Chapter 31: Hunt and Gather
Something Different
Aurdel walked into the staff room with a data pad in his hands, looking over the sets of schematics that he had drawn up. He was trying to recreate the superstructure and general layout of a Paris-class heavy frigate, one of the many ships that he'd had committed to memory a long time ago. Upon noticing a few measurements that had incorrect values, he quickly adjusted them. "Thirteen, has anyone signed up to use the USJ this afternoon?"
Thirteen was typing away at her computer, working on a lesson plan for next week regarding rescue training. "No, not this afternoon. However the business management course is going to be using the USJ this morning for supplemental classes for smaller scale disaster response management simulations." She looked up, "Wait, do you need the USJ this afternoon? I haven't heard anything about you holding any classes on weekends before."
"Just because I hadn't yet doesn't mean I never would." He put two fingers on the datapad, zooming in on the front half of the ship. It had been a long time since he'd actually put down the specs of a ship to paper, at least without the aid of a database. The last time he had was around fifteen years ago when he submitted the design for what he coined as a 'light rapid-assault carrier,' aiming to fill a role the UNSC desperately needed by designing a ship with greater force projection than a small task force of frigates. Ultimately his design was turned down due to being deemed 'an inefficient waste of resources.' He still held some bitter resentment over it. "But yes, I would like to have access to USJ from two to six if possible. I have plans for a supplemental class I want to hold for my students."
"That's quite a long time… But since I don't expect anyone else to ask to use the USJ today, then I suppose it's fine if you stay there for that long." She was about to go back to typing, "Though, can I ask what exactly it is you'll be doing? I still remember getting an earful from Vlad about the USJ being destroyed after All Might turned normal rescue training into a faux Villain ambush. Not to mention, I and Cementoss had to spend an weekend of unpaid time repairing the grounds."
He looked up from the data pad, "You already know that if I cause damage during a class, then I make sure to repair it once we're finished. Besides, I don't plan to do anything nearly that destructive." He stuffed the data pad away into a bag he carried with him, "I'm going to give them two options for the class. The first option is to use this class as simply a normal training day, where I can provide them instruction for anything they ask. After all, we've been focusing on nearly pure combat scenarios recently."
"And the second option?"
"An endurance test, a sort of glorified scavenger hunt that will go on for almost the entirety of the time we're there."
She went back to typing, "A scavenger hunt hardly sounds like it would be intensified enough to be called an 'endurance test.' But I suppose if that's what you have planned, then I won't go against it."
"I'll just have to make some temporary modifications to the training grounds."
She stopped again, "What kind of modifications?"
"Hey," Aurdel had his shoulder tapped as he sat
in the auditorium where everyone had gathered.
"Yeah?"
"James overheard from the trainers what the Chief was planning for us," Kurt said, "Our next mission is supposed to be a week long of underwater combat and navigation training."
"A week long? I don't think I'd ever want to set foot near a body of water again after that much time underwater," Musa remarked.
"Yeah, but get this. He's also going to sabotage our air tanks during the mission. In some of the spare air tanks there are tiny shaped charges to blow through them."
"Did you tell this to the other teams?" Aurdel asked.
"Obviously, they're all passing the news around right now."
"Do we have a plan?"
"John said that if the Chief is going with us, then we could take-"
"Officer on deck!" One of the trainers in the auditorium shouted, they snapped to attention towards the door with a salute.
"At ease trainees," Chief Petty Officer Mendez walked into the auditorium, taking the center position on the stage. "As I'm sure you have all figured out by now, for a week of your training we're going to be taking you offworld. The beautiful and pristine outer colony of Emerald Cove." He pressed a button on the podium, and a holographic projection of the planet popped up. "Despite the warm sandy beaches and the crystal clear water, you will not be taking a vacation here. Instead, you will be subjected to a week's worth of grueling underwater training. Deep sea navigation, underwater battle, rapid marine assaults and endurance training are only some of the many things that you will face in anticipation of your introduction to training in zero gravity."
"All that, huh…?" He murmured.
"The shuttle that will take us to Emerald Cove will arrive at oh eight hundred hours, I expect you all to be awake by oh five hundred and all packed by oh six hundred. Those that slack and do not meet the time schedule will have the task of personally cleaning every inch of the shuttle by toothbrush. And with seventy five trainees, there will be a lot to clean." Mendez looked around, "Is that clear trainees?"
"Sir yes sir!" All the Spartans answered.
"Good, then you are dismissed. Déjà is in the classroom with your exam, I expect you to all pass with flying colors." Each of the Spartans stood up, making their way towards the classroom.
"We need to find a way to get the Chief's air tanks…" Kurt murmured as they walked
"Maybe if we-"
"-Mr. Aurdel. Sir!" Aurdel snapped out of it, being brought back to reality. "Are you alive?"
"Yes, I'm alive. I was just deep in thought," he relaxed his posture. Memories were coming back to him in the form of auditory and visual hallucinations, a possible side effect of trying to remotely control that robot body. He'd have to check his neural lace once he was finished here. Something was crossing wires somewhere, and it was taking, sending and receiving mixed messages. Regardless… "It's nice to see that you all elected to show up for this supplemental class, even though it was by no means necessary."
"Not necessary?!" Mineta said, "Mr. Aizawa said that if any of us didn't show up for this class then we would be given an exam on the first actual school day of the week!"
"Yes, that was the lie that I asked him to tell you all to try and encourage you to come."
"Seriously?!"
"Don't act so surprised, you've had this sort of lie told to you before. Either way I don't want to hear any complaining. Plus Ultra, remember?" He looked around. "Now I want to hear some enthusiasm or else I'll start holding supplementary classes every weekend, and they'll all be mandatory."
"Plus Ultra!"
"Much better. Now," he began to walk as he started to explain, "I wanted to hold this class because though I felt that you were being pushed towards your limits, you still needed some dedicated time to just stretch your legs and keep up your pace."
"Huh…?"
He sighed, "Alright, fine. Let me put it this way. I don't think you guys are actually pushing your limits like you're supposed to."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Kaminari shouted.
"On an almost weekly basis, I push you guys to your wits and body's ends. But that isn't enough."
"Not enough?! You've almost beaten us to death in training!"
"Yeah!" Hagakure said, "And ever since you became a teacher we've been doing more than twice the exercise that we did before!"
"Tell me, what would you do if you broke your arm?"
"Huh?" His sudden question was met with confusion, but he pressed them.
"What would you do if you broke your dominant arm? The arm you write, eat, type and do everything with."
"Well… I would get it healed and wait for-"
"But what if you can't wait?" He folded his arms, "What if you're in the middle of a fight and a Villain breaks your arm? What if there's no one else except for you there, and you can't retreat or get help?"
"That's…" There was no immediate response from most of the class.
"You would keep fighting with the other arm, and the rest of your body," Midoriya said. Right, he'd almost forgotten how Midoriya originally fought. To him this was like preaching to the converted. But he needed to make sure that this message went out to the rest of the class too.
"That's correct. And though some of you can already do that, I want to make sure that all of you are capable of doing so."
Ida raised his hand, "Mr. Aurdel, what is it we'll be doing for this exercise?"
"…I was just about to get there," Ida lowered his hand. "I am giving you two options. First, you can use this day as a normal training day. Work with your quirk or with your muscles, just make sure that I can tell you're putting in serious effort."
"And the second option?" Someone asked. He quickly turned his head, making his displeasure at being cut off again clear.
"Your second is the slightly more enjoyable option, a scavenger hunt across the USJ where-"
"Hurray!" There was a sudden shout as most of the class easily decided which option they would take, he could only sigh in response.
"I think it's safe to assume that you're all going for the second option."
"Of course," Ashido said, "Who wouldn't go for something much more fun?"
"Actually," Yaoyorozu began, "There is some merit in-"
"Well in that case let this serve also serve as a secondary lesson," Aurdel reached into the ground, pulling out a large box and slamming it down. "If you're going to do the scavenger hunt then you'll need these."
"Need what?"
"Tools." He cracked open the box, revealing its contents.
"Are we hiding a body?!"
"No. The shovels are for digging the objects I placed underground, the rope is for tying one arm behind your back as you work."
