The Battle Trial (Part 2)
Hey Everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long! I got caught up with a bunch of stuff IRL, so I couldn't write as much as I would've liked. That said, I should be able to write a little more frequently now, so expect regular-ish uploads! Also, I will be changing the rating of this fic to T, as I have been playing with a few more mature themes, as well as Bakugo's cussing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
"Katsuki Bakugo!"
Any ease of mind Izuku had from being partnered with Uraraka went flying out the nearest window at the mention of his opponent's name. Of all the other people left, All Might had to go out and draw Bakugo.
Izuku clenched his fists in nervousness, fingernails digging into his palms. He had been worried before about how the battle was going to turn out. Now, he was even more terrified. There was shuffling around in the group as the selected students made their way to the battle station.
"What's wrong with Midoriya?" Someone asked, causing Izuku to break from his fear-induced stupor. Frantically, Izuku looked around, to see that everyone else was already gone.
"Sorry!" He said, rushing out of the room in a hurry to catch up.
Luckily, Uraraka wasn't in any sort of rush to get to get to the field, so Izuku caught up quickly. He caught his breath, falling into step right beside Uraraka.
"Sorry, Deku! I didn't even realize that I left you behind!" She sounded guilty.
"I was just...thinking."
Uraraka patted Izuku on the shoulder reassuringly, "Remember what I said!" Izuku gave her a small smile.
"I'll try my best. I'm just a little worried about Kacchan." Izuku rubbed his chin
"Kacchan?" Uraraka tilted her head. Izuku blushed at his slight misuse of words.
"Oh, I mean Bakugo. Kacchan is a name from when we were kids."
"So you're childhood friends?"
Izuku's mind briefly flashed back to all his burn marks coming home as a kid, "Not exactly." He responded, suppressing a shudder. Uraraka looked like she wanted to press further, but when she saw the distraught look on Izuku's face, she decided not to.
"Okay!" She said instead, smiling. Izuku let out a breath of relief.
The minutes waiting outside of the building leading up the the battle trail were the most stressful of Izuku's life. His mind was split in three directions.
One part of him was still worrying over how he would even be able to handle the entire ordeal mentally. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get it out of his head.
Another part of him was trying to come up with a strategy. Plan after plan ran through his head, and he analyzed the pro's and cons of each. Some plans, such as splitting up, were good for finding the bomb quickly, but made them especially susceptible to Bakugo's aggressive fighting style. Other plans, such as sticking together, made them less efficient at finding the bomb.
The final part of his mind was trying to pay attention to both Riolu and Uraraka. Riolu was out of his pokeball, nervously bouncing back and forth from leg to leg. Uraraka was talking about...something. He wasn't really paying attention to exactly what she was talking about.
"So what's the plan?" Uraraka finally said something that caught Izuku's interest.
"Well, I was thinking that we could start by-"
"THE BATTLE TRIAL HAS BEGUN!" All Might's voice boomed through their earpieces, nearly knocking Izuku off his feet with how loud the voice was in his head.
Izuku saw both Uraraka and her togekiss looking to him for instructions, as well as Riolu down at his feet.
The best thing would be to start on the middle floor and search each one from there. But how do I get up there? His eyes shot to Togekiss.
"We can fly up to the third floor window on Togekiss's back." Uraraka nodded, not questioning him, opting to rush over to the window with her pokemon. She hopped on Togekiss, motioning for Izuku to follow.
He took a few steps forward, and his breath seized, stopping him in his tracks. Panicked, he took a quick step back.
"I-I'll meet you there. I'll take the stairs." Uraraka tilted her head in acknowledgement, ascending on her partner's back. Riolu jumped in step with Izuku, running up the stairs.
"Yo, why did Midoriya just run up the stairs and meet Uraraka? Couldn't have he just caught a ride too?" Kirishima called to the room.
"Maybe he wanted to check the first two levels for the bomb?" Someone suggested, but All Might knew the truth.
He clenched the speaker in his hand ever so slightly tighter.
Uraraka and Izuku crept through the hallways, listening and looking for any signs of their enemies. Izuku insisted they stick together and check every single corner, every nook and cranny for the bomb.
It was a hallway like any other when Izuku heard the noise. It was a soft hissing noise, barely noticable. If there was any sort of white noise in the area, you wouldn't have been able to hear it. Yet, it was a sound Izuku was all too familiar with.
So many times, just a blank world and that hissing noise filling his ears. So many times, getting pinned down by Quilava, the hissing of its flames around its neck being the only thing he could hear.
