12

Ochako was both nervous and pumped with excitement. On one hand, she was about to have her first real hero lesson, and with All Might, no less, the Number 1 Hero. Ochako always admired the rescue heroes, like Thirteen and the Wild Wild Pussycats, but even she thought that All Might was the greatest hero ever.

And now he was going to evaluate her fighting skills. Her fighting skills.

In a way, it was comforting to see that Mashirao, too, was nervous about their match. The blond had more training in combat than Ochako, and he was still worried about their opponents.

The more difficult thing would be the time limit. Iida and Bakugou just have to entertain them for ten minutes, and they wouldl automatically win. As long as they didn't capture them or touch the missile, the villain team could win by stalling.

"We can't waste too much time fighting. Especially since we don't know their real fighting abilities," Mashirao told her. Ochako nodded. All she knew about Iida's style was that he liked to use his speed to rush his enemies and deliver powerful kicks. Bakugou was a complete mystery. All they knew was that the spiky blond could produce powerful explosions and that he had won the most villain points.

"Uraraka-san, can you use your quirk on yourself?" "Yes, it causes me nausea, but I can handle it if it's not for long."

"We can use your quirk to float towards the windows closest to the top floors; that way we can cut the distance. Once we are inside the building, we just need to move as fast as we can to the missile room. If I use my tail as a shield, I think I can handle Bakugou´s explosions. Do you think you can manage to handle Iida?" Mashirao asked her.

"I don't have much experience fighting. During the Entrance Exam I was concerned about what exactly would entail the practical part. When Present Mic said that we just had to defeat robots, I was relieved. I was afraid that we would be evaluated by fighting against each other or against the teachers." Ochako didn't like fighting; she wanted to be a rescue hero. But she knew that as a hero, she would have to face villains, and that when the time came and a villain was threatening lives, she would have to step up.

"I will do my best, Mashirao-kun," she promised earnestly. Her partner smiled at her. "If you have an opening to touch the missile, then go for it. I will do the same." She nodded.

Back in the viewing room, All Might listened to his students' conversations. It was important that they made plans by themselves, without his input. The ability to plan and improvise with little information in mere minutes or even seconds was an ability that all heroes needed. Criticism and reviewing will come after the exercise. Team D was already making a strategy; it wasn't a great one, but it wasn't bad. Not that he expected them to create a plan worthy of Sir Nighteye; they were new students after all, zygotes. Experience and practice will be their best teachers.

On the other hand, Team A hadn't really developed any type of strategy. Bakugou-shonen just told Iida-shonen to guard the missile and that he would take care of Tail and Round Cheeks. All Might frowned at that. He could see that Bakugou-shonen was a proud young man with a powerful quirk to back him and a short temper. He also knew that the blonde was a childhood friend of his successor, even though she never once uttered his name or implied that she had spoken with him since returning to Japan. Toshinori chose to respect her privacy and not inquire further. She never asked him about his past, his family, or friends, not even the previous users, even after meeting him.

Bakugou-shonen was still a child, his student; this was just his first class. He had three years of school ahead of him. There was plenty of time to smooth over his rough edges and rough center.

"Make sure to pay attention to these matches! After they're done, we will analyze each one of them and determine what each team did wrong and what they did good!" "Yes, Sensei!"

Izumi lifted her hand. "All Might sensei, is it alright if some of my Pokemon watch the matches? I want them to see what kind of training we will be doing."

"Of course you can! A splendid idea, Midoriya-shoujo!" All the students immediately turned toward the trainer. After seeing Machoke, they wanted to see more of these mysterious Pokemon. Izumi grabbed three Pokeballs and released her teammates.

For the second time, the students of Class 1-A were awed at the sight of Pokemon appearing in front of them. Izumi grinned while introducing her Pokemon.

