Chapter 17
"What's the plan, Green?" Kyouka questioned as they walked towards their assigned building. The villain team had departed a few minutes before, entering the building with the paper mache bomb. Izuku was going over what he had seen during the QAT the day before, trying to figure out the best way to tackle the quirks they were up against.
"I have a few ideas, based on what we've seen of our classmates' quirks yesterday" Izuku responded after a few seconds, "but nothing solid yet." Izuku turned towards Kyouka, finding her watching him with her jacks facing in his direction. "What were you thinking?"
They paused just outside the building, both of them looking up at the looming five stories above them. "You already know my quirk gives me enhanced hearing," Kyouka began, turning back to face Izuku. She noticed that he had produced a notebook from somewhere, just like he did during the QAT, but she wasn't going to question it yet. "But I can also plug my jacks into the walls or floor and enhance the sounds and distance I can hear. It takes a few seconds to filter out the excess sound, but on a building this size? I should be able to hear every single floor."
Kyouka raised her eyebrow as Izuku continued to write in his notebook for another moment before he closed it and placed it in a back pocket. "Shoji appears to have a recon quirk, including enhanced hearing and vision, but with his additional limbs, he's also one of the strongest in raw physical ability." Izuku hummed in thought as he looked back up at the building. "We saw Kamiji use her quirk for flight during some of the tests, but that's all I recall seeing her do. She most likely has an aspect of her quirk that we just don't know yet."
"Do you think Shoji will be able to hear us, even from out here?" Kyouka questioned, looking back up at the building beside Izuku.
"Most definitely," Izuku responded. "Which means any plan we come up with, he will most likely be able to plan accordingly for it." Izuku turned to look back at Kyouka, catching her look. "That means we'll have to catch them by surprise," Izuku smiled as a plan started to form, while Kyouka could only smirk in response to the excitement across his face.
Izuku reached up and removed his rebreather, holding it out for Kyouka. "You're gonna need this. My Smoke doesn't affect me like it will anybody else." Kyouka raised an eyebrow but accepted the support item, placing it on her face. Izuku didn't say anything, instead raising his hand and tapping his ear right where Kyouka's quirk emerged, before pointing towards the building. Kyouka understood the meaning, nodding in response.
"Hero Team, you may begin!" All Might's voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.
Izuku and Kyouka shared another look, nodding towards each other, as they walked right through the front doors of the building. Izuku paused, holding his hand out, signaling Kyouka to jack into the wall beside them. He watched her carefully as she crouched down and plugged in, holding her hand up to one side of her headphones, concentration clear on her face. After a few seconds, Kyouka looked back up at Izuku, shaking her head. Izuku nodded in understanding, holding up his finger to his lips, before turning back around.
Holding his hands out in front of him, Kyouka watched as he started producing a green smoke through his costume, slowly flooding the first floor in front of them. "Make sure the rebreather is in place," Izuku whispered as he looked back at Kyouka. Izuku watched as she nodded and made a small adjustment before he turned back around. "It's time for the Smoke Show!" Kyouka didn't have a chance to blink before Izuku's smoke started pouring into the building faster, leaving them surrounded by a bubble of air, quickly flooding the rest of the building.
Closing her eyes, Kyouka began focusing on any little sound that could be heard throughout the building, when she heard a stutter step on one of the upper floors. She could tell they were trying to be quiet, most likely because of her quirk, but were also attempting to avoid the smoke that was flooding the building. She heard a few coughs from both of them before hearing a door close. Kyouka smirked behind Izuku's rebreather, finding him looking towards her once more. Holding up her hand, Kyouka stuck up four fingers, indicating that both villains were on the fourth floor. He mouthed to her, asking "both?" and she nodded in confirmation.
Izuku gave her a curt nod, before waving her forward into the building, indicating he wanted her to follow him. Unplugging her jacks from the wall and floor, Kyouka stood back up to follow Izuku, noticing the bubble of air continued to surround them as they progressed. Smoke continued to pour out of Izuku, but as soon as it left him, it would move outside of the bubble of air they were currently in.
