Here it is, the ninety-eighth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released on the right day as promised. It's time for the fifth and final battle of the Joint Training arc and we all know what happens in that battle so get ready for it and how Adrien can affect the battle in his own way. There is still more in this arc to come, it doesn't end with the battles, but for now let's enjoy the final battle in the arc and all the action that happens in it. That is all the administrative stuff I have for now though and as there are no review questions to answer or guest reviews to respond to I will end this note here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. Now, though, it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 98th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 98: A New Power Unleashed
"So, what's the plan Monoma?" Reiko Yanagi asked interrupting his latest rant about how Class A was inferior to them or whatever it was this time to focus on the most important thing, their upcoming match against Team Midoriya to finish off the joint training exercise. "We should actually decide what to do now."
"You're killing my vibe Yanagi." Monoma complained. "I'm trying to set the mood for what is to come."
"I think that it's best that we do something similar to Tokage's team despite it not working out for them in the end." Nirengeki Shoda said in a calm voice to get the planning sorted, Monoma may be the face of the team, but he was the brains and had experience as an organizer and planner being Class B's deputy rep. "Our team is similarly balanced to theirs when we look at our opponents though we have a better capture system with Shinso's Quirk able to immobilize them completely while they have Agreste who adds additional strength to their side that backs up Midoriya. We're a group with strong technical Quirks so better for us to hide and attack via ambushes, especially when dealing with their two powerhouses. Best to focus on range over close combat where they excel over us."
"There's a difficult fight ahead of us for sure." Yanagi said as she thought on Shoda's words and added her own thoughts to the upcoming battle. "Both Midoriya and Agreste are spooky, they're going to be tough to face."
"Spooky?" Shinso asked confused. "Why are they spooky?"
"She loves spooky stuff, it's kinda Yanagi's thing." Shoda explained to him. "It's also her way of saying that an opponent is scary or tough to face. I think we can all agree that facing those two is going to be tough. Midoriya's arguably the strongest with a Quirk active in that class and Agreste is the strongest without a Quirk and that's not getting into his Quirk or the fact that we now know he can near singlehandedly take down a team without much of an issue."
"Ok so those are the two we're most worried about." Shinso said looking over to the other team that had grouped up and were chatting before the match as there was a little time given how fast Bakugo's match was. "What are we going to do about them?"
"Given Midoriya's mobility and combat skills, it's safe to consider him the same if not better than Bakugo as he can deliver a lot of force in close combat whereas Bakugo is ranged with his explosions." Yanagi said. "However, he's apparently learned a long-distance attack which just adds to his danger as he doesn't need to get close to us now. We stumble even a little and it will end up like the last match, he will destroy us and that's before we factor in Agreste as well."
"I've been on a team with Agreste back in the Sports Festival, he didn't strike me as a leader then because of Dupain-Cheng but he showed in the second match that we can't count him out on that front." Shinso said. "Midoriya is their leader, that's clear, you can see how at least Uraraka looks up to him and his tactical mind is no joke from what I've heard, so we make him our top priority, but we can't ignore Agreste or his power. We take down Midoriya first, he's the true threat as he's the only person to ever break my Quirk's hold without a third party and I still don't know how he did it. However, if we use Brainwashing in conjunction with Copy then we should be able to take him out."
"Midoriya is the fastest in terms of mobility and the flashiest there, so he'll be the easiest to find." Shoda said thinking on it. "That means that he'll likely act as a diversion for them so we can trap him and get him out of the picture with you two, Monoma's Quirk is improved significantly since the Sports Festival so that's a big advantage. The rest of us can focus on the other 4 but there is one issue there."
"Cataclysm." Yanagi said glancing to the French boy who was idly chatting with his team. "That's a really spooky power and a lot stronger than any of us realized as we hadn't truly seen what it could do before today. Plus, his control over it is unreal, it's as if the energy he makes is part of him rather than just produced and infused into an object so he has total control over what it can do. That's a power we can't overlook."
"We can single out Midoriya and take him with Shinso and Monoma, but we can't allow a brawl with the others to ensue for sure." Shoda agreed. "Even if we factor in backup for Midoriya, which is almost certain to be Uraraka as she knows him best and even a blind man can see she's crushing on him hard, we're technical specialists not brawlers despite my god bod. Mineta and Ashido aren't too much of a problem I'd say other than their mobility and Quirks being good for destruction and capture, should it come to it a few hits with Twin Impact and Poltergeist with some aid from Size wherever it is needed should do the trick. It's Agreste that's the problem."
"He's strong, easily the strongest without a Quirk." Shinso said. "And he can destroy more efficiently than Ashido can with her Acid Quirk because she just melts it, he destroys what he touches with Cataclysm utterly. You three would be best to either overwhelm him first or distract him to get the other two out of the battle and then wait for Monoma and myself to join."
"Ideally we don't brawl with Agreste but keep him at range where he's weaker." Yanagi said looking to Kodai who was as quiet and expressionless as ever but even with her taciturn look Yanagi knew her friend well to read her eyes. "Size won't be useful against him, will it?"
"Cataclysm counters me too well." Kodai admitted her tone neutral. "I can't protect against it the way I can against the other Quirks on their team."
"I figured." Shoda said as he thought on the destructive power they were up against. "It only seems to work on inorganic material, he didn't go after Komori's mushrooms in the second match but rather focused on the ground to prevent her spores from landing which lends credence to that face, which puts it in the same category as Size. The other issue with Agreste is that they say he's as strong as Dupain-Cheng, that's not a good sign."
"I've seen her strength once." Kodai said recalling the Summer Camp and look in Dupain-Cheng's blue eyes when it was just them for a moment before she went to help protect Bakugo. "It's unreal, if he matches her we really can't let him run the show."
"We'll be destroyed if he's allowed free reign in a brawl." Yanagi admitted. "So, it all comes down to subduing Midoriya first then overwhelming the rest with ambushes and range. Going to be a lot on Monoma and Shinso to get this first bit done."
"Lotta pressure when you single me out like that." Monoma admitted not looking at them though he'd been listening intently to everything that they'd been saying. "Don't forget though, it's possible that Midoriya's Quirk would be a blank on my end and that could be a problem."
"A blank?" Shinso asked confused. "What's that?"
"It's a Quirk that Monoma can't copy with his, something about the nature of Copy being surface level so anything that requires stockpiled power to work like Fat Gum's Quirk won't be copied." Shoda explained. "And I hear that Agreste's uses his own body energy, that his enhanced constitution from generations of Quirk Marriages is the reason why his body can handle such power so it may be a risky Quirk to Copy as well. Not to mention the fact that Agreste clearly has worked hard to learn to control it so Monoma likely can't use it efficiently the way he can use our class's Quirks."
"Well, we won't be able to do anything unless we stop them both somehow." Monoma said deciding to focus on Midoriya as the plan specified and leaving the others to his classmates. "We're counting on you, Shinso, to deal with Midoriya and the rest to at least overwhelm Agreste when it comes to dealing with him. I think if you send enough items at him with Twin Impact adding to them at random even Cataclysm can't hold out that long."
"True, that is how we defeat Agreste." Shoda said seeing the logic in that amount of power. "He'll be forced to defense and evasion, we can exploit that to get a hit in when he makes a mistake or when his energy runs out and he can no longer sustain Cataclysm. It should also prevent his wanton destruction should he opt for a scorched earth policy like we saw in the second match, and we are supposed to keep destruction to a minimum."
