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"Well that was anticlimactic." Bakugo said with slumped shoulders while looking with slight concern at the two now unconscious bodies.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!!?" Ochako shouted in complete astonishment.
Deku turned around and eyed the two.
"What was what?" He asked in response.
"What do you mean what??"
I mean what."
"You know what!"
"What?"
Ochako growled lowly at the games he was playing with her.
"I see no reason to be angry." Deku told the two.
"That was a cheap shot!" Sero yelled, finally finding a place in this conversation.
"Yeah! Momo was so sexy and scary that I couldn't decide what was more attractive! You should've lost! I know I would've!" Mineta yelled.
Disgusted by his words, Ochako was getting ready to make grape juice, but was stopped in her tracks.
Deku had launched from his spot and rushed forwards. He lit up his hand in energy as he flew towards the crowd and swiped it across the air, sending a blast of energy towards the entire class. This managed to create yet another explosion of power that made winds pick up once again.
The only ones not affected were Bakugo and Uraraka. No, that's not it. They were the only ones not targeted.
"No more distractions. This test is ending now." Deku stated as he turned around and faced the two he did not attack.
"You knocked them all out!?" Bakugo shouted.
"Wow. I didn't know Mineta hit a sensitive spot in your heart. Were you actually scared of Momo?" Ochako asked with a smug look on her face.
Deku swiped the air again, sending a quick attack that was practically invisible at Ochako. However, she just brushed that attack off like it was nothing.
"Do not test me. I have no need for your mind games." Deku told her.
"Besides, she would've been scarier with red hair."
The wind slowly picked up as the tension in the air rose up. They were at a final standoff and they knew it.
"It's finally time for this test to end. I've gone long enough dealing with all of your futile attempts at defeating me. If it's any consolation, I'll test them later. For now, you two will face me."
Bakugo hit his left palm with his right fist while making an explosion.
"Exactly the words I wanted to hear." He said with a wicked grin.
"It's finally my turn! I'll show you what I've got!" Ochako said while getting in a fighting stance.
They stayed in their fight ready positions for a little until they realized something.
"Wait...."
"Wait...."
"I HAVE TO WORK WITH HIM/HER!??" They each shouted while pointing at each other.
Deku sighed while facepalming and dragging his hand down his face.
"Well you don't have to," He began.
"FOR REAL!?" They each shouted hopefully.
"But you would die if your tried on your own."
"....."
"....."
"I'm still trying on my own."
"Hey!" Ochako yelled in protest to the blonde next to her.
"I'd rather die than work with you!" He shouted back.
"You're about to die in a minute!!" She shouted back while bumping heads with him.
"Actually you're both about to die in a min-"
"SHUT UP AND STAY OUT OF IT!!" They both shouted at Deku.
"....."
It was silent for a little while until they both started to pick up in some mumbling coming from Deku.
"......he's a boy. She's your girlfriend, he's a boy. She's your girlfriend, he's a boy. She's your girlfriend, he's a boy. She's your-"
"What are you mumbling about?" Bakugo asked.
"Reasons not to kill you where you stand."
They were so shocked that they each took a step back. They had no idea he could be so intense! He said that with such a casual tone that it caught them off guard.
"If you want to kill me, then do it! I'd never die to the likes of you!" Bakugo dared.
"Oh?" Deku questioned. "You were shaking in your boots a couple minutes ago. Something along the lines of, 'HOW DID DEKU GET SO STRONG' or 'HE'S STRONGER THAN ME!'. Sound familiar?"
"How did-"
"You didn't forget I can read minds, did you?" Deku said while tapping the side of his head.
"It doesn't matter what you can do! All that matters is that I beat right here and now!" Bakugo shouted as he launched himself towards Deku with his explosions.
He used his explosions as a boost and was getting ready for his famous right hook. Deku sighed as he got ready to catch it, but was shocked when he received a hit the the jaw from his right foot.
"DIE!!" Bakugo shouted as he used his right hook to explode Deku's gut.
Deku was flown back with such force that even he was shocked. He flipped and regrouped in the ground but Bakugo was already in his face with an explosion at the ready. He attacked but Deku straightened himself so the explosive hand grazed his nose before colliding with the ground. Before Deku could prepare for an attack, the force from the explosion knocked him back again.
