40

"It's time for the first match!" Vlad King declared to the assembled students while motioning to the screen displaying the matchup. "Team 1 consisting of Itsuka Kendo, Kojiro Bondo, Tsuyu Asui, and Mezo Shoji will take on Team 2 consisting of Nirengeki Shoda, Reiko Yanagi, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Hanta Sero! Head to your base camps and prepare for battle!"

"These teams are pretty well-balanced from what I can tell," Izuku mused aloud as the eight students vacated the area and headed toward the battleground.

He knew that Tsu and Shoji were both pretty versatile in their own rights, but Kendo really interested him. He didn't know much more about her than what Yui and Tokage had mentioned to him, but her quirk and her costume gave Izuku the impression that she was skilled at hand-to-hand combat, no pun intended.

On the other side, Yaoyorozu was a walking artillery factory with an incredibly mobile capture specialist by her side in Sero, as well as Yanagi with what he remembered to be decently powerful telekinesis from training camp. Team 2 definitely had the advantage in ranged combat, but he wasn't so sure how well they'd stack up to Team 1 in a straight fight.

"I don't really know a ton about the quirks of Bondo and Shoda, though," he idly lamented, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the students of 1-B that had never been exposed to his muttering.

"Bondo's quirk is Cemedine," Yui spoke up from beside him, startling him because he wasn't even sure when she had gotten there. "He secretes an adhesive that he can control the drying speed of."

His face lit up at the new information. The shape of Bondo's head gave him some idea of what his abilities were, but he didn't want to assume.

"So, going up against Sero is either a match made in heaven or a disaster waiting to happen," Izuku surmised.

"Mm," Yui nodded. "Shoda's quirk is Twin Impact. When he touches something, he can create a second impact that's a lot stronger than the first-"

She was cut off by the aghast and indignant shouting of her most theatrical classmate."Kodai! Are you seriously fraternizing with the enemy? And exposing our secrets?!"

It was not lost on Monoma that the classes were all mixed together for the exercise, nor was it lost on him that she was actually talking to her teammate, but feeding the "Shining Star of 1-A" unnecessary information about their abilities was tantamount to treason of the highest order. He would not stand for it; Class B would not defer any further to them than they had already been forced to over the school year.

Before Tokage's detached arm could yank Monoma by the nape of his neck and drag him away in Kendo's absence, Yui beat her to the punch and turned to address him herself.

"Your concerns are duly noted and will be taken under advisement," she informed, her face not emoting in the slightest but the kick in her tone evident.

Monoma was momentarily struck silent by the response. He knew that 1-B's resident kuudere could be profoundly snarky when necessary, but it had never been directed at him before. This was a new experience, especially given the subject of her fraternizing with the enemy.

"…Are you sassing me?" Monoma balked once regaining himself.

"Are you cockblocking me?" Yui retorted.

Watching the interplay on the sidelines, Izuku was somewhat transfixed. This was probably the most brazenly he had heard Yui verbally speak to, well, anyone. He hadn't even caught what she said to Monoma at the end; listening to her speak made him feel like he was part of an exclusive club, and it was nice, both the exclusivity and the sound of her voice in general. He genuinely loved hearing it.

It was at that point he noticed Monoma staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

…He muttered all of that out loud, hadn't he?

The snickering of a few of the others in the vicinity told him all he needed to know. Way to go, Midoriya. He just hoped that Ashido hadn't heard that.

Unfortunately for him, Mina was only a few meters away, so she had, in fact, heard him. Fortunately for him, though, she was much too giddy to be upset at losing the betting pool. Then again, they had until graduation, so it wasn't over just yet.

Yui's eyes were on him, too, but her expression hadn't changed. In fact, if it weren't for the subtle, victorious twinkle in her gaze, he would've assumed that she hadn't heard him at all.

"Come on, dude, we gotta plan," Kamakiri declared as he picked Monoma up and carried him away, leaving Izuku and Yui alone to presumably do the same.

On the subject of planning, Izuku noticed that he hadn't seen their two other teammates at all since the teams were formed, but a quick look around revealed a struggling Shishida secured to the wall of a building by Mineta's sticky balls, Mineta flashing Izuku a thumbs-up and keeping as much distance between them as possible all the while. An exasperated groan left his mouth while Yui suppressed a giggle at the scene.

"Does Kendo have it as bad as I do?" Izuku asked, lamenting the babysitting duties necessary of the class rep, and Yui simply nodded.

Looking around again showed him the teams were beginning to group up to familiarize themselves with each other's abilities and develop strategies. First, he spotted Kirishima and Tetsutetsu testing out each other's improved hardness while Kuroiro faded into Tokoyami's cloak.

Wait, "Kuroiro"? He'd definitely have to look into that after the matches were over.

Putting the thought aside, the next thing that caught his eye was Ochako and… a second Ochako? No, that was Komori, the mushroom girl if memory served. A team of her, Ochako, Shoto, and Shiozaki was certainly an interesting dynamic. The quirks among them were all so varied; it would definitely make for a fun match to watch.

Moving right along, there was Pony and Melissa giddily speaking to each other in a completely different language. Honestly, Izuku had completely forgotten that Melissa wasn't Japanese, as she spoke the language so well. Granted, she also spoke four others, one of them being "Hatsume." Izuku's English wasn't great, but it was passable enough through having watched so many of All Might's interviews when he was really young and falling down the rabbit hole of pre-quirk American comics as a result. It was because of this that Izuku caught the mention of "Green Goblin" in their conversation. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Meanwhile, the adults in attendance had their attention on the screen showcasing the two teams preparing for battle. One teacher in particular was watching the screen like a hawk, and a few others couldn't help but notice the intensity in her green gaze.

"She seems really focused," Thirteen whispered to Midnight beside her.

"There are a few students in this match that she has her eye on," Midnight whispered back.

True enough, Inko was paying close attention to this particular match. For as generic of a power as telekinesis was in media, there weren't very many famous telekinetics in Japan. In fact, at this point in time, she probably was the most famous one. So, it was no surprise that she had made a mental note of Reiko Yanagi during the sports festival, and now she would be able to see a hopefully improved version of her in action. There was also the promise she made to Hyaku Yaoyorozu about ensuring her daughter's preparedness for the world of heroics, and she wasn't going to go back on her word.

