Chapter Thirtyone - DISTANCE: Izuku vs Bakugo

Bakugo made the first move, and Izuku had expected this, but the first exchanges were overwhelming all the same.

Running at who he deemed his arch-nemesis, Bakugo reached him quick, throwing up his right hand and sending an explosion forward. Izuku dodged to his left, then took a step forward to try and move in for his own attack. However, Bakugo was quick, moving his left hand under his right arm and blowing Izuku away.

Sent back halfway across the arena, Izuku tumbled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him for a moment. He got up to his knees and heard an explosion, seeing Bakugo flying through the air towards him. Izuku quickly rolled forward under him as Bakugo came in and slammed his hand down towards the ground, creating a powerful explosion that would've easily KO'd his opponent.

The shockwave of the explosion made Izuku stumble a bit, but he then stood and turned quickly to face Bakugo, readying his fists.

I've been watching you for a long time, Kacchan…!

Bakugo turned, glaring at the green-haired boy, the confident expression still on his face ticking him off.

"Why can't you just roll over and die, you mutt!"

He rushed in, and Izuku took one of the four Firestoppers he had at his waist, turning the dial then pressing it and throwing it forward. Bakugo reached out and blew it up with his right hand, the sludgy contents of the bomb being shot away from him.

"Screw your fuckin' toys— Huh?"

Bakugo was surprised as he saw Izuku coming in low, straight through the smoke of the explosion. He had used the bomb as a diversion, knowing Bakugo could just destroy it without remorse or thinking. The blonde was quick to react, bringing his left hand forward almost instantly, but Izuku was a bit faster as he moved in close.

Kacchan almost always leads with his right hand!

Izuku remembered the countless times he had been picked on by the boy, and one thing was for sure— He often used his right hand as his dominant hand when using his explosions. This was also in one of Izuku's journals where he held the intricate details of Heroes and Quirks, the material he had studied extensively at least once a week to refresh his mind.

Because of Bakugo's forward momentum at that moment, his balance was off. This made it a lot easier as Izuku grabbed his right arm, sliding his right foot under Bakugo's, then using all of his strength to throw him over his shoulder.

Everyone watched in shock as Izuku slammed Bakugo onto the cement, making the boy gasp as pain shot up through his body from his back hitting the ground hard.

I did it! It's just like I thou—

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted as Bakugo fired off an explosion from his right hand, which blasted Izuku away as he was still close to him. The main brunt of the force hit him in the stomach region, making it tough to recover as he tumbled away and eventually stopped himself before he reached the out of bounds line.

"Even after a vicious counter-attack, Bakugo still manages to strike!"

Bakugo started to get up before Izuku could. He was quite limber, so being slammed down onto his back wasn't as bad as it had looked from the spectators' point of view, but it had Bakugo slightly shaken for at least a moment as he got up to his feet, gazing across at Izuku.

Get up… It's still early…

Izuku slowly crawled up to his feet, his stomach muscles aching from the attack earlier as he fought against the urge to simply peel over on the floor and vomit. He took one of the Firestoppers out and prepared it.

Seeing the device, Bakugo readied himself and ran in towards Izuku once again.

Up in the stands, Class H watched with bated breath.

"I thought the ice guy was pretty scary," Ninsei commented, "But this guy's like… a villain!"

"Todoroki's Quirk is truly impeccable," Yuki chimed in, everyone looking to their class rep. "But on the flipside… Using your Quirk isn't everything, you need the tenacity and strength to back it up."

"Midoriya's proven that a lot," Kena added. "I feel like if he had a Quirk, he'd practically be unstoppable."

Yuki nodded. "Exactly. This guy Bakugo, he's like a chaotic, powerful force who also had a strong Quirk to boot. That's why he's so strong."

Mei, who was watching intensely from nearby thanks to her Zoom Quirk, let out a laugh that surprised everybody.

"Izuku's totally just like that too though! He goes with the flow and does what he needs to in the moment," Mei exclaimed. "Who needs a Quirk when you have wonderful babies backing you up! He can be as spontaneous as he wants!"

Nobody had any comments on that, everyone thinking the same thing: At least we know where he gets it from...

Down below, the two ran at each other quickly. Izuku was ready to use the Firestopper at a close proximity, as its effects wouldn't do much to him besides being a pain to get off later. Bakugo was wary, but he knew he couldn't waiver at all, bringing his right hand forward early, making an explosion that forced Izuku to slow down and tense up. It was a feint however, as Bakugo flew around to Izuku's side and blasted him with his left hand, sending Izuku flying and tumbling away along the ground.

