Chapter 66: Uneasy Alliance
With the end of Denki and Mina's exam, it marked the time for Ochaco and Bakugo to begin heading towards their exam area. Ochaco walked out of the observation booth and down the stairs to the exit of City Beta. As she stepped out, the PA system announced, "Ochaco Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugo report to City Oscar."
Looking around, Ochaco didn't spot Bakugo waiting around the area, but when she turned to head to City Oscar, she could see him in the distance already on his way. Knowing what his reaction was going to be when she caught up to him, Ochaco sighed and began making her way to her exam area. Keeping a slow pace, she didn't catch up to and when she arrived at the entrance gate to City Oscar, she didn't find him waiting around.
Instead, coming around the corner was a robot coming straight towards her, "Follow me."
Ochaco nodded, then followed the robots. It took her around a few corners until, around the last corner, she saw Bakugo standing there waiting for her. He looked at her then, with a click on his tongue, turned and looked down the long street that was in front of them, "You extras are always slowing me down."
Ochaco tried not to voice her annoyance as she walked over to him. She was about to ask if he wanted to come up with a plan, only for the PA system to cut her off with, "Katsuki Bakugo and Ochaco Uraraka, Midterm exam begins."
And before Ochaco could even make a sound, Bakugo turned and began walking down the long and narrow road. Overcoming her stupor, she yelled, "And where do you think you're going?"
"Just stay out of my way, pink cheeks. I'm going to show everyone that I'm going to be the next number one pro hero. Then I'm going to put Deku back in his place." Bakugo barked down as he made no show of stopping his war path.
Ochaco couldn't believe it; Bakugo was actually crazy. He genuinely thought he could go one-on-one with the world's strongest pro hero and win. As Class 1-A was at the moment, it felt like the only one that could have a chance of holding a candle to All Might was Gizon. But even then, there was a major gap in seer power. Even if Gizon was overloading his quirks, All Might had more strength and endurance. So what chance did she and Bakugo have?'
As Ochaco started to chase after her teammate, she called out, "Are you crazy? We're facing All Might, head on combat is out of the question. We'll lose, our best chance is trying to sneak past him and make a break for the gate."
"I don't care what you think, I'm the next g432damn next one pro hero. I'm going to toy with All Might and then when he realizes he can't win I'll knock that damn smile off his face." Bakugo said as he continued down the road.
"Can you just stop for once, pull your head out of your ass and think!" Ochaco yelled, "Even with those handicap weights, All Might has far more experience than any of our other teachers and is used to contending with heavier hitters."
"G432!" Bakugo yelled as he looked back over his shoulder at Ochaco, "You're starting to sound like Glow Squid. I don't care if you powered up with that stupid second quirk ability, I don't need to listen to you or your stupid ideas. I'm going to win this like I always have and I don't need you slowing me down."
Ochaco took a step back from Bakugo's words. What could she say to explain why she knew what she knew? She had inherited All Might's quirk. All his strength and the strength of the other One for All Users were now within her. But as she was, she could do nothing. Even though All Might was not as strong as he was in his prime, and he was slowly losing time, he could still be a pro hero. Even he could still hold his own and would never back down from a fight.
Watching All Might fight that black nomu at USJ, Ochaco had realized that. Even as he was losing his strength, All Might was still the type of pro hero that held his head up high. To show the world that peace was an option.
Yet despite that, having seen that kind of power, Bakugo still thought he could win. It was either extremely prideful, stupidly crazy, or had a death wish. And having been his classmate for the past few months, Ochaco won't be surprised if he is all three.
As Bakugo continued to walk down the street, Ochaco could do nothing but watch, while hearing him grumbling under his breath. His whole life, those around him knew their place. They knew he was the best; he was the strongest. He was destined to become the next number one pro hero and go out in history as the best hero to ever live. None of them ever questions that fact.
Sure, there had been a few who rebelled, but it didn't take much effort to put them back in their place. Except one. It didn't matter what Bakugo did to Deku, how much he beat the useless nerd down. How many people laughed at Deku, told him his dreams were stupid, that his quirk was one of the weakest to ever exist?
The damn stupid, useless nerd never refused to learn his place. The one thing out of place in Bakugo's perfect story to becoming the greatest pro hero to ever live. Bakugo thought he could get away from the imperfection once he got to UA, but he was wrong. Not only did Deku follow him, but he was surrounded by more rebellious subordinates who refused to bow down and accept him as their superior. And not only that, but they had the gall to claim themselves better, stronger, faster, better pro heroes than him.
It had taken years for everyone to learn their place at Aldera, and now he was having to rebuild the system. He would recreate his kingdom with everyone in their proper place, but he had a gut feeling that it didn't matter if he rebuilt his kingdom; Deku would continue to tear it down from the inside.
How dare that damn nerd think he was better than Bakugo? He should have learned his lesson when he failed the entrance exam. But now, nearly six months later, he thought that because he had the fancy suit of his, he could dethrone Bakugo. That thought alone made Bakugo growl, but once everything was back to normal, then Bakugo would make sure Deku returned to his place at the bottom. Bakugo would make sure that pink pink-haired girl who thought the world of Deku joined him.
And what better way to accelerate the reconstruction than a show of force? Once Bakugo showed he was stronger than Japan's number one pro hero, then no one would ever question him again. Looking down the street, Bakugo saw All Might slowly walk towards him. Good, Bakugo had some anger to unleash.
While Bakugo had a feral grin and was itching for a fight, further away, Ochaco couldn't help but want to run away and hide. And upon seeing All Might, Ochaco froze. She could see him drawing back his arm. "Duh, duh, we're screwed."
Before All Might could even out his attack, Ochaco felt her body moving. She instinctively activated One for All at 5% and was making a desperate dash for the nearest alleyway to get some cover. Just as she dove into the alleyway, she heard the booming voice of All Might, "TEXAS SMASH!"
Ochaco felt the ground rumble and heard the sounds of various things breaking along the street, which probably included the street itself. A few moments later, Ochaco saw a dark dust cloud rush past the mouth of the alleyway. It was filled with broken glass panels, a few cars, pieces of asphalt, bikes, and parking meters. Ochaco was sure she even saw the back of the car, while it was still attached to the rest of the vehicle.
"WHO CARES IF I DESTROY THE CITY. AFTER HOW I'M A VILLAIN AND THIS IS WHAT A VILLAIN DOES. SO IF YOU THINK OF THIS AS AN EXAM FOR ONE MOMENT, THEN YOU WILL FALTER AND FAIL, BECAUSE I'M NOT HOLDING BACK. AND KNOW THIS, MANY PRO HEROES HAVE CHALLENGED ME TO A FIGHT AND ALL HAVE FALLEN BEFORE ME. THIS WILL NOT BE MY TURN TO FALL, SO TELL ME PRO HEROES WHICH OF YOU CHOOSE TO JOIN YOUR COMRADES IN THE GRAVE." All Might said, and if Ochaco couldn't only hear the pounding of her own heart and her mind wasn't racing, she probably would have thought of how corny All Might sounded.