"So, vice rep," Sero began once his team had collected at their base camp, but he faltered when he gained the attention of both Yaoyorozu and Shoda. The fact that both of them were wearing scouters over one of their eyes made the action even more uncanny.

"…And other vice rep," he awkwardly chuckled, "what's our game plan?"

Yaoyorozu hummed, placing a hand on her chin before putting her formulating machinations into words. "Given our team construction, we're far better suited to ranged combat than our opponents, which means they'll no doubt be far more aggressive in their offense out of necessity. We'll automatically begin the battle fighting defensively, which isn't necessarily a negative."

"So, they'll have to force close-quarters-combat in order to be effective," Yanagi assessed.

"And all we have to do is keep 'em at bay," Sero supplied with a grin, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Or set a trap that they'll have no choice but to spring themselves since they'll be coming to us from the outset," Shoda amended, and Yaoyorozu nodded.

"Precisely," she confirmed. "Even if Shoji is listening in on our plan, which I have no doubt that he is, they have no long-range options, so they'll have to approach us unless they're content with forcing a tie by not competing at all. We can boobytrap every possible direction of approach."

"Knowing Kendo, she'll likely plan to split us up so that she can force that one-on-one match with you," Shoda murmured to Yaoyorozu with a hand on his chin. "She was really psyched about matching up with you specifically, and I don't doubt that they're already working out how to accomplish that."

"Let's overwhelm them before it gets to that point, but if it does come to that, I'll meet her head-on," Yaoyorozu declared with the purest of determination.

Shoji retracted the extended limbs that had ears growing out of them, then he turned to face his awaiting team.

"So, what did you pick up?" Kendo asked.

"Pretty much what you anticipated," Shoji responded. "They're expecting us to be the initial aggressors and readying a counteroffensive."

"Figures," Kendo sighed. "Any idea who they're going after first?"

Shoji shook his head. "Didn't say. They probably don't want to reveal all of their cards if they can help it."

"Makes sense," she nodded. "The obvious choice would be you given that you're literally our eyes and ears for the entire battlefield. Taking you down first would be the smartest strategy."

"Then that pretty much guarantees he's gonna be a red herring in favor of another target," Tsu noted, figuring that Yaoyorozu had undoubtedly considered that same strategy. "The question now is who their actual target is gonna be."

"My money's on you, Bondo," Kendo hummed in the direction of her tall, surprised classmate.

"W-Why me?" Bondo stammered.

"You're the wild card. In this setting, you're much better suited to creating a large-scale trap with your Glue Squall technique, which would be a pain to deal with for any team attempting to advance on us, but your quirk is also perfect for making life hell for Yanagi and Shoda by extension. They're pretty ineffective if everything they launch gets caught in a web of glue."

"Where does that leave us?" Shoji asked, motioning to himself and Tsu.

"Bait and a trap," Kendo smiled. "I reckon you can handle yourself pretty well against multiple targets, right?"

When Shoji nodded, her smile became a grin. "Awesome. I want you to draw as much of Yanagi's fire as possible. I fully expect all of her projectiles to be boosted by Shoda's Twin Impact, which won't make them any easier to defend against, but it will make them a lot harder for Yanagi to control. Capitalize on that, meanwhile, Asui will sneak up on the two of them for a surprise attack."

Then, she turned back to Bondo. "They'll send Sero after you because he's their designated capturer, so I want you to make a real mess of things. Let there be a horrendous monstrosity of glue and tape everywhere you can manage it. Make capturing you the most tedious and inconvenient endeavor possible and practically force him to course-correct to Shoji instead. I can keep Yaoyorozu occupied long enough for Asui to get the drop on Shoda and Yanagi while they're trying to batter us with whatever's accessible to Yanagi's telekinesis."

She returned her gaze to all of them at once, meeting their determined visages with one of her own. "We'll make this a battle of attrition and wear them down if need be. We won't give them a single inch nor a single moment's respite. Got it?"

"Got it!" the other three replied.

"Awesome. Let's do this!"

"AND START!" Vlad King's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, followed by a horn to kick off the match. As expected, Team 1 leaped into action and immediately advanced toward Team 2's base camp. Meanwhile, Team 2 was maintaining a solid perimeter and preparing for their inevitable arrival.

"They have to know that they're running into a trap, right?" Yui asked Izuku.

"I'm positive that they're counting on it," Izuku replied with a small smile. "What do you notice about Team 1?"

"There's…" Yui began before squinting at the screen. "Shouldn't there be four of them?"

The first few explosions and plumes of pink smoke that jettisoned into the clear sky let Team 2 know that their opponents were swiftly arriving. Yaoyorozu was thankful that she had let her curiosity get the better of her and had taken one of the landmines from the sports festival to study. It had taken some time, but with some assistance from Hatsume, she was able to reconstruct it with her quirk.

Her lips curled into a competitive smirk as she pressed a button on the side of the red scouter sitting over her left eye, much like Shoda's blue scouter. Hatsume was also a massive help with her ingenious idea to remove the chemistry dictionary from her back (alongside the shelf) in favor of a less unwieldy alternative that she had apparently been conceptualizing since the I-Island trip. It was a digital index of hundreds of chemical compounds at her fingertips that she could easily scan through at a moment's notice with the added bonus of not breaking her spine should she land on her back hard enough. She could also store the chemical structure of particular items if she needed them later on and hadn't yet committed them to memory, such as the landmines and…

When she finally spotted Shoji with Kendo on his back rushing toward their location from her vantage point on top of a building, her quirk came to life once again, and out popped the long barrel of an M109 Howitzer (scaled way down, of course). With it were a few large capsules that she set aside and several stun grenades that she loaded into the armament. With a smile that was bordering on unnerving, she fired the artillery cannon at the duo approaching on the ground.

"Incoming!" Shoji alerted Kendo, and she quickly enlarged her hands to shield the two of them from the concussive blast and accompanying flash.

As if that was the signal, a wave of pipes, grates, nuts, bolts, and random assortments of blunted metal shot through the area at lightning speed every which way. Every inch of the path was being pelted without remorse, and all Shoji and Kendo could do was try to evade and shield from the glowing projectiles as best as they could until they had trudged close enough to put their plan into action.

"Gimme a boost!" Kendo shouted, and Shoji nodded, immediately launching Kendo as hard as he could directly toward the rooftop Yaoyorozu was stationed on.

