Chapter nine incoming. Honestly my favorite fight to write so far starts in the chapter. No review replies this time. Most can be summed up in the phrase, read upcoming chapters to find out. Now onto the chapter
New World Arc
Chapter 9: Winds of Changes
Katsuki violently grabbed Izuku by his shirt.
"Deku you god damn liar." He shouted.
"W-what? K-k-k-kacchan w-what are you talking about?" Izuku questioned.
"You there, let go of Midoriya this instance. You shouldn't be attacking your fellow examenes." Tenya scolded.
"Shut it four eyes!" Katsuki returned. "Don't play dumb Deku! Quirkless my ass, I saw you use a quirk back there!"
"W-w-what? T-that's what your upset about?" Izuku questioned.
"Of course you damn nerd, you've been laughing behind my back haven't you, just acting all weak and shit." Katsuki sneered.
"W-WHAT?!" Izuku shrieked.
"Admit it!" Katsuki yelled.
"B-but I haven't done anything like that Kacchan I was quirkless, up until recently that is." Izuku clarified.
"Bull shit!" Katsuki yelled.
"He's telling the truth Katsuki." Ruby sternly stated.
Katsuki's head snapped to Ruby.
"And who the hell are you Red Tips and how do you know my name?" Katsuki sneered.
"It's Ruby Rose and I'm Izuku's childhood friend from overseas." Ruby answered.
"Is that so?" Katsuki question as he dropped Izuku.
He walked up and stood face to face with Ruby staring her down.
"Then how come I've never heard of you before let alone seen you?" Katsuki questioned.
Izuku became extremely nervous at this. Due to all his training, he failed to take into account the fact that Katsuki, having known him for so long, would not buy Ruby's story. He hoped Ruby had some way to explain it that he'd believed.
"Because we meet when we were six for a family get together. Our dad's know each other from work. I've been away in America most of the time up until seven months ago. The only reason we didn't meet up until now is because I was busy training for the Entrance Exam. And I doubt Izuku would talk about me being his friends given you'd just call him a liar or some crap." Ruby explained.
"I call bull shit!" Katsuki shouted.
"Believe what you want blasty." Ruby returned with a shrug.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME RED TIPS!" He shouted back.
"You heard me blasty." She shot back.
"I'm gonna…" He began.
"Will Katsuki Bakugou and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu please report to Arena One." Was announced.
"Tch… damn, I'll let you off the hook for now but I know somethings up and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it." He declared. "Both with you and Deku's quirk."
He stomped off. As he did Ruby simple glared at him. While Ruby seemed calm confident and collected on the outside, mental it was a different story. Oh my gods oh my gods oh my gods I can't believe I came up with all that on the fly and didn't even stuttered once. Had that been anyone else that would have been totally believable. Meanwhile everyone else was confused by the whole interaction.
"Soooooo… what was that about?" Ochako finally spoke up.
"Kacchan, kind of doesn't like me." Izuku spoke as he got up. "At all."
"Kind of is an understatement." Itsuka pointed out.
"Indeed, to me it seems as though he lothe's you more than simply disliking." Tenya noted.
"I guess you could say that." Izuku admitted.
"But what's with your nicknames, you called him Kacchan and he called you Deku?" Ochako questioned.
"Oh we use to be friends when we were kids, before he got his quirk and I didn't." Izuku explained. "Now our relationship is what you see now. I still call him Kacchan but he calls me Deku to demean me."
"So it's an insult." Tenya muttered.
"Actually, I kinda like it." Ochako stated.
"Huh?" Everyone questioned.
"Yeah, I think it'd actually make a pretty cool hero name. Plus I think it sounds kind of cute." Ochako explained.
"Deku it is!" Izuku blurted out with a bright red face.
"Midoriya?" Everyone else but Itsuka and Ruby questioned.
Meanwhile Itsuka and Ruby were trying their best to stifle their laughter.
In the Examination Room…
Toshinori, Shota and Nezu all observed Katsuki's interaction with Izuku and company mainly with annoyance at Katsuki's vulgar behavior.
"Any clue what is the deal between those two is All Might?" Shota questioned.
"Not much, though I do know that Young Midoriya admires Young Bakugou's strength and confidence in spite of his personality." Toshinori noted. "To me it seems as though they could be rivals of sorts."
"Well to me it seems Bakugou is much more of a bully than a rival." Shota noticed.
"I'll admit I can see that. However the boy never brought anything about a bully nor showed signs of physical injuries." Toshinori countered. "Though knowing him it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't tell me out of not wanting to bother me with it."
"That however leaves the question of what to do with them should they both pass." Nezu pointed out.
"Personally I think it's best to seperate those two as to not cause any problems." Shota stated bluntly.
"Now hang on Aizawa there's some merit in putting them together a healthy rivalry is good for drawing out the uppermost potential out of an individual." Toshinori pointed out.
"Or cause me and or Vald a massive headache." Shota shot back.
Nezu nodded, listening intently to what his colleagues had suggested. While he already had in mind what he planned to do, he still enjoyed listening to their suggestion in case they brought up any good points.
"Well I say we put them in the same class." Nezu chimed in, drawing the attention of Toshinori and Shota.
