"Alright, we're fuckin' here..." Bakugo grumbled out, having calmed down considerably between the time of both of them leaving the airbus dock and arriving at the ice cream parlor. The both of them had made a mad dash for the parlor as they both sprinted through the streets and alleys of Vale. They both had ended up taking a look here and there to make sure if they could spot any clues but, right now, they both had bigger fish to fry; namely, using those coupons as a way of tracking her down.
Tracking down an ordinary customer who might just pop in to buy an ice cream? That would be difficult. Izuku'd have way better luck just canvassing the city or the area around ice cream shops in places that looked like it might house Neopolitan based on her interests. However, having the location of an ice cream shop they knew she'll get a frankly disgusting discount for with some of the best ice cream in the city surrounded by places where she could easily get her kicks? That alone made this first location a tempting place to check out first. Beyond even that fact though were the coupons themselves; the shop didn't just hand these out to every Red, Blue and Green haired person who crossed their path. They were a big shop and they would've known that they handed these coupons out to be given to contest winners over in Mountain Glenn. 'That' was distinct and that 'that' was something they could ask after in order to try and track down Neopolitan even quicker.
The shop itself was pretty large and given the time of day, it was still pretty active. Admittedly, business was much slower now than it would've been a few months ago; the summer heat had passed and now with winter's chill being felt in the air, people just weren't in the mood for ice cream generally. Sure some people would still be dropping by but, in the end, weather dominated the business somewhat. So the crowd was somewhat thin, though there was still a line of people in the shop itself, as Izuku and Bakugo approached, the explosive teen turned his head to look back at his classmate.
"Alright Deku, listen up. Just help me find this bitch and then we're set. I'll kick her ass, take my belt and then we'll drag her sorry ass back to the police or Beacon or whatever and have them turn her in. Then everything'll be just fuckin' peachy..." Bakugo spoke gruffly though it was clear that he was somewhat excited by the prospect as he looked back forward at the shop. Izuku blinked for a moment as he brought his hand up to his chin, resting it there as he tapped it. Admittedly, there was a part of him that very much did want to back off. This girl was a real criminal, someone who may have very well been dangerous. She enjoyed beating people up, even if she didn't exactly grievously injure them... but Izuku never knew how that might change when she's dealing with full Hunters.
There was the chance of he or Bakugo could get hurt... but, in all honesty, that was more a reason that made Izuku feel like he needed to come, to stay. Bakugo might get hurt by a serious criminal, or worse. While he was still struggling with this internally, between being nervous about fighting this person and being afraid that Bakugo would get hurt, Izuku looked up at his rival..
"Kacchan, I understand that you want to do this on your own but... well, we don't know what she's fully capable of. She's a criminal and apparently in good with the biggest Crime Lord in Vale right now. Who knows what she might be capable of. Even if we're here to try and apprehend her, I think we should be more careful about it and... well, if we're going to do this, we should probably do this together." Bakugo scoffed a bit at that, turning his head back to Izuku as red eyes bored into green.
"Forget it nerd. I saw what she was capable of. So she took on two small fries without Aura, big woop. She might be good but I have the training and the Semblance on her. Besides, this is 'my' problem, this fuckin' criminal stole from he and I just let it happen! I can't fuckin' call myself a Huntsman if I let that kind of fuckin' insult fly. So I'm going to kick her ass, take my belt and fix my fuckin' mistake without your help Deku." Bakugo's face darkened slightly as he looked at his former friend. "I needed your help because the logistics of finding this bitch would've been beyond just me by myself. However, don't think for a second that means that I need you to help fight 'my' battles for me. I can win on my own, Deku."
"Kacchan, I'm just saying that... that... ah." Izuku's eyes went a bit wide as they immediately spotted something out in the crowd of people. Bakugo just furrowed his brow at Izuku before looking in the direction he was staring at... and his jaw dropped slightly. Stepping right out of the shop, a very nice looking ice cream cone, specially crafted with a few sprinkles across the top, the machine that it was made from having blended a combination of strawberry and vanilla together, was the girl they were looking for.
'Neopolitan... holy woah, she is as short as Kacchan said.'
Not a midget, sure, but she was pretty small all things considered. The girl with pink and brown hair just kept her eyes on the ice cream cone, licking her lips slightly as she stared at the masterfully crafted confectionery in her hand. The cool autumn air was keeping it from melting, allowing her to just admire it for a second before glancing over at the two students...
Izuku watched as her eyes shift to white for a moment before turning back to pink and brown, the little criminal turning her head to look directly at the both of them as she just blinked a couple times, seemingly as surprised as they were. This staring contest with the heterochromatic girl broke down, however, as a smirk slowly formed on her lips, that surprised expression melting into a confident one as she just seemed to look right at Bakugo. She flared her hip out slightly and placed her other hand on it, tilting her head to the side as she took the both of them in.
'She seems a mix of amused and…'
'Impressed?'
"Yeah, that's right you little mute. Your eyes ain't lying, I'm right here." Izuku watched as Bakugo slowly broke out of his surprise, a wide, toothy grin stretching across his lips as he stepped forward away from Izuku, pounding one fist into the other. "You know what I'm here for..." Izuku watched as Neopolitan gasped a bit, bringing her other hand to her lips as she looked surprised at Kacchan. Then, afterward, she pressed her hand to her chest, tilting her head to the side. "No, not you... well, yeah, okay you, BUT NOT IN THAT WAY YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, I'M HERE FOR MY FUCKING BELT!"
"... Why would that girl have his belt?"
"Kids today, I swear, they're getting more and more indecent as time goes by. Talking about this kind of thing in public..."
"And the mouth on him..."
Immediately both Izuku and Bakugo went red in the face as they both heard the crowd murmur for a moment, Neopolitan meanwhile just looking like she's having a ball as she went back to her confident expression before she knowingly nodded. Izuku watched, and blushed, as Neopolitan raised the hem of the black undershirt she'd been wearing. However he relaxed as she only lifted it ever so slightly to completely reveal, what Izuku assumed to be, the belt she'd taken from Bakugo. At first Bakugo seemed surprised... before grinding his teeth together as he stared at her.
