While true, she is not available due to being in the final round of the fight. Doesn't actually help.
Shattered Fate (MHA/SM/Naruto/Ranma)
- Thread starter CaedesPlerique2
- Start date
- Crossover
While true, she is not available due to being in the final round of the fight. Doesn't actually help.
He's alive, so it depends on what kind of injury it is. There isn't much she can't help with, but there are things outside of her or Tsunade's capabilities.
Doesn't mean she can't, but they are not a 'can fix everything' type of healer.
MaimakteriAnn
(Verified Sleepy)
- Location
- Enormous And Round Terran Homeworld
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Dr
Very good chapter. Peter v Ranma dragged a little in the middle. Like you were trying to reach the word count on an essay.
And the very tired accidental grope gag being ridden unfunily into the ground.
And the very tired accidental grope gag being ridden unfunily into the ground.
I can understand how it might feel like that, but word count wasn't my concern at all. My chapters usually try to cover ideas or concepts for the chapters over word count. Most of the time I cut or add stuff has more to do with pacing or something feeling off. For example, I had several whole scenes in the first two drafts for some of the recent chapters that I gutted entirely because they just didn't fit.
This scene, however, had an opposite problem for that part: it was a skeleton. It was too bare bones and went from point A to point D waaaay too fast. I found better and more logical ways to explain the transition, but in stuffing the scene to make it healthier, it might have fattened it a little too much.
Too much gravy, it seems. 🤤
The original event was a horrible 'dark humor' event that feels all too true to the character's life. The consequences are real, however, and were never intended to be ignored or swept aside.
This entire plot line is also an important one for part of my story. Its full relevance won't be known for some time, but the scene gave enough there to hint at it.
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Thing is, Sakura started to be Tsunade's student AFTER Tsunade made and tested a healing technique SPECIFICALLY for spinal damage on people going at Speed: yes (aka Rock Lee, that had damaged his own during his Chunin Exam Preliminary Fight with Gaara), if she did not learnt it in a Just In Case Rock Lee or Guy Pull It Again (or any other high speeder in the Hidden Leaf Village, really) I will eat a sock.
I went back and double checked on her diagnosis of Lee and it was because there were bone fragments around his spine. She said it was risky and a 50% chance of success.
There might have been more information, but I don't know specifically which chapter that additional information is in and don't feel like hunting it down.
While Tsunade is capable of performing surgeries like that, as is Sakura, it isn't necessarily guaranteed.
Chapter 20 - Tournament - Round 4 - Finals
Chapter 20 - Tournament - Round 4 - Finals
"It's time for the Final Round of the U.A. High School Sports Festival!" Present Mic said, his voice carrying to everyone in the audience as their cheers doubled in strength. "The best of the First Years will be decided with this match!"
Ranma grinned as he looked up at the screen, which showed an image of him from the torso up on the left side of the screen. His arms were crossed, using his current visage on a stylized background, with his name written in front of it. The screen on the right showed Sakura with a grin and a hand on her hip. It had a big versus break in the middle that separated their images, with the word 'Final' in big Kanji between them.
"From the hero course, Saotome Ranma!" Present Mic announced, causing Ranma to grin wider as the cheers built up again, showing he had some fans in the audience. "Versus, also from the hero course, Haruno Sakura!"
Ranma noticed Sakura's grin deepening as well as she continued to look at him from where they both waited for the match to begin. They had been looking forward to this fight for some time, likely for the same reasons.
Ranma had been waiting weeks for this opportunity, but now, he felt more should be on the line. Tradition, if he were to put a word to it. "Hey, Haruno?"
"Yes, Saotome?" Sakura asked.
"Escalation fight? Start with technique and ramp it up?" Ranma asked, putting his arms behind his head. He started doing a few stretches, starting with his arms and back. "Want to make this more interesting? We could have a wager."
"To your first question, that sounds fine," Sakura answered, intrigued. "As for a wager, what did you have in mind?"
"If I win, you have to join my club!" Ranma said, grinning wide enough that his eyes closed.
Sakura thought about it, her poise reflecting it as she tilted her head upwards. "Interesting…"
Ranma kept his smile up, waiting for her to accept. He figured she would, and then she would give some counteroffer of him having to join hers if she won. Either way, though he had no intentions of losing, it was a win-win in his mind.
"I can accept that, but if I win…" Sakura said, returning his smile before it turned malicious, "You have to join the girls for a night."
"Sure! But I'm goin– urgh!" Ranma had automatically responded before his brain caught up with what she had said. "Errr, you're talking about training with the girls, right?"
"Nope!" Sakura replied cheerfully. "Girl's night, whatever we decide to do. We'll be dragging you along."
Ranma opened his mouth to say no, but different parts of him warred from within and halted his immediate response. Eventually, he took a deep breath and gave a hesitant, "Fine… deal!"
"It seems some agreement has been made between the two fighters, and they are ready to go," Present Mic said, having paused while they had talked and must have overheard something. "Sooo… start!"
Ranma and Sakura dived towards each other, moving quickly but not with the blinding speed they had previously shown. Ranma threw the first punch. Sakura avoided it by tilting her head out of the way while shoving his second fist to the side with her wrist, pushing the limb wide, her other fist moving in for a haymaker to Ranma's gut.
Ranma twisted to the side as his first fist slammed down on her wrist from above, his wrist pushing it low and canceling most of the power behind it. It then rebounded and moved towards her torso. Another interception and redirection occurred while her leg blocked a low kick that would have hit simultaneously.
The two fighters continued like this, the attacks repeating as the two dodged, attacked, and redirected attacks. Unlike his fight against Peter, Sakura used technique, experience, and training to attack and defend against him. Defense and offense flowed together, every move designed to mitigate the opponent or build on their previous movements.
Neither could land a clean blow, even after several attacks or defensive actions that would have left almost anyone else vulnerable. They moved back and forth over the arena floor, their bodies pushing and shoving around as the two focused entirely on technique.
"What's going on? Why are they moving so slowly?" A Pro-Hero in the audience asked. He was seated in the section set aside for most of the attending Pro-Heroes. "I thought this was going to be a great fight?"
"Yeah," another Pro-Hero said. The woman looked highly disappointed, her fist resting against her cheek as she stared at the fight. She could actually follow their movements, something she hadn't been able to do before. "Saotome's fight against Parker was more interesting than this."
They were not the only ones expressing their confusion and disappointment, as more in the audience disparaged the two superstars. Those voices got louder as the fight continued, with neither fighter appearing to get the upper hand.
"Come on! This is boring!" Another Pro-Hero shouted, standing up and putting both thumbs down. "We wanted an exciting fight!"
Others then got up, giving their own opinions as everyone continued to watch the slow match.
"Fools," Sorahiko said, his body leaning over the railing as his eyes never left the two fighters below. His current companions were doing the same, though they seemed to be grinning as they watched. "They have no idea what they are watching."
"True," Katashi said as he watched the two students go at it. "But it isn't so surprising. Look at how many of them depend on just their Quirks. They are the ones showing that they will remain stagnant and fail to rise to higher levels. And the audience is used to the showiness of Quirks determining the outcomes of battles."
"I haven't studied any formal form of Martial Arts, but I know technique and skill when I see it," Sorahiko said, his voice serious. "But I've never seen anything like this! Even though they move so slowly, I can barely follow along!"
"Indeed!" Katashi said after barking a laugh. "Ranma's technical knowledge of various styles is profound. He learned techniques from all over the world from any Martial Art he came across, working on learning, adapting, and integrating them into his personal style."
"Sensei's the best!" Kota yelled from his side.
Katashi spared a glance at his charge before turning back to the fight. "Haruno's technique, while not as wide as Ranma's, is well drilled and polished. She must have had an excellent sensei to do this well against him."
Sakura grimaced as she focused on dodging for a moment. She worked her chakra in her wrist to regain the feeling and full use of her hand. Her chakra countered the attack, but she had to be careful if she failed to adapt appropriately, or she would be vulnerable.
Sakura had to admit that Ranma was better than she had expected. They were both limiting themselves, keeping their speed and strength equal, and Ranma slowly began to dominate. Her previous evaluation of him as a mixture of Kakashi and Gai was still accurate, but now she must include Neji and Naruto.
Sakura had been surprised by the inclusion of attacks that resembled the Hyuga's revered Gentle Fist style within his repertoire of techniques. Ranma didn't use it constantly like the Hyuga did, but she had felt the sting on her arms when he struck specific points. They were reminiscent of the few times she had spared against Hyuga members.
She had researched the similarities, both out of curiosity and for possible medical purposes, between her world's pressure points and this new one, where Chakra was absent. Most of the research had pointed at those pressure points mainly used for inflicting pain, though some research had conflicting evidence that pointed to other effects that could be generated. In this fight, she got a crash course in those alternative effects. It wasn't as dangerous as what Gentle Fist could do, but she suspected that Ranma had more up his sleeve regarding it than he had shown.
It was Ranma's unpredictability, much like Naruto's, that drove her crazy though. All these styles blended together was incredibly frustrating as she failed to predict his chaotic behavior. He would go from an all-out attack like Lee or Gai, stringing attacks together as flawlessly as those two taijutsu experts, then when you were least ready for it, shift to a sneaky set of attacks, built on joint locks and bypassing blocks to maximize an attack, before switching back to a strong style for maximum impact. The addition of the pressure points felt almost cruel at that point.
It was taking all of her knowledge and training to just barely stay even with him. Yet it did nothing to remove her grin. She was loving this!
Sakura shifted backward a half step to avoid Ranma's hook punch, close enough that it caused her hair to lightly flutter. She reclaimed that step to deliver a straight punch to his face, but he ducked and continued his circular motion. She knew not to take the bait, her forearm encountering the calf of his leg from the reverse hook kick instead.
She dropped the arm to grab the leg, but Ranma had pulled it back using the rebound. Instead of backing off like most fighters she knew, he shifted targets and went for a sweep of her forward leg. The movement also helped return his upper body faster and allowed him to throw a straight jab faster than she had expected. She dealt with both attacks simultaneously by stepping forward another half-step and letting her thigh intercept the leg while her hand slapped Ranma's punch off target. She capitalized on his awkward position and balance by launching her free hand for a hook punch in his side, which was easy to hit since he was so close.
Once more, Ranma proved unpredictable as he twisted backward to escape. Still, it would leave him far too vulnerable once she pressed her advantage- Sakura felt his leg shift, moving inwards instead of trying to escape, brushing up against the back of her leg. She also felt far more emphasis on it as she felt the leg pulling her forward, but it wouldn't be enough... if that was all.
When Ranma had twisted, the hand she had knocked away had a shorter distance to catch her wrist. Ranma continued twisting while falling backward along with the twist as he finished rotating his body one hundred and eighty degrees. He pulled on both limbs using the leg that had hooked hers and the hand holding her wrist. Her bracing leg's balance was ruined unexpectedly, and her captured arm prevented her from pulling herself back, causing her to be dragged forward. It also set her up for Ranma's hook shot that slammed into her stomach, her free hand too slow to prevent it.
Sakura grunted as she flew, her feet skidding as she finished bleeding off her momentum before sighing in acknowledgment of the achievement. Neither moved, allowing her to stand upright and look him in the eyes. "That was an interesting move."
Ranma's grin morphed into a genuine smile as he stood up straighter. "Yeah, something I encountered from a monk I met. Surprised the crap out of me when he used it. Haven't used it in years, either!"
"Heh," Sakura said, her grin returning. "Pretty sure it would catch a few of my friends and senseis off-guard. Would love to see their reaction to it."
"If they fight as well as you, I'll show them personally! That was great!"
"It was," Sakura said, her head nodding in agreement. "I'll give you the win for technique."
"So, time to ramp it up?" Ranma asked, his eyes becoming more serious.
Sakura's fist passed over Ranma's head. Her burst of speed would have caught most people off-guard. However, it didn't surprise Ranma, who was well versed in sneak attacks due to his father's endless bag of dirty tricks.
Ranma had bent over backward as she sailed over him. He didn't leave it at that though, as he continued his backward dodge, his hands holding him up so his body could crouch upside down before his feet extended to shoot toward her gut.
Sakura caught him by the ankle. She used it to pivot and flip over the incoming blow, keeping her grip on the leg. Once her feet touched down, she used her chakra to reinforce her stance and swung Ranma over her head.
Ranma felt like a flail as he flew, her grip unyielding, and he was on a collision course with the ground. He got his free leg to intercede on his behalf, most of the force of the throw being transferred through the leg as the cement cratered the ground. The audience heard the impact and saw some cement flying into the air.
Ranma didn't slow down as he bent the knee a fraction of a second after impact and tried to pull Sakura off her feet, but he found that she was secure enough that he couldn't pull her away. He had seen her attach herself to the sides of walls, but he hadn't been sure how strong it was. Now he knew, so he switched tactics the instant he had felt it.
Sakura moved to flail him around once more but was surprised by Ranma when he used his leg and the ground to kick at her with his free leg. His foot collided with her wrist, forcing her to release the leg. He then used the momentum to backflip before blurring forward once more.
Ranma's roundhouse high-kick was met by a palm, but the connection was never made. The leg had been pulled back, and his other leg shot straight for her gut. Her other arm interceded, striking her forearm and forcing her to slide back a few meters to bleed off the energy. She performed her own backflip to avoid a leg-sweep.
He moved to capitalize on it, moving in low and both fists flying before she touched down. She blocked what she couldn't dodge, but her attempts to grapple with him were denied as Ranma kept his limbs out of her reach. Even as she backed up to give herself more space, she felt a few sudden strikes as his hands attacked a few pressure points.
His forming grin fell before its completion as the effects of the nerve strike never appeared, Sakura's hand having lost no mobility. He barely avoided the grab, dodging a fast combo, before leaping backward as Sakura's oncoming assault continued past his previous position and instead smashed the ground. The ground beneath him shattered, fracturing beneath his feet and covering a large portion of the arena floor.
Ranma continued to flip backward, barely keeping ahead of the ground as it erupted. After avoiding the massive strike, he glanced upwards from his three-pointed crouch to see she was finishing a sequence of hand signs as she prepared to use another technique. This mixture felt familiar to his senses. Its intricate complexity resembled something he had felt several times today, especially in her previous match. She then slammed her palm onto the ground.
Her Quirk spread out from the point of contact, covering the entire arena floor. The first signs he saw were the cement and Earth filling in the previously created fractures before a larger version of her maze erupted from the ground. The pillars and walls that rose were larger, the average thickness doubled, and they were twice as tall as the previous set.
Ranma didn't move as the ground shook and rose around him, but nothing attacked him directly. He also felt her multiply herself and then suppress her presence. He grinned, anticipating the challenge. Suppressing his own presence and pulling his ki sense in, Ranma began to hunt. He wanted to see just how good of a ninja she was!
"Oh my! Where did they go? Both contestants have disappeared!" Hizashi said into his microphone as he stood up and tried to peer into this new maze.
Aizawa concentrated, doing his best to try to spot the two students after they had disappeared. He was hardly alone doing so, most of the audience joined his friend in trying to spot the two finalists. Aizawa saw momentary flashes of movement, barely visible blurs of light as the two moved around. He wasn't sure if it was them or something else, considering the examples of both students disappearing from his senses altogether. The only sound was from the audience as they tried to understand what was happening.
"It would appear that they have opted for a stealth game and are now hunting each other!" Hizashi said, his eyes trying and failing to keep up with what was happening. He suspected that the majority of the audience couldn't see a thing. "Even my eyes and senses can't detect them! This is amazing!"
The audience's excitement grew after Hizashi revealed that even Pro-Heroes had difficulty finding them. Aizawa overheard a few of the more experienced heroes, who had mainly been silent during the match, confirming Hizashi's point.
In his ear, Aizawa even heard his co-workers express their surprise. Cementoss and Midnight were standing right there and trying as hard as possible to find them but were failing. He glanced at where the rest of the teachers currently were observing from, wondering if they could sense it from their own view. But after watching for a few moments, they all seemed to be just as lost as he was. He suspected only Snipe or All Might could have tracked them like this.
Aizawa wondered when they would–
Part of the maze exploded as several pillars and walls flew in one direction. Aizawa saw the blurring of afterimages of Ranma kicking what had appeared to be Sakura, sending her flying through the air before puffing out of existence. Even as the debris was still coming down and the dust was still in the air, they disappeared again.
It certainly left an impression on the audience as they realized the fight hadn't stopped.
Sakura felt Ranma's presence flicker once more as the memories from her clone filled her in on what had happened. It was the third one in this match, which impressed her. If her clone ran into him, he quickly and efficiently took it down. That left her with two more currently running around.
She didn't know how Naruto could handle the information overload when they dissipated, something that could leave her momentarily disoriented if she wasn't prepared for it. She knew it probably had to be from his heritage, upbringing, and the loveable idiot side of him that didn't even realize what had happened… that or it was Kurama's doing. It still amazed her that her teammate and friend could create hundreds of clones without that feedback overwhelming him.
Sakura paused, her thoughts shifting back to reality as she had detected her opponent for a moment before disappearing once more. Even though he claimed to be a martial artist, Ranma clearly had been trained to fight like a shinobi. She wondered if there were actual shinobi present in this world, ones that stayed hidden and fit closer to her fake cover story. Even so, they probably utilized Ki like Ranma did, not Chakra.
She continued moving, regularly finding her clones, who were purposefully not hiding themselves as well as she was. This act of baiting allowed Ranma to reveal himself and for her to learn more about his fighting style. So far he had remained hidden, save for those brief exchanges.
Sakura wasn't the greatest at stealth, but it was still critical for a med-nin to remain hidden when needed, or else they would become easy targets for the enemy. So Tsunade had included it and many other basics that shinobi should know in her training but at a far higher standard. That included her senses.
Of the ninja she was close to, only Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke-kun could easily beat her in a game like this without using some special abilities. So, for Ranma to do as well as he was, she categorized him as being in a league similar to her teammates regarding stealth. It got her blood pumping at the possibilities!
She had been concerned about her skills dulling. She did what she could to keep them sharp, even honing many of her lesser-used skills, like Genjutsu or elemental jutsu. It gave her more options in a world where you try to avoid killing your opponents. She had to get creative since the majority of people were barely stronger than civilians.
It felt like she was in a world filled with academy students or newly graduated Genin, barely able to hold up in a fight. A few standouts were the exceptions, showing they could go higher—elites like Bakugo, Midoriya, or Todoroki, whom she might currently put around a high Genin level.
The only Pro-Hero in the top ten she had seen in a fight was All Might, whose physical capabilities she needed to see better before ranking him accurately, but she would put him at least on par with the Hokage's or higher. The closest comparison she could consider was Might Guy at the Sixth Gate or higher. The others in the top ten looked like they might fight at a Jonin level, but she wasn't sure.
On that first day, when they had the apprehension test, Ranma looked extremely promising in their physical capabilities and the hidden skill she had detected. His fight at the U.S.J. and the earlier matches had solidified this.
Now that she was actually fighting him, he was surprising her with how he continued to keep up. He was holding his own or surpassing her in multiple fields of combat. She still had a few tests she wanted to throw at him before she was truly satisfied.
Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by another clone bursting as Ranma took her out in a flash of motion. That one was close!
She silently shot toward her clone's previous position while reducing her presence as much as possible. She passed a few more sets of pillars and walls between them and arrived there in time to catch a flash of motion around a corner. Ranma was on the move, and she had his tail.
Sakura followed, moving as fast as she dared to keep him within sight. He was erratic in his path, circling around from where he had destroyed her clone. She only caught the briefest of glimpses but continued the chase. Her last clone had taken the high ground to spot him from above, leading to the audience's renewed excitement.
There! Ranma had cut abruptly, going in a different direction than he had previously leading him closer to the arena's edge. She moved to cut him off as she closed the distance, cornering him or at least interrupting whatever his plan was. She used a few other pillars to block her approach before bursting out to find her target smashed into a pillar wall only a few meters from the boundary.
Sakura stopped to blink at the baffling sight in front of her. Ranma wasn't there. Instead, there was a torso-sized rock with a face doodle and pigtail that wore his shirt. Her eyes widened as it clicked.
"Dodge!" Sakura shouted at her clone.
It was too late. She turned to look above, seeing her clone jumping to another set of pillars above her before Ranma appeared from behind as if he had just executed a shunshin. Wearing only his undershirt, he used a meteor kick to launch her on a collision course with herself.
Sakura ignored her oncoming clone, trusting her to know what to do as she wrenched a nearby pillar twice her size and threw it towards her duplicate. She puffed out of existence right before impact, the minor smoke hiding the pillar as it flew onward at her airborne opponent.
She was surprised to see him do something besides simply dodging, blocking, or destroying her projectile. He kicked off the air, causing his momentum to shift subtly, and grabbed the pillar's corner before it would impact him. Ranma held on and was flung upwards before he flipped backward, pulling the pillar along with him. The two danced around each other as they ascended.
She had given it enough oomph to reach the height of the third tier of stands before it would land outside the arena floor. Now, it didn't even reach the second tier as Ranma's actions had bled off so much energy.
Sakura leaped to one of her walls and watched as the two descended. Halfway back, Ranma yelled, "Hey, Sakura! Return to sender!" The audience watched as the stone cleaved through Sakura to crash into the arena floor, flinging debris everywhere due to the tremendous kinetic energy.
She hadn't taken her eyes off him, not even flinching as pieces of cement bounced off her face from a spot well away from ground zero. She had physically moved by the time Ranma had thrown it, her kawamari having left an illusion in place to distract him. She had already been preparing for her next move.
She hit him with her Chakra, causing him to jolt slightly, possibly due to his senses detecting her attack. Ranma landed and started searching. She watched silently as he jumped to different pillars and hunted for her, his eyes passing over her position several times, and there was no recognition in his eyes.
So he wasn't immune to her genjutsu. She had adjusted her jutsu to better counter his senses and what she knew of them. Her world was well aware of sensors, ninjas that could do much of what Ranma supposedly could, though tailored for chakra. She was surprised it had worked on her first attempt.
To keep him busy, she adjusted her genjutsu to move to the next phase. Ranma leaped away, performing a few wild displays of agility as he began to dodge a non-existent foe. This particular Genjutsu utilized an opponent's own expectations to create the illusion.
Sakura waited as the pigtailed boy continuously dodged the illusion's attacks, while he grinned like a madman. She had mixed emotions about it working so well but continued with the next stage of her plan.
She needed a bit of time to set up her next trap. Holding Ranma down was an excellent strategy that Parker had shown in his match with him. She moved to a spot she had previously determined was ideal for her needs and began kneading her chakra. While she was skilled in fuinjutsu, a necessary skill for advanced med-nins, the stronger seals were more intricate and harder to create. It required more of her concentration–
"Oh? Is this like that thing you used against Sparkler?" A voice asked from a few meters behind her.
Sakura jumped forward, her fuinjutsu abandoned, before reaching the midway point. She was shocked at how easily Ranma had snuck up on her like that. She saw his grin, yet his eyes and body jolted subtly. Was he still under her Genjutsu?
"That technique of yours is kinda scary," Ranma said, casually putting his hands into his pockets. "Making me fight what my own brain was expecting from you is insidious. I'll have to have you do that to me again sometime. Would be great for training!"
Sakura stared at him before her facial muscles deadened, and her eyes tried to ask him if he was serious. With no response, Sakura sighed in exasperation and responded to his request. "Yeah, I could probably do that. But are you still under its influence?"
"Oh, sure! Your illusion keeps punching me, but it isn't doing anything," Ranma said far more casually for someone still caught under a Genjutsu to be reacting. "Let me fix that."
Sakura watched as he calmed down further, momentarily seeing a thin aura appear and knowing her Genjutsu had collapsed. She sighed as she realized how easily he dealt with it. "Since one of the parts of my Genjutsu is to make the real me not appear while faking your Ki sense," Sakura asked, "I take it that I got it wrong?"
"Ah, nah! You actually did a pretty good job of it," Ranma said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just hadn't really been using it until after you used that technique. It took me a bit to find the difference between the two, and then I just ignored it. I was also curious how effective it was, so I let it run a little longer and just watched you with my Ki."
"You weren't using it before?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow raised as she crossed her arms. "Weren't you using it when we were hunting each other?"
"Nope!" Ranma replied with enthusiasm, his grin widening in glee. "It was good training! Haven't had a fight like that in years, so I didn't want to spoil it."
At that point, Sakura had to elevate her opinion of Ranma. To do that well without using his Ki sense to find her meant he was dedicated to training all of his skills.
"Well, you've made me a very happy girl then, Ranma!" Sakura said gleefully, her posture straightening and her smile widening.
Ranma blinked, wondering what she was going on about. "... why?"
"I was worried I wouldn't get a chance unless I fought someone like All Might!" Sakura happily answered.
"What chance?" Ranma asked, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"To use my real fighting style!" Sakura exclaimed before cracking her knuckles and stretching a few of her muscles. "I haven't been able to let go and unwind for some time, and I was starting to go stir-crazy!"
Ranma raised his eyebrow a little higher before the other joined its brother as he realized what she was talking about. His grin gleefully returned.
"You might want to make sure you dodge this, Ranma," Sakura said before calmly saying her favorite phrase. "Shannaro."
Ranma dodged it. It was harder to do so than some of her other attacks since her speed had increased.
The ground, however, was incapable of doing so. If it could have felt emotion, it would have greatly regretted being unable to do so.
"Can you see them, Yagi-san?" Thirteen asked from beside him as the teachers attempted to catch sight of the two combatants.
"Not in this form," Toshinori replied, though he was clearly trying. "Those two really are something else."
"I never imagined us having students so strong to leave us lost like this," Thirteen said, her voice a little higher than usual, showing her enthusiasm. "I wonder if this was what it was like for your teachers, Yagi-san?"
Toshinori coughed and pulled out his handkerchief as he turned away, not to hide the blood leaking out of his mouth but the full-on blush that had formed. His fellow educators' chuckles and giggles let him know he hadn't fooled them.
"It is certainly unusual," Vlad said after his attention returned to the arena below. He was leaning forward from his seat, arms resting on the railing to get a better look. "I think I have caught glimpses of them here and there, but they are too brief for it to be of any use. Saotome's ability to escape your and Eraser Head's notice to get amongst the Villains is far more believable after witnessing this. They are well trained."
"Where did they receive such training, though?" Ectoplasm asked, looking at his co-workers to see if they had some insights. "I was under the impression that it was more their Quirks than training."
Toshinori paused, already knowing the answer, at least in part, to one of his students, but he also knew that Saotome wanted to do a big reveal after the festival had completed. If he won, at least. Though that was mainly about the nature of his abilities.
"Young Saotome was trained primarily by his father from a very young age," Toshinori answered, causing many of his co-workers to glance his way. "From what I understand, his father was a Master Martial Artist in a style handed down through generations. I don't know much more than that, other than they got separated last year."
"How young?" Vlad asked, his head and eyes twisting just slightly to see him out of the corner of his eyes without preventing him from seeing the battle down below.
"He claimed to have gone on a ten-year training journey, so I would estimate he started at age four," Toshinori replied. He wasn't too surprised by the response it got.
"Four!?" Several of the teachers nearly shouted out.
Toshinori sighed, about to respond when explosions occurred below. He barely caught sight of Sakura disappearing in a puff of smoke. The conversation was halted as they waited to see if more would happen, but nothing did.
"Yes," Toshinori finally responded, "or younger."
"That- that is far too young to start!" Thirteen said, her voice breaking a little as it put her on a back foot.
"There's nothing we can do about it, not at this time anyway," Vlad said. "Remember, his current Guardians are the Wild Wild Pussycats, so I imagine they are already aware and have helped him along."
That calmed down most of the teachers, though their attention was diverted by more action occurring down below. Again, it became nearly impossible to follow them, so their conversation continued.
"What about Young Haruno?" Ectoplasm asked.
"I know very little," Toshinori answered, "but Recovery Girl knows significantly more about her. From what little I had overheard, she appears to have been trained as a ninja at some point."
"A ninja?" Thirteen asked, a bit shocked at the answer.
"That is information I overheard from conversations her fellow classmates made about her," Toshinori said before his voice became infused with sorrow, "but Recovery Girl told me that life has not been kind to her, that her experience growing up was closer to our own. Full of hardship that has forced her to grow up faster than normal."
Several teachers winced at that, knowing that they couldn't stop all tragedies, no matter how hard they tried. Once more, they were interrupted when another explosion happened below. Toshinori could barely detect that something had changed. He started catching more frequent glimpses of the two, and if what he saw was correct, one was chasing the other.
"It's Haruno," Vlad said, his eyes glued to the arena floor. "She caught sight of Saotome and is chasing him."
The other teachers were about to ask what he meant when they finally saw Sakura jumping into the air, leaping about as she looked for something. On her latest leap, they saw Ranma appear behind her just as someone shouted to dodge. They watched as Ranma kicked Sakura in the back, sending her flying downwards like a rocket, only to puff out of existence, and a pillar passed through her previous position.
They remained silent, amazed as the fight continued, before they noticed Ranma appeared to be dodging something that wasn't there. They heard the crowds of people voicing their confusion about what was going on, especially since both students were visible to them at this time.
It didn't last very long before he stopped evading and casually leaped behind Sakura, interrupting whatever she was doing. They suspected it was some form of elaborate trap. They could barely hear bits of their conversation from here, but it left them a bit bewildered at how pleased the two of them looked.
"Can any of you hear what they are saying? Lip reading has never been a specialty of mine," Thirteen said.
"Saotome broke whatever she did, and they've been conversing about it. Now, she's talking about using her 'real style.' I don't understand what she's talking abo–"
Then, faster than they had ever seen Sakura move, she punched at Ranma, but he dodged it. Her punch continued moving until it connected with the ground, and all hell broke loose.
The one effect that no one could avoid was the ground jumping like a trampoline—even those hundreds of meters outside the stadium. The ground continued to shake from the localized and violent earthquake.
The shockwave that blew out in every direction, something the audience had become increasingly used to experiencing throughout the day's different matches, pushed people into their seats and prevented those leaning over the railings from falling over them. The thunderous crack struck people's eardrums like the worst of Katsuki's explosions, making it harder for most to hear the grinding of earth against earth.
The teachers had already seen her actions during the Practical Exam when she had smashed the ground beneath the Zero-pointer. The Earth had shattered, creating a hole wider than a street's width, most of the dirt falling into the cavern below. This was similar but far more powerful.
The entire arena platform, twice as wide as a street, shattered and crumbled instantly. Most of the cement beneath her turned to dust, some forced downwards and to the sides, as it shoved against everything beneath in its path. What didn't go down went up in a giant cloud of dust like a breached water main. The corners of the arena and all the objects above the floor, such as Sakura's various pillars, flew into the air as they broke apart before crashing back into the ground several seconds later. What hadn't been broken before cracked and fell apart as they collapsed amongst themselves.
The ground beneath and surrounding the arena floor, which wasn't part of the new crater, resembled the effects of an earthquake. Massive chunks shifted up and down along fault lines created by the punch, much like a seismic shift of tectonic plates. Unlike an earthquake, the shifting occurred all at once and caused the change to be faster and louder, though it lasted a fraction of the time.
The radius nearly reached the edge of the stadium wall. The capsized islands of earth left many of the audience members on the bottom tier unable to see the center of the arena. However, they would only discover that once the massive plum of dust had settled down all around them.
The competition grounds were now just a collection of islands of rock and dirt, capsized and perturbed by large stones tilting and protruding out of the Earth as everything tried to shift around the new canyons that had formed.
Everyone in the audience gasped, incapable of forming words, as they stared at what had become of the arena.
Ranma landed on the ground after putting a little distance between them. Even though most Pros would have failed to stand on the capsized rock he was using, he wasn't worried, even as the ground hadn't finished moving and shaking.
He whistled as he looked around briefly before turning his eyes back to Sakura, who hadn't moved save for a brief drop after her fist had contacted the ground, collapsing it beneath her.
She was staring downwards, letting the moment and world settle. Once most of the rumbling had finished, her head tilted upwards enough to let her harsh gaze lock onto him even as her hair blocked most of her face. The slight upward tilt of one corner of her mouth was the only sign of a pleasant demeanor.
"Good," Sakura said, even as the dust clouds continued to shift, blocking their view of one another intermittently. "You dodged it. Don't disappoint me now!"
Ranma stared back, and a similar grin formed. A second later, they disappeared as their fight resumed.
Chiyo hummed as some of her patients and the staff who had escorted them panicked after the floor had jumped, causing instruments and other loose items to fly around as the Earth shook.
"Is that an Earthquake?" One of them asked in fright.
"Oh, no, dear, that wasn't an Earthquake," Chiyo said calmly, catching all of their attention at her reaction as she stared off towards the doorway that led to the arena. "That was just one of the contestants."
They gasped as they looked at her. They wondered what had happened and were unsure if they wanted to return to their seats so quickly. However, that concern was quickly dispelled by Recovery Girl's calmness and the thought of missing the fight.
"So he's been able to push you that much, dear?" Chiyo said to herself before smiling. "I hope you have fun!"
Ranma blurred to the side, landing on another island of dirt and stone to avoid Sakura's punches. He continuously repeated this action as she relentlessly pursued him. He didn't want to risk trying to counterattack for now since her punches hit harder than Ryouga's. A lot harder. Faster, too, as he had to put some real effort into staying ahead of her.
He was biding his time as he concentrated on studying what he could feel of her Ki, as intertwined with her Quirk as it was, to study those punches of hers. It wasn't just a constant, brutal strength like Ryouga's, but quick bursts that occurred on contact. He was impressed - she had exceptional control of her Quirk.
Ranma ducked her next punch, giving himself at least a dozen centimeters of space between them to be on the safe side, followed by a kick that shattered the boulder he had been on a moment before when she reversed her direction faster than most people, besides him, could believe. The two higher and one lower punches were avoided by an even tighter margin as he continued to push boundaries. Their fight continued like that as they had miniature, lightning-speed exchanges before they dashed to another island.
Ranma felt comfortable enough to see how well he could redirect a punch, so as he leaned low on another of her punches, his hand moved upwards to tap her wrist. He felt the resistance, noting that while it was still strong, it wasn't the same power as those blows were. He could work with that! His new grin resulted in Sakura narrowing her eyes as she slung another punch at him.
Their exchanges before the repositioning had now been extended, Ranma continued to adapt to her style and forcibly redirected what attacks he could. He knew she was sneaky enough to go for a grapple if given the opportunity, so he ensured he didn't give her the chance.
Sakura wasn't letting him go unimpeded, as she was also adapting to him. She stopped throwing only haymaker punches and kicks as she began moving with his redirects and anticipating his attempts. Still, she was slower at it than him, which meant that so long as he didn't take a severe blow, he could gain a serious advantage. This challenge was really getting his blood pumping!
After a minute of dodging, he finally threw an attack. He aimed at her gut as he stepped inside her reach, but she reacted quickly enough to dodge it by centimeters. It had once more interrupted her flow, ceasing her unrelenting assault and forcing her to rely more on quick jabs and strikes.
He still didn't want to be hit by one of those strikes, feeling the power she had behind them, though they weren't at the same intensity as her haymakers. Just one of those would likely blow him into the ground or through the arena's walls. Continuing the fight after that would be far more challenging.
A hundred such exchanges happened before Ranma finally landed the first blow. He used his greater speed, which not even Peter could detect other than with his danger sense, to redirect a blow, rebound off it, and strike her in the face. She didn't react much, but it had caused a fractional amount of disorientation so that he could get in close and throw a hundred similar punches into a singular point at her gut, causing her to fly backward.
Sakura flipped and landed on an unearthed boulder, cracking it as her momentum traveled into it. There was a brief pause, with Ranma expecting a glare but receiving a smile as a response. He waited for the after-effects of his punches to materialize that would wipe the smile off her face. The moment dragged on, his grin disappeared, and he was confused about why she wasn't cradling her rib.
His momentary confusion allowed her to close the distance and return the favor. He flew through a chunk of leftover concrete before reorienting himself and landing on the side of a boulder.
Ranma grimaced. That hurt!
He had been too distracted and had reacted too late to prevent it, but at least he reduced its impact. If he hadn't, he suspected this fight would already be over. His confusion returned as he tried to figure out why she wasn't in a similar state. Why wasn't she– Oh. Right.
"Of course you healed yourself…" Ranma grumbled, giving her a bit of stink-eye for that.
"Naturally," Sakura said, her eyes still locked on him. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll think of something," Ranma replied, his smile returning. "Not the first time I've had to fight someone that refused to stay injured."
"Yes, that bird-brained brute they called Nomu," Sakura said as her muscles tensed up for the next exchange.
Ranma snorted, his eyes turning serious as he prepared himself. "I've fought worse."
"Why isn't this fight being stopped?" Thirteen cried out after recovering from Sakura's destruction of the arena floor. "People are in danger!"
Toshinori was conflicted. Part of him sided with her, as the amount of power being unleashed below was far greater than they knew either fighter was capable of and grander than any fight he had heard of taking place in the Sports Festival. He was worried about the danger to the combatants, the referees, and the audience members. The other side of him didn't want to interrupt them because neither appeared worried, rather the opposite, as their excitement only grew.
"Calm yourself, Thirteen," Vlad said.
"Calm?" Thirteen asked loudly as her attention turned to the homeroom teacher. "Are you blind to what is happening down below?"
"Are you?" Vlad returned the question, throwing her off-guard for a moment. "Midnight and Cementoss are both safe. Haruno's strike barely touched either of their platforms. If her strike was indiscriminate, then neither would still be standing."
Thirteen blinked, below looking down at both referee platforms. While Midnight's had nearly toppled over from the rocking, along with the woman standing on it, the ground it was resting on was not as impacted as the rest of the stadium's ground floor. The same could be said for Cementoss, though he was out of his seat now and looked prepared to act immediately. Both were trying to follow the battle and were likely failing like they were; even as both combatants flickered across the battlefield, more destruction was caused, and more shockwaves were created. It seemed reminiscent of Saotome's fight with Parker the previous round but more mobile and destructive.
"What?" Thirteen asked in shock, not really noticing why they weren't blown back and away. She wasn't the only one who hadn't paid enough attention to that detail just yet. "How?"
"Haruno is skilled enough with her strikes to limit where her destruction goes and avoid impacting them. She is still in control of her strength and is actively avoiding involving others in their fight," Vlad said before he turned back to the battle below. "As for Saotome, while he might have been surprised by the power and scale of her blow, he wasn't scared."
Toshinori smiled, glad for Vlad's insight. He recognized the signs the moment Vlad had pointed them out to him, but his concern for others was much like Thirteen's and could sometimes overwrite the analytical part of his brain and decades of experience.
"But I do plan to chat with Eraser Head about this," Vlad said as he continued to watch.
Sakura's fist smashed through another afterimage of Ranma before it impacted the block of stone behind him, breaking it apart and sending the debris flying away. She grunted briefly from his counterstrike but responded fast enough to prevent more than a few minor blows.
Sakura continued her chase, using her speed to follow him and unleashing devastating combos her sensei had drilled into her. She utilized several tricks, like shunshin, to close the gap and to keep the pressure up, her perfect chakra control allowing her to weave them in between attacks to use offensively or defensively. The two used the uneven terrain to move, using the sides as platforms to move about more quickly.
Ranma seemed to be almost fully recovered from her earlier blow. She had noticed his breathing had settled down and was no longer hampered by an injury. She was happy that he could take and recover from even a glancing blow from one of her fists.
She knew, as his fight against Parker had shown, he had more up his sleeve than he had revealed so far. She wanted to see more of his techniques, so she was pushing him into a corner.
His movements were almost unpredictable, but she had begun to see smaller patterns and minuscule tells. She knew some of them were likely fake, so she refrained from abusing them as she adapted to his overall style.
