Chapter 58: NO. 58 - The Monster

Chapter 58: NO. 58 - The Monster

Quirk Development and Practical Combat.

UA offered two Quirk-focused classes for students in General Education, even if they weren't part of the Hero course. Unlike the Hero course, which included daily Quirk and combat-focused classes, these classes met only once a week, with the Quirk Development and Practical Combat classes alternating with each other.

This week was the Practical Combat class, where we were allowed to use our Quirks against one another under the supervision of our teacher, Ectoplasm.

"Good work, you two." Ectoplasm nodded at two of my classmates. They smiled at the hero's praise and walked off the training pad. "Okay, you two are next."

"A-ah, right!"

"Hah! Get ready to lose!"

In front of me, a nervous Ogasawara Hikari and a confident Ishimoto Keiichi walked forward and stepped onto the training pad. Looking around, my class was within one of the somewhat over the top and impressive training rooms south of UA's campus where all of the practical training took place.

Off to the side was an array of workout equipment and combat gear. To the back were several more training pads where the rest of my classmates were using their Quirks to fight one another with a clone of Ectoplasm watching over them.

I focused on the ongoing fight between Himiko and some blue-haired guy who seemed to have large mechanical boxing gloves over his steel arms. She weaved in and out from her opponent's jabs with practiced ease, using her great speed and agility. Seeing this, the blue-haired guy, Yamazaki Kazuhiro, began to grow agitated that he couldn't land a strike on what he thought was a weak opponent.

Atta girl.

Focusing back on the ongoing fight in front of me, I watched Hikari squeak as a brown-haired tiger pounced after her.

The brown-haired tiger was actually Ishimoto Keiichi.

His Quirk, Animal Shifter, allowed him to transform into any living animal from the animal kingdom for a solid 60 seconds. The downside to his Quirk was that once transformed, he couldn't switch to any other animal or change back before the full 60 seconds were up.

In a rush, Hikari used an ink pen to draw on a large sketch pad. Exploding in a burst of ink from her sketch pad was another tiger made entirely of ink. Seeing this, Keiichi's eyes grew wide in surprise before the ink tiger pounced on him.

Hikaris Quirk, Ink to Existence, allowed her to bring anything she could draw to life. Usually, this would be a pretty powerful meta ability, but it seemed that her constructs were only as strong as herself, which ended up being the reason why Keiichi was able to quickly overpower her construct with a swipe of his claws.

Just as he was about to attack a panicking Hikari, his body transformed back into his human form. Resulting in him being thrown out of the training pad due to being in a mid-lunge.

"Gah! Dang it!" Keiichi punched the ground in irritation as he turned to a shocked but pleased Hikari. "You just got lucky! Got that?!"

"...do you happen to be a sore loser, Ishimoto-kun?"

After they walked off the training pad, Ectoplasm called my training partner and me up. Strolling over to the pad with my hands in my pockets, I inspected my soon-to-be opponent. She had long orange hair tied into twin tails with ribbons. She was relatively well-developed with a pretty face.

Her name was Muraoka Kohaku; she was apparently the daughter of some big-time CEO who worked for one of Japan's largest support gear companies.

"Ugh, I can't believe I have to waste this week's combat class on a Normie like you," Kohaku muttered as she gave me the stink eye. With a stomp of her foot, a stone golem rose from the ground and stomped its way over to me. "Ah, well. I'll just make this quick and move on to my next opponent."

"Normie?" I said with a raised brow. "That's a new one."

[+5 SP]

Seeing the stone golem, Ectoplasm turned to me with a worried look. "Shimizu-kun, is this an opponent you're comfortable combating?"

"It's fine, Teach. I took piano and calligraphy growing up." I rolled my shoulders and eyed the Golem with interest.

Despite her Bitchy attitude, she does have a pretty cool Quirk. I turned to Kohaku and saw a bead of sweat on the side of her face. Hmm, even now, it seems she's using a good chunk of energy just to keep it standing.

[+10 SP]

"Ah, very well then...? If you are comfortable with this, then you both may begin." Ectoplasm said as he backed away from the center of the training pad.

"Behold! The power of my glorious Golem!" Kohaku said with a wide grin as she sent her Golem toward me. The large stone summons stomped its way over with loud thuds, gaining the attention of our other classmates who were waiting for their turns. "Punch him!"

I hopped to the side as the Golem swung its large stone arm over where I once stood. Grunting, Kohaku then ordered her Golem to chase after me in order to punch me again.

This thing doesn't have the ability to think or act on its own. Its movements are entirely dependent on its master's commands.

"Hey, Princess. Is this really the best you can do?" I called out as I effortlessly danced around the Golem's attacks with my hands still in my pockets. Sweating in exertion, Kohaku blushed in embarrassment at my nickname for her as she struggled to command her to summon to hit me. "I thought one of the class's most popular and strong students was capable more than this snooze fest."

[+5 SP]

"S-shut up!" Kohaku screamed with a red face as she swung her arm in the air. "Crush him! Crush that annoying bug already!"

