A/N: I finally hit 10k in word count. Thank you all for the support.

Izuku panted heavily on the spot, half of his face exposed from Katsuki's sneak attack from earlier.

Their goal for the day was simple. Everyone in his class was divided up in two-men cells, with each team assigned with the role of "hero" or "villain."

The heroes were given the task of capturing the villains and securing the nuclear weapon in the villain's possession, while the villains were given the task of avoiding capture for fifteen minutes as well as protecting their missile.

For his team to win, he could incapacitate the villains in the allotted time, wrap them up in the capture tape, or even steal the nuclear weapon away from the villains.

None of these tasks were going to be easy to accomplish. Not with Katsuki on the opposing team.

Of course, he could try and double team against Katsuki with Uraraka. But even then, he couldn't guarantee that they would have enough time to deal with Iida afterwards.

The best option at the moment was to divide and conquer. He would handle the far more rambunctious Katsuki and leave the more disciplined Iida to Uraraka.

Izuku shot his teammate a look. "Uraraka-san, you go ahead first! I will handle Ka-chan over here."

Uraraka gave a nod and ran past Katsuki, who seemed to have paid her no mind. "Deku-kun, you hurry up too!"

A feeling of relief came over him as he saw that Uraraka had gotten away safely. But soon, he was confronted with the problem of Katsuki Bakugo.

"Well, you went ahead and said it, didn't you? You nerd!" Bakugo boomed in front of him, an open palm jetting from the right and curving towards the left, heading straight towards Izuku's face.

The boy countered instinctively, leaning away while blocking the ensuing explosion with his right hand. Yup. Block and nullify!

No recoil, no heat, no pain. It was like he was touching air.

The corner of Bakugo's eyes twitched in irritation.

There it was again, the unknown power that the loser had been hiding from him. Somehow, his explosions weren't hurting him.

Katsuki stepped away, turned on his heels and threw a kick that forced his opponent to back off.

Now that I think about it, something similar to this happened when we were still children! Katsuki scowled, a frustrated cry building inside of him, until he finally couldn't contain it anymore. "What are you hiding from me, you shitty nerd!?"

Izuku's lips trembled. Years of abuse had conditioned him to feel nervous whenever Katsuki got angry. Even now, as they were placed in direct competition with each other, he still couldn't ignore the twisting sensation in his guts.

He replied, voice shaking slightly. "I-I'm not hiding anything from you, Ka-chan!"

That weak explanation wasn't to Katsuki's liking. Not one bit. "Fine, if you're not going to tell me, I will just beat it out of you!"

Katsuki was in Deku's face again the next moment. A flurry of punches crossing towards a retreating Izuku.

This wasn't going in the way that Izuku wanted it to go either. His chance of winning would go down drastically if he let things turn into a straight up brawl.

He wanted to rely on sharp precise strikes to win this contest. That was the reason why he picked a bamboo sword as his weapon of choice to begin with. His weapon was enough to stun, but not enough to maim. A perfect weapon for an aspiring hero.

Plus, against someone like Katsuki who liked to get close and personal, the sword would serve as a deterrent. Katsuki liked to set off explosions roughly an inch from his opponent to maximize damage. Izuku knew that if he could manage to keep Katsuki from getting closer, then his chance of victory would increase favorably.

He just had to stun Katsuki enough to wrap him up with the capturing tape.

Having avoided yet another swipe towards his head, Izuku quickly dropped down and swept a leg towards Katsuki's base, with the hope of disrupting his footing.

Katsuki jumped away to dodge the low angle attack before rocketing himself forward, one of his legs raised angularly into the air and quickly axed down sharply to try and crush the green-clad combatant.

Izuku managed to roll away just in time to avoid getting crushed. But, Katsuki was persistent.

Like an unrelenting predator who hadn't fed in days, the blonde boy followed him. Letting lose another round of explosions to catch up to him, Katsuki nailed Izuku with a sharp kick to the ribs that sent the boy tumbling down the hall.

Izuku flipped onto his stomach when he came to a stop, his grip on his sword tightened as he pushed himself back up. When he adjusted his sight, Katsuki was once again zooming towards him

A right hook whooshed past him as he narrowly side-stepped, but a left hook was quick to follow.

