Chapter 6: Battle Trials
"I AM HERE… COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"
"I can't believe it's really All Might!" Kaminari gasped.
"So he is a teacher!" Kirishima smiled. "This year is gonna be totally awesome!"
"Hey, look, is he wearing his Silver Age costume?" Asui asked.
"I'm getting goosebumps, it's so retro…" Ojiro said.
"Welcome to the most important class at UA High! Think of it as Hero-ing 101! Here, you will learn the basics of being a Pro, and what it means to fight in the name of good!" All Might said, pulling out a card. "LET'S GET INTO IT! TODAY'S LESSON… WILL PULL NO PUNCHES!"
"Fight training," Yui deadpanned.
"Real combat?" Shinso asked.
"But one of the keys of being is… LOOKING GOOD!" All Might said, pointing at the suitcases coming out of the wall. "These were designed for you based on your Quirk registration forms and the request you sent in before school started!"
Everyone immediately cheered when they realized what those suitcases held.
"Costumes," Ochako smiled.
"Get yourselves suited up, and meet me at Training Ground Beta!"
"""YES, SIR!"""
"They say that clothes make the Pros, young ladies and gentlemen, and behold, you are the proof!" All Might said, as everyone came out of the tunnel, fully dressed. "Take this to heart! From now on, you are all… HEROES IN TRAINING!"
Ochako stepped out of the tunnel, happy with what she got. About a month before the Entrance Exam, she updated her Quirk registration from "Zero Gravity" to "Gravity Manipulation," which included being able to manipulate both her body and other objects with either more or less gravity, with the pink lightning being the centrifugal force she's controlling.
Obviously, that was a whole heaping pile of bullshit, but they bought it. And using her new Quirk information from after the Entrance Exam and her body measurements, a company partnered with UA created her sketch to a state-of-the-art costume, just for her.
Her costume had an overall motif of pink, black and white, with a dash of blue stripes on her arms. The main body was black, with a white utility belt. The majority of her arms were covered by these pink "compression sleeves" that would allow her to use a higher percentage without breaking her arms, with the rest of her arms being white, from her pink-and-blue stripes up to the shoulders. From her lower thighs to her feet also came with pink "compression boots," which also came with mini-springs at the soles. They even came with some small yellow buttons!
Overall, not bad for her first try at costume-making.
Seeing everyone fully out of the tunnel, All Might's grin became even wider. "This is getting me all ramped up! YOU LOOK SO COOL! Now, shall we get started, you bunch of newbies?"
"Oh, hey, Uraraka."
"Shinso?"
His costume was… interesting. It was a black bodysuit with purple pads all over, with the exception of his silver knuckles, and his some-what white boots. He also had a device over his mouth that allowed him to mimic other people's voices, as well as a metal collapsible staff on his back, and a knife. However, what caught Ochako by surprise was one final surprise addition.
He was wearing a capture scarf, the same one as Aizawa-sensei.
"How'd you get that scarf?" Ochako asked.
"Oh, you know, I pulled some strings," he smiled.
"Nice," Yui said.
Her costume had a red and white motif all over. The base color was red, with the white stripes making patterns all over her body, with the biggest one making a "V" on her chest. She was wearing a capped hat with a fin on it, white wristbands, and came with a belt full of pouches. The most interesting part, however, was the fact that she also had a gemstone on her chest.
"You look like something straight out of an anime," Shinso said.
"Super Sentai," Yui corrected him.
"Now that you're ready, it's time for combat training!" All Might announced.
"Sir!" Iida, whose costume made him look like a robot, raised his hand. "This is the fake city from our Entrance Exam. Does that mean that we'll be conducting urban battles again?"
"Not quite! I'm going to move you two steps ahead!" the Symbol of Peace said, making a peace sign with his fingers. "Most of the Villain fights you see on the news take place outside! However, statistically speaking, run-ins with the most dastardly evil-doers will take place indoors. Think about it: Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs! Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows. For this training exercise, you'll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys, and fight two-on-two indoor battles!"
"Isn't this a little advanced?" Asui, whose costume was a green wetsuit with goggles, asked.
"The best training is what you get on the battlefield!" All Might answered the green-haired girl. "But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time! You're dealing with actual people now!"
"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" Yaoyorozu, in a red leotard, asked.
