Welcome to the first episode of…
Fridays with the Waifus!
Say hello to our special guest for the evening… Ryoko!
'Hello everyone!'
…
'Um… Who are we talking to?'
Don't worry about it, Ryoko! Today is just to introduce this segment! Next time, we'll be answering questions from the audience!
'...What audience? We're in an empty auditorium.'
In future episodes, we may be moving to the after-chapter area, depending on how long the segment becomes. For now though, we await your questions! Feel free to ask the characters, anyone from the cast, whatever you want! Maybe you want to know what they think of each other, or what their usual routine is, or something less polite even!
'Hey! Don't ignore me!'
Of course, the individuals you write to may choose not to answer, but it's worth a shot!
'I'm warning you…'
Now, while I still have all my limbs, I think we should end today's episode of…
'That's it! I'll make you pay attention!'
Fridays with the—
OW! RYOKO! STOP IT! PLEASE! I WAS JUST BEING A GOOD HOST, THERE'S NO NEED TO ASSAULT—
…
...Ow… I think... it's time for us to begin.
O-on with the s-show!
...Ow.
'Ahh… It is good to be back out here.'
Izuku blinked, then noticed the red bangs trailing around the edges of her vision.
Oh no…
'What? Didn't you miss me, Izuku?' Rias replied, her teasing grin evident just from her tone.
This was bad.
When she'd activated the watch, the formerly green-haired-boy had just pressed the switch immediately, not even bothering to glance at the selections. Now she was paying for that decision. Literally any of her other options would've been preferable to… this.
'Aw… I'm starting to think you don't like me,' Rias pouted. 'You're going to make me cry here, Izuku!'
The girl paused for a moment.
'Hmm… Maybe that's the kind of thing you're into? I didn't take you for the type—'
P-please stop talking!
Already, Izuku's cheeks were heating up. Now was not the time for this!
"...Are you… Trying to seduce me?" The twin-toned boy in front of her asked, visibly baffled.
"W-w-what?!" Izuku stuttered, stumbling backward in horror.
It was disturbingly understandable why he'd think so. In an effort to maintain her anonymity, Izuku hadn't allowed the clothes-swap function of the watch to activate, choosing to keep her normal clothing… and... Stretchy-shirt aside, Izuku's clothes were not meant for someone of Rias' proportions… Besides that, the redhead's appearance had a natural way of—
"If so, you're doing a poor job of it," the bi-colored teen continued. "My father's sent better-looking women to test me before, and they were much better at this."
'Better looking?!' Rias groweld. 'Nobody is better looking than me!'
A pause.
'Except for Gabriel… Maybe…'
"Seriously, you're just… trying too hard," the teen said matter-of-factly. "I'm assuming this is all made by your quirk, and you're just really overdoing it. You look like a pervert's childish approximation of a woman."
'I'LL KILL HIM!' Rias exclaimed. 'LET ME AT HIM!'
Wincing at the headache Rias' volume was causing, Izuku finally managed to break out of the embarrassment feedback-loop she'd been trapped in.
She needed a plan.
How can I save him?
The tension of the moment may have disappeared, but it didn't change what she'd seen. This boy needed someone to help him. The only issue was… How exactly could she do that?
There wasn't a villain to stop, a disaster to escape, or anything external to save him from… So what could she do?
"I'm not here for… t-that," Izuku declared, stumbling a bit when addressing the boy's assumption. "I'm here to help you."
The heterochromatic boy blinked at that, his features shifting into something softer, more vulnerable, and most importantly… gently tinged with hope.
Almost instantly, the look was gone, replaced by the cold rage that came too naturally to his face. It was subdued, when compared to earlier, but still just as sad to see.
"Of course," he agreed icily. "Bringing me back to him would seem like it's helping me, wouldn't it?"
"I don't know who you think I'm working for, but I'm not," Izuku denied.
"So today's drill is both a 'distraction' exercise and a test of my patience?" the boy confirmed. "I see."
The boy took a menacing step forward, frost already beginning to waft from his form. There was no wince of pain this time, nor was he quite so covered by ice on his one side. Had such a brief pause in using his powers been enough to mitigate their side-effects?!
Rias… now would be a really good time for ideas.
Unfortunately, Izuku had none herself. She had no idea what Rias could do, aside from the destructive energy she'd only used once with the spirit's assistance, and Izuku's basic abilities weren't helpful enough to override her opponent's massive advantage as an element user. Avoiding the redhead had really come back to bite her...
'Well, if it were me… I would have already managed to wrap him around my finger,' Rias declared.
Not helpful right now!
Or ever, if Izuku had anything to say about it.
"Are you going to do something…?" the enemy asked. "I would at least like some kind of practice to result from this."
Please, Rias!
'Hmm...' Rias drawled. 'You've got to promise to let me out more, though! I can only read manga alone for so long without going crazy! If you don't, I'm going to start forcing my way out every—'
Fine, I'll let you out more! Just help me!
'Sure thing, Izuku,' Rias agreed, smug victory lacing her tone. 'Get to the top floor and look for a window. We can't fight him this close.'
Fight him? I'm trying to save him!
'Aren't you cute!' Rias joked. 'Trying to 'save' the boy who's attacking you.'
"Very well, I'll make this quick," the bi-colored teen declared, patience finally gone.
