The room assigned as their base is simple.
Concrete walls.
One reinforced door.
Two narrow windows.
The dummy nuclear weapon sits in the centre beneath harsh fluorescent light.
Sero spins once in place, scanning the layout.
"Alright," he says, rolling his shoulders. "Here's what I'm thinking."
He flicks his arms outward. Tape snaps from his elbows in sharp bursts, sticking to the ceiling and walls with crisp slaps.
"I can lace the entire building," he continues, firing strips across corners and up stairwells visible through the doorway. "Corridors. Doorframes. Blind spots. Make it impossible to move clean. If I run into them while I'm setting up, I can engage them and signal you through the intercom. You crash in from the side while they're busy with me."
Another strip shoots diagonally across the doorway.
"You guard the weapon until my signal."
Kirishima crosses his arms, considering.
"That's not bad."
Sero adds another layer of tape across the doorframe, this time at knee height.
"Or," he says, glancing back, "we turn this room into a full stronghold. Floor-to-ceiling webbing. If they step inside, they're stuck. We make them fight on our terms."
Kirishima thinks for a moment.
Then he shakes his head.
"Nah."
Sero pauses. "What do you mean?"
Kirishima grins — sharp, energised.
"How about we flip it?"
He walks to the centre of the room, planting himself beside the dummy weapon.
"You web this place up. Make it a nightmare to move through."
He taps his chest.
"I stay here."
Sero blinks. "That's… the same plan."
"Not exactly," Kirishima replies. "You don't go inside."
He points toward the window.
Sero tilts his head.
Kirishima continues, voice firm but excited.
"You get outside. Roof. Upper floors. Lower floors. Keep moving. Keep scouting our opponents."
His grin widens.
"When they finally break in here and focus on me — you slam them from behind."
Sero's brows lift slowly.
"…That's actually solid. Not bad, not bad at all."
Sero's mouth curves upward.
Kirishima scratches the back of his head.
"Yeah, but… hiding outside and ambushing people from behind doesn't feel super manly."
Sero bursts out laughing.
"You're the one who suggested it!"
"It's tactical!" Kirishima protests. "I'm just saying, it's not flashy."
Sero shakes his head, amused.
"Winning is manly."
Kirishima pauses.
…That lands.
He huffs once.
"…Yeah. Yeah, you're right."
Sero claps him on the shoulder.
"Alright. We do it your way. But I'm adding something else to the plan."
He gestures around the room.
"First off, I will fortify this place completely. Then I swing out, scout from the exterior, maybe web up a couple extra rooms as decoys. Slow them down. Waste their time. We win if they run out of time."
He flashes a confident grin.
"When they finally reach you and commit — I close the trap."
Kirishima's grin mirrors his.
"That works perfectly."
They nod once.
Agreement sealed.
Sero gets to work.
Tape explodes from his elbows in rapid layers, crisscrossing the room in chaotic patterns. Not neat. Not symmetrical.
Messy.
Some strands sit tight and rigid. Others sag slightly, waiting to snag.
Ankle-height lines. Chest-level bands. Overhead threads almost invisible in the light. Sections deliberately uneven to distort movement and block sightlines.
He seals one window completely.
Leaves the other half-open.
Then partially webs that too — just enough to look sealed from a glance, but still usable.
Kirishima hardens his hands.
Crackling ridges form along his skin, jagged edges lining his knuckles.
He walks the perimeter of the room slowly, stepping over tape. Pushing lightly against tension lines. Familiarising himself with the space.
The speakers crackle to life.
[IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!]
All Might's voice booms through the building with theatrical intensity.
[HEROES AND VILLAINS — BEGIN!]
Sero and Kirishima turn toward each other, both grinning.
They bump fists.
"Don't lose before I get back," Sero says as he moves to the half-blocked window.
"Just get behind them," Kirishima replies.
Sero climbs through the opening and fires a line of tape upward.
It snaps tight.
He swings along the side of the building, planting one foot briefly against the wall before launching higher. Another line shoots out. He vaults toward the roof, disappearing from view in a fluid motion.
Inside, the room falls quiet.
Kirishima exhales slowly.
He rolls his shoulders once.
Then plants himself beside the dummy weapon.
And waits.
