[All right! Let's begin the indoor combat training!]
All Might's voice booms through the speakers.
[TeamA and TeamD—your time starts now!]
Midoriya steps through the front entrance of the building without hesitation.
Green sparks flicker across his skin.
The next instant, he's gone—vanishing down the corridor in a blur of controlled motion.
Inside the monitoring room, the rest of Class 1-A watches the projections intently.
"He's… walking in through the front door?" Tsuyu asks, tilting her head. "Ribbit."
"That's reckless," Yaoyorozu says quietly, concern threading her voice.
"Tch. That's just asking to get blown up," Kaminari mutters.
Kirishima grins, eyes bright. "Nah—charging straight in like that? That's manly as hell!"
All Might watches silently, arms crossed.
'Good,' he thinks.
'Face it head-on, young Midoriya. Show them the control you've earned.'
At the back of the room, Izumi's gaze shifts between two screens—Bakugo tearing through corridors in a storm of explosions, and Midoriya moving with sharp, deliberate speed.
A faint smile crosses his face.
'So you chose not to run from it.'
Midoriya reaches the second floor.
The moment his foot touches the concrete, he hears it—faint at first.
A distant boom.
He turns toward the sound and begins moving.
Each step brings it closer.
Explosions.
Heavy. Aggressive. Unrestrained.
"As expected," he murmurs. "He's coming straight for me."
He lifts his hands in front of him and stares at his palms.
They're shaking.
Midoriya exhales slowly.
He clenches them.
Unclenches.
Clenches again—until the tremor fades.
"Uraraka," he says quietly into the communicator, "please proceed with Plan A."
"Understood!" her voice replies instantly. "Good luck, Deku!"
The line goes silent.
The explosions grow louder.
Midoriya closes his eyes and draws in a steady breath.
When he opens them again, he raises his hands and settles into a grounded stance—balanced, ready.
At that exact moment—
Bakugo bursts into the corridor, explosions roaring from his hands, eyes locked forward.
He sees Midoriya standing there—feet set, shoulders loose, eyes sharp—and something inside him snaps.
Midoriya isn't hesitating.
He isn't flinching.
He's ready.
That alone is enough to make Bakugo's blood boil.
"DEKU, YOU BASTARD!"
Bakugo blasts forward, explosions roaring from his palms as he closes the distance in an instant.
Midoriya doesn't respond.
He just waits.
'Right hand', he thinks calmly. That's his opener.
Bakugo's right palm flares—
—and Midoriya moves the moment the sparks appear.
Green sparks flash around his legs as he drops low, sliding beneath the explosion just as it detonates overhead. Heat washes past him, the shockwave rattling the corridor.
Bakugo's eyes widen as Midoriya passes under him.
"What the—"
Midoriya springs up immediately, twisting into a sharp side kick.
Bakugo barely raises his arm in time. The impact sends him crashing back into the wall, concrete cracking behind him as the air is driven from his lungs.
"Tch—!"
He pushes off instantly, already firing another blast.
Midoriya accelerates instead of retreating. He darts in, slapping Bakugo's wrist upward just as the explosion goes off.
The blast tears a hole straight through the ceiling, debris raining down as the entire structure shudders.
"Next attack's left," Midoriya says quietly—barely audible.
Bakugo hears it anyway.
Pure instinct takes over.
He fires with his left.
Midoriya ducks under the arm, grabs it mid-motion, and redirects it sideways.
The explosion rips through the wall, blowing out an entire section of concrete and steel. Dust floods the corridor, alarms whining faintly somewhere in the building.
Bakugo rips his arm free, furious now.
"STOP—DODGING—!"
He unleashes a rapid series of explosions, blasting the hallway apart as Midoriya weaves through them—ducking, vaulting, skidding around corners as chunks of debris slam into the floor around him.
Midoriya sprints into a wider section of the building.
"Uraraka," he says into the intercom as he runs, "get into position."
"U-Understood!" her voice replies instantly.
Bakugo barrels after him, explosions echoing off the walls.