Ice surged forward, smaller and with less of the overwhelming quantity from before, but no less deadly. Either there was something preventing him from using more force within the building, or he was getting tired in spite of the diminished quirk side-effects.
With reaction speeds born from her deadly encounters, Izuku whipped her backpack from her shoulders, flinging it directly at the boy's face to obscure his vision. The ice that was already nearly upon her halted, interrupted by the rise of a crystalline wall just in front of her opponent.
He can only focus on one formation at a time!
With that assumption complete, Izuku bolted from the room, heading up the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her. The sound of ice shattering echoed from below, urging her to push even further. There were three stories to the building, starting from the ground floor. With the partially demolished state of it, the top floor was exposed to the outside. It looked like a wrecking ball had taken out an entire corner of the room, but left the remainder intact for no reason.
The opening would give her plenty of room for… whatever Rias was planning.
Sharp clambering of hurried footsteps rang out behind her—the boy was giving chase—but she was already climbing the second set of stairs and closing in on the top floor. Izuku burst out onto the open room, skidding to a quick stop thanks to her abused red sneakers.
What's the plan?
Before Rias could reply, her pursuer caught up. He was breathing heavily, no doubt from the multiple flights of stairs combined with his preceding activities.
"You don't… hah... have anywhere… hah... to run…" he panted. "Now… hah… show me… hah… why my father sent you…!"
...Rias…?
The girl giggled in Izuku's mind, though it sounded a bit muffled—as if she was covering her mouth like a princess.
'Jump!' she ordered.
Izuku glanced behind herself, inching backward nervously toward the open ledge of the building.
Y-you want me to do what?!
'Jump!' the girl repeated cheerily. 'You won't die…'
The ice-wielding boy began to emit more frost as his quirk activated.
'...Probably.'
Swallowing her fear, Izuku turned away from her opponent.
"What are you—?!"
Taking a running start, the temporary red-head jumped.
For a brief moment, Izuku was weightless. She could see what felt like everything from here, several stories up, and it was a wonderful sight…
Then gravity caught up to her, and she began to fall.
Crap, crap, crap! Why did I listen to you?!
Already, she'd dropped almost a third of the distance and it only felt like she was going faster as she continued downward. Despite how the world of quirks may make it seem, the laws of physics were an ever present cruel reality.
'Channel your energy! Now!' Rias shouted.
Without questioning the order at all, Izuku forced energy into the pathways of her current body, relying on the lesson she'd learned from her fight with Bakugo and trusting it to flow properly without her conscious control.
Instantly she felt the familiar build up, almost identical to the one from the doctor's office, but it didn't culminate into a flower of destruction. Instead, it centered around the area of her back just beneath her scapula and the end of her tailbone. Wisps of red energy, completely devoid of the hungry aura the destructive construct had, began to seep subtly from her form.
All of this happened so quickly that she had only passed the second floor by the time the energy began to leak out. She continued falling, barely a few meters from the ground, when it happened.
Something burst from her back and tailbone, the sensation pleasurable in the same way as scratching an itch after hours of letting it be, and suddenly Izuku had control.
Pulling up from her dive, her hair brushing against the concrete, Izuku redirected her momentum to slingshot herself upward. Somehow, she was moving even faster now.
The temporary girl allowed her motion to stop when she was a dozen or so meters above the building, looking down on the bi-colored boy below her. He was staring up in a mix of surprise and frustration.
Woah…
Izuku was flying.
Turning awkwardly to try and look at her back, Izuku managed to see a pair of wings extending broadly from her back. They were matte black, pointed and batlike in their shape, but lacking the webbing necessary to catch the air. There was no possible way they could hold her aloft, yet… they did.
Even more amazing, Izuku could feel them. Like extra limbs, she could tweak and move them at will. Was this what it was like to have a mutant quirk?
This wondrous discovery was brought to an unfortunate halt when—
"Eep!" Izuku squeaked.
Something was pressing against the underside of her bust!
A moment later, a spaded point—like the end of a cartoon devil's tail, flipped around the side and… tilted back and forth like it was waving? What?
'This is great!' Rias exclaimed.
Horrified, Izuku realized that it wasn't just the sensation of something pressing against her chest that she could feel… but the weight of her flesh resisting. She had a tail, and Rias of all people could control it when Izuku wasn't paying attention!
'Oh, the fun we'll have!' the girl giggled in her usual muffled manner. It was particularly perverse sounding this time, however.
Red-faced, Izuku grabbed her tail and forcefully wrapped it around her thin waist like a belt, catching the arrow-like head on her pants to lock it in place.
'Ahn!' Rias moaned convincingly. 'You're so assertive, Izuku!'
Blood shot out of the poor temporary-girl's nose, her hand shooting up to stem the flow.
W-would you stop that?! PLEASE?!
'But Izuku…' the girl said huskily. 'You make it so… easy…'
Tilting her head back, Izuku shut her eyes tightly and pinched her nose shut. Shaking her head to free herself of Rias' influence, she fought to regain her composure.
After another few seconds, the temporary-girl managed to force away the embarrassment. Just at the right moment as well, since she barely had enough time to dodge the sudden assault of her opponent.
The boy had created an arcing pillar beneath his feet, launching himself upward with the growing ice structure trailing after his limbs. He struck out at her midair, determined to land a solid hit, but Izuku narrowly managed to flutter to the side—her hair catching the impact of the boy's fist for her.
