Review responses in the End Notes. Enjoy the chapter.

The tournament was a snooze fest to Bakugo. However, he would be remiss if he ignored all the insight of his class' quirks and strategies. Other than Deku almost walking himself out of the tournament entirely, the rest of the matches leading up to his were quite the bore. Half and Half freezing Flat Face in enough ice to supply Japan for a couple months was a shocker, but the look on his face intrigued him. Not enough to go down the rabbit hole, but enough to keep him interested. Sparky obliterated himself against Vines, quite the shocker, pun and sarcasm intended. Four Eyes being used as a prop by that support course extra got a laugh out of him, but that laugh soon turned to frustration as he had to wait 15 damn minutes. Raccoon Eyes pushed Steelie out of the ring and threatened to corrode his skin. Lizard Girl overwhelmed Ponytail in a one on one and finally Round Cheeks wrestled with Shitty Hair and won by flinging him out of the arena.

Finally, it was time for Katsuki Bakugo to take center stage. His opponent? None other than Deku's sister.

'About damn time I put her in her place.' Katsuki walked onto the concrete platform, an arrogant smirk spread across his face. He let his hands come to his sides as he flexed his forearm muscles. They were prime and ready to blow something up.

His gaze fell to his green haired opponent across the way. She had her head tilted backwards as she muttered to herself, though Katsuki didn't try to discern any of her word babble. The crowds roared with excitement and Katsuki made sure to soak it all in.

"Are you both ready?" Midnight called. Katsuki nodded firmly, while Izumi slowly lowered her head. He wasn't prepared for the deadly glare she had sent his way and he stiffened his stance a little in response.

'The hell are you mad about?' Katsuki thought to himself. It didn't matter too much though, as he'd knock her out of the competition before she could act on her anger.

"Begin!" The whip cracked and Bakugo launched forward. Propelling himself with his explosives, Katsuki stayed low to the ground to do one of two things. Either deliver a vicious explosive uppercut or blow up the ground around Izumi. This all depended on her reaction of course. What he didn't expect, however, was for Izumi to start glowing all around. Her eyes turned white as a green aura enveloped her body and spread to the entire arena below her. Instantly, Katsuki changed trajectories and traveled upwards to gain some distance but had to dodge a flying piece of cement on his way up. Briefly, as he floated in the sky, he saw that the entire arena was now turned to rubble under Izumi's command. Hundreds, if not thousands of tiles of concrete now floated in the air. Bakugo managed to find one that was large enough for him to land on as he watched the Midoriya sister ascend to his level.

"I'm being generous, Bakugo." Izumi had a growl in her voice that was completely foreign to his ears. "I'll give you one chance to explain why you act the way you do before I force you to lose this damn tournament." Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"Act the way I do? You mean like the greatest piece of ass to walk this planet?" Katsuki pointed a thumb to his chest. "News flash, I am. I'm gonna prove it by beating everyone here, especially Deku!"

"And there it is." Katsuki quirked an eyebrow at the statement. Izumi continued. "The way you act towards my brother makes no sense. You made his life hell and beat him down constantly!" Izumi shouted as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"So what? You coddled him afterwards anyways. Quirkless shits like him needed to learn when to give up. I was just there to accelerate the process."

"You kept trying to crush his dream!" Izumi's hands were shaking. "And it's only because he's a better person that he never gave up. That's why he's going to become a hero!" Katsuki's frown turned to something more sinister.

"Don't..." He started. "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME LIKE HIM!" An explosion rocked the air and knocked the platform he stood on away from his feet. Foolishly, he went for a big right hook and only ended up blowing up a piece of concrete tile. The broken rubble then turned into ammunition, prime to home in on Bakugo's flying form. Pushed onto the defensive, Bakugo tried his best to dodge the largest pieces of broke rock that pelted his body. Sometimes, there would be a much larger piece thrown into the mix and he'd have to blow it up with extra force.

Izumi had yet to make a truly offensive move. It was steady pressure sure, but he could turn the tide eventually. He could keep up with these weak attacks on a bad day with a broken arm. Yet as he descended from the sky to dodge a piece of rebar, he couldn't help but acknowledge the pit in his gut.

'What's her game plan?'

"He never looked down on you, ungrateful bastard! Crush!" It was a single word that sent a shiver down his spine. Hundreds of rocks made themselves known to his presence. His vision was filled with gray as he was surrounded by, what was essentially a meteor shower. There, in the center of it all was Izumi, her arm outstretched and her hand closed into a fist. It trembled under her intense grip, making Bakugo realize that she was truly intending to crush him in a shower of debris.

"You haven't won yet!" Bakugo roared out. Putting all thoughts of injury in the back of his mind, he pushed his arms downwards and let loose an earth-shattering explosion. The blast propelled him upwards and the smokescreen that came with it let him escape Izumi's direct line of sight.

