Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.
To Be a Hero
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Overhead, Present Mic's excited voice boomed as he commented on Dark Shadow's impressive attacks against Iida. However, aside from Iida's strength, he was fast—he was the fastest in the class. But Shiro wasn't paying as much attention to the details as she sat in the player waiting room, face scrunched as she tried to will away all the swirling thoughts in her head.
It was hard to grasp her emotions but she knew what she had eavesdropped at Recovery Girl's really made her concerned for the green haired boy. She considered him a friend and his condition was extremely worrisome. All Quirks had its limitations, sure, but was it possible for it to cause as much pain to the user?
Shiro closed her eyes. It wasn't as if she didn't know the dangers of her own Quirk and how much harm it can do to her, but that was why she had Aizawa with her all these years to guide her and keep her Quirk in check. That man... her thoughts traveled to the person in the room when she visited. Perhaps he's like an Eraserhead to Midorya?
It was hard to imagine such a weak and scrawny looking man able to handle someone with such a powerful Quirk like Midoriya's, but she won't judge too much by appearance. Her mentor dresses like a bum without a care in the world, after all.
The door creaked, drawing Shiro away from her musings and to Iida. She had lost track of time and didn't even hear the end of the battle between the male and Tokoyami.
"Iida-san," she looked him over. There weren't any major scratches on him and he didn't look hurt at all. "How did the match with Tokoyami-san go?"
Iida, still grasping to the little adrenaline from his match, described in detail on how he was able to maneuverer out of Dark Shadow's line of attacks with his Recipro Burst before grabbing Tokoyami by surprise and pushing him out of bounds. Shiro was regretful that she missed his power move for the second time, but she had no doubt the effectiveness of his attack that got him the win.
Tokoyami's style is to attack with Dark Shadow from a distance. When Iida got close to him so quick, he must not had time to switch to defense, Shiro thought. It finally got her thinking about her own opponent as well. If she recalled, that was the girl who can produce vines from her hair, and if she were to guess, Shiozaki will be fighting from a distance like Tokoyami's style.
She needed to get close to the girl to throw her out, but getting caught in one of the vines would put her at a disadvantage. Such was the downside of her Quirk not being entirely physical.
"Are you ready for your match, Shiro-kun?" Iida asked the pensive girl. "Class 1-B seemed to hold a grudge against our class because of Bakugou-kun's insensitive provoking. As class president, I should be keeping the harmony between us but I have failed!"
"It's not your fault, Iida-san," Shiro gave the president a pointed look. "Besides, Bakugou got his fair share of retaliation by class 1-B during the cavalry battle. His big mouth even got him..." she trailed off, suddenly a bulb lighting above her head. That gives me an idea...
"YAHOO! Players get ready for the third match!" Present Mic's announcement overhead was loud as Shiro stood up.
"Thanks, Iida-san!" Her pensive demeanor cleared as she walked over towards the door. "As expected of a class president!"
Iida looked confused as she left, but her compliment sparked a reminder to give his brother a call. It was a good feeling to be appreciated for his role as the class president even if he wasn't quite sure what he did. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his brother's number. He wondered if his brother was watching the sports festival.
"I am currently on a mission and cannot answer the phone."
"Nii-san..." Iida stared at his screen before shutting it off with a content expression. "Do your best."
Sure, he still had a long way to go before he becomes a great hero and leader like Ingenium, but he hoped to be making his big brother proud.
"And there they are! On the right, it's the assassin from Class B! Pretty things have thorns, you know!"
Shiro stared at her opponent from across the ring. Indeed, while Shiozaki Ibara looked as docile as a lamb, the girl had to be strong to have made it so high on the leader board for both the entrance exam and the festival. She even defeated Mina, who was arguably the most athletic girl in her class.
"On the left, it's the dominatrix—"
Before Shiro could give the Voice hero a piece of her mind and dare him to finish that sentence, Shiozaki called out with a raise of her hand.
