My Shinobi Academia: The Legend of the Guardian of Light

by Tatanka4Life

A space-time accident lands Amaririsu Yūhi, kunoichi of the Leaf, inside of U.A. High School. Confronted by a foreign world, the shinobi struggles to find a way back home. Her path is beset by darkness, its gate guarded by the face of evil, but along its sharp contours she meets true Heroes and friends who banish the darkness with light. She finds love, and leaves behind a legend.

5. Chapter 5: Final Verdict

Chapter 5

Final Verdict: The Agony of Reality

The Last Shinobi left a mark on Class 1-A.

Of the twenty-one students that comprised the Class, twelve sustained some manner of injury, the severity of which ranged from mild to critical. Of those twelve, Bakugo, Sero, Sato, Kaminari, Hagakure and Mineta bore the worst physical injuries.

Yet no one was truly left unmarred by the experience. Terror scarred their hearts. Helplessness and weakness crushed their spirits. Morale, hope, they withered away like a rose abandoned in an unforgiving desert.

Midoriya examined his classmates. They gathered together on the highest floor of a deserted mall complex, hidden within an abandoned clothing store. Asui, Todoroki, Uraraka and Igarashi aided Yaoyorozu in applying rudimentary bandages, created by the Creation Quirk wielder, to what injuries they could. The mood was solemn. Yaoyorozu's hands, he noticed, were trembling. She whispered apologies to every single classmate she worked on, face stained by dried blood she hadn't bothered to clean.

Ashido sat beside Hagakure's body, visible thanks to the bandages wrapped around her torso and the blanket drawn over her. The Acid Quirk wielder held her friend's hand with tears in her eyes, sniffling now and then. Mineta lay unconscious on the floor, covered by a smaller blanket.

Sitting against the far wall was Sato, who stared intensely at the same scene around them; bandages were wrapped around his midsection. Sero lay supine beside him. His broken arm was held in a makeshift cloth sling, a grimace was eternally etched onto his face despite being asleep or unconscious; Midoriya wasn't sure if the pain had knocked him out, or if he somehow found a way to sleep through it.

Asui and Uraraka were finishing the bandages on Kaminari, who continued to wince and groan through the pain, but never complained out loud about his personal injuries. Kirishima worked on splinting Bakugo's broken bones. Both looked utterly frustrated and grim.

Aoyama sat alone, knees hugged to his chest and no smile on his face; Midoriya had never seen him without a smile or attempting to shine in some way. Now he looked like everyone else—insecure and lonely. Even his dazzling cape didn't appear to shine or sparkle.

Shoji and Jiro kept watch. They used their Quirks to look and listen for any sight or sound of the Villain's approach; a light lining of bandages wrapped Jiro's injured Earphone Jack. Tokoyami and the wounded and bandaged Ojiro stood with them, their expressions grim as they waited for the next encounter. Koda rushed around between the girls and Todoroki, helping deliver more supplies or offer silent and nervous aid.

Finally there was Iida. The Class Rep knelt beside their fallen teacher, a solemn and serious expression on his face.

This is the reality she wanted us to face, Midoriya thought. In the heat of battle here, against Stain and at the U.S.J., none of us really processed the collateral damage or had the chance to let the situation settle. It was just one thing after another. No stopping. Our adrenaline was constantly rushing through our veins, our hearts afraid but our bodies reacting to save or protect or survive no matter what.

Now, though… He clenched his hands into fists. This is the reality Heroes face against powerful Villains who destroy everything in their path, or the natural disasters that displace normal everyday people and leave widespread devastation.

This is the despair she has felt. The helplessness. The terror. The pain.

I can't do anything.

One For All wasn't a healing Quirk. He couldn't punch away the injuries or the fear and sense of helplessness his friends and classmates were feeling. He couldn't Detroit Smash hope into them or use Full Cowling to heal the wounded soul of their enemy. No. A Quirk alone wasn't enough to be a Pro Hero. A Quirk alone couldn't save the hearts of the people he was supposed to protect from danger.

Once again Midoriya found himself humbled in his first semester at U.A. by a stranger. Gran Torino was right when he scolded him for making a bigger deal out of his Quirk than it really deserved. He idolized All Might, yet he failed again and again to remember that it wasn't just physical power that made the Symbol of Peace who he was or a flashy Quirk.

It's his fearless smile. That's the kind of Hero I want to become. Someone like All Might. But…

Midoriya looked around at his somber or busy classmates. He sighed heavily.

I'm not at his level yet. My smile won't save them. It isn't fearless or confident. It wouldn't even be a real smile.

What did he do? What could he do to help them all?

"Indecision is the worst trait for someone who thinks they can be a Hero. Indecision leads to innocent people dying. People like my family and Clan."

She was coming for them again. She wouldn't stop. Her convictions were too strong.

"Tch, Symbol of Peace. This world worships him and believes everyone is safe because he exists. It gives reason for these so-called Heroes to relax, to take their jobs lightly. It makes this society of Heroes weak. I'm not fool enough to believe I can kill All Might. But I can kill you. His successor.

"That will break him. Then he'll understand the pain his Symbol causes me. He made the Heroes who could've saved my family lazy and weak. Without another Symbol of Peace, Villains will rise up and bring more pain to the world. Then, as new Heroes arise with an understanding of true pain, they'll build a society of pillars. A true Hero society, not a society built around one mortal, fragile old man."

His mind warred between understanding her motives and refusing to blame All Might.

All Might wasn't responsible for the death of her family. It was because the Symbol of Peace existed that crime plummeted. All Might sacrificed his day to day life to inspire hope in the world, to crush Villains and lower the overall rate of crime.

…Which could, in theory, lead to Heroes being lazier—weaker. Their society worshiped and built itself around All Might. They saw him as the invincible Symbol of Peace. Yet…Midoriya knew the truth. So did this Villain.

"All Might's time is coming to an end."

Every time he pushed past his limits, the time he could maintain his Hero form shortened.

The Symbol of Peace was one man, mortal and fallible as the rest of them because of the injury he sustained. And Midoriya knew he wasn't anywhere close to being strong enough to inherit his place as Symbol of Peace at present.

But if All Might would've been there, he would've saved her family. It isn't his fault, he tried to rationalize. She's full of grief and anger. Blaming him and attacking us is her response to it. That is what she's chosen to do.

"Chosen?! I didn't choose any of this! When my Big Brother was murdered, when my parents and Clan were slaughtered in the middle of the night, when the boy I considered a brother betrayed me, what choice did I have! I never had a choice! This path was forced upon me by the darkness in this world! This vendetta is my family's gift to me!"

The aspiring Hero shook his head violently.

Come on! Stop it! Stop thinking about her motives and whether she's right or wrong. That isn't helping anyone. Right now, she's your enemy. She wants to hurt or kill everyone here. No matter what she feels, what she is doing is wrong and that's all that matters. We have to stop this Villain.

If only it felt so clean-cut.

Iida rose. He strode over to Shoji and Jiro. In the solemn silence, it was impossible not to hear them speaking to one another.

"Shoji, Jiro, has the Villain made any approach?"

Jiro shook her head. Shoji extended one of his Dupli-Arms towards the Class Rep and transformed it into a mouth, from which he spoke without compromising his surveillance or his attention.

"No. We're secure, for now."

"Hm," Iida clutched his chin in thought. "It's unlikely we lost her. Yet I can't help but question her choice of tactic. She had our entire Class in the same place, with more than a handful of us severely injured. Although Todoroki's attack, combined with Asui's, Midoriya's and Igarashi's assault did clearly force her into a retreat, why maintain it? She was quick to chase us when Igarashi and Bakugo were attacking her."

"Maybe we had her on the ropes?" Jiro offered.

"No."

Yaoyorozu's shaken yet firm voice cut off the optimistic thought before it could spread its roots. She stood in the center of the room beside Igarashi wearing a solemn expression; her hands were still trembling.

"No, we didn't," she repeated. "We haven't lost her and we haven't gained the advantage. Nothing we—" Yaoyorozu fell silent, eyes falling away. "I mean, nothing the others were able to do significantly damaged her. She let us go, temporarily."

"She wanted us to see this," Midoriya said, nodding.

"See what, Midoriya?" Kirishima asked.

"What she's done to our classmates and friends. Their injuries. This feeling of despair we're all feeling. It's all a part of her plan."

"More psychological warfare?" Iida questioned, still gripping his chin in thought.

Midoriya nodded. Yaoyorozu shook her head.

"No. That's not the whole picture," she argued weakly. "The Villain is already ten steps ahead of us. She's planned every encounter, every possible scenario and has executed her plans and adapted to new variables without a single misstep."

Yaoyorozu looked around at their classmates. "She has studied every single one of us. Combat prowess, personality profiles, she knew how we would react before we did. And she…" She lowered her head and placed her hand over her heart, voice wavering. "And she knows our insecurities and how to toy with them. It isn't just psychological warfare. The Villain has controlled our every move without us ever realizing it."

"She isn't in control of me," Bakugo grunted.

Igarashi's violet eyes cracked with lightning. "Take a look at yourself, you overgrown firecracker. And when you do, remember when she breaks your other arm after inciting your fragile ego to bite your tongue off to spare us from your stupidity."

"Go to hell, Spark Plug."

"Okay. How about you stand up and send me there yourself."

Bakugo growled viciously.

"Kirishima, muzzle that feral dog so he can learn something for once," Igarashi said coldly.

"Got something you want to say, Spark Plug?"

"You're responsible for this," she said, her voice ice. "You couldn't just shut up and let me handle it. No. You had to try to blow us both sky high to soothe your goddamn bruised ego."

"I'm responsible, huh? Take a look in the mirror, Spark Plug. You're the one holding back against her because you want to save her." Bakugo sneered. "I should've known you'd be stupid enough to believe a Villain's sob story. You were one, after all."

Lightning crackled around Yukiko as she dug her nails into her palm. Her scarred lip curled in a snarl.

"Kaachan…" Midoriya tried to speak up. Neither seemed to hear him.

Kirishima frowned at his friend. "Dude, come on. Igarashi isn't a Villain. She wants to be a Hero just as much as all of us."

"Tch, yeah right. All it took was one Villain for Spark Plug to show her true colors again."

"That's not what happened and you know it, Bakugo!" Kirishima argued. "Sure, Igarashi was a part of an outlaw group. So what? She's here now and that's what matters!"

"Don't bother arguing with him, Kirishima," Igarashi spat, purple lightning crackling around her. "Let the pampered prince sit on his throne of righteousness. Let the bully tell everyone here what it means to be a Hero! Go ahead, Bakugo, tell everyone here what it takes to be a Hero. Tell everyone here how you, the greatest Hero to ever live, have bullied and belittled and told Quirkless kids to kill themselves!

"Katsuki the Righteous! Katsuki the Honorable! We all stand and bow before you!" Igarashi, with all of her venom, mocked a grand bow. Bakugo growled with a vile grin on his face. "Katsuki the Selfish. Katsuki the Prideful. Katsuki the Bully. He's the perfect Hero everyone. The one we should all aspire to become. Because that's what everyone has always told him since we were children.

"Oh, Bakugo, your Quirk is so wonderful. You'll be a Hero for sure," she mocked. "Ooh Bakugo, please remember me when you become the flashiest and strongest Hero ever to exist. How's that Quirk working for you now, Katsuki?" she spat his name. "That girl crushed you. She made you look like the prideful fool you are. And you know what? I enjoyed watching every moment of it."

