A Hero's World
Ch 044 - Red Flags, Blue Flags, Green Flags Galore
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- TRAINING GROUND BETA OBSERVATION ROOM, FRIDAY -

“Listen up, students!” All Might’s loud shout pulled both 1-A and 1-B’s attention to him. Once all eyes were on him he pulled out a clicker, pressing a button as an image appeared on the main monitor behind him. “Today will be the first joint-training exercise between your classes! As such, your instructors, Dean Nezu, and I have prepared something special for you all!”

The hero students focused on the screen as “CTF” appeared in bright, flashy graphics. Some students were intrigued, some were worried, while the rest seemed confused or simply remained quiet, waiting for further instruction.

“Capture the flag!” All Might exclaimed. “No heroes versus villains today. It’s simply two teams trying to capture the opposing team’s flag and returning to their base for victory!” The Pro Hero held out a hand, with his pointer and middle finger forming a “V” sign, all while wearing his trademark smile.

Aizawa stepped up next, taking the clicker out of All Might's hand and continued from there, moving to the next slide with several rules for the match on display. "The rules are simple enough. Each match will be twenty minutes long. You win by returning your opponent's flag to your set base." His tired eyes scanned the room, making sure each student was following along. "However, your flag must be set at your base for the capture to count."

Pressing the clicker again, a map of the training ground appeared on the screen, with two teams of four appearing at the top. The only major thing of note was that most of the city was grayed out with only a small section remaining highlighted. The highlighted section gave the students a sixteen by nine block area to work with. Aizawa continued the explanation from there. “Each team will have four students each. Your base-” Aizawa clicked the button again, and the teams moved to different parts of the highlighted training ground, with a color-coded circle appearing near them. “Is wherever you decide within the designated combat zone.”

Vlad King spoke up next, his gruff voice filling the air as all the students looked at him. "Your flag must be visible. No using your Quirks to hide it inside the atomic structure of something, no hiding it within your Quirk, and no placing it in a place we deem impossible to reach." He stared at several students, keenly aware of the limits and capabilities of their Quirks. "As long as it's visible and possible to reach, it's legal."

One student, someone Izuku recognized as Nirengeki Shoda, raised their hand. Getting a nod from Vlad King, the rather portly student asked his question. "How are teams chosen? Is it random chance like our other exercises?"

All Might gave him a nod. "Indeed, young Nirengeki. However, we have something special in mind."

Aizawa pressed a button on the clicker once more, and the screen changed to show eight silhouettes, four colored red and the other four colored blue, with each set of four on one side of the screen. The silhouettes then moved around, with two red and two blue switching sides.

"MIXED TEAMS!" All Might proudly declared.

The students of 1-A and 1-B all shared an unsure look with one another, though some were curious about how well they could work together.

Iida raised his hand next, though he didn't wait for one of their instructors to address him. "Is this another lesson in random chances that occur during a patrol or operation?"

Vlad King quickly answered the blue-haired speedster. "Sorta. There's another element to it that we'll explain at the end of class."

With a grateful nod, Iida lowered his hand and waited for the three heroes to continue.

Aizawa turned to the screen. "We've already determined your teams last night through random chance." He turned to face the group of students, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he spoke. "So there will be no complaining, understood?"

“”"Yes, sensei!""" 1-A answered quickly and stiffly, much to the surprise of 1-B, who followed up with a much more subdued response.

With a nod, Aizawa pressed a button on the clicker, and the first team appeared. “Yaoyorozu, Koda.” His two students perked up as he addressed them. “You’re teamed with Fukidashi and Tetsutetsu. Congrats, you’re Team A.”

Koda nervously joined up with Momo, who was quick to put her fellow 1-A team member at ease as they moved over to Fukidashi and Tetsutetsu, but not before Momo gave a friendly wave to Eri. Seeing the nervousness of Koda, Tetsutetsu gave the animal-loving student a friendly smile while Fukidashi shifted his head to display a smiling emoticon.

The screen changed again. This time, Vlad King spoke up, calling on the next team. "Kendo, you and Tsuburaba are on a team with Sakurane and Todoroki. You all are Team B."

Like Momo, Shoka gave a small wave to Eri before making her way over to Itsuka and Tsuburaba with Shoto right behind her. Once they joined their 1-B teammates, Itsuka held up her hand, hoping that one of them would give her a high-five in return. Shoka snorted playfully before returning the gesture.

Aizawa called the next team, going on a rotation with his coworker. "Sero, Shinso, you're grouped with Monoma and Komori. You all are Team C."

"Shishida and Kuroiro, you two are with Tokoyami and Iida, making up Team D."

The next group received a few surprised looks from several members of 1-A. "Midoriya, Bakugo, you're with Awase and Tsunotori. You're Team E."

Izuku and Bakugo shared a tense look, the two of them measuring each other up silently. Neither gave a sign of approval or disapproval with the grouping, instead keeping their attention on their instructors. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku spotted Tsunotori and Awase making their way over to them.

Izuku took a moment to observe his new teammates. Tsunotori, he recognized. He remembered that she battled his team near the end of the Scramble Slam during the sports festival. He also remembered her launching her horns from her head and manipulating them, something that made his Quirk Nerd side excited to learn more about. Already his mind was working with ideas based on her Quirk, though he would need to talk with her and learn more about it.

Her hero costume was unique, if not thematic. The main body of the costume resembled a horse jockey uniform, consisting of an orange skin-tight that draped down to her mid-thighs, with long sleeves that were tucked into a pair of tan fingerless gloves, and a tan-colored collar and stripe running down her stomach. Underneath her shirt were a pair of tan pants, tucked into a pair of orange boots that protected her shins and hooves.

The most notable features of the costume were the horse's halter on her head, and several belts wrapped around her arms, lower torso, and boots, complete with a pair of stirrups attached to the belts on her boots.

It made Izuku wonder how functional her costume was. Just another question for later.

His eyes then moved to Awase. Izuku knew nothing about the guy, so it would be up to him to fix that. If they were going to be teammates, everyone needed to be on the same page.

Moving his thoughts along, Izuku took in Awase's appearance. The young man wore a burgundy, baggy full-body suit, with a large collar that covered his chin. A three-layered, chest-piece covered his torso, made of dark-tinted glass and metal, and a pair of dark-brown pads protected his shoulders with matching arm-guards. On his feet were a pair of white, knee-high boots that had dark-brown accents at his knees, and two light-blue cases on his right and left hips. Izuku assumed that, like the soft-cases on his belt, Awase's must have something within them pertaining to his Quirk.

"Howdy!" Tsunotori said as she sidled up next to the group. Izuku, Bakugo, and Eri blinked in response, surprised by the thick accent coming from the blonde hero student.

It took a second, but Izuku and Bakugo recognized the phrase, with Izuku returning the friendly greeting with his own. "Hello. It looks like we'll be a team today. I'm Midoriya Izuku, but feel free to just call me Izuku."

Pony beamed at the returned greeting, happy that someone outside her class understood her native language and spoke it rather well.

Seeing Izuku interact with the blonde gave Eri an understanding as well, with her giving a small wave to Tsunotori and Awase. "H-hi, I'm Eri."

"Well, hi there! My name's Tsunotori Pony, but just call me Pony," the blonde replied, switching back to Japanese, though Izuku and Bakugo noticed her accent was still rather thick despite her fluency.

Eri stared at the girl, wide-eyed, getting lost in Pony's rather large, Prussian-blue orbs before her gaze turned upwards towards Pony's horns. Eri raised a hand to her own horn, rubbing it while looking over at Mina, and then back at Pony. Noticing where Eri's eyes landed, Pony smiled and brought her hands up to her own jagged horns, holding out her index fingers to emphasize the long protrusions.

"It's nice to meet ya, Eri. Didn't expect to see a unicorn today," Pony said happily.

Eri mirrored Pony's actions, bringing her right hand up and holding out a tiny finger to emphasize her sharp, curved horn.

As Eri and Pony continued to interact, Awase spoke to Izuku in a sharp tone. "I'm surprised you speak English that good. Pony sometimes slips back into it at times, and only a few of us actually understand her."

Izuku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he replied. “Ah. Well, I watched a lot of All Might’s early interviews from his time in America, and I really wanted to know what he was saying outside of dubs and subs.”

Bakugo snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. "Still a fu-" He turned to look at Eri. Even though her attention was on Pony, he still held back his swear, remembering some of Best Jeanist's critiques. "Still a freakin' nerd."

Izuku shot Bakugo a blank look. "I also remember you watching those same interviews for the same reason I did," he said, causing the ash-blonde to choke on his spit. He pointed at himself and then at Bakugo. "Hi Pot. It's me, Kettle. Been a while since we last talked."

One of Bakugo's red eyes twitched as his lips curling into an annoyed scowl. Before Bakugo could retort, Aizawa spoke up as he, Vlad King, and All Might finished dividing up the students into their teams.

"All right. We'll run the computer and let it determine the match-ups," the Underground Hero stated as he interacted with the main computer.

All eyes were on the screen as a thick black bar ran right down the middle, dividing it as the two new sides rolled through each team randomly. It didn't take long for the first match-up to appear, with one side displaying Team G facing off against Team A. The process moved on immediately, with Izuku's Team E up next.

Facing off against Team B.

Izuku’s eyes met Shoka’s gray pools. He gave her a friendly smile, one that had a challenging edge to it. Shoka bobbed her head from side to side, all with a confident smirk on her face. She raised her hand, holding out her pointer finger and curled it several times, telling him in her own way to bring it.

As the match-ups continued to be determined, Eri grew concerned. She looked up at Izuku, tugging on his coat while keeping her voice low. "I-Izuku? Are you and Ms. Shoka going to fight? You won't hurt each other, right?"

Izuku took a moment to think about how to answer Eri to help her understand the situation better. "We might fight, but that's okay here. We're both trying to be better heroes, so we need to take things seriously. So don't worry. We won't be mad at each other after this or try to hurt the other too badly."

Seeing the little girl was still worried, Izuku thought up another way to explain it. "Just think of it like a game. Shoka and I are just on different teams for today. After we're done, we'll be back on the same team."

From the crowd, Himiko spoke up in a sing-song manner as she watched the interaction. "Such a Papa Bear~." Izuku, still unused to such an idea, rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, though he didn't exactly deny it.

"We're always on the same team, Izzy," Shoka called out, ignoring Himiko's remark -and missing the intense stares that Shoto, Iida, and Kyoka were sending the bun-haired young woman, who simply gave them a Cheshire grin. "That doesn't mean you better take it easy on me. I play to win, ya know?" She turned her head and gave her boyfriend a flirty wink. "And I expect a good prize when I do."

