The Training Arc Part 3

| Izuku P.O.V |

Everything blurred. A fist slammed into Izuku's ribs before he could react. Then another. Then another. A knee to the stomach. A heel to the shoulder. Speed. Raw, unrelenting speed.

Izuku couldn't react. Couldn't guard. Couldn't process. If he hadn't invested in endurance, he would have already blacked out. As it was, his body refused to shut down, forcing him to experience everything. 

Then, one last kick to the chest sent him flying. He was airborne, a ragdoll caught in a storm. While hurling through the air, he saw, bakugo, flying high enough to be above him but low enough to avoid the tape cage. He had a murderous grin as his palms aimed at him, ready to attack.

He needed a way out. He needed to stop Iida and avoid Bakugo's blast now before another attack left him too battered to stand. Before the next hit sealed the fight completely.

He had seconds to act. Maybe less.

And that meant no holding back.

Flaring his base [Light Projection] to the max, Izuku activated the Abilities he needed to win. 

[Secret Unsealed: Dexterity] [Reinforcement]

| Momo P.O.V |

A blinding flash swallowed the battlefield. Momo flinched, her vision flooding with searing gold light. Even with her eyes squeezed shut, the radiance burned through her lids. Around her, she heard the panicked shouts of her classmates—some cursing, others stumbling as the sheer intensity of Izuku's aura momentarily robbed them of their senses.

A deep, concussive boom followed, sending dust and leaves flying everywhere. Her sight was still swimming, but it was recovering quickly, so she forced herself to focus.

The first thing she saw was Bakugo. Now tangled in the upper layers of Mineta and Sero's cage, he snarled and thrashed, his explosions dangerously close to setting himself free. She hoped he wouldn't try—Koda and his insects would be there soon to help, and it was already a miracle that the cage had held after Izuku's blast.

But none of that mattered now. Because step one of the plan was complete, they forced Izuku to use his healing aura.

Which also meant they had just made the fight that much harder.

She turned her focus to him. A platform of golden light shimmered beneath his feet, lowering his form slowly and deliberately. His uniform was still torn, his body bruised and dirtied from the fight, but as the glow dimmed, she saw the damage reversing. Cuts sealed, swelling vanished, and even the exhaustion in his stance seemed to fade as if it had never existed at all.

Momo immediately got to work, producing ammunition and equipment, already planning for the next phase. She still felt the familiar drain of her Quirk, meaning Izuku wasn't using his full power yet. That was a small relief, but it didn't change the fact that he was already dangerous.

It was a good thing then that he hadn't yet realized just how much he was helping them become just as dangerous. Between Ochaco never mentioning it and Izuku being unconscious for most of the USJ incident, Momo was reasonably certain he wasn't aware that his aura could enhance other people's Quirks but if he figured it out mid-fight...

"Sorry, heroes." His voice cut through the battlefield, calm, unwavering. "Looks like I underestimated you."

His expression was almost casual, rolling his shoulders as though testing his freshly healed body. "You pushed me further than I expected. Forced me to use abilities I wanted to avoid." He exhaled, cracking his neck. "I won't make that mistake again."

A cold shiver ran down Momo's spine. She had the sudden, gut-wrenching feeling that she needed to call a retreat. But before she could issue a command—whether to attack or pull back—there was a sharp, high-pitched whine, and then Iida moved.

Izuku's eyes flicked to him, but he didn't react beyond that. No shift in stance. No guard raised. He lifted a hand, casual, almost dismissive.

And when the blur that was Iida reached him, he stopped him cold.

The impact sent a ripple outward, air compressing from sheer force. But Izuku stood unmoving, the back of his palm meeting Iida's strike without a single inch of give.

Momo's breath caught as she realized, this wasn't just him fighting seriously. He had genuinely tried to dodge their attacks before and he had been forced to endure Iida's assault earlier. But now...

Izuku tilted his head, locking eyes with Iida's stunned expression.

"Iida, I didn't think you were hiding even more impressive speed than what you already boasted," he admitted. "But it won't be enough. Not anymore."

Then, with an effortless push, Iida was sent flying, smashing into the tape cage, nearly unraveling the whole thing on the flew into to. The cage bent in, flexing from the impact, tangling Iida more than up in an almost inescapable way.

