Greetings, friends! A New Pencil returns to the desk!

Underline is for Japanese this time!

Italics is either thoughts, a flashback, or a song/poem.

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, My Hero Academia, OMORI, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters or music. They all belong to their respective companies and owners.

Chapter 27: Explosions Trigger Trauma, You Know

If you know yourself and not the enemy, for every victory you will also suffer a defeat.

(Play: KH 1.5 Remix OST - Hollow Bastion)

Sora was back on the stands again, processing what had just happened.

The staff… for whatever reason… decided to swap up the opponents for the semifinals. And now instead of fighting Shoto like expected… he was fighting Katsuki.

This definitely wouldn't be an easy fight.

Not just because Katsuki would be a difficult opponent to face, due to his crazy adaptability in combat, but also because he would be trying very very hard to make sure Sora wouldn't hold back, and he would be using a lot of force to do so. Sora knew that as he was now, not holding back against the explosive kid would prove fatal, and in the worst case, cripple Bakugo for life.

He had to make sure that did NOT happen during the fight.

"Sora-kun?"

"Huh?" Sora looked up, seeing a concerned Izuku and Ochaco staring at him.

"You've been looking at your shoes for a while now. Are you alright?" Ochaco asked.

"Well… I am nervous." Sora admitted.

"Really? About fighting Bakugo?"

"I can see why." Izuku said, "Kacchan really has it out for you. Even more so since the U.S.J.. Why is that?"

Sora sighed, "Katsuki… he thinks I'm holding back because I think those in Class A aren't worth the effort. Including him." He looks to his hand, "But it's not the case at all. The only problem is… he can't see that."

"So you're worried he'll try and force you to stop holding back." Midoriya guessed.

Sora nodded, "I really don't want to harm him severely. But I also want to make sure to give him a good fight too…"

"But he doesn't want it that way. Kacchan isn't like that. He wants an all out battle, nothing less." Izuku shakes his head. Sora really was in a dilemma now wasn't he? All he could do now was pray that his friend made the right choice.

"Well… I guess I'll have to put in more effort than normal." Sora muttered.

"You'd better, you spiky bastard!" Katsuki yelled from his seat. Sora sighed as he remembered that he was still here too.

Either way, he would focus on how to handle Bakugo later. He wanted to see how Shoto and Fumikage's match would turn out first.

And they were just about to start.

(Play: KH 1.5 Remix OST - Scherzo Di Notte)

Fumikage had instantly made the first move, using Dark Shadow to rush in and strike Todoroki the same way he took out Momo and Mina. Shoto was quick to dodge the shadow, before sending an ice barrage towards him in an attempt to freeze the shadow where it stood.

It avoided Shoto's ice by moving to the air, making Shoto grunt in annoyance.

Shoto then dodged yet another assault from Dark Shadow, before making another ice barrage, this time aimed for Tokoyami himself. The bird-faced student was just barely able to dodge it. Dark Shadow lunged at Todoroki again, but he too managed to roll away in time.

Shoto thought about his options. His ice was grounded, so he couldn't properly attack Dark Shadow while it was in the air, and trying to attack Tokoyami with the ice wouldn't be useful at all. Not to mention, he couldn't dodge Dark Shadow forever.

But to be able to stand a chance against Tokoyami with the hand he had on him…

He noticed Dark Shadow rush in again, and in response, Todoroki's left side suddenly flared up as small flames erupted from its side, forcing the shadow to shrink back in response to the light. Just as the fire user took notice of this, a voice rang out from the bleachers.

"Yes! That's it, Shoto! Use your left side!" Endeavor shouted, making Shoto gasp and quickly dispel it on instinct.

Sora frowned at Endeavor calling his son out. This wasn't helping Shoto in the slightest in terms of recovering mentally from the trauma he experienced. Then again, recovering from trauma wasn't easy, as Sora recalled how Aqua had still been mentally distressed by the Realm of Darkness even after escaping it after ten long years.

Back on the field, Shoto tried to regain focus, only to take a hit from Dark Shadow. He was knocked back, but managed to save himself by making an ice wall to stop his momentum. He looked up to see the shadow still going after him.

Reacting fast, Shoto merely slammed the ground with his right hand, sending a large chunk of ice towards Tokoyami, who commanded Dark Shadow to move and break through that ice to prevent him from getting caught in it.

Shoto grimaced. Again, it was proven that merely using his ice wouldn't be enough. He had to use… had to use…

(Play: MHA - I Absolutely Won't Use the Heat)

"IT'S YOURS! YOUR QUIRK NOT HIS!"

Todoroki's eyes widened. Did Midoriya just speak to him? No… that was just… the memory… It wasn't like before. Tokoyami wasn't pushing himself to the brink like Midoriya did.

