Chapter 237 - 236: Let's Go!

Dust settled across the private training grounds on the outskirts of Hosu City. The morning sun shined down on the dry field.

Sajin Higawara stood in the center of the yard. He wore his new brown coat. The moisture-regulating vents along his ribs hissed softly.

HISS.

He pressed the trigger hidden inside his right palm. The bio-adhesive sprayed into the air. He pulled a massive volume of sand directly from his container.

Snatch focused entirely on the concrete pillar sitting thirty yards away.

He just finished practicing the desert sword and now he was trying and learning another technique.

This time he needed sheer volume and crushing weight.

He threw both hands forward.

SWOOSH.

A massive tidal wave of loose sand roared across the field.

BAAAM.

It crashed over the concrete pillar, burying the stone completely under tons of heavy silica.

Snatch clenched his fists hard.

"Quicksand Waterfall," Snatch grunted.

The sand contracted violently from all sides. The immense, simultaneous pressure squeezed inward.

CRACK.

CRUMBLE.

The concrete pillar snapped and shattered. The crushing weight pulverized the broken chunks into fine gravel and dust.

The sand wave lost its shape and collapsed onto the ground.

Thud.

Snatch fell to one knee. He wiped a drop of sweat from his chin.

"It's almost there..."

Makoto sat on the hood of the car nearby and tapped a few commands into her datapad.

"Snatch, the pressure distribution was uneven on the left side," Makoto called out.

Kaito pushed off the front bumper and walked onto the field. He looked at the pile of pulverized concrete.

"You are rushing the compression," Kaito told him. "Let the sand cover it completely, lock the density, and then crush it all at once."

Snatch stood up slowly. He shook the tension out of his arms.

"Got it," Snatch nodded. "I just wanted to see if I could trigger the crush faster to catch a moving target."

"Patience makes the trap lethal," Kaito said. "If you squeeze too early, the target finds a gap and breaks out."

Fifty yards away, Taro fired a cable from his wrist bracer. The wire shot toward a steel crane. He sent a sharp vibration down the tether.

The flexible cable snapped completely rigid. It turned into a solid steel pole suspended in the air.

Taro grabbed it and vaulted over a wooden crate, landing on his feet.

Near the fence, Rina stood in front of a steel barricade.

She pressed her index finger against the metal. She focused her quirk into that tiny contact point.

The steel turned bright orange, melting a perfect coin-sized hole straight through the plate.

"Lockdown, keep your center of gravity lower!"

Kaito yelled across the yard. "Glass, condense the heat more! Don't let it spread to your palm!"

BZZZT.

A radio clipped to Snatch's belt buzzed loudly.

Snatch picked it up. He listened to the dispatch channel for a few seconds.

"Understood. I am on my way."

He clipped the radio back to his belt and looked at Kaito.

"Duty calls," Snatch said. "The local precinct needs a licensed escort for a transport van across the city limits."

Makoto checked her pad.

"I will log the training interruption," Makoto said with a smile. "Go make some money."

"We have to pay your consulting fees somehow," Snatch joked back.

He turned toward the other side of the yard.

"Taro! Rina!" Snatch yelled. "I have to take an escort job. Stay here and drill the manual."

"Yes, boss!" Taro yelled back, reeling his cable in.

Snatch jogged toward his black SUV parked near the gate. He climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

VROOOM.

The SUV kicked up a trail of dirt and drove out of the training grounds.

Makoto typed a few notes on her screen. Kaito turned around. He walked straight toward Rina and the steel barricade.

"Show me that move again," Kaito instructed, pointing at the metal plate.

...

Location: U.A. High School - Battle Trial Grounds

Time: Next Few Days.

Massive screens covered the entire front wall, showing different camera angles of the indoor training center's fake city block.

Class 1-A stood in the center of the room. They wore their hero costumes.

All Might stood at the front of the group in his classic Silver Age hero suit. He held a small clipboard.

Kuro sat comfortably on All Might's right shoulder.

The black cat casually licked a piece of dried tuna, completely ignoring the giant hero's booming voice.

Mina Ashido pointed at the cat.

"I still can't believe Midoriya gets to bring a pet to class," Mina whispered to Ochaco Uraraka.

"I think it's adorable," Uraraka whispered back, watching Kuro chew. "Maybe it's a special privilege for scoring so high on the exam?"

"AHEEM.."

All Might cleared his throat loudly.

