" Listen, you underlings!" Bakugo announced proudly. " Just follow me!"
" The typical plan." Whisper sighed deeply and shook his head.
" I'll take the lead and head upward. You guys just get ready to support me." He pointed at Jiro. " Ears! Make sure you keep listening for the positions of the small fries!"
" Not 'Ears'! Jiro!" She replied in indignation.
" And you, egg head!" Whisper blinked when Bakugo turned to him. " You help with the scouting too! We don't need useless luggage!"
" Who are you calling luggage!" Whisper fumed and was waving his fists at him, unable to reach him for Yuu wouldn't let him.
" Are you going to attack, Bakugo?" Asked Sero unsurely. " The other team has people really good at counterattacks. Since we've got Jiro, let's wait until we have an opening."
" I agree with Sero-san," Yuu added. " We should try to watch their teamwork first and put a plan against-"
"Idiots." Sero and Yuu backed a little. " That's why we have to take the initiative. Don't wait for an opening. Move and make your own. If we can see them, then we've won. Got it?"
He nonchalantly threw a bunch of grenades and each fumbled to catch one before it hit the ground and probably tore them all apart.
" Whoa! That's dangerous!" Jiro complained.
" Take those just in case. They don't have much power but they can be useful. And..." His face was beyond that of seriousness. " When you guys are in danger, I'll save you! And when I'm in danger, you guys save me!"
" Huh?" Whisper shoved one finger where his ear was supposed to be. " Did... did I hear it right? You said to save you?"
" That's how a really strong team wins! With no casualties! Then that's the best route to victory!"
" But-" Yuu gagged the ghost who wriggled in disapproval of the way he was handled.
I see. Yuu stared at the blond. The fight with Midoriya-san changed him after all.
" One more thing!" Bakugo glared at Yuu. " Baggy eyes, I don't care what may have happened between you and feather head, but that's outside these grounds! Don't you dare lose focus!"
He knows? That was quite surprising. Bakugo could tell they still weren't on the best of terms despite them acting normal.
" Hey, stop picking on him!" Said Sato.
" No, that's fine, Sato-san." The boy looked back at Yuu just as he slapped both his jaws hard as if trying to awaken himself. He is right, I've made up my mind after all. I can't keep brooding over that.
" Seijin!?"
" Yuu..."
" Tch, as long as you get it, that's fine." Bakugo snorted and walked away.
Yuu looked down as he recalled Sora's match, and he clenched his fists tightly. I can't show a dismal performance after seeing Sora's. She had put her all on supporting her team, I will do the same.
As they were given the signal, they rushed after Bakugo, Whisper ventured deep through the maze of the pipes, trying to scout their route. " Nothing," he said as he rejoined Yuu and the rest. " The path ahead is as empty as an abandoned shack."
" You're useless in the end!" Bakugo scoffed and Whisper ground his teeth furiously. " Why didn't you bring the large bird!?"
" Thunderbird can't move freely around here," Yuu answered him. " Plus, thanks to being large he would be spotted easily... and I won't dare put you together in a team." The last part was a murmur for himself.
" What was that!?"
" Nothing!"
" Why should we follow him?!" Whisper grunted.
"He's cooperating, anyway," Jiro said.
As Bakugo was taking the vanguard, Kyubi kept close behind him, dithered only by the net of pipework slowing her down. " He's fast, you've got to give him that. Not to mention his agility." Yuu had to agree. Regardless of his personality, Bakugo's skills were stellar, he was a natural.
Yuu's eyes widened by a fraction when he saw something moving ahead. It seemed Bakugo noticed as well for he halted, shouting at Jiro to listen on. " Strange. Didn't you say the path was empty?"
" It was. I saw no one there." But Yuu could hear sounds, faint yet audible, like thudding. And they were closing in on them. He glanced back at Jiro who seemed to grapple with them as well. It can't be...
" She got me!"
As I thought!
" And it's over." Bakugo spun around to see a disembodied mouth floating right behind him. He flung his arm at it and it flew away.
" Yuu! There!" Yuu looked up to see an eye ogling down at them from mid-air.
" The delinquent is under attack!" Whisper pointed at Bakugo being pelted with a swarm of Tokage's body pieces.
