Chapter 43: Grit

Recap:

Fniished with his thoughts Suijin swung his body around and entered through the door of light, signifying the end of the first round.

"AND CONTESTANT NUMBER 28 ENTERS THOUGH THE DOOR! WITH ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT, WHO WILL TAKE THE PRIZE?"

Suijin looked up, facing the crowd and his fellow passers. He caught a glimpse of the camera facing him and showcasing his body before it quickly changed, showing the inside of the labaranth disinterested.

'I show you.' Suijin subtly declared.

Still, he focused, suddenly noticing the crowd's words weren't of approval but of dismay.

"HE'S CHEATING!"

"DAMN'D QUIRKLESS!"

"THIS IS DISGRACEFUL!"

"END HIS TEST ALREADY!"

Looking above, he noticed Midoriya on the other side, defeating enemies like there was no tomorrow.

'Midoriya?'

____________________________________________________________________________

On the screen, Suijin saw Midoriya defeating his fellow students; if it was only this, he'd question why the crowd was getting so angry.

But the dim, reddish-yellow button on his back was a clue to their dismay.

'That's a lighter color than the dark red that shows when eliminated. And that yellow…? Is he doing some kind of progressive revival of his entry?'

Like in a video game, as you're attacked, your green HP bar goes down, but when you heal, it starts to fill back up.

Suijin equates the battle of the clear and green HP to Midoriya's yellow and red colors fighting for dominance.

'The condition to revive then is…'

He focused on Midoriya, looking to see if he was doing anything unusual. Maybe there were secret buttons on the wall he had to press or a song he had to sing?

But after a minute, Suijin saw nothing other than him eliminating people with a gauntlet one of the support heroes had brought with them.

'Eliminating! So if he eliminates a certain number of people as a loser, he gets some form of XP that brings him back to life. Though those gauntlets could also be the case, Maybe this is a hidden option only allowed for those who don't use their quirks.'

Still, Suijin was impressed. For his classmate to not only not become discouraged but to even figure out this hidden function was a feat of his resolve!

But as he tuned in, the crowd's woes turned from dismay at Midoriya to criticism of UA.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO HAND HIM THE WIN!"

"THIS IS CLEAR FAVORITISM!"

"WHY DOES HE GET TO CONTINUE WHILE THE OTHERS ARE ELIMINATED."

Suijin worried a riot would ensue as an angry mob of parents expressed their anger at their children being eliminated, but Midoriya still continued his run.

Still in his mind, he couldn't help but think, 'This was clearly a hidden function, you can only blame your child's incompetence for not finding it out.'

And it seems like he wasn't the only person fed up because a deafening yet quiet voice spoke, silencing them all.

"Cheating?" Aizawa said in a snarky voice.

"Those gauntlets he's using were made by a student in the support department by herself. She lent them to Midoriya, which is why he's using them."

"BUT HOW'S THAT FAIR, A POWERFUL QUIRK STUDENT WITH SUPPORT MATERIAL."

"Fair? You don't complain when students with compatible quirks team up helping each other out of the tunnel, but when he does it with a support hero, it's a problem."

The questioner and the crowd sat down, having nothing to say in response to his words. Lest they further label themselves as hypocrites on national television.

"What he's doing is perfectly fine, and as for the secret function you mentioned, It's available to all students who were eliminated. In actual missions, you won't know all the details or who you're working with and will need to adapt to your situations; that's what this trial is meant to simulate."

Suijin nodded his head at his sensei's words, wholeheartedly agreeing.

'Maybe I should help him with some of the paperwork when we bill him the receipt?' Suijin put the idea on the backburner, planning on thinking of such things after the day was over.

So with no more problems from the crowd arising, they watched as the trainees (but mostly Midoriya, as they mainly focused on him) went through the trial.

After Suijin, Kamiari came rushing out with his yellow hair and a black lightning bolt laying atop as identifying as ever.

"Ah, Suijin, I'm glad you made it too."

The boy stood up, sauntering over as if he weren't resting his hands on his knees immediately upon coming out.

Suijin shivered as he thought about what Aizawa must be cooking up for extra training should he see physical tiredness evident as they ran through the trials.

"Y–"

"Mhm, yeah, that's nice. I'll talk to you later Suijin—Hey! I'm Kaminari. Nice to meet you."

The boy, whom Suijin suspected of having hung around a certain purple-haired figure a bit too much, rushed over to the entrance.

Coming out were Itsuka Kendo, the brown-haired girl he saw on the entrance examination, and TetsuTetsu TetsuTetsu, according to President Mic.

'Were his parents just that lazy?' He couldn't help but question.

Still, everyone was on the edge of their seats, wanting to know who'd get that last spot. Suijin also paid attention, as Midoriya was already near the exit.

In his path was a slit-eyed boy with his hair pulled into a ponytail protruding from behind his shoulders.

President Mic looked and saw on the sensor map that everyone else was either giving up or too far away for them to complete the race above the victor of this battle.

Deducing that this would be the finale before trial two, President Mic decided to openly voice it, lest anyone get bored with the lack of Auido.

"ON THE RIGHT IS HIRYU RIN! A MEMBER FROM CLASS 1B, WHEREAS HE FACES IZUKU MIDORIYA OF CLASS 1A. WHO WILL WIN BETWEEN THESE TWO."