***
The announcement echoes through the building.
[IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!]
A deliberate pause.
Then—
[HEROES AND VILLAINS — BEGIN!]
Tokoyami adjusts his cape.
Tsuyu raises a hand slightly. "Ready, Tokoyami?"
Tokoyami gives a firm nod and lifts a thumb in quiet confirmation.
Tsuyu mirrors the gesture.
Dark Shadow stretches outward from beneath Tokoyami's cape, grinning theatrically as he mirrors Tokoyami's confirmation.
"Heh. Let us proceed."
They move.
The building is more compact than the previous battlefield. Narrow corridors. Short turns. Blind angles everywhere. Fewer windows mean deeper pockets of shadow gathering in corners and stairwells.
Perfect for concealment.
Tsuyu leaps upward immediately, adhering to the ceiling with effortless precision, moving silently above.
Tokoyami walks below at a steady pace.
Dark Shadow flows ahead of them like liquid night, slipping around corners to scout.
They begin their ascent.
First floor.
They sweep it methodically.
First room.
Empty.
Second room.
Empty.
No tape. No traps. No presence.
Tsuyu glances along the ceiling edges, tongue flicking lightly as she checks for any signs of activity. "Clear. Ribbit."
Tokoyami nods once. "They have not claimed this level."
They move on.
Second floor.
The difference is immediate.
A thin strand of tape stretches across the hallway at ankle height.
Dark Shadow slices through it in a single clean motion.
First room.
Light webbing along the doorway. Cleared.
Second room.
More tape. Layered tighter this time.
Empty.
Tsuyu's eyes narrow slightly. "He started here."
"Indeed," Tokoyami replies evenly. "The web grows denser."
They continue.
Dark Shadow moves through each room ahead of them, tearing through obstructions before they can become liabilities. Tsuyu tracks the upper angles and blind corners while Tokoyami maintains centreline control, advancing with measured control.
They reach the staircase.
Tape stretches partially across it — not fully blocked, but enough to slow movement and force caution.
Dark Shadow tears through the obstruction without hesitation.
They ascend.
Third floor.
The pattern continues.
More tape.
More reinforcement.
Still no direct engagement.
Fourth floor.
The air feels heavier.
The tape is thicker now.
Intentional. Defensive.
They step onto the next landing and begin the sweep again.
Dark Shadow slips through an open doorway—
—and stops.
The room beyond is completely webbed.
Denser than anything before.
Layers upon layers.
Thick.
Chaotic.
Intentional.
Dark Shadow withdraws slightly, voice low.
"They await within."
Tsuyu, still on the ceiling, speaks calmly into the intercom.
"About two minutes left, ribbit."
Tokoyami's gaze sharpens.
"Then I shall draw the blade first."
He breaks into a run.
Tsuyu moves with him above, at a slower pace along the ceiling toward the doorframe.
Tokoyami steps into the entrance.
The fortified room reveals itself fully now — tape crossing in uneven grids from floor to ceiling. The dummy weapon, faintly visible behind the webbing, stands at the centre.
"They are here," Tokoyami says quietly — both to Dark Shadow and through the intercom.
Dark Shadow surges forward and tears through the first layer.
Then the second.
Just as it prepares to rip through the next—
From the far side—
Tape snaps violently apart.
A roar erupts.
Kirishima bursts through his own webbing like a battering ram — arms hardened, jagged and stone-like.
He slams into Tokoyami shoulder-first.
Tokoyami slides back two steps but plants his feet.
Dark Shadow retaliates instantly, claws raking across Kirishima's side. Without full-body hardening, the strike forces him off line, fabric tearing slightly at his hero costume.
"Nice!" Kirishima laughs, eyes blazing. "That's what I'm talking about!"
He swings again, hardened fist cutting through the air, ignoring Dark Shadow and targeting Tokoyami directly.
Tokoyami blocks. The impact rattles up his forearms, forcing him back half a step.
Tape brushes his shoulder and sticks briefly before he twists free.
The room is tight.
Every step risks sticking to tape.
Kirishima pushes forward relentlessly, but now he has to move smarter — angling his body so his hardened arms take the brunt of Dark Shadow's strikes while shielding his torso.
Each step Tokoyami takes pulls slightly against tape strands scattered across the floor.
