A/N: Apologies for the long delay.

Chapter 27 - Power

Mirio Togata was scary.

Mr. Aizawa has called in UA's top three students, otherwise known as "The Big Three," to help explain to the class what work studies were. The idea was that now that most of them had their provisional licenses, the students could be trusted a bit more with more direct field work under the guidance of reputable pro heroes. When the presentation fell flat, Togata had challenged the entire class to a 18v1 fight in Gym Gamma. This ridiculous request had led to the current situation and Tomo's irrefutable conclusion: Mirio Togata was scary.

When the signal had been given to begin, Tomo half expected Togata to fold versus the sheer number of opponents he was facing. Even if their opponent was the supposed top ranked student at UA, it wasn't as if class 1-A were slouches in combat themselves; they all had their own fair share of experience to guide them in battle.

"POWER!" the terrifying menace screamed after quickly knocking out five of Tomo's classmates within seconds. Togata had immediately targeted the ranged fighters in the back when the fight started. His Quirk made him seem virtually unstoppable. Not even Todoroki, supposedly one of, if not the, strongest students in their class, could get a hit on him with his ice. Togata just seemed to ignore all of their physical attacks while also teleporting around to attack them. It was confusing and terrifying.

While his classmates had been getting pummeled, Tomo distanced himself to peek into the Inner World, hoping his recently discovered technique would be enough to find some sort of weakness he could expose and land a blow. Half of his vision changed as he shrouded himself in Darkness. He could see the faint outlines of all the people in the room and their Quirks. The massive amount of new information Tomo had to process was dizzying.

It was as he slipped into the underlying plane of existence that Tomo saw something strange. Tomo was getting better at being able to see in both dimensions at the same time without getting a day-ending migraine, but he was sure this wasn't a result of his headache. Currently, going into the Inner World resulted in only a massive headache; terrible, but not completely ruining. While he was adjusting his vision and observing, Tomo noticed something strange. Occasional bits of skin filled in the outline of Togata's avatar as he moved. It was as if bits and pieces of his body were popping into the Inner World randomly.

After a quick gut punch to Todoroki, Togata then eyed Tomo. Tomo felt his heart race. He hadn't really planned to take this seriously, but after seeing so many of his classmates fall, the urge to defend the 1-A pride filled Tomo with determination.

Tomo's opponent seemingly disappeared again as Tomo threw a wave of Darkness. Wait a minute… I see.

As Togata reappeared from beneath the ground to end Tomo in one punch like he did to the rest of class 1-A, Tomo did what no one else had managed to do so far. He dodged.

"Whoa!" Togata shouted in a genuinely surprised tone as Tomo dodged a follow-up punch by expunging Darkness below him to launch himself backwards.

I can track him. The realization was both satisfying and terrifying. Satisfying because Tomo could maybe prove himself in the fight, but also terrifying because now he had to keep up to not disappoint everyone and himself. Whatever he's doing with his Quirk, I can see parts of it happening in the Inner World. As long as I can physically keep up with him, I can see how he's gonna strike. I just need to wait for my window to strike back. He's not used to having opponents who can predict where he's coming from. I hope he isn't, at least…

Togata rushed at Tomo again. This time, he opted to just run straight at him instead of disappearing into the ground again. Now that he could see his opponent, Tomo quickly recognized how outmatched he was just from the way Togata moved. The difference was that apparent. Togata was better than him, he already knew that from the boy's status as the top UA student, but seeing his movement and power firsthand, Tomo saw just how much better Togata was. His movement was quick, his actions were decisive, and he had the strength to back up his skills. There was only so much Tomo could do as he tried to forcefully dodge the incoming blows by using Darkness to create and recreate distance between them. It was a drastic and desperate maneuver to try and buy himself some time. Tomo didn't trust himself to engage Togata in close-quarters combat; he knew he would lose instantly if Togata was allowed to get close. All he could do was try and dodge.

After managing to dodge two more punches by moving himself with Darkness, Tomo finally stumbled. He was not an agile fighter nor was he good at acrobatics. His forceful bursts of Darkness to dodge was not graceful and Tomo couldn't keep it up forever. Togata moved so quickly that Tomo could barely think about a countermeasure. As Togata threw another punch, aimed right at Tomo's gut, Tomo realized he couldn't dodge it this time. His timing was too off. He desperately held up a Darkness-coated hand to catch the fist.

