An older Izuku's voice explained that he and Bakugo had grown up in the same neighborhood. The scene flashed back to the two of them as little kids, along with three other kids. Bakugo was excitedly leading their group into an area that said 'no trespassing', though Izuku looked nervous about going forward.

"Peer pressure can be a powerful thing." Present Mic said. "I think this does speak to Bakugo having the natural charisma required for leadership though."

"Now if only he could use it without exploding everything in his path." Recovery Girl noted dryly.

The voice continued, noting that Bakugo was always confident, no matter what, and that Izuku admired that when he was younger. But once Bakugo's quirk appeared, it pushed him in a bad direction.

Bakugo scowled at the screen. What the heck did this dumb future voice know anyway? Bakugo was strong, confident, and he was in the hero course. Maybe he had...made some mistakes along the way...but how the hell was that the 'wrong path'?

"I do have to wonder if his quirk was the only thing to push him down the path of bullying." Nedzu said, not addressing anyone in particular.

Yagi thought about that, and what he had seen. Bakugo's own personality was definitely a part of the problem, his confidence turning into arrogance and prideful posturing as he aged, but things were likely more complicated than that. Gran Torino had been of the opinion that 'you can always tell who never faced consequences as a child', and Bakugo seemed to fit that bill exactly. Mic had pointed out how Aizawa might have been one of the few authority figures to give Bakugo consequences when he tried to use his quirk on Midoriya. If that was true, then it was likely that society had played a role in how Bakugo viewed himself and others. Power tended to corrupt, and it corrupted even faster when there was there was no accountability for abusing it. Yagi was quite lucky he'd had mentors that helped him stay on the right path after he gained the power of One for All, even if the memories attached to them were still painful. He hoped that himself and the other teachers would be able to help Bakugo gain a new, healthier perspective on how to be a real hero. And he was very glad that Midoriya didn't seem tempted down the wrong path now that he had power.

The scene went back to the battle trial, where Iida tried to get Bakugo to explain what was going on. Bakugo just told him to shut up and defend the bomb. Iida was shown, clearly angry over Bakugo's behavior.

"It's too bad you had to deal with a partner like that for your first hero course lesson." Tsuyu said. "Must have made it hard."

"It was most frustrating." Iida conceded.

"I'm pretty sure even me and Koda communicated more than that." Sato added. Koda nodded at his past partner, still pleased that they the other boy had been patient in trying to understand him.

Back in the observation room, Kirishima complained that he couldn't tell what the people in the building were saying, which prompted All Might to explain how the partners' wireless comms worked as well as the capture tape. Ashido noticed that the heroes were at a clear disadvantage, given how little information they had, and All Might said that it was a heroes job to figure things out no matter how the odds were stacked against them.

Aizawa hummed in approval as All Might led the on-screen class in the school motto. He seemed to be handling the first class alright so far, giving good explanations and such. Now to see if that would hold.

The room's attention was brought back to the trial when Bakugo threw himself at Izuku. Izuku yelled at Uraraka to run, and she did. Bakugo leveled a kick at Izuku, but it was blocked, and Izuku almost got the capture tape around him at the same time. Izuku's mind flashed back to his entry on Aizawa as he used it. Bakugo managed to get out of it and attacked, but Izuku dodged again, impressing the people in the observation room. All Might thought about how Izuku was good at thinking quickly during a crisis. He also remembered seeing what Izuku had written in his notebook just after first meeting him, and how that knowledge was serving him well now.

The entry on himself actually caused Aizawa to smirk. Midoriya may have been a problem child when it came to his own quirk, but he couldn't deny the boy was a fast learner if he nearly replicated one of Aizawa's moves after seeing it in person only one time. Aizawa made a point of not getting caught on camera after all, so Izuku wouldn't have been able to study his moves much before hand.

'All Might read my notebook? And he thought the entries were good?'' Izuku thought in astonishment. He felt his face heat, but his pride at hearing All Might's compliments far outweighed the embarrassment of the number one hero seeing it in the first place. It was still hard for him to believe that a habit that he'd been teased about so much was actually seen as useful by any heroes.

The rest of the students looked on in interest. Even though they had seen this fight before, they were now getting it from angles that the real life cameras couldn't get and hearing people's thoughts about it as well. It was like seeing it for the first time again, and it was awesome!

Izuku realized that Bakugo was being more careful now, and that he would need a plan if he wanted to get close to the other boy again. Izuku ran off, trying to give himself time to figure one out. Bakugo ran after, but lost sight of him. When Bakugo got frustrated at not being able to find him, he yelled out how much fun Deku must have had tricking him for so long. He dared Deku to use his quirk so Bakugo could show he was still better.

