A/N: Happy Mother's Day everyone. In celebration of our mothers, here a chapter devoted to violence.
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"I wonder what we'll learn from All Might!?" Jiro inquired aloud.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, I bet it'll be super cool!" Kaminari replied.
"I just hope we aren't in danger of getting expelled." Uraraka added.
"Regardless of the lesson, we must focus on getting all we can out of it!" Iida jumped in as well.
"I hope we don't have to take a bunch of notes, I'm already tired of writing so much." Mina complained.
"Well, those two don't look like that at all." Tsuyu pointed to the far wall, where both Izuku and Momo had identical expressions, identical notepads out, pencils firmly gripped and ready capture every word that left All Might's mouth.
"Ugh, I hate bookworms, they make it look so easy." Mina had crocodile tears pouring down her face now.
"Hey, don't cry, Mina." Hagakure tried to comfort her friend, only to yank her hand back as the slightly acidic tears cover it.
"Ahh, I killed Tooru!" Mina shouted as several of the other students laughed. "It's not funny, does anyone know CPR, or mouth-to-mouth?" Mina asked.
Not even a split second later, Kaminari hit the floor, foam leaking out of his mouth, his hand half-raised, an elongated earlobe retracting back to its owner.
"It's okay Mina, I'll be fine. Just go on without me." Tooru said overdramatically, a muffled thump was heard as she hit the desk.
"Tooru!" Mina wailed.
"WILL YOU IDIOTS SHUT UP!" Bakugo roared, his head tripling in size and his eyes turning a pure white as the students were picked up and blown away by the force of his yelling.
"Such unrepentant chaos and calamity... it brings a tear to my tell-tale heart." Tokoyami commented.
"You're louder than any of us Bakugo... AND STOP STANDING ON THE DESK!" Ida returned fire.
Apparently unable to take the honest comment, Bakugo grabbed the nearest thing he could find, which happened to be that damn nerd Deku's notepad, ignoring his 'Hey give it back Kaa-chan' he hurled it across the room like a frisbee.
It might have even made contact, were it not for the invisible girl between them, who unluckily got destroyed by the high-speed projectile.
"Ow! That was my eye Baka-go!" Tooru yelled in pain, grabbing the notepad off the floor and hurling it back at the raging blonde.
Unfortunately, her aim was a bit off with only one good eye as the notepad careened straight into the side of Kirishima's head, and towards the door.
In all this chaos, no one noticed as All Might came into the room. "Fear not students for I am-BLEUGH!" He caught the paper-bound missile square in the face as he collapsed to his knees.
"Oh god, All Might, are you okay?!" Izuku shouted as the class paused, some hoping the teacher hadn't noticed their insanity, others out of genuine concern, and one due to instigated unconsciousness.
"Curses, how did you figure out my one weakness, notes!?" All Might, ever the charismatic, joked as he stood up, dusting off as he picked up the notebook.
The class chuckled as order was restored, All Might returning Midoriya's notebook to him as everybody took their seats.
All Might cleared his throat as he pulled two blocks out from under the desk. "Today's lesson is a simple, but necessary one." He started, revealing the words 'Battle' and 'Trial' on the blocks as most of the class cheered.
"Now settle down class. If you'll look to your left, you'll find a series of suitcases, find the one that matches your seat number. Inside you should find the costume lovingly prepared for you based on the schematics you sent in. Get changed and meet me at Ground Beta." All Might exclaimed as the class answered with an affirmative.
As Izuku strode out of the locker room, his eyes wandered over the costume he saw. Almost everyone was identical to the one's seen in his dreams, and the few that were different were close enough to discount.
Perhaps that was why when he spotted Uraraka in her tight bodysuit, he managed to actually not nervously stutter.
"Wow Uraraka, you okay?" He asked. If his dream was right, she didn't like how tight her costume had been.
"Hmm, oh yeah. It's just my costume, I just wanted something simple that would help alleviate my stomach when I use my Quirk, but it came out looking all... more. I can't help but think how expensive this probably costs." Uraraka mumbled bewilderedly. "But what about you," her cheer seemed to return as she flicked one of the 'antennae' of his costume," I see you had some inspiration!"
"Yeah, All Might is more than just my inspiration, I'd call him my idol!" Izuku said happily. However, he saw Uraraka's smile wain again.
'So, she's concerned about the cost? I think there was something about her family in one of those dreams.' Izuku thought as he tried to cheer up his friend and soon-to-be partner.
"Does your family have money problems?" He asked, and although her sudden eye-widening as she took a step back did catch him off-guard, it wasn't an unexpected reaction.
"What do you mean?" Her tone sounded almost accusing which wasn't how Izuku had meant it.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything, I was just going to say, if they're like my mom, so long as you're happy, it's worth the cost." Izuku tried to assure her, but her expression just seemed to get more pensive. Deciding on a different approach, he pointed off to the side.
"Besides, I can't imagine anyone could have a simpler costume than Shinso."
That seemed to do the trick as Uraraka turned to looked at the lavender-haired boy who had just exited the locker room, the last one to do so, despite his costume looking like it did.
"Hey man, where's your costume?" Kaminari asked his friend as he sidled up next to him, Mina and Jiro coming up behind him.
"Yeah, this is your chance to really put yourself out there. You gotta wear something that catches peoples' eyes, so they can see you in the middle of a crowd!" Mina added effusively.
"Sorry, I chose something practical over personal. But I think it looks okay, right?" Shinso asked for confirmation. If anyone knew anything about clothes in his class, it was probably Mina or Hagakure.
"Mmyeah, the green really pops with your hair!" Mina affirmed, "But what do ya mean, it's practical, is it made of something special?" Mina asked as she softly touched his mint green jacket.
