My Hero Academia – Under Pressure – Season 3 – Episode 5 - Defeat

As the students of Class 1-B went back to the main area of the camp after their fourth day of training, the mood was a very curious one. Because even though they had been put through the ringer once again via the "Ballroom Blitz" event, they were still very positive.

Mainly because between their individual training, and their teamwork training, they were hitting a groove mentally and physically, and many of them felt that they could take on the world with the skills they had now evolved.

"Have you ever had that feeling when you're working on something big where you know things will turn out alright in the end? Like you are so stressed about doing it all wrong, but then at a certain point in the process, everything just clicks and you realize it's going to be ok? That's pretty much where we were after that fourth day. We had been exhausted, tested mentally, tested physically, and test individually so that our Quirks could grow. At that point, we thought the camp had thrown everything it could at us. We were wrong, very wrong. But for me, I'll remember that fourth night for a very different reason than the others…"

Tonen had gotten done with the hot spring soak earlier than the others did, so he put on his regular clothes and walked around the camp area for a while. He could tell that he was stronger than before, each day made him better, but he knew, like others in his class, that he wasn't at his best, not yet, and not likely for a long time.

He did his best to clear his mind of various things and focus just on the path he was on. Tonen was alone in his thoughts, or so he thought…

"Heya, boyo," came a familiar voice.

He turned around to see Fenella, she hovered in the air just above him via one of her runes. She sat on its edge and gazed at Tonen with a…unique expression that was a mix of various feelings.

"Hey, Rune, what's up?" asked Tonen, "You know, besides you?"

"Very funny. Wanted to follow-up on something you said to me earlier."

"What did I say?"

"You said you care about me a lot, remember?"

He paused to think about it, and recalled saving her from a blast during the blitz and then he said that to her after a joke she made, "Yes, I did say that, and I meant it."

"Go on…" she said with a mischievous look on her face.

"Not much to go on about. I do care about you, Rune, just like I care about most of our classmates. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Oh, that's what you meant…"

With a sad grunt she laid back on her rune. Tonen knew he couldn't leave her like this, so he carefully pulled the rune down to his level, then span it around so her head was now below his, and they were able to lock eyes.

"Something you want to share, Rune?" put out Tonen with a kind smile.

She shrugged somewhat playfully, "Well, you know, I've never been above teasing you, boyo."

"I noticed."

"But after a while, I don't know…started to think the teasing was because I liked you…a wee bit."

"Naturally."

"Then before the exams you did that 'ask me out' thing, and now you said you care about me…just got me wondering is all."

"Ah."

A silence fell between. Tonen maintained his kind smile to show he wasn't to shy away from this conversation. It was Fenella who broke the state as she rolled onto her stomach and rested her head in her hands, "So, what would you say if I asked you out?"

"Ask and find out," he replied coyly.

"Come on, boyo, help a lass out!"

This got a big laugh from Tonen, "Let me level with you, Rune. I've never had a girlfriend before, ever. Came close once but then she moved away. Then with my Pro-Hero dreams and everything else that's been going on, I don't know if I ever will get one on my own. If you want to ask me out? Ask me out! I'll be honest in my response. But I'm not going to play a game about it."

Fenella nodded and smiled at his response before she turned to leave on her rune, "I knew I liked you, boyo. Fine, I'll figure out where I stand and go from there."

"I'll be your friend either way, I can promise you that. Though if I may…"

"Yeah…?"

"I'm a bit surprised you wouldn't ask out Bubble Gum before me."

The reaction from Fenella spoke volumes, as she was both surprised, shocked, and confused all at the same time. But it melted away into her usual playful yet confident expression, "Busted by a boyo, though I suppose I wasn't trying to hide it."

"Nor should you have to," he said honestly.

"What gave it away?"

"You've never met my parents, but I know a certain look they give each other when they want to show their love. I saw you give one to Bubble Gum one day."

"Ah," she responded simply, then laid back down on her rune and played with her hair. "Yeah, she's pretty great. Though to be clear, I do swing both ways."

She gave him a sly wink, and Tonen resisted the urge to laugh, "I had a feeling that was the case. Still doesn't answer the question of why you wouldn't ask her out before me."

