CHAPTER 95
The buzzer went off, once, twice, announcing to everyone that someone was captured. Followed by the hesitant and almost pain-filled admission of Vlad voicing the results. Class B captured. For one team, that was music to the ears, for another, it was a cry of alarm. That much was clear in the way Juzo tensed, looking over his shoulder like he expected someone to appear behind him like a ghost in a horror. Sakura licked her lips, feeling the cold on her tongue.
"Looks like you've fallen behind."
"Dammit," Juzo hissed under his mask.
"I could've told you it would end up this way."
"We can still turn this around!" Juzo said, placing his hand on the ground. With no intentions of giving away his thoughts, he turned the grounds into slush once again. In haste to watch Sakura's head sink to the bottom. There wouldn't be any air in that sludge pit, and he knew she would be out like a light in less than three minutes.
This was a very unorthodox move, but with two teammates already captured, the path to victory was becoming blocked. And just like any cornered animal, the urge to lash out was strong. It wasn't a strategic maneuvering, but one of desperation and wild instinct not to be pinned down.
'I didn't think Ojiro could beat Kaibara, or that Iida would get Pony.' Class B knew each other, and not just their quirks. But they knew each other as individuals. All their training together had peeled back a layer, revealing something new every time. They understood each other's thought processes. It's how they all passed their provisional licensing exams. But now they were apart, and being picked like that.
Juzo knew if he didn't change the odds now, then this game was as good as over.
He watched as bubbles popped on the surface, and he waited until they stopped. "You are good, but you failed to realize something."
Spinning on his heel, Juzo already activated his softening quirk without questioning how Sakrua had gone from being underground in front of him to right behind. Turning the ground behind him soft, His eyes locked on Sakura, who was standing, arms crossed, but as he waited for the ground to swallow her, that's when he realized something was off. Sakura stood as if the floor were still solid. She took one step before she was behind him again.
"You should've left a long time ago." That was the last thing he heard before Sakura's foot came at him from his left. His helmet vibrated from the impact before he lost consciousness.
Swiping at her clothing to shake off the slush, Sakura picked up Juzo by his collar.
"Class A knows better than to go down easily." Her head turned as a touch of warmth reached her; she saw the colors of bright orange in the distance mixed with steam and smiled.
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Shouto grimaced as he felt the pressure in his arms threaten to crack his bones. Switching between heat and ice, he watched each element absorb into Tetsutetsu's metal skin and become a tool to counter him at every turn. It didn't matter how large he made his flames or how intense his power—Tetsutetsu bulldozed through them all. All the while, he turned Shouto's own quirk against him.
Though his body was adjusted to take on heat and the cold, Shouto's constitution didn't account for relentless attacks. Even he had his limits.
"COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!" Tetsutetsu yelled, a wide-toothed grin on his face as he plowed through another heap of ice. Pushing Shouto further back.
'I can't beat him with physical attacks,' Shouto had realized this quickly, but that didn't mean he could stop either. His opponent was forcing him to keep using his ice and fire, which in most cases had been the greatest offense, now as a rather flimsy shield.
Shouto thought about his father, who always seemed to appear in his mind when he was in his worst predicaments. Remembering how he warned Shouto that having no control over his flames would be a danger. At the time he heard this, Shouto had blocked out his words, fueled by rage. But things were different now. Sakura had shown him that power was nothing without control. For everything she held in her hands, she knew how to throw it with precision. Unlike Shouto himself, who realized he greatly lacked in that category.
"What's wrong, Todoroki!?" his opponent called, slamming his knee into Shouto's torso, the impact bending his guts on the inside. "That's as hot as you can get?!"
"No!" He hissed a response through gritted teeth. To gain distance again, Shouto released another barrage of ice, towering high, that took Tetsutetsu by surprise, pushing him back. But he was quick to recover and start smashing his way through. But Shouto didn't stop there. With his left side burning, the heat breaking through his fireproof suit, the temperature began to rise. The force of fire hitting the ice created a powerful gust of wind; however, Tetsutetsu was like an anchor. At that moment, he looked like he could stand next to a tornado and not be blown away.
"That won't work on me!" Tetsutetsu declared tenaciously rushing at Shouto again.