"So what, you've been expecting me or something? Or do you think that fuckin' thing just looks like good fashion?" If Bakugo's taunts were having any effect, Neopolitan certainly wasn't showing it. In fact, she looked downright amused as she just nodded her head at Bakugo's words... though, she did shake her head side to side, causing Bakugo to raise an eyebrow. The young woman points to herself for a moment and then to him, causing Bakugo to just scoff. "What, you honestly thought that I was just going to wait around for you to find me? Please! You're lookin' at the Huntsman who's going to surpass The All Mighty Huntsman! Of course I'm going to track you down and kick your ass!" By that point the crowd, either out of disinterest or disgust, just went about their business, Neo still very much amused as she raised her eyebrows a bit, a slight smirk on her face.
"So... how about you go ahead, hand over my belt and then hand yourself over to the police. Make it easy on us... or not." Izuku watched as small trails of smoke formed out of the palms of Bakugo's gauntlets, a wide, devilish grin on Kacchan's face as the explosive young man shot an excited glare at Neopolitan. "I'd honestly much rather kick your ass up and down this street if I'm being perfectly honest. Way more fun to shove my foot up your fuckin' ass!"
...
If Bakugo looked scary with how excited he was about this, then the girl was just creepy. A similarly excited expression was on her face as she just took a big old bit out of her ice cream, smacking her lips ever so slightly as she licked them at Bakugo...
...
'Wait, is she-'
Izuku and Bakugo watched as Neopolitan immediately opened up her body language. Even lacking Bakugo's odd knack for reading her, even he could immediately tell what it meant: 'come at me'.
'We can't fight here!' Izuku's mind instantly began to snap to the situation, 'There's still a lot of people around that aren't even paying attention. If Kacchan fights her here...no, we can't let that happen!'
"Kacchan, we can't fight here, it'd-"
"Raise a fuckin' panic, I know. You don't need to tell me the obvious, nerd." Izuku'd flinched a bit, an aggravated expression on his face. It was beyond clear that Kacchan wanted this fight. He was excited for it. Even if he's been belittling how good the girl might be in a fight, Izuku thought even he might be aware that he's intentionally putting her down. No, Bakugo thought she was good and he wanted to fight her, to prove that he was better than her, to prove that he was 'the best'...
But Bakugo wasn't just going for the best fighter. He's going for the Best Huntsman. The Best Hero. That carried some stipulation...
He wasn't going to let loose explosions in a crowd of civilians, not for nothing. Not if he didn't have to.
"What's wrong you little shit? Suddenly got cold feet so you want to use a bunch of civvies as protection? Come on; if you were half a woman, oh I'm sorry, half the woman-" Neopolitan just grinned at that, a silent chuckle escaping her lips, "-you act like you are, then you'd fight me one on one, right?" Izuku saw Neopolitan just nodded slowly, giving Kacchan a slight grin as she took another bite out of her ice cream cone.
Izuku was confused, 'was she just testing him there? Toying with Kacchan or something?' Whatever the case, Bakugo just grinned as she nodded her head, motioning for him to follow her as she started to sashay off, her hips swinging side to side.
Izuku immediately swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked over at Kacchan, frowning. "Okay so we've gotten her to agree to get away from here... Kacchan, we're going to have to be careful though. She might call in some other thugs or something in the fight in order to take us down. This is her turf after all, not ours, so we have no idea if she's-"
"Please, did you see the look on her fuckin' face. No way she's handing off this fight to a bunch of fuckin' lackies." Bakugo just grinned as he stalked forward after Neopolitan, Izuku following in behind as Bakugo looked back at him. "If you're that worried nerd, then go ahead and follow us. If anyone does come, well, I'm sure you can handle a few stragglers... right?" Izuku watched as Bakugo gritted his teeth slightly at that, as if reminding himself of Izuku's combat prowess reminded him of their last fight.
"Listen, Kacchan, you don't need to fight her on your own! Heck, we should be looking for a way to exploit this entire situation, to make it turn to our advantage. It could be two on one-"
"I don't need your fuckin' help to 'win', Deku." Bakugo growled out, causing him to flinch ever so slightly as the red eyed young Huntsman turned to look at him. "This isn't some half-assed fight like the spar where Glynda'll bitch out if we make a wrong move." Bakugo moved his hands together, cracking his knuckles as he stared at Neopolitan's back, the girl still chomping away at that ice cream and the cone that housed it while he grinned.
"This is a fight against a criminal associated with Roman Torchwick and not just some fuckin' pieces of trash that those shitty' League bastards pulled off the bottom of their shoes to throw at us. This is about me doing what I should've done back at Mountain Glenn when I saw these two together. But hell, if you're going to be here... I guess it'll be a show of exactly where you and I stand too, Deku. When I put her down for the count, you can help me make sure she gets to a police department. Then everything will be just fuckin' perfect." Izuku grimaced as Kacchan spoke, his eyes going back forward toward Neopolitan who, by this point, has turned her head to watch the two of them. She seemed more amused and excited than anything and, as she noticed Izuku looking over at her, she just offered a quick grin before turning back forward, heading deeper and deeper into the commercial district.
'I've got a bad feeling about this.'
xXxXxXxXxXx
It turned out to be a longer walk than either he or Bakugo were expecting. The small journey through Vale ended up actually taking them across the river that separates the Commercial District from the Residential one and several more blocks. It ended up being something like twenty, maybe more, minutes before they all stopped and the only reason the time was so short was because of the pace they all were keeping, essentially hurrying along as quickly as they could while being as inconspicuous as possible.
The small journey ended up taking them to... some abandoned construction yard in one of the more rundown areas of Vale. Immediately Izuku's hair stood up on his neck; the situation seemed like a set up and, to be honest, at every passing moment while he and Bakugo followed Neo by hopping the fence, Izuku just couldn't help but keep his eyes about. It seemed like too much of a set up to be anything 'but' a trap. If Bakugo had the same worries though he didn't show it. Either he was confident that the girl wasn't springing a trap on them or he was confident that even if she did, it wouldn't matter. It was hard to tell with Bakugo sometimes which way he was thinking but... well, knowing him he really wasn't worried about a trap and was just anxious for a good fight.
