My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 36: Grudge Match
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
As soon as Present Mic announced the start of the match, Todoroki quickly put his hand down to unleash a powerful blast of ice at Furaya to obstruct his path and prevent him from reaching him. Furaya suspected this and quickly leapt into the air to avoid the ice barrage from Todoroki, who immediately shot up a pillar of ice at his opponent. The Quirkless swordsman partially unsheathed his sword and blocked the ice before letting him fall feet first onto the frozen ground. Furaya then leapt towards Todoroki and swung Falcon's Talon at him, but Todoroki dodged the attack.
Furaya followed up with attacking Todoroki yet again, so Shoto used his ice to slide around the stadium, knowing that his opponent lacked ranged abilities. However, he had an idea of how Furaya's weapon worked, so he had to be careful about fighting him.
"Man, Furaya's lasting longer than I expected," Shiruku replied. "I though Todoroki would've beaten him in an instant like he did Sero."
"Hey, come on!" Sero barked. "Stop rubbing salt in the wound!"
"Hold on…where'd you get that scarf?" Shiruku asked, pointing out the scarf he was now wearing.
"Oh, Kataiya made for me after she helped me from what Todoroki did," Sero explained. "Very comfy."
"Why isn't Todoroki using his fire?" Sato asked. "I thought he'd do so after his fight with Midoriya."
Midoriya didn't speak, but suspected why. Shoto had told him everything after the Cavalry Battle. How Endeavor regarded him as nothing more than a tool to surpass All Might, how his cruelty drove his mother to have an emotional breakdown and pour boiling water on his face, how Shoto refused to use his flames for so long to reject Endeavor, which unintentionally hindered his true potential. This wasn't something that would be resolved in one rousing speech.
"Come on, Furaya!" Mei Hatsume cheered for her friend as he continued to fight against Todoroki.
The Half-Cold Half-Hot user unleashed two powerful ice blasts at Furaya, but his speed allowed him to quickly dodge them with ease as he kept getting close to Todoroki. None of his ice attacks could do anything to slow the Quirkless swordsman down; he was simply too fast for him.
"Use your left side, Shoto," Endeavor spoke. "This victory will only be yours if you use your full power!"
Furaya caught up to Todoroki and slashed at him with Falcon's Talon, aiming for Todoroki's head. Todoroki ducked to dodge the attack, but was stopped when Furaya kicked him in the chest. The kick made Todoroki stumble back before he used his ice to catch himself, quickly catching sight of the swordsman rushing at him. Todoroki was quick to use his right foot to launch another ice attack, but Furaya jumped and dodged.
"How is he this fast?" Shoto wondered to himself as he created ice to slide away from Furaya. He was very close to being hit by Furaya's blade, but as he dodged, he noticed a change in the Quirkless swordsman: he was smiling with great enthusiasm. Up until now, Furaya hadn't shown any emotion other than stoic determination; he didn't show anything else during his fights with Iida or Kirishima.
"Finally, a truly strong opponent," Furaya spoke as he laid the pressure onto Todoroki as his smile grew wider.
As the fight continued, Mei Hatsume and Hitoshi Shinso watched as Furaya's usual stoic demeanor was replaced entirely with a wide, excited grin. He was enjoying the fight with Todoroki much more than he was against Iida and Kirishima. Furaya was in love with his fight against the son of Endeavor, his teeth bared in that smile.
"He's enjoying himself way too much," Hatsume commented.
It wasn't looking good for Shoto as Furaya kept up on him, his attacks becoming far more frequent and his strikes hitting harder. While Shoto was struggling to stay out of Furaya's range and attack when he could, Furaya was having the time of his life. He was certain that if he obstructed the Quirkless student's path, he'd win this fight and move onto the next round. But Furaya was proving much quicker and stronger than he anticipated and his attempts to keep him at a distance were failing.
"Am I the only one finding this a little…disturbing?" Hagakure asked, gesturing to Furaya's complete change of character during the fight.
"So that's how he acts during a fight," Bakugo spoke to himself as he smirked. "He's really enjoying this. Heh, we may have something in common, after all."
"Todoroki!" Midoriya cried out. "It's your power, not his!"
Unknown to either Izuku or Shoto, Endeavor was smiling after the One For All user shouted to his son. His son had listened to Izuku during their fight, pushing him to unleash his flames and helping him win the fight. If he could use his flames before, then what was preventing him from doing it now?
