Chapter 10: Himiko Toga
Within the nurse's office of U.A., Asia sat at her desk with her seat turned so that the warm reddish and golden rays of the setting sun offered the last of their warmth to her back. The room was silent save for the soft, tuneless humming that escaped her and the soft tapping upon the tablet in her hands as she scrolled down on it. As far as she could tell, everything was set for the Sports Festival. The school, naturally, had a medical room on site full of all the equipment she would need to treat any injury ranging from headaches to minor cuts and bruises to anything requiring major surgery! The only thing that still needed to be done was to deliver certain supplies that needed to be refrigerated the night before as well as some other items that expired quickly.
Absentmindedly, the devilish nun briefly turned her attention to the desk where a neat pile of medical charts belonging to a few students lay undisturbed. Students who, for one reason or another, seemed to find themselves in her office more often than some others with sticky notes attached to each one. While most people thought that the U.A. nurse's job was simply to heal their students, which it was, there was another key part to it: recommending the removal of certain students from the hero program when their health and well-being became an issue. Looking at the pile brought a frown to the seemingly young woman's face for it broke her heart to do something like it. After all, U.A. was a place where the young heroes in training could work to improve their quirks and gain better control of them in order to save others. Getting hurt was expected and with a 'quirk' like her own Asia could heal any injury while Recovery Girl had certainly done her fair share of miracles.
But, at the same time, Asia knew this was something that had to be done. Principal Nezu was the type who would allow any student entrance into the school as long as they passed, regardless of any negative effects their quirks might have. Something that hit a nerve with a certain sleep-deprived teacher. However, that did not mean that they were free to endlessly endanger themselves. Either by their quirks or simply recklessly endangering themselves under the belief that they would be healed no matter what. After all, what would happen once these students left U.A. and no longer had the benefit of their healing talents? As such, it was now Asia's duty, as it had been Recovery Girl's before her, to observe the students that came into the nurse's office. How often they came in with the same injuries? If their quirk was causing serious problems. If they acted like their injuries were no big deal, something to be brushed off.
A file belonging to one such student sat at the top of the pile on her desk. This student was a first year belonging to class 1-A whose quirk had a strange backlash that damaged their body when used multiple times. What was strange was that, before coming to this school, this student never showed any signs of this side effort or the super strength displayed. Thankfully, the drug test she had insisted on giving that student when she had started her first day looking for Trigger and other similar quirk performance-enhancing drugs had come back negative. Also, the student had voiced their irritation over their constant need to be healed so often and seemed focused on improving. Because of these factors, this student wouldn't be dismissed after the Sports Festival. At least, not from her end.
Still, while she was completely willing to help heal this student completely as they tried their best to master this new aspect of the quirk, she could only do so much for so long. Ok, Twilight Healing would always heal the wounds as good as new. But what would happen when she wasn't there? Internships were right around the corner and Asia wouldn't be able to drop everything just to go and heal them! She was also worried about what would happen to this student once they left school. So while she commended this student for all the work they were putting into mastering their quirk, sooner or later her job would require her to make a difficult call. She was scheduled to meet with Nezu at the end of every month, going over her observations and suggestions on each of the students. While she wanted with all her heart to give them all the time in the world, she knew that for regular humans that simply wasn't possible. If this student didn't figure something out by the middle of the year she would suggest their transfer to a different course. Yes, it would hurt them. But Asia would rather they start looking into different career paths than continue on this one sooner rather than later.
Then, if she had to make the same recommendation for the same student at the end of the year, well, she would be raising a little hell of her own to make sure it happened.
Then, just as she was turning her attention back to her tablet, the door to the nurse's office opened so suddenly and with so much force, that it made the nun nurse jump out of her seat with a squeak! Looking up, her eyes widened at a very odd sight. Standing in the doorway was Izuku Midoriya dressed in his gym uniform. The green-haired teen was panting heavily while carrying Toga in his arms. The younger blonde was passed out, face red with blood dripping from her face and onto the floor.
"What in the-" began Asia, but was cut off as Izuku zoomed into the room looking ready to cry.
"I'm so sorry," he began in clear panic, setting his new vampiric classmate on one of the beds. "We were just…and then she just…" Quickly moving across the room, Asia went over to the teen who was looking between her and Himiko so rapidly she was surprised he wasn't getting dizzy. Sweat was dripping down his forehead as he spoke between his panting.
"Midoriya, calm down," said Asia gently. She waited a moment, gesturing for him to get some water from a nearby pitcher of water on a nightstand. As he did so with shaky hands, Asia moved to check the girl's pulse. "Now, when you are ready, please tell me what happened."
She turned in time to see Midoriya had just chugged down a large paper cup of water, gasping for air when he finished. "Ok," he said. "Well, we were with Mr. Kendo in Gym Omega and…"
-x-
Izuku watched from the sidelines of Gym Omega which was one of the weirdest gyms the school had! The main floor of the gym was composed of four parts, each with a heavily matted circle in its center that was about 40 meters in diameter. While they looked like the normal sort of padding you could find in most schools, they seemed like they were made from a super shock-absorbent material. But that wasn't what was so weird and, honestly freaky, about this gym. It was what was lined against the walls! Countless tubes were placed one after another with only a keypad separating them. Inside each of them was a different type of robot that put the ones in the entrance exam to shame. The first few looked like those old pre-quirk boxing toys made real, with thicker armor. Then there were more complex ones that held weapons. There was one that had six arms, each with a sword sharpened to perfection. But then there were the ones who looked human. As in Izuku thought for a moment that the school had kidnapped people and stuck them in these tubes because that's how lifelike they appeared. What's more, many of them were women whom the creator had decided to give alluring features as well as skin-tight outfits. Sure there were a few guys in there, but the number was obviously disproportionate! And some of them were dressed in barely anything with the last two being the worst! One was a woman whose outfit made her look like she worked at a strip club while the other was a woman dressed only in her lingerie!
