Chapter 14
When lunch ended, 1-A returned to their homeroom to await their new teacher. Everyone there was excited, waiting on bated breath to see which pro hero they would be learning from. Then, just as the bell rang…
"I AM HERE!" came the loud, boisterous cry of the Number One Hero as the door slid open so quickly that it might have been set aflame! "Coming into the room like a hero!"
As All Might marched into the classroom, Izuku's eyes sparkled in pure excitement. He had been hoping that All Might would be their heroics teacher. After all, who in Japan hadn't dreamed, at least once in their life, of getting a personal lesson from the Symbol of Peace himself! And the fact that All Might had appeared at the entrance ceremony made the odds of that actually happening all the greater. Though, Izuku knew there was a good chance they wouldn't be studying under the mighty mountain of heroic muscles this year. For all he knew, All Might's teaching skills were so advanced that the only ones who even had a chance of living up to his standards were the third-year students! But no, the first years were getting this honor. And what made it all the better was seeing All Might in his Golden Age hero costume. If this was a dream, it just kept getting better and better!
Glancing around, Izuku could see that he wasn't the only one ecstatic to see All Might as their teacher. Uraraka looked like the air around her had turned pink with rainbows all around her. Ida seemed to have forgone his normal behavior, so excited that he raised both his hands high into the air. Yoarashi looked ready to get onto his feet, his face brimming with excitement. Bakugo, well, there was a savage smile on his face looking like he thought that All Might had brought in as he was the only hero worthy enough to teach him. Even Todoroki could not hide how happy he was, appearing less stiff and frosty. The only one in the class who wasn't happy was Kyo, who let out an annoyed growl at how loud All Might was for no reason.
"Greetings you bunch of newbies," declared All Might once he stood before the class, his giant fists placed on either side of his hips as he smiled at them. "Welcome to your first day at the most important class here at U.A. Think of it like Heroing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight on the side of justice! Let's get into it! And your first lesson will pull no punches as today you will be doing mock combat exercises!" As he said that last part, All Might pulled out a sign from…somewhere that held the word 'Battle'. Seeing this caused Izuku to momentarily fall out of his state of excitement. It was funny. Ever since he had met Ryoko, he had been meeting a lot of people who seemed to pull things out of nowhere. Now he was wondering where they kept it all.
"All right," growled a happy Bakugo, drawing Izuku out of his thoughts and towards the blonde. The explosive teen seemed giddy with excitement. Perhaps a bit too giddy. "Now this is what I'm talking about."
"But," continued All Might as he flexed before them. "One of the keys to being a hero is looking good!" He then pulled out a remote from behind his back, though Izuku noticed a lack of pouches on All Might's belt making him wonder again where it came from, and pointed it at the wall. Instantly, panels came out of the wall holding silver cases with large green numbers on them. "These were designed for you based on your quirk registration form and the requests you sent in before school started. Get yourself suited up and meet me in training ground beta!" Then, as the class cheered in excitement, All Might rushed out of the room.
"This is so exciting!" declared Uraraka as she, along with the rest of the class hurried over to the cases. "Let's hurry up and…Deku, where are you going?"
Izuku, who had been walking towards the door with his yellow backpack strapped over his back, turned to see that Uraraka was looking at him with a worried expression on her face. Her eyes seemed to move towards his empty hand, then towards some of the other students who were hefting their own cases, and then towards the case with his student number on it which was still untouched. He also noticed that several others were now eyeing him as well, including Ida and Yoarashi.
"Midoriya, did you not submit a costume?" asked Ida while adjusting his glasses. "I remember you said you were having trouble, but to not submit anything was most unwise."
"If you need something, I would be more than happy to create something for you," offered Yaoyorozu. "Or, at the very least, something more sturdy than the gym uniforms to use until you can get a proper uniform."
"Thanks," replied Izuku with a bright and happy smile. "But there's no need. I got it right here in my bag." With that, he hefted the backpack up a bit. While the gesture was meant to reassure them that he had everything taken care of, it instead earned him a number of nervous looks.
"Tch, lame," commented Bakugo as he strode towards the door, going out of his way to bump into Izuku. "Probably some shitty Halloween costume of All Might."
To that, Kyo poked his head out of Izuku's hair and began a series of loud meows while shaking a paw in the blond bomber's direction. Upon hearing some of the more, er, 'colorful' things that Kyo was calling Bakugo, Izuku just let out a nervous laugh…though he also wondered where his cabbit had picked up such words.
After a moment, Izuku headed down with his friends towards the locker room. However, as they did, he couldn't help but notice his friends shooting nervous glances at his backpack. While he knew none of them would think so lowly of him that he would show up in a Halloween costume like Bakugo suggested (even if they were really, really cool), anything else wouldn't be any better. Sure, he could have given an explanation to the entire class to ease their worries but such a thing would be better when he had something visual. So for now, he just had to be patient.
However, their worries only seemed to grow more once they were in the locker room. Both Ida and Yoarashi had taken lockers next to Izuku with Kirishima taking the next one down from Midoriya. Why were they worried? Because, just like the first time he had put his suit on, Izuku appeared to be swimming in it.
"Dude," began Kirishima, dressed in his hero costume and sounding extra nervous. "I think they got your size wrong. Maybe you should just get changed into a gym uniform."
"Ha! I knew you were useless," laughed Bakugo as he strapped on one of his grenade gauntlets while a savage smile remained plastered on his face. "Did you really think that you could just grab any old piece of shit and…" Bakugo then cut himself off as Izuku, who had been ignoring him, pressed the button on the sleeve causing his costume to automatically shrink so that it once more fit him perfectly.
Now everyone turned to stare at the suit his mother had gone into space for, which was almost completely green save for a few areas. Two black small talon-like shapes could be seen on either side of his chest pointing downward while similar markings could be seen on his calves. What's more the suit seemed to extend upwards along his neck with a part of it splitting off to cover his ears though it did nothing to affect his hearing. With the costume now fitting him like a glove, Izuku slid on the sleeveless trench coat that made him feel like he was wearing a cloak. The jacket's color was the same shade of green as his main costume with two thin back lines running parallel to each other along his waist. The final touch was a hood that was currently pulled down.
"Midoriya, where did you get such a costume?" asked Ida who was wearing a costume that reminded Izuku of a knight. Currently, he was holding his helmet in one hand against his side. Though, by the looks of it, that grip might slip at any moment. "Such a feature seems truly advanced! The only place I have ever seen anything close was on I-Island."
"My sister knows somebody who owns their own private support company," explained Izuku as he went through his bag. The teen had managed to figure out a decent cover story which was mostly true. "I know that the school was going to give us an allowance and sent our designs to the top support companies, but my mom wanted to get me something personal to show how much she supported me. So Ryoko took her to the shop with some of my designs and surprised me." As Izuku placed his notebook in the dimensional pocket, he hoped no one would ask about it. There was no way he could say that it was in space and if he said they had a very selective clientele then he feared his classmates would think he had a big head or something.
"I see," replied Ida as he brought a hand to his chin."Supporting you while also supporting an up-and-coming support company. Truly, your family is full of people with heroic hearts."
As Izuku chuckled at Ida, who looked ready to cry, Kirishima gave him a strange look. "So how does your sister know this place?" he asked. "Is she in hero work or something?"
Izuku glanced up at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his face before shuddering. As much as he respected Ryoko and everything she had done for him, there was no escaping the fact that she was once a space pirate. That, and she had a tendency to cause more harm than good whenever she tried helping others out.
"She's more of a heroic trainer," said Izuku. "She's the one who helped get me ready for the practical exam. And now she's got a job working at a special gym that Ingenium is starting up. One that's going to be helping students who are looking to get into hero schools."
As Kirishima grinned upon hearing that, the sound of a locker being slammed shut caused everyone there to flinch. "Can't be that good at her job," grumbled Bakugo as he made his way to the door. "After all, the only reason your sorry ass is even in this school is because of Rescue Points."