"Please excuse the interruption," the girl apologized with a face of dismay. "What do you mean by 'assassin'? I only came to find victory, not to take my opponent's life. I wished to enter U.A. High School not for wicked reason, but for the salvation of others..."
T-Too bright, Shiro winced as a light seemed to have shone through in response to the girl's holy intentions. While the hero was profusely apologizing for his misspoken introduction, Shiro felt a strange calming effect wash over her. Whatever it was, it was refreshing to know that class 1-B weren't all full of Monomas.
"Let's get on with the match," came Aizawa's annoyed drone at Present Mic's frivolousness. "Stop with the outrageous introductions."
"E-Eh! Fine..."
Shiozaki then bowed at Shiro, "I'm sorry for interrupting during your introduction."
"Don't worry about it, really," the girl waved it off as she got into battle stance with her unconventional weapon in hand. "May the best win."
"START!"
On cue, the vines from Shiozaki's head started to grow longer and stronger, and it was headed straight towards Shiro. Anticipating this, Shiro was quick on her feet and dodged the oncoming attacks while her right eye spun.
She took off again as the vines shot towards her again. With her right eye spinning, she was able to dodge the attacks easier while closing in her opponent on the other side. Seeing that she was getting closer, Shiozaki expelled her vines at a more forceful pace. The blur of green was causing chaos around the ring.
WHOOSH!
BAM!
CRASH!
I'm not as fast as Iida, but... In the midst of the vine attacks, one shot up from below Shiro's feet and made a move to restrain her. I'm glad the years of training with Eraserhead always comes in handy! She quickly grabbed onto one of the strong vines above her head to lift herself off from the ground before flipping her body over the attacking mass.
"Aisaka closes in on Shiozaki!" Present Mic howled excitedly. "Will she deliver her attack now?!"
Not yet, she furrowed her brows as she switched over to her left eye. The vines came at her once again, but as she suspected, it was less intense to avoid accidentally hitting Shiozaki herself. Doing somersaults around the girl, the vines chased after her with numerous close calls. However, she was able to dodge the bulk of it with great concentration and a balance of luck and skill.
"Eh? Aisaka is not attacking at all! What is she planning?"
It only took a few more moments to see what was going on, and then the audience cheered with awe. Shiro was using her opponent's vines to her advantage—she realized that attacking Shiozaki would be a hard thing to do with her vines protecting and attacking at the same time, so instead, she allowed the vines to keep attacking her with near-precise accuracy so it will go where she wanted it to. What it was doing was caging her opponent in without Shiozaki even realizing it since she was too busy concentrating on Shiro.
Within minutes, the attacks seized. Shiozaki Ibara was effectively trapped. Even though her vines can be broken off at any point in length, it was futile because the weight of the vines will only come crashing down at her. Shiro had also wrapped her long whip around the vines and is ready to tighten and capture her if she chooses to fight back. With a small sigh, Shiozaki raised a hand in defeat.
"Shiozaki-san forfeits," Midnight's flogger raised with the winning call. "Aisaka-san moves on to the next round!"
"Shiro-chan!" Uraraka greeted as soon as Shiro walked up to the student section. Some others in the class followed with a wave or gave her a short greeting in response. "Great job! It's awesome that you're advancing to the third round with Iida-kun!"
"Thanks," Shiro gave the girl a small nod and looked around, her mind immediately returning to her worry about the green haired male and his destructive Quirk. Normally, Recovery Girl would be done with healing someone within a short time frame so they can come watch the next match, but considering the extent of Midoriya's injuries and what she had overheard the hero say, it shouldn't be a surprise that the male was still out of commission...
The fight below between Kirishima and Bakugou seemed to be going well with the redhead holding his ground while the latter continuously delivered his explosive blows. Personality-wise, it was a no-brainer that Kirishima was a lot more likable than Bakugou, and it was pretty obvious among the students with who they're cheering for more vocally. On the next section over, even Tetsutetsu was rooting on Kirishima.
