Souls Hero Academia (Rewrite)

Izuku grinned. Now that was something that got the heart racing.

Tokoyami's fight against Shiozaki was something that no doubt got the crowd talking. Like, who wouldn't? A plant conjurer versus a literal stand user, it was the stuff of anime legends, even if their reality is sometimes even stranger than fiction.

And to be honest, he was glad Tokoyami won. Whenever he looked at Shiozaki, his gut roiled in itself, and he knew why. He could feel the faith cascading down her every pore, and it irritated him. How could he trust her, when the veritable Gods of Lordran turned their once prosperous kingdom into a land of death and disease, the symbol of her faith? True, she worshiped a different deity altogether, but even then, his distaste was paramount.

Disregarding his feelings for the devout girl, Izuku looked at the two next students about to duke it out in the arena. Ashido was grinning menacingly, while Iida was chopping his hands all over the place, vowing to the pink-themed girl that they would have a fair and clean fight.

Of course, knowing Ashido, she wasn't going to fight fair because one, Iida is definitely going to steamroll her since he's faster and stronger, and two, she wasn't the type of girl to play fair. All one needed to do was look at her last match with Sero to know the kind of fighting style she had.

"Oi, Iida! No hard feelings when I kick your shiny butt!" Ashido teased and Iida looked mildly offensive at the jab.

"Cease your vulgar insults! I demand an honorable fight!" Iida chopped his arms again, causing the class to erupt into laughter. Leave it to their classmate with a stick-up-his-ass to say one of the funniest lines once could have before a big fight.

It just sounded like something out of a drama show, for Gwyn's sake!

"Anyway, try as I might correcting your feeble slander, let us continue onwards to our bout." Iida pushed his glasses up, light glinting from its lenses, hiding his eyes. "I wouldn't dare let Midnight wait for us. You already know how she is with… unruly students."

At that, everybody in the class gulped. Midnight may not be a strict teacher, but as teenagers with hormones raging across their body every day, the teacher's actions whenever they messed up was something that… did things to their bodies.

Of course, Izuku was excluded from this because… uhh… He didn't know why, but he was just unaffected by it, as said by Mineta as he cried tears of blood when he realized Izuku just wasn't getting excited while being fawned over by Midnight because he wouldn't react like a normal teenage boy…

Does Midnight count as a pedophile when she teases him? He's pretty sure he's older than everybody in the entire school combined, but his body is that of a teenage male. Eh, not like it really mattered. What did sexual tension mean in a battlefield where one of them was going to likely end up as food for the worms?

Sighing to himself as to the unwanted eccentricities of one of their teachers, Izuku leaned back against his backrest and closed his eyes. He might not tire, but that didn't mean he had inexhaustible mental stamina. Sometimes, a quick rest was enough to have him refreshed and raring to go without the aforementioned mental strain.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" One of the boys asked, and Izuku determined it to be Sato. "I say Iida's gonna win."

"You blind? Of course, Ashido's gonna steamroll our resident stick-up-the-ass-know-it-all!" Jirou boasted. Opening his eyes, he spied the punk rocker sporting a sly grin as she looked at the boys.

"The fuck? What is this? Boys versus girls?" Mineta scoffed, only for Jirou to glare at him challengingly. "Oh? Wanna bet?"

"Hell no." Jirou sneered. "If it was any other, sure, but you?" Jirou gave him the middle finger.

"Tch, real mature." Mineta clicked his tongue.

The class simmered down as Ashido and Iida finally met in the ring. They exchanged pleasantries — and a bit of teasing on Ashido's part — before Midnight said enough was enough and raised the flag. Once it was swished down, both Ashido and Iida burst into action.

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The fight wasn't anything special. Sure, there were some highlights here and there, but nothing flashy enough to warrant it being on the same scale as the last match or Kaminari and Katsuki's match.

It mostly consisted of Ashido doing her utmost to dodge Iida's sudden bursts of speed, and Iida adapting to Ashido's acrobatics and annoying fighting style. Both of them got good hits in during some trades, with Ashido managing to knee Iida in the face during one of his charges, and Iida amusingly bitch slapping Ashido, away from him in the next.

