Well, well, well! I am back, and it's good! Once again, apologies for the extra week I was gone, but things evolved in ways that didn't leave me with time to work on a chapter. I might write fast, but not that fast.

Chapter 39: Confrontation and Conflagration

"Hey guys," Class B looked behind them, seeing that one of their missing classmates had returned. Midoriya didn't look like he had just secured a massive win; quite the opposite. "Sorry I was gone for so long." He apologized, sounding meek, which threw them for a loop.

"Hey man, no sweat. The next match hasn't even started, so you haven't missed much." Tokage waved it off as he walked to his seat next to Shiozaki. He quietly sat down before leaning into the girl, who instinctively wrapped an arm around him.

Awase, not picking up on Midoriya's strange mood, only laughed as he asked a question. "How does it feel knowing you beat that Todoroki? You proved your flames stronger than his ice."

"I didn't prove anything," Midoriya muttered, leaning more into Shiozaki as he didn't want to think about that match. "It feels hollow."

"Strange, you seemed quite intense in the match." Honenuki mused though he suspected that more had happened on the field as Midoriya was many things; battle crazy wasn't one of them, and that was Kamakiri's deal.

"Well, we all get lost when you're in the zone. Shishida's not the only one that gets lost in the zone." Tokage butted in, giving Midoriya some space to deal with…whatever it was he was dealing with, something which he was grateful for as he mouthed a 'thank you' her way, which she only smirked at.

Kendo, picking things up from there, thought about it momentarily. "As things stand, it might have to as that Bakugo guy's an asshole, but he's capable, competent."

"It would be nice if class B could knock him out now; that would secure us the gold regardless of who wins the gold," Tsuburaba added, as Vlad would be real proud of that one, especially since class B didn't take home anything more then silver for the last few festivals if he was recalling it right. As the rest of the class talked about it, Tokage leaned her head to the side so that her hair covered her ear so she could discreetly detach it, along with her mouth and jaw, which she covered with her hand. The two pieces then went under the seats towards where Shiozaki and Midoriya sat.

"You okay, Hebimi?" She quietly asked him as Shiozaki hugged the fire user close.

"Not really…"Nether batted an eye at the floating mouth and ear, long used to Tokage's quirk. Looking her way, Midoriya tried to smile, but it wasn't nearly as bright or big as his regular ones. "But I'll get better."

"Was the match that much of a disappointment?" Shiozaki asked him, but he shook his head. Memories of the fight replayed in his head against his wishes as he started seeing signs here and there, clues that, if he had picked up at the moment, could have made a difference.

"It was like looking into a mirror but not realizing it until it was too late." He muttered, which confused both girls, but they didn't push it, as Tokage called back her missing pieces before anyone noticed they were gone.

"All right, folks, the field has been cleared of ice and repaired from the fire damage! But before we start the semi-finals, let's congratulate the four that made it this far, and man, oh man, it seems like class B has really come in clutch this year. 3 of the four slots are theirs! But Bakugo could surprise us, so we can't count class A out yet!"

The entire stadium's attention, all eyes and ears turned back to the field, which, like Mic said, was now ready for action. On the screens, the images of the four finalists appeared with their names, quirks, and class, with Bakugo being an outlier, which, weirdly enough, would make Bakugo the underdog in this race.

"Laying it on thick, isn't he?" Fukidashi noted, to which Monoma scoffed, a smirk of superiority on his face.

"Why wouldn't he? We've proven to be the superior class so far." They sometimes wondered how Monoma could have such confidence, especially as he was eliminated first, not first of the class, but first of the finals period.

His words drew pushback as Ashido peaked over the dividing wall. "Hey, we resent that!"

"Yeah!" She was joined by Kaminari, but that only made Monoma gloat even more

"Oh, I'm sorry, but how many of you even made it to the finals? How many are still in? We started out with fewer people and yet managed to last this long!" Monoma reminded them that class B started the finals with a numerical disadvantage to class A by 2 people. Yet, with the semi-finals about to start, they had 3 of the 4 spots on lock.

