CHAPTER FIVE

      Megumi had guessed correctly.

      This battle between Midoriya and Bakugo was not a simple combat training exercise; it had become something else entirely.

      It had become unexpectedly real, turning into a battle with two old friends. But were Midoriya and Bakugo even friends? Judging by the way Bakugo was acting, they were looking more and more like long time rivals (maybe even enemies). It scared Megumi a little to see how brutal Bakugo was being. So, along with the rest of her classmates, she cried for All Might to stop.

      "All Might, this is getting out of hand!" Megumi declared with slight fear. "You have to stop them!"

      "Yeah! That Bakugo is acting real crazy!" Kirishima added. "He's gonna kill him."

      All Might stood up straight, facing the giant screen in the monitor room. His thought process was difficult to read and Megumi couldn't really understand why he hadn't stopped the fight yet.

      "Young Bakugo," All Might spoke into the mic. "If you use that move again, I will end this match and your team will lose."

      He added, as a warning. "To employ such a strong attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting! That's a poor strategy - even if you are a villain or a hero. There will be a penalty."

      Bakugo was a violent boy; more violent than anyone Megumi had ever known. His mouth was curled into a bloodthirsty grin as he attacked Midoriya, who wasn't even using his quirk. The green-haired boy was getting beaten badly. But in the explosive boy's anger, there was a noticeable strategy.

      She watched with wide eyes as Bakugo and Midoriya stood in front of each other, ready to attack. Something told her that the next attack by both of them would be the last. They lunged for each other; each aiming to defeat the other with their incredible veins. Midoriya's right arm glowed with red veins and Bakugo's hands were full of his explosive energy.

      Bakugo's move landed head on his target. But, Midoriya pulled off a surprising move; he aimed for the ceiling, the force of his amazing quirk blasting through the cement walls of the building and allowing Uraraka to secure the win for his team. Sadly, the backlash from his quirk caused him to collapse on the half-destroyed floor.

      Declaring the win for team A, All Might rushed into action, getting Midoriya onto a stretcher (held by one of those medical robots) to be taken to Recovery Girl. The rest of the participants returned to the monitor room with the pro-hero.

      To maintain a certain degree of normalcy in the training exercise, All Might announced, "The MVP for this battle was clearly young Iida."

      As Yaoyorozu explained why this was so, Megumi looked over at Natsume. Feeling her gaze, he looked back at her, reflecting the same concerned look that was currently on her face. Clearly, they both shared the same sentiment. Once the review was over, it was finally time for the next battle.

      Unfortunately (or fortunately; it depended on how you looked at it) it was Megumi's turn.

      She walked next to Todoroki and Shoji as Natsume joined the opposing team. This was going to be...fun (maybe). She and Natsume knew almost everything about how their quirks worked, though there were little secrets they kept from each other, just so that it would make any future competition between them a little more fun.

      Team B, composed of Megumi, Todoroki and Shoji, were the heroes.

      Team I, composed of Natsume, Ojiro and Hagakure, were to be the villains.

      Shifted to Building B, this battle was going to take place in an entirely different place. Megumi read through the blueprint, memorizing at least the basic layout of each floor; she would not forget and that was all thanks to her eidetic memory.

      The moment the buzzer sounded, team B jumped into action. Shoji replicated ears on the tips of massive tentacles and pressed them to the walls of the buildings. As Megumi and Todoroki stood next to him, he transformed an ear into a mouth and began to speak.

      "One's in the hall on the north side of the fourth floor. And I think the other two are on the same level somewhere. All three are barefoot and one of them has very light, almost unnoticeable movements."

      "That's Natsume," Megumi told the two, crossing her arms. "His tiger-like limbs make him just as fleet-footed as an actual tiger, so we have to be careful about him."

      Todoroki stared at her as Shoji nodded. The multi-limbed man said, "Yes, that is what I was about to say. He and the invisible one might be setting an ambush for us."

      Todoroki started walking forward. "For your own safety, go outside."

      Shoji and Megumi looked at each other in confusion. Megumi turned towards the red and white-haired boy, a questioning look at his statement.

      "I am sure our opponents intend to fight a defensive battle," Todoroki said, raising his hand as frost materialised from his palm. He placed his hand against the wall and ice started branching out slowly. Then it picked up pace and travelled through the halls, covering everything. "But we've already won."

      'What is this Todoroki thinking? Does he intend to face all three of them on his own?' Megumi thought, still confused. Yet, she followed Shoji outside, curious to see what the outcome of this battle would be. Todoroki's quirk was incredibly powerful, yet there was something about his attitude that was getting to her.

      'He's being selfish,' Megumi realised. 'He's forgotten all about teamwork and he's doing the whole thing on his own. He's trying to prove something. But what exactly?'

      Once she and Shoji stepped outside, they looked back. Collectively, they gasped. The entire building had been enveloped in ice from top to the bottom.

      "Holy shit," Megumi expressed out loud as she stared at the building. "He's strong."

      She fisted her hands at her sides, feeling her white flame aura erupt out of them, surrounding them completely. 'Natsume hates ice; he likes snow, but he hates ice. I wonder how he's going to handle this.'

      But this, this whole solo thing Todoroki was doing...it really was getting to her. Maybe it was because of what she had kept on hearing from her dad.

      "One of the most important parts about being a hero is learning to work with others, whether it be your sidekicks, your fellow heroes, the police or the government. Teamwork's very crucial." That was what he had said.

      It looked like Todoroki did not understand that sentiment, at all.

