It's time for the final part of the HPSC Evaluation mini arc. This time Izuku and Bakugo spar against each other. Then a small break at the end to wrap everything up. Then the next two chapters will be another mini arc, to help form relation in the future.
SidRyuu14: I hope better explained how Izuku's quirk transforms hi arm. To bring up your point of gaining something from his father, I do plan on adding a bit to Izuku's quirk to make it, let's say more fun and interesting to write. Though don't show up until the entrance exam arc.
As always I do not own MY HERO ACADEMIA or any of their characters.
With that, let's start off with a bang
Ten minutes after Izuku and Bakugo had left to get changed, Bakugo met Izuku out of the changing room. Izuku was leaning against the wall and looking down at the ground.
"What took you so long?" Izuku said looking up at his best friend.
"Had to rehydrate, target practice took a bit out of me." Bakugo said Izuku met Bakugo outside of the changing rooms and show the nearly empty water bottle in his head. Bakugo held the bottle up to his lips and downed the rest of it, before crashing it flat and throwing it into the trash bin. Izuku laughed causing Bakugo to lightly punch him in the arm, "Shut up, I wanted to make a good impression."
"I figured since I did the same." Izuku said, clenching his right hand and then releasing it, the number feeling in his hand still there but was starting to disappear. In tandem, they walked back to the training area.
Where they found a sectioned-off area that had been covered with a practice mat that had white tape, obviously marking out where they were to spare. Izuku readjusted the shoulder of his martial Gi, while Bakugo tighten his blue belt. Through their training they had both received blue belts with a black dash in Karate and Judo, making them proud of their achievements
They walked over to the padded area where Mareo was waiting for them, "The rules of this match are simple, it will be a ten minute round. However, for the first five minutes. You are not allowed to use your quirks, we want to have a show of your martial arts skill. Then if you reach the five-minute mark, you wil lthen able allowed to use your quirks. Understood?"
Izuku and Bakugo both answered with a nodded
"Good. Are you ready?"
Izuku and Bakugo moved to opposite ends of the padded area and bowed to Mareo then turned and bowed to each other.
"Mark. Fight." Mareo said, then stepped back. Everyone watching expected Izuku and Bakugo to throw themselves at each other, but neither moved for 20 seconds. Through their fights, they learned how each other fought and how they opened their fights. Izuku and Bakugo didn't break eye contact, where to see how the other chose to fight. Bakugo kept his eye on Izuku, in the past whenever they had sparred with quirks Izuku was usually the victor. Despite Bakugo's quirk being better suited for Closer Quarters Combat, using his enhanced eyesight, Izuku was able to keep up with his speed and dodge his attack.
Though the same could be said without quirks, Bakugo's chance of winning would decrease the longer the battle went on. That meant Bakguo knew that if he wanted to increase his odds of winning then he would need to end the fight before the five-minute mark.
With that Bakugo broke the stalemate and rushed forwards. Izuku kept his hands up ready to block Bakugo's opening attack, however, when Bakugo got in range, he dropped down and tried to sweep Izuku's out from under him. His attack nearly connected, but Izuku managed to jump to the side. Landing on the ground, Izuku used his monument to roll, dodging Bakugo's follow-up axe kick. Then as he rose to his feet, Izuku raise his left arm and blocked Bakugo's right hook.
Yet Bakugo didn't back off and continued to push against Izuku's block, even beginning left arm forward to apply more pressure. This forced Izuku to bring his own right arm up and match Bakugo's force. In this power struggle, they meet eye again and Bakugo began to yell and apply more pressure on Izuku, as he saw in Izuku's eyes that he wasn't going to give up.
Izuku match Bakugo's force, but unfortunately, Bakugo had the height advantage, which meant not only was Bakugo pushing Izuku back, but also down. This was forcing Izuku to only work against Bakugo, but against gravity as well.
As the power struggle continued, Izuku's feet slowly slid back as he struggled to keep his ground, when he suddenly felt his knee hit the mat. With Bakugo and gravity, Izuku was losing the battle of leverage. Making it clear Izuku wasn't going to win a prolonged power struggle.
He had to think of something quick or he would hit the ground.
Suddenly Izuku got a wicked idea, that if he succeeded in it, it would throw Bakugou off guard long enough for Izuku to reclaim some ground in the fight. He just needed to time it perfectly, lucky timing was Izukus' speciality. Izuku shoved as hard as he could against Bakugo, then let himself fall to the ground.
As expected, Bakugo was thrown off guard by the sudden lack of resistance. He began to fall forwards and over Izuku, however, Izuku was waiting for him. The moment Izuku's back hit the ground he brought his right foot up, and the moment Bkaugo landed on his foot, Izuku kicked as hard as he could sending his foot in Bakugo's chest. Bakugo stumbled back in an attempt to keep his balance and not join Izuku on the floor. The seconds Bakugo took, gave Izuk enough time to hop back onto his feet and launch himself forward.
