"Okay, let's see who we've got for ya next. The seventh matchup includes two completely redundant Quirks!" Present Mic exclaimed, receiving cheers from the audience.
"One of them's a passionate, manly fighter made of steel. The Hero Course's, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!" Present Mic introduced, earning applause from the excited stadium. The excitement coming from the audience hyped his spirits.
"Bring it!" Tetsu shouted, raising his head towards the sky.
"Versus… A passionate, manly fighter made of rock! The Hero Course's, Eijiro Kirishima!" Present Mic introduced, receiving the same amount of applause from the crowds.
"Seriously, even our intros are the same?" Kirishima complained, clenching his fist. Up in the student stands, Class 1-B clapped and cheered for their classmate with a smile.
"Make us proud, Tetsutetsu! Win it and avenge Ibara!" Kendo shouted, loud enough for Class 1-A to hear on their side of the stands. Ami glanced at the barrier separating the two classes and smiled, humming to herself.
"You got this, Kirishima!" She shouted, raising her fists in the air. Sero and Kaminari joined her in supporting Kirishima. Even Dark Shadow had his claws raised in support. Tokoyami simply kept his arms crossed and let Dark Shadow do whatever he pleased. Bakugo stared at their commotion and rolled his eyes.
The students sitting near the barrier also cheered for Kirishima. Ojiro had his fist in the air and cheered Kirishima on. Above him, Jiro and the rest of the class kept their eyes on the battlefield. She placed her bet on who would win inside her head and waited for the match to start.
However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of snoring from the row above her. Recognizing the voice through his snoring, Jiro knew pretty quickly it was Mineta. He had closed his eyes after witnessing Momo's depressing defeat and fell asleep in his chair. Jiro was already tired of the loud snoring, just like the rest of her class. She raised her earphone jack upwards and launched it towards Mineta.
"Look alive, shorty." Jiro stated, stabbing her earphone jack into Mineta. An electric jolt zapped Mineta's body, waking him up instantly.
"Can't wait to see how this one ends! Begin!" Present Mic shouted. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu roared at each other, instantly charging forward with their quirks activated. Ami watched them collide into each other and cheered Kirishima on. While she cheered, she glanced down at the front row where Izuku was sitting previously and noticed Iida and Ochaco were absent as well.
"Where are they?" Ami questioned, keeping her eyes on the fight.
Stadium Interiors - Waiting Room
Iida wandered the waiting room halls in an attempt to look for Ochaco. He surmised that Ochaco was likely in one of the waiting rooms since her match was coming soon. Sure enough his instincts were correct. He opened the door to the waiting room and saw Ochaco sitting on the chair, staring at the table. The sound of the door opening alerted her to his presence, turning her head towards Iida.
"Oh, hey, Iida." Ochaco said.
"Ah, there you are, Urara-" Iida cutted himself short of finishing his sentence when he saw the disturbing expression on Uraraka's face.
"Whoa, what's with that face? Ugh." Iida said, repulsed by the disturbing expression on her face.
"My face?" She asked, dropping her disturbing expression.
"Oh, it's nothing!" She assured, raising her face and making a smile.
"I guess I'm not great at hiding how nervous I am." She admitted, rubbing her neck anxiously. Iida nodded and walked closer to her, stepping away from the door frame.
"I get that. Your match is coming up soon. And depending on how the pre-match ends, you could be facing Bakugo or Shoji." Iida said, unintentionally causing Ochaco to squirm.
"Yeah, I'm kinda scared." She said, clenching her fists on the table.
"But, you know, after seeing your match, I feel a little better." Ochaco stated, receiving a confused stare from Iida.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, not sure if he should be offended. Not even a second later, Izuku leaned his head over the open door, looking inside to see Iida and Ochaco. As soon as he spotted her, he entered the room and received a nod from Iida.
"Uraraka." Izuku said.
"Deku?" Ochaco said, surprised to see Izuku here with Iida.
"Why aren't you watching Kirishima's fight?" She questioned.
"Well, it's looking like Kirishima's fight's going to drag on for a while like I was expecting it to be." Izuku stated, shrugging his shoulders.
Stadium Battlefield
The fight between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu waged on. Delivering punch after punch and negating damage using their quirks. Tetsutetsu gritted his teeth and stepped back after receiving a hard punch to the face.
"I thought you were supposed to be strong!" Tetsutetsu shouted, punching Kirishima.
"Funny, I heard the same lie about you!" Kirishima retorted, delivering a powerful uppercut on Tetsutetsu's chin. Up in the stands, Bakugo watched the two fighters punch each other with narrowed eyes and arms crossed. They've already been punching each other for nearly five minutes and none of them was going down. At this point, Bakugo saw the match ending with either one winning or they both tire out and end in a draw. He stared at Shitty Hair and Metal Brows and could tell how evenly matched they were. Bakugo flared his nostrils and shook his head at the match.
"Hmph." He groaned, getting up from his seat. Ami, Sero, and Kaminari all stopped cheering for the fight and stared at Bakugo with confused looks.
"Kacchan? What's the matter?" Ami asked, making Bakugo scoff at the question. Like she needed to ask him that.
"Where are you going?" She asked, gripping the side of her seat. Bakugo flared his nostrils once more and headed up the stairs.
"I've got my own match to prepare for, Habanero." He answered.
"But don't you want to see how this match ends?" She asked, making him roll his eyes.
"I already know how this fight's going to end. I can see it coming from a mile away." He stated, making himself clear. Ami, Sero, and Kaminari, both raised their eyebrows in unison. The trio of friends watched Bakugo leave and faced forward, returning to their original positions.
"Great. First it was Izzy, Iida, Ochaco, and now it's Kacchan." Ami muttered, sighing at what happened.
Tsu noticed Bakugo leaving and followed his movements. She heard his response to Ami and noticed the serious expression on his face as he walked up the stairs towards the exit. She slowly nodded and turned towards Shoji, tugging his arm.
"Hey, Shoji." Tsu said, getting his attention.
"Hm?" Shoji hummed, turning his head towards Tsu.
"Looks like Bakugo's getting ready for your match. You should probably go, too. Ribbit." Tsu suggested, causing Shoji to look up at the exit, he caught a glimpse of Bakugo right as he left and looked back down at Tsu. He nodded his head in agreement.
"Right." He said, agreeing with her suggestion. His classmates sitting next to him all gave words of support for him. None of them were particularly rooting for Bakugo.
"Kick his ass, Shoji!" Mineta encouraged, raising a thumbs up towards Shoji. Shoji acknowledged their support and nodded, getting up out of his seat. He stared at the exit from his position and advanced, walking around the empty seats. Sero heard Shoji coming and twisted his body around to look at him. He glanced at Shoji and then immediately twisted back around, facing Ami.
"Hey, Ami. Looks like Shoji's on his way out, too." Sero said, pointing behind him with his thumb.
"Wha-" Ami muttered, quickly twisting her body around. She looked up at the rows above her and saw Shoji making his way to the exit. She raised her eyes and squeezed her hands, getting up out of her seat.
"Hey, wait. Shoji!" Ami exclaimed, getting the six limbed student's attention.
"Hm?" Shoji asked, stopping his movements. He turned his head and looked down at Ami with a puzzled expression.
"I wanted to see you off before you left. Since we were teammates and all." Ami explained.
"Uh huh?" Shoji replied, nodding his head.
"I just wanted to give you some advice for when you go up against Kacchan." Ami said, piquing Shoji's interest.
"I'm all ears." He said, forming ears on several of his appendages.
"Okay, thanks." She nodded, clearing her throat to speak up.
"Look, I know Kacchan might come off as aggressively arrogant and cocky, but he's smarter than that. He doesn't have any problems using his quirk on you so don't hold back. And he's fast with his explosions so, I wouldn't bother trying to push him out of bounds." Ami recommended.
"Hm. I see. Don't ring him out, but knock him out?" Shoji asked.
"Yep." Ami nodded, cracking a smile.
"Got it." Shoji nodded, "Thanks, Ami." Shoji said, appreciating the advice.
"Mhmm." Ami smiled, nodding her head.
"Good luck in your match, Shoji." Ami said, wishing him leave. Once he turned his back on her, she dropped her supportive smile and frowned, "You'll need it." She mumbled, sitting back down into her seat. She looked back down at the battlefield and saw Kirishima and Tetsutetsu still engaged in close combat.
"Geez. Still going?" Ami thought, impressed by their endurance.
"Hey, Ami." Sero said, getting her attention.
"What is it?" Ami asked, looking at Sero.
"Do you think Shoji has a chance?" He asked, getting a conflicted reaction from Ami. First it was a smile, then it was a frown, then it twisted into both.
