The twenty students of class 1-A, including me, emerged from the shadows of Training Ground Beta's tunnel, leading into another one of U.A.'s mock cities. Each of us, donning our own unique costumes put together based on our Quirks and personal preferences, stood proudly as the sun's beams shined down on us.
All Might, our teacher for the day, was as radiant as ever -- perhaps doubly as radiant as usual -- as he bore witness to the next generation of heroes.
Though the sun was cooking me beneath the black spandex, I felt cool as hell. My costume design was clearly inspired by spiders, since my Quirk gives me the abilities of one. Atop the black spandex, there was a crimson spider web pattern, even on the mask that housed spider-like lenses over my eyes. On my chest, I showcased my unique spider insignia -- my own Symbol of Peace.
"Wow... Morales, you look so cool!" Uraraka said to me. Thankfully, my gaping mouth and wide eyes were hidden under my mask because when I saw her costume, I could not hide my reaction.
Her body suit was skin-tight, and you could see everything -- and I mean everything. I guess it made sense since her Quirk would be more effective if her gear was lighter, but good lord...
Midoriya was right beside me, his face redder than an apple as he checked Uraraka out. I'd only been hanging out with the guy for a couple of days, but his crush on Uraraka was obvious. His costume looked handmade, as if his mom made it for him or something. It was this green jumpsuit with bunny ears and a creepy, smiling half-mask. I took a look at him and then at All Might, realizing he was copying All Might's silhouette.
"Your costume is cool too, Deku!"
Midoriya stammered and broke eye contact with her, trying hard not to let them wander down her body. "Uh... Haha.... Thanks," he told her.
Get it together, man...
After Midoriya was done gawking at his crush, All Might explained to us what we were going to be doing that day. Rather than training outside, we would be training inside, since most villainous encounters occur indoors. We would be divided into teams of two, one team playing the heroes and one team playing the villains. The villains were tasked with protecting a weapon inside a multi-floored building, while the heroes had to infiltrate and confiscate the weapon.
Uraraka and Midoriya went up against Iida and Bakugo first. Their battle was so intense that Midoriya punched a hole through the entire building and had to be hospitalized. His team did end up winning, so I guess it was worth it in the end for him. Not only that, but his energy inspired Class 1-A to want to give it their all in the subsequent matches. Speaking of which, my team was up next.
My partner was this red-haired kid named Eijiro Kirishima; until that day, he and I hadn't said a word to each other. As he and I walked the halls of the building we were supposed to protect, we introduced ourselves to each other.
"You're Morales, right?" he asked me.
"Yeah... I'm surprised you already know my name."
"Dude, you got first place on the Quirk Assessment Test. Plus, you stand out a lot since... You know. You aren't Japanese."
"Makes sense. You're Kirishima, right? I've been keeping track of the people that are strong... or piss me off, but so far that's only been Mineta. The little creep..."
Kirishima laughed. "The little guy is funny sometimes, though, I'll admit."
"He may have gotten a laugh or two out of me. Anyways, what's your Quirk?" I asked him.
"I can harden my skin, which basically gives me super strength and durability. What about you?"
"I basically have the abilities of a spider. I can shoot webs, crawl on walls, and have heightened agility, super strength, and when I'm in danger, I get this alarm that tells me when something is coming."
Kirishima was wide-eyed throughout my entire explanation. "Dude, you're OP."
"Maybe a little. I still have a lot of work to do if I wanna be as strong as All Might, though."
Kirishima let out a slight chuckle. "Super strong yet you're still trying to get stronger. You have my respect, that's for sure. Say, why don't you and I do some training together sometime?"
"I'm down," I said as we walked into the room with the weapon we were meant to protect. It was a giant warhead, though it was obviously fake. I immediately started planning out how we'd protect the thing, taking into account the information I have about our opponents. Tsuya Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami didn't stand out much, but I did have some grasp on their Quirks. Just like how I have the abilities of a spider, Asui had the abilities of a frog. Tokoyami, on the other hand, was a bit more mysterious. He had this shadowy figure that seemingly had a mind of its own, but obeyed his every command. He'd used it during only some of the events, so I assumed it had limitations.
"Asui is probably going to try and blitz us with her mobility, so I think it'll be a good idea to cover the room with webs to limit where she can move," I told Kirishima.
"Yup, I was thinking the same thing!"
I somehow doubt that...
"Any idea on how to deal with Tokoyami? His Quirk is still pretty unknown to me."
"Dunno. Probably just gonna punch him real hard."
"Can't argue with that logic... But we should play it defensively since we don't know what he's capable of."
"Understood."
After a few minutes of setup, the room was covered by a maze of my webbing. They'd dissolve in thirty minutes, but that was more than enough time for us to win. If we had more time to set up and if I had infinite energy, I would've webbed the door shut as well, but even powerful Quirks like mine have limitations.
"Team H. You may now infiltrate Team J's base," I heard All Might say through our communications devices.
Last match, Bakugo sought out Midoriya and Uraraka, but I think that's why they lost. Kirishima and I decided to hunker down and wait; we didn't have to wait long before Tokoyami and Asui appeared at the doorway.
As Tokoyami stood in shadow, I could see that his shadowy companion looked bigger than it did during the Quirk Assessment Test. Perhaps when in darkness, that shadow of his becomes more powerful; that would explain how they found the room so quickly. Outside of the room we were in, which had a bunch of windows lighting it up for us, it was nearly pitch black. I deduced that he used his shadow to instantly search through the building's darkness.
