"NOW, YOUNG STUDENTS! FATE WILL DECIDE YOUR TEAMS THROUGH THE SACRED TRADITION OF THE LOTTERY!"
Sacred tradition, Ren thought with amusement.
"Each of you will take a numbered ball! The teams will be pairs based on the corresponding numbers!"
Kaminari raised his hand.
"All Might sensei, what happens if I am paired with someone I do not know well?"
"THAT IS PRECISELY THE IDEA, YOUNG KAMINARI! Heroes must learn to work with anyone at any time!"
The box passed from hand to hand. Ren observed the reactions as each student pulled out their number. He activated his telepathy subtly, barely a graze against the superficial emotions floating in the air.
Kirishima pulled his ball with a shark-like grin. Please let me be with someone strong, he hoped.
Momo took hers with calculated elegance. I need to analyze the capabilities of my potential partner, she considered.
Bakugo snatched his ball as if the box had personally insulted him. It doesn't matter who I get. I'm going to win anyway, he growled.
When the box reached Ren, he reached in and pulled out a white ball with the number seven in gold letters.
"EXCELLENT!" All Might began to check his list. "Now I will reveal the teams!"
The number one hero wrote on a giant electronic whiteboard that appeared out of nowhere. Names began to materialize on the screen.
HERO TEAM A: Inko Midoriya & Ochako UrarakaVILLAIN TEAM A: Katsuki Bakugo & Tenya Iida
Bakugo radiated manic joy mixed with violent anticipation. Iida emanated honor mixed with growing concern. Ochako swallowed audibly, her nervousness palpable even without mental powers.
But Inko was different.
The dark green-haired girl had turned pale for a second, her hands clenching into fists. But then, an iron-clad determination surfaced. Acceptance of the challenge. And the weight of enormous expectations.
"LET US CONTINUE!" All Might kept writing teams.
HERO TEAM B: Ren Hayashi & Tsuyu AsuiVILLAIN TEAM B: Momo Yaoyorozu & Kyoka Jiro
Ren looked toward where Tsuyu was standing. The frog girl watched him with her large, expressive eyes and nodded her head.
"Let's work well together, Hayashi kun, ribbit."
"Of course, Asui san."
Then his gaze drifted toward Momo, who was already observing him with analytical intensity. Their eyes met for a moment and she smiled slightly. It was a competitive smile that promised a challenge.
She's excited, Ren thought. Yaoyorozu wants to test her strategic skills against me.
All Might finished assigning all the teams and gave a clap that echoed like thunder.
"The first match will be Team A! Midoriya and Uraraka as heroes against Bakugo and Iida as villains! The others will observe from the monitoring room!"
Bakugo was already walking toward the training building before All Might finished speaking. Iida followed him with quick, formal steps, trying to maintain some kind of order.
"Bakugo kun, we should discuss a strategy before entering..."
"Shut up, four-eyes! My strategy is to blow them to pieces!"
"That is not a valid strategy for teamwork!"
Inko and Ochako stayed behind, clearly needing a moment to prepare. Ren noticed how Inko breathed deeply, centering herself for the fight.
The rest of the class began to move toward the observation room. Ren walked alongside Kirishima and Kaminari, who were already betting on the outcome.
"Ten thousand yen that Bakugo destroys the entire building," Kaminari declared with conviction.
"I bet Inko san surprises everyone," Kirishima countered. "There's something about her. Like concentrated determination or something."
"Concentrated determination? Bro, that doesn't even make sense."
"It makes total sense!"
The monitoring room was spacious and equipped with high-definition screens showing multiple angles of the training building. All Might positioned himself at the front with a remote control the size of a tablet.
"Observe carefully, young ones! Every match is a valuable lesson!"
The students scattered around the room, looking for the best viewing angles. Ren stayed near the back, where he had a clear view of all the screens and his classmates.
And then he saw Tsuyu.
The frog girl was doing stretches in a relatively empty corner of the room. She leaned forward, touching her toes with ease. Then she did a full split, her legs forming a perfect one hundred and eighty-degree line.
Damn, Ren thought as he watched her. That flexibility is absurd.
Tsuyu changed positions, now in a kind of yoga pose that made her wide hips stand out in an impossible way to ignore. The green fabric of her hero uniform tightened against her body with every stretching movement.
