The following morning, the students of 1-B were all making their way over to the training grounds main building. It went without saying, but everyone was more than a bit excited. After all, today was the day of their inter-school training session with Shiketsu. But that wasn't all they had to be excited for. Today was also the day that they got to test out the new winter versions of their hero costumes.
Overall, there were only a few minor changes that hero course hopefuls made to their outfits. Yanagi pretty much just added a pair of black leggings to her costume. Kendou was now wearing actual pants. Tokage's bodysuit had another layer of lining on the inside of it, which was a major help since she absolutely hated the cold. And Midoriya was wearing a thicker shirt under his black vest and jacket. On top of that, the green haired boy was sporting the previous version of his helmet. Since the last one still had a bullet hole in it.
"Well, if it isn't class 1-A!" Neito Monoma shouted in a smug tone towards the other end of the sidewalk.
The students all turned their attention ahead to see class 1-A along with Aizawa and Present Mic at their side. Half of them were dressed in their hero costumes while the rest were sporting their usual school uniforms.
"It's a shame that so many of you failed the provisional licensing exam! I was truly looking forward to facing off against you all. But alas, you'll just have to sit on the sidelines and watch the magnificent glory that is our class-" The 'copy' quirk user continued before Kendou silenced him with a forceful chop to the back of the neck.
"Sorry about him guys." The orange haired class-rep apologized.
"It's fine…" Yaoyorozu waved her off.
"You all can chat when we get inside the building." Aizawa then stated in with a tired groan. "Our guests are already waiting on us."
With their usual introductions out of the way, the mob of first year students were ushered into the building and headed over to the main monitoring room. There, they were met with not only all of the first year teachers including Snipe and Thirteen. But a group of ten students dressed in their hero costumes as well. All sporting the signature Shiketsu style hats that they were required to wear with their uniforms.
Among them were some pretty interesting looking characters. One was a boy who was covered in fur from head to toe. Another was dressed in a black overcoat with light purple hair. And the most notable person was a tall boy with a buzz cut with various pipes all over a costume.
"Inasa Yoarashi." Honenuki said in a low tone.
"You know him?" Awase asked the lipless teen.
"He's the guy who got first place on the recommendations exam. The one who decided not to go to U.A.."
"Him, seriously?"
"Yeah." Honenuki nodded. "He's strong as hell. His quirk allows him to control wind."
'If he had the highest score for those who got in through recommendations, then that means he's above Todoroki-san and Setsuna.' Midoriya thought with a bit of amazement. That would mean that this Yoarashi guy was pretty powerful. The boy took a moment to exam him for a bit and quickly noticed the odd look that he was giving to Todoroki.
"Oh god…" Tokage and Tetsutetsu said simultaneously. Both teens sharing an expression of absolute dread on their faces.
"What wron-"
"Yo! Tokage, Tetsutetsu, long time no see, huh? I haven't seen you guys in a hot minute. What's poppin' dudes?" The blonde haired girl in the leather bodysuit waved to them and smiled.
"Do you guys know her?" Yanagi inquired.
"Unfortunately…" The silver haired teen moaned.
"Camie Utsushimi." Tokage began to explain. "We went to middle school with her. She's your typical annoying free spirit who doesn't know when to stop talking."
"I honestly hoped I wouldn't have to see her ever again."
Obviously there was history there between the three of them. One that certainly piqued the interests of all their friends. But before any of the other 1-B students could ask them to elaborate, Nezu popped up from out of nowhere.
"Greetings students, thank you so much for participating in today's special class! As you all know, we don't get many chances to train with our counterparts from other hero schools. So I hope that you all will take this opportunity to learn from each other and build strong bonds for the future!" The unidentified mammal said gleefully.
"Thank you again for inviting us, Nezu-san." The stressed out looking Shiketsu teacher bowed politely.
"So what exactly are we going to be doing today, sir?" Yaoyorozu then asked.
Instead of Nezu, Midnight was the one to bring the students up to speed on what the faculty had in store for them.
"Today you all will be participating in various team battle events." The "R-Rated" heroine said. "You'll be divided up into groups of four that are a mixture of students from all the classes. And each round will feature two of these teams facing off against one another."
"Pretty cut and dry, huh?" Said Tsuburaba.
"Additionally, each round will have a different task that both teams will need to accomplish. And they will all be taking place in different training areas. This will be done to keep all of you guessing. In the real world, you'll be given jobs and missions with little to no information beforehand. So make sure to stay on your toes."
"We'll also be throwing some surprises at you during each exercise. So keep that in mind." Kan followed up.
"So do we get to choose our own teams, gero?" Asui asked.
"No, your teams and matchups have already been decided."
"What are they?" Shishida inquired.
Midnight grabbed the remote control from atop the desk and pulled up a holoprojector behind her. Everyone's eyes immediately scanned over the screen to see who they were going to be partnered up with.
