Guess who caught the flu? That's right, yours truly. Just the flu thankfully, but while this chapter was done, Deku – Into the Multiverse will have to skip this week. Luckily I have something for the readers there too.
(xx)
Tokoyami and Mustard looked out of the window. Denki Kaminari and Minoru Mineta were clearly discussing their plans, and both him and the bird were supposed to do the same. Mustard scratched the back of his head. "So, what's your Quirk?"
"A horrible curse has been placed upon me, a cross I shall bear for the sake of all." Tokoyami replied. He clearly expected him to be in awe at that.
"Uh. That's nice. What does it do?"
"It made me a creature of the dark, gifted with powers from beyond, unfitting to stand in the light and left yearning for it." He said, like that somehow meant something more to Mustard than the previous sentence. He just moved his hands to his face and passed them over it, sighing deeply.
"Alright. Alright. So, creature of the dark, what can you do?"
"What Fumi here is trying to say is that I am his Quirk." A new voice said, and a moment later Tokoyami's shadow started moving, emerging from what looked like his belly. Shining yellow eyes stared at him. Two large hands ending with what could only be described as claws, moved slightly to then form a thumb up. "Dark Shadow, at your service."
"You have a living shadow?"
"Indeed. As I said…"
"Yeah yeah creatur of the dark, yadda yadda, I gotcha. So," He turned to Dark Shadow, "What can you do?"
"A lot of stuff! Phenomenal shadow power…" He retreated within Tokoyami's cloak, "Itty bitty living space."
"Nice!"
"It's the same thing I said…" Tokoyami muttered, before taking a deep breath and sighing like he had to deal with someone that was being unreasonable, "Dark Shadow is very strong. He can extend from me and attack at range and gets more powerful the darker it is. However, he also gets harder to control."
"Mom says I have a strong personality." Dark Shadow added.
"Mom says I have a strong personality." Tokoyami corrected.
"Well we are one and the same, Fumi." The shadow being said, winking.
"Alright. And my Quirk is Gas." Mustard replied, "I can emit gas from my body…"
"Ew, gross." Dark Shadow commented, Tokoyami slapping him lightly on the side of the head.
"N-not like that, it's actually sleeping gas."
"Damn it must smell hard if it knocks people out." Tokoyami slapped the shadow creature again.
"You know, I'm starting to get why he called you a horrible curse. Anyway, as I was saying, it works well, but I can't control who gets knocked out, so you would have to stay away. So, I think we should split up."
Tokoyami nodded. "I see your point. Can I trust you with defense?"
Mustard nodded. "Oh, and one more thing." He added, handing him his new support item – well, the first that could actually be called a support item technically.
Dark Shadow cackled.
-x-
"… And so he said 'I'm going to be the next DDR DDestructor." Mina replied, "But I showed him, I tell you."
"Did you win?" Hagakure asked, curious. Her team-up with Mina had been sudden, but the two were definitely doing well together. She was hitting it off quite well with the girl, thanks to their shared traits in liking fun. While Mina was very curious about romance, and had been disappointed by finding out Tooru didn't currently have someone she was interested into, she had immediately moved on to talk about hobbies.
"We got a draw, but he had to leave." Mina explained, shrugging, "We tried to organize other matches, but between Yokohama and Chiba there is quite a distance, so I can't go too often without a reason."
"Makes sens-"
"Begin!" All Might called, and both of them snapped out of their talk.
"Oh my gosh we didn't think of a plan!" Mina said, and Tooru gulped. They had both been too busy talking to think of a move.
"A-Alright. I have an idea."
Mina listened, and then nodded. "Alright! I trust you, Hagakure."
-x-
Tokoyami and Dark Shadow stalked the hallways of the first floor. The second floor would have perhaps been better, but they didn't want to give away the location of the fake bomb by guarding the floor right below. If the Heroes wasted time searching the entire first and second floor, they would have a lot less time to then find it on the third.
"Any movement?" He asked.
"Nothing I can spot Fumi." Dark Shadow replied, checking both corridors that led to the second floor stairs.
"I told you to not call me that." Tokoyami cringed.
"Sorry Fumi, it must have slipped my mind."
Tokoyami sighed. Why couldn't he have a normal Quirk? Like creating darkness, or having crow wings.
