It's here! The long-anticipated battle between Mob and Bakugo! The esper couldn't take it anymore, and now Bakugo's gonna have to deal with that rage! Let's see how it turns out!
"You're not the only one who's fueled by rage."
The psychic student's bottled-up fury was finally awakened yet again. This anger was different, more driven and deeper than his other fights against Dimple and Suzuki. In those moments, his anger was awakened more out of the necessity to fight. But this: the only other time he'd felt this way was when he fought the esper who kidnapped Ritsu. Back then, he felt a deeper fury, a border-line hatred for his enemy. Now he felt that same fury, that same developing hatred for the teenager floating in front of him who spent his childhood mercilessly bullying his friend.
Mob decided to let history repeat itself and sunk the enemy teenager a few feet into the ground. Bakugo yelled out: he'd never felt anything like this before! Somehow, Kageyama was able to use his powers to increase the gravity around him. It was as if hundreds of people were piling down on him, keeping him chained to the ground.
How could he break free of such a overwhelming force like this? He rapidly thought of a solution to break free, and a quick fix came to him. He could use his explosion quirk to propel himself up. Then, he'd shoot himself toward the bowl-haired nerd and blow him away!
Bakugo activated his quirk and created a small explosion against the ground. Sadly, the hot-headed teenager was way out of his league: instead of pushing him off the ground and onto his feet, Bakugo barely moved an inch up from his spot. The explosion momentarily disoriented the blonde adolescent due to how close he was to the blast. He could try and increase the force of the blast by using his grenadier, but as soon as the thought came to his mind, he realized it wouldn't work. First, he'd have to open the pin and pull it, and he couldn't even move a finger. Besides, even if he could, the force of the blast at such a close range would likely do some serious damage to his brain.
"You're not getting out that easily." The young esper began to slowly walk down the caving ground. "I warned you of what would happen if you badly hurt Midoriya. You only have yourself to blame for this." Bakugo could not give a proper reply and only grunted in anger.
"I'm pretty sure I understand why you hate Midoriya so much. You might act like you're better and stronger than him, but deep down, you're afraid of him, afraid of what he's become."
Every fiber of that angry boy wanted to lash out and silence his enemy, but the pitiful teenager was helpless. "Because in your eyes, if someone as "pathetic" and "weak" as him can outmatch you, then that mean's you'll be nothing, just a loser who lost to a "nobody" like him."
The psychic teenager telekinetically dragged Bakugo towards him, holding him by the mouth while his enemy desperately tried to break free of his grasp, but the grip was like iron. "I almost feel sorry for you."
"Funny!" Bakugo said through muffled words, "I was about to say the same thing!" Now that his hands were free, the blonde teenager blasted his enemy with a point-blank blast to his chest. Bakugo smiled with glee: that attack should've been enough to at least disorient him and loosen his ridiculously strong grip on him. But unfortunately for him, Bakugo felt no loss of resistance.
"Was that supposed to be an attack?" Katsuki Bakugo felt his heart drop to the ground: the smoke of the attack cleared, revealing a completely unharmed Kageyama staring him down with his blood-red eyes. These blasts were absolutely nothing compared to the kind of explosions Suzuki made during their fight.
"That barely counts as a tickle."
The burning fire coursing through his blood quickly died out. He'd taken that blast like it was nothing! He didn't even flinch! The small, hate-driven part of him was tempted to use his grenadier, shut that newly-arrogant mouth of his, but he knew that would be an almost certain death sentence, and he wasn't that devoid of morality.
Mob swung the teenager's body over him, then slammed Bakugo into the ground. The force created a crater one or two meters in diameter, as well as several cracks in the foundation of the adjacent buildings. The blonde teenager let out a muffled shout of pain.
"The last person who was on the receiving end of this anger didn't end up so hot, and it's taking all the self-restraint I have not to beat you as badly as I did him. But luckily for you, I'm not going to go any further, seeing as we're in school and in the middle of a training exercise. But listen here."
The esper lifted up his finger, and Bakugo could feel Mob's hand tighten around his jaw. Shigeo's teeth clenched with fury, making Bakugo shudder with fear.
"Since you didn't get the message the last two times, let me make this crystal clear: if you ever hurt Midoriya the way you did today again, I'll make sure you feel the full weight of this unyielding rage."
The esper was finished with his outburst and threw Bakugo to the ground like he was throwing a piece of chewed-up gum. "We're meeting up with the class in a few minutes, so I suggest you get up and move along."
Mob walked to the clearing of the alleyway. It wasn't a pretty sight, but the esper had gotten his point across. He looked back, noting that Bakugo still hadn't gotten up from his spot. Was he injured worse than he'd anticipated from his attacks? Would he have to lift him up and carry him with his psychic powers?
Fortunately, the explosive adolescent picked up his body off the ground. As he got up, his shoulders were slouched, and his eyes never left the ground. When he started to walk, Bakugo's footsteps were heavy, as if every step was a burden for him.
Now that Mob's anger was beginning to fade and he was seeing how impacted Bakugo was by his outburst, he began to a small semblance of regret for what he'd done. Maybe he'd gone too far just now. Should he've just given him another stern warning?
No: he'd tried to settle this peacefully, try to help Bakugo see the error of his ways and talk things out in a civilized manner, but he'd adamantly refused to listen and badly injured Midoriya. He'd been given no choice but to solve things with force.
Still, he hoped this would never happen again. In Mob's mind, he prayed Bakugo would take this lesson to heart, make an effort to change himself like Hanazawa had done. After all, his fellow esper had taken his loss pretty hard too, and while Mob felt terrible regret for what had transpired, he was still happy to know that they'd become friends after that. Maybe Bakugo would warm up to the idea of being friends as well.
"Kageyama?" The esper's ears picked up on the sound of All Might's heightened voice. Shigeo looked and saw the hero frantically searching the area, and when he saw Mob, he jogged over to his side.
"What's going on? Where's Bakugo?" After returning to the rest of the class, he'd noticed the esper was missing. When he asked the other students where he'd gone, they said he'd apparently gone to the bathroom, although the hero could tell they weren't exactly positive that was where he went.
The symbol of peace had noticed how shocked and angered Kageyama became when witnessing Bakugo's rampage, and a worrisome thought crossed his mind: what if he'd decided to... take matters into his own hands? At first, Toshinori tried to dismiss this idea. He'd known the esper as a kind, peaceful, pacifistic soul who would never use violence against his fellow students. But then he remembered how he lost control of his powers when they first met, how he nearly destroyed a city block. It was quite possible that the esper could lose control of himself and attack Bakugo. He hated the idea, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. That's why he had to see where Bakugo was, to confirm it wasn't what he feared.
Bakugo came walking out of the alley, looking dejected and lifeless, but otherwise unharmed. "Did anything happen between you two?"
The esper flinched, a feeling of shakiness coming over him. Truth be told, he didn't really think over what he'd done or what it might mean. He was just so, so angry with what'd happened that he couldn't hold it in anymore. What should he say?
7%
"No." Shigeo took a stifled gasp. Bakugo stood in between Shigeo and Toshinori, though his eyes still didn't raise above the ground. "Nothing happened." The esper couldn't believe what Bakugo was doing: he was defending him? But why? He should've been furious, going on a rant about how Mob had lost control and beaten him mercilessly.
For the immensely prideful teenager, there were two reasons he would not reveal the truth about what just happened: one, the idea of openly admitting that he'd lost and overpowered a second time made him want to vomit his insides. Two, he wasn't a snitch who would rat out his classmates to get them in trouble. His pride wouldn't allow that, make such a cowardly and easy move to get him into trouble. Besides, then he'd never have to chance to have a rematch and prove himself better.