" Sero-san!"
" Already ahead of you!" He shouted wrapping his tape around them, creating some kind of net around them as protection. Yuu and Sero fell back to its middle.
This will limit their moves.
" Bakugo, over here!" But Bakugo was still trying to escape the persisting pieces.
" And it's over!"
" Up there!" Whisper pointed as Bondo splashed his glue upon them. And thanks to the net of tape it became like a spiderweb.
"We're trapped!" Sero groaned in frustration just as Yuu stepped off Kyubi's back.
" It's just glue!" He reminded them. " We only have to dry it up!"
" How?" Jiro asked.
" There was another reason I didn't want to bring Thunderbird. Taking into consideration Bondo-san's Quirk, I thought we may need this and so saved on my stamina."
" Let's do it, Yuu!" The boy's eyes glowed in purple and Kyubi was covered in an aura of blue fire, the flames at the end of her tails and legs enlarged. " Sage Mode!"
" Let it loose! Kyubi!"
" Hell Inferno!" Flames blasted from her body and all around them, covering everything in sight and swirling like a tornado.
" W-Wait!" Sero shouted as the flames reached them and shielded themselves, only to open their eyes in bewilderment at what was happening. They were in the middle of it, the flames were licking them as well, but... " It doesn't hurt at all..." Sero looked at his hands.
" It's warm." Jiro looked at Yuu's back and Kyubi's flaming body.
As the flames faded in an instant, the glue had hardened. " Well done, Seijin!" Sato told him.
" Tch! And you even blew me away with the resulted current!" They looked up to see Kamakiri lunging their way, his blades thrust forward. " Still, you're slow!" He cut on the pipes and the hardened glue which fell on them. Sato pushed Yuu aside and attempted to protect all of them just as Bakugo zapped by, blowing the whole thing apart.
" Bakugo-san!"
During the whole mess, they were late to see Kamakiri approaching Jiro until Bakugo came back around and kicked her, pushing her away before blasting the other boy.
" His speed is terrifying," said Whisper.
Kamakiri was blown away but was uninjured, apparently, he managed to dodge.
The enemy pulled back and Jiro embarked on trying to figure out their location. " He really saved Jiro..." Whisper was staring at Bakugo as though it was the first time he had ever seen the like of him.
"Don't look at me like that or I will blast you too, egg head!"
" But he didn't get any nicer..."
"Bakugo! Straight ahead! Bondo is there!" Jiro shouted beside him.
" Let's go!" And Bakugo flung himself forward. Just as the rest was about to catch up with him, Jiro heard something.
" Something large is heading this way!" Yuu looked back to see a huge black ball bouncing off the pipes and buildings on its way to them.
" Yuu, that's..."
" Gomu-san! Kyubi!" Kyubi rushed to shield them, and with her blast of fire, she forced Tobio to a halt.
" Ouch, even with a special suit, that is still hot." The boy was wearing a black bodysuit with blue lining, blue boots, and gloves. A smartwatch around his wrist and a pair of goggles covering his face. He had armor plates on his back, shoulders, and knees.
" You want me to separate them?" The boy asked Tokage, trying to get her point.
" The other team will be focusing on Bakugo's strength. And he couldn't let anyone interfere with him so they're likely to support him from afar. If we fail in capturing them the first time, we will separate him from his support team." She pointed. " We'll break their teamwork and stress out Bakugo to make a mistake. Then we secure them." She held her hand up as though grasping something midair.
" You may not know this but Seijin-kun is a threat too," said Tobio." His sharp senses and the strong spirits he has are the real thing." He experienced it firsthand, just how fast and strong Kyubi was.
" I know. That's why, Gomu, your first priority is to take Seijin out," she replied. " The others' Quirks don't pose any threat that we can't deal with. But Seijin's and Bakugo's are different. Take those two away from the rest, and it will be our win."
Easy said than done. Tobio thought as he looked at the four before him and the large fox guarding them.
" Everyone, go."
" Eh?" They looked back at him in surprise.
" We can't get separated from Bakugo-san! We shouldn't let him go on his own against them!" Yuu insisted. " Hurry up, go!"
