The class leaned closer to the screen, eyes glued to every movement.
Bakugo stood up, dust puffing from his suit, and immediately started shouting—his lips moving fast with barely-controlled rage.
"I wonder what Bakugo's saying…" Kirishima muttered. "The cameras don't have audio, so I can't tell…"
"He's speaking to his teammate through a transceiver," All Might explained, tapping the matching device in his own ear.
A small white roll appeared in his hand.
"This, along with the map, will be given to all teams! And—this!"
He held up the strip.
"Capture Tape! Wrap this around your opponent and you've successfully neutralized them!"
Hagakure—visible only thanks to gloves and shoes—tilted her head.
"So the heroes get just fifteen minutes… and they don't even know where the bomb is, right?"
"Yes!" All Might exclaimed—in perfect English.
"Huuuh?! But that's a huge disadvantage!" Mina protested.
All Might put his hands on his hips, posing proudly.
"Heroes must endure the worst possible situations! This is nothing!"
He grinned even wider.
"And besides… Aizawa-sensei already told you, didn't he?"
A ripple of excitement spread.
Then—
All Might thrust his fist high into the air.
"Come on, everyone!!"
"PLUS ULTRA!!" the class shouted back.
"Plus Ultra!" Momo echoed—
As she grabbed Ren's wrist and raised his arm for him.
Ren blinked. "Momo… what are you doing?"
Her cheeks reddened. "You always yelled it when we were kids."
"…Right."
A small smile tugged at Ren's lips.
He turned a bit toward her.
"Momo, I'm—"
But the monitors erupted with motion.
Bakugo launched himself at Midoriya with a blast-fueled kick.
Midoriya raised his guard and took the hit—
and in that split second, he wrapped something around Bakugo's leg.
"The Capture Tape!" Sero shouted.
Bakugo snarled and went in to strike again, but Midoriya rolled aside, dodging cleanly. It looked like he knew every angle of Bakugo's attacks.
Ren leaned forward, completely absorbed.
Rapid decisions… precise execution… Midoriya's talent is even greater than I thought…
Momo couldn't focus on the battle at all.
Her thoughts circled only one thing:
What was Ren trying to say?... Was it an apology? Something else?
Meanwhile, the praise built around Midoriya.
"That's incredible!" Sato said.
"He's keeping up with Bakugo without using a Quirk!" Sero added.
Then Midoriya suddenly bolted deeper into the building.
Minutes passed.
Bakugo searched for him relentlessly, while Uraraka had slipped into the bomb room unnoticed. Iida stood guard dramatically, still unaware she was there.
"Six minutes left," All Might said.
And then—both pairs found each other.
Iida spotted Uraraka.
Bakugo found Midoriya.
Two clashes erupted at once: Iida trying to protect the bomb, and Bakugo trying to crush Midoriya.
Then Bakugo lifted his hand—
the gauntlet aimed straight at Midoriya.
All Might paled.
"Young Bakugo, STOP!" he shouted through the mic.
The grenade gear built up heat.
"Do you want to kill him?!"
BOOOOM!!!
The explosion tore through the building, shaking the whole structure. Smoke swallowed Midoriya's silhouette.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a lesson?!" Kirishima yelled.
"Kid! Young Midoriya!" All Might called, panic in his voice.
"He's not down yet…" Ren said quietly. "Midoriya doesn't fall that easily."
The smoke cleared just enough to show Midoriya, barely on his feet. His mask was gone. Half his hero suit hung in scorched tatters.
"YOUNG BAKUGO!" All Might barked. "If you fire again, your team loses!"
He continued, "An attack with such range in a narrow space could trigger the bomb! As a hero or as a villain, that's a terrible tactic! You'll lose points!"
Bakugo clicked his tongue—but charged anyway.
Midoriya tried to counter, but Bakugo blasted sideways midair, looping behind him and striking his back with another explosion.
His fighting style evolves every second… terrifying talent, Ren thought.
The class murmured in awe at Bakugo's ferocity.
Midoriya staggered—
but refused to fall.
Bakugo slammed a palm into his ribs, grabbed his arm, spun with explosive force, and hurled Midoriya into the floor.
Midoriya gasped, pushed himself up, and—
ran.
"He's escaping!" Mina cried.
"It's not manly, but he's got no choice," Kirishima admitted. "But it's weird… why's he—?"
Midoriya stopped.
He and Bakugo faced each other at last.
Here it comes… Ren thought.
They dashed.
"It's getting bad, Sensei!" Kirishima warned.
All Might hesitated—
he should've stopped it already—
but he believed in Midoriya—
"Stop it—!"
Mid-dash, Midoriya said something.
Far above, in the bomb room—
Uraraka hugged a pillar tightly.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion of power erupted.
Bakugo's blast slammed into Midoriya—
—but Midoriya's punch
went up.
The shockwave tore through level after level of the building, a roaring column of destruction blasting into open air.
Debris rained into the bomb room.
Iida braced himself.
Uraraka touched the pillar— and used her quirk.
She floated along with it, using the massive pillar as a bat to smash the falling rubble straight into Iida.
Overwhelmed, Iida was forced aside—
and Uraraka flew forward, hugging the bomb.
The dust settled, revealing Midoriya standing with his fist up—
one arm broken, the other burned black from Bakugo's explosion.
[Time up!]
No one spoke.
The entire class stared in stunned silence.
All Might finally forced the words out:
"TEAM HERO… WINS!!!"
Midoriya collapsed.
All Might rushed out immediately.
"I'm coming with you, old man," Ren said.
All Might opened his mouth—
but didn't argue.
When they reached Midoriya, a robot gently set him on a stretcher. He was barely conscious, gasping for breath.
"Ren…" he whispered. "Am I… worthy now?"
Ren smiled gently, took Midoriya's hand, and used Healing.
Cuts sealed. Burns cooled. Bruises faded.
"Midoriya… you were always worthy."
"That's…" Midoriya exhaled, closing his eyes. "…good to hear."
He fell unconscious.
To be continued...
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