Remember when I said I'd tell you if I decided to abandon this fanfic? Well, I regret to inform you... that I made you worry over nothing! Here it is! New chapter! Let's go!
"Squad A, head north! Squad B, check the west side!"
"Squad A roger!"
"Squad B roger!"
Sirens wailed as Tensei Iida raced down the streets of Hosu. This was the first time the villain he was chasing had been sighted in Hosu, but Tensei wasn't going to wait for him to start causing trouble. Not when that meant dozens of heroes getting injured or even killed.
Tensei passed dozens of buildings when something suddenly caught his eye. A hero with less experience or poorer reflexes would have brushed it over as a completely unremarkable alleyway, but the odd shadow combined with the slight glimmer of sunlight on steel told him all he needed to know.
He instantly stopped in his tracks and leaped into the air, bouncing off of walls up the side of a building before landing in the alley where he saw his target. The only thing he had to do was make sure the villain didn't escape before backup arrived.
All of the villain's equipment was in very poor condition. His mask and scarf were in tatters and his large variety of blades all had rusty metal and jagged edges. He'd either been on the streets for a long time and couldn't afford the time or money to replace his equipment, or it was part of some creepy aesthetic. Two holes for his eyes were cut out of his mask and he glared at Tensei with such intensity that it almost looked like his eyes were glowing red.
Tensei froze for a moment, but quickly composed himself. He'd beaten hundreds of far stronger villains before and even held his own against one of the Elite Four. This guy was just another criminal. If anyone should be afraid, it was him. Tensei pointed a finger at the villain and let him know that his days of running from justice were over.
"I've found you! Hero Killer!"
"I am currently on a mission and cannot answer the phone. Please leave a message after the tone."
Tenya Iida didn't waste time waiting for the beep before turning his phone off. His brother's missions were far too important to bother him with something as trivial as a Sports Festival match. Besides, Ingenium always resolved cases at lightning speed, so he'd get back to Tenya in no time. It was a shame that he wouldn't be watching the fight though, especially considering who he was up against.
Tenya would be lying if he said the prospect of fighting Uzu Sanageyama, the man who had famously fought against his brother didn't make him nervous. But if he was going to live up to Tensei's legacy, then there was no better way to prove himself. He pulled the briefcase containing his costume out of his locker and started suiting up.
His armor had taken quite the beating from his fight with Tokoyami. The helmet was cracked and Dark Shadow's claws had left a large gash in the breastplate. But as long as the mufflers worked, it would suffice. No amount of durability short of All Might's would matter against an opponent as strong as Sanageyama, so relying on speed was his best bet. Then again, speed was Sanageyama's specialty. But Tenya had a plan to get around that.
"We've finally cleaned up the last bits of broken robot pieces and we're ready to start the third match of the quarter-finals! Does every fight have to destroy the battlefield? This is gonna take all day at this rate!"
That was his cue. Tenya walked out of the waiting room and into the arena, where his opponent awaited him. The size of the stadium and crowd didn't rattle him anymore, the only thing that mattered was this fight. His chance to show the world that he was worthy of being an Iida! His chance to make Tensei proud!
"I'm just saying, I swear kids are getting more powerful these days! And I'm not just talking about the Elite Four, your kids are absolutely insane, Eraser! Oh right, the fighters! It seems that history truly does repeat itself! We have the Conqueror of Navarro, Uzu Sanageyama up against Ingenium's younger brother, Tenya Iida!"
A beat of sweat dripped down Tenya's forehead as he tensed up and focused on his opponent, who in contrast had his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. Winning a straight fight against Sanageyama would likely be impossible, as activating his Goku Uniform made him too strong to hurt and too fast to land an attack. If he could activate it that was.
"Let the battle begin!"
Sanageyama confidently strode forward and drew his bamboo sword from its sheath. "So, you're Ingenium's little brother. He gave me some of the most fun I ever had back at Navarro, even if he just ran away the whole time. I respect him for that. I hope you can do the same!"
He stretched his arms out as his Uniform began to unravel. Three green, four-pointed stars made a triangle around him before moving in front of him. Sanageyama grinned as he leaned forward like was about to charge into them. "Three Star Goku Uniform: Blade Reg-"
"Recipro Burst!"
Tenya pushed his speed to the absolute maximum, shooting forward like a rocket. If he could just push Sanageyama out of bounds before he activated his Goku Uniform, he could win! He reached out to grab Sanageyama's collar and drag him out of bounds, but right before his hand could snag the cloth, he noticed that Sanageyama had already pivoted into a position to strike.
"Dou!"
Sanageyama's shinai slammed into Tenya's back, driving him into the ground and shattering both the concrete floor and his armor. "Going for the transformation sequence, are we? I have to admit that's pretty good. You might have got one of the others with that trick, but I could see it coming from a mile away! Come on! Show me what you can really do!"
Tenya grumbled in frustration as he stood back up. Sanageyama could react to his Recipro Burst even without activating his Goku Uniform? It must have been boosting his reaction speed even without being activated. It didn't matter though, Recipro still had plenty of time left and Sanageyama still wasn't activating his uniform. He could do this!
He instantly whirled around and swung a Recipro-boosted roundhouse kick for Sanageyama's face, which was blocked by his sword. Tenya used his other leg to jump back to prepare for another attack, but Sanageyama quickly disengaged his sword and used it to sweep his leg from under him, knocking Tenya to the floor once again.
Tenya picked himself up again and took off at top speed. At such close range, there was no way Sanageyama would be able to dodge! He readied another roundhouse kick, but Sanageyama simply pivoted his body to make the attack miss. He didn't counter-attack this time though, making Tenya nearly shoot himself out of bounds if he hadn't turned around at the last moment.
Sanageyama chuckled to himself. "Hard to believe you're Ingenium's brother. You might be fast, but all the speed in the world is useless if you don't have the reflexes to use it properly!"
Reflexes... that must have been it! His quirk must have let him predict what he would do in advance! If his opponent relied on predicting his moves, then he'd do what Matoi did and act as unpredictably as possible!
Recipro still had a few seconds left and Tenya was going to make them count! He rushed at Sanageyama again, but instead of kicking him, he suddenly stopped right in front of him and leaped over his head. When he landed, he swung his leg for Sanageyama's head. But even though his back was turned, he still managed to duck and grab Tenya's leg, throwing him to the ground.
"You're trying to mix things up, aren't you? Too bad your moves are too predictable for that to work against any trained fighter, let alone me. Do you only know one kick?" he taunted.
