DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY HERO ACADEMIA, BECAUSE IF I DID, I'D BE A RICH MOFO...not really.

I Am The Fire by Halestorm

Korra firebending gif

Chapter 15: Firestorm
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THIRD POV
THE HIGH THAT Kasai felt after her victory made her feel like the sun, so bright and ever-glowing. However, after that expulsion of azure flames, she felt so drained and burned out. Of course her body currently felt like it was on fire with her overheating side effect, but it was worth it.

She saw her father's expression, it was so full of annoyance and anger, but damn! It felt so good to rub her victory in his face. She sure showed him that she's no loser, that she's no failure. Heck, she doesn't know those words, they don't exist to her in this moment. She's a winner and she definitely feels like one.

Dropping her charred arms, the pale girl finally feels the pain of her burns. Wincing, Kasai bites her bottom lip and notices how severe the burns really are. Her turquoise eyes trail the skin on her arms that were once fair, but looking at them now, she sees dark streaks of burned patches. The bottoms or her palms, where her wrist meets hand, they're dark, almost a shade of black if she didn't notice the purple hints. Her forearms though, it's like they got blasted with fire and the flame splattered upwards. Her skin is completely charred.

Now, that the adrenaline of the match is fading, she has to bite her lip even more to stop herself from crying out with every movement she makes. The pain is unbelievable! Her white flames never hurt this much which reminds her that blue fire is extremely hotter, they're a whole different level of heat. This hurts now, but Kasai can't help but wonder about her older brother, Touya, who constantly dealt with blue fire. How did he handle the heat? Did he get burned?

Her memories of him never showed him in pain, maybe he hid that from her? She definitely wishes that he was here, she would especially want to hear some advice right now. Specifically on how to handle this new level of intense heat. He always knew how to help.

He sure helped her during the match. Kasai's memory of Touya reminded her of her potential, that she didn't need anyone's approval, she just needed support. Touya gave her that, and that's all she needed.

Were her actions against Shoto uncalled for? In a sense, yes. She didn't have to be so brutal with him, but this is still a competition after all. And nothing will get in the way of her getting first place. Will she be cruel in her endeavors? Yes. Will it be worth it? Definitely. However, deep down inside of her, very deep, she felt bad that she pushed her brother to use his flames when he didn't want to - especially when she remembers him saying that he would never use his fire side in battle. Maybe his fight against Midoriya was a one time only. Midoriya does have that effect to trigger people, heck when she fought against him in the cavalry battle his quirk extinguished her flames. Maybe they did the opposite to Shoto, making his flames burst to life? 

Maybe the audience was right, she did act a bit like a villain. 

But again, this is a competition, and nobody ever won with being nice. 

Huffing through her nose, she exhaled a streak of steam before walking off of the arena. Being careful not to move her arms, Kasai maneuvered through the halls of the stadium and made her way to the infirmary. Maybe Recovery Girl could do something about her burns, or at least ease the pain. 

Reaching the infirmary, she knocks before opening the door. It's not a big room, basically a regular patient room with a work station, drawers, cupboards, a privacy curtain and a single bed. On the bed she immediately notices the familiar form of her brother, who's currently unconscious. Looking at him, a frown settles on her lips as she takes note of his irritated red skin. To anyone else, it would look like he got a major sunburn, but Kasai knows differently. She did this to him. Taking a seat on a stool chair next to the bed, the younger Todoroki sighs dejectedly. 

She was definitely too cruel on him. 

"Don't worry, the irritation of his burns will go down before he wakes up. I already healed him, his injuries look worse than they really are," Recovery girl informs, clearly noticing her bothered expression. 

Kasai doesn't look away from her brother's unconscious form. "Yeah, but I still hurt him. My brother and I, we don't exactly get along - tch, we don't really have a relationship to be honest, but I didn't have to be so brutal on him during our fight. I was irrational, I let my emotions blind me," she confesses. 

The older woman sighs. "That may be so, dear, but don't fret too much on it. Competitions like this sports festival is designed to get everyone so riled up, especially when there's the guarantee of winning first place," she states, trying to counsel the young girl. 

"Yeah," the teen concurs, looking away from her brother and towards the woman. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. You kids stress over everything nowadays. Now! Enough talking, you have some serious injuries I need to look over. A broken nose and some burns, maybe second degree or third degree from the looks of it," Recovery Girl informs, moving closer to look at the burns. 

"Well, if it's any indication, my arms hurt when I try to move them," Kasai comments, glancing at the burned patches of her arms. 

