Chapter 190

(A/N: No new patrons in the queue, but I didn't want to issue a reminder without releasing some content :P)

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As it was determined to be too dangerous for them to battle within the compound, Izuku and Bakugo had to wait an additional hour and a half for Ishiyama to ready a secondary arena and viewing area. During that time, several other groups heard about what was going on and decided to take a look, leading to most of Class 1-A and 1-B congregating. This included many of the girls, so while he was happy to see them, Izuku couldn't help feeling slightly exasperated as the Bond Levels of several boys dropped a few points due to them crowding around and greeting him.

Fortunately for Izuku, the previous exhibition of Artefacts led to several others showing off what they could do. As a result, several people who had been skirting 80 Bond Level over the edge, and once those who were still on the fence saw what their long-time friends could do with their new Perks and stat infusions, a chain reaction occurred, leaving only four boys from Class 1-B outside of the Party.

Unsurprisingly, Monoma still had the lowest Bond Level of everyone who remained, but it increased from 51 to 56 when he saw that one of Izuku's Perk predictions had come true. Tetsutetsu gained the ability to shape his limbs into various weapons, so entirely by coincidence, his and Kirishima's identities overlapped once again, rekindling their rivalry and making them even better friends.

Marginally better than Monoma, two people from 1-B shared a Bond Level of 60. The first was the short and stout but muscular Shoda. He harbored a slight grudge against all tall and handsome boys, but he was especially cross with Izuku since he had a crush on most of the girls in his Class and year, the most prominent being Itsuka. He was the Vice Representative of Class 1-B, so the two worked together and frequently exchanged texts. Were it not for Izuku, at least in Shoda's mind, it was only a matter of time before he and Itsuka ended up dating.

For similar reasons as Shoda, the shadowy Shihai Kuroiro resented Izuku for 'stealing' Kinoko from him. The mushroom-haired girl had a fairly sullen personality outside her costume and preferred dark, damp places, so she and Kuroiro had gotten along even when others in their Class were a little put off by them. Kinoko's sudden crush on Izuku reinforced a notion that Kuroiro had struggled with for much of his life: his penchant for fading into the background. He loathed 'main character' types like Izuku and Bakugo, but he was gradually overcoming his sense of inferiority by spending time with the Buddha-like Ishiyama, allowing him to increasingly become 'one' with the shadows he often lurked within.

Following the jaded duo was Kosei Tsuburaba, with a Bond Level of 67. He was similarly jaded, but the person he had a crush on wasn't from Class 1-B, but Tsuyu. He had fallen for her at first sight when they crossed paths during the UA High Entrance Exam. They only exchanged a few words at the time, but as a 'moderate' pervert, Tsuburaba hadn't been able to get Tsuyu's long and flexible tongue, her predilection for squatting, and her cute, froggy features out of his head. Thus, while he had come to accept that she would never be his, Tsuburaba couldn't help feeling that she was 'wasted' on a guy like Izuku.

Fortunately for Izuku, Tsuburaba was regarded as one of the 'common sense kings' of 1-B. He had a competitive side, but he was also a realist who accepted things fairly quickly. Thus, while he couldn't help feeling a little 'remorseful' when Tsuyu arrived wearing form-fitting running tights, frog-themed running shoes, and a crop top whose design corresponded to her Hero Costume, his Bond Level didn't decrease. His eyes wandered a bit, but no more than any other healthy boy who glimpsed a cute butt or an exposed navel in the periphery of their vision...

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"This is it for you, Midoriya," said Bakugo, standing across from Izuku in a reinforced concrete arena no less than five times larger than the one they had fought in during the Sports Festival.

Raising his right brow, Izuku, standing with his arms crossed, adopted a slightly sardonic smile as he asked, "Are you planning to kill me...?"

"No," replied Bakugo, shaking his head and sporting a serious expression as he said, "As much as I hate to admit it, but you've become a pretty big shot. You might even be the most important person in the world, but that doesn't matter. Once I defeat you here, I'll become the face of our Class and the Heroes fighting to resolve the MWT Phenomenon. As for you, you can sit back and do what you're best at, overthinking, overanalyzing, and organizing people..."

"In other words...you want me to become your Supporter...your Sidekick?" asked Izuku.

"You've already proven you have what it takes to become a Hero," said Bakugo. "But we both know that's not what you want. You don't have the same drive...the same 'desperation' as someone aiming to be a Hero. And if you die, we'll lose our only means to boost weaklings into powerhouses. So, instead of forcing yourself to do something you don't want to do, just leave the fighting to those of us who are willing while you focus on finding a permanant solution to the problem."

"Mmm...you make a reasonable argument..." admitted Izuku, closing his eyes and nodding sagely. Then, opening his eyes, his expression became just as serious as Bakugo's as he stated, "But you're wrong about several things. It's not that I don't feel desperate. You can't even begin to fathom how desperate I feel, especially when I'm alone or have nothing to divert my attention..."

Shaking his head, Izuku got into a relaxed boxing pose as he added, "I'm all for you becoming the face of our movement, but you'd have to surpass All Might to do so. However, as that's a burden that has been entrusted to me, don't think I'll step aside and pass the torch willingly. If anything, we should be disseminating its flame to as many as possible..."

"Then show me what you can do...!" exclaimed Bakugo, leaping forward and spinning at high speeds without his sword, propelled by a rapid series of explosions.