Eventually they all stopped a good ways into the building that was being set up; mostly it was just a frame of metal supports having been set up into the vague shape of a building, with the tall fences surrounding the property mostly blocking off vision of it aside from the locked chain fences that made up the entrance to the lot. Izuku and Bakugo looked around and Izuku, for one, noticed some signs of fighting. Apparently so did Bakugo, as the explosive Huntsman just scoffed.
"What, you hang out here often or what?" The ice cream themed girl just grinned over at him as she stepped across the mostly concrete floor of the set up building, turning with a flourish as she shrugged her shoulders. "Well whatever, I guess it'll at least be good that you're some place comfortable while I kick your ass. Do you at least that much courtesy." Bakugo just grinned as he cracked his knuckles, Neopolitan just grinning at him as she... wait...
'Did she always have that parasol?' Izuku's eyes blinked in wonder as he looked at the accessory. 'No... no she hadn't, right? Or at least, I didn't see it. So where did she have it? It is way too ornate and nice looking to not have seen it before.'
While Izuku was confused, Neopolitan just presented the parasol with a twirl, bringing it back around as she lightly placed the tip of it against the ground. A cocksure smirk on her face, she rolled eyes at Bakugo's taunt before pointing over at him.
"Come on. You took on two small fries because the wide load was too much of a meal for you to take on. Trust me, if you thought lard ass would've been a pain then, trust me, I'm way more than you'll be able to handle." Neopolitan gave a mock, silent gasp as she brought her hand to her lips which caused Bakugo to just growl. "Fuck off and get ready to fight short stack!" Annoyed with her prodding by that point, Bakugo got down into a fighting stance while Neopolitan... well, she just remained relaxed. As Izuku stood there, Bakugo just turned his head to look back at Izuku, an intense look in his eyes.
"Just stay the Hell back Deku... I don't intend on holding back here. I'm going all out if that's what it's going to take to bring Shorty down." Izuku braced himself a bit at that, sweating as he imagined just what Bakugo meant. If his spar with Izuku was still him holding back... jeez, this could get pretty messy. Izuku just nodded as he walked back, getting some distance to allow him and Neo space for the fight. While Izuku did so he surreptitiously drew out his Scroll, flicking through its functions before he found the record one. While he wasn't exactly thrilled... it was a fight between a Huntsman and one of their foes, a criminal in Vale. If she was as good as she was confident, then there was no way that the fight was going to be a simple one for Bakugo... which meant that understanding how she fought and recording it for further research wouldn't be a bad idea.
The fight started as a stare down, Bakugo looking across the... well, for lack of a better word, 'arena' at Neopolitan, his hands flexing and relaxing as he took her in. Neopolitan, for her part, still seemed incredibly casual and relaxed. She even did a mild curtsy toward Kacchan, as if inviting him to try and take the first hit.
An invitation Bakugo was 'all' too eager to accept.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" With that Bakugo burst forward into a quick dash of motion, his fists reared back as he roared out. The little ice cream girl just rolled her eyes as she waited for him to approach. Izuku was not sure what exactly he was expecting to occur; really, knowing how good of a fighter Bakugo was, Izuku knew that he 'should' be able to at least land a punch on her. Maybe not take her down but maybe get one hit in. However, to his surprise and as the camera rolled, Izuku watched and recorded as Kacchan landed 'nothing' for several seconds. In between his flurries of blow Neopolitan practically 'danced' around Bakugo's fists, a cocky grin on her face as she ducks and weaves between them. After a couple punches were thrown, for good measure, Neo reached out with the handle of her parasol, using the slight hook in the pommel of it to hook around Bakugo's elbow and pulled a punch away from her, making him miss his next one entirely from the shift in his weight. Eventually Bakugo broke off the initial assault, to Izuku's surprise and Neo's bemusement as she tilted her head to the side.
"... Dammit..." Kacchan growled to himself as he flexed his hands, his mind going over the fight. There was no question who was faster here; Neo was practically able to move circles around Bakugo's assault, none of his punches coming even close to allowing him to strike her. However, that hadn't been the biggest surprise; what had been was the fact that Kacchan hadn't really tried to cause any major explosions with his hands, no eruptions of fiery force having accompanied the punches like Izuku'd seen in his initial moments fighting Ruby, himself and all their old classmates from back in Mountain Glenn. It was a surprise but it doesn't take Izuku long to piece together why he did it. "Why am I getting stuck with the runts who move so Gods damned fast..."
He didn't want to waste his Aura just in case he couldn't land any of his hits. Before he'd been abundantly confident in his ability to end a fight, owing to all the times he'd so easily done so back at Mountain Glenn. Here and now though, he'd only gone so far as to test the waters, to see if he could even dependably lay a hand on her. Finally Izuku watched as Kacchan grinned as he brought his fists back up. "Ah well, not like it matters. I've had a trick lined up to fix something like that for weeks now." Izuku had a good feeling he knew what it was, even as small sparks of explosions erupted from Bakugo's hands. Neo just seemed intrigued as she looked over at him, nodding for him to hurry up while she spun her umbrella around.
Finally Bakugo bolted forward, a loud roar accompanying his charge as he brought his hands back, the palms of his gloves lighting up with building energy. An excited, gleeful expression crossed Neo's face as he approached, getting ready to duck or dive or maybe even counter the hit...
Up until a tremendous cloud of black smoke ended up erupting in her face, that irritant being the only thing to erupt from Bakugo's hand as his half explosion went off. Again, same as with Izuku, Bakugo used the force of the explosion to propel himself away from the direct line he had been taking while charging Neo, causing the young woman to hack and cough as the tremendous cloud of smoke blew up in her face. Bakugo just growled low under his breath as he brought his fists back, using Neo's lack of movement or action as his opportunity to charge back into the fray. However, while they both might've expected Bakugo to punish Neo for having fallen into this technique, Izuku's eyes went wide in shock and, presumably, so did Bakugo's as Neopolitan still managed to duck one hit and quickly use her umbrella's handle to smack another away.
Still, for a moment, that seemed like it'll be that; Bakugo was getting 'very' close in and Neopolitan didn't seem ready to dodge again or to use her umbrella. It seemed that Bakugo had her...