The temptation was overwhelming.
Just a quick look, Ren justified to himself mentally. For scientific purposes. I need to understand the capabilities of my future teammate.
He activated his X-ray vision, focusing specifically on Tsuyu.
The layers of fabric became translucent before his mental perception. The hero suit disappeared first, revealing the functional underwear she wore underneath. Then that faded away too.
Gulp. Ren swallowed hard at the magnificent sight.
Tsuyu's intimate folds were visible now, and they were in a state that could only be described as unintentionally provocative. The texture was different from what he had seen before with other girls. There was a slimy quality to the slit, likely a natural secretion from her frog Quirk. The lips were slightly swollen, brushing against each other with every stretching movement she made.
When Tsuyu leaned deeper into her stretch, the folds separated momentarily before coming back together. The movement was hypnotic in a completely inappropriate way.
That natural viscosity probably serves to keep her skin moist, Ren analyzed with the rational part of his brain while the perverted side enjoyed the show. Frogs need to keep their skin hydrated constantly. That means...
He began to visualize a mental finger, preparing to experiment with that slimy and swollen texture that moved so enticingly.
"Hayashi kun."
Momo's voice inches from his left ear made him nearly jump out of his skin. He deactivated his X-ray vision so fast that he felt a small mental tug.
"Yaoyorozu san!" Ren turned, expecting to see accusation on her face.
But Momo only looked at him with polite curiosity, completely oblivious to what he had been doing seconds before.
"Forgive me if I startled you," she said with a small smile. "You looked very concentrated watching Asui san's stretches. Were you analyzing her flexibility for the match?"
Thank you, universe, for giving me the perfect excuse.
"Exactly," Ren lied without blinking. "Her range of motion is impressive. It will be useful for evasive maneuvers in tight spaces."
"I thought the same," Momo nodded as she positioned herself next to him. "Asui san has significant advantages in close quarters combat thanks to her unique anatomy."
"And you have the advantage of versatility," Ren pointed out, genuinely interested now that his brain was functioning with blood again. "You can create countermeasures for almost any situation if you have the knowledge and the time."
Momo's eyes sparked with that competitive flash that Ren was starting to recognize.
"I am looking forward to our match, Hayashi kun. I want to see exactly how creatively you can use your telekinesis."
"And if I disappoint you?"
"You won't," she said with absolute confidence. "I have been watching you. That sixth-place result in Aizawa sensei's exam was not luck."
Perceptive, Ren thought with genuine appreciation. She really pays attention to everything.
"And what have you concluded from your observations?" he asked with real curiosity.
Momo considered her answer carefully before speaking.
"That you are holding back deliberately. You have more power than you show, but you prefer to keep your full capabilities a secret."
Ren felt a chill run down his spine. She had seen through his strategy with alarming ease.
"Am I that obvious?"
"Only to someone who pays attention," Momo smiled slightly. "Most of our classmates are too focused on their own concerns. But I..." she paused, "I like to understand the people I study with."
"Dangerously observant, Yaoyorozu san."
"It is necessary for my Quirk. If I cannot analyze situations quickly, my creation becomes useless."
Before Ren could respond, All Might's voice boomed through the room.
"THE MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! EVERYONE TO YOUR POSITIONS!"
The screens showed the four students entering their respective areas. Bakugo and Iida were in the building defending a fake bomb on the fifth floor. Inko and Ochako were preparing at the main entrance.
"This will be interesting," Momo murmured while crossing her arms. "Bakugo kun is purely offensive aggression. Midoriya san seems more calculating."
"Who would you bet on?" Ren asked.
Momo looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Normally I would say Bakugo kun for firepower. But there is something in Midoriya san's eyes. A determination that goes beyond the simple desire to win."
She's right, Ren thought. Inko isn't fighting just for herself. She's fighting to validate All Might's faith.
The signal sounded. The exercise officially began.
Ochako entered first, using her Quirk to float small objects as she advanced cautiously down the hallway. Inko followed closely, her eyes scanning every corner with professional intensity.
"Interesting approach," Momo commented. "Uraraka san as a scout, Midoriya san as the shock force."
