Chapter 17: Competition
"Well, done, all of you!" All Might boisterously welcome the four students that finished their rather intense battle and exercise. Why, it was an experience!
Granted, it was his first time but still, a noteworthy experience for him!
Multiple polite claps came as Momo bowed, prompting the other three to do the same out of obligation.
"Very well, and who can tell me…" All Might held his cloak and spun it once to let it flutter dramatically. "Is this exercise MVP?!"
A moment of debate came as they discussed amongst themselves but one voice coolly said.
"Yaoyorozu."
"Huh?" The tall girl's shoulders rose, taken aback by that.
"She utilized the building to their advantage, managed to create a good position, and kept cool when the heroes' team split up." Todoroki pointed out before continuing. "Her only mistake was she didn't react fast enough when Kurono was cutting through the walls."
"But why not them though?" Mina asked curiously with a tilt of her head. Tokoyami looked nonplussed with Dark Shadow poking his head out of his cape, whereas Kurono held his right upper arm with the usual left.
Though curiously, the severed black hand didn't disappear and instead, created a third limb as it rested against his hips.
"Because the hero's team made more mistakes."
That deadpanned statement from Todoroki had the heroes team winced at that.
"And those would?" All Might added as he turned to the rest of the students.
"Tatewaki should have coordinated more and waited for Fumikage." Tenya lifted his arms before answering and then made a single chopping motion toward Kurono. "He proceeded as if he was the only remaining person left, completely ignoring his partner."
"Well-uh, sorry," Crona remarked crestfallenly to Tokoyami, the latter of whom only shrugged their shoulders.
"Lessons learned, it was our fault too for not taking greater care when battling against ranged fighters," Tokoyami said, followed by a series of nods from Dark Shadow.
"But I really thought we did well…" Crona muttered. "I didn't even hurt anyone."
"Thanks," Jirou remarked sarcastically as she glanced at the two of them.
"A question, if you don't mind, but why the plan to split up and attack?" Momo similarly raised her hand to All Might before asking the hero's team as she turned. " I'm certain that if the two of you attacked together, the fight would've been over much faster."
Tokoyami merely glanced at Crona, who was the lynchpin of their plan.
"Well…" Crona looked hesitant at first before his head then tilted to the right and his feet scraped against the floor. A brief stutter in their words before it continued. "Miss Earphones will always know where we are since it looks like her quirk has something to do with hearing."
Eyes rose at that nickname but most were focused on the odd way of speech and sudden change of body language.
"And since we can't hide, we needed to quickly crush them." Their right hand idly twirled the edge of their hair bang.
Then just as quickly, the third limb jerked upwards and made a circular motion with its wrist. Almost gesturing to continue before it went slacked and slumped downwards.
Just as it did, the pink-haired student back straightened and their manner of addressing was much more stoic and informal instead of the unsure and reserved speech just a second ago. "Adding to that,"
Eyes glanced to the left side as he gestured a thumb towards Momo, "Since you can make anything, I hazard that you've trapped the area, and true enough, there were tons of them."
"So we decided that it was better to split and avoid being wiped out at all once if we do trigger a trap." His left arm moved much more animatedly with his words.
Tokoyami nodded in agreement, though the latter kept quiet about the fact that Kurono didn't say that to him at all. He assumed that it was simply due to covering more grounds.
"And I was right since you know-" Kurono continued and raised his glue-covered hardened wrist cuff. "I would be dead if that was a real bomb."
Then in a flash, a much more subdued tone came as Crona tilted their head to the right and corrected the statement. "...No, It'll hurt a lot but we won't be dead. I don't think I can handle the pain though."
All Might finds himself lacking the words to even address that.
"But yeah," Kurono sharply changed his demeanor again and listed out his thoughts. "We minimized the risk of being wiped out and if we do get wiped out, Tokoyami would've continued forward. Easy and simple plan."
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at that for a brief silent moment, wondering what they just witnessed in that single minute.
Their teacher quickly decided to move the topic back at hand, moved to clear his throat, and prepping a somewhat witty liner-
"Well, the bombs were defused and you saved the day." Ojiro thankfully intervened and nodded proudly with a smile. "I'm proud of you."
"Really?" Crona perked upwards at that.
"No," Ojiro replied flatly humorously and it deflated Crona's mood but also diffused the awkward silence as the class train of thoughts finally caught up.
"So that's why he can follow Midoriya mumbling," Kaminari said from the sides in realization.
"I am not that bad, am I?" Said the green-haired student turned to Kaminari, much to the amusement of Ochako, snickering behind.
"You got competition, for certain."
Well, that's that. All Might relaxed his shoulders, and the flow of the conversation quickly changed with Ojiro's help. "Anything else you want to ask?"
"I received my answer," The proper lady waved her hand and bowed to Crona. "Thank you for the answer."
"It's...fine?" Crona squirmed, not used to being treated this politely before. A brief shifting of his body weight, like he had been nudged, and followed up. "Uhm, the two of you were also good?"
"Hmm." Jiro shrugged with a wry smile at that. Seeing the person who beat them struggling this hard at being social was somewhat amusing, inwardly thanked that not everyone here was an elite at least.
Jiro then turned to Tokoyami. "How're your ears?"
