Kaminari opened his mouth, but no words came. The silence stretched.
Todoroki didn't press. He just exhaled softly, his tone as flat as ever.
"Word of advice. Next time we have a training exercise… try to stay awake when it starts. Otherwise, you'll be eliminated before you even realize it."
Team C bristled at the jab, instinctively spreading out, boots crunching against broken concrete. Shoulders tensed. Hands hovered near triggers for quirks.
"Hey—don't get cocky." Mineta tried to sneer, though his voice lacked his usual bravado. "You haven't beaten us yet. We've still got—"
Todoroki tapped his heel against the ground once. Just once. What followed was an avalanche of ice racing down the building wall.
It tore outward, swallowing cars, crushing lampposts, engulfing everything in the area faster than the class could react to. Screams scattered through the haze of frost as his classmates were buried, their shadows thrashing for a heartbeat before vanishing into the glacial surge. Freezing their bodies stiff from their necks downwards.
___
All Might's POV
From the command center building, All Might's arms were crossed as his sharp eyes flickered between monitors.
Different angles caught flashes of students sneaking through alleys, sprinting across rooftops, or crouching in silence. It had been five minutes since the exercise started and the results so far were promising.
'Good… They're thinking carefully.' Initially, All Might had been worried that the hero teams would go for a frontal assault due to their superior numbers. They did have the advantage in this respect.
However,
'No reckless charges so far.'
Things were going better than he expected. The young zygotes were showing remarkable tactical awareness. From the looks of things, Team B had already put together a solid plan against Bakugo.
Turning to another screen, Team A were advancing in the same direction cautiously. Using the birds in the sky as reconnaissance.
Truly smart plays.
That changed however when it came to Team C.
'Arguing are we?'
It would be a lie to say he wasn't a bit disappointed.
The heroes were too focused on their own squabbling, having zero awareness of their surroundings.
'They're treating this like a casual discussion instead of combat training. In a real scenario, that kind of carelessness would ...' His thoughts were interrupted by a different scene.
Todoroki's appearance.
'Oh ... This just got interesting.' No one in Team C even noticed the frost lining the edges of the building. They haven't picked up on it. Not good. Not good at all. A team without awareness will always fall first.
Sure enough, it came right after.
Team C was engulfed in Todoroki's ice, alongside half the entire street.
'What a strong Quirk.' All Might noted with a slight cough.
'And excellent restraint applications. He didn't go too far against his classmates. Just enough to make sure they are properly immobilized and not turned into an ice cube.'
All Might's lips tightened.
Impressive, efficient and … ruthless. 'He really does remind me of his old man.'
Too bad for Team C.
But this would serve as much needed experience to learn from and grow.
Back in the North area, crystalline frost trapped every limb, biting into skin. They were statues, helpless.
Mina's teeth chattered. "What… What just happened?"
Shoji strained against the ice, muscles bulging, but the glacier didn't budge. "… I can't move."
Aoyama winced dramatically, his chin trembling. "It's… it's so cold! Too dazzlingly cold!"
Mineta's eyes watered, voice cracking. "Did… did he get everyone? All of us?"
Sero groaned. "Remind me again, Kaminari, who you said was scarier?"
Kaminari's head sagged, shame filling his voice. "…Shut up."
Then Todoroki slid down from the roof, boots crunching the frozen street. He didn't even look at them struggling. Expression blank, he said,
"I believe this counts as my successful capture. Correct?"
And right on cue, a booming voice echoed across Ground Beta:
"Attention, all participants. Team C—one of the three Hero Teams—has been eliminated!"
The announcement spread throughout all he districts, reaching the ears of those in the East end.
Team B
The announcement froze Momo and Hagakure mid-step inside a dim corridor.
"Wha—? Eliminated already?" Toru gasped. "B-but… it's barely been five minutes!"
Momo's hands tightened into fists, her face calm but her heart rattling. "Indeed. It is."
