Izuku gratefully accepted the bladder of water and took a quick swallow. "Th-thanks, Mina. I didn't think it'd get this hot so fast."
"To be fair, it's not like we have canyons and deserts like this back home," Mina said with a smile.
She had a point. As he drank, he slowly took in their surroundings. It really was incredible. Towering walls of stone rose up on either side of them, slowly bleeding from gray to a reddish brown made more intense by the afternoon sun. The canyon continued down past the road, dropping into a river with strong enough rapids that Izuku could hear them from here, their waters turning in a rhythmic rumbling. Ahead, the road continued across several isolated pillars, all that was left after years of the wind and river eroding the cliff path.
It wasn't all unfamiliar though. The Great Plateau towered over him to his left. They'd teleported to the first shrine he and Link had visited—Oman Au's, according to his notebook—since it was the closest they could get to the road. Once there, they hiked down from the plateau and around the northern side, following the road as it gradually curved first west, then south.
Actually, they probably could have teleported closer. He could see another shrine on top of the plateau's mountain up ahead, but that would have required an ice slide from Todoroki or more gliders. While he'd been excited by the prospect, Link didn't want to risk any injuries.
"What're you idiots whining about heat for if we're heading to the desert?" Kacchan barked. "If you can't handle the heat, you should've stayed back with the fishes!"
Mina smirked. "Didn't you say earlier you also missed air conditioning?"
"Shut the hell up, Raccoon Eyes!"
Izuku chuckled quietly as Kacchan stormed off ahead toward Link. Hearing Kacchan on the defensive would always be funny to him, especially after years of him ruling their middle school. Being a part of Class 1-A had definitely been an adjustment for both of them.
He glanced back at Mina and smiled to himself. Lots of adjustments, and most of them good.
"What're you thinkin' about, Midori?" Mina asked. She grinned mischievously. "Me again? Honestly, you're too distractible."
He snorted. "N-no, not this time. Or n-not entirely. Was thinking about how different 1-A is from middle school."
"Oh yeah, it's super different." Mina stretched, crossing her arms behind her head momentarily as she walked. "Everyone's much nicer. Well, almost everyone; there're still a few assholes, but they're more manageable."
She raised her voice slightly and stuck her tongue out at Kacchan, who, without turning back, flipped her off in response. She giggled. "See, much more manageable. Lots of bark, some bite."
"Maybe more bite than normal; all this heat's gonna make him sweat more."
"Yeah, and he'll be all soggy when he blows himself up. No thank you."
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. His hand brushed against hers, and she clutched it in response. The warmth made him smile, even as it made his heart beat faster. Hesitantly, he squeezed her hand, and she immediately squeezed it back.
What did dating in a fantasy world look like? He'd joked about it before, but he had to admit trying to come up with ideas for dates that weren't super repetitive was harder than he thought it'd be. And since they were traveling, whatever they did had to be compatible with where they were.
'I guess I could ask Link to take us somewhere…' Izuku grimaced as the thought crossed his mind. No, no, that wouldn't work. Maybe they could borrow the Slate during downtime? No, that probably wouldn't work either.
Izuku got so lost in his thoughts he almost crashed into Kacchan, saved only by Mina tugging on his hand to pull him to a stop. As it was, Kacchan still growled at him, but it sounded half-hearted. His eyes were focused on the plateau ahead, looking at something Izuku couldn't quite make out due to the height difference.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We aren't quite sure," Yaoyorozu responded, causing Izuku to jump and stop focusing on his former best friend. The entire party had clumped up without him realizing. Yaoyorozu peered in the same direction as Kacchan, her fingers idly twisting some gadget she had Created. "Something is on the next island."
"Something big," Todoroki added with a frown. "I caught a glimpse of it, but no more. Link's gone ahead to check."
Kacchan spat on the ground. "Which doesn't make any damn sense. Quirkless extra like him would only get smoked in a fight with something that big."
"Bakugo, that's gross," Mina said. "And you've never seen Link in action. We've all sparred against him and he's put us in our place each time."
"That's because you're all shitty fighters. The twink wouldn't stand a chance against someone who did more than half-ass the fight."
Izuku opened his mouth to argue the point, but Yaoyorozu's cool voice cut him off. "Maybe you should try your luck this evening? I believe he intends to spar with both you and Todoroki anyway; it could serve as an opportunity to show us what you're talking about."