"Better," Tokoyami rubbed the sides of his head. "This duel helped me realize that while Dark Shadow is invulnerable to the sounds of destruction, I am not."
"How about you, feeling alright?" She asked and scooted over a little towards Dark Shadow, the latter only nodding meekly at that.
"I don't want to come out, the light is too scary."
Momo sheepishly apologized for that. "Sorry."
"Well then!" All Might clapped his hands together. "There are still plenty of things one can learn and improve!"
"And so, onto the next draw!" He blurred and quickly drew another set of lots, showing the other teams.
Team A vs Team D
All Might caught Ochako and Izuku looking at one another, looking conflicted slightly before they're joined by their partners.
"Looks like we're going to be the heroes, you good there with your girlfriend?" Mineta asked Izuku with a jab of his elbow and head tilt.
"U-Uh, she's, well-" Izuku stuttered heavily and waved his hands, not sure whether to deny or say it out aloud.
"Well…happy to be working with you, Shoji!" Ochako distracted herself as she looked at her own assigned partner, the tallest student in 1-A as he stoically nodded. One part of the tentacle formed into a mouth.
"You too."
Seeing the two teams go ahead and everyone focused on the screen, Kurono finally let out a sigh of relief.
Man, we were just winging it the whole time. He admitted, sure, it looked like he had some solid plan on his own but really, the truth of the matter is that they moved and planned on the fly the whole time.
They could've won it by themselves too.
"We did…our best." Crona sighed, while the daily sparring and training helped, it cannot be denied now.
You gotten dull?
"Yeah…" Resigned, Crona had to face that fact.
It's not like Dad was weak, it was just-
You aren't thrown into the deep end and just told to fight for your life?
Crona shook their head at that. It wasn't just because of their life.
Kurono felt an intense wave of fear, anger, loathing, and desire for admission flowing in their minds. Nauseating enough that he felt like puking.
Most of all was the pair of yellowish and predatory eyes that bore right through them.
…Right, anyways, we can always train some more. Kurono wisely shifted the topic. Dad's always up for a little intense spar!
"I'm not sure if I can deal with that-" Crona said but with a smile instead, their dad looked serious and scary but was surprisingly kind.
"Sure you can, it's not as bad as what you just went through." Ojiro broke their thoughts as they snapped to attention and back at the screen.
Currently, Ochako and Shoji had stationed themselves in a large room similar to Momo and Jiro. This time however there were plenty of obstacles in the way, piled around the bomb neatly as the former floated it while the latter utilized his strength and many appendages to arrange it.
"Oh, they even made sure to put some furniture against the wall," Ojiro noted and ribbed them.
Learned from us, huh? Kurono commented to them. No doubt that they took some precautions after seeing their fight.
"I don't think it'll help," Crona commented after a quick flash of thoughts between them and Kurono.
"Why not? Kero." Asui asked curiously, overhearing their conversation as she leaned closer in a hushed tone.
"Cause." The pink-haired teen shied away slightly from her. "Mr. Green Rabbit is much stronger."
"Even compared to Mezu Shoji?" Asui pointed out and received a few nods in turn from the latter.
"Shoji could be a distraction," Ojiro tapped his chin contemplatively. " And if Ochako floats Izuku, that might make him easier to handle."
"True."
"Have you forgotten about Mineta?" Kaminari pointed out to them with a raised brow, making Kurono snap his fingers inwardly.
Oh right, totally forgot about him.
"Uhm, maybe…?" Crona weakly replied with eyes glancing to the sides.
"Ah man, don't let him hear you say that." Kaminari chided gently with a wave of his hand. "But if Mineta can get them with his quirk, it will be a sure win!"
"What was his quirk again?" Ojiro turned towards Kaminari.
"He can throw some sticky balls." He then mimed the action of taking one of the round objects from his head and throwing motion. "That thing can stick to anything and boy do they stick well, that is how he got through the exam. He got loads of the robots stuck in place when they stepped on it."
"He stopped the robots with that?" Ojiro's eyebrow rose while receiving a nod. That implies some amazing strength of its adhesiveness.
"So…it is up in the air?" Asui concluded, to which some of them agreed.
"And…Begin!"
With that the hero pair quickly went to work, entering the building carefully together as they watched one another.
Then once they confirmed it was clear, they went up the stairs.
Meanwhile, for the villain's side, Shoji was serving as the surveillance and recon. Multiple tentacles sprouted from his arms and ended with an ear, each moving around Shoji constantly to pick up any noises.
A twitch came and Shoji turned back to Ochako, the cameras weren't close enough to capture their words but their body language told the class enough.
With the heroes, the pair moved before stopping briefly, turning and straining their ears before moving onwards to clear the floor in half the time.
The camera room got quieter as they watched the hero team approach the level where the bomb was stored.
Climbing up the stairs, Izuku and Mineta apprehensively peeked out from the corner, seeing the empty hallway.
Izuku gestured with a nod of his head and they stepped out.
That's when everything went into chaos as a door exploded outwards, Shoji emerged by sliding on the floor before charging toward them.
While that attracted both of their attention, the thing that stood out the most was the large couch being held in his arms like an oversized club by multiple arms. At such a close distance, there was little space the heroes could maneuver around without getting hit.
