BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I'VE TRIED TO FLY MULTIPLE TIMES, BUT MY HOSPITAL BILLS HAVE LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT I DO NOT, IN FACT, HAVE A FLYING QUIRK.
Time for fighting! Put on your fighting hats! If you don't have a fighting hat… well, what's wrong with you? Everyone needs a fighting hat. Mine looks like a particularly angry baked good, and if you turn it inside-out, it looks like a duck.
My Alien Academia
Chapter 4
Clash
Midoriya was in the unusual position of actually looking forward to high school. This was not just because he actually had friends that he was excited to see again, but also because one of his classes was being taught by his favorite Hero.
Well, all of his classes were being taught by Heroes, and Midoriya was a fan of all of them, but this one was a special case.
He wasn't the only one excited about today; he met up with Uraraka and Iida near UA, and the three were chatting enthusiastically. It was amazing, Midoriya reflected, to interact with people who didn't put him down all the time.
He tried to ignore that traitorous part of his mind that suggested that they were only his friends because they thought his Quirk was cool… or that he had a Quirk at all.
Midoriya pushed that thought back for a while, and even managed to enjoy his classes. Then lunch rolled around, and he enjoyed that as well—not just because the famous Cooking Hero: Lunch Rush, was serving the food, but because he got to eat alongside friendly classmates.
It wasn't just Uraraka and Iida who sat next to him at the table; the pink girl, Ashido, and Sero also joined them. Midoriya found them to be an interesting contrast to his first two friends—Ashido was spontaneous and casual, where Iida was deliberate and formal, and Sero seemed permanently relaxed, where Uraraka was easily flustered. Still, they all got along rather well, and by the time lunch was over, the two were added to Midoriya's growing list of contacts.
But all of that faded into the background as Class 1-A went to their final lesson of the day—Heroics. Officially, nearly any Pro Hero who was employed by UA could teach the class, since one of them might be called in for a crisis elsewhere, and the schedules had to be flexible. Midoriya would have been excited to have any Pro Hero teach him how to achieve his dream, but the fact that the greatest Hero in Japan—and arguably the world—was supposed to teach today was just that much more incredible.
"When is he going to show up?" Uraraka whispered to him as they took their adjacent seats.
Midoriya glanced at the clock. "It should be any minute now."
As the seconds dragged on, a worrying train of thought burrowed its way into his head.
What if he doesn't remember me from the roof? What if he does remember me, and thinks I lied about having not having a Quirk? I mean, I guess I did lie, retroactively, but it's not like I knew that at the time, and—
"I AM HERE!" The doors to the classroom slammed open. "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
Ben, who was now floating next to Midoriya, rolled his eyes. "Normal people don't slam doors open and shout at the top of their lungs."
All Might, wearing his older Silver Age costume, for some reason—complete with flowing cape, despite there not being any wind—marched dramatically to the front of the class and turned to face the students, fists on his hips.
"Remember, students—a flashy entrance is a great way to display confidence and reassure people that everything is going to be okay!" He continued to grin, even as he pulled what looked like flash cards out from nowhere. "Now, then—Basic Hero Training! This is the class that gives you a taste of what being a Hero in the field is like! And the first of these lessons… is this!" He flipped one flash card around, which had the word 'Battle' on it. "Battle Training!"
More than a few students got particularly excited for that. For his part, Midoriya was a little conflicted; it wasn't that he didn't expect to fight at some point in his Hero career, but he was more enthusiastic about saving people than hurting them, even if they were the bad guys.
"But before we can get started on your lesson, you'll need these!" All Might pressed a button on a remote, and then the walls slid open, revealing twenty silver suitcases, all numbered one through twenty. "In accordance with the Quirk Registry and Equipment Request forms that you filled out before school started, here are your Hero Costumes!"
Even the students less enthusiastic about fighting began to get excited; after all, they'd all had at least some input in how their costumes were made, so these outfits were theirs.
"All right!" All Might clapped his hands together; despite the casual gesture, there was still a small shockwave that sent everyone rocking back in their seats. "Grab your costumes, and head to Ground Beta when you're all suited up!"
There was a mad dash as everyone headed to the suitcases; though each had a large number, there was also a small tag with names attached. Much to Bakugo's anger, Midoriya's case had the number one on it.
"Okay, buddy, hurry up," Ben urged as Midoriya walked to the locker room to change. "I want to see what you came up with!"
Though Ben had been 'present' when Midoriya had come up with his costume design, he'd asked the hologram to shut down until he was done. He'd wanted it to be a surprise for his first real friend.
Unfortunately, since all of his aliens came with their own outfits—if they came with any at all—that meant that whatever Midoriya actually wore would disappear. With that in mind, he wanted to come up with something comfortable, but also distinctly him. The best part was that he didn't take that long to change.
"Okay, I'm ready," Midoriya said, mostly to himself, but also to Ben.
When Ben flickered into sight again, he blinked, and then grinned. "Looking good, kid."
Where Ben Tennyson had worn jeans and a green jacket, Midoriya had taken his own spin on it. He wore dark blue combat pants, with pockets that held useful items like first aid tools—just in case he needed to do help someone without transforming. He also wore a black t-shirt, under a dark green hoodie—the hood of which paid homage to his idol by incorporating large 'ears' that mimicked All Might's signature spiked tufts of hair. On the back of the hoodie was the Ultimatrix dial, carefully stitched in according to Midoriya's exacting specifications.
For Midoriya, his costume represented the two biggest heroes in his life—the one who inspired his dream, and the one who helped him achieve it. The only thing that had nothing to do with All Might or Ben was the pair of red boots he wore, a sturdier version of his favorite shoes.
"An interesting costume, Midoriya-san," a familiar voice said. "It is more practical than most, but it makes sense, considering your transformations."
Midoriya turned and blinked; Iida's costume looked like a cross between a robot and a medieval knight. The white plates were sleek, but sturdy, as was the black mesh between the plates. The boosters popping out of his legs—and his general attitude—gave even more credence to the robot warrior look.
"Thanks, Iida-san," he said. "Your costume looks great, too! It looks a lot like Ingenium's costume!"
Though his helmet hid his face, Iida made a show of looking embarrassed. "Oh, you know the Turbo Hero? Well, the thing is… he is actually my older brother!"
Midoriya's jaw dropped; while Ingenium wasn't in the top ten of Japan's Heroes, he was still wildly popular, and very successful. The fact that Midoriya was now friends with his younger brother was just so cool!
"Hey, guys, wait up!" Sero jogged over to the other two boys, the rest of the male students right behind him. "You know, Iida-san, I thought you'd take longer to get suited up, but then I remembered that speed is kinda your thing, huh?"
Sero's outfit was sleek and efficient; it was mostly black and white, with orange shoulders, and more orange on his boots and the sleeves that ended above his elbows. Throughout the design, there was the motif of a roll of tape, up to and including his helmet that actually looked like a tape dispenser. That was unsurprising, considering that his Quirk was called Tape, and involved shooting long strands of said substance from his canister-shaped elbows; he'd explained it all during lunch, and it was one more thing Midoriya wanted to write down in a notebook.
Next was Bakugo, who stormed past Midoriya with only a furious glare—which, by his standards, meant that he was in a good mood. His outfit was made of blacks and greens, with a hint of orange; it was mostly simple and sturdy, with two notable exceptions. The first was the mask on his face, which wrapped around his head and ended in what looked like tiny explosions. The second were the two massive gauntlets on his forearms that looked like oversized hand grenades.
