The Hero & The Demon

Chapter Thirteen

Sora Kinzoku felt out of place in the Gunhead Martial Arts Gym.

Her condition left her unable to do much in terms of exercise, and she didn't know much about fighting or martial arts either. Everyone around her seemed to be having a much easier time settling in to their various fitness routines, whilst she simply stood at the reception desk uncertainly.

Going to watch Kage's big showdown with his angry arch-nemesis was an impulsive decision, and a part of Sora already regretted it. Not enough to make her seriously turn back, however. Just enough to make it feel like she wasn't making the best move. As she stood in front of the door, a woman at the reception desk looked up and noticed her.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" She asked. She had brown hair and wore a visor over her face, which Sora assumed was part of her uniform. Even though the only two kinds of outfits she had seen people in were gym clothes and this lady's suit, she somehow felt underdressed anyway in her casual clothes. She walked up to the desk.

"Uh, hi." She waved stiffly. "I'm a friend of Kage Sekai? I came here to…watch a fight?" She wasn't really sure what the proper terminology she was supposed to use was, but the reception woman nodded along and seemed to grasp what she was talking about regardless. That was a relief, because Sora wasn't sure she could muster up the courage to repeat herself.

"Yes, he did mention inviting a guest." She said. "If you wait here for just a minute, I'll send for mister Kuchihige. He'll be monitoring the sparring match today, so he can escort you to the proper room."

"Right. Thanks." Sora said, giving the lady a thumbs up. She smiled before returning to her desk work, so Sora stepped back and stood off to the side. The building itself seemed quite nice, she thought. There was a lot of fancy equipment, as well as plenty of space for people on the floor to do their own thing. She saw several people doing stretches and lifting weights in their hands as they wandered across the main gym floor.

There were also a few people using their Quirks, which was a little surprising. Sora figured that was probably why Kage had chosen this place to settle his score with the blonde kid. Bakugou, right? Sora honestly didn't care to remember the names of people she didn't respect, and he didn't seem like a respectable person whatsoever. He had the looks of someone who might have been attractive if he didn't constantly look ready to explode. Apparently, his Quirk was a sight to behold, so there was at least that.

She didn't know much about Kage's Quirk either, now that she thought about it. He hadn't said much about it and she didn't feel like pressing him on the subject at the arcade. He was able to spread a lot of weird black energy around, but that was about all she knew for sure. Maybe some kind of telepathy, too? He had told her to stay back before he blew up the robot, though he hadn't mentioned this at all to her.

It was funny – she apparently saved him and he felt indebted to her. He saved hers and didn't even seem to notice. Heroes were truly baffling people.

Then again, it might have just been Kage. It was plain to see that he had some serious issues he was dealing with. She remembered that moment at the arcade where he had almost burst into tears at the scoreboard, then wrote DRN down as a name. She hadn't asked why at the time, but it seemed like an unusual nickname.

"Greetings, miss!" Sora jumped as someone approached, a tall and thin man with a long moustache and black hair that was smoothed back on his face. If Sora was underdressed, this man was the complete opposite – he was wearing a fancy suit and tie that made him look like a butler more than a gym worker. "I am Hageshi Kuchihige. I am given to understand you are here to observe Kage Sekai's sparring match?"

Sparring match seemed like too friendly a term given the people who would be fighting, but Sora nodded regardless.

"Most excellent!" Kuchihige cried out. His voice was rich with emotion, though his face was static, with narrow eyes and a thin mouth set in a line. Everything about him seemed uncanny to her. "If you'll come with me, I will take you to the sparring room. You're somewhat early, miss. Kage himself should be along shortly. Not sure about his opponent, though." He said, finishing his word as a muttering that Sora likely wasn't supposed to hear.

It seemed like no one held strong opinion on Bakugou. Sora wasn't surprised. Still, she had a feeling he wasn't going to arrive especially late. He seemed like the kind of person to take nonsensical crap like this way too seriously.

