Chapter 19: Tatsumori vs Bakugou
"Mori-chan! That was amazing!" Mina circled her arms around my sweaty figure, the momentum of her excited jog made me sway.
Around me, Hagakure, Kaminari, and Jiro circled, relaying their congratulations on a hard-fought match. From the corner of my eye, Yaoyorozu timidly glances, a more solemn expression on her face. She meets my eye and gives a gentle, nervous smile.
"I wasn't expecting such a warm reception. Thanks, everyone," I smile.
"Come sit with us, the match just started!" Hagakure playfully takes my arm and drags me to an empty seat in the bleachers. Our class was situated in the top part of the stadium, the whole section was designated for us even though there were only twenty of us in class 1-A. Even then, we would not occupy all twenty seats, as contestants within the class came and went. The lightly injured Tokoyami was dragged to Recovery Girl's office after our fight together. Todoroki and Iida were ushered away, as they were the next fighters in the ring.
Even I only had one match to wait on before being dragged away myself.
"I really didn't know what I was expecting when I knew Tatsumori-san would be against Tokoyami. But that was insane!" Sero first chimed in. A conversation erupted out of excitement.
"The funny thing is, she did all that without using her quirk, right? I mean, at least I didn't really see her use it," Sero noted.
"Actually, I don't think I've ever seen her use her quirk…" Tsuyu stared at me with her round wide eyes.
Though I didn't mean to keep it a secret, I've always used my quirk sparingly, out of class. We've been together for a little over a month so there should have been a good amount of people who know my quirk. At the very least, Jiro, Hagakure, Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina… Is that really everyone? I guess I've only ever explicitly shown my quirk to five people.
Is there a chance that Bakugou doesn't know my quirk?
That can't be, right? He chose me to be in his cavalry because he knew my quirk could melt ice. How would he know something like that?
"Sero. Do you think Bakugou knows about my quirk?" I ask him.
"Huh?" he's surprised at the mention of his name. I would ask Kirishima about it… but they're both in the ring.
"Wasn't Bakugou the one who said that he needed me in his calvary?"
"Uh well… When we were crowding around him and saying all the quirks and stuff…"
Sero, with a hand on the back of his neck, explains the situation as he remembers it. Bakugou had everyone line up and say what their quirk was. Sero was chosen because he pitched the idea of coming to get Bakugou if he wants to fly up. Bakugou chose members to counter the teams that Todoroki and Midoriya would create, and since Midoriya had Uraraka, it was very likely he would be in the air.
As he was muttering to himself to find a counter to Todoroki's ice, Kirishima suggested me, knowing that my quirk made hot rods warm enough to melt ice. It was remarkable that he even remembered it, or thought to use the heating aspect of my rods as a way to melt ice.
"So you're saying that Bakugou asked me to be on his team because of Kirishima?"
"I think so."
"But he doesn't know what my quirk is? This whole time?"
"Huh… I think so," Sero takes a moment to ponder my words.
No. I can't assume that Bakugou doesn't know my quirk. He may be a hot-headed, egotistical guy, but he's far from stupid. If he doesn't know my quirk, it's only a matter of time before he does. He already knows that my quirk can melt Todoroki's ice. He knows that I prefer short-distance fighting, so he must have ruled out the possibility of a ranged emitter-type quirk. I can't trick him into thinking I'm quirkless either. If I'm fighting, I have to take advantage of his uncertainty but misguide him with the things that he already knows about me.
"What is your quirk, Tatsumori-chan?" Tsuyu asked. Her distinct nasally tone cut through the air, her pointer finger held up to her chin in a signature pondering pose. The rest of my classmates leaned closer to the question. Among the faces, I spot Midoriya's green hair jutting out, breaking away from the conversation he had with Uraraka.
"I know I know! She makes metal rods!" Hagakure jumps up, her hands raised in the air.
"Metal rods? How can that melt ice?" Sato was the one to ask, joining in the conversation.
