Chapter Eight
Aftermath
"Honestly, Toshinori! You seriously let them fight this far?" Recover Girl admonished. "Just as soon as young Uraraka stops hurting herself so much, now you bring me this?"
All Might, now deflated, sat with a hand on his forehead, clearly troubled by today's events. "I know, Chiyo. As a teacher, I should have ended the battle as soon as the exercise was over. I just didn't think it would go as far as it did."
"Well, see for yourself!" The elderly woman brought up Bakugo's chart as the boy in question slept in his medical bed. He was bandaged and exhausted, but otherwise ok thanks to Recovery Girl's healing. "Five broken ribs, shattered lower jaw, intense bleeding, the list goes on! If it weren't for his tenacity, this could've been far worse." she explained. Bakugo gave a small stir, but didn't wake. "Is the student responsible still here?"
"Not yet, but he's on his way" Toshinori sighed. "I know it looks bad, but they're both in the wrong here for continuing the fight as they did. I'll need to return to my class soon. Can you…"
"Keep them both until you return? Yes, yes, now go away!" she waved him off. Once the Number One Hero was gone, she turned to her newest patient.
"Honestly…" she grumbled, looking at the boy's perpetual frown. "Restraint isn't a foregone conclusion…"
xXx
Meanwhile...in the hallways…
"How're you holding up?" Uraraka asked. It wasn't long until Midoriya was using her for support as they made their way inside. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, all the pain from his battle was coming in full.
Midoriya grimaced as they limped along. "A little better" he lied. All his water got evaporated in the fight, so no healing for now. His costume was in shreds as well. The cape was ripped in half and he lost a whole sleeve and glove to Bakugo's attack.
'I guess it's ok,' he thought. 'It was a little flashy anyway.'
He thought about how he lost control in the fight; how he suddenly became more brutal in his attacks. It was right after that huge, juiced up attack Bakugo fired. By causing the explosion to go high, Midoriya had been blown clear of the explosion, but still was sent careening to the ground in a pile of rubble.
But all of a sudden, on his way down, something had...clicked inside him. He landed on both feet, cracking the concrete beneath him.
And that's when the fight really went sideways.
Of course, Izuku wasn't unharmed either. He had cuts and burn marks all over and definitely dislocated something. His leg was searing with pain, too. But Bakugo got the worst of it by the end of their bout.
"...you really think he's ok?" Midoriya asked. Uraraka giggled a bit.
"Don't worry so much, I've seen her heal worse, believe me." She knew from personal experience how potent Recovery Girl's quirk was when it came to healing. "He'll be fine, though probably exhausted" she assured. Midoriya nodded and kept walking, trying to ignore the weird, fuzzy feeling he was getting. Something having to do with how he was being supported right then. By...a girl. A pretty, curvygirl…
He stumbled again, crashing to the floor.
"Deku!" she cried, just barely catching him. Suddenly, the Avatar was out like a light. The pain and exhaustion had finally caught up to him. Gently, Uraraka floated him onto her shoulder into a fireman's carry. "Wow, they really did a number on each other…" she murmured. She kept walking, making her way to the Nurse's office.
"Ah, young Uraraka!" She looked up to see a familiar blond skeleton.
"All Mig-erMr. Yagi!" she greeted. She stole a glance at her classmate, who was still unconscious. Close one. Yagi gave them a once over, noticing the boy's ragged appearance.
"Right, go ahead and get him to Chiyo, you know the way." he instructed. Uraraka nodded, then frowned. Before Toshinori could get back…
"All Might?"
"Hmm?" he answered. Uraraka bit her lip, choosing her words.
"I know you think he's...you know," she explained. "but...I don't think he is."
All Might rose an eyebrow. "After all that? You surprise me, given that he beat young Bakugo half to death."
"Doesn't mean he's All-for-One!" she snapped. Toshinori was taken aback, as she had never taken that tone before. And so was Uraraka.
"Sorry...I...what I'm saying is...he's sorry. After talking with him...he lost control, but he's not a villain" she insisted. "Villains don't regret, do they?"
All Might was silent a whole 20 seconds before responding. "...most times, no. They don't. But sometimes they do." The successor seemed confused, so he explained. "When you've been a hero for as long as I have, you see all types. And some villains...aren't bad people. Just people who made bad choices." He tapped his chin before continuing. "Others...can't help it. Whether they're crazy or being forced to do something, they're just as worthy of help as anyone else." He knelt down to look her in the eye.
"Which is why we need to know for sure. Not just for our protection, but his too. Heroes save everyone they can, young Uraraka. Don't forget that."
Uraraka took this in, then nodded.
"That said, I feel that I should apologize." he continued. Uraraka looked incredulous as he spoke.
"I shouldn't have asked you to place mistrust in your classmate. If what you say is true, then I've betrayed his faith in me, as his teacher." he said regretfully. "And you're right. More right than you know, young Uraraka. Everyone is worthy of trust. He didn't do a thing to lose that trust, and that is my failure." The skeletal hero seemed disappointed in himself. "So it is my responsibility to make it right. Do you forgive me? As your mentor?"
"Yes!" Uraraka said breathlessly. "Of course! I mean, I knew you were just being careful and stuff, and All-fo...you-know-who is bad news!"
"Well, I'm glad you understand, Uraraka." he thanked. Then he laughed a bit, coughing up blood. "You bring this old man hope, you know that?
"C'mon, you're not that old!" she insisted. "I should get to Recovery Girl. You going back to class?"
"That I am." He straightened up, growing into his buff form. "I have a class to continue, but I have one errand to run before then. I'll be back to check on them later. Hang tight!" And with that, he dashed off with a whoosh.
