23 Side Story (This chapter is not necessary for the sequel)

For some background, this was the first draft of chapters 23 and 24, however my writing skills weren't good enough to capture what I wanted. So I put these two chapters as a side story.

This chapter is therefore a bonus for those who would like to read it but it is not an integral part of the story.

For those who have read the chapter, can you however give me constructive feedback so that I can improve in the future. Thank you very much :)

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Eventually after the fights were announced, Bakugo headed to the Class A bleachers alone.

As the fighting will soon begin, UA has decided to give the students a break by organizing mini games for an hour.

The students who are about to fight have all done different activities while waiting for the start of the fights, Bakugo chose to observe the games from the bleachers.

From his position, Bakugo could see all the activity and creativity that UA has shown to invent games that combine fun and super power.

Finally he looked in the direction of the class A girls still on the field holding pow-pow girls, more precisely towards Ochaco, his first fight.

Looking at her, Bakugo frowned.

'Ochaco is smart in using her power, however winning against her shouldn't be difficult, however if I win too quickly she won't have time to get a hero's attention...'

This was the problem that occupied Bakugo's thoughts for several minutes, normally directly eliminating his competitor would have been normal but this time if Bakugo was rather reluctant.

'If only I could face a class B student for the first round, I wouldn't have to get my head around like that…

Bakugo sighed, Ochaco would certainly resent him if he held back so that she appears in front of the heroes, but on the contrary if he goes all out she would lose almost instantly in the first rounds of the tournament and probably lost several requests for hero.

Bakugo looked up at the sky and sighed "Should I just give it my all?"

*****

Eventually time resumed, the games ended and Cimento began to create the gigantic pitch in the middle of the stadium.

The students gradually arrived on the bleachers as Izuku had long since headed to the waiting room.

Bakugo being the first to arrive, saw the tension-filled faces of his comrades.

When Ochaco arrived he sighed, his face was the most terrible of all, and after their fights it would no doubt be even more terrible.

Seeing his gaze, Ochaco faked a smile before quickly turning his gaze to the still empty arena.

Everyone seemed aware of the stress Ochaco was under, after all Bakugo's abilities were clearly recognized as the most destructive of the second-A students.

Under the shouts of Present Mic, Izuku and Shinso entered the arena, the two of them didn't seem very comfortable.

Before the fight even started, the psychological warfare that Shinso seeks was already in motion, and from the moment of kickoff, Izuku responded to the provocations and froze.

'Dogshit! this guy is even more talented than me, he should have digested the Taunt potion a long time ago!'

Finally thanks to the infinite power of the protagonist, Izuku won the fight with a judo hold.

'Boring !'

Even though no one announces it clearly, this thought was clearly in the mind of all the spectators...

Quickly the fights are linked, Shoto crushed the dreams of victory of Hanta as easily as one freezes half of a stadium...

Bakugo sighed at Shoto and Hanta's fight, his fight against Ochaco is likely to resemble this fight to some extent, even though Bakugo won't use such a violent technique against Ochaco.

The spectators started cheering for Hanta as if he was just unlucky.

In front of this sight Bakugo gritted his teeth and put his two hands in his hair.

'I'm really going to have to bring this to life in Ochaco…'

Eventually the other fights resumed but Bakugo didn't pay the slightest attention, his mind was focused on what he should face against Ochaco.

Finally his fight got closer, Bakugo got up from his seat and started to walk towards his waiting room.

"Bakugo! However, before he had time to leave the stands, Ochaco called him.

Bakugo and the rest of the class turned to her at her sudden call.

The girl got up shyly from her seat, her fist clenched against her chest, her eyes looking slightly watery but she forced a vague smile despite her obvious fear.

"Don't-Don't hold back okay…"

In front of this face, Bakugo inwardly made a decision, gritting his teeth for a few moments, Bakugo finally displayed an unusual calm face.

