Chapter 4
"Holy crap," someone whispered, "You think they killed each other?"
"Nah," Kirishima said, though he didn't sound convinced, "All Might wouldn't let it go that far. Right?"
Probably not with Hagakure and Mineta in the building, Izuku thought. Decent chance that the buildings were made with lightweight materials too, to lessen the risk. Hard to tell though. He wished the cameras were still working, it would be interesting to see the aftermath. Get a better understanding of the damage. There was a heavy thud outside the doors as All Might returned, strolling in with his grin still firmly in place.
"No need to worry, class," he boomed, "Young Bakugo and Todoroki merely became a little overenthusiastic! Recovery Girl will sort them out no problems!"
Izuku understood the appeal of All Might's always smiling aesthetic, but that news delivered with that expression made him look like a maniac. Oh God, this school would be the death of him. Mineta wobbled in behind All Might, his knees still shaking, and a pair of gloves and boots followed him.
"Now then, the Hero Team won! And the MVP of the exercise is…young Hagakure!"
The gloves waved wildly. All Might threw out a delighted thumbs-up.
"NOW! Who can tell me why I picked Hagakure as MVP?"
"Sir!" a girl said- well, it was more like a declaration, Izuku was strongly reminded of Iida- "I can. Although Bakugo and Todoroki were much more active, they became bogged down in fighting each other! In addition, Bakugo abandoned his objective in order to confront the heroes, and although Todoroki's first attack was powerful it ignored his ally and he struggled to adapt when it failed. If this was a real situation both of them might have brought down the building and set the bomb off, using extremely powerful attacks while indoors. Although Mineta remained by the bomb, he was distracted by the fighting. Hagakure assessed the situation and acted correctly on that assessment!"
From the way Hagakure waved Izuku suspected that the assessment had been less of a cold calculation and more of an instinct to stay away from the two maniacs trying to murder each other, but really it worked out to the same thing. All Might stared at the girl who had spoken for a moment, as though surprised.
"Uh- yes, of course! Very well said, young Yaoyorozu!"
The girl nodded, unsmiling.
"Of course. An excellent grasp of the basics is the best way to become a top Hero."
That excellent grasp didn't seem to include sensible costume design, since she was wearing pretty much a red swimsuit- and not a very covering one, given that it bared most of her torso. Izuku was inclined to call it indecent. Maybe she had a Quirk that required a lot of open skin.
Still, wouldn't have flown back in Gotham. Asking for a bullet to the chest- or to freeze. Gotham was a cold city.
"Anyway," All Might started, recovering from his apparent bafflement at the paragraph Yaoyorozu had dropped on him, "Let's move on to the next building! The teams will be…Heroes! Team E! And Villains will be Team J!"
Team C, Mezo Shoji and Uraraka against Team J, Fumikage Tokoyami and Yuga Aoyama, the laser boy. This might be interesting- although Izuku thought that Team J had the advantage. Uraraka had an incredibly powerful Quirk, but Tokoyami's Quirk appeared to be made of shadow to begin with, and could possibly fly. That said, Izuku didn't know Shoji's Quirk. He had three arms coming from each shoulder, but that was no guarantee- these days a lot of people had vestigial mutations. Izuku suspected that his own unusual hair colour might be one, for instance. They waited patiently as the two teams split off into their building. Similarly to Bakugo and Mineta, Team J chose to place their bomb in the middle of the building, but they stayed close to it. They didn't seem to be communicating, although Aoyama was clearly speaking. And striking a pose. It was very dramatic.
"I wonder what his Quirk is?" Asui said, watching as Shoji stepped into the building just ahead of Uraraka. He paused near the entrance and his arms shifting, the hands morphing into something that looked like ears as he spread them.
"Some sort of sensory Quirk," Izuku murmured. And it wasn't as though he'd have problems in combat either, because he was absolutely enormous, slightly taller than Iida and massively built. Izuku watched, fascinated, as one of the ears turned into a mouth that leaned down to Uraraka. She nodded, that fierce determination on her face again. It was as terrifying now as it had been on the day of the Entrance Exam.
"He must have heard them," Izuku muttered as the Hero team set off. Tokoyami and Aoyama were in separate rooms now, Aoyama still monologuing. Tokoyami had turned off all of the lights in his room, only the yellow glint of his beak visible. The shadows seemed to move around him.
"Does his Quirk use existing shadows, or does it create them?" Izuku wondered aloud. He caught the glance Asui sent him, although she seemed more amused than anything else. A heavy hand dropped on his shoulder and Izuku barely supressed his first instinct to jump away.
"So, bro," Kirishima said, grinning, "Who do you think will win this one?"
His teeth were oddly sharp, Izuku noticed, like a mouth crammed with shark teeth. He was friendly, though, so Izuku forced down his paranoia to reply.
"I- I think the Heroes have the advantage at the moment. I think Shoji can hear Aoyama and Tokoyami, so the Heroes can try to sneak around. And they're working together better."
"The Villain team might be communicating over their earpieces, in which case splitting apart would be a better choice, as it allows them to attack from two sides at once," Yaoyorozu said, apparently overhearing. Izuku strongly doubted that but said nothing, feeling the stutter that would emerge if he tried to say anything. Kirishima took his hand from Izuku's shoulder, slamming it into his other hand.
"Either way, I'm pumped to see it go down after the first match! That was a wild one!"
"Yeah…I'm kinda glad that two of the strongest people in the class took each other out," Izuku admitted. He had to admit, he didn't think he could have beaten either of them. Maybe with a sneak attack, but sometimes…sometimes there was just no way around brute force. He could have had a chance against Kacchan, but Todoroki? Depending on his reaction speed, maybe, an ambush…but then he was betting it all on a single shot…Izuku shook his head.
"They're on the same floor now."
Asui croaked quietly beside him.
"It looks like they're going straight for the bomb."
Kirishima clapped his hands together, flexing his biceps apparently without thinking.
"Aww, yeah! Straight in, so manly!"
"Shoji must know about the ambush, but I wonder who'll face who," Izuku said, eyes locking on the screen and a frown wrinkling his forehead, "Aoyama could only fire his laser for a few seconds yesterday, so if Uraraka can get her hands on him she might be able to take him out of the fight. He can still move by firing his laser, but only in short bursts and he won't be very controlled."
Izuku chewed his lip, trying to reason his way through a strategy. Personally he'd be inclined to just go around, there was no point in fighting, but maybe everyone was pumped up from seeing Kacchan and Todoroki beat the crap out of each other. Plus there was the time limit to remember- Izuku noticed that Uraraka had a roll of tape in her hands.
"Tape?" he said aloud. All Might must have overheard.
"Capture tape, Young Midoriya! Each team has some, although our first participants made no use of it! If you can secure your opponents arms in it, they are considered captured and are out of the match!"
"Ohmygod All Might spoke to me," Izuku whispered, shaking with freshly renewed fanboy energy. He was not ready for this. Not even remotely. Kirishima bumped his arm.
"Hey, hey, they're about to start, look!"
