"Arrogance is an unhealthy ego in need of repair." – Thomas Farranda

Chapter 05: Complimentary Colors – Confrontation

Pyrrha leads Bakugo and Tenya to the weapon room, a large, well-lit room and placed at the opposite was the weapon, a missile with a bulky build.

"This room will act as your main hub area," Pyrrha explained to the two. "And this here is the weapon you will be protecting." She taps the 'weapon' with a single knuckle. "Fake, of course. Despite that, treat this as if it is indeed real. With care and consideration." She notices Tenya seems unsure about something. "Ida, is it? Is there something the matter?"

"Apologies if I seem off, but just the idea of being villains, even though it's just a simulation, troubles me," Tenya admitted.

"I understand. But remember what All Might said? Think from the perspective of an evildoer. Sometimes, you have to think like a criminal to catch one."

Tenya puts a hand to his mask-covered chin. "I think I get it. If I were to put myself in the shoes of a villain, then I can predict how they would act in a situation, correct?"

"You've got the idea!" Pyrrha said.

"I see." Tenya bows. "Thank you, Achillea! You've shown why you earned early graduation!"

"Thank you! I'll take my leave now so you two can plan. Best of luck!"

"Thank you again!"

As Pyrrha moved to leave, she looks over at Bakugo. He seemed lost in thought and his jaw line had tightened considerably. To Pyrrha, Bakugo seemed…agitated, but about what? As much as she wishes to speak to Bakugo, they are on a time limit and she didn't want to waste it and leaves.

Now left with his thoughts, Bakugo remembers his childhood with Izuku. Of all the times the kid would follow him around, borderline stalkerish, and study him like a wild animal. He remembers how he and his friends would put Izuku in his place whenever he would talk about becoming a hero.

And with each memory, it further boiled his blood.

"Has that damn nerd been tricking me all this time?!"

Outside, Ruby, Izuku, and Ochako are looking over the floor plan.

"Does All Might really expect us to memorize the entire floor plan? It's so big," Ochako said.

Ruby shrugged. "Eh. It's hardly that different from my blueprints."

"Blueprints?"

"I'll explain later."

"All Might is just as amazing in person!" Ochako said. "I'm so happy that he isn't going to threaten us with expulsion like Mr. Aizawa."

"Yeah, that's always a bonus," Ruby agreed. "We can just go through the exercise with more ease, right Midori—you are sweating through your costume! Are you okay?" she asked the perspiring young man.

"Deku?" asked a worried Ochako.

"I-I'm fine," Izuku said shakily. "It's just…well…Kaachan…"

"Kaachan? Oh, you mean, Bakugo?" Ochako wondered. "He always seems to give you a hard time."

"He's a bully," Ruby said bluntly.

"You think so?" Ochako wondered.

"Kinda obvious."

Izuku can't deny it. Despite calling Bakugo a friend, Izuku knew there was fine line between friendly roasting and bullying. But…

Izuku lowered his copy of the floorplans and leaned his head back. "He's amazing. He's got the Quirk and confidence to back it up. Much more incredible than me."

"Midoriya, don't sell yourself short like that," Ruby said.

Izuku lowered his head back down. I know. I just need to get better." He puts his mesh mask on. "I refuse to give up." Ruby feels happy that Izuku is standing up for himself.

"So, it's a fated battle between rivals, huh?" Ochako asked.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Ochako. "You watch a lot of anime, don't you?"

"Oh, I'm not trying to get you wrapped up in my fight or anything!" Izuku said frantically.

"It's fine. We're a team, after all!" Ochako said.

"And teammates help each other!" Ruby added.

Never had Izuku got friends to back him up and it brought him joy as he could feel a smile spread across his face. "…Right!"

"All right!" the voice of All Might exclaimed from the intercom. "Let's begin the indoor combat training! Team A and Team D, your time starts now!" A buzzer goes off.

"Let's go!" Izuku said.

"Right!" Ochako and Ruby nodded.

"You heard All Might, Bakugo! Let's prepare ourselves!" Tenya said.

Though Bakugo ignores him as he continues to seethe. "So, Deku thought he could trick me and think I'm the weakling here? I'm gonna roast that damn nerd!"