"Well..." All Might cleared his throat and awkwardly motioned the two teenagers to the the surveillance room. "Let's go review the battle." Mob nodded, and all three walked together in the solemn and awkward silence.
Everyone minus Midoriya had gathered in the surveillance room. The three fighters stood separate of the other students while All Might stood in front of the podium, and the two boxes with the team numbers were there as well. Uraraka was still feeling queasy from overexerting herself, while Bakugo was still in self-loathing over his loss and Iida was similarly disappointed with his failure to protect the weapon. By this time, Mob's angry outburst had subsided, and as All Might and the other students could tell, he was back to his regular emotionless self.
"As you all know, this battle was a very dramatic and unexpected show, but despite the results, the MVP of this round is young Iida!"
Many of the students in the room gasped, and Iida's head jerked up in surprise. "Huh?"
"Wait, are you sure?" said Asui, "Shouldn't it be one of the heroes?"
"Yea," continued Mob, who couldn't wrap his brain around why All Might made this decision even after Midoriya showed such amazing skills against Bakugo, "What's the reason?"
"Valid question, you two. Why didn't I choose one of the heroes? Would anyone care to take a crack at an answer?"
Yaoyorozu's hand instantly shot up. "I can tell you why." Mob's ears perked up, curious to see what she was able to understand that he couldn't.
"Iida was the only one of the contestants who adapted to his role as the villain. I'll break it down: Bakugo was not thinking rationally, too clouded by some grudge he holds against Midoriya. As you noted before, All Might, activating that large explosion and destroying part of the building was a very reckless and foolish decision that could've potentially destroyed the entire complex. Midoriya, while showing good combat skills, did not have a proper plan thought out when taking into account how he damaged both of his arms and left himself defenseless for the enemy to prey on.
"As for Uraraka, she exposed her position mid-battle, and her final attack was far too reckless. Had the bomb been real, she wouldn't have made such a bold and imprecise final move. Iida, however, prepared himself for the opponent's arrival. He had a strategy in-place, never lost his composure and ensured the weapon remained safe, even if it was ultimately unsuccessful. While the heroes won by technicality, they ignored the fact that it was only training and didn't adhere to the spirit of the trial."
The blue-haired teenager felt a tingling warmth in his limbs. Hearing such high and glowing praises for his efforts to embrace the challenge was music to his ears. His heart filled up, and in a comedic fashion, waves of tears rolled down Iida's face.
All of the students were baffled by such a thorough and analytical explanation of the battle trial. For Shigeo, his eyes sparkled with fascination, and his cheeks became lightly stained. She was way smarter than he's originally thought! He didn't pick up on a single one of those details, yet she took in the information given and broke it down like an expert. Just what else could she do with that kind of intelligence?
For All Might, his mind was at a blank. This girl had basically taken the words out of his mouth and improved upon them. Her eye for this was incredible! The hero awkwardly tried to come up with something noteworthy to say. "Well, there was a thing or two that you missed on, like how Iida could've relaxed a bit more, but other than that," the hero gave the girl a big thumbs up, "You nailed it!"
"A person should always focus on developing the basics, then devote themselves entirely to learning. That's the only way to become a top hero."
Mob felt his heart fluttering like a butterfly. So focused, so determined, and so intelligent. She reminded him of Ritsu, who was always book smart and could figure out a solution to anything or break down any situation he was given. He was suddenly even more grateful that he got someone so remarkable as a teammate for this exercise.
All Might jerked behind the two boxes. "With the analysis of this match out of the way, let's pick the next teams for the second match! Keep in mind everything we just discussed and employ it for your coming matches!"
The symbol of peace dug his hands into the two boxes and pulled out the two teams that would be competing next. When Mob saw which letter was pulled out of the boxes, his eyes nominally bulged.
"Team C will be the villains, and Team B will be the heroes!"
"Wait, who's..." Mob was about to ask, but two students, one with six arms, silver hair and a very imposing body, the other being the red and white-haired teenager who'd commented on Bakugo before, walked up to the boxes.
Yaoyorozu approached her teammate, oozing with confidence and determination. "It seems we're villains. Slightly unfortunate, but not a particular hindrance. Are you ready to play the role of the villain? That's key for our victory."
"Oh," The esper rubbed the back of his head, not expecting such a direct line of questioning, "Yea, I guess."
"Good."
"Teams, follow me to the next battle building!" The symbol of peace marched to the door, and the four competitors followed behind him. While they were walking, murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Whoa, this is gonna be an intense match," said Hanto Sero, a tall student with black hair and, more bizarrely, elbows that were cylindrical tape dispensers.
"No kidding! Two of the opponents got into this school through special recommendation, and one of them's Kageyama!" remarked Kaminari.
"Man, I'm pumped to see them all in action, especially Kageyama!" said Kirishima.
Bakugo heard this and felt his chest grow heavier. Oh, he'd seen Kageyama in action, and he was an absolute monster. His strength, speed and durability were unbelievable, and even now, he was unsure of how many different ways Kageyama could use his powers. He doubted any of them would see that side of him during this exercise, though. Only Bakugo knew what he was really capable of, and after seeing his inner rage, Bakugo understood with perfect clarity that if they fought without holding back, it would be a bloodbath.
While the five were walking, Yaoyorozu was whispering in Mob's ear. Her breath tickled against his neck, sending chills down the esper's spine and causing him to blush at how close she was.
15%
"Be very cautious. The one on the right is Shoto Todoroki. Both him and I got into U.A. High via recommendation, which means his quirk is extremely formidable. You saw him use it a few times during the quirk apprehension tests."
Mob remembered observing the quirks of his classmates, and had noticed how Todoroki's quirk revolved around ice formation. It looked as though he could summon it from anywhere on his body. Well, to be more precise, from anywhere on the right side of his body. For some reason, he never generated any ice on the left side. The amount he could generate was quite considerable, and it had more destructive ability than many of the other quirks in the class.
"We'll talk about a strategy once we reach the location of the bomb." The five walked for less than a minute before they stopped in front of a building next to the one destroyed from the previous battle.
"As before," The symbol of peace took a map, two earpieces, and two rolls of tape out from his pockets. Yaoyorozu took the items and gave an earpiece to her teammate.
"In you go then!" All Might respectfully opened the front door for the villain team. "Remember the errors from the previous match and improve upon them. Good luck!"
"Thank you, sir." Yaoyorozu and Kageyama bowed their heads and entered the building. Once the door shut behind them, the tall girl immediately opened up the map. Kageyama peered his head to see where they'd find the weapon.
"The weapon is on the fourth floor, in the northern room. Now let's hurry. We only have a few minutes to get ready and strategize."
"Got it." The two teammates sprinted up the staircase. Mob could've gone faster, but he didn't want to be rude and just rush on ahead of Yaoyorozu. Once they reached the room with the bomb, the clever teenager quickly shut the door behind her.
"Ok, first things we need to do is barricade the door, guard the most obvious entrance."
"What do you have in mind?" Mob's powers didn't really work as a safeguard, but Yaoyorozu had her own solution. The teenager felt lightly uncomfortable when he saw her stomach glowing multi-colored, then multiple steel girders suddenly popped out.
"My quirk lets me form any object I want from my body," Yaoyorozu said, seeing how confused Mob was by what she was doing. "However, I have to know the molecular structure of the object I intend to make."
"Here, let me help there." The young esper lifted his hand and placed all three girders against the door. The clever girl's lips extended slightly upward.
"That'll save us time. I'll make the girders, you stack them." Yaoyorozu's stomach sparkled again while she created the girders.
