Chapter 19: The weight of words

Katsuki and Eri broke their staring match when the first battle was called, both at the edge of their seats to see how Izuku would do.

Then the boy from General Education, the one that had the courage to declare war on the hero course, for all the good it did, said something. The moment Izuku replied was as if the strings of a puppet were cut.

He just… stopped. The light in his eyes stopped, his words stopped, it was like Izuku himself just stopped working, his body a house with no one inside, a car without a driver.

Katsuki saw that, saw that blank eyes and felt as if he was just punched in the face, straight into the past.

"Keep walking." Katsuki said while pulling the other boy by the hand. Since Aunty Inko brought that weird kid to live with her, Katsuki had helped take care of him.

He was useless, if no one told the boy, who looked a lot like his aunty for some reason, what to do he would just keep staring at nothing all day.

"Stop." Katsuki let go of his hand, they were in the middle of the park, in a spot a little out of the way where Katsuki could babysit him in peace.

"Deku, catch." Deku, the nickname Katsuki gave him because for the life of him the blonde couldn't keep a name on his head for more than five minutes. Katsuki threw the other boy the ball he brought along, Deku caught it in the air without even looking at it, just another weird thing about him.

Deku knew where everything around him was at all times. When they played hide and seek Deku always made a b-line to him, no matter where he hid. Katsuki asked how and the answer he always got was, "I followed your Light, it was so bright I couldn't miss it."

What Deku meant by that, Katsuki never figured out, but he knew he wasn't the only one. When Katsuki asked Deku where Aunty was when they got separated in the mall, he wasn't lost! He just lost track of Aunty for a minute, Deku found her even in the middle of a hundred people.

And then there was the time a cat pounced on Deku from a tree, probably thinking his hair was a bush or something, he picked it in the air and kept staring in it's eyes, it was kinda creepy.

"Throw it back." Deku passed the ball perfectly to Katsuki, who caught it with a little fumbling. His hands get sweaty fast and he has a hard time gripping smooth stuff.

They stayed like that for a bit, just throwing the ball to each other, it was everything Katsuki could think of doing with a dead fish like Deku.

Katsuki tried to grab the ball again, only for it to slip off his sweat coated fingers. It rolled off to the side, Katsuki growled one of the swear words his mom said when she thought he wasn't listening and rushed after it, knowing Deku would stay still he didn't need to worry about him.

Katsuki chased the ball until finally grabbing it, he started to turn only to realize he was on the street…

And there was a truck about to hit him.

Katsuki's eyes widened, fear locked him in place and the boy watched as the truck tried to stop only for its weight to keep it moving, just enough so it could reach him.

Katsuki tried to move, to scream, to just do something, but he couldn't.

That's when something hit him, not the truck, it was something small that crashed into his side just hard enough to throw Katsuki off his feet and away from the truck's path.

The blonde hit the ground and rolled on the asfalt, leaving his skin burning from road rash. Katsuki looked up, muted green looked back. He pushed himself up and glared at the other boy who was slowly getting to his feet.

"Deku! Why did you do that?!" Katsuki didn't want to think what would have happened if that truck really did hit him, so instead he focused on why his friend (?) did something on his own for the first time since Katsuki met him.

"I don't know, my body just… moved."

Katsuki was snapped back to reality by the sound of the crowd going wild, he looked back to see Deku in the middle of the arena while the Gen Ed guy was sprawled on the grass.

Katsuki buried the memories that popped back to the depths of his mind. He had other things to worry about now. Even then the thoughts kept crawling up, that was the day Katsuki started to focus on how Deku always threw himself headfirst into people's problems without a care for his safety, it was easier than thinking about how close he was to not coming back home that day.

That was a thing no one knew about, Katsuki hadn't told a soul and he was sure Deku didn't even remember it, they rushed home right after without giving anyone the chance to stop them, or more like Katsuki did that and dragged Deku along.

