Not super happy with this chapter, but oh well.
Anyway, uh… how y'all feel about Yuuji Itadori, from Jujutsu Kaisen?
Cuz… I'm kinda feeling… inspired.
"Team Todoroki and Yaoyorozu have passed the final exam!"
"Team Aoyama and Uraraka have passed the final exam!"
"Team Ashido and Kaminari have failed due to the time expiring."
…
"I think you'll need these." Momo pulled out a pair of noise-canceling earmuffs from her stomach, her Quirk shimmering brightly in the dim room.
Hitomi, Mezou, Momo, Midoriya, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Iida all stood in the monitoring room now, watching as Koda and Jirou's match was about to begin.
"Thanks." Hitomi sighed, slipping them on gratefully.
But they couldn't block out everything. When Present Mic used his Quirk it was loud enough to shake the foundation, reverberating up through everyone's bodies
Hitomi didn't want to imagine how painful it was to take point-blank. She was lucky he wasn't her opponent, otherwise there would be absolutely no chance at victory.
But, it turned out to be a good match for Koda, specifically. The boy set aside his fears in order to save Jirou from any more pain, using his Quirk to order the insects of the forest to attack Present Mic. The Hero didn't do well with bugs, apparently, foaming at the mouth and passing out, leaving the exit gate wide open.
Koda carried out a beaming Jirou.
"Team Koda and Jirou have passed the final exam!"
A strong hand landed on Hitomi's shoulder.
"We're up." Mezou said lowly.
…
Like Tsuyu and Tokoyami's, Hitomi and Mezou's fight was taking place inside a building. It was a massive, decaying multi-leveled warehouse, with dust clouding the air and the smell of mildew overwhelming everything else.
When Hitomi tried taking an experimental sniff to gage where Snipe may be, she broke into a sneezing fit.
That wasn't even the worst of it though. The floor creaked loudly with every step, bending and threatening to cave in under them if they weren't careful. So Hitomi couldn't use her Quirk without running the risk of falling through.
"Team Shoji and Saito. Practical exam. Ready, go!"
"Do you have a plan?" Hitomi looked hopefully at Mezou.
"Right now, I think our best bet would be to focus on escaping. But the gate is on the ground floor, and Snipe could be hiding anywhere between here and there."
Hitomi grimaced, studying the floor they were started on. Most of the windows were broken and boarded up, leaving only slivers of sunlight to manage to get through. She was born with better night vision than normal people, but it wasn't infallible. When in her Akita form she could see in the dark clearly, but now… every shadow looked like the gunslinging teacher they were meant to fight.
"Let's go." She forced her voice to sound stronger than she felt.
Every floorboard whined beneath their feet, and Hitomi winced each time. Snipe would hear them coming long before either of them would see him. The exit was two levels down, leaving plenty of time and space for the Hero to ambush them.
But it also gave them a chance to plan. Or rather, gave Mezou a chance.
Intuition… intuition… Hitomi repeated the word in her head, trying to determine whether or not it would even make a difference.
Then, the hairs on her ears and tail stood on end, and her canines bared themselves.
She moved to jump away, but—
Communication—
"Get back!"
Both her and Mezou leapt apart, just in time as two bullet holes appeared in the floor where they once stood.
Hitomi knew the bullets were designed to not cause serious harm, but her heart still sat in her throat all the same.
But they didn't have time to be scared, as more holes started littering the floor, leading toward them.
Hitomi scrambled back, bumping into something big and wooden. It felt like an old crate, heavy, but not immovable.
Intuition.
Another hole, right by her feet, and she felt a chip of wood go flying, nicking her left cheek.
Her hands gripped the edges of the crate, stinging as probably countless splinters pierced her skin, and with a low growl she heaved it up, and chucked it as far from her and Mezou as she could.
It clattered— almost deafeningly in the oppressive silence —to the floor about ten feet away, kicking up dust.
Everything was still, and neither one of them dared to breathe, until—
A few shots went off, coming through the floor and hitting the crate.