"Everybody, these are Hawlucha, Hakamo-o, and Tyrogue. Guys, these are my new schoolmates. We will be studying how to be heroes with them." Pokemon and humans studied each other. The girls cooed at how cute Tyrogue looked, while Hakamo-o sneered at the boys. Especially Todoroki. Her dragon seemed to be able to detect the two-toned boy's inner ice and didn't like it. Hawlucha stood next to Machoke, both of them glued to the screen, evaluating the incoming fight.

"Tyrogue, I want you to pay special attention to these matches. Seeing other people and Pokemon fight can give us new ideas and strategies. It's a very important form of training. Got it?" The baby Pokemon nodded and joined his older brother in front of the screens. Izumi wanted to coo at his focused face. It reminded her of how Machop would stare and imitate her older Pokemon while they trained. The poor bodybuilder didn't have the elasticity or agility that her other Pokemon had, and he grew frustrated at not being able to imitate Infernape's flying kicks or Lucario's Bullet Punch. Izumi had shown him videos of evolved Machokes and Machamps. Machop's eyes shone at seeing his evolutionary forms being able to destroy rocks and even cars with just one punch.

"Hakamo-o," her tone changed from warm and jovial to a more serious tone. The dragon type glanced at her. "Machoke will be the one fighting today. If you can prove that you can control your temper, then I will let you fight the next chance we have." Hakamo-o stared right at her eyes, looking for any weakness or disappointment. When he saw that his trainer was truthful, he nodded and moved next to his other teammates.

Izumi let out a little sigh. When she first caught him as a Jangmo-o, he always tested his boundaries and butted heads with her and the rest of the team. Dragon types were known for pushing boundaries and not obeying their trainers if they thought they were weak. Izumi learned quickly that the best way to earn his respect was to fight him herself. Nothing brutal, just friendly spars. His evolution to Hakamo-o made him a little rebellious, but nothing she couldn't handle. He had mellowed out a lot in the past few months. The last time he disobeyed her was when she introduced him to All Might and he challenged the Number One Hero to a fight. All Might just laughed at his enthusiast and accepted it. She had never seen Hakamo-o so happy at losing a fight.

"Very well, five minutes have passed. Team A vs Team D, begin!"

Using the monitors, they saw Bakugou stalking through the hallways while Iida began to move all the boxes in the room.

"Why is Iida moving those boxes?" Ashido asked out loud. "Uraraka's quirk lets her cancel the gravity of anything she touches; the fewer objects she can get her hands on, the less dangerous she can be." Yaoyomo quickly deduced Iida's plan.

Ochako touched Mashirao and herself, and both began to float towards the upper levels of the building. Once they were at their agreed-upon point, Mashirao opened the window, and Ochako released her quirk.

Once inside, both began to move as fast as they could towards the stairs. They barely made it to two levels when they met with Bakugou.

"Shit. Uraraka-san, I will distract him as much as I can. Just keep going. You just need to touch the missile once." Ochako nodded. Using her quirk on Bakugou would be a very foolish thing to do. Between his explosion quirk and the enclosed space, if she canceled Bakugou's gravity, then he would be a high-powered rocket playing pinball.

Ochako ignored Bakugou's right hook and kept running while Mashirao intercepted the spiky blonde. She ignored the sounds of explosions and hits. She just focused on reaching the missile room.

"Wow, Bakugou and Mashirao really know how to fight." Hagakure was impressed by the skill both boys displayed.

"They are so manly!" Kirishima grinned sharkily at the sight. The redhead was shaking from the excitement of the fight. And he wasn't the only one. Both Tyrogue and Hakamo-o were glued to the screen, not even blinking. Neither wanted to miss a second of the fight.

Bakugou had started the fight with a right hook, which Mashirao blocked with his left elbow and then countered with his own fist. Bakugou seemed shocked at being not only blocked but also punched. Of course, the shock quickly morphed into anger and made him more aggressive. The tailed boy was assaulted by a wave of explosions that knocked him backwards while he used his arms and tail to protect himself from the burns. A knee to the gut came from the smoke, followed by a spinning kick.

