--Saturday, July 25, 2172
"Why?! Wait, why would we do that?!" Midoriya replied in a slight panic as he looked around and quickly added.
"We can't use quirks on the street, let alone to fight each other! If it's a fight, let's reserve a training room! There's no reason to do this right this second!"
"If you don't want to get hurt, get ready." Bakugo responded in a cold tone while stretching his shoulders. Almost in a panic, Midoriya looked around, extending his hands toward Bakugo, and exclaimed.
"Wait! The robots are going to end up capturing us! We can't do this!"
Without saying a word, Bakugo stretched his arms back and triggered a brutal explosion to propel himself at high speed toward Midoriya. Taking a step back, Midoriya glanced at the robots in the distance, their lights changing color, and shouted.
"Stop it, Kacchan!"
Still silent, Bakugo extended his right hand toward Midoriya and created a savage explosion, forcing the green-haired boy to dodge by jumping backward. Not wanting to give Deku a single moment to breathe, Bakugo created another explosion and pursued him, reaching him in the blink of an eye and unleashing another blast right in front of his rival's face.
With a panicked expression, Midoriya moved to the side and advanced, completely avoiding the explosion, which led Bakugo to launch a series of chained punches accompanied by explosions. More worried about the robots rushing toward them while announcing warnings, Midoriya dodged every hit without taking a single scratch, as brutal explosions erupted all around.
"Are you serious, Kacchan?! The robots are coming for us!!"
Midoriya shouted as he saw the explosions creating massive craters and shattering glass everywhere, ruining the reconstruction efforts. For his part, Bakugo, full of disbelief and hatred, kept chasing Midoriya and unleashing increasingly powerful explosions. But no matter what he did, the young boy dodged with minimal movements, emerging unscathed every time.
…
…
…
At the same time, in a building with a perfect view of the lake where the two young men were fighting, the imposing symbol of peace stood watching the battle with arms crossed. He then turned to his good friend beside him and commented in a serious voice.
"David, could you let them fight? I'm worried about Bakugo-shonen's mindset. He's bottling up too much, and if he keeps this up, he might end up exploding disastrously. It's better for him to release some tension."
"Well, they just lifted my restriction, so I can buy you a few minutes. Take it as the last favor I can do for you as members of I-Island."
David remarked in a calm voice, then manipulated his portable terminal. At the same time, he couldn't help but glance at the building across the street. There, a group of youths led by an attractive young man with black hair and two cats on his shoulders was ordering food and drinks. As if preparing to watch a good show.
…
…
…
After launching a barrage of attacks, Bakugo landed on the ground as small explosions crackled in his hands. He stared at the completely unharmed green-haired boy with visible disbelief. Meanwhile, Midoriya noticed the robots stopping at a safe distance, which left him quite confused, but he quickly looked at Bakugo and shouted in panic.
"Kacchan! Calm down! We don't have to fight!"
"Don't run away like a damn coward! Fight!!" Bakugo roared, full of rage, before creating another brutal explosion and rocketing toward Midoriya.
Worried, Midoriya jumped back again, but this time Bakugo kept creating explosions to accelerate, as if determined to headbutt him, reaching him in mere instants. More preoccupied with the robots, Midoriya was caught off guard and could only extend his arms to hold Bakugo by the shoulders. The explosive boy took advantage of this to send a kick from below.
Displaying exquisite combat instincts, Midoriya threw himself backward, dodging the kick by mere millimeters before performing a flip. Seeing the opportunity, Bakugo lunged forward with an explosion, only to be met by a shockwave from a kick by Midoriya that sent him flying backward.
Like a cannonball, Bakugo shot back at high speed, crashing into a tree and destroying it with the impact as all the air left his lungs along with his breakfast. Seeing that the blow was stronger than he'd expected due to not being fully focused, Midoriya panicked and shouted as he appeared in front of Bakugo with an outstretched hand.
"Kacchan!! Are you okay?!!"
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!!"
