Chapter Seven
Frog & Demon VS Stone & Spider
"I wonder who our heroes and villains will be for the third round?" All Might rhetorically asked, fishing around in the boxes before pulling two out, revealing them to the class.
"Aha, here we are. The heroes will be Team H, Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami. The villains will be Team J, Eijiro Kirishima and Kórinis Kurusu."
"Aw man!" Eijiro cried out, clutching his head. "I'm a villain! So not manly!"
"Hey, don't sweat it," Mina reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Half of us had to be villains anyway, so it doesn't say anything bad about you, it's simply the luck of the draw."
"Young Ashido is exactly right!" All Might beamed, looking their way. "Even if your team is chosen to be the villains in this exercise, you can still learn something from it. After all, young Ida was the V.I.P. of the first round, even though he was playing the role of a villain."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Eijiro admitted, looking down at the ground. "Even though it feels wrong, I'll do my best to make the most of the experience."
"That's all I can ask for," All Might smiled as he walked out of the Monitor Room. "Alright, you four, with me. Let me show you which building you'll be fighting in!"
As Eijiro followed the pinnacle of manliness, he took a look at his teammate and opponents. He already knew who his teammate was, they had locked eyes as soon as their team was formed. Eijiro didn't know much about her, other than her name was Kórinis Kurusu, she shared her last name with another classmate, Sarah Kurusu, she was an Arachne, and she was probably the closest in the class to Bakugo, not that that was a challenge. Eijiro also knew she was strong, which was a good thing in his book, and her exoskeleton looked sharp, just like his own skin became when he used his Hardening quirk.
Her hero costume was rather simple, consisting of a white robe that covered her entire upper half, leaving only her face and hands exposed. Her robe was loose and flowy, with a hood covering her head and ending in a skirt around her thighs.
On the other hand were their opponents, Asui and Tokoyami. As far as Eijiro knew, Asui had some kind of frog quirk, given her excellent jumping abilities that he saw yesterday in Mr. Aizawa's Quirk Fitness Test. Whether or not that gave her other frog abilities, he didn't know.
Her hero costume was a bright green turtleneck bodysuit, tan-coloured gloves and two matching belts, one above her chest with a strap at either side going around her shoulders and one around her waist. On her feet she wore green webbed flippers resembling frogs' toes, and on her head were goggles with dark green-tinted lenses and a thin dark green mask that went along the middle of her face.
As for her teammate, Tokoyami, all Eijiro saw yesterday was the ability to form shadowy limbs out of his body. Even though they seemed really weak and frail outdoors, when they had their strength grip test in the gymnasium they seemed thicker and stronger.
His hero costume was also very simple, consisting of a black robe covering his entire body, only stopping halfway down his shins, and knee-high black boots.
'Even if his costume is basic, he has such an edgy yet manly name,' Eijiro admitted.
"Alright, here we are!" All Might declared, stopping in front of their battle ground. "As you all know, you'll each receive one micro transceiver, one roll of Capture Tape, and your map."
Eijiro stepped forward alongside the other students, grabbing his allocated supplies, slipping the micro transceiver into his ear while keeping hold of the capture tape and map.
"Alright villains, head on in and prepare your defences," All Might said, gesturing to the doors. "Remember, you only have five minutes before the heroes arrive to try and stop you."
"Understood, All Might," Eijiro nodded, walking through the door and holding it open for his teammate.
"What a gentleman," she chuckled, holding a hand to her mouth.
The duo continued through the building, stepping over thick wires that snaked across the ground. Where the other buildings had appeared to be more corporate and business-like, their building was more industrial. They were still only on the first floor and already Eijiro could see sheet metal and wire fencing littered around, either laying on the floor or leaning against a wall or column.
Walking up the staircase, Eijiro started to hear a noise from behind him.
Thwip
Thwip
Thwip
Turning around, Eijiro saw Kurusu shooting out lines of webbing from her wrists, layering them in a crisscross pattern, filling up the entrance to the stairwell.
"What are you doing that for?" Eijiro asked, walking back down the stairs to stand beside Kurusu. With his untrained eye for web making, weaving, cross stitching or any other kind of craft that required thread, to him it seemed impressive.
"Creating our trap," Kurusu answered with a grin, shooting out one final line of thread onto the centre of the veritable wall of silk that now barricaded the stairwell entrance. Instead of connecting it to the walls, ceiling or floor like she had for all of the other lines of silk, Kurusu instead walked backwards, keeping the final line suspended over the ground.
"So, Kirishima, right?" she asked, with Eijiro replying with a nod. "What's your quirk? Mine's pretty obvious; I'm an Arachne. I'm able to make webs from my spinnerets, I have a wide range of vision, I can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, and my lower half is a spider's body. You?"
"My quirk is called Hardening," Eijiro explained, hardening his arms as an example. "It's pretty simple; I harden parts of my body, and they become really durable. As a side effect, the hardened skin creates edges that are pretty sharp, so I sometimes have to be careful."
"Trust me, I understand," Kurusu nodded, gesturing with her free arm that wasn't producing the line of silk. "Arachne have exoskeletons on their arms, but the problem is that our elbows can be really sharp, so my mother and I always wear arm covers of some kind."
"Is that a common practice with other Arachne?" Eijiro asked as they arrived on the second floor.
"Wouldn't know," Kurusu admitted with a sigh. "I've never met any other members of my kind. I know they're out there, I mean I was born from their race, but Mum wasn't ever keen on sharing about her past. All I know was that she never knew her parents, joined a gang of fellow Arachne women, and was in a real bad place when she met Dad. His sweetness towards her was what made her want a better life, more than being a criminal on the streets, so she cleaned up her act, did her time in community service, and fell in love. She says that his kindness is why she always calls him 'Honey'."
