Chapter 237 - 8

Chapter Eight: Blowback

Toshinari Yagi was somewhat nervous to be sure. He really didn't have any experience when it came to teaching. Big speeches? Yes. But teaching among classes? It was all entirely new to him.

But the number one hero also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted to work to help the next generation of aspiring heroes. Especially after seeing the work each of them put into their Entrance Exams!

Such passion in what they wanted to become reminded Yagi of himself when he was young. When he first started UA, in fact. He drove towards his dream with a passion fueled by his master and he never stopped to take a breath.

This class reminded him of that. Young Midoriya reminded him of that. And he felt it was only natural that he would pass what he learned down to UA's best and brightest as they took the same journey he did.

With that in mind, as the students… HIS students emerged from the tunnel, he felt his fists instinctually clench.

Keep it together, Toshinari. You've dealt with interviews and fans before! Teaching a class about hero work should be a piece of cake! 

Immediately, he felt himself ease into the confident smile he wore. And the excitement settled as he instantly noticed the shine and polish that were the hero student's custom made costumes and uniforms, each of varying colors and designs. Each speaking on the hero that each student wanted to be.

With each emerging student, he felt pride build up at their drive to become top heroes. And, before he could help himself, he called out to them.

"YOU ALL LOOK SO COOL!" Toshinari called out as he puffed out his chest and guffawed. "Looking good is important, ladies and gentlemen! Costumes define the pro hero status, as they say! And you've all exceeded in that department! Look alive now! Because, from today on…" He pointed a finger forward as he struck another heroic pose. "... YOU'RE ALL HEROES IN TRAINING!"

As smiles of excitement flashed at his words, the students of Class 1-A soon formed neatly and attentively in front of Yagi, each looking eager to dive into what lesson he had in store for them (which Toshinari hoped would meet their expectations).

Their close proximity gave All Might the moment he needed to really take in their outfits, each more stylized and customized then the last.

Some were simple, like Young Tokoyami's dark cape and gear add-on to his already shadow-colored Quirk or Young Shoji's open sided uniform to further define his Quirk enhanced arms.

Some were more complicated, like Young Iida's armored and outfitted engine uniform with a muffled and outfilled helmet or Young Fenton's glowing and lined hooded and armored uniform that seemed to carry within it the energy of his Quirk.

Then, there were the ones that REALLY caught All Might's eye. Such as…

The number one hero felt himself try to stifle a laugh of both shock and humor as his chosen apprentice, Izuku Midoriya, stood among the students, clad in a uniform equipped with a mask decorated with a defined shining smile, which was further complimented by the popping of two ear-like add ons that immediately reminded Toshinari of the two obvious strands within his own hair.

You're so obvious!

Fanboy tendencies aside, Toshinari was still very happy to see Midoriya finding his place within the class. And, more importantly, making friends within. He had already seen Midoriya conversing with Young Uraraka (even though most of the talking on Young Midoriya's side came from nervous energy) and Young Iida consistently, but he was also in discussion with Young Fenton and a myriad of the friends he had made in the Entrance Exam. It seemed his chosen successor was already finding himself in a reliable group.

And that gave a lot of excitement of where the fanboy could go with both influence from his friends and from Toshinari himself.

Keep climbing, kid! You've definitely got the heart to reach the top!

Pride aside, All Might coughed the last of his nervous laughter out and turned back to the class, smile present.

"Right then! Everyone here and accounted for?! Excellent!" He struck another flex pose. "THEN IT'S TIME FOR COMBAT TRAINING!"

"Sir!" Before the number one hero could continue, Young Iida shot his hand into the air. "This appears to be the same field used in the Entrance Exam. Will we once again be performing cityscape maneuvers?!"

All Might smiled again. "Nope! You'll be moving on to step two! Indoor anti-personnel battle training!" Once again, there was a shift of expressions within the class. Most of excitement, some of confusion, all of eagerness to learn more. Which Toshinari was happy to oblige. "Villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, but statistically, the most heinous villains are more likely to appear indoors. Between confinement, house arrest and black market deals in this hero-filled society of ours, the cleverest villains out there lurk indoors! That's why, for this training exercise, you'll now be split into villain teams and hero teams and face off in two-on-two indoor battles!"

The green haired girl, Asui, cocked her head. "Isn't this a little advanced?"

"Practical experience is the best way to learn!" All Might replied. "The distinction here is that you won't be fighting disposable robots! Instead, you will be learning and adapting from each other!"

That drove another wave of excited reactions from the students. And an utter wave of questions.

"Sir, how will we be deciding who wins?" Yaoyorozu asked with a polite raise of her hand.

"What kind of moves are we allowed or not allowed to do?" Fenton asked casually.

"Can I just blast everyone away?" Bakugou growled under his breath.

"Are you threatening to expel someone, like Aizawa-sensei did?" Uraraka asked nervously.

"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?" Iida wondered aloud.

"How fabulous is my cape?" Aoyama asked with a gleam of sparkles.

"ONE AT A TIME!" All Might pleaded as he tried desperately to sort his thoughts. "My Quirk isn't super-hearing!" After a moment of taking a breath, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small scale notebook and quickly sorted through it's instructions. "Listen up! Here's the deal! The villains will be hiding a nuclear weapon in the hideout! And the heroes have to go in and take care of it! The heroes have a limited amount of time to either capture the villains or secure the weapon! The villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon until time is up!"

Without wasting a moment, Toshinari quickly pocketed the notebook once more and pulled out a large box, labeled with black enhanced letters that spelled out 'Lots'. "Now, please step forward! Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!"

"At random?" Iida asked as the class advanced. "Is that really the best way?"

"It makes sense," Young Midoriya piped in for the first time since the class arrived outside. "Because pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot during emergencies!"

"Plus," Young Sero added by the green-haired fanboy. "When it comes to who's available at the time to help you out, you can't afford to be picky. You have to work with who you have at your side."

"Yeah," Young Fenton agreed. "In the moment, it doesn't matter who. It always helps to have someone to back you up when you need it most."

"... Very true," Iida agreed before nodding. "When put that way, I see the need for this type of system in our training! My apologies!"

All Might blinked. He didn't expect to have his questions answered for him in such short order, but it made him happy. It was clear that these kids had come into UA fully prepared with the knowledge they needed to succeed. It seemed they all had experience in that department.

Toshinari would even guess some had it more than others. Young Fenton especially, given that his words seemed almost… wistful. Like he had been through a situation like that before.

According to the files he had read, there were a lot of unknowns surrounding Fenton, but he was still a good kid at heart. And Toshinari briefly wondered just how much the white-haired boy had been exposed to.

But, choosing not to try to single out the ghost boy on the first day of class, All Might recovered and continued.

"No need to apologize, Young Iida!" He said with a laugh. "It's a learning experience for the entire class, after all! Now, go ahead and choose your lots!"

Team A: Uraraka and Midoriya 

Team B: Shoji and Todoroki 

Team C: Mineta and Koda

Team D: Bakugou and Iida

Team E: Ashido and Aoyama 

Team F: Fenton and Yaoyorozu 

Team G: Kaminari and Jirou

Team H: Asui and Tokoyami 

Team I: Ojiro and Hagakure 

Team J: Kirishima and Sero 

It was interesting to see the myriad of reactions to each pairing, to say the least.

Young Midoriya immediately exploded into blushing as Young Uraraka enthusiastically approached him, which drew a small chuckle from the number one hero.

Bakugou and Iida both looked unsure about how to approach each other for their partnership, but that didn't concern Toshinari. The point of this exercise was the unexpected pairings and adapting to them. He was more than interested to see how this alliance would play out in the exercise.

Kirishima and Sero looked very excited to be paired, as they gave each other a friendly knuckle bump and quickly began strategizing.

Fenton and Yaoyorozu quickly began discussions as well, though Fenton gave off a bit of nervous energy as he did so.

All around, the students of 1-A seemed to meld with their unexpected partners the best they could, which got All Might excited to get things started. The familiarity with all their Quirks made Toshinari eager to see how they might use them in tangent with other Quirks.

"Right then!" All Might called out, gathering the attention of the class once more as he reached in and placed both hands in the hero and villain boxes, now filled with lettered balls. "Moving on, first up for team battles are…" With a magnificent pose, the pro hero pulled both arms out and presented the selection. "THESE GUYS! The heroes will be Team A and the villains will be Team D!"

Immediately, there was tension in both Midoriya and Bakugou. And Toshinari looked on as both regarded each other, Midoriya more in nervousness and eagerness, Bakugou more in outright anger and contempt.

