The Touch.
The other kid wore glasses. He was a little taller than me with broad shoulders and almost a rectangular shape to him. I cracked my neck and got into my stance. Midnight raised her whip and I tensed.
CRACK!
Tenya got me in the side, sending me careening towards the boundary, but I skidded instead of going flying, my band strained a little as I darted back in, dodging most of the run bys he was using to try to overwhelm me, I knew that there could be a pattern. More and more body checks hit me, whirling me around.
Each one of them hurt and I was getting knocked silly, mainly keeping my guard up as best as I could.
"OOH! IIDA'S GOT RENARU ON THE DEFENSIVE!" Mic yowled, but I had a plan. He couldn't speed around forever! I had a blast in my bandless hand bothering me, the vine was holding up well but then he blasted right towards me with blue flames blasting out of his engine.
'That's it!' I launched into the air, bringing my leg around, my foot getting him in the engine, a loud CRUNCH reverberated through the arena with Tenya drawing to the ground, a blast had come out of my heel, forcing it through the flames and breaking the engine.
I rebalanced and Tenya sat up. He looked at me.
"How surprising!" He exclaimed, "I didn't know 1-B had such formidable other fighters!"
I sighed, "Listen, you pattern things too much, you coulda got me if you varied them," I grabbed my uniform shirt from the floor of the arena, putting it back on and marching back out, feeling the vine tighten a little more. It loosened a little from the fight.
I just walked back to my waiting room, sighing and leaning back with my feet on the table. I didn't know how to feel about everything. From the dance to now… I never thought I'd make it this far.
I looked down at the torn remains of my old armband, the singed billion band next to it. I smiled and heard a knock on the door. I turned.
"Hey! Come on in!" I called, seeing Ibara come in and sit down in my lap, curling a few vines around me, she sighed and calmly petted my hair. She always did that when she was worried.
"Ibara, hey… what's the matter? You're sad again,"
Ibara shook her head, vines rustling a little, "It's nothing… just… mm… "she kissed me, pushing closer and trying to distract me, but… I knew something was wrong. She'd never been sadder than the times Yue would be around.
And every single time around a certain day she'd get irrationally standoffish and angry. She'd often cloister herself away and Mister Eugen would tell me to wait a bit before going in. I worried about her a lot…
Sometimes too much. I'd stay up much later than her, even give her some of my food every day at lunch. But…
She always looked so sad. No matter how many things I did. Sometimes I couldn't even see her smile.
Ibara pulled back, hugging me, seeming to shake a little, I noticed that after my brother took out that Uraraka girl, and since I took out Tenya and if she took out that Kaminari kid… she'd have to face my own brother.
I let her hug me as I rubbed her back, her vines billowing. I noticed she used one of her forehead vines for the makeshift band on my arm. I smirked and kissed her all over her perfect face.
"All of those are for luck, babe!" I exclaimed, "Get out there and kick ass!"
Ibara let out a heavy giggle and she hugged me tightly. I knew she could do amazingly. Her fight was against a guy who was known by the other dudes to flirt with anything female with a pretty face. A total dumbass with a ladies man mentality even though his quirk is strong.
Dude can piss lightning. So… I got to the box, seeing Tetsu crying.
"I had the manliest fight EVER!" He sobbed, "I got another rival! Other than the vending machine near the junkyaaaaarrrrddd!"
He hugged me, sobbing and smiling, "Brrrrrooooooo!"
I patted him awkwardly as Mic got onto the intros. The air was electric with anticipation.
"This girl comes from heroic ROYALTY! Her hair is vines and she's one sweet rose with some mean old thorns! The daughter of the Holy Hero, Wrath… IBARAAAAAA SHIOZAKIIIIIIIIII!" He yeowled, "The Assassin of 1-B takes the sta-"
"Excuse me! Please pardon the interruption!" Ibara called, "I do not wish to be called an assassin, that is not my intention at all! I am not my aunts nor am I my father. I just wish to be salvation for others!" She shined like a goddess and I blushed harshly.
"Right! Sorry! Carry on!" Mic exclaimed.
Ibara smiled and nodded, Thank you very much! She exclaimed.
Kaminari smiled, "Wow! Yer really cute! Ya wanna go out sometime? Maybe out to dinner?" he asked. I felt a stab of rage. Motherfucker really tried to flirt with my girl! I clenched my hands into fists.