"Ouch, that hurts." Dark Shadow replied, and Tokoyami shook his head. Unfortunately, him and Dark Shadow had a connection that went all the way to his mind, meaning the other could read his thoughts. Which was very useful to give orders without being heard or seen, but not nearly as useful if he wanted to have some free time with his own thoughts. "Come on, I'm not that bad. I stay out of sight and out of mind whenever I have to." Dark Shadow added.
"Yes, which is exactly why all my girlfriends broke up with me."
"Ok, first, Kimiko was a bitch and we both know it." Dark Shadow replied.
"You literally checked her mails while we were kissing!"
"And I did find out she was planning a second relation!" Fumikage cringed. Alright, admittedly Kimiko, his second girlfriend, had decided to seek another relation on the side, and that had hurt a fair bit. She had apologized afterward, and she hadn't actually found someone yet by the time Dark Shadow broke her privacy to find out, but they still had cut contact afterwards. "And don't get me started on Reiko."
"I thought you liked Reiko."
"I thought you did too, actually."
"Oh so now it's my fault we broke up?"
"Certainly not my fault!" Dark Shadow replied with a scandalized expression.
"Oh yes, I'm sure she was referring to me when she said that 'the lack of privacy worries me'." Tokoyami sarcastically remarked. "It wasn't anyone's fault we ended up breaking up, we just weren't compatible."
"Oh, yeah, no one's fault. You could have said something like 'we will do better', at least, but no, you just said 'I'm sorry then' and awkwardly walked out."
"What was I supposed to say?! We were both fourteen, it wasn't like I had that big of an experience! Also, you were the one that kept breaking her privacy, in case you are forgetting!"
They both heard a gasp, and turned as one, staring at the end of the corridor, where a tuft of pink air with a pair of yellow horns was visible behind the corner.
For a moment, no one moved, then Tokoyami coughed in his fist. "Can we pretend you didn't hear any of that?"
"Never!" Ashido replied from behind the corner.
"Dark Shadow, get her."
"Aye aye captain!" The living shadow rushed forward, turning the corner and roaring. Tokoyami looked around. The lighting wasn't too bad. With the one produced by the lamps, Dark Shadow could still exert almost superhuman strength, and he would be easy to control. Mina yelped and he saw some pink liquid crashing toward Dark Shadow and the wall behind him. Dark Shadow screeched, and the wall started to… smoke and melt.
"Is that acid?!" Tokoyami shouted.
"No it's soap- of course it's acid help me!" Dark Shadow shouted.
"Dark Shadow, calm down."
"Calm down?! I'm covered in acid! You know how much this hurts?"
"It doesn't because you are a living shadow. You can't melt."
"What?!" Mina cried, "That is so unfair!"
Dark Shadow bent backward in what Tokoyami recognized as a theatrical pose, "How could she, Fumi? Will I ever play the piano again?" He asked, showing some acid that had landed on his hands.
"You can't play the piano." Fumikage pointed out, "You could play a bass like me, but you always cut the strings with your claws."
"I can see a light Fumi." Dark Shadow insisted, eyes pointed at the ceiling.
"That's the lamp."
Dark Shadow pouted, "You never play it straight."
"Get her!" Fumikage shouted. Dark Shadow roared and rushed forward.
"This is so unfair, Tokoyami!" Mina shouted, launching more acid and watching it just splatter ineffectively all over Dark Shadow, "What is he even made of?!"
"Shadows!"
"Bullshit, shadows are just an area where light is blocked by an opaque object!" She said back, pointing her phone at him, open on the Shadows Wikipedia article, "And there is no opaque object blocking the light right there."
"Uh…" Fumikage turned to Dark Shadow, "You know, that's a valid point, what are you made of?"
Dark Shadow shrugged, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't…" Fumikage stopped as a punch slammed him in the face, and stumbled back a few steps before looking at Mina, eyes wide as she stood there, right arm still extended forward, fist closed.
"Uh. You are tougher than you look." She commented.
"Thank you."
"No chance I can do that again?"
"Nope. Get her Dark Shadow."
Dark Shadow roared in his best impression of a shadow monster.
Mina screamed in her best impression of someone with arachnophobia that had just walked in on a tarantula.
Tokoyami laughed in his best impression of a dark lord.
-x-
All Might sipped more water. He was learning a lot about his students from all this.
He wasn't sure it was stuff he wanted to know.
-x-
Hagakure slipped up the stairs. The plan to go in full commando to hide from Tokoyami was a good idea, even if embarrassing as hell. She really wanted to get a cloak or something made with her hair, so she wouldn't have to walk around in the nude, but that required her to put together all the hair for it, so she would probably have to wait for second or third year.
