Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA/MHA or any of its characters.
EN: This took a while because the author, Jest, is hospitalized. I'm his editor, and I'll be taking over for a bit. Be glad he's prepared. He wrote the entire story ahead of time. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: Tiring Training and Talking
With three months remaining in her training, Izuki had to face the most difficult time yet. She had to attend her last day of school. It was the day she would find out if her application to Yuuei had been accepted and if she could try the entrance exam. She was both excited and scared. She wanted to free her schedule and spend the time during the summer to increase her training and hang out with her most recent friend, Shinsou. Izuki felt internally refreshed to be finally facing the last day of her horrible enrollment in middle school.
As soon as she arrived she received her usual greeting from Kacchan's lackys. They threw insults and threats at her constantly. Izuki blinked at them and went on her way. It wasn't like they'd be able to follow Kacchan for much longer anyways.
Finally, she was allowed to relax and throw her bag down beside her. She released her stress by writing diligently in her half-burned notebook. Izuki was impressed to find her entire class's gazes on her. The had fallen completely silent. She quirked an eyebrow curiously.
"What?" One of the students who'd been leaning too far over in his chair fell over; no one laughed. Izuki shrugged and went back to work. She threw down her pencil in annoyance and looked at each classmate in turn.
"What do you want?" The long-nosed boy behind her provided an answer, or rather two.
"Something's different about you Midoriya; also, you got called to the office a few minutes ago." The students nodded along. Izuki shoved her stuff into her school bag and shuffled toward the door. Before she left, she caught the whispers of her classmates.
"She's late. She's never late!"
"What's with her clothes?"
"Her attitude is off too." Izuki reacted to their observations by looking herself over. Oh. She hadn't worn leggings under her skirt or an undershirt below her uniform. The school's uniform now effectively displayed her cleavage and her well-muscled legs. She blushed vigorously. Midnight's types of "training" must've influenced her more than she thought. There was nothing she could do about it now.
Her brisk pace carried her to the office quickly, and she was soon turning the knob. As she stepped through the entry she saw Kacchan waiting with the principal. He was smiling too wide. Gulping nervously, she took Midnight's advice and started thinking of all the wonderful heroes she knew. Her lip curled into a small smile and she placed herself beside Kacchan. He stared at her with accusing eyes, but didn't say a word. Izuki shifted her attention to the principal as he began a speech.
"I am proud to present to you, two certificates of graduation...now, before you question why your graduation is seperate, I'll answer. It's simply because Yuuei's exam overlaps with the ceremony. I'm proud to know, not one, but two of my students were allowed to try for Yuuei! Good luck!" He smiled grossly. Kacchan meanwhile had to restrain from snapping at her since the principal was directly in front of him. The desire to obtain the certificate and maintain his perfect record was just enough to keep him from setting off. He'd have to wait until after school to hold any "chats" with his friend. Their principal finally dismissed them, and they both began the fast-walking race back to class.
Kacchan tailed her in a hateful and creepy manner. Izuki stopped abruptly in front of the room's door. Kacchan, who was following too closely and not paying attention, bumped into her back when she halted. He started to yell, but Izuki turned to face him, their faces only inches apart. Izuki's eyes shone passionately.
"If you're going to become a hero, start acting like one." Her spittle landed in his eye, causing him to take a step back before blinking in shock. Did this shy girl just insult him? What happened to make her this different? He blinked again to erase his doubts.
"Don't talk to me like that! All you are is a quirkless Deku! Never act as if you're superior!" Izuki wanted to practice the persona Midnight had taught her, and this was the perfect chance.
"You're right, a quirkless person could never get into Yuuei." She laced the sarcasm in her voice heavily. Bakugou nodded in affirmation.
"Exactly, wait...what?" He glared at the girl who stood smiling before him.
"Y-you, you're not Deku!" He pointed an agitated finger at her. Izuki gathered all her passion to wring out a few more minutes with this personality. She circled around him, smirking wildly.
"You're right, I'm not Deku. I'm Izuki." She copied Midnight's trick and tipped down Kacchan's chin so that he was stuck staring into her teasing eyes.
