"Sorry there, Tokoyami," Komori patted him on the back as he kept on coughing. "Want a throat lozenge?"
"Keep your pity!"
"You can get some medicine from Recovery Girl."
Meanwhile, the robots were taking Yaoyorozu to Recovery Girl as Kendo hovered over her, looking worried.
"WE MUST SUMMON THE SCHOOL NURSE. HUMANS ARE SO UTTERLY INEFFICIENT."
"They wrecked the place real good," Shinsou observed to Mr. Aizawa. "Total opposite of the first match.
"That's just how training is in the hero course. They went overboard with the destruction, though."
Vlad King turned to his team. "Fukidashi! Kendo! You should know to keep damage to a minimum!"
"Hmmm. Since we should probably switch sectors," Aizawa-sensei murmured to Vlad King.
"You're thinking we should take a breather? Sure."
The teams sat down again in their group forms, chatting about the last match.
"Class B sure is full of tough customers."
"Right back atcha."
"Those were some huge moves you pulled off, Fukidashi."
"Needless to say, it's not just their quirks," said Midoriya, head in notebook. "They've grown mentally too, which further enhances their abilities."
"Writing it all down, huh?" Asked Uraraka. "You've grown too, Deku."
"I hope so."
"Midoriya!" Said All Might, abruptly coming up behind them.
"Yes?"
"I am here…unremarkably! Got a minute?" He waved Midoriya over to a corner to talk.
"Those two're chummy," I noticed to myself, watching them with my head in my hands alongside Uraraka. And then weird stuff, Bakugou went over to All Might and Midoriya! And it almost looked like they were all having a polite conversation! Pigs are flying!
We were called back to watch the monitors as the two teams got ready for the third match. Tetsutetsu on 1B's side was looking kinda serious; I noticed Eiji was watching him kinda closely.
"I know everyone treats me like an idiot. But I'm still a dude who got into UA, y'know? Not like I never use my head."
"Where's this coming from?"
"This team we're up against! They'll be all 'search and destroy', yeah?"
"True enough."
"So what's our move? Well!? Should be obvious!"
"As we already discussed -"
"WE level the playing field, literally!"
And he began breaking through the equipment around him.
"That's idiotic!"
The 1A team looked up at the crashing sounds.
"Did he listen to the last critique at all?" Cried Vlad King.
"Tricks n' schemes won't work here! Gonna be a straight-up brawl, so let's bring the pain!"
"Ugh!" Cried Sen. "Didja forget they have Todoroki on their side?"
"Well, we can probably work with this," said Honenuki.
"That's some soft and flexible thinking, Juzo!"
"Geez! Don't keep us in the dark like that!" Said Tsunotori, in English.
"See! Pony's bursting out with the English! That's how you know she's mad!" Said Sen.
"Tetsutetsu doesn't mean any harm. In fact, his approach plays to our strengths." said Honenuki.
"That's some soft and flexible adapting, Juzo!"
"Seems like they want a head-on battle," said Todoroki.
"Come now, Class A! Time for Match 3!"
"AH-CHOO!" Todoroki sneezed as the 1A team ran towards Tetsutetsu's location.
"Are you suck!?" Asked Iida. "I didn't realize you could catch colds!"
"I'm fine, I think."
"Almost there. Let's spread out," said Ojiro.
"Tetsutetsu, they'd have to be idiots to come charging right at us! And they might set traps!" Said Tsunotori.
"Maybe not! I'd go charging in, if I were them," said Honenuki. "Their strongest strategy is to have Shoji assess the situation, with Todoroki as the main attacker. If we stay grouped up in this wide-open space -"
Ice overwhelmed them all, Todoroki's attack in action.
"That big blast is as strong as ever! No fair!" Cried Mineta.
"Well, you can tell he's improved cuz this pile of ice isn't blocking his view," observed Uraraka.
"So Todoroki's on the other side of the ice," said Tetsutetsu. "Where's everyone else?"
"RECIPROBURST!" Cried Iida, heading towards them.