"Get down!" Izuku barked, diving for Ochako. He slammed into her, falling to the ground, just as the wall next to them exploded with a wreath of flames. Bakugo jumped out of the hole in the wall with his typhlosion, taking stance across the hallway from Izuku.
"You dodged my attack, Deku!" Bakugo spat as Izuku pulled himself off of the floor, "Just for that, I'll kill you!"
Bakugo stuck out his arm, signaling an attack. Typhlosion's flames grew in size, preparing to unleash an attack. Izuku didn't have time to think or panic. His mind flashed to the notes inside his notebook.
"Kacchan always likes to start with a massive attack, trying to end the battle quickly"
"Riolu, get in close!" Riolu didn't question the order, running right at his opponent. Just as Riolu got close, A fireball half the size of the hallway came into existence, firing down the small area.
"Slide to the right and get under him!" Riolu dove out of the way of the blast, fireball sailing straight past the pokemon. The one problem was that the fireball was now coming directly at Izuku.
It got closer and closer, and Izuku could feel the heat of the flames.
"Togekiss, use protect!" A green bubble popped up around Izuku, and the fire blast exploded harmlessly, dancing off of the protective shield harmlessly.
Thank her later. Izuku told himself, refocusing on the task. Riolu was under Typhlosion, the hulking beast not having reacted yet.
"Force Palm!"
Riolu jumped straight up, fist glowing with power. The attack took typhlosion in the jaw, sending it sprawling away. Riolu made it back to Izuku with two quick jumps.
Maybe we have a chance without having to use One for All! Izuku hooted silently. Typhlosion got onto its feet once more, face renewed with rage. Not only typhlosion, but Bakugo himself looked pissed.
"What the fuck was that?" Bakugo asked, taking an aggressive step towards Izuku, "You aren't supposed to be able to even touch me!" Bakugo snarled.
"Uraraka, go find the bomb! He's focused on me!" Izuku said under his breath, just loud enough so that she could hear. She nodded, sneaking around the corner.
Now I just have to keep him occupied… Izuku thought. Bakugo cracked his neck.
"Typhlosion. Flame Wheel." Typhlosion snarled, dropping to the ground. He spun, going faster and faster. A wreath of flame enveloped the pokemon, until all that could be seen was the spinning ball of flame.
"Riolu, be ready!" Izuku warned.
"Go." Bakugo spat, and immediately, Typhlosion spun forwards, far quicker than Izuku had been expecting. Before Riolu even had time to block himself, he was knocked over by the searing mass, clutching his shoulder.
"Again." Typhlosion changed directions, spinning towards Riolu once more. Riolu tried to dodge, but Typhlosion was just a little too quick. All Izuku could do was wait for an opening.
All Might knew he needed to stop the fight. Bakugo could have ended the fight long ago, but instead, he was strategically whittling down Riolu, trying to cause as much pain as possible.
"C'mon, that's not heroic at all!" Kirishima complained.
All Might should stop the fight. Yet, he had no intentions to. Not yet.
Uraraka couldn't hear the fight going on any longer. She was up two floors, searching for the bomb. All that was left was the top floor, right above her. Uraraka made her way up the stairs, trying to be as silent as possible.
She came into a room with many white pillars that went from the floor to the ceiling. Inside, not having noticed her yet, was Iida. He was kneeling next to his combusken, seemingly talking to it.
"I know it may be hard, but we have to get into the villain mindset. It is part of becoming a great hero!" Iida stuck his hand high in the air.
So committed… Uraraka barely stifled a laugh. Iida, however wasn't finished.
"My best villain impression…" Iida cleared his throat. "Prepare for trouble!"
"Combusken!" Iida's 'villain impression' was just making his voice deeper and gravelly. This time, Uraraka couldn't keep it in. She squeaked out a laugh, immediately covering her mouth to prevent any extra noise from coming out.
Togekiss, however, couldn't stop herself from laughing. The pokemon squeaked a small squeal, trying to keep it in, and failing miserably.
"Uraraka and Togekiss! Welcome to my villainous lair!" Iida's head snapped to the source of the noise, "I have prepared for you! Come out of hiding and hear my master plan, heroes!"
Uraraka couldn't resist, and stepped out from behind the pillar. Iida and combusken were across the room in their hero suits, standing side by side.
