Chapter 105: Gentle's and Brava's Love

"Gentle, my Gentle!" Brava said with tears dripping down her eyes.

"I'm in love with you."

"Thank you, La Brava."

La Brava. Quirk: Love. Her whispers of 'love' to the one and only person she loves the most...for a limited time...they grant him a power-up! The more intense her love, the stronger the transferred power will be.

And if that ability is invoked in a moment of crisis...then his power level jumps exponentially.

Izuku suddenly felt an air of power from Gentle, but he refused to back down and kept pinning his entire weight on the duo.

"Urgh.....!!!!!" Gentle groaned as he tried to get up. More and more power started to surge within him. This was definitely considered a 'moment of crisis', causing his power to swell exponentially.

"It is unfortunate, young man." Gentle spoke as he got up instantly as though nothing was pinning him down, "Solving problems with brute force is not something I enjoy..."

"So I tend to cut away at times like this." Gentle announced as he cradled the petite Brava in his arms gently. Izuku couldn't get away in time, and he was forced to spin out as Gentle stood beside him.

"Just stay there sleeping for a while. I'm sorry, Midoriya Izuku-kun..." Gentle spoke as his hand karate chopped Izuku's neck, "Love always wins in the end."

However, Gentle was astonished that his blow didn't reach his intended target.

"I've fought...a lotta people...faster...and stronger...than you..." Izuku struggled to say as he felt sharp and stabbing pain on his left forearm that was used to block Gentle's blow, "I haven't lost yet!!"

For the third time today, Izuku's middle finger was once again held back by his thumb.

"Delaware smash air force!"

Boom!

Gentle saw what Izuku was trying to do and immediately carried Brava and jumped backward.

Using his 'air pockets', he propelled himself forward as he frowned, "Impossible! Young man...!!"

"No way..." Brava wasn't doing anything better as tears brimmed in her eyes as she clung onto Gentle's cloak.

Izuku hopped onto his feet and chased after them with blood dripping down from his nose and dirt everywhere, "Please, I'm asking you. Please stop!!"

Izuku screamed as he tried to grab on to Gentle, but Gentle managed to barely dodge it after tossing Brava towards safety.

"Gentle, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! My love..." Brava cried as she watched Gentle struggle against Izuku, "My love wasn't enough!"

Gritting his teeth, Gentle growled, "Who can say that your feelings weren't enough?!"

Raising both of his hands towards the sky, he slammed it down towards Izuku, who was aiming for his stomach.

Gently Sandwich!!!

"GGHH!!"

Izuku felt himself getting the wind knocked out of him as tens of 'air pockets' collectively came down on Izuku together.

"Sandwiches are supposed to be light and refined foods...piling too many layers is really not my taste." While saying this, Gentle's tone turned into one with melancholy, "But still, I want to accomplish my dream...that fading dream from my middle years..."

"For my name to go down in history! To be remembered by future generations! For there to be someone out there, someone who sees my way of living and is inspired by it.

That dream is no longer just my own. Today is the first step forward in its realization. Do you think I'd give that up just because I was asked to?!

If you are a UA student, then this feeling of being consumed by your dream will oblige you to understand it!"

Izuku managed to get out of the sandwich by pulling himself out of it. And just in time as well, because the pressure suddenly increased and destroyed the dry ground.

'This dream is no longer just my own.'

This sentence kept swimming around Izuku's head as he failed to understand the actions behind Gentle's thought process.

"Then why...why, if you understand all that, why the culture festival?!" Izuku yelled as he jumped behind Gentle, pulling his cloak in the attempt to pull him towards the ground, "Why must you trample on the feelings of everyone at UA?"

However, Izuku's plan didn't work as Gentle's cloak extended effortlessly. Izuku failed to take that into account, and because of the rubber-like cloak, he tripped and fell on his back.

In less than a second, Izuku had already recovered and aimed a kick at Gentle's head, but Gentle erected an elastic barrier in front of him, rebounding Izuku away to the distance.

"If it's for your dream! Then all the effort that people have put in! And the passion that drives it all! And the smiles of everyone who would be visiting this festival! You would rob them of all those things?!"

"You see, that's what it means to fulfill your dream."

Gentle didn't shy away from Izuku and met him head-on in a violent clash, which he had never done before.

At least, that was what Izuku thought he would do.

Obviously, Gentle's style wasn't too charge in like a reckless bull. He created a trampoline below him and did a frontflip in the air.

As if knowing what Gentle would do, Brava screamed out, "Gentle!"

Until now, the duo had used their 'lover mode' countless times for counterattacks. Not only that, but they also used it to escape when facing an opponent that was too strong for them or against an innocent.

But now, for the first time ever, Gentle, who dislikes the use of violence, decided to go head-on with Izuku (for real this time).

"Repelling himself with another air pocket, Gentle flew towards Izuku as he cried out, "If you don't have the heart, go ahead and laugh at me! I don't care! I know what's important to me!"

Izuku's and Gentle's fist clashed, and no smile could be seen on Izuku's face.

"I'm not laughing, Gentle criminal."

"Please win, Gentle!!" Brava inspirited from the sidelines. She was frustrated at the grim situation, but she was more frustrated about her inability to directly help her loved one at this moment.

So she did the only thing she could do. Love Gentle more. Devote her every being to Gentle. Bless Gentle with all the love she ever felt and would ever feel for him.

Surprisingly, Gentle's brute strength did not lose to Izuku's.

Love power started to radiate from Gentle's body as heart-shaped filled smoke emerged.

