"So Asui-san, what exactly is your quirk?"
"I told you to call me Tsuyu, Midoriya-chan."
"Ah...sorry Tsuyu-san."
Izuku didn't really know what to make of Asui Tsuyu.
From what little conversations she had with her, she seemed like a relatively amicable person. She was diligent in her studies and had this impenetrable aura of calm that made it seem like nothing could phase her. It was pretty inspiring to be honest.
Then again, she also had all the subtlety of a brick being thrown at a glass house.
Oh sure, she was cordial and polite when she talked, but she was blunt in her statements and bold with her opinions. If she thought you were an asshole she'd let you know within the first few minutes of talking to her.
Izuku wished he had that level of balls.
Said girl now had her index finger pressed against her cheek, seemingly in thought.
"Well," she started. "my quirk lets me do whatever a frog can. I can jump far, stick to walls, and I have a really long tongue that can be used to grab things."
Izuku nodded. "Right, that'd mean you're pretty well-equipped for stealth, but also strong enough to handle your own in a fight?"
"Sounds right, ribbit." She blinked. "Do you have a plan in mind, Midoriya-chan?"
"I think so. Tokoyami-san will most likely be the main attacker, since his quirk is pretty strong. He might even try to ambush us once we're in the building."
Tsuyu nodded in assent, waiting for him to continue.
"Uraraka-san on the other hand would probably be defending the bomb as her quirk allows her to shift the weapon around effortlessly."
"And Uraraka-chan just needs to touch you before you're incapacitated." Tsuyu added. Izuku nodded wordlessly.
"Tokoyami-san will be the first major obstacle, so it'd be best if I take him on while you go and retrieve the bomb."
Tsuyu blinked. "Are you sure you can handle him? Would it not be better for us both to team up and take him down?" The 'since you're quirkless' went unheard, yet was conveyed all the same.
"We could." Izuku agreed. "But that would waste valuable time. If you can sneak past him while I keep him occupied, we can save more of our time and energy. As for whether I can take him..."
Izuku gently opened the pouches in his back pocket, retrieving the objects within for Tsuyu to see.
"I should be fine." He smiled genially.
Tsuyu, for the most part, seemed largely unfazed, though she had tilted her head in bemusement.
"You're kinda scary, Midoriya-chan."
Izuku could only laugh sheepishly as he further explained his plan.
"All right! Your preparation time is up! Heroes! You may now enter the building!" All Might's booming voice signalled the start of the exercise.
Tokoyami tapped his earpiece. "Uraraka-san. I'm moving down now."
"Okay Tokoyami-san! Be careful!" A bubbly voice replied.
Their plan, in Tokoyami's opinion, was simple yet effective.
Considering Midoriya was quirkless, and Asui's was more suited for close range combat, he was fairly confident that Dark Shadow could effectively prevent them from getting past. And if worst came to worst, Uraraka was the failsafe that could protect the bomb from being retrieved. Even in the event that they did managed to escape his grasp, he could always give chase and pincer them with the help of Uraraka.
It was a nigh-foolproof idea.
His musings were interrupted when Midoriya kicked down the front door like he owned the place, Asui close behind.
From his position, he locked eyes with the Hero team and silence descended upon the room.
Asui was the first to break the tumultuous atmosphere by making a straight beeline for the nearest staircase.
She was fast, but not fast enough.
"Dark Shadow!"
Obeying the command, his companion shot out of his stomach like a bullet, a writhing purple mass with glowing yellow eyes. The being sped towards the girl like a bat out of hell, claws primed and ready to strike.
He never managed to get close, in view of being blindsided from the left.
"Yo what the hell?!"
Dark Shadow veered off course and crashed into the floor, kicking up a small cloud of dust and debris. By the time the smoke cloud had cleared, Asui was long gone, leaving only two people on the first floor.
"Dude! What the hell was that?!"
Dark Shadow, for his part, did not take the attack calmly.
Neither did Tokoyami, to be honest.
Dark Shadow looked fine, for the most part, and although he certainly could feel pain, he could never truly be injured, so Tokoyami wasn't concerned about that.
No, the concerning part was the fact that two gleaming metal stars lay close to his quirk.
Kirishima was the first to break the silence.
"Did...did he just throw shuriken?!"
Bakugou laughed, hard.
Of course Deku would pull that kind of shit.
Tokoyami's gaze snapped towards Midoriya, who held had his arms crossed over each other in an 'X' formation. Slotted between his fingers were six more blades.
"Sorry Tokoyami-san, but I can't let you go after my teammate."
He broke into a sprint towards his adversary as his arms flung themselves outwards. The six shuriken launched forth in a wide arc, and Tokoyami cursed as he forced himself to duck. The projectiles missed their mark and lodged themselves firmly into the concrete wall behind him.
Tokoyami swore as he looked at how deep said projectiles were planted in the wall.
And he's quirkless?!
"Never take your eyes of the enemy, Tokoyami-san!"
Tokoyami turned around just in time to catch a haymaker to the face. He reeled backwards from the blow, disoriented and hurting.
"Attack him!" He commanded his quirk.
"Aye aye!"
Dark Shadow swooped in like a bird of prey, arms outstretched and ready.
Yet as Dark Shadow was about to strike Midoriya from behind, he sidestepped and dodged the blow. Dark Shadow floated back to Tokoyami's side, waiting for his next set of instructions.