Up until the umbrella popped open, Bakugo's fist colliding with it and exploding against it. Bakugo ground his teeth together, a shocked expression on his face, and on Izuku's, as the umbrella not only took the explosion but completely protected Neopolitan from both it and Bakugo's fist. Eventually Kacchan jumped back and away again, his face turned into a scowl while Neo continued to cough slightly, waving the smoke out of her face as her slightly red eyes looked over at Bakugo, quirked in some interest.
"Fuck... I got that shit right in her fuckin' eyes and that still wasn't enough. Plus, that shitty fucking parasol... Goddammit, only one way that thing didn't get fuckin' torn apart by my explosion." Dust treatment. That really was the only way, which caused Izuku to shiver a bit. That girl, on top of her natural speed and her ability to swing that umbrella around, also had a shield she could use to bounce Bakugo's attacks back. Bakugo ground his teeth together as Izuku watched his hands light back up with building power. Izuku blinked in surprise, wondering what Bakugo was up to exactly while Neopolitan did the same as she cleared the smoke from her vision. Bakugo dashed forward and, for a moment, it looked like a typical attack... but Izuku noticed it and, judging by the look on Neo's face, she noticed it too. Despite the way Bakugo was trying to hold himself, his battle stance made his intentions clear. He was not positioning or swinging himself to attack Neo head on, no, Bakugo was going to try to tear her Umbrella apart.
Neopolitan promptly closed her umbrella and, as before, the ice cream themed criminal and the explosive bully went at it for a moment, with Neo 'still' just dancing circles around Bakugo while he did his best to land a punch, to no avail. Eventually Bakugo let out a slight roar of frustration as he jumped back, his hand having recently gotten jerked about by its elbow by Neo's umbrella.
There was no way Bakugo could land a punch on her. Even if he got lucky and every punch he threw was a threat, Neo could just pop open her umbrella and bounced his attacks away before closing it again. Hell, the only time she had to open it was when Kacchan seriously threatened her... which, with how the fight was going, seemed unlikely.
Though if ever there was going to be a time where Bakugo really did threaten her, it'd be now as he allowed his gauntlets to slip past his hands, bringing them inside his weapons.
"Well... looks like I'm actually going to have to put in some effort to kick your ass, munchkin. Let's see how well you do once you've actually got me throwing everything I've got at you!" If Neo seemed threatened by his words, it didn't show. Quite the opposite, she seemed quite excited, that excitement only having built after Bakugo surprised her with that explosive feint.
Bakugo kept the openings of his gauntlets pointed down to the ground, even as Izuku could tell from the flexing of his muscles and the veins in his arms that he was channeling Aura down into the palms of his hands, ready for an explosion. He was trying to play this cool, trying to feint her into comfort... but apparently Neopolitan saw the obvious effort too as, when Bakugo finally swung his arm in an arc through the air, a spark of flame dancing across it and into the ground in front of Neo, the short girl was all too ready to immediately jump out of the way from the spot and, with only a foot or two to spare, avoided being caught up in the initial blast. Kacchan grit his teeth together as Izuku watched him flex his legs as he stood in place, Neopolitan seeming all too excited by the prospect of instant explosions. The girl pantomimed a baseball player for a moment, bringing her umbrella up in a motion to swing it as if inviting him to hurl another at her... but Bakugo just stood there, grinding his teeth as he poured more power into his... wait, something wasn't right. There wasn't the glow around the mouths of the gauntlets. He was not channeling it into his hands.
Neo, similarly, seemed confused and more than a little disappointed, the mute girl frowning as she stood up and placed her umbrella on her shoulder, tilting her head to the side as she quirked an eyebrow.
"Alright... I should've expected that you'd be able to dodge a small little thing like that... so if I can't an explosion concentrated..." Bakugo leveled his gauntlet at her, keeping on hand on his side as he seemed to aim it. "THEN LET'S TRY A LITTLE COLLATERAL DAMAGE, SHALL WE?!" Both Izuku and Neo flinch as, all at once, a powerful explosion fired out from Kacchan's gauntlet in a large, and growing, pillar of flame, smoke and force, spreading out and wider as it headed towards Neo. The girl blinked but quickly did her best to move out of the way but it seemed Bakugo calculated right; Neopolitan ended up engulfed in the explosion's edge.
Bakugo grinned for a moment and, well, so do Izuku actually. Seeing him finally land 'something' was a bit of a relief... though that relief was short lived as Neo almost immediately jumped out from the explosion as it struck one of the walls surrounding the property, the flames dying out before they can seriously catch something on fire. Neo just looked at Bakugo for a moment, her brow furrowed ever so slightly as she looked over at her shoulder. They both followed her gaze and, when Izuku saw it, his blood went cold as a sudden sensation of worry overcame him. Kacchan, however, just seemed pleased. On Neo's shoulder a small little flame sparked and shuddered against Neo's Aura, causing it to glow slightly. Dusting off her shoulder Neo killed the flame quickly enough... but a slight burn in her coat remained as proof that Bakugo's attack landed.
...
That's when the biggest grin Neo had on her face the entire fight spread across her lips, her eyes switching colors from pink and brown to brown and pink and then back as she hefted her umbrella. Before Bakugo could even properly react Neopolitan was right on top of him. Bakugo did his best to avoid the incoming flurry of blows. He knocked one swing of her umbrella away before he dodged another that was sent more toward his groin, even as Neo continued to close the space between them. Bakugo, with a burst of his Aura, managed to smack away another hit... but then it happened; the handle of Neo's umbrella was driven into his gut and, even as his Aura lit up to protect him, he gasped from the blow. Immediately following that Neo spun around and, with a solid swing, struck Kacchan across the collarbone with her umbrella. Bakugo let out a shout of pain as the hit caused him to spin back and away from Neo, who just stood there in place, a wide grin on her face as she just stared at Bakugo with a confident look. Izuku thought he understood exactly what that last blow meant, and fear beginning to creep far up his spine.
'I can beat the shit out of you. This fight is only going on as long as it is because I'm having fun'. That, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was the message that Neopolitan had meant to impart with that effortless display. Bakugo just stood there, lightly gasping for breath as he rubbed at his collarbone, his jaw shut tight as he glared at her. Finally, he put his hands out to the sides and both Izuku and Neo watched as, slowly but surely, he built up his Aura in them.