"Alright," Sora shrugged. "Lead the way." The man nodded and spun on his feet, prompting Sora to follow him up a set of stairs and upwards into the first floor of the gym. It was a series of corridors with several doors that only indicated whether they were vacant or reserved. Sora was surprised they had so many of what she assumed to be sparring rooms, but the gym did belong to a combat hero and allowed for Quirk use, so she supposed it did make sense.

Every now and then, she would hear cries from the reserved rooms. People calling out as they used whatever cool attacks came into their heads. Sora smiled a little. It was nice to see there was still some enthusiasm about it, rather than just grim determination and anger. No one who named their special moves wasn't having at least a little fun.

Kuchihige tapped his knuckles on one of the reserved doors three times. After a moment's pause, he then opened the door. The room was fairly bare, mostly consisting of large mats laid out onto the floor. Hung up on the walls were what looked to be sets of practice weapons, like bo staffs or wooden swords. There was one more figure in the room – a man with a white mask over his head and an exposed chest, whose arms had what looked to be massive gun barrels on them.

"Howdy!" He waved cheerfully. "The name's Gunhead, but you could probably figure that one out." He laughed. Sora gave a slightly nervous chuckle in response. Between Kuchihige and Gunhead, she was feeling rather out of place. This seemed like a bigger deal than she had expected from two teenage boys looking to punch each other. Gunhead seemed to notice this discomfort.

"No need to worry," He held his hands up in a mock surrender. "I'm just here to watch like you are. I like to stop by every now and then to see how the people here are doin', and I haven't seen Kage in a while. Figured this'd be a great opportunity to see a favourite student in action!" He said. Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Are you allowed to have favourites if you teach stuff here?"

"Ah, that's the trick!" He held up a finger. "They're all my favourites! Everyone who steps into my gym and wants to improve themselves is someone I'm here for." He extended his arms out as he spoke, as though gesturing to the entire gym. Sora wasn't sure that was how the concept of favourites even worked, but she would never press a man whose arms were guns in an argument. She liked to think she had a little more sense than that.

"So, what's your name, miss?" Gunhead asked.

"Sora. Sora Kinzoku." She replied respectfully. Gunhead didn't show any reaction beyond a polite nod, but Kuchihige was another story. She didn't realise that his eyes weren't just naturally always that narrow until she observed them widen to a comical degree. He let out a gasp in a shrilling voice that seemed to leave both her and Gunhead completely stunned. He coughed, composing himself only slightly. His eyes remained wide.

"Excuse me, but did you say Kinzoku?" He asked, saying the name with an uncomfortable degree of reverence. Sora clocked what he was thinking immediately and her regrets about coming here reinforced tenfold.

"It's no big deal." She looked away from him. The man looked as though he had been shot, practically stumbling back in apparent offence.

"No big deal, she says?" He seemed genuinely baffled by this. "Your Highness, surely you cannot truly think so little of the name you bear! Your title is legendary to the underground!" Gunhead tilted his head, not recognising the term. Sora wished with every fibre of her being that she was as confused as he was.

"It really doesn't matter." She insisted. "Drop it." She tried speaking to him in a more commanding tone, and much to her disgust, it worked. He straightened up and gave a salute that Sora thought might have been exaggerated if it wasn't for the rest of his behaviour.

"But of course, Your-"

"Just Sora." She pleaded. "I promise you, whoever you think you're talking about here has nothing to do with me. I'm just a normal girl here to watch two normal boys have a normal death-match." Kuchihige hesitated, then seemed to force himself to relax. The process looked more laborious than any of his stiff and exaggerated movements from before. He let out a sigh.

"If you insist." He said dejectedly. Sora breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't ready to deal with any of that any time soon, and the last place she wanted to bring it up was within hearing range of an actual pro hero. She was frankly baffled that Kuchihige would even mention the underground near Gunhead. The hero looked between the two of them quickly, then gave an overly emphasised shrug. Sora smiled a little at him.

"So, Sora. You lookin' to become a hero too?" Gunhead asked. Sora was grateful for the switch in topic.

"I think so," She explained. "I can't say I've really thought about it all that much until recently, though. It seems like a lot of work." Gunhead laughed at that.