"I'm glad you didn't try to go head to head with him right away." Uraraka said quietly, still feeling guilty at leaving Deku alone with his childhood bully.

"Yeah, I knew that would be a bad idea, Bakugo was right when he said he was still better than me."

"That's just because you've barely had time to figure out your quirk. Once you do I'll bet you could take Bakugo on no problem!" Uraraka said confidently.

"Indeed, your intelligence and observation skills already make you a worthwhile opponent. I have no doubts that once you master your quirk you will be quite formidable."

Izuku blushed at his friends' praise, and felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. "Thank you guys."

In the observation room, one of the students said that Bakugo's anger was scary. All Might thought about how Izuku had mentioned that Bakugo was a proud person, but that what the boy was doing here was too much.

Hearing that from the number one hero made something twist in Bakugo's gut. He only allowed himself to scowl though. Honestly, the extras acted like it was bad to know you were powerful and use that power. He didn't care if they thought that, but now even All Might was thinking he was going too far...

Izuku was shown taking a rest against a wall. His mind went in to analyze mode, thinking about how Bakugo ignored Uraraka, and how Iida would have been a better choice for sending someone out to confront them, and concluded that Bakugo was likely acting on his own. He ran through the possible options for them to achieve their goal, and decided that the best option was for him to face Kacchan and then join Uraraka later.

Momo found herself impressed with her classmates quick break down of his options, but it also made her feel a little bad. She remembered criticizing Midoriya's plan for being reckless, and it was, but she hadn't taken into account how dismal his other options were thanks to Bakugo's overzealous behavior. All Might had stood by her assessment of the first trial, but now she felt she should have given more credit to Midoriya's line of reasoning. After all, just because he couldn't rely on such intimate knowledge of the enemy in the future, didn't mean he was wrong to do so now.

Todoroki found himself scowling at the screen. Bakugo's attitude already reminded him of his father, but hearing how obsessed the blonde boy was with being better than others made the connection even stronger in his mind.

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted by Bakugo yelling. Izuku flashed back to himself telling Bakugo he wasn't trying to compete with him. Current Izuku decided he took it all back.

There was another trio of 'ooo's fro Mineta, Sero, and Kaminari.

"Yeah, go gettem Deku!" Ashido cheered.

Bakugo growled. 'Damn nerd...'

Bakugo walked angrily down the hall, thinking about the times Izuku had defied him, and thinking of him as a 'pebble' once again.

"Bakugo," Kirishima started cautiously, "have you ever considered the idea that you can be strong without stomping all over everyone else? It'll probably help you keep future sidekicks around."

"I don't need sidekicks to be the best." 'Besides, they would know they weren't better than me because they would be sidekicks.'

"What about when you have to work with other heroes?"

"If they can't keep up then they should stay out of my way."

Kirishima sighed and looked away from him. Bakugo pretended that didn't bother him.

The scene flashed back to Bakugo and Izuku as kids again. Bakugo showed off with a ball, but Izuku hurt himself when he tried the same thing. Bakugo told him he couldn't do anything. It showed the first time Bakugo read Izuku's name as Deku, and declared the other boy useless. Another scene showed Bakugo's 'friends' laughing at Izuku being unable to skip a stone at a pond. Bakugo was seen showing off his quirk in class for the first time, the students in awe and the teachers declaring it was the perfect quirk for a hero. Young Bakugo took this to mean no one else was as amazing as him.

The current students grumbled upon seeing Bakugo putting down their classmate so much. Bakugo grimaced, and told himself the others were just jealous. He very deliberately tried not to think about how strong Half and Half and Deku had shown themselves to be, because he would surpass them one day too.

"That certainly explains a lot." Aizawa murmured. Bakugo didn't seem like an especially 'nice' kid, even before his quirk came in, but the reactions of the people around him certainly didn't help. This was one of the reasons he disliked how quirks were viewed in modern society. Assuming those two teachers weren't the only ones to talk to Bakugo like that, then he'd likely had the presence and usefulness of his quirk equated with his value for most of his life. Constantly praising kids for their natural abilities rather than hard work lead to a whole host of problems on their own, and it seemed like those issues had mixed with Bakugo's others in the worse way possible. The question now was if Aizawa should address it himself, or let a counselor handle it, or both. He'd have to give it some thought.

Yagi nodded in agreement with Aizawa's words, his suspicions confirmed.