He was wearing it, along with a basic black shirt underneath, along with loose dark jeans and matching green and white sneakers. Honestly, he looked like a normal teenager hanging out with his friends.
"Yes, it's made from the fur of lambs." Hitoshi made sure to put on as big a smile as possible as Mina recoiled, quivering in shock.
"No, those poor naked lambs!" Mina cried.
"He, you kinda look like a sheep Mina." Kaminari commented offhand as Mina turned to him in shock.
"No, idiot, only boys have tiny horns like Mina, that makes her a ram." Jiro added as Mina whirled on her smiling friend.
"Huh, I wonder if your hair is really soft like a sheep's Mina?" Back to Shinso as Mina spun between her friends, surrounding her as they started patting her hair as tears leaked out.
"No, someone save me, they want to steal my hair!" Mina cried as the trio laughed.
"Okay students, that's enough teasing the innocent." All Might ordered as the students gathered around him. "Today we will be conducting battle training. You will be paired up and two teams will compete in a mock drill. One side will play the villains; your job is to defend the bomb for five minutes. You win by either running out the clock or capturing both of the heroes. The heroes will enter and attempt to locate and disarm the bomb. The heroes win by either retrieving the bomb within the timeframe, or by capturing both of the villains." All Might explained as multiple hands shot up.
"Where will we fight?"
"Do we pick our partners, or are they assigned?"
"Can I kill someone?"
All Might grimaced as he tried to take all the questioning children in. "Agh, hold on! My Quirk isn't Super Attention!"
"Okay, we will be competing at the series of buildings located across the street. Each battle will be randomly assigned a building, the layouts are mostly the same, but they are different. While most fights between heroes and villains seen on television are outside in public spaces, the majority of villain takedowns occur indoors: back-alley deals, secret hideouts, and hostage situations like bank robberies." All Might continued his explanation. "You will draw lots to be paired up, find the person with a matching letter. That letter will be your team, afterwards, I'll draw for the hero and villain teams." All Might added.
"Is that really the most efficient way of doing this?" Ida wondered aloud.
"Actually, it makes a lot of sense this way. Heroes frequently have to pair up when they arrive on the scene." Izuku responded.
"And it helps to have wider range of experience with different heroes and villains." Shinso added.
"Now then, if everyone will up and draw lots, we'll get started." All Might requested as several students jogged up.
Being one of the later ones, Izuku didn't even bother looking at his piece of paper as he turned to find his female friend in the small crowd. Spotting her in the distance, he started towards her, only to be stopped by a familiar hand on his shoulder.
"Midoriya, it looks like we will be partners for this exercise." Iida said as Izuku looked confusedly towards his friend. She looked slightly bewildered that she wasn't partnered with either of her friends, but Momo's approach and subsequent unheard conversation seemed to perk her up.
"Now then, I'll draw for our first match up!" All Might announced, reaching into a pair of jars. He rummaged around for a second before pulling out two balls, one black and the other white.
"Our first round will have Team I as the heroes, and Team B as the villains. Team B can head over to the first building, you'll find your guidelines just inside the door." The team of Koda and Tokoyami nodded before heading off as Izuku and Ida awaited their orders.
"Young Midoriya and Ida, you'll be playing the heroes. The villains will have five minutes to set up their hideouts before you go in. You can wait in the locker rooms; a timer will let you know when it's time." All Might informed the pair. as they jogged back towards the locker rooms.
"The rest of you, follow me to the observation room." All Might led the rest of them to a nearby room where they could see several monitors with different viewpoints. A few students spotted Koda walking past one of the screens, Tokoyami on a different one.
(Hero) Izuku & Iida vs. Koda & Tokoyami (Villain)
"Okay, we need to form a plan, Midoriya. We'll have no clue what we'll be stepping into in there. Do you have any suggestions?" Iida started as Izuku stared at his notebook he'd pulled out of his costume.
"This will be a problematic. Koda is probably the weaker of the two, at least in this situation. His Quirk allows him to talk to animals, but in an pseudo-urban environment like this, the best he can probably get is a few rats and pigeons. They can hinder us for sure, but in terms of danger Tokoyami's Quirk is far more difficult to counter." Izuku muttered, whether to himself or in response to Ida's question was unknown.
"What do you mean?" Iida questioned, although Izuku didn't even turn to look at him.
"Tokoyami's Quirk sems to be related to shadows or darkness. Given that Dark Shadow is essentially a sentient shadow, it follows that it could grow stronger when shrouded in a similar environment. Their most likely going to use Tokoyami for defense and leave him in the room with the bomb. They'll likely try to cover up as much of the light as possible, so the so we'll have to see on our approach if any windows are covered. That could give us valuable information." Izuku replied, closing his notebook with a sharp sound as the clock overhead went off, signaling the pair.
Despite his confident approach, Izuku was a bundle of nerves. In his head, none of these teams had existed, and now he was slightly confused. He'd thought his subconscious was trying to tell him something, but maybe they were just that: dreams. All the same, he couldn't help but feel like he'd stuck his foot in his mouth earlier with Uraraka, and he'd hoped to have this chance to apologize, but that didn't seem to be working out.
"Midoriya, are you okay?" Iida asked, giving the introspective boy a light shake. "You were right, on the far-right side, third floor, the windows are boarded up, it was a great idea!" Iida pointed as Izuku followed his finger.
It was hard to tell at this distance, but the window did look notably darker than the surrounding ones, so it did bare looking into... Izuku shook his head, regardless of what was happening outside the test, he needed to focus for now, if not for himself than Ida.
"Hmm, I've got an idea Iida, but it's a gamble. If it works, we may be able to end this without giving them a chance to fight back." Izuku said, Iida looking at him with rapt attention. "Here's my plan."
"Darkwing and Animal King, we've got you cornered! Surrender now or we'll be forced to use take you in with force!" Izuku shouted, trailing off towards the end as he thought about how ridiculous he sounded.