"Uhm...Well?" She muttered, tapping her fingers anxiously. Sero looked at the mixed emotions in her face as well as her body language and figured it out.
"Oh...That bad, huh?" Sero asked, finding Ami's lack of faith disturbing. Ami sighed in defeat, cursing herself for making her feelings obvious. Ami sighed in defeat and explained her response.
"Shoji is resourceful. His six limbs give him reach on all sides and his grip is super strong. I'm sure he could get the upper hand if he manages to grab onto him, but…Let's just say Bakugo doesn't let an opponent's size intimidate him very easily." She elaborated, thinking about Bakugo's encounters with people bigger than him.
"I figured." Sero nodded, watching the fight continue, "Still. I'm not really rooting for Bakugo." He admitted, taking another glance at Ami after saying his admission.
"No offense." He added, causing Ami to raise an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"Uh, none taken? Why would I be offended?" She asked, surprising Sero.
"You are friends, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yeah, of course, we're friends." Ami insisted, "As much as he loves saying we're not." She said offhandedly, folding her arms together with an annoyed frown. Sero heard Ami's last comment and shook his head.
"I don't know about that..From what I've seen, he tolerates you way more than your brother." Sero stated, being completely honest.
"What do you mean?" Ami asked, raising her eye questionably at him. She started to think about what he could be implying with his questioning.
"Well, it's just that, compared to your brother, it's like he handles being around you better than Izuku." He pointed out.
"Well, I don't know about that…" Ami smirked, darting her eyes away awkwardly.
"Even your nickname isn't that bad. He just calls you, Habanero. That's nothing compared to Deku." Sero mentioned, making Ami second guess herself.
"I see what you're saying, but it's not like we don't fight." Ami said, getting a nod from Sero.
"Yeah, sure, you guys get hostile and argue with each other and all of that, but after the USJ, you two have been talking way more often than before." Sero said, confusing Ami even more. She leaned her head back in confusion, thinking about that one.
"Plus you sit next to him all the time in class and during lunch." Sero added. Ami didn't know how to respond to Sero's words. She brushed aside her hair and made a fake laugh.
"Well, that's because you guys sit next to him, too." Ami said, thinking about what Sero said in her mind. It was true for the most part. Bakugo and her have been less hostile to each other. Ami kept a solemn expression and closed her eyes in deep thought, looking back on all of her interactions with Bakugo.
"Huh. Now that Sero mentioned it. I guess he does tolerate me more than Izzy." Ami thought, finding it hard to believe.
"And he's right. Habanero isn't anywhere near as harsh as Deku." Ami thought, thinking about Bakugo. The more she thought about it, the more she guessed it was likely she was treated better because she had a quirk and Izuku didn't. She continued her thoughts and started talking to herself.
"We have been talking to each other more. But that was only because of Izuku. At first, I stayed close to him to make sure he didn't believe what Izuku had told him about One For All. Instead, I ended up making it more obvious than before. But now he does know about it. He's the only one who knows about One For All right now."
"I'm really happy that he's keeping it a secret. It's because of that secret that it's become a lot easier to talk with Bakugo." Ami thought, thinking about her reasons for hanging around Bakugo.
"He's also the only person from my childhood that didn't move away." Ami thought, referring to her orange haired best friend and the girl's boyfriend. She wondered where they were right now, but didn't focus too much on it. Sero saw the serious thinking going on in Ami's face and shrugged his shoulders, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Meh, I don't know where I was going with that. Nevermind. You probably hang out with him for the same reason we do." Sero said, piquing Ami's interest.
"Yeah, you know what? Why do you guys hang out with him?" Ami asked. Compared to the friends Kacchan hung out with in middle school, he had somehow practically surrounded himself with angels. Sero nodded his head and answered truthfully.
"Eh. He's fun to mess with. Plus, I think he's starting to tolerate us, too." Sero said, cracking a smile.
"Heh. No lie there." Ami said, laughing a bit. Bakugo was undoubtedly fun to mess with.
"So, if Shoji loses? What do you think Uraraka's chances are?" Sero asked, confusing Ami once again.
"Huh?" Ami replied, staring blankly at Sero. It took a second for it to click inside her head making her realize what he was saying.
"That's right. Ochaco is going up against Bakugo or Shoji after the pre-match." Ami said, remembering what she saw on the jumbotron. She glanced at the empty seats in the row below her and looked at Izuku's vacant seat.
"Is that why you and Iida aren't here?" Ami thought, questioning his absence in her head.
"Hey. Look!" Kaminari exclaimed, pointing at the battlefield. Ami returned her attention to the battlefield and watched Kirishima and Tetsutetsu charge and punch each other in the face. The punch from both fighters echoed around the stadium, causing most of the audience to cringe at the sound. After punching each other hard in the face, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu dropped to the floor at the same time. Both students blacked out upon hitting the concrete, deactivating their quirks as they fell unconscious.
"Huh. Looks like Kacchan was right. It did end up in a draw." Ami muttered, frowning a little. She felt sorry for both of them.
"Wow, that's hurt me and all I'm doing is watching these guys! Is it over? The hardheads look like they're KO'd! But who is the winner?" Present Mic asked. Midnight approached the unconscious fighters and examined their injuries. The both of them had sustained an equal amount of injuries, indicating to her that no one was the winner.
"They're both down! It's a draw!" Midnight announced.
"When the contestants recover from this battle, the winner will be determined by a simple contest. Perhaps arm wrestling." Midnight suggested.
"Kinda sucks that no one won." Sero commented.
"Mhm. They fought commendably." Tokoyami complimented, looking solemn.
"Guess we'll find out who's winning after Kacchan's matches." Ami said, getting nods from Sero and Kaminari. Ami glanced back at Izuku's empty seat and frowned, starting to get worried by his absence.
"Hey. Now that the fight is over. I'm gonna go look for Izzy." Ami said, getting out of her seat. She wasted no time saying anything and opted to wave goodbye at her friends. She walked up the stairs and exited the stands, entering the stadium interior.
Stadium Interiors
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's match results were announced on the intercom. Inside the waiting room, Ochaco, Iida, and Izuku overheard the results of the match and reacted.
"A draw?" Ochaco repeated, surprised by the result of the match.
"They must have tired themselves out." Iida pointed out, hearing the crowd's applause through the waiting room's ceiling.
"I thought it might turn out this way. Their quirks were pretty much identical from the start." Izuku stated, getting a nod in agreement from Iida. Ochaco ignored Izuku's analysis and felt her anxiety get stronger, making her whimper lightly. Her light whimper had gotten her friends' attention.
"Almost time now. My fight." Ochaco said, squeezing her palms in distress. Iida saw the anxiety in Ochaco's body language and tried to cheer her up.
"It'll be okay. There's still a chance Shoji might win against Bakugo." Iida pointed out. Izuku frowned and shook his head at Iida.
"As much as Shoji is skilled with his quirk. In all likelihood, Bakugo will beat him." Izuku admitted, feeling sorry for Shoji. He had written Shoji's quirk and capabilities down in his notebook. Unfortunately, compared to Bakugo, Shoji's chances weren't very good.
"Well, even if he does win, he wouldn't use the full power of his explosions on a girl, right?" Iida said, hopping on another chance to cheer her up. Izuku understood where he was coming from but shook his head in response.
"Yeah, he would." He stated, causing Ochaco to whimper.
"Besides, everyone's trying to get the top spot in these games. Even if she wasn't fighting Kacchan, I don't think anyone would hold back." Izuku stated, being honest. He looked at Ochaco and decided now was a good time to mention his idea.
"You've helped me so much. It's my turn to help you." Izuku stated, getting Ochaco's attention, "Maybe I can repay you a little bit with this." He said, pulling out his hero notebook. He held in both of his hands and showed it off to Ochaco. She looked at the notebook in his hands and appreciated the gesture.
"I've got a plan for how you can use your quirk against Kacchan. It's not much, but I did my best." Izuku said, showing off the front cover.
"Hey! Well, alright! This is perfect!" Iida said, raising a double thumbs up at Ochaco in excitement.
"Thank you so much for doing that. But, no. Sorry." Ochaco said, turning Izuku down.
"What?" Izuku asked, caught off guard by her denial.
"You're wonderful, Deku. I keep seeing that over and over again. During the Cavalry Battle, I told you it was a good idea to team up with friends. But now that I think about it, I might've been trying to rely on you to get by." Ochaco admitted.
"That's why when Iida said that he was trying his best to beat you, I actually felt kind of embarrassed for myself." She frowned, squeezing her hands together.
