Here it is, the ninety-fourth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released on the right day as promised. It's time for the first battle of the joint training arc so there really isn't much more to say here about the chapter as it is pretty straightforward what is about to go down. The one thing I do want to say is that this will be the last chapter before we reach the one year anniversary of this story's publication. I'll mention more then but I certainly didn't expect to have this deep into it in just a year of uploading and that's factoring in the initial amount drafted when I first started uploading so I want to thank all of you who have supported and enjoyed this story in that time, it is that support that has kept me motivated to keep writing and uploading this story and it's far from done, you can rest assured there because I am going to see this through until the end of the MHA manga at this point. Anyway, 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 94th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.

Chapter 94: First Blood

"Alright, we have a few minutes, so we need to come up with an initial plan for how to deal with Class B." Marinette said as team 1 gathered around their prison in Field Gamma. "We can't win this without some base plan but remember that no plan survives first contact so if possible we will have to regroup to reassess the situation but if worst come to worst it's going to have to be on the fly. I don't intend to let that happen, but we should be prepared for the worst."

"Agreed but do know what we're up against Marinette?" Tsu asked. "We've got a rough sense of their abilities, even Shinso's thanks to you, but you were ready for the Sports Festival, so you probably know the most. Ribbit."

As soon as Marinette had drawn a number 1 ball in her own draw, as well as a 4 as she and Adrien would be going twice to balance out Class B's two General Studies additions going twice due to them being the reason for the extra spots in Class B for next year, the four others had instantly deferred to Marinette. None of them were under any allusions that she wasn't the best in combat in their group and it was clear to all of them that she was a natural leader, so it made sense for her to take charge of the team.

Even Marinette wouldn't have objected. Back in France, back before she became comfortable as Ladybug and realized her own talents for stuff like this, she'd shied away from leadership but now she was fine with it, even embracing the responsibility when necessary. She'd taken a little to get her footing at U.A. due to the whole being from the past, but only Momo knew about that, and once she'd established herself, her skills had come out to the point that many of the class now recognized it.

Most notably it was the other girls who'd long established that Marinette was their leader when they were a group but even many of the guys recognized it. Some like Todoroki and Ida may look to Midoriya or Adrien above her due to experiences with them while Bakugo beat his own drum, something Marinette would have to contend with in team 4 as she and Bakugo were on a team for the first time but that would come later as she had finally started to understand the angry blond boy. The rest in the class, however, would follow her should she be the best choice to lead them.

True she had Kirishima and Kaminari in her team, and they looked primarily to Bakugo, but both also understood Marinette's skills having seen or been humiliated by them but that Kaminari's fault. As such, they were both more than fine with her taking charge of this match.

When you added in that Marinette, while quiet and not one to spark challenge or rivalry, seemed to have no qualms responding in kind to challenges from Class B and showed a slightly ruthless streak to it when she did. That stemmed from her history with Chloe back in France and now it extended to Class B's attempts to one up them. They were going to fail, and Marinette would make sure of it.

"I know what I researched for the Sports Festival so it will be a little out of date given all the growth both classes have had, but I have a base for what we're dealing with." Marinette said looking around and already assessing roles in the team based on skills and personalities, they were rather balanced all things considered. "But we have three real problems to deal with though thankfully it is mainly their Quirks and not their leadership or planning skills, the only one in Class B who's a true threat there is Kendo, maybe Honenuki based off my one chat with him, but we aren't facing them."

"Who are the ones we need to worry about?" Koda asked, he'd been trying to force himself out of his shell so asking a question to their team leader, a girl who's skills slightly intimidated him even if he admired them, helped it. "They're all pretty strong."

"True but both Rin and Tsuburaba are more supporting and ranged based, they're not the ones we have to be overly concerned with but of course we shouldn't take them lightly as they will still be strong." Marinette said. "The serious threats are the three Ss; Shishida, Shiozaki, and Shinso."

"Shinso's brainwashing is that good?" Kirishima asked surprised. "I know that Shiozaki's vines are said to be tough though we've not seen the full extent of them, but is Shinso that much of a threat?"

"It is and I have no idea how that mask he now has which adds to his threat level as it makes his usually predictable Quirk unpredictable which means it almost certainly increases his potential." Marinette said seriously. "I researched him when he challenged us and learned of his Quirk, that is why I asked for him on a team as it would work best for Adrien and I to advance to the final battles, and defeat Class B in the process, but now we're facing him it's going to be tough. Our one advantage is that he's not a frontline hero."

"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked confused. "He's got a powerful Quirk so why not put him at the front? He's also got those binding cloths with him, and we know how good Mr. Aizawa is with them."

"Shinso has a powerful, easily hero grade, Quirk but he has no physical advantages to combat." Marinette said. "He is like Aizawa in that regard though Aizawa has mastered his binding cloth and martial arts, things Shinso clearly will learn in time and as he has the cloth on him now we shouldn't take that lightly, but with Brainwashing he can sit back and act from the shadows. I wouldn't be surprised if that mask he has can alter his voice without affecting his Quirk, almost certainly something that Hatsume girl could pull off, which would make him only more of a threat."

"Koda man, you've got a voice Quirk." Kirishima said to their quietest member. "Any insight?"

"M, mine works fine through a mask or speakers but I've heard some voice-based Quirks have to be natural." Koda said more nervous now that he was on the spot. "So, I can't say for certain what is best, sorry."

"Well regardless we can't speak unless we're looking at each other." Tsu said. "That is the strength of Shinso's Quirk on a battlefield, it disrupts communication and can cause paranoia if we aren't careful. It easy to see why he's a candidate for transferring to the Hero Course."

"Not necessarily." Marinette said with a grin. "Don't you remember what my Quirk can do? Against any other team Shinso's presence would be a serious game changer but with Lucky Charm on our side we have a countermeasure against it."

"Oh right, Lucky Charm is the strongest in the class." Kirishima said grinning at that. "I remember your item in Kamino, that held me, Midoriya, Ida, and Bakugo and your item range is unreal Dupain-Cheng."

"Call me Marinette or Ladybug in costume, it's easier that way." Marinette said seriously. "We need to have fast communication at times and my family name can be an issue in that regard. I prefer Ladybug in costume, but I don't mind Marinette outside of it, first names are common in Europe."

"Right, I'll try." Kirishima said. "But for now, Ladybug is best, we should get used to using hero names more."

"Hero or real name, whichever works for this but in time hero names should become more common." Tsu said. "Anyway, go on Marinette, do you think you can counter Brainwashing with Lucky Charm?"

"So long as my goal is clear, and I have time to set it then it's going to take skill to best it." Marinette said with a grin. "And as this goal will be to communicate in a way that Shinso can't affect us I can create it at the start with time for the goal to set so that is how we counter him. I'm the one who has the power to and so I'm the one who will do so, and it will look good for Shinso's transfer candidacy at the same time."

"It will?" Kirishima asked. "How?"

"Think about it." Marinette said. "His Quirk is such a threat to us right from the start that I have to counter it with my own Quirk, a Quirk that is recognized as one of the strongest at U.A. It really shows Shinso's potential and strength that his Quirk has taken mine out of the battle at the start though should situations dictate it I'll change my item and we can go from there."

"Damn that is good, but you still have your combat abilities." Kaminari said. "Right?"

"Yes, my constitution helps but I am trained with my yo-yo so I can fight without my Quirk though I'll be the first to admit that my close combat skills are lacking." Marinette said patting her hip. "Hence why I go for quick knockouts and employ my yo-yo as that is what I'm best with. Remember, in battle one has to best apply their resources, and this is the best application of Lucky Charm, but I'll wait to activate it until we are done planning. Now, we need to deal with the others and how they will come for us right out of the gate seeing as it is likely that they will know our locations and be able to reach us before we can reach them."

"They will?" Kaminari asked. "How?"

"Our second problem, Shishida and his Beast Quirk, it's one we have to be ready for." Marinette said. "I don't know the specifics though I did train a little with him in the Summer Camp as it is a strength-based Quirk and the stronger my body is the longer I can keep an item materialized. From what I gathered, Beast allows Shishida to transform into a large, beast-like, creature that makes him stronger, larger, and heightens his senses. I'm not sure about cognition but his smell, sight, and hearing should be increased along with his strength, resistance to damage, and speed. He'll be the battering ram that comes for us so we will counter it with Kirishima and Koda at the front and Kaminari backing them up."

"On it." Kirishima said grinning. "A manly position to be the shield at the start."

"Hold tough, in terms of raw strength, I'd estimate that only Midoriya's Quirk provides a higher amount of it when active so it might take Unbreakable to best him." Marinette said seriously. "Beast will increase Shishida's constitution well past mine and Adrien's and should be a challenge for your Hardening."

"I've faced Agreste in combat before, I know how strong he is." Kirishima said. "So, I won't take this lightly."

"Um, why I am I there?" Koda asked. "Shouldn't I be on scout duty. I can use pigeons, rats, and I think there's a snake here that will help me find people. I was thinking of using them to locate Shinso so we can prepare for his Quirk."

"Normally yes you would but I've had to adapt to someone like Shishida." Marinette said deciding not to question that a snake was here as she had sinking feeling she knew exactly who that was and for the life of her she didn't know why she was in Field Gamma so best to leave it for the moment. "His speed and ability to find us require a change because he'll come for us while thinking we would prioritize Shinso or Shiozaki, but we'll be expecting him first and not just him. Given their team's size and Quirks, he'll have at least one teammate with him, likely Tsuburaba if I had to guess as between him and Rin, his Quirk is best for capture and support."

"Not Shiozaki and her vines?" Tsu asked. "She's the best at capturing and once in her vines there aren't many in the class who could probably escape them. Todoroki, yourself, Bakugo, and Midoriya are the only ones for sure, maybe Momo, Mina, and Tokoyami but that's it."

