AN: Writing fights is so goddamn difficult. I genuinely a goddamn explanation on how to do so.
(Lots of math got to do with circles...)[1]
(Pov: Narration)
The monitor room was wide and spacious. The large cluster of students stood in the center of it, their attention divided between the screens featuring the Villain and Hero team.
Their Teacher, All Might stood at the very front, his attention on his earpiece. He was listening to the planning of the Hero and Villain team, gauging their plan and teamwork.
The students behind him were excited and it showed. Chatter reverberated through the room as they discussed the Fighters possible Quirks or prevalent course of action.
"I'm telling you, the Hero team is fucked!" A slightly squeaky voice rang out. "Did you see that big ass Mutant?? He's literally a walking tank! And that's without considering his Quirk, which no one knows what it is!!"
The speaker was Minoru Mineta, a boy who was only one meter tall, and whose quirk allowed him to produce adhesive balls as his hair.
His claim, however was countered by a stunning girl in a revealing outfit, Momo Yaoyorozu. Her Quirk was called Creation, allowing her to create anything she knew the Molecular structure of.
"That is if we assume a certain level of skill for the competitors. While you are certainly right that... Shindai's physique is overwhelming, we do not know anything about his Quirk."
Yaoyorozu straightened herself, having garnered everyone's attention. "Hence, we should not be hasty to write off the Hero Team. Especially given Todoroki's presence in that team."
Thoughtful murmurs and approving nods permeated through the crowd of students and everyone's eyes settled back on Mineta, expecting him to argue for his point.
"Yes, you're right. I totally agree." Mineta was fervently nodding.
Deadpan stares were directed at him but Yaoyorozu simply nodded, content to have brought across her point. She continued, stroking her chin as she spoke.
"Still, you bring on an interesting question about Shindai's Quirk. It could be a simple strength enhancing Mutant Quirk, but i believe this to be a bit too simple an answer."
Everyone understood what she meant. Despite the mutant's large physique pointing to a possible strength or durability Quirk, he had too many special traits to just write it off as such a thing.
The Wings instead of eyes, the tail on the back of his head and his entire physique in general, complemented by that Mysterious wheel floating above his head, were simply too strange.
"Tokoyami. You mentioned being friends with Shindai. Can you tell us something about him?"
The thoughtful silence was interrupted by Tsuyu Asui, who stood in the back of the crowd next to Tokoyami. He closed his eyes as everyone turned their attention towards them, thinking of a good answer.
Then, he spoke. "Riku's Quirk is... complicated."
Dramatic pause.[2]
He continued. "It is not my place to tell you the details, but know that his Quirk is not only powerful... but versatile. Whatever weaknesses you might think he has, are negated by it."
Kaminari Denki, a boy whose Quirk allowed him to conjure lightning spoke up.
"Can't you at least tell us what about his Quirk makes him most dangerous?"
Tokoyami hesitated for a second. What was the most dangerous thing about him? His reflexes? His Sensor? His strength? Each of these could pass as a Quirk by its own.
But the answer popped into his mind a second later. The root of each of his listed abilities.
A smirk spread across his face as he answered.
"His Quirk makes him most dangerous in any battle of attrition."
(Pov: Riku Shindai)
He stood in front of a large missile-looking prop, Hagakure next to him. He had snapped out of his excitement, although he'd be lying if he were to say that he was calm.
'Now... as much as i want to simply storm in and fight these two, this is an exam. So i need to coordinate with her.'
Which was a little awkward. Why? Because Riku had noticed something.
Hagakure's presence... was strangely... streamlined? Most people's presence, fluttered a little due to their clothes, especially when moving.
Hers didn't.
How did he not notice that before? Because his Cursed Energy only focused on the general outline of a person. He didn't "scan" people like some kind of pervert. He had in fact simply not overthought her appearance.
'You know what, i'll just stop thinking about it.'
"Hmm..., you think we're allowed to move this thing?"
Riku was snapped out of his musings at the question and simply shrugged.
"EW ERA GNIMUSSA SIHT OT EB A RAELCUN NOPAEW. EW DLOUHS TON EVOM TI."
(WE ARE ASSUMING THIS TO BE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. WE SHOULD NOT MOVE IT.)
"Oh okiee." Her voice sounded nervous as she spoke. "But we have like, 4 minutes to plan. What do you think should we do?"
'Oh, shes not nervous alright. She's freaking out.'
Riku was aware that Shoto Todoroki was pretty famous for being Endeavor's son, ...but he didn't know a single thing about him besides that.
