Here, Symbol of Life is back to save more lives and do more heroic works.
Review Time -
As for Izuku's past experiences and traumas, that was the last of it for now. And it might take a few changes in Izuku and Momo's relationship, but it's for the future to tell.
Regarding Inko, All Might, and Nana's ages, canonically, Inko was 40 when All Might was 55. Then, on the internet, I saw that Nana was 35 when she died, and Nana died on the same day All Might passed away from UA at the age of 18. So, at that time, Inko should have been 3 years old.
However, I haven't mentioned All Might's age in this story yet. So, regarding Inko, All Might, and Nana's relationships, it will be shown in the Inko's small past arc.
Though, I can say that Inko will be an important character in this story.
That's all I had to say, so now enjoy the chapter.
Reviews are appreciated; they always help me go forward and write more.
CHAPTER 14 - IZUKU VS KATSUKI, THE FATED BATTLE
At the arena -
"OKAY EVERYONE... IT SURE TOOK SOME TIME TO FIX IT BUT WE ARE READY FOR THE NEXT MATCHES"
Present Mic announced as the crowd cheered loudly.
"Next Match: Katsuki Bakugo from support course vs Mina Ashido from heroic course, both competitors come to the arena." Midnight announced.
The only support class student entered through the right side with a vicious grin. Though upon his entrance, the support class students booed loudly at him. Katsuki threw a murderous glare towards them and went forward.
Mina entered from the left side with the cheers from the crowd and a few members of her class. She knew that Class 1-A was worried about Izuku and Momo, but she couldn't let that distract her at that moment, because it was her time to shine.
"Be ready to be defeated, Bakugo. Because I'm going to hurt you unlike Midoriya did in the heroic class," Mina taunted, even knowing that taunting could be fatal against Katsuki of all people.
Katsuki's brow twitched as he saw red. "What did you say, raccoon-eyed fucker? You're just a pebble in my way that I can kick out any moment."
Everyone was shocked that Katsuki openly cursed without hesitation. Midnight started the battle, not wanting to let Katsuki speak too much.
The explosion user didn't waste any time and launched himself towards Mina with a series of explosions.
But Mina saw through the attack and smirked, 'Just like that, he started with a right hook.' She sidestepped and grabbed his hand, planning to slam him on the ground.
Though Mina's plan didn't go well. As soon as she grabbed Katsuki's right hand, he brought his left hand immediately to Mina's side and created a violent explosion.
"Arrrghhh!" Mina cried out in intense pain as her jacket and undershirt were burned, leaving her skin badly burned.
Mina was agile, but Katsuki knew what he was doing. He was going to deliver killer shots with no mercy.
The intense pain made Mina let go of Katsuki's hand as the blond propelled into the air and landed another deadly blast on her stomach, blowing her away from him.
In a few seconds, Mina was already on the brink of defeat by a vicious Katsuki.
"TALKING ABOUT BRUTAL! BAKUGO DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ASHIDO A CHANCE. THE SECOND MATCH MIGHT BE OVER IN A FEW SECONDS!"
Meanwhile, Katsuki walked towards the helpless form of Mina, with both of his hands cackling with small explosions.
Upon getting in front of Mina, he grabbed both of her wrists and grinned. "Where did those words go now? I told you that you are just a fucking pebble in my way to become the world's strongest and greatest hero."
Though Mina gave him a weak yet mocking smile, she whispered, "In your dreams, Bakugo." This outraged Katsuki, who created two deadly explosions at both palms.
At the same moment, two blasts of highly corrosive acid erupted from Mina's palms. Katsuki wasn't prepared for this, as the acid burned his jacket and skin badly, while his explosions destroyed Mina's wrists, causing thick blood to leak.
"Arghhh," Katsuki growled in pain as he backed away and clutched his arms around his chest. His eyes then went to Mina, and he saw her in the same position, her body trembling with pain, but her eyes still open and looking at him.
"DAMN YOU!! YOU'RE STILL NOT KNOCKED OUT!" he shouted, blasting towards Mina for a last vicious attack.
...
...
"STOP IT, BAKUGO!! SHE CAN'T FIGHT ANYMORE!" Ochako shouted.
"MINA LOST! STOP BAKUGO!!" Eijiro also shouted in concern.
...
...
"CEMENTOS STOP HIM!" Midnight shouted.
"On it," Cementos replied as he slammed his hands on the ground to release liquid concrete. The liquid concrete flowed between Mina and Katsuki and emerged as a giant, thick wall to prevent Katsuki from reaching Mina.
...
...
"Don't come in my way," Katsuki roared and put both of his hands forward to create a large explosion that broke through the wall. The next moment, his hand landed on Mina's face and slammed it onto the concrete floor.
"Say goodbye," he maliciously grinned as his palm cackled with a small explosion, then he blasted Mina's face.
He lifted his hand to see his handiwork, satisfied that Mina's whole face was bloody red, her nose almost gone, her eyes burned, and some of her hair singed.
The audience was silent after witnessing Katsuki's brutal fighting style. One by one, everyone started booing at him, which irked him further.
"Take Ashido to the infirmary immediately. She is experiencing excessive bleeding and multiple burns," Midnight announced hurriedly, fearing Mina might lose her life due to those injuries.