Seeing Bakugo move slower as he approached, Izuku closed his eyes and considered how he should deal with his would-be rival's 'consideration.' It would be almost too easy for him to crush Bakugo with his current speed, power, and reaction time, but for the sake of the students in both Classes, it was probably better for him to struggle at least a little. They 'needed' a leader who could unite him, and because of his actions, that wasn't a role he could fill.

Restricting his amplification to the standard 10:20x, Izuku's crossed his arms before him, blocking Bakugo's sub-sonic punch. As he did so, a layer of bronze spread across his flesh, producing a loud ringing sound, while, further down, his thighs bulged to nearly twice their usual size due to his somewhat embarrassingly named [Thunderous Thighs] Perk, courtesy of his 100 base Agility.

Though he was surprised to see Izuku stand his ground without budging, Bakugo immediately changed tactics, producing explosions from the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands to rapidly change direction, landing several impactful blows on the former's ever-shifting guard.

Not wanting to be purely on the defense, Izuku waited for Bakugo to do a flashy, spinning maneuver before leaving the spiky-haired youth feeling a moment of bewilderment as he deftly moved into his blindspot, making it seem as though he had vanished. Then, grasping Bakugo's ankle, Izuku attempted to swing and slam him into the arena, but the former reacted nigh-instantaneously, producing counter explosions with his palms and much larger explosions from his feet. Izuku closed his eyes to endure the impact and felt his body temporarily become weightless, but only for the briefest of moments as, before Bakugo blasted him away, he extended his Blackwhip around the latter's ankle.

"Shit...!" hissed Bakugo, hurriedly attempting to sever the black, green-tinted tendril wrapped around his ankle, but his posture was broken when Izuku yanked him with nearly enough force to dislocate his leg. Bakugo reacted quickly by adjusting his posture and accelerating toward Izuku, but he immediately regretted it as the latter performed an action that had haunted his dreams since the Sports Festival.

"Over Road...!" exclaimed Izuku, temporarily boosting his Strength and Agility to 5000 before spreading his arms wide, gathering the energy of One-for-All in his arms, and pushing forward a physical wall of wind that promptly slammed into Bakugo, momentarily flattening and pushing him back an insect against a windshield.

Though he managed to arrest most of his momentum by producing a counter-force with his Explosion Quirk, Bakugo briefly lost consciousness as getting hit by Izuku's Over Road was like getting struck by a train. He managed to regain his senses before he hit the ground, flipping over and sliding backward, but blood poured from his nostrils in a steady stream as a feeling of vertigo washed over him.

'There's no fucking way I'm losing the same way twice...' thought Bakugo, becoming calm rather than giving in to his explosive tendencies. Then, to buy himself some time, he blasted off like a rocket, flying high into the air before adopting a blood-stained smile.

Staring up at Bakugo, Izuku considered following after him, but his focus was drawn to the arena as a fiery Brownian pattern appeared around him and along the path the former had flown. What followed was several large explosions, but while he was enveloped within them, not even Izuku's hair was singed as he generated a spherical swirl of wind pressure, protecting his body before scattering the explosions with an outward push.

"That's just the beginning...!" exclaimed Bakugo, descending from the sky with his oversized greatsword aimed at the ground, stabbing into the very center of the arena. Izuku knew an explosion would follow, but even with his immense durability, his [Intuition] triggered, compelling him to evade what looked like an orange pattern of computer circuits forming a circle, spreading away from Bakugo and filling much of the arena in the blink of an eye.

Excluding a roughly 3m area around Bakugo, an explosion comparable to a small volcanic eruption tore through the foundation of the arena, rising to form a rapidly spinning pillar of fiery-orange flames. Izuku managed to avoid the brunt of the explosion, but his pupils briefly contracted when he saw his left arm and leg, charred black and throbbing with pain as, for one reason or another, his [Bronze Skin] hadn't activated.

'It seems my defense against Magic is shit tier..' thought Izuku, feeling a little like Superman as he boosted his physical parameters to accelerate his regeneration. The iconic superhero could take nuclear explosions and even fly into the sun, but when struck with even beginner-level magic, the tiny forcefields that protected each of his supercharged cells broke down, making him just as vulnerable as an ordinary human.

While thinking about how he could improve his magic defense, Izuku met the gaze of Bakugo from his overhead position in the flaming vortex's eye. The cataclysmic maelstrom had clearly taken its toll, leaving him panting and covered in sweat, but the spiky-haired youth managed a smile as he pulled his sword from the arena and aimed it at Izuku, declaring, "I might have underestimated you today, but I 'will' surpass you..." Izuku couldn't actually hear what he was saying, but with his enhanced vision, he could read Bakugo's lips.

"Then let me give you a glimpse of the 'wall' you have to overcome," said Izuku, momentarily increasing his physical attributes to their maximum as he spread his arms wide, creating such an intense burst of wind pressure that the raging inferno was extinguished in an instant as Bakugo, despite stabbing his sword into the arena, was sent flying away like an ant swept up by a lawnmower, barely managing to arrest his momentum before he was sent crashing into the wall surrounding the arena. Then, with slightly trembling eyes, he looked up at Izuku, standing against the backdrop of a clear, formerly cloudly sky...

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(A/N: He might 'laze about,' but Izuku is still the Successor of One-for-All O_O...)