"Pay attention, kids," All Might said to the rest of the class in the monitoring room. "Class is still in session. Think about what you would do."

Among the students, Weiss watches the monitors closely as they watch Team A entering the building.

"Hey, All Might?" Mina started. "Does the hero team know where the missile is hidden?"

"Excellent question, Young Ashido," All Might answered. "And the answer is no. They have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the villains and their weapon within the building."

"And they have less than fifteen minutes to find it? Doesn't that put them in a huge disadvantage?" Mina questioned.

"Perhaps. But know this: There will be moments where you'll have to work with little information when time is precious and try to outwit the villains."

"Plus, the heroes have an advantage in numbers," Tsuyu pointed out. "Right? Ribbit."

"Correct!"

"Because we are outnumbered, we need to think diligently," Tenya said. "We at least have knowledge of their Quirks. Midoriya's Quirk is indeed powerful, but it comes with the cost of breaking his body, so he may be using it sparingly. Rose's Petal Burst gives her tremendous speed, but it's limited with duration and distance. Also, she's shown to have difficulties with sudden stops, and I don't think she could make turns in that state at the moment. And lastly, Uraraka's Quirk, Zero Gravity, makes the things she touches weightless. I've seen her clever uses of it during the entrance exam, including when she used it to make a robot part float with her on it so she could save Midoriya. The drawback is that extended uses seems to make her ill."

He nods to himself. "Right! Bakugo, let's—huh?" He sees no signs of Bakugo anywhere. "Bakugo? Did he seriously left without concocting a plan?! Whatever is going on between you and Midoriya is getting out of hand!"

Izuku ponders as he and his team search around while watching out for any potential attacks.

"We've got fifteen minutes to find the weapon. I have no control over One for All. We're gonna have to rely on Uraraka's Zero Gravity and Rose's Petal Burst," Izuku thought. "Ida's Quirk allows him to run in high speeds, but I'm not sure how he would fare in close corridors. As for Kaachan…I think he's still mad at me. I'd like to explain it to him like I did with Rose, but something tells me that he won't be in a listening mood."

He checks around a corner. Upon seeing no one, he motions Ochako and Ruby to continue behind him as they ran. "There's no doubt that he'll come after me. If that's the case, then Rose and Uraraka should go on ahead and I'll lead Kaachan away so the girls could face Ida. I'm sure with their combined abilities, they could win this! Yes…that's it!"

Still running, he turns to his two female teammates. "Rose, Uraraka, I've got a—!" A hole blows open in the wall next to him and knocks them back.

Ochako and Ruby were quick to get back on their feet. "Deku!/Midoriya!" They run to his aid and help him up.

"Nngh…I'm fine. It's just my mask." Half of Izuku's rabbit-esque mask was blown off by the blast.

Bakugo climbs out of the hole he made, crumbled debris cracking and breaking underneath his tough soles. "There you are," he sneered menacingly. Ruby quickly stood in front of Izuku and Ochako, facing Bakugo. "What's wrong? Afraid to face me, Deku? Are you gonna let Petals here do your fights for you?"

Ruby blinked. "Petals?"

Izuku gets to his feet. "I knew you would come after me and catch us with a surprise attack."

"You still think you're better than me, huh?" Bakugo accused with a crazed twitch of an eye. He charges at them. "I won't beat you down so bad for the battle to end, but within an inch!"

Ruby readies herself to protect Izuku, remembering a training she had with Yang a year ago. She gasps when Izuku grabs her arm to pull her back.

"Wha-Huh?"

Just as Ruby stumbles back into Ochako, Izuku grabs Bakugo's right hook and shoulder tosses him over and slams him back first on the ground.

Some of the student flinched when Bakugo slammed into the flooring.

"That had to hurt…" Jaune winced.

"It looked so cool, though," Kirishima said despite sharing the sympathy.

"Right?" said Nora.

"I guess that's what Bakugo gets for sneak attacking," grinned Kaminari.

"That was amazing quick thinking," All Might thought. "It's as if Young Midoriya knew each of Young Bakugo's moves, right down to the footwork. No doubt he even studied Young Bakugo. He really is a hero fanboy."