On the third-floor screens, Bakugo left his position next to the bomb with Iida yelling at him to stay.
"BAKUGO KUN! WE MUST DEFEND TOGETHER!"
"Shut up! I'm going to destroy that green-haired extra right now!"
Typical Bakugo, Ren thought as he watched the explosive blond descend the stairs at suicidal speed. Zero patience, one hundred percent aggression.
The confrontation occurred on the second floor. Bakugo appeared from a corner, his palms already generating small explosions that made the hallway glow with orange light.
"I FOUND YOU, YOU DAMN EXTRA!"
Inko pushed Ochako behind her in a fluid, protective movement.
"Uraraka san, go on ahead. I'll handle Bakugo kun."
"But Midoriya san..."
"Trust me."
Ochako hesitated for a second, then nodded and ran toward the side stairs. Bakugo tried to pursue her, but Inko stepped in his way.
"Your opponent is me, Bakugo kun."
The blond smiled with an expression of concentrated malice.
"Perfect. I wanted to tear you apart personally."
He lunged forward with an explosion that propelled his body like a human missile. His right fist came straight for Inko's face, surrounded by fire and detonating nitroglycerin.
Inko moved with a precision that spoke of real training. Her body slipped to the side exactly enough for Bakugo's fist to graze her cheek. Then, in one movement, she grabbed Bakugo's extended wrist and used his own momentum against him.
The result was Bakugo crashing into the wall with enough force to crack the simulated concrete.
The observation room erupted in surprised murmurs.
"Did you see that?" Kaminari almost shouted. "Midoriya san just used Bakugo's strength against him!"
"Basic judo," Momo whispered next to Ren. "But executed perfectly. She has martial arts training."
Bakugo stood up almost immediately, his face red with fury.
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
He launched a barrage of explosions. Inko dodged them with minimal but effective movements, each step calculated to conserve energy. She wasn't using One For All yet. Just technique and physical conditioning.
"She is measuring him," Momo observed. "Studying his attack patterns before counterattacking."
"Bakugo hasn't realized it," Ren added. "He's too furious to see that he's being analyzed."
Kirishima approached from the other side of the room.
"Bro, do you think Midoriya san actually has a chance? Bakugo is incredibly powerful."
"Power without control is just destruction without direction," Momo replied in a teacher-like tone. "Midoriya san has both."
On the screen, Inko finally decided it was time to act. Her legs began to glow with her characteristic green electric energy. Small arcs of green power jumped across her muscles like contained lightning.
Ren felt the entire room collectively hold its breath.
Inko moved.
The speed was absolutely brutal. One moment she was ten feet away from Bakugo. The next she was directly in front of him, her right fist connecting with his stomach in a perfectly placed blow that sent the blond flying backward as if he had been hit by a train.
"DAMMIT!" Bakugo's scream echoed through the speakers as his body went through a simulated wall.
Inko's index finger fractured with a sound audible even through the monitors. She winced in pain. She simply closed her fist to stabilize the broken finger and continued moving forward.
"Her finger..." Toru whispered from her position near the screens, clearly worried about her classmate.
"It's part of her Quirk," Jiro explained from another seat. "She said it causes feedback when she uses it too hard."
Good cover, Ren thought. No one will question the fractures if they think it's a natural limitation of her power.
Bakugo emerged from the rubble covered in dust. His red eyes glowed with renewed fury.
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
He began to launch explosions indiscriminately, not caring about the building's structure or the safety of the exercise. Fireballs lit up the hallway as if it were day. The heat was visible even through the security cameras.
Inko activated One For All in her legs again. She jumped, dodged, rolled, each movement using exactly the amount of power necessary. Five percent here. Three percent there. Precise control that spoke of hours of dedicated training.
"Incredible," Momo murmured. "She is actively modulating her power during combat. That requires enormous mental concentration."
"And physical discipline," Ren added. "She has to be feeling every fracture, every torn muscle, yet she continues to fight."
Meanwhile, on the fifth floor, Ochako had finally reached the bomb room. Iida was waiting for her in a formal defensive stance.
"Uraraka san! As a villain, it is my duty to stop you!"
"I'm sorry, Iida kun, but I have to win this!"