Most of the lights in the corridor had flickered off, leaving it in a sort of dim twilight as Tokoyami merged. Aoyama remained in his own room, although the way he was posing made Izuku think that he was more likely to jump into the fight than remain. Tokoyami's dark cloak lifted at the back, two arms crawling out before a shape of shadows uncoiled itself, half bird and half human. Izuku saw Uraraka flinch before she dropped into a rudimentary combat pose, Shoji taking a place in front of her. Words were exchanged, but neither side was about to back down.
"Don't try and levitate him, Uraraka," Izuku whispered. He hadn't seen any definite side effects but he'd seen how tired she had been during the Entrance Exam. Being levitated was unlikely to phase Tokoyami, just a waste of effort. Tokoyami's shadow surged forwards, blunt-clawed fingers reaching at Shoji. Shoji lunged in return, arms spread wide, and grappled with it, fingers interlocking, his other arms trying to wrap around the shadow, fingers sliding through shadow as it moved and twisted around him.
"It's more like a mist than a real thing," Izuku analysed, eyes raking across the shadow, "It looks like it can be solid as it wants to? It needs to stay anchored to keep Shoji contained, maybe, but it's struggling. That means that Aoyama will need to stop Uraraka, if Shoji can keep the shadow grappled Uraraka can use the tape to capture Tokoyami. But what if Tokoyami knows how to fight? How strong is he? How would be react to being weightless?"
There were too many variables. Too many options, too many unknowns. Izuku bit his lip, squashing down his almost instinctive need to know. Know your enemy, the endless mantra of the Batman, and one that Jason had learned through hard experience. Wasn't helping at the moment though, more like feeding his nervousness. Uraraka ducked past Shoji and sprinted for the bomb room and Tokoyami's shadow lifted Shoji off the ground and slammed him into a wall, stunning him enough that he let it go. It recoiled away from him, moving without regard for normal human physics, and swung towards Uraraka.
At the same time Aoyama stepped out of his room, a beaming smile on his face and his pose pointing the wide lens of his support gear belt directly at her. Izuku saw him say something- an attack name maybe, or a boast- before the laser burst from his waist. Uraraka, distracted by the shadow, caught her foot and tripped.
"Aoyama has a tendency towards firing without thinking," Izuku said, remembering the Entrance Exam, "And it might have cost their team here."
The laser blasted over Uraraka, missed Tokoyami's shadow by an inch and blew a sizeable chunk from the wall it hit. Izuku, watching Tokoyami, saw him flinch and his shadow recoil. Aoyama cut his laser off, bending over to reach a hand to his stomach and Uraraka rolled to her feet, slapped a hand on his breastplate and flung the suddenly weightless missile at Tokoyami. Tokoyami ducked, right into Shoji's bearhug, and Uraraka sprinted through the door. Shoji couldn't hold on as Tokoyami's shadow regained strength, but it was too late.
"Hero team wins!"
"I wonder who'll be MVP," Kirishima said, "Gotta be Uraraka, right? Taking out Aoyama like that?"
"Shoji found the villains though," argued Kirishima's team partner, the girl with hot-pink skin- Ashido, Izuku thought. She had a point, as well.
"It could be Tokoyami as well," Izuku said, somehow preventing his voice from croaking. Kirishima peered at him.
"You think? Even though he lost?"
"He might have won if Aoyama hadn't missed his laser- he was holding Uraraka and Shoji off at the same time," Izuku argued. Kirishima folded his arms, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah. Yeah, I see that."
"Tokoyami and Aoyama didn't work together, though, which is a key part of being a hero," added Yaoyorozu, having apparently been listening.
"It looked like Tokoyami's shadow was affected by the light of the laser, though, so it would be hard to work directly with each other."
"True, but being able to work around weaknesses is part of being a Hero. You never know who you'll be working with, so being able to mitigate the downsides of your Quirk is vital. Aoyama and Tokoyami didn't do that, other than staying apart."
Personally Izuku felt like it was a little overblown- in theory you might need to work with anyone in the field, but in practice if there was absolutely no organisation then things were already going wrong enough that you were just likely to make it worse. Still, he could always be wrong.
"Well, I suppose. But in that case it should be Shoji as MVP."
Yaoyorozu nodded.
"Yes, I agree with Midoriya. Uraraka was lucky. Shoji led them to the villain team and managed to distract Tokoyami effectively."
"Very well reasoned, young heroes! Yes, I agree that all of the participants did well, but I will indeed give the MVP to young Shoji! Congratulations!" All Might boomed from the front of the class. Shoji looked baffled, but seemed pleased nonetheless. All Might thrust one fist into the air and the other into his box of teams.
"Now then! Match three! The villains will be team…B! and the Heroes will be team D!"
Team B, Mashirao Ojiro and Tenya Iida. Team D, Momo Yaoyorozu and Denki Kaminari.
Iida had speed. That was absolutely unarguable. Ojiro, comparatively, had a tail. He was also wearing a karate outfit as his costume, which made Izuku suspect that he knew karate. In fact, Izuku was hoping he knew karate, because as someone who had woken up ten months ago knowing kung-fu he'd really like to see an example from this world, as opposed to what he remembered of Jason's.
Yaoyorozu was possibly the person in the room who intimidated Izuku the most- and he'd been intimidated a lot over his life, so he knew what that was like. She just gave off an aura of competence that set off almost every danger warning he had, and her Quirk was…he didn't really know what it was. Summoning? Creating? Who knew. He certainly didn't, but either way someone who could casually pull a cannon out of their stomach was someone to keep an eye on. Kaminari hadn't really used his Quirk yesterday, so Izuku didn't have much of a clue about what it was. He had a lightning bolt dyed into his hair, but that could be a style thing. For the moment Izuku classed him under possible electric Quirk.
That reminded him, he should get an actual taser to go with his shock knuckles. And maybe some flashbangs, make the best use of his helmet. But he could deal with that later. For today he'd have to make do with his grapple, his knuckles and a handful of bolas. The Villain team made their way into the building, with Iida already working to clear the area. It made sense- if he was fast then he'd want a clear area to work in. Stumbling over an obstacle at high speed was the bane of every speedster, even if it was hilarious for someone who wasn't involved. The Hero team loitered outside to wait.
Kaminari was clearly checking Yaoyorozu out, even if he was a lot more subtle than Mineta had been earlier. Not exactly heroic behaviour, no matter what her costume was made of or looked like. Still, he focused ahead as the timer went and the two of them headed into the building, so Izuku would give him credit for that. Yaoyorozu did something- she was facing away from the camera, so Izuku could only guess that she was reaching for something on her torso- and came away with a baton and a riot shield. Izuku blinked.
"That…she makes things?" he said. He half registered Kirishima and Asui leaning in to listen, but mostly he was focused on Yaoyorozu.
"She made a cannon and a bicycle yesterday…or she pulled them from somewhere, but Warp Quirks are rare…still, producing things is even rarer, unless it's simple…wonder what limits it has, if it even has a limit. If it doesn't, she has the right equipment for every situation, as long as she can think of it? But then why a baton and shield? Why not a net, or adhesive glue, or…unless she isn't sure what she needs? If she knows how to use them, then…"
"I guess you think Yaoyorozu and Kaminari are gonna win, then?" Kirishima asked cheerfully. Izuku twitched slightly, hunching a little. Nobody had said anything bad about his mumbling, exactly, but years of being told to shut up didn't go away in an instant.
