Pat re0n . c0m /NJMRIV ← Support me here.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMM Back. Do you guys still remember how flashbacks work?
Sitting above it all, not as a king or queen, but as a person who steers it all towards the right course. Some followers are willing, some are not. And sometimes, one of them is really the one that sits on the throne.
"What's wrong? If you keep staring, I might get the wrong idea, or is it the right idea? Sorry, don't swing that way." The freckled student gestures to the other Class 1-A students around them. "Aren't you going to introduce them? It'd be rude not to."
Bakugo doesn't even register the insult or react in any way, he only stares with incomprehension at the guy whose arm is still around his shoulders.
Kirishima is perfectly aware that Bakugo isn't the easiest person to get along with. It's almost impossible to get along with him at all, the guy always answers with a grunt or an angry retort. But whoever this guy is, he has to have some history with Bakugo, why else would he wrap an arm around him? They're kinda joking around too.
So, maybe good history?
Fingers crossed.
Bakugo also wasn't shouting swears so another good sign, though that might be more because of the evident shock on his face.
He stayed quiet for so long that someone else needed to start up the conversation again.
An amused giggle cut through the nearly awkward silence.
Mina Ashido grinned in that amused and friendly way of hers that Kirishima had seen plenty before in their old school.
She stands at medium height, with a slightly more broad build than the other girls in Class 1-A. Her skin is a light shade of pink and she has eyes with black sclera and yellow irises. Her face is framed by short fluffy and unruly pink hair which is slightly darker than her skin. She also has two thin pale yellow horns protruding from her head
"Yeah Bakugo, can you at least introduce us to greenie here before you start catching up?"
'Greenie' Mutters the nickname under his breath in slight confusion while Bakugo finally gets knocked out of his stupor, and in a move that shouldn't have come as a surprise, his eyes glare, and a growl leaves his lips.
He shoves Greenie's arm off him with force, he did so violently that Kirishima thought the guy was gonna get knocked over. Instead, he was simply able to step back with the force, the same confident smile never leaving his face.
Kirishima had to suppress a sigh. 'I was hoping for too much.'
Bakugo's expression was anything but friendly toward the guy so the hope that they were friends from before went down the drain.
Just one, all he's looking for is just one interaction with Bakugo that doesn't have the blonde yelling profanities with anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Deku?" Bakugo growled.
Oof.
The red-haired student had to stop a wince at how aggressive that was, Mina barely kept down a flinch from the tone. For some reason, they felt that this anger is much greater than most times. His fists are clenched so tight that they could hear his knuckles crack, his glare so filled with contempt that they're surprised nothing has exploded yet, and his teeth gritted so hard that they looked ready to chip away to pieces.
And 'Deku' weathers it all like a champ.
"What am I doing? I do believe I just asked to be on a team with you. I know right? Hard to believe." He then shrugs uncaringly. "But it is what it is, I know teaming up with you would most definitely lead to a win so, here I am."
Bakugo's glare doesn't let up and replies with a scoff. "Why would I team up with you Deku? You're fucking Quirkless, I want nothing to do with your sorry ass."
Wow… Ok, that was…
Kirishima couldn't stop his eyebrows from furrowing at what Bakugo said, neither could Mina.
He didn't know who this guy was or his history with Bakugo, but the way the blonde said the word Quirkless…
He said it like it was a curse or an affliction.
In front of this guy too.
"And I'm also a support course student, top of my class, your old best buddy, Class President, bearer of green hair and eyes, creator of an AI, and I'm the holder of 3rd place in the first event." Greenie lists off. "I'm all those things, yet you focus on the Quirkless part? Do you even remember my name? It's Izuku Midoriya, not Deku, we're too old for childhood nicknames now Bakugo."
Midoriya slightly stressed the name, as if he was trying to make sure that Bakugo could remember it himself.
"Besides," He continues. "Quirkless or not, I still beat you."
Bakugo growls loudly at the reminder, small pops of explosions coming from his palms. He really doesn't like losing, a memory of their first combat exercise reminding Kirishima of that fact, but it seems like losing to this guy enrages him far more than usual.
"Shut the fuck up!" The blonde yells. "I won't lose to you ever again! I'm going to beat your useless ass so there's no goddamn way I'll ever work with you!"
Aaaaaand that's his cue to get involved.
"Ok, no need to start a fight here." Kirishima decided to jump in between them, trying to cut the clear hostile atmosphere between the two with a (nervous) laugh.
So no good history between the two, that's clear even for him.
Facing Midoriya with a wide and friendly grin, exposing his sharp teeth, he extends a fist in greeting. "Sup man, the name's Kirishima, it's pretty manly that you got 3rd place despite being Quirkless!"
That should be an excellent first impression, the guy seemed pretty cool despite being passively aggressive against Bakugo. Though hopefully he doesn't get offended by him mentioning the Quirkless thing.
Thankfully, he wasn't.
Fist-bumping Kirishima's extended fist, Midoriya reintroduced himself. "Nice to meet you, my name's Izuku Midoriya, genius, support course student, class president, and hopefully philanthropist." Then with a smile, he added. "Call me Deku like Bakugo does though and I'll kick you in the balls."