Midoriya mumbled something, but slept on from her shoulder. Uraraka kept moving, nearing the Nurse's Office.
"He's right, I guess" she reasoned. "Even if he's nice, that was still way out of character." She stole another glance at Izuku. "...still. I'm sure about him. There's no way he's evil."
She made her decision. "Not in the slightest."
xXx
"Damn...they've been gone a while" Kirishima wondered aloud. "Think they're alright?"
"I'm sure they are," Iida answered. "They're probably getting a severe talking-to about fighting outside the exercise! It's quite unheroic!"
The rest of the class had been waiting in the examination room since the fight ended, waiting on their teacher. Iida had elected to stand outside to keep an eye out, while Eijirou joined him.
"I guess, but you saw how Bakugo was acting right?" the red-head reasoned. "They've definitely got serious beef, way beyond normal school-stuff."
"You think they knew each other before UA?"
"Probably. Why else would they already hate each other?"
Iida put his hands on his hips, thinking deeply. "I...didn't think of that. But Midoriya doesn't seem the spiteful type, does he? Perhaps the hate is one-sided?"
Kirishima frowned. "Didn't seem one-sided near the end…" He didn't actually see the state Bakugo was in, but everyone heard the thundering battle outside the building. "Maybe Midoriya got pushed too far?"
"Perhaps," Iida agreed. "But what could Bakugo have done to push him that way?"
"Well, people are complicated."
Both boys jumped at their teacher's sudden appearance. All Might laughed a bit at their reaction, as he had just dashed from Uraraka, to the other side of campus, then to the class in five minutes flat. "Relax, young heroes! Both Bakugo and Midoriya will be alright. Let's head in, shall we?"
"Yes, Sensei!" Iida shouted, standing perfectly straight. Kirishima just gave a thumbs up before following them in. As they entered, the rest of class peppered the Hero with questions.
"Are they ok?"
"Is Bakugo dead?!"
"Can we still use that building?"
"Did the Heroes still win?"
"SETTLE DOWN NOW, SETTLE DOWN!" he called over the commotion. "THEY ARE BOTH FINE NOW, JUST RESTING. FOR NOW, WE WILL UTILIZE ANOTHER BUILDING FOR THE REST OF THE EXERCISE! I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD BREAK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" He pulled out his next match up. "NEXT TEAMS TO BATTLE ARRRE...TEAMS E AND F!"
Yaoyorozu nodded, already calculating how to beat the team of four. Jirou, Hagakure, Sero, and Kaminari could be troublesome in their own rights. Together, they could be a problem if they worked as a team. As for her team…
Aoyoma was still admiring his sparkling armor! Ashido was a bit more focused, if not a bit exuberant.
"Yyyeah! Let's win this!" the pink girl cheered. Momo gave a small smile, already coming up with an idea to win. It required a lot of set up though.
On the other hand, Sero had assumed the position as leader. No one really wanted to lead, but someone has to! Kaminari and Hagakure were far too carefree and Jirou was still a little put off at their rankings. So Sero it was.
"ALL RIGHT, TEAM F WILL BE THE HEROES! AND TEAM E WILL BE THE VILLAINS! YOU KNOW THE DRILL! AND THIS TIME, TRY TO LISTEN FOR THE BELL, OK?"
xXx
Nurse's Office…
It wasn't too long until Bakugo awoke.
He stirred from his hospital bed, keeping his eyes closed for the time being. He could vaguely sense others near him, speaking softly as to not wake him. He played possum, listening intently.
"So he's gonna be ok? Both of them I mean?" It was that girl...gravity-bitch?
"Yes dearie. I was able to heal your friend here some, but he's simply too tired to heal completely. We'll have to wait for him to recover his energy." An older woman was speaking. 'The nurse, I guess' he thought.
"As for young Bakugo," she continued. "He'll be fine as well. Are you ready to head back to class?"
"Actually, could I stay? I just want to make sure...I already did my part of class anyway."
"Hmm...yes I suppose. Let me know if you need anything."
Footsteps receded, leaving Uraraka with the other two. Deciding enough was enough, Bakugo opened his eyes.
Deku. The bastard was laying in the bed next to him. His stupid costume was shredded and was way worse for wear. Bakugo smirked a bit, glad that he didn't go unscathed in their fight.
Wait, their fight?
That's right! They fought! And Deku...beat him? No...the fight was stopped. Neither of them won...right?
Bakugo clenched a fist in anger. 'He might have won, might not have, but the results are the same, right? How did that nerd put me in here?' He tried to remember. He blasted Deku off the building, Deku jumped up...then what? 'I think I was knocked back...stupid wind' he thought. Then he fell off the building...he slowed his fall with his explosions then...what? He rubbed his forehead. The details were too fuzzy to recall.
"Bakugo!" Uraraka yelped, surprised. Bakugo flinched at the noise.
"Pipe down, pink-cheeks. You're too loud" he grumbled. Uraraka seemed indignant at her new nickname, but ignored it.
"I'm glad you're ok, you and Deku really went all out" she said. Bakugo narrowed his eyes, his temper rising.
"Who said you could call him that?"
Uraraka seemed confused. "Wha...you mean Deku?" He slammed his fist into his bed, growling.
"Deku is my word, not freaking yours" he snarled. "It pisses me off."
"But...that's what you call him? Is it not his nickname?" she asked. He glared, then scoffed.
"Tch, doesn't matter. Who won?"
"...pardon?" she asked. He gripped his bedsheets hard in fury.