Bakugo blocked Izuku's chop, then his follow-up front kick. Izuku had brought his right knee up, but before could kick his feet out, Bakugo shot his hand down and shoved Izuku's knee back to the ground. Yet this is what Izuku was hoping for, as Bkaugo's arm went shooting up past his chest from the recoil. Izuku quickly shifted his weight his to right leg and brought his left leg up and kick Bakugo in the gut.
The air in his lungs was forced out as Bakugo went flying back and hit the mat, only stopping a foot away from the edge of the arena line. He was coughing and trying to catch his breath, he slowly got his knee. Izukus's kick had been hard enough to make his diaphragm spasm, making the hard challenge of controlling his breath that much more difficult. Bakugo finally managed to get his breathing under control, and just in time to see Izuku could rocket towards him.
Bakugo raised his hands to defend as Izuku got in close and went for a headlock, intending to choke Bakugo in submission. However, Bakugo used both of his hands to knock Izuku's arm away from his throat, then with the back of his hand slugged Izuku across the jaw. Izuku took a step, more of a surprise than pain, but that gave Bakugo the chance to go once again on the attack.
Having practised with Bakugo for the last two years, Izuku knew Bakugo's default routine. First, a sidekick to Izuku's rib, which he blocked using his forearm, made his arm scream out in pain. Bakugo quickly brought his foot back down and brought his arm back to do a strong punch. Through his fuzzy vision, Izuku saw the punch coming, so he took the chance to end Bakugo's routine early. Izuku ducked his head to the left and then took a step forward. This allowed Izuku to get in close again and thrust his palm into Bakugo's sternum, right where he had kicked Bakugo's earlier.
Bakugo's chest heaved backwards and the air was once again forced out of his lungs. In this panic, Bakugo threw a haymaker, which Izuku backflipped away from. Izuku then handspring to push him further away, in hopes of using the distance to give him time to also recover. Which he was able to get, so as soon as he landed back on his feet, Izuku closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his vision up.
Once his head was clear, Izuku opened his eyes to see Bakugo rushing forwards. It seems he had been able to recover faster than Izuku was hoping for. Bakugo stopped only a foot away from Izuk and brought his right foot up, backing it back down hard onto Izuku's shoulder. Izuku managed to roll to the side and dodge the attack, but Bakugo was hot on his heels with another sidekick to Izuku's ribs.
Izuku knocked the sidekick away then Bakugo threw a punch. They began to exchange punches as both of them threw them, but neither was able to land a hit. Bakugo would throw a right hook, Izuku would block it and counter with a kick to Bakugo's would step back. Izuku would go for a grapple, but Bakugo would slip out of his grip and go for a leg sweep, and Izuku would jump over. Their coordinated dance of a fight, continued until Bakugo came in hard for a karate chop to Izuku's neck and Izuku punched Bakugo's arm out of the way. This gave Izuku a big enough opening to take a small step forwards and then launch forward with another front kick.
Expecting Izuku to do the same trick as before, Bakugo caught Izuku's ankle, stopping Izuku's attack and forcing Izuku to hop on one foot. Izuku tried to pull his foot out, but Bakugo kept it in a vice grip. Bakugo smiled, then took a step forward and shoved Izuku's ankle, to make Izuku fall backwards. However, Izuku hopped backwards and managed to keep his balance, but Bakugo could see it in Izuku's eyes.
Izuku then look at Bakugo in the eyes and smiled, as he wiggled his finger in a 'no-no' motion. Bakugo's smile dropped as he realized what was about to happen. Izuku jumped up with one leg and using Bakugo's hold as a pivot, Izuku spun around and kicked Bakugo in the side of the head. As Bakugo hit the ground, he cursed Sensei Hitomu for teaching Izuku that move, as Izuku found the need to use it every time he could.
Bakugo's face hit the mat, but he wasn't ready to give up. He fought through the pain in his head, punching the mat. This flash of anger gave him the clarity through the pain to get his knees under him. As Bkaugo raise his head, he saw Izuku coming in with a right karate chop. Instincts taking over, Bkaugo reached up and grabbed Izuku's wrist, stopping the attack. Then using Izuku's monument, Baugo grabbed Izuku's entire arm and lifted him to the ground. Izuku began to scream as Bakugo then slammed him into the ground.
Izuku groaned as he hit the ground and Bakugo kicked him in the gut. Izuku went flying from the kick and landed on the other side of the matting, rolling when he hit the ground, "That's for kicking the air out of my lungs."
Izuku groaned as he got to his hands and knees. He took a deep breath and a sharp pain exploded out of his chest. Izuku's eyes went a bit wide and a small "ow" escaped his lips.
Bakugo laughed and rushed forwards and rammed his knee into Izuku's chest. Izuku was thrown back down onto the mat, allowing Bakugo to grab Izuku's right arm and twisted it while he pressed down on Izuku's chest with his foot.
"Are you done yet?" Bakugo asked as he put more weight on Izuku's chest. With his bruise chest, the weight from Bakugo's knee, made Izuku nearly bite his tongue for the pain. Then tasted blood in his mouth, telling Izuku that Bakugo's kick to his gut had caused more damage than he had first thought.