From the sidelines, after a brief amount of thinking, Yaoyorozu speaks up. "They come out hot… Don't they? That's why you need to wear support gear. And that's why your arms are covered in all of those burns. You can make the metal rods that you use to fight using your arms, but they come out at a temperature that can cause second-degree burns to the skin. Around fifty-five degrees Celsius… But that doesn't make sense. That's not hot enough to melt ice that quickly."
I nod at Yaoyorozu's observations.
"You're right. The rods do come out hot. At roughly 400 degrees Celsius, give or take. Without the coolants, using my quirk would give me second-degree burns." I lift the sleeve of my tracksuit to reveal the burns under my arms. Those who have not seen it before flinch at the sight.
"Because this quirk has been passed down for a while now, people who have a similar quirk in my family get some type of heat resistance in their skin. But even that amount of heat resistance can't stop the burns. My dad developed support gear to help me control it growing up. It cools the part of my skin that produces titanium, and basically freezes my arm as it's coming out. I can lower the cooling settings on my support tool and make the rod as hot as 200 degrees Celsius, without suffering any burns myself. That's roughly enough heat to make sugar brown."
Sato hums in understanding, perking up at the analogy. Everyone takes a moment to think about my words.
"I know it's not as useful as a lot of the quirks that you guys have. That's why I need to work harder to be strong without my quirk," I tell them. "I want to prove that even someone with a quirk like mine can protect people from villains with strong quirks."
"...that means against the fight with Ka-chan, Tatsumori-san… heat of the explosions… If Ka-chan really doesn't know…she can use it…catch…" Midoriya muttered to himself inaudibly.
"I don't think your quirk is lame at all! Those rods can definitely cause some damage if you hit someone with it while it's hot." Mina says.
"If you think about it, doesn't that mean that Tatsumori-san can dive into a boiling pot of water and come out of it without burns?" Sato points out.
"Yeah! You were in the fire zone in USJ, but you didn't get any burns from all that fire, and you beat all of the villains there because of it!" Hagakure pumps a fist up in the air.
"Now that I think about it. Aren't you a little too strong? You're like a combat genius and you have a quirk that gives you weapons at any time…" Sero ponders.
But it's not strong enough. I think to myself. Not against All Might or those villains from USJ.
The conversation naturally drifted away from me, as the fight between Kirishima and Bakugou reached its climax. Kirishima's quirk, which made him practically immune to the thunderous blows, began to wane. His skin breaks apart, to be reinforced again, but slower and slower as the explosions come at him endlessly.
Sure enough, the fight is over with a final uppercut. The lights go out for Kirishima as he falls into the concrete, eyes wide open. The victory was Bakugou's, and I was ushered away to the waiting room once again.
And before I knew it, after what seemed like hours of contemplation, the moment arrived, far sooner than I had hoped. I stood face to face with my opponent–Bakugou's usual scowl disappeared into a deadpan predator's gaze. It was difficult to tell if he had faced all of his opponents the same way, or if the other opponents who stood in this position against this man, felt the same force of deadly-calm confidence he exudes.
Of the few fights I watched with him, he was an arrogant asshole, but he wasn't stupid. It would be easier if he happened to be a meathead who used his quirk to force himself into every situation mindlessly, but being number one in class doesn't lend him that same mindset. Bakugou isn't just strong because of his quirk, even though his quirk is a large part of why he's so strong. On top of it, his natural instinct helped him utilize his quirk to the fullest in any given situation. The quirk grants him additional movement–mobility on and off the ground; strong, devastating attacks; and most of all, he can simply use his quirk to stand by and attack from afar. The fact that he's aware of his quirk's versatility and takes advantage of it was dangerous. He has mastered and understood his quirk as much as I have mastered and understood my body and my weapons.
The odds towered against me. My breath picked up its pace, and my hands quivered at my sides. I clenched them to steady myself.
"Don't hold back now, loser." As if feeling my resolve weaken, Bakugou speaks up with a scowl.
He's right. I can't back down now. After I've made it this far. Deep breaths and I'm back to a calmer state of mind.
Despite the odds, this is far from hopeless. If there was even a sliver of a chance I could win, I'll grab it and use it to my advantage. This is a world where people aren't born equal. In the face of overwhelming adversity to get to the level Bakugou is on, I had to put in three times more work. If I falter then all of that will be put to waste.