Then another voice came to him. Nakajima's.

"Endeavor may want you to use your Quirk to surpass All Might, but you don't have to use it for that reason. Instead, use it for those you want to protect. Nobody, not even your dad, has that power to change why you use your Quirk. That fire is yours, and yours alone to shape. Remember that."

Why were they coming to him now? Why were both of their words coming to him at a time like this? He barely even heard Endeavor's words as he was once again trapped in a mental world.

"Think about the ones you care about most, and put them in the front of your mind instead of your dad." Nakajima had said,

The ones… I care about most… Shoto thought, Who… who do I care about?

Immediately, a vision of his mother came into his head. But not the one where she broke down… it was the same one he experienced when Midoriya had screamed those words that he needed to hear. Watching All Might on television in his mother's embrace.

Another image. This time it's of his siblings, playing together when they were younger. And yet… even though he was left out no thanks to Endeavor… they were still his family. His older sister, for one, still cared about him. Just like his mother…

Soon, they were in front of him in his mind, all smiling at him.

"Use it for those you want to protect…"

My mom... my siblings... Shoto thought, I want... to protect them!

(Play: MHA OST - Nevertheless, Go Beyond)

He took a deep breath, thinking only of those people. The image of his bastard father slowly vanished. Slowly, but surely, the flames came out. They weren't as big as when they came out against Izuku, because Shoto wanted to keep this usage to a minimum, unlike before. It was hard enough to repress those thoughts of Endeavor and the accident, because this time, nobody was actually breaking themselves to make sure they'd win like Izuku.

"Yes!" a voice came out loud and clear to him, and not through memory, "Remember what he said to you, Shoto! Focus on that! Think about nothing else, and only on this moment!"

Sora's words… Why were they reaching him now? It didn't matter. It allowed Shoto to at least focus on something other than his father. And Sora was right. Not thinking about Endeavor made it more bearable to use his flames.

At least for now. Blocking the bastard and the accident from his mind still proved to be a challenge in itself. They were pounding from the back of his mind, threating to reveal themselves in the forefront of his mind, but now, he was the master of his mental domain. He just needed to keep this up until victory was assured.

Shoto began to think as Tokoyami watched him with narrowed eyes. If Dark Shadow was a shadow, then its weakness wasn't to Shoto's flames specifically, but to the light his flames emitted. So he just needed to use them to keep Dark Shadow away. Nothing too big or flashy like his match with Midoriya.

"My turn," he said calmly.

Dark Shadow immediately went in to try and attack Shoto, and in response, he used his fire again, his left side lighting up and causing the shadow to shrink back. Shoto then immediately used his right side, sending a torrent of ice towards Tokoyami, who tried to dodge it as Dark Shadow had been temporarily stopped by Shoto's fire. But the ice barrage was larger than the others, and quickly, the ice took his leg, and then his torso, and stopped under his head.

He was caught.

Dark Shadow tried one more time to get to Tokoyami, but Shoto quickly raced to the bird-faced student's location, and let his flames out to make sure Dark Shadow wouldn't even dare attempt to try and break its master free.

He turned back to Tokoyami, aiming his right hand at him.

Seeing that he was out of options, Tokoyami sighed, "I… I yield."

(Silence)

"Tokoyami gives up! Todoroki will advance to the final!"

With those words, Shoto immediately dispelled the flames, panting with bulging eyes. This was an exhausting fight. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Honestly, he didn't want to use his flames again. The mental battle to keep the bastard out of his mind was honestly too much for him.

"Your Dark Shadow… is pretty hard to deal with." Shoto admitted, "I expected nothing less…"

This time, instead of just leaving, Shoto went over to melt Tokoyami out of the ice with his fire, just as he did with Sero. He didn't know why he was doing it, but for some reason… he wanted to.

From the bleachers, Sora smiled, before standing up himself. Shoto still had a long way to go, but he was confident that eventually, he'll be able to move on from this and become a great Hero in the future.

"Well, I'm off." he told Izuku, "My match is up next."

"Do your best, Sora-kun!" Ochaco said.

Sora grinned, before walking over to the waiting room to get ready. His grin disappeared as he entered the hallway though, because now he had to focus on how to handle Katsuki.

He entered his waiting room, weighing out his options.

(Play: KH Re:CoM OST - Castle Oblivion)

Izuku was right when he said Bakugo wanted nothing more than a true all out battle. But if Sora went in too hard, he could risk crippling Katsuki for life. But if he held too much back, he'd lose the fight and, if Katsuki really had it out for him, get crippled himself. Well, he didn't mind the losing part, but he would rather not have it end badly for either one of them.

In regards to overriding his fighting style… Sora would have to be REALLY careful. Katsuki had great maneuverability in the air with his Quirk, and his explosions would hurt if he got nailed point-blank like Hana- er… Strelitzia's Flare magic, so that means Sora would have to take him seriously in regards to defensive measures.