"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same helpless, defenseless kid anymore!" Izuku continued his declaration as Bakugo sat up. "You hear me? I've changed. From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" Izuku proclaimed with much clarity and confidence than he ever had.

Ochako gasps at the declaration, remembering when she told Izuku her thoughts on the nickname given to him by Bakugo and how it made her think of the phrase 'Dekiru.'

Don't give up.

"Okay. That was pretty cool!" Ruby praised.

Bakugo gets up, his glare even more heated than before. "Deku." Sparks flew off from his open palms, as if showcasing his ire towards Izuku. "You're shaking in your boots, you're so scared. But you wanna fight me anyway. That's why I hate you!"

Ruby's narrowed her eyes at the hateful words as she remembers what Izuku said before.

He's amazing. He's got the Quirk and confidence to back it up. Much more incredible than me.

Ruby barely barely felt her nails digging through the leather of her fingerless gloves.

/ Bakugo? / Tenya's voice resonated from the earpiece given to him by All Might, placed near his hearing aide. / Come in, Bakugo! What are you doing? /

Bakugo growls. "Just shut up and defend the weapon!"

/ What? Are you forgetting our objective?! /

"This is more important, so shut up!" Bakugo takes out the earpiece and throws it away. He then moves to attack, but Izuku was thankfully quicker.

"Uraraka! Take Rose and find the weapon!" he shouted.

"Okay!" Ochako grabs Ruby's wrist and pulls her along. "Come on, Ruby!"

"What? Wait a minute!" But, Ochako ignores her and they run off. "Shouldn't we help Midoriya?"

"Not this time, Ruby!"

"But we're a team!"

"I know. But, right now, we need to find the weapon! Don't worry. Deku will be fine!"

However, Ruby has lingering doubts as she remembers similar scenarios with Jaune and Cardin. Of how Jaune would reassure Ruby time and time again that he was okay, when he clearly wasn't.

"Yeesh, this is getting intense," Sero commented. "Who knew that the little guy's got moxy?"

"But Bakugo looks like he's a got a bone to pick with him," Mina said. "I mean, geez. Remember how he acted yesterday when Midoriya threw the ball?"

"Something tells me that Bakugo never had someone to one up him before coming here," Tsuyu speculated.

"Sounds like he's gonna get one helluva rude awakening," remarked Kaminari.

"That already happened yesterday," recounted Tokoyami.

"Young Midoriya have once told me about Young Bakugo and his sense of pride," All Might thought as he recalled a small conversation he had after school yesterday, having to have witnessed Bakugo's outburst. "Though, what I see now seems to be more than pride. Just what kind of life was Young Bakugo leading before coming here?"

Ochako and Ruby were able to find the weapon room on the fifth floor. "This is it," Ochako said. She lets go of Ruby and puts a hand in her earpiece. "Hey, Deku? We found the missile! It's in the center of the fifth floor."

/ That's good! / Izuku grunted. Ochako could hear him running. / I'm keeping Kaachan busy. You and Rose figure out a way to retrieve the weapon! /

"Okay," Ochako nodded before ending the call. "It looks like it's up to us, Ru—huh?" She looks back to see that Ruby is not there anymore. "Ruby?"

"What the…where did Ruby go?" asked Nora.

"She did the same thing that Bakugo did," Satou

"Leaving their teammate out of the blue," Kirishima mused. "Do they have any way to communicate with Rose?"

"From the look of things, they don't," All Might replied. "I only gave two to Team A and it seems Young Midoriya gave the other earpiece to Young Uraraka. I didn't feel the need to give a third because of the likelihood that two of them would stick together."

"That and I didn't anticipate Ruby going rogue as well. As her uncle, I should have known better," All Might mentally berated himself. "Granted, she's not as impulsive as her sister, but she could be given the right motivation. And, in this instance, she's not thinking about the exercise anymore."

Somewhere in the building, Ruby runs to find Izuku and Bakugo.

"Much like Young Bakugo, Ruby is more focused on Young Midoriya, but for a different reason. She wants to help him."

/ Deku! I think Ruby's on her way to your location! /

"What? What happened?" Izuku asked as he continued to run.

/ I was checking the situation out and before I realized it, Ruby was gone! /

Izuku was about to speak before he had to dodge another attack and run off somewhere else and far enough away from Bakugo, who continues to rage.