However, there was one part the truly made Izuku, and by extension, most of the male population cringe, and it was the moment Ashido truly won the bout, even with how cheap it was.

During one of Iida's charges, he tried something else. Must've been a thing he saw in the movies or anime, a flying kick. The problem was, he was too telegraphed, and reading his move, Ashido did a front roll with her heel up. Her heel collided with Iida's groin, and he managed to shriek a pitch so high, it managed to break a glass ceiling nearby.

Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but he literally fainted after the very cheap shot, foam oozing out of his mouth. Even Ashido had the look of complete regret as she tried to help Iida, only for Midnight to stop her and call in the medi-bots.

Ashido looked torn. She really wanted to help, but as a female without the male anatomy of having balls, all she could do was leave it to the professionals.

"Sheesh… You think Iida could still have kids after that… fucked up blow…?" Mineta, for all but a single moment, forgot his perviness as he mourned the possible loss of a brother in arms. Even Izuku mourned him. He knew what it was like to get smacked in the balls hard. The less said about a burning mace finding its way towards his precious jewels, the better.

"I really hope so." Sato twitched, hands still covering his groin. "Getting hit in the gonads isn't pleasant."

"Is it really that painful, kero?" Tsu asked, a finger underneath her chin. The boys all looked at her, incredulous expression plastered over their faces. "… What? It's a legitimate question, kero. I don't have balls, and neither do the rest of the girls here."

"… Well, she's not wrong." Mineta hummed. "Okay then, how painful is it if someone smacks your boob?"

"Perv, I swear to God if you-" Jirou was immediately cut off by Mineta waving his hand.

"Not now, Jirou. You girls want a frame of reference, let us understand first." Mineta looked vaguely serious about this, and frankly, it was a bit surprising. "So, how does it feel if someone smacks your boobs, hard?"

"Well, it hurts, but overall, not that much, kero." As always, the straightforward, unashamed teen that was Tsu replied with a straight face.

"Okay then, multiply that by ten and have it spread across your entire body. It can also make you faint, just like with Iida." Mineta pointed towards Iida getting hauled out of the arena, a bunch of the male audience calling out his name and hoping for a quick recovery. "That shit is not pleasant…"

"… Sheesh, that bad?" Jirou hovered a hand over her mouth.

"That bad." And this time, everybody looked at Izuku as the words left his mouth. "As a resident expert of getting hit in the balls… Just… don't… Unless they deserve it, then go ahead and make sure they don't contaminate future generations."

"… That's dark." Ojiro shivered at the thought of someone getting their balls physically abused and violated, even against a villain. "Wait a second, how many times did you get hit there?"

"Too many to count." Even Izuku had something he was very uncomfortable with. This elicited empathizing nods from the male population of their class. "Anyway, it's mine and Katsuki's turn to fight, and I think he's still in the infirmary getting treated by Recovery Girl."

"Oh yeah… Now I feel sorry for the angry pomerenian." Uraraka off-handedly commented and caused most of the students to snicker at the insulting, but accurate nickname.

As he left his class behind, Izuku couldn't help but grin. It was a while since he's fought Katsuki. During their spars, both of them held back, but now… Now it was different. Izuku still had to hold back, knowing that if he threw a full powered punch against Katsuki without restraint, he could probably turn him into a red paste on the wall.

Oh well, holding back or no, he could use the challenge of giving Katsuki a well-earned fight.

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Katsuki inhaled deeply, eyes moving away from the tv screen showing four-eyes' defeat, and damn, what a fucking way to go. Before his slow change after what had happened to Izuku, even he would feel sorry for the prick.

Getting hit in the balls sucks big time.

Standing up from his bed, he heard rummaging coming from behind the curtains. The infirmary beds were structured in a way that there were curtains blocking every sight of view, giving one complete privacy from sight if they so choose.