Offensively… Sora really didn't know how to deal with Katsuki in that regard. He would probably have to exert the same abilities at the level he was when fighting Strelitzia.

There was nothing wrong there… but the unknown always has the advantage. Katsuki would definitely try and force him to use his other Keyblades and Formchanges. If that was the case, Sora would answer with that… but not with everything.

Though the question is… which Keyblade would he use?

Oathkeeper was more balanced like the Kingdom Key was, but was by far the strongest Keyblade in his current arsenal, so that was out of the question. It left two other options: Hero's Origin had more attack power, and Shooting Star had more magic power…

He closed his eyes. He knew what to do now.

"So it's you."

Sora turned around at the voice. A man in flames met his gaze, and Sora immediately knew who it was.

"Oh. Hey." Sora waved his hand, "You're Endeavor, right?"

"You've heard of me?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't everyone?" Sora put his hands behind his back. The Flame Hero regarded him with a frown, and the look in his eyes made Sora's skin crawl. They burned with a fire he had seen many times before.

The fires of ambition. And a desire for power.

Considering his desire to be Number 1, it made sense. But the way he went around it… that was a different story. Endeavor wasn't Shan-Yu, but the desire of power existed in those eyes just as it did in the Hun Leader, except it was subdued, and not wild and out of control. It made Sora relieved that Endeavor was at least on their side.

Again, he had no idea where he stood with the Flame Hero. If Shoto's words were to be taken seriously, then this guy was probably the least friendly ally other than Katsuki here in this world, with a dirty track record that seemed to have not been revealed to the public. Still, the Keyblade wielder decided to play nice and at least try to interact with him. He wouldn't do anything until Endeavor did.

Speaking of, the man stopped staring at him, and began to speak, "I have seen your matches in the Sports Festival, as well as your performance in the events before. To say you performed well would be an understatement."

"Wow, uh… thanks?" Sora raised a brow.

"It is not a compliment," Endeavor crossed his arms, "That other boy during the pledge… he claimed to be the one to win it all in the end. His message was a warning, even to you." He regarded Sora with the same frown as he continued, "Seeing the events up until the tournament, I know now that it isn't that boy who is the challenge. It's you."

Sora's eyes narrowed slightly, "Explain…"

"Your Quirk allows you to summon objects and natural elements from thin air," Endeavor replied, "So that makes you the perfect test for my son's capabilities."

Oh.

That's why he was here.

"I will admit, that boy who declared war on you is a fighter in his own right, and is clearly one with a lot of talent." the Flame Hero continued, "But your power has more variety, unlike his Explosion Quirk, meaning you have more abilities than you have yet to show during your matches. My son needs to learn how to face more opponents like you." He then pointed to the Keyblade wielder, "I don't care who he faces in the final, but if you become the victor in this upcoming match, make sure you hold nothing back against my son. I want to see what his true capabilities are before he walks the path of the mighty."

Sora lowered his arms from his head. Endeavor was right about his "Quirk" being more versatile. But even so, it didn't mean he was here to give Sora encouragement. What he really wanted was to use Sora to bring out Shoto's true power should he win the next match against Bakugo. Like a tool.

It was useful, but a messed-up kind of useful. Just like when the Organization used him to make their artificial Kingdom Hearts.

Sora kept a straight face as he replied, "Well, I have to get past Katsuki first, Endeavor. But if I do win… I'll do what I can."

"You had better, boy. I'd rather not waste my masterpiece's potential."

Sora turned around to walk away, but he suddenly turned his head to face the Flame Hero, surprising him as an unusual glare came from the Keyblade wielder. Not as fierce as Fenrir's had been, but definitely enough to take him by surprise.

"Shoto is his own person. He's your son, not some tool you can just swing around until its use is done. Never forget that. And in case you forgot," he told the Pro while keeping his glare up, "My name is Sora. I've said my piece, so I'm leaving. My match is coming up."

With that, he walked away to prepare for his next match. The father of Shoto merely narrowed his eyes as the Keyblade wielder disappeared from sight.

Perhaps this child was the student of Fenrir, after all.

(Play: KH 3 OST - Blast Off!)

"It's time for the second round of the semifinals, listeners!" Mic announced, "The winner of this matchup will be facing Todoroki in the final round! On one corner, we've got an explosive personality who's beaten the competition through pure knockouts, Katsuki Bakugo of the Hero Course!" Katsuki simply had a serious look on his face.

"Verses, a boy who breezed through this tournament so far with a smile and ring outs, though he clearly isn't smiling now. Also from the Hero Course, it's Sora Nakajima!" Mic was right about one thing. Sora wasn't smiling as he looked towards his opponent.

