11

Chapter 11: Or Pillar?

A person looks up at a Monument, their face bright with excitement. 'How majestic,' they think, 'What a beautiful reminder of days past.' And then they stand behind the velvet rope, admiring it from afar.

…

The looks that the two received as they stepped into the monitoring room made Izuku flush a bit and Bakugou growl, her fists clenching and sparking.

It did not distract from the color in her cheeks.

"Let's see that again, shall we?" All Might boomed, large fingers pecking the keyboard. The screen showed both teams, cutting and switching to the other to give them perspective of the whole event.

Kyouka peered at the screen with a grimace, arms crossed and unsure how to feel. It was one thing to have a plan she'd thrown together picked apart as soon as it was made; it was quite another to have it done by people she'd met a couple of days ago and that seemed to hate each other.

"Wow, you guys totally knew what we were gonna do!" Toru announced cheerfully, gloved hands clapping. "I thought you were about to fight, though…"

Bakugou eyed Izuku, who gazed back. "Oh, we're gonna fight," she promised, popping her knuckles.

"But the mission was more important," Izuku finished, crossing his arms.

"...How'd you know?" The Punk Rock girl asked, jacks fidgeting, eyes narrowed on the pair.

They traded looks. "We fuckin' said it, didn't we?" Bakugou scoffed, waving a hand at the screen replaying their conversation. "You extras are easy to read."

Izuku frowned at her wording, but nodded in agreement. "It seemed obvious to me," he shrugged.

"Young Midoriya, Young Bakugou, would you explain what this plan of yours was? 'Delta-EF3,' I believe?" All Might turned to them with his characteristic grin.

They traded glances again and Himiko crossed her arms, gnawing on her lip. "It's shorthand we developed when we were kids," Izuku answered, scratching his chin, "And it was what we did. Dynamic entry through the wall, eye fu-er…"

"Dynamic Eye-Fucking version three," Katsuki continued with zero shame. "Bust through the wall, blind and deafen, then takedown. Other versions had us using flash grenades or something, I hadn't figured out flash-banging yet."

"I see," the Number One Hero said with a slight frown at the language. Turning back to the keyboard, he advanced time to the brief fight. "Now students, I want you to watch this again and focus on the details. What could the Villains have done better? What could the Heroes have done better?"

The first hand to hit the air was Momo's, her collected, nearly-stately posture at odds with her costume. "Midoriya-kun hesitated when attacking Jiro-san, giving her enough room to fight back."

They eyed the screen and saw that indeed, after Izuku had caught her jacks and swept her legs, he had gone to drive a fist into her face and stopped just before the blow had landed. All Might arched an eyebrow at Izuku. "Young Midoriya?"

Izuku blushed and looked away, scratching his cheek. "…I didn't want to punch her in the face," he mumbled.

That was a bit of a lie. The truth of the matter is that Izuku had swept her legs and had instinctively gone for a knife-hand strike to her throat, only stopping as he realized just what he was about to do.

Kyouka grimaced again. On one hand, it rankled her a bit that she'd been less than a second away from eating a knuckle sandwich; on the other, getting punched in the face hurt and Midoriya was strong. "Thanks, I guess…" She muttered.

Bakugou scoffed. "Bitch." She elbowed Izuku in the side, and he ignored her with practiced ease.

Himiko threw her hand up. "Bakugou was too busy fighting Toru and didn't realize the bomb was next to her the whole fight," she pointed out, smirking smugly when the volatile blonde growled.

"Indeed," All Might intoned, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest. "Though the Villain Team lost, they did not give up and adapted to the situation. That being said, who would you call the MVP of this Battle?"

Momo raised her hand again. "I would say Midoriya-kun, All Might-sensei. While he hesitated to neutralize Jirou-san, he also neutralized both Heroes afterwards. I would say he was more effective overall, and thus the MVP."

"But Bakugou was manly, too!" Eiri protested, "She got the bomb and came up with the plan!"

"They both came up with the plan, ribbit," Tsuyu croaked, a finger at her chin as she replied. "And they both made mistakes. Midoriya-chan was perhaps a bit more effective, but it's hard to say for certain, ribbit."

There were many nods and murmurs of agreement. "Do you concur with Asui-kun's opinion?" All Might grinned broadly at the nods he received. "VERY WELL! Then I will say Team A are jointly the MVP's of this round! Now, PREPARE FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!"

The screen flashed and the names rotated until finally settling once again.

"The Villain team! Team H!" The Number One Hero announced, "The Hero team! Team E!"

Shouji and Tokoyami traded nods, while Ojiro and Tsuyu affixed determined looks. As the teams headed off to make their plans of action and hide the bomb, Izuku patted himself down before turning to Momo. "Momo-san, could I trouble you for a pen and paper?" He opened a pouch on his belt marked with a cross and offered a small wrapped package. "I'll trade you some chocolate."

"Of course, Izuku-san," she nodded, laying a hand on her bare thigh and Creating a pad of paper and a fountain pen in a flash of blue and pink particles, trading them for the candy. "Why do you have chocolate in your medical kit, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Sweets are good for shock," he replied absently, noting that the pen 'Yaoyoruzu' written along the body. "Plus, if there are children in a disaster area, candy is a decent way to distract them."

"I see."

Izuku glanced up at the screen, noting the costumes the two teams were wearing as they made their plans. Shoji wore a blue jumpsuit that darkened to indigo around his shoulders and rose up to become his mask. There were six symbols on his abdomen that resembled simple eyes, with the buckle of his dark purple belt being a larger, jaundiced eye with a purple iris. The legs were baggy and ended at boots that matched his belt and collar. It was simple, practical and more importantly, sleeveless so Shoji could use his arms fully.

The Geokinetic couldn't help but glance at the wealthy girl standing next to him, idly chewing on the chocolate he'd traded, and took in her costume once more. "Momo-san, can I assume that, because you require bare skin to use your Quirk, your costume is…well…?"

Momo tilted her head curiously, blinking her dark eyes. "Is what, Izuku-san?"

"You show more skin than a leather fetishist," Katsuki told her flatly, arms crossed.

The creative girl looked down at herself, patting her belt. "And? Having multiple access points for my Quirk is simply more efficient. In fact, if it hadn't been restricted, I would've asked for less material." It seemed as if she didn't view all of her bared skin or the costume clinging to her curves as anything to be embarrassed about.

Izuku tried not to picture such a thing, and failed rather badly. "While that's true, what about your protective capabilities? If an enemy is smart and realizes what you are capable of quickly, they would target you. Are you proficient with the creation of armor, perhaps?" He made a note on his paper and began quickly sketching a drawing of Momo. "Which isn't even mentioning inclement weather."

Momo brushed her hair back with a smile in what would've been a cocky gesture for most people. "Of course, Izuku-san, I've studied and memorized the makeup of modern body armors, as well as fleece and thermal underwear." She tapped the encyclopedia in its holder for emphasis.

"Oooh," Mina, who had sauntered over to eavesdrop, said with some awe. "So those are the study habits of a rich person…!"

"Titanium ballistic plate and kevlar, or carbon?" Izuku asked, crossing out a sentence and adding another, looking up curiously.

"Carbon plating is simpler, though I prefer to layer them," she replied, closing her eyes for a second before there was a flash of blue and pink and a smooth metal guard appeared on her shoulder. She unstrapped it and passed it to him, and he examined it closely.

He found it to be relatively lightweight and comfortably padded on the inside, with a subtle engraving of a peach blossom on the plate. "Have you thought about adding a layer of kinetic absorption gel between the kevlar?" He asked, handing it back. "It's a relatively new invention, originally designed to reduce wear on robotic joints, but it also works well as padding for ballistic armor."

Momo frowned as the buzzer sounded and the Hero Team set off, flicking open her book and peering at it. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Izuku-san, I'll have to look it up when I can." She shut the encyclopedia and focused her dark eyes on the screen, letting the armor she'd Created fall to the ground, paying it no mind.

Izuku shrugged and turned to the screen, turning the page. Mina looked at them both, then ducked to scoop up the discarded armor and see it for herself. "So this is the body armor of a rich person…" She murmured, showing it to Ochako.

He was curious to note that Shouji and Tokoyami had chosen a room that was decently lit; he remembered the bird-headed boy calling his (probably) sentient Quirk 'Dark Shadow.' He would've thought they would choose a darker area to take advantage of that, but if the Quirk was sentient and was powered by shadows, then perhaps too much darkness would overwhelm Tokoyami.

Speaking of, Izuku made a note of Tokoyami's costume which, much like Shouji, was based on simplicity and practicality. It consisted of a skin-tight black shirt, a black utility belt, baggy black pants and black knee-high boots, with a pair of black wristbands. Around his shoulders he wore a black cape that shifted to purple in the light. Simple, practical and much like the wearer himself, with a bit of a dramatic flair. And if Izuku's theory was correct, then the cape also meant Tokoyami would always have shadows at his disposal even at noon on a bright day.

The warhead had been set in a dark corner of the room, practically hidden by the contrast of the light and shadows, with Shouji standing boldly in the center of the room and Tokoyami a bit behind him.

His eyes went to the Hero Team as they searched Building B, with Tsuyu circling the outside to peer into the windows while Ojiro bounded from floor to floor, powered by his tail. It was a simple, tried and true tactic to split up and search from inside out and outside in. Unfortunately for them, the Villain Team was in Building C.

Ojiro's costume was rather simple, consisting of a plain white martial arts gi with fur on the collar that matched his hair color, along with a black belt and boots that had sand blue trim. While Izuku could understand the simplicity, he couldn't help but note that any observant Villain would know at a glance that Ojiro specialized in hand-to-hand and nothing else. And martial artists with tails were fairly common, even.

Now, how to point that out?