"Just try us!" Yelled Tetsutetsu.
GLOP
The ice was turned, from solid to liquid.
"That ice blast is nothing," said Honenuki. "If you'd come at us all hell-bent with your fire, I wouldn't have been able to fight back."
"Thanks, Juzo! That's one soft and flexible counterattack!" Cried Kaibara.
Ojiro, standing, suddenly slipped on a softened pipe.
"I took the opportunity to soften the surrounding area. Be careful with your footing, okay?" Said Honenuki.
"He improvised that!?" Asked Sato. "Or is Honenuki that good at predicting? They don't call hime flexible for nothing."
"Ojiro's all mine!" Cried Kaibara, activating his gyrate quirk.
"OJIRO!" Cried Iida, as the pipes and ground softened under his feet.
"Your feet are only as fast as the ground is solid. Did you notice that I've softened the ground beneath the ice, took?" Said Honenuki. "You could potentially be a pain later on, so I'd better sink you down and keep you trapped."
"Are you attempting to put an end to our teamwork? You villains are the embodiment of cunning!" Cried Iida.
"He's really getting into the role-play, huh?" Asked Shinsou.
Horns came flying over Todoroki's shoulders and swept Shoji away.
"Shoji!"
"We were sure that your scout, Shoji, would hang back in safety. Like say, right behind Todoroki!" Said Tsunotori.
Crack! Tetsutetsu came crashing, helped by Tsunotori's horns, into Todoroki.
"HORN DASH HAMMER! You and your stupid ice, always so freaking cold! You're freezing my steel butt off, Todoroki! So I'm coming at you bare-handed, okay? You think you can take me on? "
"That Tetsutetsu…he learned from my mistakes," murmured Eiji, looking sad.
"Nah, I doubt he's thinking that hard," said Kaminari. "Honenuki's really running the show.
"You jerk!" Cried Iida as the hardened ice had trapped him up to his head.
"Sorry," said Honenuki. "Recipro's on a timer, right? Maybe you should't have used it at the start. Anyway, I'd better go back up Tetsutetsu."
"A timer? Who told you that, Mud man? Ingenium is always ready to run…wherever, whenever! These legs get the job done, and I've been at full throttle this whole time! New style: RECIPRO TURBO!"
And the ice began to chip away around Iida.
"For real?" Said Honenuki as Iida charged towards him at last.
"I've maxed out Recipro's horse-power and minimized fuel consumption! It lasts ten minutes! For ten minutes, nobody can stop me!"
"Are you trying to catch us off guard with your new move-" "However! I move a bit too fast to retain full control!"
Iida was moving around him so fast it was hard to track his movements. But he'd gotten in a few hits on Honenuki. "End of the road, Mudman!"
Honenuki dove into the ground, softening it so he could swim.
"Recipro Turbo, wow!" Cried Midoriya. "That's so much faster than even Gran Torino!"
"Ever since you started with that Shoot Style or whatever, Iida seems to have gotten his mojo back," said Mineta.
"I still need him to teach me some kicking moves.
"Super speedy, Iida!" Cheered Uraraka."
"Hey, look at Ojiro!" I cried, turning our attention to Ojiro's fight with Kaibara.
"He's fighting so normally!" said Jirou.
"The way he's getting beat is so ordinary! It's like Ojiro hasn't changed at all! C'mon, man!" Said Sero.
"You're done!" Kaibara cried, ready to land the final blow on our most ordinary classmate -
Until Iida swept him away.
"Iida!"
"I'll put spiral in prison, so I must leave the battlefield for now. I'll be back shortly! In the meantime support Todoroki because Mudman is probably headed his way. I'll be back in a flash!" He said all this very fast.
"You got it!" Said Ojiro.
"Get offa me! I didn't get to really show off yet!" Protested Kaibara.
"Owww! Settle down, you! Why should I allow a villain to show off!?"
"Honenuki must've given you the slip, right? You saw what a pain he can be, so shouldn't you go after him instead? This is no time for you to be interrupting our one-on-one fight, Ingenium!"