"I have gotten ready for you!" Iida gestured to the completely empty room save for the bomb at the other end, "I picked this room specifically so that you would not have room to fly around, due to the pillars! I also cleared the room of any loose articles, so that you wouldn't have anything to blow around with those wind gusts of yours! I have created the perfect arena to twart your attempts!" Iida made another 'evil' laugh, eliciting another laugh from Uraraka.
After recovering, Uraraka made a quick action plan in her head, hoping that it would work.
"Let's go, clefairy!" Uraraka said, calling out her other partner. The small pokemon appeared next to Uraraka, hopping up and down. Uraraka whispered the plan in its ear.
"Don't worry, you won't have to battle." Uraraka gave a small smile, reassuring the pokemon. She turned to Iida once more, more prepared this time.
"Togekiss, go for Combusken! Use air slash!" At the same time as calling the command, Uraraka broke into a sprint directly at Iida, intending to run by him. Iida, however, did not like that idea, preparing his body to stop Uraraka. He took the stance of a football player ready to tackle someone.
Wait...wait...wait…"Now!" Uraraka called out. Just as Uraraka got to Iida, she kicked off the ground just as Clefairy used the move 'Gravity'. All sense of earth's natural pull dissipated as Uraraka went sailing over Iida, who ended up tackling the empty air where Uraraka had been moments earlier.
"Release!" Uraraka fell to the ground a few feet away from the bomb, still running at full speed. A few more feet…
Uraraka stretched out her hand, reaching for the goal, and just as her hand was about to touch the bomb…
A massive explosion shook the entire building.
Riolu was in rough shape. It had taken at least ten attacks from Typhlosion. His responses were getting slower, and Izuku could tell he was at the end of the wire. Izuku was frantically looking for some way that he could break out of this, but Bakugo was too methodical. All of his attacks were meticulously perfect, leaving Izuku no room to work with.
Every movement that Typhlosion made was calculated so that Riolu would have no way of fighting back. It was less of a fight and more of a beatdown.
Get him talking...he may make a mistake then. Izuku thought. It was a stretch, but it was the only thing he could do.
Izuku opened his mouth to speak, "Kacch-"
"Have you been lying this whole time?" Bakugo interrupted. For some reason, Typhlosion pulled away from the battle, giving it a break for the moment. Riolu scampered away as quick as he could, favoring his side.
"Wha-?"
"You heard what I said!" Bakugo yelled, "I asked if you've been lying this whole time!"
Izuku shook his head in confusion, "Lying about what?"
"You know what, you little punk!" Bakugo sneered, "I bet you lied this whole time, just to get me to underestimate you, didn't you?"
"Kacchan, what are you talking about"
"I'm talking about your whole schtick about not being able to touch pokemon!" Bakugo spat at his feet, "You went all these years faking it, just so you could come in, and take the glory!"
Izuku was dumbfounded. Sure, Bakugo was self-centered, but never in a million years would Izuku have expected him to come to that conclusion.
Bakugo, however wasn't done. "I was supposed to be the only one from our shitty school to make it into Yuuei! You were supposed to be a pebble on the side of the road. A useless nobody! But, Then you come out of nowhere, with a pokemon, and take the glory for yourself. How does it feel, Deku? How does it feel having deceived me all these years?"
"That's not it!" Izuku growled, getting frustrated.
"What the hell is it, then? How long have you had a pokemon for, huh? How long did you keep it a secret for? People don't just get good enough to get into Yuuei like you! So, Deku, what it-"
Izuku couldn't take it anymore, "Would you just shut up and listen?" Izuku shouted, interrupting Bakugo. It only seemed to make the boy even more angry, but at least he stopped ranting.
"I didn't lie to you! My PTSD...it's not gone." Izuku took a deep breath, "It happened about a year ago. Riolu was getting attacked and...well, I couldn't just stand there and do nothing! My body moved on its own. I rescued Riolu, and for some reason, he's the one exception to my...condition. Everything else still gets me. Everything, Kacchan."
"I didn't lie to you. I've only been with Riolu for a year now. And do you know why I didn't tell you?" Izuku continued, "Because I knew something like this would happen!" Izuku ran a hand through his hair.
Bakugo was silent, but it was almost like you could hear his rage in the air. He was so angry he looked like he was going to implode.
"What a soppy story." He finally said, voice full of rage, "Such a Deku thing to say. Like I would believe that shit. People don't just get over that kind of stuff because of one event."
"It's-"
"Stop lying, it's useless. You're underestimating me." Bakugo's voice was comparatively calm. Maybe he had gotten so angry that he went beyond his limit.