" Alright! It's up to you, Seijin-kun!" And they rushed to catch up with Bakugo.
" I've wanted to fight against you ever since the entrance exam, Seijin-kun," said Tobio, his bangs lifting a little up so Yuu could see his small eyes that seemed as though they were permanently closed.
"Letting loose in such a narrow space." Yuu pouted deeply. " You could put yourself and others in danger."
" That was half a year ago." Tobio stepped forward and drew a deep breath. " Now I've learned to control my Quirk." Yuu saw as the more air he drew, the more his body enlarged. The boy launched himself at them and Kyubi flailed her tails, pushing him away.
That was a mistake. Smirked Tobio as he rolled on himself. And so, bouncing off the pipes, the poles, the ground, and walls. He gained momentum and circled the two of them. His moves were haphazard and quick they couldn't react in time. " Hazard Zone!"
Class B's Gomu Tobio. Hero name: Cannonball. Quirk: Rubber Ball. He can bounce around like one. After improving his quirk, he now can increase his size when sucking on air. The smartwatch and goggles are used to monitor air and blood pressure as well as his surroundings.
" Yuu! Watch out!"
Yuu's eyes flicked to the side as the ball came for him and he was too late to react that he was sent knocking into a pipe.
" Yuu!" Blood tickled down from under his bang where he had hit the pipe.
Seijin's Quirk allows him to keep spirits around as long as he is conscious. Thought Tobio as he breathed out, and his volume diminished before he uncoiled himself and dropped on the ground, halting. All I have to do is hit you hard enough to knock you out!
" Yuu!" Whisper hovered over the boy who held his head and struggled to sit straight.
He isn't out yet? So he managed to slightly dodge, huh? It doesn't matter. With a mouthful of air, Tobio threw himself back against the wall and ricocheted around, gathering speed. " Your class might have stood to real threat's face more than any of us, call it luck or misfortune. But that didn't thwart us class B to work harder to catch up with you." His voice came from every direction, befuddling Whisper and Kyubi.
Toboi thought back to just how many bones he broke to learn how to control his Quirk and the time of its release. It was agony, yet, neither he nor any of class B gave up under the harsh training. " Class A has experience. We need something of our own too. And that's our hard work!"
" Gomu!" Vlad addressed him once." I get that you're afraid of the aftereffect of your Quirk. But that wouldn't help you improve. Break that wall of fear, shed sweat and blood until you're the one who controls it not the other way around! It's your Quirk! You're the master of it! Work hard! Only working hard till you break down is going to meld that Quirk of yours!"
Slowly, everyone in class B was able to control their Quirks more than anyone else. He even can land safely with his eyes closed now. His trajectory, the timing of his bouncing, even where he was headed, he was master of it now.
" Hard work is the only thing that we won't be losing at! I won't end up being saved like that time again! Hazard Zone!"
" Oh no! You're not touching him!" Kyubi stood before Yuu who was struggling up, flinging her tails out as to cover him.
It's no use. Tobio hit the ground near her paw, rebounded up, hit a pipe, and plumped for Yuu. " It's over!"
"Hard work, huh..." Yuu looked up at him and for a second, Tobio thought he saw a blue spark of fire igniting among his purple hair.
I've had enough of it. Yuu thought back to the Shie Hassaikai's incident. How slow he was. How there was nothing he could do other than shield his teacher and bear injury after the other. I've had enough of being unable to do anything on my own.
" Seijin, why is it that you don't use Take Over with Kyubi and Thunderbird?" Aizawa suggested once when watching over their training for their provisional license exam. " Rationally speaking, their abilities should be above Whisper's."
"His body can't take the burden of it," Whisper answered for him. " Kyubi and Thunderbird are really strong but... no, that's why, Yuu can't absorb them. He is not at that level yet."
He didn't give it another thought until the Shie Hassaikai incident. And even then, he was hesitant to follow through with it. It was Bakugo's words that spurred him. "Don't be scared to make it loud and noisy!"
"Whisper, I want to be able to use Kyubi's fire and Thunderbird's lightning."
" You mean Take Over with them?! No, and no again! You'll die!"
" No, I didn't mean that. What I want is... to be able to borrow some of their strength."
