37

Chapter 37: Final

Summary:

"Hey, we should ask 1B what that Shinso guy's quirk is!" Kirishima grinned and jumped to see over the wall between their classes. "Hey, guys! Have you figured out how that gen-ed student's quirk activates?"

"Shut up Shitty Hair!" Katsuki grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. "I don't need those stupid extra's help to win! I'll do it on my own, got it?"

Kirishima yelped and rubbed at his neck, but Katsuki was 90% sure that was just for show. Recovery Girl had patched him up pretty well, so he just had a few bandages and none of his injuries would even scar, so Bakugo was trying not to feel too bad about it. If he let himself think too much about it, he just started feeling more angry, which defeated the whole point of him taking things out on Kirishima to begin with. Luckily his next fight was with Deku's creepy brainwashing friend, so even if he couldn't take things out on the guy who deserved it, he'd at least be able to beat someone associated with him. He couldn't wait.

"Even if your pomeranian was willing to accept our help, we wouldn't tell you." Monoma grinned as he peeked over the wall. "That information is a class b secret, so why would we willingly assist our rivals?"

"He's only saying that because he hasn't figured it out yet!" Kaminari laughed. "Your class is just as clueless as ours is!"

Monoma's face turned red and he seemed like he was about to say something, but before he could that Kendo girl with the big hands gave him a karate chop to the neck and some other members of his class dragged him back down to their seats. Kendo sighed and gave their class an apologetic smile, "Sorry about him, he gets a little carried away."

"It's quite alright!" Momo said kindly. "But Bakugo should probably be getting ready for his fight unless you have any info."

"I already told you, I don't want your damn pity help!" Katsuki yelled.

"We're clueless anyway. Our best guess is that he has to cause a certain level of confusion in his opponent before his quirk can take hold." Kendo shrugged. "But good luck!"

"Don't need it." Katsuki huffed. "I'm the best."

He rolled his eyes and ignored the shouting of all the extras as he stalked out to go to the prep areas. He was in prep room one, right? He glared at nothing and didn't talk to anyone until he found the room and kicked the door in, only to be met by Deku, Deku's crazy girlfriend, and the brainwashing extra.

He saw red, "What the hell are you doing in my room?!" 

Deku had the balls to glare at him, "This is Hitoshi's prep room, Katsuki. Prep room two. You're in prep room one."

"This is prep room…" Katsuki glanced at the door and scowled. "Whatever, Deku. You're lucky I don't pound you to the ground right now!"

"We're still on school property." Deku said confidently. "And Nedzu has cameras everywhere. Not to mention that if I end up with unexplained injuries, there's live footage of you threatening me. How would you explain that to Eraserhead, I wonder?"

Katsuki let out a few threatening explosions in his hands, but that was all he could do. Unfortunately, Deku was right, but that just meant he'd have to work extra hard in the next fight to make sure the nerd and his dumb friends knew their place. 

"Both of you, shut up!" That crazy bitch who played Monoma for a fool in the first round stalked up to them, hands on her hips as she glared up at him, "Your stupid shouting is bothering Extra-Credit-Kun!" 

Katsuki glanced over and, sure enough, the purple-haired extra was grimacing and he had his arm held over his eyes like he was trying to block out the light. Katsuki resisted the urge to smirk at the obvious display of weakness and turned to leave. He didn't know why he'd ever been worried, he had this fight in the bag. 

"Later, Deku." Katsuki threw over his shoulder. "Can't wait for your friend to give up just like you did."

He let the door slam shut behind him.

"Any word from our spy?" 

Tomura glared at the television set. Sensei had left him alone during the fights, but he kept nagging him anytime the students weren't actively fighting, "No. Cheat Code hasn't shown his stupid cheater face, but considering the packets he gave all the baby heroes, he has to be watching."

"Yes…" Sensei said thoughtfully. "I read through the information he provided our spy. He has a good eye for quirks and his analysis is well developed, but his formatting is immature...keep me updated on any leads on that front. Are any of the students catching your eye?"

Tomura shrugged, "They've got a rager on their team."

"Ah, yes, young Bakguo." Sensei agreed. "You should keep an eye on him, young Tomura, perhaps we can find a way to turn him to our side. Some of the other students have potential as well, do they not?"

"Maybe the brainwashing kid." Tomura frowned. "But he's got those NPC's who won't leave him alone…"

"Perhaps that's not such a bad thing." Sensei pointed out patiently. "Having good support can make the difference between success and failure."

"So, they're more like party members?" Shigaraki frowned. "I guess it's hard to win a dungeon with only fighters…"

"Just keep it in mind." Sensei said. "And watch carefully. These students will be your enemies soon enough, young Tomura."

Hitoshi's head was still pounding when he stepped out onto the field, squinting his eyes in the harsh sunlight and trying to ignore the roaring of the crowds. Thankfully, Recovery Girl had given him some pretty strong pain killers for the fight, but this fight still wasn't going to be fun, especially since he was fighting a bully that someone had decided to strap a nuke to. A few months ago, he might have thought winning this fight was as impossible as beating a bunch of robots, but he was stronger now. 

And he was here to win. 

Midnight gave Bakugo a warning glare, but she didn't stop him as he set off a few warm-up explosions in his palms. Hitoshi had to concentrate hard not to wince at the noise. When this was over, he was going to sleep for a solid three days. 

"Alright, boys, I want a good clean fight!" Midnight warned them. "Remember, you're here to win, not to kill each other."