"I'm not lying! Kacchan!" Izuku yelled back. Bakugo glared at Izuku for a few moments, unmoving. His eyes full of hatred.
Then, they softened, "Say, I can see if you really are lying or not." Bakugo turned to his pokemon, nodding.
Typhlosion broke back into a flame wheel, before dashing into an attack once again. Riolu braced himself for the attack, falling into a defensive position.
Typhlosion got nearer, and nearer. Riolu put a foot back to take the hit.
"Riolu, counter!" Izuku called the command. Riolu glowed a soft red just as Typhlosion go in range and…
Typhlosion went straight past Riolu flying by in a blur. Right at Izuku.
Izuku didn't even have time to brace himself. The flaming pokemon tumbled into Izuku, knocking him to the ground instantly. Typhlosion rolled out of the attack, pinning Izuku down to the ground.
Everything went white. Izuku couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. All that was there was him, Typhlosion and the memories. Oh God the memories.
His skin getting torn off by repeated biting. Blood leaking from every wound, pooling beneath him. The smell of a back alley mixed with the garbage covering the Rattata and Raticate making him want to puke.
Trying to get up but not having the strength to. And when they finally left with his bag, not being able to get up until the police came in and carried him away.
The weeks following. Mom having to send her own pokemon partner to live with a relative because Izuku couldn't be in the same time. Not eating for days straight.
Not-
Izuku felt a tugging at the edge of his consciousness, pulling him away from the bad memories. He felt himself dissociating from his body, pulling away. He could think again, but the thoughts weren't completely his own.
When he could see again, it wasn't through his own eyes. The colors were off, and the point of view was much closer to the ground. The vision shifted, and Izuku saw himself, still pinned to the ground by Typhlosion, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Izuku was seeing through Riolu's eyes.
What is...
There was a surge, and power filled the air. Red power, almost vein-like in appearance cackled to life around Riolu's legs and arms.
Riolu kicked off the ground, directly at Typhlosion. He was there in the blink of an eye, and he reared back his arm, still rippling with energy.
Riolu thrust his arm forward, striking Typhlosion in the chest.
There was a massive blast of wind as Typhlosion was launched off of Izuku, sailing straight backwards. Typhlosion blasted through multiple walls before coming to a stop, obviously knocked out. Bakugo had also been hit by the explosion, sending him into the nearest wall as well.
Izuku was brought back to his own body with a start. He jolted upright, breathing heavily. Riolu fell to the ground next to Izuku, collapsing instantly. Izuku tried to get up, but neither of his legs, nor his right arm would even move. They both had a blackish tinge to them, similar to the look of Riolu's limbs.
Izuku inspected the damage. Riolu's attack had knocked both Bakugo and Typhlosion out cold, but Riolu had passed out in the process. Also, the attack had blasted a hole in the side of the building.
Izuku was torn back to reality when the building began to rumble and shake. He felt fuzzy, and the world started to sway. He felt close to passing out.
Then, the whole world started to tip. The building was collapsing. Izuku passed out.
The entire building started to collapse under Uraraka's feet. The floor gave way a few feet away, and the entire structure was tipping. Whatever that explosion was, it had taken out the building along with it.
"Iida! Come one!" Uraraka said, hopping on Togekiss's back. She recalled clefairy back into her pokeball.
Iida, realizing the dire situation, abandoned his role, instead opting to get out safely. He recalled combusken as well, hopping onto Uraraka's pokemon's back. The moment he was on, togekiss took off, breaking out of the window. Into the open air.
Just in time, too, since not a second later, the entire building collapsed in on itself.
"Deku is in there!" Uraraka screamed, realizing ever so slightly too late. Iida seemed too stunned to say anything, watching the building fold in on itself. Uraraka stifled a cry.
All Might watched Riolu use a full powered One for All smash, taking out half the building in the process. Both Bakugo and Typhlosion were out cold, and dust covered the rest of the cameras, obscuring the view of Riolu and Izuku.
"What the hell was that?"
"Did that little thing just...do all that?" The class was dumbstruck.
"Is that the same Riolu that destroyed the Zero Pointer in the entrance exam?"
"Has to be! What power! Took out Typhlosion in one hit!"
The dust settled to reveal Riolu and Izuku also passed out on the ground. Then, the feed shook before cutting off.
All Might knew what it meant. That kind of damage to the building in such a short time? Then shaking before the camera feed shut out? Only one thing that could mean.