Still, embarrassment or not, she had slipped past the floor Tokoyami was guarding and checking the one above. She wasn't finding anything, but that wasn't unsurprising. All Masutaro had to do was stay put next to the bomb and wait for them to walk in, if his Quirk was right for the task.
Her communicator was still quiet. Either Mina was still fighting, or she had been captured. Silently, Hagakure kept walking, making sure to keep an eye out for any sudden attack from Dark Shadow and Tokoyami. If they defeated Mina, they would then come after her, since it wouldn't hard to figure out where the Invisible Girl had gone.
She finished checking the last room and looked at the timer. Only four minutes left. She rushed up the stairs, her bare feet making close to no sound, and then stopped when she noticed a light purple fog that had filled the main corridor.
Was this Masutaro's Quirk? He had mentioned Gas, so this must have been it. Now the question was what it did. She considered her choices. Backing out wasn't an option, and charging in head first was going to cost her the exercise if the gas could do something like make her choke or knock her out.
She was still considering this, when the gas stopped rotating slowly like it had up until then and instead dissipated, first flowing higher and then out some windows that, Hagakure noticed only then, where opened.
'Why would he stop making it…' She wondered, without missing a second to rush forward. She looked around, and after a tense thirty seconds spotted an open door. There, peeking from behind the door, she spotted Masutaro, back to the bomb. He was putting back on the mask and extending his hand again, muttering something about gas concentration having grown too much.
That was when it clicked. Of course, Masutaro's Quirk could be dangerous, it was Gas after all. He probably had to stop releasing it to avoid putting so much in the air something bad happened to her and Mina, or even Tokoyami.
With a smile, Hagakure walked in the room.
-x-
"-And I'm just saying, you don't need to worry! You can definitely find a girl that is fine with Dark Shadow!" Mina said, using a dance move to dodge the incoming claw of the shadow creature before sliding back through the corridor on her acid.
"Right?! I tell him all the time, but he doesn't listen! Reiko was actually really good for that… Until he just gave up!"
"Eeesh, bringing up an ex?" Mina asked, "Not cool, Dark Shadow."
"I-"
"Dark Shadow, I beg you, get her." Tokoyami replied, but when Dark Shadow's hand passed by her she just bent her back fully backward, dodging it like a limbo player.
"But as I was saying, I think you were just unlucky Tokoyami. Uh, can I call you Fumi?"
"No." Said Tokoyami.
"Yes." Said Dark Shadow.
"Don't give permission for me!" Fumi – I mean, Tokoyami – shouted at his Quirk. "Enough. Dark Shadow, do that thing!"
"We are doing that thing?"
"We are doing that thing."
"What's that thing?" Mina asked, and then dodged as Dark Shadow's arm passed by her. She unleashed more Acid from her shoes and slid forward this time, noticing Dark Shadow had far overextended themselves. With a quick twirl, she charged her fist, ready to aim for the jaw… underbeak… thing Tokoyami had under his mouth, when Tokoyami pulled up with one hand his cloak over his mouth and with the other pointed a cylindrical object at her.
"Prepare to face your worst nightmares." He said, and clicked a button at the bottom of the object. Mina had a second to see purple fog surrounding her, then everything went dark.
-x-
Hagakure took a deep breath and stepped in the room, already filling with Gas. She had figured out inhalation was likely the worst outcome, and she doubted that if risk of death existed Masutaro would have been using his Quirk so casually, so she had decided to risk it. All she had to do was rush to the bomb and…
"Hello Hagakure." Masutaro said, pointing his Projectile Launching Multifunctional Support Item toward her. She resisted the urge to gasp, but man, that thing really looked like a gun.
Hagakure stood still. Had he seen the movement in the Gas? Maybe then if she stood still he wouldn't be able to tell anymore.
"Sorry, but my Gas acts like a radar. I can feel anything within it."
"Oh that's so unfair!" Hagakure shouted against her best judgment, jumping toward the bomb even as she felt her body grow heavy, having inhaled the gas.
"Yeah, I really was your worst match." Masutaro answered, and then shot.
Everything went dark.
-x-
"An excellent match!" All Might declared, "Anyone wants to mention an MVP?" He asked the class.