As soon as the robots took Mina to the infirmary as quickly as possible, Midnight turned towards Katsuki with a nasty glare.
"As per the rules, Katsuki Bakugo is the winner and qualifies for the next round," she didn't announce it in her usual tone but with a serious and slightly angry tone. "But the UA faculty decided that you are forever expelled from the Heroic Department because you are not qualified to be a hero, and this means you can't join any heroic school's Heroic Department. You can't be a hero anymore."
Katsuki froze in his place, staring at Midnight as he was trying to process what the pro-heroine said.
"You were given multiple warnings for your actions, and you just discarded those warnings like nothing. You will have to face the consequences. Take Katsuki Bakugo back to the resting room."
"That's something that happens when you don't listen to your teachers," Present Mic commented with a sigh.
...
...
"Hey, isn't that the other kid from the sludge villain incident? The one who was captured?" Death Arms asked.
"I think so. That's the explosion kid. What a violent one. He ruined his chances to become a pro. He could be a strong one," Mt. Lady commented.
"He would do mass murder in his first mission," Kamui Woods replied. Both Death Arms and Mt. Lady laughed but agreed.
The third match was between Hitoshi Shinso and Mei Hatsume, and it was a disaster to watch.
Mei used Shinso as a commercial advertisement to show her babies for 15 minutes, and after she was done, she left the ring, disqualifying herself.
Meanwhile, Shinso was cursing Mei in every way possible. However, he didn't forget that his quirk was still hidden as his ace, and he would prefer Itsuka over Tenya to qualify for the next round.
TENYA IIDA VS ITSUKA KENDO
"It's an honor to face you, Kendo. I hope we will have a good fight." Tenya bowed stiffly.
Itsuka nodded. "Me too, Iida."
"START"
Meanwhile, Shinso was cursing Mei in every way possible. However, he didn't forget that his quirk was still hidden as his ace, and he would prefer Itsuka over Tenya to qualify for the next round.
"Let's see if my big fists can catch up to your speed," Itsuka stated as her fists enlarged, becoming the same size as her body.
She stretched her right hand forward, hoping to catch Tenya, but the engine user was quick on his feet, jumping just before Itsuka could close her fist.
Tenya hurled into the air and went for a devastating kick at the back of Itsuka's head. Though she anticipated the attack and quickly ducked to save her head.
Tenya was mildly surprised at Itsuka's reflexes, but he couldn't get a moment to voice it as a giant hand was coming from his left side. Tenya's engine revved as he flew away from the attack.
Though Itsuka wasn't done, she quickly trailed behind Tenya, and as soon as he landed, he found Itsuka's fist once again.
Tenya frowned and quickly dodged the attack, repeating the action over and over again as Itsuka restlessly attacked him without giving him any time to counterattack.
'I get it. Even though her hands are enlarged, they are not overweight or hard to move. I need to finish fast,' Tenya thought as he kicked Itsuka's hand, though the hand didn't budge, she winced slightly.
'It's my time,' Tenya thought as he accelerated faster and slipped through between her defenses.
Itsuka panicked as soon as Tenya slipped past her defense. She couldn't do anything as Tenya hurled toward her at full speed and kicked her in the gut violently.
"Ackk!" Itsuka grunted in pain as she was flown away toward the end of the ring. Though she planted her big hands on the ground and skidded back, to her luck, she stopped just before the end of the ring.
"Huff huff," Itsuka panted and coughed a bit, but she gave the signal that she was fine to continue. "You're good, Iida. I didn't think you would break through my biggest fist size, but that means I have to be more careful from now on," she praised the engine user genuinely.
"Thank you, Kendo, but I can't prolong the fight. Since you're giving your best from the beginning, I must do the same," Tenya stated, and his engine revved with more power as blue flames started to come out.
"Recipro Burst!" Tenya launched at a blinding speed towards Itsuka, who placed her hands in front of her, as if she was going to catch a ball.
'She said she can't enlarge her hands more, so if I make a sharp turn just in front of her hands, then I can push her out,' he thought, and ran forward.
But it didn't go like Tenya planned. As soon as he was near Itsuka's fists, they suddenly enlarged more and trapped Tenya inside them.
It went in a blink that Tenya couldn't take the sharp turn as he thought and ran straight through Itsuka's trap.
"You fell for it," Itsuka smirked and spun around immediately to open her palms as Tenya fell down out of the ring.
"WINNER: ITSUKA KENDO"
"WHAT A MATCH! KENDO OUTSMARTED IIDA AND SECURED HER PLACE IN THE NEXT ROUND!" Present Mic announced.
"She deceived me," Tenya thought aloud, realizing he had believed Itsuka's every word, and he paid with a loss.
Itsuka approached Tenya and offered her hand to pull him up. "You must not believe every word of your opponents. You may be fighting against your friend, but that friend also wants to stand at the top," she stated.
Tenya nodded and took Itsuka's hand to get up with a small smile. "You are right. I thought only straightforwardly, and I lost. But I wish luck for the next round," he replied and shook hands with Itsuka before heading in.
SHOTO TODOROKI VS DENKI KAMINARI
Both participants went to the place, while Shoto had his usual look, Denki had a confident look on his face.
