-4-
Mineta. I roll the name around on my tongue as we walk into the building. It looks like the same one from our trials. He's so small, his strange choice of colors making him look even smaller. He shivers as we walk, anxiety running through his little body.
It reminds me of the gas stations.
Sharp red nails dragging me through the door.
"Mineta-kun," I say softly. "W-W-What do you want to do?"
"What does it matter?" he yells. I blink at the fear, his eyes wide and full of tears. "There's no way we can win against those two!"
I pause, eyebrows furrowing, I pull at my fingers curling into myself.
"Why?"
"Bakugou's a fucking beast! Didn't you see those explosions?"
I nod.
"There's no way in hell we can beat a guy like that! We're doomed! He's got an explosion quirk and did you see what he did to-"
Why the hell do you get to have powers when you won't even use them!
I will this time, I promise myself.
"I'll take him," I say, cutting the small boy off. I head towards the giant cardboard missile and consider it carefully. We have a little more than 3 maybe 4 minutes. I suppose we'll keep it where it is.
"I-I… What?"
"Can you stop the other one?" I ask the short boy. He stares mouth open, before snapping it shut and nodding. "I won't be able to help you."
He seems to consider my words.
"You really think you can hold him off?" he asks after a moment.
I shrug.
"I'll try."
Then I smile.
.
.
.
The explosion sounds and I take my cue to pinch my arms, holding back as the smoke wraps around my arms, pours out my skin, and leaks from my eyes. The blonde, wild-eyed and grinning, stands in the entrance.
"Oh fuck yeah! I'm gonna blast you two-bit extras to hell!"
"Wait! Bakugou!"
I don't have time to worry about how my partner intends to separate them or even how they intend to stop us. I grit my teeth and hold onto my control with everything I have as the blonde boy attacks.
He throws out his arms and blasts two large fiery explosions where I was standing.
I dodge right, hug the wall, and slip down, under the smoke, retreating back. Tentacles race forward through the debris to curl around his legs.
"What the fuck!"
He kicks them off and jumps back, creating more space. My tentacles follow, extending now several feet, and I concentrate to keep the ends dull, trying to catch his legs and not throat.
In the bag. You have one minute, or she'll kill you.
He twists mid-air as he jumps, setting off an explosion behind him that launches him forward. The tentacles lash upwards, but he blasts through them, aiming another straight at my chest. My eyes widen. What is he…? The fire burns against my face and I momentarily lose control. Faster than any of my previous attempts, tendrils grab his ankle again, and this time, before either of us can blink, they slam him against the wall.
The explosion still roars in front of me though. I have just enough sense to cover my face. It knocks away my breath as I'm thrown back, skin blistering beneath the black.
"Fuck you," the blond sneers, pulling himself up from the smoke cloud. Blood runs down the side of his lip and face, he wipes it away. My vision blurs, but I stand as well, lip quivering when I see the gash on his head. The hallway we're standing in crumbles at the edges, the windows blown out and glass glittering on the floor. "You're holding back."
I scrunch up my face and pull the shadows back, curling them tightly around my fist. They wreathe around my fists, chaotic and unstable.
I think I'm going to be sick.
"Obviously," I wheeze just trying to control them. The blonde's eyes narrow dangerously.
"Fuck that," he snaps. My eyes widen at the brightness of the light from his bracers. "I want everything you've got!"
Is he trying to kill me?
In the bag. You have one minute, or she'll kill you.
I don't even consider it. I duck and run, sliding around the corner. The heat from the explosion hits a second later, like a wave tossing me forward with the pressure. I stumble and twist, it isn't enough. There's a scream behind me as he jumps forward, arm outstretched. The punch slams into my shoulder, and I barely remember not to pierce him with the shadows. Shadows slam him into a wall, or at least they try, but he sees it coming. He jumps over the tentacle, using them to launch himself at me, using his blasts to push himself forward.
I scream and close my eyes.
"Fuck!"
I want to curse as well, scrambling down the hallway, too afraid to look back. I recall the tentacles to my arms, terror seizing my chest. I throw myself at the fire exit, slamming the door behind me.
The door muffles his curses, but I don't wait to hear them. Instead, I thrust my shadows up the middle and force the tentacles to catch a rail. I slingshot myself up immediately. Using another to direct my ascent, climbing to the highest level. The door below me breaks off the hinges and Explosive, chest heaving and face bloodied, glares.
"Stop fucking running away! Damn it!"