Izuku immediately pushed Mineta back to the stairs and out of harm's way, the latter squawking in fear as he barely saw what happened. Meanwhile, the furniture serving as an impromptu was now inches away from the green-haired hero.
"Under." Ojiro watched intently as his mind saw the space between Shoji's legs being enough to slide past him.
Side. Kurono assessed, seeing that it was a good opportunity to counterattack by ducking sideways as the sofa was being swung from an angle instead of horizontally.
"...Straight," Crona muttered as their eyes stared unflinchingly and lips curled to the sides.
—
Izuku pulled his fist back alongside his shoulder before launching it forward, driving it deep before outright exploding the sofa from the force imparted.
Sounds of splinters and wood shattering filled the air but the two weren't done just yet.
Shoji didn't even blink as the latter continued forward, tossing the remains straight into Izuku as multiple limbs and tendrils reached out.
Likewise, Izuku moved closer for an exchange, a wisp of green lightning flickering to life, and arced down to his right hand.
Unbeknownst to him, a pink figure came from behind. Nary a sound as she leaped and floated down an entire staircase before hopping once on her foot and charged forwards with a capture tape in hand.
"Behind you!" Mineta screamed, eyes flicked to Izuku before grabbing one of the purple balls from his head and tossed it to intercept her. This had Izuku turning his head backward, giving him a clear view of the pincer attack he was about to be subjected to.
Mineta, the class, and both villains knew it wouldn't reach in time.
Save for one.
Swinging his left arm with a backhand motion as the right arm continued forward, he slid one leg backward to snag the ball with his outstretched left arm.
If it won't reach in time, then he just has to make it instead!
"Sorry, Uraraka!" Izuku said between gritted teeth, adjusting his powers and different distribution of power in both arms.
1.0% on the right!
That one soared straight and aimed squarely at Shoji.
0.5% to the left!
With an open hand, he swung it as fast as he could. Prioritizing speed more than power to reached his target.
The sensation of his arm hitting against something was more than enough as the corner of his eyes had Uraraka pushed and slammed against the wall.
"Sorry!"
Meanwhile, his strike pushed Shoji backward completely with the latter's eyes wide open. His large frame forced him to curl up and skid across the floor with all his arms grabbing any foothold to bleed off the momentum.
"I am not done yet!" Uraraka yelled as she twisted and tried to grab Izuku with the capture tape.
Thinking fast, Izuku pulled his arm back in a blur. To the point that his gloves tore themselves like paper.
This did little to deter Uraraka as she continued to lunge forward, lightening herself to be a smidge faster.
But it also left her in a predictable arc.
"Now, Mineta!"
"Got it!" The short student pulled more of his sticky balls off and hurled them toward Uraraka, one of which caught her by the foot.
Izuku poured energy into his legs, flexed, and pumped himself backward. Leaving two imprints on the floor, narrowly avoiding the capture tape as the world blurred in his vision.
Urarake's face faltered but she clenched her teeth and used her momentum to fall forward into a somersault. It caught the hero's team completely by surprise as she reoriented herself mid-way and floated onwards.
Holding her breath, cheeks puffed and feeling the nauseating building up rapidly in her stomach but she determinedly pushed it down.
She didn't want to show any sign of weakness or lack of stomach for heroism, not in front of All Might, nor her classmates that showed how far they went, and most of all, not in front of Izuku.
This was further compounded as Shoji came barreling towards Izuku's back, multiple arms readied to ensnare him. The latter was completely focused as his teeth clenched underneath his mask.
His bones felt like jelly despite his best effort to cushion them from Izuku's blow, and Shoji knew very well that it wasn't Izuku's best.
Yet despite that, he HAD to keep him at bay relentlessly to maintain pressure. If they let up for a moment, they'll lose.
With that in mind, he lunged forward unhesitantly, capturing tape hidden amongst the flurry of arms.
Izuku's eyes flared an emerald green, narrowed, and raised his right arm.
"Sorry!" He yelled, both to his friend and mentor listening through the earpiece.
5%!
A surge of power came, coiled, and traveled down through his veins before it coalesced into his balling fist. "Detroit-"
"Boy-!" All Might's voice sternly came but it was too late by then, his foot rose as he prepared to sprint and stop the exercise just in case.
"SMASH!"
Bringing it down like a hammer to an anvil, Izuku swung it towards the floor before stopping an inch above it. The momentum and force transferred unabated and left a wide web of cracks from air pressure alone. It crawled to the sides of the wall and even reached the ceilings too.
The sound and wind gusts pushed everyone back from the epicenter a second later.
Uraraka squawked helplessly, her quirk removing gravity worked against her and she was carried by the wind gusting backward.
By the time she clapped her hands together, she was slammed into the wall and stuck for good.
"Uraraka, out!"
Similarly, Shoji was pushed back fiercely until the teen stomped his foot to the ground hard. Multiple tendrils reached out like an octopus to grasp at any surface or foothold to anchored himself down.
Then in that small interim, a barrage of purple orbs assailed him from the corner of his eyes. It clung to his skin instantly when he instinctively swatted it away.
Then his foot felt like someone had grabbed and held it in place firmly. His eyes snapped downward and had a hitched breath when he realized that his foot had stepped onto a purple ball. One that was purposefully placed there while the rest was thrown high.
