Pride and Ego

[AN: Make sure to read the Author's note at the end! Pretty important info. Thanks!]—————————————————————————————————————————Shinsou covered his ears with a grunt as another one of Present Mic's shouts blasted through the forest. A scream of pain to the side reminded him of the current state of his partner.

They've been enduring these attacks for a while now, and judging by Jirou's bleeding ears, she wouldn't last much longer. Jirou has been trying to lessen the output of Present Mic's attacks by counteracting with her own sonic blasts. It seemed to work for a while, until Mic simply increased the intensity of his own attack and Jirou was soon overwhelmed.

"Any ideas?!" Jirou screamed out in obvious pain and discomfort.

Shinso grit his teeth as he tried to think of a way to get out of their current dilemma. Their original plan was to try to avoid Present Mic and go for the exit gate. But that quickly went down the drain when Mic showed the insane range his quirk could travel through.

They were on the other side of the forest but their teacher's voice still reached them. Shinsou is even a little ashamed to admit he underestimated his teacher before this. Who knew that the fun and laid-back English teacher of U.A held this much power?

Right now, their only issue is that they couldn't get close to their teacher. The closer they get, the more powerful the voice, the more painful it gets. But right now, he could only think of one thing to pass the test and the only way to do that is to get close enough for his quirk to affect Present Mic.

"Jirou! I got an idea but we have to get close. Are you up for it?"

"Beats standing around and doing nothing. Let's do it!"

The two then started moving. Using the trees as cover and quietly enduring the shockwaves of noise that's gradually getting more and more louder the closer they get.

Back by the exit gate, Present Mic was waiting for his students to show up with a little bit of impatience. He stood in a relaxed stance sending his voice to the forest in front of him in uneven intervals to throw off the examinees.

However, he was pretty impatient and wanted the test to end sooner rather than later. He's always been a city guy at heart. The forest environment they were in right now just wasn't his cup of tea.

So he yelled loudly, sending another shockwave of noise through the trees that had both students holding their heads in pain. Shinsou flinched badly as the voice went through him while Jirou let out a small shriek.

"Ugh damn it…" Shinsou said as a ringing sound was all he could hear now. He couldn't imagine what Jirou is feeling with her enhanced hearing. "We should be close enough now."

Seeing the insurmountable odds in front of him, Shinsou's mind flashed back towards the internships. He's worked long and hard with Aizawa during those weeks to strengthen his body and quirk as well as get experience in the field. He's trained enough to the point that the slightest bit of reactions towards his voice would trigger the brainwashing. No longer would they need to reply verbally in a concise manner.

The only issue he has now is that Present Mic's voice would undoubtedly drown out his by a large margin. But it's a good thing he's partnered with the one person that could help with that.

Seeing as they couldn't communicate properly with their ears bleeding, Shinsou gestured to Jirou to begin with the plan. She understood immediately and connected one of her jacks with his voice modifier and another to the speakers on her boots.

Shinsou took a deep breath, ignoring the pain his body is in before screaming in a loud voice.

"OIII!!! PRESENT MIC!!!!"

With Jirou's amps increasing the intensity of his voice to supernatural levels, Shinsou's voice could be heard all the way to the exit gate, where Present Mic was still waiting.

"Huh? Was that Shins-"

Present Mic's eyes suddenly glazed over, as Shinsou's quirk took form.

Both Shinsou and Jirou panted in exhaustion as they both grinned at the successful plan. Not wanting to tempt fate yet, they quickly ran towards the exit gate and slapped the cuffs on their teacher before Shinsou canceled his quirk.

"Woah woah, well done listeners! That was an impressive showing of teamwork!" Present Mic told them, very much impressed at the creative takedown and synergy between them both.

Both Shinsou and Jirou slightly blushed and smiled at their teacher's praise.

"Team Shinshou and Jirou pass!" The automated voice announced their win. The two examinees fist bumped at the job well done.

— The Warping Hero —

"That was incredible!" Midoriya gushed as he and Kazuya watched Shinsou and Jirou's match.

Midoriya himself was consistently writing down everything he saw, including the team-up move between their purple-haired friends.

"Using Jirou's quirk to extend the range of Shinsou's voice was amazing! With that, they eliminated Shinsou's personal limits and he can affect so many people within a large range at the same time! Not to mention Jirou's ability to cancel out some of the sound from Present Mic's quirk!" Midoriya's hands were a blur as he wrote down all his observations.

