Chapter 100 - 8-

Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Battle TrialsChapter by Anonymous567

Classes were not much different from Strixhaven, he supposed. Across the multiverse, one thing that remains mostly the same is how schools work. There is always a timetable where you complete a certain amount of classes a day, with a break time right in the middle for lunch. And it always has a lecturer in front of the class explaining and asking questions. A multiversal constant, one can call it.

It was the second day of his time in UA, and he had to say that the familiarity was comforting. It was actually enjoyable to be in a class again, learning things. And his favourite lesson so far has got to be Modern Hero Art History. 

Their lecturer was a woman called Nemuri Kayama, also known as Midnight. Her dress attire was a bit… unprofessional. The skintight suit that left little to imagination made him uncomfortable but had the opposite effect on quite a few of his fellow male students.

But he can't deny she was enthusiastic about her teachings. The lesson primarily focused on public perception of Pro Heroes, how costumes and behaviour of them changed and evolved through the ages from the Age of Vigilantes to the modern Golden Age of Heroes. How laws and regulations evolved, and what events shaped them.

History had been one of his favourite subjects in Lorehold college so he enjoyed her lessons very much, asking questions often about things he didn't understand. One of the events that was associated with the reason why Quirk Laws were so harsh was the Monaco Incident.

Events were still unclear and debated to this day, but it was commonly believed that some sort of Quirk went wild that wiped the entire city off the map that to this day remains unpopulated. Strange mist built up and remained over the ruined city that left it impossible to see through as it disrupted any technology nearby, and any living being sent in would go missing and presumed dead from exposure to whatever was inside what is now labelled the 'Monaco Dead Zone'.

It was a terrifying event that scarred most of the continent of Europe to this day which houses some of the strictest laws of Quirk regulation in the world, leading to fewer Pro Heroes on average compared to other countries.

"This is the best school ever." Kaminari says to Izuku, who was reading the history textbook and jotting down notes. They were in-between classes right now and waiting for the next one, "Did you see Midnight? And she's allowed to teach in that costume? Aw man, why can't all our teachers be hot babes like her? I'm sure we could focus more if that happens."

"Really?" Izuku asks sceptically, as he shuts the textbook, "Tell me, what date was it when the Rhode Island New State Statute legalised?"

"Easy." Kaminari claims, before giving the right answer which surprises Izuku.

"I stand corrected." Izuku admits, "Perhaps you will benefit from such a change, but still I think she should be dressed appropriately."

"Really? This again- AH!" he shouts in pain, as Jirou stabs an ear jack at Kaminari's head.

"You should quit perving on our teacher, that's what you should do." she admonishes.

"Just enjoying the view. If she's gonna dress like that and flaunt, who can blame me for-" Jirou raises both ear jacks again as Kaminari raises his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay! I'll stop!"

"Good." she huffs before turning to Izuku, "So I guess you love history, don't you?"

"Yes, it's a fascinating topic." he nods, "Studying the past helps us understand how they affect modern lives within this Hero Society. It's interesting how choices made decades ago can have profound effects. Take a look at the Meta Liberation Army, for example. Because of their attempted coup, instead of garnering support for Quirks to be freely used, both the government and public doubled down on restrictions. Did they know this would happen when they made their choice? How different would it be if such events never occurred, how different would society be? And if you look at-"

He rambles enthusiastically before Jirou attempts to stab him with her jacks to snap him out of it, but he grabs it midair.

"Nice try." he smiles before releasing, "But point taken."

"Sorry but we all know you would've spent the entire day rambling if you were allowed to continue." Jirou says as she withdraws her earjacks, "I mean, I get enthusiastic about stuff, but this takes enthusiasm to a whole new level."

"Yes, yes, you made your point." Izuku says with a sigh, "Old habits die hard, unfortunately."

Two days in and he's already made friends with mainly these two. On the other side of the class was what Kaminari had begun calling the 'Shield Squad' consisting of Melissa Shield, Ochako Uraraka and Tenya Iida. He respects Iida for his serious demeanour but he was sure even the strictest lawmage would get tired of him quickly. Conversations with Uraraka were polite and friendly but didn't lead anywhere, and while he did try to remain friendly with Melissa she kept giving him odd looks.

Perhaps it was because he's constantly asking questions about her Quirk? Both Kaminari and Jirou unanimously agreed that could be the case.

"I'm just saying, her Quirk feels weird." he defends himself, "Power always comes from somewhere. Kaminari, your body evolved to generate higher amounts of electric energy than a normal human but it wasn't this strong when you were born right?"

"Well no." Kaminari admits, "When I first got it, I was barely on a joy buzzer's level. And before I started training for UA, which was about a few years ago, I was way weaker without training. About a quarter million volts before I could short circuit but now I can do a million before shorting out."

"Exactly." Izuku points out, "Now compare that with the power needed to destroy the Zero Pointer. Her Quirk awoken a week ago and in that time it developed that much power, that quickly? It would mean that if it were to continue she may have enough to wreck a city by time she graduates. But the strange thing is that I can't see it growing."

"Say what now?" Jirou asks, confused as Izuku taps his eyes.

"It's hard to describe, but one of my skills allows me to sense the amount of power in people. If her Quirk grows that quick, then she theoretically should have doubled in time between now and the Entrance Exam. But it remains the same, like her Quirk instantly grew to its peak already within a week." he describes, "Logically, that doesn't add up."

"That seems like a real invasion of privacy." Jirou says, pointing her ear jacks at him threateningly, "I think you're just overreacting, Quirks are just weird like that. No reason to wreck your brain thinking otherwise."

"Yeah, it's making you sound like a conspiracy theorist." Kaminari agrees, "Not everything's some grand mystery. Shit just happens. She's just born with some crazy Quirk, that's all."

"I didn't say everything's a grand mystery, just her Quirk." he grumbles insistently but relents, "But very well, it's clear I cannot convince you otherwise. But mark my words, there's something off about her Quirk."

He turns around and glances at her. Melissa Shield, the daughter of David Shield whom the world considers to be one of the greatest scientists who had a Quirk that affects his fingers, which was unrelated to the strength enhancement she has. Not even her deceased mother had a similar Quirk to her. He had found that much with a quick search in this thing called the 'Google search engine'. And according to his research, having a Quirk that deviates that much was a rarity already, having one on her level had the rarity almost cubed. He cannot simply excuse it under "Quirks are just weird".

It wasn't mainly out of curiosity for his investigation. Quirks and magic as he knows are very much intertwined. He can replicate Kaminari's Quirk with a few spark spells, and so on. Could he somehow replicate the power that Melissa has? The images of that power turned against the Phyrexians were enticing. How effective would such power be against Sheoldred and the other Praetors of the New Phyrexians? How effective would it be if taught to a number of other Planeswalkers, used in unison?

He grabs another earjack before it could pierce him,

"You're muttering again. Was that in English?" she asks, "Didn't know you were fluent."

One thing he learnt about Jirou was that her Quirk was strong enough to hear even the slightest whisper, so he's made it a habit to think in Common Ravnican in case he accidentally mutters, which was quite similar to how English sounded. Perhaps he'll have to switch it up with another language soon just in case they learn enough from the English lessons to understand him?

"Yeah, I picked it up a while back." he nods, "To me languages are pretty easy to learn so I have no trouble picking them up."

"Really? Can you teach me a few phrases?" Kaminari asks excitedly.

"I didn't know you had an interest in languages." Izuku admits to being impressed.

"Oh no, it's just that Shield's American." he subtly gestures to her, "Just thought that maybe learning it could impress her and- Damn it!"

"Down boy." Jirou chides as she slaps him over the head with her ear jacks like a whip.

"And maybe teach me how to block that? You seem to have got that down." Kaminari mutters as he rubs his sore head.

Izuku chuckles at the memory of the number of times Chandra chucks utensils or firebolts at him, "Practice. Lots of it."

"Speaking of practice, our next lesson is gonna be Heroics." Kaminari says excitedly, "Finally! We're getting some action! Did you hear that All Might's gonna be teaching the class?"

"It has to be a rumour right?" Jirou asks but there's a hint of excitement in her voice, "But can you imagine learning from All Might? We're definitely gonna hit it big as Pros if he's the one teaching us."

"Learning from the world's strongest Pro Hero would be beneficial." Izuku agreed, although more calmly.

"Beneficial? This is All Might we're talking about, I wouldn't' be surprised we become Top 10 material!" Kaminari exclaims, "Where's your excitement man?"

"Awaiting something exciting, I suppose." he shrugs, "Is it that big of a deal?"

"A big deal?" Kaminari asks befuddled, "Come on, everyone at some point of their lives had All Might as their favourite hero. Sure, now I'm a bit stuck between Edgeshot and Miriko since they're both just so cool, but once upon a time he was top of my list. What about you guys?"

