Chapter VI: The Honored, The Hollow, and The Prodigy
Momo couldn't believe it. She couldn't fathom what she just heard through the video feed depicting the battle between her two classmates. Izuku Midoriya – the shy, unassuming kid whom she befriended – just confirmed the suspicion she had since the start of the classes.
"He just admitted it. Izuku Midoriya is a jujutsu sorcerer!"
However, it would seem that the affluent teen was the only one who knew of the implications of Midoriya's claim.
"Huh? What's a Jujutsu sorcerer?" Mina asked no one in particular. This was the first time she's heard of the word and she was not the only one confused.
"Don't know," Tsuyu shrugged. "This is the first time I've heard of it."
"Do you know about them, All Might-sensei?" Tōru asked their teacher who responded by shaking his head.
"I'm afraid this is the first time I've heard of these sorcerers. Maybe that's his hero name? That said, let us observe the skills of young Midoriya."
"So that's what they're called," thought Kazui. He finally had a name for this new class of spiritually-aware humans. He looked to his side and saw Momo with eyes wide as saucers. "Momo?"
Nudged back to reality, the young heiress saw Kazui looking at him curiously. "What is it, Kazui?"
"You know something about jujutsu sorcerers, don't you?" The reaper didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"I…" There was hesitance in the Yaoyorozu heiress' voice. For one, the knowledge of Jujutsu sorcerers was something that must be kept secret. However, Kazui Kurosaki was an entity that may tie into the ancient fighters of the spiritual world. The fact that the boy can wield curse energy – the purest form at that – meant that his input will be necessary for the future.
Kazui took note of Momo's reluctance and softened his expression. Placing a hand on her shoulder, the hybrid calmly spoke to her. "Listen, Momo. I know you know these jujutsu sorcerers Izuku mentioned. I'm just as interested in this as the others, but if you're not willing to divulge anything yet, then I won't force it until you're ready."
The considerate gesture made Momo turn her head away with a blush. Kazui was considerate and he didn't want to pressure her into revealing what she knows. Nonetheless, he was someone she trusted
"It's not that I don't want to, Kazui," said Momo nervously. "I already know that you have curse energy too."
That revelation made Kazui both curious and surprised. "By curse energy, does she mean my reiryoku?"
"It's just that, the world of the supernatural is full of dark secrets that even I barely scratched the surface of."
Kazui looked at his other classmates and luckily, no one managed to hear their conversation. "If it's about the dark and twisted secrets of the spiritual world, then believe me when I say I know more about it than you do."
This shocked the rich girl but was quickly shushed by the reaper. "It's clear we both have questions, but I think it's best to leave this discussion for later."
Momo agreed. "Alright…but I will get my answers."
"So will I," said the hybrid.
With that settled, the two turned their gaze to the ongoing battle trial presented on the monitors.
Bakugō scoffed at the nerd's claim. Jujutsu sorcerer? What the fuck was that?
"Hah! Really, nerd? You can't become a hero, so you try to claim to be something else? You really are a useless piece of shit."
The ash blonde didn't waste any time and quickly launched an explosion at the blue-eyed sorcerer. Izuku didn't budge and took the blast head-on.
Katsuki smiled in malicious satisfaction. "Just as I said, you're still a worthless Deku."
However, he felt a pulling force behind him. Turning around, he was surprised to see none other than Izuku behind him. The greenhead was floating while his right hand was stretched far back and glowed blue.
"Curse Technique Amplification: Blue."
Bakugō was flung through several walls before stopping on a solid pillar. The explosive boy grunted and wiped a trail of blood on his lips.
"Blood?"
The sight of the red iron-smelling liquid made him boil in anger.
"That fucker just tried to fight back," he seethed internally. He pushed himself up and his senses flared.
Izuku was on top of his bully with a fist coated in curse energy. Katsuki jumped just in time before the punch came, shattering the pillar into pieces instead of his head.
"DAMN YOU!"
The ash blonde fired multiple shots of his quirk at his assailant but the young jujutsu practitioner simply power through his attacks. That momentarily shocked him which Izuku took advantage of and delivered a gut punch and then a kick to the side. The next thing Bakugō knew, he was lying on a bed of rubble.
"How?" grunted the Explosion user. "I was sure I hit you!"
"No. You actually missed me," was Izuku's answer.
-{}-
"Wait a minute – what did he mean 'miss'?" Mineta questioned in confusion.
"I know. I'm pretty sure Bakugō was getting hits on Midoriya but were just being shrugged off," Sero added.
"I saw the same thing," Mina chimed. "How could Midoriya say that Bakugō missed?"
"I think we'll get our explanation right now," Aoyama stated, prompting everyone to focus on the two would-be heroes.
-{}-
"…The fuck did you mean I missed!?" Bakugō questioned angrily as he tried to stand up.
"My technique, Limitless, has different states," Izuku began explaining. "Right now, it's in the neutral state, called 'Infinity', which works by dividing the finite space between us an infinite number of times."
Becoming stunned after hearing this information, the explosive boy could only stutter, "B-But that means…"
"I'm untouchable unless I want to be," Izuku completed. "Even the rain needs my permission to touch me."