      Moments later, All Might's voice echoed through the training arena. "The hero team wins!"

      "We won?" Megumi said out loud. A second later, it hit her. They had won. But this did not feel like a real victory. She did not know about Shoji, but she was damn well going to talk to Todoroki about this.

      Out of nowhere, the ice started melting. Megumi looked down, hoping that it wasn't her that had accidentally used her own flames. But no, it was someone else and by all her guesses, it was Todoroki.

     Todoroki strode out of the building, walking away from the waiting figures of his team. Shoji stared after him and Megumi did too. She took in a deep breath and released it, following the boy with dual color hair.

      "Wait, Todoroki!" Megumi jogged to catch up with him.

      Todoroki stopped and turned around, facing her. "Is there something you need?" He sounded polite and rather carefree. That got to her.

      "Yeah actually, I do." Megumi crossed her arms as she stared at him with an irritated glare. "Do you think that selfishness can help you become a hero? What do you think being a hero is like?

     "What are you asking me, Okumura?" Todoroki asked coldly, the politeness now fading.

      Maybe she was being rude. But she didn't care; teamwork was important. That was why she was proud of her dad; how well he worked with people; how well he worked with his sidekicks...that was what made him a good hero. It was the same for all other heroes. Even someone like All Might who had no sidekick (except for a retired one who had set up his own agency) worked so well in case situations required team-up.

      "I'm not asking you anything," Megumi answered, just as coldly. "All I am saying is your selfishness and your need to show that you are strong is only going to cost you when you become a pro-hero. I'm sure you already know this, but an important part of being a pro-hero is teaming up with others. If you wanna show off your strength, then maybe being a hero isn't the right career for you."

      Ouch. Megumi winced internally as Todoroki's face twisted into a chilly glare. That was harsh. Though Megumi would not back down from her opinion. 

      She sent him one last glare of her own, before she strode away, fists clenched and covered with white flames.

      "You really said that?"

      The day was over. After an intense battle training, Class 1-A had afternoon lessons. The last one had just finished and everyone started talking among themselves. Megumi stuck to talking to her cousin. She sat on top of Natsume's desk, telling him all that she had said to Todoroki.

      "Yup, I did," Megumi nodded, answering her cousin's questions.

      Natsume squeezed her arm, sending her a grin. "Looks like being in U.A. has given you that much needed confidence."

      "I guess so," Megumi muttered. "Though I think I was a little rude."

      "But you said the right thing," Natsume replied, running his hand across his white hair. "We know it better than anybody. Your dad taught you about working in a team and my mom and dad also taught me the same thing. We've learnt that for so many years; that's why you defended the idea of teamwork."

      "But still..."

      "Don't you worry about that. At least, both of us are in the same boat this time."

      "Oh yeah, I forgot."

      "In a way, we both lost. But next time, I am going to face off against you, beat you and show everyone that they should not underestimate a tiger."

      "Right back at you."

      Natsume raised his hand for a high-five and Megumi promptly obliged. Even though they both helped each other, trained with each other throughout their childhood; they both held a competitive spirit when it came to the other.

      Then the door swung open. And in came Midoriya. His arm was in a sling, but he looked much better than before. Megumi hopped off Natsume's desk, motioning for her cousin to follow. By the time the pair got to Midoriya, there was already a small crowd surrounding him. Everyone was showering him with compliments. He seemed shocked by the sudden praise.

      "You did a great job dodging!" Mina said, a wide grin on her face,

      "Yes, yes," Natsume nodded with excitement. "You were so incredible out there!"

      Sato, also in the group, smiled widely. "You guys really gave it your all in the first match, so none of us held back during our rounds either!"

      As Sero nodded, Aoyama poked his head in. "You were from elegant, but I-"

      Megumi interrupted the blond boy, raising a single fist into the air, beaming at the green haired boy. "I was worried a lot during the fight, but you showed incredible spirit!"

      Midoriya looked around at everyone, turning red.

      "I'm Eijiro Kirishima!" Kirishima grinned as he pointed towards Sero. "We've been going over training results while you were in recovery!"

      "Hi," Sero also grinned. "I am Hanta Sero."

      "I'm Mina Ashido," Mina introduced herself, fists pumping in excitement. "I've just gotta say your dodging was awesome."

      "I have to agree with Ashido on that," Natsume added. "I'm Natsume Tachibana! Nice to properly meet you."

      "I'm Megumi Okumura," Megumi also introduced herself, still beaming.

      Tsuyu poked her head from behind Mina, catching the group's attention. "Tsuyu Asui. But call me Tsuyu-chan."

      "Hey," Sato bent down, giving Midoriya a thumbs up. "Sato."

      Other people also started joining, including that strange, perverted, purple grape face, Mineta. This was nice. Megumi silently looked at everyone. Interacting with people here felt strangely better than after the training. A random phrase popped into her mind; it probably was from one of the books she had read in the past week. 'Intense situations can often lead to the strongest of friendships.'

      Though this training was nothing like an actual battle and friendships were still being formed, being at U.A. had already led to some changes in Megumi. Natsume had been right. She probably had gained more confidence than ever before which was a good thing.

      (Now, if only her conscience would stop yelling at her to apologise to Todoroki.)

Well, looks like Megumi and Todoroki didn't exactly get off to a good start lol. They are going to be friends, eventually, but for now, they have their differences, especially at the fact that Todoroki overlooked his teammates. Megumi is a hardcore believer in teamwork, so there will definitely be conflict. But Megumi is also a nice person, so she'll try to be friends with him, in spite of his present attitude. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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