Chapter 51: A Spark of Respect, A Promise of Battle
The quiet, sterile corridor felt a universe away from the roaring heart of the festival. Lee and Yaoyorozu were left in the wake of Midoriya's abrupt, energized departure, a shared look of utter bewilderment on their faces.
"Well," Yaoyorozu said, breaking the silence, a small, intrigued smile playing on her lips. "Midoriya-san is certainly full of surprises."
"Indeed," Lee agreed, his mind still reeling from the incredible depth of Midoriya's analysis. "His mind is as powerful as any Quirk."
The distant, booming voice of Present Mic, announcing the conclusion of the match between Ashido and Sero, was their cue. The quiet interlude was over.
"We should return to the stands," Yaoyorozu suggested. "The final match of the first round is about to begin."
"Yes," Lee said, a new fire in his eyes. "I would not miss it for the world."
They didn't return to the crowded student seating area. Instead, they found a less populated section higher up in the stands, a public area with a long, metal safety railing that offered a perfect, unobstructed view of the entire arena. The sheer scale of the festival, seen from this vantage point, was breathtaking. It was a colossal bowl of humanity, a churning sea of a hundred thousand faces, all focused on the small, square stage of consecrated ground below. The roar was a physical thing, a wave of sound that vibrated in their bones.
Lee placed his hands on the cool metal of the railing, his gaze fixed on the arena floor. The fatigue and pain from his battle with Todoroki had receded, replaced by a thrumming, eager energy. Yaoyorozu came to stand beside him, her posture elegant but her eyes wide with the spectacle.
"Has it begun?" she asked, her voice nearly lost in the noise.
As if in answer, Present Mic's voice cut through the air, sharp and electric. "ALRIGHT, FOLKS, DRY YOUR EYES FROM THAT LAST HEARTWARMING DISPLAY OF TEAM SPIRIT! BECAUSE IT'S TIME FOR OUR FINAL, EXPLOSIVE MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND! IT'S A CIVIL WAR! A BATTLE BETWEEN CLASSMATES, A CLASH OF FRIENDS AND RIVALS!"
From opposite tunnels, the two final combatants emerged. Denki Kaminari walked out with a confident, slightly nervous grin, waving to the crowd. Katsuki Bakugo followed, his hands in his pockets, his expression not one of his usual explosive rage, but a cold, predatory calm that was infinitely more unsettling.
They met in the center of the ring.
"On one side, the electric prankster of Class 1-A, Denki Kaminari!" Present Mic roared. "On the other, the human incarnation of a nitroglycerin-fueled tantrum, Katsuki Bakugo!"
Bakugo's cold, crimson gaze was fixed on Kaminari. He had seen Kaminari's indiscriminate shock in the cavalry battle. He had seen him reject Todoroki's offer to stand with Lee. He recognized the boy before him not as a goofy classmate, but as a genuine threat with a powerful, wide-area Quirk that could end a fight in an instant if he wasn't careful.
"Kaminari," Bakugo said, his voice a low, serious growl that held none of its usual taunting tone. "Considering how dangerous your Quirk can be, I can't afford to hold back." He raised his gauntleted fists, small sparks already popping in his palms. "I'm going to blow you to kingdom come."
Kaminari's cheerful grin didn't falter, but his eyes were sharp with focus. He knew this wasn't a game. He had seen Bakugo's ruthless performance against Uraraka. He was being shown the ultimate respect of his rival's full attention.
"As for me," Kaminari replied, his own voice steady, "I won't be holding back for a single second either. So, do what you want."
The starting bell shrieked.
The battle was immediate and absolute. Kaminari didn't hesitate. He thrust both hands forward, a defiant roar tearing from his throat. "1.3 MILLION VOLTS! INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK!"
The air itself seemed to split apart as a colossal, blindingly bright wave of raw, yellow electricity erupted from his body. His hair and clothes whipped around him as he unleashed the absolute maximum output of his Quirk in a single, desperate, all-or-nothing gambit.