It was also changing as he started leaping into the air more frequently. Considering how often Sakura had seen him perform impressive aerial maneuvers, she knew not to casually meet him there. While he hadn't shown he could fly, he had far more control in the air than most people would believe while only using taijutsu. Like Sasuke, he could also use people's limbs to pivot and strike at his enemies. But she also knew how to handle people like him.
She had already noted their environment as she continued her chase, pushing him into a higher arc, carefully planning and molding her chakra. It took a few dashes and leaps before he finally leaped away from her in the path she had wanted.
Her hands had already risen up to perform the hand sign for shunshin. As soon as Ranma began his leap, she quickly moved to her desired position and picked up two stone boulders, each weighing at least a dozen kilograms she had previously chosen. Using a combination of her strength and tree walking, she threw with one arm and then the other straight up on an intercept course.
Ranma traced her path and saw her throw them upwards, giving him just enough time to flip midair. He used a straight kick behind himself, causing his momentum to slow significantly as the leg dragged him backward. His speed had slowed down enough that he easily missed the first boulder but barely avoided the second boulder by a few centimeters as it passed by his nose and rustled his hair.
That second boulder had been thrown with precision and timing to guarantee it would have hit him if he hadn't slowed down as significantly as he had. Especially since it had been thrown harder than the first one. While Ranma hadn't entirely stopped his forward momentum, he was dropping far closer than he had previously.
Ranma had no time to gloat since Sakura had disappeared once more in a flash of movement while he was still dodging the second stone. His senses found her above him, attached to the side of the first boulder, and he looked up in time to see her catch the second boulder. She wound it up and threw it back at him again. Having prepared herself, she performed the technique a third time to appear on the ground once more.
After touching down, her shunshin passing by Ranma on his path upwards and downwards, Sakura had to dive forward a few meters and then leaped straight up towards Ranma, her fist reared back. Sakura had watched as Ranma retraced her path, forcing him into a dilemma with the two threats.
Ranma's response was to hold out both hands. One was an open palm, and the other was his index finger. The open palm was held out towards her, and it made sense that he was looking to catch her fist or wrist so he could pivot around her body in midair. The extended finger confused her, as it was the wrong limb to catch this kind of projectile.
Sakura had no more time to concern herself with what the other hand was doing, as the hand that she was facing glowed yellow, and a ball of energy formed into being and expanded in the blind of an eye. She barely overcame her surprise to get her arms up to block it.
Class A had been engrossed in the fight since the beginning. While a few of their members didn't understand the importance of the first exchange, the rest did as they wondered at the technique and skill involved. They cheered them on as they watched, some louder than others. They continued to cheer when Sakura recreated an environment similar to her previous match.
Katsuki paid close attention as he tried to track their movements from their seats but struggled. It was tough enough just to see inside the created structure making it nearly impossible for them to follow. Forehead's illusions made it seem like she would get the upper hand for a minute before Pigtail proved they didn't work on him.
They weren't prepared for the complete destruction of the arena floor and the ground surrounding it. The debris didn't go flying into the stands like with Katsuki's blasts, but the stadium shook, causing their enthusiastic classmates to collapse back into their seats. They remained silent, mouths gaping in shock like most of the rest of the audience, even after the fight had resumed.
It shook Katsuki to his core. His fight against Forehead had barely been a warmup for her, and now he knew how far she outclassed him. Katsuki wanted to rage against and dismiss the reality of what he was seeing, but he was too burned out to make such excuses. He saw more clearly what he was up against and the wall he would have to overcome.
He was determined to close that gap. Recovery Girl was correct in that he needed to know his goal and see what he would need to achieve in order to surpass Forehead and Pigtail. After recovering from the surprise, he focused on absorbing as much information about the two of them as he could as they continued to try to beat each other, cauterizing their fight into his brain.
Izuku was doing the same thing as he observed both of his classmates to pick up every little detail he could with his notebook and pen. He gripped the pen so tightly that it had begun to fracture the plastic, but luckily, it had not caused any of the ink to spill onto the open pages.
Like his childhood friend and his other classmates, watching Ranma, someone whose Quirk did not provide him with any notable benefits, fighting someone as strong as Sakura was an eye-opening experience. Those already in his martial arts club knew they would stick with it as long as they could, to learn as much from him as possible.
For Mina and the others Sakura had trained, it was amazing to see her cut loose. Mina had told them, along with stories Tenya had heard, of how powerful Sakura was, but she had still been shocked to learn how much.
When Ranma landed that blow on Sakura, they finally began to speak again.
"Yeah! Go, Ranma! You can beat her!" Toru shouted and leaped from her chair once more. She bounced in place several times, repeatedly throwing her hands up excitedly. That excitement dimmed, however, when Sakura returned the blow a second later.
"Come on, Sakura! Kick his ass!" Mina yelled. She grinned at Toru when she saw her clothes shift a little, which she recognized as her classmate turning in her direction, letting her know it was all in good fun.
"Interesting," Shoto said, his voice having a light upbeat compared to what was expected. "Haruno-san is not cradling her side like Saotome-san."
That caused several of their classmates to turn to him before looking back at the two in a momentary pause.
"Todoroki is right," Fumikage said, observing the two fighters. "Unless Haruno-san is sturdier than expected, she should be reacting similarly to Saotome."
"She healed herself," Peter said, one of the calmest of their classmates, as he continued watching. They noticed he was wearing thick glasses, which none of them had ever seen him wear. They looked remarkably natural on him. Those who were closer, however, could note tiny bits of light playing off the lenses.
"What are those?" Momo asked, intrigued at another marvelous invention the boy genius had. "Those look like support glasses, similar to what Pro-Heroes wear."
Peter shrugged but never took his eyes off the fight as he more easily tracked the battle than anyone else in attendance. "Similar, yes, but more advanced. It has a U.I. feature that closely resembles my mask, and I can record at five thousand frames per second and 4k resolution. It also has a shotgun microphone, so it picks up their chatter. Should make it easier to replay the fight later if any of you want to see it."
"Oh!"
"Me! Me! Me!"
"Hell, yes!"
"Awesome!"
"Please do."
Peter grinned at the responses, even as Karen spoke into his ear about the data she was collecting and how long it would take her to do a proper post-battle analysis.
The class had turned their attention back to the fight just in time to watch as Sakura appeared beneath Ranma and threw the two boulders at him. They were shocked by the combination of attacks she had used and wondered how Ranma would get out of his predicament.
None of them expected Ranma to touch the boulder with a single finger, causing the entire thing to explode in the air. They also hadn't expected Ranma to launch a bright glowing ball of energy at Sakura, driving her down and cratering the ground. They raised their arms to protect themselves from another onslaught of displaced air, but it was less violent than they anticipated when the ball of energy simply dissipated into nothing.
"What. The. FUCK!" Katsuki shouted as most of their class exited their seats to observe the aftermath.
Ranma landed softly on his feet with folded arms and grinned at the crater as the dust settled. Sakura was soon revealed on her back and appeared unconscious. With a raised eyebrow, he tilted his head as he waited for her next move. Ranma ignored the reactions from the referees and the audience.
"I know you're not done yet, Sakura," Ranma yelled. "It might fool everyone else, but I can tell that's a clone."
"Saotome! It's obvious that Haruno is knocked out!" Midnight yelled near the edge of her platform. "We must call the match and get her to Recovery Girl!"
"Hell no! You aren't calling it like this!" Ranma yelled as he turned to glare at his teacher lightly. He stared into her eyes for a moment, even as she refused to back down. Ranma could feel the annoyance from both of them and knew they would interfere.
Ranma moved his foot to the side, sliding it under some dirt and stones, before bouncing a stone into his hand. His wrist blurred, and the stone traveled faster than they could perceive to tear a hole through Sakura's shoulder.
Midnight and Cementoss cried out in shock, angered at Ranma's actions. Sakura hadn't moved or flinched but did puff out of existence a moment later. When the puff of smoke vanished, the clone's absence revealed a small tunnel that had been hidden.
Ranma darted backward, just enough to avoid an uppercut as Sakura rocketed upwards, trailing dirt and dust as she exited the ground. He moved further away as the ground shot upwards once more. This time it was a pillar, six to seven meters in diameter, and didn't stop at just a few meters in height. Before it finished rising into the air, a dozen other such pillars quickly shot up all around it, the lowest reaching five stories tall, and the tallest stood twice that. The nearly two dozen pillars looked more durable than her previous creations and were spread unevenly to make them look like a forest.
He bounced upwards between the different pillars as he felt her coming. He noticed another reason she had opted for this change of environment: she ran up pillar walls as if it was solid ground before leaping and bouncing off another pillar as she smashed into the spot he had just left.
Ranma landed on the side of another pillar, his feet balancing himself off imperfections on the surface before he sensed something moving inside it. Another Sakura flowed out of the pillar, her hands failing to grab him as he continued to move. Unlike the other times she moved through the ground, this was closer to flying through the solid matter than simply swimming or using brute force. The clone was subtly though visibly darker, looking like she was made of dirt rather than flesh. He had almost failed to notice it.
He felt out his surroundings, finding Sakura had made several more clones. Some of them were like the ones he had fought earlier in her maze, while the others were like the clone he had just escaped from as they blended nearly seamlessly with her leftover chakra that was present in the pillars, making them far harder to differentiate from their surroundings due to her Quirk saturating the area. Worst of all, Sakura was killing her presence and making her harder to track.
Ranma bounced around the modified arena landscape, getting a better feel for Sakura's plan while she and her clones attacked him. Some were frontal assaults, while others were subtle and sneaky, making them nearly impossible to avoid.
Ranma responded to it the only way he could.
He laughed with joy.
"Stop making excuses! Get us a new lens, I don't care how! Steal them if you must, but get that camera recording!"
"What do you mean we can't record their movements? It's rated for Pro-Hero work!"
"Yes, I am recording! I never stopped, so stop asking me!"
"I don't care if you have to interrupt the Prime Minister's speech, put this live on T.V.! Now!"
Chihiro stood silently amongst the chaos as the section dedicated to the media exploded with panic. She didn't bother to tell Etsurou what to do, even as he desperately ensured he caught everything with what he had on hand. Those dealing with faulty equipment or those damaged by the destructive battle were trying to restore things while reporters and cameramen argued and fought amongst themselves or those they were in contact with.
Chihiro ignored all of them and just watched.
She had something most of them would dogpile her to get their hands on it if they knew. While it hadn't gone quite as well as she had hoped, her recording was still the only known interview with either of the two contestants that they were scrambling to record.
The first part of the interview went well, revealing some details about the attack that the school and police likely did not want to be leaked. In hindsight, due to the fight in front of them, it was a minor revelation. The reports of the Pro-Heroes having been the ones to stop the villains would become a distant memory. Any explanation that didn't include the students nearly single-handedly winning the fight wouldn't be believed.
However, Saotome's reactions to her later questions could be explosive after she had done some research. She planned to dig into it after the festival, but she was now wondering if there would be a point. It would be like finding evidence of All Might being a molester or having killed someone out of revenge. People wouldn't believe you, or they wouldn't care.
She had seen it far too often. Those stories almost always ended up in the dustbin of history because people wouldn't allow reality to blemish their image of perfection. Her bosses only let her continue because it drove up ratings, and the occasional story that got any traction helped them seem more critical of public figures than they tended to be.
The potentially explosive information she had and knowing what would come of it drudged up broken and buried memories. It had left her desensitized, even pessimistic, to reality.
She debated what she should do but couldn't find an answer. So she waited.
Sakura ran upwards, hidden past a few other pillars as she kept pace with Ranma, following and predicting his erratic patterns. At the same time, he jumped between the different pillars, finding the little spots and timings to set up additional ambushes or attacks of opportunity. She stayed out of sight, making him work to keep track of her and everything else she was throwing at him. He was doing a good job, she had to admit. She wondered if there was a difference between Ki and Chakra sensors, she would have to investigate and experiment how her sensor technique differed from his.
Leaving that for now, she stopped as she reached her desired height before running around her current pillar. Once she saw the direction one of her clones was looking, she leaped off to rebound on another pillar and punched at Ranma as they suddenly met in the air. Her fist barely missed the side of his head, his hand tapping her wrist in flight to shove himself backward.
"Nice try, Sakura!" Ranma yelled as they sailed past each other, his grin not having dimmed in the least. "Don't give up now; it's just starting to get really good!"
Sakura landed on another pillar before bouncing away and running up its side. She would have generally glared at his insult, but she was having too much fun! "All it takes is one hit if I want it to end, Ranma! I don't want you to cry about being taken out so easily by a girl!"
"Oh, you did not just say that!" Ranma yelled as he dodged and weaved in midair as more clones attacked him.
Sakura watched as he paused on the side of another pillar, about two-thirds up and right where one of her Earth clones popped out to grab him. Instead of jumping, he shoved an index finger right up next to where her clone connected to the wall. Sakura blinked as she saw the clone and the stone around the pillar explode, sending fragments everywhere. His hands blurred, catching most of the stray rocks that would have hit him before those hands emptied a moment later.
Sakura ducked around the side of her pillar but still had to dodge one of his stones that sheared through the pillar. She moved towards the top of the pillar, dodging several follow-up throws while feeling the memories of her clones as they were forcibly dissipated.
Once she was at the top, she found that the pillar he had damaged had carved a large chunk out of it due to whatever jutsu he was using; the weight was too much for what was left and tilted in his direction. Ranma caught it and lifted it clear, holding the large pillar above his head. He turned in her direction and wore an unfriendly grin. He then leaped, bouncing off a second pillar between them, and then he was above her and throwing it like a spear.
She ran down the side of her pillar before feeling his massive weapon smashing through it, barely slowing the object down. Sakura carried onward as the improvised spear made her a passenger at the head of the spear before she positioned herself on the corner of the lower part before doing a handstand. An instant later, her legs crushed another pillar's side as she halted the improvised weapon's momentum, her hands holding it above her chakra adhered to the side of the pillar.
Sakura had just finished adjusting her grip when Ranma appeared on the underbelly of her new weapon. His legs smashed into her new weapon, his momentum carrying into the pillar to send it upwards in a hope to disarm her. She felt the impact, but her grip and strength were absolute, as it only tilted upwards by a fraction even with the energy that had been imparted into it.
Ranma glared in her direction as he fell. His rebound had not gone as planned, and he was clearly annoyed at how easily she had countered his maneuver. Her wicked grin sent him off balance before she swung her weapon downwards, ensnaring Ranma and forcing him into a front-row seat for a violent greeting between two stone pillars. The impact caused both pillars to explode into chunks of various sizes that flew every which way.
Just before impact, she had seen a flare of light, but her vision was blocked by her current crumbling foundation. She leaped away, escaping before it exploded in a shower of debris. Landing on the side of another pillar, she witnessed Ranma soaring through the air towards her, one of his hands filled with more pebbles and once more sporting a massive, happy grin.
She couldn't help but return it as she leaped to meet him.
The audience, divided between the many Pro-Heroes and the normal citizens of Japan, regularly attended the Sports Festival to see the next generation of Pro-Heroes. While it was a popular yearly event, this year promised to be different.
All Might, the undisputed number one Pro-Hero of Japan as well as much of the rest of the world, was teaching at U.A. this year. Many wondered why the greatest hero they could rely on would start teaching. Privately and publicly, rumors and theories were thrown around about this sudden change.
When the League of Villains attacked a class of First Years and was repelled with no reported injuries, that all the villains were apprehended, it focused their attention. Many believed the lack of injuries was due to All Might's presence, while others threw out ideas as wild as the students having defeated them. Students that had only just begun their first term.
When the Sports Festival started, and they got their first real glimpse of Class 1-A, their interest had grown exponentially. Fears about All Might's coming retirement were alleviated. They saw the students' strengths and that they had just begun their careers. Their expectations of them had skyrocketed.
What they were watching now was beyond their expectations.
Those watching from home or elsewhere watched silently, most cameras failing to track their movements. There were moments when the two fighters were visible, but they relied more on what they were doing to the environment around them to understand what was happening. But the sense of awe from those physically present was carried through to them.
For those lucky enough to be there, it was an entirely different experience. They could feel the fight as it took place. Small and large vibrations shook the air like the finale of an epic fireworks show, the floor shaking along with everything else. The small pauses in their fights helped the audience keep pace with the ongoing battle.
Throughout the day, many in the audience had become fearful due to the multiple displays of destructive power, which physically impacted them and, in a few cases, caused some injuries. Coupled with fears of what-ifs, many were worried about their journey into the unknown future, about a return to the dark times a few had witnessed, but they all had heard about.
As they continued to witness the fight, those fears were silenced. Fears about the future of Pro-Heroes and their ability to keep them safe. Primal worries about their current physical safety disappeared as no one was injured while the fight escalated. Fears were being overwritten by their building excitement at the rarest of opportunities with no need to run in terror for their or their loved one's lives. They were in the presence of hundreds of Pro-Heroes, watching children who they knew would become the next generation of All Mights, bearing witness to their ability to keep them safe.
The crowd's roars could be heard along with the thundering clashes as civilians and heroes alike threw their arms up and encouraged them. People latched onto their favorite, willing them to win. Others couldn't decide or didn't care but loved what they witnessed regardless. This deafening noise only ever abated, minuscule as it was, when there appeared to be a pause between the two fighters.
Because of this, they could be forgiven for not having heard it sooner.
No one looked up to see the violent shaking of one large section of the partially domed roof, the steel, fiberglass, and other materials bouncing more violently than the others. And no one had paid attention to a steel beam that had been sheared through by a small metal knife that had been thrown earlier in the day.
Peter winced at the latest hit, knowing from first-hand experience how much a blow like that would hurt even someone as tough as he was. He was seriously impressed by his two classmates as they fought it out; all the while, his mind raced through how he would fight them when they next went up against each other. He continued to track them, though silently wished he was higher up for a better view.
Karen was having a field day trying to keep up, reducing some of her other processes running in the background to focus on the data stream he was uploading to her servers. She was collecting and analyzing everything as best she could, using the data he uploaded and the various news feeds she could access around the stadium. It was preliminary since data collection was the most important part for now, but she still forwarded those initial results to him.
The mood of the rest of his classmates and the audience was infectious. He smiled throughout the fight, chuckling as Mina and Toru jumped around with their Momo-created pom-poms, cheering their friends onward.
So he was startled when his spider-sense suddenly went into overdrive. Karen picked up on his reaction, scanning the environment even as he traced the feeling to the ceiling high above them. His eyesight was better than an average human's, which had been a severe problem shortly after getting his powers since he hadn't adapted to them yet, but he couldn't tell exactly what was happening.
Another shockwave went out, letting him see a section of the ceiling, one that was thankfully not directly above them, vibrate. He paled as he realized the danger. Karen confirmed it when she highlighted and wireframed the sections most in danger of falling and projected their imminent collapse. It coincided with his spider-sense screaming in his head once more.
He raised his hand, pointing one of his web-shooters at the floor above, and– mentally cursed as he remembered that they had been destroyed in his fight with Ranma. His attention was swiftly returned to the ceiling as it finally collapsed.
"GET DOWN!" Peter screamed as loudly as he could, jumping from his seat to the tier above them and scrambling to get closer. His classmates heard him, but they were too confused and slow to do more than trace his jump before widening with shock and fear when they spotted the developing disaster.
He was thankful that he had been given just a little more time. He watched as cables and steel beams intertwined with the falling roof, stopping its descent for a few precious seconds before gravity would win the tug-of-war due to their combined weight.
Peter reached out a hand to adhere himself to the bottom of the second tier. From this far away, he did the only thing he could. He reached into his belt, pulled out his remaining cartridges, and then hurled them as hard as possible.
They impacted close to the edges, exploding outward a mass of gray web fluid that further strengthened the bond between the different sections of the roof. It caught countless pieces of debris, fiberglass, and sheared metal likely to crush, slice and stab those beneath them. It adhered and prevented the falling of massive sections of the roof, and it held
—for most of it.
As gravity started its battle against Peter's webbing, the weight disparity put too much pressure on the center. Due to the section having already been weakened, it caused a section to snap and release a smaller portion of the roof as it began to fall towards the crowds below, along with its own collection of loose and dangerous debris that was sure to skewer their victims.
Toshinori watched as his two students continued to battle each other in an epic display. Chiyo was right about Haruno being far stronger than any of them had expected. The remarkable thing for him though was that Saotome was keeping up!
But he didn't get to be the hero he was by not being observant. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Parker's leap. He traced the sudden and unexpected movement, noticing that Parker's attention was elsewhere. He followed it–
"No…" Toshinori said, barely above a whisper. He barely detected the metal screams hidden amongst the organic ones.
His reaction was enough to warn his fellow teachers and spot the disaster. It was their experience that allowed them to act in time. Their hands reached out and grasped parts of Toshinori, halting him from willing himself into his larger form.
"No, Yagi-san!" Thirteen cried out, knowing exactly what he was about to do. As well as the consequences.
Toshinori almost did it anyway, but that brief pause let him witness Parker's webbing catch and halt the collapse. Thinking of how to best use this precious gift, he thought of the fastest way he could safely transform. Though he knew his frail body was still far too slow , it soon became unnecessary. His fellow teachers knew what to do.
"Ectoplasm, create as many clones as you can! Block line of sight near Yagi-san while the rest of us cover whatever gaps we can!" Vlad Blood shouted out. They didn't question his orders, simply following them while Vlad pushed Toshinori back into his seat.
As he was shoved downwards and before his vision of the arena disappeared, Toshinori saw part of the ceiling break off and continue to fall downward.
Much like Toshinori, Aizawa saw Parker leap out of his seat and quickly traced his eyes to the imminent disaster.
"The ceiling!" Aizawa shouted to his friend as he jumped out of his chair, swallowing his dread. "Warn the audience!"
Hizashi, having known his friend for years, took his warning seriously and followed his gaze upwards. He didn't use the stadium's microphone, knowing the problems of feedback from combining microphones, instead he turned it off and then turned on his support gear.
"Get down!" Hizashi shouted, his Quirk activating. His booming voice rang out, nearly shattering the class in front of them as it reached through to the audience, breaking them of their enthrallment.
Aizawa watched in horror as part of the stadium broke off and continued its descent. All the while the audience was too slow to react.
He was surprised when a stream of flame shot off from the second tier. The heat melted everything it encountered, turning most of the debris, fiberglass, and weaker materials to ash. The flames were so hot that the audience closest to it would likely suffer from first or second-degree burns.
The surprising maneuver had done a marvelous job of preventing the falling debris from injuring those below, debris that would have assuredly killed some of the audience.
Unfortunately, the giant steel beams and connected metal cables could not be further swayed as they fell through the flames and toward the crowd below.
Chihiro jumped in fright at the sudden booming voice of Present Mic, heard even over all the other loud noises. She wondered what was happening, trying to recognize the threat.
She noticed some people nearby looking upwards, followed by the terror that filled their eyes. Before she could react, she felt a wave of heat from above. She looked upwards in time to witness the red-hot metal beams of death falling straight towards her.
This was not the kind of drama she had been looking forward to.
Ranma bounced around, his pebbles destroying the clones too slow to dodge before rebounding toward her for another exchange. While his old rivals had grown in strength, they became predictable and more effortless to fight. He had little to learn from them since they only ever had a few new techniques for him to fight against.
In this future, while there were tons of new techniques and abilities to encounter, it was rare to find anyone with the skill, strength, speed, and training to push him. The only one he knew that would be interesting to fight was All Might or a few other rare heroes that were a physical challenge, but he could tell most of them lacked in one degree or another. He was also flatly told not to challenge All Might for at least an entire semester.
Sakura was ticking all of his boxes, and it wasn't a life-or-death battle against Herb, Kumo, or Saffron. He hadn't had this much fun in years!
So it was very distracting when he suddenly felt a spike of fear. Ranma evaded and defended himself while he tried to place it, with the kunoichi making it challenging to concentrate on anyone but her before he could finally place it: Peter. Considering his danger sense, this was a serious concern. It was backed up by his classmates and a growing number of audience members.
Unfortunately his latest leap was about to be intercepted by Sakura and a few of her clones in a coordinated attack. He should be concentrating on the fight, but he took the chance to trust Peter. Glancing where he was and then tracing his line of sight, Ranma was just in time to see as a section of the roof had broken away.
His gaze turned back to Sakura, locking onto her as his new mood reflected in his eyes. His eyes flickered to the oncoming disaster, a spot behind her at a slight angle, and it would take too much time to warn her or for her to look. Her gaze glanced elsewhere, towards some of the audience members, if he was to guess, before returning and hardening.
Ranma's hands blurred as he released the last of his pebbles at the clones that might get in the way, dispelling them as he curled his body, flipping and letting his feet smack into Sakura's outstretched and waiting palm. He felt her Quirk adhere him to her palm as they twirled around each other while gravity laid its claim on them again before he kicked off her palm just as she threw him.
There was a crack of noise as he broke the sound barrier while his aura flared; his outstretched fists helping cut through the air. He cratered the cement floor on impact as all of his momentum and kinetic energy was imparted into it, but it also let him get his hands up in time to catch the red-hot steel beam. His Soul of Ice and ki went to work, reducing the temperature of the objects and the general area, causing a brief gust of wind. In addition, his ki flowed into the metal and captured the cables and connected beams, forcing them to stop flailing around and the entire structure became rigid.
He still grimaced in pain, but he ignored it as he held everything together. The weight and size of everything made it difficult, and he was unable to change his focus from keeping it rigid to throwing it out of the ring. He was working on it, but he was hoping he wouldn't have to.
His relief came in the form of All Might. The older man grabbed the structure and immediately flung it into an empty space inside the arena. The combined steel beams and cables began to flop around while they sailed through the air.
Ranma sighed in relief. He held his palms up as he inspected them, finding the beginnings of some blisters, but nothing serious. He turned around, finding All Might wearing his dress suit and standing behind him with his famous smile present.
"Well, at least you didn't make me wait as long as last time, All Might," Ranma chirped to the older man. He grinned as his sensei chuckled, glad he took it for its playful teasing.
Ranma turned his attention to the people he had just saved, inspecting them to ensure everyone was alright. They were near a bunch of camera equipment and carrying microphones while they finished recovering from their shock, looking between him and the larger Pro-Hero. "Everyone okay?"
He smiled when they started nodding, and he felt only a few people nearby were in any kind of pain. He looked in their direction and noticed their injuries were from the heat and tiny bits of debris—all minor, but something the medics would have to look over.
Which made it an excellent time for Sakura to land nearby, immediately making her way to some of the injured. Considering what she could do, they were in good hands.
Ranma did a slight double-take as he spotted that one lady who had ambushed him earlier and reminded him a little of Nabiki. She was standing nearby and appeared to still be in shock while looking directly at him. He walked over to her while her eyes continued to follow.
"Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked softly. After a few seconds, all he got was a nod, but he sighed in relief and then grimaced. He really hoped she wouldn't start asking him more questions he couldn't answer just yet.
"Well done, Young Saotome," All Might said boisterously. "Excellent catch!"
Ranma turned back to the big guy, his grin returning, and shrugged his shoulders. Everything was being dealt with as Pro-Heroes and staff members flocked forward so he could relax more.
"Hopefully, we can quickly handle this disaster and clear the area so you can resume your match!" All Might said.
All Might's smile dimmed as he watched in confusion as Ranma's body jerked and locked into place. The pigtailed boy's eyes expanded, and his face looked at him in horror. Before he could ask him what was wrong, Ranma turned to look at the arena while his palms smashed into his cheeks.
"Noooooooo!" Ranma cried out in anguish, capturing everyone's attention. "I lost!"
Chapter 20 - End
AN - Big thanks yet again to Boldish, Iron, MissWiggles, and TheForgetfulAlchemist for beta reading.
"It's time for the Final Round of the U.A. High School Sports Festival!" Present Mic said, his voice carrying to everyone in the audience as their cheers doubled in strength. "The best of the First Years will be decided with this match!"
Ranma grinned as he looked up at the screen, which showed an image of him from the torso up on the left side of the screen. His arms were crossed, using his current visage on a stylized background, with his name written in front of it. The screen on the right showed Sakura with a grin and a hand on her hip. It had a big versus break in the middle that separated their images, with the word 'Final' in big Kanji between them.
"From the hero course, Saotome Ranma!" Present Mic announced, causing Ranma to grin wider as the cheers built up again, showing he had some fans in the audience. "Versus, also from the hero course, Haruno Sakura!"
Ranma noticed Sakura's grin deepening as well as she continued to look at him from where they both waited for the match to begin. They had been looking forward to this fight for some time, likely for the same reasons.
Ranma had been waiting weeks for this opportunity, but now, he felt more should be on the line. Tradition, if he were to put a word to it. "Hey, Haruno?"
"Yes, Saotome?" Sakura asked.
"Escalation fight? Start with technique and ramp it up?" Ranma asked, putting his arms behind his head. He started doing a few stretches, starting with his arms and back. "Want to make this more interesting? We could have a wager."
"To your first question, that sounds fine," Sakura answered, intrigued. "As for a wager, what did you have in mind?"
"If I win, you have to join my club!" Ranma said, grinning wide enough that his eyes closed.
Sakura thought about it, her poise reflecting it as she tilted her head upwards. "Interesting…"
Ranma kept his smile up, waiting for her to accept. He figured she would, and then she would give some counteroffer of him having to join hers if she won. Either way, though he had no intentions of losing, it was a win-win in his mind.
"I can accept that, but if I win…" Sakura said, returning his smile before it turned malicious, "You have to join the girls for a night."
"Sure! But I'm goin– urgh!" Ranma had automatically responded before his brain caught up with what she had said. "Errr, you're talking about training with the girls, right?"
"Nope!" Sakura replied cheerfully. "Girl's night, whatever we decide to do. We'll be dragging you along."
Ranma opened his mouth to say no, but different parts of him warred from within and halted his immediate response. Eventually, he took a deep breath and gave a hesitant, "Fine… deal!"
"It seems some agreement has been made between the two fighters, and they are ready to go," Present Mic said, having paused while they had talked and must have overheard something. "Sooo… start!"
Ranma and Sakura dived towards each other, moving quickly but not with the blinding speed they had previously shown. Ranma threw the first punch. Sakura avoided it by tilting her head out of the way while shoving his second fist to the side with her wrist, pushing the limb wide, her other fist moving in for a haymaker to Ranma's gut.
Ranma twisted to the side as his first fist slammed down on her wrist from above, his wrist pushing it low and canceling most of the power behind it. It then rebounded and moved towards her torso. Another interception and redirection occurred while her leg blocked a low kick that would have hit simultaneously.
The two fighters continued like this, the attacks repeating as the two dodged, attacked, and redirected attacks. Unlike his fight against Peter, Sakura used technique, experience, and training to attack and defend against him. Defense and offense flowed together, every move designed to mitigate the opponent or build on their previous movements.
Neither could land a clean blow, even after several attacks or defensive actions that would have left almost anyone else vulnerable. They moved back and forth over the arena floor, their bodies pushing and shoving around as the two focused entirely on technique.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"What's going on? Why are they moving so slowly?" A Pro-Hero in the audience asked. He was seated in the section set aside for most of the attending Pro-Heroes. "I thought this was going to be a great fight?"
"Yeah," another Pro-Hero said. The woman looked highly disappointed, her fist resting against her cheek as she stared at the fight. She could actually follow their movements, something she hadn't been able to do before. "Saotome's fight against Parker was more interesting than this."
They were not the only ones expressing their confusion and disappointment, as more in the audience disparaged the two superstars. Those voices got louder as the fight continued, with neither fighter appearing to get the upper hand.
"Come on! This is boring!" Another Pro-Hero shouted, standing up and putting both thumbs down. "We wanted an exciting fight!"
Others then got up, giving their own opinions as everyone continued to watch the slow match.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Fools," Sorahiko said, his body leaning over the railing as his eyes never left the two fighters below. His current companions were doing the same, though they seemed to be grinning as they watched. "They have no idea what they are watching."
"True," Katashi said as he watched the two students go at it. "But it isn't so surprising. Look at how many of them depend on just their Quirks. They are the ones showing that they will remain stagnant and fail to rise to higher levels. And the audience is used to the showiness of Quirks determining the outcomes of battles."
"I haven't studied any formal form of Martial Arts, but I know technique and skill when I see it," Sorahiko said, his voice serious. "But I've never seen anything like this! Even though they move so slowly, I can barely follow along!"
"Indeed!" Katashi said after barking a laugh. "Ranma's technical knowledge of various styles is profound. He learned techniques from all over the world from any Martial Art he came across, working on learning, adapting, and integrating them into his personal style."
"Sensei's the best!" Kota yelled from his side.
Katashi spared a glance at his charge before turning back to the fight. "Haruno's technique, while not as wide as Ranma's, is well drilled and polished. She must have had an excellent sensei to do this well against him."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Sakura grimaced as she focused on dodging for a moment. She worked her chakra in her wrist to regain the feeling and full use of her hand. Her chakra countered the attack, but she had to be careful if she failed to adapt appropriately, or she would be vulnerable.
Sakura had to admit that Ranma was better than she had expected. They were both limiting themselves, keeping their speed and strength equal, and Ranma slowly began to dominate. Her previous evaluation of him as a mixture of Kakashi and Gai was still accurate, but now she must include Neji and Naruto.
Sakura had been surprised by the inclusion of attacks that resembled the Hyuga's revered Gentle Fist style within his repertoire of techniques. Ranma didn't use it constantly like the Hyuga did, but she had felt the sting on her arms when he struck specific points. They were reminiscent of the few times she had spared against Hyuga members.
She had researched the similarities, both out of curiosity and for possible medical purposes, between her world's pressure points and this new one, where Chakra was absent. Most of the research had pointed at those pressure points mainly used for inflicting pain, though some research had conflicting evidence that pointed to other effects that could be generated. In this fight, she got a crash course in those alternative effects. It wasn't as dangerous as what Gentle Fist could do, but she suspected that Ranma had more up his sleeve regarding it than he had shown.
It was Ranma's unpredictability, much like Naruto's, that drove her crazy though. All these styles blended together was incredibly frustrating as she failed to predict his chaotic behavior. He would go from an all-out attack like Lee or Gai, stringing attacks together as flawlessly as those two taijutsu experts, then when you were least ready for it, shift to a sneaky set of attacks, built on joint locks and bypassing blocks to maximize an attack, before switching back to a strong style for maximum impact. The addition of the pressure points felt almost cruel at that point.
It was taking all of her knowledge and training to just barely stay even with him. Yet it did nothing to remove her grin. She was loving this!
Sakura shifted backward a half step to avoid Ranma's hook punch, close enough that it caused her hair to lightly flutter. She reclaimed that step to deliver a straight punch to his face, but he ducked and continued his circular motion. She knew not to take the bait, her forearm encountering the calf of his leg from the reverse hook kick instead.
She dropped the arm to grab the leg, but Ranma had pulled it back using the rebound. Instead of backing off like most fighters she knew, he shifted targets and went for a sweep of her forward leg. The movement also helped return his upper body faster and allowed him to throw a straight jab faster than she had expected. She dealt with both attacks simultaneously by stepping forward another half-step and letting her thigh intercept the leg while her hand slapped Ranma's punch off target. She capitalized on his awkward position and balance by launching her free hand for a hook punch in his side, which was easy to hit since he was so close.
Once more, Ranma proved unpredictable as he twisted backward to escape. Still, it would leave him far too vulnerable once she pressed her advantage- Sakura felt his leg shift, moving inwards instead of trying to escape, brushing up against the back of her leg. She also felt far more emphasis on it as she felt the leg pulling her forward, but it wouldn't be enough... if that was all.
When Ranma had twisted, the hand she had knocked away had a shorter distance to catch her wrist. Ranma continued twisting while falling backward along with the twist as he finished rotating his body one hundred and eighty degrees. He pulled on both limbs using the leg that had hooked hers and the hand holding her wrist. Her bracing leg's balance was ruined unexpectedly, and her captured arm prevented her from pulling herself back, causing her to be dragged forward. It also set her up for Ranma's hook shot that slammed into her stomach, her free hand too slow to prevent it.
Sakura grunted as she flew, her feet skidding as she finished bleeding off her momentum before sighing in acknowledgment of the achievement. Neither moved, allowing her to stand upright and look him in the eyes. "That was an interesting move."
Ranma's grin morphed into a genuine smile as he stood up straighter. "Yeah, something I encountered from a monk I met. Surprised the crap out of me when he used it. Haven't used it in years, either!"
"Heh," Sakura said, her grin returning. "Pretty sure it would catch a few of my friends and senseis off-guard. Would love to see their reaction to it."
"If they fight as well as you, I'll show them personally! That was great!"
"It was," Sakura said, her head nodding in agreement. "I'll give you the win for technique."
"So, time to ramp it up?" Ranma asked, his eyes becoming more serious.
Sakura's fist passed over Ranma's head. Her burst of speed would have caught most people off-guard. However, it didn't surprise Ranma, who was well versed in sneak attacks due to his father's endless bag of dirty tricks.
Ranma had bent over backward as she sailed over him. He didn't leave it at that though, as he continued his backward dodge, his hands holding him up so his body could crouch upside down before his feet extended to shoot toward her gut.
Sakura caught him by the ankle. She used it to pivot and flip over the incoming blow, keeping her grip on the leg. Once her feet touched down, she used her chakra to reinforce her stance and swung Ranma over her head.
Ranma felt like a flail as he flew, her grip unyielding, and he was on a collision course with the ground. He got his free leg to intercede on his behalf, most of the force of the throw being transferred through the leg as the cement cratered the ground. The audience heard the impact and saw some cement flying into the air.
Ranma didn't slow down as he bent the knee a fraction of a second after impact and tried to pull Sakura off her feet, but he found that she was secure enough that he couldn't pull her away. He had seen her attach herself to the sides of walls, but he hadn't been sure how strong it was. Now he knew, so he switched tactics the instant he had felt it.
Sakura moved to flail him around once more but was surprised by Ranma when he used his leg and the ground to kick at her with his free leg. His foot collided with her wrist, forcing her to release the leg. He then used the momentum to backflip before blurring forward once more.
Ranma's roundhouse high-kick was met by a palm, but the connection was never made. The leg had been pulled back, and his other leg shot straight for her gut. Her other arm interceded, striking her forearm and forcing her to slide back a few meters to bleed off the energy. She performed her own backflip to avoid a leg-sweep.
He moved to capitalize on it, moving in low and both fists flying before she touched down. She blocked what she couldn't dodge, but her attempts to grapple with him were denied as Ranma kept his limbs out of her reach. Even as she backed up to give herself more space, she felt a few sudden strikes as his hands attacked a few pressure points.
His forming grin fell before its completion as the effects of the nerve strike never appeared, Sakura's hand having lost no mobility. He barely avoided the grab, dodging a fast combo, before leaping backward as Sakura's oncoming assault continued past his previous position and instead smashed the ground. The ground beneath him shattered, fracturing beneath his feet and covering a large portion of the arena floor.
Ranma continued to flip backward, barely keeping ahead of the ground as it erupted. After avoiding the massive strike, he glanced upwards from his three-pointed crouch to see she was finishing a sequence of hand signs as she prepared to use another technique. This mixture felt familiar to his senses. Its intricate complexity resembled something he had felt several times today, especially in her previous match. She then slammed her palm onto the ground.
Her Quirk spread out from the point of contact, covering the entire arena floor. The first signs he saw were the cement and Earth filling in the previously created fractures before a larger version of her maze erupted from the ground. The pillars and walls that rose were larger, the average thickness doubled, and they were twice as tall as the previous set.
Ranma didn't move as the ground shook and rose around him, but nothing attacked him directly. He also felt her multiply herself and then suppress her presence. He grinned, anticipating the challenge. Suppressing his own presence and pulling his ki sense in, Ranma began to hunt. He wanted to see just how good of a ninja she was!
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Oh my! Where did they go? Both contestants have disappeared!" Hizashi said into his microphone as he stood up and tried to peer into this new maze.