Behind him was Kirishima; his outfit consisted mostly of black pants and boots, with a ragged waistcoat and red gear-shaped shoulder guards, but otherwise, his torso was completely bare. He also had a red R on his belt, and a black mask that had a faintly demonic look around his mouth and chin. He grinned and flexed one bicep, not that he needed to; Midoriya didn't know what training regimen turned Kirishima so ripped, but he was a little jealous.
Then there was Sato Rikido, a large, big-lipped boy that looked like a stereotypical meathead at first glance, but he'd seemed nice enough yesterday. His spiky brown hair was mostly concealed by the yellow bodysuit he wore; yellow was the predominant color for his costume, other than the white boots and gloves. He also had a white belt that was lined with small containers, though Midoriya didn't know what they held—maybe that white powder he'd seen the boy eat yesterday that seemed to increase his strength.
Next was Mineta Minoru, the grape-boy who had come in last place during the test. His costume was mostly purple, to match his hair, but with yellow gloves, boots, cape, and a white… diaper? Midoriya had no other way to describe it; it looked like a diaper, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what use it had.
Like Midoriya himself, Kaminari had a more casual outfit. It consisted of black pants, a white shirt, and a black jacket over it that was decorated with white lightning bolts. He also wore some kind of headpiece with an antenna over his right ear. He saw Midoriya's own costume and grinned in approval.
Koda Koji was, at first glance, rather intimidating. He was tall and broad, with a craggy rock of a head. Midoriya had yet to hear him speak, but his yellow and red outfit had stylized teeth on the front, so he figured that the larger boy's Quirk had something to do with either his mouth or voice.
Like Koda, Shoji was also intimidating. His outfit consisted of a blue and purple jumpsuit, with all six of his arms completely exposed. The costume might have been rather plain, but his physique more than made up for it; if anything, it drew attention to his arms.
Tokoyami Fumikage was also rather strange in appearance; from the neck down, he looked completely ordinary, but his head was that of a black-feathered bird's. Midoriya wasn't sure what he was wearing under that black cloak that went down to his ankles, and he didn't know what the boy's Quirk was, but Tokoyami still gave off a stoic aura that kept everyone at a distance.
Aoyama Yuga practically skipped out of the locker room, which was all the weirder because he was wearing actual plate armor. The blonde-haired boy, who had a face set in a permanent—if bizarre—smile, practically glittered. His armor had several lenses, the most prominent of which was mounted over his stomach. During the tests yesterday, he'd explained that he used the lens on his belt to magnify the laser he could fire from his belly button. The blast was powerful enough to propel him through the air, but only for a few seconds at most, and then he fell to the ground. He had also explained that keeping up his laser for too long could make his stomach explode.
Aoyama noticed Midoriya studying him, and winked through his wing-shaped red glasses, and then fluttered his red cape. Midoriya wasn't quite sure how to react, so he just gave a thumbs-up.
Ojiro Mashirao was doing some light stretches as he walked—not just with his arms and legs, but with the thick tail that ended with a tuft of blonde hair that matched the hair on his head, and the fur that poked out of the left side of the collar of his white gi.
Finally, there was Todoroki Shoto, the boy with the burn and two-toned hair. His costume was so plain it made Midoriya's look exotic. It was just a pair of white pants, shirt, and boots, with gold belts around his shoulders. He had created ice from his right side yesterday to launch himself forward during the standing long jump, and said that he could also create fire from his left, but he had only used ice.
"Good, we're all together," Iida said, and promptly turned and began walking down the hall. "I believe the girls will be meeting us there."
"Oh, man, I can't wait!" Everyone took a few steps away from Mineta, who was drooling again. "Have you seen the hotties in this class? Their costumes are going to be so—ouch!"
Bakugo reached out and picked up the small boy by the back of the neck. "Quit running your disgusting little mouth, Grape—we're here to be Heroes, not ogle, so shut the hell up."
It was one of the rare instances that Midoriya found himself in complete agreement with Bakugo. Yes, it was obvious that the girls in the class were attractive, but Mineta was making everyone else uncomfortable.
Speaking of the female students, the boys did indeed meet up with them on the way. Mineta started to drool more, though with Bakugo stomping on his foot, he didn't do more.
"Hey, boys!" Ashido dashed over with an even wider grin than usual. "Lookin' good!"
So was she, if Midoriya was being completely honest. Ashido wore a low-cut bodysuit that was colored with purple and teal camouflage. She also wore beige boots, a sleeveless beige coat with a fur-lined collar, and a beige mask over the top half of her face, only exposing her black-and-yellow eyes. Her arms and shoulders were bare, because of her Quirk—during lunch, she had explained that she could secrete acid from her body, though she preferred creating it from her arms and feet. Midoriya had seen her use that acid as a slide during the test yesterday, and she'd proven extremely athletic.
Behind her, Jiro Kyoka was giving the boys a once-over; she looked unimpressed, though her gaze did linger on Kaminari a bit longer. That was probably because, between the two of them, they could have been in a band. Jiro wore a black leather jacket, black pants, a salmon-colored shirt that looked deliberately ripped in a few places, white fingerless gloves, and a black choker. The most prominent part of her costume were her boots, which looked like they had speakers built into them; she had also painted red triangles below her eyes.
Midoriya jumped when someone poked his arm. "Ribbit, I like your costume, Midoriya."
Asui Tsuyu had done fairly well during the tests yesterday, particularly the ones involving her legs. She'd explained that her Quirk, Frog, basically let her do anything a frog could do, and her costume reflected that. It was a green bodysuit with black and yellow stripes, and the shoes had been designed to look like a frog's feet. She also had large white gloves, and large goggles on her forehead that reminded Midoriya of a frog's eyes. She might have had a blank expression and hunched posture, but with her costume, it was kind of cute.
"Uh, th-thanks, Asui-san," he said. "Yours is cool, too."
"Call me Tsuyu, ribbit."
"Er…" Before Midoriya could respond, his attention was caught by what looked like disembodied gloves and boots moving past him. Then he remembered that one girl, Hagakure Toru, was completely invisible, except for her clothes. He wondered why she kept her gloves and boots visible, though; it would have made more sense to make them out of the same material as the rest of her costume.
Unless she wasn't… actually… wearing anything else.
Midoriya very deliberately pushed that thought aside… and it was immediately replaced by even worse thoughts when Yaoyorozu walked past. The tall girl was obviously gorgeous, but her costume left almost nothing to the imagination. It was mostly just a red leotard, but the front of the middle third was gone, all the way to just past her navel; the costume was held together by a yellow belt on her upper chest, but only just. She also wore red boots, and a pair of yellow belts around her waist that acted like a short skirt. On the back of the belt-skirt was a shelf that held a large book.
Logically speaking, Midoriya knew that it had to do with her Quirk; whenever she'd used it to create objects yesterday, she had exposed a part of her skin. That meant that she had to wear an outfit like that in order to effectively use her Quirk. That didn't change the fact that Midoriya was a hormonal teenager, and Yaoyorozu was easily the most beautiful girl he'd ever met.
Ben had been silent, but now he had to comment. "Okay, I'm pretty sure that costume is defying the laws of physics."