"Yukiko, hey—"

Midoriya was ignored.

"She was right about you. You're nothing like All Might," she said coldly. "You're just another bastard like Endeavor. A second place and second-rate scumbag overshadowed by real Heroes."

"And you're a carbon copy of your mother," Katsuki grinned vilely.

Yukiko's violet eyes sparked and flashed with all of the intensity and ominous nature of real lightning. Midoriya could feel the electricity in the air. He could feel his hairs beginning to stand on end.

She clenched her hands into fists, curled her lip in a vicious snarl; the violent look in her eyes and volatile air around her made Midoriya remember a frightening thunderstorm from his childhood. The lightning sounded like it was crashing into his home, causing the walls to tremble and his bed to quake. He was so terrified he couldn't move or cry out for his mother. He remembered it so vividly for the first time in years the fear he'd felt from that storm. He'd been certain he was going to die, so he buried himself beneath his All Might blanket as if it were an invincible shield.

His mother had come to his room that night. Together they hid under his All Might blanket, safe and secure from the storm.

There was no blanket here that provided safety or security.

When her hair began to levitate, Midoriya instinctively prepared to activate Full Cowling, shifting his feet on the floor so he could jump between them if necessary.

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped.

"That's enough, both of you." Todoroki spoke with authority, wearing a severe expression. He stepped into the large gap between the two and shifted his gaze between them. "Clearly neither of you listened to Yaoyorozu. The Villain is controlling you both; she's pitted your personalities and your ideals against each other so we self-destruct and become disorganized. We don't have time for your petty arguments."

Todoroki eyed Igarashi with his stern dark grey eye. "I understand the connection you feel with this girl. I'd like to save her, too. More than anyone else here, you and I both know how suffering, resentment and grief can blind. And as we all saw, she never had a chance at a normal life. If we can save her after we survive this, we'll try to. But right now she is threatening all of our lives. You can't hold back, Igarashi. If you do, our classmates will die."

Igarashi grunted and deactivated her Quirk.

Todoroki's searing turquoise eye landed on Bakugo. "If you can still fight with a broken arm and ankle, by all means help us defeat the Villain. But if you still think you can fight and win on your own, you'll die. It's as simple as that. We don't have the luxury of squabbling like kids anymore. So grow up. This Villain is beyond our current level."

"That all you have to say, Icy-Hot? Are you running to defend Spark Plug now?" Bakugo ground out.

Todoroki looked away, rolling his eyes. He deactivated his right side, and the temperature of the room began to rise again.

"I don't need to defend her. Igarashi can handle herself." He turned his softer gaze back to the Creation Quirk wielder. "Yaoyorozu, please continue."

"We… We have to assume the Villain knows where we are already," Yaoyorozu said. "Our enemy has an S-rank level of intelligence. She has a superior understanding of tactics and combat, and has predicted our every reaction since we fell under her illusion."

Yaoyorozu grabbed at her left elbow. "To be honest, we were easy to predict. When facing an ambush, the first thing any Hero should do is retreat out of combat and create a command post to regroup, recover and direct new actions from. So she cut off our exit, trapping us and preventing a call for reinforcements. Any plan I tried to make as we retreated was a reaction to her and the situation she created—reactions she planned for. And since she studied all of our Quirks and fighting styles, with her level of intelligence it wouldn't be difficult to predict every single move we made.

"Then, with the situation entirely under her control, she picked off specific targets. First, Mr. Aizawa—the sole Pro Hero on Ground Beta today. He was her greatest threat. But she learned his Quirks weakness in their first encounter, while we believed she possessed a total of two Quirks—a speed enhancement and a Warp Quirk. We didn't know she has at least nine Quirks."

"Wait, she has nine Quirks?" Uraraka asked.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Speed enhancement. The Warp Quirk. A Cloning Quirk, which allows her to create duplicates of herself. A shadow controlling Quirk. A fire Quirk she can expel from her mouth or emit from her blade. A Quirk that allows her to disassemble into crows and reassemble her body. A sort of magnetic Quirk she uses to connect and run along any surface. That green aura and orb she emitted. And the illusion casting Quirk."

"I don't get it. How can one person even have that many Quirks naturally?"

"I don't know. Although there are cases like Igarashi and Todoroki, I've never heard of anyone wielding more than two distinct powers. It may not be natural at all. Maybe she's similar to the Nomu the League of Villains used at the U.S.J. It also had multiple Quirks."

"She isn't a Nomu," Igarashi said with a shake of her head. "The Nomu had no personality, no emotions. It was just an empty shell of power that responded to orders."

"Maybe she can transfer Quirks," Asui offered, joining the group.

Midoriya stiffened. He never even considered that possibility. Were there other Quirks out there like One For All that could be transferred? Or a Quirk that allowed her to take Quirks from others? Is that how she came into possession of so much power?

Could it be the power she now wields…could she have inherited the powers of the people she lost?

The fact his classmates were even considering the possibility of transferable Quirks made him nervous. It was too close to the secret of One For All.

"How she possesses multiple Quirks isn't important," Iida cut in. "Time isn't on our side. We still have twenty minutes of this period left before there is even a possibility of reinforcements. We must prepare before she arrives. Yaoyorozu, do you have any recommendations? You have a greater grasp of the Villains abilities than the rest of us."

The Creation Quirk wielder froze up as if turned into an ice statue by Todoroki.

"I- I don't…" Her hand tightened around her elbow. "I think she has two other Quirks. Both reside in her eyes. Although she naturally has high situational awareness, I think one of her eyes grants her a sort of x-ray vision. When we made it to the exit, she was able to see Hagakure without her gloves or shoes on as she tried to sneak away, despite Bakugo attacking her. Her back was turned to Hagakure, and she countered attacks out of her line of sight without ever looking away from the person in front of her, so…she may be able to see three hundred and sixty degrees as well."

"And the other?" Todoroki asked.

"I'm not sure. But…she could keep track of Igarashi. It may enhance her vision to quickly process fast moving objects." Yaoyorozu sighed nervously. "The Villain has meticulously targeted anyone who can immobilize her or sneak away. Hagakure was the first she attacked in our group. Mineta and Sero both had Quirks that could immobilize her, if we were able to catch her. So did Mr. Aizawa. Kaminari could eliminate her with one attack. Bakugo is a combat specialist with a versatile Quirk.

"The rest of us she ignored, inflicted minor injuries to or wore down—like Kirishima and Tokoyami. There's also her motive. She…she had Mina and I at her mercy. She could have killed us both, yet she lectured us on our weakness or inaction instead."

"She doesn't want to kill any of us," Igarashi stated.

"How can you be so sure?" Iida challenged. "Look at what she's done to our classmates!"

"They're all breathing, aren't they?" she returned calmly.

"Yes, but—"

"If she wanted to kill us, we would be dead already, Class Rep. How many of us has she had at her mercy? Yet not a single one of us is dead."

Igarashi crossed her arms over her belly. "She's made her motives clear. She wants Hero society to change. She wants our society to be held up by a collective group of strong pillars, not just held up on All Might's bulging back. Because whether any of us like to admit it or not, All Might isn't immortal or in possession of the fountain of youth. He will retire one day. And the world will lose the Symbol of Peace that has kept it safe all these years.

"And in her eyes, the current crop of Heroes are weak, lazy or inefficient because the Symbol of Peace exists. It's just a job to them. A paycheck. So they slide through Hero life, never maximizing their potential. Which she blames for all of the death she has experienced."

"It isn't All Might's fault."

Midoriya hadn't realized he muttered it until violet eyes snapped onto him.

"Okay. Why don't you walk out there, Fanboy, and tell her that. Tell her that it isn't the Symbol of Peace's fault everyone she has ever loved was murdered. I'm sure that will make her feel better. It'll clear the air and she'll go on her merry way, relieved of her grief."

Midoriya swallowed and lowered his eyes, feeling like a scolded child.

Yukiko measured him with her stern violet gaze. "You worship All Might, I get it. He's the Hero you've always aspired to be like since we were kids. And that's fine. My idols are and always will be my father and sister for the sacrifices they've made for others and for my sake, who I would defend the same way you defend All Might. But do not ignore this girl's grief and pain to shield your idol from flaws.

"What she has done and plans to do to the rest of us is wrong. But she isn't wrong to feel the way she does. Are we stronger-willed than her? Put yourselves in her position and imagine the people she lost as the people you love. Are you so certain you wouldn't stray into darkness?"

Igarashi let the thought sit with the group. Iida noticeably glanced away. Kirishima lowered his eyes. Midoriya fought the terrible knot in his chest as he imagined losing his mother, All Might and his friends.

"Don't be so quick to judge her," Igarashi stated firmly. "It's our duty as future Heroes to save people. And I will save her. None of you need to hold back or understand what I feel or why I feel it."

"What do you feel, Yukiko?" Asui asked.

Violet eyes flicked away, locking onto a blank space on an uninspiring wall in silence. Midoriya was certain she wouldn't answer. He was certain she would change the subject and leave them all without an answer. He'd grown used to it. Understood how she became so reclusive with her emotions. She was someone who internalized and handled her personal issues alone; that's just the way things were now.

That made it all the more surprising when she began to explain.

"Imagine staring into a mirror," she said at length in a softer voice. "And the person staring back is a complete stranger. Yet…your souls are connected. This stranger understands you better than anyone ever could, and you understand them just as intimately. Despite that, you're fighting each other, hurting each other. And every time you hurt them, you hurt yourself."

"Oh…"

"We need to start preparing," Igarashi changed the subject.

---

"They're finally getting organized. Took them long enough," Amari chuckled.

The kunoichi sat on the edge of a nearby building, right leg bent towards her and propping up her right arm as her left leg hung over the edge. She lightly tapped her left heel against the concrete structure at a steady beat, watching the abandoned mall complex below her and its occupants through her Byakugan. Perched beside her were Atsuko and Osamu, the former of the pair humming in amusement.

"Too slow, children. Far too slow."

"Shall we finish this diversion, Lady Haya?"

Amari stood up to her full height and reached up into the air, stretching out her shoulders and back. After a pleasant groan, she lowered her arms and smiled cockily down at the mall.

"This is going to be fun."

---

Assuming Yaoyorozu's hypothesis on the Villain's eye Quirks was accurate, the idea to hide and wait or ambush their enemy was rendered impossible. So they prepared for battle. On the upper floors, Jiro and Aoyama waited in cover behind the balcony to attack at long distance, while the likes of Yaoyorozu, Shoji, Koda, Sato and Tokoyami stood guard over them.

On the ground floor, Midoriya found himself flanked by Todoroki, Iida, Kirishima and Igarashi. They didn't bunch up. They maintained distance, with Igarashi, Iida and Midoriya acting as the frontline fighters while Todoroki would use his Quirks at mid- to long-range. Kirishima would be his backup should the Villain get past them.

Finally, hidden along the parallel balconies to the ground floor were Uraraka, Asui, Ojiro, Ashido and Kaminari. Midoriya hoped this set-up would be enough. Honestly, the total power their entire Class brought together was theoretically enough to stand up to the likes of All Might; power alone wasn't enough to win here, though. They had to fight smart, work together and—

"The Villain has entered the perimeter," Shoji called down.

