A/N: Got this one done early, the next ones will be up on Fridays from now on, enjoy!
Chapter 5 - Explosive Perfection
Outside Training Ground Beta
Another day at UA and this time it was filled with basic school work, it was strange for Yuki since she hadn't gone to school in so long but her curiosity kept her interested in subjects that would otherwise bore anyone else, even the food was amazing, and Izuku agreed with her in that regard. But in time it was the afternoon, and All Might dawned his Silver Age costume for the occasion, taking them to the testing grounds for the mock battles to have two-on-two battle, and that only made Yuki's excitement grow because it meant only one thing...
"They say that the clothes make the pros ladies and gentlemen and behold you are the proof," All Might announced on their way inside. "Take this to heart, from now on you are all heroes in training!"
They stepped outside, admiring each other's costumes that ranged from simplicity and effectiveness to style and flash. "You're getting me ramped up, you all look so cool!" All Might gushed over their designs, his eyes finally landing on Yuki in the back, her arms by her sides while her mask's eyes narrowed with determination. "I see you've taken your gift to heart, Young Azuru."
Yuki stepped outside, sunlight reflected off her silver mask. Her skin-tight combat suit was charcoal without the sleeves and cropped to reveal her stomach, and a large scar crossing from her left down to the right. A black chestplate, rounded pauldron with three small prongs, the same for her knee and elbow guards. Gloves and black bracers too with red thread sown in the fabric. Her boots a faded grey with steel plating and soles. Tied to her bare left bicep was a red ribbon with a black, SIVA logo, matching her red, twin-tail scarf flowing down to her thighs.
"Lookin' good, Yuki!" Ochaco complimented with Yuki giving a bow, Jiro walking over, herself kitted out like a combat DJ, something Yuki noted with a thumbs up at the two of them, eyes curved happily
"Thanks, I'm not old-school or over-the-top, this is me to a T," Jiro explained her reasons, with Ochaco rubbing the back of her head
"Yeah, skin-tight suits aren't my thing but it's okay..." Yuki could see it though, it definitely defined her more like that
"Now! Shall we get started, you bunch of newbies!?" All Might dared us, while Yuki blinked at the sound of someone behind her, turning around she, Jiro, and Ochaco all noticed Izuku jog out from the tunnel, his mask on
His outfit had Yuki surprised, not realizing it was him until she caught his gaze, himself turning red under the mask from looking at Yuki's style, not expecting her to reveal much skin at all. Izuku wore a green full-body jumpsuit with a red belt, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, along with his signature red boots. He also wore a mask with long ear-like protrusions that resembles All Might's haircut, and a respirator with a makeshift smile on it that also reflects that of the said hero.
It was the helmet that got Yuki's attention, her eyes trying not to display her silent humor at the 'Little Might', pfft! She nearly wet herself at that, but kept her cool and held out a note and a fist. 'Nice style, definitely screams 'you', Zuzu', at the nickname he hears at random from her, He nearly fell over but returned the fist bump hesitantly
"I thought you forgot about that?" She shook her head, tapping the spot his nose would be. Then he gushed over their costumes. "You all look amazing! All your styles complement you well!"
"Heh, thanks, Midoriya." Jiro smirked, crossing her arms
"Love your costume too, not too flashy." Ochaco complimented him, with Yuki nudging Jiro, holding out a note with a smug gaze
'Little Might... think about it' Jiro did, looking to Izuku then to All Might, not long after she nearly spat in a fit of laughter, with Yuki patting her back, laughing silently herself
"Oh my God, it's too perfect!" Jiro wheezed
Not long after, All Might gave the rundown of the situation, stating that the two-on-two battles will be of Heroes and Villains, the bad guys would hide a bomb and defend it from the Heroes, who either have to procure the bomb or arrest the Villains. If the Heroes run out of time or are bested the Villains win. It was simple and of course, All Might was reading a script, something Yuki facepalmed at, of course he was.
To maximize efficiency, All Might had them draw lots, as Izuku pointed out, Heroes work with random partners in situations so it made sense to mix-and-match. And so, they drew their teams. But with their teams, Yuki found herself perplexed by the situation herself.
Team A: Midoriya Izuku and Azuru Yuki
Team B: Todoroki Shouto and Mezo Shoji
Team C: Yaoyorozu Momo and Uraraka Ochaco
Team D: Bakugo Katsuki and Iida Tenja
Team E: Ashido Mina and Yuga Aoyama
Team F: Rikido Sato and Koji Koda
Team G: Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro
Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami and Asuyu Asui
Team I: Mashirao Ojiro and Hagakure
Team J: Eijiro Kirishima and Hanta Sero
'All Might, why am I paired with Izuku? Doesn't that seem... unfair?' She made sure to ask him away from the rest, as to ensure she didn't accidentally hurt Izuku's feelings, it wasn't him, it was that she found it a little unfair to the other team since she knew how his Quirk worked
All Might smiled, whispering to her. "I understand this random chance of luck isn't ideal for broadening your classmates' skills with your own, but think of it this way, now you can see his Quirk up close in person and maybe even aid in his progression. This chance could work for you both."
