A/N: One of the few times I enjoy writing fights! Yeah, kinda ironic given MHA is all about battles, too, but I digress. Question: Should I relabel Perfected as a Crossover given the context applied referencing Destiny? Lemme know; I suck at decision making.
This is the longest rant I've made, but for a good reason. Today and Tomorrow, I'm publishing TWO chapters for Perfected to bundle up the Exam 'cause I'm off work and are in a good mood... yes, pessimist gets those. Review Time!
To Murtaito: Monster Hunter is my weakness; Velk and Hana might not be the only Elder Dragon inspired characters to come. And yeah, I'm not gonna dis Ms Joke, a little friendly rivalry for Aizawa's attention seemed very fitting. Get ready for a firefight, brother!
To Walkmanappenticewordsmith: Side note, I can spell your alias with ease now; Glad the moments were worth it. As for my decision on them parting ways, they will have team-ups occasionally, but I wanted them to have their own stories separate from each other at times. We know how Izuku's pans out but not Yuki's. Not to worry though, when they do partner up in the future, it'll be spectacular, promise!
Enjoy.
Chapter 53 - Perfect Your State of Mind
The distant chaos of battle raged on, many students of varying degrees of skill and power duking it out for the one-hundred narrow spots to claim their Provisional Licenses. Nearest the massive lake with a roar of a waterfall not too far, five students stood alone across the wasteland, a few onlookers not daring to step into the fray that was close to sparking between four of them. It was to be a battle of metal and smoke vs vibration and light.
Kaneko cracked his knuckles. "Let's go, bud!" He took the lead in their sprint toward the two UA students. Draco following close to his right
"Alright - Huh?" Even his calm demeanour hesitated as they found both Yuki and Akio already before them, both drawing back a fist, the two right of Yuki's hissing maroon while Akio sharpened his smile, smoke smothering his knuckle
Yuki's connected to Draco, his swords spun out to keep her from advancing, but with his eyes to the sky, he couldn't see she had warped to his left, spinning upright through the air to bring her left heel down on his stomach, slamming him into the earth. Meanwhile, Akio's fist connected to the vibrating gauntlet on Kaneko's left forearm, the vibration cone missed, himself shocked by Akio's sudden pivot and twirl to crack him on the back of the head.
Draco flung himself back, bringing his right index and middle finger together to point toward Yuki, two of his swords bursting with radiant light as a beam of golden light burst between the tips of the swords, forcing her to instantly evade to her left, the beam curving toward Akio. His head perked up, dodging back from the blast while two gauntlets poised behind him, humming with emerald energy. "I gotcha now!"
Akio chuffed, coating both arms in black smoke as he crossed them against the sudden shockwave pummeling his bones, the ground curved under them while Kaneko's eyes shot wide. "Sorry, but no-!" Akio brought his arms down, flinging his attacker away with two arcs of smoke. "-Dice!"
Lost in a large plume of smoke, Draco ran to his ally's aid. "Kaneko - !" He froze, swords unable to moved from a defensive barrier around their master as his head and Kaneko's were slammed into one another, the vibration user's face locked under Yuki's grip as all four of her hands hissed scarlet in their eyes
"Perfected Burst!" Several small spheres of light smashed into them, tossing the duo into a hail of red smoke and static as the SIVA clusters exploded, leaving them in the ground with one of their makers lit upon each of their bodies. Yuki and Akio's ball plopping to the land between the two teams
While Akio and Yuki returned to each others' sides, the pair from the Academy rubbed off their sores, Kaneko looked ready to blow a fuse, fingers twitching with anticipation, while Draco grinned, using one of his swords to help himself stand again. "You two are very good, definitely worth waiting for you."
"I'm getting seriously amped up; let me fight!" Kaneko growled, gauntlets humming with a build-up of energy
"And you're both pretty strong, but I think we're done testing the waters," Yuki pointed out. Neither side moved, and no one watching dared to interrupt the intensity of the staring contest; they had to pass themselves. Still, somehow, no one could look away, not even the silent analysis brimming in Yukio's eye; she and a shadowy figure over her shoulder wouldn't dare look away. The tension was so thick enough that her sword could cut through.
Someone blinked, and Draco made the first move. He dived down, allowing one sword to swish at Yuki's cross-guard as the blade radiated with a blinding white light, leaving her sensors in the dark, ironically, to Draco's sudden assault with all five blades, their thin edges hacking and slashing at her armour, ensuring to little down her defence while leaving no trace to attack.
