TEAM D vs TEAM B

There was a frown on his face when he saw the team pairings while everybody else was busy chattering in excitement. It would be their first time actually fighting in the hero course.

Heroes vs Villains

1. Team D (Dean & Gumi) vs Team B (Kiyoshi and Buli)

2. Team E (Himami & Majid) vs Team I (Nemuri & Kuma )

3. Team A (Ken & Maru) vs Team G (Youta & Toshiaki)

4. Team J (Jid & Noya) vs Team F (Dida & Kuba)

5. Team H () vs Team C ()

He could tell at a glance which battle everyone was looking forward to. This included him. He didn't like that at all. To view others as stronger than himself just rubbed him the wrong way. It was prideful and arrogant but that's what he thought. He wanted the top spot, he wanted others to take him seriously and see him as a threat. A target. He'd make sure to show them exactly that. No matter what, his team would win this battle. Dean made his way to the test site with his teammate Gumi. Team B had probably been taken in from a different side. He was completely lost in his thoughts he did't notice his pink-haired teammate watching him quietly. Well, she made him notice her.

SMACK

"ARGHK!"

Dean glared at the lady that had smacked him hard on the back and glared. Maybe he should add a coat to his costume, that really hurt.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you thinking so hard about? Got any ideas?"

The girl literally spoke over him. Her voice was bright and loud and completely made his sound like bgm to her words. He frowned as he gazed at the girl. Her costume was mainly in a soft blue and pink that matched her hair. A white pair of gloves had what looked like juice straws climbing up her arms to the back of her neck where they disappeared behind her hair. Looking at her made him think of bubblegum. Soft, sweet and chewy. It matched well with her quirk, gummy hair if what he saw was accurate.

"Hoooh! Finally paying attention to your teammate," she said while grinning at him Her sharp gaze had obviously noted him analysing her. Yes, he was analysing her, he thought while turning away to hide the sudden heat he could feel on his cheeks. She laughed at his reaction

"15 minutes to the start of the test. Use it wisely."

Their teacher words through the speakers in the training grounds restored his focus. That's right, this was a training exercise. One he was determined to win. Turning back to face Gumi, he could see she was focused as well. This was a team exercise. She seemed capable. Although he was determined to win no matter what the cost, their chances of victory would be better if they worked together.

"My quirk is called sand castle. I can control sand to do whatever I want. There's a limit to the amount though. The more I need to move the more I need to focus and the longer it takes," He explained briefly while pointing out the segmented gauntlet filled with sand wrapped around his arm from above his elbow to his fingertips. It allowed him to carry his max capacity but only a third of it was filled at specific point to allow for easy movement and avoid weighing him down. He could get the rest easily from his surroundings. He also had similar sand capsule in segments wrapped around his legs like weights. Gumi briefly explained her quirk and it would be perfect for restraining villains. Gummy hair whose consistency she could alter. The tubes connected her hair to her arms, stretching it out so she could easily use it however she wanted to.

"So, what's the plan?"

…..

"What? You've been thinking so hard from the time the teams were announced, you must have some idea," she said like it was completely obvious. Was he really that lost in his thoughts? Well, it's not like it wasn't true. Nodding, he quickly explained his idea.

"The target is the capture of the villains or touching the missile. Capture would take time but there's also the difficulty of finding the missile that could also take a lot of time. We don't know where both of them are. I say we focus on touching the missile. We could handle Team B in battle but it's a lot less predictable than simply touching the missile."

"That confident?" Gumi asked, surprised at his boldness.

"Buli's quirk lets him turn his hands into blunt weapons. A close to mid-range fighter. I'm confident in holding my ground in such a fight one on one. Kiyoshi was one of the students who had lunch clean up with 1B. I don't know his quirk but his physical attributes are definitely below average."

Gumi looked surprised at his analysis and he felt a bit proud. He couldn't remember everyone's quirk but he had been watching the others. He had his own ranking on the strongest and weakest in the class physically. He wasn't dumb either so he was certain no matter who he faced he could put up a good fight on his own. Even if it was those two.

"Hoooh, that's interesting,"

"As for the plan, it's simple. Run up as fast and loudly as we can,"

"…huh,"

"No matter where they are, they'll definitely be near the missile when the exam starts. Our aim is to draw them out."

