phoenix: It was really fun to write this part.
HOLAA913: And the time has come!
kailaxavier33: And it is here! No more need to wait.
The fight is kind of short since I'm not very good at writing long ones. But I hope it's enjoyable! Enjoy~
Ace ran back inside and found Luffy dropping from the stands. "We did it! We're the last winners!" Ace hugged him and they laughed. "We beat him for good!" Luffy said about Bakugo. "Man, you did not go easy. If I'd never fought you before, I'd be scared," he joked.
Ace grinned and nodded. "So, no quirks?"
"No quirks. Just our fighting skills. They've seen our quirks and your fire can't harm me. We'll give them a show even if it isn't flashy like Bakugo or Todoroki. I wonder how they'll feel about us pummeling each other. I'm not afraid of some lost blood but let's try not to break each other's bones," Luffy said.
"Deal!" Ace agreed, and they gave a high five. One they were called, the two left the hall together, arm in arm while the other ones waved. They were both grinning. Luffy ran up to the opposite side of the stage from his brother.
"It's finally here! The fight between the two strongest of the first years! Of the class! Of the tournament! The top highest achievers since the start, taking out over 60 bots and the bosses on their own! How will they fight one another? We shall see!" Present Mic shouted, clearly very excited about this.
Ace and Luffy bowed like Gunhead told them to, and both shot forward. It was hard for the others to keep track of as they were moving so fast and dogging expertly. They did flips, fakes, ducks, kicks, punches, hair pulls, but they dodged each other each time until Luffy got in a punch to the jaw, which Ace responded to with a kick to the side that threw his brother a few feet but he stopped and shot off of the ground and back at Ace.
They had taken their shoes off and were barefoot. They were not gentle with each other. Losing the grace of haki, they pummeled each other equally, graceful but forceful. Luffy punched Ace in the gut, who bent over and then flipped Luffy over him, slamming him into the concrete hard enough for it to crack, but Luffy kicked him in the face and flipped over, slamming him into the concrete next.
Present Mic couldn't keep up but wondered, "How can they hurt each other like this?!" Aizawa stepped in.
"Because they respect each others' fighting and won't dishonor them by taking it easy." The crowd cheered, and it was the second most intense fight besides Midoriya and Todoroki's. Blood was spat and spilled, bruises were already forming, a sprained ankle and wrist. Yet they continued. It lasted for over fifteen minutes of continuous brawling.
"Where did they learn to fight like this?!" Present Mic shouted. Ace and Luffy both knew Gunhead was probably furious with them. Finally, they both punched each other in the face and fell down, gasping. They both thrust their fists up, knowing they were unable to fight anymore. "Another tie it seems!" Present Mic shouted. "What a fight!"
The stadium erupted into cheers. Luffy got up and wobbled to Ace, pulling him up so they could thrust their connected hands up, both exhausted but still running on adrenaline. "There you have it, a great hero team in the making!"
Then they slowly limped their way inside, still being cheered on. When they entered the infirmary, everyone there saw the state of them, bloody and bruised. "You guys did this to each other?!" The both nodded and sat down on the nearest bed.
Recovery Girl went over and fixed them up quickly, though they were tired. "How's Bakugo?" Ace pondered.
"He's been sedated after exploding in anger and hurting himself more," Recovery Girl answered. "Man, all of you kids give me a hard time. Once you're fixed, take some gummies and go accept your awards."
They nodded, most of them healed but in varying states of exhaustion, Luffy and Ace the most. They went to accept their medals and climbed the pedestals. Bakugo got third place, and had to be chained down to accept his award while Ace and Luffy were given both first place and second place since they tied. They were both grinning and waving tiredly.
When they got back to class, Ace and Luffy were both passed out and sleeping on their desks. Nobody woke them, even the teacher. They didn't have school the next day or day after, so pro-heroes could recruit them based on what they'd seen. They woke up when the class was dismissed, and barely made it to the parking lot where they fell into the car.
They fell asleep on the way home, leaning against each other in the backseat. When they woke up, they'd both been carried inside and tucked into their bed. Luffy woke up first to the smell of food and opened the door. Gunhead was there, Luffy could sense him. "We won, Gunhead," he said, reaching for the food. "I'm sorry we beat each other up. But we got fixed."
"I am proud of your accomplishments and you made a great first impression. But you two went too hard on each other, family shouldn't do that to one another," he said, sounding troubled. Ace was awake, too, now and said, "But we're only a little sleepy."
"Still. It was hard to watch. But I'm glad I've taught you so well. And in only a year! Most take many years to get to where you are now. I am proud, I promise. And I'm not mad, I just hope to never see you two do that again," the pro-hero said. Both of them promised they wouldn't ever go that hard again, make each other bleed like that.
Ace confessed, "I had fun, but it was hard to see Luffy bloody because of me. I'm just glad Recovery Girl fixed us up. That's the only reason we were okay with going full force on one another. The other fights were kinda boring." Luffy nodded in agreement, unable to talk with the food in his mouth.