"Hmm, that only indicates the burned skin tissue and the swelling. However, seeing that your skin burned so extremely that it charred, it clearly confirms that the level of your quirk's heat gave you some third degree burns," the older woman declares. 

"So, what does that mean? I can't use my quirk without making my skin burn? Can you heal it," the pale girl questions, very concerned. 

"I can heal the pain and the swelling along with the irritated blisters, but I'm afraid I can't do much about your charred skin. The extensive heat of your quirk's blue flames burned through all three layers of your skin, destroying the epidermis, your hair follicles, and any chance of growing new skin. As for your quirk, you can still use it, but you need to find a way to manage the heat without burning yourself," Recovery Girl explains solemnly. 

Kasai can feel her throat tighten, stinging with the familiar feel of tears. Not wanting to cry at the bad news, she swallows and ignores the goosebumps rising at the back of her neck. "How is that possible? My quirk already overheats my body enough as it is, and that's just using my regular white flames. There's no way to use my blue flames without burning my skin. I'm not my brother who has an ice quirk to help cool off. It's inevitable," the teen argues, already knowing the extent of her quirk and what it does to her. 

The old woman sighs, frowning. "Then, you have to face the conclusion that if you were to use your blue flames, you will be permanently damaging your skin," the healer advises. 

Kasai's turquoise gaze lands on her charred arms, frowning with the idea of forever damaging her pale skin. However, she knows that she's training to become a hero and using her flames will be inevitable. It's bound to happen, maybe today once more, maybe tomorrow, next week, next month - it's unavoidable. 

"I already accepted it," the Todoroki answers. 

There's no use in fighting it. 

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

   WITH BANDAGES WRAPPED around her burned arms and her nose completely healed, Kasai finally makes her way towards the viewing area. Even though she got another change of the fitness uniform - again - she can still smell a burning scent on herself. Apart from the ointment that Recovery Girl used to soothe her burns. Shaking her head, Kasai takes her hair into her hands and sorts through the pale strands. It doesn't take long to find patches of burnt hair. Grimacing in disdain, she practically throws her hair over her shoulders. 

Of course! What else is going to burn, she scoffs in her mind. 

So busy in her pity party, Kasai almost manages to bump into the towering figure of her father as he stands in the end of the hallway. Halting in her steps, the girl recoils at the sight of him by taking a step back. Narrowing her icy eyes, her gaze clashes with an equally icy pair. 

"What do you want? I know you didn't come down here to congratulate me, and I especially know that you wouldn't just wait here so I can rub my victory in your face. Not when I proved you wrong, I told you, I wasn't going to be the one who failed," she sneers, giving a mirthless smile. 

"Are you done," Endeavor questions, narrowing his eyes at his youngest. "I don't care that you won because it doesn't really count. If Shoto actually put in the effort and used his fire side, you wouldn't be standing here gloating. Face it, Kasai, you're not a winner, your brother basically let you win. This jealousy and one sided competition you have with him, is useless, because you'll always be a failure, just like the rest of your older siblings. Once a failure, always a failure, and it's time you got that through your head," he scoffs, tearing his daughter of her victory. 

The girl grits her teeth and clenches her hands so hard that her long nails embed themselves into her palms. She ignores the feeling of cutting her skin and uses the pain to push back her tears. That sense of victory gets diminished with her father's words, just like every victory in her life - it's stripped and stolen, leaving her with a sense of defeat. 

And to make it worse, she knows he speaks the truth. 

If Shoto actually tried in their match and fought relentlessly like she did, Kasai wouldn't be standing here. No, she would have been the one in the infirmary and her brother would be out here getting congratulated by their father. She asked herself what else would burn, well now she knows. 

Her dignity. Her self esteem. Her pride. Her self worth. 

Because now, she feels absolutely disgusted with herself. How could she believe that she can ever be a winner? He's right. Once a failure, always a-

No! He's not right! 

It's just like Touya said, Shoto may be a shiny masterpiece, but I shine like the sun! 

"You're wrong, dad. I'm not a failure," Kasai glares, her hair igniting and eyes sparking. "I may lose against Shoto in your eyes, but I don't need your acceptance! I will never need your praise, not when somebody already supports me, not when they believe in me. You can have your masterpiece, but me, I'll burn brighter than the sun one day and I'll do it all without you." 

She walks past her father before putting out her flames. Though, just as she makes it at the intersection of the hallways, Enji turns to her. 