Bakugo was then about to walk out, but paused as Yoarashi spoke up. "I don't know," commented the taller teen. "He managed to get third place in the Quirk Assessment test yesterday. Where did you place again?" At that, Bakugo visibly flinched causing all the guys to laugh before he stormed out while slamming the door behind him. Well, most of the guys as Todoroki just stood there half encased in ice.
Turning to look at his friend, Izuku nearly did a double take. His body was covered in a burgundy suit that reminded Izuku of the outfits that air force pilots wore as he had seen something similar when he and Ryoko had gone to the States to see a Thunderbirds show. Unlike Izuku's costume, Yoarashi's wasn't skin tight, hanging on him a little loosely but not to the point where it was overly bulky. Midoriya suspected that the material was tougher than it seemed, no doubt made with the intent to keep him warm at higher altitudes along with some degree of shock absorption material. The suit's collar also stood out as it reminded Izuku of the fluff from an aviator bomber jacket with a cape attached to it. On the top of his head rested a burgundy flat top hat with yellow goggles attached to it. Izuku also noticed that he had gloves that were not too thick on both hands as well as a strange device on each wrist. At first glance, it looked like it was some sort of disk launcher with tubes running up his arm. There were also some tubes running down his legs attached to devices sticking out of his black combat boots.
"Wow, look at all the support gear!" exclaimed Izuku, his eyes lighting up as the guys moved as a group out of the locker room. Izuku, unable to help himself, began to fly a short distance off the ground as he moved next to Yoarashi. "If I had to guess, these devices attached to your gloves are meant to help focus your quirk into a single blast. But these devices on your legs don't seem to be for a speed boost given their position. Hmmm."
Yoarashi let out a laugh. "You sure are burning hot with curiosity!" he exclaimed. "Well, you are right about the devices on my arms. I thought it would be awesome if I could create highly compacted air disks or shoot out a stream of high compressed air. All this thing does is help me focus a bit. But as for my feet…" He trailed off with a smirk followed by a clicking sound. Looking down, Izuku saw that the devices on his legs were now pointing downward towards the floor. "I can either focus air through these things to give me a slight speed boost or to accelerate a kick."
After walking through a darkly lit hall, the guys were joined by the girls. Then, a few moments later, they were walking into the light that seemed to shine all the brighter. It was as if the world was celebrating the birth of its newest defenders. And standing before them, right at the gate of the mock city, was All Might himself appearing proud.
"They say clothes make the pros ladies and gentlemen. And behold, you are the proof!" declared All Might with a smile on his face. "Take this to heart. From this moment on, you are all heroes in training! This is getting me all revved up! You all look so cool!" As he said this, he began to look over all his students but stopped when his eyes fell on Mineta's. "Well, for the most part. Well, shall we get started you bunch of newbies?"
Realizing that All Might was talking about him, Mineta began to cry loudly. This caused a momentary distraction, allowing Izuku to spot Uraraka and vice versa. Their eyes met and Izuku couldn't help but feel his face heat up at seeing her like this. Like him, her costume clung to her body, showing off all her curves. The outfit itself was mostly black with pale pink designs running down the middle of her torso and two black dots on her chest. As she moved, Izuku noted that she also had two more pink strips running down her midsection. There was also some pink on her shoulders and on her cuffs. Around her neck was a bright pink choker. Along with the suit, she had on a number of accessories. Starting from her legs, she wore rounded pink boots that were far less chunky than what she had originally drawn. Along her waist was a two-piece belt with a round buckle. But what really stood out were the pink gauntlets she had on each arm. Like the boots, they had been slimmed down a bit with a circle of small air jets that could be seen on both the front and back. Along with those, Izuku noticed four rectangular outlines on the gauntlets. Finally, she wore a headset with a pink visor.
"Hey Deku!" she said while Izuku lowered himself to the ground. "Love the costume. Glad you finally found something you like."
"Yeah," he managed to say while covering his nose, feeling a little bit of blood leaking out and feeling ashamed about it. "Y-You look great t-too. Are you happy with how your costume came out?"
"Well, for the most part," replied Uraraka with a laugh as she scratched the back of her head. "I should have been a bit more specific with my request as they made it really skin tight. Not really my style, you know?"
"All Might, sir," began Ida, raising his hand as he spoke. His words and actions drew the attention of the rest of the class, helping everyone get back on track. "This is the urban area where the entrance exams took place. Does this mean we're doing one-on-one outdoor combat?"
"Not quite, young man," replied All Might as he pointed towards Ida. "Because I'm pushing all of you two steps ahead!" He then paused, lowering his hand while checking to see that everyone was paying attention. "Most of the villain attacks you see on the news take place outside. Statistically, these are normally lower threats. Spere of the moment impulses to use their quirks to steal, purse snatchers, and the like. The most serious of these are small-time gangs which have numbers and a command structure, but lack the training and equipment needed to make full use of their abilities. Then what does that say about the other villains out there? That they are the more cunning, ruthless, and patient evildoers. Career villains who commit heinous acts like backroom drug deals, trafficking in illegal weapons or people, smuggling, and for forth. I have even heard rumors that some old-time organizations, like the yakuza, are still around biding their time. Truly intelligent criminal do their best to hide in the shadows.
"For this exercise, you'll be split into teams of good guys vs bad guys and you will fight two on two indoor battles!"
"Isn't this a little advanced?" asked Asui as she brought a finger to her lips.
"The best training is what you get on the battlefield!" declared All Might. "But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time. Instead, you will be dealing with living, breathing people."
"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" asked Yaoyorozu.
"How much can we hurt the other team?" asked Bakugo.
"Can I get paired with a hot girl?" asked Mineta, raising his hand as he spoke.
"Do we have to worry about the losers getting expelled like last time?" asked Uraraka nervously.
"Will you be splitting us off based on chance, comparative skill, or personal compatibility?" asked Ida.
"Hold on, hold on. I wasn't finished talking!" shouted All Might. He then pulled out several pieces of paper that Izuku would quickly come to realize was a script. "The situation is this: the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must foil their plans! To do that, the heroes need to either capture the villains or recover the weapon. Likewise, the villains win if they protect their payload or capture the heroes."
"Sounds like a classic movie or video game set up," mumbled Izuku to himself, his words earning a meow of agreement from Kyo.
"Now, to answer some of your other questions," continued All Might, his smile fading slightly. "While I do not wish to speak ill of one of my colleagues, I utterly disagree with how Aizawa handled your class yesterday. Threatening expulsion and using it as motivation ultimately undermines trust. However, it is his class and his rules. But, rest assured that such a thing will not happen with me." He then gave Uraraka a reassuring smile. "Though I do not believe he will expel anyone for simply failing. All heroes, from time to time, make mistakes and those mistakes come with consequences. That includes myself as there is no such thing as a perfect hero. What is most important is how we choose to deal with them. This is something that Aizawa knows very well."
All Might then turned to look at Bakugo. "A very important question there Young Bakugo," said the hero. "Yes, you will be roughing each other up a bit just don't go overboard. I will be watching everything and, if I see that someone is unconscious or is unable to continue, I shall declare them captured before sending in the medical robots to bring them to Recovery Girl." Then, the smile faded as a far more serious expression took its place. "I understand that mistakes can happen in the heat of battle. However, if I see any of you making a conscious decision to continue attacking another student that is clearly unable to battle or has been declared captured then we will have a very serious problem. That is the action of a villain."
Then, All Might returned to his normal state after seeing that everyone had understood the seriousness of his statement. Then, just as he was about to say something else, Izuku raised his hand. This caused the hero to pause for a moment, but then he gestured, giving the green-haired hero permission to speak.