Aizawa concentrated, doing his best to try to spot the two students after they had disappeared. He was hardly alone doing so, most of the audience joined his friend in trying to spot the two finalists. Aizawa saw momentary flashes of movement, barely visible blurs of light as the two moved around. He wasn't sure if it was them or something else, considering the examples of both students disappearing from his senses altogether. The only sound was from the audience as they tried to understand what was happening.
"It would appear that they have opted for a stealth game and are now hunting each other!" Hizashi said, his eyes trying and failing to keep up with what was happening. He suspected that the majority of the audience couldn't see a thing. "Even my eyes and senses can't detect them! This is amazing!"
The audience's excitement grew after Hizashi revealed that even Pro-Heroes had difficulty finding them. Aizawa overheard a few of the more experienced heroes, who had mainly been silent during the match, confirming Hizashi's point.
In his ear, Aizawa even heard his co-workers express their surprise. Cementoss and Midnight were standing right there and trying as hard as possible to find them but were failing. He glanced at where the rest of the teachers currently were observing from, wondering if they could sense it from their own view. But after watching for a few moments, they all seemed to be just as lost as he was. He suspected only Snipe or All Might could have tracked them like this.
Aizawa wondered when they would–
Part of the maze exploded as several pillars and walls flew in one direction. Aizawa saw the blurring of afterimages of Ranma kicking what had appeared to be Sakura, sending her flying through the air before puffing out of existence. Even as the debris was still coming down and the dust was still in the air, they disappeared again.
It certainly left an impression on the audience as they realized the fight hadn't stopped.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Sakura felt Ranma's presence flicker once more as the memories from her clone filled her in on what had happened. It was the third one in this match, which impressed her. If her clone ran into him, he quickly and efficiently took it down. That left her with two more currently running around.
She didn't know how Naruto could handle the information overload when they dissipated, something that could leave her momentarily disoriented if she wasn't prepared for it. She knew it probably had to be from his heritage, upbringing, and the loveable idiot side of him that didn't even realize what had happened… that or it was Kurama's doing. It still amazed her that her teammate and friend could create hundreds of clones without that feedback overwhelming him.
Sakura paused, her thoughts shifting back to reality as she had detected her opponent for a moment before disappearing once more. Even though he claimed to be a martial artist, Ranma clearly had been trained to fight like a shinobi. She wondered if there were actual shinobi present in this world, ones that stayed hidden and fit closer to her fake cover story. Even so, they probably utilized Ki like Ranma did, not Chakra.
She continued moving, regularly finding her clones, who were purposefully not hiding themselves as well as she was. This act of baiting allowed Ranma to reveal himself and for her to learn more about his fighting style. So far he had remained hidden, save for those brief exchanges.
Sakura wasn't the greatest at stealth, but it was still critical for a med-nin to remain hidden when needed, or else they would become easy targets for the enemy. So Tsunade had included it and many other basics that shinobi should know in her training but at a far higher standard. That included her senses.
Of the ninja she was close to, only Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke-kun could easily beat her in a game like this without using some special abilities. So, for Ranma to do as well as he was, she categorized him as being in a league similar to her teammates regarding stealth. It got her blood pumping at the possibilities!
She had been concerned about her skills dulling. She did what she could to keep them sharp, even honing many of her lesser-used skills, like Genjutsu or elemental jutsu. It gave her more options in a world where you try to avoid killing your opponents. She had to get creative since the majority of people were barely stronger than civilians.
It felt like she was in a world filled with academy students or newly graduated Genin, barely able to hold up in a fight. A few standouts were the exceptions, showing they could go higher—elites like Bakugo, Midoriya, or Todoroki, whom she might currently put around a high Genin level.
The only Pro-Hero in the top ten she had seen in a fight was All Might, whose physical capabilities she needed to see better before ranking him accurately, but she would put him at least on par with the Hokage's or higher. The closest comparison she could consider was Might Guy at the Sixth Gate or higher. The others in the top ten looked like they might fight at a Jonin level, but she wasn't sure.
On that first day, when they had the apprehension test, Ranma looked extremely promising in their physical capabilities and the hidden skill she had detected. His fight at the U.S.J. and the earlier matches had solidified this.
Now that she was actually fighting him, he was surprising her with how he continued to keep up. He was holding his own or surpassing her in multiple fields of combat. She still had a few tests she wanted to throw at him before she was truly satisfied.
Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by another clone bursting as Ranma took her out in a flash of motion. That one was close!
She silently shot toward her clone's previous position while reducing her presence as much as possible. She passed a few more sets of pillars and walls between them and arrived there in time to catch a flash of motion around a corner. Ranma was on the move, and she had his tail.
Sakura followed, moving as fast as she dared to keep him within sight. He was erratic in his path, circling around from where he had destroyed her clone. She only caught the briefest of glimpses but continued the chase. Her last clone had taken the high ground to spot him from above, leading to the audience's renewed excitement.
There! Ranma had cut abruptly, going in a different direction than he had previously leading him closer to the arena's edge. She moved to cut him off as she closed the distance, cornering him or at least interrupting whatever his plan was. She used a few other pillars to block her approach before bursting out to find her target smashed into a pillar wall only a few meters from the boundary.
Sakura stopped to blink at the baffling sight in front of her. Ranma wasn't there. Instead, there was a torso-sized rock with a face doodle and pigtail that wore his shirt. Her eyes widened as it clicked.
"Dodge!" Sakura shouted at her clone.
It was too late. She turned to look above, seeing her clone jumping to another set of pillars above her before Ranma appeared from behind as if he had just executed a shunshin. Wearing only his undershirt, he used a meteor kick to launch her on a collision course with herself.
Sakura ignored her oncoming clone, trusting her to know what to do as she wrenched a nearby pillar twice her size and threw it towards her duplicate. She puffed out of existence right before impact, the minor smoke hiding the pillar as it flew onward at her airborne opponent.
She was surprised to see him do something besides simply dodging, blocking, or destroying her projectile. He kicked off the air, causing his momentum to shift subtly, and grabbed the pillar's corner before it would impact him. Ranma held on and was flung upwards before he flipped backward, pulling the pillar along with him. The two danced around each other as they ascended.
She had given it enough oomph to reach the height of the third tier of stands before it would land outside the arena floor. Now, it didn't even reach the second tier as Ranma's actions had bled off so much energy.
Sakura leaped to one of her walls and watched as the two descended. Halfway back, Ranma yelled, "Hey, Sakura! Return to sender!" The audience watched as the stone cleaved through Sakura to crash into the arena floor, flinging debris everywhere due to the tremendous kinetic energy.
She hadn't taken her eyes off him, not even flinching as pieces of cement bounced off her face from a spot well away from ground zero. She had physically moved by the time Ranma had thrown it, her kawamari having left an illusion in place to distract him. She had already been preparing for her next move.
She hit him with her Chakra, causing him to jolt slightly, possibly due to his senses detecting her attack. Ranma landed and started searching. She watched silently as he jumped to different pillars and hunted for her, his eyes passing over her position several times, and there was no recognition in his eyes.
So he wasn't immune to her genjutsu. She had adjusted her jutsu to better counter his senses and what she knew of them. Her world was well aware of sensors, ninjas that could do much of what Ranma supposedly could, though tailored for chakra. She was surprised it had worked on her first attempt.
To keep him busy, she adjusted her genjutsu to move to the next phase. Ranma leaped away, performing a few wild displays of agility as he began to dodge a non-existent foe. This particular Genjutsu utilized an opponent's own expectations to create the illusion.
Sakura waited as the pigtailed boy continuously dodged the illusion's attacks, while he grinned like a madman. She had mixed emotions about it working so well but continued with the next stage of her plan.
She needed a bit of time to set up her next trap. Holding Ranma down was an excellent strategy that Parker had shown in his match with him. She moved to a spot she had previously determined was ideal for her needs and began kneading her chakra. While she was skilled in fuinjutsu, a necessary skill for advanced med-nins, the stronger seals were more intricate and harder to create. It required more of her concentration–
"Oh? Is this like that thing you used against Sparkler?" A voice asked from a few meters behind her.
Sakura jumped forward, her fuinjutsu abandoned, before reaching the midway point. She was shocked at how easily Ranma had snuck up on her like that. She saw his grin, yet his eyes and body jolted subtly. Was he still under her Genjutsu?
"That technique of yours is kinda scary," Ranma said, casually putting his hands into his pockets. "Making me fight what my own brain was expecting from you is insidious. I'll have to have you do that to me again sometime. Would be great for training!"
Sakura stared at him before her facial muscles deadened, and her eyes tried to ask him if he was serious. With no response, Sakura sighed in exasperation and responded to his request. "Yeah, I could probably do that. But are you still under its influence?"
"Oh, sure! Your illusion keeps punching me, but it isn't doing anything," Ranma said far more casually for someone still caught under a Genjutsu to be reacting. "Let me fix that."
Sakura watched as he calmed down further, momentarily seeing a thin aura appear and knowing her Genjutsu had collapsed. She sighed as she realized how easily he dealt with it. "Since one of the parts of my Genjutsu is to make the real me not appear while faking your Ki sense," Sakura asked, "I take it that I got it wrong?"
"Ah, nah! You actually did a pretty good job of it," Ranma said, shrugging his shoulders. "I just hadn't really been using it until after you used that technique. It took me a bit to find the difference between the two, and then I just ignored it. I was also curious how effective it was, so I let it run a little longer and just watched you with my Ki."
"You weren't using it before?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow raised as she crossed her arms. "Weren't you using it when we were hunting each other?"
"Nope!" Ranma replied with enthusiasm, his grin widening in glee. "It was good training! Haven't had a fight like that in years, so I didn't want to spoil it."
At that point, Sakura had to elevate her opinion of Ranma. To do that well without using his Ki sense to find her meant he was dedicated to training all of his skills.
"Well, you've made me a very happy girl then, Ranma!" Sakura said gleefully, her posture straightening and her smile widening.
Ranma blinked, wondering what she was going on about. "... why?"
"I was worried I wouldn't get a chance unless I fought someone like All Might!" Sakura happily answered.
"What chance?" Ranma asked, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"To use my real fighting style!" Sakura exclaimed before cracking her knuckles and stretching a few of her muscles. "I haven't been able to let go and unwind for some time, and I was starting to go stir-crazy!"
Ranma raised his eyebrow a little higher before the other joined its brother as he realized what she was talking about. His grin gleefully returned.
"You might want to make sure you dodge this, Ranma," Sakura said before calmly saying her favorite phrase. "Shannaro."
Ranma dodged it. It was harder to do so than some of her other attacks since her speed had increased.
The ground, however, was incapable of doing so. If it could have felt emotion, it would have greatly regretted being unable to do so.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Can you see them, Yagi-san?" Thirteen asked from beside him as the teachers attempted to catch sight of the two combatants.
"Not in this form," Toshinori replied, though he was clearly trying. "Those two really are something else."
"I never imagined us having students so strong to leave us lost like this," Thirteen said, her voice a little higher than usual, showing her enthusiasm. "I wonder if this was what it was like for your teachers, Yagi-san?"
Toshinori coughed and pulled out his handkerchief as he turned away, not to hide the blood leaking out of his mouth but the full-on blush that had formed. His fellow educators' chuckles and giggles let him know he hadn't fooled them.
"It is certainly unusual," Vlad said after his attention returned to the arena below. He was leaning forward from his seat, arms resting on the railing to get a better look. "I think I have caught glimpses of them here and there, but they are too brief for it to be of any use. Saotome's ability to escape your and Eraser Head's notice to get amongst the Villains is far more believable after witnessing this. They are well trained."
"Where did they receive such training, though?" Ectoplasm asked, looking at his co-workers to see if they had some insights. "I was under the impression that it was more their Quirks than training."
Toshinori paused, already knowing the answer, at least in part, to one of his students, but he also knew that Saotome wanted to do a big reveal after the festival had completed. If he won, at least. Though that was mainly about the nature of his abilities.
"Young Saotome was trained primarily by his father from a very young age," Toshinori answered, causing many of his co-workers to glance his way. "From what I understand, his father was a Master Martial Artist in a style handed down through generations. I don't know much more than that, other than they got separated last year."
"How young?" Vlad asked, his head and eyes twisting just slightly to see him out of the corner of his eyes without preventing him from seeing the battle down below.
"He claimed to have gone on a ten-year training journey, so I would estimate he started at age four," Toshinori replied. He wasn't too surprised by the response it got.
"Four!?" Several of the teachers nearly shouted out.
Toshinori sighed, about to respond when explosions occurred below. He barely caught sight of Sakura disappearing in a puff of smoke. The conversation was halted as they waited to see if more would happen, but nothing did.
"Yes," Toshinori finally responded, "or younger."
"That- that is far too young to start!" Thirteen said, her voice breaking a little as it put her on a back foot.
"There's nothing we can do about it, not at this time anyway," Vlad said. "Remember, his current Guardians are the Wild Wild Pussycats, so I imagine they are already aware and have helped him along."
That calmed down most of the teachers, though their attention was diverted by more action occurring down below. Again, it became nearly impossible to follow them, so their conversation continued.
"What about Young Haruno?" Ectoplasm asked.
"I know very little," Toshinori answered, "but Recovery Girl knows significantly more about her. From what little I had overheard, she appears to have been trained as a ninja at some point."
"A ninja?" Thirteen asked, a bit shocked at the answer.
"That is information I overheard from conversations her fellow classmates made about her," Toshinori said before his voice became infused with sorrow, "but Recovery Girl told me that life has not been kind to her, that her experience growing up was closer to our own. Full of hardship that has forced her to grow up faster than normal."
Several teachers winced at that, knowing that they couldn't stop all tragedies, no matter how hard they tried. Once more, they were interrupted when another explosion happened below. Toshinori could barely detect that something had changed. He started catching more frequent glimpses of the two, and if what he saw was correct, one was chasing the other.
"It's Haruno," Vlad said, his eyes glued to the arena floor. "She caught sight of Saotome and is chasing him."
The other teachers were about to ask what he meant when they finally saw Sakura jumping into the air, leaping about as she looked for something. On her latest leap, they saw Ranma appear behind her just as someone shouted to dodge. They watched as Ranma kicked Sakura in the back, sending her flying downwards like a rocket, only to puff out of existence, and a pillar passed through her previous position.
They remained silent, amazed as the fight continued, before they noticed Ranma appeared to be dodging something that wasn't there. They heard the crowds of people voicing their confusion about what was going on, especially since both students were visible to them at this time.
It didn't last very long before he stopped evading and casually leaped behind Sakura, interrupting whatever she was doing. They suspected it was some form of elaborate trap. They could barely hear bits of their conversation from here, but it left them a bit bewildered at how pleased the two of them looked.
"Can any of you hear what they are saying? Lip reading has never been a specialty of mine," Thirteen said.
"Saotome broke whatever she did, and they've been conversing about it. Now, she's talking about using her 'real style.' I don't understand what she's talking abo–"
Then, faster than they had ever seen Sakura move, she punched at Ranma, but he dodged it. Her punch continued moving until it connected with the ground, and all hell broke loose.
The one effect that no one could avoid was the ground jumping like a trampoline—even those hundreds of meters outside the stadium. The ground continued to shake from the localized and violent earthquake.
The shockwave that blew out in every direction, something the audience had become increasingly used to experiencing throughout the day's different matches, pushed people into their seats and prevented those leaning over the railings from falling over them. The thunderous crack struck people's eardrums like the worst of Katsuki's explosions, making it harder for most to hear the grinding of earth against earth.
The teachers had already seen her actions during the Practical Exam when she had smashed the ground beneath the Zero-pointer. The Earth had shattered, creating a hole wider than a street's width, most of the dirt falling into the cavern below. This was similar but far more powerful.
The entire arena platform, twice as wide as a street, shattered and crumbled instantly. Most of the cement beneath her turned to dust, some forced downwards and to the sides, as it shoved against everything beneath in its path. What didn't go down went up in a giant cloud of dust like a breached water main. The corners of the arena and all the objects above the floor, such as Sakura's various pillars, flew into the air as they broke apart before crashing back into the ground several seconds later. What hadn't been broken before cracked and fell apart as they collapsed amongst themselves.
The ground beneath and surrounding the arena floor, which wasn't part of the new crater, resembled the effects of an earthquake. Massive chunks shifted up and down along fault lines created by the punch, much like a seismic shift of tectonic plates. Unlike an earthquake, the shifting occurred all at once and caused the change to be faster and louder, though it lasted a fraction of the time.
The radius nearly reached the edge of the stadium wall. The capsized islands of earth left many of the audience members on the bottom tier unable to see the center of the arena. However, they would only discover that once the massive plum of dust had settled down all around them.
The competition grounds were now just a collection of islands of rock and dirt, capsized and perturbed by large stones tilting and protruding out of the Earth as everything tried to shift around the new canyons that had formed.
Everyone in the audience gasped, incapable of forming words, as they stared at what had become of the arena.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Ranma landed on the ground after putting a little distance between them. Even though most Pros would have failed to stand on the capsized rock he was using, he wasn't worried, even as the ground hadn't finished moving and shaking.
He whistled as he looked around briefly before turning his eyes back to Sakura, who hadn't moved save for a brief drop after her fist had contacted the ground, collapsing it beneath her.
She was staring downwards, letting the moment and world settle. Once most of the rumbling had finished, her head tilted upwards enough to let her harsh gaze lock onto him even as her hair blocked most of her face. The slight upward tilt of one corner of her mouth was the only sign of a pleasant demeanor.
"Good," Sakura said, even as the dust clouds continued to shift, blocking their view of one another intermittently. "You dodged it. Don't disappoint me now!"
Ranma stared back, and a similar grin formed. A second later, they disappeared as their fight resumed.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Chiyo hummed as some of her patients and the staff who had escorted them panicked after the floor had jumped, causing instruments and other loose items to fly around as the Earth shook.
"Is that an Earthquake?" One of them asked in fright.
"Oh, no, dear, that wasn't an Earthquake," Chiyo said calmly, catching all of their attention at her reaction as she stared off towards the doorway that led to the arena. "That was just one of the contestants."
They gasped as they looked at her. They wondered what had happened and were unsure if they wanted to return to their seats so quickly. However, that concern was quickly dispelled by Recovery Girl's calmness and the thought of missing the fight.
"So he's been able to push you that much, dear?" Chiyo said to herself before smiling. "I hope you have fun!"
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Ranma blurred to the side, landing on another island of dirt and stone to avoid Sakura's punches. He continuously repeated this action as she relentlessly pursued him. He didn't want to risk trying to counterattack for now since her punches hit harder than Ryouga's. A lot harder. Faster, too, as he had to put some real effort into staying ahead of her.
He was biding his time as he concentrated on studying what he could feel of her Ki, as intertwined with her Quirk as it was, to study those punches of hers. It wasn't just a constant, brutal strength like Ryouga's, but quick bursts that occurred on contact. He was impressed - she had exceptional control of her Quirk.
Ranma ducked her next punch, giving himself at least a dozen centimeters of space between them to be on the safe side, followed by a kick that shattered the boulder he had been on a moment before when she reversed her direction faster than most people, besides him, could believe. The two higher and one lower punches were avoided by an even tighter margin as he continued to push boundaries. Their fight continued like that as they had miniature, lightning-speed exchanges before they dashed to another island.
Ranma felt comfortable enough to see how well he could redirect a punch, so as he leaned low on another of her punches, his hand moved upwards to tap her wrist. He felt the resistance, noting that while it was still strong, it wasn't the same power as those blows were. He could work with that! His new grin resulted in Sakura narrowing her eyes as she slung another punch at him.
Their exchanges before the repositioning had now been extended, Ranma continued to adapt to her style and forcibly redirected what attacks he could. He knew she was sneaky enough to go for a grapple if given the opportunity, so he ensured he didn't give her the chance.
Sakura wasn't letting him go unimpeded, as she was also adapting to him. She stopped throwing only haymaker punches and kicks as she began moving with his redirects and anticipating his attempts. Still, she was slower at it than him, which meant that so long as he didn't take a severe blow, he could gain a serious advantage. This challenge was really getting his blood pumping!
After a minute of dodging, he finally threw an attack. He aimed at her gut as he stepped inside her reach, but she reacted quickly enough to dodge it by centimeters. It had once more interrupted her flow, ceasing her unrelenting assault and forcing her to rely more on quick jabs and strikes.
He still didn't want to be hit by one of those strikes, feeling the power she had behind them, though they weren't at the same intensity as her haymakers. Just one of those would likely blow him into the ground or through the arena's walls. Continuing the fight after that would be far more challenging.
A hundred such exchanges happened before Ranma finally landed the first blow. He used his greater speed, which not even Peter could detect other than with his danger sense, to redirect a blow, rebound off it, and strike her in the face. She didn't react much, but it had caused a fractional amount of disorientation so that he could get in close and throw a hundred similar punches into a singular point at her gut, causing her to fly backward.
Sakura flipped and landed on an unearthed boulder, cracking it as her momentum traveled into it. There was a brief pause, with Ranma expecting a glare but receiving a smile as a response. He waited for the after-effects of his punches to materialize that would wipe the smile off her face. The moment dragged on, his grin disappeared, and he was confused about why she wasn't cradling her rib.
His momentary confusion allowed her to close the distance and return the favor. He flew through a chunk of leftover concrete before reorienting himself and landing on the side of a boulder.
Ranma grimaced. That hurt!
He had been too distracted and had reacted too late to prevent it, but at least he reduced its impact. If he hadn't, he suspected this fight would already be over. His confusion returned as he tried to figure out why she wasn't in a similar state. Why wasn't she– Oh. Right.
"Of course you healed yourself…" Ranma grumbled, giving her a bit of stink-eye for that.
"Naturally," Sakura said, her eyes still locked on him. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll think of something," Ranma replied, his smile returning. "Not the first time I've had to fight someone that refused to stay injured."
"Yes, that bird-brained brute they called Nomu," Sakura said as her muscles tensed up for the next exchange.
Ranma snorted, his eyes turning serious as he prepared himself. "I've fought worse."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Why isn't this fight being stopped?" Thirteen cried out after recovering from Sakura's destruction of the arena floor. "People are in danger!"
Toshinori was conflicted. Part of him sided with her, as the amount of power being unleashed below was far greater than they knew either fighter was capable of and grander than any fight he had heard of taking place in the Sports Festival. He was worried about the danger to the combatants, the referees, and the audience members. The other side of him didn't want to interrupt them because neither appeared worried, rather the opposite, as their excitement only grew.
"Calm yourself, Thirteen," Vlad said.
"Calm?" Thirteen asked loudly as her attention turned to the homeroom teacher. "Are you blind to what is happening down below?"
"Are you?" Vlad returned the question, throwing her off-guard for a moment. "Midnight and Cementoss are both safe. Haruno's strike barely touched either of their platforms. If her strike was indiscriminate, then neither would still be standing."
Thirteen blinked, below looking down at both referee platforms. While Midnight's had nearly toppled over from the rocking, along with the woman standing on it, the ground it was resting on was not as impacted as the rest of the stadium's ground floor. The same could be said for Cementoss, though he was out of his seat now and looked prepared to act immediately. Both were trying to follow the battle and were likely failing like they were; even as both combatants flickered across the battlefield, more destruction was caused, and more shockwaves were created. It seemed reminiscent of Saotome's fight with Parker the previous round but more mobile and destructive.
"What?" Thirteen asked in shock, not really noticing why they weren't blown back and away. She wasn't the only one who hadn't paid enough attention to that detail just yet. "How?"
"Haruno is skilled enough with her strikes to limit where her destruction goes and avoid impacting them. She is still in control of her strength and is actively avoiding involving others in their fight," Vlad said before he turned back to the battle below. "As for Saotome, while he might have been surprised by the power and scale of her blow, he wasn't scared."
Toshinori smiled, glad for Vlad's insight. He recognized the signs the moment Vlad had pointed them out to him, but his concern for others was much like Thirteen's and could sometimes overwrite the analytical part of his brain and decades of experience.
"But I do plan to chat with Eraser Head about this," Vlad said as he continued to watch.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Sakura's fist smashed through another afterimage of Ranma before it impacted the block of stone behind him, breaking it apart and sending the debris flying away. She grunted briefly from his counterstrike but responded fast enough to prevent more than a few minor blows.
Sakura continued her chase, using her speed to follow him and unleashing devastating combos her sensei had drilled into her. She utilized several tricks, like shunshin, to close the gap and to keep the pressure up, her perfect chakra control allowing her to weave them in between attacks to use offensively or defensively. The two used the uneven terrain to move, using the sides as platforms to move about more quickly.
Ranma seemed to be almost fully recovered from her earlier blow. She had noticed his breathing had settled down and was no longer hampered by an injury. She was happy that he could take and recover from even a glancing blow from one of her fists.
She knew, as his fight against Parker had shown, he had more up his sleeve than he had revealed so far. She wanted to see more of his techniques, so she was pushing him into a corner.
His movements were almost unpredictable, but she had begun to see smaller patterns and minuscule tells. She knew some of them were likely fake, so she refrained from abusing them as she adapted to his overall style.
It was also changing as he started leaping into the air more frequently. Considering how often Sakura had seen him perform impressive aerial maneuvers, she knew not to casually meet him there. While he hadn't shown he could fly, he had far more control in the air than most people would believe while only using taijutsu. Like Sasuke, he could also use people's limbs to pivot and strike at his enemies. But she also knew how to handle people like him.
She had already noted their environment as she continued her chase, pushing him into a higher arc, carefully planning and molding her chakra. It took a few dashes and leaps before he finally leaped away from her in the path she had wanted.
Her hands had already risen up to perform the hand sign for shunshin. As soon as Ranma began his leap, she quickly moved to her desired position and picked up two stone boulders, each weighing at least a dozen kilograms she had previously chosen. Using a combination of her strength and tree walking, she threw with one arm and then the other straight up on an intercept course.
Ranma traced her path and saw her throw them upwards, giving him just enough time to flip midair. He used a straight kick behind himself, causing his momentum to slow significantly as the leg dragged him backward. His speed had slowed down enough that he easily missed the first boulder but barely avoided the second boulder by a few centimeters as it passed by his nose and rustled his hair.
That second boulder had been thrown with precision and timing to guarantee it would have hit him if he hadn't slowed down as significantly as he had. Especially since it had been thrown harder than the first one. While Ranma hadn't entirely stopped his forward momentum, he was dropping far closer than he had previously.
Ranma had no time to gloat since Sakura had disappeared once more in a flash of movement while he was still dodging the second stone. His senses found her above him, attached to the side of the first boulder, and he looked up in time to see her catch the second boulder. She wound it up and threw it back at him again. Having prepared herself, she performed the technique a third time to appear on the ground once more.
After touching down, her shunshin passing by Ranma on his path upwards and downwards, Sakura had to dive forward a few meters and then leaped straight up towards Ranma, her fist reared back. Sakura had watched as Ranma retraced her path, forcing him into a dilemma with the two threats.
Ranma's response was to hold out both hands. One was an open palm, and the other was his index finger. The open palm was held out towards her, and it made sense that he was looking to catch her fist or wrist so he could pivot around her body in midair. The extended finger confused her, as it was the wrong limb to catch this kind of projectile.
Sakura had no more time to concern herself with what the other hand was doing, as the hand that she was facing glowed yellow, and a ball of energy formed into being and expanded in the blind of an eye. She barely overcame her surprise to get her arms up to block it.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Class A had been engrossed in the fight since the beginning. While a few of their members didn't understand the importance of the first exchange, the rest did as they wondered at the technique and skill involved. They cheered them on as they watched, some louder than others. They continued to cheer when Sakura recreated an environment similar to her previous match.
Katsuki paid close attention as he tried to track their movements from their seats but struggled. It was tough enough just to see inside the created structure making it nearly impossible for them to follow. Forehead's illusions made it seem like she would get the upper hand for a minute before Pigtail proved they didn't work on him.
They weren't prepared for the complete destruction of the arena floor and the ground surrounding it. The debris didn't go flying into the stands like with Katsuki's blasts, but the stadium shook, causing their enthusiastic classmates to collapse back into their seats. They remained silent, mouths gaping in shock like most of the rest of the audience, even after the fight had resumed.
It shook Katsuki to his core. His fight against Forehead had barely been a warmup for her, and now he knew how far she outclassed him. Katsuki wanted to rage against and dismiss the reality of what he was seeing, but he was too burned out to make such excuses. He saw more clearly what he was up against and the wall he would have to overcome.
He was determined to close that gap. Recovery Girl was correct in that he needed to know his goal and see what he would need to achieve in order to surpass Forehead and Pigtail. After recovering from the surprise, he focused on absorbing as much information about the two of them as he could as they continued to try to beat each other, cauterizing their fight into his brain.
Izuku was doing the same thing as he observed both of his classmates to pick up every little detail he could with his notebook and pen. He gripped the pen so tightly that it had begun to fracture the plastic, but luckily, it had not caused any of the ink to spill onto the open pages.
Like his childhood friend and his other classmates, watching Ranma, someone whose Quirk did not provide him with any notable benefits, fighting someone as strong as Sakura was an eye-opening experience. Those already in his martial arts club knew they would stick with it as long as they could, to learn as much from him as possible.
For Mina and the others Sakura had trained, it was amazing to see her cut loose. Mina had told them, along with stories Tenya had heard, of how powerful Sakura was, but she had still been shocked to learn how much.
When Ranma landed that blow on Sakura, they finally began to speak again.
"Yeah! Go, Ranma! You can beat her!" Toru shouted and leaped from her chair once more. She bounced in place several times, repeatedly throwing her hands up excitedly. That excitement dimmed, however, when Sakura returned the blow a second later.
"Come on, Sakura! Kick his ass!" Mina yelled. She grinned at Toru when she saw her clothes shift a little, which she recognized as her classmate turning in her direction, letting her know it was all in good fun.
"Interesting," Shoto said, his voice having a light upbeat compared to what was expected. "Haruno-san is not cradling her side like Saotome-san."
That caused several of their classmates to turn to him before looking back at the two in a momentary pause.
"Todoroki is right," Fumikage said, observing the two fighters. "Unless Haruno-san is sturdier than expected, she should be reacting similarly to Saotome."
"She healed herself," Peter said, one of the calmest of their classmates, as he continued watching. They noticed he was wearing thick glasses, which none of them had ever seen him wear. They looked remarkably natural on him. Those who were closer, however, could note tiny bits of light playing off the lenses.
"What are those?" Momo asked, intrigued at another marvelous invention the boy genius had. "Those look like support glasses, similar to what Pro-Heroes wear."
Peter shrugged but never took his eyes off the fight as he more easily tracked the battle than anyone else in attendance. "Similar, yes, but more advanced. It has a U.I. feature that closely resembles my mask, and I can record at five thousand frames per second and 4k resolution. It also has a shotgun microphone, so it picks up their chatter. Should make it easier to replay the fight later if any of you want to see it."
"Oh!"
"Me! Me! Me!"
"Hell, yes!"
"Awesome!"
"Please do."
Peter grinned at the responses, even as Karen spoke into his ear about the data she was collecting and how long it would take her to do a proper post-battle analysis.
The class had turned their attention back to the fight just in time to watch as Sakura appeared beneath Ranma and threw the two boulders at him. They were shocked by the combination of attacks she had used and wondered how Ranma would get out of his predicament.
None of them expected Ranma to touch the boulder with a single finger, causing the entire thing to explode in the air. They also hadn't expected Ranma to launch a bright glowing ball of energy at Sakura, driving her down and cratering the ground. They raised their arms to protect themselves from another onslaught of displaced air, but it was less violent than they anticipated when the ball of energy simply dissipated into nothing.
"What. The. FUCK!" Katsuki shouted as most of their class exited their seats to observe the aftermath.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Ranma landed softly on his feet with folded arms and grinned at the crater as the dust settled. Sakura was soon revealed on her back and appeared unconscious. With a raised eyebrow, he tilted his head as he waited for her next move. Ranma ignored the reactions from the referees and the audience.
"I know you're not done yet, Sakura," Ranma yelled. "It might fool everyone else, but I can tell that's a clone."
"Saotome! It's obvious that Haruno is knocked out!" Midnight yelled near the edge of her platform. "We must call the match and get her to Recovery Girl!"
"Hell no! You aren't calling it like this!" Ranma yelled as he turned to glare at his teacher lightly. He stared into her eyes for a moment, even as she refused to back down. Ranma could feel the annoyance from both of them and knew they would interfere.
Ranma moved his foot to the side, sliding it under some dirt and stones, before bouncing a stone into his hand. His wrist blurred, and the stone traveled faster than they could perceive to tear a hole through Sakura's shoulder.
Midnight and Cementoss cried out in shock, angered at Ranma's actions. Sakura hadn't moved or flinched but did puff out of existence a moment later. When the puff of smoke vanished, the clone's absence revealed a small tunnel that had been hidden.
Ranma darted backward, just enough to avoid an uppercut as Sakura rocketed upwards, trailing dirt and dust as she exited the ground. He moved further away as the ground shot upwards once more. This time it was a pillar, six to seven meters in diameter, and didn't stop at just a few meters in height. Before it finished rising into the air, a dozen other such pillars quickly shot up all around it, the lowest reaching five stories tall, and the tallest stood twice that. The nearly two dozen pillars looked more durable than her previous creations and were spread unevenly to make them look like a forest.
He bounced upwards between the different pillars as he felt her coming. He noticed another reason she had opted for this change of environment: she ran up pillar walls as if it was solid ground before leaping and bouncing off another pillar as she smashed into the spot he had just left.
Ranma landed on the side of another pillar, his feet balancing himself off imperfections on the surface before he sensed something moving inside it. Another Sakura flowed out of the pillar, her hands failing to grab him as he continued to move. Unlike the other times she moved through the ground, this was closer to flying through the solid matter than simply swimming or using brute force. The clone was subtly though visibly darker, looking like she was made of dirt rather than flesh. He had almost failed to notice it.
He felt out his surroundings, finding Sakura had made several more clones. Some of them were like the ones he had fought earlier in her maze, while the others were like the clone he had just escaped from as they blended nearly seamlessly with her leftover chakra that was present in the pillars, making them far harder to differentiate from their surroundings due to her Quirk saturating the area. Worst of all, Sakura was killing her presence and making her harder to track.
Ranma bounced around the modified arena landscape, getting a better feel for Sakura's plan while she and her clones attacked him. Some were frontal assaults, while others were subtle and sneaky, making them nearly impossible to avoid.
Ranma responded to it the only way he could.
He laughed with joy.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Stop making excuses! Get us a new lens, I don't care how! Steal them if you must, but get that camera recording!"
"What do you mean we can't record their movements? It's rated for Pro-Hero work!"
"Yes, I am recording! I never stopped, so stop asking me!"
"I don't care if you have to interrupt the Prime Minister's speech, put this live on T.V.! Now!"
Chihiro stood silently amongst the chaos as the section dedicated to the media exploded with panic. She didn't bother to tell Etsurou what to do, even as he desperately ensured he caught everything with what he had on hand. Those dealing with faulty equipment or those damaged by the destructive battle were trying to restore things while reporters and cameramen argued and fought amongst themselves or those they were in contact with.
Chihiro ignored all of them and just watched.
She had something most of them would dogpile her to get their hands on it if they knew. While it hadn't gone quite as well as she had hoped, her recording was still the only known interview with either of the two contestants that they were scrambling to record.
The first part of the interview went well, revealing some details about the attack that the school and police likely did not want to be leaked. In hindsight, due to the fight in front of them, it was a minor revelation. The reports of the Pro-Heroes having been the ones to stop the villains would become a distant memory. Any explanation that didn't include the students nearly single-handedly winning the fight wouldn't be believed.
However, Saotome's reactions to her later questions could be explosive after she had done some research. She planned to dig into it after the festival, but she was now wondering if there would be a point. It would be like finding evidence of All Might being a molester or having killed someone out of revenge. People wouldn't believe you, or they wouldn't care.
She had seen it far too often. Those stories almost always ended up in the dustbin of history because people wouldn't allow reality to blemish their image of perfection. Her bosses only let her continue because it drove up ratings, and the occasional story that got any traction helped them seem more critical of public figures than they tended to be.
The potentially explosive information she had and knowing what would come of it drudged up broken and buried memories. It had left her desensitized, even pessimistic, to reality.
She debated what she should do but couldn't find an answer. So she waited.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Sakura ran upwards, hidden past a few other pillars as she kept pace with Ranma, following and predicting his erratic patterns. At the same time, he jumped between the different pillars, finding the little spots and timings to set up additional ambushes or attacks of opportunity. She stayed out of sight, making him work to keep track of her and everything else she was throwing at him. He was doing a good job, she had to admit. She wondered if there was a difference between Ki and Chakra sensors, she would have to investigate and experiment how her sensor technique differed from his.
Leaving that for now, she stopped as she reached her desired height before running around her current pillar. Once she saw the direction one of her clones was looking, she leaped off to rebound on another pillar and punched at Ranma as they suddenly met in the air. Her fist barely missed the side of his head, his hand tapping her wrist in flight to shove himself backward.
"Nice try, Sakura!" Ranma yelled as they sailed past each other, his grin not having dimmed in the least. "Don't give up now; it's just starting to get really good!"
Sakura landed on another pillar before bouncing away and running up its side. She would have generally glared at his insult, but she was having too much fun! "All it takes is one hit if I want it to end, Ranma! I don't want you to cry about being taken out so easily by a girl!"
"Oh, you did not just say that!" Ranma yelled as he dodged and weaved in midair as more clones attacked him.
Sakura watched as he paused on the side of another pillar, about two-thirds up and right where one of her Earth clones popped out to grab him. Instead of jumping, he shoved an index finger right up next to where her clone connected to the wall. Sakura blinked as she saw the clone and the stone around the pillar explode, sending fragments everywhere. His hands blurred, catching most of the stray rocks that would have hit him before those hands emptied a moment later.
Sakura ducked around the side of her pillar but still had to dodge one of his stones that sheared through the pillar. She moved towards the top of the pillar, dodging several follow-up throws while feeling the memories of her clones as they were forcibly dissipated.
Once she was at the top, she found that the pillar he had damaged had carved a large chunk out of it due to whatever jutsu he was using; the weight was too much for what was left and tilted in his direction. Ranma caught it and lifted it clear, holding the large pillar above his head. He turned in her direction and wore an unfriendly grin. He then leaped, bouncing off a second pillar between them, and then he was above her and throwing it like a spear.
She ran down the side of her pillar before feeling his massive weapon smashing through it, barely slowing the object down. Sakura carried onward as the improvised spear made her a passenger at the head of the spear before she positioned herself on the corner of the lower part before doing a handstand. An instant later, her legs crushed another pillar's side as she halted the improvised weapon's momentum, her hands holding it above her chakra adhered to the side of the pillar.
Sakura had just finished adjusting her grip when Ranma appeared on the underbelly of her new weapon. His legs smashed into her new weapon, his momentum carrying into the pillar to send it upwards in a hope to disarm her. She felt the impact, but her grip and strength were absolute, as it only tilted upwards by a fraction even with the energy that had been imparted into it.
Ranma glared in her direction as he fell. His rebound had not gone as planned, and he was clearly annoyed at how easily she had countered his maneuver. Her wicked grin sent him off balance before she swung her weapon downwards, ensnaring Ranma and forcing him into a front-row seat for a violent greeting between two stone pillars. The impact caused both pillars to explode into chunks of various sizes that flew every which way.
Just before impact, she had seen a flare of light, but her vision was blocked by her current crumbling foundation. She leaped away, escaping before it exploded in a shower of debris. Landing on the side of another pillar, she witnessed Ranma soaring through the air towards her, one of his hands filled with more pebbles and once more sporting a massive, happy grin.