As expected, Yaoyorozu was ready for the incoming, redheaded missile, opening the capsules to reveal carbon fiber nets that she swiftly loaded into the cannon. The nets were blasted at Kendo in rapid succession, and each one was ruthlessly swatted away by egregiously large backhands before Kendo finally landed on the roof and closed the distance between herself and Yaoyorozu in an instant. In a flash, a tungsten shield shimmered into existence right as Kendo's fist reached her, launching them into a vicious battle of endurance.

Back on the ground, Shoji sighed. "That girl really loves her cannons," he muttered before acknowledging Bondo making his way across the rooftops to get into position, then he shielded his head with his webbed arms and pressed through the ferrous onslaught to locate the two responsible.

Meanwhile, Bondo had found a suitable perch to begin his part of the plan, shedding a weight off of his back before waiting for his moment. Just as Kendo had predicted, Sero was on him in an instant, almost blasting lines of tape at him before he could react. Almost.

"Glue Squall!" Bondo shouted while swinging his head back and forth, shooting his adhesive in all directions and quickly creating a horrendously sticky web of goo. Not finished, he redoubled his efforts and shot even more adhesive directly at Sero every time even a modicum of tape came near him, only furthering the deathtrap and making it incredibly difficult for Sero to maneuver around.

Bondo wasn't going down without a fight, and Sero could tell that capturing him was going to be a tedious mess at best. Retreating into the dark network of piped corridors, he took a breather to reassess the situation and come up with a different plan. He couldn't leave Bondo for Shoji, as that would leave him open to continue hampering the battlefield. However, he couldn't exactly get up close to capture him without getting stuck himself, and Bondo was proving to be very good at fending off long range attacks from his tape. This was already proving to be a tough battle, and it had only just begun. Also, was their team missing a member? He could've sworn that he had only seen three of them so far-

His train of thought was violently disrupted by a hard impact to his back that blasted the wind out of him, sending him crashing face-first to the floor. Struggling to get some oxygen back into his lungs in his daze, he only faintly registered the presence standing over him.

"Ribbit."

The low, deathly cold intonation was like a death knell in Sero's right ear, snapping him out of his fog and just about making the hairs on the back of his neck flee entirely. It was so cold, so devoid of life, emotion, and empathy. His own doom was so thick in the air that he could practically taste it.

Before he could do anything to defend and delay his untimely demise, a long tongue wrapped around him and dragged him clawing against the ground into the darkness. The only thing remaining of him was his harrowing scream echoing about the concrete walls.

"Sheesh…" Bondo warily remarked from his perch with a nervous scratch to his lappet. "Glad she's on our side."

Just as he said that, a long tongue yeeted the unconscious form of Sero out from the darkness and into Bondo's surprised grasp. He waited for Tsu to hop out of the building after him, but she never did, at least not that he could see. After a few more seconds of waiting, he decided to take the hint and take Sero to the jail cell.

Back on the ground, Shoji was having a much easier time traversing the area now that the projectiles couldn't go three meters without getting stuck to Bondo's glue. He could get a better idea of where they were all coming from now that there were fewer of them, but he nonetheless sprouted another ear to listen for chatter. It didn't take long for him to pinpoint their location… in fact, as he finally found himself in front of them in a narrow corridor, it seemed a bit too easy.

"Target acquired," Shoda said into his earpiece, and Yanagi lifted another smorgasbord of projectiles lying in wait behind her.

The pink glow they emitted as a result of Yanagi's Poltergeist was substantially more threatening than it ought to have been, but Shoji wouldn't back down. In less than a second, dozens of arms were protruding from Shoji, each one ready to defend at a moment's notice. A few hard swipes from Yanagi were all it took to send the hailstorm of makeshift weapons at Shoji. Beside her, Shoda clenched his fists, and the projectiles rocketed toward him at the all-too-familiar lightning speed that the earlier projectiles had been slicing through the air at. Even still, Shoji would not back down.

"Octoblow!" he called out, unleashing a barrage of blows to the onslaught of metal, punching and smacking the offending weapons away just as fast as they approached him.

Suddenly, a spot on the side of the building nearest to Shoda and Yanagi shimmered, and Tsu appeared in that spot blankly staring down at the two like an indifferent predator moments before she sprang into action. Shoda snapped his right arm out and shoved Yanagi out of the way of the impactful kick that slammed down onto the concrete they were just standing on, but he wasn't fast enough to evade the long tongue that wrapped around him and flung him down an adjacent alley like a discarded sack of potatoes.

Yanagi, meanwhile, barely had enough time to recover from the shove that saved her before Tsu was on her. She dodged a tongue strike and sent some pipes at her attacker with her quirk, but Tsu deftly evaded them before closing the distance and kicking her in the gut, the force of which launched her into a wall and sent her into blissful unconsciousness.

"That makes two, ribbit!" Tsu called out to Shoji as he finally caught up. "Bondo should be on his way back from locking up Sero by now."

"Then let's take Shoda down so that we can assist Kendo with Yaoyorozu," Shoji said with a nod, and the two ran towards the alley that Tsu threw Shoda down.

Back with the students, many of them winced at the spill Yanagi took, while others were both surprised and mildly frightened at the brutal efficiency Tsu was displaying. Yui, however, was more curious about her camouflage ability, so she turned to Izuku.

"How does her camouflage work?" She asked him, gaining his attention. "Does she just completely vanish from the naked eye like your other classmate when she blends in with her surroundings?"

Izuku shook his head. "Hers is different from Toru's. She doesn't go completely invisible; in all honesty, you can almost always spot her when she does it, provided you know what to look for. Sero and Yaoyorozu might have been able to see it coming in time, which is why Tsu attacked Sero from behind, but Shoda and Yanagi were much easier to blindside with it."

"Mm," Yui nodded at the information. "She kicks hard."

"For sure," Izuku agreed with a wince. "I've never wanted to be on the receiving end of her kicks."

"I'll say," a familiar voice spoke up from beside him.

Startled, Izuku looked to his left and saw Mirko casually leaning against a pole and munching on a carrot while watching the progressing battle with a flicker of interest. It was only then did most others notice her arrival, but Aizawa's crimson glare silenced the students before pandemonium could arise.