Midoriya swallowed roughly but steeled himself. This was it. What could be their final battle was about to begin.

Everyone readied themselves privately. Some took deep breaths to fight the anxiety and fear. Others, cool as cucumbers, merely prepared their Quirks. He could feel the chill of Todoroki's ice, the slightest tingle on his skin from the electricity of Igarashi's High Voltage. He could hear the hardening of Kirishima's body, the revving of Iida's engines.

Power surged through his body like a rush of adrenaline as he activated his Full Cowling, the green electricity making his eyes glimmer brightly as he shifted his feet into place.

Then he heard something else. Something from deeper within the mall, closer to the entrance that was as foreign as Ancient Greece was to modern Japan. It sounded like gales of wind. With a quick look up to the glass skylight above them, he noted that a storm hadn't suddenly whirled in to further the grim atmosphere.

"Did anyone else hear th—"

"Brace yourselves!" Shoji cut him off with a shout.

Gale force winds ripped through the mall and their formation. Igarashi and Iida took cover together behind a pillar. Midoriya raised his arms up in futile defense and tried to dig his heels in, having no such luxury. He felt something bladed rip through his costume and open a cut on his side. Then realized a moment later it was purely the wind that had done it.

In- incredible!

The upper floors weren't spared from the onslaught either. The larger boys and Dark Shadow protected and braced the others against the wind at the risk of their bodies. Asui's group had just enough time to rush into a store to escape the wind.

Midoriya, still struggling against the gales, tried to walk forward through it towards cover. But then another harsher gale seemed to punch him with the power of All Might, bowling him over and shoving him across the floor with a cry. He didn't go far. A short ice wall caught him before a second formed directly in front of him.

Air whistled and whipped around the two walls of ice. The gales were colder. Glancing over to the source, he saw Todoroki and Kirishima braced behind a similar structure. The frontal walls continued to crack, forcing the Ice Quirk wielder to repeatedly form replacement walls.

"She has a Wind Quirk, too?! What the hell is she?!" Kirishima yelled over the gales.

"Stay calm," Todoroki ordered. "This is just a display of power. Nothing more. The real attack will come soon."

The gales died out. Midoriya slowly rose to his feet.

"Thanks, Todoroki."

"Yeah, thanks man."

"Don't thank me yet," Todoroki replied, eyes focused on the approaching Villain.

She sauntered towards them without the slightest hint of doubt in her steps. What caught Midoriya's attention was the absence of the cuffs around her wrists and ankles, and the large Crow on her shoulder. Its dark feathers glimmered silver beneath the light.

The Villain stopped several paces away from them and cast her crimson and lavender eyes about the area.

"Do you have the Will to be Heroes? Or are you among the fakes? I'll draw the final verdict here and now. Know that you all stand on the executioners block, and only the righteous will survive."

"We will stop you," Todoroki declared.

The Crow hummed in amusement and shook its head. Her black eyes sparkled with mirth and looked upon the gathered group as if they were small children tying sheets around their necks to mimic wearing capes.

"Stop me? Stop me?" The Last Shinobi squinted at them. "Do you realize your very lives are at stake right now? Or do you think because you're training to be Heroes that everything will work out if you try hard enough? Stop me. Tch, even as your comrades and teacher lay broken, you act like this is a game where good always triumphs over evil. Let me show you reality."

For the second time in the day, Midoriya felt lightheaded.

His head began to spin. Suddenly the world began to shift and transform around them. The cement walls of the mall collapsed, and in their place snow covered mountains rose.

The temperature plummeted, the air stung his face; he could see his breath on each exhale. Midoriya squeezed his eyes shut and shivered violently.

So- so cold. It's cutting right through me.

He hugged his arms over his body then glanced to his classmates. Todoroki, Kirishima, Igarashi and Iida all mirrored his condition.

"I can't…use my Quirk," Todoroki hissed.

"Don't even bother. You're in my world now." The Last Shinobi didn't stand among them. Yet he could hear her voice clear as day, as if she were standing right beside him. "Take a walk in my sandals. See the reality of this world through my eyes."

"No- none of this is real," Iida's teeth chattered. "Remember that. The- these sensations aren't real. They're apart of her illusion."

"Real or not, it's still freezing!" Igarashi grunted. "Tsu, are you all right?"

"Ri- ribbit!"

A pillar of ice exploded into existence in front of them. The sounds of battle drew his attention upward, towards the peak of the pillar. Although the battle was out of visual sight, Midoriya could see it, even when he closed his eyes. He assumed it was the same for his classmates.

The Last Shinobi was locked in heated battle against a green-haired woman wielding an ice spear.

"Her name was Kōri Yukihana," the Villain provided context. "A…Villain, by your definitions. She worked for a man named Dotō Kazahana, a man responsible for overthrowing and assassinating the rightful ruler of this Land. His own brother. And my duty was to protect the rightful heir, her assistant and aid the resistance in overthrowing the tyrant. I declared many times I would stop them."

The Last Shinobi blocked a spinning strike from the ice spear, the strength and force of which pushed her along the ice. Before she could be thrown off the edge of the column, she created two clones, who rushed Kōri. She struck them down almost instantly.

Their battled continued to rage. The Last Shinobi gained a momentary edge with her speed, zipping in behind her enemy to kick her square in the back. But as she leapt in she caught Kōri's foot in her stomach. She skidded back on the ice.

"This wasn't our final encounter. But what you're about to see is the result of my arrogance. I let Kōri drag me into a personal battle. I fought to stop them. But that mentality has its price. Look over there, to the hill and train. See those men standing at the top of the hill. They're the resistance, and the man leading them was a good man. A man who loved his homeland and his Princess. His name was Sandayū Asama."

Midoriya swallowed roughly and rubbed his arms. Sandayū was rallying his men. The man on the train, who he presumed was Dotō, watched with disinterest alongside other lackeys.

With foolish hope, he flicked his eyes over to the Last Shinobi, begging her to rush to their aid against this terrible feeling in his stomach. She couldn't. Kōri stood in her way.

"Going so soon? But the slaughter is about to begin!"

"Get out of my way!"

They met in a deadlock. Kōri refused to budge, grinning cruelly.

"Ah ah ah, little flower. It's time to watch the show."

The resistance fighters charged down the hill, belting out battle cries. The fifty-one men made the ground tremble beneath their feet.

"Any second now you will witness a true massacre, and then you'll realize how hopeless this battle really is!" Kōri claimed wildly.

Midoriya felt his heart tighten. No. No! This couldn't happen. He tried to stumble through the snow, but his legs were too heavy, his body too slow.

The men reached halfway down the hill. And then carnage. Hundreds upon hundreds of blades, fired from hand cranked mechanisms of war, were released from the sides of the train cars. Directly into the samurai warriors.

Gasps and cries echoed out of Class 1-A. But they were drowned out by the horrible screams reverberating over the mountainside. And the laughter of Kōri. They watched the fifty-one men all die, helpless and unable to change the fate they'd already succumbed to.

The mountains faded away for the mall. Midoriya collapsed to his knees, eyes wide, his breathing erratic. Other classmates mirrored his reaction, or braced themselves on whatever they could; the balcony, a column, a classmate.

He'd…he'd never seen such bloodshed before. Never had he seen people die right in front of him. His stomach was churning.

I felt it…I felt her emotions. Her guilt. Her sorrow. Her…hatred. Her convictions.

With fearful eyes, he looked up to the Last Shinobi. She didn't look at him. She didn't look at any of them. She stared mournfully at her left hand.

"I…couldn't save them," she said, voice quieted by regret and sorrow. "I failed to stop Kōri and Dotō. People like them see themselves as gods who get to pick and choose who lives and who dies. And my weakness cost those people their lives."

She raised her eyes to meet theirs. "Do you understand yet? This isn't a game. You all stand as possible future guardians to this world. Stopping me isn't enough. Just saying you'll stop a Villain isn't enough. You're all soldiers. And each battle is a war you must win, or innocent lives will suffer. That is reality.

"So no, you won't stop me. Unlike you, I am here to fight a war. You're here to stop Villains."

The Last Shinobi took a step forward. An invisible weight pressed down on his shoulders—on all of their shoulders. The intensity that irradiated off her, the level of experience, her battle prowess, he could feel it all in her presence. Beneath its pressure he could barely move.

"Don't resent me for what I must do," she said. "Just like you, I have dreams of my own. I want this world to know peace. And one day I hope I can put my blades down and find my peace from combat. But to achieve my dream I first must become the catalyst that changes this society."

"What you're doing is wrong!" Iida argued, bracing himself against the column, a bead of sweat dripping off his chin. "You may frame your intentions as righteous, but your actions and what you've done to my classmates and teacher are anything but!"

"Morality isn't so clean-cut, Tenya Iida. Was the slaying of my Clan right?"

"Absolutely not, but that doesn't—"

"And if I told you they planned a coup d'état, that the leaders intended to kill hundreds upon hundreds of innocent people in their blind hatred and desire for power, dooming those who desired peace within our Clan along with them, does that change your opinion in any way?"

"If that is true, then the leaders of your Clan are no different than the Villains who killed them."

"Oh? And what if I told you my Clan fell into darkness because we were mistreated by society, cast out and imprisoned within our homes because people feared our power? What if we were treated as monsters? Looked at as possible Villains who might at any point snap and destroy everything when we were normal people who loved, who had families and obeyed laws and tried to mend relations peacefully? Where does your moral compass land? Who is right and who is wrong?"

Iida clenched his jaw. "What are you saying?"

"No situation is black and white. There is nuance this world is blind to, and I'm here to open your eyes to reality."

Struggling onto his feet, Midoriya nervously stepped into position to defend once more and swallowed the solid rock of fear in his throat. His classmates prepared themselves, too.

"Bravery and courage in the face of an overwhelming threat is admirable. However, you've made one massive miscalculation."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Kirishima asked hesitantly.

The Last Shinobi smirked and stopped her slow advance. "You didn't plan to fight a dragon."

"Fight…a what?"

She didn't repeat herself. She weaved her strange sign language faster than before and launched a fire ball at the glass ceiling. The attack shattered the ceiling, caused an immediate rain of razor sharp projectiles. Igarashi flickered with purple lightning, rushing up the inactive escalators to carry their slower classmates out of the way as Iida and Midoriya hid themselves under the balconies. Todoroki created a wave of ice to hide himself and Kirishima under.

Their enemy dematerialized into Crows and reformed on the solid portion of ceiling, upside down. Midoriya could see the smirk on her lips as she watched them.

When the glass finished raining and everyone was accounted for, unharmed thanks to Igarashi and Tokoyami running people out of the way or shielding them with Dark Shadow, it wasn't the Last Shinobi to taunt them, but Shoji who called out the final warning.

"Be on your guard! Something big is coming!"

At that moment, the large green bullet shot through the open ceiling. It landed with a dull and earth shaking crash on the wide balcony where their long-range users and reinforcements waited.

Midoriya's eyes went wide. His jaw fell slack, a wordless gasp of horror and awe escaping him. It was a state all of Class 1-A shared.

Wind gusted outwards as the beast expanded its wings to its maximum wingspan. Red and lavender eyes gazed hungrily on all of them.

The dragon raised its head and unleashed an ear piercing roar.