"Yeah I used to have an All Might phase when I was like five." Jirou agreed, "Bought t-shirts and toys. But now it's definitely Ryukyu. She's just badass, and humble as well."

They both look at Izuku, waiting for his reply as he thinks. Perhaps he can be honest this time? Not the whole truth, but pieces of it.

"Well…there was Gideon for me. He wasn't a Pro Hero, but he was still the greatest man I've ever known." he remembers fondly with a smile, "Brave and compassionate to a fault, he never stopped trying to help others no matter what. He saved me when I was young, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Besides that he trained me, showed me a few tricks. I wouldn't be who I am now without him."

"Ah, so a personal hero?" Kaminari looks surprised, "Hard to find someone nowadays who doesn't have a Pro as their favourite, but that's still valid. The guy sounds like a badass if you learnt from him. Don't suppose he's open for another student."

Izuku's smile falls at the moment, "...He died two years ago."

Jirou and Kaminari became quiet at that.

"Oh…shit." Kaminari mutters before apologising, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"It's fine. Truly." Izuku assures softly but there was a hitch in his tone that someone caught.

"Are you sure?" Jirou asks.

Izuku pauses before answering, "I won't pretend it still doesn't hurt. At the very least, I've accepted he is dead. And there's nothing that can be done about that. I've grieved and mourned, and I should move on."

Gideon had not been the only person to die. The War of the Spark left many dead on both sides, and lots were caught in the crossfire. But the multiverse still grew, and worlds kept spinning. It doesn't pause, you can't spend forever laying down. Eventually you'll have to stand up and move on.

Jirou surprises him by touching his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"It's fine to still feel sad, you know?" she asks, "You lost someone that you were close to."

"Yeah man." Kaminari says with uncharacteristic somberness, "If you wanna talk about it-"

"I'll be fine." he assures with a smile, genuinely touched, "Thank you. But really, I will be."

Before they could continue, Iida began shouting.

"Everyone, back to your seats. The teacher should be here at any moment now."

They both went back to their seats as everyone prepared for their lesson, but there were still many whispers amongst the class about the rumours of their heroics teacher which will soon be proven true or false. And then a boisterous laugh could be heard, one familiar to everyone, even Izuku.

"I am here!…Straight through the door like normal!"

The world's greatest Pro Hero. The strongest man on the Plane. An old idol of his from long before his Ignition. All Might.

"It really is All Might!" Kirishima exclaims in excitement, "He really is gonna be teaching us!"

"Damn, that's the Silver Age costume? Can't go wrong with the classics I suppose."

The class chatters and despite his adherence to the rules, even Iida was awestruck at the sight of the Number 1 Pro Hero.

To Izuku it all felt strange, almost nostalgic, when he saw All Might. There definitely was an aura about him, one that radiates strength and safety. Just standing in his presence alone, Izuku knows why this man is lauded as the strongest Pro Hero by the entire world.

He reaches out with his senses again, to see what kind of Quirk this man possesses. What mana courses through his veins? And then his jaw drops, he blinks rapidly before not so subtly spinning to look at Melissa before back at All Might, and then again to make sure he didn't see anything wrong.

They were both the same?

If he had been blind and deaf, he could easily mistake the two for each other just by the mana signatures alone. It wasn't similar, they were complete perfect copies of one another.

This was certainly more complicated than he initially thought.

***

The children seemed to be reacting positively, that was great! He had been worried that the Silver Age suit would make him look weird and old fashioned but they seem to have a taste for the classics. Great first impression, achieved.

He pats himself on the back mentally, before dramatically marching forward. He makes sure to look at his class to memorise their faces, and sees they all share similar looks of awe and excitement. Especially Melissa who looked downright giddy.

Except for one, the green haired enigma of a boy he had first seen in the Entrance Exam. 

Izuku Midoriya.

He looked passive at first, calm and neutral. Nothing odd about that, but then suddenly his eyes widened as if some form of recognition. Perhaps a delayed response? But then he looks back and towards Melissa before glancing back at him, repeatedly. The class easily missed that as they were focused on him, but he didn't.

He feels a bit of cold sweat remembering what his successor had told him.

***

"I don't think he believes me. He just keeps asking questions and looking at me like I'm suspicious." she explains but he laughed it off.

"Oh, an admirer at school already?" he asks as she blushes, laughing before he answers seriously, "But in his defence, the backstory we came up with had some coincidences in them. Perhaps he's just a naturally suspicious person?"

"And what if he's…you know." she asks with a whisper and his smile drops.

"Melissa, I told you to leave that to me." he sighs, "Like I said, it could simply be just my paranoia. I don't want to tear into a student's personal history just because I had a gut feeling."

***

And now he was looking at the two of them, as if recognises something. Could it be possible that he knew about One for All? If so does that mean he truly…

He shakes his head, he has a class to teach first and foremost. 

"Welcome to Foundational Hero Studies." he announces as he marches to the desk, "For this class we'll be building up your foundation in heroic skills that you will use for when you graduate. Better pay attention, because lots of credit is on the line. Sorry to disappoint any bookworms, but today we'll be jumping right into the practical side of things with…" he pauses dramatically before pulling out a flashcard with the words printed on it, "Battle Trials! And for that, you'll need these!"

He clicks on a remote and the walls open up to reveal several cases, each labelled with numbers, except for one which was large enough to take up an entire shelf. Melissa's prototype battlesuit, which unfortunately was not compact enough to be stored in a standard costume case.

"Get changed and we'll be ready to go. Everyone gathers at Ground Beta! The garb you bring into the battlefield is vitally important, boys and girls."

***

Jirou was starting to feel a bit under-dressed for this. All around her, the other girls of Class 1-A were putting on their cool costumes while all she got were literal clothes from her closet with some support gear. She thought that saving her costume budget by going for a minimalist design, only spending on support gear, was the best choice. Now she was thinking if she should've added a bit more flair.

She wonders what Midoriya would think of her costume?

She almost slaps herself. Where did that come from? Who cares what he thinks? As long as she likes her own costume, that's what matters doesn't it? She planned for the punk rock vibe but what if he just thinks she was being lazy?

"Hey, Jirou. Are you alright?"

She spins to find Melissa standing in literal fucking power armour. And was that a sledgehammer in her hands?! That felt a slight bit overkill considering they were still students in their first hero class. It was like everyone was playing the same game, but she was paying to win while the rest were free to play.

"Wha-? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she asks, confused.

"Well, you've been looking distracted ever since you put on your costume." Melissa explains, "Are you nervous? I guess I am too, since it's All Might who's gonna be teaching us."

"..Yeah, that's it." she says hurriedly, "But quick question, what do you think of my costume? It's not bad or anything, right?"

Melissa pauses to analyse her, "Hmm, going for the minimalist punk rock look? I think it's a good design. Simple, cheap and practical but has a recognisable style to it. Good things when coming up with your first costume. It also means you can spend more on Support Items. Why do you ask?"

Before Jirou could respond, Mina interrupts.

"Could it be because you wanna look nice for your boyfriend?" the pink girl teases as Jirou blushes.

"I already told you, we're not like that!" she shouts back which did nothing to deter Mina.

"Oh, but you're blushing. Does that mean you want it to be like that?" she teases even further as Jirou feels her face get hotter. She was about to slap her with her earjacks when Yaoyorozu got their attention.

"That's enough. If we're done we should head to Ground Beta immediately without wasting time." she says as she steps out of the changing room dressed more like a swimsuit model than a hero costume, "We are wasting time as it is."

"Whoa, Yaoyorozu, is that your hero costume?!" Jirou asks in surprise as she blushes in embarrassment at how much skin the girl was showing.

"Where's the rest of it?" Melissa asks in similar disbelief, "That doesn't look the most practical."

"There's actually a practical option for this. My Quirk creates items from my body, so any clothes I wear would be torn apart when I create items." Yaoyorozu explains.

"But…there's fabric that can reseal itself if torn." Melissa points out confused, "Why not use that instead? Or just add zippers?"

Yaoyorozu shook her head, "In case I make any complicated machinery it may snag and tear off some fabric and jam itself. I do not wish to risk that occurring so I figured this was most practical."

"I mean, I guess that'll work." Melissa says unconvinced, "Until you fight a villain in the middle of winter, or in heavy rain, or some other extreme temperatures."

As Melissa went on about the impracticalities of wearing less clothing than a swimsuit into battle, Jirou looks at all the other girls who step out of the changing rooms. One thing they all had in common was that besides Melissa, they all wore skin tight clothing. Why was it always skin tight clothing?

She can't help but wonder if this was the type of thing Midoriya likes before slapping herself. She needs to get her head in the game, surely no one else was thinking shit like her. They would be focusing on the upcoming trials.