Izuku didn't even stop to check the other floors, quicking making his way up the staircase to the fourth floor, placing his full trust in the information that Kyouka had given him. He paused just inside the doorway to the fourth floor, holding his hand out beside him to stop Kyouka's advance. Kyouka watched as Izuku closed his eyes, focusing on something, before he opened them up and signaled them to keep moving.
Reaching a door, Izuku signaled Kyouka to stand on the other side of the door frame, placing a finger to his lips to inform her to keep quiet. He pointed towards one corner of the room before pointing towards the other, indicating where the villain team was currently holding up. Kyouka plugged her jacks into the wall and floor to confirm, giving Izuku a nod in confirmation.
Mouthing out 'Follow my lead', Kyouka watched as Izuku moved in front of the door before taking a deep breath. Raising his foot up and swinging himself around, Izuku kicked the door right where the handle was, breaking the wooden door and cracking the wall beside it, before it shot open.
Surrounding himself with Smoke, Izuku used his Smoke Dash and vanished from in front of Kyouka, surprising her. Hearing a yelp from one of her classmates, Kyouka was knocked back into action, charging through the door. She could hear Izuku attacking Mezo in one corner, while Moe was attempting to move to help her teammate. Slamming her jacks into her boot amps, Kyouka released a heartbeat pulse towards Moe, pushing her off balance. Kyouka's eyes went wide and she let out an involuntary yelp as she watched Moe reach up and grab some of her flaming hair, molding it into flaming spears, before throwing them towards her. Kyouka had to duck and roll to dodge the flaming spears before she sent another heartbeat pulse towards Moe, knocking her off her feet with a grunt.
"Mezo Shoji has been captured! One villain remains!" All Might called out over their earpieces.
Following the announcement from their teacher, Izuku cleared all the smoke out of the room, leaving Kyouka and himself looking towards Moe. The Blazing Hair user pushed herself to her feet, facing down both heroes, as she stood in front of the paper mache bomb they were required to 'defuse'.
"Well?! What are you waiting for?!" Moe yelled out, reaching up and grabbing two more flaming spears from her hair, preparing herself for a two-versus-one fight. "Bring it on! I ain't going down without a fight!"
Kyouka shared a quick look with Izuku, finding him smirking in her direction, before they both focused on Moe. From her angle, Kyouka could see Izuku creating a Smoke Ball in his hand, condensing it as much as he could. Waiting for his signal, they continued to stare down Moe to see how she would react. With a yell, Moe rushed towards Izuku, bringing up both flaming spears in pose to attack him.
Izuku reacted immediately, lifting up his hand and shooting the Smoke Ball towards Moe, striking her right in her chest and staggering her. Kyouka saw her opportunity and launched another heartbeat pulse towards the last villain, knocking her off her feet once more. Izuku rushed forward, capture tape already in hand, and wrapped Moe's hands together before she could get up. At the same time, Kyouka rushed forward and touched the bomb, the requirement for 'defusing' the bomb for the exercise.
"Hero Team Wins! Please retrieve the bomb and return back to the observation area!" All Might called out over their earpieces, signaling the end of the match.
Kyouka walked over towards Izuku, seeing him untangle Moe from the capture tape and help her to her feet. "Damn, Green," Kyouka commented, watching as they both faced her. "How did you move so fast after you kicked the door down? It's like you just vanished!"
Izuku chuckled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I call it Smoke Dash. It allows me to move very quickly through the smoke that I create. When I first started training with it, Mo mentioned it looked like I was teleporting through the smoke since I wasn't disrupting it."
"It took me by surprise," Mezo commented as he moved beside them, having already broken the capture tape that was around his limbs, the bomb being cradled in his arms since he had the easiest time moving it. "At one moment, you were in front of me. In the next, you were all around me and I couldn't land a hit on you."
"Sorry," Izuku responded sheepishly, "I knew I stood no chance against your strength, so I resorted to hit and run tactics."
"No need to apologize, Midoriya," Mezo responded with a mouth on one of his arms. "You determined the best way to counter our quirks and took full advantage of that. I cannot complain about the outcome of the match."
"Yeah man!" Moe said, slapping him on the shoulder. "I thought it was badass how you flooded the building with smoke!"
"Thanks," Izuku responded, "but we better get back to the observation room. I don't think All Might likes to be kept waiting."