"For us to succeed, I also need to have a better idea of how your quirk works. Does it do more than increase your physical aptitude?"
"Oh, well..." It seemed this was becoming a more and more popular question for the esper. "My psychic powers let me move things with my mind, which also allows me to restrain others if necessary and lets me fly too. My quirk's energy also serves as a pseudo-barrier which sort of protects me from attacks, and I can also make actual barriers."
The young girl showed visible astonishment at the variety of abilities he listed. She couldn't believe his quirk had such an extensive range of usage. It was unbelievable. However, she focused her attention on the power that would be most useful.
"You can restrain others? That can give us a massive advantage. In fact..." The girl tapped her chin, thinking of the best way to play to their strengths.
"Alright, the best option for us is to attack while they're caught off guard. Since this is the only entrance to the room, it's best to defend it. Once they arrive, they'll be forced to break the door down. When they do, you'll be standing in front of the door while I stay crouched near the door here. Then, when they enter the room, you use your quirk to immobilize them, while I swoop in from the side and wrap the tape around them."
"I like it."
"It's also better if we move the weapon to a more isolated area in the room instead of right in the center of the room. That way, if they bust the door open, the bomb won't be damaged by any flying debris. Could you do that while I finish making the girders?"
"Sure thing."
"Over there in the far right corner would be good." The esper lifted his hand and moved the bomb to the corner like he was lifting a pebble. Mob then directed his attention back to the door, and without even being asked, placed all of the remaining girders on the door.
"Good." The heroine stared down at the floor, tapping her foot impatiently. "While it's important to keep the door defended, we also have to consider that the enemy will attempt an attack from above or below ground to take us by surprise. While it's not a probable choice when keeping in mind how that could damage the structural integrity of the building, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility."
"Do you think they're going to try and trap us with the tape or go straight for the bomb?"
"No, it's very unlikely they'll try to engage us in prolonged combat. After all, they've seen how formidable your strength is, and considering that we're in the same room as the bomb, it wouldn't be a practical decision." The young girl began to form a staff from her left arm and twirled it around before firmly stamping it on the ground. "If we do have to fight them, I'll be able to hold my own."
Outside of the building, Todoroki and his partner, whose name was Mezo Shoji, were looking over the layout of the building and discussing how they'd go about infiltrating the villain base.
"My quirk will allow me to locate where the enemies are." The imposing student's arms extended, and on the tips, six pairs of ears formed. Each of his arms had the ability to form different appendages of the body, ranging from ears, mouthes, or just regular hands. Not only that, but it gave the student impressive physical strength. "That will save us time in trying to find the weapon."
"We're facing some formidable opponents. They placed first and second in the quirk apprehension test, and both of them have very powerful quirks."
"Our biggest threat is Kageyama. His amazing speed and strength make him very dangerous, and as long as he's in our way, it'll be very difficult to get the bomb. Our first objective should be to immobilize him. Yaoyorozu, we'll have to be somewhat cautious of, but she isn't as big a threat."
"Yes," Shoji said, nodding his head in agreement. Suddenly, All Might's voice boomed through the sound system.
"Alright, time's started! Get going!"
Shoji entered the front of the building and extended his six arms. He transformed the tips of his top four tentacles into ears and listened to the vibrations in the ground, the voices of his enemies, and their footsteps.
Coming in from behind him, Todoroki was prepped on the location of their enemies by Shoji's mid left tentacle, whose tip had changed into a mouth. "Both enemies are in the same room on the fourth floor. Based on that, it's safe to assume they barricaded themselves inside the room and are waiting for us to make our move."
"So they plan to engage us in a defensive battle." The red and white-haired student immediately began to think of the kind of countermeasures they would implement. As long as he knew where they were and what kind of strategy they would use, Todoroki was confident he'd be able to come out on top.
"They might think they'll have the advantage now," the composed student said, a confident smirk forming on his face. "But they'll soon find out that this battle is already over."
Todoroki motioned for his teammate to accompany him, and the large teenager slowly paced behind him. "Make sure you keep monitoring the enemies so one of them doesn't try to sneak up on us."
The two heroes went to the stairway and made their way up to the fourth floor while Shoji kept his ears actively listening in on Yayorozu and Kageyama.
"They're in there." The two heroes had made it to the fourth floor, and were standing in front of a door that Shoji was pointing at. Four of his tentacle tips were ears, and all of them were honing in on the approximate location of their enemies. "One of them is standing a few feet from the door, ready to ambush any intruders. The other is standing several feet in front of the door."
"Hmph. They must be planning to catch us by surprise, wrap the tape around us."
The icy student was oozing with confidence. Now that they'd already made it to the bomb's location, he could use his ice quirk to freeze the entire room. As Yaoyarozu had suspected, Todoroki had extensive training with his quirk and could apply it over a wide area. It was so powerful, in fact, that he would've simply frozen the building from the start. However, that wouldn't have been practical, since it they were both wearing shoes and they could simply take off those shoes or break free of the ice. But now, they wouldn't have enough time to break free, allowing Todoroki and Shoji to retrieve the weapon.
But as Todoroki mulled over this plan, he realized that they would need more to take care of Kageyama. He'd seen the way his quirk increased his physical abilities: if he wanted, he could break free of his ice restraints in an instant. While he might lose his shoes in the process, it wouldn't be sufficient to take care of him long enough.
Todoroki rested his chin on his hand for a moment. Once again, Kageyama was proving himself to be the bigger obstacle. He had to find a way to make sure he'd be immobilized, distracted long enough for one of them to get the weapon. If he couldn't do that with his ice powers, then he'd clearly have to employ some other tactic. Maybe his partner could do something...
An idea popped up in his head! Yes, he thought of a way he could take care of both of their opponents long enough to complete their mission.
"Alright, here's my idea."
In the room, the two villains continued to wait in anticipation for their opponents to barge through the door. Only a minute after the timer had gone off, Yaoyorozu could hear the light sound of footsteps and the voices of their opponents through the wall.
"I hear them in front of the door, Kageyama. Get ready." The esper leaned his body forward, waiting for whatever was coming from the other side of the door.
Without warning, the right wall became encased in ice, only inches away from Yaoyorozu. Both villains knew this was Todoroki's work, but were confused why this patch of ice formed on the wall. They were quickly made clear when the ice spread all throughout the room.
"Kageyama, fly up!" The female teenager yelled out to her teammate before her feet were frozen to the ground. Mob immediately did as his teammate said and got himself off the ground less than an inch before the ice reached his feet. The esper's eyebrows drew together when he saw her teammate stuck to the floor, struggling to break free.
"Yaoyarozu, are you ok?"
22%
"Kageyama, don't let your guard down!"
The esper's eyebrow furrowed up in confusion, but he soon caught on to what she was saying. Immediately after the room was frozen, the front door burst. The steel girders flew through the air in many directions, though most of them were aimed at Mob. Thankfully, the bowl-haired teenager was able to react quickly enough to stop all of the girders midair.
In the surveillance room, the spectators were shocked by the abilities both Todoroki and Kageyama were displaying.
"Whoa!" The young bob-haired girl was particularly amazed by the esper's abilities. "I didn't know he could lift objects and fly like I can!" Uraraka began to fidget with her fingers. "And he doesn't need to touch them to make them float..." So Mob could do everything she could, except better.
"Damn!" exclaimed Kirishima, "Kageyama's quirk has so many uses!"
"No kidding," continued Asui, "He's way better than I thought."
"But man, that ice guy's pretty strong, and kinda intimidating too," Kaminari said, hunching his shoulders and pacing a step back in fear.