Shinso, who was sitting next to Izuku, had noticed this as well The look on the purple-haired teen when he had first laid eyes on the robots mirrored his friends: shock mixed with a blush before quickly turning away.
Now the pair sat there stiffly, beads of sweat forming on their brows as they forced themselves to watch what was going on in the middle of one of the rings. And not linger on the many female-looking robots behind them!
Standing in the middle of the circle was Mr. Kendo, seemingly alone. His arms were outstretched in front of him, almost like he was ready to grab something but holding off while his feet were spread. For several long moments, he just stood there, appearing to any passerby who suddenly walked in that the man had simply zoned out and was staring into nothingness. However, both boys knew better. Then, Mr. Kendo suddenly and swiftly spun around. Reaching out with one hand, he seemed to pull Toga out of thin air before tossing her to the side as if she were a rag doll. The vampiric girl, dressed in the same blue gym uniform as both the boys, landed with a thud before bouncing back up to her feet.
"Very good young lady," said Mr. Kendo as he moved out of his fighting stance. Turning to the girl, he gave her a thumbs-up with a smile. "I think I might have what you are looking for."
As Toga tilted her head slightly with a curious expression, Izuku just beamed.
'It was a wise move calling this man,' commented Albion, once more using the tone that Izuku had come to associate with him nodding his head. 'If Toga is going to thrive in the hero course, she will need a fighting style should there ever come a time when weapons are off the table. The same goes for that Shinso boy. This will benefit them both greatly.'
'I know,' replied Izuku. 'I'm just glad that Mr. Kendo agreed to do this.' As he thought this, the teen recalled how this had all come about. With all the training for the Sports Festival, Izuku had noticed that his two newest friends needed additional help. While Toga was quick, nimble, and stealthy he felt like this would only get her so far. Especially when she didn't have one of her training weapons. As for Shinso…the boy just needed to know how to fight. Izuku was doing his best to teach him, but there was a world of difference between someone like himself who was still somewhat of a novice, and a true master. Something that Izuku was humble enough to admit to not only himself but also Shinso. So, why not ask the man who had taught him? The master who knew more fighting styles than anyone he knew?
There had only been one slight problem: Toga couldn't leave the school for right now. Apparently, there were still some details that needed to be fine-tuned with her agreement so until she began her internship the blood drinker was forced to remain on campus. Izuku had spoken to his martial arts teacher about this, asking if it was alright for him to give a special lesson to his friends. Oddly enough, the man agreed to this without much convincing.
Either he was hoping to get some additional students once the Sports Festival was over or the man was just very bored that day.
"Now then," began Mr. Kendo's voice, the sound bringing Izuku out of his thoughts. Now he watched as the taller man turned to face Toga. "I believe I have the perfect fighting style for you. Watch carefully now." With that, the man struck an odd pose that Izuku had never seen before. One foot was placed in front of the other, though they weren't as firmly panted as Izuku had seen before. And with his hands brought up with the fingers pointing downward gave the impression of a man sneaking through a house.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the man vanished completely. Before either Izuku or Shinso could turn their heads to look around, they heard Himiko crying out in pain! The two turned their focus over to where the girl had been standing to find that she was now lying face down on the ground with Mr. Kendo standing above her.
"What I just showed you is a heightened form of your disappearing trick," Mr. Kendo as Toga slowly got up onto her feet. Thought her legs did look a little shaky. "This is a fighting style that was created completely by accident along with a sister style by a man back in the pre-quirk era. It's called Umisen-ken." Mr. Kendo then paused, a foul look appearing on his face before raising a fist to cough into. "When I say accidentally, I mean that both styles were originally interoperated as treating the body as a house and using different methods to 'break in'. One style uses brute force to knock down the front gate, aka your opponent's defenses, in order to get inside. Usually starting with a loud cry to catch them off guard followed by swinging your arms to bat away your opponent's arms and finishing with a powerful kick to the chest. Umisen-ken, however, has you sneaking in through the back to strike quickly and repeatedly. It wasn't until later that it was discovered that both styles were meant to literally break into people's homes to rob them."
Everyone, including Albion, sweatdropped at that.
"So it's exactly what I've been doing this whole time," said Toga with a slight frown.
"Yes and no," responded Mr. Kendo. "While the techniques were originally sealed away, they eventually were brought back along with a slew of various fighting styles during the chaos caused by the emergence of quirks. Whether it was used by people who wanted to fight those with greater power than them or simply those with quirks who needed to defend themselves, people were doing whatever they could to secure their own survival. However, as time went by, bits and pieces of these techniques were lost to time or perverted when put on the internet. Now they exist as mere shadows of their former glory. The method you have been using to vanish from sight is a watered-down version of the original."
Izuku watched as Toga, upon hearing that, visibly slumped. And it wasn't like he could blame her. That trick was the one that she was most proud of. So hearing the truth about it was no doubt disheartening.