The rest of the class stared as well, watching the two with various degrees of their own excitement and nervousness. It was clear that these two teams held each other to certain degrees. And All Might felt a bit of worry at the current atmosphere.

He silently hoped that both realized that this was still a classroom and not a battlefield. The last thing he wanted was for things to get out of hand.

Regardless, All Might continued. "Right! The villain team will go in first! The true battle timer starts in five minutes, when the hero team sneaks in! The rest of the class will watch the match via CCTV in the monitor room!"

"Yes, sir!" The rest of the class chorused.

All Might then turned back to the first match participants. "Iida. Bakugou. You boys need to adopt a villain mind-set! This is a practical experience, so remember! Give it your all and best! Though remember, this is still a class! I will stop things if you take it too far."

All four nodded in understanding. And All Might flashed his signature smile and a thumbs up before turning back to the rest of the class. "Right then! Use your five minute prep time wisely! The rest of you, follow me to the monitor room!"

With that, the pro hero advanced away and towards the darkened viewing room alongside the remainder of Class 1-A.

He didn't know what to expect when it came to the first round, especially when it came to his chosen successor fighting against the aggressive fighter that was Young Bakugou. But, the aging hero knew one thing for sure: it was sure to be a match to remember.

…

"The rest of you, follow me to the monitor room!"

Danny felt another pulse of excitement at that. He really didn't expect to find himself in this kind of class so soon. And in an exercise that pitted his powers against the others?

He didn't have anything against the other 1-A students (not counting Bakugou of course, but he sure as heck didn't begin that little feud.), but Danny knew he would have been lying if he had said he hadn't thought about how his powers may go against the others.

Call it curiosity, but after seeing the display of the others during the Quirk Tests, he was very excited to see how exactly they would use their Quirks in fighting situations.

It really was something taken right out of a comic book for the halfa. Costumes and everything included. Though, currently in Danny's case, the costume aspect was a lot more distracting than he would have thought.

Very quickly, he realized that the girls of the class had some VERY form-fitting costumes, which highlighted quite a bit to the ghost boy. It definitely made it a bit hard to keep a train of thought for the first minute. Especially, and particularly, around his new partner.

"Your ghost Quirk is certainly a powerful asset to have in optimal strategies, Fenton," Yaoyorozu continued as she and Danny prepped to head to the monitor room. "If we were to focus, search certain rooms with your phasing within the five minute planning time and after for the purposes of scouting, or strictly focus on scouting if we're the hero team, I'm quite confident that we could build on that with an admirable defense or offense with my Creation."

"Y-Yeah, sounds good," Danny replied, trying to keep his gaze forward as much as he could.

Yaoyorozu's costume was basically a red lined leotard and utility belt, which left a lot of openings that almost highlighted her generous body. The ghost boy understood WHY, given that her Quirk apparently needed exposed skin to create what she needed. But it was still… a little distracting.

That being said, he still got what she was trying to say. "S-So, you need me to scout out the rooms ahead of time and kind of set up a… watchzone and a map of what we have to work with."

"Exactly," Yaoyorozu said with a smile. "It would be a perfect use of both scouting and strategy building, giving us enough time to prepare for any oncoming opposition."

"Scouting?" Danny wondered aloud. Then he laughed. "I never really thought of using my… Quirk exclusively that way."

"That's surprising to hear," The black haired girl replied, looking back at the ghost boy. "In my opinion, your Quirk is very optimized for that front. Between your phasing capabilities and your invisibility, I would say you would be able to gather quite a bit of information on our opposition."

"I never really had the chance before to focus on it," Danny replied, thinking back to the more brawl-like fights he had back in his own world. "But, I'm always down to try out some new tricks. Especially when it comes to my phasing and invisibility."

"Then this will be your chance," The girl replied confidently. "If there's one thing that can be assured at UA, it's that we're on the pathway to becoming the best heroes we can be. And that means learning how we can improve ourselves with our Quirks. I hope to learn a lot from this exercise as well!"

Danny smirked. "Well, I'm glad to hear we're both looking forward to our team-up."

As Momo smiled again and nodded in agreement, she moved to begin to follow the rest of the class to the monitor room, Danny caught sight of Midoriya as he stared back at Bakugou's glare, fists clenched.

It was obvious that Midoriya was nervous to be in the sights of the bully, but he stood his ground nonetheless, keeping his gaze firmly locked on the red eyes of his opponent. Without a single word, it seemed like Midoriya was issuing a challenge back at Bakugou. And that gave Danny some joy to see.

As he passed by the green haired boy, the ghost boy nodded to him. "Good luck, Midoriya. I'll be rooting for you."

Midoriya met his eyes and gave Danny a thankful nod back. "Thank you, Fenton! I won't let you down!"

Danny smiled and moved on to join the rest of the class, ignoring the heated daggers he felt on his back as Bakugou tried to glare a hole in the back of his head.

As he left the two rivals behind and followed into the main monitor room, Ashido and Sero fell into step beside him.

"What was that all about?" Sero wondered aloud while he looked back at the teams they left behind. "Had some last minute advice for Midoriya?"

"I don't think I can tell him more about Bakugou than he already knows. Seems like they know each other REALLY well," Danny replied. "I just wished him luck."

"Are you sure about not giving him more advice?" Ashido asked, looking back nervously to the two. "It looks like Bakugou is ready to explode. And I don't want to think about how he fights with a Quirk like THAT."

"Something tells me it's not going to be that one-sided," The halfa assured (while trying not to get equally distracted by Ashido's costume. She had… QUITE the figure). "Well, we haven't seen how Midoriya fights yet. And…" He let the thought briefly linger as they fully entered the monitor room. "That's the first time I've seen Midoriya not nervous around Bakugou."

His friends looked somewhat doubtful, but Danny knew what he saw. While the freckled boy was nervous, there was still a gleam within his eyes that the halfa had recognized from the Quirk exams.

A gleam and look of a driving determination.

…

"Training or not, assuming the role of villain pains me." There was a metal clanking echo as the four-eyed classmate knocked against the fake bomb. "So, we merely have to guard this?"

Katsuki Bakugou was only half paying attention. Instead, his thoughts and focus were trained solely on one repeating fact in his anger-filled mind: Deku has a Quirk.

The quirkless runt of a loser that had trailed behind him in school for so long, the wannabe who was supposed to be left behind in the dust…

Not only THAT, but he was showing it off to everyone else, INCLUDING the ghost brat who beat him in the Entrance Exam! It was like Deku was MOCKING Bakugou, thinking he was better than him.

Thinking that he had suddenly pulled ahead when he had been behind him for so long. Where he was SUPPOSED to be.

His anger barely contained, the blonde explosion thrower turned to his forced partner.

"Hey," Bakugou muttered, catching the armored loser's attention. "So Deku has a Quirk?"

For a moment, there was a moment of shock on the blue-haired student's part, almost as if he was shocked to hear the question.

"You saw his monstrous strength, no? Although it puts him at great risk." His eyes narrowed. "I'll ask you not to charge straight at Midoriya."

But anything that Iida had said after his first sentence, Bakugou wasn't listening. Immediate anger and fury detonated in his mind like never before. And his teeth grit so suddenly, it echoed in his mouth. Within his gauntlets, his fists clenched with such ferocity, he felt the sparks pop between his fingers.

HE'S BEEN PUNKING ME THIS WHOLE TIME?!

There was no doubt, no regret, no mercy in his mind. This whole time, the nerd LAUGHED at him. Mocked him behind his back with that ghost freak, no doubt! He wouldn't let that stand! Not with any of the loser's friends! And definitely not with Deku himself!

"THAT DAMNED NERD…!"

…

With a name like "The Monitor Room", Danny thought he knew what to expect. Maybe a small scale room with a number of screens all on maybe security cameras around the area where the teams who were fighting could be displayed. Something simple like that?

He didn't expect what basically amounted to a theater room that could make the Fenton Works computers look like tablets in comparison.

Walking into the room, the first thing to catch the attention of the halfa and the class was a computer monitor that seemed like a large-scale TV or small scale movie theater screen. It shined with HD quality as it proudly displayed the large scale view of the building itself, highlighting the massive form of All Might in a highlighted hue of color and shadow.

Around the main module and glowing across the length of the walls were both mini and holographic screens, each displaying different access points of the building as well as close ups on both teams as they prepared themselves for the task at hand. At random intervals, each screen would flicker and shine, adapting the feed and switching angles to that of another close proximity or angle.

It honestly looked like something out of a spy movie. And Danny was here for it.

"Well," The halfa commented as he looked around the room. "I don't think we need to worry about missing the action. In any way, shape or form."