As the Hero Team fully searched the building and moved on, his eyes landed on Tsuyu. He had to admit, her costume was fitting for her Quirk. She wore a tight green bodysuit, or a wetsuit, possibly, a dark green, yellow trimmed stripe that went up her arms, down over her breasts and thighs and continuing on her large black boots, with green toes like that of a frog. She wore tan gloves with frankly massive buckles around the wrist, matching with her belt, harness and the straps holding a pair of bulbous goggles to her head.

All in all: Frog.

Izuku made notes as the two teams finally clashed. As he'd thought, Ojiro used a fairly standard fifth-limb combat style. "Punch, punch, sweep into tail lash," he mumbled to himself, "Launch into kick with tail as springboard, axe-swing down…" He circled his previous point about the other boy, adding 'bring BB.'

"You know quite a bit about Ojiro's fighting style, huh Midori?" Mina asked with a smirk. "You been watching him closely?"

"No, his kata are pretty much rote for tailed combatants," he replied distantly, "Easily exploitable. For instance, Ojiro-san's going to duck, bring his tail over his head in a Scorpion Sting, turn the momentum into an axe-kick then three punch combo." Izuku, eyes still locked on his notebook, pointed a finger at the screen just as the tailed martial artist ducked, tail swinging up over his head, throwing himself into a flipping axe kick, his fists punching out at his opponent.

"Woah, Deki-kun, it happened just like you said!" Ochako enthused, eyes sparkling. "You know a lot about fighting, dontcha?"

Bakugou scoffed. "Still spend hours every day watching Hero Fights on the news, you damn nerd?" She ignored the irritated glare the gravity girl sent her.

"Nope," he muttered, gaze fixing on Ojiro's opponent, Shouji. That was something interesting; his multiple arm-tentacle-things were capable of more than just duplicating hands, but eyes, ears and mouths as well. Before the Hero Team had found them, he'd had two pairs of ears on the end of his tentacle-arm-things and heard Ojiro sneaking up from the inside and Tsuyu crawling around the outside before they'd even reached the room.

Watching him fight was interesting, too. Obviously, there were quite a few punches thrown, but mixed into that were snapping jaws and swiping tentacles, at a great speed, too. The only reason it was a fairly even fight was because it seemed Shouji had never fought a fifth-limbed opponent before, but he was adapting quickly.

Now, Tsuyu and Tokoyami was an interesting match-up to watch. His Dark Shadow was like a shadowy partner, making the fight against him two-against-one. The frog girl was quick, ducking jumping, bouncing around the room, tongue lashing out from odd angles to strike unexpectedly. Once, Tsuyu shot her tongue at Tokoyami, only for the bird-headed boy to duck and for the strike to land on Dark Shadow, then ricochet off of it to hit him in the back.

It had come to a standstill, the Villain Team about to win by running the time down when Tsuyu leaped away, landed on the wall and threw herself like a bullet, slamming into Tokoyami and sending him into the dark corner of the room.

Tokoyami's eyes went wide and Dark Shadow thrashed, growing in size as its eyes grew red and spiked, releasing a bestial howl that shook the building. "Oh no," he whispered, clutching his head, "Get AWAY!"

Shouji and Ojiro paused their fight and glanced over, then shrugged and went back to it. Until Dark Shadow swatted Tsuyu out of the air and sent her flying into them both, roaring as it lunged at them with claws outstretched. It was all they could do to hurl themselves away from its wild swipes and try to regroup.

What had been two teams battling it out had become three versus one, with Tokoyami himself struggling to pull himself out of the shadows and into the light spilling from the windows, but his feet seemed to be anchored to the floor.

All Might subtly drew himself up as several students made concerned noises, eyes flickering to the corner of the screen where the timer was ticking down. Unless they seem to be in great danger or time runs out and that shadow bird keeps attacking, then I'll step in. I was grasping at straws when I said life is unfair, but this has to be the neatest example. I couldn't have planned this any better…if I'd planned for this. His knuckles subtly cracked as his fingers flexed, as despite his thoughts he was raring to leap into action right then. Let them try and handle this, All Might, otherwise they won't learn from it.

Izuku nudged Bakugou's shoulder and ignored her retaliatory elbow to his ribs. "If things get out of hand, your flashbang might be the best counter to Dark Shadow besides direct sunlight. Be ready to interfere should things go south," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, hand blazing across the page as made notes.

Katsuki huffed and crossed her arms, leaning against the wall in a classic 'rebellious pose.' "Why the fuck would I lift a finger to help these damn Extras? Let these side characters have their filler, dammit, I don't feel like making teriyaki." She arched an eyebrow as the geo-kinetic gave her a dark look. "Fuckin' what, Deku? You look like the Hag when you make that face."

"You're not willing to step in the middle of trouble, like a Hero?" He hissed, eyes blazing. "'Extras' or not, if they need help, we should help them."

"How are they gonna get used to dealing with overwhelming power," she jacked a thumb at herself, "If they don't get to fight it, huh Deku? Or are you gonna stick to 'em if they make it to the real world?"

"He's not saying 'protect them from every little thing,'" Himiko cut in, adopting a similar pose as her fellow blonde, but leaning on Izuku, "But I'm not surprised you don't get it. Subtlety isn't your strong suit, is it?"

"Pfft, subtlety is for cowards and Extras like you," Bakugou scoffed, buffing the tips of her gloves on her vest.

The blonde blood-drinker shook her head, clicking her tongue. "Tsk, tsk. No, Sweetie, just no." The volatile girl snarled at the nickname, but their attention was drawn to the screen as the fight against Dark Shadow took a turn.

Shouji had drawn most of the rabid shadow bird's attention by his size alone, extra fists on the ends of his arm-tentacles and the blows he was raining on Dark Shadow, easily tanking hits in return as Tsuyu and Ojiro bounced around them, getting strikes in and trying to get to Tokoyami. The frog girl had shot her tongue at the bird-headed boy, but Dark Shadow had batted it up with such force it had become embedded in the ceiling. The long pink organ writhed and curled, then contracted-and a hole was torn open in the ceiling, letting the noon sun spill in directly on top of Tokoyami.

Dark Shadow let out a rather high-pitched yelp and shrunk into Tokoyami's shadow, leaving Shouji and Ojiro a little off-kilter at how suddenly it had ended.

And then the buzzer rang. "THE HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might announced, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

The three boys turned to look at Tsuyu, who had just risen from her crouch, tongue still extended across the room to touch the bomb. "Got it," she announced dryly, speaking clearly despite her tongue.

"Whew, man! I thought things were gonna get bad!" Eiri wiped her forehead, "Good thing Tsuyu-chan is manly!"

"I'll say! Things were getting kinda dark for my tastes," Mina added, grinning as her redheaded friend groaned.

"Tokoyami's Quirk is indeed impressive," Keqing commented, crossing her arms, "But his lack of control in dark spaces is a weakness. Though, I wonder if it is only sunlight, or will any light source repel the shadow bird?"

"A good question," Izuku nodded, making a note. "If so, Dark Shadow could be repelled by a glow stick of sufficient strength."

"Yyyyyyup," drawled Bakugou, looking bored, "Another Extra, how fuckin' magical."

Izuku scoffed, flipping to a new page and looking up as someone tapped his arm. "Yes?"

It was Keqing, her helmeted head peering curiously at the volatile blonde who looked about ready for a nap. "Is it normal for someone to swear so much?" She asked on sotto voce, leaning towards the geo-kinetic.

"Nah, Sweetie over there just doesn't know how to express herself without some kinda violence," Himiko replied with a whisper.

"She's a lot like her mother," Izuku tried to defend with a shrug, "Passion runs deep in that family."

They were drawn from their conversation as the Hero and Villain teams returned from the field and All Might began the playback. "Once more, zygotes! Thoughts, criticisms! Who is the MVP?"

Izuku's hand hit the air just before Momo's. "While Tokoyami-san's Quirk went out of control, the parameters of this Combat Training scenario meant he could either weaken himself and put his team at a disadvantage, or put himself in a situation where his Quirk might go out of control and put his team at a disadvantage." He chanced a glance at the bird-headed boy, who looked rather grumpy, but understanding. "And Ojiro-san's martial arts were predictable; while Shouji-san was not used to fighting a Quirk with a fifth limb, he would've won shortly. As for MVP…Tsuyu-chan acted the most decisively, exposing Tokoyami-san to sunlight and weakening his Quirk while securing victory for her team."

Tsuyu raised her hand. "I didn't know sunlight would do anything, I just thought dropping something on its head would help," she said bluntly.

"Victory by accident is still victory!" All Might grinned, "Anyone else?" No one had anything more to add. "VERY WELL! Young Asui is indeed the MVP! TIME FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!"

The screen flickered once more, and Himiko groaned under her breath.

"The Villain Team! Team D! The Hero Team! Team G!" The Number One Hero announced, clapping his hands together. "You know what to do!"

"Sonuva bitch," Mina groaned, clapping a hand to her forehead, "Serotape and Yaomomo? This is gonna suck, and not in a fun way…"

"Take heart, Ashido-san!" Iida proclaimed, chopping a hand into an open palm. "While the Villains are in possession of useful Quirks, together I am sure we can come up with a plan! With wits and determination, let us endeavor to reach victory!"

The acid-generating girl couldn't help but grin. "We're still screwed, but you ain't wrong, Iidaten! Let's kick some ass!" She turned to her other friends. "Wish me luck…"

"You can do it, guys!" Ochako enthused, eyes sparkling as she cheered them on. After they'd left to make their plans, the gravity girl turned back to the others. "…They can do it, right?"

"No," Bakugou said bluntly.

"Of course they can, they just gotta strive for it with everything they got! And even if they lose, they'll know how to fight better next time!" Kirishima cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "MANLY!"

"Victory is preferable, though," Keqing added, watching the screen intently.

