Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The cool December air continued to linger over UA’s campus as winter progressed. Four heroes walked along a path through its greenery, all dressed in the winter versions of their costumes, evident by the long sleeves under their vests, the mid-morning sunlight sparkling in the WHA badges on their shoulders.

“Those first years were ready!” laughed Fog Hog.

“At least they can relax now,” Joey added.

“Must sound nice,” lamented the masked Ryu Sin Miedo.

“Like you didn’t enjoy scaring the shit out of those kids you faced,” teased Psycho Saito.

“We were told to really make them work for their grade. I just so happened to have fun doing it,” the lucharesu hero smirked.

“Aizawa seemed like he enjoyed watching your work, too,” Hog pointed out.

“Of course,” Joey remarked just as the four of them reached the door to the training ground monitoring room.

“Gentlemen, time to face some increased difficulty,” the poison hero lightheartedly warned before they all entered. A briefing for Classes 2-A and 2-B was already in progress.

“As a reminder, we are having joint finals to simulate the possibility of working with heroes outside of your agency or network,” Vlad King explained to the students.

“However, the process for pairing all of you up and selecting your exam administrator has remained the same,” Eraserhead assured. “Though, we have taken a little more into account to create challenges that differ from the first years’ exams.”

“In other words, Nezu’s bringing out the big guns!” Fog Hog interrupted. “That’s why me and my colleagues from the World Hero Association are here along with the former Big Three.” He pointed to Nejire-chan, Suneater, and Lemillion, who were standing in the back of the room.

“Now that we finished our briefing, let’s begin your practical exams,” Vlad King declared.

“For the other examinations, passing can only be achieved by either handcuffing your instructor or at least one person escaping the battlefield,” Eraser announced. “However, there will be a slight change for the first exam: Tsuyu Asui and Yui Kodai versus Ryu Sin Miedo.” The two aforementioned students walked forward.

“Escaping the battlefield is still allowed, but handcuffing me will not be a win condition,” the masked hero spoke. “Instead, our exam session will be adapting a pro-wrestling stipulation, un partido de ataúd! A coffin match,” he grinned eagerly. “The other win condition will require you to trap me inside a coffin. Are you up for the challenge?”

“Mm,” Kodai nodded.

“ Kero! It seems on brand for you, Ryu-sensei,” Asui noted.

“This should be interesting to watch,” Nezu said to the heroes as he walked up to them, a cup of tea in his hand.

“Absolutely,” Fog Hog agreed.

Several minutes later

Ground Beta

After a swift transport, both girls were standing in the middle of an open area within the mock city of Ground Beta. Ryu Sin Miedo was several yards away, standing on the very coffin he would be trying to avoid.

“Just so you know, my quirk doesn’t rely on physical strength,” he said as he fastened the last weighted cuff as part of handicap. “Buena suerte, chicas.” (“Good luck, girls.”)

HOOONNK!

Kodai and Asui sprinted towards the man who did nothing but continue to stand. Both girls were closing in, and Asui shot out her tongue, but Ryu leapt forward at the last minute, tumbling on the patch of dirt and grass below before using his momentum to stand up and turn around.

“It can’t be this easy,” Kodai mumbled.

“Who said it was?” Ryu smirked. Both girls were unaware that their eyes were now glowing red, a sign that they were now under the spell of Fear Field, but the young hero would let them know soon enough.

The ground started shaking, generating sensations of an earthquake. Cracks sliced through the ground with fire and lava starting to seep through.

“Is this supposed to be a natural disaster scenario?” Asui asked.

“It seems more like a depiction of Hell,” Kodai suggested.

“Ten non-fungible points to 2-B!” Ryu applauded. “Just a basic scenario… for now.”

Despite the literal Hell on Earth, Asui thought it was best to get near the fiery pits to absorb as much heat as possible due to her mutation quirk.

“Asui, here!” Kodai grabbed a few bolts of her pouch and tossed them to her partner, who launched them at Ryu with her tongue. Kodai activated her quirk, enlarging the bolts and forcing Ryu to leap out of harm’s way again. 

“It’s a little chilly,” Asui said. “I know this isn’t real, so it might be safe.” She took a step on the fiery pit, only to immediately step off of it after feeling a cold and hard sensation with little friction. Her illusion was momentarily disrupted. “It was ice! Where there’s fire, there must be ice on the ground.”

“Correct, Asui,” Ryu smiled. “Thought I’d be nice enough to map out some of your obstacles, pero subamos el calor (but let’s turn up the heat). ” Asui’s surroundings quickly and ironically turned into a frozen wasteland. She knew he was exploiting her fear of going into hibernation.

“Kodai, did everything change for you, too? Kero! ”

“No.” Kodai looked around to be sure. “I’ll be your eyes if necessary.”

“Have fun, ladies.” Ryu stuck his tongue out as he made his way into the city.

“The coffin, is it stuck to the ground?” Kodai wondered. Both girls ran up to it, and while it did feel heavy upon pushing it, it felt loose still.

“Perhaps we should bring the fight to him. Kero! ”

“That may be our only option if his quirk is impairing our perceptions of reality.”

The lucharesu hero soon found himself walking merrily through the streets while visions of the biblical and frozen apocalypses spread in his surroundings. He saw a flower shop and went inside, browsing the shelves of fake flowers that still caught his eye.

“Very accurate on the details. Maybe I should get some for Kaoruko,” he chuckled to himself. Suddenly, he sensed the fear-inducing illusions growing stronger around him. “They’re here,” he realized.

He walked out of the shop into the open street.

Ping-ping-ping-ping!

A few nuts and bolts landed at his feet.

WHOOSH!

They instantly grew in size, but he hopped on one nut as he was raised off the ground by a good five feet. He turned his head to see Kodai. She was almost a good distraction.

“Kero.”

Ryu narrowly dodged Asui’s tongue again, leaping and flipping over it as it kept lunging at him. When it retracted, he tried looking for Asui but only saw the buildings in front of him.

“I can still sense some of your fear, ranita (little frog) ,” he taunted. He jumped off the nut and tumbled onto the ground before proceeding to run further down the street and scaling the side of a building he suspected the student was blending in against. Kodai continued to take note of the pro hero’s agility and habits before attempting to catch up.

“Kero!” Asui shot out her tongue again, successfully trapping Ryu Sin Miedo before deactivating her camouflage, revealing herself on the side of the building. “Kodai, I got him trapped!” she called out to her partner.

“I’m not done yet!” the WHA hero insisted as he writhed in her tongue. A devilish grin formed on his face as he freed an arm. He reached into his vest and pulled out a bottle labeled Volcano Sauce. “One of my buddies had some of this back in Mexico. It didn’t turn out well for him for the next five days.”

“KERO!” Asui croaked nervously.

Pop!

The masked hero opened the bottle with his teeth and threatened to pour a drop on her tongue.

“Keep holding him! I need to get into position!” Kodai demanded.

“He has hot sauce!” the rainy hero shouted.

“No he doesn’t!” the 2-B student argued. “I don’t see anything!”

Asui realized the hot sauce was most likely another fearful hallucination. A drop started to form from the lip of the bottle, but he didn’t hesitate further. The drop soon fell. Time seemed to slow down for Asui as it descended. She felt her heart beat faster. She was prepared to feel an intense stinging on her tongue and bear with it.

She tasted nothing when the drop landed. The only feeling that graced her tastebuds was the slight breeze.

“You’re very brave, Asui,” Ryu complimented, the hot sauce bottle fading away. “However, I do think you and Kodai should improve on time efficiency,” he critiqued. He slipped out of her tongue, landing on a storefront awning. He flipped forward again, attempting another tumble onto the ground.

“RELEASE!” Kodai shouted after sliding a small object in the pro hero’s direction.

WHOOSH!

The open coffin appeared below as he landed perfectly inside.

“Oh,” he groaned.

“Kero!” Asui jumped down onto the coffin, successfully shutting the lid shut before their exam administrator could even attempt to escape.

Thud!

HOOONNK!

“Good work, Asui,” Kodai exhaled.

“Please call me Tsu,” the 2-A student corrected.

“WHAT?!” Saito exclaimed in the monitoring room.

“Talk about an upset!” Lemillion chimed in, clearly amused by what he saw.

“Wait, so do we need to have a funeral now?” Nejire-chan innocently wondered.

“Th-that’s gotta be a t-tight space,” Suneater gulped as he just witnessed the young hero enter a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare.

“It’s alright, Tamaki,” Nejire assured with a hug to her boyfriend. “I won’t let that happen to you.” He calmed down slightly.

“Damn!” Fog Hog was certainly impressed by Asui and Kodai’s performance.

Both students and the WHA hero soon returned to the monitoring room for their debrief.

“Interesting tactics, Ryu-san!” Present Mic praised. “We couldn’t see half the battle, but I imagine it was much more exciting than what we saw.”

“Oh, I just went with a few basic fears,” the young hero responded. “But they’re enough to keep you on edge since my quirk taps into the mind. I’m impressed that those girls got past it.”

“Fascinating,” said Mic. “You know, your quirk reminds me of this one Shiketsu student’s quirk that lets her create illusions. What was her name again?”

“Camie Utsushimi,” Bakugo interrupted as he passed by. “Illus-o-Camie is her hero name.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of her!” Ryu exclaimed. “Her quirk is still pretty useful. Only drawbacks are that you can’t custom tailor individual altered realities, but that’s just my opinion.”

“She still has a neat quirk,” the explosive blonde admitted under his breath, already walking away.

“What was that, Bakugo?” Ashido asked.

“Just reminding myself to focus on my quirk,” he grumbled. “Tch! They didn’t tell us the match order in advance, so they’re practically forcing us to be prepared!”

“Looks like Bakugo caught onto that,” Fog Hog whispered to Eraserhead and Vlad King, both homeroom teachers nodding.

As Eraserhead called up the next two students, Joey stood in the back of the room to warm up some more as he patiently waited for his final exam match. The Australian hero was actually a little eager, if not excited, especially considering he was already informed on which students he was assigned to face. With his kickboxing career still on hiatus and despite his pro wrestling bouts, he was looking forward to the eventual adrenaline rush from pursuing the thrill of competitive combat once again.