Mashirao, however, wasn't defenseless. He showed his martial skills by catching Bakugou's leg and throwing him against a wall. After that, they began to exchange punches and kicks, with the occasional explosion breaking them apart.

While both boys battled, Ochako was dealing with Iida. As soon as she entered the room, she found that Iida had moved all the boxes behind him. If Ochako wanted to use them as weapons, then she would have to somehow go past him.

"Muahahaha! You should surrender now, hero! You have no way to stop our malevolent plans!" For some reason, Iida began to speak as if he were the villain of an incredibly old prequirk movie. A really, really old movie.

"Pffff," she had to hold her laughter. She wanted to laugh. Seeing the usual serious, rule-abiding boy try to act like what he thought villains acted was just too funny.

"Be ready to lose, hero!" Iida rushed right at Ochako. The brunette barely managed to jump away from the speedster. Immediately, she ran straight for her target, hoping to finish the match quickly. However, Iida wasn't going to let her win so easily. He rushed right at her, and she was forced to jump sideways again. And again. And again.

Ochako tried to counterattack and grab Iida, but the taller boy would skip ahead of her. Unlike Bakugou, who could theoretically use his explosions to change directions and maneuver if he was tagged, Iida didn´t have that advantage. The previous day, while waiting for Izumi to finish her meeting with Aizawa-sensei, both students had talked a little about their quirks. She mentioned how she had to be careful when touching others to avoid activating her quirk by mistake, and he said that he could only keep his speed for ten seconds. If she was correct and, by the way he was avoiding her grasp, then his Recipro wouldn't work well without touching a solid surface.

"Three minutes remaining!" All Might´s voice sounded over their communicators, a reminder that she was on a time limit.

"Come on Ochako, think, think! What would Izumi-chan do?" Since they exchanged numbers and began to chat with each other, Ochako had realized that Izumi was really smart. While exchanging some stories about their families and childhood (and now she understands why Izumi never talked much after her tenth birthday), they also talked about heroes, and Ochako realized something. Izumi was a genius when it came to analyzing quirks. They had been talking about a video of Kamui Woods, a pro who debuted last year and quickly climbed the ranks. Izumi pointed out how his quirk was great for all areas of hero work. He could use it to attack villains, capture them, and rescue civilians from dangerous areas. Besides fire and ice, his only weakness was his imagination.

Imagination. Mind. According to Izumi, that was a hero´s most powerful tool. What good would it be to have the most powerful quirk ever if you just used it for one thing?

All Might didn't make it to Number 1 just because of his quirk, but because he learned how to adapt it to every scene he could be involved in. Same with Endeavor. Hawks. Mirko. Their senseis. The heroes that made it to the top were the ones who saw an obstacle and, instead of stopping, kept going until they leaped over it.

Ochako thought quickly. She couldn't catch Iida; he was too fast. Mashirao was still dealing with Bakugou; otherwise, he would have told her that he was coming. She wasn't a brawler like her friends. But she knew her quirk. She experimented with it. She knew her limits. It was time for her to prove that she could surpass them.

Iida ran at her. She touched her chest with her hand and jumped. Her lack of weight made her soar high away from Iida, and when she thought that her distance was good enough, she released her quirk. She fell quickly and rolled over to soften her fall. As soon as she was crouching, she ran again towards the missile. Behind her, she heard Iida's engine roaring, so she activated her quirk again and jumped, this time up, to the ceiling. She pulled her arms up, and when she felt the ceiling, she began to push against it to move.

Slowly, she began to move towards her target. Below her, Iida was already in front of the missile, like a goalie protecting his post.

The nausea from using Zero Gravity on herself was getting worse. Bile was beginning to climb up her throat. But she still kept on. Iida began to ignite his engine, getting ready to intercept her. He moved first. He jumped, his engine giving him more force behind his jump, but Ochako was ready for it. She made a stronger push, twisting her body so that Iida couldn´t touch her, and then deactivated her quirk. Her body began to fall; she was going to fall on top of the missile. They were going to win!