Once the debris shockwave passed, Ochaco walked to the edge of the alleyway to see the damage. Amongst it all, she saw Bakugo still standing proudly. She couldn't see his face but knew she had a smug grin. He extended his hands behind his back, and after a few small crackles, two large explosions went off, sending him flying towards All Might, "That's big talk for a bastard that's about to be sent to the ER."
All Might rushed forward and met his opponent in the middle. Impressively, Bakugo dodged All Might's punch by using an explosion to push himself into the air and over All Might. Now staring at All Might's protected backside, Bakugo didn't hesitate to unleash a barrage of explosions. Yet they felt as powerful as acupuncture to All Might.
As the number one hero pretending to be a villain turned around to face Bakugo, he was met with Bakugo holding out his hand and unleashing an explosion. But instead of a bright flash of light, the explosion seemed to fizzle out before a smoke cloud rushed over the large man.
Thinking he had cover to move, Bakugo bolted off to the side to turn and get around All Might, but as he got to the side, a large hand reached out and grabbed his head. Then, before Bakugo could throw an insult, he was lifted into the air, while All Might set out from the smoke cloud.
Seeing the blonde Olaf smiling just infuriated Bakugo even more, making him forgo yelling, while bringing up both of his arms and unleashing explosion after explosion point blank into All Might's face. Over the years, All Might had caught and held many villains in similar bindings, and he found they always attacked his forearm or hand in an attempt to get him to drop them. Yet it seemed Bakugo wasn't worried about anything, especially escaping, besides victory. His only concern was defeating All Might.
The moment Bakugo let off the explosion, All Might gave a hearty laugh and loudly said, "HARDLY FELT IT. NOTHING MORE THAN ACUPUNCTURE." Turning around, All Might slammed Bakugo into the ground, then, after lifting him back up, threw Bakugo down the street from where he had come from.
From her advantageous point in the alleyway, Ochaco saw this and could only watch as Bakugo went bouncing further down the road. Turning back to All Might, she could see him looking around. Most likely, he searched for her, so she quickly turned and took off running down the alleyway. Why did she have to take All Might on his offer? Why did she have to accept One for All? And why did she have to go to UA?
The benefits of everything didn't seem to really outweigh the risks she was taking. She could have gone to any other hero high school, but now she had to go to the top school in Japan. Go to the one where All Might was teaching, the one the League of Villains had decided to attack. And now to top it all off, she had to work with the least team-oriented student of her class, against the world's strongest pro hero.
If she weren't so panicked, she would laugh at the hilarious situation Fate was constantly putting her in. Because of all the times she found herself way over her head, this one felt the worst, even though it was the one least likely to kill her. Become a pro hero, she thought. Accepting One for All would help her become a great pro hero, All Might told. She was on a path to fight the world's greatest super villain, Gizon constantly remembered her.
If Ochaco somehow survived mid-term exams and the summer camp, then she was going to take a much-needed vacation. She was going to make Gizon break up that vault worth of money he had stolen from All For One and take a vacation. She was thinking of Tahiti, maybe the Bahamas. Or maybe she would visit the United States and see where her mentor spent some time.
Speaking of the Red, White, and Blue, Ochaco was too distracted planning her dream vacation; she didn't notice the large man standing in front of her wearing a red, white, and blue hero costume. Running into his midsection, Ochaco's mask bent in and smacked her in the nose. She made her stumble back and fall to the ground.
"DID YOU REALLY THINK I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU YOUNG URARAKA. SIMPLY RUNNING AND HIDING WILL NOT WIN YOU THIS BATTLE." All Might said, but Ochaco didn't seem to hear him as she mumbled, "Italy."
All Might's smile turned into a bit of a smirk, "PLANNING A SUMMER VACATION ARE WE YOUNG URARAKA. PERHAPS YOU WISH TO VISIT SOMEWHERE WITH SOMEONE SPECIAL."
That was the wrong thing to say as that immediately brought Ochaco back to reality and growled at All Might. Grabbing a trash bin, Ochaco activated One for All and threw it at her mentor. Yet even with her super strength, All Might's far outclassed her own, and the trash bin harmlessly bounded off his face, though not without a dent that was in the shape of his face. Worse, as All Might looked down at her, Ochaco couldn't help but feel herself being drawn back to that night in Hosu..
In that alleyway, fighting so desperately to hold Stain back and give her friends a chance. Ochaco felt her body move instinctively, not to get back onto her feet and fight. But instead, her body moved to press her hand against her right thigh, canceling out her gravity. She then quickly activated One for All and pinballed down the alleyway to get away.
Coming out onto the road, Ochaco flipped herself around and crashed into the underside of an overturned car. Looking back at the alleyway, she could hear All Might's thunderous footsteps. Not wanting to fight, Ochaco pushed off from the car and flew down the road, only to head, "Get the f432 out of the way!"
Ochaco barely had a chance to look where she was going before crashing into Bakugo. As she was without gravity, she immediately pushed back and pulled Bakugo to the ground. Bakugo shoved Ochaco off of him and as he got to his knee, "What the hell is wrong you pink cheeks. I thought I told you to stay out of my way. I don't need your help to win."
"Are you a lunatic?" Ochaco yelled back as she canceled her quirks and got to her feet, "You seriously think you can defeat All Might?" She thought she had gotten used to Bakugo and his horrible attitude, but it seemed to be coming out in waves today. It was the same as always whenever Izuku was brought up, but now worse because Izuku was here in person. Ochaco couldn't understand what Bakugo's problem was with Sutaku.
Izuku was nice and caring; he always wanted to help others. He had been quick to offer help with support gear and equipment. And he wasn't being an ass about getting into the hero course, all the while the general course students were always taking potshots and making comments about how they deserved to be in the hero course.
Ochaco recalled Gizon showing her the question he had sent to everyone after Izuku and Momo's fight during the Sports, while they were all held up in Recovery Girl's office. At the time, she probably would have agreed with everyone about Mineta; now, she would choose Bakugo. Mineta might be a perv and a little offsettingly and too much to handle at times, but Bakugo was just an ass 24/7. He was always talking down to others, trying to put himself on top when he clearly wasn't.
Ochaco couldn't remember which member of class 1-A said it first, but they had compared him to an angry pomeranian, and she felt that was appropriate. Bakugo was just a small dog, constantly barking at bigger dogs, and wouldn't shut up until the bigger dog fought back. The things about the members of Class 1-A were that they were too scared, too nice, or didn't care enough to be that big dog.
"Shut up, I'm going to win this because that's what it means to be a pro hero. The only thing that matters when you are a hero is strength. You have to be stronger than the villain to win," Bakugo said as he turned and started to walk down the street.
To Ochaco, Bakugo's words just sounded like how a bully approached a fight. They were big and tough because they thought no one could hurt them. "Then how about me?" Ochaco turned to Bakugo and saw that he had stopped, "I beat you at the Sports Festival. Doesn't that mean I'm better than you? If so, then the same is true for Hisahito and for Sutaku, since they're stronger than me."