Only half the participants to the exercise were there. Ashido and Hagakure were both asleep in the infirmary, and Masutaro couldn't help but feel a bit thrilled. The Villain had beaten the Heroes, after all. 'Wait until I tell the others.' He thought.
Yaoyorozu, the girl Izuku probably liked a lot, raised her arm again, but instead All Might pointed to Izukun, who had raised his hand too.
"I-I think that's Masuch- Masutaro." He said, and Yaoyorozu nodded.
All Might raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why is that?"
"Well, uhm, Masuchan was instrumental in the victory. If anyone else was guarding the bomb, Hagakure could have taken hold of it without any trouble."
Bakugo snarled, "Are you saying I would have lost to her?!"
"You lost to a frog girl that climbed on the ceiling." Himiko pointed out, before turning to Tsuyu, "No offense, Tsu."
"None taken." The frog girl replied."
"A-Anyway," Izuku continued, speaking over Katsuki's following cussing, "I think everyone else did a good job, but Hagakure slipped at the end, even inhaling gas before she was hit by Masuchan's dart bullet, and Ashido and Tokoyami ended up just being bait for each other. Tokoyami showed good adaptability by using Masuchan's grenade, and Dark Shadow is really strong, but he also failed to prevent Hagakure from slipping past him."
"Alas, dark matters were brought to my attention that prevented my focus from gazing on the unseen." Tokoyami declared solemnly. Dark Shadow snickered.
"Good job Young Midoriya, Good job." All Might said, and Izukun's smile grew broader, "Let's continue, shall we?"
Masutaro nodded, then coughed, "Uhm, All Might, could I go check on Hagakure and Ashido? I feel a bit guilty…"
All Might pondered the question for a second, before nodding. "Very well, but make sure to return soon, Young Sako."
Masutaro nodded, rushing out of the room.
-x-
"You ok?" Izuku asked Himiko.
"Y-Yeah, why?"
"I don't know, you have been looking worried since this morning." He replied, and Himiko smiled, chuckling.
"Maybe it's nothing, but you and Pony seemed really worried this morning, and I was wondering if something was going on." She replied, "I know that we are together because…" She glanced around, but with Mina out of the way, there wasn't anyone listening in, "Because of our parents, but I still worry a bit."
"Oh. Oh! No no no, it's nothing like that." Izuku quickly clarified, "Uhm… I've made a mistake today. I will explain later, alright. It's something to do with my dad, that's all." He smiled.
Himiko nodded. "Of course." She said.
Neither of them noticed a pair of mismatched eyes staring at them, as they observed the next lots being rolled. The following fight saw Jiro and Uraraka as the Heroes face off against Sero and Kaminari as the villains. It proved to be an interesting match, even for someone that didn't care much like Himiko, and ultimately the girls came out victorious, taking out Kaminari after he had initially held them off when he seemed to become lost in his own mind for some reason. Sero had done his best, creating a trap made of tape, but Tape did little to stop soundwaves, and Jiro had forced him to take cover, leaving Uraraka free to float above the bulk of the trap and land on the bomb.
Once again, it was Izuku that gave suggestions. In his own words, Sero should have placed traps even before the room with the bomb, and Kaminari should have used those to protect himself and avoid attacking unless he was sure to hit. Not that Kaminari heard any of that, with his brain half-fried. Definitely something to do with his Quirk.
The fifth match was between Yaoyorozu and Shoji as the Hero and Aoyama and Mineta as the Villains.
It was probably the most peculiar of the matches, on the ground that Mineta's admittedly smart plan of putting together a series of traps with some sort of sticky spheres he had on his head was negated by Yaoyorozu shooting a cannon at the floor where Shoji had found the two using his extra ears. That turned the confrontation in an artillery match between Yaoyorozu's cannon and a combination of Aoyama's laser and Mineta's sticky spheres. It might have gone in their favor, with Yaoyorozu's ultimately collapsing, but they took so long that Shoji had all the time to sneak upstairs, using his heightened senses to avoid the traps in the corridors, and touch the bomb while Mineta bled on the ground from his skull and Aoyama seemed about to do something very gross due to firing his Navel Laser too much.
This time surprisingly it was Fumikage that brough up the – perhaps rather obvious – fact that the MVP was Shoji. Yaoyorozu's approach was good but risky, and of course the two Villains had worked themselves almost to death to fight one opponent despite knowing there were two. He still complimented Yaoyorozu for putting herself at risk giving Shoji cover and Mineta for the traps he built, even if they proved ineffective.
