Happy New Year, everyone! Fun fact: this chapter had three different drafts before settling on this one. I hope to be back on track this time around!
When the day started for them, the last thing they were expecting was a 2-v-2 with pro heroes on standby as a villain Enforcer. When her team was announced, Mina Ashido didn't think that she would win, despite being on Todoroki's team. While they did win, they won dirty by tricking Kirishima and having him hanging over a pool of acid. He didn't appreciate it when the match was done, but she felt like she did wonderfully after a talk from Deku.
"Villains will play dirty when they can't match a hero's strength or intelligence. Don't feel bad if you get played dirty in the future, alright?"
The acid-user smiled as they were moved to the side. They watched as their classmates completed their exams, with Deku giving them play-by-plays from the field. He would even have them answer surprise questions, ranging from how a specific maneuver would help a different team standard questions relating to hostage work.
When it came to the final match, her smile was as wide as ever. Watching Midoriya and Yaoyorozu face off against Bakugo and Uraraka was a matchup she didn't expect, but when they clashed in the field, she didn't know who to root for.
She watched as Midoriya swing off of a lamp-post and kick the explosive faux villain out of the air was glorious. When Bakugo recovered with a mid-air backflip and fired an under-handed explosion, she nearly squeaked.
The two rivals landed on the ground facing the other. Midoriya smiled as he brushed some smoke from his hair before leaping forward with a quick push of One for All energy. Bakugo responded by firing an explosion at the ground in front of him at point-blank range, causing the young inheritor to leap to the side and fire a wide roundhouse kick. The explosive hero blocked the attack with ease and countered with another blast.
Before it could connect, Midoriya had already disappeared in a flash of green light. Before he could register his disappearance, the young inheritor surprised him with a gut punch, sending Bakugo flying into the window of one of the office buildings. Midoriya smiled and followed him into the building.
While the two continued their fight indoors, Yaoyorozu was busy in the villain lair on the other side of the city. She hacked into the computer controlling the cells and opened them up. Once the doors were open, she spun around, created a slingshot in her forearm, and fired some ammo at the security camera overlooking the station.
The QICDs exited the cells, with President QICD walking up to her. Thank you, young hero. I was getting worried, it said in a female voice.
"Madam President, are there others?" Yaoyorozu asked.
No, the villains locked us all up together. I overheard them talking about collecting a ransom, she said.
"Well, it looks like they missed out on a massive payday. We have to get out of here before they come back," the Everything Hero advised.
The QICD nodded and motioned for one of the units to start moving. The mechs, most likely Secret Service QICDs, started moving with the Prime Minister's guards. They ran down the hall and toward the stairwell. The Secret Service QICDs burst through while a few ushered the President and the Prime Minister. Following their lead, Yaoyorozu created a bo staff and had a few of her Russian dolls.
As they moved further down the building, Yaoyorozu's communicator buzzed. "Creati, what's your status?"
"Hostages secured. Moving to extraction."
"Be ready. Uravity is moving to intercept," Midoriya said. "Wow, this radio talk is interesting."
Yaoyorozu smirked and rolled her eyes. "Practice it later, 'kay?"
As soon as she rounded a flight of stairs, the window facing her shattered. The Everything Hero had a split second to create a cushion as she faced her opponent as she smashed through the window with her legs extended. Yaoyorozu was sent flying as Uraraka's kick connected with the buffer. The Everything Hero slumped to the ground and groaned.
Uraraka stood over her with her bo staff at the ready. "Gotcha!"
Yaoyorozu smirked as she picked herself up. "Not this time," she raised her bo staff to a defensive position. "Your move."
Uraraka smiled and leaped at her with her staff raised for an overhead strike. Yaoyorozu blocked and dropped her left hand, causing the Gravity faux villain's staff to slide down. The Everything Hero spun around and swung a reverse roundhouse kick toward her opponent's head. Uraraka ducked quickly and backed away.