"No, she's, and to use a pun Adrien would be proud of, a thorny problem in her own right but not the one who they'd send with Shishida based on what I know of them." Marinette said. "Our advantage is her personality is odd and might not mesh with her team well so they may just use her as an initial distraction, a red herring so to speak to distract us from Shishida's attack."

"Is she that odd?" Kaminari asked. "She seems rather cute and nice."

"Shiozaki's a deeply religious woman and from the little interactions I've had with her she holds her convictions seriously." Marinette said. "That will cause issues with the others, but we can't overlook her power. When it comes to it, I'll have to change my item for her, but I don't expect her to be on the frontlines of this. With the range of her vines and their strength, she's likely the barrier before their base. She doesn't need to move to use her Quirk, best spot for her is at the back with Rin backing her up and protecting her or as a distraction. There's likely more to it but my gut tells me that she's not the first threat. Shinso's the real wildcard hence why we're countering him from the start."

"Oh ok." Koda said as the others processed what Marinette was saying though he still had a question to ask. "But, um, still why am I at the front? You have more strength than me, Ladybug."

"You're surprisingly strong Koda and, well, Shishida is furry." Marinette said. "I know you're not a fan of insects Koda, but they could be of use against him. You can do it, you did it against Present Mic and helped Kyoka pass the final, you can do it now against a classmate."

"R, right." Koda said nervously his confidence raised by the support Dupain-Cheng had for him. "I'll do my best."

"And me?" Kaminari asked. "Why am I there?"

"That support item, you said in the licensing exam that it gives you aim, right?" Marinette said pointing the contraption on Kaminari's wrist. "You had it made so that you didn't have to worry about friendly fire."

"Yeah it does." Kaminari said.

"Good them use it and your skills as best you see fit." Marinette said showing surprising trust in Kaminari. "You're one of the few who is good at both ranged and close combat thanks to Electrification and that item really increases your strength as you're no longer at risk of friendly fire. Bakugo trusted you enough to get him out of a jam in the licensing exam and you bested a Shiketsu second year. That's enough for me to know that you've got this from where you are. Plus, they will be wary of your strength, the amount of electricity you can discharge is no laughing matter. It can probably take down even Shishida with Beast active and you're getting better at not going stupid which adds to your threat level."

"Oh, thank you." Kaminari said with a smile as Kirishima patted his back. "I can do that."

"And me Marinette?" Tsu asked.

"You're the versatile support and cleanup." Marinette said. "No one has as much versatility in the class as you do Tsu, and your calm mind is a big asset. Assist as you see fit and the moment an opening arises to capture any of them other than Shishida, his bulk will be too great for you, take them and get them in prison right away. That said, is there anything you can do that we don't know about because it hasn't been useful until this point."

"Um the only thing I can think of is my mucus." Tsu said her hand on her chin. "It's the one thing I've not used this year because it's not exactly strong though I never expected to need to regurgitate my stomach and that was key in beating Mr. Ectoplasm in mine and Tokoyami's final. So far I've only told Midoriya and Mineta about it back when the three of us ended up in the flood zone during the attack on the USJ."

"Come again?" Marinette asked as the others looked at her. "You secrete a mucus, Tsu?"

"I can but it only really causes itching." Tsu said. "I can probably up it to paralysis with training and focus on its though. I was focused more on perfecting my camouflage technique."

"That is a good idea and start with it as it could be useful but this mucus, how potent is it?" Marinette asked and Tsu's eyes went wide at the question.

"Quite, enough that it should mask anyone's scent with my own and it will only sting if the contact is on your skin." Tsu said understanding Marinette's idea and realizing how brilliant it was, her friend truly was exceptional at this stuff, but she did have two years' experience on them, so it made sense. "You're the scout for this, aren't you."

"My training and skills in such an environment are second to Sero in the class I'd say." Marinette said. "I trust the rest of you to hold the line against the first wave so I will go on ahead and try to assess the placements of Shiozaki, Shinso, Rin, and if Tsuburaba isn't with Shishida him too, but with Shishida's Quirk that was an issue as he'd know where I was, until now. At the start, coat me with mucus, my costume will protect me, and that will throw Shishida, especially because my agility is as good as yours so it might take him a bit to deduce that it's me. He'll probably focus on the group and assume you're the scout while I'm with the group so this should fool him."

"Makes sense and allows you to come back and back us up if need be which will throw them." Tsu said getting ready and pulling down one of her sleeves to show her bare forearm. "Shall I begin secreting."

"Start and I'll create my item." Marinette said as Tsu began to secrete a thick mucus that she'd not seen before and knowing that the match would begin soon so they had better get started right away. "Let's see what Lucky Charm gives me."

There was a flash of pink sparkles and 5 identical items appeared in the air before they fell into Marinette's hand. They were small transmitters placed in the ear that couldn't be seen except up close given the ladybug print pattern and would all work together as a singular item. Marinette narrowed her eyes and her vision grayed. Then 4 of the transmitters flashed and the right ears of her teammates before the last one did showing that it was the master transmitter, and Marinette understood as her vision returned to normal.

"Take one and put them in your ears." Marinette said with a grin as she took the master one for herself, and they all did. "This is a bit of a round about way of dealing with Shinso, just the kinda way I deal with things, so it should work though we will have a slight coms delay."

"How?" Kaminari said as Marinette put her own in and activated it.

"Because." Marinette said before switching to her native French. "I'll be issuing orders and communicating with you in French but I should also be able to hear what's going on around you so I can come back the moment I'm needed."

They all heard the French words though none knew what they meant before a second later there was a crackle in their ears and Marinette's words were translated into Japanese in a cool, female, slightly mechanical voice the moment she finished speaking showing the delay that Marinette had spoken of. They all stared in surprise at what just happened before they looked at Marinette.

"Shinso's Quirk is voice activated and the way you fall for it is by responding to him when he activates it." Marinette said now sticking entirely to French. "And as this is my Quirk's solution I'm now almost certain that his item can mimic voices so we use the one thing that he can't mimic, my native tongue. This adds to me being the scout, but you now know that if you hear French then it's me and that there will be a translation. Plus, if I know my Quirk, even if Shinso tries some French it won't translate it, it will only translate me."

"But what if you have to change items?" Tsu asked. "Our communication might break down."

"Either speak only when facing one another so you can see lips moving or we have a code word or phrase." Marinette said briefly switching back to Japanese as it hit her so that she could explain her idea better. "Right, if I have to change items and our communication is threatened then I'll say 'ne parlez pas' which means 'don't talk' in French though I may add more to it out of habit so if that happens just do your best with it. If I saw that after I've changed items then communication by voice is threatened, and we have to change tactics. Likely, we deal with who we're facing and either retreat or beat them."

"That's brilliant." Kirishima said as a bell rang, and Vlad announced the start of the exam.

"Thank you, now let's focus and only talk if you can see another's mouth at the same time." Marinette said in French. "You three, into position and make it a nice wide section to face Shishida in. Tsu, mucus me up and then join them as you see fit. I'll go find where their other threats and hopefully their base is."

The others nodded and set to work as fast as possible. By the time Marinette was covered in mucus she was ready as well and leapt up on top of the prison before using her yo-yo to get to the top of some pipes. It was time for the first match to begin and they all had their roles but as Marinette had said, no plan survives first contact, and that contact was coming soon.


"Before we start, explain your Quirk to us Shinso." Shishida said as Class B's first team and Shinso gathered around their prison during the same time that Class A was strategizing. "But be quick and concise about it so we can plan accordingly."

"It's rather simple as some of you experienced in the Sports Festival." Shinso said though in this team only Shiozaki had been brainwashed back then. "When I activated it, all I need is for someone to respond to me while I'm thinking that I'm going to brainwash them, and it works. I can get people to do simple things but anything that requires thinking or speaking is off the table and the more I use it on the weaker it becomes. Also, it loses its effect if I send it through a speaker or megaphone as that converts my voice into something to be projected. From what I've gathered, it has to be my real voice for it to work."

"That all makes sense." Shishida said nodding and deducing that the mask wasn't electronic based on what Shinso had just said. "And to snap someone out of it?"

"Either I end the hold, or they are shocked out with contact." Shinso said. "Depending on how well the hold has taken and how many are currently under it will determine the amount of force needed and no I do not know how Midoriya broke my hold in the Sports Festival, that's never happened before or since."

"Then the point of the mask is?" Rin asked noting the mask that Shinso was now wearing.

"A way around the issue of people knowing my voice and Quirk." Shinso said. "Usually, I use questions or taunts for that but we're going to have issues with the other team as they know what to expect and in the field that might not always be the case as heroes' Quirks are often well known to villains. As such, this mask uses plates to change my voice's resonance and mimic someone else's voice without losing its effect. I call it Artificial Vocal Cords: Persona Cords when using it."

"I see and as it is still your own voice it works." Shishida said understanding it. "That is a clever and really useful support item."

"How sinful to use such deception in battle." Shiozaki said. "I shall pray for your soul for using such actions."

"Deception is a fair tactic and against who we're about to face it's going to be needed." Shinso said seriously though he was a little taken aback by Shiozaki's response to his item. "On that note, do you have a plan for Class A? This is a team we can't take lightly."

"First off we need to scout on our own to find them." Shishida said. "Shiozaki can you use her vines to 'search' for them?"

"I can Apocalypse Beast." Shiozaki said using the name she had for Shishida's beast form. "Shall I go into position?"

"Yes, I can find you with smell once I transform, so should we encounter them first I will toss them too you to capture." Shishida said and Shiozaki nodded to head out. "And my hero name is Gevaudan."

"I will pray that you find salvation Apocalypse Beast." Shiozaki said clearly using her own name for Shishida's hero identity rather than the one he'd chosen but then again her first name, Maria, had been rejected so there might be something to that but no one brought it up. "But I will point one thing out, you can probably handle Kirishima and Kaminari combat wise while Koda and Asui aren't much of a threat if engaged in the right way by you in that beastly form of yours but there is one major issue with the other team. I have seen her unearth a sinner and rightfully punish him, the only time I agreed with the use of deception, and she's a power unto herself. You must have a plan for her."