"I'm gonna send you back down to the hole you crawled out of! Bakugo shouted.
He brought his hands out in front of him and started charging his explosions up in his hands.
"Every attack I made was meant to hit you! I counted on you dodging my attacks so I made sure my explosions would pack extra force so that even if you dodged my attacks, you would still get hit by the full force of my explosions." Bakugo explained while still charging up his explosions.
"Wow." Deku exclaimed while getting up from the earlier attack. "I had no idea that there were more than just nukes and anger in that head of yours."
"I've figured out your fighting style." Bakugo stated. "You count on your opponents to make the first move, then use your speed to dodge and catch them off guard. As soon as an opening is made, you attack them. Sometimes you will let your opponents get hits in on you so they can let their guard down and you can strike back with even more force. Or you discourage them from the start and completely overpower them. You attack one's mental state. Their feelings, emotions and thoughts. You count on all of them to tell you your next move - to see with what intensity you handle a fight."
Deku eyes went a little wide in shock. He had no idea that Bakugo had been so observant.
"The fight with Aizawa jr., Icyhot, round face, even the entire 1st and 2nd round of the Sports Festival! You implemented this same thing and played everyone. You could simply fight like the rest of us, you have the power and speed to do so. But no. Fighting this way is more complex than any other fighting style. Icyhot may have thought that he learned your fighting style, but he didn't, you only led him to believe that. You use one's own power, abilities, even their own bodies against them in addition your own power. That's what makes you so dangerous. The way you look down on everyone you face, yet hold that sense of security in your fighting, like you know that one may eventually prove you wrong. You're counting on it. You have quite literally no flaws in your fighting style. The reason is, this style is impossible to copy or replicate without your power. This is your style and your style only. The fact that almost no one could read it makes it all the more dangerous."
Even Ochako was shocked at this. She didn't know that Bakugo read so much into it. He's learned and figured out so much without even having a proper fight with him.
"That doesn't matter though," Bakugo continued. "As long as I keep my mind focused, you can't use it against me. I'm only focused on one thing as that is beating you once and for all. Even if you just use your own power against me, I'll just use my power to counter yours. No matter what happens I will defeat you. There's no way I'll let you beat me so easily. I'm going to win!! COUNT ON IT!!"
As soon as his gauntlets were ready and he finished charging his explosions, he looked on with a sinister grin.
"DODGE THIS!!"
"Ultimate Move: Super Explosive Wave!!"
He covered his chest in an 'x' formation with his arms and released it along with all the explosive power he could muster and released an enormous wave of pure explosive energy. The attack caused a huge amount of light to cover the sky as more and more waves of explosions swept across the mock city, leaving nothing but pure ashes and rubble in its wake.
The light died down and what was revealed was astonishing.
The entire city was nothing but a crater.
That attack packed more force than any of the attacks that Deku released combined. Deku had restraint so he didn't damage any of the buildings more than he had to.
Bakugo, however, did things a little differently.
"Woah Bakugo, I had no idea you had that much pow-"
"It's not over." He interrupted. "It can't be over! There's no way!"
The smoke that built up subsided and revealed Deku in the ground, the energy and aura that surrounded him completely vanished and his hair reverted back to its original state of green with shades of black. The top part of his suit - which was supposed to be able to withstand the full force of his heat - was completely burned off.
"NO!!" He shouted with a scowl. "IT'S NOT OVER YET!!"
He launched himself forward with more explosions while gritting his teeth in pain.
He had overused his quirk.
His hand now started feeling more pain than ever, but he ignored the pain and kept on going. He positioned himself for another attack.
"AP Shot!!"
With that, he launched a number of small explosions towards the body on the ground which created more clouds of smoke and the ground started rumbling.
He was panting now after using so much energy, but he didn't stop there. He dragged himself over to a bigger piece of rubble and used all his strength to lift it up. He managed to just barely lift it up and charged his hands with more explosions which only aggravated his hands even more.
"TAKE THIS!!" He shouted as he exploded the piece of rubble which made it turn into smaller pieces of rubble and got sent straight at Deku.
They landed with a big bang on the body stuck on the ground, now with a pile of rubble added to it.
