My eyes fluttered open qucikly and I let out a gasp as I came to.
I was lying in the nurse's office on one of the school beds, already tucked in. Recovery Girl was seated next to me, smiling and holding out a snickers bar.
"Eat a snickers. Ojiro already had one and is headed back."
"Todoroki!" shouted Tetsutetsu, who was headed out the door. "Our teams might've tied, but I'm taking this as a loss! That heat was something else! I can't wait to rumble again!"
"Pipe down."
A tie?
"Essentially," said Iida, who was seated at the foot of my bed, "if I'd been faster we could have won."
"Iida..."
"I was still too slow. And utterly helpless against Honenuki's softening tactics!"
"I vaguely remember you saving me, though," I reminded him.
My thoughts went back over the match.
"If you'd come at us all hell-bent with your fire, I wouldn't have been able to fight back."
Ice as my go-to opening move is a bad habit of mine. It's practically become instinctive for me.
"No, you were plenty fast. I was too slow." I looked down at my left hand. "I was slow, and it wound up being your problem." My mind went back to seeing All Might on TV for the first time as a kid, seeing how reassuring he was with his huge smile...making me always think he could handle it...the old man telling me to shut it off, me sneaking into my private quarters just to see him...
"I've got to become a hero who's actually reassuring."
"Nonsense! You? Unreliable? i won't hear of it - ouch!" Iida lifted his arm and then gasped.
"I'm meant to run towards those in need...wherever, whenever. Especially since I'm determined to inherit Ingenium's mantle."
The curtain between us and Honenuki's bed swung open. We faced our 1B counterpart.
"Your fire? And your recipro? In my mind, those are challenges I've yet to overcome. How about a rematch some day?"
"Sure!" we said in unison.
"If you boys are feeling better then get back to the grounds!" said Recovery girl. "This is no time for chitter-chatter!"
"Ah, yes ma'am!"
We headed back out to the field to watch the fourth match, Bakugou Jirou Sato and Sero vs AWase, Kamakiri, Tokage and Bondo.
Good luck, Bakugou...guess we'll need a win from your team if we're gonna get through this.
"Match 4 Start!"
"Yikes! You're seriously suggesting that!?" Jirou asked Bakugou.
"That sorta strategy? No way, man," said Sato.
"Did I stutter?" Bakugou smirked at his gloved fingers.
"THIS IS IT!" Gloated Monoma. "Each class has a single win, so if you lose or tie this next one, you guys can no longer say you beat us! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Chill out, man," Kaminari frowned at him.
"And ohhh, I've been waiting for Match 4 in particular, yes siren! Why you ask? Because Tokage is in the mix! Bakugou had better be ready!"
"On this terrain, Sero and Jirou are definitely gonna be trouble," Bondo was saying.
"Then there's SAto and Bakugou," Awase counted them off on his fingers, "who both pack a punch! Their team is super balanced. If we lose the initiative in this fight, we're dead meat."
"Who cares about all that? Lemme carve em up!" Kamakiri snarled.
"That's enough outta you," Awase replied.
"Early bird gets the worm! Victory is simple as that," smiled Tokage.
"TIME FOR MATCH 4! EACH CLASS HAS ONE WIN AND A TIE FROM THE LAST MATCH. BUT IF YOU'RE THINKING THEY'RE EVENLY MATCHED, GUESS AGAIN! BECAUSE CLASS A'S SINGLE WIN WAS MOSTLY THANKS TO SHINSO! EVENLY MATCHED? I THINK NOT!" Vlad King sensei was gloating.
"That's just mean, Vlad sensei!" Kaminari and Kirishima protested.
"That's enough," Aizawa sensei reprimanded them.
"But Sensei! This is a legit protest!"
"Are you planning to complain over every little failure once you go pro? Class B came up with better strategies. That much is evident. And Vlad is really showing me up!"
"Did we expect any better from the troublemakers?" Monoma gloated. "I mean, it's no wonder that your inexperience gets you caught up in so many disasters!"
"Hurry it up, slowpokes!" Bakugou was shouting at his teammates.
"But I'm trying to listen as we move!" Jirou complained.
"Whatever! Just keep up!'
"It's always follow the leader with him," grumbled Sato.
"Guy hasn't changed since the Sports Festival," sighed Sero.