***

He wonders if Jirou would like his costume. Kaminari said something about a 'cool fantasy-steampunk vibe' but he really doesn't know what that meant. Was it a compliment? Some cultural thing? Some obscure media reference? He'd have to ask later.

He wore a simple white trench coat with black edges, and a green sash tied around his waist. A half-plated cuirass made of lightweight metal hung across his chest along with two shoulder pads. After the Phyrexians…he realised he should not be so dependent on his mana shield. Sure armour may fail against anything that could easily punch through his shield, but an extra layer of protection never hurts.

He wore a pair of red leather boots that was purchased from a surplus store that his father recommended, on his hands were leather bracers wrapped with cloth bindings and fingerless gloves.Those were mostly based on his old equipment back in the Gatewatch. But the most modern equipment from the local plane was the respirator he wore. He believes it would be useful in situations where poison gas would be used, or to help him breathe underwater without the use of magic. There were also the goggles he wore, purchased from his father's workplace where he first met Jirou.

Overall the costume was made with spare material his father had on hand, retained from his old days overseas and from his current workplace. It was made by the two of them over the weekend, hunched over blueprints and discussing designs, with the occasional input from Eri about the colour scheme.

It was not the most cutting edge by this world's standards, nor was it made from magical material drawn from all over the multiverse, but he would not trade it for anything else. The soul, the passion his father had put into designing it with him, was not something that could be replaced.

And then there were the goggles. It remained the same but there were slight modifications. Some carvings on the goggle's frame, in a language that no one in this plane would recognise. His father had asked what they symbolised, he had excused it by saying it was for purely aesthetic purposes but in reality they were names.

Gideon Jura.

Jaya Ballard.

Arjani Goldmane.

Three of his closest friends were lost. He rubs his fingers against the engravings before putting them on. He will honour them, he swore to himself. Their teachings should live on through him, and he'll use all he has learnt to become better, to save as many as he can.

"Midoriya!" Iida calls out, "You're going to be late."

"I'm coming." he replies before slipping on the goggles and following his classmates out and onto Ground Beta where All Might was waiting for them.

"There you are. And looking the part." he smiles, "They say clothes make the hero. From now on you are all heroes!"

"Hero Course…the freaking best, man." Kaminari whispers to him as he stares at the girls. Izuku on the other hand frowns at the sight disapprovingly, most of them seemed impractical. Ochako wore heels that could make her trip and break an ankle in fights, and the skintight suit was another issue. What was with Pro Heroes and their obsession with having suits be skin tight? Perhaps it was easier to move? There should be a balance between protection and ease of movement, surely.

The frog girl, Tsuyu, had a skintight suit as well but judging from her aquatic nature it was more probably suited for operations on water, and less so on dry land. Perhaps she should possess two suits, one to use on land far from water, and one for water based operations.

Hagurake, the invisible girl…well he can't really see her suit besides the glove and boots so he can't judge. But why make an entire costume invisible if she was going to ignore the boots and gloves? Aesthetics?

Mina looks more like she was prepared for a night out than for combat. And Yaoyorozu. By the multiverse what was she wearing? Why that much skin? He had to face palm and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Come on, surely there's gotta be a red blooded male in there somewhere." Kaminari says in disbelief at Izuku's annoyance.

"I admit, their costumes are-"

"Aesthetically pleasing?" Kaminari rolls his eyes, "Dude, you can just say sexy or something."

"Sexy?" Izuku tested the word and immediately felt filthy, "They look nice but I fail to see practical function for most of them. At least Melissa has the right idea, with the amount of armour on."

Besides him, only Melissa and Iida seemed to possess some form of armour. He definitely approves of their choices. He may even talk with Iida about how he maintained his mobility while in full body armour, and whether he should switch to it as well. Kaminari's costume was practical as well but could use some more protection. Now where was Jirou?

He sees her in the back of the crowd. Her costume seemed very similar to Kaminari's, in that she went for minimalist design and some sort of modified boots as a support item. She even added some sort of markings under her eyes that look like red upside down triangles. Another costume he approves of, not needlessly skintight, practical and she looks good as well.

"Hey guys." Jirou says as she approaches them, smiling as she sees Izuku, "Hey, return of the goggles. Haven't seen those in a while. Are they the same pair."

"Yep. The exact ones." Izuku answers as he slipped them off, hanging them on his neck to look at her clearly, "You look really nice."

She smiles at that compliment, "Thanks…I think you look really nice too."

He hopes he wasn't blushing when she said that but her smile definitely made his heart flutter, "I'm glad you think so. Kaminari said something about it being a steampunk-fantasy aesthetic?"

"I mean, it does." Kamainari says waving at him, "Look at him, he's like some steampunk scientist wizard or something."

"The white does make it look like a lab coat." Jirou agrees, "Love the green sash and silver armour. Wouldn't that be a bit heavy?"

"I rather sacrifice mobility and flexibility instead of protection." he shrugs as he taps the armoured plate, "And thanks, I'll pass your compliments to Eri. She's the one that helped decide on the colour scheme.'

"Eri?" They both ask and instantly Izuku feels something, almost like a sort of pride, that urges him to start showing off, whipping out his wallet.

"Yep, here." he opens his wallet where photos of him and Eri reside, "See the girl with the horn? That's her."

"Aw, she's so cute." Kaminari coos at the sight, "Look at that little horn."

"Wait, who is she exactly? Your sister?" Jirou asks. Judging from the photo, this girl was very close to Izuku by the way they were hugging.

Izuku only shrugs as he puts back his wallet, "I suppose that's one way of looking at it. My family recently took her in. It's a long story." 

"Alright everyone, pay attention now." All Mights calls out, "Today's lesson will be an indoor battle trial! You all seen news reports of villains taken down in the open, heck I'd even wager some of you have seen villain defeats in person. But statistically most of the job takes place indoors. Black market deals, kidnapping, raids and more. Any villain with brain cells would operate in the shadows."

That made sense actually. They were technically the law mages of this plane, not soldiers fighting in pitched battles or open fields of battle. It also means most of his spells would be limited in cramped quarters if they wish to limit collateral damage.

"For this test you'll be divided into a two-on-two battle." All Might continues, "You'll be separated into the Hero team and Villain team."

"Sir?" Tsuyu raises her hand, "What about our foundational training? This sounds rather advanced, ribbit. "

"This is your foundational training. And relax, shouldn't be that hard, just imagine it like your Entrance Exam except you aren't fighting robots this time. And you'll be in a building instead of an open city."

"...So nothing like the Entrance Exam?"

Immediately everyone started asking questions,

"How do we determine the victor?"

"Can't I just blow them all away?"

"If we're separating into different groups what would be the best way to do so?"

"Doesn't this cape look fabulous?"

"Alright, alright, calm down. My Quirk's not super hearing." All Might then whips out a tiny sheet of paper before beginning to read out of it, "For this scenario we'll have the Villains guard a nuclear bomb. The objectives of the Hero team will be to reach and diffuse the bomb before time runs out and the bomb detonates, or to defeat the Villain team. If they do so they win but if the time runs out or the Hero team is defeated, the Villain team wins. Everyone got that? Any questions?"

"Yes, I do." Izuku raises a hand, "If the Villain's goal is to detonate this bomb what's stopping them from doing so the second they see a hero? This is likely a suicide mission since they'll be within the range of the bomb when it detonates, so why are they waiting? And how will the heroes diffuse the bomb in the first place?"

"It's just a simple exercise for your first Heroics class, Young Midoriya. No need for all those little details, what matters is your combat ability." All Might answers with a chuckle, "Now let's all pick a team by drawing lots."

"Lots? Is that wise, sir?" Iida asks this time, "That doesn't sound like an effective method of choosing teammates."

"In war you fight with the soldiers you have, not the ones you wish to have." Izuku recites a quote he's heard from commanders before. It was a common one through the multiverse from the Boros Legion of Ravnica to the Coalition of Dominaria, "Sometimes you won't have enough time to assemble a crack task force made of the best, so you have to work with whoever can respond in time and adapt quickly."

"I see, this tests our ability to cooperate and adapt to situations!" Iida immediately bows, "I apologise for interrupting!"

"Yes, that is correct, Young Midoriya." All Might nods but deep down he felt it a bit odd that the first thing the boy's mind went to was soldiers and war. Perhaps an enthusiast about historical battles and military, but then he hears something in his tone. Familiarity and recognition, as if he experienced that before. Very curious.

"Now let us begin! Draw lots and find your partners everyone, we're burning daylight!"

The class lines up to take their lots and check each other for matching letters. After a moment was taken to find his partner, he smiles in delight at who he has gotten.

"Pleasure to work with you, Jirou." he smiles at her, "It appears this time, I'll be fighting with the partner I wished to have."