Maybe neither of the boys heard him, but Ida certainly did, giving him a thumbs up in conspiratorial affirmation. Given that nobody responded, it seemed like his silent prayers were answered.
"Okay, let's do it Iida!" Izuku yelled as the armored boy charged towards him, the verdette jogging a short distance away from the building as he cupped his hands together. He closed his eyes, focusing on confining One-for-All in just his fingertips as Iida reached him, using the heroic successor's hands to launch himself up and into the third-floor window that was shaded, being given a little extra push as Izuku released the built-up power, turning Iida's kick into a veritable battering ram.
"Improvised combo move: Gatecrash!" The boys shouted together as Iida smashed through the tinted glass. Izuku couldn't see inside from down here, but he heard the muffled sounds of impacts and barely ten seconds later All Might announced, "The Hero team has reclaimed the bomb! The Hero team wins!"
"We did it Midoriya!" Iida shouted down as he jumped down, Tokoyami following shortly after, rubbing his chest gingerly.
"Ever the knight in shining armor, banishing even the darkest light." He muttered. The trio stood there a few moments before Koda came out the front door, a mouse bounding off his shoulder as the four boys headed towards the exit.
"Now then class, any clues on who the MVP was in that match?!" All Might questioned the assembled students.
"It's gotta be either Midoriya or Iida, right?" Kaminari said, his hands behind his head.
"Hmm, you do have a point, that combo attack caught Tokoyami completely off-guard." Asui added.
"In that case it should be Midoriya, it was his plan, right?" Jiro judged.
"But Iida was the one who had to hold off Tokoyami and Dark Shadow long enough to grab the bomb." Sato pointed out.
"It's that exact reason that I think neither Midoriya nor Iida qualify as the MVP that match." Momo asserted as most of the class looked at her in confusion. She started to explain, but Shinso cut in.
"I agree, although it worked out, that helps attest to how lucky Midoriya and Iida got. If this were a real situation, blindly throwing your partner into the enemy's hideout, especially without having any means to back them up if things went south, would not only be reckless, but could likely end with a serious injury or even death." Shinso said as Momo nodded.
"Right, if anything the fact that despite being caught completely off-guard, Tokoyami still managed to hold Iida off for a few seconds only cements that he should be the MVP. He knew his strengths and made sure to play to them right from the start." Momo finished.
"Well All Might, did they get the right answer?" Tooru asked.
All Might left them in suspense for only a beat before giving a jovial laugh. "There was no 'right' answer, young Hagakure! Having said that though, I agree with young Yaoyorozu and Shinso's explanations. Tokoyami will be named MVP! Now then, shall we get to the next match-up?"
(Hero) Sero & Sato vs. Jiro & Shoji (Villain)
As the next pairing prepared for their match, Izuku and the boys got back to the observation room, the verdette nursing his hands. They didn't look as broken as usual, so maybe the recoil wasn't as bad given that he spread it out over all his fingers rather than a single one.
A voice in the back of his mind said that was impossible, given that using his entire arm netted the same response: a broken mangled mess.
"Hey, welcome back guys. That was a pretty cool match, even if it was over in a flash." Kaminari said, congratulating the victors.
"Are you okay Deku, do you need to go to see Recovery Girl?" Uraraka jogged over, inspecting Izuku's fingers, although it was hard to see in the dim room.
"Umm no, I should be fine to see the rest of the matches. I want to cheer everybody on!" Izuku refuted, trying to make a thumbs-up only to hiss in pain.
"Even the villains?" Uraraka asked, watching for his answer.
"Well, they're not really villains, are they? We're all classmates together." Izuku replied genially.
"Ugh, would you two go sit in a corner and make out and shut up!" Bakugo shouted, soft pops accompanying his outburst.
The two friends flushed crimson, as they stuttered in unison, trying to ignore the accusation as they spotted that the match had started and ran over to watch.
"I hear them... it's weird, they're not where they should be... I think Sero is trying to ambush us by climbing up the outside." Jiro informed her partner, Shoji, who was guarding the door to the room, several of his tentacles reaching outside into the hallways.
"Wait, we can hear them?" Izuku asked as All Might nodded silently. "Wait, so all of you heard...?" Izuku trailed off, his face vanishing beneath a cloud of steam leaking from his face in embarrassment.
"Thanks for the idea Midoriya!" Sero shouted, pushing off the wall as he swung back towards it, kicking the wall inwards.
Or at least that's how he envisioned it working in his head. Turns out solid concrete is a bit difficult to break, huh, who would've thought?
That just meant Sero had to take a few for whacks at the wall, cracks slowly forming.
"Shouldn't he have given up by now, even if we were the hardest pair to sneak up on, anybody would've figured out where he was by this point?" Jiro queried Shoji, who was silently listening for something.
Seeming to find it, his eyes widened. "Jiro, look out!"
Even with the warning, Jiro was unprepared as one of the walls surrounding the room suddenly exploded inwards, rubble catching her as she tried to jump back.
Standing in the new hole in the wall as Sato, his eyes rolled up only showing the whites as he roared, charging the downed girl like a bull.
Thankfully her partner, Shoji, was much more capable at taking the sugar-high savage on as he used his extra arms to grapple Sato. Even so, it was a near thing as the berserker was fighting with all his newfound power.
As if that wasn't enough, a window suddenly crashed inwards, Sero managing to land in a roll as he immediately charged for the unprotected bomb.
"Oh no you don't!" Jiro shouted, scrambling to her feet as her jacks plugged into the boots of her feet, the built-in speaker immediately sending out deafening soundwaves that knocked Sero's balance off as he tripped, landing in a heap as the girl ran over to tie him up with capture tape.