"Monoma, please don't antagonize them." Kendo grabbed Monoma before he could continue picking fights, though seeing Monoma be as himself made Midoriya chuckle.

"And we have an exciting match for you today, folks; in the one corner, we have our underdog, but don't let that fool you; he's highly explosive! From the hero course, Bakugo Katsuki!" Present Mic introduced Bakugo, who hardly batted an eye as he glared at his foe.

"And facing off against the live grenade is the beast in men's clothing. He's as cunning as a fox but as strong as a bear! From the hero course, Shishida Jurota!" Shishida matched his glare with a stare, as he won't be intimidated by him; if anything, he'll use it as further motivation to win.

"Come on, Shishida, bring us another win!" Honenuki cheered.

"You got this, Bakubro! Show 'em what class A can do!" Kirishima did the same for his classmate. While on the field, Shishida and Bakugo watched the other; there were no words between them as the taller student thought about his options.

'Personality faults aside, Bakugo's not someone I can fight without a plan. His two fights showed he's also good at ranged and close quarters. Those blasts probably have enough power to hurt me, but I can't try and battle from a distance, and he must know that.' Shishida frowned, as that could work for most, especially when he couldn't just pin him and wait for him to concede defeat as Shinso did.

However, Bakugo proved his explosions give him a variant of flight, so any hit he tried to use against him would need to be hard enough to counteract the explosions he would surely use to keep himself from touching the ground or, failing that, push him out of bonds while he's still on the ground, preferable by grabbing his hands to keep him from using his quirk. Still, Bakugo wasn't a fool, so if he suspected he would try that, even for a second, his chance would die before it could even be attempted.

'Theory is that he's going to wait for me to try and close the distance and win this the fastest way I can, a ring out, so I can't do that as he'll suspect it. Instead, I must land a strong single hit to knock him out.' That was his best option right now, easy enough as he knew how much force one needed to knock someone out. Even if not, if he could daze him, that could buy him precious seconds to restrain or throw him out of bonds.

"Are the fighters ready? Well...begin!" Shishida shifted into his beast mode without hesitation and stepped forward to carry out his plan. Still, the scent of burnt caramel invaded his nose, stronger than it had been a mere moment ago. At the same time, he heard an explosion go off.

He wasn't the only one who planned how to handle it; he was the slower of the two. At that moment after the match started, Bakugo set loose a blast with one hand as he jumped, launching himself towards Shishida like a human rocket before he brought up his other hand, pointing black range with his hand aimed at his foe's face, his palm already sparking.

"Die!" Bakugo yelled as he launched a powerful explosion right into Shishida's face; Shishida roared in surprise and pain as he was blown back by the attack, rolling as he came to rest on his back halfway to the boundary line. Growling, he wiped the soot off his face, grateful that he hadn't worn his glasses for the match, but he didn't get more time as Bakugo returned to it.

Bakugo had been blown back by his own explosion. Still, he was used to such events and had long figured out how to handle it as moments after he struck Shishida, taking the first hit of the fight, his offhand fired off another explosion, weak enough that he wasn't held in place, but strong enough to slow him down so that he landed without issue, and could immediately continue the attack, Shishida rolling out of the way as Bakugo came down with both hands aimed towards where his foe just was, firing off a blast twice as strong s the first.

Shishida shot to his feet and raced Bakugo, using his enhanced speed to try and get the jump on him. Still, his foe blasted himself up and out of danger, or at least, that was what it seemed to be as Shishida growled as he bent his knees before kicking off, jumping after Bakugo and getting an insane amount of distance with his standing jump, his class upon seeing it recalled how he did during the quirk assessment.

Swinging his palm towards his foe, Bakugo made him see how he made a mistake in challenging him in the air, as it was confirmed that Shishida was the stronger of the two by quite a margin. But Bakugo was the one who reigned as king when it came to mobility in a 3d space. So Bakugo looked bored when he twisted his body so that he could fire and blast, and not just evade the attack, but spin as he found himself behind Shishida, placing a hand on his furry back before setting off an explosion which got a roar of pain from Shishida as he was sent hurtling back into the arena.