Ibara didn't answer.
Midnight brought her whip down, starting the bout after some pleasantries between Kaminari and my Ibara. I sighed and saw him recklessly discharge, seeing her turn her back and make a shield out of vines, the lightning glanced off and he was suddenly grabbed from below, hoisted high as my goddess looked up at me, smiling serenely.
"My heart belongs to another already, Kaminari, forgive me," she said, blowing me a kiss. I caught it and pressed it to my lips. She strode out, her vines letting him go and coming back to me, nervously wringing her hands.
"Man, why does she gotta be taken… I guess I'll be a bachelor forever…" Kaminari sighed heavily, raking his hand through his golden hair. I snarled and grabbed his shirt.
"Kaminari. Word to the wise, Ibara Shiozaki is off limits. Just a friendly warning, got it?" I asked.
He raised his hands, "Yeah! Yeah, totally get it!" he exclaimed.
"Good. But if you even look at her in that way again, I'll end your goddamn bloodline," I whispered, smiling. He backed off. Tetsu grabbed my shoulders.
"Dude! Got something for ya! Boom!"
He shoved the styrofoam container of pot stickers and takoyaki into my hands. I smiled.
"All of em are spicy, I made sure they were!" He exclaimed as I shoved it all in, making sure it was all clean after. The fight after this was Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu. I smiled and watched intently as my next foe bashed her right over the line gradually with his shadow, his crimson eyes burning holes into her and his shadow roaring in glee. I smirked and pointed at him, drawing my other finger across my neck on my vined hand. I was ready to go again. But after that… Izuku came out across the kid from General Studies.
The General Studies kid didn't have a prayer. So after that Tokoyami came back out and I went down to fight him. This guy's shadow was fast, and as long as I was away from his range, his shadow could and would hit me. My arm hurt and my gait wobbled a little as I strode to the arena. Round 2 started with me, then Ibara again, and then… whoever wins against Todoroki goes against my brother and whoever is left faces him.
Nervousness coldly grabbed me in its sharp talons. All bravado was gone. I needed to focus. I got into my stance, shuffling a little, circling cautiously. Pain tore through my leg and all of a sudden I went flying, a blast misfired but my other one went off without a hitch, I was still in the fight but I could barely hear anything, not even the commentary.
I staggered back into my stance, bringing my fists to bear, "HEY! BIRD BOX! I DIDN'T HEAR A BELL!" I screeched. My eyes wide and my smirk even wider. I couldn't hold back! Not now! Never! I rushed in, seeing his shadow and feeling it tear new wounds on me.
I just ran on, my legs and back in agony, but I had to win! I had to because I needed to! I darted into his closer range, using an old trick…
"Now Renaru! When you're in a tight spot! Just remember… There's always the Tiger Drop!" Miss Maryanna's words echoed in my mind from when she was training me to fight. I rammed my fist into his gut, feeling my arm burn just before.
"Don't just rely on your quirk to get the job done…" I mumbled. Tokoyami stumbled back and I fell to one knee. I didn't wanna stop. So I raised my fist.
"WHOAAAAAA! LOOKS LIKE OUR BOMBARDIER IS GONNA BITE THE DUSTO!" Mic screamed. I stood shakily, sweat and blood mixing but I didn't care.
"NO! NOT AT ALL! BRING IT ON! I'LL KICK ASS UNTIL I DIE!" I yelled, staggering back towards my break room, I needed to get some rest. I stumbled into my room and sunk onto the chair, breathing calmly, trying to center myself.
I needed to swallow the pain. I tore my shirt sleeve, binding it around my leg, hearing a pounding on my door, with Tetsu throwing it aside.
"Bro! You gotta get going! It's Ibara and Katsuki! They're gonna fight!" he yelled, grabbing me and carrying me to our box, it was after Todoroki vs. Izuku and Izuku was out of it. But this… Ibara looked scary. She stood taller, her eyes set on Katsuki, and on the screen… they were a bright and shining crimson. Her hands twined together but her smile was still serene. It sent chills through everyone.
"What's with her?" I asked.
"She just got really quiet… and then her eyes changed color…" Tetsu breathed.