---

"She has a dragon!" Present Mic wailed enthusiastically. "And look! Class 1-A is in utter shock! Wake up, you little fools! Run! Flee! Fight! Don't let it eat you!"

"Its eyes are just like hers," All Might examined, gripping his gaunt chin in thought. "This must be another sort of Transformation Jutsu. And quite the frightful one."

"Oh, I'm shivering with anticipation!" Midnight cooed. "If he's alone, Aizawa will be grinning from ear to ear. If he's not napping. I swear, he could sleep his way through a typhoon if he really tried."

All Might smiled briefly. He lowered his hand back to his lap and watched the screens intently for what Amaririsu would do next, and what his students' responses would be.

First to react was Koji Koda, surprisingly. He rushed towards the dragon, waving his arms around as he tried to squeak out pleas to stand down and join them.

The dragon hesitated, lowered its head and moved its snout towards the shy boy. Koda shivered but smiled nervously, reaching a hand out towards the snout.

Then the dragon grinned fiendishly and unleashed another ferocious roar in his face.

Koda shrieked wordlessly in abject terror. All Might could only wince as the dragon punched him square in the chest and sent him careening into the far wall.

"Oh, poor Koda," Midnight sighed in genuine concern. "He overcame his shyness to face a dragon, never realizing it was a human beneath its scales."

A bright and dazzling laser struck the thick, scaly hide of the dragon. It didn't wince. The dragon merely turned its head to look back at the startled and dismayed Yuga Aoyama.

"Your scales are as dazzling as they are durable," he tried to amend his error with words.

The dragon snorted and whipped its tail straight for the poor boy. Aoyama froze. From his side, Jiro dashed in, tackling him to the ground with a curse; the tail whipped directly over their heads.

At the same time, Dark Shadow lunged at the dragon and began to punch wildly. However, what the dragon lacked in speed and evasion it made up for in durability and strength.

The two creatures began a slugging contest right on the balcony, with the others caught in the crossfire of the stamping, clawed hind legs and thick swinging tail.

The dragon caught one of Dark Shadow's fists, digging its talons into the creature before punching it once, twice and then for a final more powerful blow. Dark Shadow recoiled with a cry, but Tokoyami held his ground, commanding the sentient creature to attack again. All Might noticed a nervous bead of sweat on his avian features.

"All right, you damn dragon. Now I'm pissed!"

Jiro, crouching beside a fearful Aoyama, plugged her jacks into her amplifiers and unleashed a barrage of her rapidly beating heart. The dragon flinched in visible pain. All Might rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward.

It isn't invulnerable to Young Jiro's soundwaves. They've found a weakness in her transformation.

The dragon roared even louder, furious. It spun its body and swung its tail straight down at the pair. Jiro and Aoyama both froze, their expressions fearful at the quick and powerful attack whistling straight for them. Tokoyami watched on in horror; Dark Shadow couldn't reach them in time.

The large frame of Mezo Shoji jolted in front of the pair, raising his large and muscular arms up. He caught the tail with his bare hands and shoulder. Shoji grunted in pain. His body began to bow beneath the powerful limb almost immediately.

"Jiro, Aoyama, go now!"

Jiro awoke to her senses. She grabbed Aoyama by his arm, rose to her feet and dragged him out from beneath the tail.

The dragon snarled and exerted more pressure on the Dupli-Arms wielder. Its scales tore open a wound on his shoulder and the palms of his hands. Crimson trails were noticeably trickling down his quaking arms.

With a roar of effort, Shoji pushed back against the tail, miraculously lifting it off of his shoulder and over his head. In a quick action, he shoved the tail away then dove to the side. The dragon tail narrowly missed him.

With a mighty swing, Dark Shadow caught the dragon with a massive blow in the snout. The dragon stumbled back. Caught between the dragon's body and the balcony, Shoji scrambled to his feet and shielded Aoyama and Jiro with his body, pressing them flush against the balcony to avoid being crushed by the beast. They struggled to crawl to safety.

Nowhere was safe.

Young Shoji has done well in this exam, All Might analyzed. Although he hasn't had a chance to physically fight Amaririsu, it's his actions, his calm demeanor and the effective use of his Quirk that continue to impress me. He shows bravery in the face of fear, and is always prepared to jump in and save his classmates.

Sato, powered by his Sugar Rush, charged at the tail and wrapped his bulging arms around it. He grunted and struggled for a moment in what appeared to be a game of tug-of-war. The dragon dug its talons into the cement but slowly began to lose ground. Then, with an incoherent roar, Sato defied all expectations and odds.

He lifted the dragon into the air in an attempt to slam it on its back. Even the dragon appeared shocked by the tremendous feat of strength.

Dark Shadow followed with repeated blows. Jiro and Aoyama both unleashed their long-range attacks.

"Shoji, here it comes!" Yaoyorozu said to her classmate.

The Creation Quirk wielder knelt on all fours beneath where the dragon would land. Suddenly the back of her Hero Outfit ripped open, and from the bare flesh of her exposed back a giant net sprang up.

Shoji caught the net with his Dupli-Arms and threw the net at the dragon, wielding the rope at its end like a fishers net. The wiring of the net glinted as it flew through a cone of light.

She crafted a net from some sort of special metal? Very impressive, Young Yaoyorozu.

"Will teamwork prevail?! Will they stop this mighty beast before it can rampage across the city?!" Present Mic cried out into his microphone.

The dragon may have been overwhelmed by the onslaught from all sides, but it wasn't finished. As Dark Shadow lunged in, it caught the Shadow creature beneath its razor sharp teeth.

All Might inhaled sharply when he noticed smoke begin to pour from its mouth; Tokoyami's eyes, he noted, went wide in shock.

In a flash of orange and red, fire from its molten core poured forth and consumed Dark Shadow. Simultaneously, it began to beat its wings, the gusts of wind adding fuel to the flames and gaining it leverage over the student who captured its tail. Rather than fall back towards the net, the dragon forced itself straight down, swinging its tail back and flinging Sato straight into a collision with Shoji.

The net landed uselessly on the tip of its tail.

In one move, the dragon released the small and shuddering form of Dark Shadow then pinned it down beneath one of its claws. Smoke puffed from its nostrils as it glared down its snout directly at Tokoyami. The boy looked shaken in his confidence. Dark Shadow squirmed beneath the claws but lacked the strength to escape.

Again, the sparkling bellybutton laser of Yuga Aoyama struck—this time in repeated bursts. The laser attacked the dragon's legs as he stood alone, wincing with each new burst.

"Dazzling light is what creates shadows, wouldn't you agree? I will free him so you may fight! Now, watch me twinkle like a true star!"

Aoyama bent his waist back then thrust his hips forward, shooting an even larger and brighter beam of light at the limb pinning Dark Shadow in place. The attack caused the dragon to hiss and step off of the shadow creature. Its searing eyes locked onto the trembling and wincing frame of its attacker.

"I believe I've gone supernova, ma chérie," he seemed to apologize to Jiro.

"Quit whining and keep firing!" Jiro yelled, plugging her jacks into her boots again to unleash another unrelenting soundwave.

The dragon roared and recoiled against the soundwaves.

"So abrasive." Aoyama wailed as he unleashed another burst of light. "In these final shining moments, would you— would you confess the truth to me, Jiro?"

"What the hell are you on about?!"

"Do you…love Igarashi?"

Jiro's face flushed. Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, thundering even louder than before. She grit her teeth, growled at her classmate.

"I swear Aoyama, if we survive this, I'm going to kill you myself!"

"Ah, young love! So pure!"

"I hope this dragon eats you!"

"I'm not sure if Aoyama is being curious at the wrong time, or if he's purposefully attempting to raise Jiro's heart-rate for a more devastating attack," All Might considered.

"Jiro likes Igarashi, huh? How intriguing," Midnight purred.

"No."

"Huh? What do you mean 'no?' "

"Whatever you're thinking. No."

"Aw," Midnight pouted, crossing her arms. "But it would've been harmless teasing."

All Might shook his head and focused on the battlefield again.

As the battle against the dragon warred on, a different battle was taking place on the ground floor. One not against a monster, but a soldier.

It was at a stalemate.

---

The ground floor team was organized, Amari would give them that.

Of course, she hadn't evened out the numbers with Shadow Clones, or teamed up with Atsuko to combat these kids yet; she asked the Head of the Crows to watch the battle for now, that way she could test herself against these kids and their Quirks. So far, this group showed potential.

Amari glanced around. She was surrounded on all sides by the group of five students.

They've either figured out or hypothesized the power of the Byakugan's three hundred and sixty degree vision. Also, Kirishima and Todoroki remain in the rear guard, while these three attack me simultaneously. They're all fast, too.

Internally, the Nara smirked, impressed by the tactical analysis likely made by Momo Yaoyorozu.

She figured out the perception of the Sharingan and Byakugan through watching me eliminate her classmates. Even though she was frightened, the tactician in her never stopped scrutinizing my abilities. And she passed on that Intel to everyone here. That's why they've chosen this formation.

She glanced in her Byakugan to Todoroki and Kirishima, then to Asui's group above.

And why they aren't standing on the frontlines. My speed and perception are too great for them to match or counter.

Directing her attention to the opponents in front of her, she lightly shifted her feet on the floor. The trio tensed and prepared to resume their attack. They gave too much away with their body language; shinobis were far more conscious in battle.

Their armors and outfits hid the majority of their flesh from sight, but she saw muscles in Iida's neck ripple as he clenched his jaw, could almost hear the sound of his gloved hands closing over the roar of Osamu and her Shadow Clone; she witnessed Midoriya's Adam's apple shift as he swallowed roughly, and she bet his mouth was dryer than the desert in the Land of Wind; Igarashi squinted, the skull and flintlock pistol tattoo on her right forearm tensed as she clenched her hands into fists, the road rash on her upper chest rose and fell with every controlled breath.

Flames erupted around Todoroki's left hand and up the entire length of his arm. Briefly, Amari wished she could transform her chakra cloak into a flame cloak without setting herself on fire. But she submitted to the fact her skin and clothing weren't made from flame retardant materials, unlike this boy who appeared calm despite being partially ablaze.

Here it comes.

Todoroki thrusted his left hand at her. A stream of fire rushed forth, curling over itself as it raced to engulf the kunoichi within its merciless heat. Amari jumped to the side to evade, staying as close to the ground as she could. With Igarashi, Midoriya and Iida capable of moving at high speeds, and Todoroki's Quirk, gaining too much air would leave her helpless to their attacks. And she was fairly certain they wanted to trap her in the air, where she couldn't access her speed.

Sliding lightly on her feet, the roar of an engine preluded Iida's growl of effort. He bolted in close within a second, left leg swung high, the engines protruding out of his calf acting as a thruster that added speed and strength to his attack.

Amari ducked hastily below the powerful blow, feeling the air rush over her head and rustle her hair as the engine thrummed in her ears. She kicked him in the back of his right knee. Then performed a small frog-like hop. The evasion worked. Midoriya, who had rushed in at her side with his Quirk activated and his fist drawn back for a punch, dashed beneath her. Twisting her body as she hopped, the kunoichi spun herself upside down, grabbing his punching arm to earn a doe eyed expression from the student.

