MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"Time's almost up." Tatsuo said to Kyoka after the two of them moved the bomb to a room on the first floor of Building A. "So, are you ready, Jiro-San?"
Shifting from foot to foot in an uncomfortable manner, Kyoka turned and looked up at Tatsuo, who was almost a whole foot taller than her.
"I guess." Kyoka replied somewhat blandly. "But I just don't understand why we moved the bomb to the first floor. I mean, wouldn't it make it easier for Midoriya-Kun and Bakugo-Kun to find it?"
"Definitely." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "But it would also make it easier for you to defend it."
Tatsuo then pointed towards a box on the wall with a wire connected to a fire alarm.
"You see that?" Tatsuo asked. "You know what that is, right?"
"It's the fire alarm controls." Kyoka replied.
"Exactly." Tatsuo said, nodding again. "And if you plug your earphones into it and use your ability to project your heartbeat as vibrations, what do you think would happen?"
Kyoka's eyes widened in shock when she heard that.
"Looks like you get it." Tatsuo said with a smile. "You could send out the sound of your heartbeat as a soundwave attack. In fact, I think you should integrate speakers into your costume to take full advantage of that ability."
"I never thought of that." Kyoka said while lowering her head in thought.
{"The preparation period is over."} Toshinori's voice sounded through the four combatants' transceivers. {"Let the battle begin."}
"Well, it's time." Tatsuo said as he turned towards the utility room's door. "For now, I need you to use the vibrations from Midoriya's and Bakugo's footsteps to track their locations. If one of them gets close to this room, blast them with the power of your heart. And when I hear it, I'll come running... Sort of."
"That sounded so cheesy." Kyoka replied with an eye roll.
Tatsuo only chuckled in response as he passed through the door.
As soon as there was no chance that Kyoka could see his expression, however, Tatsuo's smile changed completely. Instead of one used to encourage his teammate, it turned much darker.
"This is the second time you've challenged me, Bakugo." Tatsuo said to himself as he walked down the hall. "This time, I'll only teach you a lesson about challenging an apex predator. But next time it happens, I'll really make you understand what kind of mistake you've made."
Meanwhile, Izuku and Katsuki had just entered Building A. However, unlike Tatsuo and Kyoka, there were no signs of teamwork between them. Though, that had nothing to do with Izuku.
"Kacchan, I think it would be best if we stuck together." Izuku said cautiously. "If we separate, Soramoto-Kun will pick us off one by one."
"Shut the hell up, Deku." Katsuki snarled. "I don't need anyone's help to take care of that pretty boy bastard. Especially not from someone like you."
With that, Katsuki stretched his arms backwards. A moment later, he rocketed forward, explosions in his palms propelling him forward at high speed. Meanwhile, Izuku could only watch his supposed teammate with a helpless expression on his face.
"Kacchan..." Izuku muttered quietly.
*Smack!*
A moment later, Izuku raised both his hands and slapped his cheeks hard enough to leave handprints. Then, his [Quirk] activated, and he was covered in arcs of green energy.
"I'll show you, Kacchan." Izuku said as he rushed off to follow Katsuki. "I'm not the same as before."
Like that, Izuku and Katsuki began to explore the first floor of the building. At the same time, Tatsuo, who could feel their locations thanks to his spatial awareness, walked down the halls of the building at a leisurely pace.
{"If you take a left at the next corner, you should run into them soon."} Kyoka said over the transceiver.
"Cool." Tatsuo replied, letting Kyoka show off her own abilities. "But I think I'll wait to confront them. If I show up too early, they'll figure out that the bomb is on this floor."
{"Understood."} Kyoka replied.
Continuing his leisurely pace, Tatsuo kept track of Izuku's and Katsuki's locations while being updated by Kyoka. Meanwhile, Katsuki continued to rush through the building like a bull in a china shop while Izuku tried his best to keep up.
About a minute later, to Tatsuo's surprise, Katsuki seemed to give up on searching the first floor, rushing up a nearby stairwell towards the higher floors.
{"One of them is heading upstairs."} Kyoka reported over the transceiver. {"The other one seems to be hesitating if the sound of his footsteps is any indication."}
"The one rushing ahead is probably Bakugo." Tatsuo replied. "He would never hesitate. Hmm... Looks like he thinks there's no chance the bomb would be on the first floor."
{"I thought the same thing."} Kyoka added.