All the taunts combined with his failure to land a single blow was starting to rile Tenya up. He removed his helmet and angrily threw it aside to expand his field of vision. "If you want more kicks, I'll give you them!" he shouted. "I am Tenya Iida, the brother of Ingenium! And no matter what you say, I am worthy of his name!"
Tenya ran around the perimeter of the battlefield to try and throw off Sanageyama's senses as best he could. He could only sustain Recipro for another second, but given how fast he and his opponent were, it was more than enough. He charged at Sanageyama and threw kicks in rapid succession from every angle dozens of times. Sanageyama dodged each kick with ease, not even bothering to block anymore.
"I'm starting to feel bad for you," he said in between dodges. "I'll let you get a hit in, on the house!"
That arrogance would end up being his mistake! Tenya growled and pushed his engines to their limit, swinging his leg for his opponent's face with as much force as possible. At the speeds his leg was moving, anything in its path should have been destroyed or at least severely damaged. Instead it was brought to a halt as soon as it made contact with Sanageyama's face.
The force of the impact made a shockwave that rang throughout the stadium and formed a small crater around Tenya and his opponent. But even as his engines were still firing on all cylinders, Sanageyama himself hadn't been moved even an inch and a confident smirk was still plastered on his masked face.
He grabbed Tenya by one of the exhaust pipes on his armor and lifted him up into the air. Even though his eyes were blocked by his mask, Tenya could feel them piercing into his own. "Do you get it now? Even if you somehow manage to land a hit on me, there's no way your attacks can even put a scratch on me!" he boasted. "Your brother couldn't do it, so why do you think you can?"
Now it was Tenya's turn to smile back. "I don't!"
"What?"
One of Sanageyama's hands was occupied holding Tenya and the other was holding his shinai, so no amount of perfect reflexes could stop him from grabbing his collar. Tenya leaned back until his feet touched the ground again and pushed the last of his Recipro Burst to its limits, making a mad dash for the edge of the battlefield with Sanageyama trailing behind him.
"Ingenium didn't give you trouble at Navarro because he was strong, it was because he was fast enough to flee the city and retrieve backup!" he explained. "And my plan was never to beat you, it was to drag you out of bounds!"
The edge of the arena was rapidly approaching, but Tenya's engines were also starting to sputter. It was now or never! He tried to hoist Sanageyama over his head to throw him out of bounds, only to realize that he had been brought to a complete halt. Black smoke was pouring out of the exhaust pipes on his legs and he couldn't even move his legs anymore. His engines had finally stalled. The last ten seconds had felt like an eternity to Tenya, but now they were over.
How could this happen? Even if he was running on fumes, Tenya was sure that he had enough time to reach the boundary line! He looked behind him and saw a large gash in the concrete at least a meter deep. Sanageyama had stabbed his shinai into the ground and used it as a brake to slow him down!
Tenya acted purely on adrenaline-fueled instinct and punched Sanageyama in the face, who eagerly took the hit. The only one who got hurt was Tenya himself, as it felt like he had just punched a steel wall. While recoiling from injuring his hand, Tenya found himself being picked up by his armor's exhaust pipes and held up in the air.
"Even if Ingenium's your brother, that doesn't mean you're him," Sanageyama said. "He's a pro. You've barely started your first year, you're not gonna be as good as him already. I guess I can't complain too much though. You did your best kid, even if it's not what I was hoping for. Oh, and the transformation sequence?"
Sanageyama was engulfed by a flash of emerald light right before Tenya's eyes. In an instant, a hulking suit of green armor at least three meters tall was standing before him. The hand that had ensnared him was now bigger than his entire body.
"I just think it looks cool. MEN!"
"Iida has been knocked out! Sanageyama wins!"
"Another lightning-quick victory for the Monkey King! It's impossible for me to commentate with matches as fast as these! But at least the arena is still in one piece, so don't go anywhere, the next match will begin shortly!"
Izuku Midoriya flinched as he watched the massive shinai pulverize Iida into the ground on the waiting room's TV. So the Elite Four didn't need actually need much time to activate their Goku Uniforms. He figured as much due to how quick Ryuko's transformations usually were, but it was always nice to see his theories proved right in real life. Well, as nice as it could be to watch his friend get turned into paste.
Speaking of getting turned into paste, Izuku would be getting his own chance soon enough. More like blasted into cinders, but there really wasn't much of a difference from a practical perspective. Maybe Recovery Girl would still be able to heal him if he was paste, since he would still have a few cells intact. Cinders would mean there wouldn't be any organic material left. To recover from that, he'd need more than just a healing quirk, someone would have to somehow rewind his body to a previous state. Was it even possible for a quirk like that to exist? One that went beyond manipulating bodies or even forces of nature, but time itself?
"Um, is this a bad time?"
Izuku looked back and saw Iida standing in the entrance to the arena. Realizing that he had been rambling about paste and cinders out loud, he instinctively clasped his hands over his mouth. "Oh, Iida! I didn't notice you were there! Sorry, I didn't realize I was talking out loud again. Sorry you lost your fight too."
Iida shrugged. "It's fine. Sanageyama was right after all, it was foolish to think that I could beat someone Tensei couldn't. That's why I look up to him so much. I still have three years of training to get through. I just wish he was able to see me fight, or at least return my calls."
"Oh, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing. He's just out on a mission, that's all. I'm sure he'll be done soon and I wouldn't be surprised if he manages to stop by in person! With that new technique of yours, I'd say you have a good chance of landing an internship with him when this is all over!" he said, beaming with pride in spite of his numerous bruises and injuries.
Izuku blushed. "You really think so? Honestly, I almost forgot about the internships entirely. All I can think about is having to fight Kacchan."
Iida nodded. "Yes, Bakugo's more than proven that he'll be a tricky opponent to fight. Not to mention he seems to really have it out for you. I didn't gather much, but from what happened during combat training, it looks like you two have a lot of history."
That was certainly an understatement. Before Izuku could explain everything between him and Kacchan, the waiting room's door slammed open revealing Ryuko standing in the doorway heavily panting. "Good, you're still here."
"Ryuko? What are you doing here?" Izuku asked.
"I just came down to wish you good luck. You better win against that bastard. I felt sick watching him beat Uraraka, if I have to see that asshole beat you too I'll have to puke."
Izuku looked down at the floor. "I don't know if that's even possible."
"What do you mean you don't know if that's possible? Just blast him out of the arena in one hit! He can't defend himself and he's not fast enough to dodge. This should be easy!"