"The blue flames, who taught you that," he asks, gruffly. "Not even Shoto could reach that level of heat yet."

Kasai stops, not looking back. "No one taught me," she says, smiling softly as she remembers the memory she cherished. "I just remembered who I was. It's amazing what people can forget."

And with that, she leaves her father standing alone.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

   FINALLY, KASAI MAKES it to the viewing area, feeling content. The feeling of having her dignity stripped by her father goes away when she reminds herself that she can be a winner. That she doesn't need him. Stepping down the steps, she silently watches from her standing point that Bakugou is fighting against Tokoyami. Gently crossing her arms, she stays right there by the doorway so she doesn't disturb her classmates who are so captivated by the fight. 

But it's also because she wants to observe Bakugou without distractions. 

By means, he may be her next opponent in this competition, and so far she's noticed that he never holds back. He fights fair and square, and yes his actions may borderline brutal, but so do hers. Ever since middle school, her and Bakugou were always fighting one another, trying to up each other in whatever task. The upcoming match could be another example of going against each other. 

A fight to finally show who's best!

However, the outcome, Kasai will definitely give it her all. She will use the next match as a springboard to finally jump out of her brother's insanely dark and large shadow. She realizes that she also has an amazing quirk - despite not having the contrasting two that her father sees as perfection - and that she can stand besides her brother, not behind him. That she can make a name for herself! That she can be her own hero! No more approval needed from her father, no acknowledgement - she needs nothing from him.

She'll show him what he missed out on! She'll show him how much she's worth! How powerful she is! No matter what. And when he finally sees her, it'll be too late.

Smiling at the thought, Kasai shakes off her inner monologues and focuses on the match below her.

"Tokoyami's come this far with a series of wins thanks to his near-invincible quirk, but now he's totally on the defensive! He can't even get close," Present Mic spectates, his voice loud as ever.

"C'mon, Tokoyami! Your attacks against us were crazy strong," Mina shouts from her seat.

"Are we missing something," Momo asks from next to her.

Kasai smirks, shaking her head. The reason to why Tokoyami's having difficulty is easy. Like fire and ice and how they're opposites, Bakugou's explosions are the same to his Dark Shadow. The brightness of the blasts weakens the darkness. So much for common knowledge.

"The brightness of those explosions is keeping him at bay. It's a bad match up for him," the Todoroki hears Ochaco state.

"He could still turn it around if Kacchan doesn't figure out his secret," Midoriya opposes with his opinion.

The pale girl shakes her head. Shes aware that Bakugou is mostly seen as brawns, but she knows that there's some intelligence under all that anger and spiky hair. It's one of the reasons why they're rivals, the strategic battles. Because whenever she tries to one-up him, he's always there to push her back, and the same could be said when he tries to get an advantage.

Their rivalry was a game of chess.

Kasai's turquoise gaze watches the match, and sees Bakugou rushing towards Tokoyami. She can see that the latter is feeling the effects of the light, his shadow moving slowly and hesitating. The pale girl smirks when she sees the ash blond boy use his explosions to propel himself in the air, jumping the distance to Tokoyami.

Dark Shadow moves to attack, but Bakugou simply attacks in mid air with an explosion, hitting the bird at point blank.

"Grab him dark shadow," Tokoyami yells.

However, Bakugou easily flips his body over, using the dark mass to propel himself, and swiftly lands behind the latter.

"He's behind him," Present Mic yells.

Icy eyes narrow and sparkle as Kasai continues to watch. Biting her lip, the girl looks on with fascination, waiting and anticipating the outcome. Noticing that Bakugou is behind Tokoyami, she takes note of how he brings his hands together.

"Stun Grenade," Bakugou yells, igniting a large explosion.

Ugh! Why do I find that so hot, Kasai scolds herself, smirking.

"Always with these dust clouds! What happened down there," the blond pro-hero questions, voicing his annoyance.

As the burning clouds dissipate, the Todoroki girl sees Bakugou pinning down Tokoyami. His left hand holding down the other boy as his right hand sparks with small explosive blasts. At the sight of their position, Kasai silently slaps her face.

This is a fight, take it seriously, Kasai! This isn't the time to get turned on, she yells at herself.

"Tokoyami has surrendered! Bakugou wins," Midnight spectates, making the crowd cheer.

"Looks like our final match is set! Todoroki versus Bakugou," Present Mic roars from the speaker room.

Ice cold eyes collide with a fiery crimson gaze. Looking at each other from the arena and the stands, they both share determined smirks.