But Bakugo was ready. In the split second before the lightning reached him, he brought his gauntleted hands together, aiming them forward like the barrel of a cannon. He focused all his power, all his fury, into a single, massive, concentrated blast.
"HOWITZER IMPACT!"
A deafening, concussive explosion, a brilliant dome of orange and white light, roared from his palms. The two forces of nature met in the center of the arena.
It was not a simple collision. The raw electricity of Kaminari's attack flowed into Bakugo's explosion, supercharging it, feeding it, causing it to swell into a volatile, unstable, and utterly massive sphere of white-hot plasma. For a breathtaking moment, a miniature sun was born on the stage.
Then, it detonated.
The resulting shockwave was immense. Kaminari, caught at the epicenter of his own super-charged attack, was sent flying backwards, his body tumbling through the air like a ragdoll before crashing onto the grass just a few feet outside the boundary line.
Bakugo, too, was thrown back by the amplified recoil of his own blast. He shot backwards across the stage, his boots digging trenches in the concrete, stopping with a jarring shudder just inches from the white line. He stood there, panting heavily, smoke pouring from his gauntlets, his entire body covered in a fine layer of black soot.
There was a stunned silence, and then Midnight cracked her whip. "Kaminari is out of bounds! The winner is Bakugo!"
The crowd erupted in a roar of appreciation for the short but unbelievably spectacular display of power. Medics rushed to Kaminari, who, though completely dazed and covered in soot, gave a weak but cheerful thumbs-up.
Bakugo walked over to where his friend and rival was sitting on the ground, a blank, goofy look on his face from his Quirk's backlash. The crowd quieted, watching. Bakugo looked down at him, his own face a mask of black soot, and wordlessly, he extended a hand.
Kaminari looked at the offered hand, then up at Bakugo's serious, unsmiling face. A wide, genuine grin broke through the soot on his face. He took the hand, and Bakugo pulled him effortlessly to his feet. It was a small, silent gesture of respect, a moment of camaraderie between two warriors who had just given the fight their absolute all.
As the arena was cleared and the final eight contestants' photos were displayed on the giant screen, the stadium buzzed with speculation. The first round was over. The quarter-finals were about to begin.
Lee and Yaoyorozu stood at the railing, having watched the entire exchange with intense focus. The sheer, overwhelming power on display was a humbling reminder of the level of competition at U.A.
Then, the screen flickered, and the first matchup of the quarter-finals was announced.
"AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! LET'S KICK OFF THE QUARTER-FINALS WITH A BATTLE OF THE TITANS! ON ONE SIDE, THE BOY WHOSE STRATEGIC MIND AND UNYIELDING SPIRIT HAS CAPTURED ALL OF OUR HEARTS, IZUKU MIDORIYA! VERSUS! THE UNDEFEATED CHAMPION, THE MAN WHO SHATTERED EVERY EXPECTATION, THE GREEN COMET OF U.A., ROCK LEE!"
The stadium erupted in a roar so loud it felt like an earthquake. This was the match everyone had secretly been hoping for. The two great underdogs. The two impossible stories. The two boys who fought with a spirit that seemed to burn brighter than any Quirk.
From a tunnel below, Midoriya was shown walking onto the stage, his expression a mask of intense, nervous, and utterly resolute determination.
Lee watched his friend and rival's image on the screen. He turned to Yaoyorozu, and the brilliant, confident smile she had seen before his fight with Todoroki returned to his face.
"It is my turn," he said simply.
He didn't walk to the stairs. With a grace that seemed to defy the very laws of physics, he placed his hands on the railing, vaulted over it, and landed as light as a feather on the walkway several feet below. He began to jog towards the entrance tunnel, a solitary green figure moving with purpose and intent towards his destiny.
Yaoyorozu leaned over the railing, a look of awe and deep, genuine concern on her face. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted after his retreating form, her voice full of a support she didn't know she had.
"Do your best, Lee-san!"
He didn't look back, but he raised a single hand in a wave of acknowledgement. The stage was set. The two boys who had been told their dreams were impossible were about to face each other, and the world was watching.