Todoroki found it surprising when Akatani and some pink-haired girl showed up on the same wall he, Bakugo, and Kirishima were cleaning. Ocelot didn't comment on it, seeming to know why the TA was there. Then Akatani grabbed two sponges, passed one to the pink-haired girl, and began cleaning the wall. The pink-haired girl grumbled something to herself, while Akatani stayed quiet.
However, Todoroki didn't care what either one was doing, instead he was far too angry. Memories of days-old events flashed through his mind, as he scrubbed away the dirt on the wall.
"Another loss? I expected you to be better than this," Endeavor told him, slugging Todoroki in the gut during one of their many training exercises. If that's one could even call these fights. They were more akin to a bar knuckle brawl, the only rule being not to kill or brutally maim the other.
"You will not get far with half a quirk. That is why you keep losing. And you will keep losing, the longer you deny this fact," Endeavor remarked, as he grabbed Todoroki, and threw him aside, "I did not put in all this time and effort to train you so that you could foolishly throw it away."
Todoroki ended up colliding with the wall and fell on the ground hard. The teen could only glare at the memory. He despised his father, for everything he put him through. And Todoroki couldn't help but turn that glare to Akatani. He looked at the other boy with disgust, before turning to focus on the wall again. They were the same, both their parents forcing them into something they wanted.
Yet while Todoroki refused to obey Endeavor's demands, Akatani did so willingly. If anything he seemed ecstatic to do what Snake wanted. They were both the same and yet Akatani embraced his abuser. Todoroki knew it was most likely out of a sense of Stockholm syndrome, or that Akatani genuinely believed Snake loved him. So in all rational sense, he couldn't fault the other's willingness. But it still made him angry.
To see someone like him, embrace the man who makes his life hell. It-
"Todoroki! Damn it kid, this is the third time I've called your name," Ocelot told him, quickly dragging Todoroki out of his thoughts.
"Oh, sorry," Todoroki replied, turning to face the cowboy. Ocelot simply sighed while shaking his head annoyed.
"Class is starting in half an hour, go get ready," Ocelot ordered, holding out a bucket filled with soapy water and the others' sponges. Todoroki quietly placed his in the bucket, before walking away. All the while Ocelot watched him curiously. Because something was not right with that boy. Whatever it was, he didn't know.
Madam President tiredly looked over the few reports brought to her. Silently she fumed as she read through them, finding nothing but failure after failure. Every major warlord had abandoned the war effort, and not a single assassin she sent seemed to kill them. Nothing she threatened them with, scared the warlords back into compliance. In fact, Razak ended up threatening to land troops in Japan, by hiding them in dozens of unmarked cargo ships.
Madam President almost thought it was a bluff before satellite images of tanks being driven into cargo ships started popping up. By then, she realized her hold on Africa was now untenable and considered the continent lost for most HPSC operations. Of course, now that brought in a new problem. Dozens of fake cities still littered the continent. With how quickly ties were being cut, the threat of those cities coming under siege went up by the day.
That news would make headlines, dragging the world out of the narrative she so carefully devised. The only good news was that the warlords hadn't cut trade agreements. Which made sense, they still needed capital to fund their armies and for some their lavish lifestyles. So for the moment, the world economy wouldn't fall into a collapse. But the fact that risk was on the table scared Madam President.
Of course, she could rebuild relations with the warlords later. Instead, she had a far more pressing threat. One she hoped would be solved soon as over a dozen people entered her office. All of them were heroes of varying ranks.
"Right on time," she stated coldly, "I can assume you all know why you're here."
"Something to do with that UA security gig you put all of us on?" one hero asked, a few others nodding in agreement.
"Correct," Madam President confirmed, setting the documents she held aside.
"What's it you want?" the same hero asked, sounding disinterested in the prospect.
"Simple. Try to get the MSF to do something incriminating, and keep the media distracted. I don't want any reporters getting all friendly with them," Madam President replied, not to mention letting in a few small-time villains. Nothing overly big, just a few muggers and two-bit thieves to make the MSF appear incompetent. Any higher-risk villains ran the risk of embarrassing the heroes as well as the MSF.
Of course, the MSF's incompetence would leave the real heroes to deal with such easy nuisances. Then again, Madam President wondered who was on the list of criminals being snuck in. It had been a while since she went over the list. It might be best to go over it again, just in case.
"And in exchange?" a new hero asked.
"In exchange, the numbers for this year's hero rankings will be adjusted for certain categories," Madam President answered, "Do your job well, and you'll move higher up. Fail, and I'll have you ranking last in everything."
"Sounds easy enough,"
"It should be," Madam President agreed, "There are a few other things, however…"
"They want what?" All Might asked surprised, watching as Nezu rubbed his brow tiredly. This meeting had already been a long one, but it only ever seemed to get longer.
"The commission, says Fudaki's parents wants to give a speech during the festival. Situated after the first place student's speech," Nezu replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice, "As per the President's testimony, the Fudakis want to increase the public trust in heroes. An act of defiance to say we're still here after the USJ attack."
"I'm calling bullshit. The moment they get on stage they're going to rake us through the mud," Snipe stated, Ocelot, who had brought the news, nodded in agreement with him.
"Can you really blame them? The first thing we do after their son dies is hire villains for security," Vlad King retorted,
"For the last time, we didn't hire villains," Nezu told him, slowly turning to look at Vlad.
"That's not how the public sees it. And this speech is going to cement that thought in their minds," Vlad countered, "All that goodwill we amassed over the years is going down the drain if they give that speech."
