Here we are again! Now we'll get to see how Shigeo Kageyama does on the next day of school with his friends and his guardian!
Now alone to reflect on the day's events, the prodigious esper looked back at the encounters he had with the other students. With Bakugo, he'd already gotten a pretty good understanding of how he viewed the world and the superiority complex he held. It was unfortunate that he'd been forced into this delusion of superiority, and more importantly, that this mindset was directly affecting Izuku. He didn't want his friend to be put down and tormented during his time at U.A. High, and Bakugo was threatening him with physical violence. Hopefully, no more incidents would arise and Izuku could go to school with his mind at ease.
Besides Bakugo, his mind also went to the other students he'd come across in the class. Iida seemed to be a very serious yet well-intentioned young student who wanted to excel in this high school, while Uraraka was a vibrant and joyful soul who displayed great kindness towards others. These were the two students who he'd gotten to interact with the most, and he hoped he'd be able to have good interactions with them in the future.
Shigeo entered the apartment and was greeted with the sight of All Might sitting at his desk and typing diligently on his laptop. The symbol of peace heard the door open and greeted the esper with a smile. "Hey, Kageyama!"
"All Might!" Mob returned the smile and threw his backpack on the couch. "How was your first day as a teacher?"
The number one hero nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "To be honest, I didn't really do any teaching. Today was really just getting acquainted with the school, the facilities and the teachers. I found out that not only are you and Midoriya in the same class, but that you also have Aizawa as your homeroom teacher."
Shigeo's eyes went down to the floor, and he let out a small sigh. "I'm not really fond of him. He was really harsh with all of the students, especially Midoriya."
Toshinori's smile faltered, and he craned his head up to look at the ceiling. "I know. I managed to get a glimpse of the tests your class took, and just as I feared, Aizawa singled out Midoriya from the start."
"Oh, you saw the tests?" exclaimed the esper, "Then did you also see how Midoriya did?"
"Yes, I saw his performance on the ball throw and his very impressive utilization of One for All. And I was also very impressed to see your number one spot on the tests."
"How long will it be until Midoriya won't break his bones anymore?" said Shigeo, immediately disregarding All Might's compliment towards him and focusing on his friend, "I know you said it would take a while, but right now, he's at such a big disadvantage." The esper bent his neck in dread, "I tried to help him by giving him some of my energy, but he refused, and he broke his finger because of it. Why didn't he just accept the energy?"
"Simple: for Midoriya, taking that energy was the equivalent of cheating. Midoriya is someone who wants to do things the right way, and for him, the right way is strengthening his body to fully master One for All."
That explanation didn't serve to relieve any of Shigeo's concerns, and the psychic held his elbows tightly against his sides. "Does that mean there's nothing you or me can do to help him get stronger?"
The symbol of peace pulled in and slowly released a deep breath. "Midoriya has a long and arduous road ahead of him, a road that he has to travel on himself. Sadly, the most either of us can do for him right now is be there to lend him our ears, our emotional support, and more physical training." Toshinori could see the teenager's look of despondency and gave him one of his trademark smiles, not wanting to end this conversation on such a dismal note. "But don't worry yourself so much. Mastery will come to Midoriya eventually, and besides, Recovery Girl will be there to heal his wounds."
"I guess..." The esper slipped his hands into his pockets and walked into the kitchen to get some snacks. It was quite a relief to know that the school nurse had such an impressive power that could heal at such a fast rate, and for now, it seemed that would be enough for his friend. Even so, it was still sad to see Izuku hurt himself so grievously. Maybe tomorrow would be slower-paced and less focused on using quirks. The esper had no idea how wrong he was.
"Now which of these four sentences contains a mistake?"
At U.A. High, Class 1-A was spending their morning with Present Mic, who happened to be their English teacher. While this high school was focused on becoming a hero, that didn't mean that they could simply ignore other important classes and material, which was why they had a list of core classes for all the first years. Many of the students felt their eyes droop from the early morning tiredness compounded with such a boring class.
Present Mic noticed the tired expressions and tried to wake the class up. "Hey you guys, come on now! Try and shake yourselves up! Grammar rules!" While many of them were barely paying attention, a few of the other students were trying to stay focused on the class. Two of those people were Shigeo and Izuku. The green-haired teenager smiled, being able to quickly deduce the sentence with the error, while the bowl-haired teenager was rapidly blinking, fidgeting with his pencil while he went over each of the questions.
Mob honestly wanted to try and stay focused: now that he'd gotten the strong body he'd always wanted, one of the next steps in his path to improvement was to become smarter and more experienced with schoolwork. Sadly for the esper, almost all of his effort these past months had been focused on strengthening and left little room for efficient studying for his online school, which was why he was hopelessly lost on this question.
"Yea, Yaoyarozu! Lay it on us!" Shigeo turned his head and drew a faint and stifled gasp: it was the same girl who'd caught his eye.
"The last sentence has an incorrect relative pronoun."
"Boo-yah! You got it!" The psychic teenager sucked in a quick breath. It looked like this girl Yaoyarozu was a pretty solid student. It might take a little more time to figure out how smart she really was, but from what he could see of her right now, it looked as though she was able to handle all of this with relative ease. Hopefully, he'd be able to manage his classes with such ease one day.
Once the morning classes had finished up, all of the students filed their way to the lunchroom. Shigeo was impressed by the spacious area, the multiple windows that showed the luscious shrubbery and beautiful morning sun shining down on the school and . through the lunchroom. It was much better than the lunchroom back at Salt Middle School. Then again, this was the number one hero school, after all, so it only made sense for them to have such amazing facilities.
The esper and the formerly quirkless teenager sat together with the two friends they'd made the day before. As they sat down and finished their food, they were approached by some sort of chef with a mask covering his face. While the other three merely looked him with blank eyes, Izuku gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. He knew who this was! This was the cooking hero, Lunch Rush! He was famous for creating a full-course French meal for ten thousand victims of a typhoon, and he was revered in the hero world for his amazing culinary skills.
"White rice is the perfect comfort food, isn't it?"
Uraraka, who had a bowl of white rice in her hand, nodded in agreement while she savored the fresh taste of rice in her mouth. "This is really tasty. I've never had rice made so well before." The chef gave the girl the thumbs up before he went back to the kitchen to prepare more meals for the hungry students. Shigeo similarly found the food to be not only tasty but very rich in variety. The more time he spent at this school, the more he understood why it held such a prestigious title. As the esper continued eating and conversing with his friends, he wondered what other surprises the school might bring.
After lunch, Class 1-A went to their afternoon class: hero basic training. Many of the students were rocking in their seats, holding the edges of the chair with eager anticipation. After a morning of boring classes that they hope would've just been left behind with their previous middle schools, the students could finally get some actual hero training. More importantly, they'd all seen that All Might would be teaching at U.A. High this year: if they were lucky, he would be teaching this class.
Alas, while all of the other students were excited for the start of this class, one teenager was shifting uneasily in his seat. Unlike the other students, Shigeo had no true interest in such hero training classes, nor was he eager for the chance to see All Might, given that he'd lived alongside him for ten months. More importantly, the esper's main thoughts were centered on how Izuku would fare in this class. Shigeo looked at his friend while scratching his skin.