With that Shiozaki left to take her position and prepare her vines to find the sinners in Class A. It was only after she left that Shishida let them in on the real plan.

"Alright Shiozaki is the bait, she's likely the one the other team will focus on the most so we can distract them by sending her out on her own." Shishida said. "They'll likely use Koda's Quirk to find her, and we can use that window to strike them with a surprise attack."

"She's not going to be happy when she finds out you've used her for deception." Rin said. "You know how she gets about stuff like that."

"I don't like doing that to Shiozaki, but her beliefs make it impossible for her to engage in deception on her own unless it is to find Mineta peeping apparently, but our best plan is to use her as the distraction." Shishida said. "I'll take the heat and her ire for it though as it was my idea."

"Why trick her though?" Shinso asked. "She's strong, arguably the strongest here with her versatility and range, right? I know she was deemed a high threat in the Cavalry Battle when we faced her team at the end. I was told to go after her second as Honenuki's Quirk was more troublesome, but I got her third thanks to Tetsutetsu's loud mouth."

"You're not wrong there." Shishida said. "Shiozaki is likely the one they're going to take into account the most, along with you Shinso, which is why it is best that she serve as a decoy to fool Koda and distract them while I use Beast to find them in a surprise attack. My acute sense of smell will pick them up with ease, and then I'll use my speed to take out Kirishima and Dupain-Cheng first, they are the most troublesome, while Tsuburaba rides my back and takes care of Kaminari. His wide ranged electricity is a concern to us, so his containment is a priority."

"I see." Shinso said as he started to get it. "That isn't a bad plan, but I don't think surprise alone will win this. Remember who we are facing and what Quirk is at play in this match."

"Shiozaki and Shinso are right." Rin said. "We have to focus on their strongest team member and determine our plan for her from the very start. We cannot let her have any time to prepare for us once the battle begins."

"Good thing we all know who we're dealing with." Shinso said. "We all know who on the other team we have to try and single out first, we can't win this unless we have a plan to handle Dupain-Cheng. I've had her on a team and seen a bit of her in action, honestly there's no one who can compete with her in that Class if you ask me and that's including Bakugo and Todoroki."

"Her skills are considered by some, if not most, to be at the top of her class." Shishida said thinking on it. "And we know she's only gotten stronger since then but so have we and more progressively so compared to how Class A has improved which means we can win this. The first thing to take into account with Dupain-Cheng is her Quirk. How do you counter something like Lucky Charm?"

"It is a seriously powerful Quirk from what I've heard about it but Todoroki beat her in the Sports Festival so it can be done." Tsuburaba pointed out. "The problem is that it's as versatile as it is powerful and according to Kendo who's seen it in action, Dupain-Cheng's thinking isn't the most linear in the world which adds unpredictability to it. The best we can do if we have to fight her is to surprised her with speed and overwhelming force before she can use it."

"Plus, with Beast Shishida's strength is greater than hers so he has to prioritize knocking her unconscious the moment." Rin added. "That's the most prudent way to handle her. Hit her hard and fast before she can use Lucky Charm."

"If she's like how she was at the Sports Festival then she's already used it." Shinso said. "Or at least knows the precise moment when to use it as it has a time limit, but I am sure that limit is longer than at the Sports Festival. I don't doubt that she has a plan but that's not actually the biggest concern with her which is a testament to her abilities given the power of the Quirk she has. No, what makes Dupain-Cheng so dangerous an opponent isn't just her raw physical power and skill or her strong Quirk, it's her mind."

"What do you mean?" Shishida asked. "She's middle of the pack in her class I thought."

"Academics don't translate into the battlefield per se." Rin said understanding what Shinso was getting at. "Shinso, you've fought with her, what can you say on that front?"

"She'll have a plan already worked out and be in charge, her class see her as a leader so they will have already deferred to her, I saw that before the School Festival, and she'll have made assessments for how this battle will start." Shinso said. "With her it's best to assume she's got the upper hand from the start so as to not underestimate her at all."

"She's that good?" Tsuburaba asked his eyes wide. "I know we've heard of the talents of Class A but for the most part it just seems to be a mix of hype, circumstances, and them outshining us at the Sports Festival. They're not better than us."

"Perhaps but Dupain-Cheng played the Cavalry Battle like a prized fiddle." Shinso said. "Knew exactly how to plan it from the start by singling me out to be the rider and as rider I'd be pinnacle not her or Agreste who had more points so that would serve as a first line of defense for us as who'd focus on the team with the sole General Studies student as the rider."

"You're not wrong." Shishida said. "Rin and I were on a team together as I can carry one person with easy when transformed and we were focused on Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki because they were the top 3 at the time. I'd forgotten until now that the French transfers came 4th and 5th in the Obstacle Race. That was smart of her to place you as the rider because if she or Agreste had taken it we may have focused on them as well."

"You might, I had Monoma as my team's rider, and he was set on going for Bakugo." Tsuburaba said. "Well after getting some easy points from other Class A teams but he didn't focus on your team because Shinso was the rider. Damn, she is good."

"It's more than that." Shinso said. "Having me as the rider was just the first stage, she then formed the rest of the team with Agreste and Aoyama, the other fluent French speakers thus allowing for on-the-fly tactics that couldn't be picked up by anyone else. Lastly, she simply focused on advancement rather than point total. She didn't care about Midoriya's points, she had us bide our time and then when two of your class teams got caught by Todoroki's ice she targeted them with my Quirk to get the points to ensure we'd advance. Then she silenced your class by going after Tetsutetsu without needing to."

"Right, none of us advanced because of that." Rin said recalling how most of their class had failed to get any points, pissed Bakugo off to the point he'd ensured that Monoma's team didn't advance, or suddenly lost their points thanks to Shinso under Dupain-Cheng's directions. "We were all bested and you were the ones to do the most damage in the end."

"I was content with advancing, but Dupain-Cheng was the one who wasn't." Shinso said surprising them. "She's ruthless when she wants to be and apparently took the challenge your class laid down seriously. She ensured that your class had no advancements despite not needing to, even used her Quirk to ensure I could get Tetsutetsu's headband. All these reasons are why she's the threat that needs to be dealt with first."

"Then she's the focus of Brainwashing." Shishida said. "If I can't knock her out first."

"I'll do my best, but she knows the Quirk pretty well, she might already be preparing for it and honestly I still don't understand how her Quirk works." Shinso said. "However, there is an alternative plan for dealing with her that we haven't thought about."

"What's that?" Tsuburaba asked

"Don't engage her unless absolutely necessary." Shinso said. "Remember that we only need to capture 4 of them to win while they need to capture all of us. If we either avoid her, or should we have to deal with her in a fight preoccupy her long enough to take the others out we can win by leaving Dupain-Cheng as the sole free member."

"Tactical planning, you're good at this Shinso, you may see yourself as behind but between your planning and Quirk you're a serious threat already." Shishida said respect in his voice that was clear thanks to his more upper-class accent. "Facing a foe like Dupain-Cheng in a battle like this is a good example of how sometimes waiting it out for a better suited hero or weakening the supporting cast is valid though team 4 will really have their hands full dealing with her and Bakugo on a team together but I'm sure Tokage can manage it. Right, then it's settled, I'll charge in with Tsuburaba and if I can't render her unconscious right away, or see her, I'll get the others and clear out as fast as possible."

"That is a good initial strike but if it comes to it, can you contend with her in a brawl?" Shinso asked. "You're the only one here with the raw strength to handle her in close combat."

"I will give it my all." Shishida said. "I do want to test my skills against her in close combat so if that comes to it I'll stand and fight her."

"And if you two don't come back?" Rin asked. "This could end up in a fight that bests both of you."

"If we don't make it back from the initial charge, regroup and strategize again but we should have captured at least 1, possibly up to 3, of them in such a scenario." Shishida said as he activated Beast and grew taller, broader, and more animalistic while also getting more exuberant for battle. "Hop on Tsuburaba, let's win this!"

Tsuburaba leapt on his back and almost as soon as he did the go command from Vlad was heard over a speaker starting the battle. Almost instantly, Shishida focused his nose and found the 5 scents of his opponents and charged as fast but as stealthily as he could manage towards where he smelt 4 of them eager to win this right out the gate.

"Shinso, follow in their wake and see what you can do but only if there is an opening to do so." Rin said. "And if they both fall then come straight back because anything that can best Shishida when his Quirk is active is not worth fighting. You're Quirk and item are really strong and useful; we can't afford to lose you at the start."

"Right, that isn't too hard." Shinso said as he began to follow the path Shishida was clearly laying out in front of them. "I can do that."

With that Shinso quickly followed hoping to find a vantage point that he could use his Quirk from at the start but if not he'd still gather valuable intel for his team that should help his transfer application. He was going to show his skills today and earn a spot in the Hero Course no matter what. It was time to show that as the first match of the day began.


Marinette was running on the pipes and warehouse rooftops that ran all over Field Gamma, jumping from one to another or swinging where necessary as she looked for her opponents. She was most concerned with finding Shiozaki or Shinso and determining what to do with them. Shinso she could handle in combat even with that binding cloth he was using, so long as she kept her mouth shut, but Shiozaki would be a problem that she'd rather deal with when she had her team with her.

She trusted that her plan for her team would be enough to deal with Shishida's attack that she'd predicted would be the first contact of the match. She'd find and report back to aid them in defeating Shishida and hopefully Tsuburaba or possibly Rin the moment she had an idea where the others were. Sure, she could have had Koda scout but this way they saved his Quirk for dealing with Shishida.