'He was always alone.' Uraraka realized. 'Even when he was hanging out with that group, Deku always stood alone.' Uraraka unconsciously pressed herself closer to her friend, and Izuku was glad for the quiet show of support.

Izuku was shown in class then, looking devastated as others talked about how they'd just found out he was declared quirkless. The kids commented on how lame not having a quirk was, including Bakugo's gleeful, internal thoughts about how Deku was the least amazing one now.

The grumbles increased, and glares were shot toward Bakugo.

Kirishima frowned. He wanted to like Bakugo; the other boy had been so manly during the USJ fight and he found himself drawn to his confidence just like Midoriya had been. He told himself that he shouldn't judge Bakugo from these scenes, he was just a little kid after all, and this happened years ago. But the other scenes of Bakugo bullying Midoriya had happened just recently, and his insistence on thinking of Midoriya as a pebble didn't speak to him changing much since then. Still, it seemed like Bakugo had listened when Kirishima had talked about his cousin, at least somewhat. He really hoped Bakugo got his act together soon.

The scene changed to Bakugo leading his group of 'friends' through the woods. While they were crossing over a log bridge, Bakugo slipped and fell into the river. Two of the other three friends were worried, while one declared Bakugo would be fine because he was strong. Bakugo's older voice over agreed with him. So when Izuku actually ran down and tried to help Bakugo out, the boy slapped his hand away. He was so angry that someone like Izuku looked at him like he needed help.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that Bakugo. A kid running down to help you after you fell? Inexcusable." Jirou's sarcasm was back full force.

"The horror!" Kaminari gasped dramatically. Sero shook his head in mock shame.

"We should have realized what a monster Midoriya was sooner."

"Shut up! You don't get it! I didn't need his stupid help! I'm not weak!"

Tsuyu tilted her head curiously. "Are you sure you know Midoriya all that well, Bakugo? Because I'm pretty sure he could have seen All Might fall down and would still run to help him."

Sato nodded. "I'd believe that, and I've only known him through these videos and about a week of real life experience."

"And we all know how much Midoriya looks up to All Might." Kirishima added, glancing at Bakugo.

Bakugo grumbled to himself and looked away, currently unwilling to admit that any of them might have had a point.

The scene changed back to the present. While Bakugo was still on the warpath, Uraraka had found the bomb. She was about to contact Deku when she was distracted by Iida talking to himself and psyching himself up for pretending to be a villain. He got so over the top with his characterization that Uraraka couldn't help but laugh.

Most of the rest of the class was in the same state, bursting out laughing at the pose Iida struck. Iida's face reddened.

"I'm sorry Iida, it just went so much against the way you usually are..." Uraraka tried to explain. Izuku nodded.

"It was cool of you to try and get into that role though, and it did help when you were actually fighting, right?"

"It did somewhat...thank you." Iida murmured.

"Pro tip for the future, listener." Present Mic called over. "Most villains aren't going to call themselves evil. They'll try to convince you they have perfectly good reasons for doing what they are doing."

"Noted, sir."

The noise got Uraraka noticed by Iida. She stepped out of her hiding spot, and watched in dismay as Iida triumphantly explained how he had hidden any objects she would use her quirk on.

"Hmmm, a clever move." Nedzu said.

"You did do a pretty great evil laugh." Uraraka admitted. Izuku nodded in agreement, and Iida's embarrassment abated somewhat.

Uraraka contacted Izuku and explained the situation to him. Izuku realized that the bomb was hidden almost directly above him. While he was distracted with the call, Bakugo had appeared at the end of the hallway behind Izuku. He demanded to know why Deku wasn't using his quirk.

"Maybe because punching you directly would kill you." Jirou deadpanned.

"Well I didn't know that back then." Bakugo grumbled.

Bakugo demanded to know if Deku was underestimating him by thinking he could win without his quirk.

Several people rolled their eyes. Hearing that so often in such a short time was getting annoying.

Izuku declared he wasn't scared of Bakugo anymore, which only added fuel to the fire. Bakugo held up one of his grenade gauntlets, and explained how it worked. He got ready to use it. All Might realized what was happening, and used the comm to order Bakugo to stop. Bakugo refused, saying it would only kill him if it hit him, and fired. The hallway became filled with sound and flame, Izuku only saved himself by being able to duck into a side hallway.

Mic's jaw went slack. Aizawa frowned at the screen; the report of the incident All Might gave hadn't made it sound this severe. Bakugo had already gotten chastised and his grade suffered because of this stunt, so lecturing him now probably wouldn't do much good. Still, he made a note to be more proactive in steering Bakugo, and other students, away from using their quirks and support items so recklessly.