"How much can we hurt the other team?" Kaminari, in a black jacket, asked.
"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier?" Toru asked.
"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?" Iida asked.
"Isn't this cape incroyable?" Aoyama asked, completely missing the point.
"I wasn't finished talking!" All Might bellowed, pulling out a script. "Listen up! The situation is this: The Villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout! The Heroes must try to foil their plans! To do that, the good guys must catch the evil-doers, or recover the weapon! Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the Heroes!"
Sounds like a classic action movie set-up, Ochako thought to herself.
"Time's limited, and we'll choose teams by drawing lots!" All Might said, presenting a box.
Somehow, Ochako ended up on a team with… Bakugou.
Looking over towards him, Ochako saw that his costume was… odd.
His costume was covering his entire body, with the exception of his upper head, and even then, he was wearing a mask over his eyes, and his high collar was covering his mouth. The base color was black, with the only other color being orange, which only appeared only on the soles of his shoes, metal knee-pads, parts of his utility belt, and the big "X" over his chest.
The most notable thing about his costume was his gauntlets. They were cylinders with holes in them, which made Ochako think that they looked like the barrel of a machine gun. He also had these two metal curves on the sides, which made her realize that they were supposed to look like flashbangs, not machine gun barrels, along with orange gloves.
"I declare that the first teams to fight will be… THESE GUYS!" All Might said, pulling out two balls from two different boxes, both balls with letters on them. "Team A will be the Heroes, Team D will be the Villains! Everyone else can head to the monitoring room to watch."
"""Yes, sir!"""
Ochako looked over to Yui-chan… who was on Team D with Iida.
"Bad guys, you can go on in and get set up," their teacher said. "In five minutes, the good guys will be let loose, and the battle will start! Young Iida, young Kodai. The key to being successful in this challenge is to embody villainy. Think from the perspective of an evil-doer."
"Got it," Iida nodded, entering the building.
"If things go too far, I'll step in."
"We should be on our guard, who knows what they'll pull," Bakugou said.
"ALL RIGHT! LET'S BEGIN THE INDOOR COMBAT TRAINING!" All Might's voice was heard from the projector. "TEAM A, AND TEAM D, YOUR TIME STARTS NOW!"
Immediately, Ochako canceled Bakugou's gravity along with hers, allowing the two of them to float up to the first floor, where there was an open window, allowing for easy entry.
"And just like that, we're in," Ochako smiled.
"Careful, there are a lot of blind spots," Bakugou whispered to her.
The two of them silently walked through the corridors, with Bakugou in the lead. Every time there was a corner, he would stop, take a peek, and then gesture to Ochako to keep following him. Ochako realized that Bakugou, though crude, was smarter than he looked.
The two of them made it through the first two floors without incident, until –
GRAB!
"Huh?!"
BOOM!
Bakugou grabbed her with one arm, and then set off an explosion with the other, avoiding –
CRASH!
…a giant nail, which embedded itself into the wall.
"Round Cheeks, you okay?" Bakugou asked, letting her go.
"I'm fine," she said. "But my name is Urakraka!"
Stepping out of the corner, Yui appeared, her expression stone-cold as ever.
"She almost got the jump on them," Shinso commented, watching the feed.
"Sneak attack, Kodai?! Who pulls cheap crap like that?!" Kirishima asked.
"It's a viable strategy. She's playing the part, acting like a true Villain would."
"But it didn't work!" Ashido said. "Bakugou dodged her attack!"
"Look, there she goes!" Kaminari pointed at the screen.
Katsuki watched as the black-haired girl charged towards him. He really needed something to call her, not to confuse her with Ponytail. Dead Eyes? Nah, that goes to that purple-haired loser.
Mute? Yeah, that worked.
Mute charged towards Katsuki without saying a single word. She wanted to get fired? Fine, her choice. Straightening out his right arm, Katsuki prepared to fire off an explosion –
GRAB!
"Huh?!"
Instantly, he could feel her arms around his arm. She twisted her body, turned her back towards him, and then, lifting with all her might… SHE'S FLIPPING ME?!
Using her upper body strength, she sent Katsuki flying through the air, until his back landed on the floor, hard. He groaned in pain, getting up, still trying to figure out how she knew…
"Hm. Still predictable," she whispered.