Hitoshi figured that was meant for Bakugo, not him. He'd seen Kirishima in the nurse's office after the last round: Bakugo could be brutal when he wanted to be. Hitoshi's best bet would be to not give him a chance to hurt him. The only trick was getting him to talk. 

"The final fight begins in three, two, one…" Midnight cracked her whip. "Begin!"

Hitoshi opened his mouth to say something, only to be blindsided by a bright boom just feet from his face. He hissed and ducked away as his head started throbbing. Shit.

"Your stupid quirk hurts your head, doesnt it?" When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was smirking down at him. "People forget that quirks are physical abilities and can get tired just like anything else and you? You've been using that stupid brainwashing quirk since we got here."

Hitoshi swore and rolled to dodge another explosion, then jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could to put some distance between them. His eyes were watering so much that he could only hope that he wasn't getting close to the line. He just needed to get him to talk and then this fight would be over. He just needed a response.

"I don't know what Deku even sees in you." Bakugo snarled, letting off another explosion far too close to Hitoshi's face to be comfortable. "You're just a weakling and a future villain to boot, with that quirk of yours. You should just give up now!"

Hitoshi swallowed thickly. He felt like he was about to throw up, but he couldn't give up. He wouldn't give up! He wasn't going to let all of the training and help he'd received go to waste. He was going to be a hero!

"Seems to me like you're the one acting like a villain." Hitoshi grit out. "And why are you so obsessed with Izuku? I bet you admire him, don't you? You want to be just like him!"

"I'd never want to be like that nerd!" Bakugo let loose an explosion so powerful that it chipped the concrete where Hitoshi had been a half-second before. "He's nothing, got it? He's not even a pebble on the side of my path to greatness!"

Hitoshi's head was pounding so badly that he could barely feel the link as it finally formed. Bakugo was readying another explosion, but Hitoshi forced himself to stand tall and stare him down, even as he charged to begin his attack. He was going to be a hero. 

He activated his quirk and Bakugo immediately stopped in his tracks like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His hold was a lot more shaky than it usually was and he could feel Bakugo fighting against his control, but Hitoshi took a few deep breaths. If his brain took control of his victim's body, then maybe he could force Bakguo to calm down by going through those same motions himself. 

After a few moments, Bakugo's shoulders slumped and even though Hitoshi could still feel him fighting, it was weaker than it had been a few minutes before as the adrenaline started ebbing away. Hitoshi kept breathing and the crowd held their breaths as they waited to see what happened. 

"You're wrong." Hitoshi's voice was scratchy from exhaustion, smoke and dust, but he pushed through anyway. "Izuku is a lot more than a pebble that you can crush into powder or kick off the sidewalk. He's a brilliant analyst and the only thing you accomplished by tossing him aside was shooting yourself in the foot."

That obviously made Bakugo angry because he started fighting harder again and it took all of Hitoshi's concentration to maintain his control. He was starting to feel lightheaded and the only thought he could form that wasn't pure pain was that he had to win. He had to win to be a hero. 

Hitoshi set his shoulders confidently, "Walk out of bounds. Lose for me."

Bakugo fought with everything he had, but none of that showed on his face. No, the real fight was happening in Hitoshi's brain and the only thing the crowd could do was watch with bated breath as the top hero student took those final few steps out of bounds, and then everything exploded into so much noise that Hitoshi was forced to instinctively release his control. He immediately screwed his eyes closed and slammed his hands over his ears, but he could still hear Bakguo growling and using his explosions to launch himself back toward his opponent.

Thankfully, the sounds of Bakugo's renewed attack were quickly muffled by what sounded like one of Cemontoss's walls, and Hitoshi could barely hear Midnight above the roaring of the crowd as she made the announcement, "Katsuki Bakugo is out of bounds! Hitoshi Shinso wins the sports festival!"

"I don't understand how he's not dying of embarrassment." Shiguro muttered, his goblin ears twitching in second-hand embarrassment. "I'd be mortified if I had to be chained up on national television like that."

"He's an asshole." Kohaku said dismissively. "He sees being angry as a personality trait, so obviously, he's gonna have to be held back."

"Still, it seems like he'd just take the loss at this point." Hanzou observed. 

"Katsuki doesn't give up." Izuku said. "He never has and he's never been satisfied being anything but the best. Even if it wasn't Shinso in first place, he would probably still be throwing a fit, just because he didn't get what he wanted."

"He's a spoiled brat, that's what he is." Mei complained. "But we did it! Extra-Credit-Kun won the sports festival! We're gonna get our extra credit Izu-kun!"

"Don't you two only get extra credit if he actually transfers into the hero course?" Kohaku argued. 

"Not technically." Izuku said, smiling widely as All Might placed a medal around Shinso's neck. "But that's always been the goal."

"As if the teachers could actually say that the winner of the sports festival doesn't deserve a place in the hero course." Hanzou snorted. "Let's be honest, the only thing holding him back now is paperwork."

Izuku's cheeks were starting to hurt from how widely he was smiling, but he just couldn't stop. They'd done it. All that training, all of his analysis, it really made a difference! His new dream was worthwhile and he was already doing it! He was helping heroes become better and that was almost worth everything he'd had to go through to get on this path. 

"Come on, Izu-kun!" Mei grabbed his hand the moment that the awards ceremony ended. "Let's go see our baby!"

Notes:

Next Update: 03.03.2021