"Well then why don't we make that thought more solid?" Tatsuo asked with a grin. "Let me know if he heads even higher than the second floor. "If he does, I'll [Blink] to the hallway and confront them on the third floor. If we're lucky, they'll think the bomb is on the third floor or higher."
{"Got it."} Kyoka replied.
Another minute passed while Tatsuo strolled through the halls of Building A before Kyoka's voice came over the transceiver again.
{"They're about to reach the third floor, Soramoto-Kun."} Kyoka said.
"Got it." Tatsuo replied. "Which stairwell is it?"
{"East side."} Kyoka's answer came quickly.
"Alright, I'll be there in a second." Tatsuo said as he activated his [Quirk].
In the next instant, Tatsuo disappeared from the building's first floor, reappearing in the hallway leading to the stairwell on the east side of the building.
*Bang!*
Not even a second later, the door leading to the stairwell was slammed open, and in the open doorway, Katsuki stood there with a foot raised, clearly having just kicked the door open.
"Well, that took longer than I expected." Tatsuo said with a smirk on his face. "Either way, I'd go back if I were you. Trust me, it's for your own good."
Though what Tatsuo said was the truth, to Katsuki, it sounded like nothing less than mockery. As a result, small explosions began to crackle in his palms while his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Kacchan, what's wrong?" Izuku, having just finished climbing the stairs and seen Katsuki standing in the doorway, asked cautiously.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Deku." Katsuki barked. "Just go to the next floor. You'll only be in the way here."
Hearing that, Izuku's eyes widened. He then leaned to the side, peering past Katsuki. When he did, he saw Tatsuo standing a little ways down the hall. And when the two made eye contact, Tatsuo waved at him in a friendly manner.
"Kacchan, I think we should take him on together." Izuku said as he took a step closer to Katsuki.
*Boom!*
"Shut up, Deku!" Katsuki shouted as he blasted himself towards Tatsuo. "I don't need your help!"
*Boom!*
A moment later, Katsuki arrived in front of Tatsuo. He then swung his right arm with his palm open and pointed at Tatsuo. However, just before he could trigger his [Explosion Quirk], Tatsuo pivoted out of the way while ducking his head under Katsuki's arm.
Seeing how easily Tatsuo evaded his attack, Katsuki gritted his teeth. Then, he leapt into the air and threw a roundhouse kick at the side of Tatsuo's head. Yet, Tatsuo also dodged it without much issue.
*Boom!*
However, instead of just letting himself fall to the ground to be easy prey for a counterattack, Katsuki stuck his left arm out and created another explosion. As a result, his was propelled away from Tatsuo's reach before landing on the floor.
Katsuki then rushed in to continue the fight. However, before he re-engaged, he glared back over his shoulder at Izuku, who was still standing in the stairwell with an indecisive look on his face.
"Why the hell are you still standing there, Deku?" Katsuki roared. "Get the fuck out of here before you--- Urgh!"
"I don't know who made you think that looking away from me in the middle of a fight was a good idea." Tatsuo growled after closing the distance between himself and Katsuki with his footwork. He then threw a stiff left hook into Katsuki's rib cage as he continued. "But I will not be disrespected like this."
Tatsuo then followed up with a right hook to the other side of Katsuki's ribs, a low kick to his left calf, and an uppercut that snapped the ash-blond's head back.
*Boom!*
Tatsuo then pivoted out of the way to avoid another one of Bakugo's explosions before slamming his knee into the shorter boy's gut, causing Katsuki to double over before he brought his hands down on Katsuki's back in an axe-handle smash.
*Bang!*
Katsuki slammed face first into the ground after the smash. Yet, he did not stay down long. Placing one hand on the ground to prop himself up, he extended the other to the side. Then, with a series of controlled explosions, he spun on his hand, his legs sweeping at Tatsuo's, forcing him to back up.
"So, what if you know some kind of martial arts?" Katsuki said as he wiped a trickle of blood from his lips. "None of that will matter if I blow you into little pieces."
"You'd actually have to hit me before you start talking about shit like that, Dude." Tatsuo said casually. "But you're just way too predictable."
"I'll show you predictable." Katsuki growled as he raised his arms in Tatsuo's direction with the right palm facing his target while he formed a circle in front of his palm with his left thumb and index finger.
'Is he really gonna use something like that against me?' Tatsuo thought to himself while looking at Katsuki with an amused expression on his face. 'Did he already forget what I showed at the [Quirk] Apprehension Test? Oh well, Midoriya's probably gonna be really surprised in a second.'
