Chapter 5 — Sinister Success

Iida grows concerned about his teammate's deranged behavior, which he regards unbecoming, but he can do little about it before the trial begins.

In his office, Aizawa reviews Bakugo's and Izuku's files: his hunch about the two of them was right, as there is a clear pattern of bullying caused by the former that has been covered up by the different schools both of them have attended. Realizing he needs to act to keep both of them separated, he quickly moves to prevent it, not knowing that he's going to be too late.

Bakugo and Iida enter the building, but find nothing in the first floor, driving Bakugo more furious as he yells for Izuku to show up - only for Izuku to appear at the top of the stairs. Bakugo flies in a fury behind Izuku, leaving Iida alone to notice a trail of paint, which he follows. In his precipitation, Iida triggers a trap that covers him in paint. Realizing he has lost the surprise element, Iida rushes forwards and finds Tsuyu waiting for him. Iida is plenty convinced of his superiority, only to get caught by surprise when Tae grabs him from behind, throttling him with Izuku's tie and leaving him unable to get loose.

The other students watch the encounter as it unfolds, with confronted opinions on how appropiate the Villain team's moves have been. They observe as Izuku leads Bakugo to the building's top floor and prepares to fight.

Izuku taunts Bakugo when he arrives to the floor's main room, tricking him into fruitlessly using his explosions before passing to attack, tanking through one attack to successfully punch Bakugo, while their classmates are horrorized by the injuries Izuku sustains and quickly recovers from, and even more when one of Izuku's moves leads to him getting blasted in the face. Nonetheless, Izuku manages to prevail and punches Bakugo hard enough to stun him for a long time, although he is unable to properly capture him since an explosion has destroyed the capture tape he carried. Izuku moves downstairs to support Tsuyu and Tae. In spite of his injuries, Bakugo manages to begin dragging himself downstairs.

At the observation room, the teens remain divided on who to support, while All Might grows worried over Bakugo's and Izuku's attitude, not knowing that Izuku has lost both his capture tape and communication bead in the fight.

Izuku arrives to the room where Tsuyu and Tae have captured Iida. Tsuyu worries about Izuku's ruined suit, but Izuku replies that he's fine and that the injuries Bakugo has suffered will ensure he cannot find either the bomb or them in time. The two celebrate by sharing candies Izuku carries, as Bakugo continues to drag himself down. The alarm marking the end of the trial sounds just as Bakugo reaches the bottom floor, signaling Izuku and Tsuyu's victory. Furious with the defeat, Bakugo deliberately fires the grenade in his gauntlet, causing brutal devastation that collapses the room.

Iida manages to regain conscioiusness with not many injuries, but as he is still trapped by the capture cape he cannot help Tae dic out Izuku and Tsuyu, who are under a mountain of rubble. Bakugo's self-satisfied behavior is cut short when the other students and All Might arrive: while the hero quickly neutralizes Bakugo's gauntlets, the teens begin to dig out.

Under the rubble, Tsuyu slowly wakes up, only to see she has suffered lethal injuries that, per Izuku's calculations, will kill her before she can be taken to a hospital. Izuku decides to take the risk and gives her some of his blood. By the time they are finally dug out, it has worked, and while she still needs medical attention, she is out of danger. At Izuku's warning that he does not know if his Quirk will stop working if he is not touching Tsuyu, Tokoyami has his Quirk, Dark Shadow, get the two out of the hole they are in, while All Might rues his decision to put Izuku and Bakugo in opposed teams.

Tropes That Appear In This Chapter:

Entertainingly Wrong: Iida asks Bakugo if he's worried about Tsuyu's Quirk. Bakugo's answer soon disabuses him from the notion.
Godzilla Threshold: For the second time in his life, Izuku uses his blood to attempt to save a life. This time, he succeeds.
Gone Horribly Wrong: All Might had deliberately put Izuku and Bakugo in opposite teams so they could work out their mutual hatred. Instead, this leads to a catastrophe that almost kills two students.
So Much for Stealth: Iida's attempt to find the bomb without calling attention ends when he triggers a trap that makes paint cans fall on him.
Sore Loser: Bakugo's answer to losing in the battle trial is to cause a explosion with the explicit intent of seriously hurting or killing Izuku.