The twin-toned teen's momentum carried him down from there, the ice that was following behind him speeding up and catching him on a rapidly formed slide. The structure connected with the ground, continuing for a few meters before twisting to the side and angling back upward to—
"Stop! We don't need to fight!" Izuku shouted as the boy repeated his ice-powered leap.
'What're you doing?' Rias asked.
I'm trying to stop him!
'That's not going to work, Izuku,' the girl denied. 'You need to fight back—'
Izuku darted away midair with a single beat of her sharp looking wings. The motion moved her out of her opponent's path, and he swiftly repeated his slide forming strategy to catch himself and continue launching upward.
I'm not going to fight him! I'm trying to save him, not beat him up!
The twin-toned teen launched up at Izuku again with the same amount of success.
'Save him from what?!' Rias demanded.
I…
Again, her opponent flung himself at her.
'Exactly! You don't even know what to save him from!' Rias stated.
But—
Another attempt.
'I get it, Izuku, really… I do,' Rias began sympathetically. 'I've experienced similar problems when I started making my peerage… But you can't do anything to help him right now. He's too focused on winning to hear anything you say. I mean, look at him!'
Yet another missed attack from the enemy teen.
'He's so tired that all he can do is throw himself at you! The poor thing's lost all sense of tactics!' Rias declared.
...Then how can I help him?
Almost… there… Just need a little… more… ice…
'You need to use the Power of Destruction and beat him so badly that he's forced to listen to you!' Rias declared.
I… I can't beat him. Not with that! I can't control it! It'll kill him!
The attacks continued incessantly, more and more arcs of ice appearing as her opponent kept up his assault.
'Listen, Izuku,' the girl ordered. 'The only way you can help someone is if you can make them hear what you have to say… And people will only listen to power, lust, or… bonds. You won't fight him, you won't seduce him… and he's not your friend.'
…That can't be all I—
'The way I helped my peerage varied from member to member… For some, I needed to prove I had the power to beat them or to keep the world safe from them. For others, I had to seduce them into listening to me. Some just needed the offer of friendship… But in the end, they all became closely bound to me, like a second family. You can't skip ahead, Izuku… so make your choice.'
I…
...Done!
Before Izuku could finish her thought, the bi-colored boy began another leap. It wasn't any different than the others, so Izuku had nothing to worry about so long as she dodged away again—
A thin pillar of ice suddenly extended from the numerous arches surrounding her, catching her in the gut and knocking the wind out of her. All of her momentum died in that moment, her limbs and hair continuing on until they too reached the limits of their extension.
Her opponent's jump carried him directly toward her current position, an icy snarl etched into his features as his fist reared back and—
"Gah!" Izuku grunted as the boy's hand smashed into the side of her head.
Breathless, shaken, and dazed, the temporary-redhead didn't react at all to the ice-pillar she was caught upon shattering under the transferred impact of the twin-toned teen's attack—foiling his attempt to latch onto her.
She continued to fall, unable to think straight enough to use her wings appropriately. As she rapidly approached the ground for the second time that day, the girl's eyes began to drift closed—
'—zuku! IZUKU!'
Izuku's head snapped up, her wings spreading just in time to avoid a potentially lethal collision with one of her opponent's ice slides. Almost as if due to her proximity, numerous thin pillars lanced out of the structure, reaching for her directly.
In a panic, the girl dodged backward midair, flying toward the center of the lot as she weaved between the numerous glacial formations—
A massive net of interlocking pillars formed rapidly in front of her, connecting two slides together as a result and cutting off access to the entire area between them.
Twisting to the side, Izuku switched routes, diving underneath another of the—
An identical net formed there as well, forcing her to make a u-turn to try and get out from underneath the multitude of arches. Almost instantly, another net formed in her path, leading her to another route… and then the same thing happened again.
And again.
And again.
No, no, no! He did have a plan!
The space Izuku had to maneuver was rapidly shrinking, with each possible escape route getting closed off the moment she tried to use it. Like a bird in an aviary, she could only go so far from the center before a net prevented her from leaving.
"Ow!" Izuku exclaimed.
A tiny orb of ice had launched suddenly from one of the many structures around her, hitting her directly in the hip.
'You need to use it, Izuku!' Rias stated.
No! It's too risky!
More and more orbs began to appear, pelting the girl like a hailstorm. There was nowhere to run anymore, so she did the next best thing… She began to dodge. It was only so helpful, the sheer amount of projectiles being far too many for her to avoid completely, but it at least mitigated the damage they caused.
'You can't keep this up!' Rias cried, worry suffusing her voice.
I have to!
Suddenly, the almost atrium-like space she had to work in began to shrink as the walls started to close in on her. Even still, the hailstorm continued. No, it was getting worse. On top of that, the flakes left behind by the unending supply of projectiles were gradually lowering the temperature.
Already, Izuku was beginning to see her breath with every ragged exhale.
Pockets of ice kept smashing into Izuku, leaving bruises and minor cuts with each impact. Her arms were growing numb from the mix of the dropping temperature and pain. She purposefully had begun to cradle her head in spite of the way it made her arms an even greater target, but that only worsened their injuries in exchange for avoiding unconsciousness through head-trauma.
