Chapter 186 - 10-12

Chapter 10: Battle Trial Day

Mineta Minoru

After Bowser left, Mineta clenched his fists.

"That jerk," Mineta mumbled. "What does he know, anyways?"

The giant dragon-turtle seemed to dislike him a lot. As in, everytime Bowser saw him, his eyes would tighten just a bit with disgust. It was infuriating!

And the things he said just… Mineta took one of his balls off his head, ignoring the slight pain that followed it coming off from his scalp and stared at it. He remembered the way Bowser kept sighing everytime he saw him. Like Mineta was just some pile of garbage he had to deal with! And what he'd said before.

"Yeah, if you don't run away at the first sign of trouble."

"...Sigh. This damn kid…"

"Do you have NO redeeming features at all?"

"Stupid turtle," Mineta said under his breath, clutching the purple orb in his hand. "He doesn't even know me. What gives him the right!?"

If only he'd been on a team with one of the girls. Like that Momo babe. All Mineta wanted was to be a cool hero so he could impress girls. Was there something wrong with that?

He'd show Bowser! He'd show him how awesome he was when he secured the win while Bowser was wasting time running around-!

An explosion shook the building. Mineta staggered. "Ya!"

More explosions, then loud laughter echoed in the halls outside, the sound of ice cracking.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't wasting time.

Before Mineta could contemplate that further, a sound came from down the hall.

"Eeeeeee," he let out a nervous sound. If Bowser and Todoroki were fighting, then that left Shoji. Shoji the tall, super-strong, multi-armed hero... Mineta smacked his cheeks.

"Okay, okay, okay! Man up!" he shouted to himself. He set his feet and ran forward, slipping a bit on the ice left by Todoroki's earlier attack. He ran along the hallway, clenching his teeth. He had a plan! Shoji was strong, but all he had to do was stop him from reaching the bomb. That was perfect for him!

Mineta approached a corner, and stopped running to slide on the ice, taking one of his sticky balls into his hand. The second he was at the corner, he attached the ball to it, turning a forward slide into a drift around the corner. He must have looked so cool!

Then he saw Shoji, who was just coming up the stairs down the hall. The muscular student was taking his time on the steps, the sounds of ice cracking under his feet being the sound Mineta had been hearing all along. Shoji noticed him.

Mineta froze. Shoji didn't.

The tall student rushed forward, slipping on the ice but reaching out for him with his top-most arm.

"Yaaaaa!" Mineta scrambled back, tossing a sticky ball that landed in Shoji's palm, ducking under the outstretched arm that tried to grab him, only to get punched by the bottom one. "Gah!" Mineta shouted in pain as he was sent flying back, reflexively tossing one of his violet balls at Shoji's foot, attaching to the ground. The hand that Mineta had thrown a ball into brushed against a wall and stuck fast.

"Haha!" Mineta said, before coughing and clenching his gut. "Haaaaa! That really hurt!"

"I am sorry," Shoji said calmly from a mouth that grew from his bottom right arm even as he tried to pull his hand from the wall. "I was trying to knock you out in a single blow."

Mineta scowled at him. "Well you failed! And now you're-" the sound of cracking ice was followed by stone shattering. "Trapped?"

Shoji lifted his foot with a grunt of effort, taking a big chunk of ice with it. He pulled his topmost arm from the wall, and the concrete cracked apart, leaving Shoji with a big stone attached to his palm.

"...I'm in trouble," Mineta said weakly.

"Yes, but I will try not to hurt you too much."

Shoji grew his arm out and lashed out at him. Mineta squeaked, jumping back and tossing another ball at Shoji's foot, then another at his hand. "No! I can stop you!"

The multi-armed hero didn't respond. Mineta scowled. Looking down on him! Fine! He'd show him! He'd show everyone he could do this!

He clenched his balls metaphorically and literally, and tossed them quickly at Shoji, who ran towards him with arms outstretched. Mineta blinked away some tears, screamed in fear, and jumped into the air, purple flashes as he ripped ball after ball from his scalp. He would do it! He'd prove he could be a cool hero! And once he did...

"Yaaaaa!" Mineta attached Shoji's feet to the floor, took a blow to the face while sticking two of Shoji's arms to the ceiling, the sound of concrete cracking and sticky balls squishing filling the air.

Once he proved it, then the girls would be rolling in!

With the promise of potential babes, Mineta dug his heels in for the fight of his life!

------

Back with the class

"Man, who knew the little guy had that much fight in him?" Kamanari commented.

"Shoji's still gonna beat him black and blue though," Sato noted as Shoji continued to push towards Mineta, ripping apart the walls as he did, all the while trying to dodge the purple balls.

"If he can catch him," Kamanari reminded him.

"And in the end, fighting is not the objective," Momo said. "The bomb is. As long as Mineta can hold him back, they might be able to win."

"Unless Shoto takes out Bowser," Kirishima said, though he had a wide grin as he watched the fight in question. "Ahhhh, they're going at it with such passion!" Kirishima clenched his fist enthusiastically. "Look at them go!"

Shoto slid on his ice at high-speed as Bowser charged him, the dragon turtle clawing through wall after wall as he laughed. Through the screen, they could all hear his voice.

"I am the terror that fires up the night! I am the spike that pierces your shoe! I am the battering ram that wrecks walls of goodness! I! AM! BOWSER! KOOPA!"

Sero sighed, facepalming. "God, those are such dorky lines."

"How uncool," Tokoyami sighed, shaking his head.

"Ahhhh!" Iida clenched a fist, tears in his eyes. "I've inspired him! I'm so happy!"

"Calm down, dude," Kirishima said to the taller young man.

------

Koopa Bowser

I smashed through another ice pillar, grinning as I felt the chill air, then unleashed flames in Shoto's direction. He went sliding along the floor, moving in a circle around me as I followed with my fire.

I was in trouble. Shoto's ice seemed to be without limit. I had been rushing towards him, claws and fire blazing, and his speedy ass kept on dodging and ice sliding around, 'surfing' on waves of ice, all while smashing me with his own ice. He kept trying to get close to get a hand on me, but I wasn't letting that happen. The second he got a solid grip on me, he might pull what he'd done with the Nomu on me, turn part of my body to ice. Then I'd be fucked.

My flames were beginning to falter. I could pour it on better than, say, in the Smash Bros. games, but by now my throat and belly were starting to hurt just a bit from the constant blasts. Not enough to stop me, but noticeable.

And somehow, the more heat I poured on, the more Shoto seemed to get invigorated. The kid didn't seem to care about the fire I was blazing. Man, Pokemon lied to me.

But even so, I felt like I was about to win. The kid could hit me with all the ice he wanted. The second I smashed him in the gut, he was going straight to Recovery Girl.

But he was starting to get creative.

The ice-user slid on a wave of ice, coming around in front of me to make a ramp that sent him upwards. He tapped the ceiling with his right hand, a wave of cold leaving him and thrusting icicles down on top of me like the teeth of a giant. Just as the spikes came down, I entered my shell and spun at high speed. Spikes smashed into spikes. Mine won, grinding them apart as they dropped to send snow all about the area. I heard the sound of footsteps backing away. Shoto had likely been about to grab onto me while the spikes he'd made distracted me.

I came out of my shell and smashed my claws on the floor, roaring as I did. "Ha! Not good enough! I am the rocks of the eternal shore! Crash against me and be broken!"

Shoto made a wall of ice as I approached. I slammed through it, finding another wall. I smashed through that one, then clawed through one he made to my left. I let loose with fire when he sent another wave of ice at me, melting through it. He ducked under the fire, letting out a sound when the flames came close.

Then I stood still when I felt the floor shake under me. A cracking sound filled the air. We looked down. The floor began to shake, ice and concrete shuddering. Shoto and I shared a look of realization when the ground cracked. And it broke apart under us.

"FUCK!" I shouted in surprise as we fell.

"Hn." Shoto grunted in agreement.

We fell down into a dark room below us.

------

Shoto Todoroki

Shoto landed on the ground in a crouch, rolling to avoid the blind swipe Bowser threw as he fell. He glanced up at the hole they'd fallen through, guessing what had happened.

As they fought, his ice constantly cooled the concrete, only for Bowser's bursts of heat to cook it. The constant temperature shifts had weakened the floor. Combined with Bowser's weight...

Shoto scowled. If he'd been further back, he could have avoided falling and just went upstairs to the bomb. Well, all he could do was deal with it.

He took stock of his surroundings in a flash. The only light in this place was from the hole they'd made in the floor above. It looked like a facsimile of a parking garage. Dozens of pillars about the room at regular intervals, with wide spaces between them. Shoto faced Bowser and set his feet, only to be surprised.

Bowser had disappeared.

"..." Shoto slowly looked around, his eyes hard. "Did you run away?"

"Run?" an amused voice came from his left.

Shoto spun around, sending his power out. Light refracted off the ice as it smashed into the shadows. But nothing happened other than that.

"I'm too hot to handle."

