Chapter 43
Todoroki didn't say anything as they walked back into the building, which he was grateful for. Kazuki barely noticed when Midoriya and Shinso walked past them. That is, until the former grabbed his arm from behind him. In a moment's notice, he found himself looking into green, concerned eyes.
"Are… I mean, you… You fought well, Endo," Midoriya mumbled, apparently having lost his nerve a little after stopping him. Kazuki gave him a stiff nod and a forced smile.
"Thank you. Good luck," he said, almost having to physically push the words out of his mouth. Then he glanced towards Shinso, who was already moving towards the stage. "You know not to-"
"Reply to him," Midoriya mumbled with a nervous smile. Kazuki almost couldn't sense his emotions with how focused he was on everyone else's. "I know."
"Then you don't need luck," he muttered, managing a half-real half-smile this time before taking a deep breath in. "You should go though."
"Right- Er… Right," Midoriya stammered, his head swiveling to look at the stage behind him and then at Kazuki. He looked like he wanted to say something else but then he just nodded and moved out of the building.
"You are not ok," Todoroki commented then, his tone mostly flat but Kazuki picked up some concern there, if not really on his voice.
"No, I'm not," he agreed with a bitter grin and chuckle. "I'm so done with this Festival already," he grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. "Can't finish fast enough."
"Endo," a new voice called and he stiffened.
"Can you go ahead, Todoroki?"
"You sure?"
"Yeah." He nodded. The ice and fire user hesitated a moment, looking at the new arrival for a moment before returning the gesture and moving on. "I'm not about to explode yet."
"Which doesn't mean you don't need some support," Inui commented, leaning against the wall to the side. "Want to talk for a bit?"
"I should watch Midoriya's fight," he answered, gulping. "I know he'll win, but if I don't watch all the fights I might miss something."
"Your friends will tell you. They are plenty and they are smart. I'm sure they'd notice anything you might notice too," Inui told him, walking closer and then planting a hand on his shoulder. "You've never outright avoided talking about something without at least acknowledging there's something to talk about. What's going on?"
"I'm not about to explode yet," Kazuki replied, clenching his hands into fists, letting go and then doing so again. "But I feel like if I don't keep going, keep the momentum, I just might."
"That's not healthy."
"This Festival is not healthy for me," he said, another chuckle escaping his lips. This time though, it was less bitter and more crazed. "I can feel them. Their contempt, their fear, their worries, their disgust, their frustration. The crowd is reacting exactly as I thought they would."
"It's funny that you say that," Inui replied, not at all feeling amused. He felt sad, if nothing else. Kazuki was left confused, by the man's words and his emotions. "Nezu has been doing regular crazy Nezu things and he's been keeping an eye on the crowd… or a thousand eyes, really. Do you know what he's been seeing?"
"The people talking about me, spreading the good word of the lord and destroyer, Black Rampage," he muttered through his teeth. "I can feel them. I don't need to be told-"
"You need to be told that there are people on your side, Endo," Inui interrupted him. "I've been keeping an eye on you, just in case. I've been looking at you as you push through this fear of yours. Aizawa and Yamada have been doing their best to steer the public in your favor. Midnight has been trying to give you a nudge when you need it and watching just in case. Your friends have been supporting you-"
"I know all that!" he exclaimed, a snarl forming on his face and he felt his shadow darkening, the grimm pushing through. "I keep telling myself that! I know! Ok?! I know! I keep reminding myself that, but their fucking emotions keep pushing, keep proding, keep poking! And I'm getting tired of it all! I'm tired!"
He breathed roughly, slowly stepping back until his back hit the wall behind him.
"I'm tired," he mumbled, letting himself fall to the ground and placing his hands on his face. "I keep telling myself I can do this… That I'll do it for the people like me, to spite the public and whatever and I… I just can't, you know? I can't convince myself. I can't do it."
"That's the emotions talking, Endo. Emotions that aren't even yours," Inui told him calmly. Often he would find strength in the man's steady voice. That was not one of those times, however.
"I can't do it," he mumbled. "I'm trying. I really am but-"
"As I was saying before," Inui interrupted, something he didn't do often… or at all. Kazuki didn't remember if he ever had done something like that before that day. Especially when Kazuki was speaking his mind. That was enough to shock him out of it for a bit, long enough to hear the man out. "You have a lot of people supporting you, Endo. Why do you think they are the only ones? Why do you refuse to think there's more people out there on your side?"
"Because people are dumb," he replied, looking up at the man from where he sat on the floor, tears falling from his eyes. "People are dumb and they focus on the bad things instead of the good things. The majority of the crowd could be on my side, but I'd only focus on the bad ones, because that's how we are… And this isn't even that good a situation."
"So… you are going to give up? This is it?"
"I tried," Kazuki said, his voice wavering. "I thought I could do it, but I can't. I'm not good enough for this. I'm not- I just- I can't."
"You can," Inui replied firmly. "I've known you for a while, Endo, and you are one of strongest students I've ever seen. Not because your Quirk is strong, even though it is, but because you have a different kind of strength to everyone else I've seen. You deal with problems that nobody else does. You deal with your problems, plenty as they are, and you deal with others' too. That's a hero if I've ever seen one, Endo."
"I don't feel like a hero," Kazuki told the man, closing his eyes. "... It was nice, you know? To hear people tell me I could be a hero, that I was like a hero, that I was a hero… It gave me hope… I thought I could use that to help me keep going when I was faced with… this," he explained, throwing an arm to the side to signal the stadium. "But-"
"He was a kid, man," a voice interrupted him then, making him blink. Looking up, he saw Inui holding up his phone. "Leave him be. How old could he have been when that happened?"
"Looks like he's doing well for himself, if he's in the Hero Course of all places," another voice said, a woman this time. She sounded… curious, happy, maybe even impressed.
"Right? Can't believe it, but I guess he decided to do some good. Good for him," another woman said, probably replying to the previous one.
"Did you see that giant snake thing! It was the coolest!" a kid exclaimed then.
"Nah, you are just saying that because you have snake eyes. The werewolf thing though? That was cool," another seemed to reply.
"Well, let's see if he can make up for everything," a man took over then. "He seems to be trying though, which is more than I can say about the rest of his kind."
"And there's many more," Inui told him after pressing a button on the phone and making the voices – Recordings? – go silent. "That doesn't mean anything to you, Endo? The support you are getting, is it meaningless?"
He didn't answer. His mind was a mess. One corner kept telling him to keep going, repeating what he'd tried to convince himself of through the whole day. There were people on his side. Fuck the crowd. He could make it without them…
And then there was another much louder voice telling him that his efforts didn't matter. The world would hate him anyway and he knew it'd get to him, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. Because his Quirk was like that. It couldn't be ignored and it couldn't be contained.
"Don't give up, Endo, because I believe in you and everyone else does too," Inui told him crouching in front of him and placing his hairy hand on his shoulder. "You can give up if you want to, however. It's something you can do. You've gotten far into this Festival and you've done spectacularly. I'm sure there are heroes that will send requests for you as it is."
"I sense a but coming there," he mumbled weakly.