"Time is uuuuupppp! The heroes were unable to capture the villains or secure the missile! Team D wins!" All Might declared her loss just before she could win.

Ochako fell on top of the missile. She couldn't believe it. She had been so close. So damn close.

"Uraraka-san." Iida approached her. She didn't respond; she was too disappointed in herself. "That was a great strategy, Uraraka-san. If we hadn't had a time limit, you surely would have won," the taller boy tried to cheer his friend. He was glad that he had won, but it felt bittersweet in a way. He had wanted to win by defeating his enemy, not by a time limit. It was humbling that if it weren't for the time limit, then he would have lost.

Ochako smiled slightly at that. But then her smile dropped. She grabbed her helmet and threw it to the ground. And then she vomited all over the floor. It seems she hadn't managed to surpass her limits yet.

"Uraraka-san! Are you okay? All Might-sensei, we need a medic here!"

After puking guts and reassuring both Iida and All Might, the two teams made it back to the rest of the class.

"That was amazing!" "All of you were so manly!" "Great job guys." The four students were crowded by their classmates. Ochako smiled shyly at their compliments. She was still bummed that she had lost, but nobody treated it like it was a bad thing. At her side, Majirao rubbed the back of his head while Sato and Kirishima grilled him about his fight. Her partner was covered in bruises and burn marks.

Bakugou, too, was covered in bruises. The spiky blond didn't talk to anyone; his fists were balled, and he had a frown on his face. Izumi recognized that look from when they were children. He was frustrated—frustrated that he hadn't won by beating his opponents, but by a technicality.

"Very well done, Team A and Team D! Now we are going to take a few minutes to analyze a few points of the fight. Who wants to start!?"

"Mashirao and Uraraka did a good job infiltrating the building using Uraraka's quirk. Iida and Bakugou, on the other hand, had no plan or strategy. Iida should have been the one roaming the hallways, not Bakugou. If they somehow managed to bypass him, then he could have returned to the main room quickly with his speed. Not letting Uraraka have access to objects was a good idea; it stripped her of many potential weapons. Uraraka made good work getting to the ceiling and away from Iida's range, but falling on top of the missile would have been an extremely dangerous move if it had been real." All were surprised at the deep analysis that Yaoyorozu made. Even All Might was shocked. He didn't remember being that insightful when he was fifteen.

"Ehem, very good, Yaoyorozu-shoujo! Indeed, thinking on the spot is a very important part of heroics. On many occasions, well-thought-out plans fail simply because of bad luck or a lack of crucial information. That's why heroes must be able to improvise! That doesn't mean that one shouldn't make a plan! A good strategy, well executed, works better than a hundred improvised schemes. Even if something changes, it's important to always have the objective well in mind."

All of them nodded at his words, understanding the importance of All Might´s advice.

"Now, it's time for the second match! Team B vs Team I! Remember, both teams only have five minutes to strategize before the match begins."

Izumi waved at her friends and Pokemon. She and Machoke walked next to Hagaruke towards the mock building.

The invisible girl was quiet; the only parts that she could see of her were her gloves and boots. She didn't know why she had chosen to have only those parts of her costume visible. Maybe the suit became invisible the moment it touched her skin? She wondered what type of technology had been used to make her suit react perfectly with her quirk.

When they reached the missile room, Izumi began to talk.

"Ok, I have a few ideas, but I want to know what you think." "..." "Hagakure-san?"

"Eh? I, whatever you think is fine, Midoriya."

"Hagakure-san, are you okay?" "What? Of course I'm fine! We have this one in the bag! You and Machoke are really strong!" You and Machoke? Oh.