"Quit kissing ass, Ponytail girl. You know I'd destroy the twink."
"From everything we've heard, he's kept up with our classmates," Todoroki said. "Even without a quirk, I would be cautious."
Izuku exchanged a glance with Mina, who was openly grinning. "I don't know, Baku-boy" she teased, "I think you're scaredwe might actually be right."
Kacchan spun around, mouth open. His response was lost as Link reappeared at the top of the road, his mouth set in a grim line. "We've got trouble. There's a hinox napping in the center of the next plateau."
"Um… what's that?" Mina asked.
"Must be a monster of some kind," Todoroki said. "A dangerous one, if it's a problem for us."
Silently, Link gestured for them to follow him. Izuku fell in behind Todoroki and followed him up to the top of the small rise. Once he could see, his eyes widened in surprise.
The plateau ahead was the largest of the chain they had been crossing. Unlike the rest of the chain, this one was surprisingly flat and lacked any of the vegetation they'd traveled through. The road crossed a wide bridge before running across the plateau, underlining the monster that had taken up residence.
The hinox was a giant, maybe half the size of the villainKamui Woods and Mt. Lady had taken down for their debut. Its red skin stretched taut across its huge gut and singular eye, which bulged out against the lid. Thankfully, the monster hadn't noticed them, mostly due to it being asleep. The sun glinted off bits of metal hanging from its neck as its great belly rose and fell in steady rhythm, and its snore rumbled around the canyon. It raised a gnarled, clawed hand to scratch the membrane around its eye before lapsing back into slumber.
As another snore vibrated the air around them, Izuku's eyes widened in realization. 'The rumbling I heard earlier was the hinox!'
"Damn," Kacchan said, sounding impressed. "That thing's ugly."
What tension there was shattered. Mina started giggling, followed quickly by Yaoyorozu and Izuku. Even Link's lips twitched, though his face quickly hardened again. "While ugly, they are extremely dangerous. You see the metal around its neck? Those are the weapons of its victims."
The laughter abruptly died. Izuku looked at the monster again, squinting against the glare. Sure enough, the metal under the glinting light took shape, resolving into a pair of swords and an axe.
"How terrible…" Yaoyorozu whispered.
"And the same could happen to us if we aren't careful," Todoroki said.
"Speak for yourself, Icy Hot. I bet I could take it." Small explosions crackled in Kacchan's palms to emphasize his point, but his words lacked their usual bite. "Something that big has to have a weakness. Oi, Twink, what do you know?"
Link stiffened, and for a brief moment, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what 'twink' translated to in Hylian. Whatever it was, he didn't comment on it. "Its biggest weakness is its eye; it's sensitive. See how it bulges out of its head? Otherwise, hinoxes don't have many weaknesses. They usually rely on brute force and thick skin to win fights. They're slow and not the brightest, but they don't need to be when they can outlast whatever they're fighting."
"Is that it?" Kacchan's bloodthirsty grin returned. "This'll be easy. I'll blow it straight to hell, then you extras can cross."
"Wait," Link said, his voice taking on what Izuku had decided was his Officer's Voice. "With monsters like this, we need to plan how to proceed—"
"Screw the planning, and don't tell me what to do, you quirkless extra!"
Before anyone could respond, Kacchan stepped forward and pointed his palms down. The air beneath him Exploded, rocketing him away in a cataclysm of fire and dust. He coasted over the ravine before using a series of smaller explosions to correct his course and launch himself at the hinox.
Unfortunately ('And unsurprisingly,' Izuku thought dryly), the explosions woke up the monster. With a startled snort, it lurched to its feet, its single, hideously yellow eye blinking blearily as it searched for the source of the noise. Its confusion morphed to pain as Kacchan landed a blast to its back. "How d'you like that?" he cackled.
His voice's echoes were drowned out by the hinox's enraged bellow. The monster turned and lashed out in an attempt to swap Kacchan from the air. His cackles quickly changed to curses as he propelled himself out of the way, narrowly avoiding the massive hand.
Link cursed and drew his sword. "Looks like stealth's no longer an option. Let's go save your idiot friend before he gets smashed."