"Yuki!" Akio grunted, throwing a fist to where a shockwave echoed, missing the red and yellow student as he levelled his right arm back, throwing it down with a tremendous wave of green air pressure that grazed Akio's cheek, his right leg swung high, missing the man who hopped down before him, striking with a left hook that screamed in his ears, the disorientating blast leaving Akio open to a gut punch with a right cross, bones rattled, and his body flew across the dirt
The challenging laughter from Kaneko drew the pale-green eyes to the man cracking his knuckles, stomping toward the downed Host mockingly. "Come on, Yukio's much stronger than you, and she didn't even have to use her sword or her Nightmare!" It was a tough battle given the fact Akio had no abilities that could counter air pressure other than magic, but his compared to Viral's was bare without his aid
"Sadly, you're on your own," Viral grimaced, watching their opponent fold back his left, a green, jittering cone of energy starting to build. "Just like against Valstrax, you're gonna have to rely on yourself; good luck."
"Tch," Akio wiped his bruised cheek, spitting off to this left. "If I can't win a fight without my Nightmare, then what good am I at all?"
The pair continued to fight hard. A cross-slash struck Yuki with two swords, both her extra arms severed from the elbow. Akio gasped, having warped into Kaneko's shadow to attack from the side, but given the student's experience with his classmate, he saw this coming and struck the faux-brown-haired teen in the face.
The UA students collided with one another's backs. Both jumped, locking backs while readying for a counterstrike; neither realised it until both Kaneko and Draco were sailing down from above, four swords piercing the sky with twin golden beams while two torrents of air pressure rippled and crashed into the earth. Leaving the crowd in suspense at the massive wave of debris and dust kicked from the explosion.
When it settled somewhat, Yuki barely scraped by a sword that split her right eye, exposing her wide crimson orb to sword hugging Draco's left hook as it smashed into her cheek plate, tossing her back into a slide. She guarded against a rising kick, the blow knocking her guard back for two swords to swipe at her breastplate; she fired two small bursts of spherical energy, only for Draco to bound over her, kicking her shoulders.
Akio kept trading blows with Kaneko several meters from their battle, his vibrating gauntlet's keeping him on his toes. At the same time, his roguish outfit was torn, and bandages were coming undone from the devastating blows. Neither could move at all, punches and slashes tearing apart their strength, one circle on each other, their bodies turning red, they, of course, tried to do the same, only for the gale-force from all the fight to toss their balls far from their grasps.
Yukio hummed, her downward 'V' lips forever present. "They were formidable but lacked the same coordination as Kaneko and Draco," She was a little dishearted by the inexperience of the Host to Viral, seemingly defenceless without the Nightmare's aid. "Viral's Host doesn't seem to fare well either."
"Do not underestimate him," Yukio blinked, glancing over her shoulder at the icy-blue eyes watching with keen interest, her voice firm but gentle like the wind. "I have never known Viral to become so attached to a Host before... something's changed." Why did that sound so sorrowful? She didn't ask and instead turned back to the one-sided battle.
Just then, both were given a roundhouse kick to their guts, followed by a sharp boot to the side as the pair were thrown backwards. "I am sorry you must lose, but-" Draco swung with a powerful uppercut of his swords, two spinning like saw blades to crash against Yuki's helmet, severing the horns under a sizeable golden wave of light. "-I cannot afford to fail my friends!"
In pain and severe need of an eye-check, Yuki stumbled to her feet, finding her black armour refused to regenerate like the nanomachines couldn't rebuild what was lost. "How am I... I swore I packed enough clusters?" She's dense sometimes but never when it came to preparing for every scenario
Draco clasped two of his swords, pointing one toward her matter-of-factly. "It's my Quirk's side effect so-to-speak. My swords have left your regeneration ability useless for the remainder of our bout."
"Lux Draco"
"Quirk: Holy Sword"
Lux can conjure five swords of holy light to his side, fire small beams or defend against attacks. They also ward off 'Demonic' energies and 'Darkness'; naturally, a side effect of this Quirk is that anything his blades strike that has remnants of 'Darkness' is temporarily unable to heal or recover.
Yuki struggled to move as if the weight of this 'Light' was bearing down on her armour like gravity somehow increased. Then she gasped, hearing the ring of swords sharpened and brandished toward her. "I apologise; I will end this quickly by taking you out of this exam,"
Over by Akio, he panted, rolling and firing a stream of smoke to intercept Kaneko's vibration blast, the two energies dispersing one another, leaving Akio blind to the right jab that slammed against his shoulder, driving him across the ground as his bones buckled and groaned. "Hahahaha, you're like a human punching bag; this is so much more fun than having to fight Yukio!"
"Kotaro Kaneko"
"Quirk: Shockwave"
He can admit powerful shockwaves of air pressure from his fists. The gauntlets help to condense these attacks to be more robust and precise. With a bit of concentration, he can adjust their strength to do a vast array of tricks better suited for the situation.
Two more shockwaves tore up the earth, leaving Akio blind to the sneak attack that was slithering in from behind. "Game over," The palm held a ball, aiming for the second button located on Akio's lower back. The orange softball was met with nothing but a hand grasping his wrist. "W-What!?"
