Chapter Text
Third POV
With a click of a button, the next video began to play.
"Two marquis warriors," Wiz began the intro. "Arcade rivals since the '90s, now facing off for true superiority."
"Oh, yeah, remember that Akuma vs Shang Tsung fight?" Nirengeki pointed out. "Wizard said that these universes of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are considered fighting games, or at least in their universe."
"And quite the rival games, too," Jurota nodded. "This I believe is the third time that fighters from these universes are fighting one another."
"Indeed," Iida agreed. "That man in the Gi I believe was shown in Akuma's and M. Bison's analysis, while the yellow ninja appeared in the Mortal Kombat ones."
"Ryu, the wandering world warrior," Boomstick introduced the first fighter.
"And Scorpion, the ninja from Hell," Wiz introduced the second.
"Ninja from What?!" Ibara exclaimed, eyes wide and alarmed.
"He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick," Boomstick introduced both of them.
"And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle," Wiz finished the intro.
The first fighter looked to the group like the perfect image of a martial artist. The man was average-sized with a wide, muscular build, his frame clothed in a white Gi, the sides by the shoulder blades, and the bottom of his pants ripped up and shredded, giving an experienced aura to the fighter. At the same time, the front was loose and open enough to show the middle of his large pecs and a bare hint of his rock-hard abs. A black belt wrapped around his waist, his feet were bare, red fighting gloves covered his hand from the palm to the wrist, his fingers let out to breathe, and a red headband wrapped around his forehead. His hair was seen in different states and colors, from short, spiky brown that trailed down to spiky black that instead stuck more up. His face was also seen in various states from young and angular to a much older, squared, and chiseled appearance, with thick black eyebrows, that many of the guys would describe as 'giga-chad'. The response to that description was mainly exasperated eye rolls from most of the women, confused looks from Pony, Shoto, and Eri, to envy from a certain short-statured pervert who rubbed his rounder chin in disappointment.
Ryu
"Endlessly walking the earth and improving his fighting skill is the life of Ryu, the Japanese martial artist without a home," Wiz began, showing the Street Fighter display his point by hiking down an empty road with no shoes on his feet and a pack slung over his back.
"I suppose that title of Wandering World Warrior makes sense," Hagakure shrugged her barely noticeable shoulders.
Miruko grinned and nodded. While she could concede that not many would value or appreciate the nomadic lifestyle that Ryu preferred, Miruko approved of it and the desire to constantly improve upon one's fighting skills. Many knew of Miruko as the number 5 Pro Hero of Japan, but so do many gloss over that she is one of the few Pros that doesn't have an agency, and it only spoke volumes of her of how skilled and popular she was that she made it as far as she did in her Hero career, not that she would give a rat's ass about ranking or titles. What Miruko cared about was being a Hero, beating up bad guys, and not letting anything slow her down, including an agency or sidekicks.
As she didn't have the obligation to stay in one general area that came with an agency, Miruko was allowed to flourish and take her Hero duties to wherever she wished, taking up any case that she wanted, and with how strong and successful she had been, the Commission backed off. A benefit that Miruko saw with this was not just that her Heroism wouldn't be constrained to one general area, but that she would constantly test herself in memorizing and maneuvering through new areas, testing her limits by fighting newer, and, hopefully, stronger opponents, and improve on any faults she finds along the way. She could see a similar reasoning in Ryu's nomadic way of life and approved of it greatly.
'Actually, if I remember right, this is also the guy that helped defeat Bison,' Miruko recalled, remembering that Bison killed her counterpart's, Chun-Li's, father and that it was thanks to Ryu, and Akuma technically, that Bison was ultimately defeated.'Guess that means I kind of owe him one for that.' Miruko's nose twitched, and her mouth morphed into a frown. She never liked the idea of owing someone. Just an idea popped into her head that made her grin in excitement.'Maybe, if I find a way to meet him, maybe I can repay the debt with something the both of us might like: a fight.'
"But there's more to this karate hobo than meets the eye," Boomstick said.
BACKGROUND
Height: 5'9" / 175 cm
Weight: 150 lbs. / 68 kg
Birthday: July 21, 1964
Blood Type: O
Dislikes: Spiders, Wearing Shoes
Capable of sleeping anywhere
Has eyebrows so epic that they cannot be contained by his headband
"After being dumped on a doorstep by his douchebag parents, he was adopted by the mysterious Gouken," Boomstick revealed the warrior's sad backstory and the younger Ryu being carried by an old, balding, white-bearded man, who appeared in other scenes with long dark hair and beard instead. "From that moment on, Ryu dedicated his life to martial arts. Probably on some sort of parental vengeance quest."
Izuku's fist suddenly clenched hard enough for his bones to make a cracking noise. The silhouette of his father flashed in his mind, his face censored as, by now, Izuku had long since forgotten what he looked like. Both Inko and Izuku were clearly not fond enough of the man who abandoned them to leave behind a picture of him to keep around. Every picture they had of him was either discreetly thrown away or hidden deep in the recesses of their storage so that his very face would never plague their minds again. Izuku couldn't even remember the color of his biological father's slightly messy hair or the color of his eyes; it was a blessing for Deku that he took so much more after his mother.
Now, however, with these videos, the bitter reminder that he had a father who abandoned his mother and him, began rearing its ugly head into the forefront of his mind more and more, and he didn't like it. If there was anything that tested Izuku's anger more than the hidden bitterness of Kacchan's past actions or the cruel actions of villains, like AFO, Overhaul, and Shigaraki, it wasHim.
But Izuku counted his blessings that he still had the best, most supportive mother he could ask for, and a mentor, who Izuku couldn't deny had become the father figure he never had.
Hearing the sounds of sniffles and grumbling, Izuku looked down to see Eri and Kouta likewise comparing themselves to Ryu, and not liking it. Izuku's rage was only matched by the sheer sadness he felt toward the two. Eri was likewise abandoned by her mother after she rewound her father out of existence and Overhaul robbed her of her grandfather, who was still in a coma to this day. Kouta had spent a long while sad, bitter, and angry that his parents were gone, mistaking the Water Hose duo for abandoning him to 'play Hero', and dying to Muscular as a result.
To see them so sad, Izuku quickly chose to forgo his sadness and anger and moved to act. Placing a hand on both of their shoulders, the two kids looked up at Izuku and met his sad, yet smiling, understanding face. Eri's eyes quickly watered, her frown rising back to her loving smile before burying her face into his chest. Kouta did better to try not to look sad, but his wetting eyes and quivering lip broke the facade, and he too slumped his head on Izuku's chest, while Izuku wrapped his arms around them.
'What a pair we three are,'Izuku almost let out a bitter chuckle, finding it fortuitous that he would grow so close to two others who had felt his pain, and how he could be there for them and know exactly what they needed. Even if it intimidated and embarrassed him at first, he ultimately resolved to be the father Eri needed, and an icon for Kouta, not knowing the boy was starting to see him like a father figure too. Regardless, Izuku would make sure these two never had to be alone ever again.
All Might gazed in pride at Midoriya for comforting the kids, wishing that Inko was here to see this and witness just what an amazing son she raised. Though, he realized two things. The first that this pride he felt was a fatherly kind of pride, only further cementing Izuku as the son he never had. In a way, he felt he was to Young Midoriya like what Gouken must have been to this Ryu, a mentor that ultimately became the closest thing to a father the man had. Toshinori felt increasingly okay with that.
The second, however, was that perhaps it was for the best that Inko wasn't here after all. He didn't want the entire gym to flood from her tears.
"He trained alongside his best friend and rival, Ken Masters," Wiz jumped back in, showing the Ryu training against a long, blonde-haired young man in a red Gi.
"Wow, he's pretty," Pony tilted her head, eyes sparkling and mouth slightly agape.
"Aww, does our little pony girl have a crush?" Setsuna cooed, a teasing grin nearing the now scarlet-faced girl.
Shoto grumbled, not sure why he felt suddenly bothered. He went back to thinking about his girlfriend, Camie, the mental image of her beautiful smiling face, which often borderlined on seductive, easing the displeasing feelings, emphasized by his softening features.
"Gouken taught them the Ansatsuken or Assassin's Fist fighting style," Wiz revealed the three's infamous fighting style. "But the name is actually a bit misleading."
"Oh, gee, I wonder what part of the name might be misleading?" Hawks drawled out sarcastically with a humored smirk.
"While originally designed as a means to murder, Gouken's personal take on the Ansatsuken is based around Karate, Kenpo, Judo, and NOT killing people," Wiz explained the technicalities, displaying Gouken training Ryu, the old master's uppercut stopped right on his student's chin, the two laughing at the thrill of learning and teaching together.
The teachers nodded their heads in approval of the old master and his teaching methods. Vlad King cracked a smile as he saw Gouken and Ryu laughing together, memories of his time training students in the past and Class 1-B now giving soft warm feelings in his chest he could best describe as fondness and pride. Vlad felt quite guilty and sad for Aizawa that he wasn't here to feel the same thing for his students, even if the insomniac grump would forever deny it.
"Unlike the ways of his violent brother, Akuma, who, ultimately, would prove to be his undoing," Wiz pointed out.
"Oh yeah, he can fingerpaint," Boomstick joked morbidly as a shot played of Ryu staring in horror at the sight of his master's beaten, bloody body slumped against the wall, the dojo's once sacredly clean walls now defiled by the symbol of Akuma, painted in Gouken's blood.
"Oh, right, I forgot about that," Mount Lady grumbled, still gazing at Akuma and his actions with disgust.
"Still, to do something like this to your own brother. Despicable," Ryukyu let out a dragon-like growl.
Endeavor flinched in discomfort at the memory of Touya attempting to harm Baby Shoto in their mother's arms with that manic, desperate, hateful look. He almost sighed in relief that he kept Shoto away from Touya, or that Shoto didn't have the misfortune of knowing his elder brother hated him like that, only to remember that it likewise separated his youngest son from Fuyumi and Natsuo and was only the tip of the iceberg that was his crimes and acts that tore his family apart.
"Hold on a second, didn't Boomstick already make that joke back in the Akuma portion of his video?" Monoma raised a critical eyebrow. "Lazy much."
"Hold on a moment, didn't I already make that joke before?" Boomstick muttered, absentmindedly.
"Okay, again, I can't decide who is more clearly Boomstick: Pompous, or Explodey?" Setsuna shrugged and gestured to both Monoma and Bakugou.
"Hey!" Both Bakugou and Monoma exclaimed in offense, only further causing the students to burst out laughing.
ANSATSUKEN
Fighting Style
Shoryuken
-"Rising Dragon Fist"
-Generally, Ryu's most powerful technique
Hadoken
-"Wave Motion Fist"
-Contrary to popular belief, not actually composed of fire
Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
-"Tornado Whirlwind Leg"
-Can safely pass over many projectile attacks
Joudan Sokutogeri
-Forceful enough to bounce opponents off walls
"Well, the Assassin's Fist isn't your average McDojo style," Boomstick began listing Ryu's iconic move set. "His Ryu Shoryuken is an uppercut so powerful it launches his victims sky high."
Even after seeing the iconic move in action for the first time in Akuma vs Shang Tsung, sparkles of amazement and inspiration flashed in the eyes of Itsuka, Izuku, and Rin. The first of the three practically memorized everything Ryu did, the way he moved, the way he fought, the very way he breathed. To her, this man already stood at the pinnacle of martial arts by the masterful, powerful way he struck at his foes; she couldn't help but feel in awe of him. The 1-B president looked at her hand and flexed her fingers, a new goal solidified in her mind to learn all she could and master this move as her own.
She wasn't far behind in her desire to learn from the Wandering World Warrior. Rin thought the same, if not a little biased by how the Shoryuken's translated name fit with his aesthetic and Quirk. He wondered if perhaps he could implement it into his own move set, adapt and enhance it with his dragon scales for defense, and get in close to pull off the attack.
Izuku's fingers were a blur as he memorized every action and move of Ryu's arsenal, a sudden draw pulling him toward the Street Fighter in an avid mix of awe and familiarity. He too wondered if he could learn the Rising Dragon Fist, but paled at how devastating it might be combined with his Quirk. An uppercut to the jaw could kill a man if powerful enough, an uppercut empowered by One For All, even at his lowest percentage could smash a man's jaw to pieces. And yet, the draw continued pulling at him, and his mind recalled Gouken's way of non-lethal action.
'Every skill, technique, and power can kill if honed and strong enough, but the truest form of mastery is to know the limits, know the cost, and control it fearlessly,'Izuku thought to himself, remembering how he almost killed Shigaraki in their first encounter, striking with full 100%. Even if it was to save Asui, he nearly killed a person that day because he didn't understand his limits and didn't master his restraint. Now, he did, he unlocked Full Cowling, knew the consequences if he went too far, and swore to never do so unless absolutely necessary.
If he could do so with One For All, why not this as well?
"The Hadoken uses a fighter's willpower to fire a blast of energy and destroy evil things, like...waterfalls," Boomstick declared the last bit dramatically, Ryu was shown firing the blue, sometimes red, ball of energy and cutting through a waterfall and ceasing the flow from passing.
"And... physics?" Wiz said, his tone full of confusion as he saw the inconceivable feat.
"That looks so cool!" Kouta gazed in awe at another of Ryu's iconic moves, the child-like desire to mimic the attack bursting within him.
