Author's Note:
Bold: Dream Sequence
Bold Italics: Non-MC Thoughts
Italics: MC Thoughts
Chapter 4: So Talented, Yet So Stupid
Song Recommendation: Yuri on Ice by Taro Umebayashi
A lone figure observed as his group of students walked through the dark tunnel towards the brightness of Ground Beta.
"They say the clothes make the man, young men and ladies," All Might's white teeth gleamed under the sun. Although the teens looked rather unaccustomed to their new costumes, the air around them had shifted from their usual atmosphere. "Be fully aware. From now on, you are heroes!"
As the word 'heroes' passed through All Might's lips, the adolescent vigilantes in question all seemed to stiffen in response. The reality of their circumstances began to settle into each one of their young minds.
"This is great, everyone. You all look cool!" the blonde man complimented whilst assessing the chosen style for the individuals before him. "Now, shall we begin, you zygotes?"
"Hold on, I have a question!" someone halted the flow of class and All Might nodded to give permission. The one who'd interrupted turned on his heel and pointed at another one of his peers. "...Who are you?" Eijiro Kirishima appeared to be legitimately baffled. His eyes were on a boy near the back of the class. "This is supposed to be class 1-A! 1-B is that way!" He proclaimed loudly whilst redirecting his finger towards the exit.
The boy he was referring to had striking features. His tanned skin contrasted against the stark white of his costume, and his brightly colored pale pink irises held a strong sense of anxiety and incredulous shock.
"A-Ai..Suz.." A slightly irritated tick appeared above Ai Suzuka's brow as he stopped mid introduction. "I'm your roommate!" He exclaimed loudly, unable to contain his disdain for his new roommate.
"Huh? I've never seen him before."
"Who's that?"
"Is he in our class?"
"But...But my roommate has...glasses…?" Kirishima tilted his head, earning himself a groan that surprisingly didn't come from the receiving end of his confusion.
"Contrary to popular belief, glasses are a removable accessory," Azumi Sato retorted with a sarcastic smile on her face.
"Ooohhh! Can you see?!" Eijiro questioned, to which Ai responded by rubbing his temples with a black gloved hand in an attempt to quell his irritation.
"Yes, Eijiro-san. I can see." Ai muttered. His tone was surprisingly neutral.
All Might cleared his throat in hopes of ending the strange conversation taking place. "Now that we've settled this debate about Suzuka-shounen, it's time for combat training!"
"Sir!" the male donning metal armor that covered him from head to toe called out, therefore revealing himself to be Iida. "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"
"No, we're going to move ahead two steps!" the pro hero held up two of his fingers. "Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate.
Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals - In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows! For this class, you'll be split into villains and heroes to fight 2-on-2 indoor battles." The end of his monologue was followed up by an inquiry coming from Tsuyu.
"Without basic training?"
"This is a real battle to understand those basics! However, the key this time is that there's no robot you can just beat up."
"How will wins and losses be determined?" Yaoyorozu interjected without a beat. It seemed to be the question on everyone's mind. Or not.
"Can we beat them up anyway?" Bakugo growled.
Meanwhile, Uraraka seemed less aggressive and more attentive. "Will the punishment be expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei?"
"How shall we be split up?" Iida continued the seemingly never ending line of curiosities.
"Isn't this cape crazy?"
Aoyama's words seemed to be the final blow to break All Might's patience because not only was he bombarded with too much information too quickly, the flamboyant boy's addition was completely irrelevant.
"I'll answer all your questions!" All Might promised with a strangled tone. "Now listen here," he opened a tiny booklet to read off of, which didn't go unnoticed by the others. From it, he explained the mechanics behind the upcoming simulation. It involved a villain team whose goal was to guard their 'nuclear weapon' from the heroes who were meant to capture either their opponents or the bomb before time ran out.
"Time is limited, and we'll choose teams by drawing lots!" All Might announced in conclusion.
"Isn't there a more efficient way?" Tenya Iida questioned.
"Think about it. Pro heroes have to work with other heroes from other agencies all the time," The green haired boy explained.
"Ah, I see. The discernment to look ahead," Iida promptly bowed a full 90 degrees to their instructor. "Please excuse my rudeness!"
"Leave it to fate!" All Might proclaimed. Each student stepped forward and drew a yellow slot ticket. The teams were decided as follows:
Team A: Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka
Team B: Shouto Todoroki and Mezo Shoji
Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu and Azumi Sato
Team D: Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida
Team E: Yuga Aoyama and Mina Ashido
Team F: Koji Koda and Rikido Sato
Team G: Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro
Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui
Team I: Ai Suzuka and Toru Hagakure
Team J: Eijiro Kirishima and Hanta Sero
Team K: Yuga Aoyama and Mina Ashido
Team L & M: Minoru Mineta and Mashirao Ojiro
"I declare the teams that will fight will be..!" All Might's dramatic pause lasted for mere seconds, but it seemed like hours. A few of the students shuddered in anticipation as he pulled to round balls, one black in representation of the villain team and one white to signify the hero team. "These two!" The air in the room grew heavy with tension. "Team A will be the heroes, and Team D will be the villains! Everyone else will head to the monitoring room to observe!"
