Once More (My Hero Academia)

24: The Final Round

That tiny bit of disorientation was all Katsuki needed.

When Katsuki blasted at the ground, the force propelled him upward as well, and with a couple more directional explosions, he was spinning toward Deku like a tornado and missile combined.

"HOWITZER IMPACT!!"

The move was hasty with little momentum so it didn't achieve its full potential, but it was still powerful enough to send shockwaves throughout the stadium and break the ground underneath Deku.

Katsuki hit the ground on his side with a thump, the muscles in his forearms burning from the explosion, but he wasn't done. He scrambled to his feet and held his palms close together, his fingers tense. The entire arena was submerged in smoke and debris from his explosion.

Quick footsteps. A flicker of green.

Instinctually, Katsuki threw his palms towards his right, his body acting before his eyes even registered Deku. But instead of his usual explosion, a blinding light filled the space between his hands and his opponent.

Deku flinched with a gasp of surprise, and Katsuki took the opportunity to send a punch across Deku's face, and Deku barely managed to block the blow with his arms.

But Katsuki wasn't done. He attacked with explosion after explosion in rapid succession, while Deku dodged and redirected but never got the chance to counter.

"Come on!" Katsuki screamed, "I told you not to hold back!"

"I will not!" Deku's gaze became ablaze with anger, and the green lightning around him flashed as if responding to his emotions.

Deku's moves suddenly became faster, and Katsuki's eyes widened as the green-haired boy shot forward, closed the distance, and grabbed Katsuki's arm mid-explosion.

Yanking the blond boy forward by his arm, Deku threw a powerful punch, straight at Katsuki's face.

Katsuki twisted just in time to avoid the impact but Deku's punch seemed to rip through the space around them, and before Katsuki registered what happened, he felt an air blast collide with him, knocking the breath out of his lungs and tossing him across the arena like a doll. The ground smashed into him, and pain racked his body.

Katsuki wheezed and coughed, his chest heaving and his arms trembling as he pushed himself back onto his feet. He still... wasn't done.

Deku was standing further away. Katsuki noticed the strain in his green eyes, the pain in his expression. The pain... This wasn't the first time Katsuki had noticed that pain. A pain that seemed out of place on Deku's face, and it annoyed the hell out of Katsuki.

"Stop it," Katsuki seethed.

Deku looked at him, confused, "Stop what? My headache?"

Katsuki knew damn well that the pain in Deku's expression wasn't just because of a stupid headache. It went beyond the sports festival, and it occurred to Katsuki that Deku didn't actually care about what happened in this arena, but about something greater.

As if he was greater.

"Stop acting like this is all some kind of joke to you," Katsuki growled, "You're always hiding things, planning things, believing that you're somehow superior or holy or some shit. Always acting like some goddamn chosen one."

Deku scowled, "Kacchan, I don't know why you thought that but I will NEVER treat this like a joke. I want to win just as much as you do, and if there's one person I will never underestimate, it's you."

They didn't need to say anything more. The two boys knew that whatever conflict they had between them, words were useless. They will settle this here and now, in the arena.

•••

Izuku couldn't hold back his anger anymore. Bakugo seemed to think that he didn't care about this match, but the truth was that he cared too much, to the point that it was excruciating. The memories... were excruciating.

Bakugo was a childhood friend. A friend who always smacked away Izuku's helping hand. A friend who, even while vanishing through a murky black portal in the hands of a villain, choked out, "Don't come, Deku."

But also a friend who threw himself in front of Izuku and blocked a fatal blow. Izuku could still remember that moment -- bright red tendrils stabbing out from Bakugo's body, blood dripping.

By the end of his last life, Izuku and Bakugo were able to become comrades -- even friends, in some way. But Izuku feared that their relationship will never be like that again. Not after the time travel. Not with the unbreakable barrier of two extra years between them.

Blackwhip sprung into existence and Izuku leaped high into the air, leaving a streak of green lightning behind him. Bakugo looked up, his red eyes gleaming and his palms bright.

Izuku's strengthened kick met Bakugo's explosion, the power of both attacks many times greater than before.

The two boys fought, green lightning and black tendrils weaving and colliding with explosions that became more precise and vicious by the second. Izuku's movements were fueled by experience and raw strength, but Bakugo's stronger build and frightening reflexes made it hard for Izuku to land a winning blow.

Snatching up pieces of broken concrete from the ground with Blackwhip, Izuku threw them at Bakugo, who lifted his palms and blew apart the projectiles instantly. But the attack distracted Bakugo from the extra tendril aimed at his legs.

Blackwhip tripped Bakugo and he landed on his chest. Before he got up completely, Izuku's strong kick to his shoulder smashed him to the ground again.

Bakugo tried to push himself up again, but his arms, clearly strained from overusing his quirk, trembled so violently they struggled to support his weight. But Izuku knew that Bakugo would never give up.

Bakugo yelled and shoved himself up. With explosive speed he grabbed onto Izuku's waist, knocking him backward. His palms made contact with Izuku's back, and the next instant Izuku felt the explosion nearly tear apart his body. The deafening boom and the ringing that followed, combined with his pre-existing headache, sent waves of pain through his head.

Bakugo knelt above Izuku, his right foot pinning Izuku's arm down. Bakugo pulled back a trembling arm and sent an explosion at Izuku's face. Izuku's free hand shot up to protect himself, but it was barely enough.

Bakugo raised his arm for another attack, but Blackwhip suddenly shot up and wrapped around his arm. With a yelp, Bakugo was thrown off.

Izuku pushed himself up, but his body was nearing its limit. Although his body's limit never really stopped him from fighting, he wasn't planning to destroy his body, especially in a fight with Bakugo. Harming his own body had caused Bakugo to get kidnapped by villains in Izuku's last life, and the idea of reliving that moment pained Izuku.

So Izuku lowered his stance again, and Blackwhip wrapped around his right arm firmly like armor. Bakugo had seen this move in Izuku's fight against Todoroki, and he knew what was coming, so he took a deep breath and the air sizzled and popped around his palms.

Then air blast met explosion, and the stadium shook.

Class 1-A had all stood up from their seats by then.

"Who... who won?" Uraraka stretched her neck to get a clearer look at the arena.

"I don't know. There's too much smoke," Kirishima replied.

Then gradually, the smoke dissipated, and the stadium gasped at the sight, then cheered.

Izuku stood, fist trembling, his black whip-like power still wrapped around his arm.

Bakugo was on his side, struggling to get up.

"Bakugo is out of bounds! Midoriya wins!"