"Holy crap, he's getting his ass beat!" Awase yelled out, with Shiozaki too stunned by the near one-sided fight to scold him for this language.

"What the heck? He wasn't this good when he fought Iida. What gives?" Komori asked as Midoriya remained silent and watched the fight progress. Despite Bakugo being different from the one he knew in middle school, his fighting style, aggression, lack of reluctance, and drive to keep on the offensive were painfully familiar to him.

"Kacchan…Did you create a better plan…or is this just how strong you really are?" he asked himself as they watched Shishida dance around. His massive body might have been fast, but Bakugo was faster. More than that, he could attack from any angle, whether getting in close to throw the explosion or sending it towards him from a distance.

"Cheese and crackers, folks. Bakugo is relentless, but Shishida's still in this fight!" Present Mic commented as Shishida wiped some blood from his lip, the taste of crimson still on his tongue. He looked towards his foe, who ceased his attack, at least at the moment.

'Not a euphemism that I appreciate at present.' Shishida thought, as his clothes were a wreck, Bakugo having realized he was tougher than most and didn't hold back as much as he would have. Patches of fur on his body burned away, revealing the pale skin beneath it, skin turning red from all the explosions he was tanking.

'Still, I need to do more than remain on my feet.' Shishida tried to think of a plan that would work. Still, his knowledge of his opponent was scarce, and it seemed like he was actively fighting in ways he hadn't before to further throw him off. When he saw him shift, Shishida moved, and because of that, he managed to avoid an explosion-boosted kick; not letting the moment pass by him, he reached for Bakugo and managed to grab him by the arm and, with a roar, slam him into the ground.

"And Shishida manages to catch his opponent!" Present Mic's call followed, with the audience and students in awe at that comeback as Bakugo coughed out most of the air in his lungs. Shishida kept his hold on the boy as he started spinning, lifting Bakugo over his head with the intent of slamming him into the ground for good measure before he tossed him out of bounds.

But Bakugo was used to vertigo and the painful sensation that came from your organs being pulled any which one. His body adapted to such because of his quirk else he would have killed himself years ago. So while it hurt like a bitch that he was caught after he slipped up and got slammed into the ground before being taken on an unwanted spin cycle, he wasn't anywhere close to dazed.

Using the fact he was already in motion and his opponent didn't notice, Bakugo let out a blast right as he was pulled overhead, which threw Shishida off balance, loosening his grip. Bakugo capitalized on that and escaped Shishida's hold on him, but not before aiming a blast for his head, which got another yell of pain from the guy. Flipping to land on his feet, facing his target, Shishida's vision cleared of the smoke in time to see Bakugo's palms pointed right at him, already crackling.

"Well, I've worked up a sweat, so I'm taking a win, an absolute victory!" Bakugo yelled right as she blasted Shishida with his biggest explosion yet. Following the blast, a smoke-coated figure flew into the air before crashing outside the boundary line. Once the smoke cleared enough, they could see that it was Shishida, with a large part of his fur on his chest burned off and the bow having shrunk to his human form.

"Shishida is both incapacitated and out of bounds!" Midnight made the call before pointing toward Bakugo, who wasn't even looking at his fallen foe but instead toward the stands. "Bakugo progresses to the finals!"

"Amazing, Bakugo secures a victory in style, keeping class A's hopes alive! But oh man, does he not hold back!" Present Mic stated as the crowds cheered for Bakugo's victory. The boy continued to look at one spot for a moment before he ticked his teeth and turned to walk away as the medical bots came out to retrieve the downed Shishida.

"As aggressive as he seems, Bakugo is a smart fighter; he knew he had to chip away at the stronger foe, and once he felt he was weakened enough, he moved in for the finishing blow," Vlad added some details as he was upset that his student lost. However, he was still an adult and a professional and could handle his job regardless. Besides, he held onto the idea that he still had people who could take home class B's first gold in 6 years.

"He's looking at us, " Kendo said, as Bakugo glared right where they were seated, no doubt towards the two green-haired students who would fight next to see who would face him.