"Don't play games. Who. Won." he growled. Uraraka was growing uneasy.
"Well...we got the weapon, so-"
"Not that, I don't care about that. Did I win? Against Deku?" he demanded. Uraraka grimaced. She knew he wouldn't like the answer, but wasn't sure how he'd react. But...honesty is the best policy right?
"You...fell unconscious."
"Yeah, I know that dipshit. But did I win?"
"..."
"Well?"
"You...he...he tried to stop the fight at the end. You were hurt, badly. But you just kept going" she explained. "You got knocked out."
Bakugo's pupils were dots as his fists shook. He was knocked out, but Deku was still standing? He started to breathe faster. And faster. And faster.
Uraraka began to panic. Bakugo was hyperventilating! "Bakugo! Relax!" she cried. But relax he did not. He stared ahead, no longer focusing his eyes as he lost control of his breath. Uraraka scrambled, digging through Recovery Girl's drawer, looking for something to help! Midoriya slept on, still out of energy.
"Hang on, Bakugo!" she yelled. She started rummaging in another drawer. She needed a bag! Any bag!
"Dang it! Can't find one!" Meanwhile, Bakugo's mind was going wild, his thoughts racing!
'I lost. How? How could I lose? To Deku! To a pebble! The scum on my shoe! And I lost! NO! It can't be! She lied! She had to have lied! There's no way! If I lost to that pond scum, then I…'
SMACK!
"OW! FUCK!" He rounded on the girl ahead of him. She slapped him! Right across the face!
That got his attention. And stalled his panic attack.
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BITCH!" he roared as he hopped up, injuries be damned. Uraraka, in her panic, did the only thing that came to mind. And to her credit, it did work.
"Have you...snapped out of it?" she said carefully. Bakugo flushed red in fury, baring his shark-like teeth.
"HAH? THERE'S NOTHING TO SNAP OUT OF! WHAT'RE YOU TRYNA SAY!?" he screamed.
"Look, I'm sorry! You just looked like you needed help!"
Whatever Bakugo was about to say next died right in his throat. His eyes narrowed on her face, trying to make a connection. It took a moment, but he'd never forget those words.
"Because you need saving!"
"...no" he whispered. He never got a good look at his rescuer back then, but that voice? That voice was unmistakable. How did he not realize?
"W-What?" Uraraka asked, her concern rising. That pissed him off, but his epiphany was stronger than his anger right then. This was the very same girl who pulled him out of the sludge monster in Middle School! And she had no idea!
Wait. There's no way she didn't know. His quirk is pretty one-of-a-kind, and he most certainly used it way back when. So there's no chance she didn't recognise him and Deku from back then.
So what? She was making fun of him? Pretending to save him dignity or some shit?
No. Fucking. Chance.
Uraraka tip-toed closer to him, careful not to trip the literal bomb in the room. "Are you...alright?" His glare came back in full swing.
"I'm fine. I'll always be fine." he scoffed, sitting back into bed. She was as bad as Deku at this point. "Don't fucking forget it, got it?"
Needless to say, Uraraka was floored at his behavior.
xXx
Meanwhile...back at class…
"Ok," Sero started. The group of four stood outside the new high-rise, 5 minutes until start. "I think I know what to do. Jirou?" The petite girl looked up to listen. "Can you use your jacks to find things? Like the weapon?"
Jirou nodded. "I can try, but I'll have a better time finding our opponents."
"That's fine, just find whatever you can. Kaminari, you said your electricity goes everywhere?" Sero asked, to which Denki confirmed. "Ok, then you come with me. I'm gonna scale the building and try to swing you right into the room where the weapon is. Then you fry everything close to you and get the weapon!"
"Uh," Kaminari interjected. "I might over-do it though. When I go overboard, my brain frys for a bit."
"That's fine, I'll cover you." Sero affirmed. He then turned to the two girls. "You two, go in the front and try to draw their attention. Hagakure, sneak up on them and capture if you can. Jirou, cover her." They nodded, or at least Jirou did. Hard to tell with the Invisible Girl.
"Wow, you're like a natural leader, Sero!" Toru bubbled. Sero rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Well, you know…" he thought back to the countless nights on CoD and CS:GO, where he did almost this exact play just the other night. (And it was kinda the same as the last battle) "...I try."
"THE SECOND BATTLE BEGINS NOW!" All Might's voice rang. "HEROES! INFILTRATE THE BUILDING!"
"Alright, everyone! Go! Let's get this bread!" Sero yelled. He and the others rushed for the building, where Jirou jammed a jack into the rock, waving for quiet.
"...two people on the 8th floor. One patrolling on the 3rd. I think there's metal barriers where the two are at. That's probably where the weapon is." she rattled off. Sero cracked his knuckles.
"Right, let's go Kaminari. Good luck, you two!" Sero called as they ran. Jirou and Hagakure ran for the door, entering the building.
"Wait, what?" Jirou exclaimed quietly. In every room they could see, there were mirrors on the walls. Of almost every shape and size!
"That's kinda creepy…"Hagakure whispered. "Ok, I'm going full stealth now."
Jirou turned to the hovering gloves and boots. "What do you mean-ack! What are you doing?" Hagakure was taking her gloves off! She slipped out of her boots as well, setting them aside.
"Relax, I'm invisible anyway. Besides, it's just you." she whispered again. Jirou had a furious blush, but forced her embarrassment down.
"R-right. Let's just get moving." she stammered. The two moved through the first floor, locating the stairway. "Should be up her-"
"Look out!" Hagakure yelled, tackling her.
FWOOOOM!