Back on the fighting ground, Mob was holding the girders in the air, not anticipating what would come next. Shoji had punched through the door with his three arms. Then, when Kageyama was momentarily distracted by all the flying objects, he sprinted through the door, heading straight for the esper with his arms crossed in front of him.
The esper gasped when he saw Shoji rushing him. The buff teenager jumped up and brought him to the ground, pushing him towards the wall. Yaoyorozu frowned when he saw her teammate pushed back, but her frown deepened when she saw Todoroki entering the door and scouting the room. She saw what they were doing: their plan was to immobilize Yaoyorozu with the ice. Then, Shoji would break the door open, catching Kageyama off-guard and allowing Shoji to distract him long enough for Todoroki to get the bomb.
The young girl had to act quickly, stop Todoroki! And she knew the molecular structure of just the object that would do the job.
"Kageyama, close your eyes!" The esper immediately did as she asked and clasped his eyes shut. Yaoyorozu's right palm glowed bright red, and she threw an object in front of Todoroki. The room filled up with a bright light: Yaoyorozu had formed a flash bang. The device created a bright flash of light that would blind their opponents for five seconds and disorient them with a loud bang. That would give enough time for Yaoyorozu to break free of the ice and handle Todoroki.
While the ice-wielding teenager was dealing with the momentary blindness, Shoji had Mob up against the wall. He used two of his hands to pin Mob's arms to the wall, while one of his other hands held the tape.
"Sorry for being so rough, Kageyama," said Shoji, "But I must take you out of the match."
Mob's body lit up with a rainbow aura, and the esper telekinetically pushed his opponent several meters to the right. He could've done much worse, but the psychic was still averse to the idea of using his powers against his classmates, and only wanted to use them to the bare minimum.
The esper focused on his teammate, and he was relieved to see that she'd gotten free of the ice by fiercely squiggling her feet out of her boots and keeping them frozen in the ice. She shuddered when the ice touched her bare feet. She couldn't fight like this! For others, this would've been a rather annoying hindrance. However, Yaoyorozu had measures she could take for this. Her feet began to glow, and a new pair of red boots formed around her feet and shins, an easy fix.
"Now's our chance! Let's take out Todoroki! Immobilize him!" Yaoyorozu knew this was the best opportunity to take care of their biggest threat.
"Got it!" Shigeo held his hand out, and his rainbow aura wrapped around Todoroki, constricting his body like an anaconda squeezing his prey. Yaoyorozu took out the tape, ready to take Torodoki out of the game. Unfortunately, Shoji rushed in from the side and tackled the esper again, releasing the ice-wielding teenager from Mob's gasp.
By this time, Todoroki's pupils had adjusted enough to get faint outlines of his surroundings and the ringing subside in his ears. He saw Yaoyorozu rushing him, and he raised her hand towards her. The girl gasped as she watched Todoroki prepare to encase her with ice.
28%
"Yaoyorozu!" The esper brought his hand out, using his psychic powers to yank his teammate out of the way of the large pillars of ice in the nick of time. Yaoyorozu took a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for the save, Kageyama!"
The young girl's eyes narrowed at Todoroki, and she extended her finger out towards him. "You'll pay for your insolence!" The girl was attempting to emulate a villain's personality and arrogantly derided her opponent. "It's only a matter of time before you fall prey to us and we take our prize!"
Shoji shoved Kageyama several meters, until both of them were only a few meters away from the bomb. Then, he primed his fists and prepared a series of punches from four of his hands, assuming that his enemy would be able to handle the onslaught of attacks. But to the shock of Shoji, Todoroki, and basically everyone else in the surveillance room, the punches were blocked by a barrier erected by Mob.
"What?" The imposing, muscular teenager could not believe what he was seeing. Kageyama could protect himself with shields made of his psychic energy?
"What?!" The spectating students all let out gasps, a newfound amazement building at the plethora of skills their classmate had.
"He can make barriers too?" said Sato.
"Just what else can he do with his quirk?" remarked Tokoyami.
"Kageyama's freaking insane!" shouted Kirishima.
While most of the other students were reacting with shock, Bakugo was reacting with dread. This was absolutely unreal. Kageyama had developed his quirk far beyond the reaches of what he ever imagined. He could use it for so many different purposes, giving him amazing offensive and defensive capabilities and making it damn near impossible to get a proper opening. How... how could he possibly go up against that?
And Kageyama wasn't the only one who was showing his superior strength. That ice guy showed some amazing skill and training with his quirk. He could freeze the entire room within seconds, immobilizing his enemies and giving him the chance to land devastating attacks. If he went up against that guy, the result would be the same overwhelming loss.
As Shoji attempted to break through the barrier with his punches, the female student rushed the teenager and slammed her pole across Shoji's face. The teenager was momentarily staggered, and Momo followed up with a strong side kick to the stomach.
Todoroki, his sight completely restored, stomped his foot down, creating another large ice attack. Kageyama put up a barrier around both himself and his teammate, retaliating with a strong punch against the ice. The strength of this punch shattered the ice and created a gust of wind strong enough to send Todoroki flying. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't moved from his position in front of the door, so the gusts of wind sent him flying through the door and more than a dozen meters into the hallway. The esper gasped when he saw Todoroki flying through the door. Oh no! Was he badly hurt?
"Excellent work, Kageyama!"
Yaoyorozu brought his attention back to the matter at hand: restraining his enemy so his teammate could wrap the tape around him. Hopefully, Todoroki wasn't dealt any debilitating damage.
Shoji shook off the brunt of Momo's attack, but by that time, it was too late: Mob had once again restrained his opponent with his psychic powers. The hero felt like a thick line of rope had been wrapped around him. He tried to break free, use his brute strength to overpower Kageyama's psychic powers, but the esper's bonds were too strong.
Yaoyorozu took out the tape, and as quickly as possible, wrapped it around the enemy's large body. Shoji was helpless, a great feeling of dread washing over him as the tape made its way around his large body.
"Yes!" The female student yelped out in joy and clenched her fist with excitement. "Shoji is out! Now all that's left is Todoroki, and the villains will triumph!"
The red and white-haired teenager rushed into the room, attempting to save his comrade. However, when he re-entered the room, he saw his teammate with the tape wrapped around his body.
"I'm sorry. I've been taken out."
"That's right!" Yaoyorozu let out a very forced and unbelievable evil laugh, and put her hands to her sides. "We've taken out your teammate, and you'll joining him soon!"
"Yea!" Kageyama attempted to emulate the same villainous demeanor as his partner. "We're gonna get you now!"
All three of the students in the room had comedic ellipsis's form around their foreheads, and the esper felt the heat rise in his cheeks. God, that was so embarrassing!
"This isn't over yet." Todoroki was still confident that he could get the bomb in his possession. All he needed to do was take evasive maneuvers and catch them off-guard. The hero skated along the ice, swerving left and right in a zig-zagging motion, heading straight for the bomb. The two villains readied their stances to defend themselves for his attack.
But his attack wasn't what they thought: Todoroki touched his palm to the ground, forming more ice on the ground on top of the first layer of ice he created when he froze the room. The teenagers were unprepared for the same attack twice, and both of them were frozen to the ground yet again. Since he was so close to the bomb, that momentary freezing would give him enough time to put his hand on the bomb.
"I'm not giving you the chance to immobilize me." Todoroki stomped his foot on the ground, creating an ice attack targeted for Kageyama. The esper protected himself with a barrier, but by that time, Todoroki had almost reached the bomb.
"Oh no you don't!" Yaoyorozu wasn't going to just let Todoroki rush past them. She craned her left arm to the side, and with all her might, threw the shield at Todoroki as a projectile. The shield hit Todoroki square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him and causing him to recoil in pain.
