Izuku walked quickly towards the dorm; he'd only spent an hour with his mother after his year's first bracket before leaving to find Uraraka. As he reached the dorm, all he could do was hope that she was in her room. Noticing that her shoes were at the entrance, he quickly changed to his indoor shoes before walking up to her room. Taking in a deep breath as he walked the familiar path to her room, he reached up to knock and hesitated for a moment. What if she was mad at him for blowing her off? What if she didn't wanna talk to him because she was worried he might try to give her advice for fighting Tsuyu? What if—
"Hello? Deku, if that's you, get in here!" Uraraka shouted through the door. Izuku flinched, surprised that she had both heard him and knew that it was him. Though, Izuku rationalized, most of the other students were still enjoying the festival. Not him though, or Uraraka. He needed to focus and gather his thoughts, go over his notes, and… get ready for his match tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to do any of that if he was worried about his standing with Uraraka. Opening the door and walking in, he saw Uraraka lazily playing an old-school video game. She was leaned back, head propped up on a pillow while she laid on her side. Looking at him with a smile, she sat up and patted the spot next to her.
"I just wanted to make sure we were okay? Are we, um... are you okay?" he asked. She nodded with a smile, continuing to play the old-school fighting game. Her fingers flew across the buttons as she earned a flawless victory. She set the controller down and stretched her arms above her head; though, Izuku reflexively turned away when her shirt lifted, teasing a view of her toned stomach.
"Why wouldn't we be? Oh! You mean when you walked off? I assumed you had something to talk to Todoroki about. Don't worry, I didn't think you blew me off… I was a little worried when you didn't come back before your match. I figured you'd wanna watch Todoroki fight… not that it was much of a fight." She let out a half hearted, nervous chuckle as she laid back on her bed, her hair splaying around her slightly. Izuku sighed and decided he might as well tell her… part of the truth.
"All Might wanted to talk to me about something important. I um, I can't go into details, but it's, gah." He let his head hang and let out a deep sigh. He was so bad at this, confiding in people. Even after all his time hanging out with Uraraka, he couldn't open up completely to her. He jumped as he felt her hand touch his shoulder, her pinky extended so he didn't float.
"Hey, it's fine Deku. I said we're cool; if you can't share what he needed to talk to you about, that's fine. It sounds like the conversation was pretty heavy." Worry spread across her features as she scooted closer to him. "You okay?" He just smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm okay... just, a lot of stuff is making a lot more sense now. I guess I should get out of your way so we can focus on our matches for tomorrow." He felt her stiffen up and squeeze his shoulder, her smile hardening.
"I'll do fine; I've already figured out how to fight Tsuyu tomorrow… right now, I am a lot more worried about you. Are you going to be alright?" she asked. He nodded, a bright smile spreading across his features as he pointed at his notebook and flipped to the section with Bakugo in it. It took up ten pages and was more detailed than almost everyone else in his hero notes.
"Don't worry about me, Uraraka. I've been coming up with strategies to overcome Bakugo since I was six years old. As long as he doesn't change up his strategy just for me, it should be enough to beat him. I'm sure you'll beat Tsuyu. We'll be the last two standing for sure!" he exclaimed. She nodded at him, holding a fist up in the air. He mimicked her, the two of them sat together for a second, holding that pose. She lowered her fist, her eyes lowering towards the floor before slightly turning her head away, smiling as she twirled a strand of hair.
"Um, hey, would you mind showing me some magic before we get ready for tomorrow? We haven't really just relaxed and experimented with your magic for fun in a while. Just thought, ya know, maybe it'd help you relax a little?" she asked. He nodded excitedly, summoning his cane as he playfully nudged her.
"So um, got any requests element wise? You remember all of them?" he asked. She nodded fervently before putting a finger up to her chin. He smiled as she thought about it, her hair framed her in a way that made her look so prett— friendly - yes, friendly. She snapped her fingers, waking him up from his short musing.
"What about Nature and Time? Ever used those two together?" she asked. He smiled brightly at her suggestion; he actually hadn't combined elements very much for anything. He'd been busy focusing on mastering each individual element so… he shook his head before smiling.
