A/N: Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best at writing fights, or giving the most plausible or practical plans. I think too long about it and it stresses me out.
Doing my best here, people.
...~AIV~...
(Ground Beta: Middle School Replica Building)
Bursting through the front doors of the school, the couple sprinted down the hallway in search of the gymnasium.
"This is stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid."
"Kyouka," Izuku interrupted her as he made a turn down into the next hallway, "repeating it won't make it any less stupid. Wait, there!" Izuku pointed down the hall to a large set of double doors. They ran down the hall, opening the doors to find a large gymnasium before them. No windows in sight. "Perfect. Alright, c'mon." They left the gym, going back down the hallway until it reached the intersection. With the front entrance back in sight, Izuku nodded, "Here's good. I'll head to the basement, see if I can find power cables."
"Okay, hurry. We don't have long."
Izuku didn't need to be told twice. He zoomed away down the nearest staircase in search of any utility closets. He found a door with an "Warning: Electrical Hazard. Authorized Personnel Only" sign on it. He opened the door. Finding a long row of powerboxes and thick cables running all over the wall.
"I found it!" Izuku yelled out the door, his voice echoing to the floor above.
"Okay!" Kyouka's muffled voice yelled back, "You better not die or I'm gonna kill you!"
"I'm not gonna die!" Izuku raised his hands out, his palms inches away from the cables, "...I think."
Izuku grabbed onto the cables, trying to think back on the feeling he had back when he absorbed Kaminari's electricity. He suddenly felt a piercing shock on his hands, a rush of power going up his arms and into his torso, spreading all throughout his body.
Kyouka looked up as the lights began to flicker, and the snapping sounds of sparks echoed from down the stairs. "Are you alright?!"
"Gr, y-yeah!" Izuku's voice echoed from the basement. "It's working! Just be ready!"
Kyouka took a deep breath, setting the BoomBox down and plugging herself in. "I hope everyone else is being smarter about this than us."
...~AIV~...
(Unforseen Simulation Joint)
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Ochako shouted as she hung on tightly to the railing. She and Aoyama had been so close to sneaking around Thirteen. But somebody's armor just had to creak loudly right at the exit. She turned to said 'somebody', panic in her eyes, "Do you have any ideas Aoyama?! Cause we've gotta big problem!"
"My powers emit from my navel. You see..." Aoyama bent his legs, his knee lasers pointed directed at Thirteen, "I see no problem!" A sparkling light shot out of his knees, heading directly towards their attacker. But, Thirteen sucked in his laser, nullifying it completely. "...Well, I tried, mon amie."
"Wh-?! C'mon, man!" Ochako groaned, looking around for anything they could use, only to find nothing. There had to be something they could do. 'C'mon, c'mon! What would Midoriya do? What would Jirou do?'
"Wait!" Aoyama suddenly yelled out to her, "You were just thinking, 'What would Izuku Midoriya do?' weren't you? Is it perhaps that you...like him?"
Ochako's eyes widened for a moment before turning into a confused peer, "What?! No!"
"Hmhmhm, I kne-...What?"
"Where'd that come from?!" Ochako shouted over the wind in her ears.
Aoyama was at a loss for words, genuinely stunned he was wrong, "Oh...Well, I...I just thought that..."
"Even if I did, I think it's pretty apparent that the spot is already taken, or at least reserved! Do you have any idea what Jirou would do to me if I tried?! I'll pass on the verbal beatdown!"
"I...suppose that's fair."
Thirteen shifted her eyes back and forth, watching the interaction go down. This was a test, but...it was kinda interesting.
"But, you were right. I was thinking about what they would do. Midoriya would probably just rush in head first, sacrifice himself in some way and miraculously win..." Ochako's eyes went wide, "...Oh my God, if this works."
Ochako suddenly let go of the guard rail they were hanging on to, flying straight towards Thirteen at alarming speeds. A speed that Thirteen clearly wasn't ready for. Ochako slammed directly into her professor, grabbing onto her arm and tackling them both to the ground. After quickly clicking the handcuff onto Thirteen's wrist, the buzzer above them went off, signaling their victory.
"...My inspirations are completely reckless maniacs, aren't they?"
...~AIV~...
"We're completely reckless maniacs." Kyouka sighed.
She put her headphones on, activating the sound canceling function, and turned on the BoomBox. Sound blasted out of her gear, echoing throughout the halls, outside of the building and into the streets outside. Kyouka quickly turned it off, threw the strap over her shoulder, placed her jacks in the ground, and waited.
It only took a couple of seconds to sense the strong vibrations coming closer to the building at alarming speeds.
"Yep, he definitely heard that." Kyouka turned around and yelled down the steps, "I'd say we've got about ten seconds before he shows up! How are we looking, Izuku?!"
Izuku grunted as he kept pulling more power into his body, his skin beginning to glow like a fluorescent bulb, "Th-This! Is! Actually! Really! Painful! But, what else is new in my life?!"