"Really? You weren't hoping for some of the power houses?" she asks as she looks at Todoroki in a team with Shoji, and Momo in a team with Bakugou. Besides them, Kaminari was in a team with Uraraka, and Iida with Melissa.

"I'd rather pick someone I know and trust, over pure firepower." he answers honestly as he offers a hand, "I pity any fool that gets in our way."

"Got that right." she shook his hand, "We're gonna mess them up real badly."

"And for our first team, we have…These guys!" All Might pauses for dramatic effect before whipping out two balls with the letters indicating it was Team A against Team D.

Izuku Midoriya and Kyoka Jirou VS Melissa Shield and Tenya Iida.

He looks over to the two armoured individuals with a smile. Since conversations and questions led to little progress understanding her Quirk, it appears that he will now be able to find answers via practical means.

***

"So, this is the bomb we're suppose to defend?" Jirou asks as she knocks against the fake bomb, "Gotta give it to UA, they certainly know how to live up to expectations. How do you think we should do this?"

"Hm…" Izuku think as he rubs his chin "We have the advantage since they don't know where the bomb is, so they'll likely have to search for it. Even if they were somehow able to guess where it is exactly, they still have to travel to the top floor to get to it. That will be our advantage."

He snaps his fingers and a small blue wire construct of the entire building materialises in front of him as he highlights pathways and chokepoints, "As you can see there are many passages they can use to get to our location, and these three are the quickest routes."

He highlights them in red, "Our best bet is to deny them passage by laying traps across them and several other chokepoints. This won't stop them but they should buy time and make them act slower and careful."

"Traps? I don't think we have any." Jirou points out before remembering, "Unless you can do that with your Quirk?"

He nods, "Yes. I'll place several ice traps along the hallways. This will trap them for a few seconds only but it'll be enough to slow them down."

"So just place a lot of traps and slow them down by a lot? That's our plan?"

"The first phase. Afterwards, we'll take up sniping positions in this room." He highlights a room in the middle floor of the building, "We'll fire upon them on entry and hopefully that could drive them into traps or even take one of them down. But if they are capable, and I have no doubt they are, combat will be inevitable. When they split up to throw off our fire, we have to as well. You'll take up position at this location, which will allow you to intercept Iida with ease."

"Wait, why do I get Iida?" she asks as Izuku looks at her oddly.

"Do you instead wish to fight against Melissa?"

Jirou instantly imagines Melissa in her full power armour and sledgehammer chasing after her and shudders. She does not want to be on the receiving end of a girl with super strength and power armour swinging a hammer at her.

"Point taken. But still, Iida's freaking fast. I'm not sure how I can intercept him." She recalls having seen Iida's performance during the Quirk Apprehension Tests. Then she blushes when Izuku kneels down and reaches for her feet, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Evening the odds, your boots please?" he asks as Jirou holds out her leg which he then begins inscribing red runes on with his finger.

"These will increase your speed to help you catch up with him." Izuku explains as he performs the enchantment, "Merely click your heels to activate them."

"Like Dorothy and her red shoes?" Jirou jokes only to receive a confused glance from Izuku, "Y-you know, from the Wizard of Oz?"

"...I don't get the reference." Izuku admits before standing up, "Now we have about seven minutes left to set up traps and our backup plan. Any questions?"

"Well, I wanted to ask how do you expect to snipe them in the middle of a building. But now I also want to know about this backup plan of yours."

"The sniping will require your assistance. As for the backup?" Izuku summons two pieces of chalk for both hands before handing one to Jirou, "Go to a random room, far from where we place our bomb. Afterwards listen closely to what I say over the comms, and follow all my instructions. If all fails, this would be our last resort."

***

"Let's see." Melissa mutters as she taps a button on her helmet giving her clear vision of the inside, "The bomb is still on the top floor, they made no attempts to move it, but they seem to have gathered in the middle floor for some reason. Be on your guard, they may attempt to ambush us there."

"Amazing. And you said you made this yourself? And it's only a prototype" Iida asks, amazed, "You are extremely talented, Shield."

"Please, call me Melissa." she insists, "And yeah, with time the finalised version will be more streamlined and flexible. For now it feels like I'm wearing a tank."

"No doubt its protective capabilities would come in handy against our foes. How should we deal with them if we encounter them?"

Melissa thinks for a moment, "The biggest threat seems to be Midoriya. With abilities as varied as his, we can't predict what he'll do. And with Jirou's enhanced hearing we can't sneak in. Our best bet will be to rush and punch through whatever defence they have in plan. With your speed and the fact we have the location already, we can make a beeline towards it and hopefully win without a fight."

"I'd take care not to underestimate Midoriya." he warns, "I made that mistake in the Entrance Exam."

She nods, "You're right. But so far it seems like the best plan. Hit them hard and hopefully fast enough. Any arguments?"

"None at all, it's a sound plan considering we are on a time limit." he agrees, "I hope I will not let you down."

"Hero Team, you are clear to engage. Good luck." All Might's voice rang through the comms as both Melissa and Iida pockets the maps they were given.

"That's all the time we have, let's be sure to win this." Melissa says as she grips the sledgehammer in her hands, "Let's go."

They hurriedly enter but the moment they step in was the moment a beam of light pierces through the walls and slams into her chest, knocking her back a few steps.

"Melissa!" Iida cries in surprise and offers a hand to help before getting hit by a beam himself. His armour wasn't as strong as Melissa's so he was knocked into a wall as a result.

"Damn it! Get behind me!" Melissa orders as she raises a hand as she pours One for All into her power suit, converting its raw power to energy and creating an energy shield emitting from the palm of her hand.

The beams hit and dissipate harmlessly against the shield as she looked over at her teammate who was recovering.

"This must be Midoriya's Quirk." she realises, "Can you stand?"

"Yes, it just knocked me off my feet." Iida grunts as he gets up, "Can your shield last?"

"Not for long." she shook her head, "We have to split up, his fire rate isn't that fast. He'll have a hard time focusing on us, and you might be too fast for him to hit."

"Understood." he nods and they wait until he fires again before they split, "Now!"

He goes as fast as his Quirk allows, running through the halls and taking the quickest route he can remember. True enough the laser beams couldn't hit him at this speed, as shots went wide. But before he can get far he steps on some strange markings on the floor, which suddenly glowed blue and engulfed him in a sheet of ice.

***

"Whoa! So that's what they were doing?" Kirishima looks in surprise, "I thought those were just graffiti or something."

"I knew they were traps of sorts. Midoriya does not seem the type to do things without reason." Yaoyorozu pipes in, "This puts the Hero team in an even worse disadvantage. With both traps and a sniper, their pace will be slowed to a crawl. Ingenious."

"But that's not manly at all." Kirishima complains.

"Even All Might has to use ambushes when he has to." Yaoyorozu explains patiently, "And it appears Midoriya cares more about whether victory is achieved, then what methods are used."

"Yes, well said Yaoyorozu." All Might compliments, "Besides, they are playing the role of villains. Do not expect villains to fight fair, they will use every dirty trick they have to slow or even beat you."

"If he was strong, he should just fight them head on." Bakugou scoffs, "Hiding's for cowards.

"Well they look comfortable staying where they are." Mina chuckles as she points to the screen showing both Izuku and Jirou. The former has his arms pointed over her shoulders as Jirou pointed his hand in the right direction while her two earjacks were plugged into the wall.

She uses her hearing to locate Melissa and Iida before pointing Izuku's hand for him and telling him when to fire. It was ingenious but it left no distance between the two.

"Lucky son of a gun." Kaminari whines, hoping he may end up in a similar position with his partner when his turn comes. 

"Come on, Melissa." Ochako cheers for her friend, "You can do this!"

"This is a wonderful display of how teamwork and Quirk combinations can turn the tide." All Might explains, "With the two of their abilities combined they create an attack that the Heroes cannot hide from."

'I'm sorry Melissa but I cannot be biassed here.' All Might thinks as he turns back to the screen, 'I must judge you impartially and harshly like all my other students.'

"Hey look! She's trying something!" Kaminari points at Melissa who drops her shield and brings her sledgehammer to smash the ceiling before leaping through the hole to the next floor, "She's going straight for them."

"And Iida's broken free." Yaoyorozu points to a screen where Iida struggled and broke out of his icy prison, "If the villains are not careful, Iida could go straight for the bomb and win. They now have to split up and deal with each of them."

***

"She's on the second floor now, wait now she's on the third." Jirou informs concerned, "She's bypassed a lot of your traps, and Iida's headed straight for the bomb, it looks like he knows where it is."

"We can ask how later." Izuku says as he detaches from Jirou with a slight blush. Having that much contact with her was a bit flustering for him, he could feel his heart pounding from how close they were. He hopes she was too focused on their enemies to have heard that.

