This document beta'd by kylekatarn77
11. The Great Achilles
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.
-Homer, the Illiad
Izuku glanced up at the TV screen by the vending machine. He'd left to get himself a milk and Mei some canned coffee. The pairings popped up, and Izuku was about to open his milk and take a drink. His first pairing was, fortunately, against Mina Ashido. She was one of the only participants he'd prepped against. But a look at Mei's pairing made Izuku drop his milk, spilling it across the floor. He dashed back to their prep room, his eyes wild with panic.
"Mei! You have to forfeit!" Izuku shouted, slamming open the door.
She looked up, frowning. "Where's my coffee?"
"Mei, you have to forfeit the first match! You're going up against Ka-against Bakugo!"
"Yeah. But where's my coffee?" Mei prompted.
Frantically, Izuku knelt down next to Mei where she was working on the Power Suit's legs. He put his hands on her shoulders, his arms trembling slightly. "Mei, Bakugo, he's really angry. He's going to hurt you if you fight him."
Mei laughed. "No he's not! We made those missiles special for him. I'll teach him a lesson, for all those times he made fun of you and our babies!"
"Mei, listen. Bakugo is strong. Really strong. We never got to test our missiles anti-perspirant spray! What if it doesn't even work? He'll hurt you really badly!"
Shrugging, Mei turned back to her work. "Well if it doesn't, I'll just forfeit. But I have to at least test it out, or what was the point?"
"Mei, please, I'm really worried about you," Izuku pleaded. "The plan was never for you to fight Bakugo! It was supposed to be me."
"Well don't worry, Izuku. If I beat him then I'll forfeit to you. I don't want to keep you from being a hero."
"That's not what this is about!" Izuku half shouted. "Bakugo is ruthless in competition. And he thinks we've slighted him. He's going to go all out against you."
"Izuku, do you not have any faith in me or our babies?" Mei demanded.
Izuku jerked back. "I-no, of course I do. Y-y-your really smart, and...and I know we've made good stuff, but-"
"Then don't worry about it. Now let's finish getting ready. I'll just use the handheld missile launcher I made for my match with Bakugou."
Reluctantly, Izuku helped Mei assemble their handheld launcher and load it with three antiperspirant missiles. Then they worked on the Power Suit in relative silence, aside from Mei complaining twice about the coffee until Izuku went and retrieved the fallen can from the hallway. Still, Izuku couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Eventually though, he had to force it out of his mind and load into the Power Suit as his match was up first.
"Go show them how wonderful our babies are!" Mei said, waving goodbye as Izuku walked out onto the arena floor.
"Um, yeah, same to you," he managed, waving half heartedly, then turning back to the stage.
"Our first two contestants: She's peppy, she's cute, and she's just a little bit fre-kah! Let's get a warm round of applause for Mina Ashido from Class 1A!"
The pink skinned girl glided up onto the stage on a wave of acid, then turned and waved to the crowd enthusiastically. Her quirk was strong, Izuku knew, producing acid that could seriously damage the Power Suit if he wasn't careful. He'd planned ahead though, and held two missiles in his hands loaded with the anti-acid foam. He planned to detonate them immediately, using the foam to shield himself, then detonating a series of missiles over the field to coat it in antacid foam to negate Ashido's quirk.
"And in the other corner, it's none other than the frontrunner, Izuku Midoriya! It may come as no surprise to you all that he comes from class 1H in the support course, but what's even more shocking is this: Izuku Midoriya is the first ever Quirkless student to make it to the final round!"
Izuku gritted his teeth at that announcement. What would people think of him? He forced himself to look straight ahead, and prayed that his trembling limbs wouldn't cause the Power Suit to lose it's balance. He clambered up onto the stage, assuming a fighting posture with his two arms raised.
"Wow, you're really quirkless?" Ashido asked. "That's super cool! You must be really smart! But don't think I'm going to go easy on you."
"Y-y-yeah, um, s-same to you. But really, it was Mei Hatsume who-"
"BEGIN!"