"Then let's ger to our positions." Monoma said as the teachers announced that match 5 would begin soon. "Time to at least win one off these reprobates."
The others nodded, at least in terms of winning a match for their class as they hadn't won a match yet making this their last chance, and headed out to their starting point. At the same time the other team did discussing their plan as they did as they all got ready for the final match of the day.
"So, we should start by going after Shinso, right?" Mineta asked as they headed to their start point. "He's the one I'm worried about the most on that team, I don't want that weirdo snooping around in my head."
"Mineta, no one wants to be in your head and that's likely your best defense against telepathic based powers." Adrien said his voice slightly mechanical from the mask which actually helped as it wasn't something Shinso could replicate. "And he's not the only one to worry about."
"Yeah, don't get too hung up on one member of their team or else we might overlook the others." Ochaco said. "They've got a number of people who can attack from anywhere without giving away their location thanks to Yanagi's Poltergeist Quirk, they can change the size on us thanks to Kodai's Size Quirk and we don't know what's been struck by Shoda as that would allow him to activate Twin Impact. Then you add in Copy which can mimic all of their Quirks and if he touches us ours as well and they've got a surprisingly strong team while we make things, um, float."
"Melt." Mina said letting off some acid.
"Stick." Mineta said as they all realized that they had a lot of limits.
"Wow, not great." Ochaco said. "We've got Deku's strength and Agreste's destruction but that's it."
"Now I'm bummed." Mina said.
"We are better than you think." Adrien said as he reminded them of Izuku's plan for their team. "Midoriya will draw their attention with his power, speed, and threat level and I can still sense them to some extent with my senses. Lying in wait is a possibility but they're ranged specialists so they wouldn't really walk into an ambush which would just leave us in a stalemate. However, if I find them I can remove all cover. From there the only real concerns are what is the weight limit that Yanagi can control with Poltergeist and the items Kodai has in her costume."
"Wait what?" Mina asked looking at Agreste. "She has items in her costume?"
"Marinette told me that Kodai once revealed to her that she carries small things, mainly metal so I presume things like nuts and bolts, in her costume as support items." Adrien said surprising them. "Back in the woods during the Summer Camp after I went down, Marinette was getting me to safety when she ran into Kodai, Kendo, and Tetsutetsu helping a downed Ibara and Honenuki. Tetsutetsu was going to go after the gas villain and Marinette told him to do so and sent Kendo with him. That left her alone with Kodai who she then gave some coins to enlarge to protect us should it come to it, that's when Kodai revealed her items to Marinette."
"Woah she remembered all that?" Ochaco said amazed that Marinette could recall such a thing from that specific situation, most of that night was a blur to Ochaco. "Damn, that girl is really good."
"Marinette may have been angry, but she recalled all of that night well." Adrien said not adding that the main reason for it was because he was taken down which focused her mind because of how much it hurt her to see him sacrifice himself when she couldn't save him like before. "And she told me all that happened afterwards when we had a moment, after she got back from Kamino that is. If we go down the expose via Cataclysm route, which will piss off the teachers after the destruction in the second and third matches, that is the biggest concern for us, but, well, I can't really avoid it at the moment. However, Size only works on inorganic materials same as Cataclysm, so I am a good counter to her."
"Right then our best bet is to lure them into a trap where we can use our two powerhouses against them." Mina said as the plan solidified to her following Agreste's clarifications. "Sounds good to me."
"It is a solid plan and I'll act as the bait for it." Izuku said landing in front of them, he'd told them earlier that his Quirk was acting weird back when they were planning between matches, so he'd activated it to do a perimeter sweep and had just returned sparking with power to show his Quirk was active and nothing currently seemed amiss with him. "They know I'm the easiest to spot and the strongest in terms of raw power, so I'll lure them out into the open."
"Wait didn't you say that your Quirk was acting weird or something." Mina said. "Are you sure it's ok?"
"Yeah Deku we don't want anything strange to happen." Ochaco said concerned for him as she often was. "It won't, will it?"
"I know you're all concerned but I think it's fine now, I just ran around a bit and didn't notice anything." Izuku said feeling fine though he was nervous about something strange happening. "After the last match I think the other team will be on guard around me they don't want to repeat what Kacchan did to them, so I need to move more than usual. They'll also be wary of Agreste after the second match, but they can plan for that better than they can for me."
"You sure you'll be ok?" Mineta asked. "We're all counting on you to draw their attention."
"Don't you worry, we will win this, and we won't lose anyone in the process." Izuku said with a smile that inspired the others and made Ochaco's heart flutter but she kept it in check, though Adrien did give him a concerned look but left it at that because if something happened he had a plan for it even if it would be rather draining to pull off. "We won't lose."
"Yeah, I knew you could do it Deku." Ochaco said as Mina leapt up in celebration and didn't miss the clear love in Uraraka's voice when she showed her support for Midoriya. "I know you can."
"Weren't you girls just saying that we're not suited to this." Mineta pointed out with a sigh. "Amazing what change you get when Midoriya is saying we can do it. It's almost…"
"It's now time for the fifth and final training match!" Vlad said through the speakers as everyone prepared for it and interpreting Mineta before he could voice something that might get him floated away. "Are you ready? Do your best until the last student is down, begin!"
With that the match began and both teams rushed into position. Izuku was going to win this, he was going to back up his words to Kacchan after his friend and rival's dominant match and he wasn't going to embarrass himself. This was theirs and no matter what they would win. What could possibly go wrong?
"So how do you think this will go down?" Momo asked Marinette as they watched the teams head to their starting places. "Will we win this one as well?"
"Tough to say really." Marinette admitted. "Shinso is a real wildcard, his Quirk is powerful and that support item of his really adds to what he can do with it. Had the entrance exam not been more combat and capture orientated, based on what I've heard as I took the special foreign transfer one, then he'd likely have gotten in as his Quirk has serious heroic potential."
"The recommended exam is different." Momo said. "He should have been allowed to take it; it may have been easier for him. I'll speak to my father after this, try and get a wider range of recommendations as Shinso has shown me that there are Quirks that we simply fail to test properly but are really useful for heroes."
"Yeah but they know the trick he can pull now, ribbit." Tsu said as she joined them, a finger on her chin as she spoke showing she was deep in thought. "So, they can prepare for it, right? As good as Shinso's item is for hero work, and it will be great at capturing villains in the field, in this setting it is rather limited once you know what he can do and the voices he'd likely pull off."
"Possibly." Marinette said thinking on it. "Seeing each other speak is the key but Adrien wears a full face covering as he has a mask-like support item like Shinso does. However, that actually helps them as well."
"It does?" Toru asked also joining them in a little Class A girls group though Kyoka was still being praised for her recent role in the 4th match's dominating victory so couldn't join them yet. "How does it help him?"
"Thanks to the way it is made, likely the special device in the breathing part designed to filter out pathogens, it gives Adrien's voice a mechanical tinge to it." Marinette explained and the other girls nodded, they'd certainly heard that change to Agreste's voice when he spoke through his mask. "That is not something that the plates on Shinso's mask can replicate so he can't properly replicate Adrien's voice in this match. Just like with Komori's spores, Adrien's support item is working in a beneficial way beyond what he planned it to do."
"Huh I noticed that in the second match but didn't realize that it was a benefit in showing him as different in battle but when you factor in Shinso's Quirk I get it." Toru said before suddenly it hit her. "Wait, then surely he'd find it hard to replicate your voice Marinette given your accent."