"Go, Dark Shadow!"
Once more, the quirk sped into action, but try as it might Midoriya evaded every hit headed his way, even occasionally throwing jabs to break Dark Shadow's guard.
Tokoyami may have underestimated Midoriya, but he certainly was no fool. The few seconds of combat between them allowed him to gleam at least a sliver of knowledge as to his chances of victory. If he didn't think of something now he was going to be captured.
He knew that his quirk's range was the only major advantage he had and if Midoriya got too close, it could spell trouble. Yet there was nothing he could do as Midoriya Izuku slowly gained ground in the furious dance before him.
What he needed to do now was to reset the fight and rethink his strategy.
"Return!"
"Aw man! I totally had him Fumi!" Dark Shadow complained, but turned around to return anyways.
Only to be stopped as Midoriya grabbed Dark Shadow.
And pulled.
The unexpected action forced Tokoyami to stumble forwards and catch a wicked uppercut to his stomach. Dark Shadow snapped back into his body immediately, leaving him open.
"GURGHK!"
Spittle escaped from his mouth as Tokoyami wheezed, while the momentum of the punch launched him upwards in a painful ascent.
Midoriya kicked off the nearby wall, rising until his own body perfectly shadowed Tokoyami's, where both were parallel to the ground. He lashed out with a left roundhouse, to which Tokoyami hastily attempted a block.
I barely felt that- Tokoyami's train of thought derailed as a right roundhouse kick slammed into his side.
A feint?!
The force of the kick drove Tokoyami downwards and reversed their positions, with him now being on the bottom of their aerial scuffle. Without a second's delay, Midoriya spun with the force of his initial strike and followed up with a left elbow to the stomach. It glanced off his body without much pain, but still Midoriya continued to move.
A right straight and a left backfist followed as the momentum carried over from Midoriya's spin.
By the time Tokoyami's brain could finish processing the pain, all he saw was Midoriya's whirling body above him, left leg swinging downwards in a swift axe kick.
"Lion's Barrage!"
Tokoyami received the strike just as he reached the floor, and his consciousness knew no more.
Izuku coughed as he forced himself into an upright position, whereas Tokoyami's body lay in the newly-formed crater next to him. Spiderweb-like cracks decorated the center of said crater, spreading outwards and reaching well beyond the impact zone. Bruises adorned a good portion of his arms, specifically from when he tried to contend with Tokoyami's quirk.
Who knew punching a purple, sentient bird-shadow thingy would hurt so much?
Eh, questions for later. I still have to help Tsuyu-san!
"YOUNG TOKOYAMI HAS BEEN DEFEATED!"
Uraraka's concentration shattered like glass as the information tore its way through her psyche.
Deku-kun won?!
Not to say that he was weak, oh no. She saw first hand how strong he was in the entrance exam. But Tokoyami certainly wasn't a pushover, and Dark Shadow (cute as he may be) was most definitely a powerful force to be reckoned with.
So caught up in her thoughts, Uraraka nearly failed to notice Tsuyu speeding past her to reach the bomb.
Not on my watch!
Tsuyu narrowly dodged the swipe from Uraraka's left arm, before leaping backwards entirely to avoid her right and firmly sticking herself to the upper left wall of the room.
Alright, it's not so bad. Uraraka reasoned to herself. Tsuyu-san knows I that once I touch her she'll be incapacitated, so she won't try coming too close. I can still run the clock down!
But then the room's door burst open and Deku himself came barrelling in like a steam train. Without an ounce of hesitation, he spotted the bomb behind her and took off in a dead sprint.
Uraraka met him halfway, hands outstretched in an attempt to catch his body with her quirk.
Her outstretched left hand was parried outwards by a quick slap from Deku's right arm, who then used it to grab onto her left wrist with a vice grip. His left arm found her shoulder and before she could respond, both her feet flew upwards with a swift sweep from his left leg.
The brunette felt her lungs empty themselves as she crashed to the ground, whereas Deku now straddled her and pinned both of her hands with his own. No matter how much she pushed and struggled, he didn't even seem to budge.
"Tsuyu-san!" Deku's eyes never left Uraraka, but his voice was loud enough to catch his partner's attention.
"I got it, ribbit." And with a leap, Tsuyu shot over the two of them, smacking the bomb with her hand during her descent.
"AND THE HERO TEAM WIIIIIIIINNNSSS!"
Izuku sighed in relief as he looked towards his partner. "Thanks for the help, Tsuyu-san."
"It was the least I could do." Tsuyu shook her head, then tilted it. "Are you sure you want to stay in that position, Midoriya-chan?" Her voice was still as dry as ever, but the twinkle in her eyes belied amusement.
"Huh?" Izuku blinked, then looked down.
Oh.
OH.
Uraraka seemed to share his embarrassment, for her face was now stained a bright, glowing red.
ERROR
ERROR
All braincells, please exit the Cerebral Cortex in an orderly fashion. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Process Completed.
Now Rebooting...
"Uhh, D-deku-kun, co-could you get off?"
Izuku mentally swore as higher brain functions returned. "Y-yes! I'm so sorry!" He hastily scrambled off of her and shot into a standing position, ramrod straight.
Distantly, Izuku could almost hear a blonde knucklehead ninja laughing in the depths of his mind.
(A/N): Surprise surprise I'm not dead motherfuckers