Without further warning, Ashido raced forward, spraying acid at Izuku. Out of reflex, Izuku dodged to the side, avoiding most of the attack, though some acid sprayed on his suit. Then he remembered the missiles in his hands, and tossed them up in the air, triggering their detonators.
"Waaah!" Ashido cried. She was only a few feet away from Izuku, and a good deal of foam washed over her. "What the heck?! Oh well, eat- huh?"
Ashido tried to spray acid, but the foam coating her absorbed most of it, leaving only a few flecks to spray through the air. Izuku rushed her, grabbing Ashido carefully in both hands.
"Sorry!" Izuku shouted. He spun around, hurling Ashido through the air. She wailed and flailed her arms, but Izuku stepped back, opening his missile bays.
Somehow, Ashido managed to land right on the line without going over it, pirouetting and stepping back into the ring. But Izuku fired off a single missile, which exploded between him and Ashido, spraying them both with a geyser of foam. When the smoke cleared, Ashido had been forced out of the ring, splayed on the ground and covered in foam.
"I'm so sorry!" Izuku gasped. He hurried forward, gently scraping the foam off of Ashido's face, causing her to cough and splutter. "I-I-I'm really sorry, Ashido. Um, are you OK?"
"I...I…" Ashido coughed. Then she suddenly sat up, startling Izuku. "I have never seen anything so amazing! Midoriya! How the heck did you make this stuff? I can't even use my quirk!"
"Um, well, you see, Hatsume and I, we sort of researched what your quirk was and, um, w-w-we made these missiles to um, cancel your acid."
Ashido blinked. "Seriously? You were that worried about me?"
"Well, um, your quirk is really strong, and well, we thought we should be prepared, since we figured you were sure to make it into the finals."
"That is like, the biggest compliment ever. If I hadn't just gotten my ass kicked so hard, I might actually think it was kind of sweet." Ashido winced, glancing down at herself. "As it is, um, good match. Congratulations. I so need a shower now."
Izuku helped Ashido up, then a medical team arrived to see to her. Izuku felt really bad about how one sided the match had been, but he looked up to see Mei running towards him.
"Izuku that was amazing!" she cheered, leaping up onto him. Izuku caught her in his arms, and Mei hugged him tightly. "You showed everyone how awesome our babies are! Ashido never had a prayer! The missiles, they worked wonderfully!"
Suddenly Mei climbed up on top of Izuku, taking out a loudspeaker from somewhere. "That's right everyone," Mei's voice boomed. "That amazing display was brought to you by us! Me, Mei Hatsume, the world's greatest inventor, and Izuku Midoriya, the world's next greatest hero! Support companies, take note! Wouldn't you love to fund us? Just imagine it, Izuku and I making babies together at your company forever!"
Silence. The roar of the crowd suddenly died as everyone stared at Mei in shock. "She means the inventions!" Izuku called frantically. "The inventions! She calls them-"
"Well, I guess love can bloom on the battlefield!" Ms. Midnight called. "Well, please clear the stage. You can go make babies in private in your waiting room."
"Thanks! We will!" Mei agreed, hopping down. "Come on Izuku, let's go make more babies!"
Izuku groaned to himself, but followed after Mei as the crowd started chattering. What sort of person did they think he was?
Still, Izuku didn't have time to watch the two other matches, instead focusing on repairing and refitting the Power Suit. Before he knew it, the loudspeaker came to life. "Mei Hatsume, Mei Hatsume, please report to the stadium floor for your match."
"Alrighty! Don't worry Izuku, I'll take care of Bakugou for you!" With that, Mei ran out, carrying her gear.
"Wait, Mei! Are you sure you don't want to take the Power Suit?" Izuku asked.
Mei shook her head. "I don't know how to pilot it very well, you've always done that. I might accidentally hurt our baby! You just take care of them and I'll handle Bakugo."
Despite himself, Izuku found himself leaving and hurrying to the student observation box.
"Hey! Midoriya! Over here!"