"I can see why. You two were much stronger than your first opponents, and smarter with your others. Though I do feel bad Todoroki didn't do much in that match. And the cavalry race had me laughing. You guys truly are overachievers, taking every headband." Both boys grinned and nodded, saying they wanted to be at the top. "Even if you two hadn't done spectacularly, I have no doubt just your charisma and attitude would get you some offers from heroes."
Ace grinned and said Luffy was a great public speaker. "I came up with that on the spot, too," he bragged. The rest of the dinner was lighthearted and didn't speak anymore about the twins beating one another up. The three of them watched horror movies to end the night before Gunhead went to work.
The next two days they didn't have school and were to rest and recuperate. Though the two wanted to go out, and went out to eat and get sweets. They deserved them and would burn them off quickly with training.
They had lots of people recognize them and come up to them, congratulating them on winning and saying that they were rooting for them both the whole time. It made them grin and laugh awkwardly and give them thanks. That happened a lot, and some little kids were excited and recounted their fights with silly noises.
Some girls asked to take pictures with them, which was kind of weird, since they didn't care much. They clearly wanted them to put their arms around their shoulders like celebrities did, but they just gave thumbs up and smiles. They did it and then they went on their way. On a jumbo screen when they got to the more busy area of the city, the fights were playing. The sports festival really was a big thing.
The fights playing the most were Todoroki and Midoriya and Bakugo and Ace. Then there were clips of Luffy and Ace being happy and enthusiastic. They were glad they were able to show that side of themselves to the public. The side they were proud of. Proud of making people happy, seeing smiles around them.
They spent all their gift money on food and candy and then walked home, getting more attention and even giving some autographs. It was weird, but also nice. That they were recognized for their hard work.
When school started again, everyone was talking about how people came up to them on the street to talk about their fights. Ace and Luffy weren't the only ones who were asked for autographs. Ace asked the guys if they had any girls trying to take pictures with them.
"I did! It was awesome," Kirishima said. Todoroki quietly said he did as well, but declined. Those were the only ones besides the twins. Luffy said what they'd done and the guys in the class asked why on earth they didn't want to get nice pictures with girls.
Ace shrugged. "Girls would be a distraction on our way to being top heroes. Ever since we've been kids we were never interested in romance. Just friends and family," he explained.
Sero simply said, "You're weird." Luffy laughed and said that was probably true.
When Aizawa walked in, everyone noticed his bandages were gone and he said Recovery Girl went overboard with her treatment. He got everyone's attention more when he said they were doing something special that day. Code names. Hero names.
"This is related to the pro-hero drafts I brought up the other day. The drafts begin in earnest during the second and third years after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to the pros." He said that since they were picked, the pros saw potential in them, though the offers could be canceled if the interest pro-heroes show dies down before graduation. They'd have to prove themselves to show they had potential. "Here's the amount of offers for this class.
Ace and Luffy were grouped together, as everyone knew from it being announced and displayed during the sports, and they were at the top spot with 15,000 offers. It shocked them but they gave high fives. Todoroki was next with 4,000 or so, and Bakugo fourth with 3,500 offers. Ace and Luffy were way ahead of everyone else.
"These were offered both on skill and personality. Most pros would rather have someone powerful and charismatic, similar to All Might being seen as powerful and charismatic, as well as with teamwork," Aizawa explained. The students all turned around to look at the twins. Bakugo was hissing in his seat. "In every normal year, most are spread out more evenly, but the attention was all on these four this year."
Aizawa said that even if they got no offers, they'd all be participating in the internships with the pros. Even though they already had combat against the villains in the USJ incident, they would still benefit by internships with pros.
Apparently the hero names were still temporary. Midnight came in loudly and said they'd have hell to pay if they weren't serious about it because the hero society would use those names to identify each other. She would be making sure their names were alright.
They were given whiteboards and pens to write with. Neither brother really knew what theirs would be. Ace was going for something cool, while Luffy wanted a name that would make him happy whenever he heard it. It didn't take long for him to figure it out. He wrote it down, only two letters, and turned it upside down so Ace couldn't see it.
Ace's seemed a lot longer, and he wondered what it was. The sound of squeaking as the pens wrote and were rewritten filled the room. Ace was looking at his with a grin, truly having no idea what Luffy would pick. Probably something more meaningful than flashy or badass. Besides, his quirk wasn't as destructive as Ace's could be, so it didn't need to be something intense. But both of their names were chosen quickly, and after the time was up, people started presenting theirs. Luffy decided to get his over with, so he was first.
He wasn't nervous to speak in front of the class, since he was fine speaking to the stadium and world. "I want my hero name to make me happy whenever I hear it, so I chose something more meaningful than cool." He turned it around to show "Lu". "Ace has called me this since we were little if I was ever upset, so it means a lot to me."
The girls in the class went, "Awwww," and some said that they now thought theirs sucked. Ace had this face of absolute affection. Midnight approved, saying the story behind it would make any hero proud. Teamwork was a must, and showing that his hero partner and he were close would definitely be a plus.