"There's my chance!" Kageyama saw the chance to take action. He used his telekinesis to take the tape from his hand and unrolled it around Todoroki's body in less than a second. It took less than two seconds for Todoroki to recover from the blow, but by that time, the teenager already felt the tape wrapped around his body.
The surveillance room burst with excitement. "They did it!"
All Might's trademark smile reached the tips of his ears. Kageyama and Yaoyorozu cooperated and managed to get the edge over the heroes with skills and strategy.
"The villains win!"
The female teenager's eyes danced with happiness and pride, the corners of her lips pointing upward. "It looks like our strategy and cooperation worked out great in the end. This was a much better match-up than I anticipated."
"Oh." The esper's face ripened like a fresh tomato, and his heart began to race. "Thanks. You did a great job, too."
"Congratulations." Kageyama and Yaoyorozu were greeted by Mezo Shoji, who had removed the tape from his body and was respectfully bowing his head towards his opponents. "You both did very well. Kageyama, I hope I didn't hurt you."
Shigeo waved both of his hands in dismissal. That was the exact same sentiment he was hoping to extend to both of his enemies.
"Oh no, I'm fine. You and Todoroki had a good strategy." Speaking of Todoroki, the bowl-haired teenager looked to his right and saw the ice-wielding student with his eyes downcast and his fingers clamped into fists. Then, Shoto placed his hand to the ground, perplexing the other three students.
A huge burst of steam came from Todoroki's palm. The ice on the floor began to melt, and shortly after, the rest of the ice in the room evaporated. The ice was running down the walls, wetting the floor and making the socks of everyone in the room soggy.
Kageyama approached his opponent with his face gentle and his demeanor warm. It seemed like he was upset about his loss. "Are you alright? I'm sorry if I sent you flying just now. I didn't think my punch would be that strong. Here, let me help you up."
The esper extended his hand to assist Shoto off the ground. Todoroki's eyes met Kageyama, and the esper was taken aback by the cold, ruthless gaze in his eyes. Shoto scoffed and slapped Kageyama's hand away.
"I don't need your help. I'll handle things myself." Without giving a second glance to either Yaoyorozu or his teammate, Shoto silently paced out of the room and down the stairs with his hands stuffed in his pockets. The red and white-haired teenager was feeling a hot prick in the back of his neck. Kageyama had gotten the best of him, easily handling his ice attacks. With his ability to fly and form energy barriers, he couldn't freeze him to the ground or attack him with his ice. The only way he could've gotten the edge was if...
The teenager fiercely shook his head. No, he absolutely refused to entertain the notion of using his left side. To do that would be to accept a part of him that he loathed, and he would never allow that to happen.
The four teenagers made their way back to the surveillance room, with Todoroki taking the lead. When Todoroki entered the room, some of the students smiled at him and attempted to compliment him for his performance, but his icy stare and the scowl on his face caused them to back away nervously.
Instead, many of the students crowded around Kageyama, giving him most of their attention. The esper staggered a step backwards as about ten students surrounded him, smiling with great enthusiasm and admiration.
"Damn dude, you were incredible!" said Kaminari.
"How did you use your quirk for so many different purposes?" asked Tokoyami.
"You're so awesome!" Asido exclaimed, jumping with excitement.
"It's clear how you got first place in both the quirk apprehension test and the entrance exams," Iida remarked.
"Yea dude!" Kirishima's boisterous and upbeat personality lit up among the faces of the people surrounding Kageyama, and he decided to wrap his arm around the esper's neck. The bowl-haired teenager momentarily recoiled, but soon relaxed and loosened his body. "I really like your stuff!" Kirishima released Mob from his grip, still smiling and exuding pleasant energy. "The name's Eijiro Kirishima."
"Hey, I'm Hanta Sero."
"Mina Ashido!"
"Tsuyu Asui. But please, call me Tsu."
"Denki Kaminari!"
"Nice to meet you all." Kageyama attempted to act more composed and greet his fellow classmates properly. This was a very odd experience for the esper: for the first time ever, his fellow classmates were crowding around him, complimenting him and giving him their attention for his powers. This was nothing like what he'd experienced back at Salt Middle School. Truth be told, Kageyama wasn't really sure how to react to this sudden influx of attention over his powers.
The admiration also extended to Yaoyorozu, complimenting her for her quick thinking and unique quirk, although the admiration wasn't on the same level as it was for Kageyama.
Watching the classmates swarm around the esper and give him praise, the number one hero was delighted to see Kageyama's classmates warming up to him. After so many months spent with only Toshinori and Izuku to interact with and keep him company, it was good to know that his classmates had already taken a liking to him and he wouldn't have to worry about being alone. It was the start of his new social life at school, and hopefully, Kageyama would come to enjoy it.
The battles that took place after Mob's fight were much shorter and much less dramatic. The students all took inspiration from the passionate battles they'd just seen and gave it their all during their own battles. Now that Kageyama was no longer focused on Izuku or his battle, that gave him more time to notice Bakugo's lifeless eyes.
The bowl-haired teenager was somewhat concerned by how hard he'd taken the day's events. His fiery eyes, ferocious smile, and boastful attitude had all but disappeared, leaving nothing but an empty shell. In a way, Bakugo was almost acting like Mob. However, the esper wasn't sure what to say to him, how to try and put what happened into perspective. Besides, Bakugo probably wouldn't want to listen to another word he had to say, at least for the rest of the day. For now, all he could do was wait.
Now that all of the students had gotten their chances to finish their battle trials, everyone was gathered outside of the buildings, waiting for All Might to finish their class.
"And that's a wrap for the day, folks! I was really pleased with what I see. Except for one student, no one was seriously hurt!" Mob felt a pang in his chest upon being reminded of the state of his friend.
Tsuyu Asui raised her hand and decided to voice her opinion first. "It's really good to see you giving us encouragement and praise after our homeroom class. Mr. Aizawa was really a buzzkill."
The rest of the class, especially Mob, agreed wholeheartedly, and nodded their heads in unison.
The symbol of peace was pleased to know his positive attitude was having a good effect on the students, and he raised both of his hands in the air. "I'm happy to hear that from all of you! Now if you'll excuse me-"
All Might raised his hand to the class and turned his body to the exit. "I should go check on Midoriya and see how he's doing. Now watch how a pro exits, like he's got SOMEWHERE TO BE!"
Toshinori dashed off through the corridor, creating small gusts of wind in the process and leaving the class amazed.
"How cool! That's how a hero really leaves the scene!" Kaminari said.
"Super awesome!" exclaimed a very small young man by the name of Minoru Mineta.
While the rest of the class was amazed by the hero's impressive speed, the features on Mob's face became somber, his lips curving downwards. Although he was definitely going to go see Midoriya, he knew the real reason why All Might was in such a big rush to leave the class.
Thankfully for All Might, he'd gotten out of the view of Class 1-A, so none of them could see the smoke coming off of the hero's face. Toshinori felt a coughing spree come up, and rushed to the nearby faculty room. As soon as he closed the door, the symbol of peace burst with smoke, revealing the frail, decrepit form of the number one hero desperately catching his breath.
"Damn it," muttered All Might, "I can barely teach a class before I revert back to my true form. Hopefully none of the students found that suspicious." The symbol of peace knew it was a big obstacle, being forced to hide from the rest of the campus for most of the day, but it was the only choice he had.
"It's only the second day of school, and he's already a regular patient!"
