Chapter 59: A Battle Between Brothers Begins
The monitoring room falls into a thoughtful quiet as the previous battle's aftermath plays out on the screens. Jiro breaks the silence first, shaking her head slightly.
"The losing team came out unscathed, while the winning team is completely wrecked."
Tokoyami, arms crossed in his usual brooding pose, adds philosophically:
"They lost the battle but won the war, so to speak."
Aoi leans back against the wall, arms folded, and responds with a casual shrug.
"Well, I don't know why you're all surprised by this result. A hero ending up all beaten up while the villain is fine... that's more common than it seems in real life. After all, the villain has no worries or restrictions. He just wants to kill you—no holds barred. Unlike the hero, who has to fight holding back so as not to hurt any civilians who might still be in the area and has to get distracted mid-fight to save innocent people. So in those situations, most of the time, heroes end up badly injured, even if they win."
All Might nods solemnly, his massive frame casting a shadow as he agrees.
"Young Aoi is right. In a fight against villains, it's not just about the combat itself. You're responsible for everyone around who hasn't evacuated the area yet. Protecting lives comes first."
Tsuyu tilts her head curiously and says:
"I know that, but this is just a simulated battle. Do we need to think about all that right now, kero?"
Aoi glances at the monitor, catching Bakugou's incredulous expression—eyes wide, unable to believe he actually lost—and thinks to himself: "At least now he can't treat Izuku like he's insignificant. He should start seeing him differently, even if he's angry right now."
Momo turns to Aoi, her expression thoughtful, and asks:
"So, what do you think about their situation—the two of them?"
Aoi sighs deeply, running a hand through his hair before replying.
"Well, I really don't know what to say. After all, from the way Bakugou has treated Izuku so far—from everything I've seen—I don't understand why Izuku wants his approval so much. But it must be something deep between them that we don't get. After all, they've known each other for years. There must be a lot of history we don't know about the two of them. So the best thing is to let them sort it out themselves."
Momo glances back at the frozen image on the screen—Izuku passed out on the floor and Bakugou standing in shock from his defeat—and says softly:
"Well, it does seem really complicated. Their relationship is best left for them to resolve on their own."
All Might had escorted Iida, Bakugou, and Uraraka back to the monitoring room for debriefing, but Izuku had to be taken straight to the school infirmary due to his serious injuries. Aoi thinks quietly: "Well, when we're done here, I'll stop by the infirmary to finish healing him properly."
Seeing the room fall silent again, All Might clears his throat and addresses the class.
"Well, everyone, I'd like to ask: who do you think performed the best in this battle? Let's hear your thoughts."
Momo raises her hand confidently and answers:
"Professor, it was Iida. Because Bakugou ignored the objective entirely and let himself be completely guided by his personal anger toward Izuku, leaving the bomb unprotected and forcing Iida to handle it alone—which ultimately gave Izuku and Uraraka their opening. Izuku and Uraraka didn't perform badly overall, but compared to Iida, they had some clear flaws: Uraraka laughed in the middle of the battle and accidentally gave away her position to Iida, and Izuku, even though he helped Uraraka secure the victory for the hero team, ended up all injured and helpless. If this had happened in a real battle against actual villains, he'd be killed without question."
All Might smiles proudly and praises:
"Very good analysis, young Yaoyorozu. You're completely right."
Tsuyu asks curiously:
"So Uraraka and Izuku didn't perform well, even though they won?"
All Might explains patiently:
"Well, the hero team did a good job securing the win, but as Yaoyorozu pointed out, they made too many critical mistakes to be chosen as the standout performers."
Aoi chimes in with a nod:
"There's also the luck factor to consider. After all, if Iida had reacted just a little faster to Uraraka's approach, the entire hero team's plan would have fallen apart completely. So Iida really performed well in this battle—he held the objective steady under pressure."
Iida straightens up, beaming happily.
"Thank you, everyone!"
