Chapter 16

Izuku stood outside the door to Recovery Girl's Clinic, his hand hovering in front of the handle. Did he really want to do this? He could just as easily choose to leave Bakugou on his own, it's not like he'd want to see Izuku. But, if he left Bakugou just because he didn't want to deal with his attitude, could he really call himself a hero? Heroes always save people, no matter what, even if that person they're saving hates their guts and is yelling at them.

"Ok, breathe in, breathe out," Izuku said to himself, doing as he said, "No hesitation, the worst that can happen is he yells at you. You don't have to stay with him anyways…" And with that, the door slid open, revealing Recovery Girl's clinic. Currently, Recovery Girl was tending to Bakugou on the bed, who was groaning and had an arm over his face. Izuku nervously stepped in, and Recovery Girl glanced back at him, an annoyed look on her face.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm tending to the Bakugou boy?" She snapped. Izuku stepped back, his hands held up.

"I, uh, wanted to…help heal Ka- Bakugou," Izuku explained. Instantly, Recovery Girl practically did a 180, a thankful smile spreading across her face. She let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness! I didn't want to use my quirk, because he'd be too tired for his next match, and even a half heal wouldn't be enough. Your quirk is perfect for healing, so I'll let you do the work," She said, stepping aside. Izuku nodded and walked up to Bakugou. Up close, his arm looked even worse. It was bent at a weird angle, and it was already starting to bruise, creating large purple splots all across the arm. All in all, Izuku sure was glad he never had to deal with arms that were this broken. Bakugou lifted his arm off to see Izuku, and he immediately scowled.

"Fuck off," He growled. Izuku sighed.

"I'm just here to heal-,"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING PITY!" Bakugou screamed at Izuku. He got out of the bed, and stomped past Izuku, slamming the door open before closing it with equal force, stunning the room into silence. Izuku groaned. Why did he have to make this so difficult? Nevertheless, Izuku followed after Bakugou, just barely catching him walk around the corner.

"Bakugou, it's not pity, it's just human decency!" Izuku argued, speedwalking after the enraged boy. Bakugou glanced back, hatred in his eyes as he picked up his pace.

"I don't fucking WANT YOUR HELP! NOT WHEN YOU'RE MOCKING ME ALL THE WHILE!" He yelled, turning around another corner.

"Oh, for the love of- Bakugou, nobody is mocking you!" Izuku yelled back, shifting into a jog. Bakugou saw this, and also shifted into a jog at a slightly faster pace, "Just let me help you!" Bakugou let out a primal scream of rage, which was cut off as he winced from jostling his arm around too much. He shoved his way into an unused room to his left, and Izuku followed him unprompted, shutting the door behind them. It looked like some kind of storage room, filled with balls, swords, and all kinds of weird items that could only be for events in the Sports Festival. Bakugou sat down on a chest, and Izuku didn't dare get closer.

"Bakugou, if you don't let me heal you, the next round is-,"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Bakugou interrupted, before letting his face rest in the palm of his unbroken arm, "Don't you get it? I lost," He muttered. Izuku raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Are you delirious? You won, Kurono forfeited," Izuku replied. Bakugou growled.

"NO! THAT WASN'T A WIN! HE TOOK PITY ON ME!" He explained. Izuku looked at him, the two in silence. Finally, Izuku let out a sigh.

"Kacchan, listen," Izuku said, pinching his nose, "It doesn't matter if he beat you on a spiritual level or something. If you really feel like you lost, then forfeit in your next round. Either way, it's not gonna do you any good to run around with a broken arm, so just let me heal you and I'll be out of your hair," Izuku waited for a reply, but there was only silence. Izuku looked at Bakugou in confusion and watched as his face morphed into many different expressions before finally landing on disbelief.

"Deku?" He asked. Izuku held his breath as he tried to figure out a way out of this.

"Who's Deku?" Izuku opted to try, nervously smiling, "Is that my new nickname or-," Bakugou slammed his unbroken hand onto the chest he was sitting on.

"Only Deku called me that fucking name, don't you fucking lie to me!" Bakugou growled, jumping off the chest and poking a finger in Izuku's chest, "I- Where did you- What- Ugh…why the FUCK didn't you tell me?!" He spluttered. Izuku sighed, letting the silence grow between them in the hope that Bakugou would calm down a bit. That, and he was having trouble putting it into words on why he actively avoided telling Bakugou.

"Why should I have told you?" Izuku opted to ask, startling Bakugou for a moment before he doubled down.

