Chapter 11: The Great Achilles
This document beta'd by kylekatarn77
11. The Great Achilles
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.
-Homer, the Illiad
Izuku glanced up at the TV screen by the vending machine. He'd left to get himself a milk and Mei some canned coffee. The pairings popped up, and Izuku was about to open his milk and take a drink. His first pairing was, fortunately, against Mina Ashido. She was one of the only participants he'd prepped against. But a look at Mei's pairing made Izuku drop his milk, spilling it across the floor. He dashed back to their prep room, his eyes wild with panic.
"Mei! You have to forfeit!" Izuku shouted, slamming open the door.
She looked up, frowning. "Where's my coffee?"
"Mei, you have to forfeit the first match! You're going up against Ka-against Bakugo!"
"Yeah. But where's my coffee?" Mei prompted.
Frantically, Izuku knelt down next to Mei where she was working on the Power Suit's legs. He put his hands on her shoulders, his arms trembling slightly. "Mei, Bakugo, he's really angry. He's going to hurt you if you fight him."
Mei laughed. "No he's not! We made those missiles special for him. I'll teach him a lesson, for all those times he made fun of you and our babies!"
"Mei, listen. Bakugo is strong. Really strong. We never got to test our missiles anti-perspirant spray! What if it doesn't even work? He'll hurt you really badly!"
Shrugging, Mei turned back to her work. "Well if it doesn't, I'll just forfeit. But I have to at least test it out, or what was the point?"
"Mei, please, I'm really worried about you," Izuku pleaded. "The plan was never for you to fight Bakugo! It was supposed to be me."
"Well don't worry, Izuku. If I beat him then I'll forfeit to you. I don't want to keep you from being a hero."
"That's not what this is about!" Izuku half shouted. "Bakugo is ruthless in competition. And he thinks we've slighted him. He's going to go all out against you."
"Izuku, do you not have any faith in me or our babies?" Mei demanded.
Izuku jerked back. "I-no, of course I do. Y-y-your really smart, and...and I know we've made good stuff, but-"
"Then don't worry about it. Now let's finish getting ready. I'll just use the handheld missile launcher I made for my match with Bakugou."
Reluctantly, Izuku helped Mei assemble their handheld launcher and load it with three antiperspirant missiles. Then they worked on the Power Suit in relative silence, aside from Mei complaining twice about the coffee until Izuku went and retrieved the fallen can from the hallway. Still, Izuku couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Eventually though, he had to force it out of his mind and load into the Power Suit as his match was up first.
"Go show them how wonderful our babies are!" Mei said, waving goodbye as Izuku walked out onto the arena floor.
"Um, yeah, same to you," he managed, waving half heartedly, then turning back to the stage.
"Our first two contestants: She's peppy, she's cute, and she's just a little bit fre-kah! Let's get a warm round of applause for Mina Ashido from Class 1A!"
The pink skinned girl glided up onto the stage on a wave of acid, then turned and waved to the crowd enthusiastically. Her quirk was strong, Izuku knew, producing acid that could seriously damage the Power Suit if he wasn't careful. He'd planned ahead though, and held two missiles in his hands loaded with the anti-acid foam. He planned to detonate them immediately, using the foam to shield himself, then detonating a series of missiles over the field to coat it in antacid foam to negate Ashido's quirk.
"And in the other corner, it's none other than the frontrunner, Izuku Midoriya! It may come as no surprise to you all that he comes from class 1H in the support course, but what's even more shocking is this: Izuku Midoriya is the first ever Quirkless student to make it to the final round!"
Izuku gritted his teeth at that announcement. What would people think of him? He forced himself to look straight ahead, and prayed that his trembling limbs wouldn't cause the Power Suit to lose it's balance. He clambered up onto the stage, assuming a fighting posture with his two arms raised.
"Wow, you're really quirkless?" Ashido asked. "That's super cool! You must be really smart! But don't think I'm going to go easy on you."
"Y-y-yeah, um, s-same to you. But really, it was Mei Hatsume who-"
"BEGIN!"
Without further warning, Ashido raced forward, spraying acid at Izuku. Out of reflex, Izuku dodged to the side, avoiding most of the attack, though some acid sprayed on his suit. Then he remembered the missiles in his hands, and tossed them up in the air, triggering their detonators.
"Waaah!" Ashido cried. She was only a few feet away from Izuku, and a good deal of foam washed over her. "What the heck?! Oh well, eat- huh?"
Ashido tried to spray acid, but the foam coating her absorbed most of it, leaving only a few flecks to spray through the air. Izuku rushed her, grabbing Ashido carefully in both hands.
"Sorry!" Izuku shouted. He spun around, hurling Ashido through the air. She wailed and flailed her arms, but Izuku stepped back, opening his missile bays.