Yaoyorozu sighed and lunged in while spinning her bo staff. Uraraka blocked it with ease, knocked it away, and fired a wire at the wall behind her opponent. The mechanism pulled quickly, sending the faux villain into Yaoyorozu's personal space, knocking her to the wall. She followed up by slamming her bo staff at her, causing the Everything Hero to block it.
The two struggled as they pushed against each other. They both had a fire in their eyes as they strained to break the other's attack. Yaoyorozu moved her bo staff so she could keep her grip on hers while grabbing Uraraka's. She pushed against her opponent and tossed her bo staff down the stairs before bursting through a nearby door. Uraraka shook off the attack and grabbed a spare collapsable staff before following the Everything Hero through the door.
Uraraka threw open the door and froze. Nestled on the handle on the inside was one of Yaoyorozu's Russian dolls. The top was popped off, revealing a small cylinder. The faux villain had a second to turn away and leap back as the flashbang exploded.
Down the hallway, Yaoyorozu smiled. She pressed a finger on her communicator. "Madam President, I have the villain's attention. Keep moving, and we'll meet up once she's dealt with."
"Got it. Stay safe, hero!"
Yaoyorozu smiled as she switched to her partner's comm. "Deku, come in. I've engaged with Uravity. The hostages are still moving."
"Great work. I'm keeping Dynamight busy for now. Capture Uravity if you can."
"Copy." She continued to run down the hall.
Close behind her, Uravity had her staff ready and was in hot pursuit.
Inside the observation room, Principal Nezu smiled. "As you all can see, communication is key. It is also worth noting that Midoriya's primary objective is to contain Bakugo instead of fighting to capture him."
"It's also worth noting that the two are heavily invested in each other in terms of combat," All Might said. "Some heroes will have a nemesis, and their shared history can play out to either party's advantage."
Mr. Aizawa nodded. "Notice that Yaoyorozu isn't entirely focused on escorting the hostages. She knows that keeping the villain busy is necessary. If they had a backup that the villains did not account for, a third hero would be leading them to safety. Instead, the President's Secret Service leads the escape as they are considered one of the world's best security organizations. They can have Quirks that can make the job easier for the heroes."
The students all started murmuring among themselves. Mina, however, raised her hand. "Wait a minute, where's Deku?" She asked.
The class stopped their conversations. "Yeah, he's usually asking the questions or something," Kirishima noted.
"Bathroom break or something?" Sero wondered.
Mr. Aizawa stole a glance at Principal Nezu. He shrugged and motioned to the monitor. "He'll be back in a minute, I think. Let's keep watching."
Back at the battle between the two rivals, Bakugo perched onto a ruined light pole and thrust his hands out. "STAY DOWN DEKU!" He fired a barrage of high-power explosive blasts.
Midoriya used roughly 45% of One for All to dodge his attacks. He moved gracefully and fast enough that Bakugo was finding it difficult to keep track of him. He switched to his A.P. Autocannon and sprayed the street in explosive rounds, shrowding in thick, black smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the explosive faux villain panted heavily and rubbed his wrists. He growled and checked his gauntlets. "Not yet..." He muttered to himself.
He leaped off of the light pole and surveyed the carnage. The road was ruined along with many faux cars and other objects. As he scanned the street, Midoriya was high in the sky, floating against the side of a building. He wiped the sweat off of his brow and shook his head, clearing any smoke that was in his hair. "That was close...I gotta be more careful with his blasts," he muttered.
He scanned the rest of the block. "I gotta keep him on the move. Just being here is working, but keeping his attention squared on me is my best bet." He paused mid-thought as his eyes widened. "Oh, crap, this is just like our first battle simulation last year. What is my older self thinking?"
"I CAN HEAR YOU UP THERE!" Bakugo shouted.
Midoriya's attention returned to the ground, where Bakugo was glaring at him. "Asshole! How about you come down here so we can fight like men!"
"I don't suppose I can convince you to come up here and fight like birds, huh?"