Team 1: Rin, Uraraka, Bondo, Nakamura
Team 2: Hagakure, Tsuburaba, Kodai, Kusakabe.
Team 3: Tokage, Yanagi, Kamakiri, Nagamasa.
Team 4: Honenuki, Monoma, Asui, Yoarashi.
Team 5: Mineta, Awase, Hibana, Shinmon.
Team 6: Shiozaki, Shishida, Yaoyorozu, Shishikura.
Team 7: Shoji, Kendou, Shoda, Utsushimi.
Team 8: Jiro, Tsunotori, Kaibara, Hinawa.
Team 9: Midoriya, Tokoyami, Kuroiro, Tetsutetsu.
Team 10: Kaminari, Komori, Fukidashi, Kotatsu.
"The teams were selected based on various factors, so don't pay too much attention to the fact that it's not an even split amongst the classes."
There were a mixture of cheers and subtle groans from the students once everyone finished reading the list.
'This is a pretty solid group.' Tokage thought to herself. She worked pretty well with Yanagi, and this wouldn't be their first time partnering up together. And Kamakiri was more than capable enough of holding his own in a fight. The only unknown was this Nagamasa person, whom she quickly learned was the fur covered guy from Shiketsu.
On Midoriya's end, the boy was having similar thoughts. Luckily, he was teamed up with people that he already knew. Kuroiro and Tokoyami were practically a match made in heaven. And Tetsutetsu was a straight tank. His analytical mind was already coming up with possible combinations that they could use to help them win.
However, while reading over the other teams the green haired boy was a bit perplexed. The teachers said that they organized the teams themselves, but he was having a hard time figuring out the methodology behind their selections. Obviously they took individual strength into account, that much was clear. But what else was there?
"One more thing! Please allow me to introduce our special guests!" Nezu then motioned over to the main door.
As if on cue, in walked All Might sporting a tacky looking yellow suit. But he was not alone. The blonde haired man was accompanied by a woman with blue hair and matching skin. Along with a lanky man with green hair and glasses who was in a wheelchair and missing a leg.
Midoriya immediately recognized this person as the notorious Sir Nighteye. The former sidekick of the now retired 'Symbol of Peace'. He didn't know much about the guy aside from his quirk. An awesome power that allowed him to see into the future. And if he remembered correctly, the woman was known as Bubble Girl.
It had been months since any of the first years had seen their heroics teacher. To their knowledge, the man was working with the third year students to help them prepare for the licensing exam at the start of the next semester. At least that's what Hadou told them a few weeks ago. So it was surprising to see him here of all places.
Midoriya still harbored some negative feelings towards All Might. And he'd be lying if he said that he was comfortable being in the same room as him. But the boy shoved those feelings down for the time being. Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand.
"You okay?" Tokage nudged the boy's arm. Besides Yanagi, she was the only person aware of the less than stellar history between the two.
"I'm fine." He reassured her.
"Sir Nighteye and Bubble girl have dropped by to observe and offer some of their guidance to you all. Please be sure to make them feel welcomed." The white furred mammal of questionable origins continued.
"Yes sir!" The students echoed.
"We're on a bit of a time crunch, so let's get started." Midnight announced. "The first group up will be teams nine and four."
"Hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu threw his arm over Midoriya's shoulder. "Let's go show everyone what we're made of, dude."
"Yeah."
"Our team is well balanced. I'm certain that victory is within our grasp."
"Agreed." Kuroiro responded to Tokoyami's words.
"I've been waiting to go up against Izuku-kun all year. I guess now's my chance." Honenuki laughed.
"You may be the class "Ace", but don't think you'll be able to beat us so easily, Midoriya-kun." Monoma said to the green haired boy.
"I look forward to a passionate display! Let's make this one for history books!" Yoarashi shouted with a slight gleam in his eye.
"Oh man, this is gonna be one hell of a match up! Did anybody bring popcorn?" Tokage chuckled.
Without any further delays, the two teams made the short journey over to Training Ground Beta. Needless to say, this was a fight that everyone was looking forward to.
It only took a few minutes for the teams to get the rundown on what their objectives were. Essentially, this round was more of a "hostage escort" exercise.
Each team would start out at opposite ends of the training area and was given one humanoid training droid. Their mission was to do whatever they could to protect that droid while also finding a way to completely destroy the other's. All within a forty-five minute time limit. Even though the conditions were pretty cut and dry, it was obvious to everyone that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. And considering the fact that they barely had any time to prepare, they were pretty going to have to wing it with as little intel as possible.
-(o)-
~Team 4~
"So…what's the plan, gero?" Asui asked her group.
"Yoarashi-san, you're quirk allows you to manipulate wind, right?"
"That's right!" The tall teen said enthusiastically.
"Then you'll be our main defense against Midoriya-kun. I predict that their team will be using him to defend their droid. But just in case they surprise us, I want you to try and hold him off as much as you can. He has the ability to control your body, would that be a problem?" The 'copy' quirk user said to him.