"But I think it'd be a shame," Inui told him with a nod. "I think it'd be a shame for you not to show the world what you can really do. I think it'd be a shame for you not to prove to them and to yourself how far you can go and how good you can be," he explained, squeezing his shoulder. "I think you deserve that, to have the world know who you are, who you really are."
"The world doesn't want to know who I am, Inui," he said with a bitter smile. "They don't care. I was a fool to think I could make it when they don't care."
"Then show them anyway. Show them until they can do nothing but acknowledge you. Show them the hero you can be, so hard that they won't have any option but to admit that they were wrong," Inui told him firmly. "You can be a great hero, Endo. If you give up here or not, please don't give up on being a hero. The world needs heroes like you."
He didn't say anything once more, just sitting there. He wasn't even thinking, or processing the emotions around him. Kazuki just stayed there, without moving and just… letting time pass.
"I want to be that person," he said once he found his voice again, even if it was barely a whisper that left his lips. "I want to be who you think I can be. I want to be who my friends think I can be. I want to be like that, I do… But I don't know how."
"You don't need to do anything, Endo," Inui told him and if he had a normal face, Kazuki was sure the man would be smiling. "You've been that person for as long as I've known you. The only thing you have to do is keep going. Don't let them win. Don't let your Quirk win. Be yourself, and don't stop being yourself. That's all I ask of you."
"Can I know?" he asked then, letting his head fall back against the wall and his eyes locked on the ceiling above them. "That day, when I called Aizawa and you went to help… He told me I was a hero… Can I know… what happened?"
"You saved someone that day, Endo," Inui told him. "You saved someone that needed help and that had no one. You were there for someone when they needed a hero. You were someone's hero that day. That's why I know you can be a hero. Because you already are."
Kazuki took a deep breath in.
And then he chuckled.
"I'm pathetic."
"You aren't pathetic for having a moment of weakness. We all have them. What matters is if we let them get to us or if we overcome them," Inui told him and Kazuki nodded, although he wasn't sure why he did that. Was he agreeing with the man? Was he acknowledging another of his many points? Was he just nodding to himself?
"If I don't have at least one request after this, I swear to God," he grumbled, closing his eyes and then starting to push himself up. Beside him, Inui chuckled before palming his back.
"I'm sure there'll be at least one, don't worry," the man told him and he was confident. Kazuki hadn't picked a single lie during that whole time. "Go and show them, Endo."
"Thanks… For this and for everything. I don't know if I'll ever thank you enough for what you've done and probably will do for me, Inui," he said, gulping down a knot in his throat.
"It's what I'm here for," the hero told him. "Now go wash your face and get your head back in the game, yeah? I have money placed on this."
That should have annoyed him, he supposed, but instead it just made him laugh. It was so randomly thrown in that he didn't know if it was true or if that was just a joke to get him to loosen up. Ultimately, he didn't think it mattered.
"I guess I have to give it my all then," he mumbled with a weak smile.
"I know you can do it. Do I look like I make sucker bets?"
"Do you want an honest answer or a nice answer?"
"That's the brat I know," Inui told him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a light shake. "Now, go."
"You'll watch my back?"
"That's what I'm here for. That's what we are all here for."
Kazuki nodded then, taking a deep breath in and then starting to walk once more. Maybe he could do it, maybe he couldn't. However, he owed it to Inui and everyone else to at least try, he supposed. 'Don't forget your reasons,' he thought to himself, going over everything. How he wanted to prove that there was more to him than the Black Rampage. How he wanted to prove to everyone that people like him could be someone. How he wanted to show them that it didn't matter if they weren't on his side.
Maybe he doubted those reasons. Maybe they weren't enough to keep him strong without a push or two… But they were his reasons all the same. He just needed to keep thinking about them and keep going.
'Maybe I'm not as strong as I need to be yet,' he thought, and he meant that in more ways than one. 'But maybe I will be, one day.' For the moment, he needed to win Inui a bet.
That could be a good thank you, he supposed.
[}-o-{]
'God, I'm a mess,' he thought, looking at the mirror across him in the restroom. Water was still dripping from his face as he rested his hands beside the sink. Taking a deep breath in and then letting it out, he moved to dry himself and then go back to the watching section. 'Come on, Kazuki, you can do-'
"I'm scared a lot," a voice said as soon as he came out, making him jump.
"For fuck's sake, don't do that to me, Midoriya," he cursed, placing a hand on his chest. "What the fuck?"
"S-Sorry," the other boy stammered then, looking about as panicked as Kazuki had been a moment before. "I just- I mean, I wanted to- I didn't want to-" he continued, stumbling over his words in a very Midoriya way. After a moment though, he squared his shoulders and looked firmly towards Kazuki. It was… very unlike him, that. "I heard the end of your talk with Inui-sensei. I'm sorry."
"... Your fight must have been short," Kazuki said then, continuing to dry his face. He wanted to say a whole lot more than just that but… He couldn't really be angry, he supposed. They'd been there in the open and things had kind of… escalated quickly. He didn't think they could have just taken the conversation somewhere more private at any point without ruining things or something.
And he just couldn't be angry at Midoriya really. It was like looking at a nervous, panicking puppy, honestly.
"That- I mean… Yeah, it was," the other boy mumbled, clearly having expected other things.
"... You said something about being scared," Kazuki said, feeling very tired as he turned and started walking back to where their classmates were. His emotions were all over the place and he was very, very weary after getting through to that point in the Festival. 'And there's a bunch of fights left still,' he groaned internally.
"I'm scared a lot," Midoriya repeated with a nod as he started walking beside him. "I don't know if I can be as good as others think I can. But… I want to be. I really want to be like that. It's my dream, what I've always wanted, so… So I'll keep trying until I'm that person."
"I guess we are similar that way," Kazuki replied, but he wasn't sure if that was the case. Call him arrogant, but he thought there was more of a mess on his side of things.
"I guess you have a harder time since… Since you can feelpeople thinking badly of you, but I can't and I… I always think I'm letting people down. I'm so far from where I want to be. And it feels like I'll never get there," Midoriya told him, soldiering on and Kazuki had to give him that. That sounded pretty close to how he felt. "So… We can keep trying together, is what I'm trying to say… If that helps."
"I think it does," Kazuki told the green-haired boy. "If our situations are as similar as you make it sound-" he added then, looking up a little as they walked. He didn't think they were, but then again, he didn't know Midoriya all that well. Maybe he was wrong, he supposed. He could give the other boy the benefit of the doubt. "-then I guess maybe you are stronger than I am."
"I-I don't think I am," Midoriya denied. "You must know, r-right? I'm so afraid all the time, so nervous. And you are-"
"Better at hiding it, when I'm really nervous," Kazuki told him with a smile. "I've been more of a mess during this event than you've ever been, Midoriya, I can tell you that. And believe me, I know that much."
"Well, I'm more of a mess regularly," Midoriya countered, making him chuckle.
"I guess you got a point there," he agreed. "Both of us are a mess then."
"Yeah…" Midoriya nodded, his lips twitching up. "Do you… think we will stop being messes?"
"God, I hope so."