'Gotta do it now!' Before gravity took ahold, Bakugo started to spin. Steadily, he plunged towards the Earth and began to fire off explosions in his hands. The momentum built, and a vacuum of air now funneled around him as he rocketed himself straight towards the center of the dispersing smoke.

Izumi barely had time to react, as Katsuki was ready to release another devastating blast the moment he was in her proximity.

"Howitzer Impact!" A concrete shield was erected in haste to protect Izumi, but it was fragile and didn't hold together. The explosion blinded most that viewed it, temporarily and left their ears ringing.

Bakugo himself couldn't even resist the propulsive force of a blast that large. The angle at which he sent it left him flying towards the arena walls. Using his quirk once more, he tried to mitigate the impact as much as possible. If he could walk away from this landing, then it couldn't be a bad one. However, the teachers of U.A were faster than him, and he was quickly caught by Eraserhead's capture scarf and lowered to safety by Cementoss. If they were aiding him now, that meant only one thing.

On the other side of the stadium was Izumi Midoriya, laying in the arms of Vlad King, most likely unconscious if her lack of movement was anything to go by. Bakugo huffed as he walked into the stadium hallways, thinking hard about her words.

Maybe if Deku won against Half and Half, he could talk with him there. Bakugo scoffed at the notion and tried hard to ignore the small part of him that held an inkling of hope.

-{ ~ }-

His conversation with Endeavor left him feeling nervous. He had watched the rest of the matches silently analyzing all of them while he sat with his class. Yet the only thing that remained on his mind was the Todoroki dilemma.

The only times he was broken from his stupor were when he watched Setsuna fight Mina and when his sister completely shattered the arena from the ground up. Even with that flex of power, Bakugo overcame the challenge and won the match with a big finish. It gave Izuku some more prep time for his fight against Todoroki.

Izuku walked into the medical center. It seemed like Recovery Girl was out running errands, so the only ones in the room were Mina, Uraraka and Izumi. Izumi herself looked fine, but seemed emotionally distressed.

"Sorry I lost in front of you Izu-nee. Guess we can't fight in the finals after all." She looked towards him, sullen. Instantly, Izuku was at her side.

"You don't have to worry about that. You did great Mi! You made a huge display, so you're bound to get a ton of internship offers." Izumi looked as if she pondered the thought and giggled, prompting Izuku to smile.

"Wow. We tried everything to get her mood back to normal and you did it instantly! Thanks Izu!" Mina sent a cheery smile her way while Uraraka nodded along with the assessment.

"You've got a match to win Izu-nee. Don't worry about me here. Use that nerd brain of yours to win. Todoroki is strong, so don't hold back." Izuku knew this already. He could see the peak of Shoto's powers through the haze of memories. Even holding back, Todoroki was formidable.

"I'll win. You'll see." With that, Izuku got up and walked out of the room, sparing one last glance towards his sister.

The door clicked closed and Izumi huffed a sigh. "Shit."

"What's wrong Zumi?" Mina asked.

"He has that look in his eyes." Izumi explained. "Meaning he's gonna do something stupid and heroic."

-{ ~ }-

Izuku could feel the air chilling around him as he and Todoroki stood opposed to each other on the platform. Even the crowd was rife with tension, if their silence was an indication.

One For All itched under his skin. The heat of the power ran through his veins and got his blood moving. The world around him fell away, letting him focus solely on his opponent in front of him. Hyper fixated, he didn't even hear Midnight call the match and only moved when a pillar of ice was about to completely engulf him.

"Power Cowl: 5% Smash!" His fist made contact with the ice and it completely shattered to the core from the power he fed into the swing. A gust of wind, similar to those from the previous round exploded from the center of the platform, causing the audience to gasp in shock at the frigid air. The haze settled around Izuku, who was glowing a familiar shade of green. "We both know that isn't enough to stop me Todoroki!" Izuku hoped to get a rise out of the teen across from him. Like a moth to a flame, Todoroki growled angrily as he launched another wave of ice Izuku's way.

More prepared and not lost in a stupor, Izuku properly dodged the blast and rushed in to close the distance between him and Todoroki. He made sure to keep his weight shifted to his right to make dodging the cold waves easier. Todoroki backpedaled as much as he could, but Izuku was upon him in mere moments. He tried to create a wall of ice between the two, but all that did was lessen the damage he took, as Izuku punched straight through it and right into Todoroki's gut.

He was sent flying across the platform, but quickly recovered by forming an ice wall behind him. 'I've taken harder hits.' He thought as he caught his breath. He could hear Izuku making a mad dash for him once again. Stomping on the ground, he was sure this titanic wave of ice would slow him down enough to regain his composure.

It did nothing.