Behind him! Shoto spun, raising a wall of ice in time to block the flames. Before the fire faded, he saw Bowser disappear in the shadows.

"Too cold to hold. Hehehehe…"

The laughter echoed in the dark space. Shoto closed his eyes. "Are you running out of power now? Is that why you're hiding? Like a coward?"

It was part ploy, part a true insult.

"Taunts of ants," something came from the shadows. Shoto blocked it on a wall of ice, only to realize Bowser had tossed a huge chunk of stone at him. The concrete didn't break through, only cracking against the ice wall. A distraction!

Then Bowser came from the right, a fist swinging at him. Shoto barely created a barrier before Bowser smashed through it, his face scraping past Shoto's right side. The powerful blow sent dark spots through Shoto's vision, pain filling him. Thinking quickly, Shoto smacked a hand across Bowser's eyes as he staggered, covering his eyelids in a thick frost.

"Fuck!" Bowser shouted. He scratched at his eyes, blinded. Shoto ran forward, placing a hand to Bowser's chest and sent more ice across him. Before he could do more, Bowser flexed. The ice Shoto had been pouring on began to crack, then shattered. Bowser breathed fire on his palms as Shoto was thrown back, igniting the remnants of Mineta's balls on his claws.

To Shoto's surprise, Bowser pressed the claws to his own face. When he removed them, the ice Shoto had placed on his eyes were gone.

Shoto spun out of the way of a fist that dropped down at him, and sent a wave of ice out again. Bowser entered his shell and started to spin again, only for the ice Shoto had sent out to push him back like he'd been shot out of a cannon. Shoto surrounded himself with ice across the floor, making the concrete slippery enough to accelerate the larger student.

His plan had been to try and send Bowser out into the hallways. Then Shoto could-

Bowser smashed into a pillar, bouncing off, then into another one, shooting back towards Shoto!

The ice user rolled aside, the sound of a shell scraping across the ice coming from where he'd been. He spun, a trail of frost coming from his hand, and blasted the area Bowser was coming from. Instead of attacking Bowser directly, he created an ice ramp, sending Bowser up into the air. Then he stomped his foot, ice flying upwards towards the spinning dragon turtle.

Before Bowser could get encased in ice, he exited his shell, feet pressing against the ceiling. "Bowser…"

He pushed off the ceiling, cracking it apart with the force, reentering his shell with his spikes pointed downward. "Spike Ceiling!"

Two tons of weight crashed down onto the ice Shoto had sent upwards, shattering it apart. Thinking fast, Shoto spun around and shot a frozen wave into Bowser's side, turning a crashing fall into a sideways dive into the ground. Bowser cratered the floor, bounced up from the impact, and landed on his side, rolling to his feet. He rushed towards him, Shoto raising a hand.

But he was too slow. The fight was taking its toll on him. The constant wintry power of his quirk was beginning to become a real struggle. Earlier, when Bowser had been blasting flames left and right, it had been easier to deal with. But now, Bowser hadn't blasted him with flames in a while, and the frostbite was setting in.

So when Bowser rushed forward, all Shoto could do was create an ice wall. The bigger student stopped just before the ice wall, jumping upwards. He kicked out with both feet into a dropkick. The ice wall shattered like glass. Shoto, already in the midst of making another wall to defend himself, was blasted back like a leaf in the wind. Only his quick reflexes allowed him to create another wall of frost as a brace, stopping him from flying back further.

They faced each other for a moment. Shoto breathed out, frost leaving his lips, resting against the cold wall behind him. He was so cold.

"Looking a bit worn out," Bowser said, grinning. "What's wrong? Is my power that overwhelming? It's weight? It's… girth."

"What." Shoto said flatly.

"Sorry. I have a lot of quotes from villains in my head that aren't too safe for work."

Shoto finally snapped. "Are you even taking this seriously!?"

Bowser seemed surprised. "...Yeah. I am. Just because I'm having fun, doesn't mean I haven't been trying to kick your ass with everything I have. I'm just talking to take a breath."

Shoto felt some surprise of his own at that, though he was still annoyed. The chill filling him was starting to affect him. He almost wished Bowser would breathe more fire, just to heat him up a bit. And then there was that voice in the back of his head. Whispering. All he had to do was use his left side, and he could have all the warmth he wanted…

He pushed that thought down with ruthless rage. No. He'd use his right side only. Nothing would change that.

Bowser was powerful. He'd never fought anyone his age who could break through his ice like him, using pure force to smash through it. Even his large waves were broken. But he had to have limits. He just needed to stop him in his tracks. He could win this without his father's power.

Shoto's face set into determination. Bowser noticed it. A part of Shoto was relieved when, rather than spitting another catchphrase, he turned to his side, raising his claws to fight.

A wave of cold met a claw, shattering apart. Bowser spun around, lifting a chunk of ice and tossing it at Shoto, who dodged it, then made an ice slide to head towards Bowser. The larger student let out a blast of flame, noticeably weaker than the others he'd done, but still forcing Shoto to dodge, twisting the ice slide to the right. He staggered a bit, falling to his knees, but still managed to raise a wall between them, blocking Bowser's vision of him. Using that, Shoto created a wall in front of his path and pushed off it sending him in the opposite direction. Bowser smashed through the ice wall, expecting Shoto there.

Instead, Shoto was behind him now. He hit him with everything he had, using every bit of power left! Bowser spun around, claws reaching out! Shoto's eyes widened, the scar over his left eye crinkling. Long yellow fingers began to wrap around his head. Ice crawled up over Bowser's scaled feet.

Two red eyes glared into Shoto's gray right and blue left eye. In that moment, almost in slow motion, Shoto knew that this was where the fight would be decided.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

Shoto and Bowser stood still as the sound of a buzzer filled the building, echoing outwards. The end of the round! Then… who won?

------

Mineta Minoru

Mineta felt like he was dying. His arms were tired. His damn ribs were screaming! It was freezing cold! And Shoji just would. Not. STOP.

The multi-armed student was covered in purple orbs. Some of them were random, just ones Mineta had tossed in desperation. Some were attached to other things. Pieces of concrete, rebar, and metal pipes had been attached to Shoji's arms, back, and legs. Ice and frost covered him in places. He'd grown arm after arm, leaving him with dozens of long appendages stretched out with pieces of the walls and floors stuck fast to him. He was reaching for the bomb, stuck fast to the ceiling from when Bowser had attached some orbs to it and placed it up there on Mineta's advice, hoping that making it that much harder to reach would help. It had barely worked.

The only thing keeping Shoji from reaching it was behind him.

A single long 'rope' of sticky orbs, bent pipes, and pieces of concrete stretched from Shoji's back and into a single outstretched palm. Mineta was hanging in the air, clutching two of his balls. He'd taken off his gloves to grip them with his bare hands, depending on his quirks stickiness to make up for his lag of grip strength. Another improvised rope stretched to the floor.

Shoji reached outwards. The rope strained. Mineta screamed. Blood was pouring down his face, running down to drip on the floor. His left eye had closed from a black eye long ago. His arms felt like they were going to pop from his shoulders.

Shoji grew his arm outwards, reaching upwards as his quirk provided the extra foot he needed to reach the bomb. Mineta felt tears in his eyes. At some point, in the middle of this, the fight had become a lot more than it should have been. This was supposed to be a test! But now, seeing an arm reach outwards, about to turn all the work he'd done, all the pain he'd taken, into nothing!? Come on!

Mineta, in a final desperate shot, pulled his arms in. "No, no, no! Come on!!!!" he screeched, his voice cracking, arms that had never lifted anything heavier than a textbook trying to hold back a mountain.

Shoji flinched back an inch. Mineta felt excitement fill his veins. Then Shoji surged forward. Mineta's heart dropped.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!

The buzzer! The buzzer was ringing! Mineta looked upward, then at the bomb.

Shoji's finger was pressed to the bomb.

"...no."

Fresh tears filled Mineta's eyes. He'd failed. Everything he'd done to be cool. All the fighting. And he'd-

"Hero and Villain Teams… Draw!" All Might's voice echoed outwards, sounding shocked.

He'd failed!... Wait, what?

------

Koopa Bowser

Shoto stared at me through my fingers, his head wrapped in my hand, his anger and determination turning to confusion. I stared back at him, ice surrounding me entirely except my arms and jaw.

"Did he say draw?" I asked hesitantly, struggling to speak, what with the chill and all.

"I… think so?" Shoto said, sounding like I felt.

"Dude… How the FUCK did… Wait, how does a draw even happen!?"

"I will explain when you all come back so that we can discuss it as a class!" All Might said, apparently hearing me. "I will be there in just a moment to bring you in!"

I hoped he had a DAMN good explanation!

"...Can you let go of me now," Shoto said, looking annoyed as fuck.

"Yeah," I let his head go. "Mind getting me out? I'm all out of steam."

Well, not all out, but might as well let him think I had less fire than I actually did. In case of a rematch.