(Silence)

The audience might be cheering so far, but only a certain few were paying close attention: Class A, Aizawa, Class B, Cloud, Tifa, Shinso, and Hatsume. Each for their own reasons, but all were nervous to some degree. Mic shouted, "Now let the match begin!"

The last two semifinalists began to walk, circling one another. Bakugo finally spoke up, "You better not hold back against me, got it?"

Sora replied, "What makes you think you've got any right to tell me that?"

"Because if you don't," Bakugo's hands made small explosions as a means of intimidation, though Sora remained unfazed, "I'll beat your ass so badly that you'll regret not taking me seriously, Spiky."

Sora expected a response like this, so he wasn't bothered by it. Either way, this wouldn't be as fun a matchup as Strelitzia was. He moved his hand to the side, and summoned Shooting Star, "Wish granted,"

Katsuki scoffed, unconvinced, "Like hell it is. Where's the part where your clothes changed color like with your fight against Glasses?"

"I can't do that yet."

"Why not?!"

Sora held up his weapon, "My swords are more than just weapons I can swing. They can stockpile energy as well, so that I can use my abilities to their fullest. But the only way to get that energy is through combat."

"So… you're telling me that all I have to do is beat you down enough, and then you'll have enough energy to go full power?" Katsuki grinned, quickly catching on. "I don't mind that one damn bit!" He then propelled himself forward with his explosions, "Come at me, Spiky!"

(Play: MHA OST - Bombing King)

Sora's eyes narrowed and he leapt to the side to avoid the charge, but Katsuki was quick to change direction with another explosion and stay on the attack, raising an arm forward to let his Quirk decimate his opponent. But Sora was able to lean back and avoid the blast by a hair, before using his momentum to do a backflip mid-air, before casting Fire to keep Katsuki busy while he gained some distance.

The boy of explosions used his free hand to blast himself away, before changing direction again and high-tailing it towards Sora just as the Key Bearer got back on his feet. Then, he reared his hand back, before moving it along the ground, ripping through the floor and sending debris towards Sora along with his explosion, the same tactic he used against Cloud.

Unfortunately, Sora didn't know that, so even though he repelled the debris, he was still blinded by the smoke. He quickly cast Aero to dispel it, and found to his surprise that Katsuki wasn't there. Where did he-?

"Wha-?!" Sora yelped as a hand grabbed his shoulder, while another grabbed some of his hair. He realized it too late: Bakugo had used the smokescreen to cover his motion and ambush him from above.

"You better go all out on me!" Katsuki declared, "Because that's the only way I'm gonna let this match end!"

With his own strength, he flung the Key Bearer over his shoulder, but Sora was quick to recover, slamming Shooting Star into the ground to stop himself from going out of the ring. He looked up to see Bakugo in his face again, ready to launch an explosion at his face. Sora dodged just at the last second, before spinning around and throwing a barrage of strikes at Katsuki, slamming Shooting Star into his midsection with a final hit, knocking him away. But the explosive boy used his Quirk to stop himself from going out of the ring.

Sora sighed. That was a clear indicator that Bakugo couldn't be knocked out-of-bounds. If Katsuki wasn't going down with a ring out, then the only shot he had at winning would be to KO him. It wouldn't be easy, since based off of Cloud's words, Bakugo was super stubborn, enough so that Cloud actually had to get rough with him.

The crowd cheered wildly as the fight continued, while Class A was astonished of how well Bakugo was doing against arguably the best student in the Hero Course.

"Wow… Sora-kun's being pushed back…" Izuku said, astonished, "I knew that Kacchan was amazing, but this is something else… I've never seen him fight so seriously before."

"He definitely has it out for Nakajima." Shoto said.

Katsuki was still charging towards Sora, but the Key Bearer decided to throw in an attack of his own. He thrusted Shooting Star forward, but Katsuki reacted quickly and used an explosion to move upward, blast himself to a point behind Sora, and a third explosion to send him down for another attack from behind.

But Sora was ready, and quickly responded by swinging behind him and sent Katsuki's incoming wrist off course with his strike, sending the explosion to the side. Sora then launched another Fire spell, and Katsuki was forced to move back, ducking as the fireball zoomed past him and hit the wall behind him. He shook his wrist a bit, before glaring back at Sora.

Sora wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by. His pupils dilated as he launched a Blizzard spell, before launching 5 star-shaped bullets of Meteor Shower afterwards. In response, Katsuki blew them up with an explosion, and Sora took the chance to grind on the trail left behind by the Blizzard spell. The explosive bomber heard him, however, and launched another blast to stop his advance.

When the smoke cleared, Sora was nowhere in sight, making Katsuki look around. The sound of rushing water came from above, giving Katsuki the signal to move out of the way as a Water spell splashed in the spot where he just was.