Yuki pointed to herself, confused. All Might nodded. "But of course, I know you don't like using your Quirk on others, right? Afraid they may be endangered around you, hence why you're trying to convince me to swap your teams?" Yuki stumbled back, he had figured her out. "I understand you still feel self-contempt after using it at one hundred percent, Yuki."
He used her first name, something he only ever did on rare occasions when it mattered, her head was downcast, clearly mulling over the time she used SIVA at the height of its power, and it nearly killed dozens, All Might among them, her power... their power was intense if not kept under control, and that scared her. There was SIVA's desire to grow stronger, and her will to become a hero clashing, and that made their bond unstable if SIVA was pushed to compensate for their symmetrical ideals.
"Now! We have a battle to get underway!" All Might announced, with Yuki returning to Izuku's side, though he noticed the flash of uneasiness in her eyes but decided best to wait. All Might reached into the two boxes, pulling forth two balls. "I declare the first teams to fight will be... These Guys!"
All four students felt their eyes broaden a little. Team A vs. Team D. In other words to Izuku, Yuki, Iida and Bakugo. They would be facing each other!. "Team A will be the Heroes and Team D will be the Villains! Everyone else can head to the monitoring room to watch!"
"Yes, Sir!" They agreed, with Jiro lightly punching Yuki out of her trance
"Good luck," With a wave they two parted ways, but now Yuki had a bigger problem than just herself working not just with someone but her best friend, it was Bakugo, and that look he had wasn't making her feel any better. It was going to get messy
The two stared back at one another, Bakugo clearly phased by the look Izuku passed to him and that only made him angrier. "A bug, nothing more than a little bug! That Mute runt it gonna die too!"
"Bad guys, you can go get setup inside, you have five minutes then the Good guys will be let loose and the battle will start." They agreed, standing outside a tall, white building, and from what SIVA provided it had an interior like a maze, but that was all she could get. A part of her just wanted to end this before things got sour. "Young Iida, Young Bakugo, to be successful in this challenge is to embody villainy, think from the perspective of an evil-doer."
"Got it." Iida replied
After All Might left he gave our a map of the building to Yuki and Izuku, and now they were alone. With a heavy sigh, Izuku looked up from his page. "Yuki?" Her head turned to him. "You don't need to worry, I'll stick by you and do whatever I can to help, even without my Quirk."
That didn't make it any better, despite how nice it was. An idea, a bad one, sprung in her head, and by SIVA no less. What it asked of her in such simplicity had her body go rigid, something Izuku noticed while her eyes drifted away with uncertainty and fear, it was paralyzing and made her chest tighten painfully. It was logic and fear battling inside her and each second of contemplation held her back, almost threatening to pull her apart.
She shook her head, taking this one, single time to entrust SIVA's logic, flicking Izuku's mask she dispersed a few nanomachines around Izuku, a number of sizable clusters freeing themselves from her pouches. He was startled, seeing them latch onto his arms, even while he shook them in a panic, and just then he felt a strange wave of energy tickle his nerves, it was as soothing as a blanket. The nanomachines activated, converting the two clusters on his arms into a form of black and red bracers, layered plate metal added for defense too.
SIVA | Augment | Kinetic Absorption
Izuku's mouth dropped, hearing the mechanical voice ring through the mask, it wasn't Yuki but it sounded like another foreign accent entirely, but from the English classes he's had over the years he recognized it as a Russian accent, but the words it phased robotically held more meaning than some simple command.
"'SIVA, Augment, Kinetic Absorption'? You gave me one of your abilities?" Izuku asked curiously, but Yuki wobbled her hand. He put a hand on his mask, eyes squinted in thought. "So not your power, but why Absorbtion?"
She held out her hand and punched it like Izuku would do, then he realized it, to minimize the damage to his arms! "That's amazing! Can you nullify it completely!?" Sadly he got another shake of her head, deflating his idea. "Oh... that's okay, I... really don't know what I'm going to do against Kacchan."
His body started to creak, while Yuki freaked out, tilting her head with wide eyes, pointing to the sweat through his costume. 'You're sweating through the fabric!'
"S-Sorry, it's just that... Kacchan, he's amazing," Izuku sighed, looking down while Yuki listened, confused by how he viewed him that way. "He can be a real pain, sure, but his strength and confidence, and his ambition, not to mention his Quirk, they're all so much greater than mine."
Yuki stopped swinging back and forth on the railing, seeing him rise to his feet, it wasn't just because he was scared of him, it was the opposite, Izuku wanted to strive to beat him now that he had the strength to, but with his Quirk, and the years of toxicity between them had this conflicted effect too. It wasn't healthy, but it was driving Izuku forward, unlike Yuki, who rejected anything toxic that surfaced in her head.