Shoto scowled, but nodded, moving over to me. To my surprise, he placed his left hand on me, and the ice began to steam.

"...That was a good fight," I told him honestly.

He didn't answer. He mostly just looked pissed off as hell.

"...Though I'm a little disappointed. There are so many good ice puns out there and you did not use a single one. Missed opportunity man. You could have told me to chill!"

"I don't enjoy puns."

"Ice themed taunts then. Like 'What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!'"

"Do you want me to get you out or not?" Shoto, annoyed.

"Fine, fine. I'm going to take a hot bath after this though. A very long and very hot bath," I said as the last of the ice came off. I shook myself like a dog, flecks of water flying outwards from me as Shoto backed off. "Holy shit I'm cold."

For some reason, I got the sense he understood exactly what I meant.

------

I walked with Shoto to the room the bomb was held in. At some point, I noticed the holes in the walls. The chunks of concrete and rebar that had been pulled out. The pipes that were bent and twisted out of place. Big pieces of ice steaming in the air.

My eyes were already wide at just that initial sight. But it was the bomb room that surprised me the most.

Shoji looked up at us. Shoto and I stopped to stare at him.

The dude looked like something from a nightmare. He'd grown his arms out to create dozens of limbs, the 'wings' of his main arms extending outwards. And every part of him except his head was covered in debris and purple orbs. He looked sweaty and tired, covered in what had to be hundreds of pounds of metal, ice, and concrete. At some point his mask had been pulled down by an orb attached to a torn metal pipe, revealing his face, which was almost as surprising as the rest of him.

"Dude…" I looked over at Mineta. The kid was lying on the floor, panting. His head was bleeding slowly. His palms were stuck fast to a pair of purple orbs. His mask had torn at some point, allowing me to see his black eye. He noticed me looking at him and scowled weakly. He was crying.

"I…" he struggled, trying to rise up.

I dropped to a knee, placing my hand on his chest to hold him there. I couldn't help the grin on my face as I looked between Shoji and Mineta. "You two. Are some crazy fuckers."

Fuck me! They'd done all this!? Mineta had done that? I could picture the battle of attrition, Mineta sticking everything he could to Shoji, the multi-armed hero beating on him, ripping his way out of the concrete and frosted walls, getting slowly weighed down but still pushing himself. Mineta, getting more and more creative about his orbs, finally going to the last desperate bid with those ropes. The kid had pulled a Spider-Man moment!

"You couldn't get past him?" Shoto asked Shoji, frustration across his face as he released another wave of heat, the ice around us melting in an instant. I'd forgotten that he did that. What sort of ice guy could also melt that ice with heat… Hm.

"I did get past him," Shoji said simply as the ice stuck to him melted, soaking his clothes. "But he held me back. I did touch the bomb, but the bell rang at the same time."

"Damn," I looked down at Mineta with an honest grin. "You held back one of the strongest kids in the class. I gotta admit… This is pretty cool."

Mineta stared up at me. The little dude laid back and closed his eyes. There was just the smallest satisfied grin on his face.

------

Once Mineta and Shoji were taken to get the orbs dissolved by a solution that the Support Class had made and their wounds fixed up, Shoto and I headed with All Might back to the class for our final assessment. I was uninjured, while Shoto had done a good enough job dodging me that I didn't think I'd gotten a solid hit. That or he was just stubbornly ignoring the pain. I doubted it was the latter.

"Such a passionate fight!" All Might said proudly to Shoto and I. "It is rare that I have seen youth battle with that amount of vigor! Well done, both of you!"

"Why was it a draw?" Shoto spat out with some aggression to it.

"I'll be honest, I'd like to know as well," I said. "I mean, I don't want to lose, but Shoji did touch the bomb, right?"

"Well," All Might looked around. On the surface, he seemed coy and mysterious. Having watched the anime, I guessed he was actually feeling a bit awkward. "Who would like to answer that question? Why was a draw the most reasonable judgement?"

"All Might-Sensei!" Iida stepped forward, a serious look on his face. "I would like to answer!"

All Might nodded.

"At the moment that Shoji touched the bomb, the buzzer rang! Considering the scenario that is being played out, that meant one of two things! First, that he touched it just after it would have exploded, making his confiscation of it moot! Second, that he touched it just before or when it would have exploded! In which case, while the heroes would have technically have won, within the scenario they would not have been able to disarm the bomb in time! So the heroes fulfilled the parameters of their victory, as did the villains," Iida said proudly. Then he stroked his chin. "I'm not sure I agree entirely however…"

"Same here!" Kamanari said loudly. "I thought touching the bomb meant the win for the heroes!"

"Usually, it would," Tsuyu said. "But we have no way to know when exactly Shoji touched the bomb, kero. Besides, both teams did really well."

"Ahhhhh!" Kirishima clenched his fist, his arms hardening. "I want to go out there now! I want to have just as manly a fight!"

"Whoever thought that little guy would end up described as manly," Mina said, the pinkette grinning. "Or that he could fight like that!"

"Class!" All Might clapped his hands, his constant grin never wavering. "Young Iida is correct. First, I had no way of knowing when exactly Young Shoji touched the bomb. I'm afraid I did not have a photo-finish camera ready!" he said with a wink. "However, I did need to keep in mind the scenario in question. With the ambiguousness of when the bomb was touched, I had to make an executive decision. And a draw was the best one in this circumstance," he gave Shoto and I a look.

"Now. This battle has two MVPs. Young Mineta and Young Shoji. For much the same reason as in the last battle," All Might was held up a finger. "When their partners were battling in the lower levels, they were focused on their true goals. Neither Young Bowser nor Young Shota made any effort to aid their allies, instead focusing on fighting each other, even causing massive damage to the building despite my express warnings," he scolded sternly. "I also heard neither of you speak to your allies to check on their status," he chuckled. "Of course, they didn't do it either, which does remove some marks. Communication is key after all."

I winced. Shit. Yeah. I should have reached out to Mineta over the fancy ear radio. On some level I'd just dismissed the idea of him… having any way to help. If I had to guess, he'd been able to sense that and that's why he hadn't reached out in return for help. We'd made a basic plan, but the second I'd left to fight Shoto, I'd gotten way into that fight. Damn. Now that I thought of that, Shoto must have been in the same boat with Shoji. Maybe I could have tried to lead Shoto away, then double-backed and helped Mineta?

Well. All I could do was learn from this.

"In the end, they focused on their goal, and came very close to fulfilling it, despite great adversity," All Might said seriously. "As for the draw… I know this can be disheartening."

"But do not see this as an insult, nor as a reason to become relaxed. That goes for all of you! The four students poured their hearts and souls into this fight, using every ability at their disposal!" Shoto shuffled a bit. "They were unable to obtain victory over the other, but that was not through lack of effort! Take the lessons of this battle to heart. Understood?"

"Yes sir," we said in unison.

Well. Most of us did. Shoto was silent. And Bakugo was staring at the ground.

------

Toshinori Yagi/All Might

All Might turned around with a bit of relief in his heart.

He'd been telling the truth, but god he really wished they had some sort of slow-motion or photo-finish mode installed in the cameras of the battle centers! Maybe they thought it would be gratuitous? If so, this class had proved otherwise.

And what a class! These students were purely amazing! He thought Young Midoriya was impressive, but apparently his classmates were willing to give him a run for his money! Although seriously, they needed to stop damaging the buildings so much...

All Might smiled. Despite his exasperated wonder, he was also happy. The world was going to have some amazing heroes one day.

For a man at death's door, that was a relief to remember…

Chapter 11: Battle Trial End

After my fight, I watched the rest with a close eye. Everyone seemed just as fired up as I'd felt. Nobody got injured the way Izuku, Mineta, or Shoji had.

And with the new mixture of students, I got to see some interactions I hadn't expected.

------

Hero Team H Tokoyami and Mina vs VillainTeam C Momo and Toru

Once the bell rang, Mina and Tokoyami began strategizing. So did Momo and Toru.

Well, honestly, it felt more like just Tokoyami and Momo were strategizing. Mina and Toru weren't dumb, but they weren't on the level of their fellow students. So the second the fight began, it felt like the two of them took the role of leader in terms of tactics.

Momo began creating things while requesting Toru prepare the first part of her plan, handing her a bevy of tools. I could figure out her plan immediately. Use an invisible scout to set up traps, spy on her enemies, all while she played Rainbow Six Siege by setting up defenses around the bomb room.

Tokoyami predicted that and prepared for it by asking Mina to do something. She balked at the idea at first, but after some addendums, agreed to the changes with excited aplomb.

At some point, Toru must have seen the sight of Mina gently spraying a liquid in front of her as they entered a hallway. A bit of liquid hit her in the thigh, showing the alert duo of Tokoyami and Mina they were being watched. They immediately ran forward, the invisible girl smacking her thigh to try and get the liquid off of her.

"Spraying random acid!?" Toru was invisible, but we could still hear her voice as she frantically rubbed it off. "Mou, that's too far!"