"Uraraka…" Izuku whispered, wishing he could say something to help.
"So, it's fine. Really. Everyone's facing their future and giving this their best. That means we're all rivals. Even you and me, Deku. So… guess I'll see you in the finals." Ochaco said, turning her head and staring at Izuku and Iida with a determined smile. Outside the waiting room door Ami stood in the hallway. She had wandered around for a bit before approaching the waiting rooms for any sign of Izuku. Sure enough, she found them just in time to hear what Ochaco had to say. Hearing what Ochaco had to say brought a smile to her face. It reminded her of the promise she made to herself before the Sports Festival started.
"I want people to smile whenever they see me. I want them to know that I'll be there to make their world a little brighter whether they're young or old. But to reach that dream, I'll have to get better, do better. I'll have to climb my way to the top just like everyone else. I don't necessarily want to be the number one hero, but if I want to make my mark. Then I'll just have to act like I do." Ami's thoughts echoed in her head. Ochaco was right. Everyone was facing their future and giving it their all. Everyone is a rival in this Festival. Sensing that she should leave before she gets caught, she quickly smiled and turned around.
"Hmph. Good luck, Ochaco." Ami whispered, walking away from the waiting room door. She quickly, and quietly, sped off before Izuku and Iida could leave the waiting room. As quickly as she left, Ami returned to her seat with a smile. Right as she took her seat, the flames surrounding the ring had activated.
"While we wait for Kirishima and Tetsutetsu to recover, we'll move on to the next battle!" Present Mic said.
"It's the penultimate match of the first round but also the last of the pre-matches." Present Mic announced, sending the crowd into an excited uproar. He listened to the excitement from the announcer room and grinned, wasting no time in continuing.
"Two wins and one loss. Let's see if Team Mineta's multi-limbed tank can finish proud with 3 wins. From the Hero Course, Mezo Shoji!" Present Mic introduced, counting Team Mineta's success rate. Shoji heard Present Mic's introduction and flexed his limbs, readying himself for the fight.
"I'm not gonna lose." Shoji said, flexing the muscles on all six of his arms. He took on a wide stance and stretched his arms out, appearing taller than he actually is. Like a grizzly bear standing on its hind legs, Shoji's intimidation display was meant to unnerve any who dared to fight him. Normally, such a display would send a chill down an opponent's spine. However, the person standing across from him wasn't intimidated at all. In actuality, he was even more excited to crush him than before.
Bakugo entered the ring with a cocky, sadistic smile. He was ready to knock down the tallest student in class.
"He was kind of a hot shot in middle school. And just look at that determined face! From the hero course, Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic announced, receiving loud roars of excitement. The audience had been waiting for their chance to see the explosive teen in action again. His impressive performance in the Cavalry Battle had brought excitement to many heroes who saw the potential in the boy's quirk. Although some heroes weren't pleased with his cocky statement before the games had started, Wyvern wasn't one of them. Hearing a statement like that had intrigued the hero. It made him more interested in seeing Bakugo's performance.
And after finding out Bakugo was the same kid that almost died from the Sludge Villain, he was impressed.
"Better not end up boring me, kid." Wyvern said out loud. Backdraft heard the comment and glanced at Wyvern.
"I think he'll be far from disappointing, Wyvern." Backdraft replied.
"The last time I saw this boy in combat was when he was defending himself against the Sludge Villain." Backdraft mentioned, reminding Wyvern of the Sludge Villain.
"Right, that's him." Wyvern said, staring at Bakugo. He glanced at his opponent and recognized the six limbed man from the Cavalry Battle.
"The guy he's fighting against has six arms. Looks pretty strong, too. Hope the explosion boy can beat him." He commented.
"He'll do fine. Knowing what he's done to get this far into the festival has proved that. He has potential. I saw it when he fought the Sludge Villain back then, too." Backdraft said, nodding his head. He remembered arriving at the scene to assist. But after seeing how the villain's quirk functioned, he didn't know if spraying him with water would increase his size. He couldn't risk making an even bigger problem and backed off, choosing to pull citizens away from the boy's explosive blasts.
The two students stood still on their respective sides of the ring, staring intensely at each other.
"Don't ring him out, just knock him out." Shoji repeated through his mind. Bakugo glared at Shoji and clenched his fists.
Begin!" Present Mic shouted into the microphone, making the speakers echo his voice. Shoji charged forward towards Bakugo, running at incredibly fast speeds. He positioned his middle and bottom row of arms backwards and created a sail with his own arms, boosting his speed towards Bakugo.
"Shoji charges forward but Bakugo isn't moving!" Present Mic exclaimed. Ami stared wide eyed at Bakugo, who was standing perfectly still. She watched Shoji charge forward and was dumbfounded. She clenched her hands and tightly squeezed her gym pants in nervousness.
"Kacchan, what are you doing?" Ami questioned, looking at Bakugo incredulously. A list of thoughts came rushing towards her as she stared at the battlefield. She looked at the space behind Bakugo and measured how close he was standing to the border.
"I get it now. That's your plan, right, Kacchan?" Ami wondered, staring at Bakugo with a puzzled expression. Down on the battlefield, Bakugo glared at Shoji as he made his approach, preparing himself for his arrival.
"That's right. Grab me, you dumb octopus." Bakugo thought, grinning maliciously at Shoji. As Shoji got close, he saw the look on his face and tensed his body for a counterattack of some kind. He clenched his arms on his right side and raised them up, attempting to deliver a right hook towards Bakugo. Bakugo saw the incoming fists and raised his eyes in surprise, activating his quirk instantly. Bakugo's entire body flew into the air, flying right over Shoji. Shoji stared up at him and then stared straight ahead, he tried to stop running and slammed his fists into the ground to reach a complete stop.
Bakugo landed on the opposite side of the battlefield, turning around and glaring at Shoji from afar. He was caught off guard by the attempt to hit him.
"Heh. I thought he'd grab me and ring me out. But I think he was trying to knock me unconscious instead." Bakugo thought, standing firmly in place. Shoji's attempt to knock him down pleased Bakugo. It meant he wasn't holding back on him.
"Like I'd let that idiot touch me. He's just what I thought he'd be. A locomotive. Once he gets enough speed it's hard for him to come to a complete stop. He charges pretty fast but he can't turn worth a damn." Bakugo thought, pounding his fists together.
"Is that all you've got, Octopus?" Bakugo insulted, annoying Shoji. Shoji turned his head and faced him, staring at the blonde with an offended glare. He walked further away from the border and approached the middle of the battlefield. He centered himself 20 feet in front of Bakugo and kept his eyes on him the whole time. Bakugo watched Shoji's movements very carefully, feeling another plan come to his mind. Shoji looked at the glare on Bakugo's face and narrowed his eyes.
"He wants me to charge him like I'm some kind of bull." He thought, taking slight offense to his insults.
"I'm not falling for that, twice. If he wants a fight, then he'll have to come to me." Shoji thought, shrugging his shoulders and clenching his fists. Shoji stood his ground and glared at Bakugo. The two fighters glared at each other in a silent standoff, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Bakugo kept stoic and cracked a disturbing grin at Shoji. He noticed his lack of action and opened his palms.
"What's the matter? Don't want to charge after me?" Bakugo asked, receiving no reply.
"Or do you want to surrender to my face before this gets ugly?" Bakugo asked, causing Shoji to scoff at him. Shoji took a step forward and pounded all six of his fists together, creating a loud clapping sound that echoed through the battlefield.
"I'm not surrendering." Shoji said, solemnly. Bakugo watched Shoji take a step forward and smiled.
"Is that how it is?" He questioned, getting a serious nod from Shoji.
"Good. Now I'll destroy you." Bakugo said, quickly raising his hand. He stretched his hand out and activated his quirk, creating an orange glow on the palm of his hand. Shoji saw the orange glow and felt his pupils shrink, letting out a shocked gasp. His heart skipped a beat as he was forced to make a retreat. However, before he could take a step back, Bakugo's hand was consumed in a large blast of fire and smoke. Shoji saw the incoming explosion and flexed his muscles and braced himself, covering his face with his six limbs.
"Die!" Bakugo shouted, firing a large blast of his explosions towards Shoji.
"A direct hit!" Present Mic announced, making the audience gasp in shock. Ami and Izuku watched the fight from the stands and glanced at each other in shock.
Ami was surprised by the force of his explosion. Izuku stared at the explosion and felt himself get dejavu. The blast reminded him of the one he made in combat training.
"C'mon, Shoji." Ami mumbled, clenching her fists. There was no way a single explosion like that could take him down. Not after everything he went through. The smoke from Bakugo's explosion covered most of the battlefield, blocking the view for most of the attendants. Inside the smoke, Shoji recovered quickly from the blast and shrugged his shoulders. He groaned from the burning sensation on his limbs caused by the heat of the explosion.
