The two forces collided mid-air.
KRAAAACK!
The resulting explosion sent a shockwave rippling across the entire stadium.
"So strong!"
"Damn. Just the shockwaves are this fierce!"
"Are these seriously first years?"
The audience shielded their faces as dust spread across the arena.
"Come on, Deku..."
Uraraka gripped the railings, her knuckles turning white.
Iida adjusted his glasses.
"Midoriya is at a severe disadvantage. Bakugo's mobility allows him to dictate the pace entirely."
Kirishima nodded grimly. "Yeah. And Midoriya's quirk is too slow. Every time he fires, Bakugo's already moved."
Aizawa thought the same thing. 'His power is weaker, but at least he isn't a one time consumable anymore.' Compared to the last battle Training, and the USJ, he had improved, though not much.
'But it's gonna take more than that to win.'
Present Mic yelled in the commentators booth.
"WHAT A CLASH OF POWERS. WHO CAME OUT ON TOP?"
The smoke cleared to show two figures.
Katsuki Bakugo, standing without so much as breaking a sweat.
On the other end, Midoriya was on the ground, clutching his broken hand. Four fingers turned purple.
"Come on Deku ..."
The voice fell into his ears, causing him to clench his fist. "... Don't you want to be a hero? To stand up to me?"
Bakugo raised a hand sparking with explosions. "Are you going to give up now?"
His grin was feral.
Midoriya's breath trembled as he pushed himself upright, every movement sending needles of pain through his ruined hand.
"I… I'm not..." he wheezed, "...giving up."
Bakugo's eye twitched.
"Then SHOW ME!" Bakugo blasted forward. Midoriya fired his finger at point blank range. Or what should have been point blank as Bakugo fired and explosion to dodge overhead at the last second.
Midoriya's eyes widened as the Shockwave missed.
The next moment, two hands form gripped bus hair and collar.
"Show me why you suddenly think you're on my level—after YEARS of lagging BEHIND!"
Bakugo landed and lifted Midoriya over his shoulder, then slammed him on the concrete.
BANG!
"Ugh!"
Midoriya bounced off the earth, waves of pain radiating throughout his very being. 'I .. I can't hit ..'
Bakugo's palms lit up with sweltering heat. Without waiting, he slammed his palm directly on his body.
Midoriya blocked with an arm.
BOOM!
A loud explosion resounded, with Midoriya's body flying out of the smoke cloud. He crashed, bounced off the earth, and crashed against before coming to a sliding halt.
Silence engulfed the arena.
"Ha .. Ha .." save for Bakugo's light pants. He didn't say a word, watching Midoriya's unmoving body for a while before snorting.
"That .. is the difference between us, you .." His words stopped abruptly.
Exclamatioms rang through the stadium.
"He ... He's moving .."
"He's getting back up."
Midoriya pushed himself upright, trembling like a newborn fawn. Blood trickled from his busted lips. His broken fingers dangled. His chest rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths.
But he stood.
A collective hiss rippled across the stadium.
"That's— that's not normal," someone whispered.
"How is he still moving?"
"That should've put down a pro!"
Uraraka clasped both hands over her mouth. "Deku… please… stop pushing yourself so hard…"
Beside her, Iida's jaw clenched. "Midoriya… your resolve is admirable. But—!"
Kirishima felt chills crawl down his spine. "Man… he's… he's so damn tough."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed. 'This is… dangerous. He's holding himself together through sheer will.'
Hana swallowed, hugging her arms.
"This is— this is too much. How is he—he shouldn't even be conscious…"
Yuta didn't answer at first. His eyes were locked on Midoriya, expression darkening.
'This is worse than I thought.'
'He's pushing One For All past its limits again. Even with Izuku's insane pain tolerance… his body can't sustain many more hits like that. If Bakugo keeps landing direct explosions…'
If he could see this, others could as well.
"Midnight. Do I stop the match?"
Cementoss uttered through the Comms
"That Midoriya probably thinks "Recovery girl will heal me anyway," but I don't think his body can take much more of this. At this rate, he probably won't be able to fight in the next round even if he wins."
Midnight frowned.
"Worse. This could cripple him if it goes too far."
Even Present Mic hesitated, voice shaky for once.
"UH—W-WELL, FOLKS—MIDORIYA… IS SOMEHOW STILL STANDING! THAT'S—THAT'S RIGHT! HE'S BACK ON HIS FEET! THIS MATCH ISN'T OVER YET."
He uttered, only to meet Aizawa's deadpan stare. "Mic. ..."
"WHAT?"
Bakugo's reaction was nothing like theirs.
He stared.
Chest rising and falling—not from exhaustion, but from something far more volatile. Confusion. Frustration. Anger. Something deeper beneath all of it.
"What… what is WRONG with you?" Bakugo muttered.
Midoriya lifted his head, sweat and dirt dripping from his chin.
"I…" he breathed, "…I'm not done yet, Kacchan."
Bakugo's eye twitched. He took a step forward.
"Why?" Bakugo spat, voice low, dangerously close to cracking. "Why do you keep standing?!"
Midoriya's lips trembled.
"Because…" he panted, "…there's something I have to prove."
Bakugo froze.
Midoriya looked up, eyes burning with an earnestness that hit harder than any punch.
"That I can walk this path too, Kacchan. Even if I fall a hundred times… even if it breaks me…"
His hand flickered with rainbow streaks of energy.
His good leg lit up with the same glow.
"…I will keep trying. I won't stay behind you forever."