"What's gonna happen to you?" muttered Mob.
"I am HERE!"
Izuku's face lit up, his cheeks brightened with amazement while his eyes sparkled with excitement. The symbol of peace stood on the tips of his toes, his chest stretched out and his arms reached back in an attempt to make a good first impression. "Coming through the door like a hero!"
For this class, the number one hero decided to change things up a little with his clothing. He wore a skin-tight red bodysuit with multiple white markings all over the upper arms and chest. His forearm sleeves and his boots were covered in gold and had spiked fins on the sides. He wore a blue cape with a dark red interior secured by two metal latches. When the class finally got to see All Might up-close for the first time, all of the students had similar reactions to Midoriya, gasping in amazement while thanking God for making the number one hero their teacher.
"Oh my god, it's him! It's really All Might!"
"This is gonna be the best year ever!"
"I think I might ask for his autograph after class is done!"
"Hey, he's wearing his silver age costume!"
"Man, really? That's so retro!"
Everyone in the room except for Shigeo shared the same shock at getting to see the symbol of peace for the first time, although for Shigeo, he wasn't quite expecting to see All Might wearing a different costume. From what he'd seen, All Might would usually come home wearing a different costume with a blue bodysuit and no cape. Guess he'd chosen to change styles as time went on.
All Might stood at the center of class with his hands firmly at his sides, his aura of confidence and power emanating throughout the entire classroom. "Welcome students to the most important class of U.A. High! In this class, all of your lessons will revolve around the basics of being a pro-hero, how to fight as a hero, and what it actually means to serve justice! So let's not waste our first class cooped up in this cramped classroom!" The number one hero took out a card from the inner pocket of his costume, which said "battle".
"Today's class will be a full-out practice of acting as a hero, and that means no pulling any punches!"
Bakugo's eyes widened and glowed with a deep-seeded excitement, his wicked smile reaching the corners of his ears. "Fight training! YES!" The hot-headed teenager was waiting for this opportunity! With all of the training and effort he'd put into honing his quirk, Bakugo knew that this would be the best chance to prove his superiority and truly shine as the best student in this class and in this school.
Kageyama and Midoriya, on the other hand, instantly felt a sense of nausea and an empty feeling in the pits of their stomaches. Actual combat training? What did that mean? What kind of fighting were they going to do? For Midoriya, he was not confident in fighting anyone with the level of mastery he had over One for All now! He could only use his power once before destroying himself, and more importantly, he couldn't use that kind of brute strength against anyone! It would kill them!
For Kageyama, there were two main concerns: first, like Midoriya, he was worried about how his friend would be able to handle himself in such a situation, knowing how limited his current abilities were. Secondly, the idea of using his own psychic powers against others was sickening to him! Although he'd gradually adjusted his mindset so that he'd only use his powers against enemies who couldn't be reasoned with, that was only as a last-resort he hated to use. But to use those powers against his fellow students? He just couldn't!
All Might continued. "However, it's important to remember that one of the key factors in being a hero is looking good in battle!" The symbol of peace pointed to the wall, and suddenly, multiple panels began to file out, each of them having a number in descending order. "These costumes were created for you based on the requests you made on your quirk registration form before you started school."
The students yelled out in excitement, surprised to see that the school had managed to make their costumes so quickly. "Once you all get your costumes on, meet me at training ground beta!"
"Yes sir!"
When the students went to the changing room, many of them took their sweet time to look over their costumes and all of the extra accessories they'd requested. For some of them, the costumes they built had key functions that could boost their quirks or allow them to use their quirks more easily. Many of them had taken a lot of time in trying to find the right costume and right accessories that would best fit them. However, for one teenage boy, he barely batted an eye as he took out his costume. The costume consisted of a white jumpsuit, a black belt adorned with a gold buckle. His sleeves were charcoal black, complimenting the dark black lines on his shoulders. His pants and his boots were were also black, with the lower leggings being a fierce crimson shade.
The Symbol of Peace patiently waited for the students with his arms at his sides and his smile still shining. He wondered how his students had decided to choose their hero costumes. All Might had to admit, finding the right costume was a somewhat difficult and annoying task, but surely his class could find the proper designs for themselves.
Toshinori picked up on the sound of footsteps echoing through the tunnel in front of him. Walking out first was Shigeo Kageyama, who was looking as expressionless as always. Following behind him was the rest of the class, each of them looking confident and rather pleased with how their hero costumes had turned out.
"They say clothes make the man, and here before me stands proof! Take this to heart! From now on, you're all heroes-in-training!"
The teenagers crowded around the number one hero, all of them remaining and silence while observing how their peers looked with their costumes. The powerful esper was among those observers, although he was not particularly impressed by anything he'd seen thus far, not having an avid interest for these aspects of heroism in general.
But then, he felt a surge of heat rise to his face when he got a glance at Yaoyarozu: her hero costume consisted of a high-collared, sleeveless crimson leotard with silver lines at her waist and around her arms, exposing her skin from her neck to just below her navel. Shigeo had never seen so much exposed skin of a girl in his life, and to see the girl who he'd initially been smitten by standing before him like this was causing his heart to beat like a drum.
Not wanting to stare like this any longer, the young esper forced his eyes away and tried to calm himself.
While most of the class had already gathered, there was still one more student who was sprinting through the tunnel to reach them. The formerly quirkless teenager had spent quite a bit if time in the changing room, for unlike the other students, this costume was hand-made by his mother.
In an attempt to show him her pride in the young teenager, Izuku's mother had gone out of her way to make the hero costume her son had made sketches of in his notebook. While the costume itself wasn't particularly flashy or remarkable, it was still a very meaningful costume, and he would wear it with pride!
When Midoriya exited the tunnel, Uraraka was the first to notice him, and beamed when she saw his costume. "Hey Deku! I'm loving your costume! It's pretty plain, but it's still a really good style!"
"Uraraka!" In an almost identical fashion to Shigeo, the green-haired teenager stammered, his face, neck, and ears feeling impossibly hot. Izuku covered his mouth with his hands to make sure nothing stupid would come out, because his brain was about to be fried. Her hero costume consists of a black full-body suit with a pale pink design down the middle of her torso, two black circles on her chest and a black rectangle below her waist, running between her legs. The costume left little breathing room, and Izuku could see every trace of her body.
Uraraka knew this all-too-well, and rubbed the back of her head while her cheeks became mildly stained. "I wish I'd been more detailed when I made my costume request: this suit is skin-tight, not really what I had in mind."
While Uraraka displayed admiration of Izuku's costume, All Might wasn't so keen to give compliments. The symbol of peace knew this kid was a big fan-boy, but this was getting to be a bit ridiculous: he wore a mask with a makeshift smile and long ear-like protrusions that heavily resembled All Might's appearance.
"Ok then, everybody's here!" All Might attempted to bring the focus of the students so they could get started as soon as possible. "Now starts our combat training exercise!
"When it comes to combating villains, you've probably seen a lot of televised fights taking place on the streets. In actuality, statistics show you're much more likely to fight your battles indoors. Think about how many illegal activities go on indoors: backroom deals, home invasions, secret lairs. For the truly dangerous and crafty villains will know to stay hidden in the shadows. For this exercise, you will all be split into teams of heroes and villains and conduct two-on-two battles."
