"SIR! WE HAVE AN ESCAPEE FROM E. CORRIDOR 3 APPROACHING!"
"Shit! Who is it!?"
"It appears to be a conductoid! Your orders Magister?!"
"Same as ever. Capture, contain and…. Punish."
Midoriya sucked in a breath as he looked towards the stadium, ready to be called in any moment. There was a short break being given for the two finalists to catch their breathe and to build excitement among the spectators.
The greenette looked up to the 1-A stands, practically able to feel the worry radiating off his friends. He saw Uraraka leaning over the edge of the railing and when she met his eyes, he just gave her a thumbs up.
The brunette smiled, giving her own before the greenette turned back to the ring. In the commentary booth, Present Mic and Aizawa were discussing the upcoming match excitedly. Well one of them was.
"SO, SINCE HE'S GOTTEN TO THE END AND WE ALREADY KNOW THE GIST OF BAKUGOU'S POWER, WHAT ALIEN DO YOU THINK'S COMING UP NEXT ERASERHEAD?! I MEAN, WE ALREADY SEEN A FAIR FEW, ANY NEW ONES LEFT?!"
"There are a few. Some even I've yet to see. Still, from files and documents, as well as a basic understanding of how he thinks, I can make a few educated guesses." Aizawa replied, bored as ever. A shuffling sound could be heard, indicating the scruffy man was moving about some papers likely containing information on the fighters. "Midoriya knew this was a scouting opportunity and did his best to showcase his multiple forms, however now we are in the final round that isn't a likely factor. Especially not since the two finalists seem to have a… complicated relationship."
"OH HO?! SO IT'S A FATED BATTLE, DESTINED TO BE?!" Present Mic asked, and he got a groan in response.
"Believe whatever nonsense you wish. Both of them are merely powerful and competent fighters, with an aptitude for analyzing their situations. Though one is much better at finding actual solutions than the other." The greenette's homeroom teacher replied, before jumping back into what he was talking about before. "Anyways, as Midoriya is free to use whatever alien he wishes, there of course remains the question of who. However that is something I won't give my answer on, I'm not trying to spoil the fun after all."
Midoriya narrowed his eyes at that, looking up to where the man would be. 'Since when did you care about spoiling fun? Oh well, any advantage I can get is a good one I suppose.'
"WELL ALRIGHT! EITHER WAY, ARE YOU READY FOR THE FINAL MATCH OF THE DAY SPORTS FANS?!"
The crowd cheered the loudest they had all day, as Midoriya began walking to the ring, trying to ignore how his body was sweating.
His confidence was better than it once was, but still the idea of facing Bakugou would probably always make the greenette nervous, especially in untested conditions.
Still, he was here now and everyone was counting on him to win.
So, that's all he had to do. That was all that went through his mind as he began to climb the steps up to stage. On the other side, Bakugou made his way with a dark scowl.
"ALRIGHT SPORTS FANS! FOR THE FINAL TIME TODAY! FROM CLASS 1-A, HE'S THE BLONDE WITH A TEMPER AS FIERY AND EXPLOSIVE AS HIS OWN QUIRK! HE'S BEEN A BLAST TODAY, HE'S THE HERO COURSES ONE AND ONLY KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"
Said teen just let out a "Hmph" at his intro, while still glaring down Midoriya.
"About time I put you in your place for the entire world to see."
Oh for fucks sake. The greenette rolled his eyes as he hovered his hand over his watch.
"ALSO FROM 1-A, HE'S BEEN GIVING US ONE HELL OF A SHOW TODAY, NEVER SHOWING US THE SAME FORM TWICE YET! CAUSE WHEN YOU GOT THIS KID IN, IT'S HERO TIME! IT'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
The crowd exploded with applause and cheers, and Midoriya smirked, trying not to betray his worry as he stared Bakugou down.
"Think you can beat me genuinely this time, Kacchan? Cause I think you're still going to need me to be like this to be able to actually do anything." He challenged, suppressing his urge to laugh when he saw his once friends eyes lit up in anger. 'Good, and now he accepted the challenge, he just lost his best trick.'
"Deku…. You bastard….."
"BEGIN!"
BOOM!
"JUST DIE!"
A green flash.
"Seriously, you need to expand your vocabulary."
BOOM!