"With that said," continued Mr. Kendo. "You have a firm handle on the basics. I believe that learning this style would be most suited for you. Perhaps, with some hard work, you can bring it to a whole new level that the original creator never could." Izuku could see Toga blushing from the praise before giving the man a nod that showed off both her fangs.
With that done, Mr. Kendo called Shinso over to begin the process of finding the purpled-haired teen a style that was best suited for him. With a sigh, the brainwashing teen rose before walking to the middle of the mat with his hands in his pockets. At the same time, Himiko practically skipped over to Izuku before twirling around and sitting down next to him with a flourish. Once her behind was on the ground, the girl brought her legs up so that they were pressed against her chest.
At first, the pair sat in silence as they watched the other two people in the room talk, only occasionally glancing at the other before turning their heads away. Both doing their best to hide the nervous expressions on their faces as well as the light tint of red coating their cheeks.
Finally, Toga broke the silence.
"Hey, Midoriya," she began in a slightly nervous tone. "I just want to say thanks. For, you know, everything."
"It's fine," replied Izuku, his eyes moving downward to stare at his shoes. "When I was younger, I wished that more people out there could have helped me out. It didn't need to be anything big. Maybe just a little encouragement, a kind word, or just not laughing at my dreams. So I just want to give what I never got."
"Because you're actually quirkless?" asked Toga. Though her words were spoken softly, Izuku reacted as though she had screamed them from the top of the school building practically jumping to his feet in a panic. He then turned to the girl who was still sitting there, giving him a shy smile. "My Grandpa used to tell me stories about the Sacred Gears. I basically grew up hearing all about the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing. I've seen you training your 'quirk' and Pony told me about how amazing it is that you managed to get this far after finally being strong enough to use your 'quirk'. Plus, my Aunt Asia is a member of the staff here. So you really shouldn't be surprised that I know about it."
"Oh right," replied Izuku, his heart rate slowly returning to normal yet still a little nervous. "Are you going to tell anyone?"
At that, Himiko let out a small laugh. "Yeah, like anyone would believe me if I did tell them the truth," she said before shaking her head. "No. But if the day ever comes that you need to tell them, I'll back you up. Besides, it's not like I really blame you for lying to them. It's not easy being an outsider, wanting people to just accept you."
For another long moment, the two sat there in silence as they watched Mr. Kendo teaching Shinso a move. While Itsuka's father held up his hands, palms out towards the brainwasher while also circling him, Izuku's thoughts went toward what she had said. He knew a little of her past, but only in broad strokes and none of the finer details. Was this some sort of invitation to ask?
"No, it's not," said Izuku at last. "Though, it was probably harder for you. I mean, sure my mom never really believed that I could be a hero even back when I was four. But…she still wanted the best for me. Having your parents suppress a part of yourself like that must have been suffocating."
Himiko let out a humorless chuckle, her eyes becoming dark as she adverted her gave. "Oh, it was pretty much the same," she said. "When I was younger, my parents had already written me off as a monster. All because I found a dead bird and was drinking its blood, but they believed that I had gone out and killed it! Seriously! How was I supposed to do that? I was a little girl. And what they did to me, going to see people to teach me quirk suppression and change the way I acted, it was all because they wanted 'the best for me'. They even made me stop seeing Grandpa because he was a bad influence in their eyes." With that, Toga let out a heavy sigh that seemed to hold all of her frustration. "Sorry for dumping all of this on you. It just bugs me that they never saw anything from my point of view. Drinking people's blood was just the way I showed how much I loved them, wanted to be more like them. Everyone else got to express the way they loved each other in public in so many different ways. But me, when I did it, it was creepy." By the time she was done saying this, Izuku had brought a hand to his chin in a classic thinking pose.
"You know, that makes a bit of sense. I mean, drinking blood as a sign of love. I sort of get it," said Izuku, causing Toga's head to quickly snap in his direction. With her mouth hanging agape, Izuku continued. "Blood is, both symbolically and literally, life. And it holds the most important details of a person. So, in a way, you could say that sharing blood with someone else could be seen as sharing some of your life with that person."
"That's it!" cried Toga, spinning her body around so that she was now on all fours. Her expression had changed, looking so happily excited while bringing her face so close to Izuku's that she could pounce on him at any moment. "You get it! You really get it! It's what I want to do! I want that intimacy. To be as close as possible to the people I love. So much so that I can become them because, to me, they're cute. Please tell me you feel the same way!"
At first, Izuku prepared himself for the heartbreak in Himiko when he told her no. Yet, as his mouth opened, no sound came out. For several long breaths, no sound could escape him despite his mouth moving while an old memory returned. He then visibly relaxed.
"I used to," Izuku admitted while Toga got back into a sitting position. Only now she was sitting on her legs right next to Izuku so that their shoulders were touching. "I wouldn't call it love, but there was someone I looked up to. When I saw him, that's when I was filled with more hope for the future than anytime else during the day. And…I wanted to be just like him. So much so that my all my sketches for hero costumes were trying to match him in appearance, my hero names were just knockoffs of his, and when I went to learn how to fight I wanted to do it in the same manner as him. I was even willing to completely change my body type just so I could do it."
"You said 'used to'," said Toga, a crestfallen expression appearing on her face. "What changed?"