"Nope!" He started to gather the magic in his hand, the two elements mixing together. A whisper of a vine, the very faint outline of one, twirled around his arm while several clocks spun around the faint plant. "So, what did you want me to do with them?" She immediately looked panicked and shook her head.
"I-I don't know. I-I just thought they sounded cool together! I thought you'd think of something!" she said as she rapidly flailed her arms all over the place. Izuku immediately felt panic set in, and then, he heard Amelinda start hysterically laughing. He instantly realized she wasn't going to be any help with this, but since she was laughing, they probably weren't in any real danger. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at Uraraka with a shaky smile as he released the magic. Suddenly, small leaves chaotically swirled around the room, but just as quickly as they appeared, they wilted to dust.
"D-deku! Are you okay?" Uraraka asked panickedly. Izuku nodded as the last of the leaves wilted, revealing the room again. Thankfully, nothing was broken or out of place, well besides Uraraka's hair being a little disheveled. He felt a small amount of adrenaline course through him, excited that she helped him find a new avenue of magic to explore, hopping up and down a bit while smiling at her, only to tilt his head at her stare. She blushed before looking away and rubbing her cheeks. "Y-you should - u-um, look at my mirror, M-m-Deku!" After some confused blinking, he stood up and walked over to her mirror.
"Huh." His hair had grown out. Now, there were two strands similar to Uraraka's, but unlike her neck length hair's slight curvature, his strands went straight down and stopped just below his eyes; meanwhile, the rest of his hair easily reached the middle of his neck. Unlike his normal curls, his hair got more orderly the longer it got, so by the time his hair reached the top of his neck, it had straightened out. Looking back at Uraraka, he bit his lip as he fiddled with his cane; he was a bit annoyed the spell ended up so useless.
"Sorry, I'll go cut this off real quick, and we can try something else," he muttered. He blinked as she got in his way and shook her head, a small blush on her cheeks as she averted her gaze from him. 'She must hate it.'
"You should keep it. It looks really good! I-if you're worried about it being a grab point in a fight, I have hair ties I can share with you!" Her eyes took in his new hairstyle again, before she looked back at his eyes. Shrugging and feeling his cheeks burn, knowing that he had a bright red blush spreading across his cheeks, he thought it looked a little silly but… if she said that it looked good…
"W-well, alright I guess. If you think it looks good, then it must look good! I've had the same hairstyle since I was a kid…" he mused. She nodded quickly, walking around him and digging through her dresser for some hair ties before handing him a few.
"Exactly, change is good. That's what I was saying. Exactly that and only that. D-do you need help learning how to use a hair tie?" she asked. He shook his head, 'how hard could it be?'
"Nah. I mean, I think we both need to get ready for tomorrow anyways, right? I'll just figure it out really quick in the morning!" he said. She smirked and shrugged, pushing him lightly out of the room, giggling as she did so.
"If you say so, Deku. Have a nice night, get some sleep, and… I know you'll win." Her joking manner turned serious in an instant. He looked down for a moment; he'd told her that he had a plan, but really, it was just a series of plans that could―and probably would―fail, one right after another. His real strategy was using all those failures to figure out a way to win.
"...You too, Uraraka, I know you'll beat Tsuyu," he said. She smiled faintly before slowly closing her door till he could only see one of her hazel eyes.
"Good night, Deku," He smiled as she closed the door before walking away, holding the green and pink hair ties in one hand as he walked back to his room. Yeah… tomorrow was going to be rough.
Ochako was calmly walking towards the stadium, humming a song to herself. Hearing rapidly approaching stomping behind her, she casually turned around to see Izuku sprinting up to her. She smirked as he stopped short of her panting, his hair not in a bun or ponytail.
"Hey, Deku. Trouble with the hair tie?" she teased. A deep scarlet red overcame his face before nodding ensued. She giggled as she admired his hair again. The long green hair really framing his face in a more attractive— more noticeable way than before! She felt her own blush creep back up as she reached up to take a hair tie from him, showing him how she put her own hair up. He smiled as he imitated her motions, and she felt her blush burn even hotter as he finished. Spinning around so he (hopefully) didn't notice, she quickly took the hair tie out of her own hair, letting the hazel colored strands fall back down into their usual place.
