Is everyone ready?
Hope you are, because it's time for the Hero vs Villain exercises, meaning Izuku and Bakugo are about to have their first true fight! I'll admit know that the battle is going to be somewhat similar to canon... though the results of that fight might just lead to something interesting soon enough, so keep an eye out for what happens after they finish their heated clash, because what happens might surprise you.
Also, something unrelated about the chapter itself I should also bring up?
For those of you who follow the manga, and are aware of what happened in the latest chapter (Ch 296 for future reference), I have this important detail to share about the story. I had this story's outline made around when Chapter 270 had been the latest chapter, and said arc is where the story's going to end.
Details that come after Ch 296 may still appear in the story if I feel they'll work or for some other reason I can't talk about just yet, but be aware that their chances will be much slimmer from here on out. Anything from Ch 271 to Ch 296 also has a lower chance of happening because this arc will be in everyone's Third Year, and have two in-story years to change.
Now, the last thing I need to say? While it isn't cancelled, after a recent decision to discontinue "When Dawn meets Dusk", the story you may remember me calling the black sheep among all of my current fanfics in Chapter 1... the Eri side story will no longer be separate from this one.
However, the way it will show up is still undecided. Either it will get an update every 10 chapters, or an epilogue after the final arc.
That's all I needed to say, so let's finally get this chapter started!
[Chapter 9 - Fated Rivalry, Part 2]
Over at Training Ground Beta, the sight of All Might was seen as he stood by a gate, waiting for both classes to walk into view, and after a long wait...
*"TAP! TAP!"*
They arrived.
"Listen well kids, they say that clothes make the pros, and behold... you are the proof!" He stated.
Light began shining on their silhouettes as they came into view.
"Now, stand up with pride, because as of this moment... you are officially heroes in-training!" All Might declared.
Soon enough, he stood before Class 1-A and 1-B, now in their Hero Costumes.
The only problem? All Might did a quick count, and saw only 39 students standing before him, and it didn't take long for him to notice which student was missing.
"Does anyone know where Midoriya is?" He asked.
All Might's question reached Bakugo's ears immediately, whose costume made his quirk and personality fairly obvious. It consisted of a tight, black sleeveless tank top, with an orange "X" across the middle, forming a V-neck. There were also two dots along the left line of his collar, which were just to indicate which the support company had been its designer. It also had a metallic neck brace worn with rectangular ends that had three holes on each side.
His sleeves reached from within his large grenade-like gauntlets to his biceps. His belt, which carried some grenades on it, held up a pair of baggy pants with knee guards, below which he sported black, knee-high combat boots with orange soles and eyelets. Topping it was a jagged black mask that went around his eyes, which also had large, orange-rimmed flare shape protrudes from each side.
'So, the nerd's not even here yet, is he?' He smirked.
Realizing this, Bakugo prepared to say something insulting about him, but before it could even leave his mouth?
"Here!" Midoriya shouted.
Everyone turned as he ran towards them, and once he came into view, they saw he was... wearing the gym uniform? It wasn't just the uniform, since he also had black wrist and knee guards, white gloves, a red utility belt, and a mouth guard as accessories.
But even with that in mind? His costume was clearly using the gym uniform as a basis.
"Is that really your costume?" Uraraka asked.
Midoriya turned to see her calling him, and then immediately began to blush once he saw her costume, which he hid by covering his face.
'Holy...' He thought.
Uraraka's costume consisted of a black full-body suit with a white design down the middle of her torso, two black circles on her chest, and a black rectangle below her waist that ran between her legs. There were two more white patches over her shoulders, both of which were cut off by pink armbands that matched a big choker around her neck.
She also had circular wrist guards, both of which had a pink handle, wide knee-high boots with magenta soles, a two-piece belt around her waist with a circle embedded into the center where the pieces joined up, and a helmet with a pink tinted visor and the same pink handles as her wrist guards on their sides. Essentially, she was an astronaut.
'Her costume looks so cool!' Midoriya finished thinking.
He then looked away, feeling himself sweating a little.
"U-Uh... no, this is just a loaner! I still don't have a good handle on my quirk, so I haven't really finalized an idea for my costume yet!" He answered, still looking away.
That was actually a complete lie.
As someone who had been admiring heroes since forever, he had plenty of costume ideas in mind, but once All Might had begun training him? There were times he had looked through his many Hero notebooks.
One of which had his costume designs, which All Might realized where heavily based off of him. Especially one that had a bunny look due to trying to mimic his hairstyle.
'You're so obvious!'
Was what his response to it was, and seeing All Might felt uncomfortable about the design? He had to start over entirely, but didn't do so until he received One for All, since he didn't know if how it manifested in him might require him to start over again. As such, by the time he had actually received the costume allowance? He didn't have an official design to give the design companies.
"Oh, I see. My costume ended up a lot different from what I wanted. My design request had me ask for something to press my acupuncture points, so they made mine a skintight suit as a result." She revealed.
'Skintight!?' Midoriya thought, feeling his blush growing worse.
Hearing this, Mineta turned to the side while having a nosebleed.
"I love this school." He smiled.
"Wait! Huh!?" Midoriya flinched.
Shinso stared at the duo before looking down at himself, revealing he too was wearing a gym uniform, with his sole accessory being a detachable mask-like device over his mouth. Despite this, no one seemed to notice the fact.
"What am I, invisible?" He lamented, looking annoyed.
All Might then cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention as they lined up before him.
"Now that you're all ready, it's time to begin your combat training!" He announced.
"Sir!"
Midoriya turned as he heard Iida's voice from a costume that completely hid his appearance.
'Oh, so that's Iida under there.' He realized.