Izuku backed off to avoid the blow, then sprinted into a leap. A swinging kick was blocked by the twin bracers on Katsuki's arm, but the blonde delinquent had no counter when Izuku spun off his bracers, and whirled his bamboo sword straight into his face.

This time the hit was solid, and was hard enough to knock the usually steadfast Katsuki onto the floor.

Izuku landed on the floor as well, his bamboo sword still held tightly in front of him in a ready stance. Hitting a living thing felt horrible, but he knew he must continue.

In front of him, Katsuki slowly rose back to his feet, a hand wiping off the blood that flowed from his mouth. For an instant, Izuku wondered if he might have hit the boy a bit too hard.

"That was a lucky hit..." Katsuki growled as he spat out a splintered tooth. A murderous glint now inhabiting his eyes. The boy threw his arms violently behind him, fiery embers blasting backwards while his body blurred forward from the sheer speed.

"BUT THIS TIME, IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"

The bold declaration was backed up well. Against Katsuki's frightening speed, Izuku could only tighten his grip on his sword, holding onto it as if it was a lifeline. A wave of panic washed over him as Katsuki drew closer and closer to him. Katsuki was getting faster, and undisputedly angrier.

When it felt that Katsuki was close enough, Izuku swung, his bamboo stick arching through the air. Only to hit...nothing…

Izuku's eyes tilted upwards, catching sight of Katsuki descending upon him from above. The bastard had changed directions in midair! The moment I swung my sword, Ka-chan must have let loose another explosion that let him vault over my blade!

Katsuki landed behind Izuku with a taunt."You think the same trick is going to work on me again, huh?!"

Before he could redirect his attack, Izuku found himself grabbed by the back of his mask.

"Eat this you fucking retard!" Katsuki pulled him backwards, hard enough that Izuku felt himself lifted up and over.

Katsuki was just as inhumanly strong as Izuku remembered him to be.

Izuku landed harshly on his knees against the concrete, ending in a kneeling position in front of his enemy. He didn't have much time to fixate on his wounds, as a feeling of urgency overwhelmed him.

Oh crap...

The boy raised his arms to his face and blocked the incoming running knee strike. Then ducked under to avoid a roundhouse kick. He then kicked out Bakugo's legs, causing his attacker to face-plant on the floor.

Izuku took this opportunity to rise to a vertical basis again. When he did, he returned the favor from earlier and blasted Katsuki with a kick of his own, though his, was to the face.

It was now his turn to be the aggressor. Izuku rushed over to the recovering Katsuki and tried to grab the boy by the head.

If I can prevent Ka-chan from activating his quirk, then I…

He didn't even get to finish his thoughts when Katsuki suddenly rocketed away towards the ceiling.

Quickly and smoothly, Katsuki whirled and flipped himself in midair, maneuvering himself in position to rocket headfirst towards his enemy once more.

Izuku swung his blade, once again hitting nothing as Katsuki dodged. But, this time, Izuku was prepared.

Izuku, too, took it into the air, using his feet to kick off the ceiling and shot right after Katsuki. As Katsuki turned his head to observe his movements, all that was reflected in his eyes was the nearing blade of Izuku's sword.

The impact was loud, fierce, and sufficient enough to swat Katsuki out of the air, his head thudding terribly against the floor on the way down.

"How is this possible..." Katsuki drawled, a hand placed on his throbbing head. He was starting to lose his patience. His eyes growing more bloodshot by the second from the sheer frustration of it all. "You were supposed to just be a pebble on my path!"

Yet, despite this, the loser managed to not only hit him once, not only twice, but FOUR times already.

Bakugo blasted off again. Embers rapidly shooting off his palms as he zigzagged across the room. His movement this time was a lot more spontaneous and erratic, with him bouncing from wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling, and one end of the room to another.

Once again, Izuku found himself unable to keep up.

Katsuki nabbed Izuku by the mask of his costume once more. Like before, Katsuki pulled him over his back and onto the floor.