She landed on his back—and only then did she realize his feet weren't on the floor. He had literally launched through the air at her side. And the effect of that was her crashing him chest first into the ground, arm twisted behind his back. There was little else she could do. Iida, recovered from her small attack, fired off both engines and performed quite the Dynamic Entry without truly realizing it.

The kunoichi barely blocked his kick with her forearms, and immediately regretted not evading. Although she was kicked off of Midoriya, who she could've used as another lesson for the grim reality of war against darkness, the worst part was the throbbing pain that his kick awoke in her arms.

Iida's attack sent her sliding on her back. The sudden plummet of temperature in the air warned her of the imminent ice attack. Ignoring the pain, she rolled backwards through the attack, dug her toes and hands into the floor as she slid and channeled chakra throughout her body, eyes watching the cascade of ice a second away from capturing her.

In an instant, she Body Flickered, racing along the floor towards Iida, who was too busy hefting Midoriya back onto his feet to see her coming. A flash of purple lightning cut off her advance—Igarashi. The High Voltage wielder's hair flowed behind her, glowing violet eyes flashing with determination and intensity.

Amari hit the brakes, rolling her body beneath the wide left haymaker. But Igarashi's High Voltage made her quicker in the moment. Igarashi grabbed her shoulders before she could finish her roll and crashed her knee directly into the kunoichi's forehead; the attack forced her upright, a grimace of pain on her face as her opponent closed in again.

She leaned back out of range of a punch, parried another way and tried to counter with a straight left kick to her opponent's open stomach. Again, Igarashi was quicker. She captured her leg and moved to drive her elbow into the side of her knee, an attempt to either fracture or hyperextend the limb.

The High Voltage Quirk wielder's eyes caught the counter at the last moment, but it was too late. Amari, having braced her right leg, released chakra from the same foot and propelled herself into a spin, swinging her free leg directly for her opponent's head. Igarashi changed her strike into a block, and immediately felt the chakra powered strike reverberate through her body. The connection of flesh resounded through the ground floor.

Amari continued to twist her upper body, thankful for her flexibility training, driving the kick through the block. Igarashi was forced to duck beneath. It was all the wiggle room she needed. The kunoichi finished her spin—leg still in Yukiko's possession—landing on her hands with her body twisted at an admittedly awkward and uncomfortable angle. She channeled chakra to her hands, connecting them to the floor with a grip stronger than Lady Tsunade's.

Midoriya and Iida had both rushed in to strike at her vulnerable back.

Gripping Igarashi's body tightly with her legs, enhanced by chakra, she swung her lower half into a twisting handspring with all of her core strength, dragging Igarashi off of her feet and over her head. Her kindred spirit collided roughly against both boys' bodies, knocking them over as she was carried all the way through the handspring.

The kunoichi slammed her passenger back first into the unforgiving floor with a dull thud.

Igarashi gasped for air, coughed. Amari flung upright, saw Iida and Midoriya rushing in again on both her sides and began her counterattack.

She jolted at Iida, jumping and bicycle kicking repeated strikes to his open chest to knock him back to the ground. On the final kick, she used the powerful force of the blow to propel herself into a mid-air spin towards her other opponent, catching Midoriya with a hard kick as well; he was lucky to get his arms up in time for a block.

He was beginning to feel desperate, she could tell. It was written all over his face, in the glow of his green eyes. Although the combinations were working, they hadn't gotten any closer to defeating her. Nothing they did seemed to be enough to capture her or knock her down.

"Is this really the time for doubt?" she taunted as she landed.

Amari gave him no time to respond. She launched forward, striking with a rising knee that he barely got his chin out of the way of. He didn't expect her to extend her leg and kick him in the chest.

"How about you be my punching bag!"

The kunoichi flooded her body with chakra and Body Flickered.

Back and forth, back and forth, she rushed past the aspiring Hero, punching him as she passed by and knocking him into uncoordinated stumble. He tried to track her, but his eyes couldn't keep up.

Todoroki growled in frustration as he activated his left side, coating himself in fire. His eyes, too, were failing to trace the tremendous speed attack on Midoriya. He couldn't risk his fire without hurting Midoriya on accident, and if he attacked with his ice, he was more likely to capture his friend while she evaded without the slightest harm.

Iida was beginning to get on his feet. Igarashi was struggling to find any amount of oxygen.

"What's the matter? Can't call upon your Quirk while under pressure?" Amari maintained her assault. Midoriya was on the verge of falling to a knee. "You gave quite the speech in the Sports Festival. You damaged your body over and over and over again, until you were all but useless. So much power at your command, yet you barely have the grasp of the fundamentals."

She kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing his collapse. Raced past him then rushed in at a diagonal to greet his face with her fist. She darted around him in a circle, creating a small whirlwind in her trails as his green eyes desperately glanced in all directions for her next strike. He was analyzing everything in search of a pattern, in search of the slightest hint he could use to strike back.

Amari made sure he wouldn't find one.

"My clan-brother unlocked his kekkei genkai in the midst of a life or death battle. And he adapted to using it well, saving the life of another before ultimately falling to his attacker. And yet you are meant to be a Hero? Someone who can't even access his power when his life is on the line? Your master is a failure!"

The barb drew blood.

"Shut. Up," Midoriya grounded out.

"He's failed you! He's failed this Class! He's failed this world by creating this wretched society obsessed with him and their personal greed!"

Green electricity crackled to life around him. Amari smirked.

There we go.

Prodding his weakness for idolizing his teacher riled him up, pushed away the reliance on mechanical thought to activate his Quirk and replaced it with purest instinct. Like Yaoyorozu, he hadn't yet learned to fight, plan and act simultaneously, let alone effortlessly. Only experience in heated battle could hone that ability.

She couldn't wholly blame him or All Might or this school; they weren't a shinobi society, and they hadn't grown up with Kurenai Yūhi, Kakashi Hatake and Shikaku Nara as their teachers.

"Take it back," Midoriya demanded in a quiet and steely voice.

Amari stopped in his line of sight, positioning herself so friendly fire was guaranteed if Todoroki attacked.

Midoriya's determined and glowing green eyes locked onto her.

Still, like me, he overestimates his own abilities when pushed over the edge. I don't doubt his determination or his strength; I'm fairly certain one punch from him to my ribs will break them. But Itachi and Kakashi-sensei are perfect examples of how control over your emotions in the heat of battle can be a difference maker. Losing control of your emotions against a calm and tactical enemy, in our world, is a death sentence.

The kunoichi smirked viciously.

"He's a failure. A worthless fraud. The world will be better off when he's dead. Then my society will—"

Amari's eyes went wide. Midoriya flew through the air, faster than he had before. Without her dōjutsus, without her reaction time, his fist would have broken her face.

"Don't you talk about All Might like that, you stupid Villain!" he roared.

But she possessed dōjutsus. She possessed greater reaction time and speed than this boy. In the end, his overzealous emotions led him astray. Not that she was complaining.

The Uchiha snatched his right arm, pivoted and hip tossed him, slamming him even harder than she slammed Igarashi into the floor. She punched him once, twice and then a third time in the nose. Two trails of blood dripped from his nostrils.

"Stupid Villain, huh?" she cooed menacingly. "Does All Might truly mean that much to you? Do my insults truly hurt you this much that you cast aside all you have learned about me in favor of childish name-calling?"

"Argh, let go of me!" He struggled on the floor.

"Fine."

She dislocated his shoulder without hesitation. Midoriya cried out in agony.

"Even were any of you to defeat me today, I've already won, can't you see? Your actions, your hurtful words, they're proof of everything I've said." The kunoichi grabbed him by his hair and forced him to look directly in her searing eyes. "I had high expectations for you, a student of the Symbol of Peace. But right now, as you are, you aren't worthy of his title."

"Let go!"

"No. Tell me: Were you one of the people who judged Yukiko Igarashi for her past?"

Her Sharingan perceived the slightest widening of his eyes, the sharp intake of breath. It was all she needed to know the truth.

The kunoichi glared into his soul. Then, with a frustrated growl, punched him in the face.

"You don't have the right to judge her," she hissed, releasing him. "None of you did. And you call yourself his student. Tch!"

The full throttle ignition of engines snapped her attention to Iida. In an instant, he wrapped his arms around her and carried her away from Midoriya, skidding to a stop several feet away.

"Todoroki! Freeze us both! Now!"

Amari wiggled in his arms, growling at herself for letting her guard down to lecture All Might's student. Iida kept her hands bound beneath his and lifted her small and shorter body off the ground so her feet couldn't touch the floor.

He or they have figured out how I use my jutsus, and he knows if I touch the floor, I'll escape.

Not only that, he was willing to be frozen solid right along with her to stop this battle. He earned Hero points for that.

"Sorry about this, Iida," Todoroki apologized as ice streamed straight for them.

It's coming too fast to escape with Shadow Possession, she analyzed. I need…

The Uchiha wiggled harder, Sharingan tomoes beginning to spin. But Todoroki wasn't meeting her eyes.

"You're just like your father, Shoto Todoroki!" she screamed.

Sharp blue and grey eyes snapped onto her red eye.

Amari didn't hesitate.

Demonic Dragon: Shadowed Death Jutsu!

Ironically, Todoroki froze. The cascade of ice stopped within arms distance. Iida, stunned by the suddenness of the ice stopping, wasn't prepared for her dangling foot to catch the ice. His eyes were locked on Todoroki, who had instantly collapsed to his knees, eyes wide open as he struggled to breathe and not puke. The visceral scene of his own gruesome death at the claws of her demonic dragon continued to flash before his eyes. He looked incredibly pale. And sick.

But Amari's foot had caught the ice. And it provided all the surface she needed to release chakra and propel herself with enough force to escape Iida's grasps and launch into the air. She flipped, reorienting herself to face the ground floor.

"Tsu, Uraraka!" Igarashi called out.

Crap, the kunoichi grunted, eyes flicking over to her newest problem. I was so focused on escaping Iida's hold I launched myself too high into the air. What a drag.

Uraraka, held by Tsuyu's long tongue, flew straight through the air for her. Amari twisted her body towards Uraraka, slipping a kunai into hand.

"Igarashi, throw me!" Iida called out.

"My pleasure, Class Rep!"

Below, Igarashi activated her Quirk and clasped Iida's arm, spinning rapidly around once and throwing him with all of her enhanced strength. Right as he was about to leave the ground, Iida activated his Engine Quirk and propelled himself at speed matching a fired cannonball.

Uraraka was in reaching distance. With her free hand, Amari caught the girl by her outstretched wrist and prepared to drive her kunai into her. At that moment, Iida burst into view, armored leg slamming into her weapon hand to send her kunai on a trip to meet the ceiling.

Uraraka's expression changed suddenly. Like an ancient warrior spirit taking over her body, her perpetually flushed face became determined, intense and merciless. She broke free of Amari's hold, twisted her arm awkwardly and used her Zero Gravity Quirk on her.

The feeling of weightlessness and lack of gravity was surprising. But she didn't have time to congratulate the group on their teamwork, or chide them for believing Zero Gravity was enough to stop her.

Iida spun his body, activated his Engine Quirk in his right leg only and used its propulsion to slam his leg into the kunoichi's shoulder faster than she could react.

His kick sent her flying through the air, but not towards the ground. She floated above a perpendicular balcony intersection, tumbling head over foot. She tried to swing her arms out to reorient herself; it failed.