"Listen up, young heroes!" All Might announced. "Today we conduct the Battle Trial. The rules are simple. Two heroes versus two villains. The villains guard a nuclear weapon inside the building. The heroes must either capture the villains with this tape or touch the weapon before the time runs out."

All Might pulled a small white ball from a lottery box sitting on the console.

"Match Number One," All Might read the names. "Team A will be the Villains. Izuku Midoriya and Tsuyu Asui. Team B will be the Heroes. Shoto Todoroki and Toru Hagakure."

Izuku adjusted the black gauntlets of his stealth suit. He nodded at Tsuyu.

"Thanks for having me."

"Let's do our best, Midoriya."

Shoto stood on the other side of the room in his dark blue combat suit.

He kept a completely neutral expression.

Ten minutes later, the match started.

Izuku and Tsuyu stood in a large, empty room on the fifth floor of the concrete building.

A fake paper-mache missile sat in the center of the room.

BEEP.

The loud buzzer echoed through the building.

"They are coming," Izuku said.

Down on the first floor, Shoto placed his right hand against the wall.

CRACKLE.

A massive wave of solid ice erupted from his palm.

It shot through the hallways, climbing the walls and freezing the entire structural frame of the building in seconds.

Up on the fifth floor, the temperature dropped instantly.

Frost covered the walls and the ceiling.

Tsuyu shivered, hugging her arms.

"It's freezing, Midoriya," Tsuyu said. Her breath turned into white mist. "My body gets sluggish in the cold."

Izuku activated his nano shut directly.

CLICK.

Millions of microscopic black nanobots poured out of his suit.

They hit the floor and linked together, forming a thick, insulated black carpet across the entire bomb room.

It blocked the cold radiating from the frozen floorboards.

"That helps a lot," Tsuyu said.

She jumped onto the black mat, feeling the temperature stabilize.

Izuku walked toward the doorway.

"Stay near the bomb," Izuku instructed. "Watch out for Hagakure. She is invisible. Listen for her footsteps. I will try to take down Todoroki."

Izuku walked out into the hallway.

His vigilante experience kicked in. He spent three years fighting villains. He knew exactly how a predator hunted.

Right now, he was the villain.

He moved silently over the ice. His nanobots formed spiked cleats over his boots to give him perfect traction.

He reached the stairwell just as Shoto walked up to the fourth-floor landing.

Shoto looked up.

"Midoriya," Shoto said.

Shoto swung his right arm. He formed a solid ice lance and launched it straight at Izuku's chest.

Izuku flicked his wrist.

SWISH.

His nanobots extended from his forearm, forming a solid black bo staff.

Izuku stepped to the side and parried the ice lance away. The ice shattered against the concrete wall.

BAAM.

Izuku pushed off the stairs and flipped forward. He swung the staff at Shoto's shoulder.

SWIISH.

Shoto stepped back. He created a thick, curved shield of ice on his forearm.

CLANG.

The staff hit the ice shield hard.

SWIISH. SWOOSH.

Izuku kept moving. He used his acrobatics to spin around, carrying his momentum into a low sweep aimed at Shoto's legs.

Shoto jumped over the sweep. He fired a blast of freezing wind from his right hand.

FWOOSH.

Izuku flipped backward, landing halfway up the stairs to avoid the frostbite.

Back in the monitoring room, the class watched the screens in total silence.

"WOOAH.."

"They are moving so fast," Kirishima muttered, leaning closer to the monitors. "Todoroki is using ice constructs, and Midoriya is just batting them away."

Bakugo stared at the screen. He kept his mouth shut.

He knew Izuku was strong.

But.

Watching Shoto match Izuku blow-for-blow gave Bakugo a harsh reality check.

He realized right then that Izuku wasn't his only competition. The guy with the ice and fire quirk was also a competitor.

On the screen, the fight escalated.

Izuku rushed forward again. He broke his staff into two short batons and engaged Shoto in close combat.

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

Shoto blocked the strikes with his ice shields. He realized Izuku was too fast to hit with a standard projectile.

Shoto slammed both hands onto the floor.

CRUMBLLE.

A massive wall of jagged ice erupted from the ground. It rushed directly at Izuku, threatening to pin him against the ceiling.

Izuku commanded his nanobots. They surged off his suit and formed a solid, curved black wall in front of him to block the ice.

CRASH.

The ice slammed into the nanobot wall. The temperature on the metal dropped below zero instantly.

Shoto immediately ignited the left side of his body.

FWOOSH.

A massive, concentrated blast of roaring red fire shot from his left hand. The flames completely engulfed the frozen nanobot wall.