"He's looking at me," Kendo said, looking towards Midoriya, whose statement was spoken like it was a fact, with little emotional investment that could be taken as error or arrogance. "He wants to fight me…"

"He does realize you still need to defeat Shiozaki if that is to happen, right?" Tokage spoke up, as Blasty seemed to have a hate boner for Hebimi, but it wasn't set in stone that he would make it to the finals.

"Kacchan's not someone who follows logic regarding what he wants. I have a feeling that if I lose against her, he'll find me after the festival and challenge me to a fight." Midoriya explained that Bakugo was someone who, when he wanted something, got it either because it was handed to him or he took it. He had been like that since they were little, so he knew Kacchan would fight him with everyone he had.

"That doesn't sound like something to smile about, " Yanagi said, which caused Midoriya to look towards her in confusion.

"Smile?" Only for him to notice that he was smiling. When he reached a hand to his face, he could feel the smile. Was he happy about that fight? That wasn't like him; he didn't enjoy fighting for fighting's sake. "Strange…"

"Well, we can think about that later. Right now, we have a match to prepare for." Shiozaki got up, offering a hand to Midoriya, who took it as they got up. With farewells and well wishes from their class, they started walking towards their waiting room.

"Midoriya," Midoriya stopped before they were out of earshot of their class, Shiozaki wanting to say one last thing. "Don't hold back, I want to win against your best." Her dark green eyes were still the same as before, but they now had a playful energy, a competitive playfulness.

Knowing that she was severe only made his smile larger as he started to feel some of the yuck from his match with Todoroki began to fade away. "You are well, Shiozaki. May the best person win."

"And we move on to the second and final match of the semi-finals. Whoever wins this can take the gold and be crowned the winner of the first-year Sports Festival, so you best bring your A-game!" Present Mic yelled over the speakers, adding to the hype that was already high among the audience, who were watching as they cheered for the two students as they walked onto the field.

"But I don't think these two need me to remind them of that! And what a special pair they are, as they might as well embody elements of nature! In the one corner, as have thorn princess whose vines have ensnared all that stood before her! From the hero course, Shiozaki Ibara!" Present Mic introduced Shiozaki first. The girl had her game face on, which meant her face expressed little if anything. She was focused on winning, even if that meant fighting her friend.

"And her opponent, fire is his blood, and stone is his flesh. He's burned through every challenger before this, but can he do it again? From the hero course, it's Midoriya Izuku!" Midoriya was the same. Though he was nervous, that was more because he was considering just how many eyeballs were watching them—not just Ryukyu and Hado-sempai, but his mom and Koharu as well, and tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people.

"Just don't burn up the field or cover it with vines; we don't have fire form and weed killer to waste, but with that said, are you ready?" Neither spoke, but their shifting stances said enough.

"Begin!" Shiozaki's hair burst to life, rapidly extending towards the ground and forward as dozens of vines shot towards Midoriya, who, in response, heated himself up. Feeling the burn as steam shot through his veins, he jumped back and took a breath, blasting a green fireball toward the vines, trying to capture him. Before it made contact, Shiozaki shifted her vines into a protective wall.

"And Shiozaki's patented attack and grab is countered, but is it me, or did her vines absorb much of that fireball punch?" Present Mic commented as, unlike in his previous match, Midoriya's flames didn't barrel through Shiozaki's vines; they burned most of the way through, rendering many useless, but not even a cinder reached her as she switched back into attack mode. Still, Midoriya proved far too nimble as he danced and jumped around, flames flying whenever a vine or several got too close to him.

"You won't beat me like you did the others, Shiozaki. I know how you fight!" Jumping over some, Midoriya let loose another attack, exploding into smaller ones to reign down on Shiozaki and force her to move as he wanted.

But she wasn't so easily caught. She smiled as the vines separated into smaller bunches, each taking one of the fireballs, burning at the ends of them. She severed the burned pieces without pause. "And I do you," she replied before creating two arms made from her vines, each as thick as her body. Before she sent them after him, the rest focused on boxing him in so she could restrain him long enough to throw him out of bounds.