It's on!

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

   WALKING INTO THE waiting room, Kasai is startled when she sees Shoto at the table. She assumes that he waited for her. Softly closing the door behind her, Kasai looks at her brother and sees that he looks better now than in the infirmary room. Recovery Girl was right, the burns looked worse than what they really were.

Her unease settles at his non-irritated skin.

Sure, Kasai can play herself off as some brutal fighter, but she doesn't like using her quirk to harm people. At the USJ, that was different because she was fighting villains, and if she didn't incapacitate them with burns then they would have continued to attack her. Though, maybe she was just feeling guilty for forcing Shoto in using his flames.

She may have qualities like her father, but she didn't want to be her father.

And she's ashamed that she acted like him - exactly like him.

How did she become that cruel?

"Shoto... what are you doing here," she quietly asks.

Their mismatched gazes meet when he looks to her. It doesn't show, but Kasai can note the tiny shine of happiness in his eyes when she calmly speaks to him. That just makes her feel worse.

Was she so blindsided by her anger for him, by her jealousy, that she let their relationship become so cold? Of course she did.

"Can I not support you?"

Kasai becomes frozen at his genuine words that she looks at him with awe. Those simple five words warm her heart, and she's feeling more ashamed of her past actions towards him. How can he still want to mend their relationship after all those years of her giving him the cold, silent, shoulder?

She smiles sadly at him.

"Of course you can," she tells him, finally taking the seat across from him. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"You don-"

"I do." Kasai cuts him off. "I need to apologize. I don't know if you realized this by now, but I was jealous of you, Shoto."

He frowns at her words. "Why would you be jealous?"

The girl scoffs, "how could I not? Ever since we got our quirks, you got the attention of both our parents. It's like you having two quirks was so much better in their eyes than my simple fire quirk. Everything changed after that. Dad only focused on you and he started to ignore me, and mom spent most of her time with you that she didn't even bother with me. From then, I just saw it as a competition to get our parents' attention."

Shoto shakes his head. "Kasai, our old man didn't care for me, he only trained me. He was brutal, to me and to mom. He didn't care if I was tired, he just kept pushing me to get back up and continue training. You shouldn't want that. It was better that you spent your time with Touya, Natsuo, and Fuyumi," he tells her.

Kasai frowns. "How brutal was he? Did he force you to use your fire quirk, is that why you don't use it? Fuck, that just makes me feel worse than I already do," she states somberly.

"You don't need-"

"Yes, I do! I acted just like him! They were right - I was acting too much like a villain! I-I was cruel. I was angry," she sharply inhales, her voice cracking. "How could I do that?"

"Kasai, you said it. You were angry-"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Shoto. I never wanted to become like him, and that's what happened."

Shoto gives her a small smile. "It's not your fault. It was his. He only cared about our quirks that he forgot about everything else," he tries to explain.

"I know, I'm -"

Suddenly, the door slams open, cutting their conversation. Kasai and Shoto look to the door and silently deadpan at the sight of Bakugou. Both of them giving the blond the same blank look.

"Huh?"

The twins meet gazes before shaking their heads in synch.

"Huh?! Why are you two in here," Bakugou exclaims.

Kasai simply points at the sign next to the door.

"Prep room... Ah, crap! This is room two," he yells, realizing his mistake.

Kasai sighs, looking away from the blond, this idiot.

"Hey, I mean, I get that I walked in the wrong room, but giving your final opponent the cold shoulder? What's the big idea?!" Bakugou yells, walking to the table.

The snow haired girl sighs again. "Can you leave? We were in the middle of something," she states coldly.

Katsuki almost flinches at her cold tone before narrowing his eyes, looking between the two siblings.

"Hah? You two shit faces are finally acting like a family?! I don't care that you're finally turning soft, White Out, but I'm not going to fucking hold back," he sneers.

Kasai glares, getting up from her seat to stare him down. "Save it, Sparkler! Just go to the other room and get ready. Because out there, in front of everyone, I'm going to show them who's the real winner," she declares.

The blond smirks. "You better! Because you, your family, your damned feelings! I don't care! Come at me with those blue flames! I'll crush those like I do everything else," he tells her.

That's before he turns around and walks out of the room.

'If you were to use your blue flames, you will be permanently damaging your skin'.

Kasai frowns as she remembers Recovery Girl's words. Gritting her teeth and looking down at her bandaged arms, she already knows that she's going to ignore the advice.