Luffy smiled and walked back to his seat. Ace took his hand and grinned before letting it go. He went up next. "Mine isn't as meaningful as Luffy's, since my power is pretty destructive, so I wanted one more intense," and he showed his as "Firefist Ace". "And now we can have a due name that sort of flows. 'Acelu'. How's that?" he asked Luffy.
"I'm cool with that!"
Midnight smiled. "I approve. Both a softy and a badass name. Two sides of the spectrum working together!" Ace walked back to his seat, and both of them were very happy. Ashido pouted and wished she was in a duo.
Most of the other names had something to do with their appearance or power, though two of them did similar to Luffy's and used their first name. Well, Bakugo's weren't accepted as they had "murder" and other violent words in it. The twins wondered what Midoriya would come up with, really having no idea. When he got up there, he was nervous and then everyone was shocked when he turned the board around to show "Deku".
It was his bullies' nickname for him before Ace and Luffy came along, and even a bit after that. They knew why, he was taking control over a word used against him. He would turn that into something new. Plus, Uraraka pointed out that "Deku" also sounded like "you can do it".
Ace and Luffy sent him thumbs up before he could even explain, grinning proudly. He got more confident to explain his reasoning with his two friends' approvals. He explained what they knew. Bakugo grew a bit angry, but not much, surprisingly. Ace and Luffy pat him on the back when he sat down again. "Way to take control of that word." He nodded, happy.
When they got the lists of the offers given to them, the brothers both had thick packets, but they already knew who they wanted to do it with. Both of them. They just searched to see if they had offered, and she had. After all, they'd worked with saving people from USJ and getting them out.
"Thirteen. We're good at fighting, but we want to be good at rescuing as well," Ace explained when they'd chosen their's immediately. It was lucky they got so many agencies, but they didn't really matter as they hadn't looked through them at all. They just searched for one name, glad it was there, and put the packet back down.
They brought them up to Aizawa, who wasn't surprised with their choice or that they had picked already. He looked and said, "I can see why. This can be a good chance for you," and he left.
Ashido complained that it wasn't fair that Ace and Luffy had gotten so many. "Why can't I be nice like that?" she whined. Momo pointed out that Luffy had made a first impression with his uplifting speech. After that, all eyes were on him. And it helped that both of them grinned almost the whole time and were good with strategies as well as fighting. "All three sports were pretty much made for them."
Ace said, "You're giving us too much credit. We weren't really trying to stand out, we were just being ourselves."
Uraraka also picked quickly, and both of the brothers were surprised. She chose Gunhead. Which meant they wouldn't be able to be seen at home. Well, they'd be at their own internships. And Gunhead would teach Uraraka well, they had no doubt. Hopefully she didn't recognize their moves as from Gunhead. Nobody knew still. Ace and Luffy still weren't upset, knowing that he liked them even without needing to show them off. He cared for them. And he hadn't offered them to come to their agency, obviously. They would learn nothing new by going to his and also wouldn't need any training with fighting.
When people noticed Midoriya shaking, they asked what was up. "He's be exercising in his seat. You don't need an outside space to exercise," Ace said. Midoriya explained that he was keeping himself just barely above the chair. It was resistance training. They were all impressed, as were the twins.
When school was out, Gunhead was at work today and so Ace and Luffy would be taking the train and then walking home. They waited for their friend to come out, and when he did he had a small smile on. Uraraka had already left once Midoriya had been with All Might for a while. When Midoriya caught up, they started walking. He would get off the train first and then Ace and Luffy would continue home.
"Your guys' names are great," Midoriya said happily. "And I'm glad you guys got so many offers. You deserve it for all of your hard work." Ace frowned.
"We're still angry about you destroying your fingers. You told us you have someone who offered, don't waste that time. Recovery Girl can't work miracles, Midoriya. You need to treat your body with care, it's the only one you have. Me and Luffy train hard, but we know our limits. You don't seem to know yours," Ace said firmly. Midoriya looked down.
He said, "I'm doing my best to learn to control it. I will take advantage of this and learn how to not hurt myself. Putting myself out of commission would just be burdensome to others. Aizawa told me that at the beginning of the year. And he was right."
Luffy put a hand on his shoulder. "All we can do is our very best. Don't pull any punches, go all out on this." Then they were interrupted by people finally recognizing them though they were at the back of the train.
When they got home, they made roasted chicken for dinner. Not having the parents - adults there made them need to cook their own food. Like everything else, they learned quickly and could make food for their dinner and enough for leftovers for Gunhead. They couldn't wait to tell him how many offers they'd gotten. Their hard work paid off. Not only fighting, but their hard work to leave their years of fear, isolation and self-hatred behind.
They were sure he'd melt when he heard Luffy's reasoning for his hero name. And he did when he came home, his face was covered but he went, "Awwwwww, my little boys are all grown up." They froze, and Ace and Luffy bit their lips to not cry and nodded. Gunhead didn't seem to have a problem with calling them that, and it was a nice night, even if it was pretty late and the brothers went to bed early to get to the train station the next day to head to their hero agencies.