Never mind the fact that with Kirishima's Quirk active, he'll be the one to hurt his foot, the greeting was certainly refreshing.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"And I'm Mina Ashido!"
Out of nowhere, Mina bubbly jumped into the conversation, a wide smile on her face and her arms spread wide.
"I gotta ask, was that you in that suit of armor? Because it was so cool! Did you build that yourself?! How come you guys were allowed to bring items and we weren't?! That wasn't fair!" She rapidly fires sentences with a single breath.
Midoriya blinks incredulously, then quietly says, "Huh, this feels familiar."
He then answers her in order. "Uh, yes it was me, I did make it myself, and it's because we didn't get the extra training that students from the hero course have."
'Ah, so that's why there were some students using support items in the race.' Kirishima thought to himself, he ran past a couple of them during the first contest.
Bakugo scoffs. "Tch, so you needed a bunch of scraps to stand a chance you Quirkless bastard?"
"Woah there, you can insult me all you like Bakugo, but my 'scraps'? They do their jobs right, they help and protect me, like how they would protect heroes."
"Heroes don't need protection, if a hero can't even fight for themselves then they are useless."
"So you'll call them Deku too then? You should probably just call people by their names, it's rude not to you know.."
Bakugo stomps forward, stopping right in front of Midoriya. He looks down at the shorter boy, red eyes showing contempt, but also with focus. As if he's looking for something in Midoriya's expression, something familiar that's now missing. Whatever he's looking for, he doesn't find it.
"I'll call you whatever the hell I want Deku."
"I know, I haven't tried to stop you from calling me anything else yet have I? Maybe I just like the nostalgia it gives me every time I hear it. But enough about that, we're going to be a team Bakugo, because you don't have a choice anymore."
Midoriya gestures around the four of them, which shows that they are now alone. Everyone else that was clamoring to be with Bakugo's team has left, either having been intimidated by his show of anger or having just decided to team up with others that are a lot more cooperative.
Bekugo is strong, even those that dislike him don't dispute that fact. His Quirk is powerful and his applications with it are very versatile. Combat-wise, he's most likely at the top of his class, competing with Todoroki.
But ask any of his classmates and that's the only positive thing they can say about Bakugo.
He's rude to anyone who even looks in his direction, so arrogant that losing seemed like an alien concept to him, aggressive enough to use way too much force than needed in combat practice, and all of that was combined with his unmatched stubbornness. No matter what Kirishima did, the guy just won't open up.
At best he gets ignored and gets nearly blown up at worse.
But he's not going to give up!
He'll mellow the blonde out, it won't be manly if he just backed down. A friend he'll make out of Bakugo, even if it takes all year to do it!
A real hero wouldn't quit.
"Listen," Midoriya starts, his voice firm and confident, with no traces of fear or warning, no threatening undertones, he speaks like he's done with any sense of idiocy. "We mix about as well as oil and water, but I want to get to the next round just as much as you do. Don't get me wrong, I find you much more insufferable than anyone else on this planet. I could've picked anyone else to be my team and victory still wouldn't be far away."
"But I don't want a chance for victory. I want a guarantee. Being on a team with you is that guarantee, your Quirk is perfect for taking more points and I have enough support items to make sure no one can take any from us. I don't care if you hate me, because believe me, the feeling is very mutual. But there is one thing I hate much more than you do, and that's losing. I wanted to be 1st place, as did you, but we lost and now we get a second chance. Isn't it worth going through anything to win, even if we have to do it together?"
Midoriya stares directly into Bakugo's eyes, almost challenging him to do something. "Or are you so content with losing here and now, proving nothing to no one? Not even willing to make any compromises for the sake of winning."
The two stand in silence, neither backing down. Sparks can almost be visible between them as the hostility rises.
Mina and Kirishima though?
'Awkward~.' Both thought simultaneously, standing off to the side feeling uncomfortable. 'It's like we're not even here.'
This was not what they were expecting to see today, a bitter reunion between Bakugo and an old "friend".
It turns out that Bakugo's history might have more to it than they realized.
"10 minutes left!" Midnight suddenly shouted, updating the students on how much time they have left to pick teams.
"You hear that Bakugo?" Midoriya asked. "Tick-tock, you better decide fast."
It's clear on Bakugo's face that he did not like what he was about to do, but he didn't have a choice. So with resignation in his heart, he agrees in the only way he'll be known for.
"FUCK!" The blonde bellows as he angrily turns around and stomps away.
They all stare at his retreating back with varied expressions, Midoriya looks with satisfaction, Kirishima looks with exasperation, and Mina looks a tad worried.
"Was that a yes?" She asks Midoriya.
"Oh that was a yes, don't expect him to say it though, you'd sooner see All Might become a villain than see Bakugo admit to anything." Midoriya answers while shaking his head in amusement.
"Oh good," She sighs in relief. "I was kinda worried there for a minute. He's so grouchy! Can't believe you managed to convince him, he didn't seem to like you at all."
"Oh, he doesn't, but he hates losing more than he hates me, so we're a lot more alike than he'd care to admit. He's not just grouchy too, he's an arrogant shit stain that needs to get over himself and act like a normal fucking person."