This time, Shouto created another barrier of ice to block his path, then quickly threw down more ice and hooked his feet onto it to glide away. He knew he wouldn't get far, since his opponent could easily smash through any obstacle with brute force, but Shouto just needed a little distance between them.
'If I use just my flames, this could end,' Shouto was hesitating for a reason. He saw the way his father used prominence burn and took down that Nomu. But that move had been extremely dangerous. It was meant to be a final move, because after that, further action would be next to impossible, if not life-threatening. But at this point, what other choice was there? Shouto had finally met his match, and it was going to bury him if he didn't move.
He activated his flames, burning hotter than anything he had thrown before. The entire area became alight, burning with heat that could be felt across the grounds. Them etal around them threatening to melt.
"This'll end up a whole lot worse than just a few burns for you."
"Anyone who isn't ready to die in training won't risk it all when it matters either. Limits are there to be broken!"
The two began to engage in a hard brawl, Tetsutetsu reached Shouto and was throwing punchs while calling ouch to the heat that seeped through his metal exterior. The air was thin and this battle was attrition was making the heat hit Shouto as well. Despite his fireproof skin.
"If you want to exceed your limits. You should take accountability for it."
They heard creaking behind and watched as a shadow fell over; this was a large tower toppling over. Shouto used his ice to pierce through the structure before it could fall onto them.
But then Shouto watched as Tetsutetsu was taken, with a powerful punch that dented through his stomach and had him bouncing off the grounds.
Sakura wrung her wrists, glancing over at Shouto. "Sorry for the interruption, but these kinds of guys don't stop until they're out cold or dead."
Shouto let out a breath that seemed to extinguish his flames. He attempted a step, but his knees shook, and he fell over onto Sakura's shoulder. He didn't move away, feeling her cool skin that had been buried in his ice, and he sought out more without consent. Too groggy to realize he had shifted his cheek into her neck to use as a cooling pad.
"You feeling okay, Shouto?"
Honestly, he was feeling a bit nauseous, if nothing else, he would've been better.
"Sorry, I…I couldn't beat him."
"What are you talking about? He would've melted from the inside out if you got a little hotter," Sakura glanced over at Tetsutetsu's limp body. Anyone else passing would've thought he was dead the way he lay with the limbs splayed out in those unnatural positions.
"You two boys can hash it out another time."
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"YEOWCH!"
"I'll be done in a minute," Sakura pushed down Class B's Tetsutetsu with little bedside manner. He had just gone on about how he didn't need to be the first to receive treatment, despite Sakura already examining that he was in need of immediate care. And hydration, along with Shouto.
Tetsutetsu's cry could be heard by everyone on the platform; some winced in sympathy, while others just stared in silence, more interested in the person treating his third-degree burn. His bare skin was tender, despite his metal plating that had stood between Shouto's flames and his skin. But it still managed to penetrate. Tetsutetsu's hardheadedness was the only thing that kept him charging at him like a rabid dog. But when they all returned to the platform, Sakura called up both of the teams to line up for treatment so they wouldn't have ot get their stamina drained by recovery girl, or miss the next battle.
And they could receive a good scolding from their teachers. Which was unavoidable given the circumstances.
They at least received some ecstatic welcomes and praises from their classmates. A warm welcome.
"Ah, sorry about that. Are you alright?" Sakura said when she noticed how his breathing had become shallow, likely do to chest pains.
He gave Sakura a toothy grin, while gripping his torso, giving a lopsided half-grin, "Y-Yeah, you bet. You just gave me a good sucker punch, Haruno!"
"Yeah, looks like I cracked some ribs, don't worry, I can fix that up now."
Tetsutetsu grunted, gripping his arms as he felt his chest ache, like someone was taking a hammer to his ribs, and now he knew what it felt like when bones were healing hyper fast.
"Ah, don't be. That was one fun whooping! Even though I didn't last long."
"How optimistic," She removed her hands, assessing the damage, giving a light graze over Tetsutetsu's ribs, affirming that everything was back in place. The moment she gave Tetsutetsu the green light, he hopped off, eager to chat with his classmates.
Sakura gestured for Shouto to come over and join her on the makeshift treatment ground. Everyone else had minor injuries compared to Shouto and Tetsutetsu. She had worked on Shouto before they even left the grounds, not wanting to delay his treatment in case he was suffering any abnormalities due to his quirk. Now they were just waiting for the water. Sakura requested to bring in some drinks and rehydrate so they wouldn't have to go to the nurse's office until after the lesson.
