Chapter 14: First Meeting of UA Sentai
Back in class, it was time to choose class officers. In the anime, they'd basically skipped over this part for Deku's nomination of Iida, so I was interested in what would happen now.
"We will need a Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian," Momo said next to me at the head of the class. "Do we have anyone who would like to join any of those positions?"
"Pass!" Mina said, giggling with a hand behind her head. "Those all sound way too smart for me."
"Honestly, they don't require that much," I said. "Secretary just has to maintain any correspondence we have, do any signup sheets, take accurate notes-"
"I can do that!" Deku's hand snapped up. He blushed when everyone looked over him, but seemed determined nonetheless. "I can take notes!"
"It's pretty much all you can do, shitty Deku," Bakugo growled.
"Bakugo, if you don't want to contribute, be quiet," I snapped.
"You gotta problem with me, shitty turtle!?" he shouted, rising out of his chair and doing that white-eyed rage look he seemed to have mastered.
"So yeah, Deku can take the minutes. You down to be our Historian as well? They'll need to basically do a narrative of all our activities and such."
"Yeah, I can do that!" Deku said happily.
"Stop ignoring me!" Bakugo shouted, explosions rising from his palms.
"Oy," Aizawa glared at him. "Seriously. I'm trying to nap. Stop yelling."
The blonde stewed in his seat while Deku looked like his world was getting rocked.
"Is it really a good idea to combine both roles?" Momo asked me, looking a little bit annoyed.
"I think it is, to be honest. I always thought both jobs have a lot in common. Just in case though, Deku, do you have anything to prove you can do the job of taking accurate notes?" I asked.
Bakugo scoffed, and Deku nodded frantically. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a burned notebook, rushing to the front of the class and handing it to Momo. "This is my Hero Analysis For The Future journal. Number 13!"
"Why is it burnt?" Momo asked, looking it over hesitantly.
Deku flinched, eyes flickering at Bakugo. "Uh… there was an accident. But it's still in good condition."
She opened it up, looking it over. "Analysis on hero quirks?"
"Yes," he said proudly. "I've spent years analyzing the quirks of heroes I admire to understand them! I even made a page for Uraraka-san and Iida-san."
"You did?" Ochaco said, blushing just a bit.
"Yeah!" he looked around. "I haven't made any for everyone else yet though. I haven't seen a lot of your quirks in action."
"Oh my," Momo had opened the book to a page on Ochaco. There was a listed set of how her quirk worked, her uniform, thoughts on possibilities for her limitations, confirmed weaknesses. "This is very well written! Good job, Midoriya-kun! And you do this regularly?"
"Any time I see someone I admire using their quirks!" Deku said. Iida seemed touched, while Ochaco's blush went nuclear. I didn't have the heart to tell them Deku admired EVERY person who had heroic traits. He was an 'all-loving hero' after all.
"I retract my previous objections then," Momo said seriously, handing him back his notebook. "Okay then. How about a treasurer?"
Things got a little awkward. Finally, Jiro raised her hand with a sigh. "I'd like to volunteer as tribute," oh, that meme was still a thing. That or it had become a super common vernacular and I hadn't heard it. "I need to practice my math anyway. Just don't get mad if I mess up."
"We'll have each other's backs," I reassured her. "Honestly, this job is likely going to be based around us working with the UA Super Sentai as a class. That should be interesting," I said, looking over at Aizawa. "All right, teach. We have our class officers."
"Fantastic," he said with all the sarcasm old age had given him, unzipping his sleeping bag and rising to his feet, sighing as Momo and I sat down. "Okay. Now, we'll be going over some basics of hero law. This will cover the current laws in place for structural damage, what a hero is liable for-"
Even as he went into it, my mind was on our after-school activities.
------
After School
When class was done, we all gathered in front of Battle Ground Gamma. It was a massive pipe-filled area, like someone with a vague idea of how factories, power plants, and other industrial sites worked, had smashed together a whole bunch of them to make a sprawling area with varying levels and sizes of pipes, catwalks, and platforms. Kinda an insane hodgepodge to look upon. And by far one of the dopest things I'd ever seen.
"-have been permitted to use the Battle Grounds as we wish, as long as it is for training purposes," Iida said. Kendo and he were standing in front of us, the two leaders of the UA Sentai. Kendo had a confident smile on her face, while Iida was very seriously reading from a series of notes in his hands.
I took a look around at the students. Class 1-A and Class 1-B were here. All except for Bakugo. Surprisingly, Shoto had shown up. He was standing right next to me actually, with Pony on my other side and Mineta in front of me. I thought he'd be too cool for the class (no pun intended), but having him there would be useful.
Other than Class 1-A and 1-B, some other students had arrived. I didn't recognize most of them outside of just walking past them in the halls. One that stood out was a short girl with a good build, shoulder-length pink hair set into dreadlocks, with a pair of goggles on her head, a giant belt, and... She had crazy eyes. I mean, yes, her eyes had an interesting scope-looking design that had to be tied to her quirk, but she had the crazy eyes in a way that reminded me of an old friend of mine. That girl was nuts. I could feel it in my shell.
Another student was standing just a bit to the side. He looked tired based on the dark bags under his eyes. He had messy, indigo-colored hair that flared out in large tufts around his head, and was looking around at us suspiciously, meeting eyes with me briefly before snapping his head away.
One person I recognized was the leader of the girls who I'd stopped Mineta from perving on. What was her name? Chiku-... something or other? The brown-haired girl with a ponytail. She'd glared at Mineta, and when she noticed I was standing near him, gave me a similar one. I'd clear that up later.
There were three other guys, all standing together in a group. An overweight guy with a beehive blond haircut, of all things, a skinny dude with glasses and green hair currently typing in his laptop, and a short guy with purple hair. The three of them were talking to each other, looking around at us with enthusiasm. I wondered what they were up to.
"As Iida-san said, we'll be working together on ALL aspects of being a hero," Kendo said. "Not just fighting, but skills we might need down the road like investigation, teamwork, management," the trio of random dudes perked up. "And even working with the Support class to make items that will help us with our powers."
The pink girl giggled a little bit. It was creepy and reminded me of an old adage all men must learn when it comes to crazy girls.
"Now, to start, I would like us all to begin with some discussion-"
"Discussion?" Kaminari mumbled behind me. "Damn, won't this get boring quick?"
"We need to get to know each other's quirks," Kendo said, taking over for Iida. They were doing well at that, balancing each other. "We can't exactly go running around fighting each other. We'll have spars down the road, but for our first session, we'll break up into groups of five and simply talk about our quirks, share ideas on training, and ways we can improve in the future!"
"We've already figured out groups we can break up into," Iida began. "I will begin listing them off."
"We'll be on different teams, won't we?" Pony asked, looking up at me.
"That was the plan," I said sadly. "You and I have talked about our quirks to death. Better to see what advice we can give others."
"That's fair," Pony said in English, pressing a finger to her lips.
"I just hope I get grouped with some cute girls," Mineta sighed. "But it would also be nice to be teamed with Shoji."
"...I didn't know he was your type," I mumbled, honestly confused.
"Not like that you dumb turtle!" Mineta shouted up at me, glaring. "He was my opponent in the Battle Trial, so I want to ask him what I could have done better."
"Oh. Well, that makes perfect sense then."
"What about you," Mineta asked as he calmed down. "You hoping to group with someone specific?"
"Yeah. But only two."
Kaminari was one. I had some ideas on how to upgrade him before the USJ incident tomorrow. Granted, that was more of a last resort. If things went right, then I wouldn't have to do much for that. Still, preparation is key in all things.
The other was Koda. His quirk had given me some ideas for a few projects I wanted to work on, and I wanted to talk to the shy guy about them.
Hopefully, I'd get either one.
------
"Well, I guess we better get started," I said, looking around. Izuku was holding onto his notebook, looking around nervously. We'd taken one of the rooftops looking over the area, and were sitting in a circle.
Reiko Yanagi, a Class 1-B student, sat next to Izuku. She was a quiet young woman, with chin-length, pale gray hair, parted to the left, hanging down over her eye and obscuring the majority of the left side of her face. She held her arms up at the elbows all the time, her hands hanging loosely, like a classic ghost or something.