Kazuya just gave an amused glance at Midoriya's excited mutterings and nodded to himself. He was glad they both passed. Shinsou, it seems, had improved leaps and bounds under Erasherhead's tutelage. He couldn't wait to test them out next time they spared. But they were far from finished. There were still plenty of his classmates who hadn't gone yet and they were all fighting pros way above their level.

'Hopefully, everyone could make it through.'

A quick montage of his classmates' successes and failures were soon shown. Kirishima and Sato brute forcing their way against Cementoss and their subsequent failure. Tsuyu and Tokoyami were next, and they had a much better showing than the first duo.

Tsuyu and Tokoyami showed great teamwork and planning that proved to be more than enough to pass against Ectoplasm. The next group that was shown was Ojiro and Iida against Power Loader. Iida had changed a bit since his brother's death, but it seems like his penchant for leadership and teamwork still stayed the same, as he and Ojiro managed to pass the exam using the retreat option.

Uraraka and Aoyama's match was a little weird though. They managed to get the win, but the way Uraraka let go of the railing seemed more like an accident rather than intentional.

Midway through the match, some of their friends joined them in the viewing area. Shinsou, Jirou, Iida, Ojiro and the rest of their classmates who finished their exams and managed to not get injured enough to be hospitalized. They arrived right on time too to watch the absolute chaos of Mina and Kaminari's exam against the principal.

The students watching stared at the aftermath with open mouths and wide eyes. They were curious as to what their rat principal would do since he wasn't as famous as other pro heroes, but seeing him obliterate an entire city district with just a crane was certainly surprising.

Shoji and Hagakure's exam was much slower, but it was still exciting to see a unique form of exam where stealth was the main aspect of it.

The next match was a little more interesting though, and probably the most exciting one. Todoroki and Bakugo, the class powerhouses vs All Might, the number one hero himself.

— The Warping Hero —

Todoroki and Bakugo stepped onto their designated stage, which was a metropolitan area filled with skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. They had both spent the time preparing for the match in their own respective rooms.

Todoroki had initially tried to set up something of a plan to at least not get in the fight against All Might blind. But when he approached Bakugo, he just flipped him off and turned away.

Now, Todoroki might be a bit dense to some people, and he even admits that human emotions are something he's still trying to wrap his head around. But even he understands the clear lost cause in the form of Katsuki Bakugo. So instead of futilely going the route of working with someone who doesn't want to work with him, he'd rather prepare his own counter measures against the number 1 hero.

"Oi, half-and-half. We're beating the crap out of All Might, you hear me? I'm not wasting this chance on testing my strength against him." Bakugo said with a scowl on his face.

Todoroki was only quiet for a second before he replied. "Agreed."

"Team Bakugo and Todoroki, practical exam: Begin!"

As soon as the automated voice signaled the start of their exam, both students were quick to get started.

Immediately, they took a running start forward at a steady pace, aiming to conserve energy but move fast enough to not waste time being too cautious.

They were running alongside each other before a dark shape suddenly grew beneath them. They only had a second to react before All Might came barreling towards them from the sky,

The pro hero smashed into the road between them with a thundering slam, the concrete exploding with such force that sent them both barreling in different directions.

Usually, the presence of the number one hero would force them both to act quickly and counter attack. But not this time, and that was simply because the number one hero looked downright intimidating. His smile wasn't the calming and reassuring one people would assume on the pro hero, but it was more like the visage of a predator when it meets its prey. A gaze that would root most thugs and villains.

However, All Might found that his intimidation failed spectacularly. Against a student who, all his life, looked forward to testing his strength against the number one hero and has always had great instincts. And another student who's faced the much scarier version of an abusive Endeavour. This much is nothing.

Bakugo used his explosions to quickly reorient himself before blasting himself towards All Might and started peppering him with explosions.

Todoroki, similarly, managed to recover by creating an ice wall to halt his movements before stepping his foot forward, sending a stream of ice towards All Might to immobilize him.

The number one hero himself simply smiled at this before downright ignoring Bakugo's attacks and sent a punch in Todoroki's direction. The ice immediately cracked and broke into pieces as Todoroki was sent flying from the massive winds created from the single punch. Debris was kicked up from the shockwaves of the attack. When the dust settled, a huge swath had been taken out of the surrounding buildings.

Not letting himself be cowed by the show of power, Bakugo shot forward to confront All Might.