"I finally met other people that I grew to admire," replied Izuku almost instantly. "They basically helped me realize that the way I have has worth. And if I continued to just copy someone else, that was all I would ever be: a poor imitation of that person. So, instead, I'd rather just take the best parts of the people I love and admire to carry with me. The lessons they taught me, what they inspired in me. That way, they'll always be a part of me as I move forward." Izuku then turned to Toga, nervously placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked into her now wide-eyed expression. "Maybe you could try that. Taking on the spirit of the people you think are cute and love. That way, you'll always have a part of them with you as well. Besides, I don't think you need to turn into them because you're already really cute just as you are now."
Izuku watched as Himiko's jaw dropped, so much so that he could see all her fangs. Then, starting from the neck, her face began to turn a shade of red that Izuku had never seen before while her eyes became nothing more than dark spirals. By the time the red reached her forehead, the blonde's head was flung back with steam escaping her mouth, hair, and ears. Then she fell backward onto the mat with a very scared Izuku rising to his feet in panic.
-x-
"And that's what happened!" exclaimed Izuku, fidgeting as he stood there with tears in his eyes. "Can you figure out what's wrong with her? Will she be ok?"
"Oh, she'll be fine," said Asia as she held up one of Himiko's arms while pretending to check her pulse. In truth, she knew that the girl was fine the moment she laid eyes on that face. Even unconscious, Himiko had a dopey grin with blood leaking from her nose. She just wanted to hear what had happened to put the girl in this state.
-x-
A few days later…
"How about this one?"
Toga turned her head to look over at Pony who was holding up a tablet. On the screen, there was a man dressed in a red trench coat, yellow sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat that matched the jacket, and a suit underneath. For a moment, all the girl could do was look between the image of the anime character before looking at the excited face of the American girl, and then back to the image before sighing.
"I don't think so. Not cute enough," said Toga, wincing as Mei continued to roughly continued her work. Namely her hero costume. While it would take a while to get something made, the support course could whip her up something to allow her to use her quirk during the upcoming Sports Festival. That way, when she did change, her cute naked body wouldn't be broadcasted all over the world when the changes melted off her. There were currently only two people right now that she wanted to reserve that right for and one of them was in the room with her.
Pony, in Himiko's opinion, was a major cutie. How could anyone not find her expression adorable with those big blue eyes and that long flowing golden hair? Not to mention those horns and tail! But beyond that, she was one of the few people in her class who could best understand Toga as feeling like an outsider. Not only did she have a mutant quirk (from a country that heavily discriminated against people of that type) but now she was a foreigner. But despite all that, she was still super friendly which made her all the cuter to Himiko.
Even now as she huffed, she still looked so adorable as she went to look for another design for Himiko's hero costume.
"I thought it looked good," she said softly. "You could have gone for the old abridged version of him. You would have looked awesome and been super funny."
Toga, in response, just blew a raspberry at her. "Sorry, but I'm not going for something that makes me look like I'm a hitman vampire. I'm looking for something, well, cute. Not as in all pink and bubbly and-"
"Something that will fit all the wonderful babies I have planned for her!" exclaimed Mei.
Sighing, Pony shook her head as she swiped away at her tablet. "Well, that was the last cool-looking anime vampire who wasn't set in a high school anime," she said. "So, maybe we could look at some old mobile games for ideas. There was this one called Azur Lane that used to do a bunch of vampire and Halloween skins for their characters. Maybe we could use one of them for an idea."
Before Himiko could point out that she didn't know if she wanted to go with a vampire-inspired costume, the horned American girl had pulled up the images. As Pony swiped the screen to show them off, Himiko had to admit that some of them looked really cute. Especially the ones belonging to a fleet called the Crimson Axis. But none of them really stood-
"Wait!" yelled Himiko, startling both of the other girls. "Go back!" Instantly Pony turned the tablet over, swiping the screen so that she came back to the last image before frowning.
"But that's her original skin," commented the girl as she showed the image to Himiko again with Mei looking on in slight interest. Though that might have had more to do with the gear on the girl's hands rather than the outfit and the character as a whole.
"She's such a cutie," was all Himiko could say. "Besides, that outfit is just my style. All I need to do is make a few changes here and there. Maybe some gear that Hatsume could make for me?"
"Ohh, make you some special babies?" asked Mei, her grin widening. "Please do tell."
With that, Toga went into detail about the changes she wanted. To help aid her, Mei brought in a digital sketchpad. The original image was brought up, with the support student using the electric pen to make the adjustments that Himiko wanted as well as designing the gear that the girl thought would suit her best. And, when they were done, Himiko was excited for the day when she could wear it.
Chapter 11: Tumbling and Flying
The day of the Sports Festival finally came, with people all over the world tuning in to watch the event. As families and friends gathered in their homes to watch what U.A. had to offer, as well as pro heroes watching intently for potential new interns, the internet was ablaze. Something that didn't go unnoticed by certain members of class 1-B.
"Guys, you got to see this!" called out Awase suddenly.
Izuku, along with many of the other students in the 1-B waiting room, gathered around Awase as he held out his phone. Currently, it showed a social media site where a heated argument was taking place between several dozen or so people. The topic? Which of the first-year classes would come out on top! Several people were standing firm that since 1-A stood their ground against a horde of villains as well as a creature that fought All Might that they were the class to keep an eye on. But there were those that disagreed, heatedly pointing out that while 1-B fought fewer villains they still came out on top without having a teacher save them in the end. Round and round the fighting went, with some of the comments getting a little personal.