The blonde's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at his new opponent. The transformed teen's body was sleek, with dark red rocks coating his bright yellow lava like body.
His hair was replaced by a billowing flame and his feet were like two claws more than actual feet. The thing that had surprised the explosion teen though, is that while the force had knocked him back ever so slightly, Midoriya had mostly been unfazed.
"Meet Pyroform." He said, with a grin before punching the blonde back across the ring in his surprised state. "Been thinking about renaming him to be honest, not exactly my best name. So, Kacchan, shall we?"
"You…. YOU BASTARD!"
Explosions set off behind the blonde teen as he propelled himself back, rocketing over the fire alien, dodging a punch and aiming to get behind him. Midoriya smirked, burning the cement beneath him and digging his feet into the ground.
BOOM!
He'd be lying if he said the impact of the explosion didn't hurt, in pushed his body and he knew if he wasn't digging his feet in he'd be making many more evasive maneuvers that would get in the way of the fight.
There was another factor to the explosions however, a factor Midoriya had lamented much more for all his life. Yet another fist came at him, Bakugou deciding to try to brute force the alien from his spot.
He grabbed both the explosive teen's arms, letting the explosions go off and letting out a small chuckle, confusing his opponent. "The worst part about your… episodes as a kid Kacchan. The worst part was always the burns, I still have the scars to today you know."
"Good! They should be reminding you off your fucking place you villain!" The teen in his hands screamed and the fire aliens actually let his grasp go in confusion.
"Me, the villain? LOOK AT YOURSELF!"
BOOM!
"SO ERASERHEAD, WANT TO GIVE YOUR ACCOUNT HERE?!"
"Pyroform. He possesses acute pyrokinesis, enhanced strength and durability, and he…. Well…. You'll see as the fight goes on."
"ER, WELL OKAY! SHORTER ACCOUNT THAN NORMAL BUT THATS COOL I GUESS!"
Midoriya gritted his teeth as an explosion hit him in the face, actually strong enough to get his foot to come out of the spot he had planted it in. Bakugou came flying towards him again and he decided he'd had enough being a stationary target.
He threw flames beneath him, rocketing into the air out of the way of one of the blonde's attacks, turning down and seeing him approach.
He wait until the blonde got close, firing off yet another explosion. A big one, using both hands. The greenette smirked, putting his won hands forward and absorbing the flames that came as part of it.
Bakugou looked on shocked, as Midoriya then formed his own attack into a giant fireball.
"Kacchan, catch!" He shouted as he hit the blonde and knocked him into the ground, before slowly descending down. "Now what the hell do you mean I'm a villain? Is that what your little opening speech was about?"
"I… I WILL BE THE BEST HERO! I AM THE BEST HERO!" Bakugou roared as he tore towards him, using his explosions to increase his speed. Midoriya crossed his arms in an X shape and threw out two, for lack of a better term, blades of fire that his opponent barely ducked under. "YOU CALLED ME A VILLAIN BUT YOU'RE THE ONE ALWAYS GETTING IN MY WAY! ALWAYS BEING WHERE YOU FUCKING SHOULDN'T!"
BOOM! BOOM BOOM!
Midoriya didn't have time to stop the barrage as it hit him. He absorbed the flames but the impacts still knocked him off his feet and forced him back-
BOOM!
He tumbled back, hitting his head against the concrete while Bakugou loomed over him. The blonde climbed on top of him and continued to let off smaller explosions, just enough to keep the teen pinned down.
"You- Your delusional." Midoriya coughed, meeting his once childhood friend's eyes. The greenette had gotten a lot of insight since he'd come to U.A. including what true friends were. Which left him with a question. "What did… I ever see in you?"
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as he took a powerful explosion right to his head for it.
"Fucking SHUT UP! TO BE THE BEST HERO, I HAVE TO SQUASH EVERY ONE WHO STANDS IN MY WAY! THE BEST NEVER GETS TAKEN DOWN OR IS LOOKED DOWN ON BY ANYONE BUT YOU WERE ALWAYS FUCKING THERE!" Bakugou screamed, continuing to throw punch after punch. "NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I BEAT YOU DOWN YOU WOULDN'T STAY DOWN! YOU ALWAYS GOT BACK UP AND CONTINUED FUCKING LOOKING DOWN ON ME!"
Midoriya gritted his teeth, still taking the blows as he quietly began working on a counter-attack in his hands. His patience was beginning to be tested though.
