COLD

Abe watched every single aspect of the battle quietly. His gaze focused solely on the fight between Maru and Youta. A battle so spectacular that even in this age of quirks, it belonged in a comic book. You could barely hear the rest of the students breathe as they watched the fight. But he saw more. He had watched as the two calm and collected students attitude changed. As the look in their eyes shifted from level to a completely unconcealed inferno. Several times he had considered putting an end to their fight before it could wreak havoc, possibly harming their teammates. However, it seemed that the two students had a firm grip on the insanity within them, or they were solely focused on each other that the possibility of ignoring the damage they caused hadn't even crossed their mind. They wielded their quirks with such exquisite control it made him marvel how every blow would solely target what they wanted.

If not for this, he would have immediately stopped the fight. Now, he fully understood why Maru's quirk was named 'COLD'. Not ice or ice manipulation. The conclusions he could draw on what it meant to be cold were broad. If what he was seeing lined up with what he thought, the boys output was literally limitless. Then there was Youta with 'BERSERKER'. Watching them, he could see just how superficial his initial assumption on the boy's ability was. The mental aspects of their quirks and their effect on their power output were jarring and fully demonstrated in this fight. The consequences of what they were doing could be larger than either of them could imagine. Plus staying in the deep end wasn't recommended for anyone with a powerful quirk. He could stop the fight and tell them this, but some lessons were better delivered through life than any eloquent speech. It wouldn't be easy for either of them. As their teacher, he would ensure he was there to guide them through it.

Maru observed Youta silently. He probably hadn't noticed how his eyes had tinted ruby red with all forms of lunacy in golden yellow dancing in the depths of them. It was likely he also hadn't noticed how the black covering his arms had risen to partially frame his face with the same techish pattern in dull-blood red humming on the surface of his body. The previously visible crimson glow of his blood vessels had entirely disappeared and the black covering his arms had turned pitch dark making the red tattoos appear as though they glowed faintly. Seeing this, he decided to move.

A blast of air flew away from his body as the concrete behind him caved like a raised horseshoe behind him as he lunged. It was instantaneous. He appeared right in front of Youta throwing an ice-covered fist right at him. Youta, however, still reacted, reciprocating with a fist of his own. The ice shattered, protecting his arm but unable to tramp the overwhelming power of Youta's blow. But this time it was different.

The shattered ice reformed. Connecting back together rapidly to form several ice spikes that flew right at Youta. Youta's eyes bulged in shock as he tilted his head to the side as fast as he could. Not fast enough to stop the line of red drawn across his arm. And then he grinned. It was the first open and uninhibited grin he had given since joining UA. Anyone else would have fled at the sight of it. All the stoic charm and capable vibes that most would associate with Youta were nowhere to be seen. It was the look of a lunatic. A mad man. A predator. One that was normally starved before a fight to bring out its hidden aggression to the fullest. One that almost never saw the light of day and hungered for some screen time. Now, it had its eyes focused solely on the boy before him. Maru remained completely unphased.

Youta grinned aggressively. He kept punch as line after line was drawn across his body. No blood spilled. With how cold it was, it simply couldn't. He kept punching, holding nothing back, but it never stopped the increasing lines of red, psychotically straight, littered across his body. His fist turned red hot as he continued to throw all he had at Maru. It was a bit different this time. A snowflake, similar to the one that appeared behind Maru before formed right in front of him. It was thick and dense, pushing forward slowly. Watching his most powerful punch so far nonchalantly blocked by Maru only made Youta's grin wider, nearly splitting his face in two. He kicked back, using the ice shield as a platform and suddenly disappeared, and reappeared behind Maru. Too fast for anyone to respond. Yet, another shield of ice formed out of nowhere blocking his attack. He kept accelerating. Changing positions faster and faster. Punching harder and harder. All that one could sense was the repeated rapid shattering of ice as the air continuously exploded around Maru who stood still. He wasn't one to stay on the defensive but only a mix of pure instinct and his quirk helped him block the barrage from Youta. By now, the entire floor was littered with a mix of shattered ice with nothing but a cold breeze between them. Surprisingly, the missile remained unaffected. No one other than the two of them were on the floor, something that just barely registered in Maru's mind. There was no room for destruction when he fighting Youta, but he did note that the environment was definitely in his favor.

It was like the cold whispered to him. The ice almost automatically reacting to any perceived danger at times before he could even put thought to action. Protecting him. Fighting for him. With the speed of their battle, there was no time to think up plans or strategies yet his mind registered all that was around him and reacted. Almost like he was watching somebody else fight and directing their movements. Then the attacks disappeared for a second. A long time for anyone watching this battle. He raised his head upward, quietly observing Youta hanging on the ceiling. Crouching as if he wasn't flipped upside down with only his fingers digging into the concrete holding him there. Youta centered himself, then he lunged. Rotating twice in his descent to add to the force of his blow as he attacked and his fist ignited. A brilliant red flame with hints of gold mixed in. Maru lifted his arms in response, directing his power to form a massive shield, above his head. One bigger and denser than anything he had ever made. Then the fist landed and for a moment, there was no sound. Then everything went off. Maru could see the golden glow from behind his shield as the fist pierced through a portion of his shield. Like a little sun over an igloo. The blow was blocked. It should have been blocked, but the golden flames on his fist moved to his elbow propelling Youta's fist with a far greater speed and force than either of them expected. The collision of fist and shield had already caused the glass on the second, third and fourth floor to explode and shatter at the sudden high heat being introduced to the borderline frozen environment. This happened even though the attack did not cover a wide range. The flame was fully focused on shattering the shield. The force behind Youta's fist was so great the ground beneath Maru shattered and they were both propelled downward, straight to the lowest basement of the building complex. His shield still holding strong for a second before the fist pierced through, cutting through him from his left eye down to his waist in a jagged line.

The blood that spluttered over his face had Youta's eyes widen and his grin freeze. His pupils slowly constricted before they begun to shake in shock. The red in his eyes rapidly turning back to their original dull golden shade. Only then did he feel the sting in his torso. There was a huge spike piercing through the lower part of his abdomen. The pain had only started to register. No blood spilled, the ice itself still preventing any possible splatter.

Watching the horrified shock in Youta's eyes at cutting him slapped Maru back to his usual instantly. The cold haze over his mind vanishing. His eyes bulged as he looked at the huge ice pike he had pierced through his friend. Not quite believing he had just stabbed through his classmate and friend. Right then, the timer run out and they heard Abe-sensei say 'villains' win' in his usual monotone. Those words felt targeted at that moment. There was no kidding himself. No denying that he had actively sought to harm his friend. He clearly remembered what he had done. Hurriedly, he shattered the ice pike before moving to support Youta. Neither of them really knew how to handle this situation, one rapidly losing blood and the other with a hole in his abdomen. Could ice cauterize wounds? Would that be good for his friend? His thoughts paused on that. Who knew if they'd still be friends after this? That was how the medical bots found them.