Outside in the middle of the night at Ground Beta, Izuku and Luna stared at Katsuki with wide-eyed expressions. They couldn't believe that their hotheaded classmate is challenging both of them in a fight.
"I've been giving it a lot of thought. You got your Quirk from All Might, didn't you? He gave you his power." Katsuki spoke to Izuku. He moved his eyes to Luna. "You're also All Might and Tarot Chariot's daughter, am I right?"
Izuku and Luna didn't respond.
"You two aren't trying to deny anything, which means I must be right. So, say it." Katsuki said.
"And what if it's true?" Luna replied.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes, knowing his suspicions were correct all along.
"Deku, when you and I were kids, we both wanted to be like All Might. but I had the potential. Then somehow, a little nobody like you was singled out by the person I admired most, and I didn't even realize it. Hell, I didn't even know that the number one hero and his wife enrolled their own daughter into this school for the moment they first semester started. That's why we're here." Katsuki explained. He lifted his left hand out towards Izuku and Luna. "We are settling this. Right here, right now."
"Wait, what? How is that the best way for us to work things out?" Izuku questioned as he widened his eyes in surprise. "No. This is bad. We're not even supposed to be at Ground Beta by ourselves. Why don't we talk about this during one of our free periods? We could reserve a training room or something. There's no reason it has to be right now."
"If we fight for real at school, we'll be stopped." Katsuki pointed out.
Only Izuku gasped.
"I wanna know what made All Might give his power to a loser like you. I also wanna know how much training he put Luna though as well." Katsuki stated. "Let me see for myself. Is it because you two looked up to more than I did? And if that's the case, does it mean everything I've done to be like him is wrong?"
"No, Kacchan." Izuku muttered.
Then, Luna spoke up.
"If you really think I'm gonna fight you after your suspicions came out of the blue, you're wasting your time." Luna said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What?" Katsuki said with narrow eyes.
"I already knew where this conservation was going before you even brought us here." Luna said firmly. "Look, I'm sorry for keeping my secret from you. I really am. Midoriya can do whatever he wants, but I'm not fighting you."
With that, Luna turned around and walked away.
"Don't even think about walking away from this." Katsuki warned threateningly. "You come back here and fight me."
But Luna simply ignored Katsuki's threat as she kept walking her way towards the gate.
"So that's how it is. You're just gonna walk away after the truth comes out. You don't even deserve to follow your dad's footsteps! You should go back being a mindless freak just like you did back in USJ!" Katsuki shouted angrily.
Suddenly, Luna stopped walking and looked deeply surprised at Katsuki's threat. She stood motionless and started feeling her concealed anger rising within herself.
"Gotcha." Katsuki muttered.
"Kacchan, please. Let's not make Luna mad." Izuku pleaded. "We need a better way to settle this."
But Katsuki merely ignored Izuku's plea as his eyes were focused on Luna.
"You think just because you related to the number one hero in the world and have that mysterious symbol of power you've been hiding for so long, that you have a normal path like the rest of us? You may have everyone fooled, but you didn't fool me!" Katsuki shouted harshly. "Those crappy League of Villains should've kidnap you instead of me since the day they got you in their clutches!"
Suddenly, Luna's mute anger activated Dazzling Trinity throughout her whole body. The intense anger was pulsing dangerously around her state of mind, but she has no intention of trying to contain her emotions.
"So, what's it gonna be? You're gonna fighting me or chicken out?" Katsuki asked menacingly as he began stretching his arms. "I'm eager to see if you're strong enough to defeat me since you are All Might's little girl."
Luna clenched her fists and chuckled darkly as she turned around to face Katsuki with a malicious glare on her face.
"Alright then. Let's brawl." Luna said.
Luna suddenly glanced her eyes to the nearby building as if she started to detect something hidden coming from the distance. Her eyes caught the sight of a security camera robot hiding within it, knowing that she can't fight Katsuki without getting caught. But she quickly came up with a plan to take a brutal pleasure in fighting Katsuki.
Wanna fight, Bakugo? You got it. Luna thought with narrow eyes.
Luna concentrated her Quirk into her right fist. Before Katsuki could make a move with his explosions, Luna took the first strike and rushed forward to deliver a strong punch into Katsuki's stomach with remarkable speed. Katsuki's face went utterly shocked by that sudden punch. Luna's punch instantly sent him flying high into the sky above the training area.
