After finishing his match, Tsutsumi walked back toward the observation room, his pace calm, almost casual.
"Young Tsutsumi… that was too much." All Might stepped into his path, his expression unusually stern. "You shouldn't harm your classmates like that. It's unacceptable for a hero."
"I see," Tsutsumi said evenly. He t All Might's eyes without hesitation, his tone calm but cutting. "Tell then, during that test, was I supposed to be on the hero team instead of the villain? Or do you expect villains to go easy on us just because we're still children?"
All Might faltered. For once, he had no ready answer. The exercise was, after all, a hero-versus-villain simulation. Tsutsumi had been playing the villain's role.
"Tsutsumi-kun." Momo stepped forward, standing protectively ahead of a few other girls. "While I acknowledge your commitnt to taking the test seriously, your thods caused unnecessary harm to a classmate. That level of force isn't needed. We're training to be heroes, not brutalizing each other."
Her words drew nods from the surrounding students. Their agreent emboldened them, at least until Tsutsumi spoke again.
"So that's your decision, huh?" His voice was quiet, but the air seed to drop several degrees. Even Todoroki's ice didn't carry this kind of chill. "If you all want villains to go easy on you, then yes… my actions were wrong, for thinking you had what it takes to be called heroes."
That single sentence lit the fuse.
"What? You think being a hero is so kind of ga?"
"You think you'll never get hurt doing this job?"
Tsutsumi let the noise build for a mont… then cut it down with the sa sharpness Aizawa had used the day before.
"Not every ti will a hero win and walk away. One day, you might lose your life in this profession. Asking for an easy fight now only guarantees you'll suffer later, when it's real."
"B-but… heroes always win," soone said from the back. Tsutsumi didn't even bother to see who it was.
"And what if they lose?" His voice was like ice. "Have you ever thought about that? Do you even realize that every hero you worship as a symbol… was once just a regular person with a life, just like you?"
He spread his arms, challenging any of them to answer. "One day, those sa heroes might not co ho to their families and loved ones. How long do you think people would rember them?"
The room went silent. Jiro, more than anyone, understood why his words hit so hard. Tsutsumi's mother had been a pro hero, until the day she vanished on duty and never returned.
"If being a hero to you ans always winning, never losing, never struggling like the rest of the world… then let ask you..." His tone sharpened, a mocking smile curling on his lips as he opened his arms wide.
"Do you feel like a hero yet?"
No one answered. His words hung heavy in the air, cutting deeper than any physical blow, resonating not just with the students, but with All Might himself. Tsutsumi didn't see heroes as flawless icons. To him, they were human first. And that was what made their victories matter.
...
By the ti the final bell rang, Tsutsumi and Jiro were heading toward U.A.'s gate together. For a first day, it had been… eventful, to say the least.
"…You were pretty cool back there," Jiro said quietly, hands tucked into her pockets. "And… I do agree with you."
"Of course you do." Tsutsumi's reply was calm, almost smug. "After all, what makes a hero's story truly interesting isn't the hero themselves… but the villain."
Jiro rolled her eyes. Annoyingly enough, he wasn't wrong, All Might wouldn't be All Might without villains to face.
"I won't say I disagree with you… but do you really have to make yourself look like the villain in everyone's eyes?" she asked, a faint edge of irritation creeping into her voice. Sure, what he'd said earlier was powerful, but did he have to deliver it like so comic book antagonist?
"Oi! Pink Devil!"
The loud bark made them both turn. Bakugo was storming toward them, eyes blazing.
"What you said during the combat test… what the hell are you implying!?" he demanded.
"Exactly what I said," Tsutsumi replied, eting Bakugo's glare with unshaken calm. "You're free to disagree."
"I… I want to disagree… but I don't want to at the sa ti, you bastard!" Bakugo's voice was an unstable mix of anger, frustration, and confusion.
