NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Teams!
The title last chapter was a reference to Yaoyorozu and Mei. No, this is not a sign of romance. :|
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Kuro stood atop a desk, once again taking the lead as he announced the structure for their upcoming team-building competition. "Alright, everyone! We're going with three teams, three people each!" He paused for a moment, glancing around the room. "Some people couldn't make it today, so we're working with smaller teams, but it'll still be epic!"
Everyone quickly grouped with their friends, but Iida, being the organized class Vice President, shuffled them around to ensure balance between the teams.
Team 1: Iida, Denki Kaminari, and Mina Ashido.
Team 2: Momo Yaoyorozu, Izuku Midoriya, and Ochaco Uraraka.
Team 3: Kurokami Tenshin, Eijiro Kirishima, and Bakugo Katsuki.
Iida immediately stepped into his natural role as team captain, addressing Denki and Mina with a detailed breakdown of how they should work together. "Now remember, we must follow the rules of teamwork and discipline. This isn't just about winning, it's about fostering the spirit of cooperation. We'll—"
Denki, as usual, had tuned out halfway through. Instead, he turned to Kyoka Jirou, who had opted to be the referee since there was an odd number of students. "Hey, Jirou! You excited about this?"
Jirou, with her ever-present earphones in, gave him a flat look and went back to listening to music. Bakugo, who overheard the exchange from across the room, smirked. "Imagine getting ignored, Pikachu!"
Denki winced at the nickname and the insult, his ego bruised. He sighed and kept quiet after that, while Bakugo, pleased with himself, enjoyed the moment a bit more.1
Meanwhile, over on Team 2, Ochaco turned to Izuku with a bright smile. "Deku! Are you excited? We're gonna do great!"
Izuku nodded, though his gaze unintentionally drifted over to Bakugo, who stood on the other side of the room with his team. His enthusiasm wavered as their eyes met briefly before Bakugo turned away with a scowl. Ochaco, noticing the interaction, tried to cheer him up. "Don't worry, Deku. I'll beat up Bakugo for you!" she said with a playful grin.
Izuku couldn't help but laugh, appreciating the gesture, though he knew better than to think Ochaco could take on Bakugo in a fight. Bakugo, overhearing the conversation, marched over and glared at Ochaco. "You wanna die, Kirby?"1
Ochaco's face dropped as Kirby was uttered for the third time. Why does he keep calling me that? she wondered. Have I gained weight? She self-consciously patted her stomach, starting to spiral in thought.
Before Bakugo could escalate the situation, he glanced at Izuku one more time. Something flashed across his face, but instead of continuing, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Izuku puzzled. Was that hesitation?
Over at Team 3, Kuro was deep in thought, his focus entirely on Eijiro Kirishima, who stood there feeling slightly uncomfortable under the intensity of Kuro's gaze.
Kuro's internal monologue went into overdrive. Red hair. Lean, muscular build. Upbeat and hardworking personality. High potential but not a flashy quirk... this guy is a protagonist! His eyes widened, almost as if he had made a great discovery.
Kirishima, utterly confused, blinked. "Wait, what? Protagonist? Who, me?"
Kuro, now fired up by his new theory, ignored Kirishima's confusion and excitedly continued. "With you on the team, we can't lose! You're the protagonist! It's destiny!"
Kirishima scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "Uh, I dunno, man. You're way more of a protagonist than I am."
Kuro, however, had already stopped listening, too absorbed in his belief that Kirishima was secretly the hero of this story. Meanwhile, Bakugo stood by with his arms crossed, rolling his eyes at the exchange.
"You idiots better keep up," he muttered, though a small smirk tugged at his lips. Deep down, he was enjoying himself. A good challenge might be just what he needed to shake off the weird feelings from his fight with Izuku.
...
The first challenge of Class 1-A's team-building event had officially begun, and the stakes couldn't have been higher—a rock-paper-scissors match. It was a simple game, but tensions were already rising as the team leaders, Momo Yaoyorozu and Kurokami Tenshin, stepped up for the first round.
Momo calmly squared off against Kuro, who seemed oddly nervous, his usual confidence nowhere to be found. In a matter of seconds, the match ended in a clean sweep—Momo won 3-0.
Kuro, utterly defeated, sulked back to his team. "I've... never played any of these games before," he mumbled, looking down at his hands. The loss stung, and his team could see it.