"Thanks! Guides online didn't help at all! It was a total nightmare trying to do this on my own. You saved me again, Uraraka!" She just smiled and shrugged before turning around, ignoring that feeling rising in her chest as she walked. Friends did stuff like this for each other. That's all they were. Friends… right?
"No problem, Deku. Wouldn't want your new hairstyle's debut to be some tangled mess, right?" He just laughed and nodded, and for the next while, they silently walked together. The air felt nice this early in the morning, in stark contrast to the sun that would beat down on them during the event. Finally, reaching the stadium, Uraraka put a hand on the back of her head. "Well, I guess I should get to the locker room and get ready for my match. Aizawa said they wanted to start as soon as everyone gets seated, I guess."
"You'll win; I know it." She couldn't help but feel some of the pre-fight jitters disappear at his words. She smiled at him before turning to walk away.
"Thanks, Deku! I'll see you after your match!" As she spoke, she could feel her words becoming more fraught at the thought of who he was going to have to go up against. Shaking her head, she focused on the strategy she'd come up with for Tsuyu as she made her way to the locker room, waiting in anticipation for her call out.
Inko Midoriya might not have been quite as analytical as her son, but she couldn't believe that All Might's secret identity hadn't gotten out before! 'It's like he wasn't even trying,' she told herself as she walked towards the teacher/parent seating area early in the morning. She shook her head, remembering how yesterday had proven it to her. For three days in a row, Yagi had worn the same suit as All Might, the only difference being the suit hanging more loosely on Yagi's form. Did people really not notice, or was it that they couldn't associate the small, diminutive Yagi with the shining and heroic All Might? That had to be it.
"Ah, Midoriya! I see you too like to get here early for a good seat; though, to be fair, they're all good in this part of the stadium!". Inko smiled polietely at the man. She quickly walked down towards the front seats and sat down next to the poor liar.
"Ah, yes, hello… All Might." She smiled as he flinched before composing himself and looking down at the empty arena. The stadium already had torrents of people starting to pour in.
"I, um, I think you're mistaken, Midoriya. I mean, I know we dress similarly, but that's because I'm his secretary and—" He started before Inko scoffed.
"Of course. I'm sure you make all your suits several sizes too large, right? Makes sense... except there are still a few crinkles from your suit when "All Might" shows up too. Don't worry, I won't say anything. Except… you should take better care of yourself. Whatever's going on with you ought to be taken care of. These kids, especially Izuku, need you here." She let out a sigh as "Yagi" stood and started to walk away before stopping on one of the steps.
"...Let's say you're correct, and I was All Might. Don't you think that he would know these kids need him? Don't worry, Midoriya. He won't let anyone down; that's a promise." She looked up to see that passion burning in his eyes again, just like Izuku's, before he turned around and walked past the teachers and parents walking in. Inko smiled before turning around as she heard that loud announcer start shouting over the intercom system again.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, LET'S GET READY TO KEEP THIS FESTIVAL GOING WITH THE NEXT BRACKET FOR THE FIRST YEARS! FIRST UP, WE HAVE—"
"AND HERE WE HAVE THE GRAVITY MASTER URARAKA! LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO GET THESE TWO READY TO RUMBLE!" Present Mic shouted over the intercom system as Ochako strode into the arena, looking over her shoulder to see Deku watching her from her entrance, his analytical stare as intense as ever. His gorgeous new hair hung down loose as he stared at her, well, at the arena she was sure.
She shook her head; she couldn't afford to be distracted against Tsuyu. A fight against her would be decided by how quickly Ochako could react. Getting into a ready stance, Ochako stared at her froggy friend. She seemed a lot more relaxed than Ochako, but if Ochako was being honest, it was hard to read Tsuyu at the best of times.
"BEGIN!" Ochako, controlling herself, forcing herself not to charge at Tsuyu like she'd had to do against Momo, and started to slowly walk towards Tsuyu. Ready for the slightest twitch from her froggy friend. Suddenly, Tsuyu leapt at her, so Ochako reached forward with one hand while keeping one leg tensed up ready to kick away at any sign of trickery. There wasn't any trickery, but Ochako couldn't react in time to Tsuyu kicking her arm. She grimaced in pain―'damn, those legs weren't for show'―before getting kicked in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Ochako tucked into a roll before fully committing to canceling her momentum by scrapping her sneakers and elbows against the concrete arena. Upon stopping, she quickly pushed herself up before assuming the same stance.