Bakugo had grown up with everyone telling him his quirk made him destined for greatness. Praise ca easy; consequences rarely followed. With All Might as his idol, he'd built an image of a hero who never lost and never failed.
But losing to Midoriya had cracked that belief. And Tsutsumi's words, heroes are just human beings, were prying that crack wide open. Accepting it would an admitting everything he'd been told was a lie. Rejecting it ant questioning whether he could truly be a hero.
"Takoba Municipal Beach," Tsutsumi said suddenly. "You. . One-on-one."
Bakugo imdiately understood. So did several other Class 1-A students nearby, who slowed their pace to watch.
"Fine." Bakugo growled, brushing past him.
Tsutsumi fell into step beside him without another word.
"Hey, Jiro-chan," Kirishima called out as he jogged up, "are they really gonna fight?"
"Yes." Jiro's tone was flat, resigned. She knew there was no stopping them.
"Should we… stop them?" Yaoyorozu asked, frowning.
Before Jiro could answer, Ida stepped in front of the pair. "You two! This is against the rules-"
"Out of my way!"
Their voices overlapped as both Tsutsumi and Bakugo shoved past. Ida staggered back, clutching his nose in shock.
He tried again, reaching for Bakugo's shoulder, only to be backhanded in the face by both boys at once. The blow sent him flying, blood running from his nose, as the two kept walking without so much as a backward glance.
"…Yeah, I'll pass on that, Momo-chan," Jiro muttered. "There's no convincing them." She started after the two, not admitting, at least not out loud, that she wanted to see who would win.
"Wait up!" Kirishima followed, hoping he could intervene before things got ugly.
Momo hesitated, then told her butler to head ho without her. Straightening her uniform, she too set off after them.
...
The sun dipped low, painting the horizon gold as Tsutsumi and Bakugo stood across from each other on the sandy beach. Their bags lay discarded, the ocean breeze carrying the faint scent of salt and tension.
"Co." Tsutsumi's fingers curled in a beckoning gesture. Bakugo didn't hesitate.
With a roar, the blonde launched himself forward in an explosion-fueled dash, his right hook bursting with fiery force. Tsutsumi dropped back, letting gravity pull him just out of range. One hand caught the ground; his body twisted. His right foot slamd into Bakugo's jaw.
This sent the blonde flying back before he quickly regained his footing, while the purple-haired teen used the montum to get back up.
They rushed each other again, Bakugo's palm flared, an explosion igniting between them like a flashbang. Tsutsumi fell back, but his form rippled mid-motion.
Form Ride: Earphone Jack
In an instant, his body shifted into Jiro's slimr, flexible fra. His palms touched the ground; then he flipped back with gymnast precision.
"Huh!? You can turn into Long Ear?!" Bakugo blurted, shock flashing in his eyes. Kirishima and Momo shared the sa disbelief.
Jiro's face twisted in irritation. "Oi! Didn't I tell you not to use my face so casually!?"
"What, afraid?" Tsutsumi's smirk only fanned Bakugo's temper.
Bakugo lunged for his shoulder, Tsutsumi spun clear and drove a kick toward his ribs. Bakugo blocked and countered with another blast, but the earphone jacks whipped around his wrist, yanking his aim aside. A sucker punch cracked against Bakugo's cheek.
Snarling, he grabbed the jacks and detonated an explosion at point-blank. Tsutsumi winced at the sting, but the jacks darted like snakes, stabbing toward Bakugo's eyes.
"Ahhh!" Bakugo staggered back, just in ti for another fist to smash into his face, sending him tumbling across the sand.
"Stand up, Sparkle." Tsutsumi's voice was calm as his body shifted back to normal.
"Don't you dare look down on !" Bakugo's fury detonated in another blast.
Tsutsumi rolled aside; the right sleeve of his white shirt burned to tatters. "You still have the will to stand after a beating. Good."
He pulled out a card.
Attack Ride: Scrap Fist
A tattered white scarf whipped into existence around his neck; two shoulder-mounted jet boosters on each shoulder.
