Chapter 10: The Explosive Rivalry Begins
POV: Nova Asahi
Three nights of actual dinner invitations and maternal concern had apparently been enough to summon Katsuki Bakugo's protective instincts in their most destructive form. Nova's midnight patrol through the warehouse district came to an abrupt halt when an explosion lit up the alley behind him, followed by the acrid smell of nitroglycerin and teenage fury.
"OI!"
Nova turned slowly, Enhanced Reflexes painting every detail in crystalline clarity. Katsuki stood silhouetted against the warehouse lights, casual clothes instead of his school uniform, hands trailing smoke from barely contained quirk activation. His red eyes blazed with the particular intensity he reserved for confrontations that mattered.
"Shit. How long has he been following me? How much did he see?"
"Bakugo," Nova said carefully, keeping his voice level despite his heart hammering against his ribs. "Kind of late for a walk, isn't it?"
"Cut the crap," Katsuki snarled, advancing with the predatory confidence of someone who'd never lost a fight that mattered. "I want to know what your deal is. You show up from nowhere six months ago, start training with Deku, wormed your way into my house, and you walk around with that annoying smile like you know something the rest of us don't."
"He's suspicious but not accusatory. Fishing for information, not making concrete allegations. Play this carefully."
Nova let his shoulders relax slightly, projecting calm he didn't feel. "My deal is that I'm trying to get stronger. Your mom's nice to me, Midoriya works hard, and I don't have ulterior motives beyond getting into UA next year."
"Bullshit." Katsuki's hands popped with small explosions, each detonation casting dancing shadows on the alley walls. "Nobody just appears out of thin air with a convenient sob story about overseas parents. Nobody trains that hard without a real reason. And nobody gets my mom to adopt them as a nephew in three fucking days without some kind of angle."
The admission of loneliness beneath Nova's carefully constructed facade must have shown on his face, because Katsuki's expression shifted slightly—still aggressive, but with something that might have been understanding.
"Look," Nova said, choosing honesty over evasion, "I don't have family here. Real family, I mean. Your mom saw that and decided to do something about it. I'm grateful, not manipulative."
Katsuki circled him like a predator testing for weakness, explosions crackling in his palms with increasing intensity. "You think I'm stupid? You think I don't notice things? You move wrong, talk wrong, act like you're playing some kind of game where you know all the rules and we're just NPCs in your personal story."
"Jesus Christ, he's actually figured out that something's off. Not the specifics, but... fuck. Bakugo's observational skills are better than I gave him credit for."
"You're paranoid," Nova said, but even to his own ears it sounded weak.
"Am I?" Katsuki stepped closer, and Nova's Enhanced Reflexes screamed warnings about unstable explosives in close proximity. "Then explain why you never talk about your past. Explain why you suggested that beach training like you knew exactly what would happen. Explain why you always seem surprised by things you should already know and completely calm about things that should shock you."
"He's piecing together behavioral patterns. This is dangerous. Deflect without lying directly."
"Maybe I'm just observant," Nova replied. "Maybe I pay attention to things other people miss. That doesn't make me some kind of mastermind with hidden agendas."
Katsuki studied his face for a long moment, red eyes searching for cracks in Nova's facade. When he spoke again, his voice carried grudging respect instead of pure aggression.
"You're not weak like Deku used to be," he admitted reluctantly. "You actually train instead of just writing in notebooks and dreaming about impossible shit. And when you do fight..."
He trailed off, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small rock. Without warning, he hurled it at Nova's face with explosive enhanced velocity.
Enhanced Reflexes triggered automatically. Time dilated as Nova's perception shifted into combat mode, the projectile's arc painted in perfect detail across his enhanced vision. His hand moved with fluid precision, snatching the rock from the air inches before impact.
Katsuki's eyes sharpened with predatory interest. "Yeah. Like that. Nobody just develops reflexes that good through beach training. So what's your real quirk?"
"Careful. He's testing theories, not making accusations. Give him truth without revealing too much."
"Adaptive Evolution," Nova said, sticking to his cover story while demonstrating actual abilities. "My body adapts to threats and challenges over time. Enhanced reflexes, improved coordination, better pattern recognition. It's gradual but consistent."
"Adaptive Evolution," Katsuki repeated, testing the words like they might explode in his mouth. "Convenient how it adapts exactly to whatever situation you find yourself in."
"That's literally how adaptation works."
"Smart ass." But Katsuki's grin was sharp with something that might have been approval. "Fine. You want to keep your secrets, whatever. But I'm telling you right now—when we both get into UA, and we will both get in, I'm going to prove I'm stronger than you, Deku, and that Half-and-Half bastard Endeavor's kid."
"There it is. The challenge. The foundation of our rivalry-friendship."
Nova felt his own grin answering Katsuki's aggressive confidence. "You're welcome to try. But you might find I'm harder to beat than you expect."
"Good," Katsuki said, explosions crackling around his fingers like fireflies made of violence. "I don't want easy victories. I want to crush people who actually matter."
The declaration hung in the air between them like a promise and a threat combined. Nova understood what was happening—Katsuki was offering him a place in his mental hierarchy, recognition as someone worth competing against instead of just another extra to ignore.
"One more thing," Katsuki added, already turning to leave. "Stop making my mom worry about you. It's annoying when she texts me asking if 'that sweet boy Nova' is eating enough vegetables."
"Sweet boy Nova. Jesus Christ, Mitsuki really has adopted me."
"She worries because she cares," Nova replied. "About both of us."
Katsuki's shoulders tensed at the admission, but he didn't contradict it. "Whatever. Just... don't make her regret taking you in, okay? She's got enough to deal with raising me."
The vulnerability beneath his aggressive facade was so brief Nova almost missed it—a flicker of genuine concern for his mother's happiness that explained everything about why he'd followed Nova tonight. Not jealousy or suspicion, but protective instincts aimed at the person who mattered most to him.
"I won't," Nova promised. "She's... she means a lot to me too."
Katsuki nodded once, sharp and decisive, then stalked away into the night with explosions trailing from his hands like reverse fireworks.
[Social Link Unlocked: Katsuki Bakugo - Rank 1]
[Benefits: +15% Combat EXP when training together, Rivalry Bonus unlocked]
[Warning: Bakugo is highly observant - maintain cover story consistency]
[New Dynamic: Competitive Friendship - Both participants push each other toward excellence]
Nova continued his patrol with a slight smile, realizing his careful plans to remain a background player had been thoroughly demolished. Somehow, without meaning to, he'd built real relationships with people who were starting to matter more than strategic considerations.
Izuku as the friend who shared his drive for heroic excellence. Mitsuki as the maternal figure who'd claimed him as family. Katsuki as the rival who'd push him to become stronger than he'd ever thought possible.
"I'm supposed to be just helping them reach their canonical destinies. Instead, I'm becoming part of their stories in ways that were never supposed to happen."
But as Nova slipped back into the shadows to continue his vigilante work, he found he didn't regret the complications. For the first time since transmigrating, he felt like Nova Asahi might actually belong in this world—not as an observer or manipulator, but as someone who mattered to the people who mattered to him.
The mathematics of friendship were more complex than any system algorithm, but the rewards were proving far more valuable than anything he could pull from a gacha roll.
Even if keeping those friendships intact while hiding his impossible truth was going to require increasingly creative deception.
"Nine months until UA. Nine months to figure out how to be strong enough to stand beside them without getting everyone killed by my secrets."
Nova smiled and disappeared into the neon-lit maze of Musutafu's night, ready to build whatever future his found family deserved.
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