Next to her, Hitoshi Shinso, a General Education student, was sitting on my other side. The kid was leaning against the fence behind him, quiet as he looked at us.
The final person there was Kinoko Komori. She was a short girl with very thin arms and legs, with honey brown hair, curved inwards in a mushroom-shaped bob that reached just below her narrow shoulders. She had yet to really meet any of us in the eyes.
I looked around. Izuku coughed. Reiko looked over at Komori, who fidgeted. Shinso eyed us all silently.
What, seriously? ALL of them were the quiet type? Damnit. Somewhere on a level below us, I could hear Kaminari and Kirishima shouting happily as they chatted with one of the Management kids, the praying mantis kid, and the steel guy. Now there was a group that wasn't running out of things to say. Well, this would work either way.
"I'll start then," I began. "My name is Bowser Koopa. My quirk is Dragon Turtle. I can basically do a variety of things based on my body, with superhuman strength, durability, and stamina as my base powers. I'm hoping to master a few abilities that I should be able to do but have yet to master at all. Now, who's next?"
The others looked at each other. Then Shinso leaned forward. He glared around before finally speaking. "Hitoshi Shinso. My quirk is…"
He hesitated. Finally, he spoke. "My quirk is Brainwashing."
We all froze. I stared at him. "Wait, what do you-"
I froze. For a moment, I was locked inside my own body. I stared helplessly through eyes that wouldn't move at my command. Shinso eyed me with a little bit of bitter amusement.
I immediately began to panic. Ever since I was a kid, I was terrified of getting my mind, my control, taken away. A whole combination of things had turned that fear into something potent. I didn't do drugs or drink. And part of that was because I never wanted to lose control of my body. I prided myself on keeping control of my faculties. Hell, it was part of why being changed into Bowser had such a huge effect on me.
Locked inside my own mind, with no way to move unless Shinso willed it? I wanted to scream even with my thoughts dulled by his quirk.
"If someone responds to me after I use my quirk, I can control their actions. I just need to concentrate on one person at a time. And I can't make them do anything truly complex, like speak. But anything else is under my control.…"
Suddenly my body was my own again. I gasped, staring at him in horror. The others did the same. He smiled, though there was no happiness to it. "That is my quirk. Villainous, isn't it?"
None of us spoke. He didn't seem surprised. If anything, it looked like he'd expected that.
I took a deep breath again. Then again. "I'll be honest. I hate your quirk."
Everyone flinched. Shinso only smiled sadly. "Yes. It's the quirk of a villain after all."
"No, that's absolute bullshit," I spat out, growling with a bit of anger. He snapped his head up to look at me. "I hate it because I fucking hate losing control of my body. I have enough hangups about that sort of thing. So I hate it. But it's also a great quirk for a hero," Shinso stared at me, eyes widening, his mouth opening just a bit. "You can make suicidal people get to safety, shut down hostage situations, distract villains by turning them against each other. Hell, just the threat of your Quirk is useful. If communication is one of the most important parts of warfare, making people too scared to speak to their allies is damn useful."
"Ah, he's right!" Deku leaned forward excitedly. "A quirk like that is perfect for non-violent solutions to problems! Even if it has weaknesses, it's still very useful! Oh, what are the limits of your range?"
"Um, as far as my voice can reach," Shinso answered, leaning back as Deku got close. "And I can't use an electronic device to project my voice."
"And I guess it only works on those of us who can understand the languages of man, the intent of human nature?" Reiko said, hands still in that praying mantis stance.
"..." Shinso stared at her, uncomprehending.
"Only works on humans," Komori explained.
"Oh, uh, yes, it only works on humans."
"So that's why you had trouble with the practical exam," Izuku mused.
"I didn't even take it…" Shinso mumbled. "When I told people I was headed to UA, my teacher encouraged me to go for the general education course."
"...Encouraged, huh?" I scowled. "Well, fuck him. I hate your quirk, but we'll help you develop it, man. We've got enough punchy dudes. Having a guy who can shut down a bad guy with a word is too useful. As long as you prove you've got the guts though. Because we are going to be doing combat training here."
"You want me to fight you?" he asked, smirking. "Now that you know my weakness, won't you simply pick me up and punch me in the face?"
I hesitated to speak. Not because I didn't know what to say, but because I was worried about his quirk. He sighed sadly.
"I'm sorry. I won't use my quirk on you again. I just… sometimes I can tell a lot about someone's true nature based on how they respond to my quirk. I'll hold off on it though. I really do want to become a hero. And I guess things like that aren't very heroic."
"Yeah, to say the least," I sighed. "Anyways, a lot of heroes have quirks that, while useful, aren't built for combat. They find ways around that, usually with support items. If you need a weapon, well," I reached for the railing behind him, my forearm just next to his head. He flinched at the sound of squealing metal before my hand was back in his view. "You can't wrong with a big fucking stick."
A piece of railing landed on his lap, a piece of metal about the length of an arm, and thick around as a tennis ball. "The oldest weapon of humanity, and still useful as hell. We'll figure out support items later, okay?"
Shinso stared at me before nodding quickly. "Y-Yeah! That would be great!" he winced while trying to grab it. "It's um… a little hard to hold?"
I took the metal rod back. I squeezed it carefully near one end, slowly molding the steel, then handed it back to him, a grip of sorts on the end I'd squeezed. "There you go."
As he took a hold of his new weapon, I looked over at Reiko. She pressed a finger to her lips in thought. "I am Reiko Yanagi. My quirk, Poltergeist, allows me to control nearby objects," she held out a hand, and a couple of stones floated up from the rooftop to orbit her hand. "But my limit is the weight of the average person."
"Poltergeist? Shouldn't that be just, telekinesis?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, I know the answer to this!" Izuku said. "Early on, quirks were given names that were very similar to most commonly known versions of that power. So those who could throw fire were called fire-users, telekinetics were telekinetics, etcetera. But, as quirks became more common, they had to give them names that were specific to the variation of that power. My mother's quirk lets her pull small objects towards her for example, so it would need to be called something specific to differentiate it from Reiko-san's!"
That made sense. "Okay. So, Reiko. What is the limit on how many objects you can control?"
"How many? The limits of my power are tied to a body's relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, giving rise to a downward force. I have yet to wonder about a quantity of something, especially the total of a thing or things in number, size, value, or extent."
Fuck me, she was a literal living dictionary.
"Okay. So you can probably control a bunch of, say, metal ball bearings? Sand? Even a bunch of crystals? That's pretty epic."
Izuku spoke up next. "How fast can you move the objects? What's the limit of your range?"
"The fastest I've thrown it was around 45.1 meters within a single second, however, I was forced to expend enormous energy and focus to do so. My most consistent is around 30 meters per second."
"That's still not bad at all," Shinso mumbled, still hefting his new weapon a bit.
"As for my range, around 3 meters," or close to 10 feet.
"Damn, that's useful. How about you, Komori?"
She looked around at us. After a moment, she swallowed, girding herself. "My name is Kinoko Komori. My quirk is Mushroom."
Oh, come on universe, seriously? Team the mushroom quirk-user with Bowser?
"It allows me to generate fungus spores. I send them out, and they make mushrooms wherever they touch," she pressed a hand to the rooftop. When she took it away, a couple of mushrooms slowly grew from the concrete. "But it is easier in humid zones. This one here is little grifola frondosa," her shyness faded a bit, replaced by excitement as she pointed at a very frilly-looking brown and white mushroom. "And this one here is Tricholoma equestre!"
"Ohhhhhh," Izuku said, leaning forward to stare at them.
"Be careful," Komori said with a small smile. "Some people think tricholoma might be poisonous," as Izuku backed away in fear, she continued to smile. "My quirk isn't really meant for direct combat, but it is useful for several things, even if they disappear in two to three hours. And they work very well on robotic foes, to gunk up their insides and prevent them from working."
"Oh, is that how you passed the practical?" Shinso asked curiously.
"Yes! My little spores entered the robots and grew inside them, covering their circuitry and destroying them from the inside! So cute!"
I stared at the formerly shy girl as she gushed over that, a little horrified at the thought. Cause if she could do that to robots, then technically her spores just needed to contact any surfaces. So if they got inside someone's throat... Damn. I turned to Deku.
"Okay, Deku. How about you?"