"Not at all. I'm looking forward to it!" In truth, the 'whirlwind' quirk user was practically jumping for joy at this. As soon as the matchup was announced, he was extra motivated to test his mettle against who he heard was U.A.'s top first year student. This was the same guy who was interning under Blizzard after all.
"Me and Asui-san-"
"Call me Tsu."
"Sorry…Tsu-chan and I can handle Tetsutetsu-kun and Kuroiro-kun on our own." Honenuki stated confidently. "But Tokoyami-kun's going to be a bit of an issue since he can fly now."
"That's fine, but I'd prefer it if Tsu-chan stayed close to me. I'm not too worried about Kuroiro-kun, and Tokoyami-san will more than likely backup Midoriya since he's good at offense and defense."
"What about our droid, gero?" The frog themed teen then pointed towards the metallic green automaton.
"You guys can leave that to me. After all, I got a new trick up my sleeve that I've been saving up until now." Monoma smiled before pulling up his left sleeve to reveal four specially crafted woven bracelets. Pointing to a particular one that appeared to be made up of black fibers.
-(o)-
~Team 9~
"So...any ideas on how we're going to do this?" Tetsutetsu looked to his teammates.
"Midoriya-kun, do you have any suggestions?" Tokoyami looked to the green haired boy.
"Yeah." Midoriya nodded. "Knowing Monoma-san and Juzo-san, they'll be expecting me to be the one guarding the droid. Normally, I'd suggest that we leave defending it to me. But I think that throwing them off would be our best option."
"How so?"
"I'll be the one leading the attack with Tetsutetsu-san and Kuroiro-san. Tokoyami-san will be in charge of defending the droid. It'll pretty much be a distraction. But they won't be expecting us to split up so early."
"Seriously?" The silver haired teen raised an eyebrow at that.
Usually, Midoriya was more of a defensive fighter. He almost never went straight into a fight unless it was necessary. But ever since the whole Derelicta incident, the telekinetic boy had become more daring during training.
"I'll explain things further while we still have some time. But I do plan on surprising them a bit."
"Whatever you think is best, we'll follow your lead." Tokoyami then said.
"Agreed." Kuroiro echoed.
"Awesome…" Midoriya nodded. "Okay, here's what I have planned."
"Well…I see we decided to skip right to the main event." Kan said to Midnight in a joking tone.
"It's what the principal wanted, and I'd be lying if I didn't feel the same way. I for one am looking forward to this." The "R-Rated" heroine smiled.
While the faculty members were having a few hushed conversations amongst themselves, the students were a bit more vocal about their opinions.
"I guess now's as good a time as any to start placing bets, huh?" Kaminari chuckled.
"How do you think this one's going to play out?" Said Hagakure.
"I'd say that Midoriya-kun's team is the most likely to win." Shoda voiced his thoughts. "If his team were smart, he'd be the one protecting the droid while everyone else just played defense."
"I myself am inclined to agree, Shoda-san. However, we must take into account that they're also being graded on overall losses. I doubt that either team would be willing to sacrifice any of their members." Shishida adjusted his glasses.
"Shishida's right. But let's not forget that Monoma and Juzo are a major problem, especially since they're on the same team."
"Why do you say that?"
Surprisingly, Tokage was the one to answer. "It's because Monoma's a total wildcard. We don't know what tricks he has up his sleeve."
"I encourage you all to take Inasa-kun into account." Shishikura then spoke up. "I've seen footage of this Izuku Midoriya's exploits. I have no doubt that he'd be able to match this telekinesis with equal force."
"Totally! Inasa's quirk is hella fire!" Utsushimi backed up her classmate. Much to the green haired girl's chagrin.
"Well I think Izuku and Tetsutetsu's team have victory within bag!" Tsunotori cheered.
As the conversations continued, in the back there was one student whose blood was beginning to boil. Katsuki Bakugou couldn't believe that he had to sit through this bullshit. Not only was he forced to watch from the sidelines as all these extras battled it out against one another. But what made matters worse is that all anyone could talk about was fucking Deku of all people. It annoyed the 'explosion' quirk user how they could so easily praise a dirty traitor like him. He was nothing but a damn villain posing as a hero.
"I'm surprised though." Ashido then said. "I thought you'd be the main one cheering on Midoriya, Tokage. The guy's your boyfriend, isn't he?"
"Oh don't get it twisted, I'm certain that he's going to win. But I like to be realistic." The girl smiled.
"Hold up, that guy's your boyfriend?" Utsushimi suddenly popped up and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder. "That's lit, fam! You two make a hella cute couple. Who knew you'd snagged yourself such a cutie?"
'God dammit…could this girl be any more annoying?'
"Begin!" The voice of Midnight echoed throughout Training Ground Beta.
The moment the word left her mouth, all of the spectators turned their attention over to the numerous monitors along the wall. Things were rather silent for a few seconds until on the far end of the area, a masked figure dressed in all black suddenly shot into the sky and made a beeline right for the opposing gate.
