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--XXXX--
The atmosphere on the ride back from the National Dagobah Arena was a night-and-day difference from the trip there. The quiet energy was gone, replaced by a loud and joyous exhaustion.
"We all passed!" Mina Ashido yelled, for what felt like the hundredth time.
"I can't believe it!" Kaminari cheered, holding up his provisional license card. "We're, like, official heroes now! Kinda!"
"Your definition of 'hero' is easygoing," Jiro said, rolling her eyes, but a proud smile tugged at her lips.
"Todoroki, your control over your fire was magnificent!" Iida praised, his hand chopping the air. "And Usagiyama-san, Bakugo-kun, your coordinated takedown of Gang Orca was a perfect display of teamwork!"
"Tch. He was in my way," Bakugo grumbled from the back.
Rumi, who was leaning against a sleeping Akaza, just ignored them.
Aizawa, from the front of the bus, let out a long, tired sigh. "Good work, all of you. You didn't just pass. You excelled. You showed the other schools and the HPSC what U.A. is made of. Don't get cocky. The real work starts now."
Back at the dorms, the main group was ecstatic. The cloud of guilt that had been hanging over them since the training camp had finally, finally, lifted. They had proven themselves. They had worked as a team. They had passed.
"This calls for a party!" Kirishima roared, slamming his fist into his hardened palm. "Sato! Get the sugar! I'll get the music!" Mina declared.
That night, the Heights Alliance common room was alive with noise and laughter. Sato had baked a huge "Congratulations!" cake. Even Iida was uncharacteristically relaxed, allowing his classmates to celebrate their hard-won victory.
But the party, while full, was not complete.
Outside, in the cool night air of the dorm's garden, the "Big 4" sat in their own quiet world.
Rumi was sprawled out on a bench, her head in Akaza's lap, idly trying to balance a small rock on her nose. Akaza, for his part, was leaning back against the bench, his eyes closed, one hand gently playing with her white, rabbit-like hair. Shoto sat opposite them, nursing a cup of tea, and Bakugo was a few feet away, slouched against a tree, staring up at the moon.
"I can't believe Icy-Hot got the top score," Rumi grumbled, the rock falling off her nose. "All he did was make an ice wall."
"I prioritized civilian safety," Shoto replied, his voice flat, but a tiny smirk touched his lips. "Something you two might know nothing about."
"WHAT'D YOU SAY, YOU HALF-AND-HALF BASTARD?!" Bakugo roared, his head snapping toward Shoto.
"He's got a point, Blasty," Rumi cackled. "You almost blew up those crying actors. And Aki here…" she poked Akaza in the cheek, "...would've just stared at Orca until he surrendered."
"I would not have," Akaza said, not opening his eyes. "I would have punched him. Once."
"See? No concern for collateral damage," Shoto deadpanned.
Bakugo just "tch'd" and looked away, his anger deflating. He was quiet for a long, unsettling moment, his gaze turning back to the moon.
"That wind-freak…" Bakugo said suddenly, his voice serious.
Rumi and Shoto paused. "Yoarashi?" Shoto asked.
"Yeah. And the shaky-ground-asshole," Bakugo growled. "They were strong. But they were stupid. They almost took out the civilians just trying to show off. They were… reckless."
Rumi sat up, a flicker of surprise on her face. This was a new kind of talk from Bakugo. "So? You're reckless all the time."
"No," Bakugo said, clenching his fist. "I'm not. Not anymore. I... I used to be. Just pure, stupid power. I would've done the same damn thing as them. Just blast everything, not caring who was in the way."
He thought back to the training camp. Muscular. The rage. The blood.
"But what if that wasn't a test?" he whispered. "What if that was a real villain? What if that was the muscle-freak? All that hot-headed, passionate 'hero' bullshit… it would have gotten all those actors killed. Just like it almost got you killed."
He looked at Rumi.
"That's not how it works," he continued, as if speaking to himself. "I've seen it now. I've seen what happens when you hold back. I've seen what happens when you're not strong enough, or not… willing enough. That muscle-freak… would he have stopped if you just… trapped him in some ice? Would he have given up if you just... beat him? The answer is no. He wouldn't have. He would have gotten up, and he would have killed every last one of us."
He finally looked at Akaza.
"Thanks," he said, his voice rough.
Rumi and Shoto just stared, completely baffled. Akaza opened his eyes and asked.
"For what?"
"For… you know," Bakugo grumbled, looking away, his ears turning red. "Opening my fucking eyes."
He pushed himself off the tree, shoved his hands in his pockets, and stalked away, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.
"...What the hell was that about?" Rumi finally asked, looking at Akaza.
An amused smile spread across Akaza's face. He leaned his head back and looked at the stars.
'So this is what they call character development.' He thought.