A brilliant blue laser fired from nowhere, nearly grazing them! Jirou got up, hooking her jack into her speaker-boot to attack! But no one was there!
"You ok, Jirou?" asked Hagakure, who was getting up herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks." she answered. That laser came out of nowhere! "What happened?"
"I don't know! Maybe-"
FWOOOOM!
Another beam fired! Jirou saw it this time and dodged, seeing where it came from. "There! From that mirror!"
FWOOOOM!
The blue beam bounced around from each mirror before striking right at Jirou's feet, making her jump back.
"How are they doing that?" Hagakure yelled.
xXx
"Keep her busy Aoyoma!" Momo commanded from their bunker. The wide room they were in was blocked on all sides except the front, where a set of mirrors pointed every which way. By placing mirrors all over the building and making them all reflect off each other, Aoyoma's Navel Laser, which was light-based, could strike in every single room at key locations! Beam after beam was bounced downstairs, keeping the opposing team occupied.
"Do you see them all?" Momo asked.
"Non!" Aoyoma through the mirrors carefully. "Only one!"
"If we can't see them, the other two must be outside. Not to mention the invisible one. They must be repeating the last battle's strategy." She turned to the window, which was reinforced with metal. "Good thing we took care of that."
xXx
"This isn't going to work."
Sero and Kaminari made their way up the building with ease thanks to Sero's tape, Kaminari taped to the former's back. The plan was to swing Kaminari from the top and into the eighth story window. But upon their ascent, they found the window to be completely blocked off!
"Now what?" Kaminari asked. "We can't break through!"
Sero grit his teeth, looking up. "No choice, we'll have to swing you in elsewhere! Try to get the jump on them another way!" He pressed a finger to his comm. "Jirou, come in! We got a problem!"
"No kidding!" Came a shouted reply. "Belly button is taking pot-shots at us with mirrors! We can't get upstairs!"
"What?" Sero cried. "He's shooting at you...with mirrors?"
"Did I stutter?"
"Ok, ok!" Sero yelled back. "We can't break through to their location, we're gonna head in through the 7th floor. Can you keep their attention?"
"Doesn't seem to be a problem! Yeouch! Hurry up!"
"7th?" Kaminari asked. "So right below them?"
"Right, hold on tight!" Sero instructed. With a heave, he swung his partner right off the building!
"Woah, wait! WAIT! WAITWAITWAITWAIT!" Kaminari screamed as he plummeted. He forgot that a stream of tape was affixed to his back, where Sero swung him into a window!
CRASH!
"Uh, hey Jirou?" Sero called through his ear piece. "Make that the 6th floor."
xXx
"Mina!" Yaoyorozu signaled through her earpiece. "Did you hear that?"
"zzYeah! Somewhere above me!" she answered. "Should I go see?"
"Hmmm...no." she decided. "Hold your position and intercept Jirou. Better to fight one of them rather than four!"
"Mamouisselle!" Aoyoma whimpered, his quirk's drawback starting to take hold. "I see two more in the upper floors!"
"Which one?" She moved up to see through the labyrinth of mirrors. "...they're on different floors! Why? Could they…" She looked closer, her blood running cold. "Aoyoma! Hold here and shoot wherever you can! I'm taking Kaminari!"
"But...wait!" he called, hurking in discomfort.
"No time!" she yelled. "He's too close to the weapon!" She slipped out of their narrow entrance and ran/snuck to the 6th floor. As a countermeasure, she created a highly defendable bunker where the opposing team would assumethey were keeping the weapon. When in reality, she had secured the weapon on the 5th floor of the building! They would use their bunker as bait to waste their time and win, with Mina acting as a guard to stall whoever decides to go up the long way. All this was hinged on Jirou's known ability to sense people through hearing. The more guards, the better the fortification, the better chance of the weapon being there. Momo knew she would sense them on the eighth floor, and maybe even hear the metal being put together. But a paper-mache mock bomb didn't make much noise on it's own.
It was a cunning plan on Yaomomo's part, though bolder than she usually likes. Everything was accounted for!
So why is Kaminari so close to the 5th floor?
She snuck down an opposite stairway to reach the weapon before Kaminari. She immediately saw their hiding spot for it. It was sitting in a corner, simply covered in a beige sheet to match the rest of the room well enough that it could go unnoticed by your average joe. That is, if you weren't looking for it. But what other reason could Kaminari be headed down here?
Footsteps! Momo dashed behind a pillar, just in the nic of time as the boy walked downstairs.
"Owwww...a little warning would've been nice…" he grumbled. His costume was torn from his crash through the window, with a small cut on his forehead. "Where was I going again?" he asked no one.
Momo couldn't believe it. He managed to get to the weapon by accident! No accounting for dumb luck! Fortunately, he hadn't noticed the weapon yet. He just walked dimly forward, passing not four feet past his goal without noticing.
"I should go to the nurse after this," he mumbled, feeling the blood on his forehead. "Might be infected or something."
Momo was stuck. She couldn't move without being seen. If she was seen, they would have to fight. The weapon might be revealed in the scuffle! But if she didn't move, he might discover the weapon on his own!
What to do!?
xXx
Jirou's luck was improving.
The brilliant blue lasers slowly became less frequent, giving the girl enough time to figure out the shattering point of the mirrors. One quick blast of sound, and the glass shattered, rendering it useless!
"Right, Hagakure?" Jirou tentatively felt around for her ally. "Hagakure!"
"Shh!" said a voice to her left. "Stealth mode, remember?"
"Right, sorry" Jirou whispered. "Follow me." The two crept up the stairs, occasionally taking out mirrors to block incoming lasers. As they made their way to the 3rd floor, Jirou motioned for a stop.