"Don't worry, I can make it non-corrosive so it won't hurt anyone!" Mina said proudly.

Huh. That explained how she could skate across the ground without melting it. So she could just choose how acidic her powers were? That made her a lot more powerful than I'd thought she was.

"Ashido-san, focus," Tokoyami's bird Stand thing rushed for Toru, who squeaked and ducked away from the shadow monster. "The ground, now!"

"Sure thing, Birdy-san!" Mina flipped through the air, releasing a spray of liquid across the floor. Toru slipped across the liquid, sending waves of water that highlighted her invisible body. She quickly got up and ran for it, Mina and Tokoyami in hot pursuit.

"All Might-sensei, is it really okay for Mina-chan to use acid like that?" Aoyama asked.

"As long as she isn't causing undue damage to herself or others," All Might said seriously. "As a hero, we must understand that our quirks are dangerous tools, dangerous weapons. Knowing their limits allows us to not only defeat our enemies but do so non-lethally. Young Ashido is using her powers well."

"She would," Kirishima said, a fond smile on his face. "She's always been a born hero."

Wait, always? Kirishima and Mina knew each other? When has that been a thing?

As I thought about that, Toru had led Tokoyami and Mina to a hallway leading up a set of stairs. Mina went running upstairs, only for Tokoyami to block her.

"Eh! What's wrong?"

He frowned, staring up the stairs. "This doesn't feel right… Get down!"

A grey canister was tossed down the stairs. Dark Shadow moved to intercept it, catching the grenade while Mina and Tokoyami ducked. A bright burst of light and crack of noise was followed by Mina and Tokoyami shouting in pain, Dark Shadow recoiling from the light.

Then a taser held by an invisible hand fired into Mina.

"Yaaaaaa!" Mina screamed. Tokoyami rushed upwards, but Toru was already running, dropping another canister behind her to force him to dodge back.

"Yare, yare," Sero, the tape kid, sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Momo's quirk is strong…"

"She basically has every quirk," I mumbled to myself, though Sato nodded in agreement. She was basically a DnD Wizard/Artificer. Or Meme Batman. Give her prep-time and, well, she'd be able to wreak havoc.

Momo had been setting up the room around the bomb the whole time. On one camera, we saw a radio in an empty room rise up. Momo stiffened, nodded, and talked back, moving faster. Her setup was intensive. She placed metal plates on the two doors, made herself some tear gas and a gas mask. Soon enough, she looked intensely exhausted, but also pleased, with her final set up being to give herself a shield and staff.

"Overkill," some of the students said, sweatdropping in unison.

Ain't no kill like it, right?

From there, Tokoyami and Mina were fighting a losing battle. Toru played things a lot more safely now, only throwing bombs and shooting tasers when it was safe. She tried using capture tape on Mina once, but the pinkette melted through it.

Eventually, Tokoyami's persistence paid off along with Mina's quirk. She laid down a layer of slippery liquid in front of a hallway. Tokoyami carefully guided her there, and the second Toru stepped on it, she fell on her butt, Dark Shadow snatching her up and Mina wrapping her wrist in capture tape.

But by then, they might as well had lost. Because when they got to the room at the top, it took them forever to get through the layers of metal. Mina tried to melt through it, managing to make a small hole in the metal about the size of her hand, only to find out that Momo was waiting on the other side with tear gas. It wasn't too powerful, whether due to her own limitations or her trying not to hurt anyone, but it did drive them back with the streams of smoke.

Tokoyami tried to circle around to one of the other doors, smashing into it with Dark Shadow over and over to try and rip through the metal plates. Momo raised her shield and staff, her gas mask tight on her head. She looked tired, but also ready.

But eventually, time was up. Dark Shadow was strong, but it took him time to rip through the metal, while Mina had bad luck trying to melt the doors when Momo was letting her tear gas pour through any openings she made. As the buzzer rang, Mina sighed, rubbing her eyes as she teared up a bit. Light tear gas was still tear gas after all.

"YAAAAA! Momo-chan, that was too mean!"

"Ah," Momo said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you too badly, but I needed a way to keep you both from getting through the doors."

"Don't be. It was well-strategized," Tokoyami said, though he seemed disappointed.

All Might went and got them. When they came back, Tokoyami seemed more determined.

"Next time, I'll have to avoid allowing you so much time to prepare. Toru did well to slow us down."

"Mouuuu. I got caught though," the invisible girl mumbled.

"No, you did great!" Mina hugged Toru boisterously. "And Momo-chan was so smart! I want to fight you again!"

The tall brunette girl smiled proudly. "Thank you. I hope to be a worthy match."

"I'm sure you will," Tokoyami said with a hint of rivalry to his voice.

All in all, an interesting match to watch.

------

Hero Team G Jiro & Sero vs Villain Team F Sato & Aoyama

The next fight was an odd one. Mostly because they didn't strike me as appropriate for the roles. Jiro and Sero as heroes. Jiro, whose powers allowed her to hear with Daredevil-esque precision, and Sero, with tape that allowed him immense mobility and the ability to trap people or set up hazards. Fighting Sato and Aoyama as villains. Sato, who was basically a sugar-powered Hulk, and Aoyama, who fired lasers. It felt like defense and offense should have been switched somehow.

But they didn't seem to mind that. They went all in.

Jiro first used her Earphone Jack to figure out where Sato and Aoyama would be. Then she began to plan. I don't mean to be mean to the others, but she was likely the smartest of the group. Sero didn't strike me as a quick thinker, Sato may have been smart but his powers would negate that, and Aoyama was more the flamboyant knight rather than a tactical genius.

She came up with a pretty simple idea. First, she and Sero snuck through the halls, listening carefully at regular intervals. Sato waited outside the door, ready to act as a wall, with Aoyoma behind him in case they got past.

Jiro's powers gave her the edge. She knew where they were and how to get to them. So while Sato was guarding the doorway, she suddenly spun around the corner and faced him. Her jacks were in the stereos in her boots. The echoing sound of a heartbeat could be heard even from where we were, smashing into Sato with physical force. He screamed, grabbing at his ears before reaching for his sugar and shoving it into his mouth. Before he got more than a gram down, a piece of tape shot out with some very impressive accuracy to wrap around Sato's sugar, pulling it out of his hand, before another tape wrapped around him, Sero pulling as hard as he could to reel Sato towards him.

Sato's eyes widened, rage in his eyes as his muscles pulsed outwards. He roared, rushing after Jiro and Sero. The pair ran back around the corner. Sato spun after them.

And ran into walls of tape.

"GRUUUUUGH!" Sato roared again, trying to rush through the tape, the adhesive attaching to him and wrapping around his body. He approached a more open area of the place, near a set of stairs. Jiro spun around. "Sero, now!"

Sero dropped down from the stairs and went in with his helmet down. He attached a line to Sato's right forearm and slid under him, getting behind him before leaping up and swinging around Sato as he punched the concrete behind him. Sero attached another line to the ceiling, pulling himself up before Sato could spin and grab him. He attached more lines to the walls and Sato, letting the big man swing at him wildly as he dodged.

Then he got overconfident. He came too close to Sato, who grabbed him by the shirt. While the dude was having trouble moving with all the tape turning him into a mummy, he still managed to pull Sero close and glare into his eyes.

"Eep!" Sero said weakly.

Then Jiro hit them both. Waves of sound erupted from her legs, hitting the pair. Sato let go of Sero, trying to grab his ears. The second he let go of Sero, Jiro ran over and wrapped his wrist in capture tape.

As in the tape that disqualified people, not the ones Sero had been shooting.

Sato stared at her, still disorientated. Jiro swallowed nervously. Then he calmed down, slumping in the tape surrounding him. He mumbled under his breath, exhausted.

Sero and Jiro rose to their feet, the tape guy shaken but not dead, and ran together to the bomb room.

And a laser blast shot at them. Jiro ducked with a yelp as the laser shot just over her head. The laser impacted the wall behind her, cracking the concrete.

"Vous ne pouvez pas passer!" Aoyama shouted with pride, his hips thrust forward as the light of his laser faded. He pointed a finger. "Sorry, mademoiselle, but this shall be my win!"

"This is your fault," I told Iida jokingly. "You turned a battle simulation into drama class."

Before Iida could say anything, Mina cut in. "Actually, I get the feeling he would have acted like that no matter what."

...Yeah, fair enough.

Aoyama released another blast. I could see Jiro duck back, biting her lip. I could guess what she was thinking. With the world's most fabulous laser firing at her, how could she get to the bomb?

Sero said something to her we couldn't hear. She seemed to think before raising her head to look over at Sato, the big man wrapped up enough tape that he looked like an Egyptian mummy. Something seemed to shine in her eyes. She shouted to Sero. The tape shooter seemed aghast at the idea, but finally nodded.

I tried to figure out her plan. A long hallway played to Aoyoma's strengths in a big way. His laser might hurt him after some time, but he could still let out small bursts. And that laser really was no joke. In a small space like that hallway, he had the advantage.