"How did you use blue fire," Shoto asks from his seat, pushing the situation with Bakugou aside.

"I-I don't know. I was just angry, and when you trapped me in that ice, I just remembered something that Touya told me when I was younger. With that, I just let it all go, all of my anger and pent up emotions. I guess that fueled my flames with heat and turned them blue," Kasai informs, trying to conclude what exactly happened.

"So, your quirk didn't evolve?"

"No, not from what Recovery Girl told me."

Shoto eyes her bandages with a weary gaze. "But those flames burn you, don't they," he asks, walking up to her.

Kasai sighs, turning to him. "Only because I haven't figured out how to exactly regulate them, but yes. The heat is too much," she tells him.

"Kasai," he voices, concerned.

She waves it away, giving him a closed eye smile. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much. It looks worse than it really is. I'll be okay," she reassures.

I'll just have some scarring, she voices silently.

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

   WITH THE WAITING period done, Kasai bid her farewell to her brother and made her way towards the arena. It felt weird that she was now on talking terms with Shoto, but glad nonetheless. She didn't have a lot of people to confide in, but talking with her brother, she could now tell him things that usually bottle inside of her. However, it wasn't just her who would benefit from their talks. Shoto had a lot of weight on his shoulders, she saw that.

She was now aware of how brutal their father was. How did she not see it until now? She will blame her tunnel vision. The right answer, because she was so concentrated on getting his attention that she blurred everything else. She blurred right passed her brother's pain, how selfish.

Again, she was ashamed of herself.

Yes, she'll step out of his shadow, but with them talking, maybe she can ease the weight he's carrying. She's aware that their relationship won't easily go back to being the same, but they can work on mending the burned bridge between them.

Nodding, Kasai builds her armor of confidence as she walks out to the arena. The cheers and roars of the audience feels uplifting, they give the finishing touches to the confidence she wears. Looking to the stands, she meets the gazes of her female peers, and grins. Locking eyes with her brother, she gives him a nod.

She feels on top of the world and not even the burning stare of her father will bring her down.

Shine like the sun, Kasai reminds herself. Her older brother's words becoming a mantra. Shine like the sun.

Walking up the few steps to the fighting stage, Kasai sees Bakugou walking up from the opposite side. Their sapphire and ruby eyes collide, their intensity matching. They smirk, knowing that this will prove who's better between them.

"At last, we've arrived! The best of the best among UA's first years will be decided! It's the final match! Todoroki versus Bakugou!"

"Now, start!"

Kasai wastes no time and immediately expels a large wave of pale embers from her outstretched hands. She ignores the stinging from her palms and just focuses on her attack. She has to play it big and ruthlessly if she wants to win against her blond headed rival.

"The gauntlet's been thrown down!!! Looks like Todoroki wants to avoid close combat with Bakugou! Do we already have our winner so soon?!" Present Mic spectates.

"It's not about avoiding. Todoroki and Bakugou have always butted heads, this is just her way of trying to get the upper hand," Aizawa comments.

Though, like she expected, Bakugou used his explosions to create some sort of shield against her fire. The blasts pushing the flames away from him. Seeing this, the girl clicks her tongue in annoyance.

What did she expect, he is her rival after all.

Narrowing her eyes, she stretches her right hand forward and pulls her left hand close to her chest. Then, as if she were pushing and invisible force, she thrusts her left hand out and shoots a volley of fire. Another with her right. Again with her left. It's volley after volley of fire blasts. Gritting her teeth, she pushes the sting of her palms aside and continues attacking.

It doesn't last long before Bakugou uses his quirk to blast his way through the flames. Though, before she can send another fireball his way, he propels himself and flips over her. Careening over her head, Katsuki swiftly grabs the sleeve of her shirt along with some strands of her hair and harshly throws her over his shoulder when he lands.

"Are you looking down at me, Flamebrain?!" He yells, glaring at her.

Kasai roughly hits the pavement, her body skidding as she rolls. Using her hands to stop the momentum, she ignores the pain of her palms as they rip open with the roughness of the ground. The throbbing of her scalp subsides, the pain of having her haired pulled. Pushing herself up, she gives the blond in front of her a manic grin.

"You wanna dance? Then, let's tango, you shitty sparkler," she says, raising her fists - igniting them.