Bakugo grinned. "Let's see what you got!" He blasted the ground beneath him and launched into the air.
Midoriya's eyes widened as the faux villain crashed into him and held him by his mask's ears. Bakugo used his free hand to propel himself up the building with his feet planted on the wall while running and holding the young inheritor.
The young inheritor swung like a bag of potatoes as they climbed the building. Using his momentum from moving around so much, Midoriya swung forward and derailing Bakugo's ascension. The two flew over the ruined road and toward an empty office building.
Midoriya re-oriented himself first by using a Delaware Smash and Float. Once he stopped spinning, he fired off his Black Whip and managed to snag Bakugo in mid-air. The young inheritor pulled him in with great force, somersaulted in the air with his captured rival, and used the momentum to throw him into the building. Bakugo slammed into a cubical wall and slumped to the ground.
With his opponent exactly where he wanted him, Midoriya used dual Black Whip to grab both sides of the smashed window he sent his rival in and pulled himself toward his opponent. Bakugo got up just in time to dodge as the young inheritor crashed through the cubical and flew further into the office space.
The explosive faux villain shook off the dust from his unwarranted entrance and fired a standard explosive blast. The explosion forced Midoriya to burst through some rubble and fire an Air Force blast of air to counter it. When the two attacks met in the middle, Bakugo dashed forward with his hand primed for an explosion while Midoriya vanished from his path.
Bakugo growled as he turned to his right side. "FUCK YOU!" He fired a blast at where the young inheritor reappeared.
The blast was strong enough to knock Midoriya back. He flew through the air and landed hard on his back. Bakugo leaped into the air and fired an explosive follow-up attack. The young inheritor had enough time to roll away as the blast came down on where he was. Swinging to his feet, Midoriya launched off of his back foot and sprang forward.
With his leg prepped for a roundhouse kick, Midoriya swung and knocked Bakugo back. The attack sent him flying out of the building and toward another. With a second to breathe, he radioed in. "Creati, what's your status?"
"I taught your girlfriend too much about fighting with the bo staff," she responded.
Midoriya smiled as he kept an eye on the hole he made. "I have Dynamight contained for now. Deal with Uravity and get the hostages out of there," he said.
"On it." She cut the connection at that moment.
Midoriya looked up to see Bakugo rushing in with his hand raised. He didn't react in time as the explosive faux villain fired an explosive round point-blank. The attack didn't do so much damage as it was a stunning attempt so he can gain the upper hand. It worked when the faux villain grabbed the young inheritor's arm and used an explosion to hurl him out of the building.
Bakugo groaned and pressed against his ear. "Hey Cheeks, tell me you got the hostages!"
"Creati is holding her ground. I'm trying to go for them, but she keeps stopping me," she reported.
"Wha-Ponytail?! Damn it, of course; this would be her idea. Make her float or something and get them back!"
"What do you think I've been doing?"
Bakugo bit his tongue and growled. "I'd hate to say it, but having another villain on-site might be beneficial..." he said.
"I won't be able to get to a console and set up the call. Find an opening and use one of the towers," she advised.
"Shut up and focus!" Bakugo shut off the communicator and blasted out of the building just to be hit by a blast of air.
Midoriya, set up with his Air Force gauntlets, waited patiently for his opponent to reappear. He fired a single blast of air with a well-aimed shot that nailed the faux villain in the stomach, stopping his forward momentum. Bakugo fell hard on his back and groaned as the blast left a lingering pain.
Midoriya flinched when he landed. He ran over to help up the faux villain but stopped when he saw that Bakugo rolled over on his stomach with his right arm underneath his body. It took the young inheritor one too many seconds to realize the trap he had just walked into as the faux villain rolled over and fired an explosive blast at him. The blast rocked the block as the windows of the nearby buildings cracked.
The explosion Bakugo fired alerted the hostages and the two young heroes-to-be as they fought in the villain HQ. Uraraka had leaped out of a window, used her Quirk on herself, and used her grapple hooks to swing around and crash into a window where Yaoyorozu was. The Everything Hero didn't register her maneuver until she felt her large, pink books smash into her back and send her flying.
