AN: Hello, Hello. Sorry for the wait, school and sports were a bitch. First big fight scene chapter. This is going to be in my style of fighting, which is heavily based on the MC's perspective and focuses on him quite a bit. The fight will be through Izuku's eyes. It will not switch perspectives much, or maybe even at all. Depends on how dramatic I wanna make this. Anyway...reviews!
AtlasWrighte: Evolution of quirks may come into play later down the line, but not right now. As for what could change...don't think too hard about it just yet.
Vonta01: Thanks for the vote.
Kakerot Bardockson: I mean, to an extent, yes his reasoning has a minor relation to that of Saitama. But Izuku fights because he wants to. He wants to help others, wants to do good. Saitama, I feel like, more gets thrown into situations where he has to fight but doesn't seek it out, for the most part. To be entirely fair, I haven't read the webcomic/manga, so take that with a grain of salt.
Wade Stormbow: My humor is like that. Just random bits of silliness tossed into random situations. But yes, slight changes to personalities. Mainly to our two main girls, for all the reasons you mentioned. And finally, thank you. I did love writing the last chapter.
GumballDia: I'm a bit infamous for writing inspirational quotes and speeches. I've had a lot of people tell me that my speeches are among the best they've seen in fanfics. So the Sports Festival will be fun. But onto the next part, no transformations. I'm putting a foot down on that. That's just a bit too much.
Luciendar: Complexity in characters I find is very good. And as for the undertones, those are intentional and I do bring them in full force later in the story. Anyway, onto your opinions concerning Shoji. I...I like the way you described the dynamics, and I will take them both into consideration. New perspectives are good, especially for something like that. Thank you very much. Addressing his use of wings in combat...you'll see it in this chapter. As for how he sits...well, normally, for the most part. He just can't lean back all that much. As for others being able to see...maybe I'll address it later.
LegendaryMob: I did make him a bit more confrontational in the previous chapter, a bit unintentionally, full honesty. I'll chalk it up to nerves and adrenaline. And yes, I realize it's a bit of a cop-out, I'll be fully honest with it. Unless you mean overall, which in that case, ...I don't really know what to say about that. To address the 'gets wings ripped off, angst ensues' thing...yeah, Nah. Fuck that, it's a stupid idea, and I'm glad you agree with me on that. I think angst, hurt, and comfort if handled incorrectly (used as a major plot device, used a point of criticism or humor, used out of place, etc.) is ridiculous. If it's specifically an angst/hurt and comfort story, cool. I'm chill with that. But if you use it out at random for no reason then 'meh, good plot device'...it's stupid. Sorry for the rant, but it's just the way I operate.
"Alright, Young Heroes! I must say, your costumes are all quite impressive! Very unique!" All Might says, smiling with that same wide grin. I merely raise an eyebrow at that, not entirely sure what to make of it.
I glance at Bakugo, who of course is front and center, about 5 feet to my left. His costume just reminds me of a video-game character, with overzealous bright orange colors, massive grenade gauntlets, and boots so sharp I'm about 90% sure they could kill someone. He's staring All Might down and decides to speak up
"So, how is this damn training session going to work, All Might?" He asks, and All Might blinks at Bakugo, clearly confused
"Bakugo! That was rude and uncalled for! He is the number 1 hero, and our teacher! Treat him with the respect he deserves!" Iida, using his arm in a chopping motion again, which is even weirder with his knight-like costume.
"It's quite alright, young Iida. He's ready to go, and I understand. But to answer your question...it will be an indoor combat trial! You will be split up into teams of four, and will fight another team! Both your teammates and your roles will be completely random, chosen by picking balls with letters on them corresponding to team names!" All Might says, smiling widely as he looks over the crowd of 40 students
"Wait, hol' up. Isn't that a bit...well, random? Wouldn't it make sense to allow us to choose, or pick based on quirk compatibility?" Honekuni asks, raising his arm, which is orange and black, much like the rest of his costume.
"Well, maybe, but,"
"It makes balancing the teams incredibly tough. They won't be balanced anyway, but would rather have to fight me and Bakugo, who have known one another for our entire lives, or me and say... Mineta, who have basically never talked to each other before?" I ask
"...You and Mineta. At least one of you is an easy fight."
"Ha! I think he means you, Midoriya!" Mineta cries, and everyone turns to stare at him. His costume, which makes him looks like he's wearing a silver diaper over a purple jumpsuit, doesn't help him.
