Chapter XX: Second Event, First Round
There are many ways an event could begin. They could start slow and steady. They could be abrupt and fast. As all things relating to Bakugo Katsuki, however, the Second Event of the Sports Festival started with a bang. Or rather, an explosion – followed by Bakugo shooting off straight towards Mina Ashido and her team.
The audience gasped, shocked at the bold attack. Regardless, they watched, enthralled by their favorite competitor. Bakugo, on his part, reared his right arm, ready to punch Ashido. He was seeing red, a boiling rage coursing through his veins. It only got worse as, whilst he flew straight towards her, Ashido smirked.
I am going to teach you, extras! Bakugo mentally roared. I'll teach all of you!
There came, however, one complication. Someone stepped in between Ashido and Bakugo: the one and only Shitty-Hair. He hardened and braced for impact, but Bakugo smirked. He relished on the challenge. On the last meters, he pulled his palms forward and produced a relatively strong explosion. Shitty-Hair was enveloped in black acrid smoke, all while Bakugo somersaulted over the redhead.
Got you now! Bakugo gleefully thought, staring straight at a surprised Ashido.
Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Ashido's hands, covered in slimy white ooze, slapped together in some kind of clap – and a sizzling hiss of an explosion covered her and her teammate in thick white steam. Bakugo was momentarily stunned by the move, to the point he barely had time to react as an earphone jack stole the flag. He stared, dumbfounded, as he felt another of those jacks wrapping around his leg, still suspended on the air.
What's she going to do? Bakugo thought, baffled. Weird-Ears, after all, was weak and pathetic, right?
Let us say, Bakugo was rather shocked when he received a powerful electrical discharge.
What the fuck?! Was all Bakugo could think as he spasmodically shook and fell to the ground.
When the electricity died down, and Bakugo was able to move, he found Weird-Ears smirking at him, next to an equality smug Pikachu. Bakugo did not miss how Pikachu was holding onto Weird-Ears by the shoulder. However, it was only then that Bakugo realized were the electricity was coming from. That was when the Earphone jacks reared back, the flag safely stuck on Weird-Ears' flat chest, and shot off towards Bakugo, promising to repeat the previous attack.
Bakugo exploded himself upwards and away from the duo. He rather not be electrified again, thank you very much. He should have, however, kept an eye where he was going, or rather who would come from behind. One moment he was flying away, escaping from Weird-Ears and Pikachu, the next moment a pair of tapes were tying his arms against his chest and he was pulled back.
The hell?! Bakugo thought, horrified. What are these freaking tapes made of?!
Round and round he went, as whoever held the long elastic tapes had started to spin him in a wide circle. Bakugo would have tried to explode away, but in his confusion there wasn't anything he could do. From the corner of his eyes he saw the Octopus-guy being the source of his rather uncomfortable circular movement. Then the big guy turned around and pulled on the capturing tapes with six arms. Bakugo, instead of going for another round, shot straight towards Octopus guy… or rather the large mass of very familiar purple balls on a boulder behind him.
FUCK! Bakugo thought, wide-eyed.
He used his explosions, but given how his palms were stuck against his sides, it was futile. His fate, by the looks of it, was sealed. His back collided straight towards the little pervert's balls. Somehow, Bakugo Katsuki had ended up wrapped in that strange tape, with his back stuck on purple balls, unable to move.
Could this get any fucking worse?! Bakugo mentally seethed.
As if it wasn't bad enough, a long slimy tongue shot off from a side and brushed his hands. Bakugo stared, disgusted, as his palms were covered in filthy slime before the offending tongue reeled back to Frog-Bitch. Said girl was perched over Octopus-Guy's shoulder. On the other shoulder, holding a triumphant fist in the air, was the Perverted Dwarf.
Shit, shit, shit, Bakugo thought.
The mucus on his palms, he quickly discovered, was messing with his quirk. Had Frog-Bitch seen his limitations during the Swamp Obstacle? No, it must had been Fucking Deku! He must have told her his limitations! However, he had other problems now, like the fact he was utterly helpless.
"Not so lame now, eh?" Minoru Mineta cackled. He popped up balls from his head, smirking at Bakugo. "Hanta, now!"
The perverted dwarf threw more of his balls towards the helpless Bakugo. The explosive blond could only watch, with red wide eyes, as more of those insufferable balls covered him. Just as Bakugo thought this couldn't get any more embarrassing, someone dashed past him – and more tape wrapped around him. To his mounting panic, Bakugo was being tied to one of the arena's massive boulders by more of that insufferable tape.
His arms were bound to his sides, he couldn't move whilst wrapped by tape, he had his taped back stuck to those adhesive balls and now he was also tightly wrapped against a boulder, more sticky balls on his body. Oh, and he couldn't use his quirk. How had it come to this? How had a bunch of losers managed to get him into such a compromising position?
"Team Mineta has captured Bakugo to a rock!" Present Mic declared.
Bakugo could only glare as said team stood a good distance away, studying their handiwork.
"See guys? I told you we could rock together!" Mineta exclaimed.
Shoji and Hanta gave the little guy thumbs up of approval.
"You are still a pervert, ribbit" croaked Asui.
"And a proud one at that!" Mineta boasted, waving a defiant fist. "Now, comrades, to victory!"
The team turned around, spotting Ashido running around and avoiding getting grabbed by a pair of floating hands (courtesy of a student from 1-B).
"You think you are any good?!" Bakugo roared, struggling against his restraints. "You are still a quartet of losers!"
"Huh? What's that?" Mineta mocking said, mockingly leaning towards Bakugo with a hand over an ear, as if he hadn't heard right. "That we are much better than you? Why thank you, Bakugo, how kind of you!"
"You motherfucking-"
But Team Mineta ignored Bakugo and ran away. Bakugo stared at the four, their backs turned towards him. Were they actually leaving him behind? Did they really think he was done? And yet, it slowly sunk in his mind and soul: there was nothing he could do. He had been, for better and for worse, rendered utterly useless. At the moment, he was helpless. He was, for lack of a better word, pathetic. And it all gnawed on Bakugo's entire being.
This was not how it was supposed to be like, he thought.
Other teams passed by him and chuckled, giving their own comments. Bakugo even saw Scar-Face almost smiling at what he saw, at the pitiful display that had become of Bakugo. One by one, Bakugo discovered he was being dismissed by each team. To them, he was no longer a threat. To them, he was just an afterthought. To them… he might as well be a Deku.