While that thought ran through Tatsuo's head, a mischievous smile ghosted across his face. At the same time, he raised his right hand to his ear and tapped the transceiver.
"Jiro-San, has Midoriya made it up to the next floor yet?" Tatsuo asked calmly while watching Katsuki ready his attack.
{"Yes."} Kyoka replied. {"From what I can tell, he just stepped out of the stairwell. He should be moving towards the north."}
"Alright." Tatsuo replied. "The building is probably gonna shake pretty hard in a bit. So, brace yourself."
{"What do you mean?"} Kyoka asked, a hint of panic making it into her tone.
Unfortunately, Tatsuo did not have the time to answer Kyoka's question.
"[AP Shot]!" Katsuki shouted, interrupting Tatsuo's conversation with Kyoka.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
With Katsuki's shout, he created the most powerful explosion of the day. However, instead of spreading from his palm like every other explosion he made during the trial, this one was fired forward through the circle he made with his left hand. As a result, the explosion acted more like a beam than a normal explosion.
"*Sigh* You really should have thought this through, Dude." Tatsuo said as the tips of his fingers lit up with a midnight purple glow. "I wonder if you'll have points deducted for friendly fire."
"What are you---" Katsuki shouted before the sight in front of him caused his words to get caught in his throat.
What Katsuki saw was Tatsuo quickly raising his hands in front of his chest. Then, as if he were moving aside a pair of curtains, he spread his arms to either side. That naturally led to space being torn open. And on the other side of the space tear, Izuku could be seen running towards the tear while [One for All] crackled around his body.
"Huh? Kacchan?" Izuku mumbled in confusion.
Despite his confusion, Izuku instinctively raised his arms to protect himself while increasing [One for All's] power just past the limit that his body could handle without straining his body.
*Boom~~~~~~!*
A moment later, Katsuki's [AP Shot] slammed into Izuku. The force the impact sent him flying back the way he came, straight through the door to the stairwell, and tumbling down the stairs.
Meanwhile, everyone watching in the monitoring room could only stare at the screens with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. At the same time, All Might winced, hard, at the sight of his chosen successor's body being thrown back like a rag doll.
"I kinda feel sorry for Midoriya-Kun." Akatsuki said while covering her face with her hand. "Having such a hot-headed teammate makes stuff like this so much harder, doesn't it?"
Sakura only nodded in agreement. Then, she turned her attention back to the screen showing the faceoff between Tatsuo and Katsuki. And when she saw the perturbed expression on Katsuki's face, she had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Back in Building A, Katsuki's facial muscles were twitching as he watched the tear in space close. On top of that, he could hear the sound of Izuku bouncing around in the stairwell behind him. And the realization that he allowed his temper to get the better of him, causing him to forget about Tatsuo's ability to connect to spaces by tearing space made it even worse.
"I hope Midoriya's alright." Tatsuo muttered, snapping Katsuki out of his state of mind. "That would have never happened if the two of you fought me together. I bet he suggested something like that, too. But I don't even have to guess. You dismissed him without a second thought, right? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Working with someone who refuses to work with you must really suck."
While he initially felt somewhat guilty for letting his anger get the better of him, when Katsuki heard Tatsuo's mockery, he once again saw red. He then shot himself forward with his explosions acting as propulsion.
"Shut the hell up, you pretty boy bastard!" Katsuki shouted as he closed the distance.
This time, instead of leading with an explosion, Katsuki, still moving at high speed, raised his right knee, aiming at Tatsuo's chin. In response, Tatsuo leaned to his left and pushed Katsuki's knee to his right. He then followed up with a left hook aimed at Katsuki's back.
*Boom!* *Boom!*
Before Tatsuo's punch could land, however, Katsuki snapped his right arm out to his right and triggered another explosion. As a result, his body was pushed to the left, barely avoiding Tatsuo's fist.
In the next instant, Katsuki pointed his left arm forward and caused another explosion that caused his body to spin to his left. Meanwhile, he whipped his left leg outwards. And thanks to the spin, his heel was headed straight for the side of Tatsuo's head.
Instead of blocking or dodging, Tatsuo simply [Blinked] away from Katsuki's kick. When he reappeared, he was in the air, head just shy of touching the ceiling with his right leg raised, ready to deliver an axe kick on the top of Katsuki's head.
*Boom!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Reacting quickly, despite the fact that he was still spinning, Katsuki snapped both his arms to the front and triggered explosions from both of his palms, forcing his body out of the way of Tatsuo's kick. Though, it did cause him to slam back first into a wall.