"Sir, now that I understand the rules, I was wondering: would it count if Kyo touched the bomb?" he asked. As if on cue, Kyo popped out of Izuku's hair to let out a meow while waving a paw at All Might. Said cabbit had taken off his uniform, leaving him in his natural furry state.
This question seemed to stump the pro hero for several long moments. Izuku watched as his all-time favorite hero stood there, a hand going to his chin as he seemed to ponder this. No doubt trying his best to go over the pros and cons of such a decision. And, as he did so, Izuku could see his gaze moving towards a few other members of the class. One was Koda, who seemed to be able to understand the general idea of what Kyo was saying whenever he moewed. The other was even more surprising: Tokoyami. Then, after letting out one final hum, All Might lowered his hand.
"That was an excellent question there young man. One that I had not considered," began the pro hero. "I will allow you, as well as any other student here who has a companion or are able to enlist the help of wild animals to participate in this exercise. However, it will only count if the actual hero makes contact with the bomb. I feel that, should your team end up as the heroes, all you would need to do is engage the villain team while your pet touches the bomb. This would completely undermine the point of the exercise by giving you such an unfair advantage."
Hearing this, Izuku and several others nodded in understanding. Now that Izuku thought about it, it would feel a little cheap. The teen began to picture himself as the villain, guarding the bomb while checking on the air ducts, windows, and the door. Then, in his imagination, Kyo found a small hole in the wall which he managed to squeeze through. Once through, all he had to do was hop over to the bomb, touch it with his paw, and the hero team won without really needing to do anything. Putting more thought into this, Izuku began to realize that in real life, it would never work. If he did send Kyo in, well, even if the cabbit touched the bomb, what then? If an actual hero did manage to make contact with the bomb, there was a good chance that they could get out with it. The same could not be said about Kyo…at least as far as the people of Earth were aware. There was no way Izuku was going to out Kyo as a bunny spaceship!
Izuku was then pulled out of his thoughts as All Might produced a box which Izuku could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago, holding it before him with a big grin. "As for teams: we'll be drawing lots!"
"Sir, doesn't this seem a little random?" asked Ida.
"Not when you think about it," said Izuku. "Pro heroes in the field have to team up and coordinate with other heroes on the fly all the time. So maybe that's why we're seeing it here." To that, Ida agreed.
From there, everyone began to draw their lots, with most seeming happy or indifferent with who they had been paired up with. Yoarashi and Kirishima were already pumping the other up, loudly declaring how happy they were to be paired with someone so 'manly' and 'hot-blooded'. Ida, on the other hand, was not as thrilled to be put in a team with Bakugo. Still, he did his best to look on the bright side, telling himself that this would in some way help him to be a better hero. As for Izuku, he had to put his hood up in order to hide his face, turning bright red at being paired up with Uraraka. Honestly, he didn't know why he was still acting like this when he had seen her in her bikini and had actually wrapped an arm around her waist. Was it because she was dressed in a hero costume or was it because she was just as happy to be with him?
Could it be both?
As for everyone else in the class, the only one who seemed truly unhappy with their partner and could not hide it was Yaoyorozu. The reason? It was Mineta. But despite how he was already looking at her with clear lust on his face, she did not demand to be partnered up with anyone else. She seemed determined to just make do and get this over with.
Once all the teams had been selected, All Might again randomly picked out the teams by pulling lots out of two boxes. And before Izuku could even think to question where all this stuff was coming from, he found that his team would be heroes going up against the villainous team of Ida and Bakugo. Speaking of the blond bomber, Bakugo's expression turned savage when he found out that he would be going up against Izuku in the very first round.
"Good luck," said Yoarashi as he placed a hand on Izuku's and Uraraka's shoulders, his eyes focused on Bakugo's. "Show them your white-hot passion." With that, he backed away.
-x-
A little while later, Izuku sat on the side of the building where the exercise would be taking place. It didn't look like anything too ominous, just a simple five-story office building. However, given the threat that was inside, Izuku believed that there should have been something more added to it. Like an artificial storm with lightning dancing across the sky only around this building or shattered windows. But, then again, clever villains would want to make sure that no one would suspect the place.
In his hand was a general floor plan of the building. This had been given to him by All Might along with a few other things. Among these things was an earpiece communicator, one for both he and Uraraka so that they could use to talk to each other should they get separated. That as well as allowing All Might to talk to them directly if he needed to. They had also been given yellow capture tape. If they wanted to capture the villains, wrapping this around any part of their body would do.
"Do they really expect us to memorize this entire building's floor plan? It's so big," said Uraraka beside him. She had taken off her headset which was placed next to her. "You know, All Might's just as cool in person as he is on television. I'm glad he isn't threatening us with some sort of punishment like Mr. Aizawa. We can relax and…" Her words trailed off as she no doubt noticed the intense look that Izuku had while examining the floor plans. "Deku, is everything ok?"
Hearing her calling out his nickname brought Izuku out of his own headspace with a jolt. Quickly, he looked over to see that she had a worried look on her face. "Oh, ah, sorry about that," he said, looking a little dejected that he had made her feel like that.
"Is everything ok?" she asked.
"It's," he began, ready to tell her it was nothing and they had nothing to worry about. That this would be as easy as she was suggesting as long as they worked together. However, the words died in his throat. Izuku didn't want to lie to her, make a promise that he didn't know if he could keep.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we should be relaxing," he said at last. "We're going up against Kacchan and Ida. Neither one should be taken lightly. Ida comes from a family of heroes, including his father and his brother. I'm willing to bet that they allowed him time to practice at professional training facilities, so his abilities should be higher than the average student. Then there is Kacchan. He's strong. He's been practicing with his quirk since the day he got it and knows how to fight with it. Trust me, I've seen it. As for me, I've only had ten months of training and I've only some of my abilities are pretty recent. Plus, the only person I've ever really fought against is Ryoko."
"Oh…right," said Uraraka, shoulders slumping as she spoke. "I've never really fought anyone else before except for robots. Does this mean it's hopeless?"
"What? NO!" exclaimed a panicked Izuku, waving his hands around wildly. "It just means we can't let our guard down or go into this without a plan. Plus, I have an idea of what the villains will do."
"Really?" asked Uraraka, hope returning to her voice.
Izuku nodded. "I've known Kacchan for years, so I know his personality," began Izuku. "He's not the type who will sit around and wait for whoever he considers his enemy to come to him."
Uraraka frowned at that. "Yeah, I kind of picked up on that," she said. "Every time I see him, he's starting some sort of fight. Like how we first met before the entrance exam or how he reacted when you beat him in the hundred-meter dash. Not to mention today at lunch." Her eyes then lit up. "So you think he's going to do that here?"
Izuku let out a sigh before nodding again, sadly. "I'm almost completely certain," spoke the teen while Kyo popped out of his hair to nod sagely. "Kacchan believes that a hero is someone who wins. To prove you are the strongest person in battle. And he's also very proud of his quirk as well as how well he has honed it. Because of that, he's never missed a chance to show off how powerful he is. So, when you put both his aggression and his pride together, it makes it all the more likely that he will seek out a fight with me as his target. But he won't just be charging in blindly. Yes, he'll be running in at top speed, but the reason is that he'll be priming his quick. His quirk allows him to sweat nitroglycerin from his palms and then ignite it at will. He's worked with it so that he can pretty much sweat on command, but the amount is far less than if he sweats naturally, and it takes more of an effort."
"So, if he runs into battle, he can fight more easily," finished Uraraka, her face going a little pale as she spoke. No doubt imagining just how powerful Bakugo would become if he ran down all those flights of stairs. If the bomb was on the top floor. "And when you add Ida into the mix, it's going to be nearly impossible to deal with them both."
Much to her surprise, Izuku shook his head. "No, Kacchan will be the only one to meet us head-on," he said. "In the short time we've known Ida, he's more level-headed and by the books. Kacchan tends not to work with others. So, if Ida tries to strategize with him, Kacchan will just say something along the lines of 'Do whatever you want. I'm going to deal with Deku and that extra'. Then, when the exercise starts, he'll head off on his own without any other planning. At that point, there will be no way Ida would leave the bomb unguarded. He'll stick to his objective, trying to figure out a way to defend the bomb with his own skills."