-{}-
"No frickin' way!" Sero exclaimed. His shock was also shared by everyone in the monitoring room.
"Damn," Kirishima expressed. "And he said that even the rain needs permission to touch him. That is single-handedly the manliest thing I've ever heard!"
"I'm confused," Asui stated. "Wouldn't the space between them be used up since it is finite?"
"Have you ever heard of the Achilles and the Tortoise Paradox?" Everyone in the room looked at Momo as she explained. "In the scenario, Achilles gives the tortoise a hundred-meter head start. Although Achilles is faster, it still takes up time for him to reach the previous position of the tortoise while said tortoise has already advanced. This continues since each time Achilles has gained some distance, there's still some space between him and the tortoise.
"This basically works the same way as convergent and divergent sequences in Mathematics. In this case, his Infinity is the convergence of an immeasurable number of sequences."
Although the explanation was sound, most of her classmates didn't understand.
"Ugh, my head hurts from all the complicated math," Mina groaned with Kaminari agreeing with her.
"Please don't flex your smarts on the second day, Yaomomo," Hagakure chirped.
Even if it was just a joke, Momo felt her face flush with embarrassment. Luckily, someone came to her rescue and offered a simplified explanation.
"Think of a number, any number," Kazui began. "Now, divide that number repeatedly. If you do that, you'll only get fractional units that are so infinitesimal it would be immeasurable."
"So basically, it slows down anything that approaches young Midoriya to the point that it eventually stops. Is that it?" All Might questioned for clarification.
"In a way, yes, All Might-sensei," confirmed Momo.
"Fascinating!" the Number 1 Hero thought. "That said, a quirk so powerful like yours can't possibly emerge this late in your life, young Midoriya. I hope my suspicions are wrong and that you aren't affiliated with him."
"Look! They're fighting again!" Kōda cried, pointing to the screen.
All eyes now returned to the monitors as the ensuing battle between former childhood friends became more heated.
-o0o-
Despite the limited space, Bakugō was maneuvering pretty well within the confines of the empty room he was hurled into. That said, it did little to alleviate the conundrum he was going through right now.
Another pillar was shattered when Izuku sent an energy-coated fist through it. His blue eyes focused on Bakugō before flickering out of existence and appearing behind his former friend. The look of surprise on the ash blonde's face vanished when he was chucked across the room once more.
"Damn it!" snarled Bakugō as he tried to right himself once again. He looked at his former middle school victim to find fearless sky-blue eyes staring at him. "How the fuck did he get this strong?" he questioned. "…And that look in his eyes. How dare he look at me like that!?"
This isn't the same shitty nerd he used to beat up back when they were in middle school. If it was, Izuku wouldn't be this relentless in a fight. Heck, he wouldn't even want to be in a fight in the first place. No, something's changed. This isn't the same shitty nerd from before. Whatever happened to him…whatever he did, it changed him. It all stems from the quirk he somehow got.
"…And I'm going to find out how you managed to get one, you quirkless shit!"
While Bakugō was still recovering, our green-haired sorcerer was having a mental discussion with his master.
"So, Gojo-sensei, do you know why I'm being relentless while fighting?"
Gojo chuckled and answered, "You do remember that as of right now, I'm currently existing within your mind, right?"
"Well, yeah. For what it's worth, I'm your vessel."
"True, but I like to think I'm your guardian angel instead of some invasive entity using you as a container."
"Guardian angel? Yeah…not so sure about that. But I do like the fact that I have someone in my head I can confide with."
"Aw shucks, you're making me blush. As for your question, though, Six Eyes and Limitless are the only things that I willingly gave you. These changes in your attitude must be the result of my personality bleeding into you."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Somehow, Izuku asked that question with less worry than it should be.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it," answered Gojo nonchalantly, making his student sweat drop. "If anything, you'll be benefiting from this bleeding effect since it won't be just my attitude but some of the knowledge I had when I was alive would be passed to you."
Izuku thought that the explanation made sense. The fight with Bakugō right now proves that. His casting of Blue was faster now than during the entrance exams. His teleportation was getting better and required little to no thought. The only thing that held him back was that his body wasn't in its prime yet. Izuku still needed to mature both physically and mentally to truly bring Limitless and Six Eyes to their fullest. Still, he was liking the positive changes he was experiencing.
"DEKU!" Bakugō roared in frustration. "Don't you dare look down on me and space out!" He got up and wiped the dust off his body and glared menacingly at the greenhead. "I'm gonna beat your sorry ass and make sure you stay in your place beneath my feet like the damn pebble you are!" And predictably, he charged. "DIE!"
However, instead of cowering in fear like he used to, Izuku readied himself and grinned; excited about the upcoming battle.
"Bring it on!"
Meanwhile, Uraraka was silently floating toward one of the rooms on the upper floors of the abandoned building. Looking through the windows, she spots the "missile" being guarded by Īda who was busy playing the part of a villain.