Thermal shock.

The rapid shift from freezing cold to extreme, burning heat caused a violent physical reaction.

The metal microbots rapidly expanded. The magnetic links holding them together warped and jammed under the sudden stress.

Izuku tried to command the wall to shift into a net. The suit didn't respond.

'This is bad.' Izuku thought.

The suit locked up completely. The jam lasted exactly one and a half seconds.

But it was enough for him.

Shoto used the opening.

He slid past the locked-up nanobot wall on a slick patch of ice.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

He used his flames to propel himself so fast while creating ice wall to obstruct Izuku.

He past him and went straight down the hallway toward the bomb room.

Izuku forced a reboot on his suit, but it was too late.

"Tsuyu!" Izuku yelled, turning around and running after him while destroying the ice walls.

CRACK. BOOM.

CRACK. BOOM.

Inside the bomb room, Tsuyu stood in front of the weapon.

"I'm here!" a girl's voice shouted from the corner.

Toru Hagakure, entirely invisible, tackled Tsuyu to the ground from behind.

Shoto skated into the room and slammed his hand against the side of the fake missile.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Hero Team wins!" All Might's voice echoed through the PA system.

Izuku stopped at the doorway.

He looked at Shoto.

HUFF. PUFF.

Shoto breathed heavily. He turned around and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Thermal shock," Izuku said, a genuine smile forming on his face. "I really didn't expect that.."

Izuku was not bothered that he lost to Todoroki. After all the situation this time was really on the favor of the attacker.

And if he didn't experience it himself, he didn't know that Todoroki was really strong. He was even stronger than Kacchan.

Shoto nodded.

"The outcome would be different if we battle head on." Shoto explained. "Your also strong, Midoriya."

Izuku crossed his arms. "That was a good move. You got me."

Shoto walked over and held his hand out.

Shoto said. "... Let's fight again seriously next time."

Izuku shook his hand. They walked out of the room together, discussing the timing of the attack.

While Tsuyu and Toru both looked at each other and like didn't know what to do in this situation. Their temporary partners are ridiculously so strong.

Back in the monitoring room, Bakugo watched them leave the screen. He cracked his knuckles slowly.

"Match Number Two!" All Might announced. "Team C will be the Villains. Katsuki Bakugo and Yuga Aoyama. Team D will be the Heroes. Tenya Iida and Mina Ashido."

Bakugo grabbed his gauntlets and marched out of the room.

He wanted a fight. He needed to test himself against the rest of the class.

Ten minutes later, Bakugo stood in front of the bomb on the third floor.

Aoyama posed in the corner, fixing his hair in the reflection of a window.

Bakugo sparked small explosions in his palms. He stared at the doorway.

BEEP.

The buzzer sounded.

Down on the first floor, Tenya adjusted his glasses.

"Mina, stay here," Tenya instructed. "I will handle this."

Tenya dropped into a sprinter's stance. He activated Silent Velocity.

Blue flames shot silently from his calves.

He shot up the stairwell in a blur of silver armor. He bypassed the second floor entirely and reached the third floor in eight seconds.

Bakugo heard the heavy footsteps approaching the door. He grinned and raised both hands.

"Die!" Bakugo yelled.

CRACKLE. CRACKLE.

He fired a massive concentrated explosion right infront of him.

BAAAANG.

Fire and thick black smoke filled the doorway. It literally destroy almost half of the building

SWISH.

Tenya slid cleanly under the explosion. He moved so fast the explosion didn't even singe his armor.

He rolled across the floor, popped up on his feet, and tapped the side of the bomb.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Hero Team wins!" All Might announced.

The entire match took exactly ten seconds.

Bakugo stood in the center of the room with his hands raised. He stared at the smoke clearing in the doorway.

'He's too fast.."

He slowly turned his head.

Tenya stood next to the bomb, chopping his arm respectfully.

"Good match, Bakugo," Tenya said formally.

Bakugo just stared at him.

The sheer speed difference made his destructive power completely useless.

In the monitoring room, Kirishima rubbed his eyes.

"Did Iida just finish that in seconds?" Kirishima asked aloud. "And damn! Bakugo almost destroyed the entire building."

Izuku nodded.

'I know he was fast but can he still can go faster? How many gears he can achieve?'

He wrote rapidly in his notebook, analyzing Tenya's engine output.

"Match Number Three," All Might called out. "Momo Yaoyorozu and Mezo Shoji as Heroes. Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu as Villains."

Kirishima bumped his fists together. "Let's go, bro! A straight-up brawl!"

