Year One

by Grunkbunk

Summary:

65 years before the story of My Hero Academia, Japan is a dark and hopeless place. Heroes are few and far between, and crime is rampant. In such a desolate place, the only thing that can bring hope is a Hero Academy. Follow Towa Haruka through Year One of UA’s existence, he'll make new friends, fight villains, learn to fight and protect, and discover the dark secret behind his mysterious past. Includes occasional cover and action art, with some doodles along the way.

Credit to snuckleberrie on TikTok for the first cover
Credit to Xen.ofc on TikTok for the other Art

Chapter 1: Desolation

Snow dumps onto a desolate playground as the sun sets. The swings sway in the wind. The slides slowly get covered in a thicker and thicker coat of snow. The symphony of excitement from all the playing kids is long gone. All that's left is the hollow sound of icy wind. Suddenly, the sounds of violence push through. Two people, both young adult men, relentlessly beat an older man, kicking him against a tree. After a few kicks, blood splatters as the man collapses. They kick him a few more times. He’s completely unconscious. 

 

“What an idiot. Check him,” one of the men says coldly. The other guy's eyes begin to glow. After a few moments, a similar glow begins to shine through the fallen man’s jacket. He opens it and grabs a wallet. As he looks through it, another person walks past the playground. It's a kid wearing a middle school uniform. He was short and scrawny, with long bluish hair that nearly covered his dark eyes. He put his headphones around his neck.  He walks until he notices the two men. He makes a face of subtle freak out before he starts walking faster, avoiding eye contact. He can only avoid it for so long, however. With one glance at them, he sees the old man slumped against the tree. Suddenly he stops. The two thugs continue looking through the wallet.

 

“How much?”

 

“Not enough.”

 

“Disappointing. We’ll have to find someone else.”

 

“Hey!” The Kid yells. He stands a few feet behind them. He throws his bag to the side. Despite his small stature and the intense bags under his eyes, he stood confidently against the thieves. Both men started to laugh.

 

“You must be crazy! Check him!” The first man said while half laughing. He gestures over to the other man. His eyes begin to glow again. He sees a few glowing spots on the kid's body.

 

“He’s got a lot more.”

 

“Heh, all I needed to hear.”

 

Both of them rushed towards him. He looked unbothered. Right before they reached him, he quickly bent over, grabbing a fist full of snow. He precisely tossed it right into the face of one of his attackers. While one was stunned, the other threw out an unskilled punch, hitting the kid across his face. He shook it off quickly, catching the next punch. The first attacker smacked the snow out of his eyes and charged in. Before he could reach him, the Kid trips the other guy, forcing him to fall to the ground. He then jumps and lands bottom first right onto his gut. The other attacker punches down, trying to strike the kid again, who moves back, forcing the attacker to hit his already hurt teammate. He lies there groaning. The other guy steps over him and stands against the kid, whose nose had begun bleeding from the earlier exchange.

 

“You’re gonna pay for that you damned kid!”

 

He charged in again. He threw a punch that was caught. His second punch landed right in the kid's gut, then another landed right across his face. He tried to throw a third but it was caught. The kid held both his arms. He kicked him as hard as he could right in the crotch. He shrieked in pain before getting slugged in the jaw, he doubled over in pain as the kid stepped back. His nose was bleeding more, and his face was bruised. He took a few deep breaths before the guy stood up, his legs still trembling.

 

“Who the hell do you think you are!?”

 

The boy stared with an expression even colder than the surrounding snow.

 

“I’m just a middle schooler.”

 

A vein nearly popped out of the man's head. He began to fume with anger. 

 

“You cocky bastard.” He said as his aura amplified. He held out his hand. The cold air was suddenly filled with heat as a massive fireball the size of a basketball appeared in his palm. The intense light shone through the entire surrounding area.

 

“I’ll blast you into ash with my Quirk!”

 

The other guy’s eyes grew in shock and panic.

 

“Hey calm down, we need his money!”

 

“He had a lot right? I’m sure there’ll be a bit left!”

 

The ball of flame grew even more intense as the snow around his feet began to shrivel as it melted away. The boy didn't look phased.

 

“DIE!”

 

The man launched the fireball, throwing it like a pitcher full speed at the boy's chest. As it zoomed closer, the boy shut his eyes. He took a deep breath in and didn't breathe out. Suddenly something changed. The snow beneath his feet was pushed away by an invisible force, but he didn't go anywhere, he stayed floating an inch off the ground. At the same time, the snow above him stopped falling, as if it landed on a new invisible surface.

 

*BOOM*

 

The fireball explodes into a huge cloud of flame. The Inferno engulfed the surrounding area, blasting intense heat in all directions.

 

“You killed him!”

 

“THAT’S WHAT YOU GET YOU PATHETIC KID!”

 

Everything went quiet. Eventually, the smoke clears. The boy stands there, unaffected. His clothes aren’t even burnt.

 

“W-WH-WHA-”

 

“I’m out of here!” The other man exclaims as he begins running into the woods.

 

“HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?”

 

“Return the wallet.” The boy said with smoldering intensity. The man hesitated for a moment. But after one more intense stare, he throws the wallet on the ground and runs away at full speed. After a few seconds, he's out of sight.

 

*Sigh*

 

That was close.

 

Towa’s body relaxes. He suddenly looks much less intimidating.

 

If I was a second too late I would’ve died.

 

He slings his backpack back over his shoulder as he goes to grab the wallet out of the snow. After shoving it back into the jacket of the knocked-out man, he sits down criss-cross applesauce in front of the man. He pulls out a cell phone and calls the police. After a short conversation, he puts his phone back in his pocket.

 

He’d probably get robbed again if I left him here alone. I should wait until the police get here.

 

He just waited. Snow continued to fall. After a while, his eyes began to close slowly.

 

I gotta get some more sleep…

 

After a while, he dozes off.

 

…

 

It all began in China…

 

A hospital nursery sits in total calm. All the newborns are fast asleep in their respective cribs. Suddenly, a mighty glow erupts from one of the cribs. The sudden bright light forces all the other newborns in the room to start crying. In the center of the chaos is a single giggling baby. Light radiates off of the baby itself like a chubby lightbulb. Every giggle made the light grow brighter for a moment, before returning to a constant level.

 

A child who radiated light was born.

 

The father of the child watches from the hallway in utter and complete shock. He whimpers as he tries to form some semblance of a sentence. Other nurses and Doctors crowd into the room, each unsure what to do.

 

After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. It was like some kind of cosmic switch was flipped. Suddenly adults who had lived their entire lives normally developed powers out of nowhere. No one knew what was causing these “Quirks”. All that was known was that life would never be the same. Some were excited, some were curious, many were absolutely terrified. Before long, the normal went to war with the supernatural. Anti-Quirk groups, including entire governments, tried to wipe these abilities off the planet. The Quirk Users fought back. Cities were obliterated in the conflict. Thousands perished. Nightmares became a reality.

 

However, despite this, Quirks did not go anywhere, in fact, they only grew more common. Today the world is rapidly becoming a superhuman society, with about 50% of the population possessing some uncanny ability. Some countries thrived. The US even developed the concept of Super Heroism as a profession. Other countries fell into near-apocalyptic chaos. Japan became the most crime-ridden place in history. Chaos and confusion swelled around every facet of life. In a place like this…

 

Towa’s eyes suddenly opened.

 

“Shit! I fell asleep! How long has it been?” He frantically checks his pocket for his phone. There’s nothing. He looks in front of him. The man is gone, and only some blood left on the tree remains. He puts the pieces together.

 

“He robbed me.”

 

He turns to look at the road, it's exactly as dead as it had been when he arrived on the scene.

 

“And the police didn't bother showing up.”

 

He checks through his bag to see what he still has on him. Eventually, he gets up and walks away with an empty expression on his face.

 

…who wants to be a hero?

 

Chapter 1:  Desolation

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Hell yeah first chapter, so depressing! Bro might as well be living in Gotham. Thanks to my sister for the amazing cover art. This is my first-ever fanfiction so if it sucks please inform me, thanks for reading! I posted the first three chapters today, and then I’ll be posting them every Friday Morning (for as long as I can keep up that schedule)

Chapter 2: Declaration

A young Towa sat in a dark room. He lies in bed and stares at the ceiling. He wasn't remotely tired, in fact, he was giddy from excitement. He kept staring, waiting for something. The room was long and full of dozens of simple small beds, each accompanied by a small bedside table and a small lamp. A few windows peppered one of the walls, each filled with nothing but darkness. A lone clock hung right across from Towa, who continued to lie in anticipation—time seemed to slow to a crawl. He waited an excruciatingly long time.

 

…

 

*Knock-Knock-KnockKnockKnock*

 

Suddenly the door was hit with a rhythmic knock. Immediately Towa launched out of bed and excitedly ran to the door. He smiled as he grabbed the door handle.

 

Everything slowed as he turned the knob. He slowly pulled the door open, after it was open enough to see what was behind it, nothing but red malice poured through, filling everything with evil and hatred. Immediately Towa shot awake.

 

“AAGH!!”

 

Towa sat up in his bed suddenly. He was sweating bullets. He looked around his bedroom for a few moments, trying to figure out if he was still in a dream. His room was small and totally neat. It looks like he hasn’t touched anything since he moved in. Towa stared thoughtlessly for a while. Eventually, he was conscious enough to get up. He sluggishly left the room. He looked around his quiet house.

 

Hotaru must be at work already.

 

He silently roamed his empty house, making himself an omelet after failing to crack an egg a few times. He finally finished getting ready and left his house. He walked through the sad streets. Everything was buried in a thick sheet of snow from last night's snowstorm. Many stores were closed or robbed, drugs were being dealt out in the open, homeless men and children filled every block along with many other issues that Towa couldn’t really do anything about. He walks a bit longer until he gets to a sandwich shop. He walks up to the counter.

 

“Hello. Can I get an egg salad sandwich?”

 

The man nods as he grabs a wrapped sandwich from a rack beside him. He places it on the counter.

 

Towa pats his pocket and feels nothing. He makes a quick face of panic.

 

I forgot! My wallet was stolen! Dammit. There goes my lunch.

 

“Shoot... Sorry, never mind.”

 

He looks generally bummed as he turns to walk out.

 

“Wait,” The cashier says suddenly. He leans over and hands Towa the sandwich.

 

“Take it.” He says.

 

Towa hesitates for a moment.

 

“Uh- thank you. Thank you very much!”

 

Towa’s day at school is a blur. He sits through class after class with an empty expression. Not talking to anyone, not doing anything. After a while, he turns off autopilot as his teacher calls his name. He had been doodling images of heroic caped figures in his notebook.

 

“Towa!” He shouts with an irritating tone. Towa looks up at the board to see it full of nonsense.

 

“Towa, when are you gonna start paying attention? This is important stuff!”

 

“I’m sorry sir, I’m just a little low on sleep today,” Towa said trying his best to save himself from further lecture. Kids around him giggled at his calculated response.

 

“You say that constantly. When are you gonna get more consistent sleep? How do you think this is gonna affect your career!? Here, let’s start here. Towa, what do you want to do in the future?”

 

Towa was blindsided by the question. He thought about it for a minute.

 

Career? I’m not really sure. Maybe an engineer? Nah, too much math. With my quirk, maybe I’d made a good bodyguard? Eh, maybe not, I’m too much of a pushover for that.

 

He sat and kept thinking through option after option. The teacher's patience continued to wither away. More kids around him started laughing. Eventually, the teacher put his head in his hands and let out a long sigh.

 

“Moving on, can anyone tell me which equation is…”

 

He started rambling off again, leaving Towa a little peeved about how embarrassing that was. The rest of the day was a blur. After what felt like an eternity, the final bell finally rang. He began to walk back home. His brain finally seemed to wake up as he started contemplating the future.

 

It’s already January. In a few months, I’ll be a high schooler. I still don’t know what school I want to go to. Why is it so hard to pick one!? I guess it’d be easier…

 

He thinks back to his teacher.

 

…If I knew what I wanted my career to be.

 

He walks to a nearby gym. It’s small and pretty much empty. He steps up to a sandbag, looking as determined as he could muster. He took a deep breath and didn’t breathe out. focusing on the sandbag. Suddenly something changed. He rose through the air and floated an inch off the ground. Everything in his vision went black.

 

I don’t really understand my quirk. I mean I get the basics. I get a forcefield around me, but when it's activated, I can’t see, hear, or breathe. The field is totally invisible when I’m using it, so what the heck causes that? I float a little bit off the ground, and while I can move around, I can’t travel at all. Weirdest of all, If I try to hit something-

 

“I got this… SPACE STRIKE!” Towa yelled as he launched a punch right at the sandbag. The second his fist got within an inch of the sandbox, it instead launched him backward at high speed. As he zoomed back, his vision returned, just in time for him to smash into the gym's back wall, painfully bouncing off of it before hitting the ground.

 

-That happens. My quirk kinda sucks. It’s registered as “Blind Wall” but that name sucks too. What kinda job am I doing with that?

 

After a while of lying defeated, he got up and began to head home.

 

Am I gonna accomplish anything?

 

He walks until he reaches the block where the sandwich shop he visited in the morning is. Suddenly, an explosion erupts from a nearby building. People scream as concrete and glass fly in all directions. A beaten and bloody man limps out of the hole. Behind him walks out another man. He wasn’t particularly muscular, but an aura of danger still surrounded him. He smiles down at the man. Towa stared in shock.

 

Holy crap. A Villain! 

 

“You think I’m playing around with you? If someone tries to rob you without a weapon-” With a flick of this wrist, the villain summoned a gust of wind that knocked the injured man to the ground. “-Assume they’re on a level beyond you.” He said, smiling smugly. “Now tell me- OW!”

 

He was shut up by a baseball-sized rock smacking right against the side of his head. He's stunned for a moment before glaring with rage at Towa, who looks immediately nervous.

 

What the hell am I doing? This guy is on a totally different level from that jerk with the fireball!

 

“A kid huh?! You know this guy or something?” Spat the villain as he tried to hold back his rage.

 

“Not really. He just gave me a sandwich.” Towa said while looking over at the injured man. It’s the cashier from that morning.

 

“Killing yourself over a sandwich? How stupid can you be!?” Snarled the villain as he raised his hands. “Take this, you little Idiot!”

 

A powerful blast of wind shot towards Towa, strong enough to rip up the ground and shatter the windows of the nearby cars, shooting a mix of small rocks and glass shards as well. Right before it could reach him, Towa activated his quirk, forcing the blast to redirect, but cutting off his vision.

 

 I can’t tell when the attack is over!

 

He waited a few more seconds before releasing the barrier. His vision returned to see the villain standing directly in front of him.

 

SHI- 

 

Towa gets a fist slammed right into his gut coupled with a blast of wind that shoots him backwards. He lands on his back with the wind knocked out of him. He struggles to take a breath.

 

“Are you blind? You couldn’t see me standing right in front of you? What kinda useless quirk do you have?”

 

Dammit! How the hell can I defend against that?

 

The villain smiles as he watches him struggle to stand. After a while, he gets up and goes into a fight-ready position.

 

“Hilarious that you still think you can beat me.”

 

The villain throws another punch right towards Towa. Towa activates his quirk again, forcing his fist to stop right before his face. He’s confused for a moment.

 

If I get a hold of him, I might have a chance! I think I know where his fist was, right about here!

 

As fast as he can Towa goes to grab the villain’s arm. However, just like the sandbag, Towa goes flying to the side, smashing into a nearby car. He's stunned again and falls to his knees.

 

“At this point, you’re gonna beat yourself to death. Pathetic.”

 

Damn… I didn’t realize that would happen. I’m such an idiot. I can still do this.

 

He grabs the car and pulls himself back to a standing position.

 

Who needs a quirk!

 

Towa lunges at the villain, who simply smiles. With one strong arm movement, a powerful gust of wind blows Towa straight into the air. Forcing him to fly nearly four stories up.

 

I do!

 

“Haha! How does it feel to fly?”

 

Towa screams as he begins falling back towards the ground. Before he can land, he’s hit with another blast of air, launching him down the block at high speeds. He hits the ground, and slides for a moment before smashing into the bumper of a car. He begins bleeding from his nose and his head. His vision begins to blur.

 

Come on body, move! That innocent man is a good person. He did a selfless act for me, it doesn’t matter how small. He doesn’t deserve to be beaten and robbed. He needs-

 

Suddenly a wave of realization washes over him. He remembers what his teacher had asked him, as well as what he’d asked himself. 

 

“what do you want to do in the future?”

 

“Hey, kid! You alive over there? I can see you're still breathing. What’s wrong? You still have some fight in you right?”

 

Towa slowly stands as he continues to reminisce. He sees the cashier handing him the sandwich. He sees the many muscular figures in capes that he doodles on his notebooks. He sees the man he saved the day before, he sees himself training in the gym for no real reason. It all comes together

 

“What do I wanna be huh?” Towa says weakly. He finally gets up to his feet. He stands strong, full of conviction.

 

“I WANT TO BE A HERO!”

 

The villain is shocked by his energy. Towa began to run towards him.

 

 If I can’t attack with my quirk, I’ll have to think outside the box!

 

Towa jumps and activates his quirk in mid-air. He stomps on the ground, just like the sandbag, he’s launched up and forward at high speeds. The Villain is caught off guard by his sudden burst of speed. Towa raised his fist while he zoomed towards him, screaming at the top of his lungs. The villain moves as fast as he can to blow Towa out of the air as Towa flies at him.

 

“TAKE THIS VILLAIN!”

 

Before the villain can raise his hands, Towa smashes him in the face with his fist, flying at high speeds. His nose instantly breaks as his head warps violently under the force. Blood shoots everywhere as both of them hit the ground at high speeds. Towa looks up at the magnificent night sky. He smiles as he lies on the ground.

 

I want to be a hero.

 

Chapter 2: Declaration 

 

To be continued… 

Notes:

Towa might be that guy. Hear his triumphant but kinda corny declaration of heroism! The third Chapter is out today so read it if you want to read it.

Chapter 3: Road to Being A Hero

Towa lies on the concrete in the middle of the street. There was glass and jagged rocks all over. He was also beaten and bruised, but he still had a smile on his face. 

 

That was awesome. But… I can barely feel my body.

 

He sat there trying to muster the energy to get up for a few seconds. Suddenly, he was interrupted by a blast of wind that pushed him to the ground.

 

OH CRAP!

 

“You stupid kid.”

 

The villain stood up. His face was bleeding and badly bruised. He no longer smiled smugly, instead his expression was bubbling with fury.

 

“I’ll kill you.”

 

Towa struggled to move.

 

Dammit! If I had been cool earlier I would've had the chance to restrain him. I can barely breathe I can’t use my quirk! Man, I really suck at this. 

 

He continued to struggle, to no avail.

 

“A Hero huh?” Towa’s eyes widen. “How foolish. Do you have any idea where you are? This is Japan, the cradle of villainy.” Being a hero here is like being a snowflake in hell!”

 

He laughed as he shoved Towa harder into the ground. Towa coughed out blood.

 

This is not good! I’m gonna die!

 

“Let’s see what being a hero gets you. I’ll kill you, kill this lovely sandwich giver, then steal the money I came here to steal! You accomplished nothing!”

 

He raises both his hands over his head. Towa was still unable to do anything.

 

“DIE!”

 

He swung his arms down as hard as he could. Towa braced as a mighty blast of wind smashed into the ground, shattering the asphalt, blowing a huge dust cloud in all directions, and shaking the surrounding buildings. The villain took a few heavy breaths.

 

“Serves you right.”

 

Once he catches his breath, he summons another gust of wind, blowing the surrounding dust away. He looks into the small hole he blasted into the street, it's empty.

 

“Wait- what? Where did he go?”

 

He looks around frantically. He looks to his side, the injured man is gone as well.

 

“What!?”

 

He turns around. A brand new figure stands facing away from him, carrying both the injured man and Towa. He softly places the two on the ground. This man is tall and muscular, wearing a long flowing cape with reddish armor. He wears star glasses over his eyes. Towa is barely conscious and looks up at him. The man looks down at him and smiles sweetly.

 

“You’ve accomplished great things today. I will take it from here.”

 

The man stands as he turns to face the villain. His face is covered in subtle scars and stitches.

 

“Wh-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?” The villain shouts full of shock and confusion.

 

The man smiles radiantly. Towa looks at him in surprise.

 

“Is it not obvious? I’m a hero!” He shouted with pure confidence. The villain's mind was racing. “Not just any hero. The first official hero of Japan. Crimson Sun!”

 

“Official hero? What the hell are you talking about!? Japan has no official heroes!” The villain shouted in opposition. Towa tried his hardest to stay conscious and witness what was happening.

 

A- hero? Wait… I heard about this. The other day on the news. Japan was gonna have its first official hero. But I thought that was years from now! But here he is, right in front of me!

 

Towa continues to freak out as the villains’ confusion turns to rage.

 

“Don’t make me laugh! Outta my way!” He yelled as he blasted another gust of wind, this time right at Crimson. His smile does not falter in response.

 

“That blast would hurt the civilians behind me. Can’t have that.”

 

He pulled back his arm, electricity seemed to zap at multiple points around his arm, the more they zapped, the more immense his presence became. The blast of wind was right before him.

 

“Solar Flare!” He shouted as he swung his fist, unleashing a monstrously powerful punch. So strong that the shockwave accompanying it perfectly matched the blast of wind, canceling it out. The Villian’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

 

“H-h- HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THA-”

 

The villain studdered as he realized Crimson had appeared right in front of him.

 

“You’d be shocked at how strong us heroes can be!”

 

He slammed a less powerful but still impressively mighty punch right into the villain's gut. Forcing him to spit blood as he flew back at high speeds. He rolls painfully before stopping himself with another gust of wind. He coughed a few times before remembering the situation he’s in. He shoots to a standing position, much less confident than a moment ago.

 

“You feel like giving up yet?” Crimson said, purposely matching the villain's prior smugness.

 

“Shut up you lunatic!” The Villian yells, full of insecurity. “You aren't catching me!” He looks around desperately for any way to escape. He sees a woman looking out her third-story window, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever chaos is going on. He smiles as soon as he sees her.

 

“Catch Hero!”

 

He blows the woman right out of her window. She screams as she zooms towards the ground. At the same time, he begins to shoot wind from his legs, zooming him away from the area. Crimson’s smile fades immediately.

 

“Heartless trick, villain”

 

He begins running forward at high speed. The Woman isn’t even halfway towards the ground by the time he’s near her. He crouches down in a jumping position. Right before he jumps, he casually grabs a handful of asphalt like a child grabbing snow. He jumps high into the air, catching the lady and landing on a fire escape on the other side of the block.

 

“Ma’am are you all right?” He says concerned 

 

“Y-yeah.” She studders.

 

“Great!” He places her on her feet. He then grips his asphalt as he hops off the fire escape. He takes a view of his target while in mid-air.

 

“Now another special move… PROTOSTAR CANNON!”

 

He launches the ball of asphalt at absurdly high speeds, fast enough for it to literally heat up like a meteor entering the atmosphere. The villain turns to see it at the last possible second.

 

“OH SHI-”

 

The rock smacks against his head with such force that it shatters the nearby windows and creates a shockwave audible from hundreds of meters around. The villain is knocked unconscious immediately. Crimson continues to smile as he gives his hand a quick kiss.

 

“Works every time.”

 

A few minutes later, the villain was tied up and the police were on their way. Towa had regained enough of his strength to stand. Crimson saluted as he got ready to leave.

 

“Goodbye, citizens! Make sure to tell your friends about Crimson Sun! I-”

“WAIT!” Towa yelled interrupting him.

 

“What's the matter, young man?”

 

“I need to ask you something. It's just… you’re so amazing. I want to be a hero too, but I suck at it. I’m not sure how to use my quirk correctly, and there's nowhere safe for me to train. I don’t know how to save people from falling or catch villains but there's just nowhere for me to learn? What I wanted to ask was… how do I start my-”

 

Chapter 3: Road to Being A Hero

 

Towa was out of breath from talking. He was still badly hurt. Crimson looked at him shocked. After a moment, he returned to smiling.

 

“Fascinating question. The truth is, you’ve already started this road. The road to being a hero is infinite. Even I am still on that road to this day. My lesson to you is: Heroism isn’t a prize to be won, it's a goal to make steps towards.”

 

Towa stared at him like every word was being engraved onto his soul.

 

“I should say that’s my first lesson to you. Me and some of my allies are starting something. Something brand new. Something for people like you. You want to learn to be a hero? Perfect. Come to the Hero Academia.”

 

Towa’s eyes widened in confusion.

 

“Hero Academia?”

 

Crimson turned. Before he began to leave. He tossed a pamphlet to Towa. Towa caught it and looked down at it. It was covered in images of heroes and a beautiful campus. It said at the top-

 

“Welcome to U.A. High School!”

 

Towa looked in confusion for another few moments before looking up. Crimson was gone. Towa stared at nothing totally different than he was a moment ago. Eventually, he looked back down at the pamphlet.

 

A school for heroes? I never imagined something like this could exist. Let alone in Japan of all places. I gotta show this to-

 

He took a single step forward. Immediately he collapsed from exhaustion and injury.

 

Ok, first I’ll take a little nap…

 

To be continued…

Notes:

It turns out Crimson is that guy. That asphalt throw was a building-level feat in case you’re a nerd like me who's interested in that kind of thing. Hope you all enjoyed the first three chapters, more will be released every Friday (until I can't keep up that schedule.)

Chapter 4: Promise

The wind villain sits in the back of a police car. He's handcuffed with what is essentially steel mittens, preventing him from using his quirk. His face, still bruised and battered, is shaped into a blistering rage. The two cops in front talk and laugh amongst themselves. All the villain can do is look out the window. He stares at buildings pass by for a while. Eventually, he watches a shadowy figure move across the buildings, jumping from roof to roof keeping pace with the police car.

 

 He looks at it for a few seconds trying to figure out what it is. After a while, surrounding cars disappear, leaving the police car alone. The figure lunges onto the car. In a single frightening moment, the vehicle is sliced in half, separating the front seat from the back seat. The two halves slide across the street until they lose their momentum, blasting sparks everywhere and scratching the asphalt. The villain is in too much shock to scream. The two cops leave the car in a panic. They pull out their guns and aim them at the figure standing in the middle of the two halves. It looks at them. They both fire a shot. Both bullets bounce off its body. It glares at them intimidatingly. 

 

“It's him. It’s the Reaper, run!” One of the officers yells before running in terror. The other officer follows close behind.

 

“Cowards,” The Reaper says coldly as he turns his attention to the wind villain, who still stares at him in absolute terror. The man was lanky and shriveled, with thin limbs and a bony face. His clothes were old and tattered, his hair was messy and long, and his facial hair was overgrown and unkept. He had tired eyes and a depressed expression. A strange gold ring covered in spikes floated behind him, slowly spinning. A long fleshy blade grew from his knuckles. He looked down at the wind villain the same way a tired man looks at his taxes. A chore he needed to get through.

 

“Reaper? You’re real!?” The villain says panicked. He doesn’t seem to react.

 

“Quirk, Gust. Useful for movement and for amplifying ranged attacks.” He says in a cold, calculated tone.

 

“What are you on about? Are you trying to recruit me or something? I’m no-”

 

The villain is interrupted when the top half of his head slides off, killing him instantly. Blood violently sprays all over the backseat of the car. The Reaper simply stands there with blood all over his handblade. He watches the rest of the body slump over, still spewing blood in every direction. After a while, he raises one of his hands in front of his face. A small gust of wind fires out of it.

 

“I’m one step closer.”

 

He looks back down at the body. His expression grew sadder as the blood stopped spraying. “I’m sorry.” He said somberly. With a blast of wind, he returned to the shadows.

 

…

 

A young Towa lay in bed in a familiar dark room. Same long room, same small beds, same bedside tables, and the same excruciatingly long wait. 

 

I have this dream constantly.

 

*Knock-Knock-KnockKnockKnock*

 

The door was hit with the same rhythmic knock. Immediately Towa launched out of bed and excitedly ran to the door. He smiled as he grabbed the door handle.

 

Everything slowed as he turned the knob. He slowly pulled the door open, after it was open enough to see what was behind it, nothing but red malice poured through, filling everything with evil and hatred.

 

It ends the same way every time. I never get to see what's behind that door.

 

Towa opens his eyes. He’s lying in a hospital bed. His wounds are mostly patched up.

 

Ow. Everything hurts.

 

After a while, he’s able to sit up. He looks around his lifeless room until he sees a sudden splash of color in the form of a beautiful bouquet of multicolored flowers. His first instinct is to smile. Then he switches to confusion.

 

Who left me these? Was it Hotaru?

 

As he starts to lean over to examine closer, the door opens suddenly. A young girl wearing a nurse's uniform enters. She’s short with greyish blue hair tied up into two buns on top of her head. She had a look of mature tiredness that you often see with nurses.

 

A nurse? Isn’t she kinda young for that? She looks my age.

 

The girl makes a quick look of surprise upon seeing Towa, then goes back to stoic tiredness.

 

“You’re awake.”

 

She walks towards his bed.

 

“Hello uh-ma’am? I was wondering how long I’ve been here? I have scho-”

 

She kept moving towards his bed until she was right next to him. Towa backed up slightly and blushed subtly.

 

She’s cute. But why is she so close? 

 

“Uh excuse me-”

 

She got even closer. Before Towa could react, she laid a soft kiss on his forehead. Immediately he turned red like a tomado.

 

WHAT'S GOING ON!

 

“UhwhawhohowohohwahwhU”

 

He kept stuttering until his body started to glow green. The confusion overpowered his fluster.

 

What the heck is going on?

 

He watched as his bruises, broken limbs, and cut skin began to glow green as it healed. His wounds closed his bruises dissipated and his bones healed.

 

A healing quirk. This is amazing! But also…

 

A wave of exhaustion washed over him. He felt his eyelids getting heavier.

 

…I’m really really tired now…

 

He laid back down and began to doze off.

 

…

 

Towa wakes back up in the same position. He was still sleepy but was in far better shape. Once again he sat up. Immediately he was grabbed by the shoulders and shook violently.

 

“TOWA THANK GOD YOU’RE ALRIGHT!”

 

Towa tried to talk as he was rocked back and forth

 

“Hotaru! Stop shaking me!”

 

She quickly let go.

 

“Sorry!”

 

Hotaru was Towa’s foster mother. She was a few years older than him but was still young with radiant skin and smooth black hair. She wore a traditional office dress as well as a face with a mix of panic and relief.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

“I’m kinda dizzy now. But I’m fine.”

 

“Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried. I came to visit yesterday but-”

 

“Yesterday!? How long was I out?”

 

“20 hours.”

 

“TWENTY HOURS!”

 

His anxiety suddenly spiked as he realized he missed an entire day of school.

 

“I called the school you’re excused.”

 

Towa let out a big sigh and laid back down. 

 

“Did you leave these flowers?” Towa said as he gestured over to the magnificent bouquet.

 

“Oh no, that was some superhero.”

 

Towa shot back up.

 

“What kind of superhero!?” He shouted, shocked.

 

“I don’t know, he was very red.”

 

Towa shreiked, startling Hotaru. He was totally flabbergasted. He immediately imagined Crimson Sun bringing him flowers in the hospital. Suddenly the thought reminded him of something.

 

“Wait! Where’s my-”

 

He looked to his side table. The U.A. pamphlet sat there. He grabbed it excitedly.

 

“Hotaru! I know where I want to go to high school!”

 

“Heeh? Hero Academy!?”

 

Towa and Hotaru sat next to each other on the train heading home. Towa was fine and was let out quickly. Hotaru examined every inch of the pamphlet while Towa held the flowers on his lap.

 

“Is this even a real school?”

 

“Of course, it's a real school! Isn’t it awesome!?”

 

“I guess, but does it have any business programs?”

 

“Business programs? It has a HERO program! That’s what I wanna do!” Towa shook with excitement.

 

“You wanna be a hero!? Are you crazy? Do you not remember what happened to you? A villain nearly killed you like yesterday!”

 

“That's exactly why a hero program is perfect! I can learn to defend myself!”

 

“Can’t you just take self-defense? Leave the heroism to Americans.”

 

“Come on Hotaru! I’ve taken a bunch of self-defense classes. Japan can’t get any better without a bunch of heroes like America has!”

 

“How do they even teach heroism? There’s no curriculum for that! How are they gonna fit your basic education needs? Are there even AP classes??”

 

“Hotaru, please! It's my dream!”

 

He looks at her with a shine in his eyes. He looks closer to what he was like when he was younger. Beaming with optimism, a sight she rarely if ever gets to see from him now.

 

“I rarely see you with so much passion. I guess we can give it a try.”

 

“YES! I love you!”

 

He hugs her around the waist, squeezing her a little too hard. She pushes him off.

 

“On one condition.” She says with a sudden serious tone. “It says here there’s an entrance exam in early August. If you don’t pass, you have to go to one of the schools I suggested. Ok?”

 

“I got it!”

 

He sits back down gleaming with joy. She smiles. After a moment of thought, her face turns back to concern. After a long train ride, they finally make it to their stop. They walk together for a bit. Towa is still radiating with excitement. Suddenly. They are stopped by someone.

 

“Hey, guys. You two look like you have something for me.”

 

He pulls out a knife. Towa’s excitement quickly turns to seriousness.

 

Another robber? I can’t catch a break!

 

Immediately he hands the flowers to Hotaru. He almost takes a step forward, but she puts her hand out and stops him.

 

“No. Stay back” She whispers to him before stepping forward.

 

“I’ll give you money just don’t hurt us.”

 

She began reaching into her pocket. He looked down for a moment, a moment was all she needed. She throws the flowers right at his face, and as he’s stunned, she kicks him as hard as she can right in his crotch. He immediately doubles over in pain.

 

“Run Towa!” She yells. Immediately they both book it away from him while he’s still on the floor reeling. Together, they run a few blocks until they finally make it to their house. Both of them lean over and breathe heavily. Towa looks over at Hotaru.

 

“Hotaru, that was cool”

 

She looks up at him. Her eyes are tearing up. Towa's eyes widen in shock.

 

“Are you ok?”

 

She hugs him tightly.

 

“If you’re gonna do this. Please be careful.” She moved back, leaving her hands holding his shoulders. “Promise me you’re not gonna get hurt, and promise me that you’ll try your hardest to make this a better place.”

 

He tried his hardest to stop himself from crying. But just seeing her teary-eyed serious face was too much. He smiled as tears ran down his cheeks.

 

“I-”

 

Chapter 4: Promise

 

He hugs her back. In the coming weeks, he begins to train harder than he ever has before. He goes to the gym and stares down a sandbag.

 

Alright. Space Strike. Just like I landed on that villain. I got this!

 

He attempts his “Space Strike” on a punching bag a few times. Launching himself across the gym at high speeds, missing most of the time and flying into the wall behind it. Eventually, he moves to a tennis court in his school. He stands there late at night, focusing on one spot on top of the fence.

 

I’ll launch myself with my quirk and land on the fence. I got this!

 

He launches himself all over the court for like three hours, flying over the fence, landing in trees, accidentally flying in the opposite direction, and smashing into the fence at full speed. After beating himself senselessly, he finally lands perfectly on the fence. He throws his hands up in exhausted celebration before falling off anyway. He continues to train with everything he’s got. As winter ends, the falling snow switches for blooming flowers. Towa doesn't slow down. The school year comes to a close as summer begins. The sun beams down on Towa as he stands in a batting cage. Across from him is a baseball launcher. After a few moments, It begins firing balls at high speed right towards him. He activates his quirk stopping the first few balls.

 

HAH! I got it!

 

He turns off his quirk just to be pelted with balls. He tries again. This time trying desperately to turn on his quirk right when the balls come, turning it off in between. He messes up the timing and gets pelted with balls a few times before getting the timing down. He turns on and off his quirk every other second to stop the oncoming ball. 

 

I’m doing it!

 

He does this a few times before he realizes that he can’t really get good breaths in. His face starts turning purple until he finally messes up the timing and gets pelted with balls again. He tries again again.

 

Ok, this time I got this!

 

He stops the first few balls, then reaches forward and smacks against the side of them, sending him flying out of the ball's line of fire. Unfortunately, the batting cage is very narrow, he smacks against the side of the cage, then stumbles back into the ball's line of fire, and he gets pelted by more balls. He falls to the ground on his back. He’s covered in baseball-shaped bruises.

 

This hero course better be awesome.

 

He continues to do all he can through the summer until school is on the horizon again. Eventually, it’s the day. He explodes out of his room full of energy. Hotaru is making breakfast for him.

 

“Hotaru! It’s today! The entrance exam!”

 

“I know! I’m making you an omelet, you need your energy!”

 

“Thank you very much but I will throw that up if I eat it. I’m way too nervous today!”

 

She looks down at the half a dozen eggs she cracked for the omelets she made.

 

“Uh fair enough. what a waste of eggs though.”

 

Towa dresses himself unnaturally quickly and runs towards the door.

 

“I’ll see you later Hotaru!”

 

“Wait!”

 

He stops right before he leaves. She walks up to him and puts her hands on his shoulders again. She smiles.

 

“Break a leg Towa. Not literally though.”

 

…

 

He gives her a quick hug and then runs right out the door.

 

“I’ll break as many legs as I need to!”

 

He runs to the train, pamphlet in hand.

 

I’ve spent months training for this! I got this!

 

He stands in front of the address on the pamphlet. It’s a small building with a sign for the entrance exam out in the front.

 

There’s no way I got this.

 

He’s also surrounded by nearly 300 other kids. He feels a strong sense of dread.

 

To be continued...

Notes:

Hotaru happens to be my ideal woman. I will take no further questions on that matter. The Reaper is an interesting fella, bet he won’t be that important (I’m lying)

Chapter 5: Entrance Exam

The streets of Musutafu settle on a Monday morning. The sun has just began to rise, and the hustle and bustle of the morning has not yet begun. There was an uncommon silence. But, like always, something broke that silence. Gunshots ring out, followed by screams and running civilians. A masked figure runs around a corner, holding a huge bag of money that was spilling out behind him. The man had fleshy guns growing out of the top of his shoulders. He ran for a few seconds before bumping into another man. They both fall over, dropping everything they’re holding all over the place. The robber gets up quickly, fuming with rage.

 

“Watch yourself!” The hammers of his guns cock backward. Before he can shoot, both guns snap off his shoulders and fly out of sight at high speeds.

 

“What the-”

 

He turns to see Crimson Sun standing over him. Before he can even scream, he’s struck across the face. Before he can even be knocked out, he’s flipped over and smashed into a nearby trash can. His legs hang out in a derpy way. The situation is left danger-free immediately. Crimson laughs triumphantly while in a heroic pose.

 

“Spread the word citizens, spread the word about the Hero Crimson S-” He’s interrupted when a coffee hits him in the face, splashing everywhere and badly staining his outfit. The knocked-down man stares at him with disdain.

 

“I’m not spreading the word about a degenerate vigilante. Do you think you’re helping? Get lost!” A few people around share his anger. Crimson looks down at the coffee cup with a dark expression. Eventually, he bends down and picks it up. The man begins to look nervous when Crimson looks at him with a vague but distressing expression. The moment of tension lasts for a moment before Crimson tosses the cup into the trash, with the burglar. He smiles again.

 

“Make sure not to litter!” Crimson jumps a few blocks away, leaving the man extremely confused.

 

“What a nut.”

 

Crimson wears a deeply sad expression as he jumps away.

 

…

 

Towa stood in the center of 300 similarly aged kids. He looked around in a panic.

 

How are there this many kids!? I thought only a few people would show up! There are this many kids who want to be heroes!?

 

He looks around at all the figures around him. 

 

That guy is like 8 feet tall? Is he really my age? That guy over there is made of rocks!! How the hell do I compete with these guys!? How many spots are available!? I am so screwed!

 

After an excruciating wait, a short, well-dressed man walked out of the front of the building. He held a checklist.

 

“Those here for the Tokyo Metropolitan Hoth High School entrance exam, please come through this door!” He shouted while gesturing to the door on his right. Towa’s expression warped in confusion.

 

Wait what? Hoth High School?

 

Pretty much the entire crowd began moving to the door. Towa just stood confused.

 

What's going on? Am I in the right place!?

 

He opened his pamphlet and rechecked the address. He looked in front of him. It's the same place. He began skimming through it quickly to check if he missed anything. As he skimmed, the entire crowd pooled into the door, leaving only eight people, including Towa. Everyone Towa thought looked especially intimidating was gone. He looks around at the small group. Most of them looked around, similarly confused. Towa is filled with questions, many of which regarding the people around him.

 

That guy has a sword! Is that even allowed? Does she have feathers? I can’t even tell if that one is a girl or a boy? Maybe both? Neither? I’m so lost!

 

He suddenly notices an eighth person far in the back. He could barely decide if they were part of the group or not. They wore a black hoodie, totally obscuring their appearance. He looks back to the building to see the same short man back outside. He flips up a paper on his board.

 

“Those here for the U.A. High School entrance exam, please come through this door.” He said quietly while gesturing to the door on his left. Towa and the few people left walked through the door. They walked down a long empty hallway all together. Towa continued to stress over the upcoming exam.

 

What are they gonna make us do? Save people from a disaster? Fight each other? FIGHT GIANT ROBOTS!?

 

As his thoughts escalated. He accidentally stepped on the back of someone's foot. A tall blonde girl nearly trips over. “Oh shoot. Sorry.” Towa says immediately. She glared over at him. Her intense stare stabs right through him. He lifts his hands in surrendering.

 

“Sorry, it was an accident!”

 

She turns back and continues walking like nothing happened. He’s left still totally terrified. Eventually, they make it to a large dark room full of long desks. Strangely, the kid with an unclear gender was already sitting near the center of the room, despite being in the group of everyone walking. Towa decided not to think about it and chalked it up to some quirk he didn't understand. They all sit around the center aside from the hoodied person, who sits in the far back. Towa is still nervous. They sit there for like 20 minutes. Each second makes Towa slightly more nervous. He tries to distract himself by focusing on the other people in the room. He glances around. Eventually, his eyes stop on one girl on the other side of the group. She was short with blue-grayish hair. He couldn't get a good view of her face, but she seemed familiar somehow. He spent a while trying to figure out where he had seen her. Eventually, he gave up, not wanting her to notice him staring. He glances behind him at the hooded figure, trying to catch a single feature of theirs. He makes contact with a pair of intimidating red eyes. He quickly looks away. More time passes. Towa runs out of ways to distract himself and start worrying again.

 

CAN THEY HURRY UP!? WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG! Oh no, they’re setting up the giant robots!

 

Right before he fabricates an entire anxiety scenario, a man enters the room. He’s quite old, with multiple grey streaks in his hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He’s tall and lanky, wearing a black three-piece suit, and carrying a suitcase. He has bags under his eyes, similar to Towa’s, and overall looks extremely tired. He walks across the room before stopping in the center, turning to face everyone. He slowly glances across the room. Taking a close look at every person in the room. Finally, he clears his throat.

 

“Good morning everyone. Glad you could come. Now, first of all, raise your hand if you have a quirk.” He said, totally deadpan. Everyone raised their hands, including Towa. The tired man’s empty expression didn’t change.

 

“Great. You all pass. Welcome to U.A High School.” 

 

Everything went silent.

 

Chapter 5: Entrance Exam

 

…

 

“WHAAAT?”

 

The group all yelled, some in confusion and others in anger. Everyone began yelling over each other. Towa just sat totally flabbergasted. The tired man stood up.

 

“QUIET!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone stopped talking. He sat back down like nothing had happened.

 

“This is the very first hero school in existence. Opening in the most crime-ridden country in the world. Do you really think we can afford to turn anyone away? Think a bit more critically about it.” The room was again silent as everyone realized how much sense that made.

 

“There are pamphlets near the exit, I hope to see you all in September.” He turned to walk out.

 

“Hey!”

 

One of the kids jumped up from his seat. He was the one wearing a sword on his belt. He was surprisingly tall and built with broad shoulders and a energetically confident pose. His slicked-back dark brown hair seemed to flow majestically despite having no wind in the room. He looked at the man with a concerned expression.

 

“Don’t you think we deserve to ask some questions?”

 

The man sighed.

 

“Fair enough. You can ask me one question.”

 

The kid thought about it for a few seconds.

 

“This entrance exam is completely devoid of any stakes, will the course be similar?”

 

The man raised his highbrow, he looked surprised.

 

“What a silly question. The course is as high stakes as it gets. Can you imagine how difficult it was to pitch this idea to the government? One big problem and they’ll close the entire school. If we sense that you might be a liability, we’ll have to expel you.”

 

A wave of shock washed over the small crowd. The boy with the sword instead seemed interested in that answer.

 

“Not sure why any of you are surprised.” The man droned. “Heroism is one of the highest stake jobs in existence, it’s only natural for the course to match.” He turned and walked right out the door. Everyone was left confused, Towa especially.

 

What on earth did I get myself into?

 

Towa worries himself out the door, back down the hall, back onto the train, and all the way home. He then stands in front of Hotaru. She stared at him intensely.

 

“How did it go!?”

 

“I got in!”

 

“Yeah! Good Job! I’m so proud of you!”

 

She gave him a tight hug. Both of them wore a deeply worried face, and neither saw it from the other. There was no going back now. Time continued to move forward. Eventually Towa squints at a packet of papers all crammed with questions. The font is small and hard to see, the only large text is at the top. “Quirk Application”

 

This is from UA? How did they get my address? Whatever I don’t have time to wait, I gotta answer all of these before school next week!

 

He sat and answered the questions for a few hours straight. They asked him a ton of things, 

 

“What’s your gender? Race? Ethnicity? Sexuality?”

“Describe your personality.”

“Describe your appearance.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“Describe your childhood.”

“What was your first experience with heroes?”

“What is a hero to you?”

“What should heroes be like?”

“Why does Japan need heroes?”

“How much diversity in race, gender, quirks, and sexuality have you been exposed to?

“When did you decide you wanted to be a hero?”

“Who inspires you?”

“What is your biggest pet peeve?”

“What are your strengths?”

“What are your weaknesses?”

“What sets you apart from your peers?”

“Describe your Quirk.”

“How often do you use your Quirk?”

“What ways do you use your quirk?”

“Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

“Where do you see society in ten years?”

“What is evil?”

 

The questions went on and on for what felt like an eternity. Towa just kept answering them as long as he could. Finally, he was finished. He held the filled-out packet over his head in accomplishment.

 

“I did it! The homework better not take that long!”

 

He mailed his answers to the school and worried himself for a whole week until the first day of school. He gets ready, says goodbye to Hotaru, and heads to the school. Finally, Towa stood in front of a small, old building, right in the middle of a crappy part of town. He looked at it, then down at his pamphlet which had pictures that made the campus look much nicer. He sighed before entering. He walked down a long empty hallway, stressing himself out.

 

What if my classmates don’t like me? What if the teachers don’t like me? WHAT IF-

 

He stops to take a deep breath. He starts walking again.

 

I gotta remember what Hotaru told me. It’s my first day of high school. I gotta be confident. I’ll walk into class and look like I know what I’m doing.

 

He makes it to the door. “Class 1-A,” It says. He takes another deep breath, before opening the door.

 

My future starts now!

 

He opens the door to see an empty class.

 

NO ONE SHOWED UP! MY LIFE IS OVER!

 

To be continued…

Notes:

U.A. is so ghetto ain't no way lmao. That first scene is important for showing how untrusting the general public is of heroes, and I’ll show more of that. A bit of a tease at some of the classmates we’ll have, I’m excited to show more. See ya next week!

Chapter 6: Day One

Notes:

The Volume 2 cover and the awesome character sketches were drawn by @xen.ofc on Tiktok. Marvel at his PEAK art!!

Chapter 6: Day One

 

Towa stares at a completely empty classroom. He’s flooded with panic.

 

NO ONE SHOWED UP! MY LIFE IS OVER!

 

“Why are you here so early?”

 

“AAAGH!”

 

He screams as the tired man appears behind him. Towa manages to calm himself enough to talk again.

 

“Hello, Sir.”

 

“Class starts in an hour. Why are you here so early?”

 

“Uhh, early is on time, on time is late?”

 

The tired man stared at him blankly for a few moments.

 

“Okay. Well, you can pick a seat, just please be quiet while I rest my eyes.”

 

He goes to his desk and seems to immediately fall asleep. Towa turns to face the array of seats. There were 4 rows of 4 seats. He immediately began to plan out the best seat. He closes his eyes and thinks through his options.

 

The front row is a bad idea, I’ll look like a teacher's pet. The back row is off limits too, I’ll look like I don’t care about the class. The right half is also a bad idea, I’ll be too close to the teacher's desk. The left-most row is bad too, I won’t have enough people around me. That means my best choice would be… the second to the left seat on the second row!

 

He opens his eyes smiling confidently. There's someone in his chosen seat. It’s the kid with the sword. His hair continued to flow majestically in the wind despite there being no wind.

 

“What? When did you get here!?”

 

“SHHH” The tired man shushed them and continued looking totally asleep. Towa moved to the desk.

 

“When did you get here?” Towa whispered while still sounding annoyed.

 

“I walked in while you were standing with your eyes closed.” The kid whispered back.

 

“Wha- why are you even here so early?”

 

“Early is on time, on time is late of course!”

 

Towa grumpily sat on the seat next to him, on the leftmost row.

 

He obviously didn’t mean to steal the best seat. I should introduce my self-

 

“Hey, weird kid, did you know this is the best seat in the room?”

 

“What!?”

 

“You see, the front row is a bad idea, you’d look like a teacher's pet. The back row is off limits too, you’d look like you don’t care about the class. The right half is also a bad idea, you’d be too close to the teacher's desk. The left-most row is bad too, you won’t have enough people around you. That’s why the best seat is this one! I decided that the second I entered the room! Isn’t that cool?”

 

Towa was left totally flabbergasted. He just laid back in his chair, even grumpier than before. The kid seemed like he was totally oblivious to how grumpy he was.

 

“I’m Youta Jūryoku, what’s your name?”

 

“Towa Haruka. Nice to meet you.”

 

They sit silently next to each other for a while. Eventually, another person enters the room. It's the tall, blonde girl who gave Towa a death glare at the entrance exam. Both Towa and Youta watched her waiting to see where she would choose to sit.

 

It’s that girl again! I wonder where she’s gonna sit. Maybe in the back. In front of me? Or maybe-

 

She walks to the other side of the room and sits in the front row right in front of the teacher's desk.

 

RIGHT THERE!? Damn. She managed to be cool even sitting in the nerdiest spot in the room. She’s pretty too, despite being scary. I wonder if she’ll ever give me the time of day-

 

“Hi, Asen!” Youta shouted across the room at her. She looked over with the same nasty expression.

 

HE KNOWS HER NAME!?

 

“Oh, hey Youta.”

 

SHE KNOWS HIM!?

 

“You guys know each other?” Towa whispered to Youta.

 

“A little bit. I hosted a small get-together with some of the other students after the entrance exam.” Youta responded at a normal volume. Towa was immediately filled with panicked confusion.

 

He did what? When was that!?

 

He thinks back to how lost in thought he was after the entrance exam. He sees himself distracted leaving the room while everyone else begins talking, the conversation led by Youta. Towa just laid face first on his desk in defeat.