It was another reason she realized why she stuck to him, his drive to become stronger against the adversity, versus Yuki's inability to look back on what had pushed her near the brink itself, maybe, in her own strange, immoral way, she envied Izuku for that drive, but admired it so much. Was this All Might's plan at its core? Did he rig the lots and acted as though by chance they'd be working together? Questions and conspiracies piled, and Yuki finally deflated, seeing Izuku stand firm again.
"But that just means I have to do better," He put his mask on, with Yuki patting his back, hard. "Ack! What was that-"
She clicked her tongue, tapping a finger to where her nose was, then put an arm up to flex it. It may have looked weird but it made sense to him, strange as it sounds, Yuki was saying she'd be there to help him achieve his goal, and the nanites were a sign of that. His eyes narrowed, clenching a fist toward the building. "I refuse to lose today!"
Fight | As | One
Again with the voice, was she trying to talk more often now or was this simply easier to do? Izuku didn't have an answer, but he appreciated her encouragement. With a smile, they turned to the building.
~ALRIGHT! LET'S BEGIN THE INDOOR COMBAT TRAINING! TEAM A AND TEAM D YOUR TIME STARTS NOW!~
Their lesson had begun, and from the start, Izuku had a plan while Yuki would provide cover for his blindspots using SIVA. Her mask was more than just for show, with it, she got a radar roughly covering a few meters, but with how thick the walls were it left them relying on sight and sound. The two entered silently through an open window, Izuku ushering Yuki to watch the blindspots.
Both did their best to not cause any sound, all while the unknown had them both on edge, Izuku knew it would only be a matter of time until Kacchan hunted them down and made his move, while Yuki herself felt her fears trying to prod at her focus, causing her nothing but silent aggravation she couldn't afford to focus on. She was in control, SIVA was fine, they were both okay.
"I still have no control over One For All, if I used it I'd probably kill someone," Izuku's mind wandered, keeping focused on the hallways ahead. "We'll just have to rely on Yuki's nanomachines to win this, even with these bracers they'd only be here to keep my arms from being completely wrecked." This list of concern made the lesson far more difficult, but he made it this far without using his Quirk, he had to keep that up until he mastered using it
"I can do this," Izuku assured himself at the right moment. His voice snagged, his eyes snapping upward toward the shadow even Yuki never saw coming. On instinct, he pivoted and tackled Yuki to the ground even while the explosion tore against his face, the hot air blasting them both down with Izuku atop Yuki for a second. "Yuki! Are you okay!?"
He earned a thumbs up, both of them rising to their feet to glare back at their target, who he himself wore a scornful expression filled with unhinged rage. Kacchan had found them and if not for Izuku he would have blasted them both away.
"What's the matter, Deku? Afraid to stand up and fight me?" Kacchan dared, blowing the smoke away to look at them directly, he tisked, finding Yuki to be unharmed, but from her glare, it was clear she'd jump in to fight at any moment, he had to separate them
"I knew you'd come at me first, and try to catch me by surprise." Izuku didn't waver, moving to guard Yuki who looked surprised by the stance, despite being unable to fight with his Quirk, he wouldn't let her be harmed, no while he had something to prove
Not wasting time, Kacchan sped toward them, grinning madly. "I'll hurt you so bad they'll have to stop the fight!" Kacchan bellowed, and again, Izuku wasn't going to let him hurt Yuki or use him as his punching bag, for years it was on a loop and now Izuku had enough, he had a chance to show Kacchan the only way he could
Yuki blinked, smiling under her mask as Izuku's arms locked around Kacchan's right thrust, pushing his body up against his and using the footing gained to twist and throw Kacchan up and over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground with a cry. This had him cough, all while Izuku took a stance, trembling while Yuki watched in complete dumbfoundedness at how much Izuku had changed, he was strong, but she never knew he could do that.
"Kacchan... you always use a big right hook to start a fight..." Izuku held his head low for a moment, while Kacchan slowly recovered from the shock. "I know because I've watched you for years. I analyzed every amazing hero, even you, I wanted to learn everything I could about them, it was all in the notebook you burned and threw away."
"So that's how you know... why you kept notes on me..." Yuki's fear suddenly wasn't there, as if the mere mention and memory of the meek, studdering boy she had for a best friend keeping notes on every 'amazing hero', and that included her. "Izuku..."
Izuku finally rose his head, he was scared, he couldn't stop himself from trembling even after gaining the upperhand, but he wasn't running away, not in front of Kacchan, who bullied and tormented him. Not in front of All Might, who taught and trained him to become a hero. And not before Yuki, the girl who offered her hand to him, and became his best friend.
"You can call me 'Deku', but I'm not the same defenseless kid anymore!" Izuku vowed, yelling at the top of his lungs. "You hear me, I've changed! From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!"