"Because we fucking KNEW EACH OTHER!" He retorted, throwing his arm in the air in exasperation, "What fucking DUMBASS thinks it's okay to pretend you never knew someone you've known since CHILDHOOD?" Izuku glared at Bakugou.

"A dumbass who was bullied by the person they've known since childhood. That's who wouldn't even hesitate to pretend you never knew each other," Izuku replied icily, leaving Bakugou speechless for a moment. Bakugou seethed for a moment, trying to find a rebuttal, but only coming back empty handed. With a final groan, he decided to change the subject.

"What about the hag? Or the old man?" Bakugou questioned. Ah, he was trying to guilt trip Izuku.

"I haven't known them for ages either, I had no reason to seek them out! Admit it, Kacchan! You were a fucking bully, and that's why I never wanted to reveal that we knew each other!" Izuku stated. Bakugou simply snarled and pushed past Izuku, going back into the hallway. Izuku followed him out and watched as he stomped his way back to Recovery Girl's Clinic.

"You know I can heal that arm and it'll be way easier, right?" Izuku drawled. Bakugou didn't even glance back.

"Fuck off," Was the last thing he growled before turning the corner. Once he was gone, Izuku groaned. That was not something he'd wanted to do today. Or ever, really. But if he had to choose a day, yeah, any but this, probably.

Kurono removed his mask and pulled his hood off and sighed.

"What an absolute shitshow," He muttered as he put the mask into his locker. Sure, he'd advertised his outfit and displayed the tech inside of it, but the ending was butchered. He wasn't expecting Bakugou to attempt an attack like that, and even then, when he saw him doing it he assumed he'd have some backup for if he missed his target. Apparently, Bakugou didn't, and he slammed right into the concrete and broke his arm.

After putting his stuff away, he exited the locker room and pulled out his phone, hoping to see something funny about the Sports Festival. Maybe some more ships, those were always interesting to see and wonder why those specific people were being paired up.

"Good evening, Kurono-Kun!" Kurono jumped as he heard the voice, and upon turning around he saw that it was Nedzu, the Principal of UA. Shit, was he being expelled? Surely not, the whole idea of the 1v1s was to hurt each other, a broken arm couldn't be considered that bad compared to other years, right? "Oh, don't worry, you aren't being expelled!" Kurono let out a sigh of relief at that. But that did leave the question of why Nedzu was talking to him.

"Is there something you want?" Kurono asked, putting his phone back into his pocket. Nedzu just chuckled.

"There's always something I want! And today, that thing is you in the Hero Course!" Kurono went still. Nedzu wanted him in the Hero Course? But he was a Support Student, Heroics wasn't what he did, he just drew outfits.

"Why, exactly?" Kurono asked. Nedzu simply smiled even more, a gleam in his beady black eyes. And a cup of tea in his paws, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Isn't it obvious? You managed to beat one of our best and brightest Hero students, Katsuki Bakugou! That's quite the feat, wouldn't you agree?" Nedzu didn't stop to see if Kurono agreed, "That, and you are proving to be quite popular on the internet! Already, you have accounts dedicated to posting moments featuring you, meme communities are filled with your quotes, and if the…less refined portions of the internet are to be believed, many people find you attractive! All in all, very good things to have for a Hero!" Nedzu explained, leaving Kurono stunned. After a moment, he returned to his senses, and he shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer, but no?" He replied. When Nedzu said nothing, Kurono elaborated, "I get where you're coming from, and I understand the benefits, but I like being in the Support Course. Heroics isn't for me, I'm afraid," Nedzu hummed and sipped his tea.

"I see. Is it due to your affiliation with the Yakuza? Because-,"

"No! I really just don't want to be a hero! I'm much happier sitting safe and sound in a studio and designing outfits for the heroes, honestly!" Kurono said. Nedzu looked at him, and he nodded sadly.

"I understand. In that case, I'll leave you alone. But, I do have one more offer to present!" Kurono mentally groaned. What did Nedzu want now? "How about you become my Personal Student instead?"

Well, Kurono certainly wasn't expecting that.

"You have the talent, I can tell! Your penchant for chaos and carefully laid out plans would become even greater under my guidance, and you already have a high amount of intelligence from what I have seen. Most people underestimate you in a fight, and you proceed to destroy them with guile and insanity, and that's something I can relate to. So, will you accept my offer?" Nedzu explained. Kurono thought about it in his head. There really wasn't any reason to decline that he could see. He'd definitely like to get even better at fucking with people, and Nedzu was a master at that. Before he knew it, he was replying.