"No doubt," Kaminari agreed. "I mean, I know UA has a lot, but this… this is like a war-room!"

"Kero. It's definitely a lot," Tsu agreed as she adjusted the equipped goggles on her forehead. "But it's expected. I imagine mock battles have to be monitored closely when it comes to UA. With such powerful Quirks mixing with each other, it makes sense to keep a close eye on things."

"And how much property damage they can cause," Danny pointed out. "I mean, I can't think of any other reason why they're fighting in a fake building."

"Astute observations, youngsters!" All Might called out as he affixed the main monitor to the centerpoint of the structure. "These buildings have been specifically constructed for the purpose of monitoring the damage output for each of your Quirks! When you're a pro, you have to keep aware of your surroundings at all times! That way, you can always make the most effective strategic decision in the moment it matters most!"

"So we're even being graded on the destruction of the building?" Mina asked, disheartened. "Aw man. There go all my multi-floored acidic moves."

"If it makes you feel any better, Ashido, I don't think Bakugou has a way to attack without damaging the building at all," Danny said. "So I don't think he'll be getting out of this with full points without switching plans."

"That is the purpose of this exercise! To see how each person adapts to circumstances beyond their preparations!" All Might said with glee. "I must admit, I am interested to see how Bakugou will go about this as well! Which is why we shouldn't waste another moment!" With the five minute timer passed, the pro hero reached down and pressed a small button next to the console mic. "Indoor antipersonnel battle training STARTS NOW!"

At that, the screen switched to Midoriya and Uraraka, who, with firm nods, started their way up the main building structure.

On one of the other screens, Bakugou quickly and aggressively stormed away from the frantic form of Iida, who seemed to be calling out to him at the same moment he aggressively chopped the air.

Danny sighed. "I figured as much."

Bakugou definitely didn't seem like the type to get along with anyone, really. So it was no surprise to the ghost boy when the blonde broke away from the team to do solo work. What DID surprise him was one aspect from the viewing that seemed to be missing.

"How come we're not getting sound?" The halfa asked aloud.

"Communication is strictly isolated to my earpiece at the moment!" All Might pointed to a small glowing device planted firmly within his left ear. "This way, I can better track their communications and enter the fray with any rules or regulations they are adhering to or breaking! It's very effective in teaching lessons on the fly!"

Unable to argue with that logic, Danny turned his attention back to the screen as Midoriya and Uraraka slowly made their way up, slowly checking and clearing doorways as they did so.

It was clear that a cautious approach is what they were going for in this, which made sense to Danny. With Midoriya's strength being where it was and Uraraka only really being able to be effective in certain close-quarter fights, it was probably their best option.

But it still made Danny a bit jumpy. Maybe it was because he had spent most of his time just speeding the fight forward and getting up in his opponents face fast to get it over with, but the pace they were going just made him anxious.

With them not knowing where the enemy team was, going this slow meant that their opponents had plenty of time to sneak up on or ambush them at a moment's notice, which could very well break up the teamwork they had going on.

But Midoriya was taking that into account and religiously checking corners, which put the halfa at some ease.

At least, until the camera flashing with sudden and harsh movement as Bakugou appeared from one corner of the hall, hand extended and gauntlet pulled back.

"Holy crap!" Sero called out. "He's about to-!"

And that's when the hall cam was illuminated with a pure white flash of light.

…

Midoriya could only thank his instincts in the moment. If it wasn't for them, he probably would have been eliminated right then and there.

With a cry of both pain and fear, the green haired boy quickly backpedaled and dove, pushing Uraraka out of the way as a fireball flashed past both of them with such force, it tore the brown haired girl's helmet clean off and ignited one half of his mask.

A millisecond later, the shockwave from the resulting explosion sent bouts of smoke and fire across the area, throwing both Midoriya and Uraraka against the wall with another yelp of pain and confusion.

Holy whoa, what was that?! Midoriya wondered as he quickly ripped off the rest of his burning mask, leaving him barefaced. I didn't expect Kacchan to be so aggressive! Or his explosions to be this powerful! How did he boost up his force that much?

"Deku!" Immediately, Midoriya was brought back to reality as Uraraka looked on, her dirty and smudged expression doing nothing to detract from the concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Midoriya assured with a nervous smile before turning back to the lingering smoke. And, more noticeably, the lined crater in the wall.

That power behind Kacchan's attacks. It was entirely new. Midoriya had taken extensive notes on his friend's explosion capabilities before and they were NEVER able to damage a wall that heavily in just one attack. Which meant… There was something new about Kacchan.

"Uraraka, get behind me," Midoriya said as he came to a stand amidst the smoke. "And when you get the chance, you need to go around and towards the bomb."

"What? But… Deku, what about you?"

"Nice dodging, Deku!" Kacchan's roar echoed through the hall as his faint silhouette began to advance towards them. "Just what I would expect from a nerd like you!"

"I knew that Kacchan would come straight at me," Midoriya replied through gritted teeth. "And he would keep pressing the attack on me until he beats me! When you see your chance, you have to go!"

"I knew using my gauntlet right off the bat would be just the advantage I need to make you panic, you wannabe!" The blonde haired boy snarled. "Sure, it wasn't full power, but I don't need full power to beat you! They're going to have to stop the fight by the time I'm through with you!" With an aggressive stomp and race forward, Kacchan sprinted towards Midoriya, both arms swinging at the same time to try and slam him with the full force of the support items and his strength.

Gauntlets. So that's how he put that power into that first attack. Midoriya slid his foot back and clenched his fists. But that means… that there's no difference between us strength wise still! I can still do this!

Kacchan's first gauntlet connected with Midoriya's right shoulder, sending shocks of pain down the length of his arm. But that didn't stop the green haired boy from twisting back with his full strength and pinning forward the blonde's right arm, throwing his momentum forward and against him.

"Whoa!" He heard Uraraka exclaim. "Look at those cool moves!"

With a cry of defiance, Midoriya swung the full weight of Kacchan down and around, slamming him against the ground with such force, he roared in pain.

"You always put your full power behind your swings!" Midoriya muttered. "I've seen enough to know! You see, I've analyzed heroes I think are awesome in that notebook of mine! The one you blew up and chucked out the window…!" The green haired boy met eyes with his bully and clenched his teeth in both pain and frustration. "You see… I'M THE DEKU WHO ALWAYS DOES HIS BEST!"

Immediately, Kacchan spun and rose, absolute fury in his expression. "YOU… SPOUTING ALL THIS CRAP! IT PISSES ME OFF!"

Without hesitation, Bakugou lunged once more, pressing both gauntlets into Deku's chest at the same moment Deku pressed his weight forward.

He almost felt the air completely leave his lungs, but he pressed forward. "URARAKA, GO!"

"YOU WERE ALWAYS WEAK, DEKU!" Kacchan snarled as he continued to push forward. "SOMEONE TO EAT MY DUST WHEN I REACHED THE TOP! NOTHING'S CHANGED! YOU'LL NEVER STOP BEING WEAK COMPARED TO… HUHHH?!"

Almost immediately, Deku felt the weight of his opponent lessen at the same moment a flash of pink shined in the corner of his eye. He immediately stumbled forward from the sudden lack of resistance, but still looked up in enough time to see Uraraka, hand still outstretched, face slightly green from floating Kacchan.

With one last nod, she quickly raced down the hall and vanished from view, leaving Deku with the struggling form of his friend.

"Uraraka…" Deku muttered aloud. And, with no time to lose, he quickly pulled his capture tape and wrapped it around the blonde's left leg. At the same moment, Kacchan threw down another mask of explosive power, trying to throw Deku away from his currently weightless body.

The battle had only just begun.

…

In-between the flash and smoke as Bakugou fired what was probably a VERY powerful attack, some gasps of shock echoed through the room as the camera fluxed in and out from the sheer force of it all.

For a brief moment, Danny wondered if Midoriya and Uraraka were even still in the BUILDING, the force of it was so great.

But, once the camera came back into focus, it was clear that the only casualty was a small chunk of the left side wall and Midoriya's mask. Both were fine and clearly still in the fight. Not that that changed anything for Danny.

"What the heck was that?!" The halfa demanded. "Bakugou didn't even hesitate!"

"That was such a powerful opening attack!" Kirishima exclaimed, just as shocked as Danny. "And a sneak attack, too! That Bakugou is so unmanly!"

"Try bloodthirsty." Danny muttered as he watched the blonde bully press his attack on the now maskless Midoriya.