She couldn't help but return it as she leaped to meet him.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
The audience, divided between the many Pro-Heroes and the normal citizens of Japan, regularly attended the Sports Festival to see the next generation of Pro-Heroes. While it was a popular yearly event, this year promised to be different.
All Might, the undisputed number one Pro-Hero of Japan as well as much of the rest of the world, was teaching at U.A. this year. Many wondered why the greatest hero they could rely on would start teaching. Privately and publicly, rumors and theories were thrown around about this sudden change.
When the League of Villains attacked a class of First Years and was repelled with no reported injuries, that all the villains were apprehended, it focused their attention. Many believed the lack of injuries was due to All Might's presence, while others threw out ideas as wild as the students having defeated them. Students that had only just begun their first term.
When the Sports Festival started, and they got their first real glimpse of Class 1-A, their interest had grown exponentially. Fears about All Might's coming retirement were alleviated. They saw the students' strengths and that they had just begun their careers. Their expectations of them had skyrocketed.
What they were watching now was beyond their expectations.
Those watching from home or elsewhere watched silently, most cameras failing to track their movements. There were moments when the two fighters were visible, but they relied more on what they were doing to the environment around them to understand what was happening. But the sense of awe from those physically present was carried through to them.
For those lucky enough to be there, it was an entirely different experience. They could feel the fight as it took place. Small and large vibrations shook the air like the finale of an epic fireworks show, the floor shaking along with everything else. The small pauses in their fights helped the audience keep pace with the ongoing battle.
Throughout the day, many in the audience had become fearful due to the multiple displays of destructive power, which physically impacted them and, in a few cases, caused some injuries. Coupled with fears of what-ifs, many were worried about their journey into the unknown future, about a return to the dark times a few had witnessed, but they all had heard about.
As they continued to witness the fight, those fears were silenced. Fears about the future of Pro-Heroes and their ability to keep them safe. Primal worries about their current physical safety disappeared as no one was injured while the fight escalated. Fears were being overwritten by their building excitement at the rarest of opportunities with no need to run in terror for their or their loved one's lives. They were in the presence of hundreds of Pro-Heroes, watching children who they knew would become the next generation of All Mights, bearing witness to their ability to keep them safe.
The crowd's roars could be heard along with the thundering clashes as civilians and heroes alike threw their arms up and encouraged them. People latched onto their favorite, willing them to win. Others couldn't decide or didn't care but loved what they witnessed regardless. This deafening noise only ever abated, minuscule as it was, when there appeared to be a pause between the two fighters.
Because of this, they could be forgiven for not having heard it sooner.
No one looked up to see the violent shaking of one large section of the partially domed roof, the steel, fiberglass, and other materials bouncing more violently than the others. And no one had paid attention to a steel beam that had been sheared through by a small metal knife that had been thrown earlier in the day.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Peter winced at the latest hit, knowing from first-hand experience how much a blow like that would hurt even someone as tough as he was. He was seriously impressed by his two classmates as they fought it out; all the while, his mind raced through how he would fight them when they next went up against each other. He continued to track them, though silently wished he was higher up for a better view.
Karen was having a field day trying to keep up, reducing some of her other processes running in the background to focus on the data stream he was uploading to her servers. She was collecting and analyzing everything as best she could, using the data he uploaded and the various news feeds she could access around the stadium. It was preliminary since data collection was the most important part for now, but she still forwarded those initial results to him.
The mood of the rest of his classmates and the audience was infectious. He smiled throughout the fight, chuckling as Mina and Toru jumped around with their Momo-created pom-poms, cheering their friends onward.
So he was startled when his spider-sense suddenly went into overdrive. Karen picked up on his reaction, scanning the environment even as he traced the feeling to the ceiling high above them. His eyesight was better than an average human's, which had been a severe problem shortly after getting his powers since he hadn't adapted to them yet, but he couldn't tell exactly what was happening.
Another shockwave went out, letting him see a section of the ceiling, one that was thankfully not directly above them, vibrate. He paled as he realized the danger. Karen confirmed it when she highlighted and wireframed the sections most in danger of falling and projected their imminent collapse. It coincided with his spider-sense screaming in his head once more.
He raised his hand, pointing one of his web-shooters at the floor above, and– mentally cursed as he remembered that they had been destroyed in his fight with Ranma. His attention was swiftly returned to the ceiling as it finally collapsed.
"GET DOWN!" Peter screamed as loudly as he could, jumping from his seat to the tier above them and scrambling to get closer. His classmates heard him, but they were too confused and slow to do more than trace his jump before widening with shock and fear when they spotted the developing disaster.
He was thankful that he had been given just a little more time. He watched as cables and steel beams intertwined with the falling roof, stopping its descent for a few precious seconds before gravity would win the tug-of-war due to their combined weight.
Peter reached out a hand to adhere himself to the bottom of the second tier. From this far away, he did the only thing he could. He reached into his belt, pulled out his remaining cartridges, and then hurled them as hard as possible.
They impacted close to the edges, exploding outward a mass of gray web fluid that further strengthened the bond between the different sections of the roof. It caught countless pieces of debris, fiberglass, and sheared metal likely to crush, slice and stab those beneath them. It adhered and prevented the falling of massive sections of the roof, and it held
—for most of it.
As gravity started its battle against Peter's webbing, the weight disparity put too much pressure on the center. Due to the section having already been weakened, it caused a section to snap and release a smaller portion of the roof as it began to fall towards the crowds below, along with its own collection of loose and dangerous debris that was sure to skewer their victims.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Toshinori watched as his two students continued to battle each other in an epic display. Chiyo was right about Haruno being far stronger than any of them had expected. The remarkable thing for him though was that Saotome was keeping up!
But he didn't get to be the hero he was by not being observant. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Parker's leap. He traced the sudden and unexpected movement, noticing that Parker's attention was elsewhere. He followed it–
"No…" Toshinori said, barely above a whisper. He barely detected the metal screams hidden amongst the organic ones.
His reaction was enough to warn his fellow teachers and spot the disaster. It was their experience that allowed them to act in time. Their hands reached out and grasped parts of Toshinori, halting him from willing himself into his larger form.
"No, Yagi-san!" Thirteen cried out, knowing exactly what he was about to do. As well as the consequences.
Toshinori almost did it anyway, but that brief pause let him witness Parker's webbing catch and halt the collapse. Thinking of how to best use this precious gift, he thought of the fastest way he could safely transform. Though he knew his frail body was still far too slow , it soon became unnecessary. His fellow teachers knew what to do.
"Ectoplasm, create as many clones as you can! Block line of sight near Yagi-san while the rest of us cover whatever gaps we can!" Vlad Blood shouted out. They didn't question his orders, simply following them while Vlad pushed Toshinori back into his seat.
As he was shoved downwards and before his vision of the arena disappeared, Toshinori saw part of the ceiling break off and continue to fall downward.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Much like Toshinori, Aizawa saw Parker leap out of his seat and quickly traced his eyes to the imminent disaster.
"The ceiling!" Aizawa shouted to his friend as he jumped out of his chair, swallowing his dread. "Warn the audience!"
Hizashi, having known his friend for years, took his warning seriously and followed his gaze upwards. He didn't use the stadium's microphone, knowing the problems of feedback from combining microphones, instead he turned it off and then turned on his support gear.
"Get down!" Hizashi shouted, his Quirk activating. His booming voice rang out, nearly shattering the class in front of them as it reached through to the audience, breaking them of their enthrallment.
Aizawa watched in horror as part of the stadium broke off and continued its descent. All the while the audience was too slow to react.
He was surprised when a stream of flame shot off from the second tier. The heat melted everything it encountered, turning most of the debris, fiberglass, and weaker materials to ash. The flames were so hot that the audience closest to it would likely suffer from first or second-degree burns.
The surprising maneuver had done a marvelous job of preventing the falling debris from injuring those below, debris that would have assuredly killed some of the audience.
Unfortunately, the giant steel beams and connected metal cables could not be further swayed as they fell through the flames and toward the crowd below.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Chihiro jumped in fright at the sudden booming voice of Present Mic, heard even over all the other loud noises. She wondered what was happening, trying to recognize the threat.
She noticed some people nearby looking upwards, followed by the terror that filled their eyes. Before she could react, she felt a wave of heat from above. She looked upwards in time to witness the red-hot metal beams of death falling straight towards her.
This was not the kind of drama she had been looking forward to.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Ranma bounced around, his pebbles destroying the clones too slow to dodge before rebounding toward her for another exchange. While his old rivals had grown in strength, they became predictable and more effortless to fight. He had little to learn from them since they only ever had a few new techniques for him to fight against.
In this future, while there were tons of new techniques and abilities to encounter, it was rare to find anyone with the skill, strength, speed, and training to push him. The only one he knew that would be interesting to fight was All Might or a few other rare heroes that were a physical challenge, but he could tell most of them lacked in one degree or another. He was also flatly told not to challenge All Might for at least an entire semester.
Sakura was ticking all of his boxes, and it wasn't a life-or-death battle against Herb, Kumo, or Saffron. He hadn't had this much fun in years!
So it was very distracting when he suddenly felt a spike of fear. Ranma evaded and defended himself while he tried to place it, with the kunoichi making it challenging to concentrate on anyone but her before he could finally place it: Peter. Considering his danger sense, this was a serious concern. It was backed up by his classmates and a growing number of audience members.
Unfortunately his latest leap was about to be intercepted by Sakura and a few of her clones in a coordinated attack. He should be concentrating on the fight, but he took the chance to trust Peter. Glancing where he was and then tracing his line of sight, Ranma was just in time to see as a section of the roof had broken away.
His gaze turned back to Sakura, locking onto her as his new mood reflected in his eyes. His eyes flickered to the oncoming disaster, a spot behind her at a slight angle, and it would take too much time to warn her or for her to look. Her gaze glanced elsewhere, towards some of the audience members, if he was to guess, before returning and hardening.
Ranma's hands blurred as he released the last of his pebbles at the clones that might get in the way, dispelling them as he curled his body, flipping and letting his feet smack into Sakura's outstretched and waiting palm. He felt her Quirk adhere him to her palm as they twirled around each other while gravity laid its claim on them again before he kicked off her palm just as she threw him.
There was a crack of noise as he broke the sound barrier while his aura flared; his outstretched fists helping cut through the air. He cratered the cement floor on impact as all of his momentum and kinetic energy was imparted into it, but it also let him get his hands up in time to catch the red-hot steel beam. His Soul of Ice and ki went to work, reducing the temperature of the objects and the general area, causing a brief gust of wind. In addition, his ki flowed into the metal and captured the cables and connected beams, forcing them to stop flailing around and the entire structure became rigid.
He still grimaced in pain, but he ignored it as he held everything together. The weight and size of everything made it difficult, and he was unable to change his focus from keeping it rigid to throwing it out of the ring. He was working on it, but he was hoping he wouldn't have to.
His relief came in the form of All Might. The older man grabbed the structure and immediately flung it into an empty space inside the arena. The combined steel beams and cables began to flop around while they sailed through the air.
Ranma sighed in relief. He held his palms up as he inspected them, finding the beginnings of some blisters, but nothing serious. He turned around, finding All Might wearing his dress suit and standing behind him with his famous smile present.
"Well, at least you didn't make me wait as long as last time, All Might," Ranma chirped to the older man. He grinned as his sensei chuckled, glad he took it for its playful teasing.
Ranma turned his attention to the people he had just saved, inspecting them to ensure everyone was alright. They were near a bunch of camera equipment and carrying microphones while they finished recovering from their shock, looking between him and the larger Pro-Hero. "Everyone okay?"
He smiled when they started nodding, and he felt only a few people nearby were in any kind of pain. He looked in their direction and noticed their injuries were from the heat and tiny bits of debris—all minor, but something the medics would have to look over.
Which made it an excellent time for Sakura to land nearby, immediately making her way to some of the injured. Considering what she could do, they were in good hands.
Ranma did a slight double-take as he spotted that one lady who had ambushed him earlier and reminded him a little of Nabiki. She was standing nearby and appeared to still be in shock while looking directly at him. He walked over to her while her eyes continued to follow.
"Hey, you okay?" Ranma asked softly. After a few seconds, all he got was a nod, but he sighed in relief and then grimaced. He really hoped she wouldn't start asking him more questions he couldn't answer just yet.
"Well done, Young Saotome," All Might said boisterously. "Excellent catch!"
Ranma turned back to the big guy, his grin returning, and shrugged his shoulders. Everything was being dealt with as Pro-Heroes and staff members flocked forward so he could relax more.
"Hopefully, we can quickly handle this disaster and clear the area so you can resume your match!" All Might said.
All Might's smile dimmed as he watched in confusion as Ranma's body jerked and locked into place. The pigtailed boy's eyes expanded, and his face looked at him in horror. Before he could ask him what was wrong, Ranma turned to look at the arena while his palms smashed into his cheeks.
"Noooooooo!" Ranma cried out in anguish, capturing everyone's attention. "I lost!"
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Chapter 20 - End
AN - Big thanks yet again to Boldish, Iron, MissWiggles, and TheForgetfulAlchemist for beta reading.
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Priorities Ranma, priorities! Normally it is Ryoga the one that is stereotyped as the one that ignores the collateral damage of the fights!
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- Belfast
Kek.
Being serious here though, I sorta feel that Sakura is gonna claim it a mutual loss and that both of them have to do the forfeits
That said, I'm now eagerly awaiting Ranma's "oh yeah. My quirk? It's just a gender flipping ability when hit by hot and cold water." reveal and the reactions to it in light of the absolute nonsense that everyone just watched.
Also, who else thinks AFO is very confused about who All Might's protégé actually is in the aftermath of the last few fights
GeekGod_of_Speed
He Who Enjoys The Big Words
I think you need to change this, as although it's correct and gives an impression of how great a feat Sakura believes it to be, changing it to something along the lines of:
"it still amazed her that her teammate and friend could could create hundreds of clones without noticing the memory feedback"
Because although Naruto is good with the memory feedback of clones, he's also so good at dealing with it, it took him more than three years with using it constantly to figure out the clones shared memories to the caster, and he had to be told about it.
I don't want to put down naruto but it does kinda point towards him just being too stupid as the secret behind how he can use so many clones
- Location
- Belfast
I put that down to Kishimoto retconning things to give Naruto a boost option since he was starting to lose control of the scaling.
That was the point where things started to scale exponentially, with power levels becoming something that increased by the week, then day, then hour and minute by the very end.
So Naruto wasn't stupid, cause before that the clones didn't have the ability in the first place. He's might not be book smart, but his combat instincts are top notch and I don't buy that he wouldn't realise that the clones give back memories and would mean for him pulling traps or timing stuff out.
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MaimakteriAnn
(Verified Sleepy)
- Location
- Enormous And Round Terran Homeworld
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Dr
Oh Ranma, when will you learn to set the stakes so that it will be more natively interesting for you to win?
Like, if Ranma wins 2 interesting subgroup dynamics becomes one subgroup that is nearly identical to the main group. If Sakura wins, we get a new subgroup with a Ranma having to do girly things dynamic. Winning.
Can't have Ranma get too genre savvy though, he might start following the ABCs.
Funny thing is the sabotage happened in time to divert from the both of them going all out for real, this is just their 'normal' effort level for a peer they don't have to worry about hurting.
Ranma: "Nah, I'd win"
GeekGod_of_Speed
He Who Enjoys The Big Words
That might be true, but canonically that's what happened. Naruto was too stupid to notice that he had more memories than he should.
I could possibly believe him at minimum not connecting getting extra memories and using that for training but it's still not a great look.
Maybe stupid is too aggressive a word but I can't think of any other knowledge based insult to use there.
I can't use anything to do with intuition as, as you said, he has good instincts.
I can't use wisdom or ignorance as it's not something he should already know from before he uses the technique as he was interrupted reading something he shouldn't have.
Unobservant maybe? But I need a word that has to do with internal perception.
Well, he didn't have time to think of what he had done until after he had done it. He's just heartbroken at realizing the consequences. Especially with holding to his little promise to himself, one that pretty much no-one cares about but himself. He wasn't the only one to make that realization here, either.
Sakura is all for playful teasing and rubbing stuff in at times, so long as it isn't anything serious. She'll have no problems taking the win!Kek.
Being serious here though, I sorta feel that Sakura is gonna claim it a mutual loss and that both of them have to do the forfeits
Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, he had a little challenge involved with being allowed to resolve it. That was to win the Sport's Festival. Which he didn't do... technically.
This is almost entirely the reason that Ranma is overdoing his reaction.
Oh, he's not confused! He's a 150 year old unchecked pyschopath with an obscene amount of power at his disposal, how could he possibly get this wrong?Also, who else thinks AFO is very confused about who All Might's protégé actually is in the aftermath of the last few fights
It's a common trope for sure. Naruto and DBZ at least. Maybe HxH (don't remember). I am pretty sure quite a few others just for mangas. Happens plenty in fanfictions as well.
Though, this isn't from outside influences interrupting things.
Yeah, Ranma almost always has something interfering or getting in the way of stuff. Look at how many competitions with prizes he's tried for that turned out borked?
Also, there is a reveal in next chapter that I think you, personally, might like. 😘
Yeah, they were ramping up rather bigly.
Stupid is definitely not an ideal word, but I get what you mean by it. Part of it, I would say, is lack of experience and other normal skills that adults try to impart onto others. Naruto has had to grow up learning most of those skills by teaching himself. Not to mention how much sabotage and ostracization he's had to face growing up.
In many ways, I would put it down to he learns bad methods of reasoning or thinking of stuff. Either inefficient or other problems, but he still made things work. It makes it far easier for things to be missed.
Because of all of this, he grew up not knowing things and was further mocked and belittled for it. So he kind of 'owns' it by deciding to play the 'fool' and trying to act like their words don't hurt him. Going into a situation like that, he turns off some of his observation skills or doesn't try think of these things as deeply, because he's done it in the past and it hurt too much. So he willfully 'shut it off'.
After he became a ninja, he started having to wake up, to be more observant. He knew he was being stupid on things and knew he needed to be better. The clone situation was something he just always went with, but it wasn't something he actively paid attention to.
After having it pointed out to him, he wakes up on how to use it far more effectively. While it more than likely was a late change by Kishimoto, it can fit within the story he was crafting.
Regarding Sakura stance and thought on it, there is 'how did he deal with that when he was younger' to 'how does he deal with it now?'. She is looking more from a current timeframe then a past timeframe, since she has no reason to compare current Ranma to the past Naruto.
I suspect if they kept going they'd have started busting out the secret techniques. Neither of them are prone to just cutting it off and taking a loss due to wanting to hide some cards beyond the Neko-ken
Chapter 21 - Sports Festival’s Conclusion
New
Chapter 21 - Sports Festival's Conclusion
"All of the first-year events for this year's U.A. Sports Festival have been completed," Midnight said into her handheld microphone, addressing both the audience all around them and the students gathered before her. "And now, we will begin the award ceremony!"
The arena had been approved for use after the grounds were cleared and repaired by the various Quirks they had on hand as well as the school's army of robots. The crowd was still excited, though tempered by the near disaster that had taken place.
Their fear likely would have been worse if All Might wasn't standing at her side, his famous smile present as he posed valiantly. He now wore his hero costume, instead of the suit and tie from when he had assisted with the earlier rescue.
All Might looked at the audience and the stadium they still resided in. He watched as fireworks went off above the stadium while the screens displayed that they were doing the awards ceremony now. One section of the pyrotechnics had been planned to go off with the rest but was now deactivated to avoid further risks. No one voiced a complaint since they didn't want to push it more than they already had.
Thankfully, the damage had been limited to only one large section of the roof before being quickly reinforced to prevent further accidents. At the same time, the seating and other areas had only minor damage. One of the reasons his current smile was genuine was that the actions of his students and the other Pro-Heroes greatly minimized the number of injuries and their severity.
From behind Midnight, absent her typical platform, a surge of confetti and smoke shot upwards out of the ground, blocking the line of sight behind her and almost obscuring the two teachers. Just as the smoke started to clear, four figure's shadows could be seen rising out of the ground, pushed upwards by the platforms beneath them.
Once the smoke had cleared enough, they could see that Sakura casually stood in the center on the tallest platform with the number one beneath it. She grinned with her hands on her hips before throwing both hands forward and giving victory signs.
To her left, at least from the student's perspective, was Ranma on the second-highest platform with the number two. His sullen pout was very noticeable, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. They saw him try to break it and smile a few times, but it faded too soon.
On the opposite side stood Peter and Katsuki on the smallest platform with the number three beneath them. Peter looked at ease, smiling with his hands in his pockets. Katsuki was a mix of emotions, with simmering rage being the most visible.
The crowd and everyone else clapped and cheered as the winners were shown, and the camera flashes increased in frequency. Standing in front of the platforms and their teachers, the students' responses were mixed. Some looked sullen or angry, but most remained silent, save a few excited members.
"Yeah, Sakura! You did it! You kicked ass!" Mina shouted, both hands next to her mouth. When Sakura looked in her direction, Mina grinned and duplicated her friend's victory signs.
"That was awesome, Ranma! She just got lucky on a technicality, that's all! You totally would have won!" Toru shouted. She smiled when Ranma looked in her direction and was glad to see him respond in kind, even if it was a weak one.
Others also shouted, praising the various contestants. Even Katsuki's name was dropped by a few. Hearing it surprised him, pulling him out of contemplation before doubling down on his pouting.
"All Might will now present the medals!" Midnight said, waving a hand in his direction while her other held the box of medals.
"Thank you," All Might said, smiling as he accepted Midnight's first two medals. He then stepped up to the platform for third place.
"Young Parker, Young Bakugo, congratulations!" All Might said as he put a medal around Peter's head, followed by Katsuki. "You both showed you are strong."
Peter nodded, grinning up at the Pro-Hero before bowing. "Thank you, you are too kind!"
Katsuki didn't respond verbally, his head turning away in shame at how poorly he had performed. So he was somewhat surprised when he felt All Might reach out and hug him.
"Even when you may not perform as well as you would hope, use your drive to keep pushing yourself, get stronger, and face your challenges with your head held high, Young Bakugo," All Might said while patting him on the back. "You are strong and have plenty of room to grow. You have no reason to feel ashamed."
After All Might let him go, Katsuki paused momentarily, thinking over his words, before looking his hero in the eyes and nodding. His old grin had returned, making All Might smile more broadly.
Peter smiled as he looked between them until All Might turned his gaze to him. "I can see why Mel looks up to you so much," Peter said.
All Might's face shifted from joy. "Melissa! How is she doing, by the way? I've been meaning to ask you about her."
"She's doing really well," Peter answered. "I can talk to you about her later if you want."
"I would certainly enjoy that! And David, as well." All Might laughed before patting Peter on the shoulder. He stepped down, accepted the subsequent medal, and walked to the other side of the platforms before Ranma.
"Young Saotome, congratulations," All Might said with a somber note as he raised it over his head.
His smile dimmed, and he understood the young boy's mood. All Might had discussed resuming the match with the Principal and the other organizers, but safety concerns and the logistics of organizing it were determined not to be feasible. Ranma had also capitulated, something that had surprised him—even on the grounds of his own rules regarding his personal challenge. He could tell it bothered Ranma, but the youth held firm.
"Even though you didn't win, you proved to everyone here that you are a hero. You didn't hesitate to act to save the lives of others. That is not something we will forget, and it is a true testament to your character," All Might said, his voice rising slowly but firmly. "The point of these competitions is to tell the world that you are here… and you showed them in the best way possible!"
Ranma looked up at All Might as he spoke and took his words to heart, nodding in acknowledgment. His doubt and anger at himself diminished, but when the audience tripled in volume, and most of them stood to give him a standing ovation, they vanished entirely. He could hear their voices of approval, so he responded with a gentle smile—one the crowd appreciated, and let him know.
All Might put his arm around his shoulders, giving him a sideways hug that looked awkward considering their size differences, before turning towards the crowds and waving his hand. The crowd loved it.
He left it like that for a few more seconds before stepping down, going to the middle platform, and being handed the final medal.
"Young Haruno, congratulations," All Might said as he put it over her head. Sakura smiled brightly for him after he had finished. "While your final match was interrupted, do not feel it is undeserved. Both of you displayed a level of strength and skill that is rare to see, and you both leaped into action the moment you were needed. If anything, he beat you to it!"
All Might chuckled, feeling his small joke had been accepted for its intention, when he heard Ranma's abrupt snort. Sakura giggled in response while the audience laughed. He then reached forward and gave her a hug, which she returned. He marveled at how such a small girl whose arms could barely reach across his sides could pack such a monstrous punch.
Stepping back down to the ground, he looked towards the media and the audience, holding his arm straight in their direction. "Well, they were the winners this time! But listen here… anyone here could have ended up on these podiums. All it requires is to work hard, push yourselves to your limits, and beyond! Please continue to work hard, compete, and improve yourselves and each other so that everyone can climb even higher. The next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting!"
All Might raised a finger high into the air, catching people's attention before they could clap. "So, I have just one more thing to say! Everyone, please say it with me!"
"Ready, go–
The crowd and students all raised their fists to shout as one.
"-- Thanks for your hard work!"
"-- Plus Ultra!"
"Errr..." All Might murmured as he lowered his fist in embarrassment. The crowd had been caught off guard by the ruined moment. "I thought everyone worked hard…"
"Boooooooo!"
Izuku smiled happily as he sat at their locker room table, back in his regular clothes, while his friends and classmates talked about the various matches. He had his notebook out and continued to write as many stray thoughts as he could remember while mumbling to himself. Most of his classmates had gotten used to him doing this, so they left him alone as he worked. He had already filled up half of this notebook since the start of the day and thought he could fill the other half before the day ended.
He stopped writing when he noticed the rest of his classmates ceased talking before realizing the door had opened as it admitted the four winners of the festival.
"Woohoo! You're back!" Toru shouted as she exited her seat and bounced in their direction. "That fight was awesome! I knew you guys were strong, but that was sooo beyond what I expected!"
"Just how strong are you?" Mina asked as she got close to Sakura, looking like a kid asking their favorite hero a question. "I saw what you did during the practical, but when you hit the arena floor, that was– that was way, waaaay bigger!"
"That was so manly, catching that beam! Who cares if you didn't win, that was so much cooler to see!" Eijiro exclaimed as he got close, holding out a fist to Ranma. When Ranma tapped him, he grinned even wider before turning to Peter. "And throwing those things at the ceiling was amazing! That sense of yours is really something."
"It has its uses," Peter said with a grin.
The rest of their classmates gave their own opinions to the winners. Ranma and Sakura got the brunt of it, with Peter also being praised and questioned. Katsuki was nearly ignored, though he was surprised when Denki grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up and Shoto gave him a nod of respect.
Izuku smiled as they clustered around their classmates and blocked their paths to their lockers. He closed his notebook and moved closer, determined to ask a vital question.
"Ranma-kun," Izuku said, getting his friend's attention. "During your fight with Parker-san, why were you acting like a cat?"
"Erk!"
The cacophony of noise instantly ceased, and every head and pair of eyes turned to look at the pigtailed boy. After releasing that strange noise, Ranma's body stiffened to resemble a gorgon's victim.
"Yes, that was odd, Saotome-san," Momo agreed. She then folded her arms and turned to look at him thoroughly. "Also, you have failed to explain who Happosai is."
"Yeah!"
"Come on, tell us already!"
"I forgot about that."
"Ribbit, are you sure you weren't talking about the Chinese dish?"
"Who is Happosai?"
Ranma's anxiety was growing as the class crowded around him. Izuku winced, realizing he had carelessly kicked the hornet's nest in his zeal to understand. He didn't understand why asking for clarity on what would seem to be simple questions would be so problematic, but he had learned to be careful in the last several weeks. He just… forgot.
"Errr," Ranma tried to vocalize something, but his eyes finally tracked to a clock on the wall. "Oooh! Look at the time! I can't right now; I have to witness Kota's match. As his sensei, that takes precedence."
Izuku expected him to run right then, but Sakura's hand landed on his shoulder. He could see her fingers lightly curling and promising more pressure if he tried to flee.
"Yes, you did promise to tell us, did you not?" Sakura asked, her eyes glinting dangerously. "You wouldn't be trying to get out of that again, would you?"
"Yes, it would seem now is an ideal time for you to answer our questions fully, Saotome-san," Momo said. "I am sure Kota-kun would understand."
"Well, look, about Happosai…" Ranma started saying as he calmed down.
"Don't forget about you acting like a cat," Peter said unhelpfully.
Izuku typically only saw Peter with a neutral or happy smile, so the glint of mischief in his eyes was slightly distracting. Ranma freezing again made the American's grin grow.
"Uhhh…," Ranma mumbled as he failed to answer.
The blood draining from his face was bizarre to see on the laid-back martial artist. Throw a building at him, and he shrugs it off. Try to ask him a few questions about a few oddities, and he falls to pieces. But this was worse than any reaction they had seen from him before. What could be so horrifying? Whatever it was, their classmates continued to press forward like the shiver of sharks they were.
Ranma was startled abruptly as he looked over his classmate's shoulders before tilting his head in confusion. "Hey, do you guys know if All Might lost a bet or something?"
"Uh, no?" Denki replied hesitantly.
"Why?" Ochako asked.
"Because All Might is trying to sneak across the room wearing a tutu," Ranma said, momentarily pointing toward the other wall.
"Whaaaaaaa….?" Izuku and the class asked as they turned to where he had pointed. Their looks of shock faltered since nothing was there. No All Might and no tutu. Confused, they turned back to Ranma. They blinked a few times, failing to understand why Ranma was no longer standing there. In his place, with Sakura's hand holding onto it, was some sort of human-sized wooden doll. It wore his damaged gym uniform, a black wig with a pigtail on the back, and a crude face doodling.
"What?" Everyone shouted.
"Oh, that was impressive! I didn't even feel a thing!" Sakura giggled as she moved the doll around and played with it.
"What the hell just happened!?" Eijiro asked as he and the class looked around for the real Ranma but couldn't find him anywhere. He had disappeared entirely.
"I didn't see or hear him move. I can't detect him even now," Mezo said. His arms had expanded so he could form as many ears as possible to try to find him.
"We need to find him!" Mina cried out, willing the others to follow her. "Where would he run to?"
"It's obvious where he'd run to, Racoon Eyes," Katsuki said as he stopped leaning on one of the lockers. Izuku could tell he was barely withholding his laughter. "He wasn't lying about the brat's match. And it's also something I want to see."
They watched as the blonde boy turned and made his way to the door. Shoto followed closely behind him, with Katsuki noticing him before shrugging with indifference.
"We should probably go and watch it too. Then we can grill Ranma!" Toru called out, walking towards the door.
Most of their class followed her, but Sakura's voice cut through the air and stopped them. "Before you leave, I just have a question."
"Yes?" Mina asked.
"Where's Tenya?"
Tomura stared at what was left of the desk and monitors. It wasn't much, but at least one station could continue playing, as it showed heroes cleaning up the stadium right after the accident while the rest lay in a pile of ash.
He had lost control as he watched their match, listening to the news stations as they failed to keep up, until he couldn't take it anymore and unleashed his rage.
The pink-haired bitches' file continued to expand as the matches continued. Clones, illusions, the ability to disappear, explosions, moving through the ground, that binding technique, and then they had to increase their estimates of her strength yet again!
She had told him that if she wanted him dead, he would be dead. He truly believed that now. He fed that knowledge to his anger, driving his desire to destroy something, preferably her, even higher. He wanted to reach through the monitor and touch her, turn her to dust and ash as the look of shock spread across her face, followed by her fear and pain. His gleeful imaginings of her existence ending at his hands searing into his memory. Letting his mind contemplate his desire while using the monitor to display her face to focus his rage was the only reason the single monitor had survived.
"I see you couldn't control yourself well enough in the end, Tomura," his sensei said as he walked back into the room. "That is fine, but do not let it cloud your mind, or you will miss opportunities that may present themselves."
Tomura turned to glare at the black iron mask, but only for a few moments. He had released enough of his rage to allow him to think again. He saw the way his sensei was looking at him, waiting patiently. "What opportunities?"
"There is more than one way to destroy something. While destroying it directly can be enjoyable, watching it crumble from within, leaving them at your mercy as you decide if you would prefer them to wallow in their misery or to snuff them out at that time, is a height of joy that is difficult to surpass."
Tomura stared hard at his master's mask. After a few seconds, he finally asked. "What did you find?"
"The media can truly be a double-edged sword. It can also be a very useful tool when people are invested in the possibility. While they haven't revealed it publicly, some of my sources have uncovered interesting information about the girl."
Tomura grinned maliciously, liking the direction this was going.
"And it just so happens that Kurogiri's search has borne some fruit. One that plays into your hands."
"Mina! Momo! You can stop apologizing!" Sakura said, split between exasperation and gratitude. She smiled back at the two girls as they, and most of their class, followed behind her as she led them down the hallways. "I understand it was distracting, and Tenya didn't tell you much."
Their classmates followed her with concern and curiosity. Walking up and telling Mina and Momo, right after the ceiling collapsed, that he had to leave for an emergency and that Shuzenji had more information would be too vague to overcome recent events. Considering how the fight had gone and the chaos afterward, the encounter being forgotten was understandable.
That didn't mean she wasn't worried. For Tenya to leave like that, after what appeared to have been a phone call, meant something important. She needed to be there for her friend, no matter how bad it was.
While she was gaining new friends, like the two who continued to apologize to her, Tenya was one of her first friends in this new world, and she had already lost too many friends. Hopefully, it was because of separation and not death, though her not being able to know with certainty always ate at her whenever she dwelled on it.
Finally arriving, her classmates quieted down as she opened the door to the medical room. It was now empty of patients, though a few technicians, nurses, and doctors appeared to be helping with the cleanup and documentation. She found Chiyo talking to a nurse and giving instructions before they nodded and walked off.
The old woman turned her head to see who had entered. When she caught sight of her, she visibly wilted as her strength left her, her eyes lowering as sorrow filled her. That reaction caused the lump in her throat to grow.
Sakura closed the distance, many of her classmates trailing behind her, trying not to get in the way. When she caught up with Chiyo, she reached out and helped her get into her chair.
"Thank you, dear," Chiyo said, her tiny voice emphasizing that she did not have good news to share.
Sakura waited patiently as her mentor took a few large breaths before staring into her eyes. "Tenya…"
"Yes?" Sakura asked calmly. She was a trained shinobi; she had dealt with death many times. She was prepared. That didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt.
"Tenya received a call from his Mother. Tensei has been critically injured," Chiyo said.
Sakura breathed deeper as she absorbed it. Her classmates, on the other hand, gasped in shock. She suspected their hands had quickly covered their mouths since their voices became muffled.
"How bad?" Sakura continued to ask.
"I've only been able to get sparse reporting, but from what I understand, his spine was cut by a blade from behind. It didn't go deep, but they haven't finished the surgery. The last I heard was that his chances of survival had drastically improved, and that was about thirty minutes ago," Chiyo answered. "Kenji-kun has been trying to give me updates when he can, but considering the circumstances and the chaos surrounding it, his updates are a little sporadic."
Sakura nodded, breathing a sigh of relief that her friend wasn't dead and the impact that would have had on his little brother. It was better news than she had dreaded but worse than she had hoped. It was time for the other part of the equation to be dealt with.
With her classmates behind her, they couldn't see her eyes hardening as she looked at Chiyo, but when she spoke, they could hear a harsh edge to her words that hadn't been there before. "What happened?"
Chiyo took a deep breath as her eyes closed. "His agency received reports that a dangerous Villain had been spotted in their city. The one the media has called the Hero Killer: Stain."
Sakura didn't recognize the name since she was not following the news closely, but the gasps of shock from behind her told her enough.
"Is he the one that killed seventeen heroes and crippled twenty-three others?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, Midoriya-san, he is," Chiyo responded, looking into Sakura's eyes and pleading with her not to do anything rash.
"Do you know how it happened? Or what Stain's status is?"
"Kenji-kun did overhear that Stain escaped, but he didn't hear the particulars," Chiyo said
Sakura closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths as everyone awaited her response. She knew why Chiyo was worried. It wasn't just Tensei's condition but what she might do. And she did consider it. She wasn't ruling out that possibility, but there were far more pressing concerns, and the situation was not that dire yet.
"I want to go as soon as possible," Sakura said, opening her eyes and smiling at a woman who sometimes reminded her of a weird blending of the Sand's Chiyo and Tsunade-sensei. Sakura usually giggled to herself when she thought of their reactions, sputtering about how they were nothing alike.
Chiyo beamed at her charge, glad she was remaining calm. "We can take the next train in thirty minutes."
Ranma blinked as he landed on the grass near the small crowd. He noted that the people he expected were here, even Shinso, but the rest of Class B was also present. Crowds appearing for duels were familiar to him, so it wasn't the number of people that had confused him.
No, he was confused since all the girls from Class B, including Kendo, were crowding around Kota and trying to console him. His student's focus was on his challenger, and it looked like someone had taken Yuki from him. To make matters even worse, the young boy then learned that his parents, aunts and uncles, and his sensei wouldn't kick their asses to get her back. Ranma winced at that thought for its implications and the little reminder.
Monoma stood alone, grinning in isolation. The grin looked vaguely familiar, reminding him of another arrogant, rich jerk who wouldn't listen to reason. The difference was that stick-boy's grin showcased his lack of intelligence. Ranma had his Ki sense out, and Monoma was feeling very nervous—the opposite of what he was physically trying to display.
"Ah, Ranma-kun. I'm glad you made it in time," Katashi greeted him, amused by the events.
That got everyone's attention, but Ranma winced as Kota turned his unfairly overpowered weapon toward him. He shivered as he felt the full force of the attack, especially with so many girls ready to retaliate against him if he even thought of stepping out of line.
"Sensei! Sensei! He– he— he won't fight me!" Kota sobbed as tears leaked out of his eyes. The girls doubled their efforts to console him, likely the only reason he hadn't broken down entirely. Ranma greatly appreciated their efforts.
Looking at Monoma again, the blonde's arrogant smirk doubled in size. It felt like the arrogance increased as much as his nervousness did. Ranma tilted his head as he tried to figure out what it meant. It took him a few seconds, but when he did, Ranma grinned and locked eyes with the teen.
"Did he, now?" Ranma asked playfully.
They were left puzzled by his reaction. The exceptions were Monoma, whose arrogant facade broke oh-so-slightly, and Katashi and Shinso, who looked amused.
Ranma was about to pounce on the opportunity but was interrupted by a shout.
"Hey, when's this fucking match going to get started?"
Ranma didn't turn to look at the new arrivals. He chuckled when Kendo covered Kota's ears as fast as she could. Moriko or Shino would appreciate that.
"Sorry, Sparkler, but there's not going to be a fight," Ranma said. He could feel Kota's depression spiraling, so it was a good thing his following words were designed to nip that problem in the bud. "It's on account of Monoma here forfeiting."
"What?" Katsuki yelled. Ranma could feel his glare, but he didn't care. "Why the fuck not?"
"Oh, Kuno-bouzu here is too afraid to fight Kota."
"B-b-bouzu?" Monoma sputtered, the rest of his statement taking a second for his brain to process. He resisted the urge to check his hair.
"Kuno?" Kota asked, his eyes going wide as his emotions flipped. "He's a Kuno?"
Monoma did not like the mixed tone of disgust and amusement in the young boy's voice. Nor did he like the retired hero's boisterous laughter.
"He's got most of the personality spot on: feelings of superiority, extreme vanity, and looking down on others as beneath them. It's just a question about whether he shows any signs of intelligence," Ranma said. "Choosing not to fight you is the only sign I've seen so far, along with his fear of having to fight you."
"Fear?" Monoma shouted, trying and failing to appear outraged.
"Who is Kuno?" The black boy asked, looking as lost as most of Class B.
"He's scared of facing me?" Kota asked as his eyes widened and a happy smile formed.