Yesterday's enemy is today's friend, I guess, she blinked.
The battle dragged on for a while longer before Kirishima cracked. He wasn't able to keep his hard form for too long because it greatly strained his body, so with one final explosive blow, Bakugou knocked the male out.
"Ah, Deku-kun!" Uraraka suddenly called in surprise. Shiro turned to the mentioned male and took in his form that was bandaged from the waist up. She wasn't sure if she was relieved that he was out so early; but at least he didn't look like he was in pain anymore.
"Midoriya-chan, your surgery went well?" Tsuyu asked eagerly.
"Yeah," the male nodded and took the seat next to Uraraka. "Recovery Girl healed me enough to walk."
"Shouldn't you be resting...?" Uraraka asked out of worry. Midoriya shook his head firmly.
"I bumped into Iida-kun right before this. His match is the next one, isn't it? I already missed so many, so I want to be able to see the rest. I want to properly watch the efforts of everyone who wants to become a hero."
His words made not only Uraraka, but the rest of them nod and pay attention. He was absolutely right about everyone trying their best, so they wouldn't fault him for trying come watch and support his classmates.
"With that vicious carpet-bombing, Bakugou advances to the third round!" Present Mic announced as the big screen flashed with the final two match-ups before the final round. "And that completes the final four!"
Everyone watched the screen and a few pairs of eyes darted towards Shiro. She was one of the final four—it was down to Todoroki vs. Iida and Shiro vs. Bakugou. One look at the blonde on stage was enough for them to feel a great sense of uneasiness. And it was for a good reason.
Bakugou's eyes were trained on Shiro, unmoving but dangerously intense before he moved off stage.
The tension...
Meanwhile, Present Mic was getting ready to announce the next match with great enthusiasm. Todoroki and Iida both came from well-known hero families, so the battle between them could accurately be described as battle of the elites.
Iida was driven for this, as he had mentioned that he wanted to be a hero just like his brother, Ingenium. On the other hand, having recently overcome the struggle in choosing between powers, Todoroki was looking as calm and unreadable as ever. The battle with Midoriya left him with a lot to think about, so everyone wondered if he would use his left side during this battle.
Shiro knew that Iida's insane speed was one of his strongest points, and if he played it like he did with Tokoyami, he may just have a chance at intercepting Todoroki before any major attack is drawn out. Tokoyami is in no way weak or easy to defeat, but that just goes to show the raw capability that Iida has.
However, nothing with Todoroki is simple either. Like herself, Shiro knew Iida will be having a hard time with his opponent. Bakugou and Todoroki may be polar opposites, but when it came to attack strength and advanced technique, they are the best in the class.
Best in the class, huh?
Any other person might have felt intimidated in knowing that Bakugou was looking forward to fighting them, but Shiro found herself smiling a bit once she glanced up at the announcement cube where Aizawa was watching. I promised to not let him down, so come at me with whatever you've got, Bakugou.
"Todoroki advances to the final without showing his flames!"
At Present Mic's loud announcement, the result was clear. Whether it was her or Bakugou, the winner will be up against Todoroki for the first-place medal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here comes our next two competitors! ARE YOU READY?!"
The giant crowd was once again hyped up by the Voice hero as they anticipated the two competitors' appearance. The picture of Shiro and Bakugou flashed before the big screen and numerous chatters interweaved in on the cheers.
"This year's first years are all amazing!"
"Yeah, that explosion boy's Quirk is so strong, it's no wonder he made it this far!"
"The girl, too! I underestimated her, but her Quirk as its own merits!"
"Looks like the draft will be interesting this year!"
"Shiro-san and Kacchan..." Midoriya stared up at the screen with slight apprehension. The two never got along, but then again, Bakugou didn't really get along with anyone. He wasn't sure how this match will go since his childhood friend was so serious about fighting Shiro; the blonde was finally getting his chance now.