"A clean hit from Bakugo! What a powerful blast!"

Izuku was really feeling the pain now, his legs a bit shaky as he caught himself and stood as quickly as he could, one hand holding his aching side.

That wasn't long enough! Izuku thought, looking at the trap he had set for his opponent. When Bakugon had used the first explosion as a feint, Izuku had tossed the Firestopper he prepped up into the air, planning on it going off above them after four seconds.

Bakugo's smirk returned and he took a step forward, ready to run in and finish it, so Izuku thought fast.

"Y-Your attacks were stronger when we were kids!"

At that exclamation, Bakugo got pissed, visibly trembling a bit.

"The fuck did you say?!"

"I'll get closer so you can hear it!" Izuku willed himself forward, raising a fist as he ran with a bit of a stumble in his step, looking above Bakugo. The boy caught on then, but it was too late.

The Firestopper that Izuku had prepared went off in the air above Bakugo, sending the sludge-like substance down onto him. He yelled out in danger and created a very weak explosion from his hands, sending a lot of it away, but much remained attached to him. He looked down at his hands, confused as to why he couldn't ignite his explosions much, only able to create tiny puffs.

Now's my chance— I won't squander your creation, Mei!

Izuku picked up his pace suddenly. While he was feeling intense aching pains, his stumble of a run had been for show. Now at a full sprint, he rushed in, and Bakugo barely had time to prepare.

"Of course you'd make some bullshit nerd stuff like this," Bakugo growled, readying himself.

However, Izuku knew of another point of weakness he could try to exploit: Bakugo's legs.

Kacchan's legs are strong enough to brace him for the force of his explosions, but if they're injured that should make it a lot harder for him!

Readying a fist, Izuku acted as though he was going to throw hands with Bakugo, the blonde excited as he was prepared to retaliate. Izuku changed it up at the last second however, sliding down and delivering a hard kick right to Bakugo's right shin. The boy didn't even budge at the attack, but the pained look on his face said it all.

"Oh. My. God. That had to hurt!"

Izuku jumped up, wanting to capitalize, but Bakugo's tenacity prevailed. He stepped forward with his left leg and delivered a power right hook to Izuku's face. For a moment, Izuku's vision became blurry from the strong hit, but he planted his feet firmly and continued on, not wanting to go down yet.

"Deku….!" Bakugo let out a roar as he brought his left fist in and punched Izuku right in the gut, making Izuku spit up a bit. "I don't need my Quirk to beat your ass!"

Bakugo stepped with his right leg, but couldn't help but wince as pain shot up through him, the bad bruise visible on his skin. This was Izuku's only chance, and as soon as he saw the look of pain flash in Bakugo's face, he knew he needed to take it.

"Ka...cchan…!" Izuku felt like his body was ready collapse, shaken from the blasts and the hits he had taken, but his resolve was strong enough to withstand it for now. "This is how I feel!"

Using what strength he had left in his wobbly legs, Izuku pressed forward and brought up his right fist. There was no time for Bakugo to dodge, as he took his punch directly to the face.

As Bakugo leaned back, his eyes going blank for a moment, the crowd was left in a shocked silence.

Izuku stumbled back, his legs shaking hard now, his breathing heavy as he was fading out, fatigue and pain catching up with him. His mind was in a frenzy, wondering if he should try and continue to attack, or if he should conserve himself for now. Then again, the way Bakugo was falling back, it almost seemed as though he had won…

But of course, he hadn't.

Bakugo stopped himself and leaned back up, blood oozing from his nose which was slightly ajar from being broken. His face was surprisingly calm and serious as he looked at Izuku.

"Is that the best shot you got?" Bakugo spit up some blood and wiped it from his nose, his right leg shaking slightly from pain. "You're pathetic."

The boy started to walk forwards, not showing any signs of pain in his face as he approached. Izuku tried to move, but he knew that he'd fall if he tried.

I….

In the blink of an eye, Bakugo punched Izuku hard in the face, sending him flying back through the air.

Despite the pain and everything else, Izuku felt a sense of calm resonating through himself.

