It was now the final match of the second round. It was Kirishima against Bakugou. So far, it seemed Bakugou was losing.
"Take this!"
Kirishima threw a punch at Bakugou who moved aside and threw an explosion at his opponent. However, it's ineffective as Kirishima's hardened skin protects him from the blast. It even cuts Bakugou's cheek.
"A COUNTER!" Present Mic shouts.
"That won't work on me, Explosion Boy!" the redhead declares as he throws another punch.
This time, however, Bakugou dodges again and throws another explosion. However, Kirishima staggered back a bit this time as he felt some pain from this attack.
"BAKUGOU COUNTERS AGAIN!" Present Mic announces. "BUT WHAT'S THIS? IT'S WORKING THIS TIME?!"
"I figured out that stupid Quirk of yours," Bakugou grinned. "Sure, you're pretty tough, but you need to tense your muscles the whole time your using it, right? And just like those muscles, Quirks have limits!"
Kirishima grunts as he tries to keep himself hard to fight Bakugou. However, the ash blonde didn't give his classmate any time to think or attack as he released a multitude of explosions. Kirishima tried to keep himself hardened to protect himself, but it wasn't working. He was consumed by explosions and, eventually, he was sent flying back by one final blast.
"DIE!" Bakugou exclaimed as he sent Kirishima flying back.
The redhead lands on tbe ground, unmoving. He had been defeated.
"Kirishima is immobilized!" Midnight cracked her whip. "Bakugou advances to the next round!"
"WITH THAT VICIOUS CARPET-BOMBING, BAKUGOU HEADS TO THE THIRD ROUND!" Present Mic announces. "AND THAT COMPLETES OUR FINAL FOUR!"
Bakugou scoffs as he cracks his knuckles.
Later, after a short break to get everyone ready, Y/n is seen back to normal as he sits in the one of the two waiting rooms designated for the tournament fighters. He was sitting down at one of the tables, fiddling with his watch. He was thinking of a plan for his next fight, which he knew was against Bakugou. He had to be ready. And he indeed have a plan.
Earlier, Iida and Todoroki had fought. Iida almost won by using his Recipro Burst to push Todoroki out-of-bounds. However, the dual-Quirk user had froze the speedster's mufflers on his calves and then froze his entire body. Todoroki won that fight. Now it was Y/n's turn to fight.
The door opens, catching Y/n's attention. He turns to see Shinso walking into the room.
"Oh, hey, Braindrain," he smiles at his friend. "What brings you here?"
"Just wishing you luck, Dial-Up," Shinso states. "And to congratulate you. You're probably the only General Studies student who's made it this far in any Sports Festival. That's pretty incredible, huh?"
"Yeah," Y/n chuckled. "I guess so. I am pretty incredible, aren't I?"
Shinso laughed a bit at this, making his friend smile. Then Present Mic spoke through the speakers.
"ALRIGHT, PEOPLE! ARE YOU READY?!" Present Mic asked. "IT'S TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH OF THE THIRD ROUND! THE SEMI-FINALS! ARE YA READY?!"
The sound of a roaring crowd could be heard. Y/n sighs as he stands to his feet and begins to walk up to Shinso.
"Wish me luck, I guess," he says.
"Break a leg. Preferably Bakugou's," Shinso says. "You got a plan?"
"Of course," Y/n states. Shinso looked at him. "Okay, I have part of a plan. But it's still a plan!"
Shinso sighs before laughing. "As always. Never change, L/n."
"I would say the same to you, but you're super boring," the alien watch wielder smirks. "You need to live a bit more excitingly, man."
"Whatever you say," Shinso laughs.
He then offers his fist to Y/n. He smiles as he raises up his own fist and fistbump each other.
"Good luck, L/n," Shinso told his friend.
"Thanks," Y/n smiled at his friend.
And with that, Y/n walked off to make his way to the ring. As he did, Bakugou was also walking towards the ring. As they did, Present Mic started to introduce the fighters.