All Might adds one more point:
"The only thing I could add is that Iida was a bit tense about fully embracing the villain role, which affected his performance a little—he could have been more aggressive in his acting."
aoi glances sideways and notices Bakugou sitting alone, looking completely downcast and defeated, but aoi isn't about to try to cheer him up—after all, their personalities aren't very compatible, and any attempt would likely just end in a heated argument.
At that moment, All Might claps his hands to get everyone's full attention once more.
"Well, everyone, let's resume the battle test without further delay."
He announces clearly:
"Next up: Team B versus Team I."
Aoi turns to face his brother directly, locking eyes with Shoto, and says with a serious tone:
"Shoto, I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my brother."
Shoto meets his gaze evenly, his heterochromatic eyes calm but determined, and replies:
"I would never ask for that, brother. I want to see what level of strength you've reached after all this time."
The entire class watches intently as the brothers stare each other down, the tension palpable. Kirishima pumps his fist excitedly and comments:
"So it's going to be a brother battle now. How manly!"
Tsuyu ribbits softly and says:
"I just hope no one gets seriously hurt this time, kero."
Uraraka adds with a small nervous laugh:
"Well, I don't think anyone will get permanently hurt thanks to Aoi's power, but they're definitely going to feel a lot of pain."
All Might announces the roles:
"Team B will play the heroes, and Team I the villains."
Aoi laughs confidently, already slipping into his role, and says:
"Cool! I finally get to show these weak heroes what real power looks like, right, Momo?"
Momo, watching Aoi grin like a true villain, replies with a sigh:
"Well, let's go then."
Everyone watching Aoi's quick shift into character thinks to themselves: "You're getting into character way too easily."
Shoji observes Aoi closely and knows deep down that this battle will be extremely tough. After all, even though he doesn't know Aoi's quirk in full detail, he has already witnessed the incredibly high level of control Aoi has over it. Shoto looks at Aoi with clear anticipation burning in his eyes—this will be their very first real fight against each other.
Momo and Aoi enter the training building first as the villain team. All Might speaks over the microphone:
"Only 15 minutes left until the heroes may enter."
Inside, Momo looks at Aoi, who's casually sitting right on top of the mock bomb, and asks:
"So, what's our plan going to be?"
Aoi replies thoughtfully:
"Well, I think it's better if you don't waste energy setting traps all around the building. If I'm not mistaken, Shoto plans to freeze the entire structure instantly to catch us off guard. So it's better if you create something practical to help in close combat once they start climbing the stairs toward us."
Momo nods in agreement:
"Well, then I'll get started right away."
Aoi then simply closes his eyes, leaning back relaxed, and waits patiently for the time to pass so the fight can finally begin.
Back in the monitoring room, everyone watches the feeds: Aoi lying leisurely on top of the bomb while Momo diligently creates accessories and tools for the upcoming battle.
Kirishima scratches his head and comments:
"Aoi doesn't plan on making any strategy at all to beat Shoto and Shoji?"
Tsuyu adds bluntly:
"It's true. They're not moving or hiding anywhere, kero."
Kaminari looks puzzled and asks:
"What exactly are they trying to do?"
All Might chuckles slightly and replies:
"Well, it seems young Aoi doesn't want to come up with any elaborate strategy. He just intends to take on the hero team head-on, with pure strength."
Finally, the 15 minutes pass. Shoto and Shoji stand ready in front of the building. Shoji activates his quirk, extending multiple arms to gather information from various angles. He turns to Shoto and reports:
"Strange... They're all gathered in the same place. None of them has left or is hiding anywhere. They're just standing there, like they're openly waiting for us."
Shoto replies calmly:
"It's because they're waiting for us."
They step back a safe distance. Shoji suddenly feels the air getting a bit colder around them. Shoto places his right hand on the ground, instantly freezing the entire building in a massive wave of ice. Shoji stares in shock at the sheer scale of the display. Shoto looks at him coolly and says:
"Let's go."
Shoji nods firmly and enters the frozen building alongside him.