As this point, Shoto hated to admit it, but he may have to use his flames against Furaya. As far as he could tell, the swordsman could counter his ice, but had no way of countering his fire. He had underestimated Furaya and now was close to potentially losing if the swordsman got too close.
"It's your Quirk, not his!"
Those words once again ran through Shoto's mind as he considered the situation he was in, but this unfortunately left him open; Furaya caught up to him and slashed the left side of his torso. Todoroki was knocked down, but quickly got up to counter Furaya's follow-up attack by creating a wall of ice to trap him. Unfortunately, the swordsman caught on and jumped to avoid the attack, landing several meters away from Todoroki.
"This is a good fight," Furaya remarked.
"He's too fast," Shoto silently remarked. Everything turned to slow motion in that instant as Todoroki evaluated his situation. Furaya was too quick for him to catch or effectively hit with his ice and he was running right towards him, his katana sheathed as he often did when not attacking. There was only one option left if he hoped to claim victory: use his fire.
"It's your Quirk, not his!"
Shoto held up his left hand and the left side of his body grew ablaze. He aimed at Furaya, hoping to hit him with enough firepower to provide an opening and help him win this match. The flames on his body grew bigger and bigger, making Furaya smile even more at the Todoroki choosing to use his fire.
"Every time I look at his face, I see Endeavor! I can't do this anymore!"
"Mom?" Shoto spoke quietly.
"Shoto! I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
"You did this! You're the one who made her hurt me!"
"I-I can't take it anymore!"
"Get up, Shoto! Your training is not done until I say it's done! Now GET UP!"
The memories flowed into Shoto's head like a river. His mother's deteriorating sanity, his father's disregard for his happiness, the cruel and brutal training he was put through even as a child, denied the happiness of a normal childhood, denied a mother, left only with his cruel father to raise him and break whatever happiness he had…it was too much. Shoto slowly lowered his head and the flames on the left side of his body began to extinguish.
"Shoto, what are you doing?" Endeavor questioned angrily when he was certain victory was within his son's grasp.
"Thousand Cuts!" Furaya cried out before he overclocked his speed boots and ran so fast, he became nothing but a blur to the naked eye. From every angle, every side, Furaya slashed and hit Shoto over and over with Falcon's Talon, not giving the Todoroki a chance to recover. The force of the attacks grew so powerful that Shoto was launched into the air before Furaya leapt up and unleashed his final attack on Todoroki. The Half-Cold Half-Hot user was sent plummeting to the ground like a meteor, shattering the concrete beneath him as he impacted.
The whole stadium was silent at the aftermath of the fight. Almost everyone believed that Todoroki would win this fight, especially after what happened against Midoriya. Everything should've been in Shoto Todoroki's favor, even if he only fought with his ice. Instead, he was unconscious in a crater on the concrete while Furaya was still standing, though his smile was slowly dropping.
"Um…Todoroki is unable to fight! Furaya moves onto the next round!"
Some people burst into cheer, others were so shocked by the outcome of this fight that they were rendered silent, others chose to boo to demean the Quirkless Hayata Furaya. Most of Class 1-A remained silent in shock at Todoroki, who they considered their strongest student, beaten by Furaya.
While Bakugo had some acknowledge towards Furaya's victory, he felt it wasn't completely earned. Todoroki hesitated in that moment when he was about to use his fire, leaving himself wide open for the Quirkless's attack. Had IcyHot used his fire and gone through with the attack, Furaya may not have been able to counter it.
As for Endeavor, while he was very disappointed that his son had lost due to his moment of hesitation, he would not deny Furaya his victory. He had given it his all during the fight, showing remarkable skill, speed and swordsmanship in spite of his Quirklessness. He failed to understand why he wasn't allowed in the Hero Course, but knew he'd be a great addition.
While Todoroki was taken to the infirmary to get his wounds taken care of, Raionhato and Bakugo were up next. As they got up to leave their seats, Ojiro and Kirishima almost decided to go with them to make sure they didn't fight before their match, but they decided them escorting them may come across as not trusting them. They decided to remain seated while their friends went to the Waiting Rooms.
"Is everything alright?" Yaoyorozu asked Ojiro and Kirishima since Iida had left after taking a phone call. "I saw the way you two were looking at Raionhato and Bakugo as they were leaving. Is everything alright?" Ojiro and Kirishima looked at each other, silently contemplating whether to tell her or not and then looked together at Yaoyorozu. They gestured for her to follow them into the hall, away from the rest of the class,
"Raionhato and Bakugo…got into a real nasty argument before the previous match," Ojiro answered. "He said that Bakugo insulted his uncle and…well…yeah."