'Please, Izuku!' Rias begged.
H-Heroes d-don't q-quit!
The rest of her body was no better, with clumps of ice crashing into her torso and legs—taking bits of her clothing with it in a way that would normally have left her red-faced from the embarrassment of her exposed skin. As it was, however, Izuku's circulatory system was too centered on keeping her moving and alive for that to be a concern. Her tail and wings had, miraculously, escaped any damage… but there was no way that would last.
'Why won't you do it?!' Rias demanded, panic lacing her tone. 'Even if you mess up, your life is worth more than his! He started it, anyway!'
O-only v-villains… k-kill people…
Teeth already chattering, Izuku nearly bit her tongue when a packed ball of ice impacted the space directly between where her wings sprouted from. The pain was well beyond any single hit she'd endured thus far. Combined with her pre-existing injuries...
Her body went utterly limp, finally overwhelmed by pain, and she began to plummet toward the ground for the third time…
'Izuku!' Rias cried.
There was no response, only the sound of ice crashing into itself and the air rushing past as the temporary-redhead fell.
'IF YOU LOSE, THEN YOU CAN'T SAVE ANYONE!' Rias shouted desperately.
Izuku's eyes shot open, her resolute smile returning to her face subconsciously as she strained to move her body. Unfortunately, nothing worked enough to matter, no matter how hard she tried. Below her, the icy floor was rapidly approaching, the imagined sound of a wet crunch ringing in her ears in anticipation.
There was no other choice… Izuku had to use it.
Not just if she wanted to survive this fall… but if she wanted to save the boy who'd started this fight in the first place. Rias was right. If Izuku lost… if she died… then she couldn't save anyone.
Wisps of crimson energy began to waft from her form like steam, a familiar hunger making itself known as the recognizable rosebud formed in front of her eyes. The harmless looking thing wanted nothing more than to destroy everything...
So she let it loose, forgoing all of her control over the feral thing in a desperate attempt to survive and save the boy-that-needed-saving.
Instantly, thornlike protrusions shot away from it, lancing into every ball of ice around her and shattering them violently. Some exploded, some dissolved, and some simply faded into nothing. The energy released by their destruction, however, was a potent force of its own—unleashing a multitude of shockwaves that were already slowing her fall.
All around the girl, crimson thorns swarmed the blue ice, overtaking and eradicating the ice with an endless hunger for destruction. The many glacial structures were rapidly disappearing, already over halfway gone with no end in sight.
Izuku landed gently on the ground, feeling utterly drained by the incredible use of energy.
She managed to keep her feet as the remainder of the impromptu fortress was destroyed, but only barely.
It felt like hours, but thirty seconds later, her opponent's icy creation was gone.
The flower disappeared instantly, the energy used to form it utterly depleted, taking with it the unbearable sensation of hunger. It was a gnawing, monstrous feeling, one that Izuku would be glad to never experience again.
"...Impressive…" a familiar voice mumbled.
Turning her head slowly, the temporary-girl took stock of her opponent. He looked almost as bad as she probably did. Frost coated his entire right side while his hair was matted to his head with a thick layer of dust and sweat. The ice-laden half of his face was utterly expressionless while the other half was twitching sporadically, his uncoated fist clenching and unclenching as he struggled to stand upright.
Clearly, Izuku's opponent had pushed himself just as far as she had.
"What…" he trailed off, taking a staggered step towards her. "Is… your…"
Several more rapid and shaky steps followed just so he could stay standing, bringing him within a bare meter of Izuku.
"...Name?"
In that brief moment, Izuku noticed something incredible.
The boy's eyes… they weren't cold.
"I-I-Izuku…" she said, teeth still chattering from the still frosty temperature.
He may not be smiling…
"Nice… to meet… you…" the boy said, staggering forward. "You… really… meant it… huh…? You weren't… one of his..."
He may not have been saved…
The boy toppled into Izuku, taking the temporary-girl with him to the ground as they both lost what little fight was still in them. Izuku's cheeks tried to redden in spite of the cold, since the twin-toned teen's head was facedown in her cleavage, but she couldn't even muster the energy for that.
Yet, for that moment…?
"'M Shoto…" the boy mumbled into Izuku's chest, his eyes fluttering closed.
For just that moment…
Shoto didn't need saving anymore.
Bakugo was not used to waiting.
After All Might had ordered him to go confess, like he was some schoolgirl, the man had ignored his calls and not visited the beach. It took a few weeks for the man to finally respond to one of his texts. Apparently something had come up, hero business he couldn't share, and that had been the cause of his radio silence.
Whatever the reason, all that mattered was that the man was back and ready to continue their training… as soon as Bakugo gave him a 'report' on his love life. Seriously, why did All Might care so much? It was stupid garbage that resulted from teenage hormones, nothing more.
"...And then she ran away," Bakugo explained.
"Hmm…" All Might nodded, hand on his chin in contemplation.
He nodded a few times in apparent thought, then stopped.
"And you have not heard from her since then?"
Bakugo shook his head.
"Still got this, though," he said, grabbing the cloth bag next to his backpack and displaying the bokken inside. "If she wants it back, she'll have to call me."
The man paused for a moment, staring contemplatively off into space.
"Well, I believe I know what you're up against," All Might stated, finally.