Togata held a faint smirk. Tomo knew it was hopeless; his opponent would just phase through his hand and knock Tomo down. That was what happened to the rest of his classmates already. Tomo shut his eyes and braced his body for the blow.

It never came.

Huh?

Tomo opened his eyes to see a shocked Togata in front of him, staring at their connecting hands. Tomo looked down as well. The Darkness-coated fist Tomo used to block held Togata's fist firmly in place.

The confusion lasted only a second as both boys shared the same look of realization that the fight was still going on. Togata recovered from his shock and aimed his other fist at Tomo's face. Tomo used his free hand to try and block, hoping he had somehow figured out a counter. This time, however, the fist went straight through Tomo and connected with his jaw, sending him flying.

Tomo groaned on the floor in pain. It was a sound heard again from the rest of his classmates as Togata quickly dispatched them too.

The fight had finally ended.

"Hey, are you alright? I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to hit your face that hard," Togata said as he hovered by Tomo.

"It's cool, don't worry about it," Tomo replied as he rubbed his jaw. He took the hand Togata offered and stood back up.

"Are you sure? I didn't break it or anything?" Togata asked, genuinely concerned.

With how hard you hit, it's honestly a miracle that you didn't. "I'll be fine, thanks," Tomo replied with a small grin.

Togata smiled back. "Glad to hear! You're… Hagakure, right? You were impressive! What did you do back there? I never saw someone who could counter my Permeation like that."

"Oh, um, just Tomo is fine. And I, uh, dunno really. I think my Quirk counters it somehow. I'm not really sure," Tomo replied.

"Cool. Either way, keep it up!" Togata cheered. He then turned to address the rest of the class, explaining to them again about the work studies and what his Quirk did.

Hearing what Togata's Quirk did confirmed Tomo's suspicion. Inside the Inner World, Tomo saw what happened. Togata's fist had materialized there as he used his Quirk to bypass Tomo's fist in the physical world. However, Tomo's fist, which was shrouded in Darkness, was also in the Inner World so he ended up catching the attack before it could hit him. The bits of skin Tomo occasionally saw in the Inner World while fighting were pieces of Togata that had Permeated. The follow up punch that knocked Tomo down was blocked by his normal, non-Darkness-covered hand so the Permeation was effective.

A rematch with this potential counter was very intriguing to Tomo now, but he wasn't arrogant enough to ask the top student at UA to dedicate his own free time to help Tomo train. He didn't miss the way Togata had paused after he said the Hagakure name. It appears that Toru's infamy and Tomo's association to the name had reached even the third years. He had to prove himself more to even think about that kind of training.

Tomo knocked on Midoriya's door that evening. He still wasn't 100% set on having this heart-to-heart with Bakugo, but he trusted Midoriya enough to entertain the idea.

"Oh, hey!" Midoriya greeted when he opened the door. "Did you just wake up? You look like you could use some energy."

Tomo walked into the room and looked around. Despite being literally his next door neighbor, Tomo had never actually seen Midoriya's room. All Might's face and merch was plastered everywhere. "Yeah, I just woke up," Tomo replied with a yawn. "The days are slowly getting shorter and shorter so I'm getting less and less quality sleep."

"Oh. Sorry to hear... Kacchan should be here soon so make yourself comfortable. Oh, and by the way, Iida told me to tell you that Mr. Aizawa dropped by earlier to tell you that Crust reached out for you to offer a place in his agency for the work study. Congrats! You must have impressed him pretty well for him to make you the offer."

Tomo nodded at the unexpected piece of news. As soon as the topic of work studies had been brought up, Tomo immediately dismissed the idea. In his head, there was no way anyone would reach out to him after Toru's betrayal. Not only was the danger associated with him high due to their relationship, but also the potential negative publicity from appearing in public was risky. Tomo made a mental note to get some sort of gift later for Crust to show his appreciation.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. Bakugo stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets and the usual scowl on his face.

"Let's just get this over with so that I can go back to my Math homework," Bakugo said quietly. His tone surprised Tomo.

"O-Okay," Midoriya started before taking a gulp. "I gathered you guys here today… well… you know why. You guys should… talk about what happened. I know you're both still hurting from it."

"Am not!" Tomo and Bakugo said at the same time. They looked at each other with a scowl.

Tomo's preconceptions about Bakugo and the boy's clear "I don't want to be here but I was forced to" attitude was grating on him. At least they could both agree on one thing, but this was still a giant waste of time.

"But… Kacchan!" Midoriya trailed off.