'So, why did you agree to allow Ocha to call you 'Deku', thought that was an insult?' The note passed between the two on the train had Izuku turn pink all while Yuki nearly pressed her mask to his nose to try and recived an answer
"I-I, um, yeah, well, you know I-I um," Yuki pulled away, all while he stammered to get a coherent sentence out, so she sighed and then flicked his nose, eyes curved happily with a flash
'Well then, 'Deku', she's right, it does make a good hero name, I'd definitely wouldn't forget a name like that' Yuki was smiling but he couldn't see it. Even so, he blushed and managed a smile
"T-Thank you, Yuki - I'll work to earn the name, promise!" His proclaim to her had the girl silently laughing while putting a hand on his shoulder, a note between her fingers
'You already have, you just can't see that yet :)'
Yuki's soul lit up while Kacchan slowly stood tall between them. No matter what, they would win this game, Yuki would be sure of it, pride or not she'd help Deku, the hero that's willing to fight beside her now.
"Deku..." Kacchan growled small bursts of explosions between his fingers erupted at the memories that surfaced, each second and his anger started to rise into a boiling haze. "You're shaking in your boots - you're so scared...!" The blasts grew louder, and he heard crackling energy behind him too. "But you want to fight me anyway...!"
"That's why I hate you!" He roared then pressed a finger to his ear. "Just shut up and defend the weapon! I've got better things to worry about!" That broke the tension, and Yuki took it upon herself to catch Izuku's attention, waving then pointing to herself, before forming a fist to punch her open palm, then she pointed to Kacchan
Izuku hesitated, seeing Kacchan put his left hand behind him. "No, I can't drag her into this!" Izuku bit his tongue then yelled out to her. "Yuki, go!"
In a flash and blast Izuku raised his guard, blocking Kacchan's kick and hardly felt the blow, the bracers Yuki gave him were enhancing his strength too, he could feel it, which means he could fight without relying on One For All. Even with this in mind, Kacchan was hardly going to allow him to keep outsmarting him for long.
"Ballsy move, think you can take me alone!?" Kacchan taunted, and for a second Izuku felt hesitation nearly win over, but this was a fight and he hadn't the pleasure of it now. Even as a streak of red tore across the room, slamming against Kacchan's face with two boots, sprawling the unstable teen into the ground
"Y-Yuki!? You-" He froze at the icy strike to his face, his eyes fought back tears at the sting, then noted the harsh glare from Yuki while she pointed to herself then Kacchan with more force, said boy starting to seeth with fury while recovering faster. Izuku bit his cheek but didn't move. "Yuki, I have to do this... please, go and locate the weapon-" Again she glared closer, making his cheeks turn pink, before coughing at the note she shoved in his chest
He took only a few seconds to read it as Yuki shoved him back, blocking the blast with her arms while feeling the heat scorch her body. She shook off the embers, seeing Kacchan face her with a sneer. "You again you bloody Mute, how many times are you going to step in a defend that useless, Quirkless Deku!?"
Yuki stomped her foot, turning with her hands balled up tight, while her mask's sockets turned bright red. Behind her, she heard footsteps trail away, and her worries slowly dissipated. "Good luck, Yuki!"
SIVA | Enhance | Ten Percent
Kacchan laughed a little, sparks igniting against the bolts of red that snapped at the narrow hallway around Yuki. "I'm only after Deku, but let's see him stand tall when I beat your worthless ass into the ground!"
He released two blasts behind him, with Yuki dashing toward him, and then she vanished, sliding under his propelled body, pressing her fingers down with her legs bent to jump and tackle Kacchan, her arms locked around his waist and with his own momentum she spun in the air, slamming him against the wall to their left, while her own feet broke the wall to the right, propelling off the grey surface to send a right hook flying into the wall, missing Kacchan to fired another blast, pushing him back onto the ground while launching Yuki upward, her feet pressed to the ceiling.
Her feet shot off the surface, drawing an ax-kick down on Kacchan's guard, pulling his arms down, and while he'd be on the ground, he fired another two explosive bursts, throwing the two away. Both rolled back onto their feet, barreling toward each other using the walls as they collided in the air, but Kacchan was smart, grabbing Yuki's left shoulder while using his right hand to spin them around with several small blasts the velocity was enough for him to toss Yuki through the wall and into a room where she rolled and slammed into another wall, falling into another hallway with a groan.
"Okay, ow-ow-ow, everything is 'Ow'," She rubbed her butt and stood up, seeing the devil's glare piercing through the walls, making her shiver. "Man, he has anger issues. Seriously, Izuku, I know he pride's himself but this is terror level of pride."
Warning | Threat Level | Unstable
Yuki's eyes dulled. Like that wasn't obvious. But SIVA had a point, the more they fought the less he cared about maintaining the headquarters, she'd be buried under rubble at this rate. If Izuku could find the bomb she could meet up with him, but he's still on the same level as her judging by the tracker.
"Come on, is that all you got you damned Mute!?" Kacchan sailed into view, his hand suddenly glowing close to her mask as she was blinded a second later, sprawling across the ground for a second as one of her pouches released some clusters to repair her mask, slight burns around her eyes also soothed into a dull throb
Collecting some more she gathered the black and red clusters around her hand, seeing the cubic machines dance over her forearms, linking to her bracers and gloves. In seconds of Kacchan sailing toward her, Yuki felt her body surge again with energy, claws clenched in preparation.