"Yep!" Ranma replied, turning to his young student and giving him a thumbs up.
"I'm so badass that people are afraid to fight me," Kota asked. The girls were taken aback by his sudden change of attitude. Considering his words, some of them weren't sure whether this was better.
"Your reputation, helped along by my reputation," Ranma said smugly, causing more than a few people to growl, "is now enough to cause smaller and weaker foes to cower in fear of you! This means you'll have stronger opponents looking to face you soon as your reputation spreads."
"Yeah!" Kota shouted, his arms raised as if it were his birthday. He turned, pointed at Katsuki, and shouted his next question: "Can I fight him now?"
Katsuki choked on his voice as everyone turned in his direction.
"Not yet," Ranma said as he crossed his arms and stood up straight, his eyes closing as he played the wise sensei. Kota looked saddened, and Katsuki grinned before it was quickly dispelled. "He still needs a bit of training before he's ready, Kota-kun."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki screamed in Ranma's ear. "That's not what you said earlier!"
Ranma grinned as Kota finished calming down, nodding his head in understanding. He then made the girls feel a bit mushy at the radiant smile he was putting out. "Sensei, your fight was awesome!"
"Did you expect any less from me?" Ranma asked, his chest puffing out as his student fed his ego.
"Nope! I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be able to keep up with you!"
Ranma relaxed, much to the relief of his fellow students. "Yeah, I knew she was good, but she was really starting to push me. It was great!"
"Great?" Class B asked.
"Shoto. Saotome. I see you're both here," a deeper baritone voice asked, coming from the direction Shoto and Katsuki had come from.
Ranma turned in the large man's direction as he walked towards them. Something about him niggled at his memory, but he couldn't place him yet.
"Father," Shoto said, his voice cracking by a hair as he addressed him. Enji looked in confusion at his son's very unusual behavior. He was further thrown by his son's attempts to prevent the smile from worming past his typically neutral expression.
"Oh, Right! En… Endeavor, right?" Ranma asked, turning to Shoto for confirmation.
Ranma's attitude towards his father and the very small ticking of the man's eyebrow caused a brief snort of laughter to escape before Shoto nodded his head.
Turning back to the man he hadn't seen in a year, he looked him in the eyes, stood straight, and bowed respectably. "I apologize for my previous behavior when we last met. Please, forgive me," Ranma asked.
The sudden shift in Ranma's behavior, the tone of respect, and his words broke through much of Class B's surprise at the Pro-Heroes arrival.
"Apology accepted," Enji said before he bowed in response. "Considering your past experience with authority figures, I understand why you reacted the way you did."
"Wait, are you telling me that Saotome-san was rude to Endeavor before?" the boy from Class B, who had glasses and too much body hair, asked.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he watched, grinning as he watched the amusing show that was the Pigtailed Bastard. When it wasn't pointed at himself, at least.
"Saotome-san, would you mind if we discussed something in private?" Enji asked, surprising the other students, including his son. His son was more surprised when he turned to him. "Shoto, I would like you to join us. Please."
Ranma tapped his chin in thought, tilting his head briefly before shrugging his shoulders. "Sure. Lead the way."
"Alright," Shoto said before he and Ranma followed his father as he led them away.
"I wonder what that's all about…," Tetsutetsu pondered.
"Uhhh, why is Ranma walking away?" Izuku asked as he finished jogging up to the groups. He was quickly joined by most of the rest of their class. "And what was the result of the fight?"
"I won!" Kota shouted, turning his attention to his sensei's classmates and fellow students. "I'm so badass now that my opponent forfeited because he's too scared!"
"I was not, you pipsqueak!" Momona yelled, his smirk of superiority falling. He let his anger try to hide his embarrassment, but he doubted his classmates would fall for it.
"Maybe I can fight you now?" Kota asked Izuku, ignoring his previous opponent entirely. His question surprised them, Izuku sputtering as he didn't know what to do.
"Not today, Kota-kun," Katashi said as he stepped forward and ruffled the hair on his head with his hand. "After your sensei returns, we'll have to take off to make the train."
Kota's pout affected many of the students, especially the girls, but it was short-lived. He nodded his head in understanding. "Okay, Old Man!"
"Argh! Why is Saotome running off again?" Denki said as he cradled his head at the further delays. "Just stand still and answer our questions!"
"Running off?" Katashi asked with amusement. He knew not much could drive him away, but he suspected what those might be. Especially considering the day's events. "Did those questions include the name Happosai?"
That quickly caught the attention of the new arrivals as they turned to look at the older man. Some of them could tell, especially after their recent training, that he was strong. They tilted their head in curiosity at the unmistakable injury, but they couldn't figure out who he was. They at least realized he must know Ranma if he knew that name.
"Who are you?" Kyoka asked, her eyes narrowing just a tad.
"A friend of Ranma's," Katashi said simply enough before rubbing Kota's head again, "I was watching over this one so he could watch his Sensei since his parents couldn't get away from work at the time."
"Yes, we were wondering why Saotome-san was so reluctant to tell us about the man called Happosai. Especially after talking about how he was a pervert," Momo said.
"Don't forget him acting like a cat during our fight," Peter added helpfully.
"Kitty!" Kota shouted, his eyes widening in glee.
Katashi chuckled; Ranma did have his hands full. He guessed he could do his part to relieve some of that pressure. "Both answers are complex and have caused Ranma-kun a great deal of trouble. The reason he was acting like a cat was due to a training incident from when he was younger. It isn't right for me to tell you more without his permission."
"Does Saotome-san have dissociative identity disorder?" Peter asked. His question caused some confusion to those unfamiliar with it.
Katashi was silent as he mulled over the question before sighing. "Yes. I won't tell you the particulars, but he has been diagnosed with it. It isn't dangerous to others if you were worried about that."
"What's dissoc… err, what he said?" Mina asked, looking up at Momo.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder, or more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It's a mental illness that some people can suffer from due to childhood trauma. It means that the 'cat' was another person that shares the same body as Saotome-san," Momo replied.
"Wait, another… person?" Denki asked, clearly lost.
"Ribbit. It's not a Quirk?" Tsuyu asked.
"Childhood trauma?" Toru asked with concern.
"What about Happosai?" Ochako asked, deciding it was probably best to not tread that path since she didn't want to discomfort Ranma further than she already had today.
Katashi looked like he was sucking on a lemon as he tried to figure out how best to explain it. "Happosai was… someone closely associated with Ranma's father. He, too, was a Martial Artist who was very skilled. He was also an extreme pervert. Let me guess," Katashi asked, looking at Ochako, "he said that the boy that caused this afternoon's incident reminded him of him?"
"Yes?" Ochako answered, and many of the girls nodded.
"Happosai was a dwarf nearly the same size as that boy, but he was also old. Far older than me or anyone else you likely know," Katashi said, straightening up and folding his arms as best he could. "He would frequently attach himself to women and fondle them in very inappropriate ways."
Every girl recoiled at that and immediately understood some of the parallels between the two.
"Ranma-kun, due to his Quirk, also received his attention more than any other girl or woman who dealt with the perverted criminal. Ranma bore it as he or she was one of the few who could or would try to stop him. He usually failed."
The boys looked repulsed and angry as Katashi's tale continued, while the girls, especially those who had been especially upset due to the accident, winced as they realized the significance. Toru and Ochako began to feel an enormous guilt as they realized their friend knew far too well. One person, however, caught on quickly to an important point.
"Wait, are you saying Happosai was… stronger… than Ranma?" Momo asked with growing dread.
Katashi nodded, causing every girl to react in horror as if a massive tsunami had appeared in front of them.
Shoto followed his father as he led them to an isolated area. Although it was still close to the stadium, none of the crowds were present, thus giving them the privacy they sought.
"So, what's up?" Ranma asked with his hands in his pockets and seemed unusually casual about it. It was fascinating to see someone react to and treat his father like this, even after learning who he was.
His father remained still while he considered how to start this conversation—about what, Shoto couldn't guess.
"To start, I wanted to thank you," Enji said after turning to Ranma.
"Huh? About what?" Ranma asked as he tilted his head to the side.
"For helping Shoto today, at a minimum," Enji said. "Additionally, you have helped him by helping me, though I recognize that neither of you knows how."
Shoto had rarely seen his father calmly talking to someone like this outside of work. While his father's anger had disappeared, no longer lashing out at him or his siblings, it had been replaced with an air of defeat that had been present since.
"Okay?" Ranma replied, though his confusion only strengthened.
"I need to explain myself so you can understand what I mean," Enji said before looking at Shoto. "For both of you."
"... Okay?" Ranma slowly repeated while Shoto nodded.
"Before I do, for legal reasons, if nothing else, I need both of your permissions to reveal some of your pasts to each other," Enji said before he turned to Ranma.
"While I know some of your life's history, I do not know all of it. I was given access to most of the reports Officer Tamakawa submitted on your behalf to help them find traces of your family. I was also the only one given access to his redacted reports since I already knew some of the more sensitive bits," Enji said. "I won't reveal any of those sensitive details, Saotome-san. Do I have your permission?"
Ranma stared back for several seconds before turning his head enough to look at Shoto and shrugged. "It's fine."
"Thank you," Enji said before turning to his son. "Shoto, while I am not legally bound to require your permission, I have been told it would be best to have your permission first. I realize that I will be revealing information that is sensitive to our family and you in particular, but I believe you will find Saotome-san to be understanding."
"Okay," Shoto said. If it finally got him some real answers, he didn't care.
Enji sighed in relief before he collected himself and began his story.
"When I was younger, around your age, I decided to become a Pro-Hero because I wanted to prevent the deaths of others. I believed the best way for me to do that was to become the greatest hero possible," Enji said, turning to the side and refusing to look either of them in the eye for now. Shoto recognized the shame he had displayed, something he had seen often in the last year.
"I became… fixated on becoming the Number One. I felt I needed to achieve that milestone to prove to myself that I had made a difference and I could accept no other outcome. So I trained, pushing myself and my Quirk as hard as possible daily. That drive was why I chose the name Endeavor, which means trying hard or achieving something. However, All Might debuted before I did.
"I shot nearly to the top of the chart within a year, passing by many other heroes. But I could never catch up to that man no matter what I tried. I pushed myself, my Quirk, and my skills as a Pro-Hero, but it didn't matter. He made it look too easy, especially as he was always smiling. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my goal in the first place while I was stuck in his shadow."
"After several years and the gap between us only widening, I realized I would never surpass him. My Quirk has a weakness, something that, no matter what I did, I could not overcome. My body, while extremely resistant to fire, has an upper limit. If I become too hot, I have to cool down, or I risk permanent injuries."
"Oh, yeah. That could definitely be a problem," Ranma said, nodding.
Enji nodded as well before continuing with his story. "But I refused to give up, so I sought another way to surpass him. I knew that my weakness held me back, so I thought if one of my children had a means of cooling and regulating their body to counter the heat, they could push past that barrier and surpass him."
Shoto watched as Ranma tilted his head and seemed to be thinking about it. "That makes sense," Ranma said, "cool your body down so… ooohhh!"
Shoto saw the lights go off in his head. He turned to look at him curiously before smiling and turning back to his father.
"So you got it to work?" Ranma asked, more excited than Shoto would have expected from him. It surprised him how casually he was reacting to that news.
Enji sighed, looking at Shoto regretfully, before returning to Ranma. "Somewhat. And not without costs that shouldn't have happened."
Ranma blinked. "What happened?"
"Do you know what a Quirk Marriage is?"
"Uh, no?"
"It is a form of arranged marriage, but with the intent that the children would have a favorable outcome from mixing the parent's Quirks," Enji said.
Shoto was used to outrage, disgust, concern, or indifference. He hadn't expected Ranma's response.
"Oh! Like trying to combine the Schools," Ranma said, sounding far too enthusiastic. And what did he mean by 'Schools?'
"Yes," Enji said. "The Humura family was known to have a powerful Quirk, one called Frost, that was the opposite of mine. Their family was poor, and by then, I had accrued enough wealth from my time as a Pro-Hero that I could offer it as an omiai. The Himura family was very accepting of the possibility because of the money and prestige my position brought. My wife, Rei, went along with it to help her family, and she knew why I had sought out our marriage. She was– is beautiful. She behaved much like her Quirk, cold and strong, but she could melt with the slightest touch. The two of us began to care for each other, far more than I think either of us ever expected."
Shoto refused to look at his father. He loosely knew most of this already, but his tone and how he told it painted a different picture of his father than he had expected. He wasn't going to accept his version of events, not yet, but it was an odd contrast to what he thought he knew.
When Shoto noticed his father hadn't continued his story yet, he looked up and was surprised to see him looking at Ranma with concern. Turning to his classmate, his face was shifting between different emotions. The one that was the most visible was… sadness?
The silence was eventually interrupted by his father resuming, though he had looked away. "When Toya was born, we were both happy, and the purpose of our marriage was nearly forgotten. Fuyumi was born a few years later, and then I started training Toya after his Quirk manifested."
Being reminded of his older brother, the pain he felt at those distant memories almost didn't let Shoto catch the fact his father had trained him. He looked up, startled as the words finally registered with him.
"That was when things began to go wrong. After his Quirk was examined, it was discovered that Toya had inherited my flames, but he had only inherited my wife's resistance to cold. He would burn his body away if he continued. As a result of my fears of him killing himself, I refused to train him further."
Shoto remembered small bits of his past that didn't make sense from when he was much younger, conversations he would occasionally hear from his siblings. He hadn't known his father had trained his brother, leaving him a little uncomfortable and unsure what to think.
"Yeah, I can see why," Ranma said, looking like he had found a bone as he chewed.
"Due to All Might's growing popularity and my failures, I became further fixated—hyperfixated, specifically. I had made it my life's mission, and I thought this path was the only one I could take, that it was the only way to surpass him. Until I met you," Enji said, staring evenly at the pigtailed boy.
Ranma raised an eyebrow, probably wondering why he had suddenly shifted to talking about him. While his father's explanation made sense, he knew it wouldn't have stopped him.
"When we first met, you reminded me of All Might with how easily you usurped me in the eyes of the…" Enji said, pausing to look at Shoto for a moment, "... Villain, which aggravated me. But then I learned of your… circumstances."
"If you are referring to the fact that Ranma's abilities are not a Quirk, I am aware of that, Father," Shoto said.
"Wait, I thought you didn't?" Ranma asked Shoto after turning to him.
"I asked our classmates, and they informed me," Shoto calmly replied before returning to his father.
"Oh. Well, that's convenient!" Ranma said happily, grinning before turning to the older man.
Enji nodded before resuming once more. "I didn't believe you at first, but the supporting evidence that Pussycats gathered showed me you were telling the truth. After I had left and it was confirmed by a Quirk test, it set my mind racing at the possibilities. I realized it might be possible to close that gap between All Might and myself without relying on my son to do it for me, or at least a way to help him train. When I was given a more detailed report, which included an overview of your life that you revealed to your Guardians and Officer Tamakawa, I eagerly read through it. What I found… disturbed me greatly."
Shoto was concerned when Ranma winced. He looked more like he had slammed his funny bone as hard as he could than someone just learning about his history.
Enji noticed his reaction, so he clarified. "Not you, Ranma, but your father, Saotome Genma."
Ranma calmed down, allowing Enji to resume. "Saotome Genma was stupid, greedy, immoral, selfish, and put you through unimaginable dangers… but he was still a better father and husband than I had been."
"What?" Shoto asked though he realized a second later that Ranma had mirrored him.
"I realized that your father and I had too many similarities, ignoring how he would be considered a criminal by most governments. He went… beyond, many times, some of the things I have done to train Shoto. But he also ensured it was something you wanted," Enji said.
Shoto was surprised, his father admitting that he might not have wanted the training when he was younger. His memories were still a little fuzzy then, but he did remember coming around to the idea of being a Hero like All Might. But it was for his mother, not his father.
"Your interactions with Genma reminded me of that first year of training Toya," Enji said, his voice cracking. "Toya wanted to train. He wanted to be a hero, and I was happy to help him become one. But I didn't want it to cost him his life, so I forbade him from training, thinking I was saving him. Instead, it made him resentful and angry.
"When I had time off and came home, I regularly found Toya with burn marks. I became angry at my wife, thinking she failed to watch him and to prevent him from training. In reality, I was angry at myself for putting my son in that dangerous position. I gave him his drive to become a hero and then took it away. I didn't know what to do.
"When Shoto was born, it was obvious that his Quirk was a healthy blend of our two Quirks. With my hyperfocus worsening, I put all that focus into training Shoto, and I became more aggressive in his training than I had been with Toya. Since Shoto didn't always want to train, Rei tried to protect him, but I began to see her as becoming yet another obstacle to my goal. With my feelings of failure consuming me, the thought of obstacle after obstacle getting in my way resulted in my anger and self-control worsening as time went on. It continued for years before I eventually lashed out, physically striking her."
Shoto stood there, unable to respond as he heard his father admit what he had done. He took a moment to glance at Ranma, and he looked angry, glaring at the man.
"We started resenting each other; I can see that clearly now. Yet another thing that proved Genma was a better husband than I. From your accounts, he never struck your mother at any point. Even after he proposed your training trip to her, he never once laid a hand on her."
Ranma breathed deeper as he calmed down.
When his father said his next piece, he started glaring at Ranma. "Though, I never suggested anything like that ridiculous idea that Genma proposed. That moronic promise was beyond anything I have ever done."
"... Agreed," Ranma said while looking like he'd stepped on a pile of tacts.
His father had just admitted that Ranma's father had been a better father and husband than himself, so what horrible promise would get Ranma to agree so readily with his point? Shoto was curious, but he knew enough that now wasn't the time to press them about.
"Eventually, both the situation with Toya and Shoto and my treatment of her… broke my wife," Enji said while looking damaged himself. "She began to hate the sight of me. Shoto's red hair and dark eye on his left side, which he inherited from me, reminded her of me. After a particularly bad episode, she… poured boiling water over that side of his eye. It's why Shoto has that scar over his left eye."
Shoto raised a hand to the eye, remembering the moment all too well and how it always hurt him to think of his Mother that way. He couldn't understand Ranma's look, however. He could tell there was a bit of empathy or pity there, but there was obviously more.
"She didn't mean to and tried to help him immediately after, but due to my concerns about the danger she posed to Shoto and his siblings, I… I had her committed to a psychiatric hospital. This ended up leading to another tragedy.
"Without Rei's presence, Toya could more easily get away and train alone. Every time he would ask me to join him, to show me what he was capable of, I refused because I didn't want him to hurt himself. But, because of that, no one was there when the area he was in turned into an inferno."
"Oh," Ranma said, his head bowed in understanding and respect. This matched Shoto and Enji's mood as silence reigned.
Enji eventually collected himself once more. "Even after hours of searching and hoping he had somehow survived, we only ever found a small part of him. Much like my wife, I had already reached my breaking point. So I turned my focus entirely to the goal of beating All Might, becoming fanatical and to the exclusion of everything else. I felt like I had nothing else to give but that. Nothing else mattered to me. I couldn't even see the monster I had become.
"Reading about your family, Saotome, was like looking into a distorted mirror. One in which I more closely matched someone I would have sought to apprehend. Your upbringing was similar to Shoto's, but your attitude about that training initially perplexed me. You showed disdain and anger at him at times, justifiable anger regarding some of his stupid actions, but you didn't hate him. I didn't consciously realize it then, but my son hated me. And I didn't care."
Enji turned to Shoto, looking at him as he explained further. "That realization shocked me. I didn't see it before. More likely, I didn't want to see it. But I eventually did. That was the first night I didn't demand you to train."
Shoto didn't know how to feel, but it finally made sense. The drastic change out of seemingly nowhere was too abrupt for him or his siblings to understand. "Why… why didn't you tell us?" Shoto asked softly.
"I didn't know how to explain it without compromising Saotome. I didn't know what I should even do. I tried to learn everything that his Guardians or Officer Tamakawa would tell me about them, but it didn't provide me an answer."
"I was lost once more in the same cycle I had been in with Toya. I focused on training myself but wanted to avoid repeating the same mistake with you, Shoto, that I did with your older brother. I promised myself I would not force you to train, but I would not deny you training if you asked for it."
Shoto felt his anger returning for the first time since his match with Ranma, but it wasn't nearly as severe. "You think that is an excuse not to tell me? I thought you had given up on me! That you considered me a failure and not worth the effort!"
"I considered it," Enji said, his hands in his pockets as he inspected the grass beneath them. "Many times. Especially when I noticed your anger growing, as it had with Toya. But I could never form the words or nerve to approach you. I was too ashamed of my past behavior to do that."
"I realized I was nearly at another breaking point, but then I learned that Saotome had decided to attend U.A. The possibility of you attending the same class or at least the same year pushed me to do something I should have done long ago. I asked for help."
"What help?" Shoto asked.
"The man you saw earlier with your classmates was another Pro-Hero I looked up to back in the day. By chance, he met and interacted with Saotome over the last year and has been trained by him as well."
"Good student," Ranma said, nodding before a grin formed, "And teacher."
"I asked him for advice, seeing him as someone who has made mistakes but sought to overcome them. He gave me several suggestions, one of which was a counselor that could be discreet."
Shoto opened his mouth, dismissing the explanation as something his father would never do. Before he could speak, he realized that his father had struggled and had just admitted to it. "And?"
"He helped me open my eyes to my faults, recognizing them for what they are and not running from them. He suggested I tell you the truth about all of it, Shoto. But he told me I needed to know what the truth was before I could explain it."
"So he finally suggested you tell me?" Shoto asked softly.
"No. He doesn't think I am ready yet, and I still don't feel ready. But after you found me in the stadium, I saw that your anger had become worse than I had ever seen it before. I was worried you would lash out, so I was glad that Saotome was your second match. Not because I wanted you to lose, but because I knew he could take it. And maybe something more would happen."
Enji then turned to Ranma and gave him a deep bow. "Thank you for helping my son today, Saotome-san. I am in your debt."
Ranma, who had remained silent during the exchange between father and Son, bowed in return. "You're welcome."
Shoto was once more a very mixed bag of emotions. He didn't know if he should yell at his father, cry, or laugh at the absurdity. He had more difficulty than most in expressing how he felt, much of his emotions having burned themselves out over the years, though the last year had been different.
"What… what now?" Shoto asked.
Enji, having already returned from his bow, looked at Shoto again. "I think we need to talk… but not right now. We were not ready for this and still need to finish processing what happened. Please, tell me when you are ready, Shoto."
"... I will," Shoto said, looking down at the grass again.
"Thank you," Enji said. He then took a deep breath and turned to Ranma once more. "There was another reason I came today and why I explained my past to you, Saotome."
Shoto looked up, curiosity overwriting his other emotions for now. Ranma remained relaxed, his hands in his pockets as he listened.
"Even after everything, I still want to strive to become stronger, though I will not force others onto this path any longer. Would you be willing to train me, or at least give me guidance since you are both at school and I still have an agency to run?" Enji asked.
Shoto was shocked, but considering everything he had learned today, he shouldn't have been. Ranma appeared to be simply evaluating his father. No one spoke for over a minute while waiting for the pigtailed boy's answer. Eventually, he shrugged. "Sure. I'm not happy about how you treated your wife, but you recognize it and are trying to make amends. I also understand the drive to become stronger."
Enji nodded before glancing at Shoto for a moment. "Would you also be willing to train Shoto if he desires it?"
"Sure, I've got no problem with that," Ranma said, grinning at Shoto.
"Thank you, Saotome-san," Enji said. He also gave him another brief bow. "We should head back. My agency is expecting me back by a certain time."
"Sounds good."
"It does not matter how effective the training is; it is still abhorrent," the girl with the long green vine-like hair said. Izuku thought he overheard her name, Shiozaki, but he wasn't sure. He still hadn't been properly introduced to most of Class B, so he hesitated to ask for confirmation.
"I will admit that the training does seem… wrong at first," Kendo said. "But once you get used to it, it can be a lot of fun. You end up forgetting that it is training in the first place. The hunger drives you to want to ensure you eat enough, but the competition and the chaos make things interesting. Doing it with everyone else forces you to be observant and careful, or you will lose your food."
After quickly moving away from the topic of Happosai, their two classes started discussing the martial arts club and, specifically, Ranma's training. Almost everyone seemed interested, but there were a few highly reluctant holdouts.
"Yes, that training was inelegant. Barbaric, even!" Aoyama said, his face showing his disgust.
The older man, who only gave his family name of Iwamoto, chuckled. "That depends on how you decide to adapt to the training, not the training itself."
"Huh?" Tetsutetsu asked. "What do you mean, Iwamoto-san?"
"There are several ways you could adapt that training for your own benefit, even avoiding things like it being 'inelegant'," the old man said.
"How so, monsieur?" Aoyama asked.
The man grinned, looking at several of the dissenters. "Saotome's martial art is called Indiscriminate Grappling for a reason. There is more than one way to achieve your goal of eating your fill... such as diplomacy."
Izuku and everyone else tilted their heads and raised an eyebrow. They asked as one: "Huh?"
"Oh! Oh, my!" Momo said before covering a hand over her mouth and giggling softly.
"What is it?" Kyoka asked, curious about what conclusion one of their resident geniuses had drawn.
"You have explained the training rules several times before," Momo said as she looked at Ochako and Toru primarily. "Nowhere in the rules does it say you must steal the food from the plate. The rules primarily dictate that it must be done somewhat civilized, with no bare-hand approaches and no Quirks. Beyond that, how you acquire the food is left open to you. You could barter with others to assist you, or they could give you their food!"
"What? But we can't trade our food after we get it on our plates," Toru noted.
"Incorrect. Saotome-san said your food may not be stolen once it has been on your plate. Nothing in the rules says that food cannot be given to someone else!" Momo said, getting excited now.
A lightbulb suddenly went off for them, though a few started to see the problems with such a plan.
"That might not be very fair. Some people have more to trade than others," the boy named Kosei said, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. "Like rich people."
Momo nodded, recognizing the boy had a valid concern.
"I did say diplomacy, not bartering," Iwamoto said, chuckling again. "While the rules allow for it, that doesn't mean that others couldn't interfere if people don't like the proposal. Even Saotome could interfere if he feels it is becoming too disastrous. And bribing with money or favors does not always work if they don't care about it."
Izuku saw his fellow students ponder his point as they all realized how complicated the situation could become.
"Hey, Old Man! Are you giving out more of my secrets again?" Ranma yelled.
Izuku and the others turned and saw Ranma, Shoto, and his father returning. Ranma and Endeavor seemed the same, but Shoto looked busy contemplating. He wondered what that had been about.
"A few," the old man said. "More to intrigue those reluctant to undertake your training than to give them an edge."
"Endeavor-san! Endeavor-san!" Kota yelled out as he ran up towards the Pro-Hero. His action caught Izuku off-guard, and several girls realized he had escaped them before they could do anything.
Endeavor looked down at the young boy, arching a brow for a moment, before kneeling in front of him. "Yes… Kota-kun, is it?"
"Yep!" Kota shouted, smiling up at the famous hero. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. Izuku was confused as to why he would have marshmallows and a stick. He then held it out towards him with enormous, hopeful eyes before making his request. "Can you cook these for me? Auntie Ryuko always said they were the best she'd ever had!"
Izuku heard Shoto's sudden bark of laughter, holding his gut, before turning around to hide and stifle it as best as he could. He didn't do a good job. A quick glance showed his classmates appeared as lost as he was, but Ranma and Iwamoto chuckled at Kota's request and Shoto's response.
Endeavor looked over his shoulder, watching his son, unable to control himself, before turning to Ranma. "I take it you showed him?"
Ranma grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "He asked."
Endeavor sighed before turning back to a hopeful Kota. He accepted the boy's bag, helped him attach the marshmallows, and then used his Quirk to cook the sugary treats quickly.
"Yeah!" Kota shouted before blowing on one of them and stuffing it in his mouth. "Yum!"
Endeavor smiled warmly as he rubbed the top of the boy's head before standing up and turning to Iwamoto. "I need to return to my agency now. I'll be in touch."
"Certainly, Todoroki-san," Iwamoto said. They gave each other a nod before Endeavor walked off.
Shoto had finally recovered enough before walking up to Kota. "May I have one of those?"
Kota looked up at the dual-haired boy and tilted his head briefly before stuffing another into his mouth. He then handed the last marshmallow to Shoto, who carefully inspected it briefly before putting it into his mouth.
Izuku noted that Shoto's behavior had changed since they had started attending school together. Before, he always seemed so detached from everything. Now, he felt a little warmer.
"We need to take off as well, Kota-kun," Iwamoto said as he approached the young boy. Ranma moved to follow them before suddenly halting.
"Oh, wait!" Ranma said before turning towards the one student from General Ed who was present. "I almost forgot, but Shinso also wanted to spar against Kota."
Eyes turned towards the indigo-haired boy, most of them surprised. Kota's eyes lit up in joy and Shinso nodded as he stepped forward and was still wearing his gym clothes.
Iwamoto looked at his watch, grimacing at its display. "I don't know if we'll have enough time. The accident and cleanup really pushed back the awards ceremony. While the local trains are running longer than normal, some of our connecting trains may not."
Kota looked on the verge of tears again, but Ranma concentrated on resolving the issue as quickly as possible. "Relax old man, it'll be quick, and if you have to run a bit to catch your train, that's just an opportunity for more training. Shinso, you just wanted to spar with him to gauge whether my training worked, right?"
"Yes," Shinso said, his face not shifting as he looked between them and ignored some of the others' comments. "I believe your training works, but I would still like to see how it works for someone like Kota."
Ranma nodded, thinking things through once more before his eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Okay, but no Quirks!"
Shinso raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on. Ranma looked the same way he had when he had realized his Quirk. "Why?"
"Oh, I have my reasons. I would rather not spoil them for now," Ranma said as his hands started wiggling in glee. His current students winced as they realized he had another training idea.
Shinso narrowed his eyes but saw Ranma's eyes flickering to everyone else. It took him a few moments before a slight smirk formed. "Fine."
Iwamoto stepped forward as Shinso and Kota moved across from each other. A few girls who were reluctant to have cute and adorable Kota fight someone older and much larger than him had to be restrained by the others who knew not to underestimate the young boy.
Iwamoto held a hand between the two, indicating he would be the referee. "One round only, to knockout or submission, no Quirks or deadly blows. If you wish to surrender but cannot speak, tap twice on the ground or wherever you can touch with an open palm. Saotome or I will stop the fight if need be."
He looked at both fighters, waiting for them to nod in understanding before he lowered his arm and stepped back. "Begin!"
Izuku watched as the indigo-haired boy was too cautious to dive in. It didn't stop Kota, as the eager boy went from standing upright to being on top of him faster than any of them had anticipated. Having been startled by his speed, Shinso threw a clumsy grab. Kota grabbed the offered arm with both hands and leaped above, pivoting around over the limb until both legs landed on both sides of his opponent's head before locking them together and trapping the older boy.
Shinso scrambled to free himself and avoid falling, but Kota twisted his whole body to flip his opponent forward. The General Ed student landed hard on his back, though his head was protected by the young boy's legs, blunting the impact—not that it helped him keep the oxygen in his lungs.
Izuku winced at the painful landing, but the cries of shock from the others showed they hadn't expected such a one-sided and fast takedown.
Shinso tried to get his free arm up to pull at Kota's leg to give him room to breathe, but he wasn't succeeding. He couldn't even speak, only able to garble out some nonsensical sounds as panic took him. After several seconds and failing to get results, he desperately tapped Kota's thigh twice.
"Match!"
Kota immediately released his hold with his legs and arm, scrambling away and to his feet with practiced ease. His smile was so radiant that the girls could barely restrain themselves. "Yeah! I won!" Kota said as he started to bounce in place, his arms held high above his head.
Ranma chuckled as he stepped towards Shinso, who was still trying to recover enough to breathe correctly and slow his heart. Once he got enough control, Ranma held his hand out and was accepted, allowing him to pull his new student to his feet.
Shinso looked at the one who had defeated him so soundly, yet he didn't appear angry. Instead, he sighed and accepted the outcome. When he saw that Kota had turned back to him and gave him a bow of respect, he clumsily returned it.
"Alright," Iwamoto said, once more by Kota's side, his palm resting on his shoulder. "We really do need to get going. It was nice to meet all of you."
Izuku and the others gave their own farewells, waving at them as they walked off with Ranma in tow. They started turning back to each other to figure out what else they would do before they were interrupted.
"Waaaiiit!" Eijiro cried out as he came running up to their group, just as they looked like they would finish for the day. He was panting a little as he finally arrived. "Where's the fight?"
"You're too late, Shitty Hair!" Kacchan yelled.
"Whaaat? Noooo!" Eijiro cried out while clutching his hair. "Stupid! Broken! Bathroom!"
"Kota-chan just now won a spar against Shinso-san, but there was no fight against Monomo-san," Kendo said, smiling at the red-haired boy. "Monomo-san forfeited before it began."
"I did not!" Monomo shouted at the heavens, but he was ignored.
"Yes, he did," Shinso said, grinning at him and massaging his shoulder. Monomo turned to glare at him but found it did nothing to the General Ed student.
"Ah, man! I was so looking forward to it!" Eijiro said as he moaned and kicked a loose rock.
"I didn't want to ask at the time since it could be considered rude, but who was that man?" Izuku asked, finally feeling like he could get an answer to that question.
"Hah! Shitty Deku doesn't know who he is!" Kacchan yelled out, his face grinning in excitement. "Not as well versed in heroes as he thinks he is!"
"Who?" Eijiro asked, looking back and forth between a few of his classmates.
"Kota was being escorted by a friend of their family, an old retired Pro-Hero," Peter said as he looked at his friend. "He was forced to retire quite a while ago, but he was a bit famous. His hero name was Crimson Riot, and–"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"
"Holy crap! Today was crazy," Etsurou said as he turned the wheel of their van to exit the school grounds. They were still following behind the swarms of other vehicles, and it would be another twenty minutes before they got away from the congestion, but they were almost done for the day.
The school and the local police were old hats at dealing with traffic, even if most attendees arrived by train. However, today there had been far more unexpected attendees, not to mention all the extra security involved. Yet he had attended smaller events where he would be stuck in traffic for far longer, so he had to give them props for their efficiency.
"We will be the station's stars for at least a few weeks. Everyone is going to want to grill us about what happened today! I am looking forward to free sake for the next couple of weeks," Etsurou said as he grinned at his partner while they were stuck in line for the light.
Etsurou sighed when she didn't respond. Chihiro had become quiet, not answering his questions or talking back to him. She rarely did this and he wasn't sure why. Her mood had plummeted since the final round and up to the nearly fatal accident. After the incident, she appeared to be on auto-pilot and would only stare at her phone.
"Alright, Hiro-chan, what happened?" Etsurou finally asked. She usually hated that name, so he hoped it would catch her attention. He waited a few seconds, checking the road for their current status, before returning to her. "Hiro-chan?"
"Hmmm?" Chihiro finally responded, only partially turning her head to look in his direction and the road before returning to her phone.
"Hiro-chan, what the hell happened?" Etsurou asked again, getting very concerned about her condition. The fact she barely reacted to the name told him she was genuinely unbalanced.
"I… I don't know. I thought I had something, but now… I'm not sure," Chihiro said.
"What did you have?"
"I… interviewed Saotome," Chihiro said softly.
Etsurou nearly choked in shock as his voice became trapped. That was potentially very big, considering today's events. But he also knew what she had thought of the kid—at least before the accident.
"Okay, so I am guessing since you aren't excited about it, you got something… potentially incriminating?" Etsurou asked.
"I… I thought so at first. I knew I would have to investigate more to confirm my suspicions," Chihiro said.
"Let me guess, you figured, before and especially after that final match started to become insane, that no one would be willing to run it. Or that no one would believe it?" Etsurou asked, getting a nod to confirm it. "But then, after he goes and saves our lives like that, you aren't so sure anymore? I think I am missing something since that wouldn't even slow you down in the past."
"In the interview, he told me he had set a challenge for himself: If he won the festival, he would be asked questions by people like us. Something he planned to reveal if he won. I… don't think it was anything normal. It sounded… special. Like it was something that would shock us more than what we had already seen."
Etsurou snorted. "What? That he's All Might's son or something? Lots of people are already running with that theory online and it will probably be in tomorrow's tabloids."
"Maybe, but it didn't seem like it was that simple. I think it was something else. Maybe something even more amazing. I don't know," Chihiro said. "But he didn't even hesitate. I watched what footage we caught after the accident, and he started moving the instant he saw what was happening. And he wasn't angry at me for what else I asked him."
Etsurou winced, quickly realizing her complication.
"He gave it up without hesitation. I… I didn't expect that."
Etsurou sighed again, moving the car forward the dozen meters they had been given. "Now you don't know what to do with what you have."
"Yes."
"Hiro-chan, the best you can do is wait. Like you originally planned, dig a little deeper, investigate, check all the angles you can, and then try to treat it fairly. Maybe… maybe you should just ask the kid? Use what you got to get a full interview or something?"
"... Okay."
Aizawa sighed as he supervised the crew inspecting the roof now that the stadium had been suitably cleared. They were still trying to determine the cause since the roof had been rated to take a substantial amount of shock. It had been built and renovated over the years since its construction and was designed for the various types of Quirks they saw come and go during the festival. Even the final fight shouldn't have been enough, not compared to other sections of the stadium suffering damage first.
Haruno and Saotome had controlled themselves impeccably well. Even without reviewing the recordings, he saw that the two were always careful about thrown objects or impacts. They were both aware of those around them and the audience, limiting the angles and strengths of their attacks to ensure no one was in danger. That was one of the more impressive things about them, more than the wanton destruction.
"Eraser Head," a familiar voice called out to him.
He turned and saw Ectoplasm walking up to him with paperwork in hand. "Yes?"
"We have a strong idea of what happened," the math teacher said, handing over his notes to his fellow teacher. "Power Loader and I combed through all instances where anything might have reached the ceiling. The footage confirmed it."
Aizawa looked through several of the pages before raising an eyebrow. Then, his eyes stopped focusing on anything in front of him as he replayed events from memory. "During the Cavalry Battle?"
"The knife, or kunai I believe it is called, was far enough away from where Todoroki's ice mountain had pierced parts of the roof that we didn't inspect that area as closely as we should have. It was nearly perfectly wedged between overlapping cables, making it more difficult to see without combing over it closely. The blade looked to have pierced through a steel beam, leaving the rounded end almost level with the rest of the beam and hiding its presence further," Ectoplasm said, sighing as he looked downwards in shame. "We only detected it because we compared before and after images of the spot. It explains why we missed it."
"The ceiling was rated to take vibrations of that scale, but the damage from the ice exacerbated the damage from the blade and weakened a few of the structure components more than we had expected. The additional vibrations caused it to eventually fail and pulled everything else down with it," Ectoplasm said as he looked back at Aizawa. "Everyone's eyes were on the local dangers, so we didn't notice it worsening progressively."
Aizawa nodded. He was right; they were only looking at what was in front of them. "Did you check the area yourself after discovering this?"
"Yes, and I found a fragment of the blade. Power Loader wants to run some simulations of the incident to help us confirm it further, but it will take a few days to collect all the data to run it," Ectoplasm said before sighing and looking off to the side. "This was my failure for not being thorough in my inspection."
"I'll inform the Principal when I give him the report. I have a meeting with him soon," Aizawa said before pulling out his phone and seeing what time it was. "Correction, I have to leave now for my meeting."
Ectoplasm nodded, and they both said goodbye as they went about their jobs.
Aizawa walked towards one of the exits, checking the report he had been given in more depth. He had just entered the tunnels when he finished with it and was about to double his speed when he was intercepted.
"Shota-san," someone said to his side. Aizawa turned in their direction to find his fellow first year homeroom teacher leaning on the wall casually, his arms crossed over his chest. It appeared he had been waiting for him.
