"DONE IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES! CLASS A'S UNEXPECTED TEAMWORK HAS LED THEM TO A 4-0 VICTORY!" boomed out Vlad's voice as we walked away, hi-fiving and smiling.
Sensei gave us all a thumbs up. "You all kept overall damage to a minimum and were very efficient from start to finish. With his mobility and power, Bakugou was the foundation that you three worked off of, and everyone did their jobs well."
I kinda felt a little red in the face. Hearing something great from my sensei was really something.
"You guys had a solid strategy, at least based on your opponents' past fights and strengths. But! The plan was too rigid! Unlike Honenuki's more flexible approach!" Said Vlad King.
We headed back towards the rest of the class, and Kaminari popped up as if from nowhere.
"Kacchan!" he said to Bakugou. "Looks like you can really get it done when you make the effort! And you were a total heroine out there, Jiro!"
"Just hero is fine," I retorted. Kaminari grinned like he was gonna start teasing me. "Ooh, sensitive I see?"
"Shut it."
Meanwhile the others were all talking to Bakugou. "You're like a street rat who starts adopting kittens, dude!" Said Sero.
Bakugou ignored him. His eyes were on All Might.
"That gave me chills!" Said Sensei.
"Oh yeah? Better see a Doctor," Bakugou muttered. Like a shy kid.
"Kacchan!" Said Midoriya, popping up almost from nowhere.
"Outta the way, nerd!"
"I'm not actually in your way…"
"I'm making progress."
"Yeah! You were great out there!"
"At a speed you can't keep up with."
"Nah, I'll surpass you!"
"Shut it! Is that all you got to say? Cuz you'll never beat me you damn nerd!"
"Just watch me."
I rolled my eyes. Those two are ridiculous. I walked away with Kaminari following me and joking about "hero-heroine". Annoying.
Anyway it was time for Match 5.
The A team was headed off to fight, Midoriya being the scout from up above.
"We'll start with Shinso, okay?" Said Mineta. "As long as he's out there, I'm on edge. I don't wanna get brainwashed."
"Let's not focus too hard on him, though!" Said Uraraka. "The rest of them are the type to stay hidden and launch attacks from who knows where!"
She floated up her helmet. "I float stuff!"
"I melt stuff!" Said Ashido.
"I stick stuff!" Said Mineta.
The wind went out of all their sails.
"We're fighting an uphill battle. Can't attack, can't do nuttin."
"We'd better go with my pop-off vineyard Strat!"
"Nobody's gonna walk right into that! Nah, first we find em, then we trap em !"
"And I'll be the bait!" Said Midoriya, returning to them.
"How's it going?" Said Ashido. "You said your quirk has been acting weird?"
"Yeah, but there's nothing strange enow! It's back to normal! Still, based on how the fourth match went, they're probably gonna be extra wary of me! I'd better be ready to go all out. "
"You ok? We're counting on you here."
"Don't worry. We can win this!"
Uraraka held up her hands. Ashido cheered.
"NOW START, MATCH 5!"
"The formation of Midoriya's team bears a strong resemblance to Bakugou's team in match 4," said Iida.
"They have a similar makeup too," added Sero. "But they don't have a Jiro type on their side! They gotta be even more careful than we were, unless they wanna get wrecked!"
"That's true," I nodded. "If their strategy involves luring them out, then Midoriya will have to work even harder than Bakugou!"
Midoriya gave Uraraka a small gesture with his hand. She nodded and he went off to scout, jumping around the structure.
As he scouted, the others were setting up some kind of trap with Mineta's dumb ball hair.
"EEK!" Came a cry from Uraraka - no, not from her.
"That shout must've been Shinso. They're close!" Said Mineta as Uraraka floated him up to set his trap.
"Kinda funny to picture that shriek coming from such a calm guy," said Ashido.
"Hey, we gotta look at each others' faces when talking!" Said Uraraka.
"We got bite!" Mineta cried as he adjusted his trap. As objects came flying towards them, Ashido threw up her protective barrier. ACID VEIL!"
'It's Yangi's poltergeist!" Cried Mineta as objects came flying their way. "Is she even aiming!?"
Two small objects came flying towards Ashido, who threw up her acid veil - not enough as they suddenly grew huge! A barrel and a screw.
"Release," said Kodai, placing her hands together.
It's Kodai's size!
Uraraka jumped into action and slapped the materials, floating them away.
"Twin impact, fire!"
The objects exploded.
"AHHH!" Cried Ashido.
"WE've got a decent idea of what direction they're in now. Let's launch a second attack while they're still in the dark!" Said Shoda to his two teammates.
"That was crazy! They've probably got our location now. What about Deku?" Asked Uraraka.
Midoriya had been scounting and had run into Monoma.
"Huh? Did you spot me? After observing Bakugou's performance, we'd be fools to take you lightly! It's only natural to be on guard against someone as strong and agile as you. The clever among us realize that much. On the other hand, someone truly clever might also think that it was the other three who amplified Bakugou's strength…that crushing them should have taken priority. You're such a showman, you've gone out of your way to reveal yourself, yes? Meanwhile I expect my allies have already located yours. It'll be three against four. How will your team fare? With Shinso in the mix they can't exactly communicate freely. I suppose you'd better race back to check on your friends. But wait! What if that scream just now was Shinso mimicking a voice? What if your three friends are still hidden but you end up leading us right to them? Ha ha ha! I'm afraid there's no easy answer!"
Midoriya headed towards him. Ready for the capture.
"Don't you have any regard for your friends' potential plight? That's cold! I had a little chat with Shinso. 'The gifted will break this world!' Tell me. Your pal, Bakugou…how is it that he can still smile without a care when he's the one who brought about the downfall of the symbol of peace?"
Midoriya's face went black with rage.
Damn, man, that's below the belt. I turned to see how Bakugou was taking it, but his face looked panicky - not angry - He was looking at the screen. I turned back.
Something was coming from Midoriya's glove. Not a blast of energy. Black liquid tendrils - something strange - something new.
Something wrong.