"That's another ability that is also similar to Akuma's," Izuku pulled out the notebook containing Akuma's abilities. "Except Akuma's were called the Gou Hadoken and he could control it more precisely and fire it off faster than Ryu. It must be some advanced or corrupted version that Akuma mastered."
"Ooh! I'd like to see if I could do that with my Quirk, too!" Nejire chirped up, excited. "I usually only fire my Waves in short blasts, all around me, or in longer-lasting beams. Maybe I can gather it up into a ball like a Hadoken? Hey, ZuZu, do you think we can both try in our training session?! Maybe we can even see if you can use that lightning around you like a projectile!"
Izuku blinked, only now remembering when Nejire asked that last part back in Mario vs Sonic. He still didn't know if it was even possible for him to use his green bioelectricity like a projectile, he felt that the last attack on Overhaul that Nejire mentioned was simply a byproduct of Eri's Rewind Quirk. Besides, he already had a projectile move in his Air Force technique and, technically, Black Whip, but it wouldn't hurt to try and expand on his long-range capabilities.
"Sure! Sounds like a plan, Nejire-san!" Izuku smiled, wide and brightly. Nejire's heart almost exploded out of her chest at how cute Izuku's smile was, as usual, but him finally calling her by her first name without issue, and with the added 'san', was almost too much for the periwinkle fairy.
Mineta's ears perked up, almost comically enlarging as he leaned into the conversation. Jealousy and bitterness once more coursed within him that, despite the verdant-haired teen being his friend, the unintentional Cassanova could snag a beauty like Hado without much effort, much less the rest of the girls he knew must like Midoriya as well as those he suspected. He was even going to have a training session with 10 girls, all by himself!
However, knowing that they were going to have a private training session maybe he could...check up on them.'To make sure nothing inappropriate happens,'Mineta gaslit himself into believing he wasn't doing it to snag a look of any 'action' that did happen at least and maybe join in at best.
Kaminari looked at Mineta and immediately knew nothing good was cooking up in the pervert's brain. Yeah, he was a pervert himself, he could admit that, and did eavesdrop on Nejire's and Izuku's conversation with interest, but even he knew that interrupting or spying on them was a bad idea. Not only would it be risking Midoriya's wrath, which he thought Mineta would have been wary enough about given previous acts of 'discipline' unleashed on the purple perve, but also of all the girls that were tighter than ever. Plus, as much as he was a bit of perve, he also respected the Bro Code, and if all those girls wanted to hook up with Midoriya, whilst jealous-inducing, he had to respect that and back off. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like his pervert in crime ever got the memo.
Kaminari looked over at Bakugou, Todoroki, and the others, pondering if perhaps he needs to take this concern to them and help a fellow bro out before the purple perve co*ck-blocks their resident cinnamon roll. Oh, yeah, and save Mineta from an early grave.
"And, finally, the Tatsu, uuuh...Tatsu...maki...senpuu..."
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku," Wiz cut through Boomstick's confused attempt with flawless pronunciation.
"I HAD IT!" Boomstick yelled while Ryu flew like a top in the air, striking at any unfortunate to be in his flight path. "Anyway, the thing I totally know how to pronounce gives the finger to gravity and lets him briefly fly around like some human helicopter-kicking machine."
"Ah, yes, I do recall this as another technique that Akuma uses," Iida mentioned. "It pleases me to know that such a technique can be used for good. I strive to incorporate such diligence and training in my own life as a Hero."
Iida was made unaware of Setsuna rolling her eyes and mockingly imitating Iida's mannerisms and words with added comedic flair. Pony had to cover her mouth to contain her giggles.
"Oh, that reminds me! How are you handling the move yourself, Iida?" Izuku asked, remembering that Iida wished to add the move to his arsenal. "Were my notes helpful?"
"Your notes were amazingly put, Midoriya, and have been of great help with not just the move, but also in my mid-air adaptation and maneuvering!" Iida exclaimed, still unaware of Setsuna's copying his stiff, robot-like arm movements. "Your analysis and note-taking skills are to be praised!"
"Hehe, thanks, Iida," Izuku scratched the embarrassed blush on his cheek. "Though, I can't take all the credit." Izuku looked over to Kyoka. "I had quite the help."
Jiro blushed at the intended praise Midoriya was giving to her, memories of their time working over their notes coming back to her. In preparation for the School Festival, she had asked Izuku to help her take better notes of her music to better teach their class's band for their concert, and she figured who was the best person to help her than the guy who made encyclopedias worth of Hero notes, Quirks, and Support Items. Izuku agreed to help, which led to several nights of the two of them looking over her notes, better organizing them, and giving out helpful hints on how to take such notes just as efficiently and coherently in the future. It was these hangouts between the two, ones where they consequently became closer, that Jiro first started developing her feelings for Izuku and his selfless, heroic, and helpful nature.
It was only now, in her remembrance, that she realized that she wasn't the only one who was getting help. She suddenly remembered quotes Izuku said that flew over her head while she stared at Izuku in a blushing daze, how he realized his own notes may be a bit messy too, how this bit of self-reflection and her own ideas and points would help improve on his Hero notes. She remembered how he thanked her with that charming, bright smile of his. Kyoka thought it was just Izuku being modest, but now she fully realized just how much he valued her contributions to him.
Struggling to contain the wetness in her eyes, she gave Izuku a loving, grateful smile. "You're welcome, Green," Jiro chose as her reply, instead of the first thing that popped into her head:'I love you, Green.'
"He also has a powerful step kick he calls the Joudan Sokutogeri," Wiz pointed out, displaying Ryu performing a powerful, high side kick that sent his opponent flying.
"Hey! We don't have the translation for that one! I'm on it," Boomstick suddenly brought up Google Translate, typing in the name and zooming in at the results. "AND DIARRHEA JOKE FOOT?! HAHAHAHA!"
"BAHAHAHAHA!" Kaminari and Mineta burst out laughing, followed up by the rest of their more comical classmates, whilst the more serious among them instead had more disapproving reactions like self-inflicted facial injury from their palms, smashing heads into armrests, or simply sighing groaning into their hands. Kaminari had to stifle another laugh at seeing the large red sore on Bakugou's forehead.
"What does it do?! Kick people in the stomach so hard that he takes them to Brown Town?!" Boomstick continued joking and laughing like a maniac.
And of course, the adults were not spared from a similar course of reaction to the adolescents. Edgeshot and Endeavor didn't know what would happen first, going brain-dead from losing too many brain cells or going deaf by the obnoxious, boisterous laughter of Hawks and Miruko. Mandalay pinched the bridge between her eyes while Pixie cackled like a witch, thanking whatever god existed out there that Ragdoll and Tiger kept their humor to quieter giggles and chuckles. Midnight, for once, joined Mount Lady in giggling, or in the latter's case being full-blown laughter, at the comedy of this series, perhaps pondering if it was for the best for Aizawa to take a break from these videos before the insomniac choked himself with his own scarf.
"With the CORRECT kanji, it's more like 'High-Level Leg Blade Kick'," Wiz awkwardly gave out the correct translation.
"That makes much more sense," Itsuka sweatdropped.
"You know it's 'Diarrhea Kick' forever in my mind now, right?" Boomstick asked the obvious question.
Wiz sighed, defeated.
'The curse to be plagued by the baboons for coworkers is one we both share, Wizard,' Edgeshot thought as Miruko and Hawks continued laughing, disregarding the damage they were doing to his brain and ears.
While he sent his looks of sympathy to Momo and Iida, Izuku still wrote down the initially mistranslated attack in hopes of adding to his ever-expanding roster of moves.
"At the age of 23, Ryu entered the first World Warrior Tournament to test his skill," Wiz continued with Ryu's backstory. "He swept through nine powerful combatants before taking on the champion, Sagat." The giant of man was shown, completely shirtless and only wearing short, dark blue and red pants, bandages wrapped around his hands, wrists, and ankles, and an eyepatch over his right eye. "After a hard-fought battle, Sagat was set to take the win..."
"...Until he made the mistake of being a good sport," Boomstick jumped back in. "After beating the sh*t out of Ryu, Sagat offered him a helping hand up." Ryu was shown struggling on his knees while Sagat stood, presumable victorious. "Instead of taking it, Ryu gave him a surprise punch SO HARD it ripped his chest open and nearly killed the guy." The scene played as a flash of lightning lit the sky while Ryu sent the man flying in the air and blood shot out of the large gash across his chest, with the man now lying in a pool of his own blood. "Dick move, Ryu. Dick move."
"The Hell?" Mina blinked, distastefully. "I didn't think this Ryu guy was such a sore loser."
"Yeah, really unmanly," Kirishima agreed with his best friend.
"You idiots, that's not what happened," Bakugou responded.
"Come again?" Sero questioned Bakugou's words.
"There's clearly something else that happened here, something wrong," Bakugou narrowed his eyes. "Right, Deku?"
"Yeah," Izuku nodded, likewise frowning in suspicion. "From what we have seen of him and the beliefs that Gouken instilled in him, this is too out-of-character of Ryu. This is something else."
But as the two speculated, Nejire's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Who would ever like a useless, Quirkless Deku like you?"
The world slowed to a crawl, Nejire's wide eyes panning slowly toward Bakugou.'Did he say-'Warnings and imaginary red flags flared up, her mind overrun with questions, possibilities, and horrible conclusions.
She knew that Deku was Izuku's Hero name. Izuku had told her and the rest of the Big Three of its meaning and the reasoning behind his choice of making it his Hero codename. Nejire also knew that his classmates and Heroes called him that, either in training or out in the field, hell, even Uraraka calls him that.
But this was different. Bakugou's use wasn't necessarily rude, but it wasn't the loving, friendly tone of Uraraka, or the respectful use of code names by the Heroes and his classmates, this was familiarity, like Bakugou called him this a hundred times, out of habit. And out of all of them, Bakugou knew Izuku Before U.A.
Suddenly, another quote from last night came to mind:"They mocked and laughed at me. They threw me to the floor and began kicking, spitting, explo-"
Nejire's eyes grew wider with realization and horror. Dots began to connect in her mind as she knew of the one word that Izuku tried to not say must have been: Exploding, just like Bakugou's Quirk.
"This was Ryu's first taste of the dark power buried within him. The Satsui no Hado," Wiz revealed, showing Ryu, his back turned on some men with guns trained on him, glowing menacingly dark red and purple, his white Gi now dark in the aura and his exposed back glowing with the same symbol as Akuma before rushing at the scared sh*tless men with glowing red eyes that only saw blood. "Literally, the Surge of Murderous Intent."
Izuku's eyes widen, the image of his darker Ryu and Akuma blending together in terrible symmetry. "The symbol of his back, that aura, it's just like Akuma's," Izuku voiced his thoughts out loud.
"Huh, I guess it wasn't because he was a sore loser," Mina sweatdropped, rubbing the back of her neck embarrassed.
"Yeah, our bad," Kirishima nervously apologized on his and Mina's behalf.
"Still not as good a name as the 'Diarrhea Joke Foot'," Boomstick joked.
SATSUI NO HADO
A form of Ki based around man's evil nature
Greatly increases the speed, power, and ferocity of its user
Grants access to the most fatal Ansatsuken technique: The Raging Demon
Has an addictive quality, making it hard to turn away from it
Causes hair to turn red, eyes glow white (or red), and teeth to sharpen
"The Satsui no Hado gives Ryu incredible power but at the expense of his humanity," Wiz explained. "He can tap a portion of this power to safely enhance his attacks; however, should his desire to win become so great he would even commit murder, The Satsui no Hado can overwhelm him, and he will lose control becoming Evil Ryu." Evil Ryu was shown with spiked-up red hair, glowing red eyes with white dots, his skin darkening in shadow, and what looked like a glowing red crater in his chest, his body glowing with menacing red Ki.
"Now we're talking!" Boomstick exclaimed, pleased.
"All power comes with a price," Nezu quoted. "It may come as a burden, and often demand a sacrifice in return."
Various members of the audience looked inwards at the costs their Quirks often gave them. Midoriya looked at his scarred hand, remembering every time he broke his limbs going beyond his limits and the words of the doctors telling him he could lose his arms if he continued this reckless path. Endeavor flinched as he remembered Touya, how he would burn himself every time he used his Fire Quirk for too long, a consequence of having a body fit better for an ice Quirk and Endeavor's desire to create the perfect weapon for his goals. Tokoyami recalled the attack on the Training Camp where he lost control of his rage, and gave Dark Shadow incredible power, but his loss of control nearly harmed Midoriya and Shoji. Jurota had a similar cost to Tokoyami, paying his control and focus for greater power and the foreboding consequences of hurting those around him if he weren't careful.
All Might flinched as he saw this dark aspect of the noble warrior, more so the crater-like scar on his chest. All Might rubbed his own, similar wound, a cost he suffered for his arrogance and anger, blinding him until it was too late, and became this crippled form of what he once was, sacrificing his body and ability to use One For All every day as he grew weaker and the more he tried to be a Hero beyond his time limit.
"Evil Ryu has enormous power to the point of being almost unstoppable," Wiz continued. "He can even blast a skyscraper to smithereens."
Ryu fired a powerful Hadoken that, while it missed his initial target, crashed into and through the building, the whole structure collapsing.