"Oh, I forgot you're calling me that too," Deku mumbled, blinking.
Oh shit. "Uh, is that okay? I heard Ochaco calling you that earlier, so I thought-"
"It's fine, it's fine!" he said, waving a hand.
"Is it really fine?" Reiko mumbled. "Calling him that could be seen as an insult, right?"
Izuku continued speaking. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, but I don't mind Deku, since it makes me think of 'dekiru' now!" he said, using the Japanese word meaning "to be able to do". Also, Deku… your crush on Ochaco is showing when you blush that hard dude. "And my Quirk is called… w-well, I don't have a name for it yet," One For All. "It's a strength-enhancing quirk. But I don't have much control over it. I… break my limbs whenever I use it."
The other three kids stared at him.
"...Like, on purpose?" Shinso asked hesitantly.
"No, I just have issues with my control," Deku sighed, staring at his right hand as it clenched into a fist. "My body isn't able to withstand my own power. So whenever I throw a punch, or I try to jump, I end up using more power than I can handle."
"...Well, looks like we all have something to work on then," I said slowly. "Shinso, I suggest that when you train, you have two goals. Your body and your voice. Plus, maybe some heckling."
"Heckling?" Shinso asked in confusion.
"You know, like Spider-Man, or Deadpool. Taunt, tease, mess with them, make them make a mistake," I grinned. "I've got expertise in the subject."
"I'm not really the… heckling type," Shinso said with some hesitance. "I mean, I can make people angry, but I don't really tease people like that."
"That's the point of training," Reiko said idly. "Twist your words into the noose around the necks of your enemies, choking forth the utterances that will be their undoing."
"...Uhhh, yeah," Shinso sweatdropped. "I'll do that."
"I'll share some videos that might help?" I said, getting a nod from Shinso. "And we'll figure out how to get some agility in ya. Not much point in training you to piss people off if you can't dodge a guy trying to rip you in half."
Shinso suddenly looked a lot less positive about all this.
Reiko spoke up next. "I like your ideas about carrying sand and other small objects with me. I will practice my control with them."
"If you do it right, you could end up being sorta like Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender," I mused. "Tossing rocks, sand, controlling them to make defenses. Even if your limit right now is the size of the average human, the average human weighs a lot. And if we consider how lightweight something as strong as, say, titanium is, then you have a lot more options."
Reiko nodded, her hands still in that weird praying mantis stance she seemed to favor. Then she quirked her head to the side. "Avatar… that is such an old series."
"Yeah, are you an 80-year-old man?" Shinso asked teasingly.
"My tastes are straight out of the past. I blame my upbringing," I said with a smirk. "As for Komori, I'll be honest. I don't know a lot about spores or mushrooms."
"Can you focus your spores to grow the way you want?" Izuku asked the Greenette writing constantly in that notebook of his. "Make them specifically grow in one spot to catch your fall, or surround a limb like a makeshift shield to soften a blow?"
"I can't," Komori said with a little shy smile. "I tried, but my little babies go where they want."
"Hmmm," Deku stroked his chin. "Yes, if the spray of the spores is relatively random, then your quirk would mostly have use as an area of effect move."
"But she doesn't need to work about how her spores come off her body, just where they go after, right?" Shinso pointed out. "Maybe a gun?"
"A support item that can gather my spores and send them out as a projectile?" Komori hesitantly added, brushing back her hair a bit and revealing her eyes had an 'X' in her pupils. "I haven't thought of that. I don't know though…"
"We'll have to test it out I guess," I mused.
"How about me?" Deku asked hesitantly. "Do you think there is a way for me to use my power without breaking my arms?"
"I don't know," I admitted immediately.
"Ahhh," Deku sighed out sadly.
"Sorry. I mean, I have some guesses," mainly from those AMV's I'd seen a time or two that showed him zipping around while surrounded in lightning. "But I think we need to think on your power a bit. Deku, are you a late bloomer?"
He flinched. I guess I was just a bit too close to the truth for his tastes. "S-Something like that!"
"Because, to be honest, you have all the control of a child with your power," I said.
Deku seemed to fall into a depression. "I-Is that so…"
"But if you didn't even know you had a quirk until recently, that would make sense. You've got all the power of a full quirk, but none of the experience withstanding its effects," I scratched the scales on my chin. "Bakugo likely had to work up to being able to withstand his own explosions for example."
"He did," Izuku frowned thoughtfully. "When we were little, he couldn't make nearly as big explosions without hurting himself. When I first realized what my quirk was, someone told me if you tried to get someone who suddenly got a tail to do tricks with it, they wouldn't be able to control it."
"Well, how do you use your powers, anyway?" I felt like I was grasping at straws. Without the context of the other seasons-
I shut down that thought immediately. If I kept complaining about not knowing what happened in the rest of the series, I might as well complain I hadn't arrived with a boxed set of the manga and the creator of the series, Kōhei Horikoshi, giving me a breakdown on his universe. No, I'd need to discard those thoughts. From now on, focus on what I could do with the knowledge I currently had, not on what could have been.
"How does it feel?" I asked Izuku again. "When you use your powers, I mean. That brief second right between when the power activates and the moment after when your limb breaks?"
"There is a lot of talk about breaking limbs around here," Shinso muttered to Kimori, who nodded quickly.
"It feels…" Deku frowned, thinking. He raised his fist and clenched it. "Like my powers are flooding through me. As though energy is pouring into whatever limb I'm using, filling it up and up."
"So… it's an energy that flows through you? Sounds kinda Dragon Ball Z-Esque…" I muttered.
"Again with the ancient references," Shinso teased.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't pour as much energy as you can into a single limb? I feel like I'm grasping at straws here since my own super-strength works off of muscle power, but if the problem is that you can't handle the amount of energy, then maybe use less?"
"Ah, yes," Reiko spoke up, looking thoughtful. "When a cup is full, and you have no other cup, you simply do not fill it further, yes?"
Deku looked struck. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, that's true. I haven't thought of it, but-maybe-if-I-start-channeling-the-energy-of-OFA-in-smaller-amounts-my-limbs-would-be-able-to-withstand-it-better-and-I-"
"It makes sense, I think. After all, a boxer doesn't put every last bit of their power into every hit. You put enough to hurt, but you always make sure you've got a bit of energy leftover," I got up and demonstrated with some quick jabs in the air, followed by a cross. "See? I make sure to use enough power to hit, but I don't exhaust myself. Control is more important than power sometimes."
I lowered my fists. "What do you guys say we practice a bit then?"
"Practice?" Shinso asked while the three Hero students seemed to immediately get what I was saying.
"We have an hour or so. We won't be able to do much, but the amount of effort you put into this hero shit is important," I explained. "In fact, that's the best advice I can give you if you want to be a hero, Shinso. If you really want it, then start training. Find ways to train every day. Doesn't matter if it's as big as a four-hour workout, or as small as reading up or watching the adventures of past heroes to get ideas from them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Shinso said, rising to his feet.
"Deku. You and I should train together since I'm the only who can take a punch from you without breaking in half,"
"I'm not sure how I feel about you describing it that way," the greenette said nervously.
"Shinso, I recommend you look up Deadpool's movies, all nine movies are free to watch and it's a good way to learn from the master of heckling people into making mistakes. Ryan Reynolds is an ancient treasure dude. And maybe look up videos on stick fighting."
"I'll practice with these stones," Reiko said, looking over the gravel on the rooftop. "I believe I can use your advice to find new ways to apply my abilities."
"I guess I should speak to that girl from the Support class?" Komori said, looking around. "So that she can help me with my spores. Where is she?"
I gave her a deadpan look. Then I pointed up and to my left. Komori looked up. Then her hair flew out of her eyes as they widened.
Ochaco was in the distance, rocketed above the battleground, screaming. A pink-haired girl with a pair of jet boots on was laughing happily while they flew together, shouting something we couldn't hear.
"...Maybe I'll talk to her later?" Komori mumbled nervously.
My 'crazy chick' senses were top-notch for a reason.
That aside though… a spar with the main character. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't wanted this.
Chapter 15: USJ Day
Deku and I were soon on our own, though I could hear everyone else in the background. Tetsutetsu and Kirishima were the loudest. Near as I could tell, the only training they'd decided to do was smash into each other with all their strength, so a loud clanging sound came from their direction.