"Yeah, same."
[}-o-{]
"Endo?" Yaoyorozu asked and Kazuki knew instantly, as he sat down, that they'd talked about him. All of them were concerned, for one, and for another, he could also see it on their faces.
"I'm a mess, but I'm dealing with it," he told them. "Sorry the motivational speech didn't last long, Hagakure."
"Just means I have to give you another," the invisible girl told him and there wasn't even a tinge of annoyance there. He was very grateful for that.
"Inui beat you guys to it… and Midoriya too, a little."
"Well, hopefully you won't need another then," Jiro said, twirling one of her lobes. "But if you do, let us know."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kazuki replied weakly, looking over the railing towards the stage. Monoma was fighting Tokoyami… and winning, by the looks of it. He was blocking Dark Shadow with the air barriers from his classmate's Quirk while trying to get closer. He seemed to have copied Yanagi's Quirk too, because he was throwing debris at Tokoyami too.
He was one tough powerhouse, that was for sure. After all, Tokoyami was no slouch. He was no Todoroki or Bakugo, but he was far from a weakling, Kazuki would admit. Seeing him struggle like this… Well, facing Monoma was like facing several people at once, he supposed, even if he wasn't using Quirks that were all that strong.
No offense to Yaoyorozu, but Kazuki wouldn't be at all surprised if Monoma was the one to make it to the finals on that branch of the tournament. It was something to keep in mind, at the very least. And wasn't that annoying? He'd have to keep track of every Quirk around to make sure he wouldn't be surprised by some ace up the other boy's sleeves.
"Didn't think Tokoyami would get his ass handed to him like this," Mineta commented, drawing some agreeing responses from the group around him. "You brought a monster to the final event, Creepy. I hope you are happy."
"I mean, without that monster, I might not have reached this far myself," he replied wryly. He took a moment off of spectating the fight to close his eyes and take a deep breath in. That wasn't a good idea. All it did was bring the bad emotions even more to the forefront of his mind. And yet, he couldn't push it off by focusing on the fight either.
He had to wonder when the last time he was under so much negativity was. Juvie hadn't been as bad as things were then and there. 'The Rampage, probably,' he thought. If that wasn't a sad sign, then he didn't know what was.
"Who's after this again?" he asked, wondering if his voice sounded as tired as he thought it did.
"Kendo and I," Yaoyorozu answered and he held back a grimace. Evidently, even when his expression didn't so much as twitch, his friend read him like a book anyway. "You can miss the fight. I won't be offended. I know this must be hard for you."
"I… You sure?" he asked, not even being able to muster the will to argue against that. He needed to do things, move around or something. He needed to try and find something to keep his mind off or he'd go mad.
"I am," she reassured him, smiling warmly at him. It was still weird, to see people be so… nice towards him. Weird, but good, for sure. "Do what you need to."
"I'll record the fights, if you want," Jiro offered. "Your fight is the one after hers though."
"Yeah, I'll just… go get myself a drink or something," he mumbled, standing up and feeling like shit. "Sorry, Yao-"
"Don't worry," the girl interrupted, placing a hand on his arm softly and still smiling at him. "I understand. I'm not angry at all."
And she meant that, because he couldn't pick up a single bad emotion at all from her.
"Thank you, for being so understanding," he replied, doing his best to return her smile. As it turned out, it wasn't so bad. For whatever reason, that seemed to make her smile even wider. He didn't quite get why, but he wasn't in a state that allowed much thought, he supposed. If she was happy, then good.
As he walked, he tried to stop his hands from shaking. He was a mess and nothing would change that. No matter how many times he motivated himself. No matter how many times other people talked to him. His Quirk's sensing would just keep pressing, wearing him down little by little. Every second he felt what little stability he managed to build up crumble faster than before.
One step forward and three backwards.
So, as he got a drink from a vending machine, he held it and smiled bitterly. His day was just destined to suck, it seemed. And yet, people kept trying to help him, even when it was useless. It just made him feel worse, in the end.
"Is it your turn to give me a pep-talk?" he asked, not turning towards the person that stood next to him.
"I'll just get a drink myself, if it's all the same to you," Mineta answered.
Somehow, that made him smile.
So, Kazuki stood there while his friend did as he said. Once he was done, he gave him a nod and then looked to the corridor they were in. After a moment of hesitation, he started walking. He was going nowhere in particular though. He just wanted to keep moving so that maybe he wouldn't be trapped in his own mind. Mineta, for his part, simply followed, walking beside him in silence.
Somehow, that felt like one of the best things anyone had done for him that day.
Chapter 44
Soon, Kazuki found himself walking towards the stage once more.
He didn't feel ready… at all. His short walk with Mineta had helped him keep busy, but the emotions kept drilling a hole in whatever stability he managed to get. No matter what he did, his Quirk continued relentlessly chipping away at his mind.
He took a deep breath in, glancing to the side at Midoriya.
The other boy's nervousness should have made him feel better. It should have reassured him that at least he wasn't the only one likely to screw up there. Instead, it just added on the already huge wave of emotions that he kept trying to push back against.
'I can do this,' Kazuki thought to himself, doing his best to calm down his mind and let the emotions pass him by.
It didn't work. Every step he took out in the open towards the stage, he could feel the emotions. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could almost feel them grow worse the closer he got. By the time he reached the stairs, Kazuki was doing his best to keep his mind in check.
'Five. Four. Three. Two. One,' he counted, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath in as he reached his spot.
Yamada and Aizawa's voices reached his ears with their commentary but he ignored them. He only kept an ear open for the call to start and nothing else. Opening his eyes, he looked at Midoriya, who was very visibly solidifying his own resolve for the fight. Kazuki could relate.
'Channel it,' he thought, taking the emotions being poured on him like an unending rain and grasping at them with his Quirk. They sucked, majorly so, but they could at least be useful once things got started. He just needed to keep it together. Once the fight started, he'd have an outlet. 'Just need to make sure not to let out too much,' he reminded himself, feeling his calm crumble a little.
"Start!" Kayama called, and it felt like it had been both too slow and too fast. Kazuki didn't care for that, however. His shadow exploded outward from under him. Across the field, Midoriya's feet cracked the stage before he dashed forward, his body in pain but holding together as green sparks seemed to course through him.
The green-haired boy's fist was stopped by a bone white and pitch black surface as Kazuki brought up the thickest layer of Boarbatusk Grimm Guard he could. Behind him, he started creating a Beringel and a King Taijitu. He wasn't sure exactly how strong Midoriya had gotten, but if he couldn't just fight him off, then he'd restrain him.
He'd have liked to go for an Alpha Beowolf, but that'd require him to channel emotions that he wasn't sure he could deal with at that very moment. His quickly crumbling mind wasn't likely to hold as well as it had against Todoroki, he assumed. So, that fight was probably going to be done with regular Grimm unless something happened.
A second punch sent Kazuki stumbling to the side as the fist pierced right through the Boarbatusk barrier he'd created. 'Well, there goes that plan,' he thought with pursed lips as he moved to the side, readying himself for a second Grimm Guard. When Midoriya noticed that he'd moved, at least, because the teen sent a third punch at the now more or less pointless Boarbatusk side.