The four of them nodded, Moe taking the lead with Izuku and Kyouka following behind, and Mezo taking up the rear with the bomb. They continued to make small talk about the match until they were back in the observation room, standing near the front beside All Might.
"Congratulations to the hero team for winning their match!" All Might began, his hands on his hips as he posed in front of Class 1-A. "Who can tell me who the MVP of the previous match was?"
Momo was the first one to put her hand up, but didn't wait to be called on before she started talking. "I believe the MVP should be given to Izuku. He determined the best way to counter the villain team, and proceeded to make a plan that utilized both his own and Jirou's quirk. He quickly ascended the building with Jirou by his side, and engaged the villains first, successfully taking down Shoji before taking down Kamiji."
"I believe Jirou should be MVP for this match," Kashiko started out, the class focusing on her. "Based on what we saw, Midoriya determined the best way to engage the villain team, but it was Jirou's quirk that helped locate where they were. Without Midoriya flooding the building with smoke, I believe Jirou would have been the first to detect, and possibly engage, the villain team."
"Very good points from both of you! Does anybody else want to comment?" All Might responded before looking over the rest of the class. Seeing that nobody else wanted to comment, All Might placed a massive hand on Izuku's and Kyouka's shoulder, his signature smile never leaving his face. "While Young Yaoyorozu was correct in saying Young Midoriya deserved MVP, the plan could have easily fallen apart without the help of Young Jirou. Working together and utilizing their strengths, the hero team was able to quickly achieve victory! Moving on, Group B and Group I, you're next!"
Izuku walked over towards Momo and Himiko, placing his back against the wall and sliding down to sit beside his girlfriend. Hearing footsteps beside him, he looked up to see Kyouka mirror his previous action, taking a seat beside him. "Well deserved MVP, Green," Kyouka commented, twirling one of her ear jacks with her hand.
"Couldn't have done it without you, Jirou," Izuku smiled in return. "Your quirk is amazing, and I would love to ask you some questions about it!"
Just as Izuku was pulling out his notebook, he felt another hand cover his own, stopping his movements. Izuku looked over towards Momo, giving her a curious look, finding her smiling in his direction. "I think we should wait until after class. Jirou might want to focus on Kaminari's match."
"Sorry, Jirou," Izuku responded, reaching up and scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Kyouka smirked in response. "Thanks, Yaomomo," Kyouka responded, turning back towards the monitor a second later. "Though, I have a feeling on how this match will play out."
Izuku and Momo turned towards the monitors when the match started, seeing Fumikage and Kashiko enter the building together. "Why do you say that, Jirou?" Momo questioned.
"Denki still has issues controlling his quirk," Kyouka responded, letting out a sigh. "If he overdoes it, which he often does, he ends up frying his brain."
"Frying his brain?" Izuku questioned in concern, looking towards Kyouka.
"Not literally," Kyouka responded, turning back towards the couple. "He calls it frying his brain, but I don't think it does any lasting damage. He normally gets this dopey look on his face and can't think straight for a while, but he returns to normal after a little bit."
"Still," Momo responded with worry in her voice as well, "it doesn't sound healthy. Do you know if he's been checked out by a doctor that specializes in Electricity quirks?"
"Nah," Kyouka responded, focusing on the monitors once more. "Told me he had a bad experience when he was younger so he doesn't trust doctors toomuch. I'm going to see if I can get him to see Recovery Girl sometime soon; she should know what is happening when he fries himself."
"Kashiko Sekigai has been captured!" All Might announced, followed by "Denki Kaminari is unable to continue!"
Kyouka let out a sigh, realizing what happened. "That's exactly what happens when he goes all out." Izuku and Momo looked towards the monitors, seeing Denki standing there with his thumbs up and a dopey look on his face. "I really don't like seeing him like that." Kyouka huffed out, crossing her arms and her jacks.
"Come on, Ochako!" Himiko called out from the other side of Momo, having been focused on the match since it started. "You got this!" Izuku, Momo, and Kyouka looked over towards her, finding her watching the screens intensively as Fumikage and Ochako were fighting not far from their teammates. "Float him! Float him!"
