Chapter 18: Into the Woods Part Finale
"We're back," grunted Kirishima, moving slowly into the main hero base along with the rest of his team. The hardening hero was down to only one good arm right now, which was being used to carry the oval-eyed teen that had managed to create that air barrier over his shoulder. His other arm, however, was not in good shape. Despite hardening it, the backlash from a full-powered One for All punch was simply too great for him to handle completely. His arm hung limply at his side, colored a shape of purple that made the rest of his team shift their gaze whenever they looked at it as well as having several cuts that had long since dried. Honestly, he was grateful that there was a great healer still at this school or else his recovery might have put him back by years.
If the arm could be saved that is.
As for the rest of his team, they were in better shape though that wasn't saying much. Uraraka limped as she carried a now weightless and captured mushroom girl, the anti-gravity girl's leg having been sprained in the impact. Thankfully, Uraraka wasn't too angry about what happened when she looked at what the alternative would have been. Mina had it a bit better, the back of her costume ripped as well as caked in dried blood from the several large gashes she had acquired. That didn't stop her from carrying the last girl they captured who was also bound in the capture tape. As for Sato, he seemed to have taken it the worst as he limped along using a stick he had found to help keep his balance. Out of everyone, he had needed the most breaks to get here to clear his lungs.
Yaoyorozu grimaced as they approached, taking in their condition. However, that didn't last long as she tried to put on a brave face for them all.
"Thank you," she said, reaching out her arms in a carrying position. Kirishima saw the gesture and accepted, handing over the teen he was carrying. A moment later, Kaminari showed up to help as he walked over to the two unconscious girls with Mineta right at his heels. Unfortunately for them, Yaoyorozu noticed this before promptly handing over the air barrier teen to them. She then gestured to the prisoner bus, eyes narrowing as she did so to tell them to get moving.
"Have they been a handful?" asked Kirishima as the pair began walking towards the bus with their heads lowered.
"That's putting it mildly," commented Yaoyorozu in a sour tone. "All they have done is comment on which of the 1-B girls looks the cutest, which ones they want to see in a swimsuit, and arguing about their measurements." The rich girl then let out a sigh before taking the girl Uraraka was carrying. "I got her."
A few minutes later, all the 'villains' found themselves in the prison bus. The three new captures were placed on the bench across from, according to the report they had received from Yaoyorozu, the disguised Toga. 'He' continued to spout off things like how they were making a mistake, how 'he' was the real Todoroki, and so forth.
"She's not dropping the act," said Yaoyorozu after Kirishima brought it up, closing the door as she did so. "I believe she assumes that, if she keeps acting like this, we'll eventually drop our guard enough to free her."
"That's dedication," replied Kirishima, giving a bus a quick glance. "I wonder how long she can keep up her transformation?"
"Who knows," said Kaminari, pulling out a piece of candy from his pocket. With a flick of his thumb, the sugary piece went soaring above while the teen pulled back his head and opened his mouth. The treat then landed right into his mouth, which closed instantly as he began to chew. "Wish Monoma had managed to get that little piece of intel off Midoriya. Would have made things a lot easier for us. Oh, sorry. Did either of you want a piece?"
"No thanks," Kirishima replied, waving his good hand at the offered candy as there were only two pieces left. Yaoyorozu mirrored his action, though there was a slight look of disgust on her face. Mainly because the candy had been sitting in the teen's pocket. "Though, speaking of Monoma, has anyone heard back from him or his team yet?"
"No," sighed Yaoyorozu, her shoulders slumping as she spoke. "I've been trying to reach his team for a while now and still nothing. I was going to ask Shoji if he wouldn't mind checking out the area with your team acting as backup. However, with your team in this state…" As her words trailed off, Kirishima couldn't help but wince as he looked over at his team. Uraraka was helping to disinfect Ashido's wounds and apply some bandages to them with what little medical supplies they had left. As for Uraraka, she could still move about somewhat ok but she would need an actual nurse or doctor to look after her. The same went for Sato.
"I can go," said Ashido, standing up and wincing. "One's better than none."
Yaoyorozu shook her head. "It's too dangerous," she said before raising a hand to silence the protests that were already forming. "In an ideal situation, I would agree with you Ashido. That sending you and Shoji to scout out the area would be to our benefit. However, we are far from anything that could be considered an ideal situation as our class is spread thin. Todoroki, Tokyomai, or Ida are currently MIA along with the entirety of Team B. As for your team, most of you aren't in the best shape. If this house is the real villain stronghold, then it stands to reason that that's where they are keeping our classmates. We should scope out the stronghold, plan an attack once we identify who we are dealing with, and then launch an attack with the dual purpose of freeing our fellow classmates while also looking for the bomb. Time is not on our side."
"Which is all the more reason why we should have only a couple of people looking in the area Tsu's team was in!" stated Ashido firmly, rising to her feet. "What if the bomb is there and that house is a distraction or something?"
"She's got a point," said Kirishima as he looked over to the heiress. "If we're wrong about the house, then there's a good chance that we won't have enough time to continue the search. Heck, depending on what happens, we might not be able to continue looking! Never mind the fact that we don't exactly know where the B Team ended up. We're talking about an entire area of a forest that we'll have to search on limited time."
Kirishima stopped as he watched Momo biting her thumb, her expression subdued as she tried to think. As she did, Kirishima did his best not to bring up the worst truth of them all: there was no guarantee that they would even be able to find the bomb even if it was in either location. As much as he hated admitting it to himself, they had been super unmanly since the USJ. On that day, they had faced what they believed was the darkness that invested the world and stood their ground against it. Even when they were separated from the group, even when that monster known as Nomu had beaten Aizawa within an inch of his life, they had managed to come out unscathed when the other teachers arrived. When the Sports Festival arrived, they thought that it would be their class who stood on every pedestal. And when that didn't happen, there was a silent agreement with the entire class that it was different. Events like the first two rounds and a one-on-one tournament were far different from the real thing. Now the hardening hero had to bite back what they had all forgotten in their eagerness to feel special, to feel ready for the world of heroes that they so wanted to be a part of. That simple truth that 1-B had done the same thing as them on the exact same day. They had faced fewer villains, three weaker versions of the Nomu at the USJ, and the leader, but even fighting a weaker version of that thing without All Might there to back them up was impressive. Even more so that they won! And it wasn't because one of them secretly had a quirk that stockpiled power, was the child of a high-ranking pro, or even had some insane ability. It was because their class just worked together better.
"How about we get Kaminari and, yuck, Mineta to help us," offered Ashido, still pressing the issue. Her words startled Yaoyorozu who then quickly shook her head.
"Out of the question," she said. Mina opened her mouth to argue, but the heiress cut her off. "Yes, those two would be a big help. But we would be leaving our injured here, alone. If the villains caught wind of it, they could easily free all the people we captured. Including Toga. If she breaks free, then we're right back to questioning if we are talking to the real person. That would create confusion and distrust. We can't have that. Not this late in the exercise." The raven-haired girl then let out a sigh. "But, the point has been made. Both you and Shoji are to begin searching the area Team B went to. Do your best to avoid engaging the enemy and contact us as soon as you spot anything important. Meanwhile, Uraraka and Sato will remain here to help guard the base. The rest of us will have to head towards the house. Myself included."