"STOP RUNNING AND FIGHT ME, DEKU!"
Midoriya turns sharply into a massive open hall—pillars lining the space, the ceiling rising high above them.
Bakugo follows—
—and Midoriya is already there.
Midoriya steps in with a straight right punch.
"I am fighting you."
Bakugo reacts on pure reflex, blasting upward with his left hand and flipping over Midoriya's head.
He twists midair and fires with his right—
The explosion slams into Midoriya's back, sending him skidding across the floor in a spray of dust and sparks.
In the monitoring room, several students gasp.
"He got hit!" Sero blurts.
"But he blocked most of it," Ayaka says, eyes fixed on the screen.
Kirishima leans forward, grinning despite himself. "This is insane… they're going all out!"
Back in the hall, Bakugo lands hard, already blasting again.
Midoriya rolls, comes up on one knee, green sparks flashing as he pushes himself forward. He darts between pillars, using them as cover as explosions chew through concrete behind him.
Bakugo doesn't stop.
He fires again. And again. And again.
Dust clouds the hall, visibility dropping as chunks of ceiling crash down. Bakugo rockets through the smoke, sweat already beading on his face.
Midoriya watches closely—counting.
'He's using too much firepower,' he notes. 'If he keeps this up…'
Bakugo bursts through the dust, roaring as he fires a massive explosion.
Midoriya braces, crossing his arms as the blast hits him head-on.
He's driven backwards, boots carving lines into the floor as he skids across the hall, sparks flickering wildly around him.
Bakugo lands, breathing hard, eyes blazing.
"DON'T YOU DARE—" he snarls, voice cracking with rage, "—ANALYZE ME!"
Midoriya lowers his arms slowly, smoke curling off his suit.
"I'm not," he says, steady even now. "I'm trying to win."
Bakugo's teeth grind together.
"You think just because you've got some fancy quirk now—" his palms flare again, "—YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?!"
He explodes forward once more.
And Midoriya steps forward to meet him.
The hall shakes as the clash continues—two forces colliding again and again, neither willing to back down, the dust and green flashes and fire twisting together as the fight drags on, fast and brutal and relentless.
And everyone watching knows—
This isn't just training anymore.
***
The monitoring room is tense.
No one is speaking now. The screen shakes with every explosion, static crackling along the edges as Bakugo's blasts light up the hall in rapid bursts.
"He's not slowing down at all…" Kaminari mutters, eyes wide.
"That's Bakugo for you," Kirishima says, teeth clenched. "But Midoriya—he's reading everything."
Ayaka leans forward, eyebrow raised. "Midoriya isn't just dodging. He's guiding Bakugo's movements."
Izumi watches silently. "He's forcing him to overextend."
On-screen, Bakugo explodes forward again, fury etched into every movement.
***
The clash resumes.
Bakugo roars and launches himself through the dust, firing rapid explosions to close the distance. Deku moves the instant sparks flash—sidestepping one blast, rolling through another, the shockwaves tearing chunks from the pillars around them.
The hall is massive, but it's falling apart fast.
Concrete cracks. Pillars fracture. The air is thick with dust and smoke.
Bakugo doesn't stop.
He attacks relentlessly—right, left, overhead, downward blasts—using his quirk continuously, forcing Deku back step by step.
Deku blocks some, redirects others, but several explosions still catch him across the shoulders and ribs, sending him skidding across the floor.
He grits his teeth and pushes up immediately.
'He's burning through fuel fast,' Deku thinks, eyes sharp. 'If this keeps up, his output will drop.'
Bakugo lands on a pillar, plants a foot, and detonates himself forward again.
"STOP MOVING AROUND!" he snarls. "STAND STILL AND FIGHT ME!"
Deku meets him head-on this time.
Their fists clash—Deku's reinforced strike against Bakugo's explosion-boosted punch. The impact sends a shockwave ripping through the hall, dispersing the dust.
"I am fighting you," Deku says, voice steady.