With so many people around, Midoriya couldn't tell him to shut up, because he wasn't helping. Maybe Uraraka could help him take his mind off what he'd just seen—
Oh, god help me.
Uraraka was pretty, that much Midoriya could admit, but she'd never really shown off what she looked like. Her costume changed that; it was a black and pink bodysuit that did absolutely nothing to hide her curves, with large pink boots and pink wrist guards that had some kind of handle on the outside. Her head was protected by a pink helmet that had a darkened visor curving downward, and she had some kind of thin armor around the base of her throat and neck. Only her hands were completely exposed.
Ben looked at her, then the rest of the girls of the class, and then shook his head sadly. "Midoriya… you are so screwed."
At that point, Midoriya nearly snapped at him, consequences be damned, but Uraraka chose that moment to bounce on over to him. And she literally bounced; Midoriya wondered if there were springs in her boots or something, but then he got distracted because of other parts of her that were bouncing.
"Hey, Deku-kun!" Uraraka grinned at him—with her boots, she was now almost as tall as he was. "I love your costume, especially those bunny ears!"
"They're not—" Midoriya cut himself off and sighed. "Thanks, Uraraka-san. And, uh, your costume is, uh—"
"It's kind of embarrassing," she admitted, her blush obvious even through her visor. "I just asked them to make a costume that stimulated my pressure points and helped with nausea, but they made it a lot tighter than I expected."
"Y-yeah…" Midoriya wasn't sure what else to say, but thankfully, All Might was there to bail him out.
"Looking good, students!" All Might's smile grew wider as they walked into a waiting room. "The clothes make the Hero, and I certainly think you'll make quite the impression when you all debut! Now, follow me down to the observation room, and we can get to the lesson!" Once All Might led the class to a much darker room, he looked down at another notecard, and nodded to himself. "Before we begin, a little wisdom for when you're in the field—while the more sensationalized Hero events happen in the open, the truly dangerous Villains will actually be indoors. This is because a home base gives them ample time to carry out their nefarious deeds, and they know the layout, while the Heroes generally don't.
"In this scenario, the Villains are hiding a bomb in a building; the Heroes have located the base, and must disarm said bomb before time runs out. You'll all be divided into teams of two; half of you will be Heroes, the other half will be Villains. The Heroes' objective is to simply touch the bomb; that will count as having disabled it. The Villains only need to stop them, either by incapacitating the Heroes, or preventing them from touching the bomb in time."
Much to Midoriya's embarrassment, most of the class immediately turned and began edging towards him. Obviously, they wanted to be partnered with someone so versatile; once again, All Might came to the rescue.
"No, none of that!" All Might wagged a finger in disapproval. "Your teams will actually be decided by… drawing lots!"
Iida raised his hand as All Might pulled out a box. "All Might-sensei, is such a randomization really the best way to do this?"
"Actually, that makes sense," Midoriya said, before he could stop himself. "In a crisis, lots of Heroes team up with whoever is available, and they usually don't have very long to plan."
"Exactly, young Midoriya!" All Might gave him a thumbs-up. "Drawing lots is a good way to simulate the fluid nature of a dangerous scenario."
"Ah, I understand." Iida bowed. "Thank you both for the explanation."
"Not at all! That's why…" All Might chuckled to himself. "I am here!"
Some of the class laughed at his play on his famous phrase, while others groaned. Still, they all got in line to draw lots; Midoriya prayed that he be paired with anyone but Bakugo, and this time, the fates were kind. He drew the letter 'I', as did Uraraka, who jumped over to stand next to him; he tried to ignore how some of the class looked jealous.
"Now, normally, I'd have the matches be randomized as well, but you all took a bit too long getting changed, so we have less time than I'd like—let that be a lesson for the future! Anyway, the Heroes will be teams A, C, E, G, and I, while the Villains will be teams B, D, F, H, and J.
"We'll be starting in order, so teams A and B, get on out to your assigned building!" All Might paused and looked at another card. "Uh, you'll find the entrance to the field just down the stairs, and your building will have the Villains' letter on the side. And remember: no causing serious injury to your opponents, but keep in mind that this is supposed to imitate a real crisis, so I encourage the Villain teams to act the part! Speaking of which, I should mention that the Villain team will have ten minutes to get used to their 'base' and to place their bomb, and then both sides will get five minutes to create a plan. After that, you have fifteen minutes before the bomb goes off. Good luck to you all!"
Team A consisted of Yaoyorozu and Sero, while Team B had Todoroki and Shoji. The Hero team shared a brief smile before Sero put on his helmet, while the Villain team barely nodded at each other.
As soon as the teams left, All Might pressed a button on the computer behind him, revealing camera footage from both inside and outside the fake hideout.
"You'll all want to pay close attention," All Might said. "You'll be learning by observing as well."
Midoriya already had his notebook out and was scribbling furiously. It was a good way to not think about how he and Uraraka would be going up against Bakugo and Iida in the final round.
"So," Kirishima said, in an effort to break the sudden silence, "any bets on who's going to win this match?"
"Well, Yaoyorozu-san has an incredibly versatile Quirk," Midoriya said, almost to himself. "She can make practically anything, which means she can adapt to almost any situation. Sero-san's Quirk is perfect for scaling walls, so I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to surprise the other team from above.
"On the other hand, Todoroki-san can generate ice, so if he makes enough of it fast enough, he could literally freeze the Hero team in their tracks." Midoriya raised an eyebrow as he thought. "Shoji-san said yesterday that he could turn his arms into other sensory organs, so he makes for the perfect lookout. If anything, this Villain team might be the best choice for defense!"
It took him a moment to realize that everyone, even All Might, was staring at him. "Uh, what?"
Uraraka held up a hand, almost like she was addressing a teacher. "Deku-kun, did you just come up with all of that off the top of your head?"
Midoriya immediately shrunk in on himself. "I-it's a hobby. Sorry."
"Don't apologize, young Midoriya!" All Might walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "On-the-fly analysis of someone's abilities is good for gauging how to fight against a Villain, or alongside a Hero." He turned back to the screen. "With that analysis in mind, what odds would you put on the Heroes winning?"
Midoriya shrugged. "Not good, All Might-sensei. If the Hero team can avoid being seen by Shoji-san, and if they try to sneak in from above, they'll have one shot to get to the bomb. If they miss, Todoroki-san will probably freeze them immediately."
Mineta grinned. "Ooh, a cold Yaoyorozu means a wet Yaoyor—ow!"
Nobody commented when Asui extended her long, powerful tongue and slapped Mineta across the face. Instead, they watched the screen.
…
"So, uh, you sure you don't want me to carry you up the side?"
Yaoyorozu smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you. We need to make sure that the roof is empty, and you'll be more agile if I'm not in the way. If it's safe, just lower some tape and pull me up; after that, we'll sneak in from above and hopefully surprise the other team before they can react."
"We'll have to be really quiet," Sero said. "I think Shoji-san can make extra ears."
"That's true; thankfully, I have an idea." Yaoyorozu's stomach glowed, and four footprint-shaped pads with shoelaces emerged. "This is a soundproofing material. It should mask our approach."
"Awesome!" Sero quickly tied the padding to the bottoms of his boots. "All we need are some shuriken, and we'll be ninjas!"
Yaoyorozu smiled at his enthusiasm, even as she modified her own footwear. "Remember, we'll have to be fast once we locate the bomb. If you can slow the other team down, even for a few seconds, I'll keep them in place, and you can go for the weapon."