This time it was Bakugou's turn to flinch. At any other time, Bakugou would have grinned and been excited about the power that Ryu displayed. Now, however, with the context and circ*mstances, it served as a shameful reminder of his actions. How he destroyed part of the building with his gauntlets during his first Battle Training Exercise, how he aimed it at Deku and nearly killed him, excusing it pathetically by saying it would be fine so long as he dodged it. All done to appease his wounded pride and blinding anger.
'It wasn't enough that I took our friendship for granted, abandoned him, and threw it all out like trash, that I spent all those years treating him like trash, that when he showed some backbone, I nearly killed him,'Bakugou bitterly growled inwardly, the shame compacting worse as redemption and forgiveness seemed more and more unobtainable.
During this, he remained unaware of Ibara's concerned gaze, or Nejire's empty, cold gaze that would chill the bones of anyone who saw it.
"He can teleport short distances, even passing through attacks along the way," Boomstick stepped in, Ryu shown swiftly teleporting a short distance forward and even through his opponent to stand behind him.
"Similar to Akuma's teleport, this would help Ryu close the distance between him and his opponent, even passing through projectiles," Momo analyzed. "As well, as reach an enemy trying to flee or go behind their defenses and strike."
"More impressively, despite Gouken never teaching him this, Evil Ryu can use the Ansatsuken's forbidden technique, the Shun Goku Satsu, more commonly known as the Raging Demon."
Evil Ryu activated the forbidden technique teleporting swiftly toward Ken. The screen went dark, and where Ken stood a flurry of deadly purple strikes impacted the hidden body. When the screen returned to normal, Evil Ryu stood with his back toward the audience, the symbol of the Satsui no Hado on his back while Ken lay on the ground, motionless.
"He can use THAT MOVE, TOO?!" Mineta wailed in horror, remembering the power and danger of the attack from Akuma's video.
"With this, Evil Ryu turns his foe's own sins against them, and eradicates their soul," Wiz revealed, another showcase of this move done on M. Bison from Akuma. "It was this exact attack, which Akuma, a master of the Dark Hado, used to not only nearly destroy M. Bison but also murder Ryu's master."
Deku gritted his teeth, his increasing displeasure at the sight of Ryu not only being able and willing to use this dark power but the same technique that Akuma used to kill his own brother and Ryu's master. To Deku, it felt like, instead of using One For All, he was given All For One, the Quirk of a man who presumably murdered his own brother and his successors, the power that had crippled and weakened his idol. Deku shuddered, though he didn't know how much of it was from himself or the Vestiges that felt similarly.
"Since then, Akuma has been haunting Ryu, tempting to succumb and fully commit to the dark Satsui No Hado as well. Basically, this is 'Karate Star Wars'," Wiz explained further, showing the demonic-looking Akuma and the dark master standing over a high pillar, looking down upon the student of his brother he meant to corrupt.
"Does he mean like Darth Vader, his son Luke, and the Dark side of that Force thingy," Kinoko asked.
"Indeed," Reiko nodded with a thoughtful haze around her eyes. "A father who fell from grace, finding what little relief in the veil of darkness, who sought to turn his brood to the same darkness, hoping to find a light of love and comfort in the shade."
"Uuuuhhhh..." Sero raised an eyebrow, looking to the rest of 1-B for an explanation.
"I believe she's referring to Darth Vader and Luke," Jurota chimed in.
"Well, of course, she meant those two," Kamakiri scoffed. "They never once said that Akuma and Ryu are related. They even said his actual parents dumped him on Gouken's doorstep."
"Oh, you call everything Star Wars," Boomstick said, exasperated.
"Well, some even speculate that Akuma is Ryu's father," Wiz pointed out, showing the two men, possibly father and son, staring each other down.
"Mother of God...It is 'Karate Star Wars'!" Boomstick exclaimed, the theorized father and son leaping from their pillars to strike each other down.
"You were saying?" Setsuna raised an amused eyebrow at Kamakiri, frozen in shock.
"Though that would make sense," Rin cupped his chin in thought. "It would explain why out of all possible options and places, Ryu's 'parents' gave him to Gouken, the brother of his true father. It could also explain why Ryu can use the Satsui no Hado and Raging Demon like Akuma."
"I think the Satsui no Hado thing is just like a dark chi thing that anyone can use," Honenuki gave his two cents.
"The darkness of the heart is not exclusive to a special few, but a curse that plagues and haunts the hearts of all," Kuroiro sagely said.
"But Gouken's teachings instilled a powerful belief in Ryu," Wiz butted in, Ryu mimicking the graceful movements of his master, Gouken. "If he can resist and shun this dark temptation, he can attain an even greater power."
Seeing Ryu stand his ground and persevere through the dark temptation of the Satsui No Hado brought a smile to Izuku's lips. He remembered how he would watch All Might's debut video, taking to heart the words of his idol and future mentor, standing tall and firm and getting right back up after every insult, mocking, bullying, or beating,never giving in and continuing to pursue his dream of being a Hero.
"I believe this rather fits with our school's alma mater," Nezu stated gleefully. "Go beyond!"
"PLUS ULTRA!" The students declared, the kids following suit.
"By detaching himself from all emotion, he enters an altered state of consciousness," Boomstick said, Ryu now glowing whitish-blue Ki, his eyes glowing.
"Like a Jedi," Wiz pointed out.
"This boosts his speed, power, and can do all sorts of crazy sh*t to his abilities," Boomstick chuckled.
"That looks almost like Goku's Kamehameha," Kouta noticed Ryu firing off his Shinko Hadoken.
"Huh, I suppose, you're right, little Midoriya," Mirio grinned.
Kouta blushed red in embarrassment. "S-Shut Up! Go die in a hole!" The boy stuttered, blushing only harder at Mirio's laughter.
"This is the Power of Nothingness," Wiz declared, Ryu's eyes once more turning pure whitish-blue.
"Stupid name!" Boomstick scoffed.
"Hah! That sounds even worse than my first codenames," Bakugou mockingly laughed.
"So, you admit that your first choices were awful names!" Hagakure suddenly exclaimed, pointing an invisible finger at the frozen Bakugou.
"You heard it here, folks! Katsuki 'Kacchan' Bakugou has just admitted that his original choices for Hero names, Lord Explosion Murder and King Explosion Murder, are ass! This is the revelation of the century, ladies and gentlemen!" Mina announced like a reporter, a microphone even in her hands, thanks to Momo. "We now go live to one my Mr. Bakugou's best friends, Ejiro Kirishima. Mr. Kirishima, what do you make of this?"
"I am shocked, Ms. Ashido! Absolutely stunned!" Kirishima responded in a mock aghast voice, hand over heart. "I thought I knew Bakugou, that he believed wholeheartedly that his primary Hero names were excellent. My world whole world has turned upside down!" In a moment of improv, Uraraka helped make Kirishima's statement accurate, the now floating faux redhead floating upside down in the air.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Bakugou raged so hard that he needed the entirety of the rest of the two classes to keep him from murdering them.
POWER OF NOTHINGNESS
Foil to the Satsui no Hado
Resembles states of being found in Buddhism
Brings a hyperawareness of the universe to the user
Boosts one's strength and speed without losing clarity of thought
Causes eyes to glow blue-white
Can be used to withstand even the dreaded Raging Demon
"The Power of Nothingness is more focused than the Dark Hado, allowing Ryu complete control over his mind and body," Wiz detailed the amazing power. "Gouken even once used this power to separate himself from his soul in order to survive Akuma's Raging Demon. Surprise! Obi-Wan is still alive!" Ryu and Ken ran over to see their once-believed dead master alive.
"Yay!" Eri cheered at Gouken's survival.
"So, this power is like the mirror opposite of the Satsui no Hado," Asui stated. "Where the Satsui no Hado gives power but can cause one to lose their focus and restraint with bloodlust and anger, but the Power of Nothingness trades one's emotions for greater focus and hyper-awareness." Asui let out a ribbit as she liked the new power, comparatively finding it to how her own Quirk dulls her emotional responses.
"Another, different cost for a higher power," Tokoyami nodded, likewise liking and even envying the power and how useful it would serve him and Dark Shadow. Though, he would rather do without the brightness of it.
"Ryu is skilled enough to take on numerous thugs at once, tough enough to survive being impaled, and strong enough to overpower the genetically created super warrior, Seth," Boomstick listed his feats as they were shown. "Oh, and he's fast enough to dodge point-blank gunfire!"
All Might rubbed his side once more as he witnessed what must have been the incident that garnered Ryu's crater-like scar.
"Yet as Evil Ryu his aura's so strong he can just walk through bullets," Wiz pointed out as bullets bounced off the air in front of Ryu like an invisible barrier.
"Damn, what a flex," Sen blinked in surprise and awe.
"That being said, being the Street Fighter poster boy doesn't mean he's the top world warrior," Boomstick also pointed out his losses. "He's lost a number of matches, fair and square, against the likes of M. Bison, Oro, and even his best friend, Ken. And worst of all, suffers from a horrible curse the likes of which haunt all men and wake them up in the den of night: A super obsessed stalker fangirl." An image of a young schoolgirl loomed over Ryu's image in a creepy light, the girl combining her schoolgirl outfit with the similar gloves, headband, and even hairstyle as the Wandering World Warrior.
Izuku and Ochaco shuddered, both thinking about the former's own obsessed stalker: Himiko Toga. Izuku shivered at the thought of the villainess, obsessed enough to infiltrate the Provisional Licensing Exam to attack him, disguising herself as the Shiketsu Hero student, and Todoroki's now girlfriend: Camie Utsushimi. He blushed embarrassingly at the memory of Camie's nude form or the feel of her body pressed against his before slapping the indecent thoughts from his mind. Even if it was technically Toga, he didn't want to test whether Todoroki was the jealous type. He never told his best friend about what exactly happened, especially the nude part, for neither he nor Camie needed to know about that part and make things unnecessarily awkward between the three of them.
Plus, Izuku also scratched his cheek embarrassingly, not naive enough to realize that he was almost as-no, just as much of an obsessed fanboy to All Might as this girl was to Ryu.
Uraraka grumbled jealously. Uraraka had already made peace with herself and the girls, realizing any jealousy she felt between them and Izuku was mostly part of the fear of not being with her crush at all. However, Toga was the exception. The girl's advances on Deku made her the more convenient kind of jealous. There was just something about that girl that rubbed her the wrong way, you know more than just being a creepy villainess. Her advances toward Deku during the Provisional Licensing Exam caused her to be so jealous she nearly confessed her feelings for Deku right then, being stopped by the beginning of the 2nd part of the exam. Even if Toga was under the guise of Camie at the time, she still felt bothered by her.
While the two shuddered at the thought of the blood-crazy villainess, Eri tilted her head at the screen. Eri pondered about how she would dress as a Hero based on her idols. When she thought of herself in Grunkle Aizawa's clothes, she immediately shook her head clear of the image; she loved her Grunkle like a second father, but she couldn't ever see herself pull off the broody, seriousness of the insomniac teacher. Her thoughts turned to All Might and, while it did illicit a laugh from her, she also felt his costume design wouldn't fit her, nor her Uncles Kacchan and Shoto. When her thoughts came to Auntie Nemuri, Eri immediately gagged and denied it, blushing with embarrassment at even thinking of wearing something like her Auntie's costume. Uncle Mirio was perhaps the closest second of her choices, mostly his red cape, the same one he used to protect her and Deku used to carry her on him.
But ultimately, when it came down to who she could see herself imitating or paying homage to were her Papa and her Mamas. While Melissa and Mei weren't Hero students with costumes to base on, she could see herself with a pair of goggles that were a mix of Mama Mei's and Mama Tsu's resting on her forehead like the latter, and tying her hair in a ponytail, the same pretty one she saw Mama Melissa wear in that photo her Papa showed her of the two on I-Island. She could see herself wearing gloves like Mama Toru's, boots like Mama Chaco's, and a jacket that was a mix between Mama Kyo's and Mama Mina's, and colored and designed with scales like Mama Suna's. She could see part of her main suit designed like her Auntie-or rather Mama Neji's suit and maybe even have two strands of her hair curled up like the periwinkle fairy. But the person she felt inspired by the most, the one she imagined having the most semblance in her suit was her Papa. Another part of her base suit she saw inwardly as based on Deku's, with the same coloring, and topping it off with a similar collar to his. When she imagined the final outline in her mind, it was a tad funny and weird, and maybe not what she would ultimately wear, but to her now, it was perfect, smiling so dazzlingly bright that it nearly destroyed Dark Shadow.
Finally, with Kouta, he too shared Deku's and Uraraka's shuddering disgust of a stalker fangirl, even if it was a tad bit more childish, but still. However, his thoughts turned similarly to Eri's: imagining what his idolized Hero suit would look like. And when he thought of who to turn to for inspiration it came down to three sets of people: his Aunt Mandalay and the puss*cats, his parents, the Water Hose Heroes, and his idol and Hero, Deku. The boy first started with the head, imagining it as close as possible to his parents' helmets, with his black hair popping out the back like his father, but with some minor tweaks. For one, removing the tube thingy that they had by their mouths, Kouta always felt those looked a little silly. Secondly, two cat ear-shaped protrusions on the top, paying homage to the Heroes who took care of him after his parents died, but styled and pulled back for a more sleek, cooler look. And finally, his mouth would be covered up by a mask to meet the visor of the helmet, the mask designed similarly to a certain verdant-haired Hero's respirator collar. And then with the rest of the suit, Kouta imagined the torso just like his parents, a red, lifeguard-like front with white shoulder pads and black arms but accompanied by white gloves similar to Deku's but with holes for his Quirk. His idol's red utility belt around his waist, black pants like his parents, and, to top it all off, Deku's iconic red shoes, like the ones he bought to mimic his idol.
