CHAPTER 11:

GRUDGE MATCH

What was it that motivated Izuku Midoriya during his clash with Katsuki Bakugou? It'd be a mistake to claim that there was one singular motive. While many have singular motives for doing things, some will have many reasons to fight.

One reason, I believe, was to prove himself. Not to the bovine masses, as he knew he had shown that when he fought Todoroki. Not to his mother, who knew what potential he had as a Pro-Hero, nor to his friends, for similar reasons. Rather, he wanted to prove to Bakugou, for once and for all, that he was going to be a Pro-Hero, no matter what, even if Bakugou would doubtlessly remain in denial.

Another was revenge, even if that desire was smaller than it would be in many, myself included. For years, Izuku bore the brunt of Bakugou's insults, initially out of a desire to win back a friendship already fraying, and then, out of a desire to be better than his former friend. This match, then, would be something of a catharsis, an indulgence of schadenfreude. The fact that Bakugou had injured Hitoshi Shinso was also a factor.

But I feel that some small part of Izuku wished to lay a demon to rest. Katsuki Bakugou was part of a past that had won him nothing but scorn and contempt, first for lacking a Quirk, and then for having the Soul Reaver. Izuku, I believed, wanted to conquer his own past by conquering his rival. Even if it was just once, even if it would drive Bakugou to greater depths of enmity, Izuku wanted to do it once, and begin walking on a new path in his life…

Himiko helped Yaoyorozu along the corridor after their match was concluded. It was a hard-won battle, admittedly, partly because of Yaoyorozu's Quirk, and partly because the buxom teen was no slouch when it came to close-quarters combat. But Himiko was a vicious and pragmatic fighter, even without her knives, and she managed to counter what Yaoyorozu tried to do to her, all without using her own Quirk.

Yaoyorozu seemed rather down afterwards, which was why Himiko opted to help her to Recovery Girl. Himiko was somewhat neutral towards the rich girl. On the one hand, her family was loaded, partly due to the fact that they were a famous Pro-Hero family, like the Iidas or the Todorokis. On the other hand, Yaoyorozu was nothing but courteous to her, and not in a patronising way. And Himiko could respect the girl's skill: this was definitely not someone who rested on their laurels or lorded their wealth, family name or abilities over her.

As they carefully went down the corridor, Yaoyorozu asked, "Why didn't you use your Quirk?"

"Did Izuku tell you how my Quirk works?" Himiko asked in turn.

"…I overheard him saying that it works when you ingest blood. You transform into the person whose blood you ingest," Yaoyorozu said.

"Exactly. I even recently learned how to use their Quirks," Himiko said. "But…well, Izuku told me that Eraserhead said no Pro-Hero should be a one-trick pony, and anyway, it's not like I can use blood all the time. Using Shinso's blood would be too easy, and with Uraraka, well, I'd still have to get in close to stop you. So, I went back on the standby of close-range combat. You're pretty good, Yaoyorozu." Himiko rubbed a bump on her head ruefully from where Yaoyorozu whacked her with a staff. "I beat you because, well, I'm more vicious than you are. Don't feel too bad about it. I mean, you beat Ashido pretty handily. Hell, now I have to face off against some of the strongest guys in your class."

"Whoever wins between Iida and Tokoyami, as well as Midoriya and Bakugou," Yaoyorozu mused.

"Well, dunno who'd win between Iida and Tokoyami, but Izuku…he's got the fight against Bakagou in the bag," Himiko said confidently.

"You seem confident," Yaoyorozu said. "I know Midoriya and Bakugou have known each other for years, but…"

"Izuku's got this, believe me," Himiko said.

They reached the door to Recovery Girl's room, and they opened it, to find Hitoshi sitting up, conscious. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hitoshi, you're okay!" Himiko chirped.

Recovery Girl nodded. "I might need to have him checked out later to make sure, but he seems to have no sign of concussion. What about you two?"

"Give us a check-up, doc," Himiko said with a grin. "I mean, just in case. That staff of hers hits really hard."

Recovery Girl harrumphed, hobbling over. "…You know, if I didn't know that's how you act already, I'd think you were punch-drunk. I'll check anyway…"

Janos gazed down at the stadium in thought. At least two of his protégés had made it to the finals, something to be relieved about, and he knew Vlad King's competitive streak would be assuaged by one of his students making it to the semi-finals. But now, Izuku was about to face a demon from his past. Inko was fretting, the chubby woman wringing her hands as they watched the fight between Tenya Iida and Fumikage Tokoyami.

"Calm yourself, Inko," Janos said quietly.

Inko shot him a look. "You know telling someone to calm down will have the opposite effect more often than not?" she asked wryly.

Janos chuckled, and even Sir Nighteye chuckled as well. Eri just looked puzzled. "True," Janos said. "Sorry, I said it more out of social convention and concern for your well-being."

"It's not my well-being I'm concerned about," Inko said. "It's Izuku's."