Izuku was clenching and unclenching his fists in front of me, raising his hands up, then lowering them. I stretched, trying to loosen up a bit. "I'll be honest, man. I've been kinda wanting to fight you."
"You have?" Deku looked up at me, a little nervous. "W-Why?"
"Well… your power is probably one of the best to take me down. You can literally toss me into the ocean if you feel like it, make me fly like Team Rocket. You can give me a real fight. And honestly, we should be looking for those. If we want to be heroes."
I could tell he understood. Fighting wasn't the only part of being a hero. When you broke it down, being a hero is sort of a 55-40-5 thing. 55 percent saving people, 40 percent fighting villains, with the other 5 in service in doing those first two parts of the job much more efficiently. Something like that at least.
Deku seemed to get that. He nodded, clenching a fist shakily. "Yeah. I get it. Then, what uh… what are the rules?"
"You punch me for a little," I said easily. "We aren't sparring for a fight, we're trying to learn. Just try and control your power like we talked about. And don't worry about punching me too hard." I smacked my shell on my belly, the dull sound of it echoing a bit. "I can take it."
He still looked unsure. But he finally nodded. Hesitantly, he stepped forward.
At that point, I admitted even I felt a little nervous. After all, I was tough. But not as tough as adult Bowser would be. And Deku had the power to create tornadoes in his body. His problem wasn't a lack of strength, but an overabundance of it. I had no idea if I could really survive a full power blow from him. Considering All Might could turn city blocks to powder.
But I also felt kind of excited.
So when Deku stepped forward and lightly tapped my stomach with a hit that wouldn't have damaged a snowflake in mid-melt, I had mixed feelings.
"...Really?"
"I know," Deku said nervously, pulling back. "I'm just testing it. I need to make sure I can start small. Maybe… if I focus. I can use a small percent. Maybe 2 percent of my power?"
His lips turned down. His eyes flickered with determination. I crouched a bit, setting my stance. This was it! He reared back. And this time, his fist glittered with emerald sparks snapping around his knuckles.
His punch echoed as it slammed into my chest. I stumbled back, grunting as the breath briefly left my lungs. Damn. Two percent of OFA was actually kinda impressive in terms of power. The two of us quickly turned our gaze onto his hand.
For a moment, I almost panicked. His knuckles had some blood on them where they had split, and I worried we'd failed. But then he spoke.
"I-It worked!"
"It did?"
"Yes!" Izuku looked at me, grinning proudly. "My knuckles were split, but that was because I was punching your shell. But I can feel it… My bones aren't broken. It's not perfect," he winced as he clenched his fist again, but his grin was still massive, tears at the corner of his eyes. "But I can make this work!"
"Wow," I said, genuinely surprised. "Well… we better test it. And maybe this time you should hit me on my arms while I guard."
"R-Right." Deku raised his hands. "Here I come!"
He stepped forward, snapping out a quick jab. I blocked it on my right forearm, wincing a bit at the impact, though it didn't hurt too bad. Both of us feeling more confident now, Deku started throwing his fists while I took the blows across my arms and legs. Soon we got into a rhythm. Deku danced around me, jabbing and throwing crosses. His determined face shone with sweat as he started treating this less like a chore and more like a fight.
I took a quick swipe at him. He ducked it, then uppercutted me in the jaw. I stumbled back, staring at him. Then I spat out some blood.
"S-Sorry," Deku said weakly. "I just, when you swiped at me-"
"It's cool," I said with a grin. "Like I said. I want a fight. Now that we know you can throw a punch without killing yourself… How about we take this more seriously?"
I think my smile worried him. Or terrified him. But he still nodded shakily. "O-Okay Bowser-san! Let's do it!"
I nodded back, raising my arms up. I stepped forward and jabbed at him. Deku ducked the punch, only to yelp in surprise when my other hand wrapped around his shirt. I pulled him upwards and tossed him at the wall behind me. The kid twisted in the air, landing on the wall feet first and jumping away in time to dodge my tackle as I smashed through the wall he'd been on. He leaped back towards me, punching me across the chin.
Damn, kid had some power. Not as much as one of Cow Lady's blows, but comparing him to a pro hero wasn't fair.
I raised my other arm and brought it around in a quick hook, barely brushing Deku's arms.
He let out a shout of pain as he was sent back, sliding on the ground. I rushed after him, dropping to all four feet the way that Cow Lady often did.
He jumped over my charge. I watched him pass overhead, grinding to a halt as best as I could so I could turn and face him when he landed behind me-
He wasn't there.
In the moment of surprise I had, I suddenly felt something pulling at my back. As I was lifted into the air to see the ocean of pipes above us, I realized what had happened. The kid had grabbed onto the pipes, spun around them, and landed right back in the same position he had been! He'd known I would try to turn and face him!
Of course. My shell was tough. But it made it damn hard for me to account for shit that was behind me. I just couldn't turn my head enough to actually see things without turning around entirely. So I'd learned to twist as fast as I could, to keep my opponents in front of me when I wasn't attacking with my spikes.
And Deku had noticed that. So he'd used that instinct I'd built against me.
The kid lifted me up with a scream of effort. "Yaaaaa!"
He launched me forwards, sending me flying at the pipes above us. I was pretty impressed.
But I still wanted to fight.
I pulled myself into my shell and started spinning. When I slammed into the pipes above, it was as a spiked cannonball, smashing apart the metal. I snapped out of my shell in time to see Deku below me, mid-jump with his fist pulled back. I punched. So did Deku.
Our fists met in the middle, his smaller knuckles smashing into mine. I went flying upwards a bit more, my fist a little sore.
Deku, on the other hand, smashed into the ground below, bouncing off the concrete. He gasped in pain, eyes rolling back into his head. Oh fuck!
"Kid!" I landed on the ground, rushing over to him. "You okay!?"
He coughed a bit, staring up at me. Then he grinned, raising a hand weakly in a thumbs-up. "Y-Yeah! I can still fight!"
From the looks of it, the fact he could might as well have made it Christmas. I frowned. "...Kid, are you trying to tough out your injuries in some sort of anime protag tough guy thing."
He smiled more weakly. "I-I'm not an anime protagonist."
Well, I walked into that bit of irony.
"Come on, Goku Jr." I helped him to his feet as he winced, bruises growing across his arms and fists. "Let's go to Recovery Girl so she can yell at you."
"She doesn't always yell at me," he said weakly, following me.
I chuckled at that. Man, I felt so much better about tomorrow now. With Deku now able to fight, at least on some level, we'd have a much better chance against the horde… actually-
"Deku, what do you think?" I asked him as we walked along. "If you had to fight villains now, or hell, if you went up against me or Bakugo. Does this help?"
He looked surprised at the question, then cupped his chin in thought. "I'm not sure. My power isn't-damaging-me-like-before-but-I'm-also-sacrificing-a-lot-of-strength-and-it's-hard-to-focus-on-individual-limbs-still-it's-good-I-can-actually-fight-for-prolonged-periods-and-I-suppose-I-can-still-use-a-full-force-blow-"
I let him go off, listening carefully. I kinda agreed with what he was saying. Well… if things went well, then I'd never need to worry about us fighting. But if we had too, at least the kid had an option.
------
"It's not as bad as the usual, but I'm still unhappy with you," Recovery Girl said to a now shirtless Deku as he winced. "Your arms are severely bruised, as are your hips, buttocks, and abdominal muscles. And your knuckles are cracked, likely from punching this stubborn one," she said with a little glare at me. "Not to mention your tendons are likely torn all to hell.
"Better than turning his limbs to spaghetti," I noted. True to her words, the kid looked like someone had been getting beat up by a train. His chest, arms, and abdomen were all black, blue, yellow, and green.
"Barely," Recovery Girl muttered. "Okay, stand still," her lips did that weird extendo thing, landing on his cheek. He glowed green for a moment, then sank in exhaustion as the black and blue across his body slowly faded away. "Thankfully you still had plenty of stamina and the wounds weren't as egregious as the last time you visited me. But I'd like it if every punch you threw didn't end in a hospital visit, Midoriya-kun."
"I understand, Recovery Girl," he said respectfully, looking tired but much better now.