"Now!"
Mezou grabbed her hand, and sprinted forward, heading in the direction that the bullets came from. Hitomi almost protested, but then spotted the staircase leading down. The thing that Snipe had been trying to cut them off from. A ratty tarp was hanging over the doorway, blocking out any meager light, making the steps hard to see.
They dove down into the stairwell, taking temporary refuge behind its walls, which mercifully looked to be concrete.
"He must be on this next floor." Mezou whispered, squinting out into the darkness at the bottom of the steps.
Hitomi stiffened. "How do you know that?"
"His ammo, they're designed to hurt and incapacitate us, but not to break through skin. They could probably only get through one barrier at most, so that means he was shooting from right below us."
Hitomi tugged on a lock of hair, her stomach doing a dance between rolling and dropping down to her feet.
Then, she caught the sound of spurs clinking, growing louder as they approached.
She tapped Mezou's arm, pointing at her ears, then down to the bottom of the stairs, and slowly brought her index fingers together.
I can hear him getting closer.
"Sai— Hitomi, at the sports festival, Ashido threw her acid at you and it didn't look like it hurt you until it got in your face." Mezou spoke fast and quietly.
"Yeah, so?" Her voice came out high and tight with nerves.
"So your fur and skin are tougher when you're in that form, right?"
Hitomi blinked, his point clicking. "B-but, I can't use it in here! I'll be too heavy and break through the floor!"
Mezou looked up toward the old and torn tarp.
"I'm counting on it."
…
With their clock running low on time, the two jumped into action.
Before Snipe could reach the staircase, two bodies cloaked in pieces of an old tarp leapt through the doorway, landing in his direct line of sight.
Snipe raised his twin pistols, aiming one each on the two students.
One teen darted off toward the staircase on the other side of the floor— likely planning on making a break for the exit gate. But the other one came charging at him, their hand sticking out visibly from the tarp, holding onto the handcuffs.
The Hero— and everyone spectating from the monitoring room —assumed that they were trying their hand at either method to win, a desperate and reckless decision.
And that was exactly what they wanted Snipe to think.
The Hero shot off a few rounds at the one running toward the stairs, and did the same to the one closing in on him.
But, considering it was the only item in the team's arsenal, and that it could end the whole match, Snipe kept an eye on the bright yellow handcuffs. Even as they were pulled back, and thrown across the room.
What—
By the time Snipe looked back down at the one in front of him, they had grown bigger, the tarp falling away.
Saito, in her Akita Inu form, came down upon him, landing with all her weight. The Hero was pinned underneath her, as the two crashed through the floor.
Dust clouded his vision, and he coughed at the harsh pang in his chest. He still had one hand that wasn't pinned by the girl, and used it to aim one of his pistols at her. With the awkward angle, he could only manage to shoot her left side.
After the third round, Saito growled and forced more of her weight down on his chest, and Snipe got the message, letting his hand drop.
The buzzer sounded, followed by the announcement of the match's end.
"Team Shoji and Saito have passed the final exam!"
Snipe sighed, letting go of his pistol, and patted her in congratulation.
"Nice work, kid."
Her tail wagged.
…
"That was amazing!"
The two were greeted back in the monitor room after Recovery Girl healed Hitomi's cuts and bruises. Mezou hardly had a scratch on him.
Hitomi ducked her head, smiling sheepishly at Midoriya's enthusiastic praise. "Thanks. It's because of Mezou's plan that we won, though."
"That's not true." Mezou shut her down immediately. "You're the one who thought to throw aside the cuffs. Who knows if it would've worked in the end if you hadn't used them as a diversion."
"You're the one who got through the gate."
"You're the one who immobilized our opponent."
Hitomi's face flushed, her gaze falling to the floor. "Okay, fine. We both contributed to the win. There."
Mezou chuckled, and Hitomi felt that same pride she got whenever she managed to impress Nori.
"Mezou, do you have any younger siblings?"
