Stuck In The Middle

Chapter 21: The Sports Festival Finale

"Looks like our final match is set. Izuku Midoriya versus Katsuki Bakugou!" Present Mic announced. Izuku had been waiting in his assigned waiting room, meditating while in his 5% state of One For All. Him using more has finally caught up with him, and he was feeling the muscle strain start to worsen. Luckily for him, all he needed was some time to detox, and meditate to relax.

Or at least he thought he'd be lucky.

Katsuki Bakugou suddenly kicked open the door to the waiting room and stepped inside, startling the young greenette who was already present. The boy looked around the room before locking eyes with Izuku Midoriya.

"The hell are you doing here nerd!?" The boy grumbled, glaring at the greenette. Izuku, who was still coming down from his startled state, continued to stare at the boy in confusion. What was Bakugou doing here in his waiting room? "Ah crap, is this the wrong room!?"

Izuku sighs and looks away from the blonde. He didn't have time for distractions, he needed to focus on relaxing his muscles so that he was ready for the next fight. A vein pops on Bakugou's head as Izuku ignores him, what did he think he was better than him or something!?

"Hey, I get that I walked into the wrong room..." Bakugou started, as he loomed over the table the boy was seated at. Bakugou then raised an arm into the air, "But giving me the cold shoulder? That's not gonna slide, Deku, what's the big idea!?"

Bakugou slammed a hand down onto the table, causing an explosion right on the surface. Izuku flinched and his eyes opened once more from his meditation. Bakugou and Izuku stared each other down, Izuku now just as tense as ever as his old scars from Bakugou began to feel like they were fresh wounds. The fear that he felt for all those quirkless years resurfacing, and he was beginning to doubt himself.

"The 'big idea' is that you're in the wrong room, Kacchan. I-I'm trying to prepare for the match, could you not disturb me right now?" Izuku questioned, trying his best to hold his ground. Without Kyoka around he was feeling like "shrinking". Metaphorically of course, but his confidence was certainly worsening the more he sat around Bakugou. Bakugou grit his teeth, and then suddenly kicked the table aside.

"WHO THE HELL CARES!?" He'd shout, scowling at the greenette who was getting more and more startled at the boy's outburst. "You think you're better than me, don't you!? You've always been like this, and I hate you for it!"

Izuku gave the boy a confused expression; when had he ever implied that he was better than Bakugou? There was not once where Izuku didn't look up to the blonde and admire him for the hero he could be. But now he was saying that Izuku was looking down on him? What was he talking about?

"You think you're so high and mighty now that you've got a quirk!? I'll show you, Deku. I'll kill you 100 times over if I have to." The volume of his voice dropped. He was no longer shouting but his glare sent all the seriousness in the world. Bakugou meant business, and that just meant Izuku was going to have to deliver whatever expectations Bakugou had for him. Before Izuku could even say anything in his defense, Bakugou simply left. Not another word, nor another outburst. He just left silently, and closed the door, not even bothering to slam it. Bakugou was serious about this, this only meant one thing for the poor greenette.

He needed to put on his game face.

"AT LAST WE'VE ARRIVED!" Present Mic announces, drawing the attention of the crowd. "THE BEST OF THE BEST AMONG UA'S FIRST YEARS WILL BE DECIDED! IT'S THE FINAL MATCH, IZUKU MIDORIYA VERSUS KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"

Izuku and Bakugou stood in the arena staring each other down once more. Bakugou was unusually quiet, there was no expression on his face other than a deep scowl directed at Izuku. Izuku however was resolving himself for this battle, trying to keep himself together and calm down. He was successful in calming his nerves, but the tense aura of the air proved to cause him some distress. All of his focus needed to be on his opponent. Bakugou was going to be a tough opponent, and Izuku wasn't sure if he could win against strength like his with his current abilities. Izuku then glanced up at the stands to where he and Kyoka had sat together not too long ago, the empty seats had filled him with dread. How could he think he could win this? This was Bakugou he was talking about, he was always better than him, he just got lucky when facing him in the battle training.