"Hagakure-san, every single idea I have to win this fight involves you." "Eh?" Izumi nodded. She knew what the other girl was thinking. Especially after Aizawa sensei´s test. That her quirk was useless. That she was useless. Izumi knew very well how that felt.

"Hagakure-san, how did you pass the Entrance Exam?" "Well, the pamphlet showed that the robots had some type of switch on their backs, so I took off my clothes and went behind them to deactivate them. I also pushed people when they were frozen in fear." "So you found a way around your quirk, right?" "Yes, yes I did!"

"Hagakure-san, I made my plan the moment All Might said we were partners. The moment he said we had to battle Todoroki and Mezo. It's because you´re my partner and they are our opponents that I chose Machoke." Hagakure began to sniffle at her words.

"Okay, what, what is your, our plan?" Izumi smiled at the invisible girl and explained her strategy. Hagakure hummed in agreement, paying attention to all the details. Izumi had a promise to keep. And she intended to keep it.

Outside the mock building, Mezo got ready with Todoroki. The two-toned boy didn't speak to him, only telling him to inform him where Midoriya and Hagakure were as soon as possible and that he would take care of them. Mezo had frowned at Todoroki's tone. All Might had warned them against making plans or acting without thought.

Yet he said nothing. Todoroki didn't seem like the type of boy who liked to socialize. In the last two days, he had never seen him talk to anybody, not even during breaks or lunch. Even Tokoyami, who seemed like a loner, or Bakugou, who was brash, talked with the others.

When All Might gave the order, Shoji transformed some limbs into ears and listened.

"They are both on the sixth floor. They aren't talking; they are just walking. Midoriya's Pokemon is there too," he informed him.

Todoroki nodded and concentrated. Cold began to emerge from his right side. What he did next shocked him.

He had seen Todoroki's quirk. They all had. The two-toned boy had created huge amounts of ice every chance he had. A passive way to show his power. He thought he had a good idea of his quirk strength. He was wrong.

Todoroki froze the entire building. The floors, the walls, the windows. Everything. He heard the ice covering every inch of the building; all the doors except the main one were frozen shut.

"Let's go." Todoroki began to walk towards the entrance. Mezo was about to follow him when he heard something.

"Midoriya-chan, are you okay?" "Don't worry, don't worry. I didn't think that Todoroki would have this much range or control. Let's see how hard it is." The next sounds were of ice breaking and a door opening.

"Midoriya broke the ice." "What?" "The ice covering the door. She broke it. Either she or Machoke did it. I think it was her based on the footsteps".

The ice user frowned, almost worried, but went back to his nonchalant look.

"Doesn't matter. Once we are near them, I will just freeze their entire bodies."

Shoji just shook his head. It seems that Todoroki was overconfident about his quirk. At least Bakugou had warned Iida that Uraraka was going toward his position.

While they were walking the first floors, he heard clearly Midoriya and Machoke walking down the stairs and hallways, going right towards them. When he told Todoroki that, he frowned but said nothing. Mezo was getting frustrated at his so-called partner's indifference.

They had just entered the third floor when both groups found each other.

Midoriya and her Pokemon were walking down the stairs calmly, without a care in the world.

"That ice trick was impressive. Todoroki-kun. Can you do one similar with your fire? If so, thanks for not using it."

"I don't use fire, just my ice."

"Mhm. Too bad; it would have made this fight more interesting if you used your fire."

Todoroki's eyebrow twitched. He was getting annoyed with the conversation. He lifted his right hand, and a wall of ice rushed at them.

Neither seemed perturbed. A blue glow enveloped Midoriya's body, while Machoke's arm glowed red. Both trainer and Pokemon struck at the ice at the same time.

Mezo and Todoroki watched in shock how the ice was shattered by the impact; ice crystals flying all over the hallway. Mezo couldn't help thinking that it made a beautiful picture.

"Shit, that ice was much harder than the first. Probably the first wave was thinner because it was made to envelope the building. Considering the size and the fact that too much ice could harm the structure, mumble, mumble, mumble."