"For now, begin Plan B. I'll see you when we win this." he pats her on the shoulder as they both leave just they hear metallic footsteps getting louder and heading straight for them, "Best to hurry now."

"Right." Jirou clicks her heels but didn't feel any changes before taking a careful step that launches her straight to the wall, causing Izuku to wince at the sight, "Fuck! I'm good, I'm good, just not used to superspeed."

"Well, they say the best time to learn is under pressure." Izuku shrugs as he summons a glowing red spear made of a crackling lightning bolt, "So now's the best time. Goodluck."

Jirou nods and runs along with her new superspeed, only slamming into three more walls before getting used to it. Izuku focuses ahead of him as Melissa appears around the corner,

"Hey." she greets as she readies her sledgehammer, "So those lasers were you, right?"

"Sunlance, actually." he corrects as he holds the spear in front of him, "But yes, they were mine. I hope they didn't hurt you too badly."

"Scorched my armour more than anything." She says, indicating the part where she was struck that was a bit blackened, "I suppose since I'm the Hero team I should give you a chance to surrender?"

It was half playful banter and half genuine suggestion, Izuku just smiled confidently before preparing himself, "And as the Villain, my role is to fight to the bitter end unfortunately. So take your best shot."

"Fine, don't blame me if you get hurt then." Melissa charges right at him with her hammer prepared to strike. Izuku dashes forward as well and slides underneath the blow before striking with his lightning spear at her back, sending her stumbling forward.

He leaps backward to avoid another swing before throwing the lightning spear at her, releasing its contained energy and blasting her back, kicking up dust and debris to cloud her vision. She instantly turns on her thermal vision again and widens her eyes at seeing a large build up of heat before raising her shield just in time to block another spear, one made of fire this time that detonates into a fiery explosion upon impact.

"Nice shield. But it's not your Quirk?" Izuku asks as he puts on his respirator to keep him from breathing in the dust and smoke, "Your Support Item, then? It uses the power you generate as some power source?"

"You figured that out quick." Melissa admits before dropping the shield and charging her boots with 10% of her power, leaping forward at a near blinding speed. At such a cramped hallway there was little chance to avoid such an attack.

Izuku suddenly turns blue with ethereal energy, phasing out of reality for a moment, and allowing Melissa to rocket through him like he wasn't even there. She blinks in surprise before she skids to a stop as Izuku returns to normal.

"I'm a bit of an engineer myself." he responds casually as Melissa strikes again with her hammer, but he moves to the side and avoids it as well as the following strikes. She swings her hammer with blows that were clearly telegraphed allowing him to dodge with ease just by taking careful steps backwards, sidestepping a thrust before delivering three mana-empowered kicks to her midsection in rapid succession.

"You're using a weapon because you lack combat skills in hand to hand?" he asks as he observes how little damage he's done to her armour, "It's reasonable, but you seem to lack skills with that as well. The handle's too long for battle in cramped corridors, and when you swing you take too much time and it makes your attack predictable."

"You're giving me advice? In the middle of our fight?" Melissa asks somewhat insulted he wasn't taking this seriously.

Izuku only shrugs, "We're here to learn aren't we? That is the purpose for this battle trial. And something you should learn is that brute forcing this isn't going to work."

"...You're right." She admits surprising him as she raises her hammer before slamming it down, "Thanks for the advice."

Izuku braces himself as the ground below them collapses and he barely lands on his feet on the second floor. Melissa in her tank-like armour with fancy shock absorbing boots land with ease as she doesn't hesitate before throwing her hammer like a projectile.

He deflects it with a mana shield wrapping around him, and she rushes to throw a punch at him. Again her form was sloppy and untrained, relying more on brute force to carry her. He swerves his head to avoid the blow and blocks the following, retaliating with counter attacks any time he could. The neck, knees, shoulder, places where there were gaps in her armour or important for movement, hoping to damage some mechanisms to slow her down but nothing seemed to be working.

"A good distraction but you failed when you attempted to capitalise on it." he criticises as he ducks beneath a wildhaymaker and raises his arms to block an armoured knee.

"5%..." she mutters to herself as she channels her Quirk once again to throw faster and stronger strikes. Izuku's eye then glows blue as she strikes at what she thought was an opening in his defence, smiling when she finally hits him.

"What?" she mutters as her fist went straight through his head like it wasn't there. For a moment she thinks it to be an illusion before a red fist slams into her helmet and knocks her back. She takes another look and realises he was still there, just blurry now like a mirage, or she was seeing double.

"Your Support Items and brute force can only carry you so far." he says in an echoing voice as he gets into a fighting stance, "There's only so much you can make up for experience and skill. Something you both lack."

She growls and starts increasing her power once more, "10%..."

She starts becoming more of a blur as she lunges forward with speed and power that Izuku was forced to augment his physical abilities with red mana to fight on even terms. He was a bit frightened that even from glancing blows he could feel the strain on his shields. And this was only 10%.

"It works the other way as well." she yells back as she reels her arm back for a punch, "There's only so much skill and experience can do against overwhelming force."

She throws another haymaker that Izuku blocks with both his hands, creating a small shockwave from the impact as she just keeps increasing her output.

"15%." she grunts as she exerts more power and her power armour could be heard whirring as it stresses to catch up. Izuku feels himself getting pushed back from the punch, apparently even with magic the maximum he can match her was around 15%.

She pushes him back, creating distance between them as she points her left arm at him.

"Air Cannon!" she shouts to her suit's AI which starts shifting the left gauntlet to form a cannon around it. Focusing about 35% of OFA she punches forward with her left hand as the cannon compresses the air pressure into a projectile towards Izuku.

Izuku widens his eyes as he shoots a wave of blue mana that countered the air bullet but just barely, dissipating it into a cloud of blue sparks that washed over him.

They both take a moment to breathe as Izuku couldn't help but smile. It was definitely an exciting fight, more so than the Entrance Exam against robots. Or perhaps that was just the adrenaline talking.

"You have a lot of tricks in that suit." he comments as he returns to a stance.

"Yeah." she says, similarly taking a breath as the cannon retracted, "You too. It's a fancy Quirk you have, like you got more than one." 

"Like you said. Quirks are weird." he says as he looks down and realise he was standing on the throne sledgehammer before kicking it back to Melissa, flicking his wrist and summoning a steel shortsword and pointing it at her, "Now how about we kick things up a notch."

***

Tenya Iida was freezing cold, as he jogs down the hallway while being careful not to step on any more traps. Laying those ice traps and shooting lasers was playing very dirty, but he admits it has been very effective in slowing down him and Melissa. He was now on the last floor but it took a lot of time as he had to find passages without the strange markings. He was sure there were no more as he gets closer to the room with the bomb, it appears there was a limited number of traps Izuku could put down within his preparation time, focusing it on the entrance and lower floors.

It was apparent that after the second attempt that they were not touch-activated but by motion as he stepped over one but was still frozen in a flash of blue light. He'd have to see the Support Department about getting some heaters in his costume after this, or perhaps some thicker bodysuit at least.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spots a black blur speeding at him. Years of being born with enhanced speed has sharpened his perception and reaction allowing him to leap backwards as the blur skids to a stop.

"J-J-Jirou?" he asks through clattering teeth as he tries to warm himself, "Y-you possess enhanced speed as well?"

"You…can thank Midoriya…for that…" she answers, sounding dazed as she shakes her head, "No idea how you speedsters do this everyday. And you sound like you're freezing by the way."

"Y-yes, but y-your f-f-foul traps shall not triumph over me, villain!" Iida strikes heroic pose as he shudders, "My blood pumps in anticipation of our fight, and already it is warming me-"

Jirou doesn't wait for him to finish monologuing as she inserts her jacks into her boots and blasted him with a sonic blast, knocking him back.

"Well that was-" she was about to say before she saw a white blur shot towards her, taking a step back. Luckily she had forgotten to deactivate the speed enhancement and so it launched her backward, saving her from Iida who had sought to wrap her with the capture tape.

"You will not be able to stop me, villain!" Iida declares as he runs up the hallway she was protecting but then she slams into him, "Unhand me!"

"I will as soon as you hold still!" she says as she clung onto his back with an arm around his neck as he frantically zipped around to throw her off. She tries to use her own capture tape but Iida wouldn't allow her to.

Launching himself straight into the ceiling with his Quirk, slamming her into the wall before angling his fall so he lands on top of her.

"Fuck…" she groans, winded from the two heavy blows.

"I'm sorry Jirou, but like you have shown, I cannot play fair." Iida apologises as he starts running, "Don't worry, I'll win this quick so you can receive medical attention fast."

But again a sonic blast hits him before he got far.

"Sorry but I can't let you do that." Jirou asks through gritted teeth as she kept blasting at Iida, pushing herself back onto her feet, "I'm going to be a hero, and that means not about to just give up because things go remotely difficult."

