Chapter Text
Eijiro looked around him, searching for other classmates who might have been teleported with him. He quickly spotted Bakugo, who was dusting himself off and looked angry as hell. He understood his classmate's frustration, considering he also failed to take down that purple smoke villain. It was pretty cool how in sync they were, though. Eijiro stood up and dusted himself off, and when he looked back up at the other boy, he was in a fighting stance.
"Man, that was weird. I hope everyone else is-"
"Shut up," Bakugo glared at him.
"What? What the hell, man-"
"I said shut up. There are other people here. Probably villains," So that's why he was in a fighting stance. Villains. Eijiro got into his own fighting stance, hearing footsteps outside the door. As the door was kicked down, he watched Bakugo make small sparks with his hands, and Eijiro hardened his arms. "Bring it on, extras!"
Eijiro felt himself smile. Bakugo may be intense and a bit of an asshole, but there was no denying he was manly. He and Bakugo rushed the villains as best they could, but there were about a dozen of them, and eventually, most were in the room with them. Despite being outnumbered, the heroes in training had no trouble beating the villains, working in almost complete synchronization. Eijiro felt like there was a fire burning inside him. There was a pathetic attempt for reinforcements, but he and Bakugo knocked them out quickly.
"All right, let's hurry up and go save the others!" Eijiro turned to Bakugo. "If we're here, then everyone else should be inside the USJ, too. I'm worried about the guys with less offensive ability. Besides, because we ran off ahead, we slowed Thirteen down." Ejiro glared at his fist. "If Thirteen had been able to suck up that fog, then this wouldn't have happened! As men, we have to take responsibility for what we did!" He didn't mean to sound like he was whining, but it was true. If they had just stayed back and listened...
"If you want to go, then go by yourself. I'm gonna kill that warp gate."
"What? You're gonna act childish at a time like this? Besides, that guy's attacks are-"
"Shut up! That gate bastard is the enemy's way in and out. I'm gonna cut off their getaway route for when the time comes. It's not like we don't have a way to fight the fog." Bakugo quickly bent down and grabbed something, creating a big explosion before speaking again. "Anyway, if these small fries are the ones assigned to us, pretty much everyone will be fine, right?"
"That reaction time was amazing... Anyway, were you always so calm and rational? I thought you were more like 'die, die, die!!'"
"I'M ALWAYS CALM AND RATIONAL, YOU RED-HAIRED LOSER!!"
"Oh yeah, that's more like it!" Eijiro gave him a small smile as he dropped the villain's head and walked towards the door.
"Then go if you want to!"
"Wait, wait! Believing in our friends, that's really manly, Bakugo! I'll follow you!" Bakugo rolled his eyes before giving him a small huff and turning back towards the door. Eijiro followed him silently, the fire inside him still burning.
*
Katsuki propelled himself with his explosions towards where he saw All Might and that warpy bastard. Shitty Hair could catch up; Katsuki needs to get that warp gate down now. He finally reached them, blasting at the metal under the purple smoke before Deku could get teleported.
"Move! You're in the way, Deku!" Katsuki grabbed the metal and slammed it onto the ground. "Take that!" He watched as All Might got free from a huge villain's grasp and Shitty Hair finally caught up, going straight for that weird Hand Freak. Katsuki had to admit, the guy was brave and a hell of a lot of fun to fight with. Didn't make his hair any less shitty, though. He turned back to the warp villain. "Stop acting so stuck-up, ya foggy nobody!" He grinned and turned to Half 'n' Half, who was saying something Katsuki didn't feel like listening to. His heart was racing with adrenaline, and he felt like someone was burning coals in his chest. He quickly looked at Shitty Hair, who was now behind him and standing next to the warp villain, getting a toothy smile in return.
"Kurogiri, our exit and entrance, has been overcome. We're in a pinch," The Hand Freak said to himself. Damn right, they were in a pinch. Katsuki looked at the hand freak and then back at the warp villain, Kurogiri, smirking.
"You careless bastard. You're just what I thought you'd be. Only certain parts of you can turn into a misty warp gate. The fog gate covered your actual body, right? Back then, if you were completely made of mist and physical attacks couldn't touch you, then you wouldn't have said, 'that was close,'" He saw the bastard trying to move and immediately made warning explosions. "Don't move! If I feel like you're moving suspiciously, then I'll blow you up."
"Woah, that doesn't sound very heroic!"