"Were you seriously been tricking me this whole time, Deku?!" The question echoed through the halls, prompting Izuku to halt.

"No, that's not what I was doing!" Izuku shakes his head. "What's Ida doing, Uraraka?" He still has the mission to complete.

/ He's…monologuing. That should keep him busy for a while. /

"I see. I'm sorry, Uraraka, but can you try to handle him on your own?"

/ I'll…I'll try. Be careful, Deku! /

"You too." He ends the call and goes back to running. "Damn it…so much for this plan." He shakes his head again. "No, now's not the time to get frustrated. Right now, I need to find a way to lose Kaachan and get to Uraraka! But…we're losing time…I'm gonna have to capture Kaachan here and now and have faith that Uraraka can do it!"

He turns a corner and gasps when he sees Bakugo at the other end of the hall. And his gauntlets glowed.

"Looks like I'm fully loaded," said Bakugo.

Izuku took a step back. "What?"

"Why aren't you using your Quirk, Deku?" Bakugo demanded. "Are you still underestimating me? Do you still think you're better than me? Get over here and show me!" But, Izuku doesn't move, which makes Bakugo angrier. "You think you're too good? Fine then." He lifts one of his gauntlets and moves the handle, which lets a pin stick out. "Since you know so much about from stalking me, I bet you what happens when my nitroglycerin sweat collects together into one massive tank!" He readies to pull the pin.

Izuku's eyes widen.

Even from the monitoring room, All Might could sense the danger.

"This is getting too dangerous!"

"Don't do it, Young Bakugo! It could kill him!"

Bakugo paid no heed. "Not if he dodges!"

He pulls the pin, and a massive torrent of fire and destruction barreled its way towards Izuku, who froze in his spot. He should be moving, he should be getting out of the way, but all he did was gaze at the roaring mass of explosives coming at him. It wasn't until the last second when his fight or flight response kicked in but just as he was about to attempt to feebly dodge, a red blur grabs him out of the way.

The explosion could be felt even in the monitoring room.

"That guy's crazy!" Mineta exclaimed.

"Young Midoriya, can you read me?" All Might called out. But no answer. "Young Midoriya, are you okay? Please answer!" Still, no answer. All Might tries to keep himself under control and push away the horrid thought of Izuku's fate. His grip on the small microphone in his hand tightened.

Please…

Izuku coughs as he tries to process what had happened. He barely noticed how he is now missing most of his right sleeve and his entire glove, but otherwise unscathed other than some minor scraps.

"What happened?" He notices the ends of a flowing red cloak and a small flurry of rose petals. Izuku's green eyes trailed the cloak to the familiar face of Ruby Rose. "Rose?" The girl was crouched over him, her hands flat on the ground on either side of Izuku.

With a triumphant smile, Ruby lifts up her goggles with glee in her eyes. "Looks like I made it!"

Izuku then noticed the fire behind Ruby from Bakugo's attack. "Ah! You're cape!"

"It's okay," assured Ruby. "Remember what I said about what it's made of?"

Izuku recalls what Ruby said and came to a conclusion. "…It's fire resistant."

"Yep!"

Ruby stood up to face Bakugo, paying no mind the flames around her and the rose petals swirling around, her cape fluttered behind her, bellowing from an unseen wind. Izuku couldn't help but remember that old footage of All Might, all those years ago, being surround by fire and carnage with a giant smile on his face as he continued to save people.

Bakugo glowered at Ruby.

"Holy crap. What an entrance," Satou marveled.

"It's crazy! One minute she looks like an adorkable girl, but then in the next she looks so cool!" Hagakure said. "Especially with that cape!"

"Hm," Tokoyami hummed as he closed his eyes. "She reminds me of a certain heroine from a long time ago."

"Who's that?" asked Tsuyu.

"I highly doubt that many of you know who I may be referring, but Rose's style reminds me of the Moonlit Hero: Silver Line."

"Who?" Ojiro asked.

"The Shadow of All Might," Jiro remembered. "I think she was an underground hero, like Mr. Aizawa."

"Shadow of All Might? Was she like your partner or something?" Mina asked All Might.