"Gotcha! Now get him, partner!" Mineta shouted with a wide smile and hand raised in triumph. With Shoji caught in his trap, victory was theirs!
"Not so fast-!" Shoji yanked his leg hard enough and left his boots behind.
Yet, it wasn't fast enough as a green blur blazed past him and one of his many eyes that grew from his body caught the capture tape wrapped around his limb.
"Mezu Shoji, out!"
And that was the end of the exercise.
—
"And so…fellow wards! Who do you think is MVP?!" All Might flashed a thumbs up and grin before sweeping his hand towards the four students.
"Midoriya." Multiple voices replied as one.
"Aye!" He beamed in a much prouder tone as the green-haired student awkwardly brushed his hair at the sudden attention. "Anyone sporting enough to explain why?"
"He is a man, went against two, fought and won!"
"He reacted to the enemy's sudden attack well, and utilized his partner's quirk to his advantage," Momo explained and pointed out the strengths shown by both teams during the match. "Shoji and Uraraka's plan wasn't wrong, merely in its execution. If they had taken out Izuku then it would have been their victory instead."
"Or if they aimed for Mineta from the start, things would have been different." Sero pointed it out as an alternative. "Midoriya wouldn't be able to use that to his advantage."
That cut short the celebration between Mineta and Kaminari, the former grinning ear to ear and sharing a thumbs-up.
"While that's true, Midoriya also wasn't using his full strength," Iida added.
"If he did, he would've turned the two to tomato paste." Kurono drawled as he brushed his hair backward and tilted to the left. Making said person grimace while Uraraka laughed nervously at that statement. Shoji only nodded with eyes closed in admission to that.
"A good try still," Ojiro ended with a sporting smile.
"And a good one it is! Keep in mind, even against the best of odds, letting your guard down is the surest way to be defeated by a villain!" All Might smoothly continue as he struck a pose for the class. "A lucky shot is all that is needed for the villains to win."
Multiple affirming nods and one tongue click came, to which All Might swung his cape backward and produced another team number that he had secretly drawn.
"And here's the next team!"
—
This is…gonna be something.
"Really?" Eyes shifted around as Crona looked to the dark corners of the screen reflection. Seeing Kurono having a finger on his chin.
I mean, look at them.
Eyes glanced to the screen, showing Iida and Kirishima both quickly clearing and stacking the furniture away from the bomb room instead to allow a clear line of sight as it lay in the middle of the room.
"They're…creative?" Crona said with a tilt of their head as they looked at the hero team. By contrast, it seemed like the two could barely work with one another.
Bakugou looked like he was ready to jump into the building as soon as the timer started while Kaminari was standing behind, arms on his head leisurely. Judging from the camera alone, it seems that the two conversations was extremely one-sided. With Kaminari shaking and shrugging his shoulders at the end of it.
"It doesn't look like they will work well together," Ojiro muttered from the corner of their ears.
"As if anyone can stand him." Kurono chuckled as he took over a brief moment before taking a long drawn sigh with narrowed eyes.
He will win though.
Flashes of multiple scenarios and confirmation on the latter capabilities before Crona noted mutely at that assessment after a brief moment of thought.
Just as the timer and All Might announced the exercise, Bakugou went straight into the fray. Multiple explosions propelled him upwards and forward into the building.
He burst into the middle of the building as the faint echoes of glass can be picked up underneath where they stood.
Then in contrast to what most thought, he instead slowed down and yelled at Kaminari. Gesturing to the latter to quickly get in.
Huh.
"I didn't think he would do that." Ojiro echoed their sentiments with a raised eyebrow.
"Kacchan doesn't look like it but he is always focused on winning." Izuku followed up, correcting some of the assumptions about Bakugou. "He must have judged that having Kaminari's assistance would be the better course of action."
True enough, the moment Kaminari got in, Bakugou went right back into action as he quickly searched for the bomb.
Moving quickly as he beelined straight down the hallway towards a specific room.
The room that housed said bomb alongside the other two assigned villains.
"He found it already?!" Mineta stares with wide eyes.
"How?"
"Kacchan probably figured out the amount of space the bomb takes and singled out the rooms that likely contain them."
"Bakugou also aimed for the middle since it allows him to control and isolate the building's top and lower floors immediately." Momo pointed out contemplatively, fingers tapping against her chin.
"...He just got lucky." An indignant voice said before a slight rap to the arm from Ojiro came, eliciting a slight giggle from Toru.
The villains weren't idle either, as Iida was already moving out with Kirishima in tow as they slammed the door outwards. Just in time to catch Bakugou flying forwards from the corner, shocked for a moment before Kirishima slammed his fist together with a smile and raised a haymaker.
"Go Kirishima!" Ashido enthusiastically cheered and raised her fist at that.
Returning the same sentiments as Bakugou ferally smiled and dove forwards, right arm leading for a strong wind-up.
One unstoppable force and the other, an immovable object.
In this case, the former proved to be superior as his right arm slipped underneath Kirishima's attack, inches away from cutting Bakugou's cheeks, and into a cross counter.
Then, the cameras blurred and went white in a brief moment as a large explosion covered the screen. Its aftershock was felt from afar.
