Cubicity

Chapter 20: Sins of the Bully

Izuku was starting to notice a pattern in his life in the last couple of months.

With the good came the bad. And examples started to flash through the teen's head:

Midoriya had finally obtained a quirk, but it was unruly and shattered his body at first. The dream opportunity to become a hero and even the successor of All Might was happening but in doing so sealed his idol's fate to weaken and eventually retire. Izuku was able to save someone on his own but ravaged his arms in doing so. He and his classmates were able to do the impossible and save Katsuki from the Villian Alliance but by keeping it a secret he had betrayed his girlfriend's trust in him.

And today was no different.

It was late Sunday night. The Provisional License Exam was over, and Midoirya had passed. In fact, almost everyone in class 1A had obtained their provisional license.

But again, with the good came the bad.

Izuku was currently sitting on the pavement opposite of Katsuki. All Might was between them on the phone talking to someone. It had been a rough night for all of them.

Bakugo had failed, and while everyone was celebrating their accomplishments back at the dorm, he asked his hated rival to meet him outside later. Midoriya would have refused if not for former friend stating it was about his quirk.

Izuku then met him outside but Katsuki declined to say anything as the two walked away from their dorm. Eventually, Bakugo stopped at Ground Beta and pointed out he had come here cause it was where Midoriya had first beat him, during All Might's first lesson to the class so many months ago.

Katsuki then revealed he had figured out the connection between Izuku and All Might. It started with him noticing that as the number one hero grew weaker, Izuku became stronger. Then came his encounter with All for One. Bakugo had observed that his idol and the supervillain had known each other going from their talk before fighting. He also saw All for One's transferal and stockpile of quirks, during the fight. It then reminded him when Midoriya stated that he had been entrusted with a quirk on the day they first fought. Katsuki also noticed Izuku reacted differently to All Might's message, "You're next," from everyone else who saw the aftermath of his battle with One for All. The final straw for him was when he asked the former pro hero about his relationship with Midoriya and did not get a straight answer during his visit concerning the dorms over the summer break.

But what prompted him to come out tonight was his failure at the exam, and Izuku's passing it. It was the tipping point. Bakugo wanted to test his self-worth on his terms, a fight at full strength. Something that couldn't be done with teachers and classmates around. They would try and stop them, he argued. The explosive quirk user also felt because he was weak, he got kidnapped which lead to All Might having to retire cause he had to go all out against All for One.

The two had never been so open to each other about their feelings in the many years that they knew each other. Midoirya felt, at that moment, he was the only one who could respond to them. And Katsuki's words still echoed through his head.

If your aspiration was so much greater than mine then does that mean my aspirations were wrong this whole time?!

Bakugo then threw the first punch, and Midoriya fought back. And what a fight it was. Izuku hadn't pushed himself this hard since that one night during the school trip. He was forced to use Full Cowl 8% in battle finally, but it still wasn't enough. He had been defeated, to Bakugo's disappointment.

But this is when All Might arrived and stopped it from progressing further. He revealed his reasons for choosing his successor to Katsuki and stated that in no way was it the boy's fault that he retired by getting kidnapped. The former pro hero stated he was bound to lose his powers and retire eventually anyways. But what he said next really stuck with Izuku.