Without any words, Hiryu bradished his arm before he activated his quirk; in the place of his normally tan skin were green scales reversed so that they protruded out sharply and were ready to poke anyone.

He ran towards Midoriya, trying to slash him, yet his moves were too simplistic—an easily readable slash to the left or right. Something anyone with a level head could avoid.

"AND LOOK, HIRYU STARTS THE BATTLE WITH A FIERCE ONSLAUGHT OF ATTACKS; WILL MIDORIYA SUCCUMB?"

Obviously not; everyone judged by looking at the screen.

And just as predicted, Midoriya dodged, but surprisingly, he wasn't getting too close out of caution against any hidden tricks.

He backed away, sticking to the walls, and Hiryu was opposite him, perhaps deciding that close combat would do him no good, so instead he started fighting long-range.

He raises his arm, and surprisingly, his scales, which were pointed out, lay flat. Then, after the anti climatic scene, they shot off like pistols at a gun targeting Midoriya's wall.

Everyone's eyes widened as they processed the scene, thoughts of this being the end ran rampant in many's heads.

"WHAT A STICKY SITUATION FOR MIDORIYA, CAN HE ESCAPE THE BARRAGE OF SCALES?"

A hint of worry could be heard in his voice, but it was quickly disguised so the audience didn't notice it.

The audience was on the edge of their seats, and not to disappoint, Midoriya applied his smarts to escape.

The boy jumped towards the roof, allowing the scales to hit the wall where he'd previously been. Hiryu tilted his arm upward, not resting for a moment, but that's what Midroya wanted.

He stuck his hands back so that the palms were facing the roof, and when they made contact, a repulsion of air shouted out!

Midorya was blasted to the floor so fast that even though he planned for things to be this way, he still had difficulty seeing this.

Not to mention Hiryu, even some of the audience couldn't react!

Using this chance, Midoriya made a mad dash towards Hiryu, who was only a few meters away.

To his credit, Hiryu rather quickly got hold of his bearings, and rather than trying for another long-range barrage, he readied himself, turning his scales back forward for a defensive position.

Then, right when Midoriya was within 5 meters, he struck, another predictable result from before, and with the same effortless dodge.

This would've been a mirrored scene had Midoriya jumped away instead of charging in like now.

A smirk adorned Hiryu's face as he thought, 'Got you now.'

With a single thought, his left arm also adorned metal scales!

He had a certain glint in his eyes as he was punching Midroya, who seemed defenseless.

'So this is class 1A. It's impressive to get this far without using his quirk, but if he wants to undermine me, then I'll just show him the consequences.'

His balled-up fist, surrounded by razor-sharp reverse scales, approached, and it seemed like it was the green-haired boy's fate to have his face mauled.

But instead, Midoriya's left hand, previously hidden by his body's angle from Hiryu's eyes, approached.

'–A Hand?! The angle…. He wants to catch my own As Arrogant as Netoma said, My scales are so sharp they'll tear straight throug—!!!!'

His words got stuck in his throat, as right when the gauntlet and his scales were less than a few centimeters from connecting, his hand changed direction.

A powerful gust of wind redirected his blow onto the ground.

Now with his stomach wide open and his hand heading towards the open ground, he looked straight ahead, gazing into Midoriya's calculating eyes.

'...!!! I didn't want to show that this early, but if I need to, I will.'

He clenched his eyes, waiting for the burst of pain that would be his signal to use his special move, as he could barely hold onto it for a few seconds.

But it never came; instead, it was his balance rapidly becoming unstable that awoke his eyes. He looked down to see the floor cracking, sending shards flying everywhere.

Gritting his teeth, he activated his speacial technique.

'SCALE CARAPACE!'

His entire body became adorned with scales, protecting him from the inevitable onslaught of sharp rubble trying to lodge its way into his skin.

Opening his eyes while breathing heavily, he could only hope the dust stopped the camera from seeing too much so he could retain its secrecy.

"HAVE YOU JUST SEEN THAT? IT SEEMS THAT CLASS 1B AREN'T TO BE COUNTED DOUT YET. A STUNNING FULL BODY ARMOR KEEP HIRYU IN THE RACE. CAN HE WIN WITH THIS HIS BOUT OF ABILITES?"

He'd have cried had he known what President Mic was saying outside.

Still on his guard, Hiryu looked around, using his slitted eyes to try and Locate Midroiya.

'If he wants to attack, then now is the perfect time.'

*Tap-Tap*

*Tap-Tap*

*Tap-Tap*

Sounds of rapid movement could be heard, and Hiryu tensed his muscles, getting ready…yet nothing occurred.

In fact, were they getting farther away?'

On the other side, the moment he used his own force plus Hiryu's to cause the mini-avalanche, Midroiya booked it to the exit.

'Why fight when I can win without it?' were his thoughts.

He knew his limits and his quirk, so he planned to play to his strengths without it until needed.

"BOO!"

"BORING."

"I WANT A REFUND!"

He stepped onto the clean, gray pavement, signaling he had succeeded in passing, yet the crowd's mixed mood caused him to sweat.

He understood their anger since anyone would be when getting scammed, yet all he could do was rub the back of his head and smile.

"––ast Contestant. We'll prepare for the round too in just a moment."

Midoriya would've had more time to ponder on him being last should a certain screaming boy be hastily coming towards him.

"DEKU YOU LITTLE SH*T—"

'Bakugo.'

{A/N: Updates and Chapters will be on Thursday's from now on.]