Dark Shadow attacks from sharp, angled trajectories — aiming for ribs, legs, blind spots— forcing Kirishima to guard instead of simply tanking the hits.
Kirishima withstands the blows he can absorb on his hardened forearms and deflects the rest with quick pivots of his shoulders, advancing with stubborn momentum.
"You're strong!" he grins through the pressure. "But I'm not that easy to take down!"
Just as Tokoyami shifts to counter—
His arm is suddenly yanked backward.
Tape coils tightly around it from behind.
Sero slides low into the room from the doorway, boots skidding slightly on loose strands.
"Miss me?"
Before Tokoyami can answer, more tape fires.
It wraps around his torso.
Hooks his leg.
Pulls him sideways.
Dark Shadow whips back to his side, shredding the tape in a single violent sweep.
More tape shoots in.
From above.
From the side.
From behind.
Sero keeps moving, firing from unpredictable angles.
Dark Shadow shields Tokoyami, slashing midair, tearing through strands before they bind fully.
But each severed strand adds to the clutter.
More debris.
More hazards underfoot.
Kirishima charges through the chaos.
He slams into Dark Shadow with a hardened shoulder, driving it backward into a taped wall.
Tape clings to the shadowed form.
Tokoyami staggers.
Tape catches his arm again.
"Got him!" Sero shouts, pulling tight.
Kirishima lunges, capitalising on the momentary restraint.
Tokoyami blocks the first hardened punch.
Then the second.
Dark Shadow tears free violently, snapping the bindings and swatting incoming tape away. It surges toward Kirishima, relieving some of the pressure.
Even as Dark Shadow breaks loose, Kirishima's grin only widens.
"We've got this!"
Sero laughs from the side.
"Cornered!"
Tokoyami's footing slips slightly on loose tape.
Dark Shadow falters under the combined forward push.
Kirishima rears back, hardened arm locking into place for one final driving strike—
The speakers blare.
[HERO TEAM WINS!]
Silence crashes over the room.
Kirishima freezes mid-motion.
Sero's tape goes slack.
Dark Shadow retracts slowly, hovering protectively beside Tokoyami.
Tokoyami exhales.
Everything comes to a stop.
Sero blinks mid-pull, tape still taut between his fingers.
Kirishima halts inches from impact, fist frozen in the air.
Tokoyami exhales slowly, steadying himself as Dark Shadow finishes tearing away the last of the binding.
"…Your vigilance was admirable," Tokoyami says evenly. "But insufficient."
Both villains turn toward the weapon.
"Wait—what?" Sero spins, eyes locking onto the objective across the room.
The dense tape layered around it shifts.
From behind the layered strands, Tsuyu's voice echoes calmly through the room.
"I secured it earlier," she says. "You were very focused… and very loud. Ribbit."
Kirishima stares.
"…You're kidding."
Sero's jaw drops. "I didn't see her!"
Tsuyu sticks back to the ceiling and peeks out from behind the layers, blinking once.
"You weren't looking up," she adds simply.
Tokoyami adjusts his stance as Dark Shadow coils protectively at his side.
"She traversed the unseen paths," he explains in his usual measured tone. "Ceilings. Shadowed corners. Your awareness narrowed once battle commenced. In that moment… You lost sight of the greater objective."
Kirishima exhales, his hardened skin softening back to normal.
"Man…" He rubs the back of his neck. "We completely forgot about her."
Sero scratches his head, tape half-dispensed from his elbows retracting with a soft snap. "I was scouting the corridors…"
Tsuyu blinks. "That's why I used the ceiling. Ribbit."
Sero sighs. "Tunnel vision…"
Tokoyami turns toward the exit, cape settling behind him.
"The curtain falls upon this act," he says quietly. "Let us depart. The next awaits."
Dark Shadow gives a satisfied hum before slipping back beneath the folds of his cape.
Tsuyu lands lightly beside him, crawling out from the taped fortress into the open corridor as they begin walking.
Across from them, Kirishima rolls his shoulders, already grinning again.
"Man… that was close," he mutters.
Sero exhales through his nose, retracting the last strands of tape. "I can't believe I didn't see you."
"You were too focused on the decoys," Tsuyu replies. "Ribbit."