With a sigh of relief, Link sank down by the fire. It had been another long day, and he just wanted to rest for a bit. The group had found a shallow cavethey could use for shelter, oneLink remembered using once or twice back before The Calamity. It still served as a frequent stop for travelers, judging by the soot-stained ceiling.
They'd made good time, but still had another day before they were out of the canyon, and that wasn't even counting the days they'd be in the desert. He didn't know how they were going to cross it yet; the desert's freezing nighttime temperatures were only slightly better than the day's searing heat. Even with that, nighttime might be the better option.
He stretched and frowned in thought. The main problem with a night crossing was the monsters. Most weren't adapted to the desert heat either and did their hunting after the sun went down. A hundred years ago, the Gerudo had patrolled the road between the stable at the mouth of the canyon, the oasis, and if that remained the case, there shouldn't be many monsters left.
'Not that they would be much of a bother anyways.' He snorted as the thought crossed his mind and glanced over his group of misfits.
Midoriya and Todoroki were talking about quirk applications. Not too surprising. During the hinox fight, Todoroki had covered the monster's legs in a thick sheet of ice to immobilize it. Hearinghe could manipulate ice was one thing; watching it race across the ground toward a target was another entirely.
Nor had he been the only surprise. Midoriya had leapt into action the moment he'd been given the go-ahead. In that moment, Link had seen his training paying off. Midoriya moved more naturally and handled his equipment more comfortably. He was faster, more nimble, and had darted electric-green circles around the hinox, constantly keeping it off balance. Link had a hunchMidoriya's increased mobility had less to do with his training and more with his girlfriend's.
Ashido paused mid-bite and sneezed around her apple. Despite Todoroki freezing the top of the plateau solid, Ashido had remained as mobile as ever, skating around and melting through what little armor the monster had. She'd even managed to soften up its hide some, allowing the others to get in and actually do some damage.
Light shimmered beside Ashido as Yaoyorozu held out a tissue, which the pink girl gratefully accepted. Link had to admit, Yaoyorozu was a bit of a mystery to him. She could certainly fight, but her manners and upbringing reminded him of Zelda… and Mipha. Did they have royalty in Japan? Was she a princess? Why had she decided to become a hero? Whatever the reason, she had remarkable, if surprising, skills with a longsword.
Snap-Pop-Crackle-Bang!
Speaking of unlikely heroes, Link shifted his gaze to the last of the teens. Bakugo had settled himself against a boulder and was using his quirk to blast small chips off a rock. The blond certainly knew his way around a fight. He'd managed to avoid the monster's flailing and even landed the killing blow by unleashing a blast directly into its eye. Even in the heat of battle, he'd kept an eye on his companions, showing a level of care behind his prickly exteriorLink suspected few had seen.
Yes, between the six of them, most of the monsters in the desert wouldn't be a problem. He didn't know how they'd stack up against a molduga, but he suspectedthe fight would be one-sided. He allowed himself a brief grin at the image before sobering up again. No, the monsters weren't the real problem. Hylia, the Divine Beast likely wouldn't be much of a hindrance either. No, his main concern was the Yiga Clan.
When he'd taken Yneira back to Hateno, they'd sat down and had a serious chat. She had wanted to know what he knew about her curse, and he wanted to know how big, exactly a threat the Yiga represented. He could only tell her so much about Drangleic—he didn't understand much himself, and he'd promised to keep at least some of it back—but what he could pass on, he did. Honestly, that little bit made him gratefulhe only had Ganon and his monsters to deal with.
Or monsters and fanatical cult minions. He frowned, thinking of what Yneira had told him.
[:][:][:]
"Several hundred?" Link exclaimed.
Yneira nodded. "Yes. Masters of disguise, traps, and the hidden arts all. I've even heard rumors that there are some who have been tinkering with the old Sheikah tech. Most are spread throughout the kingdom, and all of them are looking for you."
She sighed and leaned back. "I'll be honest, Champion, I don't know how we're going to do it. Even with my knowledge and most of the Yiga out in the field, cracking the hideout open isn't going to be easy. It's located at the end of a canyon to the north of Gerudo Town and is protected by the terrain, traps, and lookouts that can see for miles. Inside's almost worse, a rabbit's warren with plenty of kill corners and choke points. There's a reason the Gerudo have never managed to take it."