Will Bakugou win? Or will Shiro? Both of them were strong and a lot more capable of a fight than most, but being the over-analyzer that he is, he couldn't help but have the possibilities play out in his mind.
"You know, we had a talk about limits and stuff, but I'm still a little worried about Shiro-chan," Kirishima said as he rubbed his nose. He was bandaged up from his fight with the blonde. "Bakugou's smart and can see through weaknesses. He likes to go after stuff like that."
"That's true," Sero piped after the redhead with a thoughtful look, but his face scrunched slightly. "If you really think about it... Doesn't Shiro-chan do the same thing?"
"You're not wrong..." the whole class realized.
"It's Aisaka Shiragiku versus Bakugou Katsuki! Watch carefully, mass media! How will a crafty princess fair against a fire-breathing dragon?!"
Shiro was walking up to the stage where Bakugou stood on the other side. His expression was that of a battle-hungry wolf; the slight twitch of his hands only indicated his readiness for this long awaited battle. She didn't back down either and showed him a calm and calculating glare.
"Now—" The Voice hero leaned into the mic to cut through the suspense. "START!"
There was no hesitation on either sides as they rushed to make the first move.
The sound of explosions was ever-present as the battle drew out between the two competitors on stage. Bakugou was relentless with his attacks, but Shiro didn't give anyone the chance to view her as some helpless girl against his explosions as she carried out her own defenses.
"What do you think, Eraserhead?"
It was a rare moment where Present Mic didn't speak directly into the mic as he gaged his best friend's expression under those bandages. If he were to be honest, he was concerned for the girl. It wasn't as if he viewed her as weak, but it was more of the fact that Bakugou was too strong, too ruthless. Strength-wise, he felt that it was another unfortunate match-up.
"If you're thinking whether this is a bad match-up, the answer should be clear," Aizawa said through his bandages, though his illusive commentary didn't give the Voice hero a clue of what he was referring to.
The battle has gone on for a few minutes with Bakugou and Shiro in close combat. Bakugou once again made the ring look like a hazard zone with cloudy smoke with his explosions, but he was being extra careful. Shiro was getting away with minimal damage as she looked to be accustomed to his moves while still learning new ones on the way.
Aizawa watched in silence. The girl was also testing the blonde out. Her every move was calculated and he had no doubt she had something up her sleeve. Aizawa then glanced at Present Mic again, who was giving him a confused pout, and faced forward again without much of a concern.
You got this, Shiro.
Shiro could feel Bakugou's explosions were getting more and more destructive after each fire, but she had anticipated all that from watching him battle time and time again.
"What wrong, huh? Are you running away?!" Bakugou shouted through another one of his explosions and jumped out from the black smoke that it caused straight to Shiro with his other palm popping. "Get serious and come at me!"
Shiro dodged his incoming blow and tried to kick him away, but he jumped back to avoid the impact. She admitted that because of his Quirk, she wasn't able to fight him as head-on as she'd liked, but she was far from just aimlessly running around Bakugou in circles.
"Running away?" she huffed with a plotting grin. It was that moment of pause that Bakugou got a good look at her. Specifically, at her left eye that was spinning wildly.
Bakugou was on full alert as his palms ignited dangerously. What is she planning?
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Shiro said as he aimed another explosion her way. I'd have to thankMidoriya and Todoroki for this! She dodged again and appeared behind him. The blonde grew confused for a split second before dark clouds rolled in above the opening of the large arena.
BOOOOM!
Curiously, the noise wasn't from one of Bakugou's explosions. The crowd gasped as rain poured down in a rapid shower.
"WHAT? What is this?! Didn't the forecast say that it was going to be sunny all day today?!" Present Mic exclaimed and peered over his sunglasses at the pouring rain. The entire stadium was now gray and gloomy!
"All that cooling and heating from the previous match with Midoriya and Todoroki caused a shift in weather," Aizawa replied in monotone. "It created a probability for rain and she used it to her advantage."
"Amazing!"