That day Katsuki could have died, the only reason he didn't was that Deku's hero instincts were hardwired into his every cell in a way that, even when he was barely functional as a human being, he would still move to help first and think later, or never.

Katsuki took a sharp breath in and let it out slowly, calming the heart thundering in his chest. He was fine, they were fine, everything was fine, that was what he kept telling himself at least. Even if a part of him kept saying nothing had been fine since the first day he raised his hand against Deku, the first time he used his quirk on him.

That day, like the one of the incident that almost cost Katsuki everything, was seared into his mind.

Katsuki kept marching while his followers chased behind him, at the very end of the line was Deku. They are five already and while Deku wasn't a normal kid by any stretch of the word he could at least keep up without Katsuki pulling him along.

Katsuki made small explosions pop in his palms, earning awe-filled whispers from the other kids. He got his quirk some time ago and since then he had practiced with it a lot in his quirk counseling and at home when his parents were busy.

It was Katsuki's way to become a hero, just like All Might. He would be strong and cool and always win, just like the number one!

A small part of him also said that he would need it to protect Deku, because he wouldn't ever get a quirk. Deku had been weird since forever, but when he discovered he was quirkless he got even weirder, the worst part was that he didn't react to that at all, like always.

But what he did react to was when someone said he couldn't be a hero, Deku would always say he would, no matter how many times he had to repeat it.

That angered Katsuki to no end, Deku would get killed if he kept that up, just like when they almost got run over by a truc-

Katsuki missed a step, it wouldn't be any problem if he hadn't been crossing a tree over a stream. He dropped down and hit the shallow water with a splash.

Hearing the voices of his followers saying he would probably be fine, Katsuki looked up and was about to say he would go back in a minute when he saw it.

Deku, already in front of him and offering a hand, "You're okay?" He asked, and that would've been fine with Katsuki, Deku always did that, but the problem was his eyes.

They were bright, for the first time since they met Katsuki didn't stare at muted green orbs that seemed empty, he stared at bright green irises that almost glowed.

Katsuki always had an explosive temper, even more since he got his explosive quirk, so when he saw the first time Deku looked alive was because he was looking down on him, having to save him from something when Katsuki should be the one protecting Deku, he blew up.

Figuratively, with an angry shout of "I don't need your help Deku!" And with an explosion that hit the green-haired boy and sent him crashing down.

Katsuki took deep breaths, calming down from his outburst, and realized what he had done. He rushed to Deku, when he got close the other boy was already getting up.

But his eyes were empty again.

Katsuki felt something bad boiling inside him, Deku looked like always, but after seeing just how brilliant his eyes could be, having them back to their faded state felt like Katsuki did something horrible. The blonde boy was still only that, a boy, a child barely five years old, so he reacted to his bad feelings like a child would, he latched on to the one he knew best and let it guide his actions.

In that case, the feeling was anger, and that was how Katsuki started to torment the person he had promised to himself to protect. First was because every time he saw Deku's eyes he got a reminder of what he did and the feelings that accompanied it came right back, then it was because it started to become normal.

Katsuki some days caught himself asking why he went out of his way to seek Deku, then he would make an excuse like putting the quirkless wannabe in his place or something along those lines. He kept repeating it until Katsuki himself started to believe it too, but that lie came crashing down on the sludge villain incident.

That was the second time in his life Katsuki seriously thought it was the end for him, and the second time Deku came running to save him, for the simple reason of his body moving faster than his mind ever could.

That day Katsuki remembered everything, even if a small part of him never forgot to begin with. He got saved by Deku, two times, and he promised that he would protect his friend, even if he wasn't worthy of calling Deku such. Katsuki owed Deku more than he could hope to repay, but even more, he owed Deku an apology.

An apology he never gave, because, if Katsuki was being completely honest, he didn't know how. How do you apologize to a person that you hurt more than they ever deserved, that always helped you and wanted the best for you, that probably didn't even remember most of the reasons you were apologizing for?