Taking a closer look? Midoriya saw his costume looked like a mix between pure white knight armor, with the chain mail spots being replaced a dark blue one-piece suit, and a Formula One race car, which fit well with the exhaust pipes that his quirk manifested through.
'His costume looks familiar for some reason.' Midoriya thought, trying to think of why the design was one he seemed to recognize.
"Based on our current area, am I to assume we're conducting urban battles here?" Iida inquired.
"Not quite, I'm gonna move you two steps ahead! Most of you are probably familiar with seeing villain fights on the news, and therefore the common villain attacks that happen outside. However, that also means most if not all of you have really thought much about the fights that happen indoors, have you?" All Might replied, setting up the exercise.
Many tensed at those words, with All Might pausing to let them sink in.
"Would anyone here like to guess that that entails?" He inquired.
Himiko raised her hand.
"Backroom deals, terrorists attacks, underground lairs, and groups like the Meta Liberation Army that hide in plain sight, correct?" She answered.
"You are, Young Himiko!" All might praised.
She smiled in response, then blushed a little.
"The most dastardly villains hide in the shadows. It was such villains that brought the Era of Chaos onto our society for 25 terrifying years. As such, for this training exercise, you will be split into teams of good guys and bad guys to fight 2 vs 2 indoor battles!" He continued.
"Isn't this a little advanced?" Asui questioned.
"The best training is what you get on the battlefield! Just remember, unlike the Entrance Exam, you can't just punch a robot this time! You'll be dealing with actual people here!" All Might answered.
As he was about to continue, he was caught off guard by multiple students beating him to the punch.
"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" Yaoyorozu inquired.
"How much can we hurt the enemy team?" Bakugo asked next.
"Will the teams be exclusive to our respective classes, or can they be a mix of both?" Komori asked nervously.
"Do you intend to split us up by our skills, or results from the exam?" Iida inquired.
"Should we expect everyone to be both the good guys and the bad guys, or just in one role?" Shishida asked.
All Might winced at their questions.
"My quirk isn't omnipresence, slow down!" He shouted.
Everyone stopped asking questions as he cleared his throat.
"In order of the questions asked? Yes, I am. Fight the other team to the point of subduing or incapacitating them, but not killing them. Teams can be formed from anyone in both classes. I will answer that in a moment. Each team will only go once, but as some villains believe they're the heroes at times, all you of are indirectly playing as both the Heroes and the Villains." He answered.
He then took out a piece of paper and unfolded it to show the building layout.
"The situation is that a pair of villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout, and in 15 minutes, they will fire it at an unknown location unless it's recovered in time. For the heroes to foil their plans? They either have to capture the bad guys by incapacitating them, wrapping them in a capture tape item I'll be handing out, or recovering the weapon, which in this exercise will simply be making contact with it. For the villains to win, they must either protect their weapon or capture the heroes first." All Might explained.
One of the U.A. assistant robots then came into view with a box in hand, which All Might then held up.
"Each round will last 15 minutes, and we'll decide each team by drawing lots!" He continued.
"Isn't there a better way?" Iida asked.
"No, this is actually perfect for the exercise we're doing." Midoriya answered.
This made Iida look at him.
"Think about it. When a villain attacks, Heroes often have to team up on the spot, so drawing lots to choose our teams is how we're simulating that here." He explained.
"Right you are, Young Midoriya!" All Might smiled.
"Ah, I see. One must be prepared for life's unexpected moments. Please, forgive my interruption!" Iida realized, apologizing soon after.
"No sweat, now let's draw!" All Might exclaimed.
Everyone grabbed a slip of paper, which they soon saw had letters from A to T, with a dash between it and either the word Hero or Villain, showing each team's role had been decided in advance.
The results were:
Izuku Midoriya & Ochaco Uraraka - Team A (Heroes)
Shoto Todoroki & Mezo Shoji - Team B (Heroes)
Momo Yaoyorozu & Minoru Mineta - Team C (Villains)
Katsuki Bakugo & Tenya Ida - Team D (Villains)
Kojiro Bondo & Mina Ashido - Team E (Heroes)
Ibara Shiozaki & Neito Monoma - Team F (Villains)
Denki Kaminari & Kyoka Jiro - Team G (Heroes)
Fumikage Tokoyami & Tsuyu Asui - Team H (Heroes)
Hiryu Rin & Yosetsu Awase - Team I (Villains)
Eijiro Kirishima & Hanta Sero - Team J (Villains)
Jurota Shishida & Juzo Honenuki - Team K (Heroes)
Nejire Hado & Himiko Haimawari - Team L (Heroes)
Sen Kaibara & Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - Team M (Villains)
Nirengeki Shoda & Kosei Tsuburaba - Team N (Villains)
Yui Kodai & Kinoko Komori - Team O (Villains)
Reiko Yanagi & Tamaki Amajiki - Team P (Villains)
Inasa Yoarashi & Hitoshi Shinso - Team Q (Heroes)
Mirio Togata & Manga Fukidashi - Team R (Heroes)
Togaru Kamakiri & Pony Tsunotori - Team S (Villains)
Setsuna Tokage & Itsuka Kendo - Team T (Heroes)
Once Uraraka realized that she was on the same team as Midoriya, she let out an excited squeal and got close to him.
"Wow, what are the chances!?" She asked.
'For some reason I'm afraid to answer that question...' Midoriya thought, blushing as he suddenly got a bad feeling.
"Now, for which teams will fight who and which is first?" All Might announced.
The assistant robot scanned the class to register who picked which lot from the raffle box, and upon registering which teams contained Midoriya and Bakugo on them, began the routine that Nezu had Power Loader place into it.