"Luna, please don't do this!" Izuku begged.
Luna didn't listen and sprang high to catch up to Katsuki. As Katsuki recovered and fell back past Luna, everything slowed down as the two came face to face. Katsuki stared at the darkening Luna with wide, frightening eyes.
"You know what, Bakugo? I finally understood what you've been so curious about." Luna said with a wicked smile.
Luna drew pink energy around her fists and quickly charged towards Katsuki as she rapidly punched him with immense speed. She then spun herself towards Katsuki while punching him multiple times.
What the hell?! Katsuki thought in shock. I know that mysterious symbol of power makes her strong, but this time she's going mad crazy!
"When those villains kidnapped us, how does it feel, Bakugo?" Luna hollered. "How does it feel to be the victim? To be the target? To be the key role to their conquering game?"
Luna delivered one last punch that sent Katsuki flying away from her. Katsuki quickly recovered and positioned his hands behind him as he quickly emitted explosions to propel himself forward straight towards Luna.
"Let me show you, daddy's little princess!" Katsuki yelled angrily. "You're the one who's been hiding the fact that both of your parents were Japan's greatest heroes from our classmates and our teachers!"
"The truth about my parents is mine and mine alone, Bakugo! Not yours!" Luna countered. "Besides, I'm not the only one who's scared that somebody like Midoriya might be better than you!"
Katsuki grew more furious by Luna's remark. He fired a point-blank explosion at Luna and launched himself behind her to aim an explosion blast at her back. Unfortunately, Luna evaded the attack with quick speed. She launched herself and delivered a series of rapid spinning kicks to strike Katsuki in rapid succession. Luna then drew pink energy from her fists and delivered rapid punches that hit Katsuki from multiple directions in a light-speed fashion.
Shit! Katsuki cried shockingly. Such intense speed! At this rate, she'll kill me for sure. I gotta find the right moment to strike!
Before Luna could strike to finish him off, Katsuki finally managed to gain the upper head by striking Luna with a powerful barrage of explosion. Luna's face went shock and she finally got hit by Katsuki's explosions. That distracted her long enough for Katsuki to strike another move. Katsuki quickly placed his right hand on Luna's forehead and seized it tightly just as Luna's shocking eyes grew wider while grabbing Katsuki's arm with both hands.
"Bakugo..." Luna said softly.
Katsuki stared at Luna's pleading face and closed his eyes to fight back his tears that were about to come out.
"I...I'm sorry." Katsuki whispered.
With that, Katsuki unleashed a powerful explosion on Luna's forehead that sent her falling down from the sky.
Luna slowly recovered and fell towards the Ground Beta. She stared up at Katsuki with tears falling out from her eyes. Before she crashed onto the ground, Izuku quickly ran under Luna and jumped in the air as he grabbed her in his arms and landed on the ground safe and sound.
"Luna, are you okay?" Izuku asked worriedly. "I don't think I've ever seen you this worked up before."
"I'm...fine." Luna replied weakly.
"But what did Kacchan did to your head?" Izuku gasped in shock.
Luna looked through the nearby building window and noticed the triquetra mark was glitching shortly out of control.
"Don't worry. I'm fine." Luna said as she got off from Izuku's arms. "Bakugo and I are far from finish."
As Luna quickly drew pink energy from her fists, she suddenly fell to her knees in pain.
"What...what's happening to me?" Luna asked.
Izuku didn't respond and he's beginning to see pink glowing cracks fracturing around her forehead. When Luna tried to draw Divine Trinity from her hands again, more glowing cracks grew farther around her arms and chest, making her groan in agony.
"Luna, don't make this pain go any farther." Izuku warned in a panic. "It's possible that Kacchan's explosion might've damaged that mark, giving you intense pain in the process." He then started to pick Luna up in his arms again. "Luna, I want you to settle down for a while. What we need to do is to get you away from Kacchan if we can ever find a way out of this mess. Just promise me you can take a careful approach, so you won't go out of control again."
Luna looked down with an ashamed look on her face. She knew all too well that she can't let her anger get out of hand.
"Okay." Luna said with a reluctant nod.