"Why would you hide things for a scavenger hunt in the ground?!" Sero shouted.
"Yeah, and how are we supposed to dig with only one arm?!"
"That's for you to find out. If I hadn't been interrupted, I would have gotten to it. There's a lesson in patience for you."
Grumbling over their situation, the class accepted the terms that they were given. Each of them went over, picked up a shovel, tied one arm behind their backs and each took a list of clues. "By the way, since you're all here I may as well grade this like a normal exercise," Mr. Aurdel said. "So if you could just do-"
"I don't need to hear this!" Before he could finish Bakugo blasted away with one hand, using his shovel like a pogo stick every time he fell towards the ground.
"Bakugo, wait up!" Kirishima chased after him.
"I don't think he'll ever change…" Midoriya said with a sigh.
"…Just do your best. Also, if you manage to complete the entire list then there's a reward-"
Over half the class quickly ran after hearing that, eager to complete the list. "Is there some aversion to complete sentences that I don't know about?"
"They're all just eager to get the reward," Uraraka said, with a small laugh.
Mr. Aurdel folded his arms, "I suppose it just comes from a difference in matter of perspective. You're teenagers in highschool on a weekend during peacetime, you have all the time you could ever want. But some of you still act like the end of the world is tomorrow. It's disheartening."
Midoriya could hear the pain in his voice, it was hard to imagine what he'd been through. "Mr. Aurdel. I don't know if you're willing to talk about it, but what were things like where you're from?"
There was a pause, "That's… not an easy question to answer."
"I can narrow it down. What would someone around our age be doing?"
"Well, most kids your age are still attending school. Going to class every day, working part time jobs, having fun. That's how it was in the inner colonies, at first at least."
"Inner colonies?"
"The planets closer to Earth, the ones that were relatively more safe from the Covenant. The outer colonies were different." He looked up, staring past Midoriya and the others. "People on the outer colonies tried to live normal lives, but the constant threat of possible invasion looming over them made it nearly impossible. Mandatory blackouts, curfews, constant evacuation drills and preparedness procedures. And with the war having taken so many lives, nearly every planet had a local militia formed. Set up to buy time in case UNSC forces weren't in the area at the time of an invasion. Ages sixteen to sixty, though those parameters weren't set in stone. At times it was just anyone who could hold a gun at that moment." He stopped again, taking a moment to collect himself. "At first I couldn't stand the sight of the casualties, but with time it was just another feature of the battlefield. Children with rifles they can barely hold, wearing gear that doesn't fit them. A fourteen year old being backed into a corner defending his family against alien creatures he can't understand, Hell doesn't begin to describe it." There was no real way to respond to that… "Things like that are why I want you all to appreciate the time you have, to take things at a reasonable pace. Because once you're adults and officially pro-Heroes you'll have all the opportunities you want to live life fast. But you won't be able to get back any time you wasted."
"Mr. Aurdel…"
"But, hey," their teacher had a rather sudden tonal shift, "You're free to take or ignore my advice, I'm just a man in the waning years of his prime that feels the need to pass something on." He started to walk away, "Now, get to finding those items on the list. Otherwise you won't get that reward. Or a good grade."
"R-right!" Midoriya had been so focused on the conversation that he'd almost forgotten that this was meant to be a class.
"Midoriya." Ida, who'd remained silent for quite some time, finally spoke up. "If this exercise is to be graded on completion rather than personal accomplishment, then I suggest that we work together to find everything."
"Deku, we can help too!" Uraraka said, Asui with her.
"I think it'd be okay if we worked together," Midoriya said, a little nervous. It was hard to focus with what they'd been told. Something so… awful. He couldn't help but wonder just how much it affected Mr. Aurdel's teaching. Or, more importantly, how it affected him personally. Even as his classmates started to gather around and begin to discuss where to look, he couldn't help but watch as their teacher walked away. It was really hard to tell what was behind that visor sometimes.
Search and You Shall Find
"Bakugo, wait up!"
"Why would I do that?!" Bakugo shouted as Kirishima chased after him.
"Because you didn't even stop to look at the list he gave us! You just started running in one direction."
Bakugo put his hand forward, letting out a series of blasts to slow his speed. Eventually he came to a stop. "Moron, do you know why I immediately went to this place?"
Kirishima looked around. "No, not really…?"
"If he gave us shovels, then it was because he expected us to have to use them. And of all of the different zones in the USJ, in only one of them can someone be reasonably expected to dig up massive amounts of crap." He picked up his shovel with one hand, "The landslide zone. The dirt here is filled with a bunch of crap to make sure it's always loose, to mimic the conditions of a landslide."
"Huh, that's actually pretty smart of you to notice…"
"Then get digging!" He whacked Kirishima with his shovel.
"Ow! What the hell?! Can't you just blow all the dirt away with your explosions?"
"We're supposed to find whatever it is he buried, not destroy the mountainside. If I blow away the dirt then it'll take whatever is here with it." He put the head of his shovel into the ground, using his foot to drive it in. "Start digging the perimeter. I don't want those extras digging in the middle, dumping their dirt in the way and then making double the work."
"Right!" Kirishima put his shovel to the dirt and began to dig. Bakugo would win this exercise, and he would do it indisputably.
"Man, why did he have to make these clues so confusing?" Uraraka said, exasperated.
"It's to prepare us for the eventuality that we may receive confusing orders in the field," Ida tried to explain, "You might not understand them at first, but it's our duty as Heroes to try and understand what we're told in those moments."
"Riddles are a lot different than confusing orders. Ribbit."
"Regardless of the contents, we must learn from the lessons we are given!"
Midoriya interrupted, "Arguing about it won't get us anywhere, we just need to accept it and get started. Here, give me all of your lists." Midoriya took each of the lists that his classmates had, laying them out next to each other.
"Hey, some of the lists aren't finished!" Uraraka said.
"More than that," Ida said, "Several of the riddles are different, have numbers switched around or are completely different… "
"Let's ignore the ones that look like they've been tampered with, which ones are the most consistent?"
"There's only one," Ida crouched down, picking up one of the papers. "Number seven: 'Here you will find one in this place that needed two, for which forty would ride the night before the army that marched through.'"
"What kind of riddle is that?"
"It sounds like it's referencing a historical event… but I've never heard of anything like it."
"It certainly doesn't like anything I've heard of."
"Maybe it's not Japanese history?" Midoriya suggested, "It could be from somewhere else."
"Maybe it's American history?" Uraraka interjected, "As far as we know Mr. Aurdel isn't Japanese, and all those really old sci-fi movies that showed something like what he described usually had Americans in the lead roles."
Midoriya let out a sigh, "I don't think it's wrong to say he's close to an American, but I think that he would find that reasoning somewhat insulting."
"I suppose that narrows it down." Ida went to grab his phone with his right hand, but when he remembered that it was still tied behind his back he switched hands. "If we consider 'ride the night' to imply the use of horses, then that would narrow the timeframe to the eighteenth and nineteenth century."
"If they're riding before an army, that would make them scouts. Right?"
"That would, but I don't think armies back then really moved or fought at night. That's also working with the assumption that those riders were with that army."
Midoriya tried to think, what could it be referring to? "Maybe they were trying to warn other people about the army instead?"
"That may be it," Ida typed with his one hand, then searched the internet. "You were right, the first result is 'Paul Revere's Midnight Ride.'"
"Oh, I know about that!" Uraraka suddenly jumped up, "That's where that quote, 'One if by land, two if by sea,' comes from."
"How do you know about something so obscure?"
She let out an embarrassed laugh, "I was always looking for ways to earn a little more cash. My school sometimes hosted trivia competitions with prizes, so I always made sure to study for them when they came around. World history was one of the topics they had."
"So what are we looking for then?"
"Well, the quote I said was in reference to lamps being set up to show whether or not the British army were showing up by land or sea," she picked up one of the papers. "'One in this place that needed two.' That must mean we're looking for a lamp somewhere in the sea."
"The only place in the USJ that could be like the sea is the flood zone. Ribbit."
"Then let's go! We can't afford to spend as much time on all of the riddles."