"It really can be, but it's rewarding work." He said. "Pretty much every day, you get to do nice things for other people and make 'em happy. 'Course, being allowed to dress up in these fun outfits and use our Quirks all we want doesn't hurt either!" His face was completely hidden behind his expressionless mask, but Sora could swear she could practically see his bright smile from within.

That much she could understand. A career that let you use your Quirk in all sorts of ways and not only didn't punish you for it, but actively encouraged it, seemed like a dream to her. The UA entrance exam had only let her fly around for about ten minutes, and she had spent the last portion of it with burnt arms and weighed down by another body, but gods did she ever miss it already. The thought of being able to soar around for longer was an incredible one.

"You're welcome to stop by and train here, y'know." Gunhead said. "Membership here is pretty cheap, especially for students. We've got plenty of stuff to help make you strong and keep you busy, and you'll get to use your Quirk to make it happen." Sora had to admit it was a good sales pitch. If she were anyone else, she would probably be enthusiastically agreeing. Instead, however, she politely shook her head.

"Sorry, but I can't." She said. "Long workouts aren't really something I can handle. It's a medical thing." Gunhead nodded in understanding.

"Ah, that's a bummer." He said. "Still, the offer's open if you ever decide you can handle it. We've got plenty of low-intensity ways to train, too. Give it some thought." Sora frowned slightly, but she didn't really begrudge the man for trying to promote his own business. Besides, just because she couldn't handle extensive workouts didn't mean she was completely useless. So long as she kept some iron supplements with her, she could manage for a decent while.

The real issue was how using her Quirk would drain her pretty fast. It was hard to do much training with it at all, both because of how it affected her body and how visible it tended to be. The gym didn't really look like it had a big enough space for her to fly around in, which already limited her options. It would be tricky to balance out her weakness to actually gain any real strength.

Still, some part of her wasn't opposed to the idea. Especially if she ended up going to UA, it would be important to get better at dealing with her limitations. Recovery Girl said it was important for a hero to take care of themself. Did this count as going against that idea, or in favour? She wasn't sure the old woman would approve of the health risks, but the effort could be worth something.

Before she could think on the matter any further, someone else entered the room. Kage Sekai apparently didn't think to knock on the door, which meant that Gunhead and Kuchihige both did a slight jump as he arrived. He had arrived in casual clothes himself – he wore an All-Might t-shirt and black sweatpants. He had a bag that he placed on the floor as he walked in.

"Hey, Sora!" He waved gladly. Sora returned the gesture.

"Yo." Kage looked around the room and seemed surprised to see Kuchihige and Gunhead both present. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Did I miss something?" He asked. "Not that I don't appreciate the support, I guess, but why are you both here?" Kuchihige spoke up first.

"Mister Kage Sekai," He began. Sora thought it was strange that he would use his full name, but everything else about him was strange enough that it might as well be his normal. "It has been some time since I last had a chance to see your Quirk in action. I happened to hear that Void Energy performed some unusual feats at the UA entrance exam, and so I felt that this grudge match of yours seemed like an excellent opportunity to observe it further." Kage nodded, then turned to Gunhead. The hero shrugged casually.

"What? Can't a guy want to see a gym member kicking some butt for fun?" Kage grinned, and though Sora couldn't see it, she was sure Gunhead did too. "Besides, it's always nice to see people's growth in action."

"Yeah, what he said." Sora said, jerking a thumb at Gunhead and smirking. Kage chuckled good-naturedly. "So, you got this or do you want me to tag in?"

"Oh?" Kage said. "I didn't take you for much of a fighter. Unless RDD counts as martial arts now."

"I'm not, but also I don't like Bakugou." Sora shrugged. "If he gets his ass kicked, I'll count that as a win no matter who does it." Kage laughed loudly at that. He held out a fist and Sora bumped it.

"I'll do my best." He smiled. Ever since that moment at the arcade yesterday, his smile had come across as more genuine. Sora thought that was nice to see.

There was another knock on the door, this one hard and loud. The figure knocked only twice.