"Kero, Ochako, if you keep doing the same thing, you're going to lose," Tsuyu said. Ochako ignored her friend's words; instead, she dedicated herself to the strategy she had devised.. Edging her way towards the center of the arena again, Ochako kept her eyes on her friend's legs, watching for any movement from them. Once again, Tsuyu leapt at her,and kicked Ochako's hand away before slamming her other foot into Ochako's stomach. Stopping herself the same way, Ochako grimaced at the feeling of her elbow getting skinned from sliding across the pavement. Hopping up and feigning pain in her arm, not that it was hard, Uraraka held her elbow and grimaced at Tsuyu, slowly backing up away towards the edge of the arena.
"Sorry for being so rough, Ochako. I'll make the win a quick one!" Tsuyu said before leaping into the air and shooting her tongue out at Ochako. Ochako tensed up at the quickly approaching tongue. Her eyes carefully watching the distance between the slimy appendage and herself. Taking her hand off her elbow, slowly dropping the hurt girl act, she got ready. Too soon and Tsuyu would retract her tongue and wouldn't fall for the trick again. Too late and Ochako would get flung out of the arena in an instant.
'Not yet, Not yet… NOW!' Ochako shot a hand out and grabbed her friend's tongue the second it started to wrap around her waist. A second later and it wouldn't have mattered if she had used her quirk on Tsuyu, but now? She grabbed her friend's tongue tightly before spinning on her heel several times, picking up more and more speed with each spin before finally slamming her friend onto the arena floor to disorient her.
"You'll "make it quick," Tsuyu? That's my line!" Ochako shouted. Grabbing her friend's tongue again, she threw Tsuyu out of the arena. Her friend flew and quickly smashed into a wall of the stadium. Panting as she stood up, her vision was a little dizzy from that spinning move she did. Ochako threw up her arms and looked up to see the crowd going wild. Holding her head up high, a glowing smile spread across her features as she heard them announce her as the winner. As she spun around to see Deku smiling at her, she could see his massive smile even from here!
"URARAKA WINS! SHE ACTED HURT TO LULL ASUI INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY AND TURNED THE TABLES IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE! LET'S GIVE BOTH OF OUR COMPETITORS A HAND!" Present Mic shouted. Ochako smiled brightly up at the crowd as she started to walk back towards Deku.
"TODOROKI CONTINUES HIS FLAWLESS AND EFFORTLESS VICTORIES AGAINST HIS PEERS! WILL ANYONE BE ABLE TO BREAK HIS STREAK OR EVEN LAND A HIT ON HIM?! LET'S GIVE PONY, OUR EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM THE UNITED STATES, A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AS WELL!" Present Mic shouted. Gran Torino looked up at the stadium, scoffing at the announcer. It didn't matter how well the boy did when all he was doing was massive one-off attacks. At least, it didn't matter until he could replicate multiple of those attacks against an opponent just as strong or stronger than him.
"Torino! It's a surprise to see you actually accept my invitation to something these days!" Toshinori said. Turning around and staring up at his former apprentice, Torino raised an eyebrow upon seeing Toshi in his diminutive form. The Symbol of Peace smiled at him, sweat sliding down one of his cheeks upon seeing his former master.
"I only showed up because you said you were going to tell me who your successor is going to be. It's about time Toshinori. You've been getting weaker and weaker every year, and your decline this year alone has been worse than the previous four put together… Time won't wait for your successor to learn how to use it." Torino warned. All Might started to walk past Torino, sighing and nodding. Torino followed him, obviously leading him in to watch the next match.
"I know, I know… But my putting off selecting a successor has provided me with a perfect choice, at least, in my eyes. I'm sure you remember, Nighteye? He was trying to groom a "Perfect" choice for me, but… well, it's not up to him to select who I pass One For All onto." All Might said, speaking freely as they strolled up a private hallway for staff and officials. Torino nodded; no one could pick who received One For All besides the current wielder of the quirk.