"Or would you rather call me Uki-chan?" Bakugou's bright maroon eyes widened in comprehension. She was dangling a fish above a shark. The tips of his ears went red, but it wasn't caught by Izuki. The old memories of their childhood were mostly regarded as mud to him, but that nickname wasn't one of them.
"Whatever Deku! A nobody like you will never get accepted into Yuuei!" Izuki shifted her weight to one leg and casually let her grin grow into one of her ridiculously huge ones. Her expression remained joyful as she studied her long-term bully.
"You see, that might be a problem, because I'm not quirkless." The truth came out in a calm and genuine statement. Bakugou's eyes turned a shadowy evil color as he glared.
"What?" He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her, demanding an explanation.
"What did you say?" Izuki's bold personality crumbled to the ground. She steadily morphed back into the shy, submissive Deku that Kacchan had always known. She squealed in fear and started to back away, her body shaking. Bakugou's lip curled into a smirk and he grabbed her wrists. He smiled obnoxiously and pulled her into the nearest secluded area.
Bakugou pushed her into the wall with his left arm and leaned in. Menace filled his soul with anger. His hate controlled his actions completely. Arm still holding her neck, he whispered into her ear with evil intent.
"Why didn't you tell me about your quirk before, Uki-chan?" He spat in her face while his eyes glowed aggressively. Izuki flinched away from his creepy-warm breath.
"W-what are you going to do if I don't tell you?" Shivers went through her body as Bakugou drew his thumb across her neck.
"I could do anything to you Deku, and you'd still refuse to tell me?" Izuki turned away in order to break his glare. She gulped in apprehension.
"I don't care what you do." The sparkling water that fell from her cheeks told him otherwise. She clearly felt betrayed. Bakugou turned her head back towards him so that she could read his gaze. Izuki glimpsed the hurt within. He felt betrayed too. Why had she never confided in him? Why did she act helpless to his tormenting? Was she mocking him?
"I-I don't want to hurt you Uki, I want to be a hero." Izuki looked down. His confession was so genuine that it hurt. More tears fell from her face.
"I was afraid Kacchan; afraid I wouldn't have my friend anymore." Bakugou gave her a long look, his expression calculating. His grip slowly waned until he completely released her. His conflicted mind sent his face into grimacing frustration.
"Kacchan," Izuki interrupted nervously. "Do you want to see my quirk?" Bakugou reacted to her slowly. He seemed confused by his own calmness.
"Yeah, here." He handed her a quirk stress ball that his doctor had humorously gave him after saying he had anger issues. The ball worked to absorb powerful attacks, so it'd be perfect to display Izuki's power. Izuki gave him an apprehensive look.
"There's one more thing I should tell you Kacchan…" Bakugou inclined forward and moved his hands in a gesture for her to spill it.
"Well..about my power... think I got it back in the wrong way because I can only use about 10-15% of my quirk without repercussions." Bakugou shrugged, expecting that 100% wasn't much. He was wrong.
Izuki's palms turned grey as she activated her quirk. The color condensed and then it seeped into the ball. Each tiny pore smudged over with black tendrils. It spread constantly over the orb. Silence settled as the pair examined the unreactive object. Just as Bakugou began to relax, the ball exploded dramatically in a burst of foamy grey blobs.
"That was 10%?" He asked, surprised. Izuki shook her head.
"No, it was 20%" Confusion filled Bakugou's expression.
"But you said that you could only use 15%." Izuki shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, I can use a higher percent, but it comes with consequences." She brushed a finger across her palm.
"My hands won't register touch for a few days." Bakugou attempted to regain focus by blinking away the fog in his brain. He gave her a critical look. He wanted to comprehend this alone, so he finally left her in awkward silence.
Izuki took a breath and headed her own direction. She was prepared to face her last months of training and the exam. Bakugou's silence had confirmed that fact for her.
EN: The story will get more action. The main events are all pretty much clustered around the Sports Festival arc currently. At least those that are majorly different than the cannon version. I know this chapter is shorter than usual, I'm the editor after all. As always, thanks for reading!