"I had thought about that after we learned what he could do with his mask when he caught Kaminari." Marinette admitted. "And I think it would be hard for him to create the right resonance to mimic my thick French accent as it's not a native accent to this area unlike a regional Japanese one, but I had a way around it from the start that worked better. If I had to guess Adrien will do something that is a mix of tough to mimic and what I did only in his own way to distinguish himself from Shinso."
"What will he do?" Tsu asked.
"Speak in English." Marinette said something that both Ida and Todoroki heard and agreed with though didn't mention anything as the one time they knew Adrien to do that was during the Hosu incident which they couldn't really speak about to anyone who wasn't involved in it at the time. "He's fluent to the point of no accent in it, he grew up bilingual in French and English whereas I started learning it at 5 hence why my English is noticeably accented. As such, he can think and communicate in it at a speed that would enable him to use it in battle. I actually can't do that with English, and my clarity in the language isn't great. It took a lot of training to reach this level in Japanese, but it was required for me to come here."
"Makes sense." Momo said thinking on it though she knew the truth behind Marinette's Japanese and how it wasn't exactly learned the normal way. "Being able to speak with such fluency in a different language will be tough for Shinso to mimic and when you add in how his voice is altered by his mask he can speak pretty freely in this battle. It is similar to you using French in the first match in a way with the exception that the others know enough English to understand what he's saying providing Adrien keeps things simple."
"Yeah we are going to discuss this whole you knowing French at some point, Yao-Momo." Toru said glaring at her friend though no one knew she was glaring. "But later, I want to see how this will go and who will win."
"I'm sorry for deceiving you and the rest of the class on that front, it wasn't my intention Toru." Momo said apologetically with a slight bow to her friend to show how sorry she was. "It just never came up, so I didn't mention it."
"Well, it did help us win and I can see how it's not something that will come up naturally given how respectful Marinette and Agreste are about sticking to Japanese even between themselves, most of the time that is." Toru said. "So, I won't bug you on that front. However, you do use Agreste's first name, that is interesting. Please tell me there isn't a love triangle developing, Mina would have a field day at that."
"It's a matter of cultural respect." Momo said quickly, which was technically true though the main reason why she'd finally started using Adrien's first name was more that it just felt right given what she knew about him and Marinette, but her tone letting Hagakure know that it wasn't romantic at all as she had no feelings like that for Adrien. "That's all. We are sharing our culture with them and making them welcome, the least we could do is be respectful to some of their nuances like the kiss on each cheek that we've started to do with Marinette or use of first names which is more common in the west."
"Fine, fine, just yanking your leg." Toru said with a giggle at how formal Yao-Momo was being. "That is something you would do but for the moment I'll stick with the more traditional gender respects with Agreste, not at that stage yet."
"Even with how he carried you like a princess." Momo teased back. "While in your costume no less."
"Anyway, who do you think will win Marinette." Tsu said while Hagakure spluttered and pointed out that it was due to the match that Agreste had to carry her like that. "Ribbit."
"We will mainly because of how well Bakugo did last match." Marinette said simply as she too ignored Toru's protests, she knew there was nothing to it, but Toru had tried to tease Momo, so she was getting her dues for that. "Midoriya will not want to be upstaged by him, they're rivalry is seriously intense, and they make each other better whether they want to admit it or not. He's going to go all out to win and will serve as bait to lure the other team out into the open where our class can trap them. The Quirks that Class B has in this match are very technical and ranged, if we can force them into a close up brawl we've got it."
"Are you sure that will work though?" Momo asked as she returned to the conversation after getting her own back on Hagakure. "Other than Adrien's hand to hand skills and raw strength, the only power-based Quirk is Midoriya's. That could be an issue in the match."
"Perhaps but remember that Mina is about as agile as they come without a Quirk or enhanced constitution to boost her, and her Quirk actually does increase her mobility." Marinette pointed out. "And Mineta is small and mobile, we've got that on our side and Mineta's balls, gods I hate how perverted that sounds when associated with him, are arguably the best capture Quirk in the class other than maybe Sero's tape. Add in how Kodai and Shoda use inorganic objects either because they have to or out of convenience, which I expect Yanagi to also use, and we've got counters for them with Adrien and Mina. If we can force a close combat we've got it. The biggest concern is really Monoma."
"Copy, it's a Quirk that on the face of it doesn't seem to be all that much as it doesn't do anything on its own other than, well, copy other Quirks, but when you really look at it, it really is strong." Tsu said thinking on it. "Especially after training, he no doubt has an increased time limit and can copy multiple Quirks now though I doubt he can use more than one at a given time."
"Yup which makes Monoma an army in his own right, depending on how many he can copy at a time." Marinette said with a nod. "So, if he can mimic the others he can lure Midoriya out on his own and then set up Shinso, who will want a rematch after the Sports Festival where Midoriya broke his brainwashing without any outside contact, to attack. That is what I'm most concerned about. They saw how Bakugo was in the last match and will likely single Midoriya out for a two on one while striking the others from range."
"I noticed that you haven't mentioned Ochaco." Toru said as she too returned to the conversation. "Where does she fit in on this team?"
"She's the glue of the team like Tsu was for my first one." Marinette said simply. "Zero Gravity will work well against a sudden enlargement from Size, or a thrown item be it via Twin Impact or Poltergeist as it can stop the items' momentum but in reality Ochaco's advantage is how well she works with and understands Midoriya. She will be the support he needs and her hand to hand, especially when it comes to quickly subduing an opponent, is surprisingly strong thanks to her internship. Expect her to be the one to step in and step up should something go wrong. Also, there is one other advantage to having her."
"What's that?" Momo asked.
"This is a match with Adrien in it." Marinette said with a shrug as the match began. "If at least two of the other team aren't knocked out with one needing some serious healing from Recovery Girl then I'd be really surprised. My love doesn't really know his own strength at times, so he'll go for a knock out to ensure that he's defeated his opponent and almost certain succeed in that regard. Zero Gravity will help take the unconscious Class B members to prison if Ochaco is still in it."
The other girls nodded in understanding at that, Adrien had left 4 of the 5 opponents in the second match unconscious at the end and the last one wasn't fine he was just knocked out by Toru instead. One thing was certain to them all, this was going to be a good match so they settled back to watch it unfold expecting a high action match with some interesting fights in it but that was about it.
As soon as the match started they set off running through the pipes on ground level trying to find their opponents. The exception was Izuku who was leaping from pipe to pipe above and in front of them with his Quirk trying to be as flashy as possible to get the other team's attention and get them to come out. Adrien could have actually done this as well, but he couldn't show of the way Izuku could and they'd figured that Izuku would be the one the other team was most concerned about, so they let him take the lead.
The one problem with this plan was that it relied on Izuku being far enough ahead to be alone to lure them out but for the others to be far enough back to strike with support when the time came. Add in that only Adrien had the mobility and strength to catch up if Izuku got too far ahead of them and they had to walk a fine line to maintain the right distance to lure out Class B and Shinso while also ensuring that they could get to him in time to take out their opponents.
Thankfully with Adrien's senses and a Mineta alert system that they came up with on the fly involving a long yellow string Mineta had as part of his gear that was covering in his sticky balls before he was floated and sent out with the string, also floating, they could cover their bases. It was effectively an airborne fishing line that they were trying to use to catch an idea where their foes were, or at least where Yanagi's Poltergeist Quirk was being used.