In the nurse's office, Recovery Girl was harshly scolding the symbol of peace while Izuku Midoriya lied unconscious on a bed. All Might frowned when he saw the shape his successor was in: his right arm was covered in bandages, there were still smudge marks and a few blood stains on his face, and an iv had been hooked up into Midoriya's left arm.
"His body's stamina was too drained from his previous classes for my quirk to work. My quirk won't let me treat all his injuries at once, so besides the first aid and iv I hooked up, this is all I can do for him at the moment. Come on, All Might."
The nurse swerved her chair around to face her desk. "I know you passed your quirk onto this young child, but you can't spoil him."
All Might rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes glued to the ground. "I'm trying not to play favorites in my class. But this fight was really important for Midoriya and his past trauma. I wanted to give him the opportunity to win the exercise and prove himself. Oh, by the way," The symbol of peace brought his eyes back up to the nurse, and his eyebrows furrowed down.
"Could you also keep your voice down about One for All when anyone around could hear you?"
Recovery Girl rolled her eyes. "Yea yea, I hear you, Mr. natural born hero."
All Might sighed. "Many people know about my true form and the injury I've sustained, consisting of the U.A. faculty and a certain group of pro heroes. However, only a select few people know the truth about One for All. That includes you, the principal, a very close friend of mine, and young Midoriya. Oh, and Kage-"
The symbol of peace immediately cut his sentence off. The nurse swerved her chair to look at All Might with her eyebrow raised up. "Who was that last one?"
Toshinori hesitated: once again, he was at an impasse over whether or not he should reveal the truth about Kageyama. She was a trusted confidant who knew the truth about his quirk, after all. Would it really hurt for Recovery Girl to know who the esper really was?
"It's no one." Unlike Nezu, the symbol of peace decided that the truth about Kageyama could be revealed to her another day. While he had complete confidence in her, it seemed that now was not the best time for the school nurse to be filled in on Shigeo's origins.
"Anyway, it's imperative that the truth about One for All remain a secret. If the world found out, the temptation of this power could corrupt our society, and it would put Midoriya in great danger. The people who wield this quirk are responsible for mankind's safety, to answer the call of justice."
Recovery Girl's face remained stern for a few seconds, but her face soon relaxed. That was the All Might she'd known for all these years, always thinking about the public's safety.
"If that's the case, that only makes it more important that you be a good guide."
"You're absolutely right, Recovery Girl." The symbol of peace needed to be the proper role model, for both Midoriya and Kageyama.
The formerly quirkless teenager's eyes slowly blinked open. The toll of the battle was rather high, and by the time he managed to regain consciousness, most of the day had already passed. Despite the terrible injuries he sustained, in his heart, he was proud. The young hero-in-training had gone against all the odds, all the ridicule from his childhood bully and his unsupportive middle school classmates, and proved he was able to stand up to Kacchan, winning the exercise.
"Thank goodness, you're finally awake." Recovery Girl hovered over All Might's successor, causing the young student's eyes to bulge open. His eyes bulged even further when he saw the clock on the wall.
"I've been out for more than six hours?"
"Pretty long, I know," the nurse muttered, shaking her head in disapproval, "Your battle really did a number on you. I was able to heal the blast injury on the left arm, but as for your right arm, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to have that healed. Your don't have enough stamina right now."
Izuku's features became downcast, his head craned down to the bed sheets. To think he'd missed the rest of his classes.
"Now don't look so down in the dumps." The school nurse attempted to lift the spirits of this young child. "Tomorrow, you'll come in, good as new."
Izuku appreciated the words of support Recovery Girl was giving him, and returned her affection with a small smile. "Thank you for your help, Recovery Girl."
"Don't mention it. Now get going. Your class is waiting for you."
Midoriya nodded his head and lifted his butt off the bed. At first, he winced at the pain in his arm, but managed to ignore it and exited the nurse.
As he walked through the hallway, he noticed the setting sun, the orange glow illuminating the school and casting dark shadows on the surrounding environment. Seeing how late it was caused the green-eyed teenager to pout. To think he'd missed all of his classes. Not only that, but he'd also missed how the rest of his class had performed on the tests, Kageyama in particular. He'd never gotten the opportunity to see how his friend did in an actual fight. He'd have to ask once he met up with him.
Izuku opened the door to Class 1-A, seeing his classmates casually conversing with one another, including Kageyama, although he seemed to be out of his element.
"It's Midoriya!" Kageyama's face lit up when he saw the green-eyed teenager back with the rest of the class, "Good to see you back!"
"Midoriya!" Many of the students crowded around Midoriya like they'd crowded around Mob before. The esper's chest constricted when he saw that his right arm was still bandaged.
"Wait, your injuries weren't fixed by Recovery Girl?"
"No. Turns out my body doesn't have enough stamina to fully heal my injuries, so I'll have to go to the nurse's office tomorrow to fully fix me up."
"Man, Midoriya, your match was really intense!" Kirishima exclaimed, shifting the conversation to what basically all of the other classmates were thinking, "I couldn't hear what you were saying, but I could tell you were all fired up!"
"You actually managed to hold your own against Bakugo, even though he's super strong!" continued Sero.
"And that dodging was super cool too!" remarked Ashido.
"It wasn't a very pretty battle, but you still did an acceptable job!"
Midoriya's eyes were changing focus to each of the students complimenting him, and his cheeks were beginning to flush with emotion. The students followed up by properly introducing themselves, just as they had done with Kageyama, and while they were doing this, Mob's heart began to warm. It was filling with the same sort of sentiment All Might had felt when seeing the other students give their praises to esper: to know that Midoriya wouldn't be alone at this school, and he was making friends as well.
While the other students were expressing their amazement at Midoriya's performance, a few of the other students were grouped together, talking amongst themselves. One of those was Tokoyami, who closed his eyes in frustration while sitting on top of a desk.
"It's getting so noisy."
"Tokoyami!" As expected, the uptight teenager Iida immediately rushed up to his classmate, his hands shopping up and down. "Get off of the desk this instant! I will not allow you to desecrate school property like that!"
"Dude, calm down. You're making too big a deal outta this," One of the students standing next to Tokoyami was a girl with purple hair and earphone jacks hanging from his earphone lobes named Kyoka Jirou, and she was finding Iida's stirct behavior to be a tiny bit vexing.
"Seriously, you need to chill," Oijiro said.
The blue-haired teenager's mouth gaped open with shock. The things his classmates were saying about him! Iida's body slumped forward, feeling alone in his ideals. "Why doesn't anyone understand..."
"I simply cannot condone any actions that damage these desks! Not when our upper classmen once used them!"
The students watched the scene unfold, chuckling in amusement. That was Iida, all right. Even now, he couldn't loosen up and had to be strict with everything in the class.
"You know, you and I should go out to eat sometime." Entering the classroom from another door were Kaminari and Uraraka, who'd volunteered to get books for the class. At the moment, Kaminari was trying to get some one-on-one time with Uraraka, put the moves on her to see if he could get somewhere nice. "What kinda food do you like?"
"Oh, anything sweet would be-" Uraraka cut off her sentence when she saw her friend had rejoined their class, and rushed over to his side, leaving a disappointed Kaminari alone.
"Deku! You're still all banged up! Why didn't she heal your injuries?"
"It turns out his body doesn't have enough stamina to heal Midoriya," Mob said, "So he'll have to go tomorrow after getting a good night's sleep."
"Oh..."
"Yea, but it's no big deal. Like Kageyama said, a good night's sleep is all I'll need to get my stamina back up." Izuku's eyes awkwardly shifted his eyes all around the room, but his eyes widened when he noticed a particular desk was empty.
"Hey guys, where did Kacchan go?"