"You got it!" Sero stretched out his arms. "Time to go to work!"
"Hero team!" All Might's voice boomed out of the nearby speakers. "Begin!"
Sero nodded once more at his teammate, and then aimed his left elbow at the Villains' five-story hideout. A line of tape shot out at incredible speeds and attached just past the fourth floor; he pulled himself up as quickly as he could, and then shot another line of tape to pull himself up the rest of the way. He poked his head over the roof to briefly scan it, and then tapped the communicator in his helmet, which had been provided from a table just outside the field.
"Yaoyorozu-san, it's clear!"
Rather than answer, Yaoyorozu nodded, and then held out her hand expectantly. Sero lowered a long line of tape, and once she had a good grip, he pulled her up.
"Stage one, complete," Sero said in an overly-serious tone that made Yaoyorozu smile. "Good thing there's a rooftop door, though; otherwise, we'd have to risk the fifth floor windows."
Yaoyorozu winced. That's a good point; I hadn't considered that this training area might not be a hundred percent accurate. Stupid, Momo! Get your head in the game!
Determined to make up for her perceived blunder, she opened the door and quietly led the way down the stairs to the fifth floor. The lights were out, likely because of Todoroki and Shoji; the Heroes' vision was limited, while the Villains weren't as hampered, thanks to Shoji's enhanced senses. Because of the darkness, it took several minutes to check that neither the bomb nor the Villain team was there; by Yaoyorozu's estimate, they had less than ten minutes left.
"We need to hurry," she whispered as quietly as she could into her earpiece. "We don't have much time."
"Then we need to find that bomb, and fast," Sero's own whisper was loud in her ear. "They're not on the fifth floor, and they wouldn't be dumb enough to put in on the first… the third floor sounds like a safe bet."
"You're right. At the center, it's easier to defend and counterattack; still, we should be careful until—wait, is it getting colder in here?"
Before Sero could respond, a thin layer of ice began rapidly creeping across the floor; within seconds, it had almost reached them.
"Move!" Sero shouted, and then used his tape to swing up to the ceiling.
Thinking quickly, Yaoyorozu made a wide, sweeping motion with her right arm, producing a wave of rock salt at the same time. The salt blocked some of the ice heading for her, but more crept around to encircle her.
"Sero-san, go for the bomb!" she yelled. "I'll try to hold Todoroki-san off!"
Sero hesitated only for a moment, but nodded. "Okay, good luck!"
"Don't think I'll let you go so easily," Todoroki said as he stepped out of the shadows. His entire left side was covered in armor-like ice, which made an ominous crunch with every step. He raised his right arm, and a pillar of ice shot up at Sero, who barely swung out of the way in time.
Rather than try to hit Sero with more pillars, Todoroki just tapped his right foot on the floor; a moment later, the stairways were frozen over.
"The wind—" before Yaoyorozu could finish her sentence, all of the windows were covered in ice as well. Just how powerful is he!? What's his limit? Does he even have one?
"We'll just have to fight him!" Sero said, and fired a line of tape from his spot on the ceiling that looped around Todoroki's torso; that lasted about two seconds before Todoroki froze the tape halfway to the source, Sero's elbow, and then easily shattered it.
Yaoyorozu aimed her palm at Todoroki and produced a long pole, tipped with a small fist. It shot straight at Todoroki's head, but with a single step from his right foot, a wall of ice shot up to block it.
That was only a diversion, she thought, and drew her other arm back. Now, I'll just make a flash-bang grenade to throw him off, and—
Yaoyorozu had just started creating the grenade when her arm became even colder than the rest of her. She looked down and saw that a small pillar of ice had sprouted under the limb and had frozen around it; it began moving up her arm, until she was frozen up to the shoulder. Ice then grew around her ankles and slowly crept up her legs, holding her in place.
"Yaoyor—ack!" Sero tried to swing down to free his teammate, only for Todoroki to create another ice wall in his path. This time, his timing was more precise, and Sero slammed headlong into the ice; a moment later, he was also trapped.
"That's enough!" All Might's voice boomed from the speakers. "The Hero team is trapped; the Villains win!"
Todoroki wasted no time freeing his classmates from his ice; all it took was a few minutes of fire from his left side. Shoji also emerged from downstairs and used his considerable strength to help move the larger chunks of ice.
Even as she created towels to help dry herself and Sero, Yaoyorozu couldn't help but feel dejected. We were completely outclassed; their strategy countered everything we could have done.
…
"Whoa." Kaminari broke the silence in the observation room first. "I hate to make a pun, but Todoroki was cold out there."
"I heard that," Todoroki said as the two teams walked inside.
"Eep!" Kaminari jumped and quickly hid behind Kirishima.
"First of all, I want to congratulate both teams," All Might said. "You both had good plans, and the Heroes kept their cool—sorry, young Todoroki—even when their own plan started to fall apart. Keeping a clear head is an important quality to have in the field! Now, then, before the next teams go out, I'd like to hear some feedback from the rest of the class."
Ashido held up her hand. "I don't know if this is really feedback, but Midori was right, before. This whole thing gives a huge advantage to whoever is playing defense."
Yaoyorozu turned to Midoriya with a slightly hurt look on her face. "You knew we would lose?"
Midoriya immediately blushed and shook his head. "N-no! I j-just said that the Villain team had really good defensive options, and they had more time to prepare. Y-you had a good strategy, Yaoyorozu-san, it was just that…" he trailed off and looked at the rest of the class with an expression that begged for help.
"You would have done well against almost any other team," Todoroki said—not patronizingly, but just stating a simple fact. "You were quiet enough that Shoji-san couldn't hear you, and neither did I; I just waited by the stairs until I saw you."
The rest of the class shared similar sentiments; it wasn't that the Heroes had a bad plan, it just didn't survive contact with the enemy.
"Excellent points, everyone!" All Might nodded. "Now, before we move on, I'd like to say that young Todoroki was the MVP of this match! He had a plan and the skill to handle two unpredictable opponents!"
Todoroki only shrugged as the rest of the class—minus Bakugo—politely applauded.
"All right, time for the next teams, C and D, to get ready!"
Hagakure and Ashido were the Villains, so they left first; a few minutes later, Sato and Asui left to make their own plan. While that happened, Yaoyorozu noticed Midoriya scribbling in his notebook.
"Midoriya-san, were you taking notes during the first match?"
Midoriya jumped and stared up at her with his big eyes; honestly, she found it a little cute that someone so powerful was so nervous around people, especially girls.
"W-well, yes," he admitted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! It's just that learning about Quirks and their applications is a hobby of mind, and—"
Yaoyorozu giggled. "It's fine, I don't mind."
"O-oh, good. Um, while we wait, could I ask you about your Quirk? I saw that you can make things, but how does it work?"
"It's nothing special," Yaoyorozu said, waving him off. "I just turn the lipids in my body into any inorganic object I want. I just have to know the molecular composition of the item in question."
"Wait…" Midoriya's eyes went even wider. "You mean, you know the molecular formula for soundproofing material off the top of your head?"
"Um… yes?"
Jiro, who Yaoyorozu had become friends with the day before, grinned. "See, Yaomomo here had the best middle school grades in the country. Figuring out how to make soundproof footwear is a piece of cake!"