Kyouka nodded, making a dash for the gymnasium doors. She stopped at the doors, waiting for All Might to enter the building. She jumped as the front doors suddenly flew across the other end of the hall, signaling to her that All Might had officially entered the building.
"In here!" Kyouka shouted, shutting the doors and running further into the gym. She had to make sure Izuku wasn't found prematurely.
She made it to the other side of the court before the gym doors burst open, the towering powerhouse that was All Might walked into the room, a smile plastered wide on his face.
"Ah, there you are." He looked around, his brow furrowing at the lack of Izuku. "Hm? Just you? Don't tell me my top students didn't keep their promise of giving me a fight."
The lights above them began to flicker, and a buzzing sound began to grow louder and louder. Kyouka leaned to the side, looking past All Might and down the hall. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.
"N-Not, urgh! Exactly..." Toshinori turned around to see Izuku stumble into the gym, barely able to stand. He was glowing brightly, his skin radiant, and One For All's energy sparked all around him.
"What the he-?! Young Midoriya? What did you do?! Are you alright?!" Toshinori began making his way towards Izuku, worry in his eyes. But, Izuku saw it as a prime opportunity. Suddenly, he began to glow even brighter.
"Here we go!" Kyouka booked it, running straight into the supply closet behind her and shutting the door.
Izuku clenched his fists, his muscles tightening, "Lights. Out."
...~AIV~...
(Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's Testing Grounds)
From his position on the rooftops, Aizawa awaited his two students to make their way over to him. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in his peripheral vision. He looked over at the perimeter walls, seeing a bright flash from what appeared to be in Ground Gamma's direction.
The light poles on the streets below suddenly went out, and the small red lights lining the perimeter wall suddenly turned red. The backup power had been turned on.
Aizawa scoffed, shaking his head and putting his goggles on, "God-damn it, Midoriya."
But, Shouta had no time to dwell on it as he saw Yaoyorozu and Shoto appear from down below.
What the hell was he thinking letting them go up against All Might?
...~AIV~...
(Ground Beta: Middle School Replica Building)
Izuku's knees buckled, his arms were the only thing that kept him from face-planting on the floor. The room went completely pitch black. One wouldn't even be able to see their own hand in front of their face.
Kyouka rushed out of the supply closet, taking the Equalizer and slamming it on the ground as hard as she could. She focused in on the vibrations with her jacks, picking up on a rough location of Izuku and All Might. All Might practically took that blast directly to the face. He was further back than before, near the end of the court. He tried to get back up, but stumbled to the side.
"Eighty degrees to your right!" Kyouka shouted as she dropped the Equalizer and reached for the BoomBox.
Izuku grunted as he got up, then rushed forward blindly. Thankfully, Kyouka's location was accurate. Izuku collided with All Might, grabbing the cuffs off of his belt and trying to find All Might's arm.
Unfortunately, but expectedly, Toshinori made it anything but easy. All Might swung down hard, hitting Izuku's right in the stomach. Doing his best not to vomit, Izuku took hold of the arm that punched him. All Might began swinging him around wildly with Izuku barely able to hang on. He couldn't cuff his teacher without risking flying straight through the nearest wall.
Kyouka felt around on the BoomBox, not wasting time in searching for the On-Button. She slammed her hand against the buttons, grateful to see the BoomBox light up again.
...But, it lit up with Hatsume's brand logo before it fully activated.
"Oh come on, Hatsume! Seriously?!"
"Kyouka!" Izuku shouted as All Might hit him against the floor. "Please for the love of all that's holy, hurry up!"
"I'm trying!" She plugged her jacks in as Hatsume's logo finally disappeared. "Got it! Izuku! Get out of the way!"
Izuku didn't even hesitate. He had taken enough of a beating as it was. He let go of All Might's arm as he was mid-swing. Izuku was thrown across the gym, sliding across the floor. He didn't bother trying to land properly, and instead focused on covering his ears as he rolled away.
~*sccccrreeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!*~
The soundwaves ripped across the gym, hitting All Might square on. Kyouka shut off the BoomBox, turning back towards Izuku. "At your one o'clock! Full speed ahead!"
Izuku nodded at Kyouka's outline that he could barely see from the glow of the BoomBox. He rushed forward, cuffs at the ready. He made it to All Might, his shoulder hitting him directly in the abdomen. He reached out, finding All Might's arm instantly. He
"SMASH!!!"
Both teens were suddenly blown back as the roof above them was suddenly ripped away. Wind and debris rushed past them, and suddenly their vision was completely cleared up.
All Might had punched up, making a massive hole in the ceiling, and nearly lighting up the room completely.
Izuku's heart sank, "Oh..."
"Shit." Kyouka finished for him. That was absolutely not a part of the plan.
All Might groaned as he covered his ears. His body was still shaking from the vibrations, the sudden light was blinding, and his ears were still ringing. "Damn, I'm starting to really hate that thing."
