Chapter 2:
Izuku felt the power pulsing through his body. The force that imbued him with incredible strength surged through him with far greater intensity than he'd ever dared use in a regular fight. The sensation of it flowing through him was exhilarating. Usually, the knowledge of One for All's destructive power, both for him and anyone nearby, was enough to remind him to keep a tight grasp over the quirk. But now, at this moment, he'd loosened his grip ever so slightly and wielded eight percent of his power, rather than five.
The last time they fought, although Izuku and Uraraka had won against Kacchan and Iida, his team's success hadn't been because he could defeat Kacchan in their personal face off. It was because Izuku had known that the other boy would be solely focused on destroying him and had accounted for that fact when making his plans with Uraraka. If anyone were to look at just their fight, without considering their objectives, Kacchan would have been the clear victor. He had basically been unscathed while Izuku had been unconscious, suffering from several burns, bruises and cuts from explosion, and had broken every bone in his arm using One for All.
Still, in all honesty, even though Izuku had been willing to fight back for the first time, he hadn't really expected to be able to win. For him, the victory had been in how he found the strength to stand up for himself, rather than just accept the explosive attack that he knew was coming.
This time would be different. Izuku had gotten so much better. He had more control over One for All and more time to learn how to use it. Furthermore, Kacchan wasn't here just to beat him down - he saw Izuku as a legitimate challenge.
As Izuku leapt into the air and balled his hand into a fist, the other reasons for this fight fell away, taking his doubts with them and leaving behind only one thing.
The burning resolve to win.
Then, in the space of a heartbeat, the power pulsing through Izuku's body vanished. However, the effects of what he'd already done didn't fade; the speed with which he hurtled toward Kacchan still remained.
Kacchan jumped to meet Izuku, but when he pointed his hands earthward to launch himself forward, he fell, wide eyed, back to the ground and stumbled.
Realizing that there would be no time for Kacchan to recover and dodge him, Izuku braced for impact before they collided, collapsing together rolling across the asphalt. When they came to a stop, the two were lying on the ground, facing each other, noses almost touching.
As Izuku regained his bearings, he saw Bakugou recover enough to shake off his own daze and glare at Izuku, teeth clenched. The green haired boy scrabbled up onto his hands and knees, despite the pain from their collision. His arms and legs ached from where they'd rubbed against the pavement during the tumble.
Kacchan swung an open palm toward Izuku's chest.
Izuku reached for One for All as he got his feet under him. He'd use the power in the bend of his knees and, to a lesser extent, his elbows to spring above the incoming blast. Hopefully, he could correct whatever awkward position he'd end up in before the other boy could readjust his aim.
But, once again, Izuku's power never came. He just sprang to his feet. Nor was there a blazing eruption from Kacchan's hands.
Then Izuku finally understood. He should have known from the start, but he had been so fixated on Kacchan. Aizawa Sensei must have found out about their fight and come to break it up. Izuku scolded himself for being so careless. If it had been a villain attack, they could've easily been killed in the time it had taken him to figure out what was happening.
"No! We're not done, dammit!" Despite also knowing what was happening, Kacchan wasn't ready for the fight to end. The look on his face reminded Izuku of the end of the UA Tournament, when the smoke had cleared to reveal an unconscious Todoroki. Except this time, both he and Kacchan were still standing. They could still finish this. Izuku knew that he right now there was no for considering his dreadful case of tunnel vision or looking for their teacher. Kacchan was desperate for a proper conclusion to their fight and Izuku was going to make sure that he got it.
Izuku knew that Kacchan would probably rage until he ran out of steam. The explosive blond leaped to his feet and threw a right hook at Izuku's face, but he'd never fought without his quirk. He was used to having a blast to expand the radius of his strike, do more damage with each blow and release a shock wave that was accompanied by heavy recoil for the user. Izuku was made painfully aware of the last fact when he felt the kickback of the gauntlet Kacchan had lent when they faced All Might.
Kacchan used swings that were excellent when there was force rebounding from the blasts. Once he'd known to look for it, Izuku had written extensively on how it influenced his movements in a fight compared to their classmates.
Now, in a single punch, it became obvious just how much Kacchan depended on his quirk to fight. It was not just the weakened blow, lacking explosive force and heat. He threw his whole body into his punch and instead of having a blast to bounce him back and correct his balance, he moved past a dodging Izuku, almost falling over as he stumbled.
