Chapter 32: The Manly Hero.
As my name and Bakugo's was announced I stood there as my heart raced with both excitement and slight nervousness.
This is it.
The battle I have been waiting for, the battle to prove to my self that I also could be a hero.
"Yo Ejiro it's your turn now!" Harue's voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah Spiky-Head your turn now, hope you dont lose like I did!" Mina cheerful voice rang out as well.
"I will try my best, Bakugo is a tough guy!!"
"Well good luck then Ejiro, show me if you have become the manly hero that you've wanted." Harue smiled at me as I pumped my fist in response.
"Watch and see dude, I will show you guys a Manly and exciting fight!!!"
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["LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Get ready to make some NOISE!!"]
Present Mic's voice echoed across the stadium, practically shaking the stands with its intensity. The crowd's roar surged to deafening levels as he continued,
["In this corner — the explosive, hot-headed dynamo! He's blown through the competition with a BANG and he's not slowing down anytime soon — give it up for KATSUKI BAKUGO!!"]
Bakugo stormed onto the battlefield, hands in his pockets, his expression a scowl of pure intent. His palms hissed with pressure, steam rolling off them like an animal straining at the leash. Every step he took carried a promise of violence.
["And in the other corner — the hard-hitting, rock-solid hero hopeful! He's tanked every blow and kept standing like a true wall of JUSTICE — it's EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!!"]
I emerged from the tunnel, pounding a fist into my palm. My body wasn't tense with nerves. I was fired up — bones buzzing, blood burning. This was the fight I'd trained for.
The kind of battle that would prove I belonged here with the best. I locked eyes with Bakugo. No fear. Not from him — and not from me.
Midnight raised her hand between us. "BEGIN!"
Bakugo moved first — no hesitation, just raw aggression and perfect aim. He launched into the air with a concussive burst, spinning like a missile, and slammed toward me.
I hardened instantly, bracing myself with arms crossed. The explosion struck and pushed me back, but I didn't fall. He wanted me down fast. Not happening.
Before I could counter, he was in the air again, bounding across craters of his own making. Each move was fast — but not wild. His movements were precise. Efficient. This wasn't just power — it was skill. A predator's intelligence. He was herding me, testing how I blocked, seeing where I left openings.
I swung when he faked left — but he was already flipping over me, a blast striking my shoulder. It cracked my defense for a moment.
He landed a few solid hits, but I refused to give ground. I rolled with the pain, forced him back with wild but heavy swings, and chased him across the ring. I wasn't just some wall. I could move too.
The moment he hung in the air too long after a blast, I stepped in and nailed him with a straight right hook.
CRACK!
The hit landed flush. His jaw twisted from the blow and he careened backwards, tumbling before righting himself mid-air with a blast. He hit the ground and skidded, breathing hard.
He touched his lip and looked at the blood.
His eyes narrowed. "You wanna land real hits you bastard? Fine."
Suddenly, the air filled with smoke and concussive shockwaves. He attacked from angles I didn't expect — above, behind, to the side. I couldn't keep up with all of it. My arms throbbed from blocking, and I knew he was only just heating up. I grit my teeth and kept pushing forward, trying to predict him. I wasn't fast enough to counter every move, but I wasn't going to fold.
He shouted through the chaos, "You think grit is enough to win?! This is a battle, not a training ground!"
"Then I'll treat it like one!" I yelled, charging in. "I'll break through like a real hero would!"
He blasted in again, palms blazing, and we collided in the middle. Punch met explosion, sound swallowed by roaring fire and breaking stone. The ring beneath us crumbled. My muscles screamed, and yet I smiled.
Because I wasn't going to fall before I gave him everything.
And then it happened.
I felt it — that moment where everything inside screamed to be more. Stronger. Harder. Unbreakable.
I shouted to the skies, and my body responded. My skin shimmered into jagged, polished rock — tougher, sharper, more brutal than before.
"UNBREAKABLE!!"
The crowd lost its mind.
I rocketed forward, my fists cutting through the smoke. Bakugo fired at point-blank — it hurt — but I didn't stop. I was the damn avalanche. My punch hit center mass and sent him flying.
He skidded again, gasping, stumbling to his feet. I chased him down — fast — swung once more, but the shimmer faded. Five seconds. That's all I had.
Bakugo dodged the final swing, spun, and blasted me in the back.
BOOM!
I slammed into the dirt, breath knocked out of me, and for the first time in the match — I stayed down.
"ONE!"
I coughed, vision spinning.
"TWO! THREE!"
My arms moved, shaky.
"FOUR! FIVE! SIX!"
I was almost there.
"SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!"
I stood. Stumbled.
"…TEN! OUT! Winner: KATSUKI BAKUGO!!"
As I began to fall back down a shadowy figure caught me.
As I looked up, there he was.
Bakugo.
"You should have stayed down dumbass" he exclaimed in his usual scowl.
"But still.." He said as a smirk made its way onto his face.
"That was a good fight."
Heh I guess he isn't always an angry asshole.
But he was right. That truly was a manly fight.
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Present Mic, still buzzing with energy, shouted into the mic, "WHAT A BATTLE, FOLKS!! Let's hear it again for the most explosive showdown of the day — Bakugo may have won, but Kirishima proved he's not someone to take lightly!"
The roar reached all the way down the hall — echoing through the concrete like a pulse. Kirishima could hear every bit of it. The clapping. The chanting. The energy.
His name.
"Kirishima! Kirishima!"
He leaned back against the wall and exhaled slowly, letting it all sink in. He didn't need to be on the field to know. He could feel it. They saw him. Not just as the guy who stood around and tanked hits. Not just the tough one.
As a real damn fighter.
He cracked a grin through the pain, blood crusting at the corner of his lip.
"…Heh. Guess I didn't embarrass myself after all."
End of the chapter.