This new offensive proved much more problematic for Midoriya to navigate, as while he was faster than her vines, she had so many that his speed wasn't as much of a winning formula as he thought. Also, he couldn't launch counters as she created an ever-shifting shield to protect herself. His most recent attack burned half the vines. Still, the scared and dried vines were merely severed and rapidly replaced. Midoriya did not have a chance to capitalize on her rebuilding defense because her offense would also increase.

Flipping over one arm that tried to grab him, his leg was snared by a vine. Without thinking, he took a breath and blasted his leg from the knee down, roasting the vine but also badly burning his own limb, which came out of the self-assault looking red and black, his pant leg burned to ash. Landing, Midoriya ignored how people in the stand were yelling about how he could even burn himself; he focused more on keeping balance with a charred leg.

"No choice." His internal temperature shot through the roof as the flames exploded out of his, burning away flesh and blood and replacing it with stone and magma. Standing on his two feet, he roared as he fired a sustained blast of flames, which forced Shiozaki to use both arms she created to block. Still, the flames were eating away at them, so when one was damaged enough that its hand fell, she was forced to move and try to trap him again, which forced Midoriya to cease the attack as they returned to their cat-and-mouse game.

'He didn't make a tail,' Shiozaki had seen him shift only twice, once at the USJ and again when battling Todoroki. Both times, he had shifted his form to something more serpentine-like. But watching him jumping around, evading her attempts to trap or capture him, only much faster now, she could see why. 'Of course, he's not as mobile when jumping around with it, and it makes for a bigger target for my vines.'

"Her vines are holding up?" Kaminari asked, as with class A, and they were surprised that the match hadn't been a wash like they had expected. Instead, Shiozaki seemed to be controlling the flow of it, with Midoriya putting up a fight, but it seemed like she was the one with the high ground.

"Gotta admit, I thought they'd burn up." Ashido winced when she saw Midoriya sever his right arm from the elbow down with an explosive release of flames and lava build-up and then be captured. But she was just as impressed by how fast he could regrow the limb; it wasn't even 20 seconds before it was back, while the lost one was left on the field like trash.

"Perhaps it's because they're not wood but green plants." Yaoyorozu theorized as she watched the fight, with Kaminari turning in her direction, confused.

"But…isn't that the same thing?" She shook her head at the question.

"Not necessarily. Wood is commonly dry, drier than most green plants anyway, as it doesn't retain much moisture, so it can be burnt easily. But things like vines and shrubs have a much higher water content, which makes it harder for fire to burn them." She explained that was a primary reason that wildfires couldn't spread through a place like the Amazon unless someone was helping them.

"She also has the advantage of directional attacks as he can only fire flames out his mouth and through those metal-as-hell arm canons, but she can spread her vines across the entire vine, where any one of them can strike at you," Sero added, as that was how she defeated him despite the two both being exceptional when it came to capture, she was just more versatile when compared to him, as much as that annoyed him to have admit.

"They're moving as well as you can expect, but they don't know much about the other." As class A discussed things, a similar discussion happened with class B. However, as they knew both competitors better, they could make better-educated guesses on why they acted the way they were.

Tokage nodded at Honenuki's statement. "Yeah, it feels like they're still trying to feel out the other, trying to learn enough before they make a gamble for the win." Tokage would have assumed they would have used the same playbook if they were fighting any of them. Still, both were some of the strongest, and they were also clever, different from someone like Tetsutetsu, who freely admitted he preferred simple methods.

On the field, Shiozaki made the first move to end the match. Gathering her vines, she enlarged the remaining arm she had. She swung it towards Midoriya, a mass of vines behind it, ready to reinforce or nab Midoriya should he try and jump over it. Seeing the attack coming, Midoriya aimed both hands on the ground and, with another explosive release, sent himself flying up and over the arm, which Shiozaki was ready for as her vines lashed out to capture him.

But Midoriya hadn't jumped without a plan. While he had aimed both hands towards the ground, only one had been blown to pieces; the other was fine. When he saw the vines coming towards him, he could aim that hand toward them and fire off another blast of green flames and lava, which either burned or coated the vines with lava, continually burning away at them but also weighing them down.

