Listen

Before Katsuki's first match, the boy from Team Shinsou that dropped out comes up to Katsuki, his tail twitching nervously behind him.

"There's something about Round 2 that I want to tell you."

Katsuki narrows his eyes, but doesn't interrupt. In the past he might have cut off tailboy for the sake of something like pride, but now he lets his classmate speak.

Ten minutes later, Katsuki stands at the edge of the arena. His jaw is set, and he's armed with knowledge of Shinsou's quirk. He walks up the steps to the raised platform in the middle of the arena. He knows Izuku is watching them from somewhere in the crowd and vaguely wonders who he's rooting for.

He locks eyes with Shinsou who stands on the other side of the platform. The referee signals the start of the match. Before Shinsou can open his mouth, Katsuki lunges for him. If he doesn't give his opponent time to talk, he shouldn't be able to use his quirk. He sends his right fist towards Shinsou's head, but he finds it blocked. There's a hint of a smirk on Shinsou's face, and Katsuki grits his teeth.

"I've heard a lot about you from Izuku," Shinsou says, grimacing from the effort of blocking Katsuki's arm.

Katsuki presses harder, but neither is yielding. In terms of quirk, Katsuki knows his is more suited for battle. He can destroy things easily. Shinsou, on the other hand, has a more subtle quirk that's powerful all the same, and Katsuki doesn't know the extent of his physical abilities. Katsuki redoubles his efforts to push Shinsou down and bites his tongue to keep from yelling at him. They glare at each other for another few seconds, before Shinsou ducks away.

"It looks like you've heard about my quirk, but I have a feeling that if I keep talking about our mutual friend, you'll crack."

Like hell I will, Katsuki wants to shout. But he grits his teeth harder and goes for another attack. This time, his fist connects with Shinsou's stomach. Shinsou takes a couple steps backward to regain his bearings.

"You're strong, Bakugou, but that means that since you've been gifted from birth, you don't know how painful it is to be disadvantaged because of something you're born with. It means you don't understand people like me or like Izuku who had to fight for recognition."

Shinsou mostly dodges his next blow, Katsuki's fist just grazing his cheek. Katsuki tries to block out the sound of Shinsou's voice in his head. Don't respond. Don't respond.

"You think you're friends with him? That you're close?"

Katsuki's next explosion catches Shinsou's shoulder. His gym uniform smokes. Anger seethes in his stomach. He wants to retort, wants to yell.

"He probably just sticks around you, because he's a nice person. There's no way he could–"

"Shut the fuck up, you don't know the first thing about us!"

The yell is halfway out of his mouth, when it feels like something switches in his mind. All his anger and frustration and adrenaline is still there, but it's disconnected from his body. Fuck. He registers the smug smile on Shinsou's face. Fuck it all. Shinsou orders him to walk out of the ring, to give up. His muscles listen to that order even though his mind is screaming at them to stop. Thoughts fly through his brain. There has to be an escape to this. There has to be a way out.

But it's difficult to believe that when his body is dutifully taking step after step towards the edge of the platform. He can feel the weight of the audience's stare on him. He'll be laughed at for walking off in the first round of the tournament. Anger and resentment boil within him. And he is powerless, powerless. In the crowd, he knows Izuku is watching. And then–

"Kacchan, don't give up!" 

It's only one yell in a crowd, only one voice among what seems to be thousands, but it resonates loudly in his head. Izuku. The only person it could be. Something that feels almost like an electric shock goes through his body. He has just enough control to clench the fingers of his left and set off an explosion. In the aftermath, he can smell smoke and ash in the air. The skin on his hand feels like it's still on fire, but the sudden shock of pain seems to have done the trick.

He turns around to face Shinsou again. Katsuki's face is set in grim determination. He launches himself towards Shinsou, holding his left arm out of the way. It turns into a brawl. Shinsou's reflexes are not at the level of Katsuki's, but they're not bad. And, of course, Katsuki is disadvantaged by the fact that he only has one arm to fight with. Little by little, he pushes Shinsou back. As he stands at the edge of the platform, Katsuki readies another explosion. There's a moment when he has to break through the block that Shinsou throws up, before he can send him flying. In that moment, Shinsou says something, that he doesn't have time to process until later.

"You must really love him, if his voice overpowered my quirk."

The sound of another explosion rings through the arena. Katsuki wins the match. Shinsou holds a hand to his split lip as a member of the medical staff escorts him from the arena. In the cheers that explode from the audience, he thinks he can still hear Izuku's voice. As Shinsou leaves, he sees Izuku's General Department classmates leaning over the guardrail waving to him. Katsuki turns away.