"I- yes. I think so? I don't know enough about their Quirks to really tell. Ojiro could have something really strong, or really useful, and Iida has a good Quirk. He's quick, and I think that he's stronger than normal…I saw him kicking through robots at the entrance exam, and even if they were made of lightweight materials it would have hurt a normal person. Maybe his shoes were heavy enough, but to get to that sort of speed, his bones must be reinforced? I don't know. But he's cleared away as much of the rubble and debris as he can and the bomb is placed at the end of a corridor, so he can use his speed. I wonder what Kaminari can do?"
"I think he has an electric Quirk, ribbit. He said something about it earlier," Asui volunteered. Izuku nodded.
"That could be a problem, if both Iida and Ojiro need to fight him up close. I wonder if Iida's armour is insulated?"
Asui shrugged, her expression blank. Izuku suspected that she just wasn't very emotive to begin with- or it could be an aspect of her Quirk. He still wanted to ask about it, but this wasn't the time or the place. The Hero team was proceeding up the stairs, moving quickly- the time limit pushing them on, probably. Yaoyorozu had put her baton into the same hand as her shield and was pulling something else from her stomach- Izuku saw something slip from her hand to the ground. He let out a soft huff of laughter when he saw it.
"What was that?" Kirishima asked, leaning forwards, "I saw her drop something."
"It was a ball bearing," Izuku said, smiling. Iida might be in trouble here, but the audacity of it undercut any concern he had felt. And Iida was wearing armour, that should cushion the blow, assuming it had been made with sense. No guarantees, of course, but it should be fine. The Hero team had reached the level where the bomb was stored and Iida walked out to meet them, his arms waving. Izuku wondered what he was saying- something dramatic given the waving arms and the posing, right arm lifted and finger pointed. All Might was chuckling to himself, so probably something unintentionally hilarious.
Iida dropped into a runner stance, hands pressing against the ground. His calves seemed to flare. Yaoyorozu flung her hand out and grabbed her baton again as Iida rocketed towards her, flinging herself out of the line of fire. Iida wobbled, arms flailing as he tried to retain his balance and Yaoyorozu threw her baton at him, tangling in his legs and sending him crashing to the ground. Izuku winced at the impact, seeing how Iida's armour bent as he bounced across the corridor, ending up at Kaminari's feet. Kaminari lifted both hands, Yaoyorozu sprinting for the bomb room, and a crackling wall of electricity filled the corridor. Izuku looked away, shielding his eyes from the glare.
"That was a bit much," he whispered, "Iida was already down, there was no need to go that large. Why wouldn't he use a smaller shock? Maybe he has trouble controlling it? Maybe he wanted to make sure that Iida stayed down? I wonder how it affects him, whether he's immune or…"
"I don't think he's immune, Midoriya," Asui said, pointing, "Look."
On the camera Kaminari was stumbling around the corridor, a dazed smile on his face as he wandered aimlessly. Iida was down, but it looked like Kaminari wouldn't be good for much until he recovered.
"I wonder what the recovery time is? Some kind of backlash that stuns him? If it's powerful I suppose it might be worth it, but can he make a smaller shock? That would be a liability out in the field, so-"
Izuku clamped his lips shut, cutting off the rest of his words. If he can be baited into using that attack, he'll be helpless if his opponent isn't taken out. He'd be an excellent opportunity to take a hostage.
Yeah, best not to say that out loud. He was trying to be a convincing hero, after all, no matter how much the memories he'd inherited pushed him towards violence and making an example. Jason had been only just considered a hero after his initial problems with Bruce had been resolved, and he'd never gotten over a tendency to break people's legs. Jason- twenty years old, six feet tall, established in Gotham- could get away with that. Izuku, unfortunately, couldn't.
"Unfortunately?" he whispered, softly enough that nobody heard him. At least, nobody commented. Then again Yaoyorozu was confronting Ojiro at the moment, so everybody was probably distracted and Izuku didn't need to dwell on his own strange choice of words.
Yaoyorozu had a baton in hand again, entering the room with cautious but confident steps. Ojiro stood in front of the bomb, in a rigid karate stance. Izuku wasn't quite an expert, but he remembered enough to see that Ojiro knew what he was doing. Question was, how much did Yaoyorozu know? And how well did Ojiro integrate his tail? Izuku hadn't seen much, but from what he could tell Ojiro's tail was about as thick and long as his leg, with considerably better flexibility. An extra limb could trip up most combatants. Yaoyorozu pointed her baton, said something. Ojiro shook his head and Yaoyorozu smiled, darting in with shield high. It was a small shield, more like a buckler, and Ojiro skipped away from it, twisting out of the way of a baton thrust aimed at his stomach and chopping his hand across. Yaoyorozu blocked and stepped into the shield, pushing Ojiro back and sweeping the baton in quick motions. She'd had training, and she was stronger than she looked. Not the best match-up.
"I wonder what the shield is made from, and what Ojiro's pain tolerance is like. Yaoyorozu is taller, but he's more heavily built. If he can grapple with her he'll get an advantage," Izuku murmured, without thinking. He heard the whisper- well, it was more like an outright statement, but he tried to give people the benefit of the doubt- from Mineta.
"I'd like to grapple Yaoyorozu, heh-heh-heh."
"That attitude'll get you killed one day," Izuku muttered, nose wrinkling in disgust, "But Ojiro might be able to fight a battle of attrition anyway. If he can keep Yaoyorozu away from the bomb he might be able to run out the clock, and Kaminari is down. Five minutes is a long time, though."
"Which is why you were wondering about his pain tolerance, right, ribbit?" Asui asked. Izuku nodded. Yaoyorozu used her baton more like a rapier than a club and it was affecting the damage she was doing slightly, but Izuku could see the grimace on Ojiro's face and the darkening bruises starting across his arms. His tail hadn't come into play, which made Izuku suspect that Ojiro was too practiced at karate.
"Too practiced? Oh, right. 'Cause he can't use his Quirk in karate, so he's used to not using it?"
Izuku nodded to Kirishima.
"Right. He's not hitting hard enough with his fists and feet and Yaoyorozu must know enough about karate to hold him off. His tail could throw her off, but he's not using it."
Technically there were laws against Quirk use in public. In the spirit of all people, those laws were pretty much ignored unless it was something major. Frankly the police force- and the Heroes- had bigger things to deal with. But at something like a karate school, with rules and regulations and possibly tournaments, not using Quirks would be enforced. Ojiro caught the baton across his forearm, clamping his hand around Yaoyorozu's wrist and driving a knee into her stomach, throwing her away. The baton went flying as Yaoyorozu rolled across the ground and Ojiro leapt after her, both feet leaving the ground in a jumping kick. Yaoyorozu dropped her small shield, a much larger one falling into her hands, but she couldn't brace enough and was sent rolling again, Ojiro plunging after her.
"He's taken back momentum. He's stronger, that might count now," Asui said, large eyes unblinking as she watched the camera. Yaoyorozu was stumbling, trying to stay away from the quick, powerful strikes of fists and feet that Ojiro was sending at her, though he was hesitating. Maybe it was some sort of honour, attacking an unarmed opponent. Maybe it was embarrassment- she was basically wearing a skimpy swimming suit, after all. In all fairness, Izuku wasn't sure if he'd even be able to fight her, or if he'd just die of embarrassment. Either that or he'd snap and go full Jason, in which case there would be a particularly brutal fight without any real hesitation. Jason Todd was a big believer in flattening anyone who had the audacity to fight him. Men, women, children- Damian had been a right little bastard when younger- anyone. Red Hood didn't discriminate. Izuku would have to try and pick that up.