Katsuki propelled himself back to the ground with his explosions after Izuku settled Luna down against the wall of a nearby building. Katsuki landed himself on the ground and glared straight at Izuku and Luna.
"Oh, Bakugo, did you have fun? Did you get everything out of your system?" Luna asked with an angry, mocking tone. "But don't worry. It all worked out. You won!"
"When we enrolled UA that day, you could have told everyone about your familial relationship with All Might, but instead you stayed quiet and let him throw his whole career away." Katsuki retorted. "And after all of that, I still managed to strike you down." His eyes then moved to Izuku. "There's no way I'm gonna let you chicken out of this. You and me. Let's go."
"Y-you really wanna do this?" Izuku questioned.
"If you don't wanna get hurt, punch back." Katsuki warned. He started stretching his arms in preparation. "Oh, yeah. You switched to using kicks more these days, didn't you?"
"Come on, stop! This isn't smart." Izuku pleaded.
Ignoring Izuku's plea, Katsuki sprang himself forward by firing an explosion from his right hand. He raised his signature hook on his right hand and slammed it into a powerful explosion at Izuku. But Izuku quickly activated his One For All: Full Cowling and avoided the large explosion at the last second, leaving his right leg graze from Katsuki's explosive strike.
"You know your problem? You always overthinking things!" Katsuki shouted. "Just fight me!"
"You're serious? You wanna spar?" Izuku yelled.
Katsuki jumped up straight towards Izuku and thrusted his left hand forward, but Izuku effectively dodged in mid-air and moved behind him. Katsuki immediately turned around and unleashed another explosion that blew up every nearby building.
With a small amount of struggling strength, Luna struggled to pick herself up on her feet. She leaned herself against the building wall and lifted her head up just in time to see a security camera robot hiding inside a nearby building from above. Thanks to Katsuki's explosion, it immediately caught the robot's attention.
Right on cue. Luna thought.
Luna reached into her pocket and pulled out a magic card in between her fingers. The magic card flew underneath her and enlarged itself, submerging and visually blending the teenaged girl into the environment that successfully allowed her to avoid the security camera robot's presence.
No doubt that the robot is contacting my homeroom teacher right now. Luna added.
Luna looked back at the match between Izuku and Katsuki. She watched as Izuku avoided the explosions while trying to talk some sense out of Katsuki, but she already knew that it's hopeless that Izuku is wasting his effort trying to chat with Katsuki. All Luna can do now is watch helplessly as she started moving towards the fight in a slow pace.
"You have to stop this! Why hurt each other when we could just talk things out?" Izuku shouted.
Katsuki only glared as he ignited small explosions from his left hand.
"You were right to look up to All Might like you did." Izuku added. "I know just how much he meant to you when we were growing..."
But Katsuki launched himself into the air with an explosion. He rocketed straight towards Izuku, who quickly evaded out of the way.
"I told you to wait!" Izuku cried.
With an angry growl, Katsuki leaped again at Izuku.
"Listen to me!" Izuku yelled.
Izuku quickly jumped back and avoided another explosion from Katsuki.
"Stop running! Stand up and fight!" Katsuki roared.
As Luna was halfway close, she watched Izuku continually evading Katsuki's explosions. No matter how many times Izuku attempt to diminish the situation, Katsuki will keep striking him with his Quirk.
As Katsuki rushed towards Izuku again, Izuku managed to grab him by the shoulders. However, Katsuki swiftly attacked Izuku by the chin with an uppercut kick from his left leg. Before Katsuki could strike with a two-handed explosion, Izuku countered with a swift bicycle kick from his right leg that knocked Katsuki's hands away, leading his hotheaded rival to detonate his explosion into the air.
"Tell me!" Katsuki demanded.
Then, Katsuki fell onto the ground.
While Izuku panted heavily, Luna managed to catch up the boys. She leaned herself against the building wall again once she deactivated her mother's magic card. Izuku took notice and ran up to help her steady.
"Luna, are you okay? How are you feeling?" Izuku asked.
"I'm fine." Luna replied. "My body's still feeling sluggish, but I should be fine."
Katsuki narrowed his eyes upon witnessing Luna being supported by Izuku.
"Stay here. I'll come back as soon as I helped Kacchan." Izuku said. He turned back and rushed over to Katsuki, offering his kind hand to him with worry. "Hey, are you all right?"
