Izuku lets out a heavy sigh, collapsing onto a bench just outside one of the two temporary medical tents that's been set up for the duration of the sports festival. Recovery Girl is stationed inside the one he's next to now, reserved for current contestants and those with more serious injuries. Just a few minutes before he watched a kid be rushed in with a broken arm.
Izuku tilts his head back, staring at the sky. His shoulder throbs and putting pressure on his ankle makes it protest in pain, but he'd done it. Izuku had done it. He secured his spot as one of the forty- five people to make it into the second event.
Clouds drift lazily above him, pulled across the sky by invisible threads. He closes his eyes against the sun, basking in the warmth of it.
"Next!"
The world is blue the next time he opens his eyes, gaze landing on the small woman waiting for him. She holds the tent flap open for him with her cane. "Midoriya."
She does not sound surprised to see him there. She must've been watching after all. Izuku stands, limping towards her carefully. She eyes the injury distastefully.
"I saw your fall. If you'd been any higher this definitely would've snapped," she states, motioning at his ankle.
Izuku nods grimly, following the woman as he's ushered into the tent. "I wasn't expecting to drop from so high."
It takes his eyes a moment to adjust to the dimmer lighting as he glances around. Izuku spies the
kid that'd broken their arm passed out on a cot in the far corner, snoring lightly.
"I don't think anyone was expecting it," Recovery Girl huffs. "Most of the kids that managed to get up on the walls had a quirk suited to helping them if they got knocked off."
Izuku hobbles towards an open cot that the woman points at. He can't say he's excited to see where this conversation goes.
"You, however, are an anomaly, Midoriya Izuku." She's facing away from him. "A good one, but an anomaly nonetheless." The woman turns back towards Izuku. Her eyes bore into his, unwavering. "No one will plan for your existence, because of that people will underestimate you. Use that to your advantage."
Izuku swallows nervously, caught off guard.
"You fought well."
Izuku, as bewildered as he is, can only nod.
"Now, what's hurting. I'm assuming there's more than just your ankle." Izuku clears his throat. "My shoulder."
She sighs. "Dare I ask what happened to it?"
He laughs softly, careful as to not wake up the sleeping kid just a few cots over. "Probably not." "That's what I figured you'd say. Do you think you've dislocated it?"
"Not quite. I definitely pulled something though."
Recovery Girl nods, lifting his pant leg to quickly check his ankle. She studies it for only a moment before taking his hand in hers and planting a gentle kiss on the back of it. "You know the drill, kiddo. You can rest here for now if you want. If you decide to sleep I can wake you before the start of the next event."
Izuku can feel the energy being drained out of him as the hero's quirk works to heal his injuries. It leaves him feeling tired, but not as exhausted as he'd feared upon realizing he'd have to come see her. It makes sense, his current injuries can't even compare to his near-death experience just weeks prior.
He rolls his shoulder, checking it for any catches, satisfied when he feels none.
He slides himself off the cot, testing his ankle as he pushes himself up. "I feel like sleeping will make me more tired," Izuku chuckles.
She tucks a handful of gummies into his palm, folding his fingers around them. "Make sure you take these, they'll help you recover some of your energy." Her cool fingers don't linger and before he has time to thank her she's already turned from him, shuffling through a cart of medical supplies without any real need.
"Of course."
From the front of the tent Aizawa's head peaks inside. "Recovery Girl," his voice is muffled by the shroud of bandages encasing him, but he's understandable nonetheless.
Izuku tenses as an instinctual response when his one visible eye lands on him before drifting back towards the older hero.
He steps inside. "What is it?"
"One of the third-year business students got stepped on by a robot. They're being brought over right now, they told me to give you a heads up."
The woman clicks her tongue, scowling. "I told Nezu this would happen. How bad it is?" "Don't know."
Izuku quickly eats the gummies he was given and begins to warily make his exit. He doesn't want to be in the way if there were more injured people being brought in, and least of all he doesn't want to be around Eraserhead more than required. He gives Recovery Girl a nod of thanks that she briefly acknowledges before he slips out the tent's flap.
He's greeted by bright sunlight and a call from behind. "Midoriya," Aizawa says, stopping him.