"It's unmanly of both of them," Kirishima remarked. "And Bakugo thinks that Raionhato hates him because he's jealous."
"Oh, thank goodness Bakugo didn't say that directly to Raionhato," Ojiro sighed. "That wouldn't have ended well."
"Did they get physically violent?" Momo asked the two young men.
"They almost did until we stopped them," Kirishima informed. "Those two are a powder keg just waiting to explode."
This had to be addressed. With Iida gone, it fell to Yaoyorozu to speak to her two classmates and try to resolve the feud between them. She agreed with Raionhato that Bakugo's behavior was very poor and found his arrogance and disrespect very off-putting, but as she had seen, her friend was starting to take his anger towards Bakugo too far. As Kirishima said, the feud between them was a powder keg waiting to explode.
"Then hopefully, they'll let out their anger in their match," Yaoyorozu answered. "After that, I'll talk to them. I know Raionhato will listen to me, but Bakugo…"
"Why don't you let me talk to him?" Kirishima offered. "I'm on good terms with him."
"Very well," Momo agreed. "I'll talk to Raionhato, you to Bakugo. This feud of theirs has to stop."
"What a trashy extra."
"Are you seriously this angry just because I said the truth about your 'uncle'!? What an immature brat!"
"I'm an embodiment of everything RIGHT about hero society!"
The arrogance, the disrespect, the disregard, the lack of sympathy and empathy. Takeo Raionhato had finally hit his wits' end with Bakugo; no matter what he did, all Bakugo did was continue to sink lower and lower. If U.A. had ever made such a horrible mistake, it was allowing Katsuki Bakugo to enroll into their Hero Course. He was nothing but a delinquent who degenerated everything around him: the school's reputation, the reputation of his class, the respect of others.
"He's just downright heartless," Takeo growled as he sat in the waiting room. "He will NEVER be a Pro Hero! He will NEVER be better than All Might!"
As far as Takeo was concerned, everything Bakugo said about him being the greatest, being the best, about surpassing All Might were nothing more than lies he told himself to feed his delusions. He lived in a fantasy world everything revolved around him and that he alone deserved praise and glory while everyone else was far too beneath him to even be acknowledged.
And the face he made during the Combat Training…All Might warned Bakugo that attack could've killed Midoriya and he blatantly ignored him. Even though Midoriya himself was guilty, the whole thing started because Bakugo viciously pursued Midoriya with no regard for him or anyone.
"How was he even allowed-!?" Takeo's mind was overflowing with anger towards Bakugo. What good could be found in him? What positive, heroic qualities could be found within that heartless, uncaring degenerate? What hope could he ever have for becoming a Pro Hero? He had nothing to offer U.A. High School and Class 1-A would be better off without that…trash.
"Oh, this'll be a good one!" Present Mic announced. "On one corner, we have the Lion Boy of Class 1-A, Takeo Raionhato!" The crowd cheered at the swordsman who had triumphed against Mina Ashido and Fumikage Tokoyami. Unlike before however, instead of determination on his scowl, it was utter hatred, anger and contempt for his opponent.
"On the other side, we have from Class 1-A as well, Katsuki Bakugo!" Bakugo returned Takeo's glare of disdain and contempt. Now he would prove once and for all that he was superior to Kitty Boy, then prove himself superior to Quirkless.
"Eraser Head, these two boys don't get along, right?" Present Mic asked.
"They don't like each other, but they're being boneheads about it," Eraser Head answered.
"Oh, so we're in for a grudge match! Exciting!"
Class 1-A felt nervous about how the match would proceed due to the great animosity between Raionhato and Bakugo. They didn't know how it'd play out; could they be trusted not to go too far or would this match help them resolve their anger towards each other? Only Kirishima, Ojiro and Yaoyorozu knew of what happened before the match and knew that tensions were very high between Raionhato and Bakugo.
Having seen Kitty Boy's fights against Raccoon Eyes and Bird Boy, Bakugo could see clearly why he had landed 2nd Place in the Entrance Exam. He'd have to stay on his guard around him since he didn't know what trick he could pull. Invulnerable shield, wire traps, flaming sword…did he have something that could counter Bakugo's Explosions? Did he have a strategy in mind to defeat him?
"I'm really hoping they don't hurt each other badly," Nagami spoke with some concern. "I mean, yeah, Bakugo'ssssss a big jerk, but-"
"Ready!? CLASH!"