Said robot then projected a screen to reveal which ten matchups it had decided on from a random placement generator.
Team A vs Team D
Team B vs Team I
Team H vs Team J
Team G vs Team C
Team E vs Team F
Team K vs Team O
Team T vs Team P
Team R vs Team N
Team L vs Team S
Team Q vs Team M
Realizing their teams were set to fight first? Midoriya's eyes widened in shock, fear, and horror at the sight, while Bakugo's eyes widened in excitement as he smirked.
'Oh no, did I jinx it!?' Uraraka panicked.
'Midoriya...' Iida thought, recalling what he told him yesterday about his relationship with Bakugo.
All Might briefly gave his protégé an apologetic glance.
"Everyone, follow me to the monitoring room. We'll watch the fight from there." He stated.
"Yes sir!" They replied.
Midoriya froze a little, then looked at Bakugo, who gave him an intense stare while still smirking.
'Remember your place Deku!' His eyes stated.
That made him flinch for a moment, but then...
'No, don't let it get to you! This is the chance you've been waiting for since he first got his quirk!' He reminded himself, tightening his fists.
Midoriya shot an intense stare back, which caught Bakugo by surprise before he let out a growl.
Within one of the building being used as hideouts for the exam, Iida and Bakugo were currently in the room with the fake weapon, with the former walking up to it.
"Even though this is training, I hate having to be aligned with criminal behavior." Iida sighed slightly.
Iida then tapped his knuckles against the weapon, hearing a loud clang that implied its heavy weight.
"Ah, so that's why we need to touch it." He realized.
"Hey, Four-eyes." Bakugo stated, facing the other way.
Choosing to ignore the nickname he was given by his teammate, who he had been reluctantly paired up with, Iida turned to face him.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Do you really think Deku has a quirk?" Bakugo asked.
"You seriously don't believe he has one?" Iida questioned.
He then sighed.
"Then again, he himself told me you would likely never believe him. Why exactly do you have such a problem with Midoriya anyways?" Iida inquired, raising an eye.
Bakugo didn't hear that question, shaking as his pride began to write out his thoughts for him.
'Deku, have you been tricking me all of these years? If that's how you wanna play...' He thought.
He gave a sadistic smirk.
'Then I'm gonna roast you!'
Iida saw Bakugo walk out of the door, surprising him for a moment.
"Looks like I'll have to protect the weapon myself then." He realized.
He put on his helmet and began to strategize.
Meanwhile, back outside, Midoriya and Uraraka were both holding a floor plan for the building layout they were given to have an idea of where they could go once they were inside the building. It made Uraraka's head spin.
"Do you think they expect us to memorize this whole floor plan?" She asked, deciding to take a break.
She then let out a small, playful laugh.
"You know, All Might's just as cool in person as he is on television. Add in how we don't have to deal with an implied punishment like we did yesterday, and we can relax-" She continued as she looked at Midoriya.
She let out a scream after seeing him, noticing that his gym uniform had noticeable sweat stains on it.
"Ah! You're sweating through your costume!" Uraraka exclaimed.
"Uh, well... it's just... because we're up against Kacchan, plus there's Iida too. Who knows what they'll do?" He confessed, shaking a little.
Uraraka remembered yesterday.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I should have remembered what you told me and Iida about Bakugo yesterday-" She apologized.
"No... it's fine." Midoriya replied.
She paused at that, seeing how Midoriya's mood dropped somewhat.
"Are you-" She tried asking.
"Kacchan... he's always been so amazing." Midoriya reluctantly admitted.
Uraraka's words stopped.
"He can be a real pain, sure, but... his skills? The strength of his quirk, his ambitions, and his confidence? They're all the real deal... he's always been so much better than me." He continued praising.
Just as she tried to say something to make him feel better, he stood up straight and slapped his cheeks, making her gasp slightly.
"But... that's exactly why today? I have to do better, no... I have to be better! No more cowering in his shadow!" Midoriya stated.
He moved his arms into a fighting stance.
"So, I refuse to lose to him!" He continued.
Looking at that? Uraraka smiled, realizing she had no reason to worry about him.
"Like a fated battle between rivals." She stated.
"O-Oh! Sorry if I'm getting you wrapped up into my fight or anything-" He apologized, waving his arms nervously.
"Are you kidding me? We're a team, so let's win this!" Uraraka exclaimed.
Seeing that, Midoriya smiled and nodded in response. They would win this!
"The waiting period is over, let's begin the combat training!" All Might announced, getting everyone's attention.
After hearing that announcement, Midoriya and Uraraka looked at one another, knowing the time for action had begun.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
Within a dark room that was lit only by a monitoring screen, All Might and the remaining 36 students were all watching the opening stages of the fight as the Hero Team chose to climb up the building instead of entering the main entrance.
"Pay attention to what you see and here on the monitor, and think about what you would do in their shoes." All Might advised.
He then turned to the other students.
"Now, for a quick rundown of things, so no one is lost while doing so? Both teams have a radio device in their ear linked up to the one worn by their partner and one I have. That way, I can step in should things get ugly for any reason. I've also given each team a roll of capture tape." He explained.
Everyone saw him hold out a small roll of tape he could hold between his fingers.
"If you can wrap this around your opponent's arms or hands and then tie it? You've captured them. Also, it's considered part of your equipment, so you can use it in other ways as well." All Might added.
Ashido soon looked at the timer set for 15 minutes.
"So, there's a 15-minute time limit, and the good guys has no idea what floor the weapon is on, right?" She asked.
"Correct!" All might confirmed.
"Then the Hero Team is at a disadvantage here, a big one!" Ashido realized.
