The air in the monitoring room was cool, but the tension among the students was stifling. On the wall of screens, the first match-up was displayed in grainy high-definition:
Team A (Midoriya and Uraraka) vs. Team D (Bakugo and Iida).
Tsubaki stood at the back of the room, his arms crossed over his metallic blue chest plate. Beside him, Momo Yaoyorozu was checking the tension on her utility belt. Their names had been drawn together as Team C, designated as heroes for the second match against the formidable duo of Tokoyami and Shoji.
"Todoroki-kun," Momo whispered, her voice regaining its composure after their earlier awkward exchange. "The dynamic between Midoriya-san and Bakugo-san... it's volatile. This won't be a standard exercise."
"I agree," Tsubaki replied, his eyes fixed on the screen where Bakugo was already prowling the hallways like a caged predator. "Bakugo's mindset in this fight will be no doubt dismantle and break Midoriya that must is clear. He isn't hunting the objective; he's hunting a person."
All Might stood at the front of the room, his eyes shadowed. 'Young Bakugo... his pride is a towering spire, but it's brittle. And Young Midoriya... the boy I chose... he's walking into the heart of a storm he helped create.' He knew the history between them—the years of "Deku" being a slur for worthlessness. 'This isn't just a trial for them. It's an exorcism of their past.'
The Concrete Arena
Inside the building, Izuku Midoriya's heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. Every corner felt like a death trap.
'I know how he moves,' Izuku thought, sweat soaking into his mask. 'He leads with a big right hook. He's faster than he looks. But I'm not the "Deku" who can't do anything anymore!'
BOOM!
A massive explosion blew out the wall to his left. Through the smoke, Bakugo emerged, his eyes wild with a terrifying, singular focus.
"DEKU!" Bakugo screamed, the nitroglycerin-like sweat on his palms popping with anticipation. "Don't you dare look away from me! You've been hiding something this whole time, haven't you? Thinking you're better than me?!"
Bakugo lunged. To the surprise of everyone in the monitoring room, Izuku didn't run. He stepped in. Catching Bakugo's arm, he used the blonde's momentum to execute a perfect shoulder throw, slamming Bakugo into the concrete floor.
"I'm not the same kid from the sandbox, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled, his voice trembling but firm. "My 'Deku' doesn't mean 'useless'—it means 'I can do it'!"
The Observation Room
"Incredible," Kirishima breathed. "He actually landed a hit on Bakugo!"
"Midoriya's analysis of Bakugo's habits is his greatest weapon," Tsubaki noted aloud, drawing the attention of All Might. "But he is playing a dangerous game. He is provoking a man who equates victory with self-worth. If Bakugo feels his 'superiority' slipping, he will escalate this fight to beyond what Midoriya can handle so the question is what does Midoriya plan to do?"
All Might gripped the railing, his knuckles white. 'Young Midoriya... Young Bakugo... show me what you're made of. But please, don't break each other.'
On screen, Bakugo recovered with a mid-air blast, landing on his feet with feline grace. He was grinning now—a jagged, terrifying expression. He reached for the yellow safety pin on his large, grenade-shaped gauntlets.
"Bakugo, stop!" All Might's voice boomed through the intercom. "Are you trying to kill him?!"
"He won't die if he dodges!" Bakugo roared.
CLICK.
A colossal pillar of fire and concussive force tore through the hallway. The cameras shook. The monitoring room went silent.
The Turning Point
When the smoke cleared, half the corridor was gone. Izuku lay huddled on the floor, his costume scorched, his body trembling from the sheer atmospheric pressure of the blast.
"Young Bakugo!" All Might's voice was no longer booming—it was stern, the voice of a teacher who had seen a line crossed. "I am banning the use of those gauntlets for the remainder of this match! Use that kind of power again and I will end the trial and your team will forfeit! You are here to secure a weapon, not level a city block!"
Bakugo growled, his teeth bared, but he lowered his arms. He didn't need the gauntlets. He had his own raw talent. He charged again, a whirlwind of explosions. He used his blasts to change direction in mid-air, appearing behind Izuku, then above him. It was a masterclass in aerial mobility.
'He's a genius,' Tsubaki thought, his analytical mind recording every movement. 'He uses the recoil as a propellant. It's an elegant solution to a chaotic power. But Midoriya... what is your plan?'
On the screen, Izuku was backed into a corner. Uraraka's voice crackled over the radio—she had found the weapon, but Iida was guarding it too well.
"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed, dodging a blast that singed his hair. "I'm not using my power because I can't control it yet! But I have to win this!"
In a final, desperate gambit, Izuku didn't aim his fist at Bakugo. As Bakugo swung a massive explosion at Izuku's head, Izuku funneled the power of One For All into his arm and swung upward.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
The shockwave didn't hit Bakugo. It tore through every single floor of the building, creating a vertical tunnel of air that reached the top level. The distraction gave Uraraka the opening she needed to leap through the hole and secure the weapon.
"Hero Team... wins!" All Might announced, though his voice lacked its usual luster.
Aftermath
The silence in the monitoring room was heavy. On the screen, Bakugo stood frozen, staring at his hands in disbelief. He had "won" the fight, but lost the match. Izuku was being carried out on a stretcher, his arm shattered and purple.
All Might's heart ached as he watched the paramedics lift Midoriya. 'Young Midoriya... to break yourself just to bridge the gap... it's heartbreaking. But your courage to face him, to refuse to be the victim any longer... I've never been prouder. You truly have the spirit of a hero.'
"A Pyrrhic victory," Tsubaki said quietly.
Momo looked at him. "He sacrificed his body just to achieve the objective. It was... reckless."
"It was necessary," Tsubaki countered, though his brow furrowed. "Against an opponent like Bakugo, conventional tactics fail. He had to change the parameters of the game entirely."
Inside, however, Tsubaki was coldy analyzing. 'That pressure... that wasn't just a Quirk. That was a localized atmospheric distortion.' Tsubaki's ambition to be the Number One Hero was a cold, calculated flame, but Midoriya had just shown him a variable he hadn't accounted for. 'If he ever masters that level of raw output without destroying his own skeletal structure... he won't just be a rival. He'll be a force of nature. It seems what he showed at the ball throw was just a mere fraction of what his quirk can do. I need to advance my own absolute zero thresholds. Efficiency won't be enough if he can simply blow away my ice.'
All Might turned to the class, his expression unreadable. "The MVP of this match was Iida! He was the only one who truly stayed in character and guarded the objective! Now... Team C and Team B, prepare yourselves. You're up next."
Tsubaki looked at Momo. "The villains are Shoji and Tokoyami. High sensory range and a sentient shadow. Logic dictates we end this quickly."
Momo nodded, her eyes hardening. "I have a plan for Shoji's hearing, Todoroki-kun."
"Good," Tsubaki said, his breath beginning to mist the air in front of his mask. "I aim for a flawless victory with our quirks combined we should aim for dominance to end the fight."
" Right!" Momo replied with confidence
He had just arrived at U.A but if he had to choose someone to partner with it would be Momo as her tactical mind was brilliant. He planned to dominate his match as his journey for power wasn't stopping even if there were more people in the way. He would continue aiming for the top no matter what.
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Author's Note
As you can see by the increase of Tsubaki talking he is slowing but surely fitting into the class ofcourse he's not just going to tell his life story. As I said he bottles that pain inside so he sort of wears a mask.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter though as I've said before drop power stones if you enjoyed and comment your thoughts