"Trust me. I won't," I reply.
I will be a hero who can tower over anything the world throws at me.
Out of my head, I become more aware that the fight is about to start. As the announcers pipe down, Midnight-sensei raises her flag, counting down the seconds to start.
I crouch down, readying to bolt forward.
"FIGHT!"
In an instant, I take the shield off of my back and run, dashing as fast as I can toward Bakugou. My blood runs, and the wind blows past as my eyes lock on to the enemy in front of me. No matter how much I look at it, the best way to win this is to get close to him, where I won't be at a disadvantage against long-ranged attacks. A similar approach to Uraraka-san, but I know it won't end the same way.
As I expect, Bakugou stands poised on the other end of the arena. He's taking a reactive role in the fight, just as he had done in previous fights before me. The second he gets close enough, he'll send off explosions to blow me away.
Just seconds into the run, I close the distance, only mere feet away from his position in the arena. I charge in, shield ready. I see the sparks fly as he swings his arm towards me.
Here it is.
BOOM!
I held the shield forward and moved with the momentum of the explosion. With preparation, taking a blow like this one was well within my expectations. Without wasting a single moment, I swing my right arm. It was no problem for him as he effortlessly steps aside from the swing.
His other arm strikes.
BOOM!
The explosion sets off but I'm already behind it, the force of an uppercut lands on his stomach and he lurches forward. There's not much time for him to react, when he tenses his entire body to deliver that blow. He swings, high and wide on his left, the sparks fly on his open palms.
BOOM!
It misses as my right arm yanks him along the momentum he creates, it sets off right behind me. He swings again, his right arm this time, low and wide. I wind up the shield on my left hand.
BOOM!
A small explosion sets off to my left. The titanium shield meets his hand as I swing it forward. The shield reverberates from the impact as it protects me from the explosion. My previous blow on his wrist slightly diverted the explosion away to lessen the impact. I don't waste time as my right swipes over his head. He ducks, anticipating the blow. A cheeky, devilish grin flashes on his face.
Unlike Tokoyami and Aoyama's weakness in close-quarters combat, Bakugou was skilled. His natural instincts helped him avoid blows that could have ended the match. He expertly guides his open hands around, detonating smaller explosions to enhance the strength and speed of his reaction. In an open arena, he had the advantage. His movement can easily get him far out of my reach, but I keep the fight close and personal. I don't stop aggressively sending blows in his direction, easing around the predictable swings.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The angles of the punches were trivial at best but the real problem was the fact he was getting faster. Adjusting to his tempo, all I can do is avoid the attack, redirecting his hands away, moving towards blind spots, and holding my shield up to block the explosions. He was exerting pressure, enough so that there were no openings to counter. I had to be careful.
Hands were the most dangerous asset in Bakugou's body. If I lost track of them, my greatest fear would be to take a direct hit and damage myself before I had a fighting chance. In this fight, even one hit greatly lowered my chances of winning.
A change from his usual wide swings catches me off guard.
Instead of swinging his arms to set off explosions within the pocket of his range, Bakugou turns his wrist outward. The explosions set off, creating momentum for weaker, but faster blows. The first few blows land on the side of my arms as I belatedly block, waiting for a moment of opportunity.
No broken bones, definitely heavy bruising. I grunt while taking the hits.
Despite the increase in his attacks, nothing about the way he fought was different. I watch the combination and count it in my head. Right hook. Left uppercut. Cross. Lead hook. Rinse and repeat. His preference for power blows on his right side greatly benefited the strength of my defense on my left side. The shield automatically blocks the blows as I raise my arm, no doubt his fists must have hurt from the contact, but if they did, he hid it well. My shield is the most reliable tool I had in my arsenal, its simple presence on my arm makes guarding easier and more effective. As I acclimate to his speed, it's only a matter of time before I get back to counter.
Guard. Cross. Pivot. Right uppercut. Guard. Jab.