Emerging atop of the ice, Izuku was wrapped in black energy as he slid down the miniature glacier. "Stop relying on half of your power, Todoroki! Win with all of it!" Izuku sent his Blackwhip infused hand down towards Todoroki, who erected another ice wall and skated around the other side of it to dodge a follow-up attack. The wall shattered and Izuku emerged from the hazy cloud with an irritated look on his face.

"Even after everything I told you, you still don't get it do you? I'm cursed with his power and it's ruined so many lives!"

"It's yours Todoroki! Not his!" Todoroki faltered for just a moment. Izuku saw but continued to speak. "I know what it's like to be cursed." Shakily, Todoroki looked up and into Izuku's eyes. They were brimming with emotion, but they stared right back at Todoroki.

"It's hurt people. I killed-"

"Your fire is not a weapon of destruction! That was an accident. What happens if you can't save someone with just your ice? Are you really willing to keep your vow at the price of another life?!" Todoroki growled at the question. A classic moral dilemma, just what he needed.

"If it comes to that then-" Todoroki was cut off from speaking as he was lifted off of the ground and slammed onto his back. A wheeze escaped his chilled body as he blearily opened his eyes to his assailant. He didn't know what shocked him more. That Izuku hadn't thrown him out of the ring, or that he was now crying above him.

"I'm giving it my all every day. Everyone here is giving it 110%! Plus Ultra! It's not fair to us that you go at it half assed. If you get away with that, then you'll just half ass it as a hero! Is that the hero you want to be?!" Hearing those words was like magic. A faint memory, one he had thought to be long forgotten, flooded his vision. It was a special on TV hosted by All Might.

"What kind of hero do you want to be?" His younger self looked upwards. There, his mother, unmarred by the trauma, and yet to break, held him in her arms. The embrace made his heart ache for what once was. "You can be whatever kind of hero you want to be. You're more than your father's son. You're mine as well." Rei Todoroki softly patted his head.

A surge of power flooded his body. The whole world was drowned out by the rush of heat and the roar of his flames. Izuku had jumped back to avoid being instantly singed. Black Armor melted away as Izuku stared in awe at the massive pillar of fire that rose from Shoto's left side.

"Right now, Midoriya, you're right!" He shouted. "Right now, I want to be a hero. You helped me realize my faults. I'll thank you later, but for now, I will win against you." Shoto brought his left arm up, his hand hanging limp at the end before snapping into a flayed position. "You're crazy for letting me get up Midoriya. I think it's time to take me seriously."

"I was doing that from the start." Izuku smirked as One For All burst with light around him. Red veins coursed across arms as Power Shroud took hold once more. Blackwhip surged from his back, ready to strike as the wind force of Shoto's flames danced across the battlefield. Finally, they leapt at each other, eager to strike and end the fight.

"Cementoss! Create a barrier now!" Midnight, from the side, tore open a section of her bodysuit as the aroma of Somnambulist billowed from her skin.

"On it!" Cementoss plunged his hands to the floor to create a barrier around the arena and attempted to create walls in between the fighting teenagers. Key word being 'try.'

Seven solid concrete walls came up to separate the two, but each one crumbled as the two leapt at each other. An explosion like no other rocked the ground that the stadium stood on as a mix of hot and cold air washed over the audience. Everyone was aghast at the display of power. The aftermath left the arena ruined once more. Midnight and Cementoss were shaken up, but safe due to the protective dome the cement hero had created around them. Both teachers studied the ruined land around them, trying to locate their students.

"An incredible display from 1-A's Todoroki and 1-B's Midoriya! But it looks like the match is undetermined!" Steam and smoke clouded the ground, preventing anyone from seeing anything. It was only with the allowance of time and assistance from Midnight's fan support tool did the victor reveal itself.

In the ground lay Shoto Todoroki, completely passed out from quirk exhaustion. His shirt was torn apart from the waist up and his body was bruised all over. Midnight held two fingers to his neck for safety and let out a sigh of relief when she found his steady pulse.

"W-wow! Never ceasing to amaze us, Class 1-B's Izuku Midoriya is the winner by ring out!" Midnight jerked her head to look at Cementoss, who she had sent to find what she presumed would be a knocked out Izuku Midoriya. What she saw instead was a shocked Cementoss standing overing a hovering and fully awake Izuku Midoriya. His back was half a meter off the ground. Flailing his arms a bit, Izuku tried to get up as if he was laying on the ground, but ended up inverting his aerial position.

"Somone get me down to the ground!" He yelped as he slowly floated upwards.

-{ ~ }-

"How exactly are you doing all of this stuff Green? You said your quirk was power stockpiling, not energy whips and flight." Setsuna's torso hovered over Izuku as he lay in the medical ward bed. Of course, he knew the answer, but couldn't yet trust anyone outside of U.A's staff with information on One For All.