"While the attack certainly was vicious on Young Bakugou's part, it certainly wasn't unstrategic!" All Might replied without looking away from the screen. "And a perfectly viable way to go about defending your position! When it comes to situational locations like this, you must always hold strong against the advancing enemy!" Their teacher shifted a bit nervously. "Though I will say I hope Young Bakugou keeps in mind that this is still practice! Explosions like that won't be allowed continuously!"

Danny felt a bit surprised. All Might was still going to let this continue, even with Bakugou showing exactly how vicious he felt in this situation?

The halfa felt a bit odd about that decision, but, knowing that this was still a learning experience for the class and himself, kept quiet and watched the fight play out on the screens in front of them.

The class watched in surprise and awe as, even with Midoriya being as battered as he was, took a stand against his advancing bully and slammed him into the ground with enough force to get him to bounce.

"Whoa!" Hagakure exclaimed at the same moment as the rest of the class. "Where did he learn to do THAT?!"

"He just flipped Bakugou like he didn't weigh ANYTHING!" Kirishima exclaimed with just as much excitement.

"Wherever he learned from," Sero commented with a smile as Midoriya stood over the downed blonde. "They don't mess around!"

"That's for sure," Danny added, barely containing his own smile. He knew the green haired boy had determination, but seeing him using it against his bully and driving himself forward despite everything made the halfa happy.

But that didn't last too much longer as the fight between the two continued, with Bakugou jumping up and furiously pushing his attack forward.

Midoriya tried his best to hold his ground, but it was evident that he wouldn't be able to keep Bakugou from overwhelming him… that is, until Uraraka made her move.

While she ran by, the brunette threw her hand back as she passed by the blonde bully and activated her Quirk at the same moment, sending the attacking Bakugou into the air and allowing Midoriya to properly catch his breath.

"Whoa! She was very quick with that!" Ojiro, a student with white almost karate-like gear and a Quirk-defined tail, exclaimed. "I could have blinked and missed that move."

"She's so fast!" Hagakure yelled out, her gloves bouncing in the air. "Bakugou didn't even see that coming!"

"A last minute assist to her team-mate as she pulled back…" Momo mused beside Danny. "Risky, but effective in the end. An excellent use of her Quirk overall."

"She definitely bought Midoriya time," Danny agreed, his gaze not leaving the monitor screen. "And, knowing him, there's no way he's not going to try and capitalize on that."

No sooner as he said that, the halfa watched as the green haired boy surged forward, capture tape in hand as he rapidly tried to tie it around Bakugou's boot. With a flash of speed, the freckled student had already entangled and wrapped the fabric around the length of his opponent's boot, pulling and tightening the object at the same moment the blonde boy threw forward a secondary explosion, coating the room in a second wave of smoke.

Around the room, the students of 1-A let out another unanimous gasp as the online cameras vibrated from the force of the attack, Danny included.

But, as fast as the attack occurred, Midoriya returned on screen, his suit even more damaged, but his determined expression never wavering as he quickly backpedaled and retreated back down the hall, leaving Bakugou floating on the ceiling and throwing explosions in a bid to properly angle himself.

Danny frowned. He knew that Uraraka had only ever expected to delay Bakugou, but the speed in which the blonde was already adapting and correcting his course to his situation… It was REALLY fast.

Despite how the halfa felt about him, it was clear he was well experienced with his Quirk. And Midoriya, with the way HIS Quirk was, definitely held a disadvantage in the fight. The only hope the green haired boy had was to drive space between himself and the bully and only use his Quirk if he needed it, relying on Uraraka to continue the push towards the objective.

Or, at least she tried to…

Before rounding the final corner to the bomb, the brunette's expression changed in a moment, showing visible discomfort as her cheeks inflated and she dragged herself up the stairs. This whole time, she had been holding her stance and keeping Bakugou suspended to buy time for her partner.

But it was clear that she could only hold it for so long. And, with one quick shot of her hand to her mouth in order to keep her lunch in, Uraraka's hands unclasped. And Bakugou visibly dropped to the floor, anger aglow and evident in his eyes as he landed on his feet and, without hesitation, tore down the hall with a speed Danny didn't even know was possible.

"There's no hesitation from him," Tokoyami commented, his tone a mix of both surprise and expectation. "His goal remains Midoriya, regardless of how far Uraraka has traveled up the building." His eyes closed in thought. "He truly is a slave to his own instincts."

"That's not good for Midoriya," Sero said, crossing his arms. "He didn't get that much of a head start on Bakugou. I doubt he's had much time to think things through."

"And he's not going to have much more if Bakugou keeps moving like that," Danny motioned to the screen as it displayed the firebound bully speeding through room after room, trying to locate the source of his absolute anger.

"And it doesn't help that Midoriya showed his attacks and predictions off like that," Shoji added. "Bakugou will know what to expect now. And he'll be going into this next fight with counters in mind, most likely."

"Which means, either way," Danny looked back up to the monitor displaying the upstairs camera. "This'll come down to who wins the upstairs fight."

The class watched with bated breath as the monitor showed Iida quickly pacing the room around the massive fake bomb prop, hand to his chin and expression visibly in thought. On the next monitor over, it showed the somewhat tired but recovering Uraraka arriving at the doorway of the room, cautiously peeking her head out to try and take sight of the situation.

And then she immediately receded, her face red as she tried desperately to hold in her own laughter. And Danny… somewhat couldn't blame her.

"... Well, Iida's certainly getting into his role, at least." The ghost boy commented in an exasperated tone as Iida visibly laughed out loud in his space, his arms up like he was giving a grand villainous speech, Techmus style.

Tsu nodded beside him. "Iida certainly has enthusiasm about this. Even in villain roles, apparently. Kero."

On his other side, Danny noticed Yayorozu cross her arms and frown slightly, almost like she had seen something that irked her a little. The halfa was puzzled as to what made her break her usually either stoic or smiling expression like that, but before he could ask, he heard Kaminari speak up.

"Bakugou just reached Midoriya, guys!"

Turning back around and immediately turning to the screen over, the ghost boy watched as the muscled blonde form of Bakugou advanced menancily down the hall and towards the maskless, shaking form of Midoriya.

There was nothing but murderous intent burning within the irises of the bully, even from the monitor view itself. And he showed no signs of stopping or slowing on his rival's account.

It was clear he was looking for a fight to finish this, as sparks flew and threw between the fingers of his balled fists. But Midoriya looked the complete opposite: backpedaling and keeping his hands behind him, almost like he was afraid of what he could do.

Danny briefly wondered what Midoriya had said to earn the complete ANGER of someone like this, but that wasn't the immediate thought in his mind. Instead, he looked to All Might.

"All Might, Bakugou's going to throw everything he has at this. And Midoriya doesn't have a lot of control over his Quirk right now," He shot a look back at the fight. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but maybe you should stop the fight here."

For a moment, it seemed like All Might briefly hesitated. "... Young Bakugou knows the rules of the match the same as Young Midoriya. I'm sure that, as long as he keeps them in mind, he'll know to properly limit…"

All at once, the number one hero trailed off as Bakugou took a step forward and, with both palms sparking and smoking with explosive energy, revved both of his muscled arms back, as if he was preparing to roll himself into a ball.

All the while, his expression seemingly evolved into a snarling growl and glare that seemed to glow the same sinister shine as his red irises.

Immediately, All Might straightened. "Wait! Stop, Young Bakugou! Are you trying to kill him?!"

And immediately, the hero's mic crackled back, the voice replying filled with so much maniacal anger, Danny could hear it from eight feet away.

"He'll be fine as long as he DODGES!"

And Bakugou hurled himself forward, propelling on the force of both hands, firing explosions at once and closing the distance between himself and Midoriya in less than a second.

"HOWITZER BLAST!"

With no time to react, Midoriya could only hold up his hands in a defensive move as the twin explosions impacted in front of him, throwing him back as another flash boomed across the monitors with such force, even Uraraka and Iida were visibly thrown a little off-balance from it.

Midoriya, costume now ripped in multiple places and with smoke wafting off of his body, stumbled back and blinked rapidly, seemingly trying to recover himself at the same moment Bakugou approached the green haired boy, fresh fire growing in his palms.

Danny whirled back towards All Might. "You have to stop this fight, All Might! He can't fight back! Bakugou is going to kill him!"

"He's right!" Kirishima quickly came to Danny's defense and side, looking just as nervous as the halfa felt. "You have to intervene, sir! Bakugou's going all in!"

All Might, who had his gaze fixated on the screen, visibly clenched his fists at that and seemed to hesitate even more then before, which Danny couldn't understand. Hadn't he seen enough to stop things before Midoriya got even more injured?