And with that, the two hotheads rush at each other, ready to fight for their winning spot. Meeting at the middle, Kasai quickly shoots a flaming right hook at his face. However, he's quick on his feet and dodges the fist before directing an open palm full of mini explosions at her. Gritting her teeth, the girl steps away from his reach as she lets the sparks dissipate. Twisting her body back, she stretches her leg and directs a high kick to his face. Bakugou huffs, avoiding the kick, but he quickly takes a hold of her outstretched leg.

Growling at the sudden obstacle, Kasai uses his grip on her leg as a boost. Pushing herself up, she quickly juts out her other leg and kicks him in the chest, forcing him to let her go. Not wanting to fall on the pavement, she holds her arms out and takes advantage of her falling momentum to spring her body in a backflip. Standing, she enters a fighting stance before shooting a whip of fire at him.

From the ground, Katsuki rolls to the side to avoid the stream of fire. Pushing himself up, he suddenly charges at her. He noticed that there's one plus side to fighting the girl in front of him, her fire makes it easier for him to use his quirk. The more fire she expels, the more it makes the air hotter and humid, which means it's easier for him to sweat. She really is the fuel to his fire blasts.

Within arm's reach, he stretches out his arms and releases a barrage of large explosions, shooting her at point blank. He's witnessed her illuminating blue flames, and it doesn't take a nerd to figure out that blue fire is the flame with the most heat. He wants the challenge, and that's why he's pushing her.

She was angry when she used them.

"Whoa-oa! Bakugou takes a full frontal attack against Todoroki. Things are getting super exciting, folks!"

Kasai clenches her jaw as the explosions come to an end. Her skin stings with the blast burns, but she forces herself to ignore it. Glancing at her bandaged arms, she sees that the white cloths are ashen with burns.

He really isn't holding back, huh she glares.

"He timed all those explosions just so he could get caught by Todoroki's flames. He's feeling her out," Aizawa announces. "He hones his battle instincts with every fight."

"Oho!"

"The same could be said about Todoroki. She's been getting stronger with every fight, pushing and passing her limits just so could win."

"You'll regret making a fool outta me, White-Out! I'll freaking kill you! I'm taking the first to end all firsts! There's no point in winning against some punk with half assed flames," Bakugou roars.

The girl's eyes narrow at his words. 'Half assed flames'. 'Taking first'.

Oh hell no, she silently seethes. I'm not becoming second place to this loser again!

"'Half assed flames'?! I'll fucking show you half assed, you confetti knock off! I'm taking first place! Me, not you," she yells, her hair instantly igniting.

Yelling their battle cries, the two meet in the middle once again. Determination burns at their hearts, and victory is within their reach. The only obstacle in their way is each other.

Shouting, Kasai releases a large stream of pure white flames just as Bakugou releases a flurry of huge explosions. The two quirks collide and create an explosion of fire. The people watching are immediately smacked with a large wave of hot hair, the heat pushing them back. The cloud of burnt ash dissipates quickly.

Kasai raises her fist and swiftly decks Bakugou across the face. Wanting to repeat it, she gives a right hook, only for her hand to be caught by the grinning blond. Taking his right arm, he swings it and delivers it across her face. Kasai can feel the pain blooming on her lips, the bottom one splitting open as it grazed her teeth.

Taking notice of her dominate hand still being gripped by Bakugou, she makes her next move. Quickly closing the space between them, she wraps her legs around him and swings their bodies to the ground. He lets go of her fist as they hit the pavement. With her on top, she pulls back her fist and swings it down. Though, she isn't the only one who made contact.

Her fist hits his face with a sickening crunch and his hand smacks her face with a blitz of explosions.

The pain of his explosions is enough to push Kasai off of him. Groaning, she feels her bruised cheek and winces when she feels fresh cuts. Barring her teeth in a silent snarl, she gets up and turns to him. Her icy eyes take note of his broken nose and cut cheekbone.

"Looks like this match is getting heated! They don't seem to be holding back their punches!" Present Mic comments excitedly.

"They really aren't. Looking at it now, I didn't really stand a chance against Bakugou, but Kasai's holding herself against him really well," Ochaco says, sitting next to Izuku.

"I always knew they butted heads from middle school, but I never saw them fight like this," the green haired boy states.

"What really amazes me, is that those two are friends yet they're both giving it their all. No kid gloves. They're super manly," Kirishima marvels with a big smile.

"Yeah! Kasai's is the definition of girl power!" Mina cheers. "She's the only girl to get into the top four, and she's there in the finals!"

Kasai grins at her rival. "Is that the best you've got? Words hit harder than that attack," she taunts.

"Tch, that wasn't even half of it," Bakugou grins.