Two more water orbs came after him, followed by another shard of ice. Bakugo flew over the first one, then fired an explosion to dispel the second water blast, and rocketing himself back to ground to make the Blizzard Spell miss and go into the air in a failed attempt to home in on him. Sora landed behind and tried to strike, only for Katsuki to turn and blast him with an explosion, knocking him back with a grunt.

(Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - Sinister Shadows)

"What a spectacle!" Mic declared, "The fight's so evenly matched and we're only in the starting minutes! Can you believe it?"

In the arena, Katsuki let out a breath, steam being moved from it, before he took another deep breath in. He observed Sora's own condition, and was pissed to find that he was relatively unharmed from those series of exchanges.

"You better stop screwing around." Katsuki snarled.

Sora sighed, "I told you already. I can't-"

"I heard you the first time, dumbass!" he growled, "But it's clearly obvious you're still holding back!"

As he says that, Aizawa let the audience know what was going on, "Bakugo's trying to provoke his opponent to go all out against him, in order to properly gauge his strength. Since he's been holding back for his matches, at least until the tail end of his fight against Zinnia, Bakugo wants to beat Nakajima at his best, to prove that he's the stronger fighter."

"So then why the heck doesn't the kid do that and knock Bakugo out like he did with Hanabi?" Mic asked.

Aizawa glared at him, "You saw the scale of Zinnia and Nakajima's final attacks. It not only made the same shockwave that Midoriya and Todoroki's clash emitted, but Nakajima's attack also exploded in Zinnia's face. It's likely the same would've happened had her attack overdone his. Nakajima is worried Bakugo will be unable to withstand his full power, so he's pulling his punches to ensure he doesn't do any serious harm."

The students all glanced at one another, debating on their sensei's words.

"Well… he isn't wrong. I can understand Sora holding back." Eijiro said, "But Bakugo's not gonna let him,"

"But Aizawa-sensei is right. Sora-san could potentially harm Bakugo-san fatally if he stops holding himself back." Momo told him.

"Deku-kun… what do you think?" Ochaco asked.

"Kacchan is the kind of guy who seeks total victory." Izuku mused, "So he won't accept anything less than that. In short… he's a perfectionist in terms of combat."

Shoto narrowed his eyes, "So he won't let the fight end unless he forces Nakajima to go all out and beats him."

"...Yeah…" Izuku said, "But that's what I'm worried about…"

Meanwhile, Bakugo was clearly angry with Sora, "What the hell is your problem?! Do you really think you're so strong that you don't see any reason to go all in?!"

"I am taking you seriously, Katsuki." Sora told him, "Your aggressive fighting style is hard to deal with, honestly, and I'm using all the agility I have to avoid your constant attacks. You're also getting a few hits in spite of that. Shouldn't you be happy that you're forcing me to act defensively?" Sora looked at him exasperated, "We had this talk before, Katsuki. You know exactly why I'm pulling my punches strength-wise."

"So what? Are you a goddamn coward?"

(Silence)

Sora blinked, "What?"

"You said it yourself. You hold back because you're afraid of hurting your wimpy little friends!" Bakugo shouted, "Grow a fucking spine, loser!"

"You're wrong!" Sora shakes his head, "Our classmates are not weak!"

"Then why the fuck do you hold back on them?! Why the hell do you treat them like glass if you say they're not weak?"

"Because they're my friends!" Sora shouted back, "And if there's one thing I've learned before I got here, is that I won't ever let my friends get hurt again!"

"And who taught you that? Definitely not Big Sword!"

"I learned that from the friends I had before I got here." Sora said, "If it weren't for them, then I wouldn't be here!"

"Your 'other friends?'" Bakugo asked, "Hah! You've got some shitty excuses of friends then, if they're the reason you act like that!"

Sora froze where he stood. Sorry excuse of a friend?

"And where are those 'other friends', huh?! Are they watching you fight me right now?!"

(Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - Fate of the Unknown)

At those words, the Keyblade wielder actually looked down. No, they weren't. Donald… Goofy… King Mickey… Kairi… Riku… none of them were actually here to see him fight here. His friends from his world weren't here to cheer him on.

Now that Katsuki had mentioned it out loud, that aching feeling in his chest hit Sora once again. Just like it did at Faraway Library and after his talk with Momo after her loss, he once again remembered that they weren't standing beside him right now. Even though he had made new friends here… it couldn't change the reality that he was out of reach from his other ones. That they weren't there to turn to when times get tough.

All because of the price he had to pay. Whatever it may be.

"HEY! Pay attention when I'm talking to you, dammit!"

"GUH!" Sora grunted as Bakugo suddenly rushed in and threw a punch to his face, sending him tumbling to the ground. He grimaced and looked behind him. That was way too close to a ring-out, and even if he had been sent out, Katsuki would've probably prevented that by throwing him back in the ring before he hit the ground.