"Ha? You think a little rain will stop me?!" Bakugou taunted as he charged at her with full force. Throwing his hands back, he intended to use his explosions to propel himself right at her. His eyes widened when nothing came out. He tried again, but his palms gave off a pathetic pop.
That little...! He realized with anger bubbling through his very core. His Quirk worked by igniting the nitroglycerin in his sweat to create explosions, and she knew that because he remember telling her. He didn't doubt that she'd figure it out on her own eventually, but she really went after his weakness this time and washed away his ignition.
"Now that's taken cared of..." Shiro's ruby eyes glinting through the downpour as she watched his expression. "How's this for being serious?"
The grin on Bakugou's face was animalistic. "Now you're talkin', Aisaka!"
"You can't be serious now... She actually defused Bakugou? He's not invincible after all," Kaminari blanched. He was half admiring the girl and half fearing for her life. The look on Bakugou's face was deadlier than anything he's seen yet.
"Did she have to make it rain on us though?" Sero cupped his hands up for emphasis as the rain pooled in his palms. After that overwhelming defeat by Todoroki, he was done dealing with anything to do with water or ice for a long time.
"I don't mind the rain at all," Tsuyu revealed with a finger tipping against her mouth. "It's refreshing."
Uraraka was about to comment something as well when she turned towards Midoriya and found him mumbling wildly to himself. Watching the intense close combat battle between the two below really got his mind turning for future references and she had always admired that observational side of him. "Deku-kun is fired up!" she chuckled.
On the next section over, class 1-B was watching with awe despite the rain. Kendo nudged Monoma on the back with a teasing grin. "You really picked a fight with two outrageous people, huh?"
The blonde waved the girl off. "She just got lucky the weather was on her side. Plus his Quirk's not all that either if rain is his downfall," he insisted.
However, what he was actually feeling was unease. Kendo was right, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud. He will admit (only to himself, of course) that Shiro was one hell of an opponent to go against Bakugou with her quick wit and adaptability to different Quirks. She was even able to defeat Shiozaki by using the girl's Quirk against herself!
"So it all ends here, huh?" Tetsutetsu watched with furrowed brows. He didn't know whether to be happy or upset at the coming result. "That guy beat Kirishima with his overpowering Quirk but now... It looks like as long as it keeps raining, she'll win. The next stage is against the ice guy... Agh, it's a Class 1-A paradise. Damn it!"
"No, it won't keep raining," Monoma corrected. "Her Quirk only allowed her to manipulate the chances of rain from the stored reserve in the clouds. She's not in control of how much rain or how long it will continue. Judging by the amount of water that evaporated around here, I'd say the rain will only last about three minutes, tops."
Others tend to overlook the fact that Monoma was one of the more intelligent students in the school because of his passive-aggressiveness and disagreeable nature especially towards those in class 1-A. But his classmates knew him and believed his judgment.
"So you're saying the best chance that she has in defeating Blasty is during that time-span, huh?" Tetsutetsu wondered. Monoma voiced an agreement before immediately shrugging it off.
"Not like I care about who wins. Class 1-A are all detestable—"
"Yeah, yeah," Kendo's hand chopped down on his neck and made him nearly bite his tongue. He shot her an incredulous glare, but she ignored it. "Just watch the match."
It was a lot easier to inflict damage on the male now that his Quirk was temporarily out of commission, but Shiro knew that her slight advantage over him won't last. One minute left, she counted in her head as she ducked her body and slid her foot out to sweep at Bakugou. He jumped and she kicked her foot up, but he blocked again with his arms crossed out in front of him.
"It's an all out combat between Bakugou and Aisaka!" Present Mic screeched at the progress. It has been like this for the past two minutes—their fight was more like a synchronized rain dance and neither was letting up. "Aisaka's planning something, but what?!"
Bakugou took this chance to aim his foot at her while she was still low to the ground, but instinctively she flipped back with one hand as the other swung the whip forward to restrain his leg and toss him aside.