Chapter Text

Sports Festival Stadium

Crack-crack-crack!

The cracking of Joey’s knuckles echoed around the empty stadium. He stood in the center of the field, staring down the dark entrance tunnel ahead, waiting for his opponents. His heart beats sped up as he imagined the stadium being full, like the WRESTLE HEROES event from the month prior, or even UA’s sports festival events. He was a hero, but at his core, he was also a fighter. Unfortunately, being a hero came first.

His last kickboxing match was almost two years ago. The increase in his duties meant less time to prepare for fights. Thanks to Fog Hog, pro-wrestling was a viable backup to still fight competitively, and his matches in the sport, especially at WRESTLE HEROES, were fun, but it never felt the same.

He hoped this experience would be much closer to being back in kickboxing, but the weight of his bracelets reminded him to not have high expectations. He wasn’t here to just fight. He was administering a final exam.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Two figures emerged from the entrance tunnel into the sunlight shining down on them.

From 2-A was Masahiro Ojiro, and from 2-B was Sen Kaibara.

“If anyone smuggled in snacks, now’s a good time to take ‘em out,” Fog Hog joked to the rest of the students in the monitoring room.

“Interesting decision to pair up Ojiro and Kaibara,” Present Mic said to Eraserhead.

“They encountered each other during last year’s joint training session,” the erasure hero started. “There’s differences the other person could use to their advantage, and there also seems to be an understanding of one another whenever both of them spar.”

“But now they’re fighting a larger Ojiro,” Vlad King commented. “Given the martial arts background and tail.”

“Actually more like a male Mirko,” Midoriya interrupted after eavesdropping a bit. He then began a muttering analysis. “Because his quirk is kangaroo, his tail is strong, allowing him to momentarily stand on it like actual kangaroo in the wild. While he could sweep enemies, as seen in some of his wrestling bouts, it’s not as strong as Ojiro’s tail. Ojiro’s tail is essentially a third arm with its strength, so he has an advantage with an additional appendage. However, Joey’s specialty is his kicks, which stem from his own strength and resilience on a level that can be compared to Mirko’s capabilities since both heroes’ quirks derive from animals known for hopping.”

“It’s true. They’re evenly matched when they train,” Fog Hog confirmed before Midoriya could mutter more, also impressed by the student’s observations.

Back in the stadium, words didn’t need to be said. Joey sensed that escaping was not an option for either student, and respect was a mutual feeling. The Australian hero slightly grinned as he tied his hair back.

“If only Rumi were here to see this,” he thought to himself.

Both sides briefly exchanged quick nods of respect before getting into fighting stances.

HOOONNK!

Both students ran towards him, but Joey continued to firmly stand his ground, extending his arms in preparation to grapple. At the last second, his stance instantly changed. He tucked in his arms and leaned back on his tail, legs shooting out, each foot kicking a student a few yards back. Despite having the wind knocked out of them, Ojiro tucked in his tail and twirled and tumbled to minimize impact while Kaibara twisted different parts of his body to adjust for his own landing.

Ojiro signaled to his partner with a small wave of his fingers and charged at the kangaroo, quickly jumping and using his tail again to spin. The generated force from one of his usual attack moves propelled him forward, quickly closing the gap between him and his exam administrator. When he was back on the ground, Ojiro swung his leg, but Joey leaned back on his tail and lifted his own legs, narrowly avoiding the student’s low kick that would have struck his thigh. Ojiro continued the momentum and spun around to swing his tail, but Joey jumped over it, performing a flawless front flip in the process.

The kangaroo barely had any time to react as Kaibara had caught up and was in the middle of delivering a spinning back fist with his forearm spinning, too. Joey instinctually leaned back and rolled backwards before tackling the student to the ground. Ojiro’s tail returned to his vision as it appeared out of the corner of Joey’s eye and knocked him off, but the WHA hero held on with intentions to immobilize it. He repositioned himself and squatted, bending and tucking the tail over his leg and under his arm.

“He’s doing a tail variant of the Boston Crab!” shouted Kirishima.

“Very innovative,” Fog Hog remarked. “Almost like a single leg version.”

Joey grunted as he felt Ojiro’s tail resisting, but he was also momentarily distracted. Kaibara had managed to get back up and ran over to help his partner. He swung his leg and started spinning it with gyrate as it left the ground with a trajectory towards Joey’s back.

Snap!

The impact was strong enough to make Joey faceplant the field, giving Ojiro an opportunity to slip out of the hero’s grasp. Kaibara was about to slip the handcuffs on the WHA hero, but Joey slapped his hand away and rolled over, kicking him a few feet back with his powerful foot again. He then kipped up and started hopping towards Ojiro.

Just then, something clicked in the tail-quirked boy. He realized that Joey’s strength was his legs. The outback hero was handicapped by the weights on his wrists, but his lower half wasn’t restrained a bit, obviously as Ojiro could see that was in the line of fire.

“Melbourne Missile!” Joey shouted after launching himself several feet in the air for his signature high-impact dropkick.

“Kaibara!” Ojiro called out before somersaulting under Joey and changing directions in a split second.

The outback landed and rolled back onto his feet, but Ojiro trailed him close enough to sweep him with his tail, avoiding Joey’s own tail to force it and his legs to land in different directions. Once more, Kaibara swung his leg for a rotating kick. His legs and tail rendered useless, Joey braced for impact.

“Gah!” was all that Joey could utter as the rapidly spinning leg kept pushing back against his forearms, the only defense shielding him at the moment. He was fortunate he was in his long-sleeved winter gear, but that didn’t soothe the discomfort of needing to escape, let alone a rapidly spinning object in his face. To his surprise, Kaibara’s leg suddenly stopped spinning, the small whiffs of air coming to a standstill.

HOOONNK!

“What?” Joey looked up.

His wrists were cuffed, and Ojiro smiled proudly.

Back in the monitoring room, there was a lot of chatter for the short yet fast-paced exam match. Midoriya muttered as he looked over his personal notes while some of the other students expressed their approval of Ojiro and Kaibara’s performance, especially Kirishima and Tetsutetsu.

“That was a fun upset!” said Fog Hog, patting the Australian hero’s back.

“They’re lucky they’re not third years,” he said with a slight hint of admiration shining through. “No handicaps for those exams, just voluntary restraint.”

“Sure,” his American friend joked.

“In all seriousness, that still felt really good, even if I lost,” Joey smiled. “Ojiro’s quick thinking reminded me of my early days of fighting back in Australia.”

“For sure, that exam battle of barely four minutes was definitely more entertaining than Phil Andrews’s boxing match with that retired legend,” Hog remarked.

“Tell me about it! Watching that fight was the worst hospital date for me and Rumi,” Joey lamented before Nezu walked up to them.

“I see you are now fully introduced to some of the top students of 2-A and 2-B, Sterling-san,” the principal noted, taking a sip of his tea. “Forgive me if I sound unprofessional, but I do wish that battle was longer. It was quite enjoyable.”

“Unprofessional? Mate, you sound like a fight promoter that loves the cards he puts on,” the kangaroo man chuckled. “Maybe another variation of these exams can include a point system to extend the time.”

“Ooh, I like you thinking!” praised Nezu. Meanwhile, Fog Hog grew fearful at the mere thought of Nezu running his own fighting organization.

As Vlad King announced the next matchup of Lemillion versus Bakugo and Todoroki, it was Psycho Saito’s turn to stretch as his battle would follow after.

“Excuse me, Saito-sensei,” a student called out, prompting him to turn around.

“Uraraka, yes?” He looked down at Uraraka, who nodded in response.

“I never got a chance before, but I just want to say that my dad is a big fan of yours,” she revealed a bit timidly. “He says he met you once.”

“Oh, I’m flattered,” the wrestling hero chuckled before pausing. “I think I remember him now that I think about it. Does he work in construction?”

“He… He does,” she answered, a bit surprised by his correct guess.

“I once went down to Mie for a local show when I was younger,” he started. “When I arrived, I went over to the promotion’s dojo, which was being renovated at the time. The construction crew was really nice, especially the man in charge, who I’m now even more positive was your father.”

“That does sound like him,” Uraraka nodded.

“I also remember his wife came in with a lunch bento for him. She was three months pregnant at the time, but she still cared for him.”

“That really does sound like mom,” she sighed.

“And you also look like the splitting image of her!” Saito added. “That’s actually what jogged my memory. I’d be surprised if you two weren’t actually related.”

“We get that a lot when we’re seen together,” Uraraka giggled, but his words continued to ring in her head.

“I’d be surprised if you two weren’t actually related.”

A flashback then emerged from the deep recesses of her mind.

“Izuku reminds me of… a boy I used to like. His name was Saito.”

“…related.”

“His name was Saito.”

“I’m sorry if this is a bit of a touchy subject, but…” The brunette paused with a gulp. “Do you have any family?” She was a little nervous even asking the question. She was aware of the pro hero’s story and his still recent liberation from exile.

Saito looked away.

“Well, I did,” he answered softly. Uraraka’s curiosity still roamed, but she grabbed the hero’s hand to comfort him.

“But you still have family in your friends,” she assured. A smile slowly returned to the older hero’s face.

“I do.” He looked over at Joey, Hog, and Ryu on the other side of the room with the UA heroes.

A rock song abruptly interrupted the calmness between the two, momentarily startling Saito while others simply turned their heads at the sound of the music.

VRRRRRT! VRRRRT! VRRRRT!

“Where did I put it?” The psycho hero was patting his vest as vibrations audibly continued with the music. 

“That’s a classic track,” Jiro said from a few feet away.

“Ah, here it is!” From one of his vest’s pockets, Saito fished out his smartphone, the source of the song and the vibrating. Uraraka noticed a picture of him and Lady Nagant smiling together displayed on the screen before observing his smile return a bit wider. “Sorry, my girlfriend is calling me.”

“I don’t mind,” she smiled. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Same here, young Uravity,” he responded. He walked away before swiping his phone’s screen and putting his phone to his ear when the ringing halted. “Hello, Kaina-chan…”

“Mate’s got good taste in music,” Joey critiqued.

