章 7: Soul Crushing Exams (5)

Everyone was in position. The clock was ticking away, the seconds marked down by every heartbeat. The air smelled of smoke, paint and dust. The previous two rounds had been wild. They also received some bad news from the other candidates: no one, not even on the other sites, had been able to win. The count down began. Just ten seconds to go. In those ten seconds, the students once again revised the plan in their minds. Their senses became sharper. Their hands were firmer. Slowly, their breathing calmed down.

"Go!"

The main teams broke in simultaneously. Ryuzaki and Onishi levitated to the second floor and smashed a window. Suzuki burst through the first floor, engulfed in flames while carrying like a princess an ashamed Shimizu, whose face was bright red. A shadow swooped down from the sky and breached directly through a hole in the roof.

"Whoa, I have to praise you for the entrance! Very cool. Now, let's end this quickly."

The lofty figure who spoke raised its hand and shoot three times. Suzuki, still carrying Shimizu, swiftly evaded to the left and threw him at his opponent while the fire followed behind. They chose this side on purpose since he could hear the least activity from it. Shimizu fell on the unlucky Terrorist and, with the bayonet-marker, he slit his throat with a red line. It was a good start.

"Alive Terrorists: 12. Alive Candidates: 11" communicated a robotic voice. Perhaps, it wasn't such a good start.

「All teams, here Chief, five seconds rule, only the first two. Over」

Shimizu shook his head. He didn't need a roll call to know what happened. He was about to switch on the transceiver when Suzuki stopped him. Five seconds passed.

「Chief, here Team β. Over」

No other words were needed. They lost a whole team in the first minute.

「Copy that. Out」

Midoriya strengthened the grip on his gun. It was within his predictions, but to lose three members so soon really outlined the difference in skill. It was to be expected from his upperclassman, but it was still a hard blow. There was another room ahead. He and Watabe got in position. Watabe knocked down the door with his left wing and Midoriya dashed in pointing his gun. This was the procedure they came up with, in the last few minutes. Watabe didn't have super hearing like Shimizu but he wasn't an owl man for nothing: his senses were much more heightened than normal, so he was able to feel other humans and animals from far away. Accordingly, to him, there was no one on the third floor, but it was better to check since they didn't know if there was an enemy with a stealth quirk. The door came down, but no sound was heard, which immediately alarmed both. Izuku rolled to the right letting Watabe swiftly fly inside.

"What the hell? How did he... ?"

He didn't have the time to finish his question when a kick hit on the face. Watabe didn't waste the opportunity and shot the fainted Terrorist in the chest. Behind him, another one was about to fire when he felt two loud bangs followed by one hit in his back. The other bullet hit a senpai, who just jumped from a dark corner, right between his eyes. Izuku switched on the lights. In the middle of the room, there were three Hostages. The TMPA students were grumbling in pain, together with the crimson paint on them, provided some excellent nightmare fuel.

"Good job! Where did you learn to shoot?" asked one of them.

"It was my first time."

The situation was bizarre. The three were sitting on the ground, eating popcorn and listening to an earpiece like old friends who met to follow a baseball match on the radio.

"Alive Terrorists: 7. Alive Candidates: 10"

The announcement brought him back to reality. Someone else got 'killed'. He felt like something was out of place. It was normal to lose teammates, but why wasn't he receiving any communication? A team lost one member, so they had to contact him. This way, he could have a rough location of the enemies and a quick briefing on their quirks. Midoriya thought about it while guarding the hall leaning beside the door jamb. He knocked on the wood. It wasn't for good luck, but to make sure the fellow with the stealth quirk was among the ones writhing on the ground. The noise was loud and clear.

「Chief, here Team β. We need backups! Over」 The sound was disturbed like it was coming from hell. He considered sacrificing them.

「Team ε, Chief here. Provide backup to Team β. Over」

「Chief, here Team ε. Wilco. Out」

A few seconds later the robotic voice announced again: "Alive Terrorists: 6. Alive Candidates: 5"

「All teams, here Chief. Stop all comms. Unsafe. Out」

He didn't know for sure, but it was possible for the Terrorist team to have stolen one of their radios. His mood was under his boots. He should have seen it coming. What was worse, it all happened under the watch of the teachers. He gulped down his feelings and checked his wristwatch. 16 minutes.

"Watabe what do you sense?"

"Four people, two rooms down the hallway."

Midoriya sucked in a breath of cold air. "Teacher, how many Hostages are left?"