At least that was the plan until Izuku got far enough away from them to be on his own and was attacked by a flying item that wasn't thrown but being controlled by something meaning that it had to be Poltergeist at work. That was followed up by a scream that could have been Ochaco or Mina but before Izuku could react he'd been engaged by Monoma who was the one actually using Poltergeist thanks to Copy.
It was clear that Monoma had lured Izuku out with the attack that Izuku easily defended himself against and then taunted him with the plan they had thus trying to goad him into speaking but with Copy at play Izuku wasn't going to risk that Brainwashing had been copied as well so he wasn't speaking. From that moment on, Izuku was removed from the rest of them to engage in his own fight with Monoma.
Back with the others, they heard the scream and instantly Adrien came to a sudden halt. It seemed like they or Izuku had been found so he held up a hand to stop them, but he let Mineta float around a bit longer.
"That scream wasn't you two." Adrien said through his mask though he spoke in English not Japanese to add to confirmation that it was him, an additional precaution he'd taken after seeing Marinette use French in the first battle to counter Shinso, but as he lacked her ability to create a translator he went with the language the others knew enough to understand him in. "I can just about tell the difference in the pitches to know it but only because I've known you two long enough to make that assessment."
"Is your hearing that good?" Ochaco asked as she looked at him to show that it was her speaking but stuck with Japanese as her English, while proficient, wasn't good enough for quick tactical application. "I know they're good but that's something else."
"My senses are enhanced similar to my physique thanks to my mother's family history of feline based Quirks which overtime became part of the constitution passed down through the generations as enhancements." Adrien said looking at her while Mina was looking out and Mineta was still floating around. "So naturally it's nowhere near my mother's level was, Cataclysm comes from my dad's side of the family, but it is above average. Certain things do help though like your dialect is distinctive enough to me that I can easily tell your voice from others."
"Oh." Ochaco said surprised at that though she knew her accent, which she tried to avoid letting out too much, was different from the rest of the class. "I didn't realize."
"It's not a bad thing, my hearing just allows me to pick it up easier." Adrien said. "However, hearing is just above average while smell and sight are the really strong senses I have. With enough concentration and a good baseline, I can tell a subtle difference. It clearly wasn't Kodai or Yanagi, sounded like it was Shinso trying to mimic your voice as that's the one that would get to Midoriya the most, but it wasn't, and I doubt he fell for it."
"Right good to know, we should regroup and plan." Ochaco said not sure how to feel that they'd used her voice to try and get Deku to respond but pushing it out of her mind for the moment and bringing her fingers together. "Release."
At that Mineta dropped down having laid his alert system out and looked at Ochaco. He too had heard the scream but not Adrien's recent deduction that it wasn't from them.
"That scream?" Mineta asked.
"Wasn't either me or Mina." Ochaco said shaking her head making sure to look at the pervert's mouth as she spoke. "They were trying to get Deku to respond but failed."
"Must have been Shinso then and it sounded close by." Mineta said looking to Adrien. "Can you sense them?"
"Funny to think of grumpy boy screaming in a girl's voice." Mina said while Adrien smelt the air around them trying to pick up any scents that weren't familiar to him and he really hated that he knew Mineta's scent so well. "But he did use Tsu's voice to get Kaminari earlier so it's something to keep in mind."
"Look at us when you talk." Adrien said coolly causing Mina to laugh nervously as he determined that he could smell three people who weren't on his team, but they were too far away to pinpoint. "I can tell but the others can't so if we get split up that's going to be a problem. As for what you asked Mineta, I'm not sure. Field Gamma lacks obfuscating smells so I've got their scents give or take but I can't tell how close they are with all the pipes, your…"
Almost as soon as Adrien was saying that the string in Mineta's hand began to jerk. That showed that they had caught something with it and turned to determine what it was but before anything could happen a series of items shot down at them from that direction, mainly bits of metal like nuts and bolts but there were a few things that looked like barrels amongst the items as well. They didn't reach them as Mina had already leapt into the way and used her Ultimate Move, Acid Veil, to create a highly concentrated wall of acid between them to destroy the items that had been sent at them.
"That was likely a mix of Poltergeist and Twin Impact, possibly with Size added in as some of those items didn't seem to be naturally that small." Adrien said as suddenly more items began to fly around them and at them, bouncing off the walls and ground at the same time as they tried to hit the members of Class A. "Dodge and destroy, I need a second to assess the situation before I use Cataclysm. What I have in mind with it is going to take a lot of energy, so I don't want to use it until it's absolutely necessary."
The others understood this, and they began evasive actions with Mina taking the charge on destroying in part because the items were small and in part because she understood that Adrien needed to preserve his stamina just in case while he assessed the situation. The items were small, but it was when he confirmed there some of them were tiny oil barrels in them that he truly understood what was going on and what it meant about the Quirks they were facing.
"It's a mix of Size and Poltergeist." Adrien said looking around trying to find where their opponents were. "Yanagi must have a weight or volume limit to what she can control so they've used Kodai's Quirk to reduce that by shrinking things and then attacking, that way they can use more items to harass us with. Be on the lookout for a sudden change in size whenever Kodai cancels her Quirk. Uraraka, that's on you to float them should that happen as I'm sure the moment they're returned to normal Yanagi will lose control of them so they're going to use them more as a nascence than anything else."
"On it." Ochaco said and not a moment too soon as suddenly several items Mina was trying to melt enlarged so she couldn't melt them anymore due to their size.
At that Mina leapt out of the way with her graceful dance moves and Ochaco began slapping things with her hands to make them float thus removing them from the battle. As this was happening Adrien had been calmly dodging and evading the items while searching the area with his senses for their opponents. All this work was bound to cause a serious sweat and soon he had the scent of perspiration that was strong enough to give him a direction.
Of course, the moment he found it was the moment that Shoda showed that he'd hit a bunch of the items before they were sent at Adrien and his classmates as Shoda activated the remote second hit that was Twin Impact, which was many times more powerful than the first. Shoda clearly couldn't see where they were, but he was able to cause a distraction with the second impact and send several items at them with more speed than they were already dealing with.
The items didn't hit them but through them and caused disruption and debris from their impacts with the ground. They couldn't counter this without Cataclysm and Adrien wasn't ready to use it just yet, at least not without being able to see his opponents, but he had an idea where they were which was good enough for him.
"This way." Adrien said as he ran forward. "I've got a scent that's probably Yanagi's as she's the one doing most of the work right now."
"I thought they were supposed to be going after Midoriya not us." Mineta wailed as they broke free of the area they were being attacked in and ran towards their attackers who didn't know that they were closing in on them as they too moved to hide for another strike. "What's going on?"
"They probably divided their forces and figured that without Midoriya they could wear us down with ambushes and hit and run attacks." Adrien said as they ran. "Not a bad plan really but it won't work."
"They probably figured out our location with that attack." Ochaco said. "So where is Deku?"
"Likely one of them, probably Shoda, has some support item to track things which makes sense with his Quirk, and used our lure as a way to estimate where we were." Adrien said as he tried to figure out what the other team's plan really was. "It's likely just those three while Shinso hides for an opportunity to strike Midoriya and Monoma engages him but…"
Before Adrien could finish there was suddenly a loud boom elsewhere on the battlefield as if a building had been struck by a large mass and they turned to see, well they weren't sure what it was, but it stopped them all dead in their tracks and stared at the strange sight that had appeared. Even from ground level they could see the tendrils of blackness shooting up uncontrollably into the air from a point, debris and destruction around it, and there seemed to be no control over what it was.
