their starting line part 2

Without a breath, Bakugo and Tanya shot off like rockets. They twisted and turned through the air, quickly zipping around and trying to find their targets.

Bakugo bounded through the halls, propelled by his explosions. He wasn't going at full strength though, he knew better than to overshoot and crash into walls.

Tanya meanwhile, couldn't fly at full speed in such a small space. The corners were too tight and the halls too narrow. However, she was still mobile and agile enough to be nothing but a blur.

Rikido stood and stared at the door, a blank look in his eyes. All he could do was clench and unclench his fists, inches away from his sugar packets. 'I, I'm scared. It's our second day of college and I'm already expected to hurt somebody. This Quirk… it's not me on the other side. Not in a fight.'

He shook his head, reached up and slapped at his cheeks. "No! I can do this! They need me!" He started sprinting after Bakugo's smoke trails. In his hands were five packets of sugar, enough to last him the duration of the match. He just had to survive using his Quirk for 15 minutes.

Bakugo swiftly bounded around a corner before firing off a blast at the hero team. Smoke and sound filled the hall from his surprise attack.

Midoriya tackled Uraraka out of the way of the blast as Ashido staggered back.

From the wall of smoke, a flurry of white feathers dashed forth. Tanya swung her legs out in front as she soared over the grounded duo.

Ashido coughed up her wind as Tanya drove her feet into the pink girl's stomach.

Bakugo walked through the hole of smoke Tanya left behind. "C'mon Deku, where's your fighting spirit?!" He stepped into his opening right hook, his palm was sparking and ready. "You wanted to be a hero, right!" He spat.

Before he could finish his hook, Midoriya dove in close for a grapple. He let the attack sail over his shoulder as he stepped under, wrapping his arms around Bakugo's swing.

"Grrr,haaa!" Midoriya gave his effort-strained battle cry as he flipped Bakugo onto the ground. The room shuddered under the weight of the slam. "You can call me Deku!"

He struck a brave combat stance, a small shiver threatened to shatter his composure. "But I'm not the scared, defenseless kid anym- Ahh!"

He screamed as a massive arm wrapped around his chest and lifted him off the floor.

Meanwhile, Tanya had driven Ashido down the hall. As the pink girl rolled and bounced back onto her feet, Tanya flipped back around to send a roundhouse kick into Uraraka's side before she could get her bearings.

"So it's that kind of a fight." Ashido smiled, ready to go and hyped for the challenge. "Let's go then!" She cheered as she leapt into action.

She mustered up her gloopy white acid onto her palms before attempting to splash it onto Tanya. Her arms swung up in an action often seen as playful but here was dangerous.

With the wave of Tanya's wings, a wall of wind sailed down the hall to catch the acid. It sprayed everywhere, even damaging a light fixture, but never coming close to her.

Tanya changed tactics. She let pressure off of Uraraka and reapplied that pressure to Ashido. 'If I fight too close to the others, I'll get caught in the crossfire. I need to push this fight down the hall."

She skipped past Uraraka's telegraphed punch only to push the girl in the back with her wings.

Uraraka stumbled but before she fell, she put her fingers together to make herself weightless. She flipped down the hall and landed by Ashido's side.

Uraraka and Ashido stood in wildly different combat stances. Uraraka looked like she's never so much as seen an action movie; her posture was wildly off balance with her knees together and fists tucked close to her shoulders.

Ashido, on the other hand, caught Tanya's eye. She had a semi wide base, her hands down and palms out. The acid ran down her arms and gathered in her cupped hands. There was a gleam in her eye, she was having fun.

Tanya walked towards them in order to stall for time. Her wings unfurled to fill the entire hallway, the view of the other fight was entirely blocked. 'We can win either by wipeout or by running the clock. Every minute spent fighting me is a minute they're not disarming the bomb. I can win through attrition; all that cardio wasn't for nothing.'

She smirked at the two girls before her. "I believe a battle is best enjoyed winning , wouldn't you agree?"

"Absolutely!" Mina replied cheerfully as another sleeve of acid dripped down her arm. "I'll be sure to tell you how it feels later!"

Down the hall, Midoriya was cut off by a grab around his chest. The floor left him behind as he was hoisted with ease.

Midoriya was shoved like a ragdoll into the wall, spun around by his opponent. As the wind was evicted from Midoriya's lungs, he could see him ; a yellow beast with a rage in his eyes. Its massive mouth was caught in a twitching snarl as muscles bulged beneath a stretched jumpsuit.

The beast let go of Midoriya before winding up for a massive haymaker punch. It led in with a step, its entire weight was put behind this one attack.