"Because I can't use 100% of my power for the rest of the festival!" he blurted out. "Recovery Girl said that she wouldn't heal any self-inflicted injuries after what happened with Todoroki. I can only use 5% safely and I don't think it's enough. I only won against him last time by using 100% and that was just because of the exercise's rules. Kacchan is just better than me. He always has been and probably always will be."
Ryuko scoffed. "Man, you gotta stop selling yourself short. You won the obstacle race without using your quirk at all and you were doing great against Todoroki with only 5%! Well, at least until you started pissing him off, but that's not the point!"
"And the point is?"
"That you're better than you think you are. You wanna know why Bakugo hates you so much? If you ask me, it's because he's scared of how strong you are. Midoriya, you're the one who's better than him."
"Wait what?" Izuku exclaimed incredulously. "I'm sorry, but that's not possible. When we were kids, he was always the one ahead while all I could do was try my best not to fall behind. He was the best at everything he did, most of the time without even trying. I've looked up to him my entire life because he's so amazing! I- I can't be better than him!"
"So what if he was hot shit when you were kids? This isn't the kindergarten playground anymore. Things change and now Bakugo's scared of that change! By how much better you're getting."
"She's right you know," Iida agreed. "When we were partnered for combat training, he refused to believe you even had a quirk. Seeing you with so much power made him furious. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that he's scared of you, but at the very least he's jealous. Just stay calm and focused and you'll do great."
"Hold on, weren't you just talking about how much better Ingenium is than you?" Izuku pointed out. "This is like if you had to fight him!"
"No it's not," Iida said bluntly. "Ingenium is a professional hero with years of training and experience under his belt. Bakugo's just our classmate. He's talented and ambitious, yes, but I think you might be giving him more credit than he deserves."
"Seriously, you might be the only one who thinks he's as great as Bakugo himself does," Ryuko agreed.
Izuku wanted to refute their claims, the reason he thought Bakugo was so amazing was because he was! The embodiment of victory, winning at everything he did seemingly without even trying. Only the gift of One For All could allow Izuku to stand against him and even that wasn't guaranteed to be enough. But before he could speak, an announcement from Present Mic interrupted him.
"The final match of the quarterfinals is about to begin and there's only one spot left in the semis! Now, let's give it up for our next fighters!"
It was finally time. What did Uraraka call it again? A fated match between rivals? That seemed like an accurate description, he'd been chasing after Kacchan for over ten years, though even with All Might's power, he was still so far behind him. At least it would be over soon, one way or another. Izuku got up from his chair and started to walk out to the battlefield, but was stopped right before he could enter the dark tunnel leading to the stadium's arena.
"Hey!" Ryuko called out to him. "Don't sweat it, I'll be seeing you in the finals!"
Izuku smiled. "Thanks."
"Welcome, to the final match of the quarterfinals! You know what they say about saving the best for last and with these next two fighters, I'm inclined to agree! And here they come! In one corner, the hotshot who's made an explosive impression with his raw talent and ferocious instincts, Class 1-A's Katsuki Bakugo!"
Katsuki Bakugo finished adjusting his gauntlets and eagerly strode into the arena, a wide grin plastered on his face. Normally he'd take the time to bask in the cheering of the crowd, but he had too much adrenaline flowing through his veins for that now. Ever since he lost to that damn nerd in combat training, he'd been itching for this rematch. In a few minutes, every failure, every humiliation he'd suffered during the Sports Festival would be worth it. He hoped Deku didn't enjoyed his "victory" over him too much, because it was time to bring him back to reality!
"His opponent is the winner of my personal favorite fight from the first round, who's shown us he has both the determination to match and an incredible power that's so strong it destroys his own body! Also from Class 1-A, it's Izuku Midoriya!"
Deku emerged from the dark tunnel, still wearing his tracksuit, which had heavy damage from his fight with Icy Hot. Katsuki smirked as he fondly remembered exactly why he didn't have a costume of his own to wear. He was trying his best to look fierce and determined, but the slight tremble with each step told Katsuki everything he needed to know. This would be easy. No partner or stupid rules to hide behind, just a one-on-one fight to put Deku back in his place!
"Let the final match of the quarter finals... begin!"
As much as he hated to admit it, Katsuki had let his pride get in the way the last time they fought. Deku could think on his feet surprisingly well, which meant that there was no way he'd give him even a second to come up with one of his stupid plans! Katsuki roared and immediately blasted off the ground, rocketing toward Deku. That nerd was right about one thing, and it was that he always started his fights off with a right hook. Because it worked! Green lightning arced off of Deku's skin as he powered up his pathetic quirk and prepared to intercept his attack.
Katsuki didn't mind if Deku managed to grab him again. It only worked the last time because he didn't think he'd need to use an explosion on Deku. This time, he'd follow through with an explosion no matter what! It wouldn't matter if Deku grabbed him if his arm got incinerated! Deku pivoted to dodge, but right before he could follow up with a grab, he froze, leaving him wide open to the full brunt of Katsuki's explosion.
Deku was launched across the battlefield, only coming to a stop after rolling on the ground, adding even more damage. Katsuki growled, seeing that someone so pathetic could be his rival pissed him off. That idiot was always overthinking, making everything more complicated than it actually was. Even when they were kids, that nerd couldn't decide what to eat for breakfast without muttering like a creep for an hour!
"I hate all that goddamn planning and overthinking!" Katsuki shouted in frustration. "We're not in the classroom anymore, Deku! Just fight!"
Deku picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. "Sorry! But if you want a fight, then you'll get one! I've gotten stronger since the last time we fought, Kacchan! This time I'll take that borrowed power and make it my own! And then beat you with it!"
Reminding Katsuki of that damn lie about a "borrowed power" already made his blood boil, but what Deku did next almost made him go completely berserk. He called the green electricity onto his entire body and launched himself toward Katsuki with his fist taken back. He knew exactly what Deku was trying to do. Because he stole it from him! Did that idiot think so little of him that he thought he could use his own move against him?
Katsuki didn't flinch even as Deku's fist came within an inch of his face. Just like he expected, it was a feint. Instead, Deku tried to jump over Katsuki's head to get behind him for a shot at his back. But before Deku's foot could leave the ground, Katsuki grabbed his arm and pulled him in close to fire off an explosion directly in his face.
The black smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing that Deku had once again been knocked on his ass. "Damnit, 5% should have been fast enough to outspeed him even with his crazy reactions," he muttered to himself loudly enough for Katsuki to hear. "Did he just predict what I was gonna do? But how?"