Both teen's eyes landed on All Might's arm. The cuffs were dangling from Toshinori's arm. Izuku had managed to cuff him. But, it didn't count until both of All Might's wrists were cuffed, or the other end was secured around either Izuku or Kyouka's wrist.
Izuku was internally panicking, but he knew they couldn't stop. "He's still disoriented! This is our last chance!"
Bolting forward, Izuku reached out for the handcuffs, but was stopped dead in his tracks as All Might grabbed him by the wrist, raised him off the ground, and slugged him in the gut.
"I don't think so. Ugh, my head..." Toshinori used his free hand to reach up and remove the cuffs from his wrist.
"No!" Kyouka rushed forward, jumping up to latch onto All Might's arm. But, he grabbed her by the face, shoving her down onto the floor.
Izuku tried shoving his hand into the other end of the cuff with All Might distracted, but he couldn't latch them with only one hand. He tried one last time to discharge some sort of excess power, but he was tapped out. He barely had anything left to begin with, much less any usable excess power from his already worn out body.
Instead, Izuku grabbed onto the cuffs, keeping an iron grip on them so All Might couldn't get to them. He kicked down hard on his teacher's face, pushing as hard as he could to not only keep him at bay, but to lower his head closer to Kyouka. "Your hand speakers!"
Kyouka heard him, growling against All Might's palm as she was pushed into the gym floor. Her jacks snaked out, connecting to her hand speakers. She blasted as much sound out of her jacks that she could, and slammed both hands against All Might's ears.
A piercing ringing shot through All Might's head, a splitting headache hitting him hard. He dropped Izuku and released Kyouka from her pin, cradling his head as he stumbled backwards.
Kyouka groaned as she got up, rushing back towards her weapons. Izuku tried rushing All Might again, but barely managed to bend backwards, dodging a messy swing from All Might. He was swinging wildly in his dazed state, knowing they were coming for him.
"Izuku!" He turned around to see Kyouka sprinting towards him, tossing the BoomBox up in the air as hard as she could, taking the Equalizer and plugging her jack in.
Izuku caught the BoomBox and activated its hammer form. He reached his hand out for Kyouka to take. Gripping each other's forearms, Izuku swung her around and threw her towards All Might.
"DUET!!!" Kyouka hit All Might right across the face, causing him to fall to one knee.
"OF!!!" Izuku swung the BoomBox at 10%, his bones feeling as if they would shake apart at this point. He hit All Might right in the chest, sending him careening towards the back wall, causing a crater in the bricks to form.
The couple rushed towards All Might for the final blow, tossing and trading weapons as they ran. Kyouka plugged in, pounding pulses of sound exploding out of the hammer. They both swung simultaneously, hitting All Might with everything they had.
"SMAAASH!!!"/"SMAAASH!!!"
All Might was sent crashing through the wall, tumbling out onto the streets. As the dust and debris cleared, they saw All Might lying on his back, low groans escaping his body.
Izuku dropped his weapon, his hands on his knees as he panted, "Ah...Ah...Damn, I can't believe we actua-"
"CUFFS!!!" Kyouka bellowed, "CUFF HIM, IZUKU!!!"
"Ah! Right, right, right!" Izuku quickly zoomed out of the building, clicking the other end of the cuffs on All Might's left hand. He knew his mentor was likely more disoriented than actually hurt, but it was still a win.
At that point, Izuku wouldn't even be surprised if All Might just let them cuff him purely from being so proud.
...Or pity.
But, Izuku chose to believe the former.
*BZZZZT!!!*
The buzzer sounded from up above, sounding off their victory. They had passed.
Izuku felt like ten tons of stress was lifted off of his shoulders. He turned back to Kyouka, seeing her limp out of the building towards him. Izuku moaned in pain as he fell onto his back, "Why do you ever listen to me? Why did we do this? That was horrible! We could have just ran, but no! I just had to prove myself over a test!"
Kyouka dropped the BoomBox, falling face first onto Izuku's stomach, both more tired than they had ever been. Kyouka's voice came out muffled against his torso, "Keep going. I'm far too tired and in far too much pain to berate you myself."
"...Hehe...Kyouka...we did it."
She moved her head so she could look up at him, "At what cost?"
"Pain. So much pain, hehe! Oh, it hurts to laugh." He lazily put his hand on Kyouka's back, rubbing in slow circles as they laid there, neither having the energy to get up. "Hey, back there in the gym, did...did you also say 'Smash' when attacking?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," Kyouka shrugged, a blush blooming on her cheeks. "You do it, and we were attacking together, so...Do you not want me to?"
"What?! Not at all! I'd love it if you kept doing it! It's just...way hotter than I ever would have expected it to be."
"Ugh, oh God," The teens looked over at All Might as he sat up as expected: Completely fine. He raised his cuffed hands out to them, "Pretend take me to jail so I don't have to hear this anymore."