And finally, came her turn. Himiko watched her team come out of the Villain box, while Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida faced her as Heroes.
She couldn't help but think it was rather appropriate.
-x-
"So, what is our plan?" Tenya asked, studying the building.
"I'll take care of it. You can just sit back."
"Ah, but I don't believe I can. Collaboration between Heroes dictates I at the very least support you in every way I can."
"I can do without. Thanks." Shoto pressed his hand on the building.
"Begin!" All Might shouted. Shoto nodded and then froze the building. It took a lot of control, since he only needed the ice to cover the walls and floors, not fill the floors completely or penetrate the walls, which would have collapsed the building due to the excessive weight.
"Impressive!" Iida shouted, "But now we will have a difficult time reaching the bomb without slipping."
"I have ice boots." Shoto replied, pointing at his feet.
"I see. Allow me a moment to put on snow chains then, and I will accompany you!" Iida declared.
"Snow chains…" Shoto asked, and in response Iida pulled out a pair of what were undoubtably snow chains, though meant to be worn over his boots, "Why do you have snow chains?"
"Why, in case it snows of course."
"It's April."
"Doesn't mean much in a world of Quirks, does it?" Iida replied, "My brother always says 'complain all you want about having to carry snow chains, but always carry them around'."
"Your brother?"
"Why, Ingenium, the Pro Hero! My family has been in the business for generations!" Iida declared proudly.
Shoto hummed non-committal and walked in the building, reaching quickly for the first floor stairs, "I don't need the help anyway." He declared in his earpiece.
"Understood, but I will still come with just in case. I'll put on the chains and be there in seconds." Iida replied.
Shoto sighed. "Now, where would they be?" He wondered, as he stepped into the building.
"Hold right there!" A voice shouted, and he stared at Kirishima jumping down from the stairs to the second floor, "I will be your opponent!"
"… Shouldn't you have ambushed me or something?"
"That wouldn't be manly at all!" Kirishima replied.
Shoto froze him solid except for the head.
-x-
"That's cold." Denki commented. Everyone else turned to stare at him.
"Never do that again." Pony said.
"But…"
"Never do a pun like that ever again."
"Understood…" He muttered.
Jiro turned away and made sure to not make it clear she was giggling at the joke.
-x-
"Awww man." Kirishima sighed, "That wasn't really manly of you…"
"If you challenged me in hand-to-hand combat, you must be a close range fighter. I don't gain anything from fighting you if that's the case, except maybe a few bruises."
Eijiro nodded, "I understand."
"Todoroki!" Iida called, "I see you already took out one of our opponents."
Shoto nodded, looking at the teen as he walked up to him. "Yes I…" He paused, frowning, "Iida, where are your snow chains?"
"My what?" The blue-haired teen asked.
Shoto launched ice toward him to freeze the other teen, but he managed to all but disappear and reappear in front of Shoto. A fist hit the ice user in the face, sending him back skidding on the iced floor. "Ah, I didn't know about the chains." Iida said, before rushing forward. At the same time, Eijiro's body seemed to harden, turning in a stone like substance, and the ice started to crack.
"I took you out of the match." Todoroki said.
"Technically no!" All Might voice boomed in the intercom, "Young Kirishima was not tied with capture tape, so he has no obligation to stay put."
"Alright!" Kirishima broke the ice completely, and rushed forward. Shoto, busy fighting who he had to assume was Himiko, was unprepared for the fist that flew toward him. Nonetheless, he still turned around to freeze Kirishima again, even if it meant getting hit in the process.
That was when they all heard the sound of an engine roaring, and turned to see Iida rushing toward them. Himiko dodged out of the way of the incoming fist, while Shoto stopped the ice pillar he was about to form around her. "I'm here! What's the situation?" Iida asked.
"She turned into you. Any idea of how that happened?" Shoto asked.
Iida frowned.
-x-
"Hey!" Iida looked at Shimura as she walked up to him.
"Hello! It seems we will be opponents in the upcoming match!" He declared, "I hope you don't feel insulted having to play the part of the Villain!"
"Ah, no, it's fine. So uhm, I was wondering, could I ask you a favor?"
"I hope you are not asking to let you win! I understand you wish to give a good showing to Midoriya, seeing as he is your boyfriend…"
"Please don't say it like that…"
"But I cannot accept anything else but us all giving the best!" Iida concluded, his hands karate chopping the air wildly.