If Neo was just dandy with letting Bakugo charged up before, the time for that bit of fun was clearly over now. Izuku watched as a deeply amused Neopolitan rushed forward, Kacchan baring his teeth as he kept his stance light. Good thing too as, rather than try to attack him, Neopolitan started swinging for his legs with the handle of her umbrella. He managed to avoid one swing but the second connected... and did so by immediately pulling Bakugo's heel back up and into the sky, causing him to scream as he fell flat on his back, the force of his Aura dissipating in his hands as it happened. Neopolitan gave a silent little laugh as she did that, looking down at Bakugo with a grin while she, immediately, put her boot on his neck. Izuku's eyes went wide, worried for a moment but it seemed like she's mostly just keeping it there for show, not actually holding Bakugo in place.
'Okay, screw this. A hero doesn't just let something like this happen!'
"KACCHAN!" Immediately Izuku started charging up One For All, Neopolitan's eyes moving over to him as she seemed amused, a slight roll to them as she waits for him to-
"I TOLD YOU TO NOT GET FUCKING INVOLVED DEKU!" Both Izuku and Neopolitan were surprised by Bakugo's sudden shout, both of them looking down at Kacchan as he glared up at Neopolitan.
"K-Kacchan! She has you down on the ground! If she wanted to she could stomp on your neck! You can't actually be serious about-"
"I am serious, Deku! If you get involved with this I'll kill you!" Izuku flinched a bit at that as Bakugo glared over at Izuku for a moment. "... This is my fucking fight Deku! Mine to win or lose, you hear me... and I'm not done yet! I'm nowhere near fucking done yet! I'm not going to lose to this little bitch!" he turned his gaze back up at Neopolitan, who just stared down at him curiously. "... I'm going to be a Hunter even greater than Toshinori. A Hero who'll never lose... I'm going to win this fight on my own, dammit! I don't need your help, Deku! I DON'T NEED ANYONE'S HELP!" After a moment, the ice cream criminal rolled her eyes at Kacchan's declaration.
'The way she is looking at him, it's a weird mix of things. Amusement obviously. Disbelief at his stubbornness is there to…'
…
'Empathy?'
That moment passed though as surprise and anger filled those eyes when, out of nowhere, Bakugo bit down on her boot. Neo immediately pulled her foot back, allowing Bakugo to easily get up off the ground... and started running away from her.
'What?'
Both Izuku and Neopolitan just stared after Kacchan for a moment, surprised by that decidedly out of character action on Bakugo's part, as the blonde bomber made a break for it. After a moment Neo just started to silently laugh, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched him run, a wide grin on her face. However... that grin began to fall when Bakugo, again seemingly out of nowhere, took a moment to jump off a few pieces of long abandoned construction equipment before making a jump for one of the metal pillars...
The grin then entirely disappeared when Kacchan 'launched' himself off the pillar with both his feet and an explosion as he started soaring through the air towards Neopolitan.
"NOW FUCKING DIE, ICE CREAM BITCH!" With that roar echoing through the air Kacchan began to rapidly spin about, propelled by an explosion in one hand even as the other practically started to glow red hot with power.
When that heat in his hand turned white, so did Neo's eyes as a look of surprise comes over her. Izuku himself immediately started to hussle away from Neo, his Scroll still on the fight as he watched the scene play out from over his shoulder.
"HOOOOOWITZER! IMPAAAAAAAAAAAAACT!"
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Even being so far away from the source of the explosion, Izuku was almost thrown off his feet by the sheer force of it. He threw his arms back, accidentally tossing his Scroll behind him while he turned to watch the explosion, its source having been from around where Bakugo had been heading and where, last he saw, Neo had been. Bakugo himself was thrown back by the force of the explosion, the young man practically riding it away from the flames as he dug his boots into the ground to bring himself to a halt. Bakugo breathed deep, exhausted breaths, his skin glistening with sweat as he stared up at the explosion, his eyes darting across it for any sign of Neopolitan. Soon enough the explosion dissipated, the flames go out without a source of fuel to keep them going and only black smoke remained. They both watched carefully, waiting for any sign of Neopolitan to show...
It isn't until the smoke clears when they saw it; Neopolitan's body, burns across a lot of her skin, her hair singed heavily and her outfit burnt across most of its surface, laying in a heap next to a very hot metal support beam, her umbrella in pieces next to her. They both just stared at her for a moment, both of their jaws slightly unhinged, mouths open in disbelief and surprise.
'He... Kacchan…'
"Hahahaha..." A tired laugh escaped Kacchan's lips, the young man too exhausted to give much more as he turned to Izuku with a cocksure grin, an honest to goodness smile on his face as he looked over at his old friend. "You see nerd... you had nothing to worry about. Short stack got herself a little too cocky and... well, heh..." Bakugo shook on his legs for a bit and, for a moment, Izuku thought he's about to fall over.
"Kacchan... you look exhausted."
"Heh... yeah... but fuck, if that wasn't a fucking good fight. Took every last trick up my sleeve... I swear, if you squeal about 'any' of them to anyone, I'll kill you Deku." Despite his words, Bakugo's good mood seemed to take the teeth out of them. "Now... how about you go ahead and pick her up so we can turn her in. I'm a little too tired to-"
Whatever smile had been on Izuku's face immediately dropped as, apropos of nothing, Bakugo's entire body jerked as a loud 'crack' rang out against the back of his head. His emerald eyes went wide as Kacchan immediately dropped to his knees, his eyes fading slightly as the light went out of them. Finally, it seemed as though Kacchan dimmed a bit as, he had to imagine, his Aura shattered...
Right alongside the visage of the broken and beaten Neopolitan.
'And' the empty air that had been behind Kacchan.
Revealed to him was what you can only assume to be the actual Neopolitan. Though she did look a bit worse for wear, she didn't look nearly as bad as... whatever that visage had been looked. Some of the ends of her hair were indeed singed and some parts of her skin were indeed lightly burnt... but her Aura was already going to work on healing those burns and making them disappear. Her Aura shined around her body as stray flames tried their best to stick to her, though they slowly died as Neo kept her hands on her umbrella...
Hands that pulled the handle out of the umbrella to reveal a hidden blade.