"Okay," He replied. Nedzu smiled and sipped his tea.

"Wonderful! Our first lesson starts next week on Monday at the start of the day, my office! Don't be late!" And with that, the cryptid rat was off, leaving Kurono confused.

"Well…that was interesting," He muttered before walking back to the stands.

"Oh, Izuku, you just missed Kuroiro and Kirishima's fight!" Kendo called out as Izuku stepped back into the stands, having returned from his discussion with Bakugou. Izuku sat down next to Reiko and looked at Kendo.

"Well, how'd it go?" He asked. Kendo grimaced.

"Well…"

"THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Kuroiro yelled as he barely dodged a right hook from Kirishima, "HOW THE FUCK AM I MEANT TO BEAT A GUY WITH A HARDENING QUIRK WHILE I'M BASICALLY QUIRKLESS IN THESE CONDITIONS?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! It's unmanly of me to fight you with a quirk when you can't use yours!" Kirishima said, instantly unhardening his skin. Kuroiro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god, I-," Unfortunately, he was not fast enough to avoid Kirishima's headbutt. And due to the ridiculous amount of hair gel making his hair as hard as a rock, Kuroiro's vision faded to black as his body crumbled.

"…Oops?" Kirishima said unsurely.

"Oh, that's…yeah, I didn't miss much," Izuku replied once Kendo finished explaining the battle, "Anyways, aren't you next?" Kendo sighed and looked over at the other side of the stands.

"Yeah, I'm up against Monoma apparently," She replied. Izuku hummed. Monoma arguably had the most unpredictable quirk out of all the competitors so far, so it was a gamble to fight him. The more alarming thing was that Monoma could quite easily copy One for All if he gets close enough, and there's no telling what'll happen then.

"Good luck," Izuku decided to say. Kendo smiled and stood up.

"You'll do great, Kendo!" Momo cheered. Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped, Kendo was surrounded in an aura of power, and she had already activated One for All, causing sparks to fly around her. Her face shifted into one of determination, and she cracked her knuckles.

"Hell yeah, I'll do great!" She exclaimed before running out of the stands at full speed. Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"What…just happened?" Momo asked. Kurono walked in a moment later and sat down in his seat.

"Ah, lesbians," He said, a smug smile on his face.

Itsuka smiled determinedly as she stood across from Monoma, Present Mic's commentary all but a distant buzzing sound. She could feel One for All crackling under her skin, her veins beginning to glow that oh so mesmerizing sparkly red. But even that couldn't compare to how Momo's compliment made her feel. Momo's confident 'You can do it!' fueled her motivations. It made her feel like she could do anything, even float if she wanted to.

Itsuka registered Present Mic yelling that the round had started, and she dashed forward, One for All wrapping around her body at 8%, her new limit. Monoma simply explodes his body into multiple different parts. Who's quirk was that? Doesn't matter, knowing who it belongs to won't help in the long run. Monoma says something, but she can't hear him. She can't even hear the roaring crowd. All she hears is Momo's voice on repeat. She flips over Monoma and activates her original quirk, which quickly expands her hand. She goes to slap him with it, but his skin hardens into steel. Annoying, but she can work around it.

Itsuka hissed in pain as she suddenly got slapped in the back of the head. It turned out that Monoma hadn't recalled all his body parts, and she hadn't noticed. She turned around to swipe his hand away, but it was already connected with Monoma again by the time she'd turned around.

"My, I was expecting more from the esteemed 1-A!" Itsuka could just barely register Monoma saying that, but she ignored it and leaped forward, engaging with the now metal-clad Monoma. He held up against a few 8% punches, cracks forming in the ground at his feet, but he soon rolled away, deactivating the copied quirk.

"It's quite rude to just ignore somebody, you know!" Monoma sneered, splitting into multiple pieces before he began bombarding Itsuka, similar to Reiko's strategy with Tsuburaba. The difference here was that Tsuburaba was being pelted with what was essentially glass, meanwhile Itsuka just felt like she was being hit again and again. She enlarged her fist again and swiped, knocking Monoma's body parts away as if they were flies. He reformed again about 10 meters away from Itsuka, a smirk on his face.