"I hear someone...on this floor." Jirou pointed further into the halls, to their right. "I'll distract them, you sneak by and capture them by surprise."
"Ok." Hagakure whispered. Quietly, almost inaudible to Jirou, she crept off to find their opponent. But Jirou knew exactly where they were. She snuck through the halls, zeroing in on the enemy's position.
Pacing. Nervous pacing, back and forth. Mina wasn't really trying to be quiet as she pressed her earpiece again.
"Yaomomo? Everything alright up there?" she called. Jirou smirked at the new info. 'The weapon is upstairs.' Jirou wasn't sure where Hagakure was exactly, so a full-on assault wasn't the move. Instead, she straightened up and walked right to the acid-user.
"Hello, villain." She said calmly. Ashido whipped around, acid already pooling in her palms. Jirou was walking right to her, with her hands raised in surrender.
"I guess you got me," she sighed. Ashido was caught off guard, which was exactly what she wanted.
"You're...not gonna fight?" Mina questioned incredulously. She let the acid spill onto the floor, where it hissed against the stone.
"What can I say?" Jirou shrugged. "I'm outmatched. I'm not gonna get acid burns in a training exercise, after all." Mina cocked her head, growing less and less suspicious. Behind her, a line of capture tape unfurled in midair.
"That makes sense I guess…" she pulled out her own capture tape. "I better capture you then." The pink-skinned girl made to jog to Jirou with the tape in hand as another roll of tape got closer to her. It was about to make contact…
BBBZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAPPP!
Everyone in the room jumped at the sound of thunder, ozone filling their senses from above! Jirou recovered first, tackling Mina head on while she was distracted while Hagakure quickly wrapped the tape around the girl's wrist!
"Hey! Ow!" Mina yelped. The building's speakers sound off at her capture, though warbled due to the electrical disturbance.
"MINerazzidoHAsbEEN CAPTUrreD!"
"...dang it…" she pouted. Jirou helped her up, sitting her on the wall.
"Just sit tight I guess...Hagakure, was that Kaminari?"
"Had to be!" she replied, much to Mina's surprise.
"Wait, you were there the whole time?" An invisible hand tapped Mina's shoulder. "Over here, girl."
"No time!" Jirou snapped, pressing her earpiece. "Kaminari! You ok?"
…
Nothing. "Kaminari!" she tried again.
Still nothing.
"Where is he-"
"KAMINARI HAzzbeeN CAPTURED!"
Jirou paled at the new info from the loud speaker. "...ah."
"AOYOMA HAz BEEN CAPTurrrD!"
"Wait, so are we winning?" Hagakure asked hopefully.
xXx
Sero cracked his knuckles as he stood in the doorway of the bunker. "Sorry about the rough gift-wrapping dude," he smirked. Aoyoma laid in a heap on the floor, covered head-to-toe in white tape. "Hrrm-hrr, mmhh!" he tried to say.
"Yeah, yeah, save it for later, ok bud?" Sero dismissed, looking around the room. The entire room was fortified with titanium plating and even minor insulation to protect from electricity and sound attacks. A damn good defense...but…
"Where's the weapon?" Sero rummaged through the room, searching for the 6-foot mock bomb. "Where is it, Aoyoma?"
"Hm! Mm mhm mmm mm!"
"...right. Tape on your mouth. One sec…" he knelt down, carefully peeling the tape of the boy's mouth. "Right. "Where is it?"
"It's...it's...hrrch!" Aoyoma doubled over, giving Sero enough time to stand clear of the puke.
"Gross…" Sero got over it and kept looking. "But if it's not here...where is it?"
"TIME'S UUUUUUUPPP!"
"...shit."
xXx
Back at the nurse's office…
Visions again.
Midoriya couldn't tell if he was conscious or not sometimes. Usually, they were nothing more than dreams. Dreams he often forgot the next morning. Not these ones though. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the fight, or the sort of trance he was in while fighting, but they just felt so real.
A masked man gripping him telekinetically as he writhed in pain. And fear.
Laughing uproariously with a green-eyed friend as they had a belching competition.
A man falling off an icy cliff as he screamed in grief.
A beautiful woman with golden eyes, holding his hand in the realm of spirits. That one was...warm. It made him jittery too.
Being bound in cold chains as enemies surrounded him from all sides, as metal poison made its way through his system. Hanging there from his arms and legs, with no hope of escape.
He unconsciously clenched his fists at the more...unsettling memories. Ever since Leaf opened Korra's memories, he could see them vividly as if he himself had lived them! It took focus, a lot of it to get even a few seconds of his past life's memory, but dreams were different.
If only they weren't so terrifying sometimes.
The vision shifted, showing Korra firebending for the first time at four years old. Shifting again, he saw his (her) wrinkled hands writing in a leather-bound book. A bit younger now, he stood proudly at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Asami's new line of airplanes, which could hold up to 24 people at a time!
Wait...Asami?
His world went black.
He shifted as his eyes fluttered back open. He dimly noticed the IV next to his bed as he sat up a bit. "Where…" he muttered, feeling the tube poking his arm.
Right. The fight.
He looked over to the bed next to him. A figure with spiky blond hair slept on, turned away from the Avatar. "Ka-Kachaan?"
No response. 'Must be asleep. What time is it?'
"Hey Deku!"
"Huh?" His breath hitched as he looked around. It wasn't the usual, angry version of his name. Too feminine. Uraraka had walked in with a cup of tea and teapot, and was already pouring him a cup. "How are you feeling?"
