Chapter 24

When it became Bakugou and Midoriya's turn the whole class was radiating nerves. Everyone knew how much bad blood was between them. Midoriya was even creating rivers of sweat down his face.

What had the teachers on edge though, was how quiet Bakugou was. He still had his signature scowl with his face set into a hard glare, but there was a determination that wasn't there before.

The teachers are used to Bakugou's harsh personality and tenacity, but this was different. Everyone's eyes went wide when it was Bakugou who spoke first. "Deku, I don't want to fucking work with you, but I still wanna win."

Bakugou was practically forcing the words out of his mouth. He hated him for reasons he still doesn't want to admit to himself yet. Bakugou started ripping the weight tags off his arms and legs to make sure he has free range.

Midoriya was stunned. Here was his childhood best friend who talked to him without violence for the first time in years. "Kacchan…."

"Tch, don't fucking call me that damn Deku. Listen, I'm not gonna repeat myself twice, I have a plan. One of us will go up against All Might, while the other runs to the gate. He's no doubt faster than us and our distraction isn't going to last long, which is why once his attention is taken off one of us, run as fast as you fucking can to the gate."

Midoriya started to overthink the plan and made it known through his muttering. "But we would get absolutely demolished if one of us goes against All Might. It would be better if we both try to run there and keep out of All Might's way. There is no way that-"

Tick marks started to appear all over Bakugou's head. There is only so much the blond can take before he snapped. "I fucking told you I'm not gonna repeat myself again! The plan I came up with is my only fucking compromise to work with you. If you don't fucking like it then I'll take All Might all on my own."

The boys could no longer speak of the plan because All Might was there. Midoriya's muscles locked in fright. His greatest idol is his enemy. Bakugou had the training that Miwako taught him running through his mind. He wasn't going to fail here.

Bakugou took the first move and flew towards All Might. He clenched his jaw at the fact that he could tell All Might was just playing with him. He looked back at Midoriya and saw him frozen. "GET A FUCKING MOVE ON DEKU!"

Next thing he knows the wind is knocked out of him as his body crashes through a building. He laid there for a second trying to get his mind to catch up to what his body had just gone through.

Blood and bile coated his tongue but he still got up and went straight for the gate. He spotted Midoriya right away. The scared look on the green-haired boy's face was making the indignation in him rise to new levels. If this was a real fight, showing fear would be a big mistake.

"Get that stupid look off your face and focus nerd!"

It was too late for the warning as All Might practically broke Midoriya's back with his knee and he flew off into a different building. All Might now had their cuffs and threw them in the opposite direction of the gates.

Bakugou took one of the paralysis seals out of his small pack and hid it in his gloves. He could see the gate. As much as running away was going against his entire nature he was smart enough to know it was the only way for now. In the future, he'll make it so he never has to run away from anything.

He didn't get much farther though until a shadow covered him and he instinctually ducked. The class watching the blood-curdling match all gasped. The dodge made the teachers watching sit up in surprise.

No one knew how Bakugou dodged the attack that seemed to come from his blind spot. Only three people knew. That move was too familiar to All Might and Aizawa to not know who taught it to him.

Miwako was brimming with pride. It has only been a few weeks since she started to really train Bakugou, but the results were starting to show little by little.

Her smile stretched wider as she saw Bakugou twist while dodging All Might's hit and slapping the paralysis seal on his arm. It happened in slow motion in her eyes when in reality it was barely half a second.

Bakugou thanked the gods that Miwako came into his life. The skills he was displaying would have never come to him so quickly without her. He was man enough to admit that to himself. He was also sure as shit that the seal wasn't going to hold him for long. The tag stuck onto All Might by a hair and he had no doubt that it could be blown off.

He straightened himself back out and bolted away from All Might. He saw rubble moving from the corner of his eyes and glanced over briefly to see it was Midoriya finally getting himself up.

They locked eyes and Midoriya's quirk activated to try and make it to the gate as well. They felt a strong breeze behind them when they were 10 feet away from the gate.

All Might blew the tag off his own arm. Bakugou knew his ribs broke when a piece of metal slammed into his side throwing him off course. Breathing was becoming difficult and more blood weld into his mouth.

Midoriya wasn't in a better position since he was pinned down to the ground himself. Bakugou willed himself to get back on his feet and sprinted toward the pair. He kicked the metal pipes off Midoriya while simultaneously using them as leverage to jump off of. He pulled the pin on his gauntlet and let out the biggest blast he could.