Almost immediately, Raionhato summoned Lion Saber and charged at Bakugo, who retaliated with an upward explosion. The blast missed Takeo, but he got in close to his opponent and started slashing at the Explosion user before equipping Lion Mane during the barrage and continued attacking in a frenzy. He managed to land a hit on Bakugo's face, leaving a deep cut on his cheek.
"Are you underestimating me!?" Bakugo questioned angrily as Takeo went full offense, his attacks devoid of any strategy and focus.
After another sword attack, Bakugo jumped over Raionhato with an explosion and viciously grabbed his hair and shoulder. With great force, Bakugo pulled his opponent into the air and threw him several meters away before following up with launching himself at Raionhato and trying to use an explosion to attack. Just as he got close, the son of Lioness slashed at Bakugo's face with great rage, but missed as Bakugo slid under Raionhato and blasted him from the other side. Though it did some damage to Takeo, it didn't take him out of the fight.
"Don't tell me you're still sour about what happened?" Bakugo growled. "So what if I said shit about your uncle? It was true."
"Shut your mouth!" Takeo roared as he swung Lion Saber at Bakugo once more, followed up by equipping his left wire gauntlet in place of his shield and launching them at the Explosion user. Bakugo dodged the predictable attack and launched himself at Raionhato, hitting him with another explosion in the face.
"Oh, Takeo, what are you doing?" Ojiro groaned.
When Raionhato fought Ashido and Tokoyami, he was careful, strategic and skilled. He displayed great combat prowess, thoughtful planning and careful observation. He won against Ashido by exploiting her limited use of her Quirk and beat Tokoyami by using both his weaknesses of lacking close combat skills and Dark Shadow's vulnerability to fire. Through strategic planning and exemplary combat prowess, Raionhato won when either Ashido or Tokoyami could've easily beaten him.
But now, his attacks were frenzied, fueled by anger and hatred for Bakugo and any form of strategy non-existent. Hadn't he watched Bakugo's fights against Uraraka and Okami? Bakugo may be the biggest jerk ever, but he was anything but stupid. He was taking the fight seriously and remaining aware of Raionhato's strengths while Raionhato fought with great rage.
"Yeesh, I can sense Raionhato's anger from all the way up here," Open Palm muttered. "And while Bakugo's taking this seriously, Raionhato is devoid of any thought. He's fighting purely on anger."
Bakugo hit Raionhato with another explosion after dodging another predictable, anger-fueled attack. The son of Lioness was breathing heavily from the mix of his attacks and being worn down by Bakugo's attacks while the Explosion user still looked fresh and ready to fight.
"What the hell is this?" Bakugo questioned. "You call this a fight? Are you not going to take me seriously like you did your other opponents?"
"I said shut your mouth, you degenerate!" Raionhato barked as he attacked wildly once more. His attack was far too predictable for Bakugo, who easily dodged and then proceeded to hit Raionhato with yet another explosion. The blast sent Takeo tumbling back, but he still wouldn't stay down, despite the pain he was in from the barrage of Bakugo's constant explosions.
"Raionhato, what are you doing?" Yaoyorozu spoke with a mix of concern and disappointment. Where was the prowess and strategy that allowed him to defeat Ashido and Tokoyami? Where was the skill and courage he displayed during the USJ Attack, especially when he fought against Bloodmoon? Where was the swordsmanship and weapons mastery that helped him earn 2nd Place in the Entrance Exam, just behind Bakugo?
By now, Bakugo was getting very frustrated with how his opponent was taking this fight and he wasn't the only one. Aizawa shook his head with disappointment at Takeo for allowing his anger to dictate his actions rather than his discipline and strategy from before. But the most disappointment and frustration came from Lioness, who was watching the fight from her Agency.
She knew that her son had issues with one of his classmates, but she didn't believe it'd cause him to act so rashly and stupidly, especially since she had told him not to underestimate his foes. This was an absolute disgrace to what she had taught him, to what Forge had taught him and she planned to have a word with him after the match.
"You idiot!" Bakugo called out. "Take me seriously, dammit! I won't accept a half-assed victory, even if it's from the likes of you!"
Bakugo continued to hit Raionhato with one explosion after another, wearing him down more and more until he could no longer stand. Katsuki was filled with great disdain at how this fight was turning out; he had expected to fight Kitty Boy at his best, but instead, he fought a rage-crazed, anger-filled classmate who was too blinded by his wrath to think clearly.
