Capítulo 120: Chapter 120: Taking Up The Sword
Sai Bura, the former pro hero turned guard, was currently scarfing down a stupid amount of food on a table in the cafeteria.
Right now she was snacking on a rack of ribs, but she also had a beef bowl next to that, some meat skewers next to that, a bowl of rice, and a cooked chicken.
As well as a few stacks of plates surrounding her.
"Dude where does it all go?" Kaminari asked Sato, the two of them being a table away, looking at Sai in shock and awe.
"I have no idea. Apparently, blonde girls have the ability to eat forever." Sato said as he looked over to Amai, sitting at the same table, eating a similar amount of food together with Yami.
"I'll have to keep that in mind," Kaminari said, making a mental note of that.
While the two were chatting, Momo and Iida came into the cafeteria and walked up to Sai.
" , please forgive us for interrupting your meal, but we'd like to speak with you about something," Iida told her as they approached.
"Mgrrrrrr." Sai sighed, her annoyance clear to all, even though she had a mouthful of pork.
She knew that the 1A students would speak to her sooner or later(most likely sooner given they were leaving the day after tomorrow) but did it have to be while she was eating?
After swallowing her food, and reigning herself in, Sai turned toward the pair and gave them the most neutral expression she could muster. "What is it?"
"Well, we were wondering, since you were a pro hero if you could give us any personal advice or something of that level?" Momo asked her polity.
Yeah, that was about what Sai anticipated. It was either this or them asking about why she retired, so she's thankful it was the former rather than the latter.
"I suppose that's a fair thing to ask," Sai responded. "Very well, tell everyone to gather in the training room in an hour. Once I'm done eating."
"Thank you, Ms. Bura! My class will do everything we can to learn from your wisdom!" Iida assured her, giving her repeated respectful bows.
"And I'll everything I can to teach you, even with such limited time," Sai told him, before turning her attention back to her meal. "Now if you excuse me. I would like to finish eating."
The two didn't even get to respond before Sai started digging in.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Kaminari asked.
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After some time, all of 1A gathered in the training room, with Sai standing in front of them, her arms crossed behind her back.
"Can anyone tell me, what's the most important part of being a hero?" Sai asked them.
"Defeating villains?" Todoroki answered.
"Minimizing casualties?" Ochaco answered.
"Not dying?" Mineta answered.
"Correct. All of you." Sai told them. "In truth. There is no one answer to that question. In my mind, a hero's first priority should be saving and protecting the innocent, at any cost. Even their own lives. However, I can't act like all heroes are willing to do that. Some heroes simply aren't willing to pay that price, others are only heroes for fame and glory, and while I have an issue calling those people heroes, there is little I can do about it, so I must acknowledge those goals as well. But something that should be highly prioritized no matter what your goal is, something that should be a high priority for all of you, is staying alive. Which is what I'm going to try and teach you. I will be fighting you each, 1 by 1, and will tell each one of you what your most fatal flaw is. Any questions?"
"Uh, you're not gonna stab us right?" Mineta asked nervously, his face going white at the thought of facing Sai's many, many blades.
"That, and so much worse," Sai said ominously. "But as they say, no pain, no gain. And I think you'll find being stabbed, much preferred to being killed. And if not, I would highly suggest you change careers. Now, any other questions?"
Almost everyone raised their hands.
Sai sighed. I can already tell I'm going to spend my whole day doing this.
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Sai and Aoyama stood on opposite sides of the training room, with the rest of 1A on the side, watching them.
"Alright, you can begin," Sai told him, giving Aoyama permission to attack.
"Oui!" Aoyama said, before shooting his navel laser at Sai.
Only for Sai to drop a sword that looked to be made of some kind of glass or crystal, in front of her, causing the laser to deflect into the wall.
"Oh…Je Vais Mourir Putain." Aoyama responded, his eyes widened in fear.
Then portals opened up around, Aoyama, surrounding him.
Aoyama looked around, and froze in fear, as he saw the swords begin to emerge.
KABOOM!
The swords exploded on impact, engulfing Aoyama in a massive blast.
"Is he gonna be ok?" Mina whispered over to Momo, both of them looking nervously at the smoke cloud that hid Aoyama.
"I'm sure she wouldn't do anything to harm us unnecessarily," Momo reassured her, although she didn't sound too sure herself.
Eventually, the smoke cleared, revealing Aoyama, on the ground, covered in burns and soot. "Et Pourtant je vis. Malheureusement."
"Where to begin?" Sai asked herself as she shook her head in disappointment. "A crucial lesson you all must learn is to control your fear. Fear is the number 1 cause of death for new heroes and sidekicks. After witnessing this match, can anyone tell me why that is?"
Tsu raised her hand. "Because it shows the enemy their opponent can't' beat them, and causes you to freeze?"
"That's correct. Fear, more than anything else, will be your biggest hurdle to overcome." Sai told them.
"And what if you're not afraid of the villains?" Shoto asked.