-x-
"Out of all the things I expected to see today, this wasn't one of them," whispered Jiro to Koda. The pair were hiding in the bushes right in front of the clearing where the house was located. Laughter could be heard as the two 1-B students, dressed in casual attire, walked into view. The vine-haired girl walked in front of some dude wearing a bandana, laughing as she seemed to twirl around. The other teen, whose face looked wet and with some seaweed in his hair, just grumbled as he carried a bucket.
Koda just nodded, his eyes glancing around for birds. Unfortunately, they were still absent. There was no telling how long it would be till they or any other animals returned after Bakugo's explosion.
Just thinking about the blonde idiot made Jiro clench her teeth, but only for a moment as she released a sigh filled with her frustrations. She was royally pissed at him and had given him a small taste of what she was feeling. And while she could go on a mental rant over the course of her entire life about how badly his actions had fucked them over, she was not going to do that. Right now, they needed to keep their heads in the game. After they were done, all bets were off.
The problem right now was that both she and Koda were basically quirkless. Jiro's ears still had a ringing to them which was annoying but manageable for the moment. At the very least she could still hear like a 'normal' person. The problem was that whenever she tried using her quirk, the ringing increased a thousandfold causing her to cry out as she got a massive headache. Something was wrong with her jacks, no doubt caused when the vibrations of Bakugo's explosion ran into them as she listened for the villains. As for Kida, well, you kind of need animals around to talk to them. Yet it was a little strange that none of them had returned. Not even the birds. She had tried asking him to talk to the bugs, but the silent teen just freaked out.
Just then, footsteps could be heard racing towards them. Jiro turned around in time to see the newest bane of her existence arriving: Bakugo. One of his grenade gauntlets was missing, the rest of his costume looking like he had gotten into a nasty fight with a living storm.
"What the fuck is all this?" seethed Bakugo, having enough sense to not go blindly charging in at the moment. Possibly because he had just moved across almost half of the entire forest and fought the 'villains' all with little to no breaks. This was nothing more than him realizing he needed a moment to catch his breath which was perfectly fine for Jiro.
"It's like you see it," said Jiro as she glanced over at the building. The 1-B couple were now entering the house, looking awkward as if they didn't know if they should kiss or not as they did so. A moment later, they saw movement inside.
"Why the fuck didn't we find out about this place sooner?" growled Bakugo, looking ready to lunge forward.
"Because it's a big forest," snapped Jiro, shooting a glare at her blonde classmate. "It takes time to search. Even more so when we have to be on the lookout for villains while staying together. Unless, of course, you wanted us to end up like your team." Jiro barely held back a smirk as she noted the agitated look on Bakugo's face before he looked away. She knew it was the best she would ever get to him admitting that she had a point. And, yeah, she was going to take it!
Several minutes passed before two more people showed up. Yaoyorozu and Kirishima. However, their arrival didn't make Jiro feel any better. Kirishima was down one good arm while Yaoyorozu looked like she had lost some weight.
"Is this really all we have left?" she asked, mentally going over the roster in her head.
"I'm afraid so," said Momo with a heavy sigh. "At the very least, we managed to capture a few of their members and are being guarded as we speak."
"Just give me a minute," growled Bakugo as he pulled out a small canteen from his belt. "Once I catch my breath, I'll be ready to take them all on." The teen then began to chug the water as quickly as he could.
"Are you sure about that Baku-bro?" asked Kirishima, giving his friend a questioning look. "We have no idea how many people are in there."
"Does it matter?" spat Bakugo, glaring at them. "We know there are two in there: vine bitch and bandanna brains. If there are more then who gives a fuck? We have a job to murder all of them and get our hands on the damned bomb. So if there are more in there then we just have to kill them as well."
Yaoyorozu let out a sigh, rubbing her temples as she did so. "I really hate the way you talk ninety-nine percent of the time. However, you have a point. Let's use this time to scope out the area and see if we can find all access points. Hopefully, we can take them unawares."
-x-
"Damn it all to," began Awase as he toweled off in the kitchen. As he tried his face, he mentally continued his curse at the fish that had done this to him. It was completely unfair! He had caught the damned thing fair and square, only to have it slap him with its tail the moment he unhooked it before they both fell into the water. Ok, his face fell into the water, but the point still remains!
What was worse was that that fish was supposed to be their meal. He was going to be looking like the big, tough, reliable guy here and catch them dinner. Instead, he looked like a fool in front of Shiozaki…wait, weren't a bunch of heroes watching them as well? God damn it! He looked like a fool in front of them too! Which was worse? Looking like a fool in front of a single girl who he would have to spend the next couple of years with or a group of heroes he might never see again?
"Awase," called Shiozaki from the living room.
"Yeah, what is it?" the bandanna-loving teen asked as he entered the room. There he spotted his classmate and pretend wife, pulling back the curtain slightly as she looked out the window. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know," she said, looking back at him. "But I think there are several heroes hiding in the bushes staring at our house. And they're not really doing a good job at being sneaky."
-x-
Meanwhile, back at the hero base, Mineta couldn't contain his own drool as he stared at the sight before him. Across from the small camp was Uraraka, lying on her back and seeming to stare up at the sky. Though, even from this distance, he knew her eyes were closed. She looked so perfect in this moment, wearing that skin-tight outfit that showed off every curve all while being perfectly vulnerable. Oh, if only there were a few less witnesses then he would happily bounce over to her and snuggle his head between her melons while keeping her bound to the forest floor with his sticky balls.
"She sure is a cutie, isn't she?" asked Kaminari. Mineta looked up to the one person who had joined him on more than one occasion to go 'girl watch' as well as plot a few schemes to see them in more revealing attire. At the moment, Kaminari was eyeing Uraraka with a slight blush on his face. Under his arm, he carried the tablet that Yaoyorozu had left as she didn't want to have to carry it and worry about it while fighting the villains.
"Yeah, she is," agreed the smaller of the two. "It's a shame she hangs around that stick in the mud Ida all the time. Bet the dude doesn't even realize that he has a hottie like her practically hanging off him." A slight grin appeared on Mineta's face as he moved a little closer to his friend to speak in a low whisper. "Though I did hear something interesting. Apparently, she's pretty poor. Makes you wonder if she's just hanging around him for the cash. If she is, well, I bet I could slip her some bills for some fun. If you know what I mean."
At that, Kaminari's blush vanished as he turned to look at Mineta with shock. "Dude, not cool," he said firmly. "Not cool at all."
"Whoa," cried Mineta as he stumbled back, his eyes fixed at the electric teen. "Come on man, I wasn't completely serious about that. Just talk. But it does make you wonder. I mean, she barely even responded when you asked her out on a date. Why go for someone who is all about the rules, wouldn't know fun unless he looked it up in the dictionary, when she could have gone out with someone like you?"
Mineta had hoped that his slight flattery would help ease the tension. Or, at the very least, bringing back the old wounds that Uraraka had inflicted on Kaminari would be enough to charge the target of his ire. However, the lesser class pervert just sighed at him before turning to look at Uraraka again.
"If you ever want to be with a girl, there are some things you should never say. Even when you think they aren't listening," said Kaminari in an almost sage-like tone. "Besides, you're wrong about her liking Ida. She doesn't have a 'girl in love vibe' going on. You can tell they're just friends."