Eijiro chuckled at that, not entirely sure what to say as the building fell into silence.
"Hey, Kirishima," Kurusu asked as she stuck the thread onto the wall, "where's the bomb we're meant to defend?"
"Uh, let me check," Eijiro said, opening his map and scouring the floors, his eyes quickly widening in shock. "Oh wow, it's located here on the second floor!"
Eijiro turned in place, glancing up and down at the map, trying to figure out which room held the weapon they had to defend.
"This one over here," Eijiro said, walking over to a closed door and opening it, revealing the fake nuclear bomb standing within the room. Wires lined the edges of the room along the floor, leaning against the far wall were a trio of unhinged gates, and on the ceiling were metal railings dropping down from the ceiling alongside the entrance to an air duct.
"Though I have to admit, I was kind of expecting more from a room housing a nuclear bomb," Eijiro admitted.
"Either way, this is perfect," Kurusu said, walking into the room and standing beside Eijiro, her head moving around, surveying the room. "No window entrances, one way in, and the air duct is too small for our enemy to try and slip through."
Kurusu began shooting out more lines of silk, these ones thicker and longer, going at various angles all over. Some stretched from floor to ceiling, others from ceiling to wall, or floor to wall, or wall to wall. Quickly, a maze of webbing formed within the room, reminding Eijiro of those laser traps in those awesome secret agents films.
"Don't touch them!" Kurusu warned as Eijiro reached out to touch one of the webs. "Unlike the ones down stairs, these are much stronger and stickier. They're designed to capture rather than stall and send a message. If you touch them, it will take me a bit to get you unstuck, and we don't have time."
"Okay, so it seems you have a plan, so let me in on it, how are we going to win?" Eijiro asked, cautiously stepping away from the sticky threads.
"Look at the map and tell me what you see," Kurusu said, folding out her map and holding it out for both of them to look at.
"Uh, the bomb is on the second floor, the building is small, I don't know," Eijiro admitted, scratching his head. "If there's something there, I'm not seeing it."
"Actually, you did see it," Kurusu said, gesturing to the floors. "You're right, the building is small. For the other two before us, there were different corridors and areas, different pathways you could take. But for our building, each floor is a glorified corridor, each leading to and from the stairs."
"Okay, so how does that help us?" Eijiro asked.
"Think about it," Kurusu pointed out. "There's only one way through the building; straight through. That means we know the exact path that they can take, meaning that as they progress through the building-"
"-We'll know where they'll be and be able to attack them!" Eijiro finished with a grin, though it swiftly fell. "Well, that would be the case, but the bomb is on the second floor. That means we have to either meet them on the ground floor or hold them off here until we either capture both of them or the time runs out."
"True, except for one itsy bitsy little detail," Kurusu smirked. "They don't know that."
Eijiro looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, before a lightbulb went off in his head.
"Oh, that means we can slowly pull back, fighting them all the way, and they'll think that the bomb is on a higher level! We run down the time, win the match, and do it in a manly way as well! Kurusu, you're a manly genius!" he cheered.
"Have you ever met a girl who enjoyed being called manly?" Kurusu asked, raising an eyebrow over one of her main eyes and placing a hand on her hip.
"For me, manliness refers to one's state of mind," Eijiro explained. "It's all about your determination and courage, you know, and that means that it isn't gender specific; girls can be plenty manly too. Hell, just look at Mirko, she's one of the manliest heroes around. So cool."
"Yep, Mirko is one tough jackrabbit," Kurusu admitted. "Kind of surprising how tough she is for an Usagimimi."
"Bless you," Eijiro said.
"No, you dolt, an Usagimimi is a heteromorph species," she explained. "Many people confuse them with Wererabbit heteromorphs, but Usagimimi only have rabbit ears and a tail, while Wererabbits have the ears, tail, fur on the most of their limbs, and a secondary quirk to turn into a rabbit."
"Wait, so why does Mirko have rabbit feet?" Eijiro asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"That's part of her hero costume, and her killer thighs are all training. She has a boost to her strength simply by being a heteromorph, but other than that? All her own effort."
"She's even manlier than I thought!" Eijiro yelled, manly tears streaming down his face. "She's almost as manly as Crimson Riot!"
"Crimson Riot?" Kurusu asked. "Damn, that's an old school hero. He's your inspiration?"
"You bet! He charges head first into danger, valuing the lives of civilians over his own. Even when he's afraid, he still risks it all, because that's what a manly hero is meant to do. After all, 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in spite of it.'"
"Well then, Mr. Courage, let's get out of this room and close the door. The heroes should be entering the building any moment now," Kurusu said as the pair left the room, closing the door behind them, the closed off room now standing out as little as all of the other closed off rooms.
"I have a better idea," Eijiro suggested. "If we're both here, they might get suspicious. You head up to the next floor and I'll wait for them here. I'll fight them off, but even I know I probably can't take them both on my own. I'll head up stairs and make it obvious that you're placing traps along the path to the weapon. That way they'll definitely follow me, completely missing where the weapon actually is."
Kurusu simply looked at Eijiro, her expression stunned.
"Damn, Kirishima," she said, starting to grin. "That's a very sneaky plan. Way to get into a villainous mindset."
"Well, All Might did say we should act the part," Eijiro replied with a chuckle.
"Heh, fair point," she laughed. "I'll head on up then, start laying some traps. Stall them for as long as possible, but be sure to pull back. We'll play them like a pair of fools together."
"You got it," Eijiro said with confidence, slamming his fists together as they hardened. "No one's getting past me unless I let them."
"Then I'm counting on you, Banjaku," Kurusu said as she walked towards the stairs to the third floor.
"Why Banjaku?" Eijiro called out to her.