Katsuki didn't know, but he would find out, even if he had to search to the end of the word and back. He had a promise to start making good on and things he wanted to say, and Katsuki was never good at keeping his opinions to himself.

—

Todoroki waited for the signal for his match, his battle against Sero, it would be an easy fight. After that, it would be time to battle against his real adversary. Midoriya was the perfect person to help him show the world he could face anything with only his mother's power.

The buzzer sounded, it was time. Todoroki started to make his way to the arena when he felt it, first the heat, then the overwhelming presence he had. Todoroki looked back only to see his father, the towering man covered by flames and his black hero costume.

Endeavor glared down at him, and Todoroki felt something dark crawling through his chest.

—

Hanta sighed while walking up the arena steps. He was screwed, no minced words about it, but even then, he would go down swinging and with a freaking smile on his face, "Izuku is rubbing off on us, and that's really damn scary." Hanta huffed.

Present Mic's hyping the crowds got lost to Hanta when he saw Todoroki's face. He wasn't like Izuku, who apparently could feel people's emotions, their hearts, or whatever, but even Hanta knew that the dark look on Todoroki's face meant he was pissed, and that was dangerous to Hanta's health.

Midnight started the match, and Hanta decided to just bite the bullet and hope for the best, "Ya know, I really don't think I can win this." He said before using his quirk to tie Todoroki on tape and start dragging him to the arena's corner, "But I really don't wanna lose either!"

Hanta felt the chill and for one single second he panicked, then he remembered that if he could take on a rhino he could take on his classmate. Hanta cut the tape and jumped, using his other arm he forced his quirk to shoot a tape on the jumbotron of the coliseum. He felt his elbow burning while it dragged him up, but thankfully Hanta got out of the way in time to dodge the colossal glacier that seemed to pierce the clouds.

"That's overkill!" Hanta laughed a little hysterically, pulling back his tape he snapped it in the ice pillar and swung around. The boy passed by his class bleachers and saw their faces, almost all of them were as shocked as him, but three people had other things plastered in their faces.

Katsuki looked up and shouted to him, "Show you're not an extra Soy Face!" Why that made Hanta feel better, he would never know.

Eri looked at the glacier, and maybe beyond that, with a sad frown on her face.

Izuku locked eyes with Hanta, a silent conversation passing between them, another thing Hanta would never know how. Todoroki was hurting and for that, he was lashing out, it wasn't his fault but that didn't excuse hurting someone.

They nodded at each other before Hanta passed his class. The Tape user now had a steadiness he didn't have a moment before, he didn't have any hard feelings for Todoroki or the match and wasn't scared of the bichromatic boy murdering him by accident. But even then, he really didn't want to lose.

Hanta finished the rotation and shot himself at Todoroki, "I'm not done yet!" He used his quirk to shoot tapes on the ground, at Todoroki's sides, and pull himself, accelerating even more.

Todoroki tried to freeze them but Hanta snapped the tapes when frost started to creep up on them, twisting in the air repositioned to dropkick Todoroki in the chest. His feet made contact, unfortunately, instead of his classmate it was with an ice wall he made between them at the last second.

Hanta actually cracked the wall with all the momentum he had, but he couldn't get through. When he hit the ground ice spread out, covering all the arena floor and his legs.

Hanta knew he was done when the ice reached his waist and kept going up. Deciding enough was enough he yelled, "I surrender! Stop before you turn me into a popsicle dude!" He chuckled slightly.

The ice stopped just shy of his collarbone. Midnight called the winner and then a heatwave hit Hanta, it melted the ice instantly. Seeing Todoroki there, looking gloomy even while the whole stadium cheered his name, Hanta couldn't find in himself anything but pity to him.

"Hey man, I don't know what happened but… we're here if you need," Hanta said his part, and even while he didn't get an answer, he still felt it was enough. Sighing, the black-haired boy started to make his way back to his class, "Yeah Izuku, it's up to you now."

—

Tenya marched to his waiting room, he had some extra time while they melted the ice from the arena and planned to use them to prepare. His plan was foiled by his adversary jumping him in the middle of the track.

