Chapter Five

"So this is your hero costume." The voice came behind her just as [Y/N] adjusted the sleeves. She turned and there he was, approaching with an insufferable yet confident grin.

"Not bad." Monoma said, flicking his eyes over the girl's suit in assessment. "Sophisticated and functional. Almost as if you're taking inspiration from me."

Most people would agree at his view. Both costumes had flair, and the only difference was color palettes and design. [Y/N] was completely opposite from Monoma's dark selection—besides black, hers had a mix of white, red, and a hint of gold. Over the sleeveless turtleneck that has an intricate on the chest was a vest adorned with gold embroidery keep it together. Along the lapels, there were ornate patterns and accessories plus forearm sleeves. Below she wore a short, open-front skirt and translucent tights, finishing the suit with thigh-high boots. And for more enhancement for her Quirk, [Y/N] requested the Support Course for a utility belt and bracelets.

Her attention settled on one of Monoma's belts, nodding towards the small clocks hanging on the side. "What's the purpose of those?"

"Oh, these?" Monoma lifted one between his fingers, its metal gleaming from the sun. "For keeping track, obviously. I thought you're smarter than that [Y/N]."

The latter ignored the rising heat on her neck, playing it off as the cause of restriction from her hero suit while she rested her hands on her hips. "I know. You get my point."

"Timing is everything for me, my friend." He replied, clipping the clock back to his belt just as Vlad King called the class for random pairings. "Every second counts when borrowing someone's power."

It didn't take a second to understand. [Y/N] kept in mind that Monoma's Quirk has a time limit. But for how long? Back in the entrance exam all she gathered was that Monoma can't copy two or more Quirks at the same time. Now, with a combat training where one pair would be a villain and the other a hero, [Y/N] had to wait before coming up with a plan.

"Hey. [Y/N], right?" Kendo strode up to her with a kind twinkle. [Y/N] remembered her, she was one of the tops during ball throw from yesterday. Sizing her hand did a huge momentum for the distance. "Looks like we'll be partners for this."

"Who do you think we'll be up against?" [Y/N] questioned as the class head inside the monitoring room. A big screen was displayed above, presenting some interior parts of a building. It was dim, but two were bright that revealed a space filled with random and pillars for support. At the center of the room, a huge bomb.

Anticipation never faltered when All Might stepped in to Class 1B earlier. It was astonishing that the number one Hero decided to be an instructor this year in U.A. In person, like her other classmates, [Y/N] was glad that All Might would be helping them in becoming a future Pro. He was over the edge, announcing his arrival every time with a spirited tone, but All Might meant well.

"Listen well you heroes." The Symbol of Peace drawled. "This training as you can see is a fight between people—not those bots you have faced. Villains are at most advantage in tight spaces, even though most of you met or watched them in open areas."

"Like that one villain you fought in an alleyway!" Awase piped in.

"Oh yeah, and that one guy trapped in it." Wrote Manga with an added pointed finger.

Now that they mentioned it... [Y/N]'s eyes narrowed. That Spikey from before, wasn't he the one who got caught in that incident? He was on the news for quite some time. It'll be a bad scene if someone mentioned that event to him, remembering how he was.

"Correct! In this case—" A new window popped on the screen. It was animated, a building consisted of five floors and beside were two pairs. One with the bomb and the other none. "—those who will be heroes must find the villains and the nuclear missile hidden in any of the floors. They can either catch the villains or retrieve the weapon. Same goes for the villains, protect the payload or catch the heroes."

"Now, lots will be drawn to whoever assigned roles for each pair!" On cue, All Might was in the middle of two monochrome boxes—white as 'Hero' and black as 'Villain'.

The class had great strategies on both sides, it was a balanced combat where each pair came up with plans on how to use their Quirks all together. [Y/N] and Kendo ended up being Heroes, opposing against Monoma and Shoda. From what Kendo described, Shoda's Quirk makes anything he had touched, it'll twice as stronger.

"Back during the ball throw." She gave [Y/N] a visual. "He placed first, and from what I can tell it's hard to say if Shoda activated his Quirk."

"Unless...it's touch based." [Y/N] assumed, glancing at the opposite pair, All Might was at their side giving points on how to act as 'bad guys'. Not sure about Shoda, but from her angle she can see Monoma was composed. He tilted his head a little to her direction, then a smooth taunt came from his mouth.

"I expect more from you [Y/N]. Better not disappoint me."

...