"Who did you pick? You always loved being cryptic in your letters to me in your youth, and disappointingly, that hasn't changed with your age." Torino complained. All Might smiled at his master as they walked out into a private viewing room, a mostly beige room with a slightly tinted window showing them the area the arena was currently in. The room had several large armchairs, but they'd all been pushed aside, leaving only two facing the window. Gesturing for the elderly hero to take a seat, All Might walked over to a tea set and poured two cups for them before joining him.
"Well, you actually made it right before his match, Torino. He's up next against… a childhood rival, you could say. Watch the green haired boy… and a fair warning Torino, he doesn't… nevermind, that's not my secret to tell." Torino raised an eyebrow at his former student before directing his attention to the arena.
"Green haired boy, hmm? Well, I hope it's at least a good opportunity for your successor to grow." All Might nodded in agreement before tapping his cup indecisively. Torino let out a sigh and looked at his student. "Spit it out, Toshinori. What is it?" Torino asked irritatedly.
"I was hoping that, if you had the time, you could train him before his internship. Just a bit, just enough to get him started. You helped me master it so quickly, and I was hoping you could repeat that with Young Midoriya." Torino scoffed before turning back towards the window.
"You were a freak miracle, Toshinori. Even Na— Even your master couldn't use one hundred percent at the start. She broke her bones several times before getting the hang of it… I could try and train him a bit so he doesn't rip his body apart trying to emulate you from the start." Torino said, trying to put as many words as he could between mentioning Nana Shimura and the rest of the conversation. Stealing a glance at Toshinori, he let out an inward sigh of relief at All Might's bright smile.
"You have my thanks, Torino. I'm still getting the hang of this teaching thing, and… in the worst case scenario, if you're around, he'd still have a teacher." Torino grunted in agreement before lowering his head and glancing at the arena as that annoying announcer started talking.
"You know… I've heard rumblings in the criminal underworld that HE is back, Toshi. You need to start preparing for a fight on the off chance he really is back." Torino said. All Might nodded, a solemn expression spreading across his features before he reared his head back and buffed up into his hero form and let out a loud laugh.
"ENOUGH OF THAT SUBJECT FOR NOW, TORINO! I INVITED YOU OUT HERE TO WATCH THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES GO HEAD TO HEAD, COMPETING TO SHOW THEIR STUFF TO ALL THE HERO AGENCIES! LET'S ENJOY OURSELVES!" All Might shouted. Torino smiled at his former student's attempt to lighten the mood before turning back to focus on the two young men walking into the center of the arena.
Izuku stood in the locker room, hopping up and down, trying to hype himself up for the match to come. Uraraka was sitting in a fold out chair near him, holding his notebook for him with his pencil ready. He'd asked her to take notes of him during the battle if she were willing to. He wished that Todoroki had done something during his match besides freeze the entire arena so that Izuku could actually analyze his fighting style but… oh well. If Izuku made it to the finals, he'd have to come up with something on the spot.
"I hope my strategy actually works before I pass out. That would be embarrassing." Izuku half-heartedly chuckled. Uraraka just smiled at him before elbowing his side.
"Nah, you're going to win; I know it. I doubt he's put much effort into thinking about fighting you besides 'GAH, FUCKING DEKU NERD, I'LL KILL HIM, GAH!' so you'll do fine," He smiled brightly at her mimicry of Bakugo. They both flinched as the buzzer sounded, signaling for Izuku to head out to the arena.
"Thank you, Uraraka. I'll see you in the finals," he promised as he stood up and started to leave the locker room.
"Good luck, Deku! I know you'll win!" Uraraka called out as he walked out of the locker room and headed towards the arena. Izuku whipped around and smiled at her before turning back to face the arena. He took one of Uraraka's hair ties and pulled his hair into a small ponytail before looping it back on itself and tying it off in a sort of bun. Pale faced, he walked onto the field heading towards the arena. Slowly walking up the steps onto the arena, he stared straight ahead at Bakugo. The glare the bombing blonde shot at him made him hesitate for a second as he walked into his starting position.
"FOLLOWING THAT DECISIVE MATCH, WE HAVE THE BOMBING KING BAKUGO UP AGAINST THE STARTLINGLY POWERFUL MIDORIYA! ALREADY WELL KNOWN BY ALL OF THE FACULTY, LET'S SEE WHAT THESE TWO CAN DO! GET READY!" Izuku leaned forward, readying himself for the match by focusing on his strategy.