"In addition to capturing them, they're almost all uninjured. Kids these days are amazing. They make the League of Villains look bad." Hand Freak continued talking to himself. "Nomu," The weird bird villain started sinking into the warp gate and came out the other end, its frozen arm and leg falling off. Katsuki watched it regrow its limbs, the muscles pulsing.
"His quirk wasn't shock absorption?"
"I didn't say that was all he had. This is his super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at one hundred percent. He's a super-efficient human sandbag. First, we need to get our gate back," Shit. "Go, Nomu."
Katsuki watched as the Nomu quickly ran over to him, too fast for Katsuki to react before he got pushed back, not a scratch on him. He sat frozen as the dust cleared, and the Nomu took his place.
"Kacchan!" Deku called out. Then he turned around. "Kacchan?! You dodged? That's amazing!"
"No, shut up, scum!"
"Then how...?" Shitty Hair asked.
"Then that was..."
"All Might!"
Katsuki didn't care to hear what Hand Freak and All Might were saying. He was too focused on the fact that he wasn't fast enough. If it weren't for All Might, he would be dead because he couldn't react fast enough. Fuckin' weak. He was faintly aware of Shitty Hair moving around behind him, subtly tapping his shoulder as he stood to Katsuki's right. He snapped out of his thoughts and listened again.
"It's three against five."
"Kacchan already exposed the fog's weakness!"
"These guys are crazy, but if we back up All Might, we can push them back!"
"No!" All Might was closer now. Katsuki guessed he had moved while he zoned out. "Run away."
"You would've been in trouble if I hadn't done anything earlier, right?" Half 'n' Half said.
"That was a different story, Young Todoroki, thanks. But it's fine! Just watch as a pro gives it everything he's got!"
Katsuki tuned out Deku's complaining, not caring until Hand Freak said something about "dealing with the kids." He ran at them, and Katsuki quickly got into a fighting stance.
"Hey, we've gotta do this after all!" Shitty Hair hardened his arms, and before they could even start fighting, All Might and the Nomu punched each other, sending everyone flying. As the punches continued, so did the wind, and no one could get near them. Katsuki watched the fight, and All Might sending the Nomu flying through the roof, in awe. "Is this a comic book or something? It's like he nullified the shock absorption. His brute strength is crazy." Katsuki just barely heard Shitty Hair whispering.
"What insane power... Does this mean he rushed at him so fast he couldn't regenerate?" Katsuki mumbled to himself. Is this the world of pros? He half-heartedly watched as All Might talked with the villains, still caught on the sheer power All Might had shown. He heard footsteps behind him and quickly turned around, seeing Shitty Hair do the same from the corner of his eye. He was met with another wave of those small fry villains approaching. Katsuki and Shitty Hair looked at each other.
"All Might will do something about the main bad guys. Let's go help the others!" Shitty Hair hardened his arms, and Katsuki created small explosions in his hands, ready for the fight. But then Deku had run off the jump in front of All Might, and goddammit, Katsuki was tired of getting cheated out of a good fight.
"Midoriya!" He heard Shitty Hair call out. He just wanted to fight again, was that too much to ask?
"Get away from All Might!" Deku was going for the metal piece under the mist, but that wouldn't work a second time, the warp gate would be prepared. Hand Freak out a hand through the mist, coming out right in front of Deku's face, just about to touch him before a gunshot rang out. Katsuki turned to the source. The teachers. Finally. As the teachers quickly ran through the villains, Hand Freak retreated.
"Aw man, they're here. It's game over now. Shall we go home and try again later, Kurogir-" Gunshots cut him off, four hitting him directly and the rest deflected by the warp gate mist. Katsuki looked around, relieved but so confused. Everything happened so fast- how did they do that? Half 'n' Half was saying something, but he wasn't listening. Shitty Hair had just been next to him, where did he-?
"Midoriya!" Oh, that's where he went. "Are you alright?" He turned to watch him run at Deku, who was still lying on the damn ground, when a wall appeared in front of him.
"We want to make sure all the students are safe, so please gather in front of the gate. We will deal with the injured here," Cementoss said.
"That makes sense! Roger that!" Shitty Hair immediately smiled and ran back. Katsuki quickly turned around, not wanting him to know that he was watching. "Hey, he said to gather in front of the gate!" When Shitty Hair caught up, he bumped Katsuki's shoulder with his own. "Wasn't that fight awesome? All Might’s so cool!"