"Good will's going down the drain either way," Ocelot countered, deciding to interject, "If they don't give the speech, then it's UA ignoring the plights of grieving parents. If they do give it, then it's UA's name being dragged over burning coals."
"So either way the school loses. Might as well go for the option that hurts the least," Present Mic muttered, everyone silently agreeing. If giving that speech meant UA would save some of its reputation, then it was something they would have to do. Denying it would be far worse, than addressing it all together.
"What else was the Commission asking for?" Midnight asked, with Nezu turning to face her.
"Aside from sixty more heroes being added to security? They want one of UA's entrances to be manned by heroes only. They also want certain areas of the stadium void of all MSF presence," Nezu replied, his paw reaching into his pocket.
"That's… odd," Midnight muttered, with Nezu nodding. His paw pulled out a small box of cigarettes, which he quickly opened and took a cigarette out.
"It's to ease the public's worries. At least that's what Madam President claims," Ocelot replied, "Thinks everyone would feel safer surrounded by heroes, than by mercs."
"Makes sense. Shouldn't be that big of a deal," Mic muttered, a few others nodding in agreement. Ocelot could only disagree quietly, with Nezu doing the same.
"Who did they suggest to guard those spots?" Midnight asked, watching as Nezu pulled out a lighter for his cigarette.
"Well, Fudaki's parents, Static and Whiplash, Onomatopoeia, Captain Chronicles, Helios, Human Thunder, Fiji Legend, Lord Freeze, and if I remember correctly, the international hero Heart Star," Nezu replied, before lighting his cigarette. He took a few quiet puffs while thinking over the list.
"Seems they sent over a capable bunch. Doubt anything will happen with heroes like them around," All Might stated, a small smile forming on his face. Each had been heroes ranking amongst the top forties to fifties. And if Heart Star's reputation was anything to go by, then she was a good hero UA could rely on. Of course, there was one small issue with All Might's words. One Vlad pointed out quickly.
"Assuming the MSF stays in line," Vlad King muttered, the others quietly agreeing.
"You gave them miniguns!?" Soul all but exclaimed as he walked into the R&D lab. There he found a rather large soldier with what he assumed was a mutant gorilla quirk. The soldier was rather tall, standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the MCBV in the lab. Speaking of the MBCV, it was currently being piloted by an engineer. Both the soldier and the mech, had a pair of modified rotary cannons in hand, with a feed link on both weapons connecting to a rather large backpack both wore.
"Nooo… we gave them M61 rotary cannons," an engineer replied, as Soul slowly turned to face them.
"That doesn't help your case, it's still the same crap just bigger!" Soul retorted before bringing his hands to his face. It was always the young new guys doing this kind of thing, Soul tiredly thought. It was normally helpful, but at some point, one gets fed up with all the weird shit they get up to.
"What are you even testing for?" Soul asked, removing the hands from his face.
"A possible change in doctrine," an engineer replied, somewhat nervously.
"Specifically?" Soul inquired, suspicious of where this was going.
"Infantry support," the engineer answered, watching as Soul's eyes widened.
"Infantry support?" Soul muttered questioningly. What kind of support needs a twenty-millimeter rotary cannon… on second thought, Soul reasoned, I take that back. Most IFVs had an autocannon firing bigger rounds than the M61, just at slower speeds. Much slower speeds. Still, it seemed genuinely dumb.
"An M61 though? That thing was designed for aircraft, and you want to give it to a footsoldier," Soul countered, with the engineer nodding slowly.
"It seems strange sir, but we do have our reasoning. I'm sure you remember the mutant debates Command had a few years back?" the engineer inquired. And honestly, how could Soul forget it? Originally the MSF's policy towards mutants was for a more backline role. To serve as construction workers or help in logistics. This wasn't out of malice but of expense. It was difficult to equip those with mutant quirks as every soldier had some massively varying differences.
For some mutants, they were too small or too big for most body armor, helmets, or most importantly guns. The issue was easily solved for smaller mutants, as they were issued smaller caliber guns like MP5s, but the larger mutants were a difficult problem. It's what had them serving behind the lines rather than upfront. But then a large group of mutants started an uproar in the ranks demanding to be sent to the front.
They wanted frontline service for their new country and found it demeaning to sit behind the lines. So, the MSF needed to find a solution to their gun problem. This led to a revolutionary idea, what if they slapped a bit of metal onto an M2 Browning, and issued it to mutants? It was idiotically simple, but it worked. For rather large mutants, they were issued an M2 with an adaptable metal frame.
This metal frame effectively turned the weapon into a very large rifle, with a collapsible stock, pistol grip, and the ammo box being positioned underneath the weapon like a rifle's magazine. Very suddenly they now had troops wielding fifty-cal machine guns like basic assault rifles. And should basic infantrymen need to use these M2s? Well with a few basic tools the frame can be removed, and act as any normal machine gun.
It was a shockingly simple, but surprisingly massive change in combat doctrine, as now rather than an LMG, some squads or platoons had an HMG for support. The average squad could now possess more firepower than before. Of course, that led to Soul slowly widening his eyes, as he realized what the engineer was getting at.
"You're sure this will work? Those cannons do pack some serious recoil," Soul stated, turning to face the gorilla mutant. The soldier looked over his weapon interested, ensuring it was loaded and ready.
"So did the M2s, but considering most of the men we issued them to had an underlying strength attribute, I wouldn't worry all that much," the engineer replied, leaving Soul to think over the prospect for a moment. With a sigh, he began to walk over to the lab's blast shield.
"Well, let's see what happens then," Soul commented. He loved his job, truly, but at one point the ideas became a bit too crazy. The other engineers quickly followed him, as they all got their notes ready.
