Well, that last chapter was a dozy, it made it a bit hard to follow up with this but I think I managed. Also, again, I won't spoil the ending, but I love how so many people are making MHA art of Hatsume and Ippan, that last one is the cutest as Ippan isn't even her name, Hori never gave her one as she was meant to representative the nameless civilian, yet he designed such a cute and rememberable character that we fans have latched onto her like Mineta did Yaomomo's back.

Chapter 34: Bakugo's Anti-climax

" So, I can say this, with all my heart…" His breathing grew more labored and slower, his voice losing strength as his focus diminished but still, he powered through, he had to.

" You, Kendo Itsuka, are the strongest fighter…of us all." He stated and then said no more. Midnight eventually got back onto the field, having to find paths through the debris field as she approached Midoriya, who this entire time didn't move a muscle.

It was only when she got to him, and saw that his eye was vacant, that she realized what happened. Picking up her fallen headpiece, she made the call:

" Midoriya has been rendered unconscious! Kendo moves onto the finals!" No one moved, no one said a word as they tried to figure out what they just witnessed, as even their winner looked to be in disbelief over things, but eventually one of the civilians in the stands couldn't contain themselves any longer.

"Oh man…THAT WAS AMAZING!" With that ecstatic cry, the floodgates opened as the entire stadium cheered louder than any time before.

And cheer those crowds did, the entire construction of the stadium feeling like it was shaking from how people stomped and clapped away. The site of the field was a wreck; concrete and wood shattered around as the two fighters remained unmoving, and it didn't seem to matter. If anything, it only made them look all the better in the eyes of the public.

"Oh my God, can you believe that?" Someone asked their friend, their smile so big, it nearly tore their face in two.

"I didn't think students could have that much power!" Their friend agreed as Midnight lowered Midoriya to the ground, laying him on his back as he looked to be in a good dream, smiling even as he lay unconscious.

"Students? With that much strength, they might as well be pros already!" Another quipped as Cementoss used his quirk to clear a path for the medical bots, the first two moving towards Kendo, while the following couple went for Midoriya.

"Kendo's strength was incredible; she was like an unstoppable force. I bet she could just bulldoze most villains with ease." A pro stated, amazed at the performance she had witnessed, even if it got messy close to the end, but that could easily be youthful energy getting the better of their judgment.

"Midoriya was fast though, keeping up with her and attacking like a whip!" Another added as Midoriya was loaded onto the gurney, Kendo being able to get onto her with little help before the two were wheeled off with the roar and cheers of the tens of thousands praising them for their effort in what must be the best match of the first-year festival. All this was heard by the students, who had their own takes on things.

"Good God, I wasn't expecting that," Tsuburaba muttered, recalling all the times he trained with Midoriya, all the times he had been bested and Midoriya helped him with breathing exercises while under pressure. He thought he had closed the gap between them, even a little but it was clear that he never realised just how vast that gap was.

"I sure as hell wasn't! When could he create a giant tiger made from wood?" Tetsutetsu pointed with both hands toward the field, which looked like a tornado had torn through and dumped a forest's worth of wood behind.

"Forgot that, you saw those 2 hits. I'm surprised that his jaw wasn't shattered by them and yet, he got back up." Tokage had winced when Midoriya had lost the power struggle and got a mean knee to the gut and then a brutal uppercut. If he bit his tongue, she was surprised his teeth didn't cut right through with fast his somehow not shattered jaw went up.

As if that wasn't enough, she hit him with a double hammer blow that all rights, should have been the end of it. Maybe it would have been if not for those little trouble-makers who called Midoriya their big brother.

"But he passed out like 5 seconds later." Awase reminded her.

"And you would have passed out after the first hit that sent him halfway to heaven." Tokage waved them off.

"It was like he was battling the very skies themselves…and he was holding his own," Kuroiro uttered, still trying to process the scene he had seen. One that looked like two people who embodied forces of nature were pitted against one another. The green vs the blue, the storm vs the forest, the beast vs the lightning. The Blue might have won, but the Green didn't go down without a fight.

"She's strong," Kodai stated, her face seemingly serene, but her eyes were wide with shock, befuddlement, and amazement. She knew her friend was strong, stronger than he let on, but she never thought that it was to such an extent. It didn't even matter that he lost, as the fact he didn't even fall when he fell unconscious while Kendo had been on her knees, too injured and exhausted to stand was in of itself a statement. One she noted, and so did thousands in the audience.