"H-Hey, come on, he's not that bad." Kirishima tries to defend the indefensible.
Midoriya simply just raises an eyebrow at him. "Sure, it's not like I've known him my entire life or anything. What do I know right?"
"Uh…"
"Don't worry about it." Midoriya brushes off his worries. "To be honest, he's already way better now than when I knew him before UA, so you're probably doing something right."
That's… Good to know.
'That was him being better?'
"Mh hm. Anyway, we're running out of time with the preparation so we should probably focus on that now." So with a snap of his fingers, the support student looked off to the side.
Following where his eyes were looking, Kirishima and Mina see a silver and black case moving towards them, small wheels underneath it carrying it forward. The lock for the case has a small light blinking red.
"I don't have a Quirk to help you guys out with. But I got these, and I bet they're more than enough, and hey, if you like what you use today you can ask me to make some stuff for you guys too, just ask for my name at the Support Studio." He faced the case, and with a simple "Open." the lock beeped and blinked green.
The case opened automatically and different sections spread outward like an overly complicated puzzle. Neatly arranged inside the case is an assortment of mechanical wonders that the two hero students couldn't possibly comprehend. But judging by how Midoriya got such a high place in the race without a Quirk, then these will help.
"So cool!" Mina exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
Kirishima only nods while staring at all the gizmos wide-eyed.
Yeah, these would definitely help.
"Now come on," Midoriya waves them towards Bakugo. "We gotta discuss with Mr. Grouchy over there about my stuff and refresh his memories on what your Quirks are. Knowing him, he's probably never bothered to remember them. Oh, I'm hyped to show you what I got, I'm confident I got the right equipment to supplement your Quirks and skills, plus some strategies for handling troublesome opponents. Also, we can-"
And he just kept going.
He was probably right that Bakugo doesn't even remember their Quirks. Still, Kirishima can't help but notice how antagonistic he is against Bakugo all the time despite trying to work with him.
Hopefully, they can work together without letting their bad history affect them.
And if they can't?
Then Mina and he would just have to make sure they get along.
It's the manly thing to do.
/
'Just stand strong.'
That's what he keeps telling himself these days, it's the only thing keeping him going.
The event is almost about to start and Bakugo had only said a few words before walking off to be alone.
Kirishima's a little relieved if he's being honest because he has no idea if there's anything he can even say to the blonde right now. How would he even act?
Pretend like he didn't hear what the villain said at the USJ?
Bakugo told someone to kill himself.
That's not just bullying, that's much worse.
Kirishima thought that the anger he kept showing can be excused, maybe the guy just has a temper, but he was trying to be a hero, so he has to be a good guy deep inside, right?
Now, he's not so sure.
But they're here now, as teammates.
He looks off to the side and sees the other members of his team.
Uraraka looked worried, fidgeting and shifting in place, she isn't aware of what the villain said, she wasn't there so she didn't know why they were acting like this.
He wishes he could tell her, but he doesn't know why, maybe it's because he wants her to know the truth about Bakugo, or maybe it all comes down to the blonde again. Maybe he just doesn't want to give up on the guy yet.
Next to Uraraka is a tall thin guy looking extremely awkward, scratching the back of his head with a grimace.
Shinso Hitoshi, a guy with a brainwashing Quirk, which was pretty cool honestly. He seemed surprised when Kirishima and Uraraka said so, but Bakugo just asked him how it works and its limitations, told him to use it sparingly, and walked off after asking the other two about their Quirks.
He's from General Studies, trying to make a good showing in the festival to enter the Hero Course, which was pretty manly.
And maybe he could fill up one of the recently emptied seats…
Kirishima shook his head to ward off the thoughts, now's not the time for mourning. He's done that plenty now, it's time to focus on making sure it doesn't happen again.
Mina decided to not attend the event, knowing how fast she makes friends with other people, it must've hurt her a lot to find out someone she just knew died.
He didn't know much about Mineta, the guy was kind of perverted and a little creepy with the girls. But he was just like them, he had a family, he was a student, a classmate, he wanted to be a hero, he was still young like them, and now he's gone. Forever.
All because of a villain that Bakugo made.
He stomps down the anger bubbling up inside him.
'Don't.' He tells himself. 'Don't turn against each other now, we need to stay together.'
"Times up!" Midnight announced. "Please assemble your horses and take your positions!"
Bakugo starts to walk toward them, causing him to tense up just a little bit. He forcibly relaxes.
'We can't turn on each other now. We have to stick together.'
'It's the only thing we can do.'
/
The crowd cheers at the top of their lungs, excited that the long wait is now over.
"OK, all you first years! I hope you're happy with your chosen teams!" Present Mic yelled from his booth.
Shoto Todoroki wouldn't say he's happy with his team, nor would he say that he's happy about a lot of things right now.
He's satisfied with who he has, Ida as the front, with his high mobility and raw power, getting the opportunity to steal others' points becomes quick and effective. With Kaminari in the left wing, he can use his Quirk: Electrification, as a deterrent, shocking anyone who gets too close. Yaoyorozu takes the right wing, and with her Quirk: Creation, she can create any defensive objects required to protect them from others' attacks or to insulate them from Kaminari's Quirk.