He grinned as his first Beringel jumped over the Grimm Guard to attack Midoriya while the King Taijitu continued building itself up. 'Oh, come on,' Kazuki thought then, his smile being wiped off his face as a single punch from Midoriya seemed to tear off the Beringel's arm. Feeding it more energy to help it regenerate, he started thinking of a Plan B.
His Grimm were too weak, it seemed. 'I have all the negativity in the world though,' he thought then, pouring more and more energy into the King Taijitu. Efficiency went out the window, of course. But what did he care when he seemed to have an infinite source of negative emotions anyway? What did it matter if he spent a ridiculous amount of it for a meager improvement?
So, that's what he did for his King Taijitu and the Beowolf he started forming then and there. It was a little late for his Beringel, but that one would be a good distraction, at least. If he could get his numbers up, then that was more advantageous to him. Early game was where he struggled and he was holding his own-
As if to dash his hopes, Midoriya's eyes darted to the side where he was, realizing that Kazuki wasn't where he was targeting anymore. 'Nope,' he thought then, noticing how his classmate started turning to charge after him. He couldn't allow that though. Close combat against Midoriya might as well be admitting defeat.
Thus, he took what was there of his King Taijitu and threw it down on top of Midoriya before he could move. His Beowolf finished forming a moment later and he immediately started building another. He'd have gone for a Beringel, but those were slower and he'd already risked one of those for little success.
Maybe if he could stabilize things a little better, he'd try again. For the moment, he needed to stack the cards in his favor and that meant getting more Grimm out in the field instead of trying to make strong ones. The King Taijitu would be enough to carry things for the moment. Or so Kazuki hoped, at least, because he needed Midoriya busy or he'd be punched out of the stage in the blink of an eye.
For the moment, he finally finished creating his snake Grimm, which he immediately set on his opponent, making it coil around the teen. Midoriya was too strong to really subdue with just that, but it blocked his vision and that was great for Kazuki.
With his opponent's sight blocked, he started moving somewhere else, continuing to create more Beowolves. He had a nice pair at the moment, but he needed to replace his Beringel, who had been destroyed by a handful of punches from Midoriya. He needed more and he needed them fast.
'Come on, come on,' he urged himself and his Grimm. His King Taijitu struggled to squeeze harder on Midoriya while the other teen continued using his super strength to push it off, trying to find enough room to make his way out. Which he seemed to find, somewhat, when he made enough space to throw a short punch that took off a chunk of the serpentine creature. 'Not so fast,' Kazuki hissed in his mind, already sending more negativity to repair the damage while still making the monster continue to hold onto Midoriya.
His increasingly big pack of Beowolves waited on the sides, ready in case his opponent worked his way out. They'd jump right in if that happened, but Kazuki had his doubts regarding them being enough. Taking a deep breath in, he grimaced as he made a decision.
'I have to win,' he thought, reaching inside towards the nodes in his negativity pool. The Alpha Beowolf was too dangerous to attempt, considering he was already on the verge of breaking his control. The Apathy, however, was much more manageable, considering the emotions were more… subdued, in a way. Depression at that very moment would be absolutely awful, but it had a lot less risk of him exploding, so it would have to do.
A second punch shook his King Taijitu as he started on the process. It was quickly followed by another as the creature struggled to make up for its quickly breaking body with the parts that were intact. Midoriya was going for quick succession though, each time taking more and more off his monster. He was going much faster than Kazuki could repair the damage and that was more than a little concerning.
He needed to hurry.
As a last ditch effort, when there was little left of the King Taijitu to coil as best it could around Midoriya but not to hold him but to throw him in the opposite direction from Kazuki. It worked, somewhat, but it took the green-haired boy less than a second to get his bearings and recover. That was at least some time that his Beowolves had to make their charge though.
All the while, Kazuki felt like there was a hole in his chest and his mind had grown numb. Did it all really matter? His efforts would get minimal results at best and make things worse at worst. The crowd hated him. They'd likely hate his team by association. They'd probably hate his friends once they found out about them. The press would have a field day with his story.
There was a reason why people like him didn't get anywhere, especially when regarding heroics of all things. Io had seen things from his perspective, but not from others. If nobody else had achieved what Kazuki was trying it wasn't because they hadn't tried, he was sure…
It was all useless…
"... They'll cheer for you, Endo."
"You aren't weak, Endo."
"That's why I know you can be a hero. Because you already are."
"We can keep trying together…"
'Just a bit more,' Kazuki thought to himself, narrowing his eyes as the Apathy finished appearing by his side. His eyes recovered some of their focus as he looked towards Midoriya, who had finished punching the third Beowolf into non-existence. 'I'm not done yet,' he thought, frowning as he pulled on his control of the Apathy.
A second later, the creature looked up and screamed. Midoriya sagged where he stood, but to his credit he continued fighting the Beowolves anyway, if a little more sluggishly. 'I'm not done yet,' Kazuki repeated to himself, his shadow extending and starting to form two Nevermores. He had a new plan and he really hoped it'd be the last.
As the bird creatures finished forming, Midoriya punched the last Beowolf away and started running at him. The corvids weren't fast enough to react, but Kazuki himself was, building up another Boarbatusk barrier in front of him. The punch was much stronger than before, however. It went right through his Grimm Guard and hit Kazuki himself, sending him flying back and skidding on the stage.
With another quick use of Grimm Guard, he created a pair of Beowolf arms around him to stab their claws on the ground and stop his movement. 'Too close,' Kazuki thought, feeling his face pale. The edge of the stage was barely a few steps away.
He looked up towards his opponent, feeling the pain of Midoriya's broken arm. That'd obviously been a bit of a last ditch effort, but that didn't mean Kazuki was going to get overconfident. That had been way too fucking close. His shoulder hurt like hell too and his left arm hurt to even move. 'Nothing is broken though,' he noted to himself, snarling.
That only meant one thing…
'I'm not done yet, damnit!' he hissed in his mind, his Nevermore doing what he'd made them for and grabbing Midoriya with their claws. They didn't keep their hold though. He knew that'd just get them punched into non-existence, even if Midoriya only had one good arm remaining. Instead, he used a series of quick grabs and releases with their claws and smacks with their beaks and wings to get the other teen in the air.
His Nevermore basically started juggling Midoriya in the air while he made more to add to that. All the while, his Apathy continued its screaming, chipping at his opponent's will about as much as the crowd did his sanity. 'I'm going to win,' he thought, gritting his teeth.
"I'm not done yet," he hissed out loud as the new batch of Nevermores joined just in time, when one of the other ones was punched into dissolving. He continued making more. He needed to keep it up. The sudden, semi-random movements of the juggling were making it difficult for Midoriya to really hit anything, nevermind his broken arm.
'Come on.'
Kazuki just needed to continue and then slowly, very slowly…
'No!' he shouted in his mind when Midoriya kicked to the side, getting two of his Nevermore at once. 'No, I'm not done!' he screamed internally, making a new pair of Nevermores charge at the still airborne teen. This time they didn't go for a grab though. Instead, they just went for a tackle, sending Midoriya flying back even if that got one of them punched into nothing.