"…In a way. Back then, she and I were part of different agencies. Me, Might Productions. Her, STRQ Agency," All Might recounted. "Despite that, Silver Line and I worked together on many occasions, and she would handle the nighttime crime fighting while I handled the daytime!"

"So, she was like the No. 1 underground hero?" Kaminari wondered. "That's super cool!"

"Yes," Tokoyami nodded. "It's unfortunate that she died in the line of duty over a decade ago. I would've loved to meet her in person."

"She's dead? Awwww, I wanted to meet her too," Mina wished.

"Yeah, she sounded like one badass lady for her to be All Might's Shadow," Kirishima said.

"I'm glad that there are still people who continue to remember Summer's efforts," All Might thought. "And don't fret, Young Tokoyami. Because, in a way…"

"…you have met her. All of you have met her. Her legacy. Her daughter, Ruby Rose."

Ruby stare down at Bakugo, her smile went away a few seconds ago. Izuku stood up, looking back and forth at his former childhood friend and first real friend.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Petals?" Bakugo snarled. "This doesn't concern you!"

"It became my concern when you started targeting my friend," Ruby shot back. Izuku looks at her, taking note of the seriousness in her tone.

Bakugo tsked. "Whatever. I don't fucking care!" He goes to aim his other gauntlet.

Izuku gasps. "Rose, get out of the way!"

Even All Might chimed in from the intercoms. / Young Bakugo, don't—! /

Ruby bursts towards Bakugo, catching him off guard. Time seems to slow down as they locked eyes, before time resumes to normal speed as Ruby then grabs Bakugo around his midsection, taking him down the corridor. Her Quirk cancels as her feet landed on the wall at the corridor's end!

"Hey! What the hell—?!" Bakugo voiced. Ruby grits her teeth before bursting again, taking Bakugo with her. It all happened so fast and all Izuku could do was watched as the petals left behind swirl around.

"…Rose," he muttered. After a moment, he makes a run towards the spot he last saw them. He looks around before noticing a rose trail and following it, the petals pick up as he ran. He vaguely noticed the different colors: red, of course, but there also petals colored a bright yellow orange.

Ruby takes herself and Bakugo to a room. It was nearly identical to the weapons room except for lacking a weapon. As soon as they reached the middle of the room, Ruby's Quirk cancels out, leaving a spray of petals, and Bakugo manages to get his footing again and throws Ruby off.

Learning from the apprehension test, Ruby was quick to land on her feet.

"What's exactly your plan, Petals, by taking me here?" Bakugo questioned. "Trying to get more room to escape my big blasts?"

/ Young Bakugo, I forbid you to do that again! /

"WHAT?! The fuck why?!" he shouted at wherever All Might's voice was coming from.

/ It was a danger to the lives around you as well as the very thing you were supposed to protect. An unwise move. Do it again and you and your team are disqualified! /

Bakugo fumed at the order, his anger climbing, before turning on his heel to leave.

"Wait, I—!" Ruby spoke but Bakugo cut her off.

"If you're trying to keep me away from that lying piece of shit, I don't wanna hear anything from you!"

"Bakugo, I think you misunderstood," Ruby insisted, trying to be a little bit diplomatic. "Midoriya's Quirk really did just manifest during his entrance exam! When we met, he said that he was Quirkless then. He wasn't lying! He had no reason to lie!" And why would he lie to her? Even if this was some screwed up master plan to mess with Bakugo, why would Izuku lie to some random person who had no prior knowledge of the explosive young man?

"Big talk coming from some snot-nosed brat buddy-buddy with that worthless Deku!" Bakugo shouted. "Were you just trying to protect me from him? Is that it? Do you think I'm weak like he does?!"

"No, I don't. And I don't know where this animosity you have with him is coming from, but he thinks you're amazing," Ruby revealed. "I don't know why, but he does! He admired your abilities and looked up to you, almost to the level of his admiration towards All Might!"

"I already know that. He said it enough times when we were kids, and it was annoying. Of course, this was when he lied about being Quirkless, that little weasel."

Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is your head so swelled that the very thought that someone like him is just slightly better than you make you get into a hissy fit? How Midoriya still sees you as a friend, enough for him to keep calling you a nickname even though you treat him so horribly, is beyond me!"