Then with his explosions boosting his speed, Katsuki slammed his knee onto him, breaking straight through the two arms that Izuku had brought up to defend himself with and hitting the boy straight in the nose.

Blood was drawn immediately as they gushed from both of his nostrils. Izuku wondered if his nose could be broken even as he fell limply onto his back. The sword that he previously held onto so dearly also dropped to the side.

Bakugo stomped over, kicked the bamboo sword away, and lifted Izuku's up by the hair, only to have his arms swiped away defiantly by Izuku. Katsuki threw a punch, Izuku leaned away, and kicked Katsuki off.

Katsuki flew. His movement still erratic and sporadic, zipping from wall to wall and making it impossible for Izuku to track him.

Izuku instead focused his attention on retrieving the sword that Katsuki kicked away. Running towards the bamboo weapon even as he felt Katsuki's speeding presence brush past him over and over.

Katsuki appeared to be scared of making direct physical contact with him. Even though Katsuki was an indisputable douchebag,he was a shrewd douchebag. As much as he disliked him, he knew that Katsuki caught on to the secrets of his ability.

The fact that Katsuki had been grabbing him by his clothing after their first scuffle was indicative of that.

But it was this same shrewdness that made Katsuki predictable

The smart thing to do would be to cut off his mask so Katsuki wouldn't have anything to grab. But there was no way he could do that.

There was no way he could destroy something his mother made for him with his own hands.

And that heartless bastard probably counted on this fact.

But, this was where his own trap lied. Using his mask as bait, he would wait for Katsuki to come to him, and then, he would punch him with all his might.

Here he comes! Izuku spun around mid-sprint, his fist surging forward. Like he thought, Katsuki was right where he thought he would be. His fist connected, his punch crushing Katsuki's lips. It felt like he had squashed a grape with his knuckles.

Katsuki's eyes shot wide open from a mixture of pain and hatred, his face shifting slightly against the knuckles of Izuku's fist. This bastard… He predicted my movements?!

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Katsuki let out a yell, one hand seizing Izuku's arm, the other grabbing the collar of his costume, and flipped the boy onto the floor.

Izuku felt the air knocked out of him as his back collided hard on the concrete. At this rate, he just might die here.

But he couldn't allow himself to lose. Not at this point. Not with All Might watching. Not with the kind brunette girl waiting for him on the second floor.

Now was the time to set his heart ablaze!

Izuku sprung up from the floor, pivoted his body, trapped Katsuki's arm with his own and flipped Katsuki onto the floor as well.

The green haired boy then broke into a run, rushing towards his supine enemy, hoping to strike him down with a kick. Bakugo raised his armored arms, suppressing the impact of the blow completely. The only thing that ached was Izuku's own leg.

I got too caught up in the moment and failed to think this through!

Katsuki took the moment to tackle Izuku to the floor. Once they were both down, the blonde delinquent sat down on Izuku's stomach, pinning him underneath his weight.

With a face full of hatred, Katsuki punched at the boy underneath him. When his fist was caught, he quickly attempted to punch with his other one. When that one was caught as well, he spat in the boy's face then proceeded to engage in a power struggle with the blemish from his childhood.

"Give up already, Deku…." Katsuki hissed menacingly and drove his fists harder into the hands that opposed them.

"I...won't…"

"I said…." Katsuki lifted his weight up slightly before quickly plunging down onto the poor boy's stomach. The blow forced a wad of saliva out of Izuku's body, as well as whatever air he still had. With his voice louder this time, he bellowed out his next intimidation. " GIVE UP ALREADY!"

Yup...Izuku thought as he felt his arms losing strength...I'm going to die right here.

But even still, with whatever strength he still had, he gripped onto Katsuki's fists like a vice—tight enough that Katsuki found himself unable to pull himself away from Izuku's grasp.

Katsuki's patience was running thin. His words now quivered and trembled with fury that could no longer be contained. His face flushed bright red, his brows furrowed towards each other at an angle that seemed impossible, face scrunched to the extreme that he resembled an oni. "Stop wasting-"

He was cut off when Izuku roared. One that resembled the roar of a cornered animal. A primitive fear froze Katsuki in place. Moments later, his "seat cushion" was starting to elevate and Katsuki found himself lifted in the air.

