Battle Trials (6)

Katsuki was silent as the four of them continued their way towards the assigned building where they would compete against each other. Beside him, ponytail - Momo - was striding along in her skimpy costume with her chin up and head held high, like a natural born royal.

Behind them, tentacles and diabetes - Mezo and Rikido - were quietly speaking to each other, no doubt trying to come up with a plan to beat him and ponytail. Say what you will about him being indistinguishable from a villain because of his past actions, but there was one habit that he couldn't let go of.

Nicknames based on either quirk or appearance. De-Izuku might've been a major mistake in his short life, but that didn't change him for who he was.

He still wanted to change, though, so no demeaning nicknames, unless they deserve it. Like diapers - Minoru - for instance.

"So, Bakugo, do you have some sort of plan forming in your mind?" Ponytail's voice brought him out of his thoughts and his red irises bore into her own dark ones. "If not, then would you allow me to come up with our own strategy?"

Katsuki pursed his lips for a moment, before nodding. He was smart and knew how to plan for scenarios, that he was sure of, but ponytail looked better than him with strategizing.

Her previous analysis of the other fight was proof enough that she could develop a better plan than he ever could.

In the past, this would've made him froth at the mouth, but after that incident, he's changed for the better. Sure, he was still getting there, but sometimes, even small steps in the right direction are enough.

He may be an irredeemable monster in the eyes of many if they heard what he had done, and he was fine with that, but do not mistake him for being the same person he once was.

Even villains can sometimes turn over a new leaf.

"Very well." Ponytail grinned happily like a child in a candy shop. "But before that, let us exchange information about our quirks and fighting styles."

Katsuki glanced back towards the two other students and saw that they were still preoccupied with whispering to one another. Turning his gaze back to ponytail, he scooted closer to make sure his whispers wouldn't be heard by the two behind them.

"I secrete nitroglycerin sweat around my palms and make them explode." Katsuki glared at his palms, the memories of him using it against Izuku coming unbidden. Shaking them off, he stared back at ponytail.

"I see, so basically, the more you sweat, the powerful your quirk." Ponytail hummed as she placed a finger underneath her chin. "Do you have to suffer recoil whenever you create an explosion?"

"Yes, but let me deal with that." Katsuki growled at the thought of him being unable to control his quirk. He's worked his ass off to become a hero, and no matter what anyone says, his quirk wasn't the only thing that made him who he is now.

"Alright, I'll trust you with that." Momo nodded with a slight smile. "Now, as for my quirk, I call it Creation. To cut a long description short, I can create anything as long as I know the molecular structure of the item I am creating by using my lipids. The larger the item, the longer it takes to make."

Katsuki grunted when he heard the quirk ponytail had. He was kind of grasping at straws the first time he saw what ponytail did during the Quirk Apprehension Test, but now it made sense.

That was one busted quirk. It's a wonder why her ego didn't match his before he got a reality check. Maybe the school she went to was better than that… shithole of a fucking education center.

Katsuki couldn't help but growl every time he thought of that school. It wasn't just his fault that Izuku, and in other ways, his other victims fell prey to his self-condescending ass. No, it was as much as their fault as it was with him.

Those teachers propped him up on a pedestal, and when he learned that there were no consequences to doing such horrible things to other kids his age, he thought it was okay to do so.

What a fucking load of bullshit. During these ten months after Izuku's death - not that he is dead right now because reasons - he had to beat his ego into the ground just to make sure another Izuku didn't happen.

The teachers and other staff of the school also had the gall to try and commemorate his memory when they were also part of the problem why it happened in the first place. Bunch of fucking hypocrites.

They still didn't stop trying to lap at his feet, but before when he felt recognition, now all he felt was disgust.

Katsuki shook his head. Now was not the time to delve into those pricks.

"-kugo? Bakugo? Finally, I have been calling your name a few times now." Ponytail looked at him with worried eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Katsuki brushed her off and he realized that they were already standing in front of their destination. "Let's just get this fucking over with."

He noticed ponytail frown when he let out a profanity, but that was that and this was this. At the very least, it would be good to finally use his quirk again against other people. This time, in a controlled environment.

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Izuku kept on looking at the screen with a pondering look on his face hidden underneath his helmet.

Katsuki wasn't normally like this, was he? He could remember snippets of himself being burned by Katsuki, even some impacts and resulting bruises. Izuku was also sure that the ash blond always had a smug look on his face.

Maybe their talk after the Quirk Apprehension Test had something to do with it?

"Who do you think will win?" Eijiro hummed as he stared at the screens where Momo was busy creating barricades and what looked to be pipe-looking objects.

"I'm betting on Yaoyorozu and Bakugo." Kaminari grinned. "No offense to Sato and Shoji, but they're outmatched here."

"I agree with you, kero." Tsuyu also piped up from where she was watching the preparing students.