"Then you're an idiot," Sai answered harshly, glaring at Shoto. "Fear is absolutely necessary for a hero. Because without it, you become overconfident. And overconfidence is the number 2 cause of death for new heroes and sidekicks. Quirks a varied, and dangerous, you could go on to try and arrest a group of teenagers mugging an old lady, and then suddenly one of them shoots lasers out of their eyes, and because you were so confident they wouldn't be a threat, you can't dodge it in time and lose your head. Fear is something you must manage, keep it at a healthy level. To where you have a healthy level of caution, without ever allowing it to overwhelm you. This is, of course, easier said than done, and most comes with experience rather than being taught. Still, sparing matches are a good way to help train your fear management skills, and increase your reaction time."
Sai looked back at Aoyama, who was pulling himself onto the ground. "Your second biggest issue was your lack of mobility. I could tell by your stance, that your plan was to just fire at me without moving. Like a turret. This is a bad strategy against me, especially considering I can attack you from literally anywhere, but in general, that's not a good tactic. There are situations in which not moving while fortifying your position is the best or only way, but most of the time, you at the very least have to be ready to move. I left several openings for you to escape there, but even if you hadn't frozen in fear, you wouldn't have been able to escape the attack in time because you weren't ready to dodge. Just because your quirk doesn't assist with mobility, doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to dodge."
At this point, Aoyama's face was red with embarrassment. "Oui. I understand. I will strive to improve madame Bura."
"I hope so because if you fight villains in your current state, you are going to die," Sai told him bluntly, before looking to the rest of the class. "Let's move on."
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It was Mina's turn, and now she was staring down Sai with a grin full of false confidence.
"You may begin," Sai told her.
Instantly, Mina started sliding toward Sai in her acid.
Sai made a wall of portals in front of her and shot out a lot of blunt swords at Mina.
"I don't think so!" Mina let out a wave of acid in front of her and dissolved the swords before they could hit her, allowing her to get through.
Surprisingly, Sai didn't send any more swords, allowing Mina to get close.
"I've gotcha!" Mina shouted as she got ready to punch Sai in the face.
However, when she threw her punch, all she hit was the side of another sword that came out of a portal Sai spawned in front of her.
An electrified sword.
"Garagilsakdheaowuydgck!" Mina cried out in pain as the electricity flowed out from the sword, and into her body. Her hair flew up, her body convulsed and spazed, and burn marks started appearing on her skin.
After a few seconds, Sai pulled the sword back into the portal, cutting off the flow of electricity to Mina's body.
"Owwwww." Mina fell onto her back, smoke coming off of her well-done body.
"Can anyone tell me where she went wrong?" Sai asked, turning her attention to the class.
"She announced that she was going to attack you like an idiot?" Jiro pointed out.
"Hey!" Mina picked herself up and gave Jiro an angry pout.
"Correct. If you have to announce your attack like to say your special attack name, then do it, while your attack is in the midst of landing, not before you attack, while the villain can still dodge it." Sai explained. "Also-"
Sai made a portal above Mina's acid trail and shot out an electrified sword into it, and everyone watched as the trail lit up, lightning sparking off of it.
"Always be careful when standing in or making a trail of liquid," Sai said, looking at Mina's horrified face. "Never know when you could get shocked by a villain with an electricity quirk or just an exposed wire."
"I'll uh, keep that in mind," Mina told her, chuckling nervously.
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Now it was Asui's time.
Tsu was in a crouched position, ready to leap at a moment's notice.
"Alright, begin," Sai told her.
Tsu jumpped up into the air-
And was immediately surrounded by dozen portals.
KABOOM!
Exploding swords hit her, and Tsu fell out of the cloud, smoking. "Ow. Kero."
"Well, that fast," Kaminari noted.
"I know you're a frog, but it's dangerous to rely on jumping," Sai told her. "Being in the air leaves you vulnerable to attack. You can't dodge, and you can only move in one direction. Not to mention, if you tend to jump often, your opponents can easily predict what your going to do and catch you in the air. Plus, if you have a frog quirk, the first thing your enemy will expect you to do, is jump."
"That's fair. Kero." Tsu croaked.
"Alright, next student," Sai told them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Now it was time for the class rep, Iida to take to the battlefield.
Iida was in a running stance, ready to go when Sai gave the order.
Alright, I'll run as fast as I can, before she can overwhelm me, I'll kick her! Iida thought to himself, as he got ready to fight.
"Go," Sai ordered.
Iida then proceeded to run two feet in front of him, before his foot fell through a portal Sai opened, causing him to trip and fall on his face.
Sai then opened a bunch of portals above Iida and shot exploding swords out of them.
KABOOM!
"Was that…strictly necessary?" Momo asked, wincing at what happened to Iida. "Wasn't trapping him in the ground enough?"
"Enough to win the battle, yes. Enough to keep this lesson in his memory, maybe. But just to make sure, I might as well hammer the point in." Sai explained. "Speaking of the point, Iida do understand why you failed so quickly?"
"Was my attack, predictable? Ugh." Iida groaned as he recovered from the explosion.