"You're makin' it sound like I'm facing off with a villain or something," Bakugo interjected sarcastically. "She's just a chick."
All Might let out a deep laugh at that, shaking a bit with the motion. Wiping a tear of amusement from his eye, he continued.
"Oh, Young Bakugo, what you're facing is far worse than any old villain…"
The blonde stared back disbelievingly.
"The type of woman you describe is easily flustered when confronted with the truth of her own feelings, often—but not always—lashing out violently when you approach her, correct?" All Might said leadingly.
"I… guess…?" Bakugo agreed tentatively.
The older man nodded sagely before continuing.
"Unfortunately, being straightforward is the only method of attack. You must wear down her walls until she finally accepts the fact that the attraction was mutual from the start!" All Might declared. "You must be passionate in your pursuit, else defeat is all but assured!"
"...What the fuck are you on about?" Bakugo demanded.
"What you are dealing with, my boy…" All Might exclaimed, ignoring the blonde entirely as he shifted into his muscle form to add to his point.
"Is a Tsundere…"
…
Kicking a can out of his way, Bakugo made his way down the street.
He got a few dirty looks for not picking it up, but the deep glare he returned at anyone who disapproved of his action was more than enough to cow them. It was cathartic, in a way, serving as a useful reminder that the blonde was different. Unlike most people, he actually had a spine.
But… That didn't really help him with his current situation, did it?
Baiken still hadn't contacted him, despite a few weeks passing. He hadn't really thought things through with that interaction. Seriously, what did he expect from a woman like her? There was no way she'd call a stranger, he sure as hell wouldn't. Honestly, that right there was probably a major reason he'd developed this… abhorrent infatuation.
They were similar people, he could tell.
All of the girl's mannerisms, from the way she moved to the way she spoke, reminded Bakugo of… well himself. Terse and unwilling to deal with the bullshit of lesser people, used to getting what she wanted, and utterly confident even in the face of defeat. She hadn't hesitated at all despite Bakugo blasting her away in their duel…
Of course, none of this mattered anyway… since Baiken had yet to call—assuming she ever would.
Growling in annoyance, Bakugo maintained his brisk pace. He was making his way back from Dagobah Beach, having already taken the train, and was strolling through the streets of Musutafu. Given his mood, it was all but assured he'd end up in a fight with 'Queen Bitch' back home… or, rather, his mother.
So he was wandering around in search of some stress relief.
As he continued, something caught his attention.
"Ow!" Someone yelped.
Bakugo made to continue walking, but halted suddenly. The noise didn't sound like someone in distress, just someone being an idiot...
...but All Might would check anyway, wouldn't he?
Sighing, Bakugo twisted around and made his way towards the sound of the sound.
Urgh… What a waste of time.
Taking a turn in pursuit of the noise, he quickly found himself in a shitty little kids park. Complete with a tall slide, a rusty swing set, and bedded by gravel. It was the old kind, clumpy and likely to cause more injuries than it prevented, which was probably why the place looked like it hadn't been used in years. People weren't quite that stupid anymore.
More notably, however, was the presence of a black-haired teen with sharp looking teeth. The boy was climbing up the slide, his clothes covered in scrapes and dust. Upon reaching the top, he paused with his eyes closed, smacking his face a few times as he breathed in and out rapidly.
"You can do this," he muttered to himself in a clear attempt to psyche himself up.
He can't be about to—
The boy stood up straight and flung himself off the slide, clearly aiming for the swingset with his jump. The idiot was going to break something! Probably himself, given the force he applied to his leap.
Before he'd even realized it, Bakugo had powered up One For All, closing the relatively small distance in a flash and latching onto the other boy by the collar.
He landed roughly, his sneakers skidding on the gravel, and spun to a stop—letting go of his cargo in just the right way so he'd fall on his ass. He wouldn't get hurt, but the idiot would definitely be feeling it later as a reminder not to do this kind of stupid crap.
"The fuck were you thinking, spike-teeth?!" Bakugo shouted.
Woozy from the unexpected shift in momentum, the black-haired boy's head lolled around for a moment before he shook away the dizziness.
"What was I doing?!" he asked. "What were you doing?! Interrupting my training like that!"
Bakugo tilted his head to the side, a sneer plastered on his face.
"Hah?" he breathed. "The hell're you talking about?"
"I'm training to be a hero!" the boy exclaimed. "The manliest profession in the world!"
Bakugo stuck a pinky in his own ear, twisting it around before withdrawing it and turning to present the freshly cleared opening to the other teen.
"Sorry, I don't think I heard ya properly… You're training to be a hero… by jumping off of random crap and breakin' bones?!"
"No, I'm training to be a hero by toughening my quirk!"
Bakugo blinked a few times.
Taking this as a demand for evidence, which it sort of was, the black-haired teen held up an arm and continued to speak.
"My quirk is called 'Hardening!' the boy declared, clenching his hand into a fist as he grinned toothily.
The moment he did so, the flesh of his arm visibly changed it's texture, shifting to look like skin-colored rock. It wasn't present throughout the entire arm, and it only looked so strong, but it was there nevertheless.
"With it, I can get really hard!"
Did he just…?
The boy only continued to grin, clearly oblivious to what he'd just said. Pushing away that thought, Bakugo made a connection.