It sounded like the worst kind of fortification to assault. An entrenched foe wasn't easily dug out, and a fanatical one even more so. Yneira had had to stress how serious her former clan's commitment to the Calamity had been. Worse, her former leaders sounded both competent and dangerous. Kohga's lieutenants. Cin and Sooga, each sounded to be formidable swordsmen and masters of Yiga arts. Sooga especially would be a difficult fight, as his fighting style sounded tailored to counter Link's own.
And then there was Kohga himself. Even now, after she had abandoned the Yiga, Link heard a note of awe in Yneira's voice as she spoke of him. The man sounded extremely charismatic, if a little silly—and all the deadlier for it. From the sounds of it, he had been alive since before the Calamity and had used that time to master an arsenal of deadly techniques.
No, taking the hideout wouldn't be easy at all.
"So what do we do?" he finally asked. "From what you've described, frontal assault is suicide at worst and futile at best. Infiltration is probably out of the question since none of us look like we could be Yiga clansmen. Is there a back door or somethingwe could use? If not, our best bet might be to have the Gerudo focus on containment until Ganon's defeated."
Yneira frowned. "There might be. I'll look into it before I meet back up with you all."
[:][:][:]
"What're you looking at, Twink?"
Bakugo's rough voice smashed through Link's thoughts and forcibly returned him to the present. With a start, he realized he'd been staring at the blond for the past couple of minutes. "Apologies; I was considering how to handle the Yiga Clan."
Bakugo scowled. "Yeah, sure you were. You're thinking about it too much; we'll put the bad guys in the ground like the damn extras they are."
"W-we might have a hard time doing that, Kacchan," Midoriya stammered, emerging from his conversation with Todoroki. Link frowned, glancing between the two. There it was again; Midoriya claimed they were friends, but he was clearly nervous and deferential around Bakugo, his 'friend.' "M-miss Yneira said—"
"I don't remember asking you, you shitty Deku! Villains are villains, and it doesn't matter what world we're in—I'll still blow them all straight to hell. Better than you can do with your quirk you can't even control!"
Midoriya recoiled, his face twisting as Bakugo's harsh words smashed over him. Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Ashido's eyes narrow, and the rock under her hand began to hiss. Not good. "Geez, what's your damage, Baku-boy? Are you really that insecure?"
"That level of response certainly seems unwarranted," Yaoyorozu added with a frown.
"Maybe if you stopped making goo-goo eyes at a shitty nerd, you'd realize what it takes to be a competent hero."
"What did you say?" Ashido screeched, surging to her feet.
Definitely not good. Link felt his hackles raise as the two stared each other down. He knew he should try and play this down, but frankly, he didn't want to. Bakugo's attitude had soured the entire group's dynamic. It needed to stop.
"Enough," Link said quietly, pulling both teen's attention to him. He stared them both down and addressed them in turn. "Ashido, I appreciate your concern, but fighting won't get you anywhere."
The girl wilted a little, but he didn't linger, turning his attention to his problem child. "Bakugo, you're way out of line. We're a team, and from what I've been told, you all should be friends. Perhaps things work differently back in Japan, but here, friends and teammates are usually kind to each other."
Bakugo's lip curled back in a defiant sneer. "Just what an extra who's afraid of a good fight would say."
"Who said I'm afraid of fighting?" Link rose to his feet in a smooth motion and jerked his head toward the entrance. "I've seen your type before; you won't listen until after a good tussle. Well, come on. Let's go settle this."
His response caught everyone off guard. Only Todoroki seemed unsurprised, nodding slowly as he watched. 'Makes sense. He's traveled with Bakugo for the last couple of weeks; I imaginethe two may have had to solve their own differences.'
The sound of popping filled the room, drawing Link's attention back to Bakugo, who was grinning the same feral grin as when he attacked the hinox. "So you do have a spine. Fine by me if you want to get your ass handed to you."
"H-hey, wait!" Ashido stammered, straightening. "I thought you said fighting wouldn't solve anything?"
"No; I saidfighting wouldn't get you anywhere," Link said, softly annunciating the 'you.' This was going to hurt her pride, but better that than being sent back to Kakariko to heal. "I've seen the two of you fight, and Bakugo's still above your skill level. You would learn from the fight, but you would lose, which would be counterproductive right now."
