Mina Ashido was annoyed, and confused, and annoyed that she was confused.
First of all, she was annoyed that she'd lost her match, just because she felt like she could have won it if she'd just tried a little harder. No complaints about it being unfair, no resentment to Todoroki. That's just how the dice rolled, but I could have done better with my lot. Second of all, she was confused about who to root for in the match. Both Lenny and Tsu-chan had been super nice and fun the past two days, and they were on opposing teams. Even worse, Kiri was also on Tsu's team. That meant Lenny and Kiri were going to fight… and that felt weird to her. She didn't know WHY it felt weird, but it just did. And she was confused by that. Which just made her more annoyed. And thinking about Kiri made her remember how he'd bothered her at lunch earlier, and that made her even more annoyed. What's wrong with the two of us spreading out a bit and making new friends? I mean, Toru and Lenny both went to the same middle school but you don't see them getting attached to each other's hips in high school. There was also an air she'd detected from Kiri that she hadn't liked one bit. An air of "why are you hanging out with THESE guys? A frog, an invisible girl, some dude with six arms? The friends I've found are much cooler, you should just come stick with us. Just take the easy way out, Mina!"
No, she thought, curling her fist. I'm a freak with pink skin and horns and I'll hang out with the other freaks. Because they deserve a friend too.
"I wonder what Sero and Kagamine are talking about," said Yaoyorozu, watching the screen.
"Yeah, maybe they disagree on strategy? Seems like it's getting kinda heated." Kaminari crossed his arms.
"Kagamine-kun doesn't look so good, does he?" Toru mumbled.
Mina's eyes seemed to dart in that direction on their own. She'd been watching Kiri and Tsu in the bomb room, but now she was glued to Len.
He was pale and trembling a little. There was also a funny light around him, like a shimmering glow.
"Wish we could hear what they're saying," Jiro complained, bouncing her earphone jacks.
"Patience, Young Jiro! We shall see the fruits of their planning in a moment!" All Might declared.
Then, the fight started. The class gasped as they watched Kirishima and Sero go at it, but Mina's eyes kept slinking towards a sickly-looking Len who was hanging back. Then, she watched his eyes begin to glow, and he seemed to steady himself.
"What's Kagamine waiting on… oh!"
"There he goes!"
Len flashed in and landed a solid blow on Kiri. Mina's eyes widened. I've never been able to do that.
"Mina-chan?" asked Toru. "Does Kirishima-kun's ability have a limit?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, like a timer. He's been lengthening it lately, though."
Then, words were exchanged. When Len spoke, his mouth glowed yellow. And the class gasped in sync.
"Fine," he growled, in a strange, echoing tone that hit their ears wrong. Otherworldly. Alien. " Then I'll just go through you."
The class buzzed.
"What the HELL was that?"
"Did he just teleport his voice ?"
"It was glowing for a second when he spoke. I saw it."
"Quiet down, students!" All Might frantically waved a hand, not tearing his eyes from the screen. I'm worried, the Symbol of Peace thought to himself. Voice teleportation was not something listed in young Kagamine's Quirk notes. He may not even be aware that he can do it. It may only be possible during moments of high emotion.
And after I went through the trouble of warning them, too…
But it's not fair to interrupt just yet. No one's gotten hurt. I have to see if he can sort it out on his own.
***
Sero Hanta heard the strange voice behind him, but didn't stop to react or check. No time for that. He could see the bomb, and it was straight ahead, wide open. Just had to get to it, and…
Another person suddenly crashed into him from above, in a messy heap that sent him to the floor. Hanta rolled, throwing them off. Whoever it was was light. Wait, it's Asui. Duh. Of course.
Hanta sprang to his feet, and saw the frog girl now crouched between him and the bomb, a neutral, blank expression on her face. "No further," she croaked.
"Did you jump on me from above the door? You can climb walls and stick to them, huh?"
Asui only blinked her big eyes, and then she leapt at him.
Hanta sidestepped, but still took a glancing swipe from one of the girl's big hands. The slap stung the side of his face that was now exposed. Damn you Kirishima, for breaking my helmet open. Hanta backstepped, trying to put distance between them, but Asui came on, inexorable.
She leapt again, and this time Hanta ducked. She hit the wall behind them and bounced off it with her hind legs, flipping and turning in mid-air. Her kick landed against Hanta's shoulder, and then she used him as a launchpad, jumping up to the ceiling and sticking there.
Hanta looked up. "Impressive." He shot tape up at her with his right elbow. Asui sprang down out of the way, but he'd anticipated that she'd move between him and the bomb, and he shot out more tape with his left. It caught against her arm, and Hanta began to run in a circle, pulling her in and trying to wrap her. He shot more tape with his right to speed up the process.
He got most of her arm before she tried pulling it in towards her chest in an attempt to yank him. But she was not as strong as Kirishima, and Sero released the tape, letting it tear. Asui sprang forward again, newly free. When he brought his elbows up for a defensive tape attack, a pink thing came shooting from her mouth at impossible speed, hitting him in the face.
"Gah!" Hanta danced backward, avoiding her kick. "Was that your to…"
The tongue in question was coming again, swiping at him from left to right. Hanta ducked under it, but it still slapped the top of his helmet, and Asui was running at him on all fours now, jumping at him with her big palms outstretched. Her tongue killed out behind her, and Hanta saw his opening in that split second.
He rolled low just as she jumped at him, and shot tape upward as he rolled, feeling it hit the desired target. As he stood, he yanked his elbows and spun, pulling Asui by the tongue toward him.
"Arrrgh!" The girl winced in pain, her mouth still open. She tried to pull her tongue back in, but it was stuck to the tape.
"We've both got a mid-range attack attached to our body, huh?" Hanta said with a grin. "Just one problem, though."
"Arrrgh… mmph."
"I can cut mine away," he explained, breaking his tape off at the elbow as he finished wrapping her up. "But you can't."