And finally, with himself as the rider, he can use the right side of his body to attack with ice, freezing opponents solid to the ground to kill their mobility.
His left side…
The less he thinks about it and the less he uses it, all the better in his opinion.
"Let's get this party started! One final countdown before the game starts!"
The students barely heard the announcement, only focusing on when they start, and the main target of this contest.
"3!"
As the countdown begins, all eyes focus on one team in particular. Todoroki, with his 600 points headband stare with cold determination at the team, and more specifically, the headband being worn by the rider. His heterochromatic eyes narrow at the center of attention.
'Being beaten by a support course student. Tch, how pathetic I must look.'
Not only did he lose to one student, but he nearly lost to another one as well. One that's even Quirkless!
If some Quirkless nobody had even the slightest of chances of beating him, then what does that say about him? About his capabilities? His skills? His use of his Ice?
What there even a point for all the suffering he endured if it meant nothing in practice?
"2!"
Perhaps if he just used his fire-
'No, never.'
"She's ours," Todoroki states to his team, determination fueling his body.
'And I won't use his fire to win.'
"1!"
.
.
.
"BEGIN!" Midnight yelled the signal that begins the war.
Todoroki's team moves at the same time everyone else's did, 38 students charged towards the team with the highest points. The team of Mei Hatsume, the support course girl that somehow bested him with nothing but machines at her beck and call.
The girl was an unknown to him, someone he wouldn't look twice to, someone he just wrote off as another easily skipped obstacle in his race to the top. But no, there was something different about her, there has to be, some kind of drive that pushes her forward, far beyond what she is normally capable of.
Whatever it was, he has to beat it. To prove his resolve is greater.
"It's basically one big battle for ten million points!" Tetsutetsu screamed for all to hear.
He wasn't wrong, aiming for number one is what all heroes strive to do, whether they are young or old. The spot that All Might still holds to this very day, perhaps it's impossible to take that spot from the veteran pro until he retires and steps down.
But that doesn't stop some people from doing terrible things for the sake of the top spot…
Ida speeds towards everyone's target but at a slight angle. He, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari are being carried along because of the rollerblades being worn by the latter two. This was to utilize the full extent of Ida's abilities with the least amount of traction.
The goal was simple, there was plenty of time to get the number one headband, but getting to it is going to be an issue since everyone around them is going to focus on the same team.
They'll be distracted, and hyper-focused on Hatsume's team, and that gives them tunnel vision. Most likely, they'll ignore any team right next to them in favor of chasing Hatsume's. The lead team is most likely going to run around the sides of the arena, this might increase their chances of getting pushed out of bounds, but it also prevents them from being surrounded.
Plus…
"Woooohooooo! Go, my babies!" The loud and excited scream of the support course student echoes through the arena.
The voice didn't come from where her team used to be though, it came from above.
High above everyone's heads, the team with over ten million points soars through the air with the sound of a whoop.
Every single member of the team is equipped with support items.
It surprised some of them at first when they found out that she wasn't going to be the rider, she takes the right wing of the horse. She has on yellow goggles, some kind of hover boots, and a strange pack strapped behind her.
In the front, Fumikage Tokoyami, a student of Class 1-A, defends their team from a pair of ear jacks that were coming for them with his Quirk: Dark Shadow, a sentient bird-shaped shadow entity that extends out of his body. Tokoyami also has a mutation where his head resembles that of a crow's or a raven's. His support items consist of some bionics on his legs.
To the left wing, another classmate, Hanta Sero, was a tall young man with black hair and a plain face, and straight teeth. On his elbows was his Quirk: Tape, which shoots out lengths of tape to wrap or stick to anything. He has the same support items as Hatsume except for the goggles.
And at the top of the horse was someone Todoroki is familiar with, but honestly did not expect to be facing, he could make out a jetpack on their back.
He speaks to Ida in his near monotone voice, "Remember the plan, we let the others group up first then we'll take them all out with a single attack. Most of them are focused on getting 1st place, we strike them at the most opportune moment. Then when we isolate Hatsume's team so we can take care of them ourselves with no distractions."
"Do not worry Todoroki, I will make sure we'll always be in the most opportune position."
'I will win this round, and I'll prove to you, that I don't need your power.'
/
Todoroki doesn't care much for other people. Only members of his own family are the ones he feels anything for, and for one of them, it was pure, cold, hatred.
He usually feels nothing for anyone else, they didn't matter, he only cared about becoming the number one hero without using his bastard father's Quirk.
No one else had his hatred.
No one else deserved it.
And yet…
Barely a week in UA and someone is getting closer to that exclusive side every day.
He doesn't know why he's starting to hate him (he knows why), he barely knows him (he knows enough), and anything he's done before they met doesn't matter (they were so familiar).
So why?
How come every time he looked at Bakugo, there was this feeling of scalding hot burning inside him, as if the left side's fire was roaring in his body?
(Because he's the same as him.)
"Hatsume," He addresses the support course student to his left. "Can your support items handle cold temperatures?"
"Pfft, of course, they can! That would be amateurish if they couldn't." Hatsume beamed with a confident (and slightly manic) smile.