It would take more than that though, since Sero wasn't truly injured, the moment Jiro dropped her attack to tie him up, he struck out with a good old-fashioned fist. He caught her in the cheek, sending her stumbling back.
Taking advantage of the small window he'd been given, he shot tape at her feet, both covering those annoying speakers of her's as well as tying her feet together as she ungracefully fell back on her butt.
Not to be deterred so easy, she dove forwards best she could, her earphone jacks extending as they returned the favor, binding Sero's feet together as he tried to get away. "Not today hero!"
"Grr, okay, now you're really getting on my last nerve, villain! Why don't you go hang out in a karaoke bar, you wannabe delinquent!" Sero fired back, throwing an arm back as he fired a strand of tape at her.
Rolling to the side, she smiled smugly at his missed shot. "You missed! I've seen better shots on a drum!" Despite the banter, that's all it was, two kids getting into their roles, and Jiro couldn't help but grin.
And so it was that after much struggling, All Might called the match in favor of Jiro and Shoji.
It seemed a rather abrupt end to the match until they got back to the observation room, the next group having already left as several members of the class looked at a sheepish All Might.
"Sorry, I got so caught up in all the excitement that I forgot to watch the clock, you might've gone a little long in there. Let's just call it extra credit."
(Hero) Tsuyu & Kirishima vs. Ojiro & Bakugo (Villain)
"Kaa-chan will win." Izuku muttered under his breath, scribbling away in his notebook.
"Hmm, what'd you say Deku?" Uraraka asked, a few students overhearing them.
"Ahh, sorry," Izuku apologized, "I said that Kaa-chan was going to win this one." He answered.
"Oh, is he that strong?" Uraraka inquired, leaning closer to him.
"Hmm, what do ya mean?" He was confused, Uraraka looked concerned for him. While the girl in his dreams was friendly and supportive, he couldn't actually remember her ever being concerned.
"Well, I just thought, umm, if you're so strong and he's always been mean to you, then he must be even stronger!" She said, clenching her fists together.
"Oh, he is strong, but that's not what I'm talking about..." He trailed off, his eyes invariably going to the screen.
Bakugo was pissed.
First that loser Deku goes and utterly destroyed his opponents, and with such an explosive attack too! Then the second round was such a pathetic waste of his time!
"Gonna go blow off some steam." He bit out, shrugging off the tailed boy's hand as he tried to stop him.
"Fucking Deku, who does the think he is. All this time... he's just followed me around like a lost little puppy... maybe not a Boxer, they're kinda cute, or a Golden Retriever either, more like a Chihuahua, all yappy and scrawny looking." Bakugo groused, shaking his head as he got distracted, a series of pops giving away his position.
"I bet he's just looked down on me, thinking he was so much better! Well, I don't need his pity, if a weak nerd like him can have such a strong Quirk, then I'll just blow him away, and keeping blasting him into the dirt until he doesn't even consider me a rival, but an unbeatable Hero!" Bakugo growled, another series of mini explosions sounding off as he stomped down the second flight of stairs.
Turning the corner, Bakugo was forced to silence his inner monologue as he spotted that spiky redhaired guy just walking along. He'd rather it was Deku that he was gonna curbstomp, but this guy would do.
"DIE!" The Explosion wielder shouted, leaping into battle with an overarching haymaker.
Kirishima barely managed to get his guard up, his Hardening protecting his arms and face as an explosion rocked him.
"Hehe, you're pretty tough Spiky Hair." Bakugo growled, a positively murderous look in his eyes.
"Yeah, you-" Another explosion went off right in Kirishima's face, light burns covering his arms from his hastily thrown up defense.
"Extras don't get witty comebacks! Now DIE!" Bakugo shot out and shot forwards unleashing a rapid series of close-range explosions, each one seemingly stronger than the last.
All Kirishima could do was keep his Quirk going in hopes that Bakugo would tire himself out. That how he'd managed to win most of his fights so far, guard and counter, block and counter. It was logical, his Quirk, Hardening made his skin as strong as stone, but that made it difficult to dodge, so he put it all on blocking, and then he'd throw his full weight into a counterattack.
Most people would've pulled back and tried a different tactic if they saw they weren't making much progress, but Bakugo wasn't the sort to do that. Retreat was not an option, if you ran into a wall, blow it up, and if it's still standing after the first attack, then keep attacking until it did fall.
That didn't mean Bakugo was stupid though, only stubborn, although he preferred the term determined. So, he noticed that Kirishima was blocking all his explosions, the only real injuries had been that surprise attack, and so he jumped back, a feral grin on his face.
"The only reason to back up," He snarled, putting both hand behind his back as he fired both, propelling him forwards like a missile. "Is to charge! RPG Rush!" Kirishima had no time to react as Bakugo got under his guard, both hands planted in his stomach as he grunted in pain.
But that was only the first step, Bakugo remembered years ago, playing a video game where his favorite character could compress a ball of energy and fire it in front of him. He remembered the hours he'd spent in the woods trying to replicate that attack with his Quirk, but it always knocked him backwards rather than doing damage. But as stated, he was determined, and this was the product of his tireless hours.
The momentary pain gave him more than enough time to open both palms and detonate them straight into Kirishima's core. The redhaired defender had no chance as his feet lifted off the ground and he was sent bouncing down the hallway, finally coming to a stop as part of the wall.
Looking at his downed opponent, Bakugo snarled, looking at his lightly twitching fist. "That didn't help me at all! I'm still pissed! WHERE THE HELL IS FROG-FACE!?" He roared, sprinting through the hallways in search of his next victim.
Given that she didn't respond to his challenge, he spotted a window, charging towards it. He had the better mobility, so it made sense for him to use it.
The spectators snickered as he leapt through the window, only to immediately be confronted by a surprised frogette climbing the outside of the building, both looking equally shocked to the sudden appearance of their opponent.