Bakugo drove his shovel into the dirt again. With one arm he then pulled it up, driving out a large clump of dirt before tossing it to the side. Then he did it all again. "Bakugo, don't you think you should at least look at the paper now? I don't think we're going to find anything over here."
"Do what you want, I'm going to keep digging," he drove out another clump of dirt. "Following orders is one thing, but the best Heroes are supposed to follow their own intuition and gut feelings. The kind of Hero that just knows that an accident is about to happen, and manages to get there right before it happens. And my gut is telling me that there's something here."
"Well that's really manly, but also sounds kinda dumb."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He turned around, brandishing his shovel.
Kirishima put up his hand defensively, "I'm not saying that your intuition is wrong! I'm just saying that given how flexible you usually are it seems weird how fixated you are on still digging here. We're almost a foot deep into the dirt."
"He wouldn't bury it only a foot underground!" Bakugo shouted, "He's trying to make us exercise, not work up a slight sweat." He put his shovel down, "Besides, are you trying to tell me you're a god damned quitter?"
"Huh? No, I'm-"
"You keep saying you're trying to be manly, but you're giving up way before your goal is even in sight! How is that supposed to be manly?!"
"I'll dig it up!" With a renewed fire, Kirishima began digging again. Tossing out waves of dirt onto the large pile that they'd already started. He'd find that damned thing that was buried in the landslide zone, or he'd fail trying. It had to be here. He just knew it.
"Isn't this…"
"…Overdoing it a little?" Asui and the others looked out to the flood zone, there was a massive object in the water.
"Isn't that the maze from the obstacle course that Mr. Aurdel had us run? Ribbit." Asui put a finger to her lip, "What's it doing in the water?"
"I figured that it would be too easy if I just put the lamp at the bottom of the lake."
"The robot!" The four of them suddenly went on alert as-
"Calm down!" It raised its hands, "I'm just using this for observation purposes, I'm not turning this into a combat exercise."
"Oh." They relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Like I said, it would be too easy if I put the lamp at the bottom of the lake. After all, one of you can essentially breathe underwater," the robot gestured towards Asui. "So, I decided to complicate things by putting the lantern in a maze."
Ida raised his hand, "Sir, wouldn't it be ineffective due to us having already run the maze?"
"Yeah," Uraraka said, "And what's stopping us from just breaking through? We're allowed to use our quirks this time."
"Both very good questions, and I have an answer for both. First, I changed the layout of the maze and removed the original exit and entrance. It's also designed that when you retrieve the lamp, the maze will shift and change shape. The walls are also reinforced."
"That doesn't sound-"
"There are also some traps inside, designed to stall your progress. Some of which were made by Hatsume."
"Oh…"
"Yes. For the sake of safety, I'm going to ask you to please not damage anything in the maze. I didn't actually check the quality of her welds or wiring, and I'm not confident enough to say that something won't short circuit and electrify the water."
"Isn't that a really serious concern?!"
"It is, but I wouldn't put you through anything that I haven't done myself."
"Have you really done something like this before…?"
"If there's anything that I can tell you with absolute certainty, then it's that there wasn't a single boring day during my training." He looked around, "Now, I'm off to go check on the others. So good luck with getting through this." After that he walked off.
"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice." Midoriya turned to Asui. "As- Tsu, I don't think there's anyone else we could ask to do this. In our class you're the best swimmer, and the greatest when it comes to doing anything underwater. Can you do it?"
"I won't say no, but…" She looked around, "If this is meant to be an exercise for us all, wouldn't it be best for someone else to go in? Ribbit."
"You're probably right, but given the circumstances I don't think there's much of a choice to be made," Ida said. "Had we been given the chance to prepare and acclimate to our situation, someone else could have gone. Then again, pro-Heroes often deploy to their strengths. In a way it more properly mimics the deployment of actual Heroes."
"Somehow, I don't think Mr. Aurdel would be happy with that answer. Ribbit." After that Asui walked over to the edge of the lake that made up the majority of the flood zone. With a leap and a bound she dove in headfirst, swimming towards the maze located at the bottom of the lake. Doing so was made somewhat difficult by only having one arm available, but she managed to get by. After about a minute of searching she eventually located the entrance to the maze and pulled herself inside, proceeding slowly in order to allow her eyes to better adjust to the lower level of light.
Carefully she traced her way through the first few turns of the maze, using the pathfinding skills that they were taught to make sure she didn't lose her way. She also took her time to watch the walls and floor of the maze, looking out for all of the traps. And there sure were a lot of them. There were sets of tiles covered with thorns and barbs designed to prick her and throw her off her balance, fishing line hooked up to a switch with a bunch of lights that would have blinded her, a pressure sensor below her that was presumably linked up to the trap door above it and would have sent her flying out of the maze and even a trigger for a cage that would have dropped down and trapped her inside. Even for a relatively normal exercise some of these obstacles were pushing it.
After around two minutes of continuous single-armed swimming, Asui reached a dead end. She was about to turn back around and head in the other direction when she noticed that there was a gap between the ceiling and the water. It was an air pocket. She swam upwards into the thin air pocket, craning her neck into a specific position that put her mouth and nose above the water. Then she took a deep breath. If the rest of the maze were designed like this, then it meant that she wouldn't have to worry about any unreasonable level of danger while down here.
Once she'd had enough time to rest she dove back down into the water, moving at a quicker pace through the initial incorrect path she'd taken. At the first turn she could take she went in, keeping up her pace since she now knew what to expect. The same traps that she was careful to avoid before were now just simple annoyances that she had to avoid, paying little heed to them besides that. And after what felt like an eternity of swimming through long winding paths, reaching dead ends and taking breaks she finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Quite literally. Upon turning the next corner she was able to see a dim light, one that was clearly shining through a set of glass. She picked up her pace as she swam closer, eventually making out what it was. It was the lamp.
After carefully searching the room that the lamp was in, she approached it. Then, after taking another moment to carefully look at the lamp itself, she grabbed it. Less than a second later, the walls of the maze began to shift.
End of the Hunt
The moment that the walls around her began to shift, Asui became incredibly alert. Even through the water she could hear the sound of machines whirring and moving around. The cracks of light that also shone through parts of the maze rapidly fluctuated between very little and large amounts, nearly blinding her in the process. But she fought through the moment, and after roughly a minute everything went back to silence. With the dim light of lamp lighting the way, she began to wade her way through the water and out of the room. Coming back through was more difficult due to the fact that she now had to carry the lamp, depriving her of the only arm she'd had available to swim. She couldn't carry it with her legs, nor could she hold it between her teeth.
Asui moved slowly, carefully stepping over and around the traps that lined the floors and walls. But it was nearly impossible. She ended up brushing against a string covered with barbs, tearing through the right shoulder of her costume and draining some blood. Reflexively she tried to move her right arm, the sudden movement throwing her off of her feet and causing her to fall over. Her costume was pierced by more of the barbs as she landed on another set of strings, drawing more blood and causing even more pain. She was just barely able to catch herself though, stopping herself from letting go of the deep breath that she was holding onto. Eventually she managed to calm down, carefully pulling herself off of the barbs and trudging forward. Even so it didn't get any easier.
After around five minutes of weaving through obstacles and traps she came to one long stretching path, one that was likely the way forward to the end of the maze. But by no stretch of the imagination could it be called easy. This one hallway was littered with more traps and obstacles than she'd seen throughout the entire rest of the maze. Getting through it… Would be impossible. She leaned against the wall, taking a moment to rest.
Series of strings covered with barbs stretched across the hallway from left to right, making them nearly unavoidable. Tripwires attached to lights and nets were strung through the space between them, something that would funnel her straight into the other more dangerous traps. Around them were even more traps designed to capture or slow her down. If she tried to force her way through she would likely run out of air before even getting half way, though that's not even taking into account the number of wounds she would sustain along the way. Mr. Aurdel wouldn't want them getting needlessly hurt, there had to be another way for her to get out of the maze. She looked around, searching for something, anything, she could use.