Kurusu looked over her shoulder with a grin as she walked. "Because you're acting as the board that's rock solid. For this plan to work, you'll have to be our stone wall, enduring their attacks until I can leap over the edge and pounce on them."
"Banjaku," Eijiro thought to himself, testing the name on his own lips. "I've already got in mind what I want for my hero name, but that's a manly nickname you've given me, Kurusu."
He turned to face the stairwell leading to the first floor, loosening up his body as he stretched.
"Look out, heroes," he grinned with sharp teeth, a feature that he and Kurusu shared. "The Shark Teeth Bandits own this place, and you'll have to get through me first."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Tsuyu Asui was many things. She was an incredible big sister, often having to look after her younger brother and sister. She was also an excellent daughter, taking care of the house when her parents had to travel for work. She was also a good friend, as even though she and Habuko went to different hero schools, the two of them messaged each other almost every night, and often caught up on the weekends at a cafe. But most importantly, if Tsuyu thought of something, she was just going to come out and say it, even if it was a little blunt.
"So, what's your quirk?" she asked her brooding teammate, an index finger pressed against her lips.
"Pardon?" he asked, tilting his crow head.
"You know, your quirk, your superpower," Tsuyu elaborated in her monotone voice.
"And why are you inquiring about the nature of my abyssal power?" he replied, turning away to look up at the building. "It is hardly something that is easy to harness."
Tsuyu simply stared at him, slightly taken aback by his response.
"If I know what your quirk is then we can make a plan of attack."
The crow headed student flinched at that, lowering his head before turning back to face Tsuyu.
"My quirk is called Dark Shadow," he explained. "It is a monster of shadow and darkness that lurks within my soul. While during the day it is easy to control, it also is weakened by the light. Conversely, during the hours of the night the darkness empowers it, making it stronger and more powerful, but it becomes unruly and rebellious."
Tsuyu blinked at his answer. 'Did I get stuck with a chuunibyou?' she thought to herself, only to recoil as a shadowy creature emerged from her teammate. It was made entirely out of a dark, shadowy form, with yellow, glowing eyes. Its head was shaped like a crow, and each arm ended with two large sets of claws. It didn't have a lower half, instead it connected to her teammate through its elongated torso, almost like an umbilical cord.
"What's up, sweet cheeks?" the shadow creature asked, floating in the air and resting its head on one of its hands, the elbow placed on her teammate's shoulder.
"Be silent, fell beast," he scolded, "that is no way to speak to our teammate and classmate."
"Wow, you're a chuunibyou that's actually right," Tsuyu observed.
"Hmph," he scoffed, turning his head in disapproval. "They are but amateurs, mere imitators of those who truly dwell in the abyss. While they may understand the allure of the void, they are unable to partake in its forbidden sacrament."
"Right," Tsuyu said, deciding she wanted to move on from the topic. "So basically, your quirk, Dark Shadow, allows you to create a shadow monster that is weaker but easier to control in the light, but stronger yet harder to control in the dark."
"Indeed, succinctly said," he nodded, looking at her from the side with one eye. "No other would be able to withstand the temptation of this creature, for no other is Fumikage Tokoyami."
"And I now know your name, awesome," Tsuyu said. "Well, my name is Tsuyu Asui, but please, call me Tsu. I'm a Bullywug, a frog heteromorph. I'm able to stick to walls, shoot out my tongue up to 20 m, and I can jump really far. I can also secrete a mucus with a variety of different effects, like paralysis."
"A very basic but powerful set of abilities," Tokoyami said, nodding his corvid head. "We both are able to attack at both close and medium range, perfect for an indoor environment."
He pulled out his map, and crouching on the sidewalk lay out the map on the ground for both to see.
"It seems that our building is quite different," Tokoyami observed, gesturing to the layout. "Each floor is a single corridor lined with rooms, with a stairwell at the end."
"The stairs only go up one floor as well," Tsuyu added. "That means we can't rush to the fifth floor if the weapon is there, we have to run through each floor."
"Just like a demon lord would design it," Tokoyami said ominously. "A long series of corridors, with many rooms for criminals and dwellers of the dark to lurk in, waiting to ambush us."
"So how do you want to do it?" Tsuyu asked. "We could try and capture one of the villains and interrogate them, make them tell us where the bomb is located."
"And how would we do that?" Tokoyami asked, glancing at Tsuyu. "Torture? I am certain All Might will not be too keen on us mutilating our classmates, even if they are taking on the role of a villain. And while I am sure Dark Shadow would be more than willing, I for one am not a fan of the sight of spilled blood."
"Like hell I do!" Dark Shadow exclaimed with indignation.
"I was more thinking I could secrete an itch-inducing mucus from my skin. Apply enough of it and anyone would tell us whatever we want so long as we remove it afterwards."
"Can you remove it?" Tokoyami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sure Recovery Girl has spare water to rinse it off," Tsuyu thought out loud, intentionally ignoring her teammate's question.
"Indoor Antipersonnel Battle Training, Round Three, Start!" All Might declared, his voice projecting out from speakers near the door.
"Let's go," Tokoyami said, as he and Dark Shadow took the lead.
As soon as they stepped within the building, Tsuyu noticed a change occur with Dark Shadow. Due to the lack of windows on the walls, the only light within the first floor came from the glass doors and windows at the front of the building, casting them in twilight. As the shadows covered them, Dark Shadow seemed to bulk up, its arms swelling in size and strength, and its yellow eyes turning orange.
"Oh, yeah, that's more like it," it said in a deeper voice. "Maybe there will be darker areas further in."
"Don't try it, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami denied. "You're powerful enough as you are."
"Yeah, whatever," the shadow creature said dismissively.
"Is that what you meant by darkness making it harder to control?" Tsuyu asked, walking alongside Tokoyami.