Her thoughts, however, churned wildly.
'From the moment this started, I didn't expect this exercise to go smoothly. It would be no surprise if a hero team was eliminated eventually but ....' Her hands clenched slightly.
'This soon? And all at once? All might must have known this would happen.'
"Momo," Toru's small voice interrupted. "Should we… abandon the plan?"
Momo's gaze swept out the window through her binoculars. Across the skyline, she spotted Bakugo, standing alone on a rooftop, explosions faintly popping from his palms.
"No," she said firmly. "With Team C down, our numbers are cut by a third. That means the remaining hero teams risk facing two, even three villains at once. If another team falls, the heroes will lose outright. We have to even the playing field."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Taking out Bakugo… is the best way to do that."
Meanwhile,
The announcement hit Bakugo like a slap to the face. His features twisted into something ugly.
"It… can't be…" Sparks crackled across his palms, growing brighter with each passing second. "The damn exercise just started! How the hell did either of them finish their team that fast?!"
His hands erupted in violent explosions, blasting chunks of concrete into rubble.
He had bragged that he would blitz his opponents before either of them got started. But he hadn't even seen a single hero since the exercise began.
"That means ... I lost! Damn it. I haven't even seen a damn opponent yet—and they've already—DAMMIT!"
He swung his arm.
BOOM!
It did little to calm his temper.
And right when he was contemplating,
*CLANG.*
The metallic sound of something hitting concrete snapped his attention toward the street corner. His head whipped around to see Kirishima and Ojiro emerging from a manhole cover—Ojiro's tail having knocked over a garbage can in the process.
Bakugo's fury morphed into predatory excitement, a vicious grin spreading across his face.
"Finally. Targets."
"Run!" Kirishima shouted, and both students immediately bolted down the alley.
"GET BACK HERE!"
Bakugo launched himself from the rooftop with explosive force, landing with enough impact to crack the pavement. He immediately gave chase, using rapid-fire blasts to propel himself forward at breakneck speed.
The pursuit tore through narrow alleyways for nearly a full minute before Kirishima and Ojiro made a sharp turn around a corner. Bakugo followed with another explosive burst—
His eyes widened at the sight of a mounted cannon-like device pointed directly at him.
"Now!"
From a nearby building window, Momo pressed a remote control.
The cannon fired, launching a massive capture net designed to expand and entangle on contact.
"Like hell!" Bakugo raised both hands and obliterated the net with a concentrated explosion.
*Damn! I can't believe I almost fell for—*
His thought cut short as movement flashed in his peripheral vision. Directly behind him, Jiro stood with a smaller launcher balanced on her shoulder.
She fired without hesitation.
"What—another one?!" His eyes widened. Layered traps?!
With no time for strategy, Bakugo ignited his palms and rocketed skyward to avoid the second projectile. The net whooshed under him, missing by inches.
*He dodged both!* The thought struck Jiro, Ojiro, and Kirishima simultaneously.
"It's gonna take more than parlor tricks to bring me down!" Bakugo snarled from midair.
*Damn it, I almost got caught twice. A trap behind another trap. These extras actually—*
"Then what about this!"
The voice came from above. Bakugo's body went rigid as he realized his mistake—propelling himself upward had been exactly what they'd wanted.
"Dark Shadow!"
Tokoyami's quirk manifested and slammed into Bakugo's exposed back with crushing force, driving him toward the ground like a meteor.
"AGHHH—!" Bakugo's roar was cut off as his body crashed into the ground with bone-jarring impact.
___
"…Team C has been eliminated."
The announcement about Team C's elimination echoed through the empty streets as I walked, my footsteps the only sound in this particular section of Ground Beta.
*Todoroki,* I thought, unsurprised. *Had to be him. That ice quirk of his is perfect for mass immobilization.*
Still, five minutes was faster than I'd expected. Either Team C had been incredibly careless, or Todoroki was even more ruthless than I'd given him credit for. Probably both.
