Chapter 4: Will of Fire and Leaves
Izuku and Ochako began making their way inside, with the young ninja using the Body Flicker technique to help them get to a higher floor as quickly as possible.
"Hang on." The green haired lad said as he grabbed his partner by the waist and pulled her close to him. This made Ochako blush as she was pressed flush to the boy's muscular physique. Izuku then made a one handed hand seal. "Ninja Art: Long Range Body Flicker Jutsu!" He said as they flickered away into the upper floors of the building.
After they arrived, Ochako fell to the ground, slightly disoriented. "Ugh… That was weird." She groaned as she got up, her legs wobbling a little.
"Sorry, the body flicker can be a bit disorienting when used on two people if one isn't used to the high speed motion required to use it." Izuku apologized. "Anyway, we should get moving." He said as they started sneaking around looking for their opponents.
However as they continued to move, Izuku noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a small spider made of very familiar looking white clay, and it was staring right at Ochako from its place on the ceiling opposite their position.
"OCHAKO, MOVE!" The Uchiha descendant yelled as he grabbed her and leapt away from the spider just in time for it to explode. The blast singed the left side of his shirt slightly, but he was otherwise fine.
"What… was that?!" The girl gasped as she opened her eyes again.
"It was one of Kacchan's Explosion Release clay creations. A C-4 Level to be exact." Izuku explained. "Not exactly powerful, but still pack enough of a punch to wear someone down if they swarm you." He continued as he turned back to the girl underneath him, and saw that her face was beat red.
'S-s-so c-close!' She squeaked inwardly. Izuku, likewise, soon took notice of their current position and was quick to get off of her. Though the feeling of the girl's soft body was still very much fresh in his mind as they got up.
'She felt… nice…' He thought with his own blush. It was at this moment that Katsuki showed up.
"Scared to fight me, De-... Uh, what happened?" He started to say before pausing and blinking upon seeing that the two in front of him were blushing.
"Nothing!" The two exclaimed as they shook off their blushes. Shaking their heads, Izuku then turned to Ochako.
"Go get the weapon, now!" He told her, getting a nod in red as she ran past Bakugo. The blonde tried to catch her—but before he could—Izuku suddenly weaved several hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He yelled before he blasted his opponent with the attack.
"Fuck!" Bakugo cursed as he dodged the attack, allowing the gravity girl to continue on. He quickly then started weaving his own hand signs while his friend's eyesight was obscured by the fire.
As the flames started to die down, Izuku activated his Sharingan to scan for his opponent, but couldn't find him. 'What the-? Where'd he go?' He thought before something came to him. "Aw crap, he's tried this before!" He gasped before he leapt back just in time to avoid getting grabbed by the heel when Katsuki's hand suddenly came out from underneath his feet.
"Damn! Really thought you'd forgotten about that!" The red eyed teen grunted as he got out of the floor, being sure to avert his eyes from his friend's Sharingan.
"Photographic memory, remember?" The Uchiha boy stated as he tapped his forehead. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu, you used that back when we were just starting to get good at our ninja skills together. Kinda hard to forget, seeing as you buried me like Saitama when I got too cocky." He stated.
-Observation room-
"Sneak attack Bakugo? What kind of man pulls cheap crap like that?" A redhead head said indignantly.
"Ninja tactics are like that, if my research into the topic is to be believed." Momo states.
"True. And he's playing the part of the villain, don't forget that." All Might nodded.
"Holy crap, Midoriya narrowly evaded that!" A pink skinned and haired girl exclaimed.
"Wasn't that the Headhunter Jutsu we just saw?" A dual toned boy asked, his left side being covered in ice.
"That must mean he has an affinity for earth style… Right? I'm so confused." A yellow haired boy said before becoming confused.
"We should probably consider getting those two to explain their affinities to us." A bird headed teen mused.
"Yeah. It would help deal with the confusion." A frog looking girl nodded in agreement.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with the boys, Izuku pulled four Shuriken out in each hand before he threw the projectiles at Bakugo and made a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He exclaimed as the thrown weapons multiplied midair.
"CRAP!" Bakugo shouted as he used several explosions to dispel and deflect them, but still got a few scratches. "I can never get out of that one unscathed!" He said to himself. He then charged after Izuku and readied a strong right hook, but as he followed through, the boy sidestepped him and grabbed him by the arm, turned with his hips—and slammed him over his shoulder onto the floor with a thud.
"You always start with a right hook when it comes to Taijutsu." Izuku said as he took a stance while his friend recovered from the unexpected maneuver. "Come on, Kacchan! Show me what you're made of!" He shouted.
