Behind Eyes of Red

CHAPTER 6: Sparks Fly

Authors Note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone, We decided to post this chapter a day early as a little treat on account that it's a holiday.... So without further ado.... ENJOY

Sparks fly

With Katsuki now free from the terror that was his mother, he decided to stop pursuing the goals his mother had set for him, but being a minor with no legal guardian, he's at risk of being lost in the system of foster care, which would force him to relocate and distance himself from his best friend and new found romantic interest, but thankfully there was someone more than willing to file and sign adoption papers, the kind hearted Inko Midoriya happily welcomed him into her home with open arms, he had a new home, a new mother, a new life, and he wasn't going to let anyone decide what kind of hero he needs to be, that was a path he was going to forge himself. With his best friend by his side, nothing was going to slow him down.
Since the UA entrance exam was nearing, Katsuki decided it was time, no more hyper focus on workouts and endurance training, it was time to get some combat practice in, so he had a discussion with Izuku about having sparring matches during their training, that way Izuku can have a way of defense against attackers that may target him for being quirkless, not to mention it's almost mandatory to have combat skills as a hero. The boys start their day as usual, going back to the beach to finish cleaning it up, since they started, it's become significantly easier for them, not because there was less trash to carry, but because their bodies adapted to the demand, they've gained much more strength than before, before they both had to work together to move a single refrigerator, now they each tow one around and even try to make a race of it to see who can dispose of it faster. With their goal within reach, Katsuki decided now was the time to discuss the sparring sessions he had in mind.

Kachaan: Deku
Deku: Yeah?
Kachaan: It's time we get you combat ready, I've seen you studying those martial arts books, time to put that into practice
Deku: How would I do that? You don't want me to punch and kick this garbage do you?
Kachaan: Trash doesn't fight back Deku, I'm talking about a sparring match, me and you, I won't use my quirk this time, just hand to hand
Deku: *concerned* You sure? I wouldn't want you to get hurt
Kachaan: That's it, I'm kicking your ass
Deku: Wait Kachaan! I didn't me-

Izuku was interrupted by Katsuki charging at him, Katsuki started with his usual big right hook, Izuku took a step back to dodge, Katsuki pivoted on his right foot and swung his left for a back kick, Izuku didn't have the right stance to dodge again so he held his arms up to block, success, he used that moment to sweep Katsuki's other leg, before he hit the ground, Katsuki swung his left leg over him and used his right hand to catch himself, he used his quirk to blast himself back to his feet, before Izuku could call him out on using his quirk, Katsuki charged him again, this time sending a flurry of punches, Izuku tried his best to dodge and or block each one but a majority of them connected, Izuku took a step back and performed a roundhouse, Katsuki ducked to avoid it, Katsuki still ducking, took a jab at Izuku's abdomen, direct hit, it nearly winded Izuku, but feeling fed up with not landing a single blow, Izuku endured that stomach punch and delivered a haymaker to Katsuki's now open face, the force from the hit was enough to knock Katsuki down, he tumbled but used the momentum to roll away and hop back to his feet, he took a brief pause to compliment Izuku on the clean hit, Izuku being fueled by the thrill of landing a good hit, now decided that he was going on the offensive and charged at Katsuki, he ran at him full speed, Katsuki took a strong stance and guarded up. Out of nowhere Izuku leaps into a front flip, sticking out his right leg for an axe kick, it came down hard on Katsuki's arms, the impact sent out a shockwave that was both impressive and terrifying. Using his newly found strength, Katsuki bent one knee and stood up quickly, sending Izuku flying back. Izuku tucked his body and did a backflip, but the momentum he had caused him to slide to a halt rather than a solid landing. The two boys stood some distance apart with an intense expression on their faces before giving each other a smirk then rushing at each other, both attacking and defending in rapid succession, the sight of it could only be described as a burst, they went at it hard but with no intention to actually bring harm to each other, Katsuki cocked back his right arm to deliver what he hoped would be the finishing blow, noticing this at the perfect time, Izuku changed his stance quickly, Katsuki threw his punch, Izuku side stepped and caught his arm, but he didn't get the perfect grip so he accidentally dug his fingernails into his skin, he used the leverage to hip throw Katsuki over his shoulder and slam him on the ground, Katsuki was caught off guard and found himself with his feet in the air and landing on his back with an audible thud. The two were left panting, signifying the match was over, Izuku held out a hand to help his friend up, Katsuki took his hand and was helped to his feet, upon standing, Katsuki noticed a stinging feeling on his arm, he looked at it to see some deep scratch marks, Katsuki made a joke about Izuku needing to clip his nails, Izuku looked down at his hands and noticed that his fingernails... had changed, they were no longer the transparent fingernails that everyone has, they were shiny, and silver, they looked metallic actually, Katsuki cracked another joke saying that Izuku spends time getting manicures and painting his nails, but Izuku silently stared at his hands in utter disbelief, was this the reason he had that itching pain in his hands and fingers after the concert? Why were they silver? Are they metal? Is this normal? All these questions were flooding Izuku's mind as he stood there looking at this puzzling new feature.