Then it hit her. Quickly she backtracked through the maze, going back to one of the traps that she'd avoided along the way. It was one of the pressure traps linked to a trap door, one that would likely send her flying out of the maze when triggered. Something like that would have been bad had she triggered it on the way in, before she'd grabbed the lamp. But now that she had what she came for… She could leave
Asui pushed herself off of the floor and floated above the pressure sensor for a moment before dropping down, firmly placing both feet on the ground. A second later the trap activated, the door above her head opening and an immense force sent her flying upward. In fact it was so immense that she launched all the way back up, flying at least ten feet into the air after breaching the surface. "Tsu!" Uraraka called out to her the moment she was in sight.
"I've got her!" Midoriya reached out with his left hand and used his quirk, grabbing Asui out of the air and pulling her in. Eventually she was back on the ground. "Asui, are you alright? Your costume-"
"I'm alright, just a little roughed up. Ribbit." She looked around, "Shouldn't you guys have gone to look for the other items?"
"We were considering it," Uraraka said, "But we decided that we would stay to help you! Just in case something went wrong."
"It was tough, but I got through without any problems." She raised her left arm, "I got the lamp too. Ribbit."
"Nice work!"
"If you have the lamp, then we have no time to waste," Ida said. "Let's bring the lamp back to Mr. Aurdel and then proceed with the rest of the list."
"Yeah!"
Bakugo drove his shovel into the ground, muttering under his breath. "Damnit…" He tossed the dirt out of the hole, adding to the large pile. Then he looked backed towards the ground. "Damnit… Damnit damnit DAMNIT!" He threw the shovel against the ground, then began to stomp on it. "GOD DAMNIT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Kaminari shouted back, putting down his own shovel. Kirishima had conscripted two other dunces to help them dig.
"What the hells the problem?! There's nothing here!"
"You mean that you're only admitting that you made a bad call after almost AN HOUR of digging?!"
"There should have been something here!" Bakugo growled, "It doesn't make sense, why the hell isn't anything here?!
"Maybe you were just wrong-"
He jabbed a finger towards Kaminari, "You say that again, I dare you!"
"Cool your head a little Bakugo!" Kirishima said, "We're just frustrated that we've been digging so long and haven't found anything yet."
"YOU spent a long time digging, he hasn't."
"Hey! I-"
"In fact, what the hell were you doing when we found you?!"
"I was looking for something too!" Kaminari shouted, "Then you guys came over and told me to help you, since you thought you knew where one of the objects was!"
"So now you're blaming it on us!"
"What? No-"
"Bakugo, he's just-"
"I'll kick your ass!" Bakugo picked up the shovel again.
"Crap!" Kaminari began to run, clambering over a rock.
"Get the hell back here!" Bakugo quickly blasted after him, catching up in little no time. He cracked the long end of the shovel against his back.
Kaminari dropped onto the ground on his back, looking up. "H-Hold on!"
"Say your last words!" Bakugo raised the shovel.
"Look, I'm sorry!" Kaminari said as Bakugo kept the shovel raised, that was when Bakugo noticed it. "I was just frustrated that-"
He put down the shovel, "Shut up."
"But I-!"
"I said shut up!" He grabbed Kaminari by the shoulder, tossing him to the side. Then he put his shovel back to the dirt.
"Huh? What are you doing now?!"
"There's no way!" He dug rapidly, not caring where he tossed the dirt that he pulled up. Then he hit something solid. "You've got to be…!" He tossed his own shovel down, reaching into the loose dirt. He pulled out…
"…Another shovel?" Kaminari said, confused.
"What the hell… is this?"
Kirishima walked over, holding the piece of paper that each of them were given. "Uh, I'm looking through the list and… There it is. 'Destruction lies in its wake and through torrential rains it comes to take, but here you'll find what you use hidden just outside your point of view.'"
"He knew exactly where we would look for it, so he moved it just far enough that we wouldn't find it at first…" He clenched his hands around the shovel that he'd pulled out of the ground, gripping so tight that he nearly cut off the blood flow to his fingers. It has been planned out perfectly, counting on his intuition to bring him here and then his pride to keep him from figuring out what was going on. His damned pride… "GOD DAMNIT!"
Eventually an hour and a half would pass, and the scavenger hunt was over. And once that time was up his class returned to the main courtyard with seventeen of the eighteen items that were on the lists. "Good work everyone. I'm proud of-"
"Who taught you how to organize a scavenger hunt?!" Around half the class shouted at him, up in arms.
"Did I do something wrong…?"
"For what we believed to be a rather straightforward hunt, there was a greater deal of danger than we expected," Yaoyorozu said. She was covered with dirt, bumps and bruises.
"That's understating it, I think we could have been killed!" Ashido shouted, "What kind of maniac stuffs a room full of tripwires and exploding garbage cans?!"
"Yeah, who would set up all those traps inside of a building like it's some kind of boobytrapped ancient temple?!" Hagakure added.
"Encountering intricately planned and executed traps by the enemy is a common occurrence you should be prepared for. Others have gone through far worse than what you have in the name of training, in fact some of them were very well put through things that would have killed them."
"And how do you know that?"
He got irritated. "Because I did everything that you did, while under a time limit and all I'm one go. And I was even y-" Upon realizing what he was about to say, he bit his tongue. He cursed himself for nearly slipping up. Despite everything, he didn't feel that he was ready to tell anyone about just what he's been through. He let out a sigh, "Well, let's just say that back then I had a little more spring in my step, though I suppose that's besides the point. You're probably expecting your reward."
"Reward? But we didn't find everything," Kaminari pointed out.
"Did you?" He reached over towards a set of coolers he'd gathered while they'd been searching, the class was confused. Most of them went back to the lists that he'd handed out, comparing them.
Slowly but surely, they put it together. "Was the last thing we had to look for… You?"
"It was meant to be a sort of trick riddle, since you were guaranteed to come back to be at the end of your hunt. But I thought I would include it as a way to sort of rack your brains. Now," he opened up one of the coolers, "I hope you're all a fan of seafood, or else I've made a real error in my judgment."
"Woah!" He flipped open the coolers, revealing their contents. There was an assortment of lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, a variety of fish and a large number of bottles of water and soda. Bakugo walked away from the rest of the class
"Mr. Aurdel, can you really cook?!"
"Why wouldn't I? I've eaten a lot of MREs in my time, but I can't call myself self-sufficient if I'm unable to cook." The robotic body walked over, carrying a propane grill. "Of course, I have to also clean up the mess you all left behind. So I'm going to go do that while I also control this thing to cook," he jerked a thumb back towards the robot body. Then he walked away.
But of course before he went to do his work there was someone he had to talk to. Bakugo stopped in his tracks. "I don't need your pity."
"If you think that I'm pitying you, then that means you didn't learn anything."
Bakugo lowered his head. "My pride, it got in the way of the proper solution. If something like that happened in the actual line of Hero work I'd get trampled over."
Aurdel let out a sigh. "There's nothing wrong with feeling pride, it's just part of the human condition. The problem is that there's a thin line to tread between feeling pride, and being self-indulgent. Once you've fallen into that trap there's little that will pull you out."
"Then how do you do it?" Bakugo turned around, "You have so much, have done so much, but when anyone looks like they're about to give you any credit you deflect it elsewhere."
Aurdel closed his eyes, "There is very little that I feel I deserve credit for. My life is the result of a cosmically inconceivable set of circumstances, one that I had no choice in deciding. Only adding fuel is the simple fact that most of my actions, ultimately, have been utterly inconsequential. The world will continue to spin, and people will continue to live their lives." He opened his eyes, "Don't mistake what I'm saying for some thinly veiled idea of nihilism though. I believe that in life there are choices that truly matter, and those choices are what I hold pride in, but each person has a different set of choices to make. That's why I don't seek validation." He gave Bakugo a pat on the back, "But I also try to keep myself present, something that I'd suggest you do too. So go on. First round of grub will be ready in around five minutes, no sense in missing out." With a begrudging grumble Bakugo relented, walking back towards the class and leaving Aurdel alone.
With his focus split between two bodies doing separate things, his mind could feel the mental toll it was taking on him. Walking away in one body and listening to his students have fun from the other. Eventually it happened again.
Aurdel sat on the shore of the beach, letting the tide lap against his feet as he stared out across the crystal blue ocean. Eventually he heard two voices calling out for him. "…Aurdel! Hey!"