It was completely unknown to all of them as no one they knew had a power like that. Even Cataclysm wasn't like that, it couldn't form such free forming tendrils and didn't have a teal tinge to them, so it couldn't be Adrien's power. Well, that and the fact that Adrien was with them, so they knew it wasn't his Quirk at work.
Suddenly the tendrils seemed to coalesce in the air and then shot down right where the rest of Class A's team was and caused them all to leap out of the way as everything struck by them was impacted, cracked, and if weak enough broken apart and reduced to rubble. Still, they kept their eyes on the black tendrils and at the end of it they saw Midoriya, the tendrils coming from his right arm which hand seen the costume sleeve up to his bicep destroyed. He was being dragged along by it as he fought to control it and they all could see that he wasn't in control of them.
"What the…?" Ochaco said as she watched him fly past, slam into a building with enough force to cause a crater in it before he bounced off it and continue flying around trying to stop it. "Deku, no…"
"Go to him Uraraka." Adrien said assessing the situation as best he could but even though he was aware of the truth behind Izuku's Quirk, not that he could voice it, he wasn't sure how this was connected to One for All, and neither were the teachers watching it, but All Might knew it wasn't normal and they were already moving to get into position to try and stop what was going on. "Only you can reach him with your Quirk, only you have the power to save him."
"Right." Ochaco said rushing off though she would have done so anyway, she'd come to some realizations about what she wanted to be as a hero in no small part due to the person she loved and now she was going to show that by doing just what she wanted to do as a hero and for said love no less.
"Move on, leave them." Adrien barked at the other two as he led them around. "Uraraka can save him, let's use this to find the others and take them out. Anything can happen in a battle, never get complacent, use any advantage and this is one advantage we have. Let's show Class B that why we're the better class."
Mina and Mineta just nodded at that, and they set off around the disaster zone that Izuku was causing to find the others. The members of Class B had been running from the initial confrontation but with the sudden change thanks to whatever happened with Izuku's power they were now all converging on his location. It was just what Adrien wanted, they would be lured into the open by what was going on and then they could face them all in a massive brawl which only he was truly suited for, he just had to trust Uraraka could get the job done and control Izuku but given her feelings for him he was certain she could do it.
Adrien was right, only moments after sending her to help Izuku out she'd leapt through the air as she made herself float and pushed through the tendrils to grab him in a bearhug, ignoring any damage to herself from the black tendril things as her helmet was blasted off her head, and trying to get him under control. That came when she saw Shinso in on one of the elevated areas and yelled at him to brainwash Deku as it might work, which Shinso did after realizing how much he wanted the rematch with Midoriya and Izuku trusted Ochaco's judgement, so he responded to Shinso to allow himself to be brainwashed.
The moment that happened, the black tendrils shot back into him, flowing back rapidly into the point in his arm that they'd come out of, and he floated in the air as Ochaco held his arms. She had made sure that they would float and now she was glad that the danger had passed as she looked at the vacant look on Deku's face while they slowly fell to the ground. No one knew what he was seeing in his trance and right now everyone was more or less trying to recover from what had happened, or at least most of them were doing that.
The two most focused on what was going on with everyone else were Adrien and Monoma so that the moment Izuku was snapped out of his brainwashing by a slap from Ochaco and they touched down on top of some industrial thing in this area of Field Gamma, Monoma was able to suddenly attack, strike Izuku in the face and remind them that they were still fighting a match against him and his teammates. It was also the moment the rest of Class B reached the area, Kodai and Shoda on a ledge looking down and Yanagi flying on an enlarged nut with her Quirk to make sure Shinso was ok.
There was a slight engagement between Ochaco and Monoma that he was able to break free as Izuku reassessed the situation. That was when Adrien and the other two arrived and forced the entire battle wide open.
"Deku, you and Uravity deal with Phantom Thief and Shinso." Adrien yelled in English, defaulting to hero names due to the battle setting and his past in France before the incident, as Mineta, and Mina leapt at Shoda and Kodai forcing them to dodge or enlarge items to block the sticky balls and acid that was suddenly thrown at them. "We got the rest of this."
Izuku just nodded as Adrien leapt from his vantage point and at Yanagi, his hand glowing with black power as he swiped at the nut she was flying on. She had to take evasive action and he forced her right to where he wanted her to be, back with Kodai and Shoda so that the brawl going on became a battle between two teams of three with metal and other inorganic pieces flying all over the place thanks to the three Class B Quirks at play.
He trusted the rest to Izuku and Uraraka, which was tough as Izuku had no plan but did manage to catch the binding cloth sent by Shinso at Ochaco and focused on the others. They'd set up this brawl and Adrien intended to win it.
"Since when did Midoriya learn another new move?" Sero asked as everyone watched in stunned amazement and horror at the sudden explosion of black tendrils, even Bakugo was taken aback by it but he knew that it had to come from One for All, but even All Might was shocked by it. "That's really different from his other moves however."
"It is." Marinette said her eyes wide at it, but she refrained from glancing to Mage, not that she'd see him as he'd slipped away the moment he saw it due to Fei calling him with an emergence code that actually required him to head into Field Gamma and meet up with her at a predetermined location within the area. "What is it?"
"Is it a second Quirk or something like how I have ice and fire?" Todoroki asked. "And why didn't he say anything about this before."
"Judging by what's just happened I think this is new." Momo said. "And not good as he doesn't seem to have any control over it."
She was right, the black tendrils were out of control and causing a lot of damage to the area around them. No one knew what was going with Midoriya's Quirk, but they knew it wasn't good. Up until this point the match had been pretty straightforward with the expected distractions, sleight of hand, and range from Class B and Class A trying to react to it but Midoriya's sudden change had broken the match wide open as it had caused utter confusion and chaos to run rampant in the middle of the match.
It did allow for a brawl to ensue as the classes converged on each other and no one missed Ochaco leaping into action to save Midoriya but still it wasn't normal. That was confirmed when All Might rushed forward to tell Vlad and Aizawa that it this wasn't something that Midoriya had control over as it wasn't normal. That got all of them to hurry into the battle to get close and determine if it should be stopped as Aizawa could erase it so long as it was part of Midoriya's Quirk.
The rest of the Hero Course was left with Midnight to look over them as they all watched what was going on. This was not what anyone had expected and totally changed the dynamics of the final match. Now it would come down to who could adjust best would win it. All they could do was watch everything unfold as the teachers went to get a closer look at what was going on.
"Sir, what in all the various hells that exist is going on down there?" Fei asked as she materialized into human form from the eagle form she'd used to fly to the top of a tall chimney a safe distance away from where Izuku Midoriya was currently unleashing black tendrils from his arm that was destroying things around him and moving him as he tried to reign it in. "I know that Quirk, I've seen it before a long time ago and I can safely say that it's not the powerup ability that Izuku Midoriya has."
"Hold on, you know what that stuff is?" Mage said shocked, he'd left the observation area to get to a place he could safely disperse his consciousness from where he was and reappear it here where Fei was supposed to come should there be an issue that required her to speak directly to Mage during the exercise. "I don't know what's going on, those black tendrils just burst from his arm and went wild. I can't go into details; all I will say is that this shouldn't be happening."