It's not like being underwater, she thought, focusing on anything except the sudden wave of motion-sickness overwhelming her. Gravity still exists when you're underwater. While submerged I can push against the water to move. But here, there's nothing. I need something solid.

Amari created a Shadow Clone directly behind her. The Clone grabbed her arm, performed a spin and threw her towards the balcony below, changing her direction by acting as an outside force to redirect and reorient the girl without gravity. Her stomach wasn't enjoying it.

Class 1-A wasn't finished either. Across the way, she saw Shoji on top of the green dragon, his Dupli-Arms wrapped around its snout and neck. Osamu and her Clone thrashed about. Dark Shadow, far more timid, was striking to little effect. Aoyama was keeled over, grabbing his belly in utter agony. Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Koda and Sato were all drenched in sweat, bearing visible cuts and bruises as they fought against the feeling of futility.

Despite the throw of her Clone, who she dispelled, Amari wasn't entering atmosphere at a rapid descent. It left her out in the open, right where the other members of Class 1-A wanted her.

Midoriya was glowing with green electricity, his right arm hanging limply at his side and his left hand curled in a fist. Asui's tongue was already wrapped around the bandaged body of Kaminari's waist. Igarashi was kneeling in front of Todoroki with Kirishima, winding up for a slap to call him to his senses. Iida stood with Ojiro, Ashido and Uraraka in a runner's stance.

Every position, every little stance, muscle movement and flick of their eyes to their comrades acted as Intel she could deduce their plan from.

Asui spun on her toes and catapulted Kaminari, relinquishing her hold on him to avoid becoming collateral damage. The boy couldn't move fast on his own, especially with the injuries he incurred. This was the only way to get him in range to use his Quirk and end this battle with one blow.

Yellow electricity sparked wildly off of his body. He didn't grin or offer a cocky taunt. He was in pain, frustrated and angry. But there was one other major miscalculation they made.

"This is for hurting my friends! Indiscriminate Shock 1,300,000 volts!"

They forgot Atsuko was backing her up.

A black and silver feathered bullet shot past Amari. Gales of sharp wind erupted from Atsuko's beak, drilling straight into the exposed Electrification wielder before he could fully unleash his power. Kaminari torpedoed to the balcony floor in a heap of new cuts and sparking electricity.

The Crow swooped back up. Midoriya leapt onto the balcony and then after the kunoichi. He had his right middle finger pulled back for a flick; Amari recognized the motion from the footage of the Sports Festival, sensed the overwhelming power burgeon in the finger and felt her eyes widen. She recalled Aizawa's warning.

"Still, under the pressure you'll attack him with, it'd be irrational to lower your guard. I suspect he'll decide to unleash a powerful strike at the cost of his own body to defeat you."

Aizawa knew his student well.

Unleashing this high pressure wind shockwave will do a lot of damage if I'm caught in it.

"Delaware…"

His green eyes flicked over to Atsuko. She could see the muscles in his body rippling as he began to change to his real target. The kunoichi acted on instinct. She bit her thumb, swiped the blood over her thumb and weaved handseals. She pressed her hand to her shoulder.

"Smash!" Midoriya finished his turn and flicked his finger at the Head of the Crows.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The plan was desperate. She'd never tried to summon Atsuko or Osamu when they were within visual sight; there'd never been any need. But by her hopeful calculations, as long as they were bound together by the Summoning Contract, she could teleport them anywhere she performed the jutsu. Even if they were already in her vicinity.

A shockwave of high pressure wind ripped straight for Atsuko. The Head of the Crows beat her wings in an attempt to reverse course and evade. Then she was gone. The gales of wind tore through the upper floor, shattering glass and creating an invisible pressure on all the individuals within the vicinity of the attack. Amari was knocked into a weightless roll. A roll which ended abruptly when her body burst into Crows.

Amari reformed on the balcony floor. Chakra hummed around the soles of her sandals, connecting her to the surface. Atsuko stood perched on her shoulder.

"How careless of me," Atsuko scolded herself. "Thank you, Young Haya. Excuse me for a moment. I have a child to crush."

The Head of the Crows bulleted off her shoulder and charged after Midoriya, who was clutching his newly broken finger as he descended towards the ground.

He never had a chance to fire off another shot.

Atsuko multiplied into a relentless flock then drilled straight into the boy's stomach. It was an attack he was fortunate the Crow was holding back with; Amari had seen her drill straight through the fleshy insides of enemy shinobi with the technique.

Midoriya crashed against the ground floor, a hole in his Hero costume ripped open over his belly and open wounds covering his fragile flesh.

I need to end this now. If I keep toying with them, I'll exhaust myself and run out of time. I'm already fatigued because of Hatsume's weights, and the constant pressure of battle due to being outnumbered. Plus, with Midoriya starting to risk his body, the others will begin to do the same. They're growing desperate. Reckless. I don't want to hurt them too much. And I don't want to lose either.

The Nara nodded internally. Yeah. It's time to end this. There's only one more real lesson I want to teach them. And I don't need to prolong the fight to do it.

First, this floor had to be taken care of. Then she'd finish her lesson on the ground floor.

The Uchiha's features settled into fierce determination. The end was nigh. The final verdict had been decided. And now it was time for the Last Shinobi to claim their souls.

It was time to show them the unrestrained power of an Uchiha.

Tenya Iida made the first move. But that wouldn't change anything—she was finished playing around.

He burst forward, arms pumping at his sides as he sprinted with his Engines active, the pipes burning with blue-tipped flames. Knowing she couldn't detach herself from the floor, he high-jumped over her in one massive leap, landed and reactivated his engines, swinging around for a high roundhouse kick.

Ducking beneath it was no small feat. Amari clutched her tantō and placed her left hand on the floor. Iida jumped and spun his body, kicking out of a corkscrew straight for the center of her hunched back. She rolled forward, narrowly evading the strike.

Chakra glowed around her left palm as she exited the roll, which dissipated as she channeled the chakra back to her feet.

Spinning around rapidly to face her enemy, she Body Flickered and raced behind him. His engines began to rev again, but this time she was faster. Her tantō leapt from the scabbard, igniting with flames and cutting straight through his pristine white armor diagonally over the length of his back.

He cried out. Flames still flickering on her blade, she danced on her toes, spinning and slashing horizontally along his back and side. Another gouge tore open in his armor to the flesh beneath. Iida struggled not to collapse to his knees; she didn't let him.

Dancing around him, she slashed diagonally across his chest. Then she stepped forward, planted her left foot and kicked him, releasing the chakra humming over her right foot. The power of the blow sent him shooting through the railing enclosing the balcony and flying to the floor below.

With the Class Representative down and out of the way, it was time for the final four on the balcony.

Atsuko landed on her shoulder.

"Shall we finish this game, Young Haya?"

"Do you have my back?"

"Always."

Amari smiled and nodded. "Let's go, Atsuko."

"Here she comes," Asui said.

Amari charged forward as a frightening murder of crows. The four lifted up their arms in instinctive defense as the birds swirled around them, pecking and clawing at their flesh. But their eyes never stopped looking for where their true enemy would appear. It was the dance of orange flames that caught Asui's attention.

"Ojiro, look out!"

She jumped into her classmate and knocked him out of the way. Consequently, she took the blow instead. Flames and blade burnt and slashed a terrible wound through the front of her outfit, carving diagonally from the left side of her waist up to her collarbone. Asui let out a cry and fell flat on the cold floor, puffing and groaning like a frog.

Although angry at Amari and scared for his classmate, Ojiro rushed back in among the swarm of feathers to strike the Uchiha down. He jumped, swung his powerful tail and crashed it straight into the kunoichi. And the body gave way, tail slicing through as if she was made of paper. Crows cawed and lunged at him.

Ojiro collapsed to the floor with a blank expression on his face.

Amari rematerialized behind Uraraka, tantō sheathed and Shadow Possession controlling her enemy's body. Uraraka, to her credit, struggled against her control. But it wasn't enough. The kunoichi forced her to release her Zero Gravity Quirk. The presence of gravity on her body was a godsend.

Then the tantō hissed out of the scabbard, the hellish dance of flames erupting over the blade. With control over her body back, Uraraka scrambled forward to evade the blade. However, as she stumbled to spin around, she found the flame had leapt from the blade like a hungry demon. It slashed over her torso. She collapsed to the floor with a cry.

Uraraka was finished.

Deactivating the chakra at her feet, she whirled around and struck at Ashido, who Atsuko had kept preoccupied while she released the Zero Gravity Quirk. But the girl made a surprising flexible and agile evade, leaping into the air and splitting her legs completely to avoid the blade. Upon landing, she secreted acid from the soles of her shoes and skated backwards, out of the flock of Crows, throwing glops of acid at her enemy.

Amari gave chase, not yet ready to strike the aspiring Hero down when she was beginning to fight back. It was important for her to see she could fight, even if scared, even if alone.

You found the will to fight. I can tell you're still frightened because of what I've done to your friends and classmates. But you're actually fighting, thinking, evading my strikes. You can skate on your acid. You're flexible. You have agility and potential to grow even more. And you're drawing me away from your injured allies, despite knowing I may kill you if I find you unworthy. That's worth praise.

When this is over, I hope I can help push you to improve yourself.

Ashido hopped over a low slash. Skated back and threw another glob of acid. Then, after Amari evaded the acid and charged in, she grabbed onto the railing and transitioned seamlessly onto it.

But right now…

Ashido performed an elegant back handspring on the railing, squirting acid from the soles of her shoes at the kunoichi as she did. Once she finished the move, Amari countered.

The kunoichi Body Flickered and crashed her foot into Ashido's gut. Before she could fly away, she grabbed her by the arm and released a small portion of chakra from her feet, flipping herself over the student and then pulling her around to gain momentum as they plummeted towards the ground floor.

It was Ashido to land first. Crash was more accurate. The air was knocked completely from her lungs. She gasped and coughed, eyes welling with tears as she tried to groan, but couldn't.

Unlike her opponent, Amari landed safely on her feet, left hand still clasped around the pink arm.

"You showed some spark," she said. "I think I'll let you linger."

As she moved to stand up, the pink hand of her opponent latched onto her elbow. Sizzling acid burned through her mesh sleeve. Amari hissed and, seeing only one quick option to prevent severe damage, stomped on the bubbly girl's arm with enough force to cause a minor fracture.

The hand was wrenched off her arm. But the damage was done. Amari took her tantō to her mesh sleeve, severing the threads at her bicep and letting it and the acid fall off her arm. Acid burns marked the already scarred limb.

I hope Recovery Girl can heal those. How will I explain acid scars to Mom? Or Aunt Yoshino?

"Mina!" Kirishima cried out for his friend.

Despite the burn and injury, Amari eyed the remnants of Class 1-A. Kirishima, Todoroki and Igarashi were the only threats left. Todoroki still looked pale, but he was able to coordinate and see her. Kirishima looked like he was trembling with held back rage. Igarashi was checking on Midoriya and Iida; she was favoring her left leg.

Likely an injury caused by the self-destructive nature of her Quirk. I can't let her push it too far. Otherwise…

Cardiac arrest. That could not be allowed to happen.

Amari paced away from Ashido, eyes measuring Todoroki, Kirishima and the environment around them.