Bakugo's eyes widen for half a second—then he explodes upward, flipping over Deku and blasting him in the back at point-blank range.
Deku crashes into a pillar, stone collapsing around him as he slides to one knee.
Bakugo lands hard, breathing heavier now, sweat rolling down his face.
"How dare you…" Bakugo growls. "How dare you read me like I'm some damn problem to solve!"
He fires again—wild, powerful blasts fuelled by anger.
Deku ducks, pivots, redirects one blast into the floor, another into a pillar, forcing Bakugo to reposition again and again.
A massive explosion slams into Deku head-on.
He blocks it with crossed arms, boots digging into the ground as he skids backward across the hall, smoke trailing behind him.
The monitoring room erupts.
"He took that head-on!" Ashido shouts.
"He's still standing," Todoroki says quietly. "Barely."
***
Elsewhere in the building, Uraraka moves quickly through a partially collapsed corridor.
Chunks of concrete, steel beams, broken flooring—she tags them rapidly, making them weightless and stacking them near an exposed support section.
Her breathing is quick but controlled.
'I hope Deku's okay…'
She pauses for only a second, clenching her fists.
'No. He's doing his part. I have to trust him.'
She turns back to her task, floating another slab of debris into position. "Focus, Ochaco."
***
Back in the hall, Bakugo and Deku clash again.
A final explosion forces them apart, dust and debris raining down between them.
For the first time, both of them stop.
Just for a moment.
They stand several meters apart, chests heaving, sweat dripping, the hall groaning around them.
Bakugo laughs sharply and lifts his arm, palm facing Deku. His grenade bracer clicks softly.
"You've been watching me this whole time," he says, fingers curling around the pin. "Then you should already know—this isn't just for show."
He tightens his grip. "They have been storing my sweat for one monstrous blast! I can blow this whole place sky-high!"
"So, cough it up, Deku."
Deku doesn't respond.
He simply raises his clenched fists, settling into a tight boxing stance, eyes locked forward.
Bakugo's irritation snaps into rage.
"Tch. Fine."
He pulls the pin.
The moment sparks flash—
Deku moves.
He surges forward faster than Bakugo expects—faster than he's seen yet.
Bakugo's eyes widen.
Deku slams into him, grabbing Bakugo's blasting hand and wrenching it violently to the side, pinning it away from himself. His other hand locks onto Bakugo's opposite wrist, holding him in place.
Bakugo struggles—but he's overpowered.
The explosion goes off.
A deafening boom tears through the hall.
The blast obliterates the surrounding area—walls vaporised, floor shattered, the structure collapsing downward as shockwaves rip into the lower levels.
Deku releases Bakugo and is thrown back by the force, skidding several meters before dropping to one knee.
The building shakes.
Then keeps shaking.
Creaking. Cracking. Failing.
"Are you okay, Deku?!" Uraraka's voice crackles through the intercom.
Deku breathes hard, one knee on the ground. "I'm… alright. Any second now."
A groan draws his attention.
Bakugo forces himself upright, trembling with exhaustion.
"How dare you…" he snarls. "How dare you ignore me—plan ahead—like I'm nothing!"
Tenya's voice cuts in sharply over the system. "Bakugo! What is happening over there?!"
Bakugo ignores him completely.
Deku rises slowly and meets Bakugo's gaze.
"As I said, I'm trying to win, Kacchan."
Bakugo freezes.
For a brief moment, something cracks—anger tangled with confusion, something raw and unspoken.
The building groans louder.
Both look up.
The ceiling—already fractured—begins to give way.
[YOU TWO NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!] All Might's shout blares through the speakers.
Bakugo tries to blast away—but his body doesn't respond.
His arms shake. His legs refuse to move.
'He's too fatigued,' Deku realises.
He doesn't hesitate.
From a kneeling position, green sparks surge across his body as he pushes Full Cowl to its limit.
"Kacchan!"
He launches forward and tackles Bakugo, smashing through the nearest wall and bursting out into the open air just as the ceiling collapses behind them.