"You're even a bigger idiot than I realized." The blonde groaned as he spat out some clay that he had been chewing on the entire time. He then blew into it while making a hand sign, which caused it to mold into an exact copy of him.
Izuku looked at the double cautiously, at first thinking that he was looking at an explosive clay clone. However, upon closer inspection with his Sharingan, he saw that this was not the case.
"Oh SHI—!" He exclaimed as he jumped back right as the double ballooned up before it popped like a giant balloon. "... Okay, that was a bit anticlimactic…" He said as he stood up again.
"That's what you think." Bakugo grinned as he snapped his fingers. "Katsu." He said as small explosions started happening inside Izuku's body.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" The green haired teen yelled in pain as explosions rocked his insides. Falling to his knees, he continued to shake as he coughed up blood onto the floor. The explosions were C-3, so it hurts like hell.
(Elsewhere)
-Observation room-
"What the hell is happening?!" The redhead from before, Eijiro Kirishima, shouted in alarm.
"If I remember correctly, that was C-3, a technique where an explosion double filled with tiny insect bombs is made pops and has the opponent breathe them in to explode on contact with internal organs." All Might explained to the best of his ability.
"That sounds very dangerous and fatal." Momo noted, now feeling worried for Izuku's well being.
"According to what young Midoriya has told me, young Bakugo always makes sure to avoid having any of the clay get anywhere near vital organs. He'll be in pain, lots of it, but he'll live." The No. 1 hero assured her.
"Let's hope that's true." Iida said, sweating slightly.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile on the top floor of the building, Himiko sat on the same oil drum from before as she filed her nails and waited for something to happen.
"Oh why couldn't I have gone down there with Bakugo? I'm missing the chance to see Izuku all bloo—." The girl groaned before shaking her head violently. "No! Bad Himiko! Don't think stuff like that, you'd never want to see him hurt!" She said, scolding herself as Ochako sneaked into the room. "But… A battered and bruised Izuku would still be cute, at least." She conceded, her face flushed pink with a perverse blush.
Ochako seemed to gulp nervously, she knew that her friend had a sadistic side that reared itself during combat, especially when the site of blood spurred her fetish into gear. It was part of the reason why Himiko liked Midnight so much, they were similar to an extent.
It wasn't the blonde's fault, it was just how she was, but Ochako still couldn't help but feel nervous when she turned sadistic. If only out of habit.
However, her musings were interrupted when the girl noticed that her friend had disappeared from her spot… and the sudden feeling of arms around her waist as two hands suddenly started groping her breasts from behind.
"Hehe! Guess who, Ochako~!" Himiko purred.
"W-why do you always d-do these things?!" The brunette questioned with a blush on her face as she tried to pry her friend's hands from her chest.
"Because you know me so well, silly!" The cat-like girl giggled as she kept groping her friend as they then started rolling on the ground, as if they were wrestling… in the lewdest way possible.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile in the observation room, everyone had absolutely no idea what to make of what was going on between the two girls.
"Uh… How should we react to this?" A blond boy with a tail wondered in confusion.
"I have no idea." A boy with tape dispenser elbows shrugged.
"Are they always like this?" An invisible girl asked Momo.
"To my knowledge Toga was never the talkative type much let this perverse… But it seems like becoming friends with Uraraka allowed her to come out of her shell." She replied.
"Well I'm certainly not complaining." Kaminari grinned as he watched the lewd-ish wrestling match as Himiko grabbed Ochako in between her curvaceous thighs.
"Stop perving on them!" A girl with earphone jacks for earlobes growled as she stabbed her jacks into his ear and sent sounds into them.
(Meanwhile)
Back with Izuku and Bakugo, the former of the two grunted as he used medical Ninjutsu to heal his internal damage as best he could. As he struggled to his feet, Bakugo smirked at him.
"How'd you like your C-3 organ massage?" He taunted. Izuku flipped him off in response.
"You know damn well how I feel about that!" He snapped. Yeah, he knew about how C-3 worked, but that didn't make it any less painful nor did it make his thoughts on it change.
Growling the boy then used the body flicker technique to get behind him, and then took a paper bomb from his bag and slapped it on Katsuki's back, before flickering several more times to slap two more on his arms and then on his chest before flickering back to his original position.
"What was that about?" The blonde questioned, getting a 'look down' gesture from his opponent, making him notice the paper tags. "... Oh, fuck you, nerd." He deadpanned.
"Katsu." Izuku said with a grin one would have when getting payback right before the tags went off. The blasts sent Katsuki flying backwards and onto his back, allowing Izuku to escape by running on the ceiling.
"Damn it, come back here Deku!" He yelled as he gave chase after the boy.