Bakugo, in his usual abrasive manner, made his annoyance known. "Will you two stop flirting already! Save it for when I don't have to listen to it." That earned him dirty looks from Izuku, Shoka, andMomo, though he couldn't care less and ignored them.

As the matches were set, Aizawa gave a single nod and motioned for the first two teams to come up to the front. "Now. Team A, Team G, pick your flag color, grab your radios, and move out. You'll have five minutes to prepare your zone."

Izuku turned to look at Momo, watching her as she donned a determined expression, the gears turning in her head as a plan formed. While she spoke with her teammates and selected their flag, Izuku turned his attention to her opponents.

Tsuyu and Aoyama were paired up with Shiozaki Ibara and Rin Hiryu. Based on the team make-up, Momo and her team were dealing with a good ranged-based team. Shiozaki also provided the means to capture anyone with her vines. On top of that, she and Tsuyu could even act as perfect ambushers. Aoyama provided excellent range, and his lasers were difficult to deal with, though Izuku figured Momo could use mirrors or something else that could reflect the concentrated beams to counter him. Even Tetsutetsu could do so as well if his Quirk made him reflective enough. Izuku didn’t have enough information on Manga or Hiryu, but this match would give him enough to work with.

“Um, Izuku?” Pony’s voice broke Izuku out of his thoughts. He turned to look at her, confusion apparent on his face. She pointed down, drawing his attention to a journal that -in her and Awase’s eyes- materialized out of nowhere. “I feel like I gotta ask where that came from, but I’m afraid of the answer.”

Bakugo snorted. "That's just what he does. Trust me, after years of that freaky habit, I've learned it's unbreakable. Same with that da-" He stopped himself again, checking to see if Eri was paying attention to them. Seeing that she was too engrossed with Izuku's journal, he continued, unabated and unwilling to censor himself, though he kept his voice low as he spoke. "That damn muttering he always does when he starts acting like a nerd."

Izuku shot Bakugo a dirty look and took a deep, calming breath before clarifying. "It's just an old hobby I started because of my dad. I like studying Quirks, and since mine was difficult to figure out initially, I thought I could learn from others and just recorded each and every one I came across."

"And the muttering?" Awase asked.

Izuku donned a flat expression, realizing that he had verbalized his thoughts aloud. Shaking it off, he looked at Awase and explained, a fond smile breaking out across his face at the memory of his first creative session with Mr. H. “Using my mentor’s own words, ‘My mind is thinking faster than it can process.’” Izuku shrugged his shoulders as he continued explaining. “I used to be a lot worse. I can keep it pretty contained in the middle of action, but when everything is calm, it just sorta spills out.”

Awase let out a hum. "Weird. But you do you, man."

Pony jabbed him in the side with her elbow, earning her an annoyed look from the headband-wearing hero student.

Eri's eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked at the page that had a well-made and detailed drawing of Momo in her current hero costume on it. She tugged on his battlecoat and pointed at the page. "You drew Ms. Momo!" She looked back up at him, her large red eyes gazing into his. "Did you draw Ms. Shoka too?"

Izuku smiled and flipped to the previous page, displaying Shoka in all her glory. Pony made an awed noise while Awase let out an impressed whistle. He then looked at the notes on the page next to the image, getting lost in all the little details Izuku had written.

"You did this for everyone in your group?" He asked as he looked around at all the 1-A students in the room.

"Yeah, I did," Izuku replied as if it was no big deal.

Bakugo spoke up next, nudging his head towards the monitors. "The nerd was thinking about what his ponytail girlfriend and her team would do against the other extras." On display were Momo and her team, setting up their flag as Momo used her Quirk to create a dozen more flags and stands.

Izuku blinked owlishly at the ash-blonde. Pony and Awase could practically see the shutdown and reboot of his brain in real time. After a moment of awkward silence, Izuku managed to find his voice. "You... actually understood me?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, scoffing at Izuku's question. "You ran that motor-mouth so much I frickin' had to, nerd. Trust me, I sure as hell didn't want to."

Izuku looked thoughtful at that unexpected fact. "So? How does my assessment sound?" He asked, curious to hear Bakugo's opinion.

Bakugo didn't answer right away. He simply stared silently at the two teams in question as they continued to set up their bases. "Knowing you, you're probably right. The animal lover might mess things up for them if someone gets up in his face. Anchorman can bring some muscle, at least. Don't know about Panel-Head, though."

Izuku looked back at Momo's group and saw them huddled together as they formulated a plan of attack. He saw Koda nod at something Momo said, stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called out into the air.

He turned his head to look at his two 1-B teammates. "Oi! Pony-girl. Headband. The nerd needs info on your friends."

Awase scowled at the basic nickname and fired back. "And there goes any cred you might have had, Sparky. Those names must have cost you the last two brain cells you had to come up with something as basic as those."

"OI!" barked Bakugo.

Izuku, Pony, and Eri just ignored the arguing teammates and focused on Izuku's notebook. Pony leaned in close, her face next to Izuku's as she peered over his shoulder. "What are y'all needin'?" She asked.

Izuku flipped to a fresh page, skipping past several members of 1-B he already had entries for. A pencil appeared in his hand, much to Pony's shock and Eri's enjoyment, and he looked at the blonde American. "Just some basic info about Manga's and Hiryu's Quirks."

Pony straightened her back and brought a finger to her chin, thinking of how to explain her coursemates' Quirks. "Well, Manga's Quirk is called 'Comic', and it lets him make an onomatopoeia." The young woman became animated as she gave her simple explanation. "So, like, he says the word boom, then he makes a sound effect and then based on what kind of boom he wants, it happens," she finished as she balled her fists before quickly opening them to emphasize her point.

The horned-blonde then moved her arms out in front of her, her excitement apparent as she struck a pose similar to one Izuku would use for Buster Shot. “For Rin, his Quirk is called Scaled. He can make scales on his body and launch them at targets, but he mostly uses his arms for that.” She crossed her arms as if to brace herself as she explained her next point. “They are pretty handy for defense! It helps that he’s pretty good at martial arts, too.”

She looked back at Izuku, who had already filled out one page with a quick -yet detailed- sketch of Hiryu and on the page next to it were notes on what she just described. It amazed her how fast he worked, and it just occurred to her that Izuku most likely had already made a similar entry for Manga.

Before she could comment on Izuku's quick hands, a voice from the front caught their attention.

"Vlad-sensei? Why is Yaoyorozu getting away with making multiple flags?" Monoma asked.

Vlad King turned his head, but kept his eyes on the monitors as both teams began their match. “The rules stated that the flag must be obtainable. We never said anything about having multiple flags. Yaoyorozu seemed to be merciful if you take a closer look.”

Izuku, like everybody else, focused on Team A's base and noticed an odd detail about the flags. They all had a white star on them. Their actual flag, however, had only five points instead of the six points like the others. It was a such a small detail that it was completely possible to miss if you didn't pay attention.

"As long as the other team recognizes Yaoyorozu's trick, it's fine," Aizawa said with a grumble.

"A logical ruse," Shinso commented dryly, earning a giggle from Himiko and a chuckle from Sero while their teammates looked at them curiously.

As the match was underway, Izuku watched on and brought his hand to his chin. Bakugo, out of the corner of his eye, recognized the gesture. "Of course you already have a plan in mind, nerd."

“Just the bare bones of one,” Izuku replied. He looked around the room, seeing who could paying attention to him and his team and listening in on them. Just because everyone was supposed to watch the match doesn’t mean they couldn’t start making plans for their own match.

That also meant they could listen in on other people’s plans since they knew who their opponents were beforehand if they were smart enough.

With that in mind, Izuku looked over to Shoka and her team. While she was paying attention to the match, he knew she could easily listen in on him if he wasn't careful. His words to Eri held weight.

They were playing a game. In fact, they were already playing it now. This was a chance to get an edge if he was careful about it. Izuku knew his girlfriends very well, Shoka and Momo knew him just as well.

"Awase. Pony." The two 1-B students turned to look at him, noting the serious look on his face. "I have a plan, but I think we need to switch to English." He said, nudging his head towards Shoka. Having Pony on the team gave them a certain edge, and he would capitalize on it.

Bakugo gave a begrudging nod to Izuku, agreeing with his green-haired teammate. It was still strange to him that the former-fearful nerd he knew had turned into a much more confident person, but he could respect the dedication and drive Izuku put into being a hero, even in these small moments.

He could also respect that Izuku and Shoka would bring their A-game, even if they were dating and were on different teams.

While Bakugo focused on the match, Izuku had one concern about this idea. Awase inadvertently revealed that his grasp of the English language wasn’t as strong as Bakugo’s or his own. Awase, picking up on Izuku's worries washed away any concerns Izuku had with a simple wave of his hand. “You guys talk to Pony about the plan. You can tell me about it when it’s our turn. I’ll keep an eye on the other team.”

Izuku nodded appreciatively at Awase. Pony leaned in, ready to help out as best she could, while Bakugo still kept a comfortable distance from the others, though Izuku knew he was listening. "Alright. Before we begin, how quick on your feet are you, Pony?"

As Izuku discussed the plan with his group, Shoka smirked. She had used her Quirk earlier to see how her boyfriend was doing with his team and picked up on what he was doing before he switched over to English. In a weird way, she was touched that Izuku considered her a potential threat. It just meant that he took her seriously.

"Izzy's cooking up a plan," she stated confidently to her team.

Itsuka and Tsuburaba looked at her, confused by her words, while Shoto understood her completely. "We should be worried," he stated plainly.

Shoka rolled her eyes. "Duh. Both Izzy and Momo are wicked smart, but Izzy knows Quirks. He knows our Quirks. He's probably making a plan for his team to work with and then fine tune it to combat us."

"Plus, his Quirk gives him an edge. I remember his match with Monoma," Itsuka said with a thoughtful expression. "He certainly has the versatility."

"That, and he's the one who beat that Minamimoto guy in Shibuya. And Bakugo is no pushover either," Tsuburaba added.

Itsuka conceded Tsuburaba's point with a slight tilt of her head before turning her attention to her other two teammates. "So... expect to work for the win." An excited grin found its way onto Itsuka's face. "Good. I want to earn it."

Shoka bobbed her head in agreement, pumped by the martial artist's energy and turned her attention back to the current match. On one of the screens, Tetsutetsu had just engaged Aoyama and Hiryu. She smirked when she noticed that Tetsutetsu seemed to be shinier than normal, her mind filling in the gaps. As Aoyama fired a laser from his belt, the beam reflected off of the steel-coated student, who angled his arms back at his two opponents.

"I swear, those two are on the same wavelength most of the time," she commented as she remembered Momo had given something to Tetsutetsu earlier in the match that must have been a polish of some kind, proving Izuku's earlier muttering accurate.

As the match continued, Shoka's group turned their attention to a different monitor that had Tsuyu leap into the enemy base. It was difficult to tell at first, but the 1-A students could tell from the minor shift in her flat expression that she was flipping between disbelief and annoyance at what Momo had done. On the next building over, Momo watched Tsuyu from a distance, ready to intercept the frog-girl if she discovered the ploy.

On another screen, Ibara kept her eyes peeled, most notably towards the sky. There were several birds circling the area, and Ibara had noticed them earlier. At the animals' odd behavior, Ibara dug her vines into the ground, ready to strike should they get too close. It was apparent that either Tsuyu or Aoyama must have given her a heads up about Koda and his Quirk. The observers inside the control room watched as something startled her, redirecting her attention to her left. Her vines reacted, breaching the ground in an attempt to capture what Ibara thought was a bird, only to grab nothing.

"What spooked Shiozaki?" Kaminari asked.

“Probably Fukidashi’s Quirk. He must have created a sound that made her worry that someone might have snuck up on her,” Yanagi answered.

Izuku studied the monitors, taking in all the information he could. Each action and every word was recorded in his journals while his mind filed away certain points for later.

After taking a few moments to put two and two together, Izuku smiled. "Fukidashi and Koda are pulling off a move," he stated confidently.

Eri craned her head up, her wide eyes staring at him expectantly. "What do you mean, Izuku?" She asked.

Her question drew the attention of several nearby students, who wanted to hear Izuku’s explanation just as much as Eri did.

Looking down at the little girl in his lap, Izuku was more than happy to explain. "Momo's team probably came up with an idea of how Fukidashi and Koda could work together. Remember how Pony said he can make sounds-" He pointed his thumb at Pony and then pointed to Yanagi. "and Yanagi confirmed it?" Eri nodded. "Well, Koda can speak to and command animals."

He looked back at the monitors that displayed Ibara, who reacted to another sound. It was quick, but he noticed a bird descend, getting closer and closer to the flag, only to have Ibara react and shoo it away. "Fukidashi is probably making chirps and other bird sounds with his Quirk to keep Ibara on her toes while Koda commands his birds to sneak in to grab the flag."

"And it worked!" All Might exclaimed. Everyone focused on the monitor as a separate bird used the distraction caused by its friend and Fukidashi's onomatopoeia, and stole the flag. "An excellent use of Team A's combined Quirks and ingenuity. Now, they must return Team G's flag to their base."

"It looks like Tsu figured out which flag is Momo's!" Ochaco said excitedly, bouncing on her heels as she pointed to the monitor Tsuyu was on.

"That's not going to help much now that Momo knows that," Shoka remarked as Momo used a grapple gun to soar over Tsuyu, dropping a cluster of Matryoshka dolls in her wake. Several of the dolls exploded in a flash of light, while others seemed to generate a loud bang, disorienting Tsuyu.

The end of the match turned into a mad dash, as Team G was forced to either advance into Team A’s base or capture the bird Koda had under his command. Ibara slowed down the bird’s flight, focusing entirely on it as she used her vines to chase after it. Aoyama moved to intercept, while Hiryu kept Tetsutetsu preoccupied.

In the middle of the skirmish, Fukidashi appeared, generating a new onomatopoeia. Tetsutetsu, noticing his teammate behind Hiryu. Knowing what was about to happen, he closed his eyes and covered his face. Hiryu assumed that his fellow 1-B coursemate was simply defending himself until a bright flash overtook his vision. Tetsutetsu used the opportunity to rush the Chinese hero student, slamming a steel-coated boot into his gut, and sending him rolling across the ground.

As the bird holding Team G's flag flew in a sporadic pattern to avoid Ibara's vines, a bright beam of light shot in front of it. This caused the bird to suddenly stop and squawk in surprise. This momentary pause allowed Ibara's pursuing vines to finally catch it. As the bird struggled, it dropped the flag, letting it flutter down to the ground.

Eri gasped at the sight and hid her eyes behind her tiny fingers. "The poor birdie," she said with a concerned frown.

Izuku was quick to alleviate her worries. "Don't worry, Eri. I don't think Ibara wants to hurt the bird. See?"

Eri peaked at the monitors in time to see a worried Ibara reel in her vines until they brought the bird to her. Once the bird was in her hands, she cradled it and gently stroking its head with her fingers. Despite there being no sound, everyone could guess that she was frantically trying to calm the little creature down. Once she felt her work was done, she held up her hands and the bird fly off as rays of heavenly light beamed down on her.

The observation room went quiet. No one really knew what to say regarding the odd scene. That was until Yanagi and Tokoyami spoke up in their own special manner.

"The Maiden of Light shines brightly once more."

"Even the birds of the air recognize her radiance."

To the group's surprise, even All Might made a comment. "I believe that was an Oriental Turtle-dove."

Aizawa let out a tired sigh. He didn't want to ask how the No. 1 Hero knew that, but the observation was something he never expected to hear from his colleague. His curiosity won out in the end, and Aizawa asked what was on everyone's minds. "How?"

All Might turned to Aizawa and gave him a wide, beaming smile as he answered. "You pick up a thing or two when soaring through the air as I do, Aizawa!"

The ever-tired hero simply stared at All Might, completely dumbfounded by his remark. Despite that, Aizawa still somewhat impressed All Might found some sort of hobby or interest in his work like that. Before he could comment on it any further, Vlad King drew his attention to the monitors. “And it looks like they’re about to finish this.”

On the screen, Momo was artfully dodging a series of kicks, leaps, and tongue lashings from Tsuyu, simultaneously weaving through her created flag posts with tremendous grace. Tsuyu didn't make it easy, however. Whatever other tricks Momo had, Tsuyu was quick to pick up on them.

Flashbangs? Tsuyu would leap into the air, right out of the effective zone. Glue grenades? Tsuyu could keep her distance and hop to a safe area.

That wasn't to say Momo was outclassed. Her time training with Edgeshot made her reactive, using more unorthodox tricks to catch Tsuyu off guard. Add on her skill with a bo staff, and Tsuyu had struggled to even land a clean hit on the raven-haired heiress.

As the group of hero students watched on completely engrossed in the small skirmish, they saw a victorious smirk grace Momo's lips. Placing her right hand at the side of her thigh, Momo used her Quirk to create a quick-fire grapple gun and immediately took aim at Tsuyu and fired. The frog-girl leaped to the side, easily dodging the open claw and watched it sail past her.

Her normally expressionless eyes widened just a fraction as the claw grabbed her team’s flag and was already being retracted. In a desperate move, Tsuyu launched her tongue at the closed claw, hoping to retrieve her flag before Momo could claim victory. Before Tsuyu’s tongue could catch the flag, Momo slammed her left forearm into the retracting grapple line, causing it to move off its course before the reeling line course-corrected itself.

When the claw returned, Momo claimed the flag, resulting in a victory chime blaring through the klaxons placed throughout the training ground.

All Might leaned in close to the main console and gently gripped the microphone. "Team A has captured Team G's flag! Victory is theirs! Everyone, return to the monitoring room for your after-action reports."

Aizawa turned to the next two teams, his voice sharp as he addressed them. "Teams B and E, get ready to go."

Izuku and Shoka shared one last look, giving each other an affectionate smile while excitement danced within their eyes. An unspoken challenge was shared between them, and both of them wanted to win.

----------

As soon as Momo returned to the control room, Eri immediately made a B-line to the young heiress, all the while congratulating her on her victory. Momo blushed at the little girl's words and continued to do so even after Eri had climbed up into her lap as soon as she sat down. Now, though, Eri's focus was elsewhere. Her body was stiff with apprehension as she kept her eyes on the monitors in front of her. Despite Izuku’s words, she was still worried about him and Shoka fighting each other.

Momo could clearly see the minor distress on the little girl’s face. Momo gave Eri a gentle squeeze, causing Eri to turn her attention to the raven-haired heiress. “Don’t worry, Eri,” Momo said calmly, hoping to alleviate the little girl’s worries. “Zuzu and Shoka will be fine. It’s only training.”

Eri gave the heiress a tentative nod. "I-I know. I just don't want them to get hurt."

Momo smiled, hugging the little girl on her lap. "And that's a very sweet sentiment, Eri. Just remember, they may get a little rough with each other while training, but it's so they can be better heroes."

Momo's ears twitched at the sound of several footsteps coming closer to her and Eri. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Shinso and Himiko standing behind her. She gave the pair a nod and turned her attention back to the screens, watching as Izuku and Shoka's teams made their way into the training ground.

"How do you think they will do?" Momo asked.

Shinso studied the screens, watching his friends and their teams already discussing plans as they determined their base zone. "It'll be a fair game," he said. "Aizawa had the three of us spar with each other regularly before we got accepted, so Izuku and Shoka have a good read on each other." He shot Momo a knowing look. "Pretty sure you know all about that, yeah? Maybe joined in on the fun?"

Momo outed cutely at Shinso's words, already covering Eri's ears, much to the little girl's confusion. "Shinso!"

Himiko giggled at the reaction while Shinso ignored the pointed stare sent his way. "I'm just being honest," he said with a lazy shrug. "Jokes aside, Izuku can easily come up with a plan, but Shoka's an adaptive fighter. I think it will come down to how much friction him and Bakugo still have."

Momo looked over at the screen displaying Izuku's team with a worried face. Izuku's team had set up within a small park area within the training ground. The spot was rather open, with several roads leading to its center, where a green flag stood at the foot of a fountain. There were several tall buildings around the area, something she expected Izuku and his team to take advantage of.

It made her wonder what her boyfriend was thinking.

As she continued to watch, Momo saw Izuku had taken off his battlecoat and started making several surgical cuts just under the arm slots. She couldn’t help but smile and feel flattered as she realized what his initial plan was. As he cut his coat into multiple triangles, similar to his team’s flag, he turned to speak with Bakugo.

A frown appeared on Momo's face as she saw the lingering tension shared between her boyfriend and his former-friend. In her mind, Shinso's statement was accurate. Izuku and Bakugo still had issues, even if most of those had faded after the sports festival. It was rather apparent as Izuku and Bakugo both displayed some slight frustration with each other, though they managed to calm themselves down after taking a second to breathe.

Bakugo moved back a bit and began rolling his shoulders before switching things up and swinging his arms around while flexing his hands and muscles.

"Bakugo seems to be building up his reserves," she observed. "With Todoroki on the other team, Izuku must be worried that he may create thicker ice structures. Bakugo might be their initial ace if that happens."

Shinso nodded along, thinking the same thing. "At least we don't have to worry about structural damage this time around. Todoroki is free to drop a glacier if he feels like it." He turned to look at the other screens, noting that Todoroki seemed to be preparing himself for something big as Itsuka set up her team's flag.

"What's Izuku doing now?" Himiko asked, drawing their attention to the other screen.

They watched as Izuku and Awase assembled several more flag stands with the latter's Quirk before Izuku took them and stood at the edge of the park and held out an arm. Green and black tendrils shot out from his arm and hand, launching themselves at the edge of one of the taller buildings that surrounded the park. He flew through the air, holding his makeshift flags tightly in his other hand as he crested the building's rooftop edge.

Eri pointed at the screen, a sliver of excitement in her voice as she recognized what Izuku had done. "That's the pin Izuku and me drew!"

Momo chuckled at the little girl's jubilation. "I see. Did you help him with this new Psych of his?" She asked.

Eri looked up at Momo and nodded. "Mhm. He was showing me how to draw bunnies like he does." A thoughtful look crossed Eri's face as she tried to remember what the pin looked like. "Um... His bunny was green. And fluffy!" Eri then made circles with her hands and held them over her eyes. "And it had these yellow goggles on its face. Then, it had those things that came out of Izuku's arms coming out of the bunny's hands. Then-"

Eri then brought her hands and stared at them, counting her fingers to make sure she had the right number in mind. Holding up an open hand, she continued describing Izuku's pin. "And then Izuku said he put the word 'five' on it."

Momo smiled brightly at the red-eyed girl on her lap, trying her best not to bounce in her chair at how animated Eri was. "Is that right?"

Shinso couldn't help but comment on the whole thing. "And now he has an ace up his sleeve. Wonder how Shoka will handle it?"

"Like she does with everything else. With snark and grace," Momo said with a fond smile. She continued to watch the screens in front of her, her onyx-colored eyes switching back and forth between her boyfriend and girlfriend.

----------

Izuku cupped his chin in his hand, tapping a finger against it as he stared out into the fake city in front of him. On his left, Awase was checking his equipment, making sure he had plenty of materials to work with for the match. Bakugo stood further back, checking his gauntlets and ensuring he produced enough sweat for a powerful blast or two. Pony was on his right, stretching her legs while humming a happy tune.

"So. You think Todoroki is going to freeze the whole place?" Awase asked.

"It's possible," Izuku responded. "If anything, he may create a thick-enough block of ice to protect his team's flag."

Bakugo spoke up from there, continuing the conversation. "Which is where I come in. Whatever Icy-Hot makes, I'll blast it to hell."

Izuku bobbed his head and gestured at the ash-blonde. "What he said."

Awase looked at the two 1-A students and then at Pony. "And you think this plan is gonna work?"

Pony trotted over to the group, a wide smile on her face as she patted Izuku on the back. "Yep! I believe in Izuku!"

Awase let out a snort and rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. He made you the key player in all this."

Pony turned to her fellow coursemate and playfully stuck her tongue out at him. While it was true Izuku made it a point she would be the key to their plan, internally, she was worried she would mess things up and disappoint her team. Despite that, Izuku put his faith in her, Awase trusted her, and even Bakugo's blunt "Don't fuck it up" could be translated to a rough "you got this". With that being said, Pony felt she could pull off the win for her team.

It all came down to how the other team would act if they caught on to Izuku's plan quickly enough.

----------

Shoka crossed her arms as she stood next to Shoto, glad that her coat could handle the biting cold Shoto was emitting. Her lips formed a thin pout as she looked out at the fake city. She figured that by now, Izuku had already established a plan, refined it with his team, and was now mimicking her -or she him, though that was arguing semantics- as they waited for the match to start.

"So," Itsuka said as she joined the raven-haired girl, "you think Midoriya will try to trick us?"

"Most def," Shoka replied with a firm nod. "Izzy makes plans, just like Momo. It's what they do."

Itsuka nodded at that. With how the last match went, she saw how effective Momo was at planning. If Izuku was the same as her, Itsuka and her team would have their work cut out for them. Both Shoka and Shoto alleviated her concerns, however, with both of them going through what plans Izuku might have thought of, how Bakugo would possibly act, and what they could do to either slow down the both of them, or -if by some miracle- stop them completely.

Itsuka would just need to worry about capturing the flag, as Shoka and Tsuburaba would back her up and act accordingly, while Shoto would play defense. It was a solid enough formation that allowed for quick thinking and reaction based on what they learn of the other team's plan while on the go.

"While I would prefer a clean victory, a tie against Izuku and Bakugo is fine with me," Shoto stated plainly.

"Yeah, that could work," Tsuburaba said, joining the conversation. "But I really wanna win. I'm sure Awase and Pony won't hold it against us if we do."

Shoka smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "And I won't mind seeing Sparky Sparky Boom Boom blow his top if we do." Her smirk faded as she looked at Itsuka. "Do you really think Awase and Pony will play into Izuku's plan like you think they will?"

A thoughtful look crossed Itsuka's face as she thought about the question. "Maybe. Awase's Quirk makes him the perfect trapper, so we just need to avoid cramped spaces or letting him meld anything with his Quirk. Pony can either play the role of an attacker or runner. Those horns are no joke and can be a pain to deal with, so watch out for those."

"Tell me about it. I still cringe whenever I remember how they almost pierced my air walls," Tsuburaba stated.

Shoka hummed in thought before looking back at the city. "We'll just play it by ear if we have to."

[Thirty seconds.]

----------

"You ready for this, Niner?" Banjo asked as Izuku Blinked to the rooftop of a building in front of their zone.

'Yeah. Thanks for staying to help me with the new Psych,' Izuku replied as he heard a pair of explosions follow after him as Bakugo crested the rooftop edge right after him.

"Ain't a problem, Niner. There ain't nothing wrong with me giving you some pointers with this new Psych of yours," Banjo remarked. "Just remember, we ain't here to hold your hand. Training is something you gotta deal with. You can expect us to give you our thoughts when all is said an done, though."

'Right. I remember,' Izuku replied as he stared at the pin set in his left glove.

Abyss Fiber, the Psych made to emulate Black Whip. While it resembled Black Whip visually to a large degree, according to Banjo, it acted differently than its originator, albeit slightly. While emotions did fuel the Psych, anger and rage didn't cause it to spiral out of control. It may be limiting, much like the effective timer and number of threads Izuku could muster at the moment -which was currently four- but it was enough to get a baseline started as the Psych had room to grow.

There was the added benefit that the past users could aid him by using his Psychs to a degree. Banjo had quickly claimed that only he could help Izuku with Abyss Fiber since that was his Psych, and the others immediately claimed their future Psychs. Yoichi had proven that he could reactively use Resolute without Izuku’s input, giving the hero student an automatic defense while he focused on using his other Psychs.

The only downside was the effective shield wasn't as strong as when Izuku used it.

"Well, it's an honor to work alongside ya, Niner." Izuku smiled at Banjo's confidence and trust in him.

[Fifteen seconds.]

"You ready?" Banjo asked. While he couldn't see it, Izuku could tell the past user was smiling.

After checking his set Psychs, Izuku mentally nodded. He turned to look at Bakugo, catching his teammate’s eyes. The two said nothing to each other. They simply gave each other a quick nod, acknowledging the other, and turned to look forward as the countdown neared its end.

[Five.]

Izuku felt his muscles coil up like springs as he readied himself to move.

[Four.]

The scent of caramel wafted through the air as Bakugo released a series of small pops from his palms.

[Three.]

Pony's hooves clopped against the street as she took up a runner's stance, her large Prussian-blue eyes focusing on the road ahead of her.

[Two.]

Awase locked his fingers together and popped them before wiggling them as he moved them to his satchels.

[One.]

Izuku channeled his energy through his body as lightning danced across his form. His set Psychs all reached out to him, ready for use.

[START!]

Izuku and Bakugo launched themselves from their perch, moving together as sped through the air in search of Team B's zone.

Bringing up a hand to his headset, Izuku spoke into the mic, calling out to his teammates. "Rocketti. We'll let you know when we reach Team B's zone. For now, maintain a brisk pace. Don't tire yourself out and stay out of sight."

"Can do, Link!"

"Welder checking in. I finished setting up the first lane. I'm going to start patrolling the area."

"Understood. Everyone, report any movement you see." With that, Izuku focused on keeping up with Bakugo as the ash-blonde expertly weaved through the towering cityscape.

Wanting to get some more experience with Abyss Fiber, Izuku held out his left hand as his body fell towards the ground. Focusing his energy towards his palm, a thick black and green whip of energy shot out and latched onto the edge of a roof. At the angle he hit, his body flew in an arch, his feet nearly scraping the ground. He winced internally at how close he was to fumbling, but the euphoria of soaring through the air immediately replaced any worries he had.

The wind rushed past his hood-covered head, his floppy bunny ears whipping about wildly as a wide smile broke out on his face. Not even Banjo could hold back his joy at the freedom of movement Izuku was currently experiencing.

"Never gets old," the fifth-wielder said with a fond tone.

"Just wait until Izuku can fly. Now that's freedom," Nana said before cutting off her connection. As much as she wanted to help Izuku out with his training, she agreed with Two and Three's remarks that while in a safe environment, Izuku had to learn on his own.

They would give their two-cents after training, though, just to make sure he could glean some more experience from them and how they would have handled this session.

As Izuku used his newest Psych for a few more swings, he switched up his movement, relying on his free-running skills as he traversed the rooftops. He kept his head on a swivel, looking to spot even the slightest movement that would give away Team B's position or their members.

"Your girlfriend must have read you like a damn book, nerd," Bakugo remarked as he rolled up beside Izuku. "Icy-Hot was probably told to keep from alerting us where their flag is. Make us waste as much of our damn time as they can."

Izuku agreed with his teammate's assessment. It was a smart play on Team E's part. "We'll just have to split up to cover more ground. We're still in the early game, and they shouldn't learn about our trick too soon if we're lucky."

“You’re really banking on Pony-girl to pull it off.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement, and one that Izuku could tell Bakugo still wasn’t entirely a hundred percent on. He took several minutes before the match started just to convince Bakugo that the plan would work.

The fact Izuku had to play into his former-friend's pride helped, even if Bakugo knew he was being played.

"I trust my team to pull through," Izuku replied resolutely. He glanced at Bakugo, his emerald green eyes meeting the bomber's feral red ones. "Even you, Bakugo."

Bakugo held Izuku's gaze for a moment before silently turning his head away.

"Fine," he said gruffly. "I'll take the left." With that, Bakugo rocketed away, blasting through the air and leaving Izuku alone on the rooftop.

Izuku watched his teammate for a moment before turning his attention to the other half of the city. "Then the right side is mine."

----------

Shoka leaped onto the wall of a building and scaled it as Itsuka and Tsuburaba ran down the street below her. They were nearing the area she would stop at and act as an interceptor should they spot anyone from Izuku’s team. So far, after only two minutes in, there had been no sightings of her boyfriend or Bakugo.

It worried her greatly.

Bakugo would be easy to notice. Either you would see an explosion or hear it. So far, they hadn't, nor had Shoto radioed in to alert them. Izuku was another matter, as his teleporting -while a pain she could deal with- was much more difficult to spot, even with the size of the area they were using for their training exercise.

The only upside Shoka saw was that, unlike Momo, Izuku had to rely on his team's sight and ability to share information. Momo lucked out with Koda being on her team, as he could turn the entire animal kingdom into a spy network.

A call from Itsuka broke Shoka out of her thoughts as her radio crackled to life. "Shokat. We're going to move ahead and look for their base from here on out."

"Got it, boss," Shoka replied as she lazily waved at the pair of 1-B students.

As the two sprinted down the road, Shoka's Quirked ears picked up a sound she was looking for. She turned her head right, noticing a series of brief, sequential explosions trailing through the air. They were too fast for her to catch up without giving herself away, but what worried her was how close they were to her team's zone.

The lenses of her mask narrowed as she scanned the skyline for any sign of a green bunny. Bringing a hand up to her radio, she hit the call button and spoke into her mic. "Shoto. Nitros is getting close to you. Get ready to freeze his ass."

"Understood." Shoka chuckled at the curt reply, though she can't say she didn't expect it from Shoto.

Lowering herself to the rooftop’s gravelly surface, Shoka pounced forward, clearing a sizeable gap between her starting point and her destination. She moved swiftly from there, keeping a lookout for any spot of green. If Bakugo was close to their base, Izuku wasn’t far behind.

She figured he was expecting Shoto to guard the flag. It’s why she brought up the idea for Shoto to hold off on freezing their zone. Doing it at the start would just give Izuku an idea of where to go. If his team was going to make her team waste time searching for their flag, then they would do the same.

Turnabout was fair play, after all.

As Shoka leaped onto the side of another building, her Quirk nails digging into the concrete facade, she spied a flash of green in her peripheral vision. Moving quickly, she climbed the building and scanned the area, catching sight of her boyfriend as he searched for her team's flag. Capitalizing on her advantage, she silently stalked up to him.

She came to a sudden stop and hung off the edge of the building when Izuku's head turned in her direction. Carefully, inch by inch, Shoka shimmied along the wall, making sure to keep her noise to a minimum as she moved closer to Izuku. Her Quirked ears twitched as she heard Izuku's radio crackle to life. She could easily recognize Bakugo's abrasive voice on the other end.

The issue was the language he and Izuku were speaking. She pouted at her boyfriend's continued use of English as he made it difficult for her to understand the whole conversation. What she could pick up made her realize that Bakugo had found Shoto.

A chilling breeze suddenly blew through the city streets, confirming that fact.

"Subtle, Shoto. Real subtle," she heard Izuku remark dryly.

Seizing her chance, Shoka climbed up to the roof and pounced. Claws extended, she was inches away from Izuku when he suddenly Blinked away. Right as she landed, she was forced to roll out of the way as Izuku appeared above her, slashing down at her with an Excalibur energy blade.

"Sup, Link," Shoka said as she stopped rolling and stood up. Despite the casual greeting, her body was tense, her Quirked tail flicking behind her as she kept her eyes on her boyfriend.

“Hey, Shokat,” Izuku returned the greeting with a smile. “You nearly got me there.” Shoka could see that even he wasn’t letting his guard down despite the friendly banter. Green arcs of lightning danced randomly across his body, alerting her to the fact that he was using All as One.

"Yeah. But you just had to use your teleport cheat on me," she said with a playful pout. "Kinda ruined my plans to pounce that cute butt of yours." With a shrug of her shoulders, she lowered her stance, holding her claws out in front of her. "Oh well. Guess I'll just have to play with my meal for a bit. I wanna savor my win when it happens."

Izuku chuckled at her words. "Honestly, I was expecting a chase or something."

"We can still do that if you really want." Shoka then swayed her hips, causing Izuku's focus to shift for only a second onto her body. "Just let me nab your flag and you can chase me all the way back to my base. I score the win and then score some more after the match. Kinda like our little race we had before our internships~."

Izuku's face lit up at the reminder of that day. Shoka couldn't help but chuckle as the sporadic lightning had grown even wilder as he struggled to keep a straight face. "R-right. M-maybe next time. I want to win just as bad as you do." A dry chuckle escaped his lips as he regained his focus. "Plus, unlike you, I have a Bakugo on my team. If we lose, I'll never hear the end of it."

Shoka rolled her eyes but understood him completely. "Fair," she replied, conceding his point.

She watched as Izuku's left hand twitched and opened up. She expected him to use Verdant Orbit or maybe Buster Shot, but then she noticed that Orbit wasn't in its usual spot. Instead, Izuku had pinned that Psych to the cuff of his left glove. The sight made her look over the rest of him. Buster Shot was pinned to the cuff on his right glove, while his belt had Resolute, Blink, Vitali-Tea, Scratch Rhapsody, and Breaker Force pinned to it.

Taking a better look at his left glove, Shoka finally noticed his newest Psych. From that alone, she knew Izuku wouldn't make it easy for her.

There was something else that gave her pause. Her eyes widened, an action mimicked by her mask's lenses as she realized she could spot all of Izuku's Psychs.

She knew she had to alert her team, but Izuku moved too quickly for her to do so. Two black tendrils of energy shot out from his left hand and raced towards her. She adjusted her body, slipping through a gap as they threatened to wrap around her. As she skidded across the rooftop, the tendrils of energy went slack and reeled back to Izuku's hand.

Shoka broke off into a sprint, rushing Izuku before he could make his next move. Planting her foot down, she spun on her heel, lashing out her other foot as she sent a high kick at Izuku’s face. Izuku dodged the attack, bending over backward while quickly whipping his left arm up. The tendrils that whipped out from his arm forced Shoka to dodge the sudden lashing, pushing her away from him.

Keeping up her momentum, the cat-themed hero student dropped to all fours and dashed around Izuku, keeping her movements sporadic to keep him from guessing her pattern. Shoka feinted an opening and watched as he used Blink to avoid the feint. Using her senses, she picked up on his sudden reappearance and spun around in time to swipe away his hands as he attempted another slash with Excalibur.

Shoka could have capitalized on the opening she created. Instead, she decided to play around with her boyfriend. Pushing into Izuku’s personal space, her lips pressed against his for a brief, yet intense kiss before she leaped away.

----------

"See, Eri," Momo said to the little girl in her lap. "Zuzu and Shoka are fine. Even if this is training, they're still friendly with and care for each other."

Eri didn’t reply right away. Instead, she just gazed at the screen, watching the subtle smiles forming on Izuku and Shoka’s faces.

She had seen Izuku, Shoka, and Momo share a small kiss now and then when they thought she wasn’t paying attention, and it always happened when they were all feeling happy. Seeing it happen now helped wash away some of her worries.

"Get it, Shoka!" Mina cheered playfully from her spot.

"Geez. They really can't help themselves, can they?" Kyoka muttered good-naturedly.

At the front of the room, All Might chuckled at the sight, his smile broadening at the surprised look on his successor's face.

Right next to him, Aizawa grumbled about his Problem Children, making All Might chuckle even more.

----------

With the little time she gave herself with her actions, she quickly called out to her teammates. "Link made decoy flags, just like I thought he would."

Before she could share anymore information, Izuku lashed out with a punch, forcing her to block the head-on attack with her arms. She hissed as the force of the attack sent her skidding back.

'Crap. I actually felt that one,' Shoka mentally groused. She focused her attention back on Izuku, who was already on the move. 'And that's him having to hold back...'

Despite that, Shoka smiled, ready to battle her freckled boyfriend.

----------

Itsuka brought a hand to her ear and tapped the call button on her radio. "Yeah, we noticed," she remarked as she and Tsuburaba spotted several flags dotting the park. Shoka hadn't called back, so she assumed her teammate was currently fighting Izuku.

"Do you remember what their flag looked like?" Tsuburaba asked.

Itsuka shook her head. "No, but I'm going to assume that it must have something on it that stands out. Like Yaoyorozu's flag had a star with five points instead of six." She looked around, trying to find something off with the flags, only to see them all be the same flat, green color with no other discernible markings.

Her instincts flared as she looked around the park. She and Tsuburaba hadn’t run into anyone from Team E, but the path they took was littered with blockages. Now, they had to figure out which flag was the right one, meaning they could be wasting time and allow someone from the other team to ambush them.

Teal eyes scanned the grounds as shadows seemed to dance within her vision. It made Itsuka worried that someone was just waiting to pop out of them. She kept her body tense, but loose enough to react quickly if she had to. Tsuburaba seemed to notice, but before he could comment on it, Itsuka spoke up. "Let's move. We need to find their flag."

She subtly pointed her finger upward, motioning towards the various alleyways along the borders of the park before pointing out the makeshift covers dotting the park. Giving her a nod, Tsuburaba followed behind her as they entered the small park, in search of Team E's real flag. Before they could even begin, Awase popped up from behind a makeshift pillar, his hands blurring as he pulled out various pieces of metal from the satchels at his side.

Tsuburaba reacted and inhaled deeply, and exhaled, generating a large wall of air that effectively blocked Awase's surprise attack.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Awase retreated as Itsuka gave chase for a moment before stopping herself, realizing that her fellow 1-B coursemate was leading her into a trap. "Not going to be that easy, Welder," she called out as she took up a guarded stance.

From behind his cover, Awase let out a heavy huff. "Yeah. Figured that much out on my own, Prez." He wanted to catch one of them off guard, to capture either of them and make things easier on himself. Sliding a hand into his satchel, he checked to see how much metal he had left. His mental count told him he had plenty, but he needed to make it last now.

If he couldn't capture them, he needed to keep them occupied.

Awase peeked behind his cover, watching as Tsuburaba slowly encroached on his position while Itsuka maintained hers while looking around the area. His eyes quickly glanced over at the fountain several meters away and let out a relieved sigh at Itsuka hadn't noticed the empty flagpole.

So far, their plan was working. Awase just hoped Itsuka and Tsuburaba wouldn't notice until the big reveal until his team could steal Itsuka's flag.

----------

Izuku winced as he heard Shoka’s heel collide with a reinforced corner of the building he moved away from. He didn’t worry that she had hurt herself, no. He was concerned and grateful he had dodged in time as the sounds he heard from behind him were of destruction and a rather annoyed Shoka.

He turned his body around, keeping his eyes trained on Shoka as he did. He gulped at the sight of small concrete chunks as they dropped to the ground like a rocky waterfall. As Shoka stood up straight, striking a pose as she peered at him from over her shoulder. The lenses of her mask narrowing ever-so-slightly as she locked eyes with him.

In Izuku's opinion, it was both an intimidating and rather sexy sight.

'And now I know why I had a crush on Mirko,' he thought, seeing a faint image of the Rabbit Hero overlaying itself onto Shoka.

"Had?" Banjo asked. "Keep telling yourself that, Niner. You still have it bad for that badass bunny. And now you're girlfriend had a chance to learn from her."

Izuku ignored the vestige, keeping his attention on Shoka as she spoke up. "You know, Link. You got me thinking about something."

Izuku froze at her words. Slowly, he shifted his body, ready to move to intercept if Shoka tried anything. Deciding to buy his team more time, he replied to her, keeping the conversation going. It would also give him a second to catch his breath. They had been fighting nonstop for a couple of minutes now, and they were going tit-for-tat the entire time.

It made him miss the spars they used to have at Takobah Beach.

“Oh? And what were you thinking about? Is it a prize if your team somehow wins?” he asked her.

“Nah,” Shoka replied cheerily. “Thanks for the reminder, though. I could use a really deep massage after we win. Your hands are pretty magical, after all.” Her playfulness left her at that moment, replaced instantly by an air of seriousness around her. “No. I just remembered that while you like to take on the risks for your team, you also like to make sure everyone gets a chance to shine.”

Shoka lowered her body, placing a clawed hand onto the pavement as her tail twitched wildly. A second passed, then another, as Shoka and Izuku stared each other down. After a tense moment, Shoka's cat ears twitched, with one of them tracking something off in the distance. "Clever, Link."

As soon as she moved, Izuku shot out his arm, summoning four whips of Abyss Fiber instead of two. It would drain the Psych faster, but he needed to catch Shoka before she could get away from him. The first missed Shoka as she bounded onto the building behind her. Two other whips lashed at her, forming a corkscrew as they encircled her. Shoka once more displayed her flexibility as she effortlessly slipped through the gap, maintaining her speed as she ascended the building.

Izuku clicked his tongue and made sure his last whip anchored itself along the roof's edge, reeling himself in as he chased after Shoka. He flew past Shoka and hovered in the air for a moment as he called out to his team. "Rocketti! Shokat knows where you are!"

He felt his stomach drop as Shoka called out to him as she moved towards the iced-over area of the fake city. "Nope! But thanks for telling me what your plan is. Love ya, Link!"

'My girlfriend just played me,' he mentally chided himself.

"And that's on you, Nine," came the disappointed voice of the second user of One for All. "We'll be sure to bring that point up once this exercise is done."

Ignoring the vestige, Izuku held out both of his hands, aiming them past Shoka at the building in front of her. Two tendrils of energy shot out, and anchored themselves into the concrete rim of the roof. Izuku felt his power surge as green arcs of lightning danced across his body, and he pulled, effectively sling-shotting himself towards Shoka.

Sensing danger, Shoka looked over her shoulder, her lenses widening in surprise as she ducked under a green bolt that sailed over her. The force behind Izuku's movements caused the air around Shoka to stir, creating a small jet stream that nearly made her lose her footing. Shoka was quick on her feet, however, and used the gust of air to her advantage as she leaped onto the next building, using the boost to easily clear the gap.

Izuku had caught up with her, using All as One to close the distance. As soon as he was close enough, he lunged. He expected Shoka to dodge, which she did, and Izuku used Blink to course-correct and caught her mid-Blink. Shoka struggled and grunted as she tried to escape his grasp, though that only forced Izuku to wrap his arms tighter around her.

"Not the time to get all handsy with me, Link," she said. While Izuku could pick up on the annoyance she had for her situation, he could still hear some amusement in her tone. "If we need to, we can dip somewhere the cameras won't see us."

"Maybe next time," he replied with a grunt.

"Shame." Despite his firm grip, amplified by his Quirk, Shoka's Quirk aided her efforts to escape him. Much like a slender cat, she slipped out of his arms with some effort and flipped Izuku onto his back.

The next thing Izuku saw was a claw dangerously close to swiping his face. Reacting quickly, Izuku used Blink to appear a few meters away, just in time to see Shoka already on the move again. Izuku sprinted after her, using a combination of his physical boost with the remaining jumps with Blink to catch up with her. His ears picked up the sound of explosions as an intense shiver ran down his spine.

Ahead of him and Shoka loomed a large, broken structure of ice. Jagged towers surrounded a thick dome, some half melted while others were marred with cracks and holes. The dome suffered only minor damage, a testament to how durable Shoto made it.

Before either student could comment on it, another loud explosion rocked the area, right as a wall of ice emerged on the streets below.

"GOD DAMN IT, ICY-HOT!"

"Keep wasting time, Bakugo. My ice will hold while my fire keeps you away."

Shoka ignored the byplay happening below her. Instead, her ears twitched as she scanned the area. Her right ear suddenly twitched rapidly, and she smiled. As Izuku rushed her, Shoka was already leaping off the building and racing across the streets towards an orange blur in the distance.

As she raced down the street, her radio flared to life with Itsuka's voice coming through the receiver. "Shokat! Shoto! Team E's flag isn't here! They must have pulled a trick on us."

Shoka turned the corner and caught sight of Pony. As the American girl raced down the road, Shoka spotted a fluttering green flag with a white star in its center on her person. After blindly dodging an energy bullet from Izuku, Shoka increased her speed as she chased after Pony, answering Itsuka's call as she did. "Rocketti's got it. I'm on her, and Link's on me, so hurry up, turn Blasty into a boomsicle and help me out, Shoto!"

Several paces behind her, Izuku quickly alerted his own team. "They've caught on to our plan! Rocketti, Shokat's on you, but I've got you covered. Nitros! You ne-"

"I know, nerd!"

----------

A deep scowl formed on Bakugo’s face as he took in the surrounding destruction. He and Shoto had been going at it for several minutes, and neither powerhouse was even close to slowing down. At least, that’s what Bakugo was telling himself.

He was already down one of his stored charges because of Shoto nearly freezing him on the spot. His arms were shaking sporadically, a telltale sign that the recoil of his explosions were getting to him.

Despite it all, he was loving the fight. To be pushed against someone who could give as much as they could take. As much as he knew he needed to retrieve the flag for his team, a part of him enjoyed taking a little extra time doing so.

That being said, Bakugo wanted to win.

He was going to win.

"Just don't worry about it, nerd. We'll have the flag, so Pony-girl better be ready," Bakugo said into his mic.

His gaze turned to the ice structure behind Shoto. The holes and gaps he created were slowly reforming, but the ones that remained were large enough for him to see the flag he needed to reach. The issue he faced was the fact that the ice fortress’s walls were thick, meaning it would take a series of explosions to even break through them. Another issue was Shoto himself, who constantly repaired the damage Bakugo did to the structure while also keeping him from doing too much damage.

Bakugo shook his arms, working out the kinks that had developed in them from the fight. He glanced down at his gauntlets, eyeing the meters around the metal cuffs. His left gauntlet was full, primed and ready to release a powerful blast. His right gauntlet was slowly refilling thanks to the constant fighting, though he wouldn’t be able to use it for its intended purpose. A fail-safe added by the Support Department to keep him from ruining the internal mechanisms from multiple blasts.

As Bakugo worked on a plan, a chill ran across his body, all the way to his bones. His eyes widened slightly as a spark was lit in his mind.

Several small explosions popped within the palm of Bakugo's hand as his red eyes narrowed on Shoto. He saw the slight shift in the Shoto's stance, how his right foot raised on his toes slightly. Within a beat, Bakugo launched himself upward as Shoto generated a pillar of ice that raced across the road and underneath Bakugo's feet. His instincts flaring, Bakugo released another blast from his left hand, narrowing avoiding a flat spike that shot out from the side of the large ice pillar.

"Fuckin' weak, Icy-Hot!" Bakugo declared as he maintained his momentum.

Pointing his hands back, Bakugo rocketed towards Shoto with a series of searing explosions. Shoto reacted by raising his left arm, summoning a jet stream of fire that shot out at Bakugo. With a feral grin on his face, Bakugo deftly dodged the attack, launching himself at an angle as he continued onward.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Bakugo." Not giving ash-blonde a chance to breathe, Shoto swiped his right hand across the ground and created a wave of ice that threatened to overtake Bakugo.

Undeterred, Bakugo course-corrected and launched himself upwards, following up with another series of explosions as he sailed over Shoto.

As Bakugo landed in front of the icy fortress, he pressed a button on his right gauntlet and swiped his arm at the chilling wall in front of him. Nitroglycerin stained part of the wall, but before Bakugo could make his next move, he picked up the sounds of crackling ice forming behind him.

Spinning on his heel, Bakugo held up both his arms and released a series of explosions, countering Shoto's attack. Bakugo was more careful than usual, trying his best to contain his explosions directly in front of him.

Shoto was just as relentless, pouring more and more power behind his attack to overwhelm the ash-blonde bomber. After several seconds of continuous ice generation, Shoto had to slow down his output as he focused on reheating his body with his fire.

Right as he was about to generate a wave of ice, Shoto heard Bakugo speak up. "You know, your damn ice is a real pain in the ass."

Shoto narrowed his eyes as smoke and steam wafted through the air, breaking away as a chilling breeze blew through the air, revealing the cocky smirk on Bakugo's face.

"Wanna know something about nitroglycerin? Even when it's cold, it still can blow up," Bakugo stated plainly as he raised his left arm up. "But cold nitroglycerin is more explosive than normal."

Shoto’s body went still as his eyes landed on the odd stains on the ice wall of his defensive structure. His mind raced, his body moving on its own as he poured as much ice as he could onto the ground, sending it towards the wall that prevented Bakugo from reaching his team’s flag. Shoto hoped to reinforce it as much as he could before Bakugo could break through. He just hoped Bakugo was bluffing about the volatile nature of his explosive secretions.

After all, it wouldn't be wise for Bakugo to tank such an explosion up close.

Unfortunately for him, Bakugo was more than willing to take such a risk. Angling his right arm behind himself, Bakugo launched forward and spun around in mid-air. He took aim with his left arm, while his right hand reached for the pin in his gauntlet. With a feral smile, Bakugo pulled the pin, and an intense heat bloomed.

"Boom!"

----------

Izuku, Shoka, and Pony felt the fake city tremble as an explosion rocked the streets. Pony nearly stumbled from the aftershock, giving Shoka a chance to lunge at her and her team's flag on her hip.

Before Shoka's claws could tear the flag away, Izuku Blinked between them with Resolute forming a large shield that blocked Shoka.

"Getting real tired of that, Izzy," Shoka declared as she was knocked back.

"Thanks for the save, Link!" Pony remarked as she continued racing down the street.

Green arcs of lightning danced across Izuku's form as he fell into step behind Pony, using a safe level of All as One to provide her cover. "No problem, Rocketti. Start making your way to their base and get that flag," he said to her.

Pony kept her focus on the path ahead. The glacial fortress that loomed over the city was in ruins, with an enormous chunk of the front completely gone. A dark tower of smoke rose into the air, giving her a pretty good idea of how strong the explosion Bakugo created was.

As she continued running down the street, past the chunks of ice and debris that littered the road, she could hear the continuous back-and-forth fighting/flirting happening between Izuku and Shoka.

"Watch those claws, Shokat!"

"Aw, but you're just so damn cute. I just can't keep my hands off you~."

Any other time, Pony might have laughed, but she needed to stay focused. As she neared the broken ice structure, her eyes landed on the flag that still stood proudly amidst the chaos. Bakugo and Shoto were busy fighting each other and hadn't noticed their arrival yet, giving her a clear shot at the flag. Coming to a halt, Pony dropped to a knee and held her hands up to her head and pointed out both her index fingers.

Her tongue slipped past her lips as she took aim. Izuku and Shoka were getting closer to her, meaning she had to work fast. Willing her horns to move, Pony felt a sliver of detachment before a new pair of horns sprouted from her head and erased that phantom feeling. The two that she had launched quickly sailed through the air like a pair of bullets as they raced towards Team B’s flag. As soon as they made contact, Pony directed them back to her.

Kicking off the ground, Pony sprinted forward and nabbed the flag. Her luck ran out as a trail of ice appeared under her feet, causing her to slip and lose her footing. She nearly would have been captured by the ice had it not been for Izuku Blinking behind her and wrapping his arms around her, and Blinking away as Bakugo rushed Shoto.

As soon as she and Izuku reappeared, Bakugo called out to her. "PONY-GIRL! MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASS, NOW!"

Not needing to be told twice, Pony kicked it into high gear as Izuku and Bakugo covered her flanks as the three of them rushed down the road towards their base. As they turned at an intersection, she felt the biting chill of Shoto's ice as a massive wave threatened to overtake them.

Izuku moved to intercept with haste as four black and green tendrils emerged from his arm and spiraled together. Acting on quick instinct and some help from Banjo, Izuku called on Abyss Fiber, Excalibur, and Verdant Orbit for a new attack, which was further amplified by All as One.

One that Yoichi was more than happy to provide the name and inspiration for.

"Psychronization! Heavenly Piercer!"

The four tendrils of energy coalesced and formed a large drill that slammed into Shoto's ice. The frozen wave stood no chance as Izuku's Psychronization tore through it with ease. A familiar energy swelled within Izuku as soon as his attack ended and he felt his Psychs lose the connection to Ego as they started to recharge. Looking over at Bakugo, Izuku called out to him. "Bakugo! Tag in!"

The light puck shot out from Izuku straight to Bakugo. The ash-blonde felt the connection form between them as his body felt like a reactor was suddenly pumping all its energy into him. His body felt lighter. Stronger.

Most importantly, his Quirk was boosted beyond its limits.

Bakugo remembered the last time he had felt such a surge in power. Back when he and Izuku fought the Nomu at the USJ with Shoto and Susukichi. This time was different as the boost seemed much stronger that before.

Failing to hold back a smirk, he turned his attention to their pursuers. "DIE!"

Shoka realized what had happened between Izuku and Bakugo, and quickly changed her direction as Bakugo took aim and a burning orange orb appeared in the cups of his palms. Shoto followed her example, and as she climbed the building to their left, he used his fire to jettison himself to the building to the right. A powerful explosion rocked the street and caused the nearby buildings to shake.

Bakugo's smile broadened at the power behind his attack. As the smoke billowed, he turned around to catch up with Izuku and Pony, noting that Shoka and Shoto were still hot on their heels.

"Hey! Nerd!" Bakugo called out to Izuku. "Your Quirk isn't as useless as I once thought."

"Yeah, well. We have to restart the puck since you missed," Izuku remarked. "How could you miss? They were, like, three feet in front of you."

Bakugo felt his eye twitch at that. He didn't even realize that the boost he received had faded already. "OI! FUCK YOU, YOU NERD!"

Pony decided right then to interject. “Boys! We still gotta reach our base!” A streak of fire that shot past her and charred the road punctuated her urgency.

Izuku turned and fired out several Energy Rounds at Shoto, forcing the heterochromatic hero student to create an ice shield for cover. As Shoto launched himself into the air with his fire, he formed an ice slide underneath him, gaining speed as he chased after the trio.

Using Izuku and Bakugo's focus on Shoto, Shoka slinked in through the shadows of an alleyway ahead of Pony. It caught the blonde American completely by surprise as Shoka ran on all fours to meet her. Before Pony needed to react, Bakugo soared over her, roaring like an angry dragon as he engaged Shoka.

Pony rushed past the two, narrowly avoiding both an explosion from Bakugo and a swipe from Shoka. She barely made it two meters before Shoto's ice encroached on her, only for Izuku to appear in her peripherals in time to stop the attack with a Spread Shot.

All this fighting did was remind Pony that 1-A had some scary powerhouses within their ranks if all four of them could fight each other while on the move.

As Pony rounded the next street corner, Izuku knew they were getting close to his team's base. While he and Bakugo could keep Shoka and Shoto occupied, their teammates were still an issue, and Awase hadn't called in to report.

Izuku brought a hand to his headset and checked in on his other teammate while still engaging Shoto. "Welder? Pony's nearing the base? We're just a few blocks away. What's the situation over there?"

His radio was silent for a few seconds before Awase's voice came through the receiver. "I'm keeping Tsuburaba occupied, but Battle Fist slipped away. She's probably on her way to catch Rocketti."

That made sense to Izuku. It just meant another problem to keep an eye out for. Focusing on the current moment, Izuku thought up an amendment to the plan. He looked over at Bakugo, his mind going back to when the puck passed over to the ash-blonde.

'That could work,' Izuku thought. Now, he just needed Bakugo to help build up enough energy with the puck to make it work.

Turning to look at Shoto, Izuku came to a stop as green arcs of electricity built up around his body. Shoto grew wary and readied to defend himself. In a flash, Izuku Blinked in front of Shoto, who reactively generated a pillar of fire in front of him. Izuku hissed as the flames grazed his hero suit, singeing the durable material as he used his boosted speed to appear at Shoto's side.

He launched a punch into Shoto’s side, knocking the wind out of the scarred hero student. Izuku continued his assault, blitzing Shoto and preventing him from retaliating. Shoto was resilient, however, and created a thick wall of ice that cracked after tanking one of Izuku’s punches. That action gave Shoto enough time to create a vortex of flames around him for his next attack.

Izuku countered it with Excalibur as soon as the Psych completely reset. He spun on his heel in the opposite direction, causing Shoto's fire to spin and dissipate safely around him. Kicking off the ground, Izuku lunged at Shoto, chaining together a combo of slashes and physical hits and knocking Shoto around. Feeling the light puck build up within him, Izuku Blinked once more in front of Shoto and performed a mule kick that connected with Shoto's chest, knocking him down the street.

Moving with urgency, Izuku called out to Bakugo, explaining his plan as quickly as he could while hoping Bakugo would follow through. "Nitros! Build up the puck and pass it to Rocketti!" With his plan set, the green light puck soared from Izuku to his teammate.

Feeling the boost once more, Bakugo understood what Izuku meant for him to do. Shoka didn't make it easy for him, however, as she understood the mechanics of Izuku's puck and would make things difficult for Bakugo.

Bakugo rocketed himself forward and used his Quirk to generate enough momentum to spin like a top. Shoka ducked under the spinning kick Bakugo lashed out with and pushed off the ground, lashing out with a kick of her own. With two consecutive blasts from his hands, Bakugo dodged Shoka’s attack. Following up with another series of explosions, Bakugo soared in an arc and slammed the heel of his boot into Shoka’s stomach.

The speed and force of Bakugo's wheel kick sent Shoka careening back to the hard pavement. The cat-theme girl bounced off the road, releasing a pained grunt as she did. Rolling to the side, Shoka ignored Bakugo in order to catch up to Pony.

"Don't fucking ignore me!" Bakugo screeched as he chased after her.

Shoka held back from rolling her eyes. “Kinda hard not to, Nitrogremlin!” Keeping her sights set on Pony, Shoka noticed a silhouette up in the distance and smirked. Matching Pony’s speed, she moved behind the blonde American and waited for her chance to strike.

As Bakugo kept on her heels, he noted that the boost his Quirk received had receded, causing him to slow down. Frustrated, he yelled out to Izuku, who moved to catch up with them with Shoto not far behind. “OI! Nerd! Your little boost is wearing off!”

Izuku grimaced. He only knew the puck could be stopped if something broke the combo chain. This was an entirely new situation. “It must have a soft time lim-“ Izuku’s emerald green eyes widened in surprise. “ROCKETTI!”

"HANGIN' RIGHT!" Pony called out as she turned down another intersection as a chunk of concrete crashed into her original path. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smirking Itsuka before the orange-haired martial artist ducked back into the shadows.

Before Pony could go any further, a massive wall of ice cut her off once more, forcing her down another street. By then, Shoka had caught up to her by running along the sides of the buildings overlooking the street. Pony skidded to a halt, surprised by Shoka's sudden appearance. Pony could see the hooded-girl's white claws flex open as Shoka reached for the pair of flags on her hips.