If she were being honest; the gravity girl would prefer rescue missions to anything combat-oriented. However, in the world of heroes, you can never choose the missions given to you. The only thing you can do is respond appropriately. With a sigh, she quietly opened the window and silently entered the room. She saw the speedster monologuing.
"It is such a shame that I am forced to play the role of the dastardly and evil. However, this is the task assigned to me and as a member of the Īda Family, I shall commit myself to act like a villain." Tenya began cackling like a maniac. "Mwahahahaha! Come, heroes, and face your doom!"
Ochako couldn't keep a straight face. "Pfft! He's taking this way too seriously." She knew Īda was many things, but a good actor wasn't one of them.
Unfortunately, the would-be villain in this exercise noticed the chuckle from the hero and turned in her direction.
"It seems that a naïve hero has entered my lair."
"Fiddlesticks," Uraraka groaned. So much for stealth.
Īda held his hands out and laughed maniacally. "You have come here to only fall, hero!"
Again, Ochako tried and almost failed to keep her laughter in. Still, she needed to play her part. "I don't have time for you, villain. You could just surrender now and make things easy, or I'm going to take you in."
"You can try," Īda answered as his engines revved up. "But you will fail."
"We won't know unless I try!" Uraraka charged, keeping her center of gravity low to make herself as small a target as possible.
The speedster charged as well; his arms wide to grab the smaller girl. To his surprise, the brunette jumped and activated her quirk, removing her gravity and hovering over the confused boy.
"She can make herself float, too!?"
"Teehee." Grinning, Uraraka deactivated her quirk and reached for the missile. But then, she heard Īda's engines getting louder. Looking behind her, all she saw was a metallic foot breaking her visor and hitting her face. The next thing she knew, she was seeing stars, there was an impression of her on the wall, and she had a busted lip.
"Hah! You think you can stop me with that pathetic quirk of yours!" Īda taunted; still playing the role of a villain. "Your quirk is useless if you can't touch anything!"
"Damn, that hurt," moaned Ochako after wiping the blood from her lips. She charged at Īda again with the speedster answering with a kick. She gracefully slid under the leg and touched the other with five fingers, making the boy weightless. "Up you go!" the brunette threw her opponent into the ceiling, hearing a smack before bringing back Tenya's gravity and letting him fall.
The added weight from his costume made the speedster's drop harder. He groaned from the soreness of his back before standing up and focusing on the hero of this test.
"Clever move, hero," he praised rather sarcastically. "However, that won't stop me from fulfilling my plans."
"Then, I'm just gonna try harder!" shouted Uraraka.
Both were about to pounce on each other when the ground burst and covered the room in a thick cloud of dust. Two silhouettes emerged from the hole and stood beside them. When the dust cleared, it showed a panting Katsuki glaring at a spotless Izuku ready for a fight.
"Izuku!"
"What happened, Bakugō?"
The blonde spat out blood. "Shut up, Four Eyes! Just guard the fucking bomb and let me handle these extras!" He pointed his grenade gauntlet at Izuku and Ochako.
"What is he up to?" the brunette questioned, bracing herself for the eventual clash.
"Whatever it is, it's not good," answered the greenette.
Katsuki's glare unexpectedly morphed into a sinister grin, unnerving not just the sorcerer, but also his partner.
"Since you know so much about me, then you know how my quirk works," the explosion boy said specifically to Izuku.
"I don't like where this is going," remarked Midoriya. "You produce sweat that has nitroglycerine properties."
"These gauntlets aren't just for show," Bakugō continued. "They've been storing my sweat all damn day." He raised his gauntlet and aimed at the two. "And now you two are gonna taste all that power up close."
The safety pin on the grenade gauntlet emerged, ready to be pulled and unleash all the firepower it had in store.
"OH NO!" Quickly catching on to the blonde's plan, Izuku dashed toward his brunette partner.
"Bakugō, what are you doing!?" Īda yelled, catching his partner's intention.
-{}-
In the monitoring room, All Might shouted at the intercom and warned the blonde. He knew what was going to happen if the boy goes through with his plan.
"YOUNG BAKUGŌ, STOP! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM!?"
However, the reply he got wasn't pleasant.
"I'm just testing out how strong that Infinity of his is."
And then, he pulled the pin.
What came next was a blast that shot through the room. All Izuku could see was the burning heat flowing around him. The ground he stood on shuddered under the blast as debris was flung away from him. Even the building shook from the tremendous force unleashed by Bakugō's quirk.
The only thing the jujutsu practitioner could do was protect Ochako and himself from the blast using his Infinity.
-{}-
Everyone in the monitor room almost lost their balance from the power of the explosion.
"IS HE CRAZY!?" Mina shouted. "Why the hell would he do that!?"
"This is supposed to be a class!" Kirishima cried trying to gain balance from the shaking.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA! YOUNG URARAKA!" All Might spoke through the intercom. "COME IN, YOU TWO! ANSWER ME!"
"All Might-sensei, that Bakugō is crazy!" Sero yelled while looking horrified at the screen.
"You should stop the match, All Might-sensei," Kazui told the teacher. The expression on his face was anything but calm. "That blonde asshat just tried to blow up one of our classmates."