The distant explosions from Bakugo's area continued their irregular rhythm. At least he was keeping busy. Whether that meant he'd found opponents or was just getting impatient was anyone's guess, but knowing him, it could go either way.
I paused mid-step, tilting my head slightly. Something was off about the ambient noise—or rather, the lack of it. This area was too quiet. No insects, no small animals, nothing. Just silence and...
My eyes drifted upward.
Birds. Perched on power lines, rooftops, window ledges—all facing the same general direction. All perfectly still, like little organic security cameras.
I couldn't help but smile. "Koda's quirk, huh?"
Smart move, really. Use the local wildlife as a surveillance network while staying safely hidden. It was exactly the kind of indirect approach someone with his personality would favor. Which meant Team A was nearby, watching, planning.
The question was: did they think they were being subtle?
I continued walking, keeping my pace casual, hands still in my pockets. No point in alerting them that I'd figured out their little spy network. Better to let them think they had the advantage right up until they didn't.
The shopping complex loomed ahead—a maze of interconnected buildings, narrow alleys, and plenty of places to set up an ambush. If I were planning to jump someone, it's exactly where I'd do it.
The closer I got, the easier it was to tell where they were. I had released the restraints on my senses. And right now, my hearing was way higher than it should be.
___
Midoriya's POV
The shopping district was all but deserted, a mock battlefield of broken concrete, collapsed beams, and shadows deep enough to swallow a person whole.
In several assigned spots, me and the rest of my team hid quietly in wait to unleash our next move.
Iida crouched behind a stack of collapsed cardboard boxes, his posture tight and ready, like a spring about to uncoil. One burst and he'd rocket out at full speed.
Sato pressed himself against a cracked wall, fists clenched, waiting for his cue to smash through with sheer force.
Asui clung to the side of the nearest building, her eyes sharp, tongue flicking slightly as she steadied her breathing.
And me? I hid crouched behind the broken remnants of a kiosk, eyes locked on our quarry's path through the reflection of shattered glass. Every sound around me rang louder in my ears—my heartbeat, the distant hum of the birds above, even Koda's shallow breathing.
"Is he still coming?" Iida's voice came low through the comms, though tension leaked into every syllable.
I turned to Koda. He was crouched low, his hands white-knuckled as he gestured rapidly. His eyes darted toward the approaching footsteps, and he nodded frantically, posture rigid with nerves.
"He's almost here," I whispered back.
Silence followed. The kind that settled before a storm.
We had agreed on the plan earlier, but now—now that Ken was actually steps away—it felt heavier, riskier.
Sato muttered, "This better work. If his shield's really that tough…" His teeth ground together. "We're walking right into it."
"We don't know that yet," Iida cut in, though his voice carried the same doubt. "That's exactly why we must test it. This is training. We adapt."
"Ribbit." Asui's tongue curled briefly around the pipe she was holding onto before snapping back. Her wide eyes narrowed. "If we hesitate, we lose. Better to commit and adjust after."
I drew in a breath. "Exactly. That's why the plan stays." The plan in question was .... A simple ambush.
They would hide until the villain got into the most favorable position, then attack from all sides.
The plan was simple in concept, if not execution. When Ken-kun reached the central courtyard, we'd hit him from multiple angles simultaneously. Sato would burst through the wall with a full-power, sugar-enhanced punch. Iida would rocket in from his hiding spot with a recipro-powered kick. Tsuyu would shoot her tongue out to grab and restrain him. Three different attack vectors, three different timings, all designed to test whether his barrier ability was truly omnidirectional.
If he chose to tank the attacks, then everything depended on whether Iida and Sato's combined force could break through his defense. If he dodged—which seemed more likely given his speed—then he'd have to go up, and that's where Uraraka would be waiting with a surprise zero-gravity touch.
It was a gamble, but we had too little understanding of how his quirk actually worked. Trial and error seemed like our only option.
___
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