At that, Uraraka's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, I see," she exclaimed. "So basically, we're going up against a pair of villains who will be doing their own things. But, as long as we work together, we'll have the upper hand."
"That's what I figure will happen," said Izuku. "So, while keeping this in mind, I'm trying to figure out our best strategy."
"Ok. But just so you know, doing all the planning by yourself isn't really working together," commented Uraraka. "We are a team after all. Besides, it doesn't sound that hard. How about you just teleport into the room and touch the bomb?"
Her face then fell as Izuku shook his head. "My teleportation has its limits," he began, setting down the blueprints before clasping his hands together. "I need to have actually been at the place where I want to go to. And even if I have been in every room in the building, I don't know which room it's in. I really don't think random teleporting is a good idea. Also, I've never teleported with anyone other than Kyo before."
"Good point. If you did teleport into the room and they got the jump on you, I wouldn't know until All Might announced you were out of the exercise, and I wouldn't even know where to go," sighed Uraraka. She then looked up, her eyes widening. "What about if we go in through the roof? Won't they think that we'll be coming in via the front door? If Bakugo is going to go rushing after us, we could completely bypass him and just deal with Ida!"
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," agreed Izuku as he picked up the blueprints once more and then placed it between them. He then pointed his finger at the roof. "If I'm reading this right, there is roof access and a stairway that will lead down to the top floor. Meaning, if we go this way, we could get in without being seen. But, they know that I can fly and you can remove gravity from whatever you touch. So there's a good chance that they will consider us using the roof as well. There's also the fact that we don't know where the bomb is. For all we know, it could be on the second floor or in the basement. Meaning it will be even further away from us if we use the roof."
Uraraka frowned at that. "It would be the same if the bomb was on the top floor and we came in from the ground floor," she said. Then she turned to look at Izuku. "Your quirk lets you fly, teleport, and create energy attacks. Does it do anything else that might help us?"
"Yeah, it lets me phase through solid objects," answered Izuku instantly. As Uraraka's eyes lit up, Izuku continued. "I can pass through walls and the ground no problem. I can also use my flying ability so I can control where I am going. But, if I use this ability, I'll be flying from room to room recklessly and, like with teleporting, I've never tried taking anyone else with me before."
"So, if something goes wrong, then you'll be all on your own," finished Uraraka in understanding.
"True, but there's more to that," continued Izuku. "Phasing through everything gives us a greater chance at victory. I could go slow, poking my head through every wall, floor, and ceiling to check for the bomb. Then, once I found it, I could just teleport behind it. It would be the simplest and most effective way to win. But, by doing it this way means that I would be doing everything while you just sat there. I…I don't want to take the chance that you might get marked down because of me."
At that, Izuku lowered his head as his frown became more emotional. He could still recall the conversation they had at lunch. That, despite how well things were going for them now, there was still the fear that things would go back to how they were. It was why Uraraka was still going to work her hardest to help support her family by becoming a great hero who made a lot of money. Getting a bad grade right from the start would hinder that goal. Made all the worse because she got it because of him. Because he was acting like Bakugo, going in there and doing everything by himself.
Then, he felt a hand touch his own. Turning to look at its owner, he saw Uraraka giving him the same type of smile that he would look to in All Might's. It wasn't as big or as toothy, but the meaning behind it was the same: everything will be all right.
"That's good," she said. "Because I don't want to sit on the sidelines either. In fact, let's go for a complete victory! Capturing the villains and getting the bomb!"
-x-
Meanwhile, All Might stood in the observation room with the rest of the class staring at the monitor while the seconds ticked by. In his hands, he held a notebook, already quickly jotting down his observations on what he was seeing. Seeing and hearing, as he was the only one who could hear everything his students were saying.
Izuku Midoriya was a very interesting person. He was aware of what the boy's Energy Manipulation quirk could do based on what he had seen during the entrance exam as well as from the report Aizawa had given him yesterday. But to discover that Midoriya could also phase through objects was impressive! Truly, after defeating the Zero Pointer he had to have had some sort of breakthrough with his quirk. What's more, he was showing his resourcefulness again by using what he knew about his opponents to plan out a strategy. One that showed that he knew them on a personal level and not just their quirks. As such, All Might had written a note about this for Aizawa so that maybe the man could use his experience as an underground hero to help hone this trait.
That wasn't the only note he was giving to Aizawa about the boy. And this one wasn't as positive. The young hero had an ability that would easily allow his team to win the exercise with minimal effort but was choosing not to use it out of fear his teammate would be marked down. Had this been a real threat, who would have gotten credit would have been a moot point. What should have mattered was capturing the bomb. As long as they worked together and agreed on this plan, there would have been nothing to worry about. A part of him wanted to tell them this, but he chose not to. Not because he wanted either of them to fail, but because he wanted them to make their own mistakes and learn from them. That as well as, if he did tell them, it might be seen as giving them an unfair advantage.
While that was his opinion as a teacher, on a more personal level, he thought it was a selfless idea that belonged to true heroes. Wanting to share the glory rather than hogging it all to themselves showed self-sacrifice, the hallmark of a true hero! It was foolish, but the man still loved it. So the man made sure to write to Aizawa not to be too harsh on Young Midoriya as he had only wished to ensure that both of them received full credit.
As for Uraraka, what she was suggesting was getting his heroic spirit all fired up! Capturing the bomb by touching it was the easiest method to win. But going after the villains and the bomb was the right mindset! If this were real and the villains managed to get away, there was a chance they would try something like this again. Only next time it would be far harder. Villains like the ones they were emulating tended to learn from their mistakes or brought in more muscle to help with their next payday.
But, there was something that had bothered All Might. Some of the things that they were saying about Young Bakugo were causing alarm bells to start ringing in his head. He was aware of both the incident yesterday during the quirk assessment test as well as the altercation in the lunchroom. In fact, it was because of that clear hostility, along with Young Bakugo's question about the amount of pain they could inflict on each other, which caused All Might to consider redrawing their lots. But, alas, that too would have been unfair. Now though, the fact that Young Midoriya knew how Young Bakugo's quirk worked and how he liked to enter a fight showed that he was very familiar with the practice. He said he had known Young Bakugo for years. How often had he seen the young blond entering a fight with the sole purpose of using his quirk on his opponent when such things weren't allowed? And how often was he the target of Young Bakugo's ire? Then there was Uraraka mentioning how they first met. He had never heard of an altercation between the three of them before the beginning of the entrance exam, but clearly something had happened. Should he ask Nezu to check the security cameras, just in case something happened on school grounds?
Speaking of Bakugo, All Might's eyes shifted to the screen showing the villains. Both of them were in a room on the fifth floor, littered with junk on either side of the walls while the bomb remained situated by a large window. Currently, Ida was approaching the bomb while Bakugo stood off to the side near the doorway with his fists clenched. Curious, All Might pressed a button allowing his to listen in on the conversation.
"So this is the bomb we are to protect," commented Ida, now in front of the fake explosive device and knocking on it. "Fake of course. But I must compliment their attention to detail. At first glance, it looks real."
"Hey," growled Bakugo, gaining Ida's attention while All Might's brow furrowed. There was something in the tone that was sending off more alarm bells. "Tell me everything you know about the person claiming to be Deku's sister."
"You're still on about that?" asked Ida. "Why does it matter so much to you?"
"Because I've known that piece of shit since we were little kids!" yelled Bakugo, turning on Ida so quickly and with so much furry in his eyes that All Might nearly to contact them and tell the real bomb in the room to stand down. But he stopped when Young Bakugo continued. "Do you have any idea how long I listened to him going on and on about his dream to become a hero? Since kindergarten! All this time he was sitting on that quirk, keeping it from me. Then making up some stupid lie about having a sister."
