Somewhat Surprised

A hush fell over Ground Beta as All Might announced the first matchup: Team Todoroki and Bakugo versus Team… well, just Akaeru. The tension was thick enough to slice with a butter knife. Todoroki, his usual stoicism unwavering, sent a cold glance Akaeru's way.

Bakugo, however, practically vibrated with barely contained aggression and excitement. It hurt his pride to fight Akaeru two-on-one, but he had no other choice, so he'd go all out.

Akaeru was on the villain team, so he had to stop the hero team from touching what looked to be a large missile, though it was obviously fake.

'Guess I'll just wait here.'

***

Bakugo And Todoroki's Perspective

The booming announcement of the first matchup hung heavy in the air. Bakugo practically vibrated with barely contained aggression, the indignity of teaming up with Todoroki momentarily overshadowed by the prospect of taking down Akaeru. Today, however, Akaeru wasn't a hero-in-training. He was the villain, tasked with protecting a giant, artificial missile from the combined might of Bakugo and Todoroki.

As they approached the mock weapon, Bakugo couldn't shake off the prickling unease that emanated from Akaeru. He lounged against the missile, a picture of casual defiance, the green glow of his quirk the only hint of the storm brewing beneath. It felt like the air itself was stretched thin, warped by an unseen force.

"Took you long enough, 'extras'," Akaeru drawled, his voice flat despite the clear mocking of Bakugo's nickname for weaklings.

A plan was hastily formed, whispered strategies cut short by a chilling realization. The air shimmered with green spirals, and suddenly, a transparent green circle made up of spirals formed around the missile. Bakugo's breath hitched. Akaeru was manipulating time, creating a bubble that essentially made the "missile" untouchable.

Todoroki observed the distorted reality with narrowed eyes, trying to think of strategies. "He can manipulate time in specific zones," he muttered, his voice a low counterpoint to Bakugo's rising anxiety. "We need to get him out of that zone to reach the missile."

"Obviously, ice-freak," Bakugo growled, frustration morphing into a cold dread. But how do you fight someone who literally controls time?

As they were strategizing, suddenly…

"Guess it's time to have a bit of fun."

The world stuttered.

A subtle shift at first, then a crushing slowness descended. Bakugo's movements felt sluggish, like attacking while stuck in mud. Fear, cold and sharp, clawed at his throat as sweat rolled down the side of his head. Akaeru wasn't warping just the missile; he was warping the entire area.

Bakugo's explosions sputtered pathetically in slow motion, a testament to his helplessness. It reminded him of all the fights he'd lost against Akaeru, a slow inferiority complex seeping in.

Todoroki, seemingly unaffected, created a spike of ice, heading directly towards Akaeru. But even his ice fell victim to the time warp, freezing mid-launch.

A chilling chuckle echoed through the molasses-like air. Akaeru, still lounging against the missile, seemed to move at normal speed, his voice unnaturally fast. "Struggling, are we?" The mockery sent shivers down Bakugo's spine.

"We need to disrupt his concentration," Todoroki yelled, the words coming out slow. But even in their sluggish state, his mind raced. Akaeru's ability thrived on his unnatural focus and control. They needed a distraction, a gamble.

Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through Bakugo's arm. He roared, not in anger this time, but in genuine surprise. A wall of ice, seemingly defying the warped time, had materialized around his fist, encasing it with a chilling grip.

Confusion flickered across Akaeru's face for the briefest of moments. He wasn't used to fighting opponents who could materialize their quirk from a ranged distance. Even Bakugo's quirk came out of his palms.

The green glow around him faltered, the time bubble shimmering like a mirage in the desert. Todoroki had somehow managed to bypass the time warp, a feat that seemed impossible.

But before Bakugo could capitalize on the momentary lapse, the ice around his arm shattered. The time warp slammed back into place, stronger than before. Akaeru, his face contorted in a snarl, had regained his focus.

"Clever trick, Half-and-Half," Akaeru spat, the malice in his voice clear even in the slow-motion world. "But it won't be enough."

Desperation clawed at Bakugo. He was a ticking time bomb of fury and frustration, his explosions sputtering uselessly. Then, an idea, as reckless as it was brilliant, sparked in his mind.

"Todoroki," he rasped, his voice a strained whisper, "get out of range. Now!"

Todoroki hesitated, confusion etched on his face. But the aggressive glint in Bakugo's eyes was enough. He propelled himself backward with a burst of ice, disappearing into the far corner of the training ground even with what was basically weights tying him down.