"Now, as for you," she spun to glare at me. "Don't tell me that you were going to hide your own injuries."
"Injuries?" I looked myself over. I had a scrape on my knuckles from when our punches met in the air. Not really a scrape, more like a small mark on my scales. "Oh come on, this is nothing-!"
A pair of lips smacked onto my cheek. I grumbled as Recovery Girl backed away. "Seriously?"
"And take these," she said, holding out a pair of lollipops, smiling. "Have a good day now, and be more careful you two!"
"Yes, ma'am," Deku and I said in unison, going with the flow.
------
After that, nothing much happened. Deku and I said our goodbyes. I headed home, me jogging there, and arrived in time for the next part of my plan. I got everything ready to go.
If my plan worked, then none of the kids had to throw a punch. But if I had too, well… we'd see.
I also looked into the various forums I'd joined. Nothing too crazy there. I'd have thought some idiot in the massive group of villains that showed up at USJ would have bragged about it somewhere online, but it looked like that Shigaraki kid had managed to keep a tighter hold on them than I'd expected. Then again, it was more likely his boss had. The hand-face idiot didn't really strike me as a leadership-type of dude. Or a moisturiser-type dude.
On the other hand, the Hero Killer was still causing damage. He'd gained a following among those who hated heroes, and had yet to be caught. I stared at the postings from people, some cheering him on, others hating him. Then I shut it off.
------
USJ Day. It was finally time.
I got up way too early that day, considering I hadn't been able to sleep very well the night before. I forced myself to get another wink or two, then headed out. I grabbed a bite to eat on the way and texted Pony to apologize that I couldn't walk with her to school that day. Got into class and sat down early.
A couple of the kids streamed in and said hi. I mostly said hi back. But I felt like a bundle of raw nerves the whole time. I knew I could handle a fight. But somehow, waiting for the fighting made me more nervous than the thought of actually brawling.
The longer it took for us to head out, the more I wanted to freak out. I waited and waited and waited. I barely paid attention through my classes. At one point, Aizawa must have noticed I wasn't paying attention. I almost snapped at him when he asked me a question. I gave a wrong answer, and he corrected me before continuing the class.
At lunch I ate a bit, but nowhere near what I usually did, which Pony noticed.
"Are you okay?" she asked me as we put our trays away, a worried look on her face.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just working through something."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I chuckled, patting her on the head, the tiny horse girl squeaking in surprise. "No. But thanks, Pony."
She still looked worried, which oddly made me feel better. Knowing someone gives a shit is a mood lifter.
But by the time Aizawa stood in front of us and told us we'd be going off-campus for our special, I felt like I was going to break my desk just to relieve the tension.
We all got into our costumes except Deku, who went with his PE uniform since his costume was still getting repaired. Once we were all gathered together outside, I was stretching a bit, waiting.
"Bowser-kun," Iida's voice brought my attention. He was looking sternly at me, carrying a whistle in hand. "The bus will be here soon. I wanted to suggest that we line up by class number so that we may smoothly move into our seats, and therefore leave in a timely manner! Would you like to do the honors?"
Ah. What a diligent kid.
"I don't think we should," I said a little bit more gruffly than I'd wanted to. "We don't know what the seating on the bus will be like. I think just going in single file will work for now. Okay?"
"Ah, I didn't think of that," Iida hesitated. "Also… Are you all right, Bowser-kun?" when I didn't answer quickly enough, he continued. "It is just that you have seemed rather tense today. Is something worrying you? Have you been doing badly in class?"
"No… It's actually just that…" I wracked my brain for a bit, then defaulted to the oldest excuse in the book. "Food poisoning, I think," Iida's eyes widened. "Yeah. My stomach has been bothering me all day. I'm trying to hold out, but I don't like people worrying about me, so-"
"Say no more, Bowser-kun!" he saluted, looking proud for some reason. "To deal with such pain in silence for the sake of showing no weakness as a leader, I understand completely how you feel!"
Oh man, don't do that, now I feel bad for lying to you!
As Iida shed dramatic tears in solidarity for the pain I didn't feel, I sighed. "Thanks, Iida. You're a good man."
The bus rolled up then. I stretched a bit more and walked forward. "All right, Class 1-A, let's go. Single file line so no one is running over each other to get a seat."
"You heard the class rep!" Iida pumped his arms. "Let's go, don't make this hard for him!"
Well, now I didn't feel nervous. Just guilty.
We all filed into the boss, the vehicle bouncing a bit when I stepped on last. I found a seat for myself and pulled out my phone to check the time. I hadn't timed things right. In maybe 10-15 minutes, my plan would go into action. But I had to hope that was enough.
Any moment now…
------
Far away from the bus, in an alleyway, a smartphone taped securely to the bottom of a dumpster would send an automated text message. It would go to the phones of every UA teacher with a public phone number. At the same time, an empty email address would a message on schedule, emailing the school's public email address, as well those of the teachers.
Both said the same thing.
An army of villains is going to enter the USJ facility to try and assassinate All Might using a genetically enhanced weapon with potential to hurt him. The students are in danger. Send your teachers there to defend them.
There were two specific people who got a special version of the message. To the public addresses of All Might and Nezu. At the end of the message, was a single sentence.
All Might's Quirk is inherited and can be passed down from person to person.
But it would take some time for those messages to get sent, then responded to. And anything could happen in that time. Absolutely anything…
Chapter 16: USJ Battle
We drove along on the bus. Strangely, the longer we drove, the calmer I felt. As though the mere fact we were getting closer to the endgame I'd been prepping a year for made me more relaxed. Enough that I could actually join in on conversations.
"-Quirk is kind of like All Might's," Tsuyu said to Deku, who immediately started stuttering in surprise.
Such a perceptive frog.
"Y-Y-You think so?" Deku stuttered quickly, looking panicked as hell.
"She has a point," I said, cutting in on the conversation. "Maybe he'll have some advice for training. That or you could ask him who helped him with his quirk."
"They aren't that similar though, are they?" Kirishima said, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, All Might's quirk doesn't hurt him."
"All Might is one of the oldest and most powerful heroes in the world. Of course he can handle his quirk," I pointed out to Kirishima.
"I guess so," Kirishima said thoughtfully. "Still, I kinda wish I had flashy quirks like you guys," he hardened his arm a bit, the rocklike skin drawing the eye. "My quirk is pretty good, but even Tetsutetsu's quirk is more impressive than mine if we're talking about flashiness."
"Sure, but you could say that about a LOT of useful quirks, couldn't you?" I said. "There is something to be said about simplicity being the most effective thing. I don't know how Momo doesn't just freeze up in combat when she has to think through a thousand items to make the right one."
"Actually, I do have some trouble with that at times," Momo pressed a worried hand to her cheek. "I'm working on it, but it can be harrowing, having so many options I have to decide between."
"Well I think your quirks are amazing. Definitely worthy of a pro's!" Deku said with real admiration in his voice. When Kirishima and Momo saw the open and honest awe on his face, both blushed, Kirishima rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, it may be a good quirk, but you need to think of popularity as a hero, you know?" Kirishima said, looking over at his hand again. I noticed Mina was eyeing him for some reason, a blank expression on her face instead of her usual smirk.
"Nah, the flashiness of a quirk doesn't matter. Otherwise, Bakugo's explosion would make up for his shit personality."
"What did you say to me you fucking turtle bastard!?"
"That you have the personality of a spoiled brat," I looked over at him. "Your powers are strong. But you're a dick chūnibyō."
"You wanna fight, bastard?" the kid snarled.
"I did, but you decided not to come to the UA Sentei meetings," I scoffed. "Aren't you supposed to be some kinda badass? Why not come to the club specifically made to help each other get stronger?"
Bakugo scoffed. "As though I needed help from a bunch of worthless extras."
I felt a shot of rage fill me. A small flame left my lips as I leaned forward, glaring at him. "Every person in this class is worthy of being one of the greatest heroes of this generation. And if you actually believed you were as good as you say you are, you wouldn't be afraid to come and take me on."
Bakugo calmed, going from angry to smugly challenging. "Oh? You think you're that good, eh?"
"I don't think. I know."
We glared at each other for a good moment, ignoring some of the others staring, while Deku mumbled to himself.
"We're here," Aizawa said from the front. "Settle down, now."