"Indeed," he replied. "I can still control him, but this is close to my current limit. Of course I don't intend on remaining at this level. After all, we're here at this institution of learning to improve ourselves and our quirks; to find our limits and surpass them. That is what it must mean to go plus ultra."
"Hey, Boss Man, look at this," Dark Shadow called out, drawing the duo's attention. The creature was hovering near the stairwell, gesturing to the barricade of webs that sealed it off.
"This must be the work of the Arachne, Kurusu," Tokoyami concluded. "It seems these villains don't want us going any further. No matter. Dark Shadow, destroy it."
"With pleasure," Dark Shadow said with joy. It swooped forward, slashing the webs with its clawed arms, quickly tearing the thin threads apart.
"Lets go," Tokoyami said, taking the lead once more up the stairs.
As the hero duo arrived on the second floor, three things stood out to them.
The first was the light streaming in behind them from a window above the stairs.
"Ah, it's bright," Dark Shadow complained, its mass shrinking slightly and its orange eyes turning a slightly lighter shade of orange.
The second was that every door in the corridor was closed, each of their rooms hidden.
But the thing that stood out the most within the corridor was the occupant standing out in the open, waiting for them.
His red hair was spiked upwards, with two horns of hair formed at the front. His chest was bare, and on his shoulders he wore two dark red gear-shaped shoulder pads. On his legs he wore baggy black pants and a tattered red half cape around his waist, with dark red boots covering his feet. On his face he wore a wired guard, reaching from just above his hairline to below his jaw, an extra piece going over the bridge of his nose, and spikes around his mouth that resemble little fangs.
To Tsuyu, he resembled an Oni, not only like the creatures in the stories she'd read to her siblings, but also like the Oni man who lived down the street.
"The name's Banjaku," the 'villain' grinned with a row of sharp teeth, "and this building belongs to the Shark Teeth Bandits, so you heroes better scram!"
"I thought your name was Kirishima," Tsuyu asked, tilting her head with a finger to her lip.
"Uh, I mean, yeah, it is," Kirishima stammered, "but like, All Might said that we should be embodying our roles, and I wanted to have a little fun with it, you know?"
"Where have you hidden the weapon, Banjaku?" Tokoyami asked, apparently deciding to go along with it.
"Ha, you'll never get to the weapon," 'Banjaku' declared. "Already my partner is setting up our defences, making it impossible to get to."
"So you're just the distraction," Tsuyu concluded, lowering herself to all fours, getting ready to either jump or shoot her tongue. "You're buying her time."
"Maybe, maybe not," 'Banjaku' smirked. "Either way, this is one wall you aren't getting past."
"Oh, because of Banjaku," Tsuyu thought out loud. "Clever."
"Regardless of how clever your name is, you'll be defeated all the same," Tokoyami declared. "Dark Shadow, attack!"
"On it!" Dark Shadow yelled, surging forward. It swung out with its claws in a downward swipe, only for its arms to be blocked by 'Banjaku' in a crossguard block.
"Not bad," he said, his arms slowly rising in the air against the downward pressure of Dark Shadow. "Try this!"
'Banjaku' tossed his arms into the air, throwing Dark Shadow off balance. Not wasting any time, 'Banjaku' pulled back his fist, his arm seeming to become more jagged and rough-looking. He slammed it home, hitting Dark Shadow in its torso right between the arms, sending the shadowy creature flying back.
"Argh, that hurts," the creature whined, but nonetheless floated back in front of Tokoyami.
"Like I said, not getting past me," 'Banjaku' taunted. "Why don't you go back downstairs and get some real heroes to come help you."
"No thanks," Tsuyu flatly said, shooting her tongue out. 'Banjaku's face hardened, and rather than dodging Tsuyu's tongue attack, instead took it head on, slamming his forehead into the attack. However, landing a hit wasn't Tsuyu's plan.
"Ah crap," 'Banjaku' said as Tsuyu's powerful tongue wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to the side.
"Now, while he's restrained, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami ordered, and once more Dark Shadow surged forward.
Rather than attack with a slash, Dark Shadow curled its hands into a fist, slamming it into 'Banjaku's' face, causing him to go sliding back. Tsuyu allowed him to fall out of her tongue's grasp, as she had no desire to be dragged along with the 'villain'.
Dark Shadow's second hit struck 'Banjaku' in his bare chest, lifting him into the air slightly, causing him to come back down with a stumble.
"Your shadow is strong, I'll give you that," 'Banjaku' admitted, his head lowered for a moment, only for him to raise it, revealing his face had gained the rocky, jagged edged texture of his defensive quirk.
"However," 'Banjaku' continued, standing back up to his full height, "it isn't strong enough."
Like his face, his torso had also hardened, and neither surface had any damage that could be seen.
"Hey, no fair!" Dark Shadow yelled, pointing at 'Banjaku'. "Are you seeing this, Fumikage?! He's cheating!"
"No matter," Tokoyami said in a calm voice, "we can simply whittle him down before his comrade in villany arrives. Asui, are you ready?"
"Call me Tsu," Tsuyu reminded, once more getting into position.
"Oh yeah, well think fast!" 'Banjaku' yelled as he grabbed a hunk of loose concrete and hurled it at the heroes.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami yelled, with Tsuyu leaping behind her corvid companion.
"Gyah!" Dark Shadow cried out as it threw itself in front of the duo, crossing its arms and using its own body as a shield against the projectile. The concrete projectile exploded into a cloud of dust, obscuring their vision and causing the Tsuyu and Tokoyami to burst into a coughing fit.
"Where is he?" Tsuyu asked, waving away the cloud of dust in her face.
The cloud quickly cleared, revealing that rather than rush them while they were blinded, 'Banjaku' had done the opposite.