Kouta scoffed amused. It wasn't too long ago that he balked to even hated the idea of being a Hero, his parents' deaths disillusioning him to the world of Heroes, Villains, and Quirks; he even gave disdainful looks at the puss*cats from time to time, thought diluted since Mandalay was his aunt and final connection to his parents, besides the Quirk he hated to have. And then came Deku, who reached out to him no matter how much he tried to tell him to go away, who risked his life to save him from his parents' killer, and who saved him, avenged their deaths, and showed the truth of his aunt's words. Deku did more than just save him, he gave to life the world of Heroes in his heart, taught him what being a Hero meant, and ignited a dream to be a Hero, too, just like his idol and Hero.
"However, many of these losses may stem from his struggle to contain the power of the Dark Satsui no Hado, which is obviously quite difficult to do in the middle of a battle," Wiz brought out a defense of some of Ryu's losses.
"I guess that makes sense," Sato shrugged, accepting the reasoning.
"Nah, that's still bullsh*t!" Bakugou barked, vehemently. "A true fighter and winner would get over whatever turmoil or sh*t they are dealing with and still win at whatever cost!"
"Gotta say, have to agree with the guy," Miruko shrugged her shoulders.
"Of course, you of all people would agree with him, Rumi," Ryukyu sighed, shaking her head fondly.
"But when Ryu unleashes his full potential, stay the f*ck out of his way!" Boomstick warned.
"My name is Ryu, and the ultimate power has awakened within me!" Evil Ryu declared, as the Satsui no Hado surged around him.
The reception to the fighter was fairly positive among the group. Many among them sympathized with his backstory and struggles, liked his powerful, and masterful use of martial arts and techniques, were amazed by his strength and perseverance against the darkness and temptation of his powers, and felt inspired by his desire to consistently improve on his skills, the very motto of U.A.
The second kombatant was accurate to Wiz's description of him: He did look like a ninja, and he did look like he came from Hell, itself. The ninja was shown both as the man he once was, the ninja he trained to be, and the demon he had become. The man was of above-average height and build, most depictions of him with long black hair, sometimes in a braid, sometimes in flowing free, a beard or a mustache-goatee combo, and wearing yellow and black robes. His ninja attire was previously also in yellow and black garbs and armor, yellow or black wrist guards, a yellow and black mask covering his head, except for the area around his eyes, and seemed to wield different series of weapons like shuriken, swords, axes, and, the most constant among them all, a rope dart. The demon he became had his eyes pale white, some of his exposed pale skin looking decayed, his garbs more armored, scaley, flames seemed to dance and surround his body without issue, and at times when he removed his mask, the group paled and backed into their seats (or further down the floor for those in beanbags) at the flaming human skull that greeted them.
Scorpion
"From Earthrealm to Outworld there were few who didn't fear the ruthless clan known as the Lin Kuei," Wiz began.
"That's the ninja clan with the Grandmaster that wanted to turn his guys and his own son into cyborgs, right?" Kosei asked.
"Yep," Bondo nodded.
"Except the Shirai Ryu; a clan with some serious balls," Boomstick introduced the rival clan of the Lin Kuei. "Not only do they defect from the Lin Kuei, they mock them on a daily basis by wearing obvious palette swaps of their clothes." Members of the Shirai Ryu were shown standing off against those from the Lin Kuei, the yellow and black robes of the former a color swap of the Lin Kuei's dark grey and black. "They also like to pull classic pranks like annoying phone calls, TP-ing Lin Kuei homes, and constantly slaughtering their loved ones. Haha, got́ 'em!"
"So, rival clans with a blood feud on each other," Todoroki summarized.
"Rival clans that just also happen to be chockfull of ninjas," Ojiro muttered.
"From the Shirai Ryu came Hanzo Hasashi, the hellish ninja of vengeance," Wiz fully introduced the Kombatant himself, including his white eyes that held the fires of vengeance. "But before he became the stuff of nightmares, he was once an ordinary young child."
"Isn't everyone once just an ordinary child at one point in their life?" Awase questioned.
Not only did Hawks, Shoto, and Izuku have to disagree with that, but Izuku even felt a sudden rising emotion of sadness, bitterness, and even envy from that statement. Izuku knew that it must have come from the Vestiges, but which one? The First?
All Might likewise pondered and disagreed with that statement, his thoughts turning not to himself but to Tomura Shigaraki, or Tenko Shimura as he was once called. Toshinori pondered what kind of life the grandson of his master must have had. Was it ever peaceful? Was ever happy? Or was his life so miserable that it was easy for All For one to get him under his clutches?
"...whose father just happened to be a deadly assassin," Wiz awkwardly brought up.
"Yep, not ordinary at all," Fat Gum muttered.
BACKGROUND
Real Name: Hanzo Hasashi
Height: 6'2" / 188 cm
Weight: 210 lbs / 95 kg
Physical Age: 32
General of the Shirai Ryu clan
Kombat Styles: Ninjutsu, Pi Gua, Hapkido, and Moi Fah
Strongly prefers foes to come to him
Creator Ed Boon's favorite character
"In hopes of sparing him from a violent life of regret and murder, Hanzo ́s father forbade him from ever joining the clan," Wiz began explaining Hanzo's life.
"Sorry son, you're not allowed to be awesome," Boomstick summarized.
Endeavor's thoughts once more turned Touya for what felt like the hundredth time this week. He had tried in vain so many times to get Touya to stop, stop using his Quirk, stop trying to pursue the goal of being a Hero, to stop hurting himself. But over and over Touya would not stop. The boy would sneak out to their old training grounds, training himself and his Quirk, despite the latter constantly burning his body, Touya often wore bandages all the time, and every time the patriarch of the Todoroki household tried to get the boy to listen to reason, but he could see that he already had done too much damage to the boy's mind.
"However, as time went on, Hanzo became desperate," Wiz continued, Hanzo walking down the fields with a beautiful woman and a small child he looked on with great love. "He needed a way to support not only himself but also his wife and son. Faced with few other options, he reluctantly disobeyed his father and began the life of a ninja assassin." Hanzo opened a cabinet to reveal Shirai Ryu's ninja garbs and his iconic rope dart.
"Huh, I wonder what kind of salary being assassin would give you?" Sato pondered, jokingly.
'Life in prison,'Hawks bitterly took the statement seriously, knowing his predecessor was being unfairly kept in Tartaros for being the Commission's personal assassin and tossed away when no longer of use.
And while Hawks raged inwardly at the treatment of his predecessor, Endeavor likewise raged at the memories of his eldest son, but the anger was never on Touya, it was toward himself. Enji Todoroki hated how he couldn't do anything to stop Touya's obsessive desire to complete the mission he put on him. He tried monitoring him from afar to catch him in the act, he tried to get Rei to reason with the boy, and no matter how many punishments, arguments, or refusals to train him happened, Touya never stopped, and Enji hated himself for being the cause of it all. He hated himself for what happened.
"As a ninja, Hanzo is exceptionally skilled in Ninjutsu, Pi Gua, Hapkido, and numerous secret Chinese martial arts," Boomstick jumped in, Scorpion displaying his martial arts.
"Interesting," Rin scratched at his chin. "Despite the Chinese-based martial arts, it's clear that the Shirai Ryu have quite a lot of influences from Japanese culture, while the Lin Kuei appear to have more Chinese influences."
"You believe that these differences are evidence of some culture war from our country's pasts?" Jurota asked, intrigued.
"Potentially," Rin shrugged, not knowing the full answer himself but could see the possibilities. "If the Lin Kuei originated in China, it would make sense for the Shirai Ryu to call Japan their home as they defected from the original clan and adopted more Japanese customs and influences to parody and mock the Lin Kuei."
"So, training Ninjutsu for obvious stealth, evasion, and assassinations, Hapkido for defense in case he is discovered or his first attempts fail and to take control of a target, especially a stronger opponent, and Pi Gua for powerful and effective chops and swipes from weapons for offense," Itsuka analyzed Scorpion's most notable martial arts and skills, her mind detailing and tacking Scorpion's movements while her hands subconscious followed and copied the movements.
"Careful, Monoma, if Itsuka gets any better with her chopping, I'm afraid you're done for," Tokage snickered at Monoma.
Rather than confront Setsuna, Monoma paled horribly. It was already bad enough that Kendo's chops could knock him out almost instantly, and leave with a sore neck for a warning, not that Monoma ever paid heed to those warnings, but for them to possibly pack a lot of power to them...Monoma trembled like a leaf in the heavy wind at the mental image he conjured for himself of a vengeful, demon version of Itsuka chopping at his neck, and disconnecting it from his shoulders!
...Maybe he should lay off taunting Class 1-A for a while, or, at the very least, not do it in front of Kendo.
"But it's his weapon of choice that earned him the nickname Scorpion."
"GET OVER HERE!" Scorpion's most famous line played as he threw his rope dart out, the dagger-like blade piercing his foe's face, and with a strong tug, Scorpion brought the poor victim's head, ripped clean off their body, to him and let it fly past him.
"Oh, wait, yeah, I forgot how messed up that universe is," Mount Lady gagged at the gore.
"I so want to do that now," Sero muttered. "Saying 'Get over Here!' while I pull someone with my Quirk I mean, not the murder part."
"My meme senses are tingling," Kaminari shuddered as if the cries of thousands of people far away wanted him to react to this iconic-looking move.
"Interesting you developed something as absurd as that, but not a sense of warning for when my jacks are itching to shut you up before you say something stupid," Kyoka's jack inched closer to Kaminari's head.
"Eh, maybe I lost that sense with all the decibels blasted into my ears," Kaminari grinned teasingly despite the risk.
"Maybe if you didn't annoy me so much with spouting whatever stupidity that first comes to your head, I wouldn't stun you so much," Kyoka argued back.
As the two continued arguing back and forth, some of it serious, most of it half-heartedly in good fun, Mina and Hagakure sighed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she had a thing for him," Mina shrugged.
"Yeah, it looks more like a brother-sister spout than a lover's one," Hagakure agreed, noticing the big sister-admonishing-the-annoying-little-brother vibes that Kyoka had toward Kaminari, even if Kaminari was the older of the two.
Izuku's ears picked up what the two said, Mina's words almost causing a rise of jealousy to well up in him before Hagakure's simmered them down. Izuku shook his head, admonishing himself for that momentary irrational bit of anger. After all, Izuku could tell that the two were brother and sister to each other, a couple of dysfunctional ones sure, but like siblings nonetheless, and he only just realized how far his feelings for Kyoka extended, so he shouldn't get so protective and insecure about it this much.
And yet, maybe because he found out and acknowledged these feelings so soon, he's actually started to worry about losing her and the others? He admitted to himself that if the girls went after another person, he would be upset sure, but that he would respect and be happy for them. Now, however, the thought of not being with Kyoka or any of the girls... felt wrong.
'What is up with me, lately?'Izuku groaned to himself, fully unprepared for the complex, messiness that was a love life, much less as messed up as his own.
"While his kunai-in-a-rope is iconic and deadly, I'm more partial to whatever the hell that snake creature is that lives in his hand," Boomstick showed the Scorpion, from the Mortal Kombat movie, raising his palm as it opened up to reveal a snake-like figurehead sticking out slowly and disgustingly.
"Ehh, that's messed up!" Kosei shuddered in disgust. The perpetually, wide-eyed teen looked toward Kamakiri. "Is that how your blades feel like?"
"Shut up, Blow Hard," Kamakiri rolled his eyes and dismissed his classmate, flexing out his Quirk by jutting out a small blade in and out and feeling the sensation he was used to, almost like flexing a bone or muscles...only the bone or muscle, in this case, flexes out of his body.
"Oh my God! When are you guys going to let that go?! I already admitted that was a bad first Hero name!" Tsuburaba whined.
"Considering you suggested that so proudly and without self-reflection, uh, never," Tetsutetsu chuckled.
"Wait, wait, wait, back the truck up!" Mina raised her hands for everyone to stop. "The first Hero codename he came up with was 'Blow Hard'?!"
"Yep." "Pretty much." "Now you know how we felt." Were the responses that came out of Class 1-B, while it became increasingly hard for most of the class to not start laughing.
Bakugou of course didn't get the memo. "BAHAHAHAHAHA! And you, extras, give me so much sh*t about my names!" Bakugou laughed like a howler monkey out of Hell.
Tsuburaba was a beacon of red and slumped in his seat, wishing for the bean bag he sat on to just swallow him up. Vlad King pinched the bridge between his eyes, groaning as he remembered clearly and shamefully how one of his students had so little self-awareness to write that down. Thank God Kayama went easy on the poor boy with her teasing.
MOVE SET
Kunai Spear
-Closest real-life equivalent was called the rope dart
-Also previously depicted as a mace or a serpent creature
-Has also been used by Reptile, Smoke, and Noob Saibot
Hellfire Punch
Fire Breath
Leg Takedown
Flaming Backflip Kick
Scorpion Sting
"Well, in whatever form, it impales the opponent and pulls them in close, usually for a sweet uppercut to the jaw," Boomstick continued.