Bakugo shot daggers at Midoriya with his glare. Tomo could feel a silent conversation going on between their eyes, but about what, he had no idea.

Let's just get this over with.

"I'm sorry once again, Bakugo, for inadvertently getting you caught up in my family drama. I didn't mean to," Tomo stated humbly.

Bakugo replied with a scoff. "Cut the shitty act, Baggy Eyes. You may have fooled some of our classmates, but not me. I know who you truly are, you traitor. You can't fool me."

"I'm not—," Tomo started with growing frustration in his voice. Bakugo was a clear leader of the "Tomo is a traitor" club and from the looks of it, would be difficult to budge from the position. "I don't know what it would take for you to believe me, but I will make the clear statement anyway. I, Tomo Hagakure, had no knowledge about my sister's betrayal and allegiance to the League of Villains, and am in no way helping any of them."

"Whatever. Can I go now? We talked out our problems, happy?" Bakugo impatiently asked Midoriya.

Midoriya replied with a sad frown.

"I don't think this is going to work, Midoriya," Tomo agreed.

"Kacchan, why do you think Tomo is a traitor?"

"Because his damn sister betrayed us! Don't ask stupid questions, Deku."

"No one is denying that his sister betrayed us, Kacchan, but I'm asking why you think that makes Tomo a traitor as well."

Bakugo glared at Tomo. "There's no way he didn't already know. He'd be stupid to not notice it. It's just too damn convenient for him to feign ignorance and bide his time. For what, I don't know, but I'm watching him and waiting. The moment you make one wrong step, I'll take you down. Your sister as well."

There were only so many jabs Tomo could withstand before losing his cool. "You're gonna take me down? You? The only person in our class who couldn't pass the licensing exam? You, the only person still stuck in house arrest? How are you gonna stop me, Bakugo, when you are constantly falling behind the rest of us?"

"WHAT? YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?" Bakugo yelled.

Tomo doubled down. "Yeah, I don't think you have it in you to do it. You've proven to us these past few weeks that you aren't actually as strong as you think you are. I'm not gonna start anything, but even if I did, it wouldn't be you who would stop me."

"Guys, calm down!" Midoriya tried helplessly.

Bakugo stood up. "You wanna take this outside, Traitor, and put your money where your mouth is?! Maybe you can get your useless traitor sister to ambush me while we're at it and make the fight even."

Tomo stood up as well and glared at Bakugo.

"Hey, don't do this! That's not why I called you two here," Midoriya tried.

"Stay out of this, Deku. This is none of your business."

"Kacchan, you can't get into another fight! You might seriously get expelled this time!"

"Isn't that funny, Bakugo? My sister betrayed us and yet, the student closest to getting expelled isn't her own brother, but you," Tomo gleefully exclaimed.

"GRRRAAAAA" Bakugo shouted as he launched an Explosion right at Tomo.

Tomo, expecting this, quickly brought up a shield of Darkness in his left arm to block. The closeness of the two in the confined space of Midoriya's room made both boys fall backwards from recoil. Tomo fell towards the bed while Bakugo slammed into a desk.

Tomo and Bakugo shared a smirk. This is what they needed. They both prepared their next attack, an Explosion nested in Bakugo's palm and Darkness slowly covering Tomo's body. Bakugo charged.

A flash of green lightning suddenly grabbed Bakugo by the arm and flipped him, slamming him to the ground. "CALM DOWN!" Midoriya yelled in a scarily aggressive tone. He held Bakugo down in a lock while glaring at Tomo, a threat clearly written in his eyes. Tomo dispelled his Darkness, the fierceness in Midoriya's eyes subduing him.

"This is NOT why I called you guys here. I'm not going to be an accomplice to getting the both of you expelled," Midoriya continued, the frustration growing in his voice.

Bakugo struggled to free himself from underneath Midoriya but the grip on him was too secure so he just helplessly struggled.

Midoriya looked back and forth between the two of them, making sure neither of them would try anything again before speaking, "What happened to the two of you was unfair. No one deserves to get caught up in the plans of villains. We don't need to make enemies of each other when there are bigger things to worry about. Fighting amongst ourselves will only weaken the bond that makes us strong together. I know you both don't get along, but we can't have this level of hostility among our classmates. We already lost one person in our class… I don't want to lose anymore."

Tomo frowned, once again reminded that his sister's betrayal wasn't just negatively affecting him.