Ochako touched several pieces of rubble with her fingers, making them float. Then she launched them all simultaneously toward Iida, forcing him to dodge instead of maintaining his position by the bomb.
It was a simple but effective strategy. While Iida was busy avoiding floating projectiles, Ochako moved inch by inch closer to her target.
But the real battle was still happening two floors below.
Bakugo had stopped trying to hit Inko directly. Now he was destroying the building itself, creating a labyrinth of rubble and fire that made movement increasingly difficult.
"IF I CAN'T HIT YOU, I'LL BLOW YOU UP ALONG WITH THE WHOLE DAMN BUILDING!"
Inko stopped. Ren saw the decision form on her face before she executed it.
Both of her arms began to glow with blinding intensity.
"No," Momo whispered. "She's going to..."
"PLUS ULTRA SMASH!"
Inko's scream resonated throughout the building. Both of her fists connected simultaneously with the floor beneath her feet. The release of energy was comparable to a dynamite blast.
The shockwave traveled upward, destabilizing the entire third and fourth floors.
On the fifth floor, Iida lost his balance as the ground began to shake.
"What the hell was that?!"
Ochako seized the opportunity. She lunged toward the bomb, her fingers touching it just as Iida tried to regain his footing.
The alarm sounded.
"THE HERO TEAM WINS!"
The observation room erupted in chaos. Shouts, applause, exclamations of disbelief. Kaminari owed Kirishima money. Mineta was crying tears of awe. Todoroki observed the screens with eyes slightly wider than his usual neutral expression.
On the screens, Inko fell to her knees. Her two arms hung uselessly at her sides, completely fractured from shoulders to wrists. Tears of pain ran down her cheeks, but there was a genuine smile of victory.
Bakugo stood among the rubble three floors above, staring at the massive hole Inko had created. His expression was indecipherable.
"Inko san..." Momo said in a low voice, "she just sacrificed her arms to secure the victory for her team."
"Was it worth it?" Jiro asked from behind.
"For a true hero," Ren replied as he watched All Might run toward Inko on the screens, "it is always worth it to protect your partner and complete the mission."
Momo looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"You are more of an idealist than I thought, Hayashi kun."
"Or maybe I just recognize courage when I see it."
All Might picked up Inko and carried her toward the infirmary. Ochako ran behind, apologizing repeatedly even though it hadn't been her fault.
It took the class several minutes to calm down enough for All Might to return and give his analysis.
"Young ones, you have just witnessed what it means to be a true hero. Young Midoriya sacrificed her own well-being to ensure victory and protect her partner."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"However, I must also criticize. A hero who destroys themselves cannot save anyone tomorrow. Young Midoriya must learn better control to avoid future injuries."
Bakugo was standing in the furthest corner of the room, his fists clenched and his face hidden by his hair.
"MVP of the exercise," All Might continued, "is young Midoriya for her sacrifice and strategy. But I also recognize young Iida for trying to maintain appropriate defensive tactics despite the circumstances."
Iida straightened up with pride, though he clearly felt he had failed in his mission.
"NOW!" All Might clapped, returning to his usual enthusiasm. "Next match! Hero Team B versus Villain Team B!"
Ren straightened up. Tsuyu appeared by his side almost instantly, having finished her stretches.
"It's our turn, Hayashi kun, ribbit."
"That's right."
Momo and Jiro approached from the other side. Momo had a competitive expression that Ren was starting to enjoy.
"May the best team win, Hayashi kun."
"Oh, we will," Ren replied with a smile as he adjusted his yellow cape.
Jiro snorted.
"A lot of confidence for someone in a giant banana suit."
"It's the suit of a legendary hero," Ren defended with dignity.
"A legendary bald hero?"
"The best kind of legendary hero."
As they walked toward the preparation area, Ren felt the anticipation building in his chest. Inko's fight had been impressive. She had shown exactly what a competent wielder of One For All could achieve with proper training.
But now it was his turn.
Momo was strategic and brilliant. Jiro had sensory capabilities that could detect movement through walls. Both were formidable opponents.
Perfect.
******
Author's Note: Honestly, I think generating the cover art was harder than actually writing and editing the chapter! I hope you enjoyed the read. See you in the next one—and don't forget: hitting that like button is the best way to let me know you want more.
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