"…How the hell did you get here without anyone noticing?" Izuku asked after a moment of gathering himself.

"Who says I wasn't here the whole time?" Mirko replied with a smirk.

She snickered at Izuku's growing incredulity before continuing. "I'm a bunny. As much as I hate to acknowledge it, we're naturally prey. We know how to make ourselves invisible when necessary. Speaking of invisible, Froggy up there takes it literally."

"Froppy."

"Hm?"

"Her hero name is actually Froppy," Izuku clarified.

"Noted," Mirko nodded, keeping her name in mind for later.

"Mr. Aizawa mentioned that you might show up to watch my match, but I hadn't imagined you'd be too interested in watching any of the others," Izuku said, somewhat changing the subject.

"I'm really not, but this one intrigues me," Mirko shrugged. "Froppy's kicks in particular."

Izuku quirked an eyebrow, oblivious to the other students (mostly from 1-B) gawking at him casually conversing with the Rabbit Hero. "Really? I thought taking me on as an intern was a one-time thing since you famously work alone."

"It wouldn't be for me," Mirko confirmed with a grin. "Ryukyu wanted me to keep an eye out for any promising prospects since I'd be here. You're still my one and only tagalong, Normal Green."

Her smile vanished, and her tone became serious. "Besides, there have been some uncomfortable rumblings in the underworld. I'd rather not have anyone not on our level in our hair while we investigate."

Izuku frowned. "Anything I should be concerned about?"

"Later, when we're out on patrol."

"Roger that."

Mirko nodded as she finished her carrot, and a contented sigh escaped her. "Ugh, I needed that."

"You know, wild rabbits don't actually eat carrots," Izuku joked.

"They also don't put their feet up green-haired teenagers' asses, but I can make that happen, too, if you want."

On the other side of the viewing area, the teachers were mostly pleased with what they had seen thus far as Tsu and Shoji chased Shoda down a network of corridors on screen. Midnight wished she could have seen a little more out of Sero after he went down within moments against her during his and Mineta's final exam, but he at least did a fine job disengaging from the battle to quickly reassess the strategy against Bondo. It was just unfortunate that Kendo seemed to have planned for that very occurrence.

Beside her, Inko was both impressed and disappointed. Reiko Yanagi's telekinetic prowess really intrigued her, particularly the quantity of weapons she could control at any given moment. On the other hand, her hand-to-hand ability left much to be desired, but that could easily be addressed. She'd definitely inform Vlad King that she was interested in taking her on if Yanagi desired it.

She was also impressed with what she was seeing from Kendo and Yaoyorozu's battle, as well. Kendo was doing a splendid job at pressing her opponent and keeping her hands and mind busy to prevent Yaoyorozu from creating anything too intricate, but Yaoyorozu was standing firm and holding out very well. She was definitely intrigued to see how the final stretch of this battle played out.

"You're gonna tire out at some point, but I can do this all day!" Kendo shouted as she continued battering the tungsten shield that Yaoyorozu was clutching with all her strength.

Kendo's assault was unrelenting. Yaoyorozu couldn't access the cannon or any of the nets, and any weapon she created with her free hand was swiftly batted away by Kendo's obscenely large hands. For the time being, she was left to the mercy of her contemporary, slowly being pushed toward the edge of the roof. She gritted her teeth at the continuous reverberation from Kendo's fist striking the shield; she knew the other girl was right that she would probably lose a battle of attrition, so she needed to create space quickly, and she knew just how to do it.

She snapped open a pocket in her utility belt and retrieved a large capsule of milk powder (bless Midoriya for giving her this stupid idea after he spoke a little bit about his and Bakugo's battle with his mother during their final exam). Cracking open the capsule and spilling the powder into her hand, she tossed a cloud of milk powder at Kendo as she continued her assault, then she retrieved a small, handheld blowtorch from another compartment and ignited the cloud. The brief, bright fireball was enough to momentarily pause Kendo's assault and force her back a few meters to regain her bearings, but a moment was all Yaoyorozu needed to slam the shield into Kendo and send her tumbling even further.

Yaoyorozu capitalized, darting backward towards the edge with the Howitzer in tow and jumping onto the inflatable slide on the side of the building that she prepared while they were setting traps. Not wasting any time for Kendo to get her wits about her, she reached the large structure that was blanketed in a white tarp at the foot of the slide; it was the team's other secret weapon that she prepared for this inevitable encounter. Yanking the tarp off, she grinned madly, and the telltale shimmer of her quirk's activations illuminated the area.

Elsewhere, Shoji and Tsu were running through the maze of corridors in hot pursuit of Shoda. He was significantly more slippery than his frame would suggest, darting around corners and smacking projectiles into their path before firing them with his quirk to inhibit their chase, but they remained hot on his trail. Eventually, they chased him to a dead end, and it appeared that they finally had him at their mercy. He was stuck between the two of them and a wall with no means of escape beyond a rope that didn't seem to go anywhere.

However, before Shoji could think any further on the peculiarity of that rope, Shoda took hold of it and yanked it as hard as he could, triggering a trap that dumped several coolers full of ice down onto the duo.

"What the hell?!" Shoji remarked in confusion at the attack, then his eyes widened when he realized exactly what this was meant to accomplish. "Tsu!"

A subdued croak left her throat as she quickly succumbed to the chill of the massive quantity of ice the other team had apparently prepared. He wrapped her within the webbing of his arms to stave off the cold and prevent her from going into hibernation, but Shoda tackled him and knocked Tsu out of his grasp, sending her tumbling back into the pile of ice. Before Shoji could retaliate, Shoda was back on his feet and escaped the alley, drawing a frustrated curse from Shoji.

"Go," Tsu muttered, doing her best to stay conscious. "Leave me behind and go after him. I'll only slow you down like this."

"Not a chance," Shoji denied, picking her back up and wrapping her in his webbing once again. "1-A sticks together through anything and everything."

"Ribbit," she lethargically croaked, but a smile was present.

Back on the roof, Kendo was cursing herself for not seeing something like that coming. She was fighting someone who could literally make whatever nonliving item she wanted, so of course, she'd know that people would expect her utility belt to be a misdirect and not expect her to actually use it to carry premade items. No matter, she still had Yaoyorozu on the backfoot, so she simply had to continue applying pressure. She made her way to the edge to follow her opponent back to the ground, but what she saw made her go pale.