All Might eyes blurred as he considered intervening but kept calm when the cameras quickly adjusted themselves accordingly to the light intensity.
Just in time to see the two youths still at it, young Bakugou was already on the offense despite Kirishima taking the initial blow. The latter retaliated fiercely against the onslaught of powerful explosives detonating point-blank.
"He's still standing after something like that?!" Ochako stares in awe with an open mouth.
"Heh, a small explosion isn't going to stop him!" Ashido boasted with pride.
"Amazing, I heard that Kirishima managed to get a large number of points, but his quirk seems to be defense-oriented. It certainly looks so since his skin looks more jagged-" Midoriya quickly noted it down, book in hand now that he was the one doing the observing.
"Where did you get that, kero?" Tsuyu blinked as she hadn't seen him carry any books or pens around.
Ojiro meanwhile, hummed as he tilted his head closer to Kurono. "His quirk, isn't it-?"
"Similar to my dad's? Not really." Kurono rotated his shoulders. "My dad's quirk hardens both external and internal."
"His skin also turns black whenever he does it too, right? Kirishima seems to only form a shell outside at a glance."
Kurono nodded, not saying much as he only had the barest detail on Kirishima's quirk beyond it being capable of getting much harder. By now, most of his memory was jumbled and forgotten barring the important ones that he wrote down.
Ah, he's losing. Crona spoke in their mind, prompting Kurono to refocus his attention on the screen.
There, Bakugou was barely deterred from his strikes being ineffective. If anything, it motivated him further as he directed his attacks to rapid chain attacks rather than powerful blows.
Throughout it all, Kirishima endured and came back stronger. His teeth gritted down as his skin smoked but he was getting closer to landing a direct hit. Already multiple cuts formed on Bakugou and it was piling on.
Then finally, Bakugou overextended. His left hook swung and missed Kirishima's head, the latter ducking at the last second.
All breaths held in place when Kirishima stepped forward and swiveled, fist clenched tightly for a powerful uppercut.
A sharp bang echoed out, and the hook that overshot Kirishima reversed Bakugou's momentum completely. His right arm similarly readied for a counter-attack, drilled into Kirishima's chest initially before the explosive sent the red-haired off his feet and into the wall.
Or it would have been if not for a blur that snatched him out of the air and readjusted their position a distance away from the explosive teen. The latter glared at the two mock villains in anger.
"Nice! Iida coming in with that catch!" Uraraka gave a thumbs-up at that.
Pursuing them, Bakugou exploded forward to close the distance rapidly, his body zig-zagging in the tight hallway as Iida quickly moved backward for Kirishima to take the front again.
Once again, a repeat of another inevitable long clash was expected.
It was at that moment, the entire lights of the building were cut off. The control room and cameras, built on a separate power line, avoided this fate but not so for the current exercise participants.
In that brief moment of darkness, Bakugou took full advantage by blowing himself upwards, somersaulted, and kicked Kirishima in the back, hard.
The latter stumbled forward but regained himself, Iida however, was entirely unprepared for a flying Bakugou.
Twin explosives went off dead center of Iida's chest and numerous gasps followed as he was sent flying across the hallway.
"It's a direct hit!"
"Is he okay?" Uraraka asked with a wince at that, she can't imagine going up against that.
Iida rolled with the force and snapped back to his feet before sliding to a halt against a wall abruptly as two scorch marks left on his chest plate left him much warier.
"He dodged it," Crona replied with a head tilt to the right.
"Barely." Ojiro narrowed his eyes, just able to follow it at the last moment.
A tense stare-off came between the three as Bakugou was between Kirishima and Iida. the latter had his stance low and ready to sprint like a leopard toward its prey while Kirishima inched forward to cut off any sudden moves.
Then it ended prematurely as All Might pressed the siren and signaled the end of the exercises, catching even the audience by surprise.
Wordlessly, he changed the screen to Kaminari, standing in the bomb room, and smiled to the camera enthusiastically, fingers showing the victory sign.
"Huh." Jirou tilted her head amidst the myriad of reactions. "He actually snuck past them."
Well, however petty it was, at least she wasn't the only team to have that pulled on them.
—
When all the returning students finally assembled in front of the class, All Might theatrically announce and asked everyone again the million-dollar question.
"And the MVP is-?!"
"Katsuki Bakugou." Everyone resounded as one, though Bakugou didn't show any sort of happiness at all on his face and looked angered despite winning.
He did however glare back when he heard a click of a tongue, eyes boring into the pink-haired teen before they shared a glance, and neither backed down.
All of this however went unnoticed and only a few who saw it as the studious ones continued their explanation.
"And that's why he's the MVP."
"Splendid explanation! I'll also add that Iida and Kirishima both needed a slight polish in their objective. After all, it's no good to chase after the intruder when they're explicitly meant to defend the weapon."
"I was just getting into the character of a villain, was I wrong?" Iida dramatically said in frustration as he lifted his head upwards in regret and fist clenched tightly.
"Nah, you did well. Really good in fact! Besides, we could've taken him out together if we'd been faster." Kirishima smoothly followed up with a pat on the back, though it was more of a shove with the force put in. Snapping Iida out of his stupor.
