Mystic

Chapter Eight

        "And now, Bakugo versus Kenko!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the stadium. "Bakugo's viscous rushes are unstoppable!"

        "Psh," I scoffed. "We'll see about that."

        Todoroki had managed to immobilize Ida with his ice, even after getting kicked pretty hard, so he'd be fighting whichever one of us won this match up. He'd refrained from using his flames in his match, but I wasn't sure he'd hold out in the same way if it came down to the two of us. I mean, he'd been pretty adamant about winning earlier.

        But, I had to focus on my current battle if I even wanted to challenge Todoroki. That meant getting the hell out of Kacchan's way as he raced toward me. His palms were snap, crackling, and popping as he came closer and closer to me. I'd refrained from moving too far from the boundary line. Perhaps that seemed dumb, but I also knew that my best chance of getting Kacchan to go out of bounds would be letting him think he was close to doing the same to me.

        He let loose an explosion right in my face which I hastily deflected with a telekinetic wall. It was a good thing my reflexes were on point today, or else I would have been leaving the arena with many a burn on my body. I had to go on the defense. At least, in a way. If I could trick Kacchan into believing I was giving up, into assuming I was too afraid to land a blow, then I could come out on top.

        "That all you got?" I asked, egging him on.

        Kacchan kept blasting away into the shield I'd put up before me. He couldn't see it, as it wasn't made of any real material, but he certainly wanted to tear it to shreds. I dared to take a few steps back toward the line. My wall became a little unstable. I let some of the explosions graze my skin. Let him think he had a chance, and then. . .

        He leapt into the air, using his blasts to flip himself up and over me. Dammit! I'd been hoping he'd stay toward the front and I could just step out of the way when he'd been off balance. Now I'd have to do something completely different. If I could just get my shield up behind me. I turned to see Kacchan readying a massive explosion in his palms.

       In a moment of panic, I flung out my hand, releasing a telekinetic blast that sent him flying backward with incredible speed. Right into the cement wall of the arena behind him. He'd been knocked unconscious the second his head had collided with the stone surface. Midnight declared me to be the winner as I rushed over to his side.

        "Crap, crap, crap. Kacchan? Are you alright?" I was really worried that I'd hit him too hard, and my fear only grew as I noticed a bit of blood running down the wall. "I wasn't trying to hurt. I was just worried you were gonna take me out with that blast, and— Kacchan? Kacchan, please wake up!"

        He was breathing, thankfully, but he wasn't reacting to a single thing I said. Not even when I started screaming at him to say anything. I hadn't even noticed I was crying until Midnight had to pull me away from his body, tearing my hands away. He was loaded onto one of the robotic stretchers that would send him to Recovery Girl's makeshift office. I couldn't look away from the dripping bloodstain at the top of the Kacchan-sized imprint.

        I hadn't meant to send him flying. Sure, I'd been hoping he might be pushed out of bounds, but not that far. Not with that much force. In the moment, I'd had no control of my Quirk. I'd reacted instinctively, tapping into a well of power I didn't realize I'd had to begin with. What if he sustained some sorta brain trauma? It'd be my fault. I'd be the villain once again.

        Someone led me to the waiting room. It was probably a teacher, but I honestly couldn't remember. All I could think of was the big red splotch on the concrete and Kacchan's limp body. I'd never seen him so weak, so helpless. He was always a force to be reckoned with, stubborn, unbreakable. And yet, the Kacchan I'd seen sure looked broken. I buried my head into my arms, not even trying to hold back the sobs any longer. No one was here to see me anyway, so what did it matter?