"Maybe it's just general energy stockpiling. I guess I desired not to lose so much I forced my energy to hold me above the ground." It was a shoddy explanation, but it would work for now, he hoped. Setsuna gave him a questioning look.

"So your quirk is just a Swiss army knife now?" Izuku shrugged. Setsuna sighed as she reattached her two halves together.

"Regardless of how this transpired, I believe it to be the lord's work to have blessed you with such a versatile ability." Ibara, as well as some others from 1-B had decided to drop by.

"I would love to experience a quirk like that, but stockpilers are just not very compatible with Copy." Monama huffed. Izuku chuckled at the notion.

"Even if you could copy it, you'd probably blow your limbs off. Not to be rude but I had to build my body up a lot just for my quirk to even kick in." Monama went slightly pale as he imagined his limbs popping off his body, akin to the way Setsuna disassembles herself.

"So you can fly with me now Izu-nee, that's awesome!" Izuku's sister, who still hadn't moved since her initial stay, spoke up from his side.

"Man, you guys are such a cool duo! Are you planning on forming a team or sharing an agency?" Tetsutetsu asked excitedly. Izuku and Izumi looked at each other with a small grin before answering together.

"Nah." The siblings replied.

"But why not? You guys are super flashy together?!" The steel spirited 1-B boy continued.

"Izuku has bigger goals for all of us. Remember his speech?" Izumi said. Most people nodded, while the others tried their hardest to remember his speech word for word.

"I want every single one of us to become symbols of peace, like All Might. Just one man can't hold all of Japan's crimes on his shoulders. Have any of you given any thought as to what happens when All Might retires?" The question gave many of the students a chill.

"So all of us are supposed to be All Might level? That's just crazy Green." Setsuna jumped in. "If anything, you can-"

"I can't." Izuku interrupted. His tone was stern and there was a glint of unknown emotion in his eyes. Setsuna balked a little. "Even with my potential, even if I could, I wouldn't. No one can hold society up alone. The reliance on All Might crippled us. We're not ready for him to leave us." Izuku idly fell back on the memories. In the ruins of a city stood All Might, halfway between his decrepit everyday living form and the form of the number one hero of Japan. His left hand was held high as dust and steam settled around his feet. The thought made him shiver.

"This ill omen won't stop us heroes in training." Ibara said. She smiled as she clasped her hands together. "I have faith in you, Midoriya." Izuku couldn't help his beaming smile.

"Everything will make sense, just give me time to trust every single one of you please." Before any of them could ask what he meant by that, Recovery Girl entered the room, scolding the non-injured for not letting her patients rest.

"If I see a single healthy person in here that wasn't cleared by me to be here, I can surely fix that with my cane!" Everyone got the message and ran off, leaving Izuku and Izumi alone in their beds. "Now then. Izuku, how's the bruising?"

Izuku raised his arms to inspect them in the light. He flexed and twisted them with no pain. "Looks like they're just fine. The bruising was minimal since Blackwhip takes in most of the kickback of One For All." Recovery Girl nodded her head, about to look over Izuku when she acknowledged what he had said. She eyed the other greenette, who was listening intently to their conversation.

"I-Izuku what do you mean One For-"

"Oh!" Izuku yelped in surprised. "She knows! Sorry we never told you." Izuku dipped his head low, attempting to apologize. This only opened himself up to a whacking from Recovery Girl's cane. Rubbing the now injured spot, ignoring Izumi's laughter, Izuku looked up at the upset face of Recovery Girl.

"How come you people never tell me anything? Toshinori runs his mouth so much, but when its actual news that I should be informed on? Radio silence. I swear, you two are more alike than I gave you credit for." Recovery Girl grumbled some more while both siblings laughed. "At the very least, you're mitigating the damage you could potentially be doing to yourself. I'd love to never see you here again, but being Toshinori's successor means you'll be here more than you'll be home." Another grumble escaped the old heroine.

"Are they really that similar Recovery Girl?" Izumi asked curiously. Recovery Girl just glared for a moment but dropped the fierce gaze when she realized that her anger was being misdirected.

"I guess we are, fundamentally, but I can't go on and do the things he did the same way." Izuku muttered. "All Might wanted to hold a broken world up alone, like I said earlier. But I want to protect everything we already have and never let it fall down again. Alongside everyone else, of course." He took a moment to look into the memories once more. The despair and hopelessness he felt from some of the scenes presented in front of him made his heart thump in his chest.

He would make sure keep his promise.

-{ ~ }-

Izuku happily watched his classmates win against their 1-A opponents. Ibara had asked Izuku to tutor her in ways to use her vines aggressively. The first thing he taught her was that having the height advantage was a boon in a fight. Mimicking his own Chimera: Kraken, Ibara was able to completely surround Iida in a tomb of thorns, trapping the speedster with no other choice but to concede.