"I don't know how she swings, and while I'm comfortable who I am, I'm never one to push the issue on such a matter. It's…a delicate thing, even in our age of heroes."

"Well, you have my support if you go for it with her, and you know others will be fine too."

"And you'll be fine with it when I ask you out?" she asked jokingly.

Tonen took the initiative and went back down the path he was on before he yelled back, "Ask and find out!"

Fenella watched him until he went out of sight, she then examined both of her palms, as if in each of them was a potential for her future. She closed them with intensity before a determined smile grew on her face, "Decisions, decisions."

With that, she raised her rune higher into the air and raced away to get lost in different kinds of thoughts.

The next day eventually dawned, and by this point in time, each one of Class 1-B was determined in their own ways to not just make things work for them, but to exceed all expectations. As they did their individual tests, their confidence in how they grew rose. Gone was the fear of not being able to complete the task, and replaced was a desire to go beyond what the test offered so they could show they were ready for whatever came next.

On this day, the individual tests seemed to fly by, and while they were tired after them, as they still exerted themselves hard, they were still in good spirts for the team bouts.

"Any guesses on this one?" asked Anno as he ate a small snack with the others.

"There has been a kind of escalation of sorts…" noted Ryo.

"But they could do something truly unexpected to put us on our toes…" acknowledged Ryu.

Eri nodded thoughtfully at these statements, "Say what you will about The Trainer, he knows what he's doing."

"Still looks like a dork, though," joked Fenella with a nudge to Ebirima next to her, who joined in softly with a laugh.

"I'm just hoping for a challenge that finally lets me utilize my speed well," piped up Oshibu.

Ueno groaned lowly, "Something not overwhelming would be nice for a change."

"Ditto," added in some of the others.

The class dove deeper into the discussion until eventually, a familiar whistle broke it up, as The Trainer, Angel Wings and Armed Guard approached, "Alright everyone, time for day 5!"

Not surprisingly, there was a mixed reaction from the class, but The Trainer matched that reaction with an odd one of his own. He gave a look to the two teachers and they nodded in silent agreement about what was about to happen.

"Now, today's team challenge is going to be much more straightforward than the last two days. Not that this will be an easier challenge to be clear, but the goal is going to be a bit more straightforward to achieve. Less variables if you will."

"That just means we'll have to give it our all to get most points for the rankings!" boasted Wasuke with a pose.

"…sure, that's one way to look at it."

The three adults again looked at each with a look that signified something greater, some of the students like Eri, Kuroda and Tonen picked up on this, but many of the others were too busy guessing who'd come out on top to see the signs.

"QUIET!" roared Armed Guard, which snapped them all back to a rather quiet state. "If you all are so confident that you'll do well, let's just get right to it then, shall we?"

"We're going to the same place as yesterday," noted Angel Wings with a smile and motion to path they took before, "the markings will be different on the ground, but it'll make sense soon."

She motioned for them to rise, and they did so, and they followed their leaders to the area from before. While many of the students again talked, quietly this time, amongst themselves about the upcoming challenge, the leaders all had uncertainty on their faces.

"Have you ever felt you like you were walking into a trap? Well…we were, we just didn't know how big…not yet anyway…"

As they approached their remade "battlefield", there was no indication as to what the test would be. This made the leaders even more nervous than before, and they shared looks to one another to reflect this and see if they were alone in feeling it.

The teachers motioned for them all to sit, and they did so.

The Trainer prepped his clipboard once again, "Today is going to be a straight-up battle scenario. It'll be one group against a special opponent. If you beat them? You win, and you'll get maximum points. If you lose…you get no points."

It was then that the situation started to set in for not a few of them, but all of them. The Trainer noticed this and sped things up before they figured out too much.

"To ensure there is no special treatment for this, our first-place team is going to start. Team Kuroda, please go to this side of the arena."

As Angel Wings had noted, the "guidelines" on the ground had been redone. This time it was just a simple rectangle, likely just to give some visuals on where they should try and keep their fighting in.

Kuroda stood up first for her team and signaled for them to follow, they all lined up side by side and faced the opposite side of the field, where still…no one stood.

"And now," started The Trainer, Cheshire grin full on his face, "for our first special guest opponent, please welcome, Ripple."