Katsuki stubbornly rejected it with a glare by slapping Izuku's hand away.
"Don't you dare worry about me! Attack me!" Katsuki yelled. The tone of his voice suddenly became saddened once he stood back up. "Why won't you fight back? Why did I end up having to chase after someone who was always so far behind me? I understand Luna's reaction because she's All Might's daughter, but it's still pissing me off to keep a secret like that to the school and everyone in it! Why did a damn small fry like you get strong and become the number one hero sidekick? His favorite? You got so much better, and I destroyed All Might! I admired him so much!" He stared at Izuku with an emotional look on his face. "But it's because of me that he ended up losing his power!"
Izuku and Luna gazed at Katsuki with deep, sudden shock in their wide eyes. All this time they haven't realized until now is that Katsuki had been carrying his pent-up guilt ever since he and Luna were rescued from the villains at the Kamino incident. Even more than Luna and Izuku together.
"If I had been stronger, if I hadn't been kidnapped by villains, then it never would have happened!" Katsuki cried expressively. He wiped the tears from his right arm. "All Might knows that it was my fault, but hasn't said anything! Everyone has to know, though! I can't get it out of my head! It's like it's constantly playing on loop! So, what the hell am I supposed to do?!"
Luna's eyes widened even wider as tears started flowing out of her eyes.
So, he's blaming himself for my dad's retirement this whole time. Just like I did. Luna thought in surprise. She looked down with a shameful look on her face. And just like me, he's been depressed. Except that he's torturing himself for being too weak against the villains.
Luna's eyes moved to Izuku, who looked silently sad for a moment.
Midoriya, you're the only one who can understand what Bakugo's going through, no matter how meaningless this fight is. Luna thought. Force his bottled-up feelings right out of him.
Then, Izuku reactivated his One For All: Full Cowling.
Katsuki took slow steps after wiping his tears. His slow walk then turned into a sprint. He growled as he charged forward towards Izuku by firing explosion from his right hand.
But this time, Izuku held his ground and delivered a swift kick across Katsuki's face with quick speed. He then turned around and faced Katsuki with a fighting stance.
"If I'm gonna do this, I'm going all out. I refuse to be a punching bag, Kacchan. Let's go!" Izuku said determinedly.
Izuku and Katsuki gazed silently at each other for a moment. Luna slowly gazed at the boys, wordlessly hoping that the fight will end with both boys understanding each other's feelings.
Then, Katsuki quickly fired an explosion at the ground and launched himself into the air. He hurled directly down towards Izuku with an explosion from his left hand, but Izuku quickly jumped back to avoid the explosion. While Izuku was hovering in midair, Katsuki instantly spun himself into a powerful exploding pinwheel. He unleashed himself with an explosive fury, which missed his strike when Izuku dodged out of the way. Bouncing himself off the ground with an explosion, Katsuki landed right behind Izuku and delivered a strong punch right into Izuku's chest that sent him flying and crashing into a nearby railing.
As Izuku was about to catch his breath, his eyes widened at the sight of the charging Katsuki once again. He quickly grabbed the railing and somersaulted out of the way to avoid the explosion. Unexpectedly, Katsuki spun himself around and grabbed Izuku's left arm.
Figures. Bakugo isn't giving Midoriya any time to recover. Luna gasped with narrow eyes.
Katsuki tossed Izuku away, sending his childhood rival to roll onto the ground. But Katsuki's wrong footing made him fall into the rail himself.
At this rate, Midoriya won't have any time to predict Bakugo's moves! Luna thought in shock as she watched Izuku and Katsuki picking themselves up back into the fight. But Midoriya's reaction times has gotten faster since the last time they fought.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we've both been getting stronger." Izuku said to Katsuki with a confident smile.
Izuku's self-confidence earned an annoyed look on Katsuki's face.
"What're you smiling about, huh?!" Katsuki shouted.
Katsuki lunged at Izuku with his explosion from both hands, but Izuku evaded the attack and landed onto the ground.
"I thought you weren't gonna be my punching bag!" Katsuki yelled.
"I'm not!" Izuku yelled back as he charged forward.
"I bet you've got some kinda plan up your sleeve." Katsuki stated.