He turned his head, shouting back, "I'm over here guys!"
Kurt and Musa ran over, "What are you doing all the way over here?"
He looked back towards the water, "Do you think he'll be alright?"
"You mean the Chief?" Musa asked.
"Nothing can kill him," Kurt said, "If anything, he'll be happy that we turned his plans around. It means that he's gonna have to make them even harder the next time around."
He put on a weak smile, "Yeah, I guess you're right." But the smile quickly dropped from his face, and for a moment there was only the noise of the sound of the waves hitting the shore.
"Being here reminds you of Arcadia, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," he lowered his head.
More silence. "We could always take the Pelican, fly it out to the nearest settlement. Then we can take the first shuttle off-"
"I don't want to leave anymore."
"Huh?"
"Aurdel, when we were first conscripted you were the one who wanted to go home the most," Musa pointed out.
He put his arms around his legs, resting his head. "It was because I didn't know what else to do, it was my first instinct. But after all those escape attempts, and after all the training we did… I don't want to leave you guys behind."
"Don't you want to see your parents?"
"I already told you, I woke up while I was being kidnapped. I saw what they did." He shook his head, his voice cracking slightly, "There's nothing to go back to."
The three of them stared out towards the water, in silence. Kurt and Musa looked at each other. "Then I guess that's settled it," Kurt said, "We'll stay too."
Aurdel looked up, "What do you mean?"
"If we go and leave you behind, Chief, the doc and the others will raise hell against you. And we can't make you face that by yourself," Musa said.
"We're a team, and a team sticks together. Even if it means making a few sacrifices."
Kurt put a hand on his shoulder, "You guys…"
"Besides, somebody has to keep the other teams in check. If Jerome, John and Fred get too big for their boots, then I don't think you could knock them down a peg by yourself." That put a smile on his face, and gave him a small chuckle. "Now come on, the others are organizing brackets for a fighting tournament. We can't get started without you."
He took Kurt's hand, standing up. "Who am I up against?"
"That'd be our very own rabbit."
"Kelly? She shouldn't be too tough." The three of them started to walk back together.
"I wouldn't discount her if I were you, but I think you can deal with her," Musa said, "What you've really got to watch out for is the bracket next to yours. James and Cal."
"Holy crap, James is going to get folded!"
Kurt gave him a playful shove, "Speak for yourself, she's going to fold YOU!"
"Maybe. But if I do lose, then I'll make sure it's the only way any self-respecting man ever should."
"Between a pair of legs!" The three of them shouted out together, laughing as they walked over to where all of the Spartans had set up camp together.
Then Aurdel blinked, and he was back in reality. A bittersweet smile was stretched across his face. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, muting his helmet and letting out a heavy labored breath.
Staying present… He couldn't even follow the very same advice that he'd given. But it was because of that past that he was working so hard to preserve the happiness of those around him.
It was only fair…
Right?
Chapter 32: Ideology and the Sword
The Truth
Overhaul kept his head down as he walked, with a mask on his face and a hood over his head no one paid him any attention. They were all too preoccupied with their early holiday shopping to see the Yakuza boss whose face was on national TV in front of them. But that was fine. He himself never preferred the spotlight, and that wasn't something that would change now. Especially not now. "Boss, do you really think that this guy is going to still be around?" A voice spoke out of a small object placed in his hood, "We've been out of contact with him for some time, it would make sense for him to try and cut ties."
"He won't," Overhaul stated plainly, "Not unlike you, I appointed him to this position for his loyalty. He knew that it was his job to hold onto the package I'd given him, no matter what. Especially if something were to happen to me."
"But if he still isn't there?"
"If he isn't there, then we'll search wherever we can to look for it. But it won't come to that." Overhaul reassured Mimic. He knew that the man he put in charge of guarding the package would be there.
The building that they eventually arrived at was a small café, one that by any measure looked like any other café you might find across Japan. A few randoms sat inside at the tables, silently sipping their hot drinks and getting out of the cold weather. A quiet nook like this was the perfect place to hide something. Even if it had arisen suspicion, not many Heroes or police forces would be willing to put in the effort to stake out a simple café. "Welcome, feel free to take a moment to look at the menu before making an order." The cashier was someone that Overhaul didn't recognize, possibly a random hire that was done to make the establishment look more legit.
"I'm not here to order anything," he kept his face covered with his mask, "I'd like to speak with your boss, we have some business that needs to be discussed."
"Are you another one of those fake Yakuza clan stooges trying to shake us down for cash? Because if you are, I've told your kind before that we're not going to be paying your protection fees." The man had his hand clearly positioned under the counter, most likely resting it on a handgun or knife.
"I didn't come here looking for a fight, but if you insist on provoking me…" Overhaul rested a finger on his left glove, gesturing that he was ready to attack. Yes, ready to attack with a quirk he no longer had. It was a bluff.
"I'm not…" the young man winced with fear, and his arm trembled a little
"What's going on out here?" A man walked in from the back, parting the curtains that separated the two areas, "Who is-?" He stopped, then realized who he was speaking. He motioned toward the cashier, "Easy, you don't want to take this fight. I'll talk with him in the back." The cashier listened, backing down. "This way boss."
"I see you've been bringing up people from outside the clan, Daitaian. I thought you knew better." The two walked into the back, entering a small and enclosed room.
"I didn't have much of a choice. When it came out on the news that the police had hit most of our locations across the country, and that you'd been captured in the main compound, a lot of the guys who did the boots on the ground stuff cut their ties to make sure they weren't next." Daitaian walked over to a small stove and picked up a kettle, pouring the hot water into a cup that was already prepared. "I had some of our loyal members hunt down the ones that fled, but our overall manpower is low. Because of that our influence in the prefecture is dwindling, and smaller clans are picking up our former rings. The only way I could think to keep up is hiring people like Shirahan."
"I understand, holding up the clan's name in a time like this is vital. That's why I need to know if you still have that package."
"The package…?" He took a moment to think, then remembered. "Of course, I'll bring it to you in a moment." He stepped out of the room, walking into another part of the building.
"Do you really think that it's going to work? To restore your quirk?"
"There isn't a precise answer that I can give you, Mimic. All the research that I did was on subjects that had their quirks removed by the bullets, damaging their genetic material. Whatever that 'Hero' Spartan did was different. Nothing says the antidote will work under these circumstances, but neither is there anything that says it won't. And if there's a chance to restore my quirk this way it would be a fool's errand to not at least try."
"But if it doesn't?"
"Then we'll work from there." He drank from the cup
Daitaian walked back into the room, holding a vacuum sealed case wrapped in newspaper, "I kept it vacuum sealed in a freezer like you asked. It was perfectly preserved"
"Good." Overhaul unwrapped the paper, then took a second to prepare himself as he opened the case itself. There were the bullets. The syringes were blue, an indicator of them being the antidotes that they were supposed to sell to Heroes to restore their quirks once his quirk destroying bullets were on the market. Such a lucrative idea… all gone to waste. He pulled out one of the bullets, carefully examining it. They were supposed to be fired out of a gun, but that didn't mean he couldn't inject himself manually.
"So, what do you plan to do boss?"
"First, this." Overhaul pulled up the sleeve of his sweater. Then, after getting a clean view of the veins on his arms, he stabbed himself with the bullet and injected the solution. It was more painful than he anticipated it would have be. He curled up, sliding off of the chair and falling onto the ground. Daitaian quickly rushed over to offer him a hand, but Overhaul rebuffed him. He held onto his right arm, grappling with the immense pain that was surging through his body. He would remember this pain. It was the consequences of his actions, of a failure that he did not anticipate. Three minutes went by and eventually the pain stopped, Overhaul stood back up. As a test he put his right hand on the cup of tea that he was given, destroying it and rebuilding it in a near instant without a single drop spilled. His quirk was back. "I want you to put out a call and bring back everyone who stayed into one place, we need a headcount on our current numbers. Once we have that we'll move onto eradicating the traitors who left us."
"And our end goal?"
"The same as before. We'll play both sides in this corrupted world ruled by Heroes, and in the end the Yakuza will come back out on top once again." He looked to Daitaian, "So, are you ready?"