They came out from the cover of the nearby trees, it was a woman in a very brightly covered yet oddly fashionable one-piece getup. She carried herself with a certain swagger, but the look in her eyes said she could backup anything she put down.

"Greetings class 1-B," Ripple said in a sweet and smooth voice, "I'll be your first opponent today, let's see how you do against little ole me…"

She gave a bow to them, and Kuroda tensed up, mainly because she knew the challenge that they were in for.

The Trainer blew his whistle and the match began.

"No one move!" called out Kuroda as she instantly slapped the ground ahead of them and converted the entire battlefield to ice.

To their surprise though, Ripple didn't flinch. Instead, she stretched out her arms and yawned. But when her fingers fully extended, Tonen noticed a distortion in the air.

"Oh, ice, whatever am I to do…? Oh, how about this?"

She snapped her fingers, and from where her hands were before, more distortions appeared. At first they were near invisible, but then, they shot out at various angles in a shiny golden form. They missed Ripple and the others completely, but the battlefield…not so much. The ice was blasted upon and shattered so completely at points that the ice was gone, and the natural ground was exposed once more.

"Got anything else?" Ripple asked with a smile.

"Ripple. Pro-Hero. Quirk: Ripple Effect. You know what that is scientifically, right? One thing causing another until the ripple dies out? In this case, she can place "Ripple Points" anywhere she wants, and when she activates them, they send out a harmless pulse to seek out others. When they connect? A not so harmless wave of energy shoots out. The more Ripple Points that connect? The bigger the damage they can do. Do you see Kuroda's problem now?"

Kuroda did her best to not be deterred, but that one counter from the Pro-Hero did have her rattled. She snapped to though and gazed at the others in turn, "Sanda, go after her full force with your earth, Fenella, attack her from above with your runes, don't let her have a moment to breathe. Ryo, help Iha get closer so she can power her down. I'll help with the attack. Go!"

Orders given, they went to work, but something very quick became apparent, while they had a ringer, and a four-person advantage on Ripple, they were outclassed in terms of ability.

Ripple went to attack them with almost laughable ease. She set her ripple points everywhere she went, and when she activated them, it sent the team scrambling, and that was if they didn't get hit by the pressure waves.

She also seemed aware of Iha's Quirk and its range problem. Because even with her training, Iha still needed to have eye contact with the person she was powering down, and for them to be in a certain range. So she merely overwhelmed them with ripple blasts so Iha couldn't get close, or she danced around the battlefield so they'd have to keep up.

That was the other thing that amazed them, because this woman moved with the grace of a ballerina. She had to deal with threats above and on the ground and yet she had no issues.

Fenella's runes didn't land a single hit, Sanda couldn't pin her down with the earth he had, and every time he came close her ripples would blast the rock and ground away, and Kuroda wasn't able to do much better even with her element changes.

"Wish I was allowed my Change-It Weapon…" Kuroda mumbled after another failed attack.

Her team didn't give up though, and they chased Ripple back and forth across the battlefield, until finally, things started to come together for them. Sanda was able to slow her down long enough for Fenella to "guide her" in a particular direction as she had to dodge the runes, and when she did, Ripple ran right into Iha.

"No more ripples," Iha said menacingly.

Instantly, Ripple felt her power drain, and she fell to one knee. The others surrounded her to ensure that their victory was had.

"You lose," Kuroda said with a proud smile.

The smile quickly faded though when Ripple started to laugh, "Oh dear child, I've lost nothing. Because if this were a real battle? You'd already be dead…"

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers one last time. When she did, hundreds of ripple points appeared all around them, and started to reach out for one another. Even in her weakened state, the amount of ripples that poured out energy was enough to send a blast so large it encompassed the battle area and KO'd Kuroda's team instantly.

Ripple meanwhile was unharmed, and rose back to her feet so she could dust herself off, "Guess that means I win. Thanks for the workout, Sone! You still owe me dinner for that one time in Tokyo."

"I know, I know," he replied, slightly embarrassed as she left, so he blew his whistle to get things back in a better state. "Well, that's one victory for the Pro-Heroes. Armed Guard and Angel Wings will take care of your classmates. The next team up will be Team Chuya. Please go to the starting position!"