Tsuyu recovered first, possibly because she had more preparation than Bakugo due to his nonstop yelling and tried to grab him with her tongue.
Bakugo had just enough time to react, deflecting the prehensile organ with an explosion as he charged the frog girl.
Not one to give up so easily, Tsuyu pulled her tongue, whipping it at Bakugo as he grabbed hold of it, using it as an anchor to his target. Pulling with his superior strength caused Tsuyu to be forced to let go of the side of the building, flying towards the blond boy.
She countered, turning her body to make use of the momentum to plant a dropkick squarely on Bakugo's chest, winding, but not deterring the explosive blond.
Rather than injury him, it only seemed to further anger the boy as he fell backwards, gravity asserting itself on him as he fell towards the ground, his hand still firmly grasping Tsuyu's tongue as he let off a medium explosion, allowing to rotate in midair and, pulling Tsuyu after him, smashed her into the ground below.
Just for good measure, he aimed down, letting off another explosion, stopping his downward momentum at the same time as further injuring Tsuyu, who looked passed out, most of her tongue retracted into her mouth, only a tiny bit still sticking out like a dead cartoon character.
Not taking any chances, he planted a boot into her side, flipping her over, though she still didn't react.
"Damn frog, didn't even give me a good fight." He groused as he heard All Might announce his victory, as if there were any other possibility.
As if to further taunt the raging hero, he heard a 'ding' as his gauntlets finished charging. He didn't even bother trying to rouse Asui as he stomped back to the observation room. "Damn extras probably won't even consider me the MVP, as if anyone else did anything... carrying so damn hard I might as well have a backpack on!" He muttered under his breath.
His prediction was correct, apparently most people don't think kindly of going rogue and, 'brutalizing' their opponents.
Tsu's attempt at stealth, on the other hand, did win her points, as it would've been a brilliant move had Bakugo not came outside when he did.
Izuku barely heard Kaa-chan say something about 'what ifs and if onlys were reserved for those with regrets'.
He didn't know what to make of that, nor the fact that Bakugo didn't throw a bigger fit about not being the MVP, but he did notice All Might barely turn and sigh at Bakugo's statement.
(Hero) Hagakure & Aoyama vs. Kaminari & Todoroki (Villain)
"Todoroki's going to win this one." Izuku commented so simply, most people were caught off-guard by it.
"Hmm, whatcha mean Deku?" Uraraka voiced what everyone wanted to ask.
"Todoroki favors his ice Quirk which already tips the scales in his favor since it means any engagement by Hagakure and Aoyama will be in that environment, on his terms. Additionally, Hagakure is in the nude," He managed to say it without stuttering, but everyone could still see the blush spreading over his face, "She's going to have an even worse time in such a cold environment. She should really see about getting a uniform made from her hair so she can make effective use of her Quirk. Kaminari's presence only reinforces that advantage since his lightning Quirk meshes very well with Todoroki's ice, ice being a poor conductor means that rather than going to ground, Kaminari's attacks will spread out." He muttered, the entire class listening with rapt attention as their normally quiet classmate broke down the match.
"On the other hand, if Aoyama's Quirk can generate heat as well as light, they can melt some of Todoroki's ice, not to mention his ice looked opaque enough to reflect the light beams, allowing the to scattering inside the building while Aoyama stays safely outside. The real problem is that three of the four people don't favor a protracted engagement. Aoyama said using his Quirk for more than a second hurts his tummy, and Kaminari can overload his brain if his voltage gets too high. Todoroki has the slight lead in that regard as even if he overdoes it, his ice won't just melt away meaning he could theoretically just seal himself and the bomb into a room, and effectively flash freeze it like a glacier, allowing them to win on time." Izuku continued, his notebook in hand as he scribbled down notes.
"Are we sure his Quirk is Super-Strength, and not some Brain-type?" Mina stage whispered.
"Or holding his breath, I'm pretty sure he hasn't yet." Jiro added.
Izuku would've probably continued his pseudo-lecture if All Might hadn't announced the start.
Shoto Todoroki was many things: calm, collected, cool, he was even some things that started with a different letter.
He knew that this fight would be simple, his Quirk could completely overwhelm his opponents. The best counters were overwhelming power, or striking before he could, his opponents possessed neither of those.
Invisibility, while useful for stealth, didn't matter when not only did your enemy know where you were coming from, and going to, but possessed wide area attacks.
The only way he lost was by them getting past him, and so as he left the room, Kaminari saying something that Todoroki tuned out, he pressed a hand to the wall, a thick sheet of ice covering not only the room, but the entire building, sealing off all empty rooms.
"Umm dude, what're you doing?" Kaminari asked, as Todoroki looked at him. Despite his attitude, he knew that trying to go solo opened him up to the risk of losing, and so decided to semi-cooperate with his partner.
"Guard the room, I'll leave a thin sheet of frost covering the door, if you hear it break, let loose. I've blocked off every possible route except this one, so that should curb Hagakure's stealth. I'm entrusting you with his one job, don't screw it up." He ordered, a thin sheet separating the two as he marched off in search of his enemies.
If you have the advantage, press it, don't let your opponent have time to come up with a counter to you. Todoroki clenched a fist as he remembers one of the lessons his father literally beat into him.
Todoroki found Aoyama on the second floor, which was higher than he expected honestly, given that not only the walls, ceiling, and floor were coated in ice, but that included the stairs.
Hagakure wasn't with him, but he had no real way of knowing save listening, and he couldn't hear anything over Aoyama's teeth chattering.
"B-B-BE-E-HOL-L-LD TH-TH-THE M-MAJ-J-JE-ESTY OF MY MAG-" Whatever he was trying to say, Todoroki didn't give him time to finish as he fired off a corridor wide attack, giving Aoyama only one way to avoid it.