As his opponent fell to the ground though, Kazuki felt his lips twitch up.
He grinned then, looking down at Midoriya from the top of the stage…
… While the other teen stood on the ground, out of bounds.
"And another!... Victory!… For Endo!" Yamada shouted through the speakers. Despite how excited the man sounded, Kazuki felt like he almost couldn't hear the cheers in the crowd. That was fine though. He wasn't expecting them anyway, so what little there was felt like a victory of its own. It wasn't great, but it wasn't absolute silence…
He'd take what he could get.
Present Mic continued speaking, but Kazuki just took a deep breath in and dissolved his Grimm as he walked off the stage.
"You ok?" he asked Midoriya, who was now looking like he didn't know if he should hold his arm or not. Fortunately for the teen, the medical robots of the school were already approaching him.
"Yeah…" the green-haired boy said, looking down at his arm and glancing at the stage. "Yeah… I'm fine… I guess one of us had to be less of a mess, right?" he asked then, turning towards Kazuki.
"I don't feel like I'm the lesser mess right now," he replied, his expression twitching.
"I meant it, back then," Midoriya told him, drawing a confused expression from Kazuki. "I believe you can be a hero, Endo… Do you think I can be one?"
"Definitely," he answered immediately, looking at the other boy like he was crazy. With a power like his, how could he not be a hero? Had he gotten hit too hard in the hea-?
"That's how sure I am that you can be a hero," the other teen said, interrupting his thoughts and making his eyes widen. "That's how sure I am that you can be a great one too, so… don't let others make you think otherwise."
"... I'm trying."
"Good," was all Midoriya said before letting the robots around him take him away. Looking at him go, Kazuki stood there for a long moment without moving. Eventually, he turned to leave through the same passage he'd come through before.
As he did, he came across both Yaoyorozu and Monoma.
"No offense, Monoma, but I hope Yaoyorozu wins," he commented, trying to muster a casual tone but barely managing a weary one. Regardless, the blonde chuckled goodheartedly.
"It's fine, she needs the luck more than I do," the 1-B student boasted, drawing an unamused smile from Kazuki and a raised eyebrow. "See you in the final, Endo," Monoma added before just continuing forward.
"Kick his ass, yeah?"
"... I won't even bother," Yaoyorozu replied to him for the curse with a shake of her head and a smile. "But thank you for the encouragement," she added, her grin widening a little before she started walking again. "See you in the final," she finished with, mimicking Monoma.
"See you in the final then," he shot back at her, drawing a giggle from her and a wave of her shoulder.
"Good job so far," Inui told him, making him jump a little. He hadn't expected him to be there once more, but sure enough, the counselor was leaning against the wall of the corridor. "There should be a mini-break between this fight and the last two. So, you can take a little time off to gather your thoughts."
"I'd rather be done with this as soon as possible," Kazuki grumbled as he started walking. He'd go, get a drink for himself and then see what he could catch in the current fight. Predictably, Inui followed after him. "I feel like I keep going from holding it together to falling apart at the blink of an eye and then back again."
"Makes sense. Even if you manage to calm yourself, the emotions keep coming. It's not like the problem goes away. Like treating the symptoms but not the disease," Inui mused out loud, seeming more thoughtful than anything. Kazuki caught the feelings of sadness and pity though, but he didn't point them out.
"Apt analogy," he commented, sighing as they reached a vending machine. Getting a drink, he took it and then started making his way to where his classmates were. "Any advice?"
"Just hold on for a little longer, kid," Inui suggested, placing a hand on his shoulder as they walked. "There's only one more fight ahead and then it's done. You've made it to the Top 2 now, that's not a small thing. If you want to just give up now, it'd be fine."
"After all this, just go up there and say I give up?..." he asked, frowning. That idea didn't sit well with him. He was feeling like shit, sure, but he was almost there. One more fight to see if he could win the whole thing… No, he couldn't just allow that to happen. "No… one more fight."
"That's the spirit, but still, don't push yourself more than you think you can manage, Endo," the man told him, somehow managing to sound both proud and concerned. Or maybe that was because Kazuki could pick up on the latter without it actually being expressed? Sometimes it was hard to tell that kind of stuff.
"Fights are, ironically, easier than just standing aside. At least then I have something to focus my mind on, even if they are chaotic," she commented, running his fingers through his hair. "Just one more fight… I'm not done yet."
"... Then good luck, kid. Not that you need it," Inui told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting go.
"Sounds like you are playing favorites there," he pointed out with the smallest of smiles. The school's counselor just chuckled before giving him a light pat on the back.
"Go spend some time with your friends, relax a little and then go for the gold, yeah?"
"Really want to win that bet, huh?"
"Of course," Inui replied with a grin on his dog's face, which looked… fairly unnerving, really. Not that Kazuki was one to talk about an unnerving face, he supposed.
"Better give me a part of the winnings then."
"I'm sure we can arrange something."
Shaking his head and chuckling, he walked into the room where the rest of his classmates were. He felt a little better, if not amazing. That was a win in his books by then, really. With a deep breath in, he walked up to his group and stood behind his seat instead of taking it. Glancing over the railing, he saw Yaoyorozu's fight had already started.
By the looks of it though, he'd barely missed anything. She seemed to have just begun creating things from her body. Monoma, for his part, used Yanagi's telekinetic Quirk to pull away the staff Yaoyorozu had made which was… unfortunate. That'd be complicated to fight against for her, Kazuki guessed.
The sound of him opening the can he'd got from the vending machine drew some looks from his friends.
"Feeling ok?" Hagakure asked, beating everyone else to the punch.
"As ok as I'll be today, I think," he replied with a bitter smile as he took a gulp from his drink. "How did she do against Kendo?"
"It was a bit close at first, but she pulled the advantage after a few items," Jiro summarized. "I got a video, if you want to watch it but…" she added before grimacing. Yeah, he got it. Monoma had used some other Quirk to break the stage by him into chunks. 'I already know where this is going,' Kazuki thought and, sure enough, Monoma started pelting Yaoyorozu with debris.
The girl made herself a shield, but it didn't look like it'd do much.
"She seemed to be running low on resources to create stuff," Todoroki commented and that made sense. She needed to recover those and she'd probably been creating stuff ever since the Sports Festival started to get through all the events. While most of them could at least get some rest and recharge batteries, Yaoyorozu needed a little more to get herself back to top condition.
"Unlucky," he sighed, drawing some affirmative reactions from the rest of the group. He could only grimace as he watched his friend struggle more and more before ultimately being slowly but surely pushed off the stage. That hadn't been a grand fight, unfortunately, but Yaoyorozu had made it to the Top 4, so that was fairly impressive by itself. "She doesn't have good chances against Midoriya for that third place, does she?" he asked, drawing some hisses and more grimaces from the group around him.
"No, doesn't look like it," Mineta answered, sounding like he'd rather say anything else. "Which sucks. Although, do you think he'll be allowed to fight with a broken arm?"
"It's… I'm not sure, actually," Todoroki mused out loud.