Izuku turned to see Ashido waving at him from a seat, dressed in a set of civilian clothes. He hurried over, blushing slightly. "Um, hi, Ashido. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, they hosed me off and I could make acid once that foam came off." Ashido explained. "All I had were a few scrapes and bruises. I'm surprised, you totally could have pounded me with that thing!"
"Yeah, well, I mean, I didn't want to hurt anybody," Izuku said nervously, gazing out onto the field.
"Oh yeah, this is Hatsume's match, yeah? She's your girlfriend right? I hope you two use protection, otherwise you could get into big trouble."
Izuku whirled, his face beat red, stumbling over himself to explain, but was interrupted by Present Mic.
"Stepping out onto the field, it's our second contestant from the Support Class! She loves her babies, and probably someone else, too! Give it up for Mei Hatsume!"
Mei walked out, grinning widely and toting the missile launcher, along with a bandoleer of smoke bombs and other explosives. For half a heartbeat, Izuku thought she had a chance.
"And from the Hero Course, the number one finisher in the entrance exams! He's hotheaded, and determined to win! Let's hear it, for Katsuki Bakugo!"
Bakugo mosied up to the stage, his hands in his pockets, a sour expression on his face. In that moment, Izuku's heart sank. Mei hadn't a prayer.
"You're going to pay for bad mouthing my babies and Izuku!" Mei snapped, readying her launcher.
Bakugo snorted. "Whatever. If I have to stomp the nerdette to get to the real fights, so be it."
"Ready?" Ms. Midnight asked. "Begin!"
Mei immediately fired her rocket launcher, but Bakogu was already moving, using his explosions to fling himself across the field. Mei panicked, dropping the launcher and flinging a flashbang and a smoke bomb at Bakugo. The stage vanished, first in a blinding flash of light, then in a cloud of thick dark smoke. Izuku strained his eyes, but failed to see anything.
Down on the stage, Mei was chuckling to herself, picking up her launcher and taking a few steps forwards. "How do you like my babies?"
"Honestly, you're worse than the nerd. You think a few toys and some tricks are going to stop me?"
Out of the smoke, Bakugo appeared, a wicked grin slashed across his face, his eyes gleaming with eagerness. Mei panicked again, firing the missile at point blank range. It wouldn't have had time to arm, but Bakugo swiped at it, exploding it with a blast from his quirk. That sent Mei flying to near the center of the stage, coughing and gasping. Bakugo stumbled back himself, grimacing in pain.
"You call that an explosion? You're pathetic! Why they even let you bring this worthless crap in is beyond me!" Bakugo complained, shaking his wrist to get some sense back into his hands from the recoil. He suddenly coughed, the strange mist from the missile coating him.
"Don't you dare insult our babies! Izuku worked really hard on those!" Mei shouted, jumping at Bakugo out of the mists.
Taken by surprise, Bakugo shuffled half a step back, raising his hand to fire off a blast. To his shock, nothing more than a few sparks appeared. His hands felt dry all of a sudden, and with a start Bakugo realized there had been something in those missiles that could cancel out his quirk. He had no time to think, however, as Mei was upon him, punching him square in the nose, then battering at his head and chest.
Reeling from the blow, Bakugo stumbled back through the still thick smoke for a moment, unable to use his quirk. After a second, he recovered, snarling and grabbing Mei. He threw her to the ground, then proceeded to jump attop her, straddling Mei and pounding at her face. Mei shrieked in pain and anger, clawing at Bakugo with her fingers, but the other boy was both bigger and stronger than Mei. While she had plenty of muscle, there was no overcoming the sheer advantages of both testosterone and the years of fights and training that Bakugo had.
Slowly, Mei's struggles faded as Bakugo battered at her. In a final burst, she grabbed his hands struggling with Bakugo as he attempted to beat her down.
"Just give up so I won't have to hurt, you nerdette!" Bakugo wheezed.
But Mei was past reason, wailing and crying from the pain and noxious fumes. She dug her fingers into Bakugo, drawing blood with her short nails.