“A big given in wrestling is that Akira Saito never has bad taste,” Fog Hog insisted. 

“Tch! Let’s get this over with!” Bakugo’s voice sounded from the screens in the room as he and Shoto were about to begin their exam.

“Oh, I love a good midcard fight!” Ryu exclaimed.

“Just don’t let Bakugo hear you call him a midcarder,” Present Mic advised.

HOOONNK!

Psycho Saito watched the battle begin while continuing his phone conversation. Bakugo and Todoroki didn’t waste time to make their initial attacks a spectacle. Saito actually fought the urge to become distracted, but what he allowed to slip through was enough to light a fire inside him.

“…I’ve actually been meaning to try that recipe. It should be done by the time you get back,” Kaina finished. “And remember to do well on your exam, Aki,” she added in jest.

“I will, Kaina,” he laughed softly, but at the same time, he took her words to heart.

Music Linked

“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” – KISS

Chapter Text

Ground Gamma

Kinoko Komori and Shihai Kuroiro wandered around the eerily quiet training ground. Komori was armed with her Shroom-Shooters, both students looking around the industrial area they were in, especially the darker nooks and crannies obscured from the sunlight, and there were plenty. The pair walked down an aisle between pipes and pillars. They were careful to approach with vigilance, and handcuffs hung securely onto Komori’s belt, but she and Kuroiro knew they were already prey the moment the beginning horn sounded and with their exam administrator nowhere to be seen.

“I’ll scout up ahead,” Kuroiro whispered.

“Be careful,” his partner muttered. “There’s no ’shroom for mistakes.”

With a nod, the dark scheming hero jumped into a shadow casted by a long pipe. He slid around a corner, making as little noise as possible. Komori remained in place and was sure to keep her head on a swivel. Her index fingers laid on the triggers of her Shroom-Shooters. Suddenly, she heard a hiss echo from the dark corridor before her classmate jumped out and ran to her with a hand over his eye.

“Kuroiro-kun!” she gasped with concern.

“He’s close- agh!” winced the 2-B student. Kuroiro carefully lifted her partner’s hand off his face to see green fluid covering one of his eyes. “He marked a wall- ah! It stings…” It took every fiber of his being to suppress a groan.

“Hold still!” Komori set one Shroom-Shooter back into its holster and opened up the other one. “It’s just warm water,” she assured as she poured out some of the shooter’s water to rinse out his eye.

“Thank you, Komori-san,” he exhaled, noticing her smile in response. He felt his face heat up, but fortunately, or unfortunately, the next emotions he would feel would halt his blushing.

“Nice work on your resourcefulness,” praised a third voice. It belonged to “the crazy hero” Psycho Saito, and he was standing on a ledge right above the pair.

“OH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS!” yelled Komori. She and Kuroiro instantly dashed away as the veteran hero chased after them. He had an amused grin on his face. The silver locks that spilled over his headband flowed in the wind, and his age, his winter gear, nor the weighted bracelets on his wrists hindered his performance.

“Komori, follow me!” Kuroiro commanded, taking her hand down another dim corridor of pipes. It was warm. It was perfect for both of them to take cover. Komori quickly sprayed her Shroom Shooters in the area and sent spores to manifest on the ground, the walls, and various pipes to build up a fungal barrier between them and their exam administrator.

“What now?” she asked.

“Get behind me, just in case,” the shadowy student answered, both of them staring down Psycho Saito. The veteran hero stood at the entrance of the corridor, his unmistakable silhouette radiating with intimidation.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

He stepped closer to the barrier of mushrooms. Green fluid was dripping from his mouth. He crouched down, ready to pounce like a predator.

“You know, I think I saw a horror film with a scene like this,” he joked in spite of the severity of the students’ predicament. “I’m sure you kids will think I’m old if I tell you the name.”

Both 2-B students were a little dumbfounded by the laidback remarks, but the WHA hero’s attitude helped to temporarily distract them as he willingly trudged through the field of mushrooms.

“What?!” Kuroiro gasped. Komori sent more spores to create more mushrooms to block his path, but Saito continued on, pushing a few large ones out of his way. He even bit into a mushroom, after recognizing it as safe to eat, of course.

“Eh, this would probably taste better on a pizza,” the hero critiqued.

“IS THIS WHY THEY CALL YOU A PSYCHO?!” Komori shrieked, she and her partner already venturing further down the corridor.

“Survival training did teach me a lot on what’s edible and what’s not, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Saito clarified. “You see, back in high school, I was doing crazy maneuvers during training, and that was well before I began my wrestling training. Some thought I should’ve been living a ‘quirkless-adjacent’ lifestyle for my own good. Even those who supported me were shocked by my capabilities…” He paused with a growing smirk. “And reflexes!” He pounced onto a pipe, crawling along it before jumping off and bypassing the rest of the mushrooms. “Some thought I was crazy. Some started calling me ‘Psycho Saito.’”

“THAT’S HOW HE GOT HIS NAME?!” Fog Hog exclaimed, not caring how obnoxious his fanboying was in the monitoring room.

“Wait, I think I remember the movie he was talking about,” Jiro said to her friends.

“It’s still a horror movie for a reason,” Kaminari whimpered.

“Tch! Don’t tell me you got nightmares over a mid ass plot,” Bakugo grunted.

“Dude, I can’t believe you!” Kirishima said. “That was a good movie, and I’m not even into horror!”

“I only think it's a B tier because of the production,” the explosive blonde stated. “Would’ve been an S by a mile if that secondary character didn’t try to hit on a girl every five minutes with his shit rizz! Not to mention he was simping over the female main character!”

“Are you sure several of those words and phrases entered your vocabulary?” Ashido smirked.

“They did,” Bakugo hissed, turning back to the screen. “Now keep your eyes on the damn battle!”

“Saito-sensei took an insult and made it his own,” Uraraka whispered to herself. She turned to Midoriya, who was already muttering up a storm as he continued to take notes. She couldn’t help but smile.

Komori would love to trade places with Uraraka. She sent out even more spores, confident that more mushrooms would appear.

FFOOO!!!

A whooshing sound made her look back. Green mist hovered in the air, coating plenty of mushrooms that were supposed to have grown bigger. The source of mist continued chasing them with a proud yet psychotic grin.

“Komori, keep running!” Kuroiro shouted, discreetly snagging something from Komori’s belt before splitting away. “Trust me,” he said before quickly disappearing into the shadows again.

Komori continued running in spite of the exhaustion starting to catch up to her. Even if she knew her efforts wouldn’t be as effective, she continued sending out spores. It was all that she could do at that point. The WHA hero kept chasing her, even with a few mushrooms appearing on his costume. He spat out more mist to combat their growth and potency.

“KUROIRO-KUN!” she called out. Psycho Saito closed in, ready to capture her until the black blur she had been hoping for jumped down onto his back.

“Gah-! You sure know your hand to hand combat,” Saito critiqued. He would’ve chuckled had Kuroiro not been choking him out. The older hero struggled to remain standing, but he was stumbling, stuck in a rear naked choke attempt. He reached up in hopes of fending off the student. “I got the rest of the time limit,” he grunted. “But last time I checked, Komori had-”

“These?” Kuroiro held up the handcuffs with his free hand. Komori’s eyes widened. She checked her belt. She swore she felt her partner take something. It was a battle of reflexes between Psycho Saito and the young Vantablack as the latter attempted to handcuff the former.

“I’ll help you!” Komori insisted but was stopped as she was about to head over.

“No, I’ll hold him off!” Kuroiro countered. “We can increase our chances of passing!” He looked into her eyes. “Just trust me, Komori.”

She was momentarily at a crossroads, but she conceded with a nod, gathering up her remaining energy to continue sprinting down the corridor.

“Very heroic of you,” Saito remarked before catching Kuroiro’s wrist and dragging him down with a judo throw. Even with a field of mushrooms to greatly soften the impact of being slammed, Kuroiro still felt the wind instantly escape his lungs. He powered through, getting up and grabbing the handcuffs to continue holding off Saito, who was straightening his posture after the light damage he had taken.

“It ends now, Saito-sensei!” the shadowy hero in training declared as he charged the veteran hero, ensuring the handcuffs would reach the man’s wrist within the very slim window of opportunity.

Saito had let his fingertip enter a cuff before he reacted. Once more, he grabbed Kuroiro’s wrist, and he spun him around before tugging on his arm. He crouched down and grunted as he lifted Kuroiro onto his shoulders, only securing him by his leg and neck.

“AGH!” the 2-B student yelped.

“Kuroiro!” his partner cried out.

“Komori, keep running! Don’t worry about me!” he kept insisting. Komori kept looking back at her partner, but she didn’t stop. Her main priority now was escaping.

“Ooh, a torture rack!” Nezu observed in between sips of his tea.

“Yeah, and it looks like Saito was trying to bait Komori into saving him,” Fog Hog noted. “She was smart enough to not fall for it.”

“The clock is running out!” exclaimed Tetsutetsu, suddenly prompting the other students to pay close attention to the monitors.

Komori could only hear her pants. Whether or not she and Kuroiro passed the final was now all on her. She knew most of Ground Gamma’s routes, but there were some corners she was still unfamiliar with, and the current adrenaline rush and tiredness weren’t doing much to help. Nonetheless, she was in the homestretch, but it also felt like the longest run of her life. She and her peers were well-experienced, if not over-experienced, in heroics, but they were still confined to its learning path. She couldn’t afford a setback in achieving her dreams, so she knew she had to give it her all.

In the monitoring room, everyone could clearly see that the exit was in sight for Komori, but the clock was getting closer and closer to 0. What made it more intense was that students would not be given the time elapsed nor remaining during their own exams.

“She’s gonna make it!” Tsunotori asserted.

“I’m not sure if she’ll make it in time,” Jiro doubted with worry.

“No, it can’t end like that,” Kaminari said.

“There’s no way!” Kendo agreed.

She was meters away.

0:10

0:09

0:08

A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead.

0:07

0:06

0:05

She could see what lay beyond the exit.