"I was waiting to fight you, Todoroki, and to defeat you," Denki stated confidently.
"That's the confidence, Kaminari, but you still have to show your powers. BEGIN!" Midnight said and started the match.
As soon as the match began, Shoto slammed his right foot forward, and a large glacier appeared at the other end, consuming Denki and dropping the temperature around the stadium.
Shoto watched his work without any emotion and said, "Sorry! I was thinking about something else."
"Can you move, Kaminari?" Midnight asked.
"Do I look like I can move?" Denki answered, shivering from the cold.
Midnight nodded and was about to declare Shoto the winner.
"But..." Denki's voice stopped her. "I can still use my quirk. Charge 1.3 million volts."
The crowd watched with shocked eyes as wild electricity discharged and broke Shoto's glacier, freeing himself.
Though Shoto wasn't fazed as he created another glacier wall to stop the electricity. That time, the electricity couldn't break through the wall, as it had lost most of its power by the time it reached the wall.
"Wheee..!" Denki short-circuited his brain and danced around, dancing out from the ring, disqualifying himself.
Midnight deadpanned at Denki for making everyone almost believe he could give some challenge to Endeavor's son.
"Winner Shoto Todoroki"
"THAT WAS.. A BIT ANTICLIMACTIC. I THOUGHT FOR ONCE KAMINARI WAS GOING TO PUT TODOROKI AT BACK FOOT BUT HE SHORT CIRCUTED HIMSELF"
...
...
"He embarrassed himself." Kyoka facepalmed at Denki's idiotic dancing around the arena until he was taken in.
"We expected that from Kaminari-chan," Tsu said, not bothered by the result.
Meanwhile, at the resting room, Ochako took a deep breath as she was ready for her fight against Eijiro.
'I've planned everything. I can defeat Kirishima. Just wait, Deku-kun, to see me. Mom and dad, watch me, how strong I've become since I started UA. I will not disappoint any of you,' she thought and walked out with determination as her name was being called.
OCHAKO URARAKA VS EIJIRO KIRISHIMA
Ochako entered the ground with a confident smile on her face. Eijiro entered from the other end with his natural smirk.
"OH HO! THIS MATCH IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING. ON THE RIGHT SIDE, THE HARDEST DEFENSE OF CLASS 1-A AGAINST THE SWEET GIRL WHOM EVERYONE JUST LOVES, OCHAKO URARAKA."
'I've planned everything. I can defeat Kirishima. Just wait, Deku-kun, to see me. Mom and dad, watch me, how strong I've become since I started UA. I will not disappoint any of you,' she thought and walked out with determination as her name was being called.
"I'm not going to go easy on you, Uraraka. My quirk may not be flashy, but I hit hard," Eijiro stated confidently.
The gravity user nodded. "Don't worry, I'm ready for this."
"BEGIN!"
Ochako rushed forward with the goal of touching Eijiro once. Eijiro also rushed forward, hardening his body.
They were about to hit themselves, but Ochaco touched herself and jumped high to dodge Eijiro's punch.
The redhead was taken aback by the sudden flight, but he quickly turned around and found Ochaco trying to touch him. He ducked from her touch and grabbed her leg with one hand, slamming her to the floor.
Ochaco was thankful that her quirk was still active, so she didn't take any damage, but she started to feel nauseous as she deactivated her quirk.
Though Eijiro didn't want to give Ochaco much time, he went for a punch at her gut. She saw the attack coming but didn't move from her place, which confused Eijiro, but he didn't stop his attack.
"Arggghhhh!" Ochako gasped in pain as Eijiro connected his hardened fist to her gut.
Even in pain, Ochako did what she wanted. She touched Eijiro's hand, and he started floating after losing all his weight.
"What?? I'm floating..." Eijiro gasped in surprise and looked at Ochako, who was smiling despite the pain.
"I win," Ochako said, getting up slowly and pushing Eijiro towards the edge. The redhead flailed but had nothing to grab onto and floated out of the ring.
"WINNER: OCHAKO URARAKA!"
"Yatta!!" Ochako forgot her pain momentarily and jumped in happiness, only to feel pain in her stomach.
"That was a nice technique, Uraraka. She used herself as bait and survived Kirishima's hardened punch, then kicked him out. A round of applause for Uraraka!"
The audience erupted in cheers as she was the second female competitor to advance to the second round of the finals.
FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI VS TORU HAGAKURE
The competitors were in the ring, but Toru was completely invisible, and only her voice could be heard.
"BEGIN"
Even though Midnight called, Fumikage didn't move from his spot, but Dark Shadow pulled out from his body.
Meanwhile, there was nothing coming from Toru. She was completely silent.
"Fumi, what do we do? I can't hear a thing from the invisible girl," Dark Shadow whined without any ideas.
"I know. Don't forget Midoriya taught her stealth. It won't... Ackkk!" He couldn't finish what he was saying, but he felt a sharp jab at his gut and groaned in pain.
"Fumi!" Dark Shadow panicked but attacked forward blindlessly though the sentient quirk couldn't hit anything.
Though Fumikage was attacked again as a kick landed on the back of his right knee, causing him to lose balance and fall on his knee. It was followed by another jab at his side that made him shriek in pain.
