Souls Hero Academia (Rewrite)

Chapter 27: Battle Trials (4)

Izuku glanced up the towering building, its concrete walls providing cover from the harsh gaze of the sun directly above. He hummed and scanned the windows, some boarded, some not, and the doors that were open, as if inviting them inside like an ominous passageway.

He was liking the mood already.

"So, Midoriya, I assume you have a plan?" Ojiro tapped him on the shoulder and Izuku's instincts blared red. He resisted the urge to sock the plain teen in the face, his right arm twitching slightly. "Or are we just going to wing it?"

The teen obviously didn't notice what could've happened to him and his plain face, probably making it even plainer or just outright ugly. At least Izuku had the self-discipline to control his actions.

Lordran taught him better than to swing haphazardly.

Looking back at Ojiro, and in addition to him, the other two students who they were going to be facing, Izuku grinned and brought him close by swinging his heavily armored arm around his shoulder ala Patches style.

Say what you will about the bald asshole, but he had a way with words and body language. He could probably seduce a Gwyn-damned hollow to do his bidding if he tried.

"Welp, to start with, we don't know much about our competition, except for sparkly cape over there." Izuku nudged his head towards the two following behind them. "So, we can't plan around what they'd do. Instead, let's focus on reacting. Place the bomb at the tippity-top of the building, then we wait."

"... Okay... Anything else?" Ojiro questioned Izuku with a slight frown, causing the armored teen in question to give off a hearty chuckle.

"Leave that to me, just guard the bomb and yell if they somehow get there." Izuku then patted Ojiro on the back, before gently pushing him forward into the gloomy, decrepit building. "Also, don't forget to hurry. I'm gonna make our five-minute prep time count."

By the end of his sentence, Ojiro was already out of earshot, leaving Izuku to his lonesome in the surprisingly well-lit building. Even looking as run-down as it is, it was still supplied with electricity in the form of hanging lightbulbs on the ceiling. He didn't know how, or even why Nezu decided to supply power to the various grounds across the entire campus, but hey, it was the rat's business, not his.

Another grin etched itself onto his face, and pumping his legs with energy, he propelled himself upward, before smashing the bulb to pieces with his bare fist.

The room descended into darkness as the pieces of glass shattered and fell to the whims of gravity. Izuku landed next, his metal armor clanking and creating an unholy sound of metal grinding against stone, right into the sharp pieces of glass, not that it did any harm to his durable armor.

Izuku dusted the bits of glass that clung to his armor off and then glanced around the dark room, the only source of light coming from the entrance of the building. His grin didn't fade, but instead, it grew only further.

"I can work with this." He then eyed the stairs, the concrete looking as brittle as aged concrete. The grin turned feral. "I can definitely work with this."

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Shoto was looking at the door, the five minutes of their prep time still not finished ticking. Not that his teammate noticed any change of expression on his already expressionless face.

It was like looking upon a desert with nary a thing within, just an unchanging desolate wasteland filled with nothing but sand.

Yuga was also looking at the door, but instead of the stoic manner of his half-toned teammate, he was all dazzle and sparkle. Fluttering his cape with but a simple gesture, Yuga approached the normally unapproachable Shoto and winked.