Katsuki pressed both his hands together and gathered explosion into a sphere of light between his hands. He then unleashed a large-scale flashy explosion that engulfed the field stage in blinding light. That move instantly blinded Izuku, who blocked his eyes from the explosive light.
In that moment, Katsuki successfully punched Izuku across the face.
"That's one of the things I hate most about you!" Katsuki shouted with a disdain tone.
Katsuki successfully landed another explosion, which launched Izuku high in the air.
"I can never tell what you're thinking! No matter how many times I beat you up, you keep coming back!" Katsuki cried. "It's obvious you've always looked down on me! Even when we were kids!"
Izuku gasped as he landed safely onto the ground.
"You're think you're better than me! But if you seriously believe you're gonna surpass me as a hero, even with your new power, you better think again, Deku!" Katsuki yelled.
Hearing those words stunned Izuku.
"Wait. Is that what you actually believed all this time?" Izuku said. "Think about it, Kacchan. If I looked down on you, I wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore. But I'm still here. I noticed things you couldn't all these years because I has nothing at last. There were things I hated about you, sure. But I could clearly see how amazing you were. You had so much going for you that I didn't have."
Izuku's subconscious strength of One For All: Full Cowling began conducting throughout his entire body. In an instant, he charged straight at Katsuki.
"All Might was my hero, but you were the one actually in my life!" Izuku cried.
He's faster than before. Katsuki noted with surprising eyes.
Izuku jumped into the air with his increasing speed.
Because I was so emotional, I lost a bit of control. Izuku thought in surprise. He performed a powerful axe kick in midair. I'd been focusing on keeping my Full Cowling at five perfect power the entire time. But I didn't realize how much stronger my body had gotten thanks to all the training and testing.
Izuku's enhanced speed alerted Katsuki as he knew that he had no time to dodge.
I can't dodge. Gotta block! Katsuki thought as he braced himself by crossing his arms in front of his face.
Luna's eyes widened at Izuku's growing speed.
Whoa. Midoriya's now using only more percentage of his power. Luna thought. Very impressive.
My continuous whole-body limit had been raised to eight percent. Izuku added.
Izuku striked his One For All 8% enhanced axe kick on top of Katsuki's guarding arms.
"I thought you were incredible, Kacchan. I wanted to see…what you'd become! That's the reason I kept chasing after you!" Izuku shouted.
Despite Katsuki managed to block Izuku's kick, Izuku's axe kick broke through Katsuki's guard, reeling his childhood rival back.
Going from a continuous five perfect to eight perfect isn't a dramatic change in the long run. Izuku thought. But with that slight difference, just for an instant…
Katsuki inhaled deep breaths with a smile. The sudden strength of Izuku's One For All enhanced kick injured and bruised his arms, even though he almost endured the attack for a minute.
Then, Katsuki blasted himself directly towards Izuku with his explosions. Izuku charged back at him with a One For All enhanced kick at extreme speed. Luna watched as Izuku and Katsuki began releasing and cancelling each other's Quirk attacks. Without indecision, Katsuki retaliated with an explosion to the ground that blasted him and Izuku away.
I see it! Because Midoriya's already kicking into a higher gear, Bakugo's timing was off from that last attack! Luna exclaimed.
Suddenly, Izuku charged forward straight at Katsuki with remarkable speed.
"Is that all you've got?" Izuku yelled in a mocking manner.
Katsuki yelled infuriatedly at his childhood rival's taunt.
When Izuku jumped into the air, Luna found Izuku's sudden jump to be a bit unusual, but her eyes quickly moved to Katsuki, who launched himself into the air.
Then suddenly, Izuku concentrated One For All: Full Cowling's effects throughout his fist.
Not only Katsuki gasped in surprise, but Luna as well.
Is he…? Because he always used One For All for his kicks, it's been a while since he used that power for his punches. Luna thought.
Izuku successfully punched Katsuki's right cheek with his enhanced punch. But Katsuki refused to be defeated by his childhood rival. With ferocious determination, Katsuki grabbed Izuku's shirt sleeve and flipped him down. He then raised up his hand and released a large explosion that propelled himself and Izuku to crash straight down into the ground with great force.
Through the dusty smoke, Luna sluggishly approached to the crashing spot. Once the smoke finally cleared, Luna gasped with concerning eyes as she caught the sight of Katsuki standing atop of Izuku. Katsuki had pinned Izuku's face and left arm to the ground. Both boys were panting for air while being badly injured.