He jumped back, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he kept sliding. However, he quickly recovered, spinning around as he pushed off, switching feet flawlessly as charged back towards Todoroki who was actually surprised at the change of tactics.
"Ha, laugh at my years of ice-skating practice now!" Aoyama gloated triumphantly as he perfectly leapt over the rampart of ice blocking his way, even firing his laser in a flashy manner.
That's when everything fell apart.
The moment he fired, Todoroki was already dodging to the side, and the laser sailed past him, but it hit the ice and ricocheted back, forcing Todoroki to dive to the ground, Aoyama barely avoiding his own attack as it bounced off another piece of ice, and the corridor was suddenly filled with a runaway laser beam that the two boys were being forced to dodge.
Unfortunately, the third member of the trio, previously sneaking by, was woefully unprepared as a laser beam smashed into the ground between her legs, startling the focused girl as she jumped, tripped, caught herself, slipped on the ice and landed face first on the ice, although she was less concerned about her face more about something a little lower.
"KYYAAAAA! IT'S SO COLD ON MY- MPH!" Hagakure yelled, having pressed her defenseless chest into the frozen ice. She managed to cover her mouth in time to protect her chastity, but not her identity as Todoroki heard her, going to finish her off as she lay there helpless.
Aoyama, seeing his partner in danger, threw caution to the wind, and let out a prolonged burst of light, that sent him to his knees as he clenched his lower muscles, trying to hold back the sudden digestive pain.
Todoroki was forced to abandon his attack in favor of a solid wall of ice that bounced the laser right back at the downed Aoyama, who was unable to dodge in his current state.
But this gave time for Hagakure to scramble to her feet, trying to make a break for it.
It wasn't to be, however, as Todoroki heard her feet crunch the ice near him, he swung out, attempting to grab her, mist pouring off of his palm as he touched her, ice blossoming outwards.
...
...
... But he didn't grab her arm as he'd intended.
He stared into space, seemingly daydreaming. In reality, he could feel the glare piercing him, even if he couldn't see the owner, he didn't even try to block as the palm impacted his cheek.
"PERVERT!"
Perhaps if she'd been thinking, Toru would've told him to let her go first, but she didn't and so as he fell to the ground, she fell on top of him.
All Might had the mercy to call the match in favor of the villains after that. Todoroki was shortly awarded MVP, and many pats on the back by the boys. Tooru was likewise comforted by the girls, and Aoyama was taken to Recovery Girl's office for some tummy medicine.
(Hero) Mina & Shinso vs. Uraraka & Momo (Villain)
"So, you gotta plan, Toshi?" Mina asked, invading Shinso's personal space.
"Toshi?" He mumbled.
"Yeah, it's short for Hitoshi. I figured if we're going to be partners, we should be friends while we're at it! Also, you seemed like one of the smarter kids, so I was hoping you'd have a good plan together." Mina exclaimed, smiling cheerfully.
"Hmm, ok I guess...umm, I'll call you Ripley then." He said simply, Mina getting a quizzical look on her face.
"Ripley, but my name isn't anything like that." The pink-haired dancer refuted.
"I know, but we can playact as if we're Pro-Heroes instead of students right, so we can use fake names. I figured Ripley was a good one for you since you're like that character in that movie." Shinso said as Mina giggled happily. She'd been worried that Shinso was one of those guys that didn't have fun, but he seemed just fine.
"Well, I suppose you're right, although if anything I'm more like the alien, what with my horns and my eyes, and my acid blood." Mina complained, only to pop up a moment later, "Okay then, if I'm Ripley then you can be... hmm, I don't really know anything about you so you can just be Toshi!" Mina said, pointing dramatically at her partner in heroism.
"Okay then, but back to our mission... Yaoyorozu," "Yaomomo!" Mina interrupted. "...Yaomomo is likely to barricade the bomb in a room and guard it. She's also likely to use acid-resistant or acid-proof materials. It's also likely she's created some form of armor or clothes for her and Uraraka to nullify your Quirk." Shinso started, Mina paying close attention as the lavender-haired boy laid out what he thought.
"Having said that, Uraraka's Quirk seems to make whatever she touches float, so it's likely she'll try to get close to us to use it. Now her Quirk could come in two varieties, either anything she grabs is affected, or more likely it triggers like most other touch-based Quirks, requiring her to make skin-contact to use her Quirk. Assuming this is true, she'll either have removable gloves, or no gloves so her hands will be exposed to your acid." Shinso pointed out as Mina raised her hand.
"Umm, I'm not really that great at controlling my acid." She admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck, "I mean, I can make basic acids that act like they should, or I can make slippery slime for me to ride around on, but I'm not great at the in-between bits. I'd rather not risk seriously hurting Uraraka if I can help it." Mina said.
"Hmm, that's okay. I was hoping you could make something like lemon juice or citric acid, but if that's too difficult then we'd better not risk it... we are supposed to be the heroes after all. At least they don't any clue what my Quirk is, so they can't plan against it." Shinso pointed out.
"Oh yeah, what is your Quirk huh, I bet it's something super cool like telekinesis or flight!" Mina exuded energy, and Shinso couldn't help but get swept up in it.
Hearing the buzzer to start the match, he smirked at Mina, "Flight, I'm not sure if that's a very cool Quirk. I mean, it is cool, but it feels like everybody has some version of flying nowadays, and they can do other stuff too." He chuckled as Mina pouted at him deflecting her question.
"That's okay, I've got plenty of secrets too, and I'm not gonna tell you." Mina mock pouted as she skated away on a trail of slime.
"I don't know Ripley; you seem more like a snail than a sheep to me!" He shouted as she turned around to stick her tongue out at him, vanishing into the building.