"What the hell?" A few students said in unison.
"Midoriya-san's going on the offensive?" Yaoyorozu questioned. "Why isn't he guarding their droid?"
"Does he think that he can take on the entire team by himself?" One of the Shiketsu students wondered out loud.
"It looks like he wanted to get right to the good part."
'All I have to do is scout out the area and see what the other team is doing. I have five minutes at the most before both our groups collide. Tokoyami-san should be in position before that happens.' The green haired boy thought while flying through the air.
Even though this plan of his may look a bit reckless on the surface, team nine was actually going with a more defensive strategy. All they had to do was buy enough time for Tokoyami to find a good hiding spot and stop the other team from advancing. Which was much easier said than done. Luckily, both starting gates were directly across from one another. So his opponents wouldn't be able to get too far in such a short amount of time.
That being said, the main thing that he had to look out for was Yoarashi. He had no clue what the Shiketsu student was actually capable of aside from the fact that his quirk let him control wind. So this was also his opportunity to assess his abilities.
By the time Midoriya made it about halfway across the training area, he spotted a lone figure shoot up into the sky surrounded by what looked to be a powerful surge of wind.
"We weren't expecting you to just come right to us. But if you're looking for a fight, I'll happily oblige!" The 'whirlwind' quirk user shouted at the top of his lungs before flying right towards him.
'Did he just abandon his team? No, he doesn't strike me as the type to act recklessly. They must be using him to keep me occupied.'
The 'telekinesis' user didn't get a chance to think about it any further before a massive gust of wind was sent directly at him. The attack was surprisingly faster than he expected and Midoriya had to make a hard left turn to avoid getting swept up by it.
'And his range is nothing to laugh at.'
Midoriya decided to momentarily increase his speed and close the distance between the two of them. But as soon as he came within a hundred meters or so of the boy, Yoarashi flew in the opposite direction.
"Y'know...I don't get the chance to go up against other people who can fly at my school! I've been looking forward to good dogfight for ages!" He shouted once again while performing a sweeping motion with his right arm that sent another slash of wind at Midoriya.
Now that he was here, there were a few things that Midoriya noticed about the way Yoarashi was using his quirk. First and foremost, it looked like he needed to move his body in order to dish out those wind slashes. Second, the cyclone under his feet looked to be the method by which he was propelling himself in the air.
'Let's see if he can still use his powers without moving.'
Midoriya instantly activated his quirk on Yoarashi's body and froze the boy in place. The momentary shock was enough to break his control over his quirk and the cyclone under his feet quickly dissipated. Seeing this his best opportunity yet, Midoriya charged right at his opponent and readied himself to deliver a punch. But as soon as he came within fifty or so meters of Yoarashi, he was blown by yet another powerful gust of wind.
"So...you don't need to move your body to use your quirk after all?"
"You're pretty smart, huh? That's right! I don't need to move my body to use my 'whirlwind'." The black haired boy replied enthusiastically before charging up another attack. "Nightstorm!"
A horizontal cyclone suddenly formed right in front of the boy and launched itself right at Midoriya. But the green haired teen was prepared for it this time.
"Vortex!"
Just as the wind reached his position, it quickly whipped around his body and dissipated behind him. This was enough to earn a shocked expression from the Shiketsu student.
"You actually managed to block my ultimate move?! You're the first person to ever do that! Alright, then how about this? Crescent Moon Dance!." About ten half-moon shaped blades of wind came flying at Midoriya at incredible speed. Thankfully, the green haired boy was able to react fast enough and ascend further into the air before they could hit.
It was now clear to the boy why Inasa Yoarashi earned the top spot at the recommendations exams. Not only was his quirk powerful, but he had amazing control over it as well. He was planning on linking up with Tetsutetsu once he got a good look at what the other team was doing. But it looked like he wasn't going to be able to shake this guy off any time soon.
'Our quirks pretty much cancel each other out.' The boy then thought. 'I'm going to need some type of weapon if I want to end this quickly.'
It took all of two seconds for a new plan to form inside Midoriya's mind and the boy suddenly turned his back to his opponent before flying away and going around a nearby building. And much like he expected, Yoarashi decided to follow him.
The chase went on for about thirty seconds by the time Midoriya was finally able to shake off his opponent for a brief moment. While also finding a suitable location for what he wanted to do. They were now pretty far away from his team's gate, so he wouldn't have to worry too much about collateral damage if things went south. The green haired boy then descended to the ground and found himself in the middle of a decent sized simulated park surrounded by trees.
"I still can't do this at Tatsumaki's level yet. But I need an advantage right now." Midoriya then said to himself. He looked over to the nearest tree and used his quirk to uproot it from the ground and bring it right in front of him. "Alright, let's give this one a try."
Everyone in the viewing area watched as the tree was ripped apart by the force of the boy's quirk and separated into four individual pieces. With the first step now complete, Midoriya made a mental image of what he wanted in his head and started reshaping the wood. Applying pressure on all sides. It only took about five seconds or so before the now broken tree was transformed into four wooden spears.