He aimed the blast to be able to hit All Might while also using it as a propeller to move him closer to the gate. Bakugou didn't waste any time pulling the pin on his second gauntlet and aimed at the same spot.

The final blast landed him 5 feet from the gate. He unlatched the gauntlets now that they were empty to make him lighter.

Bakugou was three feet away from the gate with Midoriya when he felt the wind pressure change again. Midoriya went down first, but Bakugou wasn't going to be caught the second time.

He dove to the ground rolling.

He was 2 feet away from the gate and he saw a large hand reaching toward him and he unleashed his quirk to its full potential. The muscles in Bakugou's arm started to slowly tear itself apart.

The multiple explosions kicked up the dirt on the ground and created a dust cloud blocking his vision. He couldn't tell how far away he was from the gate, but he knew it should be in front of him.

The lights on the sign cut through the cloud, like a beacon calling him.

He was right at the exit when a hand wrapped around his ankle. Bakugou wanted to scream in frustration. He was right there. He reached his arm out thinking that he was now going to fail his exam when miraculously, the safe bell rang.

"TEAM BAKUGOU AND MIDORIYA WINS!"

Midoriya and Bakugou lost consciousness when they realized they passed the exam. The whole class had dropped jaws and wide eyes. The fight was the most intense of the day so far. They tried to pull themselves together when the last match was set to start.

Miwako vs Hawks.

Hawks made sure his confident and easy-going personality was kept up this entire time when in reality he was analyzing what made this girl so interesting. Looking at her background he could see the inconsistencies, but that was normal for kids who were on the streets.

All he knew was that she was an enemy of the commission and she needed to be taken down as quietly as possible. It was his job to find a fault they could exploit to put a leash on her. Pity flowed through him beneath his cheery mask.

He knew what it was like to have a leash.

The second the test started Miwako threw a kunai onto the roof of a nearby roof to spot the exit gate. A glower appeared on her face once she noticed how far it was.

"So they want you to fight"

"I guess so"

Red feathers flew toward her and surrounded her in a tornado-like formation. She tried to throw another Kunai through the torrent of feathers but it was instantly knocked back toward her.

Miwako knew that unlike in the hidden villages, the heroes here try not to severely injure the students-All Might not included- and that was something she could exploit. She ran towards the edge of the building and jumped off. Just like she predicted the feathers only had a few scratches on her as she threw a kunai to a different roof. The feathers closed around her tighter, not allowing her a chance to slip by again, exactly what she wanted.

She took out a new grenade Bakugou had requested from the support department and he hadn't even used it yet and threw them around her. The feathers burned in the explosion and Hawks became visible above her. She threw Kunais all around her, giving her plenty of marks to move to. One came straight at him and once again a feather knocked it out of the way, but what he wasn't expecting was for her to appear suddenly and use the feather as a railing, cutting her palms as she grabbed it to swing herself right to his position.

She swung the tanto she hid behind her and aimed at his carotid arteries. It only nicked his neck, but her other hand came up with another kunai and threw it right as he dodged, lodging it deep in his thigh. As she fell, she used the mark she just threw to bring herself closer to him again, this time going for a right hook that he blocked with his hand.

She grinned as her hand opened and a mark was placed on his skin. Flexing her chakra she disappeared before one of his feathers could impale her. He lost track of her as she used the surrounding buildings to block her from his aerial view. He sent out his remaining feathers to search for her, but she was better than that.

He flew to the gate, the only place he was absolutely certain he would see her, but that was exactly what she wanted. He couldn't see or hear her because she placed a barrier seal that kept her concealed the second she was out of view to confuse him.

He felt the wind change behind him and turned his head slightly and there she was. This time instead of going in with her blade, her leg was raised parallel to her body and slammed down right on his shoulder.

Everyone winced in the observation room. She definitely dislocated his shoulder at the least. Once he hit the ground the cuff was suddenly snapped onto his wrist. Miwako used them as leverage to pull him up to her height, not caring that she was making his shoulder injury worse.

Miwako positioned herself in a way so that the cameras couldn't capture her face. The glare she was projecting would make a lesser man faint. Hawks was instantly on edge. "Listen bird boy," she spat, "Tell your bosses to leave me alone or I will air out all of their dirty laundry"

The look on her face disappeared as if it was never there and Hawks blinked multiple times to see if he was just imagining it, but he knew he wasn't. The look in her eyes, the intensity she let slip, he knew why she was on the hit list now.

She wasn't normal.