"And understatement of the century. But that seems to be the very limit of her power, you saw her arm." Monoma uttered, though proud that Midoriya had managed to get that far and show off just how powerful he was which in turn, made class B look good, he was worried for him. He knew how his power worked, and that he should be exhausted after such an extreme use of it. Neito wondered how he even gathered that much tenet in the first place.

"Still, to think she got this far without needing to that level of power. Midoriya might have lost, but he can hold that up as an achievement." Shiozaki stated, her class in agreement with her, though across with class A, Bakugo sat silent, stewing in rage and fear. One was born from the fact that he had never been enough to push either Man Hands or Deku to such extremes, the other from the fact that an ever-growing voice in his head was asking if he could even stand up to them if they did, never mind won.

"Holy shit…that…that was something else." Jiro breathed, not knowing what to say about that fight.

"I thought I at least had the electrical part down locked, but she was like an orange thunderstorm…" Kaminari stated. Maybe he could put out more, he…was that all he could do? She didn't even seem to be suffering from the same mental overload that he did, just typical exhaustion.

"The power of the Gods…" Fumikage uttered, shivering as he recalled that he had been in the ring with that…with that divine beast, and he never realized it. No wonder Midoriya was amused by it, he knew he was in no danger, that Tokoyami couldn't hope to beat him.

"I'll never make her mad ever again," Mineta whispered, white as a sheet as Kendo was strong, he knew that but he didn't know she could smite him if the mood overhit her.

"I hope she's okay, her arm looked pretty messed up near the end there," Sato stated, concerned for her condition sure, she had been awake when she left the field, but she looked worse than he had ever seen, then any of them see her.

"If I'm honest, I didn't think she could break her bones like that. Sure, she complains bout the stress her quirk puts on her quirk, but…" Sero stated as Cementoss started to repair the field while robots cleared it. Present Mic even had to announce that they'll take longer than normal for the finals as several shield generators had been blown and needed to be repaired.

"(Kero) None of us have ever seen her need to push herself that hard for that long." Asui finished, Yaoyorozu as silent as Koda as she digested the fight and its aftermath.

"It's a daunting show of power," Shoji concluded as Iida frowned, in agreement but just as awed by what they had seen.

"Indeed, but despite how extreme things got, Kendo still managed to-" Out of nowhere, Iida started vibrating in his seat.

"What's up with you?" Mina asked as Iida reached into his pocket.

"It's just my phone." He held it up, the device still vibrating as he had silenced it earlier. Wondering who would be calling him, and entertaining the idea that his brother had found time in his busy patrol schedule to call, his eyebrow rose when he read the caller ID. "Pardon me, I need to take this." He promptly got up and jogged off to take the call somewhere private.

As the students continued to discuss the insanity of the match, the topics of conversation for them and the entire audience were taken right to Recovery Girl's office, and set onto two of the beds where the nurse got to work tending to their injuries.

Kendo was partially nude, the girl having been stripped of her PE clothes and left with only her sports bra and a pair of shorts, one of the many that Recovery Girl had for situations like this. The clothing had been stripped to allow the nurse to apply cooling pads to the girl's body to soothe her overtaxed muscles that had come close to tearing during the fight.

Despite that, her injuries were the least extreme of the two who arrived as while her entire body was sore, it wasn't something Recovery Girl couldn't see to with a couple of vitamins and a kiss. Her only real injury was her right arm from her fingers to her shoulder was either bandaged or placed in a brace, "The bones in your right arm were nearly shattered, I'll have to be careful to put them back together before I heal you." The nurse informed her patient, who remained conscious even as her injuries were tended to.

"Yeah…I can tell." Kendo replied, her voice strained from the pain and carrying hints of exhaustion but also a little bit of jest.

"Don't get smart with me, young lady! I thought we were past this point," Recovery Girl snapped back at her before turning her ire towards someone who had come to fear it. "Something I should know about, All Might?" She asked, the number one having relaxed out of his muscle form.

Taking a step back, the man raised his hands in defense against her anger. "N-nothing, mam."