He didn't expect to team up with her, but apparently, getting 1st place in the race was enough to get her attention. She's an odd one… A very odd one, but she could be useful so he accepted. Not that there were many to choose a team with.
Plus, with Yaoyorozu also on their team, she was able to study some of the other inventions of Hatsume and create some of the easier ones. Such as portable net traps and smoke bombs.
He nods and stares ahead as the countdown for the 2nd event starts.
His eyes briefly meet Bakudo's, the familiar anger inside him rising again. The hatred feels so hot like it's burning him, he barely shows any sign of it on his face other than a slight glare.
The blonde had changed in some ways after the USJ, after finding out an old "friend" (victim) of his is responsible for two of their classmates' deaths. He didn't know the two nor did he take a chance to even know them, but that didn't mean he felt nothing for their deaths.
Those two didn't deserve their fates, they didn't deserve the horror they faced at the hands of that villain.
(A villain that Bakugo made.)
That boy, Midoriya, is pure evil.
(Because of Bakugo's abuse.)
He needs to be stopped.
(Nobody stopped Bakugo.)
He slightly grits his teeth as the countdown ends. Immediately, every competitor around them starts running in their direction,
"They're coming!" Tokoyami screamed from the front, looking around for any threat that might get close, Dark Shadow was already out to defend against anyone that may use their Quirks.
"I know." He simply answers. "Yaoyorozu."
"R-Right!"
She creates a pole that touches the ground and extends up toward his hand.
His eyes never leave Bakugo's angrily glaring ones.
The same eyes that must've cruelly looked at the same boy at the USJ. The same boy that was most likely beaten black and blue, was given no mercy by someone labeling themselves as a hero.
The same eyes that do nothing but glare, just like Endeavor.
He's nothing but a fake.
(He's exactly like father.)
(I want him to burn.)
He unleashes his cold fury through the pole.
And a giant glacier covered his vision.
/
"Incoming landing!" Uraraka tells her team as they brace themselves, the hover boots on her team members' feet slowing down their fall enough to land safely. She vaguely hears Present Mic say something but she wasn't listening at this point.
She never really saw herself as a leader, determined to win perhaps, but not someone who takes the lead and commands others. Maybe one day, when she becomes a rescue hero like her idol, the Space Hero: Thirteen, she might lead a team of other heroes in saving others.
Leading a team so soon though is not something she expected.
Wind whips at her face as her team carries her away, running away from everyone. A long strip of headband flapped behind her head, with over 10 million points printed in front. Her heart beats ferociously in her breast and she takes deep breaths to try and calm herself and keep focused.
She's doing the least amount of leg work in her team and she's not the one carrying a person, but it still feels like something is weighing down on her chest.
She was planning on teaming up with Midoriya at first because, while she liked Hatsume, she wasn't too keen on becoming the number one target from the start.
But then she saw who he decided to team up with.
Midoriya doesn't like Bakugo, that kind of dislike he showed every time he saw the blonde or even hears him get mentioned cannot be faked, and Bakugo is not the kind of person to be friends with anyone. But then he put his arm around him, and Bakugo threw it off barely a minute later. Their lousy history is still a secret that she hasn't been told, but in her experience with Bakugo, it was likely a bad one.
So why?
Why would he team up with someone so violent and uncooperative?
At least Mina and Kirishima were understandable, they were plenty friendly enough and got along with almost everyone else in the class. Even so, those two also have a weird habit of trying to get Bakugo to open up.
Judging by Midoriya's success though means he has to have some idea of what he's doing.
"You see Uraraka? I told you my babies are precious! Do you think everyone watching us is amazed by my creations?!" Hatsume excitedly asked her, the support student wearing special goggles to help with her Quirk.
"You still haven't explained to me why she calls them 'babies'," Sero mentions from her left, weirded out by Hatsume's peculiar personality.
Yeah, she gets that. It took her a while to get used to it too.
"I never doubted their usefulness Hatsume," She compliments her friend. "Your babies are totally amazing! Having them on our side will surely guarantee our win!"
"We still have to be careful though," Tokoyami says at the front, his sharp eyes looking around them. "There's no telling what some of our opponent's Quirks are, we should avoid getting surrounded."
'So serious.'
Uraraka would be the first to tell you that she's not an expert strategist. She studies diligently, is resourceful enough to use her Quirk in inventive ways, and can even think outside the box and devise an unorthodox plan.
But she is by no means an expert.
Nonetheless, she needs to take the lead here, Hatsume thought it was a good idea to put her as the rider instead of herself.
Said that she was the best to lead them and she had the better Quirk for being the rider.
She's not so sure about that, perhaps Hatsume was putting a little too much trust in her, but if this is what Hatsume thinks is the best then she'll do her best not to let her down. To Hatsume's credit, alongside Tokoyami and Sero, they do make a formidable team. Her Quirk makes everything but herself and the equipment weightless to reduce weight and not make herself too sick, with Dark Shadow, they'll have a solid defense, and with Sero, they have a long-range option for counter-attacks.
They weren't allowed to knock other riders off their horses, but the rules never said anything about immobilizing them.
Still, her recruitment of Hatsume wasn't as smooth as she desired. She found the support student following another student away, a tall purple-haired one.