"Three" answered the man in the middle. The number of hostages wasn't known and it was different every round. It was at the discretion of the Hostages to tell them or not. Could it be? Did they underestimate them so much they put all the targets in one place with so few guards? Could it be this was really his lucky day?

"Let's go"

They snuck up to the door and took their usual positions. Watabe smashed the door. He was about to rush in when Midoriya blocked him with his left arm. Blue paint appeared on it and the arm violently recoiled back. The pain was tremendous like he had been penetrated by a real bullet. With tears in his eyes, he aimlessly rolled inside following the wall. Feathers fell in front of the entrance embedding themselves in the concrete like blades of iron, making an improvised barrier. Both him and Watabe fired in the general direction where the gunshot came from. An agile shadow jumped over them and in one single movement she unsheathed her fake knife, drew a blue mark on Watabe's heart and hurled him to the side. In the low light, he could see a familiar face. Someone who greeted him just a few hours earlier. Fuyumi Arikawa smiled at him from across the room.

"I didn't think we'd see each other so soon!"

"Yeah, me neither."

[Laaaaaame! What was with that English textbook kind of greeting, again?!]

Midoriya focused on her. She was still grinning and emitting a friendly aura, but her posture said she was about to attack. Her legs tensed. The shoes stopped touching the floor. The knife painted an intricated arabesque. Her hair fluttered and waved in the air. Midoriya was enchanted by her beauty but didn't forget Jinnai's teachings. Even if he wanted, he couldn't. His body had been beaten so many times, fear and instincts were stronger than rational thinking, and took the defensive stance automatically. He entered a trance-like state of mind. His words whispered in his ears as if he were behind him.

"Observe the enemy. Don't wait for it to come, sprint towards the knife. Stop right in front of it. Grab the arm. Turn around. Kick the back of her leg. Hit with your left knee at the base of her back. Put your whole weight on it. Elbow between the neck and the shoulder blade. Good, now step on her arm with your right foot and let go of it. Take the gun. Shoot her in the head."

BANG!

He came back to himself and looked around him. On the floor, Arikawa was out cold.

"Alive Terrorists: 6. Alive Candidates: 4. Objectives completed: all Hostages secured."

"Congratulations! You are the first team to win the match. Well, it has been fun. Can you call it quits, now? I want to sit in a chair."

At this point, Izuku was tired. Tired and in pain. But even if this was a decision he could take on his own, he was too tired to make it.

「Guys, do we stop... Or do we teach them a little lesson? Over.」

「Here Ryuzaki. Affirmative. Ass kicking in progress.」

「Here Suzuki. Roger that.」

"Alive Terrorists: 2. Alive Candidates: 4. Objectives completed: all Hostages secured."

It was good to have such reliable teammates. Midoriya stood up. He couldn't let those two tho have all the fun. He picked up his and Watabe's gun. He was unconscious and the wall he was flung against was cracked. He was glad his fight with Arikawa had been short. That kind of strength... In his conditions, he didn't know how much time he would have lasted. He patted his comrade on the back.

"Sorry, it looks like It'll take a little more time."

The first floor was a hellish mess. Suzuki was burning everything in sight and the rubble and ashes he made became projectiles and materials for Ryuzaki's deadly cloud of floating stuff. Shimizu was sitting on a table and playing cards with Onishi: they both used all the bullets and, since this was just the bonus achievement, it was pointless to enter the fight. If they did, they were going to be obliterated anyway.

The two Terrorists were cursing under their breaths. They were losing. They were losing against a team of amateur brats who knew each for one hour. A whole year of training, bonding and studying and they were still losing! Why didn't these freaks go to a hero high school?

One of them spat a jet of hot water towards the flames causing a steam explosion, while the other threw a smoke grenade. They fell back towards the stair, wanting to withdraw to the second floor. A voice came from above them.

"Detroit..."

Two feet sank in their stomachs, making them fly over back to where they were coming from. "SMASH!"

[How is that a Detroit Smash, if you're kicking us?!] Thise were his last thoughts before a gunshot put him to sleep. Ren Ryuzaki raised his bayonet and drew a moustache on the remaining one.

"Alive Terrorists: 0. Alive Candidates: 4. All objectives completed."

After the bell rang medics and nurses invaded the office and brought everybody to the Infirmary. Midoriya stretched his back. It had been a long day. It had been a long year. He needed a shower and he needed another few days of holidays... No, a few days of sleep! Then, he collapsed.