"It wasn't All Might's fault, Recovery Girl. I was the one that pushed myself too far. I just…" Kendo defended her master before she thought back to the fight. To the complex and exhilarating emotional state, she had been in. When was the last time she had been that eager, that happy to fight someone? When was the last time she looked someone in the eye and could understand them so well with no words needed?

"I couldn't not do that, I'm not sure how I can explain it." She sighed, as the feeling had gone, and with it, it seemed to take the words that she could use to describe it, as no matter how she thought about it, nothing she came up with could give the experience justice in verbal form.

Recovery Girl and All Might shared a look at that, as they both knew Kendo was not the type that particularly liked to fight. She enjoyed sparring and training, more than most-but knew her limits and was neutral about hurting others, even in training.

But what All Might had told her about the fact, thanks to the fact she couldn't watch things from her office, was anything but what they would expect from her. All Might said it was like watching a berserker, yet not as while she had lost all inhibitions and even restraint-she didn't lose her mind.

Back to the issue at hand, Recovery Girl relented. "Well, considering it's been a while since I had to help you with your quirk's drawbacks, I'll let this slide but don't think for a second I'll let you make a habit out of this or I swear, healing will hurt worse than the injury, understand?"

"Yes, mam." Kendo nodded as fast as she could before her eye was taken by the room's other occupant. "What about Midoriya?" She asked as Midoriya looked to be in worse shape than her. like her, he was stripped of his clothes, leaving him in a pair of shorts. She was concerned by the number of scars he had across his body, a concern she saw was mirrored in both the nurse and her mentor.

Like her, there were cooling pads across his limbs, and his heavily bandaged chest while one sat on his face's left side which had swelled up quite a bit even before they arrived. Speaking of, his face had been cleaned as while most of that blood-based paint had chipped away, Recovery Girl wasn't taking chances. As she did that, she was able to confirm that no, he did not have cat ears as so many students thought. His visible eye remained closed, as he remained in what was a restless slumber as he was breathing heavily and was covered in sweat.

Walking over to him, Recovery Girl did another check of his vitals, and while weak, they were steady. "I might not understand his situation all that well, but I know enough to understand that whatever he did has left him severely exhausted. I'll drip-feed him some nutrients before healing him." She stated. As if she attempted to heal him now, he could easily die from the strain.

"Were his injuries serious?" All Might asked.

"Not nearly as much as I expected them to be. He has 3 broken ribs, 2 cracked ones, a fractured jaw, and a concussion." Recover Girl listed off, Kendo wincing with each but Recovery Girl treated them like bruises and cuts that children got from playing outside. "Like I said, after that fight, I was expecting much worse considering he has no documented means to increase his durability."

"Well, he certainly didn't act like he had a cracked rib, never mind a broken one," Kendo stated.

"Adrenaline can make even a shattered arm," Recovery Girl gave Kendo a pointed look at that part. "Feel like a scratch."

"That said, you did good out there, Kendo. I mean it. you've come a long way." She added, a smile making its way on her face, one that made Kendo blush a little, but also smile in return as while Recovery Girl was like the granny of U.A, her genuine smiles were rare, and hard to earn.

"Thank you, Recovery Girl." Kendo nodded back, with All Might opening his mouth to state something, but was interrupted when there was a knock at the door before it opened to reveal an unexpected guest.

"Pardon, I was hoping to speak with my student," Kenmikoto started as she stuck her head inside, her eyes taking in all the occupants, lingering on All Might just a little longer than the rest, but moving on all the same as she eventually looked at Midoriya, who remained in the world of dreams. "But it would seem that impossible." She finished as she entered, closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Recovery Girl's smile faded, replaced with some irritation, but also caution as this wasn't a part of the stadium that was open to the public, and with the added security thanks to the USJ attack, it should have been next to impossible to get this deep, especially without someone noticing and raising the alarm. This woman, she could tell that she wasn't some regular civilian, there was an aura of danger and power to her, but also something that felt familiar to the old healer.

All Might was much quicker on the up-take as he turned to her, surprised to see her. "Ms. Kenmikoto. I didn't know you would be allowed this far past the checkpoints."