"THEN YOU GOT THAT CHEATING FUCKING WATCH AND NOW YOU THINK YOUR BETTER THAN ME?! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE POWERS YOU FUCK OR DID BEING DIAGNOSED QUIRKLESS NOT TEACH YOU THAT!"
The fire continued to grow in his palms. His patience was comparable to a slab of wood.
Still solid, as it took the abuse, but beginning to splinter.
"GOT AN ENTIRE DAMN CLASS OF WEAK ASS SYMPATHISERS! IM BETTER THAN ANYONE OF THEM BUT AS LONG AS YOU FUCKING EXIST NO ONE KNOWS THEIR PLACE ANY MORE! HELL THAT FUCKING PONYTAIL BITCH MOST BE INSANE IF SHE HAS THE HOTS FOR YOU!
"Bakugou that's enough!" Midnight called, both the teens having forgotten the teachers were there. Cementoss began to move to stop the beating, but before he could.
Bakugou made his last comment.
He made…. His last mistake.
"HELL, BET THAT FUCKING UGLY ASS LITTLE ALIEN FREAK WILL PROBABLY BE A LOSER LIKE YOU IF SHE KEEPS HANGING OUT WITH YOU!"
The wood stopped splintering, because it exploded it millions of tiny pieces.
The alien teen's mind went blank as autopilot took over his body. His hands shot out as his attack died, grabbing Bakugou by the throat. He grabbed tight as well, most likely cutting off the blonde's air supply.
He didn't know what he was doing. All he knew is that as Bakugou's words seeped inside his head, he saw JJ in every situation he'd ever been in growing up.
Beaten, discard, shouted at, forgotten.
Abused.
And he reacted on instinct.
"Let go of me!" Bakugou struggled to get out, kicking at him. The alien didn't comply, as the world almost seemed to slow around him.
Reasoning gone with his rage, Midoriya uttered a phrase that surely would have turned everyone's blood cold had they understood what It meant.
"One for All… PLUS ULTRA!" He screamed, as an explosion of fire engulfed the arena. No one could see, people having to shield their eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Present Mic shouted, and a bored, irritated sigh came from his co-commentator.
"It appears, Bakugou may finally have to understand there are consequences to his actions."
Said teen coughed, his clothing barely clinging onto him in a ruined state as he looked up, face bloody and bruised. Cementoss had tried to stop the fight but his cement walls just melted around Midoriya, doing nothing.
Everyone could only look on in shock, as Midoriya's body had changed. Not by a massive amount, yet it was still notable. The bright yellow lava had turned a vibrant green, the rocks covering his body was fewer exposing more of the fiery substance inside. and his 'hair', that had merely been a small billowing flame now resembled a long and elegant mane.
"W-WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?! YOU NEVER MENTIONED A POWER LIKE THIS!" Present Mic exclaimed.
"I wasn't aware he had an ability like this. Somehow though, I don't think it's related solely to this transformation."
"E-Eh?!"
Midoriya took a breath, turning to his opponent who stood up with an angry glare. He stalked forward slowly, feet melting the ground he walked on.
Everyone in the stadium couldn't help but feel their breathes hitch, terrified by the sheer aura of rage that had enveloped Pyroform. Bakugou, after a brief second of hesitation, rushed at him.
That was a bad idea. As the blonde closed in, Pyroform had lifted a hand and summoned a tornado of flames that carried the blonde up, before dropping him down.
He looked over his opponent, who was still groggy from the explosion and leaned in. "Ever. Insult. JJ. Again…. And I'll show you exactly how 'villainous' I can be."
Punctuating his threat with a ring of fire that surrounded them both, Midoriya waited. Eventually, Bakugou stood up, glaring. "You…. Fucking…."
"I'm done trying to understand you Kacchan. If you really are that delusional then…. I have more important things to do then try and deal with a hopeless case like you. If you want me to play villain to you, fine!"
He rushed forward and grabbed the blonde by his ruined shirt, lifting him over head and throwing him across the ring, before his hands exploded and became coated in a thick layer of some kind of magma like substance, in the shape of boxing gloves.
"I'll play villain. I might as well test my new powers anyways." He announced quietly, waiting for either his opponent to pick himself up or the match to be forcibly declared over.
