Chapter 8 – Rival

(On another floor)

While Katsuki and Izuku were having their showdown Momo was able to locate Ida and the bomb. Fortunately Izuku was able to analysed the building with the help of the IA in his armor and drew a blueprint with the paper and pen that Momo created, and thanks to that she had no problem navegating the structure.

She didn't make immediate contact and instead observed the room to formulate a plan. There were four doors, the closest one to Ida being one left side. She sneaked her way through and installed the traps she had prepared. When everything was ready she let herself become known and approached Ida with the intention to be seen.

"AH! HERO, YOU WILL NEVER TAKE STOP MY EVIL PLAN! BWUAAA!"

'Wow, he is really into character.'

Momo advanced towards Ida and just as Izuku had said he chose to flee instead of fighting her, which was exactly what she was waiting for. Due to his speed and the fact that he was mostly looking forward, Ida was unable to notice the tiny rope attached to the exit he was taking which in turn made him trip and let go of the bomb.

She used this opportunity to run past him and disarm it but he recuperated faster than she thought. While still in crawling position he used his engine legs to boost himself and swipe under her making her fall on her butt. Ida got the bomb again and retreated but before he could leave he realized that the only exit was blocked by some kind of net. The who set it was of course Momo,who got back up and blocked the other door, since she obviously wouldn't limit herself to only one plan of action.

With both his path of escape blocked Ida had no choice but to confront Momo head-on, which would be tricky since his quirk didn't work so well in confined spaces. They were in a real stand-off both waiting for the other to make the first move.

Momo was the one to break it as she produced a blanket and threw it at him. With his field of vision blocked Momo advanced towards him and used her quirk to make a metal and tried to swipe his legs with it, but Ida was prepared this time. He jumped to avoid the attack and while in the air used his engine legs to planted a side-kick on her, which made her fall back some distance.

Ida used the opportunity to run back to the other room with the bomb but Momo wouldn't let him go that easily. She made estimate of where he would be and threw her bat at his head. It hit the target but since he was wearing a helmet there wasn't much damage however it disoriented him enough for him to drop the bomb.

Momo decided that it'd be best if she eliminated him first so she tackled him to the ground and took out the capture tape with intention to wrap it around his hands. Ida thought he could just her out of him but she was stronger than she looked. She eventually managed lock his arms under her armpit and was about wrap the tape when Ida suddenly had a idea. It was very risky since he never did anything like it before but it was all he could think of to escape this situation.

He turned the output of his engines to the max, the impulse of which caused his body to launch in mid-air. Momo was so overwhelmed by it that she let out a surprise yelp and lost her grip on him. He didn't wasted the opportunity and immediately threw her off of him and stood back up.

Momo recovered and created a shield to boost her defenses. It appeared that the two were at a stand still when Izuku spoke through the communicator.

"Yaoyorozu, I dealt with Katsuki. How are things on your end."

She was a little embarrassed to say as she was having problems on what was supposed to be the easy part of their plan.

''Well, it's being harder than I thought. Ida is surprisingly slippery."

"Copy. I am on my w-"

Their conversation was cut by the sound of a explosion, which made Momo worried.

"IZUKU!"

Ida noticed her distracted state and used his engines to plant a kick in her stomach however she was able to raise her shield and block the attack at the last second. She still got some damage from the arm holding the shield and was pushed back a few feet but was pretty much unarmed.

They were getting ready to go to round two when they heard a huge explosion noise and the entire building started shaking as if there was some sort of earthquake. They both fell on their butt and stayed there until it stopped.

The first one to get back up was Momo. She made a pole to steady herself and then ran in the direction of the bomb to end this once and for all. Ida recuperated not long after and blocked her path forward, but used the pole to launch herself and land right behind him(You know like that olimpic sport).

She was just about to touch it and the entire place was filled with All Might's voice.

"THE EXERCISE IS OVER! HERO TEAM WINS!"

Momo was very confused, she hadn't even touched the thing, What the hell happened?

…

(A little earlier in the observation room)

All Might was at a loss for words. He already that the blond boy had a explosive personality but he never expected him to not only refuse to accept his defeat but also send a attack that could possibly kill his fellow student.

He had to do something. He was not just a hero anymore he was a teacher and as a teacher it was his job to guide these young minds to the right path, so he decided to intervene.

He ran out of the room at super speed, which caused a strong gust of wind to hit the students that were there. It took him about 5 seconds to go from there to the building and another two to find Bakugou and Midorya. When he got to where they were he saw that Izuku was in a fighting posture and he knew from experience that is not a good sign, if Bakugou didn't back down he'd get extremely hurt. So to avoid there rose his voice to the highest level and shouted:

"BOTH OF YOU STOP RIGHT NOW!"