"Don't ignore me goddam-mmff!" Katsuki couldn't even react before All Might whipped around and grabbed Bakugo's face with one hand and slammed the boy into the ground, hard enough to form a small Bakugo-shaped crater in the concrete.

A massive wave of flames was sent towards All Might, courtesy of Todoroki. But in a burst of speed, the pro hero quickly dodged and appeared right behind Todoroki. The peppermint-haired student tried to jump back to create distance, but All Might punched right into his gut.

Todoroki gurgled and his breath exited his body before he was again launched from the shockwave of All Might's punch, flying right into Bakugo who had jumped forward to re-enter the battle. The two bounced off each other as they tried to recover.

"Don't get in my way Icy-hot!" Bakugo screamed through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't. All Might is-" Before Todoroki could finish the sentence, All Might reappeared in the middle of them.

"You shouldn't get distracted during a fight!" All Might commented before elbowing them so hard they were sent flying in different directions at high speeds, much too fast for them to react. This resulted in them both crashing towards the side of the buildings.

Back in the observation room, the students watching were in various states of shock and distress. Originally most were excited to watch the fight, seeing two of their most powerful classmates going up against All Might was definitely going to be a fantastic spectacle. But now, none of them expected it to get this physically violent. Midoriya himself was shaking in nervousness. On the one hand, he wanted nothing more than to watch All Might in action. On the other hand, Bakugo and Todoroki getting absolutely demolished by his favorite hero was not something he liked seeing.

Bakugo forced himself back up as he again slowly marched towards All Might, his body already bruised all over. Todoroki could be seen doing the same thing, but he opted to stay and recover to think of a strategy instead of charging blindly.

All Might readied himself as Bakugo charged himself towards his teacher, only for the boy to quickly switch up mid air and pointed his palms towards All Might's face.

"Are you ready for this?! STUN GRENADE!" Bakugo screamed as a bright flash forced All Might to stop and shield his eyes. Bakugo quickly tried to take advantage of the opening, but was brought up short by All Might again grabbing him by the face with his other arm. Bakugo immediately raised his hands to do a series of close up explosions.

All Might grunted a bit at the bit of pain, but it was obvious to anyone that Bakugo's attacks were barely fazing the man.

Todoroki, seeing his partner in peril, quickly sent an ice wall to try and separate the two. But All Might just jumped, still carrying Bakugo, and punched the air in Todoroki's direction.

Todoroki immediately summoned an ice dome around him, akin to an igloo, to try diminishing the attack. But the force of the punch broke through the defense and sent the half-and-half user slamming into the ground beneath him.

"Let me go dammit!" Bakugo tried blasting a bigger explosion to try and release himself, as soon as they landed. But All Might gripped the boy's face harder before he punched Bakugo hard in the stomach so hard he was sent flying backwards. He vomited in midair, and went skidding across the ground when he landed.

"What the hell?! Isn't this supposed to be a test?!" Kirishima cried out in shock, his hands on both sides of his head. "It's getting way too violent!"

Recovery Girl, who made sure to monitor the tests to know the state of injuries the students would be in, sighed. He warned All Might to not take it too far, but it seems that the man's version of holding back was a lot different than normal people.

The other students winced or fidgeted in worry as the test got more and more chaotic. Some however, just stared in awe at the display of power.

Bakugo twitched from where he was on the ground. He tried his best to get back on his feet. On the other side of the street, Todoroki was also forcing his arm under him to push himself up from the pain.

All Might was standing in between them in the middle of the street. He was content on waiting to see what his students would do.

Bakugo and Todoroki's eyes went past All Might and met each other on opposite sides of the street. And in a moment of clarity, the two knew what they had to do. Bakugo's desire to succeed pushing past his need to overcome the mountain called All Might, and Todoroki having enough of a clear mind to know a lost battle.

The two quickly went to their respective stances. All Might, knowing something was coming, tensed in preparation.

Bakugo's finger went to the pin of his gauntlet, while ice was coming out of Todoroki's right side. In an act of purely accidental teamwork, Bakugo and Todoroki unleashed their attacks at the same time.

"DIEEEEEE!!!!"

"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall!"

A massive explosion and a gigantic wave of ice were launched and met in the middle of the street. All Might only had a moment to widen his eyes before raising his arms to shield his face from the attacks coming in both directions.

A huge cheer went on in the observation room, with Kazuya giving a small smirk at the sight of Bakugo finally putting aside his ego.