Izuku nodded quickly, already furiously scribbling in his notebook. "It is only when we've been challenged do we learn if we have the capacity to meet it," he said, sounding like he was quoting something, "For it is by overcoming adversity that we advance in power and as a person. A knife without a whetstone is just a piece of metal."

"Whoa," Eiri gasped with a grin, "That was profound, man!"

"Yeah dude, where'd you hear that?" Denki asked.

"My brain," Izuku replied, and it was sort of the truth. The brain was where memory was stored, after all. With his eyes focused on the page, he didn't see Keqing turn to regard him from behind her helmet. He felt Himiko nudge him, though, and glanced over to find her leaning on his shoulder and giving him a look. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to fight," her mouth grumbled, but her eyes spoke, If I don't get some action soon, I'm gonna want some action soon.

"You'll get your chance," he assured, rubbing her back. Then he turned his gaze to the screen.

Momo was directing Sero in constructing a network of tape around the bomb in their chosen building, the very bottom floor of Building C with the foundational pillars dotting the area. Sero's costume stood out a bit, being a black bodysuit with white around the torso and orange trim, with white boots and short sleeves that left his arms bare from his elbows to his fingers. There were white bands on his thighs, around his waist and across his collar, connecting his shoulder pads which were shaped like orange tape dispensers. His helmet looked much the same, with a black visor that covered his face.

It sounded kinda odd on paper, but he made it work.

There was a flash of light as Momo Created something from her thigh, while Sero continued building a spider web of sticky tape. That something turned out to be a curtain of some kind that Momo used a power drill on the end of a staff to put up, covering the warhead in fabric that looked just like the concrete pillars around the room. It wasn't perfect; the 'pillar' was wider than the others and bulged around the middle, but at a glance it wouldn't look too out of place: even less so when she hung another curtain on the opposite side of the room, mirroring the other exactly.

Then, Momo turned away from the camera and pulled open the front of her leotard, some kind of skeletal metal thing emerging from her skin in a flash of particles, swiftly followed by some sort of tight black and red fabric. As she stretched the fabric over the frame, it became obvious what it was: a fake warhead. Izuku wasn't sure if it was merely a distraction or a trap, but he could admire the cleverness.

He turned his gaze to the other side of the screen, where Mina was waving her hands and pointing at Iida's armor, while the speedster was frantically chopping his arms and replying, but the volume was low and he couldn't make out what was being said.

Looked funny, though.

And then the timer rang and Mina won the argument, making Iida hold his arms out as she coated them with viscous goo, rubbing it down so that it blended in with his already shiny armor then doing the same to his legs. The speedster blurred into motion, picking up speed as he went, exhaust pumping from his engines until he was a streak racing down the streets. He ran a fairly standard grid search pattern, slowing down to turn and corner, and within a minute he'd narrowed down the location of the Villain team.

Mina caught up quickly, skating on acid and reapplying another layer of goo before Iida went inside, starting from the bottom then running up the stairs and back down again. Once he realized which room they were occupying, he radioed the pink-skinned girl, then kicked open the door to confront the Villains.

"Halt in your evil schemes, vile Villains!" he shouted dramatically, "I, Iida Tenya of the Illustrious Iida family, shall stop you where you stand, in the very bowels of this building! Surrender now or face the consequences!"

Sero looked back at a placid-faced Momo, then at the web of tape surrounding their fake bomb. "…Uh, no?" He offered with a lame shrug.

She took a step forward, plastering a small, definitely fake smile across her face. "Good afternoon, sir Hero," she courted a short bow, "Would you care to take a seat? I do hope your friend will join us soon."

Iida barely hesitated. "Then face justice…at Speed!" And then he bolted forward, directly into the tape.

Izuku scratched his chin. Is Iida-kun's helmet not properly put together, or does he think Sero's tape is weak?

"Fast Feet, slow brain," Bakugou scoffed.

It was as Iida hit the tape that their plan was revealed: As it touched his armor, it sizzled and melted, slowing him down only a little bit as he charged for the bomb. Mina's goo had been an acid coating; either one or both of them understood that Sero would use his tape quite a bit and had planned a counter. How the acid was melting through the tape and not Iida's armor was a question for later.

Sero shot more tape from his elbows, frantically filling the space between them until Iida darted around to a less trap-filled area with the dispensing boy trying to keep up. The speedster circled the room, trying to find an easier path through, spotting an area that was less tape-filled and darting towards it.

Then a stream of water hit Iida right in the helmet and he tripped, rolling on the floor. Momo pumped the squirt gun she'd just created and sprayed him down again. "Care for a drink?" She asked rhetorically, in that same blandly polite voice. "You must be tired."

Tape was quickly wrapped around the speedster's torso as he shook the water out of his vented helmet. He looked down at the bonds around him, then back up at Sero. "This is where the fun begins," he promised, his engines roaring as the tape around his legs melted and he jumped to his feet, taking off.

"…Oh shi-!" Sero managed to get out before he was yanked off his feet, skidding on the ground behind Iida, bouncing off of the walls. "Knock it off you bastard!"

"My parents are happily married!" Iida shouted back. "Aha!" He hit the ground in a slide, the slight deceleration enough to send Sero up into his own web of tape.

Sero was stuck fast like a fly in a spider's web, but the tape wrapped around Iida meant he was now leashed to the immediate area. "A little help!"

Momo unscrewed the bottle of her squirt gun, letting it clatter to the floor, spilling water everywhere while she created another. She pumped the pressure and squirted a thick, shiny liquid at Iida's feet and he instantly lost traction and fell to the ground. "Put your feet up and stay awhile," she said politely.

"What is that stuff?" Sero asked, hanging upside-down in his tape.

"Lubricant," she answered simply.

Iida and the other boy traded looks. "…Excuse me, Yaoyorozu-san, but why, exactly, did you learn how to create lubricant on demand?" The speedster questioned cautiously.

"Doors frequently get stuck in emergencies," the creative girl replied with an innocent look and a shrug.

Back in the monitoring room, Izuku and Himiko traded looks. Don't say it, he warned.

"Lube on demand," she said, waggling her eyebrows furiously.

Ochako gasped, eyes sparkling. "You guys!" She grabbed Izuku by the arm, hopping giddily. "We could make the ultimate Slip-n-Slide!"

The Geo-kinetic resisted the urge to ruffle her hair with her helmet and all, and instead patted her hand with a chuckle. "You're adorable, Ochako-chan." Himiko nodded in agreement, wearing a toothy smile.

The gravity girl blinked up at him, then flushed cherry red, giggling to herself.

Leaning against the wall, Bakugou rolled her eyes. Fuckin' spare me, she grumbled inwardly.

"Now, where is your friend? It's impolite to keep your hosts waiting," Momo asked politely. Behind her, something dripped from the ceiling and hit the floor with an almost-silent sizzle.

Iida remained silent.

"Could she be sneaking about, like some sort of thief?" she pried, getting silence in return. A chunk of concrete crumbled from the ceiling, landing with a crunch and she spun around, looking up.

A dark circle had been drawn on the ceiling and where the stone darkened, it crumbled and melted until, finally, it gave away and crashed to the floor in a cloud of dust.

"Ha-HA!" Mina shouted victoriously, jumping through the hole to latch onto the bomb.

"Oh no…!" Momo gasped theatrically.

Mina's grin faltered as the bomb in her grasp trembled, the surface rippling until it gave away, and snapped around her body. The pink girl fell to the ground with a yelp, completely bound in a cocoon of tight black and red fabric.

"…Anyway," Momo continued, standing up straight brushing her hair back. "I believe that means victory goes to us, Sero-san."

"THE VILLAIN TEAM WINS!" All Might's booming voice thundered through the air.

"Yeah, guess so," Sero shrugged, trying to raise a fist victoriously. "Go us." He was still entirely trapped in a web of his own tape. "Little help?"

"Of course," she replied, Creating another bottle of water and replacing it on her squirt gun, hosing Sero's limbs down before giving him a tug. And yet, he remained stuck. "Why…the water should've loosened you?"

"My tape ain't just your store-bought stuff!" He boasted, patting the tape he was stuck to. "It's way stronger and stickier! The tensile strength is close to steel cable! Whatever gets trapped in it ain't getting out without some industrial solvent or…acid." He suddenly didn't sound so proud anymore. "I think it gets less sticky after about…an hour? Or thirty minutes. Somewhere around there."

Momo sent a curious look over her shoulder at Mina, who had stopped struggling in her cocoon and now looked vaguely angry and resigned. "Don't look at me," she said flatly, "Even if I could get out of this thing, which I can't, by the way, I wouldn't. Kiss my shiny pink ass."

"Yeah, no acid for me, thanks," Sero added.

"If acid is no good and we cannot wait however long for the tape to dry out, then the only other answer is a cutting tool," the creative girl pondered aloud, tapping her chin in thought. "A monomolecular blade, perhaps? But it would shatter after the first use or dull…a saw-?"

"No!" Iida and Sero shouted.

Momo sighed. "All Might-sensei? We need help."

In the monitoring room, All Might turned and swept his gaze across the students, mind whirling. I can't do it myself, I need to hold on to all of my remaining strength in case this class goes on longer than planned. I'll just put it under the guise of 'surprise rescue training' or something, they'll eat that up. Who to pick, though? Lasers, no. Acid, no. Frog, no. Speed, no. Anti-gravity, no. Tail, no. Electricity, no and no. Hardening…maybe. Animals…also maybe. Strength, no and no. Ear jacks…mm, no. Tape is what got them in this mess, so no. Shadow bird, no. Ice…hmm, maybe. Invisibility, no. Explosives? Hell no. Maybe. Last resort. Rock Control…hmm, yes, sand or some such would be best. "Time for some SURPRISE RESCUE TRAINING, Zygotes! Who is willing to lend a hand to-"

He was interrupted by Himiko putting her hand in the air. "All Might? Izuku already left." She pointed out.