"Kumo On'na, the heroes are coming!" he yelled as he sprinted towards the stairs, throwing himself around the bend and up to the third floor.
"Quickly, after him," Tokoyami said as he and Tsuyu burst into a sprint after the villain.
"Why Kumo On'na?" a feminine voice said from the third floor, her tone thick with confusion and exasperation.
"Look, I was thinking on my feet, and All Might said to play the part, so now I'm Banjaku, you're Kumo On'na, and together we're the Shark Teeth Bandits," 'Banjaku' explained to his teammate.
"Wha-, I mean-, gah, whatever."
Tsuyu and Tokoyami slid to a stop at the third floor, witnessing the two villains talking with each other in the middle of the corridor. Scattered across the space were various spiderwebs, each of them laid out at different angles. The further down the corridor, the thicker the quantity of webs, and the more gloom they cast on the hallway deep down.
"Well well well," 'Kumo On'na' greeted, turning to face the heroes, "greetings. I see you've already met my comrade Banjaku. I'm Kumo On'na, pleased to eat you."
"Don't you mean 'meet you'?" Tsuyu corrected.
"Mm, oh no, I meant what I said," Kumo On'na grinned, running her tongue along her lips. "And look at this; a little birdy and a little frog have wandered into my lair. How fortunate that those are two of the things I love to eat."
"Wow, nice acting, Kurusu," 'Banjaku' complimented, breaking character for a moment.
"Thanks," his teammate whispered back.
"Enough of this," Tokoyami said. "Tell us where you have hidden the nuclear bomb, and neither of you shall be hurt. Much."
"Oh, I can do more than TELL you," 'Kumo On'na' emphasised. "Why don't I show you? Well, one of you."
"What do you mean?" Tsuyu asked, her leg muscles tensing.
"Simple, I'm willing to take one of you to where the nuclear bomb is, but only one of you."
"And how do we know the two of you won't gang up on the lone hero?" Tokoyami inquired.
"Simple, only Kumo On'na will go," 'Banjaku' answered, stepping forward. "Of course, whoever stays behind will have to be with me."
"The choice is simple," 'Kumo On'na' clarified. "Either one of you has a chance of finding the bomb, or you both are captured here and now, without finding the weapon. And trust me, you won't find where we've hidden it."
"And do we have your word that you won't attack whoever goes with you on the journey to find the weapon?" Tokoyami asked.
"I promise not to start anything," she replied with a mischievous grin.
Tokoyami and Tsuyu exchanged glances, before looking back at the corridor. Specifically, the corridor that got darker further down.
"I will go," Tokoyami declared. "Show me where the weapon is."
"Very well, hero," 'Kumo On'na' smiled, walking down the corridor, not bothering to look behind her.
Tokoyami followed as well, though keeping a distance from the 'villain' as well as the spiderwebs that lined the edges of the corridor, all the while Dark Shadow remained out and waiting. Soon, both hero and villain disappeared up the stairwell, leaving Tsuyu and 'Banjaku' alone on the third floor.
"Let me guess, you're not just going to wait for them to decide which of us wins, right?" Tsuyu asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"Not a chance," 'Banjaku' grinned, hardening his fists as he brought his arms up in front of him. "Ready or not, hero, here I come!"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
As Fumikage walked behind the 'villain', he kept his wits about him. He knew she was planning something, she had to be. No sane villain would willingly lead her enemy into the heart of their lair without a plan. But then again, maybe she had been touched with the curse of madness.
"Come on, we can take her," Dark Shadow once again whispered into Fumikage's ear, acting as a proverbial devil on his shoulder.
"For the last time, we're not doing that," Fumikage whispered back. "She gave her word she wouldn't attack us until we reached the weapon."
"To hell with honour and all that crap," Dark Shadow growled, clenching his claws. "Let's just rush her and beat the information out of her."
And that was another issue Fumikage was dealing with. Unintentionally, all of the webs that 'Kumo On'na' had placed within the building had only helped Dark Shadow grow in strength. As they climbed the floors, less and less light streamed in, creating an environment of perpetual twilight. This had the unfortunate side effect of increasing Dark Shadow's aggression, and it was taking all of Fumikage's willpower to keep the creature under control.
"What's wrong, hero, afraid of the dark?" 'Kumo On'na' said in a teasing voice, glancing over her shoulder as she walked up the final flight of stairs to the fifth floor. "To think such an edgy looking hero would be afraid of a few shadows."
"It is not the darkness that I fear, but what it causes," Fumikage explained as he followed the Arachnid 'villain'. "Dark Shadow thrives in the abyss, and becomes more volatile as a result. It is you that should fear the darkness, for you are unaware of the power that it has."
"Oh, is that so?" 'Kumo On'na' asked in a casual tone. "Well, that's going to be difficult for you then."
Fumikage emerged onto the fifth and final floor of the villains' lair, and his eyes widened in horror. Aside from the faint light that managed to pass through the webs that covered the stairwell window, and the green glow that the emergency exit sign gave off, the entire hallway was bathed in a sea of darkness.
"By all means, head back downstairs where there's light," 'Kumo On'na' suggested, slowly walking backwards into the gloom, all the while smirking at Fumikage. "But you'll never get to the weapon if you do."
"Come on, let's try it," Dark Shadow whispered, leaning close to Fumikage's ear. "You can do it. We'll be heroes, just like we always wanted to."
The allure was there, Fumikage couldn't deny it. The darkness was his domain, where he was the strongest. Why shouldn't he venture into it?
'No, it's not where I am strongest,' Fumikage realised, glancing to his side. 'It's where Dark Shadow is strongest.'
The shadow monster was truly large now. Its claws had more than doubled in size from its daylight form, and its mouth had gained sharp, jagged teeth that lined its beak. But most worrying of all was its eyes. It was a mass of red, crimson energy, swirling and churning with power and hate. In the centre of its eyes was a small pinprick of orange light, the last, meagre chain that kept Dark Shadow under Fumikage's control.
"You seem tense," 'Kumo On'na' teased. "What's the matter, struggling to control your inner demon?"
As a matter of fact, that was exactly what Fumikage was doing. It was taking all of his willpower to keep Dark Shadow subdued. Any loss of light would send his quirk over the edge, losing itself in a Berserker rage.
"Silence, villain," Fumikage said through gritted teeth. "Tell me where the weapon is, now. We had a deal."
"Yes yes, a deal's a deal," 'Kumo On'na' huffed, waving her hand, only to gesture further down the hall. "The weapon is there, near the end of the hallway."
Fumikage's blood ran cold.
'That's too far into the abyss,' he lamented in his mind. 'I won't be able to make it; Dark Shadow will become too powerful. And I can't dismiss him either. It's taking all of my willpower to simply keep him shackled. If I try and force him back into me, he'll rebel. Even if I succeed, I'll be at the mercy of Kumo On'na, and she knows it. If she attacks, Dark Shadow might force himself back out, taking control.'
"I can't," Fumikage admitted. "No matter the path I take, I will not be able to complete that journey without giving myself over to the darkness."
"Hm, a shame," 'Kumo On'na' sighed. "You were so close, only to fail at the last second."
She turned to Dark Shadow, giving the sentient quirk a mischievous look. "What about you, o creature of the night? What do you want to do?"
"Stop being such a wimp, Fumikage," Dark Shadow growled, clenching its claws. "I'll take her out AND get the weapon, both things you can't achieve."
"Oo, is that some conflict amongst the bird and his claws?" 'Kumo On'na' asked, snickering to herself. "Well, that makes this interesting. Tell me, hero, can you see in the dark? Can your quirk?"
"What difference does that make?" Fumikage forced out, sweat running down his feathers as he wrestled with Dark Shadow within his soul.
"Oh, nothing, just this."
'Kumo On'na' drew back her arm only to fling it forward, hurling a piece of concrete she had hidden within her hand. The projectile flew true, smashing into the emergency exit light, destroying it and robbing the fifth floor of its light.
"Oh no," Fumikage whispered in horror, already knowing that he had lost the internal war.
"OH YEAH!" Dark Shadow roared, its voice booming as it swelled in size, drawing onto Fumikage and covering him in darkness, trapping him.
"And that's my cue," 'Kumo On'na' said, and even though Fumikage could no longer see her in the gloom, he could hear the tak tak tak noise of her arachnid legs dashing away.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Dark Shadow growled, surging forth, dragging Fumikage along with it.
"No, stop, Dark Shadow!" Fumikage begged, still trying desperately to regain control over his quirk. "Don't hurt her, this is wrong!"
"SHUT UP!" the creature roared, still chasing after their classmate. "YOU'RE NOT IN CHARGE ANYMORE, I AM! WE DO THINGS MY WAY NOW, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"
"Boy, for a shadow you sure are slow," 'Kumo On'na' taunted from ahead in the shadows. "A snail could run faster than you."
"YOU'RE DEAD!" Dark Shadow roared, flailing its arms out, slamming them into the walls, floor and ceiling as it rushed after the 'villain'.
"Kurusu, run!" Fumikage cried out, genuine concern filling his soul, for he was unsure of what Dark Shadow would do to his classmate in its unchecked rage.
"Don't worry," her voice called out from ahead, "everything is going according to plan."
"IS THIS PART OF YOUR PLAN?!" Dark Shadow challenged, charging towards the source of the voice. It slammed into a wall, and the sheer strength and force that the rampant quirk possessed caused it to burst straight through, emerging from the pitch black fifth floor out onto the blindingly bright rooftop of the building.
"AH, SO BRIGHT!" Dark Shadow screamed, its voice increasing in pitch and decreasing in volume as it shrank, quickly losing the battle of spirit against Fumikage.
Making sure to take advantage of Dark Shadow's moment of weakness, Fumikage used all of his willpower to subdue the rebellious quirk, drawing it back into him.
"At last, it is finally over," he sighed, falling onto his backside in exhaustion, basking in the safe, welcoming light.
"Oh, it's over alright," 'Kumo Onna' said behind him, causing Fumikage's eyes to snap open.
He spun around, knowing that the 'villain' was going to try something in his brief moment of weakness, but it was too late. Strong threads of silk pinned his arms to his side as 'Kumo On'na' rushed him, quickly looping the Capture Tape around him before he could call forth Dark Shadow.
"Fumikage Tokoyami has been captured!" All Might declared, his ruling causing Fumikage to lower his head in shame.
"I have lost," he admitted. "Your trap was well thought out; there was no escape for me once I had wandered into the spider's lair. How fitting."
"Don't take it too hard," 'Kumo On'na', no, Kurusu, reassured. "To be honest, I thought you'd call back your shadow, leaving you exposed and vulnerable. I didn't expect it to take over you. That ending was a last ditch attempt at pulling off a victory. It could have gone either way."
"I still lost control over Dark Shadow," Fumikage argued. "If it had caught you, I shudder to imagine what it would do in its unrestricted rage."
"Tsuyu Asui has been captured!" All Might declared, catching the avian and arachnid students off guard. "With that, the villains win! Everyone, come back to the Monitor Room for your post-battle analysis."
"Come on, let's face the music," Kurusu said, walking over and slicing Fumikage free of his bindings with her sharp fingers. "With the stunt I pulled, I doubt I'm getting V.I.P."
"You are not alone in that thought," Fumikage nodded, walking beside her down the now illuminated hallway. "I lost control of Dark Shadow. To do so as a hero is shameful. I should have retreated back to Asui and worked with her."