"Creepy is our only chance at winning this thing now!" Hagakure exclaimed with a gasp. "We believe in you, Creepy!" she added, jumping out of her seat and hugging him from the side. It was a little awkward, admittedly. Not only because of the position but also because he wasn't really used to physical affection yet.
"Er, thanks?" he replied, shifting a little where he stood.
"Don't mention it," the girl said, pulling away and allowing him to relax a little. Admittedly, at least the gesture had certainly managed to get his mind away from other things. He'd take being awkward and uncomfortable over the myriad of other negative feelings that continued to bombard him. "Anything for my provider of fluff!"
At that, Kazuki smiled, shook his head and created a beowolf puppy. It took some work, considering how increasingly bad he felt, but if nothing else, Hagakure had managed to cheer him up some. It probably wouldn't last, but he'd savor every second.
"You are the best!" she exclaimed then, picking the creature up and hugging it against her chest.
"Lucky bastard," Mineta grumbled.
Jiro cleared her throat then, pulling Kazuki's attention towards her. He blinked though, when he saw her shyly looking to the side. That was very unlike her, for sure.
"Could I have one?" she asked in a low voice and he chuckled. He did make a second puppy though, but he did so while laughing. "Oh, shut up," the girl grumbled, which kind of lost a lot of strength when she was hugging her very own puppy.
Kazuki was going to reply something to that, but he interrupted himself when he felt someone approaching from the corridor behind. He didn't need to be a genius to know who that was, really. There was only one person that could be going there while feeling so defeated. Well, two people, but this person didn't feel like they had a broken arm.
"Couldn't manage in the end," Yaoyorozu said as she entered the room, looking the very picture of someone that had lost. "I guess it was a little silly of me to tell you that going into the battle," she added, looking at Kazuki.
"Nothing wrong with having confidence," he reassured her with a smile. "You still did really well in the Festival anyway. You should be proud."
"... Thanks," she replied with a shy smile of her own. Kazuki was happy to notice, too, that her negative emotions receded a bit. "You better win now though."
"I'll try my best," he told her.
Then he took a deep breath in and looked at the empty stage while Yamada and Aizawa commented on the battles up to that point some more.
'I'm not done yet,' Kazuki thought, taking a deep breath in.
Chapter 45
Eventually, Kazuki heard Yamada and Aizawa speaking about how the battle for third place was about to start. Apparently, Midoriya insisted on participating even with his arm broken. No surprises there, really, but Kazuki wassurprised that it was being allowed. Ultimately though, that was a problem for the boy himself and the school.
He himself had other things in his mind.
Mainly keeping his calm, if he were honest. He'd started pacing around the place once more, a drink he'd gotten from the vending machine in his hand. He needed to keep himself active, after all, else the emotions would be the only thing in his mind. He even went as far as creating miniature Grimm just to do something.
It was inefficient and slow, but he didn't care for that at the moment. He just needed his mind occupied and the slightly different process worked well enough. He'd even taken a step further and taken the usually gigantic King Taijitu and made it into a serpent that was barely a little longer than his arm. 'Mini Taijitu? Baby Taijitu?' he wondered idly, while the white head rubbed against his cheek and the black head wrapped around his neck.
With a deep breath in, Kazuki took another sip from his drink.
He was interested in how the battle between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu would go, for sure. How could he not, with his friend participating? And the green-haired boy wasn't too bad himself either. It was going to be a good fight, if his friend had enough resources to try a few things. Otherwise, Midoriya had it in the bag, easily so, broken arm or not.
Even with all that, his mind was more focused in his own fight.
Monoma was going to be a difficult fight. He was good and Kazuki knew it, after all. The 1-B student was crafty and no slacker in physical training. The part that would give trouble was his Quirk though.
There was literally any number of Quirks he could go to the fight with and Kazuki had no way of knowing what he'd use. He knew most of 1-B's Quirks, of course, but what if Monoma took someone else's Quirk? There were people walking around the halls of the building they were in. School staff, for the most part, but if they went out of their way they could probably get to the public stands if they really wanted to.
Which Kazuki didn't, of course, but the option was there for others.
Monoma would likely have to ask for permission or something, but Kazuki didn't know how hard it would be for someone to agree to that. People would jump at the chance of helping beat him, surely. So, that was, as far as he was concerned, a decent chance of the blonde getting his hands on some unknown Quirk of equally unknown power. Not every person with a strong Quirk went into heroics, after all.
Kazuki took a deep breath in and another sip from his drink. It was becoming almost like a ritual to do that every so often, to shake off any thoughts or emotions whenever they reared their ugly head. It didn't help, but at least he wanted to give it some measure of attention instead of just trying to ignore it until he exploded. Better to know that something was wrong and push back…
He felt like he was grasping at straws, honestly. Everything he tried only worked halfway at best. Pep talks from others, pep talks from himself, all the little tricks he'd learned through the years, motivations and distractions… Nothing worked, or at least not for long. It only made everything worse, since Kazuki grew frustrated himself too, on top of the awful emotions all around.
He repeated his new ritual as he reached the room where his classmates watched the fights going on.
Yaoyorozu and Midoriya were entering the arena, getting in position to start their fight. The green-haired boy seemed to have improvised a cast with his shirt which… The thing had been set up by Recovery Girl at the infirmary, from what he'd heard. All the while complaining about stubborn children and how they should know better.
It was brave of the nervous wreck, Kazuki supposed. He wouldn't have guessed the boy would just go shirtless into a fight on National TV, but then again… Maybe he was just that determined to do well in the Sports Festival.
Kazuki could respect that.
Across from the boy, he turned to look at Yaoyorozu while taking his seat in between Todoroki and Mineta once more. He felt his friends around grow a little worried and that was, funnily enough, very reassuring. Just knowing that they cared helped, even if he could have done without the emotions. It made him feel better, if not by much.
"You think she has enough juice to put up a fight?" Mineta asked, turning his attention from Kazuki to the stage.
"I hope so," he answered, pursing his lips.
"Still, Beauty has done pretty well anyway," Hagakure pointed out, and nobody really argued against that. Why would they? Even if she lost, Yaoyorozu would have made fourth place of their year. Fourth out of forty two that had passed the first event was great, especially considering the level at which UA was.
She was bound to have gotten plenty of attention as it was.
"She has," Todoroki agreed then, and Kazuki picked up some frustration there, which was fair. The guy could have easily made Top 3, really. What the negativity sensor found interesting though, was that there was no resentment there. He'd have expected at least some of that, being the one that beat him.
"Better than me, anyway," Jiro said, and there were some nerves there. "At least Bubbly's Quirk and utility is obvious. I didn't get to do much, even in the other events."
"I'm sure there'll be people that noticed anyway," Kazuki reassured.
"Yeah, but probably no one too high ranked," the girl mumbled, drawing into herself.
"If it helps, I don't think I'll have that many even if I place first," he replied with a wry smile. He sighed then, when he sensed the girl start feeling bad. "What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing wrong with low-ranked heroes. That doesn't mean they are bad at the job, just that they don't have as good PR, or get opportunities as good as the others."
