Here comes some more fun stuff
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Ochako and Sero navigated the rocky terrain cautiously, keeping a low profile to avoid detection. Sero utilized his tapes for swift movement, while Ochako's method was rather unconventional. Removing gravity on herself, she shot her star projectiles to pull herself forward. It was a bit slower than Sero's travel speed, but it got the job done.
I know I shouldn't be relying on this thing too much, but it's just so fun! Ochako thought.
Same could be said about the Omnitrix, haha.
"Huh, so that's what you got from the studio," Sero said, "Was wondering what it did. Cool!"
"Thanks! Two of my weaknesses were mobility and range, so I figured, "Why not kill two birds with one stone?"" Ochako beamed as she was dragged swiftly through the sky by her stars.
"And it fits the space girl aesthetic. Props to that," Sero complimented.
"I just thought they'd be cute." Ochako said.
"Man, you and Midoriya got some crazy upgrades..." Sero smirked. "But I'm still the best at moving around right now!"
"We'll have to test that later." Ochako playfully joked.
"I'm game!" Sero smirked, fully accepting his classmate's challenge. He shot another strand and started racing through the air, but the strand was suddenly cut. The tape hero-to-be's eyes widened in shock as a small pebble sliced right through the strand he was using.
"Sero!" Ochako shouted. Springing off a nearby wall, she raced toward the boy to catch him. Slapping his arm with her hand, he suddenly felt lighter. The two descended slowly to the ground as Sero cursed.
"Damn- what the hell was that?" Sero asked. The two failed to realize two figures atop of a cliff, watching them carefully.
"Hm," Toteki hummed as he saw Ochako catch her classmate, "Still hit."
"Nice shot," another Ketsubutsu student said. This one was by far the strangest looking student out of the class. His hero costume was pretty simple, an all black outfit with a sleeveless shirt and red bands around his longer than normal arms. His elbows were more pointed and two large "fins," for lack of a better term, jutted out from his shoulder blades. His face was entirely obscured, save for his eyes, by an almost skull-like helmet.
"Thank you, Skulljager." Toteki said. Why he insists on being called that all the time is beyond me.
"Just these two, huh? Shame. I'd kinda hoped someone who made it past the first round of the sports fest would be here. Maybe that shadow guy. Or the acid chick." Skulljager sighed. "I like my 'prey' to be good and ready..." He held up his fist, and manifested some skeletal armor around it.
Skulljager! Quirk: Bone Armor! Skulljager can form armor around their body or shape it from bones for protection and physical boost. He just has to drink a lot of milk to get it to work.
"Your go then," Toteki said, readying his next throws.
"Hyeaahh!" Skulljager exclaimed, preparing for his next throw. Enhancing his arm with another layer of skeleton armor, he tossed the ball...
And whiffed the throw. The ball dropped to the ground because he released too late.
"...dang it!"
"Too late there," Toteki said, gearing up for his own throw. "Target Lock: ON!" With that, he executed a perfect throw, the ball racing through the air directly towards one of Sero's targets.
Ochako swiftly turned around, attempting to take the blow for him. The ball struck one of her targets, and she grunted.
Damn! That's one good throwing arm...
"One hit. Not who I aimed for, but I'm not complaining," Toteki nodded.
"Watch me totally hit this next one!" Skulljager yelled, boosting the strength of his throwing arm once again. However, this time, he released too early. While the ball failed to hit the target, bits of his skeleton also flew off, scattering across the battlefield. Ochako shouted as she hurriedly blocked some loose fragments to avoid any potential harm.
"You're not very good with throwing, are you?" Toteki sighed, shaking his head.
"Oh, shut up!"
Ochako and Sero quickly started to run away, and every once in a while they would look back. "That's the guy who threw the balls from underground! I have no idea who the other guy is." Sero grimaced.
"One has great aim, but the other doesn't even come close. Doesn't mean we should underestimate either of them, though!" Ochako shouted.
"I HEARD THAT!" Skulljager yelled.
"You didn't hear anything," Toteki countered.
"They don't know that. Scare tactics work sometimes!"
Toteki refocused his sights and released his balls with devastating velocity. The shots were aimed straight towards the two UA students, but an onrushing defender was able to grab them.
SMASSSSSSSH! Izuku effortlessly kicked the balls away, which resulted in the balls flying back at the two pupils from Shiketsu. Toteki flinched as he dodged the balls, while Skulljager quickly deployed some armor around his head to block the blow.
The ball smashed into his head, causing it to crack. Skulljager blinked.
"You okay?"
"Eh. Probably would've hurt more if I didn't block it." Skulljager said.
Izuku wasted no time evading their pursuers once he finally caught up with Sero and Ochako. They scrambled into a cave as swiftly as possible, seeking refuge away from their chasers and out of sight.
Ochako utilized her quirk to levitate a massive boulder in front of the cave entrance, and Izuku, with the assistance of Blackwhip, pulled it toward them. The trio paused for a moment, catching their breath. Izuku leaned against a wall and let out a sigh, the tension of the chase momentarily subsiding.
Attention: 42 spots remain. Mera's dull voice announced. That got the trio's attention.
"Wait a minute, what? Already?" Sero exclaimed. "It seems like we were just getting started a few minutes ago."
"If it turns out to be the case, then half of us will survive the 'culling'." Izuku said, standing back up. "Uh, also, weird question. You guys are…you, right?"
Both Sero and Ochako looked at each other for a moment.
Sero gave a shrug. "As far as I can recall, yeah. I'm Hanta Sero...I like long walks on the beach, a good book-"
Izuku sighed. "Okay, you're you. Uraraka…what was the last alien you unlocked?"
Ochako blushed. "I, uh…don't wanna talk about it."
"Whyyyy?" Sero teased. "Is it embarrassing or something?"
"I-it's just not relevant!" Ochako exclaimed.
"Did you get Walkatrout or something? No, wait! Molestache!" Sero guessed. "Those dudes are terrible-"
"Well, Molestache is kinda useful…" Izuku said. "I heard reports that Ben 10k did engage in a fight with a Nomu at Hosu- he used Molestache just to 'humiliate' him or something. Or maybe it was to troll Endeavor."