Bakugo dropped to one knee as the toll of all this exerted energy finally hit him. He forced himself back to his feet and started stepping his way slowly towards the pile of rubble.
"I... have to..... finish this." Bakugo said. "How will I.... ever prove myself. I need... to do.... this."
He inched closer and closer pile of rubble and knocked it over and out of the way to reveal Deku with a bunch of scratches, bruises, and deep cuts all over his body. Bakugo shakily lifted a fist and aimed it towards Deku. He fired the fist at him and before he could even get close to connecting,
His fist was caught.
Deku's hand shot up and caught it before it could connect. He slowly lifted himself up, his hand still firmly placed on Bakugo's fist.
"Thank you for your detailed analysis and praise of my fighting style. It warms the heart."
The ice cold tone greatly contrasted to his words and anyone listening could easily tell that. Suddenly a blue, white, and purple mixture of heat started swirling around Deku enough that it was almost blinding. But when their sight returned, they could see that all the scratches, bruises, and cuts were gone. His hair was black with shades of silver. He even smelled brand new!
He opened his eyes to reveal that intimidating silver glow.
"You've done well to impress me. But it's over now." He said as he lifted his left hand and faced the palm of his hand directly at Bakugo's face.
The palm of his hand started to glow with a light blue color to it and bright orange sparks started emitting from it.
Then, he sent an explosion right at Bakugo's face.
The force of this explosion was much greater than anything Bakugo could've done. Luckily, he was used to explosive impact so it had minimal effect.
Well, minimal in the fact that any other person's head would've been blown clean off.
Bakugo landed roughly on the ground while rolling a little before he stopped. He coughed up a little dust before looking up to see Deku walking towards him. Explosive sparks flying from each hand.
"My quirk," Bakugo began. "He replicated it."
"I just couldn't wait to see the look on your face when I revealed it." Deku informed him with a smirk. "By building up and combining my heat and energy to its maximum in the palms of my hands. I can create pseudo explosions that far surpass any of what you could produce."
"So thank you for giving me such an opportunity."
He said those words before he launched himself at Bakugo ready to attack.
Bakugo was already weakened from his earlier attempts and the explosive attack he received not made things worse. He was getting ready to take the blow until his train of thought was interrupted.
"SMASH!!"
Deku was sent back from the force of the blow. Ochako landed in front of Bakugo with a determined look on her face.
"Don't worry Bakugo, I'll help you out!" She said.
"Why are you here?" He demanded to know in his weakened state.
"Well, I originally didn't want to work with you because I thought you were only a jerkface who had an idiotic grudge against Deku and couldn't be trusted."
"Wha-"
"But now, I don't think that." She continued. "I think you're a jerkface with an idiotic grudge against Deku and can't be trusted, but has the resolve to beat him. I can work with that!" She said with a bright smile.
Bakugo blinked twice at her before replying again.
"I officially hate you more than Deku."
He got to his feet and faced the challenge in front of him.
"Any ideas, round face?" Bakugo asked.
"Here's an idea: stop calling me round face!" She retorted with a glare.
"Fine. Any ideas, pink cheeks?" Bakugo replied with a smug look on his face.
Her left eye twitched in annoyance and anger but she held it back while focusing on the bigger picture.
"He seems to have released more power than before. It's like he has an endless supply of it, just waiting for the chance to release it." Ochako stated while deep in thought.
"Wow. It's not like everyone and their mother noticed, or anything. Oh wait! They did." Bakugo said with a blank face.
"Shut your face!" She yelled at him with a pout.
"What is your point?" He emphasized slowly.
"My point is, he must have some kind of weakness." Ochako affirmed. "He's said once that his one weakness was that he had too much power. But what if there's more to it than that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. What normally happens when you have too much power?" She asked.
"Normally, when your strength is too much, your speed takes a hit, and vice-versa." Bakugo confirmed.
"Exactly! In order to be most effective, there has to be a balance between speed and power. If he had as much power as he did speed, then we wouldn't be able to see him."
"What are you saying?"
"The way he fights right now, isn't all that different from how he fights normally. This is "Level 2" of his quirk, yet he fights practically the same way. If I remember correctly, he said he could move instantaneously in this level. Yet I've only seen him do it a couple times now. It's like, he can't do it right now."