"BEGIN!" Izuku shot a powerful burst of wind at Bakugo, the wind passing underneath the blonde as he shot himself up into the air before letting out an explosion that flung him towards Izuku. Holding an arm up to guard himself, he started to gather more magical energy in his other palm as Bakugo neared him.
"DEKU!" Bakugo shouted as he swung his arm in an uppercut, letting explosions rip loose across the ground as he aimed at Izuku. A deluge of cold water met Bakugo's explosion, the water meant to both dilute the nitroglycerin and cool down the explosive teen to reduce the amount he could sweat. Izuku felt heat seer along his forearm as a shield of flame popped into existence, negating the fire of the explosion but not the shockwave, which sent Izuku tumbling backwards before he managed to stop himself in a kneeling position.
"FIGHT, YOU SHITTY NERD!" Bakugo shouted as he jumped towards Izuku. Standing quickly as energy flowed over his body, Izuku let out a growl as he charged Bakugo.
"ACCELERATE!" Izuku shouted. A dim flash coated his body for a moment before accelerate's effects kicked in. Faint projections of himself trailed behind each step. Rolling underneath Bakugo's explosion, Izuku rose up into an uppercut. A look of surprise appeared on Bakugo's face before the punch connected. Izuku ended the spell as Bakugo fell backwards into his own roll with an even fiercer glare on his face as he stared at Izuku.
'Okay, I've increased my limit, but it's still short. Only a few seconds of increasing my body's movement capabilities.' He could treat this as a way for him to force his body to go beyond his limits for a very short period. Not wanting to lose his steam, Izuku summoned his cane. Light coiled around the wood before eight chains launched off to try and wrap around Bakugo. The blonde bomber expertly dodged each of the flying chains by blasting himself into the air before spinning and completely destroying two chains that had been closing in on his waist. Letting off an explosion above himself, the chains all collided in mid-air. A bright light sparked as three of the chains shattered on impact with each other. Izuku backed up as Bakugo got close to him. The blonde bomber grabbed his cane with one hand and let loose another explosion on the wood to break the last three chains, before thrusting his palm at Izuku.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The explosion left Izuku momentarily collapsed in a cloud of smoke and dust, coughing as he pushed himself up. Even though he had gotten used to Bakugo's blasts besides for the occasional burn, this time it felt like Bakugo was going all out. His effort to go so far overboard would be his downfall; starting with the fact that he just gave Izuku a smoke screen to work with. He pulled the zipper on his jacket down, ripping the tight fabric off before throwing it off towards his left into the smoke with a small gust of wind.
"STAY DOWN, NERD!" Izuku grinned as he saw an explosion blow the smoke away from them. He charged at Bakugo; Bakugou's eyes flying open as he realized he'd fallen for a feint. Izuku grabbed his forearm and stomped the ground, an earthen pole hitting underneath Bakugo's foot and launching him up into the air. Squeezing Bakugo's arm tight and letting magical energies flow up his arm, he glared up at Bakugo whose eyes were still wide.
"I'm not a pebble on the side of the road anymore, Bakugo! NOW, YOU GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Izuku encased both his arm and Bakugo's body with wind magic before using that same wind to catapult Bakugo down onto the ground, cracking the concrete with the force of the impact. Izuku started to jump backwards, until Bakugo let out a cough and swung his arm haphazardly at Izuku, releasing a small explosion that still barely managed to send Izuku tumbling. Rolling onto his feet, he panted heavily as all the smaller spells he had been using finally started to take their toll, particularly, how much light magic he had used to make those chasing chains. Izuku could hear the crowd roaring and Mic shouting over the intercom, but he couldn't make out the words because he was pretty distracted by the feeling of his heart beating in his throat.
"What's wrong, Kaachan? That last explosion felt pretty half-assed compared to everything else you've been letting off!" Izuku taunted. Bakugo glared at him as he pushed himself up, panting and running a hand across his forehead to wipe off some of the sweat built up. Izuku could see his hands twitching. Bakugo wasn't at his limit yet, but he was getting there. Sprinting towards the raging bomber again, Izuku raised an arm and let a wave of lightning fly towards Bakugo.
