Equal 2 [MCYT x MHA]

Friendship

*Third Person POV*

It has been a few days after Clay's injuries were fully healed, even his broken arm. Unfortunately, it left a nasty scar on Clay's fore arm. However, Clay didn't pay any mind to it as he thought it looked pretty cool. 

When he returned to the dorms, the first thing he did was head over to the gym to train. Though good at hiding it, Clay felt a strong sense of guilt towards the passing of Mumbo Jumbo. With his mind yelling at him for not being strong enough both daily and constantly. 

Everyday starting from that point on, Clay would do the same workout routine after school. The routine consisted of a 10km full-sprint while in One for All, 100 pushups and sit ups done in 3 sets and at least an hour of practising fighting techniques he learnt from Notch and Nestorio. 

Though it was a rather extreme routine, Clay found that he was getting a very sluggish gain in power. For example, it took 2 weeks to completely master a mixture of One for All and 'Clutch' at 1% when Clay knew he could do something like that in 1 and a half weeks. 

"What is going on here? What's up with this slow pace? I can't get stronger like this!" Clay mentally said to himself as he panted heavily, the sweat on his body dripping everywhere. 

Suddenly, he was greeted by Nick and Gogy. 

"Hey Clay, we saw that you've been working out recently and we thought'd we join you!" Gogy said. 

"Hmmm... Maybe that's why I haven't noticed any significant gains, I've been training myself this entire time..." Clay thought. 

"Hello? Clay? Why're you spacing out?" Nick asked as he continuously waved his hands in front of Clay's face. 

"Oh- Uh, sorry about that. And yeah, I could use the company!" Clay replied. 

"Alright, let's get this workout started!" Gogy exclaimed enthusiastically. 

Together, the 3 boys trained hard with their goal being somewhat similar. This continued on until Nick and Clay decided to spar. 

"Why don't you join us, Gogy? We could make this a Battle Royale!" Nick proposed enthusiastically. 

"Nah, I think I'll pass. I'm not sure how well my capabilities of being able to remove someone's ability to see colour and make their vision spiral around would match up against someone who has power boosts and the human torch." Gogy explained as he sat down at a side, ready to observe the battle closely and maybe learn a thing or two. 

"Whatever floats your boat, Gogy! Anyway, you ready for this?" Nick yelled. 

"Ready whenever you are." Clay replied as he took a fighting stance. 

In a matter of seconds, the two boys launched themselves toward each other and clashed fists. In terms of pure base strength, Clay has the upper hand. But that didn't worry Nick as he had tons of techniques up his sleeve. 

Dodging a punch from Clay, Nick dropped to the floor and performed a flare (a flare is a breakdance move.). While doing so, Nick's legs built up a strong flame as the circular movement of the flare formed a sphere of fire, intimidating Clay as he took a few steps back.

"Holy- That's cool." Clay commented.

"This move was inspired by Darryl and his energy sphere! I wanted to do something similar!" Nick said as he got back up onto his two feet before sending multiple blasts of fire towards Clay. 

"Oh shit!" Clay thought as he dodged Nick's fire blasts. 

"Let's turn it up a notch, shall we?" Nick asked as he lit his entire body on fire. 

"Clutching One for All... 1%..!" Clay mentally screamed. 

The two boys clashed once again. However, Nick came out on top as he managed to directly land a hit in with his newly created technique, where all the flames on Nick's body transfers itself to his fist as he throws a punch, making it faster and more powerful. 

As Clay crashed onto the ground, he unconsciously let out a groan that signified that he was disappointed about something. Both Nick and Gogy caught onto this and became curious. 

"That was a good fight!" Nick said as he offered to help Clay up, which the boy gladly accepted. 

"Yeah, well done." Clay said, immediately fixing his mood and tone. 

"There's something wrong, isn't there." Nick asked. 

"W-What? Pfft, no way! Why would you think that?" Clay spoke in a manner that showed that he was hiding something all too well. 

"You can't hide it from me, Clay. And certainly not Gogy." Nick said as Gogy came over. 

"We know what happened during your internship, and it's not your fault." Gogy reassured. 

"But it is, if only I had been a little stronger... I could've defeated Schlatt and Mumbo wouldn't have had to step in and-" 

"Schlatt is someone you can't take down on your own, you know. He's stronger than most of us. No matter how much we train, nothing will change. You need to stop thinking you have to beat him alone as you aren't the ONLY main character of this book anymore." Nick interrupted Clay and said. 

"And you're not alone, Clay. You have us, all of Class 1-A and even some from Class 1-B! Just reach out. You don't have to fight alone." Gogy said as he placed his hand onto Clay's shoulder. 

Hearing these words, all the negativity inside Clay's mind started to diminish. As a replacement, tons of motivation to get stronger flooded Clay's mind. It brightened up Clay's expression as he smiled for the first time after getting discharged from the hospital. 

"Thanks guys." Clay spoke. 

"No problem, it's what friends are for." Nick said confidently, 

"Anyway, Gogy! You're sparring with me next!" Clay said confidently. 

"Hold up, what? I didn't agree to this!" Gogy complained. 

"Don't be a slacker and get on the ring! We're doing this now!" 

"Hey, don't leave me out!"