There was a moment of quiet, then, All Might raised the mic. "Bakugou! Use an explosion that powerful again and I'm ending this match forcibly! You will lose!"

Danny immediately looked back to the monitor at the same moment he saw Bakugou stop his stride, looking angrily towards the sky.

"Using big attacks like that indoors is just asking to get your base of operations destroyed! It's a bad plan whether you're hero or villain! And it's a good way to lose points!"

The halfa looked back at the hero, a bit incredulous. Why wasn't he stopping the fight? Did the roaring and fire throwing not convince him enough that Bakugou was just playing for injuries at this point?

Either way, it only halted Bakugou for a moment, as the blonde haired warrior quickly surged forward and charged with another propulsion like boost from his Quirk.

Seeing the oncoming attack, Midoriya quickly switched back to a more defensive stance and, with a moment of wait, threw a punch towards the rocketing bully.

But, quick as lightning, Bakugou threw one of his palms forward, connected with Midoriya's, angled his explosion to literally flip over the boy and nail him on the back with the full force of an explosion on his other palm, sending Midoriya reeling once more.

The class collectively gasped at the pure brutality of Bakugou's attack, clearly unsure of how to go about taking in the situation at hand.

But the ice-cladded boy, Todoroki, spoke up in an analyzing tone. "He looks like a brute, but he's actually pretty tactical. He used the first explosion to simultaneously feint and change his own tack. Then he immediately followed up with another."

Momo nodded at that as she too fixed her gaze on the screen. "He doesn't seem like a thinker, but that strategy was fairly intricate."

"Damn," Kaminari muttered. "This guy is good."

Danny didn't reply to any of them. He only kept his eyes on the progressively worsening fight as Bakugou followed up that vicious attack with a full gauntlet slam into Midoriya's right arm, sending out what looked to be a small scale shockwave that propelled the green-haired boy a little higher in the air.

The quick follow up was even more brutal, with Bakugou grabbing his opponent mid-air and, with a calculated spin boosted by an explosion, slammed him into the ground with enough force to make him bounce once more.

There was no sound, but Midoriya visibly cried out in pain as he fell back to the ground.

"This is just torture now!" Mina cried out, clearly distressed. "He could have just captured him already!"

"Not very hero-like at all." Tokoyami muttered.

"Yeah, I thought Midoriya was good. But against Bakugou…" Kaminari winced. "He's clearly outmatched."

"This isn't even fighting skill anymore," Danny muttered. "Bakugou isn't giving him any time to think! This is all in his favor now."

A part of him was almost tempted to enter the match himself and just put a stop to it his way. But he knew if he did that, he might just end up forfeiting the match for Midoriya. And, as stressed as All Might looked at the moment, it didn't look like he was going to step in, for whatever reason.

Which meant, at that moment, the only person who could get Midoriya out of that situation was himself. And, as the hero-in-training picked himself up off the floor and beat another hasty retreat down the hall, Danny felt a fist clench.

Come on, Midoriya.

…

Midoriya, though his muscles screamed against him and the heat burned against his body, desperately pushed himself forward on will and adrenaline up against the back wall. Every breath he took out of his aching lungs seemed to echo in his ears and his eyesight was blurred from the buildup of tears, thanks to his injuries.

But, regardless of any of that, he still forced himself to stand,

Keep going… keep standing. It's what All Might would do. It's what you need to do. If you want to win this...

He kept himself on his feet as, through his tired eyes, he could see his longtime opponent and bully closing the distance once more, his fury more evident than ever.

"Why won't you use your Quirk?!" Kacchan demanded through his gritted teeth. "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!"

Midoriya felt his fist clench at those words. No. It's not that.

"EVER SINCE WE WERE KIDS!" The explosion thrower sounded like he was on the verge of frothing at the mouth. "YOU ALWAYS HAVE!"

"No!" Midoriya called out, fresh determination flowing through his aching muscles. "You're wrong!"

"I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING DOWN ON ME!"

His roar seemingly echoed through the entirety of the building, proudly putting his anger on full display for all the world to see. He thought that Midoriya hated him. That he would have used any opportunity to make him hurt, like he had been doing to him.

But, deep inside, Midoriya knew that that wasn't what this was about. Or even how he himself felt. He should have been angry. He should have been mad. But there was nothing like that.

Instead…

"Kacchan, you idiot. I don't look down on you!" Midoriya retorted, fists clenched and fresh tears in his eyes. "I think you're incredible! That's why I want to beat you! Because you're amazing!"

Fresh anger filled Kacchan's expression at his words. And the blonde immediately gathered up fresh fire in his right palm.

"Stop looking at me like that…'' He ordered. "AND COME AT ME!"

With fresh resolve within his body and his want to beat his bully at the forefront of his mind, Midoriya charged at the same time as Kacchan, ensuring that their fight would be inevitable.

A million thoughts flashed through his calculating mind all at once, going through everything he needed to do and think in order to properly activate his Quirk. He would ensure there would be no missteps, no mistakes.

"Next time you're in a fight, think about what else that strength of yours could do besides a punch. Breathe and try to put a little of that burst into that move."

Breathe.

As the distance between him and Kacchan closed, Midoriya felt his lungs fill with air at the same moment he felt the power of One-for-All enter his closed fist. At the same moment the words of advice that were given to him by the top of Class 1-A entered his mind once more.

It would be a gambit on his end, given how he had never seen All Might use this move before and he was unsure if the Quirk would even work without physically bouncing or impacting.

But, he knew that he couldn't keep being useless to his class after every attack he did. And, if this was a way to ensure he could take the first steps towards breaking less bones…

As his entire arm buzzed with the energy of his obtained Quirk, he felt the tips of his fingers on his other hand also get the same feeling at the same moment. Pressing them together and straightening to fit a chopping motion to his hand, the green eyed hopeful looked back to his longtime bully.

I can't beat you one-on-one, Kacchan. I still don't measure up. But… 

All at once, both hands sparked with energy, each culminating at a different level.

I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore! 

"NOW, URARAKA!"

…

Midoriya and Bakugou charged each other with all the fury they could muster, both teens displaying their building Quirk power as they did so.

They FULLY intended to crash into each other with their full capabilities on display. And Danny immediately felt a rush of concern as he watched.

Between Midoriya's tendency to hurt himself and Bakugou's tendency to hurt others, he didn't like the outcome this might bring. And he didn't hesitate to voice that.

"All Might!" Danny whirled back to their motionless teacher. "They're going to kill each other! You need to stop it now!"

"Sensei!" He heard Kirishima's voice as well. "This looks really bad!"

"They're going to level that room and each other!" Jirou spoke out. "Sensei!"

A unanimous cry of alarm and nerves went around the class itself, all sparking from the drive of the two forces charging towards each other. If something didn't happen now…

At last, All Might suddenly seemed to find his movement again. And the teacher quickly raised up his communication device. "BOTH OF YOU, STOP TH-!"

"NOW, URARAKA!"

Even through the small scale mic, Midoriya's voice broke through loud and clear.

All Might immediately faltered in shock. Danny did much the same. And all attention was immediately back to the screen as, on the screens showing the top floor match between the gravity girl and Iida, Uraraka quickly hugged one of the support beams.

At the same moment, Midoriya, moments away from complete impact with Bakugou, suddenly and swiftly swept his left arm forward in a chop-like attack at the same moment he thrusted his right arm up in a punching motion.

All at once, the smoke and fire that Bakugou had been building up was swept to the left side in a violent push and pull of air, centered around the chop of Midoriya's left hand.

Bakugou also visibly faltered at the rush of force, non-audibly crying out in frustration and anger as he was thrown aside along with his attack. The blonde boy was sent skidding along the floor at the same moment the green-haired hero enthusiast used his right arm, punching up in the air and away from his opponent with such speed, it was almost a seamless transition from a for sure impact to a diverted attack.

Danny felt the beginning of questioning enter his head for Midoriya's choice, but it died nearly the same moment it appeared, as the results were made clear.

Immediately, the ceiling above the two opponents crumpled upwards, bending from the sheer force of Midoriya's attack and blasting similar holes through every proceeding upper floor with seemingly no effort at all, including the floor with the two other combatants upon it.

"Holy crap!" Sero exclaimed as he looked on in shock. "That was all from Midoriya?!"

"I knew he was strong, but THIS…" Shoji added. "This power is incredible."

And Danny wasn't going to disagree.

The centerpoint for that impact on the upper floor was right below where Uraraka was clutching the support beam. And, through the intense shake of the cameras and the building, the screen showed her floating among the debris from the blast, eyes strictly on the shaken Iida.