"And to think it almost seemed like he was ready to cooperate," said Jiro "Hope this works," she murmured.
"Stop! They're here!" Bakugou shouted. "Ears!"
"I have a name, you know!" Shouted Jirou.
"They've gotta be close. Find em!"
Jirou plugged her jacks into the ground and sat listening.
"What's the holdup!?" Bakugou demanded.
"Hang on - oh, no! They've got us!" Jirou cried.
"Yes, it's all over now," said Tokage's floating mouth behind Bakugou.
He turned around to throw a blast at her, which she avoided. Tokage's quirk, allowing her to split up her body into independently moving pieces, had allowed her to sneak up on Bakugou and beat him up with her detached body parts.
"In here, Bakugou!" Screamed Sero, creating a tape prison to barricade out Tokage.
"Like I said, it's all over now!" Came Tokage's gloating remark from above.
GLUE SQUALL! Screamed Bondo as glue spread out over the trapped 1A students.
"Arch, we're trapped!" Cried Sato.
"Woo, I did it! Just like Setsuna planned!" Said Bondo.
"This way," Sero directed the others. From above, Kamakiri was planning to jump down upon the trapped students.
"Ha ha ha, too slow, too slow!"
"They're using all of our moves against us!" Said Midoriya.
"At least you two can get away!" Sato said, holding up his hands. Bakugou's blast came from above, throwing all the glue away. And leaving them with no cover from Kamakiri, who leapt down towards Jirou.
"Let's start with the biggest nuisance, Jirou!" Said Tokage.
In a flash, Bakugou was between Jirou and Kamakiri, kicking Jirou out of the way to safety and blasting Kamakiri in the face.
Did Bakugou just - rescue someone?
Daika City
"Talk about the burbs," said Spinner. "Not too small, not too big."
"Nice atmosphere around here. It ticks me off!" Said Twice.
"One our and 40 minutes until our oversized friend awakens," said Compress. "Making them clash with Machia will require that we fight as well. This will be no walk in the park."
"Yes, why'd you have to drag me into this?" Grumbled Dabi.
"Hey, Giran brought you int other fold too!" Snapped Twice, throwing a measuring tape at him which Dabi ducked.
"Like I care."
"You bastard!"
"Someone's coming!" Called Toga, as the League prepared for action.
"No another step! I was ordered to guide you down into town!" Said a hero with a square jaw.
"A hero? I don't recognize this one!" Said Spinner.
"If you want a face-to-face with the Liberation Army's commander, then you'd best follow me, ok?"
He guided them through the deserted streets of Daika. It was silent.
"Not a soul around," said Compress.
Tomura looked up and noticed a figure atop a house.
"This whole city, huh?"
"This place isn't usually my turf," said the hero, putting his thumb to his forehead and sticking up his pointer finger. "But today's a big exception."
"Just as the man says!" Said a new voice. "Here in Deika City, 90% of the population heroes included are liberation warriors lying in wait. This is a liberated district!"
He had slicked back hair, sunglasses, a mustache line, and wore a fine suit. "Thank you for making the trip, and welcome. This ia day of celebration and you are the guests of honor. Shall we start the festivities? This is the meta human liberation army's revival celebration!"
And strange figures jumped out from hiding all around them, civilians with sharp fingers and long teeth.
"That's Hanabata, leader of the hearts and mind party!" Cried Compress.
"Is he some big shot?" Asked Spinner.
"Yes! Someone who could easily have 110,000 followers."
"So what? We're here, so where's Giran?!" Demanded Twice.
"Your broker? Waiting just over there with our grand commander," said Hanabata, gesturing to a distant building.
"B-but we were promised we'd get him back! What an obvious lie!"
"Tomura Shigaraki!" Several shouted, headed towards the League's leader.
They dissolved into dust with a touch. "Off to the tower, then."
"Oh, this is what we're good at -" smiled Toga. And the ground beneath her feet exploded."
"Te girl wanted in connection with a string of blood letting murders. If it isn't Himiko Toga herself. 'How did this high schooler turn to madness? In this shocking, exclusive new interview, hear her story in her own words. How's that for a headline?" Smirked the long haired, fur clad reporter Curious as she raised her hands for a picture.
"Ah, this sucks!" Grumbled Toga.