Her gaze went back to him, a little amused with how he was acting like he was walking on eggshells with her. "One, it's Mrs. Kenmikoto. I was married. Secondly, I don't believe we've met, how do you know my name?" Under her amusement, All Might could tell she was watching him much more intently now, the man cursing that he slipped like that. He had met her, but as All Might-and she wasn't an especially public person, so his civilian form knowing her name must have surely raised the alarm in her head.

"Oh-well, you see…" Does he feed her the line that he's All Might's assistant? Maybe he was just a staffer at U.A, she wouldn't be able to disprove it, she left the place decades ago.

"Yes?" She crossed her arms, tapping a finger on her muscular bicep, her amber eyes near burning him while Kendo started to sweat at the situation before her.

"Mam, as this oaf gets his foot out of his mouth, you still haven't answered my question." Lucky for the both of them, Recovery Girl came to the rescue, with their newcomer's attention shifting to the smaller old lady, and the previous piercing glare was replaced with not nostalgic joy.

"My, Chiyo. Have you really forgotten me? I might not dress the same as my instructor days but I hoped your mind was as sharp as ever." She uncrossed her arms, presenting her full body to the veteran nurse, who frowned at the blatant disrespect as if this person knew her, but then she started to piece it together.

"Wait…it can't be? Teitora?" Recovery Girl walked closer to her, the woman was just as tall as she remembered, but that was impossible, she would have been in her 50s when she retired from U.A, and that was almost 40 years ago. Even if she was still alive, she would be an old fossil, probably off in some nursing home.

But that logic didn't stand up against this presence, one she still remembered. Nor could it counter the fact that those eyes were the same amused, playful, confident, powerful, and caring amber she had seen before.

"The only and only." Teitora nodded, smiling as she knelt and hugged her old co-worker, one which the old lady was eager to return, her age seemingly having no bearing on her strength, though she remained confused.

"How in the hell do you look the same as the day you left? I almost thought you were your granddaughter." She asked once they broke their hug and Kenmikoto stood to her full height, despite being shorter than All Might even in his weakened state, she gave off a sense of power both in the way she carried herself and the fact she was ripped.

Kenmikoto laughed, as she had been asked that question before, mainly by old students who she bumped into from time to time. "Oh come now, Chiyo, I woman must have her secrets. As for your question, would you believe it if I said my old credentials still work?"

Recovery Girl snorted but smiled all the same. "I might look my age, unlike you, but that doesn't mean I'm senile."

"And I'm happy to hear that, we can catch up a little after this. I want to learn more about how you've managed over these 40-odd years." Kenmikoto added that she had forgotten that Recovery Girl was still on U.A.'s payroll, one of the few things that had remained from her time there.

"But I called the principal and asked, I'm a new donor so I get some…privileges that the common person doesn't," Kenmikoto answered as Endeavour wasn't the only one willing to use that chance to move about in areas typically off limits to non-staff or students.

"And you came to see your student, it's good to see that the Jade Tiger is as caring for her cubs as ever." Recovery Girl laughed, which left Kendo and All Might in the dark, the latter as he had known the healer for years, from his days as a student to the present, and he could count the number of times he had seen her this relaxed and jovial on both hands.

"In fact, knowing that he's one of yours does clear up some questions I had." Recovery Girl spared the still-asleep Midoriya a glance. "He has the same fighting spirit that your students always seemed to have."

"Thank you-" Kenmikoto seemed to take the praise in stride, but Recovery Girl wasn't finished.

"As well as an instilled paradoxical logical insanity that will surely see him visiting my office if not the principal's a few times this year." She finished with a smug look to her, which threw Kenmikoto for a loop before she let out a laugh that was closer to a tiger's roar with how much he smashed into them and shook the room.

With some laughter still in her voice, Kenmikoto replied. "Well, one couldn't argue with the results. I was part of why U.A. gained the renown it holds today, though it's pleasing to see that even 4 decades since I left, you and the staff that came after me have ensured that it remains the premier hero school in Japan."

"Yes, well you and the rest of our senpais left a good example to follow." Recovery Girl replied before she turned her gaze to her sleeping patient. "As for Midoriya, as I came to expect from your students, he's out cold after pushing himself."

"And much like I expected of you in my brief time working with you, I can imagine he's in good hands. Well then, I'll leave you to it. I hope we can chat later." Kenmikoto turned on her heel and left as calmly as she had arrived.