"And this is just one of the threads that I found!" explained Awase while seeming unable to control the smile forming on his face. "There are hundreds of debates like this going around on the internet! Even among some of the pros! I also found a few sites where people were placing bets! Stuff like which class would have more people making it to the final round and the like."
Many of Izuku's classmates seemed to be in awe at that statement. Some even quickly pulled out their phones to do a quick search…only to stop at the disapproving look Kendo was giving them.
"Ok, so people out there are talking about us," said the big sis of class 1-B as a frown appeared on her face. "That's great. But we need to keep our heads in the game."
"That's what I'm doing damn it!" stated Awase, shooting a quick nervous glace over to Shiozaki to see if she would strike him with one of her vines. When none came, he continued. "Look, I don't think there has ever been more focus given to the first years in the Sports Festival. Not even when All Might was in his first year! So we need to make sure we impress everyone! Yo Midoriya! You got a plan we can use?"
That caught the green-haired teen off guard, becoming a little nervous as all eyes fell on him. Glancing to the side, he noticed that Toga was looking at him expectedly with both fists clenched with Pony mimicking her. As for Kendo, she had a hand on her head as if she were nursing a headache that was about to come.
"Well, it's a little difficult to make a plan when we don't know what the games are or what the other students are capable of," the Divine Divered said at last. "But, I have rewatched a lot of the older Sports Festivals in order to prepare. The first round is usually a large group event made to cut most of the students. Most of the time it's just the hero course students along with one or two students from the other courses. After that, the second round will have an event that will somehow either punish the person who came in first place or help whoever came in last. The final round is always a tournament."
Hearing all that, Toga beamed brightly."That makes it all easy!" exclaimed the blood-drinking girl as she held up a single finger and began wagging it before the group. "We can use the first round to study anybody noteworthy. Just hold back a little, watch everyone else who are just flinging their quirks around without a care in the world, and then BAM! Second round we pounce going right for their throats!"
As she said this last part, Himiko smiled in a way that showed off her fangs while a dark blush graced her face. Itsuka, however, looked more annoyed than anything else.
"Guys, we should be giving this our all," stated Kendo before glancing over to the vice rep. "Come on Izuku, help me out here."
However, rather than agreeing with her on the spot like she had hoped, Izuku had his hand to his chin while mumbling up a storm. For several long moments, they all watched as the Divine Divider's eyes shifted from side to side as he seemed to be examining this from all angles. Then, when it looked like he had come to some sort of conclusion, he lifted his head.
"Actually, Toga's idea is pretty good," he said at last. Seeing the exasperated look his oranged-haired friend was giving him, Izuku quickly explained. "The pros out there will be watching us, seeing how we will react to all these different situations. By observing our fellow classmates we'll show them that we have the skills to gather intel on villains as well as being able to work as a team regardless of the situation. That will put us ahead no matter what the second event is. Then we can show them that we can capitalize on that information."
"Alright, Vice-Rep!" cried Awase, throwing a fist into the air. Around him, several of the other students showed their own agreement as they too raised a fist into the air. Others gave their approval with a nod of their heads as they wanted to work smarter, not harder.
Itsuka, however, shook her head a little in disapproval.
"Still feels a little dishonest," she said in a defeated tone. "Like we're cheating somehow."
Izuku looked at her, cocking an eyebrow as he spoke. "This coming from the girl who reads all those strategy articles and watches those 'Let's Play' videos on Youtube before even playing the game?"
At that, Kendo's face matched the color of her hair as the entire class had a good-natured laugh at her expense. Even Izuku chuckled as he moved behind her to gently pet his friend on the back.
Not long after, the Sports Festival began. One by one, the booming voice of Present Mic began calling the classes out as they took their spots on the field within the massive stadium. Everyone from the hero courses to general studies, support, and even the business course all stood before the onlooking crowd as Midnight took center stage.
"Will Katsuki Bakugo please step forward to give the Sport's Pledge?" called out Midnight from her podium, cracking her whip as she spoke.
As the ashen blonde made his way to the stage, hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face, whispers began to circulate amongst the students. Many were surprised that U.A. had chosen him to give the opening remarks. None more so than class 1-B, who had neither forgotten nor forgiven Bakugo for the way he had treated Midoriya back in the lunch room. While Izuku remained silent, he could hear his fellow classmates saying that a guy who was suspended his first week should not be given such an honor. He could also see Kendo's hands balling into fists.
"I just want to say…I'm going to win." said Bakugo into the mic, looking down at everyone else there as though they were all just barely above being worthy of notice.
An explosion of anger erupted from the students from this comment. Something that only rose in its intensity when the teen's scowl turned into a smirk before stepping down to head back to his class. Even Kendo lost her composure.
"Izuku, no matter what happens, let's make sure he doesn't place!" said Itsuka in a growl. Nearby, Izuku saw Pony nodding her head so vigorously that her long blond hair was flowing back and forth. Meanwhile Toga muttered something about wishing she had some knives and Bakugo's tongue.
Once everyone had quieted down, Midnight went to a holographic roulette wheel and activated it to decide what the first round would be. Quickly the wheel spun around before landing on something that Izuku had never seen before: Mountain Climbing!?! But, there was no mountain.
"The first event will be Mountain Climbing," announced Midnight, ignoring the confused looks of her pupils. "Our brave students will have to start from the bottom and claw their way to the big leagues! But can they make it in time? Only one way to find out!"