"Like I need that worthless nerd's approval." With each insult Bakugo used to describe Izuku only made Ruby angry, angrier than she ever been. "I'm leaving. I don't have time to mess with a weakling like you. You and everyone else are just extras to me."

Somehow, that became the straw that broke the camel's back for Ruby as her patience for Bakugo's ego became nonexistent at this point. "Extras? Look around you, Bakugo. Look at our classmates! You saw all the things they did for the Quirk Apprehension test, and you still think you're a cut above everyone else? You still think you're some amazing hotshot? Guess what, pal, you're not!" Bakugo stopped just as he was about to leave the room. "You're not the best! You were never the best! You're just a big jerk with an inflated ego and a huge chip on your shoulder! If there's anybody in this class who doesn't deserve to be in UA or become a hero, it's you!"

Ruby pants, nearly winded out from the anger-filled speech and a headache started to blossom behind her eyes. Bakugo had yet to move from where he stood, the threshold of the room with his back towards Ruby, so she was unable to see his expression.

Then, she did when Bakugo turned with a glare fueled with murderous rage. "…Forget it. I'm gonna charbroil you first, Red!" He rocketed towards Ruby with his right hook ready again.

Ruby ducks before headbutting him in the jaw. She bursts away to give away distance as Bakugo recovered. Ruby takes the initiative to attack again. She bursts herself into the air for a missile dropkick. Bakugo catches it instead and pulls Ruby down and punches her in the face. The resulting punch knocked her goggles off her head.

Ruby goes sprawling to the ground but wasn't out. Bakugo moves to attack again, and Ruby does a back heel sweeping kick at his legs. Bakugo loses balance and falls forwards, which gives Ruby a chance to knee him in the gut.

It was able to knock the wind out of him like Izuku's shoulder toss, but only for a second before he glares menacingly at Ruby, and she glared back.

"Seriously, Bakugo? Punching a girl in the face?" Kirishima scolded angrily. "Not cool, dude!"

"A villain wouldn't think twice about your gender," Ren said.

"He's not wrong," Todoroki spoke softly. "In the heat of battle, your gender means nothing. Besides, Rose seems to be handling herself alright."

"It would be disrespectful of Bakugo if he were to hold back on her simply because she is a girl," Tokoyami said.

"Yeah, look at her go! I had no idea she could do hand-to-hand!" Mina said. "Or is it feet?" she wondered, acknowledging that Ruby is primarily using kicks.

"That's because she was trained by her older sister, dad, and uncle," Nora said. How she knew was from Jaune.

"Are they heroes?" Mina asked.

"Well, her uncle and dad are. Her sister is still attending UA."

"Her sister goes here?!"

"Was she the girl with long blonde hair walking with Midoriya, Ruby, Ida, and Ochako yesterday?" Tsuyu asked.

"Yep," Nora nodded.

"I thought so. She a big sister vibe."

"What makes you say that?" Kirishima asked.

"Call it a hunch. Ribbit."

"Oh yeah! Didn't Rose say she grew up around heroes?" Hagakure recalled.

"That's making more sense now," Jiro said.

They return to watch more of the fight. Ruby goes to punch Bakugo's face. Bakugo dodges and grabs Ruby's jaw. Bakugo's hand crackled against Ruby's face, which would no doubt leave burns. Ruby responds by kicking Bakugo in the gut, getting him to let go. Ruby uses Petal Burst to make distance. Everyone had a clear view of her strikingly furious glare.

"Holy crap, Rose actually looks scary," said Kaminari, slightly unnerved. The small burns forming along her right jawline and cheek just added to her fury.

"She's usually so happy-go-lucky," Nora said. "I wonder what Bakugo did to make her angry."

Jaune watched silently from his spot.

"I can't help but wonder if the stresses of what has been going on is finally getting to her," All Might pondered.

He recalls his phone call with Taiyang. After his brief, very brief, run in with Yang and talking to Ruby, Toshinori called Tai in the teacher's lounge when he learns what had transpired last night.

"What? Yang attacked Ruby?" Toshinori questioned. It was unheard to him with how much Yang loves Ruby. After Summer's death, Yang stepped up to help with Ruby.