"So make lots of noise on the way up. Wherever they attack from, the missile shouldn't be too far from there"

"Exactly."

They were both grinning. It was a simple plan, but he was certain it would be effective. The villains had to protect the missile or capture them. If he was in their shoes, he would chose to defend it but there's no way they would both stay there like sitting ducks waiting to be attacked by the heroes. At least one person would scout out the area while the other defended the missile. The faster they got up, the higher the chance they'll find their target fast before they search too far from their original location.

"Well, since we're the opening act, let's give them a show to remember," Gumi said before raising her fist toward him and said, "For the win."

Dean was momentarily startled but then gave a relieved smile afterward before bumping her fist. He wasn't the only one determined to win and that alone gave him the confidence to trust in his teammate even if he really didn't know much about her.

The start signal was given and they were off. They quickly found the staircases placed on opposite ends of the building. It worked perfectly for them. They were loud, bold and fast. They never spent too long on any floor. It wasn't a dead sprint but they were by no means slow. Even after reaching the 3rd floor of the building they were still going strong. Dean was determined to show them all. He wasn't the same person he used to be. They reached the 4th floor and cut right across the building reaching the centre where floor to ceiling windows covered their sides. He gave a loud roar to alert whoever was on the floor, pausing briefly before moving to the other half of the building for the next staircase.

The next thing he knew, he had the wind knocked out of him and was rapidly flying towards one of the windows taking Gumi with him. Knocking into her slowed down his speed but they were both still flying toward the window. He could see Buli standing there with a huge pole for an arm. He hadn't even noticed his approach but he had no time to focus on that before they crashed through the glass. Panic. He instinctively began moving his hand to stop their fall as he saw himself plummeting towards the ground. A sticky substance on his fingers had him tightening his grip on it as he felt himself turning with the motion of his fall back toward where they had crashed out of. It was Gumi. She had somehow managed to get herself stuck to the building wall not far from their crash site using her hair. Stretching it out to just barely get stuck to it. If it wasn't gum, she probably would've discovered the most disastrous way to instanteneously go bald. A look was all he needed to know what she was thinking. Maybe because he could feel the same rage boiling through his veins. Just his luck, he could see someone nearing the window. Using the kinetic energy of their fall, she had managed to swing him around right back to where he crashed out of. He moved his sand around forming a dome shape around his body as he flew at a rapid speed right at the approaching Buli. It was plain to see from the change in Buli's expression from concern to pure shock and fear that he knew he was screwed.

Dean hit him like a bullet with force great enough it sent Buli flying straight to the glass wall on the opposite end. He didn't break through the glass but the blow was hard. Very hard. Buli could only curl into himself from the impact, struggling to properly breath. Dean slowly gott back on his feet The sand dome had protected him well but he was still a bit shaky from the collision. Not to mention the terror of suddenly flying out of the building. Seeing Buli struggling to breath, a dark coil of satisfaction flowed up his spine. It wasn't quite the perfect revenge but he could tell he had hit the stout boy way harder than they had been hit. He didn't rush to his opponent, instead focusing on helping Gumi back up with his sand as they collected themselves.

By the time Buli was able to turn to face them, he could see both Dean and Gumi were glaring his way. Guilt needled him a little but it could barely register from the pain he was going through. He still couldn't do anything but curl in on himself from the sand man's blow. He hadn't expected to get so close to them without them noticing, let alone send them flying out of a building. First, he needed to let his partner know the situation. He tapped his earpiece three times but the sand man noticed, moving to shield his teammate as he told her to be careful. They hadn't directly attacked and that gave him a bit more time to gather himself. He needed to be able to do something other than gasp.

1A gaped from the observation room watching the ongoing battle. They really couldn't put their shock into words. Not yet anyway. One moment, their classmates are toppling to their doom from the 4th floor, the next, their other classmate was about to do the same. How were they even still conscious from all that? Maru was surprised at how quickly Team D had reacted. Gumi had saved them from getting injured and they had somehow even managed to counter attack in the midst of all this. That was crazy. No one said a thing as they watched Buli slowly get back to his feet. The guy had literally appeared out of nowhere before knocking them out of the building. He wouldn't say Team D had the advantage just yet. Round two of this battle was just about to start.