With a flash of pink light, the brunette swung the column she once held (now snapped in the center from the gale force winds) like a baseball bat, knocking the debris surrounding her and effectively making a mass wall of torn-up stone that threatened to bombard Iida.

As the blue-haired speedster dodged, Danny suddenly got his unasked question answered. In an instant, he understood why Midoriya did what he did, why he used his strength in such a way. And, most importantly, in what way it would ensure him and Uraraka the game in the end.

All of it was built towards the focused attention and support of Uraraka while Midoriya took the brunt of Bakugou's anger. It would keep the enemy team split while letting them get the final push in, with that final push being…

"All of this," Danny concluded. And he felt his fists clench in excitement as the gravity girl floated above her distracted opponent and landed on her target, her arms and legs wrapped around the top of the fake bomb. "They did it!"

"They won!" Ashido cried at nearly the same moment Danny did.

And, almost like a rippling effect among the class, their classmates all gave smiles and exclamations at the result.

At the main monitor, All Might's ever-present smile relaxed and even brightened as he clutched his mic closer. "The Hero Team… WINS!"

More exclamations raised in the small room as the class of 1-A enthused at the match they had just seen. And the halfa couldn't fault them. It was one hell of a match.

But, while Danny was happy with the result, he felt a spark of worry for his friend and anger towards Bakugou as he watched Midoriya, right arm now visibly broken, left arm sporting very bruised fingertips and smudge and scorch marks across his costume, speak briefly to his standing bully before tipping over and falling to the ground, seemingly both exhausted and… no just completely exhausted and drained.

His injuries stood out among the green remains of his torn and destroyed costume. And it was clear that he would be paying a visit to Recovery Girl again. But Danny couldn't fault him for any of that.

The green-haired boy was basically forced into a corner by the ferocity of Bakugou and acted with what he could, when he could. It was clear he still didn't have that much control over his Quirk. And what he could do didn't come without injury.

The halfa still wondered why All Might didn't intervene when it came to the fight. It ended with a win for Midoriya, but with a lot of damage done to him as a result of that. And, like it or not, it seemed to be a type of battle UA was okay with as long as you weren't actively trying to kill your opponent, apparently.

It put things into perspective slightly for the halfa, especially in concern to how much power people were planning to throw into these matches. And how much power he may have to throw in.

And Danny really couldn't tell how nervous or not he was about that prospect.

…

"THAT WAS QUITE A MATCH ALL AROUND!" All Might exclaimed with gusto to what remained of the first match's teams. "Such a display of Quirks and strategies, even if a little chaotic! Excellent work to both teams!"

There was a nod among the class at their teacher's words, even though there was a bit of a palpable awkward atmosphere. At least to Danny there was.

"A little chaotic is a bit of an understatement…" The ghost boy muttered to Sero, to which his friend nodded in agreement.

It was clear to everyone that the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou was to a level they weren't expecting. And it showed on everyone's expressions that they still didn't quite know how to fully react to the fight at hand. Especially since Midoriya had ended up having to be wheeled away by medical bots and Bakugou had remained uncharacteristically silent since the match's end, as well as expressionless as he stood in front of the class alongside an embarrassed and worried Uraraka and a contemplative Iida.

Even the halfa didn't know what the right answer was when it came to how to feel.

But All Might's nature did help turn the mood back to the class at hand. And, more importantly, what they could learn from it.

"But, I'd say there was a clear VIP of this round! And that would be… IIDA!"

If there was any surprise that came from the class, it was NOTHING compared to that of Iida's.

The blue-haired boy jolted at the sound of his name and looked on with utter shock in his expression, mouth agape and seemingly unable to form words for what to say next.

Danny wasn't nearly as surprised. After what he had seen of Iida during the exercise, overall, he thought he did pretty well. Of course, he thought EVERYONE in that match did pretty well, barring Bakugou. But Iida had stepped up to the plate in a lot of ways during the match. And, as far as the ghost boy was concerned, that was step enough to get him the VIP treatment.

But that was the ghost boy's opinion. It was obvious others were just as surprised as Iida at the declaration, including the green-outfitted form of Tsu beside the halfa.

"Not Ochako or Midoriya?" She asked aloud and curiously. "Even though they won?"

"I wonder why?" All Might replied with a slight chuckle and a smile. Then, with the theatrics of a broadway actor, he shot an arm into the air and struck a proud pose. "Anyone know?!"

"I do, All Might-sensei." Yaoyorozu called out among the class, one hand in the air and expression solidly certain. "It's because Iida was most able to adapt to the scenario."

Immediately, all attention was on the black-haired girl, but if she gave notice to that, it wasn't apparent to Danny. Instead, he watched as she lowered her hand and presented her case with all the confidence and cool of a lawyer.

"From what I saw, Bakugou's every action was motivated by a personal grudge. And, as you said before, sensei, using such powerful attacks indoors is incredibly foolish. Midoriya's performance also suffered from the same faults." Her gaze turned to the embarrassed Uraraka, though it was more in sympathy than ridicule. "Uraraka lost focus halfway through. And her final attack was simply far too haphazard. Such an attack would be unthinkable if the nuclear weapon was real. In situations like this scenario, it's essential to plan ahead and take into account more carefully planned actions."

Finally, Yaoyorozu turned her attention to the still in-shock Iida. "But Iida formed an actual counter-strategy against Uraraka and he envisioned what the actual struggle would be like. He was only late in reacting at the very end. The hero team only won because this was a training exercise with exploitable constraints."

There was a palpable silence as the class stared on at Yaoyorozu, seemingly unable to know how to reply to everything she just laid out.

Danny had to keep his own jaw from dropping. It was clear Yaoyorozu's intelligence and analyzing skills were not to be underestimated. It reminded the halfa a lot of a Jazz moment, seeing as how Yaoyorozu left literally nothing left to cover within the analysis All Might was trying to set up.

Evidently, the same thought occurred to the pro hero as he recovered from the shock of the moment.

"Er… y-yes! Precisely!" He nervously muttered. "I-I'd also add that Iida was a bit too stiff, but… yes, you're correct!"

Iida looked ready to pass out from sheer gratitude as a smile of thankfulness stretched across his expression. It was obvious he didn't expect to get such kind words in a match he ultimately lost in the end. And he looked so perfectly touched by their words, Danny couldn't help but smirk. He was glad to see Iida relishing his performance so much.

"Now then!" The pro called out to rally his students attention back to him. "Excellent work to all! But now, we must move on to deciding the next teams for the next match! Come, young heroes!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the pro advanced and moved back to the boxes, quickly rallying 1-A back to and around him.

"Man, I had no idea tactics would be such an analyzed thing," Kirishima commented aloud to his friends. "Kinda thought it would come down to who wins, but we really have to watch how much damage we're doing to the building, don't we?"

"I mean, you'll have to when we're pros," Danny replied. "When it comes to where you'll be fighting, you definitely wouldn't want to blow it all up. I think most of us would prefer solid ground to fight on as opposed to like… air."

"Not to mention it would be safer for any civilians in the area. Kero." Tsu added. "Structure damage could always harm someone inside or outside the building. It'll be something we'll have to keep in mind if we want to be effective heroes in the future."

"Dang it. It's going to suck to not use what I practiced," Ashido said with a frown. "But if we're trying to keep the building in one piece, it's probably for the best to keep my Quirk to a downlow."

Danny thought back to the slight acidic burn marks the pink girl had left on the track after she used her Quirk to slide across it. "Yeah, that may be the right call here."

As the friends talked, All Might, hands on his hips and sporting a proud heroic stance, reached both of his massive hands back into the Lots boxes.

"Without further ado, let us get started with the next match! And the next competitors will be…" With a quick rummage, the number one hero produced two more teams.

Team H for the hero team.

Team F for the villain team.

Immediately, Danny felt himself straighten. Playing the villain? That was new enough to him. (Barring mind control, of course.) What was even MORE new to him was facing off against one of his newly acquired friends. Sure it was always an option, but Danny didn't think it could actually happen during the draw. He DEFINITELY didn't expect the duo that had been drawn.

He found himself looking back towards Tsu, who looked straight back at him with her same unreadable look. "Kero. Looks like we'll be competing against each other, Fenton."

"Yeah, it looks like we will be," The halfa replied. Then he smiled. "You and Tokoyami… it already sounds like it's going to be one hard match to go against."

"You can say that again!" Sero said with a smile. "Cool, collected and powerful versus cool, collected and powerful!"

"Hell yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed, fists clenching. "Can't wait to see how you guys perform! It's going to be epic!"

"Top of the class and class recommendation team up against the calmest duo?!" Ashido hopped up and down in excitement. "I don't even know who to root for!"