So this is… the distance… between us… still…

As Izuku fell unconscious and his body tumbled along the ground, the crowd remained quiet as they watched Midnight approach and check on him. She then stood and lifted a hand in the air.

"Midoriya is unable to continue! Which means Bakugo is the winner!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, as Bakugo appeared on all of the screens with the words, "Winner," as a fanfare song played around the stadium.

"We'll be back in a moment for the awards ceremony," Midnight exclaimed, as Izuku was readied to be taken off the field. She gave them a bit of flavor with a wink, stating in a more cute voice, "So don't go anywhere, okay?~"

~Mid-Chapter Break?~

A/N: Reminder to drop a Review if you're enjoying~ Thanks for all the support! :)

Shortly after the final match of the Sports Festival, everybody assembled back onto the field, the arena having been cleared out quickly by Cementoss.

"All of the first-year events for this year's U.A Sports Festival have been completed," Midnight stated. "And we'll now begin the awards ceremony!

Fireworks began to go off all overhead as the crowd got pumped up. In a puff of smoke, the finalists began to rise from the ground, standing atop pillars with their ranking number on it.

On third place stood Kirishima, who was happily taking in the screaming crowd, flexing and waving, while exclaming, "That's right! I'm the unbreakable wall," despite the other students thinking about how he had lost.

In second place was Izuku, having barely been recovered from the last fight, a brace around his stomach and bandages and patches on his face. He groggily smiled and looked around, bags under his eyes from losing stamina to another healing session from Recovery Girl.

Then on top of the middle pedestal stood Bakugo, his hands in his pockets as he looked down, not caring for all of the fanfare. His nose had a bandage over it, having been fixed up shortly before the ceremony, and his right leg had nothing to support it, as he had refused anything to make himself look weak.

"And now, of course that man will be giving out the awards!"

Suddenly, All Might's laugh rang out across the stage, sending everyone into a hype frenzy. He appeared atop the stadium and jumped down, twirling and making a show of it before landing hard.

"Our very own hero, All Might!"

"I have brought the medals!"

There was a pause as Midnight spoke over All Might, giving an apologetic motion towards him.

"S-Sorry, I talked over you…"

As everyone admired that the #1 Hero was here, and how he was watching over the first years and how lucky they were, Midnight told All Might to present the medals starting with third place.

Kirishima grinned widely as All Might approached him and placed the medal around his neck.

"Kirishima! I should've known someone as gutsy as you would be standing here," All Might exclaimed, leaning in to give the boy a soft hug so he could give him some advice. "Never forget there's more than just your Quirk. Keep your wits about you!"

"Yes All Might!" Kirishima stood at attention and politely saluted.

All Might laughed heartily and moved over to the second place pedestal, where Izuku was standing, feeling the nervousness overtake him.

"Midoriya… I have to say, you're just full of surprises," the #1 Hero spoke, putting the silver medal around his neck. "You had something to say, and you said it loudly, huh?"

Izuku looked up at the man whom was his biggest inspiration for becoming a Hero. He felt himself trembling a bit, the emotions welling up inside of him.

"I-I just did what I needed to do," Izuku spoke. "S-So I can become the #1 Hero like you!"

All Might nodded, leaning in to hug him for a moment.

"You'll become a fine Hero," the man spoke softly.

This set Izuku off. He couldn't help it as the tears started to flow, bringing up his arm to try and hide them as All Might pat his shoulder and moved over to where Bakugo stood.

"Young Bakugo! Congratulations!" All Might nodded to him. "You stood by your comments about being the #1 huh?"

As All Might moved to put the award around his neck, Bakugo suddenly snatched it from his hands. Much of the crowd got upset with this, calling him out for being disrespectful.

"This kind of thing won't mean jack til I'm strong enough to beat you," Bakugo spoke sternly.

All Might wasn't dejected by his actions, instead laughing and pulling Bakugo into a hug.

"You're as hotheaded as ever! I almost hope you never grow out of your temper," All Might said through his laughs, as Bakugo tried to push him away. After a few moments, All Might let him go, Bakugo scowling and turning away as he grumbled under his breath.

The #1 Hero then turned to everybody else amongst the first years, raising a hand to them, his cape blowing a bit in the wind.

"They were the winner this time, but listen here— Anyone here could've ended up on these podiums," All Might spoke to the crowd of students. "This is what it's all about! Competing! Improving each other! And climbing even farther! The next generation of Heroes is definitely sprouting!"