The jet boosters roar to life, launching him forward. His fist crashed into Bakugo's face, sending him flying back. Trying to use his explosion to regain his footing, Bakugo ca face-to-face with Tsutsumi, who was already above him while airborne.
"Scrap Fist!"
The blow hamred down, sending Bakugo rolling through the sand in pain.
"Damn it..." He cursed, trying to push himself up with shaking hands.
"Can you still fight?" Tsutsumi asked, scarf snapping in the wind.
"Of course..." Bakugo rasped, forcing himself upright despite trembling limbs.
"Even after getting beaten up, you still get back up. Even when facing towering challenges, you didn't lie down but rose. Even when your body screams for you to rest, you still push yourself up." Tsutsumi said with a smile the jet boosters and scarf disappearing.
He then spread his arms, mimicking the sa stance he did earlier today.
"Do you feel like a hero yet?"
The sa words that earlier sounded like sothing a villain would say suddenly beco an emotional line at this mont.
"I... I think I understand now. What it ant to be a hero... Tsutsumi." Bakugo said with genuine respect in his tone, still gasping for air.
"Since we both wanted a conclusion to our fight, let send you off with style, Bakugo." Tsutsumi pulls out a card, showing it.
Final Attack Ride: De-De-De-Decade
A glowing line of cards materialized in midair. Tsutsumi leapt, kicking through each one in rapid succession as he closed in.
Bakugo wanted to move out, but he is too tired and injured to move. Still, he smiled, feeling that being defeated like this felt more proud than disgraceful.
"Kacchan! SMASSHHH!"
Tsutsumi & Bakugo: "NANI!!?"
Both boys blinked in shock as a thunderous shockwave crashed into them, launching them into the sea.
"RYO!!" Jiro bolted forward, shoving the injured-arm Midoriya aside.
"Bakugo!" Kirishima followed close behind. Momo, already peeling off her shirt, began forming a boat from her exposed skin.
Out in the waves, Tsutsumi erged first, Bakugo slung over his shoulder. The blonde could barely move, his strength spent.
"That son of a bitch!/That bastard, DEKU!" Both roar in annoyance, glaring at the distant beach where they once stood.
Momo's quirk-made-boat finally reached them, pulling both boys from the water. They staggered onto the shore, dripping and bruised, but by then Midoriya was already gone, whether from guilt or fear, no one could say.
Tsutsumi let out a slow breath, irritation flickering in his eyes before turning to Jiro's friends."Wanna co to my place to get sothing to eat?"
The group exchanged glances. When Jiro gave a small nod, the rest agreed.
By the ti they reached his ho, the sun had dipped below the horizon.
"You live here by yourself?" Kirishima asked, staring around in open awe.
"Yeah." Tsutsumi replied, disappearing into the kitchen after changing clothes.
Both he and Bakugo are covered in a few bandages, with Bakugo a bit more than his.
"Why do you even have pink clothes?" Bakugo shouted, eyeing the pink shirt and black pants that he borrowed from Tsutsumi.
"Pink's a manly color, Bakugo!" Kirishima shot him a thumbs-up.
"Shut it, Spiky Hair!" Bakugo barked back.
"So this is a boy house..." Momo murmurs, looking around the place with curiosity.
The door opened and Jiro stepped in, holding two grocery bags in each hand. "I'm back with the food."
Soon, the five of them were gathered around the dining table, steam rising from a bubbling hot pot.
"Hmm! This is aweso!" Kirishima said around a bite of beef.
"I've never eaten like this with friends before," Momo admitted, savoring the broth.
"Since when do you even know how to cook?" Jiro asked, twirling noodles on her chopsticks and glancing at Tsutsumi.
"I picked it up," he said simply, dipping a slice of beef into the sauce.
"Send the recipe later," Bakugo said between bites.
Tsutsumi gave him a small nod.
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