Akio grinned through the smoke, a light-grey circle of runes clasped around his forearm. "Tch-Tch-Tch."
Over by Yuki, even though Draco couldn't see it, he felt something was strangely off about the girl, not realising she was smiling too. The moment a sword from his left swung downward, a fist intercepted, shattering its form entirely with a giant arm cannon, the thick armour crawling along the left curled, crashing a powerful punch across Draco's shoulder, keeping him back.
Recovering from the red mark on his shoulder, he blinked, surprised to see her whole body was now coated in strange, new armour, a large arm-cannon replacing her right arm entirely. At the same time, a powerful glow surrounded her being, buzzing and brimming with light. "How did you do that? No one's been able to break free of my light's hold on their 'Darkness'?" He wasn't angry, more like he just never expected such a result
"Simple," Her voice was more profound, more metallic under her spider-like mask. "I can't rid my power of its past mistakes, so I'll just shed what's been blessed and make something new." She held up her left hand, clasping it tightly. "I'll embrace this darkness with all I got!"
Draco stood momentarily shocked by her words, but a soft smile soon broke, noticing that a second of his pads had lit up from her counterattack. "Cleaver, I see where you gauge your power, Azuru."
Akio kept Kankeo's hand from touching the pad on his left pectoral, seeing him struggle to move. "Now ya see, without Viral, sure, might not be a powerhouse in terms of magic or just overall strength," His hold tightened, seeing Kaneko grunt, his hazel eyes wide as he tried to activate his gauntlet. "But I'm still pretty crafty in my own way, least that's what Kyoka tells me; she's really nice." His hand threw him back, hand splayed out. "Sonic Leap!"
The sonic wave struck Kaneko's face, punching him backwards while his ears rang from the scream. He gasped, seeing the shadow morph with Akio grasping his falling right, pulling him forward and into a waiting elbow of smoke, the black mist erupting from the bone, sending him flying. Meanwhile, Yuki struck with a left hook, her cannon dispensing payloads to disrupt Draco's control over his swords that attempted to flank Yuki.
Coughing from the blow, Draco called back his swords. Yuki's cannon lowering once more while she twitched at the louder whispers in her ears. "Well, this has been fun, however," The five blades suddenly spun around his body, increasing the radiance that flowed from his body, whipping up his ponytail while his gold eyes took on a white sheen. "Time to settle this, don't you agree!?"
There was a massive build-up of white energy between the swords, so much so that the two Nightmares present had to hide within their Hosts bodies to shield their forms from the divine light. All that energy was gathering into a single point in Draco's body, the judges gawking at the equivalent of a sun.
However, the revelation of this light and the combined whispers had Yuki frozen, her figure left motionless while her mind was lost once more, eyes shaken and wide with pinpricks of pupils. Not a soul other than the presence of a diligent Nightmare could see the swirling darkness that surrounded the bluette frozen in fear, time a crawl between them. Yuki felt a hot tip of a knife crawling along her body, retracing the groves of white scars, a jagged set of fingers prodding her stomach's scar.
"No OnE wIlL cArE iF yOu DiE, yOu ArE a PhAnToM, a MuTt ThAt ShOuLd HaVe DiEd LoNg AgO." Vosik's voice slithered in her ears, licking her body in a cold sweat, the world completely grey and frozen to her eyes. The cold fingers then poked at her eyes, a mere centimetre from their shaken surface. "YoU aRe AlOnE aNd FoRgOtTeN, mOnStEr."
"The girl I love isn't some monster," She jolted, pressed against his body while his gentle fingers combed her hair soothingly. "She's beautiful, amazing, kind..." The following words rolled without conscious thought. "...you're my Flower."
The wisps of light gathered to Draco's fist, himself serious. "Ultimate Move-!" He lunged at the rooted girl, fist unleashing the nova of pure white light. "-SUN BREAKER!"
Light and power tore through the wasteland; any onlookers not rooted to the earth were thrown aside by the massive torrents of wind in Draco's wake. He smiled honourably, he felt his blow connect, and while it was brief, it was a genuinely great battle. "I thank you... Aksis."
A single, crimson eye tore through the smoke and fading light—Draco's pupils dilating in complete bewilderment. Yukio's brow rose in surprise; even the two eyes that emerged behind her back widened, utterly flabbergasted as those that remained to spectate the battle. His fist did indeed connect and was cupped in her left palm; fingers hooked to his skin with barely any damage down to her arm other than a few scrapes.
Other than them, Kaneko continued his assault, attempting the same move as before, flanking Akio when he was still recovering. "Akio!" He did know 'sneak attacks' involved being silent, right? That though shrugged by Akio, who drew his right arm back, dispersing a column of black smoke-infused to deep-orange flames, the elemental combo slamming into his chest.