If they could get past that hallway though, then things would open up for them. I couldn't see any other entrances though, not even a window. So what could Sero and Jiro do?

Her plan was actually way more interesting than I expected.

Aoyama had been ready to fire again. So when a ball of tape came flying towards him, he hit with a blast. Then another came at him. And another.

Aoyama's face paled when he realized what was happening. Jiro and Sero had bundled up dozens of balls of tape wrapped around concrete pieces from when his laser blast had cracked the wall. They ran out of cover, rushing forward the second they heard Aoyoma fire his blasts.

The blonde adjusted quickly, forgoing his quick and accurate blasts for a powerful long stream of sparkling blasts, setting his feet as he aimed the laser at Jiro. She jumped into the air, dodging the blast. Aoyama adjusted his aim, screaming in pain but still letting loose, trying to get Jiro in the air.

A line of tape wrapped around her waist. Another attached to the wall behind the bomb. Aoyama's eyes widened as Sero pulled at the wall and Jiro at the same time, sending her out of the way of the laser and shooting her forward. The grinning punk star flew like a bullet.

Aoyama tried to adjust again, but one of the tossed balls of tape tapped him in the face, distracting him long enough for Jiro to fly past. She landed against the bomb with a wide grin.

"GOT IT!"

Aoyama shouted out in despair, then clenched his stomach in pain, Sero rushing over to pat his stomach as Jiro's smile got a little awkward. Well, the kid had put in a hell of a lot of effort!

But Jiro had forced his attention to waver between the tape balls about to hit him and the two students rushing for him, and a laser doesn't do well with AOE attacks. One moment of indecision had been enough.

Hero Team G, wins.

Give Sato and Aoyoma credit though. While Jiro got her MVP status, both of them looked more determined than disheartened.

------

Which left one last battle.

Hero Team E, Kirishima and Koda vs Villain Team J, Tsuyu and Kaminari.

Now that was interesting to me. Of the team-ups, I couldn't think of one less suited for the role of villain than Tsuyu and Kamanari. Tsuyu was a mobile attacker, with high speed, agility, and long-range attacks in her repertoire. Kamanari was a mobile lightning storm. Not exactly abilities that screamed defensive wall to me.

But Kirishima and Koda had a different problem. Which was that Kirishima was a loud boisterous, over-the-top kinda dude. And Koda… well, was the opposite of all of that.

So when the bell rang to start the match, it didn't surprise me to see that Kirishima turning and yelling happily at Koda ended in the poor big guy getting spooked. But Kirishima was a nice guy. So after that initial surprise, he calmed down and spoke more calmly to Koda.

Tsuyu, on the other side of things, seemed to realize that her team wasn't optimized for defense.

(Which gave me an idea for the afterschool thing, but I saved that to run by smarter/more battle-focused people later.)

So she made a suggestion to Kaminari. The lightning boy loved the idea entirely.

That was when a bird flew into the room. Then three rats. Kaminari screamed like a little girl, while Tsuyu simply glared at them suspiciously. The animals looked at them, then ran out of the room, the bird briefly harassing Kaminari before flying out. Thankfully he didn't panic enough to let loose, but the slight buzz around his skin told us he'd come close.

Tsuyu seemed to guess what was going on though. Koda hadn't really used his powers during the Quirk apprehension test, but I guessed Tsuyu had seen him when he talked to animals during lunch, or maybe even took the physical test with him.

True to her suspicions, the animals, along with a couple of extra birds and rats that must have gone to other rooms, rushed back to Kirishima and Koda (lots of K-names in this match…). Kirishima watched as Koda kneeled down to talk to the small group of animals. After a moment, he spoke to Kirishima.

The redhead gave a grin that wouldn't have looked out of place on my own face. He raised a fist that hardened like stone, Koda gulping at the eager look on his face. He rushed forward, Koda following with a small group of animals.

As they went in, I frowned. Animal control is an insanely useful power. Granted, I wasn't sure on the limits of his power. Was it actual control, as in the animals couldn't refuse an order? It seemed like it was based on his voice, so it wasn't quite as powerful as Ma-Ti's overpowered ass, but still impressive. Come to think of it, it was probably good that Koda had those powers. A guy with an army of animals under his command spying across the city could become very dangerous… Very dangerous.

Ohhhhh.

As I came upon that little epiphany, Kirishima was rushing forwards, his sharp teeth flashing. Koda was trying to slow him down, but the kid's nervousness was keeping him from really getting his voice out. So they rushed into the room that Koda had indicated!

And nothing was inside except Kaminari, grinning like a madman in the pipe filled room.

He ran forwards towards Koda and Kirishima, lightning surrounding him. Kirishima ran right back at him, his body hardening as he roared.

"Shonen moment, they're having a shonen moment!" Mina yelled, jumping up and down.

Koda let out a little squeal as the pair of boys met in the center of the room.

Lightning crackled around the boys the second they met in the center. Kaminari grinned as he held onto Kirishima by the fists, the stone kid yelling in pain.

Oh yeah, he'd accidentally done something like that during the USJ arc. His powers only instantly cooked his brain when he projected his power in a massive AOE attack. Not when he was just releasing it into something he was touching.

Still, Kirishima wasn't the kind of guy to let a little electrocution stop him. He grit his teeth, the sharpened fangs flashing in the light, and reared his head back, before bringing it forward to hit Kaminari in the face. The kid yelped, stepping back while gripping his face. Kirishima stepped forward. Kaminari yelped at the sight of a fist coming towards him and unleashed his full power.

The room lit up like the sun. Kirishima screamed. Koda was out of the room, crouched down with his hands over his ears. Kaminari's face slowly began to slack. The electricity bounced across the metal pipes in the ceiling above them.

Kirishima's eyes flashed. He stepped forward, his body spasming. And with a single powerful blow, hit Kaminari in the stomach.

"Ohhhhh!" I said in unison with some of the others, wincing. Damn, that looked painful.

Kaminari folded over Kirishima's fist, eyes rolling into the back of his head before Kirishima, still spasming a bit, struggled to pull out some capture tape from his waist pouch.

That was when Tsuyu struck. She must have come from carrying the bomb elsewhere in the building. She came hopping around a corner towards Koda. To his credit, the kid immediately noticed her. His eyes widened in surprise, before he pointed at her, saying something we couldn't hear. The birds and rats that had followed him attacked Tsuyu, flying/skittering towards her in a feathered and furred swarm.

The frog girl didn't hesitate. She jumped to a wall, across to the next wall, the floor, the ceiling, then back to the floor at high speed, avoiding the animals by bouncing like a damn pinball before lashing out with her tongue, wrapping it around Koda's ankles and pulling with all her strength. He fell to the ground in a panic, hitting his back on the ground, before Tsuyu pulled again while jumping forward, her swift hands wrapping Koda's hand up in capture tape as the big guy was still staggered.

The birds and rats went to attack her anyways, but Koda quickly hissed, freezing them in their tracks. Good thing the kid wasn't a sore loser.

Damn it, I'm so mad at myself for not even thinking of capture tape. Then again, Shoto likely would have frozen it apart, so that was fine.

Kirishima was wrapping up Kamanari in tape as well, still spasming, and turned in shock when he saw that Tsuyu had taken out Koda. The frog girl and rock boy eyed each other. I could see both calculating things out. And Tsuyu surprised me. The smart decision, in my mind, was to run. She'd taken down Kirishima's best way of tracking the bomb and she was down a man. If she could run, take advantage of her speed, she'd stand a good chance at winning.

Instead, she bounced into the room with Kirishima and struck with her tongue. He raised a clawed hand, only to realize she was aiming for a pipe above his head. She pulled herself forward and kicked Kirishima in the chest, bouncing back from him. He took the blow without a hint of pain but ended up tripping over Kaminari behind him, falling on his ass. By the time he got up, Tsuyu had disappeared.

Oh. That was way better. Now she'd disappeared from his vision. And Kirishima was a tough tank, but he was no Sherlock Holmes. He got up and to his credit, went running through the hallways. He ran from room to room, trying to find Tsuyu, getting more and more frustrated.

Tsuyu waited until he was deep into the search. Then she took the bomb and brought it right back to the original room.

Damn. That was devious. And pretty damn ballsy.

Kirishima roamed through the halls, smashing down doors, getting more and more frustrated, while Tsuyu waited patiently with Koda and Kaminari, the two boys aghast at the fact that not only was this her plan, but it was working!

But she got the last laugh when the timer rang and Kirishima was left on an upper floor wondering what the heck happened. She looked up at the sound of the bell, then smiled cutely, head cocking to the side.

"Kero!"

Adorable.

"Okay, I want Tsuyu on my team from now on," I said to Sato. "Girls got balls of steel."

He stared at me, apparently not knowing how to take that little statement.

Villain Team J, win.

------

"Well done, zygotes!" All Might said after the class, grinning at us proudly. "You all were great! And we only had three injured as well!"

Ah. My bad.