At least this was Marinette's plan, but she barely made it halfway towards where she expected Shiozaki to be, she was constantly on the look for those damned vines of hers which were going to be a problem as she could cover a wide area with them, when she heard it over the earpiece. It came in as a roar through the earpiece and instantly she knew that the fight was already on.

"Meet my Roaring Rage." A beastly voice was heard over it and Marinette heard a pair of crashing sounds a second later and a serious exhalation of air that had to be Tsuburaba's Quirk in action. "Damn, I was hoping to get Dupain-Cheng as well with that but that should deal with Asui and Kirishima though there's some trickery afoot as I smell a second Asui somewhere else which has to be Dupain-Cheng acting as a forward scout. This isn't as we planned but still a good start if we can get all 4 of you now without dealing with that pesky bug leading you."

"He sent Tsu and Kirishima flying while Tsuburaba's captured Koda in some air prison." Kaminari's voice said and Marinette realized that he was alerting her. "At least now I…"

"Tsuburaba, get him." Shishida's voice said as Marinette turned to regroup with her team and Kaminari was cut off mid word showing that he'd been incapacitated somehow, which was confirmed by a string of swear words and pounding on something solid that she heard over her earpiece a second later. "Can't let you plan so we're coming at you directly thanks to my acute sense of smell. Time for enhanced speed and strength to win this for Class B."

"And I got a new move as well, my air prison will hold your electricity and Koda's voice as it's significantly stronger than what I could do at the Sports Festival." Tsuburaba said as Marinette ran to help her team out. "Shishida, toss them back."

"Kirishima, Tsu, if you can fight just hold him off long enough." Marinette said in French as she ran and heard a crashing sound that had to be Kirishima returning to the fight. "I'm coming to back you up. This is a little unplanned, but we can take these two now if we act fast so don't let them escape."

"I got you Koda." Kirishima yelled as Marinette ran and heard a punch that hit something solid. "Damn, the air is tougher than when Bakugo broke it in the Sports Festival. Well then, Unbreakable!"

This time it was followed by a shattering sound and Marinette knew that at least Koda was free though judging by the frantic yelling from Kaminari and the pounding he wasn't free just yet. She'd leave that for the moment, she had to focus on getting back to assist her team.

"Koda, Kirishima, hold off Shishida for a few more seconds." Marinette ordered. "I'm…"

"Back to human mode." Shishida's normal voice suddenly said confusing Marinette before a roar came in." And the animal returns! Too risky to keep you here now that I've got you so off you two go, Shiozaki, muzzle Koda!"

Marinette was confused by that as she ran until she heard a heave and a second later she saw first Kirishima and then Koda tossed high into the air and past her before she could react and try to grab one of them with her yo-yo. They were on an arc towards a different point and there was only one person who that could be.

"Two lost sheep come for salvation." Shiozaki's voice suddenly said followed by strangled yelps and muffled sounds from her classmates. "It is time for you to atone for your sins."

"You may have captured us, but you've missed Ladybug." Kirishima said and Marinette realized he wasn't taunting Shiozaki but using it as cover to alert her that she should focus on catching the other two and leave them to their fate. "She's still in this and so long as we have her, villains like you won't win."

"I will deal with that sinner when she comes to me." Shiozaki said. "I must punish her for her transgressions."

"Thanks Kirishima, shut up now, I've got this with the others, Shishida and Tsuburaba won't return to their base." Marinette said as she turned and ran faster towards where they'd been thrown from, thankfully she was close already. "And Shiozaki is mine for that."

Marinette kept running until she saw where the battle had been. Shishida was in beast mode with Tsuburaba on his back and closing in on Kaminari who was in an air prison and trying to get out, but it was clear that Shishida was being cautious given Kaminari's Quirk. That was good for Marinette as it gave her time to act, and she didn't hesitate as she leapt up high as she sent her yo-yo down to opponents below. It was time for Ladybug to enter the fray.


Things had gone better than anticipated but not as good as hoped for with the initial assault. Shishida had taken the fight to them as planned, taken care of two of the class and was now ready to go after Kaminari, too enthusiastic for victory to consider fleeing at this moment. Tsu was around as well but he could smell her above him and physically she wasn't a threat to him. It was the perfect time to take them out and win this without dealing with Dupain-Cheng at all. No doubt she'd gone on ahead and might be an issue but that was a mistake on her part that would cost her team the match.

At least that was the plan until Tsuburaba suddenly felt something ensnare him around the chest as Shishida closed in on a frantic Kaminari. He looked down to see a ladybug print yo-yo somehow wrapped around his chest but before he could fathom the skill needed to pull off such a move it tightened, and he was yanked up with a yell.

"What on earth?" Tsuburaba said as he was hoisted high up into the air and he saw a lithe figure leap from the highest vantage point around, flip once, and plunge right down towards Shishida's head, legs first and the string in her hand. "Oh shit, she's here and she's better than we thought. Shishida, look…"

Tsuburaba didn't get to finish his yell before Marinette landed. She'd tossed her yo-yo at Tsuburaba to catch him and yank him high and then gone after Shishida to try and immobilize him with a swift surprise attack to the head. To do so she just went for all out strength as she flipped off the building and at him, her feet landing in a double, gravity assisted, kick to the back of Shishida's head and driving him into the ground hard enough to crack concrete ground of Field Gamma.

Then, as she stood on Shishida's head, she grabbed her yo-yo string in both hands and yanked down hard to stop it from continuing its path upwards. All Tsuburaba had time to do was let out a curse and try to fathom the sudden change as the string came taught and he was violently tugged down to the ground, fast. Then he slammed into it hard enough to feel it in his bones and knock him senseless for a moment and that was all that was needed to ensure that Tsuburaba was taken out of the fight.

"Tsu, take care of Tsuburaba and then come back here." Marinette said in French as she felt Shishida moan under her. "I'll deal with this one."

Tsu, who'd been thrown for a loop by the opening attack, had recovered enough to understand and pushed past her pain to croak and lash her tongue out at the downed Tsuburaba as Marinette pulled back her yo-yo with a sharp tug that lifted Tsuburaba's body off the ground creating just the opening Tsu needed. In seconds she had almost all of Tsuburaba's body wrapped in her long tongue, especially his mouth so he couldn't use his Quirk, and was already hopping off as fast as possible to the prison.

As this was happening, Marinette leapt off Shishida and then, before he could act, she gabbed him by the fur at the back of his neck and the seat of his pants and hoisted him off the ground with a grunt. He was heavy in beast mode, but she could just about lift him and with some effort she spun her body on her heel a few times to build up momentum before she let go of Shishida.

The Class B boy was sent flying away and over the still captured Kaminari to crash headfirst into a wall of one of the many factories in the area with enough force to dent it before he fell down and onto some pipes that broke and covered him in broken metal for a moment. Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she caught her breath from the move, her eyes never leaving the spot where Shishida had ended up.

"Damn, that took a lot." Marinette muttered in French as she looked up to see Kaminari stuck. "In his transformed form he can take a lot of punishment, but enough force can take anyone down."

"Hey, get me out of here." Kaminari yelled but Marinette heard it over her earpiece and not from the air prison that clearly cut off any sound from escaping. "These things are tough, took a hardened punch from Kirishima so he had to get harder to break it. Use a broken pipe or something."

"Alright, once Shishida is…" Marinette began before she heard a groan and saw the pipes move. "Gods damned it, how tough is that guy. Kaminari, stay put, I'll free you once Shishida is down for the count but I'm going to have to go all out it seems, so I need to focus on this alone."

Marinette started running at Shishida as he burst out of the pipes with a roar and a reminder that as a hero he'd have to be able to take a lot harder hits to win. Marinette just ignored that as she spun her yo-yo and tossed it at him, past Kaminari in his air prison, hoping to ensnare Shishida and use that to her advantage. Alas he showed his enhanced abilities by simply batting away the yo-yo with his arm sending it flying to the side and forcing Marinette to recall it back to her.

"That little toy won't get me, no matter how skilled you are with it." Shishida bellowed, his personality change from his Quirk's activation really kicking in. "If you want to beat me little bug then you're going to have to do it with your fists."

"Fine by me, I could use the practice in putting a beast of your strength down." Marinette replied in French as she leapt up and placed her left hand on Kaminari's prison, swinging her legs to the side to clear it as she slapped her yo-yo back on her waist and landed at full sprint never once breaking stride as she closed in on Shishida who snarled and snorted but didn't charge clearly waiting for her approach. "I'll show you that even a bug can take down a monster."

Shishida let out a roar as Marinette neared him and swiped at her with his right hand in a powerful move that if it made contact would seriously hurt and send her flying back. However, to Marinette it was painfully slow and telegraphed giving her more than enough time to leap up and over it, planting her right foot down on Shishida's forearm and pushing down off it to flip over his head and kick him in the back of the head with her heel in the process.

The blow staggered Shishida forward but he just snarled and rolled with it as he used his smell to pinpoint Dupain-Cheng's location in midair behind him, ignoring why she smelled like Asui at the moment, and turned to intercept her in the air. She was good, he knew that already and it seemed that what he knew still didn't do her justice, but she'd still fall in the end, and he could use his enhanced senses.

"You can't fool me; I can smell you!" Shishida roared as he thrust out, his hand slamming into Marinette's chest to catch her in midair, grabbing her slender body in his large hand before he pushed back and drove her into the wall with a crash. "I'll squash you Ladybug."

Marinette had used the kick to twist in the air and was reading for another when Shishida was on her with reflexes and speed that surpassed even her own. He may be a little frenzied in this state, but he clearly had smell, speed, and reaction time on her. It was like fighting a Miraculous holder only with added strength.

The blow winded Marinette and she gasped from it, only her costume preventing her ribs from being broken from the blow, she was sure of it, and then feeling the unyielding steel of the wall behind her as she was slammed into it. Her head snapped back and hit it dazing her slightly, but she'd taken enough blows to the head this year to be able to ride it out as she grimaced in pain and looked down at her opponent. He was damned strong but if his nose was his advantage then she'd take that away. He was a beast so it must be sensitive.