"Hey! Legs! You! I need your help!" The girl shouted almost in his face, only falling short of it from their height difference.

Tenya blinked, confused as to what the pink-haired girl, Mei if Izuku told him right, even if that was probably her first name knowing his friend, could want with him, "What can I help you with?"

Mei grinned, "You can help me with my goal with the Festival."

Tenya frowned, "I won't throw the match for-"

"I don't need you to throw anything." Mei interrupted him, "I'm not here to win, I'm here to show!"

Tenya blinked confused again, "I'm not sure I follow."

"I'm from the Support Course, I make my babies for you heroes! The thing is, while you hero guys are here to show off your quirks to the other heroes, I'm here to show my babies to the big support companies out there." Mei explained, making Tenya nod along. "The thing is, if I show all my babies here, on the last event where everyone is watching, then I'll get my name out there. So what do you say? Help me with the presentation and I'll give you the match."

Tenya felt conflicted, not knowing if doing that would be the correct thing, but it would help another student and Mei already said she didn't want to win the festival. While not completely agreeing with it, it would be a way for the girl to further strive in her chosen path, so even if reluctantly Tenya in the end agreed.

He would regret that decision.

—

1-A didn't know what was more ridiculous, Tenya being led by the nose on what turned out to be a ten-minute-long commercial of gadgets, or Cotton laughing while collecting what appeared to be cookies from Shiryu and Tesla.

Toru poked Izuku, "What… just what?"

"If the question is about Mei…" Izuku just shrugged with a helpless smile.

Eri turned on her seat and looked back at the other roll seats, "If it's about Cotton, he just won a bet of how long it would take for something like that to happen." She glanced at the show being presented to the world on live TV. "Shiryu said the next round and Tesla said that it would be a dance competition instead of… that." Eri looked back just in time to see Tenya get snatched by a net.

Tsuyu hummed, "Should've entered it too."

Kyoka nodded at her side, "Yeah, after seeing what that girl and Izuku pulled we would've probably won that bet."

Rikido turned to her while munching on a cookie he got from Cotton, "Yeah, these things are seriously good. Hey Izuku, do you have the recipe?"

Eri jumped at the chance of free treats, "I'll test taste it!"

Izuku chuckled, "Looks like we can finally have that baking session." Behind his back the class traded glances before coming to a silent agreement, they would be there for the free baked goods.

—

Denki stretched one last time while the girl from 1-B, Ibara if he remembered right, called out Present Mic for his introduction of her. He had a plan, which was a novelty for him, Denki just had to make sure he would last through it all.

"Man how I wish I had my bat now." He grumbled while lowering his body, left foot pulled back and right a half step forward, knees bent and arms spread.

Midnight started the round, Denki took a sharp breath and called his new special move while lightning enveloped him, "Thunder Road!" He moved while putting his palms on the ground, closing the circuit and getting rid of the excess charge as quick as he generated it.

Denki wasn't smart, he knew that, but he wasn't as dumb as people thought. He studied hard to understand electricity when his quirk popped up, he worked hard to make it work even with its drawbacks, and with a little help from his friends he pushed it beyond.

With most of the power leaving his body before really damaging it, something only possible because of his natural resistance to electricity, Denki pushed above the threshold he normally had and it showed. He crossed the arena in a flash, his hands drawing two spark marked lines on the floor.

He just needed to get close enough for a good taze and the match was his. But unfortunately, Denki didn't account for one thing.

Ibara used her quirk, the vines that were her hair, to snatch his hands. She drilled the vines under the arena floor and waited for the perfect moment to trap Denki, with the same principle of his new technique of grounding his electricity to make it less harmful she countered his power entirely.

Now with both hands bound by vines to the floor, with his power rendered useless and without any other options, Denki sighed depressed, "I'm done for."