The arena went dead silent.
No cheers. No gasps.
Just tension. Raw and heavy.
Bakugo's face twitched. Something inside him snapped.
"…You damn nerd."
BOOM!
Energy Condensed in his palms.
He blasted straight upward, carving a fiery spiral in the air, then curved down—
A meteor wreathed in explosions.
"STAY DOWN!"
Midoriya braced his legs, power crackling and fracturing the stone beneath his feet as he took blasted forward.
"Midnight!"
Cementoss instantly reacted, slamming his hands onto the cement. "If they keep going, it'll be bad!"
On the arena, numerous walls of Earth shot upwards.
"Stop Them!"
Midoriya blasted forward.
Bakugo descended like a meteor.
The walls of concrete erupted between them—five, six, seven layers thick—
BOOOOM!
The collision was cataclysmic.
A massive explosion of light and force detonated at the center of the arena, swallowing everything in a blinding white flash.
The shockwave hit the stadium like a physical wall.
Spectators screamed. Hands flew up to shield faces. The entire structure groaned and shuddered.
"GET DOWN!" someone yelled.
Dust, debris, and smoke billowed outward in a massive cloud, obscuring the entire battlefield.
"These kids are going to get themselves killed."
"Or kill us first."
For five long seconds, no one could see anything.
Then—
Slowly—
The smoke began to clear.
The arena was a wreck.
Cementoss's walls had been obliterated—reduced to rubble and craters. Scorch marks scorched the concrete in jagged, overlapping patterns. Chunks of stone littered the field like a battlefield.
And in the center—
Stood a figure in a half torn uniform.
Bakugo stood, hunched forward, hands braced on his knees. His breathing was ragged, chest heaving. Sweat dripped from his chin, and his hands released wips of smoke.
"... Damn you .." But he was standing, eyes fixed on the figure in the distance. "... Deku."
Outside the boundary line.
Midoriya lay motionless.
His body was crumpled against the far wall, unconscious, arms scorched purple. His hero costume was torn and scorched. Blood trickled from his forehead.
The stadium was silent.
Not a single sound.
Until,
Midnight's whip cracked through the stillness.
"MIDORIYA IZUKU IS OUT OF BOUNDS AND UNABLE TO CONTINUE!"
Her voice rang across the arena.
"THE WINNER IS—BAKUGO KATSUKI!"
The crowd exploded.
Cheers. Gasps. Applause. Shock.
But Bakugo didn't react.
He just stood there, staring at Midoriya's unconscious form.
His fists trembled.
"…Damn it, Deku."
Medical bots rushed onto the field, surrounding Midoriya immediately.
Bakugo turned away, shoulders tense, and walked toward the exit tunnel without another word.
In the viewing area, Uraraka's hands were still clasped over her mouth, eyes wide and glistening.
"Deku…"
Iida stood rigid beside her, fists clenched at his sides.
"He pushed himself too far," Iida said quietly. "Even knowing the consequences… he refused to yield."
Kirishima exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
"Man… that was brutal. But… Midoriya's got guts. I'll give him that."
"Yeah, but… he lost. And he's gonna be out of commission for a while."
Asui nodded, expression somber. "Ribbit. Recovery Girl can only do so much. His injuries were severe."
Todoroki said nothing.
His arms remained crossed, gaze fixed on the arena floor where Midoriya had fallen.
'He gave everything he had.'
His eyes narrowed.
'And Bakugo… still won.'
Uraraka wiped her eyes quickly, forcing a shaky smile.
"He'll… he'll be okay, right? Recovery Girl will fix him up…"
"Of course. Midoriya is resilient. But… he will need time to recover."
Iida glanced toward the exit tunnel where Bakugo had disappeared.
'That match… was more than just a fight.'
__
In class 1b viewing area
Monoma leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, a bemused smirk on his face.
"Well, well, well. Class 1-A really does love their dramatics, don't they?"
Kendo elbowed him. "Shut up, Monoma. That was a serious fight."
"Oh, I know." Monoma's grin widened. "Which is exactly why I'm saying—Class 1-A are absolute freaks."
Tetsutetsu nodded slowly, still processing what he'd just witnessed.
"Yeah… those two went all out. That final clash could've hospitalized both of them."
Pony tilted her head, voice soft. "But… they're both okay, right? Midoriya-san looked really hurt…"
Kendo sighed. "He'll recover. But that was reckless. Both of them were."
Shiozaki, seated quietly near the edge of the group, clasped her hands together in silent prayer.
"May they both heal swiftly," she murmured.
Monoma glanced over at her, then smirked.
"Well, Shiozaki, looks like you've got your work cut out for you if you want to win this thing."
Shiozaki opened her eyes, expression serene but resolute.
"I will do my best. With faith and humility."
Kendo nodded approvingly. "That's the spirit."
Tetsutetsu grinned, punching his fist into his palm. "Yeah! Show 'em what Class 1-B's made of!"
Another student from 1-B leaned over, glancing toward the General Studies section across the stadium.
"At least her next opponent isn't as much of a monster as those two," he said, nodding toward Yuta.
Monoma followed his gaze, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Hmm. The General Studies kid who beat Todoroki and Bakugo in the Cavalry Battle."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Don't underestimate him. He's got something up his sleeve."
Kendo raised an eyebrow. "You actually sound serious for once."
Shiozaki glanced across the stadium, her gaze settling on Yuta.
'Akutami Yuta.'
She exhaled
'I must remain vigilant.'
___
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