"Yeah, real scary, fellas…" Setsuna sighed, "Poor Ibara got really mad about what Katsuki did to ya when you two were little, Mister Hawks swung by and told us all about it,"
I sighed and sat down, nervously glancing at the screen, "Ibby… please be careful! I leaded, looking over at her Aunt's box, noticing that Mister Eugen was gone and Yue was grinning like a madwoman.
Manga looked at me and rubbed my back, "Hey man, it's gonna be okay," he assured me.
"I'm more worried about his brother…" Monoma mumbled.
"Tetsu, left hand."
"Right."
Tetsu lifted my left arm and hand and smacked the drink outta Monoma's hand. He glared at me.
"Burn in hell, motherfucker," I said. That's when the match began.
Ibara s vines lashed out at Katsuki, faster than usual and even more frequent, the explosive boy dodged just barely, trying to close in on her, but the vines lashed him harshly before he could land a strike, making the boy bleed as he blasted the vines away, with more taking their place.
"Herr Bakugou~! You'll pay for what you did to my dear Renaru!" Ibara cooed, lashing some more vines onto the angry boy as he blasted most of them away, they burned and Ibara still had that serene smile on her face, but eyes burning with sheer hatred.
'What the fuck is with her? Suddenly she-' Katsuki was cut off by a vine grabbing him and throwing him right into the floor, making him bounce off the concrete like a living hunk of debris. Katsuki felt another vine grab him midair and throw him roughly into the coils of Ibara's hair. The coils wound around him tightly but that's just what he wanted.
Ibara was in range! He raised his hand high, about to be thrown again. The resulting firestorm blew thorns and other debris everywhere, almost cracking the arena if he was any lower. Ibara blew away like a leaf in a tornado. Her hair burned and she fell gracelessly to the ground on the outside of the arena. Katsuki stood panting, looking up at the heroes and others all in shock.
"What? That crazy bitch was brutal! So I should be brutal! Call it a brotherly intervention!" he exclaimed, "Also… All of y'all better be watching me!"
Eugen ran down to the tunnel, seeing his daughter laying there, shirt gone and bra barely hanging on, so he removed his coat and put it on her, he cradled her the same way he did when she was a baby. She still was his little baby girl. It terrified him every time she got hurt, but what terrified him even more was that… rage. It had been years since he resorted to his Wrath, but Ibara was new to it.
He swore off ever raising his voice or even striking Ibara the moment she was born and smiled at him. He was a gentleman now. A good man. But when he saw his little girl get thrown by that explosion… his voice rose, shaking and halting.
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and for thy possession, the ends of the earth. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, ye kings. Be admonished, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though His wrath be kindled but a little." he said a little loudly. It was his old battle cry. A vow of no quarter to anyone who'd dare hurt his family that he built. He hugged his daughter close and walked out.
Everything went numb, my arms and my legs felt jelly like as I saw Ibara fly to the ground, her clothes in tatters, hearing that old Bible passage and seeing Mister Eugen so solemn… it terrified and comforted me at the same time.
Her hair was burnt, her beautiful vines were burnt short. She looked so small in the bed in the infirmary. Mister Eugen held her hand tightly. He slumped tiredly, seeming to age years in a few dreadful minutes. His shirt plastered to his back and it's like he ran a marathon, golden hair sticking to his forehead and his skin slightly sheening in the light.
"Lad… that is the sin I carry… Wrath. Tis not a quirk, but we were… engineered, to get a boost every time we felt such things, other than Yue, whose quirk IS her sin," he mumbled, "I had hoped that mah little Maria would not carry the cursed sin that made me who I am today,"
I grabbed her other hand, her hair looking lopsided and so short. No more vine blankets, they were soft and I enjoyed using it as an actual blanket. I sighed and kissed her hand, rubbing it and looking at the man who'd become my father-in-law down the line.
He steadily locked eyes with me, "Swear tae me, Renaru Bakugou, that when ye face yer brother out there, show him no mercy, do as those conquerors in history do as their history making moments… go out and win, go out and conquer. Fer you might not be blessed with a body that functions well, but a body is nothing without the heart and soul," he said, "I'll stay with Ibara until she awakens, dinnae worry fer her,"
I sighed and kissed her on the forehead, a few vines weakly brushing against my face, "Sleep well… Ibby," I whispered. I didn't feel any rage, just a cold bite that Katsuki beat her just to try to rile me up.