"Of course…" With these words Bakugo turned around, his decision was made, it was a complicated choice that Bakugo had no desire to face, however it was a decision that he had chosen himself, this simple fact would suffice for now.

It was a decision that fundamentally opposed Bakugo's character, a decision created by Jhonas' ego that Bakugo will have to face.

'She'll probably hate me after this, won't she..'

After a few minutes of waiting, Bakugo was called and headed towards the stadium.

As he calmly walked down the long hallway, two robots moved quickly, carrying a stretcher on which the unconscious Kirishima lay.

Bakugo considered her friend for a few moments before continuing to walk towards the stadium.

'Kirishima really gave it his all this time again…'

Finally, Bakugo arrived in front of the stadium, walking quietly, indifferent to the cries of the crowd he headed towards the center of the arena.

In front of him, Ochaco had already arrived, his face reflected seriousness and courage.

Facing that face, Bakugo unconsciously looked away and stared at the bleachers behind Ochaco.

Present Mic quickly introduced the two students and quickly the kick off sounded.

"Startt!!!!"

Without wasting any time Ochaco rushed forward and instantly Bakugo replied with an explosion, however the explosion was not only aimed at Ochaco, on the contrary its main target was the very floor of the arena.

Ochaco had avoided the explosion and was now trying to bypass Bakugo however another explosion headed towards her and the arena floor.

Unsurprisingly, the floor of the arena is gradually filling with rubble.

The fight seemed to gradually turn into a dance between explosion and rubble.

Quickly, Bakugo had to start dodging the stone blocks that Ochaco was throwing back and forth at him while concentrating on the girl's position.

Their exchanges continued for about forty seconds, during this time Bakugo only used moderate explosions without moving from his position more than 5 steps.

As Bakugo danced between the stone blocks and sent explosions towards Ochaco a slight smile formed on his face.

'Well keep it up Ochaco, show them more and I'll end the fight soon'

As Bakugo rejoiced in how the fight was going, he blasted another block heading his way, however to his surprise Ochaco clung to the block while suppressing his own gravity.

'Oh that was pretty well done'

Bakugo quickly put himself on guard, ready to dodge the hand of the girl who would seek to remove his own gravity to expel him off the field.

However against all of Bakugo's expectations, instead of an open palm, Ochaco's tightly closed fist moved towards him.

Bakugo frowned "Why is she trying to punch me? Is this a feint…Maybe, so to defend myself I will…!!'

As Bakugo coolly analyzed the situation, his gaze met Ochaco's immediately stopping his thoughts. Ochaco's eyes no longer carried the focus and courage she displayed at the start of the fight, instead, her gaze seemed to carry an unimaginable amount of fury, disappointment, and sadness.

Bakugo's mind froze at that gaze, quickly Ochaco's fist met Bakugo's helpless chin, propelling the latter several meters back.

Bakugo didn't feel any pain from the punches...no actually his mind was so confused that he didn't even feel his back crashing heavily to the floor.

Seeing Ochaco's gaze, Bakugo instantly understood the girl's emotions, these emotions were familiar to him, it was the same resentment he carried towards Shoto, while Bakugo expected anger, the feelings that he felt seeing the girl's eyes troubled him deeply.

'Why does she react like that, if I do this it's for her good above all!'

As he slowly raised his head towards Ochaco, he felt his collar being firmly grabbed by the girl and another punch met his face.

"I don't need your pity!! Even if you can beat me without using all your strength, I don't care, but don't pretend in a fight where I give everything!!"

The words that Ochaco had uttered despite his fatigue and nearly exhausted breath echoed deep in Bakugo's mind.

"Do not make fun of me !"

'Oh I see then that was the problem, however I was ready to face this anger, it's alright...'

Ochaco froze for a moment as he stared at Bakugo before gritting his teeth hard enough for Bakugo to hear.

"Do not look at me like that !" Ochaco exclaimed filled with fury.

She continued to punch Bakugo's face, however her blows weren't painful for Bakugo.