If his quirk makes him more durable… and he's going out of his way to get tougher…
"You wanna fight?" Bakugo asked with a feral grin, cracking his knuckles in front of him.
"Huh?!" the boy asked.
"Do..." Bakugo began, cracking a different joint with each word. "You… Want... To... Fight?!"
It would be a great way to work off the stress he'd been accumulating recently. He lived for this kind of thing. There was nothing like the adrenaline high that came from combat… and it was just what he needed to forget about his… love life… Ugh…
The other boy's grin returned forcefully once he finally understood what was happening.
"H-hell yeah! A street brawl's the best thing to get the blood pumping!" the boy declared, his smile twitching uncertainly.
The dark-haired teen fell into a combative stance. It wasn't anything special, without the quality born from experience that Bakugo had or the grace born from practice that martial artists tended to… but it would be enough for some dumb fun.
"Name's Bakugo Katsuki," the blonde declared.
"Kirishima Eijiro," the other boy responded tersely.
The duo both grinned, then they charged.
Kirishima wasn't having a good day.
It had started with those two cowards that were beating up a random kid at school. He'd tried to stop them, playing at being a hero like he did so often, but one of them had snatched a rock when he tackled the other, sneaking up on him and bashing his skull with it. His quirk had diminished the damage greatly, but it had still hurt… a lot.
While he was stunned, the duo had taken the time to laugh at him, disparaging his mediocre quirk. Before Kirishima had recovered, someone else had intervened. The girl, Ashido Mina, had stepped in and befriended the bullies, getting them to dance with the person they'd just been assaulting in a comical show of camaraderie.
It was, frankly, kind of depressing.
Ashido and Kirishima were the only people at their school he knew that were brave—more stupid in his case—enough to try and apply to U.A.'s hero course, but the girl was just… so much better at being a hero. She jumped into situations without a thought, completely unafraid of the consequences, and resolved them just as easily as she found them. A lot of the time, she didn't even need to resort to using her quirk, since her personality was good enough to win people over instead.
It was frustrating seeing someone else so far ahead of him that she didn't even know he was competition. Well, no one knew he was applying, so that wasn't really her fault to begin with… Where was he going with this again?
Right, competition.
Kirishima knew he wasn't suited towards hero work. There were people worse off than him, sure, but his quirk was pretty weak and… he wasn't all too brave. It was hard to even jump in to save the student earlier from two random bullies. He couldn't imagine going up against a villain.
So here he was, in an old playground throwing himself at random objects.
It… wasn't the best idea. Kirishima knew that. But… What else could he do? He needed to make his quirk stronger and, more importantly, he needed to be braver. Jumping at sturdy structures from up high in a way that defied all rationality and instinct would achieve both of those things.
"Ow!" he yelped.
That didn't mean it didn't suck, though.
Sitting up and rubbing his head, the dark-haired boy checked himself for any damage. His skin was, so far, unmarred, and nothing felt broken… but his clothes were a mess from doing this for the past half an hour. It was a good thing he had more uniforms, since this one was going to be totalled by the time he went home.
Gritting his teeth, he stood back up and returned to the slide.
He winced a few times from the climb—his quirk wasn't strong enough to fully absorb the shock quite yet, so he would definitely be feeling this later—and stopped at the top of the old ladder. Breathing in deeply, he smacked his cheeks a few times to psyche himself up.
"You can do this!"
Straightening, he jumped clear off the slide, aiming directly for the swings with his head as he tensed in preparation for activating his quirk.
I've got this… I've got this…
As he flew closer, he realized something.
I DON'T HAVE THIS—!
Something flew past him, latching onto the collar of Kirishima's shirt and dragging him along suddenly. The force was immense, especially when combined with the resistance of his own momentum. Nevertheless, he was pulled to the side and flung to the ground, scraping against the hard gravel and likely tearing into his uniform a bit.
"The fuck were you thinking, spike-teeth?!" an unfamiliar voice shouted angrily.
Wobbling on the ground and blinking away stars, it took a few moments for Kirishima to pay attention to his surroundings. Once he did, he instantly noticed the blonde teen across from him, the boy's rage so clearly evident that it threw the black-haired teen off for a second.
Oh crap, he's gonna kill me!
As soon as those thoughts escaped him, Kirishima was disgusted with himself. It was so unmanly of him to think that way! How could he face his idol, Crimson Riot, like this?!
Shooting to his feet, Kirishima shouted back at the other teen.
"What was I doing?!" he asked. "What were you doing?! Interrupting my training like that!"
There! That's how a man responds!
The stranger tilted his head to the side, a sneer etched into his features.
"Hah?" he grunted. "The hell're you talking about?"
"I'm training to be a hero!" Kirishima declared proudly. "The manliest profession in the world!"
The other boy responded by… cleaning out his ear?
"Sorry, I don't think I heard ya properly… You're training to be a hero… by jumping off of random crap and breakin' bones?!" the spiky-haired boy shouted.
What? Of course not! I'm not that stupid!
"No, I'm training to be a hero by toughening my quirk!"
Pausing briefly, Kirishima continued a moment later.
"My quirk is called 'Hardening!' the boy continued, clenching his hand into a fist as he grinned toothily.
He activated his quirk a moment later, the familiar feeling of his skin shifting into something more akin to rocky hide passing through the held up limb.
"With it, I can get really hard," he finished.