 

Now everyone is gonna think I’m the weirdo who doesn’t want to make friends. I’m so screwed.

 

Towa continued feeling defeated as the rest of the class entered the room as the beginning approached. Most walked right past Towa and greeted Youta. This didn’t help Towa’s feelings. Finally literal seconds before being late. The Hooded figure entered, sitting in the leftmost back corner. They didn’t greet anyone. After a few minutes, the teacher got up from his desk, looking exactly as exhausted as before but now with half his face being redder. He stood and looked around at the class.

 

“Looked like you guys all showed up. Good. I will be your homeroom teacher. Call me Sensei Suitchi.” He said totally deadpan. Towa was perplexed at his tone.

 

Doesn’t seem very energetic for a hero teacher.

 

“Welcome to-“

 

Suddenly Crimson Sun burst into the room, totally brimming with energy.

 

“-UA Hero Academy!”

 

Everyone looked at least vaguely familiar with Crimson. Suitchi looked annoyed.

 

“Crimson, we rehearsed this, you’re supposed to come in after the third act of my speech,” Suitchi said, annoyed. Crimson immediately turned totally mortified.

 

“Wait, Was that not it?”

 

“OF COURSE THAT WASN’T IT, I ONLY SAID A FEW SENTENCES!”

 

He continued yelling at him furiously. The class just looked around awkwardly. Towa’s faith in this program continued to dwindle. Suitichi calmed himself as Crimson cleared his throat.

 

“Everyone up! To the courtyard!”

 

A few minutes later the class stood outside in the ginormous courtyard It was a mostly grassy field, with a 400m track among other things. Crimson was beaming with excitement.

 

“Heroism is nothing simple. No two people will be the same hero. Personality, Skillset, and of course, Quirk will completely alter how you save people and how you battle villains. To properly foster your heroism, we’ll have to understand these parts of you. Let's start with your quirks! We’ll be splitting you into teams of three and running a few tests to see the limits of your quirks and their usage. Make sure to use your quirk as best you can!  Be the overall winner in your team and you get extra credit! Be the overall loser and- uh…”

 

“You might get expelled.” Suitchi chimed in. Crimson cringed.

 

“Yeah, that.”

 

Towa was immediately stressed. He looked around at his class, trying to figure out who he wanted to be grouped with. 

 

Test One: 400-meter dash

 

Towa, Youta, and the hooded figure stood shoulder to shoulder at the start of a 400-meter track. Suitchi stood at the end of the track with a stopwatch and a starter pistol. Towa looked nervous.

 

I’m not the best runner. I run out of breath fast and I can’t even breathe while using my quirk. I do not want to be expelled though. And I want that extra credit. I’ll have to avoid using my Quirk unless I need to. Hopefully, neither of them has super speed quirks- SHH! SHUT UP! Focus on yourself. I got this!

 

He still looked exactly the same amount of nervous. Youta likewise looked completely confident. He pulled out a large bag. He took a large bowling ball and discarded the bag. Towa looked perplexed.

 

What on earth? Why-

 

*BANG!*

 

Towa snapped back into it from the bang of the starter pistol. He began running as fast as he could. The hooded figure just walked. Youta didn’t start moving at all. Instead, he grabbed the bowling ball and tossed it behind him as hard as he could. Then he started running. Towa was utterly confused but he had no time to question it. Youta was slightly faster and was almost caught up even after giving himself a handicap. Towa looked less and less confident.

 

I gotta keep going!

 

Youta snapped his fingers as he ran. Suddenly the bowling ball he threw began flying towards him at high speeds. Towa’s jaw dropped.

 

WHAT THE-

 

Before he could finish the thought, the bowling ball flew right at Youta absurdly quickly. Youta caught the ball and let it pull him forward at high speeds. In a second he crosses most of the track before landing painlessly. He leaves the ball there and keeps running. He now had a solid 200m head start on Towa, whose jaw was still dropped. His shock turned to annoyed determination.

 

Oh no you don’t!

 

He jumped, activating his quirk in mid-air, he pushed off the ground and launched himself slightly further than Youta. He landed painfully, losing most of his momentum. Once he was running again he was ahead of Youta, approaching the finish line.

 

I’m gonna make it!

 

“That was super cool!” Youta suddenly said, not even out of breath. “I can’t lose this though.”

 

He snapped his fingers again, and the bowling ball launched itself towards him again. Towa was rocked with shock.

 

He can use it again!?

 

He caught the ball and was pulled forward again, he flew right over the finish line a few seconds before Towa could.

 

“20.09 Seconds” Suitchi spoke flatly. Youta landed and jumped up in excitement. Towa was totally exhausted and was barely going at half the speed he was before, he crossed the finish line and bent over breathing heavily.

 

“25.14 Seconds”

 

What the heck kind of quirk is that?

 

Youta Jūryoku, Quirk, Recall: He can select any object and pull it to his hand from anywhere with a snap. He can only pick one object at a time, and it can be obstructed.

 

That was so cool…

 

Towa falls over in exhaustion and lies defeated.

 

“Hey don’t beat yourself up about it! At least you didn’t get last place!” Youta says, bleeding with enthusiasm. Right as he says it, the hooded figure casually strolls over the finish line. He didn’t even attempt to make haste. Suitichi gives him a mean look as he says “Three minutes 5.20 seconds” Towa’s confusion distracts him from his exhaustion.

 

This guy didn’t even try. What's his deal?

 

Crimson sat across the field three feet from the middle of the track, carefully watching the race. He strokes his chin while lost in deep analysis. Eventually, he shoots up and erupts over 200 meters in half a second, tearing apart grass and dirt on his path, he stops right next to Suitchi and begins whispering to him. Suitchi barely reacted, yet Towa and Youta nearly screamed. Both of them took a second to process what even happened.

 

“Holy crap, that was fast!” Youta exclaimed. They waited as the two teachers had a whole silent conversation. After a bit, Suitchi faced them again.

 

“Good job you three. You guys can rest until the other groups are done racing-”

 

“NAH SCREW THAT!” The hooded figure aggressively interrupted. He finally took off his hood, revealing totally blood-red skin, jagged horns, sharp triangular teeth, and two fangs sticking out his chin. He exactly resembled a biblical demon. Immediately Towa was a little creeped out. The figure pointed antagonistically at Crimson.

 

“Screw all this testing and waiting. I want to fight, RIGHT NOW!” He lunges at Crimson, filled with ferocity. Crimson simply smirks in response.

 

“Oh, Daken. Looks like you still only want to fight” He says calmly. Daken launches a mighty punch with all his might right at Crimson’s head. Right before the fist can make contact, Crimson catches it with ease. Suddenly electricity zaps in one part of his torso, and his aura amplifies in heat and power. He lifts Daken’s fist into the air and strikes him in the stomach with incredible force, blasting him into the ground and smashing a huge crater into the ground. He looks over at Towa and Youta, both shaken by the sudden event.

 

“Fine, we’ll do your second test now. Whoever manages to land a hit on me first is the winner.”

 

His stare grows more intense. Youta is filled with intense determination. Towa is filled with something more like utter terror.

 

“Uh… what?”

 

Test Two: Crimson Battle

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Nah, they're cooked. Big chapter this week, we’re beginning to meet the rest of the class. Youta is a funny fella. Extremely friendly but lacking any social cues. Suitichi is a lot like Aizawa but maybe a bit less insane than expelling an entire class. Daken wants violence. IMPORTANT: I’m pulling a Horikoshi and having a break next week, so the next chapter will be out after 2 Fridays.

Chapter 7: Testing Testing 123

Crimson stood in front of Towa and Youta. He stared with unwavering confidence and might. Youta stared back, trying his hardest to match his confidence. Towa was absolutely not matching his confidence and was not making any attempt to, in fact, he looked so nervous he was about to pass out.

 

How am I supposed to land a hit on this guy? I saw him run so fast the floor exploded! We're so screwed!

 

“HELL YEAH!”

 

Suddenly Daken rises from the crater he was punched into. There's a hole in his sweater from where Crimson hit him and blood is pouring from his mouth, but he doesn't seem to care. He smiles deviously.

 

“That’s more like it! Let's see if you can do that again!”

 

He lunches at Crimson again with the same amount of ferocity. This time Crimson dodged his attack. Daken launched a constant, monstrous combo of punches, slashes, and kicks, all of which Crimson dodged with ease. Eventually, Crimson caught his punch and snapped his arm in the wrong direction like a twig. He then hit him in the stomach again, exploding him into another crater.

 

“OH GOD!” Towa yells in shock. He runs over to Daken.

 

“Are you alright!?” Towa examines his injuries. Daken suddenly grabs him by the face and shoves him over. Getting up with the same smile of devious excitement.

 

“Get off me, I’m getting hyped up!”

 

His arm suddenly snaps back into place. Flesh grows over the missing skin until the arm is completely healed. Towa is disturbed at first but it quickly turns to relief. 

 

He can heal! That’s so cool! Crimson must’ve known.

 

He’s suddenly filled with confidence. He stands strongly.

 

Crimson won’t hurt me, it's just a test. A test I have to pass! But we’ll need a plan.

 

“Youta!” He exclaims as he turns to Youta. No one is standing there.

 

WHERE DID HE GO!?

 

Suddenly an ominous figure appears behind Crimson. Youta swings his blade down as fast as he can. Crimson sidesteps it.

 

“Demon boy! You and I can land something if we work together!” Youta shouts at Daken, pointing towards him.

 

“Don’t call me that! And stay out of my way!” Daken responds. They both begin to attack from two angles. Youta is similarly as fast and constant as Daken, but less ferocious, instead, every move he makes feels calculated like he is planning a future move. It didn’t matter though, Crimson still dodged most attacks, the ones he didn’t he instead blocked. Towa struggled to keep up.

 

I gotta help, but I can’t fight that fast!

 

Towa backs up a few large steps. He jumps and activates his quirk in the air, launching him up and towards the fight. He flies right towards Crimson, who eventually dodges the strike. Towa rolled to a stop on the other side of the fight.

 

That was close. I have to keep trying!

 

Crimson's battle with Youta and Daken continued, every 10 seconds Towa flew in for another attack. Crimson still managed to elude them. Youta charged at Crimson, no sword in hand. Crimson was confused.

 

His sword is gone, where-

 

His ear twitches. He looks up to see the blade spinning as it flies upward.

 

He threw it.

 

Youta launched a small combo before Crimson caught his arms. Youta snaps his fingers. The blade suddenly flies right towards Crimson.

 

What an Interesting Quirk. Crimson thinks as the blade zooms towards him. At the same time, Daken lunges at him from behind. Crimson smirks. Suddenly he palms Daken’s entire face. Pulling him right in the way of the sword. It stabs right through his torso, though he doesn’t seem to react. Youta makes a face of panic before Crimson smacks him with Daken, sending them both flying back. Towa launches at him right afterward. Instead of dodging, Crimson swings his arm through the air with monstrous strength, the swing blasts Towa with a powerful gust of air, knocking him off course and smashing him into the pile of his other classmates. Both Towa and Youta are out of it now, they can’t do much but moan in pain. Daken instead jumps out of the pile still full of vigor. He rips the sword from his chest and throws it aside. The wound heals immediately.

 

“Is that all you got!?” Daken yells antagonistically at Crimson. Crimson laughs heartily.

 

“I think that’s good for this test.”

 

“WHAT!? Who said this was over!?” Daken shouts in response. He begins to step towards Crimson. In the next instant Crimson grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him all the way into the ground, leaving just his head above ground. He tries to move but he can’t.

 

“What the hell is this!?” He kept struggling but couldn't make any progress.

 

“I think that's good for this test. You three can relax for a bit. Time for the next group!”

 

A few minutes later, Towa Youta and Daken sat on the sidelines. Towa felt defeated. Daken was pissed and covered in dirt. Youta was smiling.

 

“What the hell are you smiling at?” Daken barks at Youta.

 

“I’m excited to see our classmates in action.”

 

“Pft. Who cares.”

 

“Everyone should care. If we’re to become heroes, we need to understand our colleges.”

 

“How are you supposed to be a hero? You can’t even get through a fight without stabbing me! And that gloomy-looking kid only threw like 5 punches the whole fight!”

 

Towa suddenly snapped back into it. “I’m not gloomy! Am I?” He said unassertively. Daken scoffed and looked back towards the race track. “Whatever, I don’t need either of your help.

 

They looked over to the race track, where three new students stood ready to race. One was androgynous, with medium-length greenish hair. They wore a kind of derpy emotionless expression. They were incredibly short and didn't stand in a running position. The other two were polar opposites. One was tall and chubby, he had light grey hair that was covered by a salmon beanie. The other is skinny and short. He had thick black hair and slightly darker skin compared to everyone else. He wore a red bandana on his forehead, trying to make himself look as cool as possible. They both stood in running positions. Suitchi held up his starter pistol. There was a sudden strange glitch effect.

 

*BANG!*

 

“0.20 Seconds,” Suitchi said before the sound of the pistol could even finish ringing. Everyone was immediately confused. Towa especially.

 

“What just happened!?”

 

The androgynous classmate stood at the finish line. Greenish-pixelated digital artifacts surrounded them and slowly faded out. They looked exactly as casual as they did before.

 

“I did it.” They spoke coldly.

 

Shunkan Adachi, Quirk, Glitch: They can teleport or “Glitch” anywhere in a kilometer radius instantaneously as long as they can see where they’re going. They can’t teleport where something already is, however.

 

“They got there instantly! Do they have a teleport quirk? That’s crazy!” Towa is totally shook by this turn of events. The other two racers hadn’t even started running. They look at each other concerned.

 

“You guys race each other!” Crimson yelled from the sidelines while gesturing towards the polar opposite racers. “On go, get ready. One, two, three, GO!”

 

The racers begin running. Immediately the small guy passes the big guy. The small guy smirks confidently.

 

“See ya later slowpoke!”

 

The big guy's eyes narrow in anger.  Suddenly his body begins warping. He splits into two smaller people, each wearing the same clothes but about half as tall and a bit slimmer than he was before. The tiny clone gets into first place. The other racer is totally shocked by this.

 

“What the heck?”

 

The clones talk in unison in high-pitched voices.

 

“See ya later slowpoke!”

 

Chowai Tabata, Quirk, Split: He can split into smaller and smaller clones. Each clone is around half the size of the original.

 

“You aren’t beating me that easy!” The second racer shouts as he holds his hand out. Energy collects in his hand, making it glow faintly. Towa is filled with anticipation.

 

What is he about to do?

 

The glow grew more intense. Tabata’s little clones began to look nervous.

 

“Summon Skateboard!” The racer yells as the light explodes out in all directions.

 

He’s gonna summon what!?

 

The light quickly fades. He’s holding a rubber ducky. Everyone’s face shifts to utter confusion. There’s silence for a moment until Daken bursts out laughing. The racer immediately begins panicking.

 

“Oh dammit, not duck, skateboard!” He threw the duck aside and summoned a new item, this time a compass. He continued to summon Items and throw them behind him until there was a trail of random nonsense following him like jump ropes, water bottles, and a weirdly high number of rubber ducks. Eventually, he finally summoned the skateboard.

 

“YES!”

 

He trips over the jump rope he spawned and falls right onto his face a few feet from the finish line. The two Tabatas pass the finish line while he’s down. He lies defeated.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Heyan Kamei, Quirk,  Inventory: He can store objects in a pocket dimension to be summoned at any time. But he often struggles to summon the desired item.

 

Daken was still laughing hysterically. Towa and Youta start feeling bad.

 

“Good try! Clean that up and we’ll have the next race!” Crimson announced.

 

A few minutes later the last group stood at the start line. All three were girls. Asen was among them. She stood in the middle. To her right was a strange bird woman. She had huge orange eyes with beaming black pupils as well as short brown hair that was as messy as humanly possible. Sticking from her back were two large wings covered in brown feathers. She wore a black tank top so her wings could have space, but she held herself shyly, covering her arms and torso with her wings. Her legs were creepily thin and birdlike, gripping the floor with intimidating talons. To Asen’s left was extremely familiar to Towa, he struggled to pin her down. She’s short with bright blue hair tied up in a bun.  A tiny grey syringe held her bun together. It was an unusual fashion choice, but she pulled it off. She looked bubbly and super energetic, she was nearly jumping in anticipation for the race.

 

I’ve seen her before. But where?

 

As Towa kept trying to figure out who she was. The three girls stood ready to race. Suitchi lifted the starter pistol.

 

BANG

 

Immediately Asen exploded forward, leaving a huge dust cloud behind her. She didn’t seem to use any quirk, she just sprinted at absurdly impressive speed. After a bit, she dashed right over the finish line. She dug her feet into the ground and stopped after sliding a few feet. Everyone on the sidelines was left totally shaken. She took deep breaths like she wasn’t even tired.

 

“She didn’t even need a quirk!?” Towa exclaimed. Youta responded, “I’m not sure, some quirks are impossible to see.” They both looked over at Daken to hear his input. He just sat with a huge devious smile on his face. He gave a quick laugh before yelling “I like that one! When can I fight her!?”Towa and Youta just look at each other concerned, then back at the track.

 

Behind Asen, the Bird women flew over the finish. She didn’t stop at the finish however, she flew right past the finish, randomly diving into a random part of the grassy field. Everyone looked over at her. She stands back up, facing away from the crowd. She held a terrified squirrel in her talons. Her head suddenly turns nearly a full 90 degrees as she looks back at the crowd. Most are startled. Her face floods with red as she turns back, embarrassed.

 

Fukurō Sakurai, Quirk, Owl: She has the characteristics of an Owl, simple enough.

 

After a bit longer. The third girl ran over the finish line. Although she was dead last she was still walking on sunshine. She appeared before the other two racers, smiling ear to ear.

 

“That was so cool guys! You both are so fast!”

 

“Thanks,” Asen responded, a bit confused. Fukuro held up the squirrel she caught. “I didn’t even mean to catch this guy. I did it on instinct.” She said sadly. The squirrel looked around terrified in her claws. He had gotten a nasty cut and was losing blood.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I got this! Just hold him still.”The happy girl says as she bends over and gives the squirrel a little kiss. The squirrel looks just as confused as everyone else present, well almost everyone. Towa gasped in realization.

 

“That nurse who kissed me!” Towa yelled as he jumped up. Everyone was left even more confused. Towa took a moment to realize how loud he was. The nurse looked at him with blazing intensity for a moment, forcing him to sit back down. She looked back with the same ecstatic nature she had a moment ago. The squirrel began to glow green, and in a few seconds, its wound was gone. It got up and looked around before dashing away. The Nurse took out a baby wipe and cleaned her lips. Everyone was left amazed, other than Daken.

 

“You got rabies now!” He yells sarcastically from the crowd. A vein nearly pops out of the healer's head.

 

“SHUT THE F___ UP!”

 

Every jaw in a mile radius dropped. Even Daken was too shocked to be pissed. After a bit he just smiled “Found my favorite classmate!” She just looks back embarrassed.

 

“Sorry about that guys I lost control a little bit, hehehe.” She giggles as she spins some hair in her hand.

 

Chiyo Shūzenji, Quirk, Heal: Her kisses vastly improve your body's healing capabilities. It uses the target's own energy and is very draining for the target.

 

Crimson jumped up from his sitting position. He was beaming with joy.

 

“What a beautiful showcase of quirks! Let's keep going with more tests!”

 

Test Three: Standing High Jump

 

Towa, Youta, and Daken stand together next to a pole with height markings on it. Daken jumps first. He doesn't care enough to try. He does a regular jump and makes it a bit over a foot. Youta crouches down for his own jump, he jumps slightly higher, nearly stumbling when he lands. He smirks at Daken and Towa. Towa takes a deep breath before using his quirk to launch himself three stories into the air. Towa smashes into the ground.

 

Test Four: Dart Throw

 

The three stand shoulder to shoulder in front of three dart boards. Daken throws a dart halfheartedly, missing the board entirely. Towa tries not to smirk as he throws his dart, barely making it into the second layer. As his saltiness starts growing Youta throws his dart. It nearly hits the bullseye but just barely misses it. Before anyone can say anything Youta snaps his fingers, pulling the dart out of the board and back to his hand. He throws it two more times, the third throw hitting the bullseye directly. Daken and Towa look at each other with baffled disbelief.

 

THAT HAS TO HAVE BEEN CHEATING! Towa thinks really hard, wishing for any kind of retribution.

 

Test Five: Water Break

 

Everyone sat around drinking silently.

 

…

 

Test Six: Punching Machine

 

The trio now stands in front of a huge industrial-looking punching machine. Daken’s razor-sharp smile stretches across his face.

 

“Now this is more like it!” He rubs his hands together in excitement. Youta steps up first. He winds his body back in a precise punching posture. With one quick and precise swing, he struck the machine with a hefty punch. The number over the machine read 100. The average score was about 80, so Youta was satisfied. Towa was next. He took a few large strides back before launching himself into the air. He flew at the machine at high speeds, smashing his fist into it with high force. He lies on the floor holding his arm in pain afterwards.

 

“I think I went a bit overboard… ow.” Eventually, he looks up and sees the display, it says 190. He jumps up, ecstatic, throwing his arms in the air. “Hell yeah!” He immediately recoiled from moving his arm too fast. “Nevermind. Ow.” Daken scoffs at his pain as he steps up to the machine.

 

“This is a punching machine, not a light massage machine. This is how you throw a punch.” He winded back his fist in a feral, unhinged position. With a monstrous swing, he slammed his fist into the machine. The strike was so mighty that Daken’s own body couldn’t withstand it, his arm violently exploded under the force, blasting blood in all directions. The machine was nearly torn off its hinges as the reading continued to climb. Daken seemed to wince from the pain but he fought through it. His arm hung from his body, half of it blown off. It looked like a hot dog exploded in the microwave, literally steaming from the impact. “400” the machine read. Towa wiped the blood from his face and stood in awe of the score.

 

There’s no way. He just doubled my score, plus he totally destroyed his arm. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

 

Daken smiles deviously. “That’s how you do it.”

 

Chapter 7: Testing Testing 123

 

To be continued

Notes:

I wrote this entire chapter at work, don’t tell my boss. This chapter is super important and showcases most of the class as well as Towa, Youta, and Daken's dynamics. Hopefully, y'all are enjoying it. Let me cook.

Chapter 8: Strike

Towa, Youta, and Daken sat on the sidelines. Towa and Youta were completely exhausted, even Daken seemed to be tired out.

 

“I’ve never done this much exercise, I think I’m gonna die!” Towa tried his best to say while panting. Youta lay on the ground exhausted, suddenly he sat up and went into a meditative position. He took a few deep breaths and he was calm. Towa watched in jealous confusion.

 

He can meditate too? He even relaxes better than me!

 

He looked over to the field, Crimson was stretching as Tabata, Kamei, and Adachi stood against him. Tabata’s clones had fused back into the full-sized him. He and Kamei looked incredibly nervous, especially as Kamei kept summoning rubber duckies in preparation. Adachi didn’t look particularly nervous, but they rarely made any expression at all.  Crimson smiled in excitement.

 

“You guys can start whenever you want,” Crimson said, trying to be assuring. It wasn’t very effective.

 

After a bit, Adachi elbowed Tabata and Kamei. “You guys go first.”

 

“What!? Why us?” Kamei yells. Tabata seems to share his sentiment.

 

“We’ll need a distraction to land a hit. You two seem like perfect distractions.”

 

They glitch and disappear. Kamei looks around panicked.

 

“Wh- what the hell!? Where’d did they go!?”

 

Crimson suddenly began walking towards them. Every step brought with it a wave of terror across Kamei and Tabata. After a few steps, Kamei managed to summon a metal bat into his hand, as well as summoning his confidence back.

 

“We can do this big guy! We’ll rush him and overwhelm him with clones!” He said confidently. Tabata nodded before splitting twice into four tiny clones. Each was barely 2 feet tall. Kamei looked down at them.

 

“You guys really get short fast.” His disappointment was clear.

 

“Who you calling short shorty!?” One of the clones barked back.

 

“And a lot more talkative.”  The clones ignored him as they started rushing in. Kamei followed after, branding his bat. They approched Crimson, who simply raised his arm. He slammed it into the ground, shattering the earth below, launching Kamei and all of the little Tabatas into the air. Kamei suddenly doesn’t look as confident. “Dammit.” 

 

Suddenly, Adachi glitches behind Crimson. They pull back their fist, ready to strike him. He doesn't seem to notice. Towa nearly hops out of his seat.

 

“Are they gonna land a hit?” He says, trying to be quiet. Daken and Youta get sucked into the anticipation as well. Adachi’s fist flies towards Crimson, it travels a sloppy arc that gets close to him but doesn't actually hit him. They missed.

 

“They don’t know how to throw a punch,” Towa says in shock. Daken tries not to start laughing again.

 

“Oops,” Adachi says as they look up at Crimson. Kamei and Tabata’s clones hit the ground, Crimson stomps on the ground, launching Adachi into the air, over his head, and on top of Kamei. They all groan in pain as Crimson laughs.

 

“We gotta get you some combat training young hero!” He’s the only one laughing. Finally, it's time for the final round of the final test. The group of girls stood before Crimson.  Asen was stretching.  Fukuro had shoved her face into her feathers to clean them. She looked back out like she just realized where she was. Her head turned around looking at seemingly nothing. Chiyo looked pretty nervous.

 

“What am I supposed to do? My quirk isn’t for fighting!” She says nervously.

 

Asen finished her stretches and stood in a ready position.

 

“You don’t have to do anything.”

 

She dashed towards Crimson like an unstoppable machine. Crimson wasn’t intimidated. She stopped right before she reached him. She stood in a battle-ready stance. Crimson smirked.

 

Waiting for me to make the first move? Interesting.

 

He pulled his arm back and swung it towards her in a purposely predictable way. Asen ducked under it. He blocked a few strikes before catching a kick. He tosses her aside. She hits the ground and recovers almost immediately. Crimson looks to his side to see a talon a few inches from his face as Fukuro flies toward his face. He just barely ducks under it.

 

That was close. Her flight doesn’t make noise, interesting.

 

He caught another attack from Asen. He was about to throw her aside again until she suddenly raised her hand. Light began to glow from her palm, illuminating everything. The light collected in her palm, forming a glowing sword made of golden rays.

 

Āsen Daguchi, Quirk, Holy Arsenal: She can create hard-light weapons. It can be any bladed weapon of her choosing. The light she summons to create her weapons comes from sunlight.

 

She swung the blade right towards Crimson. He threw her back, the edge narrowly missed his face.

 

Holy crap. Even closer. This girl is incredible!

 

Asen stabbed her sword into the ground, quickly stopping her backward momentum. She ran back at Crimson, with Fukuro flying beside her. She instantly analyzed the situation and robotically calculated the best course of action. Right before they reach Crimson, she stops, letting Fukuro in front of her. Fukuro swipes her talons, Crimson dodges them with ease. As Fukuro stops blocking his vision, a glowing spear flies right towards his face. He catches it the instant before it makes contact. Asen swings her sword at his other side. He punches the blade, shattering it into nothing. Crimson notices Fukuro charging in again from behind. Right at the moment of highest chaos-

 

Thud

 

Chapter 8: Strike

 

Asen lands a punch right at Crimson's Gut. Everyone in the crowd's jaws dropped. Fukuro is too shocked to continue her bloodlust.

 

“YEAH!” The crowd suddenly explodes in excitement like the winning goal was made in the last seconds of the game. Towa shot out from his seat completely enveloped in pure hype. He looks over at Youta and Daken, both seated wearing similarly salty faces.

 

“Big deal I could've done that too. Just give me non-useless teammates.” Daken pouts. “That sure was amazing huh? Good for her.” Youta says, trying as hard as he can not to sound sarcastic yet failing. The only person who didn’t react was Asen, who seemed pretty casual about the whole thing. Crimson was incredibly happy. He nearly giggled at how excited he was.

 

“Incredible! Bravo Asen! What amazing combat skills!”

 

“Thank you, sir.” She responded coldly as she saluted him.

 

“As you were, young hero.” He said. She then turned and walked all the way to the bench with the rest of the class. Everyone stared at her like she was some kind of celebrity, but she didn’t seem to care. Crimson clapped his hands together. He smiled enthusiastically.

 

“Absolutely Incredible job from all of you! With these tests we have a more clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and what we need to teach as a hero school. You should all be proud of yourselves! Who's hungry? We got sandwiches!”

 

He gestures over to Suitchi, who manages to set off a huge table of a few dozen sandwiches single-handedly in a few minutes. A few minutes later, everyone sat around eating. Towa sat with Youta, who was the only person whose name he could remember. Youta sat near the center of everyone other than Daken, who sat by himself a considerable distance away. Towa ate very slowly, Youta on the other hand blew through 3 sandwiches before Towa finished half of his.

 

Jeez, he’s tearing through those sandwiches.

 

“I know that face. You’re wondering why I’m eating these sandwiches so fast right?” Youta suddenly exclaimed. Towa was startled by his accurate prediction. “Well, it’s not as weird as it looks! We're all growing people aren’t we? We need nutrients! Especially if we’re gonna be doing physical activity.” He chows down another sandwich. Towa was left perplexed. “I didn’t even say anything!”

 

“Trust me, I’ve gotten enough weird looks to tell them apart.”

 

“Uh- sorry about that?” Towa was slightly concerned at the casualness of that sentence.

 

“No problem, my friend.” He laughed, Towa was still a bit concerned.

 

To the left, the three girls and Adachi were sitting together chatting. Chiyo was talking to them like they were already friends for years.

 

“Did your guy's parents freak out when you said you wanted to come here? Or was it just mine?”

 

“Mine did, a little bit,” Asen responded.

 

“Mine too. I had to do a lot of begging.” Fukuro responded.

 

“My parents wanted me to go,” Adachi responded. The three girls looked at her confused.

 

“Really?” Chiyo asked.

 

“Yep. They said something about getting out of the house and doing some exercise. How unusual.” She said emotionlessly. They then teleport a few feet away to throw out a napkin and then teleports back to their sitting spot. After a few seconds, the glitchy artifacts dissipate.

 

“You’re quirk is really cool Adachi! How does it feel to use it?” Chiyo curiously questioned.

 

“Well… it's kinda like Krzzzt, and then like a Whoosh, and then another Krzzzt. Or maybe not. I think it's more like a Crkkk then a- no that's not right. Maybe a Zzt-zzt-“ They kept trying to express the feeling. Kamei and Tabata sit across from each other. Kamei watches Tabata eat a sandwich with a perplexed expression.

 

“So if you split right now, would the sandwich you ate split between the two of you, or would one of the clones have all of it in their stomach?”

 

Tabata shrugs.

 

“Uhuh. You really don’t have much to say, do you? That’s cool I guess. I don’t like people to talk a lot anyway am I right?”

 

Tabata smiles.

 

“Anyway do you wanna split the last sandwich?” Tabata nodded his head. He reached over to rip the sandwich in half.

 

“Wait wait!” Let me handle this.”

 

He raises his palm, light begins to glow from it.

 

“Summon, KNIFE!”

 

A rubber ducky appears in his hand. They both make faces of disappointment.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Youta finally finished his last sandwich. He ate 6 faster than Towa could eat 2.

 

“Ahh. Nothing like a nutritious meal right Towa?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Daken walks by, carrying at least three times more empty sandwich bags than Youta. Towa stops his jaw from dropping.

 

That is a TON of sandwiches. His quirk must make him extra hungry.

 

As he walks to the garbage, he walks past the group of girls (plus Adachi). As he walks by his leg bangs into Fukuro’s wings. Daken nearly trips over. Immediately he’s pissed off.

 

“Hey! Watch you’re freaky wings!” He snapped at her. She immediately flooded with embarrassment and effectively shriveled into a ball.

 

“i’m sorry.”

 

Asen nearly stood up but Chiyo stopped her and stood up instead. Her bubbly demeanor disappeared, replaced by intense anger.

 

“Hey, you can’t talk that to her that way. Who do you think you are?”

 

“I think I nearly tripped over her freaky wings.” Fukuro shriveled a bit more. Chiyo growled and clenched her fist.

 

“Oh I’m gonna-”

 

She stopped herself and looked down at her fist. Immediately her rage turned to shame. “Never mind.” She sat down sadly.

 

“That’s what I thought.” Daken turns and continues to the trash. After dumping his nearly twenty empty sandwich containers, he turned to see Youta standing there with a pissed expression.

 

“What's your problem?” Daken said with a snarky Tone.

 

“My problem is you acting like a bully.”

 

“PFFT” Daken spat out a laugh immediately. “Boo-hoo, did I hurt her feelings? She can’t handle being called a freak?  I get worse than that on the daily.”

 

“Doesn’t mean she deserves to be bullied. You should apologize. Now.”

 

“Or what?”

 

Youta stood confidently in a battle-ready stance. Everyone watched in shock, Towa especially.

 

There’s gonna be a fight? On the first day?

 

Daken smirked. “You shouldn’t raise your fists unless you're ready to fight.”

 

“What makes you think I’m not?”

 

“You’re  wide open!”

 

Daken dashes forward at an inhuman speed. He slams his fist into Youta’s gut. He’s launched a few feet backward. He stops himself from spitting up his lunch. Daken smiles devilishly. Towa was trying to figure out if he should intervene or not, but now he was too stunned to act.

 

How the hell did he just do that? He’s so fast!

 

Daken takes a step forward but nearly falls. His ankles were badly torn apart, and a few seconds later, they were healed.

 

He moved so fast that he hurt himself, just like that punch from before. 

 

Daken charged in again, obliterating his ankles in the process.  This time Youta was more prepared. He jumps out of the way narrowly avoiding another attack. Daken flies a few meters away, rolling on the ground a few times before catching himself. He smiles.

 

“Didn’t work twice huh? I’ll try like this!” He begins sprinting at a fast but less explosive speed. After a few strides, he's nearly at Youta, who still stands confidently. As Daken continues to approach, Youta raises his hand and snaps his fingers. Immediately Daken feels a tug on his right foot.

 

What’s going on?

 

Daken falls backward as his leg begins flying toward Youta. He smirks.

 

During that last dodge. I touched your leg!

 

Daken slides against the floor as his leg continues to fly towards Youta. He’s unsure of how to combat the situation. As he approaches. Youta jumps into the air and axe kicks Daken’s face right into the ground. His nose breaks as his face nearly implodes. Youta falls over as Daken slides a few more feet backward. Everyone is left shocked at Youta’s crazy move. Daken gets up quickly, his face healing in a few seconds. He shoots some blood out of his nose and then is completely healed. Youta gets up looking extra confident. Daken smiles as well. They both return to battle-ready stances.

 

“Now this is more like it. Show me what you’ve got!” Daken yells out before sprinting towards Youta. Youta does the same. They get closer and closer.

 

…

 

At the same time, they both notice a plastic wiffle ball flying in between them. They watch it fly towards the ground. It makes contact.

 

BOOM! 

 

The impact is immense, enough to blast the ground open, launching both Daken and Youta out of the way. It left a large crater on the earth. Both fighters got up looking confused.

 

“What the hell was that!?” Daken jumps up and walks up to the crater. At the bottom of it lies the Wiffle ball. “How the hell did this thing cause this much damage?” He bends over to grab it. It doesn’t budge. “What? This thing is plastic right?” He grabs it with both hands and tugs it with all his might, he lifts it a few inches off the ground before his fingers snap, dropping it back to the ground as he falls over.

 

“You won’t be able to lift that.” Suitchi is suddenly standing there. He bends over and casually lifts the ball like it weighs nothing. Everyone is left even more confused. “I used my quirk on it.”

 

Sensei Suitchi, Quirk, Mass Reverse: He can make light things heavy and heavy things light.

 

“Playtime is over. We spent a bit too much time on this so we’ll have to spend the rest of the day focusing on mandated curriculums. Everyone follow me.” He said coldly. Everyone was a bit too shocked to react.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Imagine doing all this then you gotta do some algebra. That was always something I thought about in MHA was Deku really thinking “Oh man I gotta defeat All For One but also damn I haven’t done my geography lab and I still have that history presentation to finish” Like damn pick a struggle ╥﹏╥

Chapter 9: Meeting

 

The class sat through a few hours of talking about math, science, and other subjects. As the day went on, Towa began feeling more and more at ease., like he was at an actual school and not just some weird old building. Eventually, the first day finally came to an end. Everyone grabbed their things and began pooling out the door. Suddenly, Crimson yells out. “Wait wait wait! One more thing guys!”

 

He appears in front of the small crowd. He looks as extremely excited as ever.

 

“Before you guys go, I’ve got an exit slip. Asen already got some extra credit for landing a strike on me, but whoever answers this question correctly will get some as well. Are you guys ready?”

 

There was a mixed reaction from the group. Some like Youta and Towa were interested. Others like Suitchi seemed tired of his antics.

 

“Hit me with it, sir! I’m ready for anything!” Youta was still fully ready to keep learning with an energy that few could still match.

 

“The exit slip question is… What is my Quirk?”

 

“Oh, that’s easy! It’s… uh… um…” Youta’s words trailed off as he was lost in thought. Everyone else was similarly stumped, including Towa.

 

Crimson’s Quirk. What could it be? Well, it has to be some kind of super strength and super speed. But that's too simple. It also has to do something with the electricity that zaps around him when he attacks, but when I fought him, I didn’t feel any zap. So what the heck is it!?

 

Him and the rest of the class continued to try and figure it out, but no luck. After a few seconds, Daken walks past unbothered.

 

“Seriously, you guys are beyond dense. It’s obvious.”

 

“Easy to say Daken,” Crimson interjected. “What do you say it is?”

 

“I put it together after that girl landed a hit on you. It was very subtle, but I could tell your power slightly increased after that. The second hint was that electricity. It’s not actually part of your quirk, is it? You're wearing muscle stimulators. I have some experience. It's because your quirk is-

 

Crimson Sun, Quirk, Pain Engine: The more pain he’s in, the more powerful he becomes!

 

Crimson laughed heartily. After a long laugh, he smiled as intensely as ever.

 

“Perfect! 100% for you Daken. I hope to see you tomorrow.”

 

“Don’t bet on it. Y'all are bums.”

 

He walks away, succeeding to hide his smile.

 

Did he just call us homeless? What a strange guy. But that was a pretty impressive deduction.

 

“Now you guys know my quirk. Pain Engine. Interesting isn’t it? The ability to figure out someone's quirk is extremely important for being a hero. Quirks are often deeper than they seem, so make sure to think outside the box! I hope you all had a wonderful day! I’m excited to see you tomorrow. Get good sleep tonight!” After that interruption, the first day was over. Everyone began their trip home. Most walked to the train station, Daken mysteriously vanished somewhere, Asen was picked up in a limousine, and Kamei simply walked to his house barely halfway down the block. Towa was lost in thought. He reflected on his day all the way onto the train. He rode a few stops before getting off. He walked home absentmindedly until he was suddenly ripped back to reality by-

 

“WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?” Chiyo points at him antagonistically. Towa is immediately flabbergasted.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You've been following me ever since class ended. Don’t play dumb!”

 

“I’m just walking home, I swear I’m not trying to follow you.”

 

She stared at him intensely with analytical eyes. He was unsure of what face he should be making. He tried cracking a smile but ended up making a really awkward one. After a few seconds, she backed off.

 

“Alright. Don’t do anything creepy!”

 

They keep walking as she stares at him, waiting for him to step out of line. With every block they walked, they grew more and more confused, until finally, they both made it home. She lived right across the street.

 

“SINCE WHEN DO YOU LIVE THERE?” She yelled, annoyed.

 

“I just moved in a few months ago!” Towa responded, at the same time he was quietly wondering why she was so horrified by this realization.

 

“I guess I missed you. I usually go to work at around 5:00 AM.”

 

“You have a job?”

 

Her face immediately panicked, like she said something she didn’t want to.

 

“No, I don’t, I never said that. Goodnight.” She quickly turns and goes home, avoiding eye contact the entire time. Towa was left perplexed.

 

She’s pretty strange. I wonder what her deal is.

 

He turns and goes home. Hotaru is waiting near the Kitchen the second he walks in.

 

“Towa, I saw you were walking with that girl from across the street.”

 

“YOU KNOW HER!?”

 

“Of course I do, why wouldn't I know who lives right next door?”

 

“Do you know what her deal is? She’s pretty weird.”

 

“Towa! That’s rude.”

 

“How? She’s really weird!”

 

“Don’t say that! … Ok but she is pretty weird. I see her leaving her house really early. I think she might work at the hospital? I have no idea what a young girl like her is doing working at a hospital.”

 

Towa was left with even more questions. But she didn't give him time to dwell on them.

 

“Forget that how was your first day? Did you have fun? Did you make any new friends? Did they mention anything about AP classes?”

 

Towa spent the rest of the night describing his day. Hotaru listened intently.

 

…

 

Crimson and Suitchi stood a few feet from each other in what looked like a small apartment room. It was very messy with cheap fast food bags and paperwork all over the place.

 

“Suitchi, do you really think it's a big deal if the students find out that we live in the school?”

 

Their apartment room is a few rooms down from the main classroom.

 

“YES! If parents find out that we are basically homeless there’s no way any student would stick around. You must not tell anyone this.”

 

“Alright alright, I understand. How’s our budget looking?”

 

“I’ll tell you right now.”

 

He opens a computer and does a few calculations. His face grows pretty salty.

 

“We spent 3 days of budget today. We bought way too many sandwiches, and you’re running destroys the ground too much. Knock it off.”

 

“You’re so negative Suitchi. Relax. We’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t check in on us regularly.”

 

He takes a sip of coffee right as Suitchi gets a call. He pulls out the phone and checks it. Immediately his eyes widen significantly.

 

“It’s her.”

 

PFFT

 

Crimson spits coffee all over the room. He jumps to his feet. “Uh oh!”

 

“UH OH!? HIDE ALL THIS MESS IMMEDIATELY!”

 

He turns as Crimson begins zooming around the room at absurd speeds, all the clutter in the room slowly begins to disappear as he piles them into the cabinets and dressers in the room. Suitchi simply took a few deep breaths while fixing his hair and his suit. After clearing his breath, he glances back at the room for a moment. It’s pretty much completely spotless. He answers the call.

 

“Good evening gentlemen!”

 

When they picked up, they were faced with an extremely shiny woman. She literally radiated light, she was covered in golden accessories, from earrings to wristbands. Her short golden hair was also subtly sparkling. Behind her was an incredible view of Tokyo from the top floor of a skyscraper. Suitchi’s persona completely shifts to a louder more positive one.

 

“Miss Yuufuku! It’s great to see you!”

 

Miki Yuufuku was an entertainment Tycoon who doubled as the current richest woman in Japan. Her company “Yuufuku Gold Media” created movies, shows, internet content, and video games, and even owned a popular news channel. She also happened to be funding the U.A. Hero Academy project

 

“Oh please boys, you can call me Miki there’s really no problem.”

 

“Of course. Well, Miki-”

 

"Never mind that sounded wrong go back to the first thing.”

 

“Yes, of course. Well Miss Yuufuku, you look as radiant as always.”

 

“Thanks for noticing, I’m trying a few new skincare products. You really have to try some Suitchi, those wrinkles are looking rough !”

 

Crimson tries not to laugh as Suitchi tries not to make a salty face.

 

“Anyway, that's beside the point. I wanted to check in on you two. The first day of classes was today right?”

 

“Yes you’re right-”

 

“Of course I’m right. So, how was it? You guys staying on budget right?”

 

“Absolutely Ma’am. Not a penny out of place!”

 

“Good to hear. How about you big guy? Any progress with those little ones?”

 

Crimson cleared his throat before speaking like he wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot.

 

“Y- yeah-Yes! We made some good progress today!”

 

“Excellent I love to hear it.”

 

There was a short silence. Suitchi broke it, desperately trying to end the conversation.

 

“Well, thanks for checking in, we-”

 

“Don’t you two forget. I’m only funding this nonsense so I can see something entertaining in the future. A whole cast of heroes. Doesn’t it sound like a blast!”

 

“Yes absolutely.”

 

“Heh, yeah sure. Point is, don’t disappoint me. When I want to be entertained, I get entertained. Understand?”

 

She suddenly got a lot scarier. Suitchi and Crimson both were a bit shaken.

 

“Yes, Ma’am.”

 

“Haha! I love these guys! Looks like you two have everything together. Talk to you later, peace!”

 

She hangs up. Immediately all of the drawers and cabinets give way, dumping trash all over the room. Both Crimson and Suitchi let out a sigh of relief. Suitchi sits back in his chair as Crimson sits on the floor.

 

“We went over my department, what about you, how are the students doing?”

 

Crimson had to think about his answer for quite a while.

 

“So far they are all doing great.”

 

“Even Daken?”

 

“Ok most of them are doing great.”

 

“Are you sure we should keep him around? He seems like a gamble.”

 

“That’s nonsense Suitchi. He has incredible talents! We just have to get him to channel them better.”

 

“If you say so. Which of the Students do you see with the most potential as of now?”

 

“Well, it's tough to say right now. Asen is the most skilled fighter. She and Youta have the best hold on their quirk. Chiyo has a quirk that's practically begging to be used for heroism. But I’ll need more time to find the student with the most potential.”

 

“Who do you find the most intriguing so far? Do you have an answer for that?”

 

“Most interesting? That's easy. By a long shot… Towa Haruka.”

 

…

 

Towa lies on his bed, trying his best to fall asleep. Finally, he’s able to doze off. Immediately he awakens in his recurring dream. Same long room, same small beds, and the same bedside tables. He lies in bed, many years younger, wearing a salty expression.

 

I’m so sick of this damn dream. What even is this place?

 

He waits a while for the rhythmic knock. But it doesn’t come. He waits significantly longer than usual.

 

What’s going on? Why is this taking so long?

 

He eventually shuts his eyes. Trying as hard as he can to end the dream. Eventually, he opens his eyes to see if he’s awake. He’s greeted with a completely different setting. He stands in an endless dark void. The shadow seemingly blasted past him at high speeds. He was covered in a dark shadowy substance that covered his whole body except for his eyes. He tried his hardest to move, but he wouldn’t budge. He was distracted by the sudden change for a moment, but eventually, he noticed a figure in front of him. It was a woman, tall and shadowy. She was difficult to make out beyond her extremely long, dark, and blueish hair. A strong wind blew the hair in front of her face, obscuring her features. Towa felt chills all across his body. The figure simply stared for a few moments.

 

“AAGH!”

 

Towa screams himself awake, his quirk had activated in his sleep, leaving him floating a few inches off his bed. He quickly fell back to the bed, launching him awake. He stared at his hand, the space around it seemed to warp subtly for a few moments before returning back to normal. He took a few seconds to catch his breath.

 

“What the hell just happened…”

 

Chapter 9: Meeting

 

He was unable to sleep for the rest of the night. He was up bright and early the next morning, as ready for class as he could be.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Strange interaction huh? Ain’t that interesting. Finally wrapping up the first day. We also got a look at the Lady Funding U.A. She's pretty crazy. She might also be my ideal woman which is a bit more concerning.

Chapter 10: Rescue!

 

Towa walks to the train, still perplexed about the strange encounter he had the night before. He walks absentmindedly for a few blocks before someone suddenly tugs on his backpack, causing him to nearly fall over. He turns to see Chiyo, who still gives him the stink eye.

 

“What was that for?”

 

“Why are you so oblivious? On a bad day, you would’ve been pickpocketed a few dozen times before you even noticed.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right. I should pay more attention.” He immediately goes back to his complete obliviousness. She stares at him confused.

 

“You’re a funny guy, you know that?” She talked in a much more bubbly way than she usually does to him. This just raised his confusion.

 

“Why do you do that?”

 

“Do what!?”

 

“You act in two completely different ways.”

 

“Wh- SHUT UP!” She returned to her aggressive yelling. She looks away angrily.

 

I think I pissed her off. Damn, what is my problem?

 

They walked silently to the train, taking it to school. After a bit, they made it to U.A. Towa was still out of it. He didn’t notice when Chiyo suddenly stopped walking. After a few seconds, he turns to see her looking slack-jawed at the school building. He looked back at the school.

 

“What is that!?”

 

Looming over the short school building was a new building, one that wasn’t there before. It’s not nearly as wide, but it's much taller than the school. It was extremely disheveled and damaged looking, with missing windows and cracked walls. Towa and Chiyo stared at it trying to figure out how the hell it got there. Suddenly Youta appears next to them.

 

“I don’t remember a tall industrial building being in the courtyard. What about you guys?”

 

“Yeah, that definitely wasn't there last time,” Chiyo responded. Towa is still too confused to even talk. Crimson suddenly swings the front doors open, looking as excited as ever.

 

“Notice anything, different students? Let's meet up in the courtyard!”

 

A few minutes later most of the students stood with Crimson and Suitichi in front of the dilapidated building. Crimson began announcing to the class.

 

“Good morning everyone. Uh- well, actually we’re missing somebody. Where’s Kamei?

 

Everyone looked around. Towa was trying his hardest to remember who that was. He couldn’t figure it out so he looked around trying to use the process of elimination. Eventually, he's able to put it together.

 

That kid with the rubber duckies! Wait, doesn't he live right next door?

 

Crimson Knocks on his door a few houses down. After a few knocks, a sleepy-looking Heyan, wearing pajamas, opens the door.

 

“Good morning Kamei. Did you sleep well?”

 

“*yawn* Oh hi Teach.”

 

“Do you know what time it is?”

 

“It's like 7-something.”

 

He gestured over to a clock stuck at 7:11. The second's hand wasn’t even moving.

 

“Kamei. That clock is broken. It's 8:30 pm.”

 

“WHAT?”

 

He looks back at the clock, it's still broken.

 

“Gimme one second!”

 

He shuts the door. All that Crimson can hear for a few minutes is panic and clothes being thrown on. There are a few rubber ducky squeaks. Finally, he opens the door dressed haphazardly. A bit later everyone stood in the courtyard, including an exhausted-looking Heyan. Towa looks at him perplexed.

 

“How did the guy who lives 20 feet from the school end up the only one late?” Adachi coldly asked.

 

“I don’t even know.” He responded, looking disappointed in himself.

 

 Crimson once again announces to the class. “Good morning to everyone! You may be wondering, what's with the enormous abandoned building?”

 

“Who wouldn’t be wondering that?” Daken said sarcastically. “How did you even get it over here?”

 

“We have our ways Daken. The point is this will be the location for today's exercise. Today we will be practicing one of the most important purposes of heroes…”

 

Chapter 10: Rescue!

 

“Every floor will have a civilian in need of rescue! They will all be in different situations! Make sure to save them! I’ll be splitting you into teams of two. So try your best to work with your teammates!”

 

“UUUGH!” Daken loudly rejected the idea. “I don’t want to do any saving that's so lame.”

 

“I had a feeling you’d say that Daken.”

 

He leans over and whispers something in Daken’s ear. Daken seems to be a lot more on board afterward.

 

“Oh yeah, I can definitely do that!”

 

He smiled deviously. Immediately everyone got slightly more nervous about the exercise.  Crimson seemed even more excited.

 

“Alright, everyone. Let’s make some Teams!”

 

A few minutes later Team 1 stood before the building's entrance. It’s Towa and Chiyo. They both seemed annoyed to be paired together.