"If you want to win this fight, you better make damn well sure you give it your all. To hell with what your friends think!"

Sora hated to admit it, but Katsuki was right in regards to focus. He had to think about his friends later… right he needed to focus on the fight!

Sora got up and leapt into the air to dodge Katsuki's blitz. In response, the boy changed direction and propelled himself backwards to chase Sora. The Keyblade wielder responded by generating flames once again in his hand, casting Fire again to force Katsuki to change direction and gain some distance.

He did just that, but much quicker than Sora expected, by blasting himself over the fireball, destroying it with a second blast, before immediately propelling himself back towards Sora's direction, getting in close to fire an explosion point blank to send Sora back to the ground in a cloud of dust.

He landed on the ground and stood at the ready, waiting for an attack to show. And this time, to his surprise, bullets of light came tearing towards him, which forced him to blast himself away to dodge it by a hair. He watched the bullets hit the wall and leave an imprint, before looking back to where the dust cloud was.

Sora had Shooting Star out, this time having fired blasts of light from it to try and catch Katsuki off guard due to their quicker speed. But it seems like that wouldn't work either. He rushed towards Katsuki, and in response, the boy propelled himself upwards, forwards, and downwards in a matter of seconds to try and blast Sora from behind.

"Don't think that'll work twice!" Sora said, swinging Shooting Star again to whack Katsuki's wrist and resulting explosion off course once more. While Bakugo was distracted, Sora took this chance to spin and deliver a large swing that sent Katsuki back, but he quickly righted himself to get back into gear once again.

Sora decided to switch Keyblades, this time going back to the Kingdom Key. And when he did, Katsuki clearly wasn't happy about that.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted, "Going back to that stupid toy sword?!"

"It's the one I normally fight with, Katsuki." Sora replied, "I'm more used to this weapon than I am with Shooting Star. It's a lot more balanced."

"If that's the case… I'll force you to switch back to that weapon!"

With that, Katsuki began racing towards Sora, deciding not to use his Quirk this time. Sora raised a brow. Was he already at his limit? No… it couldn't be. As Katsuki leapt into the air, Sora then raised his weapon to launch another spell, but to his shock, nothing came out.

Oh no… I'm out of magic?!

"DIIIEEEE!"

Sora was just barely able to roll away as Katsuki's aerial explosion decimated the area he was standing on. He turned around to see that the explosive kid was chasing after him with explosives again, much faster than before.

Sora blocked the brunt of the incoming explosion with his Kingdom Key, but that didn't stop him from being pushed back. The resulting smoke was blinding him, but he looked forward regardless and swung his weapon to dispel the smoke, but his opponent had vanished. His eyes widened as a sudden heat touched his back, and he was engulfed in yet another explosion and sent tumbling to the ground.

Wow. Katsuki was really perceptive. He had definitely been studying his match with Strelitzia if he was going in harder just as Sora ran out of magic. Either that or it was pure coincidence.

Sora grit his teeth as he slowly made his way back to his feet. His opponent snarled at him, "Now are you deciding to take me seriously?"

"I told you…" Sora winced, "I am taking you seriously."

"Then switch back to your other weapon!"

Did Katsuki actually think that way? Then again, he had only summoned them when the situation got increasingly more difficult like it did at U.S.J.. That was on him, then.

There was more to power than just raw strength.

He got back up to his feet. "Not yet. It's not the right time."

"Then when, dammit?! What's it gonna take for you to stop holding back?!"

Sora chose not to answer that question. Just simply spilling the beans here would only give away his own advantage.

"Katsuki," he said instead, "I'm giving it my all, and I'm hitting you with all the skills I know. Why isn't that enough?"

"Because you're still clearly not hitting me as hard as you should be, dammit!" Bakugo shouted, "What? Do you do this around your 'other friends', too?! Around all your other opponents?!"

He spat on the ground and glared at Sora.

"I don't even fucking know who they are. And they're clearly not here watching you fight me right now, huh?" Katsuki snarled, "So that only means that all of them are fucking dead, aren't they? No thanks to those stupid black bugs? Is that why they're not here?"

Sora's eyes widened, as flashes of memory began to cloud his vision. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to cloud his ears.

"Well guess what, Spiky bastard? Those worthless pieces of shits fucking deserved to die if they have your stupid mindset!"

And just like that, the whole world stopped.

"...What… did you say?"

At those words, Bakugo noticed the air suddenly grow colder around him as Sora suddenly glared daggers at him. "I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly."

"You wanna hear it again? Fine!" Katsuki took that challenge, "Your friends are worthless pieces of shit!"

Sora's eye twitched as he growled and gripped his blade even tighter.