At her loud commands, the Golem upped its speed and power. Grinning, I flipped over a low sweep and used its thick arms to run up onto its shoulders. Leaping over it, I looked down at Kohaku's surprised face and moved right at her. With little issue, I spun around her and clamped my hand over her mouth.

[+10 SP]

"There we go. No orders, no movement." I said as I watched the stone Golem freeze. "Your loss, Princess," I whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver. I then made a chopping motion over her head and looked over to an impressed Extoplasm.

"The match is over. The victory is Shimizu-kun's."

Letting the fuming rich girl go, I watched as her stone Golem crumbled into rubble. If only Kohaku were able to get around the limitations of her Quirk, she would be a pretty formidable opponent.

Pausing, Sōru smiled slightly. "Don't thank me. This was all thanks to him."

Hearing the man's cold voice return, Saito's glee subsided slightly. He was again reminded that his freedom was only thanks to the man who ruined him.

"...right."

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

"Gah! Damn it. This guy's tough." A man dressed in a feathered cape with a jumpsuit with a large N on its chest said as he picked himself up after being punched. This was the pro-hero Native. "But as a pro, I can't let these guys win."

"You hear that, Bro? The big ol hero thinks he's going to win,"

Two men stood across from the pro hero, wearing amused smiles as they observed Native wiping the blood from his injured lip. The man on the left had shiny, reflective skin with a metallic sheen and sharp, serrated teeth. On the right, another man with long, dirty blond hair flexed his arms, causing his muscles to bulge and pulse.

"Whatever, let's just kick his ass so we can get out of here." The dirty blond said as he and his partner approached the injured hero.

Up above on the rooftops, I watched the rather lackluster battle between Native and the two thugs unfold with a bored look as I chewed on some Tokoyaki.

"How boring," I said as I finished my last octopus ball. Sliding down my four-eyed mask, I stood up and jumped away from the snoozefest of a fight. "Let's go see if I can't find another fight."

Leaping over the city rooftops, I scanned the streets and sights below with steady eyes. Landing on an empty bridge, I paused as I felt a disturbance in the air to my right. Focusing, I noticed a speeding blur of black flying right at me.

Crack!

With a hop, I flew black as a large, winged creature with an exposed brain crashed straight through the bridge. Shattering and destroying the structure with ease and causing the nearby people below to panic at the sight of the creature.

"What is that thing!"

"Someone call a hero!"

"A monster!"

With a swing of its massive hands, the Nomu blew the dust cloud around it and turned to me as I landed on the road in front of it. Everyone ran around me, screaming as the large Nomu lumbered across from me.

The Nomu stood around 2.5 meters tall and was heavily muscled. Its dark skin was marked by several prominent scars. On its back were wide, dragon-like wings, and its dinosaur-like feet cracked the pavement beneath its weight. It wore a pair of pants over its lower half. The creature's long fingers ended in sharp steel claws that dragged along the ground, leaving thin gouges in their wake. Its bird-like snout stretched out, filled with rows of sharp teeth as it let out a low growl.

[IMAGE]

I don't recognize this one... no, wait. It sorta resembles the Nomu that fought All Might during the USJ incident!

From underneath my mask, I looked around the surrounding rooftops and buildings. Despite my search, I failed to see any signs of Kurogiri or Shigiraki.

"Hey, ugly," I called out to the Nomu. "Where's the one holding your leash?"

With a glass-shattering roar, the Nomu exploded toward me with incredible speed. The creature swiped one of its large arms at me and tried to slice my head to pieces.

If it's like the one that fought against All Might during the USJ incident, then it should have a shock absorption Quirk. Let's see how it handles against my slices!

"Dismantle."

I swiped my hand down and watched as the Nomu's arm was sliced into several bloody parts. Ignoring the loss of its limb, the Nomu's head snapped toward me and bit its teeth at me. Weaving around its slobbering jaws, I swung my CE-enhanced fist and landed an uppercut into the bottom of its jaw with Ratio.

"Grah!" The Nomu groaned as its head snapped back violently before its body followed suit. Spinning in the air, the Nomu crash-landed on a parked car.

That attack didn't do much damage. The most it did was send it flying back.

"W-what is that?!" A woman dressed in a business suit cried as she and several other nearby people freaked out at the sight of the monstrous bloody Nomu.

"You're a tough son of a bitch." I landed on a nearby traffic pole and watched as the Nomu's missing arm slowly regenerated. Rolling off the ruined car, the Nomu searched the street before its nose sniffed the air. Its head then jerked to my position with a roar. "Healing, animal-like senses, strength, durability, flight, speed, and who knows what else."

Stepping off the traffic pole, I grinned at the beast and rolled my neck.

"Good. This wouldn't be interesting if you weren't at least this strong."

-

AN:

Happy Holidays, everyone.

I wasn't going to draw a visual for the Nomu at first, but I decided to do it anyway as a gift for you all!

Please leave me plenty of comments!

Until next time!