Bakugo, meanwhile, weakly pounded a fist into the floor in frustration, a groan escaping his lips. "Why?! Why do I constantly have to be reminded of that? I know I'm weak! Shitty Deku is holding me down and I can't even get out of it! Ever since the Sports Festival, it's just been reminder after reminder! First, the Cavalry Battle. Then, shitty Baggy Eyes and Half-and-Half throw their matches to rob me of my win. The League of Villains then captures me because of my weakness and even the stupid Invisible Girl subdued me when I tried to break free! And the Licensing Exam is just the final cherry on top! I'm sick of being so weak!"

"I… I know what it's like," Tomo said quietly after a pause. "Feeling so weak and constantly losing. I feel like ever since I got to this school, that's all I've done. Lose. I lost the mock battle trial, lost control of myself at USJ, lost to you in the Sports Festival, failed my final exam despite the rest of my team passing, and lost my sister and family stability during the summer camp. It's a disgusting feeling. I can't help but wonder: if I had just been a bit stronger each time, would all this turmoil constantly plaguing me go away? If I had more power, would Toru ever feel the need to betray us? If I were stronger… would my Dad still be alive?"

Midoriya got off Bakugo, letting the boy sit up. Bakugo looked at Tomo with a muted expression, the somberness of the environment placating him.

"I think you're both amazing," Midoriya said softly. "It's true that you both suffered from… losses… but you both share a resiliency to continue forward despite the setbacks. I know it must feel terrible, but I believe you can both overcome all the obstacles. All we need is a bit of support. Having someone believe in you despite all the odds can be an amazing thing. That's what I want all of us in our class to have. Support. With all that our class has been through, I'd like to say we've become a family, and family supports each other no matter what, right? What do you guys say? Do you think you can put aside your issues with each other and just support and believe in each other? We don't need any more enemies."

Tomo and Bakugo looked at each other.

"I… I can do that," Tomo said quietly. "You're right, Midoriya, we don't need any more enemies. There's plenty of people out there that I want to beat down, but Bakugo shouldn't be one of them."

Bakugo looked away. "I'm not gonna be holding his hand everytime he gets a boo boo, but I guess I can agree to not want to blow his guts out everytime I see him." It was the closest Bakugo would get to agreeing to something like that.

Midoriya smiled.

"We should probably help clean up this room," Tomo said to Bakugo. "It's the least we can do. And thanks, Midoriya, for all of this. And, uh, sorry about the room." Their brief clash had knocked Midoriya's room into disarray. All Might figures and various school papers and books had been sent flying when Bakugo slammed into the desk.

"Fine," Bakugo muttered as he picked up an All Might figurine. "You have too many of these, Deku."

"They're all special and limited edition! You should know that, Kacchan! Didn't you want that one when you were younger?" Midoriya replied.

"No way. Bakugo is into this kind of stuff? I would have never guessed," Tomo noted with a smile.

"Shut up Baggy Eyes, I'll kill you! You too, Deku! This kind of stuff doesn't interest me anymore," Bakugo shouted.

"Oh, "anymore"? So it used to interest you," Tomo said gleefully. "Good to know, good to know."

Bakugo glared at him. "You wanna go, Baggy Eyes? I'm not opposed to duking it out again."

"Guys, please!" Midoriya interrupted.

Tomo laughed. "Relax, I was just playing. I think it's cool to have this kind of hobby. I wish I could've had something like this growing up."

Bakugo scoffed. "Whatever."

"Did your Mom not let you buy them?" Midoriya asked.

"No, we were just poor," Tomo said plainly. "It's okay though, I didn't need that kind of stuff to be happy. My Mom and sisters were all I needed."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Midoriya said awkwardly. "You have another sister? What's she like?"

"I'm going back to my homework," Bakugo said quietly.

"Oh, right. Thanks, Kacchan, and if you need any help, you're welcome to bring it here and hang out with us!"

"I don't need your help, Deku!" Bakugo immediately replied. He paused, then looked at Tomo. "I don't need your help either!"

Tomo held his hands up. "Wasn't offering it anyway."

Bakugo left the room and closed the door behind him.

Tomo spent the rest of the evening chatting with Midoriya. Another weight felt like it had been lifted off of his chest and he eventually left Midoriya's room when it got late feeling happy.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Once again, apologies for the delay. I didn't write anything while on vacation but I did think about the story's future arcs; I just have to sit down and write it. I will return to the usual weekly schedule this Friday.