Something started to crack within Bakugo. There he was, pathetic and worthless, stuck to a rock... before the eyes of millions. How had he fallen so low? How had he allowed those extras to beat him?
Those fucking extras... Bakugo seethed, struggling against his bindings.
"Don't you think I am done with you!" Bakugo shouted. "Just you wait!"
The audience, of course, was loving every single moment of the Second Event. From the sudden attack from Bakugo to how the teams quickly reacted, it was such an odd yet entertaining spectacle. That and Class 1-A was going out of their way with special combos.
"That was awesome!" Haku exclaimed, waving his arms.
"They work pretty well together" Hana hummed, grinning.
Rumi, on her part, was rather amused, amazed by the use of the quirks and their combinations. She might not have been a quirk fanboy like Fox Boy, but she loved the way Class 1-A had created effective teams with strengths and weaknesses.
For example, it seemed that Team Mineta had chosen mobility and capturing capabilities, two things that would play favorable on the game, at the expense of raw power. Team Ashido wasn't badly thought of either. That Ashido girl was mobile and unpredictable just as Kirishima was slow and a damage-sponge, while at the same time the duo of Jiro and Kaminari could capture and immobilize between her earphone jacks and his electricity. All in all, team Ashido had gone less for mobility and more for a balanced set-up. And then there was team Todoroki…
Down below, Rumi saw Ashido skidding around, followed by her teammates. Suddenly, a wall of ice rose from the ground, blocking their way. Ashido could barely react as a bola flew from a side and wrapped around her body, effectively capturing her. Kaminari went to help, only to be pushed back by a laser. Jiro and Kirishima rushed towards their fallen comrades, but weren't fast enough for Dark Shadow to break through the ice, swoop in and steal the flag. Ashido dissolved the bola in the nick of time but missed reclaiming her flag by an inch.
Team Todoroki had gone for pure unadulterated power, and not the physical type. While a relatively slow team in comparison to Team Mineta, they possessed an array of versatile and adaptive quirks: from Todoroki's ice, Yaoyorozu's creation capabilities, Aoyoma's weird navel laser that could burn as much as it could be used to punch from afar, and Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. All in all, they had the power to strike fast and hard and quickly turn to defense, overwhelming any team from long to mid-range attacks.
"Bakugo really looks pissed" Haku laughed.
"That's what he gets for being such a jerk" Hana huffed. "It was only time before others showed him what was what!"
Rumi agreed wholeheartedly. However, as her ears perked up regarding the conversation around her, her mood soured.
"They ganged up on him? A bit extreme, don't you think?" Someone commented.
"He's the only one that midget's team stuck to a boulder" another person pointed out. "Guess it's the only way the other teams can hope to stand a chance".
"A bit of a let-down" someone else sighed. "Thought that Bakugo kid could really make it to the finals…"
"Go Bakugo! You can make it!" Someone cheered.
Rumi cringed but decided to ignore the audience. Instead, she focused on the arena below. Things were getting really interesting. The large sugar-enhanced boy had jumped right in front of Team Todoroki, startling them, just for the tailed teenager to attack from behind and send Tokoyami flying off. Todoroki tried to freeze Sato, only for the big guy to punch the ground and make everything shake, unbalancing the rival team. Yaoyorozu tried to assist with a newly created bola, but a massive hound stepped in between, barking at the girl to a halt. She stared at the dog, apprehensive of that maw of its. Aoyoma shot a laser towards Ojiro, but the laser hit something else on the way and it was diffracted, bending a few inches away from Ojiro.
A force field? Rumi thought, just as surprised by the rest of the audience.
A dumbfounded Aoyoma stared before he fell back, as if punched. Todoroki tried to aid his teammates, but Sato's overwhelming strength was keeping him distracted by punching through walls of ice. In an instant, a falcon swooped past and took the flag from Todoroki. Strangely enough, the falcon threw the flag not far from Ojiro. Instead of the tailed boy grabbing the flag, the flag disappeared mid-air. Ojiro smirked and turned around, kneeling. It looked like he was offering his back to someone. He suddenly reacted as if someone had jumped on his back and, just as Todoroki froze everything around him, including his teammates, Ojiro had used his tail to shoot off.
"What was that?" Haku wondered. Hana was equally mystified.
Floating clothes materialized behind Ojiro, wrapped around the tailed boy as they made their escape. The flag, Rumi noticed, appeared on Ojiro's chest, stuck in place. Rumi's eyes widened. The invisible girl could turn her clothing invisible? Oh, she had been the one who changed the laser's direction!
"Team Ojiro has the Flag!" Present Mic declared.
That, they quickly discovered, was a short-lived victory. A flying Hatsume flew over the duo, and a pair of twin terrors dropped on the invisible girl's back, like two bombs of pure mayhem and chaos. Two-Tailed Midoriya did what they did best: they acted like a pair of squirrels overdosed with caffeine, running around Ojiro and Hagakure and taking the flag for themselves. Rumi shuddered, already imagining their terrifying giggles as they eluded the hands of the Invisible Girl and Tailed boy. As expected, Ojiro and Hagakure lost their balance and collided onto the ground, not before a triumphant Midoriya jumped in the air. Iida appeared like a blur and jumped, grabbing the twin terrors mid-air, before racing forward.
Team Kendo moved in to intercept, Kendo herself using her enlarged man-sized fists. A vine-haired girl (named Shiozaki Ibara) prepared to trap the speedster and fox. However, a certain Infinity Girl jumped from behind a boulder and grabbed their teammates (a steel-transforming boy Tetsutetsu and the horned girl that had gotten fourth place in the first event, Tsunotori). Almost like she had super-strength, Ochaco hoisted the two startled competitors into the air and threw them straight towards Kendo and her vine-haired teammate. While it didn't help to actually take the two girls out, it was more than enough to distract them and that, in turn, was enough for Iida to run through undeterred.
Shiozaki's hair lengthened and shoot off, intent on capturing Ochaco. The girl was to slow to outrun the vines. Instead, she slapped herself and jumped high into the air. The vines, though, sprouted from the ground, ready to ensnare the floating girl. Ochaco raised her hands and the vines closed on her… just as a flying Hatsume swoop in and grabbed her. The vines missed their target by a hair.
"Go Fox Boy!" The Usagiyamas cheered in unison.