"Alright, Bakugo. I'll do a good deed today. Instead of dissipating your quirk instantly, I'll let you see the damage it could've done against anyone other than me," Akaeru spoke in a warmer tone than before.

Bakugo ignored him, his voice a strained rasp as he spoke to his gauntlets, almost a prayer. "Full. Power."

The air crackled with a raw, desperate energy. Even the warped time seemed to hesitate as Bakugo poured his entire being into the nitroglycerin within his gauntlets. It was a reckless gamble, a one-way trip to oblivion if he miscalculated. But at this point, the only thing Bakugo craved was to blast a hole through this warped reality, to remind Akaeru that even time itself had to bend to the fury of a true hero.

With a guttural roar that echoed through the distorted air, Bakugo slammed his gauntlets together, a single, desperate cry escaping his lips. "Die!"

The resulting explosion was a supernova in a confined space. It wasn't a controlled detonation, but a maelstrom of raw power fueled by unyielding will. The time warp shattered like glass, the green glow around Akaeru flickering and dying. Smoke and dust engulfed the training ground, momentarily obscuring the aftermath.

When the haze finally cleared, Bakugo lay unconscious amidst the wreckage, his body a testament to the toll his reckless gamble had taken.

Todoroki emerged from the corner, coughing and blinking away the dust. His gaze fell on the training ground, now a crater of scorched earth, and then on the smoke that whirled around where Akaeru was previously standing.

Suddenly, a chilling voice came echoing out as the smoke cleared, revealing an amused Akaeru.

"That was good, Bakugo. Guess there was a point to this training, after all. Not even I knew my quirk could be shattered like that."

Akaeru stood amidst the devastation, with not even his clothes having any sign of damage.

A chilling smile played on his lips.

He raised a hand, and the green glow around the missile flickered back to life, stronger than before. Though the time warp hadn't survived the explosion, like a muscle it had thrived on the raw power unleashed, and had become even stronger than before after being destroyed.

The weight of the situation slammed into Todoroki with the force of a collapsing glacier.

Bakugo, his reckless act a testament to his explosive spirit, lay unconscious on the periphery of the cratered training ground. Akaeru, a chilling symbol of warped time, stood completelt unharmed in the center, the green glow around the missile burning brighter than ever.

He couldn't rely on brute force. An ice wall, even his most powerful one, would shatter against the warped time just like Bakugo's explosion. He needed a more subtle approach, an attack that could bypass the time manipulation and strike at Akaeru directly.

An idea, fleeting and fragile, sparked in Todoroki's mind. He raised his hand, an icy blue aura swirling around it. This time, no wall of ice would materialize. Instead, a single, needle-thin spike of ice started to form.

This wasn't about creating a barrier, but a projectile. A projectile so cold, so imbued with his quirk's essence, that it could pierce the warped time zone and strike Akaeru himself.

The air crackled with an icy energy as the spike grew, defying the sluggish distortion around it.

This fight made Akaeru realize one thing: his time warps were somewhat unpredictable around quirks like Todoroki's where he could form ice wherever he wanted instead of just from his hand.

"Trying something new, Half-and-Half?" Akaeru's voice mocked, tinged with a hint of boredom rather than curiosity. "You seem smarter than spikey over there. I'm sure you realize that even your ice can't save you from the inevitable."

Todoroki ignored him, focusing all his energy on the growing spike. It was an excruciating process, his body straining against the warped time that seemed to resist his every movement. Finally, with a sharp snap of will, the ice spike reached its completion—a shimmering needle of pure cold.

He launched it, not with uncontrolled and raw power like usual, but with a control. The movement was quick and steady, a testament to Todoroki's skill. The ice spike, propelled by years of honed control, sliced through the distorted air.

Akaeru, like a villain toying with his prey, didn't even flinch. He raised a single finger, and the air shimmered around the ice spike. It slowed, then stopped completely. And then, in front of everyone, it started to… melt?

Todoroki felt a surge of despair. He had poured everything he had into that attack, and it was neutralized with such casual ease. An amused laugh echoed through the training ground.

"Cute trick," Akaeru said, his voice dripping with amusement as the final remnants of the ice spike joined the rest of the puddle below it.

Todoroki felt a cold dread grip his heart. He had failed. Bakugo was down, his own attack a pathetic joke, and Akaeru stood triumphant, his power seemingly limitless. The "villain" raised his hand, the green glow intensifying to a blinding light.

"Time to end this little game. Getting a little bored," Akaeru's voice boomed, echoing through the distorted reality.

Todoroki closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable defeat. In that moment, a single thought echoed in his mind: they had all underestimated the true power of a time-warping villain.