All the blows were dealt with and returned. Bakugou's calm face morphed closer and closer to the scowl I was familiar with in class. Each counter was starting to get to him, but to his credit, this was the most technical fight I've experienced in hero work outside of training bouts with sensei. Acclimating to boxing moves was not outside the repertoire of having sparring matches in MMA fighting. Even with Bakugou's natural gift in fighting, and his natural loose adhesion to boxing principles. I was still the better fighter.
"DIE!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Two explosions. Harder and louder. Amid his frustration, he switches back to his usual attack habits, releasing explosions inward toward me. It makes me stumble. The break in my form allowed me to step back to the right. The excess force forces him to move more forward than he expected, leaving his back open for me to hit.
Taking the sharper end of my shield, it digs into the side of his back. He too stumbles, grunting in pain, before turning around to retaliate. With a cry, he swings both arms simultaneously.
A big mistake.
I could see his line of thinking. He hoped that sending an explosion in two directions would create a flaw in my defense, where my shield is only able to block one area at a time. But if he swings both arms at the same time, nothing is blocking my arm from reaching his torso.
And I do just that. In a second, I'm in the pocket of his space. An uppercut to his solar plexus.
BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions set off prematurely and Bakugou hunches over. My other fist decked him over the head. He loses balance, stumbling into the concrete. I dive after him before he can recover, using my body's weight to keep him there.
Spinning, kicking, twisting. Bakugou struggles against my hold as I take the initiative, pinning him into the ground, several smaller explosions rock out in panicked defiance. His rabid growling and screaming, flailing and fighting, reminiscent of a downed dog fighting for its place among its pack. Both legs snaked around one arm. Both hands twist his wrist away from my face. My equipped shield, locked into the coolants in my arms, completely blocked my torso from hits. I've taken the steps to avoid his palms and secure him in an arm bar. My body was in a position to strangle the life out of his arm until it broke. It seemed inescapable until—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions detonated. The secure lock I had on his right arm slipped away as the explosion granted him the parallel force needed to escape.
At once, he escapes into the air.
I curse when I realize the lock was ineffective. I knew that winning this fight required restraining his wrists to stop his hands from producing explosions. If I get him into a grapple, it should render him immobile and unable to fight. It's easier to claim victory through immobilization, than through knocking him out of the arena or knocking him unconscious. In both scenarios, Bakugou had the advantage. His quirk was more suited to knocking me off the arena and landing hits on me. He would no doubt do more damage to me than I could do to him–after all, it only takes one solid hit for him to change the tides of the fight.
Fortunately, Bakugou had been testing the limits between our close-combat fights. If Bakugou truly wanted to win, he would have gone to the air straight from the beginning where he was out of my reach. But I knew that his arrogance wouldn't allow him to back out of a fight where I was at my strongest, unless he assessed that I was a serious threat to his victory.
And it seems like he came to that very realization.
Now it would be much harder to get him back down to the ground. Luckily for me, he can't stay up there forever.
I'll force him to come down here.
I take a short stick from my back, winding up my arms for the throw, reminiscent of former Olympic javelin throws. With a running start, my entire body launches the stick out of my hands and into the air.
A small explosion deflects the projectile, and Bakugou swoops down. I'm ready as he holds an arm out to detonate an explosion.
BOOM!
Suddenly the tides of battle changed. The roles were promptly reversed as Bakugou took charge of the fight as the aggressor. It was guerilla hit-and-run warfare on his end. I held my ground, playing to a fight that was more reactive and defensive.
This approach wasn't too different from Tokoyami's approach in my previous fight. I hold up a stance—legs shoulder-width apart, leaning towards the incoming blow with my entire body.
As the explosion detonates, I bend my leg back, following through with the attack's force. I feel needles crawl up my arm as the vibrations of the titanium ring into my body.
Several explosions follow as he lifts himself back up into the air. The explosions leave a cloud of smoke–enough to cover the space I occupied. Before the wind blows away my perfect cover, I take the last short stick from my back–putting my whole body's strength into throwing it forward.
The smoke obscures his vision as much as it obscures mine, but as long as I throw it upward, it will be enough. With the forward momentum of my whole body into that throw, I follow through and start running.
