You lean against the cold wall in the dark hallway, eyes closed with music blasting in your ears.
'Don't overthink. Three quirks against one. I WILL walk back down this hall as the winner. I WILL advance. Don't overthink. Don't overthink. Don't overthink.'
"LET'S BEGIN THE NEXT ROUND!!!" You hear Present Mic announce through your music.
Taking out the devices from your ears, you stuff them into your gym jacket pockets and walk towards the opening at the end of the hall.
'Here we go.' Present Mic introduces Bakugou.
'This is all you.' Your uncle then goes on to introduce you.
You take one last deep breath and smile as you step out into the light of the arena.
The crowd cheers loudly, chanting both yours and Bakugou's names.
The boy walks towards the middle with a snarl of a smile, confidence radiating off of him.
The two of you stand in front of each other, both of you refusing to look away first.
"Which one of these strong heroes-in-the-making will advance to the last and final round?!?" Present Mic asks to get the audience riled up. They respond, screaming your names.
"ME." Bakugou growls.
You scoff, "You're in for a rude awakening."
He responds with a cocky smile, his red eyes gleaming, "We'll see about that...fireless."
He draws out that last word, taunting you.
'No. He wants to make you feel bad. Don't you dare let him get in your head.'
"TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!" Present Mic says.
You take your stance, shifting the weight between your feet, finding your center.
Bakugou takes a few steps backwards, his eyes never leaving yours. He takes a firm stance, legs bent and hands ready to activate his quirk.
"READY..."
'Inhale...exhale.' You think as you take a deep breath.
"SET..."
You lift your chin a little higher, slightly looking down at the blonde boy a few feet in front of you.
A low snarl escapes from his lips.
"GOOO!!!"
Bakugou does not hesitate, charging at you quickly.
You stomp your foot hard against the cement and swing your arm up.
Bakugou crashes hard against a gray wall no bigger than the size of a door.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!?" Present Mic screeches.
The audience's reaction is a mixture of gasps and confused silence.
You bring your arm back in and slowly push it out in front of you, the wall of cement mimicking the movement, pushing Bakugou out towards the out of bounds line.
He gets up quickly, planting his feet on the ground and shifting his weight into his hands, trying to stop the wall using only his physical strength.
You start walking towards him, your hand still stretched out in front of you, speeding up the wall.
"It seems she has not two but THREE different aspects to her quirk!!! We've seen air, we've seen water and this, everybody, is Earth control!!!" Present Mic announces through the loudspeakers.
You can't help but laugh a little at your uncle pretending to be astounded by your abilities.
"Bakugou is trying to stop the attack with only his body's force, but it seems his efforts are to no avail." Aizawa narrates, calmly.
Bakugou gives in, now a couple feet away from being out of bounds, he uses his quirk.
The angry blonde blows through the cement wall, sending debris flying across the arena.
A thin layer of dust fills the air and the wheels in your mind start turning.
You smirk, 'Thanks for the idea Bakugou.'
You plant your foot down solidly, twisting the ball of your foot into the ground.
Bakugou starts running towards you with his hand outreached, little sparks dancing around in his palm as he activates his quirk.
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" Bakugou yells, angry from getting a face full of wall.
The ground begins to rumble as small eruptions of debris erupt around you and Bakugou, covering the arena in a thick blanket of dust.
"Wait I can't see!" Present Mic complains.
"That's the point." Aizawa says annoyed at the loud blonde.
"HOW CAN THEY FIGHT LIKE THAT?!?" Present Mic says exasperated.
"It's a strategy. Bakugou's sight is limited, putting him at a disadvantage, while she can use her quirk to locate exactly where he is in the dust." Aizawa explains to the audience.
"This battle just got even more exciting! Let's see who makes it out of there first!" Present Mic says excitedly.
You crouch down, letting a knee rest on the ground and placing your palm to the cement. Closing your eyes and staying still you search for movement on the surface of the arena floor. Your mind creates a colorless depiction of the arena floor and highlighted ripples appear on the left half, between the midline and the out of bounds line at the back.
"Gotcha." You say under your breath.
You begin walking towards his location, a dark figure soon coming into view.
A smile tugs at your lips and you blow some air out of your mouth, the air around you mimics the movement, sending a strong gust of wind his way.
You watch as the figure tumbles down to the ground. In three separate pieces.
'What the hell?' Your brows knit together in confusion.
Running over to examine the situation, the realization hits you.
"Goddamnit, that sneaky little-" You curse under your breath.