"That does help," Jiro replied and he felt his eye twitch.
"Gee, don't sound so surprised."
"Sorry, I mean it. I just… I guess I'm worried too," the girl said, more sheepishly this time as she extended her ear-jack to poke his shoulder. He didn't really hold that against her.
"Same as everyone," Mineta replied in between them, getting an agreeing hum from Kazuki.
"I guess it's shitty of me to complain when you-"
"That doesn't matter," Kazuki reassured her. "Sometimes people can be just as worried as others despite vastly different situations," he explained, taking a deep breath in. "I try to judge by how badly they feel instead of the situation," he added then. He tried to stick to that philosophy, at least, but he wasn't always successful, he felt. Nor was it a good method, but it tended to work in situations that were a little more complicated.
"You are a better person than me, then," Todoroki commented from his side, eyes firmly on the stage. All further conversation was interrupted when they heard the call of "Start!" coming from the speakers.
Midoriya jumped right in without any delay whatsoever, rushing over to Yaoyorozu in a moment's notice. Unfortunately for him, the girl seemed to have been ready for that move to be made. In response to that, the girl crouched a little while moving to the side, which looked a little odd. However, the shine of her Quirk gave away the fact that there was more going on there than met the eye.
Even being ready and reacting fast, Midoriya almost got her. His Quirk was that bullshit, really, and the guy was a lot better at combat than one would guess too. Almost wasn't good enough though, and when he reached the point where Yaoyorozu had been standing on, he… slipped.
'Are those… marbles?' Kazuki wondered, blinking. There was something on the floor and he could take a guess considering how Midoriya looked like he was trying to run/stand straight on ice. It looked so… silly. 'Silly but effective,' he thought then.
Yaoyorozu took the opening she created with both hands and went all in. She couldn't win a straight fight against Midoriya, after all, and everyone knew that, her most of all. So, she needed to take him out without a fight.
That was why the girl moved so quickly as soon as the boy started flailing around, creating a rope from one of her arms and swinging it at Midoriya. As soon as it wrapped around his leg, she swung it quickly before the boy could react. Her opponent proceeded to fall to the ground, but she'd already been making more marbles, flooding them through her free arm and under Midoriya to help him slip to the side.
'So, that's her plan. Simple, but effective, it seems,' Kazuki thought, watching as the green-haired boy continued to slip to the side more and more. 'Is that really gonna be it though?' he added, because he really doubted it. Midoriya hadn't gotten that far, through pain and a broken arm, to get taken out that easily.
Yaoyorozu likely knew it, but she either had to bet it all on that, or she had a plan for afterwards. If Kazuki had to bet, then he'd say that it was the former. The girl just didn't have enough left in her to really try to do much else. She likely was doing damage to herself to keep creating the marbles as it was. Trying to go further was likely to not even work at best and to cripple her at worst.
Which was why Kazuki knew she was more or less done when Midoriya pulled a recovery. With a snap of his finger – literally –, the boy sent himself in the opposite direction to where Yaoyorozu was trying to get him. Furthermore, he destabilized the girl completely with the sudden and strong movement. Then, the green-haired boy made a second move that completely sealed the battle. He kicked with the leg that Yaoyorozu had been using to pull him.
Seamlessly, Midoriya sent his opponent flying to the side and Kazuki could only grimace as Kayama called the match when Yaoyorozu was sent off the stage. That had been a fast match, but she'd still gotten that far and she'd put on a good show, letting everyone know of the versatility of her Quirk and her own. 'Besides, Top 4 is still great for her,' he thought to himself.
"That could have gone better for her," Jiro said, deflating where she sat along with Hagakure.
"She did great anyway," Kazuki said, taking a deep breath in. It was a shame that his fight was next. He'd have wanted some time to talk with his friend after that fight. Focusing as best he could, he could pick up some negativity where Yaoyorozu was, and that just wouldn't do. She should be proud, not feeling bad for herself. "I can trust you guys to cheer her up, right?" he asked as he went to stand up.
"Sure thing, Creepy!" Hagakure exclaimed, giving him what he imagined were two thumbs up. As usual, it was difficult to tell. "Leave her to us."
"Good luck," Mineta called, soon joined by the rest of their group and even some of their other classmates further away. They might not all be friends, but they were still a group too. If nothing else, Kazuki imagined there might be some competitiveness since he was facing a 1-B student for the final round.
So, somewhat surprised, Kazuki left the room with a smile.
As he moved through the halls though, his mind wasn't really focusing on the fight, even though he should. No, instead, he was doing his best to follow Yaoyorozu's negativity. Not that it was hard, considering she was basically coming towards him and him going towards her.
"You did great," he told her once they crossed paths. "Both of you," he added, since Midoriya was there too. The boy gave him a nervous smile. Surprisingly though, there was a fair bit of disappointment there, for whatever reason.
Evidently, he'd wanted to get further than third place.
"Thanks, Endo," the teen mumbled before walking past him. He probably realized that he was there for Yaoyorozu, but maybe Kazuki could have a talk with him later. Even if they weren't precisely friends, Midoriya was ok, so maybe he could try to help him a little.
"I know I did well," Yaoyorozu said when they were left alone. He didn't have much time, but hopefully this wouldn't take long. "I know that, ok? So you don't need to stop for me. You could be late."
"You'd be a lot more convincing if I couldn't pick up your emotions," he told her, making the girl grimace. He just smiled softly at her. "It's ok to be frustrated. Everyone's like that, just don't let it get to you, yeah? You really did great. I mean that. You should be proud."
"I am," she told him, smiling in a way that he supposed was real enough. It did seem to reach her eyes. Sometimes that kind of thing was difficult to tell for him, but Kazuki took the lessening of her negative emotions as a confirmation. "Good luck."
"Thanks," he replied with a nod. "I should be going now," he said, taking a deep breath in and running his fingers through his hair. The final fight was on him and then it'd all be over. He'd be able to go far away from the stadium and the crowd… He couldn't wait. He wanted that almost as badly as he wanted to win the fight.
"We'll be cheering for you," Yaoyorozu told him with a beaming smile that looked even better than the previous one.
He tried to focus on that, that and what his other friends had told him, their encouraging expressions. He focused on Inui and the things the man had told him. He focused on Io's words to him during their last meeting. He focused on his motivations, his goals, his dreams.
It barely worked to keep away the waves and waves of negativity.
But barely working was all that he needed. It was more than he had before and it was all that was needed to put one foot in front of the other. Soon, he'd be fighting Monoma and that'd be that. He'd be able to focus on the fight then, so he needed to hold on for that long and then be done with things.
"Ready?" he heard someone ask from his side. Turning, he saw Monoma waiting by the entrance of the arena. "Took your time, huh?"
"You could have gone in without me," Kazuki replied, getting only a snort from the teenager. Then the blonde glanced out and up. A little confused, the white-haired boy followed his eyes, but it wasn't what he saw that he needed to pick up on. A second later, he heard it.
"Monoma! Monoma! Monoma!" the crowd chanted and he felt his stomach drop.