There was a look of grim stoicism on the young man's face, bags under his eyes. "I'm ready. Boss."
"Good, then let us begin."
"Hey, where's Bakugo and Todoroki?"
"They're performing their last day of supplementary work right now. By the end of the day they're going to have their Hero licenses."
"Ah man, getting my license was the only thing I got ahead of them on," Kaminari bemoaned, "But I suppose it was only a matter of time before it happened."
"As two of the top performers in the class, they were never going to not get them. But what it also means is that all of Class 1-A will finally have Hero licenses. Something that's very important to have right now," he stepped away from the front desk, "Because by the end of winter break, you will all have begun your work studies." The class erupted in noise after he said that.
"Why the hell are we all doing work studies?!" Mineta shouted, "The last time that people from this class did work studies, half of them were almost killed trying to take down a group of gangsters!"
"Mr. Aurdel. For once, Mineta brings up a valid point," Ida stood up from his desk.
"What do you mean for once?! I bring up lots of good points!"
"The last set of work studies were incredibly dangerous, and the great deal of harm and danger that they faced was why the program was temporarily halted officially. I myself can understand the benefits to allowing students a chance to operate in earnest, but is it really wise to begin them again with all students?"
"Believe me, I understand and agree with your reasoning. In fact, given the current circumstances, and what's likely to happen in the future, it's far from our smartest or safest option. But it's the best choice we could make given the very convoluted situation we're in," he put one hand on the desk, "Besides, I've looked at what the other teachers intended for you to be learning this late into the year. Suffice to say when it comes to being a Hero you're improving faster than they can churn out lesson plans. The best way for you to keep improving now is to get some real field experience. See how it is on the streets."
Midoriya spoke up, "Mr. Aurdel, how will the agencies for the work studies be decided? A few of us already have agencies we are doing work studies with."
"That's a good question, and it's one that I already have an answer for." Aurdel pulled out a stack of papers, "For those that already have agency they are currently working with, it will be up to that agency to determine whether or not they want to continue working that student. If they choose to let you go, then that decision is final and won't be contested. But for those who don't currently have an agency, or will be turned down, the school has spent the last few days making a comprehensive list of agencies for you to choose from. Each one needed to have a high case resolution rate, Heroes capable of multiple operations like Villain capture and civilian rescue, a relative proximity to the school and already have a number of sidekicks. They also needed to be willing to take on work study students in the first place."
"Are there any big names on the list?" Sero asked, "It would be pretty cool if we could work with top Heroes."
"There are, actually. Quite a few in fact. But it's up to you guys to decide who you want to work with. I suggest that you take the time to research the agencies on the list provided, look for one that can provide you with the experience you need to improve in areas you need to work on. Once you've decided you just need to fill out the application stapled to the back and then give it back to us, from there we'll mail it to the respective agencies." He looked around the room, "Are there any other questions?"
Uraraka raised her hand, "Mr. Aurdel, where is Mr. Aizawa? I thought he was supposed to be running homeroom this time around." She quickly adjusted what she said, "N-not to say that there's anything wrong with you doing homeroom! I was just curious."
The class waited patiently as Aurdel stood silently for a moment, picking his words carefully as he came up with an answer, "He's… Going to be out for today, same with Present Mic. The police found a lead on the League of Villains and figured that they would need their expertise on connecting some of the dots, so they were called out together."
"Do you know anything more specific about it?"
"No, but if I did it wouldn't be something for you to pry into. Now, everyone take a packet and get going to your first class. I don't want the other teachers to crucify me over making you late."
"Okay. Class 1-A, line up in an orderly fashion to grab one of the packets!"
"Ida, chill out. It's just a packet. We don't need to form a line," Kirishima brushed him off. Eventually everyone in the class had grabbed a packet and left the room. Or rather, all except for one person.
"Midoriya, was there something else that you wanted to ask?"
Midoriya stood silently for a moment, then looked up. "Mr. Aurdel… I don't want to sound accusatory, but it seems like there's a lot that you're hiding from us."
Aurdel didn't have a reply at first, then he sighed. Midoriya… He was too smart for his own good. It didn't help that he was connected to everything concerning the League of Villains and All For One either. "Midoriya, do you know what the meaning of the word 'Infohazard' is?"
"I'm afraid I don't."
"An infohazard is a theoretical set of knowledge or ideas that exist, ones that are so terrible, distressing or life changing that simply knowing them is capable of causing harm to the person that knows them. That's why I'm going to ask you, is this something that you're really willing to put yourself through?"
"If it means that I can take the burden off of your shoulder, or anyone else's, then I'm willing to take the risk." That heart of gold was why Aurdel tried to protect him so much, from things like this.
He closed the door to the room, sat Midoriya down and then began his explanation. Initially he told him about the prison attack, about the actual number of casualties that were incurred and the Villains that had escaped. Those facts alone were enough to worry Midoriya, and Aurdel could see that he was already visibly shaken up. "I'm going to give you one last chance, what I've told you is tough enough to hear. You don't have to hear the rest of what I'm about to tell you."
"I'm ready." Midoriya regained a stoic composure, he thought he was ready for what came next.
"Okay then. What do you know about Nomus?"
"Nomus…? Not a lot. Just that they're incredibly tough, have multiple quirks, and that the League of Villains used them often."
"That's the most basic description of them, yes. And most people would stop there. But I don't think you bothered to ever ask where they came from."
"It was never really a question that I thought to ask myself."
Aurdel stood up, and paced slightly. "Despite how monstrous it may act or look, each and every single one of them had to have a human being as its base." He stopped, "The police looked into it before, I decided to take my own look into it. Each and every case. Do you remember that winged gray Nomu that you encountered in Hosu city?"
"I… Yes, I do. It suddenly showed up after Stain was defeated, it grabbed me and tried to fly away. But Stain broke out of his restraints and killed it."
"I want you to think, was there anyone you knew that had a similar quirk with wings?"
"There was… One of Bakugo's friends, a boy named Tsubasa. But he disappeared with his dad, so why…?" Aurdel didn't answer right away, instead he let the wheels turn in Midoriya's head. He watched as his expression went from confusion, to terror. "No… That's…"
"The DNA was hybridized, but eventually doctors were able to separate it and fill in the gaps. After that the DNA was tested I had it cross checked with every DNA database in the country, eventually I found a match in the pediatric system. It was confirmed with his mother's DNA."
"But… Why?"
"If a person goes missing or dies in an accident, it makes it much easier for something like a kidnapping to go unnoticed. All For One used that to his advantage when he was taking people to make Nomus. It's a cruel cosmic joke, and it's the real reason Eraserhead and Present Mic aren't here. It was done to an old friend of theirs." Midoriya's face was pale, and Aurdel couldn't really blame him for what he probably felt. "Only a few others know about this, for a very good reason."
"The fact that something so cruel… I can't believe it happened. But I want to know… How?" Midoriya looked up at him, bracing himself against the school desk. "How can someone go about their daily life, knowing that something so horrible like that can happen to them? Not just to them, but to their family and friends too."
Aurdel stopped, trying to think of the right words to say. It was a question that Aurdel had looked for an answer to in the past, and one that he thought he had answered. But he wasn't sure if it was the right answer. "Ultimately, it all comes down to hope. I hope for a better future, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get that future. In the face of all the adversity and loss that I've experienced over the years I've held onto that hope, and I have no intention of letting go."
"I guess you're right," Midoriya said, a little better. "If you focus on the bad things happening now too much, you won't be able to look towards the future."
"That's right, now I have a question for you."
"What's that?"
"Since when did your quirk allow you to float? Because you're hovering off of the ground."
"Huh?!"
A Stain on your Record
"Well you plankton, today is the day." Gang Orca stood in front of the group, giving a speech. "For the last few weeks I have put all of you through the ringer. I've taught you the skills that you will need as Heroes, then I reinforced them. The growth that each of you have undergone during that time is tremendous, but that alone does not earn you the right to be a Hero. It has earned you this second chance, and what you do with it is what will determine your future." He turned, "This final exam will take all of the skills that you have learned and put them to the test. Succeed in that, and you will earn the right to be Heroes. Fail, and you will spend a year waiting for another chance. The choice is yours. Now get into your positions!"