They all watched as the match unfolded. Ochako was successfully dodging Dark Shadow, but she was getting pushed back down the hall. Ducking under the next attack from Dark Shadow, Ochako rushed forward and slammed her hand against Fumikage, successfully floating him. "Yes! You got this, Ochako!" Himiko yelled out again, her excitement pouring off her. In a quick move from Dark Shadow, Ochako was knocked aside into a wall, sliding down and going limp. "Ochako!"
"Ochako Uraraka is unable to continue! Hero team wins! Medic bots are on the way for Young Uraraka, Young Kaminari, and Young Sekigai. Young Tokoyami, please retrieve the bomb and make your way back to the observation room." All Might announced into his earpiece, seeing Fumikage nod on the monitors.
Izuku and Momo turned towards Himiko, watching her carefully as her eyes were glued to the screen. "I hope she's okay," Himiko whispered out. They could see the medic bots had already loaded Ochako on a stretcher, carefully moving her to the medical rooms that Recovery Girl used.
Momo reached out and grabbed Himiko's hand, causing Himiko to look towards her sister. "I'm sure she is, and if not, Recovery Girl will make sure she is." Momo gave Himiko a reassuring smile, trying to calm her nerves as best as she could, and giving her hand a squeeze. "I'm sure All Might will allow you to go see her once your match is done, if she hasn't returned by then."
Himiko nodded, releasing a shuddering breath and slumping her shoulders, returning the squeeze on Momo's hand. "Thanks, Momo," Himiko whispered out, "I know that there are risks about getting hurt during training, but I didn't expect it to happen so early in the semester. I don't want to see my family and friends get hurt."
"We completely understand, Himi," Izuku responded, looking around Momo. "You should have seen how worried we were during your entrance exam." Himiko nodded, giving Izuku a small smile, before leaning her head against Momo's shoulder. "These things happen, and will continue to happen, because most of us don't know what we're capable of. That's why we're training in a safe environment where help is only a few seconds away." Himiko nodded against Momo's shoulder, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.
When Fumikage had returned to the observation room, All Might turned towards the class. "Congratulations to the hero team for successfully taking out the villains! Young Tokoyami holds the title of MVP for his match! Group C and Group H, you're up next!"
"Well, wish me luck," Himiko said quietly as she pushed herself up to her feet.
"Good luck!" Izuku, Momo, and Kyouka responded in kind. Himiko looked back with a small smile before following her teammate out of the observation room and towards their assigned building.
"So what's your quirk?" Hanta questioned Himiko when they approached their building.
Himiko took a deep breath, counting to ten, and releasing it slowly. "My quirk is called Transform, and it has special requirements to activate. I'm not sure how useful it will be during our match," Himiko explained. "As of right now, I can only transform into Izuku or Momo."
"Even if it's not useful during our match, that's wicked!" Hanta responded, surprising Himiko, causing her to look over at the taller boy. "My quirk is called Tape," Hanta explained as he held up one of his arms. "It allows me to create tape that I can use to capture people, build traps, or swing around with."
Himiko nodded in understanding. "What's our plan of attack?"
Hanta looked away, sheepishly. "I was kinda hoping you had an idea?"
Himiko looked at him for a moment, watching him glance back towards her, before releasing a sigh. "Just because I'm the sister of the smartest person in the class, doesn't mean I have the same smarts…" Himiko said quietly as she looked back up towards the building.
"Did you say something, Yaoyorozu?" Hanta questioned, taking a step closer to where she was standing.
"Nothing," Himiko responded before turning towards him. "I think our best plan of attack is to try and locate where the bomb is as fast as possible, which might be better if we split up." Hanta nodded along to what she was saying, trusting in her every word, causing Himiko to release another sigh internally "If you can make your way to the top floor and start working your way down, I can start from the bottom floor and work my way up. We should be able to meet in the middle, or wherever they have decided to hide the bomb if we happen to find them."
"What happens if one of us encounters the villains?" Hanta questioned.
"Stay out of sight unless you're spotted, and wait until the other makes their way to your location," Himiko explained. "Toru and Eijiro are both close quarters fighters who don't really have a ranged attack, which means your best advantage is using your mobility while I attack them. I'll keep them busy and you can try and sneak past, or yank the bomb away. Or wrap them up from a distance and I can use the capture tape."