"She's not as good when she isn't in control," he mumbled, analysing the way she was moving. More shields and batons, but her movements weren't as crisp, her style sloppier. She was used to being on top, maybe. Ojiro flowed from punch to spinning kick to a tail swipe, the first time Izuku had seen him use his tail. The limb caught Yaoyorozu across the midsection and sent her spinning. It must have winded her, hand pressed against her stomach, but it sent her far enough away that Ojiro had to run at her. It was the biggest mistake he'd made in the match.
It proved to be his downfall.
Ojiro jumped into a kick as Yaoyorozu rolled to her knees, hand still clasped over her stomach. She flung her hand out, a net opening into the air, and dived to the side. Ojiro slammed into the net, rolling over and tangled and Yaoyorozu pushed herself to her feet and launched herself at the bomb, hand slapping into place.
"And with one minute to spare, the HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might bellowed. Izuku applauded along with the rest of the class.
"That was clever," he said, eyes watching the way Yaoyorozu walked over to Ojiro and offered him a hand to help him up, "But it was risky. She really was hurt from that tail blow- she's still standing with a hunch. From what he's shown, I guess that means that his tail hits about as hard as a kick, which is interesting. His costume could do with a bit of work too, he's not wearing any footwear so attacking the feet could-"
Izuku cut himself off with a cough, waving a hand in front of his face as though to waft away the last few words. Asui ribbited softly, chuckling.
"Do you always do that?"
"Oh, yes, it drove Kacchan mad. He was always really annoyed by it and a lot of my teachers were too, but I'm not sure how I was more disruptive than his explos- and anyway, Yaoyorozu has to get MVP there, right? She beat Ojiro and even if Kaminari was important to taking out Iida Yaoyorozu gave him the opening, right? Who do you think should be MVP, Asui?"
"I told you, call me Tsuyu," she said, although it was more of an absent reminder, "And I think you're right. It has to be Yaoyorozu."
Izuku nodded, inwardly thankful that his brief foray into stream of consciousness babbling hadn't caused too much trouble. He'd like to be at least a week in before anything went too badly wrong. The teams returned- Kaminari was slowly starting to come around, although it took much longer than would be practical in the field as far as Izuku was concerned- and All Might announced Yaoyorozu as MVP, although he took the time to praise the other three as well. Iida seemed ruffled by his swift defeat despite his remaining grogginess from Kaminari's attack, but he perked up when All Might praised his forethought in clearing the way for a direct attack. And then it was time to draw the next teams, and there were only four left.
"The villain team will be team H! And the heroes will be team A!"
Team A and Team H. That meant that Izuku and Asui would be last, since they were team G. And their opponents would be…
"Oh, rough break man!" Kirishima said, sounding genuinely apologetic, "I was gonna ask what your Quirk was, but I guess I'll get to test it out myself!"
Kirishima and Ashido. Not the worst opponents, but still. Izuku would feel bad fighting them after they had been so friendly. Then again, he might feel bad about fighting anyone here. They were all far too nice. Either way, there was one more match before that. Team A, consisting of Koji Koda and Kyoka Jirou, against Team H- Rikido Sato and Hanta Sero.
Izuku could only really guess at the Quirks that they had. Jirou appeared to have some sort of wires coming from her earlobes- something like earphone cords, maybe- so presumably enhanced hearing and Izuku really hoped that it wasn't enhanced enough to have caught all of his mumbling. No telling if there was something else to it. Sero had strangely shaped elbows, almost like canisters. Decent guess something would be happening there. Sato and Koda were a mystery- although from the assessment yesterday Izuku thought that Sato had some sort of super strength- but they were also huge, tall and heavily built. Izuku spared a moment to wish that his class wasn't so crammed with people who looked like they could pick him up and break him in half. It really prodded at his insecurities, and he tried to avoid aggravating those. Team H broke away from the crowd, heading to their building, and the Hero team followed. Izuku chewed his lip, bringing a hand up to his chin. The extra pressure helped him keep his mouth shut, preventing his mumbling from slipping through. He'd seen both Kirishima's and Ashido's Quirks yesterday, which was both good and bad. Good because it meant that he had a decent idea of what they could do. Bad because it meant that they had Quirks that were both potent and fairly easy to apply, which put him at a disadvantage. Kirishima had a transformative Quirk, able to turn his body into stone. Or maybe it was just his skin? Izuku wasn't sure. Either way, it made him stronger and presumably tougher. No guarantee that he could even hurt the other boy, shock knuckles or not. The bolas, maybe. Take him out of the fight for as long as possible. That left Ashido, who had produced a trail of liquid from her feet. Not just her feet, Izuku thought, though he didn't really have any solid proof for that, only conjecture. Was it conductive? How tough was she? Izuku shook his head, forcing his attention back onto the cameras.
"Is that…tape?" he asked. Kirishima nodded.
"Sero makes it, from his elbows! He's put it all around the bomb, looks like it's pretty sticky. I guess that's a good idea?"
Izuku reached up, pulling at the collar of his jacket- it had ridden up slightly. A problem Jason had never solved.
"It might have been better to put it in other places," he volunteered quietly, "So that he could force Jirou and Koda down a single path. This way, if Koda is stronger than the tape, it'll be too late to do anything about it. Do we know what Sato or Koda can do? Quirk wise?"
"Dunno about Koda, but I asked Sato yesterday at the assessment. He can get stronger if he eats sugar, he said? I don't think it lasts too long though, he saved it as long as he could in the assessment and he seemed kinda sleepy afterwards."
"I wonder if his time limit is longer than the exercise time limit, ribbit."
Izuku rubbed at his throat, a nervous gesture. Koda was probably a bad match for Sato- given their similar sizes, if Sato couldn't get a win before his time limit was up he'd have some problems, especially if the backlash was severe. But then, could Jirou stop Sero? Could Sero or Jirou get past the tape? There were always questions. Jirou turned on the camera and said something to Koda, who was slightly hunched over. Izuku recognised the stance.
Koda was nervous. It looked slightly ridiculous, such a large and imposing person adopting a hunched posture that would be better suited to Izuku, but Izuku felt a sharp pang of sympathy nonetheless. He didn't say anything, watching Koda's hands move- sign language. He couldn't quite work it out. Izuku knew very little sign language, and Jason was more familiar with American even if Izuku had been able to remember more than snippets of it. It wasn't one of the memories that had been particularly prominent.
"If Koda is non-communicative, that'll make things more difficult," Izuku observed, "But there are ways around that."
It would be a huge handicap for a hero, though. A lot of Heroes relied upon the use of earpieces to communicate and coordinate. Someone who could only listen would be a liability, unless their Quirk was superbly powerful or well suited. Hopefully Koda could find a way around it. Izuku leaned in, seeing Koda lean down. He left the camera for a moment and Izuku saw Jirou raise an eyebrow.