Sero blinked. "I'm not shocked you'd try to find value in 'wet paper bag' aliens."
"You're not one to be paranoid, Deku." Ochako noted.
"Long story. I'll explain it later." Izuku said. "Have you guys eliminated anyone?"
"I eliminated this annoying brat from Ketsubutsu." Ochako explained. "Then I had a run in with that Medaka girl…she's crazy overpowered, guys. And she's a first year too!"
"I…also had a run in with a Shiketsu guy." Izuku said, a weird pain forming in his side. "But I'm fine. He was weird too…"
"You guys seem to attract weirdos." Sero joked. "Anyways, my strat so far has been effective in keeping me from not getting hit. I haven't eliminated anyone yet, though."
"So. We need to all take out four people. But that's kinda impossible right now." Ochako said.
"Everyone's in a group, right? If we attack someone, we'd be attacking a whole team. If they've survived for this long, they have to have great coordination." Sero added.
"That's the thing." Izuku said. "We could use that to our advantage."
Ochako and Sero were intrigued. "You have the floor." Sero smirked, as he and Ochako moved closer to Izuku for dramatic effect.
"Well, two Shiketsu students attacked me earlier." Izuku explained. "At first I assumed they were cooperating, but now I'm starting to wonder whether they're just itching for an opportunity to tag us. There's bound to be some infighting over who gets the prey when it's a mob targeting a smaller group. As a result, their numbers will inevitably decrease if they try to gain the upper hand against their opponents all at once."
"With only three of us, not a good strategy, since they may have to tag each other if they REALLY wanna pass. Where do we go from here?" Sero asked.
"...I think I have an idea." Ochako said. "When that Medaka girl attacked me, she had a friend with her. At some point, Medaka used some massive move to knock everyone else out, and her friend must've touched her ball to their targets because the next time I saw her, she passed."
"She knocked them out?" Izuku said. "How?"
"Either the sonic scream, my super move...or her really risky attack." Ochako guessed.
Izuku and Sero looked confused.
"Copying quirk."
"Ahhhh." Izuku and Sero nodded.
"Those guys are constantly moving, so we just need to tape them down, stop them from moving, and tag their targets," Sero added. "Seems simple. I just thought we needed to throw these things and hope my accuracy was good."
"I really think we can pull this off..." Ochako said, before she heard footsteps. She flinched, covering her mouth. She started to sweat—they were in an enclosed space, and if those students found them-
"I'm going out there," Izuku declared, standing up.
"H-huh?!" Ochako said.
"I'll be the bait." izuku said. "You guys set up a trap to try and capture them as best you can. You guys have more experience in limiting the opponent's mobility than I do with Blackwhip at the moment."
"But, you already have a target hit. If you-" Sero countered.
"It won't be for nothing." Izuku said. "If you guys pass, and I don't...I'm fine knowing I helped someone during this exam."
Ochako and Sero shared a look. "...alright," Ochako sighed. "Good luck, Deku."
"Good luck to you guys as well." Izuku said, as he walked towards the boulder blocking the way. He used Blackwhip to move it carefully, before he zipped off. Ochako and Sero were now alone.
"...so…Joint Ultimate move?" Ochako grinned.
Sero grinned back. "I like the sound of that."
Izuku rushed through the battlefield, drawing all attention towards him. He'd occasionally slow down, just for a second- to try and taunt someone into attacking him. Someone would try to tag him or throw some energy attack out at him, but then he'd throw them off- he'd propel himself forward with Blackwhip.
Blackwhip was a lot more 'stretchy' than it looked. Izuku learned it had the properties of...something like rubber and gum. It could stick onto surfaces if he focused really hard, and had some great range. Blackwhip could probably be used as a catapult or something if he could find a proper application.
And to all the kids that had watched the Sports Festival, and thought 'that scrawny green haired boy looks easy to take out'.
They were very, very wrong to target Deku specifically.
Once everyone's attention was on Deku, the attacks did not stop. A student, resembling a levitating fortune teller, hurled chunks of rock at him using telekinesis. Another attempted to sever the Blackwhip tendrils with spider legs made of chitin, but they proved resistant to cutting. In response, Izuku delivered a swift kick to the face of the persistent attacker. A third student, resembling a cross between a washing machine and a robot, targeted All Might's hidden successor with pressurized jets of water. Izuku was able to dodge them all because of his improved agility.
Some students weren't as fortunate. Tentacle-like fingers and even a pair of iron jaws tried to trap the soon-to-be-hero with green hair between them, but Izuku was able to move out of the way. Instead, the two Quirks collided, leading to some kid's fingers being smashed between the jaws and an audible cry of pain.
Izuku kept running for a while longer, occasionally looking back to see how many people were chasing them. Okay, that looks like more than enough... Izuku thought. I hope Sero and Uraraka came up with a good plan.
As he said that, something flew over his head.
Several strands of tape appeared, crisscrossing the sky and casting shadows over the battlefield. Initially unnoticed by most, as all attention was on the relentless Midoriya kid, the significance of the tape became apparent when it descended.
"Release!" Ochako yelled.
At the end of each colossal strand of tape hung a boulder. Following Ochako's command, these rocks hurtled earthward. Skulljager and Toteki managed to evade, but many other students were ensnared in Sero's formidable web. The tape adhered to the students, slamming them to the ground, and with the added weight of the boulders, they remained grounded.
Holy shit, Skulljager thought to himself, eyes wide in shock. They're good.
"...Hmmm," Toteki hummed, mentally counting the downed students, "We only need three to pass if I remember right."
"Yeah...why?" Skulljager asked.
"I see no one else from Ketsubutsu here," The marksman shrugged, walking towards one of the taped down victims. "When life gives you lemons…"
"Way to piggyback." Skulljager said.
"Well, you do suck at throwing the balls." Toteki stated matter of factly. "You probably need this more than I do."
