"Midoriya, are you okay? I think it’d be better if you didn’t go after him."
"What if he tries to hurt you? Bakugo looks weird."
Even with their friends’ worried whispers behind him, Midoriya didn’t flinch at Bakugo’s killing intent.
His body wasn’t frozen.
He had already decided he would speak plainly to the childhood friend he’d known his whole life.
"Okay. Kacchan. And I’m fine. I just want to talk."
"Let’s go, Kacchan."
Midoriya did his best to reassure his friends, then walked off with Bakugo.
*
Clack.
As soon as they reached the rooftop, Bakugo locked the door.
Then he looked at Midoriya and said in a low voice, "You didn’t do that alone, did you?
The way you were hanging around that transfer student, Tenma or whatever, I knew something was off."
"Tell me what you did. Now."
Midoriya stayed silent, trying to think of how to explain it.
"Hey. Deku. Answer me."
When Midoriya still didn’t respond, a vein bulged on Bakugo’s forehead.
Midoriya felt a little guilty, but he told the truth.
"...I did take down the Villain by myself."
Bakugo broke the silence with a snort.
That snort quickly turned into loud, scornful laughter that filled the rooftop.
"Don’t be ridiculous. A scrawny weakling who never even worked out
turns into that in just a month, and now you’re saying
you took down a Villain?
You’re a joke."
"You didn’t do anything on your own."
"In the end, you’re just a loser who can’t do anything alone."
Midoriya’s fists trembled.
"I didn’t do anything alone?"
Midoriya recalled everything that had happened.
It was true that Tenma had helped him.
But he had endured training that broke his body apart and rebuilt it,
and he had pushed through it with sheer willpower.
He had analyzed the Villain who put Bakugo in danger, risking his life, and subdued him with a capture weapon.
He had spoken words that weren’t in the script Tenma prepared for him.
He had told Quirkless people and those with weak Quirks to keep going.
He had been thanked for it.
And all of that was supposedly something someone else had done for him?
Midoriya clenched his jaw and looked Bakugo straight in the eye.
"Don’t talk like that when you don’t even know what you’re saying."
"......What?"
Bakugo’s eyes widened. He looked like he hadn’t expected Midoriya to say that.
"What I did isn’t something you get to dismiss."
Bakugo stood there, dumbfounded, then lowered his head for a long moment.
Midoriya had no intention of taking back his words, but he was a little worried about Bakugo.
After all, they were childhood friends.
"Kacchan. Are you okay—"
KWA-BOOM!!
The deafening blast and a burst of orange fire came flying in with Bakugo’s fist.
Midoriya dodged. Cold sweat flew off him.
This was beyond a threat.
Midoriya had tried to solve this with conversation.
He had genuinely been worried about Bakugo.
At least, he had been until a moment ago.
He had reached out in concern, and Bakugo answered with his fists.
He had tried to show concern, and Bakugo responded with insults and threats.
Midoriya’s expression hardened as he shouted, "What the hell do you think I am!? ...Katsuki!!"
It felt awkward calling Bakugo by his name after so long.
He had no intention of correcting himself and going back to Kacchan.
Bakugo spread his palm, sparks of fire crackling across it.
He glared at Midoriya like he wanted to kill him and said, "You’re Deku. So what?
You must’ve forgotten because of that transfer student.
I’ll beat it back into your head: you’re a loser who can’t do anything alone."
Bakugo lunged forward like a missile, blasting fire from both arms.
Fast.
But Midoriya’s body and eyes were faster now.
Compared to Rappa’s barrage, it looked like slow motion.
Midoriya dipped his body lightly.
He wasn’t just trying to dodge.
He threw his whole body into the incoming Bakugo and tackled him head-on.
"You bastard!!"
Bakugo, enraged, sprayed explosions straight at Midoriya’s face.
He dodged again without difficulty.
Midoriya noticed Bakugo’s movements were more ragged than before.
He seized the opening and stomped down on Bakugo’s instep with his heel.
Bakugo roared through the pain.
"Ghk! Hey, Deku, stop dodging and take it!!"
Midoriya only got more irritated. Stop dodging?
"You’re the one who started this!! When you hit me, I had no choice but to take it. It’s not because I liked it!!"
Bakugo exploded backward to create distance.
Then he pulled away and climbed onto the railing.
He gathered explosions in his palms.
"Then I’ll just keep hitting you when you can’t do anything about it!
I’ll blow you away with a special move I’ve been practicing!!"
Using the force of the explosion, Bakugo spun through the air and charged.
He thrust both hands toward Midoriya, packed with accelerating blasts.
"Howitzer Impact!!!"
Orange flames and scorching heat surged toward Midoriya from the exploding pillar of fire.
Midoriya inhaled.
Instead of retreating, he rushed straight at Bakugo as if he were a jet.