"Ah, let me guess, you're thinking about what your friends said to you, right?" Monoma tried, holding his arms out like an eccentric showman, "Was it Midoriya? He does give quite good speeches. Or perhaps it was Kurono? Or maybe…it was that Yaoyorozu girl," Itsuka stiffened at that, and she hardened her face before slapping her enlarged hand into the ground, launching herself right at Monoma, who (literally) steeled himself. However, Itsuka was prepared for it this time, and had launched herself exactly behind the annoying blonde, getting a good kick in on his back. Monoma lurched forward, tumbling to the ground and barely managing to roll himself to safety. Itsuka lowered One for All down to 3%, allowing her muscles to rest a bit.

"It seems I was right! So, what did she say to you? Was it 'you're the best!', or 'You can do it, Kendo'?" Monoma mocked in an annoyingly high-pitched voice, posing as if he was thinking long and deeply about the topic, "Or, was it 'I love you, Kendo'?". Everything went dull to Itsuka. She couldn't hear anything, not the crowd, not Present Mic, not even One for All crackling around her. All she heard was Monoma's voice in her head, mocking her, teasing her.

And she snapped.

"SHUT THE FUCK-," Itsuka yelled, before everything went foggy. She could still see and hear, but she couldn't move. It was as if she had been trapped inside her own body. She watched as Monoma grinned in delight.

"I was getting worried there! You were so out of it that I was afraid you'd never activate Brainwashing!" Monoma exclaimed, his voice sounding far away, "Now, walk out of the arena, please!" Itsuka could only mentally panic as her body did as Monoma ordered, turning around to exit the stadium.

"WHAAAT?! KENDO IS EXITING THE ARENA?! THE FIGHT IS THE OTHER WAY, KID!" Present Mic yelled, and even his loud voice sounded ages away. Itsuka watched the line come closer, and she tried anything she could to move, even an inch. But no matter what, she couldn't move at all. She'd need a miracle to get through this. She thought back to what Momo said, and she felt like crying.

'Momo, I'm sorry,' Itsuka mentally wept as she approached the line. She could see All Might in his skinny form, desperately urging her to turn back around. But then something weird happened. A weird, blackish smog surrounded her, and in front of her she could see the shapes of 8 different people with glowing smokey eyes. She was extremely confused, but then she heard a voice, this one being clear.

"Not yet, 9," And suddenly, she felt her fingers explode in pain, and she returned back to her senses, barely stopping before the line. She was breathing heavily and she looked over her shoulder to see Monoma looking shocked. A quick look at her fingers confirmed that, somehow, she'd unconsciously flicked her fingers. How? What was that? Was that…One for All? Whatever, she'd focus on that later, all that mattered now was defeating Monoma. Activating Full Diffuse at 8%, she leaped towards Monoma, delivering a gut punch before he even had the chance to activate the steel quirk. He groaned on the floor, before getting up and smirking.

"T-The jokes on you, Kendo!" He declared; his skin suddenly being covered in yellow sparks as Itsuka realized he must have just barely touched her. He aimed his fingers at her and snapped, but a look of confusion came over him as his fingers just snapped like they usually would.

"Huh? Is it a dud?" He questioned before Itsuka finally aimed the final blow, sweeping him off his legs before slapping him away with a combination of Big Fist and One for All, launching him all the way back into the hallway that leads into the stadium. Itsuka breathed a sigh of relief as the crowd cheered, and she let go of One for All, the sparks quickly dissipating.

"Man, what a rollercoaster of emotions! After her glorious comeback from the brink of defeat, Itsuka Kendo moves onto the next round!" Present Mic announces, the crowd cheering even harder, if that was possible. Itsuka stretched before walking back into the stadium, a smile on her face.

"I fucking did it, Momo," She muttered to herself.

"Damn, that was intense," Kurono stated as he dug into the bucket of chicken wings he had suddenly acquired.

"When the fuck did you find the time to get chicken wings?" Izuku asked. Kurono smirked.

"Yes," He replied, causing Izuku to groan as he realized he'd never get an answer. Tokoyami, meanwhile, watched in horror as Kurono continued eating the chicken wings, terrified of what he was watching yet unable to look away as his brothers and sisters were consumed with gusto. As for Momo, she was blushing slightly, a dopey smile on her face.

"I can only wonder what event could possibly have occurred to cause Kendo to decide to attempt to leave the arena," Reiko said. Izuku hummed.

"I'm pretty sure Monoma copied Shinsou's quirk, seeing as it lets him brainwash people if you reply to him," Izuku replied. A wave of understanding came across her face.

"Ah, so that is why you chose to fuse your own mouth together during your battle with Shinsou," Reiko stated, causing Izuku to nod. A moment later, Kendo walked into the stands and approached Izuku.