 

“You better not slow us down,” Chiyo said as she walked into the building.

 

“Yeah yeah whatever.”

 

She immediately stopped and turned around.

 

“What did you say!?”

 

“Nothing let’s go in!” He said quickly as he zoomed past her. The first floor of the building was all a uniform dark concrete grey, with nothing but graffiti covering every surface. The room had super tall ceilings and a staircase leading up at the back of the room. Also at the back of the room was Crimson-

 

“HELP! I’M TRAPPED HERE!!” Crimson yelled while tied to a chair in normal rope. Towa struggled to take him seriously.

 

Ain't no way.

 

Chiyo rushes past him to Crimson.

 

“Hello, sir. I’ll get you out of that right now. Are you hurt?” She untied crimson from his binds as she continued to soothe him. Towa took a few seconds to remember this was an assignment. He runs to them both. He stands anxiously next to them.

 

“Do you need any help?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Yeah yeah.”

 

He just stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She untied him and expertly calmed him down.

 

“Thank you, young hero! You may move on to the next floor.

 

Chiyo seemed satisfied with their success. Towa did not.

 

“Was I supposed to do something?”

 

“Nope. I have experience with this kind of thing. You’ll just get in the way.”

 

“Ohh cuz you worked at the hospita-”

 

She covers his mouth with her hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.

 

“Yes. Also, shut up! Let's keep going.” She lets him go and moves to the stairs at the end of the room.

 

That's a rude thing to do.

 

He follows her up the stairs. The next floor is largely identical. In the center is Crimson, once again tied to a chair. This time he was dangling over a huge vat of green bubbly liquid. He immediately began the same act again.

 

“HELP! I’M TRAPPED HERE!! I’M GONNA FALL INTO THIS HIGHLY CORROSIVE ACID!!”

 

“WHAT!? ACID? Where did he even get that? Wait, how did he even get up here so fast?

 

The rope holding Crimson up suddenly began to break apart. He was about to be plunged into the vat.

 

“Catch him!” Chiyo yelled as she turned to Towa. Towa was already halfway there before she could realize it. Towa launched himself with his quirk toward Crimson, right as he began to fall. With one strong shove, he knocked Crimson to the ground, safe from the vat.

 

I did it! Crimson is safe!

 

He realized he was directly above the vat himself.

 

Wait, what about me!?

 

He falls into the vat, splashing the green liquid everywhere. He prepares to scream in agony, but he feels no pain. He has a citrus taste in his mouth. He rises out of the vat, covered in greenish soda.

 

“Is this Mountain Dew?”

 

Chiyo had already untied Crimson who stood confidently, not covered in soda

 

“It is! Nearly 500 liters of it! Anyway, thank you, heroes! You may move on to the next floor!”

 

Towa felt very sticky and very much smelled like citrus. He climbed out of the vat and tried not to slip as he and Chiyo continued upstairs. The next floor was also exactly the same as the previous one. Crimson was tied to yet another chair. He wasn’t in any kind of precarious position. Towa was now even more confused.

 

Seriously, how is he doing that so fast?

 

Chiyo ran up to untie him again. This time. Nothing happened at all. He stood up after being freed.

 

“Thank you, Heroes. You may now- whoops.”

 

He leans backward, falling right out of one of the glassless windows.

 

“OH CRAP!” Both teammates yell at the same time. Towa lunges forward. Just barely catching Crimson by his shirt.

 

“I got you! I-“

 

Crimson's weight begins to pull Towa out the window as well. Chiyo catches him.

 

“Hurry and pull him up!”

 

Towa tugged with all his might, but he couldn’t lift him any higher.

 

“I can’t! My arms are scrawny!”

 

“Mine are more scrawny! Just pull!”

 

They both tried their best to pull him up. They don’t make much progress.

 

Damn! He won’t budge! We need some way to get him up, or we’ll fail! Maybe I can use my quirk somehow? But that’ll only push him out of my hands. That means I have to activate my quirk only on my legs, then I can launch myself back inside! But I only tried that a few times. I don’t even know if it’s gonna work!

 

“Think outside the box young heroes!”

 

Crimson is right! This will work! I hope!

 

Towa activates his quirk in just one of his legs. He stomps with that leg, launching him up and back into the building. Pulling Crimson along with him. He and Chiyo fall onto the ground. Crimson lands on his feet somehow. He smiles.

 

“Great Job! You may move on to the final Floor!”

 

The team lie on the ground, trying to catch their breath.

 

“I did it!” Towa yelled enthusiastically.

 

“How did that even work?”

 

“I don’t even know! Hell yeah, let’s go to the final floor!”

 

“Alright relax let’s go.”

 

They walk through three empty floors to the final one. It still looks largely similar, except with no stairs to the next level. Crimson was once again tied up. However, in front of him at the center of the room stood Daken, who smiled deviously. Towa’s confidence immediately faded.

 

What's he doing here?

 

“Ugh, this guy. Why are you here?” Daken just smiled harder.

 

“Can’t you tell? For this exercise…”

 

He cracked his knuckles and stood in a battle-ready stance.

 

“I’m playing the villain!”

 

Towa and Chiyo are immediately shocked.

 

This- is a hostage exercise?

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Daken would very much fit on the “Heroes that look like Villains” List. If the list existed yet. I wanted to show Rescue training cuz Hori kinda shafts it. Don’t expect too much of it though.

Chapter 11: Combat!

 

Towa and Chiyo stand across from Daken. Crimson sat tied to a chair watching eagerly. 

 

Chapter 11: Combat!

 

“We’re gonna fight? I thought this was rescue training!?” Towa seemed nervous. Daken was the opposite.

 

“Now it's hostage training. So come on, you gotta save this guy right?”

 

“You’re gonna have to fight him,” Chiyo whispers over to him. Towa immediately panicked.

 

“Why just me??”

 

“I don’t have a combat quirk! I’ll try to help Crimson as you distract him.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

“Are yall seriously gonna talk about your plan right in front of me? You think I’m a dumbass?” Daken said as he raised his eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, you are!” Chiyo immediately clapped back. Towa and her separated for the plan. Daken looked at one, then the other. There was a long moment of tension.

 

…

 

Suddenly Towa ran directly towards Daken as Chiyo ran around him. Daken smirked, excited for combat. Towa got ready to do a space strike, but pretty quickly ran into a problem.

 

Wait a sec. The ceiling in this room is too low for a space strike.

 

He watched Daken charge towards him like a ravenous beast.

 

OH NO!

 

Towa just barely avoids a powerful strike from Daken, the punch barely grazing his nose. He activates his quirk and pushes off of him, sending him flying to the back of the room. Daken is confused by the interaction for a moment before looking over to Chiyo, who was halfway to Crimson already. He catches up to her quickly, grabbing the back of her collar and throwing her back towards the middle of the room. The team ends their first rush back where they started. Chiyo glares at Towa angrily.

 

“What the hell was that!! You had one job!”

 

Towa wasn’t listening, as he was lost in thought.

 

I can’t use space strike in this room. That’s been my main attack for a while. I never realized how much I spam that move. I’ll have to go for some other approach. Maybe I can try hand-to-hand combat? I had some minor training in self-defense class, but I haven’t been able to practice very much. Can I really compete with this guy?

 

“DON’T IGNORE ME YOU JERK!!”

 

“Chiyo. Let's try one more time.” He said with a sudden seriousness. Chiyo got over her anger.

 

“Fine. You better do your job then.”

 

They look back at Daken. Once again Towa charges at him as Chiyo runs around. Daken charges at Towa again. Towa tries his best to plan his next move.

 

Remember what I learned. Let him make the first move. Go for an opening.

 

Daken goes for the first punch. Towa dodges it. Landing a punch on his side.

 

Any pain will cause a person to flinch, giving a small ope-

 

Daken strikes him across the face. Towa was caught off guard.

 

So fast! He didn’t flinch at all! Does he even feel pain?

 

Daken takes advantage of Towa’s finch, landing two more strikes. While Towa is reeling from the pain, Daken throws him to the side, right into Chiyo. They both collapse momentarily. Chiyo gets up furious. She helps Towa up, moving back to where they started once again. Towa had a bruise on his face now. But he was only a bit deterred.

 

“Dammit Towa! Can’t you distract this guy for a second!”

 

He’s tough. It’s like he doesn’t care about getting hit. I guess that makes sense in retrospect.

 

“I’ll fix you up.”

 

Chiyo kisses Towa on the back of his hand. His bruise and bloody nose heal themselves after a bit. Towa feels uninjured, but slightly more tired. He suddenly has an idea.

 

That’s it!

 

“Chiyo, I have an Idea! We can do this!”

 

He leans over and whispers his plan in her ear. Daken laughs.

 

“I guess you guys learned not to let me hear you’re planning. Glad this beating is teaching you something.”

 

“Are you sure that’ll work?”

 

“Not fully, but it's our best shot.”

 

They both nod. Chiyo once again runs to the side, but Towa runs to the back of the room. Daken temporarily ignores her, more interested in what Towa is doing.

 

If I can’t use Space Strike like I normally do, I’ll have to switch it up!

 

He runs to the back wall, jumping onto it. He activates his quirk, pushing against the wall. Launching him at impressive speeds right at Daken. Instead of the normal arc, the attack sends him at, he flies at Daken at a blistering straight angle. Before Daken can react, Towa buries his elbow in his gut. The immense force smashed some of Daken’s organs, causing him to cough out blood.

 

An especially strong attack might be able to make him flinch. That combined with him being caught off guard…

 

As he’s stunned. Towa slugged him in the chin. Causing even more damage.

 

…can give me the chance to injure him as much as possible?

 

Before Daken could retaliate, he suddenly noticed Chiyo was right next to him. All he could manage to do was raise his arm, which she landed a kiss on. He was immediately confused.

 

What are they doing? Healing me??

 

Towa smiled.

 

Her Quirk heals, but also drains energy, hopefully this will tire him out.

 

Suddenly, his arm violently warped and distorted to terrifying proportions. The strange phenomenon spread higher and higher up his arm.  Everyone present was confused and terrified, especially Daken himself. In a panic, he gripped his bicep tightly. With an intense tug, he tore his arm right off at the shoulder. Tossing it aside. It continued warping before shriveling up and losing its color. The confusion and shock made everyone stop what they were doing. After a bit, Towa saw the opportunity.

 

Whatever just happened, It helped!

 

“Chiyo! Save the hostage!”

 

His words snapped her back into it as well. She rushed to Crimson. Daken was the last to snap back into it. Before he could chase after her, Towa landed another hit to his face. He tried to swing at him with his missing arm out of pure muscle memory. Towa takes the chance to land another hit to his side. Daken launches an actual punch that Towa barely misses when trying to block. Towa is hit across the face again. Daken kicks him to the ground. Chiyo reaches Crimson and begins to untie him. Daken jumps up and tries to land a full-/strength punch on Towa. He activates his quirk, causing Daken to land the attack on the barrier, stopping his arm from exploding. Crimson takes note of this particular interaction. Daken punches down on the barrier a few times, to no avail. Towa reaches the longest he can hold his breath. He pushes off the ground, launching them both back to their feet. Towa was left a bit dizzy. At this point, Daken’s missing arm was back. He launched towards Towa again, his fist mere centimeters from his face. Towa prepares to be knocked out. At that moment, the last of Crimson's ties is undone.

 

“End test!”

 

In a single instant, Crimson appeared next to Towa and Daken, catching Daken’s arm right before it landed on Towa’s face. Towa exhales in relief. Daken pushes Crimson away.

 

“Interrupt right before it gets good huh? Whatever.”

 

Crimson looked ecstatically towards Towa and Chiyo.

 

“Great job you two! A beautiful success!”

 

Towa sits down exhausted. Chiyo starts breathing heavily. Eventually, she ran up to Daken with a panicked expression.

 

“Are you alright!?”

 

“You’re asking me!? That crazy reaction was caused by your quirk.”

 

Chiyo was filled with nervous panic.

 

“Well, my quirk works by amplifying the body's natural healing capabilities, which is why it drains energy so much. I think because your body's healing capabilities are already way higher than normal, my quirk made your body heal too fast.”

 

“Heh, guess that makes sense. Don’t use that shit on me again. Deal?”

 

“I- I’m sorry.”

 

She seemed genuine in a way she isn’t usually. Even Daken could pick it up.

 

“Yeah yeah, it’s fine.”

 

He looked away slightly embarrassed. He sees his destroyed arm. lying on the ground. It had become grey and lifeless, and small pieces began to flake off and blow away. He feels a shiver up his spine.

 

 A few minutes later, Towa and Chiyo returned to the rest of the class. Towa was bruised and battered and still sticky from the mountain dew, Chiyo was less so.

 

“Hey everyone! We’re back!” Chiyo yelled ecstatically. Towa was once again confused by the switch-up.

 

“We won our test! Isn’t that great?”

 

Towa sat on the sidelines, still feeling sore from his beat down. Youta sat down next to him.

 

“How was it?”

 

“Pretty tough. We barely made it through.”

 

“Don’t worry, I bet my team will get through it much easier!”

 

Towa looked at him, waiting for him to realize how accidentally rude he was being. He didn’t put it together.

 

“Yeah, good luck.”

 

sniff sniff

 

“Is that, Mountain Dew?”

 

“No comment.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

I don’t know what’s crazier, the fact that Daken almost died, or that Chiyo almost killed him.

Chapter 12: Teams 2, 3, and 4

 

Chapter 12: Teams 2, 3, and 4

 

The next team was up. Youta and Adachi stood in front of the building.

 

“Are you ready teammate!”

 

“I guess.”

 

“Great! Let’s do it!”

 

He runs inside energetically. She just warps in instantly. They pretty quickly free Crimson, Youta expertly soothing his fear. Adachi just stood around, unsure how to help out. They clear that stage pretty easily. Youta seemed a bit peeved in the most polite way.

 

“Next time, you can take charge!”

 

“Sure.”

 

They sure are low energy. But it’s alright. I have enough energy for us both!

 

He runs up excitedly to the next floor. Adachi is already standing there. Once again, Crimson is dangling above a pit of Mountain Dew dangerous acid. Youta points towards him triumphantly.

 

“Adachi! Use your teleportation to save him! You got this!”

 

“Whatever you say.”

 

As crimson began falling, she teleported into the air, holding him. She then teleported back onto the ground a few feet away holding nothing.

 

Splash  

 

Crimson falls right into the pit, splashing soda everywhere. Youta was left totally flabbergasted.

 

“Wh- What happened!?”

 

“By the way. I can only teleport myself.” She said nonchalantly. Youta went from shocked to just pissed.

 

“WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT EARLIER?”

 

“You didn’t ask. You were insisting I did the rescue this time so…”

 

She looked away from him with a blank expression and started finiking with her hands.

 

“I panicked.”

 

Youta facepalmed. Crimson rises from the Soda.

 

“You guys fail!” He shouted in the most energetic tone.

 

A bit later, Youta sat on the sidelines with Towa, trying his best to hide how pissed he was. Adachi was still embarrassed in her strange way.

 

The next team was up. Fukuro nuzzled in her feathers, cleaning them with her face. Tabata stood next to her, quietly waiting for her to finish. When she was done, she seemingly snapped back into it, like she was in a trance the whole time. She looked at Tabata waiting for her and shriveled with embarrassment. They entered the first floor. Fukuro cuts Crimson’s ties, freeing him quickly. However, with her being too embarrassed to talk, and him not saying anything, they didn’t do much to soothe his fear. They do pass, however. So they’re able to move to the next floor. They come across Crimson once again dangling over the soda.

 

Fukuro quickly flew over and caught Crimson before he could fall into the pit, she dropped him into a large pile of tiny Tabata’s, that cushioned his fall. Crimson was surprised by their silent teamwork.

 

That’s how introverts work together huh? Interesting.

 

“Good job guys!  However,”

 

He turns around. There are claw marks on his clothing.

 

“If I wasn’t so tough, your talons would’ve probably cut me. Be careful next time!”

 

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! Oh jeez.”

 

She shriveled once again and nearly began crying. Tabata formed back into his normal form. He pats her on the back to try to help her out. Crimson immediately felt bad for accidentally pressuring her.

 

“It’s ok, you guys still pass! Next floor time!”

 

Eventually, they make it to the next floor. Once again they free Crimson, who once again purposely falls out the window. Both of them are slow to react, he falls for a bit before Fukuro catches him by the shirt. He is able to stop him from falling any further. She realizes she can’t exactly pull him up either. She panics for a few moments until she hears a high-pitched voice.

 

“We got you!” A chain of tiny Tabata’s linked arm by arm reached down and grabbed Crimson, helping to pull him up. The ones standing in the building pulled with all their might. Eventually, they were able to make progress. Fukuro flapped harder and slowly began to move upwards. After a bit the first clone in the chain began fusing with others, making him bigger and bigger. Finally, they pull Crimson back into the building. They are both left tired.

 

“Another great job done! Good job avoiding scratching me this time.”

 

 “Thank you,” Fukuro said shyly. Tabata quietly tried his best to reassure her. Finally, they made it to the final floor. Daken was waiting for them.

 

“Really? These two!? This is just cruel Crimson.”

 

“We-we-We have to fight him! Uh oh…” Fukuro was immediately nervous.

 

“Ya’ll better show me something fun!”

 

Crimson suddenly yelled from the background. “By the way, you aren’t allowed to attack Fukuro directly!”

 

“Wait what? Which one even is that?”

 

“It’s the girl, Daken.”

 

“Well, why can’t I punch her?”

 

“I’ll explain it later.”

 

“Ugh, fi-”

 

He was interrupted by a Talon suddenly launching towards his face at high speeds. He tried his best to dodge, but could only manage to move his jugular out of the way, a gash was still sliced into his neck. It healed after a little bit.

 

What the hell? How the hell am I supposed to not hit her if she’s flying around going right for the throat?

 

He strengthened his stance. Fukuro flew around, every few seconds she dove in and slashed Daken again. He blocked each strike as well as he could, trying to figure out what he should do. Eventually, he realized Tabata was gone. He looked over at Crimson, who had four tiny clones trying to free him.

 

“Woah woah! Get outta here!”

 

He runs over, while still being periodically slashed by Fukuro. He kicks one of the clones away before lifting Crimson over his head and shaking the rest of them off.

 

“Alright, all of you back off!”

 

The little clones scattered once they hit the ground. They yelled some insults that were too high-pitched to understand.

 

How annoying was that? Now wh-

 

Fukuro flew towards him again, this time aiming for Crimson’s ties. He is able to move it out of the way fast enough to avoid Crimson being freed.

 

“Ha! Nice try!”

 

She dives in again. Daken dodges it again.

 

“You thought that would work huh? Nice try!”

 

He runs around, dodging more and more slashes, trying to figure out what to do next.

 

Maybe I can pin her down. I have to try something before-

 

His thought stops as he feels a strange sensation crawling up his leg. He looks down to see a mass of ant-sized Tabata’s climbing up his leg. There are thousands of little clones climbing up his body like a swarm of insects. Daken is totally mortified.

 

“WHAT THE HEEEEELLLLLLL!?!?!”

 

He tries to smack them off of him, but that just makes them crawl onto his hand. Each of the clones punch down on his body, causing a slight sting across his whole body. As he's distracted, Fukuro flies by, cutting the ropes and freeing Crimson. He immediately lands on his feet and stands triumphantly.

 

“Test over! Great job you two!”

 

The horde of Tabata’s left Daken, making a huge pile, before forming back into the original. Daken feels a shiver down his spine.

 

“You're creepy man! What the hell?”

 

Tabata shrugged. Next to him landed Fukuro, whose bloodlust had disappeared.

 

“And you! Since when are you such a bloodthirsty fighter!”

 

She answered, but couldn’t make eye contact during.

 

“Well, sometimes my animalistic instinct kicks in and it’s tough to hold back. I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”

 

“No need! You better show me that again! It was awesome!”

 

Her face flooded with blush as she looked away embarrassed. The response left her flustered to the point she could barely speak.

 

“Thhhh-tha-thank you.”

 

Daken immediately raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

 

Nervous now when a few minutes ago she was trying to kill me? She's strange as hell.

 

“Good job following my instructions Daken!”

 

“What’s with that dumb rule anyway? You don’t want me hitting girls?”

 

“I don’t want you hitting Fukuro because her quirk comes with hollow bones, like that of an owl. Because of that, blunt force attacks can break bones much easier than normal. You have quite powerful strikes and I wouldn’t want her getting badly hurt.”

 

“Oh, man. And I wanted to fight her too. Whatever I guess. I still have one more person I’m dying to fight.”

 

A few minutes later, Asen and Heyan stood at the entrance. Daken peered over from the top floor as Asen looked up. They both stared intensely, Daken with excitement and Asen with anger. Heyan watched the exchange with confusion.

 

“Hey, Asen is it? It’s nice to meet you-”

 

She formed a small light knife in her hand and immediately began sprinting into the building to begin the test.

 

“W-wait up!”

 

He ran into the room a few seconds after her. He’s able to catch the tail end of her running up the stairs to the next floor, Crimson was already untied.

 

“You’re late Heyan!”

 

“Oh shoot!”

 

He runs upstairs, trying to catch up, he makes it to the next floor to see Crimson once again freed, this time standing next to the soda pit.

 

“Keep going Heyan!”

 

He wasted no time running to the third floor. There Crimson was hanging out the window, his leg tied to the chair still, preventing him from falling. Heyan looked down at him.

 

“Are you kidding me?”

 

“No sir! To the final level!”

 

“Ugh come on!”

 

He tiredly runs to the final floor, he finally catches up, up there Asen and Daken face off, both staring each other down from a few feet away. They made it up there so fast that Crimson was still tying himself up, if just for a moment. Heyan can’t do anything but put his hands on his knees and try to catch his breath.

 

“What huff   the hell huff   is your problem?”

 

Both of them ignored him. Asen threw her knife aside and instead formed a larger Light Sword in her hands.

 

“You still haven’t apologized for being mean to her. Fukuro I mean.”

 

“Seriously, you’re still worried about that? I’m sure she’s over it. But if you’re not convinced, you’ll have to beat the apology out of me.”

 

He smiled deviously, she stared with deep seriousness. Heyan was desperate to do something in this exercise.

 

“You distract him. I’ll go free Crimson-”

 

“No.” Asen instantly interjected. She glared at him intensely. “Don’t interrupt.” He immediately backed up. She looked back over to Daken. Crimson watched intently.

 

“They seem like they forgot about the exercise. I should remind them, but I’m more interested to see how this will go.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Who y'all got? I got my money on my goat Heyan (Strongest in the verse btw) By the way, Daken is very scared of bugs, that’s why Tabata’s move scared him so badly. What a softie. By the way, something new is lerking in chapters 6,7, and 8. Check them out if you haven't already.

Chapter 13: Duel

 

Chapter 13: Duel

 

Asen stood across from Daken. She held her glowing blade in her hands. Heyan and Crimson watch from opposite sides of the standoff. For a moment, everything seemed to halt.

 

…

 

Daken suddenly rushed forward at high speeds, shattering his ankles in the process.

 

“You think that’ll work on me too?”

 

She matches his launch speed with the draw of her blade. She slices off his arm before he can even make contact. He rolls to the other side of the room before the arm can grow back. She didn't waste any time, dashing at him as fast as she could. She stabs down, trying to pin his leg to the floor with her blade. He moves his leg slightly out of the way avoiding the pin, and forcing her to stab her blade into the ground. He lunges at her, she jumps back. Leaving them facing off again, this time Asen was left without a blade. Daken gave her a toothy grin.

 

“You’ve got good reflexes, keep at it!”

 

He rushed in, launching an aggressive combo of full-powered attacks. Asen responded with a combo of faster, but less powerful attacks. They matched blows for a bit, for every three or four light hits Asen landed, Daken would land a single heavy hit. After a few exchanges, Asen’s fatigue kicked in, and she was kicked backward. She landed on the ground a few feet away.

 

“Guess not? Pft, Lame!” He chuckled at her, which only pissed her off more. She looked over and saw her knife nearby, and her sword further away. She quickly formulated a plan. As he punched down, she grabbed the knife, quickly slashing across both his eyes, momentarily blinding him. She then stabbed the blade right through his foot and into the ground. She sprinted towards her blade.

 

“You think you can slow me down like this?”

 

He rips his leg off of the knife, tearing his leg apart. Blood pools around him as it repairs itself. Once his eyesight returned he launched himself towards Asen again. He went too fast to even punch, he just smashed into her and bounced off, landing a few feet away. She rose, still dazed, and grabbed her sword from the ground. He stared at her with a cocky expression. 

 

“Scared to fight me without that huh? I guess I’d be scared too!”

 

He rushed in, but it wasn’t like last time. He was barely able to wind back a punch without being slashed. She blocked his attacks and put gash after gash into his body, flinging blood in all directions. After a few exchanges, she stabbed him right through the chest. For the first time. His smile faded as his face went dark. Immediately Asen felt a bit of hope.

 

Is he unconscious?

 

His face moved down, revealing a new demonic smile. Her hope disappeared. She tried to pull out the blade, but it didn't budge.

 

“Gotcha…”

 

He held the blade, stopping her from retrieving it. He took the opportunity to headbutt her, and as she recoiled, he grabbed her by the hair and kicked her in the chest, sending her reeling back. Her nose began to bleed as a stinging pain crawled across her whole body. She looked up furiously. Her anger amused him more.

 

“What else you got Blondie?” He says as he pulls the blade from his chest, then snaps it with his knee, causing it to shatter into shards that quickly disappear into nothingness. Her strength was beginning to falter. Her skin’s vibrancy had begun to fade, and bags began to form under her eyes.

 

I wanted to tire him out by injuring him as much as possible, but it’s not working. I’m running out of light quickly.  I need a different angle.

 

As she tried to come up with a plan. Daken began charging in again. He took a few strides before she simply turned and ran the opposite way.

 

“You’re running now?” She kept running the other way as Daken kept following her. They quickly made it to the windows. She suddenly stops right in front of one. Daken continued running towards her as she faced away.

 

If this works-

 

She summons a holy spear as she turns, stabbing through Daken’s chest. She strengthened her stance as much as she could. 

 

-I can win this!

 

Daken’s momentum combined with an upward swing from Asen lifts Daken into the air, she tries to swing him right out the window, but he catches the frame, leaving just his head and shoulders sticking out. He caught a glance at the surrounding skyline. Asen quickly let go of the spear and began to summon a new weapon in her hands.

 

I'll summon a blade and slice his hand, he’ll fall. If he could withstand those hits from Crimson, he probably won’t even get knocked out. But he’ll be out of the fight.

 

Daken didn't have time to react as she raised her hands, ready to swing down a new blade. She began swinging as the blade materialized.

 

…

 

Suddenly it stopped forming and simply dissipated. Asen felt an intense fatigue throughout her body. Her vision blurred momentarily and she lost her balance.

 

I used my quirk too much…

 

She swings down but with no blade, instead, her movement combined with Her momentary weakness forces her to trip right out the window. Both her and Daken’s faces contort into fear. Daken tries to catch her, but she slips through his fingers. She begins a free fall. Her hair flies over her widened eyes, blocking her vision. She felt a rush of wind coat her body as she fell past the top floor. She wanted to scream but the sound couldn’t escape her. She barreled towards the ground. Suddenly, the top floor was illuminated with bluish light as a huge cloud of lightning exploded all around Crimson. As Asen was merely eight feet from the ground, everything slowed to a halt.

 

Crimson’s body grew massively hotter. Hot enough to literally ignite the rope tying him together, Incerating it, and lighting the chair ablaze. He stands up.

 

7 feet left.

 

Crimson runs past Daken and Heyan, running down the stairs to the lower floor. Every step he takes cracks the concrete beneath his feet.

 

6 feet left.

 

He zooms down another floor, flashing past the Mountain Dew pit, every movement producing a shockwave, blasting all of the soda out of the pit and tearing the container apart. He runs down the next set of stairs.

 

5 feet left.

 

He explodes out of the front door, landing right below Asen, catching her before she can hit the ground. His path through the building basically explodes, launching Heyan and Daken to the floor and blasting soda into every corner of the room. Crimson closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths while Asen tried to process what had happened. Eventually, he calms down and opens his eyes again.

 

“Can you stand?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

He places her down on the ground. He dusts off her clothes as best he can.

 

“Sorry Asen, but you fail.”

 

Asen is scratched up, exhausted, and drained of energy. Her eyebags are darker than before and her skin is paler. On top of all that, Crimson’s words cut into her harder than he expected. Her face is left dejected.

 

“Understood sir.”

 

She turns and walks to the rest of the crowd, who are still shocked at the events. Crimson is left with a telling expression of regret. 

 

“Congratulations everyone. The test is complete.”

 

A few minutes later everyone, including Daken and Heyan was back outside. They stood as far from the building as they could manage. Everyone was exhausted, aside from Youta and Adachi, who didn’t even get the chance to get tired. Youta still looked like he was hiding how pissed he was about it. They all waited for something to happen. Eventually, Crimson appeared at the top of the building. He waved at the class before cracking his knuckles. He took a few deep breaths as he strengthened his stance. He shut his eyes, his goofy grin fading in favor of deep concentration. After a while, another enormous surge of lighting exploded from him, his skin momentarily glowed a faint red as he raised his fist above his head.

 

“SOLAR FLARE!” He yells as he strikes the roof with an enormous force, immediately a wave of destruction crashes through the building, completely obliterating it. The impact shakes the surrounding city nearly a mile in every direction. The strike blasts up an enormous dust cloud that eclipses the entire school building. Towa stares at the space where the building used to be, he takes a moment to even notice it’s gone.

 

That’s a totally different kind of power.

 

After a while, Crimson walks out of the smoke. He shook his arm around a circle a few times as he smiled.

 

“Jeez, I think I went a bit overboard! Was that cool students.”

 

The class nodded, all still shaken by the explosion. Crimson cleared his throat and stood in a more heroic pose.

 

“Students, great job with today's exercise. Even if you didn’t pass, have no worries. We’re all winners in the pursuit of learning!”

 

Youta pouts as Adachi blushes again. At the same time, Asen looks down, knowing that line was meant for her.

 

“Don’t worry, tomorrow will be a bit less energetic. For you all at least, Haha!”

 

He laughed, but no one else got the joke.

 

“Before I lend you off to Suitchi for the day, I’d like to call out an “MVP” for today's exercise. That’s something I’ll do from time to time to give special recognition to the students who excelled today. Chiyo!

 

“EHH! ME??” She pointed at herself in shock.

 

“Yes, Chiyo, you're the MVP for today's exercise!  You were by far the most efficient at freeing the hostages, as well as the most skilled in soothing their worries. On top of that, you even played a pivotal role in your team's victory in battle! Great job!”

 

He clapped enthusiastically for her, and Youta joined in after a bit. Towa wanted to join in but it was way too awkward. She turned red and Crimson remained unaware as he kept clapping.

 

“And of course special thanks to Daken, our villain for this exercise. He played the role expertly!”

 

He clapped again, this time everyone gave stink eyes to Daken, who turned to the crowd pissed.

 

“Yeah yeah screw you all.”

 

Crimson laughed it off awkwardly.

 

“Well,  good luck with the rest of your classes today, off you go!”

 

The class went back inside with Suitchi, right before Towa could enter he's suddenly stopped by Crimson.

 

“Hey Towa, could we have a private conversation? It won’t take very long at all.” He spoke seriously, which terrified Towa completely.

 

OH SHIT WHAT HAPPENED!? Am I falling behind? Am I gonna be expelled? WHAT AM I GONNA TELL HOTARU!

 

“Y-yeah sure.” He says as he tries desperately to hide his panic. Crimson smiles warmly and pats his shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble. Truth is, I’m interested in you, and your quirk.”

 

Towa exhaled in relief, however, that feeling was quickly replaced with confusion.

 

My quirk? What’s interesting about that?

 

To be continued…

Notes:

The final chapter of MHA just released. It’s one of my favorite series of all time. Thank you Horikoshi for writing peak, it’s a series that will inspire me forever.

Chapter 14: An Ominous Beginning

 

The ugly, dirty buildings of Musutafu have been replaced by the enormous shining skyline of Manhattan. The drug addicts at every other corner were replaced with stockbrokers and businessmen rushing off to work in fancy suits. Instead of cars with missing tires lining the streets, bright yellow taxis zoom through the roads. Thousands of people filled the streets, hustling and bustling to nowhere in particular. This self-contained cycle continued on and on until-

 

BOOM

 

Suddenly the wall of a large bank erupts, spewing lava all over the nearby streets. Civilians run away in terror as the lava ignites everything in the vicinity. A monstrous figure leaves through the hole. He was huge, close to ten feet tall, and nearly seven across. His dark skin was cracked like volcanic rock, with orange light shining through. Dreads made of a rock-like substance hung over his face, hiding his serious expression. On his back was an entire bank vault, containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, coins, and gold. The figure begins dashing down the street further tearing up and melting the asphalt as he moves.

 

“I have to escape as fast as I can!” He yelled in a deep, raspy voice. “I have to go before…”

 

“Before what?” A voice comes from directly next to him. His eyes widen as he strikes the ground beside him, blasting a small crater into the sidewalk. He looks and nobody is there.

 

“Did you get him?” The voice now came from behind him. He swung again, but the figure dodged, landing a few feet backward. The figure stood confidently against the beast, smirking.

 

“Hello, villain. Where do you think you’re going?”

 

The man was tall and built with broad shoulders and an energetically confident pose. His slicked-back dark brown hair flowed majestically in the wind, along with his yellow cape. He wore a yellowish suit with black highlights and a mask over his eyes. He pointed smugly at the lava beast.

 

“You’re Magmarok aren’t you? Wanted for a whole bunch of crimes, some robbery, some assault, a whole bunch of property damage.”

 

Magmarok clenched his fist, immediately filled with rage.

 

“That name is nonsense, it's only magma if it's outside the ground. I control lava!”

 

He swings a huge fist made of volcanic rock right at the hero's head. He simply lifted his arm to the sky, pulling himself into the air, and dodging the punch. He flies a few stories into the air as the side of the building is smashed. He's still smirking.

 

America’s #1 Hero, Gavator, quirk, Impend: He can pull himself towards anything! He can precisely control his pull speed. It has to be in eye shot.

 

He looks down at Magmarok, aiming his hand towards him with one arm, and making a fist with the other. He’s launched downward, striking his opponent with a punch to the top of the head. He begins pulling himself in a circle around him, moving at blistering speeds. Magmarok loses the ability to track his movements, and eventually, he gets sick of it, smashing the ground, and fragmenting the road. Gravator avoids it. Suddenly a piece of a building breaks off, carrying a person with it. But before they could even fall a few inches, Gravator catches him and drops him outside of the damage.

 

“Better not add murder to that list, beast.”

 

Immediately his heat rose as blistering rage filled every inch of his body. His whole body was covered in a layer of rock, further increasing his size.

 

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!!” He screams as he rushes towards him, swinging wildly. Gravator avoids every swing, landing his own at every opportunity. He barely scratches his armor.

 

“My hands are starting to hurt here!” He shouts into the distance. Immediately another figure appears on top of a small building. A water-themed hero, wearing an old-school diving suit with large water tanks strapped to his back.

 

“Say no more Gravator! See how you like this!”

 

He jumps onto Magmarok, dumping a huge quantity of water all over him. He touches a bit of the water, and immediately it all explodes into steam with a mighty boom.

 

“Steam Bomb!”

 

America's Number 3 Hero, The Freezer, Quirk, State Shift: He can instantly change the state of water, from ice to water and water to steam.

 

The steam clears to a Magmarok with only minor injuries. His fiery rage returns after a moment, and he continues his assault on Gravator. The freezer makes a face of disappointment.

 

“Wow, you call that a special move?” Gravator says while raising an eyebrow. The freezer's energy dissipates.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Magmarok pulls his arm back as Gravator is distracted by his mocking. Right before he can swing down on him,

 

…

 

-He suddenly does a pirouette, with perfect form. He looks at himself in confusion.

 

“What the hell!?”

 

Behind him stands a brightly dressed ballet dancer, matching his movements exactly.

 

“Can you quit being distracted?” She said to Gravator in a thick French accent. He just laughed it off.

 

“I would’ve dodged it!”

 

America’s Number 4 Hero, Ballerina, quirk, Pas de Deux: If she performs ballet, she can make her opponent copy her moves momentarily.

 

Magmarok snapped out of it and swung back at her. Gravator moved her out of the way before he could make contact. He continued chasing him.

 

“We can’t put this guy down. We'll have to think of something else. Any ideas?”

 

A deep muffled voice responded in Gravator’s earpiece. “I have one, bring him to the harbor.”

 

“Is that you Mask? Where are you this time?”

 

“Stop playing around. This guy is a serious threat.”

 

A masked figure lay on top of a random building about a mile away. Their bodies appeared vaguely feminine, but not much was discernible. They lay on the roof holding a large sniper bolted to the building. After a few moments of watching the chase from a distance, they fire a mighty shot, nearly ripping them off the building. The mighty bullet zooms through the city at absurd speeds, eventually slamming into Magmarok, blasting him many blocks away. He lands a few meters away from the New York Harbor. Their gun is left torn to shreds.

 

America’s Number 3 Hero, Masked Figure, quirk, Militia: They can boost the speed and force behind their projectiles. It’s difficult to hold back, however!

 

Magmarok was stunned for a few moments before he finally caught up to the present. Gravator zoomed towards him and began pelting him with blows from all angles. Magmarok simply stopped moving, withstanding the flurry as best he could.

“What's the matter, beast? You look like you gave up. Don’t you have any fight left?”

 

“Stop taunting him!” Mask yells as Gravator continues his assault. Magmarok’s eyes look dead ahead.

 

…

 

“Now.”

 

He swings directly in the path of Gravator.

 

“Wh-”

 

Gravator is barely able to avoid a body shot, his fist rips a small hole in his side. He spits out blood as he smacks against the concrete and rolls a few feet away. He tries his hardest to hold on to consciousness.

 

How the hell did he do that? Don’t tell me, he read my moves?! Isn't he supposed to be some dumb monster?

 

Magmarok smiles at him. Right as he takes a step towards him, he hits an Arabesque. Ballerina stands nearby hitting the same pose. He's only frozen for a moment before he’s able to spit a blast of Lava in her direction. She is lightly grazed in the leg. She screams in agony and falls to the ground. Magmarok continues toward Gravator.

 

“GRAVATOR! BALLERINA!” Mask yells in shock and horror. She looks over at her destroyed sniper.

 

Dammit, we underestimated his intelligence, now he’s taking us down one by one! I gotta stop him, even if it means injury!

 

She pulls a pistol out of her bag, and precisely aims it miles away. Magmarok raises his leg right over Gravators head. Right before he can stomp, she fires, the recoil shattering her arm and launching him off the building and into a nearby one. The bullet smashes right into Magmarok’s chest, knocking him only a few feet into the harbor. He sinks like a rock for a few seconds before The Freezer jumps out.

 

“YOU BASTARD!”

 

He touches the water.

 

“AAAAAHHHH!!!”

 

He screams as his nose starts to bleed. In a few moments, an enormous section of the harbor turns to ice, trapping Magmarok in the center of a huge solid mass of ice. He stands over his feat, falling over and nearly passing out from overexertion. Everyone is left tired or injured. Gravatar is able to stand.

 

“Serves you right monster.”

 

A sound begins reverberating around the city, rupturing applause from thousands of civilians witnessing the battle. The heroes try their best to smile and look heroic. Magmarok is unable to move.

 

…

 

Towa holds his phone and watches a recording of the battle taken by a bystander on a high floor of the building.

 

This is wild. That guy was powerful enough to give the American Heroes trouble. That must’ve been so awesome to watch.

 

Towa sat in a duplicate of the main classroom, a room down from the actual class. He sat near the center of the empty room, which was dim and lifeless like it had never been touched before. The walls were pretty thin, he could hear the lesson being taught in the next room pretty clearly. After a while, Crimson walked in, holding a huge stack of paperwork. He plopped the pile on the front desk. The pile was composed of nine booklets, each had the name of a student etched on the spine.

 

“Are you watching the battle that happened this morning over in America?”

 

“Yeah. You saw it too?”

 

“Yes, I did. Those Americans are lucky to have so many amazing heroes to protect them. It must be nice to hear some applause too huh?”

 

Towa didn’t understand what he meant but nodded anyway.

 

“Well anyway, speaking of amazing heroes, the main reason I wanted to create this school was to give Japan a full set of incredible heroes like America has. To reach that goal, I have to help you guys improve as much as I can. This big pile is essential to that. Here are the class files. I have one for each student, detailing their strengths, weaknesses, personalities, quirks, and anything else I could gather.”

 

Towa looked at the huge pile from the top to the bottom. He looked back at the top, and back at the bottom.

 

Holy crap that is a lot of notes!

 

His eyes narrowed on one booklet in particular. Reading “Towa Haruka” on the spine, his book was nearly twice as thick as all the others. Crimson immediately grabs it.

 

“Here’s yours, you can probably see that it's quite big. One of the reasons for that is that your quirk, Blind Wall, is quite interesting. Can you describe it again?”

 

“Well it basically makes a shield around me that nothing can get past, it also blocks out my sight, hearing, and breathing. Plus it pushes me away if I push against something.”

 

“Yes yes that much is clear, but how does it actually function? Like what does it do exactly?”

 

“Well, uh.. It’s…”

 

He continued starting thoughts but not finishing them. After a while, he turned red in embarrassment. After a while longer he couldn’t handle it anymore.

 

“I don’t know! I don’t really understand my quirk.”

 

“I see. Interesting! Don’t worry about it Towa, your quirk is perplexing me as well. Here's a question for you. Do you remember Daken striking the punching machine?”

 

He thinks back to that violent and explosive attack.

 

“Yeah. He hit so hard his arm exploded, it was crazy.”

 

“Yep. That’s what happened. Pretty scary right? Now here’s something you might not remember. Daken tried a similar attack in your fight.”

 

“WH- really? How did I not notice that?”

 

“Well, you had your quirk activated at the time, so you couldn't see it. I was paying close attention. He struck your barrier with all his might, yet he wasn’t injured. Interesting right?”

 

“Woah, you’re right. But what does that even mean!?”

 

“I was unsure at first too. But I think it's safe to say that your quirk doesn’t work in exactly the way you think it does. It may be more complex than a simple force field. Are you willing to work with me to find out?”

 

Towa was deeply confused. But eventually, his brows lifted as he smiled.

 

“Let's do it!”

 

Crimson returned his smile.

 

Together they performed tons of experiments, trying to deduce the true nature of his quirk. The rest of the day seemed to zoom by.

 

“Alright, good job today guys, Suitchi says tiredly. “Tomorrow you guys have off it’s Luminance Day. I won't give you any homework, enjoy your day off.” He said in the most indifferent way possible. Instantly, Daken launches out of his seat and books it for the door.

 

“Wait! Daken before you go!” Youta shouts before Daken can disappear. He stops in the doorway and turns back annoyed.

 

“What?”

 

“I was gonna ask around to see if the class wanted to meet up-”

 

“Lost me. Bye.”

 

He leaves. Youta stops himself from blurting out something in annoyance. When the feeling passes, he turns to the rest of the class.

 

“Well, it was worth a shot. What about you guys? We should go to the YGM.”

 

*GASP* “YES! We should totally go! That place is so awesome!” Chiyo yells out. Asen is confused.

 

“Wait, what is that?”

 

“You haven’t heard?” Youta responds. “It stands for the Yuufuku Gold Mall. It's the biggest mall in the country, it's only a few stops down from here! Chiyo is down, how about the rest of you?”

 

“Sure,” Adachi responds coldly.

 

*Tabata Nods*

 

“Uh- yeah, I think I can go.” Fukuro studders out.

 

“Why not.” Asen answers.

 

“Hmm, I’ll have to check my schedule,” Heyan adds.

 

“You have a schedule? To sleep in?” Adachi responded savagely. It seems like she didn't realize her burn. Heyan’s face crumpled in embarrassment.

 

“Ok yeah I have nothing to do I’ll be there.”

 

“Nice! Glad all of you wanna come!” Youta smiles at everyone for a few seconds.

 

…

 

“WAIT! I forgot Towa!”

 

Towa stood in the next room down. He was exhausted and out of breath. He put his hands on his knees and took deep breaths as best he could. Sweat dripped from his nose. Crimson grabbed his shoulders.

 

“Are you alright young man?”

 

*huff*” Yeah,” *huff* “Gimme a second though.”

 

“You did very well. I know you had to use your quirk a lot, but it’s essential to have a full understanding of your abilities. Confidence doesn’t come from nowhere. Understanding yourself is essential. So when you’re ready, tell me, what does your quirk do?”

 

Towa caught his breath and stood as confidently as he could manage.

 

“My quirk manipulates space!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Youta stands in the doorway, some other classmates stand behind him, trying to peak into the room.

 

“Manipulates space? I thought it was just a barrier?”

 

Towa noticed all the eyes and ears on him and immediately turned red.

 

“Well uh-"

 

Crimson touched his shoulder again.

 

“Remember, confidence is understanding.”

 

The words brought Towa back. He cleared his throat as his blush faded. He cleared his throat and prepared to explain with confidence.

 

Thousands of miles away. New York City was repairing the damage from the battle against Magmarok. Buildings, roads, and storefronts were left smashed and burned. Nearby a heavily armored prison van carries Magmarok, who lies defeated with his heat died down, to a far-off prison. It drives across a dark and empty road. The drive continues uneventfully for many miles. Eventually…

 

Skirt

 

The van suddenly stopped. The sudden change woke up Magmarok. Who lay awake but still weakened. The driver stares at the road ahead of him in deep confusion.

 

“What the hell?”

 

On the road stood thousands of Ravens. Each facing the van. The driver felt an intense chill up his spine. He waited a while. The Ravens did not move. They did not stop staring.

 

“Nah screw this, I’m getting the hell ou-”

 

He turned to his stick shift, a Raven stood in the front seat next to him. It stared at him with the same hollow expression all the rest had. His creeped-out feeling switched into terror. He noticed the window on that side was open slightly. He froze. His tension rose and rose until he couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“GET OUT!!” He screamed as he raised his hand, ready to hit the raven, in a single horrific moment, every last raven moved in unison, all flying into the slightly open window, filling every square inch of the front of the vehicle in a swirling mass of black feathers.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!” He screamed in terror and agony as the Ravens began tearing him apart, ripping his flesh a single peck at a time from every angle possible. Magmarok had no clue what was happening. He kept screaming, it’s all he could do. His skin was torn off, his eyes plucked out, and his muscles ripped apart. As he’s viciously destroyed, one of the ravens leaves the car holding a pair of keys. It flies to the back of the van and lands on the arm of a man. He was average in build and height, with a large mass of dark hair that covered most of his face. He wore a thick baggy cloak and pants, with a dark expression, amused by the nightmare before him. The raven hands him the key. He unlocks the back of the van. Swinging it open to find Magmarok, disturbed at what he was hearing.

 

“Who the hell are you!?”

 

The man smiled, like he found the question funny.

 

“I’m known as Karasu. I represent the Evolution Front. We were impressed by your showing this morning, and we wanted to recruit you for a mission. In Japan.”

 

“What kind of mission?”

 

The thousands of ravens leave the car, leaving behind a bloody skeleton, large chunks of flesh still connected at different points. The blood-covered birds all landed around Karasu as he stared at Magmarok intimidatingly.

“It involves a mall, a whole lot of killing. Are you in or not?”

 

…

 

“Fine.”

 

Karasu smiles deviously.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Something is about to go down. After next week there's gonna be a bit of a break, so enjoy this long ass chapter before then. I introduced a bunch of characters in this chapter as well as horrific violence, hope yall can keep up.

Chapter 15: Sunset

Towa stands in the secondary classroom facing most of the class.

 

“My quirk divides the space around me, infinitely. If you wanted to reach me while I had it activated, you’d have to travel half the distance, then half of what’s left, then half of that, then on and on forever. So you can’t actually reach me.”

 

“Uhhhhh…” Youta was buffering. “Wait, like that sexy guy with the blindfold!”

 

“ಠ_ಠ Yeah sure. However, unlike that guy, I block out everything, including air, light, and sound.

 

“Oooh, that’s why you can’t see, hear, or breathe with it active! That's so cool!”

 

“But what makes that different from just being a barrier?” Chiyo queries. Towa smiled excitedly in response.

 

“I thought that too, but I actually mean a whole bunch of stuff. For one it means that basically nothing can pass my barrier, even a nuke wouldn’t be able to reach! Other than that, while my quirk is active, I’m totally frictionless This lets me push off of objects to launch myself, and even if I just take a deep breath and blow, I’ll fly in the opposite direction, meaning I might be able to change my direction in midair Another thing is that since objects slow down instead of just stopping, I can stop objects and people without damaging them So I might be able to catch people from falling with no fear of hurting them Isn't this awesome?

 

GASP

 

He takes a deep breath after blurting out that entire spiel without breathing. He’s left a bit light-headed while the rest of the class is left slightly shocked at his uncharacteristic energy, Youta included.

 

“Wow, you’re super excited about this huh?”

 

Towa laughed as he looked around awkwardly.

 

“Yeah yeah, I guess I went a bit overboard.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, young hero. I’m glad you feel excited. Here’s a quick lesson for you all, well, except for Daken. Understanding yourself, whether in terms of your ability or personality, is a priceless gift. So as you go home today, try to reflect on yourself, I have an important question for you next time I see you. Good evening everyone!

 

Everyone was left motivated, especially Towa. He was walking on sunshine, filled with confidence as everyone left the school. Youta suddenly appeared next to Towa.

 

“Hey Towa, most of the class is gonna hang out tomorrow at the YGM, are you coming?

 

Towa’s confidence immediately faded away. 

 

“Hang out? Like outside? Together??”

 

Youta and Chiyo stared at him with identical confused expressions.

 

“You alright?” Chiyo asked with a concerned tone.

 

“Yeah, I'll be there.”

 

“I didn’t even say where we’d be going?”

 

“I’ll be there, Youta,” Towa said as he walked by, trying to keep a calm expression. Chiyo and Youta make the same confused expressions at each other before they split ways. Chiyo runs up behind Towa.

 

“Alright sleepyhead, what's with that nervousness?”

 

“What do you mean sleepyhead? Why is that a nickname?”

 

“Come on look at those eyebags you look like you rolled out of bed for a 5:00 am shift.”

 

“Hotaru said they weren’t that obvious!”

 

“Pfft, they would be obvious if people paid attention. You can tell a lot about a person with just visual cues. Like your cues showing that the idea of hanging out freaks you out! Why is that? I waited till Youta left so now you gotta tell me!”

 

“Ok ok relax! I'll tell you. Last time I went to a class hang out was early in middle school, and it kinda ruined my entire middle school experience.”

 

“Oh come on, how bad could it have been?”

 

“Well, we were walking around a street festival, and I was totally exhausted that day, so I momentarily passed out, I landed on this one girl Ayumi. She thought I was creeping on her so she smacked me.”

 

“W-”

 

“Then her boyfriend punched me.”

 

“Wha-”

 

“I never lived it down. Nobody wanted to be near me after that.”

 

“Holy shit! That sucks!!”

