Chương 778: 3
7:43 PM, Tuesday
"Mom, this is my friend," Izuku gestured at the girl behind him. "Uraraka Ochako. Uraraka, this is my mother, Midoriya Inko..."
Inko stared at them for a moment, unmoving. Then she burst into a waterfall of tears.
"My baby's finally brought home a friend!"
Izuku blinked, taken aback. The last time he'd brought anyone home was when he was still friends with Katsuki...over six years ago. Oh. No wonder his mother was surprised.
"Hello, Midoriya-san! I've heard a lot about you from your son." Uraraka chirped. "It's great to finally meet you."
"No, no, the pleasure's all mine! You can call me Inko!"
"Sure, Inko-san!"
Being around cheerful people was weird, Izuku decided.
"Mom, we're going to go study in my room, if that's alright?"
"I'll have dinner ready in a bit!"
Uraraka snickered as he closed the door behind them.
"What?" Izuku asked, already suspicious.
"Izuku, you're the biggest hero nerd I've ever seen!"
Izuku abruptly realized that all of his walls were covered in-hero posters. Merch and figurines were everywhere, mostly All Might-themed with several other heroes strewn about like a miniature fan convention.
"Actually on second thought, let's go back downstairs-"
"This is almost like a museum," Uraraka exclaimed. "Can I touch any of this?"
"No."
Uraraka was already poking at his different figurines, excited. Izuku sighed.
"You even have Thirteen..." Uraraka whispered.
"Are you a Thirteen fan?" Izuku asked. "She's pretty cool."
Uraraka nodded, vigorously. "Yeah, she's super amazing. My dream is to be a rescue hero, just like her!"
"You both have space-themed quirks, too," Izuku noted. "Though I think you wouldn't want to be solely rescue-focused."
"Hmm?"
"Thirteen almost only acts in rescue situations, saving people from natural disasters and similar events. Probably because of how dangerous her quirk is. I don't think I'd be able to fight hand-hand well in a bulky spacesuit, either. Your Zero Gravity, on the other hand, would be pretty great in combat and much more controlled.."
"Really?" Uraraka tilted her head. "I always thought the main thing I would use it for would be lifting like...rubble and stuff. I guess I can float someone up high, then drop them?"
"Most villains can't do anything when they're stuck in the air, so you could capture people easily like that. Or just negate the gravity on something heavy, chuck it at them, and... Release."
"I kinda see your point. I also want to learn to fight as you did in the cafe; that was so cool! Where'd you learn to do that, anyway?"
"I knew I needed martial arts to fight as a hero since my quirk isn't very strong. So I pressured Mom to put me into a dojo and started training early." Izuku shrugged. "Perfect Recall lets me learn things a lot quicker...speaking of which, didn't you come here to tutor you in math?"
Uraraka scratched her cheek. "Ah, that. Honestly, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't remember-"
Izuku stared at her. "Uraraka, I physically can't forget anything."
Uraraka pouted. "I wish I had Perfect Recall. School would be so easy!"
"...You have two incredibly powerful quirks; the first literally allowing you to rewind time and the second one actually overwrites a fundamental force-"
"B-But Midoriya-kun, you can memorize study guides!"
"Anyone can do that!"
6:23 AM, Thursday
"You're like a demon, Midoriya-kun." Uraraka panted, barely keeping up next to him. "We've been running for so long ."
Izuku glanced over at the struggling brunette. Sweat covered her face as she sent a death glare at him, her shorter strides pounding against the sidewalk.
"What? It's only been half an hour."
"Exactly! You said we were doing some 'light training.'" Uraraka stated.
"Yeah?"
"This-" Uraraka huffed. "-is a bit more than that! W-Who even runs miles this early in the morning? You made me get up at six, Midoriya-kun. This is basically torture, I'm telling you."
Izuku glanced at her. "You know, we can stop if you want-"
"I never said I was going to quit. " Uraraka cut in, fierce. "I can handle this!"
"Alright, then. Onward!"
"That was horrible. I wish I could go back in time, and tell my past self never to agree to this." The brunette grumbled as she gripped her knees, gasping for air thirty minutes later.
Yet despite her words, Izuku noted, Uraraka hadn't complained once the entire rest of the run.
Izuku laughed. "I might be able to, actually. Does your Tuesday Save still work, Uraraka?"
