The training arena buzzed with anticipation.
Students from U.A. filled the stands, while a handful of Jujutsu High students observed quietly from the upper platforms.
"THIS IS AWESOME!" Kirishima shouted.
"Bakugo vs the transfer!"
Bakugo cracked his neck, palms already sparking.
Across from him, Ren stood still.
Too still.
Aizawa's voice echoed through the arena.
"This is a supervised spar. No lethal intent. Gojo will be overseeing."
"Boooo," Gojo said from the sidelines. "I was hoping for trauma."
All Might folded his arms. "Young Bakugo is highly explosive. Young Ren—"
"I know," Ren said calmly. "I'll be careful."
Bakugo snarled. "DON'T TALK DOWN TO ME!"
BEGIN
Bakugo moved first.
A shockwave burst beneath his feet as he launched forward, fist blazing.
Ren didn't rush.
He stepped aside—clean, efficient.
Bakugo twisted mid-air, firing an explosion point-blank.
Ren raised his arm.
The blast didn't hit him directly.
Instead—
The force slid past, cracking the ground behind him.
Bakugo landed hard, eyes wide.
"What the hell—?!"
Maki leaned forward. "That wasn't a dodge."
Megumi nodded slowly. "He didn't block either."
Gojo's smile sharpened.
"Oh… he's being careful."
Bakugo roared and surged again.
Explosions chained together, driving him faster, harder.
Ren retreated—step by step.
Not panicked.
Measured.
Each blast that should've sent him flying instead felt… off.
Like hitting something that refused to react normally.
Bakugo grit his teeth.
"STOP HOLDING BACK!"
Ren's foot slid half an inch too far.
The concrete cracked.
The air thickened.
Everyone felt it.
A pressure that made breathing feel deliberate.
Bakugo froze for a fraction of a second—
—and that was enough.
Ren was suddenly there.
Not striking.
Just close.
Bakugo's instincts screamed.
He detonated everything.
The explosion swallowed the arena floor in smoke.
When it cleared—
Bakugo stood, panting, arms raised.
Ren stood three steps away.
Unburned.
Unmoved.
But his shoulders trembled.
Gojo's voice snapped sharp.
"REN."
The pressure vanished instantly.
Ren staggered back a step, catching himself.
"…Sorry."
Silence.
Aizawa raised his hand.
"Match over."
Bakugo stared.
Not angry.
Not smug.
Just… unsettled.
"That wasn't defense," he said quietly.
"That was restraint."
Ren met his eyes.
"I told you," he said.
"I don't fight to prove things."
Bakugo laughed once—short and sharp.
"Tch."
He turned away.
"Next time," he said, "don't stop."
Gojo clapped loudly.
"Well! Nobody died! Gold star!"
All Might exhaled, smiling—but worried.
From the stands, curses shifted uneasily.
Because for the first time—
Bakugo Katsuki hadn't been overwhelmed.
He'd been contained.
And that scared him more.