"Fuckin' course he is, he's number one! One day, I'm gonna be even more powerful than that." Katsuki smirked. Shitty Hair smiled at him, a fire in his eyes, as he hit his fists together.
"Hell yeah, that's the spirit, Bakugo!" He laughed and continued to talk all the way to the gates. Once the detective was done talking, and they told everyone Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen's status, Katsuki tuned everyone out and looked at the USJ. Dammit, even Deku was faster than him, getting in front of All Might before he could think of it. Fuck.
"Bakugo! He said go back to the classroom!" Shitty Hair called out from behind him.
"I know, bastard!" Katsuki turned around and followed Shitty Hair back to the bus. Shitty Hair talked his ear off the entire way there and then continued to talk back to the classroom, but to Dunce Face this time.
As he walked next to him, Katsuki thought maybe it was worth learning Shitty Hair's name.
*
Eijiro walked behind Bakugo as Present Mic introduced their class, a little nervous. After Todoroki and Midoriya declared war on each other, he'd been tense. "Man, he's going overboard with that praise. I'm getting nervous! Aren't you, Bakugo?"
"No, I'm just getting more into it," Bakugo replied, and Eijiro could hear the smirk in his voice. So manly. As Present Mic announced the rest of the classes and Class 1-A reached the stand, Eijiro felt his nerves fading thanks to Bakugo's words.
"Quiet, everyone!" Ms. Midnight needed a different outfit for things like this. "Representing the students is Bakugo Katsuki from Class 1-A!" And just like that, nerves slowly crept back. As much as he wanted to think that Bakugo wouldn't, it was guaranteed that he would say something outlandish. Eijiro held his breath as Bakugo stood in front of the microphone.
"I pledge that I'll be number one." Eijiro almost wanted to laugh as he and the other classes reacted to Bakugo's pledge. Midnight quickly got everyone back on track, announcing the first game—an Obstacle Race.
Eijiro pushed himself off the person in front of him, quickly saying sorry as he escaped Todoroki's ice. He watched as Aoyama, Bakugo, and Yaoyorozu also launched themselves using their quirks.
"Naïve, Todoroki!"
"I won't let you get away so easily, you Half 'n' Half bastard!" He watched Bakugo propel himself in awe and noticed that most of his classmates had also avoided Todoroki's ice, and he watched as Mineta got thrown into the air by the robots from the entrance exam. Shit, this must be the first obstacle. Todoroki created a giant ice wall, completely freezing one of the robots. Specifically, the robot right in front of Eijiro. As the robot started to fall, he hardened his entire body and ripped through as much of the robot as he could to get back to the surface. As he got closer, he heard people thinking a robot falling on him would kill him.
"Like I'd die! That bastard, Todoroki! He timed it on purpose! If it hadn't been me, someone would've died!" The robot’s surface shook, and another person punched their way to the surface.
"That Class A really is filled with bastards!" Oh, that guy who yelled at Bakugo the other day. Was he made of steel? According to Present Mic, his name was Tetsutetsu. "If it hadn't been me, someone would've died!"
"Our quirks are pretty much the same?! I have a hard enough time standing out as it is!" Eijiro started running off the robot.
"Wait, you little-!" Eijiro ignored him and continued running, stopping for a second when he heard Bakugo's explosions behind him. He faintly heard Sero and Tokoyami talking, but he ignored it to catch up to Todoroki. As he approached the second obstacle, he tried to find a way to get past it without entirely relying on his balance. He watched as Bakugo flew past him, focused on passing Todoroki, and decided to treat it like monkey bars. Once he got to the next platform, he'd harden his hands and pull himself up. He'd have to be quick, though.
Eijiro listened as Present Mic announced the final obstacle and got onto the last platform as fast as possible. Shit, that meant Todoroki and Bakugo were already there. He'd have to run as fast as he could. Present Mic announced that someone new was in the lead, and as Kirishima got past the first few landmines, he saw Bakugo fighting Todoroki for first place. He felt a sense of pride, even though he wasn't even near first. He got closer and closer, still fighting with Tetsutetsu, but stopped when a giant explosion happened behind him. He watched as Midoriya soared through the sky, almost directly above Bakugo and Todoroki, then passed them in the blink of an eye. He shook his head and continued, trying to be as fast as possible without causing more explosions. As he watched his three classmates fight for first, he felt that same fire in his chest from when he fought with Bakugo at the USJ.