 

“I know right? Ever since then, I haven't been on any kind of outing with other people.”

 

“Well, Uh, You shouldn’t worry, because that kinda thing wouldn’t happen this time!”

 

“How are you so sure?”

 

“U.A. is different! My girls would never do something like that! Except for me, I totally would. Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. Plus we’re not far enough along for anyone to have started dating. So it’s not like a boyfriend is gonna slug me.”

 

“Yeah! That’s the right way to think! You're gonna have a great time with everyone, right?”

 

“I hope.”

 

“NO! Not I hope, you should assert it! You wanna stop being such a worrier? You should assert your experience. I will have a great time tomorrow. Say it!”

 

“Ok ok jeez, I will have a great time tomorrow. Happy?”

 

“Yes. Do you feel better?”

 

“I feel like you just yelled at me.”

 

She playful punches him in the shoulder.

 

“Well if that’s what it takes.”

 

He and Chiyo walked home together. They talked and laughed the whole way. Eventually, they made it to their houses and went their different ways. The day came to an end, a new day began.

 

…

 

Towa silently opens his eyes. He’s awake. He rises out of bed before looking around confused.

 

I didn’t have a dream. Wow, it’s been a while! Plus no mystery woman. I actually had a good night's sleep last night!? No way!

 

He hops out of bed already in a great mood. He was full of energy and his eyebags were a little less dark than usual. He busted out of his room practically glowing.

 

“Good Morning Hotaru!”

 

She sat at the tiny dining room table, which was covered in paperwork, notepads, and a calculator.

 

“Hey, you’re up early. Happy Luminance Day!”

 

“Whatcha doing?”

 

“Oh nothing, just adult stuff. You seem energized. Did you get a good night's sleep?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

His cheery mood rubbed off on her almost immediately.

 

Luminance Day. A mid-September holiday celebrating the birthday of the Glowing Baby, the first baby born with a quirk. As a holiday it has a pretty interesting history, they had to fight hard to make it a national holiday in the early days of Quirks. Something about the day always gives me a sense of dread. I don’t know if it’s related to its history or something else. Today though, I felt great.

 

After a few hours hanging out with Hotaru, Towa got dressed and hopped out of his house.

 

Chiyo stood outside his house tapping her foot.

 

“Took ya long enough.”

 

“You’re waiting for me? Are we friends now?”

 

“Ok, woah I never said that, I’m just waiting around so you know how to get there. Do you know where the mall even is?”

 

“Yeah yeah uh. Yeah, it’s, ugh…”

 

He tries to quietly reach for his phone.

 

“I see that!”

 

“Ok! I wasn’t paying attention.”

 

“Exactly why I’m here, come on let's go I gotta see my gals.”

 

Towa laughed as they began to walk to the train station. The walk is filled with extravagance, with street fairs,  parades, and outdoor events peppering every street. Most people wore yellow and placed bright white lights everywhere. Eventually, they made it to the station, hopped on the train, and rode it a few stops, past the school to a new, much nicer area. Since it was an above-ground station, they got a good view of the city. The buildings were larger and newer, the streets weren’t filled with as much crime, drugs, and homelessness, and the whole area illuminated light. Towa caught a view of a huge structure off in the distance. It sat in the middle of a small park, leaving it a few blocks away from any surrounding buildings. Reaching nearly ten stories in the air, the mostly glass exterior made it immediately recognizable from a significant distance away.

 

“Guess what that is Towa.”

 

“No way, that's a mall? It looks like it came from another planet.”

 

“Isn’t it so cool!? My dad passes it for work pretty often, she’s always telling me about how cool it is there.”

 

“It does look pretty awesome.”

 

When they finally made it to their stop, they walked down to the street. Towa suddenly stopped, Chiyo was ahead so she didn't notice. He stared at a streetlight that stood across from the stairs. On top of it sat a single raven. Its front section and beak were covered in a dark red stain. It looked like some of the red liquid was still leaking from its mouth. It suddenly turned its head towards Towa, staring at him with its beady black eyes. A chill crawled up his spine.

 

“Towa? You alright?”

 

He looked at Chiyo, who was at the bottom of the stairs staring at him confused. He looked back at the Raven. It was gone. He looked around in the sky until he saw it flying away with a few others. He stared confused for a while until Chiyo convinced him to hurry up. He decided to ignore the strange encounter. They rushed over to the mall. With every approaching block, the building seemed more and more enormous until eventually, it was essentially clouding their whole view.

 

“This place is way bigger than I thought!” Chiyo says enthusiastically while pointing up at the huge structure.

 

Towa is about to agree, but he's distracted by a glimpse of a familiar face that is immediately lost in the crowd.

 

“You looking at something?”

 

“I thought I saw Daken for a second.”

 

“Pft, I hope not. Why is he such a jerk?”

 

Towa notices the sheer magnitude of people around. He immediately feels a bit nervous.

 

“There are people everywhere. How are we supposed to find everyone else?”

 

“Youta said that everyone should meet up at the fountain.”

 

“The fountain?”

 

They entered the building, and the whole structure was one enormous open space, filled with people, it was five stories tall, and each floor had many dozens of storefronts. The center was peppered with seating areas where people ate and talked, pop-up stands selling tech products and toys. Towa was fully overwhelmed but tried to focus and look for a fountain. He saw one, and another, and another, and dozens of others every few meters stretching across to the back of the entire building.

 

“Which fountain??”

 

“Uh… we’ll figure it out. I bet-

 

“Hey guys!”

 

They turn to see Youta standing right behind them.

 

“Hi, Youta!” Chiyo yells enthusiastically.

 

“Hi,” Towa says less enthusiastically. He looks over at the rest of the class standing in a crowd. He feels a shiver creep up his back. Chiyo touches his shoulder.

 

“Let's have a good time right?”

 

He immediately feels a bit relieved. He smiles at her.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Youta stood at the front of the class and pointed ahead like a captain standing at the head of his ship.

 

“Alright 1-A, LET’S HANG OUT!”

 

Everyone looks at each other, perplexed by his overwhelming enthusiasm, eventually, they shrug it off. The class explores the mall for a while, looking at stores and restaurants. They walked by a fancy clothing store. Chiyo looked up at a mannequin wearing a cute sundress.

 

“Oh wow, that’s so cute!”

 

Asen immediately appeared. “I’ll buy it for you.”

 

“Woah woah that’s too much to ask!”

 

“I could buy everything there.”

 

“Wh- wha- you have money like that?”

 

Asen dragged her and the rest of the girls in, leaving the guys waiting outside.

 

“Girls, they gotta go shopping huh?” Heyan joked as he elbowed Tabata, who didn’t even get it. Youta looked around confused.

 

“Wait. Where’s Adachi? She didn’t go with the girls.”

 

The other guys noticed that they disappeared. They looked around frantically for a bit before they appeared behind them, holding about 15 stuffed animals of different varieties. Youta sighs in relief.

 

“Oh there you go! Where’d you go?”

 

“I saw plushies.”

 

“I see. Do you have money to spare like Asen?”

 

“Nope. Please don’t let me buy anything else.”

 

…

 

“Uh… yeah.”

 

The girls leave the store holding a few bags each. Chiyo looks terrified.

 

“Asen. This is not how you make friends!”

 

Youta looks back at Adachi to see them gone again. He looks around to see them moving towards another plushie shop.

 

“Hey hey! Come back!”

 

He goes to stop her. The class later goes to eat hibachi. The chef lights a huge flame which nearly makes Fukuro faint. For some reason, Heyan challenges Tabata to an arm wrestling contest. He grabs Tabata’s enormous hand as they stare each other down. Everyone stared at Heyan with a baffled expression, especially Youta.

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

 

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

 

Everyone thinks I’m an idiot, but I’ve spent years learning every possible way to cheat in arm wrestling just for a moment like this. This’ll blow everyone away. I’ll use my body weight, a special way to twist my upper body, and a particular type of grip on his hand to-

 

Tabata flips him to the ground immediately. Most of the class busts out laughing while Tabata tries to console him on the ground.

 

Ok I might just be an idiot.

 

The class kept exploring. Adachi had to be stopped from buying more plushies, Towa and Chiyo took turns on a massage chair, Fukuro spent most of the day hiding behind Asen or Chiyo, Youta commanded the group around everywhere, Heyan embarrassed himself a few more times. After a few hours, Towa found himself laughing along with everyone. For a moment, he didn’t worry about anything.

 

…

 

Hours had passed, and the light of luminance day began to fade as the sun began to set. The huge crowds had mostly died down, however there were still plenty. Youta smiles at the class.

 

“Thanks everyone for coming! Let's have a great school day tomorrow 

 

“SHIT THERE’S SCHOOL TOMORROW!? I gotta tell my mom!” Heyan suddenly Yelled. Everyone was used to him already so it caused little reaction. Everyone said goodbye and went their separate ways. Towa and Chiyo walk out the front entrance together. Towa looks up at the oranges and reds of the sky smiling. Something catches his eye. He looks at a nearby building, the closest one to the small park that separates the mall from the rest of the city. A strange movement at the top of the building attracts his gaze.

 

“What… is that?”

 

Mamarok and Karasu stand at the top of the building, an enormous murder of crows surrounds them. Magmarok wears a new, raven skull-like helmet. Everyone in the surrounding area looked over at the commotion. Karasu looked down at the crowds like a child staring at an anthill. Behind them a large mass of figures took shape. A large ground of random wild animals, from small and unassuming ones like cats and dogs to larger more unusual ones like rhinos and apes. Each one stood in a robotic stance like they didn’t at all have animalistic instincts. Towa and Chiyo stare in confused panic.

 

Chapter 15: Sunset

Notes:

It's going down! The weekly releases are finally over. It was nice while it lasted. School is starting soon, so I'll be posting much less, but rest assured, I will finish this story no matter what!

Chapter 16: Attack on the YGM

 

Chapter 16: Attack on the YGN

 

The sun begins to peak below the horizon. Shadows stretch as the sky erupts into yellows and oranges. Towa and Chiyo look up at the two villains standing over them.

 

“Who are they?”

 

Chiyo looks over at Towa, who has turned completely white in terror.

 

Is that… the lava villain? From the U.S.? What the hell is he doing here?

 

As his mind raced, Magmarok launched himself off the top of the building, landing in the park below. He grips the earth below, immense heat blasts in all directions as the ground beneath him melts away. The pool of lava grows and extends all the way around the entire mall, creating a moat of Lava. Trees are ignited as are other plants, lighting an inferno around the mall. Some civilians run out fast enough, but most are left trapped in the mall area. Chiyo immediately sees a few people with burns, screaming in pain. Immediately she runs towards them, leaving Towa still lost in thought.

 

What’s going on? Are we in the middle of a villain attack? Where is everyone else, how many villains are there?

 

Chiyo begins healing some of the burned civilians. She tries her best to calm them down. Magmarok looks up towards Karasu, who's smiling monstrously.

 

“All trapped like birds in a cage. Let's get started then. Bulldoze. You’re up.”

 

One of the animals jolted like speaking its name activated it in some way. A large bull walked up and stood next to him. It had large horns and a large muscular body. Without a moment of pause, it stepped right off the building and smashed into the ground below. After a short moment, it walked out of the smoke completely unharmed. Chiyo looked at it in a confused panic.

 

“How the hell did it survive that!?”

 

Suddenly, it began charging forward at high speeds, red energy billowing off of it, every step shattered the concrete below.

 

“A quirk? But, it’s an animal!” She looked down at the injured man in her arms.

 

Shit, I can’t get out of the way!

 

She tried desperately to pull the man out of the way but it was in vain, she shut her eyes in terror,

 

“I gotcha!”

 

At the last moment, Towa jumped in between the Bull and Chiyo and activated his quirk, immediately the Bull stopped in its tracks. It tried as hard as it could to push through, but couldn’t make any progress. Towa held his breath as he tried to speak,

 

“Please… move.”

 

Chiyo summoned the strength to pull the injured man out of the way. After a few seconds, Towa pushed against the ground, throwing him upwards, he gasped intensely as the Bull continued its charge. Towa lands on the bull's back. He nearly flies off until he grabs its horns and holds on with all his might. The bull charges towards more people. Towa tugs its horns to the right, and the bull moves slightly in that direction, avoiding another group of people.

 

This animal has a quirk? I thought that was impossible. I gotta stop it before it kills somebody!

 

He raises his fist and strikes the bull in the head a few times. It does nothing but make his hand sting.

 

“OW! Dammit! How the hell can I stop this guy??”

 

He continued riding the bull, steering it away from people until it smashed through the front entrance. He rode it around the mall for a bit before it suddenly stopped. He was left dizzy.

 

What happened?

 

He noticed the bull was staring right at something. He looked over to see Youta standing a few meters away. He held his sweater like the red cape of a bull hunter. Towa couldn’t believe his eyes.

 

He can’t be serious.

 

The bull began to charge towards him at full speed. Towa was about to misdirect him, but Youta looked so sure of himself that he couldn't bring himself to. The bull continued to charge until it was a few feet away. At the last moment, Youta threw his sweater to the side and pulled out his sword.

 

“Sorry about this, poor creature.”

 

He sliced an enormous gash into the side of the creature, spilling blood everywhere, the bull didn’t scream in agony or anything like that, all it did was fall over and stop moving. Towa gets flung off of it and smashes into a nearby tech cart.

 

“Towa! You ok?”

 

He pulled himself out of the rubble, dizzy but uninjured. He looked around the whole class was there (other than Daken) Chiyo entered soon after, a few civilians carrying the injured man. She ran up to Towa and shook him around.

 

“Are you crazy, what the hell are you doing jumping on top of a crazy beast like that!?”

 

“I was saving your life! What did you think I was doing??”

 

“Alright, you two we have bigger problems here!” Heyan interrupted. “THERE ARE MONSTERS ATTACKING! WHAT DO WE DO??”

 

While he continued to panic, Karasu appeared at the top of the Mall, watching the scene from above. He scratched his chin confused,

 

“What’s with these kids? They seem energetic. Interesting. Gin should've gotten us into the system by now.

 

He pulled a radio speaker from his coat and brought it to his mouth.

“Happy Luminance Day everyone!” His voice bellowed from many loudspeakers from all around the mall.

 

“I bet many of you are scared and confused. That's good, hold on to that feeling. You are not safe, all of your exit routes are closed off, and you'll be torn apart by these monsters soon enough. Please panic, it’ll make this even more fun. If you’re wondering who we are, it's not really important. All you need to know is that we're trying to test our hard work out. Let’s have a blast!”

 

He deactivated the radio, and immediately all hell broke loose, the civilians inside the Mall began to scream and panic, running in every direction, with no plan outside of panic. Karasu laughed for a while. He looked over at Mamarok, who was quietly circling the lava moat.

 

“HEY BIG GUY! WHICH ONE SHOULD I LET LOOSE NEXT?”

 

He didn’t answer. Karasu shrugged.

 

“Whatever. Steel Web, Laser Dash, Quill Detonation. It's your turn.

 

Three new animals activate similarly to the bull. They move towards the Mall. Class 1-A inside is left completely flabbergasted. The civilians inside began running around, screaming frantically.

 

“WE’RE GONNA DIE!!” Heyan yelled. Immediately Chiyo smacked him in the face.

 

“Can you relax! We have to do something, not just panic!”

 

Chiyo, Asen, Youta, and Heyan began to talk over each other, trying to come up with a game plan. Adachi, Tabata, and Fukuro didn't say much, Adachi was staring up at the sky for some reason, Tabata was trying his hardest to silently calm everyone down, and Fukuro just shriveled up and hit in her wings. The conversation got more and more intense, as the environment around them grew in chaos.

 

“I HAVE AN IDEA!” Towa suddenly yelled, his sudden and uncharacteristic change in volume made the class stop and look over at him. He immediately felt intense pressure, but he fought through it.

 

“I know what we should do. The villain said he was simply testing out his hard work. He must be talking about the animals. He’s trying to test out their fighting ability!”

 

“That does make sense. But what should we do about it?” Youta responds.

 

“I think we should split into two teams, one will stick around here and fight off these creatures, since they should only be sent a few at a time, we should be alright. The other team will try to get the civilians out of here, and hopefully get some help.

 

“Who will stay behind? That’s incredibly dangerous!” Chiyo interjected in panic.

 

“Well I can’t make you, but I think the ones of us that specialize in combat should stay. Me, Youta, and Asen? Can you guys do that?”

 

Both Youta and Asen nod in agreement.

 

“That’s crazy! You’ll need me in case one of you gets hurt!”

 

“The civilians need you more. You guys might get attacked. We’re training to be heroes. Helping people is the most important thing.”

 

She looked away, visibly flustered.

 

“You’re right. But you guys better stay safe!”

 

The rest of the class looked similarly distressed, Towa included.

 

“I wish Crimson was here! He wouldn’t flinch at these guys!”

 

No one responded, but the distraught faces showed that everyone agreed.

 

“Guys. If we needed him, then our training was useless. This is exactly what we've all been preparing for. We can do this!” Youta exclaimed heroically. His words raised everyone’s spirits. The inspirational scene was interrupted by new animals entering the building. A hawk, a porcupine, and a small spider, which nobody noticed.

 

“You guys, get everyone out of here!” Youta yells towards the rescue group. They nod and immediately get to work. Towa sees the porcupine slowly walking towards them.

 

“I'll slow that thing down, you guys handle this bird,” Towa says as heroically as he could. Which wasn’t as cool as he’d hoped.

 

“Alright. Be careful!” Youta responded.

 

As Towa runs off, the hawk looks down at Youta and Asen. They both held weapons and waited nervously. 

 

“What is it gonna do?” Asen says bluntly.

 

…

 

Suddenly it turned into a bright light, instantly it slashed Youta’s side, hit the ground, reflected, and slashed Asen’s back. Neither of them even had time to react before it turned back to normal. It kept flying around the inside of the building.

 

“What just happened!?” Asen growled as she reeled from the pain.

 

“I think it turned into a laser? That speed was completely insane!”

 

“How are we supposed to combat that?”

 

“Uh, I’m not sure.”

 

Towa ran up to the Porcupine, a large but short creature, it resembled a large rat, but with hundreds of long black and white spines sticking out of its back.  It was just walking slowly forward.

 

“Hey, guy. Are you gonna do something?”

 

It just kept walking slowly. Towa just stood awkwardly for a moment, his anxiety building second by second.

 

“Can you do something!?”

 

He takes a step towards it, and immediately something changes. The creature closes its eyes and crouches down. Suddenly a few dozen of its quills launched out of it, shooting in all directions. Towa used his quirk to stop a handful, but most missed him and launched into the ground, walls, storefronts, and pillars in the area.

 

What the hell? Well, at least his aim isn't very good.

 

Suddenly the quills started to vibrate and subtly glow. Towa felt a shiver as the danger settled in.

 

Uh oh.

P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-POP

 

Each quill exploded a fraction of a second apart, the explosions weren't very large, only a bit bigger than a firecracker, but the pure number of them in quick succession caused huge destruction, shattering the ground all around, cracking pillars and shattering windows. Towa was thrown back from the handful that landed in front and around him. He was left stunned.

 

“Why did I have to say something?”

 

He looked back at the Porcupine. It started to slowly walk again. All around the mall, the rescue team ran around helping civilians, Eight little Tabatas, Adachi, Heyan, and Fukuro moved all around trying to collect as many civilians as they could. They sent them to Chiyo, who healed and calmed as many as possible. At the other side of the lobby, the Hawk flew in a circle around Youta and Asen.

 

“Have you had any ideas yet?” Youta asked hopefully.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“Can’t you say something nice?”

 

The Hawk turned into a bright light again. Instantly it zoomed past Youta, slashing his hand. It bounced off the floor and narrowly avoided Asen. It went back to flying a moment later.

 

“Youta, you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m great! I touched it!”

 

He raised his hand and snapped. Immediately his quirk activated, pulling the bird towards him. He raised his blade over his head.

 

If I know where it’s coming from, I should be able to hit it!

 

He realizes a problem. His sword is stuck. He looks up to see it tangled in a spider web. The web is shining like metal.

 

Another animal? Oh shoot, I’m stuck!

 

The hawk readied its power, now flying towards a helpless Youta.

 

“Shit!”

 

Towa nearly avoids being punctured as he jumps behind a pillar. Everything in the area was blasted apart and/or burning from the constant explosion. Towa was covered in scrapes but nothing severe. He looked around the pole to see the porcupine still slowly moving forward.

 

Its quills keep growing back! How am I supposed to stop this thing from moving forward!? I tried blocking its path but it just blew up the obstacle. I can’t get near it either. I can’t let it get to Youta and Asen.

 

He grabbed a loose brick and got ready to try something else. He ran around the creature, tossing the brick at it and using his quirk to quickly move to the other side of it. As the brick approached it fired off twice as many quills, enough to stop the brick and tag Towa in the thigh.

 

“AGH!”

 

He trips, hitting the ground as the pain from the quill lands. He's stunned for a moment, all of the quills start glowing. At the last moment, Towa pulls the quill out and throws it, it explodes right next to his hand, burning the palm of his hand slightly. He winces and holds his leg as the pain washes over him. Eventually, he looks back over to the porcupine. It actually stopped moving momentarily, he noticed a small burn on its face.

 

It got hurt by its explosion, of course!

 

Back to Youta who’s still about to be shot through. Right as the Hawk began to glow again, Asen tossed one of her swords right in its path. As it dashed forward, it struck the edge of the blade and was instantly bisected. The two halves smash into the ground next to Youta.

 

“Whoo. Nice save Asen!”

 

Towa gets up and limps to a large trash bin. He grabs it and faces the Porcupine.

 

“Alright little guy, bring it!”

 

He uses his quirk to launch himself over the creature, throwing the bin over it right before it launches more quills. As he hits the ground on the other side, a few dozen quills stick out from the inside of the crate. They glow and vibrate…

 

BOOM!

 

The quills are so close together that they ignite each other, detonating all at once in a large explosion that obliterates the porcupine and the bin. Towa shields himself from it, before jumping up in excitement.

 

“Gotcha! Take that-ha-OW!”

 

He stomps his injured leg, and blood begins to spill from it as he quickly sits back down. After a few minutes, the few dozen civilians left in the mall were collected. In the group were a handful of solo visitors, a few couples, and a bunch of families with children. The rescue team led them into a secluded storefront. They all stood in a totally terrified group. When everyone got together, Chiyo stood atop a chair and announced-

 

“Everyone please quiet down!”

 

“Quiet down!? You expect us to relax?”

“Yeah!”

"We're all gonna die!"

 

The crowd exploded into a wave of noise, and she yelled over them.

 

“NO! No. Being worried is healthy, but we won’t be able to get out of here if we panic!”

 

“Who are you kids anyway?”

 

“We're just here to help that’s all! That’s not important, does anyone know a safe way out of here?”

 

“There's a pit of Lava surrounding this whole mall! How the hell can we possibly get out?”

 

People began clamoring again, this time Chiyo had a harder time calming them all down.

 

“I think we could-“ Fukuro tires to squeak out.

 

More clamoring.

 

“Hey guys I think we could-“

 

Even more clamoring, eventually Fukuro just gave up trying to talk over them. Chiyo watched this interaction and it just pissed her off more.

 

“EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!” She screamed, silencing the room. She was red and fuming, but she didn’t care.

 

“We are getting everyone out of here, we can’t do that if y'all are arguing like babies! Fukuro! What were you gonna say?”

 

Fukuro turned red and hid herself in her wings.

 

“I can fly people over the lava, one or maybe two at a time.”

 

Chiyo snapped and pointed at her.

 

“Boom! An actual idea! Good job! Does anyone have a better one?”

 

…

 

“Exactly. Let’s do this!”

 

Karasu stands at the top of the complex, looking down at the battles unfolding. His expression warped into a discomforting snarl.

 

“Who the hell are these kids? Do they think they can interrupt this? I might have to step in-”

 

He was interrupted by a powerful spotlight beaming down on him. He looked up to see a few police helicopters circling the building. His expression warped even more into one of pure contempt.

 

“Are you serious? That was faster than Gin predicted. I guess I’ll have to send a few more. Slicer, Corroder, you two handle those kids. I’ll handle these pigs.

 

Two more animals activated, one was the largest yet.

 

“How many are you keeping hostage?” A voice beamed from one of the copters.

 

“Who knows?” Karasu responds as he pulls a small hooked knife out of a pocket. Suddenly a cloud of ravens surrounds him and begins to fly around, Karasu is nowhere to be seen.

 

“HE HAS A QUIRK! RED AL-”

 

He’s interrupted by the mass of black feathers attaching to the vehicle, ripping the door off. The helicopter is thrown off course as Karasu walks in casually. One of the officers inside scrambles for her gun, as she struggles Karasu simply swipes his hand, and a few hundred ravens fly into her at once, slicing her all over and blasting her out of the other side of the helicopter. He walked into the pilot's area and jammed his knife into the pilot's throat. With a violent tug he was left bleeding out of an enormous gash, he passed out nearly instantly. Immediately the helicopter lost control and began to spin and fall. Karasu casually walked out of the disaster he caused, falling back into the cloud of birds. He is nicely placed back on the roof. He smiled up at another one of the copters as he wiped blood from his cheek. The pilot’s body instinctively tries to run, but as he turns the vehicle, he’s met with a huge molten boulder. Immediately the copter and everyone inside are obliterated, and at the same time, the copter Karasu took down smashed into the side of the mall. Karasu looks over at Mamarok, who was still standing near the moat.

 

“Nice throw.”

 

Towa watches the scene in horror from inside the mall.

 

This is really really bad. Those guys are way more dangerous than these animals are. We need more fighters. I wish Crimson was here, but just as much…

 

A figure stands on the other side of the lava moat on a random side of the building. He looked at the crashed helicopter and saw the hole it smashed into the side of the building. His tail straightens as his anxiety spikes.

 

…We need Daken!

 

“I need to get in there!” Daken exclaims in a rare tone of total panic.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

So much going on! Towa spent most of the chapter fighting a porcupine what even is this story.

Chapter 17: Trial By Fire

Chapter 17: Trial By Fire

 

A few hours earlier, Daken was walking around near the YGM. He wasn’t looking around like a tourist; he was just walking straight, trying to avoid people as best he could. After a bit, he bumped into a random lady walking with her kids. He looked at them with a tired expression

 

“Sorry about that.” 

 

The lady almost responded normally until she got a look at him. Immediately she grabbed her kids and pulled them away. He rolled his eyes and walked away, looking a bit more dejected.

 

Ugh. Why do I even try? I gotta get home.

 

He looked to his side, and immediately saw Towa and Chiyo. He was filled with panic and dashed behind a nearby tree as fast as he could. Towa just barely gets a glimpse.

 

Are you serious? This is where they’re meeting up? What are the odds dammit? If they see me they’re gonna think I want to hang out!

 

“You looking at something?” Chiyo said as she tried to find what he was looking at.

 

“I thought I saw Daken for a second.”

 

“Pft, I hope not. Why is he such a jerk?”

 

Daken’s face sours.

 

Alright, come on.

 

He waits for a while until they enter the building. He sighs in relief.

 

I’m going home.

 

He looks at his hand momentarily. It and the rest of his arm are covered in scars, slightly lighter shades of red compared to the rest of his skin. His tail curls under his legs as a chill creeps up his spine.

 

…

 

Maybe I’ll stick around, just for a walk.

 

He begins walking around the area thoughtlessly. A few hours later, Daken is still lurking around the surrounding area, trying his best to avoid going home. He’s about to run out of excuses before-

 

BOOM

 

He hears a loud boom, the crowd around him is startled, and many begin to run. Suddenly, he begins to feel an intense heat ring out from the mall.

 

What the hell?

 

He ran in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd. He pushed through people as fast as he could until he made it to the Lava moat. He hears the announcement from Karasu, his panic and anxiety rising with each word he hears.

 

What the hell is going on!? Is the class still in there? I gotta get in there.

 

He began sprinting around the moat, desperately trying to find some kind of opening in the moat.

 

Come on, there has to be a way in there!

 

He runs the huge path around the moat, finding nothing, Eventually, he turns a corner, coming face to face with Magamrok. He looked up at his enormous beast-like figure, he felt an intense weight to Magmarok’s aura. Daken simply turned and ran in the opposite direction.

 

“Nah nah nah nah nah nah nope.”

 

That guy is serious business., I am NOT messing with him. He feels like Crimson, but scarier. I gotta find some way into the building.

 

As he runs back to the opposite side of the building, helicopters in the sky begin to be knocked out of the sky by Karasu’s rampage. One of them swings out of the sky and smashes into the side of the building right in front of Daken. The resulting explosion blows a hole right through the wall. Daken sees his chance.

 

Right there!

 

He looked down and stared at the dozen meters of lava in front of him. He walked closer to it, immediately feeling the immense heat billowing from it. It cracked and bubbled, Daken backed up before some could land on him.

 

“How the hell am I supposed to get over this?”

 

He waves his hand over the lava, feeling an unbelievable level of heat from it. He couldn’t bring himself to go any closer.

 

He runs up to a nearby street light. He strikes the base a few times before it snaps and falls over. He puts all of his might into lifting it and tossing it over the pit. It lands a few inches off of the other side, it immediately begins sinking and melting into the pit.

 

“Shit!”

 

He pushes a car into the pit and tries to stand on top of it to get closer to the other side. The car begins to melt and sink and Daken doesn’t get any closer to crossing the gap. The car sinks further, and eventually, a bubble of lava pops, splashing a bit of lava onto Daken’s leg. His pants immediately ignite as the lava melts through his leg, instantly cauterizing the wound. He feels a shocking amount of pain immediately, he jumps back onto the ground and holds his leg.

 

“AAGH OH GOD DAMN!” He takes a few deep breaths before his leg heals and he pats the fire off of his pants.

 

“Seriously, how the hell am I supposed to get over this!?”

 

He feels the ground shake followed by a large boom. On a different side of the moat, Magmarok is facing down a huge mass of police officers, cop cars, and swat teams with their trucks. Dozens of pistols and rifles are facing him. Magmarok stares at them with indifference. 

 

“Magmarok! We know it's you! Don’t take another step or we’ll blow you to high hell!” One of the cops screamed. Magmarok’s expression remained the same.

 

“Call me Obsidian. I go by that now.”

 

“I’ll call you whatever I damn please, monster!”

 

Obsidian’s eye twitches. Immediately his armor begins to crack, revealing an orange glow beneath. Heat rises intensely.

 

“That word. It won’t bother me anymore.”

 

He takes a step towards the main cop. His aura blows over every cop. The main one raises his hand.

 

“FIRE!”

 

Immediately dozens of bullets blast towards Obsidian. The bullets begin ricocheting off of his rocky exterior. He continues walking towards the main cop, who just unloaded at him, with no effect. Eventually, a ricocheting bullet strikes him in the leg. He screamed as he fell to his knees. He looks up to see Obsidian standing right above him. In a terrifying moment, Obsidian grabs the cop’s upper half with his enormous hand. He struggles, trying to escape his grip to no avail. With a bit of strength and a horrific snap, the struggle stopped. Every surrounding cop was left mortified as the bullets stopped flying. He looks around the rest of them with apathy.

 

“Go. Away.”

 

He lifted the body over his head and suddenly slammed it into the ground, fully obliterating it in an explosion of fire and lava, blasting every cop and vehicle flying backward. 

 

Many miles away, an enormous shining skyscraper lies in a sea of similar but smaller buildings. It has huge golden letters that read “Yuufuku Gold Media”. Inside both Suitchi and Crimson wait outside of a large door. Suitichi is in a suit as usual, but Crimson is uncomfortably squeezed into one as well. He kept pulling at the tight collar.

 

“It feels like this collar is trying to strangle me.”

 

Suitichi swats his hand away and adjusts the collar himself.

 

“You can handle it for this meeting. It is extremely important to convince Miss Yuufuku that this investment is worth continuing. God- your tie is messed up too.

 

He begins fixing his tie as well.

 

“Is it just me who’s a little bit nervous?”

 

“No. But we shouldn’t be worried this is not a big deal.”

 

Right as he said that the doors suddenly opened and out came a stressed-looking young woman.

 

“You are the teachers, right? This is a big deal. Come on.”

 

They look at each other with a similarly worried expression before entering. Inside the office were dozens of rooms with multiple dozens of workers running around, many carrying papers and documents, many writing emails or in phone calls, and a handful were drawing and viewing concepts for different media. The young woman led them through the chaos.

 

“I am Resu. I am Miss Yuufuku’s right hand. I am in charge of everything she says I’m in charge of at any given moment, and I make her schedule. She’s gonna be here any minute now, and we all have to be ready, especially you two. You guys have a slideshow to present or something?

 

“Yeah.” Suitchi held up a flash drive. Immediately Resu grabbed it and tossed it into the trash nearby.

 

“Forget it. She’ll want to see your passion and charisma.”

 

“Wha- come on!”

 

“Get used to it. Richy! You have her latte?”

 

“Caramel Iced Latte with oat milk, 1:5 ratio of sugar to milk!” A random guy yells from the distance.

 

“Nice! That’s what we pay you for! You two, in here.”

 

They follow her into the meeting room. Meanwhile, back at the mall, Youta and Asen have just finished their fight. Youta was still trying to free his blade from the spider's steel silk. With a stronger tug, Youta pulls his blade from the webbing. It's left with a metallic residue near the top.

 

*GASP* “OH SHOOT! ONIMARU!”

 

Youta immediately pulls out a small rag and some rubbing alcohol and starts cleaning the blade.

 

“Onimaru?” Asen asks, confused.

 

“Yeah, that’s his name!”

 

“His?”

 

“You guys alright?”

 

Towa walks up, still limping with a leg injury and a burn on his hand. Youta and Asen weren't left uninjured either, they had a few light cuts around different parts of their body, particularly the cut on Youta’s hand.

 

“Looks like we all made it in one piece! Isn’t that great!” Youta announced enthusiastically. Towa and Asen responded with a tired acceptance of his constant energy.

 

“We should prepare for more. Can you two keep fighting?” Asen spoke stoically. The two boys nodded.

 

Just as a moment of silence occurred, another two creatures entered the building. One was a large Komodo dragon. It was the size of a large dog, and it had a slithery build. Its mouth salivated with a potent corrosive acid, burning the floor below as it dripped out. Next to it was a monstrous Gorilla, towering over most people, with enormous hulking muscles and broad shoulders. It had a pair of steel tusks sticking from its mouth, and with a punding of its chest, a similar set of jagged, steel blades erupted from its arms, turning them into horrific weapons. All three fighters were filled with fear, scaring Towa the most, Asen as well but less so, and Youta not enough. They got ready for more combat. 

 

On a different side of the Mall, the rescue team runs out of a back door, a huge group of civilians with them. Eventually, the whole ground stood outside facing the enormous Lava moat. A mix of horror and worry washed over the crowd, and among them, Chiyo tries to console Fukuro.

 

“You’ve got this. No worries right?”

 

Fukuro struggled to make eye contact entirely. She blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

 

“Right.”

 

She tried her best to look less worried.

 

Fukuro began flying back and forth over and over, carrying people, often one sometimes two over the moat. She wasn’t very fast but she was consistent. The rest of the rescue team kept watch and tried their hardest to keep the peace in the group. They are filled with panic as more helicopters are knocked out of the sky by Karasu. They smash into the ground around the mall causing destruction and fires outside of it. Daken sees this carnage and is filled with panic, he clenches his fist as he thinks about the class. His panic is superseded by a superhuman resolve.

 

I have to get across.

 

…

 

“I have to get across!”

 

He takes a few steps backward and prepares himself to feel immense pain.

 

“I HAVE TO GET ACROSS!”

 

He begins sprinting towards the moat. After a few steps, he launches himself as far as he can, shattering his ankles. He makes it about 3/4th through the pit before landing on the lava itself. Immediately his bottom half erupted into flames as he took a few steps on the lava before beginning to sink. The pain is immeasurable. Daken continues to move forward. His legs quickly lose their structure, and he falls forward, reaching as far as he possibly can. He grabs the other side and pulls with all his strength and resolve. After a few tugs, he’s made it across, but his bottom half was nearly destroyed. It took him a moment to realize he was screaming. He breathed intensely for a while as his body started to heal. The immeasurable pain makes his consciousness fade.

 

I made it. I gotta find new clothes.

 

He passed out as his body slowly began to heal.

 

They follow her into a meeting room, complete with a long table with a handful of chairs, with a magnificent view of the rest of the night skyline out of an enormous window. As well as a ginormous TV screen.

 

“You two stand right there. She likes the news to be playing in the background as well.”

 

She puts the TV on and begins looking through the channels for the right background noise. However, every channel was absorbed by one thing. The attack on the YGM. Resu switched through a few different coverages of that story before she stopped. They all stare in worried confusion as the broadcast continues.

 

“A villain attack on an unprecedented scale is occurring here at the YGM. We’re struggling to get any info on what's occurring inside, any helicopters sent to get a better look are getting blasted out of the sky. The number of villains present as well as the number of civilians trapped inside are unclear at this time!

 

BOOM

 

A distant explosion shakes the camera and the reporter, who tries their best to keep it together.

 

“One of the villains appears to be the Lava villain that attacked Manhattan yesterday. He’s in a battle with police as we speak.”

 

Suddenly, the reporter stops and begins listening to his earpiece. His expression changes to an intense fear.

 

“We’re getting more info now, some images from the copters are getting to us. It appears animals are being sent into the building to attack civilians. And… it appears that these animals have Quirks.

 

Crimson’s eyes widen as a feeling of confusion washes over him.

 

Animals, with quirks!? I thought that wasn’t possible. This is insane! I have to get there. But will Suitichi be ok with me leaving? Miss Yuufuku will be furious!

 

The shocking news continues.

 

“It appears a group of teenagers are taking control of the situation and are battling the beasts! We have an image now-”

 

A picture from a helicopter appears on the screen. It’s zoomed in to see Towa, Youta, and Asen standing together. Hearts drop. Immediately Crimson slams his hands on the table as he stands up.

 

“I have to go.”

 

“Woah woah, you can’t go! Miss Yuufuku will be here any second now! She’ll be furious if she wastes any time!” Resu maniacally explained. “We should leave this to-”

 

SHATTER 

 

Without warning, Suitichi picked up a pencil, and used his quirk to make it incredibly heavy right as he smashed it into the window, shattering the huge piece of glass. Resu is left totally flabbergasted, she keeps trying to form words but fails

 

“Crimson. You have to go. Now. You can make it in time. I’ll handle Yuufuku.”

 

Crimson smiled at Suitichi for a short moment. Buy the next moment he was out the window, leaving a gust of wind with a flash of electricity. He landed on the street below, smashing a crater into the ground, he immediately began zooming into the distance. Resu was still flabbergasted.

 

“You idiots, Yuufuku is gonna kill us! There is no way your school is gonna exist after this!”

 

Suitichi sits down in his chair completely racked with stress. He holds his head in his hands.

 

“I know, we are totally screwed.”

 

He looks at the red light zooming towards the horizon, a hopeful but worried look in his eyes.

 

Please, help our students. And stay safe.

 

Back at the mall, Karasu ran out of helicopters to take down. He looks around to see Fukuro carrying civilians over the moat. His face warps into an apathetic rage.

 

“Who do these kids think they are? I’ll show them who they are messing with.”

 

The cloud of ravens surrounds him, carrying him away and towards the rescue team. Towa Asen and Youta watch him leave from above.

 

“Oh no! He's going after the other group! We have to help them!”

 

“I’ll do it. You guys stay here.” Asen immediately volunteers.

 

“Be careful, that guy is powerful!”

 

She remembers her fall from the training building back at school.

 

“I won’t fail anymore.”

 

She runs off as the two new animals approach. Youta and Towa look at the Gorilla and the Lizard, then back at the enormous gorilla, whose blades are stabbed into the ground, scraping the concrete below.

 

“Who's taking the gorilla?”

 

“I’ve got it! Don’t worry about it!”

 

How the hell is he so confident?

 

The Gorilla suddenly charges forward toward the two fighters, and both of them jump aside, the blades seem to grow even more violent as they smash into the ground, the huge impact shatters the ground below.

 

“Are you sure you’ve got this!?”

 

“You see how slow he is? I’ll be fine!”

 

Towa was about to interject but was distracted by a blast of acid that flew right at his face. He activated his quirk at the last moment, the ball of acid stopped right in its tracks. When he deactivated the power, the acid fell to the ground in front of him. It immediately began eating through the ground at a terrifying rate. A few meters in front of him stood the Komoto Dragon, its glowing eyes staring into his soul with murderous intent.

 

I gotta trust Youta, and focus on this thing. If it hits me, I’m dead!

 

The dragon and the gorilla launch their next attacks simultaneously. Back to Fukuro, she was running out of energy as she carried another person over the Moat. She just barely makes it to the other side. As the civilian runs off she stops to catch her breath. Chiyo is worried.

 

Fukuro is running out of energy, and we still have a handful of civilians left. Dammit! I wish I could help her!

 

“Fukuro! Are you ok?”

 

She kept breathing heavily. “Yes. I’m ok.”

 

Suddenly, a mass of black feathers flew from the top of the building and began to rocket towards the ground. It landed, revealing Karasu standing there. He stared at the remaining civilians and students with sickening malice. Chiyo, Heyan, Tabata, and Fukuro were all struck with a feeling of powerlessness before he had even done anything. No one was able to speak for a moment.

 

“Who the hell do you kids think you are?”

 

To be continued…

 

 

Notes:

Enjoy the little doodles Xen.ofc made. If anyone wants to send me any fanart for Year One I will include it and credit you at the end of a chapter.

I fell down the stairs while writing this chapter. I’m ok but I’m worried that the fanfic curse is coming for me and I’m gonna be struck by lightning or a baseball-sized meteor or something.

There's a lot going on in these chapters! Let's break it down.

Towa and Youta: Fighting a lizard and a gorilla respectively

Asen: Running to the rescue team

Rescue Team: Facing down Karasu

Obsidian: Battling police outside.

Daken: Passed out outside the mall

Crimson: Running to the mall as fast as he can.

Me: my butt still hurts from those damn stairs.

Chapter 18: The Unkindness of Ravens

Karasu stared with a palpable hatred at the students and the remaining civilians, who still struggled to push through his sickening presence to speak or move. Fukuro was still on the opposite side of the moat. She continued to catch her breath.

 

“You are really making this into a pain. First of all, no more saving people.”

 

He swiped his hand back, and following close behind was a blast of a few dozen ravens that blasted at Fukuro, smashing into her at high speeds. Immediately, the strike created a horrifying snap.

 

“AAAAGH!!” She screams as she rolls backward. One of her wings is left bent in the wrong direction. She just whimpers in pain while lying down. Everyone is left horrified.

 

“FUKURO! Holy shit! Are you alright!?”

 

“She’ll live it's just a broken wing. She should be happy I left it attached.

 

Chiyo immediately filled with a boiling rage as she closed her fist.

 

“You… YOU MOTHERF_____! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER!?”

 

“Ooh, are those fighting words little girl? Do you wanna be next?”

 

The birds begin to swarm around his head in a monstrous ring. The showcase of power left Chiyo’s hands shaking.  He pulls back his hand and swings it towards Chiyo, blasting a few dozen birds directly at her. Before she could be torn apart, Heyan dove and tackled her out of the way. They hit the floor and Heyan immediately stands back up, his legs shaking intensely.

 

I need to summon a weapon! But what should I go for? Melee? Maybe a Taser? I think I might have firecrackers! What the hell can beat a bunch of birds??

 

As he’s processing, Adachi appears behind Karasu and tries to punch his leg. Karasu is faster however, he kicks them in the chest knocking them backward to the ground. He smiles at them while summoning a handful of ravens to his hand.

 

“Gimme one of her eyes.”

 

Adachi makes a face of panicked terror as the few ravens fly at them. They disappear and reappear a few meters away. Immediately the birds keep chasing. They glitch away again and again, every time the birds are close behind. They move out of sight as the birds follow. Karasu looks back at Heyan who has spent too long thinking. Another blast of birds flies right at his head, and he panics and covers his face before he summons anything, At the last moment Tabata throws himself in the way, taking the brunt of the attack with his large body. He was left with cuts and wounds all over. Heyan looked with horror at him.

 

“Tabata! Oh my god, are you ok!?”

 

Tabata didn’t say anything, he just turned and smiled, trying his best to assure Heyan. He looked back at Karasu with a smoldering intensity.

 

“Big guy here wants a turn. Bring it!”

 

He unleashes a huge mass of ravens at him from many angles as he stands strong. Right before they reached him, he split into hundreds of clones, a few minuscule clones landed on every bird and began attacking them individually, punching the eyes and kicking the wings. The few dozen birds he attacked all started to fall to the ground injured and incapacitated, all while the clones screamed and cussed in such a high-pitched voice that they were all inaudible. The action actually pulls a reaction out of Karasu’s apathy, however it's only one of mild interest.

 

“Interesting quirk. Not many can survive a flurry like that, let alone counter it. Sorry to say though, mine’s better.”

 

With the wave of his hand, more birds fly from surrounding buildings and begin picking off Tabatas from the crows. They try to run, jumping off of birds and running along the ground, but they are grabbed as well like little bugs. The massacre is witnessed by Chiyo, who is standing but is frozen, unsure of how to act. She’s pulled back into the world by Heyan, who hands her a bat while he holds a taser.

 

“We gotta help him, I summoned these, first try too!”

 

She glances over at a pile of random junk behind him, composed of mostly rubber duckies. He moves to cover it up.

 

“Focus!”

 

She ignores his lie and looks towards Karasu, filling her with anger and determination. They ran towards him from behind, trying to strike while he was distracted, however, he seemed to know they were there already. He ducked under Chiyo’s bat swing and elbowed her in the face, causing a splurt of nose blood as she’s sent reeling back. He then caught Heyans hand before he could be tased and pulled the weapon from his hands. He turned the weapon on Heyan himself, tasing him in the gut for a few moments, Heyan fell to the ground shaking. He stood over them as Tabata continued to be attacked.

 

“Foolish children. You guys seriously need to get a clue. Do you really think you can stop what's coming!? Evolution waits for no one. Who do you think you are, to stand in the way."

 

He looks over to the crowd of civilians, who can do nothing but cower in terror. His wicked smile returned.

 

“Devour them.”

 

All of the ravens immediately left their attack on Tabata and raced towards the crowd, panicked screams rang out.

 

“NOO!’ Chiyo screams as the ravens continue to barrel forward.

 

…

 

Suddenly, a bright light shines from behind Karasu. Right as he turns, Asen appears and swings her blade, cutting a shallow gash into his chest. He immediately hops back. At the same time, the ravens stop their movement and move back to him. The wound bled slightly. Asen stands, holding two short swords. She smiles.

 

“You want to know who we are? I’ll tell you, we’re 1-A.”

 

She looked around at the still-shaking Heyan and the bleeding Chiyo, as well as the few tiny Tabatas left from that massacre. She looked back at Karasu.

 

“You’re not gonna hurt anyone else.”

 

Karasu’s hand began to twitch as veins popped out of his forehead as an immeasurable rage stretched through him. He stared at Asen with a furious bloodlust.

 

“I’m gonna gut you like a pig little girl.”

 

His cold and genuine delivery of that bone-chilling line gave her pause, but she ignored it and gripped her blade with confidence. The two fighters simply stared each other down.

 

Chapter 18: The Unkindness of Ravens

 

…

 

Inside the Mall, Towa ducked under a blast of Acid, it splashed onto a booth behind him. It melted in a few seconds. He stared at the lizard with an intensely stressed expression. The lizard didn’t have a scratch on it.

 

Why the hell is it so fast!? I can't land a hit. I thought it would run out of acid eventually but-

 

The lizard lunges at him mouth-first, trying desperately to chomp at him, he ducks the attack, forcing the lizard to fall into the melting booth. The acid did absolutely nothing to the lizard.

 

There goes my only idea.

 

The beast lunges at him again, launching scratches, bites, and blasts of acid with maximum ferocity. Towa dodges most of them. He launches himself up to the second floor of the building and tries to take a few deep breaths. The lizard climbs a nearby pillar and continues his assault. It lands a bad scratch on his arm. He kicks it in the abdomen and holds his arm while trying not to scream. An intense sting followed by a deep burning sensation forces his resolve to waiver. The lizard prepares for another flurry. The shock gives him a hyper-awareness of his other injuries. He feels the sting from his leg wound from the porcupine, combined with the mixed soreness from his bruises and cuts across his body from the day. He feels sluggish from head to toe. For a moment he nearly falls over before catching himself. His face sags into an empty expression.

 

I guess this is how it feels to fight for others…

 

He sees his class in his head. The faces they made as they watched him come up with a plan. His empty face changed into a smile.

 

… Feels great.

 

The Lizard chargest ar him. He ducks out of the way and lands another kick to its side. It lands behind him.

 

“Come on little guy, gimme your best shot!”

 

The Lizard seems to hear his taunt. It plants itself in position. Towa’s confidence began to be replaced with panic as the beast closed its mouth and began to charge. Its cheeks puffed up with a large amount of liquid.

 

Uh… what is he about to do?

 

The Lizard charged more and more until it looked like it was about to burst, the same thing was happening to Towa’s anxiety. Finally, everything went to hell. The lizard began spitting acid like a canon, spewing large blasts of it one after another at a terrifying pace. A handful of blasts fly at Towa all at once.

 

“AAAGH!”

 

On the other side of the mall, Youta sits behind a counter in a toy shop. He reaches the counter and places his hand on the large, bulky cash register. He's covered in dust with debris in his hair, but he doesn't have any new injuries. He was, however, totally exhausted. He sits there for a moment until the gorilla enters the store. It looks around for him until it hears a noise behind the counter. Immediately one of its arms warps into a mass of jagged blades as it swings at the counter, shattering it along with the floor beneath. Youta wasn’t there anymore. He flanked the beast, landing a few slashes on its back before it swung its arm behind it. He narrowly blocks the attack which sends him flying back. He snaps his hand, and the large register flies towards his hand at high speeds, crashing against the back of the beast's head. It shakes it off almost immediately. Youta smiles.

 

Well, I was right about him being slow. But he’s also indestructible. It’s like there's a layer of steel under his skin. Every attack I land is only skin deep. This is perfect! What a strong opponent!

 

The creature throws more attacks at him, and Youta dodges them, landing small cuts in between. Each swing of the gorilla’s massive jagged arms shatters the ground below more and more. Eventually, the footing below is compromised. Youta trips on a piece of tile. The beast lunches at the opportunity, raising both of its arms over its head as it looms over Youta. He scrambles out of the way as fast as he can, but just barely not fast enough. The attack scrapes his back, tearing his shirt and back skin apart. He screams before rolling across the lobby. The creature’s attack shattered the ground, blasting a huge cloud of dust, in all directions. Youta coughs as he tries to stand back up.

 

How unfair is that? I land a dozen hits and do nothing, he half-lands one and I’m out for the count. This really is the perfect opponent. I can’t give up yet though…

 

He uses a nearby pillar to support himself as he stands. His legs are wobbly, his back is bleeding, and his shirt is barely hanging on by a thread. He still holds a firm grip on his sword. He’s exhausted enough that he can’t distinguish his thoughts and his words.

 

“...If I beat this, he’ll come home.”

 

He stands as best he can as the creature approaches.

 

…

 

Outside the mall, Asen and Karasu continued to stare each other down. Asen stood in a battle-ready position across from Karasu, who stood in a calm and slouched position like he wasn’t in a fight at all. Sweat ran down her temple as she waited for him to make the first move.

 

He’s not giving any indication he's gonna move. Should I go first?

 

Her anxiety climbs before Karasu’s hand twitches, the slight movement makes Asen charge forward. She swings at Karasu, but as she pulls her blades back, a huge cloud of Ravens surrounds him, she follows the swing through, blowing away some of the birds. He's gone.

 

What!?

 

She looks around quickly before her gaze shoots upwards. Above her, a group of birds hold him in the air. With a manic smile and the swing of his arm, a blast of ravens smacks into her, the impact gives her a few small cuts, knocks one of the swords away, and launches her a few meters away. She rolls on the ground for a moment before bursting back to a battle-ready position. Her stance wasn't as strong as it was a moment ago, however. Karasu landed back on the ground, still smiling.

 

“Do you wanna try that again?”

 

She grips her blade as she summons an identical one in her other hand. She charges forward again. The ravens form in a wide cloud above her, blasts of ravens begin to shoot down at her, but she's able to dodge and weave around them, even barging right through one with a blazing tenacity. She tosses one of the blades right at his head as she curves her path and approaches from the side. He isn’t phased. With a flick of the wrist, a single raven flies into the blade, knocking it off course. She hadn’t approached him yet so he simply swung his arm, causing a handful of ravens to sweep her legs and knock her to the ground. Immediately he kicks her in the stomach, and a blast of birds follows his leg, blasting her back again. She tried to get up quickly again, but she could only manage a slow and painful rise. She stood across from him again, this time more beat up, he was totally fine.

 

“Anything else?”

 

She gripped her blade in anger but was unsure what to do. He noticed her inactivity and took the opportunity to turn to the crowd.

 

“I hope you all see how pathetic you are. Leaving the fighting to these children.”

 

Asen saw her chance. She summoned a small knife and tossed it towards the back of his head.

 

“You tried that already.”

 

He swipes it away again, leaving it trailing past his head, missing him entirely. She smiles.

 

“Gotcha!” She shouts as she snaps her fingers, and the small knife shatters into a flash of light, forcing Karasu to shut his eyes momentarily. She zooms forward as fast as she can, pulling her sword back and getting ready to strike. As he rubs his eyes all the ravens surround him and form a spinning sphere of black feathers. She strikes the ball, killing a few birds but making no progress towards him. She swings at it a few more times before his arm flies towards her from the inside of the ball, grabbing her by the face.

 

Before she could react, the ball lifted into the air, bringing her along with it. She’s thrown upwards, then is dropped. She falls for a moment before painfully smacking against the ground. A fleshy crunch rings out as she’s left injured and disheartened. He lands softly across from her. Chiyo, Heyan, the few remaining Tabatas, and the crowd of civilians all watch in horror. She tries to get up, but her strength gives out, leaving her back on the ground. Karasu watches her with a sickening grin.

 

“What? No fight left? Come on! You’re really gonna let me wipe out everyone.”

 

Asen isn’t even listening. She’s lost in her own thoughts. She sees a man staring at her, disappointment staining his expression.

 

“Asen, you’re a Daguchi. We don’t fail.” He spoke coldly. No support from his words. Nothing but expectation. Tears begin to stream down her face as she summons a spear in her weak hands. With all her energy, she uses it to push herself to a standing position. Karasu's smile fades.

 

“You really don’t know how to quit huh? I guess it can’t be helped."

 

The birds surround him, shaping his shadow into an unintelligible mass of danger and death. The shadow looms over Asen. She continued to stare ahead, holding her sword and spear in silence.

 

I guess I'm still a failure.

 

Heyan was still on the ground, Tabata and Adachi were nowhere to be seen. The group of civilians stood frozen, some considered trying to run or take a stand, but none could muster the courage. Chiyo watched from afar. 

 

“Asen! Please! Run! Don’t do this! You’ll die!” She yells as tears stream down her face, mixing with the blood still spilling from her nose. Asen turns to her with a slightly bewildered look, as if she just remembered anyone else was there. The look changed to a soft smile.

 

“Chiyo, are we friends?”

 

Chiyo was left totally shell-shocked at the question, but she fought through it to respond.

 

“Of course, you bought me overpriced gifts.” She said as she smiled. Asen chuckled before turning back to Karasu. He lifted his arms with an ecstatic smile stretching across his face.

 

“DEVOUR HER!!” He screams. The huge cloud of birds zooms towards her at a terrifying pace. She holds up her weapons.

 

"I have to fight, even if I'm a failure."

 

She starts swinging at them as the cloud engulfs her. She holds them back for a few seconds before they overwhelm her. They begin to peck at her from all sides, all that the onlookers can hear is her blood-curdling screams. Karasu stares in giddy. He's so gleeful that he doesn’t hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Somebody charges at him.

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly Daken appears, wearing brand new clothes with the tags still on. He charged forward, landing a kick right in Karasu's weak spot as hard as he could. Karasu suddenly felt an indescribable blast of pain across his body as Daken’s food buried itself in his groin. As Daken took a step back, the birds left Asen and flew in all directions randomly. Karasu instinctively crunched and fell into a fetal position, followed by an agonizing ache that continued to linger, and a pit formed in his stomach. When his focus returns, the birds flock and surround him for protection. 

 

Asen lies in the spot she was standing a moment ago. She had cuts all over her body and outfit and was left totally unconscious. Chiyo ran over and immediately kissed her on the forehead. Her wounds healed a bit, just enough to stop bleeding, but she was still pretty messed up. Chiyo looked over at Daken with her jaw dropped to the ground.

 

Where did he come from?

 

The cloud surrounding Karasu began to grow more volatile as Daken cracked his knuckles and his neck. He smiled while staring down the huge cloud of black, feeling elated for the upcoming fight.

 

To be continued…

 

Notes:

Now I bet some of ya’ll are wondering, does Karasu control Ravens or Crows? Because it seems like I use them interchangeably. Well, I’m not gonna admit I forgot that they were different, so let's just say he controls Corvids in general, but he prefers Crows and Ravens because he’s an edge lord (or to instill fear yadda yadda).

Chapter 19: Davids v Goliaths

A few minutes ago, Daken laid in a pile of his own smoldering body. After crossing the moat, he was left badly burnt, with his clothes and most of his bottom half missing. His body was healing gradually, but he was still totally unconscious. He lay there for a moment until suddenly Fukuro’s scream at her broken wing forced him awake. He looked around for a moment before realizing he couldn’t move yet.

 

Who’s screaming?! WHY CAN’T I MOVE!?

 

He tried to move again, all he could do was twitch his fingers. He was forced to just wait. After a few minutes, he was repaired enough to move but was still pretty messed up overall. He climbs into the hole in the wall and finds himself in a clothing store. There was a small fire from the helicopter crash, but it was overall quiet and away from the action, he was too far from Towa and Youta to see them fighting. He was about to leave the store before he was distracted by the sound of glitching outside. He turns to see Adachi glitch into view, they see each other for a moment before the handful of ravens try to attack them again.  As they disappear Daken runs back to the hole and looks through it to see them teleporting around.

 

“Hey! You’re that short one! What’s going on!”

 

“We- We- We- We-”

 

They kept trying to answer, but their constant glitching forced their speech to glitch as well. Daken got sick of watching them teleport in circles. He launched out of the hole and smacked one of the birds out of the air. The other birds try to attack him but are quickly punched away. Adachi, now safe, puts their hands on their knees and takes a few deep breaths, exhausted by the overuse of their quirk.

 

“Alright, where is everybody?” Daken speaks plainly.

 

“The hot one, the blonde one, and the sleepy one are inside fighting monsters-”

 

Daken was immediately lost.

 

“Wait-”

 

 “Everyone else is outside fighting bird man.”

 

“Do you know anyone's name?”

 

They looked away blushing while twiddling their thumbs.

 

“I forgot.”

 

“What’s my name?”

 

“Uh… the scary one.”

  

“(¬_¬) Whatever, now think, who needs the most help?” He enunciated every word.

 

“Oh everybody else, they’re this way.” They say casually as they point toward the rescue team.

 

“Got it.” He immediately starts running in that direction. He feels panic creep back up his spine.

 

I heard that scream a while ago. I have to hurry!

 

As he runs, Youta stands across the Gorilla inside of the mall. His injuries continued to shoot waves of pain through his body. Every primal signal in his body tells him to run away, but he ignores them all. The creature begins sprinting towards him, growling and grunting incoherently. He puts his sword in his hands and looks at it, a nostalgic feeling washes over him, numbing the pain.

 

I spent ten years saving up for Onimaru. I mowed lawns, made lemonade, sold my lunch at school, and pooled my birthday money. I saw it as the ultimate sign of my resolve. I’m going to become a hero, no matter what. With enough time and effort, I can do it. I can do this!

 

He feels a burst of resolve and energy as the creature is mere moments away. It raises one of its monstrous arms over its head.

 

I won’t let my goal end here.

 

He hops back at the last second, avoiding a bladed fist smashing into the ground. He immediately hops back forward, running up the arm of the beast while holding his sword above his head.

 

Its whole body is armored, aside from…

 

He raises the blade over his head and plunges it into the left eye of the beast, he only has the strength to push it about a fourth of the way in before the creature throws him off. Blood began to shoot everywhere. The creature didn’t scream in agony or anything. Its movements simply became slower and more sluggish, its brain injury having an immediate effect. It wasn’t enough to make it drop dead, it turned slowly and tried to attack Youta again.

 

These things sure are resilient, it’s like they’ve been designed to not feel pain. Please rest, you poor creature.

 

He snapped his fingers, pulling the tip of the blade towards his hand. The devastating attack burrowed the blade far deeper into the creature, nearly reaching the hilt. That finally forced the creature to keel over and stop moving. Youta sat on the ground, breathing heavily, the pain of his injuries exaggerated by his intense movements.

 

Gimme a minute.

 

On the other side of the mall, Towa did everything he could to avoid the massive flurry of Acid being launched at him by the lizard.

 

OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT

 

 He launched himself into a nearby small clothing store. He barely dodged a few blasts before trying to use clothing racks to block them. He throws a few, and each almost fully stops a single blast. A few drops of acid land on his arm and chest, they give him small but incredibly painful burns. He winces but ignores it for now. He uses his quirk to block a few more before he runs out of breath. He had made it to the back of the store and was about to be cornered. He sees a hole that a blast burned through the wall, moonlight shining through.

 

It’s worth a try!

 

He takes his chances and dives through the hole, just barely fitting through. His quick thinking leaves him falling towards the ground on a trajectory that’ll leave him landing in the lava moat. The lizard launches itself through the same hole and towards Towa.

 

Are you serious!?

 

Towa tries to figure out what he should do as the lava approaches and the heat in the air rises. Another blast of acid begins zooming towards him mid-air. He has an Idea as he thinks back to his lesson with Crimson.

 

“If we’re right with how your quirk functions, that means that while it's accurate, you don’t need to worry about air resistance or any friction at all. That should mean…”

 

I can move with my breath!

 

He takes a deep breath as he activates his quirk. He simply blows air towards the mall and the lizard. The air pushes him, making him fly forward faster than before. The acid misses him as he lands on the other side of the moat. The lizard lands in the moat and immediately explodes into flames before sinking. Towa takes a moment to catch his breath before reveling in his victory.

 

“HA! GOT YOU!” He yells as he tries to push himself up. Immediately the pain from the scratch and acid burns shoots up his arm, causing him to fall back down. His collection of minor injuries was nearly enough to make him pass out. He lies there for a while, taking deep breaths. 

 

I do not feel great.

 

Outside the mall, everyone watched Daken as he stared down an enormous cloud of black feathers that violently shifted and warped at high speeds. Daken still smiled with an ecstatic look. Chiyo stares at him, completely shocked.

 

“Since when were you here!?” She shouts over the deafening cries of a few hundred birds.

 

“You complaining?”

 

Her shock dissipated as she cracked a smile. She didn’t like Daken, but she couldn’t help but feel relief.

 

“Not at all.”

 

Asen’s eyes creeped open. She saw a triumphant, but blurry vestige of her rival. Every part of her relief was matched with shame. Daken faced the huge cloud that surrounded Karasu. He glanced over at Fukuro, who was still whimpering with her broken wing in hand. Daken gripped his fist incredibly hard, hard enough to draw blood. He looked back at the cloud, still with a smile on his face.

 

“SO, YOU’RE TRYING TO KILL MY CLASS? WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT IF THAT HAPPENS!?” He shouted over the deafening sound of a few hundred ravens circling each other. The cloud faded to reveal Karasu standing, his legs still shaking. His face contorted into more rage than he’s shown yet. Veins across his head and neck looked as if they were about to burst from his body.

 

“You little bastard. I’m gonna leave your body unrecognizable.”

 

“Unrecognizable? What, like your buddy down there?” He gestured down at his crotch, filling him with even more rage.

 

“SHUT UP!!”

 

His blistering fury is compounded with a voice coming through a tiny device in his ear. The students could only hear half of the conversation.

 

“What!? Slicer is dead? Corroder too?? How the hell is that possible!?”

 

…

 

“Well, I’m busy here!”

 

…

 

“That big idiot is busy. Send in the Shifter! That one won’t lose.”

 

…

 

“I’m gonna handle it, relax!”

 

As the voice hung up, The Shifter activated and began moving toward the building. It was an enormous Kodiak Bear, dwarfing any other creature seen beforehand. It began lumbering towards the mall. Karasu placed his attention back onto Daken.

 

“You having trouble?” Daken drops with limitless sassiness.

 

“I’LL SHOW YOU TROUBLE!” He screamed, enraged as he began launching blasts of birds toward Daken. At the same time, Daken charged forward. He dodged some of the blasts, others he simply let scraps against his sides or arms. He grew closer and closer as Karasu grew more and more nervous. When he finally arrived, he swung right at his head, being blocked by another sphere of birds. Daken struck the sphere a few times with little effect.

 

“Come on man! You’re hiding now? What happened to all that fun you were just having?”

 

The sphere suddenly burst, and birds carried Karasu into the air above Daken. He threw his arms downward, blasting Daken from above with a huge wave of birds. He landed on the opposite side. He took a breath, not expecting Daken to fly out of the dust with severe scratches all over. Daken nearly lands a gut shot but is blocked at the last second by more birds. While Daken and Karasu continued to train blows, Chiyo held Asen, looking around for a chance.

 

While Daken holds him off, we gotta find a way to get these civilians out of here. What can we do?

 

Right as her thought finished Adachi appeared next to her, the birds chasing her left after Daken’s appearance. But they were still left exhausted, panting and sweating.

 

“Adachi! Are you alright?”

 

“Yes. I am very tired. But I have an idea.”

 

“Wait really? What is it?”

 

They pointed up at a nearby building on the other side of the moat. A large water tower stood at the top, only held up by four thin metal stilts.

 

“If we can knock that over it’ll go sploosh, and the lava will go sizzle, and then it would turn into rock. Right?”

 

“ GASP   Like Minecraft!” Heyan suddenly yelled. He was ignored immediately.

 

“That- that is a great idea! Adachi! You’re the best!” Chiyo’s spirits shot way up.

 

“I am?”

 

Chiyo looked over to Heyan with a serious expression.

 

“Heyan. We need something to cut the supports. Now.”

 

“Well, uh… I have a few multi-tools-“

 

“Multi-tools!? Do you want to get knocked out?”

 

“Ok woah woah! I have uh um…. YES! I have a chainsaw!”

 

“A chainsaw!? And you said multi-tool first?”

 

“My mind is weird! But a chainsaw isn’t really for cutting metal. It might work a bit.”

 

“Get me that chainsaw!”

 

“Yes ma’am! Summon CHAINSAW!”

 

He starts trying to summon it, summoning many rubber duckies and other random nonsense while trying. She turns her attention to Adachi.

 

“Alright Adachi, this is your moment. You gotta go up to that water tower and cut two of the supports.”

 

“Cut them!? Why do I have to?”

 

“You can teleport Adachi.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“You got this! I believe in you!”

 

“Me too!” Heyan butts in, still summoning random garbage.

 

“Me three!” A high-pitched voice suddenly reached them. They looked around to see a single Tabata standing on the ground, barely visible and barely understandable. Chiyo immediately picked him up.

 

“Tabata! Are you ok?”

 

“Of course. In a few hours, I'll grow back to full size. But I believe in you, Adachi!”

 

Adachi stood, still looking nervous. Heyan handed her the chainsaw. It was large and heavy, they could barely hold it up, and they looked kinda of comical holding such a huge weapon.

 

“Wait, before you go!” Heyan says as he digs through the pile of garbage he summoned. He pulls a pair of goggles out and hands them to Adachi.

 

“For the sparks.”

 

“Thank you dumb one.” They say as they put the eye shields on.

 

“Wait huh?”

 

Adachi tries their best not to look terrified. They warp to the top of the building and pull the ripcord, after a few pulls the machine wirls to life. They begin chipping away at the supports, the progress is slow, and it creates a huge constant spray of sparks.

 

As she tries her best to hold on, Youta is inside the mall still trying to rest. His slow meditative breaths are interrupted by a potent smell. Suddenly the room began to shift as a large mass entered the area. Its pure size and weight shifted the room with every step. Youta turns to see a gargantuan bear lumbering towards him. Its brown fur was long and matted, with tangles and knots everywhere. The beast had arms larger than Youta’s body, and razor-sharp, knife-like claws. Primal fear shot through Youta, forcing him to his feet. He held his sword, staring at the creature, unsure how to react. For the shortest of moments, his unending resolve waivered. He took a single step back before his conscious mind clicked back in.

 

I have to stop this thing from making it to the rescue team. I’ll beat it!

 

He gripped his sword with confidence as he stared down the enormous creature. Outside, Towa tried to move without much success. After more time, he was able to push himself to a sitting position. He sat there dazed until he was finally able to get to his feet. He looked around the area. He stood in a demolished and flat area, quiet but not relaxed, like a bomb had just gone off. Towa tries to bring himself to walk forward.

 

I should check on Youta…

 

He slowly turns and starts limping towards the moat. He feels a slight vibration through the ground. He ignored it at first, but when a second, more intense vibration hit, he stopped. He turned to see Obsidian standing by his side. He was once again circling the moat. Towa was too exhausted to scream, but the monstrous figure still made his heart sink.

 

It’s the lava villain!

 

Towa managed to get himself into a fighting position. Obsidian just stared at him with no visible expression through the black soulless eyes of his bird skull helmet.

 

“Are you sure that's a good idea?”

 

A pit formed in Towa’s stomach. Obsidian’s overwhelming presence was suffocating.

 

This guy… is way too strong!

 

Chapter 19: Davids v Goliaths

 

Towa and Youta faced insurmountable opponents. Daken and Karasu were in a stalemate. Adachi continued to chip away at the supports of the water tower. As all of this chaos unfolds, a faint but persistent Crimson light begins to form on the horizon.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

College sucks they want me to write essays instead of fanfiction, what am I even paying for. I hope y'all like this arc because it's the only thing holding my skeleton together at this point. Whenever I want to throw in the towel and live in an abandoned cave in the Amazon rainforest, I think about the handful of people invested in this story and I'm encouraged to push forward. So thank you for that.

Chapter 20: Light In the Dark

Daken and Karasu continued to trade blows. At this point Daken’s new clothes were nearly torn to shreds, Karasu clearly hadn’t been hit beyond a few half-landed attacks. Daken feels nervousness creep up.

 

He’s too hard to reach. At this rate, I’ll run out of stamina.

 

Karasu takes a step back and nearly trips. Daken smirks. Karasu was able to take back enough control to regain his cocky demeanor. He smiles and chuckles.

 

“You’re losing energy, aren’t you Demon Boy? You might have a powerful quirk, but every quirk has limits.”

 

“Oh yeah, what about you? I only got one solid hit in and you look pretty messed up. One more direct strike and it’s over.”

 

Karasu didn’t respond, but the way his eyes squinted and his breath growled told Daken everything he needed to know. Daken charged forward again. Birds surrounded Karasu, lifting him into the air before Daken could reach him. Karasu simply stood on a mass of birds in the air, staring down at Daken on the ground.

 

“You may be right, so what? Nothing’s stopping me from waiting you out.”

 

He starts swinging his arm through the air. Each swing brings with it a blast of birds all diving at Daken in a beam. He tries to dodge and punch them away as best he can, but he quickly begins to build up injuries.

 

Shit… he’s right! I can’t really get up there. And he can just keep attacking! I gotta think of something. Maybe I can throw something? Nah, it won’t work. Anything big enough to do damage would take too much wind up. Come on! I have to think of something!

 

“Come on seriously!? This is pathetic.” Daken shouts from the ground.

 

“I’m sure they’ll say the same thing when they find your body.” Karasu snarked as he continued to swat at Daken like he was a particularly annoying fly. He continues his assault. Daken does everything he can to avoid getting hit, desperately trying to stall for time. He kept getting more and more injured, losing stamina just as quickly. Eventually, he was one step too slow, his feet were swept and he was juggled in the air by different blasts of birds, tearing his flesh more and more until he was slammed into the ground. Daken’s wounds began to heal, slower than normal. He gripped his fist and hit it against the ground.

 

Come on Daken, think of something you big red dumbass! What would someone better do in this situation? What would…

 

…what would Crimson do?

 

His mind begins searching through every encounter he’d had with Crimson. Starting from yesterday in class all the way back.

 

…

 

A little over a month ago, Daken walked through the empty streets of a dingy city. He’s in an industrial area, with loud construction and billowing smokestacks polluting everything in sight. Daken wears a black hoodie to obscure his features. As he walks deeper into the district, the number of graffiti, litter, and shady people grows more and more until he makes it to a seemingly incidental building with a single bodyguard at the entrance. The Guard was tall and had spikes sticking out of his back. Daken walked up to him.

 

“This is ain’t a place for kids.” The guard sneered.

 

“Cut the shit. I’m here for the ring.”

 

“Lemme see your face.”

 

Daken scoffed as he took off his hood. The guard took a long look at his face, before rolling his eyes.

 

“Some kids are a real eyesore today. What’s your quirk?”

 

“Super Regen.”

 

“Show it.”

 

Daken lifted his hand and pulled one of his fingers off, barely flinching. After a few seconds, it grew back as good as new.

 

“Good enough. Go ahead.”

 

He stepped aside as Daken entered. Inside it was bustling with people. A cacophony of unpleasant sounds and smells filled the air. In the huge room, there was a bar where people lay unconscious and private booths where harder drugs were done. In the center was a large boxing ring surrounded by a crowd of screaming on-lookers. Betters threw money around like it was nothing. In the ring, two fighters slugged it out. One was a tall muscular man with an extra set of arms, and the other was a smaller, bug-like man with exoskeletal armor. The two fighters exchanged powerful blow after powerful blow. Daken watched on with gleeful excitement.

 

Oh hell yeah!

 

Eventually, the four-armed fighter used two of his arms to grab the arms of the bug fighter. He lifted him into the air before slamming him in the stomach with his other two fists. Eventually, greenish blood began to pour from the bug’s mouth until he was dropped back to the ground. He fell to his knees, and the four-armed fighter smashed his fists into both sides of his head, cracking his armor and splattering more green. The bug falls to the ground as the crowd erupts. Daken starts cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck.

 

This is perfect! How do I get in?

 

Before he could fully process where to go next, the room suddenly began to shake. Most people immediately realized something was afoot, and they started running to the exits, creating a massive stampede of people crowding around small doors. Daken tried his best to push through them.

 

What the hell is going on!?

 

Suddenly, Crimson burst through one of the walls at blistering speeds, showering the room in red light. Daken feels complete terror for a moment, completely unaware of who this guy is. Crimson lands in the center of the ring. Immediately, the four-armed man rushed at him with a flurry of blows. With a blast of electricity, Crimson smacked away every incoming fist and struck him in the head so fast that it registered as a single motion. The man fell to the ground unconscious instantly. Daken was frozen with panic.

 

Who is that guy?

 

When he's finally ready to move again, he sees everyone else is gone. He begins running to the exit.

 

“You! Stay right there!” Bellows Crimson from across the room. Daken’s body froze, Crimson’s aura forcing Daken’s body to freeze in its tracks. Before he could snap out of it, Crimson launched himself into a higher floor of the building. Crimson’s explosive blows overpower the sounds of gunshots. After a moment of noisy combat, there was a long pause. Daken tries to creep silently towards the exit. He takes one long, quiet step before Crimson blasts back to the main floor. He holds some knocked-out guy in a suit under his arm like a bag. He looks a lot less intimidating suddenly, but that doesn't stop Daken’s mix of fear and excitement for standing against such a powerful opponent.

 

“You want a fight!?”

 

“Sorry for scaring you, young man. I’m Crimson Sun! The first official hero of Japan! I came here to grab this minor crime boss.”

 

“A hero? Wait… I’ve heard about you. You’re that guy the newspaper keeps making fun of.”

 

“Heh, heh… yeah,” Crimson responds, dejected. Daken’s fear quickly warped into anger.

 

“You ass! You couldn’t have waited a bit? I was about to get a good fight!”

 

“A fight huh? So that’s why a kid like you is here.”

 

“Who are you calling a kid!?”

 

“You. You look like you’re about to start high school, you should know that these people use young people like you as living weapons for profit, it's completely exploitative.”

 

“Don’t care. I’m out of here.”

 

He turns and starts walking away angrily.

 

“I can give you a great opportunity to have some great fights.”

 

Daken stops.

 

“What kind of opportunity?”

 

He throws Daken a Pamflet. Daken gives it a short read-through before tossing it aside.

 

“Not interested. I’m no hero.”

 

Crimson zooms across the room to catch the pamphlet and appear in front of Daken.

 

“Listen young man. Someone like you won't get any benefit from a place like this. I think you’ll be better off giving U.A. a shot. There'll be plenty of young men and women with impressive quirks to go up against. It’s worth a try. Here, I’ll give you a lesson now. There’s a little hero in everybody, you just have to dig for it sometimes.”

 

Daken looked back down at the pamphlet. He aggressively grabs it out of his hand.

 

“Fine. But if I get bored, I’m leaving. That or I’ll try to fight you.”

 

Crimson gives him a big cheesy smile. Daken wasn’t joking, but Crimson’s genuine smile was still disarming, almost surreal for some strange reason.

 

WHOOP

 

Suddenly the scene is bathed in red and blue lights. Daken’s eyes widen.

 

“Oh shit! I gotta-”

 

Before he could finish his thought, Crimson grabbed him and lunged right out of the building. He carries Daken a few blocks away before setting him down on the street. Daken was left totally shocked.

 

“What the heck was that for?”

 

“Didn’t want my new student to get arrested. Bye-bye now!”

 

Before Daken could respond Crimson zooms into the distance, he looks back at the pamphlet in his hands.

 

This is stupid.

 

His face didn’t match his thoughts. It was subtle, but there was a tiny shine of hope buried deep in Daken’s scarlet eyes. He looked up at the trail Crimson left. He finally realized why that smile felt so strange.

 

I don’t see smiles like that often…

 

…

 

Daken still looked up at his opponent. Karasu’s joy was bottomless at this point. He began to cackle uncontrollably while still launching a flurry of attacks down at Daken, who was just as trapped as before.

 

What Crimson would do…

 

He looks up with a big smile on his face.

 

He wouldn’t give up!

 

He begins sprinting towards the wall of the Mall. Karasu tracks him while continuing to launch attacks.

 

He do something crazy, so crazy no one could predict it!

 

He launches himself into the air as high as he can, while he goes impressively far, he still is barely halfway to Karasu’s height. Daken lands on a tiny ledge on the side of the building. He braces himself.  He launches off the wall at a 45-degree angle, pushing with enough force to tear up his legs and crack the wall's concrete. Karasu’s eyes widen as Daken flies towards him with his arm ready.

 

And… he’d win!

 

Daken swings his fist right at Karasu’s head, but he strikes nothing.

 

Wha-

 

Karasu simply fell through the platform of birds he stood on, avoiding Daken's strike.

 

Oh shit.

 

Karasu swings himself back, kicking into the air. The kick brings with it a massive blast of birds that smack into Daken and smash him into the ground, rupturing the concrete below. Daken was left in the crater, clinging to consciousness as much as he could. Karasu smiles deviously.

 

Inside the mall, Youta looked up at the impossible beast before him. The Bear was built like a pickup truck, except made of muscles and not steel. The creature made eye contact with him. Its eyes were impossibly small compared to its huge face. 

 

W-what the-

 

In a terrifying move, the beast stood on its hind legs, looming 10 feet over Youta. Youta’s body froze again. Suddenly one of the bear's arms began to warp and shift, in an instant, it grew to massive proportions, nearly the size of the rest of the bear's body, the muscles and claws of the arm grew at the same rate, leading to an inconceivable mass of danger. The beast swings its monstrous arm at an alarming speed. Youta had the chance to lift his sword and attempt to block it.

 

SNAP

 

Immediately the colossal power behind the attack snapped Onimaru like a twig. 

 

Youta didn’t even start to process that before the attack launched him into the air, he flew across the mall, smashing into a fountain. Water splashes everywhere as the rim of the fountain shatters, causing water to begin pouring out.

 

Youta lay with his head and shoulders just barely sticking out of the water. He felt a numbing pain across his body, and the wind was knocked out of him. He managed a few, choking breaths, just barely getting enough oxygen to stay conscious. He couldn’t figure out what was broken, he couldn’t even tell if his arms were still there. The beast’s arm shrinks back to its original size as it starts to make its way to its victim. Youta didn’t even focus on it, instead staring at the top half of Onimaru lying on the ground. He felt his eyes watering, though it may have been blood from his head pouring into his eyes.

 

Onimaru…

 

He finds himself lost in thought. Memories from throughout his life begin playing in his mind. He sees himself as a child, walking into his mother's room to see her crying alone.

 

Dad left before I was born. He lives in the U.S. He’s super famous over there, he’s a hero actually. He pays mom to pretend I don’t exist. He doesn’t pay very much. She doesn’t like to talk about it, but I know it hurts her.

 

He sees more of his life flash before his eyes. He sits with her watching black-and-white samurai films. He sees triumphant and mysterious warriors slash down bad guys, and he sees people pooling around them, celebrating their greatness. Later, he walks by a storefront. He sees a shining katana in the window. His eyes are filled with a hopeful shine.

 

He sees himself hiding money in a pillowcase under his bed, car washes, lemonade stands, lawnmowers, and any and everything he can do to work towards that Katana. While he’s saving, he trains with a wooden stick. Day after night he strikes and strikes, honing his technique. After many years, he finally buys himself the Katana. He cries with joy.

 

…

 

A bit later he walks through the streets, his head hung low, his feet dragged ever so slightly. He carried a large black case on his back, the kind of one you'd carry a large instrument like a trombone in.

 

Another high school down. That is the last one in the area too. What am I gonna tell Mom?

 

He has a moment of hopelessness, but it only lasts a moment. He forces his head back up with a smile on it. His step got a bit lighter.

 

It's fine. If I can’t go to high school, I’ll just have to find some other way to take my next step. I won’t let my goal end here!

 

He walked a bit longer until-

 

BOOM

 

A powerful impact shakes the surrounding area. He stops in his tracks. He waits for another noise.

 

BOOM

 

Another more powerful shake rings out. People in the area begin to run. He immediately goes into hero mode.

 

“Everyone, I think it’s a villain! Say away from windows, try to get to an open area!”

 

“Screw off!” Some random guy yells as he runs by. Youta ignores it.

 

BOOM!!

 

Suddenly a huge creature bursts from a nearby building. It’s a large muscular beast with pink tentacles spewing from its head. It stands nearly two stories tall, and his shoulders are wider than Youta’s body. This doesn't deter him, however. He throws his case to the floor and opens it. He pulls his sword out. The villain starts smashing cars and throwing them around like toys.

 

“What are you doing!?” Youta yells, trying to get an understanding of the situation.

 

“I NEED MORE! I’LL FIND MORE!”

 

Is he talking about drugs? He must be on something. I don’t think I can relax him.

 

A tentacle wraps around a nearby car and throws it down the street. It flies towards an old lady.

 

“Ma’am look out!” Youta screams as he tackles the lady out of the way. The car smashes into the ground with a resounding crash. The woman is left uninjured, but totally stunned. Youta hops back up with his sword in hand.

 

I have to stop this guy before he hurts someone! Now’s my chance, If I can win this I’ll be celebrated as a hero! He’ll have to come back!

 

He charges towards the beast with unwavering confidence. It turned his attention towards him.

 

“GO AWAY!”

 

He tries to punch him, but Youta weaves out of the way and lands a cut on his arm. His fist buries itself in the asphalt. Youta jumps onto his arm and starts running towards his head. A mass of tentacles go in for the attack simultaneously. Youta manages to cut one in half, he blocks an attack from another but a third smacks into him, knocking him off the creature, he lands on the hood of a nearby car, smashing a large dent into it. Youta’s body tenses up from the impact. The creature lunches towards him enraged.

 

“I’LL KILL YOU!!”

 

He flies towards Youta with blistering rage. Youta is a bit too slow to react. He braces for impact.

 

…

 

No impact comes. Instead a sudden flash of light intercepts. The creature is struck in the chest and sent reeling back. The light lands in front of Youta and begins to fade, revealing Crimson standing, surrounded by the crackling of electricity. Youta’s eyes light up with the familiar shine of hopefulness.

 

“Who are you!?”

 

“I’m Crimson Sun! The first official hero of Japan! Good job holding him off young man, but I’ll take it from here!”

 

The villain shook off the attack and stood back up to face his new opponent. Crimson scanned his surroundings. He spots a nearby construction site, abandoned during the chaos. A long sling of steel rope lies in wait. He looks back at the creature, who’s bubbling with fury.

 

“YOU GET AWAY TOO!”

 

He charges at Crimson, and with a zap of electricity, Crimson vanishes. The beast barely has time to look around before Crimson grabs the steel rope and begins running in a big circle, wrapping the beast in the rope at a wild speed, after a few blazing cycles, the creature is completely tied up, and he falls over trying his hardest to break out. Crimson simply walks up to him and uses his immense heat to melt the ends of the rope together. He takes a few deep breaths as he smacks the dust off his hands. Eventually, he comes back to Youta.

 

“Are you ok?”

 

“Ok!? I’m better than ever!”

 

He hops out of the dent in the car, beaming with excitement.

 

“I had no idea that Japan had an official hero! This is just like the US! Do you need a sidekick? You do don’t you? Well, I am right here! I’m gonna need to think of my theme. If you’re star-themed, I could be gravity-themed! It fits my quirk perfectly I’ll show you-”

 

“Woah woah woah, relax young man! I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for any sidekicks.”

 

Youta’s energy instantly fizzled out.

 

“I am, however, looking for students!”

 

He hands Youta a pamflet. Youta looked at it from top to bottom. It was covered in images of heroes and a beautiful campus. It said at the top-

 

“Welcome to U.A. High School!”

 

Youta looked up to see Crimson had vanished, rushing toward his next act of heroism. Youta jumped up, totally brimming with happiness.

 

“YES! I will be there Mr. Sun sir! I’ll be there on day one, I’m on time every day! I gotta go tell Mom!” He ran off, practically skipping.

 

…

 

A loud thud brought him back to reality. He still lay in a fountain, and the Bear had the time to walk up to him again. He still couldn’t manage to get up, or move at all. He looked back over to his broken blade.

 

Maybe my goal ends here…

 

Back outside the mall, Towa stared up at Obsidian’s monstrous form. He felt the urge to run, like the caveman part of his brain was screaming at him for facing down an insurmountable creature. Eventually, Towa raised his hands.

 

“I can't…”

 

He reminds himself of the day he met Crimson when all of this really began. His instincts screamed louder.

 

“I can’t stand by. That’s not what a hero does. That’s not what he would do!”

 

Obsidian’s form dropped slightly like he was disappointed in that response.

 

“So be it.”

 

Towa activated his quirk in just one of his legs and stomped with that leg. The leg was launched at high speeds right at his opponent's head. With a single clean motion, he kicked Obsidian in the head with every ounce of his remaining strength.

 

Crack

 

The attack left no impact on Obsidian, his mask was undamaged, and his head didn’t even flinch. Towa’s foot however warped and cracked under the impact. Obsidian swung his arm towards Towa so casually it couldn't even be called an attack. It still was enough to launch Towa a few meters to the side, smacking him against the ground in an uncontrolled splat, his body left sprawled out and disoriented. He lay there nearly unconscious, facing into the distance. Obsidian turned his attention toward him. His shaken head drifted in and out of consciousness.

 

I’m such an idiot. What was I thinking?

 

Obsidian took a step closer.

 

I hope Hotaru will be ok, Chiyo too.

 

Obsidian loomed over him. He raised one of his massive arms, casting a shadow that enveloped Towa’s vulnerable state. At the same time, the bear stood over Youta. Both young heroes faced certain death. Towa stared at the skyline in front of him thoughtlessly.

 

…

 

Suddenly, a figure materialized in his peripheral vision, or perhaps it had been there all along; Towa couldn’t tell. It was a woman, tall and ethereal, her presence shrouded in shadows. Her long, dark-bluish hair flowed wildly in the wind, obscuring her features. A sense of déjà vu washed over him. Slowly, she extended her arm toward Towa, standing there with an air of invitation. Unable to react, Towa simply stared.

 

The moment soon slipped away. The ground began to tremble, snapping Towa out of his trance. The woman dissipated. He and Obsidian look around as the shaking grows more intense.

 

What… is that?

 

The Darkness of the night began to be pushed away by the arrival of a light on the horizon. The wounded city was bathed in red light as a bright mass of energy began approaching. Windows and asphalt are shattered as it zooms toward the mall. The bear looming over Youta feels the shaking too, and it’s distracted along with everyone else. A feeling of dread washed over Karasu, stopping him from laughing. Daken smiled.

 

“Took you long enough.” He says, with a genuine smile.

 

The light flies at blistering speed right towards one of the walls of the mall. It zooms past Karasu, carrying with it a blast of air that blasted his formation apart. Birds are pushed in all directions, forcing Karasu to fall towards the ground. Daken takes the opportunity to charge forward. Karasu manages to use a handful of birds to block Daken’s attack as much as he can. Daken blasts through the birds and buries his fist in Karasu’s stomach. He spits up as he's thrown backward.

 

The Light continues, it smashes through one of the walls with enough energy and heat to literally melt the concrete. The light flies into the lobby and cracks the bear in the head, launching it across the lobby and smashing it into a nearby storefront. The light continues through the opposite wall of the building, flying back out of the mall and blasting into Obsidian. The impact launches him back at high speeds, he crashes into a nearby bus stopping him from flying even further. The light stops in front of Towa, who looks up at it as the figure within starts to become more visible.

 

 

Chapter 20: Light In the Dark

 

Crimson knelt, encircled by heat and lightning. He left a gaping hole straight through the mall, both openings glowing red and dripping with molten concrete. The electricity fades as he looks down at Towa. He is left breathing heavily for a few seconds as Obsidian shakes off his impact.

 

“It’s you.” Obsidian growls. Crimson ignores him, his gaze sweeping over the chaos and devastation that surrounded him. His eyes fell upon the remnants of smashed helicopters, lifeless bodies of police, slaughtered wildlife, and obliterated infrastructure. Finally, he looked down at Towa, who stared up at him with a tired, hopeful shine in his eyes.

 

“Sorry, I’m late.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

This MIGHT be peak. Here's a helpful college tip, DON'T get COVID right at the start of Finals week, gotta be a bottom 5 human experience

Chapter 21: One More Step

Karasu kneeled on the ground across from Daken. A violent tempest of birds separated them, but Daken could tell that he was seriously hurt. Inside the mall, the Bear slowly rises from the destroyed storefront it smashed into. And at the back of the mall. Obsidian stares intensely at Crimson, carefully watching for his next move. Crimson still ignored him. Instead looking down at Towa, who seemed to have passed out.

 

He’s hurt. Bad. The shock might’ve knocked him out.

 

He bends down and picks him up as carefully as he can. Once he’s held safely, Crimson zooms into the mall towards the front entrance. He drops Towa off with the few remaining cops near the mall. He zooms back in and grabs Youta in the same way, dropping him off in the same spot. Both were unconscious.

 

“Officers, please help these boys. They need immediate medical attention.”

 

The officers had no time to speak before he disappeared. He zoomed back into the mall. He noticed the Bear had risen and was moving towards him. It looked a bit stunned but was mostly ok.

 

Is this thing still moving? Any normal animal would be done for after that hit. It must be enhanced in some way, maybe it’s someone’s quirk.

 

He cracks his knuckles and his neck as it continues to approach.

 

“Stand down.” Obsidian states as he climbs into the building, immediately the Bear stops in his tracks. It turns around and leaves like it’s nothing.

 

“Crimson Sun. The one and only registered hero of Japan. We were expecting you.” Obsidian says as he stretches and cracks his knuckles.

 

“Looks like you’re that lava villain from that battle in America. Gotta say I was NOT expecting you.”

 

He chuckles. His posture was calm and unassuming, like he was talking to a friend. Despite being a large guy himself, Obsidian dwarfed him. Obsidian wasn’t able to take him seriously, but his logic overrode his immediate impression. Obsidian didn't budge from his battle-ready pose. At the same time, Crimson tried his best to look calm and collected while his brain rushed with every piece of info he could muster on his opponent. Both had the same thought at the same time.

 

He may be powerful, but he’s one man.

 

Everything went silent for a moment. In that instant, there was nothing but the Sunshine Hero and the Lava Villain, both waited for the right moment, any distraction, no matter how minor, to make their first move. Eventually, the minuscule crackle of Crimson’s suit started the battle. Obsidian blazed forward, swinging one of his massive rock fists right toward Crimson’s head. Crimson weaves under it and swings towards his torso. He's quick enough to throw his other arm in the way of the attack. The Obsidian gets blasted backward a few feet, keeping his feet planted, tearing the concrete below apart. The impact left a solid crack in his rock armor, however, after a moment it began to inflate and repair itself. In a moment, it was back to normal like nothing happened. One attack dodged and one attack blocked, an equal exchange. Everything went quiet again, the world itself seemed to wait for their next clash. 

 

…

 

The ground of the surrounding area began to shake violently as two huge forces began to clash. Adachi was still trying to cut through the metal legs of the water tower with the chainsaw. She had made it through one of the legs and was working on the second. Chiyo, Heyan, and the tiny tabata clone stood by Asen. Fukuro was still injured on the other side of the lava moat. The shaking reached Adachi, who began to lose control of the massive saw. After some more shaking, it slips from her hand and hits the ground below. It was already wrecked from the metal, but the drop made it break fully, the motor started smoking and the blade slowed to a crawl. The water tower was still standing.

 

“Uh oh.”

 

They looked around and scratched their heads, unsure of what to do. They looked over at the rest of the class. Chiyo turned to Heyan, panicked.

 

“Heyan? Do you have another one??”

 

“Um, no?”

 

“WELL GET ME SOMETHING ELSE! QUICK!

 

“Yeahyeahyeah” He starts trying to find something. Chiyo looks over to Daken and Karasu and feels another rush of urgency. She starts to panic until she feels a light tug on her skirt. It’s Asen, barely conscious. Chiyo’s panic was matched by her relief.

 

“Asen! You’re ok!”

 

Asen couldn’t speak, but she could help, she held out her palm and focused what little energy she had. More color seeped from her skin as light pooled in her hand. Eventually, a short sword appeared in her hand. The summon took everything out of her, and she immediately passed out again. Chiyo grabbed the blade and saw the opportunity.

 

“ADACHI! HERE!” She shouted as she held the blade over her head. Immediately Adachi appeared in front of her.

 

“A sword? Idk how to use that?”

 

“Just hit the thing! Like Minecraft!”

 

Their eyes lit up when Chiyo made that connection. They grabbed the hilt of the blade, aware that this was their moment. They glitched back to the top of the building and began wailing the remaining leg of the tower with the sword. Nowhere near enough precision to make a clean cut, but still, each swing hacked away a piece of metal. After a handful of whacks, the blade cut the rest of the way through.

 

…

 

Nothing happened. Chiyo’s jaw was left agape.

 

“Come on, Fall down,” Adachi says calmly as they deliver a soft kick to the side of the tower.

 

The loud creeping of bending metal began to ring out as the water tower slowly began to tip over. Finally, the sounds of snaps predated the huge water tower falling from the building. It fell for a few seconds before exploding against the earth, a tidal wave of liquid exploded in all directions. Immediately the moat was covered in massive amounts of water. An immense sizzle began forming a huge cloud of steam. The cloud devoured everything in the area. After a few moments, the moat was visible again, revealing a large patch of volcanic rock. Heyan walked up to it and took a few steps, it was totally solid.

 

“Yes! Alright everyone-“

 

He was interrupted by the crowd of people nearly stampeding him as they rushed to freedom. Chiyo rushed over to Fukuro, kissing her broken wing. Fukuro winced as Chiyo made contact. Healing green light brought with it a wave of relief as the pain from her injury finally began to diminish. She was still hyperventilating. Chiyo tried her best to calm her. She almost said something reassuring, like “it’s over now”, anything to help. But she realized she couldn’t. Through all the injuries she’s healed today, through the injuries she sustained today, she was totally spent, and she barely even noticed. She just sat with Fukuro for a while. At the same time, Adachi glitched back to the ground. They and Heyan worked together to help carry Asen away. It took a few moments for Karasu to realize what had happened. Daken smiled to himself as he watched the crowd disperse.

 

“No… NO!” Karasu’s already surrounded him, flying in circles at high speed 

 

I have to stop this.

 

He looks at Daken, who tries to take a step forward, but he falters. He stays in the same spot, his balance thrown off by seemingly nothing. Suddenly Karasu smiles demonically.

 

He’s exhausted. It’s over.

 

He raises his arms over his head as aggressively as he can. His joy is boundless.

 

“LOOKS LIKE I WIN. DEVOUR HIM!” He screams as he pulls his arms down. At the same moment every bird he had access to converged on Daken. Immediately they surrounded him, burying him in an opaque cloud of black. Karasu starts laughing hysterically. So many times before he’s done exactly this. And every time he hears the same thing. Through the cacophony of flapping and cawing, he hears screams. Blood Curdling screams. So many times he’s destroyed people like this. He waited to hear the same thing again…

 

…there was nothing.

 

 

In that moment Karasu sees something that shakes him to his core. He sees the vile silhouette of a young man being torn apart. Then he sees it take a step. His body freezes as the figure takes another. He hears no screams.

 

I see, he waits for his opponent to be exhausted to devour them. I can win this. I just need to take…

 

Chapter 21: One More Step

 

Daken feels what feels like ceaseless pain across his whole body. The feeling is less directly intense than the lava, but it’s far more widespread. He lets it wash over him.

 

One more…

 

His legs nearly snap apart, but through sheer force of will he persists. He has felt worse.

 

ONE MORE!

 

He takes one more step, he’s now inches from Karasu. With one last movement, he swings what remains of his fist right at Karasu’s head as hard as he can. Karasu’s face warps under the force, his nose snaps like a twig. Daken pushes harder. He lifts Karasu off his feet, smashing his head into the concrete below. Immediately, Karasu feels his body shut down. All he can do is try to hold on to his boiling rage. But it isn’t enough. At the same time, hundreds of birds fly in every possible direction. After a few seconds, they’re all gone. Daken stands over Karasu, his body torn to shreds. Bone is visible all over and his eyes are nearly fully exposed. Daken barely has the chance to think before his body shuts down.

 

Gotcha.

 

He falls onto Karasu’s body, passing out right on top of him.

 

Inside the mall, almost everything has been destroyed. Every storefront was shattered and burnt. Every stand was leveled, and in the center of it all stood Crimson and Obsidian. Crimson was panting, covered in soot and rubble. His Suit is a bit scuffed up, but he doesn’t have any injuries. Obsidian on the other hand looks totally uninjured. They both pace around each other, looking for an opening.

 

…

 

Crimson rushes in first, Obsidian raises his arms to protect his face. Crimson lands a few mighty hits on Obsidian’s arms, breaking away large chunks of rock with each blow. He continues until the arms begin to glow through the cracks in the rock. Crimson feels a chill up his spine. Obsidian plants his feet as he throws his arms forward. Each one releases a blast of Lava in a shotgun-like blast. Anything left standing from the battle so far was decimated. Crimson zooms backward, dodging and weaving through molten bullets. He nearly makes it through the tempest without injury until the very last second. A wad of lava scrapes against his right arm.

 

Immediately a visceral hiss rang out as it burned through his flesh. He let out a quick scream before the pain gave him a massive burst in power. Before he could use it against his opponent, Volcanic rock forms a massive shield around Obsidian as more rock plants him to the ground. Crimson blazes towards him at absurd speeds, carrying a heavy fist.

 

SMASH!

 

His fist strikes rock, and under the massive force, it splashes like liquid. Immediately the whole building shakes as Obsidian is blown back. A huge area of the ground is torn apart, blasting a hole through one of the walls of the mall. Crimson strains to take deep breaths. His fist pulsates. He focuses on his breathing until something pulls him back into it. Obsidian lunges out of the smoke, catching Crimson completely off guard. He slugs him in the face, bouncing him off the ground and forcing him to catch himself. Blood begins to spill from his nose.

 

“Hmm. Looks like they were right.”

 

Crimson took a moment to collect himself.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Come on. Put it together already. Why do you think they hired me for this job?”

 

Crimson began to put it together, but Obsidian completed the thought first.

 

“I’m here because I counter you .”

 

Crimson made the most serious face he had made in years. Blood dripped onto the ground as his mind raced. The night sky glistened with the lights of distant stars.

 

To Be Continued…

Notes:

Crimson has officially been injured. Things must be getting real. Happy 2025! I’m a bit late (of course) but I hope you all have a good year. My resolution is to post 20 chapters this year! Wish me luck.

Chapter 22: A Hero's Role

The pale light of the moon was overpowered by the harsh, warm colors of Lava. At this point, the heat had built to a point where everything seemed to subtly shift, and an orange-tinted light had permeated every square inch of the YGM. Thankfully, pretty much everyone had left. The civilians trapped inside had escaped and the injured students were elsewhere. The only two left inside were Crimson and Obsidian. Crimson wiped blood from his lip as he watched intensely for Obsidian's next move, who was reveling in his first leg-up of the fight.

 

I watched any and every video of you fighting we could dig up, and every time the same thing is true. You work in bursts. You try to end fights as fast as possible with only one or two bursts of power. The reason is obvious. You gain power from pain, but the strongest pain only lasts a moment. The boost from the attack I landed has already faded. This is how I’ll win. Nobody expects the monster to outsmart them!

 

Crimson said nothing. He simply breathed in and out as his mind was flooded with stress.

 

He’s smart. He really has done his homework. Suitichi and I developed my combat style, focusing on quick bursts of speed and strength. But we never anticipated something like this. To win this I’ll have to-

 

Before he finished his thought, Obsidian charged at him with another massive fist. Electricity flashes as Crimson weaves under the blow. However, the flash was a bit smaller than usual, and Crimson didn’t move quite as fast as normal.

 

What’s going on? A rare panic began to flow through him as he dodged more attacks.

 

“That lightning, it’s from muscle stimulators, right? I know about that too.”

 

Immediately the pieces fell into place for Crimson. The heat from Obsidian’s presence is damaging the stimulators, leading to less electricity, less pain, less power. Crimson just barely dodges a few more swings before he missteps. Obsidian lands another devastating blow, this time to his chest, which sends him flying out the hole in the wall. He flies straight over the Lava moat and lands in the middle of the street outside the mall. He lies in a pile of broken asphalt and volcanic dust. He lies there, numb and emotionless for a few moments before he snaps back into it. He pushes himself back to a standing position. He feels his chest.

 

I think that’s a broken rib. It’s been a while but I remember the feeling.

 

Obsidian lumbers out of the mall and ominously approaches. He walks right into and through the Lava moat with no issue. He walks until he’s only a few meters away.  Crimson glances at his surroundings, planning diligently.

 

“I see your face, you're trying to plan your way out of this, aren't you? It’s hopeless.”

 

Crimson finally showed some kind of emotion in response. He smirked.

 

Hopeless…

 

He looks up, passion burning in his eyes and a crazy smile on his face.

 

“Looks like you don’t know me as well as you think.”

 

Crimson suddenly dashes to the side at high speeds, high enough to catch Obsidian off guard. Crimson zooms towards a fire hydrant.

 

How is he moving so fast?

 

That rib of mine, it hurts pretty bad! 

 

Crimson's passion amplifies as he strikes the hydrant, instantly releasing dozens of gallons of water a second right towards Obsidian. He doesn't even bother to react. He heats up, boiling all of the water instantly, forming a huge cloud of steam. Eventually, he gets sick of it.

 

“STOP KIDDING AROUND!” He launches a boulder, stopping the flow of water. He realizes he can’t see anything around him. He begins swiping his huge arms through the air, blowing away huge masses of steam each time. He hears crackling electricity and bending metal from somewhere in the mist.

 

“Stop Hiding!” He shouts before clapping his hands together with enormous force, blasting the rest of the steam away.

 

“You say it’s hopeless,  you don’t understand my role.”

 

He looks up to the top of a nearby building. Crimson stood at the top, holding a huge truck over his head. He gripped the steel with enough strength to dent it with ease. A huge cloud of electricity shrouded him.

 

This will short-circuit the stimulators for sure. But for now, It hurts like hell!

 

“My job is to create hope. That’s what it means to be a hero!”

 

Chapter 22: A Hero's Role

 

With a final burst of gusto, Crimson throws the truck downwards right towards Obsidian. It gains more and more speed as it blazes downward. Finally, it smashes into him. He catches it but the enormous force is still enough to shatter the ground below and crack his armor. He began to lift it off of himself.

 

That was close. But it still wasn't enough!

 

He looked to the side to see Crimson falling. He held a ball of light in his hand, pulling his arm back as he continued to fall. Obsidian eyes widen. He takes another glance at the truck he's holding. It has a large, metallic, cylindrical tank attached to the back. A gas tank.

 

During your research, you probably focused on how much my quirk boosts my strength instead of how my strength increases. I don’t grow larger so clearly it has nothing to do with muscle mass. It instead fills my body with plasma. My hero name developed from that fact.

 

He held in his hands a ball of plasma. He ripped a brick off the roof and used the heat from his power to melt it past the gas state. The ball-shaped mass of plasma crackled and warped as Crimson pulled his arm back. Obsidian’s eyes widen. He begins to form as much rock as he can in the brief moment he had.

 

“PROTOSTAR CANON!”

 

Right as his stimulators stopped working, Crimson used the last shred of his power boost to launch the ball at blazing speeds right toward the gas tank of the truck. It melted through the steel of the tank. The reaction began immediately.

 

BOOM

 

A guttural roar of a shockwave rang out. In less than an instant, a huge fireball engulfed Obsidian. The blast obliterated the surrounding area, reducing the concrete below to ash. The cloud of smoke could barely stand for a moment until it was blown away.

 

“That still… wasn't enough.”

 

Obsidian blew away the smoke with his fists. His armor was nearly totally shredded. It was trying to repair itself but could barely hold together. He huffs and puffs as he tries his best to cool down.

 

He has to be burnt out too-

 

He looks up to see Crimson standing a few meters away. As Obsidian continued to pant, Crimson held his fist out in front of himself. Suddenly, we swung his fist upward, smashing it into his own face. Blood spurted from his nose onto the ground as a violent crunch rang out. Obsidian was racked with confusion for a moment, only a moment though.

 

He’s crazy…

 

Before he could react, the pain from his punch gave Crimson a powerful boost in strength. He exploded forward at blazing speeds. Obsidian had a near instant to react before Crimson stood before him.

 

“SOLAR FLARE!”

 

He swung the strongest punch he’s thrown so far. Instantly, Obsidian was blasted into a nearby building, blasting a giant hole right through it, and smashing into another building. Immediately the first structure shuttered from lack of support, after a few moments, the building collapsed under its own weight, blowing a cloud of dust and debris in all directions. Crimson fell to one knee, panting excessively.

 

This is the point of no return. If I keep fighting, it'll be too late Unfortunately…

 

Suddenly a gash appeared on his shoulder. Blood spilled out at an alarming rate.

 

The fight isn't over.

 

Obsidian rose from the rubble.

 

“Things have changed.”

 

 

He wore a new armor, the "Abyssal Juggernaut" It was slimmer and less bulky than before, but instead of rock, it was composed of plates of glass like obsidian. It was smooth enough to shine in the moonlight. One of his arms had a new weapon attached. A multiple-foot-long Obsidian blade with edges many times sharper than any steel blade. Sweat dripped down Crimson's face.

 

He’s stronger than he was against the Americans…this is the worst-case scenario. The organization that sent him here, must've strengthened him in a similar way they did to the animals. At this rate…

 

…

 

…It’ll be over…

 

To be continued…

Notes:

This arc is reaching a climax! Sorry for the shorter chapter. I bet some of ya’ll are wondering how Crimson stacks up against the actual cast from MHA. I’ve put thought into it as well. I’d say he's about as strong as endeavor, however, it's only in short bursts and it's very damaging to his body, so that level of power is not exactly sustainable.

Chapter 23: School Motto

Years ago, two young men stood in a large empty junkyard. It's deep into winter, so coats of white cover everything in sight. Moonlight shines through a flurry of snowflakes. A huge crash rings through everything as a giant pile of abandoned cars is smashed apart. A teenage Crimson stands in the center of the destruction. A few meters away is Suitichi, who is intently writing down a long list of Observations with a stone-dead serious face. Crimson on the other hand is beaming with excitement.

 

“Suitichi! Did you see that power!? And I’m starting to get used to the zaps. This is incredible. Now I gotta start thinking of my costume. I gotta make sure you can't see the wiring. Hmm…”

 

“You have much more important things to think about. You have to know this ‘Hero’ plan isn’t sustainable in the slightest.”

 

“Come on Suitichi, you gotta know that’s not a big deal to me. As long as my actions can make this a better place, it's all worth it.”

 

“Even at the cost of your life?”

 

Crimson smiled and looked down. He let out a soft chuckle.

 

“Is that funny? I can’t have you killing yourself for this!”

 

“Suitichi, what am I to you?”

 

He looked back up with a much more serious expression.

 

“You’ve asked me that before.”

 

“I know, but It’s a question that can have many different answers over time. I think it's important to ask many times. So what do you think?”

 

“You’re my friend Crimson. I can’t let you get hurt.”

 

“I’m your friend too Suitichi, but I can’t sit around and do nothing. No matter the cost. I have to help people.”

 

Immediately Suitichi felt pain from deep in his chest. He saw every possible terrible scenario play out in his mind. He couldn’t stomach a single one.

 

“I know I can’t talk you out of this. I don’t know why I even try. I’ll help you to avoid killing yourself. If what I’m thinking is correct, then the biggest danger to you is your own power.”

 

Crimson raised his eyebrow with confusion.

 

“How?”

 

…

 

Years later, Crimson stands face to face with Obsidian with burns, a broken nose, snapped ribs, a gash In his shoulder, and other injuries he couldn't keep track of. While his body was washed in pain, the power from all of these sources of pain was compounding.

 

This is bad. Real bad. He’s on another level compared to where he was in America. This is without a doubt the deadliest threat I’ve faced as a hero so far.

 

For a moment he feels the urge to run, to protect himself. But the moment fades fast. He sees class 1-A in his mind, and he sees Suitichi.

 

“I can’t afford to lose, Obsidian.”

 

“Heh, good luck.”

 

He raised his bladed arm into the air and swung it downwards at high speeds. The swing created a huge slash that cut and melted everything in its path. Crimson dove out of the way before it could bisect him. Obsidian charged forward, swinging his blade wildly. Every slash would blast a big gash into a nearby building, the street below, and any cars or trucks that happened to be in the way. Crimson used every bit of his power to avoid death, and every once in a while, he’d get in a punch or kick, but each time it didn’t leave a dent in his armor. The flurry of blows sends them into a large construction site, with multiple skyscrapers in construction in an area full of equipment, concrete, bricks, and everything else you’d expect. Crimson kept avoiding attacks until eventually he parried an attack from the blade only to be met with another mighty punch to the face, launching him further back.

 

“They were all right.” Obsidian taunts. Crimson kneels with one hand on the ground, trying to take deep breaths. His heat increases further.

 

“Every article I read was the same, ‘Crimson Sun Obnoxious and Unhelpful’ ‘Crimson Sun, does more harm than good’ ‘Crimson Sun, the Dreaded Hero.’ Do you really think you’re making a difference in this world? All you're doing is making a joke of yourself!”

 

Crimson gripped the concrete below so hard it became warped and misshapen. His heat kept amplifying, but with no visible source of pain boosting him. He looked up at Obsidian, with enough plasma flowing through him,  to make his eyes glow a deep red.

 

“Please, for your sake, get away,” Crimson says in a strained tone, Obsidian is confused and angered immediately.

 

“What the hell do you mean? For my sake?? I’m not the one who's on the ground!” He screams as he raises his blade over his head and swings it down toward Crimson. Crimson is reminded of a conversation he had at a snowy junkyard many years ago.

 

“How?”

 

“Look around you.”

 

Crimson looks around at the ground in his area. He notices there's a circle a few meters across with no snow on the ground.

 

“You see that right? The plasma your quirk creates is generating heat. Now someone with a quirk like yours has a much higher resistance to heat, but it's not an immunity to heat. Now answer me this, what would happen if you had enough heat coming from your body that it started to hurt?”

 

“I would get stronger?”

 

“Yep, and you’d generate more heat too. Which would hurt more, and then?”

 

“It keeps going.”

 

“Exactly. If that ever happens-

 

“I’d gain more and more strength forever.”

 

“Well, to be honest, I can’t be sure what would actually happen. Here are a few options though,

 

• You continuously gain power until any attack you throw out will destroy the earth, which seems unlikely, all quirks have some kind of limit, and I doubt yours is any different.
• You gain power until your body can’t keep up, and you disintegrate.
• You grow hotter and hotter until all your nerves burn away, permanently disfiguring you and destroying your quirk factor forever.
• You contain more and more plasma until you explode, basically making a mini star that obliterates the city you’re in and gives the rest of the country deadly amounts of radiation.”

 

The overdose of information made Crimson’s head spin. What he gleaned most of all is that none of the options were good, and most resulted in catastrophic death.

 

“Yeah, I know, It’s bad.  I already have some methods to avoid it though.”

 

“Oh thank god. What would I do without you Suitichi!”

 

Suitichi turned his face away from Crimson before answering.

 

“You’d die without me, didn’t you hear the options.”

 

Crimson lets out a long, heart chuckle. Suitichi gave a quick fake laugh, he stopped and just watched Crimson laugh for a few moments.

 

Suddenly, Crimson is back in the present moment. Obsidian’s blade glides towards his skull. He feels the intense heat within.

 

I have to win this. As soon as possible.

 

He lunges backward with such intense speed that Obsidian can barely track his movement.

 

How can he still be moving so fast-

 

Before he could finish his thought, three mighty blows landed on his armor. Together they left a small set of cracks on his armor as he was thrown a few feet back.

 

He’s gone up a level.

 

“The public doesn’t like me huh? What a shocker. Did you expect me to give up because of that? A true hero doesn’t get caught up in the public opinion!”

 

He charges forward and lands another monstrous blow, blasting Obsidian backward even further.

 

“When I look around me…”

 

He sees the hopeful faces of Class 1-A, along with Suitichi. He begins ripping balls of asphalt from the road below at blazing speeds, throwing them like a machine gun. They begin to pelt Obsidian all over. They didn’t do much damage, but their pure number was enough to blow Obsidian back, as well as stop him from fixing his armor.

 

“…I SEE PEOPLE WHO THINK I’M A HERO!”

 

Crimson’s eyes dot across the battlefield. At the same time, Obsidian is fed up with the flurry of rock.

 

“STOP IT!”

 

He blasts everything in front of him with a massive wave of lava. Immediately the flurry stops. It doesn't take long for him to notice that Crimson is gone.

 

Whe-

 

He notices that he's wrapped in iron chains. Behind him, Crimson stands holding the other end. With a monstrous tug, Crimson shatters the ground below as he yanks Obsidian a dozen stories into the air. As soon as he can process what happened, Obsidian melts through the chains. He's still flying upwards at high speeds.

 

“HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL FIGHTING!?”

 

“That’s my challenge as a hero. When other people say they can’t go on, I have to push another step forward!”

 

He has a sudden flash of inspiration, more of Suitichi’s words play in his mind.

 

“U.A. needs a Motto. Something to tell investors and students to get them excited. Make sure it’s something that matches our philosophies. I only trust you to come up with it. Don’t make it something stupid.”

 

Chapter 23: School Motto

 

I got it.

 

He unleashed every ounce of his strength he could. Plasma begins to shoot behind him, launching him forward at mind-boggling speeds. Obsidian keeps flying at high speeds upwards until he’s zooming over the top of a building in construction. Before he has the chance to do anything, Crimson rockets through the building, up the backside, and appears above him. Now they both fly towards each other at monstrous speeds. Crimson is still yelling.

 

 

“I have to…

 

 

…GO BEYOND

 

PLUS 

 

ULTRA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Crimson’s blow brings with it a pillar of plasma hundreds of meters tall that erupts into the ground and up into the sky. The building below is vaporized instantly and the clouds in the sky are blown away. Light fills the city.

 

Inside the pillar of heat, Obsidian desperately tried to stay together. He grabbed Crimson’s wrist and tried to push his blade through the chaos. It took only a moment for him to realize the blade was disappearing, along with the rest of his armor.

 

There’s no way… he’s… evaporating my armor!? How much heat is he making!!

 

Obsidian had no time to react before he blasted into the ground. His armor shatters as the impact shakes through the city. Buildings shake and windows shatter. Chiyo is still sitting with Fukuro, she and everyone else in the area look towards the blinding light from downtown. Towa lay on a stretcher being wheeled into an ambulance. The blinding light stops every first responder in their tracks. Towa cracks one eye open and sees a light as blinding as the Sun. Despite being so exhausted and injured he couldn’t even really process what he was seeing, he still cracked a tiny smile.

 

…

 

…After a few seconds, the furnace died down. The world seemed to take a deep breath. Crimson stands over the giant crater where the construction building used to be. Around him all the steel beams and metallic equipment had been partially melted, one side of them pouring to the ground like a modern art piece. He almost relaxed before he realized he couldn’t. The pain washing over him was even more intense. He couldn’t move. He was still radiating energy even more than before. Plasma poured from his eyes like a faucet and the ground beneath him warped under the heat. It was only getting worse. 

 

Oh god…

 

To Be Continued…

Notes:

PLUS ULTRAAA!!! I listened to "You Say Run" as I wrote this and it made me shed a tear I was overcome with emotion. That song is literally peak. Probably my favorite art so far in this chapter. Let's hope Crimson is ok!

Chapter 24: Sunrise

“MONSTER!”

“FREAK!”

“VILLAIN!”

“MAGMAROK!”

“DEMON!”

“BEAST!”

 

I’ve been given so many names, not one fits who I am.

 

Obsidian’s memories pass through his mind like a river, most were people running or fighting while screaming one of those names.

 

Even Obsidian…

 

He sees the leader of the organization that hired him, a tall shadowy figure with a lab coat and an empty smile.

 

“From now on, you are a tool of the Evolution Front. You’ll go by Obsidian. Thank you for your service.”

 

That name made me nothing but a tool. Something to point towards something they want dead.  For my whole life… The real me has never been seen. All they ever see is the creature on the outside.

 

Suddenly something snapped him out of his trance. Intense heat coming from a few meters away. Crimson stood nearby, radiating energy like a mini star. The pain made it hard to move, and harder to think. He uses all his strength to move his arm to his chest. In a hidden compartment in his suit, was a large syringe made of jet-black metal. He grabbed it. Every move filled his body with more shooting pain. Nearly unbearable. Crimson’s tears vaporized before they could even leave his eyes. He creeped the syringe up to his neck, before plunging the tip into his flesh. Immediately a powerful painkiller began to fill his bloodstream. He closed his eyes and simply waited for the pain to stop. After a few seconds of suffering, his pain along with his power began to fade. After a few more gasping deep breaths, Crimson had returned to normal. He was still badly injured though.

 

Suitichi is a lifesaver. Strong Painkillers in a tungsten syringe. He’s a genius.

 

He limped laboriously over to the center of the crater, where Obsidian lay in a pile of armor shards and chunks of volcanic rock. He went from feeling blinding pain from everywhere, to feeling nothing at all. He could barely even tell where his feet were, that’s how numb his body was. Obsidian looked into the sky with an empty expression. Crimson looked down at him with a smile.

 

“You almost had me there, you’re a clever fighter, powerful too. Truly a worthy opponent.

 

He shut his eyes and bowed, nearly falling over while doing so. Obsidian couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

 

Bowing? To his enemy? What’s wrong with him…

 

It took him a notice to realize tears were streaming down his own face. For the first time in a long time, the tears didn’t evaporate.

 

A worthy opponent huh… I like the sound of that.

 

The relief he felt was too much for his exhausted body to handle, he passed out. Crimson wasn’t doing much better. Bending over to bow was nearly enough to knock him out too.

 

I need to check on the kids…

 

Suddenly, a bright light shone into his eyes, he panicked for a moment, expecting another blast of lava or some other attack, but instead, it was simply the sun rising, on a tired night of chaos. The sight brought Crimson a bit too much relaxation. He sloppily collapsed on the road.

 

Chapter 24: Sunrise

 

Youta and Towa lay in the back of ambulances, being delivered right to the nearest hospital. The rest of the class is taken in too. The freed civilians hug their families as first responders tend to the injured. Firefighters start cooling down the lava, blasting it with multiple hoses. That kicked up a huge cloud of steam that coated everything. In the surrounding area. In the center lay Daken and Karasu, both still unconscious. Daken’s body had been slowly healing for some time now, but he was still badly injured. Suddenly, the nearby steam began to be blown away. A large drone-like vehicle hovered a few meters above. The body was similarly sized to a helicopter, but it was built like a 4 propeller drone instead. It was much quieter than any helicopter. It stops midair. Out of one of the sides steps a tall figure. He was muscular, wearing all black with a trench coat that almost reached the ground. He stares down at Daken and Karasu with cold, colorless eyes. He drops to the ground.

 

What is this thing?

 

He rolls Daken over, taking him off of Karasu and revealing his face. His relaxed face highlighted his youth.

 

A kid? Karasu lost to this kid?

 

He picks up Karasu’s limp body and tosses him in the back of the vehicle.

 

“What should I do with him?” He looks into the cockpit while gesturing to Daken. In the pilot's seat was a young man wearing casual clothes. He sat with his chair leaning all the way back with a retro Gameboy in his hands. He chews gum while not paying attention.

 

“GIN!”

 

“What!?”

 

“What should I do with that kid?”

 

“Kill him, I bet Karasu yapped to him and told him too much. He might be a problem for us.”

 

The man’s face grows darker as he leaves the vehicle and walks back to Daken. He stands there for a moment, staring at his face with an indecipherable expression. Eventually, he raises his foot over his head. 

 

…

 

He suddenly feels a movement behind him. He ducks an attack from behind and jumps a few feet towards the ship. He turns to see Suitichi standing over Daken, holding a yellow wiffle ball bat. Usually unassuming,  but with his quirk it becomes a lot more dangerous.

 

Thank god I was able to squeeze myself out of that meeting as soon as I could, And i'm lucky the trains were on time. A second later…

 

He looks down at Dakens injured body, he grips the bat a little bit harder.

 

What the hell? This all happened while I was sitting around. I should be ashamed. I’m here now though.

 

“Who are you?”

 

The tall man didn’t respond. He just stared at him with a deeply focused expression. He didn’t let one micromovement go unnoticed.

 

“Let's go. I don’t feel like watching a fight right now. Sounds like a hassle.”

 

The tall man quietly entered the drone. Keeping his eyes on Suitichi the whole time. As it began to fly off, Suitichi considered chasing it or attacking it. He looked back down at Daken. He decided he was more important.

 

Who the hell are they? A new villain organization. I haven’t seen any of them pull a move like this for a long time. What makes them so confident?

 

As he thinks through the options, the drone flies off, taking Karasu away.

 

This is just the beginning, isn’t it?

 

…

 

…

 

Towa’s eyes crept open. All he can see is a plain white ceiling. Eventually, he’s able to look around. A lifeless hospital room. He pushes himself into a sitting-up position. His whole body is sore, but many of his injuries are pretty much healed.

 

No dreams huh…

 

He turns to see Suitichi sitting in the corner.

 

“AGH! What the- Sensei Suitichi? What are you doing here?”

 

“Waiting…”

 

What is he waiting for? Am I in trouble!?

 

“F-for what?”

 

“For you to wake up, you were out the longest out of anyone. It’s been almost 3 days.”

 

Towa just remembered why he was in the hospital in the first place.

 

“How is everyone else? Are they ok?”

 

“Chiyo, Heyan, and Adachi only had minor injuries. A good night's sleep was enough for them. Fukuro suffered from a broken wing, but with Chiyo’s help, she’ll heal in a day or two. You, Youta, Daken, and Asen had more serious injuries. But all of you will be ok.”

 

“That's a relief. Wait, what about the people? Did anyone get hurt?”

 

“There were no civilian casualties, only minor injuries. Let me tell you this Towa, if you guys weren’t there, dozens, maybe hundreds would’ve died. You guys did something exceptional.” He says everything in the same cold tone.

 

Is he praising us? It was hard to tell with that tone. Plus he waited for me to wake up to get me up to date. Maybe he’s actually nice?

 

“This was one of the largest villain attacks in recent memory, and you guys were able to protect people. Needless to say you guys and UA as a whole are getting a lot of attention online.”

 

“Woah, how cool.”

 

Suddenly the door burst open. Chiyo stands in the doorway looking stressed out of her mind with bags under her eyes and frizzy hair sticking out of her bun.

 

“You…”

 

“Uh oh.” Towa manages to say before she lunges at him. She grabs him by the shoulder and starts shaking him back and forth aggressively.

 

“I TOLD YOU TO STAY SAFE! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU GOT HIT BY A BUS! HOW DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO FRACTURE THAT MANY BONES!?”

 

“I'm- So-rry-”

 

“Stop shaking him!” Suitichi shouts. She frees him.

 

“Sorry. But when I tell you to stay safe you better!”

 

“Ok ok relax. I’m alive, aren’t I? So it’s all fine.”

 

“I had to kiss- eh- use my quirk on you like 4 times!”

 

He rolled his eyes dramatically, she got even more pissed. Before they could argue more, Hotaru busted into the room right after. Suitichi sighed.

 

Finally, some familial love, that’s gotta be good for him-

 

She grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him even more aggressively.

 

“Towa!? Are you ok? Can you hear me, sweetie!? Do both your eyes still work!? Did-”

 

“CUT IT OUT!” Suitichi yells. Towa’s freed again, at this point he’s dizzy as hell. Suitichi laid back exhausted while Hotaru took a deep breath.

 

“Please be careful. You gave me like 5 panic attacks.”

 

“Sorry, Hotaru.”

 

…

 

Suitichi gets up quickly. “Chiyo. Let's go. I think Youta needs another healing boost.” He leads her out of the room. Right before he leaves he turns to Towa.

 

“We’re having a class meeting a few rooms over in about 10 minutes. We have important updates and news for you all. Can you walk?”

 

“Yeah, I think so.”

 

“Good. I’ll see you there.” He says as he closes the doors behind him.

 

“Now that he’s gone-“

 

She lifts his shirt and starts examining his chest.

 

“Did you get any scars? Are you sure you didn’t lose hearing? Are you”

 

“Cut it out! Hotaru, relax!”

 

“Towa!”

 

“What is it!?”

 

…

 

She began to tear up, catching Towa off guard.

 

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

 

She hugs him and squeezes him softly, trying not to hurt him as best she can.

 

“I’m proud of you too.”

 

Towa felt her fear and stress intensify. Like this conversation was only making her more stressed. 

 

“I have bad news Towa.”

 

He recognized her tone. He examined her expression. Her face was pale and her eyes couldn’t lock in on him. They kept darting away like she wasn’t able to look at him.  He recognized that expression too.

 

“What happened!?

 

She struggled to respond. Eventually, she couldn’t stop herself any longer.

 

“We’re moving! Again.”

 

Towa’s face was filled with horror.

 

“Does that mean…”

 

“Yeah. You have to leave U.A.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

Finally, the end of this arc. Crazy right? It took me way longer to write this than I hoped, I can only hope you guys enjoyed it. Comment your thoughts! Expect a new cover for the next chapter. A certain festival is on the horizon.

Chapter 25: Investors Meeting

 

 

 

Towa walked down the halls of the hospital like a zombie. The conversation he had just had with Hotaru had totally emotionally drained him, which matched how sore and exhausted his body was still. He tried his best to ignore it as he wandered the endless grey halls.

 

Where is this class meeting supposed to be?

 

He turns a corner to see Heyan, also wandering aimlessly.

 

“Hey, Towa! Wassup man.”

 

He put his hand out for a dab up. Towa didn’t know what that was, so he awkwardly high-fived him. To add insult to injury, he also forgot Heyan’s name.

 

“Hey… uh…bro.”

 

“I’m glad you're alright. You guys were fighting those crazy animals, right? Pretty badass. I was pretty cool too, I was fighting a villain.”

 

“You didn’t really put up a fight though.” Adachi suddenly interjects. Heyan jumps from their sudden appearance. He then processes what they said and turns red.

 

“Well, I-”

 

“Also, didn’t you just follow Chiyo’s orders the whole time?”

 

“Well, yeah! But uh, I gave you that chainsaw, right?”

 

Chainsaw? What were they doing? Towa thought while they 

 

“Yeah, but Chiyo told you to.”

 

“Come on!”

 

Adachi kept teasing him as they led them into a nearby room. Inside was the rest of the class. Some like Tabata and Adachi sat on the floor, others were sitting in chairs they brought in. Daken was leaning at the corner. Towa’s eyes were drawn to Youta, who sat on the hospital bed.

 

“Youta! You alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m feeling great! Both my legs are broken!”

 

He flips up the blanket, revealing two legs in casts.

 

HOW IS THAT ‘FEELING GREAT’!?

 

“Oh—ok.” That was all he could bring himself to respond with. Crimson and Suitichi entered behind him. Suitichi was totally normal, but Crimson was wrapped up like a mummy, completely covered head to toe in bandages due to his numerous cuts and burns all across his body. His disturbing state immediately drained the energy in the room.

 

“Hello, Young Heroes!” He shouted through his bandages. He was a little muffled, but everyone could tell that he was beaming with energy, somehow.

 

“God damn Crimson what the hell happened to you?” Daken blurted out rudely.

 

“I was in an intense battle with a villain. I won, though!”

 

“It must’ve been that lava guy, he had to be really dangerous to do that to you. What happened to him?”

 

“Well, I was able to defeat him. The Americans came to pick him up. He’ll be in their prisons for a long while.”

 

“What about that damn crow bastard? Did they chuck him into a fire?”

 

Karasu’s mention brought shivers to most of the class, and rage to a few others. Daken in particular was fuming just thinking about him.

 

“Well,” Suitichi butt in while looking away. “He actually got away.”

 

“WHAT!? YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!!”

 

“Some of his allies picked him up in the middle of the chaos after Crimson’s fight. I was there, but I had to focus on protecting you.”

 

“UGH! I swear if I ever see him again I’m sticking my foot so far up his-”

 

“Woah woah! I know that is a bit infuriating. But I promise he won’t do much when he's up against me.” Crimson beams with confidence.

 

“Speaking of which, we have something serious to ask you all,” Suitichi intervened. “We are glad you guys are all physically intact, but mentally is a different question. Many would be traumatized by what happened. Heroism is a dangerous profession. Life-or-death situations like this are likely to happen again. Some of you may realize that heroism isn’t for you. There’s nothing wrong with that. If anyone wants to leave UA, please don’t be afraid to say so. Of course, you can bring this up with us in private as well.”

 

He glanced around the room. He saw nothing but determination staring back.

 

“Of course, I don’t wanna leave, my Hero career is just getting started!” Youta responded ecstatically.

 

“Are you kidding? This is the most fun I’ve had in years.” Daken snarked.

 

“I failed again… I can’t stop here.” Asen stoically answered.

 

“I can’t say bye to all my new friends! Plus, y'all would probably die without me around.” Chiyo switched tones halfway through her response.

 

“It was scary, but exhilarating too. I want to get stronger and save more people.” Fukuro managed the confidence to say that much.

 

“I got to play Minecraft in real life. It was cool.” Adachi said with no change in expression, confusing almost everyone.

 

Tabata gave a big thumbs up.

 

“I had my time to shine. I was the coolest!” Heyan confidently spouted.”

 

“Followed orders from Chiyo” Adachi quietly said out the side of their mouth.

 

“Shut it!”

 

“Ok ok, quiet down,” Suitichi interjected. “What about you Towa?”

 

While everyone answered one by one, Towa was lost in thought. He thought about Hotaru, Crimson, Youta, Chiyo, U.A., and finally, the mysterious women he keeps having visions of.

 

“I don’t want it to end here.”

 

Crimson smiles as he looks through the confident faces of the class.

 

The Evolution Front made a huge mistake. This class got a taste of reality sooner than most. Soon, they’ll be incredible heroes. Together we’ll take you down.

 

“So what now? We just went through a genuine battle. Do we have a next move against those evolution front bastards?” Daken seemed antsy for more action.

 

“Slow down, young hero. I understand you all are fired up, but truthfully, you guys just barely made it out alive. It would be better to keep a low profile for now and just train your abilities a bit further.” As Crimson responded, Suitichi looked more and more nervous. He grabbed his arm and turned him around. He tried his best to whisper, but the room was small enough that everyone could sort of hear them.

 

“Crimson, should you really be saying that? You remembered what happened right? I don’t think we’ll even stay open!”

 

“What!?” Youta blurted out. “What happened!?”

 

The teachers both turned around, noticeably sweating. Suitichi looks uncharacteristically scared.

 

“Well, you see-”

 

“U.A. is closing.”

 

A new voice came from the doorway; Suitichi feared the worst. They both turned to see Mrs Yuufuku standing in the doorway. Next to her was her right hand Resu, and behind her were a few security guards. She glared around the room with a sour expression. 

 

Chapter 25: Investors Meeting

 

The students were even more confused because most of them recognized her. Crimson was frozen with fear. Sutichi managed to get something out.

 

“Mrs Yuufuku! What a surprise! How did you even know we were here?”

 

“I own this Hospital.”

 

He takes a deep breath through his teeth, trying as hard as he could to not show how badly he was freaking out.

 

“That’s-“

 

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

 

“I-“

 

“I looked into what you are spending my money on. 400 liters of Mountain Dew? Seriously? Most of this looks like a frat boy’s grocery list!”

 

Suitichi glared at Crimson, who felt compelled to defend his purchase.

 

“It added to the atmosphere?”

 

“Then you blew off our meeting and wrecked my meeting room. Then, to add injury to insult, your students get into a villain battle, causing millions in damages. It was entertaining, sure. But do you know how much paperwork and construction I have to oversee now? There’s nothing, NOTHING less entertaining than that.”

 

“Yeah, I had to throw out the next month's schedule and start all over! Do you know how long those take!? Mrs Yuufuku is a busy woman!” Resu interjected, looking genuinely hurt.

 

“Shut it, Resu. But she’s right. It seems like you two did everything in your power to waste my money and disrespect me in every way you could.”

 

“We- uh-“ Suitichi was genuinely out of excuses. The class watched in horror as their teachers were torn to shreds in front of them.

 

“Got nothing to say, right? Great. You guys are done. Say goodbye to your delusional little school.”

 

Crimson smirked as she turned to leave the room.

 

“Wait!”

 

“What!?” She growled as she turned to face crimson. Her golden eyes smoldered in anger.

 

“What if we could get you the TV event of the year? Of the decade even!”

 

All the anger in the world couldn’t hide her interest.

 

“Go on.”

 

“I don’t think I need to tell you how big of an event this incident was. People all around the country are talking about U.A. Let’s strike while the Iron’s hot!”

 

At this point, everyone was lost. Suitichi caught up before anyone else. He’s reminded of an idea he shot down years ago.

 

“You couldn’t be talking about what I think you are.”

 

“You know I am.”

 

“Spit it out already!” Yuufuku rushes to the point, a bit of desperation peeking through her voice.

 

“I’m talking about a Sports Festival. A tournament of different games and challenges the students can compete in. We’ll televise it! People will tune in to see what 1-A can do! Think about it. If we can get this off the ground. It might be the biggest sports event around. You more than anyone know that sports haven’t been remotely popular since quirks came around. Imagine-”

 

“What a dumb idea!” Resu cut in, venom behind her words. “Do you really think Mrs Yuufuku has the time to spend on some random ki- agh!”

 

Yuufuku palms Resu’s face and shoves her out of the way, cutting her off mid-sentence. She's cracking a devious smile.

 

“The Olympics.” Literally everyone in the room was baffled by the implication.

 

“If I get the right games, and market it in the right way, I can make an event that can replicate the Olympics' former glory! Entertainment companies have been scrambling for years!”

 

Crimson stumbles over his words. That was quite a bit higher of a goal than he was thinking.

 

“Y-yeah!”

 

She starts nibbling on her thumb obsessively.

 

“Yes… YES! This is a good idea. You’ve got a deal, mummy man! We’ll talk more about this. HAHA!”

 

She turns and walks out while mumbling to herself like a psychopath. Everyone left in the room stares at Crimson, baffled.

 

“Crimson! I told you that was only plausible once we had WAY more students! What kinda show can we put on with just 9?”

 

“We're seriously gonna be on TV!?” Youta asks intensely.

 

“When is this gonna be?” Chiyo questions.

 

“What kinda games are we playing?” Heyan posits.

 

“HEAR ME OUT! LET’S DO GLADITORAL COMBAT!” Daken shouts with a concerning amount of enthusiasm.

 

“Everyone relax! I’m not sure of the details yet. But we’ll have to figure them out. We’re gonna have this sports festival. We’re gonna put on such a great show that Yuufuku will have no choice but to double our budget. No, quadruple it!” Crimson speaks idealistic ideas while looking off in the distance. He turns to the class, holding his fist out with blazing confidence. So intense that it managed to beam through his casts and bandages.

 

“If we mess this up, it’s over for our hero academy. But if we can pull this off, we’ll be unstoppable! What do you say, 1-A? Are you ready to shake things up!? The country, no- the world will learn about you!”

 

His energy leaked into the rest of the room. Everyone felt a sudden wind lifting their wills, everyone except for Towa, who looked more depressed than ever.

 

“How long until this festival?” Towa nervously questions, trying to see if he can even participate.

 

“That depends, Chiyo, how long until everyone will be healed?”

 

“Well, the most injured is Youta. He should be fine by-”

 

“TOMORROW!” He yells out, trying to manifest his recovery.

 

“Next week?”

 

“Great, in three weeks we're gonna make history!”

 

…

 

Miles away, back at the YGM, construction teams finally began repairs. Between the mall interior being obliterated, the crashed helicopters, and the multiple leveled buildings, they had their work cut out for them. The most direct destruction was the enormous crater left by Crimson’s final attack. Not only was it multiple meters deep and as wide as a building, but there used to be a building there before he obliterated it.

 

Hidden among the crowds of construction workers, cement trucks, excavators, and jackhammers was a single dark figure. The Reaper. He stood staring at the crater. His malnourished-looking frame was clouded by a large black cloak. Strong winds blew it every which way as he contemplated. His hand blades were gone, hidden within his flesh. He still had that strange gold ring floating behind him. One eye was hidden behind an eyepatch, the other one was dark and empty. It examined the destruction carefully.

 

What incredible power. That hero caused this. Whatever his quirk is must be a once-in-a-generation power. It has immense strength, speed, durability, the works. I need it. It might be the last step. Maybe I can finally reach Him . Then my journey to hell can finally be over…

 

…

 

…Too optimistic.

 

He looked down at his hand, it looked normal, but in his eyes, he saw it caked in blood. Blood of innocents, blood of the guilty, young, old, and anything in between. He saw himself standing on a staircase of corpses. Each person he kills, adds a new step.

 

A journey to hell isn’t something that simply ends.

 

“HEY!”

 

He turns to see a pissed-off contractor staring at him. He held a checkbook full of to-do’s and other tasks. He had left his post to tell him off.

 

“What the hell are you doing here? It's dangerous. If you get hurt it's my ass. You gotta go.”

 

The moment he turned to match his gaze, the man’s expression changed. He seemed to recognize him. His face was flooded with fear and panic.

 

“That eyepatch, that gold ring… you’re… the Reaper!”

 

He didn’t respond, he just stared with an unchanged expression. He waited for him to make the wrong move. They stood in a standstill for a moment.

 

“Do you have a quirk?”

 

The man was mortified, but eventually, he was able to answer.

 

“No.”

 

“Good, I don’t need a new one.”

 

They both stood there for another agonizing moment.

 

…

 

The man grabbed his walkie-talkie, desperate to call for help. He didn’t even pull it off his belt before he heard a distinct *Slice*

 

Suddenly, he was lying on the floor. He couldn't feel a thing. His eyes darted around in confusion for a moment, until he looked up to see his headless body standing nearby. It fell to the ground, and by then his brain was dead. The reaper stood with a blade sticking out of his arm. He released the blade and ended the man faster than he could ever hope to perceive. In the next moment, a gust of wind let him vanish back into the shadows. The commotion attracted a construction worker.

 

“What are you doing on the ground-”

 

He stops once he realizes what he's looking at. The decapitated body of his boss lay in a pool of blood. The red pool slowly creeps further and further.

 

“AAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!”

 

Screams begin to ring out. The Reaper stood on a nearby building, wallowing in despair.

 

You’re my new target, Crimson.

 

An hour or so later, news swarmed the murder scene. A handful of reporters simultaneously recited the only available information on the figure.

 

The Reaper, a notorious serial killer responsible for over a dozen murders. His victims include a seemly random set of gang members, criminal leaders, and civilians. Only a handful of people who have seen him are alive now, and he let every one of them live, hence his title. His quirk is a complete mystery. Some eyewitnesses say he uses multiple, but those accounts were promptly thrown out. To anyone's knowledge, such a thing isn’t a possibility…

 

To be continued…

Notes:

SPORTS FESTIVAL TIME!!! Now, I bet the clever among you are wondering how this arc is gonna have any stakes. Unlike the festival in the main series, where students are competing for a chance to get noticed by a hero agency, in this story those don’t exist yet. I am fully aware of that and have a few devious tricks up my sleeve to deal with it. Stay tuned!

Chapter 26: Spill Those Beans

Notes:

The end of many upcoming chapters will contain a piece of fanart from a few of my lovely artists I have helping me with the series. If anyone reading this feels compelled to draw something, just hit me up, and I can include it in the chapters!

 

Towa opens his eyes to the same dream he has constantly. He once again lays in a small bed in a room full of similar ones. He stared at the ceiling for a mind-numbingly long time. He tries with all his might to pull himself out of the bed, but no dice.

 

Here we go again.

 

He waits until the same rhythmic knock comes once again.

 

*Knock-Knock-KnockKnockKnock*

 

Just like always, he jumps out of bed and grabs the doorknob. Right before he gets to see what's on the other side, he wakes up back in his room. The good night of sleep he got on Luminance Day was a fluke. He was back to long nightmare-filled nights. He manages to drag himself out the door. Chiyo waits for him.

 

“Took you a while today, are you sure you're alright?” She said in her bubbly persona.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that damn dream again.”

 

“What dream?”

 

“Oh- uh- forget I said anything.”

 

He starts walking without her. Immediately, she wasn't having it. Her persona switched back to her sassy one.

 

“Hey hey, don’t hit me with that! I hate it when people do that! What dream?”

 

“I promise you it's nothing.”

 

“I dabble in dream analysis. If it's messing with you, you should tell me!”

 

“No.”

 

“TOWA!”

 

“OK OK alright. Jeez. I will."

 

After Chiyo had pushed enough, he explained his recurring dream to her. It took him a few blocks of walking to mention everything. The one thing he left out for whatever reason was the woman he kept seeing. She thought about it quietly for a while.

 

“Well, what do you think?”

 

“Hmm… I can’t be sure but-”

 

“You can't be sure? I thought you said you were good at this!”

 

“Hey! That’s not how it works. I'm not a psychic. Plus, I only said I dabble in it. Pft, as I was saying, recurring dreams could mean a few things. It sounds like the dream is based on some kind of memory, is it?”

 

“I wouldn’t know.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It’s kinda weird, so I never bring it up, but I have a serious gap in my memory. Hotaru adopted me when I was around 8; before that, I can barely remember anything.”

 

“Wait, what? What happened to you? Did you get some kind of head injury as a kid? Or is it a disorder?”

 

“I don’t know?”

 

Towa, that's crazy. You’re missing 8 years of your own life and you have no idea what is causing it? Is it young-onset dementia, maybe? But that appears at around 30, not 8! Was it a quirk that caused it? But who would do that to you?

 

“It might be connected to my scar.”

 

He runs his finger down the large scar under his eye. The skin there is rough and grey.

 

“I don’t remember where it came from. But whatever injury caused it might be causing my amnesia.”

 

“Holy crap Towa. This is wild!”

 

“Don’t make such a big deal about it. It’s another thing on the list of what makes me a weirdo. Kids in middle school teased me for it once they found out.”

 

“I’m not gonna do that. But I will say it's concerning. It’s possible the dream you're having is part of a memory you're missing.”

 

“But why that one in particular? Why every night?”

 

“It could be a memory of something traumatic. Maybe you're suppressing something horrible that happened to you. I can’t guess what it could be through.”

 

Towa looked away, placing his hand on his head as he winced. The conversation began to overwhelm him. He felt a shiver down his spine and a pain in his head, like a bit of dust was blown off a huge fossilized memory buried deep within him. He didn’t like the feeling.

 

“That's enough. We can talk more about it later. It’s giving me a headache.”

 

Chiyo cleared her throat and went back into her bubbly persona.

 

“Okay!”

 

Towa suddenly felt angrier. He stopped walking again.

 

“Why do you do that?”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Act in two completely different ways?”

 

“Wh-”

 

‘You ignored that question last time. You just got mad and blew me off. But I want to know. Why do you do that?

 

“None of your business!”

 

“Well, my dreams are technically none of your business, but that didn’t stop us from talking about them.”

 

His uncharacteristic aggression threw her off guard, shifting their usual power dynamic on its head.

 

“Uh- I… Why do you wanna know so damn bad!”

 

“Because I’m leaving UA! I’m moving away again. Hotaru’s rent is rising, and she can’t afford to live here now. The best option for a new apartment is miles and miles away. The only train I could take was destroyed in a villain attack years ago, and it won't be fixed any time soon. There's no way I can keep coming to U.A.”

 

His anger was so intense he couldn’t express it enough. The anger turned to tears that began to cloud his vision.

 

“I want to be a hero to make this damn country a better place, but now the world put a huge roadblock in my way. That's what it's always done to me! After this sports festival, I’m not gonna see you ever again. Don’t you think I deserve to know who you actually are? Instead of this mask you put on. What are you hiding from!?”

 

…

 

Chiyo was rocked with shock. Even Towa was impressed he was able to explode like that. It’s something he’s never experienced before. He wiped the tears from his eyes before looking back at Chiyo. A glance at Chiyo’s scared and shocked expression brought him shame. Suddenly, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. 

 

“I’m sorry. That was out of nowhere-”

 

“If you have to know so bad, truth is no one has ever liked me for who I am.

 

They locked eyes again, and almost immediately, they both looked away, red rushing to their faces. They both took a moment to breathe. At the same time, they both collected themselves enough to look back. Chiyo spills her guts.

 

“You’re right. I just forced you to tell me about you, you deserve the same thing. Everything started when my quirk developed. My parents were doctors, and suddenly, they had the perfect tool to save lives. I was never a kid to them again. I was rarely in school, and I spent more time in the hospital, saving any life I could. But it was never enough. No matter what I did, I couldn’t save everyone. At the same time, when I was in school, I had no idea how to socialize. I was too grown up, they said, what choice did I have? I spent every day around dying people. What kid wants to be friends with the girl who kisses dead people all day long?  Not a good enough tool, not a good enough friend. I can’t do anything!”

 

Tears began to stream down her face. She had never been this open with anyone, ever. She began to forget Towa was even there.

 

“I thought U.A. could be a fresh start. I thought If I was a hero, I could help people earlier, save more lives, be a better tool, and I thought if I acted as bubbly and nice as possible, I could be a better friend too. That's why ok! That's why I don’t want anyone to know I work at a hospital, that's why I act like a buffoon.”

 

She looked up at Towa, who was making a similar face to the one she made after Towa’s outburst.

 

“There. Now you know. Nosy jerk.”

 

Towa didn’t really think about what would happen once he got this far. He was unsure what to say next.

 

“Kids in our schools really sucked huh?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

…

 

Towa suddenly felt a rush of confidence. Maybe it was because he knew that soon he wouldn’t be seeing Chiyo again, or a myriad of other possibilities. He looked at this person he cared about, and saw her immense lack of confidence in herself, and was compelled to do something about it.

 

“Chiyo… you gotta cut it out.”

 

“Wh- what!?”

 

“You heard me. You have to stop with your pretending bs. I don’t want to know this clean and safe Chiyo who says the most generic nice thing she can at any given moment. I’ve met the real you. I’ve heard you make a good joke, I’ve heard you curse somebody out, I know you commanded a group of terrified civilians to safety. That’s the Chiyo I want to be friends with. Never change yourself to please people. Real friends will connect to the real you. The nice people at U.A. will like you for who you are.”

 

Immediately, the wave of confidence washing over him faded away. A wave of embarrassment followed. He covered his face and sighed deeply.

 

“That was so cringe. I sound like a motivational post an old lady would upload.”

 

He looked back at Chiyo to see streams of tears rolling down her face.

 

“OH SHIT! I’msosorryIshouldn’thavesaidanythingimsuchanidioti-

 

“Thanks, Towa.” She sniffles as she wipes the tears from her face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

After that, they couldn’t think of anything else to say to each other. They commuted to school silently for a while. Eventually, they were a few meters from U.A’s front door. Chiyo figured out what she wanted to do next.

 

“Towa.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

She suddenly grabbed his tie.

 

Is my tie messed up?

 

She pulls him down and gives him a peck on the cheek. Immediately, she runs into the building without him, leaving him just standing there, confused.

 

I’m not injured, am I? Why would she-

 

He puts it together suddenly. Red floods his face. That’s definitely never happened to him before. He was fully thrown off to the point he just stood there for a while processing.

 

Uh- uh- uh- wha-

 

Suddenly, Heyan appears behind him, smirking.

 

“Heyy, look at my man Towa!” he says while smirking and nudging him over and over. Towa was still confused.

 

Chapter 26: Spill Those Beans

 

To be continued…

 

FANART SPOTLIGHT:

Class 1-A doodles by xen_ofc

 

Notes:

A slower chapter, but an important one for Towa and Chiyo's character and relationship. They aren't dating or anything; it was just a thank-you cheek kiss relax, Heyan. A small piece of the puzzle known as Towa Haruka has been uncovered! I'm putting my foot on the gas after this. The next chapter will be significantly longer and jam-packed. Shout out to BeanStalkInBlue for the awesome comments! I'm impressed by how much media literacy you have; you're reading me like an open book! (I guess this kinda is an open book)

Chapter 27: Sports Festival Intro

Notes:

The end of many upcoming chapters will contain a piece of fanart from a few of my lovely artists I have helping me with the series. If anyone reading this feels compelled to draw something, just hit me up, and I can include it in the chapters!

 

Towa was still dazed sitting in class. The kiss was just another thing he had to think about on a long list. He felt his head spinning. After a while, he was able to pull himself together enough to focus on the class again. He suddenly noticed Suitichi was late. First time he’d ever been late. The class was just as confused.

 

“This is pretty late for Suitichi Sensei. Y’all think he’s ok?” Chiyo questioned.

 

“Hopefully. I have a ton of questions about the sports festival.” Asen responded.

 

Towa noticed Youta, who was being uncharacteristically quiet.

 

“Hey, Youta, how are your legs?”

 

Youta’s eyes subtly lit up, Towa’s words woke him from some sort of trance.

 

“Oh, Towa. Yeah, they’re doing great. I feel better than ever.” His characteristic enthusiasm didn’t return. Towa couldn’t help but be worried.

 

“You seem down. You alright?”

 

“Nah, I’m doing great!” His positive attitude was notably artificial. 

 

“It’s just, my sword got broken at the YGM. It’s bumming me out a little bit.”

 

“Your sword?”

 

Towa looked down at his belt line. He still had his sword sheath at his side, but it was empty. Nothing but a void remained, reminding him of what was now gone. Youta felt his gaze, and it sank him slightly more into sadness.

 

“That sucks man I'm sorry-”

 

“I don't need any sympathy. A true hero doesn't need a fancy tool to do what he needs to do.”

 

He averted eye contact. Towa could still hear him sniffling. He decided he shouldn’t press him anymore. Breaking the awkward silence was Suitichi barging in ten minutes late with eyebags multiple degrees worse than usual.

 

“Sir, are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine, just a bit tired. How are all of you doing?

 

Everyone nodded and murmured something like “I'm fine.”

 

“Good, good to hear.”

 

…

 

His head suddenly felt really heavy. It sank towards his desk before shooting back up. He looked around like he had just realized this wasn’t a dream.

 

“Crimson and I spent three all-nighters preparing for the sports festival. I hope you guys appreciate how much thought and time we’re putting into this.”

 

“Speaking of the Festival, I have a lot of questions, I’m sure a lot of the class does too.” Youta brought himself to posit.

 

“Great news! We have a lot of answers for you!”

 

Crimson bursts in, beaming with energy. He was still covered in bandages, a bit less than before but still an insane amount. His eyes were visible now, and they too had thick bags underneath despite his energy.

 

“Me and Suitichi worked hard to iron out the entire sports festival event, location, events, ticket prices, and everything in between! But we’re ready to answer any questions you guys might have.

 

Most of the class raised their hands.

 

“Youta, you go first.”

 

“What kind of games should we be expecting? What skills will be challenged?

 

“Good question. As you likely remember, the purpose of this festival is to entertain and keep our school open. For that purpose, the games will be a surprise until the day of. What we can say is that a majority of the games will be combat-focused. Chiyo?”

 

“Is there a prize for winning?”

 

“There is not. We thought that would be unfair for students who don't excel in combat.”

 

She sighed in relief, she definitely wasn't confident in her odds in battle. Crimson pointed at Adachi.

 

“Can my family come?”

 

“Of course, other people will have to buy a ticket, but families get in for free. It’s also airing on one of the Yuufuku channels if anyone wants to tune in.”

 

“Oh. Oh no.” Adachi quietly says to themselves ominously. A shiver rolls up their spine.

 

“Asen!”

 

“Sir, will we be spending the upcoming weeks in training?”

 

“Absolutely. It’s only a few weeks until the festival, and until then, I will be stepping up our training. I’ll be focussing on combat of course, but we’ll do some practice with disaster rescue as well. I’ll be doing more 1 on 1 training too. Don’t take this as a time to relax. A hero's job is never over!”

 

Asen seemed satisfied with that answer. It made most other people nervous. After that, training began. For days and days, the class honed their abilities in team exercises, solo challenges, and sparring with Crimson for 1 on 1 lessons. Some even trained outside of school. Asen especially trained at every opportunity. She had a designated training room in her house. It was like a personal gym. The room was enormous, full of state-of-the-art equipment. She held a simple short sword and faced down a sword hanging from a rope a few feet above her. She was already sweating bullets, but she gripped her blade in a combat-ready stance. With a few breaths, she swung at the hanging swords, sending it swinging backward fast as it spun even faster. In less than a second it swung back to her, and she parried it. It swung at her again and again, at unpredictable angles and at increasingly high speeds. She kept at it for a while, but eventually, it began to overwhelm her. She just barely ducks a slice and does a sloppy block that knocks her to the ground. She sits up and wipes sweat from her brow. She looks up to see a figure standing at the entrance.

 

“Only 33 seconds. I average 140 against two swords.”

 

“I know! I know.”

 

Her father, Shinka Daguchi, was one of the wealthiest weapon manufacturers in the world. He was towering, in height and build. Every aspect of his being was honed to a fine edge. His look brought no comfort, only a feeling of disappointment. Asen chose to avoid eye contact.

 

“Asen. Recently, you were attacked by villains. You fought well, but you lost in the end. You must be prepared for something similar to happen. You’re my daughter, your purpose is to surpass me; that is evolution.”

 

“I’m going to bed.” She wanted to end this conversation, she was sick of hearing it.

 

“You can rest when you feel you are done training. As you are now, can you beat me?”

 

She immediately looked over at him with a bit of fear in her eyes. She tried her best to bury it as she moved to a battle-ready stance. Sweat dripped from her nose as she tried her best to stand stable. Her father didn’t move. His stance was relaxed but impenetrable. He waited for her first move.

 

…

 

She dashed forward, fully ready to swing a sword at him. He doesn't flinch. Before she attacks, he grasps at his palm, grabbing a hilt and pulling it out of his hand. He held a large steel greatsword, forged to perfection. It was a two-handed weapon. Yet he held it with just one. She swung at him, but he blocked it with ease, moving his huge blade with impossible speed and precision. After blocking her, he swung back. Asen narrowly avoided it by leaning back and tried to attack during his follow-through. He caught her by the wrist with his free hand.

 

Shi-

 

Before she could react properly, he stabbed his blade into the ground and grabbed her leg with his other hand. He tossed her into the air higher than her height. She tried to recover as he grabbed his blade again. He swung at her as she was falling. She was just barely able to block the strike, but the force behind it was still enough to shatter her sword and send her tumbling to the ground. With a painful thud, she landed on her side. It took her a few moments to remember where she was.

 

“Three times.”

 

“Huh?

 

“If I used a second blade, I could’ve killed you three times in that exchange. Your moves are still sloppy.”

 

She lifted her fist and hit it against the ground, desperate to channel her frustration into something. She used all her might to hold back tears.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“It's alright. You still have a ways to go. One day, you will surpass me; that is the law of evolution. I’m aware that your school is putting on a public tournament. I’ll be in attendance. You must win. That is your next step. Understood?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Good.”

 

He sheathed his sword back into his hand as he turned and left. Not a sliver of emotion was detectable. After a while, Asen stood again, She pushed herself to try the sword training one more time.

 

I’m not good enough…

 

…

 

Posters and billboards advertising the event began cropping up. Commercials advertising Mrs Yuufuku’s newest television event, featuring the hero students of class 1-A. As the big day grew closer, the students trained as much as they could. Every day that passed, everyone felt one step closer to their ideal hero, all except Towa. The stress of time passing loomed over him; each day took him one step closer to saying goodbye to it all. His despair grew as the festival loomed closer. The stress flared his insomnia back up, his dreams haunted him more, and his sleep was more sporadic. Eventually, the day came. Outside the venue, a few hundred people crowded in to buy tickets. Most were unsure what they were buying tickets for; they just knew the students on the news were involved and that Yuufuku’s name was on it. Which was enough for most.

 

The class sat in a waiting room. Everyone had an expression that looked partly excited and nervous. Youta sat on a bench, holding a wooden sword. His expression emptied as he examined the blade. Towa noticed his uncharacteristic sadness.

 

A wooden sword? I guess his main one is still broken. That must be crazy expensive to fix. Even Youta isn’t immune to money problems. I wonder, is something mundane like that in the way of everyone’s journey? This world isn't fair.

 

Crimson entered and spoke some words of encouragement to the class. Towa was too zoned out to hear him. His words seemed to raise everyone else’s spirits. He led them out of the room. Towa stood up to follow with an empty expression. Suddenly, he realized Chiyo was standing in front of him.

 

“Towa, are you feeling alright?”

 

“I’m fine, Chiyo.”

 

Today's your last day before you move away, right?

 

“Yeah. It is.”

 

He stared at her, waiting to shoot down her attempt at consoling him. She wanted to force him to have a good time. Have him assert that he would like he did before the class met at the YGM. But at this point, Towa was so depressed that she was unsure that it would work. She was afraid of just upsetting him more. She looked away, overcome by a deep sadness.

 

“You should go and have a good time today. Don’t let me weigh you down. My path might've been a dud, but you and the rest of the class are on the way to becoming great heroes.”

 

She left as fast as she could, not letting Towa see the water pooling in her eyes. A few moments later. Towa stood next to his class in the sports festival arena. The field looked about 50 x 50 meters, and surrounding it were bleachers full of hundreds of people. They cheered, ready to see Yuufuku’s newest television event. Multiple Cameras surrounded, filming everything and playing it live for many more to see. Across the country, thousands tuned in for what was advertised as the TV event of the year. This included the family and friends of the class. Adachi scanned the bleachers, and eventually saw it, an area of seats full of extremely similar looking people, all super short with the same dark green hair, same as Adachis. They had subtle differences among them, but all together they blended together like a mass of green. They all locked eyes on Adachi like a pack of hungry animals.

 

“There you are! Adachi! Can you see us?” One of them yells as they all start clamoring and yapping over each other, creating a wave of noice directed at Adachi. They tried to avoid eye contect, blushing from embarrassment. Heyan walks beside them, baffled.

 

“That’s alot of Adachi’s”

 

“I don’t know them”

 

Hotaru sat in her break room at work. In the corner was a small TV broadcasting the event. She got a quick shot of Towa, wearing a face overwhelmed by the excitement surrounding him. She was devastated, blaming herself for every bit of sadness he felt.

 

Please, just manage to have a good time despite my failure. Please.

 

For a moment, the wonder of the cheers distracted Towa from his sorrow. It returned just as quickly.

 

Before I wanted to be a hero, I was nothing. I had no ambition, no strong feelings, my amnesia took away what made me human. But at U.A, I felt alive, I felt real. I don’t want to leave it behind. If only I had a bit more money. I could fix this. I could save me and Hotaru. I could get my dream back.

 

While he was lost in thought, Crimson stood up and grabbed a microphone.

 

“Good morning, Japan! You may not know me, but I am the first official hero of Japan, Crimson Sun! Me and my partner Suitichi started U.A. We’re so glad you all came to support us!”

 

No one said anything. The silence was deafening. Suitichi looked with anger around the room.

 

Looks like even this isn’t enough to get the public on his side. Wow, he really is hopeless.

 

“Ehh… Yuufuku! Would you like to say something? Please.”

 

He handed the mic to Yuufuku, who sat right next to him. Her appearance made the crowd excited again.

 

“Hello, everyone! As you kno,w I am Mrs Yuufuku! The brilliant mind behind many of the most popular game and reality shows of the last decade! Are you guys ready to see something really special!?”

 

The crowd exploded in excitement.

 

“You’ve seen these kids on the news, and you're probably wondering what they can do! Today, they will be put head to head in a set of challenges approved by yours truly.”

 

Suitichi raised an eyebrow.

 

That’s like her- take credit for the games we came up with. She’s a CEO through and through.

 

“And, I’d like to announce something brand new. I hid it from all marketing and news outlets…”

 

The class and Suitichi look around, confused. Suitichi looks at Crimson. He shakes his head and throws up his shoulders in ignorance.

 

What is she talking about? Is she adding a new game? Changing the schedule? Or is she planning to make this a yearly event? What curveball does she have for us?

 

She looks over at Suitichi for a moment, a devious smile crawling across her face.

 

Oh no.

 

“The Student who comes in first in this Festival will be awarded with….

 

TEN MILLION YEN!”

 

…

 

WHAAAT!?

 

The class’ jaws collectively drop as the crowd loses their minds. Hotaru spits coffee all over her break room. Immediately, Suitichi and Crimson lock eyes, wearing the same horrified expression.

 

“Yuufuku! We didn’t agree to that!’

 

“Of course, you didn’t. But I’m the one in control of this event, not you.”

 

Crimson looks at the students, his horror and shock being fully apparent. He grabs Suitichi by the shoulders.

 

“Is she lying? What do I tell those kids!?”

 

“It doesn’t matter if she’s lying or not. She threw in this curveball to pit these kids against each other. Just to make a more entertaining show. To her, these kids are nothing but a vessel for good entertainment. She got us.”

 

Crimson grips his fist in rage. He looks back at the students, apologizing with just his look of Despair.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

The students look around at each other. Suddenly, this isn’t a game for fun anymore. This is a duel to change their lives. Suddenly, animosity and conflict start to build between the class. In the center of it all, stood Towa, who’s shock turned into realization. He’s filled with determination as the cheer around him grows more intense.

 

With that money, I don’t have to move away. I don’t have ot leave U.A. I don’t have to give up my dream…

 

He looks around at his classmates. Chiyo is still too shocked to react properly. Youta looks down at his wooden sword. Daken smiles deviously, and Asen glances around with shady eyes.

 

There’s only one path to victory. I can’t treat my classmates like friends. The only way to win this is to treat my friends like the enemy!

 

Chapter 27: Sports Festival Intro

 

To be continued…

 

FANART SPOTLIGHT:

 

 

"Peeing Meme" by xen_ofc

Notes:

Things just got really serious. The Sports Festival has finally begun! It's one of my favorite arcs in the main series, and I really want to do it justice. I hope you guys are excited. I think the idea of a massive cash prize for the festival is super interesting! See you guys soon!

P.S: 100 Million Yen is about 700,000 USD. It's a CRAZY amount of money.

Chapter 28: Hot Potato

Notes:

The end of many upcoming chapters will contain a piece of fanart from a few of my lovely artists I have helping me with the series. If anyone reading this feels compelled to draw something, just hit me up, and I can include it in the chapters!

 

 

The shock from the reveal had died down. The new gravity of the situation had set in for the class. Many were overwhelmed by stress, however a few were able to push through it and think tactically, most of all Towa. He eyed his competition. While everyone was possibly a threat, he remembered what Crimson and Suitichi had said. The games were combat-based above all else. He knew the most dangerous obstacles: Asen, Daken, and Youta. Those four exchanged intense glances.

 

I have to win this sports festival.

 

He felt heat boiling from within him. It’s not rage; it's more like passion. An overwhelming, aggressive passion. This competition was brushing off dust from a darkness within himself that he didn’t know about.

 

I’ll destroy them…

 

His own thoughts caught him off guard. He shook his head, trying to dispel those overly aggressive thoughts.

 

I have to relax. This is still a game. But it’s a game I have to win. To keep my dream afloat, to become a hero.

 

Yuufuku signalled for the crowd to die down. She glanced over at Crimson and Suitichi for a moment, subtly flexing her oppressive power over them and their class.

 

“Today will feature 4 intense games. Each one will be more fiery than the last! Our first one will be… Capture the Flag! In this free-for-all game, the young heroes will compete for ownership of the flag. You’re gonna want this flag. Whoever is holding the flag afer the time runs out will be allowed to skip the next two games!”

 

Towa was silently rocked with shock.

 

No way! That’s like half of the competition!

 

“That’s right, no fear of elimination, far less energy spent, the winner of this event will have a massive advantage for the final event! Bring out the flag!”

 

Some Yuufuku employee walked up to the middle of the arena holding a flag, it was a bright red, flowing at the end a long metal rod, nearly as long as the employee himself. He stabs the flag into the ground, and with a bit of elbow grease he shoves it a few more inches into the sand. He begins to walk off.

 

“One more thing…”

 

The employee took a few steps before he heard a strange click under his feet. He looked down to see nothing but white sand. He shrugged and took another step.

 

BANG!

 

Multicolored sparks suddenly blasted in every direction as a firework exploded under his feet. The crowd gasped as the terrified man was launched a few feet away. began to sprint away. As he ran, he set off more and more mines until he fell into a hidden pit.

 

“The battlefield has been boobytrapped with firework mines, pitfalls, and other traps!”

 

The class looks over at Crimson and Suitichi with sour expressions. Crimson’s face is flooded with blush as he tries to come up with a response.

 

“It seemed like a fun idea when this was supposed to be fun!”

 

“Of course none of the traps are dangerous, but they’re just enough to make you wet your pants!”

 

Some of the class had a shiver down their spine, others were paralysed with nervousness. A few were brimming with excitement, and Towa was blazing with determination.

 

A few moments later, the nine students stood equidistant in a ring around the flag in the middle. The timer was set. Everyone’s hair stood on end. Hotaru watched from her desk at work, sweating bullets.

 

“Aaaaaaaand... BEGIN!”

 

Immediately, everyone began rushing towards the center. Asen purposefully ran a bit slower.

 

There’s no point in trying to rush in right away. Truth is, there’s one person who no one has a chance of beating everyone to flag early on.

 

Heyan stepped on a firework. As it exploded, he was launched to the ground. Everyone immediately began to move more carefully, avoiding any suspicious bumps in the ground. Fukuro simply flew over the field at a speed nobody could hope to match. In a few seconds, she was on the flag.

 

“How is that fair?” Heyan complains while dusting himself off. Fukuro dove down to grab the flag with her talons.

 

I have to do this! That money would set my family for life!

 

She grabs at the flag, only to notice nothing was there. Asen was even more shocked than Fukuro.

 

Someone got there before her!?

 

Towa grabs the flagpole out of the ground and moves it out of the way. Fukuro misses it completely.

 

Towa! He’s been so quiet I forgot he was even a factor! 

 

“Sorry Owl Girl. I need this.”

 

Chapter 28: Hot Potato

 

He quickly surveyed his surroundings, trying to find an optimal path. After only a moment. He launched himself to the edge of the arena in only two jumps.

 

He’s so fast! And he only touches the ground for a moment!

 

Asen turns and begins running toward Towa. Everyone shifts their focus to him. Towa was expecting that.

 

Now is the hard part. I have to keep it for the rest of the challenge. I made sure to run as far as I could from Youta. One touch from him and it’s all over. I have to win this no matter what!

 

The whole field shifts, every path suddenly leads to Towa. The first to reach him was Asen. She didn’t summon any weapons, but her huge stature was dangerous enough. Before she could do anything. Towa launches himself to a different side of the arena. 

 

Dammit. He’s too mobile! I can’t keep up. I gotta wait for someone else.

 

The focus of everyone shifts again. People are forced to change directions again. A few more traps are set off as people rush to him. His next threat appears.

 

“Nice one gloomy boy! You’re faster than you were before!” Daken stood before him now. He was blazing with energy and excitement.

 

Daken. No way in hell I’m beating you in a straight up fight.

 

He tries to find a path to a different side of the field. However Fukuro hovered nearby, at the perfect position to block his movements.

 

She adapted fast. Makes sense, they’ve all been training hard.

 

Try to get past me! Daken yelled as he dashed forward as fast as he could, shattering his ankles for the burst in speed. Towa only had a moment to react.

 

In that case, I’ll switch it up!

 

He activated his quirk, stopping Daken in midair. Before he could recover, Towa turned his head and blew as hard as he could. Immediately he was pushed horizontally at high speeds. He deactivated his quirk, landing about halfway to the center of the field.

 

That was a gamble. Luckily I didn’t land on a trap. That bought me a few seconds.

 

“You fool!”

 

He turned to see Heyan dashing towards him. He was already covered in soot, he’d stepped on more traps than anyone so far. He had a trail of random garbage and rubber duckies behind him. He held a huge wad of glue in his hands.

 

With this wad of glue I’ll stick myself to the flag, then nobody can-

 

Before he could make it to Towa or finish his thought, he stepped into another trap. This one wrapped him in a huge rope net. He accidentally literally glued himself to the net. He fell over, hopelessly trapped.

 

Shit.

 

Towa moved on immediately. He jumped to the center of the arena to avoid Fukuro. Once again he scans his surroundings. Suddenly, he feels something approaching from behind. He does a short hop forward, raising the flag over his head to avoid Youta’s hand.

 

“Almost got you there Towa!”

 

Towa and Youta stood face to face in the center of the chaos. Everyone moved towards them.

 

“You’ve been trying to avoid me, huh?”

 

This isn’t good. 

 

Towa and Youta faced off as everyone converged on them. Towa kept his focus on Youta’s free hand.

 

“Sorry Towa, but I gotta get that Flag. I could make Onimaru the best sword in Japan for all that money!”

 

I know that. But nobody here has the stakes that I do. Failing this means I lose my dream!

 

Youta suddenly swung his wooden sword. Towa used the flagpole to block it. At an alarming speed. Youta tossed the weapon to his other hand and reached for the flag. At the last moment, Towa pulled it away.

 

That was close. He’s so fast! I can’t tussle with him!

 

He tried to find a way out. Quickly, his best option became apparent. Before Youta could dash at him, he activated his quirk and launched himself straight upward.  He took a deep breath and blew himself back towards the edge. However, this time, he was blocked. Tabata split into a handful of clones and stacked each other shoulder to shoulder, reaching significantly higher than Tabata could normally. Towa isn’t able to dodge it; he crashes into them, falling to the ground about halfway to the edge of the arena. The Tabata clones fall everywhere around them. A few land on mines and other traps. Sparks and dust fly in every direction as Towa tries to recollect himself.

 

Goddamnit! Another person I underestimated. The training helped everybody. I wish I wasn't so out of it until now.

 

Before he can act again. The smoke behind him parts. Youta runs out holding his weapon, charging straight towards Towa with a burning passion in his eyes.

 

“I’ll be taking that!”

 

Towa prepares to escape, but in front of him is another obstacle. Asen charges him from the front, a short blade in hand.

 

I underestimated him. But this time I won’t. Come on! Try to launch yourself out of here, I’ll stop you!

 

Towa was overwelmed as both opponents charged at him.

 

There’s no way I can take both, I’ll lose! What do I do…

 

He quickly came to a decision.

 

I have to avoid Youta touching this flag at any cost. I know what to do!

 

Before his opponents could close in on him, Towa bit the bullet and tossed the flag into the air, high above his head.

 

What’s he doing!?

 

Immediately, Fukuro swooped in and grabbed the flag, flying it far from the current situation. Asen’s jaw dropped.

 

He gave it up willingly! Dammit!

 

“You're a clever guy! Anything to avoid me touching it, huh?”

 

At the same time, Youta, Asen, and Towa all change direction, following Fukuro. Asen’s head throbbed.

 

They’re all one step ahead of me…

 

She feels her father's judging gaze.

 

I’m not good enough…

 

Her resolve faltered as Towa’s grew more intense.

 

This isn’t close to over! I can still get it back!

 

Fukuro was rapidly approaching the edge of the arena

 

I can stay up here until time's up. I just gotta hover around the edge.

 

She glances down to see Daken standing against the wall of the arena. He was smiling ecstatically.

 

“This is awesome. Let me get in on this!”

 

He squatted down, and his muscles tensed. He launched himself upwards at an explosive speed. He jumped super high, but not as high as Fukuro. He was still up against the wall.

 

“Gimme that flag, Fukuro!”

 

He launched himself off the wall of the arena, destroying his legs even more as he gained even more height. He was barely able to grab the bottom of the flagpole. Fukuro tried her best to keep a firm grip as he hung in the air. He swung himself, trying to break her grip.

 

“You’ve gotten stronger! You still impress me!”

 

He keeps trying as the others keep approaching. Before they could get there, somebody else appeared near Daken. It's Chiyo, her hands were covered in dirt, and she held a mysterious object.

 

“Don’t you forget about me. Just because I don’t have a fighting quirk doesn’t mean I can’t compete.”

 

When the game began, Chiyo didn’t rush forward like everyone else. She instead knelt over and started digging with her hands. Now, she held one of the mines.

 

“I gotta fight smart!”

 

She tossed the mine overhand, right towards Daken. He smiled even more.

 

“That's really clever. Thanks for the help!”

 

He kicked the mine as it flew towards him. It moved a few feet upward before it went off. Exploding into a flurry of multicolored sparks right in between Fukuro and Daken. The boom made Fukuro lose grip; Daken, on the other hand, kept an unflinching hold on the pole. He dropped to the floor. His legs healed just enough to let him move again. Chiyo immediately panicked.

 

He didn’t let go!? What is wrong with hi-

 

Her thought was interrupted by Daken zooming past her. She was hopeless to stop him.

 

“Thanks for the assist, nurse girl.”

 

As he zoomed away, Chiyo was back at square one. She was filled with a hopeless sense of doom.

 

I’m screwed. This competition isn’t designed for someone like me.

 

Daken now held the flag. He sprinted along the walls of the arena. Towa was immediately nervous.

 

We have to get it away from him. He’s the worst person to win this competition. The only way to beat him is to tire him out.  If he can skip the rest of the games, he’ll be unstoppable later on. There's no way I can beat him in a straight-up clash…

 

He glaces at Asen and Youta running alongside him. Both gave every bit of their concentration to Daken.

 

But these two can. That’s what I’ll use to get the flag back!

 

Daken keeps running. Tabata tries to intercept him, but Daken just stops and spins around him like an NFL player. He keeps going. He stops to avoid a wooden sword flying in front of him. He prepares to change direction and run the other way. But Towa gets there first. He lands a few feet to his right. Daken pauses as he processes the new situation. In that time, Asen makes it to his left side. Youta heads towards him from the front as Towa and Asen surround him from the right and left.

 

We got him!

 

“You have to team on me? Lol.”

 

Asen charges him from her side. Towa keeps his distance, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Daken plans his next move. Before Asen could reach him, he dashes forward towards Youta head on. Asen is right behind him. Towa is totally thrown off.

 

He put himself in that situation? What is he gonna do?

 

His actions remain unchanged until his mere feet from Youta. Youta propares to touch the flag. Daken is ready for that. Right before Youta is upon him, Daken stomps on a certain spot between them. Youta’s eyes widen. He stomped on a mine purposely.

 

Is he crazy!?

 

BOOM

 

The explosion blasts Youta down, but Daken charges right through it, he keeps charging with light burns. Before he could make it very far, someone grabs the back of the flag pole.

 

“Got you!” Asen was just barely able to catch up because of his momentary pause. She had her hands on the pole. Daken did too. Immediately, the two pulled on each side of the pole. Daken near the top where the flag was, and Asen at the bottom. They were evenly matched for a moment, but soon Asen started to win.

 

I got it!

 

Daken starts to be annoyed as she gains more and more of an advantage. Before she could overpower him, A third opponent interjects. Youta jumps towards the center of the clash, hand first, ready to lay a finger on it.

 

One touch, and it's all over!

 

Right before he reaches it, something literally appears in his way. Adachi teleports in the middle of Asen and Daken’s duel. They halfheartedly tries to grab the pole, but to no avail. They shrug and give up. Youta is flying right towards them.

 

“WATCH OUT!” Youta yells as he zooms full speed right at them. He blocks his face as he zooms closer. They crash into each other and then crash into the pole. It's pulled out of Daken and Asen’s hands as the whole chaotic mess tumbles to the ground.

 

Asen was ready before anyone else. She recovered, picked up the flag, and made a mash dash away from everyone.

 

I got it, I got it! This is the home stretch, there's only a bit left!

 

Daken begins chasing after her. Adachi teleported away from the chaos. Youta gets up with no real urgency. He’s smiling.

 

“I win.”

 

He snaps his fingers, everyone makes a horrifying realization, the flag starts gravitating towards Youta. Asen holds on with all her might. Towa watches from a distance.

 

We’re screwed…

 

To be continued…

 

FANART SPOTLIGHT:

"Cuteiful Fukuro" by Marci

Notes:

Extra long chapter this time. Towa was highkey cooking everybody for a bit there. Spring Break is about to end so this speedy update schedule is about to die down. I'm well on track to post 20 chapters this year, I might even surpass that!

Chapter 29: Worst-Case

Notes:

The end of many upcoming chapters will contain a piece of fanart from a few of the lovely artists I have helping me with the series. If anyone reading this feels compelled to draw something, just hit me up, and I can include it in the chapters!

The crowd screams as the first game rushes to a conclusion. Asen holds onto the flagpole with all her might. Youta uses his quirk to pull it toward him. Daken was between them, rushing towards Asen, trying to figure out what to do next.

 

Damn you Youta. You’re not getting this flag!

 

Asen has a strong enough grip to keep a hold of it for a moment. Daken gets closer. Youta tenses up.

 

I’ll be taking that!

 

Youta puts his back into it and boosts his quirks' pulling power, yanking the flagpole right out of her hands. 

 

“NO!”

 

It crashes into Daken, bouncing off him and flying straight into Youta’s hand.

 

Yes! I did it! Victory is mine!

 

Before he’s able to celebrate too much, he takes a look at his prize. He’s holding the flagpole by itself, there’s no flag on it.

 

W- what!?

 

“Getting ahead of yourself there, pretty boy?” Daken spoke in a muffled voice, looking away from him. He turned to reveal the flag in between his teeth.  Youta’s jaw dropped.

 

He grabbed it in his mouth when it smacked into him!? What a psycho!

 

Youta charged toward him, swinging the flagpole around himself like a weapon.

 

“It's not over yet!”

 

Asen rushes in with just as much disparity as Youta. In response, he smirks and puts the rest of the flag in his mouth. His cheeks puff as he gets ready for combat. He ducks a slice from her, grabs her arm, and tosses her a few feet away. She quickly recovers and charges back. There were more things in play.

 

“I’m not done!” Heyan yells, hopping on one foot, still trapped in that net and covered in soot from all the fireworks he’d set off. Towa launched himself towards the chaos as well.

 

I hesitated; now there's too much chaos. But it doesn't matter, I need to win this!

 

Daken stood still in his battle-ready position, waiting for his next opponent. From both sides, Asen and Youta charged in, ready to rip that flag from his mouth. Heyan hopped, ready to embarrass himself more. Fukuro and Tabata weren't far behind, ready for their chance. Finally, Towa flew in, ready to take advantage of the chaos. Everything converged…

 

…

 

“TIME'S UP!!!” Yuufuku shouted, stopping everyone in their tracks. Towa landed on his face.

 

Oh no.

 

Chapter 29: Worst-Case

 

Everyone made faces of varying despair. All except for Daken. Daken smiled and took the slimy flag out of his mouth, holding it in the air. Towa cleaned the dirt from his face.

 

The worst person to win this competition…

 

“The winner of the first challenge is… Daken Tenshi!”

 

The crowd erupts in excitement. The wave of sound washes over Daken, who puts his arms out and soaks it in.

 

“Looks like I get to relax until the finale.”

 

He struts to the bleachers and sits down with some members of the crowd. A few start exitingly talking to him like he's some kinda celebrity, while others side-eye him and scoot a few inches away. He just took a deep breath and relaxed, ignoring both reactions. 

 

“AAAAGH!” Asen and Youta simultaneously scream out, their rage at their own failure made blatantly obvious. Asen still feels her father's gaze. Towa tries his best not to be held up on it. He starts preparing himself for the rest of the tournament.

 

I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I have to focus on making it to the finale. We have two more games. They could be anything.

 

“We’ll need a bit of time to prepare for the next game. Everyone, be ready for more action and chaos!”

 

The students go back to the waiting room. This time, Daken wasn’t there with them. They all sat silently for a long while. No one was saying anything. Eventually, Asen cut the tension.

 

“When Daken comes back, we’ll have to work together to make sure we tire him out. Anybody with-”

 

“And what, let you win?” Youta interjected, not afraid to let his rude tone shine through. The way he emphasized ‘you’ made it clear he was trying to say something more.

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

 

“What do you think? Everyone here understands the stakes. That money could change the lives of everyone here, except for you. We’ve seen you get picked up in a limo. We saw your shopping spree at the YGM. I recognize your last name. Your family is rich, insanely rich. Your father is richer than Yuufuku! You don’t need this money at all. You don’t deserve to win this!”

 

His harsh words cut deep. Asen was at first shocked by how much he knew, but immediately she realized how obvious it really was. She looked around the class. Most looked away from her gaze. She took that as them thinking something similar to Youta. She suddenly felt a new weight on her shoulders. Only one kept his eyes on her and Youta without shame.

 

“Youta. You’re pissed that you lost, we are too. Don’t take it out on her.” Towa suddenly interjected. Youta couldn’t respond.

 

“Asen, you shouldn't worry about deserving the money or not. Whoever defeats everyone else deserves the prize. You won’t have to worry about winning anyway, because I’m gonna win.”

 

Towa basically declared war on Asen and everyone else in the class. Everyone could feel the wedge this contest was driving between them all. But none of them could hope to oppose it. Asen couldn’t handle it. She turned and walked right out, not before responding to Towa’s declaration.

 

“Try your best then.”

 

…

 

She took a walk around the inner hallways of the arena. After a few halls, she came face to face with her father. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.

 

“Dad, I failed.”

 

“Perhaps, but it’s only one challenge. As long as you win in the end, what happens in between is irrelevant. I’m happy to hear the news of the cash prize. When you win this, it'll be your first earnings. The victor reaps the rewards; that's the law of evolution as well.”

 

She felt the opposing pressures from her father and her class.

 

“I had a talk with my old friend Mrs Yuufuku, the next game will require you to pick a teammate. Choose wisely.”

 

Asen left this conversation too. She walked past him without responding. It only left her more conflicted.

 

A little while later, the next game was ready. The students re-enter the arena. It’s completely different than before. A complex of walls, barriers, and other obstacles had been raised. They were plastered with a dark green camouflage pattern. The whole thing blended together until the depth perception was totally unclear. Yuufuku came back onto the microphone.

 

“The second event is… SHEILD PAINTBALL!”

 

Right as she yelled that out, A few assistants ran out onto the arena pushing carts with sets of multicolored paintball guns with matching armor.

 

“In this altered paintball event, the students will break off into teams of two. As the game starts, both teammates are shooters, who are free to shoot whenever and wherever they like. Things get interesting when one of the teammates is hit. When one teammate is hit, they become a shield. Shields are allowed to stay on the field, but they are not allowed to use a gun. They can use their body to shield their teammate, cause distractions, anything to support and protect their remaining teammate. When both teammates are hit, the team is out! The first two teams out are eliminated. The remaining two teams will move on to the next event. The only rule is no destroying guns. You have 5 minutes to pick your teams. Hurry up!”

 

The class exchanged glances, they soon started to break off into teams. Towa was struggling.

 

A team-based game? I wasn’t expecting this! Who should I team with? I can see applications for almost everyone’s quirk here. I also have to account for who actually wants to work with me. I picked a good time to declare war, didn’t I? I’m such an idiot!

 

Suddenly, a hand is placed on his shoulder. He looks up to see Asen.

 

“Towa, team up with me.”

 

“Asen!? You’re asking me? After what I said in the waiting room?”

 

“That doesn’t matter. Teaming up is the best choice for both of us, so our goals are aligned. Your defense and mobility are top-tier, perfect for a shooter, and my large build and reaction time are ideal for a shield. What do you say?”

 

It’s crazy that she's asking me, of all people, but she's thought it out. How did she think of that so damn fast? But I don’t see a problem with her reasoning.

 

“Let's do it.”

 

Team Blue: Towa + Asen

 

“Fukuro!” Youta shouted as he launched himself over to her. She couldn’t help but hide from his explosive energy.

 

“Let’s team up!”

 

“W-with me?”

 

“Of course. We’re the perfect duo! I can easily hit paintballs out of the air with my weapon! And your flight means you’d be nearly impossible to hit! Come on! “

 

“Ok…” There was no way he was ever taking no for an answer, so she just went with it.

 

Team Red: Youta + Fukuro

 

Tabata and Heyan were standing next to each other silently. Every few seconds, Heyan scooted a few inches closer to him. He kept this up until they were standing next to each other. For some reason, Heyan whispered to someone twice his height.

 

“Yo… you wanna team up? I got an idea.”

 

Tabata nods and gives a thumbs-up.

 

Team Green: Heyan + Tabata

 

The only two people left without a team were Chiyo and Adachi. Chiyo slowly trudged to them, looking dejected.

 

“Adachi, nobody picked me. I’m totally useless as a shield and as a shooter.”

 

“Nobody picked me either. I’m not really trying so it’s fair enough.”

 

…

 

“Let's team up then.”

 

“ok.”

 

Team Yellow: Chiyo + Adachi

 

With the teams formed, they all dawned their gear and weapons. The armor was thick and strong, but still left room for a lot of dexterity. Overall, the armor covered every inch of their bodies, they were mostly black with a few brightly colored accents, and their eyes were visible behind a thick piece of glass. Each player was given a gun and a dozen clips full of paintballs matching their team's color. After everyone was geared up, they were placed at the four corners of the arena, and for a moment, everything was silent.

 

“BEGIN!”

 

As the round began, every team started their strategy. Asen and Towa  began thiers as well. Towa thought back to the agreed-upon strategy.

 

We stick to each other like glue, watching each other's blind spots. When we face opponents, of course, we avoid anything we can, but the second we’re overwhelmed, you’ll start taking hits as a shield. Taking out other teams shouldn’t be a priority. I’m not a good fit for shield because I can’t see while my quirk is active, plus I’m a lot smaller. So until the event is over, I’ll dodge with everything I’ve got. Our plan isn’t anything fancy. I’m worried about what other teams have in store for us.

 

His worries are almost immediately shown to be valid as two figures appear in the sky above the whole arena. Fukuro carries Youta into the air. He was duel-wielding both his team's guns. He begins to unleash an onslaught of red onto Team Blue. They both start running, dodging the flurry.

 

“Why are they gunning for us?” Towa posits as he runs.

 

“He knows that we’re his biggest competition. Quick behind here!”

 

She makes an impossibly fast turn behind a wall, Towa can’t turn as fast, so she grabs him and pulls him behind the same cover.  Red bullets smash into the wall and splatter, painting it in red.

 

“He’s wasting all his bullets!”

 

“He must be confident he can take us out with this. What is he planning?”

 

The bullets begin to slow down. He shoots the last few in his clip over the wall, nowhere close to his targets.

 

“NOW!”

 

Fukuro lets go of him, he starts zooming toward the ground. Fukuro dives down, falling even faster than him. He isn’t remotely afraid, in fact, he’s smiling.

 

SNAP

 

As he snaps his fingers, one of the bullets he shot stops in midair and changes direction.

 

He used his quirk on the bullets, but how is that gonna help? If he’s in the same position it still won’t hit us.

 

Suddenly peices began to put themselves together in his head.

 

Only if he’s in the same position-

 

As he falls, the path back to his hand changes constantly, forcing the paintball to curve down directly toward Towa’s head. Right before it explodes against his helmet, Asen blocks it with a dagger.

 

That was close!

 

He makes another realization a bit too late. Four other bullets were also zooming towards him at different angles. He and Asen split, just barely avoiding the four other bullets. Youta’s assault finally stops as Fukuro catches him mere feet before he meets the ground.

 

“Perfect Fukuro, that must’ve got at least one!”

 

Towa sighs as the first assault finally ends. 

 

I had no idea he could pull multiple objects! Is it because they’re small? That was crazy close.

 

“Our first shooter has been turned into a shield! Drop your weapon, TOWA HARUKA”

 

Towa’s heart drops. He examines his body and sees it, a red splat on the side of his boot. Asen looks at him paniked.

 

But… our plan…

 

To be continued…

 

FANART SPOTLIGHT

 

 

"when that one homie is lowkey evil" by Xen_ofc

Notes:

Well, there goes the plan. They're screwed. School is beating my ass right now, so maybe wait till after finals week for any more chapters lol.

Chapter 30: Multicolored Carnage

Summary:

The end of many upcoming chapters will contain a piece of fanart from a few of the lovely artists I have helping me with the series. If anyone reading this feels compelled to draw something, just hit me up, and I can include it in the chapters!

Towa looked down at the red mark on his boot. He had been demoted from shooter to shield. Asen looked devastated.

 

“Shit! It’s my fault Towa. I should’ve blocked those shots with my body. I miscalculated and now our plan is screwed! I’m sor-”

 

“We’re not done! Stop acting like we lost. I know you’re not ready to give up, are you!? He shouted, his passion burning off him and radiating over to her.”

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

“That’s what I thought. We’re changing our plan. We’re gonna be as aggressive as possible. No one who tries us will make it out unscathed. I’ll be your shield, I don’t care if my whole body is bruised, I’ll block every shot I can!  You got that!?”

 

His energy had fully infected her. She grabbed his hand tightly.

 

“Let's do it!”

 

Chapter 30: Multicolored Carnage

 

Their declaration is interrupted by a crashing sound. Then another, and another. Each one was louder than the last. Asen and Towa prepared themselves. Tabata crashed through the wall nearby. Team Blue kept an eye on him from behind cover, trying not to be noticed. His thick armor made him even more imposing than usual. Strangely, he wore a large, plastic folding table on his back like a shell. He was an easy target. Too easy, both Towa and Asen were suspicious.

 

“I’ll look,” Towa said, hopping over the wall and standing across from Tabata. Tabata just turned to face him, he didn’t do anything.

 

He doesn’t even have a gun. What's the plan here?

 

He examines Tabata, glancing into the crevice between him and the table on his back.

 

That’s it!

 

Towa looks closely, Heyan is hidden between Tabata and the plastic table. He pokes his gun out of a tiny opening and fires at anything he can. The shots aren’t precise, Towa just sidesteps them. Asen suddenly peeks a corner on the opposite side of the wall, firing a shot right at Tabata. He didn’t make any attempt to dodge. He just took the shot right to the chest. He’s been demoted to a shield.

 

He didn’t react at all. I guess this is their plan.

 

“Tabata, ignore him, he's only a shield. Go after Asen!”

 

Tabata nodded before rushing forward. Towa runs beside him.

 

“Asen look out!”

 

Tabata charges right through the wall Asen was hiding behind. She wasn’t there. Heyan catches a glance of her running around a corner. He starts firing wildly as she runs. His fire trails slightly behind her until he readjusts, and a few green paintballs fly right toward her. Before she can avoid them, Towa jumps in the way, the paintballs pelt him. One hits him in the head, one on his chest, and one on his leg. Each one brought a short, but intense sting.

 

Those hurt! These are high-speed guns. I can handle it though. I gotta figure out how to defeat these two.

 

Tabata charged forward again, trying to push Towa out of the way. Towa jumps to the side and starts running along side Asen.

 

“Their defense is too good! Any ideas?” Towa asked as they sprinted.

 

“I got one.”

 

As they discuss their plan, Tabata chases after them, charging right through any set up obstacle in his way. They hear more shots from nearby, they assume its the other teams. Heyan fires more shots from his protected spot. Towa stops running to block them with his quirk. Tabats tries to charge into him, but is stopped by Towa’s quirk. He tries to push through it, with no success. Asen takes the moment of distraction to dash around them. She stops behind Tabata.

 

“Now!”

 

She kicks him in the back of the knee, and Towa uses his quirk to launch himself into Tabata’s chest. The combo is enough to make Tabata start falling on his back, and right onto Heyan.

 

“AAGH!”

 

Asen moves as Tabata falls. Right before he crushes Heyan, he splits. The two clones fall to the ground, Heyan lies exposed on the ground. He shoots at Asen, but Towa jumps in the way. Before Tabata was able to reform himself, Asen shot a single shot at Heyan. He was seemingly doomed.

 

“Summon, ducky!”

 

A rubber duck appears in the air. The paintball hits the duck out of the air. Before Asen could fire again, Tabata blocked her path. He grabbed her by the gun and lifted her off her feet.

 

“We got you!”

 

Towa grabs his gun and moves it out of the way of Asen. At the same moment, Asen summoned a blade in her hand, forcing Tabata to release her. She didn’t hold back this time, unleashing a flurry of shots towards Heyan. Tabata throws his hand in the way, blocking the bullets and pushing Asen away. He grabs Heyan and makes a mad dash away. Asen continued to unload in his direction, but he held Heyan in front of himself, blocking every shot. In a few seconds, they were gone. Towa gripped his fist and hit it against the ground.

 

“Damn, we almost got them.”

 

“At least we’re still in the game. Look.”

 

She pointed down at the table Team Green left behind. They both had the same idea. Asen used a blade to slice it in half, taking one of the halves and holding it like a shield. With their new tool in hand, they slowly and carefully moved closer to the center of the arena. As they moved, the number of red and yellow paint splattered on the walls increased. They grew increasingly suspicious at how quiet everything was.

 

“Where is everyone?”

 

“I don’t know. Keep an eye out.”

 

They walked back to back, waiting for any disturbance. They crept past a particularly dark corner. As they passed by, a pair of orange eyes lit up in the darkness. The figure moved with complete silence as they revealed a paintball gun. Neither Towa nor Asen had noticed them yet. They suddenly began firing at the duo.

 

The sound of gunfire reached them first. Neither teammate was sure where the bullets came from, Towa raised his hands and spread his legs while activating his quirk to block as much space as possible, at the same time, Asen blocked her front with her shield. The reaction worked, and Fukuro’s shots were stopped by Towa’s quirk. Asen returned fire over Towa’s shoulder, Fukuro quickly dove behind a wall, avoiding the shots. Asen and Towa dashed themselves to cover. They waited for Fukuro’s next move.

 

“NOW!” Youta yells out as he jumps out of his cover, he faced Towa and Asen directly and begins unloading at them. Towa jumps froward as Asen runs to the side. He takes most of the shots, but immediately notices something is off.

 

He was aiming for me, not Asen!

 

Three of Youta’s shots hit Towa in the glass protecting his eyes, he couldn’t see anything.

 

Oh shit, I’m blind!

 

“Sorry, Towa.” He dashes past Towa, firing the rest of his clip at Asen. She blocks it with her table shield, but she quickly notices Fukuro had made her move while they were distracted. She fired from the opposite direction. Two sets of paintballs fly at Asen from two opposite directions.

 

I can’t avoid these!

 

no…

 

Suddenly, Fukuro’s paintballs aren’t visible to her. Towa jumped in the way, now with no helmet at all. One paintball hits him right on the bare skin of his forehead.

 

NOT YET!

 

The stinging was far more intense without his helmet, but he still threw himself in front of the shots like his life depended on it. He blocked all of Fukuro’s shots, she backs off to play it safe. Asen does the opposite. Her shield in hand, she charges right at Youta.

 

She's charging me? And he took off his helmet during the match? Both of them are crazy!

 

She kept approaching as he considered his next play. Eventually she was right on him.

 

“You’re more vulnerable here!”

 

She’s close enough to aim his gun around her shield right at her. Before he could eliminate her, she swung her shield to the side, aiming his gun away. She aimed her gun directly at him. Before she could fire, he grabbed her wrist and moved it out of his path. They were stuck like this for a moment, both holding each others guns away. Towa charged into the fray to disrupt the stalemate. Some one appeared before him. A Yellow colored figure jumped out from cover.

 

Chiyo!? Multiple people thought at once. She aimed her gun towards the clash, ready to elimate them both.

 

I couldn’t keep up with Youta earlier, but now the biggest threats are holding each other off! Now’s my chance!

 

Fukuro tried to shoot her from behind, But Adachi glitched in the way, they had already become a shield, so they just took the shots to protect their teammate. Chiyo fires at Asen and Youta. Towa isn’t close enough yet. The chaos distracted everyone from the approaching sound of crashing.

 

Tabata sprints through a nearby wall, crashing right into Youta and Asen, separating them. He wears a replacement table, Heyan once again hides on his back.

 

“SMOKESCREEN ATTACK!”

 

Heyan threw a new item to the ground, a small, smoking gray ball bounced a few feet until it rolled to a stop. Everyone’s eyes watched the grenade intently. For a few short moments, time stopped.

 

BOOM

 

All hell breaks loose. Smoke explodes in every direction as every fighter starts firing wildly into the smoke. Youta, Asen, Heyan, Chiyo, and Fukuro fired everything they could. Towa and Asen go back to back and put everything they have into blocking and dodging every multicolored ball they can. Bullets exploded against the ground, and the walls, many flew out of the field entirely, and a few hit people. After pretty much every bullet had been fired, the smoke began to clear.

 

…

 

Asen and Towa stand back to back in the smoke. Towa had been hit over a dozen times, and Asen had blocked a dozen with her shield. Despite Towa’s aching body, he ignored it and checked Asen for any hits, then they looked around the battlefield. The entire area had changed colors from how many paintballs had been shot. Heyan and Tabata fell over again, crushing Heyan, to add insult to injury, he’d been hit multiple times in the smoke.

 

“That… backfired.”

 

They looked around more. Chiyo hid behind cover, she was still in the game. She started firing at Towa and Asen. Towa ignored his pain, and charged towards her, blocking even more shots. Asen was ready to fire back before she noticed Fukuro. She was crouched down, covered head to toe with paint. She was shielding Youta. He took a few steps before noticing Asen. 

 

They both raised their guns and fired at the same time.

 

Click click click

 

Both guns were empty. Youta quickly reached down at his belt. He had used all his ammo. Asen went for her belt too, her ammo stash was gone.

 

What? Damn, It must’ve fallen off when Tabata crashed into me. I need to find it!

 

They both glanced around. It didn’t take long for them to notice. Lying in the field of paint was a single unbroken green paintball. It was equidistant from the two of them. They glanced at each other, then down at the ball. A western standoff began. It felt like a tumbleweed was about to roll by. They had the same thought at the same time

 

Whoever gets this ball… makes it to the next round!

 

Simultaneously Asen and Youta dashed towards the central ball. It all rides on this.

 

To be continued…

 

FANART SPOTLIGHT

 

"Judging a book" by Xen_ofc

Notes:

Ok, it's been a minute since I last posted, sorry for the wait! I have more chapters ready, my goal of 20 chapters this year is still in my grasp. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 31: Gunfight Finale

As Asen and Youta dash towards the final paintball, Towa reached Chiyo, he grabbed her gun and aimed it up into the air. Now he was covered in even more paintballs. At this point, his face was coated in paint and bruises. Chiyo struggled to see his expression.

 

“Towa…”

 

She immediately regretted speaking. She suddenly couldn’t bring herself to talk to him.

 

“Sorry, Chiyo, you know my stake in this better than anyone.  I have to win this.”

 

She knew he was right, but she thought about what that money could do for her, how proud her family would be.

 

“If you let me win, I’ll help you! I can make sure you don’t have to leave U.A.!”

 

“Thanks, Chiyo, but I have to be realistic. If you advance, you aren't gonna win.”

 

She couldn’t stop her eyes from tearing up. He was right, and she knew it. She stops struggling. He just let go of her gun, allowing her arm to drop to the side. She looks away, defeated.

 

That quiet moment is happening at the same time as Youta and Asen’s chaotic clash. The lone paintball rests in between them. Asen is one step closer, but before she can reach down, Youta throws his wooden sword into the ground, hitting the paintball and rolling it towards him. Before he could reach down, a light blade stabs into the ground, rolling the ball back towards Asen. Now in equal and opposite positions, they both dive forward at the same time. They clash into each other and the ground simultaneously, throwing the ball to the side. Youta recovers quickly, he tries to get up and crawl toward the ball, but Asen grabs his legs, drags him back, and starts climbing over him. He grabs her by the hair and pulls her away. She grabs his hair in response. They keep wrestling while they keep accidentally knocking the ball further and further. Towa looks towards the clash for a moment. Chiyo takes her chance, she aims her gun towards the two of them, she has a short moment to fire, but she can’t seem to move her finger. As she hesitates, Towa grabs a paintball from the ground.

 

As a shield, I can’t use a gun, but that doesn't mean I can’t shoot a paintball!

 

He holds the ball between his pointer finger and his thumb and points it towards Chiyo.

 

“Sorry, Chiyo.”

 

He activates his quirk only on his other hand. He flicks the ball. His quirk forces the ball to launch at high speeds out of his grasp. It bursts on Chiyo’s side, right before she musters the courage to pull the trigger. The impact startles her and she falls to the ground. It was over.

 

Chapter 31: Gunfight Finale

 

THAT’S TWO TEAMS DOWN! THE MATCH IS OVER!

 

The crowd explodes as Youta and Asen stop struggling. They look over at Towa and Chiyo, then collapse in relief. Towa feels a similar relief wash over him. He closes his fist and punches the air in excitement.

 

“YES!”

 

He looks over at Chiyo, suddenly remembering that she was there at all. She looks up at him, the tears already spilling, then quickly looks away.

 

“There, you won. Happy?”

 

“You hesitated. That’s the only reason I won. So-”

 

“I don’t need your apology. I let you win, you owe me, at least a bit.”

 

“Deal.”

 

“You better win.”

 

“I will.”

 

“The survivors of our second game are, Towa Haruka, Youta Jūryoku, Fukurō Sakurai,  and Asen Daguchi! Everyone else, you’re out!” 

 

The crowd cheers as Towa examines the carnage of the battlefield. Tabata and Heyan lie on the ground exhausted and defeated, Adachi shrugs, they don’t really care that much. Chiyo sits on the ground trying not to cry.

 

…

 

A few minutes later, the class sat in the waiting room while the next round was set up. Towa was cleaned up, but the bruises were still there. They had faded a bit, but his whole body felt sore. The room was still quiet, but now it was filled with sadness. Even the students still in the game couldn’t help but feel bad. No one could bring themselves to speak for a while, until Crimson entered the room. Immediately, all eyes moved to him, his despair was apparent.

 

“Hello, class.”