"Ugh. I thought he needed his gauntlets to do that?" He thought, shaking the pain away on his limbs. The smoke was everywhere. Shoji narrowed his eyes and looked around in the smoke, finding it difficult to see through. The attendants watching the fight had the same problem. Present Mic stared at the smoke cloud and groaned.
"Aw, c'mon! I can't see anything through this mess!" Present Mic ranted, flinging his arms up in the air.
Bakugo stared at the smoke cloud caused by his explosion and cracked his knuckles, making a serious glare. There was no way the octopus was down already. He had to be somewhere inside the smoke cloud. He growled and formed a grin again, thinking of another idea.
Shoji stood tall and brushed off the small pieces of cement off his body. The smoke created by the large explosion was thick. He could only see the floor within a three foot radius of himself. He groaned and looked down at the damaged floor. He carefully watched his steps and avoided touching large pieces of rubble and cracked cement.
"Damn. Can't see a thing." Shoji thought, growling in frustration. He narrowed his eyes and focused, listening to the sounds around him. Using sight was out of the question for now, he'd have to focus on hearing. He flexed his muscles and activated his quirk, turning the bottom row of limbs into ears. He focused and raised his ear limbs upwards, scanning the battlefield for noise.
He flinched whenever he heard booming sounds through his ear. He could hear loud explosions from somewhere to his left, confusing him.
"He's moving." Shoji noticed, listening to the sounds. The booms from his explosions alerted Shoji to his general area. He turned his head to the right when he heard explosions from that side. As the explosions grew more frequent, the smoke became thicker. The thick smoke made it even harder for him to see what was around him, forcing him to close his eyes.
"Gah! He's doing this on purpose." Shoji assumed, relying on his ears. He heard two more blasts from within the smoke and clenched his fists in anticipation.
"He's blinding me. Making me rely on my hearing. If I can figure out where he's coming from, I can form a counterattack." Shoji thought, keeping low to the ground. Another set of explosions went off behind him. He counted the number of explosions and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Only two explosions? Why only two?" Shoji thought, coming up with a reason.
"Unless-"
"There you are, Octopus!" Bakugo shouted, getting Shoji's attention. He heard the wind pressure change and realized Bakugo was coming towards him at incredibly fast speeds. He tensed his body and struggled to open his eyes through the smoke.
Within seconds, Bakugo came into contact with Shoji, landing on his back and holding on to him. Shoji felt the blonde grab onto his back and shook around rapidly. Bakugo kept his eyes and held onto Shoji's back as best he could. He raised his free hand upward and activated his quirk, heating up Shoji's neck. Shoji felt the increasing heat on his neck and flinched, bending his limbs back to try and elbow him. He knew what that was and panicked, trying his best to hit him. Sure enough, one arm managed to elbow Bakugo's ribs. He gasped at the painful hit and loosened his grip on Shoji. He instinctively grabbed Shoji with his free hand right as his arm exploded.
"Gah!" Shoji shouted, feeling the explosion on his back. The pain reverberated across his body, alerting his senses of the danger. He squeezed his fists into tight balls and endured the agonizing pain as best he could. The force of the explosion pushed Bakugo off of Shoji. He landed hard on his back, growling in pain as the knockback cracked the cement in half beneath him. Shoji heard Bakugo's growling and focused on it, tuning out his own pain.
"He landed behind me." Shoji realized, turning around. Bakugo looked up at the tall imposing figure in front of him and still wasn't intimidated. He watched Shoji raise all six of his fists upwards and quickly reacted. He activated his quirk on the ground and slid away from him, popping out of the smoke and alerting the audience. The explosion created from Bakugo's attempt to avoid the slam impacted Shoji's arms, causing him to wince in pain. Shoji's fists slammed into the cement, shattering it to pieces with enough force to make the whole floor vibrate. More cracks formed on the surface of the cement.
"Crap. That was too close." Bakugo thought, gritting his teeth in frustration. He rubbed his left side and winced at the pain coming from his ribs.
"Bakugo's back out of the smoke, but where is Shoji?" Present Mic questioned, building suspense for the audience.
Shoji jumped out of the smoke and charged towards Bakugo, sending him into overdrive. Bakugo fired off explosions that sent his body flying backwards, narrowly avoiding Shoji's punches. Shoji punched the ground where Bakugo formerly was and tried to land a punch on the teen. Bakugo watched as Shoji tried punching him while he was on the ground and growled in anger.
He narrowed his eyes and activated his quirk on both palms. Shoji saw his palms light up orange and ceased his actions. He leaned back to avoid the incoming explosions and lost his balance, tumbling to the floor. He tensed his body and braced himself, just as Bakugo's explosions went off. The explosions pushed Shoji deeper into the cement, creating a crater shaped like his body. The smoke from the explosion covered the two of them in smoke once again, making the audience gasp. Bakugo took the chance to stand up and stepped back, walking out of the smoke.
Shoji coughed inside the smoke and swiped at the air, brushing the smoke away from him. Bakugo gritted his teeth as he saw Shoji appearing out of the smoke with a face determined to win. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at Shoji and was about to attack until he heard the sounds of cheering from the audience, distracting the two fighters.
"He just took an explosion to the face and got back up. This guy is great!" A hero complimented, commending Shoji's endurance.
"What an amazing fighter!" Another hero exclaimed, sitting in the row above Wyvern and Backdraft. Bakugo heard them cheering on Shoji and growled in frustration.
"Great. I've made them root for the Octopus." Bakugo thought, pounding his fists together in annoyance.
"Incredible! Shoji took several explosions to the face and still has enough strength to keep on fighting! He's like a six-limbed All Might!" Present Mic exclaimed, comparing his durability to the number one hero.
"A six-limbed All Might?" Bakugo thought, making his blood boil. He glared at Shoji and bulged his muscles.
"They don't know a damn thing!" Bakugo thought, thinking about All Might. If only they knew.
"Grrr! Give me a break!" Bakugo roared, showing off his rage. He fired off explosions from behind him and flew straight at Shoji. Shoji raised his eyes at Bakugo and quickly attempted to grab him out of the air. Bakugo dodged his swipe and roared, punching Shoji in the face with a strong right hook.
"Ugh!" Shoji groaned, tumbling back. Bakugo flew past Shoji and landed on the cracked cement with ease. Wasting no time, he turned around and stared at Shoji's back. Shoji was dazed and confused from the force of the punch and lost his concentration. He heard explosions from behind him and felt Bakugo grab onto his collar.
"Again?" Shoji thought, bending his arms back. Bakugo ignored the arms and activated his quirk, firing off another blast of explosions on Shoji's backside, knocking him to the ground face first. Shoji closed his eyes as his face impacted the cement.
"Ooooo." The audience collectively said, cringing in their seats.
"He's going all out on him." A hero said.
"It's like Izzy's combat training all over again." Ami thought, watching Bakugo carefully.
"I know Shoji can take it. But, still, Kacchan..." Ami thought, gulping her saliva.
"Damnit…" Shoji growled, feeling his backside sizzle with smoke. The force of the blast had knocked the wind out of him, causing Shoji to gasp for air. He wallowed in agony and groaned in exhaustion. He couldn't believe it. He was tired. Ami was right about him. He shrugged and took a deep breath, concentrating on his surroundings. He focused on a plan of attack and tried to think of a way he could reach him. He needed to do something about his hands.
"Wait. Hands." Shoji thought, forming an idea in his head.
"I'm not finished!" Bakugo shouted, knocking Shoji out of his concentration. Shoji lifted his head off the cement and looked at Bakugo. Bakugo charged towards him hunched over with his hands lowered, ready to finish him off.
Shoji narrowed his eyes at his hands and saw his chance. He lifted his bottom left appendage off the cement and pointed it at Bakugo. Shoji focused and activated his quirk, creating an extra limb out of his appendage. His appendage formed a second limb and created another limb on that limb, extending his reach towards Bakugo. His extended limbs reached Bakugo and grabbed hold of the blonde's hand, making him flinch.
"What the-" Bakugo thought, looking down at the multiple arms on Shoji's arm. Shoji squeezed as hard as he could onto Bakugo's hand, crushing it. Bakugo felt his wrist pop and crack from the strength of Shoji's tight grip, sending a wave of pain through his arm and to the rest of his body.
"Gah!" Bakugo shouted out in pain. The loud audible pop from his wrist breaking made everyone cringe. Ami and Izuku watched the fight go on and flinched in their seats. Ami gasped and covered her mouth in shock, hiding her frown. She couldn't imagine the pain he felt from his wrist breaking.