Neither any idea how or why, bodies colliding with one another as the backside of Yuki's cannon and Akio's left high-kick connected to their torso's, tossing them high for a twin roundhouse to the side. It was their turn to end things. The thrashing continued with remarkable coordination from the UA pair; a burst of condensed smoke pierced a shockwave, pummeling Kaneko into the earth while a strong heel-kick from Yuki kept Draco back, his swords blown away by a volley of powerful blasts from her arm.
"Game-!" Yuki slammed a ball into the marker on Draco's hip.
"Set-!" Akio emerged from the darkness; a ball pressed to the sole of his right boot as it cracked against the back of Kaneko's left leg
"Match!" They ended it with a unison of red nanites, and onyx smoke, the swirling cone of plasma and gas blasting the pair into a wall uprooted from the wasteland. The duo was knocked out from the attack; all their markers lit up red.
For Yuki, she sighed heavily, feeling a chilling presence finally fade from her shoulders in the warmth of the wind the pair had conjured. "I accept the memories of you, Vosik," She let her armour revert to its original form at a base of fifty percent without the extra arms, a weight lifted from her heart. "And move beyond your reach."
"Screw this!" "L-let's go, no way we're beating them!" "Come on, run!"
With the panic over their Quirks now established, only a select few that hadn't recovered from Draco's Ultimate and one other stayed. Standing atop one of the risen masses of land was none other than Yukio, herself finally drawing her bandaged sword, a white shimmer peeking through its face. The pair eyed one another without a word, intending this fight to be the big boss, and nodded assuringly. This was their fight, not like she'd let them leave now.
Yukio sighed, drawing her gaze to her fallen friends. "They fought well; I warned them to go and claim their place among the one-hundred, but..." She shook her head. "I suppose now is too late."
"What about you?" Yuki asked, seeing her cool eye lock to her burning irises within her helmet
"I'll manage, but your concern is appreciated," Her tone certainly didn't portray that very well. Then she skipped off the edge, landing softly to face them both. "Come, Aksis, Viral, do not disappoint me."
"We won't; Viral would kill me otherwise." Akio chuckled anxiously at the death threads being murmured into his ears. Yuki copied his actions, holding out her fists in preparation.
"Her aura..." Yuki's breath was only matched by her spine-shivering at what she felt, a pure, deathly chill. "...like staring into a storm."
"No, not just a storm," Akio confirmed, feeling it too, her soul was a flame-like all others, but the particles were that of frost, tipped blue with each flicker. "A blizzard."
Yukio stepped only twice, the ground hissing with a thin layer of white frost under her soles, a few tiny icicles beginning to sprout along the growing pavement of white, the atmosphere turning a faint tint of blue at her mere presence. A ghostly white mist puffed from every pore on her body, and her mouth let out a sigh of cool mist, causing the moisture in the air around her to crystalise, small icicles shattering across her white carpet, the same aura of chilling wind gathered around her sword. She didn't just feel like a blizzard; she was one.
"Come, let our mettle be tested, heroes," She spoke smoothly, dashing forward with a pull of a cold front behind her, frost solidifying at her feet.
"Evade-Evade!" Akio vanished while Yuki dove to her left, a sudden geyser of ice protruding where they once stood. Yukio having pressed her right foot forward, conjuring a small wall of ice that erupted at the end. She twisted on her heels, sword swiping upward as a horizontal line of ice narrowly skimmed by Yuki; just the grazing she received caused her right hip to frost over, chilling her through the layers of armour.
Akio emerged from behind a small outcropping, only to yelp as he was struck chest-first with a wall himself; her eye was sharper than the blade, able to track his movements within the shadows. He hastily breathed on the growing frost, brushing it off his chest before blocking with both arms as a solid arc of ice was split between him and Yukio, the force knocking him backwards.
With an almost dull gaze, she sighed at Akio. "If you take me for an inexperienced Host, you may find this battle will be short."
"Hana Yukio"
"Quirk: Iceborne"
Hana's body can produce a sub-zero mist that causes an effect similar to icing at high altitudes. She can manipulate these frozen molecules to form walls and attacks of compressed ice, but the more ice she creates, the faster she drains her stamina. It is noted that even the coldest substance on earth won't even make her shiver.
Despite the nicking of the sub-zero ice, Akio cracked an eye open with a toothy grin. "Oh, is that what I was doing?" His little remark forced Yukio's gaze to widen, pulling away to escape the blazing beam of plasma, another gathered in Yuki's right hand as she pressed the attack
"Devil's Ruin!" She screamed, slamming the palm out toward Yukio's own, a dense funnel of frost and ice expelling against Yuki's concentrated beam of plasma, the beam disrupting the flow of rapidly cooled moisture, her attack slicing through Yukio's left gauntlet, ice and red particles dispersed into the air. Not wanting her to run, Yuki pressed toward the ravenette, fist curled from her hip, rising high. "Wolves Howling!"