"Might I ask why sir?" Shota inquired.
"While it is clear there is some bad blood between the two, mainly from Bakugou's end, separating them would only avoid the problem as opposed to solving it." Nezu pointed out. "As such I believe putting them in the same class will help or, if we must, force them to resolve their differences."
"I see. Even if I don't entirely agree with it, it is a logically sound option." Shota answered.
"Yes, though of course we'll have to keep an eye on them as to make sure things don't get too out of hand." Nezu added. "For now let's see how the rest of these matches go."
Later, at the testing site…
Ruby had just finished up her first pre-scheduled match and decided to go sit with Izuku. Everyone else was either in the middle of a match or heading towards there match so it would only be the two of them. Izuku was in the middle of his classic mutter spells. Ruby giggled at his nerdy attics. She sat down next to him without him noticing, pulled her arm back, and smacked him upside the head. Immediately his muttering ceased.
"Muttering again?" Izuku questioned as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yep," Ruby replied.
"Sorry," He returned.
"It's cool I'm used to it, so what were you muttering about?" Ruby inquired.
"Oh well… during my match with that Kirishima guy, I managed to hold back One… I mean my quirk and prevent it from hurting myself. But I don't know how?" Izuku explained.
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that but that who thing with Katsuki happened." Ruby noted. "I wonder how you did it? It be helpful if you could figure it out."
"Yeah I know, but like I said I've no idea how I did it." Izuku pointed out. "What did I do different that time?"
"I don't know I wish I could help." Ruby expressed. "Hmm… maybe we could ask the other's for help I'm sure they'd have an idea. Hopefully we'll have time before your next match, if not we'll have to do it when we all meet up to… discuss me, Jaune, Ren, and Nora's… situation."
"That reminds me how are we gonna do that? Do you plan on tell them the whole truth?" Izuku asked.
"I don't know… I feel we should tell them there our friends now. I know we agreed to keep it a secret and I know we haven't known every except Itsuka for too long. But it doesn't feel right lying to them you know." Ruby expressed.
"Yeaaaahhhh…" Izuku expressed, thinking of his own secret he and All Might are keeping from her. "W-well it's your secret to tell. If you feel they should know then tell them, then that's up to you. I'll follow your lead on this one."
"Thanks Izuku," Ruby expressed.
"Will Izuku Midoriya and Flash Dallas please report to Arena three." Was announced.
"Welp, that's my cue." Izuku noted as he rose to his feet. "Looks like I'm getting my fights out of the way quickly."
"Looks like it." Ruby added as she also got up. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Izuku replied.
Izuku made his way over towards the arena with Ruby in tow. Upon arriving he entered the arena to face his opponent. Before him stood Flash, a tall Native American man with well defined lean muscles. He had long pure black hair and bright blue pupiless eyes. His hands were the same blue as his eyes. He wore a brown t-shirt, black shorts, and black sneakers. The two eyed each other down. Izuku steeled himself as stood face to face with his uncomfortably calm opponent.
"H-hey, good luck, may the best man win." Izuku expressed.
"Indeed, let us both do our best." Flash repled.
"Beeeeegiiin!" The examiner shouted.
Before Izuku could even move a punch land square in his face. He's fast! Izuku looked to see that Flash was still standing where he was.
"What?" He questioned.
Flash punched again his arm disappeared into a portal. Suddenly Izuku felt the punch connect to his stomach. He gasped in pain. And uppercut came and slammed him right in the chin. He can make portals. I at least know that but what are the limitations? Another punch to his face sent him sprawling to the ground. He slowly got up only for another punch to rocket into his gut. Izuku gripped his stomach in pain on his knees only for another punch to clock him right in his face. Izuku used the momentum from the attack to roll away from Flash giving him some space. After getting far enough away he saw flash opening up another portal. But instead of punching through it he keeped his hand there causing the portal to grow larger.
I see while fist size one's he can make instantly larger ones he has to let grow. Izuku looked a little to his left to see a portal growing close by. Izuku began to move back and to the right. He can only created the 'exit' portal so far from him. If I had to guess it'd be around ten meters based on where the portal is in proximity to him. Not only that but it appears his hands have to be in contact with the portal for it to grow. However that doesn't help much he can attack me instantly with in that ten meter range and there no way I can move fast enough to avoid it without the help of [One for All]. Suddenly a punch landed square in Izuku's face.
"What the?!" He questioned.
He looked to see Flash had simple moved away from where he was standing without the use of the portal.
"Dammit," Izuku muttered. "I was so focused on the portal I wasn't paying any attention to see if he'd move."
"Not as dumb as you look." Flash stated.
He unleashed punch after punch each landing the mark on Izuku who could do little but take the hits. Dammit without [One for All] I don't think I'll be able to beat this guy. A punch rocked Izuku in the jaw. Despite the pain racking his who body Izuku readied his right index finger to flick. It may break my bones but I'll have to use it. Hopefully from this distance and only flicking he won't be seriously hurt. He channeled [One for All] into his right index finger, readied himself to flick, and took aim.