Takeo was losing consciousness as he struggled to get back up. The pain and injury of being hit with constant explosions had finally caught up to Raionhato and his body could no longer fight, his mind no longer stay awake as it started to go numb. He tried to get back up, but it was too much…and he fell over onto his side, dropping his weapons onto the ground.
"Raionhato is unable to fight! Bakugo moves onto the next round!"
Bakugo didn't even hear the cheering from the crowd, his entire attention focused on his unconscious opponent, the classmate who had done nothing but degrade and hate him ever since they first met. He wanted to prove that he was better than Kitty Boy, but this wasn't it; this was Raionhato fighting with wrath and hatred rather than skill and prowess. The people in the crowd considered this a victory, but he himself did not.
Satoshi, having restored his contacts recently, was shocked and angry at what he had just witnessed. He had watched his friend fight like an idiot and cost himself the match, laying on the ground unconscious and beaten.
A small smirk spread across Kaze's face at seeing his hated former friend on the ground, having been defeated not by Bakugo, but by his own anger. He didn't know what was going on between Raionhato and Bakugo, but it was enough to make the Inventory user act purely on anger rather than strategy and skill.
"No," Bakugo spoke quietly as he approached Raionhato, then angrily grabbed his collar. "You call that a fight!? This isn't a victory for me; this fight is not over, now get up!" He shook Raionhato to wake him up, but he wouldn't budge.
"Bakugo, that's enough!" Midnight told him, but he didn't listen.
"I wanted to win against a real opponent, not some…some…jerk! Now get up, you bastard! You can't just-"
"BAKUGO!" Cementoss shouted, finally snapping the Explosion user to his senses. "That's enough; Raionhato needs to get to the infirmary." Three roller robots arrived with a stretcher, placed Raionhato on it and carried him while the third carried his weapons out of the arena, leaving Bakugo by himself. He stood there, frozen in his anger and frustration at the outcome of this fight.
"I'm not accepting this!" Bakugo barked at Midnight.
"A rematch?" Midnight asked Bakugo in the hallway, along with Cementoss.
"Yes, a rematch!" Bakugo shouted. "Didn't you see the way he fought! That wasn't the way he fought towards Raccoon Eyes and Bird Boy! I'm not accepting this bullshit!"
"Bakugo, I agree that Raionhato chose poorly in how he handled this fight," Cementoss agreed. "However, he's unconscious and we can't all day before he wakes up. Even then, his injuries need time to heal. And on top of that, I'm not even sure if rematches are allowed; we have a schedule that-"
"I don't care!" Bakugo interrupted. "I'm aiming for the top and I can't be at the top if I have to accept a victory like this! I already checked the rules: it says rematches can be requested if both contestants agree to it."
Midnight pulled out her phone and pulled up the rules of the Sports Festival since she was unclear about rematches. As Bakugo stated, rematches could be granted if both contestants agreed to it, though one rematch could be allowed for each fight. She showed it to Cementoss, confirming Bakugo's words.
"Alright, but we can't wait forever," Cementoss stated. "We can wait up for one hour, but no promises. I'll go inform Present Mic and announce a break." As Cementoss walked off, so did Bakugo with Midnight following after him.
"Ow!" Todoroki groaned in pain in the infirmary as Himari Kataiya rubbed his cuts with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. As soon as she saw the slashes and cuts from Falcon's Talon, she immediately got to work in making sure they were cleaned before she would bandage them.
"This would be much easier if you'd simply sit still," Himari scolded as she continued to disinfect his cuts from Furaya. "I can't bandage you until I've cleaned your wounds."
"I…I suppose I brought it on myself," Todoroki responded. "I hesitated in that fight and Furaya took advantage of it."
In that moment, when he ignited his flames, Todoroki couldn't go through with the attack as memories from his past flooded into his head. That one moment of hesitation cost him the fight and gave victory to Hayata Furaya. Had he gone through with his attack, he could've won, but he didn't.
"He could've at least held back," Himari stated, noting the wounds on Shoto's body from Falcon's Talon. The cuts from the katana were rather deep to cause pain, but luckily, not deep enough to be mortally dangerous. However, they still risked getting infected, so they needed to be cleaned and then bandaged, though it'd be much easier if Todoroki would stop moving around so much.
"All Might has really got to be more careful about teaching our students the meaning of Plus Ultra," Recovery Girl spoke with disappointment in her voice. "It means find your limits and go beyond, not maim yourselves for the sake of glory and popularity."