"Javelin!" The boy shouted once he was finally done. In truth, this was nothing more than a modified version of Tatsumaki's "Gungnir" move. But whereas she could make up the twenty of these like it was nothing, he was limited to only four or five at the most.
As if on cue, Yoarashi came flying around the nearest building and Midoriya wasted no time in going on the offensive.
"Huh...Izuku-kun's move kinda reminds of yours, Reiko-chan." Kendou said to the 'poltergeist' user.
"It's essentially the same method that I use to fight." Yanagi replied stoically. "But right now he can only control four of his javelins. Manipulating multiple objects is still Izuku-kun's Achilles heel."
"I think it looks more like Pony when she's using her horns, shroom." Komori added.
"Still though, I'm surprised that Midoriya-kun chose a head on attack like that. That's not like him."
"I don't think that was his plan." Kan then interjected.
"Huh?"
"More than likely, Midoriya was just scouting out the other team. But that Shiketsu boy was more than willing to engage him in a fight."
"That makes sense." A few of the 1-B students nodded.
While Midoriya was busy duking it out with Yoarashi, Tetsutetsu was quickly moving towards his location. The 'steel' quirk user spotted the two zooming through the air right above him not too long ago, so he was planning to go and backup his teammate. By his best estimate, he was only a few blocks away from their current position.
However, just as the silver haired teen was about to turn the next corner he was suddenly blindsided by a powerful force striking him in the back. One strong enough to knock him off his feet.
"What the hell?" Tetsutetsu looked up just in time to see a long, pink appendage wrap around his torso. "Asui!"
"Call me Tsu!" The frog themed teen said bluntly just before throwing him into a nearby wall. Thankfully, the boy was able to activate his quirk just in time to avoid taking any extra damage.
"I never expected you to come attack me on your own."
"That wasn't the original plan, gero. But thanks to Midoriya-san, we had to improvise."
"Doesn't matter to me, I'm just happy that I get a chance to throw down!" Tetsutetsu grinned before changing the property of his quirk. The 'steel' quirk user's body then transformed from its usual steel to a more sleek looking titanium.
'I may have to sacrifice a bit of strength, but I can move around a lot easier like this.' The boy thought to himself before charging right at her.
Back with Midoriya and Yoarashi, things were already heating up. Thanks to his javelins, the green haired boy had the advantage in firepower. But the 'whirlwind' user was dodging the attacks easily enough.
'I'm gonna be in trouble if he makes more of these spear things. I was trying to conserve energy, but I guess I'll have to turn things up a bit.' The Shiketsu student thought.
Immediately after dodging another javelin, Yoarashi performed a corkscrew maneuver and reoriented himself to face Midoriya. That brief respite was more than enough time for him to summon a large cyclone right underneath his feet. The powerful winds instantly surrounded Midoriya on all sides and the boy had to break his hold on his javelins and counter this attack.
"Hellstorm!" With that, the cyclone dissipated after the 'telekinesis' user applied his move with an opposite rotation to cancel out the attack.
"Man, you're one tough guy to bring down!"
Instead of responding, Midoriya once again regained control of his javelins and threw them at his opponent. But right before they could get close, several hexagonal shaped objects collided with them in mid-air.
"What the-"
"I was hoping that you would be guarding your droid, Midoriya-kun. But since you're here, I can only assume that Tokoyami-kun is the one taking care of that. Am I wrong?" The voice of Neito Monoma said confidently.
'Damn, I probably should've stayed out of sight. But this fight could go either way and Yoarashi-san's going to need the extra support. I'll just have to make sure that Midoriya-kun keeps his focus on him.'
The 'copy' quirk user was standing on the opposite end of the road with their team's droid right behind him. But that wasn't the only thing that threw the boy off. The droid was surrounded by a protective ball of solid air that was no doubt thanks to Tsuburaba's quirk. But what really surprised the green haired boy was the fact that Monoma's arms were lined with two stone-like shields on either side.
'Is that…'
"Okay, timeout!" Awase said what everyone else seemed to be thinking. "Am I tripping, or is Monoma using Crust's quirk?"
"When the hell did that happen?"
"Would someone care to give us an explanation?" Yaoyorozu asked the 1-B students.
Naturally, Tsuburaba was the one to clarify what was going on. "Monoma found a way to upgrade his quirk not too long ago." He pointed back at the screen where sure enough, Monoma had sprouted another shield right in front of him. "Those bracelets that he's wearing are made with strands of people's hair."
Everyone turned their attention back at the monitor to verify this information. And they could clearly see four braided bands around both of his wrists. Everyone knew that all Monoma needed was to touch someone to be able to use their quirk. But they didn't know his ability was so potent that all he needed was a few strands of hair. However, something wasn't right. Two of those bracelets were accounted for, Tsuburaba's and Crust's. Which means that he had two more quirks that he hadn't used yet.