Yaoyorozu blushed at the praise and the attention she was getting, but didn't deny any of it. Although…
"Excuse me, 'Yaomomo'?"
Jiro shrugged. "No offense, but your full name is kind of a mouthful. Besides, Ashido calls Midoriya 'Midori', so you're not the first to get a name-shortening."
Uraraka held up her hand. "All in favor of calling Yaoyorozu-san 'Yaomomo', say aye!"
"Aye!" Most of the students present raised their hands.
Embarrassed, but less depressed about her match, Yaoyorozu glanced at Sero, who just grinned; he wasn't down about what happened, and he clearly wasn't upset with her. She decided to just do better next time; of course, if she had to face off against classmates again, she'd have to be more prepared. With that in mind, she took a page out of Midoriya's book and created a notebook and a pencil of her own; she had notes to take.
…
All of the matches went by rather quickly. Ashido and Hagakure lost when Asui managed to catch the latter with her incredibly long tongue; Sato had eaten his sugar to boost his strength, and then slammed the ground hard enough to create a shockwave that sent Ashido flying before she could create any acid. Still dragging Hagakure with her tongue, Asui then hopped over to the bomb and tying things up between Heroes and Villains. Since Asui had come up with the tactics to defeat the Villains, and had multitasked by the end, she received the MVP award.
The next match pitted Aoyama and Mineta as the Heroes against Jiro and Tokoyami. At first, it looked like the Hero team would win handily; Mineta had started things off by pulling his sticky purple balls off his head and had trapped Jiro's foot to the floor. Tokoyami had tried to free his teammate by using his own Quirk, a living entity that emerged from within him called Dark Shadow. Aoyama turned out to be a hard counter for the living Quirk; his Navel Laser's light drove back the darkness that was Dark Shadow, forcing him to retreat back within Tokoyami. That lasted until Jiro extended her living jacks down to her boots; her heartbeats boomed out from her speakers, sending both Heroes flying out of a first-floor window. Unfortunately, Mineta had been holding two more balls at the time, and they ended up accidentally gluing him to Aoyama's leg. The two struggled for the rest of the test, while Jiro and Dark Shadow laughed. In the end, Jiro had received the MVP for her ability to counterattack before the Hero team had capitalized their advantage.
The penultimate match was won by the Heroes almost by accident. Kirishima and Ojiro had taken out Koda within seconds, but Kaminari discovered that he was far more dangerous than the two close-combat specialists' expected. His Quirk created massive amounts of electricity, and though Ojiro had landed a good hit on the boy with his tail, he'd been paralyzed by Kaminari in return. Kirishima had lasted longer; his Quirk, Hardening, could give his body a rocklike appearance that was both armor and a weapon. However, though he punched Kaminari hard enough to knock the wind out of him, the electricity had messed with his muscle control, forcing him out of his Hardening. Kaminari had recovered first and limped to the bomb, though Kirishima had held onto the other boy's leg the entire time, shouting about how he should stay and fight like a real man. Still, the Hero team won, but Kirishima was named MVP for his sheer tenacity.
Throughout all the matches, Midoriya provided a running commentary. He pointed out how certain Quirks had specific weaknesses that other Quirks could take advantage of, but it still fell to the users in question to recognize those advantages. He also made a point of complimenting both sides after every match, praising what they did right, and pointing out how they could do better next time. Even some of the students who were less gracious in defeat were aware that Midoriya was actually giving good advice.
By the time of the final match, though, everyone noticed how nervous Midoriya was; his trembling only got worse whenever he so much as glanced at Bakugo, and no one missed the hatred on Bakugo's face. It was as if Midoriya's mere existence offended him, but none of them could figure out why; from their perspective, Midoriya had only been friendly and helpful, if a little awkward.
All Might, however, knew the truth, or at least suspected it. While he was widely respected for his power, his courage, and his selflessness, people didn't really attribute high intelligence with him. That wasn't to say that people thought he was dumb, he just gave the impression that he would rather act first, and think second.
When he put his mind to something, however, he was quite sharp. After Bakugo's actions the day before, All Might had looked up Midoriya's school records; a few counselors had made notes that Midoriya showed signs that he was being bullied, but no action had ever been taken to help him, or punish the guilty. It was obvious who the guilty party was, though, and one counselor in Midoriya's middle school had sent a letter to the principal, suggesting that Bakugo be taken in for disciplinary action. That same counselor had been threatened with unpaid leave the next day.
All Might understood why, and he hated it. Bakugo was talented, smart, possessed an amazing Quirk, and had all the makings of a Pro Hero; if he made it big, his previous schools would gain enormous prestige. That was enticing enough to let his bullying slide then, but not now; All Might wouldn't tolerate such behavior, and neither would anyone else in UA. Bakugo would become a better human being, or he would be expelled, simple as that.
"All right," he said out loud, getting the class' attention. "Villain team, head on out, prepare your bomb, and make your plan. Hero team, you know the drill by now, so just wait before entering your designated zone. Good luck to both teams!"
Bakugo gave Midoriya one more hate-filled glare, and then stalked off, Iida hot on his heels. As soon as he was gone, Midoriya sighed and nearly fell to his knees.
Uraraka put a hand on his shoulder. "Deku-kun, are you okay?"
Midoriya took a deep breath; All Might noticed that the boy seemed to take strength from positive reactions, something to note for later classes.
"I'll be fine, Uraraka-san. Thanks." Midoriya took another deep breath. "Kacchan—er, Bakugo and I, we… have some bad history. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"
Even a few months ago, Midoriya would have never said even that much. However, he had spent a long time talking to Ben about it, and the hologram had convinced that Bakugo really wasn't his friend anymore. Midoriya still respected the other boy, though, and thought that he would become an amazing Hero; he decided that he wouldn't sabotage Bakugo's future by telling anyone details, but he was done defending him.
Midoriya's words were quiet, and likely meant for Uraraka only, but the rest of the class heard him. None of the students were stupid; they, like All Might, suspected that Bakugo had been antagonistic towards Midoriya before, and since he'd thought he'd been Quirkless for most of his life, he'd had no real way to defend himself. All Might hoped that Bakugo improved his attitude soon, or he'd have an entire class hating him.
"Come on, let's go downstairs," Uraraka urged. "We can come up with a plan."
Midoriya paused, and All Might swore he glanced at the empty air for a moment; when he turned back to Uraraka, there was a more determined look in his eyes.
"I think I already have an idea. Uh, one second." He held up his notebook. "Can someone hold onto this until I get back?"
Yaoyorozu, who had cheered up since her match, especially when Midoriya got her talking about Quirks—and All Might wasn't sure if it had been deliberate, but he was positive that the tall girl had found the boy quite charming—held out her hand. "Of course, Midoriya-san. Good luck to you both!"
All Might kept up his smile as the Hero team left. I won't play favorites, young Midoriya; however, I wish you luck in facing your demons. I know from experience how painful that can be.
…
"Okay, Deku-kun, what's your idea?" Midoriya wished that Uraraka would stop hopping up and down; it was distracting him. "Iida-san seems strong, and so does Bakugo-san, but we have you, right?"
"I can't do everything," Midoriya said, and Uraraka finally stopped jumping. "I don't want you to rely on me to do everything, and we can still lose, no matter what I turn into. Kac—Bakugo is strong, fast, and smart, and I doubt I'll be able to surprise him more than once. Iida is also fast, and I wouldn't want to get kicked by him."