"I'll do my best to be faster next time!"
"That's the spirit! Haha!"
"Why the sour face? We won." Kaminari asked Bakugou, noticing the blonde teen.
"How the hell is this a victory, we didn't take down a single villain!" He exclaimed and turned towards the former in frustration. "While Deku over there took down two by himself!"
"You mean Izuku? Yea, that was pretty awesome but we finished faster?"
"That's not the point! Also, where did you get that power, I know for certain you didn't have a quirk!?"
That put an uncomfortable light on Izuku, the latter froze and quickly waved his hands while looking away. "Y-you know, it happens, getting a quirk late-"
"Like hell it does, you're diagnosed quirkless! And the chance of that happening is so minuscule it's a fucking miracle if it happens!" Bakugou roared, knowing full well that such a thing didn't happen. He had read up on the papers for it before while studying for the exams.
"A good samaritan that he happened to help gave him a quirk perhaps?" Kurono commented seriously while also needling Bakugou, sending both Izuku and All Might further into a cold sweat.
"That's even dumber, stick man, and who would even give one to him anyways?!"
"Maybe he bought the quirk from a shop, or a shifty dealer on the cheap." That didn't stop the pink-haired teen as he continued to suggest more outlandish ways purposefully to infuriate Bakugou further.
"Mon ami, that's just as unlikely." Aoyama waved his hand with a carefree expression in a neutral tone.
"A-anyways! This exercise doesn't necessarily mean one has to defeat the villain all the time! Nowontothenextteam!" All Might cleared his throat louder than necessary as he shifted the topic quickly by pulling two new slots out from the box.
—
Ojiro gulped before taking a steady breath when he saw the ball containing his team after being selected.
Being the last team for the exercises was nerve-racking since he had plenty of chances to see and learn what to do and not do.
But putting it into practice was still a different thing. He was beginning to feel that it was better to go first instead.
"Alright, it's our turn! Let's do our best to win!"
"Sure." He smiled assuredly though that quickly faded the moment he glanced at the assigned heroes' team set against him.
The half-red and white hair teen glanced towards him for a moment before turning to head out, followed by a tall and bulky student that had the physique of a boulder. Perhaps he did have a quirk similar to that too since even the chin and forehead look like it was carved out of one.
Honestly, he felt his chance was minimal. A recommended student as his opponent?
A brief smack to the sides of his arm drew his attention to Kurono, who lazily glanced and tilted his head towards him.
"Give it all you got."
It sounded more of an order when it came from them but the look of their eyes showed the same look when he advised him for his tournament.
"Hai." Ojiro smiled with a closed eye as he returned the gesture, the stinging sensation pricked his hand as he had just slapped a rock but also relaxed him.
With a much more confident smile, he nodded to Toru as they headed out.
"Let's win."
"You got it!" Toru energetically extended two of her fingers into the victory sign as she bounced between her steps.
—
"I hope he doesn't lose…I don't think I can deal with it."
"You don't think Ojiro can win?" Tsuyu spoke up.
"Well…" Crona's head tilted to one side and looked away once before straightening up. His left hand ran through his hair.
"He has less than a 5% chance of winning since he's going up against the strongest person in the class."
"Oof." Sero winced when he heard that and rubbed the back of his head, his elbow tape lifted alongside it. "Harsh, aren't you?"
A moment of head tilt to the right, eyes closed and they answered back. "I don't think we can handle him either."
That had everyone paying close attention, even Katsuki looked at the screen despite his scowl. Wondering just what exactly the stickman sees and acknowledges in that half and half.
—
Ojiro limber up as he bounced on the ball of his foot. Taking multiple swings in the air as he went through a brief repetition of his forms and strikes.
Alright, stick to the plan, hide, and then ambush them. They had no defense-oriented quirk, so they needed to go on the offense, and with Toru moving around, they can't afford to rush in.
Opting to hide closer to the stairs, he waited and strained his ears to find any possible noises to clue him in on where the entry angle will be.
"Mashi, I spotted Todoroki walking towards the entrance." A burst of static came from his ear as Toru reported quietly.
"Got it." He contemplated moving from his position but opted for a careful approach for the moment, he hasn't seen Koda's quirk in action just yet. Better to draw them in further so he had the upper hand.
Then he saw it, or rather, felt it. A wave of chill down his spine.
Standing upwards from his current position, he wondered what was going on.
No wait, it wasn't his imagination, the air was getting colder!
The chill went from full-blast aircon to a walk-in freezer in a matter of seconds as his breath misted.
Then it came, the white sheet of ice crept all around the hallway at a rapid speed.
Moving back to the room from sheer instinct to escape from the oncoming frost, dashing like a madman as he entered and rushed to close the door.
His heart nearly stopped as the ice was already forming and held the doors in place, and continued to creep into the room.
In that moment of stunned silence, as he slid backward, it proved to be his undoing as one of his feet was caught in the ice.
Already?! That's way too fast! Ojiro panicked as it continued to travel upwards like it was alive and in the blink of an eye, both legs were firmly encased in a thick sheet of ice.
"Shi-!" Ojiro quickly bent down and steadied himself with his tail as he struggled to pull his legs out.
"Come on, come on!" He hissed between clenched teeth, pulling hard as he can but it was futile. It was simply too thick.