"A fantastic first training session!"

Tsuyu raised a hand. "To have such a proper class after Aizawa-sensei's class," she hesitated to rub her cheek. "It's kind of anticlimactic," she ended weakly, some of the others nodding.

"Somehow I think that grumpy old man would just take that as a compliment," I mumbled to Mina.

"He would, wouldn't he!?" the pinkette said, chuckling just a bit.

All Might be coughed, though he apparently heard us because I think he was also hiding a laugh. "Yes, well! I will head out and review the results with Young Midoriya, Mineta, and Shoji! Change and return to class! BYE BYEEE!!!!"

Saying the last in accented English, he rushed off in a blur, sending gusts of winds outwards.

"Huh. I thought there was no running in the hallways," I chuckled.

"All Might is amazing!" Kaminari said in awe.

I looked at the kids. At the awe on their faces. Except for Bakugo, who looked like someone had killed his puppy. But all of them had this sense of… wonder. All Might really meant so much to this world.

I faced where he'd left. That man was dying. I was one of maybe less than, what, 8 people who knew about it? He was slowly dying. And yet, he was still fighting. Still protecting people. Despite all that pain, he… yeah.

"He really is amazing," I mumbled.

I shook it off, turning to the class. "So, I'm gonna put up that sign-up sheet in the class for that after-school thing once I get a chance, then I'll talk to Aizawa-sensei to figure out how official we can make this. My friend from Class-B is going to help."

"I can't make it today after school," Jiro said sadly. "I promised my parents I'd help them out with something. But I'd still like to come tomorrow."

"Hey, you know I'm in," Sato said, raising a thumb. "Should be fun, practicing with everyone!"

"Same for me," Tsuyu said. "As long as we have permission, kero!"

"We'll get it, I promise! Right after class."

"May I come along when you meet the teachers?" Momo asked, the studious student raising a hand. "I would like to know what the official process is for such things in case we need to do it again."

"I would like to join you as well!" Iida said proudly, waving his hands proudly as Ochaco giggled at his antics.

"Oh, oh! I wanna come-" Mina was about to say before I quickly raised my one hand.

"Whoa, calm down! How about we just stick with Ida, Momo, and I? Me, because it was my fucking idea," I said with a grin, getting some looks of disapproval at my language. "Momo because she's smarter than all of us put together and teachers love that. And Iida because he has glasses."

"W-What is that supposed to mean!?" Iida said in shock through his dope helmet.

"He's right, it does make him look super responsible when he wears them," Sero joked.

"It's because they're boxy. If they were slanted he'd look like a dark supervillain about to rule the world," Kaminari chimed in.

"Oh, that's why he was so good at it before!" Ochaco teased, poking an irate Iida in the side.

"You guys…" Iida grumbled.

I patted him on the back. "Seriously, it's because you've been an earnest and studious dude from the second I met you."

He seemed touched.

"Then it's decided," Momo said firmly, cocking her hip and smiling. "We'll go to Aizawa-sensei after class and ask him what we need to do to make a regular training club for hero students."

"Let us know how it goes!" Toru chimed in from… somewhere.

We headed back to class, ready for the next part of the day. And the whole time, Bakugo and Shoto simply ignored us, in their own little world.

Chapter 12: Making A Club

When we got back to the class after changing back into our normal clothes, I wrote my name and phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Momo, who did the same before passing it on. By the time we were all in class, I had a list of names.

Not everyone signed. Mineta, Shoji, and Deku were of course not able to sign just yet. Considering two of them were injured and one looked like a cosplay of a concrete shoggoth. Poor Shoji...

Bakugo didn't sign. I was so 'shocked'. In other words, it was pretty much what I expected. The kid was mostly ignoring the world, almost depressed.

Shoto didn't sign as well, but that was only slightly less surprising. He struck me as the type of guy who loved training by himself. Everyone else signed it though, which was honestly what surprised me. I'd figured at least a couple of the kids would be too lazy to join. They certainly had more discipline than I did in my first go around in high school.

That or they were just signing it. A signature wasn't the same as an obligation. Not until I got the lawyers involved at least.

As I huffed an amused chuckle at my own joke, the door slid open. I looked up, expecting the science teacher. Instead, the tall form of Shoji stood in the doorway. He had some raw sections of skin, and looked as though he'd showered recently, but otherwise looked pretty good. Even had his mask back. And Mineta followed him.

"Hey, what's up guys!" Kaminari said, turning to look at them with a grin. "You missed a crazy day!"

"I believe we were part of that day," a weary Shoji said from one of the mouths of his tentacle.

"Don't even start!" Mineta flopped down into his seat wearily. He groaned, laying his head on his desk. "My whole body is sore!"

"Look's like you healed up pretty well though!" Mina said, poking at his cheek playfully. "I gotta say, I didn't know you had anything like that in you. That was pretty cool."

"Yes, well done!" Momo said in agreement.

Almost magically, all his exhaustion seemed to fade. He grinned. It was an honestly happy smile, a bit of joy in it. Then he seemed to realize that while Mina was poking him playfully on the cheek, her thighs were at his eye level. I know, because I saw it the second his smile shifted to a joyous leer.

I walked over and smacked my palm down his desk before he could get a really good look surprising Mina and Mineta.

"Eep!" Mina yelped.

"Ya!" he jumped in surprise, staring up at me. He immediately got defensive. "Wha-What was that fo-"

"Here," I handed him a pencil, then pointed at the paper I'd smacked in front of him. He stared down at it. "You should join the after school club. I think you can be a damn good hero man. You too, Shoji. You've got good powers, some serious fucking grit, and a lot of cojones."

"C-Cojones?" Mineta quirked his head, confused. "What are cojones?

"Spanish. Means a man's testicles, or guts."

In the background, Mina busted out laughing. I ignored it to say the hardest part.

"Also. I'm gonna apologize for being a lot meaner than you deserved," I felt embarrassed. "I shouldn't have said you have no redeeming features. You've got spirit. So, I'm sorry."

Mineta stared at me. Then he grinned, hopping up onto the desk. "Ooooohhhh! Now that you've seen my greatness, you've finally apologized! Well, there couldn't have been any other result!" he said with a bit of smugness.

I reached out and grabbed him by his head while he was still preening. His smug grin froze a bit as I leaned forward and whispered so the others couldn't hear, my eyes staring into his.

"Kid. I gave you an apology. Learn to quit while you're ahead."

"...Y-Yeah."

"And please, calm it down with how you treat girls. It's okay to be a pervert. Almost everyone likes sex, it's not a crime. It's not okay to intrude on the privacy and space of others. So tone it back and I won't make a complaint to faculty to see if detention or worse punishments change your mind. Learn from your mistake."

Somehow, I don't think that part sunk in as much, as he mostly just grimaced a bit. That was fine. I made my point. I let go of him and grinned.

"Still. I underestimated you. So sorry and nice job."

The science teacher came in then, and I sat down. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mineta glare at the paper. Then he signed it and passed it to Shoji.

Okay. Mineta might grow on me just yet.

I looked at the teacher only to blink.

She looked completely normal. She wore a science lab coat and a small red mask, but looked otherwise normal. No craziness to her costume, no mutations. She looked us over. "All right, kids. I'm Vector, the UA science teacher. Today we'll be going over the curriculum. Take out your textbooks."

"So normal…" Sato and I said in twin surprise. All of our teachers had been just a bit crazy so far, or at least looked super out there. Present Mic was loud, Midnight was pervy, Aizawa was gruff and lazy. This was the first somewhat normal teacher.

Mina leaned over to Kaminari, who chuckled at whatever she said. The teacher, who had been writing on the board, clearly heard it.

She spun around. That was when I realized her pupils shifted until they looked like a pair of red dot sights in a black pupil. "No talking!"

Her left hand pulled a rubber ball from her pocket before she tossed it up. As the ball came down, she bounced her hip outwards. The rubber ball went zooming past Momo's ear, bounced off the wall, then cross the room to hit Mina in the back of the head before snapping to the side and bouncing off Kaminari's chin before landing back in her palm. The whole thing took less than a second.

"Ow!/Owie!" Kaminari and Mina shouted, grabbing their head and chin respectively.

She shook her head. "Science is full of danger. It is a wonderful art, giving us knowledge of the inner workings of the universe! But to study science is to contest with a world that is unforgiving, beautiful, and dangerous as a hurricane!" She bounced the rubber ball in her hand, smiling beautifully. "Be silent, learn, and you will learn to rule the natural world itself!"

I swear to god, she somehow managed to look both incredibly enthusiastic and terrifying. Actually, she kind of reminded me of the female Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. Same energy, if different in appearance.

Sato and I shared a look.

Okay, fine. Every teacher at UA was weird.

------

After science, we were left in the class to do a bit of cleanup. Traditional class things in Japan. But sweeping up took like six seconds, then we started chatting about the training.

"Honestly, I wish I had a way to track people," Kirishima said with some chagrin. "I ran through the whole place trying to find Asui-san, and she just went right back to where I started."