"Well, he didn't get his wish." I snarled, moving by Yue in the hallway. She seemed leased about something, that kinda shit eating grin that made me wanna hurl. Her eyes locked with mine and she smiled.
"Enjoying the fights, are we?" she asked.
"Quit playing nice, you cunt," I snarled, glaring at her, and suddenly she darted above me, looming close, face to face and nearly touching noses.
"Shut your mouth, you low class worm! I will erase you in a blink of an eye!" She hissed, slamming her hand against the wall, making it crack as her light grew and her eyes smoldered, "I will not hesitate to ruin you if you DARE make a mockery of my family! That goes for your mother AND your brother!"
I smirked, "Wow, threatening a child… I wonder how that would smooth over in jail. Come up with better insults, Rainbow Barf," I sighed, breaking away and walking back towards the student boxes, shaking and crying a little. That second she slammed the wall was INCHES from my head! Now I understand why Manga was so scared. Hell, now I know why everyone in her family and company fears her! It was like any second she was gonna kill me right there and not even bat an eye.
I sat down heavily, breaking down slowly. First a small moan, then the tears, and the hitching, and the snot too. Everything fell like rain and I didn't want to see that woman or even any of them ever again. But I dried my face, I needed to get serious. Ibara fell, and I was sad about it, but what the hell Like I'd ever let that stop me from getting a free license to beat the shit outta my brother. Not only that, but that Manga lost against Todoroki meant I was the last man standing.
I needed to fight for our class. For my girl. For every drop of sweat, blood, and tears that got me here. This time… I had walk up music. Were they saving it for the last match because Todoroki resigned after his match with Manga, leaving me and my brother the last two to fight. At least I'm walking out to The Trooper by Iron Maiden. Something tells me Miss Maryanna knew my music tastes well and got it played for the last match. But then through the fire and flames blasted out as Katsuki marched out, smiling like a monster. The two of us are looking at mirrors of each other.
"Hey bro!" He greeted, "Ready to get beaten down in front of millions?" I cracked my neck and got into my stance, knowing how to fight was only half the battle, the other half was withstanding enough blasts to even land a hit, so I tried to stay light, but my leg still hurt and I could barely make a fist with my vined hand.
"THIS IS IT! THE FINALE OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL FOR THE FIRST YEARS! WE HAVE A BATTLE BETWEEN BROTHERS THIS ROUND! RENARU BAKUGOU, THE UNDERDOG OF THE TOURNAMENT, VERSUS KATSUKI BAKUGOU, THE BLASTING SAVANT!"
I needed to figure something out. Even if I could outfight him… I couldn't keep up physically. The moment the leather snarled out, I went right for him, a blast carrying me as I got him with an explosive left hook, seeing him dodge it and get me hard in the back with a blast. He was faster. His mind was better. But I needed to wait for an opening! I felt him grab my arm and toss me towards the boundary. Using a small blast to rebound, I got back on my feet, just barely dodging a barrage and moving inside.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" He roared.
"HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I bellowed, I raised my hand high, my band fully charged andour blasts crashed together, burning the arena black and making an intense inferno of glycerine explosion. I rushed him just after the fade out, a storm of hits from my now bandless arms greeted him.
"WHOAAAAA! BRUTAL BARRAGES FROM RENARU! HE'S FIGHTING AS IF HIS LIFE IN ON THE LINE!" Mic roared, the crowd cheering us onward. Katsuki grabbed both of my fists, drawing his head back and slamming it into my nose, almost breaking it but making it bleed.
"Come on! Give up!" Katsuki snarled. I got back into my stance and I needed to finish this. I just tightened my guard, never giving in. My eyes narrowed and I concentrated, seeing him seed towards me, I leapt into the air, drawing my leg back, turning midair to deliver a devastating roundhouse.
"Full Salvo… DYNAMITE KICK!" I yelled, clocking him in the side, sending him flying with a blast firing out of my leg, I remembered how Tenya did it and allied it to my kick. He sailed over the boundary line, crashing to the ground.
"Fuuuucccck!" He hissed, "Shiiit…"
I landed on my ass, laying back with my arms spread wide and my legs wide too. Breathing calmly and realizing I couldn't move. I smiled. I won. Beaten and bloodied and sweating something fierce. I needed a long bath tonight. I sighed and tried to sit up, I needed to get back to Ibara and tell her I won.