"I can't be certain, it's a lot stronger than what I remember seeing during my stint in Japan several decades ago but that angry black energy with teal edges, it's a distinctive Quirk called Blackwhip." Fei said. "Stuff like that sticks in the mind, that's why I remember it. It belonged to some funky, muscular, hero called Lariat who was a known hero when I was last active in Japan as part of your long-range plan regarding an international student transfer system. I recall seeing it being used for mobility and capture. He was very proud of it but honestly it wasn't all that strong, and Lariat didn't exactly stand out as a hero other than as a capture specialist."
"Are you sure?" Mage asked as his mind began to work, this was unexpected to say the least but his decision to bring Fei in when Marinette asked to open a bakery here was paying off in unexpected ways. "You were based in Japan what, 60 years ago or so?"
"Give or take a decade as I've started to not notice the passage of time after two centuries of life, though I had to fake my death to end my time here as always, but it was about 60 years ago I'd say." Fei said thinking back on it. "I left Japan around the time people like Gran Torino were in their prime, a few years before All Might debuted 40 years ago as I usually spent about 20 years in one place back then. Lariat was a hero before All Might, that much I remember for sure."
"What happened to him?" Mage asked.
"He died in battle, killed by some villain that seemed to be targeting him for some reason." Fei said with a shrug. "It wasn't big news, back then things were chaotic in Japan and villains ran rampant, so revenge killings of heroes was common place, and no one really thought much about a mid-level hero at best dying in a bloody, destructive, battle. I think his colleague, some dude called En who was even less of a presence than Lariat, reported his death as he'd been present when Lariat fell but survived."
"Hmm alright this is all falling into place." Mage said thinking on it, he was going to have to have a serious chat with All Might soon about this as he had no idea what it meant but thankfully Fei seemed to be able to help in some capacity even if she wasn't aware of what exactly she was helping with. "I can't say much on this and what I have is just theories but thank you for telling me. There's someone I need to discuss this with and get permission to bring you aboard should it be needed but for the moment I want you to go back to your old notes and memories of your Japan days from Shiketsu through to your fake death and remember everything you can about this Lariat man and his associates."
"Understood but I do expect some knowledge as to why I need to do this." Fei said seriously as the tendrils suddenly ended. "And um what just happened?"
"If I had to guess Shinso brainwashed Midoriya at Uraraka's orders." Mage said, he'd been watching the entire time and that made the most sense for what had stopped the issue. "Something about Shinso's Quirk really messes with Midoriya it seems and the way it ended wasn't like how Erasure works. If it had been Erasure it would have just vanished but that was more of a retreat then vanishing, so it had to be Shinso. I think for now things are good and with Eraser there things are under control."
"Good because I have some questions for you, boss, about this whole day that I've been watching." Fei said glaring at Mage. "What the hell is up with Agreste's power? For that matter add in Komori and Fukidashi's as well as that second battle was absolutely nuts. I had to flee three times because of them be it those words, the damned mushrooms, or how Agreste wasted a whole swath of Field Gamma. Back in my day in Japan Quirks weren't usually this strong."
"U.A. has always had strong and unique Quirks and as the generations go Quirks do tend to mingle and evolve so they're going to be stronger as we get further into the Age of Quirks." Mage said with a shrug. "Fukidashi's Comic is certainly something I think few understand while Komori's Mushroom Quirk is deceptively useful. As for Cataclysm, that is a strong use of it for sure, Adrien has really improved it and he's learned to control it properly here at U.A. Cataclysm is more than just energy of destruction; it is an extension of its wielder's own energy and can be worked as such. The more Adrien trains with it the stronger it will get but he does need to get physically stronger as well so that his body can handle it."
"Is that how it works when it's being used as a part of the Black Cat Miraculous?" Fei asked. "You've explained those things to me but as I had the prototype for them you never really went into too many details as I didn't need one."
"In a way but it takes training to bring it to this point and when Adrien formed those blades in the second match that was almost all him, I've never seen Cataclysm used in such a manner." Mage said. "The only limitation is his own mind, well and what his body can handle, so he is growing it in ways I never expected now that it is his Quirk rather than just a Miraculous power, and at least it's not like when Plagg uses it."
"It was that bad?" Fei asked.
"The dinosaurs would certainly agree with you on that front, he was the cause of their extinction." Mage said idly. "And several other events that history chalked up to being natural disasters but were really Plagg related disasters. Plagg really lacked control and when a kwami uses its power without a wielder, well strange things happen, and you really need to activate the Ladybug Miraculous and uses its cure to set things right."
"I think I'm just not going to question that." Fei decided. "Sounds much more complicated than the 8 Renlings I am in constant communication with, only I can see them, and they can't act on their own."
"Probably best not to." Mage said as he turned from the rising battle. "Eraser has this covered with Vlad; you're dismissed Fei. Head home, use the items you have to review your memories of this battle and write your reports on the transfer hopefuls and submit them to Nezu so that the teachers can go over them at the next meeting. Shinso certainly has done enough to secure a spot, not sure about the other kid so be thorough. After that prepare a report on Lariat for me."
"Understood sir." Fei said as she turned and walked around the edge of the chimney to the far sides. "I'll have the reports ready by the end of the day."
"Good." Mage said as Fei stepped off the edge and Mage watched her fall away before an eagle soared up and away banking in the air and heading towards town, only then did he turn back to look at the battlefield and say his own last words before he vanished to think on what would come next. "One for All, what is going on with you? This has to be a sign but what of? There is one thing I'm certain of, however, bad things are coming."
"I can't be taken off the field or we're done for." Shoda said as he ran forward through the chaos that had devolved in the three v. three match and hit a valve cover that was lying on the ground up and at an airborne Ashido who was raining down acid shots on Kodai as she dodged attacks from Yanagi. "Twin impact, fire!"
Things had devolved almost immediately upon all combatants converging on the same location. Whatever Midoriya had done earlier was under control it seemed but now that everyone was in one location the fight had devolved into a full-scale brawl which was the last thing the members of Class B had wanted but had so they were giving it their all to win it.
In one area Izuku and Ochaco were dealing with Monoma and Shinso as Class B had initially wanted before Midoriya did whatever it was that he did with those strange black tendrils. Adrien trusted his teammates to handle those two so he left subduing them to the pair and focused on the other area where he'd force Yanagi to join with Kodai and Shoda against him, Mina, and Mineta.
This was just what he wanted, and he activated his mask to set a rapid timer for recharge because this move was still a prototype move that would require a lot of mental preparation and energy to pull off so his time limit would be barely longer than it had been when Cataclysm became his Quirk. Thankfully, he had complete trust in his team to hold out even as Shoda appeared to get a clean shot at Mina.
However, Adrien had noticed that Mineta wasn't tossing his balls randomly at the start of the brawl. True it looked like that and yes they were traps, anyone caught on a ball would be stuck without recourse until it wore off as they had yet to test to see if Cataclysm could destroy them, but there was a strange pattern to where they had ended up, and Adrien grinned under his mask.
For all his lechery that back in Adrien's day would have never been tolerated, Mineta was still a Hero Course student at U.A. who was striving to become a hero for his own motivations, he wasn't an idiot. He'd strategically tossed his balls to act as his personal trampolines as he was the only thing they didn't stick to but rather he just bounced off them.
As such, he was able to use the right balls to bounce around while holding what looked like a manhole cover covered in more balls on it to intercept Twin Impact right before it would have hit Mina with his Grape Buckler move. That was where the skill ended and the true Mineta emerged as the move also allowed him to smash face first into Mina's surprisingly impressive bust, in particular Mineta got a full face full of her left breast much to his brief pleasure at the 'coincidental' accident.