"Then I say we even this up." Marinette spat out no longer bothering with French as she could see Shishida's mouth, so she knew he was the one speaking. "You left my legs free, big mistake because now I'm going to do something about your sense of smell big boy."

With that Marinette cocked her right leg back and launched it forward as hard and fast as she could in her pinned position to slam her costume covered toes into Shishida's nose before he could bring his other hand to bear and immobilize her legs as well. It wasn't hard enough to break it, he was too resilient in beast mode and she didn't have the power in her current position to manage it, but it clearly hurt Shishida, and he howled in pain as he staggered back from the blow and loosened his grip on her.

That was all Marinette needed to use her strength to pull his fingers apart just enough to allow her slender body to slip free and land in a crouch before Shishida, his immense size towering over her. Course, the taller they were the harder they fell, and Marinette didn't hesitate to press her advantage as she rushed forward despite the soreness in her chest from the blow she'd taken.

If Marinette was facing a real villain then she would have gone low and taking Shishida down with a blow below the belt but he wasn't so she didn't as she launched a flurry of punches as hard as she could into his gut. That and this was good practice as she really needed to up her hand-to-hand combat because right now she was only holding her own through her enhanced constitution and raw physical strength but as Shishida proved that wouldn't normally be enough if she faced someone who could get stronger than her.

For the moment though she held that advantage and landed several blows that winded Shishida, but his immense bulk and muscles still absorbed most of them. It wasn't enough to take him down, but Marinette had expected that, she just needed to distracted him for a few seconds to finish this.

"Time to go down already." Marinette said as she leapt up and placed her hands on Shishida's head and gripped it so that she could use it to add speed as she brought both of her knees up as hard and fast as possible into his under chin. "Enough blows to the head and you will go down."

The blow was hard and staggered Shishida back as Marinette held on and pulled herself up to place both feet on Shishida's shoulders. He was still standing but now really dazed so it was time to end him as Marinette tensed her knees and leapt up as high as she could, pushing down on Shishida in the process to stagger him further back but not enough to push him to the ground.

"I may not have learned much directly from Mirko, but I did see her in action a lot during my internship." Marinette said as a dazed Shishida looked up to see the red and black clad Marinette above him raising her right leg high above her head in an ax kick that was eerily similar to one of Mirko's signature moves as she began to fall down towards him. "And man does that crazy bunny know how to deliver a devastating kick. Nighty, night beasty!"

With that Marinette finished her fall and brought her foot down as hard and fast as she could to slam it heel first into Shishida's forehead with an audible boom. She had to give the other hero student credit, he was one tough son of a bitch, but after so many blows to the head from Marinette he'd finally reached his limit.

The last thing that went through Shishida's head as he collapsed backwards and into unconsciousness was that the tales of Class A's ace being Marinette Dupain-Cheng were right on the money. The French girl was unreal in combat, and she'd not once used her Quirk to beat him.

Marinette rode Shishida down to the ground before, keeping her foot on his face and a knee on his chest as she panted for a moment to catch her breath and let the pain she was feeling lessen a little after such a battle. It had been a long time since she'd been pushed like this, not since Todoroki in the Sports Festival really as that defeat at Togata's hands didn't count, but it taught her one thing. She really needed to get better at close, unarmed, combat.

After a few seconds it became clear that Shishida was down for the count and Marinette slowly stood up, standing on Shishida's chest, before she turned and went to his feet. Apparently he didn't change back to normal right away after being knocked out in beast mode, so she just opted for dragging him by the feet to the prison, which she did. Shishida was on his back, mouth open, glasses askew and arms above his head as Marinette whistled to herself as she dragged him past Kaminari who was wide eyed and open mouthed at the battle he'd just witnessed, and to the prison.

"Tsu, get to Kaminari now and try to free him." Marinette said as she walked, speaking in French again. "Shishida is down and I'm taking him to the prison. I have a feeling we've got a few moments to regroup as they wait for a report, we need to us it now."

With that done, Marinette continued on her way to the prison glad for the brief rest and thinking of what to do now that it was a three-on-three battle. She also wondered idly how the class saw that as she walked.


"Man, I knew Marinette was good but damned that was something else, again." Jiro said her eyes wide as Marinette finally felled Shishida after one hell of a fight between them. "I'm not the only one here who keeps thinking she's reached some plateau only for her to exceed it the next time she's in a combat situation, right?"

"She's always been strong but the one thing we've never really seen her do was fight hand to hand other than a little with Todoroki in the Sports Festival." Momo said just as amazed at what she'd seen. "We all know that she's got a lot of raw strength, but she usually uses her yo-yo and Quirk with only the occasional strike, almost surgical in her placement, to down an enemy. That was the first time I think any of us have truly seen her engage in an all-out brawl."

"Yeah we all saw how she took down Hado." Sero said. "This was different though."

"When I fought her, I took some blows so I know she can hit really hard." Todoroki said. "But that, that was different. She didn't hold back for a second there and against anyone else she'd have broken bones at the very least. Shishida's Quirk was the only thing that prevented it."

"She looked a bit like Mirko at the end." Izuku said making notes. "That final kick was really good. I lack the flexibility to properly replicate it, but I can learn a lot from that exchange. Shishida is really strong in his beast form though, he was able to predict where Dupain-Cheng was and hit her but even that wasn't enough to take her down. You really do need to knock her out before she can counter or use her Quirk and that fight showed it."

"I do want to point out that Marinette won that fight without her Quirk." Adrien said grinning at Marinette's victory while Class B got a bit worked up at the loss of two of their members despite having the early lead until Marinette arrived. "She's already got Lucky Charm active in this battle, so she faced Shishida without it."

"What." Monoma said, he'd been one of the most affected by Shishida's loss, especially as he taunted them about losing Kirishima and Koda so early and was really on his high horse until Marinette showed up and took down Tsuburaba. "She wasn't using her Quirk? That's not possible, she can't have enough raw strength to take down Shishida like that."

"I am pretty sure she isn't but even with her enhanced constitution from generations of Quirk Marriages it took several blows to render Shishida unconscious which shows how resilient he is when he's in that beast form." Adrien said. "As for how I know she's not using her Quirk, Marinette has been speaking French this entire time and as far as I know no one else currently fighting knows it."

Adrien was of course right; Marinette had been speaking French. Thankfully there was sound along with the audio, so they had heard Marinette speaking in French most of the time. Naturally, Adrien and Aoyama had been translating for people, Momo was still keeping her proficiency hidden from most, so that they could understand what was going on. It had helped a bit though many had been confused by the French part.

The rest of what had happened in the opening salvo had gone by pretty normal with comments from both classes on Shishida's plan, praise from Vlad for the captures of Kirishima and Koda, and the arrival of Dupain-Cheng which changed the momentum. The only really surprising thing was how fast Kirishima had been beaten thanks to Shishida going back to normal to get between him and Koda's attacks, then reverting back to beast form to catch them and toss them to Shiozaki. It had been impressive and gotten praise from Class B and it looked like Kaminari would soon follow.

Of course, that had been the moment Marinette had showed up, lifted Tsuburaba off Shishida's back with her yo-yo, and slammed both to the ground in their own ways. Class B had been shocked with her skills; they'd heard her reputation but other than seeing her in the Sports Festival most didn't truly believe she lived up to the hype. Well, Marinette had shown that she did and then some with her win over Shishida, Tsuburaba was already out of it and captured by Tsu by that point, and now things were shifting as Marinette calmly dragged Shishida to the prison, her whistling really adding to it.

"What does Dupain-Cheng speaking in French have anything to do with it?" Monoma asked, he had cracked slightly with the shift but as they still held the lead he was getting back his old mojo. "It could be she's just talking to herself or something."

"Because her item is translating her." Ochaco said as she got it and surprised all, even Adrien, with the revelation. "Sorry, Marinette once had to help me out, but we lacked privacy at the time, so she used her Quirk to help, and it gave her an earpiece that she gave me. She then spoke in French, and it translated her words into Japanese for me, so I figured she's done something similar in this battle."

"That's just what Lucky Charm would do and it's perfect for how Marinette thinks." Momo said understanding it. "If Marinette is speaking French then her team will know it's her not Shinso because he can't speak it even if that mask of his can change his voice as we have theorized. Add in how Lucky Charm works and no doubt it's only translating her voice."

"All that from her Quirk?" Monona asked starting to crack again. "How is that possible? What she showed at the Sports Festival wasn't anywhere near that level of complexity."

"It's probably the strongest Quirk in the class if not the school." Izuku said as he flipped to his notes on Dupain-Cheng and edited them with the updated info from the battle at hand. "And her experience, leadership, and battlefield mind are unreal. All in all, it's easy to see why many rate her as the top of our class."

Bakugo just let out a grunt at that, he'd best Dupain-Cheng one day and she'd better be able to work with him on their team, so he didn't care for Deku's analysis. All this was doing was motivating him even more to prove that he was the best and when it came to his turn in this exercise he'd show it in a way that left no doubts as to how good he was.

"Marinette is one of a kind." Adrien said as she reached the prison. "This match isn't over yet but expect her to up her game again so let's watch, it's going to get interesting when she leads the counter attack."

The other hero course students and the one General Studies kid didn't say anything as Adrien was right, things were going to get good. already the first battle hadn't let them down and it was only going to get more intense as the classes regrouped for the next confrontation of the match.

-break-

Marinette reached the prison to find Tsuburaba sitting in the far end against the bars, one hand over his mouth, the other on what was likely an injured arm, as he mumbled to himself. She didn't really know what that was about, so she just ignored it and opened the door. That got Tsuburaba's attention, he'd been distracted mainly by the fact that he'd been held from mouth to knees by Tsu's tongue which was a lot to think of and the pain he was in from what Dupain-Cheng had done to him, and he looked to the entrance.