"That's exactly what I thought, so I wanted to ask a favor…"
-x-
"You gave her a blood sample?" Todoroki asked in mild disbelief.
"She was very polite in asking, and she made a good point that a competent villain would have been prepared to face Heroes in advance!"
Shoto had no answer to give, so instead he launched another ice pillar that Shimura dodged with a quick bend of her back, seeming completely adept at moving like Iida. He did notice however that she wasn't using the Engine. 'She can't copy a Quirk then, only someone's appearance.' He told himself, relaxing a bit. Maybe he had misjudged the girl the first time.
A moment later, she was on him, Iida's appearance melting off and a knife appearing. "Your turn!" He declared. Shoto aimed at her, then paused when he realized she was butt naked.
-x-
"Nice." Mineta said.
"Nice." Denki said.
Tsuyu and Jiro slapped them both.
'Nice.' Izuku thought. He still had some self-control, after all. Also, the glance Pony sent him promised violence if he dared utter the word.
-x-
"Shimura, why are you naked!" Iida yelled, stepping back and leaving Shoto alone to weather the knife assault.
"I can't transform my clothes, I need to take them off!" She explained.
"That is understandable but please cover yourself!" Iida said, looking away.
"Iida don't look away!" Shoto shouted, but Himiko was already stabbing him. Had that been a normal knife, it would have cut Iida's throat, but as it was she simply made the motion, the dulled edge passing over it.
"Young Shimura, I understand you are playing the Villain and that is a training knife, but that was still dangerous!" All Might's voice called from the communicator to everyone's ear.
"Oh right this is a training kn- I mean, sorry All Might!"
"It's alright, but don't try to cut someone's throat again." He responded, and Shimura nodded, smiling. Shoto sighed and launched forward more ice, before Himiko all but disappeared. That left the still stunned Iida in the way of the attack, and Shoto, unprepared, was too slow to do the same, and found himself partially frozen.
'Wops.' Todoroki thought, before finding himself face to face with Shimura, syringe in her hand. He ducked back but the Syringe found purchase in his right arm. It was clearly modeled so it would automatically suck blood.
"Where did you get that?" Shoto asked, watching a small amount of blood trickle in it.
"Support Item." She replied, "Though not exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately the full thing needs me to wear my costume…"
Todoroki looked at her, pushing past the embarrassment. Of course, she was fully naked!
"Stop ogling me!"
"I'm not, I was just coming up with a plan!" Shoto answered reflexively.
"Nice excuse!" She shouted, cutting again.
Todoroki sighed and froze the ground again. Shimura gasped, her feet frozen to the floor. "It was a bad idea to take off your clothes while fighting me. Don't try to walk away, or the skin under your feet will fall off." He simply said, moving past her. Then he paused, and took off his shirt, putting it over the girl, "Sorry about it."
He walked past Kirishima, reinforcing the ice but ignoring his calls for a proper match, and ignored Iida's calls too, since freeing him would take time they didn't have. He rushed upstairs and looked through each door. Finally, he found the bomb. With a sigh of relief, he touched it.
"Hero Team Wins!" All Might called.
-x-
"The MVP was Shimura." Yaoyorozu declared, and everyone else in the class assented. Denki and Mineta assented very energetically.
"Your reasoning?" All Might asked.
"Well, Kirishima tried to take the role of the bait, but he failed to help due to Todoroki's Quirk countering his perfectly. He should have tried to find a different angle to face him, but instead he stubbornly pushed ahead."
"S-S-Sorry." Kirishima said, his teeth chattering as he sat under a blanket a robot had handed him, along with a mug of hot cocoa from the cafeteria.
"D-D-Don't worry a-about it." Shimura answered, being in the same condition, though thankfully still dressed.
"Iida tried to help, but he let himself be stunned by an… unexpected situation," Yaoyorozu blushed a bit, before coughing in her fist, "As for Todoroki, he failed to work with his teammate, in fact ending up putting him in danger. Also…" She paused a moment, shaking her head, "No, it's not my place to say. I just think he could have done more."
Todoroki hissed slowly, "I didn't have time to unfreeze Iida."
"You should have made time, Young Todoroki." All Might clarified, "You didn't notice, but you had five seconds left when you found the bomb. If you had been slightly late, you'd have won the battle but lost the war, while having Young Iida with you would have guaranteed double the eyes to look for the bomb. Not to mention, with both your opponents out of the fight, Iida's mobility would have been a boon."