BOOM!
Deflected again. The stick comes barreling down several feet away from the stage's boundaries. I take the bo staff, the final weapon in my arsenal, from my back and take a practiced Bōjutsu stance. Again Bakugou dives into my space, but before he even reaches an arm out, I swing.
The staff was held as though it were a long sword, I swung forward into the air as Bakugou fell closer. The stick meets Bakugou's shoulder, throwing him off balance.
He sets off explosions to get into the air and recover again, but I throw the bo staff just as he planned on retreating. The grip on the longer staff felt more comfortable, as it closely resembled the true size of javelins from my experience in my past life. I thought it was sure to hit, but alas, The titanium bent as it shot with explosions, veering to the right. It misses its target, plunging downward, feet away from the arena boundaries.
I let the heat climb up my left forearm, hiding the quirk behind my shield. I prayed that the subtle wisps of steam would go by unnoticed.
As soon as the projectile misses, he dives in. I grab onto the handle of my newly made stick.
This is it. If he doesn't know my quirk, he will get hit, and I can bring him to the ground to grapple him.
BOOM!
Smoke fills the air. My shield braces and I feel the force push back. I swing reflexively and the two-foot rod meets the air where Bakugou was meant to be. My movement clears the smoke in front and he is gone. Time slows as I see the events unravel.
He's above my head, flipping over with the momentum of his feint. Just as he turns, his arm assumed its stance. I saw the sparks, violently, light the space in his palm. It bloomed a dangerous flower. This blow didn't look like his other smaller explosions.
My body wasn't fully turned. In the milliseconds it took for me to comprehend what had happened, Bakugou was already firing up his next move. I laughed internally as I came to the realization.
He already knew what my quirk was. He was ready for the moment I'd use all of the weapons at my disposal—expecting me to use my quirk and be lulled into a false sense of security that I had him fooled. Even if I somehow managed to block now and plant myself into the ground, the damage would be catastrophic and I'd be left at a distance where I'd no longer be able to fight.
But it's not over. I'm not done yet.
I reached an arm out. My left arm latches into his ankle.
If it was going to get hit anyway, I'll make sure he can't use it to escape.
"GO TO HELL YOU DAMN EXTRA!"
BOOM!
"AAARRGHHHH!" I screamed. The left arm holding onto his ankle miraculously also still had my shield attached. It blocked great amounts of the explosion from hitting my face and torso. However, even with that small consolation, the closer distance made the explosion stronger. It came as one continuous blow, with a strength ten times greater than what Bakugou had shown so far. For a moment my body was suspended from the ground. The outward force of Bakugou's explosion pulled against its opposing force. My forearms went numb as my shoulder threatened to tear away from its socket. Regardless, I kept my hold on Bakugou's foot as if my life depended on it. The debris created by the blow cast large shadows over me. The hints and specs of concrete made before don't hold a candle to the brick-sized debris flying in my direction. Adrenaline helped me ignore the pain but no doubt the bruises would soon follow. The upper half of my uniform chars from the heat–leaving a mangled mess of blue and black. What's left of the uniform jacket is the sleeveless turtleneck underneath.
My heart skips a beat as I feel my grip slipping away, and my whole body jerks backward. The arm holding on felt like it was getting ripped apart, but as the explosion dies down, I grunt as my stomach meets the concrete. My fingers release their hold, but I do avoid being blown away.
God damn it Bakugou.
If he wanted to kill someone, this would definitely have done it. Any other person would have suffered second and third-degree burns from the blast alone. If I hadn't been holding on, I would have been blown back, hundreds of feet away, possibly hitting my head, or landing on my spine into hard concrete. The debris would have broken the bones of anyone who was even remotely close.
My body trembles as I will it to stand. Every part of my body strained, there were dull aches everywhere the debris hit. I didn't notice it then, but the coolant on my left arm shattered. The shield straps attached to it had been ripped to shreds, flying off during the blast, defending is no longer an option.
The smoke obscured the view in front of me. I knew I needed to get up before it dissipated. After taking that blow, my body screamed at me to rest, but I do not hold myself to my body's wants. If I didn't move now, there was no way I could win.