" Huh?" Seeing the boy was serious, Whisper frowned. " With your level now, it's not impossible to draw a portion, even without mentioning that you have to be mindful of how much energy you draw from them... using Spiritual Link in both directions on the same spirit will be very arduous."
" That's fine." Yuu insisted. " I need to be able to protect others, with my own hands when it's time for that."
The moment of the impact, dust rose all around them, making it hard to see...
________________
Sora held her breath as she waited, clutching her hands together. Yuu...
And then, the dust dissipated and Tobio's outline came into view. " Did he..."
No. Thought Sora with wide eyes. I saw it, for a moment, Yuu had...
________________
Tobio looked up at the boy standing on the pipe overhead. How did he do that?
Yuu was looking down at him, with narrowed glowing eyes. A thin line of fire raging in his hand and a spark flaring slightly on the side of his head.
________________
" None of you had seen it?" Todoroki looked back at the rest of the class, his tone bearing a hint of surprise.
" Seen what, ribbit?" Asui asked.
" This will help you. Vlad is rewinding it." Aizawa pointed at the screen where the picture of the impact was being played in slow motion. Everyone looked closely at it when Tobio was about to hit Yuu but the other boy... manifested a whip of blue fire and pulled himself up and out of the way just in time!
" What? How!?" Kaminari asked. " Since when did he become Todoroki?"
" That's not it," Sora answered, looking with wide amazed eyes at her friend.
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I've barely had time to train on this and I hardly can keep the whip for a short time. But... Although the fire flickered continuously in his hand, his eyes were full of determination as he looked down at Tobio. I can do it!
" I don't get what you've done but you won't be able to keep running forever!" Tobio started bouncing around again. " Hazard Zone!"
" Truly, the improvement you've undergone is one to be gained through hours and hours of training but..." He reached a hand inside his pocket. " I'm standing here after years and years of working hard to be able to embrace my own Quirk. Kyubi! Up!"
" Roger!" The fox ran up a pipe skyward.
What is he up to? He snapped when he saw Yuu bringing out a grenade.
" Thanks, Bakugo-san..." the boy murmured as he threw it up and Gomu hit the thing and bounced back, propelled by the explosion.
" Those things won't work on me!"
" I wouldn't have used it if I didn't know!" Yuu flung his whip of fire and Tobio's leg got caught in it.
Impossible! He glanced back at the purple head. He used the bomb to change my direction so he could capture me! No... He realized it when the boy twisted and swung him upward. He changed my direction to use the momentum and lift me up!
" I will protect everyone, with my own hands! I won't rely on miracles or luck again! Kyubi!" Yuu shouted when the flame whip faded.
" The trajectory is perfect, Yuu!" The fox cartwheeled in the sky and hit Tobio hard with her tails, pelting him in the direction of... jail! And Tobio blasted through its door.
" And that's what I call goal!" Cheered Whisper.
" We don't have time to celebrate... we need to catch up with-" but Yuu's foot slipped off the pipe and he fell down only for Kyubi to catch him on her back.
" Slowly, using your energy share in both directions at the same time takes a toll on you." She reminded him. " I'll take the rest from here!"
And she sprung forward, following the tail of explosion and smoke. " It's really hard to keep with Bakugo-san."
Suddenly Kamakiri lunged at them from the side and it was then that Bakugo stood before them and flung a burst at the boy's face, startling him before grabbing his fang and throwing him back at Yuu and Kyubi. " It's all yours, baggy eyes!"
" Thanks, Bakugo-san!" Yuu's eyes glowed as he summoned the whip of fire again and wrung it around Kamakiri as they passed him. With one tug, he rammed him onto a wall. " Kyubi!"
The fox that was still in sage mode covered herself in flames and lunged at him, knocking him out. Yuu panted heavily, half his face already covered in blood as Sero wrapped Kamakiri in his tape. " Well done." And went straight to wrap a purple lump that was crawling on a nearby pipe.
" Is that..?" Yuu panted, unable to continue the question.
" Tokage's pieces. I'm just guessing here but..." Sero wrapped a few more and looked back at him. " If she keeps regenerating, she will get tired and has to pull some of them back to save energy. Then..." Yuu's eyes widened as a lump flew by, towing behind a grenade by a tape. " Maybe we can get her."