Todoroki made to reply, but All Might raised a hand, "Furthermore, it's not Hero behavior to leave someone behind if they can avoid it. In real life, you can't be sure Shimura and Kirishima wouldn't have an accomplice left that could harm Iida while you go forward."
Todoroki hadn't considered that really, but All Might was right. Thinking about it, his father had sidekicks too, and he had helped some of them a few at times, though usually it was the other way around. 'At least I won using only Ice.' Shoto thought while nodding toward All Might.
He would do better next time.
Win decisevely, without using his Fire.
-x-
Hagakure opened her eyes slowly, looking around. She was naked, though being invisible that was only noticeable because she couldn't see anything as she looked down. She was in the infirmary, she noticed.
And Masutaro was standing next to her.
"Aaaah!" She shouted, covering herself with the blanket at the end of the bed.
"Aaaah!" Masutaro shouted, jumping back.
"You should call back your first ex-girlfriend Fumi, Dark Shadow made her sound nice…" Mina mumbled, asleep in the bed next to her.
"W-What are you doing here!" She shouted.
"I was making sure you were ok!" He answered.
"And you were staring at me while I was in the nude for it?" She asked.
"You are naked?! I thought you had an invisible costume!"
She blushed. Uh, that made sense. She saw him turn bright red too, probably realizing she had been naked all along. "I-I need time to grow my hair and put together one." She answered, "Anyway, uhm, you won I guess?"
"Yeah, we won."
"And he went way too far." A new voice said. They both turned to the door to see Chiyo Shuzenji, Recovery Girl, walk in, "He could have just stopped you, but no, he shot you with one of his sleeping darts!"
"You shot me?"
"I kinda panicked when you dashed for the bomb!"
"Not an excuse!" Chiyo declared, tapping him on the head with her cane, "I had to make her consume a lot of energy to let her system metabolize what is essentially a sleeping drug. Here dear, take a candy." She said the latter to Hagakure. She nodded, and swallowed the sweet. Admittedly, she was feeling really tired.
"Sorry."
"Not to me, to her!" Recovery Girl snapped, "And in the future, young man, make sure you understand when it's appropriate to fire that gun of yours."
"It's not a gun, it's a-"
"I don't care what you call it, I say what I see." She stopped him, "Now, say sorry and then leave. She needs to get dressed and you have stared at her body enough."
"You knew she was naked and didn't tell me, didn't you?"
"I figured it was better if you didn't know." Chiyo replied, "I couldn't cover her up in case she had some weird reaction – no offense dear, but you are hard to keep under observation – and you would have been too embarrassed to wait here otherwise. Now, say sorry."
He looked up at Hagakure, and she shook her head. "No, it's nothing-"
"I'm sorry." He said, "I went too far."
Hagakure nodded, then smiled a bit. "It's nothing." She replied.
Mustard nodded and left, and Recovery Girl handed Hagakure some clothes. "Here, I got your uniform from the changing room." She said, "You really need to try and find someone with an hair-growing Quirk, young woman."
"Thank you!" Hagakure said, starting to put it back on, "Shouldn't Mina have woken up already though?"
"Oh, I think she will in a few minutes. I decided to let her work out the Gas on her own, since she wasn't hit as hard as you. I don't want to abuse my Quirk and have her walk around like a zombie all day." She smiled, "Also, I'm fairly sure you didn't want her to see you and Sato talk. She sounds like quite the romantic if her sleep talk is any indication."
Mina snorted in her sleep, "I tell you Jiro, you should go for… for…" She mumbled something unintelligible and went back to sleep.
Hagakure chuckled. "Good point."
"Good. Now, back to class with you, you have missed a few hours."
Hagakure nodded stiffly, having just finished to dress up, and walked out of the room, sighing. 'Well, that wasn't a good start, but I will win next time.' She decided.
(xx)
I don't know why but Tokoyami and Dark Shadow just make the perfect comedy duo.
Mina is amassing move victims friends with every chapter.
Iida proves once again he is super easy to convince to do anything so long as you are polite about it.
Honestly writing these fights is a nice break from my other fic where I have to keep in mind a lot of balance. Here it's the second day of school and anyway the setting is more comedic in nature, I can be a bit less serious.
So I can't write too much cause I'm exhausted but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. See you in 2022 and happy New Year.