"Is that a fucking catapult?!" Kendo incredulously shouted down at Yaoyorozu who was standing gleefully beside a frightening-looking weapon.

"It's a trebuchet, the superior siege weapon!" Yaoyorozu responded before pulling the ripcord, launching open buckets of what she figured was some sort of adhesive right at her position.

Yeah, fuck that.

Kendo quickly darted away as the roof was pelted in massive globs of glue, leaping onto the side of the adjacent building and climbing her way down to the street. She wasn't fast enough, though, as a final mass of glue was on course to slam into her and trap her against the wall right as she made it to the ground. However, just before it could make its mark, a yellow and red wall intercepted the path and shielded Kendo from her fate.

"I got you, class rep!" Bondo called out to her with a thumbs-up, completely unaffected by the glue.

"Bondo!" Kendo cheered in relieved elation. "Fantastic, the two of us should be more than enough to take her down!"

"You bet!" he excitedly replied before racing around the building with Kendo close behind to meet Yaoyorozu head-on. He was immune to any glues or adhesives she could possibly throw at him, so this was going to be a piece of cake.

That was until Yaoyorozu stepped around the corner to meet their charge with the Howitzer aimed right at them, blasting an even heavier carbon fiber net that swiftly ensnared Bondo and slammed him against a wall, taking him out of the fight. It was decidedly not a piece of cake.

'Well, that was nice while it lasted…' Kendo internally deadpanned before dodging the incoming barrage of nets. 'She's really not letting up!'

Just then, Shoda turned a corner onto the scene and smacked a discarded valve wheel toward Kendo's back. Having heard the scraping of metal against concrete, Kendo turned around and batted the wheel back toward Shoda, which was a mistake, as the moment she took her eyes off of Yaoyorozu, a carbon fiber net snatched her up and sent her rolling along the concrete. All the while, Shoda ducked the valve wheel and watched it sail over his head. As it was doing so, Shoji came around the same corner and into the path of the wheel.

"Twin Impact!" Shoda shouted, and the valve wheel rocketed toward the new arrivals.

Not confident in his ability to completely dodge the projectile in his panic, Shoji turned his back to the incoming object to prevent Tsu from getting hit. The valve wheel collided with his back and sent him to the ground in a pained heap, and Shoda dogpiled on top of them to keep them restrained.

"Yaoyorozu, now!" Shoda shouted before popping to his feet and scurrying away just as the final net to end the match ensnared Shoji and Tsu.

The horn blared throughout the training ground signifying the end of the match.

"Team 2 wins the match 4 to 2!"

The assembled students gave the match a round of applause. Both teams deserved it after their performances. Monoma's applause was begrudging, though, as he was trapped between wanting to gloat about Shoda being one of the last two standing and begrudgingly admitting that Yaoyorozu was the MVP of the match.

The smile on Inko's face was beaming. It was obvious that Yaoyorozu didn't even need her help; she simply needed the confidence to properly put her skills to use. Inko would gladly extend a hand should she need it, but she felt that she could possibly point her in the direction of Fat Gum for a work-study, especially if the way Yaoyorozu was slumping in exhaustion over her cannon was any indication.

-development from this morning's top story, the mansion of supermarket pastry mogul and cheesecake icon, Uncle Touchy, was reduced to rubble late last night. However, the real story wasn't the destruction wrought above ground, but the horrors found in the untouched basement that can only be described as a dungeon of depravity.

"Uncle Touchy's a creep; color me shocked," Burnin sarcastically remarked as she returned her attention from the TV to the papers on her desk.

Luckily, it wasn't the usual stack of paperwork that she had grown a deep disdain for in the months since stepping into Endeavor's flaming boots. Instead, she was gazing over reports about the two hero students she had her eye on for work-studies since it was around that time again. However, that was also the problem at hand: she was going to take hero students on for work-study, and she had no fucking idea where to even begin.

The last few months had been all kinds of surreal for Burnin. Her entire career had been flipped on its head in the span of a single press conference, and she still didn't know how to proceed. She was eternally grateful to those who stuck around with the agency during the shitstorm that had gone on around it in the wake of Endeavor stepping down, but they still needed a leader, and she was trusted enough to be given the designation in place of the former fucking No. 2 Pro Hero in Japan. She could be excused for feeling way out of her depth.

Still, it was lovely to have the complete confidence of all the remaining sidekicks of the agency alongside her former boss (she would never get used to that). In fact…

She grabbed her phone and dialed the man himself. If anyone could give her some guidance regarding how to go about a work-study, it would be him. After only two rings, the gruff, perpetually disgruntled voice of her former boss greeted her on the other end.

"Burnin. What do you need?"

Straight to the point as always. "Alright, boss, I need to know-"

"If you're about to ask what I think you are, I'm hanging up the phone."

"Okay, okay, I won't," she conceded with a laugh. "I actually called because I need your advice. It's around that time where another batch of hero students will be looking for work-studies, and I have a few in mind that I'd like to take on, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about it once they're here. As you can probably imagine, I'm kinda new to this whole 'running an agency' thing."

"Start with a physical assessment to gauge their average level and get a sense of how they utilize their quirks most often. Then, take them on patrol with you to allow them to put it into practice. Oftentimes, those with powerful quirks exhibit a lack of creativity because they don't need to do much else than what works for them. Given who you're planning to have with you, I don't suspect that to be an issue, but it's worth hammering in for posterity's sake. After that, you can better address what they need to work on and face less resistance because they will have seen firsthand how they can improve. And stop calling me your boss. The agency is yours now, remember?"

Burnin blinked. That was a remarkably thorough response to the little information she had given him, though it shouldn't have surprised her the more she thought about who she was speaking to. She was about to thank him, but something he said jumped out at her. "Wait, how do you know who I plan on extending a work-study to?"

"Call it a hunch. You're planning for my son and Katsuki Bakugo, right?"

Burnin was rendered silent once again, only this time a jocund sigh left her grinning lips. "I swear, you're a fucking wizard, boss."

"You were my sidekick for nearly a decade, Burnin. I know you about as well as my own children."

"So, that's to say, 'not very well'?"

"…I deserved that, so I'll let you have that one."