True to her word, the Geo-Kinetic was no longer standing next to her and the cameras around the Training Ground now showed him zooming towards Building C, apparently hovering about two inches above the ground and moving like he was driving an invisible car. Or balanced on a very tiny one, both images were humorous. Since when was that a thing? Yagi thought to himself, resisting the urge to scratch his temple. "AHA! Very good! Remember, non-combat support is also a Heroic Endeavor!" Unseen, Shimo twitched. "Sometimes, for all of their power, a Hero is simply useless when it comes to certain tasks! That's why Support Heroes and Gear are equally important!"

Izuku zipped down the stairs and jumped to his feet as he arrived at the bottom floor, taking in the situation in person. Momo was half-heartedly tugging on Sero, still trapped in his web while Iida sat on the floor, feet and floor getting crusty as the lube dried out, and Mina had taken to rocking back and forth in her cocoon, making an annoyingly loud sloshing sound as she did.

"Finally!" The pink girl shouted in relief, "Why can't I get out of this damn thing?!"

"It's hydrophobic material," Momo answered, giving Izuku a small, welcoming smile. "Izuku-san, I had hoped you'd be coming to help."

"I'm suited for it," he shrugged, sand coating his fingers as he approached. "And hydrophobic? Is it a coating?" His sand started digging into the adhesive of the tape, gently prying the person from the tape and cutting away the stickiness, but it was slow going.

"No, actually, it's the material itself," she replied with a proud expression. "It's intrinsically hydrophobic on its own. It took me weeks to devise the structure."

Izuku nodded, not doing a thing to hide how impressed he was. "As I've said before, your Quirk is extremely impressive, Momo-san, and to use it as you do, your mind is even more so."

"A-ah, thank you…" The creative girl muttered, her cheeks pink.

"Ow!" Sero jumped, "Dude, you're ripping the hair out!"

"Sorry, Sero-san, but even with my control, I can only make concrete sand so sharp," he said with a shrug, before narrowing his eyes. "Momo-san, do you know how to Create obsidian?"

"I do, yes," she closed her eyes and dropped hand to her thigh, Creating a neat oval of smooth, glassy black rock. "What for, if I may ask?"

"Freshly broken glass is one of the sharpest materials-naturally created-on the planet," Izuku answered, the obsidian dissolving into a miniature sandstorm of whirling black in his palm, "The only thing sharper is volcanic glass-obsidian. They use blades made from broken obsidian to perform delicate surgeries, if there isn't a doctor with a Quirk that could do it instead." He gently brought his hand against the tape with a quiet buzz.

Sero eyed him nervously. "You aren't gonna cut me, right bro?"

"Absolute control, Sero-san, I'd only cut you if I had to." He paused and gave the other boy a flat look. "…Do I?"

"Nope! We're good, dude, all good!" Feeling loose, he pulled his arm free with a whoop. "Sweet!"

"Midori, how do you know so much about glass?" Mina asked, still gently rocking herself in her trap filled with acid. "Also, it's lucky I'm immune to my acid, otherwise I'd be a puddle right now."

"Indeed, Mina," he murmured, now working on Sero's right leg, his progress much quicker with the obsidian sand. "Beyond the practical applications, I guess you could say I've always had a kinda connection with glass."

"Because it rocks?" Pinky punned with a giggle.

"It's silicate, actually," Izuku replied, "And no. The first time I really realized what my Quirk could do, it involved glass." He started working on Sero's left arm. "See, when I was eight, I'd…had a very bad day. I had a disagreement with my mom and I ran away from home."

The other Heroes-in-training traded surprised looks.

"While I was trying to find my way home, I stumbled on a stand-off; some Villain was holding up a convenience store. He used some kind of sound-based Quirk, with a speaker in his hand. Anyway, he noticed me gawking at them through the front window and decided I'd make a good distraction so he could run from the Hero who was trying to apprehend him, so he blew out the window." He said it nonchalantly, but from her angle on the floor, Mina could see the light in his eyes dim slightly, leaving them haunted.

"B-but it was just glass, right?" She asked, trying and failing not to imagine a young, chubby-cheeked Izuku with shards of glass raining down on him. "It didn't hurt?"

He started working on Sero's left leg. "Oh no, it really hurt," Izuku said simply, pausing for a moment to tap the faint scar under his right eye. "That's how I got this. And there's really no such thing as 'just glass,' it was a five by ten, half-inch thick tempered plate glass window. It would've weighed about three to four hundred pounds. If I didn't have my Quirk, I would've been lucky to leave behind anything other than mincemeat."

The other teens paled at the thought. "I-I see," Momo muttered, gulping at the thought of a red smear that used to be a person. "Though, I would've thought you'd be afraid of glass after that. I'm glad to see you overcame such a thing."

"Overcame it?" Izuku scoffed, carefully helping Sero down, the dispensing boy stretching stiff limbs but listening intently. "Hell no, I still have nightmares about it. Shattering glass still sends a shiver down my spine whenever I hear it, but fear is fuel. Besides, without that incident, I might not have ever figured out how to fully use my Quirk, so good and bad."

Iida shifted as Izuku knelt behind him to cut the tape off. "That's a mature way of viewing it, Midoriya-kun," he said softly. "What happened after that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I ran back home scared out of my mind, but once I realized what I could do with glass on me, I went back and took the rest." He paused, chuckling. "I think I might have about eight hundred pounds of glass. I used to go around to the aftermath of Hero Fights and pick it up." The tape fell away and the speedster carefully levered himself back up, the lube long since dried.

"My thanks, Midoriya-kun," Iida nodded, stretching his arms out.

Izuku eyed Mina in her binds thoughtfully. "Am I gonna get burned if I pop your water balloon?"

"Nah, I diluted it when I realized I couldn't get out," the pink girl replied with a shrug. "You're probably gonna have to carry me, though, I can't feel my legs."

"Sorry, Ashido-san," Momo said sheepishly, playing with a lock of hair.

"Don't be, I'm just mad we got dunked on so hard," Mina sighed as Izuku cut a slit down the fabric she was trapped in, diluted acid spilling out onto the floor. She flopped on the concrete with a grunt, sluggishly moving her arms. "Can't feel my legs and I'm really thirsty." She shut her eyes as Izuku squirted her with water from Momo's squirt gun. "Why."

"Diluted or not, still acid and I don't want to lose my costume after I just got it," he replied with a shrug. "And you did say you were thirsty." Setting the gun aside, he bent down and easily picked Mina up, one arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other under her knees, leaning her against his shoulder. "Momo-san, do you want your obsidian back?"

The creative shook her head, black ponytail shimmering in the dim light. "No, please keep it. I'm unsure if we should clean this mess up or not…"

"It'll be handled later, Young Yaoyorozu! Return to the monitoring room!" All Might boomed over the speakers.

Mina groaned as Momo pulled down the curtain disguising the warhead. "Dammit, we weren't even close, were we? You were two steps ahead of us the whole time…" She dropped her head against Izuku's shoulder with a huff. "I said it before, I'll say it again. Yaomomo, your Quirk is bullshit. In a good way."

Momo looked down and away, bearing a somewhat troubled expression. "Don't give her Quirk too much credit, Mina," Izuku commented, frowning a bit. "If Momo-san wasn't half as creative or intelligent as she is, her power would be far less useful than it is. Quirks are tools, no different than a hand, a foot or a tongue. It's the person who uses them that makes a Quirk great, their dedication and determination to use it for good no matter if it seems evil or useless or-" He paused, clearing his throat as he realized he was about to rant. "Excuse me."

"Really gets you fired up, don't it?" Sero asked rhetorically, hauling the warhead on his shoulder.

"Sorry."

"Don't be Midori! I like it when you get all passionate and fiery!" Mina grinned, tilting her head slightly so that she could whisper in his ear, "It's hot." She leaned back. "Also, you're really free with the compliments for Yaomomo, huh? Might make a girl a li'l jealous, y'know?"

"Ah, you're right," Izuku nodded. "Sero-san, your tape is very impressive, and you used quite a large amount of it for your trap. I'm interested in seeing how you would use it as part of a Hero team or in a more wide-open setting."

"Heh, yeah, it's pretty cool, right?" Sero grinned, his visor flipped up, flexing an arm proudly. "I can totally use it to swing from buildings, too, it's awesome."

"Sounds like something I'd like to see," the geo-kinetic said agreeably before turning to the speedster. "Iida-kun, your determination impresses me; turning Sero-san's tape against him, while it didn't end perfectly, was inspired, as was letting Mina know which floor the Villains were on. A bit of criticism, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, Midoriya-kun, I welcome another perspective!" Iida declared with an authoritative arm chop.

"You wasted a bit of time running up and down the stairs; next time, run on the walls." Izuku paused in thought. "Or on the edge of the stairs, I think at your speed and with the right balance it would feel like a solid ramp, either or."

"I see, yes, that should allow me to maintain a reasonable velocity indoors," the speedster nodded, tapping his chin in thought. "My thanks, Midoriya-kun!"

Izuku hummed and they continued walking in silence. A pink finger poked his cheek. "Hey. Midori. Hey." He blinked, but didn't respond. "Midori. Hey. Hey. Midori. Hey. Hey. Hey. Listen. Midori."

He looked down at the girl he was still carrying and feigned surprise. "Oh, Mina! You're still here!" Her face went lilac, cheeks puffing out as she crossed her arms. "I'm kidding. I'm actually really impressed by the plan you two put together, especially with the acid coating on Iida-kun's armor that also didn't melt it. Relying on his speed as a distraction while you melted a way to the bomb was also really clever."

Mina looked away sheepishly. "I mean, yeah…we still got dunked on, though…"

"It's a learning experience," Izuku shrugged as the group entered the monitoring room. "Did you get the feeling back in your legs?"

