[Monitoring Room, a few minutes before the second battle trial...]
The class gathered around the monitors as the next two teams prepared for their battle trial.
"Isn't Todoroki one of the recommended students? And he got second place on yesterday's Quirk Apprehension Test, ribbit," Tsuyu said.
"Jun's been training longer than I've known him," Kirishima replied.
Mina pointed toward another screen, where Shoji stood beside Todoroki in the hero team's waiting area. "No, if anything, Jun's bigger problem is the big guy."
Kirishima looked over at the screen. "Yeah. Jun might be manly, but that guy's got him out-armed."
Momo studied the hero team's waiting area, then the feed showing Jun approaching the bomb on the bottom floor.
The five-minute preparation timer appeared above the monitor feeds and began counting down.
Jun stopped in front of the bomb and looked it over for a moment.
A second Jun emerged beside him, and the two of them picked up the bomb. They started up the stairs as a pair of floating gloves and shoes followed behind them.
"He seems to be devising a plan," Momo said.
After climbing to the top floor, Jun and his clone carried the bomb into the room directly beside the stairwell and set it down.
Jun turned toward the floating gloves and shoes. Toru gestured animatedly as she spoke before pulling off her gloves and skipping out of the room, leaving only her shoes visible.
"She didn't take off her shoes," Kaminari commented from the back of the group. "Isn't that kind of obvious? They'll be able to see them."
Momo watched the floating shoes disappear from view. "Todoroki uses ice-based attacks. Mori-san probably instructed her to keep her shoes close in case he freezes the floor."
Once Toru disappeared, Jun and his clone nodded to each other before the clone remerged with him.
All Might leaned into the microphone and pressed a button. "Indoor anti-personnel battle training... START!"
On the hero team's monitor, Shoji extended his arms outward as sensory organs formed at their ends.
Shoji stayed like that for several seconds before turning toward Todoroki. Todoroki stepped forward and motioned him back. Shoji hesitated, then moved aside.
Ice erupted from beneath Todoroki's foot and spread throughout the building.
The cold reached the monitoring room moments later.
"Brr. It's freezing in here too," someone said, rubbing their arms.
On another monitor, Toru's shoes dropped from where she had been carrying them. They shifted as her invisible feet slipped inside before ice swept across the room.
The bomb-room feed showed Jun frozen in place beside the bomb.
Jun made no attempt to fight against the ice. The only movement on screen was the steady bob of his head.
"He appears to be counting," Momo said.
After a few seconds, Todoroki gave a small nod and headed into the building.
All Might gestured toward the monitors. "Young Todoroki froze the entire building, immobilizing the villain team without directly harming them. An excellent opening move!"
Once Todoroki was well inside the building, a second Jun emerged beside the frozen original.
All Might paused. "Oh? But it seems young Mori isn't calling it quits yet!"
"Right!" Ochaco exclaimed. "Mori-san's clone isn't frozen!"
#1 pulled one of the spare escrima sticks from the holster on Jun's thigh and began chipping away at the ice behind his boots, keeping his work hidden from the doorway.
Jun tested the weakened ice beneath his feet before giving #1 a nod.
#1 clipped the restraint rope to the escrima stick, looped it over an exposed ceiling beam, and pulled himself above the doorway.
Tokoyami studied their positions. "They're waiting."
Meanwhile, the monitor showing Toru's frozen shoes remained unchanged.
About a minute later, Todoroki reached the top floor and stepped casually into the room, heading toward the bomb.
#1 dropped from above the doorway and struck the ice-armored side of Todoroki's head. At the same time, Jun tore his boots free and charged, forcing Todoroki back into the stairwell.
Jun and #1 attacked him from different angles and nearly wrapped the capture tape around him before another wave of ice erupted through the stairwell.
#1 knocked Jun back into the bomb room and remerged with him before the ice reached them.
Kaminari stared at the screen, slack-jawed. "That looked more like something a villain would do."
"That is precisely the role Mori is supposed to be fulfilling," Iida immediately replied.
All Might nodded. "Villains create ambushes, exploit uncertainty, and force heroes to enter unfamiliar spaces without complete information. A hero cannot enter an unknown environment relying entirely on the power of their Quirk, even when that Quirk is as powerful as young Todoroki's."
Todoroki stepped back into the room, frosty air spilling from his mouth as he exhaled.
"But that trick won't work twice, right?" Sero asked.
Jun threw an escrima stick toward Todoroki, only for him to block it with a wall of ice. The stick rebounded across the room, and Jun recreated #1 in its path.
#1 caught the stick and threw it back toward Todoroki from another angle as Jun rushed in behind it.
Todoroki released another wave of ice, but #1 knocked Jun out of its path and remerged with him. Jun rolled back onto his feet, slid across the ice, and recreated #1 above himself before throwing him over the rising wall.