"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Once again, the first student to speak out was Shigeo Kageyama, who was already disliking where this was going. "Fighting each other with quirks like this, is this really the best way to improve as heroes?"
For a second, All Might tensed up. Being a teacher for the young esper was rather awkward, considering how much time they'd spent together and how they lived under the same roof. The hero could see the uncertainty and mild disapproval in Kageyama's eyes. Normally, whenever Shigeo had a face like that, he would have a longer talk with the esper and get to know why he was feeling so averse to the idea of combat, understanding how much Shigeo relied on his wisdom for emotional support. However, in this setting, All Might was his teacher, and this was not the time or place to try and talk more deeply with the esper.
"The best training and experience is what you get on the battlefield! It is something you'll all have to experience one day, so it's better to prepare yourselves now and get the proper experience you need. This time, however, it's not as easy as punching robots!"
With this limited explanation time, many more students already had an onslaught of questions.
"Are you responsible for deciding the victor?" exclaimed Yaoyarozu.
"How much can we hurt the other team?" said Bakugo, causing Shigeo to flinch at the question and the features of anger on his face.
"Do we need to worry about the losers being expelled like with Mr. Aizawa?"
"Will our teams be decided based on chance or comparative skill?"
All Might was overwhelmed by the number of questions being bombarded onto him, and several sweat beads fell down his face while he clenched his fists in annoyance. "Let me finish, would you," muttered the hero.
Toshinori grabbed a small piece of paper with all of the details of the exercise from one of his inner pockets and unfolded it.
"Alright, here's the situation: the villains have gotten their hands on a powerful nuclear device and hidden it in their hideout. The heroes must infiltrate the hideout and foil their plans. To do that, the heroes must either catch the evildoers or get their hands on the nuclear weapon. In order for the villains to win, they must protect their payload or capture the heroes."
The symbol of peace grabbed a lot box with ten pairs of different letters. "We will decide our teams by drawing lots!"
"Hold on, are you sure random selection is the best way to select our teams?" stated Iida, "Is there not a better option?"
"Think about it," said Midoriya, "Heroes from different agencies usually run across each other when fighting villains and have to work together on the spot, so it'd make sense if we have to deal with similar circumstances for this exercise."
"Ah, I see. In life, we often have to deal with random events and do our best to adapt and work past those events with the tools and people we have." The blue-haired teenager bowed to the number one hero. "Excuse my rudeness, teacher."
"Don't worry about it. Now let's draw! We'll do it in a single-filed line!"
The teenagers all piled together in this line and drew from the lot box. The next minute was a mess, all of the students clamored together while trying to figure out which team they were on.
The teenage esper had chosen the letter C from the slot box and was among the throbbing mass of teenagers, trying to figure out who he was paired up with.
"Who's got C?"
"I picked C!" Shigeo swerved his head towards the voice of his partner, and he felt like his entire body had frozen up. There was no way: his partner was Yaoyorozu. What kind of ridiculous chance could there have been that the girl who'd first captured his attention would be his partner?
Yaoyorozu was similarly surprised to see that the young esper would be her partner, her eyes widening in surprise. The onyx-eyed teenager quickly got over the shock and walked up to Shigeo. "So we're going to be partners then?"
Overtaken by embarrassment and the irony of this partnership, all he could do was slowly nod his head up and down.
"I have to say, your performance in the quirk apprehension tests yesterday was quite remarkable. While I have to admit I was slightly envious being in second place at first, that will have no effect on our cooperation abilities." Yaoyorozu's lips curved up, only serving to further increase the heat in the esper's cheeks. "I'm confident we'll win with our abilities, regardless of whether we're heroes or villains."
"Ok..." This was barely audible to Yaoyorozu, for the young esper was still trying to contain himself and his emotions. The female teenager's lips curved down, not quite understanding what was causing Shigeo to be so tight-lipped. Was it something she said?
In a rather fitting stroke of irony, Izuku Midoriya's partner for this training exercise was none other than Ochaco Uraraka, working together as Team A. The bob-haired teenager lit up with excitement and surprise, relieved to know she'd be fighting alongside someone she liked and had gotten to know for a while now.
"Can you believe it? Who would've thought we'd be teamed up for this exercise?" Like Shigeo, the young green-haired student felt his cheeks flaring, his hand grasped over his mouth. The odds of such a pairing for this exercise was quite extraordinary, but Izuku wasn't objecting by any means.
"I have to make a good impression on her!" Izuku thought.
In a rather bad match-up, though, Team D consisted of Bakugo and Iida, both of whom were not fond of each other and whose personalities mixed together very poorly.
Once everyone had found their partners, All Might retrieved two boxes, one white with the word "hero" on the front, the other black with the word "villain".
"The first two teams to fight will be-" The symbol of peace dug his hands into the boxes and picked the two letters that Shigeo had desperately hoped wouldn't be paired together.
"Team A will be the heroes, and Team D will be the villains! Everyone else will go to the monitoring room!"
"Yes sir!"
Izuku's mouth began to lose its saliva while his heart began to beat rapidly. The verdant-eyed teenager never thought that his opponent would be his childhood friend. Midoriya knew what kind of incredible power he had, the unbelievable anger he held towards him, and knew how little he wielded in comparison.
Midoriya found the courage to look over at Bakugo, and sure enough, the hot-headed teenager's eyes were dead set on the teenager. His crimson eyes were sharp, focused with cold-blooded anger. It looked like Bakugo had gotten lucky with his opponents. Deku couldn't hold a candle to him. Hell, even an angry gaze from Bakugo was enough to unnerve him.
But Izuku Midoriya was not the same meek child as he was ten months ago. Instead of cowering in fear, the formerly quirkless teenager clenched his fist, furrowing his eyebrows and meeting Kacchan's hardened gaze with his own determined expression. No, he wouldn't cave into fear from just a look. He refused.
The blonde student flinched in disbelief. Deku actually had the nerve to look at him like that? Did he actually think he'd become better than Bakugo? The idea caused the blonde-haired teenager to clench his teeth and let out a small portion of his famous anger.
"Hey." Bakugo swerved his head to find the bowl-haired nerd giving him an even more steely and more aggressive gaze. Izuku's heartbeat raced even faster than before: what was his friend doing?
With only that single look Bakugo had just given, Mob knew that the hot-headed teenager didn't take in anything from what he heard yesterday. That chill traveling down his spine when he heard the teams was well-warranted: if they were going to do actual combat simulation, did that imply the fighters could do whatever they wanted? Surely there would be at least SOME kind of limits! There was no way that anything would go! But if there weren't, then what would Bakugo do to his friend? Would he use his powers to badly hurt Midoriya? The very thought both frightened and angered Mob.
If it was Mob being attacked, the way Hanazawa had mercilessly pummeled him when they first met, that was one thing. He could take that kind of abuse. But imagining Bakugo inflicting a similar punishment to his friend who could barely defend himself, who couldn't truly call upon his powers to protect him from those fierce explosions? That was unacceptable!
"Listen here, Bakugo." The testosterone-fueled teenager felt the temperature drop around him. The esper's eyes sharpened into daggers, and even the prideful, seemingly fearless Bakugo could not help but slightly recoil. "If you hurt him badly, you'll regret it."