"This is similar to an ancient assassination weapon used in the Tang dynasty called the Rope Dart," Wiz explained, footage playing of a man expertly swinging and tossing the said weapon around and in front of him. "It's extremely difficult to master, making Scorpion's finesse all the more impressive."
While obviously not a fan of the murderous usage, Izuku still did find Scorpion's impressive technique inspiring for his work on Black Whip. Sero's and Tsuyu's training earlier today was helpful, with the two of them teaching him to focus on a target, to see his Quirk as an extension of himself, like his arm, and to reach out for it. Seeing Scorpion in action, ideas popped into Deku's head, from different ways to swing his opponent around with Black Whip or a single concentrated point to aim at either slingshot himself toward the opponent at high speeds or, well, make the opponent 'get over to him'.
After writing down all he needed, Izuku sent bright smiles and nods to both Sero and Tsu, the former giving back a thumbs up, wide smile, and wink, while Tsu nodded, croaked, and had a tiny blush on her cheeks.
"He's also provisioned with several weapons like long swords, twin katanas, and axes," Boomstick added.
Kamakiri grinned as he paid closer attention to the Shirai Ryu assassin as he used his Pi Gua martial arts in tandem with his swords and katanas.
Scorpion knocked Sub-Zero down with a kick. "Toasty!" Dan Forden's head suddenly appeared and exclaimed.
"Pfft, what was that?" Hagakure snickered. "That was funny."
"Scorpion's weaponry and Kombat prowess were put to the ultimate test by the legendary Lin Kuei warrior Bi-Han, a.k.a. Sub-Zero," Wiz introduced the fiery ninja's eternal rival in all his icy glory.
"I feel a rivalry going on here," Sato narrowed his eyes.
"sh*t, I wonder why?" Bakugou sarcastically groaned out. "Maybe because they are from rival clans that hate each other's guts? Or maybe just because they both are ninjas with a different palette swap?"
"And things didn't go so well for our yellow-clad ninja," Wiz revealed, Sub-Zero ripping Scorpion's head and spinal column off his body and held in the air. "Next thing he knew, Scorpion was waking up in the Netherrealm." Scorpion was seen finding himself surrounded by lava, fire, and pillars decorated with skeletons.
"More commonly known as Hell," Boomstick jumped in.
"Wait, so he died?" Uraraka blinked, surprised and confused.
"Guess that makes sense for why he was called the Ninja from Hell," Tsuyu shrugged.
Ibara pouted, but ultimately just felt sorry for Hanzo. Even though the man had a wife and child to support, the lifestyle and career of an assassin was not a virtuous one and his soul must have gone to this Hell for a reason, so she reconciled that this was simply the fate he chose for himself. Unless this world somehow didn't have a Heaven as an ulterior afterlife choice.
"Bet you wished you listened to Dad now, then maybe you could have ended up in a happier place, with your murdered wife and kid," Boomstick mocked the disobeying ninja, as he gazed upon the frozen, bloody corpses of his wife and son. "Oh yeah, they're dead too."
"Oh no," Pony whimpered, tears in her eyes at the horrible fate of the two.
"They look frozen, and not naturally so," Todoroki narrowed his eyes, his right hand clenching. "If the name holds weight, it must have been Sub-Zero's doing."
"Enraged at Sub-Zero for apparently killing all he'd sworn to protect, Scorpion scored a second chance striking a deal with the sorcerer, Quan Chi," Wiz informed, the pale, tattooed, black-clothed necromancer shown. "In exchange for his loyalty, Scorpion was resurrected as a phantom of the Netherrealm."
A dubstep remix of a theme played as Scorpion revealed his flaming skull for a face, later teleporting out of the ground, landing, and engulfing himself in flames.
"So, he's a Freaking Demon?!" Mineta screamed in horror at Scorpion's new face.
"A wraith most accurately," Reiko corrected the small-statured teen, suddenly way more invested with the ninja now that he was a literal flaming phantom from Hell.
"Well, if Sub-Zero can use some kind of ice power, then I think the fiery side of Scorpion would be another thing to rival each other," Ojiro pointed out.
All Might narrowed his eyes feeling off vibes from the Netherrealm sorcerer, as if being a sorcerer from Hell wasn't already enough. Demons don't offer anything without a price, and the deal is usually in their favor. The former Number 1 Hero had his experience with the demon of a man named All For One, who gave and took Quirks in exchange for their loyalty to him, and this situation with Quan Chi and Scorpion was very similar.
WRAITH ABILITIES
Teleportation
-Commonly used to surprise attack enemies from behind
Netherrealm Portals
-Quick access to the underworld and back at any time
Control over Hellfire
-Explosive Fireballs
-Summoning flames under his opponent
-Surrounds himself in harmful flames
-Can even breathe out fire
Cannot die from physical attacks
"And being reborn as a demon of vengeance has its perks," Boomstick began listing Scorpion's new wraith powers as they were shown. "Scorpion can now teleport, summon fire at will, and create portals in and out of the Netherrealm he was spawned from, literally dragging others to Hell!"
"So, now he has pyrokinesis and teleportation to his arsenal," Izuku wrote down. "That teleportation ability would be incredibly useful with his Ninjitsu training, either by surprise attacking his enemies, evading an attack, or traveling short distances quickly. And his pyrokinesis seems to range from projecting it from his body, like his fireballs, and setting himself on fire, or summoning it around him. His fireballs and summoning flames could help keep his foes away and deal serious damage, and surrounding himself with fire could also help deter his enemies from attacking him directly."
Todoroki narrowed his eyes, analyzing Scorpion's new pyrokinetic abilities and seeing how they would match against his own. Already Shoto saw himself at a severe disadvantage. Scorpion's teleporting would make avoiding his glaciers incredibly easy, and even if he would get caught, he could burn or teleport his way out of it. Unleashing his fire on a fire demon likewise seemed useless. Coupled with his speed and teleportation, Scorpion would easily reach and strike a deadly blow at him up close, an admitted blind spot in his abilities.
The son of Endeavor was so used to driving foes back with his ice, and now fire, that it left him vulnerable up close if he didn't instantly freeze them. His fire would be useful in his physical attacks, as his father had demonstrated in his career, but he was still working on catching up his left side with his right side in terms of experience and skill. There was his Flashfreeze Heatwave technique he was also working on, but that required time and a lot of energy to pull off, something Shoto couldn't do immediately enough to protect himself from a fast, and possibly deadly, foe like Scorpion.
Shoto hummed, pondering if Midoriya may have a solution to this problem. His best friend was good at thinking outside the box.
"Whilst there, his +1s can enjoy such tourist locations as Lava Pit," Boomstick began speaking like a tourist guide while Scorpion dunked a man's head into the lava and watched as his face burned off, revealing the skull behind the flesh. "And witness the corpse-burning celebration called: The Festival of Torture." Said 'Festival' was several bodies writhing and screaming in agony as they were impaled, chained, and half-buried onto a pillar and burned slowly and painfully. "Fun times!"
Ibara rapidly prayed in fervor at all the horrendous sights she witnessed. It was already bad enough that this poor man was coerced into becoming a vengeful demon in service to the hellish sorcerer, but to see more of this version of Hell, from the sight of Scorpion dunking a man's head into the lava or the writhing bodies of the so-called 'festival' was horrifying. She prayed that whatever higher power existed in that universe, hopefully, God, she wished, would lead this man from the fires of damnation and be purified by the memory of the man, husband, and father he once was.
"The Netherrealm is the source of Scorpion's demonic power, and his strength rises simply by his being there," Wiz explained.
"So, not only would dragging his opponents to Hell be an advantage because of the hazardous environment that one of them would be effectively immune towards, but the longer they fight there, the more powerful Scorpion becomes, ensuring his victory the longer he drags it out,' Ryukyu analyzed.
"Talk about home-field advantage," Hawks whistled while secretly bristling inside. He was already at a disadvantage against the Netherrealm wraith by his pyrokinetic abilities countering his very flammable wings, but if he were dragged into Hell, literally, he might just end up a permanent resident there.
"Scorpion is so vicious he can perform no fewer than fifteen different Fatalities," Boomstick pointed out while the Netherrealm ninja slit Mileena's throat before slashing her in half from the waist.
"Oh, joy! More of this," Mount Lady exclaimed in a mock cheerful voice, keeping back the bile building up with each gorey fatality after another.
FATALITIES
Spin Rip
-Removes victim's head with bare hands
-Presumably learned it from Sub-Zero (Most probably from experience)
Toasty!
-Scorpion's fire breath incinerates the target in seconds
Hand from Hell
-A flaming skeletal hand pulls the enemy to Hell
Spear Slice
-Cuts victim in half and beheads them
Animalities
-Becomes a scorpion and tears them in half
-...Or becomes an adorable penguin
"He can rip a person's head from their body - spine included," Wiz went first, Scorpion pulling Sub-Zero's head off his body like the latter did to the former.
"That's not something you just do, that's art right there," Boomstick gazed at the second demonstration Jade in awe.
"Wha-But-How would he-what?!" Manga sputtered, numerous question marks appearing all over his speech bubble for a head.
Setsuna rubbed her neck, hoping, if an ill-fated encounter with the psycho demon occurred, that she could detach her head from her body on her own Quirk's terms.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Mirio nervously smiled.
"Really, Mirio? What part of having your head and spine ripped out has a 'good side'?" Nejire questioned, eyebrow raised.
"At the very least, now those guys have nothing holding them back! Eh?!" Mirio smiled wide, a comical pun drum sound occurring.
The result of this was Mirio unconscious, with several comical lumps on his head, his mouth covered in duct tape, and his body tied to his chair. Setsuna finished the final touches of everyone's work by sticking a large sticky note over Mirio's forehead that read 'Shame' in big, bold, red letters.
"Rip off his mask to show his true face-"
"AAAAAH, WHAT THE f*ck IS THAT THING?!" Boomstick screamed in horror from Scorpion removing his mask, showing his flaming skull for a face, and burning another poor Kombatant to a charred skeleton.
"He can breathe fire too?!" Kosei exclaimed.
"I'm surprised that is what you are fixated on instead of the flaming skull for a head he has," Rin muttered.
Eri buried her head in Izuku's chest in fear of Scorpion's horrifying visage.
"And score a kill by transforming into a, well, giant scorpion, of course," Wiz's statement of the obvious had the group imagining him shrugging his shoulder while Hanzo, the giant scorpion, ripped yet another Kombatant into pieces. "...Or a penguin."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Boomstick exclaimed again, this time in shock while Hanzo, the adorable penguin pooped out an egg over a dizzy Sub-Zero and the egg exploded, taking Sub-Zero's life.
"...So, he turns into a penguin...and then hatches an actual egg...that then explodes and kills his enemy?" Mina blinked multiple times, rechecking to make sure she said what she thought said.
"...I...I quit. I-I just quit!" Momo's face dropped to her hands, sobbing comically as logic and reason, her best friends since childhood, were brutally massacred in front of her.
"You think you talk to him, Koda? You know, if he turned into...Oh, um, never mind," Kaminari stopped himself, noticing Koda was hiding with his head in between his legs, in the fetal position, likely as a result of Scorpion turning into an actual giant scorpion.
"Hey, Tamaki, you think if you ate some penguin meat and something super duper spicy, you could do that too?" Nejire curiously asked her friend.
Amajiki didn't know what disturbed and gagged him the worst: the idea of eating penguin meat, laying an egg, or Nejire believing he could do both and somehow also make an exploding egg by 'eating something spicy'. Regardless, he still wreaked havoc on his puke bag.
"And although Scorpion was far from the most powerful combatant in the Mortal Kombat tournament, he has defeated lethal warriors across multiple worlds,' Wiz stated. "He ́s conquered sorcerers, demons, cyborgs, and, eventually, avenged his death by incinerating Bi-Han in the Netherrealm." Scorpion raised the burnt head and spine of his killer and rival.
"I mean, I don't really condone murder and all, but at least he got payback for his-" Tetsutetsu began before he was cut off by the video.
"But it turns out that that Sub-Zero guy was kind of innocent," Boomstick revealed. "The man, actually, responsible for the death of his family was Quan Chi. You know, that guy he swore himself to and has been working for this whole time?"
"...Oh, never mind," Tetsutetsu gave up what he was saying before.
"Vengeance is an emptiness and he that seeketh it wasteth himself," Tokoyami sagely quoted, leaving Reiko shivering in delight.
"Huh, I thought he was going to go with the old classic 'An Eye for an Eye leaves the world blind'," Sero blinked, surprised.
"One, that quote, while applicable, is overused, and secondly, in this case, it speaks to how Scorpion's hatred, rage, and desire to kill Sub-Zero was wasted and for nothing," Shoji replied.
All Might's fists clenched tightly. He remembered painfully All For One mocking him with the revelation that Tomura Shigaraki was Tenko Shimura, his master's, Nana Shimura's, grandson. He remembered how All For One said that he molded and shaped Tenko into the villain he was now, molding him to hate the student of his grandmother. With this example of Quan Chi and Scorpion hitting too close to home, Toshinori wondered what All For One may have done to Tenko to turn him into Shigaraki, and Shigaraki even knows that his grandmother opposed and was killed by his now master.