The pink girl kicked her feet experimentally, then grimaced. "Yes, I did, and the feeling is pain," she muttered, rubbing her legs. "Pins and needles! Gah!"

"Students, once more! Thoughts, criticisms and the MVP!" All Might boomed, broad grin unchanging.

The students traded looks and Keqing raised a hand into the air. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say that Yaoyorozu is the MVP. While Sero provided many obstacles, it was under Yaoyorozu's direction, and while both teams played to their strengths, it was her swift actions and decisions that secured both Heroes in the end." Her helmeted head turned towards the green-haired boy holding up the pink-haired girl. "And Izuku covered thoughts and criticisms."

The Number One cast his eyes over the class. "All agreed?" Nods. "Young Yaoyorozu is the MVP! Now, for the second to last battle!"

Given that there were only two teams left, technically, it didn't take long for the teams to settle.

"The Villain Team! Team J! The Hero Team! Team C…and Team K!" All Might grinned as Koda and Denki traded nervous glances, while Eiri and Sato gave each other a high-five. Keqing seemed unmoved. "Alright, Villain Team! You know what to do!"

The large boy hefted the warhead on his shoulder and the Villain team scampered off to pull together a plan while the Hero team went off in their own direction.

"So the Villains are kinda screwed, right?" Mina asked, still rubbing the feeling back into her legs.

"Nothing is insurmountable," Izuku shrugged, the girl in his arms bobbing, "I'm not entirely aware of Koda-san's Quirk, but he's physically tough and fairly strong, and Denki is…well, he wouldn't give up without a fight." He looked down at Mina, who seemed fairly comfortable where she was. "Feeling better?"

She paused mid toe wiggle. "Uh, no? Still kinda tingly?"

He hummed and set her down, kneeling and jamming an arm into the ground to pull up the concrete, swiftly forming a stone bench that he sat down on. "Then sit here until the feeling fades, okay?" With that said, he whipped out his notebook and opened a new page.

Koda's costume was rather simple, consisting of a yellow suit with short sleeves and legs, the torso being red in the middle with a pair of curved, sectioned white lines that resembled a mouth, and red trimmed yellow boots. Izuku wasn't sure what the other boy's quirk was, possibly voice-based given his preference for sign language, although what it did exactly was still unknown.

Eiri, Keqing and Sato were huddling somewhere near a park, the unreadable girl standing a step apart with her arms folded. The more muscular girl was saying something about being manly and overwhelming the Villains with brute force, with the bulky boy agreeing.

Sato wore a rather simple, old-school costume: a yellow bodysuit that covered him entirely except for his eyes, mouth and some of his hair. The gloves and boots were white, as was his utility belt.

Izuku briefly wondered who would win in an arm-wrestling contest, himself, Eiri, Sato or Koda? Obviously Shouji would be disqualified, that just wouldn't be fair.

The Villain team had chosen to take the warhead to the rooftop of building A, not a bad idea considering only one of the Heroes had much in the way of rapid vertical movement, and being outnumbered in a confining space was about equal to being outnumbered in a wide-open space. Koda appeared to be talking to a bunch of pigeons who'd set down in the lull between battles, and they appeared to be listening to him.

The buzzer rang through the fake town and the pigeons didn't even jump at the noise. Keqing flicked a needle up into the air then Bolted after it, becoming a streak of purple lightning before going solid, snatching it out of the air and throwing it again before flickering off after it. A smart move, giving the most mobile Hero recon.

Izuku made a note in his book. I didn't see it the first time, but it's not just 'high-speed movement towards her needles,' she literally turns into a bolt of lightning. Is it an all or nothing move, like Yu's Gigantification? Or can she move quickly while still mostly a physical body enhanced by lightning?

"Remind me to ask her for some blood later," Himiko muttered, leaning on his shoulder, eyes fixed on the screen. "Her Quirk looks nuts."

"It's versatile, but I can see a few weaknesses," he replied, finishing a rough sketch of Keqing. "I'm curious to see how it stacks up against Denki's Quirk."

Mina rested her head on Izuku's other shoulder, peering down into his notebook as she idly kicked her feet. "You're not bad at drawing stuff, Midori," she noted with a teasing grin. "Need a few models, maybe? Want to draw me like one of your French girls?"

He paused and glanced at the acid-spewing girl. "What does France have to do with it?" He asked.

"Not sure," she admitted with a small shrug and zero shame, leaning in to whisper, "But it does mean nude."

Himiko leaned over to look at Mina, eyebrows arched with a strange smile on her face. "Mina," she said lowly, and the pink girl paled. "There's some advice, age-old, but relevant." She leaned down behind Izuku to whisper into her ear. "Don't summon up what you can't put down."

Mina regained her color, eyes wide behind her domino mask. "…Really?" She asked, glancing down. "It's not…it can't be…"

The blonde blood-drinker sat down on the bench next to her. "I call it 'Womanmaker,'" She murmured with a giggle.

There was much quiet giggling. Izuku lifted his notebook to cover his red face. "Girls!" He hissed out of the corner of his mouth, "Not. The. Right. Time. Or place."

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Ochako chimed in, popping out of nowhere with sparkling eyes. "Ooh, you draw, Deki-kun? That's cool! I dunno if I'd be all that interesting to draw, but I kinda wanna see how you'd do!"

"I wouldn't mind that all, Ochako-chan," he replied with a grateful nod, before he spied a flash of purple from the screen. "Keqing's found the Villains…"

The unreadable girl watched the Villains from a neighboring roof, arms crossed, but even through the screen they could feel the weight of her gaze. It was worse for Denki and Koda who were sweating nervously.

"She's not doing anything, man!" Denki muttered to the rock-headed boy, who nodded fearfully. "She's just standing there…menacingly!"

On the other side of the screen, Eiri and Sato had just burst through the doors on the ground floor and headed for the stairs when the muscular red-head skidded to a stop and punched the bulky boy on the arm. He shot her a confused look, then realized she was pointing at an elevator.

The second the doors slid open, Koda said something that didn't reach the camera drones, the roosting pigeons jumping up in a cloud of squawking and feathers to divebomb the Heroes. Eiri's skin Hardened and she threw her hands up over her eyes, blindly charging through the flocking feather-faces. Blinded as she was, she missed Koda completely as he ducked and swept her legs out from under her.

Less protected but no less determined, Sato ate something from his belt and roared, the noise briefly scattering the pigeons. He ran towards the rock-headed boy as the birds regrouped, and the fight was on.

Denki stood back near the bomb, eyes flickering between the frantic flailing of a bird-blinded bulky boy and a Hardened girl as they tried to defend their eyes and take Koda down without also killing any of the birds; and the girl standing on another building, unmoving. Then her hand rose and fell sharply, a glint of purple in the sunlight.

His hand shot up, closing around something that sent tingles of electricity racing up his arm. "Ha! I caught-" He opened his hand to reveal an empty palm. "…It."

A blur crossed his vision and the sharp, familiar scent of ozone stung his nose. Trembling, he chanced a glance over his shoulder…and saw the blank visage of Keqing's helmet gazing back. With a shrill yelp he spun and swung wildly, only for her to duck and strike the back of his knee. As he fell, she rose, driving a fist into his diaphragm, driving the air from his body, then wrapping her arm around his neck and squeezing. With him on his knees, she had all the leverage and left him scrabbling fruitlessly at her arm.

N-not like this! He thought frantically. "Indrib…shog…millin volt!" He slurred as his vision darkened, yellow lightning bursting from his body, the air crackling and writhing with energy that sunk into Keqings body…

…To no effect.

"Is that it?" She asked flatly as he lost consciousness, laying him down on the ground. Brimming with energy, the Chinese girl clenched her fist, purple lightning dancing over her frame as she turned her gaze to fight on the other side of the rooftop. Then she looked a bit further and remembered that the objective was right next to her.

"THE HERO TEAM WINS!" The familiar voice called over the speakers. "Return to the monitoring room! And someone please bring Young Kaminari with you!"

Koda allowed the birds to scatter, turning to find Keqing with her hand on the bomb and Denki unconscious at her feet. "Good job, dude!" Eiri cheered, giving her closest teammate a slap on the back. "Victory is Manly! And we are Manly as hell!"

Sato knelt to pick up Denki and slung him over his shoulder, flashing a thumb's up at Keqing. "Yeah, that was awesome! Let's hurry though, my sugar's gonna wear off sooner rather than later…" Eiri grabbed the bomb and they quickly set off back towards the monitoring room.

Izuku made a note on Sato's page. Eats sugar to boost strength, he wrote and thought, has side-effects after wearing off, possibly a sugar crash? He flipped to Keqing's page and added, fighting style is quick, efficient, and uncompromising, though I will need to see more. Side note, she can absorb lightning or electrical energy, which makes sense seeing as how she turns into it when 'Bolting.' Greatest weakness: probably water. A large amount might 'short' her out, while a small amount might boost them. Also, grounding.

He looked up as the teams returned, but the discussion of the MVP was drowned out by a subsonic keening echoing in his ears as Ochako and Himiko grabbed him by the shoulders, literally vibrating with excitement as they realized that they would be next. It looked like a close call between Koda and Keqing, with the unreadable electric girl taking the spot for doing recon, neutralizing Denki, and securing the objective.

"Now students, only one more pair remains, so there's no need for the board!" All Might proclaimed, reaching under his cape to withdraw a dull silver coin that seemed tiny in his fingers. "Team F, being alphabetically earlier, will flip for position! Heads, you will be the Hero team, Tails, the Villains! Now…" He flipped the coin with an echoing clink, the spinning silver arching high into the air, almost touching the ceiling, seeming to hover in place before falling back down to land in All Might's meaty palm. "The Villain Team! Team F! The Hero Team! Team I!"