"HEY!" Skulljager yelled.
One student, a white furred cat person wearing a costume reminiscent of scuba gear, struggled to get free as Izuku approached. It was unintentionally very ominous.
"C-c'mon man! You gotta let me get my license here! This is my last chance! You're just a first year, right? Y-you can wait a little longer!" he argued.
"I'm sorry, but I want to get this as bad as you do," Izuku said with genuine empathy as he tapped all three of the student's targets. Sero, Ochako, even Toteki and Skulljager all went around and did the same. A cacophony of elimination buzzes rang out and, soon, all five students' targets turned to a green-blue color to show they passed.
"All students who have passed should congregate in the ante room until the first phase of the exam is over," a robotic voice from the targets themselves instructed.
"Who do you think already passed in Class 1-A?" Sero asked, as he stood back up.
"Hmm, that's a good question actually," Izuku started to go into one of his analysis rambles, "I bet Iida already beat us there thanks to his speed. Tokoyami also probably got there before we did, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Todoroki's there by now too, given his power-"
"Aaaaand I set him off," Sero sighed.
"C'mon," Ochako said, walking past Izuku and grabbing him by the hood as the boy continued to mumble, theorize, and analyze.
Ochako took a deep breath, and looked down at all her targets. I can't believe I passed the first stage...I know I had a bit of a cheat with my new gear, but even then. Getting targeted by everyone was scary.
I wonder how I would've done if I could cut loose with the Omnitrix... Ochako hummed, looking off to the side. Her mind imagined a scenario in which she was intangible as Big Chill, and laughing as students threw balls right through her.
"HA!" The imaginary Ochako laughed. "Your balls have no effect on me! I AM ALL POWERFUL!" Then, she morphed into XLR8, and 'tornadoed' their balls back to them. The balls all hit their targets, and she easily passed.
"YEAHHH!" Dream Ochako yelled.
Ochako frowned. Too easy. She thought, as she tapped Izuku's head to make him easier to carry.
"You surprised too?" Sero asked, catching up with the gravity hero.
"Honestly, yeah," Ochako sighed.
"Same. Felt like the world was against us for a little bit there. All those different schools were just focusing on us."
"I know, right? Almost felt like...U.S.J, but if it was just a training course. Is...is that a weird comparison to make?" Ochako asked.
"A little, but you're not really wrong," Sero shrugged.
"Serious question, though. If this was just part 1, what's part 2 gonna be like?" Sero asked.
Ochako shivered. "I don't wanna think about it."
"...you know what...you're right. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now...let's just take a breather knowing we passed."
Todoroki had anticipated the imminent "crushing" and decided it was in his best interest to set off on his own. He was afraid that the other schools would single him out for special attention because he had placed in the top three at the Sports Fest. If anyone from Class 1-A was around him, they'd probably get caught in the crosshairs and taken out. So, he'd taken up a hiding spot in the giant industrial maze of the factory area. There were a lot of good places to hide here…
Todoroki wanted to fight back, but he was also being cautiously wary. Todoroki had weaknesses, like everyone else. If he wasn't careful, he could end up picking a fight with someone who had the upper hand. Ideally, Todoroki wanted groups to start fighting each other- so then he could pick off the others.
From what Mera announced earlier, Todoroki didn't have the luxury of waiting around. It was time for him to strike.
He peeked out from behind his cover to survey the area. At first, he didn't see anyone or anything. But then he quickly pulled back when he noticed an orange rubber ball race towards his face. He watched the ball fly past him, bouncing on the ground as its momentum died down.
"Nice reflexes, son of Endeavor!" a voice called out.
Well, there goes the idea of an ambush, Shoto sighed and stepped out. At first, again, he saw no one. That all changed when several puffs of smoke exploded on the top of nearby pillars and smokestacks. When the puffs cleared, they revealed various ninjas, each one in a bright colored outfit, ranging from red to yellow to blue, even pink.
"...interesting outfits," Shoto said.
"You dare mock our traditional garb?!" one of the yellow-clad ninjas shouted, "You will PAY for dishonoring the great Seijin High!"
"Calm yourself, Kiiro," the one in red, seemingly the leader, said, "He'll pay for that when he fails."
"But that wasn't an insult," Shoto tried to correct.
"Silence!" The red one yelled.
I know this school. Todoroki thought. Seijin High School. They teach a lot of ninjutsu skills there. It mostly uses the Bujinkan school system, which is made up of nine different but complementary martial arts lineages that cover all aspects of fighting and self-defense. Names aren't given so that the students can stay anonymous.
"Now then," the red one, Aka said, "let's see the skills of Endeavor's bloodline, shall we?"
With that, all of the Seijin students tossed their balls at the son of Endeavor. Shoto was, understandably, unimpressed as he made a giant wall of ice for all the balls to bounce off of. From there, lines of ice shot out and up towards the feet of his opponents, quickly immobilizing them, much to their surprise.
"You wanted to see what I could do," Shoto began, "Did you even watch the Sports Fest? If you did, you'd know that this wasn't a very smart plan."
"You think we didn't come prepared?!" Aka shouted, before pulling out a hardware nut and tossing it at Shoto. Ok, weird move. But it became less weird when the piece of metal was surrounded by a purple outline and exploded to the size of a car. The ice barrier quickly grew in size as well to compensate for the power behind such an object, stopping the giant nut dead in its tracks, keeping the wall intact.
An object gigantification quirk- clever. Todoroki thought. The red ninja began throwing out more objects- nails, bolts and rivets. They all grew to 100x times their size, and quickly broke down Todoroki's ice wall. Todoroki tried to stop one of the bolts by using his concentrated flamethrower, but to his shock, the bolt continued to fly forward. He thnakfully jumped out of the way in the nick of time.
Why didn't it melt or slow down? Todoroki wondered.
"Tungsten!" One of the yellow ninjas mocked.
"Very temperature resistant." His brother smirked.
"Don't reveal the secrets, you lunkheads!" Aka scolded.