Dark Shadow was trying to catch Toru, but due to the sun, its confidence level was low, which made it panic and unable to find Toru. Meanwhile, the invisible girl hit Fumikage from time to time.
"We forfeit!" Fumikage called out, as he couldn't find any way to stop Toru.
"Are you sure??" Midnight asked.
Fumikage nodded with a painful grunt. "I don't have any move to locate Hagakure. With the sun, Dark Shadow is also not very strong."
"I am sorry Fumi"
"It's fine Dark Shadow. We will try next year"
Midnight nodded. "Tokoyami forfeited. The winner is Toru Hagure."
"WOAH!! HAGAKURE WON THE MATCH WITHOUT GETTING HIT FOR ONCE. I FEEL BAD FOR TOKOYAMI BUT WHAT CAN I DO? A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR BOTH PARTICIPANTS!"
Everyone cheered for the participants while the last two competitors entered the arena.
MASHIRAO OJIRO VS REIKO YANAGI
"BEGIN"
Reiko quickly activated her quirk and plucked out a good amount of chunks of debris from the ground.
"Throwing rocks won't help you," Ojiro jumped and spun to slam his tail on the debris to smash them with full power.
Reiko anticipated the resistance, as Izuku had told almost everyone's quirks and their powers and weaknesses. So she didn't stop but attacked more viciously from every side.
'Dammit!!" Ojiro cursed as he was going nowhere, with debris flying at him from every direction. "She isn't giving me any space and time to move. I need to attack between them to get her,' he thought and stopped his defense for a moment.
Reiko was surprised when Ojiro stopped defending himself and got hit by many boulders. Though she was on guard, when he jumped and landed on his tail, then sprang forward at high speed.
'He used his tail like a spring,' Reiko thought, trying to dodge the attack, but she wasn't faster than him, as Ojiro's tail hit her on the side.
"Arrghh..." She cried out in pain as she was thrown out, though she used her quirk to levitate some boulders behind her, which stopped her from getting out of the boundary.
'I won't lose now,' she thought in her mind and sent small rocks at high speed to injure Ojiro.
The boy was already injured from taking too many hits, and it was becoming increasingly painful for him each time.
'One last push, and she will be out,' he thought. Despite the pain and constant attacks, he got up. But to his surprise, the attacks stopped after a moment, and he looked at Reiko to find that the girl was panting heavily from using her quirk constantly.
'It's my chance,' Ojiro ran towards Reiko at full speed. He jumped when he was near her, spun around, and hit her with his tail, also using it for defense if Reiko tried anything.
Ojiro stopped midair just before he could hit Reiko.
"What??" He squeaked in surprise as he was thrown out of the ring, disqualifying him.
"Ojiro is out of bounds, Reiko Yanagi wins," Midnight announced, and both Ojiro and Reiko slumped down with a sigh, one for his loss and the other for her somehow winning.
"It felt like Ojiro was going to win, but Yanagi pulls out a secret move at the end to secure her victory. The girls are getting pumped up in the end. And with that, the finals, first round is over. The 8 competitors who will advance are..."
Izuku Midoriya
Katsuki Bakugo
Hitoshi Shinso
Itsuka Kendo
Shoto Todoroki
Ochako Uraraka
Toru Hagakure
Reiko Yanagi
"The match ups will be..."
Izuku Midoriya vs Katsuki Bakugo
Hitoshi Shinso vs Itsuka Kendo
Shoto Todoroki vs Ochako Uraraka
Toru Hagakure vs Reiko Yanagi
"It's Midoriya vs Bakugo. The most heated match of the UA festival," Kyoka stated, and everyone agreed with her.
"But can Midoriya fight? He was in bad shape after his match with Yaoyorozu," Shinso said with a slight worry. Izuku was going to fight Katsuki, of all people, and he was out cold.
"I think he can manage," a new voice spoke from behind them.
Everyone turned around and found Momo standing there with a very small smile.
"Yaomomo!!"
Everyone called out and surrounded the spiky ponytailed girl, asking if she was fine.
"I am perfectly fine, everyone. I have no scratches or anything. Midoriya's attack only drained my powers completely, and I had to eat a lot to regain my strength. And about that... I should have known he had a traumatic past, and I shouldn't have done something like that. He hates me now," she said slowly.
"No! You did nothing wrong." Surprisingly, it came from Tsuyu. "Maybe cruel, but not wrong, ribbit."
"But Tsu..." Momo tried to say something, but Tsuyu stopped her. "Be practical, Momo-chan. All of us are here to climb our way to the top against our friends. There are times when we have to hurt each other to win. You will do everything to win, even if it means hurting a friend. Midoriya-chan might hate you, and he has every right to do so, but even if you ask him, he will tell you that you did what you needed to win, nothing more, nothing less," she lectured.
The present members of Class 1-A shut their mouths without having anything to say against Tsuyu's words. What Tsuyu said was true, and there was nothing to deny. Momo also couldn't deny it, as she knew that was her tactic to use against Izuku to put him off balance.
Momo sighed. "You're right, Tsu. But I should apologize to him in time."
"Yes ribbit"
...
...