"Alright, you may fire when ready," the engineer said into a microphone. Both the MBCV pilot and the soldier listened to the order quickly. They looked at each other for a second, before nodding. Seconds later they fired, shooting thousands of rounds in mere moments. Normally, miniguns were difficult weapons to wield, being heavy and having ridiculous recoil. It made carrying the things practically impossible. But the gorilla mutant didn't seem to have any issues with the minigun's bigger brother. In fact, he seemed to barely register the weapon's weight. Recoil was essentially a nonissue for him, same with the MBCV.
Eventually, though both weapons ran out of ammo, and both the pilot and the soldier set their weapons down. Soul let out a small whistle at the display, as he looked over the M61s carefully.
"Impressive," Soul commented.
"Thank you, sir. We had to make a few modifications to the designs, mainly adding a battery pack to the main gun, but I think it holds promise," the engineer replied
"I agree. Keep me updated on testing," Soul told them, before slowly walking away. The idea did seem promising so far, and it had Soul's mind wandering. If he was right, then only those with some kind of strength enhancement would be able to wield these modified weapons. That said, considering the MBCV's performance, that may not be the case for long. What other weapons could be used in such a way, Soul wondered.
Maybe they could give them modified Bushmasters, and slap on some extra parts like they did with the M2s. Could also give them TOW missiles, not to mention they had a couple of outdated Mk-19s in storage. Now you've got nine to thirteen feet tall soldiers carrying automatic forty-millimeter grenade launchers like a rifle. However, Soul was quickly dragged out of these thoughts, when he heard a ding from his Idroid.
Pulling out the device, he quickly found it to be a message from Snake detailing… Exo upgrades? How did he manage to get this, Soul wondered. Looking over the designs, Soul couldn't help but be impressed. But then Soul slowly began to realize something. Snake was at UA, meaning this… no it couldn't have been… could it? Soul didn't believe a student had designed this, but if they did, well he just had to meet them. And he was pretty sure Strangelove would share that opinion.
"You seem off today Uraraka," Asui noted, causing Uraraka to look over at her confused. She did everything she could to hide her surprise because she was in fact off today. Class had felt far longer than normal, and all Uraraka could think of was what Akatani told her the day before. It echoed in her mind nonstop, only getting louder by the minute.
"Ah, I'm just a bit sore after training with Akatani yesterday," Uraraka replied, with Uraraka quickly hearing Kaminari snicker.
"Heh, left you sore did he- ow! It was a joke!" Kaminari exclaimed, covering his ears as Jiro withdrew her jacks.
"Not a particularly funny one," Jiro retorted, before giving Uraraka a curious look, "How is training with him though?"
"Well, it's difficult. Mostly sparring matches between the two of us," Uraraka replied, briefly punching the air with a mock swing, "I haven't been able to beat him yet, but I think I've been getting better."
"Think I could join? Not much I can do up close, so I was hoping he had some tips," Jiro told her, with Uraraka thinking it over quietly. But then Kirishima piped up as well.
"Sounds fun, mind if I do too?" Kirishima asked as Uraraka turned to face him. Of course, after Kirishima asked everyone started to as well.
"You know I've been meaning to ask him about those holotables the MSF have, could I come?" Kaminari asked, as he carefully rubbed his ears.
"I could use a good workout," Shoji commented quietly, muttering something about being kicked out of a gym.
"It would be a good chance to improve our closer quarters' prowess," Tokoyami muttered, only for Dark Shadow to emerge from his stomach.
"Screw that! I want to know how he disappears like Batman!" Dark Shadow exclaimed, surprising Uraraka briefly, but she was unable to question it as more people talked.
"Couldn't hurt to have a sparing match," Ojiro commented while rubbing the back of his head.
"It… wouldn't hurt for some extra training," Yaoyorozu muttered, her hand resting on her chin. Meanwhile, Akatani sat in the corner of the room unnoticed, zoning out in one of his notebooks and unaware of the current discussion. Now Uraraka didn't notice it, but the only people who didn't ask were Todoroki, Bakugo, and Ashido. The first two were for the exact reasons one would expect. However, Ashido had a different reason. If Operation Lovebirds was to happen, then she needed more evidence. That wouldn't happen if the entire class was unknowingly keeping them apart.
"You know Akatani won't be able to help all of us right? There is only one of him," Ashido pointed out, hoping to sway the class away from the idea, "Besides, I'm pretty sure we should be asking him if it's okay. He is the one you're looking for help from."
"That is an excellent point," Iida agreed, with Ashido silently celebrating her small victory. That was of course, until she remembered who was speaking.
"Perhaps we could have him set up a schedule, assuming he agrees to help," Iida stated, causing Ashido to groan mentally. Then again, this was probably the best she was going to get. At the very least, she could get some more training like everyone else if she went along with it.
"Schedule for what?" Akatani asked as he looked up from his notebook.
"They were hoping you could help them with some extra training," Uraraka answered with Akatani nodding his head slowly. A friendly smile formed on his face as he stood up from his corner of the room.
"Oh, sure," Akatani replied, before heading to the classroom's door, "Can we discuss this after lunch though?"
Just as Akatani asked the question, he opened the door. But when he turned to leave, he instead found the doorway blocked by dozens of people. It caught the entire class off guard, as murmuring was heard coming from the hall. Every student outside seemed to stare into the classroom, just observing them. It was off-putting in Uraraka's opinion.
"Uh… hi?" Akatani nervously greeted, still surprised by the large crowd. However no one replied, so Iida decided to step forward.