In the next second, Tatsuo's heel slammed into the floor, cracks spreading from the point of impact. He then spun on that heel and lashed a kick towards Katsuki, who was sliding down the wall with the breath knocked out of him.
"Damn it!" Katsuki growled as he lifted his arms to defend himself.
"Kacchan~~~!"
*Bang!*
However, before Tatsuo's kick could land, Izuku, looking worse for wear, shot out of the stairwell, his body crackling with green energy while his right fist was cocked back to deliver a devastating punch.
"You recovered faster than I thought." Tatsuo muttered as he aborted his attack and planted both feet on the ground. "But you can't telegraph your punches so much, Midoriya."
To prove his point, as Izuku came within arm's reach, Tatsuo reached out and wrapped his hands around Izuku's forearm. Then, he slipped under his arm, pressed his back against Izuku's chest, and threw him over his shoulder.
*Bang!*
The force behind Tatsuo's shoulder throw cracked the floor even more while knocking the air out of Izuku's lungs.
After letting go of Izuku's arm, Tatsuo hopped back, putting some distance between his two opponents. Then, he looked around at the ceiling and walls of the corridor they were in.
"Hmm... Not as many as I would have liked." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "But I guess this will do."
With that, while watching Izuku and Katsuki pick themselves up and prepare for battle once again, Tatsuo reached up to his ear and tapped the transceiver.
"Jiro-San... Now's a good time, I think." Tatsuo said.
{"Are you sure?"} Kyoka asked back. {"Won't you get caught in it, too?"}
"Don't worry, I'll come back right before you do it." Tatsuo replied. "Just let me know when you're ready."
{"Okay."} Kyoka affirmed.
By then, both Izuku and Katsuki had gotten back to their feet, both boys looking at Tatsuo warily.
"What are you planning?" Katsuki asked sharply.
"Nothing really." Tatsuo replied with a dismissive wave.
"Kacchan, we have to work together." Izuku said while trying to figure out what Tatsuo could have planned with Kyoka. "His [Quirk] makes it hard for anyone to face him one on one."
Instinctively, Katsuki wanted to refuse Izuku again. However, when he remembered how his [AP Shot] was used against his teammate, he gritted his teeth. Then, he nodded his head. Though it was clear that he was quite unwilling.
With that, Izuku and Katsuki rushed forward together to attack Tatsuo. Meanwhile, Kyoka, after ending the conversation with Tatsuo pulled her earphone jack out of the wall. She then turned towards the fire alarm control panel, and without any hesitation, she plugged it in.
"I've never tried this with speakers before." Kyoka muttered to herself. "I hope Soramoto-Kun is right about how this will work."
After muttering to herself, Kyoka tapped the transceiver in her ear.
"I'm ready." Kyoka said solemnly.
{"Got it."} Tatsuo replied, sounding much more relaxed than Kyoka expected while he fought two people at the same time. {"I'll be there in a second."}
A second later, Tatsuo was standing next to Kyoka. Meanwhile, Izuku and Katsuki were left confused by his sudden departure.
"Do it." Tatsuo said with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, Kyoka activated her [Quirk], transmitting her heartbeat through the fire alarm system. Luckily, Tatsuo had disabled the fire alarms in the maintenance room beforehand.
*Ba-Dump!* *Ba-Dump!* *Ba-Dump!*
As Kyoka's heartbeat sounded through the fire alarms, the entire building shook thanks to the soundwaves that vibrated the air. Meanwhile, Izuku and Katsuki, who were completely unprepared for such soundwaves, found themselves falling to the floor as their vestibular systems were overloaded.
At the same time, Tatsu and Kyoka heard Toshinori's voices over the transceiver, letting them know that the time limit was over and that their team had won the match. Izuku and Katsuki got the same information. Unfortunately, the loud sound of Kyoka's heartbeat mixed with the destructive soundwaves made it hard for them to hear it, let alone acknowledge it.
"Well, that's it." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "We should probably go help the other guys. I doubt they'll be able to walk straight for a little while."
Kyoka nodded in response as she stopped using her [Quirk] and followed Tatsuo to help Izuku and Katsuki.
'*Sigh* I should have beat up Bakugo more.' Tatsuo muttered to himself. 'But if I did that, Jiro-San wouldn't have had a chance to show what she's capable of. Oh well, I'm sure he'll give me a reason to put him in his place again later.'