"Exactly, because real pros have to outwit villains like this on a daily basis, regardless of if they're fighting inside or outside. That's life. Even when the odds aren't in our favor, we fight!" He answered.
Those words made a few students crack a smile.
"All together!" All Might began, with that alone being enough of a clue to what was coming.
"PLUS ULTRA!" The students shouted.
With that done, All Might returned his focus to the screen.
'Young Midoriya, part of me wants to stop this, but... I also know why Nezu said this fight needs to happen. I just hope that Bakugo doesn't push things too far that it has the opposite effect on you.' He thought.
It was around this point when Midoriya and Uraraka made their official entrance into the building.
Midoriya looked around while Uraraka smiled.
"And just like that, we're in." She whispered.
"Keep your guard up. There's still a lot of blind spots, and I'm certain that Kacchan is already looking for us." Midoriya warned.
She nodded her head.
Midoriya then briefly took a moment to lightly tap part of the wall, analyzing its durability, then began walking down the hallway to their right as Uraraka followed him.
'This building should be able to hold up any of my normal smashes or Kacchan's smaller explosions. I should also try to avoid attacking in one place, so the fact his explosions favor close combat works in our favor.' He thought.
He then moved his focus towards what might be around them.
'Add in the notes I've taken on indoor battling and fighting in tight spaces, and how I'm sure Kacchan will react once he finds us... we can do this, we can win!' Midoriya thought with a confident expression.
And just as he finished that thought?
*"CRACKLE!"*
He gasped before grabbing Uraraka, right as Bakugo jumped into view and swung his arm out.
"DIE, DEKU!"
Luckily, Midoriya had reacted just in time, with Bakugo only striking the wall and cutting the strap of Midoriya's mouth guard, which was caught in the explosion and burnt to a crisp. Smoke covered Bakugo's form as the two got up.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, thanks." Uraraka replied, still in slight shock over how fast Bakugo had attacked them.
It was then the angry blonde swiped the smoke away.
"What's the matter Deku, afraid to stand up and fight me?" Bakugo stated, glaring at him.
"I knew you'd come at me first, and try to catch me by surprise." Midoriya answered quietly.
He then got onto his feet.
"Only problem is I've heard your explosions enough to hear them at their faintest." Midoriya replied, getting in a fighting stance.
From the monitoring room, everyone saw what had happened.
"He almost got the jump on him!" Mineta said while shaking.
"But it didn't work, Midoriya knew how to dodge it!" Ashido praised, raising his fists up near her chest.
"Wow..." Himiko breathed.
If anyone had been paying attention to her at that moment? They'd see the small blush that had just formed on her face.
"A sneak attack? What kind of man pulls cheap crap like that!?" Kirishima shouted.
"He's playing a Villain right now, so technically that's in-character." Tetsutetsu stated.
"I like this guy!" Kamakiri smirked.
Bakugo soon began to rush at Midoriya, a huge shit-eating grin on his face.
"I won't hurt you so badly they'll have to stop the fight, just close!" He shouted.
Midoriya tensed a little.
'Uraraka's still too close to me, I have to take it!' He thought.
And just like that, Midoriya rose his arms up to protect himself.
He took Bakugo's right hook dead on, sliding back a bit, and making Uraraka gasp as she saw it.
"Uraraka, don't get too close!" He warned.
"But-" She tried to say, filled with worry.
"It's fine, trust me!" He replied without looking back, his expression unafraid.
She was still concerned, but she nodded and put some distance between them.
Bakugo soon jumped back.
"Are you seriously trying to fight me alone, Deku? Well then, I'm happy to oblige!" He shouted as his smirk grew wider.
He shot forward using his explosions.
Midoriya threw his first forward, only for Bakugo to use a few explosions to get behind him and try another strike. Midoriya quickly bent forward, just barely dodging it.
"You aren't getting away that easily!" He roared.
Bakugo grabbed his wrist and then spun himself around until he had the momentum he needed to toss Midoriya into the air, leaving him wide open.
Everyone in the monitoring room gasped at the sight.
"What kind of move was that?" Bondo asked in surprise.
"He doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd have a strategy, but it's clear he's quite intelligent, even if just with how he uses his quirk." Todoroki noted.
This made a few people look at him.
"What do you mean?" Nejire asked.
"His blast was a way to change his trajectory in midair, while also serving as a smokescreen. It was quite clever." He explained.
Yaoyorozu nodded her head, knowing exactly what he meant.
"Not only that, but pulling off a feint attack like that one requires an extreme amount of precision. He had to both calculate the physics and show great control over his quirk. This allowed him to hold up the momentum after he missed to set up that throw." She added.
Kaminari sighed at that.
"Bakugo is way too talented, it's really unfair..." He remarked.
"Though it's pretty clear he's quite arrogant." Monoma added.
This got a few eyes to look at him.
"Hmm?" Yui blinked in confusion.
"He could have easily thrown Midoriya onto the ground and used the impact to disorient him, but just threw him into the air. Not to mention he didn't go after Uraraka when she was asked to move away, and had an opening to get her with that speed boost of his. It's pretty clear he wants to make a spectacle of beating Midoriya, and it's giving him tunnel vision." He explained.
"As annoying as you usually are... you do have a point there. Bakugo does seem to be ignoring her." Kendo agreed.
Then, everyone heard a slamming sound, and were surprised at what happened next.
With his opening set, Bakugo dashed ahead, preparing another right hook with an explosion tied to it, leaving Uraraka to stare as she didn't have the speed to stop his next attack from hitting Midoriya.
"Even now, you keep spouting all that nonsense... that's why I hate you!" Bakugo roared.