"Yes, Sekijiro-san?" Aizawa asked. While the two of them were not as close as he was to Hazashi or Nemuri, they had worked closely enough and respected each other well enough to use their given names in private like this.
"Do you have time?"
"Not really, but I do have a little distance to walk. I am on my way for a meeting with the Principal."
"That will do, especially since my questions involve him," Sekijiro said.
Aizawa took a deep breath, knowing all too well what this would be about. "You're concerned?"
"Somewhat," Sekijiro said as they continued walking. "Considering your reaction to everything, I am guessing that you already pressed the Principal about them, and he told you something, most likely immediately after the attack."
"Yes, I did," Aizawa said. "What he revealed to me was very concerning, and I understand the Principal's caution."
Sekijiro looked at the man who rarely got enough sleep, narrowing his eyes as he absorbed the information. "The fact that you haven't done anything to separate the three of them from the rest of your class tells me that concern is not about them?"
"Yes and no," Aizawa answered.
Sekijiro mulled over his words, which Aizawa let him do. Like himself, he was smart enough to figure out much of this by observing his and the Principal's reactions and how out of place it was. He had his reasons for asking now, much like he would have in his place. It was why the two of them got along so well.
"Are they dangerous to the students?" Sekijiro asked, his voice firmer than before. "Especially since more of them have been asking about Saotome's Martial Arts Club? I suspect he will have most of my class wanting to join within the next couple of weeks."
"No," Aizawa said firmly. He was no longer relying solely on what the Principal had told him but on his own observations. That was one thing he was glad to have sidestepped. "I am not worried about them hurting the students directly. It is the… side effects I am worried about."
"Side effects?" Sekijiro asked, raising an eyebrow at the usage.
"Yes. What concerns me most is that those side effects may be necessary," Aizawa said before stopping in the empty hallway. When Aizawa looked into his eyes, Sekijiro turned to give him his full attention. "Something is coming. Those three may be necessary to stop it or at least to help us weather it. I am concerned about my students' safety and that they will be pulled into whatever it is that is coming. I worry that they may play a critical part in the future. This… training... may be preparation for it."
Sekijiro's face didn't change beyond a subtle shift in his eyes. He had relayed more than enough to his coworker about what wasn't said, and Aizawa wasn't surprised when he detected the subtle shiver go down the other man's back.
"You don't know, or you won't tell me?" Sekijiro asked.
"We don't know. The Principal likely suspects more, but he doesn't have concrete evidence."
"How does he know something is going to happen?"
"I can't tell you—not yet—but I will bring it up with him when I meet him. It's obvious that your students are also being pulled into this," Aizawa said. "After today's events, you deserve to know."
Sekijiro closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. "Do I let them join this club?"
"The Principal said to allow people to flock to them; encourage it, even. I think that includes your class. I'll confirm that with the Principal and let you know tomorrow," Aizawa said.
"Thank you," Sekijiro said before flicking his head in the direction Aizawa had been going. "Sorry for taking your time."
"You're welcome," Aizawa said as he started walking again, leaving Sekijiro behind. "I would have done the same thing."
"Good, you're here," Nezu said as Aizawa entered his room. He exited his chair and moved around his desk to greet his employee. "I assume that is Honenuki-san's report you hold?"
"Yes," Aizawa said as he held out the documents, not even bothering to extrapolate how he knew. He would have told him if he had asked, but he didn't see a need. "He accepts responsibility for having missed the damage from earlier and its potential impact."
Nezo accepted and read the report. It took less than a minute to go through all ten pages, but he narrowed his beady eyes as he took longer to review the conclusion. Aizawa wasn't sure what concerned him, but he figured he would notify him if needed.
"Thank you," Nezo said, straightening the papers before putting them back on his desk. "Unfortunately, a somewhat unexpected meeting has come up that I need to get to. An old friend is visiting, and he is short on time before he must head back."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
"Please, feel free to wait here until I return. If you find yourself getting bored, I believe I lost an earbud on the couch this morning. I'm sure there's something you could listen to," Nezu said as he walked to the door. "It might be a while, so feel free to take a nap as well. Today has been an exhausting day."
Aizawa watched the Principal step out. He waited several minutes, listening carefully for anyone else to be nearby, before he stepped over to the couch. It took him another minute to find the small earbud, but he was glad to see one of his spare sleeping bags was nearby. He hopped into it, plugged the earbud in, and closed his eyes.
Toshinori opened the door and smiled as he found the Principal setting some tea and crackers on the small table. "Good evening," Toshinori said as he went to the couch.
"Indeed, Yagi-san," Nezu said as he finished organizing the treats. He set one of the tea cups and its saucer in front of the other man before grabbing his own. "The recordings, I am sure, did not really do the matches justice, did they?"
Toshinori chuckled as he accepted the cup, poured some hot water out of the machine, and started mixing it. He grinned as the chestnut fragrance hit his nostrils, helping to relax his body before taking a sip. He sighed as the warmth of the tea soothed his body before looking at the principal once more. "No, no they did not."
"I noticed that most of your students, especially those who participated in Haruno and Saotome's training groups, performed notably better than expected," Nezu said as he slowly stirred his tea.
Toshinori grinned as he remembered. "They have grown magnificently in such a short time. Saotome has a way of pushing them and forcing them to grow in some unexpected ways."
Nezu nodded before sipping at his tea once more. "Indeed. From Aizawa's reports, Haruno-san also has unique and interesting training methods. The most fascinating change from her training group is how they approached the Obstacle Course."
The Pro-Hero nodded while taking another sip. "I found it very unusual, but the results speak for themselves."
"Haruno-san highly prizes teamwork and the ability to trust teammates. Aizawa-san's report noted that their improved performance increased significantly as a result. I may start discussing emphasizing teamwork in our curriculum with some of the other teachers by the start of next year or perhaps even the next term."
Toshinori tilted his head as he considered the implications of such a change. "I am unsure how well various agencies will be encouraged by that. From my experience, few agencies prize teamwork."
"Yes, that is true," Nezu said, staring at his tea. "That doesn't mean it is a bad change. In fact, there is the possibility that those agencies should be more open to adopting it."
"Like Tensei's agency in Hosu?" Toshinori asked curiously.
Nezu's expression dimmed. "I take it you have not heard the news?"
Toshinori blinked as his attention turned to his old friend, his tea forgotten. "What happened?"
"Young Iida-kun, the older brother, was severely injured while trying to apprehend the Villain known as Stain," Nezu said. "He is alive. The doctors were able to stabilize him and save his life, but he suffered damage to his spine. Preliminary reports say he may never walk again and can never act as a Pro-Hero."
Toshinori remained still after hearing the news before his eyes closed in sadness. He hated hearing of Pro-Heroes becoming injured like this, especially ones he respected like Iida-kun. But Tensei wasn't the only one he knew that would be affected by it. "How is Young Iida—I mean Tenya-kun—taking it?"
"Not well," Nezu said. "From Shuzenji-chan's phone call, he received the news right before the final match began. He couldn't even summon the will to watch Haruno's fight and left for the trains as soon as possible."
Toshinori nodded. He understood that gut-wrenching feeling all too well. He was about to continue inquiring about their status when there was a knock on the door. He turned to see who it was as the Principal invited them inside, surprising him with just who walked in.
"To- Torino-sensei!" Toshinori cried out as his old homeroom teacher and mentor entered the room. Even out of costume, he would easily recognize the old man. "What are you doing here?"
"Toshinori, I'm glad to see you are in decent health at the moment," Sorahiko said as he walked towards one of the recliners. As he neared it, he furrowed his brow as he noticed something off. "Where is Shuzenji-chan? I would have expected her to be here for this."
"Shuzenji-san had to leave on short notice," Nezu said as he pushed a teacup towards the new arrival. He explained further as Sorahiko accepted the cup and sat down. "She left to escort one of our students home."
Sorahiko raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what was happening, but decided against pressing him further. "Then I suppose you will just have to relay this information to her in my stead," Sorahiko said.
Toshinori began to feel a bit of dread forming. He really hoped he wasn't about to be chewed out by his old mentor for how he was training his successor.
Sorahiko set the teacup down, staring at it as he organized his mind and gathered his will. "Another friend of yours, Toshinori, visited me last week. Tsukauchi-san came by to see me about something he was gravely concerned about."
"Tsukauchi?" Toshinori asked, wondering what the connection was.
"Specifically, he had the results of a D.N.A. test and a match that was found," Sorahiko said.
"D.N.A. test? Why would he… wait, are you talking about the attack by the League of Villains?" Toshinori asked.
"Yes," Sorahiko said as he stared into his student's eyes.
"Why– why would he go to you?"
"Because of whose D.N.A. it matched."
Toshinori couldn't fathom it. There was only one person he could think of that he would be approached about, so why was– Toshinori tried and failed to swallow the non-existent object he suddenly found lodged in his throat. "Wh–whose?"
As old as the man was, as much as he'd endured and seen, when his eyes left Toshinori to inspect the floor they could no longer see anything. The man withered in front of them, and all the strength he still wielded left him. It was barely above a whisper when he spoke, even as the sounds blurred together.
"It was Nana's."
Toshinori's emotions scattered like the birthing process of the various elements that surrounded them. He wanted to deny it. He felt disgust and contempt that his mentor would dare lie to him like this. He wanted to scream in anger and fear, but all he could do in the end was to cry. His palms blinded him as he struggled to control his pain.
The three of them remained silent, each dealing with this revelation in their own ways. Toshinori eventually ended it, hoping to resolve this new torment. "What does this mean? Where did the sample come from?"
Sorahiko had regained enough strength to inspect his tea more closely and answered: "The sample was from one of the hands the one known as Shigaraki wore during the attack. Specifically, the one that covered the back of his head. As for what it means, we both know all too well what He would do to her."
"He's dead!" Toshinori growled, his anger leaking outward as he thought of that monster. He was then assailed by a series of coughs, covered up by his hand and preventing his blood from splashing onto the table or into his tea. After recovering from his current bout, he used one of the napkins Nezu slid to help clean himself up. Once he felt he was able to talk, he clarified his statement. "They confirmed it when they took his body to the morgue."
Sorahiko sighed, understanding his student's position. "That may be what happened. But that man may have picked up an ability that would allow him to survive somehow. We don't know. There is also the possibility that it isn't Him."
"What do you mean?" Toshinori asked.
"He was a collector of useful minions that would carry out his will. This remnant may have escaped you and been dormant for some time. They found or were given access to mementos. They may be trying to carry out what they see as his will or for revenge."
"No."
Toshinori and Sorahiko both turned to the Principal after he had spoken. His surety and conviction in his voice didn't make them question whether it was true, just how the conclusion had been drawn.
"Why do you say that?" Sorahiko asked.
"First, that man would never presume that he would lose. Not like that, to die and leave a dead man's switch in place. Neither would he allow others access to such trophies without a specific goal," Nezo said.
Toshinori was silent as he absorbed his words, watching as the Principal stirred another cup of tea before the bear-mouse that talked like a man took a long sip. When he finished, he continued. "Second, the attempt to cover this up and prevent this information from leaking is something he would do. It doesn't rule out the possibility of someone finding such trophies or cleaning up after themselves. But the third reason confirms it for me. All for One lives."
"What is this reason?" Sorahiko asked.
"I cannot tell you," Nezu said. When he opened his eyes, he found the two men looking at him angrily. "I cannot tell you yet because the situation is delicate. It also involves other people's secrets, which neither of you need to be aware of at this time. But there have been signs. The timing is far too convenient, so it is safer to presume the worst."
Sorahiko sighed and was followed moments later by Toshinori, both men calming down.
"There is another aspect to this that I think you both are missing, and it is important," Nezu said. "Why was this Shigaraki allowed to move about with such a trophy?"
Toshinori was lost, but Sorahiko quickly caught on. "He is taunting us."
"Correct," Nezu said. "Specifically, the one who wore it is also meant to taunt us. The destruction of the evidence was to prevent us from seeing his hand before he was ready. Knowing him, it is most likely a means to dishearten and break you, Yagi-san."
Toshinori concentrated, trying and failing to think of its significance. A brief peek at Sorahiko revealed that he wasn't coming to a conclusion either.
"All for One has a way of symbolizing things, to make his action cut deep. To use Shimura-san's remains like that means that Shigaraki is likely tied to her," Nezu said.
"There are no ties he could possibly use! She cared most about Toshinori, myself, her dead husband, and– no!" Sorahiko said as his eyes widened in horror. "We hid him!"
"No, Shigaraki does not match the age of her son… but a grandson?" Nezu asked him seriously.
"But we hid him!"
"That does not mean he could not have found him eventually. Remember, he already had her D.N.A. Who is to say that her son and grandson could not have been found eventually, especially with the resources at his disposal?"
"I– I can't accept that possibility. Not yet," Sorahiko said, unwilling to look at Nezo again.
"I agree that it is only a possibility," Nezu said calmly, alleviating the retired Pro-Hero of some of his dread. "But we all know that if he was given such a chance, All for One would gladly pull such a stunt. While my plate has been rather full as of late with research, I will do what I can to find any evidence. Before you leave, give me what details you can, and I will see what I can find."
"I will," Sorahiko said before taking a deep breath and turning to Toshinori again. "How much have you revealed to Midoriya about the nature of One for All, Toshinori?"
Toshinori's mind was still reeling from their discussion while his body attempted to expel more of his blood, making him wipe what leaked down his chin with another napkin. Speaking about his successor calmed him down, but it also made him a bit nervous since his answer would likely be found wanting. "Only the basics, that it is something handed down and how it is transferred. I haven't told him much about its history."
"And why not?" Sorahiko asked, leveling his student with his eyes.
Toshinori winced but answered him truthfully. "For a time, his body couldn't withstand it. I only did the transfer hours before the entrance exam was to take place. But he still had difficulty adapting to it, so I was waiting for him to get more control of his power."
"From what I saw, he gained that control? At least enough to not injure himself, even if it isn't at the same level as you," Sorahiko said.
"That was thanks to Young Saotome," Toshinori said, grinning to himself about what his old mentor would think of him. "He was able to help Midoriya quickly control his Quirk so it wouldn't hurt him, and he has been training him since. The young man is simply a marvel."
"I saw," Sorahiko said, sporting his own grin.
"I was hoping to tell him more after today, though not nearly as much as I will have to now," Toshinori said, frowning at the thought.
"Considering the circumstances, I will nominate the boy," Sorahiko said. As a result, Toshinori's head jerked towards his mentor. "He is free to pick whom he chooses, but I would like the chance to see him in person without much interference."
Toshinori sighed. "I'll let him know."
Aizawa removed the earbud and stared up at the ceiling. He had already known that something dangerous was around the corner, but to think it was the infamous All for One?
It was not a pleasant thought.
Few knew of his existence publicly. He wasn't well known in the Pro-Hero community either, other than acting as a boogie-man to Pro-Heroes. The stories that revolved around him included how incredibly powerful he was, his ability to manipulate others, the massive number of lives he had ended, and the one that terrified Pro-Heroes the most—the ability to steal anyone's Quirk permanently and use it for himself.
Like the Principal had said, the timing was far too convenient. And the implications were potentially horrifying.
All Might was weakening. His successor, Midoriya, if he understood things correctly, would require more time to become ready. The man was looking to strike low the one that had, nearly or not, killed him. Likely before Midoriya could take up his mantle.
But someone had known about it before it could happen. The arrival of his three students to protect and train Midoriya, his classmates, and any number of others now made sense to him. They were to be Midoriya's shield, preparing him for the world. They were strong and highly competent fighters, and, most importantly, they did not have Quirks.
Tenya sat on a bench, hunched forward, not caring as his spine began to ache, as he stared at nothing. Doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors all gave him space as he tried to adapt to his new reality—one in which his older brother would no longer be able to look down at him, smiling and laughing with him while showing the world an example of what a hero should be.
He was left alone in the E.R., just down the hallway from his brother's hospital room after he had finally been stabilized. He had left his parents to continue talking to the doctors about his brother's condition and what could be done.
While he knew of the gossip that revolved around him, U.A. and the Sports Festival, he ignored it as much as he could since it was something he could not find the will to care about. He was only aware of those discussions when he heard Sakura's name mentioned.
When he did look up, he was pleased to see the hospital staff working hard. They had played a critical role in saving his brother's life. He also saw his brother's sidekicks roaming the halls or taking up positions at various points as they stood attentively along with police officers. Their presence wasn't questioned by either the staff or the local police.
A vicious, petty part of him resented them for failing his brother or at least not apprehending the Villain afterward, but he knew he shouldn't, and squashed it as hard as he could. Especially after learning how his brother had been injured in the first place or how the Villain had not escaped under his own power. In the end he just didn't think about them beyond that.
All that was left for him was anger towards the one who had hurt his brother and the one who had helped him to escape. His mind raced as he thought of those responsible and what he wanted to do to them. A large part of him wanted to go out there, even now, to find them and rip them apart until they understood the pain they had inflicted on his brother.
He knew this was not him, that these thoughts were not how he usually thought. This… hatred.
It was now his constant companion, clinging to his back as it shrieked endlessly in his ear when his anger was heightened. In the rare moments where he had calmed his mind, it gave him logic about how he must solve the issue and provided him suggestions on how to get away with it. Then, when he was sad, it would whisper in his ear as it attempted to seduce him with its honeyed words like it was doing now. He tried to ward it off, to reject it and shove it away, to order it to leave him alone, but nothing he did could dislodge it. The best he could do was quiet it for short bouts before it inevitably returned, knowing that it was wearing him down and that it would win in the end. A growing part of himself wanted to surrender.
He had no idea how long he warred with himself as he sat there thinking about the past, the present, and the future.
Eventually, someone sat next to him on the bench, and he wanted to thank them and yell at them for the interruption. When he turned to see who it was, he quickly looked away as he couldn't muster the will to meet Sakura's gaze. That brief glance let him see how she looked at him kindly and sorrowfully. He felt ashamed, so he returned to studying the shiny hospital floor.
"I'm sorry, Haruno-san," Tenya whispered. He could only think of the many ways he must have disappointed her. "I missed your fight."
"There is nothing to be sorry about, Tenya-kun," Sakura said as she sat beside him, barely any space between them. "If I had heard about what had happened, I would have forfeited the match and gone with you."
Tenya wanted to fight her about that since he or his brother weren't worth giving up that opportunity. Still, he knew she meant every word. Her words also gave him strength, knowing he wasn't alone—enough strength to quiet his unwanted companion. And he wanted more.
"Did you hear?" Tenya asked, his voice still low even as he closed his eyes. "He may never walk again. My brother's career is over."
"I heard," Sakura said as she touched his knee, giving it a faint squeeze. "Shuzenji-sama came with me. She went to look your brother over to see if there was anything she could do."
Tenya choked briefly as hope dared to return, but it was quickly dispelled. "Shuzenji-sensei had already considered that possibility and didn't think her Quirk would be able to heal him. I… I hope she is wrong."
"As do I," Sakura said, squeezing his knee again.
"I talked to my brother right after my match," Tenya said. Sakura remained silent as he took his time to gather his thoughts. He replayed the earlier conversation in his mind, something he had already done a hundred times. "I asked him to be safe."
"What was his reply?" Sakura asked as she took her hand off his knee, moved it to his shoulder, and lightly rubbed it.
"He said… he said he'd do his best," he said as he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to completely stop the moisture that leaked downwards ever so slowly.
"He kept his promise, Tenya-kun," Sakura said.
Tenya looked up at her, startled at her response, and almost demanded to ask how this was 'doing his best.' But her eyes showed him she wasn't finished and understood how odd it sounded.
"It may not seem like it, but he did. He was not reckless. He didn't put himself into a dangerous situation because he didn't think. He acted because there was no other option. He almost wasn't fast enough, but he still saved them. He did his best. He saved someone's life and kept himself safe enough to live, Tenya."
Tenya couldn't fight it anymore. His breathing started hitching as sobs began to escape. Soon his eyelids could no longer function as a dam. He felt Sakura's arm reach across to his other shoulder, pulling him closer to her more petite frame. He didn't resist. Instead, he leaned into it before he felt himself being enveloped fully by her hug as his raw pain was finally allowed to escape.
Sakura held her friend, letting him grieve properly. It was not her first time doing this, but she always hoped it would be her last. Her heart hurt to see him like this, to know that a few rooms down, his brother had barely survived his ordeal and was likely crippled for life.
Tensei was also her friend, but she knew the older man would want her to help his brother first. He reminded her of her fellow shinobi with how much he cared about those around them and their safety. His compassion, drive, and willingness to listen and learn so he could improve other people's lives were among the reasons he was one of the few who had earned her respect in this new world. He served as a template for what she hoped her Village and world could eventually turn into.
She waited until Tenya's sobbing had quieted to a trickle as she held him close. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she estimated over twenty minutes and was glad they hadn't been interrupted.
She inspected his face and found his cheeks red, eyebrows drooping, nose dilating, and puffiness around his closed eyes. These were obvious signs of his exhaustion, as the day's emotional and physical strain had taken its toll on him.
Satisfied that he was resting more calmly than before, she slowly pushed him back until his back and head rested against the seat and the wall behind it. It was easily accomplished since he had no will to resist.
"Tenya-kun, I'm going to go check on Tensei. I want to check his condition, but I will return soon. Is that okay?" Sakura asked.
Tenya nodded, his head tapping the hospital wall, but he didn't seem to care. She smiled softly before standing and walking towards the nurse's desk. "Keiko-san? Please keep an eye on him?"
"I will, Sakura-chan," Keiko said softly, looking over at the now resting boy and knowing how much he needed it.
Sakura smiled at her, glad she was so attentive. She then walked towards Tensei's room. She found the door closed and the curtain blocking the line of sight of what was happening.
Sakura turned to Junko and cleared her throat to get her attention. She tilted her head towards the door and raised an eyebrow, but the nurse shook her head. Sighing, Sakura nodded as she turned towards the door in disappointment. Her eyes then noticed a spare set of medical records hanging by the door.
She knew she shouldn't, but her curiosity won out as she picked it up and began to leaf through it.
"I'm sorry, Ai-chan and Iida-san, but my Quirk will not be able to repair the damage to his spine."
Ai sighed, disappointed, as her mother-in-law finally finished inspecting his records and physically evaluating him. She had expected it but had hoped she had overlooked something. "Thank you for looking, Shuzenji-sensei."
"Thank you for trying, Shuzenji-sensei," Iida Naomi said, bowing with respect before staring at her son as he continued to sleep. She stepped closer to his bed, shifting her shoulder-length black hair away from her glasses as she looked down at him sadly.
"He's a little too weak for me to feel comfortable using my Quirk on him at the moment, but I think a few days of rest will be enough for that," Chiyo said. She grabbed her cane, the one that looked like a medical instrument since she was currently in her hero uniform, and was about to make her way to the door when she heard a bit of a commotion outside.
Chiyo could hear a man getting upset and a few others nearby who were likely trying to calm the situation down. She turned to her daughter-in-law and saw that she had also quickly recognized the disturbance.
Ai moved quickly, reaching the door and sliding it open. She paused to blink as she was caught off-guard by what she saw. A man her age, dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a doctor's overcoat, was struggling to free his arm. She didn't expect him to succeed on his own, considering Sakura was the one currently holding it.
Sakura, however, wasn't paying him any attention. Instead, she was reading through some documents that Ai quickly recognized as medical records they left on their patient's doors. She stared intently at it, her eyes flickering up and down while her fingers flipped through the pages.
The other voices belonged to Junko and a couple of Tensei's sidekicks, who had approached to try to calm everyone down.
"Release me! Now!" the man nearly shouted, his anger building. After a few moments, she recognized the man as one of the specialists who had been called in to help evaluate Tensei's condition: Doctor Fujihara Ichiro. She had met him several years ago and found him to be strict and very full of himself, but he was still one of the best neurosurgeons in the country.
"Sakura-chan, please release Fujihara-sensei," Ai asked softly. She sighed in relief when she did as she was asked, but Sakura still didn't pay them any attention as she used her now free hand to continue leafing through the records. She noticed they had attracted even more attention, including Tenya, Kiko, and Iida-san from behind.
"Now, what is going on?" Ai asked, turning her attention to her fellow doctor. He rubbed his wrist as he opened his mouth to start yelling but stopped at her glare. He then stood up straighter to regain his dignity.
"I had just arrived and found this young girl looking through things she should not be looking at," Fujihara said, glaring at Sakura. "I do not care if she attends U.A. and has participated in one of their pointless festivals. She does not have the medical knowledge, skills, or license to interact with them, let alone patient confidentiality!"
"That is where you are wrong, Doctor," Ai said, a bit of anger leaking out of her voice. She remembered some of her past conversations with him, so hearing his tone and how he spoke about Sakura set her off. "The only two things you are technically correct on are her not having a license and not having confirmed she could view Iida-san's medical records."
She had turned her glare to Sakura, even softened as she had, but she hadn't even noticed. She was still too engrossed in looking everything over, and it made her worry. She would handle that after dealing with the immediate problem, especially as he scoffed at her claims.
"Your claim that she is both knowledgeable and skilled is questionable enough to make me wonder if you have slipped in recent years. No one that young could hope to be a trained medical practitioner or even just starting her internship."
Almost everyone, besides herself and Sakura, glared at the offending doctor for that insinuation. For Ai, she merely smiled as the man displayed how ignorant he was.
"I would appreciate it if you did not verbally demean my ward, Doctor Fujihara," Ai said, her cold voice sending chills down some of her staff members' spines.
"Yes, please stop dishonoring yourself by attacking my apprentice," Chiyo said from behind her.
The visiting doctor recoiled when he finally noticed the old woman's presence. Then he finally realized what she had said. "Ap-apprentice?"
"Hmmm, yes," Chiyo said, standing next to Ai as she looked up at him. "I've taken her on as an apprentice in both medicine and as a Pro-Hero. She is studying to become a Pro-Hero at U.A., where I work. Regarding her knowledge and skills, I have personally tested her and found her to be more than adequate to have a license. The only reason she doesn't is that her records have been lost. She had to start from scratch last year but quickly and easily earned her place at U.A. She also just returned from having won the Sports Festival. Admittedly, only for the First Years, but that was due to the different years not competing with each other."
Fujihara stared in shock and ghastliness at his mistake but then doubled down as he refused to verbally admit it. "That does not excuse her looking at records without permission."
"That is true," Chiyo sighed before turning to look at Sakura. "Well, Sakura?"
They waited several seconds to see if she would respond, but she was too focused. Ai decided to try to give her another nudge before anyone attempted anything more drastic. "Sakura-chan?"
"Did you run a C.T. scan or an M.R.I.?" Sakura asked, still not looking up.
Ai blinked, caught off-guard, but quickly realized that her copy of the records wasn't the most up-to-date one that included those. The doctor glanced back at Naomi, asking with her eyes if it was okay. She seemed a bit lost, but she nodded when she noticed Ai looking at her. "Yes, we ran them. There is nerve damage, but it is too early to run an E.M.G or N.C.S. to tell how bad it is yet."
Sakura didn't respond as she continued to flip through the documents, charts, and images she could see of the wound itself. Ai was concerned about how intense she was and worried they had missed something. "Sakura? What is it? What did you find?"
Sakura looked up, staring into her eyes as she answered. "I can heal him."
Chapter 21 - End - Arc 3 Conclusion
A/N - Big thanks to Boldish, Iron, MissWiggles, and ForgetfulAlchemist for their assistance.
"All of the first-year events for this year's U.A. Sports Festival have been completed," Midnight said into her handheld microphone, addressing both the audience all around them and the students gathered before her. "And now, we will begin the award ceremony!"
The arena had been approved for use after the grounds were cleared and repaired by the various Quirks they had on hand as well as the school's army of robots. The crowd was still excited, though tempered by the near disaster that had taken place.
Their fear likely would have been worse if All Might wasn't standing at her side, his famous smile present as he posed valiantly. He now wore his hero costume, instead of the suit and tie from when he had assisted with the earlier rescue.
All Might looked at the audience and the stadium they still resided in. He watched as fireworks went off above the stadium while the screens displayed that they were doing the awards ceremony now. One section of the pyrotechnics had been planned to go off with the rest but was now deactivated to avoid further risks. No one voiced a complaint since they didn't want to push it more than they already had.
Thankfully, the damage had been limited to only one large section of the roof before being quickly reinforced to prevent further accidents. At the same time, the seating and other areas had only minor damage. One of the reasons his current smile was genuine was that the actions of his students and the other Pro-Heroes greatly minimized the number of injuries and their severity.
From behind Midnight, absent her typical platform, a surge of confetti and smoke shot upwards out of the ground, blocking the line of sight behind her and almost obscuring the two teachers. Just as the smoke started to clear, four figure's shadows could be seen rising out of the ground, pushed upwards by the platforms beneath them.
Once the smoke had cleared enough, they could see that Sakura casually stood in the center on the tallest platform with the number one beneath it. She grinned with her hands on her hips before throwing both hands forward and giving victory signs.
To her left, at least from the student's perspective, was Ranma on the second-highest platform with the number two. His sullen pout was very noticeable, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. They saw him try to break it and smile a few times, but it faded too soon.
On the opposite side stood Peter and Katsuki on the smallest platform with the number three beneath them. Peter looked at ease, smiling with his hands in his pockets. Katsuki was a mix of emotions, with simmering rage being the most visible.
The crowd and everyone else clapped and cheered as the winners were shown, and the camera flashes increased in frequency. Standing in front of the platforms and their teachers, the students' responses were mixed. Some looked sullen or angry, but most remained silent, save a few excited members.
"Yeah, Sakura! You did it! You kicked ass!" Mina shouted, both hands next to her mouth. When Sakura looked in her direction, Mina grinned and duplicated her friend's victory signs.
"That was awesome, Ranma! She just got lucky on a technicality, that's all! You totally would have won!" Toru shouted. She smiled when Ranma looked in her direction and was glad to see him respond in kind, even if it was a weak one.
Others also shouted, praising the various contestants. Even Katsuki's name was dropped by a few. Hearing it surprised him, pulling him out of contemplation before doubling down on his pouting.
"All Might will now present the medals!" Midnight said, waving a hand in his direction while her other held the box of medals.
"Thank you," All Might said, smiling as he accepted Midnight's first two medals. He then stepped up to the platform for third place.
"Young Parker, Young Bakugo, congratulations!" All Might said as he put a medal around Peter's head, followed by Katsuki. "You both showed you are strong."
Peter nodded, grinning up at the Pro-Hero before bowing. "Thank you, you are too kind!"
Katsuki didn't respond verbally, his head turning away in shame at how poorly he had performed. So he was somewhat surprised when he felt All Might reach out and hug him.
"Even when you may not perform as well as you would hope, use your drive to keep pushing yourself, get stronger, and face your challenges with your head held high, Young Bakugo," All Might said while patting him on the back. "You are strong and have plenty of room to grow. You have no reason to feel ashamed."
After All Might let him go, Katsuki paused momentarily, thinking over his words, before looking his hero in the eyes and nodding. His old grin had returned, making All Might smile more broadly.
Peter smiled as he looked between them until All Might turned his gaze to him. "I can see why Mel looks up to you so much," Peter said.
All Might's face shifted from joy. "Melissa! How is she doing, by the way? I've been meaning to ask you about her."
"She's doing really well," Peter answered. "I can talk to you about her later if you want."
"I would certainly enjoy that! And David, as well." All Might laughed before patting Peter on the shoulder. He stepped down, accepted the subsequent medal, and walked to the other side of the platforms before Ranma.
"Young Saotome, congratulations," All Might said with a somber note as he raised it over his head.
His smile dimmed, and he understood the young boy's mood. All Might had discussed resuming the match with the Principal and the other organizers, but safety concerns and the logistics of organizing it were determined not to be feasible. Ranma had also capitulated, something that had surprised him—even on the grounds of his own rules regarding his personal challenge. He could tell it bothered Ranma, but the youth held firm.
"Even though you didn't win, you proved to everyone here that you are a hero. You didn't hesitate to act to save the lives of others. That is not something we will forget, and it is a true testament to your character," All Might said, his voice rising slowly but firmly. "The point of these competitions is to tell the world that you are here… and you showed them in the best way possible!"
Ranma looked up at All Might as he spoke and took his words to heart, nodding in acknowledgment. His doubt and anger at himself diminished, but when the audience tripled in volume, and most of them stood to give him a standing ovation, they vanished entirely. He could hear their voices of approval, so he responded with a gentle smile—one the crowd appreciated, and let him know.
All Might put his arm around his shoulders, giving him a sideways hug that looked awkward considering their size differences, before turning towards the crowds and waving his hand. The crowd loved it.
He left it like that for a few more seconds before stepping down, going to the middle platform, and being handed the final medal.
"Young Haruno, congratulations," All Might said as he put it over her head. Sakura smiled brightly for him after he had finished. "While your final match was interrupted, do not feel it is undeserved. Both of you displayed a level of strength and skill that is rare to see, and you both leaped into action the moment you were needed. If anything, he beat you to it!"
All Might chuckled, feeling his small joke had been accepted for its intention, when he heard Ranma's abrupt snort. Sakura giggled in response while the audience laughed. He then reached forward and gave her a hug, which she returned. He marveled at how such a small girl whose arms could barely reach across his sides could pack such a monstrous punch.
Stepping back down to the ground, he looked towards the media and the audience, holding his arm straight in their direction. "Well, they were the winners this time! But listen here… anyone here could have ended up on these podiums. All it requires is to work hard, push yourselves to your limits, and beyond! Please continue to work hard, compete, and improve yourselves and each other so that everyone can climb even higher. The next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting!"
All Might raised a finger high into the air, catching people's attention before they could clap. "So, I have just one more thing to say! Everyone, please say it with me!"
"Ready, go–
The crowd and students all raised their fists to shout as one.
"-- Thanks for your hard work!"
"-- Plus Ultra!"
"Errr..." All Might murmured as he lowered his fist in embarrassment. The crowd had been caught off guard by the ruined moment. "I thought everyone worked hard…"
"Boooooooo!"
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Izuku smiled happily as he sat at their locker room table, back in his regular clothes, while his friends and classmates talked about the various matches. He had his notebook out and continued to write as many stray thoughts as he could remember while mumbling to himself. Most of his classmates had gotten used to him doing this, so they left him alone as he worked. He had already filled up half of this notebook since the start of the day and thought he could fill the other half before the day ended.
He stopped writing when he noticed the rest of his classmates ceased talking before realizing the door had opened as it admitted the four winners of the festival.
"Woohoo! You're back!" Toru shouted as she exited her seat and bounced in their direction. "That fight was awesome! I knew you guys were strong, but that was sooo beyond what I expected!"
"Just how strong are you?" Mina asked as she got close to Sakura, looking like a kid asking their favorite hero a question. "I saw what you did during the practical, but when you hit the arena floor, that was– that was way, waaaay bigger!"
"That was so manly, catching that beam! Who cares if you didn't win, that was so much cooler to see!" Eijiro exclaimed as he got close, holding out a fist to Ranma. When Ranma tapped him, he grinned even wider before turning to Peter. "And throwing those things at the ceiling was amazing! That sense of yours is really something."
"It has its uses," Peter said with a grin.
The rest of their classmates gave their own opinions to the winners. Ranma and Sakura got the brunt of it, with Peter also being praised and questioned. Katsuki was nearly ignored, though he was surprised when Denki grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up and Shoto gave him a nod of respect.
Izuku smiled as they clustered around their classmates and blocked their paths to their lockers. He closed his notebook and moved closer, determined to ask a vital question.
"Ranma-kun," Izuku said, getting his friend's attention. "During your fight with Parker-san, why were you acting like a cat?"
"Erk!"
The cacophony of noise instantly ceased, and every head and pair of eyes turned to look at the pigtailed boy. After releasing that strange noise, Ranma's body stiffened to resemble a gorgon's victim.
"Yes, that was odd, Saotome-san," Momo agreed. She then folded her arms and turned to look at him thoroughly. "Also, you have failed to explain who Happosai is."
"Yeah!"
"Come on, tell us already!"
"I forgot about that."
"Ribbit, are you sure you weren't talking about the Chinese dish?"
"Who is Happosai?"
Ranma's anxiety was growing as the class crowded around him. Izuku winced, realizing he had carelessly kicked the hornet's nest in his zeal to understand. He didn't understand why asking for clarity on what would seem to be simple questions would be so problematic, but he had learned to be careful in the last several weeks. He just… forgot.
"Errr," Ranma tried to vocalize something, but his eyes finally tracked to a clock on the wall. "Oooh! Look at the time! I can't right now; I have to witness Kota's match. As his sensei, that takes precedence."
Izuku expected him to run right then, but Sakura's hand landed on his shoulder. He could see her fingers lightly curling and promising more pressure if he tried to flee.
"Yes, you did promise to tell us, did you not?" Sakura asked, her eyes glinting dangerously. "You wouldn't be trying to get out of that again, would you?"
"Yes, it would seem now is an ideal time for you to answer our questions fully, Saotome-san," Momo said. "I am sure Kota-kun would understand."
"Well, look, about Happosai…" Ranma started saying as he calmed down.
"Don't forget about you acting like a cat," Peter said unhelpfully.
Izuku typically only saw Peter with a neutral or happy smile, so the glint of mischief in his eyes was slightly distracting. Ranma freezing again made the American's grin grow.
"Uhhh…," Ranma mumbled as he failed to answer.
The blood draining from his face was bizarre to see on the laid-back martial artist. Throw a building at him, and he shrugs it off. Try to ask him a few questions about a few oddities, and he falls to pieces. But this was worse than any reaction they had seen from him before. What could be so horrifying? Whatever it was, their classmates continued to press forward like the shiver of sharks they were.
Ranma was startled abruptly as he looked over his classmate's shoulders before tilting his head in confusion. "Hey, do you guys know if All Might lost a bet or something?"
"Uh, no?" Denki replied hesitantly.
"Why?" Ochako asked.
"Because All Might is trying to sneak across the room wearing a tutu," Ranma said, momentarily pointing toward the other wall.
"Whaaaaaaa….?" Izuku and the class asked as they turned to where he had pointed. Their looks of shock faltered since nothing was there. No All Might and no tutu. Confused, they turned back to Ranma. They blinked a few times, failing to understand why Ranma was no longer standing there. In his place, with Sakura's hand holding onto it, was some sort of human-sized wooden doll. It wore his damaged gym uniform, a black wig with a pigtail on the back, and a crude face doodling.
"What?" Everyone shouted.
"Oh, that was impressive! I didn't even feel a thing!" Sakura giggled as she moved the doll around and played with it.
"What the hell just happened!?" Eijiro asked as he and the class looked around for the real Ranma but couldn't find him anywhere. He had disappeared entirely.
"I didn't see or hear him move. I can't detect him even now," Mezo said. His arms had expanded so he could form as many ears as possible to try to find him.
"We need to find him!" Mina cried out, willing the others to follow her. "Where would he run to?"
"It's obvious where he'd run to, Racoon Eyes," Katsuki said as he stopped leaning on one of the lockers. Izuku could tell he was barely withholding his laughter. "He wasn't lying about the brat's match. And it's also something I want to see."
They watched as the blonde boy turned and made his way to the door. Shoto followed closely behind him, with Katsuki noticing him before shrugging with indifference.
"We should probably go and watch it too. Then we can grill Ranma!" Toru called out, walking towards the door.
Most of their class followed her, but Sakura's voice cut through the air and stopped them. "Before you leave, I just have a question."
"Yes?" Mina asked.
"Where's Tenya?"
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Tomura stared at what was left of the desk and monitors. It wasn't much, but at least one station could continue playing, as it showed heroes cleaning up the stadium right after the accident while the rest lay in a pile of ash.
He had lost control as he watched their match, listening to the news stations as they failed to keep up, until he couldn't take it anymore and unleashed his rage.