"Now I see why Nezu was asking about her, though it would have helped if he mentioned she was present." Recovery Girl stated.

"Speaking of that, do you know how her quirk works?" Kendo asked her, Recovery Girl raising an eyebrow at the question.

"Quirk? Dearie, she's as quirkless as a rock." She replied.

"But-!" Kendo moved to ask, but stopped herself, as she didn't know how much All Might and Nezu had told her, as she didn't seem to know too much about things.

Recovery Girl misunderstood her pause. "Yes, I understand that it makes no sense, but I've seen enough in my time to understand that there are things in this world that happen even though they don't work by our traditional logic. And that woman and her student over there are two of such things."

"Well, there goes the one avenue of information." All Might scratched the back of his head, and this time Recovery Girl's tuned to him, opening an eye to scrutinize him.

"And with your slip, I imagine that you've already met her?" She stated, the man feeling like a teen again, being scolded though he couldn't fault her, that was a mistake as they were lucky she didn't seem to read too much into it.

"Yes, earlier she approached Endeavour and me, and we…talked."

"And she unnerved the both of you the entire time? Don't act surprised, she's been doing that since she was a teacher here. Damn shame she had to be let go." Recovery Girl waved off his surprise at her response, shaking her head near the end as that was a terrible time.

"Let go? I thought she resigned?" Kendo asked her.

"And how, pray tell, do you know this?" Recovery Girl asked her, and now caught with their pant down, and partially blaming her slips on the fact she was on some painkillers, she and All Might gave her a run-down of where things stood. By the end, the older woman looked less than impressed that they had expected something like that.

"Unbelievable, I'll have to speak with the principal about this, but for you two, you can be assured in the fact she's not the type to seek vengeance, and certainly not in such a roundabout way." Recovery Girl wouldn't say that Kenmikoto was an angel, as she was most certainly not, but if she wanted to get revenge on U.A. she wouldn't have waited 40 years to do it, nor would she do so in anything but a direct way that made it clear it was her, even if they couldn't prove it.

"And for the being let go, she might have resigned, but the writing was on the wall for her and the rest. Many that chose to leave of their own accord then by being given a pink slip." She added.

"Okay, but back to her powers. Do you know anyone that could explain it?" All Might asked, as while Recovery Girl seemed to believe in her former sempai and co-worker, All Might still had a feeling in his non-existent gut that there was something more to that woman.

This time, Recovery Girl let out a bark of laughter tinged with grief. "Of course I do, her son."

Bakugo sat in one of the two waiting rooms, having left early as he couldn't stand being with the rest of the extras as they did nothing but talk about Deku and Mand-hands. How they were stronger than they thought, how they were in a league of their own, how they could only grow stronger from this point, and all that crap.

It wasn't just them, but everyone there, as the many thousands around them were just praising the dirt those two walked on, even talking about how a bunch of brats might have been Deku's biggest supporters. Then to add insult to injury, they started talking about their previous matches.

How Deku had given them hints about his skills and power when he one-shot Edgelord and knocked him out, before he punked Four-Eyes and kept up with him and then restrained him. How Kendo didn't even need to fight but just carrol Racoon-eyes like she was an actual Tanuki that just needed to be caught by animal control, then how she dominated Half-and-Half like it was nothing.

All the while, there was not even a mention of what he did. He was robbed of first place and his rightful place in the sun in the stupid Obstacle race, and then again in the Chariot battle. That second one was because he didn't waste his time talking with extras in support and focused on doing what he came to U.A. to do-train to be a hero.

Then his two matches were a waste of his time. 'They put me up against a Shitty hair clone and some Pony, but give Deku Edgelord and Four-eyes and Man-hands got Half-and-Half as opponents. People worth my time and I was robbed of that!' He snarled, tightening his fist as he wanted to tell whoever decided a random matchmaker, they were an idiot.

"They got to steal my limelight, and I've left with the dregs. But now…now I'll make them see." He swore, as he was up against Man-Hands, this would be their first rematch since that hero class. But then, that voice came back.

Can he beat her?

He hated that he couldn't find an answer in himself. He hated that precedent wasn't on his side. He had tried fighting her once before, and at best, it ended with a draw. And she wasn't using anything close to the power she had used against Half-and-Half and Deku. If she used that kind of power? What would he do?