"ARE YOU READY FOR THE FINAL SEMI-FINALS MATCH?!" he asked. "IN ONE CORNER, WE HAVE THE EXPLOSION BOSS THAT HAS BLOWN HIS COMPETITION OUT OF THE WATER! IT'S KATSUKI BAKUGOU FROM THE HERO COURSE, SPORTING HIS USUAL... DETERMINED FACE!"
Y/n then steps onto the ring. Bakugou narrows his eyes at him.
"IN THE OTHER CORNER, WE HAVE THE BOY WHO'S BEATEN ALL THE ODDS! IT'S THE CRAZY KID WITH THE CRAZY TRANSFORMATIONS!" Present Mic announced. "IT'S Y/N L/N FROM GENERAL STUDIES!"
The crowd roars in excitement as the General Studies student stands against the Hero Couse student.
"So... you're that watch bastard," Bakugou says.
"Yeah," Y/n said. "So what?"
"Don't you hold back on me," the ash blonde grins. "Use your stronger transformations. I want my opponent at their best."
"Poor choice of words, Bakugou," the (E/C)-eyed smirked.
"READY TO BEGIN?" Present Mic asked. "IF NOT... TOO BAD! FIGHT!"
Bakugou immediately rushed forward by propelling himself forward with explosions. Y/n activated his watch before having to move out of the way just in time, or he would've been kicked in the face. Then he slammed down on the dial, engulfing himself in green light. When the light faded, it showed a tall alien made of blue crystal without a shirt. It also looked like he had a goatee or beard of sorts.
"DIAMONDHEAD!"
(In case y'all forgot what this Diamondhead looked like. Art by Fiqllency on DeviantArt. Credit to them)
"Alright!" Diamondhead smirked. "Let's do this!"
"The hell is that?" Bakugou asked. "No, that doesn't matter. I'll crush you anyway!"
"Then bring it!" Diamondhead yelled.
Bakugou ran towards his opponent. Diamondhead slammed his fist into the ground. Multiple blue crystals erupt from the ground and shoot towards his opponent.
However, Bakugou used an explosion to fly over the crystals. He then used another explosion to rocket himself at Diamondhead and slammed his foot into his face. He stumbled back a bit, although it didn't particularly hurt. Then the transformed teenager swung his arm at Bakugou which knocked him aside and sent him rolling across the ground. However, the ash blonde caught himself with an explosion before he went out-of-bounds.
"Looks like this one is kinda tough," Bakugou says.
"Yeah, he's made of diamonds," the General Studies student grins, "so have a good time hurting me with your puny explosions!"
"Puny?!" Bakugou roared in anger. "GO TO HELL!!"
With that, Bakugou shot forward with another explosion. Then he aimed a palm at Diamondhead and fired an explosion at him. However, it doesn't do anything to him as he smirks and then grabs Bakugou by the face. However, instead of trying to pull away, Bakugou only raised both hands and fired multiple explosions at Diamondhead's face.
"BAKUGOU IS RELENTLESS!" Present Mic announced. "EVEN BEING CAUGHT, HE DOESN'T LET UP!"
"Urk?! H-hey!" Diamondhead grunted. "Cut that out!"
Diamondhead tossed Bakugou away and wiped the soot from his face.
'Jeez, what is this guy?' he asked himself. 'People would usually try to pull away, right?'
[‐‐‐‐]
Shinso: "Alien name: Diamondhead. This alien's body is made entirely made of a super durable crystal not native to Earth, though L/n likes to just call himself Diamondhead. In this form, he can manipulate the crystal in his body to create weapons, constructs, or even shoot crystal projectiles. But while L/n argues he's basically unbreakable, I believe enough force or pressure can damage him. Nothing's unbreakable."
[‐‐‐‐]
Up with the spectating General Studies students, Shinso was watching the fight. He recalls when Y/n had told him that since he had only used him once, he could use Diamondhead more since not many would probably recognize him. Shinso didn't like the risk, but he couldn't stop his friend. So he instead just watched and hoped for the best.
"WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKING TOUGH?!" Bakugou asked as he threw more explosions at his opponent.
"Diamonds, pal," Diamondhead smirked. "They protect me from physical trauma. How about you invest?"
"BUT EVEN WITH HIS POWER, BAKUGOU'S ATTACKS SEEMS TO BE DOING NOTHING!"
The transformed teenager blocks another explosion. Then he knocks Bakugou back. However, he catches himself and goes back to attack again. And again. And again. Diamondhead blocked or tanked each explosion sent his way, but every attempt to counter or fight back was met with failure. While Diamondhead was big and strong, he was slow, so Bakugou was able to dodge and maneuver around his opponent.
"Stay still, dammit!" Diamondhead swung at Bakugou who dodged. "I want to hit you! Stay in one place!"
"No way!" Bakugou exclaimed. "DIE!"
Diamondhead swung at the ash blonde who only dodged again. Then he unleashed a vicious barage of explosions on his opponent. The alien teenager raised his arms into a crossguard to tank the attacks, only for his body to be slowly sent back from the force. He grunted as Bakugou's explosions became more and more powerful as he kept blasting Diamondhead with them. He was slowly consumed by them as the explosions became huge.
"RAAAAAAGGGHH!!!" Bakugou yelled.
In the Hero Course stands, 1A was watching in shock.
"Oh, wow..." Midoriya was shocked.
"Jeez, is L/n really taking all that?" Uraraka asked.
"I'm getting some serious deja-vu, man," Kirishima states.
Soon enough, the explosions died down a bit to reveal Diamondhead. He was covered in scorch marks. He was grunting in pain as Bakugou smirked and aimed both palms at his opponent.
"GO TO HELL!" Bakugou yelled as he fired another explosion.
The large explosion sent Diamondhead flying into the air. Bakugou smirked as the crowd gasped in shock.
"BAKUGOU SENDS L/N INTO THE SKY!" Present Mic declared. "COULD L/N'S WINNING STREAK BE OVER?!"
Bakugou yelled as he aimed his palms behind his body. He then sent himself rocketing towards Diamondhead, the intent for victory clear in his eyes. Diamondhead grunted as he looked down at his opponent rocketing towards him.
"GO TO HELL!" Bakugou roared. "YOU STUPID WATCH BASTARD!!"
"Not now..." Diamondhead grunted. "I can't lose yet... NOT WHEN I'M SO CLOSE!"
He aimed a hand at Bakugou and fired a multitude of crystal shards at him. However, the explosive teenager dodged them with another explosion and soared towards his opponent. So Diamondhead turned his arm into a blade and swung at Bakugou who only dodged again with another explosion.
"Dammit...!" Diamondhead grunted.
"And this... IS WHERE YOU DIE!!" Bakugou announced.
He grabs Diamondhead's arm and spins him around to where he's on top of him. Then Bakugou aims his hand above his head and some sparks pop from his palm. Then a huge explosion erupts from his hand and shoots the two down towards the arena floor, making a big explosion that rocks the stadium.
"WHOA! HOLY COW!" Present Mic exclaimed. "DID YOU ALL SEE THAT?! THAT WAS A HUGE EXPLOSION! BUT WHO'S OUR VICTOR?"
"Come on, L/n..." Shinso gripped his pantslegs.
The smoke lingered around the arena for a moment as everyone awaited to see the winner of the semi-finals' match. Then it started to clear up, revealing a panting Bakugou who had a pinned Diamondhead underneath him. Then Bakugou stood to his feet and removed his hand from Diamondhead's face, revealing the crack on his forehead.
"No way..." Shinso breathed out. "He cracked Diamondhead..."
There was a short moment where everyone waited for something to happen. Maybe to see if Diamondhead could still fight. Then the crystal alien started to grunt as he moved his arms to push himself back to his feet.