"Exercise, begin!" All Might called, and the Hero team started into the building. Jirou paused by a wall and one of the cords on her ear lifted up before driving into the concrete. Izuku blinked in faint horror.
"I really hope those buildings are made of lightweight materials," he whispered, "Because she just put her ear-cord through it no problem."
"Hey, at least you'll be fighting Kiri and me and not her." Ashido said, far too cheerfully. Izuku supressed his instinctive wince because he didn't really think that was better, but he was too polite to say so. Jirou said something to Koda, pointing upwards.
"You think she's found Sero and Sato?" Kirishima asked. Asui leaned past Izuku, looking more closely at the screen.
"She must have. They're going directly to them."
"Jirou keeps looking down. You think there's something weird going on?" Ashido asked. Izuku looked more closely, frowning. Jirou did seem to be walking carefully, but whatever was on the floor was out of sight. Near to the bomb, Sato had a small packet in his hand and was holding it ready. If it was sugar- almost certainly- to give him his boost, he would be facing a question. Save it and risk being caught off guard, or use it and risk running out too soon? Depending on how long it took him to recover, it might have been better to meet the Heroes at the entrance, forcing them to confront him with Sero's tape and trying to take them both out. Failing that, doing enough damage that Sero could finish them off. Even better, an ambush. Force the two of them to split up? But how could that work with Jirou's Quirk? If you knew what it was, would she be able to tell the difference between the real people and a recording? Could she be deafened with a white noise machine? How sensitive was her hearing, and was normal talking as loud as shouting to her? Izuku had so many questions. And…it looked like he'd said some of them aloud, given the way that Asui was looking blankly at him while Kirishima and Ashido edged away. Kirishima raised a hand.
"Er- All Might, can I switch teams? Midoriya is sort of-"
"No matter how terrifying you may find Midoriya, you must face that fear young Kirishima! That is the essence of heroism!" All Might happily replied. Izuku blushed and hid his helmet behind his raised arms.
"Sorry!"
Kirishima shook it off and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, bro! Just try and work with me next time!"
God this man was far too friendly. Izuku wished him luck with befriending Bakugo.
"Um, we should focus on the match?" he tried. Kirishima pumped his fist into the air.
"Yeah! Alright, where are they?"
"The hero team has almost reached the villains," Yaoyorozu provided. She was considerably more ruffled than before, a bruise darkening on her jaw, but her aloof attitude was unshaken. She strolled over to stand next to them, eyes raking across the screen.
"If Jirou and Koda intend to engage directly, they will be at a disadvantage. I suspect that Sato will be able to overpower Koda, and Sero has the strength and reach advantage over Jirou."
"We haven't seen Jirou's Quirk in full action yet though, or Koda's. They could do anything."
Something crossed the field of a camera and Yaoyorozu tutted.
"A rat. Surprising that U.A. would tolerate them. Although I suppose we're in a city, and there must be sewers for them. But why would it be here? Could Koda's Quirk have something to do with rats? Calling to them? A useful distraction, but I don't see how much else it could do."
Personally, Izuku was more interested in Yaoyorozu's own Quirk, given the versatility it had already shown, but it would probably be rude to just start asking. Assuming she was right and Koda could command rats, a distraction would be useful in a lot of cases. Just, perhaps, not here. Jirou covered the scouting aspect and needing to reach the bomb through a web of tape would need something more than rats could deliver. There was always a chance, though. Izuku wouldn't claim to be more of an expert on a Quirk than someone who had possessed it for more than a decade. The Heroes had taken a slightly different path to expected, moving around and into a room next to the bomb. Asui tapped him on the shoulder.
"Does it look like Jirou's boots have speakers on to you?" she asked. Izuku leaned closer.
"I…yeah. I wonder what…"
Jirou tilted her head, one ear-cord snaking down to her boot and plugging in. She lifted her boot, pressing it against the wall, and Izuku saw the rippling waves of force that spread out before they reached Sato and Sero, sending them both stumbling. The wall wobbled and Koda charged, slamming his shoulder into the weakened material and bursting through. His arms waved wildly, but his charge hit Sato in the chest, carrying them both into the skeins of tape. They both went down, rolling across the ground encased in the sticky lines, and Jirou followed, darting towards Sero as he staggered, shaking his head.
"A sonic attack- brilliant! They took Sato out of the fight, and even if it cost them Koda Sero is disoriented. They worked around the problem, instead of through it," Izuku said, enthused. Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement.
"Although they are taking a risk, assuming that Jirou can defeat Sero, they removed Sato from play before his powers could have an effect. That could be the best move possible, unless Sero is highly skilled."
Sero retreated, tape unspooling from the canisters along his elbows and crossing in front of him. Jirou made a dash through, her ear-cords extending and jabbing at him, sending him back and trying to block. Her hand was nearly on the bomb when a line of tape snared her wrist, dragging her back, more winding about. Sero moved in, trying to bull his way through the lashing jacks and wrap her up, the second line catching her other wrist, and a rat landed heavily on his shoulder. He jolted, jerking away with what Izuku guessed was a yelp, and Jirou pulled hard, her bound hands slamming into the bomb.
"Hero team wins!"
"A victory by technicality," Yaoyorozu said, sniffing, "She won, but in a real fight she would be at a disadvantage. She took advantage of the rules of the exercise, rather than it's spirit."
"If- if you're fighting fair, you're doing it wrong," Izuku argued, despite his reluctance, "As a hero, it's our job to stop villains. Fairness shouldn't come into it."
"But as a Hero, we should strive to set a better example," Yaoyorozu replied, looking at Izuku. She didn't quite meet his eyes, due to the opaque nature of his helmet, but it was fairly imposing nonetheless. Izuku licked dry lips, somehow finding the will to reply in him.
"Sometimes, setting an example means being better and more principled. Sometimes it means never losing. Just ask Kacchan and he'll tell you- as far as he cares, a Hero is someone who never loses. Look at Endeavour. He doesn't care about hurting his opponents, he just wins. I'm not condoning it-"
Yes you are, Izuku. You've taken on more of Jason than you want to admit.
"-but sometimes you have to swallow your principles in order to do the right thing. That's what the world is about."
Yaoyorozu looked at him. Izuku felt like a bug, being dissected on a slide, even when she nodded.
"I suppose you might be right, Midoriya."
"It might be a dangerous way to look at things, though," Asui said, so softly that only Izuku heard. Her ribbit was quiet, thoughtful. The subdued nature of it sent a pang of guilt through Izuku, somehow. Sometimes, when he wasn't careful…sometimes he forgot that this wasn't the Earth of the Regime. This wasn't a world where supervillains broke out of prison every month, killing more and more people. This wasn't a world where every day seemed to bring some fresh atrocity.
Sometimes he forgot.
Jirou was named MVP, although All Might acknowledged that Koda had been a key part when Jirou explained that the two of them had used Koda's rats to get a better understanding of the room layout. Izuku retracted his earlier thought that Jirou had rendered Koda's scouting abilities more or less redundant, since if he hadn't been there she wouldn't have known about the tape. They had worked well together. And now, it was time. Izuku's doom had come. The only question was if he'd be facing it as a hero or a villain.
Alright, that was a bit dramatic. But Izuku was in a nervous mood.