Rumi had to admit that, differently from the First Event, this game was much more fun to watch. Perhaps it was the fact that everyone was holding back in their strength or were making sure not to harm their opponents (too badly, at least). That and she did notice how everyone kept a smile, enjoying the game as much as the audience. There were gritted teeth of exasperation or shouts of frustration, as well as looks of panic. However, it looked like everyone down below was enjoying his or herself. Well, not everyone.
The rabbit girl sent an amused look towards a trapped Bakugo. He huffed and puffed, but seemed unable to break free. His teammates helplessly tried to help, but it looked like Bakugo himself would be out of the count. Rumi smirked. No wonder the rest were enjoying themselves. And with that, just like the rest of the competitors and audience, she ignored Bakugo. It wasn't like he could escape such entrapment… could he? That and she had more important things to do.
"Run, Fox Boy! Run!" Rumi cheered on, waving a fist. "Or God help me, I'll beat the crap out of you!"
Her two siblings laughed at their sister's antics. However, like her, they cheered for the Fox Boy. This sure was fun.
"We are running out of time!" said Shinso's female teammate.
Shinso, on his part, was utterly frustrated with the last turn of events. He had thought that he had struck gold when he had been teamed up with Bakugo. The guy was a one man army, after all, and he had proven to be both powerful and driven. With Bakugo, Shinso expected to have an easy win. He had, unfortunately, underestimated the rest of Class 1-A.
Explosions afar told that the first round of the Second Event was in full swing. Five Minutes in and Team Midoriya was at the lead, chased by Team Monoma and Team Mineta.
"This tape is too strong" Hitoshi's chubby teammate pointed out.
If only they had a cutting quirk or gear. The problem, though, wasn't that the tape was hard. Rather, it was the fact just how elastic it was. Perhaps if they had someone strong enough to pull Bakugo's wrapping tape, he could slide out of his makeshift prison. After all, none of the sticky balls directly touched his clothes or skin.
"Just get me the hell out of here!" Bakugo barked, helplessly flailing in his bindings.
"We are trying!" Exclaimed, exasperated, Aizawa's lookalike. "You just had to go all crazy and attack them like that!"
Shinso had to concede that she had a point. Bakugo could have waited. Then again, they would have been attacked on all sides by the other teams and perhaps the entire team could have been taken out. Attack was, after all, the best defense.
"Hey, at least everyone is ignoring us, right?" Said a very relieved sounding chubby teammate.
From the corner of an eye, Shinso spotted a panting Shoji on a side, waiting for his team to strike. His back was turned towards them. Shinso also spotted another team, lying in wait. Everyone seemed to have already dismissed Team Bakugo…. Shinso could work with that. Rather, he preferred it that way. Thus, he smirked.
"I've got a plan" he said. He turned to his teammates. "Your quirks, can they help capture someone?" Hitoshi asked.
"Yeah" the girl nodded, brushing back a strand of black hair. "I can control the emotions of whoever I stare at. Give me a target and I'll make them roll of laughter on the ground or helplessly cry a river".
"I… kind of transform into a huge yarn ball" the chubby guy nervously admitted, sweating. "I am practically invulnerable and can control how I move… but I can't do more than that and I – ehm – can't really see where I am going".
Shinso could work fine with just that. Actually, his female teammate's quirk could be exactly what they needed. They had the element of surprise and with his quirk… Shinso stroke his chin, strategizing, a smile in place.
"Today would be a good fucking day!" Bakugo yelled.
"Could you make someone talk?" Hitoshi asked the girl, ignoring the explosive teammate.
The Aizawa-lookalike raised an eyebrow. "Maybe... I could try to make someone feel – ehm – bubbly? I don't know. I can't exactly brainwash people".
"No... but I can" Hitoshi sombrely said, before smirking. "I have an idea".
He turned his violet eyes towards an unsuspecting Shoji. The other teams would regret dismissing them so quickly.
"Tokage, here's the flag!" A young man with dark, shaggy hair and dark eyes (called Sen Kaibara) excitedly exclaimed.
"Quick, give it here!" His teammate, Setsuna Tokage, replied.
He handed over the flag to the dark-green haired woman, who smirked and stamped it on her chest, all before turning around and running like hell. Kaibara, on his part, stared with the utmost confusion. Where was she going?
"You idiot!" Neito Monoma yelled, running past Kaibara accompanied by a silver haired classmate and… another Setsuna? Huh? What was going on?
The First Tokage glanced back and stuck her tongue out. Kaibara stared, flummoxed, until a pair of fox ears appeared on that Setsuna's head. Before long, five fox tails had sprouted out behind her and she was cackling with a distinctively masculine voice. The fox-eared Setsuna's form shuddered and shrunk, only to reveal a laughing Five-Tailed Midoriya.
"Thanks for the flag!" Midoriya laughed.
"Not so fast!" The original Setsuna exclaimed, grinning.
Her hands split from her body and flew off towards Midoriya. Her silver haired teammate, one Reiko Yanagi, raised her hands as well. She was about to activate her quirk… when Tenya Iida run past them, his engines furiously roaring with life. Just as Setsuna and Yanagi looked at the tall boy's back, long bursts of smoke shoot off from his calves and straight to their faces. Iida speed forward and grabbed Midoriya, who transformed into his Two-Tailed form. Holding each twin terror under an arm, Iida proceeded to make their hasty escape. The last thing Kaibara heard was the nightmare inducing cackle of children.
Iida smiled as their plan worked. He jumped over ensnaring vines, eluded a pair of flying horns and barely managed to outrun a wall of ice. Truly, their team was probably well ahead the others. At the moment, though, he was a tad busy to check for sure. A net of tape made him take a left turn, only to see a leaping Asui. Her tongue was out and pulling what looked like a wrecking ball. It took longer than it should for Iida to realize that it was none other than Mineta.
Asui's tongue whipped towards Iida and slung Mineta towards Iida.
"Shoji now!" Mineta exclaimed, throwing purple balls at Iida.
The speedster dodged the balls and speed away. Mineta landed on the ash ground and looked around, confused. Asui landed next to him, followed by a panting Sero. The trio searched for their surroundings with a frown. Where was their teammate?
"Shoji?" Sero called. "Hey, man, where are you?"
Instead of Shoji appearing, something – or rather someone – was thrown in their direction. Landing in front of them with a loud thud was Ashido. She groaned and held her stomach in pain, as if she had been punched there.
"Mina?" Asui said, rushing towards her.
"ARGH!" Kirishima and Kaminari shouted as they crash-landed further away.