"R-Right," said Mineta, a little weirded out by what his friend just said. But, as he thought about it and picked up on the most important piece of information that he cared about, the teen grew excited. "That means she's still on the market. Oh, it also means that that harem quirk guy from 1-B hasn't snatched her up yet. Good news for you and me. Seriously, that guy is snatching up girls left and right. Like that smoking hot girl with the orange hair. You know, the one with the nice rack. Not as good as Yaoyorozu's, but then again who else in our year does? Plus with those nice tones legs and shapely rear, it's a waste for her to have eyes only for the most bland-looking guy there. Then there's that shape-changing chick that's always hanging off him! Can you imagine the possibilities? She can turn into any girl she wants in order to spice up their alone time! And don't get me started on that transfer student from the States."
"Hmm, Pony is a cutie," said Kaminari, his voice sounding a little distant.
"Oh, is that her," began Mineta, only to stop as he looked up at his friend. Kaminari now had both hands on the teen's face, a massive blush that was quickly spreading across his cheeks. Then there was his face! The smile was way off from Kaminari's normally dopey grin or confident smirk. Something about the way the teen's lips curled upwards, mouth open to show off his teeth gave it an unnatural appearance. Then there were the eyes.
"She's just so adorable with all that energy," continued Kaminari. "Not to mention that she's clearly a girl in love. Same as Kendo, but they're both too worried about hurting the other's feelings to actually make a move on the person they love. Not that I blame them. I love him so very, very much too." Mineta felt like turning to stone at that moment, his perverted brain unable to function now that he heard this. Did Kaminari just come out in front of him? No, wait. He was also talking about girls so does that mean he's admitting to being bisexual? C-Could the harem quirk really do that?
"Oh, I certainly don't want to be left behind again," continued Kaminari. "I want to feel my Izuku wrapping his arms around me, telling me that I'm just perfect the way that I am. Nor do I want any of the others to be left behind. I want us all to experience the wonders of love as we cuddle with each other. To be together, all of us."
"Dude are you," began Mineta, his brain still trying to process this when, all of a sudden the tablet made a beeping noise. Still smiling that creepy smile, Kaminari looked down at it. He paused for a moment before glancing over at the smaller teen before then swiping at something on the screen. A half second later, Ashido's voice came over the earpiece. It sounded like she had been talking for a while now. Wait, why didn't they hear anything before? Did Kaminari change the settings on the earpieces when they weren't looking?
"I repeat, we have a major problem," cried Ashido as something crashed behind her. "The forest over here is on fire! I repeat, the forest is on fire! It's still a ways away from us, but the smoke cloud is huge. You can probably see it from where you are. If we don't find Tsu and the others, they might get caught. Why aren't the teachers putting it out?! Oh this is bad! Wait, there's something in the distance. Yaoyorozu, if you are hearing this, we found another building with…signs in front of it? Telling us this is a trap? What is going…Wait, Shoji heard something. It's coming at us from KAMINARI?!? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING THROUGH THE FOREST NAKED?!?"
Trembling, Mineta turned to look at the person standing next to him only to find that Kaminari's face was right in front of him. Still smiling that creepy smile. Mineta's legs began to tremble, the control of his bladder forfeited as he began to piece together the horrifying truth. Then, as Kaminari brought a finger to his lips, part of his face began to melt away in a very familiar manner.
"Shh," was the only sound Toga made before Mineta passed out in fear.
-x-
"There you go," said Toga as tossed Mineta, now bound in capture tape, into the prison bus by the diaper. The small, grape-themed hero sailed past an equally bound Uraraka and Sato only to then land head first onto the bench before rolling onto the floor. Across from them was Todoroki, who seemed to be dividing his dirty glares between Toga and his classmates. A sight that just made Toga grin even more as she stood there with Komori, Tsuburaba, and Kodai standing behind her. "Please enjoy your stay!"
With that, Toga slammed the door shut before locking it, making extra sure that it was louder than normal for the added effect. A sense of giddiness bubbled in the blonde's stomach as she turned, almost twirling around, as she made her way into the camp. Izuku's plan had worked perfectly. Once they knew about the ear devices, it was a simple matter to use it as well as the information Izuku had 'let slip' to the heroes for their advantage. Because of this, they were able to slip Toga behind the enemy lines without them suspecting her. Sure, she had to dislocate her shoulder to help sell the act and take out a fried earpiece from that idiot's ear, but it was worth it to be the rescue for anyone who got caught. And now, with time running out, there was little chance that the others would capture them.
Oh, and that guy Kaminari being naked? Izuku had requested that they make sure their defeats were as humiliating as possible while doing their best not to overdo it. And that's exactly what Toga did while getting in a little laugh.
As she walked across the camp, the rest of her classmates were at work making sure that the hero's humiliation was complete. Komori and Tsuburuaba were gathering up everything they could while Kodai shrunk it for easier travel. Soon, the heroes would have nothing left save the bus.
"Kaminari, patch me through to Ashido and Shoji," came Yaoyorozu's voice in Toga's ear. The vampire girl grinned, listening to the slight panic in her voice. "We spotted smoke rising from the tree line. There's a lot of it. I want to make sure they are safe or if they managed to find-"
"I'm sorry," said Toga, answering the call in her normal voice as she began to access a file from the cloud from Yaoyorozu's tablet. "But the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please hang up or stay on the line for the next representative."
With that done, Toga hit play. All at once, every earpiece was blasted with music.
"It's gabbing time," came a choir of children's voices, making Toga feel nostalgic. Setting the tablet on the ground, she began to move her hands around in the air as if she were conducting an orchestra.
" In the corner of some country
There is a dragon who loves boobies
He strolls around searching for booties on sunny days
Dragon, Dragon, boobie dragon
Squish squash, sucking sucking, puff puff
There are many varieties of boobies
But I love the big ones most
Boobie dragon is flying today, too
In the corner of some country
Boobie-loving dragon was smiling
Even on a stormy day, pushing boobies cheers him up
Dragon, Dragon, boobie dragon
Push, push, touch, touch, stop it
I have seen so many boobies,
But I love the big ones the most
Boobie-dragon presses boobies today, too
On some sandy beach
Boobie-loving dragon was exciting
Many boobies at the summer beach, it's full of dreams
[thanks for visiting animesonglyrics.com]
Dragon, Dragon, boobie dragon
Bam, Bouncy bounce
Boobies in swimsuits are great,
But I love the big ones the most
Boobie-dragon is going today, too
He saw one boobie cleavage
Boobie-loving dragon fell in love
Princess Switch's boobies are very nice ☆
Dragon, Dragon, boobie dragon
Squishing, touching, bouncy bounce
There are many varieties of boobies
But I love Princess Switch
Boobie dragon is sleeping today
There were many varieties of boobies
But I really love Princess Switch
Boobie-loving dragon is going to be flying tomorrow, too"
"Ah, that take me back," said Toga as the song began to repeat.
"Ah, Toga, what was that?!?" Tsuburaba almost yelled, a massive blush on his face. Behind him, Kodai's normally stoic expression was hinted with red while Komori hid her face behind her hands.
"Oh, nothing much," replied Toga as she looked around the area that used to her the hero's site, now devoid of everything but the bus. "Just a song that my grandfather and aunts used to sing to me when I was little. You know, like a lullaby or just to make me feel better when I was feeling really sad."
For a moment, all three 1-B students stared at her with blank expressions on their faces. As Toga began to skip away, earpiece still in her ear so she could listen to the song, they all had one thought as they followed her: this explains so much, yet raises so many more questions.
-x-
"What the fuck is this?" yelled Bakugo, tossing his earpiece to the ground before stomping on it in order to get rid of the perverted yet somehow childish tune that was playing.
"What should we do?" asked Kirishima, looking to Yaoyorozu along with Jiro and Koda. However, what they saw was not reassuring.
Yaoyorozu had fallen onto her hands and knees, staring unblinkingly at the ground as the music continued to play in her ear like some form of demented mockery. She hadn't predicted that the villains would take this opportunity to rescue their people. But how did they do it? Why didn't anyone at the base camp sound the alarm? Had they been hit so fast that they had been unable to do so? What happened to the people they left back at the base? Were they captured and being dragged somewhere? Should she send someone to go over there and check on them? However, these thoughts then gave way to new fears and concerns. The communication system they had agreed to use rather than the one the school had provided was compromised! How did they discover it? No, that wasn't the issue. If that had been compromised then it meant that, even if they used the school-provided communicators then there was a chance that the villains could be listening in! Or would Ashido and Shoji not listen to them?
Just then, a new pit of dread formed in Momo's gut as she realized just how bad the situation was. Toga was free now! The wild card of 1-B, the shapeshifter, could be anywhere! She could walk up to them at any moment and they might never know! Even if she didn't, none of the heroes would be able to trust if the person they were talking to, either in person or on the radio, was who they said they were. Trust was gone! No, wait! She could trust the people besides her. Right? But still, what should she do? They were five tired heroes at the end of their ropes going up against twenty-one villains who could appear from anywhere! The situation could not be more dire! No! She had to think! They were running out of time! She needed to plan their next move. If only she hadn't gone all out at the beginning then maybe they could-
"Screw this!" yelled Bakugo. Despite the shouting of everyone else, telling him to wait, the explosive teen launched himself towards the front door of the house. Without wasting another moment, he kicked down the door causing screams to arise from inside the house!
"Hey, what are you doing?" demanded the 1-B boy wearing a bandanna. "This is private property. You can't just come in here without-" The teen got no further as Bakugo launched a right hook right into his jaw. The teen fell to the ground as the vine-haired girl began to scream for help. Crying out for another hero to show up and save them or even the police. When Momo and the others arrived inside, she looked at them expectantly and with hope in her eyes for some reason. But that hope died when she saw that they weren't here to help.
"Everyone, search out and find the bomb," said Yaoyorozu.
"Bomb?" echoed the boy on the ground, a hand on his cheek as the other moved out. Bakugo raced upstairs while Kirishima went to check the basement. As for Jiro, she began to check the main floor of the building while Koda remained behind with Momo. "What bomb? What are you-" Several loud crashes interrupted the villain followed by Bakugo's screams of rage. Before anyone could say anything else, a loud explosion rocked the building.
"Our home!" cried the vine-haired girl. At that, Yaoyorozu turned to look at the two, wondering what was going on here. They were supposed to be playing villains, not civilians. Why weren't they fighting back, even to defend themselves? So what was their angle here?
Before Yaoyorozu could think about the matter any further, Bakugo rocketed down the stairs. Almost literally as he used his explosions to help speed up the process. When he landed on the ground, everyone could hear several loud thuds coming from upstairs. Most likely items that had been on their last leg to remain standing after Bakugo lost his temper.
"Where is it?!" screamed Bakugo as he began to attack the wall itself. A loud explosion destroyed several of the clearly fabricated pictures on the wall, either shattering them on the spot with the explosion or sending them falling to the ground. All in an effort to create a hole that he could look through. As he created another one, Yaoyorozu ignored the shouting from the two villains who had, for some reason, remained on the floor holding each other to stare at her classmate. Bakugo was looking…panicked? Frantic?
"Bakugo, stop," complained Jiro as she entered the room, clutching the side of her head. Blood was coming down her face, nearly causing Momo's heart to stop. She was about to ask what had happened. If Jiro had gotten attacked by a hidden villain or had fallen victim to some trap. However, those thoughts died quickly as she realized that Jiro would have called out in either situation. That as well as the look she was giving Bakugo who just screamed as he blasted another section of the wall, knocking down a cross which caused the vine-haired girl to faint.
"Shut up!" screamed Bakugo as he raced into the kitchen, destroying everything in a frenzy. By the time the fridge had been tossed across the room, Kirishima tentatively returned to deliver some more bad news.
"No bomb down there," he said, glancing over at his best friend worriedly. "Guys, I think we have the wrong place."
"It has to be here," said Yaoyorozu, glancing over at the still-injured Jiro. Her hands shook, trying her best to create some bandages yet her thoughts yet getting in the way. They couldn't fail, not after so many of them had gotten hurt just to reach this point. There had to be something she was overlooking. Was the bomb buried in the garden? She had seen it in the patch of land when they were scouting the place. Was it in the lake? Was there a secret room in the basement that Kirishima missed? There had to be something. They had no other leads!
"No!" screamed Bakugo as he stormed into the room again, his angry eyes locking onto the bandanna teen. Yaoyorozu saw the look in his eyes, quickly understanding what he intended to do. But as she moved to stop him, Bakugo pushed her to the side as he made his way to the 1-B. Growling, he grabbed the teen by the jacket to lift him up. "Where is the bomb?"
"I…I don't know what you're talking about," said the teen, nervous as he too knew what was coming and clearly wasn't looking forward to it.
"Wrong answer!" roared Bakugo, slamming an open palm right into the teen's gut followed instantly by a small explosion. The captured villain screamed, blood shooting from his mouth as Momo looked down at where the blast had landed. It was clear that Bakugo had held back, but for all, it was worth it meant little. The jacket had a large hole in it that was still smoldering while the teen's chest looked badly burnt. And that was only the damages that she could see! Bones could be broken or there could be other internal damages!
"Baku-bro, that's going-" began Kirishima, but stopped when Bakugo threw the villain onto the floor. What followed were a series of punches that rained down on the bandanna teen's face. For the life of her, Momo knew that the sounds of fists hitting flesh while the other teen cried out would haunt her nightmares for years to come. As she stood there, hands covering her mouth, Kirishima moved to stop this madness. However, what happened next was something that no one expected. The moment Kirishima placed a hand on Bakugo's shoulders the ashen blond turned swiftly, palm extended, to send a point-blank explosion right into the red-head's face! Unable to fully harden in time, Kirishima cried out as he stumbled backwards until his back collided with the wall.
"I won't lose!" yelled Bakugo as he turned back the villain on the floor to resume raining plows on his face. "Not again! Not to fucking Deku again! So tell me where the bomb is or else you're dead!"
As the villain tried to say something, blood coming out of his mouth as his words bubbled out, Yaoyorozu moved to stop this insanity. To tell Bakugo that he was going too far and that he was going to kill someone. But she stopped when she noticed something out the window. A large plume of smoke rising from the trees as well as fire! The forest they were in was on fire. Villain forgotten, her thoughts turned to all the people who she had sent out there. People who were still out there in harm's way!
This had gone on long enough. The bomb had to be here! She had to end this exercise now! So with that in mind, Yaoyorozu raced outside while pulling out the flare gun. Without giving it another thought, she fired it into the air to signal the police to arrive and end the exercise.
-x-
"Well, I must say that I'm impressed by the heroes," said Death Arms, both Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods standing behind them as they gazed at the gathered classes before them. It had been about ten minutes or so since the end of the exercise, the voice of Present Mic being blasted on the speaker systems to inform everyone that the exercise was over and to gather at the entrance. Drones had been sent out to put out the flames that had nearly covered almost half of the zone. Thankfully, the school had specialists they could call to repair all the damages.
"Really?" asked Kaminari, drawing the attention of the pro hero. Kaminari stood with the rest of his class on the right side of the entrance to Training Ground Omega with their teacher standing begrudgingly behind them. Since the teen hadn't been able to return and find his costume, he was now wrapped up in a heavy blanket which hid the scrapes he had received running nude through the forest as well as the beginnings of a rash brought on by some of the poisonous plants. Still, despite all of that, there was still some degree of hope in his eyes.
Death Arms didn't answer right away, instead glancing around at the rest of the teen's class to see if they shared his hopefulness. One of them was Monoma, who despite still being half covered in glue, seemed to grow a smug expression on his face. Mineta looked at them with wide, hopeful eyes that seemed to ignore that his diaper was now a bright yellow. Then there was Yaoyorozu who, while not as optimistic as the rest, had brought her hands together as if praying for the best possible outcome. As for the rest, well, not so much hope. Asui, Ojiro, and Sero were just barely paying attention to them as they continued to remove the glue that still clung to their bodies while Aoyama just looked down at the ground. Tokoyami was rubbing the makeup off his face, put there by Pony along with the assistance of Dark Shadow. Uraraka was giving the pros a dubious look while Sato was glancing away. Jiro, whose ear had been patched up was busy patting the back of Koda to reassure him that everything would be ok. Ashido had a scowl on her face while Shoji just stood there looking impassive. As for Kirishima, the boy had a crestfallen expression on his face. Hagakure, well, they couldn't see her, and she had been somehow overlooked during the entire exam. But seeing as how her shoes and gloves remained still, they figured she wasn't pleased with how this went either.
Then there were those three. Ida stood there, fists and teeth clenched as his face took on a look of fury. Todoroki stood off to the side, away from his classmates to give them the cold shoulder. And finally, Bakugo. Oh, Bakugo looked ready to pounce at Yaoyorozu for not letting him win on his terms. For signaling they had found the bomb when in fact none of them had ever laid eyes on it. For not letting him 'crush' every villain they came across. For not 'murdering' someone called Deku. Those three were the ones who were the least pleased.
"Oh yes," continued Death Arms. "You all did in a single day what few have ever accomplished. Not only are your hero careers over, but you will all be sued to the point where your grandchildren will have to keep paying! All of you have utterly failed!"
"What?!?" cried out Kaminari as he began looking around, noticing to his horror that the rest of the class was growing pale by this news. Clearly, they had not expected it to be that bad.
As 1-A took that in, Death Arms turned to look at the villains who stood opposite of the heroes with their teacher standing behind them. Vlad King had his arms folded across his chest, eyes closed and not saying a word. Though, if you looked close enough, you could see the faintest of smiles on his face. As for the man's class, they were, for the most part, unharmed. Awase was still getting tended to by Asia, the school nurse bathing him in green light as his wounds mended. Said nurse had a frown on her face, clearly unhappy with the extent of the teen's injuries. However, despite the pain he was in, Awase seemed pleased by this news shooting a thumbs up to the green-haired kid who thought up this insane plan. As for the rest, well, they also looked very pleased with themselves.
"Sir, doesn't that seem a little extreme?" asked a very shaken Yaoyorozu. Dearth Arms glanced in her direction, seeing her arms and legs shaking as she spoke. "I…I can understand our rankings as pros taking a hit if we had failed to secure the bomb. But we did manage to capture at least two of the-" Death Arms raised his hand to silence her.
"No, you didn't," he said. "At least, not in the eyes of the police and the public. You broke into a house that was legally allowed to be there, doing so without a warrant, committed an unlawful search of the premises, and then assaulted Awase and his 'wife' after destroying their private property. All of this was captured on home security. And, even after a careful search of the premises, there was no trace of a bomb."
"But sir, that's not fair," said Hagakure, waving her gloves around. "They were supposed to be playing the villains. We were never told that they could also play the part of civilians."
"That is true, they were villains," admitted Death Arms. "Or, to be more specific, they were villains acting like innocent civilians. But, let me ask you this: how are you going to prove it? All we have is your say-so without any evidence to back up your claim. Now, compare that to what the police will find when they arrive. Doors broken down without a warrant, house destroyed by explosions caused by one of the heroes, a man almost beaten within an inch of his life, and all of this caught on home security camera. Now, who do you think they are going to believe?" Death Arms paused as he watched the students take all this in. "Now, for the sake of the exercise, the police will still assist in searching for the bomb in the location where you fired the flare at. But, once they find nothing, it's the end for you. That was a part of the villain's plan."
"But there was no way we could have known that!" argued Ashido.
"Which is why the teachers put in an additional clause when the villains submitted their plan for approval," said Kamui Woods stiffly. "As long as you captured one villain, there was a chance that they would flip. The more the better. So, while you still would have been hit with a number of charges and your careers would become non-existent, being sued by the villains for everything you all have wouldn't have been on the table."
Some of the students looked ready to argue, but a sigh from Mt. Lady followed by a bored look silenced them. "The simple fact of the matter is that the villains made you all look like fools," she stated, barely even looking at them at this point. "Even without the assault on 'civilians', very few of you walked away from this in a positive light. Several of you were captured and left where anyone could see. Tell me, how do you think the public will react when they find out that an entire team of heroes was left in a bunker glued to the ceiling and acting like they were high? Or when we find another group of heroes tied up in the police bus that they brought? Or how one of you was left in the forest, running around naked for so long? I'll be frank, if this were the real deal, the Safety Commission would have had all your licensees revoked before the full report landed on their desk. To make matters worse, you never did figure out where the bomb was being hidden. Meaning the villains can use that spot again if they so desired."
"But there was no way we could have searched the entire," begun Yaoyorozu only to be cut off by a glare from the eldest hero there.
"You would have been much closer to finding the bomb if you had bothered to look at permits," snapped the pro hero. "If any suitable structure was going to be made, the villains were required to fill out the paperwork. Even if they moved it to a slightly different location, you would have had more ideas on what you were looking for. Holding a vote was stupid. You lost nothing by checking and had everything to gain!" Death Arms then narrowed his eyes further as he approached Yaoyorozu, his size intimidating her for a moment. "But that wasn't the only mistake you made. Those little earpieces? But you thought you were being very clever by relying on them. But, the villains were prepared. They had one of their members watching all of you the second you walked into the forest. Your little leg up would have worked better if you hadn't done it out in the open! Instead, you gave away the entire plan to protect yourself from a shapeshifter. Furthermore, your entire approach to it was sloppy! You should have had a plan set up well before this along with planned check-ins to keep everyone informed."
"We understand why you did that," continued Kamui Woods, watching the girl who looked like her entire self-worth was being crushed. Yet the hero continued knowing that she needed to hear where her plan went wrong. "You were worried about Toga, which is fine. But there were better, simpler ways of preventing her from infiltrating your group without waiting for your quirks usage. The buddy system for one would have been a good idea along with using code words or just questioning them on things only your class would know. Putting all your eggs in technology was bound to fail, especially if they checked the bodies of those they captured." He then coughed into his fist. "Also, the cannons were a bad idea. You went all in from the start, using up so many lipids that it hindered you when they needed you the most."
"But she isn't the only one you really messed up," barked Death Arms. "There are several of you who really cost you this exercise. Monoma! While the rest of your team is partially to blame for their compliance, you were the one who brought up the idea of radio silence once you found the bunker! Had you not allowed your ego to take over, you would have reported it to the rest of the class. Then, they would have at least known where you were or had an idea of what to expect. Perhaps there would have been few reasons to split off the group."
"Fucking useless copycat," stated Bakugo under his breath. Though not quite enough so that all the heroes present couldn't hear him.
"Oh, don't get us started on you boy!" growled Death Arms as he walked over to poke the smaller teen in the chest. "If there was anyone who had the right to look down at their classmate, it certainly isn't you! Going off on your own into a forest full of villains-"
"Who cares!" yelled Bakugo right into the hero's face. "Those extras were only slowing me down anyway! Besides, I'm one of the few people here who didn't get beaten to shit like some worthless sidekick! I was the winner when I fought those two villains! I was the one left standing in the end with them murdered!"
"Is that what you'll write in your report? Do you think that will save you?" demanded Death Arms. At the sight of Bakugo's smirk, the hero laid down the facts. "Then congratulations, you really are above the rest of the class. Because not only are you being charged with assault, but potential murder as well as setting fire to the forest without putting it out! Oh, and if any heroes would have died before they could be saved, you would have taken the blame for that as well!"
All color drained from Bakugo as the facts were laid on him. "W-What? But they were villains," he whispered.
"And before they are villains, they are human beings with rights," stated Death Arms. "There are situations when a hero will have to take a life. But, on the whole, that is a line best to be avoided. We are charged with capturing villains not being their judge, jury, and executioner. Once you put that in the file, the police will begin searching for the bodies. However, with the amount of destruction you created, finding any trace of them might be impossible. If they are presumed dead, then that means that the villains that you failed to defeat and escaped are basically free to live normal lives. I can only the smug looks of satisfaction they'll have when they learn about who a dozen environmental agencies are taking you to court for the damages you caused as well as any families who lost loved ones caught in the fire. Not to mention the two villains in that house. Trust me, by the time they are done with you, you will wish they had left you as some washed-up, D-listed hero working out of their parent's home and hooked on Trigger. That life will be heaven compared to the hell that you're currently in!"
"As for the rest of your team, they did very little to impress," sighed Mt. Lady. "You all followed this hot-head lead, going off on your own. Though, at least one of you tried to voice out a complaint and Tokoyami was the first to turn around to help Kaminari. It shouldn't have happened in the first place though."
"I understand and shall seek to do better," said Tokoyami. At that, Mt. Lady nodded.
"Then there was you Ida," said Kamui Woods as he turned to look at the turbo teen. Ida had his head down, not daring to look at the man who was now approaching him. "Even though you said that you should stay together, you still choose to go off on your own. A very poor move considering that the terrain was not the best match for your quirk. What's more, you allowed yourself to get lost. A situation that could have easily been rectified if you just accepted help. All in all, you made it easier for the villains to capture you. You need to start thinking with a clearer head or else you'll end up in a bad situation one day."
"Then there's Todoroki," finished Death Arms turning to look at the son of the number two hero in Japan. "Like Bakugo, you went in stupidly thinking that you could win all of this on your own. And how did that work out for you? The villains easily exploited a weakness of yours, weakened you, and left you to be captured by your own class. Honestly, from what we saw when you first walked into the forest and what your teacher wrote in your file, it's no surprise that your class was instantly distrustful of you. I doubt if they asked you a question about the goings in your class you would be able to answer it." Death Arms then shook his head. "Frankly speaking, I'm surprised that your father didn't teach you better. You have obvious weaknesses, both physical and only being able to produce ice on one side of your body. That, coupled with your attitude, makes you a failure as a hero."
"As for the rest of you," said Kamui Woods, taking note of Todoroki turning to glare at Midoriya but saying nothing. "We will be spending the next couple of days writing up some detailed reports on your performances. According to your teacher, they will be emailed to you this weekend along with your grades. Make sure you go over it before you start your internships."
"Now, moving onto the villains," said Death Arms as he approached the 1-B students, scratching the top of his head as he did so. "You could have just made a couple of those underground bunkers and hid, waiting for the exercise to end while the hero team stumbled around. Instead, you all choose to be proactive and flexible. You played to their fears and paranoia on Toga's quirk. So, not only did you receive a huge payday from selling the bomb but you also made a killing via lawsuits."
"Hell yeah!" cheered Awase before turning to Midoriya. "Dude, that plan of yours was just sick! Sure I got hurt like a mother," he paused, glancing over at Shiozaki who just glared. "Er, what I meant to say is that the pain was worth it in the end!"
"Thanks," said Midoriya, smiling so brightly and happily that a light seemed to shine from him. "To be honest, I never expected things to turn out this well. I was a little worried about sending all of you to that cave, but I guess it worked out well in the end."
"It was amazing," cried Toga. "At least now we know that, if this hero thing doesn't work out for you, you'd make a pretty good villain. Just imagine taking on the role of villainous mastermind once more…for justice!"
"Yeah! Team Leverage will rise again!" added Pony who was jumping up and down with glee.
"Guys that's," began Izuku but stopped, shocking both heroes and teachers as the green-haired teen took up a thinking pose. Mumbling could be heard just under his breath, the only words they were able to hear were 'not a bad idea.'
At first, many of the young heroes in training just stared at him with blank, blinking expressions while an image appeared in their minds. Now they saw a darker version of the class cinnamon roll sitting in a fancy, high-back chair that looked several centuries old. His hands, for some reason, were gloved in black leather as he held a glass of wine. As for the rest of his attire, he wore a white button-up shirt with suspenders and dark pants. Around his chair were the three girls he normally hung out with. On one side, in a skimpy red dress, was Toga as she licked blood off a knife. Pony was on the other side of the chair, for some reason looking like a sexy barbarian getting ready to charge. Kendo sat on Midoriya's lap, wearing a darker version of her hero costume with more spikes as she caressed Deku's cheek.
As soon as they realized what they were imagining, as well as realizing just how badly his plan had ruined the lives of the hero team, several students from both classes rushed over to stand before the green-haired hero nerd. So lost in thought was said nerd that he didn't realize they were upon him till they were right there!
"No Midoriya, please do not consider such a vile lifestyle," cried Shiozaki, her hands clasped in prayer. "Stay in the light! Stay in the light!"
"Sir Midoriya, do not tell me you are considering moving towards such ideals," begged Shishida. "Surely you know better than to walk down such a road!"
"Please don't, the world will not survive you being totally evil!" shouted Ashido. "Villain Bakugo we could handle but not you."
As the shouting continued, as well as Bakugo yelling at the pink-skinned for the insult, Midoriya just stood there as he tried to process what they were saying. "What? I was just thinking that Leverage would be a great name if we very formed our own hero team," he said. "Is there a problem with it?" Feeling relief, everyone backed away with nervous smiles saying that the name was fine.
"However, while the villains did win, there is a slight chance that this backfired on all of you in the long run," continued Kamui Woods, getting back on topic.
"What do you mean?" asked Tetsutetsu. "I thought we did a great job."
"You did. And that's sort of the problem," said Kamui as he looked to his fellow heroes who gave him nods. "If this was the real deal, the media would be focusing more on the failures of the heroes. But what we couldn't decide is how many heroes would look at this event and wonder if the villains were a threat to be taken seriously. At least, not objectively. There may be a few higher rank heroes out there that would come to that conclusion as well as a few members of the Hero Safety Commission who would be on the lookout for you, but if there will be enough to actually put Leverage on the radar is pretty hard to get a read on. It would be best if that's not the case, leaving all of you as just a random group of villains until the heat dies down. Then you can go back to your villainous plans with no one the wiser. On the other hand, if enough top-ranking people do consider you a threat, Japan will do everything in its power to hunt you down."
"Best we could agree on was that there was a slight chance that would happen," commented Mt. Lady. "We'll leave people like Nezu to come up with the percentages."
With that, the heroes in training were allowed to head towards the locker room to get cleaned up before they left.
-x-
"Oh god, that was so painful," complained Ashido as the door to the girl's locker room opened. Bent over, arms hanging limply by her sides, the pink-skinned girl stumbled inside followed by the rest of her female classmates. All of them looked just as mentally and physically exhausted as their normally hyper pink bundle of joy. A moment later, the rest of the girls from their sister class awkwardly entered as well.
"Excuse me," said the vine-haired girl as she approached Mina. Ashido, forehead pressed against her locker, turned slightly with tired eyes to look at the girl still in casual attire. The look on the 1-B's girl's face was somewhere between nervous and apologetic. "I'm not sure we have been properly introduced before. My name is Ibara Shiozaki."
"Hey," groaned Mina, doing her best to smile and raise a hand to fist bump Shiozaki yet her arms just felt too much like lead at the moment. "Nice to meet ya. The name's Mina Ashido."
"A pleasure," said Shiozaki with a light smile. "I know this might sound a little rude, given what we all went through, but…could you please consider not doing that again? Using the Lord's name in such a way?"
Mina blinked at that. "What?"
"I'm sorry," continued Shiozaki before talking at a frantic pace. "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry. After everything my class has put you through, having me standing here and making requests on what you can and can't say is probably the last thing you want to hear. However, hearing you use the Lord's name in such a manner is very disrespectful. So, I am merely asking that you consider refraining from your use of such phrases. If that would not be too much of a bother. If not, I will understand and do my best to ignore it."
For a solid moment, Mina considered how best to handle the situation. Due to her mind being drained, her immediate thoughts were to tell the girl where to shove it. Thankfully, she didn't say it and continued to think about it. Looking her over, it was clear just how nervous the girl was just by making this request. And, well, Mina knew what it was like when people around her made comments that she didn't like. Sure, she would walk up to them and give them a piece of her mind. But not every girl out there could do it like her. So it took guts. Plus it was such a little thing that really wasn't worth getting into a fight over.
"Yeah, sure," said Ashido, watching as the expression on Shiozaki's face brightened a bit. The sight of which gave Mina a little bit more energy to work with. Now standing a bit straighter, she managed to give a real smile. "And don't worry about the exercise. It was nothing personal. I mean, it's not like you wanted to be villains and were the people who decided to make this a good portion of our grade. You were just doing what you had to do."
"You said it," came a new, cheerier voice before an arm hung itself on Ashido's neck. And, when Mina turned, she realized that it was just an arm. Before the acid girl could cry out, another green-haired girl bumped into her opposite side with a toothy grin. "We all got to do what we got to do. So there shouldn't be any hard feelings. Oh, by the way, the name's Setsuna Tokage!"
For the next few minutes, all the girls just relaxed without getting undressed as they exchanged names. With each moment that passed by, whatever tension that had been in the air dissipated to the point where a few of them (like Mina and Setsuna) were exchanging contact information. Once they were done with that, the girls then began to talk about their male classmates by giving their names as well as their physical descriptions. Speaking of the guys, they had mentioned that a few of the 1-A boys were refusing to enter their own changing room while 1-B was inside. Monoma because, well, he was Monoma who refused to get changed in the presence of inferior heroes in training regardless of the facts. Todoroki seemed to just want to sulk for the moment. And finally, there was Bakugo who looked ready to go on the warpath.
"I think the only reason that hot-headed little bitch hasn't gone in is because he knows he'll lunge at Midoriya," finished Setsuna, looking everyone there know her feelings on the ashen blonde. "Pretty sure even he knows that attacking another student again wouldn't lead to another slap on the wrist. So he just has to stand there, stewing in his own anger."
"Well, Bakugo didn't think it was such a slap on the wrist," commented Uraraka as she looked up in remembrance while beginning to remove her belt. "He missed our first lesson with All Might and picking class reps. But what I don't get is why he did all that."
"Maybe because he's an egotistical a-hole?" suggested Setsuna before turning to look at Kendo and Pony. "Hey, you two have known the vice-rep the longest. Any ideas?"
"I have ideas," said Kendo as she put her mask into her case. "Some of it was confirmed when he attacked Izuku in the cafeteria. But, it isn't my place to say."
"But I'll say this," said Pony with a frown. "Izuku told me that they used to go to the same middle school. Back then, Bakugo was a pretty big deal. Used to say that he would be the first and only person in that school to get into the hero school at U.A. with the highest score ever recorded."
"Yeah, I think Bakugo screamed something about that during the lunchroom incident," grumbled Jiro. She then turned to look at Kendo with a small smirk on her face. "Oh, loved the way you punched him on both occasions. If we ever have a one-on-one combat trail between classes and you get a rematch against him, just know that I'll be cheering you on."
"Thanks," replied Kendo with a bit of a blush. Though it didn't last long as she walked over to Momo. The raven-haired girl had been mostly silent, seeming lost in her own thoughts. Though she did look up once the orange-haired girl was standing in front of her with a hand extended. "Speaking of rematches, I look forward to when we face your class again on Friday. I know you will only get stronger and give us a greater challenge. I'll, ah, make sure that Izuku doesn't do all the planning again." Out of the corner of her eye, Kendo noticed Ashido bringing her hands together and looking like she was silently thanking god with tears in her eyes.
"I," began Yaoyorozu nervously before her expression became a tad more resolved. She then took Kendo's hand and shook it. "I agree. We shall endeavor to make sure that we do not have a repeat of today. However, I must insist that you come at us with everything you have. Even if it means allowing Midoriya to make up the plans."
"Nooo!" cried Ashido as she fell to her knees, a pair of gloves floating beside her to pant the pink-skinned girl on the back.
"Well," began Shiozaki, coughing into her fist for a moment as a blush appeared on her face. "Hopefully, Midoriya will not see any need for such things as subterfuge. Will it was not completely unpleasant, I would rather not be stuck on the sidelines a second time playing house."
"Oh?" came Toga's voice as she seemed to appear out of nowhere, half undressed, and placed her hands on the Christian girl's shoulders. On her face was a massive blush as her golden slit eyes stared at a suddenly nervous Shiozaki. "Could it be the reason the exercise wasn't 'unpleasant' had something to do with who you were partnered with?"
"W-What?" yelped Shiozaki backing away as she said this, her face now scarlet as she found herself the center of attention. Toga now had a hand under her chin, smirking slightly while appearing to be sizing her up. Mina had stars in her eyes, looking hungry for some juicy gossip while Tokage playfully covered her mount with a hand.
"Wait? Are you implying that Shiozaki likes Awase? Shroom?" asked Komori, tilting her head as she said this. "But they hate each other. Shiozaki is constantly smacking Awase upside the head every time he says the 'G' word in vain."
"Well, I wouldn't say I hate him," mumbled Shiozaki, poking her fingers together while looking down.