"When did he manage to get Crust's quirk?" Midnight whispered to Kan.
"He's actually had it ever since the work study. But he chose not to use it up until now." The blood themed her clarified.
In the back of the group, a certain glasses wearing man scrunched his face a bit at what he was witnessing. "That blonde boy reminds me a bit of you know who. Please tell me that there's a limit to that quirk of his."
"I believe that four is his maximum." Yagi replied to Nighteye. "Any more than that and he can't handle the stress on his body."
"What a relief…."
Back with the trio of students at the simulated park, Midoriya now found himself in both a negative situation and a golden opportunity. Although their team's droid was right there in front of him, he had two strong opponents that would get in his way of destroying it.
In his mind, he had two options. Try to take out one of them first and deal with the other later. Or retreat and regroup with Tetsutetsu. Under normal circumstances, the boy would've gone with option two. But something inside his mind was screaming at him to not back away from a challenge like this. 'It looks like I'm starting to become more like Tatsumaki every day.'
"Tetsutetsu-san, where are you?" Midoriya raised his hand up to his earpiece.
"I'm dealing with Asui right now. I kinda got my hands tied!" The silver haired teen shouted.
"Tokoyami-san, what about you?"
"I'm in position and the droid is under my protection. I have yet to come across any opponents."
'That means that Juzo-san is still unaccounted for.' The boy surmised. Of all people who didn't want running around too freely, the 'softening' quirk user was near the top of the list. 'It won't be long before he finds Tokoyami-san. So I'll have to deal with these two right here.'
With his mind now resolved, Midoriya sprung into action. The boy launched himself in the air and went straight for Monoma. Something that definitely took everyone by surprise.
"Quite a bold strategy, Midoriya-kun!" The 'copy' quirk user taunted as he summoned one of Kamakiri's blades from his arm. But what the blonde haired boy wasn't expecting was for Midoriya to zoom right past him instead of trying to attack. "What the-"
"Here you go!" Was all that Midoriya said as he suddenly removed his jacket and threw it in Monoma's direction. For a distraction, this was pretty lame. However, no one was expecting what happened next.
As Monoma attempted to catch the jacket and throw it off to the side, a dark figure erupted from the piece of clothing and punched him right in the face.
"I was getting bored resting inside of Midoriya-kun's jacket. But now it appears as though it's time for my appearance." Said Shihai Kuroiro in a confident tone.
"Kuroiro-san, take care of him while I deal with Yoarashi!" Midoriya instructed him before turning his attention to his other opponent.
"Understood."
"Wait...so Kuroiro was hiding in Midoriya's clothes this whole time?" Said an astonished Kaibara.
"I forgot that he was even in this fight." Jiro added.
"Damn Izuku, that was pretty smart." Tokage smirked, more than impressed by her boyfriend's antics.
"Whoa! That boytoy of yours is pretty damn clever, huh?" Utsushimi chuckled. The girl still far too close in proximity to Tokage for her liking.
"I'll admit that even I wasn't expecting that." Sniped laughed along with Thirteen and Present Mic.
"A fine strategy indeed." Nezu smiled deviously.
At the far end of the training ground near team nine's gate, Tokoyami was quietly standing guard over their team's droid atop one of the buildings. The raven headed teen knew that he wouldn't be seeing much action due to the defensive nature of his objective. But he was starting to get a bit worried due to the lack of communication between his teammates.
All he knew at the moment was that Midoriya and Tetsutetsu were engaged in battle. Yet that was pretty much the extent of his knowledge. Tokoyami wasn't one to jump into a fight if it wasn't necessary. And his team was more than capable of handling things on their own. So for now, he simply chose to continue doing what he could to watch over their droid.
However, the 'dark shadow' user's peaceful silence was broken when he heard some rustling behind him. The boy looked behind him only to see none other than Honenuki raising his body from underneath the ground below his feet.
"Man...it took forever to find you, Tokoyami-kun." The lipless stated.
"Honenuki-kun?"
"When we saw that Izuku-kun wasn't protecting your droid I knew that you were the next logical person who would be charged with that job."
"I see, the brilliance of recommended students never ceases to amaze me. I forgot that stealth is but only one of your strongest assets." Tokoyami responded.
"Let's skip the witty banter and get right down to business. I'd prefer not to drag this out if I can help it." Was all that 'softening' quirk user said before slamming his palms down on the ground and melting the entire top of the building. Forcing his opponent to activate his quirk and secure the droid before leaping into the air.
'This situation isn't something that I can't handle. I may have the air advantage, but I need to get as far away as possible.'
"I was hoping to avoid a head-on fight, but I guess I have no choice!"
"The other's told me that close combat isn't your strong suit. But I'll happily accept the challenge!" Yoarashi's grin was wide as he flew to meet Midoriya halfway.