"Don't you think G432da432 Deku is stronger than me?" Bakugo yelled as he turned around and lunged at Ochaco, an explosion ready in his hand, "He's a worthless nerd that should know better than to stand up. He needs to learn his place."
Unheard by the student, All Might called down from the air, "INCOMING HEROES."
Ochaco dodged a punch from Bakugo, who yelled, "All you f432ers were lucky, and if I had faced Deku in the finals, then he would have been begging for mercy."
"You're only high and mighty with your powerful quirk. They were right, you were born with a silver spoon up your ass." Ochaco said, "But what about us with weaker quirks, those who had to put in the work and actually train to be here. We trained until our bodies gave out, sweated until we passed from dehydration."
"Shut up! You're all nothing but useless extra! None of you deserve the spotlight, I alone belong at the top! You're starting to sound like Deku." Bakugo said as he attacked again. But Ochaco had interned with Gran Torino and could dodge any of Bakugo's attacks.
That made Ochaco's anger flare up, and she brought One for all up to 10% as she got in close and decked Bakugo, "And you're starting to sound like Stain." Ochaco didn't care how Bakugo or anyone else took that, "And if I sound like Midoriya, then good. Because he deserves to be in this class more than any of us. He forged his own path to become a pro hero, and even when it seemed like it wouldn't work out, he didn't give up. He continued to work hard until he was given another chance.
"You think you deserve to be the next number one pro hero because you were born with a strong quirk. You think that all that matters in a person is their quirk, which sickens me. If we live in a world where people hold up that kind of belief, then something needs to change." That immediately took the wind out of Ochaco's sails, as she realized how that sounded. But deep down, she felt like it wasn't wrong.
Upon hearing this, All Might backpedaled. He had planned on using the metal railing under him to secure Ochaco to the ground and then fight Bakugo again. Yet upon seeing her punch Bakugo, he decided to hang back for a second to see where the argument was going. But then the argument turned into a fight, and Ochaco said what she had said. It didn't sound the same as Stain's proclamation about the world being filled with false heroes; however, to anyone who didn't know Ochaco, they could easily take it that way.
"You're mad because your whole life, you've been the strongest. No one probably fought you at your old school, but now you're realizing you're a small fish in a big pool. We haven't just caught up to you, but have far surpassed you. And if you can't see that it's your own fault, then you'll just be left further behind."
A vicious growl seemed to be imitating Bakugo as he stood up and said, "If you think I need help from a weak extra like you, then I'd rather lose."
"And where's your ego from 20 seconds ago. Did I wound it too much?" Ochaco said.
"Shut up and duck!" Bakugo commanded, and while Ochaco didn't feel much like listening to Bakugo, she knew who was right behind, and seeing Bakugo raise his arm with the pin on his left gauntlet out, she knew what his plan was.
After dropping to the ground, but not wanting to get caught in the coming explosion, Ochaco rolled off to the side. The moment Bakugo pulled the pin on his gauntlet, a deafening explosion went off, quickly enveloping the area in front of Bakugo. All Might disappeared in a bright flash of light.
With her ears ringing, Ochaco didn't know how Bakugo could stand being so close to the explosion that loud. Ochaco stumbled as she got to her hands and knees. Turning and looking back at Bakugo. As the dust cloud disappeared, All Might was revealed to still be standing on an unbroken piece of ground, and there didn't seem to be a scratch on him.
All Might laughed, "I'VE HAD SUNBURNS WORSE THAN THAT." While All Might might not be the smartest pro hero Ochaco had to give to him, he knew how to make his opponent angry. Then again, it was Bakugo; it didn't take much to achieve that.
Bakugo looked like he was ready to use his other gauntlets, but instead, he held out his arm and created another smoke screen. Ochaco walked as Bakugo bolted off to the side and to an alleyway. Picking herself up, she ran after her teammate. She found Bakugo around the corner, repeatedly punching the brick wall.
"Are you really more willing to lose than accept help from someone else?" Ochaco asked, and Bakugo growled but didn't attack her.
"Fine, I admit, the way I am, I can't take All Might at full strength. Happy." Bakguo barked. Ochaco might have accepted it as an apology if he wasn't being such an ass about it, "It's going to take both of us. He was able to tank my auto shot and gauntlet, even with your stupid second quirk ability. He's not going to go down easily."
At least it seemed that the logic Ochaco had been talking about had penetrated Bakugo's thick skull. She was about to say anything, but then Bakugo continued, "But he's too damn fast. We would even have a chance to get to the escape gate. He'll find us and then we're f432."
"Then how about we don't try to take him down but lift him up." Ochaco said and tried not to look at the absolute confusion that fell on Bakugo's face. She could also see his mouth, "What the f432, this girl has lost her mind."
"Yes, it's true, I got some extra training from All Might following the USJ. It wasn't to make me stronger or anything; he just helped me learn how to control percent strength. And one thing he annoyingly always came back to was having the proper leverage. I could punch with all my strength, but it would mean nothing if I didn't have a proper stance."
"So what, everyone knows how to throw a damn punch." Bakugo barked, then noticed Ochaco had her palm open, showing off the pads in her fingertips as she waved her hand back and forth, "Oh. F432, that's clever."
Ochaco nodded, as it was clear Bakugo understood what she was talking about. If she took away All Might's gravity, then he wouldn't be able to properly brace himself against the ground to throw a punch. Even if he used one of his ultimate moves that dealt with wind pressure, Newton's third law of motion would send All Might in the opposite direction with equal force.
"And to ensure he can't follow us after I take away his gravity, you use your other gauntlets to turn him into a comet," Ochaco said, and saw Bakugo's grin turn more feral. It was clear he liked that idea.
After waving away the smoke screen Bakugo had put up and looking around, All Might could not find either of them. He could just quickly run around until he found them, as he had to locate Ochaco earlier, yet he could feel a slight tingle of pain coming from his left side. The kind that came the morning after a heavy workout. It wasn't just this fight he was having to save his strength for, but he had to save some time to fight against Izuku as well.
When that topic of conversation came up while the teachers were discussing which would be paired together and who they would face. Toshinori thought there would be a bit more back and forth of trying to figure out who would go up against Izuku and his Iron Man armor. Eraserhead had been quick to point up the armor, which prevented him from using his quirk.
Midnight and Present Mic were quick to follow, pointing out that the armor could most likely counter their quirk as well. And Powerloader was more than happy to confirm the air filtration system and how the suit was built to withstand breaking the sound barrier. Snipe pointed out he would need to be allowed 9 millimeter bullets, as he knew firsthand the armor could withstand that. While pointing out the danger of using anything above a 9mm on a student.
Vlad King quickly got his name crossed out by pointing out that Izuku wasn't being transferred to his class and thus not his responsibility. Powerloader said he wasn't going to fight because he didn't have to damage the suit anywhere. The other fought that, but Principal Nezu passed the reasoning. It was decided that Thirteen didn't have the experience to put up a good fight, while Ectoplasma wasn't strong enough.