The bowl-haired esper didn't want to go any further and left the silenced Bakugo to join the rest of his class. Watching the scene play out, the other three students and the teacher were astonished by Shigeo's sudden change of attitude and harsh expression. None of them had ever seen the esper act so serious before: from what they'd seen, he was usually composed and rather indifferent to everything going around him.
For Izuku and All Might especially, it was quite the shock to see his friend get so worked up. A part of Midoriya felt flattered to know that his friend was so defensive on his behalf, that his safety meant that much to him. Even so, Izuku didn't want his friend to do something drastic that could cost him his status as a student at U.A. High. Midoriya wasn't worth that kind of a punishment.
For a second, the explosive student thought of yelling to the bowl-haired esper, of reminding him what he'd told him yesterday about not telling him what to do. But at the last second, he decided to hold it back, albeit with tremendous difficulty. No, Bakugo had more important things to worry about right now: he could deal with the bowl-haired loser later.
"Villains, enter the building so you can prepare yourselves. You have five minutes until the heroes infiltrate the hideout and the battle starts."
"Yes sir!"
Bakugo and Iida made their way into the urban building, but not before All Might could give them his final suggestions. "Young Iida, young Bakugo! The key to succeeding this challenge is to embody villainy! Change your thought process to that of an evildoer."
"Understood," replied Iida. The blonde teenager gave one last look at Deku, who was staring at his empty glove while thoughts raced through him. Bakugo bore his teeth and growled with fury. He'd get the better of him for sure!
The two teenagers made it to the top of the hideout. Inside, the hallways were dimly lit, making navigation slightly more difficult. At the top floor, there was a large gray room with florescent lighting brightening the area. Multiple barrels, stone slabs, and other construction materials were littered around the floor. Standing out was the large black device that stood almost as high as the ceiling.
"So this is the device we're going to be protecting then?" Iida approached the large device and tapped it with his knuckles, hearing echoes reverberate through the empty interior. "Obviously fake. Although it pains me to be aligned with criminal activity, it seems we have no choice. As All Might said, it's necessary in order to succeed."
"Hey." Bakugo called out to his teammate while staring at the exit. "Do you really think Deku has a quirk?"
"You saw it yourself when he threw that ball yesterday, yet his power deals great damage to his body." The spectacled teenager was surprised that he still hadn't accepted Deku's powers. What was making him so averse to the notion that Midoriya had a quirk? Iida couldn't help but voice his confusion.
"What causes you to become so angered with Midoriya?"
The blonde teenager gave no reply, too caught up in his own thoughts and fury. Was it really true? Did Deku really have a quirk that he kept secret all this time? The explosive teenager's pupils dilated, his mouth forming a wicked smile.
"I'm gonna roast that damn nerd today!"
After the villain team entered the hidout and All Might gave the hero team a map of the building, the symbol of peace made his way to the monitoring room. However, when Toshinori walked through the entrance to the monitoring room building, he was quickly greeted by Shigeo standing at the side of the entrance.
All Might flinched. "Oh, Kageyama. Didn't expect to see you waiting here."
"Sorry, I just wanted the chance to talk to you alone."
"I suppose, but make it quick. The first match is going to start soon."
"I'm just..." The esper rubbed his arm and brought his eyes to the ground. "I'm worried about Midoriya. You saw how angrily Bakugo was staring at him. What if he uses his powers to hurt him badly? I mean, I tried to tell him not to use his powers so dangerously just now, but I don't think it really stuck with Bakugo."
All Might could see why this would be a troubling issue for young Kageyama: the hero could also see Bakugo's extremely aggressive nature, particularly towards Midoriya. "I can understand your concern. If things do get out of hand, I'll immediately stop the fight."
Shigeo let out a large sigh of relief and felt some of the weight being lifted off of his shoulders. "Thank you, All Might."
"Now come. The rest of the class is waiting for us." Mob nodded and walked down the hallway of the building. In the dimly lit corridor, they followed the door entrance with the faint glow of monitoring screens shining out of the room.
All of the class was huddled around the screens, looking at the fighters from the multiple cameras placed throughout the building. In addition to monitors, there was also a podium with an earpiece, a microphone, a clipboard and a pen meant for All Might. They turned to see All Might enter with Kageyama trailing a few steps behind him, perplexing a few of the students who hadn't noticed his momentary absence.
"What were you doing just now?" asked the golden-haired student, Denki Kaminari.
Mob momentarily froze up, not prepared for such a question. He struggled to find the proper answer for the moment, but fortunately, All Might was there to bail him out. "He was just waiting for me so I could answer a question he had. Don't worry about it."
Kaminari was fine with the answer, and turned his attention back to the screens. All Might walked up to the monitors and clutched the microphone.
"Ok folks!" The four teenagers preparing to fight heard the hero's booming voice through the sound system. "The indoor combat training has officially begun! Team A and Team D, get a move on!"
"Now pay attention, kids. Try to picture yourselves in this situation and imagine what you'd do, because you'll all have to do this very soon." The symbol of peace dropped the microphone and equipped the earpiece to listen in on the battle. While he had a strong bond with Midoriya just as he did with Kageyama, that could not factor into his assessment. Like Kageyama, Midoriya was only a student in this setting.
Once the four fighters heard All Might's voice telling them to start, Midoriya and Uraraka wasted no time infiltrating the building. After analyzing the map, they entered through a small window on the side of the building.
Izuku was leading the way while Uraraka stood behind him, the girl growing slightly nervous at the dark and eery vibe this building gave her. The formerly quirkless teenager, however, was trying to stay strong.
Outside the building, he'd expressed to his teammate how challenging the task ahead of them was. Admitting Bakugo's amazing power, experience, and tenacity, the green-eyed student knew that only meant he'd have to be even greater. That seemed to have impressed Uraraka, and it made Izuku feel good to know he'd made a decent first impression here.
Putting that aside, Izuku mulled over his options. Knowing he couldn't use One for All as it was properly meant, that meant they'd have to rely on Uraraka's Zero Gravity and his fighting knowledge. That was something he'd acquired and honed from all the years he spent studying heroes, taking notes on all of the heroes, their strengths, their weaknesses, proper fighting styles in different settings. It was all in his hero notebook. With that, he'd be able to get the edge in this fight.
The teenager gasped: jumping in front of them with a mad look in his eyes, Kacchan drew his arm back, activating his quirk and attempting to slam his fist into Deku's chest. Fortunately, Izuku was quick enough to grab Uraraka and jump out of the way, although the villain managed to take off half of his mask in the process.
From the surveillance room, Shigeo cringed. So Bakugo had decided to get the jump on Izuku like that? How terrible. What's more, as the smoke cleared, the esper could see the clear fracture in the wall. A single normal punch with his quirk was enough to do such damage? How would his friend fare against that kind of power?
The other students let out gasps of surprise, although some, like Shigeo, weren't too pleased with Bakugo's ruthless behavior either. "So he snuck up on them to catch the two off guard?" said Kirishima, punching into his empty hand, "A real man wouldn't resort to something like that."
"Now now, it's a perfectly valid strategy," replied All Might, "True villains often use sneak attacks to catch heroes off-guard and land some devastating first blows."