#1 landed behind Todoroki and caught his raised arm. He drove his palm into Todoroki's elbow while twisting his wrist, forcing the arm past straight and pulling him off balance.
"What kind of move was that?" Kirishima asked.
"An arm lock," Momo said.
Jun rushed in behind Todoroki and wrapped both arms around his waist, attempting to suplex him.
Before Jun could finish, ice spread across his gloves, bracers, and forearms, forcing him to release Todoroki and stumble back.
#1 ripped the capture tape from Jun's waist and tackled Todoroki before he could recover. Ice spread over #1's arm, shoulder, chest, and leg as he continued forcing the tape around Todoroki.
All Might leaned toward the microphone. "Todoroki has been captured!"
The entire monitoring room went silent.
Jiro stared at the screen. "He actually got him."
Before the room could fully react, someone pointed toward another monitor. "Shoji's almost there!"
Shoji reached the top of the stairs and entered the room. He grabbed Jun from behind, wrapping several arms around his chest, waist, arms, and legs.
The ice-covered #1 began moving toward them.
Shoji grabbed him as well and pulled him into the same grapple.
Mina pointed at the screen. "I knew Shoji was his bigger problem!"
The moment #1 touched Jun, he remerged.
Shoji's hands closed around empty space, causing him to stumble slightly.
Jun stiffened, his face twisting for a moment.
He immediately recreated #1 on Shoji's other side. The new #1 emerged free of the ice and drove his shoulder into Shoji's side as Jun continued fighting against the grapple.
Capture tape suddenly began wrapping around Shoji from behind.
Shoji tried to turn, but #1 stayed low and kept him off balance while the tape continued circling him.
The tape pulled tight around Shoji as Toru finished securing him.
All Might leaned toward the microphone. "Shoji has been captured! The villain team wins!"
On the monitor, Jun flexed his arms and winced as he was escorted away from the training grounds.
Toru, Todoroki, and Shoji returned to the monitoring room without him.
Once they arrived, All Might looked over the class before focusing on Momo. "Since young Mori is being looked over by Recovery Girl, young Yaoyorozu, would you like to explain to the class who you believe deserves the MVP award?"
Momo tilted her head as she considered the question. "I believe Mori-san deserves the MVP award."
Iida raised his hand. "But Hagakure was the one who completed the final capture, was she not?"
Momo nodded. "Hagakure-san's capture was essential. Her trust in Mori-san's plan allowed her to remain hidden until Shoji became distracted. However, Shoji appeared to identify Hagakure-san's movement near the beginning of the trial."
"Mori-san's plan allowed her to protect her feet from Todoroki's opening freeze and remain unaccounted for while he drew the heroes' attention elsewhere. He organized the villain team during the preparation period, used his apparent immobilization to lure Todoroki into an ambush, and repeatedly remerged and recreated his clone to attack from changing angles."
"Throughout the battle, he remained focused on the capture condition rather than attempting to overpower Todoroki."
Momo glanced toward Toru. "Mori-san captured Todoroki and kept Shoji occupied long enough for Hagakure-san to complete the final capture. For those reasons, I believe Mori-san deserves the MVP award."
All Might gave her a sharp nod. "Well said, young Yaoyorozu!"
He turned toward the class. "Young Mori displayed excellent tactical judgment in fulfilling his role as a villain. He understood what victory required and created the openings his team needed."
All Might smiled. "I'm eager to see how he applies that same ingenuity to heroics in the future. But he also reminds me of someone..."
[Jun POV, Nurse's Office...]
Midoriya was unconscious in one of the beds, his injuries bandaged and an IV connected to his arm.
Recovery Girl had Jun remove his gloves and bracers, but parts of them had frozen against his arms.
She pressed a heated cloth against them and waited for the material to warm before helping him pull them free.
Once everything was off, Recovery Girl examined his hands and forearms.
"Your hands are in much better condition than your wrists and forearms. Those gloves protected them well."
Jun laughed. "Yeah. The support team reinforced them properly. Most of the ice caught my forearms anyway."
Recovery Girl examined the cold damage before leaning down and kissing one of his forearms.
A wave of exhaustion hit Jun almost immediately, but the ache in his arms rapidly faded. They still felt cold, though the pain was gone.
Jun yawned. "Wow. So that's what your Quirk feels like?"
"Don't think of it as miracle healing," Recovery Girl said. "My Quirk only accelerates the body's natural healing, and it uses the patient's stamina to fuel the process."
"So it can't heal everything?"
Recovery Girl smiled. "You're a smart one. Yes. I can only accelerate what the body could naturally restore. Damage the body could never repair on its own remains outside my Quirk's range."
She pointed toward Midoriya. "He broke his arm again and exhausted himself during the battle trial. I have already healed what I safely can. Using my Quirk on him again right now could be dangerous."
Jun looked toward Midoriya, then flexed his fingers and carefully worked his wrists.
Another yawn escaped him.
"You can rest here for a while," Recovery Girl said.