Izuku, caught off guard, turns around as the hero follows him out. Something like anxiety flares up in his chest. Izuku had been hoping that Piper's body would turn up before the start of the sports festival. He had hoped that, when Izuku inevitably did something Piper-esque, that even people who may have originally made the connection between the two of them would be forced to remind themselves that the dead do not come back to life.
"Yes, Sensei?" He keeps his voice calm and his expression carefully curious.
"Mic was looking for you earlier. He wanted to let you know that 'you're welcome to withdraw from the festival if you feel overwhelmed at any point' ." Izuku gets the distinct impression that the words are being read off a teleprompter as his lips tick downwards.
"...people will underestimate you. Use that to your advantage."
"He's very considerate," Izuku states, voice flat. "But I don't have any plans on withdrawing."
Aizawa studies him carefully before sighing, the tension that Izuku's only just noticed melting from his shoulders. "I'll let him know what you said." He nods goodbye, turning back into the tent. "Good luck out there, kid."
Luck? Luck was a fickle thing, relying on it will only ever get you killed. The only good it's done for him in fifteen years was leave him unconscious on the steps of Reo's fire escape. Even so, Izuku feels himself smile. "Thank you."
With time still left before the start of the next event, Izuku grabs a snack from one of the street vendors and calls Inko to assure her that he's alright and has already been healed. He laughs sweetly as she cries, congratulating him on making it past the first round.
He disappears into the stadium's back tunnels as he finishes eating, eventually forced to hang up on his mother when the signal starts getting bad.
Re oh no ⟩ Today 11:18 am
if u win u have to dab during the awards ceremony
absolutely not
on a completely unrelated note i need to know what your cashapp is
I lived bitch Cashapp me 10 dollars rn and i'll dab
during the next round instead
Izuku grins down at his phone as he sidles up to Shinsou in 1-C's waiting room. He types out one more quick response before glancing around the room. Not including himself, only two other members of 1-C had advanced into the second round. At the moment, however, he and Shinsou are the only two in the room.
Izuku had missed his chance to speak with the boy after the end of the first event, lost in the crowd and riding through the last of his adrenaline, high off of advancing onto the next round. Izuku smiles at him now, falling into the chair next to him. "I thought it was all over for me when those robots started collapsing behind you. But looks like we both made it."
Shinsou turns to him, suspicion clear in the slight furrow of his brows. "Something wrong?" Izuku asks, confusion dimming his smile.
The other boy studies him for a moment longer before shaking his head. "Nothing. Where've you been?"
"I had to go see Recovery Girl." "You alright?"
"Yeah, just tired now. Her quirk really takes it out of you." Izuku lays his head on the table in front of them using his arm as a pillow as he looks at Shinsou. "Thank you."
The other teen raises a single brow. "For what?"
"I wouldn't have made it without your help. Getting out of that starting tunnel myself would've taken too long on my own. I barely made it as is," Midoriya huffs.
"Whether you're first or last, you still get to participate in the next round."
"That's true," Izuku laughs. He stretches, yawning as he pushes himself back up. "If I sit much longer I feel like I might just fall asleep."
"One less opponent for me." Shinsou grins, slyly.
"I thought you said you didn't mind the competition."
The other shrugs. "I'll be winning the next event either way."
"Feeling cocky are we?"
"Losing's never been an option."
Midoriya pauses mid-stretch, smile wavering. The words remind him a bit too much of his previous self.
Above them, the intercom crackles to life. "Participants, please use the next five minutes to begin making your way to the starting tunnel. The second event will be beginning shortly."
Izuku stares at the speaker system above them. "I have the sudden and desperate urge to use the bathroom right now."
"You scared?" Shinsou teases.
"Of course," Midoriya answers, eyes drifting towards his friend, "never underestimate someone who's scared, Shinsou."
Hitoshi eyes him as he stands, making their way into the hall.
The walk to the starting tunnel is short, and when they get there at least half of the heroics department is already there. Izuku finds himself once again staring anxiously up at the red light on the ceiling as more students pile into the tunnel behind them.