Movement from the sideline caught Izuku's attention, but before he could turn to see what it was the ground beneath their feet vanished almost instantly! As one, the many first-year students fell down a pit so deep that they could no longer see the people in the stands. When they landed, the ground was surprisingly soft as it felt almost pillow-like with a bit of springiness to it. Slowly everyone got to their feet, Izuku looked up finding that it was difficult to judge how deep they all were. All he could see was that the hole now appeared as nothing more than a spec. Then, a moment or two after everyone had managed to get to their feet, many different colored handholds of various sizes and shapes seemed to just grow out of the walls.
"Start!" came Midnight's voice from up above. Yet, despite her being so high above them and the speakers being even farther away, Izuku could still hear the woman perfectly.
And so too did everyone else. Bakugo. The first to react, wasted no time unleashing an explosion that knocked down many of the students as he propelled himself upwards. A somewhat insane laugh filled the air as he sped upward so fast that not even Todoroki, who was standing on a rising pillar of ice, could catch up with him. At the same time, everyone else who had quirks that could help them out in this event made their move while the rest began to climb the handholds. However, most of the general studies students and the support course seemed less enthused by this challenge. Some of them even just sat down, waiting for the event to just get over as they saw no point in performing in this festival just to make someone else look better.
But Bakugo paid none of that any mind as he just continued to rocket upwards towards the finish line and first place. That was until he felt something land on his back, the force strong enough to break his momentum and sending him hurtling towards the wall! Bakugo couldn't help but let out a cry as his body collided with several of the handholds, his gym uniform ripping while the sensation of several bruises forming could be felt. Despite this, the ashen blonde bomber instinctively reached out and managed to grab hold of one of the handholds. His body jerked at the sudden stop, causing the boy to grunt in pain as he swung there. But, at least, he had prevented himself from falling back to the bottom and starting from the beginning. Whatever relief that gave him soon evaporated in the heat of his anger. Turning his head, Bakugo began to look for the coward who had tried to take a cheap shot at him from behind! Yet, what he saw caused his brows to furrow in confusion as he wasn't the only one in this state. Tokoroki had been knocked off his ice pillar and was hanging on one of the handholds same as him. Mineta, who had been using his purple balls to bounce his was to the top had his head slammed into the wall. Something had happened to all of them. But what? Was it some sort of trap the school had set up?
"Hey there Kaachan!" came a voice from above.
Hearing that voice using his old childhood nickname caused the blond bomber to see red. Gritting his teeth, he turned to look up seeing the pebble that had been a major source of irritation for him for so very long. Izuku Midoriya stood there, feet pressed together on the same handhold while he kept his hands in his pants pockets. Bakugo might have noticed the slightly unnerving smile the green-haired teen was giving him if it weren't for the look in Deku's eyes. He was gleefully, GLEEFULLY, looking down on HIM!
"DIE!" yelled Bakugo in pure rage. Without a second thought, Bakugo lifted a palm at the freckled-faced teen before unleashing a large explosion. One so powered that it shook loose the rock and earth, causing several students to plummet below. Not that he cared as Bakugo watched Deku leap to the side effortlessly with a laugh.
"So predictable!" said Izuku in a gleeful tone.
Hearing the nerd say that in such a sing-song voice caused Bakugo's teeth to grind.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" roared Bakugo.
Deku didn't flinch at all. Rather, the green-haired teen just put a finger in his ear while making a motion like he was cleaning it. "Man, you really love to scream at the top of your lungs," said the teen before pulling out the finger only to then bring it close to his face. As if he found inspecting what he found more important than Bakugo. "Does your throat ever get tired of all that yelling? What happens when you lose your voice? Do you get a whiteboard? Parents through a little party?"
Bakugo was now seething in anger, his vision turned scarlet as he began to launch himself toward a laughing Izuku. The target of his rage leaped from handhold to handhold with what seemed like the grace of a cat, sometimes even swinging on them like a monkey. Quickly, everyone around began to keep an eye on the pair so that wouldn't get caught up in this little game.
So much so that no one bothered looking down where another green-haired teen with diamond-shaped freckles stood. Having pulled out a notebook and pen from…somewhere, Izuku was busy taking notes on everything he saw. Thankfully, Bakugo's explosive anger at the situation was causing the hero students to slow their pace allowing him more time to write while the non-hero students tried to keep up. However, most of these less athletic students were the ones falling to the ground more often than not. With Kendo by his side to act as a second pair of eyes, the teen wrote down everything he could to help his classmates. Like how this one girl with a dark ponytail pulled out a grappling hook from her skin as well as rope. Another guy shot tape out of his elbows.
Sadly, this couldn't last forever as Todoroki began making his way up to the top once more on his pillar of ice. Seeing this, the laughing Izuku slowed down as another blast from Bakugo hit the earth next to him. The feral teen let out a roar, thinking he had gotten the drop on the nerd. However, when the smoke cleared, Katsuki saw a sight that gave him pause. Half of Deku's face seemed to be melting away to reveal a yellow eye while the Cheshire grin he had never faded.
"What the heck…" whispered Bakugo as he stared at the sight before him in horror, his mind trying it best to make sense of what just happened.
"So," began the person who was once Deku, the hair on their head sliding off to reveal blonde hair tired into messy buns. But, what unsettled Bakugo was that half of the nerd's face was still there, looking at him with utter psychotic glee. "Are you going to keep chasing me or are you going to settle for second place?"