Setsuna was wary of Ashido's acid. Enough so that she played defensively for a good portion of the fight. Dodging acid balls by separating her body into a storm of limbs was enough to keep her from getting hit. She couldn't just throw her mass at the pink skinner girl however, as any touch with her body could lead to severe acid burns, so she had to catch her by surprise. Faking an aerial assault, Mina raised her arms in defense, unaware of the hands that grabbed at her ankles and pulled her down. As she fell forward, Setsuna brought a disembodied foot up beneath the 1-A girl's chin, knocking her out clean.

Last but not least, a clash between 1-A students. Uraraka was Izumi's friend, so Izuku felt obliged to offer a strategy against Katsuki, her opponent. She rejected the offer however and insisted that she could do it on her own.

As the match progressed, Izuku could see what she was aiming for. A rain of debris, similar to what Izumi had attempted in their bout. Though this one was sneakily covered by the smoke that was produced from Katsuki's explosions. The crowd, however, was seemingly blind to the strategy and began to boo Katsuki for being too cruel to Uraraka. Izuku could hear the snarl from the stands.

"To hell with all you cowardly bastards! She's putting her all into beating me and all you can do is boo me! She's here and you're up there! Think about your position before you try to play moral games with us! Why would I disrespect her by going half ass?!" The effect was instant. The crowd was silence by his brash attitude and was left to ponder his words. Izuku could see they exchanged words briefly but couldn't make out what they were saying. His lipreading wasn't that good.

After another few seconds of Ochako flinging debris up, the match came to its end. She ran through the smokescreen of the last explosion with her hands pushed together. Deactivating her anti-gravity hold on the concrete, they began to fall as she made a beeline for Katsuki's standing form.

The blonde simply raised his arms and let loose a monstrous explosion. Izuku winced at the pain that Katsuki was no doubt feeling, as well as the brilliant flash that accompanied the blast. The rubble was blown to ash and Ochako was knocked backwards towards the edge of the stadium. Katsuki was already on top of her, a palm raised high. Ochako then threw in the towel, leaving Katsuki the winner.

"Man, that guy sure is scary. His proficiency with his quirk is nuts! He's probably as good as some of the other recommendation kids I saw." Setsuna said. A couple seats away, Honenuki made a noise of agreement.

"I could definitely beat him considering our quirks, but if I was ever unable to touch the ground, I'd be doomed." Setsuna just hummed in agreement before getting up from her seat.

"No need to psyche myself out! I'll definitely win for us. That last explosion definitely put a hamper on him, no way he can launch another one of those!" Setsuna smiled as she puffed her chest out with optimism.

"Kacchan is tenacious. Since this is the sports festival, he'll probably go all out to get to the top, even if he hurts himself. He's not stupid enough to replicate this in actual combat." Izuku had his eyes trained on Katsuki as he strutted into the hallways of the stadium. Only when Katsuki was gone from vision did anyone speak.

"Why did he call you a 'quirkless Deku?'" Izuku jumped at the question and moved his head to the asker. His eyes landed on Kamikiri. "In the battle trial, he said you were quirkless and you lied about destroying the Zero Pointer, but obviously he's had time to see that's just not true. Is it personal?" Kamikiri eyes Izuku cautiously. A topic like this hit close to home for a mutant like himself.

"It..." Izuku shuffled in his seat slightly. His emotions were stirring. "My quirk is energy stockpiling, but it had such a large minimum requirement that it didn't show itself until the entrance exam. So, for most of my life I was quirkless." Izuku slumped in his seat slightly before a hand rested itself on his shoulder.

"You were gonna take the exam quirkless?! That's so badass and manly Midoriya!" Izuku was startled to hear those words. Looking around most of the class seemed to have looks of admiration. He blushed at the stares.

"So he's just a bigot, great." Kamikiri said. "It's a good thing I didn't help his sorry ass in the battle trial. I'd feel like shit if I helped someone like that. All the more reason to support Tokage in this next fight." Most of the class agreed, though they were all quite surprised that notorious loner Togaru Kamikiri was showing open support for someone in the class.

"Green, if you want, I can throw in an extra personal punch for you." Setsuna asked with glee, a toothy smile plastered on her face. Izuku simply smiled back.

"Knock him flat Set."

-{ ~ }-

Endeavor stood opposite to his son, Shoto. The fire that usually accompanied him was snuffed out so instead of the flame hero, it was Enji Todoroki. There was a heavy and tense silence between the two, though Enji was the first to break it.

"What did he say that got you to use your fire?" It was a loaded question. Shoto shifted slightly, though his face remained ever neutral.

"He asked me what kind of hero I wanted to be." Enji took a small breath. At least he was talking to him without so much hate in his voice.

"And how did you respond?"