Uraraka placed her hands together, concentrating. "Huh...no, I don't have any S-checkpoints."
"So the Save lasts a whole three days, then." Izuku mused. "That's useful."
"Is that why you told me not to set any checkpoints on Tuesday?"
"Yeah. I didn't know any other way to test the limits of Save besides trial and error."
"So should we set a checkpoint every three days, then? To make the most of it?" Uraraka asked.
Izuku shook his head. "Daily ones are better. We can still use it if we need to, but a whole three days is a...lot to erase."
"Right, you'll have to relive all of that time," Uraraka said. "What was doing that like, last week? Going through the same day..."
"I didn't really do much that day besides try to figure out the Reset." Katsuki flashed in his mind. How long could he avoid the blonde, stop that conversation from happening again? "Though, there was one irritating conversation that I got to dodge with the foresight. Thanks for that."
"For what?" Uraraka raised an eyebrow. "Discovering my quirk through a super traumatic experience?"
"...Yes?"
She smiled. "You're welcome, Midoriya-kun. I'm happy I did, too."
Izuku drifted through his classes as he always did, half-zoned out. The teacher asked him more questions than the rest of the class, as usual, as he leaned back in his seat.
He was known as the top student at Aldera Junior High, and for this, he was respected by students and teachers. Yet those same students felt that his(admittedly helpful) quirk was the only reason behind his success, and laughed at his dream of being a hero.
Thirteen-year-olds didn't care about Nighteye or Eraserhead; the heroes Izuku looked up to. They, along with almost everybody in quirk society, only thought of the flashy heroes and their overpowered quirks. When compared to Endeavor's burning flames and Miruko's kicks, a kid with enhanced memory striving to become a hero seemed ridiculous.
And that reminded him of the burning gaze drilling into him from behind.
Katsuki didn't believe Izuku could be a hero. The very idea that he was attempting to do so was seen as a personal attack, so his goal was essentially to convince Izuku he was weak. Hence, calling him 'useless', even after so many years and still surpassing his test scores.
Yet to the blonde's daily rage, Izuku wouldn't give up. He knew the potential of Perfect Recall and would try his best to save all the people he could, like All Might, even if he would never be able to fight like the Symbol of Peace did.
Izuku wasn't safe anywhere near school; though attacking someone with a quirk was a high offense, the school would waive it off for their explosive hero hopeful.
Izuku had been dodging Katsuki since that Wednesday. Finding Uraraka had given him more determination to be a hero than ever before, and he'd been avoiding the blonde's yells and confrontations with more haste than before.
The bell rang, and Izuku sprinted out of the classroom. Surprisingly, there was no shout for 'Deku!', or any angry blondes chasing after him. His bully was taking a day off, for some reason.
Not that he was complaining.
The teachers and other students didn't bat an eye, anymore, when Izuku ran through the hallways. It would be funny if their uselessness wasn't so irritating.
He broke through the doors, approaching gate within minutes-
Fuck.
Katsuki leaned against the side of the gate, a smirk across his lips. It was the only exit; a wide school gate facing the center of Aldera Junior High.
"Where do you think you're going, Deku?"
Izuku stared at him, eyes wide.
"H-How did you-"
Katsuki barked out a laugh. "I can fly, dumbass."
Izuku was so stupid. Why would Katsuki suddenly give him a break?
"You're fucking annoying to catch, now. Dashing out as soon as you can, like an annoying bug. But then I realized; why even bother chasing you? I can blast off the roof, and get here long before your useless ass. So now, Deku-" Katsuki's grin grew wider. "-we can finally talk."
Izuku forced himself to meet those red eyes. "I'm not going to stop being a hero, Katsuki. Nothing you say can change that."
"Hah? What the hell could someone like you do as a hero?" Katsuki mocked.
"Plenty of heroes have non-combative quirks, like All Might's sidekick! And I can analyze-"
"Against anyone strong, like me, you don't stand a chance. You're weak, useless. Are you going to run away from all the villains, Deku?"
Izuku felt something inside of him finally snap. "So you finally admit you're the villain here, Katsuki?"
The smile fell off Katsuki's face. "What did you fucking say?"
"Attacking civilians with your quirk, willing to cause harm. Isn't that exactly what a villain does?" The sharp words tumbled out of Izuku's mouth, and Katsuki's eyes flashed.