Tetsutetsu grinned, his skin turning to steel. "We hold the line!"

Five minutes later, the match started.

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu stood in the hallway outside the bomb room. They prepared to fight anyone who walked up the stairs.

Momo walked up the stairs calmly. Shoji followed behind her.

"Bring it on!" Kirishima yelled. He hardened his arms and rushed forward.

Momo opened her palm.

POP.

A specialized capture net launcher appeared in her hand. She fired it directly at Kirishima.

The thick, heavy net wrapped around Kirishima, pinning his arms to his sides.

A highly concentrated chemical adhesive burst from the net cords, gluing him instantly to the concrete floor.

Meza Shoji directly pinned him on the ground.

"What the—" Kirishima yelled, struggling against the glue and the weight of Shoji.

Tetsutetsu charged forward to help him preparing to strike Shoji directly but.

Momo dropped a small flashbang grenade on the floor and covered her eyes.

"SHOJI NOW.."

BANG.

A blinding white light filled the hallway. Tetsutetsu yelled and covered his face, completely blinded.

Shoji stepped forward.

He wrapped his massive arms around Tetsutetsu and tied him up with capture tape in two seconds.

Momo walked past them and touched the bomb.

"Hero Team wins!" All Might announced.

Kirishima lay on the floor, stuck to the concrete. He looked up at Tetsutetsu.

"This shouldn't be happening... We didn't have a manly battle at all." Kirishima complained.

Tetsutetsu groaned.

"..."

The rest of the class watched the monitors in silence.

They finally understood the gap.

Midoriya, Todoroki, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugo were operating on a completely different level.

...

Location: Naruhata - Kaito's Room

Time: 9:00 PM

CHOP. CHOP.

SLICE. SLICE

Kaito stood at the counter, chopping a handful of green onions with a sharp knife. He wore a casual black t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

SIZZLE. SIZZLE.

Makoto stood next to the stove, stirring a pot of hot soup.

She bumped her hip against Kaito's leg playfully.

"You need to chop those finer," Makoto joked, leaning over to inspect his work.

"They are perfectly fine," Kaito replied, sliding the onions into a small bowl. "You are just being a perfectionist."

In the living room, the television played a local news channel.

The screen flashed red.

[Breaking News,] the news anchor announced urgently. [We are receiving unconfirmed reports of a major disturbance at a classified government facility off the coast.]

Kaito picked up the TV remote from the counter.

He pointed it at the screen and pressed the mute button.

The anchor's mouth kept moving, but the room went completely quiet again.

Makoto looked over at him.

"You don't want to hear about it?" Makoto asked.

Kaito grabbed two bowls from the cabinet.

Kaito said casually. "It doesn't affect us. The pros will handle it."

He set the bowls on the dining table. Makoto brought the pot over and served the food.

They sat down across from each other.

Kaito took a sip of the soup. He nodded in approval.

"This is really good," Kaito said.

"Thank you," Makoto smiled, picking up her chopsticks.

Kaito set his spoon down. He looked across the table.

"Are you free this weekend?" Kaito asked.

Makoto looked up, slightly surprised. "I have to finalize the new patrol routes for Snatch on Saturday morning, but my afternoon is clear. Why? Do you want to go on a date?"

"Yeah," Kaito nodded. "I was thinking we could take a trip."

"A trip?" Makoto asked. "Like Kyoto? Or Hokkaido?"

Kaito smiled slightly.

"No," Kaito answered. "I was thinking another universe."

"..."

"..."

Makoto stopped chewing. She swallowed her food and stared at him.

"Another universe," Makoto repeated slowly.

"Yeah," Kaito said simply. "I want to test something out. You already went with me in the fourth dimension. I'm going to break and enter from there."

Makoto set her chopsticks down. Her eyes went wide with excitement, but she quickly frowned.

"Kaito, that sounds amazing," Makoto said, leaning forward. "But we have work. We can't just take a week off right now. Snatch has a contract with us."

Kaito shook his head.

"We won't miss work," Kaito explained, pouring them both a glass of water. "I choose our departure point. We can spend a whole month over there, walking around and exploring. When we come back, we arrive exactly the same time after we left."

Makoto blinked. She processed the information.

"Time dilation," Makoto whispered.

A huge smile spread across her face. "A month-long vacation?"

"Yep," Kaito grinned. "Besides I'm also dying to know the other part of that universe."

Makoto laughed and clapped her hands together.

"I'm in," Makoto said eagerly. "When do we leave?"

...

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