So that just left All Might to face Izuku. But first, he had to get through this fight, and hopefully get a good enough rest that he could maintain his hero form throughout that fight.
With Ochaco and Bakugo nowhere in sight, All Might decided to head to the one location he knew where they were most likely to be heading: the escape gate. Turning around, All Might began to light jog down the road, keeping an eye and ear out for Ochaco and Bakugo.
It seemed one of them had picked up their homeroom's stealth as All Might barely heard their footsteps as they landed behind him, "I think you call this a homerun."
All Might turned just in time to take a metal beam to the face from a powered-up swing. As the metal beam dropped from his face, he saw Ochaco quickly backstep. He would have given chase, but instead heard, "Eyes on me, you damn villain," from behind him. Turning back around, All Might saw Bakugo with his left gauntlets primed and ready to unleash a shot.
The number one hero raised his arms to defend against the attack, yet when Bakugo pulled the pin, nothing happened. The only thing that could be heard was the pin dropping to the floor. Lowering his arms a bit, All Might looked at the gauntlets, questioning if something had gone wrong with Bakugo's support equipment. Then he recalled how it was the left gauntlet Bakugo had used earlier. But that wasn't a mistake that Bakugo would make so easily.
So clearly it was a part of some kind of plan. And All Might quickly learned what that plan was when he felt a hand being pressed into the small of his back, and he soon began to float. Focusing back on Bakugo, he saw the blond switch his arms around and pull the pin on his right gauntlets. With his gravity taken away and without anything to grab onto, All Might went flying off into the distance, but not out of earshot without first hearing Ochaco yell, "What the h432, Bakugo, you were supposed to give me a second to get out of the way."
Moving the small pin back into place and then closing the large pin, Bakugo clicked his tongue, "Tch, whatever it worked didn't it."
"I could have done without the chance of singed eyebrows." Ochaco said.
"Whatever, I bet Glow Squid wouldn't care. There's no way that KO'd him, so let's move before he figures out a way to move." Bakugo said, turning around, and began using explosions to fly down the street.
If Ochaco wasn't so angry at Bakugo, she would have found herself tripping over his comment about Gizon. Pushing One for All to 15%, Ochaco chased after Bakugo. While they hoped using Zero gravity on All Might would make it impossible for him to continue fighting, they were not going to count on it. And they were right to do so.
The moment the escape gate came into view, a large shadow crashed into the road a few feet in front of them. From the large dust cloud came All Might's voice, "AN INTERESTING MOVE, BUT THERE IS NO BETTER TACTIC THAN RUNNING WHEN FACING ME."
Ochaco's instincts flared up, and she quickly took a large jump back, and the next second, All Might rushed out of the dust cloud. He was upon Bakugo in the blink of an eye and quickly destroyed the grenade-shaped gauntlets before kneeing the student in the gut.
"How? We sent you flying with no gravity?" Ochaco questioned
"YES YOU DID. AND I WOULD HAVE CONTINUE TO FLY HAD I NOT REALIZE MY WRIST AND ANKLE BANDS STILL HAD THEIR WEIGHT. THOUGH NOT ENOUGH TO RETURN ME TO THE GROUND QUICKLY ENOUGH. I HAD TO TALK TO YOUNG MIDORIYA A BIT AND CONVINCE HIM TO INCREASE THE WEIGHT OF MY BANDS." All Might said.
"You f432ing cheater." Bakugo said as he got to his hands and knees.
"OH, MAKE NO MISTAKE, A VILLAIN WILL TAKE EVERY ADVANTAGE THEY CAN GET AND ARE NOT AFRAID TO PLAY DIRTY." All Might said, kicking Bakugo at Ochaco.
Ochaco reacted by jumping up, but that played into All Might's hand as he rushed over and grabbed her midair, while stomping Bakugo to the ground, "I AM PROUD THAT YOU WERE ABOUT TO PUT ASIDE YOUR DIFFERENCE AND WORK TOGETHER TO FIGHT ME. HOWEVER, IT WAS FAR TO LATE FOR A DECISION."
Ochaco grabbed hold of All Might's oversized thumb and index finger and tried to force them apart, "YOU MAY ATTACK WITH MAXIMUM STRENGTH, BUT IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD." All Might then threw Ochaco into an overturned car, and she dropped to the ground. He boasted, "YOU ARE NOW WITHOUT YOUR TEAMMATES' GAUNTLETS. YOU HAVE LOST YOUR HEAVY ATTACKS. WHAT CAN YOU DO?"
"I told you I don't need her damn help to defeat you,." Bakugo yelled, though it was muffled as he was face-first against the asphalt. All Might looked down and saw Bakugo point both of his palms upwards and sparked an explosion similar in size to one of his gauntlets. It was enough force to send All Might flying up to the 10th floor of a building.
Seeing a chance, Ochaco activated One for All and jumped after her mentor, zipping up the building like Gran Torino until she was a floor above All Might. Clinging to an exposed metal beam, Ochaco called out with power in her voice, "I'll never have to fight alone. I'll always have my friend."
All Might flipped himself around, just in time to see Ochaco press her fingers, canceling her quirk. As All Might felt gravity return to his body, Ochaco jumped at him, "And that's where my power comes up." With One for All as high as she could handle, Ochaco punched All Might in the chest, sending him careening down to the road below. But as he hit, he didn't stop; instead, he went through the road and into the ground below, forming an All Might-shaped hole in his wake.
Acting fast, Ochaco canceled her gravity, but she still had the momentum from her jump. So she aimed one of her prototype gauntlets at a billboard and shot out a wire, then used it to pull herself in. Clinging to the billboard like Gran Torino had during their spars, Ochaco looked down at the hole, waiting to see if All Might would reappear. After a few seconds of waiting, she lowered to the ground and canceled her zero gravity.
Ochaco looked over and saw Bakugo painfully getting to his feet. They thought that they had to do it. All Might had his own weight, along with the weight from the wrist and ankle weights, keeping him down in that hole. They should have had a few seconds to catch their breath before they had to start for the escape gate.
Taking stock, Ochaco was feeling some stiffness in her arm, while her jaw felt ready to dislocate. The nausea in her stomach wasn't too bad, though that might just be because, in comparison to when she was training in zero gravity and she couldn't hold anything down. There was a small ringing in the depth of her ears, no doubt from being so close to those massive explosions. Overall, as bad as she thought it would be after facing All Might
On the other hand, Ochaco was sure Bakugo was in pain. He had taken the brunt of most of All Might's attack, mostly out of stubbornness. Ochaco was sure Recovery Girl was going to have a field day about telling him to learn how to dodge.
Feeling that she had caught her breath and was ready to move again, Ochaco took a step towards the escape gate. Only to stop once again dead in her tracks, as she saw a hand emerging from the hole in the road. The hand gripped the edge, and then two tall tufts of yellow hair could be seen.