Katsuki scoffed. Knowing his own move helped, but it wasn't the entire reason he could see Deku's moves coming from a mile away. Deku wasn't the only one who knew his opponent. Every time they "fought", from when Deku first started trying to protect random losers in kindergarten to their first fight at UA, he would always make a slight tremble and his eyes would quiver right before he made a move. Because he was terrified of him.
And yet despite that, he kept looking down on Katsuki anyway! Why else would he never show him his quirk, other than that he thought Katsuki wasn't worth it? But now he was giving a concrete number to his insult, a mere 5% of what they both knew he was capable of now!
"5% huh?" he asked rhetorically as he strode through the cloud of smoke toward Deku, making sure to pop a few sparks on his palm. "That's all you think I'm worthy of?"
Deku finished coughing and stood up, causing the remaining shreds of the top half of his tracksuit to fall off. He was different than Katsuki remembered though. Gone were the noodle arms and bony chest. It wasn't just his quirk, but his body was magically getting stronger now too? "I told you, I can't use my full power without-"
"Breaking your bones, I know already!" Katsuki finished the sentence for him. "I don't care how much your power breaks your body and you don't either! You used it at the USJ, you used it against Icy Hot, and you better use it against me if you know what's good for you! It's bad enough that I have to put in effort to beat you, but if you don't give me everything you got, I'll kill you!"
Katsuki launched himself into the air over Deku. If he was going to try copying his moves, then he'd have to show him how it was really done! He stabilized himself in midair with a second explosion, letting him land right behind his opponent. Deku expected the move though and turned around to guard his face with his arms. But instead of hitting him with another explosion, Katsuki decided to try something new out.
"Stun Grenade!"
A series of small explosions went off between Katsuki's palms, producing a blinding light that shone right in Deku's eyes. The move was made to specifically counter Bird Brain's quirk, but he figured it would work just as well against anyone with eyes. As usual, he was right, with even the front rows of the crowd having to cover their eyes.
While Deku was recoiling from his Stun Grenade, Katsuki repeatedly blasted Deku in the chest while he pitifully tried to guard himself. Even at only 5%, the way the power spread out across Deku's entire body meant that while the explosions pushed him closer and closer toward the edge of the arena, he wasn't taking much damage. Once he finally recovered his footing, he crouched down low to the ground and went for a tackle.
Just like before, Katsuki saw the slight quiver of fear in Deku's eyes and acted on it, jumping over Deku as he tried to grab his legs. Katsuki rotated in midair and blasted himself downward, right on top of Deku's back, pinning him to the ground.
Before Katsuki could fire a point-blank explosion at his trapped opponent, Deku grabbed his leg and pulled it down, making Katsuki lose his footing. While he was still recovering, a swift punch to the chest sent Katsuki flying. He recovered in time to knock Deku's second punch out of the way by blasting his arm back. Now that stupid nerd was completely open for a counter-attack!
Katsuki howled and pressed both of his red-hot palms against Deku's bare chest. The odor of sizzling flesh and Deku crying out in agony filled Katsuki with sadistic glee. Two full power blasts were fired straight into Deku, filling the arena with smoke and launching him back. Crap, maybe it was too far back! Katuski mustered two more explosions to run after Deku's flying body.
Right before he could fly over the boundary line, Katsuki grabbed him by the arm. "Oh no, Deku! You don't get to get off that easily!" he shouted as he threw him back into the ring. "I'm not done until the teachers have to stop the match themselves!"
The nerd landed with considerably more grace than he had the first two times, even managing to stay on his feet, but it was clear from his heavy panting that the damage was starting to get to him. On the other hand, Katsuki had only taken a single hit! He couldn't help but laugh to himself. This was really what he'd been hyping himself up for?
No! Damnit, that was the kind of thinking he had the last time they fought! The kind of thinking that led him to being in this stupid situation in the first place! It pained him, but he couldn't underestimate Deku. Even now he was muttering under his breath again, no doubt coming up with another annoying plan. He charged up his power and ran... past Katsuki?
Katsuki quickly turned around to see Deku standing behind him, just barely in front of the boundary line. With how close they were to stepping out of bounds, he couldn't fly over Deku. He growled and lunged for Deku's side, grabbing his arm to throw him back to the center of the arena. But as soon as he made his move, he realized his mistake. That was exactly what Deku wanted him to do.
Even though Katsuki saw Deku's nervous twitch and knew what was coming, there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to let go of Deku, but he wasn't fast enough, letting Deku land a clean punch to the stomach. Katsuki managed to stabilize himself as he flew back, but the landing was still rougher than he would have liked. He took one look at Deku's face and was instantly enraged.
That nerd was always insufferable, but the way he smiled even when he was getting his ass kicked infuriated Katsuki. "It's just like you said, I knew you'd go for a grab! Because you would never accept a victory by ring-out!"
Katsuki pulled at his hair in frustration, singing the tips with his still burning palms. He hated that little nerd so much his entire body could just explode right now! The worst part was that he was completely right! This was just like in combat training, Deku was taking advantage of his emotions like the manipulative creep he was! No, it was worse! He knew it was coming and he still fell for it like an idiot! Damnit, how could he have been so stupid?
"Sorry, Kacchan, but I can't lose this! I still have to face Sanageyama and show him that I deserve to have made it this far!" Deku shouted as he ran toward Katsuki. "And not just him either, I've been helped by so many people to get to where I am now. So I have to move on for their sake!"
Of course! How could Katsuki forget? That Deku of all people thought that he was the one just getting in the way of his real rivals! "Shut up! Shut the hell up about that!" he roared. "You already took Icy Hot from me! That monkey is mine, so you don't get to even think about fighting him! And I hate that all they can think of is fighting you! I'm so sick of everyone obsessing over you like you're the main character while I keep on getting brushed over like a goddamn extra!"
Katsuki fired a barrage of explosions at Deku, but they failed to even slow him down. That little nerd was so annoying! If he wanted to kill him, he'd have to use something stronger. That reminded Katsuki; he had his costume and Deku didn't. He shook his gauntlets around to check how much sweat was stored inside. They weren't full, but it would still be more than sufficient. Now it was time for some real damage!
"Hey Deku!" he called out. "Remember my little friend? I hope you also remember what happens if you don't dodge!"
Katsuki took aim at Deku, who gasped in shock. His index finger curled around the pin of his right gauntlet and Katsuki could feel it twitch as he waited for the perfect moment to pull it out. There were no hallways to duck into this time, Deku would just have to take the full force of his-
"Detroit Smash!"