"We can't," Kyouka whined. "We can't even move."
"Hmhmhm," All Might chuckled. "Alright then." He stood up, shifting Kyouka over so that she was directly on top of Izuku, and picked the both up. "Now that's what I call a fight. I'm so proud of you two. You threw me for a couple of loops back there."
"I'm happy we were at least entertaining." Kyouka replied dryly as she laid limp against Izuku,"Since we stood zero actual chance, how much of that did you let us win?"
Toshinori chuckled, "Do you really wanna know?"
"You know what? I'll just take the victory, stop asking questions, and proceed to pass out."
"Good answer."
Both teens promptly slipped out of consciousness, resting in Toshinori's arms as he made the trek to Recovery Girl's monitoring room. He forgoed the bus, insteading making quick work of the trip with a short sprint. Once there, he entered the room, doing his best not to look at the stink-eye Chiyo was giving him. He placed them down in separate beds, sighing as his work was done.
*POOF*
Toshinori popped back into his regular form, stretching his arms out with a grunt as his pressurized weights fell to the floor. "...Okay, you can hit me now."
*THWACK*
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Recovery Girl yelled as she smacked Toshinori with her cane. "Were you trying to kill them, goading them into a fight like that?"
Toshinori rubbed the spot on his shoulder where Recovery Girl's cane hit as he sat down in the chair next to the camera monitors. "I regret nothing. I believed in them, and they surpassed my expectations. You see, they have a knack for doing that."
Chiyo sighed, "You all also have a knack for being reckless idiots."
"What can I say? I taught Young Midoriya well. Unfortunately, he spread it to Young Jirou, too."
"Ugh," Chiyo begrudgingly walked up to All Might and kissed his cheek, healing what little wounds he had. "I don't even know why I bother. I also don't know why you even bothered putting them in separate beds."
Chiyo pointed at the beds, showing All Might that at some point during their conversation, Kyouka had gotten up, entered Izuku's bed, and fallen back asleep.
Toshinori chuckled, "She was too tired to move, but still had the strength to do that?" He got up, walking over the beds and taking hold of the curtains. But, before he did, he gazed down at his successor. Izuku had a smile on his face as he slept. Granted, it might have been because of Kyouka's presence. But, Toshinori chose to believe that at least a part of the reason was because he was proud of himself. He smiled, placing a hand on Izuku's head and gently ruffled his hair, "Well done, my boy. Well done."
He gave an affectionate squeeze to Kyouka's shoulder as well. His pride in her mirrored that of his successor's. And, his gratefulness for her in Izuku's life, as well as his own, outshined them all.
With that, he closed the curtains, leaving them to rest in privacy.
...~AIV~...
(Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's Testing Grounds)
"Well, that was easy." Shouta shrugged as he looked up at the tied-up Todoroki hanging above on the power lines.
"Yaoyorozu! What are you doing?! Run for the exit!"
"Hm..." Shouta turned around, a brow raised at his other student as she stood just down the road from him. "You're not running."
Momo nodded with a shaky breath, "I'm aware."
"You know you can't escape now, right?"
"I'm still aware. I'm not going to freeze, and I'm not going to run."
"Hm...Alright then." Shouta quickly looped the cloth holding Todoroki up to the light pole next to him. "It's your grade, not mine."
Aizawa rushed forward, his scarf at the ready and quirk still active. Momo reached her hand back, reaching for the carrier on her belt. Her usual book was gone, left behind at the waiting area of the testing ground. Instead, she grabbed one of three canisters she made beforehand, pulling the pin and throwing it on the ground between her and her teacher.
Smoke exploded out of the cans, instantly shrouding the area in thick, dark gray clouds. Aizawa covered his eyes as it was blown into his face.
*Fwoosh*
Fire suddenly billowed from Shoto's arm, but only for a second. Unfortunately, Aizawa's bindings were made of resistant materials. But, Shoto's fire was strong enough to start a burn.
"He must've blinked. Yaoyorozu, keep distracting him."
Momo suddenly appeared from the smoke. She ran towards the light pole wrapped with Shoto's restraints. "I'm doing my best!"
Aizawa's scarf flew from the smoke and hooked Momo's foot, stopping her charge and tripping her. Aizawa leaped through the smoke, continuing his pursuit of his student.
Momo quickly grabbed the second canister on her back, but Aizawa wrapped more bindings around her hand and yanked her towards him. But, Momo stood her ground, dragging her feet against the concrete.
She threw her freehand forward, pulling the pin and dropping the canister. Aizawa saw Momo quickly shield her eyes, which instantly signaled to him that this wasn't another smoke bomb.
It had to be a flashbang. He had no choice but to shield his eyes as well, or he'd be open for far longer.
*BANG*
Momo used her short window of time to create a knife from her arm. She tried cutting the bindings around her arm, but it was too strong to cut quickly. Aizawa was already recovering.