Izuku managed to make it through the first third of the sports festival. He wonders if he'll survive the second. Present Mic's voice thrums through the tunnel. Above them, the light flashes green and the sea students shuffle forward in sync.
He quickly loses sight of Shinsou in the migration.
Izuku shields his eyes from the sun as they file outside. Midnight is waiting for them again, poised on the same stage as before. She welcomes them with a crack of her whip that both grabs their attention and silences the cheers of the crowd.
"After giving students a chance to relax and regain their energy we're finally back! Where the first event was focused on the survival of the fittest, the second round will be on teamwork!" The screen behind her flickers to life. "Your second event is! Home-defense! Participants will, on their own volition, form teams of three to five students. Once formed, each team will be tasked with guarding their 'home base' which will consist of a concrete pedestal that will house a small, terracotta replica of UA! Participants' goal is to keep their replica from being broken whilst trying to break other teams'! Once a team's replica is broken, while no longer eligible for advancement into the next round, participants are still able to sabotage other teams! Your replicas must remain on your pedestal! There is no time limit! There are no other rules! The last four teams remaining will move onto the final event! You have ten minutes to choose your teams! Get to it!"
Izuku is at somewhat of a loss after the announcement. He knew, on a subconscious level, that this event would likely be a team one. However, he'd failed to take into account the possibility of having to pick his teammates. He's never had such a luxury as a vigilante.
Shinsou finds him standing helpless amidst the crowd. "Midoriya," he calls out, "team up with me."
Izuku turns to him and nearly bursts into tears of relief.
Shinsou smirks at his reaction. "Did you think I wouldn't want to team with you? You're literally the only person here that I like."
"You sure? You remember what I said earlier, right? I wouldn't have made it this far without you." "I'm looking for a yes or no," Shinsou replies instead.
Izuku's laugh is bright. "Yes."
"So, I don't guess we can strategically pick our teammates, huh? There's not many people that are probably looking to work with gen ed. kids."
There's a long moment of contemplative silence from Shinsou where Izuku expects a quip of some kind. "I mean we could if you'd be up for it," Hitoshi says with a forced casualness.
Before Midoriya can respond, someone calls Shinsou's name from the crowd. They catch sight of Zheng Bao weaving her way through the sea of students. "I'm glad I found y'all, I was worried for a bit there. Do you two wanna work together?" Being the only three students from the general education department, their kind were outcasts in a field dominated by hero students.
Izuku and Shinsou share a look, speaking without need for words.
Their previous conversation is forgotten.
The three of them are in the middle of planning when their potential fourth member arrives.
"Excuse me."
Midoriya doesn't acknowledge the words at first, not realizing that they're meant for him before they're repeated again and a gentle hand taps at his shoulder.
Izuku startles, turning to find Iida standing just behind him.
"I don't believe you heard me during the previous event, but I meant to thank you for your help earlier." The boy's hand cuts through the air in a swift chopping motion. "Although Recovery Girl is on-site to help should any accidents occur, you saved me from receiving any unnecessary injuries."
Izuku takes a moment to gather himself from his initial surprise before he smiles at the boy genuinely. "It's no problem," Izuku states, shaking the hand that's offered to him. "I'm Midoriya Izuku," he greets, "1-C."
"Iida Tenya, vice representative of 1-A."
Behind him, Shinsou's brow twitches upwards in amusement.
"If you don't mind," Iida says, adjusting his glasses. "Would you care if I joined your team?"
Izuku's eyes widen in surprise. "Our team?" He asks uncertainly, confused as to why someone from 1-A would be approaching three gen ed. students for an alliance.
"Yes," Iida confirms, "You proved yourself to be capable in the first event. You took notice of
what I failed to and risked your safety for that of someone else."
Izuku looks at Shinsou in bewilderment. The other teen only grins, shrugging nonchalantly. "I, for
one, think you'd be a great addition to the team," Shinsou drawls. He glances at Zheng who looks just as confused as he is.
They would have to be stupid not to accept the help of a hero course student looking to work with them. Izuku's smile is somewhat nervous-looking, but he extends his hand nonetheless. "We'd love to have you."
Iida pushes his glasses back up the ridge of his nose from where they'd fallen, shaking his hand. "I look forward to working with the three of you."