Mineta and his team looked where they had come from, only to stare in horror. Marching towards them, and dragging Jiro by her earphone jacks, was an intimidating Shoji. Mineta shuddered, terrified by what he was seeing.
"Oy, man, what is wrong with you?" Sero asked.
Shoji's response was to drop Jiro and kept his pace towards his team. His eyes blankly stared at them, stoic and emotionless. There was something wrong, something that made Mineta shudder again. Why was the big guy acting like a villain all of a sudden? Was he about to attack them?
"I really don't like pointing the obvious but I think something is wrong with Shoji" Hanta remarked, scared.
Shoji, in response, charged at them. Mineta and his teammates recoiled, shocked, as Shoji reared six arms back, his intent clear: he was attacking his own team.
Mineta froze. What could he possibly do against the likes of Shoji? The guy was too big to care for a few sticky balls. Asui, though, didn't hesitate to jump towards Shoji and use her tongue as a whip. Shoji didn't dodge. He was hit straight on the face, as if he hadn't seen Asui… and suddenly stopped running, face covered in slimy saliva. He blinked at Mineta, emotions flooding into his entire being. Asui, though, took the chance to kick Shoji and send him flying backwards.
Shoji rolled on the ground, until he hit a tree. He blinked at his surroundings, unsure what was going on. He stood up, bewildered by his own teammates attacking him, when tapes wrapped around him and tied him to the tree.
"What are you doing?" Shoji asked, confused.
"What are we doing? You attacked Ashido and the others! That wasn't part of the plan!" Mineta exclaimed.
"Attacked… Ashido?" Shoji wondered, confused. His eyes landed on Team Ashido further away as they slowly stood up.
"Yeah, man, don't you remember?" Sero wondered.
Shoji merely shook his head. He frowned, studying his surroundings.
"I was over that boulder. We were meant to ambush anyone who came through there…" he recalled. He tilted his head. "I don't… remember anything else. Someone touched me and…"
Asui and Mineta exchanged faces. Sero on his part kept his arms folded, disbelieving. Shoji grimly looked at them, unsure how to feel about it. There was a piece of his memory missing, he had allegedly attacked his fellow classmates and now he was tied to a tree, mistrusted by his teammates.
Team Ashido was back on their feet, although they look like they were still hurting all over. Shoji was, after all, a rather strong individual, six muscular arms and all. That and they had been taken by surprise. Thus, it was understandable they were pissed off towards their so called friends.
"What the hell guys?!" Mina exclaimed, a hand on her stomach. "Why did you attack us?"
"We didn't attack you!" Mineta shouted. "It was Shoji!"
"I don't know what took over me... I don't remember attacking anyone" Shoji stated.
"Someone did beat the crap out of us" Kaminari remarked, glaring at Team Mineta. "That's not cool guys!"
"Oy, it wasn't us!" Sero angrily responded.
BOOM. Mineta and the others froze. They looked around. Further away, amidst the field of scorched trees, ashen grounds and boulders, they could see the tell-tale smoke of Bakugo's explosions.
"What? No way!" Mineta exclaimed, horrified. "We was trapped for good!"
"Team Ojiro has taken the Flag!" Present Mic announced.
BOOM. BOOM. The ground quivered. BOOM. Far away, they could hear the sound of fighting as more and more explosions ensued.
"Team Bakugo has taken the flag! Ouch, that looks painful to watch!" Present Mic said.
Mineta, like Sero, gulped. It seemed things wouldn't go smoothly.
"Alright guys, you wanted a fight?" Ashido muttered, cracking her knuckles. "Then you got a fight".
"Unmanly..." Kirishima muttered, glaring at Shoji.
Mineta and his team traded worried faces. This wasn't good.
Rumi was confused. Scratch that, she was floored. Just what was going on down there? One moment it seemed like fun and games, the next there was utter chaos. Students attacking their teammates, or someone randomly charging towards another team.
Making use of the confusion, Bakugo had somehow been freed from his bindings and was wrecking havoc, beating everyone and everything in his path. Differently from the other teams, who preferred escaping and avoiding conflict, even with the flag Bakugo would jump straight towards a team and beat the crap out of them. His team didn't follow him, doing God-knows-what.
It was no longer enjoyable to watch. If anything, it was painful. When the big sugar-guy Sato turned on his team and almost killed Hagakure with a punch, Rumi had been utterly terrified. Hadn't the rock-looking guy taken the punch, Rumi wondered what would have been of the girl. The audience, however, had loved it. Bakugo wasn't being any kinder. One of the teams, made of two students from 1-B and two from different departments were left unconscious by Bakugo.
"Hell yeah, beat her Bakugo!" A pro-Hero exclaimed with a grin.
"What a comeback!" Someone yelled with joy.
"I knew Bakugo could pull through!" Another person shouted.
All around, people cheered as Bakugo's team fought Team Kendo. The vine-haired girl was trying to fend off a huge yarn ball while the horned girl, Tsunotori, was on the ground, crying, under the gaze of a female Aizawa-lookalike. Kendo, to her credit, was able to fight against Bakugo, but by the mounting number of scorched marks on Kendo's hands, it seemed it was a matter of time until the constantly moving Bakugo could get an opening.
Rumi squinted as the fourth teammates faced off. The Indigo-haired creep had gotten the jump on the steel-transforming student, and slapped him on the back. Rumi frowned, confused, as the boy – Shinso, she recalled – said something and his opponent showed a face of panic. Then, just as the student from 1-B responded with something, he froze and stood up straight, blank look on his face. Hitoshi smirked and turned to a side and pointed at Shiozaki. Rumi's eyes widened as the silver-haired boy, as if answering to an order, turned into steel and charged at Shiozaki, catching her by surprise.
"The hell?!" Rumi gasped. That Hitoshi guy… can brainwash people?!
"What's going on sis?" Haku asked.
"I have no idea" Rumi responded before focusing on Bakugo. "I think that-"
"That violet-haired weirdo is brainwashing people!" Exclaimed Hana, horrified. "He is making everyone attack each other!"
"A brainwashing quirk?" Haku gasped, eyes promising to pop-out of their sockets.
Rumi blinked, surprised, when she turned just in time to see Kendo flick her gigantic middle finger at Bakugo, and finally land a solid hit - and boy was it quite a hit. Bakugo was sent like a bullet straight to the ground. He scraped across the ash, raising an entire cloud grey. Kendo looked horrified by her attack, probably fearful she had gone overboard. Her hands shrunk and she hurried over to the cloud of ash.