As Izuku dodged to the side, he just barely felt a fist graze his cheek. He recalled watching Uraraka practice what she learned from Gunhead and realized that this was an opportunity to try using it in order to end their fight. Kacchan couldn't have lined up more perfectly for it if he'd tried.
Izuku attempted to imitate the move Uraraka used to grab charging opponents and pin them to the ground, but he must have messed up. Rather than successfully stopping Kacchan, the blond quickly rolled his arm out of Izuku's grip and slipped just out of reach. The green haired boy felt a wave of disappointment in himself for his mistake as his opponent regained his balance and glared at him. Izuku made a mental note to watch Uraraka more closely the next time she was using it, so he could figure out what he did wrong.
Kacchan had paused, his frustration obvious.
"That's enough!" Izuku glanced over his shoulder to see Aizawa. Despite red glow of his eyes, there was no capture weapon around the pro hero's neck and he was still too far away to physically stop the fight.
Izuku gave his teacher an apologetic glance and replied, "Sorry." Then he returned his attention to the fight.
Izuku couldn't afford to think about Aizawa and how he'd just disobeyed him. He might lose his nerve to fight Kacchan. He drew himself tall and motioned that he was ready to continue with a single nod. It was an invitation that Kacchan took willingly as he charged forward, teeth gritted in determination, as intent on winning as Izuku.
As Kacchan rushed toward him, Izuku widened his stance. He was far more confident that he understood how Uraraka held herself than in the move which he'd tried to copy a moment ago. She said the stance was meant to give the user more better footing, which was excellent for hand to hand combat.
Izuku dodged the first blow and blocked the second with his arm, just as he had done near the end of the exercise on the second day of school. Even at the age of four, Kacchan had much more powerful blows, backed by his quirk. This was nothing in comparison.
Izuku was impressed to see Kacchan was already trying to correct his own stance for fighting without his explosions but he wasn't adjusting fast enough for this match. His wobbly, poorly balanced movements robbed his blows of their strength and he struggled to recover from overextended punches. His own inexperience was ruining his chances more than anything else.
Kacchan tried to kick Izuku only for the green haired boy to grab the leg, drawing it up to unbalance his opponent and send him falling to the ground.
That snapped Kacchan out of his rage. His hands were braced against the ground behind him, body completely exposed for a hit. There was also no way for him to reclaim the advantage without any of his usual blasts, flashes or propulsion techniques, either.
If Izuku wanted, he could easily strike to drive the point home. However, that seemed like it would just be twisting the knife. They both knew that the fight was over. Hoping the other boy wouldn't take it the wrong way, Izuku took a few steps back.
When Kacchan lifted his head, there was only confusion, none of the anger Izuku had feared he would retaliate with. The boy was panting heavily, exhausted from their fight.
Izuku was breathing just as hard as he studied the other boy. Kacchan hadn't looked so lost since the time he fell into the creek. Even that time, he'd quickly covered it up, even before Izuku had gotten close enough try to help.
Back then, Izuku had offered a hand, a gesture he'd repeated earlier tonight. He'd meant it only as an offer of assistance, but now he understood that Kacchan saw it as an insult, suggesting he was weak. He'd trusted Kacchan to be understanding when he chose not to land a finishing blow while the blond boy was down. But extending his hand now, after his old friend had made it clear what that meant to him, would utterly change their relationship.
So, what do I do? I can't just stand over Kacchan and do nothing.
After a moment, Izuku had an idea that could disarm Kacchan. Rather than offer a hand, he instead sat down in front of the blond, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. When they were little, before Kacchan had gotten quirk, they'd sit across from each other like this to talk sometimes.
Kacchan watched him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Izuku could feel the asphalt still radiating the days heat beneath them. He took a moment to calm his nerves, scared of messing this up somehow. Then, as he had done so many times after 'fighting villains' in the park, racing each other down the street or showing off packs of hero cards, he asked, "Are we done now, Kacchan?"
But this time as he said Kacchan's name, his voice cracked as over a decade of pain was recognized in a moment. His vision was hazy with tears, because he wasn't asking about something as simple as what their next game would be. He wanted to know - were they done with this…whatever it was…that had been between them for so long? Could they move on to something else now? Dare he hope?
