The open field that had been brimming with both life and thrill... had turned dead silent upon Aizawa-sensei's sudden intervention.
No one spoke a word—no one dared to utter a breath. They were all in complete shock, eyes widening and mouths hanging in pure disbelief.
Even Izuku went wide-eyed, not expecting this very outcome.
His whole right arm—the same one still holding onto the softball—was bound and restrained by the once lazy-eyed teacher's living cloth...!
"Aizawa-sensei... what did you say?" he inquired, still unable to believe his ears.
"You deaf or something, kid?" Aizawa-sensei retorted, maintaining his sharp, scrutinizing gaze. "You are expelled."
His confirmation only brought another sharp jolt to the already suffocating air...
Izuku tried to pull his right arm back, but... Aizawa held firm—! Gripping the rein of his binding cloth with both hands, and restraining Izuku as though he were handling a villain...!
Izuku then turned toward the unblinking teacher... eyes narrowed.
"'Expelled,' you say?" he repeated quietly. "...Why?"
"You really are deaf. I already said the reason—you are not U.A.'s Hero Major material. So... you are expelled."
"...On what basis?" Izuku pressed, eyebrow raised in cool disbelief. "How am I not 'Hero Major material' you speak of?"
But his calm inquiry was only met with a scoff.
"I don't have any obligation to tell you, kid," Aizawa-sensei affirmed with a tone of finality, "so get the hell out of this institute—"
"The hell did you just say?!"
Katsuki's shout cut through the field like an explosion—! Shocking everyone near her!
She had already stepped forward from the sideline—fists clenched tight with rage as sparks of ignition crackled violently around her palms...!
"'Not Hero Major material,' you say? Like hell he wasn't!" she snarled at Aizawa-sensei. "You got a damn rotten mouth, you damn hobo! Who the fuck gave you the right to decide who can or can't be a hero?!"
"Kacchan...!?"
Izuku was genuinely startled as well, taken aback by his childhood friend's sudden intervention.
She was hot on her heels as she stormed toward the teacher—her palms snapped back with a sharp motion...!
"Take that back!" she roared in unrestrained fury. "Or I'm gonna—"
FWIP—!
Two lengths of capture cloth tore across the air like striking serpents—!
They coiled around her in the blink of an eye, winding both arms and torso tight in an unyielding bind—clamping down before she could ignite another blast...!
"W-wha—?!"
"Stand down, Bakugou," Aizawa-sensei's voice cut through, low and unshaken.
He released one hand from Izuku's restraint, only to grip down harder on Bakugou's—!
"What—?!" Katsuki jerked, fury flashing into shock as the bindings cinched tighter, locking her in place. "You—!"
But before she could unleash her explosion quirk—
"—!"
She felt it—a sudden jolt up her spine, the hairs at the back of her neck standing on end...!
But that was not all.
Her palms, which had been sputtering with a small crackle of ignition... stopped cold.
No heat. No explosion. Nothing.
Only the sound of her restraints tightening...!
"...What...?!"
Shock bled into horror as she realized she couldn't feel the once natural pulse of her quirk—!
"My—my Quirk—!?"
"Are all of you brats deaf?"
"H-huh...?"
She looked back at the one holding her restraints...
Aizawa's bang had lifted, revealing his eyes fully visible—! His pupils glowed with an almost unnatural red...!
"Bakugou, I hate repeating myself," Aizawa said flatly, sparing her a glance as the cloth tightened a notch, "so I'll warn you one last time—stand down."
His words carried a finality that froze her for a breath, leaving her dumbfounded—
However—
"...You think I'm just gonna stand down?"
Katsuki's hesitation was short-lived...!
Even stripped of her quirk—the very embodiment of her drive—her body refused to give in!
"You think I'm just gonna let you run your damn mouth—?!"
She writhed against the cloth, muscles straining, teeth grit in raw defiance—!
"—When you're spouting bullshit about Izuku not being hero material!?!"
"—! Damn it, kid—!"
Aizawa's grip snapped tighter—! The capture cloth constricted, biting into her arms and coiling with merciless strength—!
But—
"...What in the...?"
His eyes narrowed... before widened as he felt the bindings of his capture cloth... shifted!
"G-gugh...!!!"
With a guttural snarl, Katsuki was slowly forcing them apart—inch by inch—her raw strength straining the cloth like it was about to snap—!
"Tch! Damn brat—!"