SIVA | Augment | Kinetic Amplification
Yuki barreled toward Kacchan, her left hook slamming against his right as the two caused a burst of orange and red to ignite between their knuckles, but Yuki's was stronger, surprising Kacchan who braced his back that smacked into the wall, followed by a sudden bull charge from Yuki, her body colliding with his as the two threw themselves into the next room. Kacchan fired several chained explosions, but his eyes snapped to the red glow of her body, seeing her dart across the room in a flurry of jumps and maneuvers he couldn't keep up with, ending in a devastating roundhouse that sent him flying into a crossroads, Yuki's feet crashing into the ground Kacchan previously coughed against, his fist rising to collide with her chin.
She bent back, then folded her right arm and punched the left side of Kacchan's face, followed by a gut punch, he retaliated with a solid kick to her abdomen, successfully grabbing her arm and throwing her across the hallway, her back against the wall as she paused with labored breaths, seeing him raise his gauntlet that flashed red for a second with a 'ting'.
"Looks like I'm loaded up," He murmured, slowly dawning a grin Yuki didn't like, and judging by how he was standing he wasn't going to be releasing another simple blast. "Let me guess, that Qurikless runt gave you the rundown of my Quirk at some point?" Slowly, she nodded, regretting it almost immediately. "I sweat nitroglycerin from my palms so take a guess what happens if I somehow had a whole lot of it?" He grinned widened at the sight of her mask's eyes dilating. "No more running, you silent bitch..."
Warning | Blast Radius | Unavoidable
"Crap." Clusters quickly gathered in mass around her arms, creating a large, thick sheet of metal across her bracers as she stood her ground, muscles tensed, even as the intercom blared and Kacchan's manic expression combined with his finger pulling back on a pin revealed in his grenade gauntlet had Yuki shaking in her boots. "Izuku, better brace yourself back there...!"
~YOUNG BAKUGO, DON'T DO IT! YOU'LL KILL HER!~
"She'll be fine so long as she dodges!" He wasn't going to give it a second thought, and now Yuki realized what Izuku meant his drive and determination. But at the same time, his rage, and pride worked hand-in-hand combined with his hatred of Izuku made him into a fighter Yuki wished she never crossed
All she could see was white, even as her body burned and static filled her eardrums. The eruption was so powerful that it devastated the side of the building, even Izuku was on the ground, coughing through the dust cloud that was swept away by the wind. Daylight pouring into his eyes. The blast was so large that it tore through several walls, and Izuku had feared those gauntlets weren't Kacchan showing off, but that didn't matter.
~COME IN TEAM A! COME IN, AZURU! MIDORIYA!~
"YUKI!" Izuku yelled, running over to the girl that laid on her back, arms still guarding her shaking body. The gauntlets were gone, leaving only burns across her arms, her clothing torn with some gashes across her body. All while one of her mask's eyes flickered, a black shadow of her real eye showed Izuku the terror that shook behind the glass. "Yuki! Yuki, are you okay!?"
Her body moved slowly, she winced at the pain coursing over her while managing to close her hand, popping a thumb up that had Izuku nearly tearing up. She didn't get it, why was he upset, he didn't get injured so how could he be the one crying right now, if Yuki was honest, she would cry but her eyes were rather dry.
"Y-Yuki I'm sorry, I-I should have stayed with you, not drag you into this, between me and Kacchan, I'm sor-" Her finger flicked his nose, and she put her fist to his chest, then, with her right hand she pointed up to the ceiling, making a few jabs at the concrete to get her point across, alongside a note
'Touch the sky, buddy ;)' After that, she went rigid as Izuku frowned at her joking mannerisms and helped to rest her against the wall that remained, putting her hands on her lap, his sudden actions had her face turn pink, though he couldn't see of course. Still, despite the situation they now had a clear shot of the bomb, seems Kacchan really is a dumb-dumb
"I will, but don't push yourself, I can handle Kacchan," Izuku was afraid but now he had a new bubbling emotion that he never felt he had until now, but seeing what Kacchan did to Yuki, who only wanted to help him get stronger and had no reason to put herself on the line for him, he felt worthless, that all he can do it run and use his head, but that only made him angry, both at himself and at Kacchan for pushing him too far. "I promise, Yuki, I won't let him hurt you again!"
Yuki finally relaxed, eyes gazing warmly at the dummy that stood between her and the unstable sociopath that walked through the smoke.
"Hahaha, these are awesome!" Kacchan couldn't care less, she knew the Mute wasn't dead so what else mattered? She wouldn't get involved now so that was fine by him, to his glee, the other finally flashed red. "The more nitroglycerin stored in these things the bigger the explosion!"