Seconds before impact, Midoriya raised his fist and got into a classic boxer's stance. Like his opponent had mentioned, he much preferred to do things at a distance. But now was not the time to try and keep things in his comfort zone. 'I still don't have this down yet. But with Monoma-san distracted, it should be enough to handle this.'
"Heavy Infight!" The 'telekinesis' user shouted before throwing a punch. One that was a lot faster than what the 'whirlwind' user was expecting.
'What the hell? He's quicker than I thought.'
To put things in simple terms, "Heavy Infight" was a technique by which Midoriya used his powers to increase his speed and strength to a certain degree. It worked based on the same principle by which he used his quirk to fly. But if he focused properly, it gave his physical abilities a decent boost.
Chaos quickly ensued as the entire battlefield was now an all out brawl. Kuroiro was giving Monoma more than a bit of trouble by jumping in and out of his clothes. But due to his preparations, their droid was still well protected. Tetsutetsu and Asui had been going at it ever since they first encountered one another, with no clear winner in sight. And Tokoyami was now on the run from Honenuki. Who was melting more and more of the area as things dragged on.
"Geez, this is getting intense." Said Satou, who like many others had his eyes glued to the screen.
"At this point, I don't even know how this is going to go." Nagamasa commented.
Over by where the teachers were all huddled together, Kan looked to Nezu. "Is it time, sir?"
"Yes." The unidentified mammal of questionable origins grinned. "Let's begin with the second stage of this battle."
All Kan did was nod before grabbing a nearby earpiece and speaking to an unknown person on the other end of the line. "You're good to go whenever you're ready. Proceed as you wish, just try not to make too big of a mess."
"Yes, sensei!" A male voice said with some enthusiasm in his voice.
"I never expected you to be a brawler, Midoriya! Usually guys with ranged quirks don't do well in a fist fight!"
"I'm not just some one trick pony." Midoriya responded to Yoarashi's word with yet another kick that his opponent was barely able to block.
The two airborne students were now moving all over the place. And neither one had been able to land a decisive blow on the other. As much as Midoriya hated to admit it, he may have had the upper hand when it came to maneuverability. But Yoarashi was quicker on his feet than he expected.
"Push!" The green haired boy used his quirk to create a bit of distance between the two of them. With his opponent stunned, he regained control over his javelins and sent them flying at the boy's body. But Yoarashi recovered just in time to produce a gust of wind that knocked them off course.
"Now this is more like it! Let's turn up the intensity a bit, huh? Crescent Moon Dance: Barrage!"
After performing a series of slashing movements in quick succession with both arms, the 'whirlwind' user created a ridiculous amount of wind slashes that were on a direct collision course for Midoriya. And to add further insult to impending injury, the area of the attack was just too wide for him to escape from. However, Midoriya wasn't going to be taken down so easily.
"Dance of the Mountain Wind!"
Most of the spectators in the viewing area were stunned by how gracefully the green haired boy suddenly moved while somehow managing to avoid getting hit. And with the way that his body moved, it was almost as if he was just riding the wind currents of the attack itself.
While that was going on, down below Kuroiro had managed to get the upper hand and Monoma. The 'black' quirk user was keeping the blonde haired teen immobile by using his clothes as a makeshift straightjacket.
"Surrender now, Monoma-kun. You won't be able to move like this."
"Do you really think I'm going to give up that easily?" The 'copy' quirk user replied before finally revealing what the fourth bracelet on his wrist was.
The blonde haired boy's entire torso suddenly began wildly spinning around in a clockwise motion. Letting everyone know that he was also in possession of Kaibara's quirk as well. The speed of the rotation was so fast that Kuroiro instantly began to feel nauseous. But he wasn't planning on letting go any time soon.
The battle was getting more intense with each passing second, and there was no end in sight. At least not one that anyone could properly predict. However, things changed when the sound of a massive explosion barely a few blocks away caught their attention. One that was far too big for any of the others to cause on their own.
*Boom!*
"What the hell was that?" The four students said in unison as they all paused.
"Attention students!" The voice of Midnight suddenly said through the speaker system. "The objective of your exercise has now changed. A new opponent has appeared in the area. Your mission now is to defeat him while continuing to protect your droids. Use whatever means necessary at your disposal to do so. Good luck...you're going to need it!"
"What's going on, here?" Yoarashi was the first to speak.
"No idea." Midoriya replied.
"Did Midnight-sensei just tell us to join forces?" Monoma asked.
"S-something's...ugh...weird about this." A very dizzy Kuroiro added as he fell out from Monoma's jacket.
Before either of the boy's could further piece together this dramatic turn of events, Tetsutetsu's frantic voice screamed into Midoriya and Kuroiro's earpieces.
"You guys! We got a big problem over her-"
"Tetsutetsu-san! What's going on?!" Midoriya said back to the silver haired teen, only to get no response.
"Tsu-chan, what's going on over there?!" Monoma radioed to his teammate, but was also met with silence.