"Well, guess it's time for the showdown." Kage said, stepping onto the mats in the centre of the room. The door opened, and Bakugou walked in.

Katsuki Bakugou was prepared for anything.

He knew better than to underestimate his opponent, after all. Kage may have been a pathetic freak in comparison to him, but he was a freak with dangerous powers. He couldn't afford to let himself be caught off-guard. That had led him to getting his head smashed through a desk.

Naturally then, Bakugou didn't flinch or take much note of the pro hero Kage had apparently saw fit to invite, or the strange-looking man in a suit. It didn't matter who saw him kick Kage's ass, the outcome would remain the same regardless. He'd even decided to bring his friend from the arcade. Bakugou sneered. He doubted he would have had the gall to challenge him if she hadn't been around, watching.

He knew immediately that this must have been about looking tough. Making Bakugou back down by being the bigger threat. There was no chance in hell that was ever going to work, and already he felt insulted by the attempt. Still, it was no surprise that the freak would try something like this.

"Hey, Bakugou!" He waved with a bright smile, as though he was a friend and not an insignificant pebble with delusions of grandeur. "Welcome to the gym. I hope you found the place okay."

"Do I look like a moron to you?"

"Yes." Kage replied with a deadpan expression. Bakugou growled. Still, he would contain himself until the fight properly started. Simply beating on him mindlessly would achieve nothing. Kage had made the challenge, no doubt expecting to be able to win on his home turf and in an organised setting. Once Bakugou proved that assertion thoroughly wrong, he would finally learn his place.

Either that, or Bakugou would have even more excuses to beat the hell out of him later. It was a win-win situation as far as he was concerned.

"Alright, I see the trash talk is starting early." Gunhead – how Kage had managed to get the pro hero to come and watch this fight was beyond him – said, holding his hands out and urging the two boys to stop. They both looked to him. "But let's not do anything too nasty. The rules here are simple."

"No life-threatening injuries, Quirk use is allowed. First to surrender, get thrown out of the mats or go unconscious wins." Bakugou deduced. It wasn't a particularly complex system, yet Gunhead seemed thrown off by him not needing the basics explained to him. Kage smirked in apparent amusement.

"No worries, Gunhead." Kage said. "Bakugou's a lot of things, but fortunately one of those things is disciplined. I trust him to know what he's doing." Bakugou couldn't help the baffled expression that appeared on his face. Now, of all times, was when Kage tried sucking up to him? What, did he expect Bakugou to go easy on him because he bolstered his pride?

Or maybe he was just well and truly mad. Somehow, that felt more likely.

"Glad to hear it!" Gunhead gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Well then, since you both know what to do here, get yourselves into positions and I'll do a countdown." Both boys nodded and set themselves into positions on each side of the mat. Bakugou took on a fairly typical fighting stance, keeping his body low to the ground and readying his arms in front of him. Kage's stance was unusual to him, but so was everything about the freak. Black veins spread across his body. Bakugou made a few explosions pop in his hands.

In moments, Bakugou thought to everything he knew about his opponent. Kage could move extremely fast, so he had to get in close and rush him before he had a chance to react. Blinding him with an explosive blast would be a good start. He knew Kage was also capable of making simple constructs and firing off blasts of his own. That last power wouldn't be very useful for him at close range, so the plan there was to power through or dodge the blasts. Constructs presented a potential issue, but Bakugou was sure that if he just fired with enough force, he could break through any barrier Kage made. Once he was in close enough, he could handily disarm the freak, and from there, victory was assured.

Meanwhile, Kage had never actually seen Bakugou in a fight. He had no idea of the true power his explosions could produce, or how good he would be at using them. Bakugou knew to analyse his opponent, but he doubted that Kage had done much of the same. The challenge itself was born of petty frustration, and the fact it was for the day after it was issued suggested a serious lack of planning.

Bakugou couldn't help the feral grin that appeared on his face. This fight was practically over before it began.

"Three, two, one…BEGIN!" Gunhead waved his hand in front, and immediately Bakugou used his explosions to rocket himself forwards, intending to launch a firm right hook directly into Kage's face.