Ida shook his head at this. "Bakugo, if it really bothers you so much then perhaps you could try asking Midoriya nicely. After class," said the calmer student in the room. "For now, our focus needs to be on this exercise. Time is almost up and we still haven't made a proper plan for dealing with-"
"You think I need a plan on dealing with DEKU!" screamed Bakugo, the look on his face screaming that the very idea of doing so was the most foul insult to him. Seeing this caused a pit of worry to grow within All Might. But, just as he was about to consider speaking with the young man, the buzzer sounded the beginning of the exercise.
"Heroes, you may now move into the building," said All Might after pressing a button on the speakers, his eyes shifting between the heroes and villains. As he told the rest of his class to pay attention, his focus was on Bakugo. He had a bad feeling about what was about to unfold. However, right now that's all it was: just a bad feeling. Should Bakugo take things too far, he would step in and stop it.
"Look at that," said Kirishima, drawing All Might's attention away from the teen who was now racing out of the room holding the bomb to glance over at the heroes. What he saw brought a smile to his face. Midoriya had moved towards the back of the building, sliding a window open and slipping through it without making a sound. Meanwhile, Uraraka was taking a different approach. She had used Zero Gravity on herself, floating upwards towards the top floor to begin looking through all the windows. And it was a sight to behold! Coming out of her boots and gauntlets were streams of air, allowing her to move about in the same manner as an astronaut would on a space station. It wasn't full-on flight, but it was allowing her more control over her movements. He was also aware that part of her gear was helping her with the nausea that came with overuse of her quirk.
But that wasn't all. On her head was Kyo! The little cat/bunny thing was looking around the room with her, somehow acting like a second pair of eyes.
Seeing all of this made the pro hero nod as he made another note. Both teams had divided their forces. However, one was planned while the other wasn't. It would be interesting to see which would prevail.
-x-
Izuku floated a foot off the ground as he moved through the empty building, his hood up while he scanned his surroundings. The exercise had only just begun and he had already finished moving through the majority of the first floor. Not that there was much to find. After getting in the building, his first stop had been to check the basement, which, if he was being honest, was a nightmare waiting to happen. The stairway leading down looked like it was made from a metallic framework that had seen better days with rust forming in several spots. Honestly, Izuku was glad that he didn't have to step on it when he poked his head through the door as he felt it would, at best, creak under the weight. It would be the kind of thing a normal person would fear collapsing right under your feet.
What he found down there was barely any better. The basement floor was a wide open place, dank with a dripping sound that could easily be heard along with the scurrying of rats. It made Izuku thankful that the bomb wasn't down here.
Without closing the door, Izuku quickly checked the rest of the first floor before making his way up to the second. There, he found almost an exact carbon copy of the previous floor, which made things a bit easier. Still, the teen moved carefully as he checked around every corner to see if he had been wrong. If Ida and Bakugo were there lying in wait, hoping to catch the heroes in an ambush.
Then, just getting onto the third floor and had begun to explore it…
"DEKU!" screamed Bakugo, leaping from on high near the ceiling from around a corner. In his mind, Izuku imagined how the explosive teen had managed this. Given how narrow the hallways were, it would have been easy for Bakugo to leap upwards from side to side in order to gain a height advantage. And as all this played out in his mind, Izuku flew backwards to give himself some distance just in time as his former childhood friend slammed an open palm on the ground. The moment he made contact with the ground, there was a powerful explosion that sent a powerful and hot wind running through the corridor.
Izuku's eyes narrowed under the darkness of his hood, keeping his focus on where Bakugo hand landed through the smoke that still clung in that spot. But, he didn't have to wait for long as Bakugo, now standing, swatted it away with a swipe of his arm.
"What's the matter Deku?" asked the blond, his tone cold while his gaze locked onto Izuku's. A gaze he knew all too well, one that looked down at the green-haired teen. "Afraid to stand your ground and fight me?"
For a moment, Izuku considered saying something witty. Like 'thanks, but I've had enough explosions from you to last me a lifetime'…but it sounded lame. Also, he was worried about the floor around Bakugo. He could see a hole had been formed in the epicenter of the explosion, jagged and scorched. But, more importantly, deep. Had that blast been a bit stronger, Bakugo could have created a hole leading down to the first floor. Perhaps he could have caused the entire floor in the area to collapse had he used more force.
Izuku was then pulled out of his thoughts as Bakugo began racing right towards him, causing the hooded teen to jump. Lightning began to dance around Izuku's finger as he flew backwards, panic in his eyes as he began to fire his finger beam attack which missed Bakugo without him even needing to dodge. Seeing this, the green-themed teen let out a cry as he charged his finger again as he turned the corner without looking. He held that shot for a moment, only to then fire a moment before Bakugo rounded the corner. Seeing this the blonde teen sneered.
"Your aim fucking sucks Deku," spat Bakugo as he charged. "Now DIE!"
-x-
At the same time, Uraraka was moving from window to window with the help of her support gear. As she did, a small smile formed on her lips as she thought back to that day when she and her friends had all sat at that café going over ideas to improve her costume. The idea for better mobility had been Ida's idea, pointing out that if she could use her quirk on herself then it would allow her better mobility as long as she had the proper gear. Though, his original idea had been much simpler: having grappling hooks hidden in her gauntlets to pull her now gravity-free body around. However, since she wanted a more space-themed costume, Uraraka had instead requested something similar to what astronauts used.
While she didn't fully understand all the technical stuff, she at least had a general idea of how everything functioned. In her belt, boots, and gauntlets there was a device that sucked in the air around her. Once inside, it would quickly be compressed before being released on her command. Sure, she couldn't use it to fly far or anything like that, but it would allow her to move across surfaces without disrupting anything below her. Or, in this case, to scale the side of a building without even needing to touch it!
That was just one of the additions to her costume. The other came from Deku.
"That blasted Bakugo!" came Ida's voice, pulling Uraraka from her thoughts. Kyo clearly heard it as well as the cabbit began tapping on her forehead before pointing with another paw towards a window. Silently, Uraraka nodded her head to show that she understood before slowly moving towards the window where all the noise was coming from.
Once she reached it, Uraraka carefully peeked her head from the bottom corner of the window to look inside. What she found was a mostly empty room save the bomb and her bespectacled friend. Ida had a hand on the side of his helmet, loudly calling out to Bakugo in clear frustration at the situation. Then, for reasons she didn't understand, he stood there with a hand on his chin while facing the door. Seeing that, Uraraka had to tilt her head a little nearly causing Kyo to fall off. Was Bakugo actually telling him something that required complex thinking? Or was Ida just having an inner monolog?
A moment later, she got her answer.
"That's it!" cried Ida suddenly. "If I wish to excel in this exercise, then I must embrace my role! I must become the very definition of evil! I am evil incarnate! BWAHAHAHA!" Seeing that, and hearing Ida suddenly change his tone and manner of speech into that of an old-time villain, caused Uraraka to spit as she tried her best to hold in her laughter. Kyo was not doing any better, rolling onto his back as he began to meow in what she assumed was laughter. A pretty good guess as he was rocking back and forth while kicking his legs.
"What was that?!" cried Ida, no doubt hearing the noises both Uraraka and Kyo were making. Without thinking, Uraraka pulled her head back and then turned around to press her back against the wall. Once she was out of sight, her hands quickly went to her mouth while Kyo placed his paws over his own. Tension grew, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized she might have blown her chance to get the drop on Ida! What was worse was that she could hear him moving around the room. At first, she heard him move towards the doorway, no doubt checking to see if she was out in the hall. Then, his footsteps began to approach the window causing her to press her body even tighter against the wall.