Right as he was about to fire his gauntlet, Katsuki's arm was knocked upward with so much force that he felt his shoulder dislocate. Standing in front of him was Deku, still wearing that stupid grin on his face. How the hell did he do that? All Katsuki had to do was flex his finger and Deku somehow managed to stop him from doing that? Not even Four Eyes was that fast!
"I- I stopped it?" Deku asked himself, apparently not understanding how he did that either. "I must have subconsciously gone over 5% in a moment of crisis! Then I should be feeling some sort of negative side effect- Gah! Leg cramp! There it is!"
Really? This was the guy who he had to try so hard to beat now? Katsuki picked up on Deku's pupils twitching just in time to blast himself out of range of a punch to the face, but it was anything but perfect. Deku's fist had only missed his face by a hair and just the air pressure from that punch alone felt like Katsuki had stepped into a wind tunnel.
That was only 5%? Did that mean the previous punches were him holding back even more? His quirk was strong when it was at full power, but its drawback made it almost useless. But this was the level of power he could access with no downsides at all? That useless nerd was never anything more than the dirt beneath Katsuki's feet! But now he was living some goddamn Chosen One fantasy while he had to struggle just to not get left behind in the dust!
"Why is it you?" he snapped. "Why do you keep getting stronger and stronger? Why does All Might and everyone else love you? Why did Icy Hot and one of the goddamn Elite Four single out you as a rival? So tell me, Deku! What makes you so special? And why am I not?"
"You feel like... you're not worth anything, right? Kacchan, I know you don't want to hear this, but I know how you feel! Really, I do! If you talk about it or something-"
Katsuki interrupted him with an explosion to the face. "Shut up! This is why I hate you so much! Unlike you, I don't need to be pitied to make it anywhere! I've gotten this far all on my own! But even though I'm strong and you're weak, you act like we're the same! That I'm so pathetic, I need someone like you to help me! Despite what you think, I'm not an idiot, Deku! I know that since we were kids, all you've done is look down on me!"
For a brief moment, the electricity surrounding Deku died down a little. "Wait, you really thought I looked down on you?" he said with shock, then looked down and muttered under his breath. "So Iida and Ryuko were right, Kacchan really was scared of me all along."
Katsuki completely froze and his eye twitched as he picked up that last bit. No no no, this couldn't happen! Looking down on him was bad enough, but Deku thinking that he was the one scared of him? Now he would die. "What the hell did you say about me!" he roared. "That's it, Deku, I'm gonna kill you for real now!"
Deku put his hands out in front of him and pointlessly tried pleading with him. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it like that! Well, I guess I did, but I didn't mean for you to hear it-"
Too late! Katsuki used his good arm to snap his dislocated shoulder back into place and immediately propelled himself toward his target. Deku had stopped his futile attempts to reason with him and moved himself into a fighting stance. No doubt he'd try to intercept and throw him yet again. As much as that nerd called him predictable, he was even worse.
But instead of moving to the side or even pivoting, Deku stood his ground and faced him head-on. Well, it would be his funeral. Katsuki prepared a monster blast and was about to let it rip right in Deku's face when he suddenly bent over backward, causing Katsuki to sail right over him. Time seemed to slow down for Katsuki as he realized that Deku had his left hand placed on the ground to keep him stable, while his right arm-
A savage blow hit Katsuki directly in the chest, sending him flying. Deku copied Katsuki's style once again by using the power in his legs to leap high into the air after him. No, it was more than just copying him. A jump like that, so powerful it could have passed for flight, he was more like... like All Might! Katsuki tried reorienting himself with controlled explosions, but he wasn't fast enough. Deku was above him and his fist slammed down into his face, sending him plummeting toward the ground.
Katsuki howled as he picked himself up, more out of rage than pain. His cheek stung for sure, but the blow to his pride was far worse. How did he manage to land not just one, but two hits like that? He was watching his every move and he didn't pick up a single nervous twitch!
While he was cursing both himself and Deku, he was interrupted by a swift uppercut to the chin. Katsuki's head rang with pain as he was blasted back, landing roughly on the ground almost at the edge of the stadium. Blood was dripping from a cut on his forehead into his eyes, so he could just barely make out the silhouette of Deku running toward him.
Was he coming to finish him off? If so, he was running way slower than before. No wait, it was much worse. So much worse. As Deku got closer, Katsuki realized that there wasn't a trace of green lightning on his body. That meant he wasn't going to attack him, but...
Izuku Midoriya gasped in shock and ran over to his former childhood friend's side. "Kacchan, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard-"
Before Izuku could finish his sentence, his arm was roughly grabbed and yanked down. His face was brought next to Kacchan's glowing red-hot palm for a split second before the explosion detonated in his face, launching him across the battlefield. The concrete felt like sandpaper on his back as he skidded to a halt, but One For All prevented him from getting cut.
Kacchan refused to give him any time to recover. He launched himself into the air using his explosions and descended right on top of Izuku. He braced himself for another explosion, but what he got instead was Kacchan's fist in his face. Several times.
"You worthless, pathetic nerd!" he howled while wailing on Izuku's face. "You think you can pull that shit here? That you can humiliate me like you did when we were kids in front of the entire country? I won't let anyone look down on me! Least of all you! You'll never be anything but a useless Deku! So just stop it and die already!"
Izuku should have been terrified. Of all the countless beatings he'd received from Kacchan when they were kids, none of them were as raw or emotional as now. But none of them were as ineffectual either. Despite being punched in the face for the twelfth time, Kacchan had barely bloodied his nose. And during his passionate assault, he left himself wide open for a counter-attack!
"Florida Smash!"
Izuku slammed his head into Kacchan's face, throwing him off his body and making him land on the ground with a loud thud. He wasn't going to check to see if he was okay this time. If he got injured, that just meant it would be easier to beat him! He wasn't so injured that he was unable to fight though. Kacchan picked himself up and got into a stance low to the ground, snarling the entire time. He turned to face Izuku, revealing that his face was covered in blood and eyes completely white with rage.
Looking at Kacchan with a bloody face, hunched over and practically foaming at the mouth like a feral animal, Izuku once again should have been scared, but he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He couldn't believe that this was the guy he considered to be his greatest rival! That this was the guy he revered almost as much as All Might! Sure he was strong, but he was just a person. A person who could be defeated.
Kacchan clearly didn't appreciate the situation as much as Izuku did. "You think this is funny? You think I'm weak? You've looked down on me for long enough, Deku! You need to be reminded just how much better I am!"
"You were always better, Kacchan. That's why I looked up to you, no, worshipped you. You were always so far ahead of me, so confident and successful at everything you did to the point where I can't think of victory without also thinking about you! You were special, you were the best, that's why I wanted nothing more than to be just like you!"