To prove his point, more vines broke from the arena and tied him up. Midnight called Ibara's victory and she released Denki. The blonde massaged his wrists and turned to Ibara, "Nice trick, I'll have to work on not getting trapped in things like that. You can help me later right?"

Ibara frowned slightly but nodded, "I'll try but the animosity between our classes may be a problem."

Denki deadpanned at her, then laughed, "Oh that's a good one. Girl, friendship is inevitable, my bet is for Izuku to have conquered our year by next month before continuing his merry way to the hearts of everyone in the school." He wheezed, "Just don't tell Katsuki, he doesn't know about it."

Katsuki for the second time that day felt extremely angry for some unknown reason.

Ibara stared confused as Denki patted her shoulder before walking back, laughing all the while. She turned her questioning gaze to Midnight, who only offered her a wink and a chuckle.

—

Fumikage took a deep breath, centering himself. The raven-headed boy prepared to enact his plan. His opponent was the vice rep of his class, and he more than knew Momo was more than capable of putting him down in a second.

For that, he needed to be faster than her, but how can someone be faster than a thought? As it was everything Momo needed to create whatever she wished for. Simple, Fumikage just had to stop her thoughts for long enough, and the best way to do that, even if it was not his style, was with shock and awe. And what was more shocking than a good scare?

Midnight started the round, when her whip snapped Fumikage dropped to his knee and slapped his hands on the ground focusing on his new understanding of himself he gave free reign to his counterpart. His shadow stretched impossibly far, ending right in front of Momo before she could make one of her bombs.

Dark Shadow sprung from the floor with a wicked smirk, "Caw!" While childish his yell startled Momo, breaking her concentration and interrupting her quirk. Dark Shadow then grabbed Momo and threw her out of the arena, "Yeet!"

The heiress tried to right herself, but unfortunately, while she stuck the landing her foot was just over the line. Momo felt shocked, she lost, and while that wasn't that bad, she hadn't done anything in the match.

Dark Shadow approached her, "Hey Momo, good game!"

Momo tried to put a smile on, but it didn't reach her eyes, "Thank you, but I didn't have time to do anything."

Dark Shadow crackled, "Of course not! If we'd given you a second you'd have blown us sky high!"

Fumikage walked to them, his shadow under his feet shrinking at each step until it crawled up his legs and back, where Dark Shadow perched himself, "While not the most gracious way to put it, Dark Shadow is right. If we had given you any opening it would have been our defeat, you are one of the most formidable opponents we could have faced, Momo." He bowed his head slightly at her.

While embarrassing to admit, even to herself, Fumikage's words soothed Momo's wounded pride, "Thank you Fumikage, and good luck on your next matches." She offered a hand that Fumikage and Dark Shadow both shook, making the crowd cheer at the show of sportsmanship.

—

Mina hummed to herself while hopping in place, already getting into the zone. Yuga waved to the crowds before turning his gaze to her, "Let's give the world a spectacle!"

Mina grinned, "Couldn't agree more!"

The match started and with it the show. Yuga shot his laser, the beams of light thinner so as to not exert himself too much. Mina danced through the bullet hell of light with twists and moves that would've been expected in a dance show instead of a battle.

Mina understood why Izuku was so eager to have fun at the festival. That moment, with her skating through rays of light while bursting her best moves, felt fantastic.

Unfortunately, everything good must come to an end. That match ended with Mina somersaulting over Yuga, grabbing him by his P.E. jacket and completing the movement, throwing the boy over her head.

Yuga tried to position himself to use his quirk to shoot himself back in the arena but being upside down messed with his balance just enough. He crashed on the floor, both legs over the line.

"Looks like the show's over." Yuga sighed.

"But it was a hell of a show!" Mina laughed while helping him stand up. Both traded a glance and a grin before turning around and bowing dramatically to their audience. The stadium was filled with cheers.

—

Eijiro stretched his arms one last time. His match was against Tetsutetsu, what a part of him still couldn't help but complain, their quirks are just that similar that one-upping the other would be the only way to draw attention.