"I daresay that is obvious," Sir Nighteye said. "Your son is going up against someone with a powerful Quirk and a violent disposition, even without going into their fractious relationship. However, while your concern is understandable, you should worry a little less. Your son is fighting this Bakugou in a controlled environment where, if Bakugou goes too far, he will be stopped, even penalised. Recovery Girl, one of the best healers in Japan, is on standby. Perhaps more importantly, your son is an intelligent young man with a versatile Quirk, and he no doubt knows Bakugou's strengths and, more importantly, weaknesses."

"I know, I know…but…Katsuki…Mitsuki, my friend, she tries to keep him from doing things like this, and yet…given what he did to Hitoshi…I don't think anything Mitsuki will do will make a difference. And he thinks of my son as a Villain."

"I read his file with the police. Disturbing though it was, your son killed purely in self-defence, Mrs Midoriya," Sir Nighteye said. "And All Might believes he will be a splendid Pro-Hero. I trust his judgement in that much. Your son has the character, and from what I have witnessed so far, the ability. I am not saying he will definitely win, only that you should have a little more faith in his ability to win." He looked on as Tenya Iida managed to finish the match against Tokoyami. "In truth, I'd be more worried about who he has to face off against next."

"Even so…a mother's worry is not something easily shaken off," Janos said.

As Inko nodded morosely, Eri said, with the conviction of the very young, "Izuku will win this! You'll see! He'll win!"

"Yes," Janos said solemnly. "We shall see…"

Izuku was nervous, there was no denying that. But even as he walked down the corridor leading to the arena, he did so not with the air of a condemned felon walking down death row. He did so with more confidence than others may have expected.

But he knew Bakugou. Out of all of his classmates, he knew Bakugou far more intimately than any of them. Uhh, not THAT sort of intimately, obviously, but they had been friends, Izuku knew his Quirk, his psyche, and his fighting style, having studied it for years. Hell, the only people he knew remotely as intimately, at least as far as those other vital statistics were concerned, were Hitoshi and Himiko. And they weren't his classmates. They were his friends.

Bakugou was not his friend. Not anymore. Izuku couldn't even remember the point where he stopped seeing Bakugou as a friend. It was hard. The initial sundering of their friendship occurred on that fateful day he awoke the Soul Reaver and killed the mugger, but the actual realisation took months, years even. Then again, the friendship had been one-sided already, ever since Izuku learned he was Quirkless, and that day in the woods.

Izuku was tempted to try and beat the crap out of Bakugou, in revenge for what he did to Hitoshi. However, there were two important reasons why he wouldn't do that. The first was that the longer the match dragged out, the more Bakugou would work up a sweat, thus helping the belligerent teen. And secondly, Bakugou was immensely resilient to attacks to his body. His ego, however, was a considerably more fragile thing. Ending the match quickly would do far more damage to Bakugou than a beatdown would.

Besides, it wasn't a very heroic thought to want to beat the absolute crap out of an opponent out of a grudge.

He walked towards the arena, even as Present Mic announced, "AND HERE THEY COME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEMI-FINALS IS HERE, AND IT'S A GRUDGE MATCH BETWEEN FORMER CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TURNED RIVALS! IT'S IZUKU MIDORIYA VERSUS KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"

Izuku stepped up into the arena, to find Bakugou looking at him, a deranged smirk on his features. Midnight, noticing something, said, "Keep in mind that, rivalry aside, the rules must be…"

"Shut up," Bakugou said. "This isn't a grudge match between me and Deku. This is me putting a Villain in his place."

Izuku cocked his head, and, with an air of faux-innocence, said, "I wasn't aware you were allowed to beat yourself up, Kacchan."

The usage of that old term of endearment was calculated, more than the sentence preceding it. Izuku had used it, even when it infuriated his former friend, because it was a friendly nickname. But now, with the saccharine sweet nature of his tone, it came off as an insult worse than Bakugou using Deku. Bakugou prided himself on power and masculinity, so such a diminutive nickname pricked at his overinflated pride. The fact that Izuku compared Bakugou to a Villain was salting the wound.

The thing was, the audience picked up on it, and a wave of laughter went around the stadium. Bakugou's fist clenched. "…You're mincemeat, Deku," he growled.

Midnight cracked her small whip. "Enough pre-fight banter!" she snapped, though she clearly realised things were worse than that. "Remember, if you go too far, I will intervene!"

It won't, Izuku thought grimly. Bakugou clearly didn't give a crap. But even as Midnight signalled for the match to begin, Izuku watched, almost in slow motion, as Bakugou leapt for him, using his explosions to move around Izuku, trying to disguise the angle he would approach at.

Izuku had to credit Bakugou with that much, he was trying to be unpredictable. But Izuku, trained by Janos, was able to see him coming, right fist cocked back for a right hook that would probably daze him if he didn't do something. Izuku grabbed Katsuki's arm, and then flung the belligerent teen to the ground as hard as he could in a throw. The surprise counter and the impact knocked Bakugou silly, and Izuku knew he only had a small window to finish him. No gloating, no explanations, no satisfying beatdown. He needed to finish this.

So, he summoned up his energy, spun on the spot, and roared, "FORCE GLYPH!"

