Super Science

Ch. 128: A Hero, A Scientist, and A Deadly Land Part 4

Day 4

Bakugou spun and floated in a sea of blackness. Unable to feel, see, or speak, he could only float and remain weightless and unaware. When this swimming sensation finally stopped, he opened his heavy eyelids to see a world of blurry images. He wanted to know where he was, so he tried to move around or take in his surroundings.

However, a familiar voice and color stopped him, holding him down gently as he said, "Hey, hey now! Don't strain yourself. You need rest, so do that."

Bakugou recognized this voice and tried to say, "Izu-."

"Drink this.", the boy told him as he held up his head and put something to his lips. Bakugou drank it down, and as his head was placed back down, Izuku told him in a hushed tone, "That's it, just rest."

Once again, he was thrust back into the swimming darkness without weight recognition, voice sound, or sight. It was an odd sensation but a comforting one despite the lingering effects of discomfort far off in the corners of this area, which slowly but surely vanished. He had only stayed in this strange blackness for what felt like seconds before. He jolted awake to the real world and sat straight up in a gasp, sweating cold and breathing heavily while clutching his chest.

Before Bakugou could gather all his bearings, he heard the sound of Izuku's voice and turned to see him saying in a joking tone, "Wow. You're far more spry than I was expecting. Welcome back to the land of the living."

Bakugou took a few short breaths while licking his lips before asking, "What…happened?"

Seemingly knowing what he was referring to, Izuku explained, "We accidentally rolled into the growth patch of a Poisonous Peony. It's a violet flower with striking markings that lure prey in and then shoot extremely venomous needles that kill its target. They die near the flower and become fertilizer and a grow bed for more flowers. You got shot in the neck, but I managed to cook up an antidote for you before you croaked."

After receiving this explanation, Bakugo noted his surroundings and saw that he and the scientists were inside an unusually dark, large metallic room. He rationalized by asking, "Are we…off the island?"

Izuku shook his head in disappointment and told him, "Far from it, I'm afraid. We're still in Pacifica."

"Then…what is this place?" He asked while looking around the metallic dark area, now realizing he was lying on some sort of cot.

"When my facility and I first made Pacifica, we underestimated its initial growth and got caught up on a boat we chartered. This is that boat. It's a good thing it was still here, so close by, and in solid condition." Izuku explained briefly.

Once Bakugou had gathered his bearings and swung his legs out to rest them on the cold metal floor, he leaned over himself, bracing his elbows on his knees and his hands on his head. Then he inquired, "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours at most," Izuku said nonchalantly, handing him a strangely colored liquid inside a leaf bowl. Drink this; it's the last of the antidotes to purge the venom out of your system."

Bakugo took the natural bowl, brought it up to his lips, and took one sip before spitting out the concoction and complaining, "BLECK! It's terrible!"

Izuku chuckled at his reaction and said, "It's supposed to heal well, not taste good. You were more cooperative when you were in and out of consciousness." He then handed the blonde teen a fruit and told him, "Chase it with this sweet fruit."

Bakugo compiled, taking sips of the disgusting medicine between bites of the amazingly sweet fruit. After he had finished the last of the antidote, he scarfed down the rest of the fruit in order to drown out the aftertaste. He saw Izuku packing a small satchel made out of leaves.

"Do you feel well enough to move?" Izuku asked Bakugo.

"I think." He said in an unsure tone while shakily rising to his feet.

"That's good because while you were out, I managed to locate the archipelago and made a small raft," Izuku explained while throwing another leaf satchel to the blonde, who caught it mid-air.

Looking inside the satchel, he saw that it contained several different items, including three water skins, several different kinds of fresh fruit, some salted meat with primitive bandages, and what looked like application medicine. Izuku waved Bakugou to follow him, and the blonde put the satchel over his shoulder. He followed in silence through a door onto the open deck of the boat that the scientist had told him about. It was large, metallic, and wood while being heavily rusted and overgrown by plant life but still in solid condition. It made for a very good hiding spot, but how animals didn't try to look in here for a quick snack was beyond him. For what it was worth, it was good while it lasted.