Kirishima laughs sheepishly. "We got caught up in the fight and forgot the main goal. That's on us."
They all begin walking back toward the monitoring room, footsteps echoing faintly through the corridors.
***
The doors slide open.
A ripple of chatter greets them instantly.
"Whoa, that was intense!"
"You almost had him!"
"Dark Shadow looked huge in there!"
Kaminari slings an arm around Kirishima's shoulder. "That shoulder charge was insane, dude!"
Kirishima beams. "Right?! It felt awesome!"
Jiro crosses her arms, smirking slightly. "Shame you guys forgot the ceiling."
Sero groans. "Don't remind me…"
Tokoyami remains composed, offering the faintest nod when a few classmates murmur praise his way.
"You held out against that charge."
"Dark Shadow's control was solid."
Tokoyami inclines his head. "Your words are appreciated."
Tsuyu steps back into line beside him, hands loosely hanging in front of her, expression neutral.
At the front of the room, All Might stands with his arms crossed, smiling broadly.
"Excellent display of teamwork!" he booms.
The room quiets immediately.
"Team Kirishima and Sero — your stronghold strategy was sound! Layered defence, flanking pressure, environmental control! Very villainous thinking!"
Sero straightens unconsciously.
Kirishima scratches his cheek with a grin. "Thanks, sir!"
"But!" All Might raises one finger. "You allowed yourselves to narrow your focus once direct combat began. Remember — a hero is rarely only what stands before you! Situational awareness must remain constant!"
Kirishima nods seriously. "Yes, sir!"
Sero gives a small salute. "Got it!"
All Might turns, grin widening.
"Team Tokoyami and Tsuyu — splendid coordination! Minimal verbal communication, clear trust, and excellent exploitation of blind spots!"
Tsuyu bows her head slightly. "Thank you."
Tokoyami speaks calmly. "We merely acted within the darkness provided."
Dark Shadow peeks out briefly, grinning. "And it was glorious."
All Might laughs heartily. "Very good! Very good indeed!"
He claps his hands once, the sound echoing through the room.
"Now then! Onward!"
All Might strides toward the two boxes placed near the front of the room.
The class leans forward in anticipation.
With exaggerated suspense, he plunges a hand into the black box.
He pulls out a ball.
A bold letter is printed clearly across its surface.
"Team F!" he declares.
He turns the ball outward so everyone can see.
"Koji Koda and Rikido Sato!"
Koji stiffens slightly at the sound of his name, shoulders rising toward his ears.
Beside him, Sato calmly rolls his shoulders once, expression steady and focused.
All Might reaches into the white box next.
He withdraws another ball.
"Team E!"
He grins widely.
"Mina Ashido and Yuga Aoyama!"
Mina gasps dramatically.
"Yes! Let's go!"
She throws both fists into the air, bouncing in place as a faint sizzle of acid forms at her palms before she quickly shakes it off with a sheepish grin.
Aoyama steps forward far more deliberately.
He places one hand over his chest and tilts his chin upward, striking a refined pose.
"Ah… destiny calls upon my radiance once more," he says smoothly. "How fortunate they are to witness such brilliance."
The overhead lights glint off the polished surface of his belt.
Mina spins toward him, practically vibrating with energy. "You ready, sparkles?"
He offers her a dazzling smile, eyes half-lidded with theatrical confidence.
"Mais oui. My light shall pierce the darkness of this battlefield and deliver us to a most magnifique victory."
Mina grins. "I'll take that as a yes!"
Across the room, Sato adjusts his gloves calmly, gaze already sharpening.
Koji swallows quietly but gives a firm nod, hands clasped together for a moment before relaxing at his sides.
All Might gestures toward the monitor screens.
"We will be using the same building!" he announces. "Our support team has already cleared and reset the area from the previous battle! Participants — make your way to your starting positions!"
Mina bounces once more on her heels. "Okay, okay, let's crush this!"
Aoyama walks beside her with dramatic poise, one hand resting lightly near his belt as if prepared for a grand reveal at any moment.
Behind them, Sato and Koji move steadily toward their assigned entrance — one grounded and solid, the other quiet but resolute.
The doors slide open.
Outside, Building C stands waiting.
***