All Might threw up a hand and pointed up towards the sky.

"So, I just have one more thing to say— Everyone say it with me!"

The crowd threw up their hands and all chanted at once along with All Might:

"Plus Ultra!"

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"..."

The crowd erupted into boos as All Might rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"It should've been Plus Ultra obviously," someone yelled from the crowd.

"W-Well, I thought everyone worked hard…"

Most of the students couldn't help but laugh in the merriment of the moment, knowing that one of the most important days of their high school life had finally come to a close.

Soon after the Sports Festival had ended, the students had gathered back in their classrooms for end of day consolidation with their homeroom teacher.

Mei had delayed Izuku in getting there, so that once they opened the door and he stepped inside, everyone was there to surprise him.

"Surprise!"

Izuku jumped as streamers and alarm noises went off, everyone from Class 1-H jumping out and crowding towards him.

"Ahh you guys— Owowow—"

"Hey now, everyone back away, he's still pretty banged up," Yuki spoke.

"Thanks Yu— W-Whose that?!" Izuku looked down and back and saw Shiro behind him, smirking wickedly.

"You've really worked those glutes today Midoriya, hehe—"

Ken banged Shiro over the head with a paper hand he manifested with his Quirk and dragged her away, while Izuku nervously stood against the wall so nobody could grab him again.

"Midoriya," came the familiar voice of their teacher, Power Loader. He watched the man approach, the other students parting for him. "You were pretty damn reckless out there."

Izuku gulped and bowed politely. "S-Sorry Power Loader sensei, I…" He wasn't sure what to say. Luckily, Power Loader chuckled and pat his shoulder, giving him a thumbs up with his other hand.

"I wouldn't expect you to compete any other way," the man spoke. Izuku smiled at this. Their teacher then turned to everyone. "You all did amazing! Usually this festival is a drag for us in the Support class, but you guys stuck it to them!"

"But I got frozen right at the start," came the sour voice of the sporty Wakata.

"None of that matters," Power Loader spoke. "You guys went beyond what anyone could expect and used your creativity in ways I might even struggle with. Give yourselves a pat on the back!"

Everyone exchanged handshakes and pats and hugs of excitement, before Power Loader looked at all the streamers and sparkles all over the place.

"...And clean up all this crap. When did I say that was okay?"

Everyone instantly became a bit more bummed out.

The students were given the next two days off to rest and recover. They were told that Heroes and organizations could approach them, but they would be evaluating any offers and such and tell them how much interest people had in them.

For the Support and Business classes, this mainly meant interest in their potential as either inventors or business partners, while the Hero class was more focused on getting to work with Hero agencies.

Izuku was told that he would need to come to the school on that second day, giving him a day to recover.

His mother showered him with food and affection the whole next day, after her heart took a lot of damage from watching her son take a beating. After getting well rested, he went to U.A which seemed a bit eerie without people there, and was surprised to find Aizawa, the teacher of 1-A, waiting for him there.

"G-Good morning, Aizawa sensei," Izuku said politely to the man.

Aizawa looked as tired and raggedy as usual. He gazed over at Izuku as if disinterested and began to walk away, motioning with a hand to follow.

"I could be sleeping right now, but you had to cause so much trouble," Aizawa said.

Izuku gulped, feeling like something bad was going to happen. Did I do something bad…? Maybe I overdid it in the Sports Festival…

Worried thoughts plagued Izuku as they headed into the school and went to a familiar location: Principal Nezu's office. Aizawa entered and Izuku followed, his nerves getting worse, and finally climaxing as he saw who was in the office.

"Welcome, Midoriya! Sorry to make you come here on a day off," Principal Nezu said happily from his desk, raising a paw. "Come come!"

Behind and on either side of Principal Nezu were several Heroes who worked with the school. On his left was Present Mic, who was then joined by Aizawa. On his right was Cementoss and Power Loader. Behind him stood Drama Boss and All Might, both surprising Izuku a lot as he saw them.

"U-Um…" Izuku gulped as he approached. Though he had gotten a bit used to all the Heroes being teachers at the school, it was intimidating being alone in a room with so many he looked up to. "W-What is this?"

"What do you think?" Principal Nezu chuckled and sat back in his chair. "You're here for evaluation."

"Evaluation?"

"Yep! It's time to hear what everyone here thinks—"

"About you joining the Hero class!"

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: The Hero Assessment!