"You're dead!" He cried out as he approached. Unfortunately, he had underestimated Kage's speed. One moment, Bakugou was poised to land a devastating blow, and in the next his opponent simply wasn't there.

"Believe me," Kage's voice was cold and icy, a stark contrast to Bakugou's fury. Bakugou's eye moved to see Kage at his side, one arm raised. "I'm well aware." He slammed his arm down into Bakugou's back, forcing him onto the ground. Bakugou gasped at the force, but didn't allow that to slow him down. He quickly rolled before Kage could press upon him and fired a blast right up into his face. Kage was forced to stumble back as the impact and the smoke disoriented him, giving Bakugou a chance to get up.

He charged in again. At this distance, even Kage's speed was insufficient to dodge. He blocked with both arms, coating them in black energy. Bakugou reeled back his fist, preparing a punch. Kage's block held, but at the last moment, Bakugou unleashed another harsh blast and forced his arms apart. With his other arm, Bakugou grabbed Kage's shirt and threw the boy over his shoulder.

As he did so, Kage panicked and flailed his arms towards Bakugou. The black energy wrapped around his arms became claws that cut into his skin. Kage was able to roll and recover after the throw, using a sudden wall construct to keep himself from going out of bounds. Bakugou looked down at his forearms which had now been cut.

Bloody, but nothing particularly deep. It was an annoyance, but Bakugou wasn't going to let a little bit of pain stop him. Kage raised his arms and began firing off small blasts of black energy. Though small, the shots fired fast. Bakugou was forced to use his explosions in addition to his natural speed to dodge them. Realising quickly that this was allowing Kage to gain ground, Bakugou surprised him by unleashing a large blast at the floor of the arena. The result was a smokescreen that filled the room, blocking everyone's vision.

"W-what's going on?" The girl from the arcade coughed. "I can't see shit!" Bakugou smirked, stepping carefully around Kage and preparing to pounce upon him once again. Much to his surprise, however, as Bakugou went in for another strike, Kage caught his arm.

"I can. It's staining the arena." Kage's voice came through a mask he had generated with his Quirk, the result being a strange raspy echo added to his words. He shoved Bakugou back, leaving the boy stumbling. Here, Bakugou realised he had made a mistake.

If Kage could see through his smokescreen, then clearly Bakugou was the one at a disadvantage. He had enough spatial awareness to recall where he was at the arena at any given moment, but Kage's movements weren't necessarily going to be predictable.

Bakugou barely managed to dodge as a knife made of energy came flying right at his face. Before he could do anything to respond, the blade twisted in the air and shot forth again. Bakugou was forced onto the defensive. He was able to reliably dodge the weapon, but it was able to change trajectory for him almost immediately, so he was left with little time to react.

"What's wrong, Bakugou?" Kage's voice taunted. "Smoke in your eyes?" Bakugou barked out a laugh at that, which sounded like it left Kage confused. Bakugou's hand sparked up again.

"Not in my ears, dumbass." He shot forth, quickly being greeted by Kage's wide-eyed expression. The knife fizzled out of being as he lost focus, and Bakugou grinned madly. He fired an explosion directly into Kage's face, completely blinding him. Before he could recover, he swept his legs and forced the freak onto the ground hard. He made sure to pin him to the floor.

There was a whirring sound as vents turned on in the room and the smoke quickly dissipated. The thin man in the suit looked at Bakugou with a disapproving expression, but Bakugou didn't care one bit what he thought. It had been a sound strategy.

Bakugou began laying punch after punch firmly into Kage, whose disorientation left him struggling to feebly block. It was easy enough for Bakugou to break his arms apart and keep the onslaught coming. Kage's cries of pain were music to his ears, an affirmation of all that he knew to be true already – in every sense now, Kage was beneath him.

Finally, Kage managed a headbutt, constructing a black barrier on his head to increase the force of the impact. Bakugou was forced back, Giving Kage enough time to twist out from under him and kick Bakugou in the chest before he could get up.