Hurt crossed her face, and she opened her mouth to retort. Before she could, Midoriya laid a hand on her arm and shook his head when she looked at him. She searched his face, for what Link didn't know, but whatever she found seemed to be enough because her shoulders slumped and she sat back down.
Link sighed; he'd have to handle that later. One problem at a time. Again, he jerked his head toward the entrance, and without waiting turned and walked out. He'd wanted to test Bakugo; might as well get it out of the way.
Katsuki stretched first one leg, then the other. Across the canyon from him, Twink was doing something similar, stretching his arms across his chest. As much of a blowhard as he was, he at least knew to limber up. He had this quiet confidence that made Katsuki sick.
Off to the side, Raccoon Eyes bounced nervously from one foot to the other, while Icy Hot watched impassively. Deku had another one of his stupid notebooks out and was muttering something nerdy to Ponytail. He snorted to himself before shifting his attention back to Twink. He knew where they were now; as long as they didn't move, he wouldn't have to worry about wasting them with Explosion.
The idea of putting the extra in his place was getting more exciting by the moment. He was just another stepping stone in Katsuki's quest to be the number one. Him, Deku, All Might—all of them.
He scowled. All Might being a skeleton was bad news. He'd damn near blasted the old man when they met up in that hokey ninja village before realizinghe was an actual person and not a monster. The only thing that'd saved him was a quick transformation and a not-so-quick explanation that his strength had started draining away after his encounter with the Big Bad.
After coming to save him.
"How're we doing this?" Katsuki growled, shaking his head to clear away the unwanted thought. "Normally I'd go all out, but like you said, we ain't got time for people to heal."
"Oh, you can go all out," Twink said. "I've been wanting to test you and Todoroki anyway; this will give me a better idea of what you can do and help me plan accordingly."
God, he was just like Deku. Always thinking, never acting. "Fine, it's your funeral. I'll give you a firsthand demonstration of how I'm going to put each of those damn villains into the ground."
Link nodded and crouched, hands raised in front of his face. Katsuki grinned ferociously. Fine; he'd make the first move.
The air behind him Exploded, launching him toward Twink at speed. He could see the Twink's eyes widen as he closed the distance, and his grin widened as he opened with his right. Sparks crackled in his palm before igniting into a small inferno that engulfed the extra.
Boom!
It wasn't his strongest Explosion, but much as he might say otherwise, he didn't actually want to hurt the quirkless idiot. Much. He skidded to a halt and spun around to survey his handiwork. "Quirkless bastard like you probably can't handle too many of tho—"
His words died in his throat as the smoke cleared, revealing charred, cracked ground—but no Twink. 'Damn, I knew quirkless people were squishy, but even Deku could take a blast that weak.'
"Impressive speed, good technique. I'll admit I couldn't see much through the smoke, but I'm still impressed."
Katsuki jerked around, hands flying up to protect him from blows that didn't come. There the Twink was, watching him appraisingly from a few feet away. His hair was somehow even more infuriatingly windswept, but he didn't look Exploded at 'd the extra dodged his attack? He'd watched his Explosion hit home. The punk should've been bruised at least, even with him holding back.
"How the fu—"
"Go ahead and give it another pass. That wasn't your full power, was it? I told you to give me everything you've got."
Twink settled back into position, hands raised. Katsuki glared at him. The damn nerd wanted everything? Fine. His funeral. He lunged, hands sparking.
Boom!
Booom!
BOOOM!
For the next five minutes, he tried to annihilate the stupid Twink. For five minutes, he failed. No matter how fast he was or what angle he attacked from or how big an explosion he let loose, he couldn't touch him. He even broke out a couple of experimental moves he'd been cooking up. Not AP shot; annoying as Twink was, he didn't want to blow a hole through his chest. No, things like Stun Grenade and Big Bang, but they didn't seem to do anything either. He could feel himself tiring out as time wore on.
Finally, he'd had enough. As Twink ducked under yet another one of his attacks, he snapped. "Are you gonna keep dodging all day? Shit, the other extras told meyou're some kind of knight! What kind of shitty knight doesn't even throw a punch?"
"A good one," Twink grunted. "But since you asked…"
Before Katsuki could fully process his statement, he was already on the defensive. Twink came out swinging, jabbing, testing, probing. For a moment, he could only focus on defense. Even as he deflected though, his mind shifted, looking for openings. It didn't take long; Twink overextended a hook, and Katsuki lashed out at his chin.