"S-sorry sir!" the brothers apologized. Nails and nuts crashed into the frozen restraints that kept the ninjas in place, shattering them almost instantly. Shoto landed on one of the giant nuts and looked up to the ninja students.
"I told you, Todoroki! Even if you are one of the top students at U.A. right now, you can't win a fight this stacked against you!" Aka taunted, "And if you think you can, then your pride will be your downfall!"
Todoroki launched another stream of flames, but that was quickly blocked by a geyser of water and mud. This is why I wanted to run. Because of this! Todoroki thought. They're all hard countering my every move!
He jumped back, summoning up an ice barrier as more nails and nuts were thrown by Aka, getting stuck in the ice. More projectiles flew his way, aiming to not give half and half hero any breathing room.
"Yes! Keep attacking!" Aka yelled, "Don't let up!"
I should've at least taken someone with me- like Midoriya, Iida, or Ochako. I'm out numbered here... Todoroki thought, before gripping his right fist. But, in a way...I'm carrying Midoriya with me.
Todoroki took a deep breath.
This is it. Todoroki looked around the area. This is the first time I've gotten a chance to show this off in proper combat. I didn't want to go to my father over this technique, and it's still a work in progress, but...
Todoroki condensed his flames, as hard as he could. Don't let the 'egg explode in the microwave'- concentrate your flames. Let it run to the very ends of your nerves!
Todoroki took a technique that his father used and changed it so that he could use it for himself- and he did this by gradually directing the flames onto his palm until they got very hot, with flames nearly turning white at his fingertips. So hot it felt like a wildfire was standing right in front of the boys.
"That's..." One of the ninjas said.
The red leader sneered underneath his mask. "His Flashfire Fist!"
For many, Endeavor's defining move was the Flashfire Fist. With his fire at its hottest, Endeavor amplified his already formidable strength. After that, the Flame Hero had the option of using devastating flame strikes or greatly increasing his speed. In his arsenal was a number of Flashfire Fist variations, each with its own unique attack.
And Todoroki was determined to teach himself without Endeavor's advice. Out of pure spite. It's what he'd been working on these past two weeks.
"You seriously want me to teach you Flashfire Fist?" Alan asked. "Listen, I'm nowhere near your dad's level in firepower. He might be better than most Pyronites I know. That includes Ben's Heatblast-"
"I know. I don't want to immediately rush into it," Todoroki explained as focused his heat into his fist. "Ultimately, all I really want…is to go about things at my own pace. My father's mentorship concerning my flames was strictly for recreating HIS moves. I…want to make my own."
Alan nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
"And with everyone working hard alongside me…" Todoroki said. "It makes sense to reach out to them for help. I think I have…an image of what I need to do."
"Okay, then... If you want to master a Flashfire Fist or something similar, you need to already be competent with other fire-based techniques. Just show me what you've got!" Alan shouted and quickly began to bring out his own pyronite form. If he wanted to be a teacher, he would have to work a little harder to make sure Todoroki knew what to do first.
Todoroki blinked. "Well...the only thing I really knew how to do was shoot out my flames and...yesterday, I learned how to condense them."
"Yes, I know." Alan said. "I was there. How does the flame hero's kid not know how to use flames?"
"...spite." Todoroki said.
"...alright, I respect it."
"How are you going to tell me what to do then?" Todoroki just looked at Alan and asked, who seemed eager to get started.
"Easy, have you ever heard the saying "out of the frying pan and into the fire?"
"It's something I've heard before." Todoroki said.
"Right. So, let's start by going over the basics. Remember how I tried to teach you how to make a fireball? Let's get back to that." Alan said.
Todoroki started to concentrate a little bit before putting his energy into the hot side of his body. He let the feeling move quickly into the tips of his fingers and the palm of his hand.
Remember Midoriya's advice, He repeated to himself. Don't let the egg explode in the microwave. Don't let your powers go out of control- just focus…
As he concentrated, the flames quickly got hotter, and slowly started to form a small ball that floated carefully in the palm of his hand...
"Alright! Well, you've got it." Alan smirked as he quickly made his own fireball to match.
Todoroki looked at the fire ball he was holding. Todoroki had the strange thought that it did not have any weight to it. "When I've seen Uraraka do it, they always make such a big impact...I always assumed it was heavy as a baseball."
"These things compact a lot of fire in them," Alan explained. "You ever throw a water balloon? It's like that."
"So, think of this as a fire balloon," Todoroki asked because he seemed a little more confused about analogies. Alan, on the other hand, just seemed a little more apprehensive about it, but he was going to get through it.
"Yeah, I guess- so, yeah. You know how to throw a ball, right? Please say yes." Alan said.
"Yes. I do." Todoroki demonstrated by throwing the fireball at full force. The concrete wall it hit almost shattered upon impact- Alan was very blown away by Todoroki's 'canon of an arm'.
"...Okay! Good!" Alan nodded.
"So I should just keep doing things like that?" Todoroki asked.
"Yeah. The fireball is just step one in making other things. You can use that basic technique to launch other attacks." Alan went on. "I do it every time I land a kick or throw a punch."
"So try a mix of physical attacks and projectiles?" Todoroki thought as he quickly refocused that fire and threw it down to try to get himself off the ground.
The fireball just sort of made a small crater in the ground. Alan hummed. "Looks like yours have too much power in them. It's more like a projectile. I'd say it's more useful for a power class like you. Can't you already traverse around the place with your ice?"
"It's always good to have other choices." Todoroki then began to concentrate for a moment on his arm, before opting to activate some flames and test their intensity. The flames lit up his arm, making it glow a dangerous yellow and red color, like someone was shining a flashlight through his skin…nowhere near his father's level. "Perhaps if I..." Todoroki started to focus that energy into his fingertips as his flames started to move up his arm in a spiral shape rather than a straight line.
"Interesting- it's like wrapping bandages around a fist to protect the muscles, tendons and cushioning the impact of the wrist." Alan observed. "Is that intentional?"
"Not at all." Todoroki said.
"Okay, then, let's see what we can do and try to make some attacks. Try to mix your flames with punches and kicks, and make them a part of you." Alan suggested.