(Elsewhere)
Back in the observation room, everyone was impressed with Izuku's apparent use of utility and the use of his opponent's tactics against him in his own way. It showed that he was quite clever.
"Using your opponent's tactics against them. Impressive." Momo nodded. "His ability to fight after sustaining such injuries is also impressive." She added.
"Some of those wounds are likely still present." The bird headed teen, Tokoyami Fumikage, nodded. "I doubt he had the time to heal all of them at the moment." He added.
"Regardless, he's definitely living up to his family's reputation." The two toned boy, Shoto Todoroki, states.
(Elsewhere)
Back with the boys they stopped in the middle of an open area again as Katsuki's gauntlets lit up red for a second. Izuku eyed this with his active Dojutsu as he took out and twirled two kunai in his hands.
"I'm all loaded up." Katsuki said, holding up a fist.
"Let me guess: Those aren't just for show?" The green haired Uchiha asked.
"Damn right they aren't. I'm sure you know how my quirk, Explosion, works by now." The explosive teen replied. "I sweat Nitroglycerin from my palms and I can make it blow up. So imagine what I can do with a fuckton of it!" He continued with a grin as he pulled the handle back, revealing a pin.
Izuku's eyes widened before he hurled the two kunai to the side, causing them to ricochet off the walls and dig themselves into Katsuki's legs, making him drop to his knees.
Bakugo growled as he got back up and readied himself again, ignoring the pain and pulling the knives right out.
"Wood Style: Gate of the Great God!" Izuku exclaimed quickly as a large slab of wood rose up between them, having an image of a dalai lama on it.
"Get ready nerd!" Bakugo yelled as he got ready to pull the pin.
"Young Bakugo, don't do it! You'll kill him!" All Might yelled.
"Don't worry! He's made of tougher stuff! Even then, he'll be fine as long as he dodges!" Bakugo yelled as he pulled the pin, unleashing a massive explosion that shook the building.
As the smoke cleared, it soon became clear that the blast was strong enough to blow Izuku's Gate of the Great God barrier to splinters, and blow a gaping hole in the building as well.
Izuku groaned as he got back up, his clothes burned and his body being covered in wood splinters and debris.
"Is… that even allowed?" He questioned, his Sharingan not being active because he had been unconscious.
"You're still alive, aren't you?" Bakugo scoffed. "Now come on! Show me that quirk you used in the assessment test!" He exclaimed.
(Elsewhere, same time)
With Ochako and Himiko, they were still wrestling when the building shook. This startled them enough to make them stop and get to their feet to call their respective partners.
"Bakugo what happened?! Is everything okay down there?" Himiko questioned. "I swear if you hurt Izuku I'm gonna annihilate you!" She added.
"Deku! Deku are you okay?! Answer me!" Ochako said frantically.
"Ugh… I'll live, Ochoko. Just a little dazed from that blast." The green haired boy replied with a small groan. "Just get ready. I'll be up there soon." He told her before hanging up.
The gravity girl then turned back towards her friend who was still trying to call Bakugo and decided to use this chance to try and capture her. Leaping onto Himiko she tried to use the capture tape to try and wrap her up.
However the more experienced and acrobatic Shapeshifter was quick to weave her way out of the girl's hold and backflip over her friend while using the girl's own capture tape to catch her instead.
"Sorry, Ochako. Nothing personal, chu~." She smiled as she kissed Ochako's cheek before sinking her fangs into her neck and drink a small amount of her blood before using it to take the heroine's shape.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with the boys, Bakugo was currently throwing Izuku around like a rag doll, and the poor boy couldn't get any time to form a plan.
Katsuki grinned evilly as he facepalmed the Uchiha boy to the wall. "Any last words nerd?" He asked. Izuku then pointed to the side before he suddenly started to crumble into splinters of wood. "What the—?!" The blonde gasped. 'A Wood Style clone! That means… this whole time he was never here!' He thought. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" The boy yelled.
He then felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "Here." Izuku whispered, making Bakugo spin around and look him right in his green Sharingan eyes.
Bakugo then saw the room start to bend around him before the shadows of everything in the room started grabbing him and Izuku started blowing up like a balloon until he burst into a huge flock of crows that started attacking him.
"Whoa! Hey! HEY!" He yelled as he flailed around as the Genjutsu afflicted him.
(Elsewhere)
"What the-? When did Midoriya make a Wood Clone?" Iida wondered.
"Probably while under the protection of that wall." Jiro notes.
"He probably knew that Bakugo was getting serious so he needed a way to keep his attention off him so he could launch a counter attack." Shoto added. "Very clever."