"I had to," Tsuyu said bluntly. "You're too tough for me to beat, Kirishima-san, and I didn't want to run around and get tired or try to get you with the capture tape while you tried to punch me."

Kirishima brightened a bit, though he still seemed a bit down about his loss.

"Speaking of that fight," Kaminari said, the lightning kid looking a bit disheartened himself. "I really need to learn a new way to control my powers. They kinda worked while I was touching Kirishima, but then I went all… you know."

"Oh, we know," Jiro said, grinning at him as she swung one of her earphone jacks around and around. "It was hilarious!"

"Heeeeeey," Kaminari frowned at her, though he didn't seem that offended.

A similar discussion was being had on the other side of the room.

"Yaomomo, your power was so good!" Mina said with some contrition. "It was so hard to get through those plates too!"

"Well, I attempted to use a metal that would be tough to corrode through without compromising strength," Momo said humbly, though she was also smiling. "But I underestimated the strength of the acids you can create! Are you able to change the chemical mixture you use on the fly?"

"I don't know!" Mina said, Momo blinking at the enthusiastic denial. "I never thought about it. I usually just make it strong or weak as I need."

"Oh, that is interesting," Momo pressed a finger to her chin. "Maybe if we could figure out what sort of liquid your acid technically is, you can figure out other possibilities for it? We would need samples, but-"

"Shoto's power was pretty damn overwhelming," I told Shoji, Mineta, and Iida, all of us standing around Shoji. "I'm pretty strong, but the ice he was making was still strong enough to slow me down. It doesn't help that his instincts are top-notch. Kid has a reaction time like lightning."

"Indeed," Shoji agreed. "His quirk is quite formidable."

"And his technique is impeccable as well," Iida said, nodding to Ochaco as she came over to join us. She'd been with Kirishima and Mina trying to stop Bakugo from leaving, before his grumpy ass headed out the door, and looked a bit downtrodden that she failed. "Truly a formidable set of talents."

"You did good too though!" Ochaco cheered up, looking up at me with her head craned back, pumping a fist as she spoke enthusiastically. "You kept smashing all his ice! And I didn't know you could breathe fire!"

"I can't, actually. I'm just really good at rap," I joked. "Thank you though. Felt good to let loose like that. It was fun, pushing myself to my limits in a fight. Hopefully we get more chances to do that soon. How about you guys?"

"I'm afraid I didn't have the same experience," Shoji said. "My own fight was more based on attrition, rather than any sort of exhilarating experience, thanks to Mineta."

"I'm not apologizing," Mineta said, crossing his arms. "Because you punched me a bunch! That whole fight was terrifying!"

"Our own battle was interesting," Iida said to Ochaco. "I found your abilities more useful for direct combat than I expected. Manipulation of gravity is quite formidable!"

"I liked that you acted like a villain!" Ochaco said cheerfully, giggling a bit. "You were so cheesy!"

"Hey, cheesy villains are fun," I said, patting Iida on his back. "Real life villains are dicks. Cheesy villains are at least enjoying their lives."

I suddenly hoped that the Big Bad of this universe wasn't cheesy. I'd hate it if my words bit me in the ass.

"Ochaco-san," Kaminari said, walking over. "We better grab those books."

"Oh, right! See you guys soon!"

The gravity girl and lightning lad headed out, and I drifted over to Tokoyami. "Hey bro. How are you?"

"I'm contemplating my battle," he said seriously. "As well as deciding how to counter my own weaknesses. For one who rests in the darkness, finding the way to truth is a challenge only the unwavering may succeed in."

I stared at him for a good moment. So wait. Tokoyami was some kind of emo kid? Why hadn't I known this? "...That sounds good. Granted, Momo really went all in with the gear. I think you did as well as someone could considering the circumstances. Flashbangs and tear gas are MEAN."

"I didn't mind," Tokoyami said nonchalantly. "In a battle, I would be offended if my opponent did not put their full effort into the fight, whether it ends in my win or loss."

"Same," I said, thinking of a few times. Most of them were related to video games or card games though. "Few things more annoying than fighting someone and finding out they didn't have enough respect to put everything they got into it. By the way, I'd love to spar with you one day dude."

He smiled just a bit. "Oh? Is that so? You may find me to be more of a challenge than you believe."

"I got a vivid imagination," I grinned at him in challenge. Fighting Dark Shadow would be such a damn blast.

The door to the class slid open and Deku walked into the room. Kirishima's loud voice rang out.

"Oh, Midoriya's here!" The redhead went over to the greenette excitedly. "Good work!"

"Ah?" Deku's eyes widened in surprise.

"Man, I don't know what you were saying during the match," Kirishima continued. "But you were fired up!"

Not seeing any reason not to, I gave Tokoyami a polite nod and walked over, Mina, Aoyoma, Sato, and Sero joining in.

"I can't believe you fought evenly with Bakugo!" Sero said, the tape guy grinning. "He was first in the entrance exam!"

"You did a good job dodging!" Mina said excitedly.

"And throwing godlike punches," I added, standing over the rest of the group.

"Yeah, you guys were so cool we had to give it our all as well!" Sato said.

Aoyoma, a smile on his face, spoke up. "You were far from elegant, but-"

"You kicked ass/You did a good job dodging!" Mina and I said in unison, the pink girl bouncing up and down excitedly as she repeated herself with a wide grin.

"H-Huh?" Deku said at the flood of praise.

Everyone introduced themselves to Deku, with Tsuyu and Mineta coming in as well.

"Seriously dude, you were great," I told him seriously. "But seriously, we got to work on that quirk of yours hurting you like that."

"Ah," he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm still getting the hang of things."

"I feel for you!" Kirishima pointed at a scar above his eye. "When I was a kid, I cut myself with my quirk."

"Accidentally crushed a cup of chocolate milk in my hand and cut myself," Sato said in agreement.

"I accidently broke my kitchen counter while I was still getting used to my strength," I added. "It takes time, but you'll figure it out. You should sign up for the after school club we're gonna make."

"After school club?" Deku asked, embarrassment turning into curiosity.

"It was Bowser's idea," Kirishima said, pointing a thumb at me. "We want to get together and train with the other hero class after school, trade ideas and spar!"

"Oh, that does sound interesting," Deku said thoughtfully.

"Then I'll get the sign-up sheet for you!" I turned to get it, noting Iida scolding Tokoyami for sitting on his desk, but ignored it to grab the sheet. While I was doing that, Ochaco and Kaminari came back in. I'd just picked up the sheet when Momo came up to me.

"Bowser-san," she said politely. "Are you ready to go to the administration office?"

"Yeah, just need to grab Izuku's signature," I told her.

"Wonderful! Oh, what about your friends from I-B?" she asked with a hint of worry.

"They'll meet us there, don't worry. Let me just… Oh… Right."

Deku was gone.

Somehow, despite everything, I'd forgotten that Deku was going to have his little moment with Bakugo in front of the school. Not a little moment actually. A BIG moment.

...A moment I'd have to miss.

Damn it. I'd really wanted to hear Ochaco's whole 'the fated battle between men!' thing. That was adorable. But I'd...

"I'll have him sign it later I guess. Iida!" I called for the bespectacled kid as I grabbed my bag. "We're headed out."

"Understood!" he said, waving his hands jerkily.

Momo got her own bag and we headed out together.

------

"So Bowser-san, who are we meeting?" Momo asked me. We were walking in line, Momo in between us with Iida on her left and me on her right.

"My friend Pony Tsunotori and her classmates," I explained. "I don't know who she's bringing, but they'll be there for the same reason as us. Hopefully, if the teachers give us permission, we can all sit down and organize this whole thing correctly."

"Will there be a kaichou?" Iida asked, looking VERY interested in the position of club president. "Or a captain, possibly, considering the physical nature of our studies."

"Maybe," I said thoughtfully. After school clubs in Japan were serious business in my old world, and they'd continued that way here. They weren't just a way to hang out. They were a serious commitment and could look DAMN good on a college application. And at a school like this, that was even more so. "For now, let's just get permission. I don't want to decide on a captain before we actually have a club."

"That would be logical," Momo agreed, Iida stroking his chin behind her as we approached the administration office.

"Bowser!" Pony's voice drew my attention. She was waiting outside of the door with Kendo and Monoma. She waved as we walked up. "You have a sign up sheet!"

"Yep, right here," I handed it to her while Monoma smirked at us.

"OHOHOHOHO! So Class 1-A arrives after us!? I guess you aren't as dedicated as one would believe!"

Momo and Iida stared at him, nonplussed, as he began to laugh, giving them the anime crazy eyes. "Class A is supposed to be better than Class B, so isn't that strange! PERHAPS BEING ON TOP HAS LED YOU TO BECOME LAZY! HAHAHAHA-"

Kendo karate-chopped in the back of his head, Momo and Iida gaping in shock at the sight of him falling to the ground while Pony and I watched. "W-What!?"