"Kacchan." Ami whispered, feeling bad for the blonde. Bakugo seethed and grinded his teeth in response to the pain, he raised his free hand and blasted away Shoji's arm. Shoji lost his grip on Bakugo's wrist and retracted his multiarm.
"Nngh! Damnit!" Bakugo gritted, holding on to his broken hand with his other hand. Bakugo looked up at Shoji and roared out in rage.
"You bastard!" Bakugo shouted, pointing his free hand towards Shoji.
Die!" Bakugo exclaimed, creating an even larger blast of his explosions at point blank range. Shoji was consumed in the blast, feeling his whole body get lifted into the air. Shoji was conscious as he flew out of the blast. Watching as he flew way beyond the ring and past the border. He struggled to keep his eyes open out of exhaustion, thinking to himself as he flew.
"Damn. He got me…" Shoji said, hitting the concrete walls of the stadium. The stadium shook when Shoji's back impacted the exterior walls, knocking him unconscious easily.
"Shoji has been knocked unconscious and sent out of bounds! Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced, waving his flag up in the air.
"Grrr! Damnit." Bakugo growled, losing his adrenaline. He grabbed his arm and held it close, writhing in agony. He kept his composure and kept a solemn face, hiding the unspeakable pain flowing through him.
"So, this is what it feels like, huh, Deku?" Bakugo asked, glaring up at the student stands. He glared at Deku in his seat and saw the shock in his face. The look of sympathy from him had made his anger rise.
"You looking down on me, you damn nerd?" Bakugo asked, raising his voice. His voice wasn't loud enough for Deku to hear. He gritted his teeth and stared at his classmates. Off to the side, he saw Todoroki staring at him with a silent look of surprise on his face. Bakugo stared at him and cracked a smile.
"Yeah, that's who you're dealing with, Icyhot." He growled, holding tightly onto his wrist. He kept the grin on his face as he stared at the students' reactions. He glanced at them all and stopped when he reached Habanero. His smile faltered for a few seconds when he saw the expression on her face. She was crying. Crying like she was the cause of his broken wrist. Why?
The look of sympathy on her face didn't make him angry, instead it confused him. He ignored everything around him and focused on her instead. The tears on her face made his grin disappear. He didn't know why but her crying had reminded him of the past. It reminded him of that snow day from their childhood. When she broke down in tears and almost accidentally lit him on fire. He remembered those tears. Those annoying and deeply unsatisfying tears.
He snapped back to reality and returned to glaring at her, turning his frown back to a grin. He stared at her and watched Habanero make eye contact with him.
"The hell are you crying for, Habanero?" Bakugo questioned, talking to himself.
"You seriously think Six Arms could hurt me? Who do you think I am? This hardly hurts at all." Bakugo said, covering up his pain. He made eye contact with Habanero and watched her stare at him in silence, contemplating something. He watched her swipe away her tears before he felt a hand grab hold of his shoulder, snapping him back to reality.
"It's over, boy. Head over to Recovery Girl's office and get that wrist healed." Midnight ordered. Bakugo looked at her in silence, narrowing his eyes. He turned his head back to look at Habanero and saw she had slowly started to clap with the audience. He watched the rest of the class clap for him afterwards, albeit somewhat hesitantly. He scoffed and looked down at the Stadium wall, watching as robots assisted with putting Shoji on a stretcher. Realizing he was wasting time standing there, he nodded and turned around.
"...Fine." Bakugo said, walking away.
Recovery Girl's Temporary Office
"There. All done." Recovery Girl said, finishing up healing Bakugo. Bakugo removed the cloth on his wrist and raised his hand. The pain he felt every time he closed his fist was gone, giving Bakugo a satisfied smirk on his face.
"About damn time." He said in a low voice, grinning at his healed wrist. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a metal object smack the back of his neck, making him wince at the pain.
"Ow! The hell was that for?!" Bakugo said, jumping out of his seat. He rubbed his neck and glared at Recovery Girl with confused rage.
"No cussing in my office." Recovery Girl scolded, smacking Bakugo on the back with her cane.
"Grrr. Fine. Whatever." Bakugo growled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Good. Anyways, I've done all I can to fix you up. You should be all set for your next match now."
"Good." Bakugo said.
"Yes. Now scram. I have to heal the damage you did to Shoji." Recovery Girl said, lightly smacking her cane on Bakugo's back. The smack from her cane pushed Bakugo forward, making him growl in annoyance.
"Don't rush me!" He demanded. He approached the door to the hallway and stopped. Turning his head back to glance at her, he nodded his head in thanks.
"Thanks for healing me." Bakugo said solemnly, acting grateful.
"You're welcome, Sunny." Recovery Girl nodded with a smile.
"Though, please, try not to put your next opponent in a coma. It's bad enough that Shoji's wounds are taking this long to heal." Recovery Girl warned. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her and remained silent, contemplating his reply. He tried to think who his next opponent was and was blanking on their name. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded.
"No promises." Bakugo said.
"I'll see you after the match then." Recovery Girl said, sighing at his response.
"Yeah. Whatever." Bakugo grumbled, holding onto his healed wrist. He opened the door to the hall and walked out of Recovery Girl's Office. He clenched his fist and took a few steps forward, letting the door slowly close itself behind him. Once the door had closed shut he started walking again before he heard shuffling sounds behind him.
"Hmm?" Bakugo mumbled, hearing the sound. He twisted his head around and saw Habanero standing on the left side of the door.
"What?" Bakugo thought, raising an eyebrow at her in confusion.
"Hey…" She said apprehensively, waving at him with her hand close to her waist. Bakugo looked at Habanero and immediately noticed her nervousness, making him suspicious.
"Why are you here, Habanero?" Bakugo asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Ami looked at his solemn face and took a deep breath.
"Recovery Girl healed you up pretty fast. How's your wrist?" Ami asked, a little surprised by how quickly he appeared ready for his next match.
"Better." Bakugo stated, noticing the split second sigh of relief from Habanero. Seeing her face light up slightly from the news only made him more suspicious towards her.
"It's just a wrist. Nothing compared to what Six Arms got." Bakugo stated, making Habanero flinch. He noticed her slight frown at the mention of Six Arms and crossed his arms.
"What is this about, Habanero?" Bakugo questioned.
"Just wanted to check up on you. See how you were doing." Ami stuttered, putting her hands together.
"Of course you were." Bakugo growled, rolling his eyes. He could tell she was telling only half of the truth.
"Do I look like I need checking up, Habanero?" Bakugo questioned, taking offense to her reasoning.
"...Not really." She admitted, getting a nod from Bakugo.
"Good. Now quit looking down on me."
"Hey. Just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm looking down on you." Ami countered, narrowing her eyes just a little. Bakugo looked at her eyes for a few seconds and shrugged.
"What's the real reason you're here then?" He questioned.
"I'm sorry about your wrist." Ami apologized, sympathetically. Bakugo raised an eyebrow at her apology.
"Why are you apologizing?" Bakugo wondered in his mind. He examined her facial expressions and saw the remorse in her eyes. As if she was at fault for Six Arms breaking his wrist. He stared at her sad face and lightened his glare, showing a more confused reaction.
"What the hell are you sorry for? This had nothing to do with you." Bakugo questioned, turning around and directly facing Habanero with his arms crossed. He acted like he didn't understand what she was saying but, in actuality, he had some idea of what she was apologizing for. Habanero must have told Six Arms something about him and now she's feeling bad about him getting injured. It sounded dumb in his head but this was a Midoriya he was dealing with so the possibility was there.
"I gave Shoji advice before he fought you." Ami admitted, confirming Bakugo's suspicions. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her with a piercing glare, making her more nervous.
"...And?" Bakugo asked, waiting to hear her explanation.
"I didn't say much… Not really, actually. I just told him that you're smart and that you were fast with your quirk. I told him not to underestimate you. And I told him not to bother trying to push you out of bounds." Ami admitted, frowning. Bakugo leaned back slightly and loosened his shoulders after hearing her admit the truth.
"When I gave him that advice, I didn't think much of it at the time. To be honest, I didn't think he'd get a hit on you at all. But then, he did. When he broke your wrist, I felt like I was the one responsible for it. Like it was my fault you were injured. That's why I'm here. I feel like I'm to blame for him breaking your wrist." Ami explained, being honest.
"..." Bakugo stood silent for a few seconds, processing what she said.