"Bakugo..." The atmosphere in the classroom grew slightly heavier, and some of the students shifted uncomfortably in their places.
"He already left for the day," said Uraraka, "We tried to tell him not to go, but he wouldn't listen."
"He took his loss pretty hard," stated Kirishima.
The green-eyed teenager's throat constricted. He remembered what Bakugo had said, how he thought he was lying about his quirk all of these years. The teenager couldn't just let him leave, thinking all these negative thoughts. He had to talk to him.
Without warning, Izuku rushed out the door, eliciting gasps of surprise from the students. Mob instantly knew what his friend was planning to do, and went off after him.
"Wait, Midoriya!" The formerly quirkless fanboy stopped when he heard his friend calling out to him.
"I'm not sure talking to him right now is the best idea. He's just too..." The esper struggled for a second to find the right word. "Violent."
"Trust me, Kageyama, I know more than anyone how violent he can be. But there're still things I need to tell him, and it can't wait." The young esper saw the hardened features on his friend's face, his first clenched with resolve. Whenever he had a face like that, it meant that he was going to see something through, and nothing the esper could say would stop him.
"Ok. But at least let me go with you. There're still a few things I want to talk to him about too." The esper was also slightly worried that Bakugo might attack Midoriya like he'd tried to attack Mob before, but he didn't really want to say that out loud.
"Alright." Midoriya had no objections to having his close friend accompany him, so the two students ran together through the school. After less than a minute of running, they finally reached the entrance of the school.
"There he is." The esper pointed at the hot-headed teenager walking alone, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya and Kageyama sprinted toward their classmate, who had fortunately for them decided to stop instead of blatantly ignore them. Bakugo turned his head, preparing to give his usual angry stare, but when he saw that Mob was with him, that stare grew more venomous.
"What do you two want?"
Both teenagers abruptly stopped in nervousness. Kageyama was silent, deciding to wait for Midoriya to speak his mind. After all, the esper had spoken his mind to Bakugo already, and it appeared as though what Midoriya wanted to say was very important to him.
Indeed it was. In the formerly quirkless teenager's mind, he was battling over the decision to reveal the truth of his quirk, what had happened to him. This was a secret that he'd hidden from everyone, including his mother. Only All Might and Shigeo knew the truth. Even so, it just felt wrong for Midoriya to have Bakugo suffering like this, led under the belief that he'd been tricking him as a form of mockery. He had to try and make things right.
"I have to tell you about something. Maybe then, you'll understand what's going on."
Mob's eyebrows drew together, and his eyes widened. What was Midoriya doing?
"I wasn't hiding my quirk from you." The bowl-haired teenager lost his breath. What was he talking about? What was he planning on saying right now?
The esper's heart began to race once he put the pieces together. Midoriya was planning to tell him about One for All! But why? That was a secret both of them swore to guard, so why did he want to tell Bakugo the truth about it now?
"It was-"
"It was something he chose not to rely on." Midoriya let out a stifled gasp, and Bakugo felt the vein in his forehead throb. Kageyama had taken the reins of the conversation.
"Instead of focusing on his quirk, he spent all these years working towards his goal in a different way. He put his efforts into learning everything he could about heroes, what they're like, and what kind of hero he wanted to be. It's only now that he's put his effort into working on his quirk. It was something he earned after years of effort and dedication, and it's how he was able to hold his own against you in the match, even if he was overpowered later on."
Mob turned his head to stare Izuku in the eyes, and the teenager was left speechless by the look of determination and seriousness dancing in his eyes. That kind of look, it was something he'd rarely seen from his friend. The only times he ever showed that kind of fire was during their training, when they pushed themselves to the limit.
"And that's the truth."
For a split second, it was as if Bakugo had vanished. All that was there was the fierce bond of friendship and respect. Midoriya picked up that part of the reason for this interruption was to conceal the truth about One for All, but there was something else. Mob was expressing his true thoughts; even if some of the facts were slightly twisted, everything he was saying was a reflection of the kind of person Midoriya was in Mob's eyes.
"Kageyama..." The green-eyed teenager's lips began to tremble, and he could feel his eyes begin to water. The esper truly viewed him as a worthy successor of One for All and a good person. Out of respect and gratitude for his friend's kind words, the fanboy decided to conceal the truth about how he was given this quirk. He'd never intended to tell him who he got it from, but it was still a big secret to reveal nevertheless.
Midoriya quickly got a hold of his emotions and directed himself back at Bakugo, who'd been momentarily stunned silent by the esper's words and interruption. Izuku wasn't finished with what he had to say.
"I don't really have any control of my quirk," said Midoriya, "It's why I didn't want to use it against you in the exercise. But I was left with no other choice if I wanted to win." The hot-headed teenager's blood was boiling, his teeth clenching up with fury.
"There're still so many things I need to learn, that's obvious. It's why I'm here at this school. But you'll see, Kacchan. Soon, I'll have full control over my quirk, and I'll finally beat you with my own power!"
Silence befell all three yet again, their mouths opened with shock at the proud declaration Izuku had just made. That wasn't what Izuku wanted to say! All he wanted was to try and put things into perspective and make Kacchan understand what he was thinking, not declare war like that.
"So that's why you're here?" The hot-headed teenager's eyes were at the ground, unable to stare either in the eye as he expressed his thoughts. "To rub in your victory? I lost, to you of all people! And as if that wasn't enough, I lost a second time against you, bowl-cut!"
Izuku jerked his head back. "Lost a second time?" The fanboy turned to his friend and noticed him shift uncomfortably in his place. "What is he-"
"DON'T YOU TELL DEKU A DAMN THING!" Midoriya and Kageyama jumped up at the sudden explosive increase in his voice. "What happened is between me and him!
"I've been coming behind you ever since we met, bowl-cut! You've always proven that you're better than me, and today proved that if we fought one-on-one, I wouldn't stand a chance! And it's not just you! I saw what that ice guy could do! I can't go up against that kind of power!"
The teenager slapped his hand over his eyes and shot his head up to the sky. "Fuck! I even agreed with what that girl said about my attack! It was completely idiotic!"
The teenager rushed his hands through his hair and pulled it as hard as he could.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
The explosive teenager brought his head down to look at both classmates, and the esper grimaced at the tears forming in his eyes. He hadn't realized how deep these losses were for Bakugo, how they almost completely destroyed his pride. That had never been his intention, to shoot down Bakugo's pride. He just wanted to try and make him see things a different way, stop his violence against Midoriya.
"So enjoy your victories, both of you! You won't get any more! You said that Midoriya was better because of all his time he put into studying other pro heroes and learning the basics, right, bowl-cut? Then I'll put in twice the amount of effort and learn more than either of you! I'm gonna end up the number one hero and surpass everyone in this school, and neither of you is gonna get in my way!"
Refusing to listen to anything more, the fiery student turned around and headed for the exit while wiping away his tears with his sleeve. As the two friends watched him leave, Midoriya let out a sigh of relief, while the esper felt his arms grow heavy and his shoulders pull low, regretful of how things had turned out.
"Bakugo!" Midoriya and Kageyama were nearly knocked off their feet when All Might ran beside them, heading straight for the tearful teenager. "I've finally found you!"
The symbol of peace placed both of his hands on the teenager's shoulders. He'd seen how Bakugo was overflowing with pride and the impact of his loss, and knew that it was his responsibility to counsel him and help him to cope with his loss.
"Just so you know, pride is a very important part of a hero's personality, and you undoubtedly have the abilities to become an excellent pro hero, but there's still plenty of things you need to learn."
"Let me go, All Might." The symbol of peace tilted his head. Bakugo did not take pleasure or solace in the fact that the number one hero had come to give him emotional support. He didn't need help from him or anyone else.