He looked up at the sky when he heard a loud explosion and then a bright light followed by a rough blast. Bakugo must have taken care of the last one.
" Oh my... oh my... it didn't even take five minutes... and they didn't just catch four of them, but all five of my adorable students... " Vlad's voice came through the speakers as they put the members of the other team in the prison. " With unexpected teamwork, class A wins with a perfect 5-0!"...
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Aizawa held a thumb up at them. " You didn't do any more damage than you needed to, and you secured them quickly after you captured them. With Bakugo as the focus with his exceptional mobility and combat ability, the four of you also provided good support. And Seijin's decision of urging you to follow after him was the right call. With Gomu Tobio's quirk, it would have been harder to move all together."
Yuu heaved a sigh of relief. " You were awesome!" Sato gave him a heavy pat on the back and the boy smiled tiredly at them.
" Ne, ne, tell me, what were those flames earlier?" Jiro asked, recalling the stranger happening. " We were swallowed by fire, but it didn't even sting."
" But it did dry the glue. How?" Sero questioned.
"Because it's not the fire you're familiar with. The fire Kyubi uses is spiritual." Whisper grinned broadly as he hovered above them. " It burns whatever Kyubi wants it to burn and protects the rest. It can't be put down easily as well."
" Ho! That's really useful! So unlike Todoroki, she can go wild even if surrounded with people." Sero pointed and Whisper nodded.
" Man, you have some awesome followers. It's like you've got a hero agency already." Yuu rubbed his head uneasily at Sero's comment before Sora came over to him.
With urging from Jiro, the rest of them followed after Bakugo as to let them talk freely. " You were amazing there!" Sora began excitement written all over her face and more or less forgetting their short argument. " You never said you were trying to use your spirits' attributes."
Yuu smiled softly as he rubbed his head. " I, kind of started working on it lately and can't control it well yet. I still have a long way before me... Sora too, you could grow more wings now."
" That was hardly anything special compared to you. Not to mention I couldn't do anything special for my team like Yao-momo and Bakguo-kun." She looked down at her own hand. " Seeing you give it you everything like that, I can't let myself fall back anymore. I've got to improve too."
" That's not true," Yuu interjected. " You protected your own team too, instead of wasting time with Kaibara-san, both Iida-san and Ojiro-san were able to move on and help the other two. And it was all thanks to you."
" I just figured I wouldn't be able to help them seeing how I will get in Todorki's way."
" You knew what you could do and acted based on that, because of your action your team didn't fall apart," Whisper told her. " A soldier ought to know his surroundings and his own role on the battlefield, you did exactly that. And you allowed your other teammates to shine."
" Regardless..." Sora looked back at Aizawa as he walked over to them. " You're still holding back, Shirogane."
" I'm sorry..." She looked down.
" I get that focusing on protecting your teammates is something you excel at, you both, but sometimes you've got to step forward." He looked at Yuu too. " Don't let yourself be cornered for you to draw your full strength."
" Hai."
" Now head back, there is one more match to watch." And he walked away.
" That's right, Midoriya's match is next."
" Then let's not miss it." Said Whisper as he floated ahead of them.
" Right, Shinso-san will be partaking in this match too." Yuu recalled. " I wonder how it will turn out."
" Either way, I'm really excited for it! Oh! I have to wish Mina-chan and the rest good luck first! I'll be back in a moment!" And she ran to the team who was about to descend the platform.
As he watched after her, Yuu's eyes softened. What was I thinking...
" Seijin, you're in love with Sora."
Whether I love her or not, whether she likes me back or not. I don't care anymore. Sora is my childhood friend and will always be. For our friendship to fall apart just because of these feelings... Then I don't need them at all. All I want is... He looked back at her, smiling brightly while talking with Uraraka and Ashido. For her to keep smiling that way. That's all. I don't want to see her worried face ever again. For that, I wouldn't hesitate to even throw these feelings behind me.
With that said, his heart felt a little lighter. His path was laid before him and he only needed to walk it down, even if it wasn't the same as Sora's, it would always allow him to watch over her...