Izumi planted her feet.
She couldn't beat Katsumi.
Not in a straight fight.
She just had to buy Ochaco enough time.
Katsumi slowly rolled her shoulders.
"So that's your plan?"
Smoke curled from her gauntlets.
"Play the hero while your partner runs off?"
Izumi didn't answer.
Her fingers slid to the capture tape mounted at her waist.
She'd prepped with it as part of the Hero Team.
With it she could use it to put Katsumi out of the round so long as she's quick and All Might recognized the villain capture.
Katsumi noticed the movement immediately.
"...You're planning to capture me now?"
A grin spread across her face.
Izumi's jaw tightened.
She looked up, determination filling her eyes as she gripped the capture tape.
"If I have no choice... then I have to try."
Katsumi scoffed.
"Let's see if you can."
BOOM!
She blasted forward.
Izumi reacted instantly.
FWIP!
The capture tape was strung forward.
She rushed in, aiming to wrap it around Katsumi's wrist.
For a split second—
Got her!
Izumi thought she'd won.
Katsumi's momentum shifted.
But instead of resisting...
She smiled.
"Too predictable."
BOOM!
An explosion erupted from her free hand.
The blast launched her body upward, carrying her out of the tape's path.
As she spun through the air, she drove her leg down toward Izumi's jaw.
Thud!
Pain exploded across Izumi's face.
Her vision blurred as the kick sent her crashing into a broken wall.
She barely had time to regain her bearings before Katsumi blitzed toward her again.
BOOM!
Another explosion detonated.
Izumi crossed her arms just as the shockwave hurled her backward.
She rolled across the floor before forcing herself back to her feet.
Katsumi clicked her tongue.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She spread her arms.
"Fight me!"
Another explosion thundered through the hallway.
"If you've really got a Quirk now..."
She pointed directly at Izumi.
"Then stop hiding it!"
Her eyes burned with frustration.
"Go all out!"
Smoke drifted from her palms.
"I want to crush everything you're standing on."
She took another step.
"Show me this borrowed power."
Another.
"Show me everything that Aoyama freak gave you."
Another.
"So I can prove it doesn't mean a damn thing!"
BOOM!
She exploded forward again.
Izumi barely dodged, the blast tearing another crater through the wall behind her.
She couldn't use One For All recklessly.
Not here.
Not when she still didn't know how much power this building could withstand.
So she retreated.
Dodged.
Blocked.
Countered whenever she could.
Every second she stayed standing...
...was another second for Ochaco to reach the bomb.
—
Ochaco raced through the upper corridors.
Another explosion echoed through the building.
The floor trembled beneath her feet.
Izumi...
She clenched her fists.
Please hold on a little longer.
A nearby hallway opened into a large office space.
At its center stood a familiar figure.
Tenya Iida.
Standing proudly in front of the mock bomb.
Arms crossed.
Perfectly still.
Like a guard.
Ochaco slowed to a stop.
So that's where it is...
Her eyes shifted between Iida...
...and the bomb behind him.
She couldn't overpower him.
She couldn't outrun him in a straight line either.
Engine.
That Quirk was simply too fast.
Another distant explosion echoed through the building.
Izumi won't be able to stall forever.
I need to end this now.
Iida opened one eye.
"I had anticipated your arrival."
He adjusted his glasses.
"As the guardian of this weapon, I cannot permit you to advance."
Ochaco smiled nervously.
"Hehe..."
"I was hoping you'd say something else."
Without warning—
THWIP!
A web shot across the floor.
It wrapped tightly around both of Iida's ankles .
"Hm?"
He looked down.
"What is this?"
Ochaco smiled.
"Gotcha."
The engines on Iida's calves roared to life.
"Your bindings will not stop me!"
FWOOOOOSH!
He accelerated.
The web stretched like elastic before snapping as Iida launched straight toward her.
Ochaco's eyes widened.
"Oh no!"
He shot across the room like a missile, closing the distance in an instant.
Twip!
Ochaco fired a web into the ceiling and yanked herself upward just as Iida barreled beneath her.
WHOOOSH!
She narrowly cleared his head.
Iida looked up.
Twip! Twip!
Mid-swing, Ochaco released the first web and fired two more toward his back.
He reacted instantly.
Skrrt!
His engines roared as he pivoted sharply to the right.
Both strands splattered harmlessly against the floor.
Thump!
Ochaco landed in a crouch.
"What are those?" Iida asked, eyeing the strange webbing.
"Some sort of support gear..."