Machoke rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead, bringing her back to the important part.

"Ouch, right, right. Tock ticking. Match to win," her eyes got serious.

Machoke grinned at Mezo; the Pokemon was eager for a fight. Well, if he wanted one, then he would give it to him.

Midoriya gave her Pokemon a nod... and he ran right at Todoroki. The ice user quickly formed an ice barrier, thicker and much colder than the last, but Machoke just broke it in half with a karate chop.

Mezo tried to step in, but Midoriya leapt at him with a leg strike. He used his forearms to block the attack; his 'wings' fully spread to lessen the damage. Despite that, he still grunted in pain and took a step back. Midoriya's quirk was really strong.

"Sorry, Shoji-kun, but unfortunately we are on a time limit, and Machoke can handle Todoroki's ice and fire better than I do."

Mezo extended his arms, and Midoriya was fast and strong. He was strong too—really strong. He didn't know if her quirk gave her tough skin like his, so he would rather just capture her than risk harming one of his fellow students.

Midoriya smiled at him, as if knowing what he was thinking.

"Shoji-kun, I train fighting-type Pokemon. I can assure you that unless your strength is on the level of All Might, you won't be able to break my bones. Bruise them? Sure. But not break. So please, for both of our sakes, don't hold back."

He wanted to. He wanted to believe in her words. In her confidence. But a part of him, the scared little boy who had seen the worst of human hate, hesitated.

Midoriya frowned and leapt at him. She began to launch kicks at him, twisting like a ballerina. He managed to grab one of her legs, and she counteracted with another kick. When he grabbed that leg too, she grinned and headbutted him.

Dazed by the impact, he let go of her legs, and she landed on a crouch. Immediately, Midoriya kept attacking him, driving him away from Todoroki and Machoke. He was being led to the lower staircase, as if he were a child.

The force of her attacks wasn't even that strong, like the first. As if she wasn't taking him seriously. If Midoriya wanted to see his real monstrous strength, then she would have it.

Mezo pulled two of his arms and punched her gut. The girl gasped from the pain, her body curling, and then she was sent against a wall. Mezo froze, afraid that he had seriously hurt her.

"Hahaha! That's much better, Shoji-kun! Keep it going like that!"

"What? You-" "I'm a Pokemon trainer, Shoji-kun. If I win a battle, it will be because I and my team are stronger than our opponents, not because they are afraid of their own strength. So please, don't hold back and come with everything. You will need it if you want to beat both Machoke and me."

Mezo looked at Machoke. The fighting type was smashing Todoroki's ice like it was a funny game. The other boy was practically snarling; ice covered his right side, frost leaving his mouth. He didn't know why the other boy refused to use his fire. Both Pokemon and trainer had proved that they could destroy his ice easily. If he wanted to win, fire would be a better choice. Fire was intangible after all.

Machoke was having fun. He would have preferred to fight the taller boy, the one with four arms that looked physically strong. He loved to test his base strength against others. His wrestling matches with All Might had been great, and he was sure that once he evolved into his final form, he would be able to force All Might into using more strength the next time they trained.

Izumi had been clear on her plan. She had planted the idea that he would be fighting Shoji so that he could take Todoroki by surprise. The two-toned boy could produce ice and fire; his skin was much tougher than Izumi's against fire, and she was certain that she could match Shoji´s brutal strength. The most important part of the plan was to distract them and split them. So that the invisible girl could tie their hands with that special rope.

At least this was a good work-up. He was getting good exercise by breaking the ice and controlling his strength against humans. Todoroki was getting more and more frantic, letting wave after wave of ice against him. He actually managed to scratch him deep enough to bleed! The last time he had been severely damaged by an ice type was that old Kahuna´s Crabominable. That thing actually managed to freeze him solid.

Every time he shattered Todoroki´s ice, he would grin smugly at the teen, making him angrier and more reckless. Infernape taught him that. Angry opponents are more likely to commit mistakes. And for the plan to work, Todoroki needed to be angry.