Momo's brain raced as she tried to comprehend this newfound strength. Sure his aura had already healed him, but the difference in his ability wasn't just from being refreshed, it was like he had gotten significantly stronger somehow. But that shouldn't be possible, right? That wasn't his quirk.

Then, he turned. At first, she thought he was just scanning the battlefield. Between the trees, the dust, and the obstacles, it would make sense for him to be looking around. But when his gaze locked onto her, straight through the cover of the tape, trees, and bushes, she realized he knew exactly where she was.

Her breath hitched, he was going to go for a decapitation strike, her brain supplied as she pushed herself up, words forming on her lips to warn Kaminari and Aoyama who were right next to her. "Shit, we need to mo—"

But she didn't even get the chance.

One blink—and Izuku was already in her face, arm outstretched. There was no time to react. No way to stop—

A crack of electricity, a sudden burst of ozone in the air, followed by the sound of splintering wood in the distance and Izuku vanished as quickly as he appeared. Kamanari stood in front of her, arms outstretched like he had pushed someone.

For a split second, Momo's brain failed to process what happened, it had happened so fast after all. Kaminari, his body now glowing, had olden lightning crackling around him, and his entire form was wreathed in electricity.

 Not the wild, sporadic bursts of his usual attacks. This was controlled, and refined, and his eyes—normally dazed after extended use of his Quirk—were sharp, and focused, just like before during the USJ incident. This was good, she realized, he had gotten his speed back. This meant now they still had a way to counter Izuku's speed with Iida out of the fight for the immediate future.

Then he broke the illusion by acting stupid. "Hell yeah! I finally got it back." He grinned a goofy smile and kissed his biceps. "Oh, how I've missed you my sweet beautiful speed boost."

Then she heard screaming.

Momo's focus came back fast, her heart pounding as she refocused on the battlefield, checking the locations of the teams within sight. It was chaos. In the few sounds Kamanari used complimented himself, Izuku was tearing through their ranks like a storm given form. 

One second, he was in front of Shouji—then Shouji was down, sent flying into the underbrush, he went for Asui next but the frog girl was quick on her feet and leaped into trees with her tongue wrapped around the invisible girl like a harness. 

He didn't stop to chase, simply switching targets. The next, he was at Ojiro's flank, slipping past a desperate counter-kick before slamming an elbow into his stomach and knocking him flat. The other two, Sato and Kirishima, were split kicked in the jaw, and slumped over unconscious despite their enhanced bodies.

How was he moving like this? He wasn't supposed to be this fast. He wasn't this fast! Even during the quirk assessment test, he hadn't moved like this. Did he discover a new application of his quirk? Was it just that powerful and versatile?

She also realized it wasn't just speed, it was unnatural. Sometimes he'd run behind a tree, give no sign of moving from it, and then suddenly appear somewhere else, dropping another team before moving on. T

The plan would collapse soon at this rate if it already wasn't doing so. Their careful circle formation around the clearing was now a hindrance, allowing Izuku to fight the teams before others could move in to properly help. Soon they would be reduced to scattered, scrambling fighters trying to stay on their feet.

She saw Tokoyami lash out with Dark Shadow, it was pathetically smaller and weaker looking than normal so Izuku's form stayed a blur while moving past him, the bird boy dropped, eyes white with unconsciousness even though it looked like he hadn't been touched. The same fate befell, Jiro and Koda before Izuku blurred again.

Todoroki, near Mina's team due to his own being out of commission, tried attacking, flash-freezing the area at the same time as Mina released a wave of acid at Izuku blur, possibly to try and protect her teammates from being blitzed. Their attacks collided, creating an acidic fog that, corroded anything it touched, from trees to grass. 

Whether that was on purpose or an unexpected quirk interaction she didn't know but it didn't do anything to Izuku who blew right through heir combo and knocked out Todoroki beofore vanishing again behind some shrubbery before reapearing somewhere else, burring towards the trapper team. He was breaking them apart piece by piece.

 "Kaminari, what are you doing, stop him!" she ordered, her voice coming out more annoyed than intended. When she turned to look at him, his face was etched in pain, eyes bloodshot veins all over his face, and arms bulging and pulsing as if he was in agony just standing.