What is happening? Katsuki looked beneath him, and his eyes widened at what he saw. This punk is forcing his body to sit up even with me sitting on top of him.

Izuku's upper body angled more and more away from the floor, with his two bent feet serving as the base. Katsuki found his own feet lifted slightly from the floor, as Izuku rose, and eventually ended up sliding off the boy completely when Izuku made his way back onto his feet.

The toll on Izuku's body was evident through the paleness of his face, as well as the wobbles of his legs.

Katsuki ripped his fists away, quite easily this time. Once freed, he was quick to try to give his fist back to the boy, in the form of a punch.

To his surprise, the ailing competitor ducked, slipped under his armpit, over his back, grabbed his head in a front headlock and fell backwards to drop him down to the floor, head first.

It was like poetry in motion. Katsuki had little time to counter.

Taking the attack was, however, the furthest experience from being pleasant. And Katsuki quickly let everyone know as he writhed, squirmed, jerked, and rolled on the cold filthy floor, clutching his head while screaming profanities and wishes of death.

Izuku, however, forced himself through his own agony. Instead of crying, he started to make the torturous crawl towards the distant bamboo sword that he longed to retrieve.

Though the sword was probably just a couple of meters away, in his physical torment, meters felt like miles.

His back ached with something fierce. It felt like someone had stabbed him in the spine repeatedly with a burning knife.

"Damn you! Fuck you, you damn Deku! Fuck you to hell!"

The curses continued to come from behind him, but Izuku paid them no mind. Instead, he focused all his attention on the singular goal of reaching his weapon.

Black dotted spots stained his field of vision. He wasn't getting enough oxygen.

Still, he continued to drag himself forward, even as the ground that he wished to traverse became darker and darker.

Above him Uraraka-san was probably waiting for him. He couldn't afford to fall right here!

Finally, he seized it! The familiar texture of the weapon filling him with a shred of triumph.

I can win this! The boy grabbed his sword and struggled onto a squatting position. When he turned his head back to check on Katsuki, he found that the boy had already rocketed himself towards him.

The boy was like a relentless bloodhound!

Not in the right position to draw power from, Izuku's sword strike was no match from a rocket-boosted flying kick from Katsuki. Just like that, he found himself pinned under once more, this time stomped underneath Katsuki's feet, the bamboo sword he held in his hands the only thing separating Katsuki's boot from his throat.

Katsuki shifted more weight onto him, and the bamboo sword that was once a dependable shield, was now turning more into a lethal guillotine as it inched closer to his throat.

Izuku was struggling to breathe.

"How do you like that, you sorry sucker?! If you admit that I'm superior and beg me to spare you, then I just might consider at this point" Katsuki offered as he stomped at the bamboo sword repeatedly. "Even the strength of a professional bodybuilder won't be able to hold out against this kind of abuse for long. Never mind a piece of shit, shitstain-on-the-toilet-bowl bookworm like you!"

Deku gritted his teeth. He couldn't breathe. His muscles and bones were all screaming in protest. The damage he took throughout the fight had worn him down significantly. His nose was overwhelmed with the smell of blood.

If only he were stronger… If only he knew how to use his powers. If only he knew how to trigger the same infinity-achieving power that saved him during Aizawa's test. If only he knew how to use the same power that saved him from Katsuki when he was a child.

If only he had inherited One for All successfully.

"...Stop…"

"Huh… What did you say, you stupid Deku?" Bakugo cupped an ear and tilted his head towards him, mocking him.

"...Stop…." He gasped out.

"I can't hear you! Maybe this will get you to speak louder!" Katsuki extended his hands above him and unleashed twin bursts of explosions that forced his body downward, and the bamboo sword along with him.

The sword now dipped enough to leave a scratch on Deku's windpipe.

"The next one won't be as merciful… you loser…"

"...Stop…"

Bakugo's eyes bulged with malice. As if he was possessed by the devil. "You do NOT get to tell me what to do! Just give up, leave this school and stay out of my sight!"

"Nothing you do will ever amount to anything! Know your place and just die already!" Katsuki fury leaked from him like water from a bottomless well.

Finally, he exploded. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

Izuku didn't answer. Didn't even plea. Neither did he ask Katsuki to stop.

Darkness had edged out his vision at this point.

Where is this place?

Izuku looked around him. One moment he was locked in a desperate struggle with Katsuki, the next moment he seemed to be back in…

The furniture around him looked familiar. As did the position of the T.V., the color of the curtain, the pattern of the floor tile, the aroma of freshly made All-Might Golden Sandwich.

The color of the world was a dull gray, as if he was watching something from a silent film.

He was back home?

For some reason, he decided to walk towards the kitchen, as if drawn by a mythical, arcane force.

There, crouched in between the corner of two cabinets was...a younger version of himself?

Was this a childhood memory of himself?

Perhaps this was what people meant when they claimed that their entire life flashed before their eyes while on the verge of death.

He remembered the explanation was that while in a life threatening situation, the human brain will search the past to find any information that will help its host survive.

Izuku walked over to his child self, and crouched down in front of him. The little kid was dressed in an All Might T-Shirt, his hair a mess, his arms wrapped around his bandaged knees, and tear stains trailed from eyes that appeared to be made from pure glass.

Had he been crying? Did he get in a fight? Did he always look this unsightly?

The him of the past didn't seem to have noticed him. Perhaps he couldn't see him?

He had no recollection of this memory. When was this? When did it take place? He couldn't place himself in this part of his history.

Then he spotted it, a lantern on the right side of the unresponsive boy. Inside the lantern, there was a sculpture of ice in the shape of a flame.

Or perhaps it was a ball of flame that had somehow been frozen?

He couldn't tell.

Honestly, it could be either way.

Why was the flame frozen? Whose path was the lantern supposed to light up? Did he have something like that when he was a kid?

Somehow, he had a feeling that the thing in the lantern contained what he desired.

"Oi. Are you listening, idiot Deku?" Katsuki looked down. For the past minute, the boy was motionless, instead staring blankly ahead, as if catatonic.

Almost uncharacteristically, Katsuki was concerned. He let up a little bit on the weight that he was placing on the bamboo and waited to see if the boy was still alive.

But when the corner of the boy's eye twitched, Katsuki was back on guard once again. His usual,

malicious vigor returning in haste.

"Sorry, Deku! That was your last chance to make your decision." Katsuki threw his arms behind him again, aiming to ignite his sweat. But nothing came, his sweat wouldn't explode.

Impossible...Katsuki lowered his gaze again. His foot was still only on the bamboo sword, neither of Deku's hands were touching him directly. Yet, he couldn't activate his quirk...

Why?

The boy didn't have much time to linger on that thought, as Izuku pushed up at him with a strength that Katsuki never experienced before. Within moments, the blonde delinquent found himself tipped over and falling straight on his back.

He was smart enough to use his backward momentum to roll onto his feet, but by the time he stood up, Izuku had gotten up as well.

Katsuki leapt back three large strides, and aimed one of his grenadier bracers at Izuku.

The cockroach just wouldn't die, he had no choice but to bust out the big guns.

"It feels like it has been filled up plenty..." Katsuki gauged as he shook his bracers a little bit, feeling the sweat swivel around inside the cartridge.

With his other hand, he pulled at the pin that consisted of the trigger mechanism.

In just a moment, he would blow the roof off of this building.

Deku stood still. Unfazed. His hand held tight around his sword, his body unmoving in front of the roaring ball of searing flames, that even now continued to burn towards him.

He breathed. Allowing his body to relax. The bamboo sword in his hands turned bright red.

Then with a wave of the blade, he cleaved right through the ball of flames. Scattered embers danced around him, like fireflies on a summer night. In the midst, he resembled a graceful celestial paladin, or even a vengeful wraith of fire.

Even Katsuki had to admire the sight.

The admiration was quick to turn into fear as Deku blurred past him, and he found his body with seven lashes that he didn't have just a moment ago. His eyes almost rolled to the back of his head.

"No…" Izuku's voice rung through Katsuki's ears. " You're the one who won't be able to affect the future."