He threw his arm forward.
"Never forget what you are, Deku!" He shouted as it got closer.
At that moment... Midoriya threw out his arms and caught it!
"He caught it!" Uraraka cheered.
Midoriya's feet soon landed back on the ground, and then he pivoted them, preparing to throw a shocked Bakugo, who was shocked at how their positions had been reversed.
'Impossible, how'd he know what I was gonna do? He's not that good!' Bakugo thought.
Explosions left both of his hands as he tried to make Midoriya let go of him, and then...
"No... you... don't!" Midoriya shouted.
Channeling the power of One for All into his arms, Midoriya slammed him into the ground, making a crater as all of Class 1-A and 1-B looked at the sight in shock.
The force made Bakugo tumble a bit as he let out a cough.
"Kacchan, you always use a right hook to start a fight, and if it works... you keep using it. It's a habit you've had ever since that fateful day." Midoriya said quietly.
Bakugo's eyes widened at that, turning to angrily look at Midoriya.
"I know that because I've watched you for years. I've analyzed every amazing hero and would-be hero, including you, so I could learn everything I could about them for the day when I could walk down that path as well... in all those notebooks you always mocked and degraded." He continued.
He looked up, showing an expression that looked like calm anger that had finally showed itself after a decade of hiding.
"Call me Deku as many times as you want, but it won't matter anymore... because I'm not the same helpless kid you called worthless all those years ago! You hear me? I've changed!"
With a deep breath, he said the words that fully cemented his escape from Bakugo's shadow.
The words that chose his future hero name.
"From now on, I'm no Deku... I'm a Dekiru!"
Uraraka gasped as she heard him shout his new nickname with pride, recognizing how similar his words to what she told him yesterday.
Bakugo, on the other hand, pretty much went from angry to furious in response.
It didn't take long for those in the monitoring room to notice Bakugo was about to flip his lid off, a sight that was actually unnerving most of his classmates in 1-A, while only a few in 1-B seemed to be similarly shaken.
"OK, now he's just terrifying..." Amajiki said.
"Hey, is it just me, or does it seem like Bakugo has an actual problem with Midoriya? It sounds like they already knew each other." Manga asked.
All Might used that brief window to grab two random files and pretend he was checking them.
"Their files state they went to the same Junior High, and with their use of nicknames, it's pretty clear they are familiar with one another. Though I can't say the full extent of their relationship, beyond it sounds like it wasn't a positive one." All Might replied.
Mirio looked at the screen.
"Sir, look!" He alerted him.
Everyone returned their attention to the screen, seeing the battle resume.
Bakugo screamed as he blasted himself forward again, and Midoriya guarded.
"Uraraka, go and find the weapon!" He shouted.
"Good luck Dekiru, I believe in you!" She replied.
She then ran off.
"Ballsy move, thinking you can take me without your partner's help?" Bakugo shouted, completely missing the hypocrisy of his words.
He kicked at Midoriya, who ducked and pulled out the capture tape.
'Shit, he's trying to capture me now!' Bakugo panicked, seeing it wrap.
'Knowing Kacchan, seeing this will make him panic and try to escape by...' Midoriya thought, keeping his eye on Bakugo's movements.
Bakugo swung his right arm forward.
'Throwing another punch!' He finished.
Midoriya dodged the attack, which hit the wall and made a cloud of smoke.
Most of his classmates were smiling at how he was staying ahead of Bakugo.
"Impressive, he's actually holding his own." Shishida praised.
"And he's only used his quirk the one time so far. If I didn't know any better, every hit he's taken was intentional." Kaibara remarked.
"That's very likely, as no hero will go their entire career without taking some kind of damage. Even me." All Might added.
Midoriya then began running off.
"Wait, he's running away?" Kamakiri questioned, looking confused.
"He might be trying to exhaust his opponent." Shoji suggested.
"Bakugo has shown he has quite a temper too, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's trying to make Bakugo mad enough that he'll start getting sloppy." Awase guessed.
Once the smoke cleared, Bakugo finally Midoriya's absence and nearly felt one of his veins' pop.
"Deku, get back here! Stop mocking me! Not only have you been tricking me for all these years, but you've been laughing behind my back all this time!' He screamed.
This scream reached Midoriya, who looked surprised by his words.
"Quirk or no quirk, you'll never beat me, Deku! I'll prove my quirk is stronger than yours and expose the cheater you really are!" He continued screaming.
He swung his arm at the nearest door and broke it before walking away, trying to find where Midoriya went.
Watching the way Bakugo was acting, the students of both classes began having very... diverse reactions to it.
"Is he... throwing a tantrum?" Tsuburaba questioned.
"Yes, and it's one mixed with whining." Shinso replied.
Himiko said nothing and simply looked at Bakugo, feeling like she could see strong emotions hidden within his eyes.
'I thought she was exaggerating, but it seems Young Midoriya's mother wasn't lying...' All Might thought.
His mind drifted back to that day.
~ July, 2214: Midoriya Apartment
Nightfall had fallen as Toshinori brought Midoriya home for the day. However, for once, Toshinori decided to stay and sat down with Inko as Midoriya was washing up in the showers before dinner.
Inko soon looked at him as he brought up a question that he only thought to ask because of events that had occurred today. A question she had been hoping to avoid.
"You warn to know about Katsuki's relationship with Midoriya? How did this come up?" She inquired.
"Today, while Young Midoriya was training, he ran into him for a brief moment." Toshinori explained.
She flinched at that... and then sighed.
"And just when it seemed like he had begun leaving alone after that whole Sludge Villain mess..." Inko said quietly, feeling a bit disheartened.