Juzo came up to her, holding out his hand to her, "You're impressive, Haruno. Not just your strength. Your healing is something else to watch, too."
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before taking his hand with a firm shake, "Thanks. You're not bad yourself."
Vlad called his students for their review. They all stood in front of him with gazes like puppies who had just torn up the couch. He cleared his throat, holding a rather tight face.
"While you worked well together, despite the imbalance in your team setup, you didn't drop your guard or underestimate your opponents. Which is quite impressive, and shows your understanding of the fundamentals of combat and teamwork, more than most groups…." Sweat dropped, and eyes dropped as they realized that he was losing focus. "Ah, yes, you simply couldn't account for the tenacity of your opponents. And assumed they would stop in a situation that seemed hopeless, and in most cases, of course, that would work."
It was true, none of them had accounted for their adaptability; instead of their opponents just pushing themselves to their limits and causing self-harm in the process, being engulfed in growing desperation, they had switched tactics and didn't risk burning out before they achieved their goal.
"We have a long way to go," said Juzo, glancing over at Sakura, who was handing Shouto a bottle of water and some rehydrate. Her face scrunched, and she pointed at him, scolding him and opening the bottle to pour in the powder and handing it back to Shouto.
"I should've used fire in the first move," Shouto shouted, staring at his hands, open-palmed and free of injury now.
"I don't know about that," Sakura said, catching his eyes. She handed him a bottle of water that she had requested for everyone after the match. "You are used to using ice the most, but it's probably the better choice in most cases. You can't take back the flames," She took his hand, tracing her thumb over his palm like she was drawing a map. "What's important is your own instincts in battle."
"Somehow I feel like I really lost that fight," Shouto admitted.
"That's not it," Tetsutetsu said, coming over to him. "You were totally going to roast me if another minute went by. But Haruno, your punches are seriously hard; they cracked through my iron."
"I get that a lot,"
"Haruno, Todoroki,"
There was no mistaking their homeroom teacher's voice; he called them over with his usual detached level of enthusiasm, Mashirao and Tenya already present and waiting.
"You caused quite a bit of damage with that last attack, Haruno," Her shoulder lifted in response, but Sakura didn't argue with him. "As for you three. You did very well, and you thought on your feet with a cool head. Haruno, you shirked off until the last minute."
"Can't argue,"
"She told us to take the lead, Aizawa-sensei," Mashirao said as if that justified her actions.
Tenya added, "No doubt Sakura could handle them on her own, but instead of hogging the fight, she allowed us to have this learning experience, and I'm grateful for that."
"I didn't realize it until now," Shouto started, glancing over at Sakura. "But the way I've seen Sakura fight has improved my perspective in battle,"
Shouta did a brief glance over them, with a sharp stare that bore into each of his students, hands in his pockets, so near fear of him reaching for his scarf. "Very well."
Shouta knew why he was getting this response from Sakura, even her classmates. Sakura believed she could've ended the battle before it started. Any other time, he would've reprimanded her, but that was before he saw her take on nearly 20 students. Neither numbers nor powers would make a dent in this girl's tenacity. That was her real power, not a reliance on her quirk, and she had shown her classmates how to walk that path as well.
"Alright, next team, get ready for match 4!"
This time it was Katuski's team with Kyoka, Sero, and Rikido versus Yosetsu Awase, Setsuna Tokage, Kojiro Bondo, and Togaru Kamakiri from class B. While everyone wished their classmates best of luck, Katsuki passed by Sakura.
"Ha!" Katsuki huffed, turning away. "Just watch, I'll have a perfect victory."
Sakura smirked, waving her water bottle at him. "You'll have to make sure none of your teammates get captured then."
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Katsuki declared a flawless victory, and he did not disappoint. His entire team managed to capture all 4 members without losing anyone on his side. This time, they saw a shift in Katsuki's choice of combat, and Sakura saw that as the defining factor in their victorious outcome. Defending his teammates and the same cutesy being returned, unlike before, when he preferred to tackle the tasks alone, thinking they would be nothing but dead weight. Class B seemed to believe they had predicted Katsuki's patterns, and strongly believed he would move on his own without a care for his teammates. Which was a valid thought wave, but had caused the rapid turn and delay in reactions from their side when they saw Katsuki actually moving with his teammates and not just ahead of them.