"What would you have done if that hallway wasn't close enough?" Kirishima asked quietly.

"I knew it was."

"What if Izuku wasn't fast enough?"

Bakugo didn't answer.

The explosion shook the whole building. When the smoke cleared, Izuku could be seen laying on the ground, now missing his whole hood and one of his sleeves.

"Ow!"

"Deku?"

"I'm fine, just sore muscles, again." Izuku said, sounding strained.

Uraraka didn't look convinced, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it either way.

Izuku pushed himself up, wondering if that kind of attack was allowed. Bakugo strode through the smoke, commenting on the size of the blast, and still demanding Deku use his quirk.

Bakugo frowned. At the time, he thought he'd strode forward in righteous fury, but looking at it now his expression just looked...kinda nuts to be honest.

Iida tried to get into contact with Bakugo, trying to figure out what just happened. Uraraka ran forward, taking advantage of his distraction. He noticed her movement, and ran at her, but she used her quirk to float over him. She continued to float toward the bomb, but it was slow and Iida managed to move it before she could land on it.

Uraraka yelped as the on-screen version of her hit the ground and rolled into the wall.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I took worse falls when I was still figuring out that move." Uraraka assured him, rubbing her back as if that would ease the pain.

"Regardless, please accept my apologies." Iida said, bowing towards her.

"It's fine, Iida, really!"

"Have you thought about getting a support item to help with that move?" Izuku suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, part of the reason that didn't work was because you floated so slowly after you got into the air. If you had a support item similar to the pressure jets astronauts use, then that move might be more effective. You could float across big gaps really fast, or use it to get up high quickly, there could be all sorts of uses." Izuku cut himself off when he realized he was getting into muttering territory. He was about to apologize, but stopped when he saw Uraraka was looking at him with shining eyes.

"That sounds awesome Deku! You've gotta help me write up a request for the support department when we get back!"

"Y-yeah, sure!" Izuku smiled back at her.

Iida evilly gloated a bit before the scene switched back to Izuku and Bakugo. Bakugo dared Deku to come at him. Izuku analyzed how Bakugo had used his weapon, then called on Uraraka for an update. Bakugo got angry about being ignored.

"Says the classmate who ignored his partner since the start of the exercise." Iida huffed, exasperated at how hypocritical Bakugo was acting. "At least Midoriya remembered why we were all there."

In the observation room, Kirishima begged All Might to stop the fight because Bakugo was going crazy. All Might denied the request, recognizing that there was some method to Bakugo's madness. He did call over the comm to inform Bakugo that using that attack again would cause his team to lose though.

Something in Bakugo's chest tightened. Not even Kirishima had approved of that attack?

All Might thought to himself that, as a teacher, he should stop the exercise, but something held him back.

"Normally I'd agree with that assessment...but I think I see what you are getting at." Aizawa said. Normally, Aizawa would have stopped a fight immediately after Bakugo had pulled the stunt with the grenade. On the other hand, it seemed like Midoriya had stood up to Bakugo more in this exercise than he had in his entire life before coming to UA. Despite the fact that the exercise was clearly getting out of control, he could see why All Might hadn't pulled the plug. Bakugo was just desperate to prove he was better to others, but Midoriya needed to prove to himself that he could stand up to Bakugo and have it mean something. He just really wished this hadn't been the way that came about.

Recovery Girl shook her head and muttered about people being in over their heads and choosing pride over safety.

Bakugo rushed at Midoriya, just as the other boy finished talking to Uraraka. Izuku realized he didn't have time to dodge out of the way, and tried to counter it, but Bakugo used his explosions to push himself over Deku and behind him, then blasted him in the back.

Izuku let out a cry of pain, his back going ramrod straight as a familiar, burning pain encased it. Uraraka's hands fluttered around him, wanting to help him somehow but being unsure of what to do.

"Midoriya, given the injury you sustain at the end of this encounter, perhaps you should sit on the floor."

"It's just the one arm this time..."

"To be safe I must insist."

"I can sit on the floor with you." Uraraka offered. Izuku made to argue again, but seeing how worried they looked, he decided to give in. The floor was comfy enough anyway.

"Okay...that sounds nice, thank you."

The show continued as they situated themselves on the floor in front of the couch, Iida deciding to join them.

People back in the observation room talked about what had just happened.

Bakugo was caught between being smug that they complimented his skills, and wanting to strangle Half and Half for saying he 'didn't look like the type to think'.

Bakugo rushed at Izuku again, hitting him hard in the arm before flipping him the same way Izuku had done to him earlier.