He just blinked as Marinette pivoted the still unconscious Shishida on his back to face head first into the prison, grab two tufts of fur on his chest, hoist him up and tossed him into the prison with a thud to secure his elimination from the match. The large boy, still in beast form, just lay on his back out cold in the middle of the prison now out of the battle as Marinette clapped her hands at a good job and looked at Tsuburaba.

"He probably has a concussion, make sure that the robots know when they come." Marinette said her voice soft showing that she did at least care about her classmates even as she beat them unconscious. "And you should get yourself looked at as well, I tried to be as gentle as I could, but I did slam you from a good height, so you probably have some cracked bones."

Tsuburaba didn't doubt that he definitely had bruises on his chest and arms from the impact, but that wasn't the main thing for him right now. He just looked from his unconscious classmate to Dupain-Cheng who didn't seem to be hurt though her hair was a little mussed and back before returning to meet her piercing blue gaze.

"You really are as good as they say you are." Tsuburaba got out as he saw a depth to the girl's eyes that took him back, they were the eyes of someone with significantly more experience than anyone in their year should have but he'd heard that she'd been at the center of many of Class A's escapades this year so it sorta made sense. "Not many could best Shishida when he was transformed, but you did, and you did it one on one. Even with your Quirk, that's not easy."

"I didn't use Lucky Charm." Marinette said surprising Tsuburaba with the news as her expression cooled a few degrees, she didn't want a rivalry with Class B, but they brought it on themselves, so she'd make it clear that they were the better class and if it meant playing to her reputation, well then so be it as it was a well-earned reputation. "And I'm not as good as they say I am, I'm better as your info is outdated. I don't care for rankings or that stuff in the Hero Course, it distracts us from being good heroes together, but I will be the number one hero in France one day and if that means showing I'm number one here then so be it. I will make that clear today to your class because we will win this, you can count on that."

With that Marinette turned and left to regroup with Tsu, who she'd not passed as she was taking Shishida to prison, and Kaminari leaving Tsuburaba to think on her words. He couldn't deny that they carried weight to them and after what he'd seen and heard, well it was probably true.

Bakugo won the Sports Festival, Todoroki was Endeavor's son, and everyone knew of Midoriya's strength and improvement but right now, if you asked him, Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood above them all when it came to the top first year in U.A.'s Hero Course. She may have only gotten a bronze medal in the Sports Festival, and for few simply saying only to that kind of achievement would be tough, but for Dupain-Cheng it seemed apt as she was better than her ranking in it. Her skills were staggering.

Naturally Marinette didn't know any of this as she quickly returned to find Tsu battering on the prison with a broken pipe and picked one up herself. As soon as she reached them, Tsu stepped back, and Marinette swung at the air with all her strength. This time it shattered, and Kaminari was finally free.

"Holy shit Ladybug, that was unreal." Kaminari said looking at her his eyes wide. "You took down that monster all by yourself."

"Yeah, sorry I wasn't here at the start." Marinette said her tone filled with regret at her failure in planning as she took the blame for losing two teammates. "We wouldn't have lost Kirishima and Koda that way."

"Don't be too hard on yourself Marinette." Tsu said. "You did well and we're even with them thanks to you. We can still win this."

"Oh, we will." Marinette said her expression getting serious and her tone showing her conviction as she looked at her teammates. "I promise that. Today we show Class B that this silly rivalry of theirs is just that, silly, because we will win this exercise."

That really got the other two smiling as they took reassurance from her words. Tsu already fully acknowledged Marinette's leadership and fighting skills but Kaminari it was more a respect for the latter and he'd truly seen that just now in a way no one else in the class got to see. With her leading them they couldn't not fail this.

"So, what's the plan?" Kaminari asked. "We don't know where they are."

"We know where Shiozaki was, but it seems like she wasn't by their base based on what Shishida was saying but that's not a problem." Marinette said as she switched back to Japanese. "Keep looking at each other's faces, I'm going to change my item now as my goal has changed."

A second later the earpieces vanished, and Marinette pulled a protein cube out of a pouch on her belt to help speed her recharge as a new item formed in the air above her with her changed goal. This time her goal was an item to find the others who weren't in prison. It took a second but after a flash of pink sparkles said item appeared. It was a handheld radar machine with a screen on it.

Marinette looked at it for a moment and nothing happened but for two dots appearing right before her that clearly was meant to be Tsu. She got it then and moved it to hold it in the direction of where Shiozaki's vines had been. There was nothing right ahead but a red flash on the corner showed where to shift it to and Marinette moved it her arm over there. Now she saw three dots on it, all at the top to show that that was where they were but too far for the item to give an exact location.

"They're in that direction." Marinette said pointing as she dismissed her item and eating another protein cube to help her recovery, but she was still well within her current time limit of activation and thanks to all her training, so long as she kept the protein up and the items relatively simple she could create new ones within her activation window but the more she did the shorter the window became. "Let's get moving."

"You're Quirk is amazing." Tsu said as they began to run in that direction. "You know that right?"

"I know how strong it is and I intend to use it for good, but we shouldn't rely too much on it." Marinette said with a smile. "I'll need it again because I can't beat Shiozaki without it but with her Quirk she'll have all my attention."

"But you took down Shishida without it." Kaminari said.

"Shishida is basically all brute strength and enhanced senses." Marinette said as they ran. "I can face that head on with my own though he's stronger than me, I just used size and proximity to my advantage in that fight. Shiozaki is different. Those vines of hers are unpredictable and she has some serious control over them. Even with my mobility, I can't evade them all as she's got a lot, I can only best her with an item to counter her Quirk and one that will allow me to get within reach of her body at that, so I'll get that when we near them."

"So, you'll handle Shiozaki." Tsu said and for the first time Marinette noted that her friend was a bit battered. "What about us?"

"First Tsu, are you ok?" Marinette asked. "I heard the hit you took, I'm sorry I didn't ask you sooner."

"Right, you took a heavy hit there." Kaminari said.

"I'm good, I was able to control the landing somewhat, but I can't fight directly." Tsu said. "My mobility is still there so I'll use that and time my attack right to capitalize on it and other factors."

"Can you handle Rin and his scales?" Marinette asked. "Shinso's binding cloth could be a bit of a problem for you if you're not at 100% strength."

"I can move faster than Rin can fire them, and I have a greater area I can move in thanks to my Quirk." Tsu said. "So, in theory I should have the advantage of Rin in combat, but I won't know until I face him."

"Right then I'm trusting him to you." Marinette said. "We can only win this by engaging in three one on one battles to draw their focus from helping each other and communicating to dealing with each of us as individual threats. I'll take Shiozaki, her vines can counter electricity as plants don't conduct it well and you haven't used your disks yet, right Kaminari?"

"Nope haven't used them yet." Kaminari admitted. "But, if you two distract her and Rin, I can try to land and then I can hit it so long as I'm within 10 feet without having to worry about hitting you two in the process."

"Try as a backup and only if there is a clear opening but I want you to handle Shinso." Marinette said. "Don't rise to any bait of his and once I create my next item, I have a feeling we'll see vines first, it's no communication except my French warning, got it. Don't hesitate Kaminari, treat Shinso as the greatest threat there because as far as I'm concerned he is and fry his ass the moment you see him. That will ensure he's quiet, so long as you don't speak you're the best against him."

"I can do that." Kaminari said with a grin, his confidence boosted by the faith Dupain-Cheng was putting in him. "Don't worry."

"And when we best them?" Tsu said.

"Grab and go." Marinette said. "This is a divide and conquer mission. We each have a target, fight them and if you win, take them and get back to the prison to regroup as fast as possible without worrying about the other two. If you don't think you can win then flee, simple as that."

"And if one falls?" Kaminari asked a little surprised by the harshness of Dupain-Cheng's plan. "You know, just in case they somehow get the better of us."

"If we can assist we will." Marinette said as she let out a sigh at how cold her orders were going to be but with who they were facing they had to be. "Same if it is clear you can provide aid but if something comes up, especially if it's Shinso's Quirk, best to focus on retreat rather than fight to defeat. We will show we are best though; we won't fall."

"Right, I can get behind that." Kaminari said now psyched up more. "Let's do this."

"Good." Marinette said as she finally saw vines ahead of her and grinned bringing them to a stop at a safe distance from them. "Because our counter attack begins now."

There was a flash and an item appeared above Marinette's head and landed in her hands. The moment she saw it she grinned; it was just what she needed to counter Shiozaki's vines.


"I can't believe that you used me as a decoy." Shiozaki said as she finished putting the two captured lambs in the prison while Rin guarded it. "I will have to flog the Apocalypse Beast for this when I next see him."

"Woah too far." Rin said raising his hands at the rather old school punishment that Shiozaki had just proposed.

He'd told Shiozaki the true plan the moment she'd arrived with Kirishima and Koda in her vines, and she was pissed at it. At least it would really get her motivated, but they needed the other two back from their opening salvo. With all of them, especially Shishida's nose and Shinso in the background aiding them, they could easily win this.

"Sin must be punished." Shiozaki said. "And I will punish it. If the Apocalypse Beast fails, leave Marinette to me. She is a sinner who only I can deal with."

"Um I won't question all that but of all of us you are the best against her given how useful your vines are." Rin said as Shinso suddenly appeared. "Ah, Shinso, status report."

"I got there in time to see Dupain-Cheng slugging it out with Shishida." Shinso said his voice filled with annoyance at a missed opportunity, but he'd not been able to find a moment to try and brainwash Dupain-Cheng. "I don't know how it ended up like that and Tsuburaba was already missing while Kaminari was in an air prison, it didn't end well for Shishida."

"If you're back alone then we know how it ended." Rin said. "Damn, she's as good as they say she is."