Bakugo sprinted up to Midoriya with his quirk ready for action. "I'm not gonna hurt you bad enough that they'll have to cancel the match, but I'll make sure it's close enough!" The teenager launched a right hook, but to his shock, Deku had anticipated the attack and caught his arm.
The green-haired teenager changed the position of his feet so that his back would be facing Bakugo. Then, using Bakugo's own momentum against him, Izuku swung his body down, and with a mighty roar, slammed him into the ground back-first. Kacchan groaned, spitting out saliva and closing his eyes.
In the surveillance room, many of the spectators gasped, especially Shigeo. What did Izuku just do? He'd never seen anything like it: he somehow predicted Bakugo's attack, then countered by using his own movement speed against him! And he didn't even use his quirk!
"That was... incredible." muttered Kageyama, "But how did he do it?"
Likewise, the hot-headed teenager was trying to wrap his brain around what just happened. Deku knew what move he was gonna use, but how?
"You always use a big right hook to start a fight. I know because I've watched you for years." Bakugo arched his eyebrow up while recovering from the attack. "I've spent my time watching the pros, learning how they fight and how their quirks work, including you! All those notes were in the book you decided to burn and throw out the window." Izuku clenched his fist and stared at Kacchan with his bright green eyes and trembling lips.
"You can call me Deku if you want, but the kid you once used to mock, who couldn't defend himself, doesn't exist anymore. You get that?" The teenager tightened his fists, and with his determination, proudly said, "Starting now, Deku is the name of a hero!"
While others, like Uraraka, may have been impressed or dazzled by Midoriya's proud proclamation, Katsuki Bakugo wasn't like everyone else. In fact, Deku's attempt at big talk and trying to look like he was this new brave hero only served to further infuriate the teenager.
Shigeo Kageyama was observing how this exchange between Midoriya and Bakugo was playing out. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, it seemed as though his friend was trying to stand up to Bakugo, somehow show he wasn't afraid.
The esper sighed: the relationship between these two was really rocky indeed.
"I can't believe Bakugo almost attacked you."
Izuku and Shigeo were both standing together at the train station: after the four students had reached their destination, they parted ways and went off to find the train lines they'd be taking home. For the two training partners, they had at least ten minutes before the next train would arrive to pick them up, giving them some time to talk about the day's events. For Shigeo, the violent childhood friend of Izuku was one of the first things he decided to bring up.
"It's something he does pretty often," replied Izuku, "Even when were kids, he'd use his quirk more than other students, showing it off to his friends or using it to intimidate others."
"He shouldn't have been allowed to do that. He's let the power of his quirk go to his head, given him so much self-confidence that when I even hinted that his power didn't make him special, he freaked out."
"Wait, what?" Izuku didn't get what Mob meant. "What're you talking about?"
"Just before you came out of the school and were greeted by Iida, I talked to Bakugo and went over what happened today. I thought I could snap some sense into him, make him change how he viewed himself and not to use his powers against others like he did with you."
Izuku was momentarily at a loss for words. "You actually had the guts to go up to Kacchan and tell him he wasn't better because of his powers?"
"I tried, but no luck." Midoriya let out a small yelp. The teenager never imagined his friend to be so vocal or confrontational like that. What's more, Izuku felt a few of his heartstrings being plucked, knowing that Mob had gone to such lengths to defend him.
"I've told you this before, but from my perspective, Bakugo's just a regular person. His quirk doesn't make him special, and that bloated ego is just holding him back."
"Maybe you're right, but..." From the time he'd spent with his friend, the formerly quirkless teenager had learned to take some of Mob's words to heart. He was right when he said there were things quirks couldn't do, things that only other people have and can only be acquired through training, commitment, and repetition. The bodies they'd gained were a testament to that fact. Even so...
"I still can't help but think of him as amazing. That confidence he has lets him keep on pushing forward, and his ambition to become a hero also gives him strength. But that's exactly why..."
Izuku held his chin up high and looked to his friend with the same fiery passion he'd seen every day they were training. "It's exactly why I have to surpass him! If I'm gonna be a hero, then I have to prove I can match him! One of these days, I'll get that chance, and I'll show Kacchan that I'm not someone who can just be ignored and treated like nothing!"
"You've got this, Midoriya," Shigeo muttered under his breath, "Show Bakugo what you can do!"
The esper noticed Bakugo suddenly beginning to talk, although it didn't seem like it was Izuku who he was talking to.
"Who's the guy Bakugo's talking to," Kirishima decided to ask, "I can't hear a thing. Can't you like use the sound system in there to let us hear what they're saying?"
"The person he's talking to is his partner," All Might responded, "I gave one to both of them before the match started, as well as a map of the building. I also gave them this." The number one hero showed the class a small roll of tape from his inner pocket. "A roll of capture tape. If you've wrapped this tape around your opponent, that means you've captured them and they're indisposed for the rest of the match."
"Wait a second," Ashido said, "So there's a fifteen minute time limit for the heroes, and they have no idea which floor the bomb is on. Doesn't that give them a huge disadvantage?"
"Many heroes are forced to work against the clock or are dealt several disadvantages during confrontations with the enemy. Against all those odds," All Might lifted his finger up and swerved his head to face Shigeo. "We must fight on!"
Many of the students cracked smiles, admiring the words of wisdom given to them by the number one hero, but for Shigeo, it was even more meaningful because unlike the other students, he knew exactly what All Might was referring to with those words just now.
Invigorating the class, the symbol of peace lifted his fist into the air. "Now all together!"
The class immediately got the message, and all shouted the motto of U.A. High.
"Let's hear a Plus Ultra!"
Everyone in the room spoke these words together. Well, everyone except Shigeo. The other students saw that their bowl-haired classmate had neither raised his hand or shouted the motto, for he had neither the passion within him, and thanks to his lack of social skills and knowledge, didn't even know what the motto was.
The students pursed their lips and lifted their eyebrows, making the esper's cheeks flush in embarrassment. But their attention was instantly drawn back to the monitors, for Bakugo had decided to make a move. Izuku yelled out, and immediately, Uraraka fled the scene. The students pieced together that Midoriya ordered his teammate to flee while he held Bakugo off himself.
The explosive teenager used his quirk to propel himself forward, and attacked Midoriya with a left kick. The fanboy raised his elbow to block the kick, but the students soon realized Midoriya was already one step ahead: he'd taken the capture tape out and wrapped it around Bakugo's leg.
The arrogant student repeated his previous right hook to incapacitate Bakugo, but somehow, Midoriya had already anticipated the attack and lunged to the side. Kageyama gasped: even though he didn't really enjoy or focus on fighting, he was still amazed to see his friend doing so well. Hell, if Mob were in his shoes, he would've been blown away. He had no idea how to fight, anticipate his opponent's moves, orreact to their attacks.
Unlike the esper, though, All Might was not surprised by what he was seeing. He'd always known Midoriya to be very analytical, quick to react in crisis situations. More impressive was how he'd spent many years taking notes about heroes, learning the best methods of fighting based on how other heroes fought. Those lessons were ingrained in his memory, giving him the knowledge and ability to fight an opponent who looked way out of his league.