The video feed became less obscure as the dust and debris slowly vanished. What they saw surprised them.
Everything else was destroyed. However, the intended target of the blast was still left unscathed clutching a frightened Uraraka in his arms.
"No way!" Kaminari muttered, surprised beyond belief. "That blast was downright destructive but he's still unharmed."
"I can't believe that Infinity of his protected him!" Jirō stated in complete bafflement.
Wanting to know the two students' condition, the blonde hero quickly spoke through the intercom. "YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOUNG URARAKA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
-{}-
"I'm fine, All Might-sensei," Izuku answered.
"Me, too," Uraraka groaned.
On the other side of the blast, Katsuki was stunned that his ultimate move didn't do squat while Tenya began berating the blonde for doing something so reckless.
"Are you out of your mind, Bakugō!?" shouted the knight-themed speedster. "That attack was completely reckless and dangerous. You could've seriously injured one of our classmates!"
However, the Explosion user wasn't listening. His mind was still processing the fact that Deku was unharmed. "How?" he thought. "That was more than enough power to destroy this building and yet, I never got a scratch on him."
That confusion suddenly formed into anger. "That damn nerd thinks he can upstage me with his fancy quirk. I'll show him." Katsuki readied his other gauntlet, surprising Īda, Ochako, and Izuku. "I'll show him that I'm still superior to him even with his quirk."
"Bakugō, stop!" Tenya shouted. "You're going too far. Stop this instant or–"
"Shut up or I'll aim this at you, Four Eyes!" countered the Explosion user, silencing Tenya.
Izuku was becoming desperate. He looked at Uraraka who was now scared. They just had a near-death experience and unlike him who has Infinity to protect him, his partner didn't have that luxury. He needed to take Kacchan out before he pulls the pin.
"Use it, Izuku." His sensei said within him. "Use Red."
"But you haven't even taught me Reverse Curse Energy!"
"But you understand the concept, right? I have full confidence that you can do it. Besides, it's the only thing in your arsenal that can outright counter his gauntlet blast."
"Time to die, Deku!" Bakugō shouted as he pulled the pin.
"YOUNG BAKUGŌ, NO!" yelled All Might through the comms.
"Stop!" Tenya said but it was too late.
"Ochako, get behind me," Izuku told the gravity girl who, without a second thought, went behind him. He pointed his index finger and gathered a swirling vortex of unstable, red-colored curse energy. "Curse Technique Reversal: Red!"
Bakugō's blast was met with a powerful repelling force that dissipated his attack and the next thing he knew; he was flying through multiple walls until finally, he found himself outside of the building. By the time he landed on the ground, he was barely conscious.
Everything was painful but he could still see the damage caused. When he looked up, a good chunk of the building was blown off from whatever Deku used.
"N-No…fu-fucking…w-way," were his last words before falling unconscious.
-{}-
"HOLY CRAP! That was more powerful than Bakugō's!" Satō exclaimed while staring at the extensive damage caused by Midoriya.
"And I thought Bakugō was explosive!" Tsuyu added. "Seriously, this class is intense."
"You got that right."
They observed the extent of the damage caused by Midoriya's attack. The best way to describe what happened was everything in the range of the greenette's attack disappeared via rapid expansion.
"My goodness," murmured All Might while examining the state of the building and the test takers. Young Bakugō was out cold, young Īda was on his butt shellshocked, while young Midoriya and young Uraraka were practically unharmed; albeit the latter having some minor injuries. It was clear that the test can no longer continue. "The test is over. I declare the Hero team to be the winner." He turned around and instructed the students, "Let us proceed to another building not far from here. I will first go check on your classmates and assess their condition."
The students obeyed their teacher and left for the new testing building. For his part, All Might went to the demolished building courtesy of Midoriya. He could see two medic bots carrying a now barely conscious Bakugō who didn't hide his displeasure from his loss.
"How…the hell…did…I lose?" the ash blonde groaned while being carried on a stretcher.
All Might heard this and answered the boy. "There's nothing wrong with losing, young Bakugō. Let this loss not be a hindrance to your growth, but a lesson to do better. Understand? After you get healed, proceed to the new testing sight so we could review your results."
Bakugō heard all of this but never bothered to pay attention. He just stared blankly at the sky recounting the clusterfuck that was his battle training. Eventually, the two robots continued to the medical ward where the Explosion boy would receive treatment.
Looking at the injured boy's figure shrinking at the distance, Japan's Number 1 hero observed the damaged building that used to be their testing site. All that damage was enough to blow two-thirds of the structure into pieces. What made this even more disturbing was that the technique Midoriya used had little mastery whatsoever.
"All that power and with little control," All Might thought with a shiver. "This power of his, Limitless, is truly something to pay close attention to."
-o0o-
After inspecting the condition of his injured student, the hulking hero went to the new testing ground where the rest of the students waited. Once inside, he saw everyone mingling with one another. His eyes focused specifically on the greenhead who was busy panicking at his partner's mild injury.