Finally passing the minefield, he ran as fast as he could, finally passing Tetsutetsu and Sero as well. He wanted to congratulate Bakugo on getting top three, but he didn't look like he wanted to be talked to as he massaged his forearms and shook with anger. He turned his attention to the screen, seeing himself in ninth. Holy shit, top ten! As Midnight announced and explained how the next game, a Calvary Battle, would work, Eijiro felt the fire burn even hotter. He knew exactly whose team he'd be on. First, though, he wanted to check Todoroki. Barely anyone would want to team with Midoriya because of the obvious target he had, so the best choice was Todoroki. Meaning his team would be the biggest problem. He watched Todoroki pick his team and quickly made his way over to who he wanted to team with. As he approached, he saw only a few people surrounding Bakugo, all his classmates.
"I don't know what Quirks you all have! What?!" Eijiro heard as he finally reached him.
"Hey! Todoroki chose his team already! Bakugo, team up with me!"
"Shitty Hair."
"I'm Kirishima! At least try to remember! My hair’s not that different from yours!" Eijiro locked eyes with Bakugo. "You're gonna be the rider, right? Then who'll be a front horse that can take your blasts?" He hardened one of his arms and grinned.
"Someone with guts," Everyone who was previously asking to be on Bakugo's team was watching them with quiet interest.
"Not really, but yeah! Me, with my hardening! I'll be a horse that'll never waver! You're gonna get it, right? The ten million?" Eijiro stepped closer, and Bakugo gave him a smirk.
*
"I'll be a horse that'll never waver!"
Katsuki felt the coals light a fire in his chest again. Yes, fuck yes, this is what he needed. Someone who thoroughly understood his goals and could take his explosions without complaining. He could see the fire in Shitty Hair– Kirishima's eyes again, and Katsuki smirked.
"You're in," Kirishima's grin somehow got bigger, and he turned to look at Raccoon Eyes, then back at him.
"We need Ashido on our team! Let her show her your quirk, man, it's so cool!" Kirishima looked at him for approval, and he just nodded. Kirishima smiled again and then stood next to him. "Go ahead, Ashido!" She moved in front of them and secreted a greenish-white liquid from her hands, letting it fall to the ground and burn through it. She then did what Katsuki could only describe as skating on the acid-like liquid.
"My quirk is acid if you couldn't already tell! I can secrete it from my hands and feet and use it to maneuver! I could burn through Todoroki's ice no problem!" She stood in front of him and Kirishima smiling. Katsuki nodded.
"Yes!! Sero, come here. I have an idea!" Kirishima called Flat Face over, whispered to him a bit, and then turned back to Katsuki. "Sero's quirk is tape! He can dispense tape from his elbows, and I had this great idea! Technically, as long as you don't touch the ground, we're still in and not disqualified. So, if you used your explosions to launch yourself at teams and then steal their points, Sero could help you land safely without touching the ground!" Katsuki smirked again.
"Hell yeah. I like how you think, Shitty Hair." Yeah, he knew Kirishima's name, but it wouldn't hurt to fuck with him just a little.
"Seriously, dude?! I told you my name is Kirishima!" He laughed as he said it, somehow knowing that Katsuki was messing with him. "Anyway, I already know Todoroki's team since he picked people fast. He's got Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari with him."
"Who?" His three teammates stared at him, but Kirishima recovered the quickest.
"Four Eyes, Ponytail, Dunce Face." Kirishima sighed.
"Oh." It made sense. Four Eyes quirk was the best for a front horse because of his speed, and Dunce Face could be really powerful if they found a way to protect themselves from him. That and defense are probably what Ponytail is for.
"How did you know his nicknames for them?!"
"You seriously only know Yaomomo by her ponytail?!" As they continued to talk, Katsuki looked over to where Deku was, wondering who the hell would team with him. Unsurprisingly, Round Face was there, and that pink-haired girl from the support course was talking to him. Deku would probably get another teammate for defense, but Katsuki didn't have time to figure out who it'd be. He had a plan to explain to his team.
As the fifteen minutes ended, Katsuki checked on Deku's team again. Bird Face. So that was his defense. That shadow bird could protect them from all sides and change shape, meaning it could easily cover an entire side of the team or one focused point. He was glad for Kirishima's idea with Flat Face. It meant they could try and distract the shadow bird with Raccoon Eyes's acid so that Katsuki could take the band with almost no problems. Katsuki cracked his knuckles.