I scanned the room, noticing that there were shadows being generated where sunlight couldn't reach them.
Damn it. I still don't know how his shadow works. Can it become intangible? If so, we're absolutely cooked unless we can fill the room with more light. If it can't, it's obviously stronger in darkness, so we should get rid of the shadows regardless. But if we focus too much on him, Asui might be able to take advantage of it.
There were too many variables, and for a moment, I was frozen. However, I thought about the last match with Midoriya versus Bakugo. Midoriya didn't hesitate; he did what he needed to do without a second thought, so I was going to do the same!
"Kirishima. His shadow becomes stronger the darker the room is. I need you to tear down the walls to let more sunlight in. Can you do that?"
"Hell yeah, I can. What about you?"
"I'll protect the weapon."
Kirishima smiled before dashing at the wall, punching a massive hole that immediately cast light on the darkness. Tokoyami immediately sent out his shadow, using it to snake around the corners of the room, avoiding my webs with ease. Meanwhile, Asui elected to ignore Kirishima and go for the weapon.
I see, so this is their plan? They probably already knew I'd use my webs as a trap, so they'd planned for it. All they have to do is touch the weapon, and they win; taking down Kirishima isn't important for victory. All I have to do is hold it down until Kirishima eliminates the shadows. I'm counting only you Kirishima, don't fuck this up!
Tokoyami's shadow went for the weapon, but I immediately leaped in its path. His shadow was bird-like, but it had human-like arms, which it used to try and grab me. The shadow and I locked hands, trying to overpower one another, but its strength was too incredible due to the shadows it was using.
"Kirishima! Focus on the areas that Tokoyami is abusing!"
"On it!"
Kirishima rushed over to our side of the room and smashed a wall beside Tokoyami, but the bird-headed shadow manipulator simply snaked his companion around other shadows in the room.
"Damn it. It won't matter until there's no shadows left!"
Right then, my spider-sense went off, compelling me to frantically look for Asui. She was lunging at the weapon, using her froggy tongue to try and claim it. Reacting quickly, I fired a web at her tongue, stopping it before it could hit the weapon. Using just one hand to hold Tokoyami's shadow back, I used my other hand to swing Asui toward her partner. Tokoyami reacted by retracting his shadow, using it to shield himself and catch Asui, buying Kirshima and me precious seconds.
Kirishima and I are far stronger than these guys; if we can land one hit, they're done, and they know that. That's why they want to end this fight as quickly as possible. If these teams weren't random, I'd call All Might a genius for setting this all up. It's the perfect matchup, forcing us all to play out of our comfort zones. If you wanna play tactically, I'll play tactically.
As Kirishima continued busting holes in the walls, I attached my webs to some of the pillars in the room, targeting the ones that were less integral to the room, not fully collapsing on themselves. If Midoriya was allowed to punch a hole through the whole building, this was more than allowed.
With my strength, I pulled the pillars out of place, removing shadows while also giving me debris to use as projectiles. Tokoyami's shadow lunged at me, but I was able to web chunks of concrete and throw them at him before his shadow could even come close. Each time I targeted Tokoyami, his shadow would rush back to protect him, giving me yet another idea.
"Kirishima! Tokoyami can't even defend himself; that's why he's standing at the doorway, away from the fight! Keep his shadow's attention while I deal with Asui!"
I felt bad for bossing Kirishima around, but that smile of his when I gave him orders to smash someone or something let me know that he didn't mind. From this alone, I figured he was the type to punch first, think later. If I did all the thinking for him, all he had to do was focus on punching.
Meanwhile, Asui was jumping around my webs like a madwoman, thought I was able to keep track of her fairly easily.
"Hey, Asui! You aren't the only one with animal agility!"
I, too, began jumping from wall to wall, cutting off her paths to the weapon. In my peripheral vision, I watched Kirishima go up against Tokoyami, but I could tell she was starting to get overwhelmed.
I have to end this fast!
This whole fight, Kirishima and I were playing defensively; so now, I was ready to change the tempo! I lunged at Asui, knowing she would react by jumping away from me. When she jumps, she goes in a straight line every time, making her trajectory extremely predictable. I webbed the back of her foot, compelling her to then shoot her tongue toward the weapon to once again try to claim it.
"No, you don't!" I yelled, pulling her toward me using my web. "Get over here!"
Unable to control her body, Asui turned to face me, only to see me reeling my fist back for a punch. "I don't like hitting girls, but I hate losing more!" I held back a bit when I punched her; I didn't wanna kill her, obviously. My punch was enough to knock her out cold, but to be sure, I webbed her to the ground to subdue her.
Kirishima and Tokoyami's shadow was in a stalemate, but I could tell that Tokoyami was gaining and edge. I flung myself toward Tokoyami, forcing his shadow to retreat and protect his body. This created an opening for Kirishima, who reeled back his fist and delivered a full-powered punch to Tokoyami's bird head, punching him through the wall!
"Holy shit!" I said in English. "You could've held back a little..."
"Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself..."
Using my webs, I subdued Tokoyami, thus winning us the match.
"Villains win!" we heard All Might say in our earpieces.
After that, the rest of our classmates had their turns, each of them inspired by the students who came before.