I dash again, knowing I can make a final dash to close the space. I emerge from the smoke, an arm's length away from Bakugou. Our eyes meet, and his eyes widen.
"How—"
I heard him mutter before he was pulled into a tackle.
The initiation was far from perfect. Bakugou had moved just in time to avoid my hold on his leg, however, he could not completely dodge my body as I moved forward. The whole way down, Bakugou moves violently before he could get into any concrete hold. I manage to hold onto his hands, but my weak grip could not keep it as he uses his quirk to escape. Several explosions detonate, and without my shield, completely avoiding them became nearly impossible. I reel back as the punch-like explosions go off.
At a moment's opportunity, he kicks his feet, legs connecting to a hit in my stomach. I grunt, flailing to grab any part of Bakugou I could find.
[Image Link for Imgur: /a/GzZ0gVy]
I grab his collar, and he kicks again. With the momentum he can muster laying down, he swings his right, armed with sparks.
I managed to grab it and pull it over, flipping him on his back just before the explosion sets off. This time, I did not let go. In one continuous motion, I twist his wrist with an open palm facing away from myself.
I yank on it.
Kick the back of his knee.
And bury him further into the ground with my body's force, sitting on his lower back.
My left foot and arm lock his other wrist from moving.
Bakugou struggles against the hold, unholy screams and screeches come from his form as he writhes, trying to free his arms from my grasp. Unfortunately for him, the more he struggles, the more strain he'll feel in his muscles.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions set off harmlessly behind my back. Unlike my previous hold, no matter what he does with his hands, the recoil will only dig him further into the ground. At this point, he would have learned that the momentum of the explosion can only move him closer to the concrete. He snarls as his face is pressed into the ground. Screaming curse words incomprehensible from the depths of the concrete.
"Give up… You're not… getting out of this without a broken arm," I warn him. I take quick shallow breaths in between words.
As if taking heed to my words, Bakugou relaxes against my hold.
It was unbelievable. I honestly didn't think I would make it this far, but here I am. It was hard fought, with a few hiccups along the way, and it definitely was not one without flaws. Bakugou gave it his all. I messed up in assuming that he didn't know about my quirk, but in the end, it also helped me in the long run.
It was fortunate that I got a grip on his ankle. It was extremely fortunate that the blast hadn't knocked me unconscious, or that none of the debris hit me in areas that mattered. Oddly enough, I expected to break a few bones—I fully expected the possibility of losing as well, but everything went better than I expected.
I looked at the cheering crowd. I looked at the screen that showed my position over Bakugou's detained figure. I released a breath–feeling like I had been holding it for the entire fight. A weight is lifted from my chest and relief washes over me.
I glance at Midnight, waiting for her to call the fight in my favor.
My body relaxes just as she starts waving the flag…
I did it. I beat Bakugou. I just proved to the world that having a better quirk didn't mean certain victory. It isn't enough to just have a strong quirk—I'm a hero too. I'm strong. Stronger than my weaknesses, stronger than the disadvantages the world has imposed on me from birth, stronger than Bakugou who lived his whole life not knowing the struggle of overcoming failure. This was my victory.
And it should have been my victory. I should have known that the fickle, idealized view I had of the world would one day come to bite me in the back. The world wasn't kind enough to give me respite from my anxieties. Though looking back on it, fate had no hand in this turn of events. It was entirely my fault for relaxing when I did, and my fault for believing such a world could exist.
As Bakugou jerked into a sudden movement, the loose grip I had on his wrist instinctively tightened. The sickening crack of broken bones shattered a naive reality centimeters away from reach. My eyes widen as his arm slips free, bending at an unnatural angle.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Anyone in their right mind would have given up the moment they were put into this hold. I meant it as a passing phrase, and yet he coveted his victory so much that he'd break his own damn arm to get it. The picture I had created of Bakugou was a shallow caricature of a sheltered brat who didn't know the struggle of desperately reaching for victory. As my ideals shattered, this image of him also broke away.