Kacchan growled, making sparks pop off of his hands. "I'm so sick of listening to your goddamn annoying lies! Of course I'm better than you, you just refuse to accept it! That's why I gotta kill you!"
Izuku stood his ground. "But things have changed since we were kids. I don't want to be like you anymore. I want to surpass you! You wanna know why? Because you're the one who's jealous of me, Kacchan! For the first time, I see what you really are. You're not a shining beacon of victory or my fated rival. You're just another obstacle in my way, an extra!"
Kacchan froze for a bit and for that short moment, Izuku had a glimmer of hope. In the cartoons he watched as a kid, the hero would always end up standing up to their bully, showing them that they weren't afraid of them anymore. And that always made the bully drop their confidence and either run away or lose to the hero, revealing that they were nothing more than a weak, insecure coward. This was not like the cartoons Izuku watched as a kid.
As insecure as Kacchan may have been, he was not a coward. And he definitely wasn't weak. His opponent let out a bloodcurdling scream and started rapidly firing explosions into the sky, each one nearly as big as the one he used to blast away Uraraka's meteor shower. It sounded like was trying to say something, but the only words Izuku could make out were "Deku" and "die".
Izuku flinched, but only from the brightness of the explosions. Why did he say that? Why did he talk like Kacchan did? And most puzzling, why didn't he regret it? He wasn't thinking about what he was saying in that moment, he just wanted to win so badly and it felt like the natural thing to say. He pushed himself off the ground, propelling him toward Kacchan who matched him with his explosions. While flying down the length of the battlefield, Izuku couldn't help but scream the battlecry the last decade had seared in his head as he pulled back his fist for a punch. Maybe Kacchan was still more tied to his image of victory than he thought.
"DIE!"
Kacchan held out his hands in front of him, sparks popping off of his palms. "Deku, you bastard! That's my line!"
Unlike Kacchan, Izuku had no way to maneuver in the air. So he'd have to bring the fight back to the ground! He jerked his head out of the way of an explosion at the last moment and grabbed Kacchan's arm. With all his strength he threw him straight down to the ground, making another crater in the battlefield.
It seemed Kacchan had learned from the last time Izuku slammed him into the ground though, as he dodged Izuku's follow up punch and countered with an explosion to the chest. While he was reeling from the blast, Kacchan raised both arms, each one preparing a massive blast. But Izuku wasn't about to let that happen on his watch!
"Double Detroit Smash!"
Izuku threw his arms at Kacchan's, redirecting the blasts into the air. Kacchan screamed in pain, but instead of trying to attack again like Izuku expected, he started making several smaller explosions between his hands. Kacchan must have known by now that he was too fast to land a direct hit, so he'd have to disorient him first. Of course! He was about to use-
"Stun Grenade!"
That attack wouldn't catch Izuku off guard this time! He closed his eyes just in time, but a small bit of the intense light still managed to get past his eyelids. Of course, closing his eyes meant he couldn't see Kacchan anyway, so his best option right now was to get away from him as fast as possible! A deafening blast roared behind Izuku as he ran to the edge of the arena.
He chose correctly. When Izuku opened his eyes he saw that Kacchan had unleashed a gauntlet blast directly at the ground. With how much concrete had been displaced or straight up blasted to dust, he wouldn't have been able to dodge even if he could see.
Kacchan spotted him and let out several rapid-fire blasts. Though they were weaker and smaller than his normal explosions, the sheer volume of them put Izuku on the back foot if he didn't want to get hit. With One For All surging in his legs, Izuku weaved through the hail of explosions at speeds he didn't know he was capable of.
This... this was fun! During his fight with Todoroki, Izuku was too focused and determined to realize just how good Full Cowling felt. Flying around the battlefield at supersonic speed, leaping over and under Kacchan's barrage of explosions was amazing! All the adrenaline flowing through his veins drove him to push himself harder, farther than he had before. He even forgot all about keeping One For All under control!
He forgot all about keeping One For All under control.
A searing agony shot all across Izuku's body. It was nowhere near as bad as a broken bone, but now the pain was everywhere instead of just a single limb or finger. All Might had said his body couldn't handle more than 5%, but he didn't realize just how strict that limit was. Or did he just push himself that much beyond his limits?
The shock of pain had only slowed Izuku down for a fraction of a second, but that was more than enough time for Kacchan to pounce. Izuku tried activating One For All again, just enough to get out of the way, but his body refused to respond. Kacchan propelled himself toward Izuku and hit him with an explosive uppercut, launching him high into the air.
Kacchan blasted himself off the ground to follow him and when he caught up, took aim at Izuku with his gauntlet. There wasn't anything he could do to stop the blast from coming, so Izuku tried to cover his face with his arms as best he could, but even that was too much to ask of his sore and exhausted body. A terrifying smile flashing across Kacchan's face was the last thing he saw before the blinding light of a full-powered gauntlet blast.
The time between Izuku getting his face blown up and his back slamming into the floor was so little it felt like they had happened at the same time. He'd hit the ground so hard that the concrete had been pulverized upon impact, leaving Izuku in the center of a large crater. It took him a while, but eventually he gathered the strength to stand himself up. He frantically searched for Kacchan, spotting him high in the air.
"Remember this Deku!" he shouted. "No matter how much stronger you get, no matter how much your 'borrowed power' becomes yours, you'll never be as good as me! NOW DIE!"
Kacchan started using explosions to make himself rotate while propelling him toward Izuku. The smoke from the explosions formed a dark tornado around him as he rapidly picked up speed. Izuku understood what he was trying to do. Gathering so much momentum and oxygen would increase his speed and fuel the explosion, essentially making him a human missile.
And essentially making Izuku dead.
"HOWITZER IMPACT!"
So this was it. There wasn't anywhere to dodge and Kacchan's super move would blast him out of bounds for sure, if it didn't outright knock him unconscious. Kacchan really was stronger than him after all. But from now on, he wouldn't be scared. Izuku faced his rapidly-approaching rival and smiled defiantly.
"Bring it on!"
"What the heck just happened? Why was that explosion so much bigger than the others? He's your kid, Eraser, has he ever done something like this?"
"Bakugo used his explosions to make himself rapidly rotate, picking up oxygen. That oxygen was used to fuel the explosion, which made it more powerful. His aptitude for combat is only becoming more and more apparent."
"Interesting! Now let's see what kind of damage it did to his opponent!"