The two childhood friends stared each other down in the hallway. The class was waiting in anticipation, seeing who would make the first move and how it would turn out. But then, in an unexpected twist, Midoriya fled into the depths of the building. Bakugo immediately chased after, but was too far away, quickly losing his opponent.
The violent adolescent stopped in the middle of the hallway, yelling out what the class presumed were insults while furiously creating more explosions in his hands.
"My god, never knew someone could get so angry," Kaminari remarked.
"It makes sense, considering how Midoriya was able to anticipate and momentarily fight off Bakugo without even using his quirk." Shigeo voiced his thoughts, causing the other students to tune in to his words. "I'm betting he's never had anyone get the best of him like that, considering how powerful his quirk is and how much confidence he has in himself."
"You make a good point there, Kageyama," said Tsuyu Asui, "You saw how he freaked out yesterday when he couldn't get a better score than you on the ball throw."
"Good observation, Kageyama," added All Might. Shigeo wasn't kidding: the amount of pride Bakugo had was absolutely ridiculous, unlike anything he'd seen before.
"Hey, I think Uraraka's almost found the bomb." One of the students pointed at the monitor with the heroic female, and sure enough, she'd already located Iida and the bomb. Iida was looking at a window while seemingly in self-thought. After a few seconds of waiting behind a pillar to make a move, for some reason, Uraraka let out a laugh, giving her position away to Iida.
"Man, I really wish we could hear what they were saying," said Kirishima, "The suspense is killing me."
Uraraka activated her earpiece to inform her teammate that she'd found the bomb. The students saw Midoriya receive the message, then unrolling the tape.
"It seems like he's preparing to capture Bakugo," Yayorozu theorized, "Although how he'll go about doing that remains unclear."
"Don't think he'll have a lot of time to figure that out. Look!" After several minutes of searching, Bakugo had finally Deku, but what nobody realized was that the hot-blooded student had a bit more in store for his childhood friend this time.
In the building, Bakugo's cold eyes bore into Midoriya. "I'm all loaded up."
Izuku already didn't like where this was going. "What do you mean by that?"
The explosive villain smirked, taking pleasure in the fear Deku was about to be enveloped in. "Being the STALKER you are, you probably already know how my quirk works: I secrete nitroglycerin from my hands and body, which serves as the fuel I use to ignite my explosions. Imagine how much stronger my explosions would be if I had a lot of it."
The green-eyed teenager gasped, widening the wicked smile on Bakugo's face. "You're starting to get the picture? My gauntlets aren't just for show!" The teenager pulled the lever on his right gauntlet back, revealing a hidden pin. "They've been storing up my sweat for one monster blast!" Bakugo put his finger through the pin. This was his perfect chance to blow Deku away!
But then, something happened. For just a single second, the teenager's lips curved down ever-so-slightly, and he barely loosened the grip on the pin. What was causing this minor lapse in his frightening determination?
"If you hurt him badly, you'll regret it."
Those menacing words, the icy chill in his voice and the hardened look on his face came back to haunt him. Did he mean what he said? What would the bowl-cut do to him if he went through with this?
As quickly as the thought came, it vanished, and the teenager tightened his grip on the pin. He didn't give two shits about what lame-ass threats that nerd came up with! He could handle him no sweat!
"EAT SHIT, DEKU!"
"No, he's going too far!" Both Toshinori and Shigeo felt their chests grow heavy, and while Shigeo couldn't hear Bakugo's explanation, it was safe to assume whatever he was about to do would be deadly. The number one hero grabbed the microphone to try and stop Bakugo from following through.
"Bakugo, stop! If you pull that pin, it'll kill him!"
At that moment, words were useless: the mad look in his eyes and his evil smile said more than enough. "He'll live if he dodges!"
"NO!"
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The esper yelled out in terror, watching helplessly as the almost psychotic teenager pulled the pin, releasing a monstrous explosion which destroyed the hallway. The fanboy was unfortunately unable to dodge the explosion as Bakugo had foolishly assured he would, and was soon blown away like paper in the wind. The force of Bakugo's enhanced explosion was enough to smash through the wall of the building and create a huge cloud of smoke that spewed into the sky. Not only that, all of the spectators and the other two fighters were momentarily brought off-balance.
"This is nuts!" exclaimed Kirishima. Yet the power of the explosion was absolutely nothing for the bowl-haired esper: his heart momentarily stopped beating, and his body froze up. Did that...
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All Might, too, was desperately hoping that his successor hadn't been taken out by that massive blast. "Midoriya, come in! COME IN!"
"I'm... I'm here." The fanboy's drained and weakened voice was music to All Might's ears. The monitoring system switched cameras and showed Midoriya lying on the ground but still visibly breathing. The esper took a massive sigh of relief: thank god he hadn't been killed.
In the damaged room, Izuku worked his way through the pain in his body, having gotten used to pushing through pain from his ten months of nightmarish exercise. "Can he even do that?"
"Hehe... HEHE!" Approaching from the large layer of smoke, Katsuki Bakugo felt like his spirit was dancing. "Man, these gauntlets are fucking amazing! I never knew my explosions could get so strong!"
Midoriya's body began to tremble: his eyes were drenched with fear, and he was stammering, inching back as his childhood friend approached him with almost murderous intent.
"So what're you waiting for? Go on, use your stupid quirk!" The teenager's full body became visible, and Midoriya was only frightened further by the crazed look in his eyes. "No matter what you do, you'll never defeat me!"
In the monitoring room, the teenage esper had had enough. Bakugo had gone way too far with his explosions. If he used another one of those blasts again, his friend might actually be killed.
"All Might, you have to put a stop to this!" Mob rushed up to the teacher's side and placed his hand on All Might's arm. "If this goes on, Bakugo's gonna kill him!"
"No." The esper's grip loosened when All Might met his eyes. "Despite what it looks like, he's not intending to kill Midoriya."
That did very little to calm the esper down.
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"That doesn't mean he won't try using that blast again, and if he does, who knows what'll happen! I mean, look at Bakugo!" Everyone in the room knew exactly what Shigeo meant: those crimson, sadistic eyes were more than ready to beat Midoriya within an inch of his life.
"Bakugo!" The hero grabbed the microphone to give his warning to Bakugo. "If you used that stored-up power again, this fight will be over, and your team will lose!"
The teenager's wicked smile twisted into a shocked frown. "HUH? What're you talking about?"
"Using such a devastating attack indoors deals heavy damage to the stronghold you're meant to protect! It's a very poor strategy, whether you're a hero or a villain, and it would amount to a massive loss of points."
Mob felt most of his panic leave him: as long as Bakugo couldn't use that strong explosion, he hoped Midoriya wouldn't be seriously injured. Even so, the psychic was still uneasy, unsure of what else Bakugo could do and how much more he could hurt Izuku. Was All Might still going to let this continue, even after seeing just how dead-set Bakugo was on hurting Midoriya?
Sure enough, a large part of All Might's mind was considering putting an end to this now and ensuring Midoriya wouldn't be further damaged. But in his heart, the number one hero knew that Midoriya needed to do this. He NEEDED to overcome this obstacle in order to improve himself.
Bakugo's brain was boiling with indignation! How dare All Might interfere with this! He HAD to beat Deku! The teenager screamed out in rage.