"Do you students have some business with our class?" Iida inquired, only to again get no response. He was about to ask again but was interrupted by Bakugo.
"They're scouting out their competition, idiots. We're the class that survived a villain attack. They want to see us with their own eyes," Bakugo stated annoyed, before shoving past Akatani. Akatani only glared back but did nothing else. Of course, the entire class quickly began to panic, when they saw Bakugo look at the crowd. Uraraka quietly pleaded that he wouldn't do what she was thinking he would.
"At least now you know what a future pro looks like. Now move it extras," Bakugo demanded, not noticing the class pale behind him. However, he did see the hundreds of glares the students outside were giving him.
"You can't call people extras just because you don't know who they are!" Iida protested, though Bakugo quietly ignored him. Not a single student out in the hall moved out of the way, which only caused everyone to pale further. As Uraraka quickly spotted the students outside now glaring at not just Bakugo, but everyone else in the class. A few of those glares even fell on her and her classmates. Soon though she spotted someone moving through the crowd of students.
"So this is class 1A," the student began, as he stepped in front of the large group. Looking at him, Uraraka couldn't help but think the guy looked like Mr. Aizawa. What with the unkept purple bedhead he had and the bags under his eyes.
"I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass," the student muttered, as he looked at Bakugo, "Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?"
The moment he said the last part, his gaze moved over to the class behind him. Almost everyone in 1A tried to protest this in some form or fashion.
"Nope, just him!" Kaminari exclaimed quickly.
"All him!" Mineta added.
"Don't listen to him, he's a jerk!" Jiro said.
"We're not like him!" Uraraka protested. Though all their cries seemed to fall on deaf ears. The glares from the students only increased the longer time passed.
"How sad to find a bunch of egomaniacs," the teen muttered, before slowly bringing a hand to the back of his head. At this point, Uraraka had given up trying to argue back. It seemed nothing she would say would convince those outside otherwise.
"I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here I was forced to choose a different track," the teen continued, causing Bakugo to scoff. As if the crowd outside didn't have enough reasons to hate all of them now.
"I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance," the teen added while removing his hand from his head. Uraraka couldn't help but pause on his words. Was he talking about transferring? It did make sense, Fudaki was dead, Uraraka quietly reminded herself. But why did she feel as if the open seat wasn't what he was referring to? She very quickly found out why.
As the purple-haired teen stated, "If any of us do well in the sports festival the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room."
Yep, there it was Uraraka realized.
"There may be a seat open now, but if you don't do your best, then that one seat will become two. I intend to take one of those seats, whether it's open, or one of yours. So, consider this a declaration of war," the teen told them, with Bakugo looking on uncaringly.
"You don't have to be a dick about it you know," Akatani stated, instantly drawing everyone's eyes. The tired-looking teen outside looked him over for a second, confused. No one heard anything about a student being transferred to the hero course, so then who was this? But then the teen's eyes fell on the ever-present skull patch on Akatani's arm.
"So it's true, 1A does have a villain in its midst," the purple-haired teen muttered. It brought out a litany of gasps outside, as a few students stepped back in shock. Others turned their glares from 1A to Akatani, though he stood there unfazed. Yet even with Akatani's uncaringness, Uraraka couldn't help but get angry at the statement.
"He is not a villain!" she exclaimed, only for the purple-haired teen to scoff.
"That patch he's wearing says otherwise," the teen retorted.
"Shows how much you know," Akatani rebuked, before gesturing to the patch on his sleeve "You know nothing about the MSF…"
He then motioned to the rest of the class behind him, before adding, "...and you know nothing about them… well except Bakugo, he's an open book."
Everyone quietly agreed with that statement, as Bakugo grumbled annoyed.
"But I do know them, and they're not whatever it is you think they are," Akatani continued, slowly crossing his arms as he did so, "I know they will give their best, and that none of you will get close to stealing a seat from them."
"Awfully confident, aren't we?" the teen replied, with Akatani slowly shaking his head no.
"It's basic logic. Unless you've been practicing mixed martial arts for the last few months, or are secretly packing seven tons of muscle, then the majority of you won't get far. Besides, consider it motivation. I may have faith in them, but that doesn't mean I want you to go easy on them," Akatani explained, with Mineta quickly trying to pull Akatani back.
"Don't listen to him, please go easy on us!" he exclaimed, a few in 1A kinda agreeing with him. Uraraka couldn't help but do the same. She thought Akatani was doing damage control at first, to mitigate Bakugo's actions. Instead, he seemed to do the opposite, unless she was missing something. And she was, the purple-haired teen's glare, slowly softened to a smirk.
"Heh, fine then. But don't blame me, if one of them is kicked out," the teen told him, as Akatani returned the smirk he gave him.
"Hey! Don't just write off the rest of us!" a… very Kirishima-looking student exclaimed, catching Uraraka off-guard for a moment. It seemed to have caught Akatani off guard as well, but the other teen quickly turned his gaze to the other student.
"I'm in the hero course as well, in 1B! Don't think that just because they fought some villains, means we're not a threat!" the Kirishima look alike added, with Akatani quietly nodding, "We will bring our best, so don't think this will be easy for you!"
"Good," Akatani replied, catching the other off-guard, before his once hostile demeanor turned to one of determination. He seemed like he was about to say something else, but quickly stopped as someone new spoke up.
"[Oh for the love of all that is holy,] move it! Stop clogging the damn hallways!" a soldier yelled, gaining everyone's eye. Immediately every student in the hallway cleared a path, with dozens turning pale in fear. The soldier walked by thoroughly annoyed as he shook his head.