'I don't know how he did it... but Bakugou was able to create enough power to actually hurt me...' Diamondhead grunted and winced in pain as he stood to his feet, revealing the multiple cracks around his torso. 'But... I'm not... done yet!'
"I can still--!"
Before he could utter another word, the grey watch symbol on his waist began flashing red. Then Diamondhead gets consumed in a surge of red light, and Y/n staggers a bit before falling to the ground. Bakugou looked on in slight shock. The transformation back to normal had revealed that some of the damage he had dealt to Diamondhead had transfered over to Y/n. Blood seeped from a wound on his head, and bruises littered his arms along with scorch marks. There werw probably wounds on his torso as well.
Midnight then stepped down from her stage and walked over to the ring. She kneeled down next to Y/n and held a hand up towards Bakugou to keep him back. She placed her other hand on Y/n to see how he was, and as she did that, Y/n looked up at Bakugou. He grunted again as he tried to get up, shocking Midnight, only to fall back down again.
Midnight says and stands up. "Y/n L/n is no longer able to fight! Katsuki Bakugou advances to the finals!"
The crowd cheers at this announcement. That meant that Bakugou would be fighting Todoroki in the finals. But he wasn't worried about that. His focus was on Y/n who was being picked up and put on a stretcher by some medical robots. He tried to fight them and attempted to tell Midnight that he could still fight, but he failed and eventually got rolled off.
Honestly? He was mildly impressed.
●●●
Y/n was in the temporary nurse's office, sitting on one of the medical cots. Recovery Girl then kissed him on the cheek, making his body glow green for a moment before the glow fades away. When it was gone, it reveals that all of Y/n's injuries were gone.
"Oh, wow! I'm healed!" Y/n smiles before he hunches over. "But I'm so tired all of a sudden. I need a smoothie."
"Yep. That's my Quirk for you, young man," Recovery Girl states. "However, there are some circumstances where I can't heal everything. Like that scar on your forehead there."
The Youthful Heroine pointed her giant needle cane at Y/n's forehead. He raised his hand and traced it across the forehead, feeling the scar on the left side of his temple. It wasn't very long or big, but noticeable. Y/n didn't think something like that would transfer over to his body from an alien transformation. Apparently something like a scar could.
"Man, I didn't think Bakugou would be that ruthless," Y/n sighed. "I definitely underestimated him."
"Or you overestimated your own power," Recovery Girl states. "Which many, unfortunately, do."
"Yeah," Y/n let out a breath. "I can't do that again! Especially since Diamondhead was my most durable guy."
"And that overestimation caused some damage to your own body," the nurse stated. "You must be willing to know your limits and accept that."
"I guess so..." Y/n rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, uh, how much did I miss of the finals?"
"All of it," Recovery Girl stated. "They're about to show off the top three contestants. You better hurry."
"Right," Y/n hops off the cot. "Thanks again!"
Y/n ran off, leaving Recovery Girl in her temporary office. She only sighed and followed him. At a slower pace, of course.
"Wait, I forgot to give a Snickers," Recovery Girl realizes. "Dammit..."
Not much later, fireworks were going off in the sky. The stands were cheering in excitement as they awaited for the end of the Sports Festival. Inside the arena on the field, the fighting ring was gone and all the first-years were standing in front of a hole in the ground. Midnight stood before them.
"The first-year students have completed all of the events for the UA Sports Festival," she stated. "Now it's time to relax and enjoy the awards ceremony!"
The crowd cheers as more fireworks go off. Then some confetti cannons went off with some smoke behind Midnight. Three pillars rose up from the ground, and when it cleared, it showed Y/n in third, Todoroki in second, and Bakugou in first. However, Bakugou was in constraints as he was going berserk. Probably from his fight with Todoroki he didn't feel like he won.
"Jeez, this guy can't calm down, can he?" Y/n asked under his breath.
