….
"Now you can use my Quirk too?!" Bakugo roared, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"What the hell kind of 'copy-cat' bullshit is this?!"
It was almost the same, and the only difference was the range; Bakugo's was a palm-to-face detonation, while Dabi had just sniped a target from across the yard.
"Copy-cat? Hah, I like the sound of that. But don't call me that again," Dabi said with a dry, dangerous chuckle as the residual heat dissipated. "Anyway–"
"It's a similar principle to your Quirk," Dabi explained. "Explosions are just rapid combustion with concentrated force behind them. My fire doesn't naturally pop, but I can force it to. By compressing the flames to critical density before I let go, I can replicate that concussive impact you are naturally gifted due to your Quirk."
What he didn't explain; and what neither student needed to know, was again the complexity behind that technique.
Dabi's fire Quirk allowed him to generate and manipulate flames. But creating explosion-like effects required understanding the fundamental physics of combustion.
He had to use his flames to superheat a pocket of air while simultaneously wrapping it in a high-pressure skin of fire to prevent it from venting.
He had to create a perfect pressure differential; and when the containment failed, the air expanded violently. It was an artificial detonation.
Bakugo's quirk did all of this instinctively through his sweat's chemical composition. Dabi had to manually recreate every step through pure technical mastery.
The result was similar but not identical, Dabi's version lacked the raw concussive force of Bakugo's natural explosions but made up for it in precision and controllability.
"The point." Dabi continued. "Is that your Quirk can do this naturally. You just need to stop being so loud about it. Use small, precise pops for mobility and misdirection; use medium blasts for sustained pressure; and save the 'Big Bang' for when you actually have something worth killing."
He demonstrated again, this time creating three compressed fireballs in rapid succession, each a different size.
Small, medium, large, and each detonating with proportionally scaled force.
"Variable output." Dabi emphasized. "Right now you're burning yourself out in the first five minutes of any serious fight because you only know one setting: maximum. Learn to modulate, and your combat endurance triples."
Bakugo was silent, his eyes fixed on his own palms, his mind clearly re-evaluating the 'all-or-nothing' philosophy he had carried since childhood.
"Also, your fighting style is too straightforward." Dabi added. "You rely on aggression and overwhelming force, which works against weaker opponents. But leaves you vulnerable against anyone with decent defensive capabilities."
He meant every word of his. If Bakugo started thinking while still fighting with that same ferocity, he'd become far more dangerous; it was something that would come naturally over time, but Dabi intended to accelerate that process.
"Now." Dabi stepped back, giving them space. "Here's how this works. You two are going to fight each other, and I will be observing, breaking down your decisions in real time, and pointing out exactly where you're going wrong."
"FINALLY!" Bakugo's face split into a savage, jagged grin. "I've been waiting for another shot at this half-and-half bastard!"
"Likewise." Todoroki replied coolly, though his flames were already igniting on his left side.
"One more thing," Dabi added. "Bakugo, you're only allowed to use explosions at seventy percent maximum output. Forces you to rely on technique instead of pure power."
"WHAT?! Again with this kind of bullshit!"
It dragged his mind back to that recent fight with Midoriya, the one where Dabi had pushed him just to force out Black Whip.
"It's called training. Deal with it." Dabi said flatly. "And Todoroki? You're required to use fire and ice in equal measure. I am tracking, so if you were to use more ice than fire, the session ends, and we start over tomorrow with the same handicap."
Todoroki's eyes widened slightly. "That's–"
"Non-negotiable. You want my training? Those are the conditions." Dabi pulled out his phone to record. "Now get into position. When I say start, you have thirty seconds to impress me. Begin!"
….
Bakugo launched forward immediately, explosions propelling him at high speed.
But instead, he used a series of rapid-fire, low-yield bursts to zigzag through the air. He was fast, but the restraint was clearly chafing.
"SLOPPY!" Dabi's shout cut through the sound of explosions. "Those bursts aren't controlled, they're just weaker! There's a fucking difference between lowering your power and mastering your output!"
Todoroki responded with an ice wall, but caught himself mid-formation.
Fire erupted from his left hand, melting a path through his own ice while creating a steam cloud that obscured Bakugo's vision.
"Finally using both sides without having a mental breakdown about it." Dabi called out, voice dripping with sarcasm. "It only took you half the match to remember you have two quirks!"
Bakugo emerged from the steam with a spinning kick enhanced by precisely-timed explosions, and the attack forced Todoroki to block with an ice shield.
"PREDICTABLE!" Dabi barked. "Bakugo, you telegraphed that kick three moves ago! Todoroki saw it coming from a mile away!"
Bakugo shattered the ice shield with a follow-up blast, but Todoroki had already anticipated the move. The moment the ice broke, flames shot through the gaps, forcing Bakugo to abort his advance.
"Better." Dabi admitted grudgingly. "But that fire timing was shit, half a second slower and Bakugo would've been inside your guard, with a fist in your teeth."
For a fleeting moment, Dabi's focus wavered.