The door suddenly opened, revealing Bakugō who now looked better. His face alone told the rest of Class 1-A that the ash blonde didn't take the loss well. He was about to rest next to a pillar on the far corner when a pair of hands gripped his clothes and slammed him into the wall.
All eyes quickly snapped to the sound of denting concrete and to their surprise, found Kazui lifting Bakugō into the wall which was now dented. The orange-haired teen had utter fury written all over his face and so far, the other students were afraid to get near him.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Kazui yelled as his hold on the blonde's costume grew tighter. "Why would you do that during a fucking training exercise!?"
"Kurosaki," Īda spoke as he tried to pry the furious teen from Bakugō. "I know you're angry, but be reasonable about–"
"About what!?" Kazui snapped, his tone becoming more menacing. The disembodied voice made them all flinch in fright. "For talking some sense into this little shit after he went completely overboard this exercise!?"
Kazui should've seen it. Their exchange, the tension, the hostility – it was clear that this encounter was between a tormented child standing up against his bully. Now that the bully was put in his place, he's lashing out to prove he's still top dog. That may have been the norm back in their junior high, but here in UA? It wasn't.
Not only that, if there's one thing the Kurosaki disliked the most, it was bullies.
As for Bakugō, his stunned silence turned into anger. "Let go of me, you extra," he growled "and stop interfering with my training!"
"…Or what?" Kazui retorted. "You're gonna kill me just like you tried killing Izuku and Ochako?"
Silence took hold as his statement sunk into the minds of his classmates. Heck, it even shut up the angry Pomeranian.
"Dude," Sero began to reason. "Let's not go that far."
"That blast was enough to incinerate a human being into ash," Kazui countered. "Once was already going too far but he decided to launch another. We were lucky Izuku had his Infinity to protect him and Ochako."
"Kazui, my boy," All Might said, his hands raised in a pacifying gesture. "I know you're upset but refrain from hurting or accusing your classmates of murder."
Kazui laughed with dripping sarcasm. The hypocrisy was surreal. "With all due respect, sir," he said, turning to the pro hero with a cold glare, "why the fuck did you not stop the exercise after the first shot?"
If the silence was bad before, now, it was deafening. No one would dare question the number one hero, let alone talk back to him. But Kazui didn't care. Titles never meant anything to him if it involved the safety of his friends. This was one trait he inherited from his father, and it was showing.
The young Kurosaki stepped in front of Japan's leading hero and stared him in the eye. A white substance was beginning to form on the right side of his face. "I don't care if you're the number one hero of Japan but if you're going to condone what was obviously a malicious act then spare me the rambling spiel about courage and grit. As far as I'm concerned, you're not getting any respect from me."
Leaving a shocked All Might, Kazui turned his attention to Bakugō who was also stunned that he would stand up to the Number 1 hero. "Izuku must be a saint if he tolerates your attitude but not me. I won't ever take your shit and if you try to hurt my friends again, make no mistake…" Kazui unleashed a bit of his spiritual pressure on the bully, forcing him onto his knees. "I will retaliate."
"Kazui, stop!" Momo said as she grabbed the furious boy's arm. Immediately, the pressure subsided, giving levity to the gasping teen. "That's enough," she appealed.
Kazui considered her request and ripped the forming mask from his face, letting the white substance disperse into the air. He got pulled away from the confrontation with Momo calming him down.
The exercises continued. However, it was clear that All Might was greatly affected by Kazui's words. It was obvious that the blast was too strong for just a simple test. Bakugō went too far, and he failed to act before it escalated. It was merely out of chance that young Midoriya had his reflective powers to protect himself and young Uraraka.
He needed to rethink his teaching methods later on but for now, the test must continue.
…And continue it did. It wasn't as intense as the one between Midoriya and Bakugō but all the same, it was still a good learning experience for the rest of Class 1-A. After eight matches, the last groups would now take their turn to be graded.
"May I call upon young Kurosaki, Yaoyorozu, and Mineta to proceed inside the testing site while young Todoroki and Shōji stand outside the structure," the hero called out. "As per usual, you have five minutes to plan your strategies. Now go, young heroes!"
The five mentioned made their way to their designated areas. Momo and Kazui had the right idea to plan their approach but Mineta, on the other hand…
Was enjoying the view the Yaoyorozu heiress was unwittingly giving to him.
"Hadō #1: Shō."
The next thing the midget found was a pillar to the face.
"Gah! What the hell did you do that for!?"
"Ogling Momo isn't part of strategizing, midget," Kazui reminded. With the gremlin dealt with, he turned his attention to his other partner. "You alright?"
"Aside from Mineta looking at my legs, I'm good," replied Momo.
"I told you not to take off my cape."
"I know, I know." The girl stretched out her hand and made a Bo staff with her quirk. "I needed the mobility, and the cape would get in the way."
Getting her point, the young reaper shrugged. "Makes sense. So, what's the plan?"
Yaomomo taps her chin in thought. Her eyes took notice of Mineta who finally got up from the heap he was in. An idea lit up in her head and urged her teammates to huddle together.