"But you did say you have an idea," Uraraka said.
"Y-yeah." Midoriya put a hand to his chin and started to pace. "I noticed that Iida ran faster when he had more time to run, so if you can keep him from any long hallways, he probably won't be able to run too fast for you to grab him. As for Bakugo… I know how his Quirk works. More importantly, I know its biggest weakness.
"I seriously doubt that Bakugo will work with Iida on anything." As he continued to pace, Uraraka watched with fascinated eyes. "He'll come after us instead of waiting, but he's not stupid; he'll probably have Iida guarding the bomb. If we're lucky, we'll avoid Bakugo and reach Iida before it's too late; we can overwhelm him and get the bomb."
Uraraka hated to interrupt, but the way Midoriya seemed afraid of Bakugo had her nervous. "What if we're not lucky?"
Midoriya paused, and then took a deep, steadying breath—she'd seen him do that a lot, and it almost seemed like he was following instructions. "Like I said, I know his Quirk, and how he thinks. I can counter him, and while we fight, you go on ahead to the bomb. If you fight Iida, don't let him build up speed; get in his face so that he can't use his legs. Even if you can't use your Quirk on him, just rattle his cage until you see an opening for the bomb—that's the objective."
Uraraka pumped a fist. "You got it, Deku-kun! So, what are you going to turn into?"
Midoriya frowned thoughtfully, then activated the Ultimatrix; he cycled through his aliens, until he found the one he wanted. He held his hand over the dial and waited expectantly.
"Hero team…" All Might said, "Start!"
Midoriya slammed down the dial, and vanished in a flash of green. "FOUR ARMS!"
Now it was Uraraka's turn to frown. "Hasn't he seen that one? I thought you wanted to surprise him."
Four Arms gave her a thumbs-up with three hands. "Don't worry, it's part of my plan."
The Hero team made their way into the hideout; Four Arms was in front, ready to move in front of Uraraka, in case Bakugo ambushed them and tried to blow them away. They didn't find the Villain team, or the bomb, on the first floor, but that just made Four Arms more nervous.
"It's going to be okay," Ben said as he floated alongside him. "You're strong, Izuku; strong enough to face him. You just need to stand your ground and fight."
He's right, Four Arms thought. This is something I have to do. Bakugo has pushed me around for years, and he needs to stop. This is the only way he'll accept that I'm not a worthless Deku anymore.
As they moved through the second floor, they heard footsteps heading their way. Four Arms took one more fortifying breath, and then rounded the corner. There was Bakugo, waiting patiently in front of the stairs to the next floor; the plan to avoid him had officially gone out the window.
"Well, well," Bakugo said with a sneer, "if it isn't little Deku, still trying to play Hero, huh?"
Even though his old tormentor still scared him, Four Arms couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; in his current form, he was almost twice as tall as Bakugo, so he didn't know where he got off calling him 'little'.
"You're not going anywhere near the bomb, Deku," Bakugo snarled, and crouched low, his arms curled and ready to unleash explosions. "And when I'm done with you, you're going to realize that you should never have tried coming to UA!"
"Uraraka-san…" Four Arms drew all of his arms back. "Go!"
Just as Bakugo started to extend his arms, Four Arms clapped all four of his hands together; it created a focused shockwave that sent Bakugo tumbling back. While Bakugo tried to regain his footing, Uraraka ran up the stairs.
"Oh, you think you're cute, letting your girlfriend go on ahead?" Bakugo aimed his palms at Four Arms. "After I'm done beating you into a pulp, I'm gonna find her, and then there's gonna be two less students in our class!"
Okay, I'm not baiting him anymore, Four Arms thought angrily. Now, I just want to hurt him.
"You aren't going to touch her," he said, his voice a low growl. "Not after I'm done with you."
…
In the observation room, the class watched closely; everyone noticed when Four Arms' expression changed.
"I kinda wish we could hear what they were saying," Ashido said. "I mean, it's obvious that Bakugo said something to piss off Midori. Then again, he doesn't seem like the angry type, so maybe I don't want to know."
Yaoyorozu frowned. "I don't think it really matters. It's obvious that those two have some bad blood between them, and if Midoriya-san thought he was Quirkless until recently, it's only now that he has a chance to fight back."
…
Bakugo sneered again; his palm glowed, visible even through his glove, and he unleashed a large explosion that sent Four Arms sprawling. His outfit was now a little singed, and his ears were ringing, but he was more or less unharmed. Bakugo was certainly surprised when he got to his feet.
"I'm tired of being your punching bag," Four Arms said through clenched teeth. "Now, it's my turn." He slapped the dial on his chest, and Bakugo shielded his eyes from the light. "WATER HAZARD!"
This new form was still taller than Bakugo; it looked like a humanoid shellfish, with a thick red-and-grey exoskeleton. He had a sloped hump rising over and around his head, and had a hole in each of his palms.
"What the hell is that?" Bakugo mocked. "An oversized lobster?"
"No," Water Hazard said in a raspy voice. "This is payback."
Now it was Bakugo's turn to watch as his opponent aimed a palm at him; he was almost too late to react when a jet of water lanced towards him. He quickly aimed his hands at the floor and fired off an explosion that sent him up to the ceiling. He dodged the water, but then had to fire another explosion to avoid a second stream. His maneuvering brought him right over Water Hazard—into what Bakugo liked to call 'face-exploding range'. Water Hazard brought up an arm to protect his face from the explosion that knocked him flat on his back.
"You know, you really haven't changed," Bakugo said as he landed. "You have all that power, but you're still useless."
"I'm not…" Water Hazard slowly got to his feet, and then quickly lashed out with more water that caught Bakugo on the arm. "I'm not useless!"
Bakugo scowled; that water had had a lot of pressure behind it, and if he hadn't rolled with the hit, it might have dislocated his arm at the elbow. He raised that same arm to return the favor… but nothing happened.
"What the fuck!?" Bakugo looked down at his gloved hand.
His soaking… wet… hand.
"No…"
"Like I told Uraraka-san," Water Hazard said, "I know your Quirk almost as well as you do. It's hard to ignite something when it's sopping wet, huh?"
"You bastard." Bakugo launched himself up with his dry hand. "You think you can beat me!? I only need one hand to blow you away!"
With only one explosion to send him upward, his launch was off-kilter, and Water Hazard capitalized on that; he aimed at Bakugo's other hand, but only managed to glance it. Still, it was enough to send him careening out of control and into a wall. Water Hazard wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a sickening pop as Bakugo's shoulder was dislocated. For that moment, he wasn't in a training session—instead, he was a little boy again, who saw his friend get hurt.
"Kacchan," he said, hurrying up to him, "I'm sorry, are you—"
"SHUT UP!" Bakugo aimed his working arm—the partially dry one—at him and fired a much larger blast that sent Water Hazard into the wall with so much force that it left a Water Hazard-shaped crater. "Are you seriously taking pity on me!? Don't you dare pity me, you damn nerd!"
"You're right," Water Hazard grunted as he pulled himself free. "That was dumb. You're the Villain here, and I'm the Hero. I can feel guilty about hurting you later."
However, as much as he wished otherwise, he didn't feel guilty. In fact, after years of being Bakugo's favorite victim, it felt great to dish it back. But that wasn't who Midoriya was; he was someone who wanted to help people, even his greatest enemy. He couldn't just hit people, because that wasn't who he was.