With each step he took, Uraraka's heart began to beat faster as she tried her best to decide what she should do. Should she float upwards towards the roof and get out of sight before he found her? If she did that then she could just wait a minute or two to check and see if he was still watching the doorway. Or, maybe instead, if Ida poked his head out the window she could use the capture tape and wrap it around his neck. All she needed was a moment. Was Ida fast enough to react to a surprise attack? Did it count as a surprise attack if he was checking the area for an intruder? Or maybe she could-
"Hmm, must have been the wind," she heard Ida say, his words causing the brunette to instantly relax. As his footsteps retreated from the window, Uraraka let out a sigh of relief, as did Kyo. Rather than proceeding right away, she remained where she was while counting to ten to get her breathing under control as well as give time for Ida's guard to fully drop.
Once she was ready, Uraraka poked the side of her head towards the window allowing Kyo to see the inside. After hearing him let out a soft meow which she took as an 'it's good', Uraraka placed a hand on the window to slowly slide it open. As she did this, her eyes roamed the room for Ida but did not spot the speedy teen. Which had her wondering: where did he go? Had he decided to check the hallway or something?
Soon, the window was open and the bomb was in arms reach. Seeing this, Uraraka began to pull herself through…only to freeze for the briefest moment as something thin and yellow shot across her vision while Kyo began to let out a deafening cry. Panicking, the anti-gravity girl lunged forward and to the side, missing the bomb but also the capture tape sent by Ida. She then rolled on the ground as Ida began laughing evilly, pulling back the capture tape as he did so.
"Foolish hero," said Ida, still using his villainous voice. "If there is one thing I have learned from my do-gooder brother it's this: it's never the wind."
-x-
Back in the control room, the students watched while speaking in hushed whispers that All Might could barely hear. What he did catch was not very positive for his first lesson. Some whispered how Young Midoriya got a bad match-up or that his nerves had failed him. That maybe it was a bad idea to throw them into combat without seeing who had any fight training. And, to be fair, All Might could see they had a point. Not everyone was as naturally aggressive as Young Bakugo or had the type of training that Young Ida had.
However, All Might said nothing as he continued to watch while taking notes. This was an important lesson that everyone had to learn.
-x-
Izuku continued to fire off beam after beam, his eyes wide and full of fear as he watched each one miss their target. They had gone around in a circle on this floor so many times that the walls had been peppered by his blasts, each one leaving behind a scorch mark. As for Bakugo, not a single one had come close to even grazing him. In fact, he hadn't needed to dodge once!
Then, Bakugo brought his hands behind his back. "I'm sick of this running around shit!" he bellowed as he then used his explosions to launch him into the air. A moment later, he was right above Izuku with his right arm pulled back. "I'm going to beat you so badly that they'll have to end the match! Then I'll-" Bakugo was then cut off as he noticed something. The fear that had been in Izuku's eyes vanished as they suddenly narrowed in determination. His finger then stopped trembling, pointing right at the blond bomber's head while green sparks danced around it. Then, Izuku fired. With Bakugo now so close and flying towards him, there was no way for him to react and adjust his course in time. Because of this, the beam struck his forehead right above his eyes. A hole appeared in his mask, burning around the areas where the attack had made contact, while his head was flung back as if he had been struck there!
With the change in momentum, Bakugo was now staring at the ceiling. That is until Izuku teleported above him with his own fist pulled back. An instant later Midoriya slammed his fist right into Bakugo's cut with enough force that you could see the impact on the other side. Spit flew out of Bakugo's mouth as a wet, squishy sound mixed with bones cracking filled the air. Then, the blond bomber was sent down to the ground with enough force that he actually bounced a good couple of feet.
-x-
As Izuku teleported next to Bakugo, the capture tape in his hands and ready to be used on the blonde, All Might felt his grin widen at the display before him. 'Young Midoriya, that was brilliantly done,' he thought. 'You took advantage of your opponent's lack of knowledge in your skills. I could see it as clear as day, each one of those shots were designed not to hit him in order to give the impression you were a bad shot. Making him consider that the only reason you managed the ball throw yesterday was due to the ball being in your hand as well as luck. You then waited until he grew tired of the chase, rushing towards you with his guard fully down before pouncing.'
All Might wasn't the only one who was impressed by this sudden turn of events. Glancing behind him, the pro hero could see that most of the class had their mouths hanging open as they gazed at the screen with wide eyes. Yoarashi was one of the few who wasn't, loudly cheering while throwing his hands in the air. Kirishima was another one, looking a little conflicted. Knowing the lad, he probably thought that the deception was unmanly yet couldn't help but think that it looked so damn cool. Then, there was Todoroki. While the boy appeared stoic, he could not hide the renewed interest in his eyes.
-x-
Back with Izuku, he moved to wrap the capture tape around Bakugo's arm as quickly as possible. Thanks to his link with Kyo, he was aware that Uraraka was now fighting Ida in the bomb room. The sooner he took Bakugo out of the exercise, the sooner he would be able to assist her as well as making sure they went for a complete victory. To be in a position where they managed to capture the villains and the bomb at the same time.
However, Bakugo threw a wrench into those plans. Just as Izuku was tightening his tape around Bakugo, the blond boomer's eyes suddenly came into focus. Explosions erupted from his palms, shooting him down the hall, skidding away from Midoriya. Using one of his hands, Bakugo lifted himself off the ground before shifting his body around so that it was now his boots that were skidding across the floor. By the time he stopped, his eyes were blazing with renewed anger. No, his anger was a thousand times more potent as new veins could be seen around his temples through his mask.
"How?" growled Bakugo as he raised a hand to touch the spot where Izuku had shot him, wincing as he did so. That wince seemed to only anger him all the more. "How did Deku see through my moves? He's not that good."
"Kacchan," replied Izuku, gaining the other boy's attention as he stood. As he spoke, the green-themed hero slipped the capture tape back into his dimensional pocket before raising his fists in preparation to fight. "You always start a fight with a big right hook. I know because I've watched you for a long time. I've been analyzing heroes and how they fight for years, taking notes. Including you! It was all in that notebook you burned and threw out the window the day I was kidnapped!" Somehow, Bakugo's eyes widened even more at that while his pupils shifted slightly. "Since that day, I've been working on myself. Now I'm strong enough to put all that information to good use! I'm not the same person you used to know!"
"Like HELL!" screamed Bakugo, leaping forward while creating a more powerful explosion right behind him. One so strong that it sent him flying forward while causing the area around them to shake. But it was clear Bakugo didn't care as he quickly closed the distance between them, grabbing Izuku's costume. The explosive blond then immediately raised his hand, letting out a series of small explosions to spin them around before slamming Izuku's back into a wall. Seeing him pinned, Bakugo raised a hand ready to blast his opponent right in the face. Only what happened next paused him to pause. Izuku smirked while phasing through the wall until the hand holding him was now pressed against the surface of the building.
An instant after he had vanished, and before Bakugo could fully register what had just happened, Midoriya phased back right in front of the shocked villain with his own fist pulled back. The blow connected with Bakugo's face, causing the teen to stumble back. Blood escaped the explosive sweat-producing teen's mouth which he quickly wiped away, keeping his eyes on Izuku who phased back into the room.
"COWARD!" roared Bakugo, slamming a fist into the wall in his frustration. "Quit running away and fight me you damned-" Izuku granted Bakugo's request, flying out of the wall behind him and delivering a blow to his solar plexus before flying through the other side of the wall. Then, as Bakugo's hands went instinctively to the place he had been struck, Izuku came out of the wall once again to punch him on the other side before vanishing through the opposite wall. Bakugo began to curse but was silenced as Midoriya then came through the ceiling above him, delivering another blow to his head before banishing.
Breathing hard, Bakugo fought hard not to groan or wince as he looked around. While for whatever reason Izuku wasn't continuing the attack, the blonde knew it could come from anywhere. His arms were trembling slightly and uncontrollably as his eyes never remained looking at one spot for too long. Then, he heard something like a clicking noise and, acting on instinct, turned and blasted at it without thinking. Once the flames subsided, he saw that it was only rubble that had fallen.