Shaking his head to clear away such loser thoughts, he got up. He'll march onto the field, he'll face Man-Hands and he'll win, no matter what because he was the best.

"I'll crush her undisputedly, and claim my place at the top!" He growled, his anger fuelling the violent-looking smirk.

With the field cleared, and the barriers repaired by an exasperated Power Loader, the final match was set to start any minute now, and all over Japan, and the world, people tuned paid close attention to this next match, as it had always been the battle between the strongest, smartest and fastest students that U.A. had to offer in that year.

In the stands, the two hero classes paid close attention to this, even if class B no longer had a horse in the race, it would be foolish and disrespectful not to watch. They had also got word from Recovery Girl that Kendo was cleared to participate, so they knew that the fight was on. It was this mindset that had them all quiet when the bonfires burst into life and the crowds cheered.

" All right, ladies, gentlemen, and all the little listeners out there! We've finally made it, the main event of the first year Sports Festival-the final round!" Present Mic hyped up the crowds as the two fighters made their way onto the field.

" We've seen some powerful and crafty students up till now, but one by one, they've been eliminated till we were left with two of the best we have to offer!" He went on as they silently went up the stairs onto the arena, crossing the line and meeting in the middle.

" From the hero course, Bakugo Katsuki!" Bakugo had a rather villainous violent look on his face, eager to fight.

" Versus! Also from the hero course, Kendo Itsuka!" Kendo for her part, was frowning, but other than that, passive as she stood relaxed, her injuries having been treated.

" You two know the deal, so let's just get on with the action, yeah? Ready?" Bakugo and her got ready. " Start!" Bakugo blasted himself towards her, preparing to get for a right hook boosted by his quirk, but he changed at the last second, launching a kick with his left leg, but Kendo easily blocked, powering up One for All to around 5% while also activating Big fist.

Sending a fist towards him, Bakugo leaped back, putting extra airtime into it via a blast before he got right back into it. Flipping over her and firing a blast directly down, but again Kendo blocked it before she jumped into the air, managing to catch up with him and punch at him, and again he dodged.

But this time she was the one that changed her tactics, as with him trying to escape, she flicked her finger right as she brought One for All up to 15%, not the same as when she shot Midoriya and Shinso into the mines, but with them in air, it was more than enough to knock some wind out of Bakugo's sails. Not that it stopped him as he righted himself and landed without issue, turning to glare at Kendo.

"Dammit, Man-Hands, stop fucking with me!" Bakugo yelled at her, the fight coming to a pause.

"What?" Kendo's brow creased as she held up her enlarged hands, ready to defend herself while keeping OFA at a low 5%.

"Am I not strong enough to make you go all out?" Bakugo yelled at her, Kendo detecting something different about his anger. It wasn't the same bravado or temper-fueled beast, but a deeper one.

"Well, answer me!" Bakugo yelled back at her as she remained silent, charging at her to attack with blast after blast, keeping mobile and attacking from different directions. However, no matter what he did, she was blocking all of them, wincing from her hands getting hit yes, but not stopping even when she fired off flicks of air, forcing him to abandon some chances to attack.

"I don't want to hurt you." Kendo frowned, as she couldn't be sure that he could survive such attacks should she take this that far.

That was the wrong answer as Bakugo only grew more enraged, his desperation pushing him further as Kendo saw some tears in his eyes, but there were only a few before whatever he felt underneath his rage was buried by it once more. "Hurt me? Hurt me?! Screw that and screw you!"

" Bakugo knows he can't defeat her when it comes to raw power, and Kendo's comparable in speed. But he has her beat in aerial mobility and evasion. He's been doing his research." As this went on in the field, Aizawa gave him commentary on the state of things.

" I see, Bakugo's been planning how he'll fight her then, but will it be enough?" Present Mic asked, the students watching the fight, though class A was frowning as they noticed that Bakugo was even more aggressive than normal if that was even possible. He was also getting reckless, putting more into his offense than his evasion, stubbornly tanking blasts of air he could have dodged.

" That's up to them, as it's clear to me that she could have ended the match by now if she wished, but she hasn't. Why is something I couldn't tell you." Bakugo wiped some spit from the side of his mouth, the remnants of bile which had been rejected from an earlier attack while his temper grew ever hotter as he listened to Aizawa spell it out for the entire fucking world that he was only in this because Kendo was fucking with him.