"Got it!" Hanta responded, beginning to stretch out his arms a bit, looking towards the roof of the building. "I shouldn't have any issues getting to the roof." Himiko nodded, looking towards the building as well, trying to spot anything that might have been out of the ordinary.
"Hero Team, you may begin!" All Might's voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.
Just like in the entrance exam, Himiko didn't waste a breath before she was bolting through the front doors of the building, completely bypassing the first floor. She didn't make a sound as she entered the second floor, keeping her movements quick and light, as she inspected everything. She didn't bother touching any of the doors, knowing as soon as she entered the floor that it was unoccupied.
Racing back towards the staircase, she bounced up the next flight of stairs, repeating the process on the third floor. By the time she was finishing the third floor, Hanta had informed her over their communicators that he had cleared the fifth floor with no signs of the villains. Himiko informed him to meet on the fourth floor, suspecting that's where they were hiding, and quickly made her way up another flight of stairs.
Meeting up with Hanta, Himiko stopped and looked through the hallway of the fourth floor, seeing nothing out of place at first glance. "Follow my lead, but keep it quiet." Himiko whispered towards her partner, seeing him nod. As they began making their way through the fourth floor, Himiko heard something like bare feet against the floor at the far end of the hall. Not giving them a chance to get away, Himiko pounced forwards, kicking off a wall in the process, and jumping towards the sound she was hearing.
As she collided with her classmate, Toru released a yelp of surprise, as they both crashed into the floor. As Himiko fished out her capture tape, she felt around until she found Toru's arm, quickly pulling it back towards her and wrapping it in capture tape. She heard Toru release another groan in pain when she grabbed her arm, but finished wrapping the capture tape around her arm, before finally moving off the other girl. "Sorry, Toru."
"It's okay," Toru responded breathlessly, and Himiko could hear the strain and pain in her voice. Himiko realized she must have twisted the other girl's arm when she attempted to wrap the capture tape around her arm.
"Toru Hagakure has been captured!" All Might announced over their earpieces.
"Yaoyorozu, I need-" Hanta started before getting cut off. Himiko realized what must have happened after she left Hanta's side, causing her to rush back down the hallway towards where she left her teammate. Just as she turned a corner, Himiko spotted Eijiro crouching over Hanta on the floor, wrapping his arm in capture tape.
"Hanta Sero has been captured!" All Might announced once more, "Five minutes left!"
Himiko watched as Eijiro stood back up and turned in her direction, pausing when he spotted her. They both stood there for a breath, staring each other down, but Himiko was the first to react. Pulling out a throwing knife from one of her hidden compartments, she flung it towards her classmate, watching as he hardened his skin just in time. The throwing knife clunked against his hardened thigh, falling towards the ground uselessly, causing Eijiro's eyes to go wide.
Pulling out two of her longer knives, Himiko held them in a reverse dagger hold as she rushed towards Eijiro, watching as he hardened the rest of his body. As she entered striking distance, Eijiro attempted to throw a few punches towards his attacker, allowing Himiko to easily dodge the sloppy technique while she tagged him with her knives. Himiko continued to dance around Eijiro, continuously scoring hits with her knives, but never breaking through his hardened skin.
This continued for a few beats before Himiko saw her opening. As Eijiro overextended, Himiko danced around his attack before slamming a foot against his back, forcing him to stumble forward into a wall. As Eijiro lost his footing and fell towards the floor, Himiko was already running back down the hall in search of the bomb. She knew that she wouldn't be able to outlast his Hardening quirk, and with the timer getting closer to zero, determined her best bet of winning the match was to 'defuse' the bomb.
As she was running down the hallway that Eijiro had seemingly come from, she passed a room with an open door. Planting her foot to slow her advance, Himiko spun around and bounced back towards the open door. There, standing in the middle of the room, was the paper mache bomb. She could hear Eijiro attempting to catch up to her, knowing she only had a few seconds, she ran through the door to 'defuse' the bomb before the timer was up.