"I didn't. I mean you. You look like you could be defeated with a single punch." Honekuni says, with the most deadpan tone I have ever heard in my life.
"Oh, come on! I'm not that weak!" He complains
"Uhhh...sure. Anyway, there's gonna be 10 teams then?" Honekuni asks, and All Might nods
"Correct! To keep the class within the time constraints provided, we will have to have only five matches! Now, there are a few things I must address! First: there will be two team types! The Heroes, and the Villains. And no, they have no bearing on you personally, as those assignments will also be random! But it will affect your assignments in this trial! Which I will explain now!" All Might says, with all the flair and campiness of a comic book superhero.
"Both team's objectives will be centered around a nuclear weapon! A fake one, of course, but for drama's sake, pretend it's real! The Villains will be acting as the weapon's protectors, while the heroes will be trying to capture the weapon! The heroes will also be given capture tape! If this gets on wrapped around any body part of a villain, they will be instantly captured and taken out of the fight!" All Might continues, and I can see Bakugo just staring dead-on at the Symbol of Peace.
"So, to wrap up, the villains have only way to win, in all reality: Protect the bomb until time runs out. The heroes have two: Capture all the villains, or Capture the bomb. Any questions?" All Might asks
"Am I allowed to knock out someone to win the match?" Bakugo asks, and I mentally curse my friend as everyone turns to stare at him.
"Are you insane? Why would you try to do such an evil thing?" Shiozaki asks, and I finally glance over her costume. It's a simple white dress that goes down to her shins, and sI can see black boots poking out from under it. But the thing that confuses me is that I can see her collarbones, for some reason...I figured she would have had those covered.
"Hey, it's a fair question! If I can knock someone out, I'mma do it!" Bakugo snaps back in reply
"No, it's a stupid question, because most people don't instantly think of knocking someone out." Jiro sighs, tapping her foot which has a speaker-boot-thing on it. The rest of her costume reminds me of a punk rocker's outfit, with a black leather jacket and a pink-ish shirt, combined with black pants as well.
"Oh, go fu-"
"I would advise not finishing that, young Bakugo. I don't like cursing in my classes if it can be avoided." All Might says, cutting Bakugo off with a simple, yet incredibly firm tone.
"...Yessir," Bakugo mutters, not wanting to push that envelope too far.
"Good. To answer your question, if in combat, your opponent is knocked unconscious due to an accident, I will let it slide. But other than that, I will punish you for using unneeded levels of force. And, before any of you ask, you are allowed to use quirks and allowed to hurt others in order to win, as long as it's not serious enough to need an ambulance or immediate help from Recovery Girl. Bruises, minor cuts, scrapes, things like that." All Might explains, and everyone nods
"Cool. Now, can we get our teams?" Bakugo asks, clearly ready to go.
"Yes! If you would please come up and draw your team! Grab a slip of paper from the box!" All MIght says, holding up a cardboard box, which Bakugo walks up to, grabbing a slip of paper, and looking at the letter. Smirking, he walks back to the group, as everyone else begins to walk up to the box All Might is holding.
After everyone is done and had joined their group, it was broken down like this:
Team A: Izuku, Uraraka, Shiozaki, Shishida
Team B: Todoroki, Shoji, Kodai, Kamakiri
Team C: Mineta, Yaoyorozu, Awase, Setsuna
Team D: Bakugo, Iida, Kaibara, Monoma
Team E: Aoyama, Ashido, Kuroiro, Rin
Team F: Koda, Sato, Tsunotori, Bondo
Team G: Kaminari, Jiro, Kendo, Honekuni
Team H: Tokoyami, Tsuyu, Fukidashi, Komori
Team I: Kirishima, Sero, Tetsutetsu, Reiko
I glance around at my team, who have varying reactions to everything. Uraraka seems a bit nervous, looking around quite a bit. Shishida seems under control, calmly giving me a nod, which I return. Shiozaki is in the middle, seeming calm on the outside, but I can tell she's nervous with how she's wringing her hands.
Uraraka has chosen to wear a pink, black, and white bodysuit that's nearly skin-tight. She claims it's not by choice, which based on her personality...yeah, I get that. Shishida is wearing a pair of brown pants with black boots and a metal collar, but no shirt, exposing his furry chest. Makes me wonder what he can do.