All of a sudden, a massive surge of wind came barreling down the street at the four of them. One that was powerful enough to completely destroy the nearby building. Neither student had a chance to react before they were all swept up and thrown across the road. Luckily they all managed to recover rather quickly and get their bearings in order. But they were certainly not prepared for what happened next. Which was Tetsutetsu's body flying through the newly created dust cloud like a ragdoll before landing in the middle of the road.
"Tetsutetsu!"
"What's going on?!"
"Well, well...it sure seemed like you first years were having quite a bit of fun, huh?" An unfamiliar yet menacing voice said.
In that moment, Midoriya, Yoarashi, Kuroiro and Monoma felt a collective chill go down their spines. They were all curious as to who the hell just showed up in the middle of their match. But it didn't take long for them to get their answer.
"Do you guys mind if I join in?" The dust settled just enough for them to get a glimpse at whoever this new foe was. But as soon as the recognition settled in, all of the first year students could do was swallow a collective gulp.
Standing there in the middle of the newly destroyed building with an unconscious Asui draped over his shoulder was a tall, muscular boy with blonde hair dressed in a blue and white outfit. Along with a majestically flowing red cape. He had an honest smile on his face, but the aura emanating from his body was enough to make the air around them go still.
There were only two people that the students knew of who could fit a description like that. One was currently in the monitoring area with the rest of the faculty wearing a tacky yellow suit. The second person was none other than the infamous…
"Mirio...Togata…"
"Wait...they have to go up against Goldenboy?!" Tokage looked to her aunt for an explanation, who simply responded with a devious smirk.
"You can't be serious!" Tsunotori said.
"Seriously, that guy's a fucking monster!" Awase added on. "How the hell is that even fair? The guy's practically a smaller version of All Might."
By now the entire country had already seen the notorious battle between U.A.'s top student and the yakuza boss, Overhaul. And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who disagreed with Awase's statement. Simply put, Mirio Togata was a force to be reckoned with. Based on what they had seen, the guy could give most pro heroes a run for their money. And to make this scenario even worse, he already took out two of their classmates without even breaking a sweat.
'This is not going to end well.' Was the only thought running through Tokage's mind.
"So Sasaki-kun, is this arrangement to your liking?" Nezu said the wheelchair bound hero.
"Indeed it is." Nighteye nodded. "This will be a good test to see just how much of a threat that boy may pose in the future."
"Well hopefully we'll be able to put any lingering doubts that we have to rest. But I'd be lying if I said that I'm not looking forward to this encounter myself."
'I'm sorry to have to put you through this, young Midoriya.' Yagi thought with a slightly worried expression. The only reason he allowed his successor to take part in this was to pacify Nighteye's concerns about the green haired boy potentially turning hostile again in the further. But even he was quite invested in seeing how this will play out.
Midoriya's mind was now running a mile a minute trying to figure out how they were going to come out of this situation victorious. But something told him that the chances of that happening were a lot lower than he would like to admit. Their best option was to secure Tetsutetsu and Asui and find a way for Monoma and Kuroiro to link up with the others. He doubted that he could hold Togata off by himself. The guy had the advantage in both speed and power. But with Yoarashi here, they had a decent shot.
"Guy's...on my signal, grab those two and meet up with Tokoyami-san and Juzo-san as fast as you can." The boy ordered. "Yoarashi-san and I will buy you some time."
"Do you really think it will be that easy?" Monoma said with an uncharacteristic tone of trepidation in his voice.
"No…"
"We don't really have a lot of options, do we? I remember seeing this guy fight on T.V. a while back." Yoarashi then said.
Not looking to waste anymore time, Togata decided to go ahead and get the party started. After all, he had been looking forward to this all week.
"Well if you guys won't make the first move, then I'll happily oblige." The blonde haired third year smiled before rearing back his right arm. "I still haven't fully mastered this move yet, but I think you guys will be able to handle it…. Twenty-Five Percent: Texas Smash!"
'Oh shit…'
A/N: Whoa, long time no see, huh? Sorry about the extremely late update for those who have been following the story. I've been pretty busy over the last month. I'm moving/changing jobs in a few months so I've been dealing with that. Plus...I've been binge reading Tower of God for the last two weeks, so that's had most of my attention. Also, I just needed to take a break from writing.
1. We finally get to see Mirio Togata in action. Anyone care to predict how that's going to play out? He may be the current wielder of OfA in this fic, but I've decided to make a few changes to how he'll use the quirk. It's not anything major, but I think you guys will enjoy it. Next chapter will essentially be Mirio vs Everybody.
2. Since my schedule is still king of crazy, I won't even give you guys a timeline on when my next update will be. But I doubt that it will take another month. I really only have time to write on the weekends these days.
3. The polls are still up on what my next fic will be. I haven't even bothered to check them yet, so I'm curious to see what the trend is. Like I said, I won't make a decision on that until the last few chapters of this fic. So feel free to cast your votes.
Like always, thanks for reading and don't be afraid to leave a comment/review!