"There you are, Deku, come on, use your stupid Quirk, even if you give me everything you got, you'll never beat me!" Kacchan growled like some feral beast, even while Izuku trembled he couldn't back down, not for Kacchan or Yuki. Yes, every time he thought of her he felt a little less afraid, he needed her, and now it was his turn to be there for her
Then, Kacchan caught on. "What's the matter? Can't your little Mute save you?" Izuku flinched, glaring back at Kacchan and causing his smile to slowly fade into an angry frown. "You think you can protect her? A weakling like you with no power and only tricks!?"
"I can't dodge him with those gauntlets working at long range, and after that last explosion, I doubt this room will be left standing," His eyes flashed to Yuki, who was using SIVA clusters to repair her armor and body. "I can't move her without slowing us both down, what do I do?"
"You're ignoring me again...? Fine, I'll-"
"I don't care what you do to me, Kacchan!" Izuku snapped back, stomping his right foot forward as a plan slowly connected dots in his head. With as much anger as he could muster, Izuku took his stand to say what he had been meaning to tell him for so long. "I won't let you hurt Yuki! If you want to take me down then come and get me!"
That made something snap in Kacchan, like glass that shattered in his head, causing his arms to creak.
~BAKUGO, USE THAT STORED UP POWER AGAIN AND I'LL STOP THIS FIGHT, YOUR TEAM WILL LOSE!~
That only made it worse, but he still took the time to listen. This gave Izuku time to figure out a plan quickly with this new knowledge, all while Yuki winced but turned to sit on her knees
~TO EMPLOY SUCH A STRONG ATTACK INDOORS AND INVITING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE STRONGHOLD YOU SHOULD BE PROTECTING. THAT'S A POOR STRATEGY FOR A HERO OR A VILLAIN. THE PENALTY WOULD BE A MASSIVE LOSS OF POINTS~
Yuki figured it out, why All Might wouldn't call it off. Yuki wanted this to end, so Izuku wouldn't end up hurt or worse, but deep down, despite begging for this lesson to end, she understood now, this wasn't just about her needing to trust in her comrade, it was about Izuku and Kacchan finally venting out the toxic nature of their relationship, Yuki was just another part to this, nothing more than a spectator.
Kacchan visibly trembled with boiling rage, letting out a warcry of utter malice at being restrained as Yuki braced herself, Izuku taking to facing Kacchan head-on, this raging inferno that came crashing towards them both with a flurry of explosions.
"Fine then! We'll fight hand-to-hand!" He screamed toward Izuku who could see for himself that there was no use avoiding his airborne attack, so with his fist thrown forward Kacchan took that as a sign to dodge, using one blast to knock Izuku's hand down, while propelling himself over his body, using his right to slam his fist against his back for another explosion
"He outmaneuvered and countered with a blast to keep him steady." Yuki inhaled at the glare she received from Kacchan, but then grunted from a fist colliding with his cheekbone, but a punch of his own threw Izuku back toward Yuki
"I told you to leave her out of this!" Izuku bellowed, charging Kacchan despite the pain flaring over his entire body
"Come and make me, Nerd! Here's your right hook!" Kacchan snapped, slamming his gauntlet against Izuku's left arm, making him cry out in pain. From all the damage he's received he had no real protection, and those bracers couldn't last forever, much to Yuki rising fear
Error | Recovery | Pending
She ground her teeth, angrily fighting against her body's will to stay down as her legs wobbled, trying to regain some former strength. Then she froze, seeing Kacchan use the same move he used on her to slam Izuku into the concrete, silencing his cries of agony, all that was enough to push Yuki past the point of caring for her own wellbeing.
"Deku! Don't you ever forget what you are!" Kacchan yelled down at the boy now crumpled at his feet just as before, and as it should be. "You're a weakling!"
"I can't form a strategy, he won't let me. I can't win... not like this..." Izuku bit back the fear but he had to, not because he wanted to. "I have no choice... Yuki... I'm sorry." His clenched his fist and took off toward the windows, now backed against Yuki's feet, feeling her presence at his back
"Why won't you use your damn Quirk against me? Still think you can stop me without it?" Kacchan challenged as if begging him to kill him, he wanted to know, was it all just a lie, did he hide it a mock him for so long? Why was he here? The question played on a loop and he couldn't do anything but get furious
Despite all he yelled and demanded of Izuku, he still wouldn't use it, so with his head low for a moment he spoke. "That's not it..."
"You've hidden your power for years, thinking you were somehow better than me by hiding it!?" It burned into Izuku's ears, and his trembling was that of shock and anger
"Is that what you think...?" It hit him, all the times he followed after Kacchan, despite it all he never stopped following him and Kacchan though differently and it frustrated him further. "You complete idiot!" His head rose, face still shaken and scared, but his emerald eyes were unmistakable from pride itself. "You've always been stronger Kacchan, I know that you're better than me! Can't you see?" He finally let it out. "THAT'S WHY I WANT TO BEAT YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE AMAZING!"
"You've even more of an idiot than I realized," It may have been true, but he grinned at the challenge. "COME AT ME!"