Kacchan curled in on himself, Izuku barely catching the sparkle of tears reflecting the light from a street lamp before he turned his face down so that all his companion could only see the blond spikes that crowned his head. "Yeah, I think so." The words were steady. The next, however, weren't. "But don't ask me what the fuck comes next."
Whatever it was that they would have, it couldn't be what it was before. Izuku knew that. For him, forgiving and forgetting were two different things.
Did he even forgive Kacchan?
Understanding? There was more of that now, for sure. Kacchan had thought Izuku, someone he saw as weaker than him, had been looking down on him for years. But Kacchan had done so much to him. He'd left wounds - both physical and psychological.
Izuku would never stop thinking Kacchan was amazing. He would always run to help the blond if the powerful boy needed it. Even if he could not reach out to Kacchan himself, he would get someone whose presence he would accept. That would never change.
But Izuku was also very angry. He had been for years, even if he worked to suppress the feeling. When Kacchan and his friends had attacked Izuku, whether with quirks or words, he'd felt pain and fear. As Kacchan encouraged their classmates to further pick on and bully Izuku, the quirkless boy became wary and withdrawn. He'd learned to be quiet and always on guard for tricks and traps. To masterfully handle physical pain as it became a part of his day-to-day life.
Still, the worst damage rarely came with the actions and words, but the thoughts that crept in during those moments between. On the walk to and from home, when he ate lunch alone, zoning out in class, staring at the ceiling over his bed at night when he was sure his mom wouldn't know. Even the extra effort he put into his notebooks, adding to his initial quirk analyses, could only keep his mind from wandering for so long.
Quiet and boredom unlocked the doors behind which he hid negative experiences so that he could carry on. Once those locks fell away, the memories came back, accompanied by painful emotions that seemed to have sprouted from them like mushrooms from rotting wood. Emotions like hurt, doubt, betrayal, humiliation, anger…and deepest of all, loneliness. He was so full of them that it felt like they overflowed with his tears. So heavy that it seemed a wonder that they didn't crushed his tiny body, supported only by the steel of his determination. It might have bent slightly under their weight of the others, but somehow it held against them.
Kacchan wasn't responsible for all of Izuku's childhood misery, nor for all of the emotional scarring he carried but he was the greatest source by far. Izuku wasn't sure if he could forgive him for that. Even if he did, he'd never forget. How does someone forget the forces working to crush his dreams? How do they unlearn to flinch and duck at every unexpected touch and sound after it's been ingrained over years?
So, no…Kacchan was right to point out that there was no going back. Even if Izuku wishes it could.
But maybe we can make…something to outweigh the painful darkness wedged between us for twelve years. Maybe we can help each other heal and carry on from that old nightmare. It was with this hope in mind that Izuku replied, "Let's try to make it something better."
Kacchan snorted and said, "Course you'd say something like that." The venomous bite his words usually carried was replaced by a tired quality. Izuku knew that the tone was the closest Kacchan would come of openly agreeing with him.
Despite the mix of complex emotions swirling within, Izuku smiled. He was happy to know that Kacchan wanted things to get better, too. That he wouldn't push him away, anymore.
It was at that moment that they heard a throat clear and Izuku remembered how they had ended up like this in the first place.
Kacchan sighed and curled in a little tighter while Izuku looked up toward the source of the noise.
Aizawa Sensei stood above them. His hair was bound in a bun, though several strands had slipped out, probably in his haste to stop them. His capture cloth, as Izuku had noticed earlier, was absent. As was all his other equipment. He looked tired and angry, yet his eyes weren't glowing and the loose strands weren't defying gravity, so he was no longer using his quirk.
And then Izuku remembered everything they had said in their fight. Just how much had Aizawa Sensei heard?
Originally, this chapter included Aizawa's confrontation but it was getting pretty long and there is a clear division between this continued fight and the conversation that's about to take place.
I had Izuku thinking of and applying Uraraka's stance because he shown evidence of doing this type of thing before, when considering Ida's stance to apply to his Shoot Style.
Also, I know that all evidence shows that Bakugou treated Midoriya poorly even before he got his quirk but I think Izuku remembers their childhood friendship through rose tinted glasses. I think it's a wonder how much Izuku implies remembering, considering that they were only four when Bakugou got his quirk.