"ALRIGHT, FINE!"
While Bakugo and the spectators were doing there own things, Midoriya was conferring with his teammate: from what she was telling him right now, the bomb was in the floor directly above him. And that meant-
"You good on the plan, Uraraka? Get to the window now!"
Sadly for Midoriya, his moment of distraction gave his enemy enough time to propel himself forward with his quirk, giving the fanboy barely enough time to try and counter.
"WE'LL FIGHT HAND-TO-HAND!"
Izuku could see him closing in: there wasn't enough time to dodge. The teenager clenched his fist. That meant he had to face it head-on!
"Like this!" Midoriya threw his fist, expecting it to clash with Bakugo's. But no, his enemy wasn't that typical. Just before reaching Izuku's fist, the teenager activated his quirk, propelling him over Deku with just enough speed and angle to hover behind him. Then, he activated the quirk on his right hand to keep him midair for just a moment longer while using his left hand to land an explosion to Midoriya's back, eliciting a painful groan from the teenager.
"Whoa!" The spectators did not expect to see such a clever move from Bakugo.
"Huh." One of the students, a male with half of his body covered in ice for whatever reason, his hair colored red on one side and white on the other, was able to analyze what just occurred. "He seems like the head-strong idiot who just blindly charges in, but he's actually more capable than I thought."
Kirishima and Ashido looked at the student with piqued interest. "What're you talking about?"
"He changed his trajectory midair by using his blast to propel himself upward, serving as both a boost and a smokescreen. Impressive."
Yayorozu heard his comment and added onto it. "A feint attack like that would require a strong understanding of the physics, calculation, and how much power he'd need to use. He's clearly thought this through."
Kageyama overheard this explanation, and though slightly impressed by Yayorozu's explanation, he was not impressed by Bakugo's skill with his quirk.
The explosive teenager wasn't finished with Deku. Bakugo grabbed the back of Izuku's shirt, then, using his free hand to activate his quirk and give his throw more momentum, drove Deku into the wall, causing the teenager to yet again yell in agony.
"Midoriya!"
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"All Might, this can't keep going!" implored Mob.
On the battlefield, Izuku was feeling battered and broken. The pain from those last attacks was adding up, and Kacchan wasn't giving him any time to formulate a strategy.
"Why haven't you used it yet?" Bakugo was fuming, part of him not taking pleasure in this beatdown because he knew Deku wasn't using his full power. "Why've you kept this secret all these years? DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK YOU WERE BETTER THAN ME?"
Izuku's eyes went to the ground, his hands balling into fists. The green-haired fanboy felt his own anger and passion begin to rise up inside. "If that's what you think, then you're an idiot!"
Ever since they were kids, Izuku had always admired his childhood friend for what he could do, the aura of confidence he exuded, and the goals he strived for in life. Even Shigeo's perspective on quirks did not truly change that opinion he held of Katsuki Bakugo.
The formerly quirkless fanboy looked back at Kacchan, tears now welling in his eyes. "You've always been stronger, Kacchan! I've never been better than you!" Instead of being flattered, Bakugo only became more enraged.
"Why can't you see?" Midoriya held his chest up high, the fiery passion he'd used during all his time training giving him renewed strength.
"That's why I want to beat you! BECAUSE YOU'RE AMAZING!"
Bakugo's anger and sadistic excitement combined, serving as his own fuel to fight the nerd in front of him. If Deku really understood that Bakugo was better than him, that only made him even more of an idiot for thinking he could ever surpass him.
"LET'S END THIS!"
Here it was, the climactic finish: two childhood friends, one blessed with a powerful quirk at birth and deluded with his own sense of grandeur, the other born with no quirk but blessed with the support of the number one hero and the quirk he'd earned through his spirit and his perseverance, were finally going to finish this.
Bakugo's right palm was igniting with orange explosions, while Midoriya's right arm was glowing bright red, coursing with the power of One for All. In the monitoring room, Shigeo felt like his heart was about to burst.
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"All Might!" The esper clutched the hero's arm yet again, but this time, the hero stuttered when he saw the rainbow aura beginning to glow around the esper and his hair stand up, which only happened when he was preparing to unleash his powers. Likewise, the other students were looking at Kageyama with a growing sense of panic.
"STOP THE FIGHT!"
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Finally, the number one hero had reached his breaking point. If they unleashed their punches, either one of them could be killed.
"BOTH OF YOU, STAND DOWN NOW!"
"URARAKA, NOW!"
"RIGHT!" Several floors above, the youthful heroine grabbed onto one of the pillars and activated her quirk. Iida, who'd made sure to keep the bomb out of Uraraka's grasp, couldn't understand what she was doing. But he would soon find out.
"SMASH!" Katsuki Bakugo didn't realize this, but he'd fallen into his enemy's trap. Baiting him into a final confrontation, Izuku Midoriya instead used this opportunity to go after his true target: the bomb. The fanboy knew he didn't stand a chance against his childhood friend in a one-on-one fight, so this was his alternative.
The new user of One for All slammed his fist upward. The amazing power of his quirk created an immense burst of wind pressure, breaking through multiple floors, shattering multiple windows and sending the debris high into the sky, which is exactly what the heroes had been counting on.
With Uraraka's zero gravity quirk, the teenager lifted the pillar as though it were a baseball bat. But in this game, there was more than one baseball.
"Here it comes: the comet home run!" Uraraka swung the pillar, sending the dozens of chunks of rock flying at Iida.
"In the name of villainy, I demand you stop this!" The blue-haired teenager raised his elbows to defend himself from the onslaught of rocks, just as his enemy had planned. He saw her pink form flying across the air, and by the time he realized what she was doing, it was already too late.
"I got it!" Uraraka was hugging the bomb, leaving Iida to the shock and despair that came as he understood that his team had just lost.
Alas, the shock and despair Iida was feeling was absolutely nothing in comparison to what his teammate was experiencing at this moment. "This... was your plan."
Bakugo was staring up at the devastation caused by Deku's quirk, baffled at the amazing force it unleashed and by how he'd been completely blindsided. "From the very beginning, wasn't it?" The boy's voice was broken and weak, devoid of all of the confidence and pride he had a moment ago.
"You're wrong." Responding with an equally pained and weak voice, Izuku called out to his childhood friend. "I wasn't planning on using it because I..." The smoke from the exchange cleared, and Bakugo could see his friend holding up his arm, which was now reddened and fractured, "I can't handle it. The backlash is too strong, and I can only use it a single time before I'm done. Mr. Aizawa said I was useless, so this was all I could think of."
In an incredibly rare sight, Bakugo's eyebrows furrowed in what looked like a semblance of sadness and pity. Even though he won, Deku was barely standing, not displaying the confidence and pride that should've come with his first victory against him. The last of his strength gone, Midoriya did nothing but slip into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, leaving Bakugo alone to process his defeat by himself.
Meanwhile, the surveillance room was deathly silent. All of the spectators saw the amazing turn of events, and as they watched the timer finally stop, the heroes reigned supreme. Mob remained frozen, his hand still latched around All Might's arm while the hero remained stunned in silence at the astonishing victory that took place.
"He... did it. THE HEROES WIN!"
The room did not erupt into a grand applause. Instead, the students were also startled by the unpredictable end to this dramatic exercise.