Somehow, Ashido managed to land right on the line without going over it, pirouetting and stepping back into the ring. But Izuku fired off a single missile, which exploded between him and Ashido, spraying them both with a geyser of foam. When the smoke cleared, Ashido had been forced out of the ring, splayed on the ground and covered in foam.
"I'm so sorry!" Izuku gasped. He hurried forward, gently scraping the foam off of Ashido's face, causing her to cough and splutter. "I-I-I'm really sorry, Ashido. Um, are you OK?"
"I...I…" Ashido coughed. Then she suddenly sat up, startling Izuku. "I have never seen anything so amazing! Midoriya! How the heck did you make this stuff? I can't even use my quirk!"
"Um, well, you see, Hatsume and I, we sort of researched what your quirk was and, um, w-w-we made these missiles to um, cancel your acid."
Ashido blinked. "Seriously? You were that worried about me?"
"Well, um, your quirk is really strong, and well, we thought we should be prepared, since we figured you were sure to make it into the finals."
"That is like, the biggest compliment ever. If I hadn't just gotten my ass kicked so hard, I might actually think it was kind of sweet." Ashido winced, glancing down at herself. "As it is, um, good match. Congratulations. I so need a shower now."
Izuku helped Ashido up, then a medical team arrived to see to her. Izuku felt really bad about how one sided the match had been, but he looked up to see Mei running towards him.
"Izuku that was amazing!" she cheered, leaping up onto him. Izuku caught her in his arms, and Mei hugged him tightly. "You showed everyone how awesome our babies are! Ashido never had a prayer! The missiles, they worked wonderfully!"
Suddenly Mei climbed up on top of Izuku, taking out a loudspeaker from somewhere. "That's right everyone," Mei's voice boomed. "That amazing display was brought to you by us! Me, Mei Hatsume, the world's greatest inventor, and Izuku Midoriya, the world's next greatest hero! Support companies, take note! Wouldn't you love to fund us? Just imagine it, Izuku and I making babies together at your company forever!"
Silence. The roar of the crowd suddenly died as everyone stared at Mei in shock. "She means the inventions!" Izuku called frantically. "The inventions! She calls them-"
"Well, I guess love can bloom on the battlefield!" Ms. Midnight called. "Well, please clear the stage. You can go make babies in private in your waiting room."
"Thanks! We will!" Mei agreed, hopping down. "Come on Izuku, let's go make more babies!"
Izuku groaned to himself, but followed after Mei as the crowd started chattering. What sort of person did they think he was?
Still, Izuku didn't have time to watch the two other matches, instead focusing on repairing and refitting the Power Suit. Before he knew it, the loudspeaker came to life. "Mei Hatsume, Mei Hatsume, please report to the stadium floor for your match."
"Alrighty! Don't worry Izuku, I'll take care of Bakugou for you!" With that, Mei ran out, carrying her gear.
"Wait, Mei! Are you sure you don't want to take the Power Suit?" Izuku asked.
Mei shook her head. "I don't know how to pilot it very well, you've always done that. I might accidentally hurt our baby! You just take care of them and I'll handle Bakugo."
Despite himself, Izuku found himself leaving and hurrying to the student observation box.
"Hey! Midoriya! Over here!"
Izuku turned to see Ashido waving at him from a seat, dressed in a set of civilian clothes. He hurried over, blushing slightly. "Um, hi, Ashido. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, they hosed me off and I could make acid once that foam came off." Ashido explained. "All I had were a few scrapes and bruises. I'm surprised, you totally could have pounded me with that thing!"
"Yeah, well, I mean, I didn't want to hurt anybody," Izuku said nervously, gazing out onto the field.
"Oh yeah, this is Hatsume's match, yeah? She's your girlfriend right? I hope you two use protection, otherwise you could get into big trouble."
Izuku whirled, his face beat red, stumbling over himself to explain, but was interrupted by Present Mic.
"Stepping out onto the field, it's our second contestant from the Support Class! She loves her babies, and probably someone else, too! Give it up for Mei Hatsume!"
Mei walked out, grinning widely and toting the missile launcher, along with a bandoleer of smoke bombs and other explosives. For half a heartbeat, Izuku thought she had a chance.
"And from the Hero Course, the number one finisher in the entrance exams! He's hotheaded, and determined to win! Let's hear it, for Katsuki Bakugo!"
Bakugo mosied up to the stage, his hands in his pockets, a sour expression on his face. In that moment, Izuku's heart sank. Mei hadn't a prayer.
"You're going to pay for bad mouthing my babies and Izuku!" Mei snapped, readying her launcher.
Bakugo snorted. "Whatever. If I have to stomp the nerdette to get to the real fights, so be it."
"Ready?" Ms. Midnight asked. "Begin!"