Himiko looked to Ochako, who looked to Yuga and Shimo, who looked back, and everyone looked at the two teams looking at each other. "This is gonna be fun," the blood-drinker murmured, her voice dropping into a honeyed, raspy growl as her pupils narrowed into slits, a wide, toothy grin splitting her face. She dropped her chin into her gorget and her mask unfolded up to cover her face, matte black lenses hiding her eyes. "Let's go, Ochako-chan…I can hardly wait."

"R-Right," mumbled Ochako, taken aback. Uwah! So intense!

Himiko hefted the bomb onto her shoulder and together, they hurried off to plot their dastardly crimes.

"With your ice and my marvelous laser, together we will sparkle so brightly we'll outshine the sun!" Yuga shouted, posing flamboyantly, the sun sparkling off his shiny armor.

Shimo turned and stalked off, face cold. "Let's get this over with," she muttered.

A little off-kilter, Yuga recovered quickly and flounced off after her.

Izuku followed the Hero Team with his eyes as the camera drones tailed them, gaze focused on the girl of frosty demeanor and even colder Quirk. Her costume was simple; an off-white shirt, matching pants and boots with golden straps around her shoulders. The most impressive part was some kind of fake ice that covered the left side of her body, all the way up across her face and to her hair, which also made her eye glow red. And it most definitely was fake ice, it bent and moved with her body and hadn't cracked or melted since they began training.

Whereas one could say Shimo's costume was 'simple' or 'subdued,' the same could not be said for Yuga.

A black or very dark blue bodysuit, with metal armor over it, polished to a mirror shine. Armor covered his arms, feet, shins and chest, with large circular crystals embedded in the shoulders, knees, and above his navel with a segmented belt. A high collar went around his neck, and his outfit was completed by a red visor shaped like outstretched wings, with an indigo cape flapping behind. Very knight in shining armor. And if Izuku wasn't mistaken, the crystals looked identical to the one on his belt, which meant his laser could be channeled to those parts as well.

He was curious to see how this battle played out. While he may have been biased towards Himiko and Ochako, it couldn't be denied that Shimo's Quirk was versatile and powerful, as was Yuga's. "Excuse me, Midoriya-san?" Looking up, he found Momo standing before him, looking a tad sheepish. "Do you mind if I sit with you two? …And, also, if you happen to have-"

She was cut off by an audible, though not earth-rattling gurgle emanating from her stomach. "Used quite a lot of energy, I hear," Izuku said with some humor, reaching behind him to dig into the second largest pouch on his belt, bringing out a wrapped bar. "Here, a meal bar, and feel free to sit with us."

"Uh, Midori-" Mina was cut off by a second bar being dropped in her hand. "Oh, sweet." With a little acid on her finger, she ripped the wrapper open and dug in with gusto. "Hm…thish ish acktewally preddy gud," she mumbled around a mouthful.

Momo chewed a bite delicately and swallowed, licking her lips. "I agree, this is rather tasty."

"Well yeah, I wouldn't want a meal bar to be hard to eat, kinda goes against the purpose, let me tell you, it took a long time to find a good meal bar that isn't full of crap and tastes good. One that I tried felt like chewing on half-dry concrete and tasted like moist carpet wrapped in cardboard," he shuddered theatrically, getting a pair of giggles, "Soon as I found this one, I ordered a year's supply."

"You like to be on top of things, dontcha, Midori?" The pink girl asked with a 'subtle' waggle of her eyebrows.

Izuku allowed the innuendo to roll off of him. "Of course I do. 'Proper preparation prevents people from perishing posthaste,'" he quoted, flipping pages in his notebook and beginning a sketch of Shimo.

"You sure quote things a lot," Mina noted.

"Because I read a lot," he replied, giving her a dry look. "Maybe you should try it sometime?"

"Ehehehe…" she rubbed her pink hair sheepishly. Only a few days in, and it had become very obvious that Mina was not a fan of book learning, and possibly the written word in general. "Well, maybe if I just got a little help-"

Suddenly, Momo was there, stars in her eyes. "Of course, Mina-san! I would be glad to tutor you in the subjects you're failing in!"

"I mean, yeah, thanks, b-but-"

"I'll help as well," Izuku chimed in as Mina blushed lilac under the attention of the beautiful, creative girl. Someone cleared their throat and he looked up to find Ojiro standing before him. "Ojiro-san, how can I help you?"

"What you said about my fighting style," the tailed martial artist began.

"I didn't mean it as an insult, Ojiro-san," the geo-kinetic said.

"Right, I don't take it as such," he replied with a nod, before sheepishly scratching his cheek. "…Is it really that well-known?"

Izuku barely blinked. "Scorpion Star style," he announced, "With a focus on traditional karate striking moves and grapples, Scorpion Star style incorporates the tail as a fifth limb for striking and grappling, as well as a weight to gather momentum for powerful attacks. Scorpion Star gained its name from a pair of dueling schools after the advent of Quirks, the Scorpion's Sting style and the Five-Pointed Star style, which ended when the two schools realized their similarity and joined together."

Ojiro blinked. From what he could recall, that was almost word-for-word the description of his martial arts as written on the pamphlet handed out to prospective students. "…How did you-?"

"The internet," Izuku answered bluntly. "First search result. Second result, Tailwhip, the Tail Whipping Hero, demonstrating most of the moves of the Scorpion Star style. The rest is easy to extrapolate based on video records of Hero Fights involving Tailwhip. The biggest weakness is that Scorpion Star style is very basic, and very well known."

"I see," the tailed martial artist nodded, tapping his chin in thought. "In your experience, Midoriya-san, how would I go about fixing this weakness?"

"Study other martial arts and learn how to incorporate them into your own style," Izuku said, making a note in his book. "If you'd like, we could spar sometime soon. And BB can help walk you through the more technical aspects of other styles, that's what we usually do."

"I would be grateful for the opportunity," Ojiro gave a slight, respectful bow. "My thanks."

As the martial artist wandered off, Izuku felt Mina nudge his side. "Your robot knows martial arts? Does it also know how to do homework?"

"'BB' stands for 'Battle Buddy,'" he replied, noticing that the timer was ticking down to the end. "He was made so I could have a sparring partner and teacher all in one. Also, no."

The bell rang and the Hero Team set off determinedly, striding/flouncing towards Building A…until something pinged off a Yuga's shoulder guard, getting high-pitched yelp from the flamboyant boy. The projectile spun away, glinting in the light as Shimo followed it with her gaze all the way back to its origination: a dark figure clad in blood red and black, crouched on a roof edge, peering down at them through matte black lenses.

Himiko caught the shuriken as it returned her hand and spun, leaping off of the roof and grappling away with a flip. "Aha! The Villains attack, then flee in fear of my sparkling power! After her!" Yuga called, racing after the flipping figure.

"This is probably a trap," Shimo said, watching as Himiko launched herself over a low building, then tucked herself into a ball and neatly flew through an open window in Building B. "Definitely a trap."

"Honhonhon, perhaps! But together with our beautiful Quirks, we can work together and-!" Yuga's expression froze as Shimo stomped her right foot, a wave of ice spreading from the point of contact to engulf the entire building in a chilly prison. "-defeat…them…"

In the monitoring room, most of the class gaped and rubbed their shoulders, suddenly cold. "Problems…with…overkill," Izuku muttered to himself as he jotted down notes.

The frosty girl made a noise somewhere between a huff and a sigh, her right hand flexing as she stepped towards the frozen building. Then the facade exploded as a figure charged out, clad in rough, rocky armor, shattering the frozen ground as they landed before lunging at Yuga, dodging his reflexive laser burst then grappling him around the waist and tossing him at the building. He went through a window just as ice rose around the figure's rocky feet, the armor splitting as the person inside leaped out, revealing it to be…Izuku.

He wore a t-shirt that had a picture of the Earth wearing a monocle, a tophat and fine mustache that read 'Upper Crust,' jeans and his red tabi sneakers. He landed in a crouch with wide, toothy smile then vanished in swirl of gray goo to be replaced by Mina in her costume, spewing acid on the ground then taking a running jump to slide along it, bombarding Shimo with a rain of acid as she circled the frosty girl, who threw up a cage of ice around herself, then stomped.

A pillar of ice erupted from beneath Himiko's feet, hurling her into the air. Goo swirled and she became Ochako, halting her fall just after the apex with a touch of her fingers before dropping, a veil of viscous gray wrapping around then dispersing to reveal a toned, athletic blonde in a black sports bra and shorts tusks poking up from her bottom lip. She put her head down and charged at the citadel of chilliness, the air before her shimmering and warping before meeting the ice wall and crushing through with an echoing crack.

Shimo covered her face from flying shards of ice, hand flicking out to swipe at Himiko, bouncing off of the kinetic shield that flickered and died as the blood-drinker shifted form, gray goo falling away to reveal nothing. Shimo's eyes widened when a fist slammed into her stomach, but she recovered quickly and grabbed for the limb that struck her but got empty air, tensing just as another strike split the air before her face. Her right hand wrapped around an invisible wrist and ice quickly covered the arm before it was snatched away.

Gray goo swirled again, parting to reveal a tall, pretty girl with long orange hair in a long green shirt and cargo shorts. The ice crusting her arm shuddered and burst away as her hand grew to a massive size, just as tall as she was and twice as wide. Shimo, with her back to a literal wall of her own making, threw up her arms to shield her face, stomping the ground to create ice in front of her just as the giant hand struck her.

Ejected from her spot, Shimo flipped to cut her momentum, ice springing up from her foot, forming a bit of ramp behind her, slowing her to a stop. Not wasting a second, though her hands trembled with frost creeping up her fingers, she sent a spike of ice at Himiko who leaped away, shifting into a green-haired form, but not Izuku. A tall girl with messy, moss-green bangs and sharp teeth bared in a grin as she curled her fists, index fingers pointing with thumbs up in a mockery of a handgun. "Pew, pew! Pew-pew-pew-pew!"