Katsuki's eyes widened as Twink blurred. He gasped as something struck him in the stomach, knocking all the wind out of him and launching him backward. The edges of his vision tinted black for a moment. He rolled to his knees and forced himself to stand back up, taking great heaving breaths as he did so. Across from him, Link just watched.
How the hell'd the extra do that? Didn't he say he was quirkless? Despite himself, Katsuki glanced over at Deku. He didn't seem surprised and was even watching him with concern. Katsuki felt his lips pull into a snarl; he didn't need anyone looking down on him, dammit!
With some effort, he forced himself back to the problem at hand as he got into position. Quirkless or not, Twink had managed to dodge every single one of his attacks, in some cases before the attacks had reached him. He hadn't been able to get a good look at it before because of his Explosions, but this last time he'd seen the blur. It only seemed to activate when Twink was about to take damage, almost like… almost like bullet time from that one really old movie series his dad liked to watch.
Shit. The pieces clicked into place. While on the defensive, Link was basically invincible. Offensive, too; he'd pulled that bullet-time crap in the middle of a barrage. Physical attacks were a no-go, and as much as he hated it, he probably couldn't get off a big Explosion at the moment. He was still winded, and he could feel his arms beginning to cramp up; he hadn't fully recovered from the abuse he'd put his quirk through while fighting that fat monster. There was still a while to go before that turned into a problem, but he'd need to pull back. He wasn't Deku; he wouldn't break himself to use his quirk, especially without the old lady and her healing to patch him up.
No, Link had won this fight. He growled as the realization swept over him, and while a small part of him knew it would probably be smarter to call the fight, he couldn't just back down. Time to test some limits.
Using a small Explosion to blast himself forward again, he launched another right hook at Link. He put his back into it, even knowing it wouldn't work. Sure enough, Link blurred when he got close. Acting fast, Katsuki twisted around and used his other hand to try and block, sweeping it down toward his stomach.
Before he had moved more than a few centimeters, he winced as pain blossomed all up and down his side. "Is that all you got, you bastard?" he roared, skidding to a stop and throwing a fist at Link. He would keep going until he could catch the bastard in his shit. He would—
Link side-stepped the blow—in normal speed. Katsuki couldn't help but gape at him as he caught his arm and, with a twist and a heave, flipped Katsuki over his shoulder and slammed him into the ground.
WHAM.
Katsuki wheezed as the air blasted out from his lungs for the second time in as many minutes. Above him, Link stared down at him impassively before blowing out a breath. "You fought well, but we're done here."
"Like hell we are," Katsuki growled, struggling to push himself up. "I'm… still moving—"
"Exactly; you're still moving. You might rememberI said I didn't want either of us incapacitated. We could keep going until you couldn't move anymore, but that wouldn't serve any purpose." Link blew out another breath before leaning back and offering a hand. "One thing's for sure; my initial assessment was dead on. You're quite the fighter. That last charge, you twisted at the last moment. You read my bullet time, didn't you?"
Katsuki stared at the hand for a moment and felt his anger flare in him again. He knocked it aside and pushed himself to his feet. "I don't need any of your pity, and yeah I did. It was obvious what you'd do after pulling the same damn trick the entire fight."
Link nodded. "Yes, but had this been an actual fight, you would have been dead or unconscious after your first attack."
The absolute certainty in Link's voice cooled Katsuki's rage, letting him think clearly.
He turned to go back inside, hesitated, and turned back. "I trustthis doesn't need to be said, but just to make it clear, you will cease your blatant hostility toward the others. I won't ask you to be kind, but I will ask you to be civil. If you continue, I will, to use your language, knock your lights out and dump your unconscious ass back in Kakariko. Am I clear?"
And there was the ultimatum. He gritted his teeth. "Fine."
Link nodded and walked away. Katsuki watched him go before quietly following. He had been beaten, but he wasn't the only tired one. Right there at the end, when he'd offered his hand, Link had been trembling. Just a little, but he'd seen it. He could be worn down, and that meant he could be beaten. Katsuki allowed himself a smirk. They'd fight again, and he would kick Twink's ass.
One more stepping stone.