It was only years of martial arts that saved Izuku from that first right hook as he ducked, eyes wide. He deflected a kick and leaped back, frantically dodging punches.
Katsuki was relentless, angrier than Izuku had ever seen him. Izuku couldn't fight Katsuki, meaning he had to escape. A desperate plan formed.
Izuku bent low and twisted under the next explosive palm. It grazed his shoulder, as he unslung his backpack and swung with all of his might.
Katsuki blew up Izuku's bag in a burst of power on reflex, and the whirlwind of papers blinded him enough for Izuku to sprint past him. Something tore into his leg as he ran, like several sharp stabs, but Izuku didn't let himself stop running as adrenaline flooded his veins.
He heard Katsuki scoff behind him as he sprinted out of sight.
"See what I mean? All you can do is fucking run."
6:30 AM, Friday
He was used to hiding his burns from his mother, treating them himself out of sight. His mother was old friends with the Bakugous, and Izuku didn't think she even realized how bad his relationship with Katsuki was now. (Dinner with the Bakugous was horribly awkward).
Izuku forced a smile on his face as he jogged next to Uraraka, his bad leg screaming at every step. He'd treated it as soon as he got home, and while losing another backpack sucked, Katsuki's parting shot hadn't done as much damage as he'd expected. It would still hurt like hell for a while, though.
Good thing Izuku had a ridiculous pain tolerance.
"You're already getting better at pacing, Uraraka." Izuku praised. "At this rate, you'll be as fast as me in weeks!"
Uraraka simply stared back at him. "...Midoriya-kun, are you okay?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."
"You're a really good liar, but your smile is still super fake." Uraraka frowned. "Just like that time, the detective talked to us. And you're limping, right now, too! Are you hurt?"
Clearly, Uraraka Ochako was far more observant than he gave her credit for.
Izuku shrugged. "I got in a fight, and kinda hurt my leg-"
Uraraka grabbed his arm, forcing both of them to a stop. "What? And you just...ignored that and went running?"
"...yeah?"
"What happened?"
Izuku rolled up his pant leg in response, and his friend hissed at the bandages wrapped around his knee.
"My long-time...bully has an explosion quirk. He cornered me after school yesterday...you can probably tell what happened."
Uraraka's eyes widened. "He attacked you with a quirk like that? But that's illegal! Was he arrested?"
Izuku shook his head with a sigh. "He's intelligent, driven to become a hero, and has an incredibly powerful quirk. Nothing's ever going to go on his record as long as he's careful. I always run away, but sometimes...I don't get away in time."
"That's... horrible, Midoriya-kun," Uraraka murmured.
"Now you know why I'm so good at running." Izuku joked, but Uraraka didn't respond, deep in thought.
A long moment passed as Izuku stood there, watching the now-silent girl. Her dark-brown eyes were fixed on the ground, as her fingers pressed together subconsciously-a habit from her quirks? He was tempted to poke her cheeks, just to see if that ever-present blush would change. Maybe they were just pink spots?
"Do you want me to r-go back?" Uraraka finally asked.
Did he? He could definitely figure out a way to get past Katsuki if he could redo yesterday. But-
"No, it's not worth it." This was something small; Deku getting caught by Katsuki yet again. He didn't want to solve all of his problems with a Reset. All he needed to do was be faster next time.
Uraraka bit her lip but didn't argue. "You mentioned that you always ran away. Have you ever fought him?"
"Of course not," Izuku answered instantly.
A river of memories poked at his mind. All the times he'd defended another kid from Katsuki, all the times they'd argued about heroes. All the times he'd run away from the blonde.
"It's Katsuki. I've known him for ten years, he never loses. He's way too strong and has a ridiculously powerful quirk. I'm too weak-"
"Wrong."
"...Huh?"
Uraraka crossed her arms over her chest, firm.
"You're super strong, Midoriya-kun." Uraraka declared.
Izuku blinked. "I am?"
"You saved me a week ago. You don't seem to think it was anything special, but to me, that was so cool. You jumped in to save me, and fought the villain fearlessly, like pow pow. " Uraraka's arms gestured wide, and Izuku couldn't help but smile at her antics.