Those thoughts turned then to how All For One even found and got his hands on Tenko. What happened to Tenko's family, including Nana's son? What happened to the boy that left him in the clutches of a madman? Could All For One have played a role in what happened, all to secure a powerful pawn and weapon against him? All Might wouldn't put it past his most hated nemesis to do that sort of thing, to be the real cause of all of Young Tenko's suffering, manipulate the boy into hating everyone but the true party responsible, and not lose an ounce of sleep over it.
"Man, Scorpion's kinda like the Charlie Brown of Mortal Kombat."
Quan Chi knocked Scorpion down a flight of stairs, while the Charlie Brown Christmas instrumental theme, Christmas Time is Here, played as the poor gullible ninja tumbled down painfully.
"Aw, I feel bad for him," Pony pouted.
"Why? Tricked or not, he still was a ninja assassin who killed people and killed that innocent Sub-Zero guy," Kamakiri pointed out.
"Eh, innocent might be a strong word to use for Sub-Zero," Honenuki muttered, remembering that Sub-Zero did kill Hanzo first.
"I know, but he did all that because he loved his wife and son so much," Pony twiddled her fingers together, innocently and adorably. "Wouldn't you?"
Kamakiri...didn't have a response to that.
Iida flinched, Pony's words a hammer to his guilty conscious. He did exactly that. While Stain may have been 100% guilty for the crippling of his brother and the murder and crippling of so many other Heroes, Iida, at the time, only cared about what Stain did to his brother. The youngest son of the Iida family was willing to kill Stain for what he did. Not arrest, but actually kill the Hero Killer, something his brother would never condone. He was even willing to let a Hero bleed out and die in his ignorance and desire to kill Stain, which only further shamed him.
Tenya couldn't Hanzo Hasashi any more than he could judge himself.
"As penance for his mistake, Scorpion dedicated his life after death to protecting the late Sub-Zero's younger brother: Kuai Liang, or Sub-Zero," Wiz stated, revealing the younger cryomancer brother and his more exposing outfit and iconic scar over one of his eyes.
"Huh, so it's like a mantle, and after Bi-Han died, his brother took up the name to honor him," Itsuka said.
That did put a smile on Iida's face. His actions may still weigh on him, and he trains and goes on every day to try and make amends, Tenya Iida was still Ingenium. His brother asked him to take up the name, to not let it die with him, and Tenya did, carrying the name as his own in hopes of living up to his brother's example.
"Though he still found time for shooting threes, hitting homers, and hosting his own cooking show!" Boomstick jokingly revealed all of Scorpion's nonsensical, embarrassing game cameos, from basketball, baseball, and cooking.
"This week on 'Cooking with Scorpion', learn about chopping..." A voice announcer said as the apparent master of the culinary arts chopped food with an axe while the captions read: Yes...this is real.
"Well, thank you captions, I would not have believed this was real at all without your help," Pixie Bob said in a mocking, cheerful voice.
Momo further groaned in her hands, needing Izuku, Todoroki, and Kyoka to comfort her as her sanity and logic for the world were further butchered in front of her eyes.
"I think if Aizawa were here, he would be begging for his head to be next on the chopping block," Vlad King joked/spoke with complete seriousness.
"I'm about to wish for such, myself," Endeavor groaned, wishing to unalive himself.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna trust anything that guy makes," Boomstick wisely decided while Scorpion frosted a cake and broke his axe slashing a watermelon in two. "Does he even eat anymore?"
"I have to agree with him," Sato, expert chief of Class 1-A, agreed, finding it appalling to see an axe used for chopping food, and a worn down and dulled one that broke from a watermelon at that. The cook couldn't help all the horrifying health code violations, like the shards of metal now in the food.
"Yeah, I think I'll pass too," Fat Gum raised a hand in surrender. "I may have an iron stomach, but I'm not gonna push my luck with that."
"Oh, come on, Fat, I'm sure that food is to die for," Hawks said cheekily.
"Careful, Wings, the kids already punished Tin-Tin down there with his puns, don't think we won't do the same to you," Miruko warned, only half-joking and the other, serious half was cracking her fists.
"Aside from his weakness for the culinary arts, Scorpion's win-loss record is not as intimidating as you might think," Wiz pointed out. "But consider the outrageous scope of his competition." An example of his competition just so happened to be Raiden, the Thunder God, standing over a defeated Scorpion.
"Fair enough," Cementoss nodded.
"Any way you look at it, it's tough to be much more of a badass than a fire-breathing skeleton ninja from Hell," Boomstick finished the analysis.
"To Hell with your clan!" Bi-Han Sub-Zero spat out.
"No! TO HELL WITH YOU!" Scorpion roared as he dragged Sub-Zero to the Netherrealm.
"Damn, what a comeback," Tetsutetsu snickered.
The opinion of the second Kombatant was more mixed than the Wandering World Warrior. Obvious negative points came from his demonic status, gullibility to fall for the undead sorcerer's words, cold-blooded murder, and an obvious anger issue that could leave him open to making a fatal mistake. However, unlike the Street Fighter, Scorpion showed more lethality, a variety of methods to kill his opponent, and long-range options than the noble Ryu. Others thought that Scorpion's teleport and fire abilities would also be useful in putting distance and attacking the Street Fighter from afar. Regardless of Scorpion's questionable morality, they all did agree that the Mortal Kombatant would be quite the dangerous foe, for Ryu and themselves.
"Alright, the Kombatants are set, let's end this debate once and for all," Wiz declared.
"It's Time For A DEATH BAAATTTLLLEEE!" Boomstick roared.
As the video paused, and the device began its search of the fighters' counterparts, the group began to vote and discuss who would win between the two.
Among the most notable of Ryu's voters included Izuku, Itsuka, and Rin, all three inspired by the martial artist and his prowess, especially Midoriya regarding Ryu's struggles and victory over the Satsui no Hado and how Ryu seemed to truly embody the motto of 'Going beyond your limits'. Miruko likewise voted for the Wandering World Warrior, partly out of comradery because of her counterpart in the same universe, partly in approval of his nomadic, warrior life, and finally out of thanks to the Street Fighter for helping to put an end to her counterpart's father's murderer. All Might and Eri would also vote for the Street Fighter, who appeared more inspirational and heroic than his gorey opponent; the former likewise approved of Ryu going against his theorized father and rejecting the darkness within him, hoping that if his darkest suspicions were correct, that history would repeat itself here. Plus, Eri found that Ryu seemed very similar to her Papa.
Nejire voted based on how heroic Ryu was and for his Hadoken technique, which she hoped for her and Izuku to mimic, Tokoyami for respecting the man's struggles and challenges with struggling and overcoming the dark power within like the raven-headed teen does with Dark Shadow, and Jurota would share Tokoyami's reasoning for voting for Ryu, likewise approving and relating to struggling to control his anger mid-fight. Kouta would surprisingly also vote for Ryu over their shared trauma of being orphans and yet helped beyond their pain by the helping hand of another. Edgeshot joins the votes for the Wandering World Warrior, approving of his dedication to martial arts, his journey of enlightenment through suffering, and overcoming the darkness through the teachings of his mentor. Finally, Nezu voted for Ryu, finding that while it seemed ill-advised to vote against a fighter that was technically already dead, he had a feeling that, while detestable of an option, the Satsui no Hado's Raging Demon and its ability to attack one's soul could be the key for the Street Fighter to obtain victory.
As for those who voted for Scorpion, the most notable of which included Katsuki Bakugou, who approved more of Scorpion's brutal methods, teleporting, and fiery powers, Kamakiri who liked Scorpion's martial arts mixed with his weaponry, hoping to get some more tips by asking Midoriya for some notes, and even Mirio, who found that Scorpion's teleportation and fire powers would be useful in keeping Ryu away. Endeavor and Shoto would also vote for the Shirai Ryu ninja but more than just for his pyrokinesis. Endeavor found a lot of Touya in Hanzo for how he disobeyed his father's orders to join the clan and the anger and grudge that the man held that ruled over him for most of his life and felt in voting for Hanzo, it would be, in a way, supporting Touya, whether he was his counterpart or not. Shoto's decision to vote for Netherrealm wraith was similar, sympathizing with Hanzo's past and the anger that drove the man to sell his soul to a demon sorcerer for vengeance. Similarly, Iida likewise voted for Hanzo over their shared struggles over the desire for vengeance but also believes Scorpion to be the faster, more agile, and more dangerous one between the two choices.
Other votes for the Netherrealm wraith included Reiko, who was won over because of Hanzo Hisashi's status as a wraith and his demonic powers, Kuroiro, also for the wraith status and approving of Scorpion's teleporting and finding the ability to drag his foe into Hell where he would have home field advantage was crucial, and Kaminari, who while he liked the abilities of Scorpion, believed simply by the nature of Scorpion already being dead to be major boon in a death battle. Uraraka, Asui, and Sero all voted for the ninja for his infamous kunai spear, all three of them comparing tit o their own long-range grappling weapons and abilities. Finally, Hawks cast his vote for the Mortal Kombatant for his weaponry, Ninjutsu training, and evasion, and likewise agreeing with both Kuroiro and Kaminari that an opponent that can take you to a place where he would be stronger and is undead would be unlikely to be defeated.
"MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPARTS DETECTED!"The device finished its scanning, first displaying Ryu."RYU! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
"Oh course, he is," Kaminari muttered. "Come on, Midoriya! Can't you give the rest of us some time in the sun?"
Knowing Kaminari wasn't truly angry, or taking it too seriously, Izuku just chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Still, Izuku smiled that he was the counterpart of the Street Fighter, his desire to mimic and master Ryu's abilities only rising further than before.
Miruko's gaze fell onto the boy, ears perking up with interest. The Rabbit Hero didn't have to be a genius to know that something was up with Midoriya. The kid has seemingly been the counterpart to most characters they have seen, and he has what looks like ten of the girls, including Ryukyu's protege and the Shield girl, drooling all over him without even trying, and from what she could smell of him, she could see why.
A particular 'quirk' of her Quirk was it gave her many features and abilities of a rabbit, including an excellent sense of smell. Usually, she used it to sense an environment for enemies; however, another use of it was to smell out a person's character. If someone is lying or hiding something from her, she can smell it off their sweat, it also helps her figure out whether a guy interested in her is sincere or just lusting after her body. When she smelled the girls, she could tell that whenever they spoke or interacted with Midoriya, she could pick up their intentions with him. While there was a good amount of lust in them, there was something more, something honest and true about their feelings for the boy, and from what she could tell, the feelings were mutual.
At least with as much as she could tell from Midoriya. He always gave off a confusing smell to her compared to others, almost like he has 8 other smells coming off of him, one of which smells suspiciously like All Might. But when she did focus on the smell she identified as Midoriya, she would be overwhelmed but how 'pure' his smell was, how enticing it was, and it only got more potent to her senses for the past few days. Miruko wondered if perhaps this was the 'mark of a true mate' as her mom described when she met Dad.
Shaking her head from those thoughts, momentarily believing them to be nonsense, Miruko did at least concede that something was intriguing about Izuku Midoriya, something she wanted to know more of. A thought then popped into her mind, making her grin wide. 'Maybe a spar or private training session or two, as thanks to his counterpart for helping to take care of Bison for my counterpart and her father,'Miruko thought.
"HANZO HASASHI AKA SCORPION! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: TENYA IIDA!"
"Woah. Didn't see that coming," Sero blinked surprised. "I mean, no offense, Iida, but I never pegged you for the fiery spirit of vengeance kind of guy."
"It's fine, Sero, I felt no offense," Iida nodded, though kept his gaze on the image of his counterpart now next to his own. "It is a bit surprising for myself, but..."
"But?" Kirishima raised his eyebrow, wondering where Iida was going with this until he went quiet.
Iida shifted his gaze over to Izuku and Shoto, who met his eyes and knew instantly where Iida was going. Shoto nodded, understanding yet his serious face held a look that there would be no debate about whatever Iida might say next. Izuku shared a similar stare, yet his eyes were softer and, consequently, more impactful to his soul. The two of them were telling him that his grudge with Stain may be a reason for his connection with Scorpion, but that doesn't mean that is all Tenya Iida was, that he is someone good, loyal, and upstanding, and they would hear no 'ifs' 'ands' or 'buts'.
Iida let out a breath through his nostrils and nodded as subtly as he could. "It's nothing," Iida said, the tone of his voice being all that the students and adults needed to know that Iida wanted them to drop it, and so they did.
Iida went over to Izuku and reached out a hand. "May the best counterpart come out victorious," Iida said.
"Same to you, Iida," Izuku shook Iida's hand. "And to remind each other that whatever happens, it's not real or affects us in any way."
"Agreed," Iida nodded.
"ADDITIONAL COUNTERPARTS DETECTED!"The device suddenly announced."GOUKEN! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART 1: ERROR! ERROR! PRIME MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART UNABLE TO BE ANNOUNCED!"
"Honestly, what the hell is even the point of announcing something if they're just going to censor it?!" Mina exclaimed, scratching and ruffling her hair in slight frustration that these censoring episodes were doing to her curious mind.