Her eyes closed for a moment as she took a deep breath, then looked at Toshinori's eyes.
"For where I should start? The best place is... that they used to be best friends, around the time before they developed their quirks." She began.
"Let me guess, Young Bakugo getting his quirk made them drift apart?" He assumed.
Inko nodded her head in response, and began telling him about the time her son defended a classmate from him and his cronies, making Toshinori's eyes widen a little.
'I thought that Young Midoriya's lack of confidence and his reaction to this Bakugo fellow was unusual, but... I never expected this!' Toshinori thought, nearly sweating.
However, Inko wasn't even close to being finished.
"Although, that was just when the bar representing their friendship snapped. Not long after Izuku was labeled quirkless, but before that incident, there was... something that had already bent it near that point." She revealed.
"Hmm?" He blinked, already feeling nervous on what her revelation might be.
"One day, they and those same kids went to play in the forest." Inko began.
Toshinori nodded to show he was following so far.
"I don't know what happened, as Izuku never told me and Katsuki never told his mother, but... when I talked to her the next day? Mitsuki told me something concerning her son had said after coming home." She continued.
"What was it?" Toshinori asked, finally sweating.
"It was... Deku was looking down on me, and I knew that meant something bad because prior to that? Katsuki had only said that to Izuku once as an unknowingly mean, but otherwise playful joke." Inko answered.
After hearing that, Toshinori was clearly able to see where Midoriya's current relationship with Bakugo was, especially since he knew what Deku meant.
Back then, part of him felt Inko was making it sound worse than it actually was, based on how she usually reacted to things. Now he knew it really was that bad.
However, now there was a different problem.
'I still don't know what made Young Bakugo to say that, and such words are troubling to hear from a child. If those feelings don't get properly addressed... they could be his downfall.' He realized.
After running for a bit and setting up a large distance between himself and Bakugo, a panting Midoriya stopped to catch his breath and plan his next move.
'Since Kacchan is the one who went out here, Iida is definitely still with the weapon. He's definitely not working with Iida either.' He thought, forming a plan.
Midoriya soon caught his breath.
'If we want to win this? I have to take down Kacchan here, or I risk him following me to wherever the weapon is. Though that also risks running out of time before I can help Uraraka grab the weapon, since Iida will likely use his quirk to keep it out of her reach, and make sure to clear out anything she could use her quirk on besides herself. But I don't think I can lose Kacchan long enough to help her.' He realized.
"Stop hiding! Come out and face me, coward!" Bakugo screamed.
Hearing that? Midoriya felt a bead of sweat go down his cheek, wondering how he and Uraraka would be able to win? Especially since he didn't know how much time was left.
Meanwhile, as Bakugo was walking down the halls, his mind began to wander to a time from long ago.
The sound of someone in slight pain was heard as a green ball rolled across the ground, revealing Midoriya at age 3 or 4, who had tried to do something with it and failed.
"Geeze Izuku, you really suck at this!" A young Bakugo teased.
"It isn't as easy as it looks." Midoriya replied, rubbing his head.
Bakugo blew a raspberry at that.
"Says you, just sit back and watch!" He answered with a smirk, readying the orange ball in his hands.
He then began to juggle its bounces across his body with ease. Midoriya's eyes widened at the sight.
"Wow, you're so awesome!" Midoriya praised.
"Whatever, this is nothing!" Bakugo stated.
This had been long ago, before he developed his quirk, and then changed for the worst.
Bakugo and Midoriya were soon standing by a lake, with Bakugo's two cronies with them.
"Watch this!" Bakugo shouted.
He tossed a skipping rock across a river, with everyone watching as they counted it skip seven times before it finally sank into the water.
"Seven skips!?" The finger crony exclaimed.
"That has to be some kind of record!" Tsubasa praised, looking at him in awe.
"I bet it is!" Bakugo smirked.
He then turned to Midoriya.
"So, how many skips did you get, Izuku?" He inquired, raising an eye.
"Z... Zero..." Midoriya answered.
Bakugo and his future cronies all laughed at that, while Midoriya lowered his face and blushed.
The four of them were then gathered as Bakugo held up a pale with Midoriya's name, and then...
"See this?" He asked.
"What about it?" Tsubasa inquired, not seeing what he meant.
Bakugo then pointed towards the second kanji in Izuku's name.
"This part right here." Bakugo stated.
Midoriya and his future cronies still didn't get it, making him laugh a little before he answered.
"You can read the last part of Izuku's name as Deku, see it now?" He said while pointing again.
All of them looked excited.
"How cool! To think you can read that!" The finger crony praised.
"Of course, though Izuku better hope no one else can." He smirked.
Midoriya blinked in response.
"Huh?" He said in confusion.
"Deku means worthless, which is pretty much what someone can call you right now with how you can't seem to do anything." Bakugo explained.
The future cronies both laughed at that, while Midoriya just pouted a bit.
"Why are you being so mean Kacchan?" He asked, feeling a little hurt by that.
"Relax, it isn't like a bully knows." Bakugo waved.
Oh, how ironic those words would end up becoming in the next few weeks.
Bakugo grit his teeth a bit.
'How fitting that you ended up being quirkless. Despite that, you never accepted that, and somehow got a quirk? I'm so much better than you... and I'll prove that here!' He promised with an intense glare.
It was around that time that Uraraka finally found the room where Iida and the weapon were, seeing the former switching his glance between both possible openings into the room for either herself or Midoriya.
'I found it, but Iida's thought ahead and taken out anything in the room I could use my quirk on.' She thought.
She tapped her radio in response.
Back downstairs, Midoriya was still trying to think of a plan to win, right as Uraraka's radio signal reached his ear.