Mei immediately fired her rocket launcher, but Bakogu was already moving, using his explosions to fling himself across the field. Mei panicked, dropping the launcher and flinging a flashbang and a smoke bomb at Bakugo. The stage vanished, first in a blinding flash of light, then in a cloud of thick dark smoke. Izuku strained his eyes, but failed to see anything.
Down on the stage, Mei was chuckling to herself, picking up her launcher and taking a few steps forwards. "How do you like my babies?"
"Honestly, you're worse than the nerd. You think a few toys and some tricks are going to stop me?"
Out of the smoke, Bakugo appeared, a wicked grin slashed across his face, his eyes gleaming with eagerness. Mei panicked again, firing the missile at point blank range. It wouldn't have had time to arm, but Bakugo swiped at it, exploding it with a blast from his quirk. That sent Mei flying to near the center of the stage, coughing and gasping. Bakugo stumbled back himself, grimacing in pain.
"You call that an explosion? You're pathetic! Why they even let you bring this worthless crap in is beyond me!" Bakugo complained, shaking his wrist to get some sense back into his hands from the recoil. He suddenly coughed, the strange mist from the missile coating him.
"Don't you dare insult our babies! Izuku worked really hard on those!" Mei shouted, jumping at Bakugo out of the mists.
Taken by surprise, Bakugo shuffled half a step back, raising his hand to fire off a blast. To his shock, nothing more than a few sparks appeared. His hands felt dry all of a sudden, and with a start Bakugo realized there had been something in those missiles that could cancel out his quirk. He had no time to think, however, as Mei was upon him, punching him square in the nose, then battering at his head and chest.
Reeling from the blow, Bakugo stumbled back through the still thick smoke for a moment, unable to use his quirk. After a second, he recovered, snarling and grabbing Mei. He threw her to the ground, then proceeded to jump attop her, straddling Mei and pounding at her face. Mei shrieked in pain and anger, clawing at Bakugo with her fingers, but the other boy was both bigger and stronger than Mei. While she had plenty of muscle, there was no overcoming the sheer advantages of both testosterone and the years of fights and training that Bakugo had.
Slowly, Mei's struggles faded as Bakugo battered at her. In a final burst, she grabbed his hands struggling with Bakugo as he attempted to beat her down.
"Just give up so I won't have to hurt, you nerdette!" Bakugo wheezed.
But Mei was past reason, wailing and crying from the pain and noxious fumes. She dug her fingers into Bakugo, drawing blood with her short nails.
"Have it your way," Bakugo grunted. He pointed his palms at Mei, having at last worked up a bit of a sweat from his exertions, as the anti-perspirant didn't completely prevent him from using his quirk. He unleashed a decently sized blast right into Mei's face. The shock shattered her goggles, sending shards of glass into her eyes, and burning her hair and face. It was too much, and Mei fell back, unconscious.
Slowly, Bakugo got to his feet, panting. The swirl of smoke around him finally cleared, leaving him looking down at the broken and bloodied Mei.
"Oh God," Ms. Midnight gasped. "The match is over! Bakugo wins. Step away from her!"
Bakugo spat to the side, wiping his bloody nose. "Fine." He was unable to say more, blood covering his face and his broken nose making speech hard.
From the stands, Izuku watched, looking down as he gripped the bars with white knuckles. "No…" He whispered, tears leaking down his face. "Mei…"
"Oh man. That's harsh. Bakugo went way too hard on her. She's just from the support course! He had no reason to go all out," Ashido complained. "Sorry Midoriya. Bakugo...well, he's sort of an asshole."
"Bakugo," Izuku growled, tears and rage blinding him. For the first time in his life, something inside Izuku snapped. He lost all sense of reason, all sense who he was or where he was. A blinding, overwhelming need to destroy something, anything, especially what had hurt Mei filled him. He found himself trying to climb over the railing, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I'll kill you, Bakugo! You hear me? I'll kill you for what you did to Mei! I won't forgive this, not now, not ever! I'll kill you!"
"Woah!" Ashido gasped. "Midoriya, don't-Crap! Guys, guys help!"
Hands grabbed at Izuku, but he batted them away, screaming and trying to jump over the railing, despite the fact that he was at least 30 feet up. Bakugo just looked at him, holding his hand to his nose, glaring at Izuku.
"Midoriya! Midoriya calm down!" a voice, Iida a part of Izuku knew, shouted. "Help us, Kirishima! Get him down!"
Finally, Kirishima hurried forward, grabbing Izuku and hauling him back, having to activate his hardening quirk to keep Izuku from beating him.
"Dude! Calm down! Look, it's messed up what happened to your girlfriend, but relax! You can't do this or they'll kick you out, man!" Kirishimai urged.