Izuku and All Might narrowed their eyes, both of them sharing the same conclusion in their minds:'It must be another one of the Vestiges.'The censoring was only occurring when instances of One For All came up, just as they intended with the request on the first day with the device, and the only other instances of censoring occurred with the true names of All For One and Dabi, both for the reasoning that it was classified under the present circ*mstances of their timeline.
All Might and Izuku pondered which of the Vestiges might the counterpart be, with the obvious of Nana Shimura to be excluded, given how her name was never censored at all. It only took a few seconds for both of them to come up with the answer.'Gouken is the brother of Akuma, whose counterpart was All For One,'All Might remembered from the second-ever Death Battle they watched.'If not me or Nana, then the only other viable alternative that makes the most sense-'
'-Is the First User,'Izuku finished the same thought, his mind conjuring the image of the white-haired scrawny man that was the progenitor of the Quirk he had now.
"CONTINUING! GOUKEN! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART 2: TOSHINORI YAGI AKA ALL MIGHT!"
"Wow, former Number 1. Seems like a lot of your counterparts have you with some kind of connection to Midoriya," Miruko gave a predator-like smirk toward the still frame of All Might.
"Oh, really?" Hawks raised an eyebrow, interested. "Do tell."
"Yeah, like how that demigod Raiden guy, from Scorpion's world, was a mentor to Izuku's counterpart, Liu Kang," Miruko's grin grew wider. "Or James McCloud, father of Midoriya's Fox McCloud. Or even Midoriya's Cringer/Battle Cat being the pet of your He-Man one."
"Ooh! Quite interesting," Hawks grinned, his interest rising even more with the frankly obvious connection. "Quite the coincidence, no, All Might?"
Miruko and Hawks didn't need their respective super hearing to hear how All Might's bony knuckles cracked. "Yes, quite the coincidence," All Might replied, steeling his face as much as he possibly could. "Then again, Midoriya is quite a big fan of mine, and I am his teacher, as I am for the rest of his class and Class 1-B. It would only be fitting that my biggest fan and I could garner a similar connection."
Miruko's nose twitched. "Yeah, right," Miruko replied, her grin never falling. Try as the retired pro might to sprinkle in some truth, she could tell that he was lying right through his teeth. Still, she noticed that it might alienate her from Midoriya if she appeared too confrontational to him and his 'teacher', so she would back off. For now.
Still, some of the students also looked suspicious at the teacher and his protege in all but name, especially Melissa and the rest of the Sisterhood. Melissa's mind brought up that damn music video once more, the images of All Might, Izuku, and their connection, how even her father recognized All Might in Izuku. Whatever it all meant, it was clear that All Might and Izuku didn't have the same kind of student-teacher relationship as the rest of his classmates, that there was something more between them. Something she and the girls would not stop until they found out.
Meanwhile, Shoto and Endeavor nodded at each other, pulling this piece of information into the section of their minds reserved for their 'Dad Might' theory.
"SAGAT! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: YAWARA CHATORA AKA TIGER!"
Instantly, Izuku fell onto his hands and knees and began rapidly bowing his head over and over. "I'M SO SO SO SORRY, TIGER-SENSEI! ME AND MY COUNTERPART DIDN'T MEAN TO ATTACK YOU AND NEARLY KILL YOU!" Izuku apologized over and over, his apologies started to become incomprehensible like his muttering.
He only was stopped by Tiger's outstretched hand ruffling his hair. "It's alright, Midoriya, I take no offense with this," Tiger replied, a cat-like smile on his face. "I know perfectly well that you are not at fault for the actions of your counterpart, or that your counterpart truly meant to attack my own in such a manner of his own full accord. Let us put this as just an accident of another life."
"HAI!" Izuku said, blushing slightly from the ruffling of his hair and the looks that the girls were giving him that made him feel like he was a cute puppy or something.
"SAKURA KASUGANO!"The device showed the obsessive fangirl of Ryu and revealed her name."MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: ERI!"
"Yay! I'm a fighter, too!" Eri jumped for joy, grinning widely. "And I fight and look like Papa's other him! I am Deku's biggest fan!" Eri began to adorably copy Ryu's movements as much as she could.
Returned to his place, Izuku smiled, his eyes watery at how much Eri cared and admired him. If someone as precious as his surrogate daughter was the one to be his biggest fangirl/stalker, Izuku would be okay with it. Or rather only if his biggest fangirl was Eri. Izuku grabbed Eri into a hug that the white unicorn of a girl returned just as lovingly.
Meanwhile, Kouta pouted, blushing red. "I am Deku's biggest fan, Horn Head," Kouta muttered jealously, crossing his arms and turning away in a huff.
Only that direction led to looking at Mirio, where he grinned teasingly at him. Kouta blushed further red and turned away again, pouting even more childishly.
"HARUMI HASASHI! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: CAMIE UTSUSHIMI!"
"Awkward," Ojiro hissed, pulling at the collar of his shirt as he noticed the foul look on Todoroki's face. However, the students didn't know what made Todoroki angrier: the fact that the counterpart to his girlfriend was married to and had a kid with one of his classmates or that very same relationship led to her death.
Iida paled and shrunk down into his seat, trying to avoid looking in Todoroki's direction and the possible glaring eyes that awaited him. While the new Ingenium could admit that Todoroki's girlfriend was objectively one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, Iida, in this life, held absolutely no interest in Camie Utsushimi, much of that interest fading when he met with and saw how Utsushimi talked and behaved.
"QUAN CHI! MULTIVERSAL COUNTERPART: KAI CHISAKI AKA OVERHAUL!"
Thankfully, Iida was spared any more of Todoroki's jealous glares, as the Fire-and-Ice-wielding teen glared venomously at the undead sorcerer for what he did to his girlfriend's counterpart, and Iida joined Todoroki in glaring at the man with hate. The blue-haired teen still didn't have any interest in Camie, but she was still his counterpart's wife, and this man was responsible for her demise, the death of his counterpart's son, and tricking his counterpart into becoming his puppet. If Iida had a list of people he hated, Quan Chi was now a very close second to his most hated person alive, just barely behind Stain.
With all the counterparts out of the way, the video began to play once more into the fight.
Up on a mountaintop, a sea of clouds below and the wind howling above, Ryu stood alone, basking and meditating in solitude.
"Now that is just majestic," Ojiro gasped in awe of the scene, envious of the warrior for enjoying such a sight.
This peace was broken suddenly, a voice calling out to him: "GET OVER HERE!"
"I had a feeling they were going to have that in this fight," Rin chuckled.
Ryu opened his eyes, reacting quickly and catching the kunai spear. "Can't fool me!" Ryu shouted.
"However, whilst memorable to his character, to announce the attack forgo Scorpion's element of surprise," Edgeshot wisely informed. "If he had declared it after the attack landed, it would be both effective and true to his character."
"Yeah, yeah, like the skilled, focused warrior wouldn't have noticed the attack coming at him otherwise," Miruko rolled her eyes.
"Fair enough," Edgeshot conceded that Miruko brought up a good point.
The Wandering Warrior pulled Scorpion into view, the two fighters standing ready against the other. "Come on!" Ryu taunted at the Netherrealm ninja.
FIGHT!
Scorpion went on the offense immediately, teleporting right to Ryu, the latter blocking the flying kick. Hanzo Hisashi tried landing a flurry of punches, but the Street Fighter blocked each one perfectly with but a single arm.
"Amazing," Itsuka gasped, herself in awe of Ryu's perfect defense. She flexed her hand, memorizing Ryu's technique in hopes of combining it with her Quirk to achieve a similar, if not greater defense of her own.
Ryu dodged an uppercut before countering with a solid right hook to the face, an X-ray showed Scorpion's skull cracking under the strike's power.
The students and adults flinched under the force behind the hit if it left a crack in the opponent's head.
Scorpion was sent backward, sliding himself to a stop only to get leg swept, knocking him to the ground. Ryu performed a short hop, hoping to drive his fist down onto Scorpion's fallen form. The ninja vanished in a burst of flames, Ryu's fist striking only the ground.
"Ryu is the stronger fighter defensively and with greater striking power, however, Scorpion is the faster and more agile fighter,"
"So, this fight's going to come down whether Scorpion can deliver a fast enough, deadly strike or if Ryu can break Scorpion first," Mandalay summarized.
"COME HERE!" Scorpion reappeared away from Ryu and flung his kunai once more at the warrior.
"HADOKEN!" Ryu formed and fired his iconic blue fireball.
"Hadoken!" Eri and Kouta both copied Ryu's move, earning giggles and chuckles from the group.
The Hadoken blasted through the kunai spear, destroying it. Scorpion crossed his arms over his chest and teleported again, the Hadoken whiffing past where the ninja once stood and stopped against the rocks.
Teleporting behind Ryu, Scorpion jumped and landed a flying punch at the back of Ryu's head, disorienting him. While Ryu was dizzy and stunned, Scorpion summoned a katana and made after his stunned foe.
"Nice," Kamakiri grinned. "Stun him enough to pull out his sword and deliver the finishing blow."
Mineta snickered, attempting to cover his mouth at how unintentionally gay that sounded. However, as he looked back, he realized Kamakiri heard him, and he was not amused. The purple perve shivered at the praying mantis-like teen's glare, even more, when a blade came out of his fist, threateningly.
However, before Scorpion could reach him, Ryu shook himself clear, dodging the sword slashes. "TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!" The Street Fighter subsequently countered kicking Scorpion in the face with his Hurricane kicks. He finished the attack and proceeded to uppercut the Kombatant into the air. "SHORYUKEN!"
"Nice! The way he switched techniques and blended his moves together like that was masterful," Miruko nodded and grinned in approval.
Izuku smiled, writing Ryu's moves and his masterful technique as fast as he could, imagining if he could do the same with his smashes, perhaps with an elbow strike to the head to stun his opponent before kicking them away with a St. Louis Smash, or instead swing them around and smash them into the ground with Black Whip before pulling them in for a Detroit Smash or his own kind of Shoryuken.
Scorpion landed hard on the ground, barely having time to get up before Ryu delivered a powerful Joudan Sokutogeri to his chest.
"Hey, it's the Diarrhea Joke Foot!" Mirio pointed out. "Bet Scorpion's stomach must be in Hell now!"
"I swear he's getting worse," Nejire shook her head with her hand in her palm.
"Boomstick is tainting his light," Tamaki agreed, shaking his head too in dismay.
Scorpion flew off and tumbled down the mountain, landing painfully among the rocks. His descent ceased upon the ground on his knees. Ryu slid down more carefully, landing on his feet.
"Can you stand up after that?" Ryu questioned, before slowly approaching the downed Kombatant. "I'll finish this!"
"This fight ain't over yet, is it?" Fat Gum asked the obvious question.
"Not by a long shot," Snipe nodded.
Ryu threw out a punch, hoping to end this fight once and for all...only for Scorpion to suddenly catch the fist.
Ryu gasped in surprise. "YOU WILL JOIN ME IN HELL!" Scorpion exclaimed, flames gathering around them both.
Scorpion drags Ryu in a tight hold close, the flames gathering closer and brighter, and a portal opens up beneath them. In a yell and a bright flash of fire, both Scorpion and Ryu were gone.
"Whelp, that's not good," Mina paled.
The scene switched to that of the Netherrealm, with fire, lava, and brimstone as far as the eye could see.
Ibara shivered at the sight of this hellish landscape.
In a burst of flames, Ryu and Scorpion appeared the two landing on the ground, facing each other again. Ryu smirked at his opponent. "Hmmm, this is some fight!"
"Now, that's a manly fighting spirit!" Kirishima cheered for Ryu. "Ready to fight to end no matter where you end up!"
"MANLY!" Tetsutetsu cheered in agreement.
"As thrilling as this might be, this change in location puts Ryu at a severe disadvantage," Tokoyami pointed out, cutting into the two's excitement. "The hazardous, unfamiliar environment means that Ryu must be more cautious and careful when he fights, or he can risk falling into the lava and burning to death."
"Not only that, but the longer they stay there, the more powerful Scorpion becomes, and Scorpion is the only one that can take them out of the Netherrealm at will," Shoji added.
Scorpion responded by launching a ball of Hellfire, Ryu countering with his own Hadoken. The two fireballs met and exploded in a flash of sparks and colors, neutralizing each other. And as the flames dissipated, Scorpion was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, Scorpion teleported behind Ryu, kicking him in the back.
"Smart. Use the resulting explosion to hide and evade before striking from behind while your foe is unaware," Endeavor stated his approval of Scorpion's tactics.
"That's the power of a Ninja!" Hawks exclaimed, covering his mouth with his wings and performing a mocking facsimile of a ninja hand sign.
"Ninja!" Miruko copied Hawks, pulling up her winter scarf over her mouth.
Edgeshot could feel his burning rage rising at the mockery of his artform, only slightly worried that this rage would turn him into a spirit of vengeance himself.
Scorpion teleported again, landing a powerful strike at Ryu's stomach that left him gasping. The Netherrealm wraith began teleporting over and over, delivering multiple blows at Ryu's off-guard form, before transitioning to sword slashes, spilling Ryu's blood across the rocks of Hell.
"Hey! No fair! Stop teleporting like that and fight him fairly!" Hagakure whined, her displeasure only rising at the knowledge that it was Izuku's counterpart who was being mercilessly wailed upon.
"There's no such thing as fair here, babe!" Kamakiri exclaimed. "It's do-or-die time!"