Izuku's breath hitched for a moment, his throat closing as Bakugo's body collapsed forward. Izuku knew what to expect; a large gash on the back of his head from where Neo had just clubbed him across the back of it, blood spilling everywhere as Neopolitan prepared to finish the job, stabbing Bakugo right in the back. Izuku stepped forward, already calling One For All forward as he moved to save Bakugo...
Only to hesitate again.
Why?
'No wound.'
There was no copious amounts of blood pouring out of the back of Bakugo's head, no serious, grave injury to be seen. Izuku also hesitated because, rather than move the blade down to stab his bully, Neo... cut at the dead bits of her hair, getting rid of the singed bits as she continued to look down at Bakugo, a thoroughly, thoroughly, pleased grin on her face that he hadn't noticed before. After a while Neo's eyes caught sight of something... his Scroll that he'd lost track of thanks to the force of the explosion. Izuku watched, slightly dumbfounded, as Neo reached down to pick it up, the girl's pink and brown eyes widening in delight as she, likely, found that he'd been recording the fight...
...
'It's seriously like she's not even paying me a second thought, as if I'm the furthest worry from her mind' She sheathed her blade and tapped around on Izuku's Scroll, that satisfied, confident grin still on her lips.
"Uhhh... h-hi?" Izuku started out nervously, not exactly sure how to talk to a person he just watched fight Bakugo and come out with only some burns. Those pink and brown eyes quickly glanced up at Izuku, the confident grin still on her face as she met his gaze. She raised up a solitary finger, an easy enough 'wait a moment' to read before she went back down to his Scroll. "Uh... can I have my Scroll back? Please? I kind of need it... I can send you the video of the fight if you want?" Again, Neopolitan just raised a finger to Izuku, hitting a few last keys on his Scroll. After a small 'blip' and a smile Neopolitan deactivated his Scroll and, with some grace, tossed it back over his way. Immediately he started fiddling over it, trying to see exactly what she'd done to it.
Izuku was expecting a few things after having his Scroll handed back to him by them criminal. He was expecting to find some kind of malicious software downloaded onto it with a quick scan through of files, he was expecting a lot of his texts or other information to have been sent off his Scroll to another location, heck, he was maybe even expecting his entire Scroll to be utterly wiped so that he didn't have video evidence of this meeting at all. There was even a distant part of his mind that wondered if she hadn't somehow set his Scroll to explode. However, as he went through it he found, more and more, that everything seemed to be in order. No files downloaded, nothing really sensitive, not that he'd be stupid enough to keep something like that in your Scroll, sent off and everything he had in here was where he left it. All in all, he only noticed two things.
First off, a CCT message had been sent to another Scroll with the video file of Bakugo and Neopolitan's fight having been attached to it and that, thanks to that, he had a new contact in his Scroll's list. Anonymous but...
*Bring*
"You're kind of neurotic, aint'cha Deku?"
When a message rang up on his phone following Neopolitan having brought out her own, it was easy enough to figure out. She looked over her Scroll and, after its own ring, seemed quite satisfied with the results. Presumably she'd just received the message that the video had been attached to.
"Uh... actually, my name's not Deku, it's-"
"Izuku Midoriya, right, saw that on your Scroll. Deku suits you more."
...
That felt more like an insult than how he might've taken it from either Ruby or Coco. Though that's not really much of a surprise as the ground he was currently on is a bit... weird.
"Thanks for recording that fight by the by. It's so rare that I get to see my own fun from a third person perspective that I know I'm going to enjoy watching this."
"Uh... no problem. I didn't really do it for you though, I-"
"I get it, I get it. Making your neuroticism work for you rather than against you in this case. Roman would approve... I mean, generally speaking. He probably wouldn't be 'super' pleased with a Huntsman having it."
The casual way she brought up Roman Torchwick really just made the weirdness of this conversation sink in for him. This girl, who had just beaten up Bakugo so easily, was associated with the top criminal in all of Vale and was apparently close enough with him to have him on a first name basis. It made this entire conversation really bizarre but... well, then again, this entire situation was bizarre. She and Roman snuck into Mountain Glenn in order for her to participate in an ice cream contest of all things, not to steal secrets or to kill someone higher up, and now that she was confronted with two Hunters... well, she could've killed Bakugo easily and he doubted he'd be able to take her on without a 100% Smash...
"Not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth or anything but... well, you do work with Torchwick and Kacchan and I did come to bring you in... why are you... you know?" Neopolitan gave a quick grin as she nodded, tapping away on her Scroll.
"Killing you?" Izuku nodded slowly at that as Neopolitan just shook her head, amused by his question. "Please, you two aren't exactly big threats and, well, if you two 'were' big threats I'd probably have booked it around the first time I spotted you two; I'm not going to get into a stupid fight I can't win for no reason." Izuku watched as Neo, rather mirthfully, placed her boot on Kacchan's torso and used it to shake him a bit, as if to indicate him. "Besides, even if I thought you guys might be some kind of a threat in the future it'd be waaay too much hassle to actually kill you. Sure, having Beacon Students coming down here making noise like they own the place is annoying but having Full Hunters, including the Symbol of Peace, stomping around here because a couple got killed? Yeah, I'm 'not' stupid."
That did make a certain amount of sense, coming from her perspective. While she seemed really capable, he had no doubt that Toshinori probably could've taken her, even with her pulling off stunts using what he presumed to be her Semblance. That she admitted it pretty much confirmed that fact Still...
"If that's such a concern for you, then why are you letting me have this video? Why not delete it off my Scroll and then hand it back or, I dunno, just not hand me back my Scroll at all." Neopolitan listened to him for a moment and nodded.
"What, is that what you want me to do or something? Bit weird, but I suppose if you willingly take this guy's abuse then it must be some kind of-"
"NO, NO! IT'S OKAY, I'M ACTUALLY REALLY GRATEFUL!" Izuku watched as Neopolitan erupted into silent laughter, slapping her knee slightly at you as she brought her Scroll back up.