Even if the boy is only working with Izuku out of a sense of duty or a desire to repay his favor, Midoriya will not question it. Izuku has been anticipating a grueling battle for the second event. But, with a hero student on their side, their chances of winning have increased tenfold. His mind whirls with all the new strategies for survival. Things have just gotten much easier for them.
"Okay," Izuku starts, "It's probably best if we introduce ourselves. Once we–"
"Iida."
Everyone's heads turn to find the source of the voice, or, in this case, the distinct lack thereof.
"Hagakure," Iida greets, "What can I do for you?"
Although he can't see it, he gets the sense that the girl's head tilts curiously to the side. "Do you guys still need a partner? A lot of the other teams have already filled up."
"Although I cannot speak for the others, I believe you'd be a strong asset."
"You're in the hero course too?" Zheng asks, eyeing her carefully.
"We're in the same class," Iida confirms. "I can vouch for her abilities."
Izuku, Shinsou, and Zheng all share a look and Midoriya feels a warm grin rising on his lips. He turns back to the girl. "Welcome to the team."
"I guess we'll start with quirks then. As I was saying earlier, if we want to formulate a plan that'll help us win we'll need to know as much about each other's strengths and weaknesses as possible," Midoriya starts. He can feel the ball of nerves churn inside his chest, writhing against his ribs in hopes of escaping. He pushes them down, hardening his resolve. This was a necessary step towards making it to the third event.
Iida begins explaining his quirk followed by Hagakure and Zheng, who explains that she's able to produce a strong adhesive from her skin. When Izuku sees Shinsou hesitate when his unspoken turn comes, Izuku steps up in his place. He squares himself, keeps his posture relaxed and tone light, but there's an unwavering determination that hardens in his eyes. "I'm quirkless," he states firmly, ignoring the surprise that rolls through the small group. "However, I'm skilled in martial arts and well versed in things like tactical strategies and quirk analysis."
Zheng looks as if she's about to speak before Shinsou cuts in.
"Brainwash," he states suddenly. "My quirk is Brainwash. If I can get someone to respond verbally to me I can control them for an indefinite period of time. A strong enough physical jolt can forcibly cancel it out though."
Izuku blinks at him in surprise before a grin lights up his face. The ball of nerves in his chest unravels. "To think," Izuku laughs, "you could get anyone on your team and yet you still asked me if I wanted to join you."
Izuku watches as a similar ball of nerves unwinds in Shinsou's chest, the tension sliding from his shoulders.
"I remember how you reacted during the security breach on the third day of school," Shinsou reminds him. "You were the only one out of just about everybody that remained calm and tried to figure out what was happening instead of just blindly rushing after the crowd like I was ready to do. I trust you."
Izuku gives a single, determined nod. He glances up at the timer slowly counting down on the screen behind Midnight. There's no time to waste.
"We need a plan before the round starts, so if you have any ideas let me know. But, to start with I want to point out that most people will probably be focused on defense. In a team of five, it's likely for them to send out one to two people to attack while the others defend their replica. However, if they're smart, that plan will extend only until the first one or two teams are knocked out. Once teams start going down there won't be anything for the people who got out to defend so they'll put all their manpower into attacking. That means a lot of teams will be most vulnerable during the starting period."
"What about teams with powerhouses like Todoroki and Bakugou though?" Hagakure asks. "They're basically full teams all on their own."
"Indeed," Iida says, pushing his glasses back up. "Having sparred with them in class I can confirm such sentiment."
"From what I've seen of Todoroki, you're right. Even so, his team is likely to focus solely on defense. They've got the advantage in this situation, the game isn't point based so all they have to do is make sure their replica isn't broken and with Todoroki's quirk, I'm assuming it'll be easy. Realistically speaking they'll probably be one of the last teams. Bakugou however, is more likely to focus on attacking and leave the defense to his team the entire round. And that," Izuku states, eyes trailing towards where he can see the boy's team, "will leave them with three people on defense."
Hagakure laughs, "That does sound like him actually."
"Are you familiar with Bakugou, Midoriya-kun?"
"You could say that," Izuku huffs, "We've been in the same class since preschool."