However, he did know the other guy! Mezo Shoji's quirk was apparently called "Dupli-Arms". And... he was big. Like really damn big for a High schooler.
"OD UOY WONK S'IKORODOT KRIUQ?"
(DO YOU KNOW TODOROKI'S QUIRK?)
Hagakure answered rather quickly, this was rather known information after all.
"Half cold, half hot. He's pretty famous. And he is probably super trained with Endeavor as a dad..."
Riku's smile widened a bit. Hot and cold happened to be one of the things he had literally trained against. His tail lashed a bit as he thought about some kind of plan.
Cursed Energy enveloped the entire building and the road... where he sensed the presence of their two opponents. The two of them were relaxed and were facing the building, simply waiting for the exercise to start. Whatever they had planned was already ready.
'...Hagakure's quirk is good, so she should just focus on trying to catch one of them off-guard with the capture tape. But they know her quirk... so they'll be on guard against that.'
His wings twitched a little as his mind led him to his favorite option.
"ERUKAGAH. TAHW OD UOY KNIHT TUOBA GNIHSUR MEHT EDISTUO?"
(HAGAKURE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT RUSHING THEM OUTSIDE?)
Surprise emanated from her, his suggestion seemingly startling her.
"Eh-? But we should defend the weapon... right?"
Riku's grin widened.
"YEHT ERA YLNO OWT. LLA EW EVAH OT OD, SI POTS MEHT MORF GNIRETNE"
(THEY ARE ONLY TWO. ALL WE HAVE TO DO, IS STOP THEM FROM ENTERING.)
1 minute remained until the Hero team would enter the building.
-
-
(Pov: Narration)
Outside of the building, Todoroki and Shoji stood side by side in Silence. Their battleplan had already been done, with Todoroki simply warning Shoji to not enter the building. He in turn, didn't really understand Todoroki's plan of action, but he figured that it probably consisted of some large-scale move.
A tentacle suddenly sprouted, bearing a mouth on its tip.
"Todoroki, they seem to be moving down the stairs. They may plan on ambushing us in the lower floors."
Todoroki simply turned his head a little. "Got it. But it won't make a difference."
A few seconds later...
"ATTENTION AND... START!"
All Might's booming voice echoed through the loudspeakers. Shoji immediately took a few steps back, the ears on his limbs twitching, but his own gaze focused on Todoroki.
Todoroki heaved a deep breath, then simply shifted his right foot.
In an instant, a large amount of ice erupted from his foot, cold vapor accompanying it. It rushed forward and enveloped the entire building, entering through the entrance and windows alike.
"..."
Shoji was speechless for a moment. Todoroki simply glanced back at him, then walked towards the entrance. Shoji snapped out of his daze and was about to follow when his Dupli arm suddenly registered noise. The noise of cracking ice. To that followed footsteps.
Recognition struck him instantly.
"TODOROKI! MOVE!"
BAAAMM!
The iced-wall to the building exploded into shards of ice and stone. Todoroki's expression contorted in shock as he found himself face-to-face, or rather face-to chest, with the large white skinned mutant who'd barged through the wall. The grin on the Mutant's face was large as he cocked back his fist.
'He already broke the ice? With brute force?'
Todoroki's shock faded a second later, and a pillar of ice shot out the ground, aiming to slam straight into the mutant's torso.
"RAAAHH!!"
'What the hell?!'
The mutant's fist met the incoming pillar and shattered it with a roar, but was immediately engaged by Shoji from the back, whose dupli-arms molded into one, preparing to launch a single strong punch into his opponents back.
The mutant, however, didn't even bother to dodge, instead simply coiling his tail and snapping it towards Shoji as if inviting the trade.
BAM! Shoji's fist dug into Riku's back, but the damage was minimal. He didn't notice the tail swiping towards his head from above. Todoroki, however, did.
'Tch.'
Seeing how his teammate was about to be hit, he held out his right arm and unleashed another pillar of ice which blocked the tail before it could make contact with Shoji, then immediately jumped back, creating some distance. Shoji mimicked his action and placed himself between Todoroki and the large Mutant.
"What the hell is this guy made of?"
"HSELF DNA ENOB"
(FLESH AND BONE)
Todoroki's ears rang as a distorted voice spoke the sentence in his head. Shoji seemed to have heard the same thing, as his body went rigid for a moment, which their large opponent immediately capitalized upon.
The concrete beneath his feet exploded as he shot forward with a wide grin, arms crossed in front of his chest. Each step left a crack in the ground as he barged forward, seemingly intent on running straight through Shoji and Todoroki alike.
'This damn mutant.'