"Ouch, that must have hurt him" Haku said with a sympathetic wince.
"Serves him right" Hana huffed.
Suddenly, there was an eruption of ash and Bakugo, unharmed, shot towards Kendo. The poor girl was caught by surprise and was unable to react in time. Bakugo slammed his two hands on each side of her head and explosions ensued.
Rumi felt her siblings look away while she winced. That must have been painful for Kendo. However, the explosive bastard wasn't done. Bakugo proceeded to grab the disoriented girl by the ears and kneed her in the face. Kendo fell to the ground, blood pouring out of her broken nose, while a triumphant Bakugo laughed.
To Rumi's horror, the vine-haired teammate and the steel-transformed boy were standing awfully still. Further away, the horned girl remained crying even though her opponent was no longer using her quirk on her. In fact, it looked like the Aizawa-lookalike looked pained and ashamed. Shinso… not so much. He triumphantly smirked at his brainwashed minions before he gave his orders. At once, the two brainwashed students run off, probably to add to the ongoing chaos.
Where are the other teams doing? Rumi thought. Why no one is helping fight Bakugo?
By the looks of it, the other teams were all fighting against each other. Team Mineta was trying to escape from a very pissed off Team Ashido, while team Yukimora was distracting team Todoroki. Fox Boy, on his part, was up against an annoyingly smug Monoma while their teammates tried to defeat the other.
Have they forgotten about the flag?! Rumi wondered, pulling her hair in exasperation.
Her attention went to a smirking Shinso, who had spotted a team approaching. He probably only wanted to add to the infighting with his brainwashing, allowing for Bakugo to just jump around beating everyone!
"That son of a bitch!" Rumi hissed.
"What a shit-fest" Endeavor harrumphed, arms folded.
"You mean what a mess" Midnight, disgruntled, responded.
All around the arena it looked like a full-scale battle was going on. Friends were fighting friends. Teams against teams. There was a general feeling of confusion that Midnight didn't enjoy. The fact they were all harming themselves made her feel awful. She wanted to intervene, to stop that madness… but none of those watching, like Principal Nezu, had told her to do so. So far, there had been no rule-breaking transgressions… not that she believed it.
"That Bakugo kid sure is something" Endeavor hummed with something akin to approval.
Midnight cringed at that. There was something about the Number Two hero taking an interest on Bakugo that really rubbed her the wrong way. To her disdain, Endeavor was smirking and that was never pleasant to watch, especially not up-close. Midnight feared to even imagine what was going on in his mind all while he stared at the far away explosions.
"Aren't you going to root for you son?" Midnight tentatively asked.
"I am rooting for him to win" Endeavor said with a dismissive shrug. "But if he insists on keeping that teenage rebellion of his, I might as well look for someone who actually isn't going to whine about his quirk".
Midnight was seriously tempted on giving the big guy a piece of her mind. However, she held her tongue and instead glared at the arena. The Second Event wasn't supposed to go like this. How had the entire arena turned into such a mess? The crowd, though, seemed to have a different opinion.
How can they enjoy so much senseless fighting? Midnight wondered.
"Why do you look so surprised?" Endeavor scoffed.
Midnight raised an eyebrow at him. He, in turn, gestured towards the stands and at the cheering crowd.
"You are disgusted by how they enjoy seeing teenagers beat each other?" Endeavour said. "You shouldn't. It's nothing new, isn't it? That's the way of the world".
"I can understand enjoying the fight…" Midnight conceded, only to send an angry look towards the arena "but this isn't a fight! Something wrong is going on there! Friends don't just attacking each other!"
Midnight, though, had a good guess as to what was happening, or rather who was behind it. She couldn't say it aloud, though. UA, after all, had a policy against disclosing quirk information on any student, not even to Top ranking heroes.
"People enjoy seeing heroes beat villains without a second thought. They love the violence… to them, it is cathartic to see evildoers getting smacked down" Endeavor grimaced at that. "I am not saying it is a good thing…" he shrugged "…but that's how it is and how it has always been since the Dark Ages of Heroes".
The arena shook and tall pillars of ice covered a quarter of the field.
"Oh, looks like Shoto is up against the firecracker" Endeavor chuckled, grinning.
Midnight checked the time.
"Well, enjoy the show while it last because we are about to finish the first round" Midnight said. "I hope the second round isn't as bad…"
I'll have to tell Shinso to tone it down with the brainwashing, Midnight thought. At least make sure the brainwashed students don't become so violent.
"We shouldn't be wasting time on a second round" Endeavor scoffed. "We already know what teams will make it anyway. Why waste any time on this event?"
Although Midnight didn't really want to see a second round of senseless fighting and chaos, she was not about to bend the rules. She did kind of agree with Endeavor. Three teams were a given for the next event. In fact, they had a great amount of points already. However, it was not her place to rob the other teams of the opportunity to try to catch up or win. This was, after all, the Sports Festival, the opportunity of a lifetime. Fifteen more minutes could make a world of a difference to the kids, especially those outside the Hero Department seeking a career in heroism.
"By the way, have you gotten that situation at the school contained?" Endeavor casually asked, changing the subject.
Midnight raised a suspicious eyebrow at the large hero.
"I am not going to ask how you know about that" she remarked. "All I am going to say is that it is foolish to assume U.A. can't protect its facilities".
"Then why the secrecy?" Endeavor asked.
"UA has a reputation to uphold – and seriously, nothing really happened" Midnight insisted.
"I have an investment on that school" Endeavor hissed. "If I hear that because of today's failed infiltration some villain attacked Shoto… a lawsuit will be the least of your concerns".
Midnight merely rolled her eyes. All parents were the same. What if a trio of idiots had tried to infiltrate the school? They had been captured and detained with ease! They were a Hero School, for God's sake. They could manage villains.
Izuku had seen his fair share of quirks and, being quite the enthusiast, he sure enjoyed seeing them up close. That did not mean, however, he wanted to be attacked by a sea of snake-like vines, no matter how cool such a quirk so happened to be. Izuku could only scream and run as vines chased after him.
"Don't worry, I've got this!" Hatsume said, ten feet ahead of Izuku. She pulled her rifle and aimed it at Shiozaki. Izuku noticed that the rifle had no scope.
"Why did they attack us?" Ochaco wondered, a safe distance away, while staring at a floating Tetsutetsu.