"Bastard! I'll show you what happens to people that make a fool out of me!" He yelled as he charged her yet again, blasting himself to the sides in quick succession to try and confuse her. right as she saw him move to the left, he raised his left hand as if to blast upwards, with her eyes moving to follow him, but that was a feint as he stayed the course and swung his right hand into her, firing off the biggest explosion of the match so far.

Kendo grunted through it, her hands feeling uncomfortable and warm her last-minute block as she tried to grab him, but Bakugo fired off an explosion at her palm, making her flinch which he used to escape. "I don't give two shits if you hurt me, I don't care if I end up needing to see the old lady! You heard Aizawa, you're holding back and I hate that!"

Kendo didn't know what to say, he was right, but also why did he care? She had bested him before with less than this, even if they called it a draw. Shouldn't be happy that he wasn't just smacked out of bounds. "What, do you want to lose that badly?"

"I want an indisputable win, I want no one to question it when I take first place as I should!" Bakugo yelled back at her, aggressively pointing at his chest, but his eyes again told her he was desperate, that he felt like he needed this. "I can't get that if you pussyfoot around like a bitch, so come at me with everything you have, or are you underestimating me?!"

Her eyes softened as she took it in, as she tried to understand someone that she once thought to be little more than an aggressive bully. "That look…I hate that fucking look!" He screamed out as he attacked her yet again, but she found that her heart wasn't in it.

'I'm sorry, Bakugo. I understand what you desire, I desire it too, but I won't give it to you, I can't.' She thought to herself, as she was managing to defend and counter him without much effort, even if she now using 7%, that didn't seem to please Bakugo, if anything his attacks grew faster, and stronger but nothing did much to her.

A large swipe from her sent him back, the angry, frantic blonde breathing heavily, sweating which was good for him, increased sweat meant increased blasts. 'I just don't feel it, I don't feel the rush I felt before. There is no joy in this for me, my blood isn't pumping, my heart isn't racing.' This time, she went on the offensive, Bakugo's eyes widening just a bit as he evaded her strike which crashed into the floor, creating a fist-shaped hole which she easily pulled out from and aimed another strike at him, keeping close to him as they played a high stakes game of tag.

'Because the sad truth is…' She dodged an attack from him and jumped over the smoke the blast had made, flicking herself towards him to increase her speed. 'You're just not strong enough, your heart isn't the kind I can resonate with.'

She punched him right in the face, knocking a tooth out. He tried to correct himself rather than land on the ground, but Kendo turned with the momentum of her punch and backhanded him with her left, throwing him to the floor hard. Her heart not in it, nor was Bakugo a great enough threat to use more of her power on him, she scooped him up in her big hands and tossed him out of bounds.

" Bakugo is out of bonds! Kendo is the winner!" Midnight declared as Bakugo jumped to his feet, seeing that she had thrown him just barely over the line.

"Wait? That's it…? You can't be real; you expect me to accept a ring out?" He asked her, disbelief narrowing how much anger he could display, distilling it into a new kind of rage. One she didn't respond to as Kendo turned to leave, without saying a word. Bakugo refused to let her just walk away.

"That's not a victory and you know it! Start this match again and fight…me…" Bakugo's rant was stopped when he sniffed in a sweet-smelling aroma, the area around him being covered with Midnight's quirk, the gas taking immediate effect on him even as he tried to fight to remain awake. The last thing he saw before he finally succumbed was Kendo's retreating.

Well, that was a little grimmer than I wanted it to be as despite how things could appear, I don't hate Bakugo. Even pre-Covid and the anime got to the stuff that helped explore his character and give him humanizing moments, I was more of the opinion that Bakugo was a victim just as much as Midoriya, as he was taught the wrong lessons his entire life, then got to U.A and all that just crumbled.

Sadly, he's also a stubborn son of a bitch, so he's not the type of character I can see being able to change without some pain or being broken down so that he can be rebuilt better. And sadly for him, that meant that he was always doomed to have this kind of match, a disappointment to him who wished to be the undisputed best-defeated by an opponent that wasn't even fighting him with full strength.

Next chapter should be out on August 30th.

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