The boy launched another wave, one from the floor that he shattered with a stomp, grunting in pain from the sharp edges that cut his feet soles. What he did not expect was for the ice to rise up and cover his entire body.

"Finally," Todoroki muttered. "I will unfroze you after I deal with Midoriya," the ice user started to move to where Shoji and Midoriya were still fighting. A crack stopped him cold. He looked over his shoulder and gaped.

The ice covering Machoke was covered in cracks. The Pokemon was somehow breaking the ice without moving his body. There was some type of energy enveloping his body under the ice. With a look of absolute shock, Todoroki stood there, watching the fighting type break free from the ice.

Machoke grunted from the effort and rolled his shoulders. Good thing that Todoroki didn't freeze his head. Although he was going to drink lots of hot chocolate after this, Todoroki´s ice was as cold as an Elite-level Pokemon!

Well, it was time to finish this. After all, Izumi said she wanted a full win for her first battle exercise. And he agreed with her. There was nothing better than beating your opponent's team without a single loss.

Before Todoroki could react, Machoke grabbed him and threw him at the staircase. Just like they planned.

Todoroki managed to recover from the fall and began to create another wall of ice when something hit him from behind.

"What the-" "Got you!" Hagakure had jumped on the boy´s back and sent him back to the ground. While he was struggling to move against his invisible opponent (without hurting her severely), Machoke helped her grab his wrists behind his back and tie them with the capture rope.

"Todoroki Shouto has been captured! Oh, and only two minutes remain until the match is done!"

Shit, they needed to move faster. After capturing Todoroki, they still had to capture Shoji. Human and Pokemon went towards Izumi to help her.

Mezo heard All Might announcement and grimaced. There was no way he could win now. He could already see Machoke running towards him, and he was certain that Hagakure was prowling somewhere.

Still, he was having fun. Midoriya could handle his force. How long had it been since he had fun, real fun, using his quirk? Fighting somebody? He doubted he ever had. Not even during the entrance exam. There, he had focused more on beating as many robots as possible and passing the exam.

But now? Now he was enjoying letting go of his monstrous strength. And Midoriya too. The smile on her face showed it. She was enjoying using her full strength without fearing hurting anybody too.

"I think it's time to finish this, Shoji-kun." "I agree, Midoriya-san."

Mezo created as many tentacles as he could, forming multiple strong limbs ready to strike. If he was going to lose, then he would do it like a hero, without giving up. Midoriya focused, and the green lightning running through her body brightened sharply and became more frantic.

"AHHHHHHHHHH" "HAAAAAAAAAAH" Both opponents leapt at each other. Mezo rained a storm of punches on Midoriya´s body. The girl didn't even try to protect herself; she just kept going and punched him right into his abdomen. He felt as if a cannon had just struck him. He couldn't breathe; spots appeared on his vision; he had never been hit like that.

He fell on his knees, and two of his arms barely managed to keep his upper body standing.

Izumi was barely standing; blood was pouring from her mouth and nose. Shoji-kun truly was a beast when he stopped holding back. She grinned. If he kept training, then one day he would be able to give Bruno's Pokemon a nice fight.

"I give up. It kills me to say it, but I have nothing else," Mezo said to his communicator.

"Shoji Mezo has forfeited! Team I wins!"

"YEAAAAAAAHHHH! We did it, Midoriya-chan! We did it!" Hagakure screamed in complete joy. She hugged her partner happily, overjoyed that she had managed to help capture Todoroki. Izumi hugged her back. Then she frowned. Why could she feel Hagakure´s skin?

A sudden thought came to her mind. No. It couldn´t be. Right?

"Hagakure-san?" "Yep" "Why am I feeling your bare back?" "Because I'm naked. I thought you knew."

Izumi didn´t respond.

"Midoriya-chan?"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!