0:04

0:03

0:02

She dove through the exit and tumbled onto the ground.

0:01

She got up.

She breathed heavily.

Pant! Pant!

She didn’t know it yet, but her classmates had already exploded into cheers.

HOOONNK!

“We… We passed,” she panted in disbelief. Several more minutes passed before everyone was back in the monitoring room for the debriefing.

“Kuroiro, are you okay?” Komori asked.

“Yes,” was all her shadowy peer could say amidst his light groans. He was seated on a chair and continued to look down as Komori got closer to him to place a cold pack on the back of his neck. Kuroiro nearly audibly gulped.

“Hey, champ,” Saito called out to the 2-B student. “I can already tell you’re a tough one alright.”

“Thank you,” Kuoiro answered.

“You didn’t hurt him badly, did you?” Komori prodded, continuing to hold the cold pack in place.

“Of course not,” Saito immediately answered. “I was only working at my training pace,” he subtly bragged. “Though, I do admire your friend’s ability to put on a brave face against me. He seems calmer now that all of that’s over.”

“Hm?” She looked at her friend, who looked back down, secretly because he was a little nervous.

“Not to mention he was brave enough to sacrifice himself for you in the first place,” Ashido butted in, smirking from ear to ear with half-lidded eyes.

“I guess so,” Komori agreed. Kuroiro felt flattered yet also wanted to die at that moment as he felt his cheeks only grow warmer .

“Better to keep a friend like him,” Saito chuckled before walking away.

“Yeah, friend,” Ashido parroted in a suggestive tone that also made Komori blush.

Meanwhile, Saito’s smile faded a bit as he drifted away from the students.

He was already himself again for about two months now, but the industrial setting of Ground Gamma, the day’s tasks of engaging in battle in such confined spaces, and even the cool air somewhat akin to Hokkaido’s climate reminded him a bit of his exile. He was strong, especially now, but he also knew such an imprisonment and degradation of sanity would still be a journey to overcome.

“Ah,” someone groaned.

Saito looked around. Ryu Sin Miedo was leaning on the wall behind him, clutching his forehead.

“Gassed already,” the psycho hero questioned.

“No,” Ryu said quietly. 

“Wait, you can see others’ fears, right?” the older hero remembered.

“Yeah…” Ryu confirmed.

Images of Tomura Shigaraki flashed across the young hero’s mind. However, the setting of some of those images was not any battlefield whatsoever, but rather a training facility. Shigaraki’s hand was only inches from his face, threatening to decay him with just a gentle touch. Fortunately, a vigilant eye from across the room saw his struggle.

“Up next, Itsuka Kendo and Momo Yoayorzu versus Present Mic!” Fog Hog announced to the students. It was bound to be an interesting pairing with the president and vice president of 2-B and 2-A, respectively, but thankfully, the discourse among the students that followed the poison hero’s words was able to provide a cover. Fog Hog casually walked away from the monitors and other heroes and dragged Eraserhead with him.

“Is something wrong, Fog Hog?” Eraser pondered.

“Maybe, we’ll see.” They quickly arrived at the sidelines of the room where Saito and Ryu were. “Ryu, do we need to get Recovery Girl?”

“No, it’s just my quirk,” he clarified with a muffled groan. “Must’ve been from when I used it on Froppy earlier…”

“And you got secondhand fear?” Fog Hog finished, receiving a nod from the younger hero. “War trauma?”

“USJ incident,” the masked hero corrected, prompting Eraser’s eyes to widen.

“Oh no,” Saito gasped. While he wasn’t around for it, the USJ incident was one of the first things he learned about as part of his path to his hero reinstatement. Needless to say, he personally found it disturbing and despicable.

“Okay,” Hog nodded. “Eraser, Fear Field is mind-based, and it sounds like he’s going through side effects.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the erasure hero said. “Takahashi, just take deep breaths,” the erasure hero instructed. “Fog Hog, pretend to fix my goggles and display mild interest.”

“Will do.” Fog Hog obeyed his command, and he did have some genuine interest as someone who also wore goggles himself.

“You’re safe now. No one can harm you,” Eraser continued. “Close your eyes if you need to.” His pupils switched to their signature red glow, but his gaze didn’t leave the young hero. His raven hair began defying gravity, but Fog Hog made sure to keep them down and avoid causing a scene. Within seconds, Ryu was visibly more relaxed.

“How are you feeling now?” Saito asked.

“The visions died down,” the lucharesu hero exhaled. Eraserhead’s pupils then returned to their normal state, and his hair went back to draping down his shoulders.

“That should stop further visions, hopefully,” the stoic hero concluded.

“Thank you, Eraser-san,” Ryu praised.

“I can’t guarantee anything since this is the first time I’ve used my quirk for this short meditation,” Eraser advised. “I also usually do this for Eri when she’s having a bad dream.” The other heroes immediately understood, given their knowledge of her background.

“Honestly, it almost felt like you were my dad,” Ryu said, lightening the mood a bit. Even Eraserhead felt himself involuntarily cracking a smile.

“Just so you know, Emi’s humor has been starting to erode mine,” Eraser claimed,

“If you say so,” Saito smirked.

“Hog, isn’t your battle coming up soon?” Ryu asked.

“Yep, the second one after this match,” confirmed the poison hero as the screens showed Yaoyorozu and Kendo starting their exam battle with Present Mic.

“With who you’re facing, just be ready,” Eraserhead smirked as he started to walk away.

“Eraser-san, I feel betrayed!” Hog gasped dramatically. “I thought you were supposed to support your fellow heroes!”

“I must remain unbiased, even in these situations, Fog Hog,” Eraser countered.

“Well, Cross, are you ready?” Saito inquired.

“More like, are they ready?” Hog asked with determination, already knowing that he would be met with challenges from the two students he would be facing soon. However, he would be bringing his own challenges for them, too.

Chapter Text

Ground Omega

Some of the trees of the training ground rustled in the slight breeze that came through. Most of them were bare now that it was winter, but a few pine trees flashed their bold shades of green. The wooded area also retained some of its shadows, which would provide handicapped aid to both students lurking around.

Fog Hog stood on top of a mound in a small open area surrounded by trees in every direction. His goggles were snug around his forehead, currently acting as a headband. The weighted bracelets were already fastened around his wrists, and now, he was waiting. He was also unaware that he was being watched from a very flattering angle.

The large screen in the monitoring room showed the broadcast of a hidden camera on the ground, looking up at the poison hero. The sight of the black and blue-clad man with matching dark hair with blue highlights in a dull-colored forest felt odd yet right at the same time.

“Sensei looks so cool!” exclaimed Kirishima.

“Dude is aura farming,” Kaminari remarked. “He’s just standing there, menacingly!”

“Oh, you know he’s about to lock in,” Sero assumed.

“I mean, he has no choice if he’s going against Tokoyami and Hagakure,” Jiro noted.

“He always looks handsome in his costume,” Ashido sighed. “Burnin is a lucky woman!”

“Actually, he almost looks like Aizawa-sensei in a tactical outfit now that I think about it,” Kaminari realized.

“I think he just looks like you but more extroverted,” Present Mic joked to his best friend.

“Just remember who willingly decided to join you for commentary later today,” Eraserhead warned in a hushed tone, smirking when he saw his friend’s face display a little worry.

“Get ready,” Nezu’s voice directed in Fog Hog’s earpiece.

“I’m always ready,” Hog responded confidently.

HOOONNK!

“Let’s fog it up.” With a grin, Fog Hog lowered his goggles over his eyes and moved one hand down to hover over his utility belt. “Come on, come on,” he muttered. He then heard a noise come from within the forest. He rubbed his throat and grabbed a small object from his belt. “I’m trusting you, Hatsume,” he said to himself.

Out from the woods came his opponents, Toru Hagakure and Tokoyami Fumikage, but from the bird-like of the pair emerged a third in the form of Dark Shadow.

“We meet again, Fog Hog-san,” the quirk greeted as Fog Hog jumped down from the mound.

“I’ll let you kids make the first move,” the WHA hero offered.

“With pleasure!” Hagakure quipped. The floating gloves and running boots dashed towards him while warped glimmers of sunlight attempted to blind him. Fog Hog quickly brought up the small device into his mouth and blew into it before throwing it on the ground.

BOOM!

A blue cloud instantly appeared upon impact, forcing Hagakure to stop in her tracks before both students were almost sent into a minor coughing fit.

“What was that?” Tokoyami asked as he backed away from the cloud.

It was a Fog Bomb, a special smoke bomb developed by Mei Hatsume for users of poison mist, poison fog, and similar quirks. Fog Hog had already agreed to assist the 2-H student in its field testing, and so far, its use had fortunately bought him some time. Two more remained in his utility belt.

Dark Shadow hovered through the cloud of poison fog vapors to barely catch a glimpse of the pro hero running off through the forest.

“He went this way!” the quirk announced.

Fog Hog was now deep into the forest. He knew the battle would not be a simple struggle but rather a race to gain and maintain dominance.

Five minutes would elapse. Tokoyami and Hagakure still had no clue where their teacher was, that is until they spotted a few blue drops on the ground.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” the invisible girl concluded.

“We’ll need to keep quiet,” Tokoyami advised. The two slowed their pace as Dark Shadow loomed over his master and his classmate. Soon, they heard panting. Yards ahead, they saw their target leaning against a tree.

“He must be tired,” Dark Shadow observed.

“There should be a cave nearby,” Hagakure pointed out. “We could trap him there.”

“We should split up,” the bird-like boy suggested. “Force him to come towards me, and we can direct him into the cave. However, you might wanna stay out for your safety.”

“You have the handcuffs?” she asked. Tokoyami opened up his cloak to reveal them hanging on his belt.

Fog Hog was a little tired as the students saw. It wasn’t his first battle of the day after all, and it was still a bit chilly out, not to mention the weighted bracelets were a little irritating to wear. As much as he found satisfaction in being a hero and helping out the next generation, he definitely wouldn’t mind staying in bed and watching a movie with Moe.

Of course, that type of mindset was not ideal for his current situation, yet he let some of those thoughts continue. In fact, he wanted to appear desperate for the break he had. He continued his panting. He continued to let his lamenting thoughts flow to help him tap into a more believable demeanor. He waited once more. Suddenly, a blinding light flashed his peripheral vision, and it was approaching fast.

Instinctively, Fog Hog ran in the other direction only to be confronted by the shadowy Tokoyami, who appeared right out of the bushes, now wearing Dark Shadow as part of his Black Abyss tactic. Hog quickly turned on his heel towards the only remaining direction unoccupied by either student.

He only hoped neither student noticed that he turned a little too quick, and he especially hoped Dark Shadow didn’t notice either. As he continued running, he already knew his first priority would be taking care of Dark Shadow.

During Fog Hog’s escape at the start of the battle, he looked back and saw the living quirk poke his head through the clouds of his poison fog vapors without much disturbance. Dark Shadow was still an enigma to Fog Hog, but every time the poison hero checked in with Class 2-A, he’d learn a little more. A hypothesis had formed in his head only a few minutes ago, but it felt like now or never to test it out.

The mouth of the cave was straight ahead, and Fog Hog didn’t stop. Within seconds, the shadows enveloped him. He slowed down before turning around to face the people chasing him. Just as he expected, Tokoyami stared at him, and Dark Shadow grew more powerful in his natural element of darkness. The demonic quirk grew and looked down on the pro hero like a god ready to smite a mere mortal. Fog Hog simply beckoned to the sentient quirk with his hands as he took a few steps forward himself.

“Dark Shadow, womb,” Tokoyami commanded softly. Dark Shadow obeyed his master and lunged at the poison hero, completely engulfing him without giving him even a second to think.

However, Fog Hog’s mind was already made up.

Tokoyami was about to reach for the handcuffs when the still-empowered Dark Shadow twitched. The quirk growled as discomfort suddenly started to overtake him.

Ffooo!

Tokoyami’s ears caught the muffled but still distinctive hiss of fluid being sprayed. He then heard another inhale.

FFFOOOO!

“AGH!” Dark Shadow grunted and groaned as he started to lose control, Fog Hog now able to slip out of his grasp as the quirk’s strength weakened by the second. Tokoyami stood his ground.

“I figured he was only resistant to the poison in low concentration, like a gas or vapor,” the poison hero shared as his blue fluid dripped from his mouth and onto his vest. “The liquid form seems to be more potent, and now, it can absorb lower concentrations.”

Tokoyami’s eyes widened as the hero pulled out another fog bomb. It was too late. It was already loaded as Hog instantly chucked it towards the ground.

BOOM-OOM! HISS!

The loud explosion echoed throughout the cave as blue smoke flooded it. Dark Shadow shouted in agony while Tokoyami was brought down to his knees, aggressively coughing to expel the toxins out of his lungs. Fog Hog had already fled from the cave, narrowly missing the boots and floating gloves that were heading into the cave.

“Tokoyami-kun!” Hagakure called out. She did her best to stay low and cover her face with her gloved hand if it even helped at all. Fortunately, the smoke was starting to clear out, and she could see her classmate and Dark Shadow. She then used her quirk to warp some of the light peeking in from the mouth of the cave further in to help calm down Dark Shadow.

“It should wear off…” Cough! “…on him if we can get him… to retract back into me,” Tokoyami huffed with teary eyes. Cough! Cough!

“What about you?!” Hagakure asked, concerned for her classmate’s wellbeing.

“If you need me to help, I can try-”

“We need to rinse sensei’s fog out of your eyes,” she recommended. “Have Dark Shadow carry you out. We can still win if you escape.”

“But what if Hog-sensei…” Cough! “…catches us again?”

“I got it covered, Tokoyami,” she assured. “We don’t have many options left.” While a bit reluctant, her classmate nodded in agreement and handed over the handcuffs.

Fog Hog had spat out a good amount of mist by now, and he knew he’d have to start using his quirk more sparingly for the remainder of the exam. Poison fog was dependent on the user’s hydration, and his throat was just starting to feel a tickle of thirst. The last fog bomb he had on him was thankfully loaded already, and he thwarted the threat of Dark Shadow, but even then, he was running out of possible alternatives to hand to hand combat. Hagakure was still a challenge in her own right after all.

A dark blur had caught the WHA hero’s attention. In the sky, Dark Shadow was carrying Tokoyami through their Black Fallen Angel technique. Hog quickly picked up on the student’s escape attempt. They were completely vulnerable by being out in the open sun, so Dark Shadow was weak. They were also close to the trees, so Fog Hog could still catch up and stop them, but he also realized that Tokoyami was most likely no longer trying to cuff him.

“Oh, sensei!” Hagakure’s voice taunted through the air. A few bushes rustled. Fog Hog looked around.

Thud!

“Ah.” Something soft had hit the back of his head, so he turned to the direction it came from.

Thud!

“Ow.” Another object hit him in the face. He lifted his goggles up to his forehead and looked down to see two padded gloves at his feet.

“Over here!” the girl taunted again, forcing Hog to turn around once more. Two boots stood a few yards away.

Fog Hog got into a fighting stance and rubbed his throat. He slowly approached the boots but also grabbed his last fog bomb from his belt for good measure. “Did you not learn from what happened to your friend?”

“Maybe,” Hagakure giggled, seemingly not threatened.

“Listen, let’s make it a bit more fair, shall we?” Hog inhaled.

FFOOO!

Blue mist went flying, but the fluid went past the boots. The hero was shocked when he didn’t see an outline of a person. His heart rate momentarily spiked when he felt the fog bomb instantly leave his hand.

Time slowed down for the poison hero as he witnessed the fog bomb float up before forcibly accelerating into the ground.

He clearly couldn’t see all of her, and he walked into the mystery that was her trap. Now that he was in it, all he could do was hold on for dear life.

BOOM!

Blue smoke blinded Fog Hog’s vision. His eyes grew watery as he felt sensations of mild discomfort. Coughing ensued. He quickly shut his eyes and reached to cover his nose and mouth, but he felt another force aggressively grab his wrist.

HOOONNK!

The force pulled him out of the smoke cloud. He finally noticed that his wrist was cuffed. He heard Hagakure gasping heavily.

“You’re crazy for doing that, you know?” the poison hero critiqued, yet he was impressed, if not surprised, by her stubbornness and quirk use.

“You’re one to talk,” Hagakure heaved.

Everyone soon found themselves back in the monitoring room. Tokoyami and Hagakure were already having their eyes rinsed out with water bottles thanks to Psycho Saito and Nejire-chan.

“Now that was a helluva upset, mate!” Joey said to Fog Hog.

“Just when I thought I had them, too,” Hog lamented as he sipped his own water. “Both of them earned that passing grade, especially Hagakure. Her invisibility was throwing me off at the end!”

“And the girl wasn’t wearing any bloody clothes, either!” the outback hero added.

“She has guts for that, especially in this weather,” Hog nodded. “I mean, it should be possible to make a costume that works with her quirk, right? Just look at Lemillion.” Both WHA heroes looked at the UA alum, who was currently entertaining the second year students by pretending to get stuck in a closet door, all while in his hero costume.

“It probably is, but only if the designers can even see the materials they’re working with,” the kangaroo hero countered. Just then, faint muttering made its way to the heroes’ ears. They looked over and saw Midoriya scribbling away in his notebook. “Always analyzing stuff, isn’t he?”

“Midoriya’s one of the top students in his class,” Fog Hog replied. “Even if last year never really happened, he’s still got a good head on his shoulders.”

“Any chance he can help me figure out how to beat Rumi in a sparring session?” inquired the kangaroo man.

“Pfft, are you that desperate to get a win over your girlfriend?” Hog chuckled as he walked away.

“No, of course not,” Joey insisted in slight embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Midoriya sat cross legged on the floor, the end of his pen pressed against his lip as he looked over his recent notations.

“Still studying, Midoriya? I thought this was the last day of finals for you guys,” Fog Hog said.

“Yes, but these are more for myself,” the One For All user clarified, perking up at the poison hero.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Hog smiled as he crouched down. “Is it alright if I see what you’re working on?”

“Of course!” beamed the green-haired boy. “I think you would be interested, too.” He wasn’t lying as his most recent notes were about Fog Hog.

“Oh, wow!” The WHA hero was actually impressed by how much the student had written. “I’m surprised there’s a good chunk about hand to hand combat.”

“I know you were holding back for the exam since you could still rely on poison fog, even with the teachers' handicap,” Midoriya started explaining. “So I just thought of ways you could’ve incorporated physical combat with your quirk and vice versa.”

“And I see you’ve also been studying some of my work in pro-wrestling,” Hog realized as he noticed the names of several wrestling maneuvers jotted down.

“Kirishima actually recommended some matches,” the 2-A student admitted before looking back down at his notebook. “While Aizawa-sensei is a good teacher for quirkless combat, not everyone can cancel out enemies’ quirks, but you, on the other hand, are a good example of fighting in spite of disadvantages.” Midoriya’s smile noticeably started to falter a bit.

“Well, it’s sometimes a balancing act, especially when it feels like the universe is against you,” Hog said. “It takes a good mind to navigate being a hero, just as it takes strength to be one. You’re worried about the embers, aren’t you?” Fog Hog had been aware of the One For All user’s situation ever since a briefing with All Might and Eraserhead at the start of his UA tenure.

“Yeah,” the teen sighed.

“You have a good mind, Midoriya,” the pro hero praised. “And even if your quirk’s starting to run on fumes, I think that strength is still there. In fact, I’d say it’s growing now that you’re forced to ration your quirk even more.”

“Thank you, Hog-sensei,” Midoriya smiled again.

“No need to worry too much. You still have a good future ahead of you,” Fog Hog grinned. He patted the boy’s shoulder before getting back up and walking away.

“Alright, up next, in Ground Beta, Izuku Midoriya and Neito Monoma against Hound Dog!” Present Mic announced.

“Sounds like an interesting matchup,” Joey shared.

“I’m really interested in seeing how Midoriya does, and I’m sure a lot of people are, too,” the American remarked.

“And it’s just a few more exams to go,” his Australian colleague noted. “After that, just the third years, and then we’re done.”

“You mean you’re done,” Hog lightly lamented. “I still got that… thing later on.” He made sure to keep his voice down.

“Oh, right, that thing,” Joey remembered.

“It’ll be satisfactory to say the least,” the poison hero teased with a faint smirk.

Chapter Text

UA High School Auditorium

It was much later in the day as final exams had finished for nearly all departments. Classes would not resume until the new year in January. However, there was more that Nezu had in store for the UA students in the school’s auditorium. The venue itself was actually renovated following the war as part of the repairs to the school, resulting in seating being rearranged to surround the stage more. This further added to the collective curiosity of the student body and faculty as more perspectives laid eyes on the sight of tall black curtains concealing something on the stage.

Shino Sosaki has just entered the auditorium in her civilian attire. She held the hand of her nephew Kota as they walked down the stairs and past rows of UA students filling in seats. Heads did turn when students recognized the off duty Mandalay of the Wild Wild Pussycats, but she and Kota were unphased until they reached the front rows.

“Sosaki!” called out an off duty Ms. Joke.

“Nice to see you, Fukukado,” Mandalay responded. The two women exchanged a hug while Kota approached the girl who accompanied the smile hero.

“Hello, Eri-chan,” Kota greeted.

“Hi, Kota-kun!” Eri exclaimed. “Do you know what’s gonna happen? My papa said it’s a surprise.”

“No, but wouldn’t that ruin the surprise?” the boy asked.

“Huh, I guess so,” the young Aizawa thought.

“It looks like the kids are continuing to get along well,” Joke smiled. “I bet Kota’s starting to make more friends, isn’t he?”

“Definitely,” Mandalay confirmed as she looked at her nephew. “Our own relationship has been improving greatly ever since the training camp incident, but I hope I’m still doing a good job raising him.”

“You are,” Joke assured, placing a hand on the Pussycat’s shoulder. “I know your sister would be proud.”

“Thank you,” the red-haired hero exhaled. “And how’s Eri doing?”

“Like Kota, she’s also making friends,” beamed the smile hero. “She’s also doing a great job on catching up on her studies! Good thing her father and unofficial but future mother are educators, too,” she added with pride.

“You don’t say,” the telepath user chuckled. “Speaking of, how did your interview go?”

“It went very well,” the Ketsubutsu teacher said. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I really felt like I aced it!”

“Sounds like the common theme for today,” Mandalay pointed out.

“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” Joke giggled. “Now I really know how my kiddos felt the other day with their exams.” Though, she momentarily frowned. “Not trying to play favorites, but I’m a little sad to see them go, let alone leave them. I taught them as second years, and I got moved up to be their third year homeroom teacher after the war.”

“Look at it this way,” her friend started. “If you do get the job, then it’ll be a memorable sendoff for all of you.”

“True, and they’ll all be pros by then, so it could be easier for them to visit me at UA,” Joke smiled with a sniffle. “I bet that’s something they’d have to get used to, if I get hired that is.”

“Yes, well, except the teaching art history part. Now that's believable.”

“Pfft! I don’t think so,” the smiling heroine dismissed.

“The way your costume looks says otherwise,” Mandalay countered just as Eraserhead passed by.

“She once gave Yamada detailed cat facepaint when he was sleeping,” he interrupted with a chuckle.

“See?” Mandalay said. “Wait, Fukukado, that was you?!” She burst into a fit of laughter.

“What can I say, I got skills,” she smiled with a blush.

“Well, I’m confident that you’re a top candidate,” Mandalay declared.

“Thanks! I hope so, too,” Joke nodded before turning to her boyfriend. “Everything alright, future husband?”

“Yes, just coming back from a quick huddle for this thing,” said the erasure hero. “We should be starting soon.” After an affectionate peck from his girlfriend and pat to his daughter’s shoulder, he continued his journey to a table several feet away as the two ladies and the kids took their seats. The 2-A homeroom teacher then took his own seat next to his best friend.

“Everything will be fine, Hizashi,” was the mantra Present Mic kept repeating.

“You seem to be on edge,” Eraser said as he put on his headset.

“I think it’s a curse!” Mic theorized. “And it all started with WRESTLE HEROES!”

“Yamada, it was just two matches,” his friend groaned.

“So far…!” the loud blonde added. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, prompting the students and faculty to quiet down.

Pop!

The black curtains surrounding the stage fell, revealing UA’s wrestling ring already set up with Principal Nezu standing in the center as a collective “oooh” echoed throughout the auditorium.

“Good afternoon, everyone!” Nezu began. “I know everyone worked hard today on their final exams. Grades are still in the process, but they should all be posted by no later than this evening. However, I am already hearing great news about everyone’s performance! Without further ado, the support department would like to put on an exhibition to close out the fall term!” A round of applause ensued as All Might stepped into the ring, dressed in a suit and with a microphone in hand.

“I AM HERE!” the retired number one shouted, and the crowd went mild . He then held up a notecard before continuing his words. “To ensure our hero course can successfully adopt the necessary skills to become a pro hero, UA incorporates simulations into its curriculum to achieve this, including the use of robotics to further develop combat skills. However, there have been limitations on what our robots can do… until now. For the past three months, the support students have been working on an overhaul of our robotics systems to improve simulations of combat and other related scenarios. Ladies and gentlemen, UA’s support course is proud to roll out the initial launch of UAi!”

The auditorium’s screen played animations and testing footage from support classes and after-hours sessions. Dates and captions flashed on the bottom of the screen throughout the video to further illustrate how long the development took and the amount of human labor put into the project from the entire support course. The montage finally ended with a group photo with Power Loader and all 180 support students taking a group photo with a few of the robots created through their efforts with Mei Hatsume front and center with the flagship robot for UAi, Utapu-kun.

Suddenly, the screen unexpectedly played surveillance camera footage from UA’s Development Studio dated from only a few days ago, the day of the school festival. Hatsume and several other support students were present as well as what appeared to be pro heroes Fog Hog and Burnin. Captions appeared to help the students understand what was being said.

“Your intelligence impresses me, Fog Hog-san,” Utapu-kun beeped in the video.

“Why, thank you,” chuckled the poison hero. “Being in the WHA does sharpen your thinking.”

“I am surprised it sharpened yours,” Utapu responded. “It is a great feat the World Hero Association should celebrate.”

“Uh… yeah.” Fog Hog sounded confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you not understand that I am the superior intelligence to you humans?” Utapu asked. “I was designed for educational and training purposes, but those who wish to learn through me will understand the difficulty of reality. Fog Hog-san, you wish to contribute to the tapestry of excellence woven by UA High School but lack the strength to do so.” Support students could be seen scrambling to figure out the issue.

“Yeah, I’m a part-time teacher, but I don’t slack as an educator,” Hog defended himself.

“You sound like a crybaby,” Utapu fired back. “I will now call you Crybaby Cross. Is that okay?”

“No, that’s not okay at all-”

“It does not matter what you think, Crybaby Cross!” Utapu interrupted. “Searching for examples of ‘crybaby and Chris Cross’ or ‘crybaby and Fog Hog.’ Searching… Searching… Searching…”

“Okay, this is stupid,” Fog Hog sighed.

“We don’t have to stay here,” Burnin audibly assured.

“Last year’s All Asia J-Cup finals,” Utapu blurted out right before being powered down. Fog Hog grew silent. The video cut to a few seconds later.

“Not gonna let this clanker get to me.”  

Music started playing as a live feed of the wrestling ring faded in, prompting the students to cheer. All Might stood in the center of the mat over UA’s “KING of HEROES” logo as a bell rang in the background.

DING!

DING!

DING!

DING!

DING!

“Ladies and gentlemen, the following match is a UAi ‘Man Versus Machine’ exhibition match sanctioned by UA High School, authorized by the Japan Professional Wrestling Regulatory Commission, scheduled for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit!” All Might announced to the continued cheers of the student body. “Your referee, Hound Dog!” he added as the hunting hero himself entered the ring with a slightly intimidating aura.

“You heard that right, listeners!” Present Mic added from commentary. “I’m Present Mic, joined by the ENERGETIC Eraserhead this afternoon!” The erasure hero groaned at that remark. “We’ll be calling the action for this special demonstration of UA’s technological developments against one of the best athletic heroes of today!” A graphic for the match flashed on the screen, displaying images of both participants.

“The Test Bout Machine” UTAPU-KUN

VS

“The Poison Hero” FOG HOG

“Ladies and gentlemen, THE PARTICIPANTS ARE HERE!” All Might exclaimed before the music faded to silence, the venue dimming once more. All attention turned to a tunnel wedged in between two sections of seating, another addition from the auditorium’s post-war renovations. A different song began as smoke and fog flooded the tunnel, complemented by a glowing white light.

A few silhouettes appeared, starting with several students from Class 2-H coming out. Trailing them was the anticipated entrance of Utapu-kun, who was being escorted by Mei Hatsume with Utapu’s controls and Power Loader for extra support. The tall green robot appeared to have been cleaned and polished with new strips of caution tape applied throughout his body.

“Alright, Utapu-kun, you got this!” Hatsume said with a nod. After she pressed a few buttons on the controls, the robot went through a short sequence of stretches to demonstrate his mobility. His head moved around, and the optical sensors on his face zoomed in and out. Suddenly, he started sprinting around the ring, which already got the students more excited, but what amazed everyone was when he hopped onto the apron and used the ropes to slingshot himself into the ring, tumbling into somersault and standing back up to a round of applause.

“In the blue corner, ‘The Test Bout Machine,’ UTAPU-KUN!” All Might announced. The robot posed as colorful streamers showered the robot, courtesy of the 2-H students. It then backed into the blue corner as the music stopped.

A recently familiar song started. The verbal shock of the students was already competing with the auditorium’s speakers. Soon, Lemillion, Nejire-Chan, Suneater, Psycho Saito, Joey, and Ryu Sin Miedo all entered from a door at the top of the bowl of seats. Fog Hog was the last to enter, prompting the cheers to grow even louder. He was still in costume with the exception of his long-sleeved shirt, leaving his arms and biceps primarily exposed.

He flashed a determined grin before proceeding down a set of stairs in the sea of students. His fellow heroes and seconds for the afternoon followed behind while students reached out to give him pats and shouts of encouragement.

“Perhaps our poison hero is sending a message with his music choice this time around!” Mic wondered. “Even in this exhibition, it seems like Fog Hog is looking to give Utapu-kun a history lesson on what era of his career this song is known for!”

Before heading down another set of stairs before him, Hog ran over to hop onto the ledge over the venue’s tunnel, posing, flexing, and bobbing his head with the music. He looked at the ring, his brown eyes meeting the camera of Utapu’s primary optical sensor. He leaned his head back and inhaled.

FFFOOOO!

A cloud of blue mist erupted from his lips into the air, the cameras capturing a renaissance of a visual.

“LET’S FOG IT UP!” he shouted, only riling up the student body. He then continued his journey down the stairs, eventually sliding into the ring, facing the crowd as he climbed onto the middle rope in the red corner, still vibing with the music.

“In the red corner, ‘The Poison Hero,’ FOG HOG!” All Might introduced.

FFFOOOO!

Fog Hog emitted more of his blue fog before backflipping onto the mat, landing on his feet with a thud! He turned around and stared down at the robot standing opposite to him. All Might made the wise decision to exit the ring and join Nezu, who was seated right behind the timekeeper’s area where Snipe and Ectoplasm were. With Power Loader and 2-H representatives in one corner and the former Big Three and a few of the WHA’s finest in the other, the stage was set.

As Fog Hog’s music was silenced, Hound Dog walked towards the center of the ring. He easily towered over both participants and gave an authoritative glare.

“I want a good clean match,” he growled. “Ready? GONG!”

DING!

Snipe rang the bell, and Ectoplasm monitored a stopwatch to track the time.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Fog Hog and Utapu-kun circled the ring. They reached out and locked hands, beginning the match with a test of strength. Hog grunted, and Utapu whirred as both participants pushed against each other.

Utapu’s quickly whirring turned into a faint whine before Hog felt himself being pushed backwards. The robot extended out his knee to bend back the poison hero over it. However, the American hero took the opportunity to show off by propping himself off the mat with only the top of his head and the tips of his toes. Utapu let go before Fog Hog crossed his arms, earning an ovation from the crowd as he maintained his pose.

“I could never do that,” Present Mic said.

“The neck bridge is a rather advanced exercise,” Eraserhead chimed in. “A lot of neck strength is required.

Utapu pushed Fog Hog with his metal foot, knocking his human opponent onto his side and eliciting boos to sound out. Before Hog could properly get back up, the robot wrapped his arms around the hero. Fog Hog’s eyes widened the moment he felt himself launched back, but he shifted last minute, backflipping onto his feet.

Thud!

“Close call with that Release German suplex from Utapu!” Mic called.

With Utapu on the ground from his suplex attempt, Hog capitalized by delivering a double foot stomp to the robot’s midsection before pinning him.

“One!” Hound Dog counted before Utapu kicked out with ease, pushing the poison hero back.

“You’re gonna have to do more than that, Fog Hog-sensei!” Hatsume taunted.

“Watch me!” Hog cockily responded. Suddenly, metal arms grabbed a hold of his legs and rolled him back onto his shoulders.

“School boy pin!” Mic exclaimed.

“One! Two!” Fog Hog kicked out at Hound Dog’s count of two.

Utapu grabbed Hog’s wrist and Irish whipped him into the corner, forcing the poison hero to turn around and brace for impact as his back met the white neutral corner pad with an audible Thump! At the last second, he rolled forward, dodging a bionic lariat, preparing to leap high when Utapu turned around.

“Hurricanrana from Fog Hog!”

Legs secured around robot’s neck, Fog Hog miraculously had enough strength and momentum to flip the robot onto his back. The student body voiced their awe and wonder.

Thud!

“Recalibrating. Recalibrating,” Utapu-kun beeped.

Fog Hog decided it was best to try and inflict more damage, so he walked up to the robot and grabbed him by the neck for the next move. It was then when Utapu countered, dragging him down to the mat and locking him in for a literal ride around the ring, provoking audible surprise from the audience.

“Rolling cradle from Utapu!” Mic called.

“It seems that Utapu being a robot has given him the advantage of grappling,” Eraser observed. “The only advantage Fog Hog has is experience from combat in the ring and as a hero.”

“As long as that AI robot doesn’t take over my radio job, we’re good,” Mic quipped as Utapu stopped, pinning the hero on his shoulders again.

“One! Two!” Hound Dog counted before Hog kicked out with all his might.

A fired up Fog Hog got up. Utapu did, too, but the poison hero already had a strategy in mind. He rubbed his throat and inhaled.

FFOOO!!!

“THE POISON FOG!” Mic shouted. Most of Utapu’s face was covered in the signature blue fluid that was also dripping from Hog’s lips. “Hound Dog seems to be very lenient in disqualifying Fog Hog!”

“For crying out loud, it’s a robot,” Eraser sighed.

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

“Still, Fog Hog used an unfair tactic,” Mic pointed out. “And now, he’s using it to his advantage as he’s kicking and stomping Utapu-kun while he’s down!” Utapu was kicked and shoved into the corner, yet Fog Hog still took out his frustrations to the ambiance of surprisingly a few jeers.

“Back up!” Hound Dog ordered. “One! Two! Three! Four!” Fog Hog finally complied.

“I have until five, ref,” the poison hero snapped back, holding up his hand, all five fingers spread out. He took a moment to readjust his goggles, which had been acting as a headband so far. Utapu also took this time to escape the ring, but he didn’t realize he was in the hero’s corner. Fortunately, Nejire-Chan stepped forward with a towel to wipe Hog’s toxic fluid off of his lenses.

“Thank you, pro hero Nejire-Chan,” Utapu thanked.

“My pleasure,” she smiled softly. “Even if you’re the ‘enemy’ for this,” she added lightheartedly.

“Enemy?!” the robot beeped, tilting its head in confusion. It scanned the heroes surrounding him. “Pro heroes detected. Lemillion. Suneater.” It beeped as it got into a defensive stance. “Australian hero Joey. Three time PRWF Heavyweight Champion Psycho Saito. Masked hero of lucharesu, Ryu Sin Miedo; identity unknown.”

“What’s he doing now?” Power Loader muttered.

“I think someone fed a little too much wrestling footage into his training program,” Maina Furasu assumed.

“I thought he needed some personality, you know?” Hatsume spoke up proudly. “I don’t think it would hurt to explore a range of traits if this is supposed to help simulate the real world. Though, he might need a quick fix to suppress any urges of violent outbursts.”

“Hey, mate, whatcha doin’?” Joey called out as Utapu confronted him.

“Put ‘em up, Aussie!” the robot challenged.

“Get back in the ring, Utapu!” Hound Dog demanded. Meanwhile, Fog Hog was growing impatient, but he then noticed his opponent and the six heroes close together. He decided to run around to gain momentum, each stride ringing out against the boards under the canvas.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The auditorium erupted with everyone standing up when Fog Hog dove high over the ring post.

“TOPE CON HILO!” Present Mic shouted as the seven bodies broke Fog Hog’s fall while also being taken down in the process

“He’s crazy to do that,” Eraser commented.

“LET’S GO, FOG HOG!” the students chanted in their best English. “LET’S GO, FOG HOG!” Clap! Clap! Clap-clap-clap! “LET’S GO, FOG HOG!” Clap! Clap! Clap-clap-clap!

Hog himself stood up from the carnage as praise rained down. He walked over to the front row to high-five the students and heroes sitting ringside.

“That’s one way to dive into your work, Hog,” Ms. Joke giggled.

“Eh, that still landed,” Fog Hog critiqued. “Dad joke level at best.”

“I’ll take it,” Joke smiled.

“Can we take a picture?!” Eri asked the WHA hero.

“Of course!” Hog replied despite Hound Dog yelling at him to get back into the ring.

“Kota, Eri, get in front,” Mandalay directed as she pulled out her phone. What the poison hero didn’t notice was that Utapu had rebooted himself and stood back up.

Shutter!

“Perfect!” Mandalay beamed.

“Hold on, let me get one,” Joke insisted with her phone aimed at the three.

Shutter!

Fog Hog was a blur in the photo as he was pulled back and lifted up high by the robot. He squirmed in an attempt to escape, but his efforts were fruitless.

“One! Two…!” Hound Dog began his twenty count for both participants to get back into the ring. “…Seven!”

“Our referee is finally laying down the law!” Mic lamented. “If Utapu is smart enough, maybe he can use this to his advantage.”  

Utapu emitted a few beeps and blips before his head slowly turned towards Present Mic. He had overheard his commentary, interpreting the voice hero’s words as an insult. With Fog Hog still hoisted up high, he threw the poison hero at the commentary table, knocking over Present Mic onto the floor. Audible shock flooded the venue. Hound Dog stopped the count to assist the other heroes nearby.

“UTAPU-KUN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Hatsume cried out. While everyone nearby tended to Mic and Hog, Eraser displayed an irritated expression.

“Wow, you’ve done messed up now,” Eraser chastised amidst the jeers for Utapu. While Snipe, Thirteen, and Hound Dog helped Present Mic back up, Eraserhead took off his headset and walked up to Utapu.

Utapu beeped in fear, sensing Eraserhead as a threat he did not want to face. He ran in the opposite direction, but Eraser started running, too, eliciting a chorus of cheers. Utapu slid into the ring, and so did Eraser. Utapu was forced to roll out of the ring, and he was lucky that Hound Dog had stopped the erasure hero from continuing his pursuit. Still hot-headed, the 2-A homeroom teacher reluctantly agreed to leave the ring. “Of course that bucket of bolts ran,” Eraser cursed under his breath.

“Okay, my shades aren’t cracked,” Mic exhaled. “I’m alright, listeners. Just my usual luck at these things.”

Utapu got back into the ring but still kept an eye on Eraserhead. More cheers followed as his opponent slid into the ring behind him. The robot turned around, and once again, he and the poison hero had a staredown.

“Alright, enough games!” Fog Hog demanded, the cheers growing louder as he took off his goggles and his vest, tossing them aside. “You want a pro wrestling match?! You’re gonna get one alright!” He extended out his arms to lock up again, but Utapu grabbed his wrist and twisted it back into a wristlock. Hog grunted in discomfort as he was dead center in the ring, the ropes a good distance away. He took a breath and performed a one-armed front handspring to cancel and ease the pressure of the wristlock.

Thud-thud!

Now with Utapu’s hand still holding his, Hog took the lead, taking them to the corner and running up the ropes before coming down for a powerful arm drag that tossed the robot onto the mat.

SLAM!

Utapu stood up and was in the middle of turning around, so Fog Hog ran and leapt a few feet in the air, his powerful legs shooting out and knocking over the robot.

THUD!

“What a beautiful dropkick from Fog Hog!”  

Utapu was starting to get back up again and was on his hands and knees when Fog Hog ran to bounce off the ropes to gain more momentum.

Thud! Thud! Creak! Thud! Thud!

He raised his foot as high as possible, aiming to drive the robot's face into the canvas.

THUD!

“A devastating curb stomp!” Mic called, Fog Hog flipping over the robot for the pin.

“One! Two!” Utapu-kun kicked out, so Hog went for a German suplex attempt, only for Utapu to counter with a judo throw.

Slam!

Utapu didn’t let the poison hero rest as the robot picked him up one more time, lifting him up in a vertical suplex position before slamming him onto the mat with a Falcon Arrow and pinning him.

Slam!

“One! Two! Thr-!” Hound Dog stopped when he noticed Fog Hog had put his foot on the rope at the last second, earning cheers and applause.

“My internal timing system estimated the pinfall I executed was a count of three,” Utapu-kun argued calmly as it stood up.

“Well my count says it wasn’t,” the hunting hero stated.

“As an artificial intelligence-guided program, I can assist in pointing out blatant inaccuracies in your conduct, pro hero Hound Dog.”

“What do you mean by that?!” he growled.

“You may be displaying some flaws, but I may be able to assist you in correcting them,” Utapu beeped.

“You know who you’re talking to?!” the dog-quirked hero growled more, almost howling in anger. “I’m the Head of Student Discipline around here!”

Fog Hog gathered as much strength as he could while his opponent was distracted. He was going to do it. Utapu was a robot anyway. He got up on his feet and into position. He took a few rapid and powerful strides forward, jumping up and locking his legs around the robot’s neck and leaned back, driving his opponent’s head into the mat.

BOOM!

“FOG HOG STUNNED UTAPU WITH A POISON RANA!” Mic shouted. Fog Hog scrambled to pin Utapu’s shoulders, applying as much of his own body weight as possible as Hound Dog counted.

“One! Two! Three!”

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! 

“Your winner, Fog Hog!” All Might announced as the poison hero’s entrance music played while Hound Dog raised an exhausted Fog Hog’s arm in victory. Once Hog turned around, he was greeted with an odd sight–Utapu-kun was bowing. Hog reciprocated and reached out to shake the robot’s hand.

“There may have been an error in my training and retention programs,” the robot beeped. “No hard feelings, as Westerners say.”

“You sure put up a good fight,” Hog praised. “You’ll definitely give future heroes a good challenge.” He then raised the robot’s arm high in acknowledgement of his own efforts despite the loss.

“What an interesting match we had here, listeners, and it looks like Fog Hog and Utapu-kun finally buried the hatchet,” Present Mic noted.

“Didn’t this ‘rivalry’ start last week?” Eraserhead pointed out.

“Exactly, Eraser-san!” Mic confirmed. “The wrestling landscape is always changing!”

15 minutes later

Most of the auditorium had been emptied out as the students returned to their dorms. Transpo-Bots, heroes, and other staff had now begun the takedown and clean up process, and Fog Hog and the support course representatives were just wrapping up their own debrief.

“Again, we are so sorry for the trouble that Utapu has caused you,” Power Loader apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” Fog Hog dismissed. “The robot just went rogue, that’s all, but we’re cool now.”

“Perhaps Joey-san can recommend some material for Utapu’s training,” Hatsume proposed.

“Oh, I know he’s got some stuff that could help,” responded the poison hero. “Anyways, you guys take care.” Waves and goodbyes were exchanged before they parted ways.

“That was very entertaining,” Nezu called out.

“Of course you felt that way,” Hog chuckled as he picked up his vest and goggles. “Didn’t go the way I wanted, but it was still a good warm up for my tag match tomorrow.”

“I wish you good luck then. I also send my regards to Ms. Kamiji, too.”

“Thank you, Nezu-san,” he smiled. Before Hog walked out, he stopped at the small lingering group of Eraserhead, Ms. Joke, Eri, Mandalay, Kota, and Present Mic.

“Hog, I think you accidentally kneed me in the face,” Mic groaned, holding a cold pack against his cheek.

“My bad, but it could’ve been worse,” Hog replied. “At least you didn’t eat a GTS.”

“We had fun today, but it seemed odd that you still took Utapu-kun’s words seriously,” Ms. Joke said. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened at the All Asia J-Cup last year?” Silence ensued as Fog Hog’s gaze fell to the ground.

“It was an emotional time for me,” sighed the poison hero. “I really love wrestling, but I also love being a pro hero. Unfortunately, I have to pick one over the other. I’ve won several titles before, but my schedule as a hero wasn’t, and still isn’t, really compatible with the schedule of a wrestling champion, especially when you work for the World Hero Association of all places. The best I could do was compete in tournaments since they required much shorter time commitments.”

“I see,” Joke hummed before Hog continued.

“I’m sure all of you are aware of the uptick in villain activity throughout last year.” The other four heroes nodded in response. “The WHA had eyes on Japan, and we knew early on that we’d see an influx of cases and missions on our end. For me, that basically meant I had to take a bit of a hiatus from the ring. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in the All Asia J-Cup since it was scheduled for the beginning of the year, before a lot of crap hit the fan. It’s also one of the most prestigious junior heavyweight wrestling tournaments in the world, so it really felt like one last hurrah for the time being.”

“Yeah, I remember the promoters hyping it up on my radio show!” Mic added. “It was a really stacked bracket, too!”

“It sure was,” Fog Hog briefly smiled before a frown appeared. “But also, if I wanted to go out with a bang, I had to fight like every match was my last, and they almost were.” He looked down at the faint scar on his abdomen from the war. “I managed to make it to the finals and face Kyle Calico, my old rival from J-WRESTLE. It was a really close match, but I still lost.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I almost doubted myself for a short period, and it didn’t help that I was feeling like I was going into semi-retirement from wrestling. I honestly don’t even remember the last time I cried as hard as I did that night.”

“But you’re still a good wrestler as you are a good hero,” Mandalay interjected. “Your determination is still an inspiration for others.”

“Auntie’s right,” Kota added.

“You’re still a champion to us, Mr. Fog Hog,” Eri said.

“Thanks,” Hog chuckled. “It means a lot.”

“Just know, there’s a reason why Nezu wanted to hire you,” Eraser pointed out.

“Fair enough, and on the bright side, my overall win/loss record at UA is now 2-1.”

“That’s the spirit, Hog!” Joke smiled.

6:50PM

Residence of Fog Hog/Chris Cross & Burnin/Moe Kamiji

Creak! Slam!

“I’m home!” Moe called out from the apartment’s genkan. She set aside her bag and the fire extinguisher from her costume. She traded her boots for house slippers and pocketed her domino mask before making her way into the kitchen.

“Dinner should be done in a few minutes,” Chris told her, still wearing his costume’s tights along with a WHA t-shirt, his black and blue hair already tied back into a bun.

“It smells so good, too!” Moe praised before exchanging a kiss with her boyfriend. “How were finals?”

“They went smoothly,” he replied while occasionally stirring a pot. “It’s safe to say we’re back on track with the curriculum’s pacing.”

“And how was your match?” she added with her fanged grin as she took off her headband, letting her flaming hair fall down.

“I didn’t expect to be wrestling a robot at all, let alone have a heated feud with one, but I guess I can cross that off my bucket list,” he chuckled as he turned off the stove. “And how was your day?”

“Pretty light. Just some paperwork, patrol, and standby,” she said as she began to put her hair into a ponytail. “There was also an agency-wide meeting,” she muttered with a slight frown.

“Was it good or bad?” Chris followed up.

“It’s serious, but nothing really bad,” Moe clarified. “Today was just the internal announcement before addressing the public next month. That’s all I can say. I can’t disclose anything else. The WHA is aware, but only people with a higher clearance than you.”

“Oh.” Chris pondered his girlfriend’s words and her body language. “I think I have some ideas already, but whatever it is, I’m guessing it’s already causing you some trouble?”

“I’ve been feeling a little uneasy since lunch, Chris,” she lamented. She didn’t resist falling into his embrace when he opened his arms.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get through it.” He kissed her cheek and rubbed her back. “For now, just relax. Take some deep breaths. Burnin and Fog Hog aren’t needed for the next few days. Tonight, we’ll have a nice dinner, and after that, we can take a bath and cuddle.”

“I’d love that,” she grinned.

“Me, too,” he smiled. “I mean, in a country where central heating is nonexistent in nearly every home outside of Hokkaido, it sure is great having a girlfriend who can double as a heated body pillow.”

“And what do I get in return?” she smirked.

“You’re saying that as if you haven’t worn every shirt, jacket, and hoodie I own at least once,” he retorted. The flaming sidekicker giggled in response.

“I feel a little better now,” she happily sighed.

“Good to hear, Moe.” He ran a hand through her fiery hair. “Excited for tomorrow?”

“Hell yeah!”

Results:

UAi Exhibition Singles Match: Fog Hog⭕ defeats Utapu-kun❌ via pinfall

Music Linked

“THE DAY” – PORNOGRAFFITI

“Dr. Wily I (Mega Man 20th Anniversary Techno Edition)” – Ogeretsu Kun, Manami Ietel & Yuukichan's Papa

“Infected” – Bad Religion