 She wondered if he was okay but before she could ask, Kaminari was already moving, nothing but a blur of crackling electricity as he shot forward, his speed now rivaling Iida's thanks to the aura's enhancement. She watched him save Mineta, Sero, and Ashido from the green blur of Izuku simply by imposing himself in front of them. His electric aura made sure that any reckless attack to get past him would be punished. 

Izuku's blur solidified for a second before Kamanari blurred and Izuku blurred with him, both zipping around trees at a speed she could barely follow. Then Izuku disappeared into the trees, Kamanari giving chase.

Momo exhaled sharply, forcing her focus back on the class now that they were free from the threat of Izuku's attack. She crouched, grabbing a combat knife from the supplies she had created earlier and pressing it into Aoyama's hands. "Go. Help Bakugo, Koda is down right now but his bugs should have done most of the job of eating through Sero's tape, finish it." 

Aoyama hesitated, still wide-eyed from the plan falling apart around them, but then nodded and turned, sprinting toward where Bakugo was still struggling in the cage. Momo moved next, hurrying toward Iida next to him, her mind already racing ahead on what to make to free him and what to do after that. 

If she could get him back in the fight, if he and Kaminari could work together, they might be able to... 

A sudden blur of green. A gust of wind. A sharp intake of breath.

Then Aoyama was gone.

It took Momo half a second to register what had happened and another to realize why it happened. Izuku had somehow made his way back, past Kamanari, and grabbed Aoyama before she could even react. 

When she saw the blur of Izuku form moving between trees to come directly at her from the front. Her body tensed, reflexes and instincts screaming at her to move or she would be next, but before she could even take a step, or lift a half-formed pistol to shoot, another blur—this one yellow—slammed into Izuku's side, tackling him away in a crackling explosion of lightning. The two once again vanished into the forest with a thunderous crash.

Momo's heart raced, beating in her chest like a drum as she barely managed to catch her breath. She looked at where Aoyama had been standing just a moment ago. Then at the trees where Kaminari and Izuku had disappeared. Her hands clenched into fists as she continued to run toward Iida.

She was running out of time. Running out of people.

She could still hear in the distance, Midoriya and fighting, but it was growing more distant, scattered across the battlefield. She turned her gaze to Iida, still down and struggling in his thick restraints. One look and she could tell there was no way she could get through this in the time it would take for Midoriya to slip past Kamanari again.

She had to make a different choice now. Did she push forward? Try to salvage this fight? Or was it time to call a retreat? Izuku wouldn't chase if they ran, right? Her mind wavered, the weight of command pressing heavily on her shoulders. 

Then, high above, a voice rang out—feminine, and unmistakable. "HEEEEEELLLLLLLLOOOOOO! Did you all forget about meeeeeee!"

Momo's head snapped upward, her eyes widening. Past the treeline, silhouetted against the sun, was Izuki. Her green hair was a wild mess, but Momo barely registered it. Hope surged through her veins.

This was it. This was how they'd win! She had almost forgotten they didn't need to beat Izuku to complete the exercise. 

Momo turned sharply, her voice clear and commanding despite the exhaustion setting in. "Everyone still standing, regroup! We're getting that cage!"

The team gathered quickly, their movements tense but controlled. Though they weren't exhausted the weight of their lackluster performance hung over them like a thick fog and Momo knew why because she felt the same way as them. They all had expected to do better than this, especially after surviving USJ, but the second Izuku got serious he had dismantled them with brutal efficiency. It reminded them that despite the feat of surviving USJ, it wasn't their strength or even the strength of their class that got them through, it was Izuku's and that rankled their pride and self-esteem. Still, Momo knew this wasn't over.

She stood tall, exuding authority. "We don't have much time so I'll get tto the point. Beating Izuku head-on like this is impossible so the new plan is to rescue Izuki."

The team straightened at her words, some nodding, others simply clenching their fists. She turned to Ashido. "Carefully melt Iida's restraints—don't burn him. Mineta, get rid of the remaining tape on Bakugo. The bugs Koda summoned should have chewed through most of the tape, so it's mostly your quirk holding him down at this point.