"You're a mess. Anyway, I guess I really just don't give enough of a shit to do so because your higher ups probably won't give that much of a shit. A couple of Beacon Students walk into Vale looking to pick a fight with a criminal and then come out of it alive if a little battered and bruised? Yeah they might send people down to try and find me but, Hell, they aren't going to care enough to waste the time of the big guns to cover that. After a while they'd probably stop caring all together and the heat would be off. Trust me, it wouldn't be hard for me to avoid it all together or, if I had to, wait it out."
At this point, Izuku really don't doubt it.
"I figure you'll get into more trouble if people find out than I will, so hey, why not let you keep that video to look over. Might be handy for you and..." Neopolitan scrunched up her face a bit for a moment before shaking her head. "You've said Kacchan so many times by this point that I've actually forgotten what his real name is. Ah, screw it, it'll probably be more amusing to call him Kacchan. Seems like it really annoys him. Anyway, might be handy for you two."
"Wait... you're letting us have this? Even though you know we'll probably use it to try and figure you out?" Neopolitan shrugged before going back to tapping on her Scroll.
"Look, you're 'going' to come back and find me. You're Huntsmen, those of you who actually give half of a shit about your job have this annoying tendency to be persistent. Plus, fuck, look at this guy?" Neopolitan nodded her head down towards Bakugo, an amused grin on her face. "You honestly think he's 'not' going to try and fight me again? Yeah right; it was one thing to have his belt... or, well, 'my belt' now, but now after I've kicked his ass? Yeah, Kacchan here doesn't seem the type to just lay down and die. He'll be back... and you know what? I want another good fight. This was 'fun', like, really fun. If I'm going to be seeing you two again, I want the next fight to be even better, even more fun. If I give a bit of a helping hand, hey, that just means I get to enjoy myself while this guy repeatedly blows his load." Izuku's face went red as Neopolitan phrased Bakugo's Semblance in such a manner, causing her to silently laugh.
"Well... in that case... why don't I keep your contact information, then?" Izuku saw Neopolitan raised an eyebrow for a moment as he looked down at his Scroll. "You're absolutely right; Kacchan's going to want to fight you again. Not just for the belt but because you beat him. So... well, it'd just be easier to arrange for that if we could directly contact you, right?" Izuku saw Neopolitan brought a finger up to her lip, tapping against it a couple times before smiling as she went back to her Scroll.
"Hey, not a half bad idea there Deku. I was gonna just keep popping up every now and then just to have some other kicks from time to time but this would be easier... Hell, screw it, I'll probably do that anyway just because it seems like it'd be a laugh and a half." With that Neopolitan started to walk away... though it seemed her eyes caught sight of something in her Scroll. After a quick 'bleh' expression comes over her face he watched as Neopolitan's form shimmered a bit and then, suddenly, she looked like nothing at all had happened to her. While for a moment Izuku freaked out, thinking she'd just managed to entirely fix herself, he soon let that panic slide as he realize she probably just stuck an illusion over herself to not look quite as beaten up.
"Alright, I'll see you boys some other time. Don't worry about getting a move on too quick; it'll probably be a half hour before the cops send someone out to check on Kacchan's explosions and then they'll probably drag their heels for a while after that." Izuku blinked in some confusion as that message popped up on his Scroll, watching as Neopolitan just walked right past him.
"Uh... thanks?"
"You're welcome."
With that the tiny girl jumped the fence and then, from the sounds of her heels hitting the ground, kept a slow pace as she walked away from the construction yard. Izuku just blinked at that before, finally, snapping to his senses.
"Kacchan!" Izuku immediately turned on his heels and ran over to him. While Neopolitan had seemed nonchalant about it, he couldn't be sure of how bad Bakugo was off! That hit to the head looked really bad and the just passed out immediately! For all Izuku knew he could be seriously hurt! He quickly sprinted over to Bakugo and immediately dropped to his knees beside him. Now wasn't the time for panic, now was the time for him to put what he learned in Peach's class to good use!
'No time to panic!'
'No time to panic, just, just remember what Peach taught you!'
…
'No time to.. to…'
'PANIC!'
"Kacchan! Are you alright?! Are you breathing?! KACCHAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Izuku couldn't help but start yelling as Bakugo didn't respond.
'Oh Gods, what if he's brain damaged or something?! What if he isn't breathing?! He couldn't die like this! He couldn't just die like this!'
"KACCHAN, PLEASE, WAKE UP! KACCH-"
"FUCKING SHIT DEKU STOP SCREAMING IN MY FUCKING FACE YOU ASSHOLE!" After shaking Bakugo by his shoulders in order to try and stir him and, indeed, after having yelled right beside his head, it seemed Kacchan had been pretty well stirred from his state of unconsciousness. Bakugo reached an arm out, as if trying to push him away from him, but it was a bit slow and missed the mark slightly as Kacchan grabbed at his head with his other arm, groaning. "Fuck... my head feels like it got hit by a fucking truck..."
Izuku watched as Bakugo dabbed around the back of his head for a moment before bringing it back to the front. "Fuck... well... I'm not fucking bleeding... and you have two fucking eyes..." Bakugo finally leaned his head back down onto the ground, taking deep, exhausted breaths as he stared up at the sky. "So... good... I'm not fucking... shit, my fucking head... concussed or whatever..." Bakugo's eyes slowly came back into focus as he woke up little by little, though the explosive teen was still lacking in his, well, explosive energy and vigor that defined him as a person. "What the fuck even happened Deku... last we saw she was on the fucking ground and then... shit, I can't even remember..." Bakugo rubbed at his head again as he just frowned.
"Well there wasn't much for you to remember... almost immediately after she popped up behind you and hit you across the back of her head with her umbrella. Turns out that her on the ground was just an illusion, probably one she made with her Semblance."
"... Fucking Hell, are you serious? That's some Goddamned fuckin' bullshit if I've ever heard any..." Kacchan rotated his head around to look, his eyes going a bit wide as they snapped back to Izuku. "She's not here though... fuck, don't tell me you ran her off..."
"Oh, uh, no she... wasn't really interested in fighting after that. She just kind of left after she spared some words is all..." Bakugo stared at him carefully for a moment before he saw what he believed to be relief pass through his eyes as he relaxed again.
"Alright... good..."
"She wants to fight you again, by the way."