Bakugou staggered to his feet, but it was clear he didn't need to worry. Kage had one hand over his torso and was breathing heavily. Whether it was the smoke from before or his exhaustion from Bakugou's attacks, he was finished. He simply needed to be shown that.

Energy began sparking around Kage, with bolts emerging from every direction. Clearly a defensive mechanism, one meant to make sure Bakugou couldn't get close without taking damage himself. He scoffed.

If he thought the threat of a few shocks or burns would be enough to stop him, then Kage obviously didn't know him well. Bakugou rocketed forth and rammed a fist right into Kage's face. He grunted at the burn that came with the blow, but seeing Kage's black eye made it all worth it.

Kage spat up blood after another punch slammed into his stomach, nearly causing his knees to buckle. His one operational eye widened and his face contorted with rage. Good, Bakugou thought. It was about time he started getting serious.

Bakugou launched a kick to his side, but Kage caught it with both hands. As he did so, he summoned spikes into his palms that meant they stabbed into Bakugou's leg. He cried out, but it was drowned out by Kage himself screaming as he slammed Bakugou down onto the floor. The impact was so hard that Bakugou bounced off of the mat and back into the air for a moment, but this too was cut short when Kage slammed another fist into his stomach.

"Kage!"

The girl from the arcade spoke up with a shriek of concern, and Bakugou quickly saw why. Underneath Kage's shirt, a red stain was forming at the torso. He was bleeding a surprising amount. Still, this didn't seem to stop him from continuously ramming his fists into Bakugou.

His blows were strong and fast. Bakugou barely had a chance to register one hit before another appeared, keeping him pinned down. As Kage's furious swings increased in intensity, his screams became legible as words. Their meaning, however, was entirely lost on Bakugou.

"Not again, not again, not again!" He repeated the words like a chant or a prayer, a strange level of desperation underlining his tone. Bakugou's eyes widened as the tiniest gap between impacts appeared. Enough time for him to notice how Kage had now formed another knife. He held it within both hands and raised it up into the air.

"NOT AGAIN!"

Immediately, Bakugou could tell it was sharper than before. Combined with Kage's mad ramblings, it was clear he had snapped. If he didn't act fast, Kage would kill him.

Bakugou forced an arm up and placed it directly on Kage's stomach. The freak barely had a moment to notice before Bakugou shot a powerful blast out that left his arm twitching. It did its job, however. Kage was flung into the wall of the room, outside of the bounds of the match. The blow to the head didn't seem to quite knock him unconscious, but it did seem to startle him out of his bizarre mad rage.

"Urgh…" He groaned, his head spinning. Bakugou took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. His arm was quickly steadying, but that was more power output than he had expected to use. As he felt his body manage to settle itself, he pulled himself up to his feet. His whole body was sore, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He glared over at Kage.

"What the hell was that?!" He cried out. Kage blinked for a few seconds, seeming as though he needed a moment to register where he was and what was happening. It was possible he had a concussion at this point. He tilted his head.

"Your win?" Bakugou's mouth hung open. Just how ignorant could he have been?!

"That was not a win." Bakugou insisted. "That was you flipping the fuck out. Not a chance in hell that counts as a victory. If I don't beat you at your best, it doesn't mean shit!" He cried out, slapping his palm to his face. After a moment, he sighed and gestured with his hand.

"Come on, get back up." He said. Kage seemed to try, but it was at this moment he seemed to register the blood pooling into his shirt and found himself struggling to move. Bakugou's eye twitched, and he walked closer to see if he could just haul the boy back himself. Before he could, however, Gunhead stepped in front of him.

"Nuh-uh." He waved a finger disapprovingly. "I think both of you have hit each other plenty of times already. We're not doing a round two here." Bakugou grunted, but didn't think it wise to argue with the man. He wasn't actually going to force Kage back into the ring immediately – it was obvious he needed some medical attention first – but he didn't want to just let things drop. As though sensing his dissatisfaction, Kage peered over at him.