"And the final match! Team G and Team I, who will win? Let's see…the villain team will be…TEAM G!"
Every villain team so far had lost. Izuku didn't like his odds. Still, that would make it better if he won. Kirishima tapped him on the shoulder and held out a clenched fist. Izuku stared for an awkward moment before his mind caught up and he bumped fists with Kirishima.
"Let's do our best, yeah? Let the best hero win!"
"Y-yeah, we will. Good luck, Kirishima."
Kirishima raised his fist, grinning enthusiastically. Despite being his opponent, it lifted Izuku's spirits. Kirishima might possibly be too good for this world- Izuku would have to keep an eye on him if any actual villains ever turned up. He was a little tired of depressing origin stories, even if the only one he'd experienced directly was his own. Asui walked out first, leading the way, and Izuku trailed after her, half thought strategies and plans falling from his lips in a soft mumble. She waited until they were in the building to clear her throat.
"All Might gave me these," she said, holding out a small earbud, "Since you seemed distracted."
"Oh! Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Sorry."
Asui peered at him, wide eyes dark. Her expression was bland, but he thought he detected sympathy in her gaze.
"Don't worry about it, ribbit. So. What's the plan? And what's your Quirk?"
This was it. This was the moment to steel himself, to announce what he was loud to the world, to stand defiant in the face of everyone who said he couldn't be a hero. To deny everything Kacchan had ever said about the Quirkless, to assert himself as equal. The moment had come.
"I…I, uh, it won't be useful. It's not very useful, anyway. It doesn't really matter, I've got gear to compensate."
The moment came, and Izuku didn't rise to meet it. In that moment the crushing weight of years fell upon him, he stared into the abyss of fear, and he recoiled before it. This last day had been…it had been like having friends. Genuine friends. And he wasn't ready to throw that away. He rubbed his hands together.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Midoriya. My Quirk is called Frog. I've got frog-like abilities, ribbit, so I can jump quite high and my tongue is prehensile. And I can secrete mucous, but it only really stings. Nothing like Ashido can produce, and not very useful anyway."
Izuku pulled his helmet off for a moment, blinking and dipping his head as he put the earpiece on, to hide the tears that glistened in his eyes. Asui was kinder than he deserved, really, to just accept his pathetic non-answer regarding his Quirk.
"So," she said as he latched his helmet back into place, "What do you think we should do?"
Izuku closed his eyes, thinking. Neither Kirishima or Ashido seemed to have strong lateral movement abilities, so putting the bomb as far up as possible would be a good idea. And then, Izuku and Asui could try to confront them lower down, to feel out their abilities. So long as they didn't commit, they could retreat more easily, assuming Asui could jump between floors.
"I think I can, yes. And yes, you said that out loud. Again. Ribbit."
Izuku choked on his tongue, trying to regain his balance. He needed to work on that, desperately needed to work on it. Or get a muffler in his mask. The second would probably be easier. Asui put a finger next to her mouth, looking up.
"Let's take the bomb to the top floor, then. We can talk on the way."
The two of them picked up the bomb- it was light enough, being made from papier-mache, but it was bulky enough that they were both needed. Izuku lead, walking awkwardly up the stairs.
"Kirishima can turn into rock, I think, and I think it's his whole body. That'll make him hard to stop, I don't know if I can hit hard enough to hurt him. But I have a few things that might slow him down, if I can aim them right. And Ashido…it might be better if I lead, since I've got armour on. If they've got anything surprising, I'll be better able to take it. And you can take them by surprise, or at least try to," Izuku said. Asui hummed below him.
"So long as you're careful. Remember that the Heroes win if they catch us both in that tape."
Izuku nodded.
"Right, yeah. Y-yeah, that would be bad. That's why I want to start at the bottom, try to get a feel for their abilities before we have to face them closer to the bomb."
Ambush, sneak attack, fight a battle of attrition and then come back better prepared. The Batman special. Jason preferred resorting to high explosive ammo and winning from the start, but he'd been well versed in what a sizeable subset of Heroes had called the Batman Method. Hopefully it would work, although it would be restricted by the lack of preparation time. If he was lucky the bolas would take Kirishima out of the fight and then Izuku and Asui could overwhelm Ashido. Plans rarely went as hoped, though, so he might get to test his grapple sooner than he liked. The thought didn't really fill him with delight, even if he was quite sure that Power Loader would have upgraded it. They set the bomb down in the middle of the fifth floor and Izuku, briefly overcome by paranoia, took out his grapple to check it over. It looked just about the same as it had to begin with, but the cable looked newer. Still, he'd prefer not to rely on the ability of the dart to pierce and lock into concrete.
"We should wait on the second floor, near the stairs," Asui suggested, croaking softly, "That way we can be sure to catch them."
Izuku nodded.
"I- yeah, agreed. Let's head down there."
The two of them retraced their steps, back down, and Izuku nervously rubbed at his wrist.
"I- I'll try and take down Kirishima with my bola, or at least distract him. Do you want to try to stop Ashido, or try to capture Kirishima?"
Asui tilted her head, finger pressing at the corner of her mouth again while Izuku shifted nervously. She nodded.
"I'll take Kirishima. If he gets free, what do you want to do? Retreat to the third or fourth floor?"
Izuku nodded.
"Y-yeah. I don't know how strong he is, but we should try to avoid just fighting them straight up. They both have strong combat Quirks, and I don't. I'll just be a liability, I'm so sorry-"
"Hey. Hey, Midoriya. You'll be fine. I don't think you'll be a liability, alright?"
She paused for a moment, Izuku staring at her,
"Besides, they'll probably be more nervous than you. I think you scared them both with your assessments of our classmates."
Izuku flailed nervously, worrying about if he'd upset them or come off as creepy. Asui watched silently, her expression blank. Well, at least he wasn't worried about being useless anymore. He managed to pull himself together as they reached the stairway. Asui looked up and jumped, using a pipe that ran along the wall to reach up and pull away ceiling tiles, slithering into the gap. Izuku chose to slip into a nearby room, hiding himself in the shadows and taking deep, slow breaths to calm himself down. He reached down, taking hold of his bola and letting the wire wrap around his fist. One quick strike and if he couldn't win, retreat. Simple. Easy.
Bound to go wrong.
Once again Izuku keenly felt his lack of preparation. Smoke grenades, or flashbangs, either would do a much better job of covering his retreat. But then it would leave Asui vulnerable, which would weaken his team far more, so maybe- but then, if he could carry a number of spare breathing masks? But would they take up too much space? Would U.A. even give a student grenades? They had given Bakugo those gauntlets, but they used his Quirk, so-
"Focus, Midoriya," Asui said softly, her voice sibilant over the earpiece. Izuku bit his lip.
"Right. Right. Later."
He barely repressed his urge to apologise. He needed to get his head in the game. Izuku closed his hands into fists, taking a deep breath. In for ten, out for ten, let the worries go. Let the steady coldness of adrenaline flow through you. It's not about running anymore. It's time to be a hero.
Izuku opened his eyes, the trembling in his limbs gone, his breathing steady, calm enforced on him with a practice he'd never had. He could hear voices, drifting up the stairway, Kirishima and Ashido drawing closer. He shifted closer to the door, feeling his heartbeat speed up, anticipation coiling in his gut.
