All Might had many regrets. Not punching All For One harder, not being ready when Nana needed him, Failing to keep up even with his injuries. Bunny-sensei was starting to reach up there. Maybe this was the universe sending Karma his way for not delving deeper into his chosen successor's past, like training him for a month without knowing he was quirkless.
And learning how bad his grades were. Seriously he would have developed some time away from training if it meant upping THAT low of a score. He was never that bad in school … Besides the one time Nemuri slipped him a roofie.
Young Suzuki's wording at least painted him as just a hero helping the little guy out, now they just needed him to not be so open about being quirkless. All For One may be gone, but his followers could be seen from the shadows occasionally.
It seemed his retrospective time was up. Everyone was coming in with incredible costumes! There was the armor of the Iida family so similar to Tensei, there were fun designs, a lot of skin he was going to hope was for quirk reasons alone. And here came his protege with … a gym uniform, a blue cape, and a domino mask. "You all have such wonderful costumes!" This could wait till later, he wasn't going to call him out.
"Suzuki, what on earth is with your costume!" Or Iida could do his job for him, that was fine enough he supposed.
"What? Aren't capes and masks what heroes wear?" Suzuki asked as if that was the only issue. "I just went for something that shows people I'm a hero."
"Yeah...but it's so plain!" Uraraka was laughing, not even bothering to hide it.
"So boring it's funny!" Kaminari was snickering right beside her.
"I mean come on, I'm not wearing anything, and even I have more style than that." Even Hakagure agreed.
"I see, in that case i'll have to up my ante." Oh, was he now? "I'll get myself a logo!" Not like THAT!
"Dude, come on, we can get some more variety at another point." Ojiro said, wearing a gi used for martial arts.
"Don't worry, sweetie, we'll be here to help you out after this is all over." Ashido cooed towards his successor.
"Indeed, let's get started. Now tell me, where are villain attacks most likely to take place?"
"Where people are!" Suzuki answered.
"Well, yes, but more importantly, indoors! Here you'll be training in battle against other students!" And then came the flood of questions.
"How are we deciding who goes against who?"
"What are the objectives?"
"How much can we hurt our opponents?
"Does my cape look fabulous?"
"It looks amazing! Much shinier than mine!"
"I wasn't done talking yet! My quirk isn't supper hearing you know!" He groaned, talking out cue cards he made in advance despite the looks everyone was giving him now.
"Did he do that during your training?" Kaminari turned to his successor
"No, he mainly kept cheering me on as I dragged him across the beach while he rode on a refrigerator."
"You carried him?! With how much he weighs, no wonder your jacked man." Kirishima spoke with a wide smile.
"Now then, there will be a bomb placed on one of the floors. And no Suzuki, it is not a real bomb, it is a Paper Mache creation for the exam." The boy lowered his hand. "Two teams, a pair of heroes and a pair of villains, will duke it out in an effort to contain the threat. If the heroes capture the villains or touch the bomb, they win. If the villains run the clock down or defeat the heroes, they win."
"Sir, pardon me, but that would put the villains at a distinct advantage!" Iida held his hand high.
"I'm sure you've probably heard this from Aizawa … no, you've definitely heard this from Aizawa. Villains don't play fair, it's up to the heroes to overcome these odds and go beyond, Plus Ultra!" All Might shouted.
"PLUS ULTRA!" The class shouted behind him, Young Suzuki a bit quieter.
"Now to simulate real scenarios, the pairings will be random. Your letter will determine your enemies and your ally, so pray for success and do your best!" He held out a ballot.
The students smiled and reached in. Yes, this teaching thing was a lot easier than he anticipated. He was worried he'd do poorly, but the smiles must mean this was working!
"It seems we'll be partners. I'm happy to be working with you, um, I never got your name." Young Suzuki asked his partner.
"Yaoyorozu Momo." The girl bowed politely. "I'm hoping we'll be able to cooperate functionally."
"Dang it, I got stuck with the asshole!" Hagakure complained, gesturing over to young Bakugou. "I wanted to work with you!"
"No problem Toru, let's do our best, that's what matters right?" Suzuki smiled back at her.
"What matters is that you win, Deku." Bakugo spat out while walking away.
"Who?" Was the only thing Suzuki said in response, oblivious to the glare. Well that seemed good and all, sporting competition. Now it was time to compete!
==
Toru was against Iruma-kun, her soulmate, the worst possible scenario! Even if she couldn't be his partner, supporting him, holding him close and taking in his scent, the very least would be not fighting him, especially against a high scorer like Bakugo.