And they did. However it was clear that Katsuki was still filled with rage as he was almost grouning the entire time.

"YOUNG BAKUGOU! YOU NOT ONLY IGNORE THE RULES OF EXERCISE BUT ALSO TRIED TO SEVERLY INJURE YOUR COLLEGUE! THIS BEHAVIOR WILL NOT BE CONDONE AND AS SUCH YOUR TEAM GETS AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED!"

Katsuki wanted to scream in protest but even him realized that he was already on thin ice at this point so he, in a rare moment of reason, shut his mouth and contended to just curse at everyone and everything inside his head.

All Might then activated his microfone and speakers so everyone could listen.

"THE EXERCISE IS OVER! HERO TEAM WINS!"

Izuku was taking in the glory of victory and Bakugou's pissed off face when his earpiece went off and Momo spoke.

"What happened?"

"I will explain later."

…

Back at the observation room All Might gathered the students and showed them clips of the fight that had happened. He then asked:

"OKAY! NOW, DOES ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SAY WHO HAD THE BEST PERFORMANCE IN THIS EXAM?"

They murmured for a bit until Momo stepped out and answered.

"That would be Izuku."

"CORRECT YOUNG LADY! CAN YOU ELABORATE WHY?"

"Well he made use of his envirioment to lead Katsuki into a situation that was most favorable to him and took him down with minimal effort and injuries. I on the other hand gave up on the element of surprised too soon and put too much trust in the traps that I made and ended up having to resort to a full out brawl."

"COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF! CONGRATULATIONS! IT TAKES A LOT OF CARACTER TO ADMIT YOUR SHORTCOMINGS! NOW ONTO THE NEXT TEAMS!"

ALL Might started announcing who would be going next but Izuku wasn't paying much attention to it since he wanted to talk to Momo.

"Hey thanks for the praise back there."

"You are welcome. It was the truth after all. Still, the way you handled the Bakugou back there was amazing. I don't think I could come up with a strategy that good."

"It wasn't that big of a deal. Your plan was still pretty good it was just some unforeseen variables that got in the way. But hey, if you want to work on it how about we p-play chess or something one of these days."

He was rather nervous because it was first time he asked someone else to hang out(if it could even be called).

"Of course, I'd love to."

"Cool."

Ochaco watched the scene with her checks plushed from anger and jealously so. Tired of it she decided to step up.

"Hey Izuku! I'm up next and feeling very confident so how about after we go for a ice cream to celebrate our victories?"

"Thanks Ochaco I'd like that."

'Ugh! Just when we were making plans!- Wait! What am I thinking'(If it wasn't obvious these are Momo's thoughts)

…

The rest of the matches were pretty uneventful, but Ochaco really had won as she said. So Izuku was on his way to meet her at the ice-cream store when someone blocked in at the school gates. You can probably guess who.

"What do you want Bakugou?"

"I just wanted to warn you to not get cocky. All Might saved you when he stopped the match and don't you dare think that I will let it go. This is just the beginning! In no time at all I will be so ahead you won't even be able to catch my shadow!"

Izuku took in the words that Bakugou said and let out a long sigh.

"You know, there was a time that I admired you to some extent."

"Ugh?!"

Now bakugou didn't see that coming.

"I saw you as this great obstacle that I had to surpass no matter what and at the same time was unreachable, a rival… But then I realized how weak and pathetic you really are."

"WHY YOU!"

"Are really really willing to cause trouble yet again after all the shit you did today?"

Katsuki stop himself midway when he heard it. Izuku was right. All Might even told him the only reason he didn't get expelled was because he believed in second chances and was just the start of the semester. Katsuki knew it was better to let things calm down before he tried anything but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"You still think that everyone and everything that isn't you is inferior and that mentality is what makes you weak, because you never put in any real effort to improve yourself. You refuse to entertain the idea that someone is better than you and everything would immediately work out for because you are the 'protagonist'."

Izuku said the last word with a mocking tone.

"Well, news flash! To me you ain't shit! You aren't a obstacle, you are barely the tiniest pebble I kick around on the street!"

At this point Bakugou had veins all over his body from all the rage he was felling.

"So go ahead. Try upstage and beat me down all you want I will always come out on top. And you know why? Because as long as you stay like this you will always be nothing more than a pebble."

They stared each other down for what it felt like a eternity until Izuku walked past him and went on his way.

Katsuki just stayed there thinking of all the things Izuku had said to him.

He was gonna the nerd swallow his words! Make him see just how much of a quirkless nobody he was! That he was nothing but a fucking extra!

No matter what it took he was gonna get that fucking Deku back for this!