"Isn't that unfair?" Todoroki asked. "Everyone here accepted that they'll suffer injury from time to time when they enrolled here. It'd be rather- Ow!" Todoroki let out a small gasp of pain from disinfecting alcohol once again touching his open wounds.
"You can take it," Himari deadpanned, glaring at Todoroki. "Go beyond. Plus. Ultra."
Todoroki couldn't deny he felt rather intimidated by Kataiya's change in tone as she continued applying the alcohol to his wounds. This prompted to try and stay still for Himari as she continued to tend to his injuries. Twenty minutes of this agony continued for Todoroki, constantly wincing from the stings of the disinfecting alcohol touching his cuts and wounds. Only after then did Himari finally break out the bandages and wrap up Shoto's torso.
"There, we're finished," Himari responded with a smile after tying up the final bandage. Shoto slowly got up, groaning from the pain of his injuries despite Himari having used her Quirk and disinfected them. Suddenly, he caught sight of a bouquet of flowers on a nearby table.
"Who…who gave you those flowers?" Todoroki asked.
"Those?" Himari responded. "Oh, th-they're from Sero. He gave them to me after I helped him recover from your fight with him."
"I'm happy he recovered," Shoto replied. "I was angry at that time. I shouldn't have gone overboard like that."
"No, you shouldn't have," Himari agreed. "But luckily, no frostbite settled in. I, um, actually made him a scarf to help warm him up."
Once again, Shoto felt an unfamiliar feeling when she brought that up. It felt as though his heart ached from Himari saying she made a scarf for another person…specifically, another boy. Why was he feeling this way? And why did it grow worse when he looked upon the bouquet of flowers on the table?
"I…I didn't know you could knit," Shoto brought up. "That was very generous of you."
"It's just a hobby I picked up from sowing stitches," Himari informed. "It's…it's really nothing to brag about."
"Don't you dare, Sunhealer," Recovery Girl responded. "Aizawa still uses that blanket you made him for Christmas last year." Before their conversation could continue, two wheelbots brought Raionhato into the infirmary on the stretcher, a third carrying Lion Saber and Lion Mane and placing them on the table. Himari's attention immediately changed from Todoroki to Raionhato, rushing over to him to inspect his injuries as he was placed on one of the cots.
"Oh, my goodness," Himari gasped as she looked at Raionhato. "You look as though you were hit by a grenade."
Kataiya immediately got to work and started treating the explosion-inflicted burns on his body. She first applied antibiotics to disinfect any wounds caused by the burns, then applied a cool, damp towel over the afflicted areas. Once that was done, Himari held her hands over Takeo's body and a humming light emitted from her hands, healing his injuries.
Bam. The door to the infirmary burst open and Bakugo walked in with a VERY angry look on his face with Midnight behind him. He stopped right in front of the cot Raionhato was sitting on and glared down at the son of Lioness. His hands were clenched into fists and his eyes narrowed at Raionhato, gazing at him as though he were scum.
"Bakugo, I said wait!" Midnight reprimanded him.
"When is he going to be awake?" Bakugo questioned.
"Potentially soon, but I'm not sure when exactly," Himari answered. "Why?"
"Bakugo has requested a rematch," Midnight responded. "If Raionhato's injuries are healed enough for him to fight within the next fifty minutes, he can choose to accept Bakugo's request."
"Then he can wait outside," Recovery Girl sternly reprimanded. "And knock before you enter next time; don't just barge in here without any regard. Now get out." Recovery Girl pointed her syringe-like cane at the door and silently demanded Bakugo to wait outside while Raionhato's injuries were tended. Bakugo didn't want to, but he had no choice, so he reluctantly complied and walked out of the infirmary.
The Explosion user paced impatiently up and down the hall in front of the infirmary door to wait for when Kitty Boy would wake up. There was no way Bakugo would accept that result, not with the way his opponent had treated the match. They only had fifty minutes before the rematch would be denied due to time restraints.
"Bakugo, I understand your frustration, but we can't wait forever," Midnight acknowledged. "Raionhato was banged up pretty good from your fight."
"Only because he didn't take it seriously!" Bakugo barked. "I'm aiming for the top! How can I do that if I have to accept half-assed victories like this!?"
"Depending on Raionhato's condition, you may not have a choice," Midnight brought up. "We can't hold up the Sports Tournament forever. If he's not fit for fighting yet, then we have to move on."