There was only one option, sabotage. She would wait until the match started, and then, using her invisibility, would avoid the boy completely, only occasionally tripping up Bakugo when possible.
"Grrr.." Her asshat of a partner was growling the entire time. He hadn't said a single word to her since they were chosen as partners, only angry grumbles as the tick marks were growing more and more visible on him. "He couldn't have been holding back during the first test. He couldn't have gotten this far quirkless…"
He thought Iruma-kun was quirkless? That was probably what was eating away at him, she would have to fix it. "He has a quirk." Now he was looking at her. "He just can't control it well. Apparently he broke his limbs punching out the zero pointer."
"He has that kind of strength...and he hasn't used it…" That only seemed to make Bakugo even angrier.
"What part of 'broken limb' did you not comprehend you moron?"
"We're heroes, it doesn't matter if we loose a limb, if a villain is out there you fight and murder them." Okay, that was a little bit intimidating when he said it all seriously like with feral eyes. "If you can't give everything you got, you don't deserve to be here."
"Well screw you too. Iruma-kun was eleventh using nothing but natural skill. That's more than what can be said about half the class." Hell she was invisible, she couldn't contribute well to the physical.
"And that's what's pissing me off the most." He growls. "And you, you're planning on holding back too, aren't you?" Of course she was. "You're going to be the biggest insult to the class you know." What the hell was he talking about? "You plan to lose on purpose just to make your stalker victim happy. If there's anything I can't stand, it's a pity to win in any circumstance!"
"Hey, I'm not stalking, I'm just appreciative! And it's not from pity! I just…" She paused. She came here to be a hero too. Didn't going Plus Ultra mean never holding yourself back? "I'm just.."
"If either of you idiots are actually serious about being a hero, you both better stop holding yourself back!" She hated it when assholes had a point. "Deku won't get any stronger if you just hand him a win!"
"Who?" The boy actually paused on that one, before shaking himself.
"Fuck it, i'll take on blue hair, you'll pull your punches anyways." As much as she wanted to stab him, he made a fair point. "Keep an eye out for the cheating ponytail, she'll probably be an issue."
==
"So what's the plan, Yayorozu?" Iruma asked his partner, feeling she already had something. She got first place on the quirk exam, so she must be super smart after all!
"Bakugo seems like a brash fellow, but he was third in Aizawa's tests yesterday. He's most likely very combat ready and knows how to use his quirk's versitily confidently." Yayorozu flipped through a big book she carried on her belt. "I believe I can develop something to counter his explosions, but Hagakure could be tricky. You know her well, right?"
Of course he did. "She likes to be called Toru, always likes to touch people, and is a super nice person all around." She was a good friend, hopefully. He found it weird she was always looking at him, but he expected that was just a friend thing he was unaware of. "I can tell where she is most of the time, so I can talk to her while you deal with the boom guy."
"Alright then, the plan is set." She smiled at him as the plan started. He would distract Hagakure and she would beat Bakugou, this was foolproof! "Make sure to stay behind. Bakugo seems to be the kind of person to charge ahead, and I only have so little time and lipids to make a shield."
"Oh right, you can use your quirk to make anything! That sounds like a fun power to have." Iruma thought back to everything she made yesterday. The motorcycle, the rocket launcher, the spring-shoes. "What are lipids?"
"They're the fats that our blood carries through our body. Everything I make is made from them, but I have to know the chemical and internal structure of what I make, so I have to study immensely in order to produce it." She said a lot of complicated words that he barely understood, but that just proved how big her brain was.
"I see, so you're super duper smart." She looked flushed, must have been the side effect he just realized. "And you use blood to make stuff, make sure to eat a lot."
"Well that's not exactly … close enough I suppose." They heard footsteps. "He's close, make sure to stay behind me." Right, she could make stuff, maybe a really big metal shield! Everything would be-
"WATCH OUT!" He pushed her out of the way, making them both tuck and roll as Bakugo's attack scorched the wall where they were standing behind. "Are you alright?"
"Yes..I'm fine." Yaoyorozu looked shocked. "I didn't even notice him…"
"DUCK!" Iruma pushed themselves down again, and they could feel Bakugo's attack barely missing it's mark. The boy looked up to see the small section of the wall destroyed, standing up to talk. "Hey, this is a test right, you could really hurt someone-" He was forced to jump away from another explosion. "I'm just trying to talk-" Another explosion. "Please stop!" Yet another explosion.