He took the teacup gratefully. "Fine, I guess...how long was I,"
"An hour or so." She finished for him. "You fell down on the way."
"Ah...sorry about that…" he said nervously. Uraraka just giggled and drank some tea herself. They fell into a comfortable silence as the ticking time-bomb slept nearby. The tea was helping him wake up some. 'Did I breathe fire at all?' he asked himself. 'I might have…'
"So Deku," Uraraka gained his attention, setting her own tea down. "What happened to you?"
"Huh? Oh…" Midoriya cringed at himself. "I guess I overdid it, huh."
"A little more than that I think." She said frankly. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Um," he stalled. He wasn't gonna tell her about any Avatar stuff, but it wasn't just that. "Kacchan and I…well, we don't have the greatest…it's hard to explain."
Uraraka listened intently, checking on Bakugo every once in a while to ensure he wasn't listening. Midoriya talked about how the two were friends once. Before Bakugo got his quirk. Then he gets his quirk, but Midoirya doesn't. Not until several years later.
Then they had a fight (he may have left out the underage quirk usage) and hadn't really spoken since.
"So you two are rivals?" She laughed. Midoriya almost laughed too. That was certainly one way of putting it.
"I don't really hate him either," he added quickly. "He's amazing, but that's why I want to beat him. He's the standard for me as a hero, you know?"
Uraraka gave him a look. Then looked at Bakugo. A look that screamed "really?"
"I know, I know," Midoriya replied. "But make no mistake. He'll be an excellent hero one day. And I want to be there when it happens. Running next to him if I can."
xXx
Back at class…
"GOOD WORK EVERYONE! SEEMS WE HAVE MINIMAL INJURIES THIS TIME AROUND!" All Might congratulated. Everyone seemed fine, minus some quirk-exhaustion. Aoyoma had recovered some, though he still had tape in places he didn't know he had. Kaminari was wrapped up in a rubber blanket and was being dragged by Yaoyorozu. Due to overuse, Kaminari's brain was temporarily fried, causing him to go dumb for a while. He gave a small "wheeeeeeeyy" as he was dragged along.
After deciding no one needed to go to the nurse (thank god), All Might pulled out his notes agAin. "NEXT BATTLE IS BETWEEN TEAMS B AND D! B WILL BE THE HEROES AND D WILL BE THE VILLAINS!"
Todoroki nodded, looking at his opponents with scrutiny. Ojiro and possibly Asui could put up a fight in hand-to-hand, not that they'll have that option. Tokoyami was an anomaly, though. That said, he knew he didn't really need teammates.
Just cannon fodder, really.
Before they knew it, they were outside, ready for action.
"HEROES! YOU MAY NOW INFILTRATE THE BUILDING! BEGIN!"
The large, imposing form of Mezo Shoji stepped into the building, forming ears on each of his six hands. Listening carefully, he formed a mouth on one of his arms and whispered to his teammates.
"They're spread out all over the building. One is scaling the hallways on the 3rd floor while the other is patrolling the 5th. 5th floor guy is barefoot. Single guard on the 4th floor, possibly guarding the weapon."
"Ok," Sato figured. "So if we take out the 3rd floor guard, we'll be able to ambush the 4th floor guard and get the weapon."
"What about the 5th floor guard." Mezo asked. "I'm sure they can communicate."
"For your own safety, step outside." A cold voice cut through the discussion. "I'm sure they want to get the jump on us somehow as we walk in." Todoroki stepped up, placing his right hand on the wall. Immediately, ice crept from his hand and right foot to cover the entire building, encasing everything in thick ice. "But we've already won." He turned to his partners. "If you want to capture the others, go for it. I'm getting the weapon." he stated coolly. With that, he walked into the building, almost carelessly. As if he didn't fear anything.
Shoji and Sato looked at each other in awe. He really just took out the entire team? Just like that?
"This guy…" Sato muttered as he stepped in, almost slipping on the ice. "He's cut from a different cloth."
"Agreed." Shoji muttered. "C'mon. Let's find the others before they freeze to death."
Shoto kept walking, calm as could be. He wasn't complacent, not in the slightest, but not many can say they can still move after an attack like that. Soon enough, they'll wi-
POW!
"Look out!" Sato yelled, jumping forward to catch Shoto. Out of nowhere, a dark purple mass struck the two-toned boy in an instant, catching them all off guard. Shoji rushed Dark Shadow, getting a couple of hits in, but the shadow wasn't fazed.
"Ha ha! Weak!" Dark Shadow taunted. Shoji backed off as Todoroki recovered, who tisked at the interference. He sent another wave of ice to form a wall, blocking Dark Shadow off from their side of the room.
"Dammit." Shoto cursed. "One of them, the bird-headed one I'm guessing can attack at range." he turned to his teammates. Maybe they will have use after all. "We'll split up. He can't attack all of us at once, so draw his fire. Capture the others should you find them. Go." As the three went separate ways, Dark Shadow smashed through the thick ice, resuming its attack. Todoroki scowled, forming more ice from his foot as the others ran through the new hole. Dark Shadow turned to hit Shoji, but was blocked by more ice walls. Though not anchored to the ground, all the walls and pillars of ice made it hard to navigate. In the quirk's confusion, Shoji and Sato were able to slip away.
"Hey! Get back here!" it yelled. Dark Shadow made it to the other door when it too was blocked by ice. Shoto froze every door in the room, sans the one Dark Shadow was connected to.
"Eyes on me." he coldly stated, expelling ice from his palm. "Let's see what you got."
xXx
Back at the nurse's office…
"HAHAHAHA! I can't believe that!" Uraraka laughed. "He dared you to eat a ghost pepper?"