Bakugo settled back in his seat. "Tch."
I leaned back in my own seat, sighing as the massive structure of the USJ approached from the distance. Well… showtime.
------
Once inside the place I took stock of it with the students. Big. Very big. The whole place was the size of an amusement park. Seriously, what sort of budget did UA have? Their finances must challenge small countries in size…
And standing there was Thirteen, the Space Hero, dressed like an astronaut. We couldn't see her smile, but she had a very cheery voice coming from the speakers in her suit. I say her, but I was actually unsure on that. I don't think it had even been confirmed back home? Hm.
"Good afternoon everyone!"
As everyone reacted to the presence of the Rescue expert, I was taking deep breaths, clenching and unclenching my claws. Come on dammit. My emails must have been sent by now. Everything had been set up. Someone should be arriving. And if no one appeared in time… I'd need to be careful. I couldn't respond to the villains before Aizawa and Thirteen, but I still wanted to respond. Balance, balance in all things. Calm. Calm.
As Thirteen began breaking down her philosophy on quirks and the responsibility we had to learn how to use them safely (she was so damn cool) Tsuyu noticed how I was acting.
"You okay?" Tsuyu asked me.
"Yeah," I said reflexively. "Just getting ready. Taking deep breaths and such."
"Ah. Okay. I thought you were nervous."
"...More excited."
She hummed in understanding.
I kept my eyes nailed on Thirteen. But my peripheral vision was on the open courtyard behind her. Any second. Any second I would find out if the heroes were arriving, or if I'd need to fight-
The lights flickered above. The fountain in the center of the courtyard flickered.
A violet puff of smoke. I held in a lick of flame. It was time.
The smoke grew more and more, widening outwards into a large swirling pool of shadows like something out of Kingdom Hearts. Then it exploded outwards.
"Get back, now!" Aizawa shouted, staring at the portal. "Thirteen-!"
"I'll protect them," she was already standing in front of us, her hands raised.
Aizawa and Thirteen were already looking at it. Leave it to the experienced pro heroes to see what was happening ahead of everyone else. A portal in space opened up. A pale hand came from the darkness, joined by another. They clutched the edges of that small portal before a face came with it. A face with another hand clutching to it, pale white hair framing the macabre image. A single red eye glowing in between the hands fingers.
The portal opened wide, spreading across the ground. And they came out.
Dozens of men and women, wearing an assortment of clothes, with a wide range of appearances. Some looked around curiously. Some glared at us. A couple were laughing. They ranged from truly threatening to clear jokes.
And he stood at the center of them all. The skinny man wearing a purple sweater and pants, a pair of red sneakers on his feet. And the hands. Two on his forearms and biceps, one on his face, one on his head. Wow. That was just freaky to see in real life.
Next to him was…
My claws flashed. I wanted to grin even as a bead of sweat dropped from my forehead.
Taller than me. Wide with muscle underneath violet skin. A face shaped like a bird's, with jagged teeth, a pair of eyes set into an exposed brain, staring out at nothing.
The Nomu.
------
As the army of villains appeared, I could see the portal form two eyes. In the anime, that shadow guy had been saying something, but I couldn't hear it from where I was standing.
"What's that?" Kirishima asked, stepping forward with a hand over his eyes to stare at the bad guys coming towards us. "Is this like the Entrance Exam where the lesson's already started?"
Aizawa snapped something out, but I wasn't listening. Instead I was snapping my eyes around. Okay. No teachers had shown up yet. The trespasser alarm wasn't working, and that electricity guy was going to be jamming our phones.
It was likely we'd need to fight.
That was fine.
To be honest, it's what I wanted.
My nervousness was gone. Now all I felt was a raging heat in my belly. I felt the same heat in my eyes. Pony once told me when I felt that heat that my eyes would start to glow. I believed it.
"-surprise attack was carefully planned-" Shoto was saying in the back.
I crouched down, snarling just a bit.
"Bowser, no," Aizawa snapped.
I looked over at him. He glared at me through his goggles. "You are in training. For now, keep trying to contact the school. I'll take care of this while Thirteen protects you."
...Contact the school.
Oh right. The plan.
I spun around. "Iida!"
"Bowser?" the speedster, surprised by my sudden shout.
"I can get those doors open! You run out and inform the school while Aizawa takes down the villains!" I shouted as I rushed for the doors.
The second I said that, it was like all the students came alive. Aizawa let out a small scoff of annoyance, but leaped upwards, rushing for the villains with his bandages fluttering behind and around him.
"I'll help you!" Sato shouted, pouring sugar into his mouth and chasing me.
"Me too!" Shoji said, his multi-arms stretching.
"I'll be ready!" Iida said, following after us.
"I'll help defend your back!" Momo barked, forming a few flashbangs along her arms.
"This is bullshit!" Mineta said even as he followed, pulling out some of his sticky balls.
We started running as a group, Thirteen leading the others.
Aizawa was kicking some serious ass based on the loud shouts of pain. But my focus was ahead. Not on the door. I was waiting for him to show up.
I got down on all fours, running along with my claws digging into the ground. Bakugo was suddenly next to me, his eyes white with rage.
Then, the spot just in front of us sprouted a purple pool of energy. I dug my claws into the ground, carving the stones. As I did, I twisted around, turning my braking maneuver into a circular one, my claws ripping through the stone as I did. I pulled upwards, lifting the large chunk of cement I'd just carved out.
The pool of energy popped upwards, a shadowy figure coming from it and rising upwards.
"I won't let yo-
"Bakugo, the brace!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I tossed the boulder. "Iida, around!"
"Students-" Thirteen shouted after us, shocked while the boulder flew towards the shadow guy. He shut up, flickering a bit before the boulder landed. He began to reform. And as he did, a flicker of silver could be seen.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Bakugo's gaze flicker in confusion. Then, realization. He launched forwards in an instant. Iida's eyes narrowed in determination as he went speeding around to the right side.
Portal guy (Kurogiri, I think?) snapped out tendrils of violet from his main body, forgoing his speech for an all out attack.
Fuck! He was so much faster than I'd expected! I ran forward, breathing out a stream of fire. The blaze of heat spread along the right, smashing into the violet waves before they could hit Iida. As it faded, ice sprouted directly in it the same path, blocking the waves of purple from Iida. Sato and Shoji followed after him, using the makeshift blockade to protect them.
The villain tried to attack again, only for Bakugo to be leaping towards him.
"DIIIIE!" he screamed, blowing up the villain across his silver brace.
"Guh!" the villain stumbled. Iida, Sato, and Shoji got to the doors. The two strongmen started pulling it apart. The villain sent purple tendrils flying towards them.
I grabbed onto his metal bracer. My blood was pumping. I felt flames drip from my lips like water. The excitement and heat made my brain pound in my skull. Yellow eyes widened as I watched. I wanted to laugh. Instead I roared.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
The villain suddenly exploded before I could dig my claws into his bracer. Violet surrounded me like a storm. I felt a hand I couldn't see grab my wrist, Aoyoma screaming something on the other side of me. My claws scratched along metal. Then I was pulled away.
------
I fell to the ground moments later, landing on cement. I looked around. A city on fire surrounded me. Flames were burning in the windows, cars were eternally alight with flame, smoke and darkness filled the air.
"...Fuck," I said softly.
That hadn't been the plan. The plan had been to drive off Kurogiri long enough to get Iida outside. But I wanted to confirm that he'd made it out. Instead… Sato and Shoji had been pulling the door open. Iida was pushing through that gap. They had to have gotten out. Right?
I wanted certainty about that. Instead I was in the middle of a city on fire. I didn't know if any teachers had even gotten my messages. I thought I'd covered everything I could, but…
In the distance, I heard someone scream. I recognized his voice immediately. Aoyama.
Fine. I wasn't sure if the teachers were coming early. If Iida had managed to get his speedy ass out. But that was fine. I had somewhere to vent my anger.
I stepped forward into the fire.
------
Yuga Aoyama
Aoyama fired another laser from his belly, wincing at the nausea that followed. The blast hit a villain in the face, sending him to the ground.
Aoyama had been approaching Bowser when the violet shadow attacked him. He had hoped that his navel laser could at least hurt the strange villain, maybe the shadow would have a weakness to intense light like his dazzling self. But before he could, he was wrapped up in a strange storm of shadows that exploded from the man Bowser was holding.