"So I guess they might hide on the top floor? Almost everyone else has waited near the bomb," Ashido said. Kirishima, a few steps ahead of her, shrugged.
"Yeah, but I think Midoriya might not want to wait. He said about not fighting near the bomb a few times, and we're not the type to sneak around, right?"
Izuku waited until the two of them had drawn level with him before he moved. The bola left his hand in a perfectly angled throw as he surged out of cover. Kirishima suddenly found his torso bound by a thin wire, his arms locked against his body. Izuku jumped at him, a leaping kick, both boots crashing into Kirishima's chest. It was like jumping into a wall, but Kirishima was hurled off his feet and Izuku bounced off, rolling to his feet and surging towards Ashido. She was surprised, but she was quick. His fledgling plan had been to grab her, try to grapple her long enough that Asui could capture Kirishima and join in, but Ashido ducked away and pirouetted on a slick of liquid, a spray leaving her fingers and splattering across his chest and face.
It hissed and spat against his jacket, eating at the leather: acid. The plastic of his helmet and chestplate weren't nearly as badly off and Izuku ignored it in favour of closing in, converting his attempted grab into a shoulder charge that took them both to the ground. Ashido rolled with the impact, throwing him off, and Izuku saw her twist and spin back to her feet in an uncomfortably acrobatic move, a foot swinging at his head as he rose to a knee. He stopped it with a raised hand, his arm shaking at the impact but holding as he pushed to his feet, kicking her other leg out from under her and throwing her to the ground. He heard Asui grunt in his earpiece, a sound of pain.
"Look out, Midoriya! Kirishima is-"
Izuku was lifted off his feet as Kirishima tackled him, lifting him and ramming him into the wall. Instincts flared and Izuku brought an arm up, driving his elbow into Kirishima's collarbone. It hurt like hell, rocky skin against leather, but Kirishima dropped him and Izuku snaked an arm around his legs, throwing his body weight against Kirishima and sending him to the ground. Izuku wriggled free, pushing himself up: Ashido was on the offensive against Asui, forcing his partner back with wide sprays of acid. Izuku crossed the open ground, hooking his leg around Ashido's from behind and shoving her to the ground.
"Time to go!" he snapped. Asui gave a croak of agreement and the two of them bolted up the stairs, Asui using powerful leaps to clear the steps. Izuku just took them three at a time, counting on Kirishima and Ashido to be distracted as they split off from the main corridor, taking an agreed on route until they reached a safer room. Izuku bent over, taking measured breaths to fill his aching lungs.
"Sorry, Midoriya," Asui croaked, "Kirishima got over the surprise faster than I expected and I couldn't get the tape around his arms in time."
Izuku shook his head.
"I didn't expect Ashido to be so good, either. Guess I should have, she earned her place too. But I think we can win. I'm pretty sure that I can take Ashido, given a minute. You think you can hold Kirishima off for that long?"
Asui shrugged.
"I'll try, ribbit."
Izuku noticed that there was a graze on her jaw and a mark on her left shoulder that looked like a scrape-mark, but didn't comment since Asui seemed completely unruffled. He unhooked his shock-knuckles from his belt, slipping one onto his left hand, leaving the right free to take up his second set of bolas. He'd give Asui as much of a chance as he could and hope that Ashido's acid was a decent conductor. They both hid again as voices drifted up the stairs- Kirishima and Ashido, in hot pursuit. The room they had chosen as a safe-room was along one of the main corridors, so it would hopefully draw Ashido and Kirishima down it. Izuku tipped his head and listened carefully.
"Man, Midoriya hits harder than I expected," Kirishima said.
"You alright?" Ashido asked. Izuku heard a faint scoff.
"Yeah, pretty sure he hurt his elbow more than he hurt me. But I wasn't expecting it. Alright. Might be best to split up, yeah? Take both paths?"
"I dunno, Kiri. Midoriya and Asui might be waiting to get us two on one."
"Yeah, but look at it the other way- if they're both going after one of us, the other one can run up and find the bomb. Practically everyone else has done it that way, right?"
"They're trying to lure us out," Izuku whispered to Asui. She nodded.
"They're talking loudly on purpose, ribbit. Maybe they're worried about the time limit."
It was a fair concern- ten minutes wasn't that long to search a whole building, especially when there was resistance. And Izuku supposed that Kirishima had a decent reason to be confident, given that it had been Izuku and Asui who had retreated from their earlier clash.
"So now we've got a choice," he said, "Do we risk fighting two on one, or do we stay with the plan and hope that we can both win?"
Asui crouched down, her tongue licking across her lips. Izuku watched her eyes, suspecting that they would be a better indicator of her thoughts than her body language. She shrugged.
"We should go with our first plan, ribbit. We've got two floors left, and you're sure you can take out Ashido. Right?"
"Right," Izuku said, because this was no time to doubt. Asui nodded.
"Then we'll go with that. I'll be careful with Kirishima, draw him up if I have to. Just don't take too long?"
"I- I'll do my best," he said. Knowing that he wouldn't be facing Kirishima yet, he put away his bola. Better to save it for the moment. Asui rose from her hunkered position, nodding to him.
"They've split up. Let's go."
Izuku and Asui parted, heading out after their individual targets. Izuku moved quickly, taking his best guess as to where Ashido had gone, and found her just as she reached another staircase- the upper levels had several rather than one. He trailed her up the staircase, matching his steps to hers and keeping his breathing soft, creeping closer and closer. A single surprise attack, and then he could help Asui. She reached the third floor and paused, a hand coming up to her ear. At the same time Izuku's own earpiece crackled softly.
"Midoriya, I've found Kirishima. Could do with a hand, when you have the time."
Izuku didn't reply, eyes locking onto Ashido. A grab into a chokehold, that was the plan. And then she paused.
"So if Midoriya isn't with Asui- oh shit."
She spun around, a wave of acid coming from her hand, and Izuku moved. He lunged through the spray, feeling it spatter on his costume, caught her with a blow to the stomach. She went with it, sliding backwards on a trail of acid and bounding off the wall, her right fist coming at his head. Izuku blocked, forearm to wrist, drove the shock-knuckle into her upper arm and saw her arm go limp. Ashido hissed through her teeth and spun into a kick, the slick acid giving her easy movement. Izuku ducked under it, grabbing her ankle and pulling her leg out from under her. She hit the ground with a huff of air and Izuku seized the chance to pull the capture tape from his belt and wrap it around her working wrist. He rolled to his feet, out of the acid as Ashido sprang up, leaning away from another kick and slipping behind her, kicking the back of her knee to bring her down and forcing her arms behind her, wrapping her other wrist in the tape.
"Mina Ashido has been captured!" All Might boomed over the speaker system and Ashido went limp.
"Hell," she said, through heaving breaths, "Didn't think you'd be so good."
Izuku took a few deep breaths.
"Sorry."
"Sorry?" Ashido laughed, "Don't sweat it, Midori! We're both here to win! So go and get wiped by Kiri so my team can win anyway. I'll get to the entrance on my own."
Izuku managed a breathless laugh, scrambling to his feet and racing off.
"Asui," he said, "Where are you?"
"Near the fourth floor, main staircase. He's not giving up."
