Chapter 9 - Battle trials

'Hero school is nothing like I thought it would be,' thought Miquella. It was their second day of school, and due to the school's motto of "going plus ultra," classes were already in full swing. At that moment, they were in the middle of their regular school lessons. Miquella understood the importance of learning these subjects but couldn't help but find it amusing just how mundane it all seemed, especially with renowned heroes like Present Mic teaching English or Cementos teaching literature.

After their regular lessons concluded, they headed to the grand mess hall to enjoy a meal prepared by the hero Lunch Rush. Since it was only the second day, and Miquella was seated with probably the quietest people in the class—Koda, Shoji, and Malenia—most of them ate in silence. However, they occasionally broke the silence to engage in light conversations to try to get to know each other better. After lunch and a short break, the moment everyone in the class had been eagerly waiting for arrived—the afternoon Heroic Studies.

All of a sudden, the door burst open with a booming voice from outside, and then All Might himself appeared, sliding through the entrance while striking a pose. "I AM COMING THROUGH LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" he declared. The room immediately erupted into a cacophony of murmurs. "I can't believe it! All Might is going to be teaching us!" one student exclaimed. Another chimed in, "Look at him, he's even wearing his Silver Age design! It's so retro!"

Seeing this, All Might chuckled a bit before he started to speak again. "As you all know, this is the foundational hero studies class, and for this session, we will be focusing on building up your hero foundation through various trials." All Might paused for a second before pulling out a card that said Battle. "So let's jump right in with this! The trial of battle! But first, to fight your best, you must look your best." All Might then clicked a button on a remote he was holding, and the wall started to expand, revealing a hidden compartment holding a bunch of suitcases with name tags on them. "All of you, get changed and gather at ground 8." With those words, he swiftly departed, moving with a burst of speed to ground 8.

After grabbing their suitcases, they moved into the locker rooms. Miquella smiled when they saw their costume, which they had designed themselves, but their mother had made. She stated that she wanted Miquella's and Malenia's costumes to be the safest they could be. It was practical yet included details from the original Miquella's better half, St. Trina.

The outfit featured a deep purple half-mask, drawing inspiration from the sculptures and descriptions of St. Trina in Elden Ring. The mask had an eye-like design in the middle. Miquella also donned dark purple pants, gloves, and leather boots, along with a white shirt and a cloak. The cloak had a white exterior and a purple interior, adorned with gold accents. It was crafted from a durable yet flexible material, providing stab-proof and fire-resistant properties.

Moreover, the cloak could be easily detached if necessary to avoid any "Syndrome" situations. Miquella also wore a leather belt with multiple pouches containing items such as first aid kits and a small gas mask that could be connected to his mask. He also carried two items at his waist: St. Trina's torch, which he used for creating great swords, and the handle of St. Trina's sword, which was used for smaller blades, daggers, and other weapons. (image here)

While walking, he encountered Malenia, who was dressed similarly to her character in the game but without any golden prosthetics. Her outfit featured more red, with her brown dress replaced by a deep blood-red one. Additionally, she was wielding a large golden blade. The reason for her outfit looking so similar was due to how she asked Miquella to design it, as she had no artistic bone in her body, and Miquella felt, 'Why fix something that isn't broken?'

As Miquella and Malenia continued walking towards ground 8, they found themselves surrounded by more students, each dressed in their unique hero costumes. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as everyone chatted and admired each other's outfits. "Wow! Is that a sword? And I love your mask Miquella, it's really manly," exclaimed Kirishima. "But isn't it a bit dangerous for a hero to have?" asked Iida. Malenia glanced at Iida and simply replied, "It's blunt." "Ah, I see, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions," said Iida.

"Ahem! Hello, young heroes," All Might addressed the group, his voice booming with enthusiasm. "I like everyone's style, but let us set our eyes on the task ahead, for it is time for the trial of battle!"Iida quickly stepped up and asked, "Sensei, regarding the performance ground we'll be using, is it the same mock city from the entrance exam?"

All Might let out a hearty laugh. "Excellent observation, young Iida! Indeed, we will be utilizing a similar urban environment for your first hero trial. However, this time the setting will be an indoor facility. While villain clean-up is often seen outside, most villainous activities are committed indoors. So, for this test, you all will be separated into Heroes and Villains for a two-versus-two battle."All Might then went on to explain the finer details of the challenge before having them pick lots for their groups.

All the teams were similar to those in the original story, except Miquella was paired with Toru Hagakure, and Malenia was paired with Momo. Just like in the original story, Izuku's team and Bakugo's team were the first ones to compete. Watching the match, Miquella couldn't help but question how Bakugo was still in the school, as he used a potentially dangerous move indoors. However, in the end, Izuku and Uraraka still emerged victorious. After that match and a detailed explanation about the MVP of the match, it was now Miquella's and Toru's turn to compete, against Todoroki and Shoji, with Miquella's team playing the villains and Shoto's team as the heroes.

"Toru, before the match begins, I want to ask you a question," Miquella said.

"What?" Toru replied.

"Well, I know that you're invisible, so light must bounce off you differently, but can you be blinded?" Miquella asked.

"Umm, I don't really know. I never had the chance to find out," Toru admitted.

"Okay, just to be on the safe side, if I say anything along the lines of 'solar flare,' I want you to close your eyes," Miquella instructed as they kept talking about strategies they could use in the upcoming trial.