"So the real question," Kurusu thought aloud as they walked, "is which of our teammates All Might chose as the V.I.P."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Me?" Eijiro gasped, pointing at himself in shock.
"Indeed," All Might chuckled, "you, young Kirishima, are our V.I.P. for this battle."
Turning to the class, All Might opened the floor to their suggestions. "Anyone want to guess why?"
"Oh, I know," Mina called out, thrusting her arm into the air and waving it.
"Ah, young Ashido," All Might nodded, "what is your reasoning?"
"Well, Eikiri trusted Kurusu to take down Tokoyami, and even though Asui was able to attack him at a distance, he didn't give up," Mina explained to their teacher, before turning to look at Eijiro, flashing him a thumbs up.
"Even though he was playing as a villain, he was really manly."
Eijiro's face tensed up, a smile widening across his face as he fought back the tears that welled up in his eyes.
'Thanks, Mina,' he thought, rubbing away the tears before they could fall. 'Thanks a bunch.'
"Exactly, young Ashido, exactly," All Might nodded to the rosette. "Young Kirishima fearlessly held back the heroes, causing them to focus on him rather than observing their surroundings. He also didn't get distracted by young Tokoyami's capture, something that unfortunately caused young Asui to be captured."
"In fact, it was that single moment of distraction that cost you, young Asui," All Might continued. "I'm afraid that one moment cost you the battle. Had you remained focused on the enemy in front of you, rather than the enemy further away, you'd be joining young Kirishima as a joint V.I.P."
"Understood, sir," Asui nodded, seemingly not upset by All Might's advice. "I'll do better next time."
"That's all I can ask," All Might grinned.
"All Might," Tokoyami asked, raising a hand, "why did it matter that Kirishima focused our attention on him rather than our surroundings?"
"Ah," All Might said, holding a hand over his mouth in a desperate attempt to hide his amusement, "that would be because the bomb was located on the second floor, close to the stairwell."
Eijiro chuckled in embarrassment while to his side Kurusu simply smirked. While Tokoyami was stunned silent by how much they were tricked, Asui simply slapped her hand onto her face.
"Seriously?" she groaned from behind her hand.
"I'm afraid so," All Might nodded, managing to keep his amusement under control. "This will be a good lesson for the both of you. Tunnel vision can be the decider between victory or defeat. Always keep an open mind for your surroundings. If a villain is wanting you to focus on something, that just means that there is something they don't want you seeing. Understood?"
""Yes sir,"" Tokoyami and Asui chorused.
"Excellent, that's all I had to say," All Might concluded, placing his hands once again in the boxes. "Now then, next up is…"
So, I finished Arcane yesterday…
Act 2 of Arcane was awesome, all the way up until everything fell apart. Still great writing, it's just that it made me sad. Then Act 3 dropped yesterday, and ho boy, what a journey. Timebomb is at least canon in one iteration, we had some timey wimey stuff, and Mel is still best character. I also saw the effect that Isha's death had on Jinx, and boy, that scene made me feel all kinds of sadness. So, why not make something out of this. That's right, new series, baby! I won't reveal what the crossover will be just yet (and it will be a crossover, that shit is my jam), but there will be a major canon divergence from the end of Act 2. I just want Jinx and Isha to be happy, you know? My girls deserve some kind of peace. Assuming I get the chapter written on time, chapters for this new series, which I have titled 'Blue Powder', will be dropping Wednesdays. The current schedule is I post My Monster Academia on Monday, then the following week you get Blue Powder on Wednesday. So about a week's gap. I'm really proud of the idea I've come up with, and Jinx and Isha fit surprisingly well into this verse, power scaling wise. You have no idea how long I was on the VS Wiki just cross referencing stuff. How powerful is Jinx in comparison to the main cast? Spoilers, pretty fucking well. In fact, Jinx, our lovely gadgeteer, is actually more on the muscle side then support or ranged gunner side. Being Shimmered up will do that, I guess, but still, kind of crazy. So yeah, stay tuned for that one.
Anyway, back to the story.
Fun fact, my descriptions of the building for the battle between teams H and J are based entirely off of the snippet we get in the anime of the fight between canon teams H and J, i.e. the same team except replace Kórinis with Hanta. It gave off an industrial feel, so I decided to go all out with the design for it.
Also, I just realised how many features Eijiro has that he shares with the other members of his friend group. He and Mina both have horns (even if it's Eijiro styling his hair), he and Kórinis both have sharp teeth and sharp arms (when Eijiro uses his quirk on his arms), and he and Katsuki both have spiky hair (even though Eijiro uses gel). I'm also realising as I write this that Eijiro unintentionally has styled himself with features of his (future) friends.
As a quick note, Eijiro's remark about Fumikage's name is because his surname contains the kanji for "everlasting" (常 toko) and "darkness" (闇 yami), while his first name contains "step, to walk through" (踏 fumi) and "shadow" (陰 kage). When their characters are written together, his names can be read as "eternal darkness" (常闇 tokoyami) and "to walk through shadow" (踏陰 fumikage). Fumikage has gone all the way in the edginess-metre, and we all love him for it. With a name that essentially means 'to walk through shadow & eternal darkness', Eijiro would definitely find it a manly name.
