Author's Note:
Song Recommendation: No One's Here To Sleep by Bastille
Chapter 5: As a Unit
Azumi's POV
The results of this first matchup were equally expected and surprising, at least in my opinion. My interest was piqued most before the match had even started. Suzuka didn't seem to be the type to directly confront anybody, yet the way he was looking at me unwaveringly - like somehow he knew something - greatly contrasted that assumption. I was neither stupid nor blind, so I could easily tell he was stronger than his frail appearance made him out to be.
Of course, it did help that Hagakure's abilities were able to be properly utilized within the first few minutes of the simulation. Even with the slippery terrain of a makeshift tundra being created within the building, she easily slipped passed Todoroki and towards Shoji. Naturally, the latter was able to hear her steps as soon as she'd gotten close enough, but no matter how physically adept you are, hitting someone you can't see is a feat in and of itself. That being said, Hagakure was able to detain Shoji; obviously not without a struggle, though with a fervor that further exemplified her strengths.
What really secured the victory, however, had to be Suzuka's reckless move at the very last stretch of seconds. His Quirk remained a mystery to me even now, but that stunt he pulled with that fist-like force had caught everyone off guard. The sheer power of it sent a tremble through the construction of the building and the floor nearly gave in, which would've taken the two occupants and the nuclear weapon with it had Todoroki not acted quickly enough.
The bi-haired male's ice spread at a slower rate than was probably typical due to his fatigue, yet it seemed to do the trick. The frozen layer he spread under himself and his surroundings was able to keep everything intact. In spite of it all, time was a force that waited for no one, so while his action kept him and his unconscious opponent safe, he was unable to touch the weapon before time ran out.
Everything about the test itself was overwhelmingly intricate. It forced the class to not only analyze the game plans of others, but also to construct one of our own within the grace period we had before our own matches.
No part of me doubted Yaoyorozu's proficiency, in fact I was sure she'd be more prepared than I would. Considering that I could've easily been paired with Mineta and spent the whole time evading his pervertedness, being paired with her was a godsend. A small part of me simply didn't want to disappoint her. So I wouldn't.
Suzuka had earlier been taken to Recovery Girl after the announcement of their win to check up on his vitals after his over-usage of his Quirk. Obviously I wanted answers from our earlier encounter and I intended to get them. For now, I believed knew what I needed to know about the strange boy.
"Up next! Team C, villains and Team G, heroes!" All Might's booming yell prompted me to search out Yaoyorozu. Upon meeting her determined gaze, I nodded and waited by the door before exiting the room with her into Ground Beta.
"Anything useful to note about Kaminari and Jiro-san?" she began quietly as we headed towards our assigned building. The pair we were going to face walked not too far behind us, so our conversation was restricted to a whisper.
"Strong possibilities of long range attacks," I theorized. "My biggest concern is dealing with the electricity."
Yaoyorozu hummed, "If you can buy me some time, I think I can create something to help."
"I'll do what I can."
We entered the brick structure and found the room the nuclear weapon was contained in. Jiro and Kaminari remained outside and, from the vantage point through a window, I could just barely make out their figures.
The air was thick with anticipation that not even All Might's call to begin could cut through.
"You have the tape, right?" Yaoyorozu questioned as she rubbed the skin on her abdomen to warm herself.
I gave her the affirmative prior to glancing out the window. The pair of silhouettes had disappeared. My grip around the roll of tape tightened resolutely.
"It might be easiest to meet them halfway to create some distance between them and this thing," I jutted my head towards the paper mache creation behind us.
My partner seemed reluctant, and I didn't blame her. It was a gamble to stray so far from what we were meant to protect, yet I refused to limit us to such a small area. That meant restricting ourselves to a room already shrunken due to the size of the nuke in the face of two more than capable adversaries.
"Are you positive about this?" she asserted. With time running out and the others getting closer by the second, I frantically nodded. That was all she needed to lead us out the door and into the hallway.
With rushed, yet calculated steps, we each claimed a wall and stuck to them as we scanned the corridors. There was no doubt Jiro was using her ear jacks to listen in through the sound waves of the building. By now, she'd probably know where we were located.
As the two of us turned a corner further along the way, we were met with the sight of Kaminari and Jiro positioned at the other end of the stretch.
"Oh?" Kaminari raised a brow as his body crackled with electricity. Reacting as swiftly as I could manage, I grabbed Yaoyorozu's arm and pulled her back behind the corner we were about to round. Not a millisecond later, a wave of sparks crashed into the wall we had previously stood in front of.
"Plan?" I breathed out, hearing two pairs of footsteps growing nearer.
"I hope you're ready to do what you can. This might take a second." Her back began to glow a plethora of hues as she began forming a new item.
I wore the roll of tape around my arm like a bracelet before tearing off my gloves and focusing my energy into my hands. Jiro advanced first out of the two, one of her ear jacks flying towards us at a high speed. I manage to swat it away with one hand, then sprinted towards her with the intent of closing off any openings I had being so far away. Kaminari, who was close behind, caught me by the waist before I could touch her and shoved me back into the wall. I threw a fist at him, which he caught, only to hastily drop it as he recoiled in pain.