The frosty girl barely had time to furrow her brow in confusion before having to duck away as Setsuna's (because that's who Himiko was) fingers literally shot from her knuckles, piercing the ice behind her. It turned into an odd game of 'Dodge the pokes and spikes' as Himiko shot her fingers at Shimo while dodging ice.

A finger, the second knuckle of the middle finger, slammed into Shimo's shoulder, jerking her back. She grit her teeth, eyes narrowed, sending another spike, then another. There! One more spike, another dodge…and Himiko landed on some of the acid she'd generated as Mina and slipped, falling on her face.

She managed to get to her knees before a wave of ice engulfed her. When it cleared, she was visible through the thick sheet of frozen water, with a bit of room to move and breathe.

Which was a mistake.

Himiko shifted into Eiri, making her available space very uncomfortable until her skin hardened, the ice cracking as it shifted and gave away. Then she shifted into another form, a blonde in a tan and purple bodysuit. Then she began to grow. Ice shuddered and shrieked, and she kept growing, even as Shimo layered more ice.

Like a kaiju rising from the ocean, Himiko burst from the shell of ice as Mt. Lady, reaching near sixty feet in height to tower over Shimo with a triumphant, "Ha-HA!" She raised a titanic foot and sent it thundering down into an earth-rattling stomp, sending a cloud of snow, ice and concrete dust into the air and then shrinking from view.

Shimo coughed and rubbed her eyes, squinting through the cloud around her, planting her feet and metaphorically cocking her ears.

Tap, tap, tap.

At the sound of footsteps her foot shifted, but she refrained from sending ice in the direction of the sound; it could be bait. Something whizzed through the air and she ducked away, a shuriken buzzing by her face. Then someone landed on her back, a knee driven into her side before an arm wrapped around her throat, a gloved hand with tubes on the back held in front of her face. Four needles emerged from the fingers with an audible shing before being driven into her shoulder.

Shimo gasped in pain, the left side of her body beginning to go numb. "Shh," a honeyed voice rasped in her ear, "Go to sleep, snowflake, go to sleep…"

She fell on her knees, darkness creeping up on the edges of her vision. Not…not like this…! I refuse to lose! Summoning up the last of her strength, she lifted her left hand and slapped the ground, ice shooting up to cage both of them…and then she dropped.

…

"Remember, laser boy loves to hear himself talk and as powerful as his Quirk is, he can't use it too long," Himiko had said as they carried the bomb up the stairs. "I'm gonna distract the snowflake, so that leaves him to you, okay, Ochako-chan? Just don't get hit and toss his ass out a window if you need to."

"Okay, Himi-chan! Let's kick their asses!" An easy thing to say when she didn't have a flamboyant Frenchman shooting lasers at her. She yelped as a bright blue laser punched through the concrete wall she was hiding behind and dove out of the way as part of it collapsed, crumbling under its previous frozen state. Really wish I had some sort of ranged option right now, Ochako thought, grabbing a chunk of rock, removing the gravity from it and tossing it into the air.

"Honhonhon! Give up, if you would! Like cat with mouse I toy with you, but I would be remiss if I didn't give you the chance to change your ways, Villain! Tell me where you've hidden the weapon, and I will ensure you are not judged harshly!"

She resisted the urge to check a clock or her phone for the time; it was one thing to deal with lasers, it was quite another to deal with someone who wouldn't shut up. "Uh, no! Screw you! Sparkle somewhere else you, uh, government dog! Yeah!" Note to self, work on banter. I wonder if Deki-kun could help me with that?

Gasp. "How dare you! If anything, I would be a beautiful, sparkling unicorn! I-" There was a crash from outside, a plume of ice rising into the air. "Aha! Behold, your villainous companion must be on her last legs! My companion, while not as sparkling and beautiful as I, has quite the Quirk! Your time is almost up, honhonhon!"

Ochako pressed her back to a wall, having carefully crept around near the source of the shouting, spotting a flash of blonde hair close by. With a small chunk of concrete in one hand, she spun out from her cover and chucked it at the flamboyant blonde. It bounced off of his shoulder with a loud ring of stone striking metal, drawing a girlish shriek from Yuga as he spun around. "Suck it!" She called, blowing a raspberry at the Hero before legging it. Ah, gross! I got spit inside my visor!

"You little-! Come back here!" Yuga shouted, metal boots clanging as he ran after her, barely catching sight of her pink footwear as she rounded a corner, finding her standing on the far side of the room in front of the bomb with her hands up, a large hole in the wall showing the outside world. "Come to your senses, finally?" He asked huffed, brushing an errant, sweaty lock of hair away from his face.

"Yeah, congratulations," Ochako said with a surprisingly dark smirk. "How 'bout I give you a hand?"

Then she tapped her fingers together.

Yuga felt something bounce off of his shoulder, his head snapping up to see several chunks of concrete, once floating, now dropping towards his head. With a yelp, he ducked and threw his arms up over his head, rocks clattering off of his armor. Squinting an eye, he beheld Ochako charging towards him with a fierce expression, before there was an eruption of ice just outside. "Ha-HA!" A loud, feminine voice called, and then the building seemed to jump a foot in the air.

Hero and Villain hit the ground, but Ochako was used to feeling off-balance and jumped to her feet, continuing her charge at the disoriented Yuga, throwing herself into a slide between his legs. He reflexively clapped both hands over his groin and bent to protect himself, and the gravity girl popped up behind him, slapping a hand on his back before grabbing him around the back of his belt and collar, then turning on her heel and hurling his weightless body out of the hole in the wall.

He flailed through the air, screaming. "Give up or I'll drop you on your head!" Ochako shouted from the hole, fingertips held threateningly close together. "How 'bout it, Hero?!"

"T-the nerve! I w-will never surrender t-to-wait-wait-wait!" He wailed, waving his hands wildly as she nearly touched her pads together. "I give, I give! Let me down!"

"THE VILLAIN TEAM WINS!" All Might declared.

Ochako breathed a sigh of relief and removed her visor to wipe her forehead on her elbow. "Er, hold on, Yuga-san! I'll wait until you get over to the next building!" She watched him spin through the air, cape trailing behind him like the tail of a drunk meteor, until he was safely over the roof of the building on the other side of the street. Pressing her pads together, she winced as he fell about six feet to hit the roof. "Are you okay Yuga-san?!"

His armored hand shakily emerged from the edge, thumb up. "I'm okay!" He called.

In the monitoring room, All Might sighed, a carefully hidden tension dissipating. Alright, class is almost over. No one died or was seriously injured, everyone learned something and only a few things were destroyed. Complete success. He watched as Himiko punched her way out of the ice as Kirishima, with an unconscious Shimo slung over her shoulder. This generation has power, no doubt about it, and a great deal of cunning. Ahhh…I can feel my burden easing just a bit more everyday, knowing that my successor is surrounded by such potential. Truly, the Heroes of the past are blessed to watch the next generation rise…

Himiko set Shimo down on the stone bench, reaching into her hard case to retrieve a small pack of something that she snapped before holding it to the unconscious girls' nose. Smelling salts.

Shimo's eyes fluttered for a second, then she bolted up, looking around wildly until she realized where she was, and what that meant. Her gaze found Yuga, who sheepishly looked away, and grit her teeth. I lost…she thought, fists clenching the fabric of her pants, her arms shaking. Damn it! The acrid scent of smoke reached her nose and she quickly opened her hands, looking down at the faux-ice covering her left arm. …I won't lose again. And I won't use it to win.

"Well students, once more! You know the drill!" All Might announced, hands on hips, broad grin on his face.

Momo raised a hand. "While it was a very powerful move and would definitely leave the Villains shocked, freezing an entire building like Todoroki-san did was unnecessary. And, if her teammates were to lack experience in conditions as icy as that, it could be detrimental to their stability, especially when fighting."

"It also definitely impacted the structural integrity of the building," Izuku added, giving a glaring Shimo a shrug. "If it had been occupied or there were hostages, they'd be liable to sue. Freezing the entire thing would definitely take a few decades off of the building's lifespan." He cleared his throat. "My vote for MVP would go to Ochako-chan. While Himiko held off the other team's powerhouse-" Yuga clutched his breastplate, looking stricken, "-Ochako-chan cleverly defended the objective, holding Yuga-san off and maneuvering him into a trap before securing victory."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement. Himiko stuck her tongue out at Izuku, even as she wrapped her arm around Ochako to give the gravity girl a hug.

"Then Young Uraraka is the MVP! And that-!" The Number One Hero clapped his hands, the whole building rattling slightly, "-is the end of class! Defeat or victory, learn from what you have done and witnessed today, realize your weaknesses and work to overcome them! Expand your boundaries, surpass your limits! That is what it means to go beyond, to go…!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

All Might laughed loudly, broad shoulders shaking with mirth. "That's right! Now, before you go, there is a task I wish to give you…" He chuckled as several students groaned about 'homework.' "Now, now, don't think of it as homework, students! What I want from you is to write, in a thousand words or less, how your actions affected whether you won or lost, and what you could've done to secure the desired outcome. Then, pick someone from your class, and do the same. Friendly criticism is all I ask. You won't have to turn this in, but I would like to discuss this together as a class. As a favor to me," he added with a jaunty wink. "That being said, class is over and you may return to the bus and-y-yes?"

Izuku had taken a look at his tacpad and thrust his hand in the air. "School doesn't end for another forty minutes, and it's not that far back to campus. Can I assume that the training ground will be repaired after this?"

"Yes, you could…"

"So there would be no harm in staying until school is out, is there?" He continued, the beginnings of an excited smile on his face.

All Might stroked his chin. "I…suppose not, no. If you want to stay, you can, but the buses will be leaving in twenty minutes."