Bakugo watched as Izuku vaulted himself off the ship's side and landed on a piece of earth at the same height as the boat's deck. He followed suit and followed behind the green teen through the jungle until they reached an open Beach shoreline. Sitting on the beach was a small handmade raft made of plant material and whatever else helped it float.

Izuku set his satchel on the raft and began pushing it out to shore. Bakugou came in from behind and helped push it into the water. He asked, "Did you have time to do all this by yourself?"

Once they got the raft into the water and both were on it, Izuku admitted, "I'll admit I do better when I work alone. But I still could've used your help if you weren't fighting for your life. I've learned not to be so self-reliant all the time."

Once they were situated on the raft, Izuku raised the mast and took the rudder, steering the ship into the thick fog that clouded their view. They sailed in absolute silence, and not a single word was shared between them as Izuku focused on navigating. Bakugou sat at the bow, hugging his knees and looking off into the distance, trapped in his own mind with questions, realizations, and other thoughts he had never had before.

After a long silence and Bakugou fighting his inner turmoil, he asked in a small voice, "Why did you do it?"

"What's that?" Izuku called back to him.

"Why did you save me?" Bakugou reiterated. "You said you hated me; you could've left me to die. But why didn't you?" He questions him without turning around.

Izuku pauses to think on this for a moment before telling him, "Because I'm not like that. Just because I hate you doesn't mean I'll stoop down to such a level. It is not the right thing to do, no matter how right it feels to me." Bakugou curls deeper into himself with every word until Izuku nearly breaks him when he says, "Besides, I'm sure if the shoes were on the other foot, you'd do the same…right?"

Bakugou, who was practically a stone at this point, replies in a very soft, very small, and shaky voice, "I don't…know."

After only an hour of sailing, the boys finally reached landfall on not a Beach shore but a woodland landmass. After they pull the raft onto the land and unload themselves, Izuku takes stock of his surroundings and says, "Looks like our raft was blown a bit off course. No problem, though. I know where to go from here, Bakugou." However, he gets no reply from the blonde teen, and he looks around while calling out, "Bakugou?"

Bakugou, who had wandered off while Izuku was surveying the area, stood a couple hundred feet from Izuku, where he looked up in gobstruck awe before an absolutely wild sight. The teens had not been able to see anything in the distance since they were sailing, and even when they hit landfall, the fog seemed to drift and follow them. But once they broke free and The fog vanished, Bakugou realized they were no longer in Kansas.

Standing before him, climbing as high as a building, was an enormous yellow flower. The only thing Bakugou could say was, "That…is one big flower."

Izuku, who had finally caught up with him, chuckled at his expression and jokingly told him, "You should see the trees in Shikkotsu Forest."

Bakugou gave him a what the fuck expression before Izuku turned his head in one direction and showed him the sight of a redwood tree that was the same width and height as a mountain. With many more scattered about in the far distance.

"What the hell." was all Bakugou could say.

"Wild, isn't it." Izuku agreed.

Turning his gaze to the young scientist, Bakugou asked in concern, "You made all this?"

Izuku shook his head and clarified, "Not me specifically, and mostly by accident, but yes."

"What the hell lives here?" Bakugou questions as he looks around the enormous and unreal forest, walking alongside Izuku as they talk.

"So far, only three species. The Mothra, Katsuyu, Basilisk, and the Bee-Rex." Izuku lists off.

"The bee rex!?" Bakugou exclaimed in horror.

"It says what it is in the name." Izuku clarified.

Bakugou slaps his forehead and reiterates, "I gathered that; I mean, why the fuck would you make that!? Let alone keep it alive!"

"I didn't make it, and the reason we sent it here was because we needed the Mothra to have completion and something else for the spiders to eat." Izuku once again explains.

"Okay, just so I'm not surprised, what are those other things you said before? What are they?" Bakugou continues to poke the scientist's brain as he leads them through the field and forest of giant trees and flowers.