"Todoroki! Get ready!" Momo threw the knife, aimed directly at the binding holding him above ground.
...Only for it to miss.
Shoto shifted his eyes around, "Was that a part of the plan?!"
"Ah!" Momo was yanked to the ground by Aizawa, "Uh, no!"
"Wh-?! I thought you trained with Edgeshot!"
Momo got up, finally yanking free from the bindings around her wrist.
"For a week! I'm not a ninja!"
*Fwoosh*
Another burst of fire from Todoroki's left side appeared, but only for a split second. Another blink. But, it was still enough for the bindings to start to burn, and give Shoto cause to struggle more against his restraints.
Aizawa had to admit, he was really struggling here. With Todoroki still nearby, he had to keep his quirk going as long as he could. His severely limited amount of blinks was beginning to affect him, his eyes screaming at him to close them. Yaoyorozu keeping up the pressure didn't give him any breathing room.
Maybe he could use Todoroki to his advantage.
He began to let Yaoyorozu go on the offensive and push him back with her strikes, using everything she learned from her time with Edgeshot. Shouta began dodging and defending as he moved towards the center of the street.
Once they were just under Todoroki, he threw himself backwards, finally giving his eyes the relief they needed. He shut off his quirk, and began to blink rapidly.
*Fwoosh*
Shoto's fire broke him free of his restraints, letting him land on the ground.
"Now!" Momo shouted.
*SHNK*
A massive ice attack was sent Shouta's way, but he was prepared. He jumped up, placing his feet on the approaching ice, and used the momentum to leap further away. Using his scar, Aizawa swung up onto a rooftop with a smirk on his lips. He quickly pulled out his eye drops, giving each eye a drop.
"They're behind the ice, and now the exit gate is behind me. Perfect." He put his goggles back on, crouching down as he waited for their next attack. 'She's gotten better. I was worried after the Sports Festival. I guess Edgeshot worked some magic before I could. Makes my job much easier. But, just attacking without a legitimate plan isn't like her. I'm sure she...What the hell?"
Aizawa suddenly saw a small object fly over the glacier. He watched it arch over the houses and landed on the streets below. He could recognize it as another gas canister. It suddenly burst open, spraying gas into the air and spreading fast.
"Hm, blindly throwing more smoke bombs? It's either a distraction, or..." He looked back up, watching as more gas canisters began flying over the glacier. They hit all around on the streets, a few hitting nearby rooftops. Shouta furrowed his brow in confusion, "Are they trying to hit me?"
...~AIV~...
(Other Side of the Glacier)
"You really think Mr. Aizawa will fall for it?" Shoto asked as he moved the catapult Momo created to fire at a different angle.
Momo set up another gas canister in the catapult, wiping sweat from her brow. "If he doesn't, then we can just go back to Plan A and run. Either he realizes it's not smoke bombs and we escape because he can't follow us, or he doesn't realize it and we capture him once he's incapacitated."
Momo popped out one more gas canister, nearling stumbling as she stood back up.
Shoto looked at her with some concern, "You okay?"
Momo nodded, slapping her cheeks to refocus, "I've created quite a bit today. I don't think I can do any more, so this better work. Alright, masks on." Momo handed Shoto his mask, and she then picked up the cloth she had made. "Let's go."
They ran around the ice formation, going around the houses until they found a straightaway. Thick clouds of the gas already covered the street. Momo threw the cloth over both of them, running down the road in a straight line.
Up above, Shouta chuckled to himself. It gave them decent cover, but the smoke didn't conceal his students for long. He watched as they ran down the street looking like two children dressing up as ghosts for Halloween.
"You know what? Sure." Aizawa ran on the rooftops, keeping light on his feet. "They can't see me, so I better not be heard either."
He jumped down towards the end of the street, right where most of the smoke spread slowed. Aizawa casually put his foot out, stepping on the corner of the cloth as his students ran by, causing it to slip off of them. He activated his quirk as soon as they were in his vision, throwing his bindings around them, and maneuvering them in such a way that his students became tied up back-to-back."
"Really? More smoke is irritating, sure. But, cloth? I guess I'll give you points for creativity, but that puts you at a serious disadvanta-...wait..." Aizawa froze as he saw what they were wearing. "...Gas masks."
Then, the effects finally hit him. Shouta suddenly began coughing, his lungs burning, his eyes stinging like hell.
"You're only half-right, Mr. Aizawa," Momo replied, "Only some of it was smoke."
Aizawa let go of the bindings; he had to get the hell out of there. But, it was too late. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Even when not in a concentrated amount of gas, the burn was just too strong.
He blinked. Just for a split-second he blinked.
But, that was all Todoroki needed.
*SHNK*
The ice hit Aizawa quickly, lifting him off of his feet and pinning him to the wall. He was already finished, there was no way out of the ice. So, he opted to hold his breath and close his eyes.