"And Midoriya reveals that he had a trick up his sleeve. Well, when he had sleeves, that must have hurt." Present Mic's commentary was false. Midoriya hardly felt a thing in this form. Indeed, whatever he felt that was fire-related hardly registered as pain, but that wasn't important.

His ability to stick to the landing was necessary, and with Shiozaki still dealing with the lava from his attack, he had an opening as his jaw fell open and he gathered in the air. Hearing the suction, she turned to see him right as a bright flame started building in the back of his throat. She could only throw up a paltry defense, with most of her vines burning or outreached in the wrong direction.

"Serpent's fireball!" Midoriya fired off his signature strike, the fireball being much larger than the others, and when faced with a weaker defense, it was no contest as the flames pierced straight through; even when she bunched flames together, they didn't stand as long as the fire just passed through the gaps before they hit their as Shiozaki let out a scream as he was blown back. Blinking away the spots in her version, she saw that she had been laid out, her vines badly burned around her.

When she tried to move, she saw a stone hand shoot for her face, stopping just shy of it. Looking past it, she saw that Midoriya was kneeling on top of her, ready to strike her. His jaw wasn't as open as before, but she could hear air being drawn in and not exhaling, as she knew he was feeding the flames and getting ready for an attack if it came to it.

But it wouldn't, as she knew her limits and laid her head down. "I yield." It was a soft admission, but one Midnight heard all the same as she made the call.

"Shiozaki has surrendered! Midoriya advances to the finals!" With that, the crowds were even louder than they had been when the fight was ongoing. Shiozaki's name was going red on the screen as the stamp of elimination struck it. At the same time, Midoriya's remained blue as it shot up to the very top.

"There you have it, folks! We have our two fighters for the gold! And, oh man, was that an exciting match? These two students really know how to put on a show!" Present Mic stated as Midoriya helped his defeated classmate up. The two bowed to one another before leaving through the entrances they took.

"Midoriya might have won, but one shouldn't be so cavalier with severing entire limbs. Also, Shiozaki shouldn't need to use so many vines in an engagement like this." Vlad's commentary wasn't as exciting as his co-host's, which Mic called him out for.

"Oh, sheesh, man, can you ever not be in teacher mode?" Present Mic asked as the two walked off the field, giving the robots time to clean up the mess left behind.

"You're a teacher too, so you shouldn't be critiquing them so they can improve." Vlad countered as the students talked about other matters, and their hosts argued the merits of their respective commentary styles.

"And with that, we're assured a silver place if the worse comes to worse." Tokage relaxed into her chair, her hands grasping the back of her head.

"What are you talking about? Bakugo's gonna clean the floor with Midoriya." Kaminari peaked over the divider wall, having heard her statement.

"Like hell he is; Blasty can try all he wants; not much good an explosion can do against someone immune to fire damage and with rapid regeneration." Kamakiri was there to back her up, but that only escalated things as this time, it was Ashido who looked over.

"He doesn't have to beat him that way; he'll just send him flying out of bonds and claim victory that way, so there!" She went as far as to stick her tongue out at them, which made Kendo wonder just how old the class A girl was, but now Monoma jumped in, unable to contain himself.

"And what makes you think that Midoriya wouldn't be the one to cook his ass over a green fire and serve him up a nice well-done L?" Monoma hit back with his iconic snark and mockery, which only led to the two classes getting into an argument about how their classmate would come out on top, and how the other was sure to be defeated. Kendo couldn't even take comfort that she and several on both sides remained out of it, as those who got involved more than made up for the lack of numbers.

"Dammit…I should have knocked him out." She muttered to herself.

Bakugo was unaware of the argument between class A and B; even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have cared. He hadn't returned to his class after his victory, as with just one match between him and the finals, he decided to take the time to ensure he was prepared. He wasn't going to underestimate that fucking Pyro, not again.

He didn't even consider that he could have been bested by the shrub head; as much as it pained him to accept, Pyro's flames were powerful; if he lost, it would have been more to luck than his opponent having skill or power. So when he heard Mic's loud-ass voice through the walls talking about how Pyro would be moving onto the finals, he wasn't surprised. If anything, it made him happy as it meant he could do two things he knew were destined: Take gold at his first sports festival and prove himself the best, and finally put that Pyro in his place once and for all.