"You can count this as your win, Bakugou. Promise! You're the better fighter, super cool, yada yada." What might have normally been delivered with a distinct air of sarcasm was now said with tired sincerity. It seemed Kage lacked the energy to even hold a pretence of rivalry. Bakugou glanced at the other figures in the room questioningly. He didn't think this could possibly count.

The arcade girl spoke up, glaring at him harshly.

"Don't try anything." She said, holding a hand in front of Kage protectively. "Unless you want shrapnel to the face." As though responding to his unanswered question, metallic wings burst forth from the girl's back and moved to shield Kage.

This answered nothing, but he realised that no one would confirm anything for him here. No one understood the importance of this, how he needed to be sure he was undisputed best. He supposed he couldn't fault them for being more concerned with Kage's injuries, but he didn't have to like it either.

He huffed. "This isn't over." He said, and those were the last words he would speak in that room as he took off.

Kage groaned as Bakugou left the room. He was surprised that he had managed to say anything coherent to him given the maddening pain he was experiencing in his head. He guessed he had been slammed back into the wall, but in all honesty, he had blacked out during the fight. According to Bakugou, he had 'flipped the hell out', which meant quite a bit coming from the exploding rage machine of death.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do that again another time." Kage forced himself to sit up. In doing so, he noticed with some alarm that his shirt was now covered in blood. His blood. He tried to press his hand against where it seemed to have come from, but it stung painfully at his touch. Gunhead turned to face him.

"I don't think you're getting into the ring any time soon, buddy." He said gently. Kage nodded, only half-listening. The sight of his own blood having spilled out of his body was deeply unnerving to him. There was so much. It was so red. Was he going to die? Again? This had happened before, hadn't it? He was sure there had been a lot of blood the first time. He had been lying on the ground and bleeding and it hurt it hurt so much and then he couldn't even feel that and then there was nothing even the pain was better than nothing and-

He gasped as a cold chill ran through his entire body at once. Everything seemed to wobble and shift. Everyone around him switched briefly from where they were now to where they had been before the fight began, seeming to flicker between positions. Kage forced himself to blink in order to dispel the effect, and it mercifully passed after a few seconds.

"So that's how that works." Kage said, looking down to see that his shirt was now stainless and he no longer had any wounds on his body. He had been unconscious the last time this power had revealed itself, and he decided that was probably for the best. Just looking at it had increased his headache, despite how he knew the head trauma he had taken should have been gone.

Something stirred sickeningly in the back of his mind, but whatever it was, he couldn't conjure up any details. He shrugged it off. What was one more thing to repress on the pile?

"I am certainly glad to see you are well, Mister Kage Sekai." Kuchihige said with a sharp inhale, scribbling down some notes. "Your powers certainly seem to have kept your body well, but I grow increasingly concerned for your mind. What on Earth were you thinking there?"

"I…wasn't." Kage replied. "I'm pretty sure I blacked out after the smoke thing, so I'm sorry if I did something stupid and forgot about it." He tried to laugh it off, but the worry visible on everyone around made it hard to keep in high spirits. Sora looked to the other two before turning to him.

"Kage, you nearly killed that guy."

Kage stood up immediately, his eyes wide with horror. He went pale. Logically, he knew Bakugou was perfectly fine, but even the idea that he had tried to deal a killing blow was disturbing. He may not have liked him much personally, but he didn't want him to die. He didn't want anyone to die! That was practically his defining principle.

"No, no, that can't be…" He trailed off, lacking the certainty to finish his words. "I wouldn't, I-I couldn't! You have to believe me, I'm not that kind of person, there's no way I could be like that, I-"

"Whoa, slow down!" Sora held her hands up. "It's cool, we get it. I feel like I know you enough by now to know that wasn't you, you know? Clearly something set you off."

"The great miss Kinzoku-" Kuchihige began, but a glare from Sora cut him off. "Er, just Sora I mean, is correct. Before you blacked out, can you recall if there was anything specific that set you off? It seems like it was rather traumatic. Perhaps it connects to your past in some way?"

"Well, yes and no." Kage thought to himself. It was related to who he was before, but he was fairly sure it had nothing to do with the past of Kage Sekai. No, this was Darren Smythe's territory.