Hagakure takes on a serious air. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she states with a mock-solemnity. Iida looks between the two of them in confusion. "Why are you offering your condolences?"
Izuku does his best to suppress a laugh as he continues. "Now, we could easily focus on defense alone and keep everyone at the base. Given our combined skills, we'd probably make it pretty far if we leave the other teams to attack. However, it's unlikely we'll survive long enough to be one of the final four teams. So, I have an idea, but first, Hagakure. I have a question about your quirk-"
Around them ten pillars rise from the ground, dragging up dust. There's eleven in total, representative of the total number of teams that'll be participating. By the end of this event, only four will remain.
The terracotta replicas are smaller than he anticipated.
He glances at Hagakure, that's good news for them.
"Choose a pedestal! Take your places!"
Midoriya guides them to a pillar wedged in the corner of the field that'll be easier for defense.
For his plan to work, Iida's speed will be integral to the success of their plan. But, stealth would be just as much of a key component.
"Iida, you'll have to be as quick as you can, go for the team that looks the easiest. Hagakure, make sure you follow after him. Try not to get caught. Shinsou, Zheng, and I will play defense until you get back. None of the teams should be launching any full force attacks so early on in the game so we'll be fine until you get back."
There's a resounding crack of a whip from Midnight. "The round starts now!"
Iida doesn't hesitate, taking off like a bullet, racing towards one of the neighboring pedestals. His movement sets off a chain reaction and before the end of the first minute chaos has already erupted across the field.
The first person that tries approaching their pedestal gets turned away by Shinsou's quirk, instructed to go back and break their own replica.
Izuku smiles.
With this plan, they'll win.
Before the first five minutes of the second event is up, there's shards of broken terracotta scattering the base of their pillar.
Hagakure is leaned over the top of the pedestal, head in her hands. Zheng sits in front of her, head leaned back defeat. To their right Shinsou paces, fingers tugging at his hair.
Midoriya puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, steering him away from the wreckage. "Let's finish this."
"We're barely five minutes into the match and already three of our teams have fallen! This event is moving quickly folks! Who will be the next team to fall!"
The rule that allowed disqualified players to continue attacking opposing teams was a good way to ensure that the match wouldn't become a defensive stand-off between remaining teams. And although it was encouraged, it wasn't required of you to continue participating.
They pass several people sprawled out around their empty pedestals similar to how they'd left
Zheng and Hagakure. To them, there was nothing left to prove. They'd given up. Midoriya, however, was not one to give up in the face of failure.
"Bakugou! If you stay here it'll be easy for us to win, come on man!"
"I don't care shittyhair! Take care of it!" He growls, blasting himself airborne. "There's a reason I agreed to let you team with me!" His eyes rake over the mass of students, looking for one particularly nauseating shade of green.
"1-A's Todoroki has raised the ultimate ice barrier! Both cutting off his opponents and trapping his teammates inside! 1-B's Shiozaki follows suit with a barrier of thorny vines! The supreme defense against anyone trying to make a quick grab at their replicas! And– Oh? What's this! It appears 1- C's Midoriya is dabbing on the haters!"
"Mid battle?"
"Indeed! Keep it up little listener!"
"Why the hell are you dabbing!" Shinsou shouts.
"Reo cashapped me 10 bucks!" Izuku laughs over the crowd, slipping through the guard of one preoccupied team. He uses a high kick to break their replica, watching with a grin as it shatters beneath his heel.
"Shit! Tsuburaba, they got it!"
"Sorry 'bout that!" Midoriya calls over his shoulder. They let out a low groan. "Tokage's gonna be pissed."
"And team Tokage bites the dust courtesy of 1-C's Midoriya!"
Midoriya's already making his way towards the next pillar when his head jerks to the sky at the sound of crackling explosions overhead.
"Found you! Deku!"
Izkuk prepares himself, rolling out of the way as Bakugou lands where he'd just been.
"I don't know what kid you leeched off of to get through that maze," Bakugou growls, "But don't you dare think for a moment that I missed your little 'declaration of war ' earlier. What was it you said again? 'You'll lose', right?"