"Why is she so sad about that? It's just a wrist? What the hell is with her? Is she looking down on me?" Bakugo thought, assuming the worst for just a second. He clenched his fists and glanced at Habanero for a split second before resuming his thoughts. Her explanation echoed through his head. He contemplated her feelings and knew she wasn't here because she was looking down on him. He could tell she wasn't with her stern denial and the emotions that followed.
"No. It's not because she thinks I'm weak." Bakugo denied, thinking it through. His mind drifted to memories of watching Habanero fight against French Fry and remembered how he felt during and after the match. Seeing that pained look in her face upon consuming the laser had upset him for some reason. It was startlingly strange. He didn't understand why he even thought of it.
"Did it hurt?" He asked, remembering the question he had asked her when she returned to her seat next to his. He didn't know why he asked, it was obvious that it did. Yet for some reason, he needed to know for himself. Thinking about it more and hearing what she said made him reach a conclusion in his head. She was just concerned for him like he was with her. He scoffed at the idea, shaking his head lightly. He thought about what she said and turned around, facing away from her.
"So, you told him not to hold back on me?" Bakugo asked.
"...Basically. Yeah." Ami answered, making Bakugo grin. Deep down, the fact Six Arms went all out on him satisfied him greatly. Something that he had Habanero to thank for.
"Good." He said, closing his eyes.
"Huh?" Ami replied, looking dumbfounded.
"B-but your wrist-"
"Still on that? Who cares about my wrist, Habanero. If you'd have told him to hold back on me, he would be dead." Bakugo said, surprising Ami.
"I don't care if he broke my damn wrist. He did it to win and didn't hold back. That's exactly what I expect in a fight." Bakugo said, nodding his head in agreement.
"Now stop making that stupid frown. I told you it's annoying." Bakugo grinned, glancing back at Habanero. He stared at her face for a second and noticed the blush on her face, making him dart his eyes away in a hurry. He dropped his grin and had a blank stare, he put his hands in his pockets and started walking.
"I've got a match to win. Go back to the stands." Bakugo said, not knowing why he was in a hurry to leave.
Ami watched him leave without realizing she was blushing. She stopped frowning and smiled warmly. The response she got from her apology wasn't what she expected. She thought there would be more anger involved but, to her surprise, there wasn't. His words echoed through her head, reminding her of why she respected Bakugo.
"I don't care if he broke my wrist. He did it to win and didn't hold back. That's exactly what I expect in a fight." Bakugo said, repeating through her head. Hearing it made her smile. That's Bakugo. He never holds back for anyone because he expects his opponent to do the same. It was his own way of doing things. And she knew it was his way of showing respect. She sniffled and clenched her fists, feeling her heart skip a beat. She felt her mood improve by miles. His words were exactly what she needed to hear. She stood there in the hall for a minute thinking about who he was fighting in the next match. The realization he was fighting Ochaco made her frown.
"Right. It's Ochaco next." She whispered, knowing he wouldn't hold back. She had her worries about the fight, but in her mind, not holding back might be what Ochaco needs. And as much as she wanted Ochaco to pull off a victory, another part of her wanted Bakugo to win.
"Welcome everybody to the final match of the first round. Let's get right into it! Back with a vengeance and sporting a face that could kill, It's Katsuki Bakugo from the Hero Course!"
"Versus…The one I'm personally rooting for, also from Class 1-A, Ochaco Uraraka!"
"Who are you, again?" Bakugo thought, focusing on her face, jogging his memory, "Right, the girl that hangs around Deku." Bakugo thought, coming with blanks on her name. He gave up halfway and focused on a facial feature.
"You're the one who usually screws around with gravity, right, Pink Cheeks?" Bakugo asked, glaring menacingly at her. Ochaco was quickly intimidated by his threatening glare and took offense to the nickname he gave her.
"Pink Cheeks?" She whined.
"Well, if you're going to give up, do it now. You saw what happened to Six Arms, didn't you?" Bakugo asked. Ochaco heard the question and gulped. She didn't see what happened to Shoji. She sat in the waiting room and waited for her own match to arrive.
"What happened to Shoji? The stadium shook earlier, did he blow him up?" Ochaco thought, getting unnerved by her own thoughts. She glanced at the stands and looked around for Shoji in the class only to see he was absent, making her slightly panic.
"He's not even here!" She thought, whimpering in fear. She frowned and shook her thoughts away, standing firm.
"No. Don't let him get to you, Ochaco." Ochaco thought, swallowing her saliva.
"Midoriya." Iida said, getting Izuku's attention.
"Huh?" Izuku said, turning his head towards Iida.
"I'm curious. What was that strategy you came up with that would give Uraraka an advantage against Bakugo?" Iida asked, chopping the air.
"Honestly, it wasn't really much of a plan." Izuku admitted, looking down at his hero notebook.
"Kacchan's so strong." Izuku stated, recalling his fight in the combat training, "When it comes to close combat, he almost never has any openings. And the more he moves, the more he sweats, which just makes his quirk more powerful." Izuku said, frowning with uncertainty. He grimaced at the memory of watching Kacchan fight with Shoji, hoping that this match would end differently.
"He's gotten really good at using his explosions to move around in the air. But, if Uraraka is able to touch him, she can use her quirk to make him float. She could send him out of bounds. That's why it's obvious what Uraraka needs to do to get the upper hand. Strike first." Izuku explained.
"Let the match begin!" Present Mic shouted, hyping up the crowd.
"Giving up isn't an option for me!" Ochaco shouted, charging forward with her hands spread out. She kept low to the ground and ran as fast as she could. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her actions, gritting his teeth in irritation.
"Wow, look at her go! That's a good start and all she has to do is touch him one time!" Izuku exclaimed.
"But it won't be easy. Shoji tried the same thing and we all saw how that turned out. You know Bakugo's not gonna let her get too close to him." Iida said, keeping a serious face. Izuku's smile slightly faltered at his words, nodding his head in agreement.
"I know. But he only dodged Shoji to assess what he could do. This time he won't dodge. He'll focus his energy on counterattacking." Izuku said.
"And now you die." Bakugo growled, opening his palm. Ochaco saw Bakugo prepare to fight back and remembered what she had overheard from Izuku during the combat training.
"Kacchan, you always use a big right hook to start a fight." Izuku said. She charged towards Bakugo with the intention of making him attack. Bakugo glared at her and leaned his right hand back.
"There. Here it comes!" Ochaco thought, watching Bakugo raise his right arm forward, "If I can dodge this move!" She thought. Bakugo's quirk activated and fired off an explosive blast into Ochaco, covering her in smoke.
"Uraraka!" Izuku and Iida exclaimed.
"He blasted her..." Mineta said, shaking in fear.
"Ugh, looks like Bakugo's not planning on showing her any mercy." Tsu said, looking at the smoke with worry. On the other side of the stadium, the heroes were watching the fight and gasped at Bakugo's action.
"He just blasted that girl in the face and didn't even react." A hero complained, feeling his jaw drop.
"Stupid." Ochaco cursed herself, covering her face through the smoke.
"Saw it coming and I still couldn't get out of the way." She frowned, gritting her teeth. Bakugo stared at the smoke and waited for her to make her move.
You should have dropped out of the match." Bakugo said, observing the smoke. His eyes focused on an object running towards him and instantly attacked, grabbing hold of the object.
"There's no way you can beat me!" He shouted, firing off a large explosion. He looked down at the object he just fired upon and raised his eyes when he realized it was just a jacket.
"Huh?" Bakugo gasped, realizing he was tricked.
"Whoa! She flew her jacket over as a decoy! What incredibly quick thinking!" Present Mic narrated.
"This is my chance, I can make him float!" Ochaco thought, jumping through the smoke cloud. She stared at Bakugo and reached her hand out towards him. Bakugo heard her movements behind her and opened his palm. He flung his hand back and activated his quirk, creating a path of explosions towards Ochaco. She gasped and braced herself but the blast was too effective, making her yelp mid air. The force sent her flying backwards, landing on the cement with a thud. As she hit the ground, she maneuvered and twisted her body around just right to catch herself halfway, landing on her legs. Small pebbles pelted the ground as she recovered. She glared at Bakugo and charged after him again.
"Geez. The pre-match didn't slow him down at all." Sero said, holding his tongue.
"Seriously, the guy's insane. You can't get the drop on him. Unless she touches him, his lightning fast reflexes put her at a huge disadvantage." Kaminari said, watching with unease.
"Too slow!" He roared, dragging his hand across the ground. A burst of explosions erupted from his hand, destroying the cement beneath him. Ochaco gasped at the explosions and rolled to the side before getting blasted. She disappeared in the smoke again and used it to her advantage. Bakugo narrowed his eyes and listened to her movements.