Lighting her hair on fire once again, she closes her eyes and pushes everything away. She repeats her mantra, she ignores the consequences, and lets go. White tendrils of Holy Fire turn to the bright azure flames she's come to love. Igniting her hands, Kasai ignores the bandages as they burst apart, ripping, darkening, and burning to ashes. She ignores the heat as it rips the seams of her blue uniform. Even her eyes burn, resembling torches of melted sapphire.

She's shining like the sun.

"You wanted this, so give me your all, Bakugou," she yells, grinning.

The ash blond smirks, grinning widely. He did want this. Because she's one of the best, and to be the best, he needs to beat the best!

Using his explosions, he propels himself upwards. Stretching his hands, one in front of him and one behind, he times it and continuously shoots out blasts to propel him forwards. With explosions from both sides, he spins in the air - like a missile. Seeing this, Kasai doesn't hesitate to run forwards and jump. She quickly uses her quirk to ignite her boots in fire, and shoot out. The same with her hands.

He continues to barrel through the air and she shoots forwards.

Missile versus missile.

In collision, everyone watches in shocked awe as it creates a resemblance of a blue bomb. The plumes of heated clouds rise with an azure glow. The fighting stage looks like a war zone, like a real ground zero. As the smoke dissipates, they can see the pavement is torched black due to the explosion. However, on opposite ends, they can see the two first years.

They look torn and wasted.

The Todoroki groans from her place on the ground. She knew she was going fast, but ahe didn't expect the impact to hurt so much. It feels like she just got run over by a bus. Pushing herself up, she can see that her skin is marred with ash and small blistered burns. Her head is throbbing, but she ignores it. When she stands straight, the girl pushes her dizzied vision aside and narrows her eyes. Slightly stumbling, she can see that Bakugou is also getting up.

She huffs, annoyed. Kasai may be a hypocrite thinking this but, it's like he can't stay down. Clench g her hands, she pushes herself forwards and runs to meet him.

This fight has gone long enough, it's time to end it, she glares.

Within arm's reach, she slides into a fighters stance and immediately aims her fist towards him. Though, she didn't expect him to quickly grasp it, as if she were moving in slow motion. However, time did slow for her. Bakugou grabbed her fist and with his other, he smacked his hand on her face, all while kicking her legs out from under her. In the simple blitz attack, he harshly slammed her to the ground with a face full of explosions.

Kasai feels her consciousness fade as her head hits the pavement, and the blast to the face doesn't help at all. Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to stay awake. Using her quirk to build up heat, the Todoroki quickly slaps Bakugou's hand away from her face and immediately blows a stream of fire from her mouth, successfully forcing him back. Rolling to her stomach, she's quick to push herself up and away from the blond. She coughs at the dryness of her throat and mouth, the fire too painful.

Her vision blurs once again, even more due to the blast to her face. Squinting, Kasai feels a wet sensation on her face and cautiously touches her face. She almost flinches when her fingers come in contact with wet blood on her forehead. It's not a baby cut, seeing as the blood is practically oozing. She snarls at the blond when she feels the blood stream down her forehead, down her eye, to her cheek and downwards.

Ignoring it all, she pushes forward. She wants first place, and if wants it, she needs to push through her pain. She needs to prove it to herself that she's the best! That she's worth becoming a hero! That she can be a winner!

No matter the pain.

No matter how many times she gets told she's a failure.

No matter how dark the shadows are.

She will prevail!

She will get first place.

Yelling, Kasai rushes forwards and meets her only obstacle in the middle. She's quick to deliver a punch, he dodges. She aims another, and another. He dodges them. She attacks relentlessly, angrily, her actions become messier, desperate.

"Damn it, Bakugou! I won't let you win," she yells at the blond.

At the sound of his name, he's momentarily shocked. Though, it's enough for her to finally land a desperate punch to his face. Grinning in victory, she uses that as determination and pushes onwards. With him hunched over, Kasai speedily spins on her heel and raises her other leg, kicking him across the face.

Huffing, in exhaustion, Kasai stumbles as she walks up to the blond. She's ready to finish this. Clenching her fists, she takes a breath before drawing back her right arm.

However, from his place on his knees, Katsuki clenches his right hand and quickly attacks her. His fist harshly connects to her unprotected stomach, and to make it a bigger effect, he sends her back with an explosion.