Bakugo swatted away Midoriya's hand and shouted in a choked voice, leaving Midoriya in shock. With visible effort, Bakugo stood up, exclaiming in a strained, almost desperate tone.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Fight!"
"Kacchan…"
Midoriya murmured in a heavy voice, looking at his friend, who, slightly hunched over, couldn't help but mutter in a thick, almost shrill tone, practically sinking into the deepest despair.
"Why… Why does a damn useless nobody like you get to become strong and have All Might acknowledge you…? Why do all these worthless idiots keep getting stronger while I stay the same…? Why…? Why does everyone else get stronger except me…? Why am I… I… so weak?!" With his voice breaking, Bakugo looked at Midoriya with tears in his eyes and screamed, falling into despair.
"I train every day until I nearly break my bones! I create stronger explosions every time, to the point I can't sleep at night from the pain! Even eating has become hell because the damn spoon falls out of my hands! But I stay the same! No, I get worse! Everyone else keeps getting stronger and leaves me behind! Why, damn it, why?!!"
"Kacchan…"
Hearing Bakugo's confession, Midoriya couldn't help but murmur with equal parts disbelief and empathy. He could understand what his childhood friend was saying; after all, it's what he felt his entire life until just over a year ago when, by chance, he met All Might. He could watch Bakugo, his friends, and his classmates display their incredible quirks and see them grow with those quirks and become stronger, while he had nothing.
He could only watch from afar as others grew stronger day by day to achieve the dream he could never reach: becoming a great hero and saving many people to get even a little closer to his great idol, All Might, the symbol of peace.
A frustration so immense that he could barely suppress it by focusing on writing a book to analyze every hero and villain, fooling himself into thinking he was doing something for his dream. Even though he knew better than anyone that it was pointless.
That's why he never hated Bakugo despite how he treated him, because deep down, he hated himself more than anyone. What Bakugo did and said to him were things he already knew. He really was just a Deku, a good-for-nothing who could only dream of something unattainable, someone truly pathetic, a mere useless pebble, as Bakugo used to call him.
(Now, I'm the only one who can accept Kacchan's feelings.)
Coming to a resolution, Midoriya's expression changed completely, becoming serious and focused, forgetting entirely about the robots and the location as he took a combat stance. Seeing Midoriya prepare for a real fight, Bakugo smiled through his tears and shot toward him with a brutal explosion.
With a calm expression, Midoriya met Bakugo with a kick to the face, sending him flying several meters while spinning and landing gracefully. In that moment, Midoriya clenched his fists, looked at the rapidly approaching Bakugo, and stated in a determined voice.
"Perfect, then let's do this. I want to see how effective all my training has been. I'm not going to be a punching bag anymore, Kacchan!"
At that moment, Bakugo aimed his hand at the ground and created a brutal explosion to lift himself up, then created another upward blast to dive down toward Midoriya with an outstretched hand. For his part, Midoriya jumped back, staying close to the ground to dodge the explosion's damage, then propelled himself into a mid-air spin to land another kick.
Showcasing his astonishing natural talent, Bakugo created an explosion just in time to dodge it. Immediately after, Bakugo unleashed consecutive powerful explosions to move erratically through the air and surround Midoriya. Quickly, Midoriya turned while extending his right leg, aiming for the spot where Bakugo would arrive in a few instants.
But to his surprise, as he turned, Midoriya was met with a blinding flash that forced him to cover his face. In that instant, he felt his leg pass through where Bakugo should have been without hitting anything. Midoriya quickly tried to regain his stance, but right then, a brutal explosion erupted in his stomach, sending him flying and knocking the air out of him.
Accustomed to pain, Midoriya didn't lose focus even then and quickly spun in the air to unleash a powerful kick behind him while still blinded. In that moment, a brutal explosion collided head-on with a shockwave that split it in half, sending Bakugo flying as he let out a cry of pain.
Though clutching his arm, which felt like it might break, Bakugo recovered mid-air and let out an almost animalistic scream, then created colossal explosions to launch himself at Midoriya even faster. Meanwhile, Midoriya began to fall as he regained his vision, but a smile couldn't help but form on his lips.
