𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄 ❀ 𝐒. 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐈 !!ᴅɪꜱᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ!!

Chapter Ten ~ What I Enjoy About You

Akiara's POV

After Team A and Team D's battle, Midoryia was really beaten up. Half of his hero costume had been blown away by Bakugou's quirk, and one of his arms was broken.

"Well, despite the results," All Might said once we all gathered together again to evaluate the battle. "The MVP of this exercise is young Iida!"

Collective gasps were heard around the room as Iida looked up from the ground. Beside him, Bakugou and Ochaco weren't doing so well. Ochaco looked worried, probably for Midoriya. Bakugou on the other hand, seemed as if he was going to rip something to sheds after school.

Which reminded me.

Bakugou hesitated slightly but continued towards me, not in a dangerous manner, but I still considered it threatening. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Meet me outside after school today, or you'll regret it tomorrow." He took a glance at Todoroki, who was still glaring daggers. "And don't tell your little boyfriend, or we'll have more problems, got it?"

My shoulders shivered once. What was he going to do? Probably something terrible. He was upset to begin with, due to the fact that I beat him in that race yesterday, but now he was even more angry. I gulped.

I turned my attention back to the conversation at hand, but my uneasy feeling didn't subside. Asui spoke up next. "Shouldn't one of the heroes be it because they were the winners?"

"Mm... valid question!" All Might answered. "Why didn't I choose one of those two?" He glanced around the room. "Who has a guess?"

"Sir." Momo raised her hand. "I can tell you why." Her hand didn't leave the air as she explained, "Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one who truly adapted to his assigned role. I'll explain." And she did. "Bakugou's judgement was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya. As was pointed out earlier, launching a full scale attack indoors was a fooling move. It could have been disastrous. Similarly, Midoriya's plan was also poorly thought out, considering the amount of damage he received. He rendered himself helpless, not smart. As for Uraraka," As Momo said her name, Uraraka looked even more nervous, and stared at her shoes with new intensity. "She let her guard down mid-battle. And her final attack was far too reckless given the hypothetical stakes. If she treated the fake weapon as though it was real, she never would have risked using such an imprecise move." Then Momo looked over at Iida. "Iida, was fully prepared for his opponent's arrival. He had a strategy and never lost sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon. Even if he was foiled in the end." Iida looked very appreciative of his classmate's praise. "Technically, the heroes won, yes, but they took the advantage of the fact that this was training, and they didn't respect the spirit of the trial."

After she was done with her monologue, the room was silent.

"How." I started, taking a step forward. I was standing next to Momo, with Todoroki next to me. "How are you so smart!"

All Might ignored my comment. "Y-Yes well, you overlooked a few things, young Iida could have relaxed a little bit in the exercise. But--" He gave Momo a thumbs up. "Otherwise, you nailed it!"

Momo put her hands on her hips. "One should always start with the basics and devote themselves whole-heartedly to learning. That's the only real way to become a top hero."

I stared dumbfounded at Momo. When we went to the same middle school earlier in our lives, I could remember her being this serious about school. But I always thought she would just stay like that for a little while, and then become like me and be a B student! But apparently, she was definitely not kidding.

"Well then." All Might started again. "Time to blow this joint. Let's move on to the next match! Think about everything we saw and discussed as you tackle this training for yourself."