Three boulder sized chunks of cement lay before you, having been stacked up to form a body-like shadow.
A familiar scream echoes from above you. You look up in time to see Bakugou using his quirk to keep him in the air as he sends a large blast your way.
You dodge it as best you can, only your right foot feeling the effects of the blast.
You bite down on your lip in order to avoid letting out a cry.
"Bakugou just used her own strategy against her!!! Looks like he had a surprise attack of his own!" Present Mic yells.
You put your hands down and push yourself up to standing, wincing a little at the pain in your foot. Bakugou drops to the floor, rolling as soon as he lands to avoid shattering his ankles.
You watch as he rises slowly, a devilish smile on his lips.
You wipe the blood off of your lips with the back of your hand and start walking towards him.
You lift your arms at your side and all of the rubble and clusters of cement rise up into the air.
Swinging your arms in front of you, the debris is sent flying towards Bakugou.
The audience gasps in anticipation. At this point people were raised, standing up off of their seats.
Bakugou blasts as many of the blocks racing towards him, sending explosion after explosion.
A couple of your attacks manage to hit him, tearing through his jacket and grazing the skin beneath.
'He's so focused on my attack right now I can send a strong enough gust of wind to knock him out of bounds. Or maybe I could use water instead since I haven't shown that one off as much and the heroes need to see that I can-' Your thinking gets cut off.
"Is that all you've got?!?" Bakugou yells at you, blasting away the last of the concrete you sent flying. He stands there panting, donning fresh scratches on his face, yet still bearing that cocky grin.
You let out a little laugh, "Bakugou are you tired already?"
He smirks, "Oh you mean tired the way you were every day of training?"
A bright orange explosion flies towards you and you turn in the direction of the air's pathway, avoiding it swiftly.
"Why are you so mad about that?" You ask him, sending a wave of water his way, knocking him to the side.
Bakugou gets up in less than a second. His soaked hair falling in strands across his face.
He lets out an angry laugh, "Because you wasted my damn time! You were always late and so damn tired!" His palms begin to spark up. "You never gave it your all! And I was left training with someone who half-assed their attacks. Because they were. Too. DAMN. TIRED!"
Five explosions shoot towards you. You watch as they get closer and closer, waiting till the very last second to send a wave of water to extinguish them all.
Bakugou starts walking towards you, dreadfully slow, sparks crackling in his palms.
"Where's that fire by the way? I thought you'd have it by now, with double the training. Are you keeping it a secret just like you did with that damn earth quirk?!? Fight me with everything you've got! Or am I not good enough for your fire?!? I wasn't for your training!"
'What is he talking about? When did I say he wasn't good enough? If anything, it's me who's not good enough. He's right. Double the training for two weeks. Working on my fire for days on end. Two different partners. And still nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.'
Bakugou extends his arm and uses his other hand to hold it steady, supporting it, as he shoots out a blast three times the size of his usual one.
'Water, no air, no water. Water.' Your mind frantically races. 'It's too close.'
You throw yourself to the side, the blazing ball burning through your left side.
Your eyes water as you let out a cry.
'Shit! FOCUS!' You yell to yourself as you crash land on the cold gray floor.
You clutch your side with one hand. Shifting your weight, you use the other arm to push you up to standing. You gulp, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes due to the pain at your side. Lifting your eyes, you meet Bakugou's gaze.
"I never said you weren't good enough. I agreed to double the training because I wasn't good enough. There I said it. Are you happy?!? You were right after all. I AM pathetic. All that work and still nothing. I don't have my damn quirk! Go ahead, call me fireless!" You yell back at him.
He growls, setting another hand ablaze, "No! You don't get to do that! You don't get to give up! I'm not going to win like that! Give it your damn all right now!" Three more attacks leave his hands, all aiming towards you.
'Give it your damn all right now.'
You drop your hand from holding your side.
Shooting your arms straight down, you're sent up into the air, avoiding the attack.
The wind howls as you circle around Bakugou. Lifting more of the rubble into the air, you throw them down towards him. Your vision blurs for a second, your body already feeling the effects of using two of the elements at once. You're swiftly placed back on the ground, the air's spirit lingering beside you.
Bakugou blasts some of the clusters of debris, knocking them out of his way.
Without a moment's hesitation, he quickly turns to find you. His gaze falls on yours, standing there a shade paler than your usual tone.
He starts charging towards you.