"What the hell?" he cursed, observing the slightly deteriorated skin on his palm. The sight was enough to make Jiro pause in surprise and I clenched my fingers together, the flesh covering both appendages now rotted. It was a more gruesome addition to my Quirk that I wasn't a huge fan of and would have relied on less often if only it weren't so useful.
I took this opportunity to hook a foot around Jiro's knee and tug down to unbalance her center of gravity. She stumbled forward a bit to accommodate to her shift in weight and Kaminari attempted to take hold of me like he did before. I evaded Kaminari's charge by throwing myself forward into Jiro, grabbing her arm as I did so and using the momentum to swing her back into the direction she came from initially. As a result, the other girl fell onto her back - the skin of her arm in a similar state as the male's palm.
By this time, Yaoyorozu (who I was relieved to note they'd forgotten about until that second) had finished making whatever it was she wanted and issued a firm kick to Kaminari's hip to get him away from her. In her arms was a large white sheet that looked to be made of a thick material.
"K-Kaminari! What are you doing?" Jiro called out to her teammate. The blonde's body crackled as he pressed himself to the wall. It was like he was preparing himself for something and I really didn't think I wanted to know what it was.
"Sato-san! Get under the sheet!" Yaoyorozu called out. She hefted the material over her shoulders, leaving just enough space for me to slide in. Without second thought, I ran to her, but Kaminari had released an initial ripple of electricity that caught my foot just before I found refuge.
My limbs trembled with pain as jolts seized my body. Thankfully, the sheet was somehow able to shield us from the remainder of the attack and I recollected myself in those short moments.
"Can you continue?" the ravenette beside me pressed her end of the fabric to the ground.
"I kind of…" I paused to cringe when another sharp pain hit me and she regarded me with an expression I couldn't decipher, "...have to. What is this thing, anyways?"
"An insulator sheet," she answered. If I had the time to, I would've applauded her resourcefulness.
"YOU IDIOT!" Jiro's raised voice and incoherent muttering that sounded like Kaminari elicited movement from us.
We snuck out the other end of our cover with the intent of getting out of range while they were distracted. To my chagrin, it wasn't easy to trick Jiro considering her heightened sense of hearing, and she easily caught up to us.
"Keep going! I'll handle this!" Yaoyorozu had materialized a staff from her arm faster than I'd ever seen her make anything and swung it back towards our pursuer.
My feet pounded on the concrete and I caught the tape roll as it slid down my arm precariously. It was foolish on my part not to restrain Kaminari as a precaution, but something about how much force he'd put into that last ambush told me he'd be out of commission. Coincidentally, a literal aftershock hit me and I couldn't muster the spirit to hold back a quiet groan. The room we once occupied couldn't have been that far, yet it felt like I'd traveled miles when the paper mache nuke was in my sights.
Without warning, something thin wrapped around my ankle and a sharp pull of it had me falling over onto my chest. I used my arms to brace myself in order to avoid smashing my chin on the floor. Pain reverberated through my bones nonetheless.
"Sorry, Sato-chan," Jiro's ear jack unwrapped from my limb and retracted back to her body. Her arm appeared gory from what I'd done, only now there were added spots of red around it that I deduced would inevitably bruise. Pride swelled knowing my counterpart had done some damage, but still. Had she really beaten Yaoyorozu that easily?
I grunted as she sped past me, but launched back onto my feet. Into the main room we went and I managed to tackle her before she could get close to the weapon. Our tumble to the ground was a blur of hits and misses, leading to her landing atop me - restraining me with her knees on my thighs and ear jacks around my wrists. In spite of my scrambling, her confinement did not falter.
Yaoyorozu flew through the doorway and was unnoticed by Jiro, but not by me. She looked more exhausted than anything and when she saw my predicament, immediately sprung to help. I stopped her with an infinitesimal shake of my head. She froze and silently got closer, remaining inactive. A burn accompanied my focus of energy into my palms while the rotting spread from my hands to my wrists, right under where I was detained. Jiro's Quirk unraveled within seconds and I braced the sides of my forearms to her collar bones, allowing me to push her up into Yaoyorozu's awaiting hold.
My partner was shocked at the amount of defiance our opponent displayed upon getting captured, though did not put up any less of a fight in return. I went to pick up the fallen roll of tape with haste and returned to the scuffling pair with a long piece torn off. Understanding what was going to happen, Jiro hesitantly resigned and allowed me to wrap the tape around her hands.
"Both heroes are incapacitated! Villain team wins!"
The declaration echoed through the testing area and I heaved out a sigh. Yaoyorozu freed Jiro, whose smile contrasted the damage inflicted upon her body. The guilt of hurting both her and Kaminari settled in my veins because, had I touched them any longer than I did with my Rot, their flesh would've been scarred. Although she accepted the apologies I repeatedly offered her, I desperately wished my power could do more than cause pain.
Author's Note:
Ry - i . HATE. fighting scenes but i hope you all understood what i was trying to do fjdskljsda; ok byebye you all know what to do if you like the story so far!