"I…admire your resolve." Iida grunts as he is pinned to the wall from the continuous sonic blasts, "I will have to match it with my own. I was hoping to save this trick for later, but you forced my hand. Recipro Burst!"

Jirou could only blink before an armoured boot rockets straight for her torso, sending her flying backwards and into a wall as she loses her lunch.

"I truly am sorry for that Jirou." he apologises as he wraps his capture tape around her as All might announce her capture over the comms, "But I also do not wish to lose."

"Same…" she grunts back as she taps her comms, "Plan C, Midoriya! Plan C!"

Iida doesn't know what that was but he was wary of whatever plan they had left. He hurriedly walks somewhat shakily towards the room where the bomb was. Between the damage Jirou has done to him, exhaustion from being frozen and his engines shorting out from Recipro Burst, he wanted to collapse but he pressed on anyways, determined to win.

Just as he enters the room his eyes widen at the sight, blinking to make sure he wasn't seeing anything wrong before hurriedly reporting what he saw to his teammate.

***

Dangerous. That was the only word she could use to describe Izuku. He was a monster in combat, blocking and parrying and dodging her blows despite them being augmented with 15% of One for All, the level she could reliably control and fight with in her power armour. Any more and it would have been too fast or strong for her armour to handle.

And still he was holding his own. Redirecting blow after blow, what could have been devastating direct hits becoming strikes that glance off his blade and energy shield. And whenever he did strike he went for the areas where her armour was weakest.

The joints, her knees and neck. The last part frightened her the most when the blade thrusted forward to strike her neck. Sure she saw the edge had been blunted, and she knew her throat was protected, but Midoriya didn't hesitate before going for it. Carrying a cold, impassive look on his face as he struck without mercy.

In their fight she had only managed a direct strike once, knocking him into a wall. He merely got back up and told her, "That's the last time you get a hit on me."

That was when he tore off her armour. She went for a follow up strike but again he parries it and uses his free hand to slam a glowing blue palm on her. And in that instant, every piece of metal, every bolt, screw and piece of tech dismantled itself and flew off, including her hammer, as she was sent flying backwards.

"What?!" she exclaims in shock as she pats herself, shocked at the sight of her hard work literally turned to scrap, leaving her only in a plain white shirt and pants she wore underneath the armour, "You could have done that this entire time."

Izuku shrugs, "I didn't want to destroy your armour, it looked expensive and hard to repair. But after you managed to hit me, you forced my hand."

He rubs the spot she struck him, "I felt that through my shields. So will you give up, hero? Or will you fight to the end?"

He even throws away his sword, as if doing so would make it a fairer fight, getting into a fighting stance.

"Kyoka Jirou is eliminated!"

They hear All Might announce through their comms and Melissa smiles at the concerned look Izuku had. They have a chance after all, she just needs to buy Iida time.

Izuku taps on his comms as if he's hearing something before sighing and looking at Melissa.

"If you believe that will secure your victory, I'm sorry to disappoint." he says before clapping his hands and chanting something. It was a language she had never heard before and instantly she tenses up but nothing happened, no flash of colours or anything.

"What did you do?" she asks as she charges a fist with 5% of One for All before Iida speaks through the comms.

"Melissa! The bomb is gone! I do not know how, but it's not where you said it was!"

"What?" she asks stunned before turning to Izuku, "What did you do? I know it was there!"

"You'll have to find out later." he says as he beckons her to approach. With little choice she charges forward, she had to give Iida enough time to search for the bomb. They moved it somehow but it shouldn't be far.

She throws a punch but he easily sidesteps it and flips her over his shoulder, landing on her back in pain. She tries to get up but Izuku slams a foot on her chest, pinning her down.

"The sands of time are running out." he informs, "It is very unlikely Iida can find the bomb in time. But if you can beat me now you can secure your victory."

She tries pushing off his feet but he glows with a red aura signifying he was using his Quirk to enhance his strength. 5% of One for All just wasn't enough to push him off.

"Can you not go any further without your armour?" he asks as she struggles, "If I was a true villain I could simply crush your ribs. Is there nothing you can do?"

"I…" she tries to pour more power hoping to get at least to 10% but then she yells as her muscles start tearing from the strain and Izuku's leg barely moves. And then they hear All Might's voice ring,

"Time's up! The Villain Team wins."

***

"And they have returned! And with no injuries?" All Might asks as the four return to the observation room with noticeable changes. First Melissa was holding her helmet with it being the only piece of the armour remaining in full condition, then Iida was shuddering as he wrapped a blanket around him which was provided by Midoriya, who was also carrying a blushing Jirou in his arms bridal style.

"None, I'm pretty sure I just finished healing her cracked ribs." Midoriya informs.

"Then you can let go of me now." she says as Izuku nods and sets her down on her feet, "Damn, still feels like I got hit by a car."

"I can do something for the pain if you'd like." he holds out a glowing hand but Jirou rejects it.

"I-it's fine, I'll just power through it. A little pain should be nothing to a hero-in-training, right?" she hurriedly declines not wanting to give Mina any more ideas or teasing material. She already looked giddy the moment they entered the observation room with her in Midoriya's arms.

"Alright then. Iida, are you good?" he asks the tall boy who nods.

"Yes! My ears are still ringing but I should recover soon!" he says slightly louder than usual.

"Alright, if it keeps ringing let me know, and I'll take another look." Izuku says before turning to Melissa at last, "And I don't think there's any injuries for you."

"Huh?" she asks, snapping out of her thoughts, "I mean, yeah, I'm fine."

"Well I'm sure Recovery Girl will be glad that someone's taking the burden off her shoulders." All Might says with a chuckle, "It looks like this class has its own doctor to handle injuries."

"I just have some basic medic training." Izuku brushes off the praise, "I can mend bones, cuts and bruises, and concussions, but that's all. I'm no doctor."

"It is important for a hero to master such vital skills like first aid. With that aside, I suppose now we should get to deciding who was the MVP in our first match. Can anyone guess who?" All Might asks the crowd of students with one hand raising up quickly.

"Yes, I believe it would be Midoriya, sir." Yaoyorozu answers.

"Correct!" All Might gives a thumbs up, "Can you explain why?"

"Simple. It was because of his planning ability. The traps he set, taking fire from a concealed position and forcing the two to split, as well as the last minute bomb swap was all because of him."

"Bomb swap?" Melissa asks.

"Here, take a look at this, Young Shield and Iida." All Might says as he clicks a remote and rewind footage on the screen. It shows Izuku and Jirou during the preparation phase where they were in separate rooms but were drawing strange circles on the floor with chalk.

The scene fast forwards to when Iida defeated Jirou and went to capture the bomb which stood on top of the drawn circle before vanishing in a blink of light.

"As you can see, in that moment the bomb went from the fifth floor to the first floor of the building." All Might explains, "No doubt a skill of Young Midoriya's?"

Izuku nods, "It's called a Teleportation Circle. It allows me to teleport anything inside a circle to another matching one. It works best in short distances, but the further the circles are from each other the longer it'll take for teleportation to occur."

Yaoyorozu nods, "And without it, no doubt the Villain Team would have lost. Most of what happened during the trial only happened because of Midoriya, to which I believe he deserves the place of MVP. Melissa caused a lot of collateral damage with her Quirk during her fight, Iida rushed in blindly without considering that traps could be set ahead and despite her best efforts Jirou was beaten quickly by Iida."

"There were still a lot of things that could have gone wrong." Izuku points out, "If Jirou hadn't adapted to the new speed I gave her, she would never have intercepted Iida on time. I failed to consider what would happen if she didn't, which could have led to Iida capturing the bomb before I could have teleported it. Besides, if they both had decided to stick together and rush to fight us head on, Jirou could have been defeated, forcing me to fight two on one. I wouldn't have been able to defeat the two without levelling the building we were in."

He quickly turns to the purple haired girl and raises a hand, "I mean no offence by that, but he did defeat you rather quickly."

"None taken." Jirou waves off the apology unbothered as she rubs her ribs, "I don't know what getting hit by a car's like, but this is definitely comparable to that. And I don't like my odds against Melissa in her armour."

"Wait, you could have levelled the building?" Kirishima asks in awe as Izuku shrugged.

"Yes. Cramped quarters are not the best place for me to fight since it limits my abilities." Izuku nods, "If we were out in the open, I would've been able to use more devastating abilities."

'So he wasn't even fighting at his best?' Melissa thinks in shock as she glances at her helmet. After all that, he was barely even trying?

"If both of us were allowed to go all out, and Melissa uses her full power, then a fight between the two of us would go either way." Izuku continues, "But really what comes down in a real battle is skill and experience. I just so happened to have more than Melissa. That's not bragging, it's a plain fact that I've been in real fights before and she hasn't."