The other boy gave him a bit of a weird look for a moment—
What's that about?
—but continued a moment later.
"You wanna fight?"
Wait, what?!
"Huh?!" Kirishima said aloud.
"Do..." the blonde began, dramatically cracking a different knuckle with each word. "You... Want... To... Fight?!"
Oh crap! This is ba—
Kirshima forced his cowardly thoughts away the moment they cropped up. What was he so scared of? It was just one guy that was practically his height. What's the worst that could happen?
Swallowing his hesitation, the dark-haired teen forced himself to speak in a brash, no, a manly manner.
"H-hell yeah! A street brawl's the best thing to get the blood pumping!"
Both teen's fell into combat stances, prepared to start their scuffle… and with a brief exchange of names… It began.
Bakugo stood there, ready to move at a moment's notice.
Normally, he would have leaped in without a thought of hesitation, pure aggression fueling his every move. However, All Might had managed, after significant effort, to beat into his head the idea of 'proportional force.' Being an explosive ball of offense could easily lead to significant damage to his surroundings… or more importantly, casualties...
Especially given how naturally the blonde had taken to One For All.
In a duel like this, it would be as easy as accidentally activating his inherited quirk at his current five percent limit to seriously injure his opponent… or worse, depending on where he was aiming.
So, Bakugo had adjusted how he fought, if only slightly.
He would rarely make the first move now, waiting to see if his opponents could keep up with him, then he would burst into his normal level of aggression once he'd confirmed the opponent could handle it. It's what he'd done against that Bitch and it's what he would do here.
"AAAAAAAHH!" Kirishima shouted, like he was charging into a war, as he ran at Bakugo.
Tch. It's like that, huh?
Instantly, Bakugo latched onto the boy's obvious haymaker, spinning him around and smashing him against the concrete—using the tiniest amount of One For All to end the fight in one swift move. The boy's quirk saved him from taking too much damage, as the blonde had expected, but he would be too dazed to continue.
"Gah!" the dark-haired teen gasped, air sucked from his lungs by the impact.
What a waste of time…
Turning away from the extra, Bakugo spat on the ground beside him and began walking away, hands in his pockets, from the small crater he'd made. There wasn't any point in staying—
"AAAAAAH!"
Diving to the side, Bakugo spun midair and landed on his feet—the acrobatics he'd learned for the sake of his own quirk assisting him greatly.
Standing, arm outstretched, was the black-haired side-character. Sweat dripped from his hardened form as he let out shaky pants.
"Guess you've got a bit more in ya, spike-teeth!" Bakugo laughed.
The boy turned around and charged again, his form just as terrible as before, and unleashed a powerful—
Bakugo kicked the boy in the gut, hands still in his pockets, halting the extra's momentum entirely. The hardened coating on the dark-haired teen's stomach shattered instantly, taking with it any form of protection for the sensitive area.
Dropping to his knees, the idiot hacked up his lunch.
"There, now you know when to stay down—"
Shivering from the recent blow, the boy forced himself to his feet.
"The fuck are you doing?" Bakugo growled. "You've lost, dumbass."
"G-gotta keep trying!" the idiot mumbled. "Crimson Riot wouldn't be beaten by this!"
"Crimson Riot?" Bakugo asked. "You mean that two-bit that stopped being popular after All Might debuted?"
The other boy glared in response to that, charging forward for the third time.
Side-stepping the clumsy attack, Bakugo lashed out at the extra's ankles, claiming his balance and sending him to the floor again.
The blonde stood there for a moment, waiting to see if the idiot would try to get back up again. After a few seconds, he nodded to himself and began to walk away. The boy wouldn't be getting up anytime—
"S-stop…!" the side-character called.
"For fuck's sake," Bakugo grunted angrily, spinning around and stomping back over to the enemy.
The boy was still on the ground, but was struggling weakly to get back up again. The fucker just wouldn't stay down.
Stopping next to the dark-haired teen, Bakugo kicked him harshly onto his back so that the extra could stare at something besides the dirt. Crouching down near the idiot's head, he stared at the boy.
Despite the fact that there was clearly no way that he could get up… the idiot still had fight in his eyes.
"Spike-teeth…" Bakugo began. "What… the absolute… fuck... are you doing?"
"I-I wanna be a hero…" the boy began, color slowly returning to his face. "Heroes never stop trying!"
Bakugo smacked the boy in the forehead, hard.
"Dumbass! You're way too weak to be a hero!" he declared. "All your quirk does is make you a bit tougher, and you think you're cut out to be a hero? The hell's wrong with you?!"
The dark-haired teen stared in silence for a moment before replying.
"I… don't know… But I need to try anyway, right? It's the only thing I want to do with my life!" he declared.
Bakugo opened his mouth to lambast the boy again, but stopped halfway through forming the first word.
This… This idiot… He was just like Deku.
Sure, he may have a quirk at least, so he wasn't quite as hopeless, but they were the same nonetheless. Being here, right in front of another teen with delusions of adequacy… impossible aspirations… It reminded the blonde of something.
"All this time… you were just trying to save me from myself! You really are meant to be a hero, huh?"
...Midoriya's words were true, even if they sounded wrong in the context they came from. Sure, Bakugo had gotten a certain satisfaction of reminding the weakling of his place, but it really had been about keeping the kid who used to be a childhood friend from getting themself killed…
Right?