Chuya got up and her teammates followed. As they got into positions, Chuya stole a glance to the teachers and saw that Kuroda and the others woke up and were being apprised of the situation as a whole. Chuya steeled herself in order to be ready so that she wouldn't meet the same fate.

"And for your opponent, it's…Decagon!"

This time a man emerged from the trees, his attire was much more plain, but some of the students noticed that it was plated heavily, as though he needed the defense on all sides for one reason or another.

He bowed his head slightly to them, "I am honored to be helping the next generation of Pro-Heroes. Please, show me what you have learned so far."

Decagon went into a pose that showed he was ready to fight, Chuya and her team did the same. The whistle blew and the match began.

"I'm on him!" shouted Oshibu as he readied to blitz.

Chuya tried to stop him, but the words came out right as he blitzed away, "No! I know him, his Quirk is…"

Oshibu rushed right to the Pro-Hero, who also didn't move at the attack that headed his way. Instead, he just waited for it to come, and Oshibu slammed right into a solid invisible wall just in front of the Pro-Hero, and he bounced away rather hard.

"…a perfect counter to your speed…"

The man chuckled heavily at this, "Young man, hasn't anyone ever told you to not rush into things?"

"Decagon. Pro-Hero. Quirk: Invisible Walls. No mime jokes please, this guy gets them plenty. But like a mime, he has invisible walls he can control and place wherever he wants. Care to guess how many? It's ten if you can't tell. So if he just showed that one to Oshibu…where are the other nine?"

"Oh, enough of this," chastised Goya as he stepped forward, "behold what real power is."

He held out his hand to get his psychic field to ensnare the Pro-Hero, but for whatever reason, it didn't work. Instead, the aura appeared around a box that surrounded the Pro-Hero.

Decagon chuckled again, "That is nice, but you left yourself open…"

He clapped his hands together, and two of the invisible walls slammed into Goya, hard. So much so that it KO'd him pretty easily.

Now two members down, Chuya was furious because both times she lost a teammate due to impatience and arrogance, she wouldn't let that happen to her. Or at least, not that easily.

"Wasuke, go full shield and charge right at him," she ordered, "he'll try and stop you with his walls, put as much pressure on him as you can. Anno, go Super Shark and do a similar thing from another angle. I'll go into my water form and attack from somewhere else. He's got an advantage with his ten walls, now let's use it to our advantage but spreading them out thin!"

Content with their orders, the three that remained went to reclaim some of the honor and glory they lost. The Pro-Hero though was merely amused as he went to counter them every step of the way.

Due to his walls being invisible, he could send them anywhere he wanted in order to trip them up, or lead them into another direction. Despite the strength of Anno, even he couldn't break through the walls. And while Wasuke could endure getting hit by them, and not get the "crush treatment" like Goya did, that didn't mean he was able to counterattack in any meaningful way.

Their true trump card was Chuya, who could use her aquabody to warp around the walls and try to strike.

But that was another problem she ran into, literally. Because as Goya had shown, the Pro-Hero had already placed walls around him to prevent attacks directly hitting him. And unlike Hana, she couldn't merge with the ground and appear within by going through it.

As a result, Chuya just rammed into the "glass box" over and over again to try and find a weakness, but couldn't, or at least, not one that was obvious. Decagon saw this and shifted tactics. He used his remaining walls to trip up Anno in the literal sense and send him briefly into the air. Then, he used another wall to slam the shark into his shielded-classmate. Which removed both of them from the battle.

"That's two more done," Decagon noted with a small smile, "and now for you, oh lady of water."

"I'm not giving up!" Chuya shouted at him.

"Good, that shows you have potential. But just because you have potential…"

Chuya tried to branch out in her attacks, but the Pro-Hero just endured them until she was forced to bring everything back to center. When she did, Decagon moved all ten of his walls around her water form and put her in a literal cage that she couldn't see.

"…doesn't mean you can use it to its fullest yet…"

She tried to break out, but the seal was perfectly tight with the ground, and so she was immobilized and taken out of the fight. The Trainer blew the whistle and declared the match over.

"Nice try, Team Chuya," he said with a small clap, which was matched by the students in part.

Victory granted to him, Decagon bowed to them once again, "Thanks for the fun, keep working hard. You'll be good heroes one day."