"We're aiming for one thing." As every team raced towards Deku, he knew he had to hang back a bit. He needed to see what that support course girl brought to the table, and if he blasted off from his team and stole for points immediately, it'd be much harder to get back to them without getting his points stolen or touching the ground. Soon he saw Deku's team flying in the air, the shadow bird looking around on all sides to defend them. So, the support girl gave them her weird air boots and a jet pack. If he remembers right, Round Face has some anti-gravity thing going on, so they probably used that to make the gear and themselves lighter, making it easier to maneuver in the air. Katsuki was racing that Kirishima rip-off for Deku's headband as he watched Arm Guy running full speed at Deku. Round Face seemed stuck by that Grape Creep's quirk, but they were quickly back in the air. This was his time to strike. No one else could get him that far up. Katsuki launched himself into the sky after Deku, planning to surprise them.
"Don't get carried away!" He was right in front of Deku now, looking like he was about to take the headband, but he knew the bird would be right on him. He worked up a big explosion, hitting the shadow bird just like he wanted it to, but the bird didn't die or disappear as he wanted, it just got smaller. Damn it. Katsuki let himself get pulled back down by Flat Faces tape, landing sideways with an arm on Kirishima's shoulder. Deku's team landed as Katsuki fixed his position. He told Kirishima and the rest to continue chasing Deku, but then some asshole took his headband.
"Class A is too simple-minded," The asshole said.
"He got us!"
"What'd you say, bastard? Give that back, I'll kill you!"
"Since Midnight said it was the first game, it wouldn't make a ton of sense for them to cut a ton of people in the qualifier, right? Assuming they'd keep about forty people for the next stage, we just made sure we stayed within that number as we ran, observing from the back the Quirks and personalities of those who would be our rivals. There's no point in being obsessive over winning the prelims, right?" Katsuki wanted to explode this guy's fucking face off.
"You did this as a class?"
"Well, it wasn't a consensus, but it was a good idea, right?" The 1-B asshole put the headband around his neck as one of his teammates tapped him.
"Hey, they're coming."
"It's better than going after a temporary 'top' like a horse with a carrot waving in front of its face. Oh, while I'm at it, you're famous, aren't you?" Katsuki glared at him, and if looks could kill, this asshole would be six feet under. "As the victim of the sludge incident! Tell me about it sometime- About how it feels to be attacked by villains once a year," This asshole was smirking. He's fucking dead.
"Kirishima... change of plans..." Katsuki smirked despite his anger and made a few small warning explosions, warming his hands up again. "Before we get Deku, let's kill all these guys!" This motherfucker was doomed.
"Monoma, don't provoke him! You'll be the same as him," The same as him? This asshole was nothing like him and never would be.
"That's right, it wouldn't become a hero. Besides, don't you often hear about heroes who get done in by villains who want revenge?" Did this asshole refer to him as it?
"Bakugo, calm down! If you don't calm down, we won't be able to get the points back!" Katsuki looked at Kirishima and saw the hatred in his eyes. He hated this guy just as much as him. Good. Katsuki made another warning explosion, bigger this time.
"Forward, Kirishima! Right now, I'm totally calm!"
"We're seriously counting on you!"
"Go!" His teammates ran as fast as they could while holding Katsuki up, and he built up an explosion. "DIE!!" The asshole quickly dodged but touched his arm, still fucking smirking. As they passed him, he turned back but was immediately met with an explosion to the face.
"Wow, what a nice Quirk!" Katsuki watched him hit Kirishima's hair and shook his head.
"That's my-"
"Bakugo, someone has the same Quirk as you, too?"
"DAMN IT!" Katsuki sent another explosion his way, but when the smoke cleared, his skin was hardened.
"Really, such nice Quirks. Mine’s better, though.
"What...? Mine?! The same again-?"
"No. This guy copied them."
"That's right! Well, even an idiot can figure it out, huh?" Smug bastard. Katsuki was about to fuckin' explode him again when a weird liquid pushed them back. "Bondo! Picking a fight, huh?"
"Monoma, we just have to keep from getting caught now. With this many points, we'll definitely make it into the top four!" The Copy Bastard's team turned around and started leaving.
"After them!"
"It's solidifying! I can't move!" Katsuki looked down to see Kirishima's entire bottom right leg encased in that weird cement-like liquid.
"Wait a sec! I'll melt it with my Quirk!"
"Hurry! We've got zero points right now, hurry!" Copy Bastard turned around as his team continued to move forward.
"Oh, don't get mad at me," He made a small explosion. "You're the one who provoked us, right? What did you say for the pledge again? That embarrassing thing, let me think... Oh well, you've done enough for today!" Katsuki couldn't bring himself to care about what Deku and Todoroki were up to right now. This asshole needed to die. Katsuki was once again glad that he had Kirishima as a teammate. He seemed to know exactly what Katsuki's goals were and picked people he knew would help him get there. Once Kirishima's leg was free, they chased after Copy Bastard, and Katsuki waited until he was close enough to launch himself off his teammates again.
"Wait! I said, wait!" He yelled.
"Jeez, so persistent. As a hero, not to mention as a person, that persistence will-" His sentence was cut off by Katsuki launching himself towards him.
"Don't act on your own, Bakugo!" Kirishima yelled.
"Tsuburaba! Guard!" One of Copy Bastard's teammates made a weird air wall and blocked Katsuki. Katsuki punched at it until it finally broke and grabbed the headbands from that bastard's neck. Flat Face caught him with his tape again, and he was pulled back to his team. Shit, he only got two, and neither were his original band.
"I told you to say something if you're gonna jump!"
"But this means we'll definitely get through to the next round-"
"Not yet!" Katsuki hit Kirishima's head repeatedly, knowing he'd harden it.
"What?!"
"We're gonna get an indisputable first place!" He hit Kirishima on the head a few more times before speaking again. "I couldn't brace myself enough earlier on my own! Go!" His teammates sped up immediately. "We'll get our points back, too, and then go for the ten million!"
"Jeez..." Flat Face said, but Katsuki could tell he was smiling.
"Flat Face! Tape!" Katsuki lifted his leg to let him aim better.
"It's Sero!"
"Raccoon Eyes! Lay down a weak dissolving solution in the direction we're going!" Katsuki lifted his leg again as Raccoon Eyes took a hand off Kirishima's shoulder.
"My name's Ashido Mina!" As she laid down the solution, Katsuki used his explosions to propel them closer to that Copy Bastard, exploding the solid air immediately and snatching the headband back. He turned his attention to the wall of ice.
"Next, We're going to where Deku and Todoroki are!" With less than ten seconds left, he launched himself away from his team again the moment Raccoon Eyes melted the ice. "DAMN DEKU!"
"Bakugo!" Kirishima called out to him, still wanting him to give some warning. Katsuki looked between the two teams, trying to figure out who had the band.
"The ten million points are...?" He launched himself to the right. "Half 'n' Half bastard!!" Before he could even get within arms reach of the headband, Present Mic announced that time was up. Katsuki let himself fall straight to the ground.
"Bakugo!"
"You okay?" Katsuki didn't care to answer Kirishima's question, instead hitting his fist on the ground.
"Ah, we were so close!"
"Well, second place isn't bad. All's well that ends well."
"Do you really think that's how he feels?" Katsuki screamed at the ground in frustration, and under all his anger, he was slightly surprised that Kirishima didn't agree with Flat Face. He heard Kirishima walk towards him and sit down. "Hey, I know we didn't get first, but we were so close! If time hadn't run out, we totally would have won. I'm glad we got to stick it to that Monoma bastard, though. He was being a real asshole," Katsuki smirked at that.
"Yeah, he was. He needed to be put in his place," Kirishima tilted his fist towards Katsuki, and he hesitantly knocked the back of his hand against Kirishima's. The redhead just beamed at him and then patted his back.
"C'mon, let's get some food! Gonna need it for the next game." Katsuki stood up and stretched his arms.
"I'll get food in a bit. I'm gonna go do something first."
"Oh, ok! Try to find me after, I'll save some for you!" Kirishima flashed him another smile and joined Raccoon Eyes and Flat Face. Katsuki kind of wanted to follow him, but he needed a break from all these people, he needed to blow something up.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop on Deku and Todoroki, but oh well. He did go and find Kirishima after, who did actually have some food saved for him. As he walked back onto the field with him, he noticed that the girls from 1-A were dressed in cheerleading uniforms. It was probably that Grape Creep's doing, the bastard. Present Mic explained the last game, and Katsuki could feel the coals flaming the fire again.
"The last round is a tournament where we fight one-on-one, huh? I'm gonna stand on the stage that I watch every year on TV!" Kirishima smiled again, and Katsuki couldn't help but grin as well.