"Can do…" Todoroki said, looking down at his glowing arm. This is the next step- after what I saw in Kamino, heroes can't hold back anymore.
So, that means…no more excuses for holding back my power.
Todoroki held up his glowing arm, before the crowd of ninjas. The crowd was caught off guard by the display, but not deterred. As the ninjas moved closer toward him, Todoroki finally seemed to let go of all the energy he had been holding back by quickly throwing a punch into the air. All of a sudden, a bunch of flames started flying toward them, almost like a bunch of blasts.
"Flashfire Fist: Sunscatter!" Todoroki yelled, as the flurry of flames exploded, launching his attackers backwards.
"W-what the!? He couldn't do this at the Sports Fest!" One of the twins yelled.
"No matter! Our resolve will not waver; the war must continue!" The other twin yelled back, and they quickly started to try to make their movements more coordinated, hoping that their natural speed would be faster than his attack speed.
Todoroki quickly put his palm down and made a sheet of ice appear under his feet, while his other fist lit up and said, "Flashfire Shroud: Freezerburn!" He yelled and then made a HUGE puff of steam that covered him and the other students.
"H-he chained it into his other side!" Aka yelled. Where the hell did he learn all this!? I thought he wasn't coordinated with both sides!
But Aka didn't have much time to think about it because Todoroki suddenly appeared in front of them. "Just because I'm related to Endeavour doesn't mean you should think less of me. Because I am NOTHING like him."
Soon after, a sudden explosion of flames rang out from the steam...Aka didn't really register what happened. He was burnt, but now he was restrained and frozen in a chunk of ice. "N-no way..."
Todoroki walked forward, holding a ball to tag his opponent's targets. "Sorry about this," He said, tapping the balls to the ninja's targets.
"B-BROTHERS! I'M HIT! FALL NOT FOR OUR PRIOR ASSUMPTIONS!" Aka panicked quickly and yelled to the other students, but they just looked at Todoroki with a mix of shock and...fear. Todoroki's reaction to their staring was to concentrate the flames on his fingers, at which point he snapped his fingers. The snap of his fingers emitted a tremendously powerful heat wave, which knocked everyone backwards.
"Flashfire Fist: Heat Crackle."
Todoroki just looked at the other students and cracked his knuckles. He seemed ready to throw out everything he had to make sure he got out of this without getting injured.
Todoroki slammed his foot on the ground, and froze his surroundings to restrain any unlucky victims. A few had escaped the trap- the two significant ones were the mud and water ninjas from earlier.
"You take the ice side. I'll take the fire side." The water ninja said.
"Right!" The mud ninjas yelled, before the two leapt over to strike Todoroki. Their paths zigzagged to throw Todoroki off.
Todoroki began to look back and forth between the two of them as he took a deep breath. Just focus, and don't let their movements get to you, he told himself. You just have to concentrate...FOCUS!
Todoroki extended both of his arms and took a few long breaths before continuing. He made extensive use of his ice aspect to bring the surrounding air to a very cold temperature. The temperature plummeted from a comfortable 79 to a bone-chilling -20 in a very short amount of time. Todoroki abruptly changed sides and focused his fire into his arm as he shifted to his fire side just as the temperature was about to become more unbearable.
"Flashfire Freeze Fist," Todoroki spoke.
Todoroki smashed his fist into the ice that was on the ground, which resulted in the discharge of a superheated blast that destroyed everything in the area surrounding him.
"Flashfreeze Heatwave!" The sudden heatwave of flames and ice that surrounded the mud and water ninjas quickly engulfed them. Even if their quirks were as strong as they could be, they couldn't hold a candle to Todoroki's speed.
Todoroki took a deep breath, and shook his head. The only real drawback of so much switching is a small migraine right now, and occasionally some ear popping... Todoroki reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out an ibuprofen tablet. He swallowed it dry before walking over to tag the water ninjas.
"You almost had me on the ropes," Todoroki praised them. "Sorry for getting your hopes up."
"H-How the hell did you get so strong?!" The water ninja yelled as he started to look at Todoroki like he was some kind of demon.
"Practice, honestly."
"...yeah, with who!? The devil!?"
"No, a nice classmate of mine named Alan." Todoroki politely answered. "I don't think he'd like it if you referred to him as such."
The ninjas were shocked when Todoroki simply tagged each one of them and then turned away; he had to catch up with the others. They said I had to go...the Ante Room, right? Todoroki thought. Maybe some of my classmates are already there. I hope everyone else's test is going as good as mine is.
As Todoroki made his way over, it seemed like others were finally starting to try to meet up and head over to the Ante Room. Todoroki was happy to see a few groups were behind him, all with green glowing dots.
"Hey!" Ochako called out. "Kirishima! Momo!"
"Uraraka?!" Kirishima yelled back. "Sweet, you passed!"
"Oh! This is exciting! Looks like no one else from Class 1-A has been eliminated just yet!" Momo cheered.
"We're unbeatable!" Sero smirked.
"So, what did you guys do?" Mina asked.
"We pinned down a bunch of students and tapped their targets!" Ochako grinned.
"We fought ZOMBIES!" Kirishima grinned. "And weird flesh dudes!"
"I outsmarted the smartest student from Atlas Academy." Momo beamed.
"I punched some guy in the face." Shoji said, but no one paid him any mind.
"...I fought a guy who could make screws-" Izuku said, before the two groups began to do some sort of weird...victory dance. Momo and the others were confused by the sight, bu they sort of joined in.
Izuku shook his head, and turned to Todoroki.
"If you want to know, I fought ninjas." Todoroki said.
"I'm shocked you weren't one of the first ones to pass," Izuku chuckled. "So? Did you try out your new moves?"
Todoroki nodded. "They're incredibly effective in battle, even if my technique isn't anywhere close to...Endeavor's level. Still. Thank you for the advice."
Izuku nodded. "It's not a problem!"
Ochako walked over to the two boys and smiled. "So, that makes 11 from our class..." Ochako said. "Nine to go. How many spots are left?"