"[Sure create a big security risk why don't you,]" the soldier muttered. His arrival did bring good news though, as none of the students in the hall decided to stick around after he walked away. Which gave Uraraka a brief sigh of relief, as she walked over to Akatani.
"You know, think that went better than I was expecting it to?" Akatani muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Not really. Pretty sure the whole school's gunning for us now," Uraraka countered, hearing the voice of Mineta come below her.
"Yeah, thanks for that Akatani!" Mineta exclaimed, and she couldn't help but quietly agree. His talk seemed to have made it all worse in a way.
"Hey, I was trying to do damage control," Akatani protested, as he slowly walked through the class's door.
"By antagonizing them?" Jiro retorted, a few other classmates nodding along.
"By challenging them. I was trying to redirect their anger towards some kind of competitiveness," Akatani explained, "They were all gunning for you guys whether I said anything or not. This at the very least made it so they don't hate you."
He then took a few more steps down the hall, before stopping to peek his head around the doorway.
"Now, I'm going to get lunch," Akatani stated, before finally walking off.
When Bakugo had gotten back to class, he had only one thought. He would not lose. It echoed through his mind over and over again, until it ingrained itself in his head. Because this time, he would not lose again. Even then, he didn't count his previous losses as losses. The first time Akatani was acting like a damn coward, and the second time had the game rigged from the start. But the point still stood, he would not lose.
Quietly he sat at his desk, listening to his classmates talk about something, as he waited for All Might to walk through the door. The symbol of peace never seemed to arrive, and neither did Ocelot. Then the door to the class finally opened, with Snake of all people walking in. It instantly shut up all discussions being held, and while Bakugo couldn't see it, he was sure a few of his classmates scooted backward.
Pansies, all of them. Snake meanwhile looked over the class quietly, just observing for a few seconds.
"This everybody?" Snake asked, receiving a quiet nod from Akatani, "Good. Now both All Might and Ocelot are preoccupied at the moment, and they asked me to sub in. To keep this as quick as possible, grab your gear and meet me at Ground Beta."
With that as quickly as he arrived, Snake was now walking out the door. Which left everyone stunned for a few seconds. It was all so brief. No flamboyancy All Might had, none of the almost uncaringness Ocelot had. It was simple, it was quick, and it was done. But Bakugo didn't question it, instead grabbing his costume and getting changed as quickly as possible. When he got to Ground Beta, he instantly spotted Akatani, tending to some odd machine strapped to him.
Call it paranoia, but Bakugo quietly studied every detail of the machine. He looked over the machine's joints, spotting a possible weak spot or two. He looked over what appeared to be a grappling hook placed on the machine's right forearm. He even looked over the oddly shaped back, with two odd holes at the bottom. Bakugo would not be taking chances, not anymore. He would not lose.
"Let's get started then. Your exercise for today is rather simple, all of you are defending a mock WMD from Akatani inside this building behind me," Snake began while gesturing to said building. It was rather plain looking, only having three floors, and a large glass skylight at the top that was somehow visible at ground level. It was something Bakugo took note of quietly.
"If I remember correctly. You did something similar to this during your first week. As such this exercise will have mostly the same rules as the last, except that this time, Akatani has to escape with the WMD," Snake continued, keeping everything as brief as he did in class. Bakugo was quietly grateful for it. As much as he admired All Might, the showmanship tended to drag on just a bit too long for his liking. He was here to become a hero, not listen to grandiose speech number seven hundred and three.
"Any questions?" Snake asked, looking over the crowd a final time. When no one said anything, he began passing out the comms they used for the last indoor battle trial. Once that was done he started walking in the direction of Ground Beta's control room.
"Get to it then," Snake ordered. The moment he uttered those words Bakugo wasted no time. He charged into the building assigned to the class and began looking over every corner. It was a winding mess of hallways as far as he could tell. The first was what one would expect, the front had an open lobby, a cafeteria of sorts down the hall, a few small closets, and office spaces. The second floor was pretty much the same, though it had no lobby.
The only stark difference was the third floor, which was a wide open space. It had some small rooms and a couple of halls. But the main space in the middle was wide open, acting as some grand office. Even had some mock luxury furniture. Mentally Bakugo memorized it all, taking note of every path Akatani could take. Then he began to think up a plan. At that moment he spotted Pony-tail and the multi-armed extra carrying the bomb up to the third floor.
Good, seems they can do something right, Bakugo thought. As far as Bakugo could tell, Akatani could climb up the building and crash through the third floor's skylight. The grappling hook, and strange backpack the machine he wore made that obvious. However, getting up to the roof was doable, but getting the bomb out was not. It was the obvious move, attack from above, and carry the bomb out. Unless Akatani could make the WMD float somehow, he was carrying it down three floors. Where Bakugo could ambush him easily.
Though, Bakugo was sure Akatani knew this, so he knew Akatani wouldn't take that route. No, he'd come in from the bottom floor, slowly sneaking around like the coward he was. Most likely doing everything in his power to eliminate the three people he saw as threats. And Bakugo's eyes quickly fell on one of the three.
"Ears!" he exclaimed, facing the girl in question. She flinched back slightly, rubbing her ears gently, before glaring at Bakugo.
"I have a name you know," she muttered, though Bakugo rolled his eyes in response.
"You, with me," he ordered, his words quickly strengthening Ears' glare.
"Why should I?" Ears countered, crossing her arms.
"Winning for one. Everyone wants to pass this exercise, but you won't be able to without me," Bakugo replied, walking over to Ears quickly.
"Uh-huh? I'll take my chances then," Ears replied, before turning away, most likely to head over toward Ponytail. Bakugo grumbled at the action while stepping in front of Ears.