"On it!" Ashido flashed a strained grin, dashing off. 

Mineta gulped but hurried to Bakugo, who glared daggers at him in irritation. "Hurry up, midget!" Bakugo barked, struggling against the remnants of Koda's earlier attempt to free him and squashing bugs caught on the tape.

Mineta grimaced as he removed his sticky spheres from the tape, careful to avoid the swarming insects. "Gross! Gross! Gross!" he muttered under his breath but kept at it.

Momo turned to Sero, Asui, and Toru. "Stay with me. The moment the cage is low enough, Sero will tape it and help pull it the rest of the way down. After that, Asui will grab it and run like hell while the rest of us stay to hold Izuku off."

"Got it!" Sero nodded and the floating clothes and gloves of Toru pumped her fist, flexing his arms in preparation.

Momo wasted no time. She holstered the pistol in her waistband band and made a grappling hook. She shouted to Izuki. "Duck!"

Izuki barely had time to react before Momo fired. The hook soared upward, latching onto one of the glowing bars of the cage. The moment it caught, Momo, Asui, and Toru braced themselves, beginning to reel it in with all their strength. 

The light seemed to pulse, resisting their pull but not much. Sero stood ready, waiting for the moment the cage was within his reach. The moment of truth was coming fast. They were pulling it down—closer, closer…

|Kamanari P.O.V|

Kaminari's world blurred. Trees streaked past in a green and brown haze, the wind howling in his ears, whipping against his skin with the force of a gale. His body screamed in protest with every step—muscles burning, tendons straining, joints aching under the punishing speed. It was like his bones themselves were rattling inside him, every nerve firing at once, screaming at him to stop. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Not as long as Izuku kept running.

And Izuku was running. Not just running—flowing. Gliding. Weaving through the trees with impossible precision, his footfalls featherlight, his balance perfect. Kaminari had raw speed on his side, but Izuku had control, slipping between branches, twisting around trunks, and ducking beneath low-hanging limbs with the effortless grace of someone born to move like this. Kaminari, by contrast, was a rampaging storm, blasting forward, ripping through the forest with sheer momentum, unable to react as quickly. Every branch that cracked against his shoulders felt like a slap of fire. Every root that jutted from the dirt threatened to send him sprawling.

Still, he forced himself forward, gritting his teeth through the pain. The only thing keeping him upright was the golden glow of Izuku's aura, that constant wave of healing pushing back the worst of the damage. Without it, he knew—he knew—his body would have collapsed already. This speed wasn't meant for him. His muscles weren't built for this. It was like forcing a car into overdrive without checking the engine, like stretching a rubber band so far it was seconds from snapping.

A hollow pit grew in his stomach, a gnawing hunger clawing at his insides. He felt hollowed out, drained faster than he should be. Like his body was desperately trying to fuel itself on something it didn't have. Every footfall sent a jolt of pain through his legs. His breathing turned ragged, lungs struggling to keep up. But he pushed through, ignored the fire in his limbs, ignored the hunger that gnawed at him, ignored the screaming warnings of his own body because if he slowed down—if he stopped—Izuku would win.

Izuku pivoted suddenly, barely touching the side of a tree as he rebounded off it like a ricocheting bullet, changing direction on a dime. Kaminari nearly overshot, his boots skidding against the dirt as he forced himself into a sharp turn, barely keeping pace. His lightning crackled around him, bright against the dim canopy, scattering sparks that fizzled against the bark. He could tell Izuku was watching him now, analyzing, calculating. He had to make a move now while the other guy was still trying to figure him out.

A sudden change in direction followed by a punch shot out from Izuku, a quick, instinctive counter exactly when Denki tried to surprise him with a lunge attack. The timining was perfect, almost precognitive. If he didn't know better be would have said pregonition was his quirk or something.

Denki barely had time to think before it connected—except it didn't. The moment Izuku's fist hit his electrified aura, a sharp jolt ran up his arm, and he recoiled in pain but his expression barely flickered. The gold glow of his aura pulsed, flickering for a moment before settling again. Kamanari tried to take advantage of the failed attack but his leg spasmed before settling when Izuku's aura flickered.