The two boys charged headlong against the other, fists raised. reddish-purple lines tore across Izuku's arm, skin burning while Kacchan's hand glowed a sharp orange, both flying at one another with all they had left within them, and All Might wouldn't stop this, he couldn't now and subconsciously everyone knew it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
~BOTH OF YOU STOP-~
"Yuki, now!" Izuku cried out, and without hesitation she shot off the ground, slamming her fists through the concrete like paper and into the room where Iida stood with the weapon at his side, startled by her sudden appearance, but to her perplexed eyes, she saw him glare at him with a strange, evil laugh. If not a dire situation she'd have found it hilarious at how far he had lost himself in the role, but right now she had to act and fast
"SMAAAAAAAASH!" From below their feet came a surge of unparalleled energy that tore the entire section of the floor away, with the rest of the building following suit as the roof practically sailed off into the sky, the current of wind blinding Iida but Yuki's HUD had already locked on, even though the roar of wind and shatter of glass
Her legs sprung through the current, using blades she constructed onto her arms and legs to spin through the torrent and sail atop Iida's shoulders, slamming him into the ground as her arms reached out and tackled the nuke down onto the ground with her on it, all while raising a fist triumphantly.
"No, the weapon!" Iida fell to his knees in defeat, even as Yuki shambled over to pat him on the helmet for standing his ground in all of this madness. If anything he won today, Yuki... didn't feel happy at all, just thankful it was over
"-You bastard!" Hearing Kacchan's strained voice caught her ears and she ran back to the hole, peering down at the two. Kacchan was in a state of shock over the sudden surge of wind, all while Izuku -
"No!" Yuki leapt down, seeing Izuku stand, trembling to hold steady
"I wasn't... going to use it..." Izuku strained to speak, his arms still held firmly in place as though the fight hadn't ended, and through black spots, he could see that Kacchan wasn't dead and that everything was silent again say for rubble crumbling. "Because I can't control it... my body just can't handle the backlash of my power yet... Mr. Aizawa said I'd be useless... but this... was all I... could think of..."
Yuki could finally see it, his arm had turned purple from what SIVA pointed out as many broken bones and torn muscle, and his other arm still smoked from blocking Kacchan's attack with only his bare arm, her bracers took the damage for that one only, the other... just seeing it made her sick, and ashamed she didn't just forfeit so he wouldn't have had to go through this torment.
"This is the only way... I had any chance of winning..." Izuku's words and expression had them both stricken with shock. "I had to keep her safe... I don't want to kill you... no matter what..."
"You've done enough..." Yuki ran up to him just as he fell backward, she fell too but kept him supported in her arms, his head rested against her chest while she held onto him tightly, eyes closed in vain to stop tears from falling. Kacchan wouldn't stop, and neither would Izuku, they pushed each other to this limit and Yuki couldn't do a thing. Bowing her head against his forehead she tried not to quiver. "I'm sorry... I'm still not helpful... I'm so sorry, Izuku..."
~THE HERO TEAM... WIIIIIINS!~
A long had passed, Yuki hadn't been sure for how long but not once did she have the motivation to go back and watch the others, something she'd apologize for later, her eyes never left Izuku, even while he had been fully healed and was simply sleeping off the overuse of his stamina. Recovery Girl, who reluctant to let her stay eventually let them be, seeing as Yuki lacked energy and motivation to go anywhere.
Her mask portrayed a blank stare, but her eyes were downcast toward Izuku's sleeping form, her hands trembling in her sight at how she held back on using SIVA clusters to improve his defense, had she given him more he might not have been badly injured, but she was scared, both of herself and losing Izuku to the same fear that consumed her long ago. SIVA was powerful, but they both know that their power made them undeniably dangerous if left unchecked.
She wished she stepped back, taken detention or something else instead of that match, combined with her fear of working closely with her Quirk near others, Izuku told her about Kacchan, how their relationship was completely messed up, and with his Quirk, it made it clear Kacchan was angry, but it was unclear how he believed Izuku was looking down on him, and after the fight she had with him, that question wouldn't be clear for a long time.
"Some best friend... I was too apprehensive to defend him... too scared to back down... too blind to how badly One For All damaged him, just like me," Her head bowed silently, a hand gingerly playing with his hair while he breathed softly. The guilt racked around in her heart, but the feeling of playing with his hair made a pained smile touch her lips. "I don't deserve a friend like you..."
By the time Izuku woke up, it was already late afternoon, and he found himself attached to an IV drip and bandaged up feeling less tired but still a little sore in some spots. Recovery Girl explained to him that his treatments for today were over and that he would be free to go, but what she said next made him tilt his head.