"I'll stop when I'm dead! You stop dodging, you bastard!" He wasn't a bastard, his father was still with his mother.
"Why would I do something like that? I don't want to die!"
"Then it seems we've come to a disagreement!"
Iruma temporarily stopped, glaring at the guy. "You shouldn't want to die, you have a very handsome face!"
Bakugo looked at him funny, before his face became scary like it was on fire. "Are you mocking me..?" The explosions from his palms only got bigger as he said that.
"What, no, i'm just saying dying is a very stupid thing." Iruma felt very confused at the aggression, and even Momo took a step back from the raging boy.
"Clearly you're not taking this seriously. I'm going to wipe that stupid smile off your face." What smile? He's been running for his life this entire time. "Since we're Classmates, I guess it's only fair that I tell you how my quirk works." Oh really, that sounded nice. "I sweat nitroglycerin from my body, and ignite it from my hands whenever I want."
"Does that mean you have to hand dry your clothes? I can give you some tips, I've been out in the woods for a while doing it." For some reason that seemed to make him angry. What else could he say to calm him down, oh, another tip!? "What about lotion, so you don't get super clammy?"
"SHUT UP DEKU!" Why did he keep calling him that? "My...The Point I was making is that the gauntlets I'm wearing store up as much sweat as I want for a long distance attack."
"Oh, so that way you can make a really big boom!"
"Yes, I can." Iruma smiled that he got it right, but didn't understand why he was reaching for the pin. It wasn't like he was-oh.
"You wanted to explain it as a warning that you're going to be very violent in the next few seconds aren't you?"
"So you aren't a complete moron I see."
"DON'T YOU DO IT, YOUNG BAKUGO, YOU'LL KILL HIM FROM THAT CLOSE OF A RANGE!" Bunny-Sensei yelled from the metal circle he gave all of them.
"He'll be fine as long as he dodges!" Oh, he could dodge very well! That was nice to allow, it meant there was a way he could survive! "Now, Plus Ultra Die!" It was still a very big boom though.
==
Momo felt ashamed that she left Suzuki behind, but he seemed to serve as a good distraction, and it's not like he was in too much danger, dodging the attacks from a skilled person like Bakugo as if it was simple. Maybe they should've formed a plan that allowed Suzuki's and her quirk's to work in tandem, but there was little time to dwell on it now.
"All right, Suzuki can keep Bakugo busy, which means he's now relying on me to score a victory. The bomb is most likely at the top floor, which means I should be able..aha!" She reached her destination. Just as she thought.
The room was quiet, too quiet for comfort. Luckily she knew just the thing to do, planning for an invisible target ahead of time. She created a few Matryoshka dolls and tossed them to the floor in various spots. Inside was vacuum sealed flour, which spread like a grenade. A few of them scattered should reveal the target if she was lucky.
"Hm, she's not here." Momo tilted her head curiously. Hagakure had an advantage in stealth, but her quirk allowed her to exploit her weakness. She tentatively walked into the flour covered room, turning her head back every ten seconds just to see if the girl was coming from behind her. "Maybe she went to assist Bakugo." It was probably giving Suzuki a harder time, but the bomb was right in front of her now.
She decided to make her way over to the bomb. If no one wanted to guard it, then she would take full advantage. This hope lasted until an invisible body dropped from above, hitting her hard and flattening her onto the ground. "Figured you'd just make something to see if I was there, so I was on the ceiling!" Hagakure spoke up, grabbing her neck and putting her in a choke hold.
"N-no!" Momo couldn't let up when she was so close to winning. She pressed her hands hard on the ground and created two metal staffs that lifted herself up just ever so slightly. "I'm not going to lose!" She took a deep breath and used her leverage to push herself, as well as the girl on her, back first to the ground.
"I'm going to win, for myself and Iruma-kun!" That somehow made no sense, but Momo had no time to dwell. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some capture tape, attempting to grab her arm and wrap it, only to get punched by an invisible fist. "You didn't cover every part of my body, so I still have a leg up on you!" Her point was made quite literal as she felt a foot ram into her stomach.
"No..I can't fail.." She didn't account for Hagakure having some sort of combat experience. How could she overlook that simple fact? She probably took into account the limitations of her own quirk. "I won't lose to you!"
Hagakure continued an assault of furious punches and kicks she couldn't see. Momo needed something wide, to cover an area she couldn't aim directly at, but her mind was drawing a blank every time a hit landed on her body. She needed time to think, something to distract them.