"The Senju's legendary trait certainly is versatile. I'll say that much." Momo nodded.
All Might let out a sigh of relief, glad that his student wasn't hurt in the least.
(Elsewhere)
Izuku quickly arrived at the room where the bomb was and was shocked to see that there were two Ochakos in the room. One tied up in capture tape in a S&M wrap, and the other waiting for him.
Truth be told one side of him thought he was in heaven, while another part of him thought that there was definitely something wrong with this picture.
"Okay… which Ochako is real?" Izuku wondered.
"It's me, silly!" The Ochako waiting for him giggled. "You'd have to be a total idiot to not see that!" She added.
"... Yep, you're Himiko." Izuku deadpanned. He may have known them for a short time, but he knew enough to tell that the real Ochako didn't behave like this one.
"Aw…" The double pouted as she suddenly started slothing off a bunch of white goo to reveal on her body that it was Himiko. "What gave me away?" She pouted in an extremely adorable manner that nearly gave him a cuteness overload heart attack.
"It was how you behaved. If you wanna fool me, you'll have to act more like who you disguise yourself as." Izuku replied, though mentally he was about to pass out. 'So cute!' He thought.
"Well think fast!" The girl said as she lunged at him with two of her tanto knives, while Izuku blocked with his sword. The two then glared at each other as Izuku activated his Sharingan.
"I based this technique after the Izanami Jutsu." He said before he made a one handed hand sign. "Sacred Art: Knock Off Izanami Jutsu." He intoned as reality started changing around Himiko. She was trapped in a time loop.
Izuku sighed as he was forced to close his left eye. The Jutsu he just used was far weaker than the one it was derived from. The illusion only lasted for about five minutes and instead of permanently taking away his sight in one eye, Izuku only had to keep his eye closed for fifteen minutes.
After pulling his headband down over his left eye, he then went to cut Ochacko loose before they went up to the fake bomb and touched it. The match had been won.
"The hero team WIIIIINS!" All Might yelled.
"Nice job, Deku." The girl smiled.
"Thanks." He smiled back as he looked at Himiko who was still staring off into space.
(Later)
Later on everyone was gathered around in the same room and both Katsuki and Himiko were finally free of the Genjutsus they had been under previously. However Izuku still had his eye covered since he still had five minutes left.
"Now, for this match the MVP was Young Midoriya. Can anyone here offer a guess as to why?" All Might asked.
"I can, sir." Momo spoke up, and got a prompt to continue. "Midoriya was analytical, and made use of his knowledge on Bakugo. He even went so far as to plan ahead in some cases. His ability to get back up after several C-3 explosions in his body also speaks volumes of his endurance, even if he's not fully healed." She explained.
"I'll be fine, by the way." Said Uchiha spoke up, trying to assure everyone he would be alright.
"Additionally, Bakugo's attack was reckless, given the environment. It could have been disastrous. Additionally due to his single minded desire to take down Midoriya, he soon fell victim to his Genjutsu attacks." She continued.
In the background, Bakugo stood silently. Izuku glanced at him as Momo continued.
"Now, in regards to Ochako, she let her guard down at the last minute which resulted in her capture. Had she been more alert, things would have been different." She continued. Off to the side, the gravity girl looked a little bashful about her blunder.
"Yeah, that's on me." She muttered.
"Then of course Toga had blown her own cover by not paying more attention to her mannerisms when imitating Ochako. And, like Bakugo, was quick to fall to Midoriya's mind games." Momo continued before looking at Izuku. "And Midoriya made a mistake when he used such an incapacitating technique when any other genjutsu would have sufficed." She added.
"Oh damn it!" Izuku cursed with a face palm, which caused everyone to sweatdrop.
Bakugo just continued to look down at his boots, feeling completely humiliated.
(Later)
Later on, Izuku got his injuries checked out by Recovery Girl and had introduced himself to his classmates personally, but quickly left homeroom when Katsuki started leaving, feeling that he really needed to make sure that his friend was okay. Having seen how crushed his ego was during training after seeing everyone perform.
"Kacchan! Wait up!" The Uchiha boy called as he ran up to the blonde, not noticing that he had been followed.
Himiko, feeling concerned for his safety in case Bakugo was still pissed, had followed him. She was careful about not being spotted, and when Izuku reached the gate, she hid behind a pillar.
"What?" Bakugo questioned, turning around. His face was full of lost hope and humiliation, and his eyes had the slightest glint of tears in them. The sight pained Izuku so much that he wanted to run up to and hug his friend tightly.
To the blonde's surprise, that's exactly what he did, in a flash of lines Izuku hugged his friend tightly and tried to comfort him.