Shaking the traitorous thoughts from his head, Eijiro marched to the arena. He didn't have a plan, it wasn't really his style, what he had was a promise to keep and the determination to back it up, Eijiro would be there at the top right beside his friends.

For that, he needed to win!

With the whole world with eyes on him, the manly redhead got to his side of the arena, at the other corner, was his adversary.

"Let's do our best!" Eijiro smirked while using his quirk on his whole body, just enough as to not reveal his ace on the hole.

"That's something I can get behind!" Tetsutetsu activated his quirk and his form was covered by metal.

"Start!"

Both boys rushed at each other, winding up their fists, they traded blows that sent sparks flying. Eijiro felt as if Izuku had decked him on the face while Tetsutetsu heard his jaw creak, both boys stepped back and traded a grin before throwing themselves at the other.

Without fear of getting hurt or hurting the other, and more importantly, in respect of the other fighter, both boys put their all into the battle. The arena was filled with sparks as the punches only got faster.

Eijiro felt every attack, both those he took and those he dished out, reverberating through his body. Tetsutetsu was a tough guy, but that wouldn't be enough to stop Eijiro.

He threw a well-timed jab that made Tetsutetsu flinch, but even that didn't stop the metal hero student. Firming his stance, Tetsutetsu returned the punch.

Eijiro wouldn't be able to block, so he didn't, he faced it head-on, literally. The redhead headbutted his opponent's fist, canceling the force behind it and unbalancing Tetsutetsu. Keeping the pressure on, Eijiro threw one hook after the other, each one marked by his words.

"I won't!" Bang. "Break!" Bang. "To just!" Bang. "That!" BANG!

Each attack made Tetsutetsu step back, with the last strike, Eijiro buried his fist into his adversary's face and heard metal breaking.

Tetsutetsu was sent crashing down on his back, at the sound of Midnight calling the match and staring at the blue sky above, he knew it was his loss, but even then, Tetsutetsu couldn't say he was unsatisfied with the fight. A shadow fell over him, glancing at its source he saw Eijiro, covered in bruises and with blood trickling down his forehead where he headbutted his punch.

"You're really manly." He said while offering a hand.

Tetsutetsu opened a sharp smile that Eijiro returned, grabbing the offered hand firmly he huffed while Eijiro pulled him to his feet, "You too."

While the manly students dragged their battered bodies out of the arena the crowd once more, for who knew how many times that day, roared seeing what the future had in store.

—

Ochaco walked to the arena, all her friends' best wishes pushing her on, even though the fear creeping up her spine. She was facing Katsuki, and if Ochaco was completely honest, he was the person that she most feared fighting.

Izuku could cleave through a mountain if he really put his mind into it, Todoroki's power could make one of pure ice. But the thing is, the former would much more help her get better than hurt her and the latter didn't seem much into it too.

Katsuki though. He would put his Plus Ultra into everything he did the moment the bell rang, the bomber wouldn't pull punches even if he had a gun to his head.

And if Ochaco was being honest, she also wouldn't. Her friends, every single one of them, believed in her, even Izuku, who seemed to be Katsuki's best friend, looked her in the eyes and said, "Prove to the world you're gonna be the best hero!"

He didn't offer her a crutch or one of his insane plans. No, Izuku gave her his faith, his trust that she could win the battle ahead herself. That sent warmth coursing through her chest, more than Ochaco wanted to admit to herself or anyone.

Walking into the light she felt her ears pop, it felt like the whole world was chanting her name.

At the other side of the arena stood Katsuki, the blonde with the same thousand-yards-stare he had since earlier, and it still appeared so focused into something no one else could understand Ochaco felt he would light her on fire from the intensity of his eyes alone.

"Round Face." His nickname to her brought Ochaco's already tense mind into another level of panic, "Do. Your. Best."

It wasn't a well wish, it wasn't a compliment and it wasn't a dismissal. Katsuki's words were an order, Ochaco would do her best because he wouldn't set out for anything less.