Bakugou's will however was admittedly harder to break than his body. The blonde seemed to realize as well what kind of situation he'd brought upon himself.
Midoriya wasn't pulling punches anymore, he was fighting with the same intent Bakugou always brought into a fight. Intent to seriously damage and destroy his opponent.
Bakugou's hands lit up in a glow as he steadies himself, pushing forward. He rocketed forward at speed, twirling in the air and getting close enough to place his hands on Midoriya as he let out a simple cry that caused the alien teen's eyes to go wide.
"HOWITZER…. IMPACT!"
In an instant, the entire arena exploded violently as Pyroform felt his whole body shake from the force. It was more violent than any move he had dealt with yet from the blonde, and he knew…
If he was regular Pyroform he would be absolutely destroyed, body torn apart and thrown against the walls. He smiled wide however, as he revelled in the heat pulling it in.
The smoke cleared and for the first time since the slime villain incident, Midoriya saw actual fear in the explosive teens eyes. Midoriya had been knocked back but still remained in the ring, body barely fazed.
"You call that an explosion?"
"Midoriya!" Midnight called in warning, as the greenette placed his hands forward.
"Pyrokinesis plus a power boost. Wonder what it does to my strongest move, let's compare."
His hands glowed a brilliant green as fire poured off his body all travelling to the fists.
"SPECIAL MOVE: SUPER NOVA BLAST!"
He got ready to unleash the full destructive power of his new form, when his eyes travelled past Bakugou and he saw a camera recording the event. A camera JJ would be watching through.
He didn't unleash the attack as he remembered the brutal treatment Vilgax had delivered to him in a single day, and he thought back to his own past.
He was doing exactly what Bakugou always did. But…
But he wasn't Bakugou, he had the chance to be better.
He lowered his hands. The blonde growled, and Midoriya dissipated most of the energy he absorbed to a much less destructive amount.
"Be glad I'm not like you." Was all he said, before turning and swiping his hand though the air, throwing out a crescent blade of fire into the ground that caused it to explode and throw Bakugou off stage.
The explosive teen tried to use his power to save himself but a fireball to the face stopped that quickly and he fell into the ground.
Silence descended on the crowd as everyone sat surprised. No one knew what to think from the fight but eventually after a few moments Present Mic managed to speak up.
"UH- WELL SPORTS FANS! TALK ABOUT YOUR DRAMATIC FINALE'S! IT SEEMS WE HAVE THIS YEARS WINNER, IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
"Not that surprising. Midoriya chose a form Bakugou's power would only make stronger. Smart plan really."
Another beat of silence as the teen transformed back and sat down, exhausted but then cheers erupted in the crowd, while the greenette inspected his hand.
"So that's what One for All doesn't normally huh? Holy crap that was…."
Words escaped him, as he tried to think. He could barely describe this entire day, as he looked around. After that fight, he could really just use a break or something nice happening at the least.
"MIDORIYA!" A voice shouted, and he turned to see Momo waiting for him in one of the entrance ways. Grinning he ran down and over to her, getting pulled into a tight hug. "You were amazing!"
"Hey, I couldn't lose! Not while you and JJ and everyone were counting on me." He grinned, just enjoying the embrace.
He didn't know what possessed him to ask the next question he did. Probably the adrenaline rush leaving him still confident and not able to think to realise how much he'd normally be embarrassed by asking this.
"Hey Momo?"
"Hm?"
"Do you… wanna go out for something to eat after?"
The girl froze, pulling back with an incredulous look, which morphed into a genuine hopeful smile. "A-Are you asking me out on a date?"
Honestly, he had no idea if he intended it like that. Seeing the smile though, it filled him with a new confidence and he decided to take his chances.
"I g-guess I am, yeah."
Long arms wrapped around him tight once more.
"Then I'd love to."
The two laughed, as they made their way back into the arena area as Midoriya would need to be there anyways for the medals. Most of his friends would join them soon most likely.
As the two walked back, Midoriya looked over to Bakugou who was seething, sitting in the corner.
It was an incredibly petty thought that came to him, but after that fight Midoriya didn't really care. Bakugou had been obsessed with winning everything for years.
So he felt like he could afford just a tiny bit of gloating.
'I win, Kacchan.'
And he did. He won the festival, but more importantly to him, it seemed he's also won Momo's heart apparently.
Now that…. That was something worth fighting for.