"IZUKU MIDORIYA AND KATSUKI BAKUGO PLEASE COME TO THE ARENA"
The first match of the second round was announced as Katsuki came out from the right corner with his usual murderous aura around him. That aura was intensified many times because of the match and his earlier disqualification from the ever entry at Heroic Course.
"That damn Deku!! It's all his fault. If he never tried to come in my way then nothing would have happened. It's all Deku's fault," Katsuki thought with rage.
...
...
Meanwhile, the temperature of the stadium dropped a few degrees as Izuku entered from the left corner with a cold look on his face. His happy look was completely gone, and there was a cold look that seemed to pierce deep into your soul.
'This ends here, Kacchan. I can't let you harm my friends, and I won't forgive what you did to Ashido,' Izuku thought as he gazed at Kastuki with his cold eyes.
'Both of them look like they're going to fight a bloody battle for sure,' Midnight thought with slight nervousness, glancing at Cementos, who nodded slightly.
"WOAH!! LOOK AT THOSE EYES! BOTH MIDORIYA AND BAKUGO ARE GOING TO FIGHT A BLOODY WAR!"
Present Mic was grinning with anticipation to watch one of the first year's strongest battles, as he had known the two competitors' history as a teacher.
"Midoriya, are you ready??"
"Yes, sensei! I can fight," the verdette said slowly.
"Just start the match already," Katsuki growled.
"Fine! BEGIN!"
Everyone thought Katsuki would attack as soon as Midnight started the match, but that didn't happen. The blond stood there, waiting for Izuku.
"Come on, Deku! Attack! Or are you scared to attack??"
Katsuki taunted, but Izuku's reaction didn't change as he was still giving the cold look to him.
"Me?? Scared? Last time you passed out because you were scared of me, Kacchan."
Izuku's calm yet taunting reply shocked everyone, including Katsuki, but the explosion user calmed his nerves enough to get into the verbal competition.
"Oh?? Are you gonna use that zombie trick again?? Then use it again," Katsuki taunted, trying to make Izuku use his zombie ability, but Izuku snorted, "Do I look like an idiot, Kacchan?? I know you remember that I can't use my quirk in that state."
He saw Katsuki frown slightly, which confirmed that Katsuki wanted that.
"Are you going to talk, Kacchan? Talking isn't your thing, or do you finally understand your explosions won't harm me?"
That was the last straw, which made Katsuki let go of his cool. They were, of course, polar opposites when it came to patience; Katsuki never had it, and Izuku never lost it.
"Damn you!! Damn you!! Damn you!! DAMN YOU DEKU! IT IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF YOU!" Katsuki launched himself with a series of explosions and propelled towards Izuku to attack.
"SINCE WE WERE CHILDREN, YOU ALWAYS LOOKED DOWN ON ME!" Katsuki roared, and his hands exploded viciously, but Izuku was very quick to dodge that.
Even though Katsuki wasn't fast enough, he never lost his eyes completely as they followed Izuku, and he quickly released another explosion.
"You really are an idiot, Kacchan, if you think I looked down on you," Izuku replied, appearing just behind Katsuki to kick at his side face.
Katsuki was quick enough to dodge the kick, which only grazed his hair. He quickly regained his balance and kicked Izuku in the gut. The verdette was slightly taken aback since Katsuki had kicked him instead of blowing him up, giving the blond a moment to grab Izuku by his throat and blast his way towards the sky.
"I'm an idiot??? Fuck you, Deku... You're just a pebble in my way. You always looked down on me.. Since that bridge when we were children. I was the strongest and didn't need help, but you came down to help me without thinking anything.. You looked down on me"
Izuku was tightening his grip on Katsuki's hand but stopped when he heard those words. Izuku remembered the day before the awakening of his quirk, they were walking over a small bridge where Katsuki tripped and fell into a small stream, and he quickly went to help Katsuki because they were friends.
And Katsuki was thinking he went to help him because he was looking down on him?
And how wrong Katsuki would be?
Katsuki overpowered Izuku at that moment as he left Izuku's throat and created a large explosion on his chest. Izuku was slammed back into the arena.
"So that's how it is, Kacchan.. You never think of me as a friend, even then?" Izuku said as he got up from the crater and pulled out his burned gym costume's upper part to reveal his toned body.
...
...
Katsuki's eyes widened, and the next moment, he found himself looking down from the same bridge from their childhood.
He saw his younger self sitting on his butt at the small stream, and Izuku was there, trying to give his hand to his younger self. There was only genuine concern in Izuku's eyes.
"What is going on?? Is this one of Deku's tricks?" Adult Katsuki thought angrily.
"Katsuki, are you okay?? Are you hurt??" Young Izuku asked with concern.
Young Katsuki stared at Izuku for a few moments, then his face twisted in anger.
"WHAT THE HELL DEKU?? ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME?? I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, I'LL BE THE STRONGEST HERO!!" Young Katsuki roared, swatting Izuku's hand away.
Young Izuku flinched at Katsuki's harsh tone but replied meekly, "But Kacchan, I just wanted to help you because you are my friend."
Adult Katsuki watched the scene without any words until the scene changed in front of him, and he found himself with his younger self and his parents.
"But everyone is saying Deku killed his dad because he is a villain, and his quirk is villainous," Young Katsuki asked his mother.
