Well, yesterday apparently was a day off for "Through the Rough", which I'm honestly okay with considering that I've been putting up chapters day by day for the past few weeks. Still, I wouldn't mind the momentum picking back up as we get closer to catching up. We're less than ten chapters away!
Also, as an FYI, short requests are still on hold for a while. Again, I'm trying to finish my 2022 scheduled chapter updates before putting my focus back onto requests. Plus, work is getting busier here, so I don't have as much free time as I used to.
I don't want short requests to be an enticement for everyone to leave a word on my stories one way or another. And sometimes, I feel like that's the case. But of course, I understand that a lot of you have lives as well. So I'm okay with waiting for an eventual review. Just remember, views aren't reviews. And it won't help if this story gets put on hiatus again for a lack of response.
Just thought I'd let you know before we go ahead and jump into this. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Upon arriving at one of the attractions where they heard the explosion, Izuku and the others were surprised to find Eijiro there, dressed in his costume as the smoke around him was settling. Apparently, he was competing in a 'Villain Attack' competition and wound up getting eighth on the leaderboard with 33 seconds in taking out each of the villain bots scattered around the stage. And he wasn't the only one competing...
"Kacchan?!" Izuku yelped upon seeing Katsuki enter the stage. He went ahead and blasted through the bots in just 15 seconds, earning himself the top marks at first place.
"So they're both in the same class as you?" Melissa inquired of the group.
"Yeah, they're incredibly strong..." Ochaco pointed out.
"Though as you can probably tell, Bakugo has some... explosive tendencies..." Momo mentioned sheepishly.
"That's an understatement..." Kyoka remarked with her arms crossed as she rolled her eyes. The Explosion Quirk user was about to walk back down the tunnel until he took notice of his rival up in the stands. He was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and chuckling nervously. But to his surprise, Katsuki merely scoffed and just walked down through the tunnel.
"Huh..." Izuku sighed with relief, having half-expected him to lash out at him for being on the island at all.
"Fifteen seconds, huh?" Rebecca noted curiously, "Hey, why don't you try to beat it?" she suggested to her best friend, getting his attention.
"Oh, uh... I-I really shouldn't..." he stuttered out, "I mean... I don't wanna go showing Kacchan up or anything..." he admitted with a blush building on his cheeks.
"But it'd be nice to get to show everyone how far you've come," the Leaper Quirk user pointed out with a big grin. Blinking in surprise, Izuku then took on a small smile.
"Okay," he said as he nodded. A few moments later, he was on the stage, activating his Quirk as sparks of green electricity crackled around him. He dashed forward, jumping around speedily and bashing through each bot he could find. Most of his classmates were impressed, but Melissa's expression was quite telling. She could see how it seemed like he was holding himself back, hence the scars she had noticed on his right hand earlier. By the time Izuku finished his run through the course, he had just barely missed tying with his rival by a single second.
"Nicely done, Midoriya!" Tenya complimented once his classmate made it back into the stands, wiping the sweat off of his brow.
"Thanks," he responded with gratitude, "Honestly, I'm glad I got so close to Kacchan's time," he admitted.
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Ochaco agreed as she pumped her fists.
"Hmph," Katsuki scoffed out, folding his arms over his chest.
"You're not getting as wound up as usual..." Eijiro pointed out, getting his attention, "It is 'cause of what happened during your final?" he assumed as he arched an eyebrow.
"...Huh..." the Explosion Quirk user exhaled, "Hell if I know..." he grumbled, "I'm still gonna be stronger than those two rejects..." he vowed firmly.
"Are... you talking about Midoriya and Bluegarden?" his red-headed friend guessed, "Hey, they still helped you pass," he noted, bumping his friend's shoulder with his right fist, "Cut 'em some slack..." he advised.
"Hmph..." Katsuki scoffed again, turning away. And then, he saw a huge wave of ice wash over everything on the stage. As it turned out, Shoto was also on the island. And he had just taken first place with 14 seconds of time to take down the bots.
"Incredible..." Homura uttered in awe.
"He's in your class, too?" Melissa guessed.
"Yeah," Ochaco replied with a nod, "In fact, he and Homura fought back in the UA Sports Festival," she pointed out, causing the Soul Blade Quirk user to perk up in surprise as she blushed a little.
"It was... quite a battle..." she recalled, covering her mouth with her left sleeve.
"Oh, Homura," Shoto's voice called out, making her squeak in surprise as she saw that he was looking up at her and the others, "I didn't realize that you and the others were here," he noted aloud.
"Uh, yes..." she responded, "How did you arrive here, by chance?" she asked curiously.
"I'm here in place of my father," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user answered, "I guess it isn't so bad knowing that you're here," he mentioned with a little smile, causing Homura to blush again.
"That reminds me, how'd you two get to come to the island?" Rebecca asked of Katsuki and Eijiro, getting their attentions.
"Oh, we tagged along with Shiki, since he won the Sports Festival!" the latter answered.
"Wait... Shiki?!" the Leaper Quirk user yelped in shock.
"Sh-Shiki's here?!" both Ochaco and Momo stammered out, blushing a bright red. They shared a glance with each other before looking away in embarrassment. Izuku looked back down into the arena, gasping in surprise. He and the others watched as the Satan Gravity Quirk user entered through the tunnel, having an excited grin upon his face as the ice was cleared for the next set of bots to be put into place.
"Makes sense that he'd come along," Kyoka commented, putting her hand onto her right cheek as she leaned against the railing to watch his attempt at the course.
"I wonder if he'll have a better time than Todoroki..." Tenya said, rubbing his chin curiously. Green markings shined upon Shiki's arms as he took a ready stance.
"Ready... GO!" the P.A. exclaimed, swinging her arm down.