Katsuki Bakugo had a massive grin on his face as he walked through the smoke his Howitzer Impact left behind, even as his arms limply trailed behind him. All the damage he took from the fight combined with the massive recoil of his gauntlet blasts and Howitzer Impact had dislocated both of his shoulders. He didn't mind though. In fact, he was so elated that he didn't even care that Deku didn't use his full power! Because he would have lost anyway! Now all that was left to do was search for his body, which he found at the center of a massive crater. But he wasn't done yet.
Deku coughed loudly as he tried to stand up, but he couldn't even get up on his knees. How pathetic. He was still the same, useless nerd he'd known for over a decade. Katsuki kicked him in the chin, knocking him on his back and stomped down on his ribs as hard as he could. But despite the pain he must have been in, despite knowing that he lost, he was still smiling.
"Heh. That was a good fight, Kacchan!" he managed to wheeze. "I'll get you next time though, just you wait!"
Katsuki was getting sick of looking at him. And all that smiling never failed to piss him the hell off. While his arms couldn't move, he could still activate his quirk through them. He kicked Deku in the side, rolling him on his back. A burning palm was placed right on his face and an explosion soon followed. When the smoke cleared, Deku's face was charred, his eyes were shut, and his body limp. Now he was done.
"Midoriya has been knocked out! Bakugo is the winner!" Midnight announced, pointing her riding crop towards Katsuki.
Katsuki put his foot down on Deku's body. He would have raised his right arm in the air like All Might did after a battle, but he'd have to settle for basking in the cheering of the crowd. It was nothing to be proud of, but it was satisfying to know that the natural order of the world had been preserved. He was still better than Deku. And since he defeated that overrated pretty boy Icy Hot, that meant Katsuki was better than him too! Now there were only two more to go.
"With that tactical nuke of a finishing move, Katsuki Bakugo is the final contestant to move on to the semifinals! Ladies and gentlemen, we have our final four!"
The stadiums monitors all changed to display the images of Matoi, Squeaky Toy, Monkey Bastard, and Katsuki himself in that order. Perfect.
Monkey Bastard would get what was coming to him soon enough, then it would finally be Matoi's turn. Even though she was nearly a kilometer away, Katsuki could imagine her icy blue eyes filled with rage piercing into him. Katsuki didn't care. In fact, he could hardly wait! Everything would soon be as it should. That nerd could talk about "change" all he wanted, some things would always stay the same.
He was still the greatest!
Tensei Iida's roundhouse kick missed its mark by a hair yet again. The Hero Killer moved his head out of the way just in time, making Tensei's leg collide with a dumpster and turning it into scrap metal. A jagged blade swung at his extended leg, but Tensei pushed the attacker back with a punch to the chest.
The mufflers on Tensei's legs started to shudder. Time was running out. Had they really been fighting for almost ten minutes? And how was the Hero Killer so damn fast? He didn't have any obvious speed-boosting quirk as far as Tensei could see, but he could somehow bounce off the walls like he was in a platforming game!
Well, it didn't matter! He sent his location to the rest of Team Idaten and they had to be close by now. The Hero Killer had to know this too. Tensei had enough experience fighting criminals to know when they were starting to get rattled, and while the Hero Killer's expression was subtle, it was unmistakable. But he also had the experience to know that it would only make him more dangerous.
The Hero Killer pulled several knives from his holsters and hurled them at Tensei. He dodged the bladed projectiles easily with only one of the knives grazing his thigh, but he knew that they were never meant to hit him in the first place. The villain rushed in with his katana, a move that was far more aggressive than anything he'd tried up to this point. His desperation would be his downfall!
Tensei kicked the blade out of his hands, the brittle metal snapping in two under the full force of his Recipro Turbo. The Hero Killer collapsed to the ground, completely disarmed. He couldn't afford to show any signs of weakness at this crucial moment, but Tensei sighed with relief in his head. It was incredibly fortunate that he hadn't been hit once and the Hero Killer hadn't taken much damage either. Heroes obviously had insurance for any injuries they caused, but the paperwork for that sort of thing was still a nightmare.
"Your days of evildoing are over, Hero Killer!" Tensei bellowed in his most authoritative voice, which was pretty hard when he was almost out of breath. "The police will arrive shortly to take you into custody. I recommend cooperating with them."
Now was the moment of truth. Would he surrender peacefully or go down fighting until backup arrived? While Tensei was confident that he could subdue him more forcefully if he chose to fight without his blades, something still nagged at him. Why did he never use his quirk? Unless it was the insane amount of jumping he performed, but there were no visible emissions, mutations, or transformations.
The Hero Killer chuckled darkly. "Surrender... to a fraud like you?"
His head snapped upward, revealing his almost glowing red eyes. An abnormally long tongue shot out from his crooked smile and lapped up the small amount of blood on Tensei's thigh. That was odd. He used his sneak attack... to lick him? Tensei let out a sigh. So they were going to do this the hard way after all. He prepared a swift kick to knock the Hero Killer unconscious.
But his leg wouldn't move.
Actually, his entire body wouldn't move! What the hell had happened to him? The Hero Killer stood up, laughing like a maniac. Tensei didn't believe in such things, but there was no other way to describe what he felt. The sheer hatred in the aura this man, no, this thing was producing paralyzed Tensei with fear. Well, if he wasn't paralyzed already anyway.
A spiked boot slammed into Tensei's back, knocking him face first into the ground. The Hero Killer stomped down on his body and leaned in for a whisper. "I'll give you some credit, Ingenium. You're a good and honorable man. But that doesn't make you a hero."
What the hell was he talking about?
Apparently the Hero Killer had read his mind. "Ingenium, the unmatched commander of the battlefield. Ingenium, the man who famously attributes his success to his dozens of sidekicks. See where I'm going?"
No, he didn't. What did his sidekicks have to do with anything? And how did having them make him any less of a hero?
"A hero is more than someone who saves lives, even someone who does it selflessly!" the Hero Killer suddenly shouted. "A hero must be someone who people can rely on to make themselves feel safe, not the other way around! They must be prepared to take on any situation alone and win! A lone pillar of justice, a Symbol of Peace!"
Holy crap. Tensei knew the Hero Killer was a serial killer psychopath, but this was even worse. He was a serial killer psychopath fanboy!
"Spare me your sermons, villain!"
The Hero Killer scoffed. "You know I'm right. The fact that you couldn't defeat me on your own proves my point. You said it yourself; you're nothing without your sidekicks. However, like I said, you're a good man. And that fact has earned you your life. But I can't allow you to continue calling yourself a hero."
Tensei tried wiggling around to see what the Hero Killer was doing, but not a single muscle would do so much as twitch. However, he could hear the villain's boots clomping on the ground and rusty metal scraping asphalt.