"I'll be sure you receive the best care, Villain," Water Hazard said, falling into character. "Not just for your hospital stay, but also so that you can maybe rejoin society one day."
Bakugo, for his part, just rolled his eyes. "Oh, just die, Deku!"
He raised his semi-dry hand for an explosion, but Water Hazard was quicker on the draw, and a torrent of water soaked Bakugo's hand. Just for good measure, Water Hazard left the other boy completely drenched.
"Damn it!" Bakugo sputtered and tried to maintain his footing on the slippery floor. "This isn't how it's supposed to be! I'm supposed to be a Hero, and you… you're nothing!"
Water Hazard shook his head sadly; Bakugo just wasn't facing reality. Just as Bakugo, now unable to use his Quirk, but unwilling to give up, charged at him, Water Hazard slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"SWAMPFIRE!" Now, he was a tall humanoid that seemed to be made of green plant material, except for his head, which looked more like stylized fire. "Sorry, Bakugo, but this is where it ends."
"It ends when I say it ends, Deku!" Bakugo slammed his uninjured arm into Swampfire's side, but his blow just sank into the soft vegetable matter.
More surprising was that, although the scrapes and scorches from Water Hazard had carried over to this new form, those blackened sections of Swampfire quickly regained his color. Whatever this form was, it possessed regeneration.
That… that's just not fair.
"No, it doesn't." Swampfire's deep, nasally voice was almost sad as he drew back his fist and drove it into Bakugo's nose. The blow sent him stumbling back; Swampfire finished the fight when he plucked several of the red seeds from his shoulders and tossed them at Bakugo's feet, where they exploded into thick vines that completely immobilized him.
Swampfire ignored Bakugo's increasingly inventive stream of curses as he looked up. "I hope Uraraka-san is doing okay."
…
Uraraka would be the first to admit that she wasn't a violent person; as a Hero, she knew that there was a good chance that she would have to fight at some point, but she'd always envisioned herself as more of a Rescue Hero, like Thirteen, her favorite Hero.
Unfortunately, there was no rescuing to be done today—just combat, and her opponent was more suited to that than she was.
"It seems that a foolish Hero has stumbled into my lair!" Iida held his arms out to his sides and laughed as maniacally as he could. "You have come here to try and stop me, only to fall!"
Uraraka tried very hard to keep a straight face; Iida was many things, but a good actor wasn't one of them.
"Sorry, but I don't have time for this, Villain!" Uraraka brought her hands in close, ready to lunge for Iida or make herself float at a moment's notice. "I'm here to stop you and save this city!"
Iida took a step back, and Uraraka heard his boosters begin to warm up. "You will try."
There was less than twenty feet separating them; from what Uraraka had seen yesterday, and what Deku had told her, Iida hadn't been able to reach his maximum speeds when crossing fifty meters. Like her partner had said, all she had to do was make sure that he didn't build up enough speed.
"I'll succeed!" Uraraka dashed forward, keeping her center of gravity low and making herself as small a target as possible.
Iida charged, then spun around on one leg to build up momentum with his other. His boosters were far from their maximum, but an armored kick to the head still hurt, even with her helmet. Uraraka saw stars as she was sent flying back, and she connected with the wall with a solid crunch. When her vision settled, there was a spiderweb of cracks across her visor, and a nasty scrape on her shoulder. Still, it wasn't as bad as when she'd been trapped during the entrance exam; at least there was no giant robot about to kill her.
She got up and again ran at Iida, who brought his leg around for another devastating kick. This time, though, Uraraka was prepared; she leaned back and slid feet-first under the kick, while reaching out with one hand. Iida's reaction speeds were impressive; he leaned back on one heel and used his boosters to send him flying up at an angle, then twisted around and brought his fist into her face. This time, her visor shattered; she felt dots of pain on her face as shards dug into her face.
Rather than let herself fall on her back, Uraraka slapped her hand against her chest to make her weightless. As she started to float, she saw Iida coming down, almost on top of her.
Now's my chance!
Ignoring her nausea as much as possible, Uraraka twisted around, curled her legs in as tightly as she could, and then kicked out. Years of practicing with her Quirk had taught her the value of timing—of knowing just when to apply or release her power. So, just when her boots connected with Iida's chest, she released her Quirk; with weight suddenly behind the double-kick, Iida was sent tumbling, while Uraraka rolled backwards. Her head connected with the floor a few times, but her damaged helmet prevented any concussions.
Before Iida could recover fully, Uraraka dashed for the bomb on the far side of the room.
"No!" Strong hands wrapped around her legs. "I won't let you win!"
"That's too bad," Uraraka shouted, "because I'm not giving up!"
Iida did his best to drag Uraraka back, but instead they fell forward. Uraraka saw stars once more as her chin connected with the floor, but her hand connected with something else.
"The bomb has been disabled!" All Might shouted. "The Hero team… wins!"
As soon as the buzzer went off, Iida scrambled off of Uraraka and helped her to her feet. "Excellently done, Uraraka-san, you were truly—oh my goodness, are you all right!?"
"Um, I think so, why?" Uraraka brought her hand to her face, and it came away bloody. "Oh."
"Uraraka-san, Iida-san!" the familiar voice had the two students turn.
Oh, I bet Deku-kun is going to freak out, Uraraka thought. "Hey, Deku-kun! We won!"
Midoriya, now back to normal, dropped what had been an adorable smile in favor of abject horror. "Oh my god, what happened!?"
Iida bowed low. "My apologies! I damaged Uraraka-san's helmet, and she fell."
She couldn't see it, but Uraraka looked like she'd walked out of a horror film. Her cheeks bled from the shrapnel of her visor, and her chin had been busted open; when she'd wiped it, a layer of blood was smeared over her jaw.
"W-we need to get you to Recovery Girl!" Midoriya dashed over and put her arm over his shoulder. "Iida-san—"
"Already on it." Iida gently took her other arm, the injured one, and then had an idea. He waved at one of the cameras, pointed at Uraraka, and then at the door.
"I understand, young Iida. Please, escort young Uraraka to Recovery Girl. I'll free young Bakugo, and give you three your scores later."
At this point, the adrenaline had faded, and Uraraka was starting to feel the pain; she also started to get a little dizzy.
"Wait, why does Bakugo-san need to be freed?"
"I'll explain later," Midoriya promised, then hesitantly patted her on the back. "You were great, Uraraka-san."
She giggled. "You don't even know what I did."
Midoriya shrugged with the shoulder not supporting her. "It… d-doesn't matter. I know you were great."
Uraraka wasn't sure what was sweeter—his words, or how he tried to hide his blush under his hood. "Thanks, Deku-kun."
…
"Well, now that that's all settled," All Might said as he and Bakugo—who had outright refused to go to Recovery Girl until he found out his score—walked into the observation room, "let's all discuss what happened."
Yaoyorozu held up her hand. "I think that it's obvious that Midoriya-san is still getting used to his Quirk. His decision to use water against Bakugo-san was a good one, but he should have started with that, instead of allowing himself to get blasted at the beginning. In addition, had he used that form in conjunction with Uraraka-san, they likely would have won much faster, and then could have teamed up against Iida-san."
Bakugo glared at her. "Watch it, Ponytail."