He quickly changed his expression, realizing his cheerful demeanor fell from the shock. "That was one hell of a match baby bird. Hate to say it, but I was going easy on you." Hawks tried to stand, but the wound on his thigh made it difficult, and rubbed his sore wrists from how hard the cuffs dug into them once they were released. "I couldn't imagine being the reason why a student failed their final exam. Just the thought of it breaks my heart."

Miwako wasn't fooled. "Ya know I think you would like a friend of mine, he spews lies like they're the holy verses too." She promptly turned her back on him and went straight towards Recovery Girl's office. While she had nothing against him personally, she knew her actions and words in front of him would be relayed to the commission. The second they were brought up directly, his scent became even more pungent with stress. She sighed after several steps before stopping and turning to look behind her "If you're so unhappy, fight back."

Hawks' mouth dropped in surprise as his eyes widened. He stared at her back as she walked away.

Bakugou woke up to the sound of hushed voices. It took him a moment to recognize who it was.

He decided to keep his eyes closed so he could figure out what they were talking about.

"Don't beat yourself up Izuku, you did great out there."

"B-b-but K-kacchan was able to fight while I-" Midoriya bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as tears started to slowly fall. His hands clenched into hard fists and his head bowed in shame. "I couldn't do ANYTHING. He always wins, and I just-I just froze! The one-time Kacchan was willing to work with me and I just dragged him down."

Miwkao sighed softly and sat on the bed next to him. She adjusted him so he was laying his head on her lap and she was stroking his hair. " You have to remember that you both had different starting points. You only just got a handle on your quirk, while Katsuki has been training his for years. Izuku, the reason why you didn't do well, was because you doubted yourself the second your team and opponent were announced. It was almost like a self-fulfilled prophecy."

Miwako turned Izuku's face on her lap so he could look her in the eyes. "NEVER give up, that was my nii-san's way of life. Those that keep getting up, even with the odds stacked against them, they're the ones that truly go far in life. When you feel like giving up, remember what I'm about to say."

Midoriya couldn't look away from her eyes. They were captivating and full of wisdom he never knew was there, but he could also see something else. There was an intensity in her gaze that made him forget that there was a world outside of them.

"Surpass your limits. Right here, right now"

Bakugou couldn't stop his eyes from snapping open at that. She sounded so sure that limits could be surpassed. The sight in front of him left a heavy feeling in his chest.

The image of Midoriya in Miwako's lap left a sour taste in his mouth and he could already feel his face forming a scowl. "What the hell are you two idiots talking about so loud?"

Midoriya hopped off of Miwako's lap so fast that he fell over the side of the bed. "K-K-KACCHAN!"

Miwako immediately slid off the bed and rushed to Bakugou's side. Which made the heavy feeling in his chest disappear entirely and a softer look overtook his face. "How are you feeling Katsuki? You did amazing out there. I'm so proud of you."

The veins in his neck throbbed as he scowled and tried to sit up, only managing to raise his head off the bed. The rest of his body was too tired from the match to move. "Tch, of course I did great, were you fucking doubting me?!" His anger made her laugh as she sat down in the chair beside his bed, placing her chin on her hand.

Once Mr. Aizawa revealed yet another rational deception and said everyone would be going to training camp, the whole class decided to go to the mall. Miwako tapped Katsuki's shoulder right in front of her. "Are you going to the mall with everyone?"

He looked back at her like she had three heads. "Like I'd want to hang out with those losers."

Miwako opened her mouth to respond when Mina suddenly popped out of nowhere. "MIWA, let's go pick out bathing suits. I know a store that has the cutest selections that I think would look great on you."

Bakugou's face went red at the thought of her in a bikini. Mineta apparently overheard and decided to make his thoughts known. "I'd love to see Uzumaki in a two-piece. I bet it'll make her boobs look even bigger."

Miwako's face paled at what she heard and Bakugou was furious. He shot up from his desk and stomped to where Mineta was sitting and picked him up by his throat. "You look at her, you die. You talk to or about her, you die. Blink twice if you understand." He growled through clenched teeth.

It was all the more terrifying due to the fact that Bakugou wasn't yelling. His hands sparked from where he had it wrapped around Mineta's throat hard enough for him to actually start turning purple. Mineta had no other option than to blink twice if he wanted to live. He started coughing trying to get air into his lungs once he hit the ground. Bakugou was still standing over him with a shadow over his eyes and hands still sparking.

Miwako got up from her desk to wrap her hand around his arm making sure to stay away from the stray sparks. "It's ok now Katsuki. Come on, let's go to the mall together." He stuffed one of his hands into his pockets and the other arm wrapped around her shoulders.