Even if her anxiety spiked, Ochaco couldn't help but crack a shaky grin, "Careful, I might just beat you again if I do."

If Ochaco's grin was brittle, Katsuki's was straight up manic. The whip snapped and the battle started.

Ochaco dashed at Katsuki, keeping low to the ground and hoping Izuku's craziness was rubbing off on them just enough for her plan to work.

As close to the ground as she could physically get, Ochaco lunged at Katsuki, her palm open and ready to grasp her victory. Katsuki would never hand it without a fight, with a snap his arm shot forward and an explosion ripped out of his palm. Ochaco's world for a second was nothing but light and heat accompanied by smoke smelling of burnt caramel.

The girl hit the ground with a roll and resumed her attempts, over and over trying to use her quirk on Katsuki and assure her place on the next round. Each and every time she was met with an explosion.

All of Katsuki's senses sharpened to the point he could probably slice a block of steel, his every cell tried to pinpoint Ochaco's position on the ever growing smokescreen.

He felt something approaching at his side, he wiped his hand around and blew it up, only to see a jacket getting destroyed. Katsuki's head snapped so he could look over his shoulder, where Ochaco grinned at him while pouncing at his blind spot. Or that's what she thought.

Ochaco saw Katsuki's smirk grow even more, then the light coming from the palm behind his back, aimed at her. The explosion glanced off Katsuki's back and burnt away a good part of his own jacket, but it threw Ochaco for a spin.

Katsuki left out a relieved huff, why? Because one little slip and he lost. One touch and Round Face's quirk would negate the only thing that stopped Katsuki from shooting himself out of the arena. Laws of physics are quite the fickle things nowadays, one quirk messing with one was enough to take someone down. In his case, would be because the strongest force keeping him in place would fuck right off and Katsuki's explosions would send him flying so fast he probably wouldn't stop until leaving an indentation of his body on the stadium walls.

He wasn't the only one to realize that if Round Face's suicide lunges are any indication, and Katsuki knew somewhere on the bleachers Deku was smiling ear to ear because her plan might just beat him.

"Heh, dream on!" Katsuki shouted while winding up another explosion.

True to his thoughts, on his seat Izuku was blinding the people around him with how bright his smile was, the boy almost vibrating out of his seat in excitement, "She got him cornered."

Denki looked at him weirdly, "Dude, are you seeing the same fight as me? Can that even be considered a fight?!" He threw his arms in the direction of the smoke-filled arena.

"Yes, because Ochaco's pushing Kacchan to the limit." His smile only widened at Denki's shocked face, "If she touches him with all five of her fingers, Ochaco won."

Momo finally understood, "Each action generates an equal reaction of the same force in the opposite direction. The third law of Newton would send Katsuki out of the arena with his own explosions."

Izuku nodded, "Yup, and Kacchan knows that, that's why he had been so careful in the fight. One mistake and he's done for."

Denki whistled, "Now the intensity down there makes a lot more sense."

Unfortunately, not everyone reached the same conclusion. In the hero bleachers, various heroes started to criticize Katsuki for his actions against his opponent.

And that was enough to get someone's attention, "To all of you that think Bakugo should take it easy because his adversary is a girl or any other stupid reason like that, you should hang your cape." Eraserhead's words sent a wave over the stadium, but he didn't give anyone the chance to argue, "They are training to be heroes, to put their all in every fight in hope to survive it and save everyone that can't defend themselves. Katsuki is being pushed to his limits and is responding just in kind, if that isn't enough for you, wait and see."

Down at the arena, Katsuki snickered, "Got praise from teach, today really is a day full of fucking surprises, right Round Face?!"

Ochaco coughed while getting up, "You can say that again, with less swearing too." She slowly started to smirk, "But I doubt you can, the crowd won't have to wait." Ochaco neared her hands, fingers ready to make contact, "Stairway to the Heavens!"

Katsuki, along with every single person in the stadium, looked up just in time to see the countless boulders floating in the air, formerly pieces of the arena, starting to fall.