Although Class B wasn't playing either. In fact, at the beginning, they managed to turn all of class A's quirks against them and nearly captured everyone in one swoop.
"He's always growing,"
"I think Kacchan's faster than before," Izuku held his lips tight in observation, then gave Sakura a look of contemplation. "Um, did you help Kacchan when you two were training together?"
While Izuku was more than happy to share the details of his training with Katsuki as well as his progress, his rival had become much more tight-lipped. And he especially turned prickly after his training session with Sakura. He had caused an explosion large enough to alert the entire school, but he didn't tell anyone what happened.
Sakura shrugged, gaze fixed on the screen. "From what I've observed, while Katsuki is a quick study and good at everything he tries…" Izuku blanched a little, but he knew it was the truth. "He doesn't improve as much as he credits himself."
"D-Did you tell him that?"
"The only way someone like Katsuki is ever going to push himself beyond his limits and not let his ego get in the way is when he is in a real battle, with lives on the line. Because he's not stupid enough to let his pride kill someone."
For someone who liked to do flips and tricks, there was no time for that in actual combat. It was efficiency that mattered the most. And it seemed like Katsuki was finally comprehending that.
Izuku had noticed it as well, though. While Katsuki's goals and poor demeanour hadn't changed much, under all that, he was still growing, never foolish enough to let anything stand in his way of becoming the best. Including himself.
"He now knows how to put himself on the line for someone else."
'I think he's changed a lot because of you.' The freckled boy thought, sneaking a glance at Sakura.
The match ended with Class A's team earning a perfect victory, 4-0, and none needing to go to the infirmary. Even Toshinori gave his praise to their performance, especially to Katsuki, though he tried to be passive in his response; there was a hint of bashfulness at the compliment from his idol.
Izuku also called up to him, and he instantly switched his tone. "I'm making progress.
"Yeah, you were great out there."
"At a speed you can't keep up with," He said, clicking his tongue with a 'tch.'
"Nah, I'll surpass you."
"Shut it! Is that all you got to say, cuz you'll never beat me, you dory dweeb?"
"Just watch me!"
It was times like this that Sakura could see the change between the two, despite Katsuki trying to show he wasn't changed.
When he came back, now heated and dripping with sweat, he gave a wide-toothed grin and marched straight up to Sakura, like he was ready to beat his chest.
"Told ya! What you have to say now, Fivehead?"
Izuku's shoulder slumped, and his eyes closed upwards, 'Of course, Kacchan is still Kacchan.'
It was noticed that Sakura seemed to take a long pause, just holding Katsuki's gaze without a slip of her passive mask. Then she looked over his shoulder at his teammates with a stretched smile.
"Good job, everyone! Your teamwork was something else."
That's when Izuku saw the red tick mark on Katsuki's forehead start throbbing. "Hey…."
"Of course, with your balanced team, you were bound to get the job done. I mean Kyoka's earphone jack to scout ahead, and Hanta's tape for long range and trap setting, and Rikido-
The air was filled with smoke and the smell of sweetness, indicating Katsuki's explosives had gone off. "Are you ignoring me right now!?"
Suddenly, the entire class held their breath as they watched Sakura raise her hand and bring out a wide palm on Katsuki's head.
"What you want praise too? Good job there Katsuki. Aren't you proud?"
For the first time, Izuku watched Katsuki's entire face turn red, and his eyes twitched like he was having a seizure. Everyone else backed away, some trying to cover their mouths to hold in their laughter.
"DAMN YOU!"
At the end, Shouta, who was looking forward to praising his students with an enthusiastic thumbs up for keeping overall damage to a minimum and staying efficient throughout the battle, had vanished into the dark cloud of ash and smoke that Katsuki produced while he chased Sakura around the platform trying to get in one good hit to 'blow her head off'.
That's all for now Folks. I hope this read gives you a breather from any tough times, and that 2026 will be your new best year! I've been working on new and old stories, and I'll be sharing them very very soon, so keep an eye out.
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (96, 97, 98, 99)
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (43, 44, 45)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter (34, 34, 35, 36, 37)
-Through the Looking Glass chapter (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi