Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
_
Alice's POV
U.A. Training Ground Alpha
Panting and sweating heavily from overusing their Quirks, both Alice and Eugeo stood on the backline of the large, currently frozen-over stone field. While they hadn't received any injuries yet, they'd been sparring six against one for the past hour, Kirigaya was on standby due to insufficient combat experience and in case of injury. Or at least, that's how Bakugo described it. In reality, they'd just been desperately trying to hit him for the duration of the match.
Without success so far.
"And I'm supposed to believe this guy is two years younger than us? That's just absurd," Alice muttered under her breath, watching their instructor effortlessly keep up with Mirio, Hado, Shino, and Amajiki simultaneously, fluently dodging close-quarters attacks from Mirio and tentacle strikes from Amajiki, all while positioning himself so the girls couldn't get a long-distance shot in without hitting their teammate.
"You're right. He's barely even using his Quirk. And here we are, already tired from Quirk overuse. He hasn't even retaliated," the ice user said, panting.
Turning toward Alice, who was currently wearing her hero costume, a blue medieval flower dress with white embroidery, her face twisted in annoyance.
"Look at him smiling over there. He's enjoying this way too much. Eugeo, if this last-ditch effort doesn't work, I'm almost entirely positive the others won't be able to continue either. So let's make the most of it, okay?" the blonde-haired girl stated, her tone infused with a hopeful confidence drawn from sheer determination.
"Right," he affirmed, closing his eyes and raising his arms above his head as dozens of intricately crafted ice spears manifested into existence. "Okay guys, let's go!" he yelled, catching the attention of the others, who began retreating as soon as they heard his voice.
Mirio dropped into the ground, Nejire began carrying Amajiki away, while Shino continued firing metal bullets with ice cores at the teacher to keep him occupied.
"Spear Hail!" the blonde boy shouted as the spears descended toward Bakugo at high speed.
"That's a cute party trick you've got there," the explosion user scoffed, wearing an amused smile. Snatching the first spear out of the air, he twirled it with practiced ease, not only deflecting all the other ice constructs but also Shino's bullets.
Not stopping the assault, Mirio popped out of the ground, yelling:
"Power!"
At the same time, Alice used her Quirk to grow a field of flower vines that started to ensnare the teacher. Not impressed, he let himself get caught by the plants while continuing to narrowly dodge Mirio's attacks without breaking a sweat.
On the other end of the field, Amajiki and Hado combined their Quirks, forming a giant cannon from Amajiki's Manifest while powering it with Nejire-chan's energy, slowly building up a massive output.
Using the ice-core bullets, Shino repeatedly struck the teacher's feet, encasing them in large amounts of ice, cementing him to the ground. Eventually, even Mirio retreated into the ground. Red flowers began sprouting from the vines encasing the explosion user. The petals detached and spun around him, obstructing his vision while releasing a red pollen cloud.
"How's that, Teach? Those are my Blinding Flowers. Get even a bit of that pollen in your eyes, and they'll be watering and swelling for days," Alice said.
She turned from the almost fully enclosed teacher to the two setting up the finishing blow, realizing they were finally done charging energy.
"Do it, Suneater! You're the only one with enough output to damage this guy. We believe in you!" Alice yelled at the shy young man.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Hado gave him a thumbs-up.
"You can do it, Tamaki."
Nodding, the black-haired young man turned toward the trapped figure of their teacher. The teacher's gaze lingered on him with anticipation, as if to say:
"Give me your best shot."
"Why is he still so scary..." Tamaki shivered.
"Don't worry about him. Just make sure the shot lands. Everyone put their trust in your special move. Show him we're not the weaklings he thinks we are, okay?" the blue-haired heroine encouraged.
With newfound resolve, he looked ready.
"You're right. Everyone put their faith in me. I can't let them down!" he said, more to himself than anyone else. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he opened them again and roared:
"Now! Vast Hybrid: Chimera Plasma Cannon!"
A concentrated beam of yellow energy sliced through the air. A sonic boom echoed afterward, it was faster than sound. The crackling energy barreled toward Bakugo, who was now grinning like a madman, raising one hand to intercept it at a speed most humans couldn't even perceive.
The students only saw the beam slam into the prison they'd created. Smoke and debris erupted from the impact, obscuring the outcome.
"We got the bastard!" Alice cheered, raising a fist toward Eugeo, who returned the bump with a grin.
"Let's just hope we didn't cripple him too badly. But even then, Kirigaya should be able to patch him up," he replied.
The others, equally exhausted, started to celebrate, until a manic laugh echoed from the crater. The smoke lifted, revealing their teacher standing in the center.
His right hand was badly burned, but other than that, he seemed fine. Ecstatic, even.
Shocked, the students stared at the man in disbelief. Sure, he'd told them not to hold back and that he could take lethal-level attacks, but this? Amajiki's plasma cannon, amplified by Hado, had leveled city blocks in training. And this guy had walked out with a burn on one hand.
When the laughter faded, Bakugo stepped from the crater, smiling.
"Gotta say, you brats managed to impress me. Especially you, Suneater. I actually put in a decent amount of strength blocking that, and it still managed to injure me," he said, glancing at his burned hand before tucking it into the front of his yukata.
"Now that I know you're no pushovers, I see why that punk Eraser was speaking so proudly of you. You're better than most pros. He's nurtured a solid batch of students."
He paced the battlefield with rhythmic precision. As his steps echoed, his image began to split.
Two versions of him. Then four. Then more.
Their steps synchronized, almost hypnotic.
‚What the hell is that? His Quirk is Explosion. How is he making clones?' Alice's head spun, trying to track all the Bakugos walking in different directions.
"Surprised?" multiple voices asked, layered atop one another.
"This school, and its teachers, believe the only path to strength is working out your body and Quirk, enhancing combat with brute force."
"Eraser understands that real-life experience matters, but with safety nets in place, the amount of growth is limited."
He traced paths around the students, subtly steering them into position.
"That's why I'm here. With me, we don't need to worry about injuries or crippling setbacks. That lets me teach you techniques others wouldn't dare touch."
Alice, still overwhelmed, finally noticed they were now all in a small circle, and Bakugos were pacing around them.
Her back bumped into Amajiki's.
‚What happened? We were across the field. How did he steer us all here without me noticing?'
Suddenly, the clones vanished, one by one, until only the real Bakugo remained.
"Now it's time for you to witness in your own flesh and blood why I'm the teacher, and you're the students."
He paused. Two words followed.
Two words that changed everything.
"Open Detonation."
Crackling dark-orange energy surged from him, forming shapes that hovered and spun erratically around him. The air itself became heavy, like gravity had thickened.
His pupils slitted like a cat's. Irises lit with ember-like patterns. The tips of his hair glowed faintly as if igniting.
A churning mist of red and orange crackled like plasma, and behind him orbited five jagged, halo-like shrapnel constructs, unstable, spinning like satellites.
But most eye-catching was the half-ring of spiraling explosions behind his head, flickering like a solar flare burst.
He looked like a self-proclaimed King of Destruction.
‚ What is this feeling... this pressure? It's suffocating. I've never felt power like this' Alice thought, falling to her knees.
Around her, the others were frozen, paralyzed by fear.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he asked, stepping forward. "Just a moment ago, you were all cheering. Where's that confidence now, hm?"
‚Move, dammit! I won't go down without even trying!'
Shakily, she rose to her feet. The others followed, barely. Only she and Mirio stood unaided. Hado supported Tamaki. Eugeo helped Shino.
"There you go. That's the spirit. NOW ATTACK WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT LEFT!" he roared.
Mirio charged in, but was quickly dispatched. Bakugo's body erupted in micro-explosions, propelling him faster than Mirio could track. One gut punch and Mirio dropped.
The others fared no better. The orbiting shards launched outward, exploding on impact before they could react.
Only Alice remained conscious.
"Five down. One left," the teacher mused.
Exhausted and drained, she charged in with one last punch.
"Your movements are flawed. No structure. Easy to read. Weak. And worst of all, sloppy. Too many openings," he critiqued calmly, countering effortlessly.
One strike to her gut. Blood erupted from her mouth. Her whole body screamed in agony.
‚ Every muscle's on fire. My guts feel torn. Is this it? One hit and I'm done?'
"You don't need to feel ashamed. Most pass out the moment I enter this state. Your mental fortitude is considerable. Stand proud, you're quite strong, flower girl," he said just before her vision blacked out.
‚He's right. I don't deserve to be called by my name yet. He could've ended this in seconds. Still... I wonder what kind of life he's lived to become like this...'
Just before she lost consciousness, she heard him say one last thing:
"The future holds much for them. Aincrad will be happy to have them."