"That's right! You said they made you who you are?" Bakugo growled, "That's just fucking swell, then! I bet they were just like you. Fucking cowards! Every last one of them!"

"You have no idea…" Sora said, voice trembling, "How absolutely wrong you are, Katsuki. Everything you've said about my friends… you're wrong in more ways than you know…!"

"Oh yeah? Where's your proof? Any evidence that proves me wrong?!"

Sora looked at him with a new fire in his eyes, not saying a thing.

"You don't! You don't have jack shit to prove it!" Bakugo yelled, "So right now, they're freakin' nobodies. That's just a big fucking excuse… all of them are frauds. You hear me!? Fucking. Fake-ass. FRAUDS!"

As Bakugo said that, Sora's mind flew elsewhere.

His best friend, standing tall with his other self, holding back the enemy in a final stand while all he could do was watch.

His childhood friend and crush, knocking him away to take his place as a giant Heartless maelstrom slowly consumes her.

His close companions, sacrificing their lives on two different occasions for the sake of him and the others.

A mentor that could've been, rushing towards him and his best friend with murder in her eyes. Feelings of fear, despair, and loss of hope flow through him as he sees her slowly lose the will to fight against a storm that reminded her of a hellscape she had been trapped in.

His other self, forced to strike down a friend, become trapped in a digital prison with altered memories, and find out that life was a lie as he screams in agony and rage.

His replica, forced to fight against friends she doesn't want to fight, as tears threaten to fall from her eyes as she prepares to run one of them through.

His enemy-turned ally, sacrificing his life to save him, and by extension, his other self, sharing one last word before fading away.

A mentor to his best friend, struggling to fight off the man who made his life a living nightmare, only to fail and scream for his comrades to strike him down.

The one he would call brother, thrashed about by dark chains, before tearfully telling his friend that he kept his promise.

Himself, looking out towards an enemy that took everything away from him, before dropping his Keyblade and screaming in agony and terrible grief.

"No matter how much you try to run from it, you can't deny that their blood was on your hands that day."

"I believe in you, Sora. You haven't given up yet."

"I'm sorry... I broke our promise..."

"Zettaflaaarreee!"

"LOOK OUT!"

"Now, you can share the terror I felt."

"You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is... over."

"This is how… it's supposed to be…"

"See you again… in another life…"

"Put me down… before he kills you…!"

"Terra… I kept my promise…!"

"Alone… I'm worthless."

All of his friends… all of his comrades… the very people who risked everything alongside him to ensure that their worlds and their lives were protected. All of them who had fought tooth and nail to reach their happy ending after years of torment from the darkness.

And here Katsuki was, insulting their deeds and their worth just like after what happened at U.S.J..

No. It wasn't just insulting this time.

He was stomping on his memories of them, spitting on them, and walking over them without a care.

Like his friends were nothing but garbage on the floor.

In that one, fateful instant, something inside him snapped.

To Bakugo's shock, Sora began to glow a menacing red aura. The arena began to shake as the aura grew and grew more potent, affecting the others in the bleachers. He could have sworn the toy sword he was wielding was vibrating in response to the now angry extra he faced.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Kirishima asked as he suddenly felt this... pressure... in the air.

"That's not Kacchan's doing!" Izuku said, feeling it too, "But…!"

"Is it Sora-kun? But how?" Ochaco wondered as Mineta suddenly fell off his seat from the vibrations.

"No… something's not right…" Momo said, concerned, "Look at his face."

Sure enough, Sora's face is visible on the screen for all to see. And no smile was etched upon it. At all. He looks so… angry. Was the collective thought of all Class 1-A.

Cloud, however, notices what is really happening, and stands up from his seat in shock.

"Oh no…" he muttered.

From the booth, Aizawa's eyes widened from behind his bandages. He had known that Sora had a habit of holding back, which he did NOT get from his "mentor." He hadn't seen the kid go all out at U.S.J., due to being unconscious. But this time, he could possibly get a glimpse of what he missed.

"You… you jerk." Sora growled as he looked up to his opponent, his free hand shaking as it clenched into a fist, fingernails digging into the skin of his palm, "You have the nerve to actually say that… about my friends? You haven't even met them, and this is how you see them through my actions? What do you know?!"

"Oh, I know enough, you fucking coward. Wanna prove me wrong?" Bakugo snarled, lowering his stance, "Then come at me with everything you've got. Show everyone you'll do everything it takes to destroy me, and then maybe I'll be convinced!"

"Is that what you really want?" Sora said, the red aura no longer flaring out, but his gaze remained fierce as his sky blue eyes produced a red glint and his body surrounded by a red hue. He lowered himself and gripped his Kingdom Key so hard it left marks on his hands, before he quickly propelled himself forward at massive speeds, "FINE!"