"I can't stop him! Todoroki!"
Seeing the Mutant's run, Shoji jumped aside, leaving only Todoroki in his Line of attack.
Todoroki's instincts screamed for him to dodge, but... anger had caught up with him. His eyes turned cold and he raised his right leg in a slow gesture.
Then, when the Mutant was only a few steps away, he stomped his leg down hard.
-
-
(Narration, Monitor room)
The students attention was fixed on the screen featuring the different angles inside of the building where the Villain-team should have been hiding in.
Keyword: Should.
The students had watched how Shindai and Hagakure spoke, but they did not have microphones capable of transmitting what the two were saying. Then, the two of them had started moving downstairs, seemingly intent on intercepting the Hero-Team.
After that, came Todoroki's display. Shocked exclamations reverberated through the room as they saw the entire building frozen in ice. Not an ounce of effort was on Todoroki's face as he'd simply started walking towards the building with relaxed gait.
Then, the main-camera feed switched and the students were pulled out of their awe.
The camera feed showed one mutant figure, whose feet and torso were trapped in thick ice. The figure however, seemed uncaring about his predicament as he raised his arm and swung it down, cracking and shattering the ice.
He then bend down, reaching towards footsteps frozen in ice, presumably the spot where his teammate stood, then proceeded to shatter it with his fist in a display of carefully managed strength.
The mutant then moved. His large frame pivoted towards the wall and he charged straight at it.
"Oi... don't tell me he'll just run through it?!"
Kirishima's loud voice reverberated through the room, mirroring most people's disbelief. Their Mutant classmate was obviously strong and durable, but the sheer aggressivity in such a move were what stunned them.
And run through it, he did.
Another monitor featuring the two students outside of the building, showed Mezo Shoji screaming a warning before the wall next to Todoroki exploded, Shindai's large frame bursting through the rubble, a step away from ramming into the boy.
The ensuing scuffle was watched with gaping mouths. Todoroki's reflex and coordination with Shoji. His powerful ice, capable of freezing an entire building. Shindai's raw strength as he dominated the field, fighting two powerful students with a wide grin on his face.
"W-well, this exercise was supposed to be an indoor battle trial, but i suppose the Villain's course of action wasn't totally unjustified given the circumstances." All Might's voice rang out, garnering everyone's attention. His smile was large and as confident as ever, but the slight twitching at the corner of his mouth betrayed his uncertainty.
He was about to continue, striking a pose to highlight his teachings, when another explosion of ice and vapor swallowed up the fighters.
-
-
(Pov: Todoroki)
He was heaving a cold breath, feeling the creeping cold envelop more and more of his body.
'That damn mutant...'
His expression was focus as he stared at the aftermath of his move. A large crystal made of ice, trapping half of the Muscular mutants several feet in the air. Todoroki had barely managed to keep Shoji from being in the range, but that did not exempt him from the cold the icy crystal had spread.
"You lost."
Todoroki's words were final as he stared at the not-completely encased Mutant. He was annoyed to have been so close to being defeated, and rebuked himself for underestimating his opponent. But in the end, his opponents efforts did not matter much.
"TON TEY."
(NOT YET)
Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the encased Mutant... then widened them. Cracks were spreading through his icy creation as the Mutant strained his muscles. 'No. This is over.'
He swung his hand and another wave of ice rushed up, fully encasing his opponent. This time for good.
Todoroki exhaled in quiet relief and his gaze remained locked onto the mutant, making sure he wouldn't move or break the ice. And that, was the right decision.
CL-CLA-CLAN-
'What was that...?'
Above his icy prison, floated the strange wheel, which started twitching as if someone was forcing it to turn.
CLANK
For a moment, Todoroki just stood there, his eyes transfixed on the wheel's shaky turn. Then, he heard the sound of cracking ice and the hissing sound of... steam? The ice around the Mutant's figure grew soft as cracks appeared and ice melted. His opponent was halfway to freeing himself.
'What... the hell is this guy?'
"TODOROKI!..."
Todoroki turned his head at his teammate's scream and saw Shoji sprint towards him with alarm in his eyes. Confusion reigned for a moment, until it finally clicked.
'Where is Hagakure?'
He got his answers in the form of two footprints in the ice, only centimeters away from himself. The line of capture tape was already coiling around his legs and he felt a weight tackle him around the waist, knocking him onto the ground.
His eyes widened as a weight stepped onto his chest and arm, not allowing him to move. He struggled to free his arm... and was surprised to be allowed to do so. But at the same moment, the capture tape around his legs was tightened and his heart sank.
"SHOTO TODOROKI, CAPTURED!"
