Fight Man - Intermission

“NINE!”

He was so close! Kaga pushed his kneeling leg down on the ground, almost getting to a stand, before something inside him gave way. He found himself falling sideways, and before he could resist, the blackness at the edge of his vision consumed him, and he thought no more.


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Kaga drifted slowly back to consciousness. The bright lights overhead stung his eyes, blurred shapes swimming in his vision. He blinked heavily, trying to make sense of where he was. As things came into focus, he realized he was lying in an infirmary bed. Kaga's whole body ached, his limbs feeling like lead. The heart rate monitor next to him beeped steadily. An IV line was hooked up to his arm. He must have been pretty beat up after his fight. Did he win? Was it a draw?

Gradually, Kaga became aware of hushed voices and shifting shadows around his bed. He turned his head slowly to the side, wincing at the flare of pain the motion caused. There surrounding him were the gently smiling faces of his classmates from 1-E. Liam, Yokia, Tetsuko, Joan...all of them had gathered by his bedside, waiting for him to wake.

Their eyes lit up as they noticed him stirring. "He's waking up." said Joan aka Mire Girl. Her white eyes brimmed with tears as she held her hands together. "Thank the northern lights!" said Liam. "We were so worried, eh?" The others quickly crowded closer, relief washing over their faces. They had been keeping watch over their unconscious friend even though many of them sported injuries of their own.

"Don't move too much. You've hardly recovered," Tetsuko, the android class-1E representative said, a cable from her shoulder was attached to Kaga's heart monitor. "You are not to leave your bed until your heart rate reaches 88 or below."

"Oh can it, Tenshi! He just woke up and you're bossing him around already!" Yokia said, glaring, her yellow rain jacket looking obnoxiously bright in the dull infirmary room. She was tempted to use her megaphone but she didn't want to upset Kaga.

"That was not my intention," Tetsuko stood her ground, glaring back.

A large cactus popped up between them. "You two fighting all the time doesn't excite me anymore." Richard Hertz, AKA Cactiking said, "We're all here for Kaga remember?" Both girls turned towards Kaga.

Kaga sat up slowly, wincing. He looked at his classmates' worried faces, his heart started to sink. "The match...what happened?" he asked hoarsely, almost afraid to hear the answer. His friends exchanged solemn glances. Finally, Nekketsu stepped forward, "I'm sorry, man. You fought with all your might, but in the end, you were defeated."

The words hit Kaga like a punch to the gut. He lost. After all his training, pushing his Quirk to the limit, it hadn't been enough. Koukoka laid a comforting clawed hand on his shoulder. "All of Class 1-E's contenders lost our bouts against 1-D. You weren't the only one. "

Perhaps due to his weakened state, but her words struck Kaga harder than he could take. He remembered. He hadn't just failed himself - he had failed his entire class. All their hard work, their hopes, dashed in the first-round matches. Everyone saw they were second-class hero students. Hot tears welled up in Kaga's eyes, spilling down his round cheeks. His small body began to shake with quiet sobs. He had let everyone down. After everything they sacrificed, he couldn't even win one match for them.

"I'm sorry..." he choked out between ragged breaths. "I tried...I wanted to win for us..."

His words faded into whimpers as he cried, overcome with shame and disappointment. The rest of 1-E watched in silence, unsure of what to do. Joan was the first to move, pulling the small boy into a hug. The rest of his friends quickly surrounded him, offering gentle reassurance. But nothing seemed to stop the tears for Kaga. All he could do was weep. One by one they moved into a group hug.

Victor put a hand on Kaga's shoulder, his usual cockiness replaced with sincerity. "You fought well. Your quirk is almost as strong as mine."

"We'll get them next time, eh?" said Liam kindly, his round face full of warmth.

Tetsuko smiled and patted Kaga on the head. "Don't worry. I'm just glad you're okay."

Joan hugged Kaga tighter, her own tears dripping down her pale cheeks. "I was so scared...but you were so brave out there."

Yokia Yerrickson bounced on her toes, eyes shining. "Kaga-kun was like a real-life shonen hero! Right guys? I got plenty of cool action shots." She held up her camera.

Dario shrugged carelessly. "Yeah. At least you made it interesting, bro."

"You did your best, little dude. No regrets." Richard gave him a sleepy smile.

Aomi hovered near the edge of the group. "K-Kaga-kun is still Aomi's friend. Please don't be sad."

"I-I was happy to see all your effort, Kaga." Rikae felt squished in the group hug but held herself steady.

Valerie beamed, holding back laughter. "You should've seen everyone's faces when you did that final punch!"

Igarashi shot finger guns. "It was crazy, dude. Righteous effort." He held up his waifu-surfboard. "Even Mikuya-chan was rooting for ya." (Yes, I was~ desu!)

Koukoka crossed her arms and looked away. "You're still stupid for pushing so hard. But...you didn't suck out there."

Haruka Akairo smirked. "Not bad for a shortie. You surprised me today."

Haruka Mizuiro flicked her hair arrogantly. "Hmph. I suppose you tried harder than any of us."

Nekketsu clasped Kaga's hand, eyes burning with passion. "The fire in your heart inspires me, friend!"

Tamtamoi bowed. "You fought with the fury of hellfire itself. I salute you."