Both Izuku and Gentle were struggling to push each other back, and with one push, Gentle managed to push Izuku's body back, making it parallel to the ground.

"YOU!!" Staring straight into Izuku's eyes in search of something, he asked, "Why do you aspire to be a hero!?"

Izuku pumped more strength into his arms and replied slowly, "Same as you, Gentle. My dream is not just mine alone!!! Even though it was a dream that was never attainable...a dream that deep down, I had already given up on!

They never laughed at me!! For everyone who believed in me! I want to show them that they were right! For people who have suffered! I want to be the man to show them a brighter future!"

Izuku's entire body crackled with green lightning as even more power surged within his muscles.

"The same...huh?"

Gentle overpowered Izuku and tossed him back. Brava could do nothing to physically help Gentle, but she could help him.

How? By hacking and disarming the security that was needed for Gentle's plan.

'Just believe! Just believe!! He'll win!!' Brava hurriedly set up the computer program that she had put together just for today. However, she realized that she was barely out of range from UA's wireless network as it couldn't reach the mountain's base.

Stumbling and tripping all over, Brava tried to get closer to UA's facilities.

Gentle didn't want Brava to go by herself as it was too dangerous, but seeing her resolve and determination, Gentle threw caution towards the wind and decided that he had to finish this quickly.

"I have yet to fight someone who has given me this much trouble!!"

Creating trampolines to propel himself everywhere, he dashed from one trampoline to another in a star-shaped with Izuku in the middle. Every time he went past Izuku, he would give a violent kick towards him.

"I'll defeat you...! Even if it means discarding my reputation and my style! That is my gesture of respect to a man such as you!!!"

Izuku wasn't just going to let Gentle hit him for free. Lying on his back, he flicked four fingers towards the various trampolines present, and each air bullet ricocheted off the trampolines.

By chance, one managed to ricochet towards Gentle and hit him from the back, allowing Izuku to attack.

"Shoot style: St. Louis Smash!!"

"Out of all the battles I've fought up till now, this one's been the toughest, Gentle."

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"Gentle! The heroes are going to come -"

From her love, Brava can grant a temporary power-up. But only once a day.

Her heart broke, seeing Gentle in a damaged state.

"...No, knock it off...let him go...!! Let Gentle go! Let him go!! Stop it!!" Brava repeated like a broken record as she furiously punched Izuku, who was above Gentle.

However, she was combat-orientated, so her punch was nothing more than a mosquito bite to Izuku.

"Gentle poured his heart and soul into this plan! He even forgot to have his precious tea breaks planning for it! I said, let him go! Where is the 'brighter future' in this!?

Gentle is my only light!! He's my everything! Don't take Gentle away from me! If you take Gentle away from me. I'll die!!"

Brava roared continuously, tears streaming down her eyes nonstop.

Gentle knew that they wouldn't be able to escape from this situation and decided the best course of action to take from here. And that was to make it seem that Brava was nothing more than an innocent bystander in this fight.

At the very least, her crimes will be lessened if he made it look like this battle never occurred.

Using the last of his strength, he bounced Izuku into the air where another trampoline was present, bouncing him away from the current scene.

Izuku didn't have a firm foothold to balance himself. Thus he had no other choice but to bounce away like a helpless doll.

"Let's run! We can still make it if we run!" Brava begged Gentle.

"No use, I don't have any strength to do so..."

"But-"

Before they could continue on their conversation, tens of creepy, white deranged hands started coming out of the ground and dragged the both of them inside the shadows.

Both of them did not have the strength to resist, so hugging each other tightly and looking at each other with nothing but love, they let themselves get dragged into the unknown, leaving nothing but traces of blood behind.

Simultaneously, a puddle of water suddenly appeared in their area and washed away all the blood staining the grass, and within seconds, this scene never occurred.

[A/N: Yeah, I shifted the timing a little. By doing less monologuing, Gentle managed to execute his plan faster than in canon, allowing Shido to have the timing to whisk them all away.]

After a minute has passed, Hound Dog and the clones of Ectoplasm arrived at the crime scene.

"Hm? Ruff! Ruff! I smelled blood here, but there isn't any here? Ruff! Growl...did somebody manage to erase the evidence?"

"Maybe you're overthinking. Maybe an animal got injured here or something?" Ectoplasm suggested.

"No. I definitely smelled three people here. No, wait. Four." Hound Dog sniffed the air before shuddering, "But the last one...is very creepy...like the scent of death..."

Ectoplasm didn't doubt Hound Dog's nose and was prepared to call in the alarm, but Hound Dog stopped him.

Ectoplasm looked at him with curiosity, but Hound Dog shook his head.

"No, Ruff! Need. Someone is coming here. Maybe he'll give us an explanation."

And on cue, Izuku ran back towards the open clearing and saw nothing but the teachers present.

'Huh? Where did the two go?!'

"Midoriya? Did you see anybody here? And why are you so dirty and full of blood?"

Izuku was deep in his thoughts when he was suddenly asked a question. He was startled but decided to keep the fact that Gentle was here a secret. He didn't want the festival to be canceled after all. Furthermore, he knew the reason why Gentle tossed him away.

Gentle was prepared to sacrifice himself to save Brava, but he suddenly disappeared. Izuku guessed that somebody must have helped him, but whether or not Gentle was willing to be helped or not remains to be a mystery.

After sorting up his thoughts in one second, he stammered and gave some flimsy excuses, which the two pro heroes obviously didn't believe. However, as they didn't want to blow things out of proportion as well, they decided to let matters be.

After a last-minute rush, Izuku barely managed to get to the stage on time.

Time now.

10:00 AM

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