"Here, sir." Momo placed a mask on Aizawa's face, giving him at least some relief as the symptoms ran their course. "Sorry, Mr. Aizawa. It's not a pretty tactic, but one can't deny its effectiveness. At least you waited until we were out of the gas to attack. You were only hit by some of the lasting spread, so the effects shouldn't be too bad."
"Just cuff me and get me the hell out of here."
Todoroki walked up to the ice, using his left side to melt it until Shouta's hands were free. He clicked on the cuffs, causing the buzzer above to ring.
"We did it," Momo sighed, crossing her arms. "A few hiccups, but...Okay, quite a few hiccups."
Shoto shook his head, "Only because I should have followed you in the beginning. Not the other way around."
Momo scoffed, shaking her head, "I don't think I set a very good example for myself as the leading-type. Staying and fighting was reckless. I could have ran."
"You were trying to save me. Even when you messed up, you kept going. And, in the end, you had a plan. An impromptu plan based on the new situation I got us in, but still. I never even asked if you had one. I'm sorry for not trusting you."
"I-..." Momo felt tears spring into her eyes as she thought back to what Edgeshot had said to her during her internship. She took failure in stride, evaluated her situation, and she struck.
"Are you okay? Your eyes are watering, is your mask not working?"
"Oh!" Momo turned around, blinking the tears away, "No! No, it's just...Todoroki, you have no idea how much that means to me. I'll admit, sometimes I get the feeling you don't like any of us very much. But, then you say things like that."
Shoto knew she was crying, but played it off. He merely shrugged, "Our friend group is who I find most tolerable in the class."
"Hmm..." Momo nodded, "I'll take it."
Shoto cracked a small smile, "That was sarcasm."
"Oh! O-Of course. Forgive me, I guess I'm too used to Jirou's blatant use of it."
"Mhm," Shoto nodded, "Midoriya's closing in on that behavior, too, funnily enough."
Momo scoffed with a smile, "I think we all know why. I wonder when those two will just admit their feelings for one another."
Shoto turned away to hide his smirk, "Yeah, I wonder."
As Aizawa let his students chatter on, a voice suddenly appeared in his ear.
"You big softie," Aizawa heard in his earpiece. He had Recovery Girl on call at all times during the tests, just in case of emergency. "You knew it was tear gas. It has a peppery odor. You could smell it, couldn't you?"
"I was high up." Aizawa whispered, "I couldn't smell a thing."
"Mmhm. I better not hear you complaining at All Might for going easy on the other two."
"I make no promises, because I admit to nothing."
...~AIV~...
(Ground Omega)
~"SOMEONE CONSTANTLY SCREAMING IS PRETTY ANNOYING, HUH BAKUGOU?!?!"~
"I get it! I scream a lot! Fuck off!" Katsuki growled as he tried to ignore the ringing in his ears. He had to admit, Present Mic was sort of the antithesis of the enemies Katsuki typically fought. If he could get up close, the story would be different. But, they were placed far away from their teacher. Unless Katsuki wanted to go deaf right there and then, he couldn't blast his way over there. And, the asshole had planted himself right at their exit gate. Not to mention getting hit with that scream felt like slamming into a brick wall. Those soundwaves would send him straight into the dirt. Katsuki looked over to Koda, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. "What does your quirk do?"
Koda looked over at him in shock, surprised that Katsuki actually decided to talk to him. He began doing the proper sign language to explain his quirk, much to Katsuki's irritation.
"For fuck's sake. I don't know sign language!" Koda's shoulder drooped, but then he crouched down on the ground near a small patch of dirt. Using his pointer finger, he began to write. Katsuki looked down, following the words until his partner was finished. "You control animals? Wh-?! But there aren't any animals here! You're more useless than I thought."
Koda's eyes flashed with hurt, but he didn't back down. He remembered what Aizawa had said to him earlier. Katsuki might have been a steamroller, but he couldn't let him roll all over him. He began writing in the dirt again, catching Katsuki's attention.
Katsuki looked down, his eyes going wide as he read the words "Jerk" in the dirt.
"Yeah, join the club of people who don't like me around here. I think you have to get approval from Earlobes first, though. I didn't ask to be paired up with you."
Back when Deku was a little bug he could cru-...
Bug.
Katuski saw a big rock a few feet from them. He got up and blasted the rock apart, revealing dozens and dozens of insects crawling around in the dirt.
"Hey! Does your quirk also work on bu-...?" Katsuki turned around to find Koda nowhere in sight. He looked around until he found his partner hiding behind a tree, pure fear on his face as he looked down at the insects. "No. No, for the love of all that's holy! You're afraid of bugs?! It's just one thing after another with you, isn't it?! You wanna fight criminals with superpowers, yet you're afraid of tiny bugs?!"
