I walked to the training grounds with the rest of the girls, managing not to be late despite the time we had wasted talking in the changing room. Walking through the large gates of the faux city, I looked up and around. It resembled a real city, only missing the people. But having training grounds look like this made a lot of sense, a majority of battles take place in this kind of environment. A majority of the boys were already gathered in front of All Might, waiting for everyone else to arrive. And luckily enough we weren't the last ones, barely avoiding a telling off.
"This lesson will be very different from what we did during your first foundational hero studies class. Rather than working indoors, you'll be working outdoors, using this new environment. But something you need to be aware of is that normally there would be civilians, especially in a populated area like this. So, with this in mind, keep damage to a minimum," he announced, his large hands resting on his hips. Everyone seemed to nod, listening carefully to the number one hero.
"Now, I want you all to get into groups of three for this exercise. You will work with your group and try to get other teams out. The way you do this is to incapacitate one member of their team and they will all be out. With this mind, it's best to choose others who have quirks that work well with your own. Now, get into teams and then I'll let you know when you can start".
I started off by looking around, trying to figure out who I would work best with. But I stopped when I noticed someone standing beside me.
"Oh, Sero, I didn't see you there," I admitted, turning to fully face him. He chuckled, having his visor open so I could see his face.
"Yeah, I came over after you and saw this spot so I just decided to stand here. You don't mind, do you?" he asked, his hand moving to the back of his neck. I shook my head.
"No, I don't mind at all. Anyway, do you want to be on my team? I think our quirks will work well together, I mean we both have good maneuverability in this kind of environment," I pointed out, feeling nervous. I knew that Sero didn't mind me because he had invited me to sit with him and his friends at lunch. I hoped that meant he would want to be on the same team as me as well. But his widened smile made me feel relieved.
"Sure, I mean I was probably gonna ask if you hadn't asked me just now," he laughed. I couldn't help myself from smile along with him, his happy mood was quite contagious.
From there we only needed one more person to be in our team, our eyes scanning the surrounding students to find someone who was alone. But my search was cut short when I saw two pairs of red eyes looking in my direction. Both Bakugou and Kirishima approached us, the red-head giving a wide smile while his companion huffed and turned his face to the side.
"Hey, (L/n)!" Kirishima called, lifting his hand to wave at me. I returned the wave, watching them as they drew closer.
"Wanna join our team?" he asked, gesturing to himself and Bakugou. I would've liked to be on their team as well, being fond of both of the boys even if Bakugou was being shitty. But I had already found myself a team member so I felt bad having to refuse their offer.
"Sorry, I already teamed up with Sero. We're only looking for one more person to join us," I excuse, picking up on the glare Bakugou shot at Sero. The boy with the tape quirk gave an awkward grin, sweat-beading on his forehead as he endured the ash blonde's deadly look.
"You're only looking for one person, let me join your team!" Kaminari interjected, no one noticing him until now. I guessed that he had only just shown up because he didn't walk over with Kirishima and Bakugou. Not having any objections, I opened my mouth to speak and allow him to join since we only needed one more person. But before I could get a single word out, Bakugou had a firm hold on the back of the blonde's jacket, pulling him back and way from me and Sero. Kirishima laughed before rushing after his friends, sending myself and Sero a wave before disappearing behind another group of students.
From there, Sero and I continued to search for a third team member, being unsuccessful. By this time it looked like a majority of people were in groups, All Might helping create groups due to indecisiveness. This meant there were some unlikely groups, students being grouped with others they didn't know all too well. I was aware of this possibility, not having a problem with working with someone I didn't know all that well. I just hoped that whoever they were, they would have a quirk which would match well with mine and Sero's.
Continuing to look around, I met eyes with someone else's. Their indigo orbs seemed to sparkle as they struck a pose which in his eyes may have looked cool, but to anyone else looked ridiculous. I knew his name was Aoyama and that his quirk related to a laser he shoots from his belly button, but other than that I didn't know anything else about him. He was a strange guy and it didn't look like he had any friends in class, I personally didn't have anything against him though. Leaning closer to Sero, I caught his attention, getting him to follow where my gaze was directed, seeing the posing blonde boy.
"What about Aoyama?" I asked, wanting to know if Sero had some insight on him. He hummed as he thought before he shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know much about him but he hurts himself when he uses his quirk, he'd be a liability if he was on our team. And since your team gets out when one person is caught, it'd be hard to fight and watch out for him at the same time," he pointed out. I nodded, understanding what he meant. There was no way to sugar coat it but if Aoyama was on our team, he would just be in the way.
"Alright everyone, are you all in teams of three?" All Might announced, looking over everyone, noticing how Sero and myself stood in a group of two. His eyes then scanned the crowd of students, gaze locking onto the only person who hadn't yet found a group.
"Aoyama my boy, could you join Sero and (L/n)'s group?" the number one hero asked. Aoyama reacted immediately, heading over to where I stood. He took the spot on the other side of me, sending me a wink. Not knowing how to react, I returned my attention to All Might as he continued speaking.
"Now I'll give you some time to speak within your teams about how you would like to tackle this challenge. Before I let you start, I just want you to think about how this relates to a real-life scenario. With groups of heroes working together, you aren't all going to be top fighters. You may have others with quirks which provide support, this means that their objective is to help the fighters whether that's by healing or providing them with information during their mission. Even though you may think of those support heroes to be "liabilities", they are absolutely necessary for your missions. This is why you need to be able to protect them because if they're caught, the villain gets the upper hand with a hostage, giving them the advantage. Here you will act as heroes and everyone outside of your group will be the villains to you. To take down a group you will only need to capture one of their team members, once you have them restrained they will be out. You are more than welcome to spend the time running away, but it is encouraged to try and take out the other teams. Now, break off into your groups and discuss!" he announced, everyone turning to face their groups.