"Save your words. You'll see: I'll become even more famous than you, and I'll do it by myself!"
The pro hero awkwardly complied, backing away while letting the young teenager go off on his own. A sweat bead ran down his face. It looked as though he managed to get over his loss. Being a teacher was a lot harder than being a pro hero.
None of the three male classmates knew that watching from the window were three female classmates, Ashido, Uraraka, and Asui.
"I wonder what they talked about," pondered Ashido.
"It's a fated battle between rivals. Childhood friends turned enemies, although I'm not sure why Bakugo's so angry with Kageyama," uttered Uraraka.
"Whatever those two were saying," Tsu continued, "It seemed like Bakugo really wanted to punch them both, Kageyama in particular." The frog-like girl stared at the bowl-haired esper for a few moments, pondering everything she's seen from him so far.
"Do any of you two find Kageyama interesting?"
Ashido's curiosity piqued, a small yet devilish smile forming on her face. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure. There's something about him, something different from anyone I've seen before. He doesn't act like you'd expect from someone with such a strong quirk." Tsu couldn't help but feel drawn to the esper. He seemed quiet and reserved, never openly bragging about his powers the way she'd seen other students like Bakugo and even other heroes did. She also noticed the way he spoke his mind, even with teachers like Aizawa. Tsu wanted to see how much more there was to him.
"I see where you're coming from," Uraraka expressed, "He's not what I thought he'd be. He's actually really nice." The bob-haired girl's face became upturned. "That's what I like about him."
Back outside, the symbol of peace walked toward the two teenagers. "So what were you three talking about before I made my heroic entrance? Come on, tell me all the juicy details!"
"Oh-" The two teenagers felt their bodies tense up when the hero leaned in while putting his hand to his ear for dramatic effect. Both of them didn't quite know how to go about explaining what just happened to the hero. Besides, there really wasn't that much to tell in general. Actually...
"All Might, there's something I need to tell you." Both Midoriya and Toshinori tilted their heads to the side when they noticed the esper's face turn downcast. When the rest of the day passed, one of the heaviest things weighing on the young teenager was how he'd lied to All Might about what happened with Bakugo in the alley. Even though the hot-headed teenager had chosen to lie about it, the esper couldn't simply ignore this and go on as if it never happened. No, he needed to confess to both All Might and Izuku about his burst of anger.
"When you found Bakugo and I outside in the alley, we'd..." Mob's neck bent further downward, the feeling of guilt heavy in his chest. "We'd just finished fighting."
"What!" Both users of One for All gasped. Izuku had heard what Bakugo had said about a confrontation with Kageyama, but he didn't believe it escalated to a full-out fight!
The esper's body hunched even further in shame. "After the match was over, I confronted Bakugo over what had happened. I tried explaining to him that his quirk didn't make him better, that Midoriya proved himself based on his training and not his quirk. He lunged at me, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. The anger."
All Might grimaced: he should've seen that coming. He'd seen how concerned and angry Kageyama had gotten, seeing Midoriya beaten so badly by Bakugo. He'd also seen first-hand what happened when he let his emotions explode, how much damage they could cause. He should've put two-and-two together.
"Then what happened?" asked All Might.
"Once my anger exploded, I used my powers against him, sinking him into the ground. I didn't hurt him badly, but I warned him to never hurt you again, Midoriya." A part of the green-eyed teenager was flattered to know his friend put such a priority on his safety.
"I know I shouldn't have attacked him like I did, but Bakugo..." The esper's hands balled into fists, "What Bakugo did to you was horrible, Midoriya. I'd tried to tell him before not to use his powers to hurt others, but he didn't listen. I felt I had no other choice, that this was the only way to talk some sense into him. Even so, I never intended to hurt his pride as bad as I did." The bowl-haired student's eyes met the number one hero, and Toshinori instantly saw Mob's eyes dancing with shame and regret.
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"So I'm sorry for what happened."
All Might was unsure of how to go about this. It was obviously wrong for Kageyama to turn to violence like he did. At the same time, he'd only done so after trying to talk things out with Bakugo before, and like he said, when he felt there was no other way. Kageyama, of all people, would never turn to violence as his first option.
"Don't be so sad. Bakugo wasn't badly injured, so I don't see a reason to make a bigger deal out of this than needed. I also bear some responsibility for this: as his teacher, I should have reprimanded Bakugo more for his behavior during the test. More importantly..."
The symbol of peace placed his hand on the esper's shoulder, eliciting a small gasp from Mob. "You stood up for your friend. You saw that he was being hurt, and you decided to do something about it, even if the method may not have been the best one."
Mob was shocked to see how accepting All Might was of the situation, even knowing what he did was bad. "Th-Thank you, All Might."
"Just make sure you don't allow yourself to lose control against him like that again."
The psychic's body straightened in respect and obedience. "I promise!"
Izuku's verdant eyes sparkled, and he placed his left hand on Mob's left shoulder. "Thanks for standing up for me. It makes me glad to know you're looking out for me."
Both teenagers exchanged small smiles, having yet another close moment that continued to solidify their friendship.
Izuku and Toshinori's smiles widened. However, now that the esper had finished revealing his secret, Midoriya felt it was time to reveal his secret of the conversation that took place with Bakugo just now.
"All Might..." Izuku copied Mob's physical expressions, and All Might's head tilted once again. "You were asking what we were talking about with Bakugo just now." Like Mob, his head lowered further in shame. "I almost revealed the the truth about One for All, that it was a quirk given to me."
All Might's eyes gaped open. Why would Midoriya try to tell Bakugo, a student, about One for All?
"Thankfully, Kageyama stepped in and stopped me from spilling the secret. I'm not sure why I had the impulse to confess the truth. I mean, I haven't even told my mother about it. I just felt it was only fair that he knew, because he felt I was mocking him by lying about my quirk for several years."
Once All Might heard the explanation and saw the same look of regret, he decided to go the same route as he did with Kageyama. After all, Midoriya wasn't someone motivated by pride or to show off.
"If you stopped yourself from telling the truth, then you don't have to worry. However, remember the importance of keeping One for All a secret. If the world knew about this quirk, how it can be passed on, then you've become a prime target for villains all over the world. Keeping this quirk a secret is not only to protect you, but to protect the world. Do you understand?"
The formerly quirkless teenager firmly nodded. All Might turned his head towards Mob.
"Good job for stepping in and stopping Midoriya from revealing the secret, Kageyama. And-" The symbol of peace turned his head towards both teenagers now.
"Thank both of you for telling me the truth."
"Of course," replied Shigeo, "After everything you've done for me, for us, it's only fair that I be fully honest with you."
Upon hearing these words, All Might felt a sharp pang in his chest. Full honesty. Shigeo had been nothing but fully honest with him ever since they'd met, but as for All Might...
"Now that we've settled everything, how about we head back to class, Kageyama?"
"Yep."
"Excellent idea!"
The three righteous souls walked together back into the school. What a day it'd been. Bakugo had lost to his childhood friend, Izuku and Shigeo had reigned victorious in the battle exercises, and an even hotter fire was lit inside of Bakugo as a result. Even with that hotter fire, it would not deter Izuku Midoriya from surpassing him and becoming the hero he'd always dreamed of. He'd be a hero, no matter what it took.
How'd you like that? The battle between Mob and Bakugo ended with Bakugo being dominated, as you expected, but then you got to see how Mob and Yaoyorozu fared against Todoroki and Shoji! Next chapter, you'll see how Mob and Izuku will fare with the upcoming threat and what it'll mean for Class 1-A!