The moment she was out of range of Ashido, Todoroki sent a cascading attack of ice directly for the Uchiha. Amari lurched forward. Barriers of ice shot up all over the floor, all attempting to ensnare or block her advance. None found her.

When the frostbite began to form on his body, flames ignited on the other half. Amari chose then to leap onto a barrier of ice. Todoroki grunted in annoyance and unleashed a stream of fire from his left arm and palm. Back flipping back, she used his own ice to act as shields as she dashed closer.

More ice came. Flames ignited along her tantō. With quick and precise slashes, she severed through several blockades of ice, drawing closer. Closer. Fire followed again.

"Fire and ice. Fire and ice."

Amari evaded the stream of fire and Body Flickered. She reappeared right beneath his guard, tantō ignited. Their eyes locked, her gaze sharp and war-like, his eyes wide and overwhelmed.

"You rely too heavily on your Quirk."

The ignited tantō ripped over his abdomen. She skidded over the floor behind him as he collapsed to a knee, tantō sheathed. The kunoichi whirled around and threw a series of shurikens and senbon.

By the end of the rain, Shoto Todoroki looked like a professional sewers pin cushion. But he did not collapse. He breathed heavily. His body trembled.

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.

Amari inhaled a large breath. He could only glance back, eyes wide.

Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

Merciless fire streamed straight for him. But it never touched Todoroki. Kirishima leapt in front of his comrade, arms held up in a block, and took the flames head-on. To her surprise, he began to walk through it, bearing the flames and gritting his teeth through the pain as he acted like the brave shield. Todoroki collapsed to his knees.

"I will not…stand by any longer! No matter how much it hurts, no matter what you throw at me, I'll keep enduring through it!" Kirishima took another step. "This is the path I've chosen. I'll be a shield to the defenseless…" He took another step. "And a sword to fight against injustice! I'm not afraid of you! No… No, I am afraid of you. I'd be an idiot not to be. But what I fear…" He took another step. "What I fear more than you is watching my friends continue to get hurt and fall all around me! I'll save them and stop you! That's my vow, and I won't break it for anyone!"

Yes, Amari thought, smiling, you'll make a fine guardian, Eijiro Kirishima.

His spirit and his speech reinvigorated not only Amari, but his allies as well. Ice shot up in front of Kirishima.

"I'm…not finished yet either," Todoroki grunted out, unable to stand but capable of using his Quirk.

The kunoichi cut off her jutsu to inhale a deeper breath.

Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger.

Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!

The mall pulsed with an eruption of power. Flames, burning with the molten core of a dragon, crashed against the wall of ice. Tore a hole through it and consumed both Kirishima and Todoroki.

The ice melted. And when the smoke cleared, secondary and tertiary ice walls could be seen shielding Kirishima and Todoroki. None held up against the heat. Todoroki collapsed onto his side, the back of his shirt burned through to the skin beneath. Kirishima still stood, arms held up in a guard in front of his face. His body was trembling. Nothing of his Hardening Quirk remained.

Still, he found some will to shuffle forward. Amari held her position and waited for him. Finally, he reached her, drew a fist back and punched.

His fist lightly tapped against her forehead.

"Rest now, Kirishima. You've earned it," she spoke softly.

With gentle hands, she settled the proud shield on the floor, lying him down on the cold floor. He wasn't conscious.

Finally, she looked across the room to Igarashi. She was the last one standing. Iida was trying to find the strength to stand, as was Midoriya. But they weren't real threats anymore. Iida could barely move, and Midoriya couldn't risk a full power attack with all his allies around.

Yukiko looked around at her fallen comrades. Shut her eyes and exhaled a breath. Something stirred in the air. Amari could sense the power beginning to brim within her, burgeoning. Crackles of purple lightning formed around her, her hair began to float.

"I don't want to hurt you," her kindred spirit murmured.

"And I don't want to hurt you," she replied softly. "But this is what we must do to protect what we consider precious." Amari began to channel the full strength of her chakra. "If you truly wish to save me, prove to me your ideals, your convictions and your Will are stronger than mine. Show me the path you seek in a communication of fists. It's only there where our walls crumble and the true nature of our hearts can be seen."

"I already told you I'd keep fighting until neither of us could stand."

"Yukiko, wait—"

"Stand back, Midoriya." Yukiko pulled her bomber jacket off and dropped it on the floor. "This is between me and her."

"I can help you! We can—"

"I'm not the one you need to help, Fanboy." She glanced back at him. "Injured and wounded are all around us. They need help." Violet eyes locked onto the kunoichi, flashing with a brewing storm. "Remember that video you used to always watch? All Might's debut, when he saved all those people. Be a Hero like All Might. Save and protect our classmates, Midoriya. I'll save her."

Green chakra, like a Fire Ball racing down ninja wire, ignited and traced a circle over the floor, around the kunoichi on the verge of releasing her power. The air thrummed with power. With chakra and lightning seeking release from their cages.

Yukiko and Amari granted that power its release. Almost simultaneously.

A green chakra cloak enveloped Amari's entire body, irradiating with the Wills of her precious people and unleashing a shockwave of pure power outwards, rustling her hair, clothes and the hair and clothes of her opponents.

Purple, sporadic crackles of lightning transformed into a cloak of lightning. Her thick black and white highlighted hair stood on razor ends. The sudden, rapid surge of blood pumping throughout her body resulted in an increase of vascularity, causing veins along her toned arms to become more prominent; one particular vein along her forehead, above her right eyebrow, bulged as well.

Storms and lightning flashed in her violet eyes. The shockwave of power to irradiate off of her was absolutely incredible. Astonishing. Amari had sensed the power beneath the surface. But to feel it at its greatest intensity, it gave her a pleasant sensation of goosebumps.

"Give me everything you've got, Yukiko," Amari said, a thrumming excitement in her core.

"Try to keep up."

To those without enhanced vision, a single blink was all it took to miss them moving. Even in the auditorium, where they had multiple high-tech cameras monitoring the battlefield from multiple angles, it appeared briefly as if the two vanished entirely. But then the trails became visible. Purple and green light was all anyone could see, chasing, clashing, intersecting, dancing along the ground floor of the mall, over the walls, up to the ceiling and back down to the ground floor.

Amari's heart was pounding. In thrill. In amazement. In fear that she may have bitten off more than she could chew. To the others they were streams of light, but in the center of the storm, to her and Yukiko's eyes, their attacks and movements were clear as day. And Yukiko was pushing her reaction times and speed to their limitations.

She's as fast as Mimi.

The kunoichi parried away one punch but failed to catch the second, which struck her with the speed of a viper and the strength of gorilla. She stumbled back, grabbing at her stomach. Then spun on her heel and Body Flickered up the wall. Yukiko gave chase, and darted past her, racing up higher on the wall then shooting straight for her. She attempted a flying knee, but missed when Amari pivoted out of the way narrowly.

The lightning tickled her skin.

Sensing her moment to strike, she jolted off the wall and into a Dynamic Entry, crashing her foot into the center of Yukiko's back. It looked like a purple bolt of lightning shot from the sky into the ground. But as Amari landed on the floor, prepared to follow-up her strike, the burst of purple lightning was back on her.

There was enough time to react with one block. But Yukiko, determined and fierce as any Leaf shinobi protecting their comrades, attacked with a rapid barrage of punches. One block didn't save the kunoichi. Faster than she could react, faster than she could process the appropriate response, punches poured as endless as the rain in the Rain Village.

The blows didn't lose their power either. She began to collapse back. Yukiko stepped further in, climbing over her as her fists rolled over her upper body.

Amari's back hit the floor, and Yukiko kept up the punishment. Rolling punches in flashing barrages climbed up and down her torso, her belly, her side, all with Yukiko standing over her. The unrelenting assault made the kunoichi question her life choices briefly. But then, spurred by her desire to win and to prove the power of shinobi, she retaliated.

All it took was one minor opening to shift who was on offense and who was on defense. It was the same in any shinobi battle. Losing focus, allowing despair or pain to cloud her thoughts was the quickest way to defeat. A true shinobi remained calmed, analyzing the situation even when under pressure to find the weakness of their enemy.

She held up her arms in a block, squinting through the punches raining down on her. Yukiko's left leg was unguarded. Perfect. She was so focused on punching her downed form, thinking her opponent immobilized, body flowing with adrenaline, Yukiko didn't pay attention to where she placed her feet. It was a heat of the moment mistake.

But a mistake nonetheless.

Amari kicked the injured limb, hard. Her kindred spirit grimaced and flinched, knee almost buckling then and there. She pivoted over Amari, an attempt to keep her leg out of range of attacks while refusing to relent. It opened up all the breathing room she needed.

With her guard up and chakra at her foot, she kicked again, catching Yukiko in the stomach. The release of chakra added an extra burst of power to the blow, but its main purpose was to knock her opponent away, even a single step. At the same time, it sent Amari sliding along the floor.

Her body ached. Bruises were already forming, a fist opened up a wound on her face. But flickering flames of purple and green refused to die.

Amari rolled up into a crouch, raised her arms up and blocked a powerful knee. She refused to lose balance or give an inch, which meant the only way was forward. Striking. Advancing. By any means necessary, even if it was an unorthodox and hardheaded move Naruto would pull.

Propelling herself with chakra, she charged headfirst into Yukiko's abdomen—literally.

Yukiko gasped and coughed up saliva. Amari was certain the vertebrae of her spinal cord created a new song with the series of pops and cracks that rolled down its length. But she created an opening, too.

Progress!

Landing on all fours, she channeled chakra throughout her body and mimicked Mimi's all-fours technique, racing around Yukiko's back to slam an elbow into her back. As she arched her back and grunted, Amari performed the same relentless combination she had on Midoriya—only she was joined by an afterimage this time.

I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this up, Amari panted internally.

Adrenaline only went so far. She could feel herself slowing down. Feel the fatigue of the day and injuries catching up to her. But she continued to push, to fight. No matter how tired she was, until the battle was over she couldn't stop fighting.

The two Amari's rushed in. The kunoichi in the lead stepped up onto Yukiko's knee and continued through to strike with her knee. Her kindred spirit raised her arms to block, but the knee phased through her.

Amari punched through her afterimage and caught Yukiko in the cheek. She followed with two quick body shots and finished with a jumping, spinning kick. Her foot landed square in Yukiko's chest, and it sent her flying and then tumbling over the floor.

There was no time to catch her breath. She charged after her opponent, who recovered from the tumble and prepared to launch after her as well.

A blur of green in her peripheral Byakugan vision caught the Nara's attention—Midoriya. The aspiring Hero was shooting in from her side, left fist drawn back.

"Stay away from her!" he cried out.

In an instant, with fluidity and grace, Amari changed her targets and attack strategy. She spun on her toes, rapidly gaining momentum as Midoriya neared.

He was caught in a whirlwind of green chakra.

"Rotation!"

Repelled by the ultimate defense of the Hyūga Clan, Midoriya was sent careening into and through a nearby store window. Yet that wasn't what stunned Amari or those watching the battle in the auditorium. What truly stunned them was the purple ring that suddenly formed around the green orb.

Oh crap.

Yukiko was gaining speed. Running faster and faster and faster.

She matched the speed of her Rotation. Then the purple ring melded into the green orb. As Amari spun, the High Voltage wielder entered her orb at high speeds, smashing her insides with a powerful fist. She didn't even have time to register the pain before she was on the outside of her orb, watching it dissipate and fade away as she was skipping along the floor.