"Have it your way," Bakugo grunted. He pointed his palms at Mei, having at last worked up a bit of a sweat from his exertions, as the anti-perspirant didn't completely prevent him from using his quirk. He unleashed a decently sized blast right into Mei's face. The shock shattered her goggles, sending shards of glass into her eyes, and burning her hair and face. It was too much, and Mei fell back, unconscious.
Slowly, Bakugo got to his feet, panting. The swirl of smoke around him finally cleared, leaving him looking down at the broken and bloodied Mei.
"Oh God," Ms. Midnight gasped. "The match is over! Bakugo wins. Step away from her!"
Bakugo spat to the side, wiping his bloody nose. "Fine." He was unable to say more, blood covering his face and his broken nose making speech hard.
From the stands, Izuku watched, looking down as he gripped the bars with white knuckles. "No…" He whispered, tears leaking down his face. "Mei…"
"Oh man. That's harsh. Bakugo went way too hard on her. She's just from the support course! He had no reason to go all out," Ashido complained. "Sorry Midoriya. Bakugo...well, he's sort of an asshole."
"Bakugo," Izuku growled, tears and rage blinding him. For the first time in his life, something inside Izuku snapped. He lost all sense of reason, all sense who he was or where he was. A blinding, overwhelming need to destroy something, anything, especially what had hurt Mei filled him. He found himself trying to climb over the railing, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I'll kill you, Bakugo! You hear me? I'll kill you for what you did to Mei! I won't forgive this, not now, not ever! I'll kill you!"
"Woah!" Ashido gasped. "Midoriya, don't-Crap! Guys, guys help!"
Hands grabbed at Izuku, but he batted them away, screaming and trying to jump over the railing, despite the fact that he was at least 30 feet up. Bakugo just looked at him, holding his hand to his nose, glaring at Izuku.
"Midoriya! Midoriya calm down!" a voice, Iida a part of Izuku knew, shouted. "Help us, Kirishima! Get him down!"
Finally, Kirishima hurried forward, grabbing Izuku and hauling him back, having to activate his hardening quirk to keep Izuku from beating him.
"Dude! Calm down! Look, it's messed up what happened to your girlfriend, but relax! You can't do this or they'll kick you out, man!" Kirishimai urged.
Finally, Izuku managed to suck in a deep breath, tears still running down his cheeks as he slumped to the floor against Kirishima. "It's over, Bakugo," Izuku whispered. "I hate you. Not for what you did to me, but for what you did to Mei."
"What'd he ever do to you?" Ashido asked, confused, crouching in front of Izuku.
Kaminari winced. "Um, well, they sort of went to school together. Bakugo told me earlier. You know he's quirkless, and well, Bakugo…"
"Is a complete asshole. God, don't tell me he bullied a quirkless kid?" Ashido demanded.
Izuku didn't say anything, just panting and glaring down at his clenched fists. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "I'm fine. Kirishima, right?"
"Yeah man." The red haired youth deactivated his quirk, and extended his hand to Izuku. "That was totally messed up. I'm sorry, man. I thought Bakugo was alright, but…"
"Now hold on, everyone," Iida interjected. "Bakugo is clearly injured. It looks like Mei put up quite a fight. Bakugo may have been harsh, but-"
"Dude, it totally isn't the time for that!" Kirishima exploded, rounding on Iida. "Midoriya's girl just got thrashed, and you're defending the guy who did it?"
"Not cool, Iida," Ashido huffed. "Bakugo totally crossed a line."
Iida flushed, but didn't back down. "Well, perhaps, but it was a fight and-"
Kirishima put a hand on Iida's shoulder. "Dude. Not. The. Time."
"It's fine," Izuku sniffed. He scrubbed his eyes. "I must be a mess. Sorry, I have to get ready for my match."
"Um, looks like you're facing me, actually," Kirishima said. He rubbed the back of his head. "Look man, I know you just had a rough time, but-"
"Come at me with everything you have!" Izuku yelled, making a fist and glaring at Kirishima. "I want to get into the hero course! If you think for one second you should go easy on me just because I'm quirkless, you're wrong! Hit me with everything you have, and I'll prove to the world I deserve to be a hero! For Mei!"