He waved to The Trainer before he departed, and thus the session continued, "Alright, next up will be…Team Eri!"

The Trainer gave a quick point to the field and the third team went to the start position. This time though, Class 1-B could tell there was a very nervous look on their classmates faces. They just saw two very good teams go down without much effort, and that theme didn't seem to be close to ending anytime soon.

"Your opponent will be…Auditory."

For the second time, a woman came out of the section of trees the others were staged at. True to the word, she dressed as if she belonged on the stage, a true diva. Complete with fan that she used to cool herself off.

"Oh, this weather is dreadful on my skin, Sone!" she said with a very diva-ish tone. "Let's get this over with."

"Very well," he said with a sigh, "match begin!"

Eri tried to give out orders, but just as she started, Auditory opened her own mouth. But nothing came out of it. In fact, silence was heard from everywhere. Which was part of the problem.

Because as Eri realized, she couldn't hear herself, or anything for that matter. She looked to the others and saw similar freaked out expressions, as they didn't know what happened.

"Auditory. Pro-Hero. Quirk: Sound Cancelation. You ever get hit in the head on accident and it takes a while for your hearing to come back? You just get that ringing in your ears? Well imagine that on a grand scale. She can literally emit a pulse that cancels out all sound in a set area. No sound? No communication, no warning signs, and so on. And when people can't hear…people panic."

Eri tried to get her team to calm down, but the sensation overwhelmed them, and as a result, Auditory threw her fan at them, and as it approached, it started to pour our a very brightly colored smokescreen.

Now basically blind and deaf, Eri's team could do nothing but watch in horror as they were picked off one by one by the Pro-Hero. Eri was the last to fall due to her presence of mind and Quirk, but it just delayed the inevitable.

The smoke eventually cleared, and not unlike the final curtain of a show, the diva Pro-Hero posed victoriously for the "crowd" before she brought the sound back.

"And…scene," she said with a dramatic tone.

The Trainer patted his ears to make sure they still worked, "Yep, you got them, and faster than the others, good job."

She started to fan herself once again as she left, "Naturally, but be a doll and next pick a place that's better for my complexion."

"I'll consider it…alright, last but not least, Team Tonen!"

Arguably more nervous than any point beforehand at this camp, Team Tonen got up and took their positions.

The Trainer made sure Eri's team was off the battlefield and was tended to before he turned back to the final team, "And your opponent is…The Return Hero: Edib!"

A rather short and portly man approached them all. This threw everyone off guard because he was dressed for combat, but not in a way that many would say was very intimidating.

However, given all he had seen, Tonen knew to not underestimate the opponent. Especially since something about his name gave him pause.

"Match…begin!"

The whistle blew and the team went to work, Tonen gave a nod to Kanagita to get her to transform and attack, and he gave a motion for Hana to merge with the ground for a sneak attack. He quickly told Ueno to stay next to him so they could redirect any attacks launched, and Doza to break up the field and make projectiles to fling.

The team did that, and went to work on the Pro-Hero. Just like in Kuroda's team bout, they put the Pro-Hero on their heels, at least for a time. Despite being short and rotund, the man had hops, and seemed to bound from spot to spot at times.

The key difference in this battle though was that of hits. Not hits on Tonen's team, hits FROM Tonen's team. Because with the exception of Ueno, every one of them were able to get attacks on the Pro-Hero. Whether it was by fists, projectiles, or air blasts, they hit him, repeatedly and often.

But Edib didn't stop, he just kept going, for minutes on end, and the more they did stuff to him, the more they realized they hadn't seen his Quirk, unless it was something very overt that they had missed.

Tonen delivered blast after blast of his air pressure during the fight, but the puzzle of the Pro-Hero's name kept running through his mind.

"You ever have that moment where you KNOW something…but you can't put your finger on it? It's right on the tip of your tongue, but you can't speak it out? That was me during that fight. I knew by that point that the Pro-Hero was a counter for my team, I just couldn't figure out how. …until it was too late that is."

Kanagita's Brick Break form punted Edib high into the air, and after a few moments he crashed back down to the ground. Yet despite the fall, he popped right back up, then smiled and said, "That should be enough."

It was in that moment that an aura appeared around him, and a light bulb went off in Tonen's head, "Return hero…Edib is bide spelled backwards!"