"I don't think so creep." Mina said after thanking Mineta initially for the save, before his true intentions became clear, and grabbing him by the cape as she landed on a horizontal pipe and slid on it on her acid before using it to spin really fast and toss Mineta away and at his balls with one of her Ultimate Moves. "Acid Layback! That should teach you, but I'll properly punish that act later."
"Grape-Pinky improvised combo move coming at you." Mineta wailed as he was thrown, the speed and his balls turning him into an improvised canon ball and with two girls as targets he wasn't too unhappy with it. "This will keep you in place at least."
"Good Mineta, keep it up, Ashido, play off me and wait for an opening." Adrien said as he was ready and walked forward, pleased that Mineta's bouncing had forced a now complaining Yanagi to the ground level which would make her a lot easier to deal with. "Time for my move; Cataclysmic Cloak!"
At that the pitch-black energy of Cataclysm erupted from Adrien's back as he extended his baton to staff level and began to spin it violently in front of him. The energy roiled up and out from the line originated from on Adrien's back, right between his shoulders, and formed a high, curved, collar around the back of his neck and head while the lower part flared out the way a cape would in the wind that just kept growing but he was forcing it not to touch the ground or the pipes around them. It was a moving mass of black energy that protected Adrien from behind as he slowly advanced on his foes.
With Mineta bouncing all around thus keeping the trio of Class B members in place as they tried to predict his movements but couldn't. They also had to deal with Adrien's power flaring out behind and to the sides of him now as he fed it more so that a near wall of blackness that destroyed anything sent at it in seconds as he approached them.
Occasionally Adrien would move ever so slightly, or a hole would appear in the wall of Cataclysm to let Mineta through the mass without destroying his clothes, a sight no one wanted to see in the middle of a battle, but other than that he was just spinning his staff to deflect the metal sent at him by Yanagi and Kodai or letting flairs of blackness hit them from his power. It was a near impenetrable defense that Adrien had created as he closed in on the three Class B students who were now starting to really panic at what they were facing.
This was a highly concentrated form of Cataclysm that Adrien had called up, hence why it required more energy to maintain and hold so he was draining his reserves faster than he had in a long time but the pay off was the protection and the fact that anything that touched the black mass turned to rust then dust in seconds. Still, he could only keep this up for a few minutes at best even with the rapid recharge and he couldn't do more than walk and move his staff as he closed in on his opponents.
Still, he used that to his advantage as he closed in on the trio they were facing, his nose picking up Ashido moving into position, and he began to talk to get their attention. He had to buy enough time for this work while goading one of them into action so that everything worked, and, well, Cat Noir could be rather annoying when he wanted to be.
"Looks like this all worked out for us." Adrien said calmly to the trio, he was certain that Shinso was being dealt with by Midoriya right now and that Monoma was either engaging or had been captured by Uraraka, so it was just the 6 of them present for this fight. "What you going to do deputy rep? You're the only one with some form of close combat it seems. The girls are range and defensive specialists so are helpless mice against a cool cat like me."
"Yeah well they don't call me a mobile god-bod for nothing Cat Noir." Shoda said starting to lose his cool especially because Agreste's taunt had caused him to miss a chance to stop Mineta with his body and he had to step forward to avoid it and close in on Adrien in the process. "I saw your villainous actions earlier; they won't work on me even if they are different to what you used on my classmates."
"Then come get me villain." Adrien said, his sixth of eight recharge shots already discharging as he spoke, so he had to ingest it and move forward as he kept his taunts up. "I'm the real threat to you lot and you're the only one who might be able to stop me, if you can land a punch that is. Twin Impact is a strong power, probably take me out of the fight if you can land a hit, but with Cataclysm at this much power I can protect my allies with it."
As if to make his point a flair of blackness shot out, still connected to the wall that was moving with Adrien as it was still connected to his back and destroyed a small barrel that would have knocked Mineta off course allowing him to continue his bouncing around the battlefield. It was clearly making Shoda nervous as Adrien continued to slowly close the distance on him while Yanagi and Kodai tried to back up as best they could to give him space, but Mineta's bouncing was preventing them from retreating too far.
"I could just wait you out." Shoda said but was forced forward by another strafing run of Mineta that missed him though it still served its purpose to get Shoda to move closer to Adrien. "Cataclysm requires your natural energy, you'll run out of that soon. Especially with this much of it active, I can see the strain it's causing you; you don't have much time left"
"True but not before I close or do this." Adrien said as he suddenly shrunk his staff and tossed it at Shoda. "Come at me Minds and see if you can end this alley cat where he stands."
The toss was enough to get his attention and Shoda sidestepped it and then rushed forward at Adrien as Adrien had closed the distance between them to the point that Shoda basically had to engage him. He couldn't stop Mineta if he didn't stop the French boy, but the boy had to be near his limits now given how draining using Cataclysm in such a way had to be to use. He'd use that to land a punch and then activate Twin Impact to increase the damage from range and blast Agreste back and into the pipes. That should end the only true threat they were facing at the moment.
At least that was the plan but as Shoda closed Adrien surprised him and the girls by suddenly dropping Cataclysm from behind him, he could barely sustain it now that he was out of recharge shots but the others didn't need to know that, and rushing forward as fast as he could. The whole act got all three Class B member's attention so that none noticed Mina had slid into position. This also ensured that Adrien was too close to Shoda for Shoda to abort so all he could was swing a quick, sharp, jab punch with his right fist at Adrien's chest.
Adrien, however, showed his cat-like reflexes and planted his left foot and spun around it, away and around the strong looking jab so that Shoda, now wide eyed, passed him and stumbled forward from the miss. Before he could recover, Adrien chopped him in the back of the neck with his right hand as he passed just like he'd done to Komori in the second fight. The blow did as intended and Shoda stumbled forward before falling flat on his face as the last of his consciousness left him, his last thought being a realization of how well he'd just been played by one of Class A's strongest students.
"Sho…" Yanagi began before the second part of all this impromptu action was activated.
Mina had used the distractions of Adrien and Mineta to slide a long way around on her acid to end up behind Yanagi so that the moment Shoda was downed she was able to push off a low wall, run forward and then speed up her movements as she slid on her acid so that she could shoulder charge Yanagi in the back as she spoke. The force of the blow stunned the other girl and sent her flying forward towards where Adrien was.
"Reiko!" Kodai yelled but that was all she got out before Yanagi reached Adrien.
Adrien had trusted that Mina would use the chaos to get into position to land a blow on one of the other girls and she had done so though he expected more of an uppercut like what she did to Aoyama in the Sports Festival not an attack from behind that send Yanagi right towards Adrien. This, however, was much better and Adrien just stepped forward and to the side as Kodai shouted and grabbed Yanagi's face in his left hand as she reacted him.
Then, as her momentum was halted and she spun around his hand, her legs kicking up into the air as she did, Adrien lowered himself to a knee and drove Yanagi head first into the ground with a sickening crack. He had controlled his strength to ensure that she wasn't badly hurt but she was knocked clean out and likely had a small fracture as a small amount of blood began to pool on the ground as she flopped to it. Still, she was breathing and seemed to be stable, so Adrien rose from her unconscious body and looked to the last standing member of Class B in their brawl as Mina slid behind her ready to act as well.