"Pssht, as if she'd get a fuckin' choice about it. I'm definitely tracking her ass down sometime later so I can fucking... kick her ass and then get my belt back..." Bakugo went woozy for a moment in the middle of that sentence before he shook out his head. "Gods, it still fuckin' hurts... first I'm gonna have to get better... she fuckin outclassed me and I can't just keep throwing one Howitzer Impact after another at her and if I go back to fight her now..." Bakugo groaned as he placed a hand against his head. "Dammit, I'm not just gonna lose again..."
"... Well... I recorded the fight so that I could study what she fought like later. That'd probably be useful for you to figure out how to fight her, right?" Izuku suggested slightly, causing Kacchan's gaze to shift over at him again. Izuku saw... a lot of conflict in Bakugo's eyes. On the one hand, there was a lot of pissed off irritation. It was clear that it wasn't necessarily something he was eager to think about or do, whatever it was, and that was reflective of the agitation he saw building up in his red eyes. It was mostly directed at him, no surprise, but it was tempered somewhat by the secondary source of conflict in his gaze. A hunger. That look in Bakugo's eyes when he was excited or presented with the opportunity to prove how good he was or to get stronger and better. A look Izuku saw a lot back when he was kids whenever there'd be some news segment of Toshinori on or the look in his eyes before he got into a fight that he was sure he'd win in or would be a good shot for him to show off.
"... Deku..." He saw Bakugo's doing everything he could to keep from biting his tongue off.
"Hey... uh, it'd probably be better for both of us if we could both study that fight right? Obviously we're probably going to try this again later so... well, I have the video of it and her contact info so... I could give them to you. What do you think?" Izuku preempted Bakugo's attempt to thank him, the explosive young man just raising an eyebrow as he looked at him. For a moment, Bakugo hesitated... but the agitation of him trying to worked up to saying it himself clearly died off as Kacchan just nodded.
"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. I'll take you up on that." Izuku almost found it amusing that Kacchan was willing to let Izuku call it his idea... but he understood. It was either that or ask for help himself and Bakugo... well, he just wasn't one to do that. Asking Izuku to come out here had been hard enough on him as it was, so having to do so again after he'd gotten stomped would've probably really been hard for him. He was more willing to let Izuku 'have' the idea than he was to ask Izuku for his aid. It was weird but still he just nodded as he started writing up a message to send to his Scroll across the CCT, Neopolitan's contact and the video of the fight attached to the message. "Surprised no cops have shown up yet. Howitzer Impact is about the biggest blast in my arsenal, you'd figure someone would've heard it."
"That's something Neopolitan mentioned offhandedly before she left; apparently the police shouldn't be expected to send officers out this way for a half hour and that even then they'll drag their heels." Bakugo scoffed as he heard that, a grimace on his face as he looked off to the side.
"Yeah that sounds about right for Vale cops. Useless pieces of..." Kacchan cut himself up as he started to force himself up onto his feet, Izuku flinching a little as he reached a hand out... before keeping it to himself. Izuku could already guess what Bakugo's reaction would be if he offered to help so, instead, he watched as Bakugo struggled to a standing position. After a few wobbly minutes of shaking, Bakugo seemed to find his footing as he placed his hand against his head.
"Fuck, my head... that little shit really does hurt... it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of thinking to try to come up with something to take her ass down a peg..." Bakugo grumbled as Izuku nodded in agreement, putting his Scroll off to the side.
"In the meantime, how about we get out of here. We've got a bit of a ways to go before we get back to the air dock so we might as well get started." Bakugo grimaced as he rubbed his head, though the two of them did started slowly walking off.
"Fuck me... I think we can take our fuckin' time. I work myself to the bone most days but I think my team'll notice if I come back looking this fuckin' haggard, not to mention everyone else who might notice. I think we can take our time getting back." Izuku nodded in agreement as they both slowed down. Part of it just because the two did have time, but... well, slowing down the walking pace would be good for Bakugo. He was still unsteady on his feet and clearly exhausted from the fight. Taking it slow and one step at a time would hopefully get him back into good enough shape to where it'd at least look like he wasn't on the verge of passing out for whatever reason. Still, speaking of taking things slow, Izuku slowly reached a hand up to stroke his chin as he considered an idea.
"Well... in that case..." Izuku started off by muttering, drawing Bakugo's attention back to him. "... Well..."
"Out with it Deku."
"R-Right. How about... we go get some ice cream then? With those coupons you won." Izuku watched Bakugo arched an eyebrow at that, causing Izuku to swallow nervously. "I was just thinking that if we have time then we might as well spend it relaxing a bit and maybe doing something enjoyable. Plus the ice cream's bound to help with your headache and... well, we did come all the way out here, so..." He gave a slightly nervous laugh as he finished, Bakugo still giving him a disbelieving look.
"You fuckin' serious, Deku?" Izuku flinched a little at Kacchan's tone, figuring that to be a no. Bakugo's hand reaches up to grip his head again, wincing as another pound of the headache seemed to swing around and slap him upside the head. "Fuck... you know what, screw it, I need something to help me get over this fucking headache. A little bit of ice cream will probably do the trick... alright fine, let's get out of here. No use in spending our money when we don't have to either, that'd just raise questions if people wonder where it went." Izuku 'really' doubt it would but he just nodded in agreement with Bakugo, a smile growing on his face as he allowed him that. As Izuku followed in behind his former friend and... well now he didn't even know what to make of all it, but the point stood, as he followed behind Bakugo he realized a few things about today.
'Things could've gone worse than they did. If Neopolitan had been the kind of criminal with nothing to lose or, perhaps more specifically, with no care in the world for what she could lose, me and Kacchan could've been way worse off. Still... things also went better than I expected. That seemed like such a weird thing to say in conjunction with the idea that me and Kacchan could've been seriously hurt but... well, it is what it is. While I can't know anything for certain about Neo, this fight did give me a better idea of what I and my friends will be up against in the future. And also...I can't say me and Kacchan are friends again, but he and I are in a better place now than we've been in a long ti-'
"... Just don't eat too much, I'm saving most of the money on these coupons."
'...Well, that is a surprise,' Izuku tilted his head to the side as he looked at the explosive teen curiously.
"What are you saving it for Ka-"
"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS NERD!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
'Well... a baby step in a direction, at least. Right?'