Rather than chase after her, he took his time, walking into the building, making sure to follow the glistening trail she'd left behind.
Hearing a light buzzing in his ear, he pressed a finger against the communication device lodged in his ear.
"Yeah Ripley?" He asked, Mina's voice coming through clear.
"The first floor is clear, I'm moving up to the second, let me know if one of them tries something dastardly like sneaking up on me." Mina said over the device as Shinso nodded, realized what he was doing, and verbally affirmed her request.
Mina had covered half of the second floor and still hadn't spotted anyone else. She was being as stealthy as possible, sliding across the floor with all the grace of a roller-skater. She remembered what Shinso had said about Yaomomo preparing defenses, and so cut out holes in the wall before turning a corner, just in case someone was lying in wait, but so far it was all clear.
"I'm through with the second floor, heading up to the third one." She called over the comms in her ear.
"Affirmative Ripley, just be careful." Shinso, no Toshi's voice replied.
Climbing to the top of the set of stairs, Mina gave a cursory look around. "Maybe they're both in the room with the bomb, what was it Izukun said, ' their environment, their terms?'.
As if tempting fate, as soon as Mina turned a corner, she was forced to dodge a swipe curtesy of a suited up Uraraka.
"Wow, and I thought I was bright?" Mina commented dryly.
It was true, a bright pink girl tended to stick out in a crowd, but Uraraka probably had her beat, covered head to toe in neon yellow baggy clothes, most likely the acid-proofing that Toshi had warned her about.
Well, head to toe was relative, as suspected Uraraka's hands were uncovered.
"Give up Mina, you can't win against the evil in man's heart." Uraraka said, a firm look on her face, or what Mina could see of it.
"Wow, are you sure that's Uraraka in there, you sounded an awful lot like Tokoyami just now." Mina quipped, a new feeling for her. She was used to making friends with her enemies, it was just her nature, but this was different, Uraraka was her friend, just like Yaomomo and Toshi, this was just playacting, so Mina could act too.
Rather than wait on Uraraka's banter to continue, Mina dove at the zero-G girl, who was momentarily caught by surprise. But she recovered quickly, putting her hands out to the side like a sumo wrestler, ready to catch Mina as she tried to slip past.
But Mina had a plan, a plan that she executed as she tucked her body, years of dancing giving her more than average flexibility as she curled into a ball, rolling between Uraraka's legs, the girl once again not prepared as Mina got past her, standing up with a cheesy grin as she gave a mocking wave.
"Bye bye little bear." Mina said, the zero-G girl looking at her confusedly as she only had time to look down as she heard a crackling sound, the floor giving out beneath her, a small pool of acid dripping down to the floor below.
Mina knew she'd said she didn't want to use her acid on her friends, but this was different, she made sure to focus it to the floor alone, so only the stonework was hurt. Not giving a second thought to her fallen enemy, she traded her sliding advance for a jog as she headed for the fourth floor.
"I just got past Uraraka, she should be on the second floor, although I did use a lot of acid just to make sure it worked fast, she... she may have fallen all the way to the first floor!" Mina said over the comms.
If she'd bothered to look behind her, she'd see an uncovered hand tightly gripping the edge of the hole, Uraraka effortlessly pulling herself back up, bobbling slightly before muttering "Release." under her breath.
Taking a deep breath, she reengaged her Quirk, trusting in her spring-heeled boots to help her catch up with the faster girl.
"Affirmative Ripley, be careful. If Yaomomo is guarding the bomb, then Uraraka may try to follow you and catch you in a two-on-one fight with Yaomomo." Shinso warned as he reached the top of the third flight of stairs, slowly walking down the hallway, still following Mina's trail of highly viscous acid slime.
"Got it Toshi, I've reached the fourth floor, I think I may have found something promising. One of the doors is shut and covered with metal shutters!" Mina shouted over the comms.
"Toshi? Hey Toshi, where'd you go?" Mina pouted as her partner refused to answer her. "Oh no, did Uraraka catch him after I dropped her down?" Mina panicked, furiously rubbing her hair.
"Okay then! No more Mrs. Nice Hero, it's up to Ripley to save the day!" Mina shouted, placing her hands against the metal shutters as her Acid started to drip down, slowly melting through the barricade.
"Gahh, this is taking forever!" Mina shouted, barely a pinhole melted into the door as she caught her breath.
"I caught up with you." A voice said as Mina shrieked, swinging wildly as Shinso narrowly avoided a fist to the face.
"Oh, it's just you Toshi." Mina said simply, comically pausing in her freak out moment.
"Truer words were never spoken." He returned fire.
"But... how did you get here, what about Uraraka?" Mina asked as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I couldn't find her. After the comms went dead, I thought Yaomomo may have created a signal jammer or something to block our communications, turns out I was right, but that ended up giving away her position." Toshi deducted as Mina nodded happily.
"Yeah, I've been trying to get through this door, but she's got it barricaded good." Mina revealed the barely touched door.
"Hmm, she probably uses an acid-resistant material to block the door just so you couldn't get through, and it's not like I'm bulging with muscles myself." Shinso muttered as Mina looked at him strangely.
"What happened to cool guy Shinso who was joking around earlier?" Mina said sadly.
"But in that case... let's try this." Shinso muttered as he reached into his jacket, pulling up what looked initially like a black undershirt, but was actually a solid black mouthpiece. Tweaking the side a bit he cleared his throat and softly knocked on the metal.
"Momo, it's me Uraraka, I've lost them, let me in." Shinso whispered, his voice sounding close to Uraraka's, but not perfect. Holding a finger to his mouth, he gestured for Mina to hide on the side of the door.
"Okay." He heard muffled from the other side, and tried to hide his smirk as he felt his Quirk take hold on the girl's mind.