Seeing that there were only two of them, she decided to see if she could team up. But when she got to Hatsume, she wasn't responding, she just kept walking at a slow, almost tired pace. She slumped side to side with each step as if she was sleepwalking away. She also didn't respond to Uraraka's calls, no matter how loud she tried.
Before the guy could say anything else, Uraraka shook Hatsume's shoulder to try to get her to respond.
"Mwahahahahaha!" A loud laugh reached Uraraka's ears, facing where it came from, she spots her classmate Mezo Shoji charging full speed straight for them, his Quirk: Dupli-Arms, made some sort of tent on his back made of his flesh.
'What the-'
"You think you can escape from us?! Ha! Fools! You've only trapped yourselves in our grasp!"
'Mineta? Where is that pervert? And why is he talking like that?'
"We got another team coming up on the other side!" Hatsume pipes up, her goggles zooming in on the said team. They were some students from Class 1-B, Uraraka doesn't recognize most of them on sight, but she does remember the rider because he kind of reminds her of Kirishima.
This is bad, their top priority should be to avoid getting trapped, but staying in the air might be a bad idea. She doesn't know what Quirks they might be up against and with all four of them having to stay connected in the air, they aren't mobile enough while floating to dodge any real aerial attacks.
"We got incoming!" Sero suddenly warns her.
Looking back at Shoji, she barely catches a small purple blur speeding toward her. Out of pure instinct, she dodges out of the way, barely catching its shape. A small purple ball.
"It's Mineta! But where did it come from?"
A sinister-sounding chuckle grabs her attention, in the shadows from within Shoji's fortress, the aforementioned little pervert reveals himself. Even in a competition she still feels kind of dirty every time he looks at her, at least he's a bit better now after their near-death experience at the USJ.
Well, "better" as in, he only pervs on them every other day now rather than every day.
But hey, progress is progress.
He's still a creep though.
"Hehehehehe… You can't dodge forever Uraraka~." Mineta creepily told her. "Soon, you'll be trapped and helpless as we take your headband and win this game!"
She shivered in slight disgust at the way he said those words.
Then a long pink appendage shot out from right beside Mineta, being more prepared for any more projectile attacks, she was able to lean to the side and let the tongue pass by her harmlessly. It goes taut for a moment before reeling back to where it came from, empty-handed.
"Gah! Tsu! What the heck?!"
As the tongue disappears from within Shoji's fortress, Tsuyu's face appears next to Mineta's. "Sorry, Ochaco but it's nothing personal, I'm here to win, ribbit."
Uraraka gets that, but it still feels like a temporary betrayal of their friendship.
'I shared mochi with you!'
And the assault continues as her tongue extends towards them again as Mineta's sticky balls rapidly fire toward her, aiming to pin her down for an easy target.
Yikes!
Thinking quickly and remembering what Hatsume and Sero have on their backs, she directs her team to deploy the- "Shields!"
Immediately after the order, they turn until Hatsume's and Sero's packs face the projectiles, their packs beep in warning, sensing multiple possible threats aiming straight for it.
"These babies sense any attack that comes from behind, keeping watch for our blindspots and they can defend us against almost any projectiles!"
The packs then open like wings, spreading four long metal rods that extend from the corners of the pack, creating a big X shape, and just like an umbrella, the rods extend a transparent pink canopy that spreads along the rods until they're wide enough to cover the back of the whole team.
"Ribbit?!"
"Behold! My beautiful babies!" Hatsume easily holds up the pack in the air, the large square canopy tall enough to encompass even All Might. "This canopy is made with a special super plastic! It's resistant to almost anything, from strong impacts to temperature changes and even adhesion! With this watching our backs, you can be sure that no one's getting the drop on us!"
The sound of thumps is the only thing that hit Uraraka's team as the purple balls and Tsu's tongue hit and bounce off the plastic shielding her team. Both don't even stick to the material as they should, they only act as if they were rubber objects that hit a brick wall.
'Nice! It works just like Hatsume says!' Uraraka internally cheered, a wide grin on her face.
But they weren't out of the woods yet.
She looks to the two behind her and says, "Close your eyes!" Then to Tokoyami, "Get ready to give us a boost!"
"Right!" The crow student replies. "Dark Shadow!"
Then she presses the button on one of the handles of the jetpack, and a strong blast of air pressure fires off from the jetpack, at the same time, Tokoyami bends down as the bionics on his legs give a soft whir that slowly gets louder.
And before any other team can even get close to them,
*CRACK*
*BOOM*
The ground broke beneath their feet due to the force of a mighty leap courtesy of Tokoyami's empowered legs and Uraraka's jetpack, their team takes to the skies again, far away from any ground threats.
'This is crazy! We barely get any breathing room after we landed and we can't stay in the air, what do we do… What do I-'
"HOLY SHI-" Sero barely finished before he was interrupted.
She's literally knocked out of her thoughts as the shields cover them again, explosions firing off at the canopy, it's thankfully holding up against the attacks but it still rattled them all in the air. The canopy is absorbing the shock of the explosions, but it still manages to slightly push them forward.