That caught Bakugo's attention as he quickly looked over at Todoroki. With the loudest scream anyone had ever heard from the blonde he maxed out his quirk to its fullest, a massive explosion rocketing him up into the air while also knocking everyone else back. And in the chaos and smoke he created, no one noticed the real Izuku zooming up with Itsuka in his arms. Quickly they found a spot on the wall and began climbing up along with their transforming friend.
-x-
By the time the trio had climbed out of the hole, Himiko's disguise had completely melted off her body. Thankfully, Mei had come through and had managed to whip her up a skintight black body suit that would work with her quirk. What's more, Toga had filled out the proper forms to use it in the festival. Not that school was going to say no as, if she used her quirk without it, then she could be exposing herself on live TV across the planet and the U.A. didn't want to deal with that.
Again.
Once they stood upright on the grass, Izuku looked up at the scoreboard to see that they had placed decently. Right now Itsuka was in twentieth place, Himiko in twenty-first, while he had taken the twenty-second. Overall, he was very proud of where they all stood. Quickly scanning the rest of the board he was happy to see that the rest of the class had either already placed, with Pony coming in at tenth place, or were now just coming out of the hole. It seemed like everyone in 1-B was going on to the second round!
A loud cry of rage then caught Izuku's attention, his green eyes locking onto red ones across the field. Bakugo's glare intensified as more veins appeared on his forehead and neck, his screams becoming wilder as a couple of his classmates seemed to be holding him back. He could tell that they were trying to placate him, probably reminding him that he still came in first place. To not throw it away by attacking the 1-B student and getting disqualified.
"So Izuku, did I do a good job?" asked Toga as she moved towards her friend, wrapping her arms around one of his. An act that, due to her skin-tight suit, caused the poor boy's arm to be sandwiched between her breasts. As Izuku blushed at the contact, he was certain that Toga did this by accident as she was caught up in the moment.
What wasn't an accident was her fanning the flames of the other blonde. There was no way he could miss how she turned her head to look at Bakugo before giving him a slight wave and a wink. How the stadium was not awash with flames, he had no idea.
"You did great!" Izuku managed to say without stuttering, though his face was still a little red. "I'm glad I gave you some of my blood before the match started. Though I'm sorry you ran through it all in the first round."
Toga grinned before she waved it off since the small makeshift plan they had made in the waiting room had paid off. Everyone in 1-B could tell that Bakugo was a hothead who had it in for Midoriya. So much so that thought and reason would leave him at the slightest provocation. Because of this, Himiko had offered to use her quirk to cause a little trouble in the hopes that it would either force others to reveal their quirks or slow everyone else down. All she needed was some blood as well as a bit of info on the blonde. Besides, it wasn't like she was out of options as both Itsuka and Pony had donated some of their blood to the little vampire as well.
A short time later, the next round of the Sports Festival had been announced: the Calvary Battle. And, as Izuku had predicted, U.A. had decided to punish the winner of the first round by awarding him a headband worth ten million points. With that on his head, Bakugo was basically a target for everyone else. Getting that pretty much guaranteed a sport for the team in the final round. It would also make it harder for him to form a team.
So, as Bakugo was left to try and make his own team, screaming at people to join him, Izuku went around sharing the information he had gotten on 1-A. His class stood around him as the Divine Divider quickly went over all the details he had managed to gather on the opposing class's quirks. He did note that this information wasn't perfect, but it would at least give them some idea on what they were facing.
Once Izuku had finished, his classmates broke off to begin forming their own teams including himself. While Izuku would have liked to include his friend Shishida, the polite teen had refused saying he would be better suited elsewhere. The same went for Toga who, despite wanting to be on the same team as Izuku, knew that she wouldn't be a good fit. Thankfully, both Itsuka and Pony had agreed with Kendo taking the front while the American girl would take the side. That left just one more person to-
Suddenly, Izuku spotted a familiar mess of purple hair. There, standing off to the side as he carefully eyed the remaining participants was Shinso. No doubt scouting them out before deciding on who to brainwash. Grinning slightly at the sight of one of his newer friends, he called over the teen.
"Shinso, do you want to join our team?" asked Izuku.
"You sure you want someone like me on your team?" asked the brainwasher before looking away.
"Yeah!" said Izuku excitedly. "We have Itsuka to handle any close-range trouble while Pony can deal with the other teams long range. But no one else knows about your quirk, making you our secret weapon in case things go wrong."
"Thanks," whispered Shinso as he let out a small smile.
After several more minutes, the game began. As he expected, everyone in 1-A was focused on Bakugo's team which included Sero, Kirishima, and the loud-mouthed Monoma. And it was easy to see that they were being overwhelmed as Bakugo had used his explosions a bit too much in the first round. Especially in his last-ditch effort that gained him first place. Because of this, his arms were shaky, face wincing every time he unleashed an explosion. Thankfully for him, Monoma was able to lend a helping hand as he copied the other blonde's quirk.
As for 1-B, they waited a short while until they were sure that their sister class was completely focused on getting that first-place headband. When that happened, they all went to work swiping away the points easily. An act made all the easier thanks to the information Izuku had managed to gather, letting them know what to look for in case the enemy teams launched a counterstrike. Yet such actions were rare as so many of those from 1-A barely even noticed that their headbands had been taken.
As for Izuku's team, they had only managed to take a single headband by this point. This, along with their own high score, might have been enough to get them to the third round. However, the teen wanted more than just getting enough. He wanted to ensure, without a doubt, that they had won this round. But, what could he do?