'How am I looking at her?' Bakugo frowned, he saw the reflection of her gaze in the girl's eyes, again his mind froze.

'Is that really me, is that look really coming from me?'

The face reflected in Ochaco's watery eyes looked distant and contemptuous.

'...What the hell got into me, didn't I just act like Shoto just by… Please?'

'No, it's not the same, I didn't act out of pity, on the contrary…'

Before becoming Bakugo, Jhonas was basically a fan of My Hero Academia, unknowingly his love for the work forced him to want to see the same events he enjoyed so much in the manga.

'If I did this it's because I admire you…'

Unknowingly, Bakugo had just inflicted even greater humiliation than he had suffered in his conversation with Shoto.

As Ochaco continued to punch him, Bakugo turned his gaze to his classroom bleachers behind the girl's shoulder, his classmates' faces were filled with belittlement and disappointment.

Finally, Bakugo turned his gaze to Ochaco, his eyes filled with tears and fury.

"Sorry, Ochaco…" The girl immediately stopped punching Bakugo's voice, he felt her tears fall on his face but ignored it.

"Being sorry is not enough!" The girl's fury took over and she threw another punch this time much more powerful than the previous ones.

Bakugo spat out the blood that was pooling in his mouth.

"...I know, however it's the truth, I'm sorry I broke my word." Bakugo slowly escaped from Ochaco's grasp and stood up, staggering slightly while coughing up some blood.

Once on his feet, he wiped the blood mixed with Ochaco's tears from his face and turned to Ochaco.

"I may not be able to make amends that easily, but from now on I will not betray your expectations."

'Since I've been in this world I see things upside down, I shouldn't be afraid to change history, on the contrary...'

During this fight, Bakugo came to a certain revelation that he had been missing since coming to this world.

'People in my class, no… People in this world are strong… they don't need me to grow or anything, nor do they need to follow the plot blindly'

For the past two years, Bakugo has always been keen to follow the storyline to some extent, The Villain in the Mud, the Sports Tournament, Bakugo also planned to join the same professional hero as the Original Bakugo for his internship.

However, this fight had opened his eyes, he was not Bakugo, he was not Jhonas either, he was a mixture of both who must go his own way!

Ochaco got up slowly, her gaze hidden under her bangs, she turned her back on Bakugo and walked about ten steps towards the edge of the arena, while staggering with fatigue.

Finally as 5 steps separate her from the edge of the arena she put the fingers of both her hands together and whispered.

"It's what I expected, however I have already won"

Bakugo slowly raised his head, in the sky, the stone blocks that Ochaco had been sending since the beginning of the fight began to fall like a meteor shower.

Bakugo wasn't surprised, in fact he had seen the Infinity Girl preparing for this moment from the beginning.

'Thank you Ochaco, thanks to you I feel much lighter.'

As the meteor shower headed towards him, Bakugo raised his hand and blew out all the meteors in one massive explosion.

In front of the show, Ochaco remained speechless for a few seconds before turning to Bakugo, the latter displayed a vague smile of recognition and propelled himself towards her at very high speed.

'Explosive flash speed!'

A moment later, Bakugo's palm was in front of Ochaco's face, the girl quickly closed her eyes while placing her arms in front of her face preparing for an explosion, however the expected explosion didn't happen, instead a powerful kick sent her flying across the stadium.

The girl crashes heavily to the ground and slowly turns back to Bakugo.

"Thank you very much Ochaco, thanks to you I learned a lot today, believe it or not but it was the hardest fight of my life." Bakugo bowed slightly to the girl on the ground.

Ochaco gave her a deep look between two breaths before trying somehow to get up, however she lost her last strength and passed out face down.

"O-Ochaco Uraraka is totally exhausted after this fight, she is unable to get up, Victory Katsuki Bakugo!!"

Bakugo placed his hand on his face, Ochaco's blows made his vision blurry but despite that, he felt like he finally saw clearly for 2 years, the chains he had unconsciously tied around his punches finally destroyed themselves …