"THAT'S IT, YOU SHITTY NERD?! WHY DON'T YOU PUT SOME EFFORT INTO YOUR ATTACKS?!" Bakugo shouted as he blasted himself over Izuku's lightning. Izuku reared back before swinging forward, a shimmer of energy on his arm as he shot a fist shaped force blast at Bakugo.
"I AM! Why don't you try and do something new?!" Izuku shouted back as the energy hit Bakugo in the stomach, causing the boy to get sent flying. Izuku kept running toward him, pushing the assault with tiny combined blasts of wind and water to soak Bakugo's clothes. He needed to keep the explosive sweat diluted to keep the pain manageable.
"DAMN IT! WHY WON'T YOU JUST STAY DOWN ON THE GROUND?!" Bakugo shouted, swinging both arms under and up to create an even bigger explosion than Izuku had thought he had left in him. Holding both arms in front of his face to guard against the explosion, Izuku felt his feet leave the ground as he flew backwards. Hitting the ground hard and slamming onto his back, Izuku coughed out as the breath was forced out of his lungs. Seeing a bright flash before his eyes started to readjust, Izuku started to push himself up before he felt Bakugo's knee slam into his chest and his palm slam onto Izuku's face. "You're done, Deku. Move and I'll let an explosion loose." Bakugo threatened.
"WITH AN EXPLOSIVE COMEBACK AFTER MIDORIYA'S BRUTAL ASSAULT, IT LOOKS LIKE BAKUGO HAS RESTRAINED MIDORIYA! ALL THAT'S LEFT IS FOR MIDNIGHT TO CALL THE FIGHT!" Present Mic shouted. Izuku felt his vision blur as tears stung at his eyes. His eyes darted up to see Midnight starting to raise her whip to declare a winner. Gritting his teeth he glared up at Bakugo.
"YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?!" Bakugo let an explosion loose as Izuku forced dark energy to flow through his arms before a dark repulsion ripped loose. He grimaced as he felt the upper right side of his face sting from the explosion. He hoped it wasn't bad enough to scar, but he wouldn't lose, not here, not right after All Might had told him to tell the world that he was here! He turned to face Bakugo while glaring at him, his opponent's jacket ripped and his undershirt torn by the dark energies Izuku had desperately released.
"I spent years being a pebble on the side of the road to people like you! I won't be a pebble anymore; I'll stand tall, so that when I show up, people can know they're safe just like All Might!" Tears stung his eyes as he recalled his childhood. He charged again, feeling the exhaustion start to catch up to him. Bakugo's hands were twitching and clenching even more than before. Delayed in his ability to act, the bomber barely brought himself to swing his hand forward, a pained sneer dawned on his face as he clearly forced his body beyond its limits. Izuku caught Bakugo's wrist in one hand, redirecting the delayed blast away from both Izuku and Bakugo. With his other hand, Izuku swung a last ditch punch at Bakugou.
"I. AM. HERE!" His fist connected with Bakugo's nose; feeling the cartilage fall before his fist felt oddly satisfying. For someone with magical powers, Izuku sure had been punching a lot of people in the face lately. Izuku felt his knuckles sting from the impact. Bakugo stumbled backwards a few feet before stumbling forward. Izuku swung his fist towards Bakugo's jaw, feeling his knuckles crack as he connected with the other boys' jaw. Panting as Bakugo crumbled from the blow, Izuku stumbled backwards himself before bracing himself on his knees and breathing heavily.
"Midoriya has knocked out Bakugo! MIDORIYA WINS!" Midnight shouted. Izuku felt his chest swell with pride as he saw the crowd cheering. Smiling and rubbing his eyes as tears overflowed, he looked back towards where Bakugo had landed, only to see the boy missing. He took in a deep breath before turning around and heading back towards the stands, hoping to see the next match.
Izuku rubbed a hand over his eye, a bandage covering the right side of his face given to him by Recovery Girl. She'd assured him that he wouldn't scar, as the actual injury wasn't as bad as it must have felt. As he sat down next to Uraraka, she beamed at him, as did half the class.
"DEKU! YOU FUCKING DID IT!" she shouted before covering her mouth, a heavy blush spreading as she realized how loud she'd shouted. Izuku felt like he was on top of the world. He'd done it, he'd beaten Bakugo in a fair fight!
