I let myself forget that?!
"You hero types are all the same!" the villain went on, still giggling with every word. "Why can't you understand how pretty my fires are…? How amazing ash tastes or the way it makes shadows dance?!"
Bakugo's jaw clenched painfully as he struggled to devise a plan.
I can't muster another 5% Explosion without putting myself outta commision… If he lets that thing loose… People are gonna die.
He couldn't think of a single non-suicidal tactic to employ that would be able to save the several hundred people trapped by the flames and the melting stage. He wouldn't have hesitated if he knew it would work, but he also knew that the villain would go right back to his rampage if he tried what he was thinking.
"Don't worry…! I'll show you!" the man went on manically.
Shit, time's running out…!
Orange electricity sparked subtly around his body as he prepared to move again. At this rate, he wouldn't have any good options… So he would do what he had to do to save the bystanders…
It's the right thing to do, right All Might…?
"I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!"
Bakugo lunged at the same time as the orb flew from the villain's hands, planting his feet in front of the attack's trajectory. Raising a leg as he maintained his momentum, he began to swing it in a sideways arc toward the orb. Orange static arced over his form, lighting up his body as subtle lines of energy began to glow beneath his skin…
One For All… 100—
"MOVE!"
A pink blur smashed him out of the way moments before impact, breaking his concentration forcefully and taking the full—
The magma-orb winked out of existence, the heat of its presence dissipating into the wind effortlessly.
Standing there was a clearly female hero, dressed in white, black, and red kimono—a black gakuran slung over her shoulders for… some reason. One sleeve of her robes was notably longer than the other, hiding her right arm entirely, while a wooden sword rested in a harness on her left hip. Pink hair fluttered in her ponytail, two particularly large spikes cresting off her head like animal ears. Finally, on the hem of her kimono was a large black and red hourglass, standing out like a sigil.
Glancing backward, the young woman revealed the traditional looking samurai mask she wore—covering the lower half of her face completely and leaving her eyes exposed. Beneath her spiky bangs, a pink tattoo stood out on her forehead, appearing like a perfectly round sun with a single line representing its rays.
"You alright…?" she asked gruffly, the mask distorting her voice slightly.
Bakugo let out a breath, staring at her face. She seemed… familiar…
A sudden bout of coughing interrupted him, no doubt the ash in the air finally getting into his lungs. Sputtering for a moment, he managed to clear out his throat finally.
"Tch," the girl stated. "Guess not."
"I'm fine!" he shouted in response, sending a glare at the girl. "Who are you, anyway? I've never seen you before."
…Which was actually somewhat odd. Bakugo may not be on Midoriya's level of nerdish obsession, but he made an effort to stay abreast of the hero industry. The fact he'd never seen this girl at all didn't bode well, and given her apparent age, she couldn't…
Shit…
There was no way she could have graduated from any hero school… Hawks was a famously young exception, but no one managed to get a proper solo license before turning at least twenty.
…I'm dealin' with a Vigilante.
"I'm…" the girl trailed off, tilting her head to the side for a moment in clear consideration.
One that hasn't even thought of a hero name, apparently.
"... Miss Samurai."
Detail Diatribe:
The big thing on the docket today is costumes! Specifically the one's for the different entries to the fashion show/contest! I tried to use visual reference, but unfortunately I couldn't find much on deviant art, so I came up with my own designs for the most part. As such, you'll have to use your imagination for detail for most of them, unfortunately.
However, there are a few that I can say more about.
Momo's outfit is actually very similar to the outfit she wore in the first MHA movie (Two Heroes), though with a few differences that are mentioned in the description within the scene. Additionally, Aoyama's is essentially his hero outfit from canon but with significantly more detail, engraving, and general flashiness. And, as I said above, it's pure white instead of silver. Think of it as an overly flashy prototype, the type to get rejected by a proper support department since it's just too gaudy to be an actual hero costume.
Finally, the only outfit I actually had visual reference for was Izuku's entry as Baiken. I've had this one laying around since I introduced the outfit for the duel, actually, though I made some minor alterations to the image linked below. The main differences are that I cut the purse and pipe, replaced the sandals with combat boots, and added a baseball bat along with the animation I described (which I actually came up with while writing this chapter!)
deviant (slash)oscar44(slash)art(slash)Casual-Baiken-711316597
If the link doesn't work after removing the spaces and parenthesis, just look up Oscar44 on Deviant Art. You'll find the post rather quickly. He's a SFW artist too, so no content warnings here!
Anyway, that's it for this chapter's Detail Diatribe!
AN:
Hoo, boy is this a big chapter!
Obviously, I don't mean actual word count, but still. I've been looking forward to this for a while now, and it feels great to finally be here. I won't go into detail as to why exactly I'm so excited, since this is really just a 'Part One' to this particular incident, but I'm sure some of you can see why this is going to be a big deal.
On a completely different note, I'm finally back to weekly for a bit! We'll see how long it lasts, since I'm going to be moving soon and that's going to be rather hectic, but hopefully I can maintain it for at least a few weeks.
Also, we're coming up on 500 followers! It's a crazy milestone to me, but I'm glad you're all enjoying this wacky ride as much as I am!
For now though, that's it for today. See you all in the next chapter!