The Ocean: BNHA x OP!Reader

Mental Maps and Certifiably Insane Dance Partners

I formed multiple long ropes around myself and started lashing out at Stain as Todoroki sent large ice formations his way once again. I was able to make use of the small opportunities my classmate was making to hit him hard wherever I could and quickly retreating before he could slash through the water again.

"Hey, Todoroki!" Iida called out, causing me to glance over at him for just a moment. "Can you regulate your temperatures?!"

"Not well with my left, but yes I can," Todoroki nodded, not taking his eye off the villain. Iida launched himself forward and in front of me, one of Stain's throwing knives embedding itself in his left arm. My eyes widened in surprise, stumbling back a few steps. Did Iida actually just willingly injure himself to... protect me?

"Why won't you just stay down?!" Stain snapped my attention back over to him as he released yet another of his many knives. I growled and just barely managed to grab it with one of the ropes before it could hit either of my classmates, launching it down the alleyway and out of reach.

"Go ahead, I'll hold him off for a minute!" I barked over at the other two before rushing forward at Stain. I created a small platform in front of myself and leapt off of it, twisting myself in the air to send a hard kick into his shoulder. As I landed, I swept my leg over the ground, but the villain avoided the attack easily, countering with a heavy punch aimed directly at my cheek. My breath caught in my throat, and I aimed another kick for his knees, but he leapt over it as though I was moving in slow motion.

Ok, calm down. I had to think.  Remember everything that Mirko taught me and apply it to my current situation.  The woman had beaten me up so many times during our sparring sessions, I'd started to lose count of what bruises had formed on which days; there's no way it all went to waste.  All of that training was lying there dormant in the back of my brain.  I just had to bring it out.

Stain brought his elbow down from where he was in the air just above me.  Mirko never really used her arms while fighting, so I would have to adjust to the new fighting style, but I was certainly no stranger to being in a position lower than my opponent.

"You're not very tall, are you, Oasis?" Mirko hummed thoughtfully as she glanced me up and down casually from where she stood in the corner of the room.  I was currently lying on the floor, wheezing pathetically in an attempt to catch my breath.  It was still only the first day of the internship, but I was on what must have been at least my seventh sparring session with her with only about ten minutes in between each one so that I could just barely regain my bearings before we fought again.  She ignored my lack of an answer and simply continued speaking.  "You know, a lot of people could see that as a massive inconvenience, but personally, I disagree.  The fights I've done the most well in were when I was facing an opponent much taller than myself.  You see, they tend to rely on the high ground too much and leave themselves open to short, quick attacks from below.  Plus, they have a much larger area to cover whenever launching any sort of attack, so it's easier to take that time to dodge them, rather than trying to counter attack.  Try and remember this: no matter how fast your opponent might seem, even if they are faster than you, it's not often that you won't have the advantage if you're quick enough on your feet.  Not only that, that little trick you use every now and then when you close your eyes is a much bigger advantage than you think it is.  You manage to perfect that bad boy, and I doubt there'll be anyone who can beat you."

"What?  What's that supposed to mean?  Even if I'm slower, I can still be quicker than them? And what trick?"  I finally calmed my heart enough to be able to speak as I raised myself up on my forearms, sending her a confused look.

"Figure it out on your own time.  For now, it looks like you've got enough of your energy back; get on your feet, we're going another round."