"Very good. I could see the gears turning in your head, and yet your strategy was just, run at me in a straight line really fast, and kick me in the head." Sai told him bluntly. "Given your quirk, that is literally the most predictable strategy you could have gone with. Rember, not all villains are idiots, and you are all going to be public figures, meaning they're going to know your quirk in advance, so they'll likely figure you out completely if you don't add mix up your strategies. Lastly, watch your step. Your quirk is very reliant on the terrain you're running on, so any opponent of yours is going to want to mess with the ground in order to defeat you."
"I understand! I will take this lesson to heart! Thank you for imparting your wisdom on me!" Iida said, getting up and bowing to her.
"... You're welcome," Sai said, a little off-put by his appreciation despite her blowing him up. "Next."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Now it was Ochaco's time, and she was nervous as can be.
She stood on the opposite side of the room, in a battle stance, sweat rolling down her face, as she wondered how painful this was going to be.
"Alright, let's begin." Sai signaled.
Ochaco wasted no time. "18%!"
Immediately, she dashed right at Sai, however, she didn't make the same mistake as Iida. She watched her step carefully.
Sai had made a few portals in the floor, to try and trip her up, but Ochaco skillfully avoided them, as she quickly ran at Sai.
At least they're learning. Sai thought as she let Ochaco approach her.
Alright, I'll make it look like I'm trying to attack her from the front, then I'll circle around her, and attack her from be-Ochaco's train of thought was suddenly disrupted, when Sai rushed forward and kicked her to the ground. "Ack!?"
When Ochaco looked back up, she saw numerous portals opened above her, with swords aimed down at her.
KABOOM!
Explosive swords slammed into Ochaco, engulfing her in a huge blast.
"Rember what I said expectations?" Sai asked the class. "You've already seen the disadvantages in playing into a foe's expectations, but this the advantage of setting an expectation, and defying it."
"Well…I definitely didn't expect that." Ochaco groaned.
"I'm willing to bet none of you would have." Sai continued. "After all, I've spent all the previous battles standing completely still, and only using my quirk. I conditioned you to think only about my quirk, and so you completely overlooked the possibility of me just punching or kicking you. Which is another thing, sometimes, you don't always need to rely on your quirk. Basic punches and kicks, or even using weapons or tools in the environment, can prove effective against certain foes. Now, onto the next foe."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
And so the "lesson"(ass beatings) went on, with Sai utterly destroying 1A, and poking at their most damning flaws.
Kaminari lacked staying power and needed to find a way to stop short-circuiting his own brain.
Kirishima and Sato had an issue in that both lacked mobility. Meaning they could be easily trapped, or just kept at bay.
Shoji made himself too big a target.
Jiro was very reliant on her support gear.
Sero was relaient on his enviroment.
Tokoyami, aside from having little to defense against light, was left defenseless when Dark Shadow strayed too far away from him, making it harder to defend against multiple opponents or opponents that could attack from multiple angles.
Todoroki's ice blocked his field of vision, giving his opponents the chance to pull something sneaky. He was also too reliant on brute-forcing his way through situations using his overwhelming power.
Shinso relied too much on stealth and had little in the ways of actually fighting someone without his quirk.
Mineta…was too cowardly, and it left a lot of openings.
Momo was very indecisive.
Ojiro and Toru, funny enough got the least amount of criticism with Sai telling them they were doing just fine, they just lacked power, which wasn't their fault, nor could they do much to fix that situation, they could only really improve on what their areas of expertise were.
And by the end of the day, class 1A was left lying on the floor, exhausted, and covered in burns.
Meanwhile, Sai was standing on the side, looking a bit winded and drinking an energy drink, all the portals she opened having made her a bit tired. "Honestly, not as bad as I thought."
"Too strong." Mineta groaned. "I can't believe she lost to that cat girl."
Sai shot him a mean glare, that caused Mineta to freeze.
"As heroes, you're going to have to find that certain heroes have types of villains they go well against, and some they do poorly against. Sometimes regardless of skill." Sai explained, sounding very, very annoyed. "My quirk does poorly against foes with high mobility. And mobility is something Sori excels at. Not to mention her enhanced senses making it easy for her to keep track of my portals. She's a powerful, and surprisingly skilled fighter, with an advantage against me, so I wouldn't say her narrow victory against me was surprising. Perhaps you'd like to see an up-close demonstration of her skills? I'm sure she'd be more than happy to show you them."
"NO! No! I'm good!" Mineta shouted in fear.
"Yeah we saw enough of them, we're good!" Sero agreed.
"Please have mercy!" Kaminari begged.
"That's what I thought," Sai smirked. "I'll leave you with this, as tempting as it is to focus on coming up with new techniques and strengthening your quirks, none of that will help you if a villain exploits your weaknesses and kills you five seconds into the battle. Work with each other, don't avoid sparing matches against people you know you can't beat, because even if you can't win, you may learn something."
With that Sai exited, leaving the students to linger on her words.
For all of five seconds.
"Hey class reps, before you sign us up for an ass-kicking, can you at least warn us first?" Sero groaned.
"Noted," Iida replied.
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