So Izuku happily explains as he lists off in simplicity, "The Mothra is a giant moth with crazy powers, the basilisk is basically a giant limbless lizard that is super venomous, and Katsuyu is-."

But before he could finish that sentence, a loud roar echoed throughout the sky, and both boys ducked quickly as something flew past them, circling around and standing off before them in the air. Both teens looked up and saw a massive creature that appeared to be equal parts bee and tyrannosaurus rex. The head, arms, body, and legs of a tyrannosaurus with the wings, antennae, eyes, and thorax of a honey bee was a truly massive misshapen monstrosity.

Izuku gasped and exclaimed, "A Bee-Rex guard! We must've gotten too close to the hive!"

The Bee-Rex roared agai,n and Bakugou asked, "Run?"

"Run!" Izuko affirmed.

So the two boys turned tail and ran for their lives, with the bee-rex landing on the ground and chasing them on foot. They had barely run for a minute before the bee-rex caught up to them, and they had to dodge or use Bakugou's explosions to ward it off enough to gain some distance.

After the second close call, Bakugou yelled, "How do we outrun a trex that can fly?!"

"Run faster!" Izuku yelled back.

Suddenly, the Bee-Rex took to the air and flew past them before circling back. And coming in for a dive bomb maneuver with its stinger out.

Izuku immediately realized what it was trying to do and yelled while pushing Bakugou to the ground, "Duck!"

Unfortunately, it was too late, although Bakugou managed to escape. Izuku was not so lucky; his shirt got caught in the monstrosity stinger, and the boy was carried off into the air.

Bakugou quickly got back to his feet and yelled in terror, "No. No! DEKU!"

Izuku had no idea what to do or how to act as he was being weightlessly whisked away into the air by a giant Cretaceous insectoid. He only managed to regain his bearings when the bee-rex deposited him on top of one of the giant flowers. However, he didn't have any time to rest as the bee-rex also landed on the flower, his mouth foaming with saliva. Looking ready to chow down on him. Izuku scurried away as far back as he could but found that the only way out was a sheer drop from the flower petals to the solid ground. But just before the animal could close its Jaws around him. Bakugou came from the sky, descended upon the bee-rex, and blasted it several times with his explosions before landing between him and the animal.

"Stay away from him!" he yelled threateningly, blasting explosions from his palms.

"Bakugou, you saved me?" Izuku asked in equal parts relief and confusion.

"I'm a hero; saving people is what I do, even if they do not like me. Besides, I can take it." Bakugou assured him.

For the first time in his life, Izuku truly felt as though he was back again during their younger years when Bakugou, although brash and a bit arrogant, was always kind and protective of him, and seeing this now from him sent a ping of something in his heart and soul he thought was long gone. However, the moment didn't last very long as the bee-rex quickly recovered and readied itself to chomp down on both boys while bakugou stood in Izuku's defense, ready to fight off the flying dinosaur.

But just before the monstrous animal would attack a feminine voice shouted, "Get down!"

With that, a stream of light green substance sprayed and knocked the bee-rex off the flower. Both boys looked over the side and watched as the enormous creature roared and screamed in pain as it melted in a pool of what appeared to be acid.

Bakugou, hopelessly confused by everything that was going on around him, asked, "What the fuck was that?"

Luckily, Izuku managed to vaguely answer that question as he yelled in excitement, "Katsuyu!"

Suddenly, before Bakugou's very eyes where enormous forts once stood. Now, a wall of white color stood in its place. When he gathered his bearings and looked back a bit, he realized that this wasn't a wall of white but instead a gargantuan-sized white slug with blue markings! Bakugo gasped in surprise at this and fell back on his butt as he scampered away while Izuku ran towards the giant slug in exuberation.

Katsuyu looked down with her eye stalks, spotting Izuku, and said, "Izuku, dear, is that really you? What on earth are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you as well, Katsuyu. Thanks for the quick save. It's kind of a long story." Izuku greeted her and quickly told her.