Huh? But before Katsuki could ask what she meant, Four Eyes' voice was heard.
"Kodai, come in! Give me a status report! Where are you?"
"Found the Heroes on our floor. Be prepared for an attack," she answered.
"Hey, who is Kodai talking to? I'm not hearing anything, can we get some sound with this video?" Kirishima asked, while the others were still watching.
"She's got a radio in his ear, so she can talk to her partner. I gave it to her before the match started, along with a map of the building. Also, this: A roll of capture tape. Wrapping this around your opponent means you've apprehended them, and they're out for the rest of the game."
"So, there's a fifteen minute time-limit, and the good guys have no idea what floor the nuclear weapon is hidden on, right?" Ashido asked, looking a little worried.
"Correct!" All Might smiled.
"Then the Heroes are clearly at a disadvantage here, a big one."
"Real Pros have to outwit Villains on a daily basis. That's life," the Symbol of Peace said, cheering up everyone. "Even when the odds aren't in our favor, WE FIGHT!"
"ROUND CHEEKS! GO!" Katsuki yelled.
The brown-haired nodded, flaring up the weird pink shit, and rushing towards the opposite direction of the fight. Now that it was just him and Mute, he could go all out –
WHAM!
Mute jumped at him again, trying to use a flying kick to deck him in the face. Katuski blocked with his arm, and grabbed the capture tape, ready to wrap it around her leg –
POW!
Katuski ducked the punch Mute threw at his face, but he ended up letting go of the capture tape. Dammit. Whatever her issue with him was, he couldn't let it jeopardize the match. Sure, he could technically blast her, but this was an exercise, he needed to play it smart.
So, he ran.
This place is basically a maze, he thought to himself. If I can make Mute lose sight of me, I can get the jump on her with one good blast, and get her out of the match!
Crouching behind a corner, Katsuki peeked at the corridor. Good, she wasn't there. The chances of her sneaking up on him were low. Now he could devise a plan of attack.
Ochako peered around the load-bearing beam, and smiled. Good, I found Iida.
There was one problem, though.
Where's the bomb?
"Kodai certainly has a cold and calculating side, which could work for a Villain. That's exactly what we need to succeed in this mission. Hmm… I need to temporarily devote myself to criminal intent." Iida said to himself. "Yesss… I won't fail this trial and risk bringing shame on the Iida family name. That means… I must now embrace evil, to become a Hero!"
"BEHOLD! I AM THE PERSONIFICATION OF VILLAINY! BWA-HA-HA-HA!"
Ochako let out a laugh that sounded like a hyena high on helium. HE'S SO SERIOUS!
"Hm? Uraraka, is that you?"
She got caught. "Uhh…"
"I knew you would come here alone as soon as Kodai kept Bakugou at bay!" he laughed, his tone sounding… Villainous? "Your Quirk allows you to alter the gravity of anything you touch! But I prepared for that, by hiding every object in this room, so you have nothing to use against me, do-gooder! My dastardly tricks have rendered you helpless! You've blundered, Hero!"
As Iida went off on another maniacal laugh tangent, Ochako simply looked at him with a mix of admiration and pity. "He really is playing the part…"
"Um, Bakugou?"
Katuski came into his radio. "I'm here. What's up?"
"Iida found me, sorry. But right now… he's monologuing?"
Monologuing? Questions for later. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the middle of our current floor."
"Great, Mute is keeping me contained towards the edge."
We probably don't have much time now, Katuski thought to himself. We have to finish this fast, or they win. Alright, I'll capture Mute, and then head over to Round Cheeks.
Getting up from his corner, Katuski peered over the right side of the hallway, once more. The good news is, no one was there, which meant that he could go –
"Ahem."
Turning around, towards his left side, he cursed the second he saw that Mute was there, near the end of the hallway. Great, she caught me off-guard.
Fishing into her pockets, Mute pulled some small junk out. Right, her Quirk lets her alter the size of anything she touches. Which meant that she was probably about to throw a bunch of shit at him that would turn into the size of a car once they got in range.
Running towards the end of the hallway he was in, Katsuki grabbed the pin on the right side of his gauntlet, and prepared to fire it. The second he pulled it, all the stored up sweat in the tank would be released in one monster blast, so he had to be careful.