"They aren't doing that because of me," the blonde commented bitterly. "It's actually very annoying," he added, sighing. "And I didn't want to be under that for longer than I needed to… I also guessed it wouldn't help you much if you arrived "late", even if you really weren't."
Kazuki stared at him then, for a long moment, wondering if that was actually the order of things.
"Thank you," he said regardless.
"Don't mention it," Monoma waved off with a smirk. "Wouldn't want to kick your ass because you were distracted. Do you need a moment?"
"... Nah, I can beat you without that," Kazuki replied with a half-smile. "Shall we?"
"Sure, let's do this," Monoma agreed with a nod.
As they walked towards the stage, Kazuki was keenly aware of the crowd, the chants and the emotions. However, having Monoma walk beside him, back straight and confidence written all over his face, helped. It was grounding, in a way.
Soon after, they were both standing in front of each other, on the stage, and the fight was about to start. Kazuki couldn't wait. Every second felt like it was an eternity as the negativity buried him and ate at him. His grimm roared inside him to be let out and his mind screamed at him to get away from where he was.
He couldn't though, not yet.
"Both of you ready?" Kayama asked and he gave a stiff nod while Monoma gave a much more relaxed one.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Present Mic shouted through the speakers. "I hope you are ready! The last fight is upon us and we have the two finalists right there! Kazuki Endo, Neito Monoma! You've heard everything about them already!" 'I bet they heard everything about me at least.'"You know them!" 'I bet they know me.' "So, without further ado, let's get to it, everyone! The final fight! Ready!" Kazuki's shadow darkened and Monoma smirked across from him.
"Sure hope you are ready," the blonde called just loud enough for Kazuki to hear him.
"Set!" Yamada continued, unperturbed.
"B-Movie," Monoma said, making Kazuki's eyes widen.
"Start!"
The blonde exploded forward immediately and literally. It took Kazuki barely a split second to hurriedly bring up a Boarbatusk shield in front of him before it was blown up almost as soon as it appeared. He put up another one too while his shadow extended away too and he started generating more Grimm.
'He got Bakugo's Quirk? The fuck?!' Kazuki wondered frantically as he scrambled to cover himself from the explosions of his opponent's hands. 'How?!' he asked himself, properly shocked by this revelation.
Ultimately, it didn't matter. He needed to create Grimm so that he could change the situation and he needed to keep himself away from the explosions so that he wouldn't be taken out. That was all, Kazuki needed to worry about, so that's what he did. A Nevermore and a Beowolf started forming to the sides while he continued making Grimm Guards to protect himself. He needed to dissolve them to stop most of the collateral damage of the explosions, but Kazuki had gotten good at that from his training with the original user of the explosive Quirk.
Before he could finish his first duo, however, something odd happened. He'd just blocked an explosion from Monoma when another one hit him. And it hit him from behind. Kazuki was sent face first to what remained of his Grimm Guard and then dropped to the ground. He immediately started getting up and looking around frantically. 'How the fuck-?'
Kazuki brought up another Grimm Guard to block Monoma's next explosion. Except a second one came from behind him again and this time it was slightly to the side so that it'd actually send him flying a bit. His concentration was also broken enough that his Beowolf crumbled before it could even completely form. His Nevermore was ready though, but if Kazuki couldn't figure out what was going on, he'd be blasted out of the stage.
'Bakugo has to use his hands so- Of course,' he thought with a grimace. 'Tokage's Quirk,' he realized, biting the inside of his cheek. Raising another Grimm Guard, he blocked the explosion before bringing up another at his back. 'Got it,' he thought to himself, blocking the second one too.
"Figured it out, huh?" Monoma commented, unconcerned. That unnerved Kazuki almost as much as the Quirk combo the 1-B student had managed to get his hands on. 'What else could he have?' he wondered. "I'm only getting started, Endo!" he exclaimed, blowing up his Nevermore before it could even do anything.
And he believed that.
Now he knew what was going on though. So, he started making two Beowolves to continue the fight. Maybe Monoma had Bakugo's Quirk, but that didn't mean he had his mastery over it. Kazuki rather doubted he could use it to move up in the air like his classmate and that meant that he didn't need Nevermores as much.
Ground Grimm should be enough for that fight.
The seconds seemed to trickle by as Kazuki blocked explosion after explosion. He needed an opening. Especially when Monoma just blew up his forming Grimm. He didn't have any options. He needed something to give him an in so that he could get a hit in and his foot in the door.
'Come on, there has to be a way here,' Kazuki thought, narrowing his eyes as he shielded himself. Monoma wasn't going to let him form a Grimm. So, he needed to find a way. Not just to make one though, because then it'd suffer the same fate as his Nevermore. No, he needed two, at minimum.
How was he going to do that though?
'Come on, come on,' he urged in his mind, as if that would change the situation so that he'd get what he wanted. However, nothing was going to do the work for him. So, when an explosion got a little too close for comfort through his defenses, he decided to switch things up. 'Ok, fuck it.'
So, when a new set of attacks came for him, he took his chance. He hadn't been pushed that far. He could take an explosion. Monoma couldn't take a loss nearly as well… Or so he wanted to believe. That was what he was betting things on for the moment. If his new plan didn't work… Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
As it was, he blocked the first explosion, then the second, but what changed now was that the former's Grimm Guard was a lot weaker than before. It meant that the explosion blew it away instantly, getting to Kazuki and sending him forward. Groaning and grimacing, he lunged with his arm.
This time, he didn't make a Boarbatusk side to protect himself from an explosion when he used Grimm Guard. Instead, he extended his arm to the side and created a Beowolf arm. It was small, it was relatively weak and, most importantly, it was quick. This meant that Monoma wasn't nearly as prepared for the attack as he should be, getting smacked to the side instantly.
Kazuki didn't let up though. His shadow extended to the sides, starting the creation of two Imps, his quickest overall Grimm. On top of that, he continued his attack with Grimm Guard, making a Beowolf arm come out of the ground by Monoma and smacking him again. Maybe it didn't count as Grimm Guard if it was used far away from Kazuki, but he didn't have the time to think of a new name then and there.
He needed to keep it up.
He couldn't give Monoma a second to breathe and scheme. If he did, he was sure he'd be set on the back foot once more. He couldn't have that. Kazuki needed to win. So, he kept going, creating more grimm limbs to hit at his opponent and keep him entertained. The blonde barely could blow up some of them before-
The floating limb appeared out of nowhere, from his side, causing an explosion that sent Kazuki to the ground. 'No, nonono,' he thought, following his Imp's senses to know where everything was. The hand, Monoma, the Grimm and the Grimm Guards he was using to attack. He made more of the latters and continued his assault while standing up.
"I'm not done!" Monoma called. "You think that's all I have, Endo?! You are wrong!"
But it didn't look that way, and Kazuki didn't believe him anymore.
"Doesn't look like it, Mon-" he started, before pausing. He hadn't meant to though. Nothing had happened to catch his attention or surprise so... 'What?'
And then Kazuki took a step to the side… without even meaning to. His body was moving and it was doing so on its own. He struggled with that fact for a long second before he realized what was going on, a pit forming in his stomach as he took a second step.
'Shinso.'