"Fuckin' better," she snickered.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"…So, are you really a botto-"

Call Ended

"Now, the second match!" Vlad King began. "Team 1 consists of Shihai Kuroiro, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Eijiro Kirishima! Team 2 consists of Juzo Honenuki, Sen Kaibara, Toru Hagakure, and Denki Kaminari!"

"The meme team has assembled," Yui remarked, drawing a snort from Izuku.

"Definitely a peculiar lineup," Izuku agreed before turning to Mirko to get her take, but he was surprised to find that she was no longer there. "Where'd she go? And when?"

"What if she was never really there at all?" Yui posed. "What if it was just another collective hallucination?"

"…Another?" Izuku questioned, gazing at Yui in confusion. "Does that happen often for you guys?"

"Only when Komori hosts a sleepover."

"People always treat me like I'm some kinda hardheaded moron without a clue," Tetsutetsu groused while knocking on a pipe in agitation. "But I got accepted into UA just like you guys. It's not like I rush into things without thinking of the endgame."

"What has you so perturbed, my ferrous friend?" Kuroiro inquired from within Tokoyami's cloak.

"This unbalanced team we're stuck with!" Tetsutetsu responded. "It's like they grouped us all together as a joke! Two of our quirks might as well be the same, and you guys both live and breathe darkness."

"I suppose that is a fair assessment," Tokoyami considered with a thoughtful expression.

"Just means we gotta fight even harder to overcome that!" Kirishima declared with a sharp-toothed grin, slamming his fist into his palm. "Besides, it's not like we don't have our advantages together. Tokoyami and Kuroiro were practically made to team up, and you and I are the perfect sword and shield combo!"

"Damn right!" Tetsutetsu grinned in return.

"Erm, who's the sword, and who's the shield, exactly?" Kuroiro questioned.

"Doesn't matter, let's level this place and smash those villains!"

"Tetsutetsu is gonna come in guns blazing, I guarantee it," Honenuki stated while softening a random pipe.

"And knowing how excitable Kirishima is, he'll be right there alongside him," Toru added.

"A frontal approach is all but guaranteed from them, so that makes it all the simpler to take them out," Kaibara supplied with a smirk and a challenging spin of his drill-like arm.

Honenuki nodded. "The real problem will be Tokoyami and Kuroiro. No doubt he's already scheming a plan to take us down by surprise individually."

"Dark Shadow's weakness is light, so I'm Tokoyami's worst matchup," Kaminari spoke up.

"Then we'll just have to trap Kuroiro in an area where he has nowhere to slink away to," Honenuki finished before the loud sounds of metal crashing down a little ways away filled the training ground. "Guess that's our cue. Let's get this show on the road."

Just as they assumed, the crashing was indeed Tetsutetsu and Kirishima plowing a path through the training grounds. In no time at all, the destructive duo smashed their way through the structures lining Team 2's base intent on causing some chaos. Just as quickly, however, Tetsutetsu stepped into a trail of softened concrete and started to sink.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Honenuki chuckled, then he signaled to Kaminari to follow through with the next step.

Just before Kaminari could step up and shock the two into submission, though, Tetsutetsu grinned and extended his arm to Kirishima.

"We're not idiots, Mudman!" Tetsutetsu shouted to Honenuki before launching Kirishima into the air with all of his strength, sending him flying across their base and turning him into a hardened missile headed right for Honenuki.

Kaminari shot a few of his Pointers at the airborne redhead with the launcher on his arm, then he fired a steady stream of electricity at them, but Kirishima batted them away and narrowly avoided the currents arcing after them. His grinned sharpened as the collision drew closer, but surprise overtook him when Kaibara stepped into his path with his arms spinning wildly. Rather than tackle and subdue Honenuki like they planned, Kirishima was locked in a battle of hardened skin versus a drilling punch.

"I'll handle him, Mudman!" Kaibara shouted before Kirishima overpowered his defense and sent the two of them tumbling away from the battle.

"Keep an eye on the skies," Honenuki said seemingly to no one in particular, then he set his sights back on Tetsutetsu, who had slowly been wading through the liquified concrete.

"I don't think so," Honenuki said, and with a second tap to the ground, the concrete was hardened, fixing the growling Tetsutetsu in place. "That won't hold him for long. Kaminari, you're up."

"As you command," Kaminari grinned, extending a finger gun to Tetsutetsu. "Who would've thought I'd be a hard counter to half of the opposing team?"

Right as his quirk fired up and he lit up a bright yellow, a jet black shadow torpedoed from the sky and smacked right into him, causing him to discharge the electricity every which way and forcing Honenuki to take a few steps back. Fortunately for the missile in question, Tokoyami, he quickly got out of dodge and didn't incur any damage from the discharge.

"Black Fallen Angel," Tokoyami muttered in satisfaction.

"We are quite literally a stealth bomber like this," Kuroiro declared in wonderment.

"Indeed, Dark Shadow's silent flight is an exceptional advantage to behold," Tokoyami agreed. "Shall we return to dispose of Kaminari?"

"Let's," Kuroiro agreed.

"Spin the block!" Dark Shadow enthusiastically cackled before they reversed course back toward a frazzled Kaminari.

Mere moments before Tokoyami could strike Kaminari again, an invisible fist slammed into his cheek and sent him careening off-course and smashing into a wall of pipes. In all the chaos, it escaped Tokoyami's notice that there had only been 3 visible members of Team 2 in the fight. However, that chaos also gave Kuroiro the opportunity to slip out of Tokoyami's cloak and into the black of Kaminari's jacket.

At the same time, Tetsutetsu had finally broken out of his concrete imprisonment and charged toward Honenuki. Honenuki liquified the ground once again, but Tetsutetsu was prepared and leaped out of the path, landing on a nearby pipe… that almost melted under his feet.

"Damnit!" He shouted, fishing himself out of the gooey metal and resuming his chase of the now retreating Honenuki.

Back with Kaminari, as Tokoyami retreated into the darkness of the newly exposed corridor created from knocking down the earlier wall, Kaminari aimed his wrist-mounted launcher at him to fire his Pointers at him. He was not, however, expecting someone to rise from his back and lock him in a rear naked choke.

"Hey, how are ya?" Kuroiro asked with a dark chuckle as Kaminari struggled, desperately clutching Kuroiro's arm and pawing at his face. "Weren't expecting this, huh? Don't feel bad; you weren't supposed to."