A shockwave of energy picked up and threw the stunned Bakugou off the arena, causing him to tumble onto the grass. He regained himself, and used an explosion to fling himself back into the arena. "DEKU! YOU BASTAAAARD!" he screamed.

"Katsuki Bakugou, you were flung out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "Izuku Midoriya is…"

"FUCK YOU, HAG!" Katsuki roared. "DEKU IS A VILLAIN AND A CHEAT! AND YET, UA LET HIM IN! WHAT KIND OF HEROES DOES THAT MAKE YOU?!"

Midnight just hopped down from her post, and walked over to him, staring him down, even gently touching his chin with her whip. "Better than you, Kacchan," she cooed venomously, lacing the nickname with utter contempt. "Now, get your sorry hide out of my arena, or I will spank you like the naughty little boy you are. Or perhaps you'd like to see what your teacher will do? He's not as forgiving as I am. He's doubtlessly got a detention in store for you for swearing at a teacher."

Bakugou merely sneered, turning away. "Heroes punishing Heroes for doing the right thing…they're not Heroes at all."

"And Heroes who try to attack their comrades out of wounded pride or spite aren't Heroes either. Now, get out," Midnight said.

Izuku thought he was on the verge of attacking anyway, but Bakugou eventually walked out of the arena. Izuku gave a brief nod of thanks to Midnight, before leaving in the opposite direction. His mind was awhirl with emotion.

He didn't feel triumph or elation. At best, he felt relief. He'd bested Bakugou, and with relative ease. He'd done so in front of millions, in front of the audience of hundreds here, and those watching on TV. He'd landed a nasty little wound on Bakugou, and as much as he knew it'd sting, that could be a problem. After all, wounded, cornered animals rated amongst the most dangerous.

Such was his perturbation that he very nearly didn't notice Tenya standing in the corridor, his phone in hand, looking shocked, his eyes wide behind his glasses in sheer despair. But Izuku finally noticed, even as Tenya spoke, "…Okay, but…once I'm done, I'll be there forthwith, mother! Yes…yes I will. Goodbye, mother." He then hung up.

"…Iida? Tenya?" Izuku asked. "What's wrong?"

Tenya seemed to debate with himself as to whether to tell Izuku. Eventually, he said, "Midoriya…my brother, Tensei…Ingenium…he's in hospital in a critical condition. The Hero Killer…Stain…he attacked him when my brother came across Stain murdering a Detnerat employee."

Izuku's eyes widened in shock and horror. "…What?! But he's still alive?"

"…For now," Tenya bit out, his eyes glistening. "It's touch and go for the moment. Mother was saying…I should stay and complete the UA Sports Festival, he's still being operated on, but…"

"Is there anything I can do? We can do?" Izuku asked. "After the Sports Festival, do you want us to come with you?"

"That is most kind of you, Midoriya, but I'm afraid they would only let family members into…into…" Tenya shook his head. "Sorry, I am acting most unseemly."

"Your brother, one of the best Pro-Heroes, just got attacked by a lunatic killer for doing his job," Izuku said. "It's understandable. Iida…Tenya…do you want to go on?"

"…Mother said I should, that going as far as I can will be the best news my brother can get, and there's little I can do for now."

"Okay," Izuku said. "But…we're here for you, okay?"

Tenya met his gaze, and nodded, giving a sad smile. "Very well. I'll do my best, in spite of this news…"

CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Izuku has won, but Tenya has learned some devastating news. Does Izuku and Bakugou's clash seem anticlimactic? Yes, a little, but it's not unrealistic. Izuku was smart enough to know he shouldn't draw out the battle. He could have done the same for Shouto, but they had agreed to fight a bit more, whereas Izuku just wanted to win outright here, and teach Bakugou a lesson. Plus, Izuku knows Bakugou's fighting style better than Shouto's, despite their earlier training together under Janos (which was mostly focused on Quirkless hand-to-hand combat anyway).

Now, keep this in mind: despite everything, I have no plans for Izuku to win this tournament. Tenya Iida is going to. I didn't have this in mind when I first wrote this out, but I feel now that it's a logical extrapolation of the brackets I used. Because of Iida's sheer speed, agility and strength, he'll be on Izuku before Izuku can react. Besides, Izuku doesn't need to win. As much as we'd like to see the hero win, it's not necessary, and Izuku doesn't actually need the ego boost. He's mature enough not to. Having Tenya win might actually give the guy a needed boost himself, given what he's just gone through.

Now, originally, I had Tenya learn of the graffiti Stain left behind and mention it to Izuku. I thought it was too much, too soon to have the Hylden's presence in this world revealed. I might have Janos learn of it later, but, well…

Review-answering time! A lot of you commented about Stain and his relationship to the Hylden. He's not as under their control as Turel was in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, but he's aware of them, a little more insane than his canon version, and driven to destroy as many of the Hylden's underlings as he can find.

WearyCurmudgeon: For future reference, here are the Glyphs Izuku can use: Force, Stone, Sound, Water, Fire, and Light. I actually forgot about the Stone Glyph, which petrifies enemies temporarily. He's leery of using this and the Fire Glyph, just in case he injures his foes badly.

No numbered annotations this time.