This ^ took YEARS off my life. Two hours in my program crashed and I had to start over. I was up until almost 6:00 am. I don't think I will ever be able to put Aki in a screencap again.

𓆱❀𓆱

When Bakugo saw me approach, he scowled. "You again, shitty tie?"

I rolled my eyes. "Unfortunately."

"You'd better not hold me back." With that, the asshat marched off to where All Might awaited.

Scoffing, I tailed after. Fuck my life.

Ground Beta was one of U.A.'s numerous campus facilities, designed for combat training. It was staged to look like a standard urban area; streets and buildings organized inside a large square plot of land. Today's class, however, took place in only one building at a time.

The villain team was directed to go in first and set up. Five minutes later, the match would start, and the hero team would enter.

I made my way to the building entrance where All Might stood, and cast a glance in Bakugo's direction. His blood-red eyes were framed with a spiked black mask, and explosion-mimicking hair pieces flared out behind his head. The majority of his costume had a black base – baggy pants and a skin-tight v-neck tank, accentuated with hints of orange and dark green. Capturing either forearm were heavy-looking gauntlets, styled to mimic massive grenades. A little cheesy, but he pulled it off.

My eyes thinned.

Why do his shoulders look nice? My shoulders don't look that nice.

Mentally, I made a note to focus on some upper-body work. Lateral raises, bench press, pull-ups... I refuse to be shown up by anyone, especially not this asshole.

"Young Akiharu, Young Bakugo!" All Might greeted. "Learn to think from the perspective of the villains. Go all out. Don't be afraid to get hurt!"

"Yes sir," I replied deftly, but when I glanced to Bakugo, he was in his own little world, of course glaring maliciously at Midoriya.

I was about to tell him to knock it the hell off when Midoriya looked back. He had a determined, I won't take shit from you anymore sort of look in his eye. It surprised Blondie at first, then proceeded to piss him off even more. With the look he was giving, it was like he was trying to set Midoriya on fire with just his eyes.

You know what? If he could, he probably would.

I lead the way to the bomb, throwing glances over my shoulder to the ever-livid egoist. "So, our job is to protect this," I said, tapping a hand to the papier-mâché contraption. "The heroes are also on a time limit. That means..."

"Hey," interrupted the fiend, "That Deku has a Quirk, right?"

My voice caught. "If by Deku, you mean Midoriya... I'd hope so. That was one hell of a throw, yesterday."

The angle of Bakugo's jaw sharpened, the muscles of his back tensing. Good god. Apparently he got worked up at even the thought of Midoriya.

"What is it about him that gets you so pissed off, anyway?" I asked.

"He's a weakling!" Bakugo spat, his cheek turned away from me. "I don't need any other reason."

"Fine." I tried to start over, shaking the thought from my head. "But you've got to keep a level head. This ain't a match between you and Midoriya, we've got Todoroki and Chipmunk to worry about, too."

"Who do you think y'are, telling me what to do," he scoffed. "You just stay out of my damn way!"

I sucked in a deep breath, flexing my fingers to keep them from balling into fists.

Stay calm, Akiharu. Breaking his jaw won't solve anything.

Just... speak his language.

"Listen here, dickhead," I said.

That's not what I meant.

"You don't gotta like me, but if you want a chance of winning shit today, we've got to work together. Todoroki's a threat. I can't take him, Chipmunk, and protect the bomb on my own. You go after Midoriya without a plan, we lose."

Bakugo turned to me, his eyes thinned and his brow knotted.

Is this... working?

"But if you're gonna go after Midoriya, I can't stop you," I continued. "At the very least keep me updated. And for the love of god, if you can capture him, capture him."

Blondie snarled, taking a pace forward. "Don't you tell me what to do."

I stepped closer, staring him down. I wasn't about to let him walk all over me, but I was careful not to insult his ego. "I'm just levelling with you. It's two on three and Todoroki and the bomb make this a huge pain."

I tapped a foot to the ground and pulled the concrete of the wall over the windows. I then rose walls from the concrete floor, boxing the atomic bomb in. "Temporary fix," I said, glancing over my shoulder. "Midoriya could deal with it no problem – and the other two with a bit of ingenuity."

"That Deku won't get in here," Bakugo said. "I'll take care of him."

"I'll count on that," I grinned. "I'll focus on getting Chipmunk out of the way. But the second neither of us have eyes on Todoroki, I'll head back here."

Bakugo glanced to the door, then back to me. "The hell's Chipmunk?"

I opened my mouth, then shut it. "The... rosy-faced one. U... Uka... Something?"

He stared at me, nose wrinkled. "What the fuck?"

"I'm bad with names! She's got a gravity Quirk. Threw the infinity yesterday?"

"Round-face," he amended.

I shrugged. "Works for me. Now, Todoroki shoots ice from one side and probably fire from the other, but he doesn't seem to use it often." I said. "Your Quirk is fortunate. Keep quick on your feet and you'll be able to blast your way through his ice."

"'Course I will!"

Our five minutes were rapidly running out. I glanced around quickly. "Okay. Let's get set up."

Bakugo called from beyond the doorway. "Hurry up, 'cause I ain't waiting!"

Working quickly, I pulled concrete from the floors over the various props throughout the room to make sure Uraraka didn't have any ammunition. As I started down the hall, I continued doing the same to whatever props we came across.

The building was heavy, and therefore load supporting – it was mostly compromised of concrete. The walls and floors of many of the hallways and rooms were covered with thick metal plates, but with a bit of effort, I could manipulate the concrete underneath.