"Special Move: RETURN TO SENDER!"

"Edib. Pro-Hero. Quirk: Energy Stockpile. This little guy has a large gas tank if you will, he can take a lot of hits, and then, with all the energy he stored up…well…you're about to see…"

With a roar, Edib sent out a massive energy blast toward Tonen's team. It was so fast and all encompassing that no one could dodge it, just be taken in by it.

When the blinding light faded, Tonen's team was laid out, and the whistle blew, for the match was over.

When Tonen awoke a few minutes later, he was surrounded by some of 1-B like Azujima, Kuroda, The twins and Iha.

"It's ok, Tonen, you're ok, you were just knocked out by that Pro-Hero," said Azujima calmly.

Tonen groaned as he sat up, his body was sore, "Yeah, that hurt."

"We were all hurt," noted Kuroda as she massaged her own sore spots.

"Yep," added Iha.

The unwelcome sound of a whistle got their attention once again, and this time when they looked at The Trainer and the teachers, they had a familiar look on their faces. Not one they'd seen at school or the camp, but rather, of a parent as they gave a look to their children after they learned a much needed lesson.

"Would anyone like to tell me the point of today's lesson?" asked the Trainer.

"That losing is demeaning?" bit Goya.

"No, that's not the lesson," Angel Wings said with both sternness and a glare to her student.

"With respect," piped up Fenella, "I don't mind getting battle time in with Pro-Heroes, but that was almost a massacre!"

"Exactly," noted Armed Guard, "and THAT was the point. You were all going to lose, period."

The class went into a near uproar at this statement. The Trainer blew his whistle to calm them down, "Now hold on, let us explain. Each day of camp was to prove something or make a clear point. Such as how you need to push your Quirks as well as your bodies. How you need to strategize for the unknown, or be able to handle chaotic situations. All of you did admirable in those tests, but today…was your reality check lesson."

Angel Wings stepped forward, "All of those heroes aren't in the top 10, or even the top 20. Yet, they were able to beat you for two very specific reasons. One, they had much more experience than you, which meant they knew how to use their Quirks to the fullest. The second reason…is that they knew everything you could do, while you likely didn't know any of them."

The class again went into a near uproar, but Angel Wings managed to get them back under control.

"I know that sounds like it's cheating, but let me ask you this. If I picked one of you to tell me your favorite Pro-Hero, could you tell me their Quirk and abilities to a good degree?"

Silence gave her the answer, and she nodded as she knew they understood.

"Our line of work is dangerous," admitted Armed Guard as he joined Angel Wings, "but one of the biggest dangers we have is the spotlight. Our culture wants us to tell others who we are, what we are, and so on. To a smart villain, that's all they need to formulate a trap. MANY a Pro-Hero has fallen by such means."

"And that's why we did this test," The Trainer continued. "You were all getting really confident in both your individual and team skills. This was a reminder that there is always someone out there better than you. No Pro-Hero is undefeated in battle, not even Mythical. You must take every battle with every Quirk villain out there as a serious test of you and your abilities. Study who is out there, think about a variety of strategies based on what could go wrong, and so on."

Angel Wings flapped said wings so she could float in the air a bit, "You never stop learning as a Pro-Hero. You always have to grow and evolve, else you'll get stagnant and put yourself at risk, or worse, innocent people."

"So do NOT get complacent," barked Armed Guard, "never settle, always push yourself. Because one day, you might meet that villain who is better than you, or has studied you, and in that moment, you'll either rise to the occasion, or you'll die."

That somber note stiffened up the entire class. The teachers knew they had gotten through to them, and that's what mattered.

"We've given you a lot to think about, tests are over for the day, you have the rest of your time to yourselves," The Trainer said with a soft blow of a whistle to signal them off.

Class 1-B slowly and very grimly left the field, each in their own train of thought. To the extent that the gravity of the situation would only weigh heavier on their minds as they got back to the lodges.

This was their "reality check" day. The reality was, they were all knocked out in their battles with the Pro-Heroes, but if they had been villains, they could've killed them with laughable ease.

Class 1-B was good, few could deny that, especially since they had faced true villains at certain points. But on that day, they were handed a very grim reminder…that they're still called "Students" for a reason.

*Credits*