"I'm glad I passed by this way when I did." Katsuyu said with a happy chirp in her tone, only for her attention to be drawn by the other teen on top of the flower where she asked, "Oh, hello, who is this little one?"

Realizing that the slug was looking for an answer from him. Bakugo gathered himself up enough to reply as he said, "I'm Bakugou Katsuki, ma'am."

"It's very nice meeting you, Katsuki-kun." Katsuyu politely greeted him back.

"Katsuyu, could you take us to the Pachyderm settlement?" Izuku asked the enormous slug.

"Of course, my sweet. Climb aboard, and I'll take you there myself." Katsuyu agreed as she moved a part of her body closer to the flower, allowing the boys to come in contact with her body.

Luckily, they didn't have to climb up her body with their own strength as they quickly found the slug's very own body clinging and pulling it up to the top of her head. Once they were safely secured, Bakugou immediately realized just how enormous this thing was. Sure, she wasn't as big as the trees, but she was still definitely big and more so than the flowers.

As they rode upon the slugs back, Bakugou turned to Izuku and asked him, "Deku, when were you going to tell me that Katie, or whatever her name is, is a giant talking slug?"

"Just before the Bee-Rex attacked," Izuku replied.

This made Bakugou give him a what the hell expression in return, all before he witnessed several smaller versions of Katsuyu suddenly spring out from her body and begin to wrap around his body.

Bakugou panicked and yelled, ready to attack, "What the shit?!"

"Easy Bakugou, easy! Katsuyu can separate herself into several small sections, and she has healing abilities." Izuku quickly calms and assures the young man.

"I apologize for surprising you." says one of the clones as they begin to heal Bakugou's injuries.

Within mere seconds, Bakugou not only saw but felt all his injuries and fatigue from the past four days suddenly melt away into nothing. Once he was seemingly at peak form again, he stated with amazement, "Wow. I feel better already." This led Katsuyu to give him a small but grateful chuckle.

Although the trip was slow from their perspective, Katsuyu was so large that she made travel a real smooth breeze for them as they only needed to ride on her for about an hour before they finally made it to their perceived destination. Out of the giant forest, they went over scattered dottings of many small stone-like islands. They finally came upon a much larger land mass, which appeared to be a steep grassland. On this side of the two connected Islands, there was a large elephant-like creature whose back was turned to the giant slug. However, she quickly realized her presence as it was quite hard not to.

The elephant turned and met the gargantuan slug halfway. When they did, Katsuyu greeted the elephant first, "Parvati."

"Miss Katsuyu. What brings you here? Normally, we visit at the end of the month." Parvati asks in confusion and some concern.

"I'm afraid I had to reschedule for an earlier date due to a strange occurrence." Katsuyu vaguely explains.

"Occurrence?" Parvati repeats, now feeling more concern rise in her trunk.

Arching down her head, Katsuyu showed the elephant. The two boys rode on top of her as she sent them down her body and to the ground level, where Parvati exclaimed, "Doctor Izuku! What are you doing on Miss Katsuyu's back? And why are you in Pacifica?"

After wiping the slug slime from his body, Izuku vaguely explained, "It's a long story, Parvati. Just know that we were castaways and finally managed to get here after four days of travel."

"Four days?! " Parvati half-yelled in surprise, trumpeting loudly in shock. It's no wonder you look so worn and ragged and…oh, who is this?" Parvati inquired after seeing Bakugou.

Bakugo was still stunned at the sight of the speaking elephant, so he had to introduce himself properly. So Izuku stepped in and said, "This is Bakugou Katsuki; he also ended up here like me."

Parvati bowed her head, tucking her trunk between her legs, and greeted him back, "It's nice to meet you, young man. Any friend of the doctor is a friend of ours."

This statement caught Bakugou off guard. Had he really been a friend to Izuku at all? Throughout any of this? Could he still be considered a friend after all he had done and after all he had put himself through?

But these thoughts didn't linger long as the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Talking elephants. I've officially seen it all."

Parvati gave a slight chuckle and said, "I would assume that reaction from you or anyone."