Koda looked away embarrassed, unable to explain his irrational fears. Katsuki watched Koda's body language, his mind suddenly filled with images of Deku back in middle school. Aizawa had compared him to Koda earlier, and it was pissing Katsuki off that he was thinking about it so much. Maybe it was just that kind of meek attitude Katsuki didn't like. Then again...
Katuski looked back down at the insult written in the dirt. Clearly like Deku, there was some kind of fire hidden deep down. And, just as with Deku, Katsuki was the reason it was being smothered. He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.
"Look, I know..." Katsuki growled, correcting himself, "knew someone like you. Shy. Almost never spoke a word in class. Did his very best to never stand out. I thought he was useless. Weak. Couldn't even stand up for himself if he tried. Turns out, much to my never-ending irritation, he wasn't so useless. It pissed me off to no end, still does. But, I can't deny his strength. He's stronger than anyone else was at our piece of shit school. Except me. But, turns out I was wrong about him. So, for both our sakes, I better be wrong about you. You don't like how I talk to you? You really wanna pass this test? Then get the fuck up, and prove to me how strong you are. I don't hate you. I hate useless people. Are you useless?"
Kota blinked a few times at the sudden info drop from Katsuki before nervously shaking his head.
"Then tell those bugs to find Present Mic, and FUCK HIM UP!"
Koda's expression turned steely as he stood up straight, puffing up his chest as he walked over to the bugs and breathed in deep. Koda hopped down onto his knees, his body shaking with fear as he forced himself to speak.
"Go forth, little ones! Please help us take down that big bad noise! Don't you wanna make it go away too?! We can do it together! Just don't hurt him! Scare him a bit!"
"Woah! Holy shit, you can talk?!"
"Don't worry about that! Here's our chance!"
...~AIV~...
(Other Side of the Testing Area)
Mic cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back, "Damn, I hope they're actually making progress over there. I should probably send a few more waves their way though, That Bakugou is one stubborn kid. Gotta force him to actually work with his partner." Suddenly, Mic felt something on his hand. He raised his hand up to find a ladybug on his hand. "Aw, where'd you come from, little guy?"
Suddenly, another one landed next to the first bug...then another...and another...Mic then heard buzzing, clicking, dirt moving. He looked down to see thousands of bugs crawling at his feet, and beginning to climb his leg.
Present Mic sat with a blank expression as he breathed in deep, "...AaaaaaauuuuUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
An explosion erupted from deep in the woods. Katsuki, with Koda in tow holding onto his foot, flew through the air like a torpedo aimed directly at Present Mic. Katsuki grabbed Mic's face, covering his mouth as he took him along for the ride. All three rocketed out of the exit gate, finally hitting the ground and rolling until they stopped.
The buzzer above rang, telling them that they had passed the test. Katsuki groaned as he got back up. He looked down at his teacher and chuckled. Mic had passed out from pure terror.
Koda got back up as well, leaning down towards the insects, "That's enough, little ones. Thank you all." The insects crawled off of MIc's body, crawling back towards the gate to go back to their homes.
"Hm..." Katsuki hummed, turning towards Koda, "Not bad."
Kota smiled, extending a hand out to Katsuki.
Katsuki looked at his hand, but turned to walk out of the gate. "Don't push it, Geodude."
Kota nodded, signing "Fair enough" and following Katsuki out of the testing zone.
...~AIV~...
(One Hour Later: Recovery Girl's Monitoring Room)
Izuku awoke to the feeling of Kyouka's breath on his neck. He opened his eyes to see the top of his jumpsuit unzipped, bandages and ice packs wrapped in bindings covered his torso. His nose had a tight bandage on the bridge, putting on pressure and stopping any more bleeding. He looked down at Kyouka, seeing her jacket was gone and she had been given the same treatment as him. He brushed her bangs to the side, seeing a bandage on her forehead from where she cut her head on the ground.
"Sorry, by the way." Izuku looked up at the sudden words, seeing All Might sitting next to Recovery Girl in front of the camera monitors. "Hitting her head against the ground was unnecessary. It was the heat of the moment."
Izuku chuckled, "Tell that to her."
All Might chuckled, standing up and walking towards the bed, "I'll be sure to do that once she wakes-Ow!" Toshinori rubbed the spot on his side where Kyouka's jack had suddenly shot out and jabbed him. "I guess I deserve that."
Recovery Girl nodded as she walked up next to him, "Yes, you do."
"Mmph..." Kyouka groaned, shifting further into Izuku's side as her jack retracted to her ear, "Too much talking."
"Nuh-uh, up and at 'em. I can't have you sleeping in here all day." Recovery Girl walked over to Izuku, kissing his forehead, allowing her healing to wash over him.
Izuku sighed in relief, beginning to take off his bandages, "Thank you. How'd you do all this without waking us up, anyway?"
Chiyo chuckled, picking up Kyouka's hand from Izuku's chest. "I've been doing this for decades. I have my ways."
She kissed Kyouka's hand, causing the teenager to sigh as she sat up, "Fine. But, you know that he and I will find our way back into your office one way or another."