"I…I think I saw my own blood." Kage thought aloud, forcing his mind to focus on that blurry spot. "The only thing I remember clearly after that are the words 'not again'. I'm not exactly sure what that means, though." He half-lied. He wasn't certain, but he could probably guess what had been on his mind at the time. Kuchihige nodded.

"I see. It seems we can safely assume your blood was the trigger, then. No doubt your body was recalling some past attack, even if it escapes your mind. Should be simple enough to avoid in the future. Just try to keep the battle damage down to a minimum and you'll do fine." He gave a small smile, which was more expression than Kage could recall having ever seen on the man's face. He grinned back.

"You got it." He gave a salute. He then turned to face Gunhead and gave a bow. "Sorry for causing so much trouble, sir. If I'd known something like that was going to happen, I…" Gunhead gave a boisterous laugh before he could finish.

"Don't sweat it, kid! I'm just glad nobody's seriously hurt." He patted Kage on the back as he got up, which made him stumble slightly. "Besides, this space is exactly where you want things to go wrong. It's a controlled environment and we can get people in to help pretty easily. If you're going to lose it, better it be in here than out there somewhere."

"I guess." Kage could see the logic in that, but he still felt like he was causing more trouble than anyone present deserved. Gunhead continued, as though sensing his discomfort.

"Seriously, you're fine." He said in a softer tone. "Don't beat yourself up over things you can't control, it'll drive you crazy. Why don't you go home and take it easy for the rest of the day, okay? A bit of rest after all that should do you some good."

"Y-yeah." Kage sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I don't have anything else planned today anyway, plus my head is still kind of on fire." His headache had diminished somewhat, but it was still enough to be a bit of a bother. He walked over to the door, retrieving his bag on the way.

"Hey, wait up!" Sora called after him. He held the door for her, and the two began making their way out of the gym. It was quiet, though not quite uncomfortably so.

"So, you wanna spill the beans on what that was about?" Sora leaned forward and asked. Kage raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're lying." Kage flinched at that. "There's more to this than what you told moustache man and Gunhead – who, by the way, doesn't even have guns on his head! What's the deal with that? But, you first. Does it have anything to do with the letters DRN?"

"Darren." He said reflexively. "It's…an old name, sort of? Look, it's complicated and I don't think I can really go into it right now. Besides, what about you? What's up with you and Kuchihige?" Sora paused at that, her expression hardening.

"It's…it's a name thing, too." She eventually said. Kage didn't recognise Sora Kinzoku as a name that had ever come up in the original canon, but he supposed Kuchihige was similarly unfamiliar. The world was far bigger than anything he had simply read about. "I don't know if I can go into it now." Kage nodded.

"Sure. We can air our tragic backstories to one another later." He joked. Sora snorted and lightly shoved his side, which made him laugh as well.

"Sounds good. Today had enough drama in it as is."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"You were pretty subtle about it."

"You know, it's nice that my acting is being appreciated."

The sarcasm only heightened their laughter, and by the time the two split off from one another, they were both in much brighter spirits. As he stepped onto a train to get back home, a thought occurred to Kage. He hadn't been lying when he offered to share his story with Sora. She was a good friend, and not one tied up in any future events that he had to be careful not to mention. He doubted she would believe it, but he didn't mind the idea of saying something. He was holding in an awful lot, and clearly it was getting to him more than he realised. He needed someone who he could trust, and someone who wasn't likely to get any more involved in the mess he was sure to make.

He only hoped both things would remain true of Sora.

AN: Apologies if this chapter is a bit rough, especially at the end there. I came down with a pretty massive cold and I've been struggling with it for the past few days. Still, I hope the end result is still enjoyable! The 'not again' line is actually a reference to a similar moment in the first version of this fic I wrote ages ago, and it was nice to get to use it here. Also, I couldn't fit it in anywhere, but I was imagining Kage with a busted lip during the fight. Speaking of fight related injuries, I wonder what that bleeding from the body was about? Who can say, really? See you all next time!