"This is how my brother would proceed, so I will do th same! If I cannot take proper action during training, then how can I hope to act when it counts!?"
Earlier, Todoroki had been locked in battle with Tetsutetsu, screaming "My fist!" While punching through his ice.
"Since he turns into steel, a little cold doesn't slow him down much," said Sato.
"TEtsutetsu, I've got a lot to learn from you!" Eiji sighed.
Bakugou was smirking in triumph. "The ice ain't doing squat, but he keeps trying it? Rookie move."
"My steel fist of justice is gonna make ice cubes outta your defense!" TEtsutetsu snarled.
"Then how about - a wall of flames?" Todoroki turned, finally unleashing his finisher.
"You handle Tsunotori!" He told Shoji.
"Right!"
"Do you have any clue as to why I decided to take you on?" Came Tetsutetsu's voice from the fiery inferno. "Figured it out yet? Cuz your stuff doesn't work on me! Time to strike while the iron is hot!"
"Fight on, TEtsutetsu!" Said Tsunotori.
"This was part of my quirk training! You ever spend a day inside a furnace?" He was coming towards poor Todoroki, a hot fiery poker.
"Tetsutetsu! Pin down Todoroki! Don't let him get away! Overwhelm him in close combat to keep him from firing off massive moves!" Cheered Vlad King Sensei.
"Half and Half can't put a dent in me! I bulldozed past my limits to steel myself like this! Just gotta keep pounding away till you're out cold!"
Todoroki held up his left hand. "Aw, crap!"
Tetsutetsu backed off then as something came from Todoroki's left side. "Get back. Unless you want melt!"
And the camera began to phase out as Todoroki unleashed a massive wall of flame from his left hand side, enough to point his hair upwards!
"Young Todoroki. Firepower on par with Endeavor," said All Might.
Our view of this fight was now blurred.
Meanwhile Tsunotori was fighting Shoji.
"Sorry, tentacle, but I always trot right past the Octopus tank at the Aquarium. I can't stand the things!"
"I'm no stranger to being feared," replied Shoji.
"So it's time to end this! I'm gonna lock you up!" She threw four massive horns his way, and Shoji duplicated nearly several dozen massive arms, saying, "I didn't expect any less from you."
"Got you," she grinned as another horn came up from behind him. He grabbed it with an extra arm.
"Thanks for the assist." And Ojiro came in with a tail attack, knocking Tsunotori down and grabbing her horns.
"You're not much of a threat if you can't shoot your horns!"
"Oh the way you got me! So darn ordinary!?"
"I'll tie her up and get her to jail. Todoroki needs your - help - "
"CRap, it's Honenuki!" Cried Ojiro as the ground beneath their feet turned to liquid.
"I'll be taking Tsunotori back now. WE're actually friends, you know."
Meanwhile, small views were being restored of TEtsutetsu fighting Todoroki.
"Wuzza matter, Todoroki! Slowing down?"
"You're not as quick as before either!" HE aimed a fire attack at him - but then a pipe came from above, softened by Honenuki.
"I can't have you melting our TEtsutetsu!"
"Honenuki!"
"Now harden!" But someone had kicked off his mask.
"This time you won't get away from me, mudman!" Iida had arrived.
"Take this to heart, villains! The rescue takes top priority."
Todoroki and Tetsutetsu both looked too beat to move. Honenuki had reached out as Iida swept Todoroki up in his arms to take him out of the way, and softened the bottom of a giant water tower. He screamed, "Push it down, Tetsutetsu!"
No…
It fell down on Iida and Todoroki, as Tetsutetsu and Honenuki passed out.
"Look at that! All fighters are down for the count!"
League of Villains' Hideout, Mid December.
Tomura Shigaraki skittered along the ground; a giant hand swept down from above and snapped him in two, screaming "WEAK!"
"IN MIDAIR," cried Twice, as the duplicate of the leader he'd created dissolved, leaping for Machia alongside Mr. Compress and Shigaraki, "You're open to attack!"
"Weak! screamed Machia, and again the duplicates were scattered.