"Yes sir!" Bakugo and the others followed his orders, proceeding to the assigned position in the training area.
"Bakugo, we can't fail this time."
"Shut up! I already know that, I don't need you to remind me. I've already fallen behind that damn nerd. If I screw up here then I'm never going to catch up and get past him." Bakugo, Todoroki, Yoarashi and Camie each got into a position. Each one of them had known that this day would eventually come, and as such they'd actually worked together to develop a plan to win.
"You know guys, even after all the time we spent on that plan I'm not totes sure that it's gonna work."
"You have no reason to worry, we poured our heart and soul into this plan! If anyone should be worried it's Gang Orca!" Yoarashi shouted.
"Would you just shut it?! So goddamn loud…" Bakugo grit his teeth as they waited.
The whistle went off, "Exercise, begin!"
Gang Orca and a number of his sidekicks positioned in a vantage point in the center of the arena. From here, they were able to see almost any movement that those students make towards their objectives. On top of that, he had numerous men spread throughout the arena to make sure that no blindspot went unchecked. All they needed to do was watch out for the first move… "Sir, they're-!" One of his men shouted, before going silent over the radio.
"What are they doing? Tell me!" He shouted back, but there was no response. The receiver was then filled with the sound of extremely turbulent wind as someone turned the other radio back on, nearly blowing out the ears of the others from the sheer intensity of the noise. He himself recoiled a moment before being forced to take off his ear piece. "If they think that they can take down our communications and get rid of our coordination, they're sorely mistaken! You!" He pointed at one of his men, "Inform teams C and D to reinforce the hostage centers, if those students get anywhere near them this will be a failure for us!"
"Yes sir!" The man quickly bounded down the building, sprinting towards the next area.
Moments later, a torrential level of wind began to blow in. They weren't going for the hostages first? What were those kids thinking?!
"Brace yourselves!" Gang Orca drove his hand into the roof of the building to avoid being blown away, and several of his men grabbed onto railing and other bits of construction to do the same. But the wind was just too strong. His men were ripped straight off of the roof with the objects that they were holding onto and he himself was barely able to stay on the roof. This level of strength was insane. Yoarashi hadn't even shown it during the exam or training!
"Hey fish face, I've got a present for you!" That blonde, Bakugo, blasted straight towards him.
"I taught you better than to attack head on in a fight while alone!" Gang Orcs let out a sonic blast, one that would hit the boy in front of him for sure.
"Who the hell said I was working alone?!" The illusion in front of him disappeared and Bakugo attacked from the rear. "Explode-A-Pult!" Without a second to even react, he was blown up into the air
"Sir!" More of his men quickly burst up onto the roof from the lower levels, opening fire with their cement guns toward Bakugo. None of them could land a hit
"And I'll take all of you extras on too! AP Shot: Auto Cannon!" Gang Orca landed on his feet some distance away, watching as his men struggled to keep up with the boy. Any time that they tried to line up a shot they were hit with another blast, practically being blown away by the second.
"You always said to focus on what was in front of us, so we're doing what you asked!" Yoarashi was next, increasing the speed and intensity of his wind to form what could by all means be called a tornado in the middle of the arena.
"You're strong, but in the world of Heroes that isn't enough!" With debris freely flying through the air, Gang Orca leapt up and began to jump from chunk to chunk, just barely avoiding direct impacts against any other structures in the arena as he did. "You need to have a greater perspective, look at a battle from more than one angle!"
"Yeah, we did." Todoroki now?! A wall of ice suddenly appeared, slamming through the walls of the tornado and coming towards him. His only option was to let out a sonic blast, shattering the ice into hundreds of much smaller pieces now going the same speed as everything else being carried by the tornado. Then the wind suddenly stopped and the tornado dissipated, the two boys disappearing along with it. Gang Orca braced himself as he landed back on the ground, performing a landing fall. Upon standing back up he found himself slightly disoriented, with the heavy dizziness coming from being spun in circles at high speeds causing his legs to wobble. His eyes darted around, quickly trying to scan the area before he was attacked. But it was practically impossible. Too much dust and dirt has been kicked up into the air by all of the wind.
"You can't hide!" Gang Orca let out a high pitched screech, using it as a form of echolocation to determine his surroundings. But he found out more than that, he'd also found where those kids were hiding. There were a number of chunks of debris that were thrown down from the tornado, and each of those kids were hiding behind a different piece. Gang Orca quickly let out another sonic blast as he charged in, ready for close quarters combat. "Decoys?!" After blasting through he realized that he'd been tricked. Todoroki had set up several ice pillars up around the arena, large enough in scale and similar enough in shape to them in order to trick his echolocation. They were trying to take away all of his senses one by one!
"If you think that we're hiding, then you totes haven't been paying attention to what we were learning." The girl appeared in front of her, some distance away
"Another illusion," he ground his teeth, "You can't use the same tricks over and over in a single battle."
"No one said that we were!" Bakugo was back, this time coming clearly from where he could see him. This had to be another illusion, just like before when he'd attacked him from behind. Gang Orca quickly turned around, seeing another Bakugo. That had to be the real one! He let out a sonic blast, instantaneously realizing his mistake "Reverse Psychology works like a charm!" The one that he thought was fake had actually been the real one! "Stun Grenade: Solar Flare!" At point blank range Bakugo let out an incredible explosion. For what it lacked in power, it made up for with an immense brightness. Gang Orca was left temporarily blinded, unable to see. "Alright you morons, give him the finishing blow!"
"You got it! Collaborative Super Move: Burning Jet Stream!" With his senses thrown out of whack, he was unable to put up much of a fight as they began their finishing move. With a number of consecutive blasts from Bakugo, Gang Orca was thrown up into the center of the arena. As the wind began to rise and as the room began to heat up, he could tell what was going on even without needing to see. Unlike in the early exam, Yoarashi and Todoroki were working together. With two walls of wind focusing and fueling the flames, Todoroki was able to channel it into two concentrated jets of fire. The two jets struck him from either side, singing his costumes and rapidly dehydrating his skin. Unable to do anything to repel the attack he simply took the brunt of it, lasting for a number of seconds against the inferno being brought against him. Then it stopped. After a few seconds of falling towards the ground something caught him. Or, rather, encased him. Todoroki had surrounded him with ice.
"You… All performed incredibly well," Gang Orca coughed out, still reeling from the fight. "I assume you saved all the hostages?"
"Rescuing them was easy!" Yoarashi said, "I was able to throw your guards out of the building in a matter of seconds. After that, it was just splitting up the load of bringing the hostages back!"
Gang Orca wore a proud smile. "Well, I think it's safe to say it now. You passed your exam. Heroes."
"You both did amazing!" All Might said, walking back from the exam with Todoroki and Bakugo. "The power and teamwork that you displayed with the others rivals that of pro-Heroes when they team up."
"I know how we performed, I don't need the patronizing comments," Bakugo said.
"Of course, but the way that you were able to demonstrate it was incredible."
"Maybe, but I still don't think that I'm at my father's level just yet," Todoroki stared down at his left arm.
"You know, you shouldn't keep comparing yourself to Endeavor. You need to recognize your own successes. If you keep trying to compare yourself to someone that seems out of reach to you, then you're more likely to despair and fall short of your true goals."
"You're not wrong…"
"But now that you both have your Hero licenses, it means that the real work begins now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bakugo asked sharply.
"Everyone else was told about it during their classes, but I decided to keep it as a surprise until after the end of the exams. The second phase of Work Studies is about to start. And now that you have your licenses, you'll be able to participate."
"Why the hell didn't you tell us beforehand?!" He shouted, "What were we supposed to do if we failed the exam?!"
"Now calm down young Bakugo. I never had any doubt that the two of you would pass your final day of supplementary lessons."
"That may be true, but-" The conversation was cut short as a massive wave of water passed through the street in front of the, traveling at high speeds. "What the hell was that?!"
"Most likely a Villain." Bakugo and Todoroki both opened up their cases filled with equipment, preparing to fight.