Thankfully the explosions' sounds were also partially blocked by the shield, keeping her and her team's ears safe.
A familiar voice shouted from beneath them, a familiar voice filled with anger and pride. It's a miracle his voice even reached them up here.
Her eyes dart toward where it came from,
And there he is.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GET AWAY?! NOT A FUCKING CHANCE!" Bakugo's voice nearly eclipsed the sounds of the cheering audience, his wrath is so apparent that it was shocking she couldn't see the aura of rage that is surrounding him.
He has on a pair of gloves that looked like they were focusing his explosions, allowing them to fly off to a much further distance than usual. Who the gloves came from was no mystery to her, because who else other than Hatsume could bring support items to the event?
Again, a shiver goes through her whole body as she remembers one of those explosions hitting her point blank.
He and his team are all geared up as well, taking advantage of the numerous support items he brought with him, just like Hatsume. But Midoriya's gear somehow looks like it's more specialized. The gloves on their own feel like it's meant for Bakugo's Quirk specifically.
Did he plan for this exact scenario? Or did he just happen to bring the right items by accident?
Either way, she can see why Hatsume likes to constantly remind her that Midoriya is way better at building than she is.
Then she catches sight of Midoriya carrying Bakugo, she sees him look in her direction and give a sheepish and apologetic smile.
'Yeah, that's partially my fault, sorry.' It felt like he was saying.
She gives a glare that says, 'We are so talking about this afterward!'
Still, seeing his face does bring back what she said to them before this.
"You guys might have this round, but don't get cocky! I'm training to be a hero, so I'll make sure to give it everything I got, even if it's against you guys!" She declares straight at them, her eyes holding a competitive edge.
She made a declaration-
No, a promise to them.
She barely made an impression on them both or the crowd in the race. Yeah, she may have made it to the second round, but what had she done that separates her from anyone else?
Nothing.
How could she say she's giving it her all if she keeps hesitating? How could she become a successful hero if she can't plan her way out of something as simple as this? How could she face the real world if this is enough to make her tremble?
Not this time.
'Right,' She steels herself, her eyes now sharper, clearer than before. Her doubts were silenced to barely whispers in her head.
'I promised to give it everything I got, I promised to make an impression! Midoriya, I don't know your reasons for joining Bakugo, but that doesn't matter now. This time, it won't be so easy to get ahead of me!'
"Tokoyami! Hatsume! Sero! Prepare for another landing, and this time we keep moving!"
'I won't be left behind!'
/
Every day feels like a dream.
Like she's using her Quirk on herself and she's just floating through the regular motions every day.
She could still barely believe it.
Mineta.
Tsu.
Just… Gone.
Mineta was a perv, and as a girl, she found him disgusting. He was the kind of guy that she thought she would be stopping when she becomes a hero. She thought there was nothing redeemable about him.
But when he died, all those thoughts about him just crashed into her like freight trains.
She had nothing to do with his death, the thoughts wouldn't have changed the outcome, but she still feels guilty about the way she thought about him.
Maybe it was because it felt disrespectful to even think ill of the dead.
But with Tsu, it was way harder.
They'd only known each other for days, but the blunt girl already became a fast friend to her. She's never been shy, so when Tsu says that she wanted to be friends with them, she didn't find any reason to refuse.
Then she died.
Just like that, in a period so short that it felt like a blink of an eye, Tsu was taken from them.
And after that, the world suddenly felt like it was barely keeping a hold of her.
*BOOM*
With barely a warning, Bakugo uses his Quirk to propel himself off their horse directly towards the iceberg made by Todoroki, thankfully he aims away from their faces, but the sound still hurt, and the smoke irritates her eyes. She holds her breath so she doesn't breathe it in.
Her right ear hears nothing but ringing and she shakes her head, trying to rid of the painful sound.
She barely hears Shinso say something after the pain in her ears begins to fade. "And there he goes, leaving us behind, *Sigh* we should probably keep chasing or he might fall to the ground."
The ringing stops at just the right moment to hear Kirishima's quiet answer.
"... Yeah."
And then there was that.
The entire school was affected by the tragedy, from the students to the teachers. They even gave an announcement to everyone in UA at the auditorium, an apology to all the students in the school.
"We were supposed to teach you." They said.
"We were supposed to protect you." They stated.
"We failed you." They declared.
Uraraka's not the kind of girl that puts blame on others, so she doesn't blame them for something they couldn't control or predict.
But negative thoughts still worm their way into her mind.
'If the pros can't protect us, then how can we protect ourselves?'
She doesn't know what goes on in her classmate's heads. But the changes in their behavior are almost identical to each other. They had become quieter, distracted from their lessons and training, and some were easier to upset.
Out of all of the changes though, two stood out to Uraraka at this moment.
Kirishima and Bakugo, both acted the same as the others on the surface. But it was their reactions to each other that garnered the most attention. It's like they try their best to ignore one another, Kirishima's old attempts at kindling a friendship with the blonde suddenly changed into awkward stares, and occasionally even glares.
It's like he just found out a secret about Bakugo that flipped all he knew about him.
Bakugo's change though still eclipsed that of Kirishima's new attitude. The loudmouth of Class 1-A now became a recluse, a guy that stayed silent most of the time, preferred to be alone, and always looked lost in his thoughts.