Adult Katsuki quickly recognized the talk he had with Mitsuki after Hisashi Midoriya's death, but he couldn't remember what happened, so once again, he listened quietly.
"Izuku is a good boy, Katsuki. What happened was an accident. Do you know what an accident is?" Mitsuki asked, as young Katsuki nodded. "When you don't do something intentionally, then it is an accident. It means Deku didn't do it because he wanted to?" He questioned.
Mitsuki nodded with a small smile. "You're right. Izuku didn't do it because he wanted to; it just happened unfortunately. Don't listen to anyone who is saying Izuku is bad. Do you think of Izuku as your friend?"
"So they are lying about Izuku. I'm gonna explode them for lying about Izuku," young Katsuki said, his eyes twitching at the thought of lies about Izuku. "And what is that idiotic question?? Of course, Izuku is my friend," he snorted.
Mitsuki chuckled at young Katsuki. "You can do anything except use your quirk on them. Since you think Izuku is your friend, then protect him from them. That's what the number one hero and a true friend does." Seeing young Katsuki nod, Mitsuki patted his head. "Then wait here while I bring you dinner. Dad will be late today, so we'll eat dinner before him."
With that, Mitsuki left, leaving young Katsuki behind.
"I know what to do. I'll bully him and make him the Deku really, that's how no one will go to Deku nor Deku will go to others so he won't do any accident again. When he won't make the accidents, I'll tell him the truth. I know Deku won't mind," young Katsuki said to himself and praised himself for thinking his own way to protect his friend.
Meanwhile, adult Katsuki's eyes were wide like sausages. "I remember why I started to bully Deku. We were friends, and I wanted to protect him, but why did I forget about them?"
"You forgot because you became an egoistic bastard, what you are now," young Katsuki said, surprising him. But before he could say anything, the younger version spoke. "When you started bullying Deku, everyone praised you as an aspiring hero, which got in your brain, and you thought you were the best, and Deku was just a pebble in your way to become the number one hero. And then you started to bully him because you wanted to, and started to believe he was the real villain, and you must end all villains, but in the end, you started to act like one while Deku did nothing. It is all your fault. You're not Deku's friend anymore."
Katsuki's eyes couldn't have gotten any bigger after hearing his younger self talk about him. He knew everything was true if he looked back at what he did to Izuku.
'No, it's not true... It is one of Deku's Quirk illusions. It can't be true,' Katsuki said to himself, not wanting to believe he had been wrong for years.
But young Katsuki tsked angrily, "What you are now is the illusion you created yourself. You can think of your true past as an illusion, but you will regret it every time you think about it."
With that, Katsuki found himself once again on the battlefield against Izuku, fighting in the UA Sports Festival.
...
...
"WHAT THE HELL MIDORIYA?? WHAT'S WITH THOSE RIPPED MUSCLES?? HE MIGHT STEAL YOUR GIRLS IF YOU DON'T COVER THEIR EYES NOW" Present Mic commented enthusiastically seeing Izuku was giving an eye candy to the girls.
"He is getting too much attention from them" Ochako grinded her teeth to stop herself from giving more reaction.
"That's the worst face one can make to hide their emotion" Kyoka deadpanned at Ochako while Tsuyu was not shy to watch Izuku.
...
...
"He is really hot," Setsuna said as soon as she glanced at Izuku's muscles, and the other girls in Class 1-B agreed with her wholeheartedly.
"He didn't need to do that," Itsuka replied with a slight blush and got a look from Sets.
...
...
Izuku brought his hands forward, and a ray of purple light started to pour out from his palm, shaping like a lance.
"lanza de desesperación"
He pointed the lance upward at Katsuki and threw it.
Katsuki saw it and found it easy to dodge the lance, doing so without any problem.
The lance flew higher and exploded just like a nuke in the sky, startling the whole Musutafu and nearby areas.
"It's good that you dodged that, Kacchan. That lance was full of life energy, and if you were hit, your body would overflow with it, causing you to feel tremendous agony before bursting like a balloon. I realized I shouldn't use this in residential areas, or it will be like a nuke."
Izuku's calm words made Katsuki sweat a bit. It wasn't just his words but the nuke-like attack he had just launched moments ago.
"What are you thinking, Deku? You could have killed everyone with that!" Katsuki roared.
"Why do you care if anything happens to anyone? You only care about your ego and your brutal battles. Who was it that put Ashido into critical condition with explosions?" Izuku asked, then dashed towards his opponent without waiting for an answer.
Katsuki growled in annoyance as he put his hands in a cross shape to stop Izuku's punch, but he still flew back to the ground due to the force.
He sneered at Izuku and got up again to clash with the verdette, causing some deadly explosions. Izuku was also taking the explosions without hesitation and fighting back with his stronger punches.
After taking long and brutal damage, both Katsuki and Izuku panted, one from exhaustion and tremendous pain, and the other only from exhaustion, as his wounds were healing, but the healing slowed down many folds.
"Come on, Kacchan, I can still fight. Am I still looking down on you like that day under the bridge? After all, you never saw me as your friend, but as an extra, like what you call everyone," Izuku taunted.