Flash saw this. What is he… wait! He remembered back to the end of the seconded test where he saw Izuku fly through the air. Could this be the power that helped him do this but didn't that break his foot surely he wouldn't… Suddenly Izuku unleashed his attack.
"Shit!" Flash cursed.
The air pressure blasted Flash away. His face was marked with an uncharacteristic sign of panic. As he flew through the air he started opening a portal in front of him. Despite the fact that his hand was no longer in contact with the portal, it kept growing. A portal opened behind him. With some effort, Flash righted himself in the air and flew into the portal as though he we're diving into it. He flew out the first one he made and rolled along the floor to stop his momentum. The minute he left the portal it disappeared.
"Damn almost had him." Izuku expressed in pain.
Izuku clenched his right hand in a vain attempt to alleviate the pain pulsating from his finger. So the portal's can still grow even if he's not touching them. Flash returned to his feet as his more calm and composed stated also returned, though the panic he felt refused to leave him. Opposed to Flash's calm demeanor, Izuku was increasingly become more frazzled. Okay I need to calm down and think this through. He only seems to make one pair of portals at a time, though I don't know why. Also he seems to have to remain in contact with them or they close after a certain amount of time. He eyed down Izuku, and Izuku did the same. Dammit I know the basics of how his quirk works but how I am I supposed to bet it!
Overhaul's Compound…
Neo was no saint and she knew it. She'd seen and done horrible things. She had killed, stole, and helped to bring about the attack on Vale as well as participate in it. However even she couldn't help but be disgusted by the vile treatment of Eri by Overhaul. The cries of the poor girl as her arms were torn to pieces pierced her ears. It took everything she had to not attack the man out right. She knew it would end poorly given Cinder was also in the room along with one of Overhaul henchmen. This only infuriated her more. While she wanted revenge on Ruby for Roman's death she also blamed Cinder for putting him in such a position. But she was no fool she knew nothing of their abilities to even hope to make a sensible battle strategy. Not only that, but the longer she held her illusion the more tired she felt, much to her confusion.
Eventually Eri's experimentation ended and she was lead back to her room. Neo followed suite. Once the door was close Eri and unbenounced to her Neo were alone in the room. Soon the little girl began to cry. When she was sure Overhaul was gone she dropped her illusion and went to comfort Eri. She put her hand on her back earning a gasp from the girl. Neo signaled her to shush. She created and illusion which stated, 'I can help you get out.'
"W-what? B-b-b-but how?" Eri questioned.
Neo then spelled out, 'It'll take some time. I need to figure out the lay out of the place and a good time to sneak you out without drawing suspicion. Once that's done I can hide us using my illusions as we sneak out.'
"Y-you… you'd that… for me?" Eri questioned with teary red eyes.
Neo nodded. That's right I'll save you and ruin whatever that bitch is planning. Nothing like a good deed with a good reward. She then spelled out, 'You'll have to endure for a bit while I get this all sorted out. You also can't give away the fact that you might escape soon. Can you do that?'
"I-I-I'll try." Eri expressed as she wiped tears away from her eyes.
Neo gave the little girl a small smile before gentle pulling her into a hug. Eri clutch onto Neo's shirt and cried her eyes out.
Meanwhile…
Cinder walked through the halls of the Shie Hassaikai's, the yakuza that Overhaul was incharge of, compound. While she was no fan of the treatment of Eri, she saw the potential of the quirk erasing properties of her blood. With little left to do on that day she returned to her quarters to sort out her own plans. Her room was quaint with little to decorate it save a bed, a desk, and a dresser. On the desk was a computer along with various papers and photos scattered across it. Once inside she went over, sat down at it, and went to work.
"Let's see other than those JNPR brats, or haha I guess JNR now, I've yet to see anyone else from Remnant." She noted.
Cinder had taken up the task on finding anyone who could have been transported to this world from her's. She scouted out for potential allies as well as enemies to look out for.
"I've been here seven months and that's the only three I've found. Not bad but far from good." She noted. "I've still yet to find any signs of Ruby, the damn brat who probable got me into this mess. But I know she has to be here."
She sighed.
"I don't need to worry about her. Besides I might actually thank her. On Remnant there was no way I could even dream of challenging her. But if the way my powers have changed is anything to go off of than she'll be far from invincible if she should arrive." Cinder declared. "But for now I should be more focused on finding allies."
After all I can't strike out on my own without them. By myself I stand no chance against Overhaul and his goons. But if I want Eri's power I'll need Overhaul under my boot. She chuckled lightly. For now I'll be his ally but when the time is right I'll make my move. First it'll be the underworld, then beyond.
Izuku: And that brings this chapter to a close.
Ruby: Talk about a tough fight Izuku.
Izuku: And it won't be resolved till next chapter. I hope I win.
Ruby: Me too. Speaking of next chapter, we have a talk with our new group of friends about our situation. I hope they believe me.
Izuku: I'm sure they will. I doubt they'd consider that a lie.
Ruby: Fair point, anyways next time Chapter 10: Setting Things Straight.
Izuku: See you guys then.
For a picture of Flash go to my Deviantart here:(Can't post the link. Add this to the end of the base deviantart url)/zmanxv/art/Flash-786973429
