First Place

Both Katsuki and Izuku are led to the edge of the stadium and given quick first aid. Katsuki's arm is splinted provisionally, and he's handed another round of painkillers. Even so, he can't stop his hands from shaking slightly. As the medical staff fuss over him, he turns his attention to Izuku, who is sitting a short distance away. Izuku looks better for having had a few minutes to sit down. The worst of the damage is concealed by bandages. Katsuki has to bite back the guilty feeling that rises in his throat. He promised he would protect Izuku–what is he doing now?

As they sit in waiting, Izuku keeps his head down and his eyes somewhere on the ground. Katsuki watches him for a minute before he drags himself to his feet and walks over. Izuku looks up at the sound of footsteps. His eyes look tired, but he puts a small smile on his face anyway.

Katsuki glances away, and then begins to speak, "I–" He doesn't know how he wants to finish his sentence. His nervous system is a mess from the tension of the day, and his head is always a little bit of a mess when Izuku is involved anyways. He isn't sorry for going all out in their match, but he is sorry that he forgot to control his quirk–that Izuku is this injured. A small part of him just wants to drag Izuku to Recovery Girl without looking back and screw the tournament. A very small part of him.

"Kacchan," Izuku says, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm glad you fought me seriously. Next time, it won't be a tie."

Katsuki forces a stiff-lipped smile. He can tell that Izuku is a lot more frustrated than he's letting on but doesn't push it. He doesn't have time to dwell, because Midnight is calling their attention once again. Their tiebreaker is a race–just once across the length of the arena. It's something that doesn't really require the use of their arms, and that's probably not a coincidence. Additionally, they aren't allowed to use their quirks, and they aren't allowed to make any sort of physical contact.

Katsuki turns to Izuku and extends a hand. After a moment's hesitation, Izuku takes it.

"We're still competing, you know," he says.

"Of course I know that, dumbass." 

Katsuki drops the connection of their hands as soon as Izuku is standing and pretends he doesn't miss it. He positions himself on one side of the arena. Izuku starts on the same side, but with enough distance between them that they won't run into each other. 

The signal to start is given, and they both take off. As Katsuki runs, he feels each step in his bones, and the splint hardly dulls the shock of each step. It feels like his bones are grating against each other, and he tries to hold his arm still without sacrificing speed. He grits his teeth against the pain until his jaw is almost numb from the effort. The distance isn't far, but each step is a struggle. He resists the urge to check on Izuku, if he looks away from the goal ahead of him, he risks distraction. 

As he approaches the line that marks their goal, he's reminded of the first event of the day. He can feel his muscles screaming for air, and the wind tearing through his throat. He pushes harder–putting every last bit of strength he has into moving forward. He feels each step in every bone in his body, and each step takes more effort than the last.

All he can hear is the sound of his blood rushing and the sound of his boots hitting the cement. Everything else sounds like it's coming from far away. He crosses the finish line and skids to a halt before he looks around for Izuku. Izuku is barely half a step across the finish line, which means that he's crossing second, and Katsuki won. The roar of the crowd almost drowns out the official announcement. Katsuki punches his fist into the air. He won. He takes first place again, but this time it feels like he earned it. 

When he turns his attention back to Izuku, his shoulders are hunched, and he stares at the ground. Izuku looks up a moment later, and he gives Katsuki a half smile. The disappointment is still evident in his eyes, and maybe that's why Katsuki feels something else besides the joy of winning. 

Izuku's legs give out a moment later, the injuries built up through the day finally catching up to him. Katsuki sees him start to fall in slow motion. He catches Izuku before he can hit the cement of the arena, and hardly feels the pain that shoots through his left side. Izuku blinks up at him.

"Kacchan…?" He asks, and then his eyes regain their focus. "You're injured! Are you o–"

"Worry about yourself for a damn second," Katsuki snaps.

He holds onto Izuku for a little while longer, until he remembers that they're in the middle of a stadium, and there's a camera focused on them projecting on a giant screen above. Katsuki pushes Izuku into a sitting position and stands up quickly, hoping the moment didn't look half as intimate as it felt. 

Medical staff appear to escort them to Recovery Girl, and Katsuki is glad to have an excuse to get out from under the watchful gaze of the audience and the cameras. They'll get their wounds properly treated while the match to determine 3rd and 4th place happens. Once their in Recovery Girl's care, Katsuki lets himself relax, if only a little bit. The most taxing part of the day is over.