He flicked his wrist—Izuku's bindings slackened as more cloth lashed out, doubling down on Katsuki instead, pulling them taut with brutal force!
"Keep pushing, and I'll make it real simple for you, Bakugou," Aizawa warned, voice cold. "Resist again, you'll be expelled right alongside Midoriya...!"
But... his words didn't deter her.
Her glare burned hotter, her body thrashing like a wild animal refusing its cage...!
"Ugh—! Like I give a damn...!" she spat through gritted teeth. "If U.A. can't see what he's worth—then none of you bastards deserve him...! A-agh...!!!"
Her voice cracked through the silence, fierce and unyielding...! She even bit down on the cloth itself, tearing through some of the fibers with sheer, rabid rage—!
But then—
"Katsuki."
"—!"
That voice—!
Her head snapped toward him—
Toward Izuku.
And she saw... his face.
It wasn't filled with anger. Not fear. Not despair. Not even frustration.
Instead... it was...
Relief.
Relief that no matter what... she still had his back.
"Let me handle this... alright?" he said quietly—voice steady, eyes unwavering. "I'm not quitting on being a hero anytime soon... so, trust me."
Her eyes locked onto his—just for a heartbeat—as if the two shared a wordless understanding.
And she could see it.
The unshaken resolve burning within him.
"...Tch."
She clicked her tongue, averting her gaze.
"Fine."
And just like that, she stopped resisting.
Her muscles eased, and the bindings loosened as Aizawa sensed her hostility fade.
Everyone was... baffled by the intense confrontation, still frozen in silence, unable to do anything but remain bystanders.
But it was pretty clear that Izuku and Katsuki had a relationship unlike any other...
Much to the unease of Ochako, who held a rather complex feeling—
A feeling of helplessness, that she couldn't stand up for Izuku's sake... and a pang of envy, seeing the bond those two childhood friends shared.
And then... Izuku broke the silence.
"Aizawa-sensei... I can still call you 'sensei' here, right?" Izuku asked lightly, his tone almost playful toward the now lazy-eyed teacher.
The latter remained silent, still holding the capture cloth tight around Izuku's right arm.
"...I understand if you deem me 'not suited' for the Hero Major," Izuku continued regardless, "after all—that is a judgment you've made as an instructor of U.A.'s Hero Major itself."
"..."
"And that means you have the right to expel students you decide aren't worth the investment... correct?"
"..."
"So... with that, you've expelled me, and... I don't really mind accepting that."
"...What?"
Aizawa—and everyone else—were stunned, caught off guard that Izuku had so suddenly accepted his expulsion without resistance.
"I-Izuku...?!" Katsuki choked out, her voice cracking as she was confused and even scared by his sudden statement. "W-what are you saying—"
"BUT I REFUSE TO LEAVE—!!!"
His voice thundered out loud throughout the whole open field! Everyone flinched—shocked once more by his sudden outburst!
"I will not leave this institute WITHOUT hearing a proper reason!" Izuku declared, locking eyes with Aizawa. "You said I wasn't 'Hero Major material,' right? I want to hear directly from your own mouth 'why.'"
Aizawa stared back at him with an incredulous look, as though Izuku had become more of a nuisance than anything else.
With a sigh... he palmed his face, clearly not wanting to deal with the boy's persistence.
"I already told you: I don't have any obligation to explain—"
"I REFUSE YOUR REFUSAL!"
"...What?"
"Like I've already told you too: I'm not leaving this institute without a proper reason," Izuku pressed adamantly, his words sharp and unshaken. "So, either tell me why you judged me as not 'Hero Major material,' or... I'll refuse to acknowledge the expulsion altogether~."
A vein throbbed on Aizawa's temple, his patience thinning as Izuku only grew more insistent.
The two locked eyes in a tense stand-off, neither willing to yield their ground...
Ultimately—
"Ugh...! Fine!"
Aizawa finally relented, rubbing the bridge of his nose from the headache of dealing with Izuku—much to the boy's barely hidden triumph—his face grinning with smug satisfaction.
"...You're going to leave after this, right?"
"Depends if your reasoning is 'reasonable,' Aizawa-sensei~."
Aizawa was tempted to just walk away then and there—but he knew the stubborn brat wouldn't stop pestering him regardless.
So, with a quiet exhale, he raised his hand—lifting two fingers toward Izuku.
"...There are two reasons."