Todoroki looked up to the stadium's big screen. "18 spots left...half of those could be for our class." Todoroki hummed.
"I hope Iida's okay out there..." Ochako frowned. "Along with the others as well..."
Iida was not okay. He was...sort of in the midst of chaos.
It was like a warzone now. Not only had time dwindled down, but so had the number of available spots. At the start, it was deemed only a hundred students would be able to advance. Since then, 82 had passed. 18 spots remained. 18 coveted spots. Those who remained from any school were going all out, launching devastating barrages with projectile Quirks or getting into large brawls with close-range Quirks.
So many powers...it'd be near impossible to keep track of them all, Iida thought, surveying the battlefield, With so few spots left, strategy's gone out the window and this battle has turned to pure chaos! Behind his mask, Iida's eyes went wide when he saw Aoyama in the middle of the battlefield, dodging strikes from a Shiketsu student. The strikes were wild, unpredictable, even more than usual in this anxiety-inducing period where time ticked away.
"C'mon, Sparkly!" the student taunted, "Stay still and it'll be over quick!"
"Oh non! It's not 'Sparkling,' it's 'Twinkling!'" Aoyama corrected.
"Whatever!"
Iida quickly drew his Proto Tool, and fired a quick net to restrain the student. He didn't hesitate to tap all their targets and eliminate him. "T-there! One target down, one more to go..." He huffed.
He didn't intend to be one of the last ones standing. He'd been busy- trying to find Class 1-A, so they could stay together. He wanted them ALL to help each other...but, alas.
"Iida?" Aoyama blinked, "You...you haven't passed?!"
"Not yet, no. I need one more target! You?" Iida asked.
"U-um...I need two."
Iida took a deep breath. "..okay then! I'll help you!" Iida then fired a few more shots to keep some students at bay. "Please! Come with me! Hop on my back!"
"...I feel like-" Aoyama was about to say.
"No time!" Iida insisted. Without any further hesitation Aoyama hopped onto Iida's back.
"So, what is the plan now? Run around and blast who we can?" Aoyama asked.
"Anyone! And everyone!" Iida yelled. "This is a free for all, Aoyoma! And we don't want to be eliminated!"
"Understood! Then with your speed and my twinkling, we shall race to victory!"
"Yes...I'm certain! Even if the twinkling...actually, nevermind! ONWARD!" Iida called as his exhaust pipes roar to life. With that, the now teamed-up U.A. students raced off, targeting any student they could find. Aoyama managed to tag out a werewolf-like student from a school he wasn't familiar with. In hindsight, the werewolf made it too easy as he put one of the targets on his head.
"That's one!" Aoyama called out.
"Noted!" Iida said, as he twirled the Proto Tool around. He extended it into its staff mode, and raced forward at breakneck speeds. "RECIPRO-!"
"BURST!" Another voice called out, catching Iida by surprise. In a boost of speed that seemed one or two seconds slower, another student raced in from the side and managed to take a swing at the speedster of 1A. The successor to the Ingenium name ducked underneath the kick and skid across the ground, stabbing the Proto-Tool staff into the ground to act as an anchor to help him come to a quicker stop. He looked up to see who could even copy his signature move, even to an inferior degree. The only problem was that there really wasn't that much to pick out when it came to appearance. Their body was pitch black with only two white dots for eyes breaking up the single coloration.
"Who..who are you? How could you even-?" Iida wondered.
"Why its simple, my friend!" the newcomer said, impersonating Iida's voice.
"I...I don't sound like that, do I?"
"Non, mon ami! He is doing a terrible impression!" Aoyama quickly reassured, before dodging another blast of light from his opponent.
"Hey sparkly! You should probably focus more on me!" Said opponent grinned before light energy began forming between the two horn-like pigtails she'd given herself, "Here we go!"
Shiketsu High Student: Hana Hikari! Quirk: Light Absorption! She can absorb light, even only partial wavelengths, and remove it from the source! Once she has it inside her body, she can use it in any number of ways, the most common of which is a bright light explosion!
Iida immediately got in front of Yuga, Proto Tool turning into a shield to block her attack. Hana fired the attack, hitting the shield head on. As the burst of light exploded against Iida's shield, the area around them was temporarily illuminated in a dazzling display. Iida gritted his teeth.
"Well, aren't you a tough one to crack," she remarked, adjusting the positioning of her horn-like pigtails. "But I've got plenty of light to spare!"
"And I have quite the speed advantage! Or any other advantage I need!" the duplicate speedster announced.
"How is that possible though. Recipro is a move based around my Quirk. You can't just copy the move without...copying the Quirk. Can he-?" Iida muttered.
Shiketsu High Student: Yoshida Gakuo! Quirk: Body Double! Yoshida's Quirk's pretty easy to explain, he can copy other people's Quirks, though the copied versions are a little less strong than the original. The only criteria he needs to copy a power is to understand someone's personality. But since he's also got an acting streak, he also tends to copy them a bit further. Mannerisms and even impressions!
"Copy Quirks? Indeed I can, Mr. Tenya!"
"Well, that seems a bit cheap, non?" Aoyama shrugged.
"A battle of speed then? Is that what you want? But I have more than speed to offer," he smirked, knowing the capabilities of the Proto-Tool in his hand.
"I can use more than speed as well, so the fight is fair!" Yoshida smirked.
"Very well." Iida said, as his weapon shifted into tonfa mode. "Let's just see if you can keep up with me." Iida propelled himself forward with a burst of Recipro Burst. Yoshida, matching his movements almost perfectly, followed suit. The two speedsters engaged in a high-speed chase.
Hana prepared for another light-based assault, absorbing ambient light to fuel her Quirk. Aoyama aimed his naval laser at her, attempting to disrupt her concentration. Hana continued to absorb light, her body glowing even brighter as Aoyama aimed his naval laser at her.
"Ha!" Hana said. "I can ABSORB that, y'know!"