Bakugo and Todoroki immediately dashed towards the exit gate as soon as they sent their attacks. Bakugo propelled himself with explosions while Todoroki slid on his ice.

After the smoke dissipated, All Might was shown with a few scuff marks and was frozen from his knees all the way to his shoulders. But despite his state of injury, he smiled at both students before flexing. The ice started to crack before it shattered completely.

All Might gave himself some time to recover as the dust settled. He mused that both Todoroki and Bakugo had great individual talents, but personal issues tend to hamper them from reaching their full potential. But the recent developments proved that they were improving and as their teacher, it was his duty to help them even more.

He believed that the most probable reason they chose to face him in combat was a combination of both pride and an eagerness to show off their new moves. Although impressive, they still had a long way to go. All Might's eyes blazed with energy as he moved with incredible speed and power.

The two young heroes were a mere 20 meters away from the exit gate when All Might reappeared and smacked them both away from their goal.

"You're going to have to try better than that heroes!"

Bakugo instantly recovered mid-air, ignoring the knowing bruise that's steadily growing on his cheek as he turned back and released continuous explosions behind him to halt his movement before launching himself towards the number one hero.

Todoroki had managed to stop himself using his ice, and knowing what Bakugo had planned, ignited his right side into flames before releasing them in a downward spiral.

Bakugo matched Todoroki's timing, and learning from his previous mistake, stopped himself just as he was outside All Might's reach and released the pin from his other gauntlet towards All Might's face. With Bakugo aiming high and Todoroki aiming low, they hoped the attack would be enough to distract All Might for them to reach the short trek they needed to the finish line.

Bakugo, as much as he'd hate to admit it, knew that kind of attack, as powerful as it was with him and both Icy-Hot's powers, was nowhere near enough to take down the number one hero. So he swallowed his pride and maneuvered his explosions to move towards the exit gate, with Todoroki on his heels.

However, their worries of being chased down by All Might were for naught. As the smoke cleared, the man himself was on his knees coughing deeply into his hand, red traces of blood could be seen dripping from the sides of his mouth.

Even with the pain he's undoubtedly in, the number one hero kept the signature grin on his face as he watched both his students pass the exit gate. A feeling of pride and worry blossoming in his chest. Pride for his students for surpassing the test, but worry for himself as it seemed that his sickness was worsening and the time for him to be able to use one-for-all was decreasing day by day.

He clenched his fists as he couldn't help but think of the future. What would Japan look like without All Might there to defend it? It seems like the coming days will change the fate of the world as he knows it.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Hey fellas!

Sorry for the disappearance. Personal issues combined with a massive case of writer's block really hampered my mood for writing for quite a long time.

I tried many times to force myself to work but the results never satisfied me so I ended up just deleting everything and starting over.

So to try to at least be productive, I started working on other projects of mine. Other fanfic ideas I've thought of and surprisingly, it worked!

I have first chapters done for quite a few more novels now. I'm gonna spill a little bit of the ideas I have in the end of the novel as a slight teaser, but working on these projects re-ignited my passion and here's the result. A 3500 word chapter of The Warping Hero.

I'll be trying my best for more consistent updates. But I'm committing myself now to 1 or 2 chapters a week, but with a higher word count, better grammar, more cohesion through paragraphs, and better overall writing. This is also to prevent me from being overwhelmed in approaching deadlines.

Anyway, here are the plans, fandoms, and current titles.

(1) DC Comics (Young Justice Universe) - DC: The Elementalist

(2) Fairy Tail - The Dark Swordsman of Fairy Tail

(3) Dragon Ball Z - DBZ: The Unbridled Warrior

(4) Marvel Comics (MCU) - MCU: Reversed Magic

(5) One Punch Man - OPM: The Grandmaster

(6) One Piece - One Piece: The Phantom of the North

(7) One Piece - The Shadow Monarch in One Piece

(8) One Piece - Black Bull of the Marines

And a few others :).

Spoilers, I love One Piece haha. Comment if you want a little more detail on any of the stories. I can give you the short descriptions for any of the if you're interested.

I'd most likely not post any of the stories until I have a good stock of chapters ready, but I'll probably be posting the first chapters up on P@treon if anyone's interested. I lost most of my patrons due to my long absence haha.

P atr eon.com/TeemVizzle

(Remove the spaces)

That's it for today. Apologies for the long author's note, but it was inevitable.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Cheers!

Trivia: Which is the superior beverage? Tea, Coffee, Soda, or Water?