"How?" Izuku's voice rang out between the trees, his curiosity cutting through the wind. "How are you this fast? I know you haven't been holding back all this time."

Kaminari didn't answer. He couldn't. His jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. Talking would take too much energy—energy he didn't have. His whole body was focused on one thing: keeping up. Staying close to that aura. Because the second he lost it, he knew he was done for.

Izuku didn't press the question, but somehow, Kaminari felt it—the moment he figured it out. The surprise in his stance, the realization hitting him like a spark in the air. 

"It's me, isn't it?" Denki's breath caught and class's strongest proved he was also one of the smartest when he caught his reaction and pieced together the truth. "My aura—" Izuku continued, realization dawning. "It's boosting your quirk."

 Then, before Kaminari could react, the golden aura around him flickered and vanished.

The change was immediate. Kaminari felt it like a punch to the gut. His speed bled out of him in an instant, the fuel was still there but the pain was leaving him sputtering. His legs, screaming in agony, finally gave out. The momentum carried him forward, but without the strength to control it, he tripped. His foot caught on an exposed root, and before he could even think to catch himself, he was tumbling. The world spun. The sky blurred with the earth. His lightning flickered and died.

Then—impact. Pain lanced through his body as he crashed into the dirt, skidding against the rough ground. If not for his breath being knocked clean out of him he would be screaming.

Still, he tried to move—tried to force his body up, to reignite the lightning—but the power flickered before dying. He was spent. His body was done.

And Izuku was still standing, his presence looming as Kaminari remained paralyzed on the forest floor. His body refused to respond, every nerve fried, every muscle screaming in protest. He couldn't move—his speed had torn him apart, and now he was paying the price.

Izuku crouched down, eyes scanning him with the sharp precision of a battlefield medic. A hand, glowing with a faint golden light, hovered over Kaminari's chest. Warmth spread through his body—not the overwhelming flood of healing he had basked in while fighting, but a small, controlled stream. Just enough to dull the worst of the agony, to stop him from completely blacking out, but not enough to restore his strength. The hunger gnawed at him, deep and insatiable. Without Izuku's aura, without that constant flow of energy, it hit him all at once, hollowing him out from the inside.

Izuku's hand lingered a moment longer before retracting, the glow fading. "You're going to be alright. Just..." he muttered, almost distracted, before his gaze flickered towards the trees in a seemingly random direction. Kaminari's eyes followed, but he couldn't focus—the pain and hunger made his mind foggy, muddled from the effort he'd put out.

Izuku muttered to himself, his voice cutting through the chaos of Kaminari's thoughts. "The others… They'll be moving soon. If Iida's been freed and boosted he'll be faster than even Kamanarim, so I won't be able to catch him if he runs with her."

Kaminari barely registered the words as his mind scrambled to understand what they meant. His head hurt too much, but his instincts kicked in. He couldn't let Izuku slip away. Not now. ``````W The enhancements might have faded, but it wasn't finished yet. Not completely and with Izuku healing, he had just enough in the tank to pull something off.

Izuku started to turn away, his focus already shifting to whatever task lay ahead of him. That was his opening. Kaminari's heart raced as he drew in a sharp breath, gathering the last remaining sparks of power. His legs shook, but his speed flared up once more, an aura of lightning once again wrapping around his body.

His senses sharpened, everything slowing down as he pushed his body past its limits. With the last of his energy, he shot forward, moving with blinding speed. His hand shot out and time stretched more as Izuku twisted his body to dodge but Kamanari's electric aura arced out a single strand of electricity and struck Izuku causing a minute pause in reaction time and allowing Denki to grab him just barely. 

The electric shock arced through the connection, a burst of lighting that jolted through Izuku's body for a few seconds, frying the air with the crackle of electricity and making Izuku smell like half-cooked meat. Kaminari grinned, the faintest flicker of victory sparking in his chest.

His mouth opened to say something cool, something witty. But his words fumbled, his brain a tangled mess of exhaustion and quirk overuse. "Uh... Gotcha?!" He winced the attempt to sound cool slipping away like sand through his fingers as his brain shut down higher functions. "Whey!"

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A/N: Hello eveyone, not much to say here right now but here a new chapter and thank you for the stones Genskot.