Yukio held her ground, drawing her sword down as the blade connected to Yuki's fist, much to the sudden gasp that escaped the girl, seeing her arc of ice peel and split through Yuki's fist, the sudden loss of forwarding momentum launching her back into a small flip and slide, her right hand frozen, shattering from its socket.
"A-Azuru!" The sharp, worried tone in Yukio's voice made Yuki wince, remembering not everyone knew of her prosthetics. So she waved her stump of a hand, clusters working to rebuild the hand quickly while she grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, it's okay, my hand's metal, so's my left leg from the knee down for future reference!" She sweatdropped a little while her body shivered. "I'm s-s-so cold...~!"
The tension eased a little, a relieved breath escaping the icy girl; she thought she almost hurt somebody else. "That is fine, I... cannot control my ice's temperature well without Velk, hence why I wield this sword; it atleast limits my destructive capabilities," Yukio admitted, sizing up her two adversaries. "I understand this gives away my weaknesses, but given what you've seen, my power is extremely deadly to those without powerful Quirks to counteract my ice."
"Don't apologise," She blinked, following Akio's grin with surprise while he brushed the last bit of frost off his barding. "Sure, you're not going all out, but so long as we're trying to give our all, that's all that matters, eh?"
"He's right," She met Yuki's helmet as it bobbed once. "We're trying to become heroes; to disregard the power we wield and how deadly it can be is a mistake; you recognise this and felt the need to inform us, so thank you."
Yukio nodded then dipped her head back, drawing her sword to split a beam of smoke as it shattered through the ice wall conjured, followed by mist lingering at Akio's feet. Everyone winced as he yelped, the prominent spire of ice flinging through the air, an orange ball lighting up his second target, having been thrown by the girl the second he was airborne. Yuki rolled to the right while running, evading a small wave of ice, then to the left, pinned between two small fences of ice.
She conjured a sword, its face shattering across Yukio's, so she swung a new one diagonally from the left; it too broke while parrying the mummified blade. Two were brought down in a cross, locking viciously between the girls. Frost and heat rose from their bodies, with a pale cherry and blue tint bubbling between them.
Both pulled back, slamming their swords into one another, then again before breaking. Yuki firing several balls that were split in two by the elegance of Yukio's blade, a wall slamming into Yuki's arms while she felt her muscles contract under the extreme cold, followed by a foot that pressed a ball to her right bicep, flinging her back while losing her ball to the air.
If not for Akio tugging Yuki into the shadows, she'd have been eliminated. The pair emerged across from the girl, the ice shattered, and mist billowed across the frozen wasteland. Yuki was in awe, and she knew if a certain broccoli-haired boy were here, he'd agree; her Quirk was terrific, it wasn't anything like Shoto's, it came forth like a blizzard, tearing through obstacles or providing advantages for the team.
Yet, it was the complete opposite with Yukio. Her grace with a blade meant she could control the flow of her ice with better precision, creating small yet compelling obscurities for her opponents, and the chilling mist she produced made it harder to stay within a close range less you become immobilised by the frost. She was an arctic wind, gentle yet deadly.
"Okay, I have a plan, but," That was a big 'but' from Akio. "You're gonna want to bathe in fire after this..." He whispered in her ear, not noting her body's slumped stature
Yuki had her work cut out for her, face paling at the whispered instructions as their attacker approached, and his dramatic hand gestures weren't helping. He stepped back with a nervous thumb. "Okay, good, awesome, spectacular - Good luck!" He vanished into a shadow, leaving Yuki to chuckle nervously, her smile plummeting like the temperature.
"I'm going to kill him later." Exasperated, Yuki yelped as she narrowly evaded another ball in Yukio's hand, her foot kicking out for Yuki to grab and throw away, the girl swiping vertically, a giant crescent of ice nearly splitting her helmet. At the same time, her body temperature rose, increasing her percentage. "Eighty Percent!"
Now her horns regrew, most of her body covered in barding and metal, her highlights producing a contrail as she sprinted directly for Yukio, perplexing the girl though she merely brought her sword down by the tip. Warnings blared at the layer of mist hugging her ankles; Yuki didn't stop, even while a wave of crashing ice barreled toward her. Biting her cheek, she took a page from Kirishima.
The ice devoured Yuki's gleaming form, a gush of ice crashing to the ground, burying her alive. Yukio hesitated, hearing the ice crackle and pop as it settled. Not a sound was heard other than the chilling wind and not a stir from the ice. "Did she evade?" Yukio was anxious; even if Yuki sported that confidence earlier, this ice wasn't to be taken lightly.
Yukio didn't realise it, but the scarlet tint beneath her ice was rising, steam belched like a dragon from cracks in the treacherous ice, temporarily blinding the girl while she cut down her ice chunks, yet her chilling mist forced the warm front that oppressed her to rise with a gust of hot steam.