Meanwhile, in a bar far away, Shigaraki looks on in interest.

"Oh… has the prodigy actually got a dark side?"

"Everyone does… but this… It's more than that." the figure with him said, glee dripping from its voice, "The mask… has finally broken. All that bottled-up negativity… has transformed into rage. It can no longer… be contained. It must be… directed towards something eventually."

It laughs, a very disturbing noise due its distorted voice as it raises its hands to the air.

"Now… let the despair… begin!"

(Play: KH DDD OST - The Dread of Night)

Uh oh...

The sleeping beast has awakened. Careful what you wish for, Katsuki. You won't like what happens next.

With Chapter 27, We got a new battle, with Shoto forcing Tokoyami to yield with his fire. He still has a long way to go before he can overcome the trauma, but it's another big step thanks to the efforts of Izuku and Sora. As for Sora and Bakugo... you can probably guess what's about to go down. The only question is... can Sora snap out of it fast enough to stop the unthinkable?

Before you all go off and say, "Sora can't have PTSD! He's immune to darkness!", remember... he fought in the Second Keyblade War, and saw everyone die in front of him before he can do anything. TWICE if you count Re:Mind. If he was truly immune to darkness, he would've kept fighting on despite that. But no. He gave into the despair and lost hope, as much as we hate to admit it. Anyone would if their friends died and you felt like you could've done something. A scene like that, even if averted, isn't going away from Sora's mind anytime soon.

Speaking of... it seems like there's also some slight change in how everyone dies in the Graveyard the first time. I wonder if you can figure out what...

Sora's also not immune to fits of anger like what's happening right now. Look at his reaction to Davy Jones killing Will in KH3. He was so mad that he uses his fists on Jones instead of the Keyblade. Sure, Katsuki's not killing someone, but insulting his friends is still real low. Especially since he hasn't seen said friends in MONTHS.

Another thing to say is that Katsuki's saying what he said without even knowing how much Sora's friends mean to him. It's the same case as with Sora thinking Izuku could bring Katsuki out of the darkness in Chapter 10. We know something, but the characters in the story do not. And holding back on his opponent because he's afraid of hurting them? With the mindset he has now, Katsuki's bound to see that as an act of cowardice. In his mind, if you hold back, you're just asking to lose. He has yet to discover that sometimes, there is strength in mercy.

But right now? He's gonna have to deal with a very, VERY mad Keyblade wielder.

And before you guys make assumptions, I'm NOT making Sora get mad because of people's suggestions.

Now to reviews.

Shadow Tiger24: We'll have to see. We have yet to cross into this threshold.

ZeroOrHero: Well, we do get a hint of it here in the previous chapter: Sora confirms that Strelitzia's overall magical abilities surpass his own, while she can just barely match his swordsmanship as evidenced during their fight. And you've already seen what's happened in these matches. Anything can happen now. But we can agree "Summon" would've dominated Dark Shadow if they had faced each other down.

blueassassin996: Indeed. Endeavor criticizing Cloud, only for it to backfire in his face as Cloud turns the tables on him, was fun to write.

Gamelover41592: Thank you. Indeed it does.

KingNice92: We got Phase 1. Onto Phase 2... and Katsuki is not the boss.

LanceSennin: Smart in academics. Skilled with his Quirk. Poor in social skills. Shoto Todoroki, everybody.

Gry26: Perhaps you might. We do have a very furious Sora as his opponent.

The OC Maniac: We got one semifinal down, OC. Now we stand in wait for the other.

PUBLISH: Well, Cloud is trying to play the part of a mentor, considering he actually isn't one. But it seems like he's growing into the role. I don't hold it against you for seeing Sora ending it as quickly as possible, but even though Katsuki does harbor darkness, he still wants to give him a chance to show off what he can do. But right now? Looks like that plan's out the window.

Depending on whether or not he's blinded by anger, I'd agree that Katsuki would assume something is up.

BloodedgetheReaper2113: We're getting close... perhaps you will see something.

Jaded671: Glad to see you enjoyed the Cloud and Tifa love child theory. And I'm sure it did help both of them. Depending on the things that happen in the future, Cloud could or could not be there to shove that down Endeavor's throat when the time comes. And well... Sora's real mad right now. You can probably guess what's to come.

keybladelight: Indeed. As for rage mode Sora, you're gonna have to wait for one more chapter. Who knows... he might even perform the unthinkable... =)

Guest: No he does not. Now all we've gotta do is wait for the inevitable. Stay safe out there!

Guest: Oh, no. I know what I'm doing.

What do you think about this chapter? I'm glad if you enjoyed it, but if not, I'm sorry for not meeting expectations.

Alright. Pencil's down. I'm out.

Thanks for reading my story, and till our paths cross again!

(Silence)