Yaoyorozu used her momentum to roll backward and leap to her feet. She dropped her bo staff and pressed her fist against her stomach, creating a boxing glove over her hand. Uraraka smiled as she dropped her staff and entered a defensive stance.
The Everything Hero smiled and charged in, prompting Uravity to do the same. The faux villain ducked as Yaoyorozu fired a high right hook. Uraraka reached for her opponent's core with her Quirk ready, only to press against a small shield, removing its gravity as a result.
Yaoyorozu backed away and fired a low-angled uppercut, barely brushing against Uraraka's bangs. She followed up with a left jab and started to push forward, meeting the faux villain's blocks and sweeping evasions. With every block, she countered with better results.
The two broke off from their close-quarter fight before Uraraka charged back in. She slipped underneath an incoming attack and grabbed Yaoyorozu's bo staff. She flipped to meet the Everything Hero's gloved hook straight in her cheek. Uraraka stumbled backward, opening herself up to several follow-ups by the hero-to-be. Yaoyorozu smiled, knocked the faux villain away with a rising hammer strike, and created a spring-loaded boxing glove from her stomach, making direct contact with Uraraka.
The spring-loaded gag attack sent the faux villain flying backward with wide eyes. "W-What the-?" She screeched as she slammed against a wall.
Yaoyorozu smiled as the spring fell from her stomach. "I think I've finally improved that technique. The timing is perfect!" She cheered to herself.
Uraraka groaned as she got back up and eyed her opponent. She smiled as she straightened her back. "Y-You definitely getting better...though that doesn't mean that I'm not," she said. She twirled her staff before moving into a combat stance. "Arm yourself!"
The Everything Hero smiled as she created another bo staff and readied herself in a defensive stance. "You're training with Midoriya. No wonder you're getting stronger..."
"Deku and I train, but I'm making myself strong on my own. I can't tell you how many times I've surprised him whenever we spar," Uraraka said with a smile.
Yaoyorozu smirked. "Well then, bring it on."
The two heroes-to-be charged forward, and their staffs clashed. The resulting ring from the metals clashing was loud enough to echo throughout the hallway. Uraraka jerked to the side to break her opponent's guard and swung it around to miss Yaoyorozu's head narrowly.
The Everything Hero slammed her staff into Uraraka's to block another attack, and that's when they both heard an alarm. It was the sound of reinforcements coming; however, it was not Deku who made the announcement.
Mr. Aizawa's voice echoed throughout the testing grounds. "The Villain Team has called in their Enforcer. Reinforcements inbound," he said.
In an instant, the ground began to shake.
An explosion followed afterward with a large burst of dust emerging from the city.
A moment earlier...
As much as he hated to admit it, Bakugo was slowly losing the fight.
Sure, they trained together on numerous occasions, especially with Uraraka in the mix. Bakugo knew about Midoriya's new tricks and even kept up with his new limit of 55%; however, speed and stamina combined were a deadly weapon against the faux villain.
Midoriya's movements were becoming blurred to Bakugo. He didn't reveal his Shoot Style attacks until the last minute, and he stopped announcing his attacks before executing them, keeping the explosive faux villain at bay. Midoriya even fired compressed air shots at his opponent whenever there was an opening, though the blasts were not just one at a time. For maximum efficiency, the young inheritor fired roughly 3 shots whenever possible.
Truly, he was gaining the upper hand, and Bakugo hated that.
Bakugo fired a quick blast at point-blank and leaped away for a quick moment. His breathing was getting heavier, and his head and hands were starting to ache. He had once final ace up his sleeve, and he needed to be fast. He pressed his hand against his pants pocket and felt the flash drive Deku gave him. He could call in an Enforcer and turn the battle's tide, but that would be admitting that he couldn't handle Midoriya. He could use his injuries from the battle with Shigaraki as an excuse, but was that heroic?