"Think about it. You can hear where Akatani is-" Bakugo reasoned before Ears cut him off.
"Like hell, I can. Don't you remember how he snuck up on you," Ears pointed out, Bakugo quickly glaring at the words as his anger flared. His fists clenched, but he took a few deep breaths. His plan wouldn't work if he started yelling.
"He did not-"
"I didn't hear a damn thing! Not a footstep," Ears interrupted holding her arms out briefly as if to emphasize the point.
"That was before he had that machine strapped to him," Bakugo retorted, sparks popping in his hands, "It looks decently noisy, enough for you to notice. So, you can hear him, find him, and I'll blast his ass into tomorrow."
Bakugo hoped it was enough to convince Ears to do what he said, but she still looked at him displeased. As if he was some kind of extra. And who the hell was she for thinking that!? He came to her with a plan to beat Akatani, and he was, having to bargain with her to follow him. She should have followed him without question, like every other damn extra he'd met. But she didn't, none of the class did.
He couldn't even put them in their places, to show he was on top. All because he kept losing to the same damn nerd.
"…That still doesn't give me a reason to work with you," Ears retorted, causing another series of pops from Bakugo's hands.
"Doesn't it? Who else here has the same firepower as me?" Bakugo countered, with Ears barely thinking it over.
"Kaminari," Ears replied before a look of confusion struck Bakugo.
"...Who?" he asked, with Ears facepalming quietly.
"Oh for crying out loud, the one with electric powers," Ears answered, with Bakugo snapping his fingers. Spotting the teen in question, Bakugo couldn't help but snort. He was her answer? Him of all people?
"Ah, Pikachu. He lacks control though, and is as likely to shock both you and the nerd," Bakugo told her, while Ears thought up a different answer.
"Kirishima," Ears countered.
"Did you forget the tranquilizers that can transmute through the skin?" Bakugo rhetorically asked.
"Iida."
"It's a dark cramped hallway. He wouldn't get enough speed, and would more than likely run into a wall."
Student after student they went, before Ears finally went quiet. She couldn't think of anyone else, all that was left were not exactly powerful people. Not that she meant anything by it, though Bakugo didn't care.
"...You've thought this out," Ears muttered tiredly, finally seeing the logic in his plan. It took her long enough, Bakugo thought.
"Is that a yes?" Bakugo inquired. And he could see Ears thinking it over carefully. She seemed to groan annoyed for a second, before looking at Bakugo with a glare.
"...Fine," she answered, "But since your such an ass to work with, I want Kirishima and Kaminari tagging along."
"Fine," Bakugo replied. Better to have a few extras on hand, made finding Akatani that much easier. Soon though the exercise began, and Bakugo got into place. But not before he lodged the building's elevator into the second floor. Blocking off any other routes Akatani could take. He then dragged the small group he had assembled to the first floor and positioned them near the building's stairwell. If Akatani was to get to the next floor, it would have to be here.
There they sat about, guarding the halls as Ears listened quietly. Minutes into the exercise the building lost power, covering every hall in darkness. Bakugo was sure Akatani was the cause, but couldn't do anything about it. So instead he waited, hoping Ears would find him. A few minutes would pass, but Bakugo never heard or saw anything. Neither did shitty hair or Pikachu.
"Anything?" Bakugo asked annoyed, briefly turning to face Ears. She shook her head no rather awkwardly, as both her jacks were plugged into the ground.
"Nothing yet," Ears replied while remaining focused on her task.
"Come on, where is he? This dark hall's giving me the creeps," Pikachu muttered, as Bakugo quietly scoffed. This was creepy? A couple of dark halls and a random coward sneaking about?
"Probably could have asked Yaoyorozu for some flashlights. Actually, it might be a good idea to go get some," shitty hair reasoned, moving to head up the stairs.
"No. We move from this spot, and the nerd could slip by us," Bakugo retorted, causing shitty hair to briefly stop. If they needed anything, then the nerds upstairs would bring it to them.
"You sure that's a good idea? We-" Shitty hair tried to reason, only for Ears to cut him off.
"I've got him. He's… saying something?" Ears muttered confused.
"Where?" Bakugo demanded, and Jiro quickly pointed down one hall.
"Right hallway," she replied, and Bakugo couldn't help but grin. The damn nerd was trapped. The right hallway only led to one room and was only connected to one hallway. If he was right, then he snuck in through a window and didn't realize he was trapped.
"Shitty hair, Ears, with me. Pikachu, head up the stairwell halfway and keep guard," Bakugo ordered, before sprinting out into the hall. No one had enough time to protest, and could only chase after him briefly. It didn't matter though, because Bakugo could feel it. That damn nerd was trapped.
"He still here?" Bakugo asked, coming to a stop right outside the hall's only room. He watched her plug her jacks into the wall, before listening quietly. She had a smile on her face at first, but it disappeared quickly.
"...He… he hasn't moved," Ears replied nervously, while Bakugo smirked.
"Good," he replied, about to kick in the room's door. Ears grabbed and pulled him before he did though. Bakugo turned to glare at her, his hands again popping, but she spoke up quickly.
"No! He hasn't moved from his exact spot. He keeps saying something in English too," Ears explained, Bakugo looking at her confused for a second. That was until a realization struck him. The nerd was expecting them. But… no… Quietly Bakugo cracked open the door, peeking into the room. Inside he saw the silhouette the somebody standing in the darkness. It seems Akatani was expecting him, as the nerd just stood there, not doing anything. Bakugo motioned for Shitty hair to come over, before motioning to the door.