"I've got you!" Ochaco shouted, charging up from behind him. He turned around in an instant and raised his palm forward, releasing a blast right in her face. The explosion enveloped her in an instant, causing the audience to gasp. Even her classmates were shocked.
"It's Shoji all over again." Ojiro commented, gulping nervously.
"Is she okay?" Tsu questioned, watching the explosion consume Ochaco.
"I can't watch this." Jiro said, covering her eyes.
"Like I always suspected. Bakugo's a total sadist." Mineta said. Izuku's stomach welled up with anxiety, making him grind his teeth. He groaned and squirmed in his seat, watching Bakugo deliver another blast of explosions towards Ochaco. Ochaco got up and appeared injured, showing several scratches and dirt marks on her skin.
"This isn't over yet!" She shouted, running after Bakugo. Bakugo gritted his teeth in annoyance at her. She was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. He heard her running behind him again and smacked her away with a powerful explosive blast. She grunted as she was knocked into the air again, the blast sent several large chunks of cement into the air with her.
"Looks like she's not resting between attacks despite being exploded. The poor girl." Present Mic commented, feeling great sympathy for Uraraka. Ochaco ran towards him and was quickly caught in another blast of explosions, sending tons of rocks into the air. Ochaco braced herself as best she could but still winced at the heat produced by the explosions.
"Uraraka…" Izuku muttered, watching her get consumed in another explosion. The heroes watching from their side of the stadium had frowns and terrified looks. Many of them gasped at Bakugo's attacks, disapproving of his brutality.
"He's dishing out the same level of power on her like in his previous match. How horrid." A hero commented in disgust.
"Her feint earlier didn't work, so now she's getting desperate." Another hero said, frowning.
"Hmm. You idiots. Look closer." Monoma said with a smile. He overheard them from far away.
"Hey, shouldn't one of the teachers step in?" A hero shouted, looking down at Cementoss observing the match.
"Yeah, this is too rough." Another hero agreed. In the rows above them, Wyvern and Backdraft watched the fight in silence. Wyvern heard the hero in the bottom row and looked down at him in disapproval.
"Too rough, huh?" Wyvern questioned, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Where was this anger when he did the same with the guy with six arms?" Wyvern stated, stoically. Flames shot up from his shoulder, making the extra fabric shoot up into the air. Wyvern glanced at the fire and listened. He took a glance up at the ceiling and cracked a grin at what he saw.
"Hmm…" Backdraft mumbled, paying close attention to Ochaco's behavior. He wasn't sure what to make of this fight. Her actions on the battlefield appear desperate, but he could see it in her eyes that she was planning something. He just didn't know what. He stared at the smoke forming in the air above the battlefield and noticed something strange above, making him gasp. Backdraft turned to look at Wyvern to confirm what he was seeing and saw him nod his head. The two heroes remained seated and took on solemn looks, watching the heroes around them begin to join in on the outrage.
"This is shameful!" Another hero shouted, distracting the heroes.
"Listen, kid! You really wanna be a hero? Then stop acting like a bully." The hero scolded, pointing his finger at Bakugo in disapproval.
"If you're so good, just send her out of bounds!" The hero shouted. Bakugo ignored his scolding and fired off another blast at Ochaco. The heroes flinched at the explosion and started to agree with what the hero was shouting.
"Stop toying with the girl and end this match!"
"Yeah! You heard the guy!" A female hero dressed like a dog agreed. The crowd started to boo, annoying him greatly.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Bakugo thought, listening to the stadium's boos. Ami listened to the booing from the heroes' stands in surprise.
"They're booing him? Just because he's not holding back?" Ami questioned, frowning at the hero's reactions.
"They don't know him like me and Izzy. He's not holding back for a reason." Ami muttered to herself, justifying Bakugo's attacks in her head. As brutal as they were, she knew why he was doing it.
"I don't care if he broke my damn wrist. He did it to win and didn't hold back. That's exactly what I expect in a fight." Bakugo said, echoing through Ami's mind. Hearing it made her nod in agreement. If only they knew. Wyvern heard the outrage directed towards Bakugo and rolled his eyes.
"This is an embarrassment." Wyvern stated, staring at the booing heroes. Flames shot up from his shoulder as he looked at the heroes with a stern look.
"The crowd is now booing Bakugo! And honestly, I kinda agree with what they're sayin-" Present Mic agreed before getting cut off by an elbow to the side of his face. He fell off his chair and grunted in pain. He looked at Aizawa in confusion and shot back up.
"Hey, whoa- what the crap?" Present Mic shouted, adjusting his glasses.
"Where is the man who started this uproar? Are you a pro?" Aizawa asked, rising his voice over the speakers.
"Because if you're being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I'd suggest looking into another career." Aizawa criticized, glaring down at the hero stands. The hero that started the booing frowned in discomfort, taking a seat in embarrassed silence.
"Hmph." Ami hummed, smiling with her arms crossed. She felt vindicated by Aizawa's words.
"Heh." Wyvern grinned, looking up at the announcer room.
"Do you know what he's talking about?" Izuku asked.
"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgment of his opponent's strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far, so he's making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top." Aizawa explained, shutting up the complaining heroes. Bakugo heard Aizawa's and kept a stoic look. He was surprised Aizawa had figured it out. He narrowed his eyes at Ochaco and tensed his body.
"We're not finished. She's still standing." Bakugo growled, watching Ochaco get up in exhaustion.
"She's not dead yet." He said, clenching his fists. Ochaco looked up at Bakugo in exhaustion, panting hard.
"I think it's about time." She said, weakly. Bakugo heard what she said and raised his eyes in confusion.
"Thank you, Bakugo." She nodded, composing herself. Her thanks made Bakugo growl in annoyance. He focused on her and waited for her next move in anticipation.
"For keeping your eyes focused on me." She said, catching her breath. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her and gritted his teeth. Up in the stands for Class 1-B, Monoma stared at the battlefield with a smug look.
"I don't blame Bakugo for not noticing, but it's embarrassing for a pro to boo and not realize what's going on from the stands." Monoma said, looking up above the stadium.
"She kept low to the ground as she moved, which meant Bakugo's blasts tore up the floor of the ring, creating weapons for her. And then she kept him focused on her by attacking relentlessly, without rest. Rendering him oblivious." Monoma said, grinning in amusement. Ochaco pressed her hands together and deactivated her quirk, releasing all of the cement that had been floating in the sky. Bakugo looked up at the sky and gasped at the amount of debris in the air.
"What the-" He thought in surprise.
"A meteor shower!" Present Mic exclaimed, clenching his teeth.
"Now you notice." Aizawa said, solemnly.
"There we go." Wyvern thought, leaning his head forward in excitement.
"Hey, she had a plan all along!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.
"That's amazing, Uraraka. No one noticed that debris because of all the 's no way Bakugo could've seen this coming." Ami exclaimed, smiling wide with excitement. Bakugo stared up at the debris in the sky and felt his anger rise.
"Damnit." He grumbled, raising his hand upward. Ochaco glared at Bakugo and ran towards him as fast as possible.
"With this much debris, whether he's evading or counterattacking, there will definitely be an opening! In that moment, I'll finally get close to him!" Ochaco thought, seizing her chance to touch him. She activated her quirk in her hands and reached out towards him, ready to make contact. Bakugo quickly reacted to the meteor shower and raised his hand upward. He supported his hand and held onto his elbow with his free hand. He knew what it would take to deal with the blast and focused all his strength into one hand, activating his quirk. In the midst of activating his quirk, he didn't realize which hand he was using.
"This is it! My shot. I'll win and be just like Deku!" Ochaco thought, believing in herself. Just as she was inches away from making contact with him, Bakugo fired a massive explosion from the palm of his hand. Explosive fire shot upwards from Bakugo's hand and blasted the entire meteor shower. Ochaco clenched her teeth and felt her eyes bulge out in shock. The blast was so powerful, it created a shockwave that sent Ochaco flying. She let out a grunt as she landed hard on the cement. The shockwave from the explosion propelled itself across the stadium, creating a gust of wind that blew back everyone in their seats.
Ochaco grunted on the floor, struggling to move. She was in a state of confusion after the hard landing, feeling her head hurt. She panted and gasped, pushing her body off the ground with her hands. She stared at the smoke cloud and watched it clear up, seeing the silhouette of Bakugo inside the smoke.
"I figured you'd have some sorta stupid plan to defeat me. You are friends with that damn nerd, after all." Bakugo stated, appearing out of the smoke completely unscathed.
"It took him one shot." Ochaco stuttered, feeling her soul exit her body. Seeing Bakugo unscathed nearly destroyed her will.