 

“You guys entertained yet? Is fighting over money saving our school yet?” Youta asked, his tone full of spiteful sarcasm.

 

“I'm not here to apologize. It's true that I wasn’t made aware of the stakes of today's event, but you are all my responsibility; the blame can only fall on me.”

 

Youta just looked away, he was still angry, but acknowledged that it would bring him nowhere now.

 

“I wanted to say, that despite today's regrettable circumstances, I’m proud of you guys. You’ve clearly taken my lessons in, and have evolved past my expectations. The clever loopholes you’ve been using have been genius, and some of the strategies you’ve come up with have been incredible. No matter what happens today, you have all become better heroes through this experience. I want you to know that. That’s all.”

 

He waited for anyone to respond, but nobody did. He exhaled and left the room. The class once again reduced to silence. Everyone is unsure of what to think.

 

…

 

Across the building, Yuufuku is sitting by herself, sipping an iced coffee. She sits there peacefully for a moment until-

 

Knock Knock Knock

 

“Miss Yuufuku! Are you there!?”

 

“Resu. You know my coffee break shouldn’t be interrupted.”

 

Resu stood outside the room nervously sweating like usual.

 

“I know but this is some wild news!”

 

The door remained locked.

 

“This festival is number 1 on the charts! It's outperforming EVERYTHING we've released in the last few years! The whole country is tuned in!”

 

…

 

Suddenly, the door swung open. Yuufuku stood in the doorway, her eyes widened like a hawk seeing a mouse.

 

“What.”

 

Across the country, news of the festival had spread. Between the red-hot news story it was built on, the growing interest in the UA Hero Academy, to the trust in the Yuufuku name, the event had hit the perfect storm, and it was big. Yuufuku knew what she had now. Her psychotic smile stretched across her face. Everyone was tuned in, the people in Towa’s middle school class were utterly baffled to see Towa on TV. Hotaru hadn’t done any work in hours, she was glued to the TV totally stressed out of her mind. Many miles away, a furious birdlike manchild is tuned in as well.

 

“God dammit. These little shits get destroyed by me and now they’re plastered all over TV!?”

 

Karasu grits his teeth while watching the festival. He was in an expensive-looking break room. Outside the nearby door looked like a science lab, in the same room, Gin, the drone pilot, sat on a bean bag playing some kind of handheld console. He chewed on a wad of bubble gum obnoxiously.

 

“I remember you getting your ass beat.” He said, without even looking away from his game.

 

“Shut it you little brat! They just caught me off guard! Next time they won’t make it out alive!”

 

“You lost a bunch of subjects too, and Obsidian.” He still didn’t look away.

 

“Fuck off!” Karasu yelled as he launched a crow right at him. Gin simply lifted one of his hands, and a small bolt of lightning zapped the bird out of the air, killing it instantly.

 

“You know you can’t use your quirks in here. Cut it out, both of you.”

 

The older man in the trench coat stood in the doorway. He still had the same cold, colorless eyes.

 

“Apparently, the boss is watching this event too. These children already ruined our plans once, they might become even more dangerous.”

 

Karasu scoffed and rolled his eyes. Gin didn’t react at all.

 

“The boss also said we might make a move soon. So prepare yourselves.”

 

Karasu suddenly looked excited as she shot to a standing position. “Who is going!? Is the Tsunami gonna be let out? What about Shifter? Can I-”

 

“Relax. We don’t know yet, but all of you be prepared.”

 

He sat back down, grumpy.

 

“There’s also a new hire coming in soon.”

 

“Are you kidding? Another new guy? What do we need them for?”

 

“I’m not sure. The boss was… weird about it. He said someone from the incident at the mall reminded him of someone from his past.”

 

“The hero? Crimson Sun?”

 

“No. someone else. I don’t know who though. Apparently, the new guy is a mercenary. Better keep an eye on him.”

 

“Yeah yeah.”

 

Karasu looked back at the screen. The waiting period was over, and the final event was beginning.

 

The remaining four, Towa, Youta, Asen, and Fukuro stood shoulder to shoulder. Daken continued to watch from the sidelines. The arena was now empty, with no flag, no paintball arena, nothing but the fake grass floor.  They stood silently for a while, anxiously waiting for the next challenge to be announced. Youta eventually broke the ice.

 

“May the best hero win.”

 

They all nod in response. Yuufuku made herself known.

 

“Are you guys ready for the next challenge!?” She asked the crowd, her glance didn’t even flinch towards the students. The crowd responded exactly as she expected, screams of excitement. Now she turned to the students.

 

“Today’s penultimate challenge is gonna be hard to watch. The intensity of this competition will actively work against you. Only one of you will be eliminated.”

 

Only one? What kinda game are we playing?

 

Another worker wheeled a simple table to the center of the arena. On top was a sheet that was clearly covering something. Once the table was in the center of the Arena, he gripped the top of the sheet. The student’s anxiety, especially Towa’s, had gone through the roof.

 

What does she mean hard to watch? What the hell is about to happen!?

 

“The third event is… JENGA!”

 

huh

 

The sheet is pulled off, revealing a slightly larger-than-average Jenga tower. The crowd was enthusiastically confused. The students are even more confused.

 

She can’t be serious.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

I sat down for a long time and thought about what game can you play with 4 people where only 1 person loses, and what's better than Jenga? Don't worry, this is definitely only gonna take one chapter lol. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 32: JENGA (yeah, seriously)

Chapter 32: JENGA (yeah, seriously)

 

“As you likely know, Jenga’s rules are simple. In a random order, the students will take turns pulling a wooden block out of the tower and stacking it on top of the others. This will continue until the tower falls. Whoever knocks down the tower will be eliminated! The other three will move on. Only touch one block at a time, and no blocks 3 down from the highest completed level are permitted to be taken. Let's play!"

 

The four remaining students stood around the Jenga tower. It stood strong and stable. The order was 1: Asen, 2: Towa, 3: Fukuro, and 4: Youta. This was the very last thing Towa expected to be doing today. As he processed the insanity of this situation, Asen went for her first piece. 

 

She tapped a side block near the center of the tower, pushing it out slightly, then grabbed the other side and carefully pulled out a piece.

 

I’ve never played Jenga. But I can’t let anyone here know that. I can do this.

 

She placed it on top, meaning it’s now Towa’s turn.

 

Me and Hotaru used to play Jenga all the time…

 

He grabs a side piece and starts carefully pulling it out of position…

 

Cough

 

Someone in the crowd, a huge distance away, lets out a light cough. This startles Towa enough that his hand jumps, nearly knocking the tower over; if it were any less stable, it would’ve fallen right then and there. The crowd cringes as he pulls the rest of the block out.

 

I’m terrible at it!

 

He places it on top and covers his face in embarrassment.

 

The nerves always get to me, and anything makes me jump. This is bad… 

 

Fukuro was next, despite also being extremely stressed out of her mind, she wasn’t jumpy, in fact, her stillness was unbelievable. She grabbed the piece with her talons, pulled it out with no issue, and placed it on top. Finally, it was Youta’s turn.

 

“Here goes nothing…” He reached for a side block. Pulling out the same row as Asen. That left the row with only the centerpiece, holding up the whole tower. He didn’t place on top just yet. He made an even more focused expression.

 

What’s he doing?

 

He presses the piece against the center load-bearing block. With precise force, he pushes the block until it’s almost entirely diagonal, which also shifts the entire top half of the tower. The tower was still standing, but it was disjointed and less stable. Nobody could believe their eyes.

 

“Youta, you're a lunatic for that,” Asen said, still staring at his crime scene.

 

“Maybe that’s what you need to win,” he responded with a devious smirk.

 

He’s willing to risk it all to eliminate us. He's good, Fukuro is too. Asen is probably better than me,too. This is bad! What the hell am I supposed to do?

 

The game continued. Each turn was agonizing for everyone involved. The audience cringed at every round, waiting for the inevitable. The most difficult to get through were Towa’s turns. Each one was nearly a loss. Even in complete silence, his hands were shaky and imprecise. It seemed everyone knew what was inevitably coming, including Towa. A few rounds later, the tower was hanging on by a thread. It had grown taller, but pretty much every layer was missing a block, some missing two, and because of Youta, most of the single-block layers were rotated to random angles. The tower was basically a gust of wind away from toppling, and it was Towa’s turn.

 

I’m doomed.

 

He looked around at his fellow students, all were staring, trying not to make a face of pity, to varying degrees of success. Towa couldn’t bring himself to think straight.

 

What can I do… none of these pieces are safe to grab, at least not for me. This can’t be happening… all the shit I went through today, the declaration of war I made, the promise I made to Chiyo, all of it to stop here?

 

His brain tried to find something he could do. After a myriad of dead ends, it found something. His eyes narrowed. An idea popped into his head. An idea we would normally push away immediately, but something about his mood right now, something about his desperation, pushed him. He glanced at Fukuro, the person after him, who couldn’t even make eye contact. He looked back at the tower, knowing what he had to do.

 

“Fukuro, I’m sorry.”

 

Everyone was utterly baffled to hear him say that.

 

“What do you mean?” Asen interjected. Towa didn’t look away from the tower. He reached for a block, around the middle of the tower. It was a centerpiece. The other contestants couldn’t wrap their heads around that.

 

What the hell is he doing?

 

Is he just giving up?

 

Huh?

 

He grabbed the piece, purposely lifting it to knock the entire tower to the side. Fukuro closed her eyes, ready to hear the painful sound of Towa’s journey crashing down.

 

…

 

No sound came. She crept her eyes open, just as gasps rang out from the crowd. The tower was seemingly paused mid-air at an impossible angle. Towa had caught the tower with his quirk. Holding out his arm in the path of the tower's fall, and activating his ability in just that arm, he caught the tower without laying a finger on it. Nobody knew how to feel. Towa held the tower up as he calmly placed the block on top. He couldn’t bring himself to look Fukuro in the eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

 

“I-is that allowed??”

 

Yuufuku was fascinated by this turn of events. She snapped out of her shocked state and grabbed her mic.

 

“He’s not touching the tower… IT’S FAIR GAME!”

 

By this time the crowd had decided how they felt about this… they hated it. A cacophony of boos ring out. Each one feels like a needle stabbing into Towa. But he ignores it. He definitely can’t look at Fukuro now; her face of devastation is horrifying.

 

“You have to be joking… Towa. Please… don’t do this… I- my family needs this!”

 

The boos wouldn’t stop. Resu was mortified.

 

“Yuufuku! We have to do something about this! Maybe reset? Or-”

 

“Shush, you idiot. This is great, nothing pulls in viewers like some controversy, and nothing brings more passion from the audience than a heel.”

 

She grabbed her mic again. “Towa Haruka, since you placed the block at the top, it’s no longer your turn…”

 

Like ripping a Band-Aid off, Towa wasted no time. The second those words left Yuufuku’s mouth, Towa dropped the tower. It tumbled over immediately. Fukuro sank to her knees, her tears flowing uncontrollably. The crowd exploded into more boos. They washed over Towa like a shower of nails. Youta and Asen shoot him angry glances. Towa himself makes no expression at all.

 

“Fukuro Sakurai! You are eliminated! Our finalists have been chosen! The Final event begins soon!”

 

…

 

The finalists sat in a separate, smaller waiting room, all by themselves. Asen and Youta continued to shoot passing, dirty looks at Towa, who sat slouched down, nearly looking at the ground. Eventually, the fourth finalist made his appearance. Daken stood in the doorway, looking far more energetic than everyone else.

 

“Wassup guys. How are we feeling?”

 

“Shut up, man. We don’t need to hear anything from you.” Youta hissed.

 

“Speak for yourself. Towa here seems pretty upset, that Jenga's game was pretty serious.”

 

Towa didn't look up or say anything. Asen did.

 

"That was dirty, Towa. What kind of hero would do that!?”

 

“And you wouldn’t do the same thing?” Daken responded, and everyone was thrown off by his defense. Even Towa looked up slightly.

 

“Everyone in this competition has abused loopholes, vague rules, and backhanded tactics to get this far. That includes you, pretty boy. I expect you to keep that going, all of you. That's the only way you’ll beat me.”

 

Youta didn't respond. Daken wasn't satisfied.

 

“Wannabe samurai, are you giving up? Do you want this money or what!?”

 

Youta slammed his hand on the desk in front of him and shot to a standing position.

 

“I’M NOT GIVING UP!”

 

“And what about you, Blondie? Do you want to lose to me again?”

 

She followed suit.

 

“I won't!”

 

“And the emo kid sulking in the corner! You’re so quiet, you're being left behind. You ok with that!?”

 

Towa fully looked up. The fire in his eyes burned brighter than ever.

 

“No.” He responded coldly.

 

“Good, I expect you guys to give me a good fight. Don’t let me down.”

 

After raising the passion and heart rate of everyone in the room, he turned and walked right out. A few minutes passed, and it was time. Viewership had reached its peak, and so had the excitement of the crowd. The final set dressing had been finished. A full-sized boxing ring had been placed in the center of the stadium, and beaming lights shone down on the battlefield. Yuufuku stood before her army of screaming fans.

 

“Welcome to the final event! This is what it’s all been leading to! Our four finalists have been chosen, and each one is utterly determined to win the grand prize!”

 

Towa glanced over at the bleachers where the eliminated students sat, Chiyo watched him intently, and Fukuro sulked, avoiding anyone's glance. Towa ignored his shame, and focused on his fiery determination. Youta examined his wooden sword, remembering the metallic cold surface of Onimaru, and the memory reignited his determination. Asen glanced into the crowd. The screaming people blurred together into a mush of sounds and movements. In the center stood her father, who stared with cold intensity at her, no one else. She’s filled with determination. Daken looks around at his fellow finalists, each one with a separate face of determination, but all burned just as bright. He suddenly started laughing.

 

“This is gonna be awesome!”

 

Our final event will be… 1v1 tournament! There are four finalists; they will be split up into two 1v1 battles, and whoever wins those two battles, will face off against each other in the final clash of the tournament! Are you ready!?

 

As the crowd exploded, Towa weighed his options.

 

1v1 battles huh? I’m not sure what I was expecting looking at this boxing ring. This means for the final challenge, I can’t rely on anybody, I can’t rely on the strongest people holding each other off, I have to win with nothing but my own strength. Might as well start now…

 

His brain immediately started cooking up plan after plan for each of his classmates. His brain was traveling at a million miles per hour, coming up with pros and cons for each idea as fast as it could.

 

I need to figure out how to destroy them all…

 

At this point, he had no time to push away his aggressive passion; he had to use it.

 

“The first rounds will be…Towa vs Daken and Asen vs Youta!”

 

Towa turned to Daken. Daken smiled back at him.

 

“Looks like we're up first. You're not scared, are you?”

 

Towa didn’t answer, but his glance was all Daken needed to hear.

 

“Hell yeah.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

I gotta know, is this in your top ten most intense games of Jenga in media? It's a toss-up for me. I'm back from vacation! Now I'm not playing around. Get ready for the chapters to start getting WILD.

Chapter 33: Daken vs Towa

“The rules are simple. If you land on the ground outside the ring, you lose; if you are knocked out or injured enough that the fight can’t continue, you lose, and if you forfeit the match, you lose. Are you guys ready for some serious combat!? It’s time for our first round!”

 

As the crowd cheered, the two challengers stood on opposite sides of the ring. On one side, Daken cracked his knuckles, then his neck, and then his back. He was antsy and struggled to keep still. On the opposite side was Towa, whose nerves had started to get to him. He struggled to stay still for the exact opposite reason. A single bead of sweat made its way down his face, passing a few bruises remaining from the paintballs. Youta and Asen are seated nearby with the rest of the class, who all watched intently. Chiyo grips her seat and presses her teeth together. The crowd watches intently. Suituchi leans over to Crimson.

 

“How do you think this’ll go?”

 

Crimson stroked his chin as he considered the possibilities.

 

“Everything says Daken will win, he has basically every advantage, on top of that, Towa should be exhausted by now, compared to Daken, who’s been relaxing for hours now. This should be simple…”

 

Suitichi waited for a follow-up. Eventually, he just forced it. 

 

“But?”

 

“But, something tells me it’s not gonna be as simple as it seems.”

 

Crimson watched the intense look in Towa’s eyes.

 

…

 

I can do this. Crimson said confidence is understanding. There are a lot of things I don’t know about myself, but what I do know… I won’t let myself lose today!

 

“BEGIN!”

 

Chapter 33: Daken vs Towa

 

The match escalated instantly. Daken sprinted forward. The ring wasn’t very big, Towa had basically no time at all to prepare. He remained calm.

 

Not yet…

 

Daken attacked first, launching a series of powerful slugs. Towa avoided them, stepping back ever so slightly each time. After only a few dodges, Towa was already cornered. 

 

“Can’t dodge forever!” Daken shouts as he throws another attack. Towa dodges it again, leaning back against the ropes of the ring to avoid the strike. Now he was double cornered. Daken moved forward for another attack. 

 

“Now what!?”

 

Towa did the opposite of what he’s been doing so far, and charged towards Daken. Daken’s fist just barely misses, scraping against the side of his head as he moves in closer. He grabbed Daken around the waist.

 

“What is he-”

 

COME ON!

 

With the powerful sound of extreme effort, Towa lifted with all his might, combined with Daken’s forward momentum, he lifted him off his feet and began lifting him over his head, right over the ropes.

 

He’s trying to suplex me out of bounds!?!?

 

If I can’t beat you in a direct fight, I’ll have to win like this!

 

Daken reacted quickly, he hit Towa in the side hard enough to weaken him, forcing him to let go halfway through his maneuver. Towa ignored the failure, he simply moved on. He shoved Daken back and ran a few strides to create a bit more distance, then he turned to face his opponent. 

 

Next idea…

 

“That was clever! But clever won’t be enough.”

 

After the first set of clashes, they simply eyed each other down, now Daken was waiting for Towa’s move, since his recklessness had almost cost him the match already. Towa watched for the smallest moment of distraction.

 

…

 

A light sound came from the audience. Somebody tripped or something, it didn’t matter. Daken was a bit less aware for a single instant, and Towa made his move. He activated his quirk and sped to the corner, jumping in a specific way to maximize horizontal movement and minimize vertical. He did so again, two more times, until he was zooming towards Daken from behind. Daken was just a moment too slow, he moved his hand as much as he could, but he was still half an inch away from blocking Towa’s fist, which struck Daken across the face. Crimson smiled.

 

What a move! He waited for the perfect time to land that hit.

 

For the moment, Daken was stunned. Towa went for a second hit to the stomach. He decided to push his luck and go for another.

 

“CUT IT!”

 

Daken blocked the third strike and hit Towa in the chest with a powerful hook kick. Forcing him to stumble back. Daken’s bleeding lip quickly sealed up.

 

“Nice one! You really caught me off guard with that one. But you know you could never injure me enough to win right? Don’t think you’re throwing me off.”

 

Towa didn’t say a thing. He just took deep breaths in and out until he could ignore the pain. At this point, everyone watching, but especially Crimson, had sat up and was on the edge of their seats.

 

“I figured it out.”

 

Huh? What? Suitichi responded, but Crimson was just thinking aloud.

 

“I worked with Towa to discover the true nature of his quirk, and I noticed something strange. There’s tons of clever young people in class 1-A, but Towa is different. I couldn’t put my finger on it until now. He doesn’t even know it, but… he’s a tactical genius.”

 

Right as he finished, the battle continued. Daken went in first now. Towa hopped back to keep some distance. Daken went for more attacks, but Towa refused to dodge this time. Instead, he caught Daken’s fist with his hand. Everyone was immediately confused, especially Daken.

 

How’d he- Whatever!

 

He went for a second punch, but Towa caught that one too. Daken was baffled.

 

His strikes are super strong, no way I could stop them normally. So I thought of a work around. If I activate my quirk in each hand for a short moment, it’ll slow down his fist enough for me to catch. I almost messed up the timing on that second one. But now we're here. It all rides on this…

 

Towa grips Daken’s hands, he tries to break free, but to no avail. Towa smiles.

 

I noticed something. Earlier, in capture the flag, you and Asen were playing tug of war with the flag pole, and though it was chaotic, I could tell you were losing. That was confusing to me at first. I thought you were by far the strongest in our class.

 

Towa strengthens his stance. He starts to push Daken backwards, no one could believe he was actually physically overpowering him.

 

They say every quirk has a drawback. I had to find yours to win this fight. It’s a gamble, of course, but I think I got it…

 

“Daken, you can’t build muscle, right?”

 

Daken’s eyes widened. His heart sank in a way he’d never experienced.

 

How does he know that!? What the hell?

 

Crimson jumped to a standing position. Putting his hands on the rails as he leaned in to watch closer.

 

I had no idea! But it makes perfect sense. He never told me that, and through my meticulous research and studying of each student's quirk, I never figured that out. But Towa did.

 

When humans work out, it creates micro tears in muscle fibers, which heal and make the muscle stronger. But your quirk heals your body exactly the way it was before. So that means your muscles can’t become stronger.

 

Towa kept pushing him back. Eventually, Daken had enough.

 

“CUT IT OUT!!”

 

Daken pushed harder than his body could handle. His muscles tore as he pushed back against Towa. He overpowered Towa until he was about to fall to his knees.

 

“Looks like I don’t need muscle after all!!”

 

Daken almost starts smiling, until he notices Towa is still smiling.

 

Why is he-

 

“I got you!”

 

Suddenly, Towa stops pushing against Daken and instead pulls in the same direction he's pushing, The momentum is enough to carry Daken over his head.

 

This is it! I can do this!

 

He activates his quirk in his legs and pushes against the ground. He launches into Daken while he’s still mid-air. The maneuver is enough to launch Daken on a path out of the arena. 

 

He’s been trying to launch me out this whole time!?

 

The hearts of the whole crowd paused as Daken flew towards defeat. 

 

“DON’T THINK YOU’VE WON!”

 

As he flew over the ropes. He was just barely able to grab hold of one as he zoomed by. It violently stretched as it stopped his path. Daken pulled with all his might, violently tearing apart his arm in the process. But it was enough to pull himself back into the ring. He rolled, knocking into Towa’s legs, forcing him to fall. They both shot up as fast as they could, but Daken got up much faster. Towa struggled more to stand.

 

Dammit. That was so close. And now I’m feeling my exhaustion. Meanwhile, he’s perfectly energised. I could do this much damage to him a hundred more times, and he’d barely be tired. I can’t give up, though.

 

Daken starts charging towards him again. His arm has already healed.

 

I won’t let myself lose!

 

Towa waited until he was right in front of him. Pushing through his exhaustion, he activated his quirk in just one of his legs and stomped with that leg. The leg was launched at high speeds right at his opponent's head. He gritted his teeth in determination.

 

Swish

 

His foot glided right over Daken’s head, he missed. Crimson gripped the railing hard enough to dent it.

 

I see. His body can’t keep up with his brain. He’s not coordinated enough to act out all his thoughts.

 

He landed awkwardly. Daken kicked him in the side, sending him a few feet back. He doubles over in pain, it takes a few seconds for him to get back up. He tries to block another attack, but he’s a moment too slow. The fist struck him across the face. By now, his injuries were piling up, and he had no time to think of a new strategy. The crowd started to realize what was happening. Crimson did as well.

 

I don’t like his odds in this fight. But his potential is off the charts. One day, if his body can keep up with his mind, he’ll be a real monster.

 

Daken began shredding him. Landing hit after hit. Towa refused to give up, every other hit he’d dodge or block with his quirk, but he was too drained to follow up, and just got hit by the next strike, after a few moments of this. Towa struggled to stand up straight.

 

I have to think of something. I have to move. I can’t lose.

 

His brain moves into overdrive, but nothing he comes up with is realistic in his current situation. Towa tries to take a step forward, but stumbles and falls onto his back. His vision blurred. The crowd cheered. Daken looked around, a bit confused. He turned and basked in the crowd’s cheers. Towa tried to move with everything he had, but couldn’t.

 

No… I can’t pass out. I have to move. I have more to do!

 

He saw Chiyo’s tearful face in his mind, then Fukuro’s, then Hotaru’s. Those faces flash in his mind over and over. He couldn’t feel the tears streaming down his face. His thoughts became less and less coherent.

 

I won’t… I can’t…

 

His head turns until he’s staring into the crowd. His blurred vision turned them into a mass of color and shape. They fade more.

 

…

 

Suddenly, there's one coherent figure in the crowd, or perhaps, it was there all along. It was a woman, tall and ethereal, her presence shrouded in shadows. Her long, dark-bluish hair flowed wildly in the wind, obscuring her features. A powerful sense of déjà vu washed over him. Slowly, she extended her arm toward Towa, standing there with an air of invitation. Towa gathered his strength just enough to reach out. Their hands grow close.

 

…

 

Daken was distracted by the crowd's cheering. He suddenly heard a shifting behind him. He turns…

 

 

Towa stood in a slouched position. Daken was confused; he was sure he was out cold, and even if he was…

 

How… is he still standing?

 

 

Towa looked up enough for Daken to see his expression. It wasn’t one of passion or energy, it wasn't one of anger or sadness, it wasn’t one of any emotion at all. His ice-cold apathy seemed to radiate a chill. His eyes glowed with no feeling at all. Daken clenched his fists.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

What the hell happened to Towa? Get ready for some big pieces to the puzzle known as Towa Haruka in the next chapter. Stay tuned, and thank you for reading!

Chapter 34: Towa Haruka: Descending

The stagnant air is oppressive. No one can breathe as Towa stares Daken down. Crimson seems confused.

 

I thought he was down for the count. If this continues, I might have to stop the fight.

 

Daken charges forward. Towa doesn’t move a muscle; he just keeps staring.

 

“What are you looking at?”

 

He goes in for a punch-

 

 

Faster than anyone is prepared for, Towa elbows Daken in the face. In the same movement. He grabs hold of one of his horns and strikes him in the chest with impressive strength. Daken’s horn is pulled out of his head, leaving a huge bleeding gash in its absence. Blood spills onto the ground as it begins to close up and his horn begins to reform. Towa tosses the horn aside like nothing. Daken is stunned as he fixes his jaw.

 

What the hell just happened!? Since when could he move like that?

 

Crimson was too shocked to form a coherent thought, Suitichi had to help him.

 

“Crimson? What was that?”

 

“I-I don't know!”

 

Everyone else, the other finalists, the rest of the class, the crowd, everyone watching at home was just as baffled. However, no one was more baffled than Mr. Daguchi, Asen’s father. He stood up in his seat, looking pale as a ghost. He watched Towa closely, a chilling sense of nostalgia washed over him.

 

That’s… not possible!

 

He’s suddenly a teenager again. His frame is far smaller, his features not at all refined or well kept. He’s standing like a deer in headlights, facing a room full of blood and guts. Bodies of large muscular men are torn apart, some just beaten to a pulp, others with missing parts. The only complete figure is a woman standing in the center. She was tall, her hair long and ethereal, obscuring her features. He feels waves of terror wash over him. He can’t move in the slightest. The figure turns to him. One of her ice-cold eyes locks onto him. He couldn’t breathe.

 

…

 

Towa glances at him with the exact same look.

 

Chapter 34: Towa Haruka: Descending

 

He tries to step back, but there's no room.

 

Impossible! I was at her funeral! I saw the body myself! This can’t be happening.

 

Without breaking his glance, he left as fast as he could. The match continued. Daken was a lot more hesitant to make his move first. As he’s lost in hesitation, Towa literally vanishes from his vision. Before Daken had the chance to panic, a fist slammed into his gut. He spat up as Towa continued his combo. Daken wildly swung in front of him, but he hit nothing. 

 

“GET AWAY!”

 

He kept swinging wildly, Towa weaved through his attacks like nothing. At the perfect moment, Towa responded with his own strikes, each one fully shook Daken.

 

How is he hitting so much harder!?

 

Daken was confused, but Crimson put it together, just this part of it.

 

He’s striking with the weight of his whole body. And he’s using his quirk to move faster than Daken can react. How on earth did he improve his technique so fast!?

 

Daken weighs his options before the onslaught continues.

 

All I need is one good hit; he’s still injured!

 

He shreds his legs to dash forward as fast as he can. He swings right at Towa’s head. Before he makes contact, Towa disappears again.

 

"Wha- OMPH!"

 

Towa launches himself off the ropes and kicks Daken right in the face, stopping all his momentum and crushing his nose. As his face starts repairing itself, Towa uses his quirk to launch himself between the ropes at a blazing speed. Daken can’t catch more than a single glimpse of him between moves. He looks around panicking, before Towa suddenly strikes him in the side. Before he could process what happened, Towa was already at his other side. Towa kept this up, zooming around, striking Daken from all sides. Daken was completely overwhelmed.

 

What do I do!? At this rate, he’s gonna beat me! I- I got it!

 

In the middle of the beat down, Daken hopped up, Daken stomping down on the ground as hard as he could. His legs broke through the floor of the ring, landing on the ground a foot or so below it. 

 

You can’t keep this up forever! I’ll wait you out!

 

He held his arms up, shut his eyes, and focused on defense. He tanked hit after hit. Eventually, they began to slow. Daken crept his eyes open, revealing Towa standing a few feet from him. He still stared with those cold eyes.

 

“Are you tired? I knew it!”

 

Towa didn’t react to his shaky words in the slightest. Towa suddenly took a step forward, then another. He was now only a few inches from Daken.

 

He’s wide open… but it’s a trick! He’s trying to bait me! I’m not gonna fall for it you little shit!

 

Towa moved to a strange position. He slumped over and put his arms back like he was charging a Ki attack. He opened his further hand, keeping his closer hand a fist. He activated his quirk in his open hand, and began pushing his fist into his quirk. Like two magnets with the same charge, they wouldn’t touch, but he kept pushing. His body shook from the effort. It inched closer, but just barely not close enough. Daken’s confusion turned to panic.

 

What is he doing? Some kind of attack? I’m ready for anything. The second he moves, I’ll be ready, I’ll dodge- no I’ll TANK IT! Then I’ll knock him out! I’ll swing during his attack, then he can’t dodge it! You think this is enough to beat me? It’s gonna take more than that! I'M READY!

 

He moved his hands to a position where he could easily land his counterattack, then he waited. Suddenly, the world seemed to wait too. The crowd was silent, the class, the finalists, the viewers from around the country, none of them could breathe.

 

…

 

BANG

 

All of a sudden, Daken was looking to the side. It threw him off, since he didn’t remember turning. Particulates of blood enter his vision. Now he starts feeling the pain. Towa’s strike had already hit. Towa let his fist go from the push, and his quirk launched his fist across the arc of his wingspan, smashing across Daken’s face in the process. The problem was the attack happened in a near instant, so fast that everyone watching, even Crimson, had missed it. It created a bang from its speed alone. The impact nearly ripped Daken’s jaw off, and raddled his brain so that he couldn’t even think straight. He was still processing what had happened when Towa began his assault. Towa launched punch after kick, not nearly as fast as his special move, but with such an unwavering aggression that Daken couldn’t hope to react to a single one. He would raise one of his arms as a desperate attempt to block a single blow, but it wouldn’t matter. He was getting beaten to a pulp. Some audience members couldn’t watch. Crimson felt true terror.

 

I have to stop the fight, he’s gonna kill him!

 

“AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!”

 

A scream began to ring out. A scream of determination though agony. Daken screamed. He pushed through the unstoppable combo and blindly hugged Towa. With all his remaining strength, and enough force to tear his body apart even more, he swung his body and tossed Towa right out of the ring. Towa landed with his quirk active, stopping his fall and turning him to face the ring. When deactivated, he softly landed his feet on the ground, outside the ring. Yuufuku had to shake herself out of the trance she was just in. Yuufuku took a moment to realize what had just happened.

 

“Towa is out of the ring! Daken wins!”

 

The crowd processed what happened next, and they started cheering. Daken and the rest of the class couldn’t share their enthusiasm. Daken's body was torn apart. He took a few gasping breaths as his body tried its best to heal. They just stared at Towa. His expression wasn’t visible. Eventually, Chiyo tried to break the ice.

 

“T-Towa?”

 

Towa now looked up, back at Daken. His eyes were just as cold and intense. Daken was horrified, blocking his face with his hands like a terrified child. Towa charged forward, ready for more carnage.

 

-

 

Towa was hit with a swift and sharp strike to the neck. It was enough to knock him out. Crimson caught his unconscious body. Crimson held him carefully, like a bomb.

 

“Daken! Are you ok?”

 

Daken slowly lowered his hands. He struggled to breathe between exhausted breaths.

 

“What… the hell… is wrong… with him?”

 

Chiyo launched from her bench and ran up to him. She felt his pulse and checked his temperature.

 

He’s unconscious, Jesus, his injuries are bad!? He’s too exhausted for me to use my quirk! How was he moving like that!? 

 

Crimson was just as baffled.

 

“I’ll take him to the infirmary.”

 

“I’m coming too.” Chiyo asserted. Crimson nodded. As they carried him away, Daken took his feet out of the holes in the ring. The crowd cheered for him, he couldn’t help but smile. But the sight of Towa’s cold eyes still scratched at the back of his head.

 

I’ve been injured before, and I’ve faced dangerous opponents and situations before. But that… that was totally different. If Crimson didn’t step in… He would’ve killed me. There's nothing I could've done to stop him. What the hell is he?

 

…

 

To be continued...

Notes:

What a chapter. What the hell do you think happened there? Pretty spooky stuff. Sorry, it's been so long since my last chapter. My job has been hitting me with double after double. But don't worry, that 20-chapter goal is still within my grasp!

Chapter 35: Dull Swords

…

 

Towa opens his eyes, greeted with an endless void. Shadow seems to zoom past him at high speeds. He was covered in a dark, shadowy substance that coated every inch of his body, other than his eyes. He tried to move, but he could only manage to wiggle an inch in any given direction. He noticed a figure standing before him, the mysterious woman. He tried to speak, but his mouth was covered, too. The woman’s features were just slightly more visible than before. One of her cold, intense eyes locked onto Towa.

 

“My Towa…”

 

Her words were soft, yet heavy, each one stuck with Towa like something he needed to remember.

 

“I’ll protect you…”

 

Towa suddenly felt his consciousness being pulled away from this world. He felt the urge to reach out, but he couldn’t.

 

…

 

Towa's eyes laboriously opened. The first thing he processed was how painfully sore and terrible he felt; his whole body was exhausted to the point he genuinely couldn’t move at all. The second thing he processed was his location; he lay in a small bed in what seemed like a nurse's office. The third thing he processed was Crimson standing a few feet away from the bed, watching him carefully. He held an arm in front of Chiyo, who went on her tiptoes to peek over it. Neither of them said anything. Towa stared at them, confused as he tried to save up energy to speak.

 

“Did I lose?”

 

Crismon looks baffled. His confusion allows Chiyo to squeeze past him. She runs up to his bed and hugs him tightly. It brings a stinging pain across his whole body.

 

“Ow ow Chiyo relax!”

 

She lets go and backs up, “Sorry, sorry!”

 

“What happened… I feel like I just got hit by a truck.”

 

“You… you don’t remember?”

 

“Remember what?”

 

She and Crimson exchange glances. Towa thinks back, all he can remember is losing consciousness after losing to Daken. He suddenly feels a deep sadness coming on. His eyes get watery, and he can’t do anything to hide them.

 

“Chiyo… I’m sorry. I tried so hard… but my best wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t keep my promise.”

 

“Shush! You don’t need to apologize to me. I’m just-”

 

Her eyes got teary, too, but unlike Towa, she had the ability to hide it. She covered her eyes and looked away.

 

“I’m glad you’re back to normal.”

 

Towa wasn’t on the same page about what she meant.

 

“I’m sorry I’ve been acting like such a jerk. I screwed over you and Fukuro just to end up losing. I’m terrible.”

 

Crimson was too baffled to comfort him. Chiyo wasn’t as good at hiding her confusion. Towa glanced between their two faces.

 

“What happened?”

 

Crimson scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out what to say.

 

“We’ll explain it later. For now, you just have to rest. Chiyo, do you mind keeping an eye on him? I have to talk to Sensei Suitichi."

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Glad to see you’re okay. Chiyo, call me if anything.”Crimson says as he leaves.

 

“Bye.”

 

He steps out. Immediately, Towa begins to hear a faint cheering through the walls. 

 

“How long have I been out? Is the tournament still going?”

 

“You were only out for about an hour and a half. Yuufuku held an intermission after your fight. It ended a few minutes ago.”

 

“So, the next round started?”

 

“Yep. Out there, Youta and Asen are about to fight.”

 

“Sounds pretty cool. I would go watch, but…”

 

“I can’t even lift my arms right now.”

 

“WELL, OF COURSE! NOT AFTER THAT CRAZY SHIT YOU WERE DOING!”

 

Towa was unsure about what specifically she meant, but was too tied to question her.

 

Outside, the crowd was reinvigorated. Ready for the final parts of the tournament. The sun was starting to set, casting the sky in bright colors. In the repaired ring, Youta and Asen stood face to face. Youta held his wooden blade, tossing it from one hand to the other in a battle-ready position. Asen held a peculiar-looking light sword. Running through her plan in her head.

 

The sun is starting to go down, and though I’ve been getting plenty of sun today, against Daken, it’ll run out fast. My strategy for this fight is simple. Use as little of my quirk as possible. The sword I made is significantly less sharp than my normal ones, but in exchange, it’s much thicker. This fight will inevitably lead to a sword duel.  Ever since my quirk developed, I’ve been training with a blade. Not only that, but Dad is one of the greatest swordsmen alive, and he's been training me all my life. There’s no way Youta can keep up. I can do this with just this weapon. 

 

Youta smirked at her from across the ring. Yuufuku took a deep breath, smelling the tension in the air, smiling deviously.

 

“START!”

 

Chapter 35: Dull Swords

 

Neither challenger moved. They both stood totally still. The intensity was palpable. This intense aura lingered until Youta made the first move. He tossed his wooden sword at high speed right towards Asen. In the moment she had to react, she deflected the attack with her own blade. With a snap, he summoned his weapon back to his hands. 

 

Must’ve been a test. You won’t get past my reactions that easily!

 

Youta took a few steps to the side, keeping his distance. Asen followed, keeping their positions exactly the same. He pulled his arm back and threw his weapon in the same way.

 

Again!?

 

She blocks it again. The weapon immediately flies back into Youta’s hand.

 

Is he just gonna keep trying this? I know! He’s trying to bait me to attack first. I’ll throw him off!

 

-And that’s exactly what she must be thinking. That’s what she would do. But I’m not her!

 

He throws the blade again. She changes up her response. She drops her blade, catching Youta’s with her own two hands. She threw it to the ground and stomped on it, pinning it to the ground.

 

Got it! Now-  

 

She looks up to see Youta lunging knee-first right at her face. She just barely has enough time to throw her hand in front of her face. It cushions the blow as much as she can, but it still hurts pretty badly. 

 

What the hell?

 

Youta lands while she's still stunned and picks up his weapon. They begin clashing blades. They’re evenly matched for a moment. Their weapons met again and again. First a block, then a counter, then a second block, then a clash between two attacks. They were evenly matched.

 

He’s better than I expected! But I’m still stronger!

 

She strengthened her stance and gripped her blade. She began to swing with more force. Youta still blocked them, but the extra power was enough to start pushing him back. Eventually, he was about to lose balance. 

 

I got you!

 

She struck his weapon as hard as she could. It flew out of his hands. Before he could summon it back, she landed a mighty elbow to his stomach. He stepped back, reeling as she prepared another attack. She charged at him as his Sword flew towards him. They clash weapons at full power. Youta’s blade bends and crackles, but the two blows are evenly matched. They go back into a duel.

 

I should be able to break his blade! He only has-

 

Her thought was interrupted by Youta shifting gears. He suddenly starts swinging faster and more precisely.

 

What is he- WOAH

 

She just barely dodges a swing. She starts struggling more and more to block his swings.

 

How’s he moving like this?

 

Youta steps it up even more, swinging with unstoppable ferocity. He overwhelmed her defenses and struck a powerful swing across her face. She took a few steps back as her head throbs.

 

He was holding back before, he’s a better swordfighter than me… how is that…

 

Youta smiles as he wields his blade with precision.

 

Long before quirks existed, a legendary warrior said, ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.’ You may have trained with the best teachers money can buy, but naturally, you had to train with a ton of different weapons, single swords, dual-wielding, spears, daggers, and everything else in between. I’m the exact opposite. I spent countless hours training with my simple katana, long before I was actually able to afford a real one. Honestly, I might even have more training with a wooden sword than a steel one. In a contest of swordsmanship… I can’t lose.

 

He charges forward, ready for another unrelenting combo. Asen had already considered her options. The space between her hands began to glow. Youta stops his charge, right in time for a spear to form in her hands. The spear was close to twice the range of his sword, forcing him to keep his distance. Her sword falls to the ground beside her. She swings her spear, knocking it out of the arena.

 

Fine… you’re better than me with a sword, but I’m not limited to just a sword. This wasn’t the plan, but that doesn’t matter now. This spear is also dull and sturdy, but its range should work perfectly! 

 

Holding her spear in two hands, she went on the offensive, plunging her spear forward again and again, while keeping a safe distance. Youta blocked a few attacks before backing up, nearly to the opposite side of the ring.

 

She can summon literally any weapon she needs, and I’m stuck with this damn wood sword. Doesn’t seem fair… but a hero doesn’t worry about what’s fair and what’s not. A hero gets it done!

 

They both prepare a new plan. They have the same thought at the same time.

 

The one fighting Daken in the final round, will be me!

 

To be continued…

Notes:

The second round is ending soon, and the finale of this wild tournament is looming. I haven’t gotten a comment in over 200 days, I miss them! Even if you have nothing interesting to say, go ahead and leave one anyway. I love reading them lol.

Chapter 36: Cutting Deep

As the last embers of daylight fade away, the second round nears its end. The crowd sits at the edges of their seats. Asen and Youta plan their next moves as Crimson and Suitichi consider the fight so far. Eventually, Suitichi leans over.

 

“What’s your opinion on this so far?”

 

“Asen’s skills and abilities are oppressive; most people would be totally overwhelmed. The problem is she knows that, too. She underestimated Youta, and because of that, he’s been leading the fight so far. Let's see what happens when Asen takes him seriously…”

 

Suitichi scoffed. Immediately, Crimson dropped his focused demeanor.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so analytical. Where was this when you lost our keys?”

 

“Oh, come on, you didn’t find them either!”

 

“Shush, look, it’s starting up again.”

 

Right as they look back, Youta pulls his arm back, chucking his weapon at high speeds right towards Asen at an extreme angle. She swung her spear, smacking the sword away. She barely stopped eye contact with Youta to do so. He tried charging forward as she was distracted, but he couldn't get close enough. She kicked him, her larger frame being too much for him to block, knocking him backwards. He ended up right back at square 1.

 

She knows my tricks now. I gotta try something else.

 

I’m not giving him the chance to come up with a new plan!

 

As Youta weighed his options, Asen charged forward, attacking with her dull spear. Her range was so oppressive that he basically had no room at all. He tried his best to block her plunges while keeping his distance, but he was just wasting energy.

 

I can’t think straight like this!

 

After a few more blocks, he attempts something to give himself some breathing room. Using his sword, he pinned the tip of her spear to the ground.

 

This won’t last long. I need something!

 

He glances at the ropes behind him. An idea appears in his head. He calculates his next move. Before he had much time at all, Asen adapted to his staling. She simply charged forward, closing the distance. With his sword occupied, he had no way to block her striking him across the face with her arm. He fights through the pain and just barely dodges a follow-up attack from her spear. They now stand in opposite positions, exactly as he planned.

 

NOW!

 

He snaps his fingers. Asen suddenly feels a tug.

 

My leg! He touched it when I hit him!

 

Youta plants himself and pulls with enough force to knock Asen to the ground. Before she could get up, he activated his quirk in his other hand with a different target. The top rope behind Asen is pulled at an intense angle, just as Asen stands up.

 

What!?

 

As she stands up, he lets it go, forcing the rope to slap into her like a huge rubber band. She only has enough time to block the rope with her forearms, but it still pins her between the ropes. The intense sting is enough to make her drop her spear. She’s immobilized for the moment and drops her spear to the ground.

 

He came up with that so fast!

 

Now’s my chance!

 

As she’s stuck, he swings his wooden sword, smashing it across her face. Her cheek bruises immediately as her head is thrown to the side. She has to force herself not to fall over. He readies another swing. 

 

I can do this! Come on!

 

He sees the vague silhouette of his father.

 

Dad, are you watching!?

 

He swings again, this time aiming for her arms, but-

 

Slash-

 

Suddenly, Youta realizes his blade is in two parts. The top half lands outside of the arena. The rope breaks too, freeing Asen.

 

How the-

 

An event like this is perfect for learning to use your quirk in different ways. Earlier, you pulled multiple paintballs with your quirk at once. I’ve tried something new too.

 

Small light blades had literally grown out of her forearms arms, being just the blade, as opposed to the regular weapons she spawns. The blades cut through the rope holding her down and sliced Youta’s weapon in half at the same time. Youta is stunned. The blades return to her body.

 

It’s the first time I tried it in an actual combat encounter, but I’ve been training to have retractable blades. They’re small, and it takes a ton of concentration to use, but they’re perfect for keeping my stamina. It’s over, Youta!

 

Before Youta could plan his next move, she reached down and grabbed her spear, swinging it, knocking the other half of his weapon out of his hand and high into the air with another well-timed swing, she snaps the half in half again. Two small chunks of wood hit the ground next to Youta. He’s left defenseless. She held the spear to him, slowly moving forward as he stepped back. She didn’t let the excitement get to her, she kept a serious expression.

 

He’s cornered. But he might have something else up his sleeve.

 

She pressed him until his back was against the ring. She kept her mind malleable, ready for whatever his next move was. 

 

…

 

Youta calmly turned and hopped out of the ring. Asen nearly yells out stop, but it happens too fast for her to do it. The crowd is totally caught off guard. Yuufuku too.

 

“Uh- Youta is out of the ring! Asen Wins!”

 

The crowd explodes into cheers as Asen looks down at Youta, totally confused.

 

“Wh-why’d you do that!?”

 

Youta chuckles. But he doesn’t turn to face her.

 

“I was out of tricks, and without my weapon, there was no point.”

 

Asen relaxes, tossing her weapon aside. She starts feeling the sting from her bruise.

 

“I’ll admit, I underestimated you. If I didn’t play my cards right, you could’ve won.”

 

“Come on, don’t joke around. You were holding back. Saving your strength for Daken. It’s the only reason I did as well as I did. I had every disadvantage.”

 

“Don’t say that. You're a skilled swordsman.”

 

He threw his hand up in dismissal. He still didn’t look at her.

 

“That could’ve only gotten me so far. You had every advantage. You have every advantage.”

 

He finally turned to face her. His lip quivered, and his eyes teared up.

 

“Let me ask you… If you were born into my life, and I was born into yours, would anything have changed?”

 

…

 

She couldn’t answer. He accepted that.

 

“Earlier, I said some things I probably shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. You win, fair and square. Good luck in the final round. I’ll be watching.”

 

Chapter 36: Cutting Deep

 

He turned and walked towards the rest of the class. Asen was racked in conflict. She looked up at the cheering crowd. Her father's seat was still empty after he left during the last round. Youta walks right past the bleachers where the rest of the class sat. He kept walking until he was within the halls of the arena, away from everyone. He took an old school phone out of his pocket. It began to ring soon after. He put it back in his pocket, still ringing. Tears began to roll down his cheeks, flushed in red. He clenched his teeth together, trying to stop himself from sobbing.

 

I’m sorry… Mom… Dad…

 

…

 

Across the country, in a deep underground lab, animal fetuses floated in mysterious tanks. Vials upon vials of mystery concoction lined the walls. Microscopes zoomed in on mysterious specimens. The man in the trenchcoat walks through the facility into a less scientific, but just as expensive-looking room. It was like a lobby, full of chairs like a fancy waiting room. The room was pretty dark and seemed entirely empty. The man glanced around the room, not even noticing the cigarette being lit from the darkest corner of the room.

 

“Who’s the target?”

 

The man jumped, not even realizing someone else was in the room. He recalibrated himself quickly.

 

“You're the new hire, I assume?”

 

He took a deep, long inhale of smoke, blowing it into the open air.

 

“Who’s the target?”

 

“Hmph. Guess you couldn’t care less about who’s hiring you. Sounds about right for an assassin.”

 

“Correct. Don’t make me ask again.”

 

“Fine. Your target is a child, will that be a problem?”

 

“Name?”

 

The man felt a shiver from that response. The shiver you feel when facing something truly despicable. He kept it hidden.

 

“Towa Haruka.”

 

He glances back at the figure, but there’s nothing there

 

“Consider it done.”

 

The figure is suddenly standing right behind him. He jumps as his body subtly starts to panic.

 

When… did he get there?

 

The figure has changed; it’s warped from the basic shape of a man into the shape of some kind of beast. His voice is deeper and more like a growl. He radiates heat and is glowing a subtle orange. He smells of cigarette smoke.

 

“Your boss is aware of my prices, correct?”

 

“Of course. He only called you because he can afford you.” He tried his best to stay calm and speak confidently. In response, the monstrous figure pressed his cigarette into his shoulder, putting it out and leaving it there. His suit was just barely thick enough to stop it from hurting, but he could feel an uncomfortable amount of heat.

 

“Alright. We’ll be in touch.”

 

In the next moment, it was gone. He breathed out.

 

What the hell…

 

…

 

Back at the tournament, the sun had now gone down, the lingering light was vanishing by the moment, and giant, oppressive, artificial lights beamed down on the ring.

Yuta sat with the rest of the class, ready for the final event. Yuufuku knew what she had to do: amp up the crowd, one final time.

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the main event! Today has been truly a day to remember. These young heroes have fought with everything they have for that grand prize of TEN MILLION YEN! There are only two in the running now, and only one will take home the spoils.”

 

Asen walks out into the arena. She held her spear, her dull sword on her back. She still had a bruise on her cheek from her fight with Youta. Her exhaustion from throughout the tournament had really started to hit her.

 

“In one corner, we have the young valkyrie with the infinite arsenal, Asen Daguchi!”

 

The crowd exploded, but she was too distracted to even hear them. As she makes it to the ring, her opponent appears at the opposite side of the Arena. Daken walked with a repaired outfit; he had no visible injuries from his fight with Towa.

 

“In the other corner, we have the Demonic Brawler with the infinite endurance, Daken Tenshi!”

 

More cheers. Daken couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t fully shaken off his experience with Towa, but he was pushing it down. Eventually, he made it to the ring as well. They both got into position.

 

“Hello Daken.”

 

“Wassup.”

 

“May the best hero win.”

 

“Don’t be funny, heroics have nothing to do with it.”

 

“BEGIN!”

 

“The best fighter is the one winning!”

 

They both charged forward. It’s all led to this.

 

To be continued…

Notes:

IT’S TIME! The tournament is ending soon, and as much as I enjoyed writing it, I am very excited to move on so you can all see what's coming up next!

P.S. I’ve been playing a lot of Silksong, and god damn is it good. It’s pretty damn hard too, but I actually like that.

P.P.S. We're at 80,000 words! Isn't that crazy? I'm so proud of what I've done so far, but I'm just getting started!