A sharp pain shot across Tensei's spine and he screamed in pain. His vision started to fade as his own blood pooled around him. On the bright side, he could move his head and arms again, so whatever paralysis effect the Hero Killer inflicted on him had worn off. But despite that, his legs were still immobile. He'd been paralyzed for real.
The wailing of sirens getting louder alerted both Tensei and the Hero Killer. Backup was finally arriving, just a minute too late. The Hero Killer would get away, but hopefully the police and Team Idaten could get him to a hospital before he bled out.
"Spread the good word for me, will ya?" the Hero Killer asked rhetorically. Obviously he knew Tensei would never do a favor for him, but he was obligated to file a report detailing all aspects of the incident. "This society is plagued with fakes corrupting the meaning of the word 'hero'. I am the one who will reclaim that word! The Hero Killer: Stain!"
Stain disappeared into the darkness as the heroes and police rushed to Tensei's side. His sidekicks gasped in shock as they saw they employer, mentor, and friend collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood. Seeing how much they cared about him was a bittersweet moment for Tensei. Maybe Stain was right about him. He couldn't do anything without them.
Before he passed out, Tensei noticed something else. His phone had fallen out of his pocket. With the little energy he had left, he tilted his head toward the screen and read what was on it. It was a missed call. From Tenya.
Crap, it was bad enough he was missing his little brother competing in his first Sports Festival, but hearing about what happened to him would break his heart. Or worse. Tensei's consciousness was fading fast, but a few words slipped out before he passed out.
"I'm sorry, T-Tenya..."
"Oh come on, Midoriya! What the hell are you doing?" Sanageyama shouted. "You can't lose to... to... uh, whoever that guy was! You're better than that and you know it! Damnit, and just when it was getting good too!"
Ryuko Matoi stayed silent, but she had to agree. Midoriya had a bit of a rough start, but she really thought he had it there at the end. It looked like he was even stronger and faster than when he fought Todoroki. If he didn't suddenly freeze up, he definitely would have won. So what happened?
"Hmm, he said that using more than 5% was dangerous for him. Perhaps he accidentally went over his limits," Senketsu suggested.
That made some sense to Ryuko. Not that she was happy about it. She wasn't joking when she said that watching Bakugo win against Midoriya would make her wanna hurl and that smug bastard stomping on his body after he won was the cherry on top. Speaking of that, where was the nearest bathroom?
"I can't believe you!" Jakuzure shrieked. "You made us take a detour in the cavalry battle just so you could fight some shrimp who ended up getting eliminated anyway? Hey wait, where are you going? I'm the one fighting next!"
Sanageyama didn't even face her as he left the stands. "Yeah, yeah. Thought I'd warm up at least a little with my Blade Regalia Mk. II. I'm up after you, ya know!"
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean? You think I'm gonna lose?" When she realized that Sanageyama wouldn't respond, she whirled around and pointed a finger at Ryuko. "Don't think you can look at me like that! I don't care what that monkey says, you're going down to me!"
Ryuko wasn't looking at her like anything. She wasn't even looking at her in the first place.
"Poor Deku," Uraraka said. "He looked super cool though, dodging all those explosions and jumping around with his quirk! And without a shirt too... uh, because that would make Bakugo's explosions hurt even more!"
Ryuko laughed. "Heh, yeah! And did you see the look on Bakugo's face when he started getting the crap beaten out of him? His eyes looked like dinner plates! He was all like 'I'm gonna crush you, you damn nerd!' and then BAM! A headbutt right in the kisser!"
While she and Uraraka were laughing together, Ryuko stopped herself. What was she doing? She was never like this, so... giddy. Sure she was excited to see her friend being a badass, but she never felt this way about Mako or Senketsu. So what made Midoriya different?
"You know, we should go check up on him," Uraraka suggested, snapping Ryuko out of her thoughts. "I mean, if you have time. You got your big semi-finals match after all!"
"Huh? Oh yeah, it's no problem! They have to fix the battlefield anyway. I'm sure Cementoss can't be too happy about that. Or maybe he's really happy? Mako, Iida, you guys coming too?"
Ryuko looked over at Iida, who nodded in confirmation. And then started vibrating. "Whoa, is something wrong?"
"It's just my phone," he said, taking his phone out of his pocket.
That was a relief. And also really strange. Iida went somewhere more private to take his call, which was understandable. She and the others could wait for him, it was probably nothing after all.
When he was sure that no one could overhear him, Tenya Iida accepted the call from his mother. She certainly wasn't the one he had been expecting to call him. And what about Tensei? Was he still on his mission?
"Hello mom," he greeted. "I hate to tell you this, but I lost."
Tenya had mostly gotten over it by now and he knew he'd have to tell his family eventually, but admitting his defeat still stung. It would be even worse when he had to tell Tensei.
"No son, I'm not calling about that," his mother said frantically. "I mean I'm sorry, but Tenya, please listen carefully."
She wasn't calling about the Sports Festival? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. Tenya braced himself for the worst, but nothing could prevent his mother's next words from shaking him to his core.
"It's your brother! A villain got Tensei!"
A/N: Holy crap it's finally done! This was a long fight. Longer than it needed to be imo and this is actually a cut version of what I originally had planned. And there were two smaller fights in addition! Which is why from now on I'll be trying to keep my chapters shorter. Hopefully that means I'll be able to update more frequently.
So Bakugo won. I don't know if anyone expected him not to, but I think it's pretty obvious he would win. In canon he beat Deku when he had far more experience with Full Cowling and 8% of One For All. At this point in the story, Deku has only used Full Cowling once, can't go beyond 5%, and hasn't even really mastered keeping himself at 5%.
Gonna be honest, I have no idea how Stain beat Ingenium. Tenya was way faster than him when he used Recipro burst and Tensei's Recipro is not only much faster, but he can use it for longer as well. Another way of looking at it is that Deku could keep up with Stain with 5% Full Cowling, Gran Torino is much faster than Deku, and Tensei was stated to be much faster than Gran Torino. But I guess Stain has the biggest advantage on his side: Plot armor.
Also I and a lot of other people never really understood why Stain saw Ingenium as a fake hero. Yeah Ingenium was seeking to capture Stain so obviously he'd fight back, and at the very least he viewed Ingenium as worthy enough to let him live, but he still ends up calling him a fraud anyway. I think the explanation I gave for Stain here makes a little more sense. Obviously it still doesn't make sense to any rational person, but I think it fits with Stain's twisted logic and reverence for All Might.