Hitting the ground, Kasai skids across the pavement as she rolls the distance. Her vision darkens with black spots, blurring at the edges as she looks up at the sky. She doesn't know why, maybe it was the punch, but she's finally feeling all the pain in her body. The bruises, the blistered burns, the pain of the scars, everything just feels so heavy. Coughing, she turns her body and spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground. She's definitely at her limit.

Ignoring her pain, she huffs through her nose and pushes her body up - the world spinning as she does. Looking up, she simply ignores the fact that she's seeing three Bakugous when she knows there's only one.

"Whoo! Who knew this final match would be so intense, folks. Todoroki keeps getting up no matter how many times she's knocked down," Present Mic yells.

To Kasai, his voice is booming as it rings in her head, words echoing. She shakes it off and focuses on fighting. Clenching her fists, she grits her teeth.

One more time, she tells herself, urging her body to move. Just once more.

Bakugou smirks, accepting to meet her again at the middle. Ignoring the screams of her body to stop, she keeps pushing forward, fighting every ounce of pain. Raising their fists, they close their distance, preparing to attack. Though, just before the meet, Kasai's knees finally buckle under weight, making her crash against the pavement.

The girl doesn't feel the pain of hitting the floor, but she saw it. Seething, she cries tears of frustration as she forces herself to stand. She wills herself to move, because if she still move then she can still fight!

Bakugou finally notices her defeated state, seeing how she can barely stand. Endeavor glares down at his daughter, not at her, but at the parallels. It's too uncanny. The way she keeps getting up and fighting. It's like she's trying to prove a point to him, that no matter how many times she falls, no matter how many times he strips her of her victory and calls her a failure, she will always get back up. Even the crowd quiets down to hushed murmurs.

Kasai grits her teeth, and even from behind the veil of hair covering her face, Katsuki could see her angry, desperate, tears. He knows exactly how she's feeling.

She clenches her fists. "Don't you dare look down at me! I-I can still fight," she yells.

Her tears intensify.

"I-I can stand. I'm still standing," she says, pushing herself forward.

Desperate to continue, Kasai directs a punch at his face. However, instead of hitting him, her legs buckle and she stumbles into his body. The pain in her body becomes to much for her as exhaustion finally takes over, her vision darkening. She's finally reached her limit.

Bakugou lowers her body to the ground.

"You win," she admits before blacking out.

"Todoroki is knocked out, so Bakugou is the winner! And that concludes our contest! The first year winner of UA's sports festival is Bakugou Katsuki of Class 1A," Midnight declares the end of the battle as she raises her hand.

Despite the roaring audience making him proud, he can't help but look at the girl he fought. His rival. His friend. She clearly pushed herself passed her limit just so she could continue fighting. So, as the medical droids lift her body and take her to the infirmary, he gives her a small smile.

She gave him his real victory.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Wellllll, that's chapter fifteen! Yay! Sorry, it took two months to finally update, but you know, priorities and life gets in the way.

Anyways, did you enjoy it? Like it, dislike it?

Amd finally, it was Bakugou versus Kasai! I wanted it to be intense, and I apologize if it was repetitive, I just wanted them to meet in the middle and fight it out - using their quirks, punching and kicking, just giving it their all! Also, sorry if it was rushed or ignite seemed too boring. I also kept it that he won, even if she gave it her all and lost, I wanted him to keep the victory. But she still gave him the fight he wanted!

And ooh! Shoto and Kasai are finally talking! Yes, I am excited to write about their mended relationship. It wont be immediate seeing as there was damage of not talking and cold shoulders while growing up, but progress!

Oop, she felt guilty about forcing him to use his quirk and hurting him. She may be like Enji in some aspects, but she never wanted to become like him. She may be harsh, but she never likes using her quirk to hurt those that don't deserve it.

Talking about Endeavor, Kasai finally stood up for herself! She basically told him to go to hell, that she doesn't need his support - his acknowledgement or approval! That she can be a hero too (cue Jiro singing), that she can be her own hero. She already has big brother Touya's support, along with big sister Fuyumi. Shoto is slowly getting on the support train - as she will for him.

Oooh, permanent scars - ouch. Yesb I did some detailed research on third degree burns, so I know that there's ways to heal them. But! Kasai's are very bad -like Dabi's. So unless she wants skin grafts she's staying with the scars.

Oop, is Bakugou finally feeling something for our resident fire queen?! Oya oya!

Anyways, don't forget to COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN!!!

ADIOS, Y GRACIAS, My wonderful and amazing friends! (Remember to be safe and to take care of yourselves❤).

Some fan-art I drew!

Word Count: 7,442

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