"Plus, you looked hot while you did it! That hair is amazing, Midori!... how did you get it to grow so fast?" Ashido asked. Izuku felt his cheeks burn at being called "hot" before conceptualizing her question about his rapid hair growth. Exchanging a look with Uraraka, he tried to come up with some kind of explanation before Momo interjected.
"Possibly his quirk went haywire last night, Ashido. In fact, that's the only logical conclusion I can think of that could cause his hair to grow so rapidly." Izuku let out a sigh of relief, making a note to thank her for giving him an out so quickly.
"Yeah, I was just hanging out with Uraraka, and my hair suddenly grew like this, she said I should keep it cause it looks good!" Izuku said. Ashido, Tsuyu, and Momo all blinked at him rapidly before all three of them just smiled at him, Momo with a slight blush.
"Oh yeah? And just what were you two up to?" Ashido said, winking at Uraraka. Izuku looked at her just as she looked away from him shaking her head and holding her own cheeks.
"Kero, she's right. It looks good on you, especially done up like that." Izuku smiled at her, looking away from Uraraka for a moment to blush a little. Running a hand through his hair, he wouldn't lie, it really was starting to grow on him. He was surprised at the support he was getting from his classmates though. He even felt Kirishima clap him on the back with a big grin.
"WE'RE AT THE FINAL MATCH OF THE DAY FOR OUR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS! OUR FINAL BOUT IS THE FEROCIOUS KENDO UP AGAINST THE OCTO-ARMED SHOJI! LET'S GIVE OUR FINAL TWO COMPETITORS A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, IT'LL BE HARD TO TOP THAT LAST FIGHT, BUT LET'S SEE THESE TWO COMPETITORS GIVE IT THEIR ALL!" Present Mic shouted. Izuku instantly spun back around in his seat, pulling his notebook and pen up to take notes on both combatants as he would be facing the victor tomorrow. Kendo had that same stance as yesterday while Shoji just stood there with his arms crossed.
"BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted. Izuku sat forward in his seat as Kendo actually made the first move. The massive man swung four arms forward only for Kendo to dodge to the left and do a spinning open palm strike against his chest, growing her hand till it was bigger than Shoji's upper body before striking. The blow affected Shoji heavily, not having the fortified defenses that Kirishima possessed. The massive man fell to a knee almost immediately, his body wavering from side to side as she mercilessly slammed her fist into his face sending him sprawling. Shoji twitched on the ground and flipped over, trying to push himself up only to fall back down. Izuku blinked as Midnight announced Kendo the winner almost immediately, Shoji having to get carted off by medical bots.
"WELL... THAT WAS AN ANTICLIMACTIC FINISH! BUT LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR EVERYONE WHO GAVE IT THEIR ALL TODAY! TOMORROW, WE MOVE ONTO THE SEMI FINALS AND FINALS FOR EVERY YEAR! OUR FIRST YEARS' MATCHUPS WILL BE: THE DETERMINED URARAKA AGAINST THE ICY TODOROKI! OUR OTHER SEMI-FINALISTS FIGHTING EACH OTHER ARE: THE MAGICAL MIDORIYA AND OUR OWN KILLER KENDO!" Izuku shook his head before looking to see Uraraka shaking in her seat, looking over her shoulder at Todoroki who was already leaving. Lowering her head and letting out a long shaky sigh, she leaned back against the seat she was in.
"Well, all that's left before our fight is Todoroki and Kendo. All we need to do is to... to just beat... those two..." her voice trailed off. Smacking herself, her new hardened smile alarmed Izuku. "He's been underestimating everyone else so far, but if he does that here, I'll make him regret it." She wasn't wrong, from what Izuku had been able to tell; Todoroki hadn't gone all out even once during the tournament. While he was happy she wasn't going to give up and wanted to offer words of encouragement but well… the odds of her winning were pretty much zero. He reached over and patted her quivering shoulder, earning him an open gazed smile from her in return. "I'd better see you in the final round, Deku!"
"I'll do my best!" he promised. Turning back to the arena, he started to try and think about how
he could beat Todoroki… well, that, and how to force him to go all out.