"Hurry, let me in quick." He ordered, they were very much on a time crunch, with around four minutes having already passed. Thankfully, Momo hadn't made the defense too elaborate, only several interlocking plates of some metal that she opened without much effort.
Taking advantage of her dazed expression, he charged in, quickly tying her up with capture tape, noticing a small key she'd dropped to the floor. Glancing back at the opening as Mina snuck in behind him, he noticed the interlocking plates resembled some sort of mechanism.
"I don't know what you built Yaomomo, but it looks super complicated. If I didn't trick you, it probably would've held us off long enough for you to win." Shinso muttered as he turned to capture the bomb, only to find the rest of the room empty.
"Hey, where's the bomb?" Mina chirped, only for a insensate Momo to stare blankly into space.
Sighing, Shinso released his Quirk's hold on her as she blinked, shaking the fog from her head as she noticed the situation. "What the-? Hold did you-?" She asked confusedly, reasonably so.
""Hey, we're doing the interrogatin' here... tell us where the bomb is, and maybe we gos easy on ya'." Mina needled, pointing a finger accusingly at Momo with a suspiciously unheroic tone.
"From space alien to gangster..." Shinso whispered as Mina flushed purple.
"I mean it, don't make me hurt yous pretty face... missy." Mina stuck with the shtick, earning a well-meaning laugh from Shinso as Momo bit her lip.
Unfortunately, Shinso was distracted laughing at Mina's impression of a mafioso and didn't notice as an arm looped around her neck, holding a knife to her throat.
"Wha? Help Toshi!" Mina shouted as Uraraka pulled tighter, holding the girl tightly.
"Just give up heroes, or your partner dies!" Uraraka glared at Shinso, who suddenly found the 2-on-1 reversed as he tried to deal with a hostage situation.
"Hey, come on, let's talk about this. Just let my partner go and tell me what you want." He offered, goading the zero-G girl into falling for his Quirk.
Unfortunately, he wasn't alone, and Mina wasn't going to take being taken hostage lying down... or standing up in this case. Noticing that Uraraka had shed her crinkly yellow clothes in favor of stealthier attire, that meant she was vulnerable to Mina's Quirk.
"Well, no time like the present to figure something out. I'm not going to let Toshi's plan fail that easily!" Mina thought as she began slowly leaking acid from her pores. She was trying really hard not to go too far, but even as Uraraka's arms turned a pinkish color similar to Mina's own, she held on, keeping the knife to her neck.
"Stop talking, that bomb is hidden, and you'll never find it now. You should save yourself and run-away hero. The only question is whether you save your partner or yourself." Uraraka asserted, wincing throughout her speech.
Shinso tried to hide his annoyance, he could feel his Quirk taking hold, but Mina's acid was hurting her the whole time, so it kept freeing her. If he could just signal her with his eyes, but...
Mina tried to get free, wiggling around, hoping Shinso could come up with something...
Momo, while tied up, was nonetheless a part of this confrontation, staring at her partner holding both heroes in place with a fake knife, as if she would've made a real knife in such a scenario. "Go on, you can do it Uraraka!" Momo cheered mentally, "Just a little longer and they'll run out of time."
Uraraka stared at Shinso, well aware of the stinging pain covering her arms, her thoughts were focused, "I can tell, he's frustrated, and Mina's giving her all to win as well! Honestly, Momo's done so much from the plan to hide the bomb on the roof, where only I can easily reach, to making all the clothes and barriers to trick them. I have to do my part, for Mommy and Daddy, I can't be worried about getting a little hurt!"
Eventually, after a mere twenty seconds, the standoff ended the only way it could've...
"As time has expired, the Villain Team wins!" All Might announced as Uraraka breathed heavily, letting Mina go as the quartet left the building silently.
"Wow, you guys really went all out right there at the end!" Sero cheered, high-fiving Mina and Shinso.
"Yeah, despite not really any fighting, it was the most intense match today, we couldn't look away." Jiro added, hanging an arm over both Uraraka and Momo's shoulders, "Way to bring a win home for the girls... sorry Mina." She added quickly.
"No worries, I really thought we had them, but they pulled it back. Argghh, we were so close too! Sorry Toshi." Mina apologized, mussing her hair in frustration.
"Let's discuss the match first class, then you can talk among yourselves." All Might gathered them together. "Now, I think you know what I'm going to ask, so any ideas?" He added.
"I think Momo should be MVP," Uraraka raised her hand, "She did most of the work, making the equipment, the plan, she even thought of the best way to use my Quirk to hide the bomb." She explained dejectedly, only for Izuku to pat her on the back.
"In that case, I think Uraraka should be the MVP, if not for her, we definitely would've lost." Momo argued as Ochako looked surprised at the assertion.
"Me and Toshi agree, Uraraka was on the ball the whole match, she deserved to win that match." Mina jumped in.
Shinso stayed quiet but gave a short nod of agreement.
"But I pulled a knife on you Mina, and I jumped in to save Momo and almost cost us the match." Uraraka dejectedly admitted.
"Hmm hmm," All Might cleared his throat, gathering attention to him again, "You're right Young Uraraka, you acted in very unvillainously for jumping in to save your partner, but you acted quite heroic. Regardless, you embraced the training most of all, willing to do things a normal villain would do, such as taking a hostage." All Might exclaimed with a smile.
"Yeah Uraraka, if you think you shouldn't be praised for acting villainously, then that even moreso why you did so well, you even feel guilty about pretending to be evil!" Izuku added, comforting his 'friend'.
"Agreed! Are there any objections to appointing Uraraka as MVP?" All Might asked the class, only to be met with a cacophony of 'no's, "In that case, congratulations Young Uraraka." All Might asserted one final time with a beaming smile and hefty thumbs-up as he exited out the side door, the class cheering for her... minus Bakugo because he was still feeling salty.