Midoriya curses. He'd known there was a possibility of Katsuki tracking him down after Izuku's short outburst before the beginning of the first event. That, however, didn't mean he was prepared to fight the boy one-on-one.
Izuku ducks past his right swing. He needs to disappear. If he gets hurt badly enough here then even if his team wins Midoriya won't be able to participate in the final event. He feels at his waist for smoke bombs that he no longer owns in panic. It creates an opening long enough for Bakugou
to squeeze through his defenses.
Katsuki's hand extends out towards him, the barest hint of flash fire flaring across his open palm.
In that moment Midoriya feels nothing but terror.
He sees Overhaul in that hand, sees the monster from the USJ, sees Naomasa trying to coax him into giving up.
Bakugou had saved him once, saved him from the woman intent on burning a hole in his neck. Bakugou had saved him. He'd saved him. And yet, that moment was not enough to erase the eleven years of torment inflicted on him. Just as the scars spanning his rib cage would never fade, neither would the stippling of burn marks dusting his skin like freckles.
Shinsou's voice rises over the crowd. "Hey, Baku-bitch!"
Katsuki's head snaps up, pausing mid-attack. His red eyes are lit like fire. "The fuck did you just say to me!?"
Shinsou's voice goes flat. "I said go destroy as many replicas as you can."
Midoriya watches the boy's eyes glaze over, expression slipping from his face.
Izuku's legs collapse beneath him.
Bakugou stalks off like a zombie and Shinsou rushes to take his place.
"You okay?" he asks, crouching to speak with him. "Can you stand?" Shinsou helps him back to his feet, using himself as a sort of crutch. "Did you get hurt?"
"No."
The other boy goes silent for a moment before turning them around. "Let's get you back to the others. You can take a break once we get there."
Izuku shakes his head, forcing himself to pull away from the other. "If he snaps out of it he could come looking for either of us. And with him being classmates with Hagakure I doubt it would take much for him to realize something's up."
Shinsou studies him for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
"It's getting close to the final few teams though, so it's best if we stick closer to the base," Izuku adds. He does what he can to clear his head, calm his thoughts. He's used to this.
Facing his lingering trauma can wait until after the festival's over.
"You're right. There should be enough people attacking as is, it's only a matter of time before the game ends."
"And 1-A's Bakugou decimates team Shouji's replica! Killing their chances of advancing! As quickly as it began our second event is already almost at its close! Only six teams remain!"
Izuku and Shinsou hover a good fifteen feet away from their pillar, trying their best to look like they're part of the defeated neighboring team. No one pays them any mind.
Izuku's still shaken a bit, with there being no immediate threat, he's taking longer than usual to rid himself of the fear lingering in his chest.
"I was a little skeptical of your plan at first, you know?" Shinsou tells him, carefully eyeing the chaos around them. "It relied on a bit more 'ifs' than I was comfortable with."
Izuku sighs. "That's understandable. I would've been worried about it as well if the situations were reversed."
"I meant what I said earlier though," Shinsou states, "I trust you, and I'm glad that I did. I still don't know how you managed to come up with all of this so quickly though."
Izuku flushes. "I just thought it made the most sense."
"1-A's Bakugou is on fire! Taking out yet another replica! But, the real question is how much longer will his team be able to last without him there?"
Kirishima hardens himself, shielding their replica against a series of projectiles that bounce off his arms and chest.
"Midnight Sensei!" Mina whines, "Why haven't you called an end to the event yet!" She throws out another bath of acid on the ground around their pillar, keeping their attackers at bay. "There's only four teams left but we're still having to fight everyone off!"
"What do you mean!" The hero grins, laughing heartily. "There's obviously still five teams left!"
"Why did Kaminari have to abandon us for Todoroki!" Mina bemoans.
"I know we're bad at math, but there's definitely only four teams, Sensei!" Sero shouts.
The hero cracks her whip in Iida's direction. "Did you not realize that Team Iida is still in the game?!" Her laughter echoes across the field.
Midoriya finds himself anxiously stepping back towards their pedestal at the words, Bakugou be damned.
"What do we do?" Hagakure stage-whispers at them from where she's still awkwardly poised over their pedestal. "They weren't supposed to find out." There's a hint of panic in her voice.