"Yeah! We ate them together, though he has a way better tolerance for them." Midoriya reminisced. "We were both 4 at the time…"
The two had been sharing stories for the better part of 30 minutes, talking about families, middle school, various misadventures and the like. Recovery Girl came in every once in a while to heal Midoriya some more and to check on Bakugo. A few minutes later, Bakugo was sitting up, scowling at his less-than-favorable company.
"Idiot, that's not how it happened." Bakugo growled.
"Eh?" Midoriya scratched his head. "What do you mean?"
"I was showing you that I could do it," Bakugo explained. "And your dumbass wanted to one-up me and tried it too. I told you not to because you weren't ready. And I happened to be right."
"Ah…" the Avatar tried to recall. Bakugo did insist he couldn't do it. Which sounded a lot like a dare, so… "Yeah, you're probably right."
"Probably? I know I'm right fuckwit." Bakugo snapped. "You drank like a half a gallon of milk before throwing up. Inko was livid."
Uraraka tried not to giggle at the argument, but just couldn't help herself. Here they were, two mortal enemies and rivals, arguing about who convinced who to do something stupid as kids. Bakugo, albeit slowly, was opening up a bit. Less anger, more talking.
Still plenty of anger to spare though.
"Hey dumbass," he said, referring to Uraraka. "You're not injured. Why are you even still here?"
"Oh, um…"
"She was waiting for me." The three of them turned to see a woman in…very provocative clothing. "Uraraka dear," Midnight said with a slap of her whip. "You're free to go back to class. All Might's instructions."
"Oh! Ok…bye Deku! Katsuki!" she waved goodbye. Bakugo glared murderously at the use of his name, which Midnight noticed. Midoriya waved back, trying not to look at Midnight's…assets, which she noticed too.
"Now boys," she started, sitting down between them. "I heard that you two were being…less than heroic at today's battle exercise. Care to explain?"
The two former friends looked at each other, then away.
"Bit of bad blood?" she prodded.
"Well," Midoriya started. "We just…got really wrapped up in our fight. That's all."
"Yes I saw. Oh yes," she confirmed. "I saw the battle footage. Don't get me wrong, your battle was so intense it brought a tear to my eye. Seeing those emotions burning through, even in training!" She seemed to sigh dreamily. "Such youthful excitement!"
Both students stared at her in disbelief. "Youthful excitement?" they both thought.
"However, your actions did go outside the bounds of the exercise, both in and out of time." She turned to Bakugo directly. "What exactly were you thinking using that kind of force inside the building? And at your classmate? You could have killed him!"
Bakugo tisked, thinking back. Some of the fight was still fuzzy, but he definitely remembered that part. "Bastard was too fast. Figured I'd miss on purpose, but throw him off balance," he explained. "I didn't count on him making me actually miss. That was really stupid of you, by the way!" He yelled that last part to Midoriya. "That was enough of a blast to stop an 18-wheeler, idiot!"
"Exactly my point," Midnight countered, keeping the conversation on track. "You used a deadly amount of force, pointed at your classmate. Even if you were trying to miss, it's still a very serious thing. As a hero, your job is to incapacitate your foes, not to kill them. Even if you were playing the part of a villain, it was a stupid thing to do."
Bakugo gaped like a fish at the information. He hated it, but she was right. Any normal person would have been killed by the attack he unleashed.
"Also," Midnight continued. "Using that kind of force destroyed part of your hideout, which is never a wise move, whether you're a hero or a villain. All around, bad move. Moving on," she turned to Midoriya this time. "The time ran out shortly after you jumped back up from the ground, but you kept attacking unprovoked. For nearly a minute, you both kept fighting. I could count Bakugo as self-defense, as he only fought after you attacked out of time. But I can't come up with a good excuse for you."
"I didn't…" Midoriya stammered. "I didn't hear the bell. All I could think about was fighting back. I…I don't really know what came over me."
Bakugo remembered too. How Midoriya shifted gears so quickly. Where was that tenacity during the first half of the fight?
"I can believe that fight-or-flight took over," Midnight admitted. "You reacted to a life-or-death scenario, and chose to fight. But you went too far, understand? Always pay attention to your surroundings, including the ear piece telling you it's over."
Midoriya nodded vigorously. Just the outcome the teacher wanted.
"Excellent. Also," She stood up, cracking her whip a little. "Act up like that again, and we'll have some words about your…naughty behavior. Understand, boys?" She licked her lips with barely contained malice. The two were successfully weirded out by the dominatrix themed hero.
"Got it." Midoriya squeaked.
"Yeah, got it." Bakugo rolled his eyes.
"Great! Take care and good luck!" With that, she strutted out, mission complete.
…
…
"Do…do you think she always acts like that?" Midoriya asked thoughtfully. "It must be hard to keep up your persona 24/7-"
"Shut the fuck up Deku."
xXx
"THE HERO TEAM…WIIIIIIINS!"
"Hah…hah…" That was too close for Todoroki's standards. Sato finally managed to find and attack Tokoyami in a completely different part of the building, ceasing Dark Shadow's attack. Shoto then made a break for the weapon, running right past Ojiro (who was still frozen) and getting his hand on it right before the time ran out.
He couldn't believe how long he had to fight the sentient quirk, it took a lot out of him. Vaguely, he wondered if his fire could've worked better against his foe.
He banished the thought.