"THANK YOU YOUNG MIDO-AH YOUNG SUTAKU FOR ADJUSTING MY WEIGHTS BACK TO THEIR PREVIOUS SETTINGS. OTHERWISE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HARDER TO CLIMB OUT THIS ME SHAPED HOLE." All Might said
"Deku!" Bakugo growled.
All Might lifted himself out of the hole and stood up; dust came out of the ground, making a dramatic sight. Yet amongst the dust, Ochaco saw white steam coming off of her teacher's body. Crap, that meant he was running low on time, and if he took a hit hard enough, he would transform back.
As the eighth and ninth wielders of One for all locked eyes, they had a silent conversation.
'Surrender.'
'NO TOO SUSPICIOUS. YOU'RE CLASSMATES WILL KNOW SOMETHING IS OFF."
"Well you don't exactly have much time left? What are we supposed to do, there's no one else to help…..?"
Ochaco and All Might paused and turned to look at Bakugo, "SHIT/shit."
"Well, Young Bakugo, it seems you'd rather have someone fight your battles for you," was the first thing All Might thought of saying. And if he was not as strong as he was, he would have regretted it as Bakugo let out a feral war cry. He unleashes an explosion, jetting past Ochaco and attacking All Might.
Taking the opening, Ochaco ran past the two and headed for the escape gate.
"You're dead, All Might. I don't need any help to defeat you." Bakugo said, raising both of his palms. Both of his hands ignited, and a massive explosion went off. All Might raised both his hands up in a block and braced. He tanked the hit, but could feel his body weakening, and it was getting harder to hold his form.
As the small smoke cloud disappeared, All Might saw Bakugo standing a few feet away. Immediately, the pro hero braced for another attack, but it never came. Bakugo just stood there, menacingly and unmoving. Cautiously, All Might walked up to his student and found him to be unconscious, yet still standing. All Might had to admit he was impressed by Bakugo's will.
"Ochaco Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugo have passed," the PA system said. All Might could only hope that everyone thought he had let Ochaco go by focusing solely on Bakugou. A few moments later, Bakugo's body collapsed, and All Might caught him before he hit the ground.
Chapter 67: I'm running out of Titles
In the monitor room, many became confused about seeing All Might allow Ochaco to run away, while also simultaneously solely focusing on Bakugo. He should have been about to easily handle them both as he had since the start of the test.
"That was strange. All Might just let Uraraka go past." Momo questioned, and Kirishima voiced his confusion as well, "Yeah, I've seen him manfully stand up to a large group of villains before and take them all out within seconds. Why didn't he do that here?"
Gizon hummed and said, "Best guess All Might is finally taking his duties as our teacher properly."
Everyone present turned to Gizon, and Shoto asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Disregarding Recovery Girl's slight smirk, as she knew what explanation Gizon was about to give had definitely not been considered by All Might, "All Might was testing Uraraka and Bakugo, seeing how they would react when faced with an impossible task. IE, fighting someone they knew they couldn't defeat. Ochaco had shown how she would react and had passed, so All Might let her physically pass as he focused on Bakugo."
"But what about after Baku-bro stopped attacking?" Kirishima asked.
And before Gizon could come up with a believable explanation, Izuku said, "Take it from All Might's perspective. Kacchan was still standing with a slight crouch. Isn't that how he usually stands when he's ready to attack?" A few members of Class 1-A nodded in agreement, "All Might must have thought Kacchan was still good to go, but then realized something was wrong and wanted to make sure Kacchan was too injured.
Izuku looked at the monitor that showed Bakugo being carted off on a stretcher. While Izuku's explanation was sound and All Might could have been checking up on Bakugo. There was still plenty of time for All Might to catch up to Ochaco. Running through all he knew about All Might, Izuku tried to find something that felt a bit more. Then he thought of his only chance to actually pass his fight against All Might, which must have been what prevented All Might from ending the fight.
Hopefully, it was still a variable option for Izuku to use.
"Are you ready for your fight against All Might?" Momo asked, pulling Izuku from his thoughts.
"Still plenty nervous, but I think I've got a plan that could work. It would have been a lot easier if I could use the escape gate." Izuku said.
"Oh, you've got a super secret doohicky in that suit of yours." Mina asked.
"Um, not quite." Izuku said,
"Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami, please report to City November." The PA system said, and they made their way to the exam area. Only to find that it wasn't a large mock city as many of the other exam areas were, but instead it was one large building. A mix between the world's largest mall and a government capital building. They were directed to the top floor and to a far corner of the building.
"Ectoplasm and his multitude of dark companions will descend upon us until we are overwhelmed and are forced to surrender." Tokoyami said as he adjusted the collar of his black cloak.
Tsuyu didn't say anything as she looked around, trying to come up with a plan. The hallways of the building were narrow, making it difficult for them to get through a wave of their teachers. And pressing a hand against the wall, Tsuyu felt that it was strong, meaning it would be nigh impossible to punch a quick exit in case they got a corner. Dropping down, Tsuyu looked through the air vent and saw that even Mineta could have a hard time crawling through it.
"What thoughts are in your head, fair maiden.?" Tokoyami asked
As she stood up, Tsuyu turned to Tokoyami, "This is the worst spot to be facing a swarm of villains. The hallways are too narrow to properly dodge, and there is no chance to punch our ways through a wall for a quick exit. And the vents are too small to use."
"So avoiding the dark companion is most advised." Tokoyami said.
Tsuyu got to give a slight shrug as that did seem the best option, though the place felt a bit like a maze. It was likely they could run across one of Ectoplasm's clones, and the moment they did, and for lack of a better way to think of it, Tsuyu could picture all the clones running for them like a swarm of zombies. EctoPlasm most likely knew where they were starting, and if not at the escape gate, then at least nearby. He would have clones at the major intersection they would have to cross to get to the escape gate.
And while Ectoplasma's quirk was only creating clones of himself, and even with his prosthetic legs, he was still quite capable of holding his own in a one-on-one fight with skilled martial artists. And as his clones were all at the same level of skill, he could easily jump a villain and overwhelm them before they could put up a proper fight. And Tsuyu was neither, and with all the lights along the way, so was Tokoyami.
"Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami, mid-term exams begin." The PA system, drawing Tsuyu out of her thoughts. Looking over, she saw Tokoyami already heading down the hallway. Crunching down, Tsuyu hopped after him and quickly caught up. It seemed that with no real plan in place, their best bet was to just make a run for it and hope for the best.
Tsuyu wasn't quite sure of what Ectoplasm's limit for making clones was; the most she had ever seen was 20 clones at a time. Hopefully, with the sheer size of the building, that left a free gap for her and Tokoyami to slip through. Her theory seems to stand as even after passing through a few doors and going around a couple of corners, Tsuyu had not seen Ectoplasm or one of their clones.
Though their luck didn't last long, as Tsuyu was about to turn down a T-junction, she spotted an Ectoplasm standing further down the hallway. Instead of trying to turn around and go back around the corner, she quickly jumped off to the side. Pressing her hand against the corner column and using her quirk ability to stick to walls, Tsuyu quickly flipped around the corner and slid down the smooth hallway and out of sight.