"I'm NOT moving on until I talk to Kitty Boy!" Bakugo rebuked. "I WILL get my rematch with him and I WILL make him take me seriously!"
Midnight sighed. While she understood Bakugo's frustration, agreeing that Raionhato handled the match poorly because of his feud with the Explosion user, Bakugo didn't have the luxury of waiting forever. He was up for the final match of the Tournament, but if he refused to show up, it'd be considered an automatic forfeit and victory would immediately go to Furaya.
Ten minutes passed and there was no word from the nurses about Raionhato. The Explosion user was getting impatient; what was taking so long? Recovery Girl and Sunhealer both had Quirks that healed injuries quickly, so why wasn't he already recovered? He continued to pace back and forth, grumbling to himself about his unsatisfaction with the victory he received during his match with Raionhato. Only forty minutes remained before the hour was up and there wouldn't be any time for a rematch.
Five minutes later, the door to the infirmary opened and Raionhato walked out. Judging by the way he was moving, he was still a bit sore, but had clearly recovered enough.
"So what is it?" Raionhato asked after closing the door.
"I want a rematch, that's what!" Bakugo demanded.
"You got what you wanted, Bakugo," Raionhato sneered. "It's not my fault your ego's not satisfied."
"This isn't about my ego!" Bakugo snapped. "And I'm tired of you always unfairly judging me!" Raionhato's eyes widened at the remark Bakugo just said. He stared at him as though he were shocked, then his eye slowed glared at him with a gaze so fierce, it felt as though he could cut through Bakugo's skin with his eyes alone.
"Unfairly judging you?" he questioned with an enraged tone. "You go ahead around, treating people like garbage, constantly putting yourself on a pedestal that you don't deserve and then you have the GALL to say I'm unfairly judging you!? Are you mental!? You don't get to treat everyone like they're trash and then claim you're the one being unfairly judged!"
"Okay, calm down," Midnight demanded, gently pushing them apart. "Raionhato, all we need to know is-"
"No," Takeo refused. "If you think I'm going to have a rematch with you just because of your ego, then forget it! I don't care about your pride, your ego, I don't care about you, Bakugo! Am I supposed to care that you didn't get the victory you wanted?" Bakugo glared at Raionhato and tightened his hands into fists.
"So you're fine with disrespecting everyone you and I fought?" he questioned.
"Disrespect!?" Raionhato barked, pushing Midnight's arm aside and walking right up to Bakugo. "What have you done since you've come here to U.A.!? You've disrespected everyone since you came here! Hell, you didn't even bother to remember the names or Quirks of your own classmates, despite the fact that we've been together for WEEKS! And you accuse ME of being disrespectful!? Are you so damn self-centered that you think you can do whatever you want and it's fine, but it's so horrible when someone else does it!?" He breathed heavily as he stared down Bakugo with great contempt and wrath.
"All you do is sink lower and lower and yet you insist YOU'RE the one being mistreated! And it's all because you're not getting the respect and praise you think you're entitled to! You think you're the only one who deserves praise and glory while everyone else is just some 'lowly extra' who's underserving of anything good! All you've done is take and take and give nothing in return but insults and degradation! YOU are the one disrespecting our classmates, which you did when you condescended to everyone and then called us 'stepping stones' for your victory! You are not my rival, not my comrade, not my friend! You are nothing but a degenerate I have to tolerate for three years and then I to pray to God that I NEVER have to see you again!"
The hallways silent in the aftermath of Raionhato's hateful outburst towards Bakugo. That is how he truly viewed him: the scum of the earth, an egotist who only cared about himself, who promoted himself at the expense of others, and demanded respect while showing none to others.
"I've given my answer," Takeo told Midnight. "Now get out of my sight, Bakugo." Takeo was about to walk off, but Bakugo reached out and grabbed his arm.
"You cannot just treat our fight like it's a joke and then tell me no to a rematch! How can you call yourself a Pro Hero when you don't give it your all! No one should win 1st Place like this!" While Takeo couldn't see it, tears were forming in Bakugo's eyes. For Takeo to tell him no to a rematch after such a worthless victory was too much for him. He couldn't proceed without a true victory, not when he wanted to prove he was the best.
"I told you, Bakugo, I don't give a damn about your pride!" Takeo snapped, tearing his arm away from Bakugo and then walking off.
Bakugo just stood there, shocked at what just happened. His chance for a rematch was gone, leaving him with greatly wounded pride with the knowledge that his opponent didn't give it his all in that fight. Raionhato was so full of hatred towards that he only saw the rematch as a means for Bakugo to boost his ego. The Explosion user couldn't…no, he wouldn't accept this: he was about to go after Raionhato, but Midnight stopped him.