"Was it a tournament last year?"
"It's different every year, but there's a one-on-one competition every time. Last year, it was a sports chanbara match." Midnight announced that they'd be drawing lots before the recreational games started and that it was optional for the finalists. Before anyone could draw lots, Tail Boy and another guy said they wanted to withdraw.
"What's with these guys?! They're so manly!" Did Kirishima have tears in his eyes? Why is he so comfortable with being so open? Midnight let them withdraw, and they got replaced with half of that Kirishima rip-off's team. Dammit, Katsuki didn't want to deal with him anymore. When the bracket got revealed, Kirishima groaned. "Again?! This is too redundant!" Katsuki couldn't agree more.
When he found his name and his opponent's, he didn't recognize the name. "Huh? Uraraka?" Kirishima turned to him with a curious look on his face and then smiled.
"Round Face," He sighed but was still smiling.
"Oh. I'll kick her ass. You better win yours, Shitty Hair. I'm not fighting that goddamn rip-off," Kirishima smiled at him.
"You got it, Bakugo!" Katsuki nodded and went to lean his head against the wall. God, it was so fuckin' loud, and his plan to get away from people for a bit didn't work well. As the start of the tournament was called, he made his way up to the stands where the finalists sat, Kirishima sitting in front of him while Dunce Face was seated next to him. His fight with Round Face was last, meaning he could watch everyone beat each other's asses before he won. He watched the matches as silently as possible, using whatever the hell Kirishima and Dunce Face talked about as background noise, trying his best to ignore Deku's annoying ass muttering. Finally, Kirishima was up against that rip-off.
*
After winning his first match by arm wrestling and watching Bakugo win against Uraraka, Eijiro was pumped. The fire was burning in his chest, and he couldn't wait to fight him. As he finally reached the stands, he realized he had missed part of Midoriya and Todoroki's fight.
"It started?!"
"Kirishima, good job making it to the second round!" Kaminari and Sero smiled at him, and he gave one in return.
"Yeah, I'll be up against you next, Bakugo. You better not hold back!"
"I'll kill you." Eijiro laughed.
"I'd like to see you try! But man, you and Todoroki can both shoot off powerful attacks that cover a lot of ground. Like, 'Bam!'" Eijiro flicked out his hands like Bakugo's explosions and then made a bigger one with both.
"And you can do it with no time lag," Sero added.
"I'm not just shooting them off. Don't underestimate 'em. If you overuse your muscles, the muscle fibers tear, and if you keep running, you'll run out of breath. Quirks are a physical ability too. They must have some kind of limit," So that's why he's always making more minor explosions before his big ones.
"If I think about it like that, I guess that makes sense. Then, against the instant-killer Todoroki, Midoriya wants... an endurance match?" Eijiro looked back to Bakugo, who just nodded. He sat in front of him and let himself be sucked into his classmate's fight.
Finally, it was Eijiro against Bakugo. After Todoroki won his match, Ejiro had been vibrating in his seat from anticipation for his. As he stepped to the opposite side of the battlefield, the fire came back, and it was raging. Eijiro quickly went on the offense, only hardening what he'd hit Bakugo with and where he predicted Bakugo would try and hit him.
"Take this!" Eijiro landed a hit, but it was honestly more of a cut. He'd take it, though. As Bakugo dodged, he exploded Eijiro's side, and luckily he had guessed correctly, so it did no damage. "That won't work on me, Explosion Boy!" Eijiro considers it payback for calling him Shitty Hair. Eijiro continued to punch at Bakugo, not landing a hit but making him go on the defensive. He knew it'd be hard to get Bakugo out of bounds since he could launch himself with his explosions, but even if he couldn't, he wouldn't go for that strategy. He knew what kind of end Bakugo wanted this match to have, and he couldn't agree more. He'd need to knock Bakugo out. Bakugo countered again, this time Eijiro's other side, and dammit, it did some damage. Eijiro had hardened his entire body the moment he got Bakugo on the defensive, and it slowly got less and less hard as he focused more of his power on his fists.
"You've been straining to keep your whole body rock-hard this whole time, right? If you attack quickly in that state, sooner or later, it'll start coming apart!" Bakugo let out a massive explosion, and by hardening his arm and face, using it to block, he could defend against it. But then Bakugo sent out rapid-fire explosions, all as big as the first one, and dwindled his defenses.