Noticing his teammates' odd and quick movement, Tokoyami slowed down and cautiously approached the corner. Slowly pushing his head out, Tokoyami glanced down the hallway and saw the Ectoplasm start to turn back and look down the hallway. Moving out of sight, Tokoyami looked across the intersection and whispered, "What now fair maiden?"
Looking over her shoulder, Tsuyu looked to see what was down her hallway, only to find a door that had a very obvious sign that said 'Roof Access Only.' So, unless they backtrack several hallways and lose several precious minutes, the only way forward is through their teacher.
As Tsuyu turned back to Tokoyami, she noticed some of the lights from above were flickering. She recalled the time Ochaco had quickly fixed one of the lightbulbs in the girls' changing room. Ochaco had explained that an easy way to tell the difference between a faulty light bulb and faulty wiring was by the light bulbs themselves. If it was just one or two flickering out of sync, then it was a lightbulb, but if there were multiple of them flickering out of sync, then there was a problem with the wiring.
As Tsuyu watched a whole row of lights flicker on and off, she couldn't help but think that Principal Nezu didn't want to get in and check the wiring. Focusing back on the problem at hand, Tsuyu shook her head, "We're going to have to do our best to sneak past him."
"Perhaps your ability to stick to walls will allow you to pass overhead unnoticed," Tokoyami suggested, and Tsuyu took a moment to think about it. The Ectoplasm down the hallway would be tasked with making sure nothing came down the hallway, but if she was able to get a large enough window, she could sprint down and then jump up to the ceiling and out of sight before she was seen. Then she would have the chance to get the drop on him and knock him out.
It was that or they backtracked several hallways and then, most likely, but with less time to come up with a solution.
"Give me a count," Tsu said, and Tokoyami nodded. While she readied herself to run down the hallway, Tokoyami peeked around the corner, "3…..2…..1, Go."
Tsuyu took off down the hallway, her boots and feet allowing her to run without so much of a sound. She was about halfway to Ecoplasma when he started to turn to look back down the hallway, so, mustering as much strength as she could, Tsuyu jumped up and clung to the ceiling, only a few feet away from Ectoplasm if she were standing on the ground. She held her breath as Ectoplasm looked down the hallway, and then Tsuyu swore she could see him look up, but he didn't seem to notice her.
Taking a second to quietly catch her breath, Tsuyu looked down and saw Ectoplasm looking down a different hallway. Steeling her nerves, she unstuck from the ceiling and brought an axe kick on the back of Ectoplasm's neck. Tsuyu thought that would be enough, but while Ectoplasm stumbled and fell to the ground, it was clear he was not unconscious. So before he could use his communicator to contact the others, Tokoyami rushed forward and commanded Dark Shadow to knock him.
Dark Shadow grabbed the Ectoplasm clone around its chest and slammed it into the wall. As the Ectoplasm clone hit the wall and fell to the ground, the impact echoed through the hallways, making Tsuyu grimace and Tokoyami look at his quirk with a disappointing scowl.
"What you said to attack." Dark Shadow said.
"I forget, monsters of the dark are not built for stealth." Tokoyami said with a shake of his head.
"We should move before any clone comes to check out the noise," Tsuyu said as she started to hop down the right hallway. Getting her meaning, Tokoyami rushed after her, and it seemed they had gotten lucky, as for the next few minutes, they didn't run into any Ectoplasm clones. Not until they slipped through a door and found themselves standing in a curricular room, however, instead of a complete floor, it was a balcony going around the room, with the opening going down the floor below.
Cautiously stepping up to the railing of the balcony, Tsuyu looked down and immediately felt sick to her stomach as she learned the reason why they hadn't come across clones after knocking out the first one. They had all gathered here. But how, the clone didn't get a chance to speak. Tsuyu wasn't sure if the clones had a telepathic link with one another, but if they didn't, it would at least make sense that Ectoplam could tell when one was knocked unconscious or defeated.
Tsuyu thought she and Tokoyami could sneak by, but then, without warning, all the EctoPlasm turned and looked up at her.
'What's the hold up?" Dark Shadow asked as Tokoyami walked up the balcony. They both looked down, and Dark Shadow accidentally let slip out, "Oh s432."
"Can you hold them off?" Tsuyu asked.
"With the accursed light shining down upon me, I would be lucky to handle 3 of 4. I count 35." Tokoyami said.
"Light," Tsuyu mumbled to herself as she recalled the faulty wiring she had seen a few floors ago. If one of them could mess with the wiring and get all the lights to turn off, then Tokoyami would have the strength to overpower any number of clones Ectoplasm sent their way.
Tsuyu was pulled from her thoughts as Dark Shadow suddenly grabbed her, and Tokoyami jumped back. Before she could question what they were doing, an Ectoplasm crashed into the railing, sending it flying into the ceiling above.
"Tokoyami, buy me some time and I'll try to mess with the lights." Tsuyu said.
Tokoyami responded with a nod and sent Dark Shadow to block the EctoPlasm from advancing any further. Acting quickly, Tsuyu came over to the ceiling and pulled one of the hanging lights from its port.
"What is she doing?" Gizon asked, having suddenly returned a minute or so after a PA announcement went asking for Recovery Girl to come to her office.
"It looks like she is messing with the lights," Ochaco said as Tsuyu pulled out several different frayed wires, and confusion was evident on her usually flat face.
"Hey, doesn't Dark Shadow get more powerful when they'll, you know, in shadow." Izuku questioned.
"Yeah, but…. I never took Tsu as one for such drastic measures." Gizon said with a slight grin.
"She's going to have to be careful, to just knock out the building, she'll want to cross the yellow and blue wire. But if she crosses the yellow and red…" Ochaco paused as Tsuyu suddenly grabbed the red wire and touched it to the yellow wire. Instantly, all the power, not just within City November, but the entire east side of UA's campus, went out, including the observation room. Leaving the only source of light being the ones on Izuku's armor, "She could bring down the entire power grid of UA."
The moment Tsuyu recognized she had accidentally taken out all the lights was heightened when she heard the roar of Dark Shadow. She remembered how Tokoyami discussed how Dark Shadow could get when there was no light. Letting go of the wires, Tsuyu pulled out her phone and turned its flashlight on. Directing down to the hallway, she saw a very large dark shadow going over the edge of the balcony, pulling several ectoplasm clones and Tokoyami with it.
The sound of several bodies hitting the floor could be heard, shortly followed by the roar of Dark Shadow. Quickly reaching to the back of her belt, Tsuyu pulled the pair of cuffs she had been given and dropped them to the floor. Using the light from her phone, she raced over the balcony, arriving just in time to see Dark Shadow being thrown into the air by a large Ectoplasm clone.
Knowing she could only get in the way of that fight, Tsuyu directed her attention downward, looking for the original Ectoplasm. She soon spotted him standing off to the side, underway an archway. Turning off her phone and slipping it back into her pocket, Tsuyu lowered herself down and clung to the inner ring of the balcony. Using the sound of the giants' battle, she crawled along.