He groaned. He hated the option, but it was the only one he had left. He grabbed two grenade canisters from his belt and flung them at where Midoriya was. The young inheritor had no time to recover as the two exploded at his feet, granting Bakugo the one change he needed. With a smokescreen, the faux villain blasted off toward the roof of the building where they met.
Scaling up the building with incredible speed, the faux villain made it to the console in little time. Of course, he had to act fast as Midoriya could make it to him faster than he did. He ran to the console with the flash drive in hand and inserted it into its port.
The screen lit up with a simple command: enter password.
Bakugo groaned as he remembered Deku explaining the password to him. He typed it in as he heard the young inheritor land on the roof behind him. With Midoriya right behind him, the faux villain slammed on the enter key and smashed the red button next to it.
The alarm blared throughout the training arena. He expected to hear Deku announce the call; instead, he heard Mr. Aizawa make the call.
"The Villain Team has called in their Enforcer. Reinforcements inbound."
With that announcement, the two young heroes-to-be felt the building shake. Bakugo didn't know of any teachers that could make an earthquake, except possibly Cementoss.
An explosion followed the rumbling, and from the rooftops, the two young heroes saw a single object shoot into the air and arc toward them. Midoriya's eyes widened as he felt the sharp pain of Danger Sense, telling him to move.
He and Bakugo leaped off the building as the object slammed down on the roof and crushed the building. The building lurched back and crumbled into a massive pile of rubble and dust.
Midoriya stayed floating in the air as Bakugo landed next to him. The young inheritor gripped the side of his head as the pain continued to stab at him. It was as if Himiko Toga was getting her wish and driving her knife into his head.
As the dust started to settle, they saw a figure emerge from the rubble. The figure was tall and fairly bulky. His hair was familiarly short and faded, with more hair on top than the sides. A pair of light blue eyes lit up from the dust, and for some reason, this caused Midoriya to drop on the ground. He felt his pulse quicken, and his breathing was short and shallow.
"I-I feel...terrified. Wh-What's going on?" He thought to himself.
The bulky man approached the two, and once he emerged from the dust, the two were stunned. The blue eyes belonged to Deku's goggles, along with a new version of his classic respirator. He wore a black, skin-tight sleeveless shirt underneath a sleeveless denim jacket with multiple patches all over it. His sleeveless jacket revealed even more scars running down both of his arms, along with a faint branch of purple at his right armpit. His forearms were wrapped by three of Mei Hatsume's weighted bracers with fingerless gloves. He wore a beige pair of cargo pants with shin-high black combat boots.
Inside the observation room, everyone looked stunned. "I-Is that..." Mina couldn't finish as she was left speechless.
"T-That's Deku? He looks so jacked!" Kirishima bellowed.
"He has more scars on his arms, ribbit."
"Those muscles didn't look that big before!" Hagakure blurted out.
"Damn...he's really hitting the gym in the future, huh?" Kaminari wondered.
Mr. Aizawa's eyes widened. "Problem Child...what in the world happened to you?" He muttered.
Deku stood straight and eyed Midoriya. "So...you're the hero causing us trouble, eh?" Deku said, his voice muffled from his respirator.
Before he could respond, Deku closed the gap between them and blasted the young hero in the stomach with an uppercut, sending him flying through the air. He crashed into the window of a nearby building and settled in a pile of office equipment.
Bakugo gulped as he glanced at the Enforcer he just unleashed. "O-Oh shit..."
I feel terrible for updating so late! Again, there were several drafts of the opening because I had no idea how I would do this chapter. Heh, I've wanted to write this for so long, and when I got here, I drew a blank. Also...Horikoshi is a genius. If you haven't read the manga until the latest chapter, I'd suggest doing so because it's really getting interesting.
Please leave a review if you can. Feedback is always appreciated. I'll get another chapter out soon...hopefully. Until next time, remember to Keep Calm and Go Beyond!
-Newage