No, Izuku thought, Kirishima didn't give the vibes of someone who would give up. But hopefully, between the two of them, they could bring him down- or delay him long enough for time to run out. They were looking at three minutes still, though. That was a long time in combat.
"I'm on my way."
Izuku sprinted through rooms, running for the staircase. He crashed through a door, splintering the light wood, slid across a table and went through another door just in time to see Asui get clipped by a punch, the glancing blow ruining her dodge and leaving her in Kirishima's grip. Izuku pulled the grapple launcher from his belt, prayed that it would work, and shot it into the wall. Kirishima spun his head to follow the dart and Izuku jumped, hitting the winch and hoping it had been upgraded.
It had been. He shot through the air, not as fast as he would like but fast enough, and his boots caught Kirishima in the ribs. They all went down: Kirishima and Asui to the ground, while Izuku tumbled, still being dragged along by his grapple. He popped the latches on the harness, wriggling free of it and his coat, coming to his feet.
"Asui. Need help?"
"I told you to call me Tsuyu."
Kirishima rose to his feet, rubbing at his ribs before laughing.
"Man, do you have to kick me in the chest so much?"
He rolled his neck and flexed his arms, grin made a lot more menacing by sharp teeth.
"Well, I guess we're supposed to win, right? So let's get to it."
Kirishima didn't seem hurt at all, his whole body rocky and ridged. Asui, comparatively, was breathing more heavily, her hair messed up and another scrape on her cheek. Izuku glanced at her.
"Asui, stay back and try to jump in after I distract him. Catch your breath."
Izuku stepped forwards, watching Kirishima sink into a ready stance, fists raised. Boxing, or something like it. Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet, settling both hands into his shock knuckles, looking Kirishima in the eye as best he could. A frozen moment, an instant between breaths, and Kirishima lunged with a harsh shout. Izuku darted forwards to meet him, ducking under a haymaker and slashing two quick blows into the ribs, hopping away from a downwards punch and kicking Kirishima in the side of the knee. Kirishima grunted as Izuku's boot bounced off rocky flesh, an elbow hitting Izuku in the chest and knocking him back. Izuku went with it, skipping back a few steps to bleed off the impact, still light on his feet. Kirishima nodded.
"Alright. Pretty good, Midoriya. Guess the best man'll win!"
Kirishima burst forwards, three jabs coming in quick succession. Izuku felt his arms ache as he parried them, even through his vambraces, a fourth coming right at his chin and he turned, let it pass, wrapped his right arm around Kirishima's wrist and drove his left elbow back. Kirishima grunted as the elbow hit his face and Izuku spun around the arm, grip turning into a whip-quick punch to the mouth, left fist into the chest, knee to the stomach, hands on each shoulder into jumping knee to the solar plexus and a forehead rammed into his helmet, staggered him, arms locking around him and lifting him off the ground. Izuku snarled out a breath as he tried to escape the bearhug, recriminations lashing through him because he'd tried to take a strength-based meta in a brawl and how stupid was he and Kirishima yelped as something wrenched his leg out from under him. Izuku broke free as Kirishima hit the ground and rolled away, losing his shock knuckles but at least he wasn't caught anymore. Asui pulled her tongue back, away from Kirishima's ankle, and nodded to him.
"Thanks, As- Tsuyu."
"Finally, ribbit. You think we can take him?"
Kirishima rolled over and pushed up to one knee, grunting as he did so. Izuku watched him through narrowed eyes, sucking in deep breaths.
"How long can you keep that up, Kirishima?" he asked. Kirishima gave him a quick grin.
"Why don't you find out, Midoriya?"
Probably not that much longer, then. Izuku nodded.
"We can take him."
Kirishima cracked his knuckles as he stood.
"All right, Midoriya! That's the manly stuff I like to hear!"
Well, he wasn't out of juice yet. Playing the striking game wasn't working, so what was next? Grappling? Kirishima was bigger and heavier than Izuku, but did he know what he was doing? Izuku could only try, he supposed.
"Midoriya, if you can keep him in place, I'll hit him as hard as I can," As- Tsuyu said softly. Izuku nodded.
"Do my best."
Kirishima made the first move again, launching himself forwards. Tsuyu jumped away, clearing room, and Izuku dropped to a knee, ducking the punch and slipping behind Kirishima. Kirishima spun, an arm scything around and Izuku caught it, pinning it between his left arm and chest and hitting at the jaw before letting go and back-stepping away, avoiding a grab, darting in again. He put his shoulder into Kirishima's chest, pulled the grabbing arm over his shoulder and jammed his hip into Kirishima, throwing him. It was hard- Izuku almost failed- but Kirishima left the ground and hit the floor hard, rolling. He lunged from his kneeling position, right arm thrown forwards in a punch aimed at Izuku's stomach. Izuku slipped aside, right arm curling around Kirishima's shoulder, left boot kicking at the back of the knee, forcing Kirishima down to the ground with a hand on the shoulder.
"Midoriya, move!" Asui called and Izuku let go, diving away. Asui jumped at a wall, bouncing off to gain speed, and rammed both feet into Kirishima's chest.
Kirishima went straight through a wall.
Izuku caught Tsuyu as she rebounded from Kirishima, stopping her from hitting the ground. The girl winced.
"That hurt, ribbit."
Izuku gently set her down, Tsuyu rubbing at her ankles.
"Might have been poorly thought out."
"I dunno," Kirishima croaked, "I feel like it worked pretty well."
He slowly stood up and pulled himself out of the wall, hair a mess, red whitened with plaster. The rockiness had receded from his skin, only remaining on his chest, and his grin had turned into a grimace.
"That was a pretty good one, Asui. But I'm not down yet."
Izuku glanced at Asui, saw that she was in no place to stand, and nodded.
"No. But I'm not down either."
Kirishima grinned, a pained expression that was still lit with enthusiasm.
"Alright, bro. Let's do this man to man, then."
Izuku took a deep breath. Kirishima bent over slightly, ready to charge, and Izuku widened his stance, waiting. Kirishima moved, a full body lunge from his crouched position, attempting to grab Izuku around the middle.
Izuku slid to the side, slipping around Kirishima, kicking the back of the knee. He didn't leave it this time, going straight for the grapple. One arm around the throat, other arm under the armpit, forearms crossed to brace, pull back hard. Kirishima grunted, struggled, an elbow catching Izuku in the chest but his armour absorbed the blow like it wasn't even there and Kirishima was too tired to struggle for long. Ten seconds, twenty, Kirishima had dropped his chin enough that Izuku couldn't choke him out before the grab had been completed- not that Izuku wanted to choke someone out in a school exercise anyway- but he couldn't get free. The clock was ticking, and they both knew it. Izuku gritted his teeth, hauled back, Kirishima's free hand closed around Izuku's wrist but couldn't crush through the gauntlet and vambrace and the shrill siren rang.
"Time is up! Winners, VILLAIN TEAM!"
Izuku let Kirishima go, falling over backwards as the tiredness registered, arms and legs aching but overridden by something else. Something sweeter. Something rarer.
Izuku Midoriya lay on the concrete and let out a breathless, elated laugh as the greatest Hero of all Japan announced, voice booming and delighted, that his team had been victorious.