"Who the hell said that I didn't see you as a friend, Deku?" Katsuki questioned with anger, which startled Izuku slightly. But he quickly regained his composure and questioned back, "You saw me as your friend?? Seriously?? Then why did you do those things? Tell me."
Katsuki frowned. "You want to know? Listen... When I heard about your old man, I promised myself that I wouldn't let you become a hero and shun you from everyone, so you wouldn't accidentally repeat what you did with your old man. You were too good for the world."
Izuku's eyes widened as soon as those words came out of Katsuki's mouth. He couldn't believe Katsuki used to think that when he bullied him. He was going to launch a final attack to finish the match, but he stopped.
"But..." Katsuki started again. "After a time, I forgot why I started those things and believed you were really that persona I created in my mind. I never remembered that until I exchanged blows with you. I found myself back in time when you were a weak, worthless person whom I needed to protect..."
Izuku saw Katsuki's hands were trembling, and his face was giving a horrible expression, saying he remembered the old him who was Izuku's friend, even if an egotistical child he wanted to become the number one hero to protect everyone like All Might.
'Well, the child is not what we think of him in the end,' Yoichi said in Izuku's mind.
'He was just lost, and what boys say usually. Exchanging fists can only bring their true selves,' Nana laughed.
'Well, it proved us wrong. After everything, he vouched for the boy, and he was right in the end,' Daigoro stated with a smirk.
Izuku's hands twitched as he learned about the truths behind the bully, but he couldn't just forgive Katsuki. Maybe the blond wanted to help him, but he went through hell because of him.
He charged One For All at 20% and launched towards the opponent at high speed. Katsuki was still grieving over the horrible things he had done, so he didn't pay attention to the incoming attack.
Katsuki was brought back from his memories when the hardest punch he ever felt landed on his cheek. He felt his cheekbone crack as he fell back violently, causing the ground to crack slightly.
He groaned as his eyes drifted towards Izuku, who was looking at him without any emotion. But he had enough; he couldn't take another hit. He felt his will weaken and didn't let his body move.
"You were right, Izuku," Izuku's lips quivered as Katsuki called him by his real name after a decade. "I am the villain for you aftr everything I did. Just knock me out; my body doesn't want to move anymore." Katsuki whispered, only for Izuku to hear.
Izuku's face softened slightly. He knew what he needed to do. "You proved me right, Kacchan." Katsuki didn't look at him, knowing what was proved right. "I knew you had forgotten who you really were. Everyone told me you were never my friend, but I always disagreed with them silently. And today, you proved me that once you thought of me as your friend."
Katsuki's eyes widened at Izuku's words. His lips quivered, thinking that even after everything he had done, Izuku still believed in him and considered him a friend. 'What are you, Deku? Even after everything... Everything, you still think that,' he thought, his hands curling up in silent anger.
"Now, Kacchan, get up and shoot your strongest attack. We'll decide the winner with that," Izuku stated, backing off. He stretched his hands forward, creating another spear for his next attack.
Katsuki closed his eyes and let out a sigh when he heard the young Katsuki's voice again. "What are you waiting for? You only needed to apologize. You don't need to show yourself as weak. Fight back and give Izuku a proper win or defeat him," the adult Katsuki groaned. He just needed some peace and no explosions for a while, but he realized he needed to explode everything to either win or lose.
...
...
Izuku smirked, seeing Katsuki get up, and small explosions cackled in his palms. He was ready for his attack but waited until his longtime friend was ready.
Katsuki got up and looked tiredly at Izuku, but there was the vicious smirk he always had. "You are the worst, Deku. You had the chance, but you didn't use it. You are still the naïve boy too good for the world," he taunted as more sweat dripped from his palms.
"Maybe I'm naïve for you, but a few women actually think differently." Izuku turned towards the camera and swung his lance over his head, showing off his perfectly toned body that could give girls nosebleeds.
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...
"He is so hot." Tsuyu held her nose as a small trickle of blood left from her nostrils. She would definitely make a move on him after the sports festival was over.
"Dammit!! Deku-kun, stop doing it. I don't want much competition." Ochako whined, pressing her nostrils with a handkerchief.
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...
"Well," Izuku turned back towards Katsuki, pointing his spear towards him seriously.
Katsuki grinned as small explosions crackled in both of his palms. "It's time to end the match, Izuku. I'm coming at you with everything I have. If you don't want to die, then come at me," the explosive blonde spoke with a strained voice, yet his grin remained plastered.
Izuku nodded and launched himself towards Katsuki with his spear. Katsuki also blasted himself towards Izuku.
One last attack...
The long rivalry of two aspiring heroes...
The friendship, anger, guilt, apology, and acceptance...
...All in one attack.
"HOWITZER IMPACTTT"
"LANZA DE DESPERACIÓN"
The attacks collided with a large explosion, blinding everyone in the stadium. Both Izuku and Katsuki saw the blinding light engulf them, for a moment none of them felt any pain.
...
...
Izuku and Katsuki's POV -
Both teens found themselves at their previous school's playground.
"What the hell?? What is this again??" Katsuki grunted, knowing it was another of those visions he had during his fight.
"Look, Kacchan," Katsuki was surprised when he heard Izuku's voice. Turning his head to the right, he saw Izuku standing beside him—the Izuku he was fighting in the UA sports festival.