"Sorry about that," Kendo said casually, smiling at them. "He's not a very good human being."

"So brutal," Iida whispered in shock.

"Monoma's used to it," I said. "Guys, this is Pony Tsunotori, my best friend in the world."

"Hi!"

"Itsuka Kendo, a badass martial arts chick."

"I like that description!" Kendo said with a fist raised proudly.

"And Neito Monoma, a living meme."

"Hello," Monoma said weakly, raising a hand to wave from his position on the floor.

"This is Momo Yaoyorozu, a living cheat code to the universe."

She bowed politely, then blinked. "Living cheat code?"

"And this is Tenya Iida. He's fast as fuck, boy."

"I do not approve of your language, but you are correct," Tenya said seriously. "Greetings."

"So, let's go in there and ask for permission to punch each other," I said, knocking lightly before opening the door and entering.

"Maybe let's not word it that way," Pony said as she followed me in.

Inside the office, Ectoplasm, our mathematics teacher, was standing near Aizawa and Vlad, who were sitting at their desks talking with him. The trio looked up at our entrance, confusion on their faces as we came around to approach them.

"Kids? What are you doing here?" Ectoplasm said. Gotta say, his voice was badass. "Is there something wrong."

"No, Ectoplasm-sensei," Momo said. "We came to ask for something, and we wanted to understand what the process would be."

"Oh?" Aizawa leaned back in his chair. "And you needed classmates from both A and B?"

"It's something both classes wanted," Pony said, handing the sign-up sheets to Vlad. "We would like to create an after school club to train together."

"And we'd like to have use of some of the facilities if possible," I added as Vlad and Aizawa took a look at the sheets. "I looked into it, and there didn't seem to be any clubs available for that already."

"Because they'd fall apart in the middle of the year," Aizawa said with a bit of sass. "Students eventually become interns, then sidekicks in some cases. It's not really worth creating a club when most of the students involved in it will disappear for weeks to do other work."

"That's something we can easily work around," I said. "It doesn't need to be an everyday thing. As long as we can get a chance to meet up and compare notes, spar, share ideas, play out scenarios, that could be valuable for us."

"He may be from Class A, but he's right," Monoma said.

"Dude… you gotta let that grudge go."

"Monoma, you would listen to someone from Class A?" Vlad asked, as though some deep betrayal had happened.

"Never mind, I see where it comes from."

Both Monoma and Vlad ignored me, while Kendo and Pony sighed. Monoma continued.

"Vlad-sensei, I know. But having time after class to dedicate to our heroic studies can be good. Plus, it was also Pony's idea."

"Really?" Vlad looked over at her. She nodded.

"Well, I honestly don't care as long as I don't have to spend time on it," Aizawa said bluntly.

"Gotta take care of that sparkling social life, huh?" I joked.

He gave me a glare, while Vlad coughed out a laugh. "That sounds like something someone who doesn't want their new club to be approved would say."

"Sorry," I said quickly. He smirked just a bit, speaking again.

"The process for a club is the same as every other school in Japan. You need a room or facility, an advisor, and a kaicho. I think we can sign off on you using one of the Battle Grounds as long as Cementoss has no issue with repairing whatever damage you all cause. Ken's usually okay with it, says it's good for his training, but it would be polite for you to ask. You'll need an advisor as well, and like I said, I'm not doing it on top of my other responsibilities."

"I'm afraid I would be in the same boat," Vlad said seriously. Then he looked over at Ectoplasm.

"I believe I can help," the tall teacher said. "I do have the mathematics club, but my quirk allows me to help multiple clubs and individuals if need be. I'll extend an offer to the other teachers if you like? I know Midnight would help."

"No, I'll do it," Aizawa said with an annoyed huff.

"If you could let some of the general education, support, and business students know they can join up as well, that would be good," I said.

Everyone looked at me, surprised. Aizawa quirked an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"Because learning how to defend yourself until the police or a hero can arrive and save you is a good skill to have. Besides, it helps everyone. We have more kids to practice with, we can train the general education kids that want to eventually shift to the hero course, the support course gets a chance to really work on their tech, and the business course will interact with the people they might one day be working with."

"Hm," Aizawa folded up the sign-up sheet. "Well, I'll let you spread the word," he told Vlad. "Now, how about a leader?"

"Iida and Kendo," I said quickly. Both of them stared at me, surprised.

"Bowser-kun, don't you want to be kaicho?" Pony asked me.

"Or me!" Monoma said, pointing at his own face.

I gave him a look before turning to Vlad and Aizawa.

"Nah, I'm good. I think we should have a leader from each class, so that both Hero classes are represented, rather than any sort of favoritism. Iida should be a kaicho because he's a responsible dude who would take the job seriously and do everything he can to make the club work. Kendo should lead because she can handle anyone who gets uppity, doesn't take any shit, and is all around cool. So they have my vote," I looked over at Monoma. "That, and I'm worried that Monoma's first decree if he became president is that Class A students have to bow every time he passes."

Monoma seemed to think about that. Then he smiled. A beautiful, childlike smile.

Dude had issues…

"All right then," Aizawa got to his feet. "Always nice when people add more work to my plate."

"Sorry, sensei," Momo said, Pony nodding in agreement.

He waved it off. "Not your fault. It's a good idea. I'll get this started, maybe send Cementoss your way if he has any suggestions for where to practice. You all come up with how you want this little club to be set up. Hopefully you don't come to me a month from now with excuses for why it didn't work."

"None of us have resolve that weak," Monoma said.

Aizawa smirked a bit, and walked off.

"Thanks, sensei," I called to Aizawa, getting a wave. I turned to Ectoplasm and Vlad. "Same to you. Thank you very much. We'll make you proud."

------

Once we left the room, we stood in the hallway.

"Bowser," Iida said. "Are you sure about this? This whole thing was your idea. I can step down if you'd like to lead with Kendo-san."

"And Pony's," I said, nodding to her as she smiled. "And I'm sure. And if you do step down, I'm nominating Momo," I looked over at her. "In fact, you were just as much a candidate as Iida. I had to pick between you two, since she's got as many qualifications as you do."

"Ah," Momo blinked up at me, looking a little hurt. "Then, why didn't you pick me?"

"There wasn't a reason. I flipped a coin," Momo and Iida sweatdropped, while Pony slammed my side. "What! They're both super-smart and dedicated students! Both could be great leaders for us. So I couldn't decide."

"And me?" Kendo asked, looking a little confused. "Why did you suggest me? We've only met once."

"Because of Pony," I explained. "She told me that you've already taken a bit of a leadership role in Class B. Monoma's attitude already makes me think that others in the class might be feeling the same, so I knew we'd need two leaders. And I'm a good judge of character. You strike me as a leader right off the bat. After all, you got that awesome onee-san energy."

"He's right," Pony said, nodding quickly. "You sort of act like everyone's big sister already!"

"I still say I should just be the overall leader," Monoma said, brushing back his hair with a dramatic cartoon flourish. Then he became a bit more serious. "But I can accept Kendo."

"That said, we'll all help you as much as possible," I bowed. "So, captains. Let's go draw up some plans together?"

Iida and Kendo shared a look. Then she raised a determined fist, while he adjusted his glasses. "Okay. Then I will humbly accept."

"Let get this started then! Let's go to a cafe and talk it out!" Kendo said cheerfully. "Come on!"

"Oh, but what should we name our club?" Momo asked, before we could leave. "Something simple, like the hero club?"

"No, it needs to be much more dramatic!" Monoma said, waving a hand. "Like the Monoma Troupe!"

"The Koopa Troopas," I said jokingly. Although I wouldn't have minded if they said yes, just for the hilarity factor."

"You just stole my idea!" Monoma said, scowling at me.

"I mean, I did steal it, but not from you," I admitted.

"I want us to be the UA Sentai!" Pony said, skipping forward to look at us. "Because we're going to be heroes. And we're going to work together. Just like the Super Sentai."

"Hmm," Iida rubbed his chin. "It does carry heroic connotations. And they have a well-respected history in Japan."

Welcome to the future of Japan, where Jojo, Pokemon, and Super Sentai have the same significance as any mythology or history of my previous time period. Truly, I live in enlightened times.

"That might make people think we're a military unit," Momo said worriedly. She had a point. Sentai was used mostly for the heroes nowadays, but it was still used for it's previous connotations.

"Then we'll be the UA Super Sentai," Kendo said, rubbing Pony's head. "It's a good name."

"It's a proper nerd name. I love it," I said with a grin. "Hell, there's even six of us! Clearly I'm the Pink Sentai, since I'm the prettiest."

"Sixth Sentai!" Monoma called before they could process that. "The coolest and best every time!"

"Wait, then which of us is Red?" Kendo asked Iida, who seemed lost that this conversation was even happening.

"Which Sentai can be girls?" Momo asked Pony, sounding more like she was asking for help with her studies than about hypothetically becoming a mecha piloting super hero.

We headed to the cafe, joking about that all the while.