Iida tried approaching Shiozaki from behind, but no sooner had he gotten anywhere close, vines sprouted out of the ground and tried to ensnare the speedster. Hatsume pulled the trigger and a water pellet struck Shiozaki on her forehead. The vines froze. Izuku stopped running and turned towards the paralyzed vine-haired girl. To everyone's surprise, she remained still – and bewildered.
"What… what has transpired here?" Shiozaki wondered. The vines started shortening and returning towards their owner. The girl in question didn't lower her guard, but she was a tad too disoriented to do much. "Did… did I attack you?"
Izuku looked at Hatsume, an eyebrow raised.
"Hey, don't look at me! These only shoots water pellets!" Hatsume said "for now..."
"And it's the end of the first round!" Present Mic announced, followed by a loud horn.
Izuku and his team sighed with relief, finally getting some respite.
"Oy, why am I floating like this?!"
"Sorry" Ochaco chuckled. She deactivated her quirk and Tetsutetsu fell on the ground, hard.
Izuku looked at the scores and, to his shock, he discovered that they were third. The true problem, however, was the team with the most points. Somehow, Team Bakugo had gotten a "x10" score multiplier and were way ahead of everyone else. How? How had they managed to hold onto the flag for so long?
Izuku glanced around, studying Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki as they exchanged mutters. His keen fox ears perked up, making out a few words. By the sounds of it, the last thing the two remembered was facing team Bakugo and then... nothing. Wait, Tetsutetsu mentioned something about Shinso slapping him on the back.
"Approach the referee and overseer for water, competitors!" Present Mic said. "Recovery Girl will be there too in case you need to get healed!"
Izuku's Team went towards Midnight, taking the moment to catch their breath, all while he pondered on the issue at hand. Hatsume complained about running low on fuel while Ochaco whined about Bakugo being somehow first. Iida remained silent, intensely staring ahead.
What was with all those guys just attacking us? Midoriya wondered. Could Shinso make people go on a rampage or... or was it... no, it can't be...
As they neared the platform with Endeavor and Midnight, he saw the other teams approaching. They looked beat, and a few were rather injured. Former friends glared at each other as much as they did Bakugo. Then there was Bakugo himself, who sardonically smirked not far from the rest of his team. Hitoshi Shinso had a look of satisfaction, differently from his two other teammates. The Aizawa lookalike kept her head down, ashamed, while the chubby guy had a grimace.
A long table with plastic cups and canisters had been prepared next to Midnight's platform. Izuku went towards it, no differently from everyone else. Not far from it, Recovery Girl and a team of white-clad adults warily looked at the injured students.
"Are you alright, Ojiro?" Ochaco asked the limping tailed teenager.
"No" said the blond with a pained smile. "I think I broke a few bones…"
"I'm sorry" Sato said behind his teammate.
"It's alright" Ojiro replied, resigned.
"Did something happen?" Izuku wondered.
"Sato went all nuts!" Hagakure exclaimed. "He almost killed me!"
"I'm sorry!" Sato repeated, baring a sad face.
Koda stood on a side, cradling his falcon with one arm. His other arm didn't look good, having been cracked and twisted in an odd angle. By the looks of it, his falcon had a broken wing and appeared to be in a foul mood, screeching angrily at anyone who dared get close to it. Koda's dog, thankfully, looked unharmed.
"Sato lost it too?" Asked Mineta, walking over to them with a cup of water. "Shoji went all berserk against Ashido and her team".
Mineta pointed with a thumb at a despondent Shoji, who kept staring at the ground in shame and maintained his distance from the rest. Izuku glanced at the rest of Mineta's team.
"We might have attacked them for it..." Ashido innocently commented, clearly apologetic for that.
"That was before Eijiro went all nuts on us!" Kaminari angrily spat, pointing an accusing finger at Kirishima.
"Oy, I'm telling you! I'd never do something so unmanly!" Kirishima said with a forced smile. "I don't remember what happened to me!"
Izuku grimaced only to glance at Shinso. Could he have been behind it? How?
"It happened all over" Yaoyorozu gravely said. Nobody missed her black eye.
"Wow, Momo, what happened to you?" Ochaco gasped.
Yaoyorozu didn't outright respond. Instead, he glared at Bakugo, who was laughing his butts off to an irritate Todoroki, all while he tried to drink water in peace. Not far from them, Endeavor smirked at the two with a look of satisfaction.
"Oy, where is Recovery Girl?" Tetsutetsu said, carrying Itsuka Kendo in his arms. She was unconscious, her hands suffering from nasty-looking burns.
Recovery Girl hurried towards him, her lips forming a long thin line. Izuku had been around her enough to know she was displeased, if not outright furious.
"There's a team missing, isn't there?" Iida pointed out.
"Yeah, they got taken away halfway through the round…" Yaoyorozu sighed, once again glaring at Bakugo "let us say they had quite the opponent".
"Ouch! Ouch!"
Everyone turned their heads to an approaching team. One Neito Monoma was angrily helping his male teammate towards the platform. His two other teammates, while capable of walking on their own, looked like they had been thrown into a tornado and spat out – twice.
Midnight looked at the teams with a worried frown while a handful of white-clad adults went over the injured competitors. Izuku approached the elderly woman.
"Having a good time, young man?" Recovery Girl grunted.
"Not quite" Izuku sighed, shaking his head. He glanced at all his injured classmates and friends.
"I'm afraid to say, you are in the minority" Recovery muttered, glaring at the cheering audience. "One of these days they will enjoy seeing teenagers spill blood over the arena… and cheer for it".
Izuku grimaced. "Is it always this bad?" He asked.
"No" Recovery Girl hummed, frowning at the injuries. "Oh, don't get me wrong, fractures and a twisted ankle are common… but never so many and all around. Some of your classmates turned a bit… too aggressive".
"Why didn't anyone stop or intervene?" Izuku wondered.
"I've been asking that myself" Recovery Girl grunted.
By the excitement and impatience of the crowd, Izuku could tell why the Sports Festival organizers would keep the actions going. Izuku wanted to believe there was more to it than that... but he was starting to grow a tad cynical about the Sports Festival as a whole.
She turned towards Midnight. The heroine had been staring at the old nurse, waiting for something. Izuku, confused, glanced at the two. Recovery shook her head and Midnight turned towards Endeavor. The big hero listened and scowled, but didn't say anything. In the end he sent a weird look over his son and Bakugo, and then shrugged carelessly at Midnight. That irked the heroine, but it seemed that something had been decided.