"I'm well aware," Chiyo deadpanned as she walked back over to the monitors. "But, everybody else has finished their tests. You're lucky I've kept your friends from coming in here and seeing you two together like that. I can't keep Aizawa away though. He wants to speak with everybody about their tests, and you two are the only one's left. A quick review, of sorts."
"A review? Crap, we better get outta here before Aizawa has a chance to chew us out."
"Been here the whole time, actually."
"Ah!"/ "Ah!" Both teens jumped in surprise to see their homeroom teacher leaning against the door, his arms crossed.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Problem Lovebirds." Both teens quickly got out of bed as Aizawa walked to the front of the rooms to stand in front of the screens.
After they walked over to him, Kyouka leaned over and whispered, "Who knows? I think he'll actually be impressed."
Aizawa pulled out a remote, pressing a button so that their test footage began to play on the monitors behind him, "What the hell was any of that?!"
Izuku turned to Kyouka, "Impressed, huh?"
"Shut up," Kyouka deadpanned.
Aizawa paced back and forth in front of the camera monitors, "What exactly made either of you think staying and fighting was a good idea?"
The couple looked at one another, each looking for some sort of answer, but coming up with nothing. Kyouka turned back to her teacher with a shrug, "If you give us a couple minutes, I'm sure we can make up a believable excuse."
"If I may..." All Might, standing off to the side, interjected, "To be honest with you, Eraserhead, I was the one that goaded them into staying and fighting me. I wanted to see their improvements in battle. They've come a long way, I'll tell you that. Besides, if they're going to be a duo, they should know how to fight as a unit."
"Of course you did," Shouta sighed, "But, they should also understand their chances in a battle. Even together, and while you're holding back and handicapped, you outrank them thousands of times over. They technically didn't even beat you. They just cuffed you. Something that I'm convinced you let happen."
All Might shrugged, "Like we all agreed, I was to hold back. They have every right to a chance at succeeding in whatever way they see fit. The rules are they can cuff the villain, or escape. We're not allowed to deny them one of those options. If I was a villain at around the level of power I was pretending to be at, I'd be down for the count. No doubt about it. They thought themselves capable of beating me, and they did. So, I'd say that's at least decent decision-making."
"U-Uh, we honestly thought we stood no chan-Mmph!" Kyouka quickly slapped a hand over Izuku's mouth.
"Yep! Complete confidence the entire time! We knew all along." Aizawa simply stared at them, clearly losing patience with the conversation. "...We passed with full marks, right?"
"You both made an extremely questionable decision," Aizawa sighed.
"But, we passed with full marks, right?"
"Well, yes, bu-"
"We'll take it! Run, Izuku!"
"Stop," Aizawa said sternly, stopping them from moving. He shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the control table, "...All I want is for you two to be safe. Now, believe me, I know very well that's a stupid thing to ask for in this profession. Especially from you two. But, after the USJ, the Sports Festival, and the Hero Killer, I've become fully aware that you two jump into situations that are way over your heads. Odds are it's going to happen again. So, I am willing to admit, having you two fight well above your paygrade was a large part of the reason I chose All Might as your opponent. But, I honestly didn't expect this outcome."
"Well, w-we did try to run at first. It's just tha-"
"Hold on," Aizawa stopped him, "While I do think it's incredibly stupid to stay and fight someone like All Might, I am impressed." Kyouka's gaze whipped over to Izuku, her jaw dropped. "I told you that my expectations of you two are higher now that you've decided to be a duo. You didn't run. Fine, we're well past that. What about my expectations of you two in a fight? And, I have to say, well done. While not perfect, you were synchronized, you were quick on your feet, and you never abandoned one another. I said that love in duos can become complicated. However, so far, your care for one another makes you more determined and stronger. I implore you to be smarter next time. We'll discuss that further in the future, but...keep up the good work."
The couple smiled, both bowing as they said, "Thank you, sir."
"Now get the hell out of here. I expect both of you on that bus to camp next month."
Kyouka pumped both fists in the air, "Summer vacation!" She jumped up on Izuku's back, pointing towards the door, "Onward to being literally anywhere, but school!"
"A-A little warning next time!" Izuku complained, but with a laugh threatening to break out from behind his voice. They zipped off in a flash of green light, headed straight for the main building to change clothes and head home.
Toshinori shot both hands in the air as well, "Yeah, summer vacation! Wooo-!"
"We still have paperwork to do," Shouta cut him off.
All Might put his hands down, popping back into his civilian form and slumping his shoulders, "Awww. Having a job is no fun."
"It's really not."
...~AIV~...
A/N: Okay, summer vacation officially begins.
I've got quite a lot to cover before we get to camp. Like...a lot.
So, bear with me, but I've been excited to start summer for a long time now. Anyone that's been around the Discord server has seen me talk about some stuff for over a year.
I hope you enjoyed.