"Bakugo, he's given his answer," she informed. "We need to move onto the final match."
"No, he cannot-"
"Bakugo, that's enough. Now you need to get ready." Bakugo shut his eyes tight and created several small explosions before letting out a loud 'DAMMIT!' and exploding at the wall, leaving a massive crater.
"You're worse than a stepping stone!" Bakugo roared at Raionhato. "You're a damn coward!" He then started walking back to the waiting room.
Disrespectful? Unfairly judging him? Who did Bakugo think he was? Did he honestly believe that in spite of how poorly he was mistreating everyone, he was the one being unfairly judged and disrespected? All this did was cement Raionhato's immense disdain for Bakugo, proving that he was nothing more than a self-entitled, hypocritical, selfish delinquent who demanded respect from others, yet gave none in return.
Whack. Raionhato felt a sting on his cheek as though someone had slapped him. He suspected it might've been Bakugo, but instead, it was his friend, Satoshi.
"What the hell was that!?" Satoshi scolded Takeo. "Are you an idiot?"
"What're you talking-"
"The fight against Bakugo!" Satoshi interrupted. "Do you have any idea how stupid you were acting!? You didn't take him seriously like you did Ashido and Tokoyami and you lost! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for you? What possessed you to act that way?"
"He badmouthed Uncle Nobu!" Takeo countered. "That arrogant trash disrespected him and yet he insisted I was the one unfairly judging him!"
"So because of that, you acted purely on anger and hatred rather than your own common sense!?" Satoshi scolded. "Are you a damn fool!?"
Maybe Raionhato was, but right now, he was too angry at Bakugo to care. Why should he care about treating Bakugo as though he were worth anything to Class 1-A, or even U.A.? As far as he was concerned, the Explosion user meant nothing to him.
"We talked about this!" Satoshi barked. "You know what happens every time you act on anger rather than your common sense! Bakugo may be a big jerk, but you saw how strong he was! He defeated Uraraka and Okami, but they gave it their all against him while you screwed up because you hated him!"
"Okay, I lost!" Takeo responded. "Now will you leave me alone about it?"
"No, we're talking about this now!" Satoshi refused, grabbing Takeo's arm. "You said you'd do a better job controlling your anger when things got personal for you. Don't you remember what you said to Uncle Nobu after Anzu died?"
The anger in Takeo's mind subsided a bit as he remembered what he said to Rebound in the wake of his daughter's death. Only eight years old at the time, Takeo was consumed by anger at how Anzu's death, despite it being ruled as an accident which it was. He accused Rebound of not caring about the death of his own daughter in a moment of uncontrolled anger, which got him grounded for a month.
Not a day went by when Takeo regretted saying those horrible words to Uncle Nobu. If he could take back what he said, he'd do it in a heartbeat, especially since he believed it was those horrible words that pushed Nobu to depression after his daughter died. Every time he saw Nobu, he felt it was his fault for saying the harsh words he said that day in rage.
"I would take them back if I could-"
"But you can't!" Satoshi interrupted. "You saw how much it hurt him when you did that and you STILL repeated that mistake today!"
"This is different! Bakugo is an insult to everything I was taught!"
"Don't start that again!" Satoshi rebuked. "You want everyone to see Bakugo as you do: vile scum, an insult to the ideals of heroism! I already told you, not everyone grew up with the same sense of morality you did! But you assume that because Bakugo doesn't adhere to the same morals you do, he's just an animal! If that's the way you're going to treat him, then you're no different than your father!"
All the anger in Takeo's face died at that remark. Satoshi's statement hurt worse than any injury he had ever received over the years or since he came to U.A. Those words felt as though his heart had been pierced by a burning hot blade. No different from his father…Takeo almost wished he hadn't heard those words from his own best friend, but he heard them loud and clear.
"What…?" Takeo spoke as if unable to comprehend what Satoshi just said.
"I'm sorry, but someone had to say it," Satoshi told Takeo.
Takeo's eyes started to water and he turned his face away from Satoshi before slowly walking away. Satoshi wished he didn't have to say that to Takeo, but he needed to understand how badly he had messed up. Even if he hated Bakugo, he still should've taken that fight seriously and not acted on pure anger. For now, Satoshi would leave him alone with his thoughts to reflect on his poor decisions.