"Sweet-shot!" Sato shouted as he swung.

Midoriya scrambled to dodge, barely having dived out of the way as Sato drove his fist through where Midoriya's chest would have been. It pierced the wall with a resounding crash, cracks shot out around the impact.

'That could have killed me!' Midoriya cried to himself before his ears were sent ringing and smoke obscured his vision.

Bakugo had blown him up from behind. The familiar pain of Bakugo's blast ran up Deku's side as he was knocked into Sato's backhanded swing. He had pulled his hand free from the wall and hadn't wasted the movement.

Thwuch! Midoriya's world spun as blood ran down his face. He was flat on his back, his nose was broken, and both his team and his noggin had been scrambled.

Tanya was holding out both of Midoriya's teammates. Keeping Ashido's acid splashes at bay had been difficult, but doable. Between her gust attacks and her mobility, there wasn't much the acid could hit. Uraraka wildly telegraphed her movements as she showed no sign of combat experience. Tanya didn't even have to look at her to hear her large hooved boots exposing her movements.

Midoriya glanced down the hall to see Tanya kicking Uraraka in the back while also dodging out of the way of Ashido's acid by flying to the side. 'I, urgh, I need to help them.'

He rolled out of the way of Rikido's boot, only to be bounced off the floor by Bakugo's blast. Pain shot through his entire body as his ears rang. 'But I also need to escape these two!'

He brought up his left hand and held it like a gun. An electric green glow crackled through his pointer and middle fingers as he let loose a flick.

"NEW HAMPSHIRE, SMAAASH!"

Wind filled the hallway as Midoriya was knocked back, out of the way of Bakugo's next blast. He bit down his tears as he slid before rolling onto his feet, he had to make his escape. The bomb was the only path to victory.

Down the hall, Tanya got blasted by the air force. With a surprised yelp, she was flipped and launched past her targets. Her light frame and large wings made Midoriya's wind attacks especially effective against her.

Ashido had melted a handhold into the wall and was holding onto Uraraka's boot. "Don't let goooo!" She cried as she held back a chuckle.

Uraraka looked down at her friend, "I couldn't!"

The wind roared as it passed them by. It had lifted the duo and left them hanging parallel to the floor. Just like it had with Tanya, it too threatened to carry them off.

Sato had dived in front of Bakugo to take the brunt of the force. He wrapped Bakugo into a hug as the wind launched them against the wall. Just before impact, Sato swung his shoulder behind Bakugo.

Sato crashed into the wall, his shoulder and back buried into a freshly made crater. Despite the shaking of his bones, he had taken the hit for his teammate.

The moment he was let go, Bakugo went into a blind fury as he began blast jumping down the hall in pursuit of Midoriya. 'Where did he get this power! This confidence! When did he get so strong!'

Sato looked around, dazed and confused. His world was small, cramped, and it rang like a dropped pot. Pain was felt in almost every joint. The green haired one had disappeared. As he pulled himself from his wall crater, he saw Tanya rolling down the hall. Her opponents were standing and ready for action already.

He let loose a roar before charging towards his friends' assailants.

Ashido and Uraraka took one look at the charging yellow beast, then another look at Tanya who was righting herself, wings flexed and ready for take off.

Uraraka was scared and desperate. "Ashido! What are we going to do?!" She cried.

Ashido gave a big, toothy smile, "We'll go up!" It never mattered how bad things got, Ashido's outlook never wavered. There was a beautiful simplicity in it.

'What I wouldn't give to have that kind of strength.' Uraraka thought to herself as she gathered her will.

She touched Ashido's shoulder before lifting her towards the ceiling where the pink girl could begin spraying the ceiling. She kept her head down, shielded by her helmet as spare acid dripped onto it. The flimsy armor began hissing under the corrosive drizzle.

With a smile on her face, Ashido melted a hole through the ceiling. "This way!" She yelled.

After floating through, Uraraka released Ashido. With a huff, Uraraka hopped up. She puffed up her cheeks and curled into a ball as she gently floated up towards the hole.

"I got you!" Ashido cheered as she reached down and yanked the weightless girl through.

Down beneath, Tanya was furious. She dodged out of the way of the showering acid, the hole had become dangerous; soggy with acid. "Sato! Go after Midoriya , those were the orders I gave you!"

Before Sato could respond, Tanya had taken off down the hall to the stairwell. She needed to find and fight the others and couldn't waste any more time with Sato.