"I told him I would be a hero." The answer was bland and uninformative if you were simply listening. But through Shoto's indifference, Enji could hear the implications behind the words. The hero nodded as he got up from his seat.

"I wish you would have done so sooner." The hulking man left the room, leaving Shoto alone to finally let loose the breath he was holding. His entire body shook with trauma. The flames that threatened to flare up were suppressed by the chill of the ice that slowly crept on the floor and up the walls.

He fell back onto Izuku's words to calm himself, if only a little.

-{ ~ }-

"Begin!"

Izuku instantly called upon Blackwhip. His arms were encased within moments, claws twitching at the ends of the limb. He eyed Ibara, who remained still and ready to defend.

"Midoriya." She called out from across the platform. "I must be honest with you. I do have my faith placed in you and I do hope to see you succeed, but your power..." She looked sick as she spoke, which confused Izuku. "You use your power as if you were a demon. It scares me, but right now, I must stay vigilant! I will guide you to a better light!" With those parting words, a wave of vines began to converge on him.

Izuku dove under the initial overhead strike. The next two came staggered at his sides. He sliced at the both of them with his sharpened energy, cutting them off from their source. The ends fell limp on the ground, shriveling quickly. Another two vines attempted to ensnare his legs, but he simply leapt over them and rolled forward. He closed in fast, attempting to punch Ibara right out of the ring, but she put up a thick wall of greenery. Izuku's other hand came forward to claw at the wall, but Ibara was nowhere to be seen behind it.

A throbbing sensation came to his head as he looked up to see the religious girl blotting the sun out of the sky. Her form was surrounded by a swirling mass of vines, all intending to capture and toss him. Daringly, he jumped up and wove his way between the attacking plants.

'I was the one that taught you this move! You should know better than to use it against me.' Izuku thought as he bounded from vine to vine. Slowly, he made his way towards her and slowly he could see the building of fear on her face. The vines that supported her wobbled as he came closer.

With one last One For All powered leap, Izuku buried his arm into Ibara's stomach, relieving her of all the air in her lungs. She fell downwards towards the grass, but her impact was nullified by Izuku, who held her with Blackwhip.

"Match win! Midoriya!" Midnight called the fight and the audience cheered.

"I appreciate your lack of holding b-back Midoriya." Ibara coughed out as she lay in the mass of Blackwhip. Izuku smiled at her.

"I didn't know my power scared you, Shiozaki. I didn't intend to do that. it's just the most effective way for me to use it right now." Izuku sheepishly admitted.

"I was just admitting my sins to you. I judged you too harshly at first, even when you went out of your way to put yourself in the line of danger." Ibara said recalling the actions of the U.S.J.

"I don't think I deserve all the praise really..." Izuku muttered. Before he could speak any more, two medical robots came out with a stretcher intended for Ibara, who lay silent in an attempt to gather her breath. Izuku looked between her and the small tendrils of Blackwhip.

A memory flashed in his head. The scene was of a ruined city, doused in a perpetual rainstorm. Whether it was night or day, he couldn't tell. The gray clouds seemed to absorb any light that attempted to make its way past their barrier.

Through the perspective of the future wielder, he gazed upon a small group of people, all dressed similarly with blue hats to tie them together. They were scavengers and they were hunting.

The wielder jumped in front of them, powerful tendrils of Blackwhip cracking the ground as they fell towards the ground like massive unused limbs. The rain cascaded onto his figure, soaking the dirty costume even further than before.

"H-holy shit. He's actually real! We need to-" The first man to speak up was cut off when Blackwhip grabbed him faster than even Izuku could comprehend. It was too fast for him to register. The one thing Izuku could acknowledge however, was the fear in all of their eyes. Even through the rain, he could see the shimmer of terror. Whatever presence the future wielder held at this moment, was one of terror.

'And I'm repeating the way they used One For All...' Izuku shuddered at the thought.

Was he following the same path as the future wielder?

-{ ~ }-

It was as if his silent prayers were answered that day. Bakugo now only had to deal with Lizard Girl to get a match against Deku. He grinned at the thought of putting Deku in his place. Idly, he massaged his forearms. His match with Uraraka definitely put strain on his already exhausted muscles but he had to push through. There would be an intermission between this fight and the finals, so he'd have a small reprieve before his showdown with Deku.

The light of the sun breached his vision, allowing him to set his eyes on Lizard Girl, who was stretching her arms as she walked up to the platform.

"Ready to lose Blasty?!" Setsuna called out. The scowl she received in response made her grin wider.

"As if you could ever compare to me." Bakugo snarled angrily. Setsuna just laughed at him.

"Are both fighters ready?" Midnight asked. Bakugo just opened his palms and let a few explosions crack. Setsuna nodded once, glaring at the ash blonde. "Begin!"