"Cool!" Izuku enthused, nearly skipping with excitement as he pushed through the other students, stopping to grab Himiko by the hand and drag her with him. "Come on!"

"For what?" She asked, amused by the almost childlike glee on his face.

"It's an open town, with no laws, and it's gonna be repaired later!" He explained, dropping her hand and throwing himself into a slide, carving a divot in the concrete as it rose to wrap around him in his Second Layer. He rose into a crouch, then leapt away, leaving a crack behind him as he rocketed towards a building. He landed with a crash, cracks spreading across the surface of the building before he raced up the side, flipping over the top with joyous whoop.

Himiko watched him for a second, bemused, before she realized why he was so enthusiastic. "Wait for me!" She called, grappling a nearby building to fling herself into the air. With a thrust of her hip, another line shot out, anchoring her to another building, her momentum sending her high into the sky. With her arms spread, the ground rushing below her as the wind tugged at her hair, she could almost believe she was flying. That's it, she decided, hooking and swinging herself up besides a leaping Izuku, I need to get some blood from someone who can fly.

Gathering his strength, feeling it flow unhindered, launching himself into the sky…it was freedom, to finally cut loose and jump, unafraid of breaking the ground. With his arms spread like wings, wind whistling over his armor, the ground blurring below him, Izuku could almost believe that he was flying. To think, I could've done this at any time, if it weren't for the laws…and the property damage. Throwing a hand out, he caught the side of a building and twisted, throwing himself around the corner, straight towards the tallest building in the training ground.

He heard a line zip by, saw Himiko next to him, and felt the grin he'd been wearing since he had started running grown. "Race you!" He called with a laugh, impacting the small skyscraper before running up it, the glass cracking under his quick, powerful strides, the crunch and crunch and crunch vibrating up throughout his body and directly into his brain.

"Cheatin' bitch!" Izuku heard Himiko shout with a laugh, seeing a grapple land close by just as he flipped over the lip and landed on the roof with a crunch. "I like it when you're excited," she said, her mask unfolding to reveal a wide grin.

He reached his arms out, his armor stretching and compressing like a great big rocky muscle. "How long has it been since I've been able to cut loose?" He wondered, letting out a groan of satisfaction. "To truly just…jump and run without a care for the law? Since the Entrance Exam, I think. Man, I've missed it." His eyes found the late afternoon sun, beginning its journey to the west, the shadows of the buildings growing long.

"It's like being free, isn't it?" She murmured, wrapping an arm around his armored waist. "To ignore the roads, the buildings and just…throw yourself through the air without a care. I love it."

"Yeah…" Izuku sighed, settling an arm around her shoulders. "Exercising my power without limits…grappling anywhere you want, free to race through the streets or fly through the air…imagine a world like that, where people can fly without worrying about the law dragging them down…"

Himiko leaned against him with a hum. Visions of it danced in her head: winged people racing through the air, playing tag as speedsters ran next to cars and hoverbikes, people walking down the sidewalk and up the sides of buildings as someone with flowers for hair grew a batch of roses in front of a clapping child…her and Izuku waving as they raced up a building, rising higher into the sky until they could see the world stretched out below them. "Yeah…"

Izuku sighed again, checking his tacpad. "We better get back if we want to catch the bus," he muttered, armor pulling away so that he could press a kiss to her cheek. "You wanna see something cool?" He asked with a grin.

"Always," she replied.

His armor rolled back up and he calmly stepped off of the roof, dropping, fittingly enough, like a stone. Himiko hurled herself off after him, eyes locked on his descending form as it reached the ground. He hit, but instead cratering the street, the air rippled around him, a wave of force spreading out to crash against the other buildings and disperse, leaving a fog of dust in the air.

Himiko shot a grapple, turning her fall into a swing, swinging up and flipping to bleed her momentum away before she landed in a crouch. The ground beneath Izuku was cracked, but as badly as she'd thought it would be. "What was that?"

"I made pockets along my armor to gather air, and just when I was about to hit the ground, I squeezed them and made little air jets to slow my descent!" He explained rapidly, sounding proud of himself. "It didn't slow me down entirely, but it worked!"

"Did you just think of that now?" The blood drinker questioned, rubbing his rocky, armored arm.

"Right before I jumped, yep."

Tsuyu, who had been watching them with her usual unreadable expression, blinked. "Midoriya-chan, you've got real nerves of steel, haven't you, ribbit?"

"Midoriya-kun!" barked Iida, chopping his arms agitatedly, "While I admire your commitment to continually testing your capabilities, jumping from such a height is incredibly dangerous! Also, the bus will be leaving soon!"

Himiko and Izuku looked over at the other two, just now realizing they were there. "Don't worry about it, Iida-kun, I could've taken the fall just fine; the street, on the other hand…" He grinned and pulled his helmet up, crouching slightly. "Race you to the buses!" And he shot off.

"Oh!" Iida raced off after him, legs blurring and engines roaring, "Your wiles will not save you from the speed of the Iida family, Midoriya-kun! Feast on my exhaust!"

Himiko giggled, smiling at the unflappable frog girl. "We better get going, Tsuyu-chan," she said, grappling herself up over the lip of a building to flip through the air.

"Mm." The girl crouched down, then sprang up into the air, before shooting out her tongue to wrap around a lamp post and swing from it. It's a little tough supporting my weight like this, but I could get used to it, she thought. "By the way, Himiko-chan," she called out as she hopped and swung.

"Yeah? Wassup?"

"You were super cool out there. Also, I think Mina-chan and Toru-chan are gonna fangirl all over you, ribbit."

"Well I certainly hope so! Fighting Frosty was a pain, a fun pain, but it would've sucked way more without their forms. I should give them some hugs," she gave the frog a look out of the side of her eye. "Sorry I didn't use your form, Tsuyu-chan. I thought frogs, ice, bad mix. But I definitely wanna try it. It doesn't taste weird, using your tongue like that?"

"Nope. And I don't mind, ribbit. That was smart. If it gets too cold, I basically end up hibernating."

They swung in silence for a few minutes longer.

"Say, Tsuyu-chan, how do you feel about Izuku?"

She blinked. "I mean…he's pretty smart, and really focused."

"And handsome too, I bet~" giggled the blonde, winking at her.

"Well yeah. Mina-chan was accurate when she called him husband material."

"Oho, when'd she say that, exactly?" Himiko asked, eyes sparkling.

"First night, dinnertime."

"Good to know~!" Her thoughts raced, heart thumping with joy…and anticipation. It's starting~!

…

Sitting in her seat on the bus but mercifully alone, thank fuck, Bakugou looked down at her gloved hands, a grimace marring her face. All her life, she'd been told her Quirk was powerful, that she was destined for greatness, and it wasn't hard for her to believe. She'd been able to make TNT look like firecrackers since before she had to wear a bra for fuck's sake, the dream of exploding with the force close to a nuke had been less of an impossibilty everyday. Not that it was easy to train with a power that tended to generate a lot light and smoke and noise, but Katsuki was far from stupid. She'd searched and read and fantasized about explosions for years, refining and learning and experiencing her Quirk and what it was capable of.

And then that slimy fuck had to come along, smothering her sparks, swallowing her explosions, tried to drown her in his gross, goddamn lime-jello-looking-body and worst of all, made her rely on goddamn Deku Koishi for help.

That was a reality check she was fine without, thank you very fuckin' much.

Of course, taking part in the Entrance Exam was just the tonic she needed. Being able to cut loose, blasting apart robot after robot, letting every goddamn fuckin' Extra see what a real Hero looked like…it was better than sex.

She assumed.

Seeing her name at the top of the leaderboard had made her grin the biggest she'd ever done before, marred by the fact that damn useless pebble was second. And then came the second points system and with it, the rug got yanked from under her feet. What the fuck was the point of it?! An entire second system they never got told about, and for what?! To make the people who had focused on their objective, the thing they'd fucking been told to do, look like assholes or something?!

Katsuki's seething rage had been tempered by the knowledge that even after losing her top spot, she'd be going to Yuuei like she'd always dreamed…even if Deku was there, too. She'd hoped, perhaps a bit too hard, that he'd end up in a different class and they'd only have to see each other at lunch or events. But nope, same class, same dorm, and she had to share a table with that bitchy blonde always fawning over him.

The first class and the Quirk Apprehension test hadn't turned out the way she'd hoped, either, partly because of her temper but mostly because of the other people. The tall wealthy broad, the chick with weird hair and ice, the arm guy, even the robot dude. Part of her had leapt at the idea of having such powerful people as classmates, people to strive against…another part had shivered. All those people who'd praised her Quirk, said she was destined for greatness…it felt like they'd been lying.

And now…seeing that chick freeze an entire building like it was nothing, throwing out miniature glaciers left and right…and that bitchy blonde fighting back, switching forms and Quirks to the point that Half'n'Half had to freeze them both to get her out of the fight…

That feeling was back. That feeling like the world had shifted on its axis and she was the only one who felt it. She looked at herself, then at those two and wondered, could I win? The answer wasn't one she wanted to hear.

Katsuki stared down at her gloved hands, rubbing her fingertips together, thinking hard. The Entrance Exam hadn't been what she thought it was. The class, her dorm, Yuuei, hadn't been like she thought it was. And now there was even more proof that her childish dreams of blowing everyone away might as well be dust in the wind.

I've got this big fuckin' school with a big fuckin' library and big fuckin' training grounds, she thought, her ruby eyes skimming up to rest on a grinning Izuku chatting with other students, that blonde nestled against his side. I'm gonna beat your goddamn face in, Deku. You better start training…because I'm gonna take this shit to the next level. Believe that.

…

A person looks up at a Pillar, and recognizes its strength. They lay their hand on the weather-worn surface and they feel safe. 'How dependable,' they think, 'If only I could be like that.'

…

…

…

…