He looked rightfully thrown by the sudden topic change. "Why do you ask?"
Hitomi smiled, clasping her hands behind her back. "You just remind me of my brother, that's all."
"Team Mineta and Sero. Practical exam. Ready, go."
"Hey, Deku, isn't your match up next?" Ochako turned to her friend. "Shouldn't you be waiting in the exam area?"
"Oh, probably." Midoriya admitted. "But I wanna make sure I see everyone else fight. It's definitely interesting to see how each team uses their Quirks. But I also feel like I'm getting stronger watching them. Our classmates are just so amazing. Even if they didn't pass, they fought until the very end. Every one of them embodies what it means to be a UA student!"
"You're so sweet!" Hitomi blubbered, launching herself onto Midoriya's back, startling him. "You're cool and amazing and awesome too, Midoriya!"
"Ah, t-thanks, but could you maybe get off of me, please?"
"You might want to revoke that statement, Midoriya." Momo deadpanned, glowering at the screens.
"Looks like one of our peers is giving up." Tsuyu pointed out.
On the monitors, they all watched Mineta run away in tears.
"W-what's he doing? He was looking forward to the training camp so much. Why is he ready to give up now?"
"I don't know if he can bounce back from this." Recovery Girl intoned. "As far as the practical exams go, All Might, Present Mic, Cementoss, and Midnight are especially hard opponents for you kids to best. It's not hard to imagine someone feeling as though they have no possible way to win."
Midnight already had Sero down for the count, putting him to sleep after he used his tape to toss Mineta away from her pheromones. Now Mineta was wasting away his efforts by running around like a chicken with his head cut off.
"It might be hard for a kid like that to make it out of this school." Recovery Girl warned.
Midoriya looked at her, shocked. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"UA is constantly creating new obstacles that our students have to overcome. In order to keep moving forward successfully, students need to have a concrete goal to focus on. If your desire is just to be a Hero for no reason, your path isn't going to be easy. If someone who's only wish is to become a Hero reaches their goal, then they have no real future."
Hitomi's hands felt numb, her eyes cast low and staring blankly.
But… that pretty much was her goal. To become a Hero. One her parents would be proud of. Was— was that enough? She had as basic a goal as you could get. She just wanted to save people so they could come home to their families.
…Right?
"I wonder… is there a goal in that child's heart he can focus on to win?"
Mineta stopped running, standing there, frozen in fear or contemplation.
Until Midnight's whip struck the back of his head, knocking him down.
Hitomi slapped a hand over her mouth, unsuccessfully muffling her cackling.
Though, no one— especially not Midnight —was expecting what he did next. Mineta took the strip of tape that was still stuck to him, and put it over his nose and mouth to block out the pheromones. Then he chucked balls from his head at her, many of which landing on her whip. One stuck her hand to the handle, then another stuck the whip to the ground.
Midnight pulled experimentally, trying to release the handle or dislodge the end from the ground. When it didn't give, she grinned with approval.
Midnight was a sadistic Hero. But Aunt Nemuri was a proud teacher.
"He managed to trap her far away from the gate!" Midoriya exclaimed. "There's no way her Quirk can stop him now!"
"Oh, so he's pretty clever. I think that kid pulled one over on all of us." Recovery Girl simpered.
"Saito's dangerously chubby thighs!"
Hitomi shuddered, hugging her midriff. "Sure. He's still a creep, though."
"Team Mineta and Sero have passed the final exam!"
So that only left—
"Team Midoriya and Bakugou. Practical exam. Ready, go!"
…
Bakugou left Midoriya standing at the entrance, giving nothing but a sneer over his shoulder.
"He's not gonna make this easy for Deku, is he?" Ochako sighed, hands clenching at her chest.
Hitomi didn't bother to confirm it, figuring she already knew.
After a moment of hesitation, Midoriya hurried after him. The green haired teen tried talking to him, but Bakugou just picked up the pace. Back and forth this went, until the blonde snapped and sent a punch flying at Midoriya's face.