The answer to that question came from an unexpected source that drew his attention. Todoroki had managed to get Bakugo's headband! Enraged by this, Bakugo set aside the pain he was in as he ordered Sero to attach the teen's tape to his body before rocketing towards the retreating Team Todoroki! Before the bi-colored-haired teen could wrap his prize around his neck, Katsuki had shot past him while grabbing his headband back! Then, before he could fall to the ground, Sero pulled him back to his team.
"Hey! Isn't that cheating?" yelled Awase as he looked over at Midnight.
"It's all fair as long as he doesn't touch the ground," announced Midnight, not just to the student but all those gathered in the crowd as well.
Midnight's words struck a cord within Izuku, his mind quickly going into overdrive as he realized the implications. Slowly a devilish smirk appeared on his face. Oh yeah, they were going to win this in the best way possible.
"Guys, we need to get to a corner of the field," said the teen as he tapped on their shoulders to further get their attention without raising his voice too high. "The farthest from everyone!"
"You sure about this?" asked Kendo.
"Oh yeah," was Izuku's reply.
Itsuka managed to look up at Izuku, ready to argue or question this more. But the words failed to leave her mouth as she spotted that gleam in his eyes that sparkled with confidence. So, instead, she nodded while also vowing to herself that if this failed he would be treating her to coffee for the rest of the year. As they moved away, another team spotted them. Their rider, Setsuna, watched them for only a moment before grinning wickedly. Quickly she ordered her team to follow her fellow green-haired classmate and, once they were close enough, called out to him.
"You know you're going the wrong way, right?" she casually asked the other team's rider, slightly leaning back as she did. "The action's back there."
"I could say the same about you," replied Izuku.
Tokage's grin seemed to grow a bit. "Knowing you, I bet there's a plan brewing in that head of yours. Mind if I tag along?"
"Sure," said Izuku almost instantly as he turned his head to look back at the action behind them. Team Todoroki was still in second place, still aiming for the top spot by trying to get their hands on the ten million points. "We can take down the top teams in this match at once!"
Quickly the two teams from 1-B made it to the farthest edge of the field. Once there, they turned around to see that the single-minded battle had ended as nearly all 1-A had finally discovered their lack of points. Now many of them were switching tactics, giving up the greater prize in order to get their own points back just to stay in the race. Meanwhile, Team's Midoriya and Tokage just stood there watching both this as well as keeping an eye on the clock while Izuku explained his plan. Sadly, not everyone could play a part. On his team, Itsuka and Shinso would be left on defense in case something went wrong. Thankfully, neither of them minded. Shinso wanted to keep his quirk a secret for the finals and Kendo wanted to watch Izuku take Bakugo down a peg. By the time he had finished explaining everything, Pony let out a cheer while Setsuna cackled like crazy.
It wasn't until the clock read one minute left in the round that Izuku acted. Activating his wings the teen flew away from his team, Pony firing off a pair of her horns which followed after the blue streak of light that was Izuku. The forest green-haired teen sped through the air, moving around the field to keep out of everyone's way until finally turning towards Bakugo's back. The blonde exploder was still busy fighting off everyone he had insulted and belittled, doing everyone possible to keep his points safe. Then-
"Divide!" shouted Izuku while touching his bully's back with his left hand, his right grabbed the ten million point headband off of Bakugo. All done before the ashen blonde teen could even process what had happened! By the time he did Izuku was a steam of neon blue light heading back to his team. In a panic to retrieve his point, Bakugo tried to fire his explosions to propel him into the air like before in order to give chase. However, the force of the blasts that he was so proud of barely lifted him off of his team. Feeling helpless, Bakugo began breathing hard and sweating while Sero shot some of his tape at the retreating back of Midoriya. Hoping that he could either pull the 1-B student back or maybe even alter his path so that he touched the ground. That hope proved to be in vain as two horns sliced through the tape like it was nothing.
At the same time, Todoroki watched in shock as the headband he had been so determined to steal was taken right under his nose. Turning his head to figure out where Midoriya was going, he failed to notice the disembodied hands right behind him until it was too late. At once, one had grabbed the headband around his head while the second took all of the other points the icy-hot teen had managed to collect as insurance. Todoroki tried to reach out to grab them, to not let all his work go to waste! But it was too late as they had already flown past his grasp and higher into the air.
Izuku was grinning like mad as he landed back with his teammates, holding up the ten million point headband into the air in the same pose as All Might would have when he won a fight. The crowd responded to this declaration of victory by rising to their feet while cheering at the top of their lungs. As for the rest of the students, it was chaos! Some teams looked like they were arguing with each other as they tried to decide what to do. Others were making a mad dash toward teams Midoriya and Tokage while the rest were trying to collect whatever points were closest to them. But no matter what they did, they were at the mercy of the clock as the seconds ticked by. And before anyone could reach them, the buzzer sounded.
Both Team Midoriya and Team Tokage began bouncing around in excitement, hugging and high-fiving each other as if they had already won the festival. However, as Present Mic began listing off the teams that had made it to the final round, one sentence killed their mood. It seemed that Sero had come through for his team at the last moments, using his tape to grab a couple of headbands before the time was called. They had the lowest points out of everyone who was going on to the tournament, but they were going.
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" yelled Itsuka, her fists growing to giant size as she raised them above her head. As the oranged-haired girl raged Izuku let out a sigh. Looks like he might face Bakugo in the final round after all.