They then heard the announcement that it was time for their match to begin. The group quickly made their way to the designated location, entering a new building since the old one had been completely destroyed from the previous match. As soon as All Might said 'Start,' Miquella felt a sudden burst of cold air hit his skin. Due to the suddenness of the attack, he could only grab Toru, and in a flash of gold, he summoned Torrent under them, shielding them from the ice that had instantly encased the ground.

"Toru, it might be best if you put your shoes back on," Miquella suggested as he unsummoned Torrent and started destroying some of the ice on the ground.

"Y-yeah," Responded Toru, already shivering from the cold. She quickly put on her shoes. Just then, Todoroki arrived, surprised to see that neither Miquella nor Toru were stuck in the ice.

"I'm surprised you two can still carry on. Nevertheless, I will win," declared Shoto confidently, raising his right hand. Not willing to take any chances, Miquella acted swiftly, raising their hands towards their face and shouting, "Solar flare!" Instantly, a blinding light struck Todoroki in the face, temporarily blinding him. Seizing the opportunity, Miquella swiftly closed the distance and delivered a powerful right hook straight to Todoroki's stomach, causing him to wince in pain.

Capitalizing on Todoroki's momentary vulnerability, Miquella attempted to wrap the capture tape around Todoroki's wrist. However, despite the pain and disorientation, Todoroki reacted with surprising speed. He swiftly flicked his wrist, narrowly avoiding the capture tape. Then, using his right hand, Todoroki generated a sudden burst of ice, causing Miquella's arms to become stuck in what looked almost like ice shackles. However, that didn't deter Miquella, who used their now ice-shackled hands to deliver an uppercut into Todoroki's gut, making him double over in pain. Seizing this opportunity, Toru managed to sneak up behind him and swiftly wrap the capture tape around Todoroki, effectively immobilizing him.

While they were waiting for Shoji to arrive, Miquella managed to free himself from the ice by creating a ring of light around his arms before expanding it breaking the ice covering his arms. When Shoji arrived, he immediately lunged at Miquella with the obvious intent of taking out the strongest person in the group first. However, Miquella swiftly evaded his attack and retaliated by unleashing a barrage of light bullets aimed at Shoji's knee. The impact of the bullets caused Shoji to stagger, and his forward momentum propelled him into a slick patch of ice, causing him to crash to the ground with a surprised grunt. Although Shoji managed to regain his footing he found Miquella launched a series of swift kicks, each one aimed at Shoji's face. Shoji managed to block the first few kicks, but Miquella's relentless assault left him reeling. One kick slipped past Shoji's defense, striking him squarely in his jaw, and sending him stumbling back.

Miquella didn't hesitate, he quickly moved in and wrapped his capture tape around Shoji's legs, tripping him and immobilizing him. "VILLAINS WIN!" announced All Might through the intercoms, and Toru and Miquella went to untie the two. Miquella untied Shoji, while Toru untied Todoroki. "Hey, I'm sorry if I went a bit overboard," Miquella said as he helped Shoji up. "It's fine," Shoji replied. Todoroki quickly approached Miquella before they could get any more words in, looking them in the eyes, and stated, "I underestimated you this time. Next time, I promise I won't."

When they walked back into the monitor room, All Might said, "If I had to choose an MVP, it would have to be Miquella. Does anyone know why?" Momo was the one to speak up, explaining, "It's because, without Miquella's quick thinking in the beginning, they would have been immediately captured. Additionally, Miquella was instrumental in immobilizing Todoroki with the flash-bang technique and using the environment around him to incapacitate Shoji."

The next few matches flew by in a blur until there was one final match, featuring Malenia and Momo as the heroes, and Jiro and Kaminari as the villains. As soon as the match began, Miquella could already figure out their plan. Momo was now clad in a full-body hazmat suit and mask, wielding a simple staff. Just as Miquella had anticipated, upon entering the building, Malenia unleashed a swarm of scarlet butterflies, which erupted into a cloud of decaying dust. Despite Jiro and Kaminari putting up a stronger resistance than expected, they managed to injure Malenia by using her sword as a lightning rod. It was obvious the attack had done quite a bit of damage due to the way she was holding her arm. However, it gradually became apparent that they were succumbing to the effects of scarlet rot. Eventually, Momo and Malenia overpowered Jiro and Kaminari, securing their victory in the match, and Malenia was declared the MVP.

After the match, Malenia approached Jiro and Kaminari. She touched their shoulders, and the scarlet rot that had affected them transferred to her own body. The decaying dust cleared, and Jiro and Kaminari were freed from the rot's influence. As the arena emptied and the echoes of their battle faded, the weight of the day's events settled upon the group. After that class ended, Miquella excused went with the others to get changed back into his school outfit, the adrenaline of the match still coursing through his veins, while Malenia made her way to the infirmary to have her arm examined, the lingering effects of the lightning strike still evident in the way she was holding her arm.

(some time later)

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the U.A. campus, Miquella and Malenia made their way toward the school gates."How's your arm?" Miquella asked, eyeing Malenia's arm. Malenia flexed her arm, wincing slightly. "Recovery Girl said it should be fine by tomorrow. Kaminari's electricity packed quite a punch."'It's only going to get harder from here,' thought Miquella. He knew in a few days the USJ event would happen, and while he didn't fully remember the entire plot of that arc, he felt he was prepared for what was going to happen.

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Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last posted. I had planned to post yesterday, but my internet went out. It seems that so far everyone wants me to extend the story, and I will. However, I'm going to try not to force it to be longer. What I mean is that it could either end in their third year or only a few months after when it should originally end.