Then, the telltale crackle of electricity forced Kuroiro's grip to tighten. "Ah-ah-ah, I wouldn't recommend that. You've already unleashed a good bit of electricity today. The amount needed to subdue me would almost certainly fry your brain, as well. It'd be a double knockout at best, and there's no guarantee whatever you can safely dreg up would even be enough to take me down for the count."

Kaminari sputtered while Kuroiro chuckled. "Then again, if you do nothing, you'll just lose consciousness. You'll be out of the fight regardless of what you choose. So, pick your poison."

'This is the gamble of the century, but after feeling what he could do during the cavalry battle at the sports festival, I'm certain that I can at least remain conscious if I took his 1.3-million-volt Indiscriminate Shock… hopefully,' Kuroiro mused internally, ignoring the bead of nervous sweat trailing down his temple.

Kaminari grunted, wrenching Kuroiro's arm just enough to allow him to cough out a few words with a pained grin. "We agreed that you'd be the most dangerous opponent, so I don't mind a kamikaze attack. Indiscriminate Shock: 2 Million Volts!"

"Wait, wait, hold on a minute-" Kuroiro frantically spewed before his world went up in a golden flash.

The electrocution was mercifully brief, but it was no less effective, as Kuroiro lay twitching on the concrete beside a dopey-looking Kaminari.

"Wheeeeyyyy," Kaminari giggled with two thumbs up.

"Ugh, what did I say about making yourself a liability on the field?" Aizawa irritably groaned with his forehead in his palm.

"Kuroiro at least forced his hand," Vlad King remarked, undeniably impressed with the showings of all the students thus far.

"Could be worse," a third voice commented to the side of them, drawing both of their mildly alarmed gazes to Mirko standing beside them with another carrot in hand. "Yo."

"Don't sneak up on me ever again," Aizawa sighed in exhaustion while Vlad King chuckled.

"No promises," Mirko snickered.

"Why are you here?" Aizawa damn near glared.

"Nezu thought it would be funny if I bothered you specifically," Mirko shrugged, ignoring a muttered "of course" from the teacher before her smile dropped. "On a serious note, I heard a few things around our community that concerned me. Have any of your students been acting strange lately?"

"Not any more than usual," Aizawa answered, both teachers understanding what she meant by placing emphasis on "our". "Why?"

"Tensions are due to flare again," Mirko answered. "You both know how cyclical this can be, but a lot of people are starting to feel both unsettled and emboldened thanks to the actions of a few villains. It might blow over… but it might not. Keep an eye on your kids."

Aizawa and Vlad King nodded, hearing her warning loud and clear.

The shrill sounds of drills impacting rock-hard skin serenaded the dark corridor that played host to the intense, back-and-forth struggle between Kirishima and Kaibara. Sweat poured down both of their scuffed exteriors, but neither was willing to give a single inch to the other.

With a war cry, the two met and engaged in a furious clash once more. Kaibara threw a flurry of punches that ground against Kirishima's hardened skin and slowly chipped away at his defense, but Kirishima kept up the pace by dodging and parrying as many strikes as he could, eventually catching Kaibara's arm and slamming him to the ground with a thud.

"After that ass-kicking I got from Midoriya at the sports festival, I've been working hard on being more than just a brawler!" Kirishima informed, bringing his foot up to stomp the downed brunette.

Kaibara was fast, though, and he brought his own legs up to meet Kirishima's before gyrating them to spin Kirishima off his feet, effectively reversing their positions. However, Kirishima quickly recovered, and the two resumed their intense struggle. Kirishima tanked drilling punches and returned fire, while Kaibara did his best to defend from the painful smashes of his hardened foe. This battle of attrition could only go on for so much longer, and that was emphasized when Kaibara threw a kick with his gyrating leg and caught Kirishima on the hip, but Kirishima clutched the leg and used it to slam Kaibara against the wall on both sides before throwing him down the hall in a pained heap.

"This is a lot tougher than I thought it would be," Kaibara gritted as he returned to his feet. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to pull this out since it's not yet perfected, but it looks like I'll need it to take you down!"

Kaibara's arms began spinning once more, but they were slowly picking up speed. Kaibara gritted his teeth in concentration, and the sweat that was already pouring down his forehead picked up in intensity, as well. Soon, his arms started glowing orange as faint wisps of smoke wafted off of them. It was the manliest thing Kirishima had seen since Midoriya created a mini sun.

"Heat Press!" Kaibara shouted before launching himself at Kirishima, and Kirishima re-hardened in preparation for the assault.

Kirishima wasn't expecting Kaibara to straight up carve through his Hardening with his apparent ultimate move, however, but that's exactly what happened. His glowing drills were ridiculously hot to the touch and broke through his defenses like balsa wood, leaving both cuts and burns to Kirishima's skin along the way. The tide of the battle was turning way too quickly in Kaibara's favor; he had to do something, and fast.

Luckily, Kaibara wasn't the only one who had been practicing an ultimate move, and like his, Kirishima's wasn't quite perfected, but it would have to do.

As Kaibara went for another strike, Kirishima kicked him in the abdomen and forced him back a few meters, then he thought back to the day he and the rest of his class got demolished by Mirio Togata. Specifically, he remembered pushing past his limits and hardening his arms more than he ever had before to protect himself and Iida from Bakugo's explosion. Ever since then, he had been training his quirk and pushing himself as far as Hardening would allow and then stepping over that line with reckless abandon.

'Turn experience into power!'

Suddenly, his already hardened skin grew even harder, becoming unruly, jagged, and almost monstrous. His already spiked fingertips grew into deadly claws, his frame somewhat bulked from the increased sharpness, his maw of sharp teeth became a horrific death trap, and even his pupils grew pointier, ready to slice at anything that dared cross his line of sight. Cracks cascaded across his exposed skin as he unleashed a thunderous roar.

"UNBREAKABLE!" he bellowed, and Kaibara stood awestruck at the sight.

"Wallahi…" Kaibara muttered before fixing himself back into a fighting stance. It seemed that this clash would determine the winner.

Kaibara took the initiative and charged, itching to see how well this new look would hold up against Heat Press, and wouldn't you know it, it held up well.

A little too well.