His arms spark, he flies upwards, and I use a tentacle to slap him back down. He shouts, clutches at the shadowy appendage, and it turns to vapor. He falls into a stair rail below. One arm grabbing at the metal, feet clambering for purchase on the cement, hanging off. "I'm gonna kill you, you scabby bitch!"
I slam the door behind me and tear off the handle.
It won't stop him, but I only have to keep him busy. I race towards the other end of the hallway before the door blasts open behind me.
"Gotcha!"
I rip two nearby doors off their hinges and hold them out like shields. Just in time. He shouts as his feet slam into them, forming indents. He curses and blasts through one of my tentacles. I retract it and use the other to hold up the door as I look for a new exit.
"Damn it, bitch, I told you, stop fucking holding back!"
He throws himself forward, launches himself off the door, and sails through the air straight at my face. I duck, but it's a feint. He reverses his momentum and his leg slams into my side. I choke on my breath as it's knocked from my lungs. My control slips again, and this time deadly sharp shadows rake towards the boy's chest.
I can do nothing.
In the bag. You have one minute, or she'll kill you.
You're a monster! You should just fucking die.
He's ready for them. He blasts the claws away, only to miss the ones that appear from behind. My chest tightens. My throat aches. I don't wanna be a villain. With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I claw at his uniform and roll us out of the way. From beneath me, he stares, wide-eyed as shadows rain down, pounding into me, and swallowing us in a raging, circling tornado.
Black shadows, thick and viscous and black as night, pour into our space, drowning us in tar-like liquid. They cover his face like sludge, cover my own. My hand is on the flashlight before I can consciously think. It's warm and weathered, the scratches familiar under my fingers. I turn it on.
It's shudders and wavers and breaks through like the dawn. The shadows instantly disperse. The viscous liquid evaporates and what's left claws it's way down my throat. My head slams backward, my mouth opens wide.
The blonde below me stares at me in horror.
I choke and swallow before slumping forward, head falling next to his face.
That's all it takes to snap him awake. He pushes me off and snarls. In one fluid motion, he's got the tape out, wrapped it around my wrist, and I'm left, gasping face-down.
My heart hammers in my chest and I wonder why I thought it was a good idea to fight at all.
.
.
.
The students stare at us wide-eyed when we return. Mineta, I learn, somehow managed to stick glasses to a wall before Explosion arrived. He managed to evade the blonde long enough for the timer to run out.
We won.
I shrink at the stares.
"Well done," All Might says, his voice booming. He claps the blonde on the shoulder, and I flinch at the heavy touch, shying away from him. His grin falters though I don't know if its at me or the explosive one shrugging off his touch. I retreat to the back of the room, exhausted and uncomfortable. Dual hair glances curiously at me.
"Who can tell us what went wrong with Bakugou and Iida's plan?" All Might asks.
The girl with the ponytail raises her hand. I stare down at the floor.
"They underestimated Hoki and Mineta," she says bluntly. I grimace. "Hoki and Mineta came up with a plan that separated Iida and Bakugou. Because the heroes didn't work together, they were easier to pick off."
All Might hums in agreement.
"Correct!" he says. The blue-haired boy hangs his head and the blond boy grunts.
"The clear winner of this battle was young Mineta," the giant of a man says. I flinch, another reminder that I lost control. My body aches with the aftereffects of it. I press my fingers to the flashlight trying to calm my still racing heart. "He took stock of the situation and cleverly made use of his quirk to stop someone clearly both stronger and faster than him."
His eyes swing to me and I shrink under the feeling of the gaze.
"And what about Young Hoki?"
Green's hand rises in the air.
"She was constantly holding back," Green says. I don't look him in the eyes. I don't look up as all the eyes fall on me. "She spent the entire time on defense until Kaa-chan provoked her quirk to manifest offensively."
"Correct," he says. He looks my way but I don't meet his eye. "Now class, as a lesson, keep this in mind, you must have versatility in your style. A purely offensive style, as shown by Young Bakugou is not necessarily always the best, and neither is the purely defensive one shown by Young Hoki. When you step into the field, you need to be prepared to be flexible and creative. Excellent job students, next!"
It's Red and Tape's turn next. I watch with fluttering nerves as they're matched with Green and Frog girl.
I cross my arms and hide my hands, hoping no one notices their shaking. I pull my lips back into a thin smile and try to take discrete, deep breaths. The only one that glances my way is Ponytail.
She says nothing. I'm thankful.