"Team Ojiro, can you go on?" Midnight inquired.
Ojiro turned to his teammates. Between Koda's and his falcon's injury, his own broken bones and Sato's resigned and defeated attitude, they all traded morose shakes of their heads.
"No… our team withdraws" Ojiro said, averting his eyes.
"Team Kendo also withdraws" Tetsutetsu said as Kendo was dragged away on a stretcher.
"Team Tokage withdraws" grunted Setsuna.
"What? No! We aren't withdrawing!" Neito shouted. He turned towards Recovery Girl. "Can't you just heal the teams?"
"We could heal you, young man, but I rather not risk anyone of you dying from exhaustion. You've done quite the exercise today. Additionally, even if you do have enough energy – and let me say that never is an exact science, per se – you will still be too exhausted to compete" Recovery Girl harrumphed. "That and I prefer to make a full check-up before using my quirk. You never know when a previous surgery is necessary".
"We aren't that badly injured!" Monoma insisted. "Just- just give them that kiss and we'll be alright!"
Izuku cringed. Now that wasn't an attitude to have with Recovery Girl. However, it looked like she was rather patient that day. Admittedly, Monoma did have a point. Izuku had seen the school nurse heal a few awful injuries without much concern or a previous check-up. Then again, Izuku could tell the old medic was finding any excuse to pull as many students away from harming themselves as possible. She had, after all, expressed her disdain to the Sports Festival many times before.
"Monoma…" Tokage sighed "It's alright".
"No! Class 1-B can't just fail! If we withdraw, none of our class will have made it to the last event" Monoma insisted. "I can still fight!"
"But Kaibara can't" Tokage said.
Monoma glared at said teammate, who winced under his scathing glare. In the end, Monoma cussed under his breath and stomped away, furious.
"Then it is decided: six teams will move on to the second round!" Midnight declared.
"How about we skip this and pick the first four teams?" Endeavour said with a smirk.
Midnight squinted at him while the students froze.
"Look at the scores: Team Mineta and Team Yukimora have almost no points" Endeavor pointed out. "What difference does it make, really, one more round?"
Izuku glanced at the scoreboard. The hero wasn't wrong. There was a stark difference between those two teams and the remaining four. He glanced at team Yukimora. The cyan-skinned girl, the Theater mask girl, the gem-user and the petite spiky haired girl stared at Endeavor, apprehension and fear in their eyes. Sharing their dread was team Mineta.
"They deserve the chance to prove themselves. For all we know, they could turn the scales with less competition" Midnight retorted.
"Come on now!" Endeavor said with a grin. "We all want to move on to the next event, don't we?" He stretched his arms, studying the crowd before gesturing towards the students. "Haven't they injured themselves enough?"
Midnight was about to say something, when the audience started shouting. To her shock, it seemed they were in agreement with the Number Two heroes, even though they couldn't have possibly heard them. Mineta and his team looked horrified by the turn of events. Team Yukimora was barely doing any better.
"I do agree" Recovery Girl said. "We've never had four teams withdraw halfway through due to injuries, and even the remaining teams have injured students".
"The rules are the rules" Midnight stated with an air of finality. "There will be two rounds!"
But the audience didn't want that. Apparently, they had their fill of the Second Event and now wanted the main course: the Third Event.
"Why don't we let the spectators decide?" Endeavor smugly said.
By the looks of it, that was the last thing Midnight wanted. However, as the audience kept yelling their opinion about it, she hesitated. Tentatively, she reached to her ear and communicated with someone. The crowd, though, seemed more riled up by that. They were impatient for more.
"Hey, it isn't fair!" The cyan-skinned girl cried out.
"Deal with it. Life isn't fair" Bakugo huffed.
"The least we deserve is the chance to try according to the rules!" The Theater-mask girl exclaimed. "We worked hard for this chance, damn it!"
"Questo è ingiusto!" shouted the gem-user.
"Yeah!" Mineta joined in. "You can't just change the rules!"
"I don't remember a Second Event that was shortened like this, ribbit" Asui calmly remarked.
"Come on, man!" Sero begged. "We all trained for this!"
"Face it" Endeavour said, quelling the shouting. "If you didn't get any points in the first round…" he glared down on the two teams, who flinched back and gulped under his intense glare "…I doubt you'll get any points on the second round".
Izuku felt his heart clenched painfully by that. Why? Why was Endeavour and the audience so insistent to move on? Because they were done with the Second Event? Were they just entertainment? He clenched his fists, furious.
"It is unfair…" Ashido mumbled. She glanced at a despondent Asui, only to avert her gaze.
"Shhh, don't say anything or maybe we'll be pulled out!" Kaminari hissed, panicky.
Jiro looked like she wanted to poke Kaminari with her earphone jacks for that, but instead swallowed a lump of saliva and kept her head down. Even though she was friends with Asui, like Ashido, Jiro was not about to ruin her own opportunities in the Sports Festival.
Izuku gritted his teeth, ears pinning against his head. Midnight was now heatedly speaking to whoever was on the other side of the communication. Yaoyorozu looked at Team Mineta and Team Yukimori. She looked like she wanted to have her say but was too afraid to share it. Todoroki too wanted to speak, but decided against it, preferring to glare at a taunting Bakugo.
"It is unacceptable" Iida softly said, but he sounded unsure. "But if the referee decides…" he trailed off, lowering his head in shame.
Ochaco was visibly sympathetic for the two teams in question, but kept her mouth shut. Even if she knew it was wrong to just discard people to fulfill the whims of the people, Izuku knew she really wanted to advance to the next Event. Hatsume looked like she couldn't care less.
Midnight, in the meantime, was protesting against something…
The Sports Festival is an important event to us, Izuku thought, glaring at the audience. He glanced at Mineta and his team, only to look at Team Yukimora. It is also their chance to show they can be heroes too. I can't just… let it happen.
What could I possibly do? A more cynical part of Izuku asked himself. Endeavor of all people wants to move on… and so does the audience. What am I in comparison? A snot-nosed teenager…
This isn't right! Izuku helplessly thought. There must be something I can do!
Midnight sighed, resigned. It seemed they were close to a decision.
What does it matter? I will move to the Third Event! Izuku pondered. The Third Event of U.A. Sports Festival… a dream come true, right? Hero agencies and people will get to see more of me! They don't care about the first two events, only the third one!