Ai's POV
As soon as I slipped into my body tight hero's costume, I felt a surge of nervousness course it's way through my body. I was noticeably trembling and honestly, I felt pathetic. At this rate, I was worried about being able to even utilize my quirk. The mental strain I was already putting on myself before my match even started was enough to wrangle me into submission. My partner, Toru seemed to notice as well.
'What am I gonna do?'
'I need to prepare my strategy!'
'I'm gonna clober the other team!'
'Can I really do this..?'
'Bakugo's gonna win for sure!'
'I'm rooting for you, Midoriya!' Everyone's thoughts were so loud. It was hard to process everything all at once and I couldn't feel myself falling into a panic.
"Hey! We're going to do great, don't worry." She said reassuringly. I appreciated her attempt to soothe my fragile nerves, but I was too far gone. I could hear the thoughts of everyone in the room flooding into my head. It was like a symphony of voices ranging from big to small, loud to soft, all at once bombarding my brain. Whenever my anxiety gets to me, the control I have over my quirk wanes as well. Self deprecation and negativity was already beginning to cloud my mind. I could feel myself on the verge of having a panic attack.
"Woah! He's like a martial arts master!"
"That was so cool!"
I glanced up at the monitor displaying Team A and Team D's match to see what my peers were referring to. Low and behold, Izuku-san without utilizing his quirk was able to completely subdue Bakugo. From what I had observed of Izuku-san, he didn't seem to be the most confident guy in the world, and I could see him shaking, much like me in my current state. However, he didn't let that deter him from succeeding. Somehow, seeing his drive to prove himself was enough to snap me out of my inner turmoil. '1, 2, 3, breathe.' Aizawa-Sensei always told me to breathe when I felt nervous. '1, 2, 3, breathe..' I could feel my feet lifting off of the ground slightly. As I slowly began to calm, I regained control of my abilities.
"You can do this, Izuku-san.." I murmured under my breathe. My gaze was fixated on the screen. We watched Izuku struggle to hold his own against Bakugo without using his quirk and as the match went on, I found myself rooting for him. I wanted Izuku to succeed. Call it "rooting for the underdog" if you'd like, but there was an endearing quality the greeneete had that made me want to cheer him on. Whether it was his sincerity in battle or his charming awkwardness, regardless I wanted him to win. In those final moments before Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo clashed, everyone in the class held their bated breath, awaiting the conclusion of the match. We were all shocked.
"The heroes win! Team A..is victorious!" My mouth was ajar in shock as All Might-Sensei announced the victory of Team A.
'For some reason, whenever I'm near All Might, it feels like someone is dying.'
I blinked a few times as that thought slipped into my train of consciousness. 'What a strange thing to think about..' My eyes scanned the room briefly until my eyes locked with a girl. If I'm not mistaken, I believe her name was—
"Azumi." I almost jumped clean out of my costume. The girl was now standing right in front of me. "Ai-san, right?" After regaining my composure I nodded.
"Y-Yes. It's nice to meet you," I replied meekly.
"Your quirk. Can you read mi—"
"Team I, villains! Team B, heroes! Let's go!" I flinched in realization. It would be my luck that my team would be next to go.
"Sorry, Azumi-san," I bowed slightly before walking away from her, thankful for my All Might-Sensei's "Get Outta Jail Free" card.
"Good luck." The smile on her face was kind, yet strained. Maybe she was too perceptive.
"Are you ready?" Toru startled me. Her optimism and enthusiasm were both noteworthy traits that I was grateful for. The upbeat nature of her reassuring words were almost enough to console me..almost. As I began walking towards the exit, I felt a familiar pair of two toned eyes on me. I didn't even bother to look back. Rather, I didn't have the courage to look back. I could feel the intensity of his cool gaze freezing me to my core, and the match hadn't even started yet.
—Time Skip—
During our trek over to the site of our match, my thoughts were practically running a marathon. I had five different plans, each for a different tactic that Todoroki-san might execute. His quirk appeared to utilize ice. With that being said, the easiest course of action would be for him to freeze the building, leaving us unable to defend our weapon. "Toru-san.. can you try to capture Shoji-san? They'll know where our location is, so wait until I give you the signal," She nodded. Her faith in me, while it was unfounded, comforted me.
"Begin!" All Might-Sensei's voice, for the first time ever filled me with dread.
'Deep breath..1, 2, 3..' I chanted to myself internally once again. I closed my eyes, reveling in the silence of the room. The only notable sounds I could hear was the steady fluidity of my breath, and Toru-san's feet anxiously shifting against the cement floors. 'Where are they..' I began releasing small pulsations. The pulses acted as my guide as they made their rounds throughout the building until finally, they found something. '...just freeze them in.' Todoroki's thoughts panged in my head
"Toru-san, Todoroki is going to freeze the building." Toru gasped in confusion.
"W-What?" Her voice was slightly panicked.