You frown in concentration, a small smirk on your lips as you move the earth beneath him in the direction of the fateful white lines. He looks down at his feet, the ground moving beneath him. Bakugou stops running and stabilizes his arms at his side, activating his quirk to shoot him up into the air. Once he's back on the ground, less than ten feet away from you, he continues his charge. You flick your fingers in an upwards motion causing a small section of the ground to rise. Bakugou rolls as he stumbles over the raised surface.
'Give it your damn all right now.' His words ring through your head.
"You little-" He pushes himself back up, and looks over at you with a mean frown.
'My all.' You unzip your gym uniform jacket, throwing it to the side.
Bakugou rises back up and once again rushes towards you, the sparks in his hands starting to grow in size, in preparation for another large blast.
'My all. My all. My all.'
You close your eyes, searching deep within yourself.
'Fire is not anger.' You remember your old teacher's voice. Taking in large breaths you do everything in your willpower to reach a state of relaxation.
As quickly as Bakugou's quirk activated, as large as the sparks got, they faded. Disappearing instantly from his hand.
Bakugou looks down at his palms, then back up at you. Only his gaze is fixated somewhere away from your eyes. His eyes are on your neck, on the visible scar that wraps around the sensitive skin. His running slows down to a walk as images of the USJ attack flash through his mind, your fierce eyes looking for a way out of Shigaraki's deadly grip.
'Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace.' You flicker your eyes open, a palm outstretched in front of you.
Your eyes move from your hand to the person standing right in front of you.
He looks at your open palm then back at you. You blink as he leans forward.
Bakugou raises his arm up slowly, moving his hand towards you.
He juts it out and his firm palm makes contact with your shoulder, knocking your equilibrium.
Your balance shifts, rolling to the outside of your right foot, and you stumble back.
"Out of bounds!!! Bakugou advances to the next round!" A voice calls out. An explosion of sound surrounds you as the crowd is sent in an uproar. The cheering and applause fade as a rush of thoughts come flooding into your mind.
You feel heat fall down your face and raise a hand to touch whatever it was, only to realize it was a tear. The single tear slides down your face but you don't bother wiping it away.
'I'm so tired.' You close your eyes. 'I am so fucking tired.'
You walk back to the dark hallway, reaching out a hand for balance on the wall.
Taking slow steps, leaning on the wall for assistance, a weird sound escapes your lips.
A burning knot forms in your chest, as you continue walking down that seemingly endless hall.
You let out a small whimper. Which leads to another, and yet another. Until you're on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. You softly drop your fist into the floor.
"Stupid quirk." You drop your fist a little harder. "Stupid fire." Once again you drop your fist with a little more force. "Stupid girl." You raise your fist one more time, slamming it down into the ground.
A tight hand wraps around your wrist stopping your fist from colliding with the floor.
"You'll break your goddamn knuckles, you dumbass." Bakugou says. His tone is different, this time. It isn't angry, or annoyed, or forced.
He stands up from his crouched position at your level. "Get up." He says, this time a bit more sternly.
You don't move.
"Tch. Don't tell me you're that tired you can't walk." He says, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"I am. I am so unbelievably tired. I gave it everything. Everything and just to get nothing. I've tried for years on end. Even when it matters the most, I'm completely useless. I couldn't save my own dad. I'm so goddamn weak." You choke out.
Bakugou lets out a somewhat annoyed grunt and crouches back down to your level, "Idiot, you had no choice. You would've died if you tried anything at the USJ." His eyes glance quickly at the scar on your neck. He looks away. "Can you stop crying? It makes me uncomfortable."
You can't help but let out a laugh. You lift your eyes to meet his and your smile quickly fades, a frown replacing it.
"You are so damn annoying." You say.
Bakugou clenches his teeth and he frowns back at you, "Wanna say that again, dumbass?"
'Or am I not good enough for your fire?!? I wasn't for your training!' His words replayed in your head.
"The next time you blame my actions for your insecurities I'm going to punch you. I needed the extra training, it wasn't cause you weren't good en-" You start.
"WHATEVER!!!" Bakugou says turning his face away, he puts his hands on his knees and pushes himself back up to standing. He starts to walk away, footsteps echoing through the empty hall. "You're only weak if you give up."
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Hiii everyone! This chapter was one of my absolute favorites to write, I really hope you all enjoy it! Once again thank you so much for voting for Ignite! Y'all when I tell you your comments make me so happy, I mean it! I look at every single one :) I really like that everyone's simping over Y/N hahaha, I'm glad you like her! See ya next chapter!