Bakugo immediately took the opportunity to taunt him. "You call yourself a god, and you can't even win at rock-paper-scissors?!" Bakugo shook his head, clearly enjoying the sight of Kuro's ego taking a hit. "Step aside, I'll handle this."
Bakugo stepped up to face Momo, who had just come off a victory. She took a deep breath, readying herself for the next round. Despite her earlier win, she knew Bakugo wouldn't go down easy.
The match was fiercely close—Bakugo and Momo went head-to-head in an intense battle of hand signals. After five intense rounds, Bakugo emerged victorious with a score of 3-2.
Momo, looking disappointed, walked back to her team as Ochaco and Izuku consoled her. "You did great, Momo!" Ochaco said with a smile, patting her on the shoulder.
"It was close!" Izuku added, trying to cheer her up.
Next up was Ochaco Uraraka, determined to put Bakugo in his place. She had a new fire in her eyes, fueled by Bakugo's constant "Kirby" insults. She wasn't about to let that nickname define her.
"You're done for, Kirby," Bakugo smirked, clearly confident he had this round in the bag. But Ochaco wasn't going down that easily. After a hard-fought match of back-and-forth rounds, Ochaco pulled off a surprise win! The score: was 3-2 in her favor.
"WHAT?!" Bakugo exploded, clearly not taking the loss well. "This is rigged!"
Jirou, acting as the impartial referee, just shrugged. "A win's a win, Bakugo. Deal with it."
Bakugo, fuming, slumped into his seat, grumbling about the injustice of it all. He couldn't believe he'd lost to Kirby of all people.
With Bakugo down, the pressure shifted to Eijiro Kirishima, the final member of Team 3. He stepped up confidently, ready to face Izuku Midoriya, the last player from Team 2.
As the two shook hands before the match, there was a nervous but respectful atmosphere between them. Kirishima, who always believed in giving his all, was determined to win for his team. Izuku, on the other hand, felt the weight of everyone's expectations—he had to perform well, not just for his team but to prove himself once again.
From the sidelines, Bakugo yelled, "You better not lose to Deku, Sh*tty Hair!" Meanwhile, Kuro sat back proudly, completely confident in his "protagonist" Kirishima. "He's got this," Kuro said with a grin.
The match was intense. Every round seemed to end in a draw, with neither Kirishima nor Izuku able to gain the upper hand. The tension in the room grew as five consecutive ties passed, and the class was hanging on every moment.
Finally, Kyoka Jirou, trying to maintain order, announced, "That's enough. The match is over. It's a tie."
With Team 2 and Team 3 tying, Bakugo immediately protested. "This is BULL! Kirishima got to two points first, he should've won!"
Ochaco, always ready to defend her team, shot back, "The ref called it a tie, Bakugo! Just accept it."
"I swear! If KIRBY DOESN'T SHUT THE F*** UP!!!" Bakugo barked, clearly not willing to let it go.
Seeing the tension rise, Kuro stepped in, putting a hand on Bakugo's shoulder. "It's alright, Bakugo. A tie is fine. It just means the next challenge will be even more exciting," Kuro said with a grin, his usual optimism shining through.
Bakugo scowled but begrudgingly backed down, muttering under his breath about how stupid this all was. Kirishima, meanwhile, just chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Man, that was intense. Deku, you put up a fight."
Izuku smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, Kirishima. That was a close one."
The class relaxed after the tension of the match, everyone chatting and reflecting on the fun they'd had. Despite Bakugo's outburst and Kuro's early loss, the team-building event had been a success in bringing the class closer together.
Momo, feeling much better after her earlier disappointment, approached Kuro. "That was... more fun than I expected. You truly know how to get everyone involved."
Kuro beamed. "Of course! That's what a Class President is supposed to do, right?"
Iida, ever the voice of discipline, sighed with relief. "At least it all ended on a good note. Though, next time, let's aim for a more structured event."
[Auther: Did I just write about rock paper scissors? Yeah, I did, f*ck you gon do 'bout it?"]
...
After two hours of intense fun and competition, Bakugo Katsuki was declared the winner of the first Class 1-A activity. As expected, Bakugo was far from thrilled. "Where's my prize?!" he demanded, his face twisted in irritation. When it was revealed that there was no prize, Bakugo's stream of insults was cut short as Momo Yaoyorozu interrupted with exciting news.
"The snacks have arrived!" she announced, stepping out to answer a call. She opened the door, revealing three large boxes filled with a variety of snacks. Kuro quickly stepped in, using his superhuman strength to lift and carry the boxes inside effortlessly.
Iida looked at the sheer quantity of snacks, his expression a mixture of admiration and concern. "Momo, don't you think you went a little overboard?" he asked, eyeing the mountain of food.
Momo, smiling lightly, explained, "I actually held back! I wanted to bring ten boxes, but I didn't have my credit card... since Kuro 'borrowed' it."
Iida sighed at the casualness of Momo's answer. "Rich people truly are... eccentric," he muttered, though ironically, he was from a wealthy family himself.
As the snacks were being spread out, Kuro noticed something unusual—a plastic bag containing two large cookies. Without hesitation, Kuro opened the bag, grabbed one of the cookies, and took a bite.
Immediately, tears welled up in his eyes as he chewed. "This... this is heavenly..." he mumbled through the tears, the emotion overwhelming him.
Kirishima, who was enjoying a bar of chocolate nearby, looked over in concern. "Kuro, you good, man?" he asked, puzzled by the dramatic reaction.
Kuro, still wiping his tears, nodded as he finished the cookie. "This cookie... it's perfect." He sniffled and composed himself, but his appreciation for the cookie was evident.
Kirishima chuckled. "Cookies are good, but you don't need to cry over 'em, bro!"
Kuro eventually regained his composure, wiping away the last of his tears as he went on to try other snacks.
As the sun began to set, the class slowly dispersed, each student heading home after a day of fun and bonding. Soon, only Iida, Momo, and Kuro were left to clean up the room.
Kuro, ever enthusiastic, started cleaning by sticking to the ceiling, removing everything he had set up. His quirk allowed him to clean areas no one else could easily reach. However, Iida stopped him. "Kuro, there's no need for you to do all of this alone."
Kuro paused mid-clean, his face lighting up with excitement. "Wait... does that mean this is going to be our secret base?!" His eyes gleamed as he imagined having their personal space.
Iida gave him a patient smile. "Not exactly a secret base, but this could be our room. It's large and comfortable, and we could use it anytime for future activities or just to relax."
Momo nodded in agreement. "I'll speak to Principal Nezu about making this an official Class 1-A room. It'll be helpful to have a place like this for meetings, team-building, and studying."
Kuro, thrilled by the idea, went back to work, happily cleaning and replacing everything he had removed earlier. In his mind, their "secret base" was already a reality, and he couldn't wait for all the future memories they'd create here.
As the trio worked together to restore the room to its original state, they couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
...
Kuro rushed into the faculty room, and a chill ran down his spine—it was empty. The room, which should have been bustling with teachers and pro heroes, was completely deserted. Something was wrong, very wrong. His sharp eyes scanned the room, searching for any sign of disturbance or intrusion, but everything seemed too clean. If someone had broken in, they had cleaned up well.
"This is bad," Kuro muttered to himself, running through the possibilities in his mind. Had someone already been here? Stolen something? But the room was spotless—no obvious signs of a break-in. His thoughts raced as he checked around.
"Class activities," he muttered, sifting through the documents on the desks. They were mostly schedules, lesson plans, and reports on student progress. "Nothing that would be of interest to a villain... so why break in?"
His mind jumped to the larger possibilities: Invading UA? No, the gate was already destroyed, and no one had entered. If they wanted to invade, they would've done it. A hidden part of the school? If that were the case, they'd be there already.
"Then... information," Kuro mused, his brows furrowing. "Something they need... but what? All Might's secrets? Weaknesses? Or... are they trying to shut down UA?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Someone might be trying to undermine the school's reputation and weaken it from within. And what better way than to target All Might, the Symbol of Peace, who had now become UA's most prized faculty member?
Outside UA, the hooded figure casually flipped through a newspaper. It bore the headline about All Might joining UA as a teacher, a shining beacon of hope for the future. The figure let out a quiet chuckle beneath the hood, a hand brushing over the picture of the No. 1 Hero.
"It'd be a shame..." the figure murmured, the edges of their lips curling into a smirk, "...if All Might just... wasn't around anymore. Quite the shame."
With that, the figure turned and walked away, disappearing into the bustling city streets, leaving only an ominous threat hanging in the air. UA and its heroes had no idea what was coming.
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[Auther: The next event is a big one. I've been teasing y'all but now? The big event maybe 8k words.]