"Parvati, would you mind taking us to the Warp Pad so we can go home?" Izuku asked the unusual elephant creature.

Parvati gave a small trumpeting sound while nodding her head and agreed, "Of course, of course, it's no trouble at all. But we are about to celebrate in honor of our first successful harvest. Will you join us until the festivities are over?"

"A nice hot meal would be nice," Izuku agreed, patting his stomach and inspecting the empty food and water satchels that both boys had used.

"And a nice hot bath to complement it. You two look like you could need it. Climb aboard." Parvati offered while kneeling down on all fours.

After saying their goodbyes and thanks to Katsuyu, both boys climbed aboard the hyper-evolved elephant and sat on her back as she carried them to her civilization. When they got to the civilization, the first thing they noticed was how it was walled off with a mixture of thick, sturdy logs and large boulders. Along the walls were crossbow turrets, which were pointed at the sky, no doubt to deter any would-be flying predators.

Once they were inside, however, things were much different. The village was a beautifully but simply constructed civilization made of thatch, wood, and stone. The houses were enormous, with equally large windows and doors, but they had no window panes or door doors to close—just open air. The smell of incense and spice hung heavy in the air, and music littered the background.

All around them were more elephant creatures of different ages. Now that Bakugou had managed to get a better look at them and look past the surprise of a talking animal, he was surprised to see that all of these creatures were, in fact, wearing clothes. They had coverings on their bodies that almost acted like the blankets on horses. The covers were all different colors and had many different embroideries and designs. Each one is unique to every individual. In addition to this, they also had leg wrappings on all four of their limbs, and many of them had large masks, which gave them the appearance of very large cranial crests somewhat reminiscent of triceratops. These masks were also colored and embroidered in different pigments and styles and also infused with many different smells.

As they passed by the other Pachyderm, many bowed before Parvati or stared at the two boys riding on her back. Finally, they came to an area that was separated by very large tree leaves hung up on wooden poles. When they slid off Parvati and took a peek inside, they realized that it was the communal bathing house. Seeing as they hadn't properly bathed the days, the boys decided to take full advantage of this, stripped down, and submerged themselves in hot water, washing away all the gunk, slime, musk, and dirt of the days prior. As the two boys scrub themselves raw and relaxed in the hot water, their clothing was taken and washed by some of the Pachyderm at the behest of Parvati.

When they finally got out of the water, they were greeted with the sight of their freshly washed and dried but still very tattered clothing. After putting it back on, they exited the bathhouse and were led out by Parvati to a very large communal area. An enormous fire was lit, and the entire tribe of Pachyderm sat around on large boulders and logs, handing out and sharing food while conversing amongst one another, laughing, joking, or just simply chatting.

For some reason, the sight of community, acceptance, and calm struck a chord in Bakugou as something…alien. He didn't know why it seemed so foreign to him, yet it was. Shouldn't this be the norm? This is how the common folks are expected to and should act with one another. And yet, why was he so uncomfortable?

He didn't have time to think this through as he was brought to a seat amongst many of the other Pachyderms. There, he was handed food on a large platter that was passed off to another individual. Before he knew it, Bakugou had tried just about everything that the elephants had been eating and had long since been stuffed by the circulation.

Throughout this, he had no idea what the adults were saying since they spoke in a mixture of Japanese, Hindu, and elephant sounds, but they all seemed so calm and carefree around one another. The children ran around to the adults, playing with one another and picking off whatever food they could from the plates when it came to the adults' trunks.

At one point, one of the Pachyderm calves fearlessly approached Bakugou and began to happily converse with him, saying in a happy, broken baby voice, "Hewoo, new fwend. You must be da humans momma talked about. Im Surya, let us shake twunks." Surya offered while holding out his trunk to Bakugou's nose, grabbing onto it and trying to shake it like a hand. When he realized this wasn't working, the little elephant said, "Oh, you have a small twunk. But that's oke. Momma Parvati says that everyone is different and preetyful, and that's oke."