"So you're saying," Bakugo began to speak. "Because of his massive amount of power, the amount of times or even the ability to move at instantaneous speeds is limited?"
"Yes. It has to be it. It's no wonder why he constantly trains even though, description-wise, he would never really need to. He trains to counterbalance his inability to use his full speed. My guess is, the more he uses his instantaneous speed, the slower he gets. By his standards of course. It's still practically light speed in our eyes. It's no wonder why he was able to hide it for so long. It all makes sense now, that's what he meant when he said he had too much power." Ochako said in realization.
"So what do we do now?" Bakugo asked.
"Well this is all just speculation until we get some real answers. If there's any way we can force him to use his instantaneous speed, then we have to do it." Ochako said.
"I have flash bombs, will that work?"
"No. He would still be able to dodge." Ochako said.
"Okay then," Bakugo said. "I've been saving this one for when I could destroy you in a fight after your cheap victory at the Sports Festival."
Ochako rolled her eyes as she listened in on what he was gonna say.
"I talked to that pink haired weirdo and she managed to help me create a grenade that stuns all the senses for about 3 seconds. I was going to go to her later to try and get a longer effect time, but this will do for now." Bakugo told her.
"Okay, wait for the signal and follow my lead." Ochako said as she eyed the silver eyed boy walking towards them with a scowl on his face.
"Wait, why do I have to follow your lead?! You follow my lead!!" He shouted at her.
"Break!" She yelled while ignoring Bakugo.
Bakugo scowled and got ready to attack.
"One For All - Full Cowling: 50%" Ochako murmured as a pink glow emitted from her and sparks of electricity started flying.
Bakugo had heard the murmur which confused him but he decided to think about it later.
She launched forward with incredible speeds and got ready for an attack.
"Detroit...." She began.
Deku was on the defensive, ready for any attack that came his way.
Or so he thought.
"Poke."
The "attack" was a poke to the eye.
"AGH!!!" Deku expressed with pain as he covered his eyes.
Then, Bakugo threw his flash bombs and blinded him further. Deku yelled out in pain and stepped back a little. All this confusion was a good time to attack and they did. Before their attacks even collided, they saw him beginning to move in a strange way. When the tried to hit him, they were basically punching at air because they couldn't land anything. It's like they were punching right through him.
Their plan was working.
Once he began regaining his bearings, he stopped moving so weirdly and began blocking their attacks. However, his speed was noticeably lower, at least, compared to before. Noticing this, Bakugo threw his special grenade and it completely dulled all senses of those who didn't brace themselves or prepared beforehand.
Which was unfortunately only Deku.
Deku was back on the defensive since he couldn't feel, see, or smell anything. Those instantaneous movements of his kicked back into full gear, this time even faster. They continued to launch relentless attacks to try and slow him down. However, it was only 3 seconds that they had and they realized it wouldn't be enough. After regaining his senses, he unleashed his power and blew them all back.
They landed on their feet and regrouped.
"Now what?" Ochako asked.
"I have an idea you're not going to like!" Bakugo exclaimed.
"What do you mean!" Ochako asked in confusion.
"Let's just say, I apologize in advance to both you and your family." He answered as he rushed forwards with explosions.
He reached Deku quickly and prepared his attack.
This was by far his greatest attack ever.
An explosive kick to the nuts.
Deku's eyes bulged out so much they looked like they would pop out. The high pitched screech that came from his mouth was enough that even the teachers couldn't help but pity him.
Ochako was appalled at that "attack". Her mouth was wide open and her eyes were wide as well. Then she focused a murderous glare at Bakugo.
"Why would you do that??!" She yelled at him.
"Priorities, round face!!" Bakugo shouted back as he went on the offensive.
"I'll so get you back for this." She mumbled as she began attacking as well.
Let's just say, Deku's instantaneous movements weren't nearly as graceful this time around. It also took a little longer for him to recover but he managed to fully heal his weak spot. But before he could do anything else, Bakugo held him in place with a full nelson hold.
"Do it round face!!" Bakugo yelled.
"Don't tell me you're gonna give me a hickey now. I will actually kill you." Deku said through gritted teeth.