"Try to keep the building standing, okay?" Kaminari piped up with a laugh.

"Show off those magnifique moves!" Aoyama called from the side.

Among all the calls of support, he heard All Might laugh. "That's the spirit, heroes! Support is the most important thing to have among classmates! But, our new competitors need space to plan and strategize! Those who are not involved in the oncoming match, follow me back to the monitor room!"

"Yes, sir!" The chorus call from the halfa's classmates echoed around him and they made their way back to the monitor room (with Sero giving Danny a cheeky glare and a salute, which was pretty much what the ghost boy had expected).

As the noise around them died down, Danny looked to Tsu. As always, the green haired frog girl showed no noticeable expression besides the same unreadable one the halfa had gotten used to over the course of the past day. For all he knew, her thoughts could be on the oncoming match or something entirely different.

But, either way, Danny knew he had to ask. "Nervous?"

Tsu looked at him. "Kero? With the match? Slightly. I know what you can do with your Quirk after all, Fenton. And it's pretty powerful." She placed an inquisitive finger to her chin. "But, in that regard, I also know what to expect in some ways. So I'm excited to see what I can do against it in this match. It should be a great learning experience for both of us."

The ghost boy smiled. "Straightforward as always, Tsu. And I totally agree. Though I will say I've seen just as much of your Quirk as you've seen mine. So don't count me out for a counterattack just yet."

"I wasn't going to count you out at all," The frog girl commented. "You have a lot of stubbornness, Fenton. And I don't think there will be any exception during our match."

Danny shrugged. "Well, coming from an equally stubborn person, if the Entrance Exam is anything to go on, I'd say we both have our work cut out for us."

"We all have our work cut out for us, especially such a short time away from our clash of skills."

With the way the serious and prideful words flowed, the halfa didn't need to glance up to know that Tokoyami was the one approaching them right now, dark cape billowing and eyes fixated on the ghost boy as he came to a stand alongside Tsu. His expression was as analyzing as ever, but there was also something of eagerness as well, as if he was looking forward to it as much as anyone else. Which Danny could believe, since that's also how he kind of felt.

He would be lying to himself if he had said he wasn't looking forward to seeing what Tokoyami could do. He was sixth in the class for a reason, after all. And Danny was excited to see how exactly he would utilize his Quirk.

"Seems like we're getting our power test a lot sooner than I thought, Tokoyami," The ghost boy commented.

"Indeed we are," Tokoyami replied in kind. "But I will not lie. The prospect of finding out how our Quirks will be when in opposition sooner rather than later is fine with me."

"Yeah, me too," The halfa replied earnestly. His thoughts briefly focused back to the last match and he spoke before he could stop himself. "But let's say this now so we both know: whatever happens, it's not personal."

"Of course," The bird boy agreed. "There is no ill-will I hold towards you, Fenton. You have my word on that."

"And no ill-will on my end either," The halfa chuckled before turning to make his way back to where Yaoyorozu was waiting. "Well, good luck to you both. I'll see you on the field then."

Both members of H nodded to him in response, at the same moment Danny felt the same spike of cold and almost unconsciously exhaled once more. He felt the same feeling he did before: that he was being watched by something unseen. Watched and analyzed with almost the same precision as Tokoyami.

This… is going to be one interesting match.

…

Having grown up in a small town like Amity Park, Danny wasn't really used to the feeling of a completely empty building.

Every single building and business that Amity Park had was always occupied, which made sense. With how small the town was, they always had to make use of the space they had. There was never really an unoccupied building that the ghost boy could remember.

Which is why he felt so odd now. A multi-level completely empty building (minus the fake bomb, which clicked and whirred so much, Danny somewhat feared it may actually go off) that his footsteps echoed in made him feel like he was in some post-apacolyptic scenario, if it wasn't for the metal clank and set sounds of Yaoyorozu busily setting metal holdings on both the door and windows leading into the room.

He had known her Quirk was that she could create anything, but he hadn't really seen it in action, so he didn't know how he could believe something like that was possible. Sure, there were a lot of incredible abilities at UA, but something like that? Creating something out of nothing? THAT was something he had to see to believe.

And see it he did. All it took was a flash of light (and enough skin exposure for Danny to look the other way) and Yaoyorozu could literally pull any object out of her body. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. And it made Danny curious as to what the black-haired girl had plan-wise, especially since they had access to what seemed like a large assortment of things.

"That's one impressive Quirk." Danny commented as Yaoyorozu placed the final barricade on the door.

"Thank you," Yaoyorozu said as she exhaled and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It requires quite a bit of study for components and even more energy to create. But it's a very compatible Quirk when it comes to an amount of situations. Much like yours."

Danny smiled. "Well, by that logic, we should be quite a team. You know, as long as we still have our plan in place."

"We do," Momo replied, her gaze already back on the room as a whole, almost as if analyzing what her next move would be. Her expression became as set as it had when she was pointing out the points of victory for the previous match. "I think the scouting points for your Quirk that we discussed earlier would still be effective in this scenario. Your flight and phasing should let you scout out Tokoyami and Tsu's location very quickly, allowing us preparation and planning for what they may prepare for us."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "How much can you prepare with that Quirk, Yaoyorozu? Because it sounds like you're ready for them on all fronts."

"Depending on the situation at hand and the time given, I can confidently say that I can react to whatever our opposition has to throw at us." She said with no small amount of confidence. "All I need is knowledge beforehand. Hopefully, with enough of a counter to their plans, we may be able to open up our own offensive and properly set up a way to use the capture tape on them."

"...Or, our own surprise." Danny felt his mind lock on to what he could do to help with the plan. And he surprised himself with how natural his thoughts of planning came back to him. "If you can trap them in one room, I can use my invisibility and phasing to set myself up behind them. Cause a big enough distraction forward and I can focus on getting that tape wrapped around them before they even realize what hit them. I don't know how fast Tokoyami is, but if we get the surprise on them, I know I'll be able to at least take care of Tsu."

The black-haired girl seemed to very much consider that. And the halfa was happy to see a resolve fit in her expression once more. "Very well! Once we've properly pushed them back, we'll center them into an ambush and try to apprehend them from there. If we can eliminate at least one of them, that can free both of us to apprehend the final." She nodded. "Excellent suggestion, Fenton."

Danny smiled. "I'm just glad that I'm actually being listened to at school for once. Usually, they only hear the excuses."

All at once, there was a boom from the loudspeakers and earpieces (given to them by All Might after a rundown of the revised combat rules) as the number one hero's bellowing voice spoke up in the halfa's ear.

"Alright, rookies!" The number one hero said. "Your time for prep and planning is done! The match starts… NOW!"

With the sound of the echoing horn, the match officially began. And the building as a whole took on a completely different atmosphere. At the bottom floor, Tokoyami and Tsu were probably already beginning their push up, their own plans now in play.

Danny didn't even know how well their own strategy would compare to theirs. For all he knew, they already had a plan that was five steps ahead of their own.

But the ghost boy didn't dwell on that particular thought. He had always been an action kind of guy when it came to plans. And they wouldn't know how well either plan was until he took that action. Starting with the first step.

"Knowing Tsu, she's already making her way up here with all the calm and collection of a monk," Danny said to his partner as he stretched out his arms and tried to fit himself more into the costume. "And Tokoyami isn't going to hesitate either. He definitely doesn't seem like the type, at least." The halfa looked to his partner. "So I would say step one is probably a go, right?"

Momo nodded, her arms already glowing as she began to produce what looked like locks for the placed doors. "Yes, it indeed is. I understand your Quirk is powerful, Fenton, but be cautious. Maintain silence until you get back to a secure location. We just need to know where they are and we can plan from there."

Danny nodded as he felt his ghost energy begin to build around his body. "Get in, get out. Decide our next move. Simple and easy to remember." He clenched his fists and gave Momo one last smile. "My favorite type of plan. Back before you know it."

With that, he funneled his energy fully into the depths of his new costume and began to solidify the buildup around his intagiblity.

His fear at first was that the costume wouldn't sync well with his ghost energy. Danny didn't distrust the handiwork and care of Seicho's dream costume, but he just had his own doubts on how this world could handle energy from the Ghost Zone. It was bad enough to just try and navigate how to contain it back in his own world. He couldn't imagine trying to sync it into a suit without Fenton Tech. And he had this thought in the back of his head of his hero costume popping off the second he tried to phase through a wall or floor.

Because that's the impression I want to make on my classmates. A friendly and scarring flash of me in my birthday suit. 