Mute pulled back her arm, and threw a bunch of tiny junk at high speeds. About three-thirds of the way towards Katsuki, the tiny nuts and bolts suddenly grew to the size of some small motorcycles. HOLY SHIT, is she trying to kill me?!
Releasing the pin –
BOOOOM! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
The chain reaction of the explosions kept going and going into a single straight attack, like fire rushing through a chimney, sending the super-sized junk back towards the sender –
CRASH!
When the smoke cleared, Katsuki looked straight ahead. Good, there was no sign of Mute, and… holy shit, he accidentally created a hole through the building. He honest to God had no idea that his gauntlets would have packed that much of a punch.
"Is that even allowed?"
Looking away from the destruction he caused, Katuski looked towards his right to see that Mute was still standing. Her costume was a bit roughed up, and her hat was blown away, but other than that, she was still standing, and by the look she was giving him, clearly unfazed.
What the fuck is up with this chick?!
"Kodai, come in! What is going on down there? Did Bakugou cause that blast?!"
Now's my chance, Ochako thought to herself, activating One For All and launching herself towards Iida. We may not be able to find the bomb in time, but if I capture Iida, and if Bakugou captures Yui-chan, we can still win this!
"Not so fast, Hero!" Iida laughed, activating the engines in his legs, and –
WHOOSH!
…dashing off before Ochako had a chance to wrap the capture tape around her.
BOOF!
"Oof!"
Hitting the wall, Ochako could hear Iida doing his Villain shtick from behind. "Admirable attempt, but when it comes to speed, my Quirk reigns supreme! Mwahahahahaha!"
Ochako growled. It's not over yet…
"Sir, isn't this getting out of hand?" Kirishima asked All Might. "Both Bakugou and Kodai are acting really crazy, like they're gonna kill each other, or something!"
"Not so," the Symbol of Peace replied to his student.
Despite what's going on, they're not trying to kill each other. Young Bakugou only used that last attack in an attempt to rid himself of those projectiles, and while young Kodai has been attacking him relentlessly, she hasn't caused any serious injuries, yet. But still…
Grabbing the mic, All Might said, "Young Bakugou, don't use that stored-up power for the remainder of the match. Young Kodai, ease up on your attacks towards Bakugou."
The two students looked confused.
"Young Bakugou, using such a strong attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold. And young Kodai, while trying to stop the Heroes in advance is a good strategy, do not drag out fights. That's a poor strategy, whether you're a Hero or a Villain."
"Fine then," the black-haired girl muttered. "We'll fight hand-to-hand."
Bakugou looked to see if she was being serious right now, but relented. Setting off explosions behind him, he propelled himself towards her. Noticing her ready to throw a punch –
POW! BOOM! POW!
"What was that move?" Kirishima asked.
"He doesn't come off as a guy with a strategy, but he's actually quite intelligent."
Kirishima looked over to Shoto Todoroki. "What are you talking about?"
"He changed his trajectory while in mid-air with a blast that doubled as a smokescreen," the heterochromatic boy said. "Very clever."
Yaoyorozu nodded, and added her thoughts. "A feint attack like that requires an extreme amount of precision. He had to calculate the physics and demonstrate control over his Quirk."
"Ugh, Bakugou is uber-talented," Kaminari groaned. "I hate it."
With Mute now caught off-guard, Katsuki punched her right side, knocking the black-haired girl off her feet. But he wasn't gonna take any more chances.
GRAB!
Grabbing her injured arm, he used his free hand to make an explosive ring, swinging her around, until he used his upper body strength to throw her onto the ground, like she did with him earlier in the match. Karma is a bitch, ain't it?
WHAM!
Before Mute could even react, Katsuki got to work, wrapping the tape around her, and –
"Yui Kodai has been captured by Katsuki Bakugou!"
Katsuki breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God, that's over.
"Yui Kodai has been captured by Katsuki Bakugou!"
"WHAT?!" Iida cried out in disbelief.
Now's my chance, while he's distracted! Ochako realized, kicking her body into high-gear, pink lightning emanating off of her, as she rocketed towards Iida, and delivering –
"What? No! In the name of Villainy, I demand that you to stop this –"
WHAM!
…an uppercut.