The curtains flipped open and in came Recovery Girl, and to be honest, the old hag fucking scared him. No wonder All fucking Might listened to the nurse 100% of the time. And not listening to the woman who had total control of your health was also a complete death sentence.

"Alright, sonny." Recovery Girl started, clipboard in hand. "I've done all I can to make sure you're ready for your next match. Just don't overdo it like last time and you won't have any lasting physical problems down the line, are we clear?"

Katsuki just nodded. No way in hell was he gonna question the nurse about his health. That doesn't mean he was going to listen to her advice to the letter. Heroes were supposed to go Plus Ultra, and if he can't even handle going overboard a few times, then he doesn't even deserve the number one spot on the Hero list.

"Thanks." One word was enough gratitude for the old hag. The old hag herself nodded as well and tapped her cane on the pristine tiled floor.

"Now go on and git. I still have patients to attend to, and hopefully, you don't end up as one of them again." Recovery Girl turned around and went to another one of her patients. Upon a closer look, Katsuki saw someone he was familiar with. Black, raven hair styled in a ponytail, and assets that he seriously had no idea why a fifteen-year-old managed to develop — surely, that couldn't have been fucking safe for her back.

Ponytail still must be reeling from getting shocked to hell and back, and he didn't blame her. It took a certain amount of will to push through the pain, and even he barely managed to scrape by.

Fucking pikachu was a powerhouse and he didn't even know it. If he also had range — and a spine, for that matter — then he was screwed, no matter what.

Heading towards the door, he grabbed the knob and twisted it open, only to come face to face with Izuku.

"Oh, you're up." Izuku grinned. "And here I thought I was gonna win via default 'cause Kaminari shocked your ass way too hard."

"As if." Katsuki snorted, offended at the thought of being rendered unconscious because of a tiny shock. Izuku only smiled in response and smacked his back, Katsuki grunting from the impact. He shrugged it off and the both of them went their separate ways, the tunnels leading to the arena on opposite sides of the stadium.

"By the way, hope you can give me a good fight." Izuku said. "I know you know you aren't going to beat me, but you sure are going to try hard as hell, and that's all I want from you."

His heart thumped within his chest, fully knowing that Izuku wasn't insulting him, just stating a fact. And what a fact it was. There really was no fucking chance for him to win against Izuku. Hell, he doubted even the third years could win against, or maybe even some of the pro heroes. That's just how busted his once close friend had become.

He was a fucking shoe-in for first place, and no one could even contest him, no matter how hard even those from their sister class tried.

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Izuku looked at Katsuki, a grin etched into his face. All around them, the crowd roared, their fists raised high in an attempt to cheer either one of them on. To the side, Midnight strutted towards them, a sultry smirk on her lips.

She raised the flag in her hand, the piece of cloth billowing along with the wind. Katsuki's and Izuku's eyes both momentarily crossed against the flag, before they settled with each other.

"You better fight with all you have, Katsuki." Izuku egged the ash blond on, and for a brief moment, the traces of guilt vanished, replaced by ferocious glee.

"Plus fucking Ultra… Deku…" Katsuki's menacing grin caused Izuku's heart to soar. Finally! He was going to see Katsuki's untempered ferocious side he had been repressing ever since his death. It's been a while since Izuku had seen it since the ash blond was trying his best to change for the better, but sometimes, he just wanted to bring out the worst in people and have them fight him in a no holds barred match. Plus points if it was to the point of crippling injury, that way, they knew who was stronger.

Sadly, for this world, nobody here is undying, except maybe him, so he had to make do. But now, maybe Katsuki here could get his blood pumping.

The flag was swished down and Katsuki immediately burst into action, propelling himself towards Izuku by using explosions. Grinning, Izuku leaped forward to meet Katsuki head on.

Based on how his eyes widened, Izuku surmised that Katsuki was briefly surprised by the act, but his fighting instinct took over as he let off a blast to the side, swerving in the air and dodging Izuku's attempted headbutt.