Not only it doubled the strength, but it was also faster too. It was a good idea to settle staying than splitting ways when the battle trial started. [Y/N] and Kendo met Monoma on the third floor, as expected he copied Shoda's Twin Impact; [Y/N] gave a brief description earlier to Kendo how Monoma's Copy works along with an assumption that he would come for them instead of his partner.

"He has clocks on his hero costume, not only he can keep in track of how long the current copied Quirk will last but also to confuse us." [Y/N] shared at Kendo when they entered the building. She let the orange hair led the way while she continues. "We might face Monoma instead of Shoda. He can't copy two powers at the same time, but he can still use it for control."

Both Quirks only worked through touch, which [Y/N] suggested to Kendo to keep a distance from the two. In this situation, the girls were suitable for being offense and defense. The two decided that one of them should focus on melee while the other in range, predictable but it made the flow of their combat styles well. Enlarging her hands, Kendo protected both of them from the pieces that Monoma found and thrown at an unordinary speed. [Y/N] flung with her right hand most of the time, using the black cards as a false distraction to keep the boy at bay.

It didn't go unnoticed for Monoma as he stopped his actions to jump back once again. He chuckled, adjusting one of the cuffs of his tailored suit and at the same time flexing his wrist, eyes permanent among the girls. "Not bad. I already knew you're not a fan of cramped rooms [Y/N]; the stage is too little to perform card tricks."

Monoma stood in place, tone and posture radiating mockery, condescension, and taunt. "If I were in your shoes, I could've done better in this dingy place."

[Y/N] clicked her tongue, fingers brushing over the cards hitched between her knuckles. She entertained him, as Kendo cautiously walk closer, finding a nearest corner to trap Monoma against the wall and hands. "You talk too much."

"You like it though," With that delivery [Y/N] would go pink or red, but her mind was running for the win. Monoma didn't stop. "I'm giving you a chance, my friend. A fair one—since you're already struggling with the layout."

He spread his arms, voice echoing down the halls. "Go on then, hero. Show me the stacks on how to save the day, or you prefer your partner cleaning up for you?"

"Don't listen to him [Y/N]," Kendo warned, guarding Monoma. "He's baiting you."

"Oh, I know she knows that." Monoma cut in, glancing behind Kendo where [Y/N] was. "But some people love a challenge. Even they fall into a trap purposely—makes things more entertaining."

The confidence in his tone irked [Y/N], prickling under her skin. It brought a magnetic pull that she resisted, every calculated move, drawn-out words—it wasn't just arrogance. It was an act that Monoma found helpful to provoke people and land a hit. A kind of temptation where he aimed to gun his words close enough to make him stop.

It almost worked, but [Y/N] kept calm with a quiet sigh. She spoke to Kendo. "We can't leave him or go find the weapon together. I'll go look for the missile while you keep him in place."

[Y/N] had no choice but to fall for the awaited trap that Monoma was planning, hearing the sudden change of strategy of the girls made Monoma grin wider. Her way of thinking almost matched his, they thought of all possible pros of cons before the match has started. He found it amusing that someone like [Y/N] solved his way of thinking, made him want to see what else she can do.

"Never keep your eyes away from him." Was [Y/N] said before she took off running. She doesn't know how much time left they have to win, but she won't waste a second of it. Monoma would keep yapping away at Kendo, probably throwing shade not only to her but also to [Y/N], and the girl could only hope her partner had enough resilience in her mind and a long patience to listen.

The girl entered a lit-up room at the top floor. Shoda was inside, along with the nuclear missile behind him. There were a lot of props that can be propel or switch as neither of them did not waste any time to strike. It was hard to dodge the impacts, yet [Y/N] didn't back down as she moves around swapping objects. Shoda avoided and retaliated the attacks, and making sure none of it strike the weapon. The girl tried to take hold of the missile whenever she neared, but a blur of clutter would always speed towards her.

"Nice Quirk." She complimented, drawing more cards and taking a stance once more. "I hope one day we'll be on the same team."

A faint ruckus echoed at the doors, each noise getting louder and louder. [Y/N] jumped away just in time as Monoma and Kendo bashed through with big fists. A thrill sparked in her, even if Monoma succeeded in pushing Kendo it made the final battle pulsating more.

"I can't believe you're enjoying this [Y/N]." Monoma pointed out, his wild grin matching her own. "You make it more thrilling."

His voice raised, eyes crazed with performative manic before he laughs. "Better give us a show heroes!"