"Lucario, go!" All Might barked. Lucario complied, destroying the wall as he broke through. Mere moments after Lucario was out of sight, he engaged One for All.
The perfect synchronization the two had spend hours upon hours laboring over overtook All Might's body. He was seeing from two sets of eyes at once. He was living in two bodies at once. All Might almost felt more comfortable like this than being seperated.
Most importantly, it gave Lucario the speed and strength he needed to get to the collapsing building in time.
Uraraka watched in horror as the building kept crashing down. Moments more and Izuku, as well as Bakugo would be crushed.
Then, there was a streak of blue, and another explosion. The entire building shattered to pieces, concrete flying hundreds of feet into the air. Along with the rubble, four figures shot into the air, all unconscious.
He may not get them all in time! Uraraka panicked, getting out Clefairy's pokeball to help. Iida, however, put tapped her shoulder and pointed to the scene.
Lucario was using the airborne rubble as jumping points, pouncing from rock to rock in pursuit of the two unconscious students and their pokemon.
When Lucario touched down on the street with all four, Uraraka didn't know whether to be surprised or not. It was All Might's partner, after all.
Izuku woke up in an unfamiliar environment. His vision was filled with white.
Is this purgatory? Izuku thought, Did I die?
"Oh, you're up." An elderly voice said right in Izuku's ears.
"Ah!" Izuku jumped upright immediately, frightened by the noise. He then saw the rest of his surroundings. He was in recovery girl's office. Around the room were three other beds, though only one was occupied. Izuku's legs were wrapped in white bandages, as well as his right arm.
He flexed his hand, testing out the joints. Everything felt just fine.
"You almost gave me trouble fixing those broken bones of yours, but Chansey fixed you up well." Recovery girl tutted, "You should stop breaking yourself at every turn."
Izuku recalled the events leading up to now. Uraraka leaving, the talk with Bakugo, then getting attacked. Then when Riolu-
"Riolu!" Izuku shouted, panic in his voice. Recovery girl slapped his hand.
"If you move too much, you might reopen your wounds!" She shook her head, "He's fine. I had more trouble with him than I did you, but your injuries were the same." She gestured to the occupied bed across the room. Riolu was sleeping soundly in the bed.
Izuku let out a breath of relief, sinking into the mattress. "What happened?"
"I believe I may be able to help you with that." A voice said, and the door creaked open. All Might in his skinny form stepped through the door, hero costume baggy over his smaller size.
"All Might!" Izuku sat up straight.
All Might scratched the back of his neck, looking over at Riolu.
"What happened?" Izuku asked again.
"Something very dangerous. I would like to explain it once again to Young Riolu once he wakes, but I'll tell you for now." All Might took a deep breath, "Riolu activated One for All on his own."
"On his own?" All might nodded.
"One for All is a two way street. It requires both trainer and partner to be ready to merge into one. But like most relationships, it can be one sided, though it is unhealthy." All Might started, "That is exactly what happened. You were...incapacitated. Riolu must have done it instinctually. He activated the bond on his own. The power that is normally shared between you both was instead focused entirely within Riolu. That's why the attack was so powerful."
Izuku sat in silence for a moment, processing it, then nodded his head, "The other times I've used One for All, it was like I was in limbo between our two bodies. This time, I was seeing it through his eyes completely."
All Might nodded, "That technique is extremely dangerous, as well as difficult to pull off. Don't ever think of using it again. It may permanently damage the bond itself."
"I wouldn't do that to Riolu." Izuku said, determined. All Might gave a good smile.
"We can have the rest of the talk later. For now, go home and get some rest." All Might made for the door, but Izuku had one more thing on his mind.
"All Might, I have one more question." All Might paused, looking back. "How do you know about this? Did it happen to you before?"
All Might's expression darkened, like he was looking back at painful memories.
"It's happened once. I speak from experience when I say not to do it." All Might made for the door, and said one last thing over his shoulder, "When it happened, I was the one that took control."
WIth that, he was gone, leaving Izuku alone.
"So what kind of level is it, Sensei?" Shigaraki Tomura said. He didn't need to speak into a mic. Sensei could hear him anywhere.
"Information gathering. Nothing else." The voice boomed in his head, leaving it tingling, "You can have your fun later."
"Yes, Sensei." Shigaraki muttered.
"I have faith in you, Shigaraki. Mew is somewhere at Yuuei."
"Find it."