"You looked like you needed help." He whispered to himself. Guilt flooded his system, unblocked thanks to his Quirk reducing his mental functions. 'I need to find greenie, I need to put things right!'

He began his hunt as he followed his nose. Bakugo left a trail of nitroglycerin scented smoke wherever he went. To find Bakugo meant to find Midoriya as well.

Midoriya wasn't panicking as he ran, that would be a gross understatement. It wasn't like his life long bully had just allied himself with perhaps the scariest students in the class. He knew how to deal with Bakugo, he knew his moves, his thoughts, everything. Bakugo, while terrifying, was a familiar threat… but Rikido and Tanya, they were different.

There were no thoughts behind Rikido's eyes as he fought. He had nearly killed Midoriya twice in 3 hits, and the young hero knew it wasn't on purpose. Rikido towered over him, and had the strength of a half dozen body builders. They were a force of nature, not something easily stopped.

Then there was Tanya; she scared him even more. There was something behind those big blue eyes, an evil that had decided righteousness was the better investment. She had the same look in her eyes that Bakugo had before beating him up after school. A self assured certainty to victory, obtained through any means necessary.

'I had expected Bakugo to rush me and abandon his teammates. Instead, they all rushed us. Even now, with everyone being split up, they're in the winning position!' He ran with labored breath, his broken finger cradled by his side like a handgun. The sounds of explosions echoed around him as he scrambled for dear life. 'I hadn't wanted to use my Quirk in this match, but at the very start, their offensive push was so strong that I had no other choice!'

The loudspeakers turned on once more. " Seven minutes have passed! "

In the observation room, All Might lowered his mic. He was worried about what he had seen so far.

'Young Midoriya had told me about Bakugo's pride, but not of his aggression. He's targeting Midoriya and leaving everything else behind. Midoriya's sudden burst of strength poses a threat to Bakugo's pre-established idea of how the world works; a threat he can't turn away from.' All Might gripped his mic a little harder. 'Please Young Midoriya, be careful.'

'... Perhaps allowing the students to go all out on their first day of training was a mistake. Maybe the capture tape was a good idea.' He reprimanded himself. 'No! I must put faith in my students' strength!'

"Did you see that power!" Kirishima shouted in amazement. "Sato's so strong! And his desire to help his team is totally manly!" He hardened his skin into armor while striking a combat pose. "I respect that!"

"Kerro?" Tsuyu croaked as she stood up from her squat. "Is he crying?"

"What?!" Kirishima quickly turned to Tsuyu in shock then back to the screen. "Oh, he is!"

On the monitor, Rikido charged after Bakugo's smoke trails as tears ran down his face. They weren't tears of the pain that wracked his body, but of the guilt and shame he was feeling. He had failed his team.

Momo stepped forth with insight, her hand placed on her collarbone. "It appears Tenikari has neglected the feelings of her teammates to focus on the objective. With Sato's reduced mental state, everything becomes a one track mind. When he fought Midoriya, all he felt was adrenaline, now all he feels is guilt."

"C'mon bro!" Kirishima shouted at the screen. "You can do it!"

As he hid, Midoriya held his breath. The pounding sound of Bakugo blast jumping past his room. His heart raced in his chest, clawed to escape, but was buried under the tactical muttering.

"Bakugo is unlikely to turn back around. I have to take this opportunity to escape!"

He ran out of the side room and dove into the smoke. The soot stained his mothers jumpsuit and stung his eyes but pushed through. This was the only opportunity to escape Bakugo's search and reunite with his team.

His thoughts were cut off as he met a wall of yellow at the corner of the hall. He skidded to a halt.

Tears stopped running down Sato's face the moment he locked eyes with Midoriya. An aggressive grin tore his face in two as he opened his arms into a massive bearhug that threatened to engulf the small green boy. He leaned into his attack to bring his shoulder down to the stomach height.

Midoriya threw himself against the wall to dodge the gigantic tackle that soared past him.

As Sato spun around, he caught a glimpse of Midoriya aiming a punch for his face. With a slight backwards stagger, he stood up to his full height. Midoriya's punch collided with his chest.

It was a moment too late as Midoriya realized his mistake. 'That's not counterable! I need to be faster!' He leaned back and tried to rip his hand away. 'I need to retreat!'

Sato reached across the inside. His grip clenched around the greenettes bicep. Bones crunched as his fingers dug into the boy's arm.

With a yelp, Midoriya was swung against the other wall.

Cruck! His arm broke free from its socket.

"Aeehhh!" Midoriya screamed in pain as he was ragdolled around the hall. The arm flopped against its nature as Sato continued to violently manhandle him.