He had waited for this, trained his ass off since he was humiliated by Pyro and that sludge fuck. He, who was destined to be number one, the strongest hero, greater than even All Might, could not escape from some D-tier villain. None of the other heroes could help him either, but then he showed up and freed him like it was nothing; the pyromaniac was so dangerous and demented even the villain could see that and tried to beg, not that it did him any good.

He refused to ever let that happen again, to ever let himself be weak, and even though he couldn't beat up Pyro for making him look like a bitch, he ran away and wasn't seen for months. And just as he was accepted that the deranged pebble had found some hole to hide away in like a coward, he got his entrance exam results back.

He got 2nd…2nd fucking place to Pyro!

Things didn't go his way since he didn't get the first place in Aizawa's stupid quick assessment, losing out to Ponytail, whose claim to anything was the fact she could make whatever she wanted as if that would be good for hero work when she took time to make anything. Anything she did make could be broken by someone with a strong quirk. He didn't get the best performance in their first hero class, that going to the half-and-half bastard who froze the entire fucking building, trapping the villains and securing the bomb without so much as a fight.

Then class B goes and gets attacked by villains, which he didn't care about as they were low-tier nobodies, back-alley jobbers that probably only went for little shits and old hags cause anyone else would smack the shit out of them. But he was in the minority as people kept bringing it up, and how the class literally named B, as in second to him, were brave for fighting and vital to have done so with minimal injuries.

When he finally saw Pyro again, fucker grew a spine and dared to challenge him as if they were equal level. He's continued to mock him since then. Doing better than him in both the race and Calvary battle. Then he went and defeated that half-and-half bastard in a match that was so one-sided, even a kid with 2 brain cells could have called it. He hadn't been able to best Todoroki yet, even when he got the punk to agree to training matches, and yet Pyro did.

No more.

He's not going to keep letting this happen. He's going onto that field and shutting up anyone who said he wasn't the best, starting with Pyro when he beats him into the dirt and makes him surrender.

After his match, Midoriya didn't return to his class but instead went back to his waiting room to meditate. As mantras slipped from his lips, his temperature rose and fell with his breath. Like before his match with Todoroki, he fed the flames, having eaten a few…dozen snacks from the vending machine to ensure he was fuelled up, as he couldn't half-ass this.

He refused to half-ass it. He had come a long way from the boy he was just a year ago. Kacchan…Bakugo wasn't nice; he hadn't been for a long time. But he was also the strongest kid Midoriya knew; he was respected, liked, and feared. Decisive, powerful, bold, and, in his own way, charismatic. He was almost everything Midoriya wanted to be. He was what he pictured when he imagined strength, someone who could stand next to All Might and do what he did.

He still was in a way, but his image had changed to someone else, from one blonde with an explosive quirk and personality to another blonde who could shift into a giant, fearsome dragon but remain kind, patient, and loving. Ryukyu wasn't the strongest person he knew physically, but she was the strongest he knew when it came to what made a hero: Her heart; he owned her so much, and he would pay it all back tenfold, and part of that was becoming a hero like her. One that helped those that others wouldn't.

That meant winning the festival to prove himself to the world, but he also had another reason for it.

He wanted to stand in the same ring as Bakugo and win. He tried to fight him with everything they had and prove to him that he wasn't the same scared, shy kid he was before. He could be a hero, and he would be a hero, and there wasn't a darn thing Bakugo or anyone else could do about it!

Breathing out a cloud of flames, Midoriya opened his eyes, revealing that they glowed brightly. "Would the finalist please make it to the field. The match is to begin shortly." The automated voice announced. Getting up, Midoriya recalled that Ryukyu had told him before she returned to her seat.

'Show the world what I already see.'

"I will, Ryukyu. I'll make you proud." Midoriya said as he walked out the door, gently closing it behind him.

With the finals having come, the air in the stadium was electric. The tens of thousands cheered like their lives depended on it, an energy that someone like Present Mic thrived in as he controlled them like a ringmaster. With the students, they sat quietly, having argued themselves into a stalemate; an unspoken agreement was reached between them to let their fighters prove their points in the field.