It was replaced with the image of a warrior. His pained expression as he gritted his teeth in pain, the intense look of furrowed brows, and the dark shadows shading his eyes haunted my mind. Once again, a dangerous flower bloomed in his palms.
There was no time to prepare myself.
"LIKE HELL I'D LOSE TO AN EXTRA LIKE YOUUUUU!"
BOOM!
I couldn't even scream. It was a blow that landed inches from my stomach. My body lurches. Blood comes spurting out of my mouth from my stomach. At that moment I felt several ribs snap. The familiar feeling of my left arm ripping from its socket finally reaches its peak, popping, then swelling. Concrete rains down from every which direction. A particularly large slab of concrete flies, hitting the top of my head mid-roll, and I see stars. It then hits my stomach, and the air leaves my lungs at once. My ears ring; my vision blurs; the world spins. My entire body rolls into the concrete. As if I was nothing but a rag doll thrown around by uncontrollable forces.
I was on the ground for what felt like hours when only seconds had passed. I let out a violent cough and the pain begins to stab, deeper, still, with each retch. Chunks of blood come out of my mouth, staining the concrete with my blood. Every inch felt like it was covered in bruises. I take deep breaths, flinching when sharp pain pokes at my torso. The insides of my torso felt shredded and twisted, so much, even breathing felt like it was adding to the jumbling of my insides. I felt like crying.
For a moment I considered giving up.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed the arena line inches away from my face.
I almost let out a laugh. I was somehow still within bounds. Even after getting blasted into kingdom-come, without a shield or my arms up, directly, inches from my stomach. Even after receiving the most painful blow, I've ever felt in both lives combined, the universe had the audacity to remind me that things weren't over yet. I should have lost by now. In the field, that mistake would have cost me my life.
Waves of pain wash over my body as I willed my arms to hold up my form, My right arm could barely take the weight, and the jostling of body parts send pangs of pain on my shoulder. It was dislocated, and practically useless. My right arm manages to lift my torso, only to buckle before I could place my legs under.
Move dammit! I'm not done yet!
My limp legs managed to hold my body. One step and I feel myself buckle, knees first to the concrete yet again sending reverberations of pain up my legs. I let my arms heat up as I summon the titanium to my right arm. The smoke had long cleared, and steam flew upwards as the rod stretched to three feet. I grab the rod with the same arm, mindful of my dislocated one, and use it as a cane to lift myself up again.
I step forward, stumbling as my eyes start seeing double.
The smoke clears and the silhouette of Bakugou enters my line of sight. I set my mind back to the fight in front of me.
He has a broken arm. He can't fly and the probability of using a large explosion like that one was slim—especially if he sustained additional injuries from the recoil. There was still a chance to win. Even when everything hurt so much, I still had to believe that I could win this fight. I just hoped that Bakugou was hurting as much as I was.
"H-H-HOW….. HELL….STANDING?!" Even with the constant ringing in my ears, I grasped what he was trying to say. Bakugou's raised voice atop the silent crowd would have made me laugh if it meant laughing wouldn't tear my insides apart.
I stare straight ahead, taking a deep breath. The instant stabbing in my torso was ignored.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO KILL ME… YOU…YOU… " I paused, struggling to find the words amidst the incessant stinging in my lungs. "…YOU DAMN JERK!" The dull sound of my voice rang inside my head, worsening the headache I already had. The explosions threw all rationality out of the window. The fact that I screamed such childish words at the top of my lungs would have been embarrassing if it weren't for the anger and pain bubbling up inside of me.
It was more than I could handle. My body was well acquainted with pain, but everything in my body throbbed, bombarding my senses. I felt like crying but held the tears in. Any rational person would give in to the temptation of giving up. My body would have been grateful enough if I had let it stop standing, but even a small drop of surrender tasted like spoiled milk. There was a feeling in my chest that strongly detested anything remotely resembling defeat. That same feeling forced my mind and body to endure.
I worked too damn hard for this moment. Was it so damn selfish for me to want to win this fight and prove that I didn't need to compare myself to those people who had much better quirks than me? Would I have to lose this fight and feel inadequate for the rest of my life?
