MHA: Guardian of the Golden Throne

Melissa had realised it straight away. As soon as her uncle was introduced as their opponent, Melissa understood they couldn't win. The difference in experience and sheer power was glaringly obvious.

She didn’t like it. She didn’t like using Katsuki as a distraction just to retreat, but staying would have changed nothing; in fact, it would have meant failing the exam.

Now she was in a dark, secluded spot. She needed to breathe. She needed to calm down.

Closing her eyes, she began to regulate her breathing; her pounding heart started to settle, despite the background noise of Katsuki and All Might clashing, which seemed to flare up and die down repeatedly. But by now, those sounds were exactly as she had framed them: distant background noise. All she could truly feel were two things: her thoughts and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.

This is the semester’s practical exam. The objective: capture the opponent or escape from the training ground. Remaining time: between 20 and 25 minutes. The opponent: All Might, alias the Symbol of Peace, specialised in close-quarters combat and possessed a Quirk that let him stockpile raw energy. Release methods… Melissa kept reviewing everything, calculating and analysing; she was doing the very process that Izuku, a Custodian, could execute in fractions of a second …Chance of passing the exam: doable, especially through cooperation. Dilemma: how to get Katsuki Bakugou to cooperate.

Her mind continued to process. Her concentration was absolute. The strategy to execute was complete. Izuku’s approving smile flashed across her mind in the final fraction of a second before she emerged from her meditative state.

Melissa’s eyes snapped open, and she turned back toward where she came from, activating One For All.

«Watch me, master.»

*****

«Master, huh?» Izuku repeated upon hearing Melissa.

Izuku smiled with amusement. After all, Melissa had never called him master before. This was definitely the first time she had done so, and frankly, he didn’t mind being called that at all.

«I certainly had no intention of looking away, my student.» His tone was strangely warm and affectionate.

*****

Katsuki was fighting All Might alone. He had never cared about anyone else, least of all Melissa Shield. To him, everyone else was just an extra; even Deku had been one, and still was.

When they announced at the bus stop that Deku would be taking a different exam from theirs, he took the news with disdain and rage. He couldn’t believe they would treat a Deku so specially. But when they revealed who Katsuki was paired with, and that his partner, Melissa Shield, had been training under Deku practically since his return after a 10-year absence, something inside Katsuki snapped for good.

It wasn’t romantic feelings, like jealousy or envy. It was pure rage and annoyance, as if being paired with the girl who had trained under a Quirkless nobody like Izuku was a personal insult. He couldn’t deny the results he had witnessed during the UA Sports Festival, nor the rumour that she had helped in the Hero Killer case. Still, he was infuriated that that timid, trembling rabbit of a girl had gained such confidence and achieved such results under the guidance of someone without a Quirk.

That's why he didn’t want to listen to her; that's why he ignored her, even going so far as to strike her.

«Now I understand why you insisted on ignoring Melissa’s advice.» All Might stated, stepping closer. «It bothers you that she’s improved so much, so you want to prove you’re better than her.»

Katsuki clutched his stomach as he tried to pull himself back up. After all, he had been struck in the gut just seconds before and was trying with all his might not to throw up what little was left of his breakfast.

«You’re wasting a lot of opportunities, kid. How can you not see that?» All Might asked, genuinely aggrieved «I agree that you can improve immensely, but what you need to work on isn’t just your power—»

«Shut your mouth, All Might.» Katsuki spat through the pain «Between accepting help from someone trained by a piece of trash like Deku or Deku himself and losing, I’d rather lose!»

Katsuki’s declaration was loud, clarifying the explosive blond’s behaviour. All Might was disappointed, and the slight tremor in his body not only showed it but also symbolised his sorrow over Katsuki’s closed-mindedness.

«Then I hope you don’t regret it.»

Katsuki was about to be struck by All Might again, but someone suddenly yanked the collar of his costume.

Catching both him and All Might completely off guard, Melissa dragged Katsuki off the main street and ducked into a narrow side alley.

«What the hell are you doing?!» Katsuki roared «Let go of me!»

Melissa didn’t need telling twice. Once they were far enough, she slammed Katsuki against the wall, and immediately after, her fist grazed his face, smashing into the wall behind him and shattering the bricks into cracks.

«Now, listen to me.» Melissa said, her tone ice-cold «I have no idea what your history with Midoriya-san is, but I will no longer stay silent in the face of your insults, especially right now.»

Katsuki’s eyes widened slightly, dilating at the way Melissa was looking at him. Her blue eyes had always been calm lakes, brimming with understanding and intelligence. But right now, they were stormy, furious oceans, filled with a resolve that even he found terrifying.

«If you intend to lose, I won’t stop you, but don’t drag me into it because of your delusions of grandeur. From now on, I don’t want to hear you say “lose” or “defeat” for the rest of this exam. Either you win by working with me, or I’ll force you to win, using you as a human shield if I have to. Have I made myself clear?»

Please, please, please! Just agree! Melissa screamed in her mind.

*****

All Might sprinted toward the exit to intercept the duo.

Melissa’s intervention had come as a surprise. A pleasant surprise, because it showed she wanted to face the challenge head-on, which made him proud, though he hadn’t expected her to “kidnap” Katsuki. In fact, he had assumed she would flee on her own, and he certainly wouldn’t have condemned her for it. After all, his niece knew full well she couldn’t defeat him.

The exit from the training ground was coming into clearer view, but instead of seeing the duo sprinting towards it, there was no one in sight. In fact, it was glaringly obvious that no one was there, which caught him off guard.

«Where the hell do you think you’re going?» Bakugou roared, appearing behind him.

All Might spun around instantly, ready to face a new assault from the explosive youth. But just as his full attention landed on Katsuki, the boy set off an explosion to leap right over him.

Wait! All Might exclaimed in his head, noticing a detail. Where’s the other grenade gauntlet?!

He sensed movement behind him again; he barely had time to turn before seeing Melissa wearing the missing gauntlet, aimed directly at him. Melissa’s gaze was firm and resolute; she pulled the grenade’s pin with her index finger.

*KABOOOM*

The grenade gauntlet's contents exploded, sending a massive blast over All Might and blasting him dozens of metres away. However, the blast didn’t hit Katsuki, who had leapt high above the blast radius when acting as the decoy.

Melissa fell backwards from the recoil and, using the momentum, rolled over, immediately springing back to her feet and sprinting towards the exit alongside Katsuki.

«Cough. They got me.» All Might coughed out, his tone pained yet amused «Hit and run, huh? Not only did they devise a plan under pressure to escape me, but they also minimised the collateral damage to the area by targeting the path I had taken.»

All Might was genuinely amused and proud of the pair’s sudden improvement, despite how poorly they had gotten along until recently. Deep down, he knew Melissa was the true mastermind behind that plan. He had read it in her eyes.

He coughed again, and this time, blood mixed with saliva stained his hand. The grin he always wore deepened, gleaming with the pride he felt for the step forward the pair had just taken.

«All right then…» he murmured, turning serious as he suppressed his personal feelings «I must repay your determination by giving it everything I’ve got!»