He adjusted his glasses..
"Nevertheless..."
He lowered his stance.
"I won't allow you to stop me with them again."
His calf engines rumbled.
FWOOOOOSH!
He shot toward her.
He's too fast!
Ochaco's instincts screamed.
Twip!
She fired another web into the ceiling and launched herself overhead before he could reach her.
This time she didn't stop.
Twip!
A strand attached to a nearby pillar.
She swung around it, desperately searching for another anchor point.
Skrrt!
Iida changed direction without hesitation.
His eyes tracked her web.
Then shifted ahead.
He wasn't chasing her.
He was predicting where she'd be.
So that's where you're going to swing...
Ochaco's eyes widened.
He figured it out!
She immediately released the web.
Her body dropped into freefall.
Another anchor!
Wall!
Pillar!
Window!
Twip!
She fired two webs at a nearby office window and swung toward it feet first.
Just before impact—
Zero Gravity.
Crack!
The window frame became weightless as she crashed through it.
Glass burst outward, floating around her instead of cutting into her.
"Gah?!"
Suddenly—
There was no floor beneath her.
Only open air.
She had swung completely outside the building.
Fear gripped her chest, even though this had been her plan.
Oh no.
No, no, no—
She twisted into an awkward flip, forcing herself to face the building.
Twip!
A web shot from her wrist and latched onto the outer wall.
The line snapped taut.
Swish!
Her descent slowed for only a heartbeat.
Then gravity took hold again.
Twip!
A second web attached higher up.
Both strands stretched to their limits.
Tuuunng!
Like a slingshot releasing its string, the tension launched Ochaco back toward the building.
"Woaaahhh!!"
She soared through the air.
Another window rushed toward her.
Crash!
She burst through it shoulder-first, rolled across the office floor, and immediately sprang back to her feet.
The bomb!
She took off running.
—
At the previous window, Iida stood frozen.
Wind rushed through the shattered opening.
"...Extraordinary."
He had expected her to panic.
Instead...
She had turned her fall into momentum, using it to sling herself back into the building.
Without another word, his engines ignited.
FWOOOOOSH!
He sprinted after her.
—
Several stories below...
Izumi ducked beneath another explosion.
BOOM!
Chunks of concrete rained from the ceiling.
She stumbled into a dead-end corridor.
...
Her heart sank.
No way out.
Smoke drifted through the hallway as Katsumi slowly emerged.
One gauntlet smoked.
The other was already beginning to spark.
"So..."
She smiled.
"I finally cornered you."
Izumi steadied her breathing.
Katsumi took another step.
"Why won't you use your Quirk?"
Silence.
Another step.
"Or..."
Her grin twisted.
"Are you mocking me?"
Izumi frowned.
"What?"
"You've always done this."
Another step.
"Ever since we were kids."
Smoke drifted from Katsumi's palms.
"You were always hiding something behind my back."
"That's not true."
"Oh, really?"
Katsumi laughed bitterly.
"Yesterday you suddenly had this amazing Quirk."
"Today you've had me chasing you in circles."
"And you're still holding back."
She raised a gauntlet.
"What? Do you think I'm too weak?"
Izumi shook her head.
"No!"
"Then prove it!"
Katsumi grabbed the pin on her gauntlet and ripped it free.
"I'm sick of fighting a fake!"
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocketed toward Izumi.
Izumi clenched her fist.
I can't keep running...
If I dodge...
She'll just keep chasing me.
Ochaco...
This has to be enough.
Green lightning crackled across her arm.
One For All surged into her fist.
Katsumi's eyes widened.
"There it is!"
Both attacks met head-on.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Izumi's punch collided directly with Katsumi's explosion.
For a split second, the impact compressed—
Then erupted.
A deafening shockwave tore through the building.
Concrete columns splintered.
Support beams snapped like twigs.
The entire floor lurched violently.
Cracks raced across the walls and ceiling.
Several upper floors partially collapsed, sending clouds of dust cascading through the structure.
—
Iida stumbled as the floor buckled beneath him.
"What?!"
His footing slipped for the briefest instant.
That was all Ochaco needed.
She darted past him.
"There!"
The mock bomb sat alone in the center of the room.
Ochaco reached out.
"...Got you."
Her fingertips brushed the device.
BEEP!
A loud siren echoed throughout the test building.
The monitors immediately changed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
WINNER
TEAM A
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Silence filled the building.
Till All Might's booming voice echoed through every speaker.
"And the winners are..."
"THE HERO TEAM!"