"Possibly better." Shinso said. "She wasn't using her Quirk. I think she used Lucky Charm to negate me as she was speaking in French, and I can't speak that language, so they'd know it was her. That was why I hesitated to use mine, that and I didn't know who had been caught but I see now that we have Koda and Kirishima."

"Likely an item to translate her commands." Rin said gritting his teeth. "Smart and powerful."

"Well, she and the others won't get her, I'll find and punish all of them." Shiozaki said turning to face the direction they knew Class A to be in. "In my true name, Vine, Via Dolorosa."

Suddenly vines shot out before them and began to search for the members of Class A as the two boys watched in amazement at the strength of her Quirk. Shiozaki was going to cover as much area as she could and get them in her vines, capture them and bring them back to her.

"Shinso, find…" Rin began before Shiozaki's eyes went wide.

"I got one." Shiozaki said before grimacing. "And whoever it is can cut my vines, it feels hot, and some are on fire despite being watery. This cannot go unpunished; I will not let the flames of hell burn me."

"That's Dupain-Cheng, no one else could counter Shiozaki." Shinso said looking to Rin. "Protect her, I'm going to find cover and use the echoes to assist them."

"I was about to suggest the same thing, you're definitely a natural at this Shinso." Rin said as he prepped himself, scales appearing on his arms and shoulders and ready to use his gauntlets. "Time to show them what Class B can do."

Shiozaki ignored this as Shinso got into position, she had her own fight, and she was ready for it. Class A's counter attack had begun.


The item Marinette had made was a staff with glowing metal blades on the ends that were clearly heated and knowing Lucky Charm razor sharp. It was the perfect item for fighting off vines so long as she kept moving and spinning the blades. She didn't wait for the others as she trusted that they'd be able to execute their parts in the mission, instead she leapt onto a balcony thing above them and ran at the vines, avoiding them as long as possible until she had to step on one and the moment she did she spun her weapon to cut away the vines.

The heated, sharp, blades, made quick work of them and even set some of them alight though clearly they were watery as they didn't burn well. Still, it was just what Marinette needed and she charged forward knowing that her team would back her up as she led the counter attack on Class B's base.

Marinette kept leaping up, using her suit boosted strength and whatever she could to get to the top level of the multi storied, open aired, warehouse thing that was between her and Shiozaki, she really wasn't sure how to describe it, and slashed at any vine that came at her as she ran. The further forward she ran, the thicker they got causing her to slow down and she noted that more kept coming up from behind her as she ran to the far end where she could see an open area ahead of her.

Regardless, the blades flashed as she spun the staff in her hands and around her body, as well as spinning her own body to preserve her momentum, making mincemeat of the vines as she neared and ignoring the fires that sprouted up. Thankfully once the vines burned up the fires ended as nothing in this area was flammable which was good but regardless Marinette didn't focus on that she reach the edge several vines in thick twisted columns shot at her.

Marinette twisted her body around as slashed the vines away, flipping and spinning to avoid letting them touch her or the staff with the exception of the blades, cutting vines every time the blades made contact. She knew that with Shiozaki's power and impressive control she was doomed if she got ensnared so she pressed on and reached the edge, running the blade horizontal through a thick vine column in the process, before leaping up to place one foot on the railing at the edge and using that to jump off into the open to see Shiozaki in the middle of the clear area looking up at her with Rin behind her and off to the side but no Shinso in sight.

"Shiozaki!" Marinette yelled as she leapt into the air staff in both hands and held high over her head as she arched her back her focus entirely on the other girl. "Your ass is mine!"

"A sinner has come for her salvation, and I will give it to you." Shiozaki yelled up at Marinette, she did like the other girl and admired her skills and leadership, but she wasn't a fan of her choice to give away her maidenhood before marriage, so she needed to be punished for that and this was the time for it. "Pray for forgiveness for I shall deliver you to it. Crucifixion!"

Marinette blinked at the rather morbid ultimate move name as a pillar of vines shot up to intercept Marinette and formed a ball around her to contain her. At least that was the plan from Shiozaki, but Marinette had other ideas as she twisted the blade in her hands and slashed it through the sphere, cutting it to burning ribbons of vines that she passed through and continued to bear down on Shiozaki as the pillar ignited behind her following a passing slash at it to prevent Shiozaki from using it to capture her from behind.

"Fiend, face your atonement!" Shiozaki yelled as she lent forward and summoned up a massive wall of vines to protect her. "Faith's Shield!"

Marinette saw the wall formed and spun her body in the air to cut into the wall and as she fell to the ground she kept slashing the entire time. It showed to Rin and Shiozaki on the other side as a series of cuts that caught fire before the vines all fell away, burning up as the did and both gaped at the sight.

The vines fell to reveal Marinette on one knee before them, a burned clearing around her so she wasn't near any vines, the staff she was wielding, which both could tell was her Quirk's item given it's pattern, held out to the side in her right hand with part of it over her back as her left hand rested on the ground. Marinette had her head up though as she looked at Shiozaki, her blue eyes meeting Shiozaki's green ones, and grinning at her before she suddenly launched herself towards Shiozaki. This fight was just getting started.

"She can't hope to face us both." Rin said as he leveled his arms and sent a series of scales from his support item out at Marinette while Shiozaki summoned vines to get in Marinette's way that she instantly began to slash away. "We…"

As Rin's scales were being shot something shot down at his arms from above. The pink color showed that it was Asui's tongue, the frog girl had sent it as he leveled his shot and wrapped his wrists to pull them to the side and away. Not that they were doing much anyway as Shiozaki's vines were now in the way, as many as Shiozaki could control, but Marinette was just cutting through it while ignoring the occasional scale that got through and bounced off her costume.

The sudden jerk caused Rin to stumble as he turned, rolling with the tug to keep his footing and looked up to see Asui on one of the pipes on the edge of their battle, her tongue returning to her. He grit his teeth and raised his arms up to send more at her but Tsu just leapt to the side and showed that she was faster than he could fire and soon Rin had to pause as his item was starting to overheat while his own offensive limitations were reached.

Tsu chose that moment to leap down and slam both feet into him. Rin got his arms up and scales covered them to protect himself in time, but they shattered from the impact, and he let out a curse at that. That was all he got out however as he was quickly downed, and Tsu's tongue was already out to grab him just like she'd grabbed Tsuburaba.

It was as this was happening that Kaminari had run into the area looking for Shinso. He used the two battles going on to search for his opponent knowing that Rin and Shiozaki were preoccupied with their own fights but couldn't find him. The other boy was hidden but he was going to find him.

"Kaminari, Shinso is hidden in the pipes behind the prison." A voice that sounded like Tsu's called out above the commotion. "Get him!"

"Roger that, I'm…" Kaminari began as he turned to run there but the brainwashing hit him instantly as he'd fallen right for the trap.

"Good now walk to the prison." Shinso said in his normal voice from where he was hidden, using the pipes to echo his voice and avoid being located though he wasn't behind the prison, and Kaminari did that. "Now open the door and walk in."

"Ne parlez pas, Tsu." Marinette yelled in French as she saw Kaminari get hit by the brainwashing and walk to the prison, but she was still too far from Shiozaki, slashing through vines as she slowly closed in and using the space to her advantage but unable to stop Kaminari thanks to Shiozaki's continued attempts to ensnare her. "Shinso peut changer sa voix pour correspondre à la nôtre mais il ne peut pas reproduire mon français. S'occuper de Rin et le mettre en prison, Kaminari est perdu."

Marinette trusted that Tsu could pick up the general gist of what she said, especially with the command tone to it, and do what was needed. They'd failed to deal with Shinso and the threat that he posed, and they'd paid for it by losing Kaminari who fell for his trick showing that Shinso was a legit threat on the battlefield. Marinette would deal with the fact that she'd lost three teammates in this battle later, she took the blame for that failure as she was the leader of the team, and pressed on as she slashed through more vines and finally came within her staff's range of Shiozaki who looked determining to beat her.

For her part Tsu knew that the first part was a command to not speak and just deduced that the rest was about what Shinso was doing, likely how he'd bested Kaminari because of course Kaminari would fall for a trick like her voice being replicated, and focused on handling Rin. She intended on it and had used the outburst to finish binding Rin with her tongue before leaping away and hopping as fast as she could back to the prison as he tried to use his scales against her though she had him secure. He wasn't going anywhere, and she trusted Marinette to handle Shiozaki and then regroup with her.

Marinette was doing just that as she finally came within range and twisted her heated blades in the air to slash away vines coming at her from either side before she lunged forward for extra reach, stabbing one of the ends just over Shiozaki's left shoulder and then cutting an arc over Shiozaki's head and shearing her vines short. As Marinette brought the blades to her right side and held them out to the side she stepped forward finally in striking distance of the other girl and grabbed the center of her white priestess robe style costume right above Shiozaki's breasts with her left hand and yanked, hard.

Shiozaki let out a gasp as Marinette pulled her towards her, too shocked to act as Marinette cocked her head back and then slammed it forward as Shiozaki reached her. Marinette had never headbutted anyone before but, well, it was the only thing she could do in this situation and frankly she needed Shiozaki to go down as fast as possible to remove the threat that she posed. That came a split second later as Marinette's forehead slammed into Shiozaki's nose, breaking it with a crack and knocking the Class B girl clean out.

Marinette felt Shiozaki go limp in her hand and let go of Shiozaki's costume. The other girl fell back like a sack of potatoes and lay sprawled on the ground, blood coming from her nose and staining the top of her costume, but it was minor. Marinette panted slightly but she wasn't done as she slightly changed her item to simply cut Shiozaki's vines rather than fully counter them so that she could use it to cut away the burning ends cleanly though behind her the vines that had been set alight still burned until they were ash. It was as she did this that she heard it.

"Marinette, Rin's in jail, what's the plan now?"

The voice was Tsu's, but Marinette knew it wasn't at the same time, so she looked around cautiously. She had made contingencies for this and had seen Kaminari caught and just walk into the prison where he was still looking stupid as Shiozaki had kept Marinette from helping him. That meant that the voice was Shinso's through that mask of his somehow, but it wouldn't get her.