/ Yang wasn't thinking. I think she was having flashbacks of the attack. /

The taller blonde understood that. Toshinori recalled having similar flashbacks of his fight with All for One. It started during his recovery from his first surgery. At first, he thought All for One's spirit was haunting him, mocking him and his failures every night. He couldn't sleep for days. Then, he started hallucinating in broad daylight. He genuinely thought he was going crazy.

/ I've already called Hound Dog and informed him of the situation and had him speak with Yang's homeroom teacher. If anything happens, Yang will be sent home. /

"I see. What about Ruby?" Toshinori asked.

/ She's being a good sport about it, but I do think that she's still shaken up by what happened. /

"I did see her earlier with two of her classmates. She seemed okay."

/ Good. For now, anyway. Just, keep a close eye on her as best you can, please? /

"…I'll do my best."

"I may not know of the fundamentals of being a father, but I could tell that Tai is very worried. As am I. So, I'll do everything I can while continuing as her teacher. Still…" All Might watches as Ruby finally lands a punch in Bakugo's face. Bakugo barely staggers back before attacking again. "I'm not sure if this is the correct outlet."

"Should we stop the exercise?" Pyrrha asked. All Might turned to face her. She was worried, it was clear to him. As was he. All Might looks up at the timer, which results five minutes left and counting.

Jaune remembers all the moments Ruby has protected him from bullies. From when they were kids all the way up to middle school. "Always. Ruby was always by my side whenever someone mocked my Quirklessness. She had always stood up for me. Even…even after the stupid stunt I pulled when we started middle school. Maybe it was because of Yang, but Ruby can be very protective over the people she cared about. In all those times, Ruby had never started a fight. Sure, she may have shoved someone away, but that was if they were too close for her liking. But she had never started a brawl. Although…"

He thinks about the argument Ruby had with Cardin last year. He remembers how furious she was at the time. "I think she wanted to fight Cardin, right then and there. She was…so angry at the time. Almost to the level of this. And they both involved Midoriya in some capacity. Back then, Ruby knew that she would get into trouble if she had started a fight and it would've caused some issues. Here though, at least it's against someone who is capable to handling her throws without the same consequences. Still…"

Jaune thinks back to earlier that morning when he saw Ruby and Yang and the tension between the two. Sure, there were moments where they had a fight and refused to speak to each other, but the usual sight he'd see was the sisters pouting childishly. What he saw that morning was different. He was happy when he saw Ruby coming in with Ochako and Tsuyu with a smile on her face and even greeting Izuku, something she didn't do when he came to school with them.

She was doing okay for a while, but Bakugo seems to have reignited Ruby's anger and frustration.

Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Ochako tries again to get to the weapon, but Tenya kept taking it out of her reach.

"I hope Deku and Ruby are doing okay. That blast from earlier had me worried," she thought.

Tenya also thinks about what had happened. "What on earth is Bakugo doing? It felt like he was about to blow up the whole building."

They both shake their heads as they thought, "I can't worry about that right. I need to stick with the plan!"

As the fight continues, Ruby starts to feel worn out and starts breathing heavily.

"Looks like you're running out of steam, Red," Bakugo said. He also has bruises on his face, even a cut on his lip, but he showed no signs of slowing down. "Too bad, because I'm just getting start!"

As she catches her breath, Ruby tries to stand into a fighting position. "Oh, yeah? Well, me too!" It was a bluff and Ruby knew it.

"Fine. You're funeral!" Bakugo charges at Ruby but gets blindsided by Izuku. The sudden attack sent Bakugo to the ground and skid a little.

"Midoriya!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Rose! Forget about Kaachan and get out of here!" Izuku declared.

"But—!"

"This is my fight, Rose!" Izuku puts his guard up as Bakugo got to his feet. "You shouldn't have been involved and I gotta apologize for that!" Ruby stare at Izuku. "We don't got a lot of time left! Let me handle Kaachan! Go somewhere safe!" Ruby goes to say something until sparks flew from Bakugo's hands.

"You think you can handle me, Deku?" Bakugo challenged. "You still think you're better than me?"

"Midoriya, let me help!" Ruby insisted, but Izuku was resolute with his decision.

"I mean it, Rose! This is getting to—"

"Don't ignore me, Deku!" Bakugo shouted as he charges Izuku. Izuku goes to counter like he did before, but Bakugo launches himself in the air and blasts behind him. Izuku shouts in pain.