His vision flickered, where something familiar surfaced:
====
[GENETIC MILESTONE SYSTEM]
THREE EVOLUTION PATHS:
| [BREATH OF THE SUN] – 100/100% ✓
| [SUPER SOLDIER] – 100/100% ✓
| [ARACHNID GENOME] – (34 → 41)/100%
LIFE SPAN LEFT: 120+ Years
====
The progression registered automatically, tracking his continuous physical and quirk training.
Seven percent increase.
Honestly, it was faster than he had imagined; probably accelerated by the intense training sessions he had been putting himself through too.
But that wasn't what caught his attention.
As Todoroki's ice spread across the training ground, crystalline formations glittering in the afternoon light, Dabi felt something.
…and it wasn't a spider-sense warning of danger.
It was a pull; a deep, biological recognition of something he should be capable of, yet hadn't quite grasped.
Ice.
He had known intellectually that his Quirk possessed the genetic potential for it, his mother's gene factor, dormant beneath his father's overwhelming fire genetics.
The battle with Gigantomachia had forced the awakening, triggered by desperation and enhanced biology reaching critical thresholds.
But this feeling was different.
This was... anticipation.
Like standing at a door he was about to open; close enough to feel the cold air seeping through the cracks, but not quite ready to turn the handle.
The 40% threshold on Arachnid Genome, and approaching the halfway point.
He could feel his body changing at the cellular level, enhanced healing that had eliminated the cancer entirely, physical capabilities that exceeded even his Super Soldier baseline, spider-sense that grew more refined with each passing day.
But there was more coming, and he could sense it the way you sense approaching weather.
The 50% mark would bring something significant. And beyond that…
What happens when I hit one hundred? he wondered. The thought stirred a level of excitement he hadn't expected.
Years ago, he hadn't even thought that far ahead; back then, all his focus had been on survival and getting stronger one day at a time.
Now, with this unknown potential, this possibility of something far greater, he couldn't help but feel a quiet, growing excitement...
Todoroki's flames interrupted his thoughts, snapping him back to the present.
The entire distraction had lasted maybe two seconds.
Neither student had noticed his momentary lapse in attention, too absorbed in their own combat to track his micro-expressions.
Dabi shoved the system notifications into the back of his head, re-anchoring himself into the training field.
….
The thirty seconds ended with both breathing hard but grinning.
"Not bad." Dabi admitted. "But I counted fifteen critical errors that would have gotten you killed against a Pro. Let's take it from the top."
For the next hour, Dabi ran them through the same exchange repeatedly, each time pointing out specific mistakes and adjustments.
His earlier demonstrations had set the tone, he wasn't just theorizing about their quirks.
He could replicate their techniques, understand them from the inside out, and that gave his instruction weight that pure observation never could.
When he told Bakugo to compress his explosions more tightly, Bakugo had already seen him demonstrate the same principle with fire. And when he urged Todoroki to blend his elements more fluidly, Todoroki had watched him shift flame color and temperature with precise control.
They couldn't dismiss his advice as academic theory, and he had proven he understood their quirks on a fundamental level.
By the sixth repetition, the progress was clear.
Bakugo's explosions had shifted from brute force to deliberate strategy, his movement patterns harder to read. Todoroki was finally relying more on his fire, transitioning between ice and flame with far greater fluidity.
"Okay, you're not complete garbage anymore." Dabi observed. "Take five minutes, hydrate yourself and then we move to phase two."
Both students collapsed where they stood, gulping water desperately.
"Only... five minutes?" Todoroki wheezed, his chest heaving.
"You want more rest, go home. This is training, not a spa day."
….
The five minutes passed too quickly.
"Alright, break's over." Dabi's voice cut through their attempted recovery. "Phase two starts now."
Both students struggled to their feet, muscles protesting.
"...and this time, I am joining the fight."
That got their full attention.
"You're working together this time; two against one." Dabi said. "The main objective is simple: land a clean hit on me by any means necessary, while mine is to avoid getting touched and punish every mistake you make along the way."
"Wait, we're teaming up against you?" Todoroki sounded a bit skeptical.
"ABOUT GOD TIME!" Bakugo's expression was pure savage enthusiasm. "I have been waiting for this since day one!"
"Don't get too excited." Dabi said flatly. "I am not using full power, that would defeat the purpose. But I'm still leagues ahead of where you two are sitting. If you don't coordinate, I'm going to make you regret wasting my afternoon."
Todoroki and Bakugo exchanged glances, not quite friendly, but assessing each other's capabilities with new consideration.
"Can't handle it?" Dabi challenged, his eyes glinting. "Too proud? Too competitive? Then get the hell out of my sight and go back to the mediocre drills."
"We can work together." Todoroki said, voice firm despite his exhaustion.
"Tch. Just don't slow me down, half-and-half." Bakugo muttered.
"Then prove it." Dabi settled into a deceptively relaxed stance, his hands tucked loosely in his pockets. "Unlimited time. I won't make the first move. Plan your approach, and try not to make this embarrassingly easy for me."
For a moment, neither student moved, then they turned to each other and fell into a quick, hushed exchange; strategy taking shape, tactics argued in urgent undertones.
Soon they attacked together, but the outcome was brutal; they were overwhelmed again and again, the cycle repeating until the end of the day.
By the time training finally ended, they were limping their way toward the Recovery Girl's office.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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