"And make sure you talk to that young girl she hasn't left all day despite Aizawa's attempts to drag her back," Recovery Girl soon went back to work at her desk while Izuku's gaze fell to his lap, immediately blushing furiously at the sight of Yuki's head resting on his legs, arms tucked in against her while her chest rose and fell
"Y-Y-Yuki...?" She hadn't left his side, even going as far as to miss class simply to sit and wait for him to wake up. Her mask's eyes were out, so she wasn't just staring back at him, but from her own appearance, she wasn't injured at all, say for a few plasters here and there. It made him relax, he kept his promise but that wasn't enough, he needed her to tell him she was okay
'You worry too much, it's written over your face.' A message sat between them and Izuku practically jumped to his feet, earning a small laugh from Recovery Girl and a sigh from Yuki who poked his stomach, even as he blurted out apologies with a scarlet face. So, she stepped closer and poked his cheek, eyes unblinking
"Y-Yuki, I, um, are you, uh, okay?" He finally shoved the words out, putting on a serious face as he checked her injuries despite her nervous shifting
She tapped his nose, patting his shoulder with a playful salute. But even with that, Izuku couldn't look her in the eye, he felt ashamed to have put her in danger for his sake. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put you on the spot, and you got injured seriously because of me, I-"
'Kacchan's a dumb-dumb, that attack hurt like hell, and I suffered some serious burns because of your blood feud with him or whatever you want to call it' She held out the note, and saw him deflate, good, less guilt for her but not enough. Flicking it around Izuku's eyes widened with a pink hue on his face. 'But you protected me as I repaired myself, even injuring and breaking your body to win so I'd be safe... thank you...'
With that, Yuki turned to leave, not wanting to feel as worthless for a while if not for a hand tugging her back, forcing her eyes back Izuku's way. He was grateful she wasn't mad, but it wasn't clear to him if she was okay, and that didn't settle in his head, he needed to know if she was really okay behind that mask. So, he pushed aside his red cheeks and moved closer to hold Yuki in a small hug with his good arm, feeling her shoulders tense.
"I don't blame you for this, I had no other options of winning so don't feel bad," He pulled away, smiling shakily. "You and I won, we didn't get out unscathed but I couldn't have done it without you, Yuki, I mean it!" He shyly looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "I can't control this power, even with all the help you've given me, so... I promise to work harder to master it, so you don't have to worry about me!"
Her eyes curved up, a hand under her mask to clear her tears quickly before resting her fist on his heart, with Izuku following suit, laughing a little while Yuki silently joined in. Recovery Girl just sighed, smiling to herself. "Kids these days... you best guide them well, All Might."
"Mr. Aizawa is probably going to choke us with his scarf." Izuku sighed defeatively, while Yuki copied his mopy nature back to their class, realizing just how exhausted she was after today. She opened the door for them, both not expecting to find their classmates inside at this time
"Hey, it's Midoriya and Azuru!" It was that dude with the Hardening Quirk who greeted them with a toothy smile, catching them off guard. "Good to see you both back! Man, whatever you were saying during that match had you fired up, huh!" Then he looked to Yuki, the girl shuffling a little behind Izuku's frozen posture. "And you took that blast head-on and only have a few scratches! What are ya, my long lost sister!"
Yuki shrugged, bumping his offered fist and finding the attention to be overbearing but comforting. "Can't believe you both held your own against Bakugo, that was insane!" Sero replied looking pumped while Yuki rubbed her neck bashfully
The compliments from Mina, Yuga, and Sato were enough to have them both in the spotlight, as they finally introduced themselves, the redhead starting first with a thumb to his chest. "Hey, I'm Eijiro Kirishima, we went over results while you recovered," He then pointed to Sero who Yuki waved to upon already knowing his name, then there was the bubbly Mina who wrapped an arm around Yuki's neck to hug her tightly, something she wasn't expecting and neither was Izuku since Yuki was usually tactile but today must have thrown her off completely, even Asui and Sato greeted them, completely overwhelming Izuku while Yuki finally relaxed with her own arm around Mina
It wasn't long until most of their class had arrived back in the class, and while Jiro pried Mina from Yuki's neck to talk over their matches and the work they missed, Yuki saw Izuku looking back at her, both finally smiling without any nervous gazing, it was odd since Yuki had never had a problem before, but today was alot of emotional drama and Izuku was... Izuku, but their little heart-to-heart fixed things up.
it was alot to bear, and getting used to trusting others around SIVA wouldn't be easy, but after the lesson, she did take away two things. Now she felt a little less apprehensive of using SIVA on those she trusted dearly, so Izuku and Jiro came to mind, the other thought mirrored SIVA's.
"When I find your skeleton ass All-Might I will put my pain into your soul!"
Crush | Kill | Destroy
To Be Continued...
Jesus this chapter was big, but no way was I splitting this up, loved adding a flare and twist to the match up and fight, we got to see SIVA's crazy strength spar with Kacchan and... well his explosive nature. I hope you liked the different match up and stuff, seeya in the next chapter, Plus Ultra!
Next Chapter: Imperfect Consequences
When faced with fear, it is natural to feel it, but those that use and control it are the people you should fear most of all.
Author's Notes: I switched the match-ups, don't hate me, I never saw anyone else do it or I'm just blind so why not, eh?