Once More (My Hero Academia)

21: Bakugo vs Uraraka

"Kid."

Izuku whipped his head back, and the tall, bulky figure of Banjo Daigoro, the fifth user of One For All, appeared in his vision.

Izuku then registered his surroundings: he was standing in complete darkness, apart from the dimly lit, floating concrete floor. He recognized the place immediately as the subconscious realm inside One For All.

The boy focused back on the fifth, the vestige's presence making his mouth sour.

Izuku shut his eyes close, "...Why did you help me? If you just let me lose the round, or maybe just manifest a day later, All For One wouldn't have saw--"

"Woah, hold yer horses there, young man," Banjo snapped, jabbing a finger at Izuku, "I'm not the one who busted out there, being like, 'whassup I'ma expose the new holder of One For All'; you were the one who searched for us and the core these past weeks; YOU were the one who yanked me and Blackwhip out and asked for our help just now!"

Izuku bit his lower lip, then sighed, "Sorry for blaming you, I-- I was angry. Not at you, at myself."

Banjo calmed down, lowering his finger, "I know, kid. It's frustrating. Sometimes things don't go yer way. You wanted to help that poor brainwasher boy reach his dream, and you instead got the attention of a psychopath villain who will do anything to demolish the entire world. But hey, ya gotta see the bright side of things! Outta every single quirk in One For All, you pulled Blackwhip out first!"

Banjo tossed his head back with a laugh, "The other holders must be so jealous, seeing that both times you wanted my quirk first."

"I don't think they care about those things enough to get jealous..." Izuku muttered, but then it hit him.

"Wait... did you say 'both times'? You know about my time travel?!"

"Duh," Banjo rolled his eyes, "We know yer thoughts. We see bits and pieces of yer memories. Also, how else would 'ya have discovered the core so quickly if ya haven't used our quirks before?"

"Then... you know what All For One is planning to do. And... how I messed up by exposing us so early on."

Banjo suddenly scoffed, "Ha! Yer smart enough to awaken the other quirks but dumb enough to ignore the fact that All For One would've known sooner or later about Blackwhip with all those eyes and ears he has around? He doesn't gain all his information from a stupid live TV channel, y'know."

"I..." Izuku blinked, then rubbed his face and realized that he was so focused on getting stronger and awakening the other quirks that he underestimated the enemy.

"Hey!" The fifth holder barked, making Izuku jump, "Man up, you stupid kid! So what if that villain knows that you're our successor and can access all the quirks? You can't hide that fact forever! But is that gonna stop you, stop us, from winning?"

"I know I will win, cause I'll do whatever it takes," Izuku blurted, "but the villain can still hurt my friends and family! I'm not strong enough to protect them now."

"Then get stronger, you annoying, whiny child," Banjo huffed, "you have us now, don't you? That's what you awakened us for."

Izuku stayed silent for a while, then nodded.

"Now," Banjo said as his image became blurry, a wide grin spread across his face, "Show the world you're here, and give 'em someone to believe in."

•••

"You're back..." Uraraka said, her face pale.

Izuku sat down, confused. "What happened?"

"Todoroki happened," Iida pointed to the arena. There was a mountain of ice blocks that the teachers were hurrying to clear away for the next round.