(You're really strong, Kacchan… But I've gotten very strong too.)
"What are you laughing at?!!"
Reaching Midoriya, Bakugo aimed both hands at him to create explosions capable of shattering his arms while shouting in rage. At the same time, Midoriya couldn't hide his smile, tinged with a bit of panic, but his body never stopped moving, spinning backward to unleash an upward kick in the air.
The perfectly calculated kick forced Bakugo to raise his hands just in time, causing his explosion to miss Midoriya entirely. Midoriya spun again to land a kick to Bakugo's torso. Feeling the kick against his skin, Bakugo, with cat-like reflexes, moved his hand mid-air to aim at Midoriya and created a brutal explosion.
Bakugo was sent flying as he felt his ribs fracture, but he quickly created more explosions to land firmly on the ground while watching Midoriya emerge from a crater with a few scratches. Gritting his teeth from the pain, Bakugo glared at the smile that had reappeared on Midoriya's face and shouted in a heavy voice.
"I don't get what you're thinking! No matter how much I hit you, you stay close! Even though you were nothing, you always looked at me like you were looking down on me! With that superior attitude, looking at me from above like you were really going to surpass me! You're a damn pain in the ass, you bastard!!"
"That's what you thought…?"
Emerging from the crater created by the explosion and his impact with the ground, Midoriya couldn't help but whisper in disbelief as he looked at Bakugo, then added in a more serious tone.
"Normally, if someone bullies you the way you did to me, you don't want anything to do with them. But since I had nothing aside from the things I hated about you, I could see how amazing you were! You had so many things I didn't… You were someone incredible, much closer to All Might than I could ever be!"
Midoriya finished shouting, full of emotion, before rocketing toward Bakugo at an absurd speed, almost instantly appearing in front of him ready to deliver a downward kick. Surprised, Bakugo could only grit his teeth and cover himself with both arms, at which point Midoriya's kick landed along with his shout filled with unspoken feelings.
"It was because I thought you were amazing that I couldn't stop following you!!"
Due to the brutal kick, Bakugo was sent flying along with a shockwave that exploded in all directions, destroying everything in its path and creating a mini-tornado. Feeling his arms broken, Bakugo gritted his teeth and looked at Deku from afar, who was preparing to pursue him, and couldn't help but realize an undeniable fact.
(And you ended up surpassing me.)
"Ahhh!!!!!"
In that instant, Bakugo screamed with all his might and mobilized every last ounce of his being to create explosions without caring about his arms nearly shattering, rocketing toward Midoriya. In mere moments, Bakugo appeared before Midoriya, who sent a kick to his face, which he dodged with a perfectly timed explosion.
Using a new angle of attack, Bakugo sent another explosion at Midoriya, who blocked it with a shockwave. Bakugo dodged the remaining power of the shockwave with an explosion, beginning to move erratically around Midoriya while unleashing explosions comparable to warheads, almost like an explosive dragonfly.
Meanwhile, Midoriya focused completely and began spinning on himself while throwing punches and kicks into the air, managing to block each explosion with the least amount of movement and power. After hundreds of clashes in mere seconds, Midoriya finally adapted to the pace and predicted the next point of attack, quickly sending a punch to intercept and end the fight.
Caught by surprise, Bakugo suddenly saw a fist appear before his eyes, but once again showcasing his supernatural reflexes, he quickly raised both hands in the air and clenched his teeth. Simultaneously, Midoriya's fist struck Bakugo's face full-on, while Bakugo created the most powerful explosions he could, hitting the surprised green-haired boy directly in the face and stomach.
The impacts sent both Midoriya and Bakugo flying, crashing hard into a tree and a metal security fence, respectively. But as if determined to continue to the very end, fueled by adrenaline, the pair of young men stood up, ready to keep going. At that moment, an imposing figure landed from the sky at high speed, then announced in a heavy voice as his blond hair shone in the sun.
"That's enough, Bakugo-shonen, Midoriya-shonen."
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