"Magimech Attack..." the Satan Gravity Quirk user began, "GRAVITY CENTER!" he bellowed, clenching his fists tightly. The gravity in the immediate area strengthened, crushing each of the bots in front of him and turning them into complete wrecks. Everyone in the stands had their mouths gape open in disbelief.
"F-F-Five seconds..." the P.A. stammered out.
"ALRIGHT!" Shiki exclaimed, pumping his fists.
"...Incredible..." Melissa uttered, "You guys are all amazing!" she complimented to those of Class A, snapping them away from their astonished expressions.
"Oh, uh, thanks..." Rebecca responded with gratitude, giving off a sheepish grin.
"Well, if it isn't my old friend, Rebecca..." a voice chimed in, causing her eyes to jolt open.
"Oh no..." she uttered in realization, slowly turning her head. Everyone turned to see someone walking over to them. It was a young girl with long blue hair and a ponytail attached to a ball that levitated next to her head. She wore a sleeveless, black, skintight suit with green lines and separate sleeves.
"Trying to make yourself more popular by parading as a superhero?" she inquired of the Leaper Quirk user, "How desperate..." she remarked dismissively with a shake of her head and a taunting smile. Rebecca pouted, puffing out her cheeks. Meanwhile, the others were quite confused.
"Deku... who is that girl?" Ochaco asked quietly, getting the One For All inheritor's attention.
"She's someone from our junior high school, I think..." he answered, scratching at his right cheek, "I'm not sure I remember her name..." he admitted sheepishly.
"Labilia Christy," Katsuki chimed in, much to their surprise, "She's got a weak-ass Quirk that lets her hair split however she wants, but she's more of diva than someone trying to be a hero," he pointed out to the group.
"And from what I can tell, she and Rebecca are rivals..." Homura added, narrowing her eyes.
"In what though?" Kyoka wondered aloud as she raised an eyebrow.
"So tell me... what's your subscriber count now?" Labilia asked of the Leaper Quirk user, "Are you at least in the thousands yet?" she inquired on tauntingly, causing Rebecca to grit her teeth nervously.
"W-Well..." she stammered out, "what's your count?" she questioned back. To her surprise though, the blue-haired girl chuckled.
"Three-point-one million," she answered.
"HUHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Rebecca exclaimed in disbelief.
"They're... competing over video channel subscribers?" Homura inquired, as everyone else was just as floored by the absurdity of it all.
"Never mind that!" the Leaper Quirk user yelled, shaking her head to regain herself, "What are you even doing here, Labilia?" she asked the blue-haired girl.
"Why, doing a livestream on the I-Expo of course!" she answered, pulling a cube-shaped contraption off of her necklace, "Fans all over the world are gonna be super stoked to see just how this place can be the future of our society!" she explained excitedly, "Of course before then... I can do some vids on the future generation of heroes!" she mentioned, activating her device as a holographic red icon reading 'REC' appeared above it.
"Ah!" Izuku yelped, realizing he was being recorded along with the others.
"Wait... isn't that little ol' Midori?" Labilia guessed upon noticing him as she smirked, "You got quite the glow-up from junior high!" she complimented as she zipped up to him, "Go on, smile for the camera!" she insisted, wrapping her arm around him as she aimed her device.
"Uh... um...!" the One For All inheritor stammered, shaking all the while.
"Okay, that's enough!" Rebecca yelled, pulling her rival off of him as she yelped, "There's such a thing as personal space, Labilia!" she pointed out angrily.
"Huh..." the blue-haired girl sighed with a shrug, "Poor Rebecca..." she grumbled as she shook her head, "Jealousy is such an ugly trait..." she noted before walking away.
"Wha...?! Hey!" the Leaper Quirk user yelled, burning a bright red in the face.
"She's quite the character..." Momo noted aloud.
"Guess it makes sense that they're rivals..." Ochaco mentioned.
"Hey guys!" Shiki greeted, getting their attentions as they saw him hop onto the railing in a crouched position and wave to them, "Did I miss something?" he asked curiously.
"N-No!" Ochaco stammered in response with a wave of her hands. In the meantime, Izuku went over to Rebecca, seeing her ball her fists tightly in frustration. Clearly, she wasn't exactly in the best state of mind after seeing Labilia.
Walking into an isolated warehouse was a group of people dressed in dark outfits. One was a dark, messy-haired man with a metallic mask and a tattoo on the right side of his face. Another was a tall and lean man with pointy ears, a scruffy beard, and short black hair with a ponytail style. There was one more that was a giant man with huge tusks jutting out of his mouth, a hunched back, a ring of tattoos around his neck, and a face that vaguely looked like a lion. He wore a combat outfit with a small hat upon his head.
"I'm still not sure about Kurenai sending the three of you to us..." another voice chimed in, getting their attentions. Approaching them was a tall, bulky man with dark red hair and yellow eyes. Dark patches of face paint covered his mouth, nose, and extended across his right eye, and there was also a scar on his left cheek. He was wearing a large, white coat with gray cuffs and trimmings. He also sported combat gear, including combat boots, dark pants, and a combat vest. He covered his hands with brown gloves.
"As long as Madame Kurenai is paid in full, then we're willing to work with you," the lion-like man responded.
"Yeah..." the messy-haired man agreed with a sinister grin, "I'm itchin' to break down every single hero in this damn place..." he pointed out excitedly.
"Hmm..." the bearded man hummed, readying his own form of combat gear upon his person.
"Heh," the dark red-haired man laughed, "Baku, Garrot... and Nino..." he listed off, "It might be overkill..." he admitted, getting their attentions, "but since All Might's here too... we might as well have as much of an army as possible," he said with his own wicked grin.
And there you have it! We're not only introducing Labilia into the story, but the Zaiten Three along with a mention of Madame Kurenai! Things can't get any more exciting than this! Thanks for reading!