Upon hearing those words come out of the small elephant's mouth, tears began to well up in Bakugou's eyes, and without a second to lose, he covered his mouth, jumped off of the log he was sitting on, and ran out of the communal spot. Almost all festivities and chatter stopped at seeing the young blonde bolts for his very life, and little Surya looked the most upset, thinking that he had accidentally upset the teenager. Luckily, Izuku managed to dismiss the situation and assure the calf that it wasn't anything that he said and that he would take care of whatever had gotten into his old friend.

Chasing after the teen, he called out, "Bakugou?" several times without getting a single answer, but eventually, he managed to hear the sound of repressed sniffles. He followed it to the back end of a hut, or he found the teen hunched over himself, sitting on the ground and hugging his knees so tightly he was nearly in the fetal position. Carefully approaching the blonde and hoping he wasn't just being over dramatic for whatever reason, he inquired, "Bakugou, what's wrong? Why'd you run out like that? It was kinda rude; I mean, they were sharing their food and celebration with us, so we should be polite in that regard."

"I was wrong," Bakugou replied in a small, broken voice.

"Pardon?" Izuku prompted further.

Unraveling from himself and standing up, whipping around and staring at the green teen with tear-filled eyes, Bakugou yelled in desperation, "I was wrong! About everything! Everything I've ever known or been told or believed was a total lie! The attitude I've so closely held to was the wrong one. I thought I was right; I truly did. And so many people conceived of my actions, telling and showing me I was wrong, and I ignored it with such furor. And to finally see the error of my ways, I had to be seen to a death island, nearly die, and a fucking talking baby elephant!"

"Kat…chan. What are you saying?" Izuku asked in concern, managing to catch himself at the last moment to prevent him from setting him off.

Bakugo then got on his hands and knees. Bowed his head on the ground and profusely apologized with all his heart, practically yelling, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you, said to you, and all of it! You were right; you were my only true friend, and I spat on it. But I know sorry isn't enough; it could never be enough. You have every right to hate me. You had every right to leave me for dead. I'm sorry!"

As Bakugo stayed on all fours with his head on the ground, tears continued to flow out of his eyes, and he gritted his teeth. Izuku stood by with a placid expression and a dark shadow overcasting his face. His body language is calm but unreadable. They stay in tense and uncomfortable silence for a long while until Izuku finally makes the first move. He walks over to Bakugou, grabs his shoulders, and holds him up so he can look at him face-to-face. Then, without a second warning, the young scientist embraces the explosive teen in a hug!

Bakugou is stunned by this action, and he is even more so when he hears Izuku whisper to him, "Forgive you."

"But why? I don't understand?" Bakugou practically blabbers out of confusion.

Pulling away to look at him face-to-face. Izuku holds Bakugou's face in his hands, where he explains with tears in his eyes, "I thought I had lost you forever. That the old Bakugou Katskui was a distant memory. That you could never change. But I'm so glad I was wrong! Welcome back, Kacchan." He says the last part while re-embracing him in a hug, hot tears streaming down his face and onto his newly cleaned but damaged UA sports uniform.

Bakugou can barely say anything at this point. Still, the only thing he does manage to say before breaking down into a sobbing fit is, "Izu." all before the two boys sit in one another's embrace, sobbing into one another. Finally letting out the massive emotions that both had been holding back for so many years. Finally, they should allow themselves to be vulnerable not just to themselves but also to one another. And for once, we're both of them; it felt right, and it felt safe. They both stayed like that for several minutes until they both had fully calmed down. Once they did, their attention was brought to a third party who had been watching them from the background.

Turning around to the sound of sniffling, they look back and see Parvati wiping her eyes dry. Tears well up in her eyes as she suddenly proclaims, "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. This calls for a Great Nayi Shuruaat!"

"A what?" Bakugou questions.

But before he could get his answer, Parvati grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back to the communal center. There, he and the head matriarch of the tribe stood at the head of the enormous fire pit, where all eyes were upon them. Upon seeing their leader holding on to the young human, almost everyone grew quiet, and any music quickly died down. Anyone who wasn't listening or paying attention was either distracted by something else, couldn't see it, or was a child.