"Hey, Dekiru?' Uraraka whispered.
"Oh, Uraraka! Did you find the weapon?" He responded, keeping an eye out for Bakugo.
"I did, but... Iida's on high alert, and he made sure to take away anything I could use my quirk on. What should I do now?" She quietly inquired.
Midoriya began thinking of a plan.
'Uraraka can't try to rush in and surprise him, Iida could simply rush out of the room with the weapon, and then we'll definitely risk running out of time. Right now, the best she can do is stay where she is until I can join her... though that doesn't seem likely either.' He thought.
However, then he realized something.
"What floor are you on right now, and what does the room Iida's in look like?" Midoriya inquired.
"Near the middle of the fifth floor. It's a large room with six support pillars." She answered.
Realizing that, Midoriya felt something in him click.
'Hold on... something about that feels like it could help, but what was it?' Midoriya realized.
He tried to factor everything he'd seen in the match so far. After a moment, it finally hit him!
'Wait, those grenade gauntlets Kacchan's wearing... could those be for what I think they are? It's a gamble, but I'm right...' He realized.
Deciding on this plan, he took a deep breath.
"Uraraka, I have an idea. Listen closely." He replied.
He began to explain, whispering in case Bakugo was within earshot, which he luckily wasn't. The plan made Uraraka's eyes widen.
"Do you really think you can pull that off?" She inquired.
"Right now, it might be the only way to win." He replied.
He soon stood up... and banged his fist on the wall, getting Bakugo's attention as he heard it.
"Kacchan, over here!" Midoriya shouted.
This surprised everyone, with even All Might himself wondering what his new strategy was.
'Young Midoriya, what exactly are you planning?' He thought, feeling a little nervous.
He soon ran to the center of the floor he was on.
"Uraraka, I'm here. Get ready for the next step." He whispered, now only needing Bakugo to show up for the next part of his plan to proceed.
Bakugo stomped into the room at that exact moment.
"There you are, Deku!" He shouted, aiming a glare at him.
Midoriya got into his stance.
"It was a bad idea to have me chase you around. Thanks to that, I'm not all loaded up." Bakugo smirked, right as he held up his grenade gauntlets.
'Just as I thought, those grenades can store up his sweat for something!' Midoriya thought.
While he saw Midoriya stare at him, looking unafraid? Bakugo felt more memories surface.
The fated day had come.
Everyone in Bakugo and Midoriya's kindergarten class were gathered around the former, seeing the sparks of his recently awakened Explosion quirk going off.
"Wow!" Everyone said, though not at the same time.
Their two teachers both showed similar looks of awe.
"I bet that's gonna become an amazing quirk in the future, you could even become a Pro with that kind of ability." The male teacher stated.
"What do you think Bakugo, do we have a future here in our class?" The female teacher asked.
'This quirk is amazing? Yes, it is amazing... and I'm amazing! I bet there's no one as great as I am, not even All Might!' He thought, sowing the seeds of his future attitude.
Midoriya soon walked closer to him.
"Kacchan, you're so lucky! I hope my quirk is just as cool as yours!" He praised.
"Whatever Izuku, no matter what quirk you get? You'll never beat me." He replied.
Midoriya looked confused at that.
A few weeks after, Midoriya was sitting in class with a somber look.
"Hey, did you hear? Midoriya just found out he doesn't have a quirk."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's called being quirkless. How dumb is that?"
One of their teachers soon walked over after hearing that.
"Hey, stop that." He warned.
From afar, Bakugo let out a chuckle, knowing it was now truly impossible for Midoriya to beat him.
However, it wouldn't be until the day after that when the bar that would break was finally bent.
"Forward march and here we go!" Bakugo began.
"Forward match and here we go!" His future cronies repeated from behind him.
Midoriya was there as well, following all three of them without saying a word.
"Members of the agency Bakugo!" He continued.
Just as his cronies were about to repeat what he said? Bakugo slipped on the log they were walking across, and fell into the river below.
*"SPLASH!"*
Both cronies gasped and looked down.
"Katsuki!" The finger crony shouted.
"You alright!?" Tsubasa called out.
He surfaced a few seconds afterwards, and they both let out a sigh, not even seeing how Midoriya reacted.
"Of course he's fine, Katsuki's super tough." Tsubasa stated.
Bakugo shook the water off his form, and when he stopped.
"Kacchan, are you alright? Did you hurt anything?" Midoriya asked, standing in the water and holding out a hand.
The only thing he wanted was to make sure he was OK, though to Bakugo, the moment he heard those words...
'Are you... looking down on me!?' He thought.
He held in those feelings, and just brushed Midoriya's hand away as he stood back up on his own.
Not long after? The event that ended their friendship occured, resulting in their current dynamic.
Around the same time as this, Uraraka heard Midoriya's cue and walked into the doorway, getting Iida's attention... right before he gave off an evil laugh.
"So, you have finally come!" He said in a hammy voice, trying to sound villainous.
Hearing that voice, Uraraka stared at him for a moment... before her cheeks puffed.
"Huh!?" Iida flinched in surprise.
'Oh my god, he's so serious about this whole thing!' She thought, spitting the air out of her cheeks as she completely failed to hold her internal laughter in.
Iida soon cleared his throat and resumed his villainous façade.
"The moment Bakugo chose to go after Midoriya on his own, I knew that you would come to face me alone! As such, knowing that your quirk allows you to remove the gravity of whatever you touch, I prepared for that, and made sure to clear this entire room of everything you could use against me!" He announced, starting to monologue.
She put a hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her laughter, with little success.