Ochako had put just enough power into her punch, that Iida was launched a few inches into the air, and even knocked his helmet off. Pulling out her own capture tape, she wrapped it around Iida, and before he even had a chance to react, much less land on the floor –
"Tenya Iida has been captured by Ochako Uraraka!"
Ochako finally let out a sigh of relief, as the match was beginning to get so stressful for her, she was forgetting how to breathe. Looking down at the captured Iida, she saw…
…a tiny replica of the bomb?
Picking it up, she inspected the trinket, and realized that it was the actual bomb, only shrunken down. "So, that was your plan, huh? Just hide it in your pocket?"
"A true Villain never reveals his secrets!" Iida simply replied.
Ochako laughed at the notion, as she heard All Might's voice over the system.
"THE HERO TEAM WINS!"
"Can anyone tell me why the MVP is young Uraraka?" All Might asked.
"Sir, I can tell you why!" Yaoyorzu raised her hand. "Uraraka kept adapting to the situation. I'll explain: When Kodai cornered both her and Bakugou, rather than arguing with him whether to stick together or not, she went on ahead as he requested of her. When she encountered Iida, she knew that if Bakugou managed to capture Kodai, and she Iida, then they could still win the match, even if they were never able to locate the weapon."
Everyone stared at the recommendation student, as she kept explaining.
"Meanwhile, Bakugou and Kodai both were too enamored in their battle. Whether a personal grudge or something else, Kodai kept trying to beat Bakugou down, even to the point of challenging him to hand-to-hand combat, while Bakugou's most powerful attack was a last-ditch effort to throw Kodai off. It is also especially important to note that Bakugou's attack caused major damage to the building, which could have set off the weapon, had this been real life."
She still kept going.
"And as for Iida, while he did have a sound strategy of avoiding Uraraka's attempts to capture him until the time ran out, the fact remains that he stashed the weapon in his pocket. The only reason that he did such a thing was because of Kodia's suggestion. The Villain Team did not treat this as a real-life scenario, and did not respect the spirit of the trial."
This girl really has a good eye on her, All Might thought to himself.
"Well, you did miss a few things… but otherwise, you nailed it!"
"One should always start with the basics, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to learning," Yaoyorozu said. "That's the only real way to become a top Hero."
"Now then, let's blow this stand!" the No. 1 Hero announced. "Let's move on to the next match! Think about everything you saw and discussed when training yourself!"
"""YES, SIR!"""
Ugh, this is hard, All Might groaned. I wonder what Aizawa is doing right now…?
"Would you like more tea, Mr. Kitty Cat?" Eri asked, plastic kettle in hand.
"Sure. Thank you, uh, Princess Unicorn," Shouta said, clinking his daughter's glass.
Author's Note: Originally, Bakugou's nickname for Kodia was gonna be "Dead Eyes," due to her thousand-yard stare, but I looked a bit closer and, while her eyes are expressionless, they aren't exactly dead. Plus, Shinso also needed a nickname, so I decided to change it to "Mute," even if Kodai talks here more than she does in canon.
Also, I can't believe I'm saying this, but for the love of all that is holy, please be respectful in the comments. So, nothing trollish, or criminal. I won't even acknowledge them, as I'd rather respond to actually good critiques. Speaking of which…
Knightmare Lord: I think you'll like where this story is heading. Hopefully.
Cherry134: Now that I think about it, if you're referring to the scene where Shinso was relieved at not getting expelled, then yeah, that dialogue was pretty funny.
VinHD15: I have to agree with you on that one, Vin, the profile picture of a tired Uraraka paired with Cherry's comment is pretty funny, now that I think of it.
EmilMobile: Yeah, I always kinda assumed that Shinso knew who Eraserhead was, and while I wouldn't exactly call it a Midoriya fanboying-esque moment, if it makes you happy, then sure, go for it. Also, glad to see everyone still loves Eri.
guest c: Hey, I noticed you left a comment on chapter three, but since it's slim pickings around here, I figured I might as well address it. Yui is Midoriya? An interesting theory, and not far off the mark. But anyways, I'm glad you love this story, and I hope this chapter further cements your belief that Yui is a wildcard. And as for Shinso… well, let's just say that he's gonna be in for a world of pain. Hope you enjoy it!
And now, for the last bit of shilling…
If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!
- Ernalore