"It's more than likely that the biggest threat would be Todoroki," she began explaining. "If my hunch is right, he'll do anything to end this quickly." Momo looked at Kazui. "Since you're our strongest, you'll be taking him on. I have no doubt you'll be able to overpower him. For Shōji, I'll be dealing with him."
"Are you nuts!?" Mineta screeched. "You're no match for him! The guy's too strong."
"I have confidence in your skill, Yaomomo," Kazui expressed with a tone of worry, "but don't you think taking on Shōji is a little bit too much?"
Instead of answering his question, Momo just smirked. His eyebrow raised but didn't get to question further when she continued explaining the plan.
"But before that, we'll be planting traps around the bomb and along the hallway leading here." She glances at Mineta. "We'll be using your adhesive spheres to bind anyone of them who manages to get passed us. I'll also be making some non-lethal explosives like flashbangs and smoke grenades. They'll be useful against Shōji's enhanced senses."
The girl went over a few more details regarding the strategy. Overall, Kazui found it more than sufficient for this encounter. While she and he will engage their multi-limbed and dual-quirked classmates, Mineta will stand guard around the bomb. However, they left a few well-placed traps and some tactical throwables for the midget to use. This was just for insurance.
Once they finished planning, they simply waited for All Might's signal. While they were somewhat prepared for the test, Yaoyorozu's mind wandered back to the confrontation between Kazui, All Might, and Bakugō.
"Kazui," called the girl as she approached the white-garbed boy. "About earlier…"
"It's okay, Momo," Kazui assured her. "I admit that my behavior earlier was a bit excessive."
"Excessive, maybe, but what you said about stopping Midoriya and Bakugō's fight was the right call. That said, I was surprised when you talked back at our teacher, who happens to be Japan's Number 1 hero."
"Titles don't mean anything to me, Momo," the boy stated, his face contorting to the signature Kurosaki scowl. "I understand that he may be a new teacher, but even a normal person could see that what Bakugō was doing was beyond the parameters of the test. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and all my friends because you're all I have." He stared at her with eyes filled with fiery resolve. "And I'll confess, I'm willing to go to extreme lengths to do so."
Yaoyorozu knew what Kazui meant. It made her gasp lightly, but her surprise was evident, nonetheless. However, what he said next made her question if the tragedy he told was more than it seemed.
"When you counter, you don't let them cut you. When you protect someone, you don't let them die. When you attack…" Kazui held his hand out and blue wisps converged into his hand to form a broadsword, "You kill."
-{}-
"Did anyone see that!?" Kaminari exclaimed after seeing his white-garbed classmate pull a sword out of thin air.
"I did," Mashirao answered. "Kurosaki just keeps getting more and more mysterious. First was his power which he actually wears, now he creates a sword like Yaoyorozu."
"What worries me, though, was what he said," Tsuyu, the ever-so-blunt girl, expressed. "He sounded serious."
"What do you think, All Might-sensei?" Aoyama questioned.
If he were honest, All Might didn't know what to think. He was still a bit flabbergasted after Kurosaki's tongue-lashing but what he heard did raise some concerns.
"That is not the mindset of someone who wants to be a hero," he thought. "If anything, that's the thinking of someone who lost it all." While not as heavy, seeing his master perish at the hands of their archenemy was the most painful memory he had. All Might understood the boy's conviction, but the fact he got the feeling Kazui won't hesitate to kill made him remember Aizawa's remark about the boy's psyche. "Nemuri, I hope you start talking to young Kurosaki soon."
The teacher finally announced that the five-minute planning time was up. "Okay, students! Your five minutes have passed. Begin the exercise!"
-{}-
Just as Yaoyorozu predicted, ice began covering the building. Without hesitation, he quickly scooped up Momo in a bridal carry while Mineta hung behind him.
"Bakudō #37: Tsūriboshi!" Kazui chanted. A net of reishi materialized just above the ground. Five flexible cords of energy latched onto the walls, suspending the trio above ground. He then aimed his palm toward the frozen floor and did another one of his strange spells. "Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!" what followed was a burst of blue fire spreading across the room and freeing it from its frozen prison.
Kazui took Momo by the waist and Flash Stepped to the ground. "Remember the plan," he reminded while looking at Mineta. Once he got confirmation from the pervert, he and Momo quickly left to confront Shoto and Shōji. "Hey," Kazui called the raven-haired teen as they ran through the hallway. "Be careful."
"You, too," Momo returned.
"I'm going to go on ahead." In a flash, the orange-haired boy flickered out of sight.
-{}-
"Alright, I give up!" Kaminari threw his hands in the air in defeat. "What is Kurosaki's quirk? A costume change, swords out of nowhere, the creepy voice, and now magic? I mean, what the heck?"
Hearing one of his student's rants, All Might punched in a few commands on the keyboard, and on the screen came Kazui's info. "Young Kurosaki's quirk is named Fullbring. It says in the registry that he can manipulate ambient energy to serve different purposes. However, it was never stated what kind of energy and how much control he had. While the faculty has some idea considering his stupendous performance during the entrance exams, none of us knew the full extent until today."