Izuku's cries drew everyone's attention. He clutched at his arm and his back dug into the couch behind him, as if trying to escape whatever was hurting it. Uraraka did her best to steady him as Iida signaled everyone that they were okay and to keep watching.

"Do you want the notebook again?" She asked, looking around for it.

"I'm fine." he hissed through gritted teeth. Uraraka picked up the notebook anyway, just in case.

Izuku's vision blurred, and he realized he'd have to use his quirk if he hoped to win. Back in the observation room people cried out in outrage, saying that Bakugo was going too far when all he had to do was put capture tape around him. Tokoyami even stated that these actions were not ones of a hero. Kaminari noted that Midoriya was being amazing too though.

Midoriya smiled, despite the pain he still felt. He'd have to remember to thank Kaminari later.

Bakugo scowled. Heroes always won! That was the whole point! Bird brain was stupid if he didn't know that. Though...he supposed using the capture tape would still count as winning. It hadn't felt like that would be winning at the time though.

All Might's hands shook. He thought again about how he should stop the fight, but he didn't want to for Midoriya's sake.

Midoriya smiled again. He'd have to thank All Might later too. He didn't know what he would do if he hadn't been able to finish this fight.

Midoriya ran from Bakugo and positioned himself by a window. Bakugo was still demanding Izuku use his quirk, and asking if Izuku was underestimating him.

"Talk about a one track mind." Hagakure muttered.

Izuku told Kacchan that he wasn't underestimating him. He yelled that Bakugo was amazing! That that was the reason he wanted to win and surpass him! The ran at each other. All Might was shown, thinking how this was the first thing he'd seen Izuku be truly passionate about, aside from being a hero. And that was what made this moment important to his future.

Most of the rest of the class looked on in excitement and awe as they got a new and improved look at the showdown's final blow. Bakugo though, was caught on something else.

All Might had said this moment was important, because of what it meant to Deku's future. Challenging Bakugo and winning was important to Deku's future. That..that couldn't be right. Even if he accepted that Deku wasn't his stepping stone, there was no way in hell he would end up being Deku's instead!

Things looked bad enough that All Might was about to call it off at the last moment, but then Izuku cried out for Uraraka to get ready. Bakugo swung one exploding arm forward. Izuku blocked it with one arm and sent a blast upward with One for All with the other arm. Iida was taken by complete surprise, but Uraraka took advantage. She used her quirk on a pillar and used it to make an opening for herself. While he was distracted, she jumped across the gap using her quirk and latched onto the weapon before Iida had a chance to recover.

Cheers went up around the room. They had all seen it before, but never like that! They could barely see what was going on through the cameras, especially since a bunch of them got knocked out from the blast. Only now could the other students fully appreciate how epic that ending was.

"That was great Uraraka!" Ashido cheered.

"You didn't hesitate at all, you must really trust him, kero."

"W-well, Deku set it all up, I just did what he said." Uraraka blushed, and Izuku smiled at her.

"You still did a great job. We couldn't have won without you."

Back on the lower floors, Bakugo realized that this had been Izuku's plan all along. He started going on about being underestimated again, but was interrupted by Izuku saying he hadn't wanted to use his quirk.

Izuku shrieked in pain. Uraraka held out the notebook, and he took it, desperate to muffle the sound. He bit down on the binding once again, trying to swallow as much of the pain as he could. Uraraka held onto his arm and Iida put an arm around his back. Izuku shook with the effort of keeping himself quiet.

"You don't have to be ashamed Midoriya, no one will blame you for expressing your pain." Iida murmured. Izuku barely heard it with how caught up he was in his past pain.

The screen showed how one of Izuku's arms was completely busted from the use of One for All, and the other burned from blocking the punch. Izuku said he couldn't control his quirk, but he hadn't been able to avoid using it. Bakugo looked shocked and disturbed, and that look stayed on his face as Midoriya fainted, and All Might declared the hero team the winners.

Izuku's muscles relaxed, and he sighed in relief. He carefully removed the notebook. At least he hadn't left teeth marks this time.

"It's okay, I'm good now." he told his friends. "Thank you."

"It is no trouble, Midoriya."

"Right." Uraraka said with a resolute nod.


"Kinda glad Midoriya fainted there. It'd suck if he had to deal with those injuries until it showed him being healed." Sato said. Koda nodded.

"The look on Bakugo's face..." Tokoyami pondered "I can only hope it means he is coming to his senses about the motivations of those around him." Koda nodded to that as well.


"We'll watch one more episode, then we can take another break." Nedzu announced.