But, to the ghost boy's relief, the costume glowed and shined with the same familiar ghost energy he was used to. And, to his own surprise, it did a lot more than that.

The minute the energy hit the costume, thin green lines became visible both along and atop the length of his arms, ending at the whitened palms of the uniform itself. There was a fluctuation to them as they glowed, like the energy it contained was still bouncing around inside whatever was holding it. And all the while, the suit felt exactly the same as when the halfa first put it on.

And that was another aspect that hit him. Usually, focusing his ghost energy results in Danny feeling some kind of flow around his body. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was always a feeling of flow, like there was something encompassing the body.

Now… it was still there, but lessened to a degree. Danny felt the energy, but also still felt as light as he did when he first put the costume on. It was a combination that shocked the heck out of him… and put a smile on his face.

"Well, note to self," Danny said as he passed through the first four floors with ease. "Don't underestimate the tailors here."

He also made a mental note to himself to check out what he could about this Detrenat company and whether he could get some tips from them about his suit and energy flow. But, for now, he turned his attention back to the task at hand. Or, his mission, more like.

Around the fifth level, he halted his dive down and swiveled up, arcing his phantom tail and righting himself just in enough time to find himself in the center of an empty hallway.

He didn't expect the overall quiet of the area. Maybe it was because the first match started off quick and violent, but it never occured to Danny how ominous a match could be when it was just him, with no visual on his opponents. It definitely had a sense of making him uneasy.

A quick and silent scour of the area confirmed to him that the uneasiness was the only thing this level of the building had in store for it. And he soon reactivated his intangibility and continued his cruise down to the next floor.

He imagined that if Sero were watching the feed on him, the tape user would be in the middle of either telling him how boring the show was or how he would have wrapped things up by now, no pun intended.

The halfa REALLY hoped he hadn't made some kind of mistake and missed both of his opponents on his way down. All that talk with Tokoyami would have made a mistake like that, really embarrassing to bring up. And, for a horrendous second, he thought it may have had to come to that.

But, just as he began to make his way forward and down the hall of the sixth level, the ghost boy stopped. Just down the hall, he heard what sounded like the distant echoing of footsteps. Methodical and solid. And approaching.

On instinct, the ghost boy immediately pulled back and glided along the side of the wall, waiting to confirm what he was already suspecting.

Sure enough, rounding the corner and advancing down the main hall, eyes fixated and embedded in concentration, was the bird-like form of Tokoyami. Both of his arms were obscured in the black billowing cape that seemed to flow across his entire body. And he strided forward with a confidence that almost made the halfa hesitant to cross him.

To the side wall, crawling along with caution and analyzing nature, was the green-fitted form of Tsu, her tongue loosely hanging from the side of her mouth. The halfa remembered just how fast the frog girl moved when it came to the Entrance Exam, so seeing her moving with personified planning like this gave Danny the distinct feeling she was already well ahead in her head with what her action could be.

The duo was advancing towards the staircase to the next level, unknowingly leaving the ghost boy directly behind them as they went. The way they walked, it was obvious they had a destination and plan in mind. And Danny felt his muscles instinctively tighten.

It was clear to him that, whatever plan Tokoyami and Tsu had in mind, it would be effective. They definitely didn't look clueless about what they should do. So he would have to make his move just as effective and strike with the same precision.

Wafting his tail forward, Danny weightlessly and quietly approached the duo, moving towards Tokoyami while, at the same moment, funneling his energy towards his palm.

Sorry guys. No hard feelings. 

He had planned to strike Tokoyami first, confuse them and bounce out with just enough time to get back towards Yaoyorozu and solidify the plan from there. It would have been the perfect opportunity to gain a foothold and blow on their opponents.

Unfortunately, Tokoyami had other plans.

A second away from dealing the bird-like hero in training the strike he was hoping for, he felt the familiar sting of icicles on his breath at the same moment he exhaled. And, this time, the coldness he felt was more striking than ever.

Ghost sense.

Almost instinctively, he felt himself turn away at the last moment. But it didn't matter much as he watched Tokoyami stop and lock his bird-like eyes seemingly directly on him.

"... Dark Shadow."

WHACK

All of the air left Danny's lungs as he felt a large force suddenly slam point blank into his chest, sending him careening back down the hall and back first against the floor. All concentration on his invisibility was lost, and he hit the floor with enough force to send another round of air shooting out of his lungs.

A million thoughts ran through the halfa's head as he clutched his no doubt bruised ribs. Chief among them all was the obvious: what the heck just hit me through my invisibility and intangibility? He got his answer in no time flat.

Now towering above his prone form was a massive bird-like shadow, armed with massive arms and a gaping maw that was darkened in the shadow-like body it contained. It had piercing yellow eyes and an ever-shifting form that seemed to vary in shape everytime Danny looked at it. And it was held by a long snake-like tendril that stretched back and connected directly back to the chest of Tokoyami.

The halfa had to subconsciously keep from gaping. His Quirk… was a living shadow? THAT was Dark Shadow?!

The massive shadow laughed as it pulled back to the hero. "I got him, Tokoyami!"

Both Tokoyami and Tsu now had their full attention on Danny. And both weren't wasting their opportunities.

Tsu dropped to the ground at the same moment Tokoyami sent Dark Shadow forward for another attack, forcing Danny to immediately jump back and fly further down the hall, trying to keep his distance from the physical attacks as the living Quirk swung and cracked the ground where he once was.

"Your connection to the shadows is LITERALLY a living shadow?!" Danny wondered aloud as he continued to back up. "Well, consider me impressed!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Tokoyami replied as he advanced. "Dark Shadow had just as much curiosity in you as I did. It's good to know that we had the advantage of surprise upon your first meeting with him."

"Kero. We thought you might try to get a sneak attack in, Danny," Tsu added from a ways behind Tokoyami. "With your Quirk's capabilities, you're more than capable of doing that. It's only natural that we keep our guard up for any oncoming attacks. But I am glad to see that Dark Shadow is capable of detecting you. That was the only uncertainty in the plan."

"Glad I can provide an answer then," Danny replied as he funneled his ghost energy to his palms. "I kind of wish that answer didn't come at the cost of my ribs though."

He quipped, but his mind was utterly racing. Tokoyami could ACTUALLY touch his ghost form. More than that, with his QUIRK. No technology, no weapons. Just his natural power. If Tokoyami was capable of that, could that mean…?

Danny's thoughts were interrupted as he was forced to careen upwards in flight just to dodge Dark Shadow's sudden influx and slam down of shadow-like mass. Without missing a beat, Danny aimed down, firing two beams of ghost energy towards the shadow and impacting at the same moment he pushed himself back up and activated his intangibility.

He felt himself phase through the ceiling at the same moment Dark Shadow's squeal from the contact of his beams echoed through the halls of the empty structure.

Danny's breathing was labored from the chest blow and his hands were tingling from the use of his ghost energy, but none of that mattered in the moment.

Tokoyami had a ghost. One that was more than capable of touching him in his own ghost form. And Tsu was more than capable of figuring out where he would attack. He was going against a duo that could counter him.

In other words, he was back on both familiar and unfamiliar territory. And either way, he knew that just turned the match into something he definitely wasn't expecting.

Second Author's Note: Okay, I know there's bound to be questions about this chapter, so I'm here to answer them. You will notice a change in the Deku/Bakugou fight. Not in outcome, but how the course of the fight goes. That's due to the building antagonistic rivalry between the up and coming Fenton and our blonde pomeranian. Not only is there anger building from Izuku being at UA, there's also the other facet of anger building from the fact that the ghost boy that's upstaged him is in collusion with the "weakling". So that's why there's visibly a lot more anger in this iteration of the fight. 

Second: how does Dark Shadow hit Danny? I know this is the question that's going to be asked, so here's my line of thinking: Johnny 13. Johnny 13 in the DP show is shown to have the aspect of a shadow attachment, capable of going blow to blow with Danny on many different occasions while having, more or less, the same capabilities as Dark Shadow: aversion to light, increase in size as he pleases, blends in with the shadows. And you can make the argument that, since 13 is from the Ghost Zone, it's a circumstance of sharing the same energy as Danny is what makes him capable of harming him. But Dark Shadow is just a very unique Quirk in the way the shadow works. And I don't see a reason why he couldn't theoretically impact Danny the way 13's shadow is capable of. 

Not the best reasoning, I suppose, but it's what I'm rolling with in the context of the world.

And, if not that, I would still make the argument that there are still PLENTY of Quirks capable of impacting Danny in one way or another :)

Anyway, with that in mind, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter! And I hope you enjoy the outcome I have planned! Let me know if you have any more questions and I will see you guys soon!