"Tch," Her eyes struggle to peer through the steam, using her sword to brace the front. "She's using my cold front to blind me with the steam she created, but how can her body handle such extreme heat?"
Her gasp hitched in her throat, a bare arm slamming into her gut, disarming Yukio as her eyes locked to scarlet. Yuki was only wearing a light blue sports bra and matching shorts, her hair as damp as her body, steam rising from her skin. "Thanks for the sauna!" She blasted the girl with a small pulse of energy, right into the waiting orange runes that encircled Akio's smokey hands.
"Fire Scourge!" Two small torrents of flames struck her body, her ice thankfully protecting her, the sudden rapid cooling of the air causing a smaller variant of the explosion Shoto generated at the Sports Festival, pulverising the ice and debris, sending the trio flying from the initial blast, so much, so the spectators in the stands were left slack-jawed, all expect for Eraserhead, himself chuffing
"Those two never learn to hold back," His scarf concealed a slight smirk. "But as expected, those two understand what it means to go Plus Ultra."
The announcer just blinked, scratching his tired head. "These kids nearly blew half the barrens away with that..." He quickly cleared his throat, sweating a little from feeling the heat from his seat
Down on the battlefield. Yuki pushed herself onto her feet, still wearing nothing but her shorts and sports bra alongside her boots. Wiping her wet locks from her face, she blinked, snapping her head to the ground beside her, Akio's head popping out from the ground like a vegetable, coughing up dirt with a grin. "I can't feel my face; that was awesome!" Yuki sweatdropped
"Overkill, but..." She let a resting smile form. "Good work, buddy." His thumb popped from the earth
That was when loose rock crumbled, alerting them to the recovering Yukio, her armour torn somewhat, cuts in her suit revealing her milky-white skin while she wiped dirt from her face, reclaiming her sword. "I... did not expect that..." She hadn't realised what was growing unstable above her
"Yukio, watch out!" Yuki's cry came too late, confusing the girl who glanced up at the falling slab of concrete, only for something to yank her from the debris path, saving her from a severe blow to the head. When the trio's eyes followed the line of white tape, they saw a familiar guy in black, white, and yellow armour, himself swinging by. Yuki beamed at his brief appearance, "Sero!"
He flashed them a thumb. "Thank me later; gotta go, guys!" He sprinted off into the heated battle in the distance, leaving the three dumbfounded by his save-and-run, but no one could complain as he did just save someone's life, that same person left bewildered and silent for a moment, then an alert split their momentary silence
~Akio, Yuki Azuru, and Hana Yukio have passed the first stage; please proceed to the reception or medical bay if needed; thank you~ Was the rough announcement from the speakers. The three surprised and stupefied
"Wait, how did we pass? We all got one point, right?" Akio asked, a shadowy hand attempting to pull up like a weed
Yuki shrugged, remembering the handful of balls she lost during her battles with Draco and then Yukio. "It must have been when we were fighting, we lost our balls, but they must have struck someone unfortunate enough to be standing too close to ur fight, so they inadvertently struck them when they already had two points lost." It was a massive stretch, but it was the most logical conclusion. "Or they just don't want us to destroy the arena, whichever goes." She threw her hands down with a shake
"Who's dumb enough to stay and watch three crazy strong teenagers almost obliterate a fraction of the stadium? We're in the middle of a test!" Akio's not-so-subtle jab earned him a chorus of groans hidden amongst the rocks, his eyes snapping wide. "The hills have eyes! They are watching us!" He shrunk a little with a chill
"I see..." Yukio mused, pushing off the hilt of her sword to greet the pair with a short bow. "I thank you both for a good match; now, I must ensure my comrades are well." With a small skip, she jogged in the direction she last saw them passed out, Akio and Yuki smiled weakly, that pent-up adrenaline and exhilaration from their back-to-back fights having simmered within, but neither could stop smiling
"Up top!" "Yeah, go, team!" The two high-fived, ecstatic that they passed.
"We are number one, doot-doot~!" Yuki and Akio cheered, arms around each other's shoulders while they waddled left to right with prideful grins, a few scrapes, and bumps on their visible skin, Yuki thankfully wearing her costume again. A few did stare at their boisterous laughing but soon paid them no mind. So far, they could only see Shoto, who was taking a bite out of a sandwich.
"Hey, Shoto, you beat us?" Yuki waved, seeing him turn to greet them.
"Yes, my opponents were tough and had almost every counter against me," He looked to his hand, then continued to eat. "But it wasn't a big deal."
"Leave it to Shoto to shrug off being a one-man-army," Yuki rolled her eyes, Akio leaving to procure himself something to eat. "So then, how do you think the rest of our class will do?"