At this rate, he'll be annihilated before he can do anything.
It will all end for nothing-
No.
Ojiro grimaced as bitter memories came, helpless and him standing doing nothing. Blood flow increased from the rush and chased away the cold, a fire burning hotter than anything he ever felt right now within his chest.
Raising both fists together, he looked down at his legs. The theory was sound but if it failed…
Ojiro gritted his teeth and brought them down.
—
Letting out a cold breath as it condensed into mist, Todoroki Shoto nodded towards Koda, the taller teen staying far behind apprehensively looking at him with four fingers extended.
"Thank you," Todoroki said to him with a nod. Koda had proven himself to be adept at being able to gather information via animals through his quirk. Cutting down the time and effort immensely for him to precisely freeze a path while also directly preventing the villain team from moving it.
Taking slow but sure steps, spiked shoes crunching ice beneath as he walked upstairs. The cold barely bothered him as he made his way to the bomb room.
By now, the ice has covered everything to the top floor. Light came from the reflection and refraction brought in by the sunlight to illuminate the insides as parts of the building lights outright stopped working at such an intense change of temperature.
Todoroki climbed upwards with eyes and ears on the lookout. Koda had pinpointed the exact locations of Mashirao and the bomb but Toru's location was still unknown.
He'll handle her regardless if she somehow avoided the ice.
It wasn't long before he reached the bomb room, the door ajar as he entered.
Todoroki halted in his tracks. His eyes drawn to two odd protrusions of ice and cracks all around it.
A sense tingled from above, and hackles rose. Todoroki didn't hesitate to slide back and raised his right hand in defense, his ice around his arm extending according to his will.
Whistling, the top of the door entrance exploded into concrete dust and shattered ice. A brief image of a tail being retracted back was all he needed to know who it was.
He dug himself out? Unperturbed, Todoroki swung his right hand to the sides. Sending a large wave of ice crashing forward to seal the door and trapping Ojiro within.
Then reaching outwards with his hand against the ice, he let out a deep breath before continuing the freezing process. This time, going upward as well.
A sound akin to a hammer striking concrete echoed from the wall next to the door had Todoroki swinging his attention towards it.
Immediately, webs of cracks spread out from the center of the wall before it bulged outwards, culminating into a burst of plaster, concrete, and bricks being blown aside with a leg extended outwards as Ojiro carried himself forward with the momentum.
With no moment of hesitation, the ordinary student launched himself forward with a stoic face, equal to Todoroki as the former brought the fight to close quarters.
—
"He busted that wall down with his legs after ripping it out of the ice, dayum," Kaminari commented with a finger under his chin and whistled at that, followed up by Mineta.
"Guy got some thunder thighs there."
While that comment from Mineta drew a few eye rolls and brows raised from the class, the more studious students agreed with that statement.
"Correction, he didn't rip his legs out of it but rather, destroyed the ice first with his fist!" Iida corrected before resuming. "It was highly reckless too! He could have damaged or broken his leg."
"Don't…worry," Crona said to Iida as they continued to look at the screen. "He had worse."
Guess his partial training with us paid off. Kurono replied in their head, leading to a slow nod from Crona as it put a smile on their face.
After all, ice is nothing compared to their quirk and Ojiro had also battered his limbs against wooden poles with thick ropes wrapped around it. Courtesy of his dad setting it up for his current star pupil.
Yea, yea! Kick his ass-! Kurono mentally commented excitedly at first before deflating when they saw Todoroki slap his right arm against the walls. The ice came to life and immediately closed in on Ojiro from all sides.
In an impressive dance and display of acrobatics, Ojiro slammed his fist on the oncoming ice before kicking out wildly. His tail and feet crushed ice apart like paper, as he whirled around ferociously like a spinning top.
Yet it was not to be, as the ice overwhelmed him by the sheer volume and left him trapped like a fly in a web. All five limbs caught in the ice and then up to his waist. Ojiro continued to struggle mightily as his face turned red, but after a full ten seconds, proved to be in vain.
With that, All Might bring the match to an end.
—
Ojiro sighed deeply as he stood with Toru to the sides, shoulders drooped and head hung low as they were debriefed on their performance.
Completely taken out in less than 3 minutes. It stung, not just his body but also his pride. He had hoped he would be able to land a single punch or even touch him.
Even as All Might announced the MVP, he didn't even need to listen to who it was.
Todoroki Shoto.
Strong. Ojiro acknowledged, even without the help of Koji Koda, Todoroki would've won single-handedly.
He supposed that it was to be expected, considering the latter's parentage and being a recommended student.
This experience was an eye-opening one, like a river fish swimming into an ocean.
"Now, your next task will be to write a summary of your exercise." All Might glance downwards to a bunch of cue cards in hand, bringing Ojiro's attention back. "Reflect on what you learned, shortcomings, and improvements that you could have taken."
"And with that, we'll conclude today's exercise! No doubt you learned new and numerous ways things can go wrong." All Might clapped his hands together as he explained to the class. "Remember, villains, won't hesitate to use every trick and more to get one over the heroes."
"So learn, grow, and then surpass your limits." He then flashed a grin and thumbed up to them heroically. "Plus Ultra!"