Back at the examination room, All Might gave his critiques for each student. Ojiro was unprepared for his opponent and was caught off guard. He should look into sufficient footwear to battle tough foes and manage his environment. Asui did her best, but her frog style quirk just couldn't handle the cold without going into hibernation. Luckily, Shoji found her and wrapped her up for warmth. Shoji was given high marks for his role in locating the enemy and caring for the injured. Tokoyami was marked high too, but All Might noted that it's difficult for him to defend himself when attacking at range and to work on a solution. Sato was scored highly for his quick thinking and capturing Tokoyami.
As for Shoto…
"YOU'RE QUITE GIFTED, YOUNG MAN. BUT YOUR TEAMWORK NEEDS WORK, I'M AFRAID." All Might told the boy. "ALSO, YOUR QUIRK, LIKE MANY, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HURT OR MAIM YOUR OPPONENTS IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL. IT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE, BUT TRY AND EVALUATE YOUR OPPONENT'S POTENTIAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES SO YOU DON'T OVERDO IT IN THE FUTURE."
"Thank you sir," Todoroki replied. "I'll keep that in mind."
"GREAT! AH, YOUNG URARAKA! YOU HAVE RETURNED!"
"Yes sir," she replied as she rejoined class. "Bakugo and Midoriya have recovered too, they just need rest."
"WONDERFUL TO HEAR! EVERYONE, MEET ME OUTSIDE PLEASE." Once outside, All Might began his ending brief. And he had to make it quick too.
"ALL AROUND, THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT FIRST DAY OF TRAINING, YOUNG HEROES! AND APART FROM BAKUGO AND MIDORIYA, NO MAJOR INJURIES! I HOPE YOU ALL LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY!"
"I have to say," Asui spoke up. "I think I liked today's class more than the last one. Aizawa can be intense." The rest of the class seemed to agree with her sentiment.
"WELL, THAT'S THAT! NOW, LET ME SHOW YOU HOW A HERO MAKES AN EXIT! LIKE HE'S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BEEEEEEEeeeeeee!" Without another word, the Number One Hero sprinted off, creating a dust trail behind him as he vanished.
"Ok, that was awesome!" Kaminari yelled. "You think we'll get him again tomorrow?"
"Probably, he is the heroics teacher, dummy." Jirou said, exasperated.
"So, are Bakugo and Midoriya really ok after that?" Mina asked Uraraka as they walked back to the homeroom. "They were really beat up."
"Don't worry, they're both really strong!" she answered. "And Recovery Girl can heal basically anything, after all."
"I can't believe how much of a powerhouse they both are." Sero commented. "Easily on par with Todoroki." Todoroki gave an icy scowl at that. "But, you know, barely." Sero corrected.
Todoroki thought about Midoriya too. Was he as powerful as him? He could use fire, rocks, water and air. That's two more quirks than Shoto can use, but he doesn't really have enough finesse if you ask him. And besides, he decided a long time ago that he'd only need his ice to become a hero.
No matter what.
And that's the end of Chapter Eight!
I suppose I ought to explain Midoriya's pseudo-Avatar State fight trance.
The way I see it, Aang was sometimes possessed by a past life when a particular Avatar felt compelled to intervene, evident in two examples. The first, being when Aang was trying to convince Jeong Jeong to teach him Firebending. When Jeong Jeong refused, Roku temporarily took the wheel to persuade the firebending master. The second, when Kyoshi assumed control during Aang's trial and confessed to killing Chin the Conqueror. Both instances were triggered by either intense feelings or his surroundings.
My point is, Korra is the sole past life for Midoriya, so she is more willing to intervene when she sees fit until Midoriya gains more experience. And Midoriya was blown right out of a building. Not enough to trigger the full power of the Avatar State, but it was just enough to piss Korra off. So she gave Midoriya a, shall we say, "gentle nudge in the right direction".
In hindsight, All Might came on a little strong in his paranoia and his willingness to get Uraraka to spy on the potential mole. I could believe Aizawa being that paranoid, but not even he would use any of his students to sniff out a possible traitor with next to no proof. Even so, he made up for it this chapter. We're all human after all. But it begs the question, who is the traitor?
I guess we'll find out another time.
Poor Bakugo. Being outclassed in sheer force. Egos shatter easily after all.
Hope you all enjoyed!
REWRITE
Hey everybody, I hope you liked the slight rewrite of the chapter. I know why I was having trouble writing the next one, I accidentally wrote myself into a corner. Couldn't make things make sense with the Nezu reveal, so I cut it out entirely. Hope you agree with the changes.
And now for the reviews!
To Sithlord-6666
Water would be a good choice personality-wise for Uraraka, it's not as if these traits are mutually exclusive to each element. Not every member of the Fire Nation is a super-driven powerhouse like Zuko and not every member of the Water Tribe is adaptable. Even the new Air Nation was mostly made up of Earth Kingdom citizens, despite Earth being Air's natural opposite. All people, even within a nation, are different. Someone from the Earth Kingdom could potentially be skilled at waterbending through their personal disposition, and vice-versa.
So while Uraraka would be predisposed to waterbending, she could also prove to be a skilled earthbender if given the power.
To Wizardwolf 1020
Your hope may come to pass with future updates. During Midoriya's fight, the costume kind of got in the way more than it helped. Midoriya was able to bend better after it was damaged and loosened up. So maybe some updates are in order.
You've raised some very good points, and it makes enough sense that I'm adapting your reasoning into the story. Some, not all. Midoriya, Bakugo, Uraraka, and even All Might have room to grow throughout the story, and will prove to do so. Thanks for the review.
To AnimeKing6
He just might, but I don't want to copy other stories by doing so. I'll just try to do what makes sense and go from there.