I met Sero's gaze before we both turned to look at our new team member. Aoyama sparkled as he sent us both smiles.
"Aoyama Yuga, the pleasure is yours," he greeted, striking another pose. Sero and I raised an eyebrow at his strange antics but decided to act as if it hadn't happened.
"Hey, I'm Sero," the raven-haired boy introduced, offering his hand to the blonde. Aoyama didn't hesitate in taking it, giving him a firm shake. Then both boys turned to look at me, pressuring me to speak.
"My name's (L/n)," I said, feeling a little awkward. Not knowing what else to do, I held out my hand to Aoyama, hoping he'd shake it and get this introduction over with. And he did take my hand, but I can tell you that he didn't shake it. Sero and I watched wide eyes as Aoyama, lowered his head, his lips meeting with the back of my hand. It was an action neither of us had seen coming, it also seemed like other groups had noticed as well, those students watching to see what would happen next. Instinctively, I pulled my hand back and let out some awkward laughter.
"Okay, that's enough of that," I panicked, saying whatever came to mind. Aoyama continued to smile at me, striking another pose which he used to accentuate the sparkle of his wink. Despite the awkward atmosphere, it didn't seem like the blonde had picked up on either mine or Sero's discomfort. Moving his hand to the back of his neck, Sero took a look around at the surrounding groups.
"We should really start coming up with a plan for this," he brought up, reminding me of the reason we were out here to begin with. Having a brief idea of what the group's strengths were, I decided to be the first to chime in.
"First, because of my quirk and Sero's we can use the rooftops," I brought up, the two boys coming closer as we began discussing our plan.
"Yeah, I thought about that before, but what about Aoyama?" Sero pointed out. I turned to look at the boy, having him stare back at me expectingly. Sighing, I turned back to Sero.
"We'll have to take turns carrying him." Sero looked unsure but agreed.
"I guess we'll have to, there's no other way around it. Anything you can offer?" The boy with the tape quirk asked Aoyama. He gave a determined nod as he straightened up, placing his hands on his hips to emphasis the belt he wore.
"Oui, my quirk," he announced. Taking a glance at Sero I could tell that he was really worried about this, it was as we had said earlier, if Aoyama was on our team he would be a liability.
"But don't you hurt your stomach if you use it too much?" I brought up, heat rushing to the blonde's cheeks. It was obvious that it embarrassed him and I felt a little bad since he had a lot of pride, not that other's in class recognised him for it.
"So don't push yourself, you can be a... um I dunno, our wild card? Right, you can be our wild card. If either Sero or I am in trouble, you gotta have our backs, okay?" I watched as his confidence immediately returned.
"What about the other groups? Are there any you think you couldn't take on?" Sero asked me, ignoring Aoyama who was happily sparkled as he talked to himself about being the wild card, occasionally incorporating random french words. I took another look at the teams, my eyes first landing on a team of Iida, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. The raven-haired girl was a strange addition to the group but I wasn't as focused on that aspect. Giving it some thought, I came to a verdict.
"If we come across them we should definitely try and take them out. And if we aren't strong enough then we can easily use the rooftops to get away."
"What about the others?" Sero asked, eyes locking onto Bakugou's group. My eyes followed his, watching Kirishima trying to calm the ash-blonde down who was trying to get Kaminari.
"I'd say that if we come across Tokoyami's group or Bakugou's, we avoid them. The same for Todoroki's, let's not bother with that. We'll take on Ashido, Ojiro or Iida's teams but if we come across the others then it would be best to flee, what do you think?" I asked, wanting input. The boys nodded in agreement, the three of us being caught off guard by All Might's loud voice.
"And now go!"
Everyone, having only registered that it was time to go ran further into the city, each group separating from each other. Running, Sero pointed at one of the building's roofs.
"Let's go up there," he suggested. I nodded, glancing over as Sero slung Aoyama over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before shooting his tape out to wrap around a pole on the roof. I repelled off the ground, shooting up and onto the roof, Sero landing next to me.
"Where to now?" I asked, Sero and I continuing to run, leaping over gaps between buildings. We kept running, not fearing that anyone would be able to keep up with us. That is until Sero and I noticing Aoyama saying something.
"T-Toko-ya To-to-ya," he stuttered out, sounding fearful.
"Huh? What is it?" Sero asked, his voice distorted due to the helmet he wore. Aoyama kept trying to say it, making me look back at what he was seeing. My eyes locked onto exactly what the blonde was muttering about.
"It's Tokoyami!" he managed to get out, watching as the bird-headed boy charged at himself and Sero at full speed. My eyes widened as I watched him get dangerously close to Sero, my body moving on its own to do whatever I could to stop him. The glowing green of my shield covered all three of us as soon as I touched Sero's arm, protecting him just as Dark Shadow was about to get in range. And then it happened, something that I had never had my quirk do before.
A shock wave emitted from my shield, repelling everything from us in every direction.
I have a couple of things I want to introduce as part of (Y/n)'s quirk. It's just this that I'm introducing now which I will into further detail soon and also what I introduced earlier in the chapter where she met with Iida, about how her quirk has sensory abilities. Other than that, there isn't much more to her quirk. Wouldn't want to make it too complicated or else it gets too messy and the character gets too OP. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading :)