Yellow Jacket. Chapter 7.

Yellow Jacket. Chapter 7.

Commissioned by Sivantic

Word Count: 2546

…

“If you think I’m going to back down like a little bitch, then you’re going to be disappointed, Kaichou.” Bakugo wasn’t an individual I had interest in knowing. He was skilled, capable, and intelligent, but he gave off a cloying, arrogant atmosphere. I can see how he can become a hero. He was aggressive, powerful, and followed society’s rules. It just so happened that he took too well to society’s praise for him managing to do all three. “Like I said at the start, I’m going to win this whole tournament.”

I couldn’t afford to listen to the commentary this time around.

Bakugo meant what he said. After Midnight called the match to start, he was immediately on the defensive. In his own way, his declaration was his way of saying that he was going to fight me head-on. His choice to defend, rather than attack, meant that he wanted me to be at my full strength too. Not only did he want to defeat me, but he wanted to make it clear that he defeated me at my very best. He wanted everyone to know that he defeated the girl that the entire audience feared, that he stood above everyone else, and that he should be praised, and remembered, and glorified. 

Bakugo was the sort of hero that would drive down crime, because of both his power and his fame, and that was why he didn’t interest me. 

That was all he was.

Bakugo is the perfect product of the society that vilified the weak and incapable. A Quirk that deforms you is fine, especially if you can put it to use for the public, but you’ll be better off if you looked human. If you’re weak and inhuman, then it’s unlikely that you’ll be very successful in life. Midoriya had little to no social contact, veered away from afterschool activities in favor of training, and bowed his head in Bakugo’s presence. If Bakugo hadn’t taken so well to being the hero, to thinking that Villains are trash that needs to be put down, he would be a villain himself. 

However, he did.

And, he fit that box too well.

He fits within the categories, the checkboxes, and dotted all the lines of a generic superhero in a world of superheroes. 

In Bet, he’d just be another Parahuman. A threat that I needed to overcome if needed, but one that I can avoid and not care for if not. 

The word that suited him was trivial, especially in regards to my current plans.

Defeating him is an exercise.

One that I can lose.

But, an exercise nonetheless.

Crushing the stone panel of our arena underfoot, I grabbed the largest of the rocks flying upward and threw it at him.

Bakugo dodged with an explosive blast. The way he oriented himself, with his palms ready to switch either forward or back, granted him the ability to swiftly change from attack or defense. He can utilize blasts in such a manner, due to being able to withstand his own explosions. A minor Brute rating, maybe 2 or 3, given how explosions should turns the insides of a normal human to pulp. So, he was tough, fast, and had a short-ranged attack. Mover. Brute. Blaster. All below or at 5, but powerful due to years of study and training.

However, I’m a brute too.

And, I can become a better Blaster with just a few hunks of rock.

Arm length. Leg length. Body type. All of that determined how well a human can outperform another human in terms of throwing, without even considering exercising regimens. But, that’s amongst humans. An average human outstrips any other animal in throwing ability. Nothing can compare to a human in simply throwing rocks. Human can turn mere sticks and stones into weapons with ease. Children can assist in stoning things to death while in mobs. Being tall, limber, and slender, as well as well trained in expectation of my future career, I’m naturally better at throwing projectiles than most.

That’s still without regard for my enhanced strength and the durability that came with it. 

Bakugo, in short, only managed to dodge my projectile because he was prepared for an attack and had his specific power.

If he weren’t prepared, if he didn’t have his Quirk, he’d already have lost the match.

“You bitch! You were holding back!” Bakugo’s accused me with a roar, but he wasn’t all bark. Realizing that I had the long-range advantage, he went on the assault in an instant. A few would hesitate before charging towards an individual with better range, but not Bakugo. With both his hands at his back, he turned himself into a torpedo propelled by recoil and backblasts, intent on reducing the distance between the two of us. “But, you’re not getting away with it—!!”

He cut himself while evading my second stone.

However, in my spare hand, I threw pulverized dust into Bakugo’s corrected path.

Bakugo chose to go upwards, rather than any other direction, and that was a testament to his instincts and skill. Suddenly blinded in the middle of an evasion, and he chooses the path that keeps him the fight, keeps him away from the ground, and ensures that he stays out of my reach. Not only that, but looking up at him has me staring straight at a series of explosions. Calling the tactic anything besides innovative would be a mistake, especially since he’s still airborne, and dive at me. 

However, with him climbing and preparing for an attack, I could do the same.

I took hold of the stone panel that neighbored the one I’d broken, lifted it up, and gouged out the center with my fingers. 

I had a shield and ranged weapons.

Neolithic or perhaps farther back in terms of design, but a person with a weapon will always be better than one without.

Yet, I still needed to finish this fight quickly. 

“You think that’s going to stop me, Prez!?” Bakugo amped up. Not in the same way as Lung, but unlike others he thrived in the face of adversity. He planned, he strategized, and used new tactics, all the while attacking, never discarding any attack that already worked, and trying out whatever he thought about. Like a soldier confronted with a problem, but without any chance of dying to stop him, he attacked with more and more gusto until he succeeded. I could say that his Quirk also amplified him in some way or form the longer the battle went on, but it was more likely that he never considered anything besides an overwhelming victory as an option. “I’ll blast straight through that garbage and send you flying!”

He made good on his words. Twisting and turning in the air, he barreled through the stadium’s airspace like a human projectile, and slammed into my shield with all the force he could muster. A few inches of concrete, against a durable superhuman propelled by explosives, had its winner decided from the onset. My hasty defense was torn asunder, projectiles flying everywhere, as both shockwaves and heat swamped over me. Not just from the attack that destroyed by my defense, but also the torrential rain of explosive blows that Bakugo had used to blow Kirishima out of bounds through sheer tenacity. 

I couldn’t withstand that many explosions, since I couldn’t compare to someone who could harden their whole body.

But, I didn’t need to.

Bakugo had assumed that I’d intended to have a stand-off in my advantage. With my shield and my projectiles, and proper evasion, I could have kept him at range while being able to withstand his long-range attacks. The concussive force of his blasts petered off in strength the farther one was away from him, while the heat could also be considered negligible after a certain distance. Therefore, in a long range engagement, I had the advantage. Neutralizing that advantage was his best course of action. So, it was the best way to lure him into a trap. 

Taking hold of both of Bakugo’s outstretched wrists, enduring his blasts head-on in doing so, I dragged him forward and bashed his temple with my own.

“Gah!” In a real battle, I would’ve put my back into the blow, and possibly caved in my opponent’s skull. However, All Might’s words and the fact that we were in a friendly competition were prominent in my mind. It was nothing more than a stunning blow. A way for me to capitalize on my grip on his wrists, instead of a decisive, fatal attack that would’ve ended the battle. “Dam—

Handling Bakugo is a matter of delivering a series of decisive blows that leave him helpless. Given his Quirk, that requires either his hands be pointed away, or him being unconscious or stunned. In close-range combat, during the bomb test, Midoriya had managed to fight against him by seeing through his movements, something which Bakugo responded to by developing his speed, increasing his ranged options, and keeping his objectives in mind. Midoriya, with just regular reaction times and physical training, had overcome Bakugo in close-quarters combat. 

I am better than Midoriya in close quarters.

As Bakugo recoiled from the knee to the stomach, I pulled him back towards me, until his stomach made contact with my knee. Then, with the air knocked of him, and his body curled inward, I let go of his seizing arms. A swift movement had me behind him, via both moving him in front of me and a few quick steps. All my preparations complete, I was now behind him while he was dazed, and behind me was a patch of padded dirt instead of concrete.

“IT’S A GERMAN SUPPPPLLEEEXXXXXX.”

The success of my attack was apparently enough for Present Mic to momentarily manage to overcome my concentration.

However, I refocused.

How to restrain Bakugo? The first that came to mind was an armbar. That would only result in a direct attack to my face. The more basic, quick ones that came to mind were applicable for the simple reason Bakugo’s hands presented a greater danger than simply trying to gouge out my eyes. More effective methods of knocking him out, such as pummeling him, was also not allowed. That complicated matters, and as much as I disliked the notion, I had to use an asset I didn’t plan on unveiling in front of a whole crowd.

“UUUWAAAA! That’s a Judo move ainnit!? We’ve got some martial arts going on here!” Present Mic’s words were beyond my ability to ignore, as leant my weight on Bakugo with his elbow locked against my neck, and my arms pinning his shoulder against his neck. With his other arm pinned beneath our combined weights, and his restrained palm only capable of craning down and firing over my shoulder, the move was my best bet at holding him. Bakugo broke out of his daze a moment after I began constricting, restricting his airflow with his own limb and my forearm, and he thrashed wildly. However, the pin had him not only trying to break a hold he didn’t have leverage over, but also fighting both our combined weights, with my own weight being amplified by using my legs. “Aizawa!!! You’ve got a martial artist in your class!!! Why didn’t you tell us!?”

“ I didn’t know. She probably wanted to use it as an ace-in-the hole.”

“That’s a seriously sinister answer!

But, it was true.

Martial arts typically doesn’t do well in fights, especially if one’s techniques are known. If someone charged me with the intent to fight, while I’m without equipment, retreating would be the best option. Martial arts is effective in combat, they’ve been developed for centuries with that in mind, but that’s their weakness. They’ve been studied. Their strengths and weaknesses are well known. Bakugo, in the back of his head, whilst he swears and hollers, is already planning to research how to get out of this hold. And, he’ll succeed. Then, he’ll study the next hold. Then the one after that. Given the fact it takes less practice to escape, he’s going to make my Judo worthless against him within the span of a few weeks, and anyone who intends to fight me head-on can do the same. 

However, it was the “heroic” thing to do here.

No pummeling, no breaking, and no intimidation. A simple fight where I analyze my opponent, find their weakness, and win decisively against them. That’s what people want. They want their heroes to be perfect. In a pinch, all they have to do is pull out a move that they’ve practiced, worked on, and invested in for years to pull out a victory against overwhelming odds. 

Despite the fact we’re just people too.

Knowing that, I couldn’t help but think my victory was bitter, despite the fact I won it the right way, and the audience made their approval known.

…

In the end, Midoriya didn’t manage to defeat Todoroki. Unleashing the full strength of his Quirk, after some words from Midoriya that I didn’t have context for, Todoroki knocked Midoriya out of bounds. 

However, Midoriya was knocked unconscious, and that was all that I needed.

The stadium had a clinic attached to it. Not remotely large or well-staffed enough to handle the number of potential injuries that could arise from the sports tournament, but that was a job for the nearby hospital. Assessment occurred within the clinic, as well as simpler procedures. Coupled with our school nurse’s ability to speed up healing with a kiss, most aches and pains could be addressed quickly, with the public none the wiser about a student getting injured beyond a scrape or two. 

But, they didn’t hold back in regards to making sure that small injuries were indeed small. 

So, as Midoriya was escorted out, I took a moment to have a few of my spare friends unlock the door from the inside, so that I could find the answers I needed.

The worst case scenario would be that Midoriya was a parahuman, that Agents were proliferating across the world beneath everyone’s noses, and the cycle of reproduction for the Entities were beginning on this new world. 

I wanted to be wrong in my hypothesis.

And, so I was.

Within Midoriya’s brain, the Corona Pollentia did not exist, making it clear that he did not Trigger and receive an Agent.

However, what Midoriya did have raised only more questions.

He had an extra joint in both of in his pinky toes.

As clear as day, in the records I held in my hand, Midoriya should be Quirkless.

So, though he wasn’t a Parahuman, he had a Quirk, but despite that he shouldn’t have a Quirk. He shouldn’t have a Quirk, yet he’s presented much evidence to the contrary, since the Entrance Exam. Though, he showed no evidence of having no powers, then having them after a crisis, he had a Quirk instead of an Agent that took advantage of his Trigger Event. The issues with the logic convoluted into one another until they were intertwined into a lengthy, incomprehensible knot. 

Wait.

A Trigger Event isn’t the only way to get powers.

Could there be a Quirk that granted powers?