"You would be so lucky if the thought of that even crossed my mind!" Bakugo retorted.
Ochako neared them both as she rushed forward with a OFA attack at the ready.
"Enough games!" Deku shouted before she could even get close enough.
He exploded in a burst of power that sent both of them back. He was panting slowly as heat started growing as well as the temperature. The look of pure rage on his face was undeniable. Not only had he been made a fool of, but he had let his weakness be exploited so easily.
Even the next generation got caught up in his mistakes.
He walked towards Bakugo and lifted up his leg. His leg started growing with a light blue color to it and bright orange sparks started emitting from it as he kicked Bakugo with explosive force all the way into Ochako as they both hit the ground with a huge thud.
"I'm ending this right here, right now."
Ochako coughed as she lifted her self up slowly and winced from the pain she was in. It was hard for her to even move let alone get up. She looked to her left to see Bakugo knocked unconscious. She looked in front of her to see Deku walking towards her with a look of anger.
She couldn't really blame him though.
"I at least have to get up." She said to herself.
She willed herself up to her feet as she stood to face Deku.
Why? She thought to herself. Why is this not good enough? Did I do something wrong? No, that can't be it. So why can't I win this? She thought to herself in frustration.
Every time. Everytime I face Deku, he finds some way to amaze me while simultaneously defeating me and crushing my hopes of winning against him. I've been training nonstop, trying to find a way to defeat him, but I can't! It's impossible! How the heck does he expect me to surpass him?! To be worthy of him?! I'm so weak in comparison! No matter how hard I try, he's so far ahead of me that it doesn't even matter! How am I supposed to win against unlimited power!??
"You use your own power"
What?
-Flashback-
It was currently about 4:00 P.M. and Ochako was face first in the ground while Gran Torino stood above her.
"Izuku Midoriya did not choose you because you are weak. Get up and show me why he chose you as All Might's successor." Gran Torino told the girl.
"How is this going to help me defeat Deku or at least challenge him. I feel like I don't satisfy him enough with my strength. I want to be worthy of him. But how am I supposed to do that when his strength his so far ahead of mine?" She questioned while lifting her head up.
"Strength and power are two different things. While you lack in strength, that does not mean you lack in power. Strength is power in the one who knows how to use it, like Izuku. Power can be turned into strength with those who use it correctly."
"What does that mean?" She asked him.
"The fact that I'm much stronger than you even though you have more strength than me. That's because I have power that can rival pure strength."
"You use your own power."
-Flashback End-
I had no idea what he meant, but now I think I do. Ochako thought in her mind.
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that strength has limits. Even the strongest fall sometimes, but power doesn't necessarily have to mean strength. The way me and Bakugo overpowered him was not with strength but with our combined efforts and the use of our powers. There is no set way to beat him. That's why I still lost at the Sports Festival. I wasn't just trying to beat him, I was trying to be him. But that won't work, only Deku can be Deku. I have to beat him with my own power. Zero Gravity. That was my own special power that was unique to me only. After being influenced by all this new strength like OFA and Instincts I almost forgot. If I can focus and combine all these things - make all of these abilities my own - and focusing not only on the strength of Deku, but my own power and my own abilities and what I can do, Ochako began to think
Deku suddenly stopped in his tracks as a wave of power washed over him.
Familiar power.
I can create my very own, brand new power!
In an instant, all the injuries on her vanished. It's as if it was never there to begin with.
Power that came in the form of pink light shot through the ground as Ochako let out a cry of power and strength and the energy that came from the pink light spread all over the place and completely blinded Deku.
The light subsided after a while and what he saw shocked him to his very core.
Ochako stood there with a blank face as pink heat began to swirl around her and cover her in an aura. Her pink hair was swishing and floating in the air. Her silver eyes that emitted a pink glow were starting directly into Deku's soul.
The force of her power was enough to cause Deku's level two transformation to completely subside to make room for this much greater occurrence.
This was far different than whatever mediocre performance she put on at the Sports Festival. That much was certain.
He could sense multiple different powers combined into this godly form.
Yes, it was clear now. A new form. A brand new power.
"Multi Gravitational Form - One For All: Ultra Instinct."