"What are their quirks again?" Mina's question got the rest of the class thinking about the performing students' quirks. "I know Yaomomo can create things, and Bakugo can make his palm explode, but what about the other two?"

"You mean Shoji and Sato?" Hagakure, still dressed in her birthday suit save for her gloves, gave Mina a hug from behind. Izuku made sure to look away. He might have the social aptitude of a baked potato, but there were some things that were always meant to stay.

Like say, an obviously naked girl hugging another attractive looking girl. Luckily, nobody else mentioned it and none of them were that much oblivious to the skinship that was happening right in front of them.

Save for the purple midget. Little guy's nose was bleeding.

"Hm, if I don't have dementia yet, I can say that Shoji has arms that can morph into… other flesh appendages? While Sato gets strength by eating sugar? That's what I saw him eating, at least." Izuku mulled the last one over. He knew quirks were bullshit. Like, seriously, getting strength from eating sugar? That's less believable than using faith to empower incantations.

There were a few blinks from the other students about his dementia remark, but that was overshadowed by another student letting his intrusive thoughts get the better of him.

"Huh, could think of a few things to do with Shoji's quirk." Three guesses as to who said that, and no, the first doesn't count. A tongue was quick to slap around Minoru's face, causing the purple midget to sputter and glare at Tsuyu. "Oh, come on!"

"Stop acting like a perv, then, kero." Tsuyu shrugged but her eyes conveyed something else entirely.

While that was going on, Izuku found his attention gripped by the screens showing Momo create more things that smoothly slid out of her skin and onto her hands.

Maybe he should ask her if she could create Titanite shards, maybe even a slab. Just imagining fully upgraded weapons he could choose from for any kind of scenario made him grin with anticipation.

Also, the armor. Can't forget armor.

It was a few moments later when All Might finally gave the go ahead for the exercise to commence. And commence they did.

Not a second after the exercise started, Katsuki, Mezo, and Rikido immediately sprang into action. Katsuki quickly went out of the room, leaving Momo to her lonesome, while Rikido and Mezo took a quick stop on the first floor.

Izuku's eyes narrowed when Mezo shifted one of his arms into one with an ear. Nodding to himself, Mezo then turned to Rikido, who pursed his lips before getting out a packet of sugar.

They prepared for a few more seconds, with Mezo shifting his arms to more… combative appendages while Rikido carefully laid out his sugar packets across his body and pouches. They talked to each other a bit more - Izuku still quite a bit bummed at the fact that there wasn't any audio - before finally moving.

They blitzed past rooms, not even bothering to check each one and instead quickly ascending the stairs and also ignoring the other floors. Izuku raised his eyebrows as they did so.

If they were rushing towards the fourth floor, where Momo and Katsuki placed the bomb in, then it meant the hero team knew where it was. That was a bit mind-blowing to Izuku. A single ear was enough to gather adequate information as to their objective.

If that was so, then Mezo's quirk was something more than just shifting his arms into fleshy organs. Maybe he could even enhance said organs to a better version. Like, per say, infrared eyes, or a canine's nose.

If that was the case, then Mezo had a very flexible and versatile quirk.

That being said, with the way they rushed towards the fourth floor, it was no surprise that they would be bumping into Katsuki, who was also rushing towards them like he knew where they were.

Probably the result of Momo giving Katsuki a device earlier when they were still setting up the room.

It didn't take long for the hero team to meet up with Katsuki, and their greeting was one made with epic explosions and loud rumbling. Izuku could even hear the explosion all the way here.

The feed went to static for a moment, but U.A. must have made contingencies in case an exercise went too destructive as it quickly regained visual clarity. Which quickly led to some students cheering as they saw one of the epic fights to ever grace their eyes in their short lives.

Katsuki wasn't grinning, but there was no doubt the teen had a corner of his lips slightly skewed up. Meanwhile, the man stopping him from blowing his team to kingdom come was none other than Rikido whose muscles bulged and expanded, a piece of plastic floating to the ground, a side of it ripped open.

In that short and sudden attack, Rikido was able to gulp down a packet of sugar and intercept an incoming attack. Credit where credit's due, Rikido was quick at responding.

Then again, Mezo looked all too calm about the sudden attack… And he also had one of his appendages turned into a mouth. Okay, the points stayed but is shared between both Rikido and Mezo for coordinated teamwork.

More explosions and blocking ensued, and Katsuki was sent flying away after a particularly good hit from Rikido who had assistance from Shoji playing support. With the breather given, the hero team had a brief discussion before deciding something.

That something was evident when Mezo quickly ran for the staircase while Katsuki tried to stop him, only for Rikido to stop him one more time before he downed more sugar.

His muscles bulged even more, and his height grew. It would not be remiss to say that Rikido had grown a foot or two.

With Mezo already climbing up the stairs at breakneck speeds, Katsuki looked like he clicked his tongue before a mad grin took over his face.

Izuku chuckled. Well, at least Katsuki hadn't changed that much since he left. Always a battle-hungry maniac.

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