"He's making me look like a fool!" growled Bakugo, his teeth grinding against each other as he spoke. Anger was boiling over because he knew, he KNEW, that the rest of the class was watching this. Watching him struggle so much against one person when he had the greatest firepower in the class.
As Bakugo continued to scan the area around him, he failed to notice what was behind him. Rising from the ground as if it were made from water was Izuku's head, from the bridge of his nose upwards. Slowly and carefully, his hands rose up as well, revealing the capture tape once more. Carefully, he moved his arms forward, ready to wrap the tape around Bakugo's leg and end the fight.
Perhaps it was luck or animal instinct that caused Bakugo to suddenly look down. Seeing the danger, he reacted by leaping back and turning around, ready to blast his problem away for good. Heat, force, and flames shot out of his palm towards Izuku. However, with his vision temporarily obscured by this move, he failed to see Izuku teleporting away. Midoriya then appeared right behind Bakugo, a hand extended and the capture tape dropping to the floor. He could feel the power coursing through his system before exiting out of his arm in a bright green orb. Bakugo began to turn his head, no doubt seeing the light. But it was too late. The energy collided with his back, causing him to cry out in pain. When the smoke cleared, Izuku could see that the blast had destroyed the back of Bakugo's costume, exposing the bare skin which looked like he now had a really bad sunburn with blood leaking from various spots.
As Bakugo stumbled forward a few steps, Izuku also found his feet touching the floor. But, as the green-themed hero reached over to grab the capture tape, the villain of the exercise spun on his heels to point an open palm at him. "No more games Deku!" he spat. Seeing this, Izuku tensed a bit as he prepared himself. He knew better than anyone else how fast and how powerful those blasts could be. So, he readied himself to phase through the ground at the last possible second. From there, he would be able to finally end this. Now that he had fully mapped out this floor, there was no place he couldn't go. Meaning he could teleport right behind Bakugo at any moment and finally capture him.
However, what happened next took the teen totally by surprise. The grenade-shaped gauntlet began to glow red causing alarm bells to begin ringing in the teen's head. As soon as he saw this, Izuku began to phase through the floor, but it was too late! An explosion erupted from Bakugo's arm that was far more powerful and, more importantly, came faster than the green-haired teen could have expected. Pain washed over the teen who tried to scream but air wouldn't enter his lungs, no doubt being consumed by the flames. Thankfully, the suit that his mother and Ryoko got him went to work right away as a transparent barrier appeared over his mouth, which began to feed him oxygen right as he fell down to his side.
-x-
"What was that?" cried Ida as the entire building shook, causing the fight between him and Uraraka to come to a pause. Said fight had not been going well for Uraraka. After escaping Ida's clutches, her friend had monologued about how he had prepared for her specifically. He had figured that Midoriya would stay behind to fight Bakugo. As such, he had removed all other items in the room in order to prevent her from using them as a weapon. With that taken care of, the speedy teen was alternating between playing keep away with the bomb, picking it up, and moving it away whenever she came close, and trying to capture her the rest of the time.
Thankfully, thanks to her costume, Uraraka could remove her gravity far longer than normal and move to the ceiling beyond Ida's reach. Because of this, as well as a bit of luck, she had managed to evade capture.
But now, as bits of the ceiling and streams of dust began falling to the ground, she became worried. She could tell that the last explosive had shaken the foundation of the building.
"Bakugo, what are you doing?" yelled Ida in a clear panic, a hand on the side of his helmet close to his ear. "That explosion was your doing! Are you insane? That blast was powerful enough to bring down the entire building with us inside it! Bakugo? Bakugo? Answer me!"
Uraraka was ready to follow suit and contact Deku to see if he was alright. However, a sudden cry from Kyo caused her to stop. Throughout the entire fight with Ida, Kyo had been watching out calmly to inform her when Ida would strike. Usually pulling on her hair whenever he was about to strike. Yet now he was in a full-blown panic, jumping off her head as he rushed towards the door while crying the entire time.
-x-
For a moment, all Izuku could do was lie there panting as he felt the most indescribable pain he had ever felt in his life coursed through his entire body. He could have said it was like having every cell in your body being roasted alive before a thousand needles pierced every organ a million times over and it still couldn't be able to capture a fraction of what he was feeling right now. Everything inside of him just felt wrong, warped, and in pain. And all the while images began appearing over his eyes. At first, he thought he was seeing things due to the pain but he soon came to realize that it was another function of his costume. The alien technology was somehow displaying warning signs on his eyes, telling him about the danger he was in. The suit was warning him that he was suffering massive internal bleeding and a number of other things that didn't look too good.
"Shut up Four Eyes!" yelled Bakugo, gaining Izuku's attention. He could see that the blond had a hand to his ear, no doubt the communicator that connected him to Ida. But there was something in his eyes. There was no concern for Izuku's condition, only anger and frustration. No doubt that attack he had just used was some sort of ultimate move and the fact that he had to use it just to get a good hit on Izuku was pissing him off.
Slowly, Midoriya tried to get up onto all fours. The moment he tried the pain became so great that he thought he would pass out. Then, blood began flowing out of his mouth. It wasn't a lot, but large enough so that there was a small puddle on the ground. What was more concerning to the teen was how easily it came out. There was no cough or anything like that, it just flowed out.
"Deku," came Uraraka's voice in his ear. "There was a huge explosion and Kyo ran off in a hurry. Is everything alright?" Izuku couldn't respond, instead panting heavily as he nearly fell over.
"Time to pay your dues Deku," said Bakugo coldly as he approached Izuku, anger in his eyes. "I'm going to beat you into the ground until I get the answers I want. Then I'll-" Izuku, however, stopped listening at that point as he fell over onto his side. Looking at Bakugo, who seemed not to care in the slightest about the situation that he was in, Midoriya activated his phasing ability once more. As soon as he did, pain shot through his body once more causing fresh tears to appear in his eyes. Despite that, the teen pushed through all the pain and fell downward to the second floor.
Unfortunately, Izuku didn't have it in him to fly even for a moment to break his fall. Instead, he landed with a thud sending more pain through his body while blood escaped his mouth and now his nose. For a moment he laid there in pain before using his hands and feet to crawl on the ground towards a door, leaving behind a smear of blood. He didn't try to stand, instead phasing through it while tears ran down his face. Once inside the room, he inched his way towards the side of the room and got into a sitting position with his back against the wall.
"Where the fuck are you?!" screamed Bakugo so loudly that Izuku was sure the entire building could hear him. A moment later, he heard the shattering of wood along with a loud thud noise. As he continued to pant, Izuku could image Bakugo just kicking down every door looking for him. "Still hiding? Just like you were hiding that quirk from me all these years?!" Izuku then heard another door being kicked open. "Bet you thought you were really clever, having a laugh behind my back!" Another door was then kicked open, this time it was louder. No doubt closer. "I'll show you! No one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it!"
The following sound of a door breaking was louder than ever. No doubt happening right next to him. Breathing hard, Izuku gulped while looking at the door that remained closed. He then gulped before holding his breath and leaning backwards as he phased through the wall. He managed to tumble to the other side. Just in time as, once all of Izuku through, he could hear the door shattering followed by a scream of rage and frustration from Bakugo.
As he heard the other teen move further away, yelling while kicking another door open, Izuku began to slowly collect himself. He was in so much pain, but for some reason the match hadn't ended nor had he been deemed unable to battle. Did this mean that All Might thought he was fine? Glancing down at his costume, he could see for the first time that it looked perfectly fine. In fact, it was cleaning the blood that had been stuck to it with barely a scratch on it. As Midoriya lay there, he began to wonder if that was the reason. That he looked fine and that All Might had no way to tell that he felt awful. Or maybe this was just another part of the test, to see how far they could go.