He slipped into the blind spot of Bakugo’s right arm, where the flames couldn’t reach.
And grabbed it.
"You read my movement...!?"
Bakugo was caught off guard for an instant.
He tried to attack Midoriya with his other hand.
By the time he made that decision, his body was already airborne.
Midoriya turned Bakugo’s own explosive force against him.
He slammed him down with a mat throw.
The impact was reinforced by the recoil of the explosion and Midoriya’s own strength.
Bakugo hit the ground with a sharp crack and sprawled out.
"Graaagh!!"
Bakugo coughed and spat out blood-tinged saliva.
Part of his uniform had been scorched gray by the blast.
"Damn it...! Did that transfer student teach you that too?"
Breathing hard, Midoriya looked down at Bakugo, the boy he had always had to look up to.
"You always swing your right arm big at the start.
How long do you think I’ve been watching you?"
"I wrote down every analysis I made of the Heroes I admired in my notebook."
"In the notebook you blew to pieces...!
This wasn’t something Tenma told me to do. I did it of my own will.
I did it all by myself!!"
Midoriya turned away on trembling legs.
He didn’t want to see Bakugo’s face.
He didn’t want to see it and risk his own expression wavering too.
Bakugo planted a hand on the ground to push himself up.
His body failed to support him, and he collapsed forward again.
"Shit!! Shit!!!"
Bakugo screamed louder and louder, his voice shaking with fury.
"Hey! Come back here!! Fight me again!! I’m not done yet!!
I don’t care about anyone else, but you have to listen to me!!"
"No matter what you do, you’re Deku!!"
Midoriya shuddered, then finally turned back to face him.
He closed his eyes and let out a breath.
"...You really are the same to the very end."
"I was never Deku."
"My name is Izuku."
"You’re the one who decided to call me Deku on your own."
"I’m leaving, Katsuki."
Midoriya bit his lip one last time, then turned away again.
He refused to look back, no matter what Bakugo said.
Midoriya walked to the door.
"Hey!! Deku...! Don’t go!"
Bakugo’s shouts, still calling him Deku, grew weaker and more unsteady.
By the end, they sounded like they might be swallowed by the wind unless you listened closely. They were almost pitiful.
Midoriya opened his eyes, shut them tight, and shook his head.
He would not turn around here.
Midoriya unlocked the door.
He opened it.
Police officers were waiting there, along with the principal, who was sweating heavily.
Tenma stood with his arms crossed, watching Midoriya.
"Midoriya, are you all right?"
When Tenma spoke, the feather he had tucked in his pocket stirred.
He knew everything.
Midoriya’s adrenaline and sweat went cold in an instant.
"W-what is this?"
Tenma glanced sideways at the principal.
The principal wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief and said, "Midoriya-kun. I’m sorry the school failed to notice the bullying you’ve been subjected to all this time."
"And Bakugo-kun. We’ve decided to revoke your recommendation to U.A."
Still sprawled on the ground, Bakugo’s lips trembled.
"W-what? Why!? I’m the best!!
There isn’t anyone better than me at this school!"
The principal coughed a few times.
His voice sounded strangely guilty.
"Y-you bullied Midoriya-kun."
"We heard from the students that you had been harassing him continuously."
"And you used your Quirk illegally multiple times... so there’s nothing we can do about it."
"Don’t screw with me!!! If not me... then who the hell is getting the recommendation!?"
The principal took the handkerchief off his forehead and said, "The school has already decided to recommend Midoriya-kun instead of you."
Bakugo stopped trying to get up.
"...What?"
Midoriya’s eyes widened too, shocked by the principal’s words.
"Me?"
"Yes. Midoriya-kun is the one most suited to attend U.A.
No, there is no one more suitable than Midoriya-kun."
The light left Bakugo’s eyes.
He collapsed completely and couldn’t even lift his head.
"Midoriya-kun only needs to undergo a light police interview and then he may go home. I’m sorry we haven’t taken better care of you all this time!"
The principal bowed deeply to Midoriya in apology.
But his fist was trembling.
Midoriya stared blankly at Tenma, who was smiling faintly instead of the apologizing principal.
The urge to defend Bakugo as a childhood friend suddenly surged up inside him, but when he looked at Tenma, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
He was afraid he might end up returning to the Quirkless Deku of before Tenma existed.
+++++
It was the right call to hold back and watch the situation a little longer.
Midoriya had cut the shackle called Bakugo off with his own hands.
He was moving exactly as I intended.
Honestly, I was grateful the two of them fought so emotionally.
It meant I could take the recommendation away faster.
Getting this far hadn’t been difficult.
I gathered the reports from Midoriya’s friends, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and passed them to the principal.
I told him Bakugo had dragged Midoriya onto the rooftop and locked the door, and I slipped him the number of the media outlet backing Midoriya.
As a result, we arrived here at exactly the right time.