"Stand next to me." My voice was a lot stronger than I expected it to be. If this was a real fight with a real villain, I couldn't afford to be nervous. I want to be strong, like Izuku-san.
"C-Cold.." Toru began to shiver. She was right, the temperature of the building was descending rapidly. The sound of stressed leather was prominent as my gloved fists tightened. I knew it would come any second now.
"A-Ah! You were right!" She exclaimed. In a split second, ice came racing forward. It spread throughout the entire room like a frost bitten plague that threatened to trap us within its frigid embrace. I could tell Toru wanted to run, but much to my surprise, she stood still in anticipation for my signal. She put her trust in me, a coward. That sort of resolve can't be rewarded with mediocrity. 'Time to execute Plan A: Stall & Capture.' I thought to myself. With my own resolve strengthened, I inhaled deeply and launched a large scale neuronic pulse from the depths of my mind, decimating the ice and clearing a path for Toru. "Go now, please!" She wasted no time in heeding my advice. 'So cool!' Her thought triggered a flush of crimson across my cheeks.
I could hear Todoroki's thoughts. They grew louder as he approached my where abouts. 'I should be able to secure the weapon with ease.' His confidence was unnerving. 'If not, overwhelm them before time is up.' I could feel a bead of sweat forming above my brow. I wasn't sure head on combat with Todoroki was something I could handle. 'They should be right around the corner.' I shuddered in anticipation. The sound of his shoes, crunching the ice beneath his heel left a metal-like foreboding taste in my mouth. 'Here.' I looked up, and our eyes met. Silence hung in the air around us as our gazes lingered on one another. His stare was unwavering; it was daunting. My gaze on the other hand faltered. In that moment of hesitation, a wave of ice came hurtling towards me. Instinctively, I countered with a Minor Pulse. His movements were fact, almost too quick to follow, but I kept up as best as I could. Each burst of ice was subdued by an equally formidable surge of neuronic power. The waves of frozen tundra, morphed into chasms of cold crystalline water. Each attack, some proving to be inauspicious, others hitting their mark, shot jolts of adrenaline into my body. As he moved closer to me in an attempt to reach the weapon, my psyche pushed him back. I didn't even flinch as his back hit the wall adjacent to me, nor did he when a solid wall of ice slammed me to the ground. We were on equal footing, exchanging blow after blow.
"Caught him!" Toru's voice sounded in my ear, alerting me of her progress. That slight distraction caused a lapse in my concentration, leading to a loss in momentum. That was all it took for Todoroki to gain the upper hand. Before I could even think he was directly in front of me.
"...!" You know that phrase, "quick and painless?" This was quick and excruciatingly painful. With one swift kick to the knee I was off balance, followed by a hard punch directed at my abdomen. I could feel the air being knocked clean out of me. 'Shit..' As I tumbled to the floor, I could see the exhaustion taking a toll on his movements. No, he would pace himself. In that moment I knew the cold must have been getting to him much like the mental strain of my quirk was getting to me. 'My head..' It was true, the mental pain was agonizing. 'Have to do it now.' But as I saw him make a run for the weapon, I knew I had to do something. Time was running out, and I couldn't just let Toru-san down. With all the willpower and stamina I had left I unleashed one last attack, knowing the consequences of my actions, but I didn't care. I threw caution to the wind and... 'PUNCH!' The last thing I heard before blacking out was the sound of asphalt being crushed under tremendous force.
—
A heavy black smog hung thick in the air. It held the same rancid smell of rotting flesh as my previous dream. However, this time I had no trouble breathing and I could move freely. Without thinking, or even wanting to do so, I felt my body lurch forward. My destination was undetermined but I could hear voices in the distant. Both of the voices sounded eerily familiar, but I couldn't remember who they belonged to. Suddenly, the room shifted and I was surrounded by white. The smell of rotting flesh, dissipated; in its place, the pleasant scent of hibiscus and rosemary began to permeate. Soon the white began to melt off of the walls of my internalized prison. The fading color cascaded downwards, revealing a playful teddy bear patterned teal wallpaper. Soon, a cradle materialized as well and two individuals, one man and one woman stood before me. They didn't appear to notice me but I could certainly see them.
"Our precious baby boy," The woman cooed. I couldn't only assume she was referring to whatever lied inside the cradle.
"He has your eyes, Mitsuru," The name "Mitsuru," for some reason, triggered an inordinate sense of longing and an equally as unpleasant feeling of loathing.
"Ah, but ….." I shook my head in confusion and agitation. I couldn't hear the man's name. "He must take after you," I blinked. A stuffed animal began floating out of the cradle.
"Mitsuru, I'm sorry. What did we name our child?" A spike of seething rage and heat rose within my body. I didn't understand why these emotions were washing over me but I wanted it to stop.
"His name is.."
—
"Team I is victorious!" All Might announced.
Author's Note:
Xan: Hey again! This was my first time dabbling in writing a fight scene and it was stressful to say the least! If you enjoyed, please leave a review. Let us know how you feel about the story thus far and follow/fav. We update pretty sporadically. Thanks!