Setsuna wasted no time rushing Bakugo. He was well versed with close combat so all she needed to do was limit his attacking opportunities. Detaching most of her limbs and breaking them up into even smaller chunks, she threw herself at the explosive teen with vigor. "Limb Storm!"

Hundreds of chunks of flesh flew around Bakugo. He did his best to dodge the bombardment but was struck a few times in stray areas. The barrage pushed him back slightly as he looked for an opening out of it without the use of his quirk. Setsuna continued to pelt Bakugo while slowly regrouping her torso pieces. This storm of chaos was perfectly planned and coordinated, but the audience couldn't tell.

It was like a drop of water disrupting the still surface of a lake, only in reverse. Setsuna gathered all of her body together in front of Bakugo who had ducked under a large swarm of flesh prior. Her first was in the perfect position to strike him dead in the face. It took a moment to regain his bearings after weathering the assault but his instincts let him sidestep the blow.

Drawing himself closer, he put one palm to Setsuna's stomach and let off an explosion. The cloud of smoke obscured everyone's vision including Bakugo's own. Backing off, he ignited sparks in his hands, ready to defend for a counterattack. But when the smoke cleared, he wasn't prepared to witness the consequence of his actions.

A gaping hole in Setsuna's stomach presented itself to the world. Bakugo was stunned completely. He hadn't put that much power into the blast. The audience was aghast, screams of horror and shock rising from each spectator.

"H-how could y-you..." Bakugo felt sick for a moment. Her voice was weak and feeble as she struggled to stand on her feet. Her legs wobbled forward. He looked towards Midnight to see if she had called a stop to the fight but was stunned to see she hadn't moved so much as an inch. Why would she-

Gears turned in his head as he looked between his opponent and the referee. Midnight wasn't stopping the fight, but his opponent was clearly fatally injured. At any moment, the blood loss would-

Blood. There wasn't a single drop anywhere.

"How could you fall for that?!" Setsuna yelled out. Bakugo raised his arm but was unable to as his hands were held to his sides by Setsuna's own detached hands. She had reached him in no time, planting her knee in his stomach, making him lose all the air in his body. As Bakugo keeled over, she wrapped her arms around his midsection and began to carry him towards the edge.

"I can't believe I fell for something so stupid..." He wheezed out. 'Forget getting out of this unscathed. I'm going to murder this bitch!' Smoke emanated from his hands as he screamed out. An explosion surrounded both contestants. Setsuna let go on his body and called her hands back as she was blown back from the concussive force. Bakugo's outline stalked hauntingly through the fire and smoke as he approached Setsuna.

"You want respect? You got it. I'll admit, that was actually pretty convincing." Bakugo sneered. He crouched low as he began to build explosive force in his palms.

"As if I'd want it from you." Setsuna shot back. "I was just thinking, 'What would Green do if he had my quirk?' He'd definitely do something smart like that, that's for sure!" Bakugo's smirk turned to a frown.

"Quit praisin' Deku, Lizard Girl." He rocketed forward as he finished his sentence. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" He came crashing down, but she managed to sidestep his initial right hook. Her arm shot forward, coming loose from her body, but was thrown aside as Bakugo spun around. He then launched a flurry of explosive punches at the Setsuna, who managed to break her body apart to dodge most of them. Intermittently, she would try to throw some punches but most of them were either parried or dodged.

Suddenly, Bakugo brough both hands back as he cupped them together, much like an anime character. Setsuna focused on the attack but would instantly regret the decision. "Stun Grenade!" A blinding explosion turned her vision white, making her close them shut. Her ears were ringing with deafening silence. Robber of two of her senses, the assault Bakugo laid into her felt more prominent as her body latched onto her other senses and kicked them into overdrive. A punch to her stomach stole the air from her lungs and the subsequent explosion that sent her flying made her nostrils burn. Desperate for any reprieve, she let her leg pop off and attempt to strike Bakugo. She felt an impact on her shin but couldn't tell what she hit.

Slowly, she was able to open her eyes and what greeted her was the bright blue sky. She felt around, attempting to get up but felt her heart sink when she felt the grass underneath her fingertips.

She lost.

-{ ~ }-

Deku this, Deku that. Who the hell cared what Deku thought of them? Who the hell cared about Deku period?

Bakugo was fuming in his preparation room. Drumming his fingers against the wooden table, he thought about his last two matches. It was obvious Izumi had gripes with him. She's had them since their childhood, since she found him teaching Deku a lesson about trying to be a quirkless hero. That girl had it out for him for years, but the relentless helicoptering of Deku ceased in middle school, when both boys went to an all-boys school.

But Lizard Girl wasn't Izumi, so her appraisal of Deku was disgusting in his eyes. The bruise that started to form on his face bothered him to no end. A real injury, inflicted by someone who was not only associated with Deku, but looked up to him. Why was Deku so important to them?