The dazzling light illuminating made it difficult for Yuga to focus, and he struggled to find an opening. This...is quite troublesome. He thought. But maybe...it's right that this happens.
After all, I sold out my friends.
I'm the reason Bakugou lost an arm.
Why Satou quit.
Why Mineta left.
The whole fight with Mina and Kaminari.
That was me.
I'm getting my just deserts for how truly despicable I am.
Hana, sensing Aoyama's hesitation, seized the opportunity. She closed the distance and aimed a light-enhanced strike at him. Yuga barely managed to dodge in the nick of time.
"Whatever's got you distracted, I'd really push it aside for now!" Hana smirked, completely oblivious to just how serious it was. Yuga didn't flinch outwardly, instead just trying to get away from her. Some of his moves were close range, sure, but they really worked at range. Plus, he didn't want to immediately recharge her for another strike. Instead, he threw a punch that took her by surprise, forcing her to bring up one of her arms and block the hit. She reared back her free hand, the one holding the ball, and tried to tag one of Aoyama's discs. The twinkling hero managed to catch the move in time and he leapt away, letting the ball just tap his leg.
"Huh, nice reflexes there!" Hana complimented.
I'm not entirely sure how I did that. Yuga thought. That better not be ANOTHER quirk...
Yuga winced, before deciding to make a tactical retreat. He ran off, attracting the attention of a few other kids.
"HEY! UA KID, 10 O' CLOCK!" Someone yelled.
"Huh?" Aoyama looked to see who yelled that, before turning to see what they were warning him of.
...no, wait. They were telling everyone he was an easy target. Balls started flying towards him, narrowly missing him.
"Ohhh, of course," Aoyama muttered to himself as he ran through the gauntlet of projectiles.
Iida, meanwhile, was still racing around the area. The mountainous terrain was tripping up the imposter- but Iida was striding high. Helped doing all his camp training on a rugged plain.
"You seem to be slowing down!" Iida yelled.
"Not used...to the terrain is all!" Yoshida countered, acting tough.
"Should I slow down for you?"
"Oh, don't patronize me!"
Iida spun around, and dashed towards his imposter. "Obviously! You don't know the tricks!" Iida said, brushing past him and smashing into his arm with the tonfa.
The tricks? Yoshida wondered to himself before the tonfa slammed into him. He tried to strike back with a quick roundhouse kick, but Iida managed to duck under the strike and land another one of his own hits with the tonfa form.
"Iida family techniques! Our quirk has been refined through the ages!" Iida said, as his weapon changed into a grappler. A hook shot out, digging into the side of the mountain.
Yoshid tried to use that as an opening, hoping to land a speed-boosted punch to the fastest member of class 1A. Before he connected though, the grapple-line whirred and pulled Iida skyward. Thanks to the timing, Yoshida's fist connected with the stone and it HURT. He quickly withdrew his hand and shook it, the pain making his hand just sting.
"Apologies!" Iida offered.
Yoshida huffed, before his arm started to shift. "I don't JUST do full body transformations..." He said, morphing his arm into Endeavor's. "I can do utility too." Fire spewed out from the arm, aimed directly at Iida. Iida pulled back, narrowly avoiding getting scorched.
"That's...actually rather impressive!" Iida gave him that.
"Thank you!" Yoshida grinned, as his legs changed to mimic Mirko's. His other arm morphed into Endeavor's, and suddenly Yoshida was SOARING towards Iida at full speed. Mirko's strong legs + Endeavor's fire divided by my strength still equals a pretty powerful fusion!
Even Iida had to admit the power in that combination. His speed could keep him ahead for a bit, but even a fraction of Mirko's own speed was more than enough to catch up to him. The power behind Endeavor's flames was just as strong in Yoshida's hands too.
Mimic reared his fist back, ready to punch Iida's lights out. However, Iida snatched his weapon and transformed it into an energy barrier in an instant. Mimic's firey fist collided with the weapon, impact rippling between both combatants.
Iida took a moment to look over to where his partner was and, through some miracle, Aoyama had managed to avoid being hit. He'd put some distance between them and was now...wait what was he doing?
FSSSHAM. Yuga began firing his laser skyward, making everyone fighting pause for a moment.
"W-what are you doing!?" Iida yelled.
"Standing out!" Yuga declared.
"Y-yes, you are! But that's not good! You're getting everyone's attention!" Iida said.
"That's...the point! Because if everyone can see me-!" Yuga said, holding the laser for as long as possible. That's when Iida realized his classmate's plan.
If everyone can see him...then so can our remaining classmates! Iida mentally finished.
"But- what if you get hit!?" Iida yelled.
"...it doesn't matter." Yuga's face seemed sad. "And that's okay."
"What?! No, it's not!" Hana chimed in.
"Um, Hana, forgive me for sounding a bit...cynical maybe, but we are supposed to be fighting him," Yoshida pointed out.
"Ignore the circumstances for a minute! He's a student like us, shining his brightest to try and bring that light to others!"
"She's right, Aoyama!" Iida called out.
"Indeed! And a hero's first objective is to be a beacon! A shining beam of light for others!" Yuga announced. "To give up everything when need be! And..."
Yuga paused for a moment, and closed his eyes.
"I've...just wanted to be equal."
"Yuga-!" Iida said. The sound of the remaining students rushing towards the duo quickly echoed out through the arena. Countless students, each with their own unique flair, made their way towards the beacon of light, far too many for Iida to handle alone. But right when it seemed like the two U.A. students would be eliminated, they got some help from the most unexpected allies in the entire world.
Pigeons.
An entire flock, the biggest anyone had ever seen, descended on the students rushing towards the U.A. duo. While the other students swatted at the birds as they flew down and questioned where they came from, Iida immediately recognized the source of this scene right out of a movie. It was-!
"That's it, my friends!" Koda said to the bird, "Keep circling that area!"
From within the cover of pigeons, Tokoyami launched his attack. He donned Dark Shadow over his body, and extended his claws.
"COVERT...BLACK-OPS ARMS!" He yelled, whipping his arms around.