"Man, what a weird way to end this," remarked Kaminari. On the monitors, the spectators saw Uraraka laying on the floor, her sense of balance thrown way off and causing her to vomit while Iida stood beside her, attempting to give her comfort.
"How does the saying go? They may have won the battle, but they lost the war."
"This is a really intense class."
Even if it didn't go the way he was expecting, the number one hero was still pleased to know Midoriya overcame this obstacle and achieved his first victory against Bakugo. Still, the teenager needed to be attended to this instant. "I'm going to call the nurse and get a stretcher for Midoriya. We'll review the exercise in about fifteen minutes."
The symbol of peace ran out of the room, allowing the other students to continue to converse amongst themselves. A few of them noticed, however, that Kageyama was blankly staring at the screen, still remaining in the same position he was just moments ago.
"Yo." The red-haired teenager went up to the esper and clasped his shoulder. "You alright? You look a little shocked, though seeing something as crazy as that would shock anyone."
"Yea, yea," replied Shigeo, still looking at the monitoring screen and only slightly shifting his body, "I'm fine."
The fact of the matter was, the esper wasn't fine. While All Might may have been pleased to see that Midoriya and his team won this exercise and overpowered his childhood friend, Mob's attention was almost entirely elsewhere. This exercise was nothing short of a horror show against Midoriya. The entire time, Bakugo had gone out of his way to pummel Izuku, relentlessly striking him while smiling with a sick, twisted glee.
For Bakugo, this exercise was his time to humiliate Midoriya, degrade him as a hero-in-training and as a person to make himself feel important and ensure he remain superior. He'd completely disregarded Mob's words yet again, and because of that, both of Midoriya's arms were broken and the rest of his body was badly damaged.
Well, if Bakugo thought he would just ignore this, just let this be and say that it was just part of the training exercise, he had another thing coming. No, this time, Mob would be a little more... to the point with his message.
Bakugo hadn't moved from his spot. The monumental gravity of his defeat was bearing down on his body and mind like a giant anvil. The number one hero stood behind him, watching while the stretcher came and took Midoriya away to Recovery Girl. All Might stared back at Bakugo, seeing how hard he was taking this defeat. It made sense, considering his insanely inflated pride.
The teenager's hand was stretched out, his body trembling from the shock of defeat. All of his attacks had been predicted and countered by Deku. He looked like an idiot and an amateur and actually won the exercise! His thoughts went back to the last words Deku said before their final clash that destroyed the building, and his hand clenched into a fist. Sweat poured down his face. His breathing became more labored, and the veins in his eyes constricted. The rage inside him was like the heat inside a pressure cooker, and the pressure was about to explode.
"If we fought for real, with no restraints, would I lose?"
The symbol of peace gently placed his hand on Bakugo's shoulder, and the teenager gasped. "Keep your cool. We'll go review your work. Win or lose, it's always possible to get something from the experiences of the fight as long as you're open to learning. I'll give you about five or ten minutes or so to collect yourself."
The symbol of peace walked to the hole made by Bakugo's explosion and jumped down. The explosive student took another thirty seconds to calm himself down enough so that he could move. When he did, he slowly walked through the hallway and made his way down the stairs and through the exit.
While walking, his steps were quiet and erratic, his eyes still pointed to the ground. This was too much for Bakugo. Even with his amazing quirk and all his experience with it, Deku still somehow managed to outsmart and overpower him. It was the largest blow he'd been dealt in his life.
Bakugo paced out the front door and prepared to go to the surveillance area, when he abruptly stopped at the sight before him. The bowl-haired nerd was standing a few feet near the entrance, but for some reason, his hair was standing up. His eyes were cold, even colder than they'd been when he'd warned him not to hurt Deku before the match started.
"You and I are gonna have a talk, right now."
The blonde teenager's head recoiled at the calm but deadly tone in his voice. Even with that serious tone, however, Bakugo was in absolutely no mood to be lectured about what happened in the exercise. Truthfully, he didn't give a damn whether Kageyama was angry or what he thought about anything, so the teenager viciously snarled at the teenager and sliced his hand through the air.
"Get out of the way, bowl-cut!" shouted Bakugo, "No way I'm listening to you-" The teenager's sentence was cut off when he felt himself being abruptly pulled towards Kageyama. The teenager didn't get it: was Kageyama doing this? Did his quirk also give him the ability to move things with his mind? He never saw him use this ability during the quirk apprehension test!
Bakugo's adrenaline sharply spiked: the two of them were only inches apart, and now the blonde teenager could get a better look of the furious features etched on the teenager's face.
"This isn't an option."
Chills ran down Bakugo's spine. The explosive teenager had never seen anything so menacing, so intimidating. Mob thrust his finger in the air, and telekinetically pushed Bakugo into an adjacent alley. The esper released his hold on the teenager and walked a few steps until they were a few feet apart from each other.
"You lost the exercise." Mob started up the conversation with a blunt repetition of the obvious, eliciting a sharp inhale from Bakugo. "Today was proof that Midoriya was better than you in something."
"Shut up." The teenager's hands curled into fists, and his whole body began to tremble with indignation. How dare he mock Bakugo, humiliate him even more than he'd already been humiliated.
"I told you before that you'd soon find something that your quirk couldn't help you with. EVEN," the esper put a heavy emphasis on that word, "without using his quirk, he was able to outsmart you, predict your moves and come up with a plan to beat you. All of that came from years of training and commitment, not something he was just born with. Even after you nearly killed him-"
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The esper took a short breath to pause before he continued to make his point. "Beat him like an animal, he still persevered and made you look like the average person you really are."
That was it. Katsuki Bakugo could no longer keep the beast locked up in his cage. The teenager screamed with primal rage and rushed the esper with his fists prepared to ignite. "I'M GONNA KI-"
Poor Bakugo. He had no way of knowing that the beast inside of him was a small newborn kitten in comparison to the rabid, untamed monster that laid dormant inside of Mob for more than ten months, waiting to be unleashed again. The peace and steadiness of Mob's new life allowed him to keep his powers in check for quite a while, but it was only a matter of time before the limit was reached.
The blonde teenager was abruptly frozen in the air. "What?" Bakugo commanded his body to break free, continue attacking with all of his might, but it was no use. Kageyama was somehow able to immobilize him again!
"You're not the only one who's fueled by rage."
Katsuki Bakugo bravely looked up to see what had been unleashed, and when he did, at last he understood the kind of carnal fury Shigeo Kageyama had kept hidden inside. A brilliant burst of rainbow energy shot out, and when the esper met his opponent's gaze, his newly crimson eyes, home to a firestorm of repressed fury, bore there way into the explosive student's eyes and into his very soul. It was then, for the very first time, that Katsuki Bakugo felt true fear. Fear of the monster that had been awakened once again.
100% Animosity
We all knew it was going to happen! There was no way that Mob would let things go on like this! Bakugo's finally gonna understand just how truly helpless he is in the face of such overwhelming anger and power. For the Mob and Momo team-up, I did actually have a purpose for this besides the obvious! You'll just have to wait until next chapter to see what'll happen to Bakugo and how the shy esper does with Yayorozu in Chapter 11 of 100 Percent Hero!