Jun walked over to the bed beside Midoriya and lay down. He closed his eyes and focused on his mother's Quirkless orb, allowing its soothing effect to settle through him as he drifted off to sleep.
When Jun woke, Midoriya was still asleep, the IV connected to his arm. Recovery Girl remained nearby as Jun sat up and stretched.
"How long was I out?"
"Long enough for the battle trials to end."
"Oh." Jun climbed out of bed. "I should probably go change and get ready for class."
Recovery Girl gave him another smile. "You're cleared to return to class."
After changing back into his school uniform, Jun left the nurse's office.
As he walked down the hallway, he saw All Might hurrying toward the infirmary still wearing his hero costume.
"Oh, All Might-sensei. How did everyone else do?"
All Might slowed to a stop beside him. "They all did fine, young Mori. Now, I'm going to check on young Midoriya."
"That makes sense."
Jun held out his hand. "Thank you for teaching us, Sensei."
All Might's smile broadened as he clasped Jun's hand.
The familiar surge of energy traveled up Jun's arm.
Wow, I got a bond already? He must think highly of me.
All Might released his hand. "You were also very impressive, young Mori."
He gestured down the hallway. "Now hurry back to class. I don't want Aizawa yelling at me for keeping one of his students."
All Might laughed before turning toward the nurse's office and heading inside.
Jun continued toward Class 1-A.
He slid open the classroom door while everyone was still talking.
The room went quiet for half a second before several people turned toward him.
"Yo, Jun!"
Mina and Kirishima started toward him with several of the others close behind.
Toru reached him first and raised an invisible hand. "Jun, high five!"
"That was manly, dude!" Kirishima said, holding out a fist.
Mina lifted her hand beside him. "Seriously, Jun, that was awesome!"
"That was impressive, Jun," Jiro said from behind them.
Sato pushed another fist toward him. "Dude, your martial arts were awesome!"
Kaminari raised his hand over Sato's shoulder. "And that thing with the clone and the stick? That was so cool!"
Jun laughed and raised both hands, meeting whatever reached him first.
Toru's palm slapped against one of his hands. Mina met the other. Kirishima and Sato pushed their fists in between them while Kaminari reached over the group for a high five.
The familiar surge of bond energy traveled up one of Jun's arms. Before it could fade, Jun bumped fists with Sato, sending another rush of energy up his other arm.
Then another.
Jun kept moving his hands between the raised palms and fists, returning high fives and fist bumps as everyone continued talking around him.
Within seconds, the separate surges blended into a steady buzz of energy running through both arms.
Oh, yeah. This is about to be a whole lot.
Iida approached once the initial rush began settling. "The way you handled Todoroki while fulfilling the role of a villain was extremely impressive," he said. "I agree with Yaoyorozu-san's assessment that you deserved the MVP award. I look forward to continuing our training together as classmates."
"Wait, I got MVP?"
"Indeed!"
"Nice. We both got MVP in our matches."
"Exactly!"
Jun held out his fist.
Iida stared at it for a moment before bringing one hand down against Jun's knuckles in a stiff chopping motion.
Another surge of bond energy traveled up Jun's arm.
Jun looked at their hands.
Iida looked down as well.
After a brief pause, Iida awkwardly curled his hand into a fist and bumped it against Jun's.
Momo approached once Iida stepped aside. "I hope you don't disagree with my assessment, Mori-san."
Jun shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly be the one to assign myself MVP." He held out his hand. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Momo accepted the handshake. "You earned it."
The familiar surge of bond energy traveled up Jun's arm.
"Dude, you took down Todoroki!" Kirishima said. "He froze the entire building before he even stepped inside!"
Jun released Momo's hand and looked over at Kirishima. "Took him down? Come on. He walked into that room thinking I was already finished. If he'd gone in expecting an actual fight, I would've been toast."
"But you still took him down," Sero said.
"Yes and no. That capture tape didn't erase his Quirk or stop him from fighting. It only stopped him because those were the rules."
Jun looked toward Todoroki and found him already watching. "The trial gave me a victory condition I could reach. That doesn't mean I could keep him down in an actual fight."
"Dude, no," Kaminari said, sounding disappointed.
Jun shook his head. "Dude, yes."
Jun made his way through the group and sat down beside Todoroki.
Todoroki looked over at him. "So you're humble."
Jun closed one eye and tilted his head. "Eh. I'm realistic."
"Could I have knocked you out? Maybe. Could I have done it safely? I don't know. Could I have done it without getting frozen while I tried? Probably not. You froze both of my arms in the two seconds I had you in that failed suplex."
Todoroki glanced down at Jun's arms before turning back toward the front of the classroom.
The door slid open as Aizawa entered. "All right, quiet down."
Everyone began returning to their seats.
Jun leaned back in his chair. All right. Now I just have to get through the rest of the day, go home, and inspect these orbs.
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