I was so angry. Angry at my body for not following my will. Angry at Bakugou's damn quirk. Angry at myself for letting victory slip through my fingers like grains of sand, and most of all… angry at myself for even considering giving up.
I won't lose this damn it! I'm not done yet!
"FIGHT ME YOU DAMN COWARD!"
Setting aside the cane that I made, I rushed in with a full sprint, feeling my legs strain after each step. The balls of my feet sent shocks throughout my whole body as they stomped on the concrete. I screamed to drown out the pain.
As I got closer, Bakugou's blurry figure became clear to me.
And so did his hands. His left extended to create another explosion.
Shit.
The sparks bloomed around his left palm. In a final act of desperation, I take out my wakizashi, leaping into the air. Using gravity and my body's weight, I stab the sword as deep into the ground as I could get it. The back of the sword faced my opponent, hoping it was enough to keep it from breaking from the force. As soon as the sword sunk into the ground, it set off.
BOOOOOM!
More than any pain I've felt in the world, I felt my entire body get shredded. I was blown back like a flag held by its pole in a storm, my right arm the only thing keeping me still. I refused to let go. At that moment, every fiber of muscle in my upper arm tore at the same time. Unimaginable pain coursed through my body, and even the heavy blows of debris seemed minuscule in comparison.
I saw black dots start to form around my vision. The fingers grasping onto the wakizashi hilt began to loosen.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As if the larger explosion wasn't enough, waves of smaller explosions rained down to assure my demise.
"AAARRGHHHH!" I screamed. My body started to feel numb. I felt everything hit me as if I wasn't the one experiencing it. I feel the sword's hilt leaning, my whole body jerks backward. The swimming black dots around my vision expands. The black expanse swallows my vision. The numbness spreads around my body. I can't black out. I have to win this. This can't be the way it ends.
Not yet. I'm not done yet.
A/n:
I'm back! And it's summer! Very sorry for the delay, but much like last chapter, this one also required a lot of thinking on my end. After making the first iteration, I wasn't satisfied with it and had to rewrite the entire fight over with a new outline. I knew exactly what I wanted out of this fight, but displaying those themes were a little difficult, especially when I was trying to weigh Bakugou's strength against Yurin's. I didn't want to make Yurin too strong, but I also wanted to keep in mind that this was Bakugou at the very beginning, and analyze their abilities from an objective standpoint. Sadly, a lot of the themes I hope to explore won't be evident until the next chapter.
In fact, I intended to complete the whole fight in one chapter, but if I had to write the final part, it would have easily surpassed 20 pages. I settled on a good stopping point in my outline (with a little bit of a cliff hanger) at page 17, and hopefully, have people look forward to the next chapter. A lot of big changes will be happening from now on, and as much as I'm excited for the future, I don't wanna give away any big spoilers, so please tune in for that!
Additionally, on the topic of this chapter's illustration, I had this drawn a month or two ago during the first iteration of my chapter. It's a little sloppy, but it gets the job done! I think in the future, I want to dial down on the illustration and focus on writing, so the shading and line art won't be as clean as the previous ones. I still have several drawings in my arsenal that I haven't shown yet, so hopefully I won't have to draw for a while!
I feel like I wanted to talk a lot about how I approached this fight, but there's just so many aspects that went into it that I'm overwhelmed while writing this author's note. I tried my best to make this chapter better than the last one, since the stakes are higher, but to be honest, I feel like I didn't meet the expectations I set for myself. Hopefully the next chapter will fill in the gaps that I've missed in this fight. So instead of asking a question at the end of this author's note, I wanted to pass on the responsibility to you guys. Do you all have any questions about this chapter and how it was written?
I'll see you all next time!
Editors Note:
This chapter was a nightmare, she came from a long break and she was still warming up... Look forward to chapter 20 coming out soon though. Ive been pretty packed, but I've still managed to do my own writing. The Editor series is not canceled btw, I'm just a much slower writer than my sister. Sorry about that! I'll provide more information as i get more of it completed! Anyways this mega chapter left me pretty tired its time for me to hibernate...
-Have a great day! ~Editor-san