Most of the time, he looked distracted, even distraught sometimes, like he was reliving a memory from so long ago that brings him pain yet one he cannot forget.
She didn't know what happened with them during the USJ attack, but she feels that all will make sense if she finds out.
And honestly, she's not sure if she even wants to.
/
+/+
The pain that radiated into her very being finally stopped.
The agony that coursed through her (body?) had ceased its torture, leaving nothing but the peaceful and endless black.
…
Wait.
Black?
Is… Is that right?
She's… Not sure.
It feels like it's supposed to be this way, and yet…
Something feels off.
"Have you tried opening your eyes?"
Opening her eyes?
Oh.
That's why everything is black.
Yeah, she should try that.
Very slowly, her eyes opened up to escape the blackness that had encompassed her vision for (Days? Or was it years? No it was days, pretty sure it was days).
One eye has a white sclera and a light brown iris.
And the other has pure black sclera white and a red dot.
"Wakey wakey sleeping beauty." A trustworthy voice says to her. She knows it's trustworthy because it told her to open her eyes, the voice helped her so it must be trying to help her again.
The first thing her eyes take in is the light shining down directly on her face, a light that doesn't really bother her. It's a nice contrast to the black she got used to. Then a hand came out and pulled the light away. She's briefly saddened by this, she liked the light, it was pretty.
A face entered her field of vision, a man's face (At least, she was sure that's a man).
He has green eyes, black hair with green tips, and four freckles on each cheek that are formed into a diamond.
"How are you feeling?" The voice asked.
Oh, the voice came from this face.
The one that's going to help her.
She smiles at the helpful man and answers, "I feel fine now, thank you."
Huh.
Her voice sounded choppy and static like it came from a speaker. Was that how she was supposed to sound like?
The nice man nods with a smile. "Good. Now, stand up."
Well, this man is helping her, so the least she could do was do what he says.
Sitting up from the metal table she was laying down in, she takes in the appearance of her body. She raises both of her hands in front of her face and marvels at how different they looked.
Her left hand is peach-colored, with callouses in her palms and cleanly trimmed nails. The other one is completely made of metal, she marvels at the chrome color of the prosthetic appendage, small whirs are heard as she moves it around to inspect it curiously. Then her eyes drift down to her feet, which are identical to the hands' situation, one flesh and the other not.
Her metal hand reaches to the right side of her face.
*Clang*
And it meets more metal.
She couldn't feel through them, in fact, she couldn't feel much of anything, even on her fleshy bits.
Still, no need to think about it.
She stands up from the table and looks at the man again. She doesn't take notice of his simple clothes or his eerie smile, she just waits for what else he has to say to her.
"Very good." He compliments her, which brings a smile to her face. "Now, this is just a small test but would you kindly use your Quirk and test its abilities?"
Her… Quirk?
What's a-
Oh, right.
God, she's pretty scatterbrained today. (What day is it today?)
With barely a thought, using only instincts that have been ingrained in her since she was four years old, her hair begins to move on its own. Slithering behind her head as if they were alive, controlling them was as easy as moving her limbs.
She elongates them and flows them forward in front of her face, and once again she was met with half organic material and the other cold metal.
Her brown hair on the left side wriggles in front of her, each strand looking like it had a mind of its own. On the right side, she's met with telescopic metal dreadlocks, moving in time with her thoughts as if it was part of her Quirk.
*Shing*
Her hair then becomes more solid, the strands becoming thin needles with a point so sharp that they couldn't be seen with the naked eye, and with rigidity so tough that rocks will break upon impact. They twist together until they form into a drill made up of the hairs. The right ones follow suit, morphing into one another like liquid metal until they form a drill themselves.
The man hums in approval, satisfied with his work.
"Good, stand with rest now." He points behind him.
She looks over and was met with other individuals like her. Big and small, ranging from her skin color to more exotic ones like light blue, others looked like animals like a chameleon or a shark.
But they all share one thing in common.
They weren't fully human anymore, some of their limbs, their eyes, and even their hair were replaced with cybernetics. They looked like a combination of people and machines, mashed together to form a group of people that can only be classified as cyborgs. The places where the parts connect to the flesh were joined at the molecular level. Those parts are now as part of the person as if they were the original.
A monument to that man's work to turn them into something more useful for him.
All their eyes meet hers as she walked up to the group of colorful characters.
They all smile and step aside to create a spot for her.
That was nice of them.
"Hello." She greets them, it's only polite after all.
They all greet her in return before they all face forward again, their faces blank and their thoughts empty. Standing perfectly still, like a machine waiting for a command. She copies them and stands blankly as well.
Not like she has anything to do on her own really.
Izuku grins at the mindless drones lined up to do his bidding before walking to another metal table, one with another poor unfortunate empty soul whose identity is being erased with endless pain in endless black.
Unable to move, act, or even breathe on their own.
38 missing villains from the USJ attack now stand at attention, ready to obey.
33 more to go.
Sorry for taking a while. I don't know if I'm feeling better but I am trying. Merry Christmas everyone, this year I got another shirt I don't really need. Absolute chonky chapters these days.