"That's it. We're done here…I won this fight." Katsuki declared. "You have All Might's power and no doubt Luna has her mother's power. But even using his strength, even after making it your own, somehow you still managed to lose to me. I fought Luna for the first time, but she lost. Why? How could you lose?"
"Stop this right now. Both of you."
Izuku, Katsuki, and Luna turned their heads to the source of that familiar voice. That voice belonged to All Might, who suddenly approached them.
"I'm sorry. But I heard what you've said." All Might said.
Izuku, Katsuki, and Luna widened their eyes at All Might's attendance.
"All Might." Katsuki muttered.
"When'd you get here?" Izuku asked.
"I didn't notice before I should have." All Might replied.
"It's too late now." Katsuki said. "Why did you pick Deku? It started when the sludge villain came, didn't it? So why him?"
"He was powerless, but still more heroic than anyone else." All Might replied. "I knew you were strong. That much was obvious. You were someone who could already fight. So, I decided that he should have the chance to stand in the ring."
"And why didn't you say anything about Luna being your daughter after all this time?" Katsuki asked.
"If I announced my daughter's existence to the school, let alone the whole world, she'll become a major target to both rival students and the villains, especially the League of Villains that kidnapped her and you." All Might replied. "Chariot and I couldn't risk that. And as her parents, we are sworn to protect her until she's ready to announce her heritage on her own."
"But now you know I'm weak, too." Katsuki countered. "I always wanted to be like you, which meant being as strong as possible. But look what I did to you because I'm not good enough."
"This is not your fault, Young Bakugo. I was always going to my power." All Might said softly as he stood closer to Katsuki, who was shutting his eyes to prevent tears from being released. "You couldn't do anything to change that. You are strong. But I focused too much on your physical strength and overlooked what was important. This isn't your burden." He grabbed Katsuki by the head and hugged him. "I apologize. Sometimes I forget that you're children."
Katsuki broke free of All Might's hug and stood away.
"After being a hero for so many years, you learn a few things." All Might continued. "Striving to be the best like you, Young Bakugo. And caring deeply about people, about rescuing those in trouble, like you, Young Midoriya. Both of those feelings are necessary in a hero. Otherwise, they'll never truly be able to represent justice. That's why you admire his strength so much, Young Midoriya. And I know that's why you've always feared his heart and spirit, Young Bakugo. Now that you've laid your feelings out on the table, maybe you can understand each other. If you have mutual respect and focus on making one another stronger, I've no doubt you'll become the ultimate heroes, winning and saving people at the same time."
That made Izuku and Katsuki exchanged surprised faces.
"Dammit. That's not what I wanted to hear." Katsuki said. He sat on the concrete floor as he felt somewhat relieved in his own way. His voice directed to Izuku's attention. "You. You have the strongest guy in the world lay the groundwork for you. Don't you dare lose again."
"I'll work harder so that I can beat you." Izuku replied.
Katsuki sighed heavily before looking back at All Might.
"Okay, so talk. Who knows about you two and Luna?" Katsuki asked.
"Tarot Chariot, Recovery Girl, and Principal Nezu do." All Might answered. "As far as students go…only you."
"And you don't want this to get out because that would be bad." Katsuki said. "Don't worry. Your secrets' safe with me. I won't tell anyone what's going on. Unlike Deku, I can keep my mouth shut. This will stay between us."
"Thanks, Kacchan." Izuku said.
"I don't deserve this." All Might said. "I should be down on my hands and knees begging for you to keep this secret for me. Yet here you are, being considerate and helping me out. Thank you."
"I'm not doing this for you." Katsuki said as he stood up on his feet. "It would just be a real pain if this got out and messed stuff up."
"I understand. But where's Luna?" All Might asked, noticing that his daughter isn't with the boys.
Izuku looked around and his eyes widened wide with a stunned face. He pointed his finger forward, making All Might and Katsuki turn their heads at the direction that he's directing to. They found Luna lying motionlessly on the ground.
"Luna!" All Might shouted. He, Izuku, and Katsuki ran up and surrounded Luna with concerned faces. "Sweetie, are you okay? What happened to her?"