Kirishma took a step back, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I was just gonna say, can't take it easy on you, man. I aim to make it to the top too. Plus, I mean, you kicked Ashido's ass. No offense."
"None taken. He's good. You'll have to bring your A game, Kirishma! Good luck to both of you!" Ashido said, smiling and giving them both a thumbs up. Then she suddenly stepped forward, pulling Izuku into a quick hug. "And, I'm sorry about Hatsume. She'll be OK, Recovery Girl came out to get her."
There had been a time when Izuku would have flinched from such a show of physical affection, especially from a girl his age. Now though, he just closed his eyes and hugged Ashido back, giving her a firm squeeze. "Thanks. I'll be OK. I just hope Mei is too."
"I'll go check on her, Midoriya. Good luck! And I'm rooting for you to get into the Hero Course! You're totally gonna be an awesome hero!" with that Ashido left, hurrying off towards the infirmary.
"I guess I should go get ready for our match," Kirishima said. He extended his hand to Izuku. "May the best man win."
"Yeah. Thanks. You too," Izuku said awkwardly. Kirishima laughed and slapped him on the back, then headed towards his waiting room.
"Midoriya, a moment?" Iida said quietly.
Izuku turned to face the other boy, who had a serious expression on his face. "What is it?"
"I know you care for Hatsume, Midoriya," Iida began. "I understand that it can be hard to see someone you love get hurt. But Hatsume knew what she was getting into and-"
"No she didn't!" Izuku exploded. "She doesn't understand! I tried to tell her, but she gets like this sometimes and won't see reason! She becomes obsessed and I don't know how to help her then!"
Iida shook his head and held up a hand. "Midoriya, I don't think you're giving Hatsume enough credit. She's clearly an intelligent young woman and-"
"She's got a disability!" Izuku snapped, sticking his own finger out at Iida. Part of him could hardly believe how rude he was being, but the other part of him was still full of that rage that needed venting. "I'm quirkless! She's got autism! We're both weakling freaks to Bakugo! She doesn't live in the real world! I have to take care of her, keep her safe! She doesn't remember to eat, or sleep, or take care of herself at all when she gets focused on something! She was so convinced that she needed to show off her babies to the world and that she could handle Bakugo because she's never been in a situation where she was threatened, especially by Bakugo!"
"Well I have! I spent years getting pushed around by Bakugo, because I thought of us as friends! But he never did! He was offended at my very existence! Do you know why? Because I'm quirkless! And now, he hates Mei because she's with me, because she's different too! Well, I'm not going to allow that anymore! Do you understand me? I won't let that happen!"
Iida took a step back, a look of horrified bewilderment on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't...I didn't know...Midoriya, I...I am sorry. That's...that's truly vile. I didn't think even someone like Bakugo could do that to a person."
Izuku sniffed and looked away, feeling tears come into his eyes. "He told me to kill myself, once. I think...I think maybe if I hadn't met Mei...but that doesn't matter now. I did meet Mei. And I am going to become a hero. Part of that is saving people in trouble. And the other part? It's justice."
With that, Izuku turned and walked back to the preparation room. Part of him wanted to be at Mei's side. Maybe even most of him. But he knew what he had to do. He needed to win his next two fights. Then, he could see Bakugo in the finals.
"Don't you dare lose, Bakugo. Not before I have a chance to teach you that just because someone is different, doesn't mean they're worthless."
Authors Note:
I won't be going over every fight in gory detail, but in case you care:
Round 1: Midoriya V. Ashido: W Midoriya
Bakugo V Hatsume: W Bakugo
Todoroki V Kendo: W Todoroki
Bondo V Uraraka: W Bondo
Yaoyorozu V Yanagi: W Yanagi
Fukidashi V Shinso: W Shinso
Iida V Tokoyami: W Tokoyami
Kirishima: Bye