As Izuku continued to breathe hard, trying his hardest to stay conscious and keep the pain at bay, he began to mentally kick himself. More blood escaped his lips as he realized what he should have done. He should have listened to Uraraka, just flying up and phasing through every wall to find the damn bomb. If he had done that, they probably would have gotten the best time out of everyone here. Maybe he had been thinking about it too hard. Maybe he should have asked All Might if they both had to participate in order for them both to get credit.
"Three minutes remaining," announced All Might suddenly, snapping Izuku out of his misery. Hearing that, Izuku reached for his communicator at the same moment that Kyo came into the room. The cabbit was clearly panicked, telling Midoriya that he needed to stop. But, Izuku didn't. He needed to, at the very least, give Uraraka time she needed in order to pass this exercise.
"Uraraka," he whispered. "I messed up. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get that complete victory. Touch the bomb when you get the chance. Don't worry about Kacchan. I got a little energy left in me."
"Deku, what's wrong? Please, tell me," responded Uraraka, clearly in a state of panic. So much so that he could practically see her chocolate eyes widen in both fear and alarm. But Izuku put all his strength and focus into standing. More blood spilled from his mouth, but he ignored it as well as the pain he was in. He managed to stand, placing one hand on the wall to steady himself while Kyo looked upon him with clear worry. He probably looked like a mess, but he didn't care.
Izuku took one step forward, nearly falling over as he did. Before he could take another step, Bakugo appeared in the doorway. Either he had doubled back or he had heard Kyo. Not like it mattered because he was here with his other gauntlet raised and looking ready to fire. Only this time, Izuku didn't give him the chance. Instead he instantly phased through the ground to the ground floor, activating his flight as quickly as he could. Thankfully, only the tips of his shoes touched the floor and he wasn't in as much pain. Oh, it still hurt to fly, but far less than standing or phasing.
As he began to fly and think about what he was going to do, Izuku heard Bakugo scream in renewed fury as he began blasting his way down the hallway. Then, just as Izuku found himself next to the doorway leading towards the basement, he had himself an idea. It was crazy, reckless, and something Ryoko would do…but it was the only thing he could think of that would keep Bakugo at bay until the end of the exercise.
Izuku waited by the door, floating there until he saw Bakugo come barreling towards him with explosions coming out of his hands. Once their eyes met, Izuku flew through the doorway as fast as he could before moving off to the side and downward so that he flew alongside the railing that held the stairway in place. As he moved, Izuku focused on creating his saber. When he first tried, there was pain as more blood escaped his mouth. But the teen pressed on, doubling his focus to create it. Despite flickering at first, Izuku managed to slash several of the weaker and rustier beams before the blade vanished into nothing. At the same time, Izuku found that flying was too difficult as he then collapsed onto the floor.
As he lay there on the floor, new pain seeping through his body, Bakugo appeared at the foot of the stairs. He could have just stopped. He could have just closed the door and turned around to help his teammate. Heck, he could have just stayed there, keeping an eye on Midoriya until the end of the exercise. But that wasn't the type of person that Bakugo was, not when he was this riled up. He began to race down the stairs, ignoring everything until he was halfway down and then used an explosion to propel himself faster. And that was when it happened! The stairway could not handle the force of the blast, falling apart right under his feet. With eyes open wide, Bakugo watched as Izuku teleported away.
When Midoriya reappeared it was against the wall opposite of the door that led to the basement. He sat there, legs sprawled out before him, panting and looking pale knowing he had nothing left. The pain he was in was simply too great. He could now hear All Might saying something to him in a panicked tone, no doubt now realizing how pale he looked as well as the additional blood that was coming out of his mouth. Unfortunately, keeping his eyes open let alone hear what All Might was saying was a difficult task. In fact, right now, it was like he was slowly growing deaf to the world around him.
While darkness tinted around his vision, he managed to see something. It was Bakugo, launching himself through the air with his explosion quirk towards the doorway. Despite everything, Midoriya could see that the rage in Bakugo's eyes had not faded. Instead, they had been multiplied a thousand times with his focus on nothing but him. In that moment, it was like the blonde thought of nothing other than reaching Midoriya. Then, just as he was about to reach him, the door slammed in Bakugo's face thanks to Kyo suddenly kicking the door closed. The last thing Izuku saw was a large crack as the door nearly shattered before the darkness took him.
-x-
"Three minutes remaining," came All Might's voice as Uraraka rolled out of the way to avoid being captured by Ida. An act that was made much harder without Kyo there to watch her back. And now, with All Might's words now hanging over them, she could feel the weight behind them. The exercise was nearly over with nothing to show for it. She had failed to capture Ida while Izuku was clearly having trouble with Bakugo. Every time she made her move to the bomb, it was just moved!
At the very least, she knew that Deku was alright. She hadn't heard that he had been captured or anything so that meant he was still fighting. If that was the case, then she had to-
"Uraraka," came Deku's voice through her earpiece. Though there was something off about how he spoke that sent an uneasy wave down her spine. It was like he was trying to talk with water in his mouth. And what he said next made her feel no better. "I messed up. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get that complete victory. Touch the bomb when you get the chance. Don't worry about Kacchan. I got a little energy left in me."
"Deku, what's wrong? Please, tell me!" cried Uraraka, now in full-blown panic mode. The lack of a response made her knees feel weak. This was all her fault. She was the one who had suggested that they go for a complete victory. And why wasn't All Might pulling Deku out of the exercise?
"Pay attention hero scum!" declared Ida as he shot towards the girl, fist extended. Uraraka tried dodging, only managing to get out of the way in time to avoid a direct hit but did feel his fist as it grazed her cheek. As she tumbled to the ground, she began to wonder why they thought separating was such a good idea. Ok, she might have gotten in the way of Deku's fight with Bakugo. But there was also a chance she wouldn't! And they could have watched each other's backs and maybe Deku wouldn't be in the situation he was in now.
But right now, none of that mattered. She had to end the exercise as quickly as possible.
So, rather than getting up, she curled in on herself so that she was in a fetal position. As Ida approached her quickly, though not as quickly as when he used his quirk, with confidence that he had defeated her, Uraraka went for the support equipment that Deku had suggested. Doing her best not to be seen, she pressed on one of the rectangular outlines on her gauntlet, causing it to be pushed upwards with a small clicking noise. The device she now held was thick, the same depth as her gauntlets. Beneath the pink shell was highly compact metallic circuitry with various blinking lights, with a more reinforced base that she knew could take a lot of damage.
Holding it so that she touched it with all of her fingers, she waited until Ida was close enough before throwing it at his legs. The moment she let go, one of the air hoses built into it activated, giving it additional speed as it flew toward her friend. Clearly taken by surprise, Ida failed to move in time allowing the base of the device to collide with his leg. The moment it did, a dozen metallic cables shot out from the sides in wide arcs before wrapping themselves tightly around both leg,s causing him to fall to the ground.
This device was inspired by a comic that Deku had brought to her attention called Spider-Man. In it, the hero used something called Impact Webbing, shooting what looked like a stick mass at the target, which then wrapped the target up to capture them. Deku had told her that, since she wanted to focus more on rescuing people, something like this would be ideal. She could use something similar to help reinforce loose structural areas or to keep certain areas in place after using her quirk on them. And, when she did face a villain, using this along with her quirk would send them flying across the room.
The reason she hadn't used this support device until now was that she had been hoping to touch Ida and use it in conjunction with her quirk to see how well it operated. Seeing how poorly that was going, with time running out and Deku in trouble, she needed to take a chance.
"Young Midoriya! Young Midoriya!" shouted All Might in a panic as Uraraka got to her feet. "You're horribly injured! Please, stay where you are!"
Without thinking, Uraraka raced over to the bomb and touched it, making sure that everything her friend had gone through hadn't been for nothing. They had won.