"It was my fault." Katsuki replied. "I was the one who provoked her to fight me. And because of me, I caused this to happen to her from our battle."
"Is she gonna be okay? Have you seen this kind of condition before?" Izuku asked All Might.
"I can't say I have." All Might replied. "This is more of my wife's expertise than mine. I'm sure Ursula will know something about it."
Katsuki nodded as he carried Luna up in his arms. His eyes softened with guilt when he couldn't resist on looking at Luna's lifeless face.
"Now that it's come to this, I can explain what's happened between me and Young Midoriya, and Luna's power as well. That's only fair." All Might said.
All Might told Katsuki the whole backstory about One For All. Katsuki silently listened to the origin story about the power passed down through generations in order to be used against great evil, how All Might used that power to become the Symbol of Peace, how he was gravely injured that limited his strength, and finally how Izuku was chosen to be his successor. But All Might haven't told Katsuki about the Divine Trinity, which only Tarot Chariot could explain that origin story to him.
After that, the former number one hero began escorting his students out of Ground Beta. Earlier, All Might and Izuku positioned an unconscious Luna onto Katsuki's back.
"If this got out people'd be confused, and they'd start wondering where the power is." Katsuki spoke. His eyes moved to Izuku. "You idiot. What were you thinking when you first told me about it?"
Izuku didn't respond with an anxious face.
"It was my own choice to use up the last of my abilities." All Might reminded. "I said this earlier, but that was in no way your fault."
"It doesn't change what I have to do." Katsuki said.
All Might looked over her shoulder, recalling that Katsuki was surpassing the former number one hero no matter what it takes.
"True. You're right about that." All Might said.
"Things aren't gonna be the same, though, Deku. You got that?" Katsuki said to Izuku. "You've been watching me and everyone around you, absorbing what you see to get stronger. Well, I can do the exact same thing and keep getting better myself. I'll go higher than even you and Luna, Chosen One."
"Right, then I guess I'll just have to be better than that." Izuku said.
"You what?" Katsuki asked.
"I have to go higher than you." Izuku said determinedly.
"Dammit, nerd." Katsuki grunted. He raised his voice with infuriation. "I just said I was gonna be the one to surpass you!"
"I know! And now I'm saying that I'm gonna go beyond that level." Izuku said.
"What?!" Katsuki snapped.
All Might smiled, knowing that both Izuku and Katsuki have taken a big step into finally becoming proper rivals. The secret between Izuku and All Might has now become a secret they and Katsuki shared. But All Might haven't told Katsuki about the Divine Trinity, which only Tarot Chariot could explain that origin story to him.
Once All Might, Izuku, and Katsuki returned to Heights Alliance, Aizawa already wrapped his capturing scarf tightly around Izuku and Katsuki right in front of him with a glaring expression on his face.
Tarot Chariot stared worryingly at the unconscious Luna, who laid on top of her mother's enlarged magic card.
"You fought the night you finished the preliminary hero licensing exam? I'm glad to see that you two have so much energy." Aizawa scolded angrily.
"Aizawa, wait. Hold up with those restraints." All Might said frantically. "It's my fault that they sparred in the first place."
"What? Your fault? And how is that?" Aizawa questioned.
Izuku and Katsuki yelped in unison. Tarot Chariot looked over her shoulder as she hopes that her husband won't tell Aizawa the real reason of the boys' confrontation.
"It seems Young Bakugo has been feeling like he was responsible for my retirement." All Might whispered, moving closer to Aizawa's ear. "He had to face the licensing exam with those pent-up emotions and then his inferiority complex exploded and this happened. It's all because I didn't realize I was being negligent. This whole fight was brought about because of the failure of his teacher."
Aizawa grunted, but he started to calm down. He then unrestricted Izuku and Katsuki from his capturing staff.
"I understand that they felt they had to break the rules." Aizawa said. "But this isn't something I can just ignore. There must be a suitable punishment." He narrowed his eyes. "Who threw the first punch?"
"I did." Katsuki admitted.
"I also went pretty hard. It wasn't just him." Izuku added, looking down on the floor.
"You're both on house arrest." Aizawa reprimanded. "Four days for Bakugo, and three for Midoriya. During that time, you'll clean all the common areas in the dorm, morning and night. Plus, I want a written apology. If your injuries need to be checked out, head to the infirmary. But don't rely on the old lady's Quirk this time. Figure out a way to heal yourselves."