"Midoriya!" Ruby exclaimed. She moves but collapses to her knees. "…No…not now…"

"Hey, what's wrong with Rose?" asked Kirishima.

"She's at her limit," Jaune replied.

They watch as Bakugo continues to fight Izuku, who struggled to keep up. Ruby soon forces herself up and tries to muster a burst. She does but it cancels much too early and collided with Izuku as Bakugo was throwing him around and they hit the ground.

"Okay, the feel of the fight turned a complete 180!" Kaminari said paled.

"This is actually getting too hard to watch!" Mina said. Even Weiss was starting to get worried, but she tries to hide it.

"Sir, I think we should stop this!" stated Kirishima.

"All Might!" pleaded Pyrrha.

He should stop this. Even he knows when enough is enough. But…

I don't want to succeed… I want to excel!

I did it…All Might…

You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same helpless, defenseless kid anymore!

From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!

"…What should I do…?"

After collecting themselves, Izuku helps Ruby up. It was now when Izuku could see the injuries that Ruby sustained from her fight with Bakugo. There was a dark bruise and several burn marks on the right side of her face. He then looked up to see Bakugo walking towards them.

"Ruby, can you use Petal Burst?" Izuku asked, not realizing that he had just referred to Ruby by her first name.

"…I…"

"Be honest."

"…I don't think I can do another."

"…Okay." Izuku lowers Ruby down and propped her against the wall.

Ruby looks up curiously. "Midoriya?" Izuku holds out a hand, silently telling her to hold on for a moment. Ruby sees Bakugo advancing closer.

"Why aren't you using your Quirk, Deku?" Bakugo challenged in a low, dangerous voice. "Are you still underestimating me? Do you really think you can beat me without it?!"

"…No." Bakugo stopped in his tracks at Izuku's answer and Ruby looks up at him. His head was down, his eyes obscured by his curled bangs. "You've always been stronger, Kacchan. I know that you're better than me." Izuku looks back up, his eyes steeled. "That's why I wanna beat you. Because you're amazing!"

Bakugo's eye twitched again. "You really are a stupid ass. Then come at me!" He threw himself at Izuku, as does Izuku towards Bakugo. This time, Izuku summons up the power of One for All through his arm, the fabric of his remaining sleeve ripping from One for All's energy.

"Izuku!" Ruby called out, reaching out and fearing for his safety.

"All Might!" Pyrrha pleaded once more.

And this time, All Might couldn't take anymore of the fighting. It has to stop before someone gets seriously hurt! "…Both of you st—"

"Now! Uraraka!" Izuku shouted into his earpiece. Just as he was hit by Bakugo's blast, Izuku punches towards the ceiling with a Detroit Smash. The shockwave of the punch reached to each floor before bursting through the rooftop. Debris started to fall from the upper floors and Ruby was lucky to have enough energy to move and not get hit.

Bakugo looks up at the many holes in the ceiling, reaching the roof. "…You planned this, didn't you? You planned this from the very beginning, you little shit…"

"…I didn't want to use it…" The weak, vulnerable voice of Izuku had Bakugo and Ruby glance at him. The poor guy looked wrecked. His left arm was burned, as he used it to shield himself from Bakugo's blast, and his right arm was a deep red towards purple, bruised all over to show that he had again broke the arm. "Because I couldn't control my power…it's too much…too much for my body to handle…but… this was all I…could…do…" Unable to keep himself up right any longer, Izuku starts to fall.

The timer had run out, but Ochako was successfully captured the weapon.

Everyone in the monitoring room stood silently. Even All Might struggled to speak.

"…The…"

"…The hero team…"

Izuku collapses and Ruby runs over to him as Bakugo looks on in devastated shock.

"WIIIIIINS!"

It's amazing how music can help with the thought process.

For that moment when Ruby saves Izuku, I was listening to 'Plus Ultra.' For when Ruby was spitting some facts at Bakugo, it was 'Darkness in the Heart' I think. And for the start of the fight between the two, I was listening to the 'Heroic Fighting Battle Song.'

As for the next chapter, it will mainly show case the other rounds somewhat.