"Uraraka, that was nothing. With the Reset, I knew exactly what I was getting into-"
"The fact that you'd already lost to that villain, painfully, just makes it even more impressive! You still took that armed villain down like it was nothing. I've never met this 'Katsuki' guy but you know, you're Midoriya-kun. " She said his name like it was an argument all on its own.
"So why can't you fight him?"
Izuku opened his mouth to protest only to close it as his excuses turned to ash. She was right, he realized. A full decade spent running away from Katsuki, and despite all of Izuku's resolve to become a hero, not once had he considered fighting back against the blonde.
Why couldn't he?
3:40 PM, Monday
Equal parts anxiety and confidence, Izuku strolled up to the gate to face his enemy. He got some worried glances from the students he passed in the hallway, yet his mood didn't falter.
He knew his chances of beating Katsuki weren't very high. But the very fact that he was trying now, that he was actively planning a way to take down the blonde after a lifetime of hiding in fear, was exhilarating.
...Maybe that made Izuku a little crazy. Oh well.
There was a crowd forming to watch the fight, far back to avoid the coming explosions. A bunch of details ran through Izuku's mind-the cooler weather, the slight breeze pushing against the trees on either side of the gates, the empty road behind the school, and the disappointing lack of teachers.
Then he pushed all of that excess information out, focusing on the familiar blonde leaning against the brick walls of the gate.
Katsuki glared. "You sure took your time, shitty Deku."
"I didn't ask you to wait for me, you know."
"Whatever," Katsuki's hands crackled with sparks. "This time I'm going to show you your fucking place."
Izuku willed his trembling hands into fists, spreading his feet apart as he lowered into a stance. A shaky but real smile fell on his face.
Katsuki smirked. "You're not running away this time, eh?"
The sweet smell of nitroglycerin floated through the air.
"Nope," Izuku stated. "I'm done putting up with your bullshit, Katsuki."
The angry blonde lunged. "What did you just fucking say-"
Thousands of memories flashed into his mind, of all the battles and beatdowns he'd seen Katsuki start. Izuku sidestepped the punch, grabbing Katsuki's arm and twisting with the momentum, throwing the boy over his shoulder.
Katsuki always started with a right hook.
The blonde slammed into the ground, stunned for barely a moment before he was up swinging. Izuku leaned back from an uppercut that grazed his nose, ducking under another punch.
"Stay still and die!" Katsuki demanded, his attacks getting faster and faster.
"No thanks!" Izuku shot back.
Izuku slapped a fist down with his palm, snapping upward in the same motion to uppercut Katsuki's jaw. He followed it up with a roundhouse kick, only to have his red sneaker burned away by an explosion. Damn, he loved these shoes.
Off-balance, Izuku barely hopped out of the way of a blast that carved into the ground. Katsuki swung forward in another right hook as Izuku raised his arms to block-
-only to fall for a feint, a fiery punch slamming into his chest with a sharp sting.
He hit the concrete, and rolled to his feet, another hook already sailing for his face. Izuku stepped out of the devastating arc, but an explosion propelled Katsuki's elbow back towards him like a spring to strike his head.
The blow was a painful jolt that made him see stars, almost knocking him out, but Izuku gritted his teeth and refused to fall.
Katsuki grinned, full of malice. "You're still standing, huh? Then I guess I need more fucking firepower"
The more he fought, the more Katsuki sweated-and therefore the stronger his quirk got. After a few minutes, his explosions were powerful threats that Izuku couldn't afford to take head-on.
The blonde cupped his hand now, filling it with bright light. Izuku's eyes went wide, knowing what was coming next. He'd have to time this perfectly.
"DIE!" Katsuki yelled, throwing his largest explosion yet.
In a single motion, Izuku dove to the side and shrugged off his school uniform, barely escaping the blast radius as the explosion smashed through his shirt.
Smoke filled the air.
"Gotcha, fucking Dek-huh?" Shreds of black fluttered down, revealing no green-haired boy-
Izuku had watched thousands and thousands of videos of his favorite hero and his devastating punches. That's how he knew that contrary to popular belief, every one of All Might's punches was completely controlled, showing off a powerful, honed boxing technique. Izuku focused on that now, a punch borne from decades of heroism, overlapping an image of himself with All Might as he worked to keep track of every single muscle despite their difference in size. Where did the attack start? Where did his arm need to twist forward?
