Before Junsei could return to the students' section, a small, composed figure stepped into his path. Nezu.
Junsei stopped.
"You are angry," Junsei observed.
Nezu regarded him steadily.
"It appears both of us are," he replied. "You crossed a line."
"I did not kill him," Junsei said evenly. "Nor did I leave him crippled."
Nezu's expression sharpened.
"You did not need to injure him at all. Yet you did. You wanted him to suffer." His gaze did not waver. "I want to know why."
Junsei met his eyes. "He reminded me of what I hate about humans. I attacked him just enough without causing trouble."
A faint tightening appeared around Nezu's eyes. "If you had been alone with him and without consequences, would you have gone further?"
"You know the answer," Junsei replied.
Nezu's small hand curled into a fist."I won't tolerate you hurting my students. Don't force me to do something I might regret"
Junsei said "Anything else?"
"You speak of humans as evil," Nezu said quietly. "But at this moment, you are acting no different from a villain."
"Hero and villain are human concepts," Junsei answered. "I am not human."
"And yet," Nezu countered, "you behaved like the worst of them."
"That," Junsei said calmly, stepping forward, "is a human point of view."
He moved past Nezu as he continued, "I know my limits. And that human is the worst among your students."
"You are misjudging him," Nezu said sharply. "He has potential. He has a good heart."
"All I see," Junsei replied, "is a greedy human."
"Greedy for what?"
"For violence and glory."
Nezu drew a slow breath.
"Ao," he said, voice cooling, "your Quirk description is either incorrect or incomplete. What is your Quirk?"
"It is entirely wrong," Junsei replied, "but the name is accurate."
Nezu's ears twitched faintly. "What does that supposed to mean?"
"You are seeing the world through human eyes," Junsei said. "I am not going to explain it to you."
And with that, he walked away.
Nezu remained where he stood, watching Junsei's retreating back.He understood Junsei perceived the world through an entirely different framework, one alien to the assumptions upon which society rested. Even after years of living among humans that perspective continues to be alien and biased, the future won't be pleasant if he doesn't let go of his hatred and allow himself to change.
When Junsei disappeared from view, Nezu turned and made his way toward the medical wing. He intended to see Bakugo's condition for himself.
——————
When Junsei returned to the stands, the shift in atmosphere was immediate.
Conversations went silent and several students looked at him with a mixture of fear and open judgment.
Junsei took his seat without acknowledgement.
Momo was the first to speak. "Junsei… what you did against Bakugo…"
"Wrong?" Junsei interrupted calmly. "Unnecessary? I was told."
"And?" she asked.
"I did not break the rules," he replied. "Nor did I exceed the limit of how much I am permitted to hurt him."
Momo fell silent.
The unease among the others deepened.
Iida leaned forward, his voice tight. "You are setting a poor example. Your words resemble those of a villain."
Junsei did not respond.
"Do you even care," Iida pressed, "if you are called a villain?"
"I don't."
Iida said nothing further, but the disapproval in his gaze was unmistakable.
Others mirrored it.
Junsei ignored them all.
His attention shifted back to the arena.
Tokoyami faced Midoriya.
Dark Shadow surged forward repeatedly, striking aggressively while Tokoyami himself maintained distance, directing the assault.
Midoriya was driven backward, pressured to the edge of the arena. When it appeared that he had no path forward and was destined for defeat, Midoriya raised his hand in a simple flick motion.
The air exploded. A powerful shockwave burst outward, tearing through Dark Shadow's advance and sending Tokoyami hurtling out of bounds.
The crowd erupted.
Junsei stared at Deku with interest, that move had his attention.
It didn't take long after that for the next match to be announced.
Junsei vs Shinso.
The two stood up and moved in different directions. Minutes later, they entered from opposite sides of the arena. They walked to the center and stood a few meters from each other.
Junsei stood as expressionless as ever. By contrast, Shinso wore a small smile.
"Honestly," he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "if you'd asked me yesterday whether I'd make it this far, I would've said no."
Junsei did not reply.
Midnight lifted her hand.
"Begin!"
A faint sigh escaped Shinso.
"I suppose this is as far as I go," he said, the smile turning faintly sad. "You're not very talkative, and you know what my Quirk does. There's no way I can win this match."
He hesitated, studying Junsei's blank expression.
"Dammit," he muttered. "There's no way to make you speak."
Junsei began walking toward him slowly.
Shinso raised his hands and said quickly. "Aren't you curious about how it feels to be controlled? You could let my Quirk work. See whether you can break free. If you do, you win."
Junsei stopped.
Shinso blinked. "You agree?"
"Yes."
The word was simple.
Shinso did not waste the opportunity.
His Quirk activated at once.
Junsei felt it immediately, as though an unseen hand had touched his brain. It tried to press forward and take hold of him.
But just as swiftly as the sensation arose, something else answered it. The life that gave him his power flowed on its own toward his brain and immediately began fighting the invading forcing.