"Oh Komori, you are so innocent when it comes to the realm of love," sang Toga. "Everyone has their own way of expressing their love for another. Some people hold hands, kiss, give each other gifts, or do things that don't make sense to most of the world. In the case of Shiozaki, she feels a need to punish Awase because she cares about him. She's not going to politely ask him to stop like she did with Ashido. Oh no. Because of her deep-seated feelings for him, she can't waste a second in trying to save his immortal soul. Also, smacking like that allows her to touch his skin even for a moment. I bet she savors every moment! So those attacks are the way she shows her love!" As Toga said all this, the shapeshifter began to twirl around with an outstretched hand while stars suddenly seemed to appear all around her. Meanwhile, Shiozaki just pressed herself against the wall as her entire body seemed to turn red from embarrassment.
"Is that how it is?" asked Jiro, a slight smirk on her face. "Then maybe Awase keeps saying the wrong thing, not because he's stubborn, but because he likes it."
"Oh, maybe you're right," agreed Toga with a nod. In response, Shiozaki let out a high-pitched squeak that almost muffled out a thud coming from above their heads.
"Ok, ok," said Kendo, clapping her hands. "You've had your fun Toga. Now we need to get changed so-"
"Oh come on Kendo," interrupted Toga, waving off the Big Fist user as she turned away from the flustered vine-haired girl. Said girl was now speaking rapidly in a low tone while her eyes were nothing more than spirals. "We're just doing what girls should be doing: talking about love and gossiping. It's the perfect way to release some stress after such a long day."
"Here, here!" cheered Ashido, fist-pumping into the air. The pink-skinned girl then turned to look at Setsuna. "So, any other lovey-dovey couples in your class? Because right now, I think the only couples in our year are coming from your class. Unless you count Bakugo's love for himself."
Tokage snickered at that. "Oh trust me, we do," she said before pointing a thumb at Kendo, Pony, and Toga. "We got three girls who all have their eyes on a certain green-haired teen. Though the battle may already be over as Midoriya asked Kendo out for a romantic getaway just for the two of them."
At that, Himiko smirked. "Oh trust me, it isn't the end," she said while Kendo began to blush.
"He just asked me out as a-" began Itsuka before another thud was heard, louder this time. As the girls looked up at the vents above their heads, a dark aura began to surround the 1-A girls.
"We have a rat," said Jiro as she sent her jacks up towards the ceiling. Channeling her heartbeat through her jacks, the ceiling began to vibrate with noise while Ashido threw some acid up at the vent opening. As soon as it melted away, the half-naked form of Mineta landed on the ground.
"Hey, what's the big idea!" shouted the smallest teen there as he picked himself off the floor. "I was just eyeing the goodies before me. It's the least I deserve after what that psychopath did to me! So how about you all just get undress-" Mineta finally felt the overwhelming aura of anger directed at him from all the girls there. Kendo was looking at him with disgust, enlarging her hands while Momo used the last of her lipids to create a metal bat. Jiro was cracking her knuckles while Komori went to the shower to help make the place more humid for her mushrooms. One by one, all the girls began to either activate their quirks or prepare their fists for a beatdown.
-x-
"Hey everyone," said Midoriya, standing next to his seat. The teen had been in the process of packing up for the day when the girls entered the classroom. He was about to ask what took so long as he and the rest of the guys had finished getting changed ages ago when he noticed that Kendo, Yanagi, Pony, and Toga all had blood on their hands. And what was stranger still was that Toga wasn't licking it off of her. "Did something happen? Is anyone hurt?"
"Something happened to someone unimportant," commented Toga, glancing down at the blood still on her hand not with a look of longing but utter disgust. "Someone disgustingly unimportant who we would have ended had Midnight and Aunty Asia not heard the commotion and stopped us. At least we're not in trouble. Can't say the same for him." At that, all the girls in the class nodded as Toga went to grab wipes from her bag to begin cleaning her hands.
"Enough about…that thing," grumbled Itsuka, accepting the wipes from Toga as she turned her full attention towards Izuku. "Were there any problems with you?"
"Problems?" echoed Izuku. "Not much. A few of the guys from 1-A accused us of cheating, but Kirishima told them they were being unmanly for not accepting the fact that they lost."
"Very true," said Tetsustetsu with a nod as he slung his backpack on his back.
"After that, they went hunting for Mineta once they realized he vanished from the locker room," continued Izuku. "Strange. You would think that by now he would know his way around the school without getting lost. And the fact that he did so when he hadn't fully changed was weird. I offered to help, but they said it was official 1-A business." As Izuku sighed, the girls just looked at the innocent boy with slightly teary eyes hoping that he wouldn't get too disappointed when he learned the truth. Or mad at them when he learned just how close Mineta came to death. "After that, I received a message from Nezu with some, ah, interesting news."
"Oh?" said Kendo, wondering what this was about.
"Ah," began Izuku, looking a little embarrassed. "It turns out that the reason it was taking so long for my confirmation to I-Island to arrive was because someone wanted to meet me really badly. So much so that they managed to convince the board there to throw in a couple extra tickets." He then gave Itsuka an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but it looks like we'll have some company."
"Well, ah," began Itsuka as she turned to look away, scratching her cheek as she did so. She looked like she was about to say something, however her eyes landed on Pony. The American girl looked at her with wide eyes full of hope and glee, almost ready to start leaping with joy at any moment. The orange-haired girl then let out a sigh, hanging her head a little. "It'll be fine. We'll still be able to spend time together."
"Great!" said Izuku. He was then about to ask Pony if she wanted to come but stopped when he felt something collide with his desk. Turning his head, he found Toga bending down on the opposite side of his desk so that the only part of her face that was visible were her eyes up. And those yellow slit eyes were giving him a sad kitty cat-like pout that nearly made his heart stop with how sad and pleading they were. Just begging not to be left behind.
Finally, Izuku sighed. "Pony. Toga. Would the two of you like to come with us to I-Island this weekend?" he asked. His only response was getting tackled to the floor by the two happy, laughing blondes who were clearly saying yes. And as he lay there with Kendo trying to pry them off of him a few questions entered his mind. The first was what was he going to do with the last ticket. The second was how should he tell his mother that he was going to an island with three girls. And lastly, why did this embrace feel so good that he never wanted it to end?
-x-
At the same time, a large metal cube was being unloaded off a plane and onto the dock of I-Island. The cube took up a large amount of space, requiring dozens of the robots to move it around. On the cube was only a single door with a keypad required to open it with several tanks of air connected to the surface to keep the lone individual inside of it alive. But that wasn't all as along with the cube were several guards who were from the prison Tartarus, each one of them keeping their hands on their weapons as they eyed the cube as if in fear that at any moment all hell would break loose.
"I hope the specimen is in good condition," came a voice, followed by the sounds of someone walking towards the guards in a hurry. The lead guard turned, seeing it to be the man to whom they were delivering the prisoner to.
"Not this time Dr. Shield," replied the lead guard. "Unlike the last few, this one didn't put up much of a fuss. Wills so broken that this piece of shit didn't even consider making a break for it."
"Good, good," said Dr. Shield as he approached the metal cube. Slowly, almost reverently, he placed a hand on it so that he could feel just how cold the metal shell was. "I would hate to waste time patching up wounds that could interfere with the procedure. Oh, I know this time it will be a success! I can feel it! All the data from the past failures have been examined and fine-tuned. Hopefully, I will be able to unveil its existence by the end of the weekend."
"Yeah, yeah," said the lead guard, his tone uncaring. Mostly because he didn't know what was being done to the dozen or so prisoners that they had already brought this man on the authority of the Safety Commission. "Just make sure that you clean up your mess once you are done. And, if you need another one, you know who to call."