Shoto glanced at the monitors, Yuki joining him while grabbing a drink and sandwich to refuel. "So far, most seem to be passing just fine," His voice never showed, but he was concerned given the fact all other schools are primarily targeting them. "The group that I beat primarily gunned for me, so I was wondering if the same could be said for the others."
Yuki cooed, poking his cheek at that notion of worry. "Aww, see, I told ya you do have a soft spot, Shoto!" She grinned giddily, again his hand reaching out to smoosh her face in an attempt to get her away. "You can silence me, but you can't silence the truth!"
"Please stop talking." He looked to the screen to avoid her taunting, but he knew how hopeless it was. "My sister is bad enough..."
"Hey, join the club, gloomy; mine's been prodding at my life since she woke up!" She pouted; the many embarrassing questions revolving around her and Izuku was just too much; her Mom made it worse. "I'd rather have your Dad breathing down my neck than go through that again."
His blue eye caught her struggles behind his hand, not seeing the eased expression on his face. "...You forever perplex me, Yuki."
|I second that|
Soon, most of Class 1-A had arrived, leading to many talks of their battles to victory, though no one was surprised to see Akio, Shoto, and Yuki there before anyone else given their power. Still, Yuki did catch a glimpse of Yukio sitting with some of her school, themselves having passed as well. What came next left Yuki completely shell-shocked as Sero and Kaminari swamped her.
"Say what now?" Her mind still hadn't caught up to her. She would congratulate the rest for passing, having only spotted Izuku since she left to handle repairs to her hand and armour, but now she was trying to process what the two were telling her. "Izuku was with a girl?" She failed to see what was wrong.
"Look, over there, see that hottie?" Following Kaminari's finger, she did find a girl from the same school as that guy with the overdramatic enthusiasm; she looked... off to her, very off. But what ticked her brow was that she was waving to Izuku himself. "Tell her, Sero."
He grinned, nudging her side. "Those two were alone in the rocks; she was practically butt-naked beside him when me and Ochaco found them." That still took time to register in her head. "'Course she was trying to knock him out but still..."
Kaminari threw more onto the fire, "Who knew the fanboy of the class had it in him," Then he noticed Yuki's silence, "Um... Yuki?" Karminari attempted to snap her attention away, but Yuki was frozen to the spot, eyes covered by her bangs. Neither of them knew how she'd react; all she did was stand there, lost in her head.
"Thanks for telling me this," Her voice made them cringe, herself steadily moving toward the unsuspecting Izuku with haste. Her mind was still running since she and Akio passed; her mind kept flashing back to the sensations that crawled over her body and mind, the weight of fear that anchored itself to her body. "Izuku... I..."
His sparkling green orbs sighted her approach, thankful she passed though there was no doubt she would, yet he didn't see her eyes, shrouded by her hair. Before he could mouth a word, he blinked, feeling his costume twist in her hands as she planted a forceful kiss on his lips. Izuku's world spun while turning beet-red.
Those that saw this either gasped or blushed at how open the pair were. Eventually, Yuki pulled back with a slight smack of their lips, grinning ear-to-ear with a faint blush. "Thanks for that, Zuzu; now I'm in top form!" He was still lost in bliss and confusion, heart racing for miles
"I-I um, s-sure t-thing, Yu-ki..." He smiled giddily, trying to hide his face while she giggled, not that he minded the act of kissing her so passionately but rather it was in public and out of nowhere
"I did it; I faced Vosik's ghost," The words cut off his flustered state, seeing the level of earnestness in her eyes. "I remembered what you said, and... I guess a part of him was tethered to... a darker side of me," She put her arms around him, embracing her emerald hero tightly. "Thanks, my hero." She whispered into his curly hair
"U-um, sure!" Despite how embarrassing it was, it felt... assuring to be in her arms given what happened on the field. Izuku couldn't shake it; what was up with that girl from before?
"Ah, sorry, got a little handsy again, ehehehe," She nervously waved, Izuku shaking his hand rapidly.
"No, i-it's fine!" Clearing his throat, he gave her a small smile. "I'm just glad you're okay, Yuki." She blinked but smiled cheekily
"You know it, Izuku."
"-did I... offend you somehow?" The two broke their small moment to hear Shoto's conservative voice cut the silence. When they looked, they found he was confronting that guy from before, dressed in a thick coat and woolly collar, Inasa Yoarashi. What shocked the pair was the look of pure disdain in his eyes, that look they've seen before, the air of hostility Shoto once displayed during the Sports Festival, now the role was reversed
"Oh no, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" Yuki grimaced; she knew that tone. Something had happened between them, but... Shoto looks wholly lost; does he not remember him? "Well, son of Endeavor-" Her and Izuku shared the subtle surprise as Shoto at the title. "-I just can't help but hate both of you, you've changed a little since the first time our paths crossed, but you still have your father's eyes."