---XXXXX----
Bakugo walked through the quiet, darkened halls of the dorm. It was all so clear now. The path he was supposed to take. The lie he'd been telling himself. And the one, annoying, green-haired obstacle that still stood in his way, who still didn't get it.
He saw the All Might poster on Izuku's door. It was the final trigger.
He slammed the door open without knocking. "Deku. Get up."
Izuku Midoriya, who had been fast asleep, jolted awake. "K-Kacchan?! What's wrong? Is it villains?! It's past midnight!"
"Shut up and follow me," Bakugo growled.
"Ground Beta. Now."
Izuku, terrified and confused, but seeing the seriousness in Bakugo's eyes, quickly followed.
Soon they reached the ground.
They stood opposite each other on the dark, moonlit street of the training ground. "Kacchan, why are we doing this?" Izuku pleaded, his voice shaking. "We just got our licenses. We'll get in so much trouble…"
"You still don't get it, do you?" Bakugo said. He began to stretch his arms. "After all this. After the camp. After him. You're still living in a fucking fairy tale, and I'm sick of it."
"What are you talking about?!" Izuku said, a note of frustration entering his voice. He activated Full Cowling, green sparks of energy wrapping around his body. He settled into his Shoot Style stance.
"I'm talking about him!" Bakugo roared. "And what it means to win!"
He blasted off, not a wild charge, but a focused, aerial assault. Izuku was ready. He leaped.
But Bakugo was different. He wasn't the brawler Izuku had fought his whole life. He was a fighter. He twisted in mid-air, using a small, precise explosion from his palm to dodge the kick. Before Izuku could do anything, Bakugo was already ready with his counter, his body spun, his leg coming around in an explosive-enhanced axe kick, a move he'd been practicing, a move inspired by Rumi.
Izuku barely got his arms up in time. The force of the blow shattered his guard and sent him tumbling into the pavement.
"Is that all you got, Deku?!" Bakugo sneered, already descending, his hands like thrusters.
The fight was a one-sided massacre. Izuku was fast, his Shoot Style was strong, but Bakugo was on another level. He was thinking, he was adapting, he was precise. He used his explosions not just as weapons, but as tools for mobility, for feints, for parries.
Izuku, now all defense, couldn't keep up. Bakugo got him in the air with an explosive uppercut, then followed up with a mid-air AP Shot: Auto-Cannon, the rapid-fire blasts pummeling Izuku back to the earth. He landed hard, his body smoking, his clothes torn. It was over in less than a minute. A total, dominant, one-sided victory.
Izuku lay on the ground, his body screaming in pain, completely beaten.
Bakugo stood over him, panting, but not exhausted.
"I get it now," he said, his voice strangely calm. "Why I hated you so much. Why I've been so fucking pissed off all this time. It's because I looked up to him. All Might. I wanted to be just like him. The Number One. The guy who always smiles, the guy who always wins."
Izuku looked up. His eyes, despite the pain, were wide with hope. He understands... he thought. He finally sees it. He's going to agree with me. About Akaza. About what's right.
"Kacchan…" Izuku started, a pained smile on his face. "You're right. All Might is the greatest. And what Akaza did… it… it's not All Might's way. I knew you'd see that!"
Bakugo just stared at him. Then, his face twisted into disgust.
"You… you're still saying that?" he whispered, his voice trembling with rage. "After everything? After you saw what I saw?"
"But… what?" Izuku stammered, his hope turning to confusion.
"I'm done with him," Bakugo spat, his voice dropping to a low, intense hiss. "Fuck All Might."
The words hit Izuku harder than any punch Bakugo had ever thrown. He was speechless.
"He's a lie," Bakugo said, his voice raw. "A smiling, happy lie for the cameras. He let the real monster go. He failed. And you… you're just like him. You'd rather sit there and preach about 'saving' a piece of shit like Muscular than admit what really needed to be done. You're a fake. Just like all the others in that room."
"No…" Izuku's voice was a desperate, broken whisper. "Kacchan, you're wrong… All Might is…"
"From now on," Bakugo declared, his red eyes burning with a new clarity, "I'm following Akaza's path. I'm going to be a hero like him. A hero who doesn't just 'deal' with a problem."
He crouched down, his face inches from Izuku's.
"I'm going to be a hero who eradicates it from its fucking roots. I'm going to be the kind of hero who, when a bastard like Muscular hurts someone, I'm gonna make sure he never, ever gets the chance to hurt anyone again. I'm going to win."
He stood up, turning his back on his childhood friend.
"I'm going to be stronger than All Might. And I'm going to be stronger than Asura. But I'm doing it my way. The real way."
He stalked off into the darkness, leaving a totally broken and shocked Izuku Midoriya alone in the dirt of Ground Beta. His entire world, his entire belief system, had just been declared a "lie" by the one person he thought was his best friend.
--XXXX--
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