"Surrender." Adrien said calmly as he stepped forward and held out a hand to grab Mineta by the back of the cape, yanking him to a sudden stop and dropping him on his ass as he gasped for air from how Adrien had stopped him, his little 'accident' with Mina getting him this treatment, and Adrien kept walking towards Kodai. "You've lost and you know it. Size isn't strong offensively, it's a defensive and support Quirk, and besides both Ashido and I can break through it no matter how large you make things. Don't make this harder than it has to be, Rule, do the right thing and surrender when you know you're beaten."
Kodai looked around and saw Mina ready behind her and Agreste standing stoically in front of her while Mineta gasped on the ground. Reiko and Shoda were unconscious on the ground and clearly out of it and there was a decent chance that Midoriya or Uraraka would be on the way to back their teammates up. It was clear that they lost, and Kodai wasn't one to fight when she knew she was beaten. So, without any emotions, she raised her hands above her head as she bowed it in the sign of surrender.
"Good now fall to your knees so that you're at Mineta's level." Adrien said pushing through the fatigue he was feeling following such an intense use of his power as Kodai did as instructed. "Arms forward, fingers splayed and apart. Mineta, get your ass up and come her, we need Pop Off to restrain her and if you do or say anything inappropriate I will personally boot you into next week, got it?"
"Y, yes." Mineta said as he regained his breath, he'd been punished enough by Agreste in the past to know not to try anything, and got to his feet and approached the surrendered Kodai who was in the position Adrien had asked her to be in. "What do you need?"
"Place one ball in her left palm." Adrien said and Mineta pulled off one of his balls and did as ordered. "Now another on her left wrist, forearm and elbow. Kodai, once they are on you, bring your arms together starting with your elbows to clasp the ball in your palm with your right hand so that all your fingers are around it. Make sure that the last ball to secure you is the one in your hand."
Kodai nodded at that and did as instructed understanding exactly what Agreste was doing. He was removing any chance that she had to use Size and even if she could affect Pop Off she'd have her arms locked together wrist to elbow so it would cause problems if she did it and she'd still have her forearms stuck together. Therefore, she just did as ordered, looking up into the green lenses on Agreste's black mask that gave his eyes a feline quality to it as she did as instructed.
She'd seen Dupain-Cheng look serious and it was the same look she saw as she met Agreste's eyes behind his mask. Now she truly understood why the girl's boyfriend was her equal. He'd thoroughly outplayed and outmuscled them in this little brawl.
The moment her arms were together and clasping the ball in her hand, Adrien pulled off his belt and wrapped it around her forearms to ensure that there was no bit of sticky ball left free to stick to anything else. Then he helped her to her feet so that she could lower her arms and rest them against her body as she walked. At that very moment Uraraka arrived having put away Monoma in prison and after a delay thinking it best to help Deku despite him telling her to go help Agreste when she was done with Monoma, come to assist but it was already over.
"Good, Uraraka, make those two weightless and help me float them to prison." Adrien said pointing to the downed Yanagi and Shoda. "We need to keep an eye on Yanagi, I knocked her out but it was a heavy blow so we need to be careful with her and Zero Gravity will help. Mina, you're in charge of escorting Kodai. Let's get these villains to the prison as quickly as possible."
"I see you had it sorted." Ochaco said as she used Zero Gravity on the unconscious bodies of Shoda and Yanagi to make them float while keeping a close eye on Yanagi's headwound that had stained her silvery hair red on the back of it. "Deku expected you to have sorted it out, but he still wanted me here to back you guys up."
"It took some effort and teamwork, but I trusted the others to get it done and they trusted me." Adrien said as he grabbed Shoda's arm to drag him through the air while Ochaco did the same with Yanagi and they set off to the prison. "Did you deal with the other two?"
"Deku had a plan to face Shinso and last I heard he was engaging him where he'd been hiding but I trust Deku to handle it." Ochaco said and they all heard the trust in her voice but that wasn't new to them as they all knew how much faith Ochaco had in her best friend and clear crush. "Monoma had touched him after the whole incident when the fighting resumed but for some reason couldn't copy Deku's Quirk, so I was able to capture him. He taunted me and tried to get me to talk but I ignored him and put him in prison where he belongs. Deku told me to assist you lot when I was done but looks like you had it covered."
"We were amazing other than that little creep who I will melt later." Mina said as they walked, Kodai as stoic as ever despite her defeat. "So, it's all good. Agreste was the key, you should have seen his power Uraraka it was even more impressive than the second match and a little scary as it was a blackness I've never seen before. Marinette is right, he's really as good as she is."
"Well Marinette is a good judge of character, so she'd know it." Ochaco said as they hurried to the prison. "Good to see that we got it all done."
"Your arrival would have still won it for us as we had them on the ropes so your hand to hand would have been the decisive factor, but this does help a lot." Adrien said as the prison came into sight with a bound Monoma sitting in it looking surprised at what he saw. "And looks like we've got most of them now."
"How did you do this?" Monoma wailed as Mineta rushed forward to open the door and Adrien and Ochaco dragged the unconscious pair into it while Kodai walked in behind them her head low at the loss her team had suffered. "Everything was planned to work but that damned move by Midoriya and his Quirk being a blank ruined it."
"Just shut it." Adrien said as Ochaco released her Quirk allowing Adrien to catch Yanagi and support her as he laid her gently on the ground, turning her head to the side so that the wound wasn't touching the floor of the prison while Shoda just fell onto the ground with a thud. "You lost, deal with it."
That was more true than even Adrien knew as the moment he left the prison Izuku arrived carrying a fully bound and gagged, both with his own binding cloth, Shinso over his shoulder. Adrien just grinned under his mask, his recharge had finished back when Shoda had lunged at him, and he was running of fumes at this point keeping himself conscious through sheer willpower, as they all stepped out of the prison to allow Izuku to dump Shinso into it and close the door as he left. The moment that happened it was over.
"And with that all 5 members of Team Monoma are in prison so Team Midoriya has won." Midnight's voice said over the speaker system. "That means with 4 wins to no losses and a draw in the third match, Class A has won the joint training exercise. Well done. Robots are on their way to help the injured so make your way back to the viewing area for your debriefs as we will be doing all but the 4th match's soon."
That was it, they'd done it, they'd won without a loss in their last two matches and won 4 matches. The joint training arc was over, and Class A were cheering their win. Adrien would have done so but with the end of the match he stopped fighting the inevitable that he knew was coming. All his strength left him and before Midnight had even finished speaking he'd fallen over, unconscious before he even hit the ground after all the energy he'd spent in the match but at least they'd won the joint training session with Adrien being the last casualty of it.
I think that's a good place to end the chapter and the battles of the Joint Training arc. There is still the feedback, which will be its own chapter, and a wrap up party chapter to end this arc but the excitement is over, and Class A has had a dominating victory with a 4-0-1 record against Class B. Adrien and Marinette really helped out in their battles and we saw what their impact could be along with some serious developments for Adrien and Cataclysm along the way though those have been overshadowed but what Deku did in the 5th battle. The idea of having Fei know of Blackwhip and Lariat but that's all came to me as I was drafting as Fei would have been in Japan around the time give or take and it broadens her role a little bit in the story will adding more to it, but I'll get more into how that effects things at a later time as we still have the Joint Training arc to wrap up first. That is all I really have to say about this chapter so I will leave it off here, next up feedback and reactions to the 5th battle. As always, if you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog
