"Okay, Iruma." Ochako told the boy, who looked at her. "They're probably going to send Shinso to fight us. I'm gonna stay as backup, but I need you to, and hear me out, don't talk. At all, through this entire exercise." She needed to do this without sinking to Bakugo levels of assholey.
"But what if you say something?" He asks.
"Shinso has a new headpiece that lets him sound like anybody he wants." She explained to him. "He can sound like me, or Mineta, or you."
"He can sound like me? That's super cool." His childlike nature was adorable but it was also throwing everything off! A blessing and a curse.
"Yes, super cool, and dangerous." Ochako grabbed his face. "Whatever you do, don't say anything at all to anybody. I'll get in front of you if I need to tell you anything you need to know. Other than that, ignore every voice you hear."
"Understood. Ignore every voice." He scratched his arms.
"Um … are you okay?"
"Yeah, this suit is just really weird to wear since the hair is inside it. It makes my arms itchy ever since I put it on. Never really noticed it until Rabbit-Mama got in trouble." She almost squealed at the nickname.
"Alright, other than that, the other biggest threat to our powerhouse is Monoma." Mineta and Mina joined in a huddle. "He copies quirks, so if you run into him, he'll likely have Brainwash and another one of his teammates quirks."
"I really wish we spoke to more 1-B students before. They seem like really nice people." They were a mixed bag of assholes and good people … then again so were they.
"Hey wait a second, a thought occurs." Mina stated. "What happens if he gets Iruma or Ochako's quirks?" The group paused.
"My quirk can't be taken if I don't want it to." Iruma explained. Was that why All For One didn't take it?
"... But he's copying it?" Mineta asked tentatively.
"I have no idea. Never happened before."
"Then we're back to square one." Minoru groaned. "Fortunately, I at least know about Emily's and Rule's quirk. One levitates objects and the other makes things bigger." It paid to have a guy that knew everything about enemy females. "They're a total combo. In the field, and in the bed."
"Don't be a pervert right now…" Mina readied the acid.
"No, they're actually a couple. Ibara told me during our internships." Huh? "Either way, they're a cornerstone that'll stick together, so take one of them out, and they'll lose a key component."
"So I'll handle them and melt whatever ammo they try to throw at us." Mina explained her position.
"But they have a variable … that last guy is a mystery I know nothing about." He muttered. "Ideally, it's best if Kettei goes after him. You're an all rounder after all."
"My head is the only round thing about me."
"Scratch that, you just punch things really fast and hard while dodging great. See what he can do and report on coms when you figure it out."
"Got it, stealth mission!" She just wanted to bundle up that enthusiasm and preserve it in a jar.
==
"Shinso, you're going to be with me." Monoma explained to the fifth member. "Your quirk is valuable as a fourth copy they'll never expect."
"Fourth copy?" He asked. Was there some sort of trick to the number?
"I managed to up my copy limit to four and hide the fact with three clocks."
"Underhanded and sneaky. Nice." He approved with a nod. "However, I should mention that Class 1-A is very aware of how my quirk works, and they'll likely do everything they can to get Iruma to avoid either of us."
"Exactly. However they'll have no choice. For we'll do something no class has done before." The boy smirked. "Not split up and divide our manpower like a bunch of morons."
"Huh, that's true." Shoda realized. "Everyone else split the teams together. The enemy will likely assume that's how every fight is planned.
"Besides, Emily and Rule work best together, and Mines is the best way to amplify their already great power." He explained. "A high velocity metal truck hailstorm that can change direction with the snap of a finger."
"We're a hurricane ready to be unleashed." Reiko clung right beside Yui, who nodded. "But didn't Kettei break out of your brainwashing before during the sports festival?"
"He did, although I never got an explanation for why other than 'his quirk is haunted' ." It was probably an out of nowhere fluke, but it bugged him to no end not getting a solid answer
"Just like those 1-A bastards to be cryptic as hell. And here I thought Iruma was one of the decent ones." Monoma sighed. "But it's also our only option. Kettei is too strong and moves too fast for anyone else other than Shinso's quirk."
It was a bit of a shame for his last match to have him face probably the first friend he made at UA, but he needed to be in the hero course. Besides, Iruma's classmate lost WAY harder than he was expecting, so the overgrown kid probably wasn't on the elimination list.
==
Pinky ran through the streets. "Has anyone really considered the budget we have for a place like UA? It seems almost impractical at this point." Could they buy up the world and sell it for a nickel?
"If I thought about how much money this school has, I'd explode with jealousy and ecstasy." Uravity admitted honestly. "They might be just as rich as Momo, maybe richer."
"We've been to Momo's house though. It wasn't nearly as big as it was here." Kettei stated, running with them. "It's so awkward to run on two legs at this point, but it hurts too much if I did this entire battle on four without the gauntlets."
"So we're not going to see any massive tornadoes today?" Pinky asked him.
"Only if I use my leftovers, but I'd like to save that. It can take a while for them to refill. And it hurts if I store them for too long, but the fur part is helping on that at least." He said. "Even if it's super itchy-" The boy jumped out of the way as a steel beam nearly impaled him. "We're under attack! Everyone on the other team is here!" The steel beam jumped mid air, forcing him to dodge again. "The other team has a steel beam on their side!"
"Don't worry, I got it covered!" Mina ran beside her teammate and shot her acid at the metal structure. "There, not too much of a hassle…"
"Giant lugnut!" Kettei threw her to the ground, forcing her and everyone else to duck at said giant object. "Why can't I ever get attacked by giant food!? It's always giant lugnuts, giant bowling balls, giant pennies!" She almost forgot that for an innocent dummy, Iruma probably led the most interesting life.
"What about giant baseball bats?" Rule spoke out from the top of a building, expanding one straight at him.
"Bats no, baseballs yes!" Kettei readied a punch. "Right Hook: Crockpot Punch!" The bat was shattered to splinters in seconds, only for the splinters to stop mid air and aim their pointy bits straight at him. "It's just like Denki's video game predicted!" What the hell was he playing?
"Uravity, float Kettei and yourselves out of here!" Grape Juice ordered. "They're trying to wear him down into a corner!"
"Understood!" She grabbed him, making him weigh zero as she threw them up. Leaving them with a girl that could change the size of objects, and another who could move them around … not pretty.
==
"Glad to see my plan paid off." Monoma, the Phantom Thief, spoke aloud as he aimed multiple expanded pipes straight at the flying duo. "Even for someone as wild as Kettei, your class of cretins is too easy to predict. Then again, what would I expect from the dumb little dog of 1-A?"
The two said nothing, glaring as they came his way. Time to spice it up. "Or maybe I should be arguing against the woman who thought she could take on an explosion user with her bare hands, trying desperately to fight a battle she knew she would lose and uselessly gaining scars on her body."
"..." Kettei looked like he was about to open his mouth but Uravity slapped her hand over it, floating them high on the ground as Kettie ran across the walls.
It slightly irked him to do this to Iruma, the only one in 1-A he could call close to decent. The first one to ever call his work original, to genuinely say something complementary without being condescending. If the boy had been in 1-B, they'd no doubt be great allies, maybe friends, but alas, fate chose a different path for them both. He'd thank him by not getting in the way of Ibara's advances.
"Oh but it's not like your teammates are better. You have a known pervert that does his best to ruin the lives of women around him, and an airheaded bimbo who can't even keep her head on anything other than boys and dancing. It's a pathetic team up all right."
"..." The boy looked like he was about to shout an animalistic growl, but otherwise said nothing
"Then again, your entire class is pathetic. Two complete nobodies that have done nothing but fail time and time again, a cold hearted bastard that gets along by riding his father's coattails, a deplorable invisible harlot, and a mad dog that's basically responsible for ending All Might's career!"
Iruma growled, unlike normal when he charged his arms shook wildly, like he was trying to hold back himself. Just a bit of a push … something to take him over the edge. Oh this was going to hurt him in the morning, and in the afternoon, but this would definitely get him to talk. "Maybe Miriko made a mistake adopting someone as worthless as you."
The boy screamed in rage. Finally, he might get a response to brainwash-The boy's arms bulged wildly, the costume a wriggling mass as he cried out in agony, as if it hurt. Bigger, bigger, until they exploded, a black mass stretching straight at him and socking Monoma in the gut. Nothing but pain followed.
==
Manami Aiba hummed to herself as she worked on some file arrangement. A job as the computer specialist for UA high, never would she have thought she'd be doing this, but here she was. She always assumed that the rest of her life would've been spent living from building to building with right by her Gentle, a life she was more than happy to live.
There were times she missed being La Brava, but this was an opportunity and they would take it no problem, for each other and their combined future. "I see that you're hard at work as usual." The voice of her angel said from right behind her.
"Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle. I create viruses to infect the security to see any potential weak and blind spots that someone can take advantage of." Who knew hacking had an actual beneficial use? "Then again there were very few to begin with, so that's really making this thing a whole lot easier."
"We are dealing with Nedzu, of course there wouldn't be many blind spots, even when we tried sneaking in." He stated. "When it comes to routes for security there's little I've been able to accomplish as well, even with their limited staff."
"This school has been infiltrated twice already, three times if we count what you did." Ectoplasm said with a nod. The man was actually pretty amicable when they had enough time to talk. "Never hurts to be safe, although I'm pretty sure Nedzu kept you around as a contingency against Suzuki."
Yes, the kid Gentle fought that made this all possible. "The lad is a bit of a rascal, I can definitely say that for a fact, but a kind and helpful one." Gentle gave an appreciative smile. "Surely the Principal can't be that frightened by one boy."
"He's the only student to ever outwit the rat on pure instinct alone. Apparently the scare was so bad the man had a vision of a predator about to eat a rat, survival instincts and all that." The man said. "Right now he's actually our contingency for when the man goes on long tangents."
"Such a chaotic little bundle, isn't he?" She laughed.
"Personally I have no problem with the tangents. He makes lovely tea doesn't he?" Her Gentle smiled. "This job … is truly incredible." It was, now she had a bright future working along with the man she loved. All thanks to the hero known as Kettei.