Crimson Empress (FemDekuxToga)

56 - Izumi vs Bakugo

To say that Bakugo's match against Momona was extraordinary was both correct and incorrect at the same time. It was true that he had set the record for the fastest match in U.A.'s history however the way he went about it had a rather divided opinion among the spectators. After the match had started Momona launched into an epilouge about how he had come to be the strongest out of all the first year students. Instead of waiting for Momona to finish Bakugo immediately entered his Internal Combustion state and knocked out the blonde teen with the most powerful nonlethal explosion he could muster. Following a moment of confused silence the entire stadium collectively decided to move onto the final match, ignoring the burnt student being carried out of the arena on a stretcher.

Now that Izumi stood across from Bakugo she was conflicted in her emotions. Bakugo was her symbol of power, her goal of strength, her image of tenacity, he was her very definition of heroism for as long as she was able to remember. Even as she continued to be beaten into the ground by his actions she had always looked up to the ash blonde. Even as she jumped the final thing on her mind were Bakugo's words. A part of her had been consumed in her hatred for those she felt had wronged her yet she knew that there was much more to it. For Bakugo it wasn't his sense of pride nor his ego that had spurred him to begin acting out against her. Those reasons had added fuel to the fire as time went on but after visiting his room she knew that he had grown over time. Just as she watched "Izumi" disappear, she had to let the Bakugo that existed in her mind fade. The person before her was a new Bakugo just as she was a new Izumi.

"Katsuki Bakugo may I ask you something?"

"What is it Edgelord?"

"If you had the chance to apologize for the pain you made someone go through would you?"

Bakugo was silent for a moment and stared at Izumi with a glare that hid any other emotions he may have been feeling.

"I'd tell that person that they don't have to forgive me. I won't ask them to forget everything I've done either. All I can do is beg them to let me show them how much I've regretted every moment of it. All I can do is ask that they let me prove to them that I'm not the same person anymore."

Izumi sighed as she steeled her resolve.

"Then show me, no prove to me those words. Kachan."

Katsuki Bakugo stared at the silver haired girl before him with a momentary expression of shock. However that quickly turned to him having a pained and grieving expression. He could see it, the overlay of a young girl with forest hair and emerald eyes whose smile was as bright as the sun. Yet now those features were replaced by shining silver hair and a hawk like gaze from the single emerald eye he could see with the other hidden behind an eye patch. Her smile was gone yet the confident smirk somehow still radiated a gentle warmth.

"I will, Izumi."

Bakugo immediately threw himself into his Internal Combustion, pushing the energy within himself to its absolute limits. The pain from pushing far beyond what his body could currently handle was tremendous but he kept pushing. Ripples of explosive energy radiated throughout the arena nearly on par with the heat Todoroki had managed to create during the final moments of his match.

Izumi responded by entering Overdrive. The familiar feeling of power spreading throughout her body had become more intense. It felt as if hundreds of serpents were uncoiling themselves within her veins. A crimson aura filled with malice and bloodlust surrounded the silver haired girl. Compared to explosive power radiating from Bakugo, Izumi's was much more sinister. It was like a knife was being slowly dragged across one's neck.

"RAPID AP SHOT!"

Bakugo took the first move and unleashed a barrage of concentrated explosions that would have easily pierced through several inches of reinforced steel armor plating. True to its power it shattered the perfectly placed crystallized blood shields that Izumi had created. However Izumi was much too skilled to allow a haphazard attack to even scratch her. Using the shards of crystallized blood from the broken shields she launched her own barrage of shrapnel.

"Burst!"

Bakugo let out a massive explosion in order to prevent any of the small shards hitting him. However he had ended up obstructing his vision from the amount of smoke and debris it created. The price of his mistake was having a spike of crystalized blood nearly lodge itself in his face had he not managed to turn his head in time. However he still managed to get nicked as he could feel the slight sting and blood trickle down his cheek. Following immediately behind the blood spike was Izumi who embedded her fist into Bakugo's ribs.

Izumi would never admit it out loud but the sadistic grin plastered across her face told volumes. Taking an objective look at herself while watching her opponent go flying across the arena she noticed two things. The first being that she had developed a taste for blood, or more specifically watching her enemies bleed. It made Izumi wonder if liking crimson was a side effect of having a blood quirk seeing as how her girlfriend and even Vlad King both enjoyed the dark shade of red. The second thing she noticed about herself was the fact that she surprisingly had no qualms about using brutal violence, in fact she even enjoyed it to an extent. She had seen videos of her father before and it worried her how someone could commit such horrible actions. However ever since the USJ it had become instinctual.

"Full Burst Maximum!"

Bakugo's Burst looked rather simple at a glance, it was a stronger explosion with a larger blast radius. However it's true power was only shown whenever the explosion failed to connect with a target. The result was a shockwave that was able to even topple a Zero Pointer. Of course the shockwave was significantly reduced due to the robot's sheer size and weight. However that was only a Level 4 Burst. In total Bakugo had 10 levels and combined with Internal Combustion the result was something that shocked even Izumi. In an instant every layer of crystalized blood she had hastily created was shattered and melted. If Izumi let the explosion reach her there was no doubt in her mind that she would lose both from the injuries that would follow and the force from the explosion throwing her out of the ring. The blood barriers were ineffective and a waste of precious resources and using the same blood domination as she did during the first event was out of the question.

Izumi could feel her blood twisting and coiling like a serpent within her veins. It burned and pulsated with fervour and wild abandon. A demonic wing of blood erupted from her right shoulder blade, a gathering of dark blood that emitted an overwhelming crimson aura. That same aura wrapped its way down around her right arm until a black gauntlet with vicious claws aimed towards Bakugo's neck.

"Devour."

From within the abyss of the black gauntlet an unholy howl resounded throughout the stadium, a wave of malice and bloodlust sweeping over all who heard. The head of a dark serpent, no, the head of a draconic beast sprung forth with its gaping maw of endless crimson fangs eagerly seeking to obey its Empress's command. It absorbed Bakugo's explosion, a meager light flickering out in the face of the void itself, yet instead of continuing on to devour the blonde boy the beast raised its head to the sky and shot out the explosion. A stream of fire erupted from its maw as the air was seared, releasing a tremendous roar that only served to drive a deeper fear of the beast into those present.

Yet just as quickly as it began it had ended. The overwhelming silence of the stadium only broken by the footfalls of a silver haired girl walking towards a blonde boy who had fallen to his knees in reverence. The sight of her glistening hair and piercing gaze, the dark wing that slowly disappearing into a gentle light that contrasted its terrifying visage. The vicious claw, now turned into a stump at the elbow told a tale of power and loss. There was only a single thought upon those who bore witness.

This is Izumi Aizawa.