Heat Press was not getting through Unbreakable whatsoever. At best, Kaibara could push Kirishima back with the force of his strikes, but that didn't protect him from the haymaker that slammed into his chest and blasted him through the adjacent wall. Groaning, his vision was bleary when he opened his eyes to struggle to climb back to his feet, but it was clear enough to make out the jagged fist cutting through the air that knocked him into blissful unconsciousness.

Kirishima huffed, exhaling a mountain of exhaustion as Unbreakable faded away, and he leaned against the wall to steady himself.

"Man, that was intense," Kirishima sighed, offering his downed opponent a grin and a thumbs-up. "Awesome fight, dude."

With that, he bent down and hefted Kaibara onto his shoulders to take him to his team's jail.

Tokoyami was not having a good time. Having found himself in a dark corridor was one thing, but the constant hit-and-run tactics of Hagakure were beginning to grate on him. It wasn't enough that she was invisible, but she moved around so silently to boot. Her choosing "Stealth Hero" as her epithet wasn't unwarranted.

"Dark Shadow, I believe you've met your match in stealth," Tokoyami said in acknowledgement.

"My superior, more like," Dark Shadow lowly muttered as they kept a close ear out for the slightest scuff. For all of Dark Shadow's ability to see otherworldly entities, Toru Hagakure was not among them, unfortunately, so they were relying on their enhanced senses from being submerged in a dark space. They needed to listen very closely, as Hagakure could pop out from any direction and strike Tokoyami with a punch before vanishing into the ether just as quickly.

Then, Dark Shadow heard a slight clang further down the hall, so the duo proceeded in that direction. They were on high alert, and the growing expanse of darkness while simply waiting for something to happen would have worn on a lesser man. Tokoyami, however, was no stranger to the darkness. He hadn't simply embraced it; he was born in it, molded by it-

Dark Shadow snapped backward and caught the steel pipe that was on path to bashing the back of Tokoyami's head, then they yoinked Hagakure tightly within their grasp. Tokoyami had been so engrossed in his revelry that he was a sitting duck for attack, and it was merely Dark Shadow's keen senses that saved them.

"Excellent work, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami complimented with a healthy amount of relief. "I am in your debt."

"Damnit!" Hagakure huffed after struggling to get free and ultimately failing. "Watch where you're grabbing, Dark Shadow!"

"Sorry," Dark Shadow quickly apologized before adjusting their grip.

"Let's get her back to base and into the jail cell, Dark Shadow."

Tetsutetsu was admittedly growing tired. Chasing Honenuki around wasn't part of the game plan, but no plan ever survived first contact, so that was okay. What wasn't okay was Honenuki tagging anything and everything he came into contact with but only randomly activating his quirk on them so that Tetsutetsu never actually knew what was softened and what wasn't. It was as maddening as all hell, and Honenuki knew it.

It wasn't until they finally arrived in an open area that Honenuki finally turned around to face him. Tetsutetsu was tired, but Honenuki barely looked any worse for wear. The dude had stamina out the ass; it honestly wasn't fair.

"Kirishima and I were supposed to double team you to get your Softening out of the equation, but I guess I'll have to do this alone," Tetsutetsu said.

"Well, this is annoying," Honenuki sighed. "If there's anyone hardheaded enough to fight through all of my plans, it's you. Can't say I'm all that surprised, though. You're not the Scarecrow; I know there's at least a brain up there."

"Flattery will get you everywhere!" Tetsutetsu shouted before launching himself at Honenuki, only to sink into the softened ground once again.

"…Maybe I spoke too soon," Honenuki commented until he saw Tetsutetsu pull out a long pole.

"You didn't think I grabbed anything to prepare for this on the way?" Tetsutetsu scoffed before stabbing the pole into the nearest patch of solid ground and heaving himself out of the muck. "You won't get away from me that easily!"

Honenuki simply blinked before softening the ground that the pole was stabbed into, creating a larger pool of muck that Tetsutetsu fell back into.

"You were saying?" Honenuki deadpanned, and Tetsutetsu could just feel the dead-eyed stare that Honenuki was sending him through his helmet.

"Ah well, it was worth a shot," Tetsutetsu laughed. "Time for plan B!"

Honenuki did not have any time to ponder that statement before the sharp, loud creaking of metal behind him grabbed his attention, and he turned around to see a large tower tipping over courtesy of Kirishima, and they were right in the path of it.

"Huh," Honenuki muttered. "A little overkill, but I respect it."

When the tower got within arm's reach, Honenuki slapped a hand onto it and softened the whole thing, creating a gooey mass of steel that simply added to the pool Tetsutetsu was stuck in. Popping out of it, Honenuki wasn't prepared for Kirishima to tackle him and lock him in a chokehold the millisecond his upper body was exposed. Honenuki couldn't soften people, so there was nothing he could do about Kirishima's tight grip except try to force Kirishima to break the hold himself.

With that in mind, Honenuki fell backwards into the muck, taking Kirishima with him and submerging the two in a grey, sort of liquid mass. Kirishima immediately freaked out at the loss of visibility and oxygen, and he tried (unsuccessfully) to swim up to the surface. Fortunately, Honenuki could swim in the muck he could create just fine, so he pushed Kirishima up toward Tetsutetsu and allowed the other boy's head to poke through the surface. Ensuring that Kirishima wouldn't suffocate but also wouldn't be going anywhere, Honenuki swam away to create a sufficient amount of distance.

When he felt he had swum far enough, Honenuki resurfaced and undid his quirk, trapping Kirishima and Tetsutetsu neck-deep in concrete.

"Man, that was tougher than it should have been," Honenuki sighed. "Kirishima being here means that Kaibara might be down for the count, but maybe I can still help Hagakure and Kaminari."

"Ahem."

"Hm?" Honenuki turned to find an enlarged Dark Shadow looming over him in a far too predatory fashion for his liking.

"…Sup," Honenuki weakly tried, and the only response he got was a vicious clobbering into the ground by the sentient quirk.

Once he was tossed into the jail cell with Kaibara, Toru, and a still dopey Kaminari, the horn sounded, signifying the end of the match.

Praise be to Lord Beerus that this is finally done. To call this endeavor painless would be a lie, but you all probably figured that. I took my time with it, so hopefully it came out well enough. And if it didn't, fuck it we ball, let's keep on rolling.

Mirko is a main character at this point if that wasn't already obvious.