In the end, Midoriya said it himself to Bakugo.
Even without me pushing him, the speed at which he was changing was increasing.
Once things settled down, Midoriya was questioned briefly at the police station.
I waited a little distance away from the station entrance.
This part was important.
I needed to make sure he understood who made his success possible.
Midoriya came out with his mother.
When he saw me, he said something to her while trembling, then walked over to me.
"Did you need something?"
"Congratulations. You’re that much closer to a recommendation into U.A.
At this point, it’s basically guaranteed."
"And don’t feel guilty. It’s karma.
It’s the price Bakugo paid for what he did to you."
Midoriya lowered his head and couldn’t answer.
He was probably thinking about that stubborn childhood friend of his.
"Hold on. Tell your mother and come with me. I’ll introduce you to Eri."
Eri had calmed down a lot too. It was about time to get her used to [Rewind].
"Eri...? Is the little girl who was with you, Tenma, Eri?"
"Yeah. Stop talking and come with me. I’ll heal you."
I took Midoriya into a back alley.
A little while later, Rappa and Eri arrived as summoned.
Eri was holding a unicorn plushie I’d never seen before.
When Eri noticed me looking at it, she trembled slightly and held it out as if offering it to me.
"...Rappa bought it for me.
The other kids at kindergarten all had one, so I asked him to buy it."
"Can I keep it?"
Eri had been spending more time with that Rappa bastard than with me lately.
It seemed like I needed to narrow that distance a little.
It was about time to give her a little carrot.
I patted Eri on the head.
Eri looked up at me in surprise.
She didn’t step back.
The feel of her hair brought someone to mind.
'Yuri'
The strangely familiar texture made my face twist.
The small warmth that stirred old memories felt complicated.
Without letting anyone see my expression, I pulled my hand away at once.
Once I did, I felt pathetic for thinking of Yuri over something this trivial.
I have only revenge. I can’t forget that.
"Tenma...?"
Eri touched the spot on her head I’d just patted, looking puzzled.
"It’s nothing. I’ll let you keep the plushie, so don’t worry about it."
I answered mechanically without looking at her face.
I thought she might get scared and go quiet, but her voice came back very softly.
"Can I choose the name too? For the plushie."
I gathered myself again. I had things to do.
Looking at Eri’s expectant face, I answered, "Not for free. Heal that green-haired guy, Midoriya, with your Quirk. I’ll let you have it after you succeed."
I figured that would create a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
But Eri’s eyes sparkled and she smiled when she heard that.
"Thank you! Can I really heal Midoriya with my Quirk?"
I couldn’t understand why she was so happy about being able to heal him.
I didn’t think too deeply about it for now.
"Yeah. Hurry up and do it."
Eri nodded and walked over to Midoriya.
When she took his finger in her small hand, a golden radiance wrapped around him.
The minor wounds on Midoriya’s body faded away.
Once the injuries were gone, Eri let go.
"Is this... Tenma’s Quirk?"
Midoriya looked at Eri with an expression that seemed full of thoughts.
"That girl is the original. From now on, I’ll have you get used to your Quirk while she heals you."
Midoriya must have felt Eri’s gaze, because he knelt down to meet her eyes and held out his hand.
"Hello, Eri."
"......Hello."
Eri took Midoriya’s index finger the same way she had taken mine a moment ago.
Midoriya’s expression softened even more.
Just as I was about to tell him to go for now, my phone rang.
Hawks.
Looks like he had another favor to ask.
"Hold on. Wait here."
I told them that, then went deeper into the alley and answered the call.
"I’m busy. Make it quick."
[Of course. You’re always busy whenever I call.]
[About that virus I collected—the symptoms started appearing when it began mutating.]
[There are individual differences, but after interrogating the Villain you treated, it seems the early stage mainly causes auditory hallucinations.]
"That’s convenient. Easy to spot.
If that’s all, hang up. Call me later if you’ve got more."
Hawks spoke in the same easygoing tone he had the first time we met.
[Yes, yes. Understood, Doctor.]
After hanging up, I thought about the plans ahead and returned to them.
+++++
Bakugo’s house. The door was locked.
It had been the worst day of Bakugo’s life.
His bullying and the loss of his recommendation had both been exposed to everyone.
His mother had cursed him out and slapped him repeatedly at the police station.
His timid father had turned stern and scolded him with a hard expression.
Even Deku, who had spent his whole life looking at Bakugo’s back, had looked down on him.
He had rejected the label Bakugo himself had forced on him.
<If being weak makes you a moron, then you’re the one who’s Deku.
Your Quirk is so weak it isn’t even worth having.>
<You’re disqualified as a fighter.>
<I’m leaving, Katsuki.>
"Shut up...! Shut up!!!"
Above all else, the hallucinations were driving him insane.
The more he covered his ears and curled up, the clearer they became.
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