"Heal," She ordered bluntly, holding out her broken fingers. Reiko, Tokoyami, and Momo all looked shocked at the damage, but after months of broken bones 2 broken fingers was old hat to Kurono and Izuku, who healed it without a second thought, "Thanks," Kendo said before sitting back down next to Momo, and Kurono took great pleasure in watching Momo and Kendo blush slightly when they brushed shoulders. Izuku shivered at the prospect of him continuing his blackmailing business into High School.

.

.

.

Wait, didn't he bring his Blackmail Camera™ with him to the mall when they all went together? Izuku shook that horrible realization off; he'd had one too many horrible interactions that day, even if that number was exactly 1 right now. Speaking of which…

"Hey, where's Bakubro?" Kirishima asked out loud. Bakugou still hadn't come back yet, which was concerning to say the least. Was he still in Recovery Girl's Clinic, or was he actively avoiding Izuku? If it was the latter, he hoped that the trend would continue well into the year. Preferably the rest of their lives as well, but maybe that was a bit unrealistic. After all, the chances they wouldn't be paired together at least one during their 3 years at UA were astronomical.

"Meh, it's Bakugou. He's probably sulking about how he broke his arm," Kaminari replied. Izuku agreed. After all, it was Bakugou. What were the odds he was actually doing something productive like having a life-changing revelation?

Katsuki was having a life-changing revelation.

Okay, maybe that was being overdramatic. He was more or less considering his past actions in a new light. Despite it being mostly a yelling match, Bakugou would be lying if he said that his and Izuku's 'conversation' hadn't been enlightening. On the one hand, he finally found out where he knew that fucking asshole from, but on the other hand…the answer he'd gotten hadn't been one he particularly liked.

Katsuki knew he was mean. That was kind of his whole thing. That and being the best at basically everything. But the fact was that nobody really called him out on it past a blubbering dumbass or a sarcastic comment from one of his lackeys. So, when Izuku straight up told him he'd been a bully, he kind of just…ran away. Katsuki groaned at that as he sat at the table in the empty cafeteria. The great Katsuki Bakugou, King Explosion Murder, the future Number 1 Hero, running away when someone says something he doesn't want to believe.

"Fucking Deku," Katsuki mutters as he sips his water. He didn't know why he was cursing out the nerd when he wasn't even there. Maybe he was unconsciously blaming this all on Deku? Well, considering the fact he was the one that started this whole mess, he wasn't far off. The last thing Katsuki had wanted was something heavy on his conscious, because that leads to all sorts of things, like doubt, and hesitance, and in short, a drop in performance. And the last thing Katsuki wanted was a drop in performance, especially not on a day like this. Fucking Deku, of course he'd be so useless as to have to-

"You were a fucking bully" Oh, great, now the nerd was in his head trying to stop him from saying shit. But now his mind was back to thinking about how he'd been a bully. But, he hadn't, had he? He wasn't bullying those kids; he was simply disciplining them for looking down on him. Really, he'd been doing them a favor, hadn't he? By shoving them back down, he stopped them from getting their hopes high enough to think they could be heroes. Because if you weren't strong, you'd either die or be stuck in the 1000s, or even worse, a sidekick of one of those 1000s.

Eventually, Katsuki groaned, massaging his head from the metal strain. He'd already broken his arm – the bandages on his arm were proof of that – he didn't need to break his mind as well. He'd come back to this stupid fucking thing after the Sports Festival. All Might would start teaching them by then, if Katsuki remembered right. Maybe he could ask him. After all, who knows better than the Number 1 Hero?

Name: Tataki Homare (戦い誉)

Hero Name: Clash

Quirk: Time Perception – Tataki can perceive time at a slower rate, which causes others to see him moving fast when in his perspective they're just moving slow. However, this also affects oxygen particles, making it so he easily runs out of breath the slower he perceives time.

Appearance: Tataki is 5'9" with a muscular build similar to Mirio, which he gained through his career as an underground fighter. He has messy burgundy hair which goes down to his shoulders.
His hero costume is a jumpsuit with primarily burgundy and green colours. The gloves are thick, with golden bumps on the knuckles to make his punches hurt even more. His knees have golden knee pads as well.

Favourite Hero: Mirko

Favourite Food: Donuts

Likes: Fighting, Food

Other Information:

Tataki participated in underground fights since he was 12, and he stopped participating when he was 14 so he could prepare himself for UA.

Tataki lives in Naruhata, specifically in an abandoned penthouse on top of an old building.

Tataki witnessed Overhaul 'fight' Rappa, back when Rappa was The Rapper.