Katsuki blinked, then he huffed, "Deku would be proud. Hell, he probably is." He stretched his arm up, his palm open like if Katsuki wanted to grab the sky, the other holding his elbow for extra stability, he would fucking need it. Sparks started to pop in his hands while Katsuki dug deeper and deeper into himself for the power lying just beneath his skin. It wouldn't be enough, so he dug deeper, gathering the molten sea that seemed to boil in his chest, and the weird flick of Light that appeared in there without his notice some time ago.

With all that in his grasp, Katsuki let it explode.

The stadium shook as a pillar of fire and force obliterated every rock falling into dust. Katsuki felt all his bones bucking and creaking until the point he was sure they would all snap at the same time, but he gritted his teeth and kept standing, Katsuki wouldn't kneel to his opponents, ever.

Ochaco stared wide-eyed as what could only be described as a nuke went off. After the blinding flash and the shockwave that sent her stumbling head over heels, the cloud of smoke and embers that remained was indisputable proof of Katsuki's power.

The bomber let his arm fall to his sides while he took deep breaths. His whole body was shaking, from strain, adrenaline or just pure excitement was anyone's guess.

"C'mon Ochaco, I'm still standing!" Katsuki shouted at her, and for the first time, he said her name.

That, by itself, was Katsuki's way of showing he recognized Ochaco. She was strong, and everyone that disagreed was a fucking moron! Katsuki forced his shaking arms up and prepared himself for round two.

Ochaco saw that, heard the weird encouragement in his voice, and noticed Katsuki was just as much over his limits as her. She could do it, she could win! Or that was what Ochaco thought.

She tried to push her battered and bruised body up, to put strength on her arms, to keep the black spots creeping up her vision at bay. In the end, Ochaco couldn't, and just like that, like a puppet that had her strings cut, she fell down, unconscious.

Katsuki waited for a deafening second before relaxing. That was it.

Midnight called the final match of the first round of the tournament, declaring Katsuki the winner. Medbots quickly picked Ochaco up and carried her away, to the infirmary where Recovery Girl made sure the stupid teenagers of the school didn't kill each other or themselves just yet.

Katsuki kept standing in the arena, feeling every single fiber of his being screaming. He was pushed above and beyond to nothing short of his Plus Ultra, Katsuki knew if Ochaco hadn't beat the dust there, then he would've.

That only made the idiots in the stands talking shit more rage-inducing. Katsuki took a deep breath and filled his lungs to shout to the high heavens, something he would do with gusto for someone he viewed as truly strong.

"SHUT UP!" His voice filled the whole stadium and beyond it, in a way that left even Present Mic surprised, "URARAKA OCHACO IS STRONG! IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT THEN FORGET HANGING YOUR CAPES, JUST EAT YOUR FUCKING LICENSES!" Taking a page of Deku's book, he pointed straight at the hero bleachers, "AND IF YOU DISAGREE, THEN GET DOWN HERE AND SAY IT TO MY FACE! I DARE YOU ALL!"

For another deafening moment, everything was silent, then a round of cheers started, not from the stadium, but from 1-A seats.

Katsuki looked up at them, at Deku and the glowing green suns he had for eyes and all the pride for his friends that shone behind them. With a huff, Katsuki made himself move, because he wouldn't stop chasing his dream, their dream.

The race for the title of greatest hero was on, and Katsuki would only feel satisfied when he won it, won it from all the friends that raced neck to neck along with him, to their dreams and whatever else the future had in store for them.

While Katsuki stumbled out of the arena, beyond his class no one else made a sound. How could they? With the weight of Katsuki's words, words spoken from the heart, no one had the courage to.

DONE AAAAAAAAAAAAA!

STILL IN 2021 TOO! \[T]/

But I'm only posting in 2022, oh well, at least it's here. You guys know the drill, I made it and my amazing friend Silverbits (known as Beribits in AO3) edited it.

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