"I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner." He told him. "Listen, you're amazing Kacchan, no matter what other people say. I know that, you know that. You've beaten me way more times than I have you so don't feel so bad."
"It's not that ya damn nerd! I just can't believe I lost in front of the class." Katsuki snapped.
"Oh." Izuku said, backing up.
"More importantly, where the hell did that other power come from anyway?" He questioned.
"It's… complicated." The boy told him. "It's a borrowed power." He stated, much to Himiko's confusion.
"Like what? A Kekkei Genkai?" Katsuki questioned, getting a nervous shrug from Izuku.
"Not exactly…" He replied.
"Borrowed power?" The shapeshifting girl whispered in confusion, not understanding what that meant as Bakugo left with Izuku letting out a sigh of relief.
However his attention was soon drawn to the girl's hiding spot when both he and Himiko turned to see All Might standing there, and he wasn't smiling.
(Later)
Himiko gulped nervously as she sat in a conference room with Izuku beside her. The only others in the room were All Might, Vlad King and Principle Nezu. Her mentor was ready to defend her while the Dean would act as the mediator.
"How much did you hear?" The Symbol of Peace questioned sternly, having reverted to his true form by this point. Which was like his muscle from but much skinnier, he looked more like an average person now.
"Uh… Kinda everything?" The blonde said nervously, her nervous sweating intensified as she thought that she was in trouble. Luckily though, Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder to console her as he jumped in to defend her.
"Easy, All Might. I'm sure she didn't even realize how serious it was until now." He told his mentor.
"Yeah! I was just worried that if Izuku went up to Bakugo when he was still mad they might've started throwing hands again!" The girl nodded frantically.
"So you were concerned for young Izuku's safety, then?" Nezu questioned.
"Mmm hmm." The girl nodded nervously as she clung to Izuku for safety.
"I think I can vouch for her here, Principal Nezu." Vlad King spoke up. "I've been training Himiko for about as long as All Might has Midoriya and I know her well. If she was following him to ensure his safety, then I'm sure it's genuine because she's always this way to those she claims to love." He continued, remembering an instance where Himiko said that she only really worried about those she loved, an example being when Ochako got injured one day and she was worried sick. All Might pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.
"Well, young Toga, since you've already seen what I look like and heard what Midoriya said, I'll explain everything." The man said. This made Himiko look at him in confusion.
"Just watch and listen, you'll see." Izuku told her as All Might showed her his injury. Though his mind drifted to what Vlad King implied earlier. Did Himiko actually… love him? The very idea made his mind and heart flutter.
Before long, the No. 1 hero started telling Himiko about the origins of his wound and the truth behind One for All. Making the secret of two, become a secret of three.
Later on both Izuku and Himiko decided to walk home together, and the boy decided to ask her something.
"Hey, Himiko, can I ask you something?" The boy asked, nervously.
"What is it, Izuku?" The blonde asked, tilting her head slightly and making his heart skip a beat.
"What Vlad King said… D-do you really love me?" He asked, sweat pouring down the side of his head.
Himiko blushes as she looked away, scratching her cheek nervously while letting out a skittish chuckle. "Well… Yeah, kinda. But…" She nodded.
"But what?" He asked as they walked out of the school gates and Ochako stood there waiting for them.
"You're not the only one." She replies, looking at Ochako, which made Izuku even more happy.
"Oh. Ohhh." The boy gasped as the three started walking home together, with Himiko hugging the arms of her loved ones close to her. She would make them hers, no matter what. And likewise, Izuku had the same idea.
Though neither of them seemed to not notice that Izuku's Uchiha-Senju-Uzumaki notebook fell into her satchel by mistake.
This was going to make things interesting.
Dragon Emperor0: And there. We have the foreshadowing set up for the very tail end of Season 1 set up and the big twist for season two set up in one little scene.
ThermalsniperN7: We also had some serious deviations from canon, like Izuku being MVP. And maybe Himiko will learn a key aspect for being an infiltrator from this mock battle: study whom you are taking the place of. Without that, you're in trouble.
Dragon Emperor0: Exactly. And Izuku introduced a new OP Jutsu that I think everyone will agree will probably come in handy someday: The Knockoff Izanami. It's like the Izanami, only it's extremely weaker than the Jutsu it's based on. For one thing, it wears off after a certain period of time.
ThermalsniperN7: The results speak for themselves. Also… Does anyone think Izuku's reaction to being on the receiving end of a C-3 was justified? I personally think everyone has the right to react the way he did after that.
Dragon Emperor0: Probably. And as for Izuku's notebook falling into Himiko's bag, don't worry, that'll be important later on. Anyway guys, see you next time.