Until, trusting in her memory and instinct, Tsuyu was sure she was right above Ectoplasm. To make sure she had a hold on the pair of cuffs, she dropped down and landed on what she could only assume was Ectoplasm, because it sure didn't feel like marble.
A second later, Tsuyu felt a hand close to her ankle, so she quickly crouched down and clipped the cuffs over the hand.
Now it could have just been a coincidence, though Tsuyu was willing to bet Principal Nezuu had some way of watching the fight even without the power on. Either way, the moment the cuffs clicked around Ectoplasm's wrist, the lights turned back on, and the PA system announced, "EctoPlasm has been captured, Tsuyu Asui and Fumikage Tokoyami have passed."
A sigh of relief escaped Tsuyu, while EctoPlasm said, "Now if you would be so kind Asui, Please get off."
Tsuyu looked down and saw that her landing on him forced Ectoplasm to bend his neck awkwardly off to the side. She flipped back, and as she landed on the ground, she looked over and saw Tokoyami on his hands and knees, while Dark Shadow was whimpering under him. Knowing she was to blame for his situation, Tsuyu walked over and knelt down, "Forgive me, I only meant to knock out a few lights."
Tokoyami shook his head, "What's done is done, and I will one day need to confront the darkness within and master it."
"Tenya Iida and Mashirao Ojirou, please report to City Sierra." The PA system announced.
With power returning to the observation booth, everyone in the room walked as Iida and Ojirou made their way to City Sierra. As the two arrived, they, along with everyone in the observation room, saw that the exam area for them appeared to be mostly flat rocky terrain."Tenya Iida and Mashirao Ojirou, midterm exams begin."
With that, Iida and Ojirou began running across the rocky terrain. As Ojirou was not known for his speed, Iida had to slow down so they didn't get separated. After a minute of running, it didn't seem like they had run into anything. Upon seeing this, Izuku gave a laughable hum, "Well, that's probably one of the stupidest decisions they could have made."
"How so? It does appear they are staying out of trouble and have yet to come across Powerloader." Momo questioned.
"Maybe but that's not going to be true for very long. Powerloader isn't a combat pro hero and knows it, so he's going to be enacting a two prong attack strategy. Step one would be to lay out multiple different traps between the two and the exit gate. Think pit and cave ins littered through the entire battlefield. A small one can trip you, and it's big enough it would be difficult to climb out of."
"And how is your teacher planning on doing that?" Gizon asked, gesturing to the monitor of Iida and Ojirou with his head.
"Powerloader's quirk is Iron Claw and allows him to punch his fingers through steel no problem, so how well would you say he could drill his way through say rocky terrain." Izuku said as he rubbed the back of his head, remembering all the times Powerloader had to smack him better to get him to refocus during class. He had always questioned why Powerloader thought he needed to slap so hard, until he saw his homeroom teacher rip apart a steel panel because it wasn't coming off. Seeing Izuku realized Powerloader was holding back on his slaps, "On top of that, I've seen the exoskeleton he built."
"Exoskeleton. Is it like yours? Ochaco asked, but Izuku shook his head.
"It's not as compact but it does allow him to drill through ground with no issue." Izuku said.
"You said Powerloader would have a two prong attack, what's step two?" Momo said.
"Well that's the same as any step after setting up a trap." Izuku said with a cheeky grin, "Chasing your opponent into it. Once everything is in place, Powerloader will go after Iida and Ojirou and chase after them."
"They'll be so focused on running away and getting to the escape gate, they won't notice any of the traps." Gizon said with a small nod, "Smart. Though I don't see any traps being made."
"Oh, trust me, they're being made," Izuku said as he looked at the different monitors that showed the exit gate and the area in front of it. It was hard to see, and if Izuku didn't know how his Powerloader worked, he would just think he was seeing things, but he couldn't tell that the ground was slightly shifting around.
Back in the fake city, Iida and Ojirou were making good time across the rocky terrain. There was still no sign of their opponent, and while in the beginning they weren't too concerned, now they were starting to get worried about what exactly the Powerloader was cooking up and had in store for them. Then, out of nowhere, the ground began to rumble, making the two students have an abrupt stop abruptly.
"Please don't be a large suit of armor. Please don't be a large suit of armor. Anything besides a large suit of armor." Ojirou began to beg. After seeing what Izuku could do with his small suit of armor, he was hoping that he would never be paired against him during class.
Iida and Ojirou looked around, keeping an eye out for Powerloader as the shaking became more and more intense. It felt like an earthquake was going on and caused Ojirou to fall to the ground, while Iida was struggling to stay on his feet. Then they heard it, the ground being ripped apart, and a small chasm started to form behind them. Before either could react, Powerloader came flying out of the hole in the ground.
The support course teacher rose a few feet into the air, giving Iida and Ojirou a good view of the exoskeleton that he was wearing. It wasn't as small and sleek as Izuku's, nor was it as bulky and encumbering as Irong Monger's was. Most of it was over Powerloader arms, connecting to the iron claws over his finger tips and to his helmet. It tapered off as it went back his back and was only a part over his legs.
As Powerloader landed, it kicked up a large dust cloud, through which Iida and Ojirou just heard the robust and mechanically whistling of Powerloader's equipment. While Izuku's Iron Man armor sounded futuristic as it moved and attacked, Powerloader sounded more steampunk, like it had been bunched together with the clanking of metal and the whistling of air.
"You dare challenge the Excavator." Powerloader bellowed.
Up in the observation booth, Izuku shrugged his shoulders and said, "I never claimed he was creative with naming."
"Time to go now," Iida said, as he quickly turned around and grabbed the collar of Ojirou's gi before revving his quirk and sprinting away. Risking a glance over his shoulder, Iida saw that instead of Powerloader chasing after them on foot, he dug back underground, and a trail of overturned dirt started to chase them.
As he was still being dragged by Iida, Ojirou was given a great view of the dirt trail chasing them, and when it suddenly grew bigger, he called out, "Iida!"
Hearing Ojirou yell over the wind in his ears, Iida looked over his shoulder and, in just enough time to see Powerloader pierce the ground and jump at them. With his next step, Iida jumped to the best he could, but wasn't as adept at a quick change in momentum as his brother was. So despite the rocky terrain, as Iida's feet touched the ground again, they slipped out from underneath him, causing the two to tumble to the ground.
Getting to his hands and knees, Iida rapidly blinked to get his eyes to refocus. As his vision became clear, Iida felt himself get pulled up to his feet by Ojirou, "Come on, we need to get moving, he's coming back round."
Ojirou saw Iida grab his Gi again, and before he knew it, he was getting pulled along, all the while his feet left the ground. With the wind in his hair and it making it a little hard to breathe, Ojirou tried to yell, "Iida, I think we need to take a moment and rethink this plan."
"What?" Iida called out.