Izuku was pointing forward, so Katsuki turned in the direction Izuku was pointing. He saw younger versions of themselves, maybe from their first year at Aldera Junior High.
Katsuki could see Izuku on the ground, gritting his teeth, trying to glare at the unknown boys in front of him. There was a young Katsuki standing in front of Izuku, glaring at the boys.
"Come on, Bakugo, let's bully this weakling. You always have fun with him; surely, we can have some fun," one of the boys said with a grin.
Though Katsuki snorted, he pushed the bully back. "What did you say? Do you want to bully Deku? Do you want me to kill you?" His palms started to crackle to intimidate the bullies.
The bullies also glared back at Katsuki, saying, "What is wrong with you? You can bully him, but we can't? It's not fair."
Katsuki's brow twitched dangerously, making the bullies take a step back. "I can bully him because I can. If you try, then I'm going to murder you all. Now, if you want to come forward, then come." Katsuki's small explosions went bigger, intimidating the boys.
The bullies didn't try to fight Katsuki as they ran. They knew he was vicious if he wanted to.
"You protected me, Kacchan," Izuku spoke with a sigh, knowing the bullies wouldn't bother him for some time after his friend's intimidation.
Katsuki scoffed and put his hands in his pockets before glaring at Izuku. "You're mine to bully only." With that, he left.
Current Izuku chuckled at the memory. "Even then, you protected me, though you won't admit it. I didn't want to fight back." Current Katsuki grumbled at the memory. "Whatever, I didn't want you to fight back, so you could do mass murder."
The two stayed silent for a moment in the memory plane. Izuku was happy that he was right about his friend, who wanted to protect him at first until he changed.
Katsuki was the first to break the silence. "That happened after a few weeks. It changed you. Then what ponytail did today..."
He stopped when Izuku raised his hand. "I don't want to talk about that, Kacchan. I still remember that day, even after the detectives proved that I was innocent. Everyone still glared at me and my mom." Izuku looked at his left hand. "I just wanted one thing back then.."
"I know... I heard you and Icy-Hot back there. Forget that I ever asked you anything," Katsuki whispered, his voice barely reaching Izuku. "And thank you for making me remember who I was."
Again, the blinding light engulfed them as they returned from the memory plane.
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...
"What the hell is going on with that power, Midoriya and Bakugo? Are you two sure you're not some pro heroes disguised as heroes in training?" Mic screamed with excitement.
"I think we should wait for Midnight to announce the winner," Shota said.
Mic raised a brow. "As Shota said, one of them is surely down after this attack."
...
...
The audience watched with anticipation as the dust cleared from the arena. The pros were murmuring about the match, and most of them sided with Izuku to win. However, some also favored Katsuki after he displayed his explosive powers.
"I think we have a winner..."
Midnight's voice echoed from the arena as the dust began to clear. Initially, the stage appeared in a state of disarray.
As the dust settled further, Izuku came into view, kneeling and panting, his right arm charred but slowly regenerating. Meanwhile, on the other side, Katsuki Bakugo lay bruised and defeated, outside the ring.
"... Is IZUKU MIDORIYA"
The crowd erupted in applauses at Midnight's declaration of the winner. The holder of first position in the first and second became the first one to reach at the semifinals of the third round.
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...
"Deku-kun did it!" Ochako exclaimed and cheered with the whole Class A. "I was sure Midoriya could do it," Kyoka said with a smirk, thinking if Katsuki got enough pain for what he did with Mina.
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...
"Sigh! At least you made up a bit with Izuku and learned what you used to be. Good for you." Mitsuki whispered to herself. Sure, she was disappointed in her son's behavior and his loss, but she was also happy that her son realized his mistakes. The fact that Katsuki couldn't be a hero saddened her, but she knew her son had the heart of a hero, and he would make up for it.
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...
Back to the arena, Izuku got up on his feet and walked towards Katsuki. "Let's take you to the infirmary," he said, helping Katsuki get to his feet and starting to walk towards the exit slowly.
"I don't need... your help," Katsuki grunted in pain, "Deku." Izuku only laughed. "You are still the same," which also made Katsuki chuckle.
"Well, it looks like Bakugo and Midoriya have made up for their quarrel. It's said that when boys exchange fists, they can understand each other, and it happened this time," Mic grinned.
"They did well," Shota didn't explain anything else.
...
...
"Both of them are good fighters. It's a shame that Bakugo lost his way of heroism. If he had realized it before, then we could have saved his career," Nezu sighed, watching the end of the battle. Then he let out another sigh and spoke, "This is only a faculty area, Mrs. Midoriya."
True to Nezu's words, Inko Midoriya was standing behind Nezu with her eyes narrowed and a dark aura surrounding her. "Though I wonder what happened to the guards," Nezu looked curious, even though he knew the answers.
"If you mean those trash cans, then you lack what you call security," Inko scoffed in an emotionless voice.
Though Nezu only laughed. "Maybe they weren't ready for a preying wolf. Did you consider what I proposed 11 years ago?"
Nezu's question was answered by only silence, though it made Nezu laugh. The laugh of humanity's doom... I mean, the villains' doom for sure.
lanza de desesperación - spear of despair
TO BE CONTINUED -