When the flames were lit, Present Mic laughed through the speakers and the airwaves, heard on every screen or radio tuned into the games. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, we have made it to the U.A. High first-year Sports Festival finals, so let me hear you make some noise!" Somehow, the crowds got even louder as they cheered.

"I like that, I like that, people! But who can blame you? The fight we're about to see will cement who will take the crown as the king of the sports festival. They've fought, bled, one even severed limbs. Still, they have defeated every foe, overcome every obstacle, and now stand face-to-face in an epic showdown!" The screens changed to show the faces and details of the two finals, Bakugo's coated in red, while Midoriya's in Blue. The two colors were such opposites. They clashed like the two they were assigned, even without the added effects.

"And this will be an even juicer treat as it's a battle of the hero classes, so let's see whose student is better? Grumpy Vlad's or Grumpy Eraser's!" Komori couldn't keep in the giggle at hearing that, with the rest following suit despite how tense the situation was.

"How am I grumpy?" Tokage kept on giggling, as she couldn't tell if Vlad had a straight face when he asked that, but it wasn't like Present Mic cared to answer. Instead, his focus remained on the field as the two had reached the arena and stood face to face.

"From class A, Bakugo Katsuki!" Bakugo looked like he was about to murder someone and enjoy, which was never a good look, but those who knew him for better or worse knew that he often looked ready for violence. But at the same time, he hated Midoriya more than others, so they had to hope he didn't take things too far.

"From class B, Midoriya Izuku!" Midoriya was the opposite to him, as he was calmer, his emotions carefully controlled to keep his fear, anxiety, hope, joy, anger, and everything else contained before the paradoxical cocktail of feelings overwhelmed him.

"Let's not waste time, battle-start!" Bakugo sent himself flying towards Midoriya, using a similar tactic to what he used against Shishida, but Midoriya wasn't his classmate. As soon as he saw him move, he sidestepped the attempted hit to the face with his off-hand, grabbing Bakugo's wrist like a bear trap, his body already augmented by the shot of steam in his blood as he used that, and the moment of surprise from Bakugo to grab his shirt, he went up and over him before Midoriya brought him down into the ground, hard.

Bakugo felt the air being thrown out of his lungs as he bounced on the hard concrete of the arena, but Midoriya wasn't going to let him off the hook. Unlike Shishida, he also understood that something wouldn't be enough to daze Bakugo, not when his body was used to such sudden changes in momentum and impact. So, because he still had him by the wrist, he pulled him up before raising his foot and giving him a mean push kick to the gut, followed by a fireball to the chest, which sent him back.

"What?" Present Mic sounded surprised, but he wasn't the only one. That entire exchange happened in seconds and to Bakugo, someone who had been the one to set the pace and dominate in all three of his matches.

Rolling to a stop, Bakugo blasted him back up and ticked off that he had been disrespected like that as Midoriya let out a puff of steam and smoke. "Kacchan…It's been a long time, but I've watched you fight repeatedly, so I know you always start with a right hook." Midoriya stated, his body burning hotter.

"Get up; I want to fight you and beat you!" Midoriya declared as he burst into flames, going straight into his second form, letting out a hiss that sounded like rocks rolling down a cliff and hitting every ledge on the way down.

But that didn't intimidate Bakugo in the slightest; it only angered him further. "Fucking Pyromaniac, you're gonna regret not taking him out with that cheap shot!"

And….done! I know, troll move, but the fight itself, as I've planned it out, is way too long, which tracks as this stuff wasn't meant to be in one chapter, but 2. That said, it came out pretty nicely, with two fights handled and some extra details on the mindsets of the two boys. One part I do enjoy is Present Mic, as he can say some of the funniest stuff as a commentator and teacher, which makes me say that I couldn't focus more on him, Vlad, and if I had the time, Aizawa as the 3 commentators, as put them in a room. They'll end up arguing like real sports commentators, and I'll be too tempted not to focus on that.

Next chapter should be out on October 15th

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