Izuku didn't dare use pyromancy against Katsuki, as that would be overkill, so he just had to settle for good ol' fisticuffs. His body was a weapon in and of itself, chiseled through the harsh trials Lordran had offered.

The ash blond skidded across the concrete, but immediately stopped himself by using an explosion, and using another one to propel himself against Izuku again, this time against his side.

Izuku turned, eyes meeting Katsuki's own, and he thought of not defending the ash blond's first attack. He wanted to taste how strong Katsuki was, and he might as well give him a freebie.

Standing tall and proud, Izuku readied himself, with his arms outstretched, and he knew that Katsuki wouldn't let this chance slide. Oh, for sure Katsuki knew Izuku was letting him hit him, but the number of spars they had during their schooling here taught the ash blond better than to dismiss it.

"DIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Katsuki's hands outstretched, the moment his palms got close to Izuku, a spark ignited between them, and everything went white.

All Izuku could hear were the loud booms and crackles as a wave of heat rushed over his body. He could feel his muscles singe and scorch, his shirt burning to cinders, and yet, he didn't let the grin fade.

"Ahahaha!" Izuku cackled maniacally, a hand waving away the cloud of smoke that followed the loud explosion, revealing his scorched torso and the menacing grin that decorated his face. "Good! More! Show me what you can do! Katsuki!"

Izuku pumped energy into his legs and closed the gap between them in an instant. Katsuki's eyes widened at the sudden burst of speed that surpassed even that of Iida and tried to counter Izuku's cocked fist ready to punch him into next week.

An explosion managed to slightly alter Izuku's punch, but it still managed to graze Katsuki. But that wasn't the end of Izuku's offensive. Hooking his arm around Katsuki neck, Izuku brought him down and kneed him in the gut.

Spittle flew out of the ash blond's mouth, but he didn't give up. More sweat gathered within his palms, and he slapped it against Izuku's gut. The explosions that followed after managed to launch Izuku away from him for a moment, smoke emanating from his trembling hands.

Izuku, however, managed to recover quickly by clawing his hand into the ground and gouging out pieces of concrete. The resulting imagery that exited the gouge left viewers reeling in utter horror, like they had during the first event when Izuku did the same when he was falling through one of the pits.

"You really are fun to fight against!" Izuku stood up with glee, heart pumping in his chest. Shaking the blood off his mangled-looking fingers, Izuku curled them into fists as bone cracked and snapped into position.

The fight from there was a blur, as Katsuki tried his best to keep Izuku off and throw him out of the ring, but the white-haired teen was just too stubborn and energetic to even budge.

By the eighth minute, Katsuki was already huffing and puffing, but Izuku looked like he was still fresh out of the shower, minus the burns that littered his body and his fingers — as well as toes — that looked like they had been put through the meat grinder.

All around them, the concrete floor of the arena had deep gouges filled with traces of blood and scorches, and footing was becoming much of a problem with the amount of debris scattered along the area.

And lo and behold, it became even more of a problem when Katsuki nearly tripped against one because he was starting to get exhausted, it was hard to keep track of his surroundings. And that was an opening Izuku took with a mad grin.

Katsuki tried to deflect with another explosion, but as opposed to the start where his explosions detonated like C4, now they barely imitated low-powered firecrackers. They weren't enough to stop Izuku's bullrush charge, and the ash blond was finally sent flying out of the ring, his back impacting against the soil as he skidded across the ground.

His eyes blurry, he managed to see Izuku approach him with something resembling a smile as he hoisted him up his shoulders.

"Good fight." Izuku commended and the stadium's cheers nearly burst his eardrums. Well, it was inevitable that he would lose but fuck him if he ain't the only one in this entire school that managed to make him look ruffled. "Let's fight again next time."

Nodding only once, Katsuki was once more sent into lala-land as he felt his injuries and exhaustion catch up with him.

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A/N: It's almost done. I really didn't expect this arc to get this long... Now I'm dreading whether the USJ arc will be this long, or even longer than this... God I hope not. 

Also, this time it's Darktide. For the Emp'rah!

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