Then, he was in the middle of a city on fire. For a terrifying moment, he'd thought he'd been sent to the future. A lone warrior of light sent to the future to battle the darkness!
Until he saw the UA symbol on a few items around him.
And then, the villains appeared. They rushed after him, and he'd immediately taken two out, his sparkling quirk a wonderful shine in this city of shadow!
But Aoyama had his limits. He fired again, missing this time, then once more. Fear filled him as a man with teeth like a dog's rushed for him, jaws outstretched-
Boom!
A building to Aoyoma's side shattered apart. A massive shadow shattered a section of wall, sliding to a stop in front of Aoyoma. The dog-fanged man's teeth smashed into it.
And shattered across a shell that looked harder than titanium.
A fire nearby leapt upwards, highlight Aoyoma's savior, whose back was turned to the villains who had been attacking. "Bowser!"
"Hey, Sparkly," Bowser said with a savage grin, ignoring the crying villain that had shattered his teeth on Bowser's back. "Looks like you found the fun."
One of the villains, a heavily set man with a large belly, shouted. "Get that bas-"
"NO."
Bowser looked over his shoulder at the villains. All the joviality in his voice was gone. Liquid fire dripped from his lips. His eyes began to glow a dark red. His claws and scales shined in the light.
"There is no 'getting' me. You don't kill me, beat me, or win against me!" he turned fully. In that moment, a dragon in the center of a city on fire, Bowser had never looked more at home. "You came to a school to kill teenagers? Well your objective has changed."
One of the villains panicked, raising an arm that looked like a cannon. It fired a bulbous tumor of some sort. Aoyoma ducked when the projectile exploded against Bowser. The villains seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the giant dragon-turtle disappeared in the smoke..
Then a clawed hand snapped out of the smoke, grabbing a musclebound female villain by the neck. She screamed as he lifted her up into the air, then smashed her brutally into the ground, a clawed foot pounding into her face to shatter the asphalt beneath her into a crater. As the muscle-bound woman passed out, Bowser roared.
"One objective! Survive!"
Another villain punched Bowser in the face. He took the blow, a small sound like steel on steel filling the air. And he laughed happily, punching that villain right back.
Aoyoma grit his teeth and leaped into the air, firing a laser past Bowser. Looks like they stood a chance now!
Chapter 17: Amateur Brawling
I felt an explosion crack against my skin. I swam through it and smashed my fist across my attacker's face. A pair of villains rushed me, punching as fast as they could. They had none of Cow Lady's skills. I parried their fists across my arms, their superstrength giving their fists some extra pepper, but not enough to truly hurt. I cracked one across the face with a right, then blasted the other with a fireball that sent him flying into a building in a heaping mess.
What a relief it was, to let loose again.
A blast of light flew past me, smashing into a woman who had been trying to jump onto me. Another smacked aside a guy made of tinfoil, with the last hitting a flying asshole. I glanced over my shoulder.
Aoyoma was just behind me, sweating as he danced around the battlefield. When I looked back, he gave me a confident wink marred by the grimace he was trying to hide as his knees quivered.
Damn. Give the guy credit, his aim was impeccable. And he had guts, continuing to fire while his stomach was currently screaming at him. I was impressed.
"Got you!" a pair of long white metal wires suddenly wrapped around each of my arms. I blinked at them, then followed them to the young white-haired woman currently smirking at me, her hair extending outwards to grab onto me. "I'll hold him! The rest of you, grab the lines and start hitting him!"
"On it!" a pair of muscular types grabbed onto the metal wires, pulling hard, while a guy with fire wrapped around his fist dropped in front of me, punching towards my face.
"Eat this!" he shouted out.
"POOR CHOICE OF WORDS!" I opened my mouth and wrapped it around his flame enveloped fist. His eyes widened in horror before I pulled my head, arms, and legs into my shell.
Then I started spinning.
"OH GOD, NOOOOO!" he screamed as he was pulled into a spin cycle. The metal threads tightened, then pulled with more force than the muscleheads were expecting.
"Oh shit," the white-haired woman had time to say before she was lifted into the air. I spun at high-speed, pulling the four bad guys along with me as they screamed in unison. The muscleheads let go only to get tossed into the buildings nearby, while the white-haired woman became a living bludgeon, smashing into another group. As her grip on my arms loosened, I came out of my shell, spitting out the arm of the now dizzy fire-user and punching him 'gently' in the stomach.
"You wanted to kill us!?" I ran forward on all fours, revelling in the fear in the eyes of the bad guys before I slammed into one in a solid tackle, sending him rolling back. I breathed a short burst of flame, forcing them to split up, then headed right. "We're just innocent kids!"
"This thing is a kid!?" one guy squeaked before I grabbed him and tossed him up into the air, backhanding his friend.
Well, as far as anyone in this world knew at least.
My short tail smacked another guy in the face as I spun around. Aoyoma sent another blast into the face of a girl with a bat trying to hit him, knocking her out.
"These guys aren't very good fighters," I noted to Aoyoma as I blocked a thrown boulder with my arm.
"Y-Yeah!" he said shakily, looking sweaty.
"You doing okay there, Sparkles?" I asked him, hiding my genuine concern a bit with some humour.
"I need a break," he admitted. "I only have a few more big shots in me."
"Hmm," I pretended not to notice when a small rock lifted up by itself and hit a thin gray-skinned man in the head, knocking him out. So that's where Toru ended up…
As the invisible girl lifted up the dropped baseball bat, I looked around. Fifteen guys and girls left. Fourteen after Toru hit a guy on the chin, finishing him up with a kick to the crotch based on his squeal and dropping into the fetal position.
"How about one big blast?" I moved to shield Aoyoma with my back. "I can act as a platform for you if you need it."
Aoyoma thought about that for just a moment before nodding. "Very well, Mon Ami! Carry us to victory! Lift me high and sweep across the battlefield! I will take care of the rest!"
I wrapped a hand around his waist, looking over my shoulder. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
I spun around as the next bunch of idiots ran toward us. Aoyoma grit his teeth.
"Raie Dragon Scintillante!!!"
I almost stumbled back at the surprising amount of recoil I felt, but held steady. I held him in front of me, and the kid let loose. A long drawn-out blast erupted from his belly as I slowly turned him in my grip, sweeping it across the field. The bad guys tried to dodge, but they learned the hard way that you can't dodge light. One thug tossed a rock at Aoyama, but I blasted it out of the air with a fireball, leaving Aoyoma free to finish him off.
When we were done, 13 guys were knocked out, leaving one terrified guy standing there, staring at us.
"...H-Ha! I'm still here!"
A bat smacked him between the legs. He stared at us as he lifted up into the air, then fell to his knees. "...EEEEeeeeeeeeee…"
The guy fell to the ground still wheezing in pain, clutching at his nuts. He didn't even have the energy to scream. Just drolled on the ground in horror. I lowered my new weapon, Aoyoma falling to his knees to clutch at his belly.
"Damn, Toru, you had to do him in like that?" I mumbled.
"Well unlike some people I don't have super strength! I gotta take down villains the easiest way I know how!" a girlish voice said.
"We got to get someone to teach you how to fight," I mumbled. "But with that, we're clear, I think."
"What do we do next?" Aoyoma asked as he sat down cross legged. "While I am happy we have defeated these hooligans, the rest of the class might need help."
"Those badasses? Well, maybe," I scratched my chin. "Well, we can't stay here. How are you guys breathing?"
"I'm fine," Toru said. "I think this place has ventilation, to keep the smoke from hurting students. It's still really hot though. You can see the sweat all over me."
"..." Aoyoma and I stared in the direction she was speaking for a moment.
"D-Don't stare!"
We coughed, turning our heads. "Anyways. I want to get back to the fight."
"You want to fight more people?" Aoyoma asked.
"Always. But in this case, for a purpose," I cracked my knuckles. "Those guys came here to fight All Might. The more we take down, the easier we make it for him to clean up. It's what heroes do, right? Stop bad people from doing bad things, right?"
"Hm, hm!" Toru agreed in that cute way Japanese girls in anime would do. "Which way do we go?"