"Bakugo bangs out a huge demonstration of power! He blasted apart Uraraka's finishing move and remains untouched!" Present Mic exclaimed, receiving no response from the audience. Everyone in the stadium stared at the battlefield with jaws dropped. Bakugo lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hair. He took a second to relax as the smoke cleared up and touched his hand in exhaustion.
"…That was close." Bakugo panted, quietly whispering. He clenched his wrist and felt a sharp pain go through his hand. He winced as his hand started cramping up, causing him great discomfort. He gritted his teeth and growled at the pain.
"Ugh. Crap. I used the hand Six Arms broke." Bakugo grunted, gritting his teeth in irritation.
"I put everything I could into that, but I wasn't good enough." Ochaco said, feeling a wave of sadness hit her. Her body trembled in exhaustion as she lifted herself up.
"Oh, man." Izuku muttered, watching Ochaco stand up.
"I can still stand, though." She said, breathing slowly. Bakugo watched her stand and felt a twisted smile form on his face. She could stand, which meant she wasn't done yet.
"All right, then. Time for us to get serious, Uraraka!" Hr shouted, charging towards her with his hands ready to explode. Ochaco heard Bakugo's shouting and flinched, hearing his footsteps charge towards her. She took a deep breath and struggled to compose herself.
"If Deku were in the ring he wouldn't give up yet." Ochaco thought, clenching her fist. Despite the pain, the exhaustion, and everything in between, she wasn't ready to stop fighting. However, much to her dismay, her body was ready to stop. She turned around and faced Bakugo, allowing him to see the exhaustion in her face. His twisted smile faltered as she fell to the ground, stopping himself from charging after her.
"Uraraka is down!" Present Mic exclaimed. Bakugo came to a complete stop and relaxed his muscles and caught his breath. The smile on his face faded away and turned into a solemn glare. He looked at her and watched her struggle to move, feeling disappointment. He could tell she was done, despite her protests.
"No. Come on. Get up." She groaned, trying to move her legs, "I want to keep going." She muttered, weakly.
"She's so tired, she can't even stand." Ami thought, watching Ochaco struggle to move. Seeing her fight against her own body in an attempt to keep going had reminded her of her own similar experience.
"All that debris she had floating in the air must have drained her. It's just like what happened to me when I used my quirk in the Fire Zone." Ami thought, thinking about her own similar experience. Memories of eating the fire in the Fire Zone played through her mind. The power she gained from it all had caused her to collapse. She was lucky Ojiro was there to help her stand. But, for Ochaco, no one was helping her. She was on her own.
"It's too much." Iida muttered, watching nervously.
"Yeah. She's way past her limit." Izuku said, feeling sweat drip down his face in anxiety.
"I can do this. I can still fight." Ochaco strained, resorting to crawling towards Bakugo. Bakugo watched Uraraka crawl towards him and shook his head, forming a disappointed frown. There was no point fighting someone who can't even stand.
"I can-" Ochaco strained, crawling forward with the last remnants of her strength. She grinded her teeth and held on to her consciousness. Her heart was beating rapidly and her limbs felt like they were going numb. She lifted her head up and frowned, thinking of a memory of her childhood.
"When I grow up all big and strong. I'll help you and Mommy out any way that I can." Ochaco promised, staring up at her parents. Her father crouched down to one knee and rubbed the top of her head and smiled.
"I appreciate you wanting to help us, Ochaco. But, as your father, I'd be happier if you achieved your own dreams. That'd make us perfectly happy! And, well, if you do make money, just take us on a vacation." He said, smiling warmly in appreciation. Ochaco gritted her teeth as the pain increased tenfold. Her vision became blurry and her breathing slowed down. Taking a deep breath, she lost the strength holding her head up and felt her face hit the cement.
"I'll become a hero." She muttered, losing her ability to speak.
Bakugo watched her head fall to the floor and listened to her mutter something and kept quiet. He dropped his guard and put his hands in his pockets. This was over. He watched as Midnight approached the fallen girl and motioned for him to stop. He complied and watched her crouch down and examine Ochaco's condition. Midnight listened to her heartbeat and frowned, feeling a flood of sympathy towards the girl. She frowned and took a deep breath, announcing the results.
"Uraraka is KO'd. Bakugo advances to the second round." She announced. Bakugo stared silently at Midnight and the unconscious girl in front of him as the audience cheered and clapped towards his victory.
After a couple of minutes passed, the robots arrived and put Uraraka on a stretcher. She squirmed and moved around on the stretcher and was carted away. Bakugo watched them take her away and sighed. She was weak, but she was close to beating him. Too close. He stared up at the sky and started thinking.
"Thank you, Bakugo. For keeping your eyes on me." She said inside his mind. He scoffed at her words, grunting in frustration.
"Idiot. She was charging at me on purpose and I didn't even realize it. Her strategy almost worked." Bakugo thought, cursing himself. He clenched his fists as hard as he could and felt his knuckles crack. He winced once more when he felt another cramp in his wrist. He growled at the pain, knowing he had interrupted the healing process.
He sighed and groaned in discomfort, turning around and walking off towards tbe exit tunnel. He reached the tunnel and reentered the Stadium and made his way back to Recovery Girl.
"And that's it for the first round!" Present Mic announced, slumping his shoulders and sighing loudly, "I was really pullin' for her. Oh, yeah. I guess Bakugo's moving on." Present Mic said, touching the side of his face with a disappointed frown. He wasn't even trying to hide his feelings.
"You're supposed to be unbiased, you know." Aizawa pointed out, glancing at Present Mic with a tired stare.
"Let's try to forget that depressing outcome." Present Mic said, ignoring Aizawa. Aizawa facepalmed and rolled his eyes.
"Or not." He said.
"With that, the first round is complete! We're taking a quick break and then we're back with more matches!" Present Mic announced.
Author's Notes:
Hello, readers! Merry Christmas! Here's my present to all of you. A new chapter on Christmas day for all of you to read in your own free time. I ended this chapter right at the end of Ochaco's match so I could have time to work on changing dialogue before Izuku's fight with Todoroki. The next will only be focusing on that fight alone so expect a shorter chapter maybe. As I said before, Bakugo is mellowing out and his knowledge of One For All is making him tolerate the twins' presence slowly, but surely. Sadly no one talked to me during the month and I received no reviews from anybody, so the author's notes will be a little short. Anyways, let's get into this chapter.
Ami and Sero's conversation is meant to highlight the difference between Bakugo in the story and the Bakugo in canon. As we all know, he's a lot angrier at this point in time, however, in this Alternate Universe, the fact he knows about One For All has changed his attitude by a pinch. Hanging with Ami has also helped with mellowing him out. More to come with that.
Bakugo vs Shoji went through several rewrites because I was unsatisfied with how it went several times. One of the earlier versions had Bakugo win instantly. Another version was slightly shorter than the final version. The only difference between that version and this version was Bakugo's injuries. Originally, Shoji would have gained a temporary upper hand and used his quirk to break Bakugo's arm. But I think that might've gone too far, so I changed it to just breaking his wrist.
Bakugo vs Ochaco wasn't going to change all that much. The major differences were in what the heroes said while watching the fight. I imagine there'd be even more outrage towards Bakugo's attacks against Ochaco if he had showcased his power on Shoji beforehand.
That's why Bakugo received more anger from the heroes. The other difference is when Bakugo destroyed the meteor shower. He used the hand Shoji broke which caused him to feel pain. That's pretty much all the differences between this fight and the canon fight.
Hope you enjoyed Bakugo's fight with Shoji. I tried my best with their fight and tried to think of how it would've worked in the show. The way I see it, Shoji is a tank and is probably the strongest puncher in the class, excluding Izuku with One For All.
I would like to mention that Chapter 1 has been edited for additional detail and some grammar fixes. So, please, if you could kindly reread chapter 1, I would be grateful. In total, the additional detail added 3000 words to the chapter. Funny enough, it helped the story reach the official goal of 325,000 words. I still feel bad that all of my chapters are 10,000+ words when compared to every other author's stories of similar chapter length having 5-8k words. I tried shortening my chapters but I always end up typing 20k words by accident. It's happened several times now and I don't know how I did it. Anyways, I didn't get a single review since chapter 23 was posted. Nor did I receive any questions, so I've got nothing to reply to.
Little warning, I had delays completing this chapter this month so I was only able to finish editing last night. My apologies if you notice some glaring mistakes that I didn't edit out. If you see one please tell me in DMs or in reviews.
Because I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter, I'd appreciate receiving reviews for this chapter and chapter 23. Please point out any mistakes you find and send me feedback to improve my story. Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 2022 is days away and I can't wait!