"Ah, Yuki, wait-" Izuku couldn't stop her from marching to aid her friend, especially if this were something else she never knew of her friend's past.
"Hey, lay off him, dude," His sharp look snapped to her soft frown, eyes intense to a point.
"Yuki..." Shoto was at a loss for words; now, a few others from their class saw the confrontation
"I ain't going to pry; I don't like that, but are you seriously going to berate a person based on their parental figures?" She shrugged. "I mean, you're not wrong; Endeavor's kinda an ass, I should know, tried to hook Shoto and me up, awkwaaaard."
"If you don't know, then you should stay out of it," Yoarashi replied coldly, pointing to Shoto. "And for your sake, being anywhere near him or his father will only get you hurt," She heard the slight twitch in Shoto's posture. "All they're capable of is trying to prove that everyone else is under them."
Those that paid attention could see the anger swelling in her eyes, biting her cheek while clenching her fists to simmer her emotions at the insult to her best friend, "Don't talk to him that way," She warned, glaring up at his pinprick eyes. "I don't know what he did to you, but you don't know him either, so don't stand there and insult my friend and expect me just to stay silent; you don't know the Shoto I know."
Their eyes never wavered, but he did somewhat; she wasn't going to budge, not while her friend needed a hand. Shoto just stood there, unable to say anything alongside Izuku while the silence droned on, or until Yoarashi's classmates glanced over, specifically the one covered in hair.
"Something wrong, Yoarashi?" He asked, immediately the man in question sprung a one-eighty
"Nope, not a thing, sir!" He lied, returning to their group and leaving Yuki ticked with a calm exhale, Shoto utterly lost for words
"Jerk," She spat, then crossed her arms, looking to Shoto. "Shoto did you... do something to make him this mad, or your Dad?" She didn't like to pry, but that level of animosity was... just like he once was, and Yuki couldn't ignore it, neither could Izuku
"I-"
*BEEP!*
Not another word could be said on the matter; the screens came to life, giving the students a clear view of the now ruined remains of the city outside; the scenario took a turn compared to the battle royal. Crumpling buildings and unstable environments dotted the arena. Much as Yuki wanted to know what beef was between Shoto and Yoarashi, her exam had to come first.
~Villains have committed a large-scale attack across this city with many casualties among the chaos and aftermath of the attack-~
"So that's the scenario, a villain attack aftermath," Yuki's brow furrowed, memories of the calamity during and after Vosik and All For One's battle, even though they won, many were injured, and some had their lives destroyed. That twisting in her stomach returned, but so did her determined flame. "I can't treat this like an exam, right here and now; this was as close to real as it can be."
We must focus on our strengths | Preparing scenarios and probabilities | Good luck
The roof and walls started to fall apart. ~Due to heavily damaged roads, first responders have been delayed until help can arrive the heroes in the immediate ground zero will handle the rescue efforts~ The less-sleepy man broke down their task, the ruins spread out far and wide. ~Your task is to save as many lives as you can and tend to the wounded, and with that...~
The students of one-hundred stormed at the buzzer. ~BEGIN!~
Yuki didn't move; to rush into this ill-prepared was how a hero could cause more problems than good. Like her Mom, she had to consider both the damage and the people who have suffered; how would they react? Of course, that wasn't something one could calculate. Well, if you lacked the computer to do so.
Targets confirmed | Internet Signal is strong | While I cannot mark those in need of immediate assistance, I can still detect a small signal
"Yuki!" Izuku called from their class, seeing she hadn't moved an inch; before he could ask, she put up a thumb, eyes narrowed behind her mask
"Lead the class; I can fan out and direct the rest, but Izuku!" He stopped to look back at her glare, frighteningly serious. "Treat this as real as Camino Ward; these people need a hero, so be their hero."
There was a slight pause between them, but with a burning determination in his, she nodded and took off. "I will; good luck, Aksis!" It felt great to hear that from him; now, it was time to get to work
"SIVA, Enhance..." Her body came to life in crimson sparks; however, her calming blue eyes remained flickering red for a mere moment. "Twenty percent."
To Be Continued...
Part two of the Exam is over with a dazzling display of power on all sides, thought the sudden reveal the trio had passed was funny given how hellbent they were to win. As for Toga, who's in disguise, Yuki wouldn't be angry or get the wrong idea; she knows Izuku well enough to know he's never one to have those intentions. Well, I hope you enjoyed it; I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, heroes!
Next Chapter: Rescue to Perfection
Yuki: It's time to get serious; people's lives are at stake!
Hana: Allow me to assist you this time.
Sero: Count me in too!
Tokoyami: Our strengths can aid those in need.
Yuki: Hmph, alright, heroes! Next, Rescue to Perfection.
Sero/Tokoyami: Go Beyond.
Yuki: Plus Ultra!