"Stop struggling and lose!" Bakugou sneered as he aimed a fist at her. "I'll finish up what we started last time!"
"Big talk for someone who can't use his Quirk anymore!" she countered by kicking her feet up at him once again.
"I told you..." There was a grin on Bakugou's face as he chose to grab her leg instead of blocking himself. Shiro immediately knew something was amiss when she started to feel a small, almost electrical sting on her leg and before she could knock the male away with her free leg, she felt immense pain.
BOOM!
He'd managed to use her skin to minimize water contact and reactivate his Quirk from trace amounts of nitroglycerin in his pores. "A little rain can't stop me!"
Damn it! She quickly jumped away and winced when she stood back up. The explosion was weaker than normal, but having it detonate on her skin still caused a good amount of damage. But she had more things to worry about now—she hadn't been able to throw her opponent out and the sun was peaking out again.
"The rain stopped?!" the Voice hero exclaimed. "Aisaka missed her chance and Bakugou has retaliated!"
Bakugou grinned once again as he felt his hands itch for another round of explosions. The thirst to win was boiling in his body now. He ran towards Shiro with fire in his eyes, palms out. "You're done now!"
"As... If...!" Shiro growled as the dials in her eyes spun wildly. What kind of strategist would she be if she only had one trick up her sleeve? With a determined scowl, she concentrated and channeled everything onto the ground to aim her target. Everyone watched with a start as a section of the cement before Bakugou became flexible and soft, and then with even more surprise when a stream of liquefied cement shot up and hardened once more.
Bakugou had to jump and aim a string of explosions in front of him to blow away the jagged mountain of hardened cement spikes. Pieces of debris flew across the ring in chaos but Shiro wasn't stopping there. She continued to liquefy areas of cement before hardening them again with her rewrite of the cement's structural integrity, creating a terrain similar to a disaster area in USJ.
"Aisaka completely turned the match around again! To think she is undoing Cementoss' hard work on the ring! This is too exciting!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Bakugou growled as he felt his right hand cramp up from expelling repeated explosions. He couldn't get rid of the debris with a giant firework of explosions because unlike Uraraka's one-shot meteor shower, Shiro was carefully timing her attacks to edge him out of the ring. He had to aim his attacks carefully as well to prevent that from happening.
"What is happening down there?! I can't see a thing!"
Two more spikes rose towards him from the back and he jumped, blowing them up with his left palm. At the same time a whip flew out from within the smoke and snapped around his torso, taking this chance with the aid of his forceful explosion to sharply pull his body across the air.
"Ba...Ku...Gou!" Standing on top of a raised cement platform was Shiro as she channeled all her strength into her task. She fully intended to throw him out once and for all.
The flash of anger on Bakugou's face morphed back into excitement. Heh... He concentrated his power in his cramping palms. Uraraka may have come close to testing his limit, but Shiro had done it. Still being dragged through midair, he let out repeated explosions left and right to change the course of his route. Seeing that, Shiro immediately released the whip around his torso and jumped across the uneven terrain before throwing her whip around a jagged spike to swing herself straight towards Bakugou with her overworked eyes spinning. This was the last chance.
Bakugou's body was propelled in a circular motion to create faster velocity and caused the the debris around him to tornado around. One of the sharp edges nicked the side of his face and drew blood while another slammed into his chest, but he was too fired up to feel the pain.
"T-This is—! They are like two human projectiles headed for each other b-but... OI! ISN'T THAT TOO DANGEROUS?!" Present Mic shouted in alarm.
Anyone could see that Bakugou had the upper hand with strength behind his explosions, but Shiro's eyes were still spinning and that added unpredictability into what was going to happen. If the girl was going to throw herself head-on, she had to have a good plan or this was a suicide mission!
I really should be studying for my exam and doing the 94738478 assignments that I have, but here we are. I was just too excited to get this battle scene out! Now I will slink back into my corner and study...
Please send me some motivation and luck (or leave a nice lil review)! God knows I need it, LOL.