"Don't worry, we've all been there," assured Stephan with an understanding nod. His metallic jaw creaking.

Kamome gave a shaky smile, patting Kaga's back. "Y-You'll get them next time! Cool off and start again, okay?"

"Yeah! Never change, Fight Man! We all love you!" Inigo said with his arms around the back of the group hug. Gigan gave a thumbs-up next to him.

Class 1-E looked at Inigo. "A spy from 1-D!" growled Victor.

Inigo just laughed. "Only here for Kaga! No spying, promise."

"How did he get in here?" Yokia narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I knocked and Canada Man let me in. Thanks, bro." Inigo shotfinger guns at Liam.

"Couldn't just let the poor chap be, like a caribou without its herd!" Liam explained.

"Thanks for the support Canada Man. You're like a more polite and chubbier Bobby. I love it." Inigo grinned. "Now how about a second group hug? I kinda missed most of the first one. You know 1-D never does this kind of thing, we're mostly stuck in small groups which sucks. Bobby did hug me and Hoge earlier but it was purely platonic, not like whatever this is."

"GET HIM OUT!" Tetsuko yelled. Despite his words, 1-E chased Inigo out in a hail of pillows and shoes.

"A second hug isn't a bad idea though," Aomi said. One by one they came together again. All was quiet for a moment as they shared a warm hug, it wasn't just about comforting Kaga, they were comforting each other. They all had doubts in their hearts that needed mending. Kaga looked around at his dear friends, tears still swimming in his eyes. Their kindness and faith in him filled him with gratitude.

"Thank you, everyone," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Your support means the world to me." He took a shaky breath, wiping his eyes. "I know none of us got the results we wanted today. But this isn't the end for Class 1-E! We're going to take this loss and use it to fuel our training. We're going to push ourselves harder than ever before. We'll strengthen our bodies, and hone our skills as a team. Are you all with me?"

"Yeah!" they shouted, united as one. His classmates cheered, pumping their fists. Kaga grinned through the remnants of his tears. He nodded firmly. "Then let's do this, 1-E! We've got a long road ahead, but together, we can reach the top!" Spirits renewed, Class 1-E came together for one more cheer. Their time would come.


Inigo rolled into the hallway as he was thrown out. He fell back against the wall upside down with his legs in the air. Gigan mewed and hovered over him.

"Ow. Kinda rude but I get it. I think they like me." Inigo rubbed his neck and stood up, adjusting his tie and hair as he walked down the hallway. He smiled as he heard the combined cheers coming from Kaga's room. He felt warm inside.

"Back already, how'd it go?" Orochi said turning from where she was standing behind the corner. Her hydra-heads hovered around her in anticipation.

"Pretty good," Inigo grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "Thanks for letting him have your family's reserved room. Twenty students in a regular room would've been way too cramped."

Orochi smiled, "He had some sick moves, the kid deserves it. And it was a good idea."

Inigo shrugged. "It wasn't my idea." He tilted his head to the side to a slightly blurry figure walking with them. His heart definitely going over 88 like it always does as he glanced at her. "Ms. Class Rep was worried about her theme-park friends."

Hoge came into focus as the three walked down the halls, "Is he okay? What was all that noise?" Her eyes were fully open with eyebrows raised as she looked at him, she was in gossip mode.

"He looks okay, no permanent damage or anything. They were really sad at first, then Kaga started to cry and they shared a big group hug. It was really touching. Before I left they were motivating each other with cheers. Pretty sure they'll be fine."

He noticed a very faint sigh of relief come from her.

"You didn't annoy them too much, did you?" Orochi accused.

"What!? Me? They love me! I just stepped away, felt pretty awkward. Plus I'm way too pretty to be stuck with those losers. Ow!"

Hoge had punched him on the shoulder. Gigan nodded in approval.

"I'm kidding!" He placed his hands behind his head as they walked. "Hey, how come we never do group hugs as a class? Can you guys do that for me when I get beat up?"

"No." Hoge said dully.

"C'mon! I'm kinda jealous of them now. You won’t just leave me alone if I was beaten up right?"

Hoge shrugged.

"Ugh." Inigo pantomined a knife through his heart.

"Hoooge-chan, I'll ask for a private room for you two if you want." Orochi smiled as she leaned forward to look at Hoge past Inigo.

Hoge's outline shimmered as she looked away. "It's not like that!"

"Good idea!" Inigo grinned.

"I can get a soundproof one."

"Eh, we did hug in a VIP suite earlier," Inigo noted.

Hoge's form blurred further into a slightly crimson gray smudge. He couldn't hear her reply.

"I'll ask Rosethorn-sensei privately, don't worry!" Orochi continued, winking. Her voice carrying down the hallway, making a few heads turn their way.

Hoge was gone.

"Huh?" Orochi blinked twice.

Inigo whistled and looked around, "Great, you teased her until she completely vanished. I need to get pointers from you!" He burst out chuckling.

"Oooh, is she okay?" Orochi looked around to try and find Hoge.

"She's fine. We should probably check on Chris though. He didn't look too good. Y'know, what he needs?"

"A group hug?" Orochi mused.

"EXACTLY!" Inigo yelled.


Edit Report
Pub: 03 Aug 2023 20:21 UTC
Edit: 04 Aug 2023 04:58 UTC
Views: 703