Hitomi flinched, frowning in concern as Midoriya laid on the ground, cradling his nose.
God, Bakugou must be furious. But it was no excuse for striking his teammate.
"Oh dear, there's absolutely no teamwork between those two. Don't they realize the trial ahead of them?" Recovery Girl chastised.
Even without the audio, it was clear that the two were yelling at each other. Which was a shock, because Hitomi couldn't remember a time where Midoriya got even close to raising his voice in anger.
Then, a gust of wind so violent that it shattered every window in its path, and overturned every car, threw the two boys back, lifting them clear off the ground.
All Might stood before them when the dust cleared, his normally reassuring smile now coming off as a dark grin.
Midoriya started to run away, but Bakugou launched himself at the Hero, setting off an explosion that whited out the screen for a second. He tried attacking All Might, only for the Hero to grab him by his face. Somehow, Bakugou wasn't deterred, and continued to blast at All Might. All the way up until the Hero reared his arm back, and slammed Bakugou head first into the ground.
Hitomi gasped, covering her mouth in horror.
He was going to kill them.
Her tail puffed up, and a growl came rumbling unintentionally through her throat.
She didn't like this. She hated this. She felt scared, and concerned, and protective, and angry.
He's hurting them— He's hurting them!
"Whoa, Hitomi…"
She blinked, and some of the intense emotions clouding her mind faded.
Ochako was staring at her, her brows furrowed in shock and worry. "Are you okay? You were growling, and your eyes… they almost looked red—"
"Oh my…"
Recovery Girl's sigh brought attention back to the screens, where they saw Bakugou and Midoriya collide midair, in their own individual and uncoordinated attacks.
When they landed, it was right back to arguing, with Bakugou trying to push forward, while Midoriya got in his way and tried talking to him.
Then, All Might came at Midoriya, hitting him in the back with a broken piece of thick metal fencing, stomping it into the ground and pinning the boy beneath it. Turning deftly on his heel, All Might then went for Bakugou, slamming a ruthless fist into his gut. The punch was so harsh that when Bakugou went flying, so did the contents of his stomach.
Hitomi clenched her jaw tight to keep her canines from extending too far.
Bakugou forced himself to his feet, and Midoriya struggled to remove the fencing. And All Might took his sweet time, raising his fist in preparation to land it upon the blonde again.
He can't be serious!
Hitomi's voice cracked shrilly. "Baku—"
A fist struck Bakugou's face, but it wasn't All Might's.
Midoriya shouted something at Bakugou, then threw him over his shoulder and took off, racing down an alley and away from All Might. His body aglow with the green sparks of his Quirk.
For a few minutes All Might sprinted through the mock city, looking around for the boys. Then, after he passed by a random alley, Bakugou came barreling out of it, his right hand immediately shooting off blasts at the Hero.
But, where was his other—
From behind All Might, Midoriya jumped through the smoke left by Bakugou's Quirk, and aimed Bakugou's other gauntlet directly at All Might, pulling the pin that would set off—
An outrageously volatile explosion bursted out from the opening, letting loose all the sweat Bakugou had been storing for who knows how long.
While All Might was recuperating, they took off. Bakugou using blasts to propel himself through the air, and Midoriya using his Quirk to push his legs faster and harder.
The two got so close to reaching the gate, when All Might just appeared between them. In a blink, he crushed and shattered the two gauntlets with his bare hands, giving them no time to use the second blast that was stored. He then kneed Bakugou in the jaw, and grabbed Midoriya's right arm. When the blonde came blazing back, All Might swung Midoriya down on him like a ragdoll, leaving them both laying bruised and battered. He hoisted up Midoriya, who dangled limply, and put a boot down on Bakugou's back to force him still.
Hitomi's shoulders fell, and she dipped her head in dejection. She couldn't watch. It looked so painful, so she couldn't imagine what it was actually like to experience the number-one Hero hurting you with reckless abandon.