Shitty hair seemed to understand as he nodded slowly. With his hands, Bakugo counted down from three, before charging through the room's door. He let out a large explosion, while Shitty Hair grabbed the largest object in the room, a water cooler, and chucked it at the silhouette. The fire from the explosion lit up the room momentarily, displaying Akatani's face briefly. But once the light died away, the silhouette was gone. Not wanting Akatani to sneak away, Bakugo searched the floor of the room.
Hoping to find Akatani knocked out somewhere on… wait if Akatani was knocked out, Snake would call the match to a close. Unless he was biased towards his apparent son, which Bakugo found somewhat believable. But if that wasn't the case, then- Bakugo paused as he felt something plastic touch his hand. It was torn apart, like a popped balloon. Forcing his hands to spark, Bakugo lit up a small area to look over the area. And saw he was holding a copy of Akatani's face.
"[You're pretty good,]" some recording muttered in the room, as Bakugo clenched his fists. Angrily Bakugo turned to face the doorway.
"Ears! Where is… he…" The words died in Bakugo's mouth, as he saw the hallway empty. Shitty Hair, ran out of the room quickly, checking over every corner of the hall, before turning to face Bakugo dumbstruck.
"W-wh… how?" Shitty Hair stammered out, while Bakugo only grumbled. With a worried sigh, Shitty Hair brought a hand to his ear, turning on his comm.
"Guys, who's still here?" Shitty Hair asked, tapping his foot quickly. Bakugo meanwhile walked out of the room angrily, before booking it to the main stairwell.
"Everyone on the second floor's accounted for," four eyes replied.
"Same with the third. Did something happen?" ponytail asked, as Bakugo grumbled to himself.
"Ears disappeared!" Bakugo replied, "Akatani got her somehow."
"What!?" Pikachu exclaimed surprised, with Bakugo sighing somewhat in relief. If the idiot was still guarding the stairs then they had a chance to catch Akatani.
"Pikachu, have you spotted anything your way?" Bakugo demanded.
"I haven't… where'd that box come from?" Pikachu replied, confusing Bakugo briefly, as he continued to run through the hall.
"Box?" Bakugo inquired annoyed.
"Yeah, there's just a cardboard box sitting at the bottom of the stairs," Pikachu replied, with Bakugo groaning angrily. Of all things, Pikachu was focusing on a cardboard box!
"So what?" Bakugo replied angrily.
"It wasn't there before?" Pikachu replied seriously. How was he this stupid?
"We probably didn't notice it," Shitty Hair reasoned, only for Pikachu to try and protest.
"I don't know, I mean-"
"For fucks sake, ignore the damn box!" Bakugo interrupted loudly, shouting into the comms. Behind him Shitty Hair took the comm out, flinching back at the sudden volume change.
"But it wasn't here before! What if Akatani's hiding in it!?" Pikachu attempted to reason, though this only infuriated Bakugo.
"The only person dumb enough to hide in a fucking cardboard box is you! Ignore the damn box and focus on the hallway dumbass!" Bakugo shouted, before turning off his comm. Shitty Hair muttered something behind him, but Bakugo didn't care to listen. After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived back at the stairwell. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary yet, but… it seemed quiet.
"Pikachu?" Bakugo asked quietly, heading up the stairwell halfway. He was met with silence. Looking around the stairwell Bakugo couldn't see a thing. He was tempted to charge up the stairs, in the hopes of intercepting Akatani, only for Shitty Hair to grab him by the shoulder.
"B-Bakugo…" Shitty Hair nervously muttered, Bakugo scoffing at his seeming fear. He found the other teen pointing at something though, and his eyes followed the other's hand. Very slowly Bakugo's breathing increased, as he spotted Kaminari's limp body, resting at the top of the stairs. Both of his arms were bent the wrong way, and it was sickening to look at for too long. Both he and Shitty Hair approached the body quietly, while Bakugo lambasted himself.
This was nothing to be afraid of, the idiot was only unconscious. Nothing about this was scary. And yet he couldn't help but feel his heart thump in his chest loudly. Why!? This was nothing, Akatani was nothing!
"What do we do now?" Shitty Hair asked, "He's gonna keep picking us off one by one!"
"Calm down! What are you afraid of? All he's done is knock him out," Bakugo pointed out, while at the same time trying to take deep breaths.
"And!? Arms aren't supposed to bend that way!" Shitty Hair countered, motioning towards Pikachu's body.
"That seems like more than being knocked out!" Shitty Hair exclaimed.
"We'll be fine dumbass! Just keep your eyes on the darkness," Bakugo ordered, with Shitty Hair looking at him shocked.
"That's the best you have? We need a plan- argh!" Shitty Hair protested, only to shout in pain briefly. It was hard for Bakugo to see, but something had pierced Shitty Hair's leg. The teen also slowly noticed it and slowly paled. Before either could do something, Shitty Hair was pulled back, falling to the ground. Seconds later he was pulled into the darkness, clawing at the ground to stop. Quickly Bakugo chased after him, trying to catch up. But he couldn't get close.
Shitty Hair was gone, just like Pikachu and Ears. Mere seconds later Shitty Hair screamed out in pain. The cry echoed down the hallway loudly, causing Bakugo's breathing to speed up. This was nothing. It was nothing. Bakugo ran after the source of the cry, expecting to see any kind of fight. But when he arrived, he found Shitty Hair dangling from the ceiling upside down. His arms were restrained and limp, and the teen hung there unconscious.
This was nothing. It was nothing. Carefully Bakugo reached for his comm, his eyes darting around the shadows.