All of this while on the outside, nothing changed. Junsei's face remained unchanged.
Shinso smiled faintly. "Leave the boundary."
Junsei's foot moved. A single step backward.
Then it stopped.
Junsei's gaze focused once more on Shinso.
"It felt weird," he said.
Shinso's smile disappeared, he said in shock "You… broke free?"
"Yes."
Shinso tried again and the same foreign pressure slid into Junsei's head.
This time, the resistance was immediate.
Junsei was not affected at all. Not even for a heartbeat.
He said "It doesn't work"
Then Shinso gave a short, humorless laugh.
"You're the first person to resist my Quirk," he said. "I surrender."
He turned and walked toward the exit without hesitation.
Junsei watched him go for a moment, then turned as well.
Midnight, who had heard every word, raised her voice to the stadium.
"Shinso has surrendered! Junsei wins!"
The match had ended just like that.
A ripple of murmurs passed through the crowd as most didn't understand or get what just happened.
Present Mic announced "And there will be a fifteen-minute break before we proceed with the final match!"
——————
The corridors of the medical wing were quiet. Nezu stood outside the treatment room with his paws folded neatly behind his back, his expression composed. He had arrived well before the procedure was finished and had waited while Recovery Girl worked.
It took some time but at last, the door creaked open and Recovery Girl stepped out with a tired sigh.
Nezu inclined his head politely. "Thank you for your hard work. Can you tell me the student's state?"
Recovery Girl replied "He has burns on both arms and broken ribs," she began briskly. "But the worst damage is to his leg. There's no permanent impairment, thankfully. However, some of these wounds are going to leave their mark on his body."
She paused, her gaze sharpening.
"I would recommend at least two weeks of rest before any hero training."
Nezu nodded once. "I see."
Recovery Girl continued. "That student you like went overboard. If he had used any more of whatever that acid was, the boy inside would have lost his leg. He was too brutal."
"I know that," Nezu said quietly. "I already found him before coming here, so that no other such incidents happen."
Recovery Girl studied him for a moment, then gave a small nod, apparently satisfied.
"Is the student awake?" Nezu asked. "I would like to speak with him."
"He is," she replied. "Though he's still in pain despite the painkillers I gave him. If you wish to talk, go in. It's fine."
Nezu thanked her again and walked inside.
Bakugo Katsuki lay on the bed, his normally fierce complexion drained to a pallid shade. Bandages wrapped his arms and his leg, which was elevated carefully.
For a moment, Nezu simply observed him then asked gently "How do you feel?"
Bakugo's eyes opened at once. Even injured, there was no mistaking the fierceness behind that glare.
"I'm fine."
"Happy to hear that," Nezu said smoothly. "It was a tough fight out there. You did well."
Bakugo scoffed "Did well? I lost miserably to that freak of nature."
Nezu moved a little closer to the bedside, his expression thoughtful rather than offended.
"If you don't mind," he said, "can you tell me why he attacked you like that? He seemed to have a vendetta against you."
Bakugo's brow furrowed. "I don't know. He acts and speaks weirdly all the time. This was no exception."
"But there must have been something that triggered him," Nezu pressed gently. "Something you did or said that made him want to hurt you."
Bakugo's jaw tightened. "More like trying to kill me, that craz…"
He stopped.
His eyes shifted as he began recalling his interaction with Junsei.
Nezu noticed the change immediately. "Something came to mind?"
Bakugo hesitated.
"I talked to him earlier in the cafeteria," he admitted at last. "I said I would kill him. He changed at that time. He thought I meant it for real. And I'm sure he understood afterward that I didn't mean it literally."
He grew uncharacteristically somber as he continued.
"He said I take the word 'kill' too lightly. Asked me if I'd ever thought about what it feels like to be killed. Right before the match ended, he said, 'Dying hurts a lot more.'"
His teeth ground together.
"That lunatic wanted me to feel pain!! One day I'll kill him for real!!"
The words rang hollow in the room as Nezu regarded him carefully.
At last, he understood.
Bakugo's explosive personality, his casual threats, his easy invocation of death, these were precisely the sort of things that would validate darker thoughts in a mind already inclined to hate humanity. Junsei had not merely been angered; he had been confronted with a living example of the very nature he despised, yet could not get rid of it.
"I do not condone what he did to you," Nezu said calmly. "But I agree that 'kill' is not a light word to be used."
Bakugo did not respond.
"Today," Nezu continued, "if not for Midnight stopping the match, you might have died. Or perhaps lived the rest of your life unable to become a hero. You were that close to the end"
The words settled heavily in the air.
"How you act and speak is part of what makes you a hero," Nezu finished. "I hope you can remember that."
He turned without further comment and left the medical wing, the soft click of the door echoing faintly behind him.
Bakugo remained staring at the ceiling, the anger in his chest quieter now.