The arms slashed the opponents with ease, allowing Ojiro to rush in and hit every target he could. "HIT EVERY TARGET YOU CAN!" He yelled, "BEFORE ANYONE ELSE GETS TO THEM!"
Iida gasped. "Y-you guys!"
"IT'S UA!" Someone yelled. "Get em!"
Hana shot a ray of light towards one of the kids at random, but her attack dissipated in midair. Her eyes widened, as the light suddenly began to form into something.
"Thanks for that," Tooru grined, as a very rough 'light stick figure' formed. She had absorbed the light from her attack.
"A-ack! Didn't see that one coming!" Hana yelled.
"I believe the saying is 'how does it feel when the script is flipped?'" Yuga smirked.
"Not what I was gonna say, but it still works!" Tooru said. The light began to glow brighter and brighter before the invisible girl struck and pose and blinded every non-U.A. student that looked at her.
"Warp Refraction: Say Cheese!" Tooru yelled. As students reeled from the blinding light, the invisible girl managed to tag out one student, then a second. At the same time, Dark Shadow grabbed another student, a bulky student with a Quirk that let him transform his arms into some type of rock, and tagged him out as well. Ojiro tapped the targets on those he had knocked down. A cacophony of buzzers rang out, showing how many students were being tagged out just by U.A.
Yoshida used Endeavor's flames to try and scare the pigeons away, clear the sky so he could get a better shot. Before, the furious flock had blinded him with feathers and beaks but now he could at least see properly. But seeing wasn't really what got him concerned, it was what he heard. A final series of buzzers rang out, signaling that Tooru, Tokoyami and Ojiro had passed. Another chorus of buzzes signaled that Koda passed too, with a second following close behind. The latest person to pass adjusted her hat as she looked up to the rest of arena. Cammie pouted, wondering if the object of her curiosity passed already too.
This was getting worse and worse for both Yoshida and Hana. Neither of them had really been keeping too much of an eye on how many people had reached all the requirements before them, thinking they had enough time.
"Hana! The U.A. kid, Sparkling-" Yoshida began.
"Twinkling!" Hana corrected.
"Whatever! He's only got one more target you need to hit! I can give you an opening, but you're not gonna have it for long! So just throw!"
"But what about your spot?"
"I've already got two buzzers hit...I'm not gonna make it. So you need to take the shot!"
Hana looked down at the ball in her hand and tightened her grip around it. She didn't know how many spots were still open, so this might be her last chance.
But it was also Yuga's. Having taken the chance created by his classmates, Iida had raced around the area of confused students and managed to tag out two prior students. "Yuga!" the new Ingenium called out after tagging one more person, taking the 98th spot, "Come on! I believe you can really pass! Just throw the ball!"
"B-but what if I miss!?" Yuga yelled.
"YOU WON'T!" Iida said. "Just do it!"
Yuga gripped the ball tightly, taking a quick breath. He reared back his arm, preparing to throw. He was going to fulfil Iida's earlier words. But Hana was also getting ready to throw. The two threw their respective balls through the air at the same time, but Hana's was intercepted by a stray pigeon, much to her shock. But the twinkling hero to be's ball managed to land a strike on the last target! His targets turned to a green color, signaling he had passed!
The sound of the buzzer felt...alien. Very, very alien. It didn't feel earned, especially after what he'd done these past few weeks. Yuga just stared up at the board, and shivered.
"I...I did it."
"Aoyoma," Iida said, walking over. "I don't know about 'equal', but...perhaps we're using a different measuring stick. Either way...this is all thanks to you."
Yuga took off his shades, and rubbed his hand across his face. Iida was put off by his reaction. "Are you...okay?"
"Y-yeah." Yuga sighed. "I am."
It seems his twinkling wouldn't be fading out today.
"Hana..." Yoshida began.
"No. You don't need to apologize," Hana smiled, "Thank you for the chance."
Elsewhere in the arena, one student looked on in horror at the sight he discovered. Students from various schools were...essentially skewered and pinned to the walls, ceiling, and even floor of a building in the factory district of the arena. It wasn't by blades or pillars of earth, but by giant screws.
"What...what the hell..." the student asked, backing away. His Quirk was Racer Scooter, letting him fuse his legs together to resemble said scooter...and it was a power he should have used to run.
｢sad to say｣ A voice called out. ｢they're not passing the exam. shame｣
Kumagawa leap down from behind the boy, and stabbed his back.
｢they had great powers but weak wills｣
"W-what...what the hell...d-did you...do?" the student gasped.
｢oh dont worry about that. would you believe i only tagged two of them out?｣
Kumagawa happily tapped the last target he needed and laughed. ｢wow! i passed｣
"N-no...I didn't realize that I-"
｢was outshined by the others, and left to struggle alone｣ Kumagawa sighed. ｢your classmates abandoned you, but guess what...look up｣
Out of pure fear, the student did.
｢they didnt last long either｣
His classmates were screwed up high, struggling to remove their screws.
｢isn't it funny how you lasted the longest?｣
"How...how did you..."
｢and yet i'll still lose here. somehow. dunno how but, we'll see how it goes｣
Kumagawa walked off, throwing a screw up and down as he walked. He slowly came to a stop, when he saw someone lurking around the corner. It was Camie.
"Oh! Kumagawa. Hey, you passed! That's-"
｢drop the disguise｣
"Huh?" Camie tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"
｢you lack her 'unique' speech pattern. if you're going to infiltrate us, at least learn your target｣
Kumagawa smiled. ｢but what can i do? you're already here｣
"...then you won't say anything?" "Camie" asked.
｢is the real one still alive｣
"Y-yeah." 'Camie' said.
Kumagawa blinked. ｢...oh! well, camie. hi. glad to see you passed. see you at the ante room｣ Kumagawa then walked off, confusing the imposter.
H-how'd he do that!?
Behind the "mask" of Camie, the infiltrator was panicking. Had anyone else found out about this and just never mentioned it? Was it just him? Did she need to leave now?
'Camie' shook her head. No! Do it...for the mission. Get someone's blood...