While I could connect to some raw metals just fine, the steel commonly used in buildings was another matter. Admittedly, I'd never tried all that hard, but I could tell that even if I managed somehow, it'd be so inefficient it wasn't worth it.

"So," I eventually asked to kill the time, "What're those gauntlets for?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, c'mon. They look heavy as hell. There's no way you're lugging those around just for the aesthetic."

Bakugo grinned cruelly. "Damn right." He raised one of them, clenching his fist a few times. "They pack an extra punch. I'll blast that Deku to bits!"

I tilted my head to one side, glancing ahead. So it's something store-able, what causes his explosions. "Could you fire it off right now?"

"Huh? No way!"

So it takes time to build up. I pinched my chin with my knuckles, brow knitting. "Sweat," I whispered. "Sweat! It's sweat, isn't it? On the palms of your hands."

Bakugo glared at me, lip curled, his head cocked to one side. "You're a fuckin' nerd!"

I punched his arm, hard enough to probably bruise later. "Yeah? What about it, asshole!"

"Ow! Watch it, bi..."

The intercom crackled. "Now, let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training between Team A and Team D!"

"Shit." I cursed. "Get ready."

"For wha–"

Ice flashed through the hall. I slammed a hand to the wall and the building contorted, shattering the ice, stopping the attack short.

I cringed. "I'd hoped he'd go the "infiltrate and gather information first" route, but..."

"The damn bastard's underestimating us!"

I grinned wryly. "You said it. Now, just let them come to us, and –"

Bakugo leapt around the corner.

Yep. Probably should've seen that coming.

I ran back for the stairs, pressing a hand to my ear. "Who do you see?"

I heard an explosion, followed by a crack of ice. "That damn half-n-half!" Bakugo roared.

"Roger." I kept my eyes peeled, moving over to the windows. I poked my head outside. No one below. I looked up.

Round-face and Midoriya were leaping in through the window one story above. "I got eyes on Midoriya. Third floor, North-West end."

"Leave him to me!" Bakugo managed through the explosions and ice.

"Get over here, then! Down the hall at the windows!"

There was a large explosion, and a few seconds later, Bakugo blasted into the room, followed by an explosion of ice. I pressed a hand to the floor, pulsed energy through the concrete, and a platform pushed us up through the ceiling.

While Bakugo chased down Midoriya, I had time to feel bad for unleashing him onto the other boy. But, confident that All Might would stop the match before it got too far, I trailed after Round-face. She yelped as she saw me, tapped a loose oil barrel, and hurled it my way. I slid under the projectile, palming the diabase rocks and the capture tape from my belt.

The rock was like putty in my hands. I started to combine it with the capture tape for a special little device.

Round-face dove, ducked and weaved, continuing to throw heavy props my way as if they were nothing. I guess to her they were nothing.

I saw her head for the stairs and pushed myself up a floor, parting the ceiling. I burst through the top just as she arrived, and again, she yelped. I sent an attack cracking through the floor, splitting the concrete, while I chucked the homemade device from my hand. Round-face raised her hands to guard from the attack, and squeezed her eyes shut.

One of the first rules of combat: Never take your eyes off an opponent. I forgot most of these kids hadn't actually had any basic training. But well, I was counting on that now.

As soon as the attack settled, Round-face came rushing, only to trip over her own feet. The capture tape was wrapped around her ankles, a bolus-type instrument, bits of diabase rocks still clustered at the ends.

What'd I say? It's like modified telekinesis.

Round-face lifted her head from the floor, looking queasy. I knelt by her side. "Say, uh... What's your name again?"

"Huh?"

"Uraraka's been captured!" All Might's voice boomed. "One point for the villain team!"

"I knew it started with a U!"

"E-Excuse me?"

I tapped my earpiece. "Got Uraraka."

"The hell's Uraraka!"

"Well it ain't Todoroki and it ain't Midoriya, so take a wild guess!"

"Shut up and come deal with the damn half-n-half! I keep trying to get to that Deku, and–" an explosion sounded from below. "The bastard keeps getting in my way! I'm fucking pissed!"

"Hang tight!" I inched closer to Uraraka, raising my hand over her legs. The rock collected into my palm, and I placed it back into my belt. I rose to my feet, but threw one hesitant glance over my shoulder.

"Er– You're not that safe in the middle of the hall. If I take you to a window, can you lower yourself down outside?"

Uraraka nodded, still looking a bit ill.

I linked my arms under hers and dragged her over to a window. She tapped her hands together and floated down outside. Once she landed, I heard her lose a battle against her stomach, emptying her lunch all over the road.

"You alright?" I called.

"Yeah, it's just my Quirk drawback... Urp!"

"Hurry the hell up, shitty tie!" Bakugo's voice crackled over the intercom. "That Deku's vanished!"

I started down the hall, running in the direction of the explosions. "Stop calling me that!"

I burst out of a hall and swung out of the way of an ice attack, barely avoiding being turned into a human popsicle.

Bakugo whipped around. "Tag me out!"

"What – But we don't know where Midoriya actually is! What if he's on the way to the–"

The blondie ran past me, leaving me staring down Todoroki across the hall.

I sighed.

"Wanna trade partners?"

An ice attack came shooting my way in response.

"I'll take that as a no."

𓆱❀𓆱

Bonus Aki for the soul:

See, this is the style I'm used to. FUCK YOU BNHA FOR LOOKING SO COOL AND BEING SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DRAW. RAHHHHHHHH

everything is fine.

1840 words