"Tenya Iida actually shares third place with L/n, but, unfortunately, he had to leave for family matters," the R-Rated Hero states. "Gotta love those familial bonds."
"Does she actually have to act like that?" Y/n asks himself.
"Too bad Iida couldn't be here," Asui says. "He was so excited."
Midoriya nodded in agreement as he remembered why his friend had to leave. His older brother, the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, was attacked by a Villain. There was no real confirmation yet, but the theory is that he was attacked by the Hero Killer: Stain. He just hoped his friend and his family would be okay.
"Now, let's break out the hardware!" Midnight said. "Of course, there's only one person worthy of distributing the awards!"
A mighty laugher rung out through the air. Everyone looked up in surprise as a familiar muscular man with blonde hair stood on top of the stadium.
It was the Symbol of Peace.
The Number One Hero.
All Might.
"No way! I can't believe it!" Y/n smiled. "I'm actually gonna be meeting All Might?"
Bakugou screamed, but the metal muzzle on his face muffled it.
"Citizens!" All Might leaped from the stadium. "I am here with awards!"
"The Number One Hero!" Midnight said at the exact same time as All Might.
When the Symbol of Peace landed, he looked at Midnight.
"Sorry, I ruined that, didn't I?" she asked. She apologized and then took out the medals. "Now that you're here, All Might, why don't you start the presentation?"
All Might nodded and took the bronze third place medal. He then walked up to Y/n who was still smiling in shock.
"Young L/n. Congratulations," All Might said as he placed the medal around the boy's neck. "You showed amazing power and potential out there. You're unpredictable transformations are quite a sight to see."
"Th-thanks, All Might," Y/n bowed. "You have no idea how much that means to me!"
"I have an idea. But that unpredictability can also be an anchor holding you down," the Hero hugged Y/n. "You must learn to use unpredictability to you're advantage. I can tell that your transformations have a time limit. You must learn to fight without it, understand?"
Y/n was quiet for a moment as he held up his bronze medal. He smiled.
"Yes, sir," Y/n nodded.
All Might nodded with his usual smile before grabbing the second place silver medal. He then walked over to Todoroki.
"Young Todoroki. Congratulations!" he placed the silver medal around the dual-Quirk user's neck. "I'm assuming there's a reason you didn't use your left side. Though it cost you the final."
"Midoriya opened my eyes during our match, but then I started to doubt myself," Todoroki stated. "I think I know understand a little about why you're so interested in him. I want to be the kind of Hero you are, but my path isn't as clear as I thought it was. I have a lot to think about." He looked up at All Might. "And I still need to settle things with someone. Very soon."
"I've never seen that look on your face before," All Might stated and hugged his student. "I won't ask for details, but trust yourself. I'm sure you'll work things out."
"Right..."
All Might released Todoroki from his embrace and walked back to Midnight. He grabbed the first place gold medal and walked up to the still berserk Bakugou.
"And now, Young Bakugou. This is a little much," All Might reached forward to unlock the muzzle from his student's face. "You did what you said in your pledge. You're true to your word."
"All Might..." Bakugou growled once the muzzle was off. "Winning first place this way... DOESN'T PROVE I'M THE BEST ONE HERE! EVEN IF THE WORLD CONSIDERS ME THE CHAMPION, I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT LIKE THIS!"
All Might was suddenly stiff. He didn't expect his student to have such an enraged face. But anyway, he still cleared his throat.
"In a world where we're constantly being compared to another, there are very few who can keep their eyes focused on the top spot. You're one of them," All Might told Bakugou. He then started to sweat a bit as his student still had his angry face. "Please accept this medal. Even if you see it as a scar. Something you'll never forget."
"I DON'T WANT THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE!" Bakugou declared.
All Might attempted to put the medal around Bakugou's neck. However, the ash blonde refused to have it put on. So, in the end, All Might left it hanging from Bakugou's mouth. He then turned to the people watching.