'Sorry Iida, but I just can't take you seriously because of your voice!' She apologized.
"Uraraka, now!" Midoriya shouted.
Hearing that? Her eyes widened, and she immediately grabbed the pillar closest to her.
"Right!" She shouted.
Iida noticed this, looking confused by her action.
'Wait, is this Midoriya's plan?' Iida quickly realized.
He ran over to the weapon.
Going back a moment before Uraraka grabbed onto the pillar, Bakugo began to stomp towards Midoriya with an angry glare.
"Why aren't you using your quirk on me, Deku? Think you can beat me without it?" He questioned, while showing his teeth.
Midoriya said nothing as he waited for Bakugo to get close or react.
"You've been hiding your true power for years, haven't you? Did you think you were better than me this entire time!?" He screamed angrily, his voice getting higher.
Hearing that, Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise, and then... his fist tightened.
"That's what you think?" You... idiot!" He shouted back, surprised at those words.
Bakugo stopped moving after hearing that.
"You've always been stronger than me Kacchan, it's been clear for years that you've been better than me!" Midoriya exclaimed.
Those words made Bakugo's eyes widen.
"And that's exactly why I wanna beat you, because you're that amazing!" He continued.
With that reply, Bakugo felt his arms shake before he held up his right arm, and then...
*"SHINK!"*
All Might's focus moved to his right gauntlet as its black lines glowed a faint red, and then part of the metal rim opened up to reveal a hidden area with a pin-shaped lever.
"Deku... you're even more of an idiot than I realized! Fine then, let's see you keep that act up after this!" He declared.
Moving the lever to a different spot, the hole on the metal rim unlocked, making All Might's eyes widen at the implication.
'That's going to far!' All Might realized.
He immediately grabbed the microphone.
"Young Bakugo, do NOT fire that blast! You'll kill him!" He warned, hoping that the hotheaded boy would listen.
"Deku will be fine as long as he dodges!" Bakugo replied with a smirk.
He pushed the lever up and made the rim's hole start glowing, releasing a large explosive fire towards Midoriya's body.
This made All Might panic and recall the layout to help Midoriya before he got hit.
"Young Midoriya, there's a hall to the left! Hurry!" He warned, sweat slightly.
Even he wasn't that fast to rush over and help, with his only solace being they were standing somewhere where he was sure Bakugo's blast wouldn't make the building's foundation collapse on everyone.
[My Hero Academia: You Say Run]
However, Midoriya didn't move.
"Why isn't he running? That attack's gonna kill him!" Kirishima nervously asked.
"Please, Young Midoriya, run!" All Might shouted, panicking even more now.
At that moment?
"Uraraka, now!" He shouted, moving his foot forward.
This caused everyone to give Midoriya a confused look.
'PLUS ULTRA!' Midoriya thought.
He soon swung his right arm up as he kicked off the ground, right as the fiery blast neared him.
"SMASH!"
With one quick thrust of his arm in the form of a vertically aimed uppercut towards the ceiling...
*"BAM!"*
The flames of Bakugo's fire died out as they passed Midoriya, making Bakugo's widen as Midoriya's punch caused a pillar of air to shoot through the ceiling!
Everyone stared at the sight in shock as what remained of the flames only barely charred the wall behind Midoriya, and burnt off some of his right glove off.
*"SHATTER! CRASH! SHATTER!"*
Right as Iida grabbed the weapon and prepared to run out of the room? The floor exploded, with the air pillar still blowing through the newly-made hole.
"What... what's happening!?" He questioned while breaking character.
The force of the impact allowed Uraraka to rip the one support pillar she held off, and ready it like a baseball bat.
"This is it, and sorry in advance Iida!" She declared.
She reeled the pillar back, and then swung it forward.
"Improvised Special Move!"
"Bat Comet Home Run!"
Iida felt his eyes widen as her swing flung the floating debris at him.
"In the name of villainy, I demand that you stop this!" He exclaimed.
She rushed ahead, jumped, and then used her quirk on herself as the air pillar finally disappeared, which allowed her fly straight over the hole in the floor.
"Release!"
Uraraka then landed by hugging the weapon.
"I... I've got it!" She announced.
"No! The weapon!" Iida exclaimed.
Buzzers soon went off to mark the match was over, but everyone in the waiting room could only stare in shock, just like Bakugo did at the holes Midoriya's plan had made.
"What just happened!?" Rin questioned.
"I think Midoriya just used the flames of Bakugo's explosion... so his punch could aim the rising air." Yaoyorozu theorized.
"Did that use actual physics, or was that a quirk giving science a middle finger moment?" Tokage questioned in confusion.
Yaoyorozu didn't answer.
"The... the Hero Team..." All Might began, shaking as everything finally sunk in.
He then took a deep breath.
"Wins!" He then exclaimed.
Phew... that was an intense match, wasn't it?
The main changes the fight really had were due to Iida already learning what Bakugo's like in an earlier chapter, leading to him thinking of acting like he was a villain before Uraraka could show up and give herself away from laughing at it, and using Bakugo's gauntlet blast to amplify Izuku's Smash, since he's unable to freely go 100% like he can in canon.
And as with everyone's appearance, their hero costumes will not be immediately described, as I'm waiting for everyone to have their matches first. Also, Izuku doesn't have his costume ready yet because All Might rejected his original ideas for obvious reasons. His and Shinso's costumes won't be revealed until after the USJ arc.
Speaking of the other matches? While they'll be much shorter like with Todoroki's canon match, I will be showing all of them instead of just giving you brief moments where we see them use their quirks like in canon, since I've kept all of you waiting to see everyone's quirk evolutions in action for WAY too long.
Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^