The students watched the feeds of Kazui while they listened to All Might. In the monitor, they could see the white-garbed teen flickering in and out of existence while heading in the direction of Todoroki. The speed alone was already leagues above Īda's and the speedster accepted that.
"I'm going to be blunt; along with Midoriya, he might just be the strongest student in our class," Tsuyu commented with most of her classmates nodding in agreement. Although, it made the greenette a bit flustered from the attention it brought him.
The only person who had no response was Bakugō. He was still feeling shaken after the confrontation he had with the orange-haired youth. However, that sense of discomfort turned into jealousy when the carrot-topped extra and Deku, of all people, were considered to be their class's strongest and not him.
As for the jujutsu sorcerer, this was his and his sensei's chance to observe the capabilities of the enigma known as Kazui Kurosaki.
Todoroki was confidently walking through the halls of the abandoned building. After freezing the whole structure in an attempt to quickly neutralize his classmates, he left his partner and told him to do whatever he wanted. The dichromatic boy's objective was Kurosaki.
What he didn't know was he would get his wish.
The wall next to him burst into a million pieces. From the dust and rubble was a glint that was mere inches away from his face. On instinct, the son of Endeavor quickly erected an ice barrier that protected him from the incoming pointy object.
Todoroki jumped away only to feel a fist slam into his gut and launch him into the adjacent wall. He only had a few moments before the same gleaming object was upon him. The boy rolled away before the same wall he was in shattered from the weapon's impact.
Catching his breath, Shōto braced himself as he waited for the obscuring dust to fade and reveal his enemy. The cloud eventually settled to reveal Kazui Kurosaki looking at him with his broadsword embedded into the concrete wall.
"Hello, hero." Kazui's voice was both arrogant and condescending. "It was foolish of you to think that freezing the entire building would hinder my associates and me." Pulling out his weapon, the white-robed reaper materialized a long chain that connected to his sword's hilt and began twirling the blade overhead. "I know for a fact that you can never defeat me but I've been bored out of my mind. So, why don't you entertain me instead."
Kazui pulled on the chain and kicked the blade, sending it hurtling toward Todoroki. The Half Hot, Half Cold user dodged the pointy missile and blasted a wave of ice forward. The young hybrid wasn't fazed by the ice headed his way and simply backhanded the cold construct with a Blut Arterie-powered fist. He then pulled his weapon and charged.
"Come on!" Kazui yelled. "Weren't you the one who started this!? If you think doing the bare minimum and thinking it will be enough is the height of stupidity! HA! That just shows how weak you are!"
The son of Ichigo Kurosaki chucked his sword towards Shōto who managed to dodge but instead got the heel of his feet to the face. Staggered, the son of Endeavor tried to conjure ice, but his enemy pulled the chain on the sword, flailing it in Todoroki's direction.
"Damn you," cursed a tired Shōto as he sent another wave of ice at Kazui.
Not in the least bit fazed, the young hybrid once again pulled the chain on his sword, grabbed the hilt, and slashed forward to release a blue arc of energy that tore through Shōto's ice.
"SHIT!" cried the panicked ice user before diving away from the incoming energy arc. However, he didn't get any form of respite when Kazui threw his sword at him before following up with vicious punches, kicks, and slashes from the blade being used as a giant flail.
-{}-
The audience who were watching the battle between the son of the Transcendent and the son of Endeavor had their jaws on the floor. To say they were dumbstruck would be an understatement.
Class 1-A and their teacher were excited to see how these two teams would do. However, the two individuals given the most attention were Kazui and Todoroki. The former for placing first in the quirk assessment test by their homeroom adviser, and the latter for being the son of the Number 2 hero. What they got instead, was a sword show courtesy of their resident reaper.
While they were impressed at Todoroki's quirk, it was nothing compared to Kazui's wild and unpredictable swordplay. The Half Hot, Half Cold user had no chance of getting a counterattack since the carrot top's movements were so unorthodox and all over the place that no pattern was discernable.
All the students did was gulp, thankful that they didn't have to face Kazui and all his crazy sword fighting.
"Holy shit," muttered Jirō while seeing him swing his sword like a madman in the monitors. "Any one of us would've been screwed if he was our opponent."
"Oui!" Aoyama agreed. "C'est une bête! Kurosaki's fighting style is so confusing that every move he makes is unpredictable."
"He's also taking his villain role way too seriously," Mina remarked. "That creepy voice of his just makes it more intimidating."
While Ochako was beside him with her mouth ajar, Izuku was internally conversing with Gojo regarding Kazui, and, suffice it to say, the Honored One was beyond impressed.
"Well, goddamn!" exclaimed the spirit. "That boy could give Maki a heck of a fight."
"Who's Maki?" asked Izuku.
"Maki Zen'in – one of my students from four hundred years ago. She was one of the only people who didn't possess curse energy but was so dangerous that even Special Grade spirits feared her."
Midoriya's eyes widened. "She had no curse energy!?"
"She didn't," his sensei confirmed. "Maki needed cursed tools to be able to see cursed spirits. However, she and her fellow schoolmates were the reason why we managed to stop a potential calamity."