As Himiko crossed the door frame into the room, getting ready to jump towards it, the wall beside her suddenly exploded in chunks of drywall. Chancing a look towards the wall, she watched as Eijiro continued rushing in her direction, his hand already outstretched. Knowing that she only had a minute or two before the match was finished, Himiko took the chance and pounced towards the bomb, successfully grazing her fingertips against it.
Just as her fingertips grazed the bomb, Eijiro slammed into her side, knocking her away from the bomb. The air was knocked from her lungs as she flew across the room, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times, before pushing herself into a crouch. Her hand instantly went to her side, holding the spot where Eijiro had slammed into her, as she looked up at her approaching classmate. Just as she was about to react, All Might spoke over their earpieces.
"The bomb has been defused! Hero Team wins!"All Might announced, causing both students to pause.
Himiko released a sigh, still clutching her side, as she let herself fall to the ground. Noticing this, Eijiro dropped his quirk and rushed over towards her, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay, Yaoyorozu?"
"Y-Yeah," Himiko responded after a breath, closing her eyes attempting to regain her breath. When she opened her eyes, she looked back up at Eijiro, giving him a shaky smile. "Didn't expect you to come through the wall. You knocked the air out of me."
"Oh, thank goodness," Eijiro responded, sitting back on his haunches. "I thought I hit you too hard," Eijiro chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, "It wouldn't be the first time. I don't know my own strength when Hardening is activated."
"I get it," Himiko responded, pushing herself to a sitting position. Eijiro moved forward, throwing an arm around her and helping her to her feet. "Thanks, Eijiro."
"You're welcome, Yaoyorozu," Eijiro responded, letting Himiko rest more of her weight on him, "would you like some help going to the medical rooms?"
Himiko shook her head, indicating she didn't want to go to the medical rooms, "I should be okay after a few minutes. Just need to catch my breath."
"If you're sure," Eijiro responded, looking towards her to make sure she wasn't more seriously injured, seeing her nod in return. "Alright, at least let me help you back to the observation room." Himiko nodded in thanks.
With the match being called, Hanta and Toru were able to rip the capture tape off, allowing them to get back up. All Might informed Hanta to grab the bomb before the four of them all returned to the observation room.
As they entered the observation room, Himiko felt another arm circle around her, finding Ochako taking the weight off Eijiro. Himiko could only smile as she transferred her weight from Eijiro over to Ochako, leaning her head against the other girl's shoulder. Ochako guided them back towards Momo, Izuku, Kyouka, and Denki, sliding down the wall and sitting beside Momo once more. Himiko curled her arm around Ochako and pulled her close, placing her head back on the other girl's shoulder. Ochako blushed but didn't refuse the closeness that Himiko wanted, releasing a breath in the process and leaning her own head against Himiko's.
"Congratulations to the hero team for winning their match!" All Might said at the front of the class, keeping his eyes on Himiko for a breath, before looking over to the rest of the students. "Would anybody like to guess who was the MVP of the last match?"
"I believe Himiko was the MVP of the last match," Izuku started, not even waiting to be called on. "She successfully made a plan that played into the strengths of both herself and her partner. She was also able to quickly clear three floors of the building before coming across the villains on the fourth floor. When she began sneaking through the fourth floor, expecting Hagakure to try and catch them by surprise, Himiko was able to turn the sneak attack into her own, resulting in Hagakure's capture."
"Kirishima should also be nominated for MVP," Tenya began, chopping as he spoke. "He was able to protect the bomb and take out Sero while Hagakure and Yaoyorozu were engaged in their own fight, before holding Yaoyorozu back in a one-versus-one fight. If he had been a second earlier, I believe Kirishima would have been able to stop Yaoyorozu from touching the bomb and possibly winning the match before the timer ran out."
All Might looked around to see if anybody else wanted to comment on the match before nodding. "I couldn't have said it any better myself, Young Midoriya! Young Yaoyorozu will take the MVP title for this match!" All Might nodded in Izuku's direction, receiving a curt nod in return. "Young Iida is also correct in saying Kirishima could have been MVP had he been a few seconds earlier." All Might nodded towards Eijiro, seeing the boy nod and smile in return, punching a fist into a palm in his excitement. "Group F and Group D, you're up!"