Ojiro can't help but raise his hand in cheer, joining all of his classmates at that proclamation. Blood rushed in his veins with his confidence rising as the greatest hero encouraged them that they have potential.
"Good, good! Get yourself clean and fresh!" With that, the class was ushered out and made their way into the lockers. "We still have a bit of time left for a more thorough review in class."
Ojiro stretched his back and felt much more relaxed, tension bleeding away as he reviewed inwardly what he could've done better.
"Hey, Mashirao?"
Hmm? Ojiro turned to the source as Toru's gloves moved animatedly to greet them.
"I didn't get to say it, but you're totally cool there!" The invisible girl excitedly said, hands miming a few punches as she made accompanying noises with each one. "You were like, 'Hyah!' and 'Wacha!'."
Ojiro's face reddened at that praise before giving a short chuckle. "Thanks."
"It's too bad, we were just outclassed completely. I couldn't do a single thing!" Toru then replied with a laugh, though a little force before she continued in an upbeat manner. "Still, I just gotta get better! Maybe I should've tried breaking the ice just like you."
"I wouldn't recommend that, at least, not without the proper physical strength and conditioning for it," Ojiro interjected quickly and raised his slightly bruised hand. Giving her a look at his knuckles, calloused and rough from hard training.
"~Eh." Toru gave a glance before sighing and gloves lowered.
"It's worth a shot, I mean, Toga could've done it."
Hmm? Oh. His thoughts were broken by Kurono, who joined him to the sides as he responded with a nod. This was followed by Toru giving a quick wave as well.
"Hey."
"Hello. You good?" Kurono replied to Toru first before he gestured to the two of them. "Any frostbite left?"
"I broke out of it fast enough." Wiggling his toes for a moment, Ojiro then lifted his leg and pulled the hem of his pants back slightly. Revealing reddened skin but that's about it. "Todoroki warmed us right up afterward."
"Yup, all my digits are fine!" Toru wagged her fingers for emphasis, her gloves following suit.
Humming at that, Kurono's head tilted to the right and their shoulders sagged a little before they leaned backward. A much more concerned and downcast look came as they asked. "How's Mr. Tail?"
"He's fine." Ojiro chuckled at that as he flipped his tail and waved it toward Crona. Eliciting a giggle from Toru.
"...I really thought l could win." Ojiro opened up after a moment of silence with a tight lip.
"Well…if you were faster, probably?" Crona rubbed the back of their head and tilted to the right side. "Or maybe hide a bit further, then ambush him when he's looking at the bomb."
"Would it work?"
"A higher chance." Kurono shifted his body weight to the left and shrugged their shoulders. "You also could break a few things and toss them while you close in to distract him."
"That might've worked." Ojiro shrugged after a moment of thought.
"So…what would you suggest I do?" Toru raised her finger at that.
"Oh, uhm." Kurono raised an eyebrow as he glanced away, eyes moving to the side animatedly as they conversed within themselves before nodding to themselves as they straightened their back.
"You could risk going out since no one can see you and lead them into a wild goose chase since they can't afford to ignore you. Better to strike first for the initiative."
"But you got unlucky since is your enemy." Crona then gestured backward to Todoroki. "Mr. Stone also made it harder."
"Yeah, that too," Ojiro added, seeing the replay had also answered why Todoroki just bee-lined for their room straight away.
Koda had already scouted and found their location before the exercise even started, thanks to his quirk of speaking and commanding animals.
"Ah." Toru nodded in understanding before she leaned forward, or what Ojiro assumed if the angle of her gloves behind her back was an indication. "Oh, speaking of, who's Toga? Your friend?"
"Yes."
"We met in primary school," Ojiro explained.
"~So, you're close?" Toru teased him to which he waved his hands.
"We're friends," He quickly corrected before pointing a thumb and tilted his head toward Crona. "Besides, she likes him."
"Oh, Oh! You two going out?" She muttered much more excitedly now as she turned her attention to Crona and leaned closer, much to the latter discomfort and Ojiro's amusement.
"N-no, we're just-" Crona started shyly and denied it heavily with his right arm waving before a twitch to his left side had him calm down and straightened himself. Then with a small cough, Kurono continued. "We're friends, and she's a sister to us. Nothing more."
I also do not want to get stabbed, thank you very much. Kurono muttered inwardly, much to Crona's dismay. The latter feebly pointed out that she hasn't done that at all.
Toru slowed in her tracks as she continued forward, finger making a circular motion and the other rested on her hips before she teased back "Uh huh, sure~"
With a brief flick of his tail as a thought came to Ojiro, he leaned forward and faux-whispered to Toru. "He totally likes her."
"Right?!" Toru shook her hands excitedly at that and snickered. "Want me to help?"
"Definitely, his quirk not only hardened himself but his feelings as well." Ojiro shook his head dramatically as Kurono narrowed his eyes at the two.
"I'm right here," Kurono said annoyedly and pointed a thumb to himself, left eyebrow twitching, but his right side was squirming to get out of this awkward conversation.
"What's this? Come on, let me in the know too." Mina Ashido joined in, overhearing the entire thing but got interested the moment Toru mentioned another one's relationship.
A long groaning noise came, much to the amusement of their classmate.
—