That gut feeling from a few weeks ago started to stir once more. 'No way in hell am I scared of Deku. Fuck off!' Angrily, he punched the table his hand rested on. It distracted him for just a moment, letting him brood like usual. He sighed as he rubbed his palm with the other hand.

"I'm going to beat his ass like a drum!" He struck the table ones more, letting an explosion rip it apart. "I ain't scared of you Deku!"

-{ ~ }-

Izuku took in a deep breath as he exited the hallway. Basking in the cheers of the audience and the light of the sun, that anxiety got even worse. Perfect. He looked around and really took it all in for the first time that day. All those cameras were streaming this event live to the entirety of Japan. No doubt there were millions of international viewers tuning in as well. His apartment was probably flooded with the tears of his mother.

"These two have fought tooth and nail to get here. The last representatives of their respective hero classes! Who will come out on top?! The explosion master Katsuki Bakugo of 1-A or the multi-powered green bean Izuku Midoriya of 1-B! This is the match to decide it and to end the sports festival! Let's hear your cheers!" The audience roared in response. Faintly, Izuku could hear the cheers of his class as well as some people from 1-A, most notably his sister, who had been let out of the medical ward just before his match against Ibara.

He smiled as brightly as he could and waved to everyone around him, though his hand was shaking with excitement and fear. Stepping onto the stage itself without tripping was an arduous task. Each step had more weight than the last and by the time he was on the platform, he swore he could feel his feet leaving an indent on the stone under him.

To the viewers, this was just a fight between two promising hero course students, but to the boys on the field, and to the few that knew, this was a battle between opposing ideals and hearts.

"Just so you know Deku," Bakugo called out. "If I blow a hole in you like Lizard Girl, it'll be for real." He marked the end of his threat with a quick shot of smoke from his palm. Izuku just took in a deep breath.

"You won't get the chance." Bakugo's scowl ran deeper. His crimson eyes were fierce, lit up with the blaze of ego and staring hard into Izuku's vibrant green pools.

"Are you boys ready?" Midnight asked. She eyed the two nervously, acknowledging the tense air silently. Bakugo gave a non-verbal response.

"Don't hold us back." Izuku said quietly. Midnight simply nodded.

"Final match!" She raised her whip up for a second, letting the crowd's anticipation build. The silence was deafening. Its nonexistence screamed into everyone's ears, bled into the cameras and projected itself into the televisions of everyone watching. "Begin!" The whip came down, the silence was broken.

And the crowd was in awe.

-{ ~ }-

End Notes

So I believe this is the only proper cliffhanger I've ever written. I've written a lot of garbage and this is somehow a first for me. I usually end up rambling word vomit before I find a good place to stop.

Anyways. Here's a reminder that this story is mainly about Izuku. I will get to the other characters eventually. Obviously there was a good amount of focus on Shoto here and last chapter, as well as Bakugo's angry brooding. I feel like I could get into more detail with his thought process but that requires me myself to get that angry and that's not fun.

Also, I might have forgotten to use Bakugo's nicknames during his sections of the story in the previous chapters. That's just my fault for not rereading my own drafts. I will remember now.

While I'm here, let me finally respond to reviews.

ProjectIceman: Thank you for reading, I hope you were confused as that was the purpose of it.

iron-slayer-dragon: :shrug:

ShadowStalker3424: Thank you for the 3 separate reviews, I will address them in order of chapter. I too am a little curious as to why this doesn't have more follows. That would have bothered me in the past, but now, I like having this small audience. It feels more personal. Your shock at the sister isn't too unfounded. I did throw her in at the end which elicited more of a reaction from green bean than the sudden influx of memories that aren't his.

Class-B is kind of boring to look at honestly. I threw Izuku in to get myself more familiar with them and try to make them just as memorable, in my head, as 1-A. And in head canon, Aizawa would have looked at the two siblings and taken the one he deemed to have "more promise," meaning the one that didn't break themselves to destroy an obstacle robot. Harem? I was never much of a romance writer. I might get where you get the impression of a harem route. I did make Izuku talk to a few females in the story with some suave, but this has a reason. And that's for you to read about, when I get to that part eventually. Maybe I can write a harem for another story or maybe even a dedicated pairing story. For this one though, it's halfway up in the air and already decided. What does that mean? I don't know!

Yes. Izuku in this story has a very different personality. It will be explained, and I will love writing that chapter when I get to it. I promise that everything will be answered then and there. I am trying to present a mystery after all. As for class president, I put it after the U.S.J because it just feels more appropriate to have it there. I never liked that they were put on the spot to choose one person to represent their whole class after just a day or so of knowing each other.

If you read through all of the responses, thank you for doing so. I hope this gives some insight as to where I plan to take this story. As always R&R and have a good day night or evening, wherever you are!