"And that's five minutes." Mareo said, drawing Bakugo's attention.
Izuku spat out some blood and said, "No." Izuku then flexed his entire arm and smoke came off of his forearm. Bkaugo noticed and he began to release Izuku, however, Izuku was faster and his forearm transformed. It extended out and the barrel rammed itself into Bakugo's chin. With the speed and force behind the attack, Bakugo was lifted into the air.
Bakugo lit off some explosions to ordinate himself into the air, allowing him to land properly on his feet. Once Bakugo landed on the mat, he almost took a knee as his body screamed from the pain from Izuku's attack, as it had felt like he had been punched by a cinder block. He looked up and knew he should yield, Izuku was already back on his knees and had his weapon trained on Bakugo. Bakugo knew he wasn't faster than a speeding bullet, the fastest he had ever gone using his explosion was 56 kilometres per hour.
Izuku could easily beat that and with the distance between them, he would be able to react fast enough to get a shot off.
"Your move Kacchan." Izuku said, as his arm made an audible loading sound of a gun being cocked. A sound that was in no way needed for his quirk to actually work, Izuku just used the sound for intimidation.
Bakugo knew Izuku had the advantage, but his pride would not allow him to surrender. Yet no made how he attacked, Izuku would be able to follow his movement. Izuku and his damn eyesight. Bakugo then smiled. He didn't look away from Izuku, but pointed his arms down to the ground, "You think flying was the only move I've worked on. Smoke grenade." Bakugo lit explosions from his hands and the area around him became covered in smoke. Izuku kept his eyes trained on the entire smoke cloud, and nothing happened for a few seconds. When suddenly Bakugo came flying out of the smoke cloud, he had his right hand primed to blast Izuku's right in the face.
Izuku's eye went a little wide and he had no time to dodge, all he could do was fall backwards. Which he did, Izuku fell backwards, allowing his back to hit the mat. And since Bakugo had been aiming for Izuku's head, he went flying over his friend and the marked-off area on the mats.
"Katsuki Bakugo has left the circle and thus is disqualified." Mareo said. Bakugo quickly used his quirk to stop himself from flying into a wall, while Izuku pushed his hands against the ground and quickly flipped back on his feet. Both of them walked back to the main area, where they bowed to each other and then to Mareo, "Well done both of you. Now I would like you to analyze each other's fighting styles."
Izuku and Bakugo thought about how the other had fought for a bit then Bakugo answered first. "Izuku was going for more speed than power, his attacks were quick but when they landed they didn't do much damage. He was aiming for the same thing over and over again, slowly breaking down my defences and sapping my stamina. So when the timer hit five minutes, I would be exhausted, putting him in a position to end the fight with his quirk."
Mareo nodded then turned to Izuku, "And how did Bakugo fight?
"He went for more of an agressive approach, hoping to end the fight before quirks were allowed. With my enhanced eyesight, I've be able to follow his moment, even with he using his explosion to increase his speed. It was clear from the force behind the power struggle, a prolonged fight was never in his mind." Izuku said.
"Thank you, you twos." -Mareo then turned to Prime Minister Renzo and Madam President, "Do you have any other questions you would like to ask."
Madam President shook her head but Prime MinisterRenzo stepped forward. "It's wonderful to see that such young kids with quirks like yours are taking the time to prepare themselves to serve our nation in the future. Your demonstrations today have done well showing your quirk, but demonstration do not tell a full story so I have a few quesiton. Midoriya, I'll start with you?" Izuku nodded and the Prime Minister continued, "With your ammuation, do you own how much you can hold."
"Right now sir, I can hold 60 bullets. " Izuku spoke.
"Your file states your quirk only works with your right arm, have you ever tried with your left." Prime Minister Renzo asked. It was a more powerful version of Lady Nagant's, but more powerful didn't simply mean more force, it could be more versatile.
"No sir, a question I had with I first granted more quirk, but I am only able to transform my right arm." Izuku said and Prime Minister Renzo nodded and then turned to Bakugo.
"Bakugo, you seem to have a great understanding of your quirk and the difficulty that it takes to control it, is there a skill you hope to one day gain from your quirk."
"At the moment sir, I have nothing new plan. I plan on practising my ability to fly and my smoke grenade, as I near perfecting those I will begin to think of new abilities." Bakugo said with a bow.
"Good now you, now a question for both of you. What inspires you to become heroes?"
"We wish to be heroes like All Might, saving people with a smile." Both of the young boys said, flashing the biggest smiles they could.
President Renzo had to hold back a laugh at this, and to do so he nodded and then said, "I have no further questions, thank you for having me Mareo."
"Madam President, Prime Minister, thank you for joining us today." Mareo said.
And that's part three of this arc. Izuku and Bakugo show their baseline of what their skills are and talk about where they hope to go in the future.
Next week we get to see a bit more of what Izuku and Bakugo's training within Project Velocity is and how it leads to some mishaps.
Next Time: All that Begins Well...
Review and tell me what you think.