She would know. I'm sure she would. Tetsu ran down to me, hoisting me up and the rest of the class did too, with Monoma leading the charge of course. We celebrated, with everyone going crazy.
"Bro! You won! Awesome!" Tetsu yelled, "I knew you could-"
"Lemme down," Tetsu. I said, seeing Katsuki glaring at me, but I could tell he was torn up. He had his teeth gritted, standing with fists clenched tight at his sides. When I shambled over to him, he looked away.
"Hey," I greeted.
"What the hell do you want?" he snarled, "You won, go bang Eden for all she's worth!" I hugged him, surprising him. He trembled a little but I hugged him tighter.
"The hell are ya doing?" he asked.
"Hugging you," I said.
"Why the fuck are ya doing that?' he wondered.
"Because I want to." I stated, "You shoulda won, and I'm sorry," Katsuki pushed me off him and I tumbled back, landing in Tetsu's arms. He held me up, and Katsuki loomed over me.
"What's with that shitty excuse! You won! Wear that damn medal with ride! You earned it!" He snarled, "It's just a metal thing!" I sighed and stood up, still shaky and tottery, but I wanted to go see Ibara. Everything blurred as I moved, trying to get to her, I never wanted to see her more than now. I heard something in the distance.
"YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL! WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE DEMANDS OF ME?!" a loud yell that sounded like a thunderclap sounded out, of course that voice was cut off by Ibara's voice.
"I will not stand for this anymore! You push others around when you don't get your way, you threaten and intimidate others, you threatened my boyfriend and you lose your mind at any feeling of losing control!" She yelled, all of a sudden I heard a loud smack, and I threw the door aside, seeing Yue looming over Ibara, hand out of the smack and Ibara holding her cheek in shock. I stood there, tired but anger took over everything else. I shambled quietly over to the bed and hugged Ibara, glaring at her as a quiet warning to back off.
Yue glared at me, her eyes narrowed before she ran out of the room like a bitch. I didn't even know where her dad was, but when he got back, he saw the reddening handprint on her face as I kissed it and let her hold me. Yue had run off somewhere before she could get caught. But Mister Eugen knew I had little to no arm strength after a fight. He got quiet, really quiet. Then with a deep breath he smiled a little.
"So… she hit her, did she?" he asked, "Backhand or with the palm?"
Ibara sniffled a little, her new vines winding around my hands, soft and tickling me a little, "Backhand, father…" she muttered. He rose.
"Ibara, stay with Renaru… Daddy's gotta go hunting," he said, turning to me, "You better take good care of her, Ren,"
"Yeah! Just… don't murder anyone,"
"I think we are FAR past that," he said, "I will deal with her myself," It felt so weird seeing him so serious, but Ibara just nuzzled me, her eyes full of that need for affection. She needed me and I was here. I didn't want to leave at all. Ibara kissed me, drawing my attention to the fact that all she was really wearing was her bra and some pants.
She smiled, petting my hair, "I heard that you won, that's why she got so angry," she said, "I tried to stand up to her, but then she hit me," she said, "After I felt so… so wrathful myself,"
"Yeah, what's with that? It's kinda scary," I commented. Ibara sighed and closed her eyes.
"My father's quirk gets stronger with the more rage he feels." she said, "and the same goes for me, as you saw before," I shuddered to think about what it was like, it looked simultaneously scary and honestly kinda unnerving.
I kissed her, her new vines winding around me, feeling me, winding around me, the bright green vines silky and a few new rosebuds came out. She smiled and traced my cheeks, despite the burns, she still smelled like roses. I kissed her neck gently, feeling her pressing herself against me, moaning a tiny bit. She wanted me, I bit her collarbone a little, nibbling and hearing her moan even louder, she seemed happy. Of course I thought of that bitch, probably thinking of some way to wreck more of our shit but I didn't care.
Ibara cutely wiggled, gently grinding against my pants, but… I felt overwhelming drowsiness overtake me, there's that stamina drain… I yawned loudly and she laughed. I blinked sleepily and buried my face into her chest.
Her hand ran through my hair, "Goodnight, Renaru~! You earned a nice long nap! We'll make love later," she cooed, kissing me on the forehead. I smiled and closed my eyes in bliss. Falling asleep in the arms of my beloved.