"I figured there was a chance we might be outed if we made it this far," Izuku whispers back, taking a more relaxed yet defensive stance. "But since Midnight didn't point at us directly, we might still be okay. Not everyone will know who Iida is let alone which team he's a part of as long as he stays away." He locks eyes with the teen through the crowd. Izuku does his best to communicate two words to the other non-verbally. "Finish it."
Within seconds Iida is back to trying to get a hit in on one of the remaining replicas. Half of the crowd is looking around in bewilderment, searching for Iida's ghost team whilst the other half has yet to stop their attacks.
"Thankfully a majority of the people who might know what team Iida's on are busy playing defense." He glances down to where Zheng is still sitting. "Your glue traps are still in place just in
case, right?"
The girl nods anxiously. "We haven't needed to use them yet, so..."
He looks back at Hagakure. Really, she was one of the only reasons they'd been able to make it this far to begin with. From this angle, he can just see the barest hint of their intact replica peeking between the gaps in her arms.
Hagakure groans. "I think I'm getting a headache, this takes so much concentration."
"You said this was your first time trying to turn something invisible so that's understandable. It's almost over though, you just have to hang in there a bit longer."
"Aye, aye captain," she sighs.
"1-A's Iida comes mere inches from taking out team Kendo's replica! Oof! There goes Bakugou! Brutally batted away by 1-B's Kendo herself before he can even get near their pedestal! That's gotta hurt! And— Bakugou seems dazed! Is he–? Oh! He's redirecting his efforts! He's going straight for team Iida's base! Has he figured out their ploy? Make sure you're watching closely folks!"
After Hagakure had returned with the broken pieces of the replica Iida had destroyed at the start of the round they were set. Unless something went wrong they wouldn't need to focus at all on the defense of their 'base' until the end of the round.
The plan was easy, too easy. But, it'd worked flawlessly, keeping their team in the running without needing to fend off any of the attackers that the other teams were dealing with. That is until Bakugou gets forcibly 'awoken' and his anger returns in full force.
He's airborne, having crossed half the field before Midoriya even has time to realize he's broken out of Shinsou's quirk. He barrels into Shinsou's chest with all the force of a bullet, sending him to the ground in a cloud of dust. He has a foot planted on the boy's ribcage, pinning him to the ground.
His palms crackle menacingly. Izuku sees red.
Zheng leaps from her spot, grabbing the back of Bakugou's uniform to try and dislodge the teen to no avail. "Get off him!"
While he's busy trying to shake Zheng off, Izuku stalks over, anger boiling like molten lava in his stomach. Izuku pulls his arm back and punches Bakugou in the face as hard as he can.
It's a satisfying feeling, watching his childhood bully stumble off his friend from the force of the blow. He brings a hand up to his cheek in disbelief as he turns slowly towards Izuku. There's a cold, calm fury in his crimson eyes.
"Deku."
That's when all hell breaks loose.
Bakugou lunges at him and Hagakure and Zheng are both yelling and Shinsou is still on the ground
trying to recover his breath and Izuku desperately wants to check on him and make sure Katsuki hasn't broken one of the boy's ribs because he knows just what those can do to you now but Bakugou is in his face and his hands are searing through the front of his shirt where he's grabbed Izuku by the collar and Zheng is trying to pull Katsuki off of him by the back of his uniform,
gluing herself to both him and the ground and pulling as hard as she can and now Hagakure is pulling away from their replica, exposing it to the others and Izuku wants to tell her to stop, go back before anyone has a chance to see it and—
"1-A's Iida has broken the final replica! Team Todoroki, Bakugou, Shiozaki, and Iida move onto our final event! You've fought long and hard, little listeners! Congratulations!"
"Bakugou!" Midnight's voice echoes over the field. "Release him. Continued physical aggression after the end of the match will result in immediate disqualification from the rest of the festival."
Katsuki hangs onto his collar for several more long moments before finally releasing him with a light shove. He doesn't, however, break eye contact with Izuku.
For the first time in his entire career as a vigilante, Izuku wonders why he'd chosen red contacts for his disguise.