The announcement reverberated through the speakers and Todoroki's body went slack, his eyes widened in disbelief at the situation.
'I... lost?'
"GAHH! SHiNDAI!! SHOJI IS RUNNING AWAY!!!"
'Wait what?'
Todoroki turned his head at Hagakure's panicked voice... and saw Shoji enter the building at full speed.
Thundering footsteps followed as the Mutant, Shindai, rushed after Shoji.
'Oh... thats right. The main objective was the weapon.'
Disappointment welled up in him. He had been so caught up in the Mutants rythm, that he had completely lost sight of the main objective of this test.
Well, at least it looked like the villain-team had forgotten as well. A small comfort.
"THE HERO TEAM HAS CAPTURED THE WEAPON!"
And with that second announcement, his teams victory was called out.
-
-
(Pov: Narration)
No one had sustained any serious injuries. Todoroki, Shoji, Shindai, and Hagakure stood in a line before All Might and the other teachers. Each carried themselves differently.
Hagakure had made a flashy entrance, proudly declaring how she "defeated" Todoroki, but the moment passed quickly. Todoroki's brows were furrowed, gaze fixed on the ground in thoughtful disappointment. Shindai remained difficult to read, his wings twitching subtly, steam and vapor still rolling off his body while the wheel above his head slowly turned back.
Shoji, in contrast, exuded quiet composure. He was slightly winded from the chase through the building, but his posture remained steady and his eyes were scanning the room as if still processing the chaos of the fight. He was a bit disappointed, unable to contend with both Shindai and Todoroki in sheer power and his warnings had not made it in time as well, leading to Todoroki's capture. His only achievement was capturing the weapon... but that hadn't been particularly difficult as all he had to do was touch it.
Classmates watched in silence, some impressed, some critical. All Might allowed a moment of stillness, giving the students time to gather their thoughts on what they had just witnessed.
Then, he finally asked.
"Well? What are your thoughts? Whose actions were the best in this scenario?"
Several hands shot up, but one was noticeably faster than the others.
"YES! YAOYOROZU?"
She spoke calmly. "While no-one in this match truly paid attention to the main objective, i believe Shoji's was the most efficient." Her gaze settled on Todoroki and Shindai.
"Both Todoroki and Shindai grew hyper focused on their battle. Shindai's goal may have been to stall the heroes outside until the timer ran out, but he didn't pay nearly enough attention to Shoji, who could have entered the building while Todoroki engaged him. Hagakure fell into the same trap, concentrating on Todoroki rather than monitoring Shoji. When Todoroki was captured, the outcome became a straightforward race between Shindai and Shoji, which Shoji won due to his head-start."
"..."
"EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD'VE SAID!!"
The collective silence at Yaoyorozu's harsh judgement was interrupted by All Might's booming laughter.
"INDEED! YAOYOROZU IS CORRECT! THIS WAS NOT A CONTEST OF STRENGTH, BUT OF EFFICIENCY!! AND WHILE THE VILLAIN-TEAM'S GOAL, TO STALL THEIR OPPONENTS OUTSIDE "COULD" HAVE BEEN EFFICIENT, THEY DID NOT TRULY PURSUE SAID GOAL, AND INSTEAD SEARCHED TO DEFEAT THE HERO-TEAM, INSTEAD OF OUTLASTING THEM!!!"
His wide smile settled on the villain team. His voice a little bit quieter this time.
"When choosing an strategy, one has to be very careful to stick to it. Switching strategies is often necessary during conflict, but doing so carelessly leads to loose ends. Which is exactly what lead to the heroes victories in this scenario."
The explanation harvested different reactions, from the students. The fight between the two students had been eye-catching, with big moves and feats of power most could only dream to replicate. Mutters and chatter exploded about responsibility and ambition, and how easily these concepts could derail a fight.
Some, however, didn't care.
"Whatever, lets get on with it!" Bakugo Katsuki's loud voice reverberated through the room. He shot Shindai and Todoroki a disdainful glare. "The fight between these losers is so damn boring."
His hands were white from how tightly he had clenched them.
-
-
(Timeskip: After classes), (Pov: Mezo Shoji)
Shoji thought the entire exercise had been an ordeal. Not necessarily in a bad way, it had forced him to confront a number of things about himself and about his classmates.
One realization stood out above the rest.
Nearly all of them were monsters.
He had expected that, at least in theory. This was UA after all.
But Todoroki freezing an entire building. Shindai shrugging off attack after attack. Bakugo and Midoriya reducing several floors to rubble... there were too many examples to count. The sheer amount of power on display had caught him off guard.