The pink-haired bitches' file continued to expand as the matches continued. Clones, illusions, the ability to disappear, explosions, moving through the ground, that binding technique, and then they had to increase their estimates of her strength yet again!
She had told him that if she wanted him dead, he would be dead. He truly believed that now. He fed that knowledge to his anger, driving his desire to destroy something, preferably her, even higher. He wanted to reach through the monitor and touch her, turn her to dust and ash as the look of shock spread across her face, followed by her fear and pain. His gleeful imaginings of her existence ending at his hands searing into his memory. Letting his mind contemplate his desire while using the monitor to display her face to focus his rage was the only reason the single monitor had survived.
"I see you couldn't control yourself well enough in the end, Tomura," his sensei said as he walked back into the room. "That is fine, but do not let it cloud your mind, or you will miss opportunities that may present themselves."
Tomura turned to glare at the black iron mask, but only for a few moments. He had released enough of his rage to allow him to think again. He saw the way his sensei was looking at him, waiting patiently. "What opportunities?"
"There is more than one way to destroy something. While destroying it directly can be enjoyable, watching it crumble from within, leaving them at your mercy as you decide if you would prefer them to wallow in their misery or to snuff them out at that time, is a height of joy that is difficult to surpass."
Tomura stared hard at his master's mask. After a few seconds, he finally asked. "What did you find?"
"The media can truly be a double-edged sword. It can also be a very useful tool when people are invested in the possibility. While they haven't revealed it publicly, some of my sources have uncovered interesting information about the girl."
Tomura grinned maliciously, liking the direction this was going.
"And it just so happens that Kurogiri's search has borne some fruit. One that plays into your hands."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Mina! Momo! You can stop apologizing!" Sakura said, split between exasperation and gratitude. She smiled back at the two girls as they, and most of their class, followed behind her as she led them down the hallways. "I understand it was distracting, and Tenya didn't tell you much."
Their classmates followed her with concern and curiosity. Walking up and telling Mina and Momo, right after the ceiling collapsed, that he had to leave for an emergency and that Shuzenji had more information would be too vague to overcome recent events. Considering how the fight had gone and the chaos afterward, the encounter being forgotten was understandable.
That didn't mean she wasn't worried. For Tenya to leave like that, after what appeared to have been a phone call, meant something important. She needed to be there for her friend, no matter how bad it was.
While she was gaining new friends, like the two who continued to apologize to her, Tenya was one of her first friends in this new world, and she had already lost too many friends. Hopefully, it was because of separation and not death, though her not being able to know with certainty always ate at her whenever she dwelled on it.
Finally arriving, her classmates quieted down as she opened the door to the medical room. It was now empty of patients, though a few technicians, nurses, and doctors appeared to be helping with the cleanup and documentation. She found Chiyo talking to a nurse and giving instructions before they nodded and walked off.
The old woman turned her head to see who had entered. When she caught sight of her, she visibly wilted as her strength left her, her eyes lowering as sorrow filled her. That reaction caused the lump in her throat to grow.
Sakura closed the distance, many of her classmates trailing behind her, trying not to get in the way. When she caught up with Chiyo, she reached out and helped her get into her chair.
"Thank you, dear," Chiyo said, her tiny voice emphasizing that she did not have good news to share.
Sakura waited patiently as her mentor took a few large breaths before staring into her eyes. "Tenya…"
"Yes?" Sakura asked calmly. She was a trained shinobi; she had dealt with death many times. She was prepared. That didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt.
"Tenya received a call from his Mother. Tensei has been critically injured," Chiyo said.
Sakura breathed deeper as she absorbed it. Her classmates, on the other hand, gasped in shock. She suspected their hands had quickly covered their mouths since their voices became muffled.
"How bad?" Sakura continued to ask.
"I've only been able to get sparse reporting, but from what I understand, his spine was cut by a blade from behind. It didn't go deep, but they haven't finished the surgery. The last I heard was that his chances of survival had drastically improved, and that was about thirty minutes ago," Chiyo answered. "Kenji-kun has been trying to give me updates when he can, but considering the circumstances and the chaos surrounding it, his updates are a little sporadic."
Sakura nodded, breathing a sigh of relief that her friend wasn't dead and the impact that would have had on his little brother. It was better news than she had dreaded but worse than she had hoped. It was time for the other part of the equation to be dealt with.
With her classmates behind her, they couldn't see her eyes hardening as she looked at Chiyo, but when she spoke, they could hear a harsh edge to her words that hadn't been there before. "What happened?"
Chiyo took a deep breath as her eyes closed. "His agency received reports that a dangerous Villain had been spotted in their city. The one the media has called the Hero Killer: Stain."
Sakura didn't recognize the name since she was not following the news closely, but the gasps of shock from behind her told her enough.
"Is he the one that killed seventeen heroes and crippled twenty-three others?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, Midoriya-san, he is," Chiyo responded, looking into Sakura's eyes and pleading with her not to do anything rash.
"Do you know how it happened? Or what Stain's status is?"
"Kenji-kun did overhear that Stain escaped, but he didn't hear the particulars," Chiyo said
Sakura closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths as everyone awaited her response. She knew why Chiyo was worried. It wasn't just Tensei's condition but what she might do. And she did consider it. She wasn't ruling out that possibility, but there were far more pressing concerns, and the situation was not that dire yet.
"I want to go as soon as possible," Sakura said, opening her eyes and smiling at a woman who sometimes reminded her of a weird blending of the Sand's Chiyo and Tsunade-sensei. Sakura usually giggled to herself when she thought of their reactions, sputtering about how they were nothing alike.
Chiyo beamed at her charge, glad she was remaining calm. "We can take the next train in thirty minutes."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Ranma blinked as he landed on the grass near the small crowd. He noted that the people he expected were here, even Shinso, but the rest of Class B was also present. Crowds appearing for duels were familiar to him, so it wasn't the number of people that had confused him.
No, he was confused since all the girls from Class B, including Kendo, were crowding around Kota and trying to console him. His student's focus was on his challenger, and it looked like someone had taken Yuki from him. To make matters even worse, the young boy then learned that his parents, aunts and uncles, and his sensei wouldn't kick their asses to get her back. Ranma winced at that thought for its implications and the little reminder.
Monoma stood alone, grinning in isolation. The grin looked vaguely familiar, reminding him of another arrogant, rich jerk who wouldn't listen to reason. The difference was that stick-boy's grin showcased his lack of intelligence. Ranma had his Ki sense out, and Monoma was feeling very nervous—the opposite of what he was physically trying to display.
"Ah, Ranma-kun. I'm glad you made it in time," Katashi greeted him, amused by the events.
That got everyone's attention, but Ranma winced as Kota turned his unfairly overpowered weapon toward him. He shivered as he felt the full force of the attack, especially with so many girls ready to retaliate against him if he even thought of stepping out of line.
"Sensei! Sensei! He– he— he won't fight me!" Kota sobbed as tears leaked out of his eyes. The girls doubled their efforts to console him, likely the only reason he hadn't broken down entirely. Ranma greatly appreciated their efforts.
Looking at Monoma again, the blonde's arrogant smirk doubled in size. It felt like the arrogance increased as much as his nervousness did. Ranma tilted his head as he tried to figure out what it meant. It took him a few seconds, but when he did, Ranma grinned and locked eyes with the teen.
"Did he, now?" Ranma asked playfully.
They were left puzzled by his reaction. The exceptions were Monoma, whose arrogant facade broke oh-so-slightly, and Katashi and Shinso, who looked amused.
Ranma was about to pounce on the opportunity but was interrupted by a shout.
"Hey, when's this fucking match going to get started?"
Ranma didn't turn to look at the new arrivals. He chuckled when Kendo covered Kota's ears as fast as she could. Moriko or Shino would appreciate that.
"Sorry, Sparkler, but there's not going to be a fight," Ranma said. He could feel Kota's depression spiraling, so it was a good thing his following words were designed to nip that problem in the bud. "It's on account of Monoma here forfeiting."
"What?" Katsuki yelled. Ranma could feel his glare, but he didn't care. "Why the fuck not?"
"Oh, Kuno-bouzu here is too afraid to fight Kota."
"B-b-bouzu?" Monoma sputtered, the rest of his statement taking a second for his brain to process. He resisted the urge to check his hair.
"Kuno?" Kota asked, his eyes going wide as his emotions flipped. "He's a Kuno?"
Monoma did not like the mixed tone of disgust and amusement in the young boy's voice. Nor did he like the retired hero's boisterous laughter.
"He's got most of the personality spot on: feelings of superiority, extreme vanity, and looking down on others as beneath them. It's just a question about whether he shows any signs of intelligence," Ranma said. "Choosing not to fight you is the only sign I've seen so far, along with his fear of having to fight you."
"Fear?" Monoma shouted, trying and failing to appear outraged.
"Who is Kuno?" The black boy asked, looking as lost as most of Class B.
"He's scared of facing me?" Kota asked as his eyes widened and a happy smile formed.
"Yep!" Ranma replied, turning to his young student and giving him a thumbs up.
"I'm so badass that people are afraid to fight me," Kota asked. The girls were taken aback by his sudden change of attitude. Considering his words, some of them weren't sure whether this was better.
"Your reputation, helped along by my reputation," Ranma said smugly, causing more than a few people to growl, "is now enough to cause smaller and weaker foes to cower in fear of you! This means you'll have stronger opponents looking to face you soon as your reputation spreads."
"Yeah!" Kota shouted, his arms raised as if it were his birthday. He turned, pointed at Katsuki, and shouted his next question: "Can I fight him now?"
Katsuki choked on his voice as everyone turned in his direction.
"Not yet," Ranma said as he crossed his arms and stood up straight, his eyes closing as he played the wise sensei. Kota looked saddened, and Katsuki grinned before it was quickly dispelled. "He still needs a bit of training before he's ready, Kota-kun."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki screamed in Ranma's ear. "That's not what you said earlier!"
Ranma grinned as Kota finished calming down, nodding his head in understanding. He then made the girls feel a bit mushy at the radiant smile he was putting out. "Sensei, your fight was awesome!"
"Did you expect any less from me?" Ranma asked, his chest puffing out as his student fed his ego.
"Nope! I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be able to keep up with you!"
Ranma relaxed, much to the relief of his fellow students. "Yeah, I knew she was good, but she was really starting to push me. It was great!"
"Great?" Class B asked.
"Shoto. Saotome. I see you're both here," a deeper baritone voice asked, coming from the direction Shoto and Katsuki had come from.
Ranma turned in the large man's direction as he walked towards them. Something about him niggled at his memory, but he couldn't place him yet.
"Father," Shoto said, his voice cracking by a hair as he addressed him. Enji looked in confusion at his son's very unusual behavior. He was further thrown by his son's attempts to prevent the smile from worming past his typically neutral expression.
"Oh, Right! En… Endeavor, right?" Ranma asked, turning to Shoto for confirmation.
Ranma's attitude towards his father and the very small ticking of the man's eyebrow caused a brief snort of laughter to escape before Shoto nodded his head.
Turning back to the man he hadn't seen in a year, he looked him in the eyes, stood straight, and bowed respectably. "I apologize for my previous behavior when we last met. Please, forgive me," Ranma asked.
The sudden shift in Ranma's behavior, the tone of respect, and his words broke through much of Class B's surprise at the Pro-Heroes arrival.
"Apology accepted," Enji said before he bowed in response. "Considering your past experience with authority figures, I understand why you reacted the way you did."
"Wait, are you telling me that Saotome-san was rude to Endeavor before?" the boy from Class B, who had glasses and too much body hair, asked.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he watched, grinning as he watched the amusing show that was the Pigtailed Bastard. When it wasn't pointed at himself, at least.
"Saotome-san, would you mind if we discussed something in private?" Enji asked, surprising the other students, including his son. His son was more surprised when he turned to him. "Shoto, I would like you to join us. Please."
Ranma tapped his chin in thought, tilting his head briefly before shrugging his shoulders. "Sure. Lead the way."
"Alright," Shoto said before he and Ranma followed his father as he led them away.
"I wonder what that's all about…," Tetsutetsu pondered.
"Uhhh, why is Ranma walking away?" Izuku asked as he finished jogging up to the groups. He was quickly joined by most of the rest of their class. "And what was the result of the fight?"
"I won!" Kota shouted, turning his attention to his sensei's classmates and fellow students. "I'm so badass now that my opponent forfeited because he's too scared!"
"I was not, you pipsqueak!" Momona yelled, his smirk of superiority falling. He let his anger try to hide his embarrassment, but he doubted his classmates would fall for it.
"Maybe I can fight you now?" Kota asked Izuku, ignoring his previous opponent entirely. His question surprised them, Izuku sputtering as he didn't know what to do.
"Not today, Kota-kun," Katashi said as he stepped forward and ruffled the hair on his head with his hand. "After your sensei returns, we'll have to take off to make the train."
Kota's pout affected many of the students, especially the girls, but it was short-lived. He nodded his head in understanding. "Okay, Old Man!"
"Argh! Why is Saotome running off again?" Denki said as he cradled his head at the further delays. "Just stand still and answer our questions!"
"Running off?" Katashi asked with amusement. He knew not much could drive him away, but he suspected what those might be. Especially considering the day's events. "Did those questions include the name Happosai?"
That quickly caught the attention of the new arrivals as they turned to look at the older man. Some of them could tell, especially after their recent training, that he was strong. They tilted their head in curiosity at the unmistakable injury, but they couldn't figure out who he was. They at least realized he must know Ranma if he knew that name.
"Who are you?" Kyoka asked, her eyes narrowing just a tad.
"A friend of Ranma's," Katashi said simply enough before rubbing Kota's head again, "I was watching over this one so he could watch his Sensei since his parents couldn't get away from work at the time."
"Yes, we were wondering why Saotome-san was so reluctant to tell us about the man called Happosai. Especially after talking about how he was a pervert," Momo said.
"Don't forget him acting like a cat during our fight," Peter added helpfully.
"Kitty!" Kota shouted, his eyes widening in glee.
Katashi chuckled; Ranma did have his hands full. He guessed he could do his part to relieve some of that pressure. "Both answers are complex and have caused Ranma-kun a great deal of trouble. The reason he was acting like a cat was due to a training incident from when he was younger. It isn't right for me to tell you more without his permission."
"Does Saotome-san have dissociative identity disorder?" Peter asked. His question caused some confusion to those unfamiliar with it.
Katashi was silent as he mulled over the question before sighing. "Yes. I won't tell you the particulars, but he has been diagnosed with it. It isn't dangerous to others if you were worried about that."
"What's dissoc… err, what he said?" Mina asked, looking up at Momo.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder, or more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It's a mental illness that some people can suffer from due to childhood trauma. It means that the 'cat' was another person that shares the same body as Saotome-san," Momo replied.
"Wait, another… person?" Denki asked, clearly lost.
"Ribbit. It's not a Quirk?" Tsuyu asked.
"Childhood trauma?" Toru asked with concern.
"What about Happosai?" Ochako asked, deciding it was probably best to not tread that path since she didn't want to discomfort Ranma further than she already had today.
Katashi looked like he was sucking on a lemon as he tried to figure out how best to explain it. "Happosai was… someone closely associated with Ranma's father. He, too, was a Martial Artist who was very skilled. He was also an extreme pervert. Let me guess," Katashi asked, looking at Ochako, "he said that the boy that caused this afternoon's incident reminded him of him?"
"Yes?" Ochako answered, and many of the girls nodded.
"Happosai was a dwarf nearly the same size as that boy, but he was also old. Far older than me or anyone else you likely know," Katashi said, straightening up and folding his arms as best he could. "He would frequently attach himself to women and fondle them in very inappropriate ways."
Every girl recoiled at that and immediately understood some of the parallels between the two.
"Ranma-kun, due to his Quirk, also received his attention more than any other girl or woman who dealt with the perverted criminal. Ranma bore it as he or she was one of the few who could or would try to stop him. He usually failed."
The boys looked repulsed and angry as Katashi's tale continued, while the girls, especially those who had been especially upset due to the accident, winced as they realized the significance. Toru and Ochako began to feel an enormous guilt as they realized their friend knew far too well. One person, however, caught on quickly to an important point.
"Wait, are you saying Happosai was… stronger… than Ranma?" Momo asked with growing dread.
Katashi nodded, causing every girl to react in horror as if a massive tsunami had appeared in front of them.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Shoto followed his father as he led them to an isolated area. Although it was still close to the stadium, none of the crowds were present, thus giving them the privacy they sought.
"So, what's up?" Ranma asked with his hands in his pockets and seemed unusually casual about it. It was fascinating to see someone react to and treat his father like this, even after learning who he was.
His father remained still while he considered how to start this conversation—about what, Shoto couldn't guess.
"To start, I wanted to thank you," Enji said after turning to Ranma.
"Huh? About what?" Ranma asked as he tilted his head to the side.
"For helping Shoto today, at a minimum," Enji said. "Additionally, you have helped him by helping me, though I recognize that neither of you knows how."
Shoto had rarely seen his father calmly talking to someone like this outside of work. While his father's anger had disappeared, no longer lashing out at him or his siblings, it had been replaced with an air of defeat that had been present since.
"Okay?" Ranma replied, though his confusion only strengthened.
"I need to explain myself so you can understand what I mean," Enji said before looking at Shoto. "For both of you."
"... Okay?" Ranma slowly repeated while Shoto nodded.
"Before I do, for legal reasons, if nothing else, I need both of your permissions to reveal some of your pasts to each other," Enji said before he turned to Ranma.
"While I know some of your life's history, I do not know all of it. I was given access to most of the reports Officer Tamakawa submitted on your behalf to help them find traces of your family. I was also the only one given access to his redacted reports since I already knew some of the more sensitive bits," Enji said. "I won't reveal any of those sensitive details, Saotome-san. Do I have your permission?"
Ranma stared back for several seconds before turning his head enough to look at Shoto and shrugged. "It's fine."
"Thank you," Enji said before turning to his son. "Shoto, while I am not legally bound to require your permission, I have been told it would be best to have your permission first. I realize that I will be revealing information that is sensitive to our family and you in particular, but I believe you will find Saotome-san to be understanding."
"Okay," Shoto said. If it finally got him some real answers, he didn't care.
Enji sighed in relief before he collected himself and began his story.
"When I was younger, around your age, I decided to become a Pro-Hero because I wanted to prevent the deaths of others. I believed the best way for me to do that was to become the greatest hero possible," Enji said, turning to the side and refusing to look either of them in the eye for now. Shoto recognized the shame he had displayed, something he had seen often in the last year.
"I became… fixated on becoming the Number One. I felt I needed to achieve that milestone to prove to myself that I had made a difference and I could accept no other outcome. So I trained, pushing myself and my Quirk as hard as possible daily. That drive was why I chose the name Endeavor, which means trying hard or achieving something. However, All Might debuted before I did.
"I shot nearly to the top of the chart within a year, passing by many other heroes. But I could never catch up to that man no matter what I tried. I pushed myself, my Quirk, and my skills as a Pro-Hero, but it didn't matter. He made it look too easy, especially as he was always smiling. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my goal in the first place while I was stuck in his shadow."
"After several years and the gap between us only widening, I realized I would never surpass him. My Quirk has a weakness, something that, no matter what I did, I could not overcome. My body, while extremely resistant to fire, has an upper limit. If I become too hot, I have to cool down, or I risk permanent injuries."
"Oh, yeah. That could definitely be a problem," Ranma said, nodding.
Enji nodded as well before continuing with his story. "But I refused to give up, so I sought another way to surpass him. I knew that my weakness held me back, so I thought if one of my children had a means of cooling and regulating their body to counter the heat, they could push past that barrier and surpass him."
Shoto watched as Ranma tilted his head and seemed to be thinking about it. "That makes sense," Ranma said, "cool your body down so… ooohhh!"
Shoto saw the lights go off in his head. He turned to look at him curiously before smiling and turning back to his father.
"So you got it to work?" Ranma asked, more excited than Shoto would have expected from him. It surprised him how casually he was reacting to that news.
Enji sighed, looking at Shoto regretfully, before returning to Ranma. "Somewhat. And not without costs that shouldn't have happened."
Ranma blinked. "What happened?"
"Do you know what a Quirk Marriage is?"
"Uh, no?"
"It is a form of arranged marriage, but with the intent that the children would have a favorable outcome from mixing the parent's Quirks," Enji said.
Shoto was used to outrage, disgust, concern, or indifference. He hadn't expected Ranma's response.
"Oh! Like trying to combine the Schools," Ranma said, sounding far too enthusiastic. And what did he mean by 'Schools?'
"Yes," Enji said. "The Humura family was known to have a powerful Quirk, one called Frost, that was the opposite of mine. Their family was poor, and by then, I had accrued enough wealth from my time as a Pro-Hero that I could offer it as an omiai. The Himura family was very accepting of the possibility because of the money and prestige my position brought. My wife, Rei, went along with it to help her family, and she knew why I had sought out our marriage. She was– is beautiful. She behaved much like her Quirk, cold and strong, but she could melt with the slightest touch. The two of us began to care for each other, far more than I think either of us ever expected."
Shoto refused to look at his father. He loosely knew most of this already, but his tone and how he told it painted a different picture of his father than he had expected. He wasn't going to accept his version of events, not yet, but it was an odd contrast to what he thought he knew.
When Shoto noticed his father hadn't continued his story yet, he looked up and was surprised to see him looking at Ranma with concern. Turning to his classmate, his face was shifting between different emotions. The one that was the most visible was… sadness?
The silence was eventually interrupted by his father resuming, though he had looked away. "When Toya was born, we were both happy, and the purpose of our marriage was nearly forgotten. Fuyumi was born a few years later, and then I started training Toya after his Quirk manifested."
Being reminded of his older brother, the pain he felt at those distant memories almost didn't let Shoto catch the fact his father had trained him. He looked up, startled as the words finally registered with him.
"That was when things began to go wrong. After his Quirk was examined, it was discovered that Toya had inherited my flames, but he had only inherited my wife's resistance to cold. He would burn his body away if he continued. As a result of my fears of him killing himself, I refused to train him further."
Shoto remembered small bits of his past that didn't make sense from when he was much younger, conversations he would occasionally hear from his siblings. He hadn't known his father had trained his brother, leaving him a little uncomfortable and unsure what to think.
"Yeah, I can see why," Ranma said, looking like he had found a bone as he chewed.
"Due to All Might's growing popularity and my failures, I became further fixated—hyperfixated, specifically. I had made it my life's mission, and I thought this path was the only one I could take, that it was the only way to surpass him. Until I met you," Enji said, staring evenly at the pigtailed boy.
Ranma raised an eyebrow, probably wondering why he had suddenly shifted to talking about him. While his father's explanation made sense, he knew it wouldn't have stopped him.
"When we first met, you reminded me of All Might with how easily you usurped me in the eyes of the…" Enji said, pausing to look at Shoto for a moment, "... Villain, which aggravated me. But then I learned of your… circumstances."
"If you are referring to the fact that Ranma's abilities are not a Quirk, I am aware of that, Father," Shoto said.
"Wait, I thought you didn't?" Ranma asked Shoto after turning to him.
"I asked our classmates, and they informed me," Shoto calmly replied before returning to his father.
"Oh. Well, that's convenient!" Ranma said happily, grinning before turning to the older man.
Enji nodded before resuming once more. "I didn't believe you at first, but the supporting evidence that Pussycats gathered showed me you were telling the truth. After I had left and it was confirmed by a Quirk test, it set my mind racing at the possibilities. I realized it might be possible to close that gap between All Might and myself without relying on my son to do it for me, or at least a way to help him train. When I was given a more detailed report, which included an overview of your life that you revealed to your Guardians and Officer Tamakawa, I eagerly read through it. What I found… disturbed me greatly."
Shoto was concerned when Ranma winced. He looked more like he had slammed his funny bone as hard as he could than someone just learning about his history.
Enji noticed his reaction, so he clarified. "Not you, Ranma, but your father, Saotome Genma."
Ranma calmed down, allowing Enji to resume. "Saotome Genma was stupid, greedy, immoral, selfish, and put you through unimaginable dangers… but he was still a better father and husband than I had been."
"What?" Shoto asked though he realized a second later that Ranma had mirrored him.
"I realized that your father and I had too many similarities, ignoring how he would be considered a criminal by most governments. He went… beyond, many times, some of the things I have done to train Shoto. But he also ensured it was something you wanted," Enji said.
Shoto was surprised, his father admitting that he might not have wanted the training when he was younger. His memories were still a little fuzzy then, but he did remember coming around to the idea of being a Hero like All Might. But it was for his mother, not his father.
"Your interactions with Genma reminded me of that first year of training Toya," Enji said, his voice cracking. "Toya wanted to train. He wanted to be a hero, and I was happy to help him become one. But I didn't want it to cost him his life, so I forbade him from training, thinking I was saving him. Instead, it made him resentful and angry.
"When I had time off and came home, I regularly found Toya with burn marks. I became angry at my wife, thinking she failed to watch him and to prevent him from training. In reality, I was angry at myself for putting my son in that dangerous position. I gave him his drive to become a hero and then took it away. I didn't know what to do.
"When Shoto was born, it was obvious that his Quirk was a healthy blend of our two Quirks. With my hyperfocus worsening, I put all that focus into training Shoto, and I became more aggressive in his training than I had been with Toya. Since Shoto didn't always want to train, Rei tried to protect him, but I began to see her as becoming yet another obstacle to my goal. With my feelings of failure consuming me, the thought of obstacle after obstacle getting in my way resulted in my anger and self-control worsening as time went on. It continued for years before I eventually lashed out, physically striking her."
Shoto stood there, unable to respond as he heard his father admit what he had done. He took a moment to glance at Ranma, and he looked angry, glaring at the man.
"We started resenting each other; I can see that clearly now. Yet another thing that proved Genma was a better husband than I. From your accounts, he never struck your mother at any point. Even after he proposed your training trip to her, he never once laid a hand on her."
Ranma breathed deeper as he calmed down.
When his father said his next piece, he started glaring at Ranma. "Though, I never suggested anything like that ridiculous idea that Genma proposed. That moronic promise was beyond anything I have ever done."
"... Agreed," Ranma said while looking like he'd stepped on a pile of tacts.
His father had just admitted that Ranma's father had been a better father and husband than himself, so what horrible promise would get Ranma to agree so readily with his point? Shoto was curious, but he knew enough that now wasn't the time to press them about.
"Eventually, both the situation with Toya and Shoto and my treatment of her… broke my wife," Enji said while looking damaged himself. "She began to hate the sight of me. Shoto's red hair and dark eye on his left side, which he inherited from me, reminded her of me. After a particularly bad episode, she… poured boiling water over that side of his eye. It's why Shoto has that scar over his left eye."
Shoto raised a hand to the eye, remembering the moment all too well and how it always hurt him to think of his Mother that way. He couldn't understand Ranma's look, however. He could tell there was a bit of empathy or pity there, but there was obviously more.
"She didn't mean to and tried to help him immediately after, but due to my concerns about the danger she posed to Shoto and his siblings, I… I had her committed to a psychiatric hospital. This ended up leading to another tragedy.
"Without Rei's presence, Toya could more easily get away and train alone. Every time he would ask me to join him, to show me what he was capable of, I refused because I didn't want him to hurt himself. But, because of that, no one was there when the area he was in turned into an inferno."
"Oh," Ranma said, his head bowed in understanding and respect. This matched Shoto and Enji's mood as silence reigned.
Enji eventually collected himself once more. "Even after hours of searching and hoping he had somehow survived, we only ever found a small part of him. Much like my wife, I had already reached my breaking point. So I turned my focus entirely to the goal of beating All Might, becoming fanatical and to the exclusion of everything else. I felt like I had nothing else to give but that. Nothing else mattered to me. I couldn't even see the monster I had become.
"Reading about your family, Saotome, was like looking into a distorted mirror. One in which I more closely matched someone I would have sought to apprehend. Your upbringing was similar to Shoto's, but your attitude about that training initially perplexed me. You showed disdain and anger at him at times, justifiable anger regarding some of his stupid actions, but you didn't hate him. I didn't consciously realize it then, but my son hated me. And I didn't care."
Enji turned to Shoto, looking at him as he explained further. "That realization shocked me. I didn't see it before. More likely, I didn't want to see it. But I eventually did. That was the first night I didn't demand you to train."
Shoto didn't know how to feel, but it finally made sense. The drastic change out of seemingly nowhere was too abrupt for him or his siblings to understand. "Why… why didn't you tell us?" Shoto asked softly.
"I didn't know how to explain it without compromising Saotome. I didn't know what I should even do. I tried to learn everything that his Guardians or Officer Tamakawa would tell me about them, but it didn't provide me an answer."
"I was lost once more in the same cycle I had been in with Toya. I focused on training myself but wanted to avoid repeating the same mistake with you, Shoto, that I did with your older brother. I promised myself I would not force you to train, but I would not deny you training if you asked for it."
Shoto felt his anger returning for the first time since his match with Ranma, but it wasn't nearly as severe. "You think that is an excuse not to tell me? I thought you had given up on me! That you considered me a failure and not worth the effort!"
"I considered it," Enji said, his hands in his pockets as he inspected the grass beneath them. "Many times. Especially when I noticed your anger growing, as it had with Toya. But I could never form the words or nerve to approach you. I was too ashamed of my past behavior to do that."
"I realized I was nearly at another breaking point, but then I learned that Saotome had decided to attend U.A. The possibility of you attending the same class or at least the same year pushed me to do something I should have done long ago. I asked for help."
"What help?" Shoto asked.
"The man you saw earlier with your classmates was another Pro-Hero I looked up to back in the day. By chance, he met and interacted with Saotome over the last year and has been trained by him as well."
"Good student," Ranma said, nodding before a grin formed, "And teacher."
"I asked him for advice, seeing him as someone who has made mistakes but sought to overcome them. He gave me several suggestions, one of which was a counselor that could be discreet."
Shoto opened his mouth, dismissing the explanation as something his father would never do. Before he could speak, he realized that his father had struggled and had just admitted to it. "And?"
"He helped me open my eyes to my faults, recognizing them for what they are and not running from them. He suggested I tell you the truth about all of it, Shoto. But he told me I needed to know what the truth was before I could explain it."
"So he finally suggested you tell me?" Shoto asked softly.
"No. He doesn't think I am ready yet, and I still don't feel ready. But after you found me in the stadium, I saw that your anger had become worse than I had ever seen it before. I was worried you would lash out, so I was glad that Saotome was your second match. Not because I wanted you to lose, but because I knew he could take it. And maybe something more would happen."
Enji then turned to Ranma and gave him a deep bow. "Thank you for helping my son today, Saotome-san. I am in your debt."
Ranma, who had remained silent during the exchange between father and Son, bowed in return. "You're welcome."
Shoto was once more a very mixed bag of emotions. He didn't know if he should yell at his father, cry, or laugh at the absurdity. He had more difficulty than most in expressing how he felt, much of his emotions having burned themselves out over the years, though the last year had been different.
"What… what now?" Shoto asked.
Enji, having already returned from his bow, looked at Shoto again. "I think we need to talk… but not right now. We were not ready for this and still need to finish processing what happened. Please, tell me when you are ready, Shoto."
"... I will," Shoto said, looking down at the grass again.
"Thank you," Enji said. He then took a deep breath and turned to Ranma once more. "There was another reason I came today and why I explained my past to you, Saotome."
Shoto looked up, curiosity overwriting his other emotions for now. Ranma remained relaxed, his hands in his pockets as he listened.
"Even after everything, I still want to strive to become stronger, though I will not force others onto this path any longer. Would you be willing to train me, or at least give me guidance since you are both at school and I still have an agency to run?" Enji asked.
Shoto was shocked, but considering everything he had learned today, he shouldn't have been. Ranma appeared to be simply evaluating his father. No one spoke for over a minute while waiting for the pigtailed boy's answer. Eventually, he shrugged. "Sure. I'm not happy about how you treated your wife, but you recognize it and are trying to make amends. I also understand the drive to become stronger."
Enji nodded before glancing at Shoto for a moment. "Would you also be willing to train Shoto if he desires it?"
"Sure, I've got no problem with that," Ranma said, grinning at Shoto.
"Thank you, Saotome-san," Enji said. He also gave him another brief bow. "We should head back. My agency is expecting me back by a certain time."
"Sounds good."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"It does not matter how effective the training is; it is still abhorrent," the girl with the long green vine-like hair said. Izuku thought he overheard her name, Shiozaki, but he wasn't sure. He still hadn't been properly introduced to most of Class B, so he hesitated to ask for confirmation.
"I will admit that the training does seem… wrong at first," Kendo said. "But once you get used to it, it can be a lot of fun. You end up forgetting that it is training in the first place. The hunger drives you to want to ensure you eat enough, but the competition and the chaos make things interesting. Doing it with everyone else forces you to be observant and careful, or you will lose your food."
After quickly moving away from the topic of Happosai, their two classes started discussing the martial arts club and, specifically, Ranma's training. Almost everyone seemed interested, but there were a few highly reluctant holdouts.
"Yes, that training was inelegant. Barbaric, even!" Aoyama said, his face showing his disgust.
The older man, who only gave his family name of Iwamoto, chuckled. "That depends on how you decide to adapt to the training, not the training itself."
"Huh?" Tetsutetsu asked. "What do you mean, Iwamoto-san?"
"There are several ways you could adapt that training for your own benefit, even avoiding things like it being 'inelegant'," the old man said.
"How so, monsieur?" Aoyama asked.
The man grinned, looking at several of the dissenters. "Saotome's martial art is called Indiscriminate Grappling for a reason. There is more than one way to achieve your goal of eating your fill... such as diplomacy."
Izuku and everyone else tilted their heads and raised an eyebrow. They asked as one: "Huh?"
"Oh! Oh, my!" Momo said before covering a hand over her mouth and giggling softly.
"What is it?" Kyoka asked, curious about what conclusion one of their resident geniuses had drawn.
"You have explained the training rules several times before," Momo said as she looked at Ochako and Toru primarily. "Nowhere in the rules does it say you must steal the food from the plate. The rules primarily dictate that it must be done somewhat civilized, with no bare-hand approaches and no Quirks. Beyond that, how you acquire the food is left open to you. You could barter with others to assist you, or they could give you their food!"
"What? But we can't trade our food after we get it on our plates," Toru noted.
"Incorrect. Saotome-san said your food may not be stolen once it has been on your plate. Nothing in the rules says that food cannot be given to someone else!" Momo said, getting excited now.
A lightbulb suddenly went off for them, though a few started to see the problems with such a plan.
"That might not be very fair. Some people have more to trade than others," the boy named Kosei said, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. "Like rich people."
Momo nodded, recognizing the boy had a valid concern.
"I did say diplomacy, not bartering," Iwamoto said, chuckling again. "While the rules allow for it, that doesn't mean that others couldn't interfere if people don't like the proposal. Even Saotome could interfere if he feels it is becoming too disastrous. And bribing with money or favors does not always work if they don't care about it."
Izuku saw his fellow students ponder his point as they all realized how complicated the situation could become.
"Hey, Old Man! Are you giving out more of my secrets again?" Ranma yelled.
Izuku and the others turned and saw Ranma, Shoto, and his father returning. Ranma and Endeavor seemed the same, but Shoto looked busy contemplating. He wondered what that had been about.
"A few," the old man said. "More to intrigue those reluctant to undertake your training than to give them an edge."
"Endeavor-san! Endeavor-san!" Kota yelled out as he ran up towards the Pro-Hero. His action caught Izuku off-guard, and several girls realized he had escaped them before they could do anything.
Endeavor looked down at the young boy, arching a brow for a moment, before kneeling in front of him. "Yes… Kota-kun, is it?"
"Yep!" Kota shouted, smiling up at the famous hero. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. Izuku was confused as to why he would have marshmallows and a stick. He then held it out towards him with enormous, hopeful eyes before making his request. "Can you cook these for me? Auntie Ryuko always said they were the best she'd ever had!"
Izuku heard Shoto's sudden bark of laughter, holding his gut, before turning around to hide and stifle it as best as he could. He didn't do a good job. A quick glance showed his classmates appeared as lost as he was, but Ranma and Iwamoto chuckled at Kota's request and Shoto's response.
Endeavor looked over his shoulder, watching his son, unable to control himself, before turning to Ranma. "I take it you showed him?"
Ranma grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "He asked."
Endeavor sighed before turning back to a hopeful Kota. He accepted the boy's bag, helped him attach the marshmallows, and then used his Quirk to cook the sugary treats quickly.
"Yeah!" Kota shouted before blowing on one of them and stuffing it in his mouth. "Yum!"
Endeavor smiled warmly as he rubbed the top of the boy's head before standing up and turning to Iwamoto. "I need to return to my agency now. I'll be in touch."
"Certainly, Todoroki-san," Iwamoto said. They gave each other a nod before Endeavor walked off.
Shoto had finally recovered enough before walking up to Kota. "May I have one of those?"
Kota looked up at the dual-haired boy and tilted his head briefly before stuffing another into his mouth. He then handed the last marshmallow to Shoto, who carefully inspected it briefly before putting it into his mouth.
Izuku noted that Shoto's behavior had changed since they had started attending school together. Before, he always seemed so detached from everything. Now, he felt a little warmer.
"We need to take off as well, Kota-kun," Iwamoto said as he approached the young boy. Ranma moved to follow them before suddenly halting.
"Oh, wait!" Ranma said before turning towards the one student from General Ed who was present. "I almost forgot, but Shinso also wanted to spar against Kota."
Eyes turned towards the indigo-haired boy, most of them surprised. Kota's eyes lit up in joy and Shinso nodded as he stepped forward and was still wearing his gym clothes.
Iwamoto looked at his watch, grimacing at its display. "I don't know if we'll have enough time. The accident and cleanup really pushed back the awards ceremony. While the local trains are running longer than normal, some of our connecting trains may not."
Kota looked on the verge of tears again, but Ranma concentrated on resolving the issue as quickly as possible. "Relax old man, it'll be quick, and if you have to run a bit to catch your train, that's just an opportunity for more training. Shinso, you just wanted to spar with him to gauge whether my training worked, right?"
"Yes," Shinso said, his face not shifting as he looked between them and ignored some of the others' comments. "I believe your training works, but I would still like to see how it works for someone like Kota."
Ranma nodded, thinking things through once more before his eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Okay, but no Quirks!"
Shinso raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on. Ranma looked the same way he had when he had realized his Quirk. "Why?"
"Oh, I have my reasons. I would rather not spoil them for now," Ranma said as his hands started wiggling in glee. His current students winced as they realized he had another training idea.
Shinso narrowed his eyes but saw Ranma's eyes flickering to everyone else. It took him a few moments before a slight smirk formed. "Fine."
Iwamoto stepped forward as Shinso and Kota moved across from each other. A few girls who were reluctant to have cute and adorable Kota fight someone older and much larger than him had to be restrained by the others who knew not to underestimate the young boy.
Iwamoto held a hand between the two, indicating he would be the referee. "One round only, to knockout or submission, no Quirks or deadly blows. If you wish to surrender but cannot speak, tap twice on the ground or wherever you can touch with an open palm. Saotome or I will stop the fight if need be."
He looked at both fighters, waiting for them to nod in understanding before he lowered his arm and stepped back. "Begin!"
Izuku watched as the indigo-haired boy was too cautious to dive in. It didn't stop Kota, as the eager boy went from standing upright to being on top of him faster than any of them had anticipated. Having been startled by his speed, Shinso threw a clumsy grab. Kota grabbed the offered arm with both hands and leaped above, pivoting around over the limb until both legs landed on both sides of his opponent's head before locking them together and trapping the older boy.
Shinso scrambled to free himself and avoid falling, but Kota twisted his whole body to flip his opponent forward. The General Ed student landed hard on his back, though his head was protected by the young boy's legs, blunting the impact—not that it helped him keep the oxygen in his lungs.