Perfect Recall made learning martial arts far easier. Yet what people didn't realize was that Izuku could copy any move he'd seen before, as long as his body could physically perform it.
Izuku clenched his right fist to his side as the air cleared, flowing his entire body into a single blow just like he'd seen his idol do millions of times before.
-And Katsuki's eyes went wide, seeing the slightly burned Izuku right in front of him far too late.
"Smash!" Izuku yelled.
His punch slammed into Katsuki's gut with a crack, bending the boy over from the force. Katsuki coughed for breath, completely winded.
Then the blonde's head snapped up, burning eyes meeting green, angrier than Izuku had ever seen him.
Katsuki's eyes burned, angrier than Izuku had ever seen him. Sweat dripped down his forehead as his face set into a scowl; a picture of rage that was immortalized in Izuku's perfect memory. Oh fuck.
"Fucking Deku." The name was said with such hate that it prickled Izuku's skin.
Izuku's bare arms tanked the powerful explosion, almost going numb. Katsuki's next kick grazed his face, and Izuku threw a jab in the opening at his stomach before ducking under a blast that scorched his hair. They were both starting to tire yet neither slowed down, throwing attack after attack.
The Smash had been his trump card. Punching like All Might was effective but quite straining on his arms. But Katsuki had shrugged it off and kept going.
He really was incredible, Izuku noted as the blonde deflected another kick instantly. The blonde fought wild, nearly unpredictable, and his reflexes were insane. There was a reason he never lost.
Katsuki blasted over Izuku's sweep, landing behind him and nearly blowing a hole into his back. Izuku hissed in pain, the t-shirt doing nothing to stop the blast.
From an outside perspective, Katsuki's quirk would only get stronger as the fight drew on, putting Izuku at a clear disadvantage as the fight drew on. Explosive palms, thrown elbows, ranged blasts, aerial acrobatics, kicks. It fell into a pattern that Izuku's mind tossed and turned over, analyzing.
Then it finally clicked, and Izuku smiled.
Izuku saw the next punch coming, batting it away. He sidestepped a large blast, wincing at the heat as he rolled under another kick. Next...Izuku kicked Katsuki's palm up, completely diverting the next explosion.
"How-" Another fist only grazed Izuku's cheek as he dodged. "-are you doing that! And why the fuck are you grinning like that?" Katsuki yelled, frustrated.
This was the first time Katsuki had truly fought Izuku. Izuku, however, had been attacked by the blonde many, many times before. And with the new application of experience, the wild, nearly unpredictable enemy was now predictable. After fighting this long, he'd finally gotten a decent analysis of Katsuki's fighting style.
And now he just needed to counter it.
A right hook too wide and Izuku stepped in, landing a fierce uppercut. A replica of Eraserhead's kick struck Katsuki's side, and while he reeled from the strike Izuku swept out his legs from under him. With both palms now aimed down, Katsuki fired off a massive explosion into the concrete-which Izuku had already leaped straight up to dodge.
Checkmate.
Izuku rose above his enemy, raising his leg high for Miruko's iconic move before swinging down. The powerful axe kick crashed into the back of Katsuki's head like a meteor falling to earth, slamming his face into the concrete.
"Luna Fall."
Izuku landed on unsteady legs, surprised when his opponent didn't get up.
The world flooded back to him- the wind he hadn't even noticed, the ache in his entire body, the crowd that was so silent all Izuku could hear was his own panting breaths.
He looked closer, making out the rise and fall of Katsuki's back. He really was unconscious.
Izuku blinked, incredulous, glancing up at the stunned students around him.
That really happened. He just fought Bakugou Katsuki.
And won.
Notes:
Sorry for the long wait! No excuse there.
This Izuku is noticeably different from canon, but that's only logical when he doesn't live quirkless for a decade. Not to mention how having Perfect Recall definitely affects your personality. At the same time, I hope it still feels like Izuku, somewhat, if that makes any sense.
I got really carried away with that Bakugou fight, as you can probably tell. Fights are super fun to write!
As for the tricks Izuku pulls off near the end with Perfect Recall, he is simply copying the motions the original did exactly. This works because of his decent level of endurance and how he focuses on the technique of each move he's using. Izuku obviously doesn't have Miruko's strength when he copies her kick, yet using a honed kick is still stronger than normal for him.
Feedback is welcome!
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