"H-hold on! You've only had your licenses for about thirty minutes!"
"When do we start being Heroes if not now?" Bakugo rebuffed his worry. "You can't fight, but we sure can."
"Hold on!" The two young boys immediately then started off, getting way ahead of him as they chased after the wave of water. In only a matter of moments they were able to get out of his sight. All Might chased after them, hyperventilating from the sudden exercise. But once he caught up he was able to get a better grasp on the situation. And it was awful. "My God."
"I remember you, you're that boy from the fight in the alley." Stain stood upon a wall of ice, the wave of water that had rolled through been frozen over. In his hands was a sword covered with fresh blood. And next to his feet laid the corpses of seven Villains, the ones who'd actually been responsible for the ruckus. Slain to the last man. "And you, you're the rabid one from the UA school festival."
"Don't mock me by comparing me to back then," Bakugo spoke with his teeth clenched, trying to maintain his edge. But it was plain to see that in the face of someone like this, he was slipping.
"Yes, I've managed to hear of your exploits… My fight is with neither of you, only the false Heroes and weak minded imitations that this society propagates." Stain looked as if he was about to walk away
"You're nothing more than a murderous piece of shit!"
"...But if you insist on getting in my way, then I have no choice." Stain stepped down from the ice wall, walking over the bodies of the Villains. "I will test your resolve. And if you fail, you will die."
"Bakugo, Todoroki!" All Might shouted, "Don't take this fight!"
"No way!" Bakugo shouted, his resolve slightly stronger now. "If this freak thinks that he can run around killing people and lecture others on what makes a Hero, then he needs to be knocked down a peg!"
"Don't!"
"How banal."
Bakugo and Todoroki ignored his plea, and the two boys charged in. Todoroki attacked first, creating pillars and walls of ice to try and initially keep Stain at a distance while they attacked. But Stain had surprises up his sleeves. With a sword that looked different from the one that had been publicized he slashed straight through the ice, shattered it into hundreds of pieces. He continued to charge forward. Every time another obstacle seemed to come his way he would just slash again and again, not taking a single scratch as he powered through.
"AP Shot: Auto Cannon!" Bakugo, seeing that the strategy wasn't working, shot off a flurry of low power projectiles. Each one alone would be strong enough to impede Stain but not enough to cause damage to the surrounding area. But not a single one of his attacks landed. Stain managed to weave through every single blast like it was nothing, moving like a man possessed. Even for All Might it was almost hard to follow.
"Bakugo!" Todoroki shouted to Bakugo as Stain closed the distance between them, Bakugo quickly began to backpedal with his explosions to try and get away. But Stain swung hard and fast, slamming his sword into Bakugo's left gauntlet and shattering it into a number of pieces. Bakugo quickly blasted around to try and move behind Stain to land an attack, but he saw through it. Stain quickly spun around with his sword and slashed at Bakugo, cutting his right arm open.
All Might couldn't stand to watch this. They were his students, and even if he no longer had One For All to fight with he would still protect them. "I won't let you bring any harm to them!" All Might charged in with his suitcase.
Stain was caught off guard. "Who-?!" All Might brought up the suitcase and cracked it against the side of Stain's head, forcing him to take a few steps back. It was enough to give Bakugo and Todoroki a chance to get back. "No, it doesn't matter who you are. I won't allow anyone to get in my way!" Stain focused his attention squarely on him, raising his sword and charging at him. All Might quickly raised his suitcase in an attempt to defend himself.
"For someone that promotes the idea of a 'true Hero,' you don't seem to practice what you preach."
A green suit of armor dropped onto the road in front of All Might, stopping the blade with its arm. "Spartan!"
"We need to talk, but that'll be once you three get back to the school. I'll deal with this."
"Are you sure?"
Spartan forced Stain back around ten feet, there was true determination in the Hero Killer's eyes now. "I'm sure. There are a few things that I need to clear up with Stain anyways."
Aurdel stared down Stain, giving All Might, Bakugo and Todoroki the chance to get away from the area. Now that it was just the two of him, he would say it outright. "Now, I don't know what you've heard about me since you escaped. But I think I have a pretty good idea of what you think of me. Now despite what you may think, I'm not like you. Sometimes I do kill, like. But it's for a different reason."
Stain pulled out his second sword, "And what would that be?"
"Methods and intentions." Aurdel charged in without another moment's hesitation, Stain did the same. As Stain brought down his sword Aurdel raised his arms, using the armored gauntlets to deflect the blow. Nothing Stain had would be able to get past his shields, let alone the titanium plating of his armor. Aurdel grabbed Stain by the wrists, using them to pull the Hero killer in and drive a knee into his gut. Stain stumbled backwards, dazed and without his primary weapon.
"I killed the people that I did because they failed to be the Hero they claimed to be. They didn't deserve to live for what they perpetuated."
"And that's the problem, flawed methodology." Aurdel swung his right leg, kicking Stain across his left side and sending him flying into a wall. He'd likely shattered every rib on that side of his body.
"How can you say that when you do the same thing?!" Blood dripped from the back of his skull and out of his mouth, he stood back up. Stain retrieved a dagger from the inside of his costume. "You kill… You've killed more than me!"
"You don't have a bigger picture." Stain thrust at him with the dagger, Aurdel tore it out of his hand and chucked it into a nearby brick wall. "You saw the corrupt system that was in place, I'll give you that. But you thought that the Heroes were the problem. In reality they're only a symptom of the problem." Aurdel backhanded Stain, sending him stumbling back with a few teeth less and an imprint on his cheek. "You're supposed to rip a tree out by its roots, that's why I've been going after the people that created, furthered and manipulated the current corrupt system. Meanwhile you blindly cut down Heroes and Villains out of adherence to an ideology, one that you don't even know the full ramifications of." The moment that Stain looked like he was about to regain his balance Aurdel backhanded him again. "Do you even know what you're fighting for at this point? Do you know what happened to the 'noble intentioned' cause that you championed and turned against the world for?"
"Everything that I've done… And everything that I will do… Has been for the sake of a better world!" Stain tried to rush him down in one last hurrah, only to be easily slapped down. Face to the pavement
"It's about time that you face reality, no matter how much you may want to avoid it." He crouched down and looked Stain in the face, "After you were arrested in Hosu, a recording of you leaked online. Your ideas spread like wildfire. Do you know what that did? It gave the League of Villains a PR boost. Ever since then they've only grown in strength and caused untold amounts of death and destruction, and are likely to commit more. You met them when you escaped." He stood back up, turning away. "You hated that Heroes focused on earning money, so you killed the Heroes that took brand deals instead of the companies that contracted them. You hated the Heroes that were out there for fame, so you killed the Heroes that had a large public presence instead of the media conglomerates that afforded it to them. You hated the Heroes that were out for power, so you killed the Heroes with that influence instead of the people that handed them the keys. You wanted to better the world by forcing Heroes to fit into a mold they systematically could not fit. And in doing so, you have caused mountains of unjust suffering." He turned back around to face him, "So no, we are not the same."
Stain lay on the ground in silence, unmoving. Each word had its time to set in. "Kill me…"
"I won't kill you," Aurdel said. "You realized what you've done, what you started. For that, death would be the easy way out. But once you're back in prison you'll have all the time in the world to think over the implications of your actions, and the kind of pain that will inflict on your soul is more than any physical punishment I can dole out."
"Kill me… Kill me!" Stain weakly tried to get back up to lunge at Aurdel, to force him to strike him down. But all he did was fall back towards the ground. Aurdel retrieved Stain's weapons, not wanting to let them fall into the hands of someone who idolized Stain. "KILL ME!" Eventually the police would arrive, binding Stain with handcuffs and placing him inside of the iron maiden. From there he would be taken back to Tartarus, where he was likely to spend the rest of his days trying to justify his actions and the twisted path his ideology has taken.
As Aurdel stood in the street, watching the police depart, he suddenly got a phone call. He picked up. "Gentle, what is it?"
"Do you remember how you asked me to look into the matter of who the Hero commission was afraid of?"
"Did you find any information?"
"I have."
"Good work, where are you right now?"
"Stuck inside the commission building, being shot at by the woman they were afraid of."