"He got Pikachu and Shitty Hair, who's still here?" Bakugo asked, slowly walking back to the stare well. He tried his best to slow his breathing, but it didn't work. Why was he afraid!? This was a training exercise! He wasn't going to die! And yet no matter how many times he told himself this, his eyes continued to dart around. They fell on every shadow, suspicious that something would jump out.
Every small bump or noise he heard drew his attention immediately. Never did he see Akatani though. It was maddening, as Bakugo reached the stairwell. No one replied on the comms. Bakugo didn't want to think the worst, but it was the only possible way. The damn nerd was everywhere and nowhere. He was in every damn shadow! Fearfully- Carefully, Bakugo walked up the stairwell, searching for any sign of Akatani. Instead, all he found was more of his classmates were knocked out.
Four eyes were hanging off a wall by his arms, his helmet cracked open and something red covering his face. Round Face lay unconscious on a table, a ceiling lamp having fallen on top of her. Pony Tail had a half-made cannon sticking through her gut and was slumped over on a wall. Icyhot had half his body embedded in an iceberg, while his other arm was restrained by the computer's power cable.
On and on Bakugo went, only to find more unconscious classmates. A loud thud made him flinch, before turning and blasting a hole in a nearby doorway.
"Hey! We're on the same team!" a voice called out, as a large shadow shielded something from the blast. The shadow then dissipated, giving Bakugo a clear view of Bird Brain.
"Why the hell didn't you answer on the comms!?" Bakugo demanded angrily, his hands sparking wildly.
"Mine was broken," Bird Brain replied but didn't seem inclined to continue talking. His quirk, however, did.
"He ran into a wall," the odd shadow bird explained.
"Dark Shadow!" Bird Brain exclaimed. Bakugo would have found it funny, but… couldn't. His eyes still darted around the room endlessly. Where was that damn nerd!?
"Anybody else still conscious?" Bakugo asked, with Bird Brain shrugging.
"Not that I know of," Bird Brain answered. It caused Bakugo to groan annoyed.
"What about the guys guarding the bomb then? Who was in charge of that?" Bakugo demanded, watching as Bird Brain brought a finger to his beak.
"Shoji and Sato were. But if you haven't heard anything from them, then I suspect Akatani's gotten to them," Bird Brain replied. But if Akatani got to them, then… no… NO! He was not letting that damn nerd win!
"If he did then he has to carry the bomb out of here! The only way he can is through the front or back door! You take the back, I'll take the front-" Bakugo was cut off as a loud explosion yelled out around him. It shook the building, and Bakugo had to force himself to stay upright. It didn't make sense! It sounded like it was coming from the room the bomb was situated in. But… It didn't make sense, but Bakugo ran through the halls again, breaking down the door to the bomb's room.
He found the floor covered in shattered glass and rubble. At the center of it all, was Akatani, his right arm holding onto the bomb and his right leg stood on it. A harness was wrapped around him, attached to the bomb, and attached to the bomb, was a balloon. The teacher's assistant gave Bakugo a single mock salute before he drifted off into the sky. Bakugo could only stand there dumbstruck.
Emotionless he stared up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. Bakugo never uttered a word, not when Snake called the match to an end, not when he got to the locker rooms to get changed, and not when he was walking home. Why? Why does Akatani keep winning?
"So… I may have gone a bit too far," Akatani muttered, as he rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. Recovery Girl looked over at him with mock shock, before hitting him over the head with her cane. All Might meanwhile tiredly rubbed his brow, while shaking his head.
"You think! You slammed the lid of a printer on Ojiro's head! You shoved Mineta into a fridge! You dropped a ceiling light on Uraraka! For crying out loud, you grappled up to an oddly placed gargoyle, and dropped Asui off of it! You left her dangling there for half an hour!" Recovery Girl exclaimed, before motioning to the rest of the nurse's office. Which currently held a good seventeen out of nineteen students.
"Young Akatani, what were you even thinking?" All Might muttered disapointedly.
"Well… I thought using a bit of psychological warfare would work, and… I kinda went overboard," Akatani replied.
"I'm going to assume a movie inspired this," All Might assumed, gaining confirmation as Akatani avoided eye contact.
"...Maybe," Akatani answered, causing All Might to sight.
"Which one was it this time?" All Might inquired.
"...Batman Vs Superman," Akatani hesitantly replied.
"Huh, surprisingly old movie this time. The warehouse scene?" All Might asked.
"The warehouse scene," Akatani confirmed.
"Figured as much after you slammed a wooden crate into Young Sero," All Might replied, "It was… impressive. Still took it way too far, but impressive. Reminds me that I still haven't apologized for my words."
"Your words?" Akatani asked, somewhat confused. All Might nodded though, as he thought it over.
"About you being quirkless. I was worried over your safety, but it was… careless of me to treat you like glass," All Might told him, looking at the guiltily, "You've proven yourself capable time and again, even though it had been in a relatively short time span. I… may not agree with you putting yourself in such danger, but… I can see you know what you're doing. So, I am sorry for what I've said."
Akatani didn't really say anything at first, but he did give All Might a wide smile.
"Ah it's fine, got over it a while ago," Akatani told him, with All Might replying with a boisterous laugh. Always so forgiving, All Might couldn't help but admire that fact about Akatani. Though out of the corner of his eye, All Might thought he spotted something. Akatani seemed to spot the same, as the two turned to the left slightly, and found the shocked faces of 1A looking at them. It was quiet for a second, as both All Might and Akatani looked at the class confused, before almost all of them collectively shouted, "You're quirkless!?"
So small warning, I might not be able to update for the next two weeks. Just decided to give everyone reading a fair warning.