Toga and Spinner looked on.
"Our future king is in trouble, huh!?" said Toga.
"Same as always," sighed Spinner.
The doctor had promised his full support, on the condition they could reign in Gigantomachia. It had been a month and a half since then, but the beast still had not come to accept Shigaraki. He could keep attacking without rest for 48 hours and 44 minutes straight, then sleep for about three hours before attacking again. His body grew in battle and he could always sniff out Shigaraki's hiding place. Machia had told them of his great ears adn powerful nose. Hitting him while he was asleep did not work, as he could wake up at once and attack again. For the past month nad a half Shigaraki had barely slept, while the rest had some freedom to wander off and take shifts helping with the mission.
Money had been added to their fund by the doctor, but barely enough for support. He was not ready to give them full funding, not yet. Toga had used a little to buy a new duffle coat.
"Toasty!" she cried, making her way through the woods. "I slow down when I'm too cold."
"Uh huh," sighed Spinner.
"I love how cute A-line cuts look on me," she admitted.
"You joined cuz you love Stain, right?" asked Spinner. "But there's no sign of his influence in the League now, so why're you still here?"
"I love Stainy," said Toga. "I love Izuku and Ochako too! And I wanna become everyone I love!"
"You're so free. Must be nice," sighed Spinner.
"Is he sleeping now?" asked Mr. Compress. "When does that monster find the time to eat?"
"You still alive, Tomura?" asked Toga.
"Yeah. And that thing's slowed down a lot. I'm getting way closer each time, compared to the beginning! I'm definitely gonna trip that gorilla up sooner or later."
"BRAP!" came a sound from Jin's - something.
"Huh? Getting a call from Giran."
"The man hasn't been picking up any of my calls!" cried Mr. Compress. "ASk if this is insured!" he added, pointing to his robotic arm.
"That old broker's been looking out for me ever since he introduced me to the League! A real swell guy!" said Twice. Then, "You there, man! Why don'tcha pick up the phone when Mr. Compress Calls, you jerk?"
"Ah, I'm afraid that would be our fault," came a smooth voice, not Giran's, over teh phone. "I assume I'm speaking to Jin Bubaigawara, the villain known as Twice?"
"A voice changer?" asked Compress.
"Who is this?" said Twice. "And where's Giran?"
"Say, why don't you check the news? Right now, if you can?"
Compress opened up the news on his phone.
"BREAKING NEWS! FOLLOWING YESTERDAY'S EVENTS, ANOTHER FINGER HAS BEEN FOUND. 3 DAYS AGO OUTSIDE THE RESIDENCE OF HTE LEADER OF THE SHIE HASAIIKAI GROUP, A REGISTERED VILLAIN ORGANIZATION, A SEVERED MIDDLE FINGER WAS DISCOVERED. THEN IN FRONT OF HOSU CITY TERMINAL, AN INDEX FINGER. YESTERDAY, A RING FINGER APPEARED ON THE CENTRAL HIGHWAY WHERE A PRISON TRANSPORT VEHICLE WAS ATTACKED. SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. THEN AT GROUND ZERO IN KAMINO WARD A THUMB, AND JUST MOMENTS AGO IN CENTRAL FUKUOKA AT THE SITE OF ENDEAVOR'S FIRECE BATTLE THAT IS STILL FRESH IN OUR MINDS, A PINKIE FINGER. THE FINGERS ALL SEEM TO BELONG TO THE SAME INDIVIDUAL. IN ADDITION, A SCARF, SUNGLASSES AND OTHER ITEMS OF CLOTHING THOUGHT TO BE PERSONAL EFFECTS OF THE VICTIM WERE DISCOVERED AT EACH SCENE. POLICE ARE TREATING THIS AS A CRIME MEANT AS A STATEMENT BY SOME ORGANIZATION OR OTHER."
"Those are the locations where we've done our dirty deeds," murmured Compress.
"Greetings, League of Villains!" said the voice from the phone. "You are speaking to the Grand Commander of the Meta Liberation army, Re-Destro."