After a beat, the floor shook, and the others gasped.
When Hitomi lifted her head, she stared in awe as the screen was lit up in yellows and oranges. It was so…
"Look, Deku's got him!" Ochako excitedly pointed to one of the screens that wasn't full of an inferno. Instead, Midoriya was visibly limping toward the gate with Bakugou carried under his arm.
"Team Midoriya and Bakugou have passed the final exam! All matches for the practical portion of Class 1-A's final have now been completed!"
…
Once again in her school uniform, Hitomi waited nervously, shifting her weight side to side. After a bit longer, the door in front of her slid open.
Recovery Girl smiled up at her reassuringly. "You can see them now, dear."
Hitomi tried to smile back, but it was tense and weak.
Stepping inside the infirmary, she was met with her two friends and classmates laid up in bed.
And the teacher who put them there.
"Er, hello, Young Saito." All Might twitched, standing poised to exit the room. "Are you hurt at all?"
Hitomi opened her mouth, but Recovery Girl answered first.
"She's just fine, All Might. She's actually here to check on Bakugou and Midoriya."
All Might twitched again, harder this time, with an awkward grimace. "Ah, I see…"
There was something satisfying about making him uncomfortable, after what he did. And it was a little surprising that she could do it with just a simple scowl. Then again, not many people ever saw such an expression from her.
"Are they alright, ma'am?" Hitomi questioned, all the while keeping her eyes on All Might.
Was that steam coming off of him? Was she making him that nervous?
"They'll be fine with some rest."
Hitomi hummed, continuing to stare unblinkingly at the muscular Hero.
All Might coughed into his hand, the action sounding wet and raspy, then gave her a rushed wave.
"Congratulations on your win, Young Saito! I'll be off now!"
Hitomi's hair whipped around, her eyes forced shut as a gust blew around in the small room. When she reopened them, he was long gone.
Recovery Girl shook her head with a tsk, hopping down from her chair. "I wasn't done lecturing him yet. Feel free to keep the boys company while I go find him."
"Oh, uh, a-alright then." Hitomi stepped aside so the woman could pass.
The door shut with a resounding click, and Hitomi stood stiffly in the middle of the room.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly went over to Bakugou's bedside, taking up the chair by it.
He was out cold— as was Midoriya in the next bed over —and was covered with scrapes and bruises even after Recovery Girl's healing. Despite this, his face was lax, making him look calm for once.
He was strangely pretty, when he wasn't snarling.
She suddenly remembered the blaze filling the monitor.
"Hey, your Quirk… it's really beautiful. I never noticed before… how lovely your explosions look."
She cocked her head, clasping her hands on her lap, and smiled softly.
"I'm glad you guys could beat him by putting aside your pride and working with Midoriya. You were really cool out there."
...
"Is there a reason why Young Saito looked as if she would maul me?"
"Well, you did nearly cripple two of her friends."
"...Her and Young Bakugou are friends? To be frank, I hadn't realized he had any. Other than Young Midoriya, of course."
"Midnight told me that she's quite smitten with the boy."
He sputtered. "W-what?! Those two? Together?!"
"Not in that way. From what I gather, Saito is determined to get Bakugou to consider her his friend as well. She seems to admire him, and is unfazed by his brutish behavior."
"...Huh."
…
Body fatigued and feeling half dead, Hitomi groaned when her phone chimed on her nightstand, rousing her from her much needed sleep. Usually she wouldn't ever go to bed at the ungodly early hour of 7:00pm, but after the exhausting day she had, sleep was all she wanted.
With a heavy arm, she reached over and fumbled around until she grasped the device, pulling it close and squinting at whatever it was that lit up the screen.
(King-Explosion-Murder has joined: Bad Lemon)
(King-Explosion-Murder has changed group chat name to: now stop fucking spamming me)
Hitomi set her phone down, and fell asleep with a smile.
For real, tell me if any of y'all would want an Itadori/OC fic. I've got a concept laid out. And he's criminally underrated.