Mina and I walk back into the observation room celebrating our easy win, and right into a discussion about whether or not we really 'won' the match spearheaded by Mr. Roboto.
"They failed to protect the bomb! More than that, they actively destroyed it!" He chops his arm in Momo's direction. "Had this been a real scenario, as we were supposed to treat it as, then everyone would have perished! They took advantage of the fact that it wasn't real in order to apprehend the hero team!"
"Exactly, nya~." Hearing me, everyone turns towards the two of us, various people giving us thumbs up and others shooting us disapproving looks. Not that it matters to me though~. My clan stands with me, and that's what matters.
"What kind of villains would nyat take any advantages they could? And for nya 'killing everyone' part?" My ears and tail flick dismissively. "If a villain gets their paws on a nuke and stays with it in the middle of a city, do mew really think they'll care about dying along with everyone else?"
He stays silent, along with the rest of the class. At least until it's broken by Midorinya. "That's if the bomb is even real in the first place." At the questioning looks sent his way, he explains. "If someone managed to steal a nuke, they'd definitely be smart enough to have a second location to serve as a trap."
He raises a finger as he explains. "So if your main issue is them not taking the exercise 'seriously', then just think of it as a scenario where the villains have led the heroes into a trap." A shrug. "I doubt it's going to be all that uncommon when we become pros. Other than, you know, the nuke part."
Ass Might chooses now to interject. "THAT IS CORRECT, YOUNG MIDORIYA! WHEN THEY FIRST ENACTED THEIR PLAN, I WAS HESITANT TO ALLOW IT. BUT YOUNG AKIHIRO MADE A GOOD POINT WHEN YOUNG ASHIDO QUESTIONED HER!"
He looks at us all with a serious expression. But his face always looks serious, so there's not really any change. "VILLAINS WILL NOT PLAY BY THE RULES. THAT'S PART OF WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED 'VILLAINS' IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
Momo nods. "Which means that Catia is the MVP of the match due to her immersion in her role, as well as the impeccable strategy she implemented."
"Don't forget about Mina! Her and her acid are what stopped Todoroki and Shoji in the first place. Without that, the plan wouldn't have worked at all!" The two of us can't help but bask in the praise heaped upon us by Momo and Toru. At least until Midorinya's social obliviousness rears its head again, though he has gotten better at it since I've met him.
"Speaking of Mina's acid, you managed to combine it with your cats, right Catia? From what we could see from here, you basically just had them drink it, and then they could move it around inside their bodies, as well as exude it from wherever they wished. Though it is curious that your mage cats were able to push it into their energy balls, considering that they originate outside their bodies. Maybe instead of the energy gathering from the air around, it originates from the cats themselves? Or do they simply maintain a connection with the energy balls, and forced the acid through that connection? And why didn't the acid melt through the cats? Oh, and also-"
"DON'T FORGET TO BREATH, YOUNG MIDORIYA!" Midorinya just looks at him, confused. Apparently he's not familiar with the ridiculousness that is Izuku Midorinya. I'm still suspicious of his and his mother's crying capabilities, as well as how he's able to pull out a notebook no matter where he is or how he's dressed. And we can't forget how his mutterings seem to have a different, stronger set of lungs devoted to them.
I'm not ruling out that they're remnants of quirks his family's had in the past which remain today. Any time he calls me ridiculous for having that theory, I simply show him the picture of that time he flooded a karaoke booth when Himiko decided she trusts him enough to show him what she really looks like.
Apparently he was incredibly touched by the gesture, and we ended up needing to pay for the water damage his tears caused to the furniture.
Anyways... "I think the acid didn't melt the cats because they're nya'd out of energy? And she didn't nya acid that was too potent, right?" I look at Mina for confirmation, getting a nod.
"Yeah, it's not like we're trying to hurt them too badly. Just enough that they know not to underestimate us just because we're cute!"
She looks so proud of herself when she says that. But I remember the smile she had when she poured acid down my cats' throats. Giving into temptation, I reach up and scratch behind one of her horns.
But it seems like that area is more sensitive than I thought since she makes a small 'eep' sound and hops to the side, a blush turning her cheeks purple. "D-don't touch my horns!" Seeing her flustered, I exchange smug looks with a smirking Toru as my tail sways side-to-side.
Looks like I have something to pay her back for when she tries to play with my ears or tail now~.
The rest of the matches are... interesting, after I established that villains can basically do what they want as long as they can justify that it's applicable in a real scenario. The match after ours isn't one I care too much about since none of my Cats are involved, but Lu- *cough* Tokoyami and Kaminari win as the heroes after Dark Shadow gets hit by his quirk in a friendly fire incident, only to realize that it remained inside of him. After that it was simply a matter of getting him-her? It?- to touch Ojiro and Sato in order to transfer the shock to them.
By this point Todoroki and Shoji return from the nurse's office with no sign of the burns on their bodies other than parts of their costumes missing. Praise be to Recovery Girl~!
Momo's match is interesting. She's partnered up with Aoyama, and they basically set up a laser maze for Sero and Jiro. Fun fact, Aoyama's laser won't dissipate if it doesn't hit something. But all Jiro has to do is use her support gear to send out a soundwave and break one of the mirrors to take down the whole setup.
Good thing Momo took my match to heart. A flashbang set off in the room with the bomb takes the hero team by surprise, letting them capture them without any problems.
The last match of the day finishes off with Toru and Tsu as the heroes vs Mineta and Kirishima as the villains. Honestly, it's the most boring match of them all. Mineta layered his balls all over the floor to try and trap the girls, but...
After taking off her gloves and boots, Toru just stepped around them, and Tsu can apparently stick to the walls and ceiling. So the trap wasn't that effective. Especially since he apparently popped off too many and started bleeding. Child sized people are not effective in hand to hand combat. Not that it even gets to that point. After Tsu lures Kirishima away, Toru just walks into the room and touches the bomb.
While changing in the locker room, I can't help but comment to the others. "It's funnya that the only real injuries were Todoroki and Shoji."
Mina snorts. "That's cuz you were the one to start everyone on the whole 'combining moves and making traps' thing!"
I shrug. "It just makes the most sense, nya. Though I didn't expect them to lose so easily. I was looking forward to a good cat-fight." I tap my chin after pulling on my shirt. "I haven't seen Coach recently either, nya. I wonder if he's picked up any more strays to train."
"Coach?" Toru questions.
I flick my tail dismissively. "The purrson who taught me how to fight. Can't rely on your quirk all the time, nya."
I bet Himiko has been having a blast going out and hunting. I wonder when that job she talked about is happening? Maybe I can sneak out and join in?
Thank you Hedgeboar and Andre Mcfarlane for the support!