Izuku whirled his eyes at Kamakiri, an inhuman spike of rage flowing out of him at hearing the word 'Babe' be directed like that atHisgirl.
Miruko shivered as her nose picked up that rage from Midoriya, one that smelled both noble and vengeful. Honestly, to find such a combination coming out of Midoriya was rather stimulating.
Scorpion brought Ryu to his knees with a roundhouse kick to the face. Ryu panted, holding his bleeding side. "Neither of us has reached our full potential!" Ryu warned.
"As if that matters!" Scorpion scoffed, raising his hands upwards.
Sparks began to rise around Ryu before a plume of Hellfire burst out, Ryu yelled in pain as he was covered in the flames.
"Oh no!" Pony wailed. "Is it over?!"
Nezu smirked and said "Hardly."
"MWUHAHAHAHA!" Scorpion laughed, assuming victory.
"It's not over!" Ryu's voice cut Scorpion off. From the flames, Ryu's silhouette stood, growling as his eyes flared red. With a roar, the flames were dispersed, and out of them stood Ryu, his clothes darker, a reddish-purple aura surrounding him.
"The Satsui no Hado," All Might muttered, shivering as he saw Izuku's now-revealed counterpart enveloped in such dark power. The shivering only grew worse as he imagined Young Midoriya in a similar outcome, his hero suit replaced with a dark tux and the green lightning of One For All replaced by reddish black lightning, All For One's haunting form over Midoriya's dark appearance.
All Might shook the thought away, believing that could never happen.
"Surprised?" Ryu, now Evil Ryu, mocked, his eyes glowing red.
Setsuna shivered, partly out of instinctual fear and horror at the sight of her Green Bean's counterpart in such a state, but also because she couldn't help but imagine Izuku in a similar, confident look...rather hot.
Scorpion fired off another ball of Hellfire, but instead of firing off another Hadoken, Evil Ryu simply punched it away.
"Damn, what a flex!" Kosei exclaimed.
"But also, a show of how this Evil Ryu form is stronger than his normal form," Nirengeki pointed out. "Like how Ryu could dodge bullets normally but his Evil form could just block them with the power of his aura alone."
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I'M MADE OF!" Evil Ryu roared. Evil Ryu lept forward into the air, firing several aerial, one-handed Hadokens.
"Those Hadokens, the way he fires them, is just like how Akuma did it in his Death Battle," Momo analyzed, grimly.
"Like possible father like possible son, I suppose," Shinsou muttered.
That caused a reaction in Midoriya, though not of his own accord. Rather the feelings of unease came from deep within him that Izuku knew they came from the Vestiges, though the green-haired teen did not know if it simply came from the First or the others as well.
Scorpion dodged each of the Hadokens but could not evade in time to dodge Evil Ryu landing on top of him and pinning him down. Using a Hellfire Kick, Scorpion knocks Evil Ryu off and away from him, before charging in with his sword. However, as Scorpion brought the blade down, Evil Ryu broke the sword with his hands.
"sh*t," Kamakiri muttered, realizing his fighter was in deep trouble.
"Don't expect mercy!" Evil Ryu growled. Evil Ryu let loose a brutal combination of devastating punches and kicks, including the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, before transitioning into one of his arts. "SHIN-SHOR-YU-KEN!" Ryu's devastating uppercut attack launched Scorpion away.
"Holy sh*t! That was awesome!" Rin exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"Shin-Shoryuken," Sato muttered. "Is that like an Ultimate move on top of one of his Ultimate moves?"
"Most likely an upgraded version of his Shoryuken that requires the Satsui no Hado to perform," Todoroki replied.
Despite the brutal combo, Scorpion still got right back up.
"How?!" Kinoko exclaimed, surprised. "He got just got back up from that brutalshroomsault?!"
"Remember the omens of Boomstick and Wizard," Reiko warned. "The Netherrealm is Scorpion's abode and source of power. Fighting within his domain not only greatens his dark power but may mend even the most terrible of wounds."
"Plus, the guy is dead! It will take a lot more to totally kill a dead guy!"Dark Shadow popped up and squawked.
Ryu's eyes glowed a brighter red. "GOTCHA!" Evil Ryu roared teleporting forward to finish off his opponent.
"It's the Raging Demon technique!" Nejire exclaimed.
Nezu leaned forward, hands clasped together.
Scorpion easily teleported out of the way, ending up behind Evil Ryu.
"Dammit! Stop teleporting!" Kouta whined.
Nezu let out a sigh, his worst potential outcome occurring to his slight disappointment.
Scorpion laughed as he took off his mask, revealing his skull face and firing his flaming breath at Evil Ryu.
Eri whimpered again at the flaming skull and hid her face in Izuku's chest again. Iida flinched in guilt that this version of his face brought such a reaction out of Eri.
Evil Ryu dodged the flames and advanced on the Netherrealm wrath. The two exchange blows again, their fists clashing against each other, over and over, with Scorpion clearly getting the upper hand.
"That Netherrealm boost is working up again," Bakugou noted, his own analytical eyes picking up how the blows went from direct clashing with equal strength to Scorpion easily blocking them.
Dodging an uppercut, Scorpion caught Evil Ryu with his own, launching the dark-powered warrior away. The Mortal Kombatant fired off his Rope Spear, this time successfully landing and impaling Ryu's chest. Bringing the warrior over to him, Scorpion followed it up with a Hellfire Kick that launched Evil Ryu into the air, only to cease his trajectory with another Kunai spear to the chest, bringing him over to another Hellfire Kick. And then another. And then finally finishing the Brutal Combo with a Hellfire Blast that knocked Ryu farther away.
"Jesus Christ, that was kind of awesome!" Tetsutetsu admitted.
"Now, that was some expert juggling," Sen nodded.
"They've spent so much time in the Netherrealm that not even Evil Ryu can stand up against Scorpion now," Jurota noted.
Evil Ryu bounced away, landing on his knees, suddenly, reverting to normal. "Concentrate," Ryu panted hard. "I will NOT succumb to evil!"
In a flash, Ryu was enveloped in whitish-blue chi, hiseyes glowing white.
"The Power of Nothingness," Asui croaked.
"This could be it!" Hagakure cheered, hopefully.
As Ryu attained the Power of Nothingness, Scorpion slowly approached, cautious of this newfound power.
"He's being cautious," Ryukyu noted. "He doesn't know what this power is or if it can harm him effectively."
"Perhaps it can," Cementoss proposed. "If it is on equal terms, if not greater in power to the Satsui no Hado, then it could harm Scorpion enough to end the fight.
Nezu hummed, scratching his chin in thought.
"I walk the path of a true warrior," Ryu declared, as he was bathed in chi. "THIS IS THE POWER OF MANKIND!" Ryu brought his hands back, gathering an immense amount of energy into one final blast. "SHINKU-HADOUKEN!" Out of Ryu's hands fired a beam of pure energy.
Nejire's eyes went wide at the sight of the attack, wondering if she could use such an attack herself.
Quickly, Scorpion was engulfed in the attack, yelling in pain. When the light faded all that remained of the ninja was a standing, charred skeleton.
"YES!" The Ryu voters cheer.
"sh*t!" Bakugou exclaimed in frustration, while the other Scorpion voters sighed or whined.
The Power of Nothingness faded, and Ryu fell to his knees, totally spent. "I walk a path...with no end," He declared in victory.
Miruko smirked, liking that quote. She knew what it meant, that there is no limit, no end goal to how far he can take his skills and training, and where one can always grow stronger and better than before. The Rabbit Hero made a note to use that quote herself.
"Whelp, I guess that's it," Kaminari threw his hands up in exaggeration. "Izuku's fighter won again and-"
Suddenly, Scorpion's skeleton starts moving again, shocking Ryu, and the audience.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Melissa exclaimed in shock.
"I WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES!" Scorpion's skeleton was bathed in flames as he roared. With that said, he fired a stream of Hellfire at the completely exhausted Ryu, who could only look on in shock as he was incinerated by the attack, reducing him to ashes.
"MWUHAHAHAHAHA!" Scorpion laughed in true victory.
K.O.!
...
...
...
"WHAT?!" The Ryu voters exclaimed in shock, horror, and anger.
"WHAT WAS THAT BULLsh*t?!" Miruko raged. "HE LITERALLY WAS JUST A SKELETON!"
"An undead revived skeleton," Honenuki pointed out. "If his true face was just a skull, why not the rest of him?"
"BAHAHAHAHAHA! SUCK IT, DEKU!" Bakugou laughed and mocked Izuku. "ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR COUNTERPARTS BITES THE DUST! OR SHOULD I SAY ASHES!"
Izuku sighed, disappointed, a tad annoyed by Bakugou's mocking, but accepted the defeat. "I guess I lost," Izuku muttered before walking over to Iida. "Good fight, Iida. Guess you really cooked my goose."
"HEY! MIDORIYA! I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT!" Mirio whined.
"And it wasn't better coming out of his mouth either," Tamaki shook his head.
"DON'T CORRUPT MY ZUZU WITH YOUR BAD PUNS!" Nejire roared as Mirio went down again with another lump on his head.
"Good fight to you too, Midoriya," Iida shook Izuku's hand. "...And apologies for burning your counterpart to ashes."
"It's no problem," Izuku laughed nervously. "It's only a simulation right?"
"STOP TAKING YOUR LOSSES WELL!" Bakugou roared.
"Whelp, look at that, Kaminari, your jinxing finally came in handy this time," Sero patted his friend on the back.
"Thanks Se-HEY!" Kaminari shouted, suddenly offended.
To add insult to injury, Scorpion transformed into a penguin, walked over to Ryu's ashy remains, and laid an egg, which proceeded to explode and destroy the remains even more.
"IIDA!" Ochaco exclaimed affronted by his counterpart's actions.
Iida sputtered and tried to excuse his counterpart's actions to the amusem*nt of the students.
"I'm no chef, but that looks a bit overcooked."
"Not a culinary master at all," Fat Gum and Sato shook their heads.
"Ryu's Satsui no Hado and the Power of Nothingness were incredibly powerful, but raw power alone is not enough to destroy Scorpion," Wiz stated.
"Yet, Scorpion's advantage of already being dead didn't make this a cakewalk," Boomstick clarified. "In fact, Ryu had a perfect way to permanently end Scorpion: the soul-killing Raging Demon."
"Wait, so that evil move was the right move to kill Scorpion but not the giant laser of death?" Melissa quirked an eyebrow.
"I suppose that makes sense," Momo rationalized. "The Satsui no Hado was stated to be able to destroy souls so it could theoretically harm an undead one like Scorpion's."
"Meanwhile, the Power of Nothingness only was said to boost Ryu's power and awareness, not suddenly blast souls out of existence," Jiro added.
"But the fiery skeleton of a ninja could avoid the instant murder move, thanks to his awesome ninja skills and teleportation," Boomstick pointed out.
"Not to mention Ryu has very little experience actually using the Raging Demon anyway," Wiz added. "But most importantly, Scorpion's strength increases the longer he remains in the Netherrealm, with no defining limit. Once trapped in Hell with Scorpion, Ryu stood little chance in the long run."
"I suppose I was right about what it would take to defeat Scorpion just not that it would work," Nezu shrugged and sighed.
"I believe I earned myself some my bet," Recovery Girl laid out her hand for Nezu to pay up.
While Nezu gave a sickly-sweet smile, his vindictive side swore to get back at his school's nurse later.
"Zero chance if Scorpion just upped and teleported him into a pool of lava, which he could totally do!" Boomstick added, too.
"Oh, right! I forgot he could do that too!" Kosei slapped his forehead.
"I suppose that was Scorpion fighting fair, huh?" Bondo questioned.
"Zip it, Glue Face! My fighter won! That's all that matters!" Kamakiri boasted victoriously.
Hagakure blew a sour raspberry at him though the praying mantis-like teen didn't know where it came from.
"Scorpion was just too hot to handle."
"Boo!" Mina gave a thumbs down to that joke.
"The Winner is Scorpion," Wiz announced.
Reluctant and victorious claps were had over the still well-fought match between the two Kombatants.
A yawning sound was heard and the group noticed that Mei was waking up. "Oh, is the fight over?" She asked.
"Seriously?! You were asleep the whole time?!" Ochaco exclaimed.
"Meh, the fight didn't have enough babies in it," Mei shrugged.
Somehow, that burned Iida's pride more than any of Scorpion's fire.
"Next Time on Death Battle!" Boomstick began announcing the next fight.
Intense fighting music played as the out of the shadows came a man in orange and black armor with only of eye socket, stalking menacingly toward the screen. The scenes transitioned to a more combat-oriented suit fighting on an even field against Batman himself.
Suddenly, the music cut to a goofier track as a red and black-suited fighter, acting goofy, silly, and no less deadly also appeared, before making a shocked face at the screen.
Deadpool vs Deathstroke
"Deadpool and Deathstroke," Kaminari muttered. "Guys looks cool."
"They look like ninjas too," Sero pointed out. "Is it another ninja fight?"
The two shrugged, yet the whole audience could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread come over them, as they felt entirely unprepared for the mayhem about to be unleashed upon them. Hidden away from their sights, a certain Watcher of the Multiverse pitied them and himself.
With a nod from Nezu, Mei pressed the button, and the video began.