And yet, he only felt his heart clench painfully at the faces of Mineta and the others. Izuku's eyes were drawn to those of the other departments, students that hadn't made it to the Hero Department. Everyone else averted their eyes, unwilling to be tempted on doing anything stupid that could ruin their opportunities to get to the next event.
I've come too far now to just throw it away! Izuku angrily thought. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to ignore it all. I have people rooting for me to win!
And yet, Izuku couldn't bring himself to do nothing. Even if it mean earning Rabbit Girl's ire... even if it threatened everything Izuku had struggled to obtain after many hardships... he knew what the right thing to do was.
Midnight shook her head and, defeated, went to stand next to Endeavor. The students stared apprehensively. It was already decided by the looks of it. Midnight opened her mouth, ready to declare the new decision. Endeavor, certain that everything had been decided in his favor, smirked.
"I'll withdraw"
"Sis, what's going on down there?" Hana tentatively asked.
"I have no idea" Rumi replied, scratching her head. "Looks like they are discussing something."
"I think they are voting on something" Haku guessed. He squinted at the arena. "They are... staring at Fox Boy".
"Huh? What's he doing now?" Rumi frowned, confused. "This isn't about forgoing the second round, is it?"
The crowd, after all, seemed to be eager to just get the Sports Festival moving. The Third Event was the most viewed event out there. Everyone probably was too impatient.
Rumi glared at Izuku as he was suddenly the focus of everyone down below.
Don't do anything stupid, Fox Boy, Rumi pleaded. For once in your life, you silly fox, think about yourself and making it to the top!
Unfortunately, all she could do was clench her fists and grit her teeth. Fox Boy, she knew, would somehow find some way to throw his entire career down the drain.
Silence. Slowly, oh so painfully slowly, every eye turned towards Izuku.
"What?" Endeavour asked.
Izuku's fury ebbed, replaced by embarrassment as he noticed every single eye on him. Fear and apprehension swelled in his chest and his heart slammed against his chest, threatening to break free. Iida and Ochaco stared, wide-eyed. They weren't the only ones.
What the hell is wrong with me?! Izuku thought, starting to panic.
"Izuku…?" Ochaco murmured, pale.
Why couldn't I just keep quiet?! Izuku felt tears starting to prick his eyes.
"Midoriya?" Midnight whispered, baffled.
No… I can't just chicken out now! Izuku thought, clenching his fists. Even if it means Rabbit Girl will be pissed… and I will disappoint mom… I have to stick to what I believe in.
"M-Mineta… A-A-Asui… Shoji and S-Sero… all of T-team Yukimora" Izuku stammered with a shaky voice, slowly gaining confidence. "If we change the rules and move on to the Third Event… then I'll withdraw".
Endeavour scoffed, amused.
"Really? They'll just fail anyway" Endeavour harrumphed. "Their performance was pitiable".
The teams in question looked like they had been smacked right on their faces. Why would the Number Two hero say that to their faces?
"Then let them fail. Don't rob them of the opportunity" Izuku muttered with all the courage he could muster. He gulped as Endeavour squinted angrily at him.
Holy crap, what's wrong with me?! He's the Number Two Hero! I am so screwed! Izuku mentally panicked. What possessed me to say that I will withdraw? I am replaceable! Just a student! He is actually relevant and influential, not to mention a guest of UA! I will lose my chance to reach the Third Event and-
"I'll withdraw as well".
Now that seemed to punch the air out of Endeavor. Izuku blinked at Todoroki, baffled.
"M-me too" Yaoyorozu shyly added.
Izuku noticed Iida's clenched fists shaking and how he scrunched his face with painful determination, looking at his feet. Suddenly, he mechanically raised a hand.
"As class representative, I can't allow for my fellow classmate to be robbed an important and fundamental opportunity!" Iida exclaimed vehemently. "While people might wish otherwise, the rules dictate for another round!"
"What the hell?!" Bakugo shouted. "You extras are serious?!"
"I… I'll withdraw as well" tentatively added Ochaco, grimacing.
"Hey, don't leave me out!" Mina chuckled. "I'll withdraw too".
"It's unmanly to give up on your classmates!" Kirishima said, rising a hand. "If Mina goes, I'll go as well".
"What the hell" Jiro sighed, shrugging.
Jiro raised her hand while Kaminari folded his arms, looking away. A poke from her earphone jacks later and Kaminari was begrudgingly raising a hand as well. Tokoyami and Aoyoma followed their example without saying a word. Hatsume sighed and, looking utterly reluctant, followed suit.
"I'll… I'll withdraw as well"
Everyone looked at the girl who said it. To their shock, it was Bakugo's female teammate.
"What? You won't!" Bakugo spat, furious.
"We will make it to the Third Event!" Shinso hissed. "It isn't like it will change anything!" Under his breath, he added "I can't risk the other teams figuring out my quirk! We won't have the element of surprise this time!"
Izuku, with his fox ears, made a mental note about that last bit. However, he was a tad too anxious and stressed, as well as disbelieving, to think about anything other than his last bout of stupidity. Midnight smiled at them. Smirking, she turned towards a stunned Endeavor.
"So… second round?" Midnight said.
Endeavor scoffed, but didn't say anything. "I suppose we'll follow the will of brats throwing a fit…" he sent a furious glare towards his son, who responded in kind.
Midnight turned towards the competitors.
"Back to the arena then! The next round of the Second Event will commence shortly!" She proclaimed.
Izuku sighed, trying to still his shaking hands. That had been stressing to say the least. He rested a hand on his chest. For a moment there he felt like he was about to faint. He took a deep breath and turned around… only to come face to face with Bakugo.
"You think you are fucking hero standing up for those extras, don't you Deku?" Bakugo growled.
"Hey, back off!" Ochaco exclaimed, stepping between the two.
"Now is not the time for this! You will have your chance to fight us in the arena!" Iida said, also stepping in before the situation escalated.
"You wanted the losers to have their fucking second chance? Fine" Bakugo huffed "You could have made it to the Third Event…"
Izuku squinted at Bakugo, baring his sharp teeth. He didn't speak, however. The two merely glared at each other, all while Ochaco and Iida tried – and failed – to de-escalate the exchange.
"…I'll crash you, Deku" Bakugo said with a sadistic smirk.
Years and years of bullying, of degrading comments and of tears and pain all flashed across the emerald eyes. Instead of anger, however, a new feeling rose to his gut. Izuku, far from intimidated, leaned forward.
"Bring it" Izuku growled with defiance.