"And what calamity was that?" the greenette asked, intrigued.
"It was called the 'Culling Games' and trust me, it was one heck of a shitshow. Long story short, my precious little students won and saved the day!"
The heir of Gojo Satoru sweatdropped at the lax retelling of what could be one of Japan's most significant events. His deadpan expression disappeared when his mentor pointed out the other test takers.
"Now, that girl over there… she fights like Maki."
Izuku's eyes moved to the other live feed of the test and were completely floored.
Considering his brute strength though, there was little among his class save for Satō and Kazui who could match Shōji. So, when Momo Yaoyorozu appeared before the multi-limbed teen and declared that she'll be facing him, he was feeling a bit relieved that this encounter might not be so difficult. He wasn't one to underestimate his opponents and if you take into account the versatility of her quirk, the heiress was indeed a formidable opponent. However, the Dupli-Arms user thought that he needed to hold back since his strength could harm the girl.
Boy was he wrong.
All it took was a punch from the raven-haired girl that shattered a nearby pillar into pieces. Needless to say, the masked teen was beyond confused. That confusion was then utilized by Momo when she engaged the taller youth in close-quarters combat using a staff that split into three sections.
"I never realized that you have two quirks," Shōji remarked after dodging a wild swing of Yaoyorozu's staff.
"I have just one," answered Momo which surprised her classmate. "This strength of mine?" She then charged, jumped over her fellow test taker, and slammed the farther section of her staff into Shōji's back. "I was born with it."
"Well, this is a surprise," the tall multi-armed student thought with a chuckle. "Here I thought I'd go easy on her. This is what I get for underestimating her." He charged; all six arms poised for maximum damage.
Yaoyorozu stood her ground, staff, ready while her left hand was behind her creating something.
It was a stun grenade.
As Shōji drew closer, Momo removed the safety pin from the tactical using her thumb and threw it at the approaching classmate before jumping away.
The grenade set off, disorienting the taller student. Due to the nature of his quirk and the heightened senses that come with it, the Dupli-Arms teen was quickly disoriented giving the heiress a chance to attack.
Yaomomo ran at the incapacitated student and hit his leg with her staff. Grunting in pain, Shōji retaliated by swinging his multiple arms. Momo slid under the massive fists and hit the back of her classmate's knees, forcing the masked teen down.
Regaining a bit of awareness, Shōji got a hit right in Momo's shoulder. However, that didn't stop the girl from continuing her attacks. The Creation user whacked Shōji in the head, Solar Plexus, and one at the shoulder. Those three strikes weren't enough to truly put the multi-armed boy down so Momo kept her barrage.
Yaoyorozu was determined to win this – to show that behind that pretty face and intelligent mind was a fighter worthy of her ancestors. She won't be the same girl who would brake down when her plans would fail. No, she had a legacy to uphold and a person to emulate.
"I will make the legacy of our family proud," she said in her thoughts as her strikes were beginning to take effect. "I may not have cursed energy, but that doesn't mean I'm not blessed with the same strength as my ancestors."
With her Dupli-Arm classmate weakened Momo went for the finishing move. She wrapped her three-sectioned staff around the kneeling Shōji's neck and, with a mighty heave, threw the larger boy over her head and through a concrete wall. Checking if she did it, she was relieved to see her classmate unconscious.
The heiress let out a tired sigh. While her victory was good, it still took her so many his before truly weakening Shōji. The stun grenade was the deciding factor in this encounter and, had she mistimed her throw, the fight may not have been in her favor.
Momo still had so much to learn. Now that she was in U.A., she will use this opportunity to improve and explore the gifts one of her ancestors had and maybe, attain the same prominence she had four hundred years ago.
"After all," she chuckled, "I am the descendant of Maki Zen'in."
That small conversation with herself was interrupted when her partner entered the room she was in.
"I see you managed to subdue Shōji," Kazui stated while carrying a knocked-out Todoroki on his shoulder. "I was worried that he'd overpower you but judging from the constant breaking of the walls, you were dealing your fair share of damage yourself."
"There's more to this girl than just smarts," Momo confidently replied as she placed some capture tape on Shōji. "How'd you manage to beat Todoroki? His quirk is formidable, you know?"
Kazui grinned. "Pure cakewalk. This guy was underestimating me, and he suffered for it."
The black-haired teen pulled out her unconscious classmate from the rubble and said, "You know, besting the son of the Number 2 hero is no easy feat."
However, Kazui just waved it off. "Trust me, I'm not the least bit concerned." He then placed the sleeping Shōto next to the masked classmate and shared the victory with his partner. "So, we won."
"We did, didn't we?"
Not saying any more words, they were content simply looking at each other with smiles of contentment on their faces.
"The match is over! The Villain Team Wins!"
All Might's voice rang through the intercom, snapping both of them from each other's gazes. Realizing what they were doing, the two teens sported light blushes, the likes of which were more prominent on Momo. Seeing as his teammate become uncomfortable, Kazui was quick to divert the situation.
"Let's go get Mineta and tell him the good news."
Yaomomo hastily replied. "Yeah."