"You little-"
"The finishing blow! DIE!" Bakugo sent out an even bigger explosion, knocking Eijiro back and onto the ground. "Well, I understand why you wouldn't want a drawn-out match with me, though," Even as he lay immobilized on the ground, Eijiro still felt the fire raging inside him. He may have lost, but that fight was amazing, and he'd be damned if he didn't fight Bakugo again. As Recovery Girl healed him, he felt like something was pulling him toward Bakugo.
He watched as Bakugo won against Tokoyami and again against Todoroki. The latter hadn't used his fire like he did with Midoriya, which pissed Bakugo off. Then Midnight made Bakugo pass out, and Eijiro felt that pull again, and decided to follow where they were taking him before someone died. When Bakugo woke up, he looked close to exploding the entire stadium, so Eijiro quickly tried to calm him down.
"Hey, Bakugo, don't blow anything up yet- I know your match against Todoroki sucked 'cause he didn't use his fire and give it his all, which was stupid 'cause it just made him lose- but you gotta calm down!" Bakugo was making small explosions in his hands and glaring at Eijiro and the two teachers in the room.
"Why the hell are you here?! And why the fuck should I calm down? That asshole wasn't using his full power! Half 'n' Half bastard!" As Bakugo's explosions got bigger, one of the teachers sighed.
"We'll have to restrain him on the podium."
"What? What the hell, why?!" Bakugo demanded.
"Dude, it's cause you won't calm down! You're still making explosions! I don't want to see you restrained, man. Work with me here!" Eijiro watched as Bakugo considered it, but his explosions didn't stop. Eventually, they got bigger, and Bakugo turned to the teachers.
"I fuckin' DARE you to restrain me on that podium. I'm gonna beat that Half 'n' Half bastard's ass the moment I see him!" Eijiro sighed along with the teachers and left after Midnight told him to so she could make Bakugo pass out again and they could restrain him. When he was revealed on the podium, he was even more angry. As he listened to his classmate's confusion, he sighed.
"He's been struggling ever since waking up, but man, he's all over the place..." He could hear Bakugo yelling, though he couldn't tell what he was saying thanks to the restraint. Eijiro remembers what Monoma had said during the cavalry battle about Bakugo being a celebrity because of the sludge villain... Shit. Bakugo was probably having some sort of panic attack up there because of the restraints, and it didn't help that he woke up to them. He hoped that All Might would award them quickly so he could make sure Bakugo was okay, even if he knew that he'd never actually say if he wasn't or not. As All Might went up to Bakugo, he took off the face restraint and clearly wasn't fully prepared for the yelling about to go down.
"All Might... First place like this... ISNT WORTH ANYTHING! EVEN IF THR WORLD RECOGNIZES IT IF I DON'T RECOGNIZE IT MYSELF, THEN ITS TRASH!" Even as Bakugo yelled, All Might tried to get him to take the medal. "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT IT!" Eijiro had to move to see around All Might, who was fighting with Bakugo to get it on him. "I TOLD YOU, I DON'T WANT IT!!" All Might put the medal in Bakugo's mouth and then gave up, and the blond boy just clamped his mouth down.
Once the ceremony was over, everyone was told to change into their school uniforms and go to their classrooms. The entire time Bakugo was shaking, and he couldn't tell if it was from anger or the possible panic attack he was trying to fight. Mr. Aizawa explained that there would be no school for the next two days, giving them time to relax. After that, they were allowed to leave, and Eijiro waited until Bakugo left the classroom to follow, giving the other boy time before he inevitably annoyed the hell out of him.
"Bakugo, wait!" Bakugo faltered for a second before continuing to walk, only slightly slower. When Eijiro caught up, he sighed. "Bakugo, you good, man? That restraining stuff was so dumb, I know you were aggressive, but I don't think waking up all chained up made it any better," Bakugo grunted in what Eijiro guessed was agreement, the medal still in his mouth. "Our fight was fun, though, right? I kinda wanna do it again. Maybe we could spar over break or something?" Eijiro smiled as Bakugo looked at him and nodded. Eijiro laughed and put his arm around the other boy's shoulder. "Hell yeah, man!" Bakugo finally stopped shaking and the tension in his shoulders subsided. Eijiro smiled knowing that in some way he'd helped. As Eijiro felt the pull and the fire again, he could only think of one thing. Bakugo Katsuki was about to become his best friend, Eijiro was sure of it.