"No, she has a point," Shoji said. "If Midoriya-san had kept you pinned with his water, Uraraka-san could have easily tagged you with her Quirk."
Yaoyorozu nodded in thanks as she wrote all of that down. "All Might-sensei, I can give this feedback to the others when we finish, if that's all right with you."
"Of course, young Yaoyorozu!" All Might's smile grew wider. "Your consideration for your classmates is commendable! But, back to the match. Anything else to add?"
Kaminari raised a hand. "Um, couldn't Bakugo have blasted up the entrances? Even if he had done that on his way to face the Hero team alone, that would have slowed Uraraka-san a bit."
"Ribbit, and Iida-san could have just picked up the bomb and ran around with it," Asui said, then tapped her cheek with her gloved hand. "Come to think of it, none of the Villain teams did that, and there was no rule saying they couldn't."
Thanks to the darkness, there was no way to see the nervous sweat on All Might's brow—if there was, it would have been obvious that he had never considered that option either.
"Yes, well, those are all very good points. However, due to her quick thinking and tenacity, I declare that young Uraraka is MVP of this match! Your final scores will be ready outside in a moment; please, take them and then head to the locker room to change, and then you can all head home. Anyone else who feels like their injuries may hamper them are also encouraged to see Recovery Girl—especially you, young Bakugo."
Bakugo scowled. "Tch. Fine."
The students filed out of the room, leaving All Might alone—once he was absolutely sure that Hagakure hadn't stayed behind, he reverted to his skinny form.
"These kids," he muttered as he began typing grades into a computer. "They almost gave me a heart attack a few times. Was I that reckless when I was that age?"
…
By the time Yaoyorozu and Asui—who had decided to help—brought the notes to the infirmary, only Uraraka was still in her costume. Midoriya and Iida had taken the opportunity to change into their regular uniforms while Recovery Girl removed the shrapnel from Uraraka's face.
"You're lucky these are all small, dearie" the two girls heard as they opened the door. "There won't be any scarring."
Recovery Girl kissed Uraraka's forehead; a moment later, the cuts on her face were gone, as was the scrape on her shoulder. She swayed tiredly, and Midoriya helped her lay down on the cot she was sitting on. Yaoyorozu shared a smile with Asui when they saw how adorable that was.
"She'll be fine," Recovery Girl assured the boy, who looked on the verge of panicking. "Give her a few minutes to catch her breath, and then make sure she can walk to the locker room. If there are no problems, she can head straight home."
Midoriya and Iida both sighed. "That's a relief," Midoriya said, and the noticed the new arrivals. "O-oh! Yaoyorozu-san, Asui-san!"
"Ribbit, I said call me Tsuyu." Asui walked over to Uraraka. "So, she's going to be okay?"
Recovery Girl smiled kindly. "She'll be fine, like I said. A few scratches and scrapes are hardly going to slow her down for long. Do you young ladies need my services?"
Yaoyorozu shook her head. "No, thank you; we just came to check on Uraraka-san, and to give all three of them their grades." She also held out a familiar notebook to Midoriya. "You also left this with me, Midoriya-san."
Midoriya went red-faced as he took back his notebook. "Th-thanks for that, Yaoyorozu-san."
Yaoyorozu smiled. "I think the class has agreed to just call me Yaomomo."
Midoriya nodded, and then looked at his grades and feedback. "Okay, I still got an eighty percent, but these points all make sense. Now I know how to be better for next time."
Uraraka sleepily looked over her own notes. "Maybe I should ask the Support Department for a stronger helmet… or at least one with a chin guard."
The conversation focused mainly on the matches, but it came to a screeching halt when the doors opened, and Bakugo stomped in, followed by several other students. Despite having a dislocated shoulder, he had managed to get back into his uniform.
"Oh, dear, that looks unpleasant," Recovery Girl said, looking at his swollen arm. "Sit down, dearie, and I'll get you fixed up."
Bakugo only scowled, while his eyes remained fixed on Midoriya in a way that no one liked; it felt like he was about to attack the smaller boy at the smallest provocation. Midoriya swallowed nervously, but his view was suddenly blocked when Iida, Ashido, Sero and Yaoyorozu circled around him to talk, their backs to Bakugo. When the taller boy opened his mouth, he was cut off when Kirishima put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, man, you gotta tell me what your secret is for powering through all that," Kirishima said. "That was pretty manly."
Bakugo shook his hand off. "I just hate losing, now screw off, Shitty-Hair."
If he was expecting Kirishima to back away after the insult, he was disappointed; in fact, he just grinned wider. Bakugo was about to ask what his deal was, but then Recovery Girl was there, passing out her healing kisses. A few seconds later, Bakugo was asleep on his cot.
"Come on, everyone," Yaoyorozu said to the group surrounding Midoriya, "let's give Recovery Girl space to work."
…
"Welcome home, boys!" Inko said as Izuku walked through the door, with Ben right behind him. "How was school?"
"It was… interesting," Izuku said. "I made a lot of new friends."
Inko smiled widely, and tried not to cry; after years of being mistreated by society, hearing that her son was making friends made her so happy.
Ben grinned at her. "Yeah, and he beat the stuffing out of Bakugo!"
"Wait, what?"
"Ben!"
Midoriya is a cinnamon roll and will be protected. Also, it wouldn't be My Hero Academia without Bakugo swearing up a storm. Now, a few things happened in this chapter that I want to address.
First, I did in fact randomize the pairs, and assigned team letters based on who was paired first. I swear to every deity out there, I did randomly roll up (using a 20-sided die) Midoriya and Uraraka on one team, and Bakugo and Iida on the other. Some things are just fated to be, I guess. That fight with Yaoyorozu and Sero? I'm sorry, but Yaoyorozu is probably one of the most versatile characters in canon, and I would like to see more done with her, so expect her to be part of Midoriya's core group of friends, and doing more. Also, with Midoriya there to actually talk to her when she loses, she'll have more confidence later on. Hooray for early character development.
Next is the fact that everyone was aware of the bad blood between Midoriya and Bakugo, though not the reason for why it was there at all. I did this for two reasons. First, like I said, Midoriya must be protected. To explain my second reason, I have to go into a bit of headcanon.
UA is one of the most distinguished schools in the country, if not the world. Yes, you can be a Hero with a good Quirk, but Heroes are government employees, and they are held to a certain standard. As such, I believe that every Hero-hopeful has to be smarter than the average person. That's not to say that they are all geniuses—that's basically just Yaoyorozu—but they have to be smart enough to pass the written exam. So, yeah, Kaminari and Ashido might not be geniuses, but they're certainly not idiots. And all of them want to be Heroes, and that means helping people in need; Midoriya is clearly afraid of Bakugo, and Heroes protect people who are afraid of other people. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I'm so tired of canon Bakugo being allowed to say and do just about anything he wants.
Finally, I decided not to write out every fight, but I hope you enjoyed the summaries.
Anyway, this chapter was one of the longest I've ever written, but now I have to get back to my real work. Specifically, I'm writing the sequel to my first book, which should be out in a few months. If you want to get ready for that book's release, please consider buying Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb, on Amazon. It's available both as an eBook and in physical format!
You can also be a really cool person by donating on P-atreon (link in my profile). If you reach the top tier, you get a copy of my book anyway!
Speaking of my patrons:
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Next Chapter: Midoriya starts to bond with his friends, but evil interrupts the good times…
Recipro Muffin!