And yet, he wasn't disheartened.
His own contribution hadn't felt impressive. He hadn't overpowered anyone or delivered a decisive blow. But Shoji knew that raw strength wasn't the most important thing a hero could possess.
What mattered was how many people you could protect. And while power could save lives, it wasn't the only thing that could.
He was currently standing in the classroom, next to his desk. Classes were over, not that here had been many after the battle trial. Despite that, not many people had left and most were actively conversing and getting to know each other.
He himself had tried to converse a bit with Todoroki, maybe discuss their shortcomings during the trial, but had been brushed off. Not maliciously, he felt, but simply uninterested.
It was a strong contrast to everyone else, who were giddy and excited, their loss or victory not affecting their mood. They were excitedly discussing, even more so when Midoriya, who had spent most of his day in the medical wing, came back to the classroom.
He himself had already talked to a few people, Ojiro and Hagakure, who sat to his right and left, but he had stayed back when the two joined the main-conversation, his mind playing back the events of the fight.
The noise as Shindai burst through the wall.
The way his punch had simply been ignored.
And the thing which bothered him the most. The way Shindai had freed himself from Todoroki's ice.
He had frozen up the moment he had heard the noise of the turning wheel, and he didn't understand why. He had felt as though the entire situation had shifted, so much in fact that he had not paid attention to Hagakure sneaking up on Todoroki.
'... what is his Quirk?'
Shoji's gaze shifted over to Shindai, who stood next to Tokoyami in the back of the classroom. The two had been talking quietly before being interrupted by Ashido, who had approached them with the subtlety of All Might.
The corners of his lips raised a little as he recalled the expressions of the two boys, struggling to keep up with their girl-classmate's fast-paced conversation.
Well, not that he would have been much better.
His musings were interrupted as he noticed both Tokoyami and Shindai approach him with slow steps, Ashido already having returned to her own friends.
'...it seems they noticed me staring.'
The two came to a halt in front of him, Shindai initiating the conversation.
"IJOHS, TCERROC? DOOG THGIF."
(SHOJI, CORRECT? GOOD FIGHT.)
The strange double layered voice resonated in his head, but Shoji kept his expression in check as he answered with a nod.
"Likewise. Your performance against Todoroki was impressive."
The mutant grimaced a bit, but Shoji couldn't tell whether he didn't like being reminded of the fight or... some other reason. Next to him the bird-headed boy, Tokoyami spoke up, his expression deadpan.
"Riku kept complaining about being robbed his "inevitable victory" by Hagakure. He's a bit salty about it. Don't mind him."
Shoji smiled a bit at that, a bit surprised to hear that the eldritch looking Mutant had a childish side to him.
"I'm sure it saved Todoroki some pain, i don't know what that thing with your wheel was, but it sounded quite dangerous."
Tokoyami rolled his eyes, his demeanor suddenly laced with exhaustion.
"Yes. We got to hear about how surprising that was through Ashido."
Shindai's already present grin widened, as if amused by Tokoyami's demeanor. Still, he answered Shoji's question.
"YM KRIUQ SI TPADA. TI SWOLLA EM OT NIAG ECNATSISER OT SGNIHT."
(MY QUIRK IS ADAPT. IT ALLOWS ME TO GAIN RESISTANCE TO THINGS.)
'There is definitely more to it.'
Shoji rubbed his fist a bit, thinking back to the fight. But he didn't ask more about it.
Conversation continued, more focused on Tokoyami and his quirk, then onto their classmates. The mood lightened as they considered future battle-trials and UA in general, curious about the other classes as well.
Overall, Shoji thought the day to have been good. A fruitful lesson and some nice classmates.
And as he headed home, he found himself looking forward to tomorrow.
-
CHAPTER END.
AN:
Again, i hate writing fights. I don't know if this was any good. I tried to portray the "short adaptation= simplest counter" but idk if this was clear/good. I hope i don't have to say this, but the fight (Riku vs Todoroki + Shoji) would have been won by that point.
All in all, i'm not too happy. Rewrote it a few times, and it still feels kind of dull.
About the other story i'll write at some point. This wasn't really meant to be a Poll, but Kenjaku in Bleach and Mechamaru in Naruto got pretty close. (Chapter comments filled with Mechamaru votes)
So just once more. Please only vote once. The other options averaged at below 20, so they're scratched (although i want to write one of the elden ring ones at some point)
-Kenjaku x Bleach
-Mechamaru x Naruto
[1] Tis surprising
[2] He's just thinking. Definitely not Aura-farming.