"And now to pick the teams for the first match! It will be...Team D and Team A! And...Team D will be the villains! That means that Team A will be the Heroes! All of you, please go towards the combat zone!" All Might calls, smiling the whole time.
Meanwhile, everyone seems to freeze as Bakugo and I look at one another, quietly yet with an untold ferocity that's happened hundreds of times over the years
"You better not hold back, Mido."
"Same to you, Kacchan."
And with that, Bakugo stalks off, joining his group as I turn back to face mine.
"Are you insane? You just told Bakugo not to hold back! Isn't his quirk explosion?" Uraraka asks, and I shrug.
"Meh. I've fought him at full strength before this, I'm not worried about it," I reply as I begin to walk towards our combat test zone
"Midoriya, I do believe that even if you have done that before, it would not be advisable. Bakugo seems highly skilled in terms of combat, based solely on what Kendo has told me."
"Bakugo could beat everyone in this Hero course if he wanted to, so yes, I am aware of his combat abilities," I reply, and Shishida seems to do a double-take
"...Everyone? You can't be serious."
"No, I am. He could beat anyone in this hero course, with or without quirks. I think the only two people who could maybe beat him are Ojiro and Kendo, but that's only because they probably have martial arts training. Well, and me, but that's only once in a blue moon." I reply, shrugging as we end up in front of the combat center, which is a four-story building with multiple windows on each floor.
"How...how many times have you fought him?" Shishida asks, and I think about it.
"Full out? About...25 or so. Quirkless sparring? 110." I reply, and everyone stares at me as I study the communicators we were given, which are just earpieces, in all reality.
"And...and how many times did you win?"
"Full out? 8, so far. Quirkless sparring? 27."
"He...he's beaten you 83 times in a fistfight." Shiozaki says, her voice trembling a bit
"I mean, basically. We're not both just fistfighters, but yes." I reply
"Why would you do that?" Uraraka asks
"Training. We did all of that in preparation for U.A. Training our stamina, and our combat skills. Reading the opponent, looking for tells, searching for weakness in the heat of the moment. We did the full-out fights in order to push our quirk factors and find ways to use our quirks in combat, and create super moves." I explain as I do a light stretch of my arms and legs.
"But...isn't quirk usage illegal unless you have a license?" Shishida notes, and I nod at him
"Indeed it is. But when you go to a gym where quirk usage is allowed under direct supervision from an ex-pro, it isn't."
"Places like that exist?" Uraraka asks, shocked
"Places like what?"
"Gyms where you can fight with quirks?"
"Never heard of them."
"But...you just said that you go to one."
"No, I don't."
"But-"
"Uraraka, just let it go. He won't admit to anything." Shishida says, and I give him a grateful nod
"I have nothing to admit to, but yes. Now...we need a strategy. I wanna hear you guys first before I go." I say, and everyone is silent for a second
"From the way you're speaking, Bakugo sounds like the most dangerous out of the bunch. So I would suggest we capture him first, or otherwise take him out of the fight." Shishida notes, and I merely shrug in response, letting the other two jump in.
"Isn't Iida a speedster? He's gotta be decent at combat, right? I'm pretty sure Monoma has a copy quirk of some kind. I'm stumped on Kaibara, though." Uraraka jumps in, and Shiozaki follows up behind her
"His quirk is called 'Gyrate'. He can rotate any part of his body like a drill. He can hit pretty hard when he uses it." Shiozaki says, and I think for a few seconds as the other three continue debating.
"So, we take out Bakugo first, then deal with everyone else?"
"Bakugo isn't going to just lie down though. He's tough."
"Bakugo is going to try to go after me right off the bat. He wants a fight, and he knows that I can bring one." I finally cut in, looking at everyone, who look back at me.
"But...what does that mean for the rest of us? It'll just be a three-on-three?" Shishida asks
"Nope. If Bakugo is smart, he'll bring someone else down with him, probably either Iida or Kaibara to try to ambush us, taking down at least one other person before focusing on me. Meaning if play this right, we might be able to knock one of them out of the fight. If everything goes to hell, I could probably handle two of them for a bit, and if we're one down, the other two can go fight the duo who's guarding the bomb." I explain, and Shiozaki speaks up
"Why wouldn't he bring Monoma? Couldn't he have him use his quirk, so that's there two explosion users?"