Marinette just grinned as she looked around and shook her head to show that she wouldn't respond. Then she picked up Shiozaki's unconscious body, hefted it over her shoulder, took her yo-yo off her belt as she dismissed her item, spun it and leapt up to send it flying and out haul herself out of any range Shinso might have with those cloths of his. They'd come with their own attack and take two of the enemy but lost one in turn. Now it was down to three left and Marinette and Tsu needed to regroup to prepare for the final confrontation of the match.


Shinso grit his teeth as he emerged from his hiding spit and walked into the center of the area around their prison looking around cautiously while the last of the lit vines burned up. He'd tried to get Dupain-Cheng with Tsu's voice like he got Kaminari, but she wasn't as dumb as he was, but it had been a long shot anyway. Sure, Rin had been bested early enough that it would make sense but against a tactician like Dupain-Cheng it was more a shot in the dark than anything else.

Well, so be it, this was really showing him the skill of the Hero Course students as he began to run towards the other prison and leaving the carnage, mainly unburnt vines, behind him as he did. He'd have to be careful and get at least one of them, but he could do it, he had to so that he could show his worth. There were three left and Shinso planned on being the last of them as he hurried to hopefully get the drop on the other two.


"Shinso's mask changes his voice, that's the gist of what I was saying in French earlier." Marinette said as she landed by the prison to find Tsu standing to the side with a battered but otherwise fine Rin inside with the other two and looking glum at his capture. "He got Kaminari and thanks to Shiozaki's persistent attacks I couldn't get to him in time to stop him from walking into the prison."

"Yeah I saw, I was tied up with Rin so I couldn't help out." Tsu said as she opened the door for Marinette to walk in and lay Shiozaki on the ground next to Shishida who was still out of it making sure that she was on her side so that her still bleeding nose wouldn't be an issue. "Will Shiozaki be ok?"

"Broken nose as I had to headbutt her but otherwise she'll be good." Marinette said as she rose and left, closing the door behind her and leaving Rin to deal with Shiozaki's injury. "Looks like it's just us left to face Shinso."

"Right so what's the plan?" Tsu asked as they headed away from the prison while the 4 captives languished there, Tsuburaba and Rin catching each other up on their failures and keeping an eye on their unconscious classmates, both of whom had been left like that by the same Class A girl. "I'm sure you have some idea how to end this."

"It's two on one and Shinso's Quirk is strong." Marinette said as she pulled Tsu to the side. "But we can beat him. Here's the plan. First…"

Marinette explained the plan to Tsu who nodded in agreement. It was a good plan and for most it would be risky but not with Marinette running it, she could pull this off and Tsu trusted her to do it. Marinette in turn trusted Tsu and with the plan in mind, they set out to find Shinso and end this battle with a win for Class A.


It didn't take long for Shinso to find one of his targets. He'd expected her to find him given the nature of her Quirk, and he wasn't disappointed as he turned a corner in the alleyway of this section of Field Gamma to find his path blocked by Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He was out in the open and she was spinning her yo-yo, not moving, ready to face him. It was clear in a situation like this what was going to happen as Shinso was under no illusions as to which of them was faster and better trained with a binding weapon.

"Looks like we're going to fight then, Dupain-Cheng." Shinso said keeping his distance as he reached up to his binding cloths for this, his training with Aizawa coming back. "Seems like full circle after you told me of the available places in Class B. Well, anything to say before I attack?"

Marinette just pointed to her mouth and for the first time Shinso noticed what the issue was. Across Dupain-Cheng's mouth was a strip of tape with a ladybug pattern on it. She'd used her own Quirk to silence herself, likely after using it to find Shinso, so that Shinso couldn't brainwash her when they crossed paths. That was not what he'd expected, especially with her Quirk, but it made sense given the way she thought.

"Clever, I shouldn't be surprised." Shinso said as he yanked his bindings ready to unleash them. "The Hero Course certainly does…"

Before Shinso could finish speaking a pair of feet slammed into him from behind, hard, fast, and at a slightly upward angle launching him forward as he exhaled a shocked breath and knocking his mask from his face. He hadn't seen Asui because she'd used her camouflage to hide on the wall behind him and he'd been so distracted by Dupain-Cheng in front of him, her reputation making her the clear threat, that he hadn't seen the real one until it was too late.

That had been the girls' plan all along. Once they found out where Shinso was and the direction he was heading in, they were going to use Marinette as bait and distraction while she silenced herself with Lucky Charm and Tsu hid with her camouflage ability. Shinso would be focused on Marinette and not realize until too late that he had lost.

For her part Marinette just dropped her yo-yo and cocked her fist back as Shinso flew at her, her face expressionless as he neared her. The last thing Shinso thought before Marinette punched him in the face and knocked him out was that the Hero Course really didn't disappoint.

"That went down just as you predicted Marinette." Tsu said hopping over to her, picking up Shinso mask in the process.

"There are benefits to my reputation." Marinette said as she dismissed the tape from her mouth and popped a few more protein cubes to begin her recovery so that she was as fresh as possible for her second match later on. "And that was one of them. Come on, the time limit has to be almost over so let's get moving."

Tsu ribbited in agreement as Marinette quickly used Shinso's own binding cloths to bind and gag him before hefting his unconscious body over her shoulder like she'd done with Shiozaki, she really needed to stop winning by rendering her opponents unconscious, but it seemed inevitable with her strength, and they hurried back to the prison as fast as possible. They reached it without a moment to spare and dumped Shinso in it, causing the prison to light up and the match to officially end.

"And with less than a minute left, Class A has defeated Class B in the first match by a score of 5 to 3 though as they did have a more experienced team that was a much closer match than the score shows." Vlad said over the announcement system clearly upset at the results. "That was some serious fighting and my brave Class B and Shinso took down three of Class A in the process but that sadly wasn't enough to win. Um, can we get the robots down there, I think they need a bit of healing."

"He seems upset and biased." Tsu said.

"Meh, we won and showed them with a statement to start out the exercise." Marinette said grinning as Tsu and then holding out her fist to the other girl. "Now let us celebrate how Adrien and I would celebrate a good win in France as a team, pound it Tsu."

Tsu just smiled as she got it and extended her fist to fist bump Marinette, her tongue out at the comradery her friend was showing her. Class A had won the first battle and really shown Class B what they could do right out the gate. Hopefully the class enjoyed the show.


"Isn't that what you and Marinette used to do." Momo whispered to Adrien as they watched the ending fist bump between Marinette and Tsu. "You know, back in the day."

"Yup, and when we win we'll all do it." Adrien said grinning at the familiar sight. "But first, that was one hell of a battle."

Momo just nodded as the whole class discussed the end of the battle. It had been intense in the counter attack with many marveling at how Marinette handled Shiozaki's vines, and then handled Shiozaki herself as no one saw a headbutt coming to end that fight. True Kaminari had been lost but Tsu had swiftly dealt with Rin using her mobility and they'd come out with two captives to losing one. That left just Shinso, but he was clearly a serious threat to deal with and they showed it with their plan.

Naturally those watching knew what was happening, but Shinso didn't, so they just watched as Marinette created another scanner device to find Shinso and then, when they were nearing the interception point, changed it to a piece of tape to cover her mouth while Tsu activated her camouflage ultimate move and hurried into position. From there it was just waiting for Shinso to reach them. That didn't take long, and the final confrontation was swift with Shinso going down and the end coming right afterwards.

Class B's members were upset but most of Class A were cheering at the win. It was a close one though and Aizawa would have words with them about it, as would Vlad with Class B's team, but that would come in time as there were a few who needed healing so that was the first port of call. They would wait until afterwards to do a full debrief with both teams.

"Well done but there were a lot of ways you could improve." Aizawa said as his class returned, none of them had been knocked out so all could rejoin the others and Marinette was noticeably eating to regain her stamina. "However, four of the other team need healing so are being taken to the infirmary so that they can be healed in time to watch the next match. We'll do your debrief later as all of you should be present. Use this time to think about how you could have done better."

"Yes sir." Marinette said with a bow of her head while the others all nodded, well except one of them.

"But we won." Kaminari said with a sigh as they rejoined their class while Rin, the only one of his team not in need of healing, dejectedly returned to his class who were still processing the loss. "We should be praised."

"And how did you help them Kaminari." Aizawa said glaring at him which caused Kaminari to wilt from its intensity. "You will get a full report in time, think on that. Dupain-Cheng, you were the clear leader of your team and the driving force, I expect you to properly analyze your team and where you specifically could have gone better so as to not lose anyone in the future."

"I will." Marinette said before looking at her team. "Come on, we should debrief a bit."

"In the meantime, the teams for match 2 should get into position." Vlad said. "Come on Class B, we can do better."

"We will sir." Kendo said as she looked over to Momo and grinned. "I promise."

"Come on team 2, let's get into position and plan." Momo said as she led her team to their starting points.

The first battle had gone the way of Class A but that was just the first of the day, the second battle would begin soon, and the teams were different. Things were going to heat up even more as the combatants for the second battle made their ways to the starting spots in a different part of Field Gamma to keep things different between the matches, chatting along the way. After such a strong first battle, many were eager to see how the second battle of the joint training exercise went.

I think I'll end it here as this is already the longest chapter in the story by almost 2,000 words at this point so I'll keep the full debrief for this for another chapter and move on to the next one and the battle that it contains. Certainly, different from the anime thanks to Marinette's presence in the team and how Shinso on Class B's team changed their tactics so interesting to see how it might have gone down. Next up is another battle that will deviate from the anime thanks to the Miraculous Duo's presence as well as the OC's Quirk reveal so plenty to look forward to and I expect the next chapter to be around the same length as this one, this will be my longest arc to date. That is all I have though so I will leave this chapter off here. 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