BOOM
That certainly did it, the entire building began to shake around, and the floor was starting to crumble beneath them. "What, who did, what did they do!?" Hagakure paused her assault. "I took off my com because I couldn't have it on and let you see, as long as you don't move i'll let you check."
Well this could be an advantage for time, she'd have to stall for a while though. She pressed the com. "Suzuki, what's going on down there?"
"Bakugo made a big boom and I dodged." That made sense, but a little detail wouldn't hurt!
"How much damage did it cause?" She decided to ask, she needed time to think, maybe a net gun?
"There's a hole in a few walls and the ground is liquidy." The ground was-she cut off her thought process.
"Is he trying to murder you!?" She shouted into the com.
"He told me to Plus Ultra Die, so maybe?" Leaving him alone was a terrible idea, she never should have abandoned him for the goal. "But it gave me an idea, I'm gonna to make a boom too, so make sure to clear the room."
"Uh..alright, just don't get hurt." This was a team exercise, and they didn't have much time left. She would rectify her mistake and trust her partner's hopefully well thought out plan.
"It's okay! I'm always dodging danger, so this isn't anything new to me!" That was very, very, VERY much concerning. She hung up and looked at … what she assumed was Hagakure.
"Suzuki is alright, Bakugou 'may' be trying to kill him, and we might want to dodge soon?" That last one was more of a curious question.
==
In retrospect, maybe he went a 'bit' too far with that last blast, seeing the destruction it caused. One part of him felt giddy that he could actually create this much devastation with a single blast, those support guys were no joke as 'assistants' to someone like him.
On the other hand, this was a test, and as much as it pained him, these extra's weren't villains he could just kill, even if he could get up close and personal with the attacks. "YOUNG SUZUKI! DO YOU COPY!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Oh right, the copy was All Might's favorite, just another reason to hate the guy.
"Yes sir, I'm fine!" The boy shouted … without a single bit of scorch on him!? "I was really worried, if my leg was busted up I couldn't run anymore." Alright, fuck the moral code of villain and extras, this guy was just ASKING for it at this point.
"You fukcing bastard!" He aimed for the gauntlet again, pointed the left one right at blue Deku. "I'd like to see you dodge this twice!"
"YOUNG BAKUGOU! DON'T YOU DARE FIRE OFF ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE! EVEN IF YOU'RE PLAYING THE VILLAIN, THEY AREN'T WILLING TO DESTROY THEMSELVES BY BRINGING THE HOUSE DOWN!" The man made a point, so he lowered it for now.
"Fine then, I'll just take the fight to him!" He launched himself forward, creating a zig zag motion through repeated blasts in an attempt to throw the kid off his game.
The bastard just ran forward, right into where he was going to aim his blast..and he dodged again!? What the actual fuck! "You're really taking this villain role seriously. I'm actually afraid you might kill me with one of those blasts."
"Maybe it's because I'm not pretending!" Bakugo shouted, launching himself forward to put to use the smokescreen maneuver that he's been saving until now. "Try to dodge what you can't see, bastard!" The bastard did manage to dodge it. "Fuck!"
"Alright then, it's time I take the role of the hero seriously then, and win at any cost!" What the hell was he talking about? The boy raised his fist back like he was going to punch the ceiling, and that had to be the strangest thing he's seen. The boy was clearly not going to hit or even aim at him, so what was his goal?
"Just die already!" He threw another explosion as the boy dodged … then grabbed his arm. "What the-" He aimed it up at the ceiling and was fumbling.
"Trigger trigger trigger." The boy felt the gauntlet up all over. Was he actually trying to..
"Hell no! I'm not going to let you win ever, DEKU!" He sent his other hand right towards the clone's face.
"That's not my name!" The boy once again dodged, ducking underneath the attacking appendenage while still holding on to his right arm. "My name is Iruma Suzuki!"
"What that.." Bakugo felt his body flip over. Wait, did he actually use that dodging in an offensive way!? Without using a quirk!?
"Got it!" He pulled the gauntlet off and aimed it at the ceiling. "Yaoyoyozou, get Toru to safety! The floors are about to blow!" And De-Dek...Dodger pulled the pin.
The fire was sent upwards, the ceilings and floors above them were crumbled to pieces, he vaguely heard Invisalign groan from his earpiece as the sound of a buzzer rang.
"THE BOMB HAS BEEN SECURED! THE HERO TEAM...WINS!!!!"