Aizawa sighed and turned to Luna, which Tarot Chariot quickly took notice. Tarot Chariot swiftly turned to Izuku and Katsuki with pure intimidation.
"Which of you fought her first?" Tarot Chariot asked.
"Me." Katsuki answered.
"And you?" Tarot Chariot asked Izuku.
"No, ma'am." Izuku replied. "I only saved her when she was falling from the sky."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for what I did to her." Katsuki apologized. "What Deku said is true. He has nothing to do with what happened to Luna. It was all me."
Tarot Chariot narrowed her eyes at Katsuki, but she composed herself and looked back at Aizawa.
"Let me handle this child, Aizawa." Tarot Chariot insisted. "Her condition looks very severe. She needs to stay with Recovery Girl for three-day recovery. And when she wakes up, leave her punishment to me."
Aizawa stared at Tarot Chariot and looked back at Luna. After a minute of silence, he let out a sigh.
"Fine. She won't contribute house arrest with the boys, but I also want a written apology when she recovers." Aizawa said. "That's all. Go."
The next day, Class 1-A students are prepared to head to the second term opening ceremony. They immediately learned about the late-night battle between Izuku, Luna, and Katsuki. Izuku and Katsuki already started vacuuming the main lodge.
"What?!" Class 1-A students exclaimed.
"You guys threw down?" Mina said.
"And now you're under house arrest?" Hagakure added.
"Hilarious." Kaminari laughed in a teasing manner.
"Tres tragique." Aoyama remarked.
"You're both morons." Sero noted.
"The pinnacle of stupidity." Tokoyami commented.
Katsuki growled angrily, trying to ignore the mocking comments from his classmates.
Iida and Uraraka then walked up to Izuku.
"So, did you guys make up after or…?" Uraraka asked.
"Well, it wasn't that we made up, exactly." Izuku replied. "Hm…It's kinda hard to put into words."
"You're lucky you two got away with house arrest." Iida said. "Though this does mean you'll miss the opening ceremony we're going to right now."
"Bakugo, what about our extra classes?" Shoto asked Katsuki.
"Shut up, Icy Hot! This has nothing to do with you!" Katsuki snapped angrily as he began vacuuming harder.
Selene, Diana, and Aisha walked up to Izuku. Selene had a serious expression while Diana and Aisha have worried expressions.
"Midoriya, do you know what happened to Luna?" Selene asked.
"Is she gonna okay?" Diana inquired.
"All I know is that Tarot Chariot is taking care of Luna right now." Izuku replied. "She's with Recovery Girl, as we speak."
"I just hope she gets better after her recovery." Aisha said.
"You and me both." Izuku agreed.
Earlier in the morning, Tarot Chariot carried an unconscious Luna to Recovery Girl's office. Due to her severe injuries, Luna must need three days of recovery treatment in order to regain her physical and mental strength back to health.
"Kay, well, thanks for cleaning up!" Kaminari teased.
Katsuki growled angrily as a response.
The Class 1-A students headed out of the dorm, leaving Izuku and Katsuki to continue cleaning the common area. During the long silence, Izuku was the first to break it.
"So…about my Shoot Style." Izuku spoke. "What did you think of it?"
When Izuku didn't hear an answer, he kept vacuuming the floor.
"Your movements are too obvious." Katsuki answered calmly.
Izuku gasped with absolute surprise. He looked over his shoulder as he couldn't believe that his childhood friend and rival is speaking to him in a normal manner.
"Even when you got faster, I was able to dodge them. you're not gonna win any fight that way." Katsuki advised.
"Oh, right." Izuku muttered.
"And when you added in punches, it really pissed me off." Katsuki added.
Izuku gasped lowly, but he understood Katsuki's annoyance on his Shoot Style technique.
"Got it." Izuku said. "Also, do you think…Luna's gonna be okay?"
"Luna's a tough girl. She's gonna pull herself though." Katsuki assured. "Quit worrying about it."
With that, Izuku continued vacuuming the floors.
As Izuku kept cleaning, Katsuki's spiky hair concealed his eyes. A single tear fell out of his right eye while he was deeply worried about Luna since he was the one who caused her severe injuries. All he can do now is hope.
Enjoy and review.