Izuku winced at the painful landing, but the cries of shock from the others showed they hadn't expected such a one-sided and fast takedown.
Shinso tried to get his free arm up to pull at Kota's leg to give him room to breathe, but he wasn't succeeding. He couldn't even speak, only able to garble out some nonsensical sounds as panic took him. After several seconds and failing to get results, he desperately tapped Kota's thigh twice.
"Match!"
Kota immediately released his hold with his legs and arm, scrambling away and to his feet with practiced ease. His smile was so radiant that the girls could barely restrain themselves. "Yeah! I won!" Kota said as he started to bounce in place, his arms held high above his head.
Ranma chuckled as he stepped towards Shinso, who was still trying to recover enough to breathe correctly and slow his heart. Once he got enough control, Ranma held his hand out and was accepted, allowing him to pull his new student to his feet.
Shinso looked at the one who had defeated him so soundly, yet he didn't appear angry. Instead, he sighed and accepted the outcome. When he saw that Kota had turned back to him and gave him a bow of respect, he clumsily returned it.
"Alright," Iwamoto said, once more by Kota's side, his palm resting on his shoulder. "We really do need to get going. It was nice to meet all of you."
Izuku and the others gave their own farewells, waving at them as they walked off with Ranma in tow. They started turning back to each other to figure out what else they would do before they were interrupted.
"Waaaiiit!" Eijiro cried out as he came running up to their group, just as they looked like they would finish for the day. He was panting a little as he finally arrived. "Where's the fight?"
"You're too late, Shitty Hair!" Kacchan yelled.
"Whaaat? Noooo!" Eijiro cried out while clutching his hair. "Stupid! Broken! Bathroom!"
"Kota-chan just now won a spar against Shinso-san, but there was no fight against Monomo-san," Kendo said, smiling at the red-haired boy. "Monomo-san forfeited before it began."
"I did not!" Monomo shouted at the heavens, but he was ignored.
"Yes, he did," Shinso said, grinning at him and massaging his shoulder. Monomo turned to glare at him but found it did nothing to the General Ed student.
"Ah, man! I was so looking forward to it!" Eijiro said as he moaned and kicked a loose rock.
"I didn't want to ask at the time since it could be considered rude, but who was that man?" Izuku asked, finally feeling like he could get an answer to that question.
"Hah! Shitty Deku doesn't know who he is!" Kacchan yelled out, his face grinning in excitement. "Not as well versed in heroes as he thinks he is!"
"Who?" Eijiro asked, looking back and forth between a few of his classmates.
"Kota was being escorted by a friend of their family, an old retired Pro-Hero," Peter said as he looked at his friend. "He was forced to retire quite a while ago, but he was a bit famous. His hero name was Crimson Riot, and–"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Holy crap! Today was crazy," Etsurou said as he turned the wheel of their van to exit the school grounds. They were still following behind the swarms of other vehicles, and it would be another twenty minutes before they got away from the congestion, but they were almost done for the day.
The school and the local police were old hats at dealing with traffic, even if most attendees arrived by train. However, today there had been far more unexpected attendees, not to mention all the extra security involved. Yet he had attended smaller events where he would be stuck in traffic for far longer, so he had to give them props for their efficiency.
"We will be the station's stars for at least a few weeks. Everyone is going to want to grill us about what happened today! I am looking forward to free sake for the next couple of weeks," Etsurou said as he grinned at his partner while they were stuck in line for the light.
Etsurou sighed when she didn't respond. Chihiro had become quiet, not answering his questions or talking back to him. She rarely did this and he wasn't sure why. Her mood had plummeted since the final round and up to the nearly fatal accident. After the incident, she appeared to be on auto-pilot and would only stare at her phone.
"Alright, Hiro-chan, what happened?" Etsurou finally asked. She usually hated that name, so he hoped it would catch her attention. He waited a few seconds, checking the road for their current status, before returning to her. "Hiro-chan?"
"Hmmm?" Chihiro finally responded, only partially turning her head to look in his direction and the road before returning to her phone.
"Hiro-chan, what the hell happened?" Etsurou asked again, getting very concerned about her condition. The fact she barely reacted to the name told him she was genuinely unbalanced.
"I… I don't know. I thought I had something, but now… I'm not sure," Chihiro said.
"What did you have?"
"I… interviewed Saotome," Chihiro said softly.
Etsurou nearly choked in shock as his voice became trapped. That was potentially very big, considering today's events. But he also knew what she had thought of the kid—at least before the accident.
"Okay, so I am guessing since you aren't excited about it, you got something… potentially incriminating?" Etsurou asked.
"I… I thought so at first. I knew I would have to investigate more to confirm my suspicions," Chihiro said.
"Let me guess, you figured, before and especially after that final match started to become insane, that no one would be willing to run it. Or that no one would believe it?" Etsurou asked, getting a nod to confirm it. "But then, after he goes and saves our lives like that, you aren't so sure anymore? I think I am missing something since that wouldn't even slow you down in the past."
"In the interview, he told me he had set a challenge for himself: If he won the festival, he would be asked questions by people like us. Something he planned to reveal if he won. I… don't think it was anything normal. It sounded… special. Like it was something that would shock us more than what we had already seen."
Etsurou snorted. "What? That he's All Might's son or something? Lots of people are already running with that theory online and it will probably be in tomorrow's tabloids."
"Maybe, but it didn't seem like it was that simple. I think it was something else. Maybe something even more amazing. I don't know," Chihiro said. "But he didn't even hesitate. I watched what footage we caught after the accident, and he started moving the instant he saw what was happening. And he wasn't angry at me for what else I asked him."
Etsurou winced, quickly realizing her complication.
"He gave it up without hesitation. I… I didn't expect that."
Etsurou sighed again, moving the car forward the dozen meters they had been given. "Now you don't know what to do with what you have."
"Yes."
"Hiro-chan, the best you can do is wait. Like you originally planned, dig a little deeper, investigate, check all the angles you can, and then try to treat it fairly. Maybe… maybe you should just ask the kid? Use what you got to get a full interview or something?"
"... Okay."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Aizawa sighed as he supervised the crew inspecting the roof now that the stadium had been suitably cleared. They were still trying to determine the cause since the roof had been rated to take a substantial amount of shock. It had been built and renovated over the years since its construction and was designed for the various types of Quirks they saw come and go during the festival. Even the final fight shouldn't have been enough, not compared to other sections of the stadium suffering damage first.
Haruno and Saotome had controlled themselves impeccably well. Even without reviewing the recordings, he saw that the two were always careful about thrown objects or impacts. They were both aware of those around them and the audience, limiting the angles and strengths of their attacks to ensure no one was in danger. That was one of the more impressive things about them, more than the wanton destruction.
"Eraser Head," a familiar voice called out to him.
He turned and saw Ectoplasm walking up to him with paperwork in hand. "Yes?"
"We have a strong idea of what happened," the math teacher said, handing over his notes to his fellow teacher. "Power Loader and I combed through all instances where anything might have reached the ceiling. The footage confirmed it."
Aizawa looked through several of the pages before raising an eyebrow. Then, his eyes stopped focusing on anything in front of him as he replayed events from memory. "During the Cavalry Battle?"
"The knife, or kunai I believe it is called, was far enough away from where Todoroki's ice mountain had pierced parts of the roof that we didn't inspect that area as closely as we should have. It was nearly perfectly wedged between overlapping cables, making it more difficult to see without combing over it closely. The blade looked to have pierced through a steel beam, leaving the rounded end almost level with the rest of the beam and hiding its presence further," Ectoplasm said, sighing as he looked downwards in shame. "We only detected it because we compared before and after images of the spot. It explains why we missed it."
"The ceiling was rated to take vibrations of that scale, but the damage from the ice exacerbated the damage from the blade and weakened a few of the structure components more than we had expected. The additional vibrations caused it to eventually fail and pulled everything else down with it," Ectoplasm said as he looked back at Aizawa. "Everyone's eyes were on the local dangers, so we didn't notice it worsening progressively."
Aizawa nodded. He was right; they were only looking at what was in front of them. "Did you check the area yourself after discovering this?"
"Yes, and I found a fragment of the blade. Power Loader wants to run some simulations of the incident to help us confirm it further, but it will take a few days to collect all the data to run it," Ectoplasm said before sighing and looking off to the side. "This was my failure for not being thorough in my inspection."
"I'll inform the Principal when I give him the report. I have a meeting with him soon," Aizawa said before pulling out his phone and seeing what time it was. "Correction, I have to leave now for my meeting."
Ectoplasm nodded, and they both said goodbye as they went about their jobs.
Aizawa walked towards one of the exits, checking the report he had been given in more depth. He had just entered the tunnels when he finished with it and was about to double his speed when he was intercepted.
"Shota-san," someone said to his side. Aizawa turned in their direction to find his fellow first year homeroom teacher leaning on the wall casually, his arms crossed over his chest. It appeared he had been waiting for him.
"Yes, Sekijiro-san?" Aizawa asked. While the two of them were not as close as he was to Hazashi or Nemuri, they had worked closely enough and respected each other well enough to use their given names in private like this.
"Do you have time?"
"Not really, but I do have a little distance to walk. I am on my way for a meeting with the Principal."
"That will do, especially since my questions involve him," Sekijiro said.
Aizawa took a deep breath, knowing all too well what this would be about. "You're concerned?"
"Somewhat," Sekijiro said as they continued walking. "Considering your reaction to everything, I am guessing that you already pressed the Principal about them, and he told you something, most likely immediately after the attack."
"Yes, I did," Aizawa said. "What he revealed to me was very concerning, and I understand the Principal's caution."
Sekijiro looked at the man who rarely got enough sleep, narrowing his eyes as he absorbed the information. "The fact that you haven't done anything to separate the three of them from the rest of your class tells me that concern is not about them?"
"Yes and no," Aizawa answered.
Sekijiro mulled over his words, which Aizawa let him do. Like himself, he was smart enough to figure out much of this by observing his and the Principal's reactions and how out of place it was. He had his reasons for asking now, much like he would have in his place. It was why the two of them got along so well.
"Are they dangerous to the students?" Sekijiro asked, his voice firmer than before. "Especially since more of them have been asking about Saotome's Martial Arts Club? I suspect he will have most of my class wanting to join within the next couple of weeks."
"No," Aizawa said firmly. He was no longer relying solely on what the Principal had told him but on his own observations. That was one thing he was glad to have sidestepped. "I am not worried about them hurting the students directly. It is the… side effects I am worried about."
"Side effects?" Sekijiro asked, raising an eyebrow at the usage.
"Yes. What concerns me most is that those side effects may be necessary," Aizawa said before stopping in the empty hallway. When Aizawa looked into his eyes, Sekijiro turned to give him his full attention. "Something is coming. Those three may be necessary to stop it or at least to help us weather it. I am concerned about my students' safety and that they will be pulled into whatever it is that is coming. I worry that they may play a critical part in the future. This… training... may be preparation for it."
Sekijiro's face didn't change beyond a subtle shift in his eyes. He had relayed more than enough to his coworker about what wasn't said, and Aizawa wasn't surprised when he detected the subtle shiver go down the other man's back.
"You don't know, or you won't tell me?" Sekijiro asked.
"We don't know. The Principal likely suspects more, but he doesn't have concrete evidence."
"How does he know something is going to happen?"
"I can't tell you—not yet—but I will bring it up with him when I meet him. It's obvious that your students are also being pulled into this," Aizawa said. "After today's events, you deserve to know."
Sekijiro closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. "Do I let them join this club?"
"The Principal said to allow people to flock to them; encourage it, even. I think that includes your class. I'll confirm that with the Principal and let you know tomorrow," Aizawa said.
"Thank you," Sekijiro said before flicking his head in the direction Aizawa had been going. "Sorry for taking your time."
"You're welcome," Aizawa said as he started walking again, leaving Sekijiro behind. "I would have done the same thing."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"Good, you're here," Nezu said as Aizawa entered his room. He exited his chair and moved around his desk to greet his employee. "I assume that is Honenuki-san's report you hold?"
"Yes," Aizawa said as he held out the documents, not even bothering to extrapolate how he knew. He would have told him if he had asked, but he didn't see a need. "He accepts responsibility for having missed the damage from earlier and its potential impact."
Nezo accepted and read the report. It took less than a minute to go through all ten pages, but he narrowed his beady eyes as he took longer to review the conclusion. Aizawa wasn't sure what concerned him, but he figured he would notify him if needed.
"Thank you," Nezo said, straightening the papers before putting them back on his desk. "Unfortunately, a somewhat unexpected meeting has come up that I need to get to. An old friend is visiting, and he is short on time before he must head back."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
"Please, feel free to wait here until I return. If you find yourself getting bored, I believe I lost an earbud on the couch this morning. I'm sure there's something you could listen to," Nezu said as he walked to the door. "It might be a while, so feel free to take a nap as well. Today has been an exhausting day."
Aizawa watched the Principal step out. He waited several minutes, listening carefully for anyone else to be nearby, before he stepped over to the couch. It took him another minute to find the small earbud, but he was glad to see one of his spare sleeping bags was nearby. He hopped into it, plugged the earbud in, and closed his eyes.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Toshinori opened the door and smiled as he found the Principal setting some tea and crackers on the small table. "Good evening," Toshinori said as he went to the couch.
"Indeed, Yagi-san," Nezu said as he finished organizing the treats. He set one of the tea cups and its saucer in front of the other man before grabbing his own. "The recordings, I am sure, did not really do the matches justice, did they?"
Toshinori chuckled as he accepted the cup, poured some hot water out of the machine, and started mixing it. He grinned as the chestnut fragrance hit his nostrils, helping to relax his body before taking a sip. He sighed as the warmth of the tea soothed his body before looking at the principal once more. "No, no they did not."
"I noticed that most of your students, especially those who participated in Haruno and Saotome's training groups, performed notably better than expected," Nezu said as he slowly stirred his tea.
Toshinori grinned as he remembered. "They have grown magnificently in such a short time. Saotome has a way of pushing them and forcing them to grow in some unexpected ways."
Nezu nodded before sipping at his tea once more. "Indeed. From Aizawa's reports, Haruno-san also has unique and interesting training methods. The most fascinating change from her training group is how they approached the Obstacle Course."
The Pro-Hero nodded while taking another sip. "I found it very unusual, but the results speak for themselves."
"Haruno-san highly prizes teamwork and the ability to trust teammates. Aizawa-san's report noted that their improved performance increased significantly as a result. I may start discussing emphasizing teamwork in our curriculum with some of the other teachers by the start of next year or perhaps even the next term."
Toshinori tilted his head as he considered the implications of such a change. "I am unsure how well various agencies will be encouraged by that. From my experience, few agencies prize teamwork."
"Yes, that is true," Nezu said, staring at his tea. "That doesn't mean it is a bad change. In fact, there is the possibility that those agencies should be more open to adopting it."
"Like Tensei's agency in Hosu?" Toshinori asked curiously.
Nezu's expression dimmed. "I take it you have not heard the news?"
Toshinori blinked as his attention turned to his old friend, his tea forgotten. "What happened?"
"Young Iida-kun, the older brother, was severely injured while trying to apprehend the Villain known as Stain," Nezu said. "He is alive. The doctors were able to stabilize him and save his life, but he suffered damage to his spine. Preliminary reports say he may never walk again and can never act as a Pro-Hero."
Toshinori remained still after hearing the news before his eyes closed in sadness. He hated hearing of Pro-Heroes becoming injured like this, especially ones he respected like Iida-kun. But Tensei wasn't the only one he knew that would be affected by it. "How is Young Iida—I mean Tenya-kun—taking it?"
"Not well," Nezu said. "From Shuzenji-chan's phone call, he received the news right before the final match began. He couldn't even summon the will to watch Haruno's fight and left for the trains as soon as possible."
Toshinori nodded. He understood that gut-wrenching feeling all too well. He was about to continue inquiring about their status when there was a knock on the door. He turned to see who it was as the Principal invited them inside, surprising him with just who walked in.
"To- Torino-sensei!" Toshinori cried out as his old homeroom teacher and mentor entered the room. Even out of costume, he would easily recognize the old man. "What are you doing here?"
"Toshinori, I'm glad to see you are in decent health at the moment," Sorahiko said as he walked towards one of the recliners. As he neared it, he furrowed his brow as he noticed something off. "Where is Shuzenji-chan? I would have expected her to be here for this."
"Shuzenji-san had to leave on short notice," Nezu said as he pushed a teacup towards the new arrival. He explained further as Sorahiko accepted the cup and sat down. "She left to escort one of our students home."
Sorahiko raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what was happening, but decided against pressing him further. "Then I suppose you will just have to relay this information to her in my stead," Sorahiko said.
Toshinori began to feel a bit of dread forming. He really hoped he wasn't about to be chewed out by his old mentor for how he was training his successor.
Sorahiko set the teacup down, staring at it as he organized his mind and gathered his will. "Another friend of yours, Toshinori, visited me last week. Tsukauchi-san came by to see me about something he was gravely concerned about."
"Tsukauchi?" Toshinori asked, wondering what the connection was.
"Specifically, he had the results of a D.N.A. test and a match that was found," Sorahiko said.
"D.N.A. test? Why would he… wait, are you talking about the attack by the League of Villains?" Toshinori asked.
"Yes," Sorahiko said as he stared into his student's eyes.
"Why– why would he go to you?"
"Because of whose D.N.A. it matched."
Toshinori couldn't fathom it. There was only one person he could think of that he would be approached about, so why was– Toshinori tried and failed to swallow the non-existent object he suddenly found lodged in his throat. "Wh–whose?"
As old as the man was, as much as he'd endured and seen, when his eyes left Toshinori to inspect the floor they could no longer see anything. The man withered in front of them, and all the strength he still wielded left him. It was barely above a whisper when he spoke, even as the sounds blurred together.
"It was Nana's."
Toshinori's emotions scattered like the birthing process of the various elements that surrounded them. He wanted to deny it. He felt disgust and contempt that his mentor would dare lie to him like this. He wanted to scream in anger and fear, but all he could do in the end was to cry. His palms blinded him as he struggled to control his pain.
The three of them remained silent, each dealing with this revelation in their own ways. Toshinori eventually ended it, hoping to resolve this new torment. "What does this mean? Where did the sample come from?"
Sorahiko had regained enough strength to inspect his tea more closely and answered: "The sample was from one of the hands the one known as Shigaraki wore during the attack. Specifically, the one that covered the back of his head. As for what it means, we both know all too well what He would do to her."
"He's dead!" Toshinori growled, his anger leaking outward as he thought of that monster. He was then assailed by a series of coughs, covered up by his hand and preventing his blood from splashing onto the table or into his tea. After recovering from his current bout, he used one of the napkins Nezu slid to help clean himself up. Once he felt he was able to talk, he clarified his statement. "They confirmed it when they took his body to the morgue."
Sorahiko sighed, understanding his student's position. "That may be what happened. But that man may have picked up an ability that would allow him to survive somehow. We don't know. There is also the possibility that it isn't Him."
"What do you mean?" Toshinori asked.
"He was a collector of useful minions that would carry out his will. This remnant may have escaped you and been dormant for some time. They found or were given access to mementos. They may be trying to carry out what they see as his will or for revenge."
"No."
Toshinori and Sorahiko both turned to the Principal after he had spoken. His surety and conviction in his voice didn't make them question whether it was true, just how the conclusion had been drawn.
"Why do you say that?" Sorahiko asked.
"First, that man would never presume that he would lose. Not like that, to die and leave a dead man's switch in place. Neither would he allow others access to such trophies without a specific goal," Nezo said.
Toshinori was silent as he absorbed his words, watching as the Principal stirred another cup of tea before the bear-mouse that talked like a man took a long sip. When he finished, he continued. "Second, the attempt to cover this up and prevent this information from leaking is something he would do. It doesn't rule out the possibility of someone finding such trophies or cleaning up after themselves. But the third reason confirms it for me. All for One lives."
"What is this reason?" Sorahiko asked.
"I cannot tell you," Nezu said. When he opened his eyes, he found the two men looking at him angrily. "I cannot tell you yet because the situation is delicate. It also involves other people's secrets, which neither of you need to be aware of at this time. But there have been signs. The timing is far too convenient, so it is safer to presume the worst."
Sorahiko sighed and was followed moments later by Toshinori, both men calming down.
"There is another aspect to this that I think you both are missing, and it is important," Nezu said. "Why was this Shigaraki allowed to move about with such a trophy?"
Toshinori was lost, but Sorahiko quickly caught on. "He is taunting us."
"Correct," Nezu said. "Specifically, the one who wore it is also meant to taunt us. The destruction of the evidence was to prevent us from seeing his hand before he was ready. Knowing him, it is most likely a means to dishearten and break you, Yagi-san."
Toshinori concentrated, trying and failing to think of its significance. A brief peek at Sorahiko revealed that he wasn't coming to a conclusion either.
"All for One has a way of symbolizing things, to make his action cut deep. To use Shimura-san's remains like that means that Shigaraki is likely tied to her," Nezu said.
"There are no ties he could possibly use! She cared most about Toshinori, myself, her dead husband, and– no!" Sorahiko said as his eyes widened in horror. "We hid him!"
"No, Shigaraki does not match the age of her son… but a grandson?" Nezu asked him seriously.
"But we hid him!"
"That does not mean he could not have found him eventually. Remember, he already had her D.N.A. Who is to say that her son and grandson could not have been found eventually, especially with the resources at his disposal?"
"I– I can't accept that possibility. Not yet," Sorahiko said, unwilling to look at Nezo again.
"I agree that it is only a possibility," Nezu said calmly, alleviating the retired Pro-Hero of some of his dread. "But we all know that if he was given such a chance, All for One would gladly pull such a stunt. While my plate has been rather full as of late with research, I will do what I can to find any evidence. Before you leave, give me what details you can, and I will see what I can find."
"I will," Sorahiko said before taking a deep breath and turning to Toshinori again. "How much have you revealed to Midoriya about the nature of One for All, Toshinori?"
Toshinori's mind was still reeling from their discussion while his body attempted to expel more of his blood, making him wipe what leaked down his chin with another napkin. Speaking about his successor calmed him down, but it also made him a bit nervous since his answer would likely be found wanting. "Only the basics, that it is something handed down and how it is transferred. I haven't told him much about its history."
"And why not?" Sorahiko asked, leveling his student with his eyes.
Toshinori winced but answered him truthfully. "For a time, his body couldn't withstand it. I only did the transfer hours before the entrance exam was to take place. But he still had difficulty adapting to it, so I was waiting for him to get more control of his power."
"From what I saw, he gained that control? At least enough to not injure himself, even if it isn't at the same level as you," Sorahiko said.
"That was thanks to Young Saotome," Toshinori said, grinning to himself about what his old mentor would think of him. "He was able to help Midoriya quickly control his Quirk so it wouldn't hurt him, and he has been training him since. The young man is simply a marvel."
"I saw," Sorahiko said, sporting his own grin.
"I was hoping to tell him more after today, though not nearly as much as I will have to now," Toshinori said, frowning at the thought.
"Considering the circumstances, I will nominate the boy," Sorahiko said. As a result, Toshinori's head jerked towards his mentor. "He is free to pick whom he chooses, but I would like the chance to see him in person without much interference."
Toshinori sighed. "I'll let him know."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Aizawa removed the earbud and stared up at the ceiling. He had already known that something dangerous was around the corner, but to think it was the infamous All for One?
It was not a pleasant thought.
Few knew of his existence publicly. He wasn't well known in the Pro-Hero community either, other than acting as a boogie-man to Pro-Heroes. The stories that revolved around him included how incredibly powerful he was, his ability to manipulate others, the massive number of lives he had ended, and the one that terrified Pro-Heroes the most—the ability to steal anyone's Quirk permanently and use it for himself.
Like the Principal had said, the timing was far too convenient. And the implications were potentially horrifying.
All Might was weakening. His successor, Midoriya, if he understood things correctly, would require more time to become ready. The man was looking to strike low the one that had, nearly or not, killed him. Likely before Midoriya could take up his mantle.
But someone had known about it before it could happen. The arrival of his three students to protect and train Midoriya, his classmates, and any number of others now made sense to him. They were to be Midoriya's shield, preparing him for the world. They were strong and highly competent fighters, and, most importantly, they did not have Quirks.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Tenya sat on a bench, hunched forward, not caring as his spine began to ache, as he stared at nothing. Doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors all gave him space as he tried to adapt to his new reality—one in which his older brother would no longer be able to look down at him, smiling and laughing with him while showing the world an example of what a hero should be.
He was left alone in the E.R., just down the hallway from his brother's hospital room after he had finally been stabilized. He had left his parents to continue talking to the doctors about his brother's condition and what could be done.
While he knew of the gossip that revolved around him, U.A. and the Sports Festival, he ignored it as much as he could since it was something he could not find the will to care about. He was only aware of those discussions when he heard Sakura's name mentioned.
When he did look up, he was pleased to see the hospital staff working hard. They had played a critical role in saving his brother's life. He also saw his brother's sidekicks roaming the halls or taking up positions at various points as they stood attentively along with police officers. Their presence wasn't questioned by either the staff or the local police.
A vicious, petty part of him resented them for failing his brother or at least not apprehending the Villain afterward, but he knew he shouldn't, and squashed it as hard as he could. Especially after learning how his brother had been injured in the first place or how the Villain had not escaped under his own power. In the end he just didn't think about them beyond that.
All that was left for him was anger towards the one who had hurt his brother and the one who had helped him to escape. His mind raced as he thought of those responsible and what he wanted to do to them. A large part of him wanted to go out there, even now, to find them and rip them apart until they understood the pain they had inflicted on his brother.
He knew this was not him, that these thoughts were not how he usually thought. This… hatred.
It was now his constant companion, clinging to his back as it shrieked endlessly in his ear when his anger was heightened. In the rare moments where he had calmed his mind, it gave him logic about how he must solve the issue and provided him suggestions on how to get away with it. Then, when he was sad, it would whisper in his ear as it attempted to seduce him with its honeyed words like it was doing now. He tried to ward it off, to reject it and shove it away, to order it to leave him alone, but nothing he did could dislodge it. The best he could do was quiet it for short bouts before it inevitably returned, knowing that it was wearing him down and that it would win in the end. A growing part of himself wanted to surrender.
He had no idea how long he warred with himself as he sat there thinking about the past, the present, and the future.
Eventually, someone sat next to him on the bench, and he wanted to thank them and yell at them for the interruption. When he turned to see who it was, he quickly looked away as he couldn't muster the will to meet Sakura's gaze. That brief glance let him see how she looked at him kindly and sorrowfully. He felt ashamed, so he returned to studying the shiny hospital floor.
"I'm sorry, Haruno-san," Tenya whispered. He could only think of the many ways he must have disappointed her. "I missed your fight."
"There is nothing to be sorry about, Tenya-kun," Sakura said as she sat beside him, barely any space between them. "If I had heard about what had happened, I would have forfeited the match and gone with you."
Tenya wanted to fight her about that since he or his brother weren't worth giving up that opportunity. Still, he knew she meant every word. Her words also gave him strength, knowing he wasn't alone—enough strength to quiet his unwanted companion. And he wanted more.
"Did you hear?" Tenya asked, his voice still low even as he closed his eyes. "He may never walk again. My brother's career is over."
"I heard," Sakura said as she touched his knee, giving it a faint squeeze. "Shuzenji-sama came with me. She went to look your brother over to see if there was anything she could do."
Tenya choked briefly as hope dared to return, but it was quickly dispelled. "Shuzenji-sensei had already considered that possibility and didn't think her Quirk would be able to heal him. I… I hope she is wrong."
"As do I," Sakura said, squeezing his knee again.
"I talked to my brother right after my match," Tenya said. Sakura remained silent as he took his time to gather his thoughts. He replayed the earlier conversation in his mind, something he had already done a hundred times. "I asked him to be safe."
"What was his reply?" Sakura asked as she took her hand off his knee, moved it to his shoulder, and lightly rubbed it.
"He said… he said he'd do his best," he said as he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to completely stop the moisture that leaked downwards ever so slowly.
"He kept his promise, Tenya-kun," Sakura said.
Tenya looked up at her, startled at her response, and almost demanded to ask how this was 'doing his best.' But her eyes showed him she wasn't finished and understood how odd it sounded.
"It may not seem like it, but he did. He was not reckless. He didn't put himself into a dangerous situation because he didn't think. He acted because there was no other option. He almost wasn't fast enough, but he still saved them. He did his best. He saved someone's life and kept himself safe enough to live, Tenya."
Tenya couldn't fight it anymore. His breathing started hitching as sobs began to escape. Soon his eyelids could no longer function as a dam. He felt Sakura's arm reach across to his other shoulder, pulling him closer to her more petite frame. He didn't resist. Instead, he leaned into it before he felt himself being enveloped fully by her hug as his raw pain was finally allowed to escape.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Sakura held her friend, letting him grieve properly. It was not her first time doing this, but she always hoped it would be her last. Her heart hurt to see him like this, to know that a few rooms down, his brother had barely survived his ordeal and was likely crippled for life.
Tensei was also her friend, but she knew the older man would want her to help his brother first. He reminded her of her fellow shinobi with how much he cared about those around them and their safety. His compassion, drive, and willingness to listen and learn so he could improve other people's lives were among the reasons he was one of the few who had earned her respect in this new world. He served as a template for what she hoped her Village and world could eventually turn into.
She waited until Tenya's sobbing had quieted to a trickle as she held him close. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she estimated over twenty minutes and was glad they hadn't been interrupted.
She inspected his face and found his cheeks red, eyebrows drooping, nose dilating, and puffiness around his closed eyes. These were obvious signs of his exhaustion, as the day's emotional and physical strain had taken its toll on him.
Satisfied that he was resting more calmly than before, she slowly pushed him back until his back and head rested against the seat and the wall behind it. It was easily accomplished since he had no will to resist.
"Tenya-kun, I'm going to go check on Tensei. I want to check his condition, but I will return soon. Is that okay?" Sakura asked.
Tenya nodded, his head tapping the hospital wall, but he didn't seem to care. She smiled softly before standing and walking towards the nurse's desk. "Keiko-san? Please keep an eye on him?"
"I will, Sakura-chan," Keiko said softly, looking over at the now resting boy and knowing how much he needed it.
Sakura smiled at her, glad she was so attentive. She then walked towards Tensei's room. She found the door closed and the curtain blocking the line of sight of what was happening.
Sakura turned to Junko and cleared her throat to get her attention. She tilted her head towards the door and raised an eyebrow, but the nurse shook her head. Sighing, Sakura nodded as she turned towards the door in disappointment. Her eyes then noticed a spare set of medical records hanging by the door.
She knew she shouldn't, but her curiosity won out as she picked it up and began to leaf through it.
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
"I'm sorry, Ai-chan and Iida-san, but my Quirk will not be able to repair the damage to his spine."
Ai sighed, disappointed, as her mother-in-law finally finished inspecting his records and physically evaluating him. She had expected it but had hoped she had overlooked something. "Thank you for looking, Shuzenji-sensei."
"Thank you for trying, Shuzenji-sensei," Iida Naomi said, bowing with respect before staring at her son as he continued to sleep. She stepped closer to his bed, shifting her shoulder-length black hair away from her glasses as she looked down at him sadly.
"He's a little too weak for me to feel comfortable using my Quirk on him at the moment, but I think a few days of rest will be enough for that," Chiyo said. She grabbed her cane, the one that looked like a medical instrument since she was currently in her hero uniform, and was about to make her way to the door when she heard a bit of a commotion outside.
Chiyo could hear a man getting upset and a few others nearby who were likely trying to calm the situation down. She turned to her daughter-in-law and saw that she had also quickly recognized the disturbance.
Ai moved quickly, reaching the door and sliding it open. She paused to blink as she was caught off-guard by what she saw. A man her age, dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a doctor's overcoat, was struggling to free his arm. She didn't expect him to succeed on his own, considering Sakura was the one currently holding it.
Sakura, however, wasn't paying him any attention. Instead, she was reading through some documents that Ai quickly recognized as medical records they left on their patient's doors. She stared intently at it, her eyes flickering up and down while her fingers flipped through the pages.
The other voices belonged to Junko and a couple of Tensei's sidekicks, who had approached to try to calm everyone down.
"Release me! Now!" the man nearly shouted, his anger building. After a few moments, she recognized the man as one of the specialists who had been called in to help evaluate Tensei's condition: Doctor Fujihara Ichiro. She had met him several years ago and found him to be strict and very full of himself, but he was still one of the best neurosurgeons in the country.
"Sakura-chan, please release Fujihara-sensei," Ai asked softly. She sighed in relief when she did as she was asked, but Sakura still didn't pay them any attention as she used her now free hand to continue leafing through the records. She noticed they had attracted even more attention, including Tenya, Kiko, and Iida-san from behind.
"Now, what is going on?" Ai asked, turning her attention to her fellow doctor. He rubbed his wrist as he opened his mouth to start yelling but stopped at her glare. He then stood up straighter to regain his dignity.
"I had just arrived and found this young girl looking through things she should not be looking at," Fujihara said, glaring at Sakura. "I do not care if she attends U.A. and has participated in one of their pointless festivals. She does not have the medical knowledge, skills, or license to interact with them, let alone patient confidentiality!"
"That is where you are wrong, Doctor," Ai said, a bit of anger leaking out of her voice. She remembered some of her past conversations with him, so hearing his tone and how he spoke about Sakura set her off. "The only two things you are technically correct on are her not having a license and not having confirmed she could view Iida-san's medical records."
She had turned her glare to Sakura, even softened as she had, but she hadn't even noticed. She was still too engrossed in looking everything over, and it made her worry. She would handle that after dealing with the immediate problem, especially as he scoffed at her claims.
"Your claim that she is both knowledgeable and skilled is questionable enough to make me wonder if you have slipped in recent years. No one that young could hope to be a trained medical practitioner or even just starting her internship."
Almost everyone, besides herself and Sakura, glared at the offending doctor for that insinuation. For Ai, she merely smiled as the man displayed how ignorant he was.
"I would appreciate it if you did not verbally demean my ward, Doctor Fujihara," Ai said, her cold voice sending chills down some of her staff members' spines.
"Yes, please stop dishonoring yourself by attacking my apprentice," Chiyo said from behind her.
The visiting doctor recoiled when he finally noticed the old woman's presence. Then he finally realized what she had said. "Ap-apprentice?"
"Hmmm, yes," Chiyo said, standing next to Ai as she looked up at him. "I've taken her on as an apprentice in both medicine and as a Pro-Hero. She is studying to become a Pro-Hero at U.A., where I work. Regarding her knowledge and skills, I have personally tested her and found her to be more than adequate to have a license. The only reason she doesn't is that her records have been lost. She had to start from scratch last year but quickly and easily earned her place at U.A. She also just returned from having won the Sports Festival. Admittedly, only for the First Years, but that was due to the different years not competing with each other."
Fujihara stared in shock and ghastliness at his mistake but then doubled down as he refused to verbally admit it. "That does not excuse her looking at records without permission."
"That is true," Chiyo sighed before turning to look at Sakura. "Well, Sakura?"
They waited several seconds to see if she would respond, but she was too focused. Ai decided to try to give her another nudge before anyone attempted anything more drastic. "Sakura-chan?"
"Did you run a C.T. scan or an M.R.I.?" Sakura asked, still not looking up.
Ai blinked, caught off-guard, but quickly realized that her copy of the records wasn't the most up-to-date one that included those. The doctor glanced back at Naomi, asking with her eyes if it was okay. She seemed a bit lost, but she nodded when she noticed Ai looking at her. "Yes, we ran them. There is nerve damage, but it is too early to run an E.M.G or N.C.S. to tell how bad it is yet."
Sakura didn't respond as she continued to flip through the documents, charts, and images she could see of the wound itself. Ai was concerned about how intense she was and worried they had missed something. "Sakura? What is it? What did you find?"
Sakura looked up, staring into her eyes as she answered. "I can heal him."
-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-
Chapter 21 - End - Arc 3 Conclusion
A/N - Big thanks to Boldish, Iron, MissWiggles, and ForgetfulAlchemist for their assistance.
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Shoto, consider this: to this day your father still sends to Rei her favourite flowers at the anniversary of their first date. Date, not marriage.
Of course you can, compared to the mess Lee did to his own spine in his fight against Gaara Tensei's injury is as clean and simple as it can be!
There is a difference between Lee and Tensei's injuries.
Lee - Bone fragments in dangerous spots near his CNS (central nervous system), removing or dealing with them is potentially dangerous. The wrong move could damage and kill him. You can also observe that he isn't paralyzed before the surgery, so his CSN wasn't severed.
Tensei - His CNS was severed, at least in part. The complication is that nerves do not necessarily just regrow naturally. While Chakra has several advantages for healing nerve damage, the CNS is a different beast altogether. It is very compact and complicated. The nerves are all tightly woven together. You also may not be able to just 'heal' the nerves.
Think of it strings and a rope. A simple string is a standard nerve, while a rope is a multitude of strings tightly connected. You have to make sure you get enough of the correct nerves together to re-heal correctly to perform. You also have to have all the strings lined up, heal them one at a time, without losing your place. Possible, but extremely difficult to perform, especially without any form of assistance she can call upon.
The reason she thinks she can do it, is because of imaging and mapping of the CNS can be done before hand and with assistance, taking much of the load off of her shoulders as possible.
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
I acknowledge the difference, but the fact remains that, compared to what Lee did to himself to try to beat Gaara, Tensei's problem is easier to solve.
Inverted Fallecy
Beware the Dialogue that Spews Forth!~
- Location
- Somewhere behind a Screen.~
There's actually new research on the neurons in the CNS. Olfactory ensheathing cells transplanted to the CNS in the damaged or severed area promote the growth of new neurons in the injured spinal cord. The guy who underwent this procedure in 2014 was able to walk again after a year of treatment and physiotherapy.
Whether you include this knowledge in your story or not is up to you.
Yes and no. Tensei's issue might be simpler, but it has complications. She could heal him more easily, but he could have months or years of therapy before he could walk again because he needs to train newer pathways, since the old ones don't go to the correct routes anymore.
A potential problem, though I am no neurologist to confirm if it would be and I've had difficulty confirming if this might be true, is that growing pathways onto the wrong nerves could potentially cause health problems to organs. It is like sending signals down the wrong paths and it gets the wrong set of instructions.
To do an operation well, so that you limit the amount of time for recovery or heading off potential problems, means you basically have to map where things go and heal the nerves to the correct ones.
Using the rope analogy, Lee's operation is like carefully removing hidden shards near and inside the rope, potentially dangerous and very meticulous to perform.
Tensei's operation would be more like a rope is already partially severed and you need to rebuild it... but if you rebuild it incorrectly, it may not work as well or it may endanger it.
Yes, Chakra does. I explained it on SB as natural and unnatural healing, which Quirk's like Recovery Girl's can regenerate with natural healing, while 'unnatural' would be healing things that normally cannot heal themselves, like rebuilding and healing an entire organ. Nerves do not tend to regenerate naturally.
Also correct that she is the only one with Chakra healing here, so she has no support staff for her methods of healing. She would have to incorporate other methods to act as support. She basically said previously to Recovery Girl that operations like that required 'teams.'
I think I might have heard something about it, more like an out of context and rare occasion. Still good to know, so thanks.
Considering that that MHA canon doesn't cover it or mention much, not to mention the technological and medical differences that branched out, I am leaning towards it not being a known or common procedure that might allow for it.
MHA began back in 2014, meaning the Stain arc likely occurred in 2015/2016. Hori didn't leave any hints that I remember that he could recover eventually, so I am going with that.
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MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Understandable.
So Tensei's chances of walking again have gone from zero to one/two in ten?
I would take the chance in his position.