All Might nods, "It's as you say. Experience matters most in fights. Don't look so down, Young Shield, this is why you're here in UA and why we're conducting this exercise. To allow all of you to gain experience."

"You're right." Melissa nods before giving a determined look towards Izuku, "I'll get stronger, and I won't be losing next time."

Izuku smiles at her, "In that case, I look forward to our rematch."

"I'm glad to see such sportsmanship in my class." All Might says proudly, "But with that out of the way, let us move onto the next match!"

***

Izuku watches the following matches with rapt attention, jotting down anything he finds interesting, specifically to the number of fascinating Quirks he sees. Some minor attention was paid to those like Sato, Tsuyu, Shoji or Sero, Mutation Quirks would be unusable for him. Perhaps those who master Green mana like the Simic Combine, with their mastery of biomancy, would be able to but unfortunately he wasn't skilled in their arts.

He paid more attention towards those he theorised that he could be able to replicate such as Ayoma's naval laser, or Urararaka's strange telekinetic-like powers, and Kaminari's electric field. One of the most alarming Quirks he saw was one belonging to Fumikage Tokoyami where he summons a sort of Shadow Elemental.

He saw it during the Quirk Apprehension Test but it seemed smaller. In the dimly lit halls of the simulated building it was almost bestial in appearance and he could've sworn he saw Tokoyami struggle to rein in the shadowy beast.

It was somewhat of a personal bias but he instantly felt wary of the boy. He has not had much good experience with those of black mana. He could never get into the right mindset to make use of it, and those who used it usually meant selfish, parasitic and dangerous individuals. Undead and other wretched creatures. There were very few he can immediately recall having good relations with, such as the vampire Sorin Markov and Liliana, but with how things went with the latter…

***

He was there when it happened. The moment Gideon Jura, one of the greatest men he ever knew, his father in all but blood, burned in black fire. The only thing left of him was his charred armour that clattered as it fell to the ground.

And the one standing next to it was Liliana. The necromancer he once thought of as a friend, as family. He saw Gideon touch her shoulder before he was engulfed in flames. She was the source of all this.

He hears Nissa say something but he doesn't pay attention, he can feel the heat of Chandra's flames as she prepares to burn Liliana alive for what he's done, and he was about to join her, before the voice of Jace interrupts them in their minds, shouting something but he doesn't care.

Chandra stops but he doesn't. He had to be restrained by Nissa and Ajani as he tried to reach her, lightning crackling from his arms as he tried to reach towards Liliana and make her pay. His mind clouded with rage, his vision blurred with tears as he screams his throat sore,

"I'll kill you!" he remembers screeching at her, "I'll kill you!"

***

Even after it was revealed that actually Gideon sacrificed himself to save Liliana from death for breaching her contract and betraying Bolas, they left on very bad terms. Although he now knows the full story of how she was forced into the dragon's service and risked her life to betray him, he still sees Gideon burning to death, and the devastation the War of the Spark had on Ravnica. The countless dead.

Last he heard she took up a teaching position in Strixhaven. Perhaps when he returns, after the Phyrexian Invasion is over, he could make peace? His recent near-death experience has reminded him that life was far too short to spend on grudges. He decides one day he was going to visit her and apologise for all he's said to her, about wishing her dead instead of Gideon and so many other hurtful things.

"Hello there, Midoriya." Yaoyorozu greets from behind, startling him out of his thoughts, "What are you writing about?"

"Yaoyorozu." he greets politely, "I'm just taking note of our classmates Quirks. Analysing skills and abilities are a habit of mine."

"Truly? In that case what have you found so far?" she asks curiously.

"Well it appears that almost none of our classmates have any combat ability besides throwing their Quirks at something." he grumbles as if disappointed, "But besides that it's just brawling if you can even call it that. Everyone here depends on their Quirk too much in a fight."

"It is just their first day of Heroics class." she reminds, "You can't expect them to all be master fighters or anything."

"No, I suppose not." he sighs, "Perhaps I just had too high expectations."

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you train before this?" Yaoyorozu asks, "You appeared quite talented with a spear and sword in your battle. You planned very quickly and acted with zero hesitation."

Izuku for the first time looks nervous, "Well, I had some teachers. They taught me practically everything I know but there wasn't any school you would know of."

"Ah, so some private tutors of sorts?" Yaoyorozu asks, "It is the same for me. My parents hired the finest tutors available to teach me how to fight so I can maximise my Quirk by using weapons. But as of now I'm still limited to staff-based weaponry like bo-staffs or a spear."

"Those are good choices." he nods in approval, "Simple weapons like such are easiest to train with and their styles are almost interchangeable with one another."

"And you said you've been in fights before? You mentioned having practical experiences."

Izuku was about to a answer when Kirishiman pipes in to their conversation,

"Sorry, but I wanna hear that as well. Does it have anything to do with those scars?"

"Scars?" Yaoyorozu raises a brow questioningly and Jirou who had been listening widens her eyes. She didn't know Izuku had any scars, he certainly hasn't mentioned them. Izuku just sends a slight glare towards Kirishima,

"I don't think the rest of the country heard you, why not scream it louder?" Izuku asks, sounding very annoyed.

The redhead tries to stammer out an apology as Mina cuts in.

"Sorry, he lets his mouth run sometimes on topics he thinks is manly." she says with an apologetic smile.

Izuku sighs and facepalms before answering, "To answer your question, yes I've been in… quite a few fights. And I mean this with all due respect, but it's certainly none of your business."

He massages his ribs as phantom pains flared once more, which certainly didn't help his mood. Recognising he was no longer in the mood for conversation Yaoyorozu merely thanked him for his time and they both resumed looking at their classmates' performance.

Unbeknownst to him, a few were paying rapt attention for their own reasons. Jirou listened in out of concern for her friend, and Bakugou who was close by listened before scoffing in disbelief. The nerd was probably making shit up to get attention, he just won because somehow that Shield girl was even weaker than him. If he had fought someone actually strong like himself, he bets that he wouldn't last a second before he resumed crying like his younger self does whenever remotely threatened.

All Might was wondering just what kind of fights he went through, what kind of teachers taught him. He hears from Snipe that the boy went missing for ten years, and true enough he dug up some old articles confirming it was Izuku Midoriya who disappeared and returned after ten years.

The way he strategized, moved and fought reminded him of a veteran Pro. Striking without hesitation, instantly going for weakspots in Melissa's armour. He saw his blade go for her armoured throat in the battle but the boy doesn't even flinch from making a move like that, perhaps he knew that her armour would protect her or that he was confident in his healing abilities to fix her, but seeing a student that cold in combat frightened him.

He remembers theorising he was an agent of All for One, perhaps one looking for revenge for his dead master. He imagines a lost child found and taken in by that monster, possibly taking his Quirk and giving him new ones as some twisted form of trade or compensation. He imagines the child put through brutal training and brainwashing to become a soldier and assassin for his underground empire, sent against any who would threaten his rule.

He knows this because this was a common tactic that All for One would use to gain followers. Some of his most powerful agents he fought and defeated gave the exact same story before they would be found dead in their cells, usually suicide out of devotion to their master.

He looks back subtly to see Midoriya jotting down in his notebook, barely audibly muttering about how useful the Quirks he saw were. It sends chills down his spine as he remembers his final confrontation with All for One, lovingly detailing the specifics of the Quirks he had stolen and was using against him like a proud collector showing off his collection. 

He tells himself it was just his paranoia talking. But the coincidences were… disconcerting. If this child truly was an agent of All for One then he hopes that maybe, just maybe, his stay in UA could change him. Perhaps persuade him away from his path of misguided vengeance and become a true hero.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focuses on the event in front of him. Kaminari Denki and Ochako Uraraka had just been declared victors against Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami. It was a close call and Kaminari was incapacitated by his own Quirk but a success, still.

"Alright up next we got Team F vs Team G!" he announces to the class, "Momo Yaoyorozu and Katsuki Bakugou, your team will be playing the villains against the heroes, Shoto Todorki and Mezo Shoji."

Bakugou grins. Finally a fight that would be worth his time, and bonus points was that he's playing the Villain team. He's gonna finish this faster than Deku did and show him exactly how outclassed he was. He turns to face Izuku with a confident look.

"Just watch Deku. Maybe you'll learn something from this." he taunts as he moves, not bothering to wait for his teammate.

***

Well, he definitely learnt something from that "fight", if you could even call it that. It all started going wrong from the very beginning with Yaoyorozu and Bakugou debating about something on-screen.

They couldn't hear it but he assumes it went something amongst the lines of Yaoyorozu trying to get Bakugou to cooperate, but being the glory hound he is, Bakugou storms off on his own leaving Yaoyorozu to prepare by herself.