------
"YAAAAA!" Toru and Aoyoma screamed as I carefully carried them each in one hand, storming towards a wall just ahead of us.
"Aoyoma!" I yelled.
"Ahhhh!" even as he screamed, he fired quickly. Eight blasts of light cracked the concrete in a semicircle.
As he lay back against my chest, I crouched low to protect Toru and him, charging forward at full speed. I slammed into the wall, and felt it crack against me, then shatter apart. We smashed through the wall, erupting on the other side in a spray of dust and concrete, light replacing the darkness and fire we had been surrounded by.
"Woo!" I stretched my arms out gently, putting Aoyama and Toru down. "You guys okay?"
"Hak, hak!" a dust covered invisible girl breathed deeply once her lungs were clear. "Y-Yes! What should we be doing now?"
"I personally think we should head towards where the heaviest fighting is, and I have good money on it being where we last saw our teachers and classmates," I said like it hadn't always been on my mind. "I'm going to rush over there. You guys good?"
"I-I need a minute," Aoyoma said while clutching his stomach. "Go ahead without me."
I hesitated. Damnit. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I really wanted to-
"Go ahead!" Toru said, the young girl sounding enthusiastic. "I'll watch over him, and we'll come help later. We'd likely slow you down anyway."
"...Okay. But later we need to talk to Momo about making some kind of comm units for all of us," I turned around, but still glanced back. "Stay safe. We don't know how many of those idiots are around. I know it's tough for you two, but try not to shine too brightly, all right?"
Aoyoma grinned, during which I could see a bit of dust dance happily in the air. "No promises, mon ami."
I could only snort at that, then I turned and started running on all fours, heading to the courtyard in the distance.
------
Midoriya Izuku/Deku
Moments Ago
On a boat in the middle of a fake lake, Izuku looked out at villains bobbing up and down in the water. "...We have a fight to win!"
It wasn't a conclusion that he came to lightly. A whole small army of villains in the water around them, and teachers on the way to help. The smart thing to do was to simply bunker down and wait for help. They weren't trained for this, not really.
But the villains were here to attack All Might. Which meant they thought they had a real chance to kill him. His mentor, his hero. The greatest hero.
Izuku couldn't let that happen.
"Wha- are you serious?" Mineta grumbled, staring up at him. "The teachers are already coming, right? So they'll be able to help him! They can't kill All Might and every teacher here. Besides, if they have something that can kill All Might, then it can kill us too. We shouldn't go out there."
"But we won't be safe here for long either," the two boys looked over at Asui, the young frog currently looking over at the water. "Once those villains decide to attack, we'll need to start fighting them off."
Mineta started. He looked terrified, but quickly recovered. "...You're right. What should we do?"
"Strike first," Izuku said, swallowing a bit. "If we can move first, we can leave the boat and get to the others."
"You just want to go fight," Mineta pointed out.
"Yes, I do," Izuku admitted. "But that's my choice!"
Asui pressed a finger to her lips. "Well. It might work, since they don't know our quirks."
It was something he'd noticed. Why send Asui to a water zone? Because sending everyone across USJ had been random.
"Well… at least we all know each others Quirks already," Izuku mumbled. That was one benefit of the UA Sentai classes. Everyone had spoken enough to be familiar with their basic quirks.
Mineta swallowed. "O-Okay then! I-If we can gather them in one spot, I can stick them together!"
"All of them?" Asui blinked. "How do we do that?"
Easy enough. "We could sink the ship," Izuku mumbled. As Mineta stared at him in shock, Izuku rubbed his chin. "The undertow would drag them in. But I could also do that with my own power!"
Izuku smacked his fist into his palm, looking up. In another time, another place, Izuku, Mineta, and Asui would have been just slightly less familiar with each other. They would have spent a bit more time discussing things, talking over their quirks. A villain would have attacked the ship after they took too much time, forcing Izuku to break a finger getting away.
This time though. Izuku's plan formed almost in moments. "If I can do a smash into the water, it'll create displacement, forcing the villains into one spot!"
"Oh!" Mineta clued in immediately. "Then my sticky balls will make them stick to each other!"
"I can jump far enough to get us over them, kero," Asui said, the frog girl looked very happy.
"We'll go on three!" Izuku squeaked, unable to help his nervousness. It would work. It would work! Just stay calm.
Izuku kneeled down next to Asui, while Mineta was grabbed and lifted into her arms. Her tongue wrapped around Izuku's waist. Mineta started throwing balls from his head out into the water, gritting his teeth in fear even as he kept tossing them. Izuku could hear the villains outside begin to freak out in confusion. Perfect.
"One!"
Stay calm.
"Two!"
He could do this!
"THREE!"
Asui exploded from her crouched stance so fast she was a blur before Izuku felt himself get lifted into the air. He screamed in surprise, but twisted to face the water as they flew through the air, one hand extending outwards towards the surprised villains below.
Focus his power. Let it flow through his muscles instead of just one part. A finger flick would do it. Just reinforce all the parts. Muscle, bone, from the tip of the finger, through his hand, up along his arm, all the way to the shoulder.
Then, force the energy through! His arm came alight, electricity snapping around it.
"Delaware SMAAAASH!"
His finger flicked outwards. He felt his muscles spasm, his finger bruising. The air in front of him exploded, sending them high. The water below them exploded, a massive hole appearing the in the water before it began to flow back in to refill the empty space, dragging the villains along with it. One of them tried to follow, only for a sticky ball to attach to his face, distracting him long enough to get pulled into a big ball of villains attacked to each other by Mineta's quirk.
"It worked!" Mineta cheered.
Izuku stared at his hand. His right index finger was bruised and throbbing. But… he could still use it! He'd made progress!
"Nice job you two!" Asui said as the water behind them fountained upwards. "You were pretty reliable, kero!"
Izuku almost blushed. But his fears brought him focus. All Might. The villains were still preparing to kill him. He needed to stop them!
As Izuku fell from the sky held in Asui's tongue, his fists clenched tightly. "The fight isn't over yet!"
Asui nodded, while Mineta swallowed nervously.
They landed in the water at the shallower end. Izuku immediately began swimming.
"M-Midoriya!" Mineta called out.
"I'm going to help!" Izuku called back, now running through the water as his feet hit the bottom of the pool. He approached the shore and saw Aizawa-sensei fighting in the center of the courtyard. Izuku stopped at the shore, climbing up and running for it.
"Midoriya, we shouldn't go rushing in!" Asui shouted.
Izuku looked back. "I'm not! But if I can help Aizawa-sensei take down a few of them-" then he stopped, watching in awe for a moment.
Aizawa ducked under a punch, snapped a series of quick punches into the villains throat, face, and solar plexus, then backflipped away from someone trying to tackle him from behind. Aizawa then threw out those long bandages of his, wrapping them around two villains and lifting them into the air as he fell, the two smashing into each other's heads. His bandages snapped back to him in time for him to slide around a missed kick that he punished with two quick elbows to the face of the fighter.
It was amazing. Aizawa-sensei really was… amazing.
Then… that man, with the hands all across his body, suddenly started running towards Aizawa-sensei. Izuku barely noticed Asui and Mineta joining him to stand on the shore. The man was mumbling something as he approached.
Aizawa moved in to attack… only for the man to dive aside.
"Sorry, hero!" the man with many hands said with a smirk. "But I'm not the final boss."
Then, that creature with the bird beak… it moved so fast! It appeared behind Aizawa-sensei in a blur. It reached a hand out towards Aizawa-sensei.
"Meet Nomu. Usually I'd take my time about this, but since the teachers are coming, I'll have him-"
Another blur. Gold and green spinning across the ground, before it snapped out in front of the creature. Claws snapped outwards, digging deep into violet skin, before lifting up and pushing hard. A blast of flame followed, sending the Nomu back several feet.
Aizawa froze. Izuku stared.
And Bowser, standing in front of Nomu, his back to Aizawa and the man with the hand on his face, crouched low, his claws flashing, fire blazing in his throat.
"Final Boss?" Bowser grinned as liquid fire dripped from his lips. "Sorry, Mr. Hands, but there's no beating the original."
The Nomu roared, rushing forward. Bowser blasted flames outwards and ran forward on all fours. The two smashed into each other in the middle with an explosion of fire, sending everyone back a step, before the two monsters began to brawl.