The next thing Pony knew was that there were a pair of arms wrapping around her and then she was suddenly several meters away from where she once stood. She was all the more thankful, too, as after she gained awareness of her surroundings, she turned in time to see Shoka pulling her claws free from the concrete.

As well as the several small new trenches those claws had just carved into the surface.

"Rocketti! Get to the base! Now!" Pony jolted at Izuku's voice, but immediately sprinted down the street as ordered.

As Pony got some distance from him, Izuku reading himself, though he wasn’t quick enough as Shoka pounced him and brought him to the ground. He grunted in pain as his back slammed against the hard, unforgiving pavement, wincing from the force Shoka used to knock him down.

"Stay down, Link," Shoka commanded in a firm voice.

Izuku then felt a shift on top of him and saw through strained eyes Shoka chasing after Pony. Rolling onto his stomach, Izuku pushed himself up and stumbled into a run.

He needed to catch up and keep Shoka off Pony's tail, as well as providing defense from Itsuka, wherever she was. Blink was out of the question, as using it to move both him and Pony caused it to drain itself, forcing it to recharge.

'Now's the time to go beyond, Izuku.' The bunny-hooded hero student trudged forward, one step after the next. Green arcs of lightning danced across his form, the smell of ozone filling the air around him as his pace increased. With one last step, Izuku moved.

Shoka’s Quirked ears twitched, her nose tingled at the growing scent of lightning, alerting her to the approaching danger coming from behind her. As she turned her head, she saw Izuku blur past her. Her eyes widened in momentary surprise. Pushing her Quirk as far as she could, the dark shades of her battlecoat lightened and she felt a surge of power in her limbs. Shoka blitzed forward, catching up to Izuku. She then sprung onto her hands, kicked out her legs, and twisted her body.

Izuku brought up his arm in time to block the spinning kick from Shoka and winced at the power behind it. His arm felt numb, but with a quick application of Vitali-Tea, he resolved that immediate issue and pushed on, engaging Shoka as they trailed behind Pony.

The two fell into a mobile dance, each trading blows as they raced down the street, one protecting their team's claim to victory, and the other seeking to deny them such a win.

Thinking outside the box, Izuku poured his energy into Excalibur and Resolute, and broke out into a sprint before performing a baseball slide at Shoka. Resolute provided him the ability to slide across the ground with little friction, while a creative use of Excalibur through his feet created a wave of energy that threatened to cut down Shoka.

The gray-eyed hero student lowered her body and executed a well-timed dodge that saw her soaring over Izuku's attack.

Now having traded positions, the two continued to fight as they -and Pony- turned the corner and kept running. Off in the distance was the park, only several blocks away.

The only issue now was the debris that littered the street and one orange-haired martial artist in the middle of it all. The sounds of shattering ice and explosions were heading towards them, as well, letting Izuku know that Bakugo and Shoto had been fighting just like he and Shoka were.

Izuku worried that any momentum lost wouldn't be regained. They needed to get the flags through to the park, and Izuku had just the plan to make it happen.

"Rocketti. Don't stop moving!" He called out to his blonde teammate.

Pony had slowed down enough to risk looking back at him, confusion and worry apparent on her face. When she saw Izuku's determined expression, however, she felt a connection form between them. Pony replied to him with a nod and a determined look of her own. "Don't y'all worry. I'll be as fast as greased lightnin'!"

"Don't count your chickens, cowgirl," Shoka remarked as she bounded to Pony's left side.

Before she could take a swipe at the blonde, Izuku blitzed her, slamming his palm into her stomach and firing off a spread shot that knocked her away. Not letting up his assault, Izuku pressed on, pouring his energy into Excalibur and readied a slash.

Shoka recovered quickly and met Izuku’s attack with her claws. The two attacks canceled each other out, but Izuku and Shoka pressed on, weaving through a series of blade and claw slashes. It was then that Izuku got the drop on her when he used the momentum of one of his slashes to spin around and swing several Abyss tendrils right at her. The surprise attack caught Shoka off guard, and she found herself wrapped up and subsequently tossed down the street.

Feeling the surge of energy from Ego, Izuku turned to Pony, holding out an open hand as a green ball of energy passed from him to her. "Now's your chance, Rocketti!"

The effect was electrifying. Pony’s eyes widened at the feeling of power that flooded her entire being. Keeping her eyes forward, she could see the determined and aggressive look her fellow 1-B student gave her, but Pony wasn’t the slightest bit worried. She simply kept her eyes on the prize, on the park that was only a few blocks away now.

As her hooves and calloused hands hit the pavement, Pony sped off like a bullet. Itsuka, who believed she could stop, or at the very least, slow down her friend, was left in the dust as Pony rocketed past her, weaving through the debris field Itsuka left with little care or worry.

Pony didn't slow down. It was now a race to the finish, and when the goal is in sight, you push as hard as you can to cross that line. Two blocks left to go. Pony maintained her speed, though she could feel the boost of energy that Izuku shared with her already waning. Even then, she pushed herself to go faster.

When she neared the last block, the ground quickly frosted over as a wall of ice appeared ahead of her. Her heart sank at the sight, and she worried about letting her team down at the worst moment after coming so far. As she slowed down, the abrasive sound of explosions rang in her ears as Bakugo rocketed past her, rotating at a rapid rate in a dark cloud of smoke.

"MAKE IT COUNT, PONY-GIRL!" She heard him through the deafening din. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"

With one powerful explosion, Bakugo blew away the ice wall, creating a large hole that Pony could easily rush through. With determination swelling within her, Pony continued on, breaking off into another sprint as she passed the last block.

She had a clear shot at the park now. With nothing in her way, Pony rushed past the towering buildings, leaving behind her two powerhouse teammates to cover her as she entered the park. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Awase keeping Tsuburaba occupied. Her spiky-haired teammate smiled as she appeared and gave her a nod before keeping his attention on Tsuburaba.

The fountain their flagpole in front was only meters away. With one last push, Pony 's legs carried her to the end. With one cheerful cry, she claimed victory for her team as she gripped her team's flagpole.

"TOUCHDOWN!" In the middle of her jubilation as the siren sounded, Pony jumped down from the fountain, ripped the flags from her hips, and them onto the ground, causing them to curl and wrinkle. Letting out a whoop, Pony held out her arms and began to run around the flags, switching between pointing out to an invisible crowd and blowing them excited kisses.

As she continued her celebration, Awase joined her, adding on to the victorious air they were creating. As Izuku and Bakugo reached the park, Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at the sight while Bakugo rolled his eyes.

He didn't know how or when it happened, but soon, Izuku found himself arm-in-arm with Awase and Pony as they continued to celebrate their victory. They had tried to rope Bakugo in with them, but the glare he sent them made them reconsider it.

----------

As the training had come to a close, Aizawa, Vlad, and All Might looked around the room. Many of their students were haggard from their matches, even if they were the winners. Some were a little dejected from their loss, but the other hero students were quick to lift their spirits.

At first, Aizawa didn’t think he would see any form of camaraderie between the two classes, but today surprised him. Even though the teams were evenly split, both 1-A and 1-B students found a way to work together. It was something that impressed him.

“Alright, everyone, quiet down,” Aizawa said, getting the room’s attention. Glad that he didn’t have to use his Quirk, he continued speaking. “We already went over where your teams did well and where they could improve. Next Monday, Vlad and I will pass out more notes we may have after we rewatch the footage of today’s training.”

Vlad picked things up from there. "Which brings us to our next point. The teams that were formed today are the teams you will have when your Heroics finals happen. I suggest you use the time between then and now to work out any kinks you may have with your teamwork so you all will pass."

Both hero teachers saw the mixture of emotions that flooded the room just then. Some were concerned, others were happy with their team formations, and others thought about how they could improve themselves in such a short time.

One student, Kinoko, raised her hand with a question on her mind. Seeing Vlad King nod at her, she spoke. "What will our finals be like, sensei?"

"Nezu has decided to do something different this time since the teams are as large as they are," Vlad answered. "Each team will have its own objective, and while some might be similar, they are each unique. You won't know what those objectives are until the day of."

Aizawa brought up the next point, one that was most important. “The physical half of your exams will play a role in what happens to you during the summer. If your team fails the objective completely, and your final grades on the written exam are lacking, then you will have remedial classes.” His eyes narrowed dangerously as he scanned the room, his gaze meeting every student. “You don’t want that.”

Several students gulped loudly at that statement and started sweating at the threatening undertone.

"That being said, class dismissed. Aside from training, I suggest you get to studying if you want to avoid those remedial classes," Aizawa stated before leaving the room.

Vlad sighed at his coworker's dismissive attitude and looked to alleviate any fears the students had. "If today is anything to go by, I think you all are going to do fine. Find the right rhythm, study up, and you all will do fine."

With a confident smile, Vlad left the room, leaving only All Might left with the students. The No. 1 Hero smiled brightly as he addressed the room. "As Vlad King said, based on today's example of your teamwork, I know you all will be... ALL MIGHT!"

While most of the students groaned at the joke, some appreciated the pun.

From her seat on Shoka's lap, Eri craned her head upward, looking for clarification from the gray-eyed young woman. "What does he mean by that, Ms. Shoka?"

Shoka snorted and ran her fingers through Eri's hair, gently combing them through Eri's snow-white waves. "He's just being silly, Eri. He means that we'll be alright, but he made a joke with his name. All right. All Might." She looked Eri in the eye and tilted her head to the side. "Think you get it?"

Eri ran through the phrase several times in her head before understanding it completely, with her mouth forming a silent "Oh" as she nodded along.

All Might continued to speak, grabbing Eri's attention back to him. "That being said, study hard, my young students!"

As he left the room, Izuku and Momo were already in the middle of planning a group study session with their class when Itsuka and Nirengeki made their way over to them. "Itsuka, Nirengeki," Izuku said to them with a nod. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, Shoda and I were talking, and since our classes are already mixed for the finals, we were thinking what better way to work on strengthening the bond between our classes than to have one big study group going," Itsuka explained. "I couldn't help but overhear you and Yaoyorozu already talking about one for your class, so might as well make it one big group thing, you know?"

“That being said, we need a place we can all study at that can accommodate such large numbers,” Nirengeki added while scratching his cheek. “I’m worried that some students in our year may take up the other study halls, however.”

Izuku thought about that point and had to agree with Nirengeki. That wasn't even mentioning their upperclassmen. The more he thought about it, the clearer the choice became. With a smile on his face, he knew where to go.

"How does this Sunday sound?"

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