Then the pain hit her. While not immobilizing, she wouldn't be standing up straight for a day or two without Medical Ninjutsu or Recovery Girl's help.

She struggled back onto her feet, hand over her abdomen, inhaling precious oxygen like she'd been nearly drowned. Yukiko stood where her orb once was; her arms and legs were trembling. Her breathing was labored.

Her Quirk is tearing her body up. I need to end this.

Yukiko interlaced all of her fingers except her pointer and thumb, forming a sort of finger gun. A halo of violet light suddenly encircled her hands.

She's combining her Quirks, Amari analyzed. And channeling a lot of her power. If I take a direct hit from this, it'll all be over for me. She settled her feet into position. All right, Yukiko. This will be our final attacks. Whoever strikes first wins.

From her hands, a barrage of purple beams of light—a combination of her higher voltage electricity and the water vapor she transformed into liquid form—streamed forth. Amari jolted forward, zigging and zagging, and being chased the whole way by the beams of light. They changed course, cut off her advances.

Amari ducked beneath a flurry. Rushed forward and slid along the floor on her back. Jumped and twisted and bent her body out of range all while she pressed forward. Closer. Closer.

She Body Flickered at Yukiko. Warm, stinging and electric pain ripped past her bicep, numbing the flesh around it. But she did not stop. Her kindred spirit, seeing the futility in hitting such a fast moving and flexible target, ended her attack. She wound up for a punch with concentrated power burgeoning in her fist. The same power erupted around Amari's fist.

Show me your power!

Amari flashed away and reappeared in the air in front of Yukiko. With growls of effort and determination, they threw their punches.

In the brief second before their attacks landed, the whirlwind of power, their Wills, their convictions, their connection enveloped the pair and connected them as it had connected her and Haku, with the same depth of experience she shared with Mimi in the Chūnin Exams.

Again she was separated from her body. From the aches and fatigue. Again she stood first on the sidelines of their battlefield, where they were frozen in time. And then on the sidelines of another person's life.

She was there with Yukiko through the days of warmth and joy she shared with her family, watching her smile freely and happily as she raced into her father's arms and was piggybacked by her sister. All of her pure joy on display, it touched Amari's heart.

Then came the days of tragedy, when she learned the news her father had died. The funeral, the sorrow, the grief, the pain that transcended through their connection into her heart, breaking it. She saw her big sister by her side through it all. And the volatile relationship that evolved with her mother.

Flashes of memories pelted her senses. Her abusive mother. The fear of her own power. The arguments and fights. The parting of her sister, who left to get work so she could save Yukiko from the hell of their home and maintain a roof over both of their heads. The day she packed up and ran away from home. The hunger, the little family of street kids she formed, the loss of a dear friend and the burden of pain and grief.

She witnessed the fall of their outlaw group and her near death experience when she pushed her Quirk past its limits. Regret. Anger. Frustration. Guilt. It swarmed Amari's heart.

But those were not the only feelings. Hope returned. Hope and love, because her sister was there when she woke up in the hospital. And she wasn't leaving again.

The trials and tribulations at U.A. followed, flashing by faster. Friendship. Affection. Rivalry. Vehement hatred. Pain. Understanding. She'd found it all in U.A. in Class 1-A, all in her search for her reason to be a Hero, to change into someone she could be proud of.

The memories ended with them in battle. Yukiko was there with her. The taller and older girl looked at her with heartache in her eyes. For she had also stood as a witness to Amari's life, she had witnessed her pains, her tragedies, her joys and triumphs, and all the events which had led to this moment.

Amari smiled through her pain, letting her tears flow freely.

"I never thought I'd meet a kindred spirit in this world. But I'm happy we were able to meet, Yukiko Igarashi."

The kunoichi embraced her kindred spirit warmly, tightly. Before Yukiko could hug her back, she relinquished her hold and took her hands into her own, smiling up at the girl.

"…Who are you?" Yukiko asked.

"My name is Amaririsu Yūhi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Yukiko."

She could feel the out of body experience beginning to fade. The aches were returning. Time, like old clock tower gears, was clunking active again, slowly.

Yukiko shut her eyes, chuckling deep in her throat as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Ditto, Amaririsu. This is all so strange. But despite that…" She smiled at Amari. "I'm happy we met."

"Sorry for all the trouble."

Yukiko shook her head. "Don't be. We needed the beating."

Amari giggled. "Come on. Let's finish this. I need a nap."

"You and me both."

Amari blinked. Once more she was back in her body, time grinding forward slowly. Then it all came rushing back at full speed. Her fist smashed into Yukiko's forehead. Yukiko buried her fist into her stomach.

Both girls flew away from each other, their cloaks of power dissipating completely. Amari couldn't breathe. And she was almost certain standing wasn't much of an option either. She lay on her side, gasping for air, grabbing at her abdomen and grimacing.

When she finally found the strength and air to crawl onto her knees, she found Yukiko lying on her side, eyes shut and unconscious.

"Looks like you're all out of strength now, you damn Villain."

Amari didn't have the strength to roll her eyes. Bakugo had waited her out. Tactically, it was smart. In his own way, he depended on the others to weaken her to a point he could finish the job. It was using the number advantage against her.

He stood on the balcony, grinning darkly down at her. Across from her, Midoriya was limping out of the shop, open cuts over his body.

"We…we will stop you," Midoriya groaned.

"No," she coughed. "No, you won't."

One last lesson to teach them. One more. That's all she had to do.

"At- Atsuko. Osamu. Bring the feral one to me," Amari coughed and gasped for air.

"No need! I'll come to you myself!" Bakugo blasted off the balcony and bulleted straight for her.

The Dragon transformation dispelled. Amari's Shadow Clone dispersed into Crows and cut off the boy's charge. Bakugo cupped his hands together.

"Stun Grenade!"

A blinding, explosive light consumed them all. She heard first her Clone's demise, and then was pelted by her memories and fatigue.

Ugh. I really need a nap.

"Now die!"

Amari couldn't move to evade, so she braced for impact. An impact that never came. Bakugo cried out in sudden pain. She heard him crash to the floor in front of her.

When her vision returned, she saw Atsuko and Osamu both standing on top of his body, a blade of wind having ripped through his shirt and flesh.

"Quite spirited, isn't he?" Osamu asked.

"Spirited and powerful. Also a keen intellect. It is unfortunate such talents are wasted by his ego."

"Agreed, Lady Atsuko. Now, Lady Haya, how may we serve you?"

Amari smiled through a wince. "Thank you both. I hate to ask, but can I borrow some chakra? I need it to hold him in place. Also, can one of you get Aizawa?"

Her companions agreed. Osamu hopped onto her shoulder while Atsuko departed for the teacher. With the steady flow of chakra, she attached her Shadow to Bakugo and sat down on his back. He was growling viciously. But this was the final lesson.

With the remnants of Class 1-A from the fight with Osamu watching, she directed her attention straight to Midoriya. Unsheathing her tantō, she placed it against Bakugo's throat and spoke to all who would listen.

"Either of you try to fight and I'll cut his head off." Midoriya froze. Bakugo sensed the truth of her warning but continued to struggle. "I told you: Our convictions are too different. You came to this battle to fight a stupid Villain. I came to win a war. That's why we're here now. Why your classmates are all bleeding, bruised and broken. You all treat Hero work like a game still. But it isn't."

She heaved two heavy breaths then continued. "You all made mistakes. Some greater than others. For instance, this one below me couldn't relinquish his ego to work together with any of you. You were too indecisive. Yaoyorozu was suffering a crisis of confidence in the heat of battle. Meanwhile, this entire Class possessed the power and abilities to stop me had you worked together. I even gave you time to organize yourselves, yet you wasted precious minutes bickering amongst yourselves or simply standing in silence.

"It's true Pro Heroes need to be strong enough to fight against Villains. But they should also understand the greatest fundamental there is: Teamwork. Pro Heroes should have a natural feel for teamwork, no matter if they have worked together or not. That alone can decide whether you live or die in the field.

"Pro Heroes must be able to adapt. Do you think Villains will give you time to regroup or heal your comrades or civilians? What if this was a disaster zone and you had to save civilians when I attacked? Inaction, indecision, fear, petty arguments, egos, every single one of these actions costs a life.

"All Pro Heroes feel fear. That is one of the things I applaud Eijiro Kirishima for admitting. He wanted to act tough at first. But the truth was he did fear me. He was afraid of what I could do to him. Yet he overcame that fear, as all Pro Heroes must, to protect and save others. He endured through pain, through fear and doubt and refused to let his Will bend. That also is a requirement to be a Pro Hero.

"Among your classmates there were those who showed a willingness to commit to self-sacrifice—"

"Arggh! Would you shut up with the lecture!"

Amari smashed the end of her hilt into the back of his skull.

"Shut up and listen, you egotistical nuisance," she growled. "Do you still think this is a game? Fine. We'll play a game. Izuku Midoriya." Red and lavender eyes cut into the boy. "Kill Igarashi or Bakugo dies!"

His eyes widened. She could see just by looking at him that his heart had stopped. Had he been able to, Bakugo would have been thrashing on the floor. But he couldn't, so he didn't.

"Wh- what?"

"Kill Igarashi or Bakugo dies. It's as simple as that. That's the game I've decided to play. Who lives and who dies. Is it the feral bully with an inferiority complex? Or is it the girl you judged as a Villain? Pick one. Quickly. Or I'll pick for you."

"You can't—"

"I can and I will. Five seconds. Choose. That's the consequence of all of you failing. Someone must die. Either Igarashi or Bakugo. Be happy, I'm giving you a choice."

"Stay the hell away, Deku!" Bakugo growled. "We both know who you're going to choose, so do it!"

Idiot, Amari scoffed. He's acting like he isn't pushing Midoriya to save Yukiko. Framing his willingness to sacrifice himself as anything but.

Midoriya couldn't find any words. His eyes were welling with tears, flicking between all three of them, trying to find some way to save both Bakugo and Igarashi.

"Time's up."

The kunoichi lifted her tantō.

"No!" Midoriya cried out.

And sheathed it.

Amari deactivated her dōjutsu and looked at both boys.

"That's what happens in this war against darkness we all face. Someone takes a hostage and you're given an impossible choice….and someone ends up dead. On every mission, whether you're a Pro Hero of this world, or a shinobi of mine, lives are on the line. That is the reality you face."

It was one of the first lessons Kakashi-sensei taught us.

A flock of Crows dove down from the ceiling and circled next to her and Bakugo. From it, Aizawa emerged with Atsuko on his shoulder.

The teacher glanced down at her.

"Impressive work, Yūhi."

She smiled tiredly. "Happy to help, Mr. Aizawa."

"Wh- what the hell?" Bakugo stuttered.

"Mr. Aizawa?! What's going on? Why aren't you attacking the Villain? Why did you say impressive work?! Why is she being nice to you?!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"No. Don't tell me…" Yaoyorozu groaned from the top floor.

Aizawa smirked. "Pop Quiz is over."

Class 1-A's cries, shouts and looks of disbelief and anger were sweet as ice cream and sugar cookies combined.

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Review Response to Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy the newest update and the finale of the Pop Quiz!

Take care and thank you for the review!