To get their attention, Parvati let out a loud, bellowing, trumpeting noise as she proclaimed to the tribe, "Those who are far, listen close; those who are near, see the sight. For today is not only a celebration of our first great harvest but also for a Great Nayi Shuruaat." The rest of the tribe suddenly bellowed out in a group of excited trumpetings and toots of agreement.

Once they had died down, Parvati continued to announce, all while Bakugou's face flushed red with embarrassment: "For the doctor's old friend, Bakugou Katskui, who was once lost to him, has now returned in spirit. Tears have been shed, words have been spoken, and hearts have been opened." The tribe once again roared in a celebratory cheer of trumpeting and foot stomping.

While Bakugou was dying of embarrassment, he caught sight of Izuku clapping alongside and in between the tribe, making him feel only a little less embarrassed. When the adulations died down, Parvati continued saying, "Today, we celebrate him and his change for the better." With that, a member of the tribe came up and handed something to Parvati, who handed it off to Bakugou. When he looked at the object in question, it was a small straw doll crudely shaped into that of a human, or maybe it was an elephant. It was hard to tell. This is where Parvati leaned down to Bakugou and whispered to him, "Take this fetish, young Bakugou; imagine it as your old self and cast it into the flames. Let the filth of your past be cleansed and destroyed in fire."

Bakugo looked down at the straw idle in his hands. He tried to imagine himself as that straw idol. He imagined all the wrongs he had done. All the unintentional evils he had committed not only to others but himself. His family and, worst of all, his only true friend. And he hated it! He hated it with a burning passion that would probably give third-degree burns to the fire blazing in front of him.

He gripped the straw doll so hard that it practically broke in his hands, and he almost wanted to blast it apart with his quirk, but instead, he took a calming breath and, with all his might, threw the straw doll into the fire with all he had. The moment it hit the flames, the pit burst up into a column so high that it nearly blinded everybody present with a shock! When it died down, silence filled the area for several seconds until a roaring uproar of cheers and applause and stops and trumpeting could be heard from all around him from each and every individual, Pachyderm and Izuku.

Once this had ended, the festivities continued, with the music ramping back up much louder than before. Many pachyderms walked up towards the fire and began dancing around it, jumping between two individual feet on opposite ends while making various movements with their trunks and shaking head ornaments. For whatever it was worth, Bakugou felt a little bit better—a little bit lighter even. It was an unusual feeling but a good one.

As the festivities continued, Surya ran up to Bakugou and grabbed his hand. He exclaimed an excitement while trying to pull him, "Come on, new fwend, wets dance!"

"But I don't really know how to-." Bakugou tried and failed to argue.

"It's not about knowing, it's about fun!" Surya exclaimed while excitedly pulling him over in one area. The baby elephant began to dance and bounce all around without a single care, quickly leading Bakugou to join in and finally let himself go.

On that day, something that had never been considered actually came to be an old and broken friendship between two individuals that had finally been mended after a long stagnation. However, things could not go back to the same way that they were for the two boys as they were very different people from when they were as young children. So now their new friendship would have to start with knowing each other as new people and respecting one another for that. Although their old friendship is gone and dead, their new friendship is just beginning.

Hey everyone, this arc is finally done, and man, was it long! The chapter, not the amount. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this redemption arc for everyone's favorite explosive teen! I always love writing redemption arcs for him, and this is the first I've gotten on paper, lol. Anyway, I know that I talk a lot about Pacifica in this story, but I will give you guys very little. Do you want me to write out a page dedicated to the many environments and creatures on the island? Just thought I'd ask if anyone was interested in that or anything else. I don't think this note came up in the last two chapters back. But please let me know!

Además, en lo que respecta a ti, ALEX HATAKE, sí, puedes usar mi historia en tu canal de YouTube en español; Solo asegúrate de darme crédito. Para su información, envíeme un mensaje privado o use su cuenta oficial de para que pueda responder.

Please review and have a Plus Ultra day!