She does a good job as far as he could see. Her ability to construct items, while similar to his, was limited by the amount of fat she has in her body. He has a theory on how this works, perhaps her body actually absorbs the background mana and converts it to colourless mana to create items, and the fat is used as both fuel and binding agent of sorts to hold it together permanently. Just a theory for now.

Back to her performance, she sets up a number of simple traps that would launch the capture tape they were given at enemies, tripwires and alarms and so on. But they would never come into play because the moment the match started, Todoroki stepped up to the building and instantly froze it.

All of the traps were covered in a sheet of ice, rendering them useless as both Bakugou and Yaoyorozu were frozen as well. If he recalls, Bakugou's Quirk generates explosions through sweat so the ice could be interfering with his abilities.

As for Momo she was frozen and despite her breaking free by creating large items from her body to break the ice, she was again frozen without much effort allowing for the Hero Team to capture the bomb.

He learnt how not to conduct a defence operation. He also learns how strong Shoto Todoroki is. Being able to flash freeze in an instant without killing the defenders was not something to scoff at.

"Could you have done something like that?" Kaminari asks as they pack up their bags. That was the last class for the day and we are now preparing to return home.

Izuku shrugs, "Freezing over a building is easy, doing it in such a way to not kill the defenders? That takes precision. Besides, cryomancy is an art I'm not a master at. When it comes to ice I'm a novice."

"Ah, so you're more into lightning and fire?" he asks, "Kinda weird, cause I'd peg you for an ice guy. WIth how you're always so calm and cool headed. Kinda like Todoroki."

"I don't think they're similar like that." Jirou throws in her two cents as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "Like, Midoriya's just calm and focused. But Todoroki? He just feels… cold. Literally and figuratively."

Izuku nods in agreement. When he went to congratulate the boy for his victory all he responded with was a cold glare before asking him to get out of his way. He was apathetic the most times he saw him, but there was underlying cold rage beneath him. Focused and determined, but for what he cannot tell.

"Hey, dude." Kaminari shakes his shoulder as he gestures to Ochako and Melissa, chatting as they prepare to leave, "Think I should shoot my shot. What do you think?"

"Already? You've only known them for less than two days." Izuku points out as Kaminari shrugs.

"Might as well, am I right?" he asks, "Just go out and have lunch, see what happens."

Izuku has to admire his courage, he supposes, "Very well. Fortune favours the bold, I suppose."

"Thanks, man." he gives Izuku a quick fistbump before approaching the two girls, "Hey, Shield, you heading out? I know a good ramen place nearby."

"Wanna bet how long before he gets rejected?" Jirou whispers jokingly.

"Have faith in our friend, Jirou." Izuku says before looking at the scene unveiling before him.

"And he just got rejected." Jirou says unsurprisingly, "Apparently she's heading to the Support Department."

"Scheduling conflicts. Perhaps he still has a chance." Izuku shrugs before seeing a disappointed Kaminari recover almost instantly and turning to Ochako, "You have to give it to him, he recovers quickly."

"Now if only he can put that determination into focusing on his classes that don't involve Midnight." she snarks, "And also, what're you doing after this?"

"Hm?" he looks confused at the question before she clarifies,

"It's just, we've known each other for more than a month now and we've never hung out since." she explains before playfully punching his arm, "Besides, you still owe me a free meal if I recall"

"Ah, I suppose I do." he nods before looking disappointed, "But my apologies, not today unfortunately. I have an urgent task lined up for today that I can't miss out on. Perhaps tomorrow, I will definitely be free then."

"Oh." Jirou says looking disappointed as well but quickly recovering, "It's fine. Raincheck on that idea. But what's this task about?"

"Just a personal project of mine that's been on-going for quite a while now." he answers somewhat vaguely. As he says this he notices that Bakugou was leaving as well, a strange look on his face, a mix of rage and downcast.

He would have left him alone but a quick glance and he realises nobody was accompanying him. He's made not even an acquaintance since the first day while everyone had left or was leaving in at least a pair. Bakugou was all alone.

Perhaps it was an obligation to someone who was once a friend, or perhaps it was sympathy as he himself would hate being alone, but he followed the boy just as he was leaving through the main entrance.

"The fuck do you want, Deku?" the blonde grumbles without looking backwards.

"Merely checking on a classmate of mine, who appears to be distressed." Izuku answers as he steps closer to Bakugou, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's fucking wrong?!" he snaps as he turns to face Izuku with an angered look, "Everything's wrong! That's what's wrong!"

"...I don't follow." Izuku says stumped before thinking further on the issue, "You are talking about your defeat against Todoroki? It was an admittedly one-sided duel but you were at a disadvantage. You lacked knowledge of his capabilities, and your Quirk does not fare well against cold. There is no shame in loss, only-"

"Shut up!" he screams and to Izuku's surprise, tears start dripping from his eyes, "I don't need your fucking pity! I'm suppose to be the fucking strongest but that half-and-half bastard completely demolished me! And you!"

"Me?" Izuku points at himself confused on what he has to do with things.

"You shitty nerd…just when the hell did you get like this? I know you. You're a fucking crybaby that cried at the first sign of trouble! Whenever I flash my Quirk at you, you'd go running to mommy!" he snarls on the verge of a breakdown, "And now…How did you, useless Deku, win but I lost?! That's now how things work!"

So that was the source of all his anger and grief? Was it really that simple? That childish? Izuku sighs before responding,

"It's been ten years, Kacchan." he says tiredly, "I've changed. If you believe I've spent all that time idle, living an idyllic and sedentary life, then you are an even bigger fool than I thought."

Bakugou was about to snap back but Izuku didn't let him.

"I became stronger because I knew I was weak, so I trained, I learned from the greatest people I knew, absorbed knowledge and skills from every source available, never ceasing. But you? I can only guess, but I can assume you were content with your strength with no one to challenge you, making you complacent."

"The fuck are you going on about?!" Bakugou screams but Izuku remains patient.

"What I'm 'going on about', is that you were a big fish in a small pond. And now you've just been placed in a bigger pond, no longer are you uncontested but you are even surpassed by others. You are not the weakest, but you certainly aren't the strongest anymore." Izuku explains, "If you want to get stronger, accept your weaknesses. Strive to overcome them. Learn from your defeat today so you can turn it into a victory one day."

"Oh get off your high horse." he growls as he wipes his eyes, "I don't need bullshit rhetoric or preaching from you. I don't need some pity party. I know I might not be the strongest anymore but it sure as hell ain't gonna stay that way! You enjoy your win today, but I'll be better. No one's gonna beat me ever again! I'm going to be the Number 1 Hero, all of you extras can try all you want to take my place, I'll just throw you back down in the dirt!"

He screams loudly that Izuku was sure those still in the building could hear it. He wasn't sure if his words had any effect on Bakugou except for reinvigorating his spirit. Time will only tell if he changes out or not, but Izuku wouldn't bet any money on it.

He checked the sun which was almost starting to set. He spent enough time with this delay, he has to hurry now or he may not have time left to prepare.

***

The place he had found was isolated and far enough that no one would accidentally stumble across it. That was if they could even get past the illusionary runes he set up, if anyone enters they'll be treated with the sight of an empty cargo container.

He had found this place almost a week after his return to this plane. It was in an abandoned warehouse that was no longer used, it was far enough from his home that his parents won't somehow accidentally stumble upon it.

With a snap of his finger, the illusory runes deactivated and the cargo container's contents were revealed. Books, clippings and papers decorate it with topics regarding the various myths and religions of the world with a particular interest in Norse mythology, specifically information of the Bifrost and Yggdrasil. He knows that to this world they're just myths and stories, but who knows if they have any grain of truth to them. He's met the occasional god in his travels before, so perhaps he can find this plane's gods to get answers or even somehow contact its Worldsoul.

Alongside were a number of strange events such as the Tunguska Event and various other unexplained scenarios. Just research into any potential leads that could lead to unveiling the mystery surrounding this plane.

His stay was enjoyable, and he cherishes the connections he's made. He enjoys the sense of normality that going to UA made him feel. It was refreshing to be with people around his age, but he knows that it was all temporary. Sooner or later he'll have to go back, he cannot stay forever. Ever since he found this place he had been researching ways to pierce the shroud that is keeping him contained on this plane. Or to track down its source and deactivate whatever arcane artefact or ritual that was powering it.

He grabs a spare journal from the table he placed in his makeshift study, before consulting it and approaching his latest experiment. Painted in the centre of the warehouse was a large arcane circle, where it had connected it to the leylines of the world, channelling its power through the circle.

"Trial #27 continues making some progress. Might make a breakthrough before dinner." he mutters to himself as he puts on a pair of goggles to shield his eyes from the intense light that was caused by crackling energy within the circle, "Once more into the breach."