More importantly… Was it the right decision? The boy had grown a spine all of a sudden last semester, and stood up to him when Bakugo had demanded a duel with Baiken…
It was just tough love!
...But that feeling of worry, stupid as it may have been, when Midoriya hadn't shown up to school for a few days after Bakugo had… gone too far with his taunts. It stuck with him.
Fuck it. Thinking this hard about stupid crap is Deku's thing, not mine.
Standing up abruptly, Bakugo started to speak.
"Your quirk is weak as shit and you're utterly clueless on how to fight…" Bakugo trailed off.
"Hey!" the boy shouted indignantly, finally having recovered enough to sit up.
I can't believe I'm actually doing this… Ugh, All Might must be getting to me with that stupid 'be nice' crap.
"But… You've got plenty of drive," the blonde finished, ignoring Kirishima's discontent.
Turning around, Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away.
"If you want to take this seriously… Go to Dagobah beach. I'm there after school most days. If you're lucky, my teacher'll be there to give you some pointers… and if you prove you aren't a waste of time… we can try this again."
"What…?" the boy stumbled in confusion.
"You heard me!" Bakugo shouted. "Show up or don't! I don't care!"
"I… thanks…?"
The blonde just growled irritably and continued walking. On the bright side…
At least now he was angry about something besides romantic crap!
AN:
Tons to discuss today!
First of all, what did you all think of the fight with Shoto? I was, obviously, mostly focused on Izuku's perspective and how he needed to grow a little beyond his naive mindset. However, I tried to hint at a few things for Shoto here as well!
For instance, his usual brute-force tactics didn't work too well given that:
He was decently tired from his prior training.
Izuku was flying and Shoto's ice always grows off of solid objects, making an aerial target difficult to hit directly.
As such, he needed to adapt and plan more than he usually does! Additionally, being given a good fight by a peer, especially someone that got pushed way further than his usual opponents without backing out, was enough to make him reconsider if Izuku actually did want to help. Of course, unlike their canon fight at the Sports Festival, Izuku has absolutely no context on what Shoto needs saving from, and therefore didn't manage to get Shoto to grow to the same extent.
Still, it made a difference, and will lead to further character development.
Now, for Bakugo's half of the chapter…
Kirishima, huh? I won't lie, I wasn't planning to introduce him this early until I started writing this chapter! Then, when I realized I needed more content after the fight with Shoto, I had the idea of giving Bakugo a few friends/acquaintances pre-U.A. in a similar manner to Izuku knowing Uraraka, and now Shoto, earlier than canon.
From there, I just kept having ideas as to how this could serve as a way to build up Bakugo's character, showing that he is growing and becoming a better person under All Might's guidance, along with his own decisions as well. Though, at the same time, he still has a ways to go if he really wants to become a 'Symbol of Peace,' to replace All Might…
Speaking of which, a reviewer brought up an excellent point that I want to address here: the idea that, because Bakugo has One For All, he is the Main Character and the one fated to fight Shigaraki in the final battle. So, the thing is, this is something that's hard to explain without spoiling the themes and planning of the story, so I can't really go into any kind of detail here.
Suffice it to say, even if it isn't very satisfying, I have a way to make Izuku an equal to Bakugo and Shigaraki late-game, both in power-scaling and importance. This is something I've considered a lot, and will only continue to refine my plans for as the story progresses.
If you want to guess at what my plans are, here's a hint:
'How do the philosophies inherent to OFA and AFO relate to each other and Izuku?'
It doesn't help much, I don't think, because that kind of question can be taken a lot of different ways, but it's the best I'm offering for now. Good luck theorizing, those of you that are interested enough to spend the time, anyway! I'm happy to discuss your ideas in private messages, if you wish.
Lastly for this section, what did you think of 'Fridays with the Waifus?' I like doing this kind of stuff to interact with you all, so I'd like to keep it running, but that depends entirely on you all being interested enough to participate and offer fun questions!
I know I explained it above, but to do it OOC and be more clear:
I'm accepting any questions that are directed at the characters. Meaning that something like 'are you planning to do X in the USJ arc?' isn't a good question, but 'What's your favorite food, Rias?' is perfectly reasonable.
Also, keep in mind, I plan to write this such that the characters are responding as if they're reading a letter or a social media post, looking at it directly as written and responding naturally to the content therein. As such, the question may not actually get answered, but the character in question will read it and will 'react' to it.
Hopefully you all enjoy this and want to participate!
AN 2 (The Final Countdown!):
To begin with, I'll say that Lady is officially on the roster now. Unlike Tifa, who made it to the 'maybe' stage, she's on the final list. Through discussions with a few reviewers and my own pondering, I've found ways to solve the few issues I did have with her inclusion, which led to even more ideas for the other pre-existing waifus as well!
On the topic of other waifus, it's with a bittersweet sentiment that I'm saying this…
The waifu roster is complete.
In total, there are 13 characters on the list—more than I originally planned, but I'm happy with this amount—and I've decided exactly who is on that list. If you still want to suggest names, feel free, but they will be mainly used for Omakes as of now. Thank you for all the suggestions over these past 10 chapters, and I hope you enjoy the other characters on the list as they appear, even if your personal choices/favorites didn't make it in!
Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all next week!