However, before Ojirou could repeat his request, he heard the ground rumble behind him, and looking over his shoulder, he saw the dirt trail that was following them sped up and began to get closer, "Never mind. Faster please. More Speed!"
Hearing more speed and taking that as a warning, Iida pushed his quirk into the next gear and sped up. As he ran, he began to notice the potholes and cave-ins appearing around his feet whenever he took a step. None appeared directly in his way, but seeing all the tripping hazards did not feel like it would bode well for Iida.
And it didn't take long for Iida to learn he was right. Because as the exit gate came into view, Iida took another step, and instead of potholes in the immediate area, a small crack formed around his foot. Iida thought he had hit one of the potholes, but again, he was wrong.
Before he could take another step, that small crack quickly grew in size and went in the direction of the exit gate. Then, as if it were waiting for a signal, the moment Iida took that next step, the entire ground between them and the exit gate fell into a large cave-in.
Trying to come to a quick stop, Iida downshifted his quirk and braced his feet against the ground, yet he learned that was a bad idea as his back foot was still in the pothole. This caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, pulling Ojirou down with him.
While Iida was saved from rolling due to the pothole, Ojirou rolled and nearly went off the edge and down into the cave.
"Wo." Ojirou called out as he pulled his head back from overlooking the cave in, "That's got to be at least 5 meters down, a good way to break a leg." Ojirou crawled away from the cave and turned to Iida, who was pulling his leg out of the hole it was stuck in.
"Looks to be about 60 meters across, without any ramp or springboard, there is no way I would be about to jump across. I'd only make it three quarters across." Iida said.
Then, before any further planning could be improvised, the ground broke apart behind them, and Powerloader came out of the ground once again, "You're trapped, pro heroes. Nowhere to run, no way to escape. So how do you choose to die, by gravity or by my hands?"
Ojirou and Iida looked back across the ravine and at the exit gate, and then back at Powerloader. Ojirou got into a running stance as he said, "Eraserhead taught us to always be cautious around a corner villain. He said they'll always do something desperate."
"Guess you could say the same thing about pro heroes." Iida said as he revved his quirk.
Powerloader cocked his head to the side, and before he could question, when the two students in front of him were planning they rushed him. With his quirk, Iida reached Powerloader and landed a combo of devastating kicks, only for Oijrou to step in and land a few hits of his own. If the two had continued to push and fight, they would have realized Powerloader wasn't equipped to handle the tag team, but instead they decided to run for the exit gate.
"Ojirou, hop on," Iida said, crouching a bit to allow Ojirou to jump on in a pseudo piggyback. Ojirou didn't hesitate to jump on, and the moment he did, he heard Iida's quirk rev up to the max, and Class 1-A's president yelled, "Recripro Burst."
Hearing this, Ojirou dropped his head as low as it could go, as he had seen how fast Ida could accelerate with Recripro Brust and didn't want to accidentally fall off at that kind of speed. Kicking up a dust cloud as they took off back toward the cave in, Ojirou heard Powerloader yell out, and looking over his shoulder, he saw the support course teacher diving back into the ground to give chase.
By the time Ojirou turned forward, they were almost back at the edge of the cliff, and his body began to experience the natural cliche in preparation for the de-acceleration. But that de-acceleration never came; instead, Iida's speed was still climbing. And the moment they reached the edge, Iida poured all his strength and momentum into his legs and jumped as high and as far as he could.
But it became very clear very quickly that Iida had judged his jumping distance correctly. As they weren't even halfway across and they were starting to fall. Luckily, Iida had thought of a solution, "Ojirou, wrap your tail around my right leg."
Not really understanding what Iida was getting at, but getting a sense, Ojirou pulled his tail down and wrapped it around Iida's legs. Whatever idea Ojirou was getting of what was about to happen was nowhere near what Iida had planned. As Iida pushed his left leg out and used a quick burst, they began to quickly spin around like a top.
In the observation booth, the tension that had built in anticipation popped as suddenly music started to come from Izuku's helmet, shortly followed by lyrics, "Bayblade, bayblade, let it rip."
Gizon couldn't help but snort, while Ochaco had to hold a hand up to muffle a laugh, and other members of the class had to do the same. Izuku grabbed his helmet and held it up to look into it, "What is going on with you, Jabisu. Did Mei mess up your code again, because I still haven't figured out how to get you out of butler mode?"
As the music cut out, back at City Serria, Iida kicked his leg out and Ojirou unwrapped his tail. With the timing, Ojirou quickly regained his speed as he went flying towards the escape gate. It seemed he was going to get away freely, but then he saw the ground in front of him, cracking apart. Before he could react, Powerloader came flying up out of the ground and made a grab for one of Ojirou's ankles.
"You won't be getting away so easily," Powerloader said as he started to close his hand around Ojirou's ankle, but the martial artist of Class 1-A brought his tail around and fended off Powerloader's grapples. Yet in the end, it didn't matter because Powerloader quickly brought up his other hand and made a successful grapple and began to pull the student down, "There's no escape for you now."
Ojirou would have felt that line within his bone, within his soul, because of the look he was getting from Powerloader from underneath his mask. Yet before Ojirou could process what was being said and the situation he found himself in, he and Powerloader crashed into the ground and rolled.
With the wind knocked out of him and the world refusing to stop spinning, Ojirou had no idea where he was or what was going on. In a brief moment of clear vision, Ojirou saw he had landed on a small plateau that was on the other side of the cave. Yet even as his vision would blur again, he could tell his view of the cave was being blocked as Powerloader pulled himself over the edge and stood to his full height.
"I'm going to put you six feet under," Powerloader said, the whirring of his exoskeleton adding to the sense of dread that overcame Ojirou. And though his legs felt like jelly, Ojirou was still determined to pass, so he flipped over onto his stomach he began to crawl as fast as he could in the direction he believed the exit gate was in.
Yet all the effort was for nothing as, within one jump, Powerloader landed on top of Ojirou and used his right hand to lock him across the ground. Desperately trying to reach for an escape he didn't know the location of, he heard the high whistle of air and then something that sounded like a buzzsaw.
"Mashiro Ojirou has escaped. Mashiro Ojirou and Tenya Iida have passed." The PA system suddenly announced.
Taking a deep breath filled with confusion, Ojirou lifted his head and looked up. His vision cleared up, and he could see the bottom of the arc of the exit gate above him. Well, not right above him, but a few inches in front of him.
"What?" Was the general question within the observation booth, along with the three participants in the exam? To answer such a question, the camera zoomed Ojirou, specifically his hand, revealing that his hand was over the white line that designated the edge of the exam area.
"Huh, well I'd take luck over skill any day." Gizon said.
"Wonderful, Ojirou. We have passed." Iida called out, though no camera could get sight of him, "Now perhaps, Powerloader, you would be so kind to free, as I appear to be stuck."
Finally, a camera got a line of sight of Iida, and it was revealed he was stuck in the dirt up to his neck. As if someone had dug a hole and then stuck him in it like old pirate tales.
"Kyoka Jirou and Koji Koda, please report to City Whiskey." The PA system announced.