"Bakugo would see that as an insult to his own ability. He wouldn't want someone imitating him, or trying to, at any rate. As far as I'm concerned, no one can fight how he does. But that's beside the point. If we're going to win, we need to survive that ambush. No one goes down, and we have a chance, got me?" I ask, and everyone nods.
Suddenly, we hear an alarm blare, signaling the beginning of the match. I pull up my goggles and slip my headphones on, rolling out my neck one more time. Flexing my fingers, I motion for the group to follow me as I open the door, stepping into the grey-walled building. As we step into the building, I check down every corridor to either side of us, watching for anything ready to jump out at us.
"NERD!" I hear the familiar roar of an adrenaline-fueled Bakugo, and I whip my head towards the sound, which is behind me. Bakugo is launching himself at me, and I barely have enough time to tuck my wings into a protective shield around my body, which takes the brunt of the heat from the explosion, making me slide back from the concussive force. As he moves in closer for a second hit, I quickly unfurl my wings, and give a powerful flap, shooting back and dodging the second explosion, which puts a crater in the ground where I was.
"Hey, Kacchan!" I call, as I run at him, then catch air with a flap of my wings, and use my momentum to land a powerful front kick to the blond's torso, making him stumble.
"Midoriya! I will be joining you for this combat!" I hear Shishida roar, and I quickly glance towards his voice, where I see him fighting Kaibara, having transformed into a much larger version of himself, and is trading blows with the smaller boy.
"Alright then!" I call back, and then duck under a high kick swung my Bakugo, and throw a trio of jabs at his head, which he deflects, and then pulls back his arm, hand glowing a bright orange. Recognizing that glow, I shoot forward, grabbing his arm, then spinning around, and slamming him into the ground, dust flying as he hits the floor with a solid 'thump', followed not a split second later by a misfired explosion that ends up blasting right in front of me, but at this point, I'm used to these smaller blasts of fire and concussion.
Raising a boot, I ready myself to slam it into his chest, but he has other plans. Grabbing my opposite leg, he yanks hard on it, making me fall hard on my side. Rolling away, we both scramble to our feet, staring one another down.
"You're doing pretty good, nerd. Let's step it up!" Bakugo growls, blasting towards me with such speed, I can barely react. I barely manage to pull my wings in front of me before a blast of heat slams me into a wall with a tremendous force. I, however, quickly recover, and after bracing off the wall, shoot towards Bakugo, hand reeled back. As Bakugo readies another explosion, I flap my wings, hard, gaining enough height to fly over the blast, and I make my move.
Grabbing Bakugo's head, my hands essentially over his eyes, I pull on him, gaining a bit of height, and begin to spin, then throw my blond opponent towards Kaibara, who has enough time to turn towards the blond before being hit by him.
The duo goes tumbling along the floor, and Shishida gives them no time to recover. In his beast form, he charges, slamming a hand into Kaibara, knocking the wind clean out of him, and then hits Bakugo, who is already stunned, but only gets worse after that blow.
Flying next to our opponents, I hold out an arm to Shishida, who stops his assault, and I tape but Kaibara, but before I can move to Bakugo, he launches one of his flashbang explosions, blinding me and Shishida.
Stumbling back, I grit my teeth and try to force myself to stay up straight as I try to get rid of the ringing in my ears. Even with my goggles and headphones, I'm stunned as all hell. As I feel my back hit a hall, I brace myself against it, and I hear the sounds of more explosions, followed by a very loud and heavy-sounding 'thump'. Forcing my eyes open, I spot a shape that looks quite a bit like Shishida on the ground, and who I can only assume is Bakugo stalking towards me. As I pull my hands up, I hear something. A buzzer, followed by words I can't quite understand.
I see Bakugo's face tighten in a scowl, and then he lets out a scream of frustration, followed by him slamming a fist into the wall. I can only assume we won, based on his reaction.
"Well...fuck." I mutter, slumping against the wall, barely being able to hear myself.
As I sit there, closing my eyes again, I smile lightly to myself.
Even if I lost, we still won. Good enough for me.
AN: Kinda a weird ending, but I think it served its purpose, no? Midoriya isn't all-powerful. Even in an all-out fight, he still lost to Bakugo. The only reason Midoriya 'beat' Bakugo in the anime was luck and an OP quirk. Midoriya don't have that no more. But...yeah. R&R, and I will see you guys next time.