"Here they are! The winners of this year's Sports Festival!" All Might announced. "But listen closely. Any one of your first-years could have ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other, learned, and climbed even closer toward your goals of being Pros. I think the next generation of Heroes is proving to be our most promising yet! So... I have one more thing to say!" All Might shot a finger into the air as he grinned. "I want to hear everyone yell it with me. You know what it is!"
Everyone took a deep breath and...
"Thanks for all your hard work!"
"PLUS ULTRA!"
The entire stadium was quiet for a moment. Then it was filled with complaints.
"WHAT?! THAT WAS THE PERFECT TIME TO SAY 'PLUS ULTRA', ALL MIGHT!!!"
"Well, yes," All Might said, "but I just thought everyone did such a good job!"
Y/n laughed at this as the people complained. Then he looked back at his medal. It was the the best award he's ever gotten in a competition or contest. He would usually rank low. He was happy he had finally made it to a placement like this at the best Hero school.
●●●
It was later after school, and Y/n and Shinso were at Y/n's new home. M/n was congratulating the two boys, along with Shinso's parents.
"Oh, you boys did so good!" Shinso's mother exclaimed.
"You should be proud of yourselves," Shinso's father said.
"I'm so proud of you, baby!" M/n declared as she hugged her son. "Third place at the Sports Festival! That's amazing!"
"Mom! Can't breathe!" Y/n announced.
M/n had let go of her son and started apologizing. Everyone then laughed at this and began having a celebratory dinner to congratulate their children. There was a lot of fun talk and jokes, and tons of pictures with Y/n with his medal as well. Then Y/n retreated to his room to take a minute to rest and change into more comfortable clothing. He had hung up his new medal on his bedroom wall. Something he was actually proud of.
"Look at that," Y/n smiled. "I wish you were here, Dad. You would've loved this."
Y/n took another moment to stare at his medal before he started changing. However, he found something in one of his pockets and pulled it out. It was the card he got from the scavenger hunt.
"Oh, wow. I can't believe I still have this. I must've put it in my pocket and forgot about it," he smiled. "Might as well keep it. It would be nice to have another souvenir."
With that, Y/n placed the card on his nightstand and went back to changing. He remembered the conversation he had with Hatsume after he showed her his card. It was first about his watch, but it soon became more casual as they started talking about other things and joked around, too. He enjoyed that conversation. It was one of his favorite parts of the Festival.
Outside, M/n was planning to do something big for a celebration. Y/n heard something about a carnival and panicked. He put on his pants and ran out when he heard Shinso tease him about his fear of clowns.
"Hey! I told you that in confidence, Braindrain!" Y/n yelled.
Everyone laughed.
Back in Y/n's room, the scavenger hunt card lied on the nightstand. On it was the Japanese Kanji for "heart". That was what Y/n was supposed to find. A heart.
Or maybe "heart" was meant to be taken in a much different context.
_________________________________________
Hey, everyone! A real quick something, I know you all must be confused at how Bakugou was able to damage Diamondhead.
Well, I think it's all determined by how much force or pressure someone can create. Vilgax was able to crack Diamondhead by pure strength alone, so it means that Diamondhead's body, of course, can be cracked and damaged. I believe it's been shown multiple times throughout the series. So I thought, "Hey, if Bakugou could generate enough power and force with his explosions, he can hurt Diamondhead." So that's what happened.
Since the more he sweats the more powerful his explosions are, I thought that the more explosions he makes the more heat they would generate which would make Bakugou sweat even more, along with the amount of effort he had used throughout the whole Sports Festival. So given enough time, Bakugou could deal a whole lot of damage to super strong people with his giant explosions. It makes some sense to me, especially since the final explosion Bakugou used sent Diamondhead crashing to the ground, so the force of impact would be pretty high as well which could crack Diamondhead.
If my thinking's wrong, please tell me so I can correct myself. I don't know a whole lot of science behind the aliens, so I'm doing my best here. Plus I haven't seen the show in ages, so I'm trying to catch up.
Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed! Buh-bye!