In regards to Kórinis' nickname for Eijiro, I chose Banjaku because it contains the kanji "board" (盤 ban) and "stone" (石 Ishi). Together they create Banjaku, which translates into Rock Solid in English. Also, 盤 ban can be read as a type of wall, and given Eijiro's quirk, it seemed fitting. While her nickname for Izuku was more in a teasing manner, this one is more respectful and genuine. I mean, she literally called Izuku, 'Green Bean', whereas here she's calling Eijiro, 'Solid Wall', or at least it can be interpreted in that meaning. Slight warning, but Kórinis and Izuku will not be part of the same friend groups. I honestly don't see them getting along too well, or at least not more than as classmates and as someone who you know has your back. After all, Kórinis HATES liars, that's why she likes Katsuki as much as she does, because he's the opposite of that, as he wears his heart on his sleeve. Izuku on the other hand has the majority of the story revolving around trying to keep One For All hidden and private, lying directly to people's faces. So yeah, Sarah is going to be part of Team Izuku, mostly thanks to Tenya, while Kórinis is going to be part of Team Katsuki, and making friends in that circle.
For Eijiro's villain name for Kórinis, I decided to go with Kumo On'na (pronounced kumona with a drawn out 'o') because it literally translates into Spider woman, and Eijiro was trying to think on the fly, so even if it's right on the nose, it fits. Interestingly enough, the kanji that forms Kumo On'na is "spider" (蜘 zhī), "spider" (蛛 zhū), and "woman" (女 On'na). He's literally calling her Spider Spider Woman. Just a cool fact.
I also loved writing Fumikage's dialogue, he's really fun to do. You have to first think of what you want to say, and then try and make it sound as mysterious as possible, all the while still making sure what he said is understood. The fact that he contrasts so strongly with Tsuyu, who is very blunt in her manner of speech, is really entertaining to read and write.
Also, on the topic of Fumikage and Tsuyu, did you guys notice that they were on the same Battle Trial team and Midterm team? As far as I can tell, they're the only ones to have that. Sure, Izuku and Katsuki as well as Toru and Mezo were in the same rounds, but they were opponents. But Fumikage and Tsuyu managed to stay together. Nothing really to note here, but it just stood out to me as I was writing.
Okay, review time.
Sakumon16, once again thanks for the reviews. Not to worry, Shoto will have his past revealed. All I'll say at the moment is that it is simultaneously more heartwarming than canon, but also MUCH more tragic. I'm trying to reflect this in his personality and actions in the series. Canon Shoto is much colder (ha), but this version of Shoto is more, well, angrier, driven, and arrogant to some degree. Again, all will be revealed in due time, especially why he holds these views, and they aren't unwarranted. Also, trust me, Kórinis and Izuku would get along like oil and water. That, and IzuOcha is one of my favourites, so they'll get closer than canon. Not much of a bench mark, but still something. Seeing your classmates pairing up, even while being heroes in training, AND it doesn't interfere with their duties would likely embolden Ochako, since not distracting Izuku was her whole reason for not confessing. And Lami is already paired, and will be revealed after the Sports Festival. I have the scene already planned out in my head, and I love it. Hopefully you will too. NTRanch is the Black Lily Ranch arc. All of the Minotaurs and Pan Fauns were wanting to get with Kimihito, only for the Satyrs to swoop in and start the lesboats going. Not really NTR, but as close as we've gotten in MM, hence the name. As for commissioned fanart, don't you worry, all viewers, be they Fanfiction or Ao3 enjoyers, will be able to see it.
Now, over to Ao3…wait, Sakumon16 again?! Cheers for checking it out on the other platform dude, good to see you here in both places.
Siarles, thanks for the review. For your theory, all I'll say is that your guess with the Yuki-Onna is closer than you think. I'd also say Toru gets less attention BECAUSE she's invisible. Unless it's a smut story, in which case you know there's going to be a public tag or exhibition tag. Yuck. And please, by all means, share your theories. I love hearing what readers think of my story (so long as it's constructive), and any ideas I like I might very well use all of it or parts of it. And as you rightly pointed out, the War Arc isn't for a while, so I've got time to sort details out. I currently have a rough, and I mean really rough, outline of events. Some characters are going to be introduced, some are going to die, but it's still up in the air at the moment.
Artorigus, thanks for the review. I'm glad you like the changes I made to Shoto's hero costume, and to confirm, yes, Shoto is related to Sarah and Kórinis through Suu's mother, making them kind-of-cousins, more of a social/legal sense rather than genetics. Also, what Sphinx chapter? There was no Sphinx chapter. Don't mind me putting on sunglasses, here, look into this light at the end of this rod, three, two, one…
Now, for your question regarding Hapi Kurusu, Papi's eldest son, yeah, in Monster Musume lore, that's impossible. Lamia and Harpies are monogender species, meaning every Lamia and Harpy are female. Obviously, this isn't the case here. We have Hapi, a male Harpy, and Fíos, a male Lamia (one of Miia's twins). My logic is that it doesn't make that much sense to have quirks that only one gender can inherit, unless it's SUPER specific (like breast milk or something). Now, that isn't to say that male Harpies or Lamia are common, quite the opposite. I don't have a solid number in my head, but the ratio of males to females is somewhere around 1 in every 100 births being male. Massive gender ratio imbalance, but still possible. The fact that Kimihito had two sons is crazy. As for the class discovering the Kurusu family's, um, unique style, certain characters are already aware of it. Spoiler-free reveals are Shoto, because he is a relative of the Kurusus through Suu's mother, Endeavor's aunt, as well as Tenya, because the Ida family are very close to Centorea due to her being Tensei's mentor and older sister figure. Izuku and Ochako will find out in a few chapters, at least one other character in their class already knows, but I'll leave their identity as a surprise. As for Denki and Minoru, trust me, their reaction is going to be hilarious.
One last note, we now have over 500 hits on Ao3. Cheers to everyone there for checking out my passion project. Onward to 1000 hits.
For your sneak peak, next chapter is called 'Lightning and Sound VS Grapes and Creation'. Pretty obvious who is fighting who, so stick around for the fourth battle trial. I promise it will be shocking.
cricket chirps*
Alright, I'll see myself out. See you all in a fortnight…
- Jevm