Finally, Izuku managed to suck in a deep breath, tears still running down his cheeks as he slumped to the floor against Kirishima. "It's over, Bakugo," Izuku whispered. "I hate you. Not for what you did to me, but for what you did to Mei."
"What'd he ever do to you?" Ashido asked, confused, crouching in front of Izuku.
Kaminari winced. "Um, well, they sort of went to school together. Bakugo told me earlier. You know he's quirkless, and well, Bakugo…"
"Is a complete asshole. God, don't tell me he bullied a quirkless kid?" Ashido demanded.
Izuku didn't say anything, just panting and glaring down at his clenched fists. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "I'm fine. Kirishima, right?"
"Yeah man." The red haired youth deactivated his quirk, and extended his hand to Izuku. "That was totally messed up. I'm sorry, man. I thought Bakugo was alright, but…"
"Now hold on, everyone," Iida interjected. "Bakugo is clearly injured. It looks like Mei put up quite a fight. Bakugo may have been harsh, but-"
"Dude, it totally isn't the time for that!" Kirishima exploded, rounding on Iida. "Midoriya's girl just got thrashed, and you're defending the guy who did it?"
"Not cool, Iida," Ashido huffed. "Bakugo totally crossed a line."
Iida flushed, but didn't back down. "Well, perhaps, but it was a fight and-"
Kirishima put a hand on Iida's shoulder. "Dude. Not. The. Time."
"It's fine," Izuku sniffed. He scrubbed his eyes. "I must be a mess. Sorry, I have to get ready for my match."
"Um, looks like you're facing me, actually," Kirishima said. He rubbed the back of his head. "Look man, I know you just had a rough time, but-"
"Come at me with everything you have!" Izuku yelled, making a fist and glaring at Kirishima. "I want to get into the hero course! If you think for one second you should go easy on me just because I'm quirkless, you're wrong! Hit me with everything you have, and I'll prove to the world I deserve to be a hero! For Mei!"
Kirishma took a step back, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I was just gonna say, can't take it easy on you, man. I aim to make it to the top too. Plus, I mean, you kicked Ashido's ass. No offense."
"None taken. He's good. You'll have to bring your A game, Kirishma! Good luck to both of you!" Ashido said, smiling and giving them both a thumbs up. Then she suddenly stepped forward, pulling Izuku into a quick hug. "And, I'm sorry about Hatsume. She'll be OK, Recovery Girl came out to get her."
There had been a time when Izuku would have flinched from such a show of physical affection, especially from a girl his age. Now though, he just closed his eyes and hugged Ashido back, giving her a firm squeeze. "Thanks. I'll be OK. I just hope Mei is too."
"I'll go check on her, Midoriya. Good luck! And I'm rooting for you to get into the Hero Course! You're totally gonna be an awesome hero!" with that Ashido left, hurrying off towards the infirmary.
"I guess I should go get ready for our match," Kirishima said. He extended his hand to Izuku. "May the best man win."
"Yeah. Thanks. You too," Izuku said awkwardly. Kirishima laughed and slapped him on the back, then headed towards his waiting room.
"Midoriya, a moment?" Iida said quietly.
Izuku turned to face the other boy, who had a serious expression on his face. "What is it?"
"I know you care for Hatsume, Midoriya," Iida began. "I understand that it can be hard to see someone you love get hurt. But Hatsume knew what she was getting into and-"
"No she didn't!" Izuku exploded. "She doesn't understand! I tried to tell her, but she gets like this sometimes and won't see reason! She becomes obsessed and I don't know how to help her then!"
Iida shook his head and held up a hand. "Midoriya, I don't think you're giving Hatsume enough credit. She's clearly an intelligent young woman and-"
"She's got a disability!" Izuku snapped, sticking his own finger out at Iida. Part of him could hardly believe how rude he was being, but the other part of him was still full of that rage that needed venting. "I'm quirkless! She's got autism! We're both weakling freaks to Bakugo! She doesn't live in the real world! I have to take care of her, keep her safe! She doesn't remember to eat, or sleep, or take care of herself at all when she gets focused on something! She was so convinced that she needed to show off her babies to the world and that she could handle Bakugo because she's never been in a situation where she was threatened, especially by Bakugo!"
"Well I have! I spent years getting pushed around by Bakugo, because I thought of us as friends! But he never did! He was offended at my very existence! Do you know why? Because I'm quirkless! And now, he hates Mei because she's with me, because she's different too! Well, I'm not going to allow that anymore! Do you understand me? I won't let that happen!"
Iida took a step back, a look of horrified bewilderment on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't...I didn't know...Midoriya, I...I am sorry. That's...that's truly vile. I didn't think even someone like Bakugo could do that to a person."
Izuku sniffed and looked away, feeling tears come into his eyes. "He told me to kill myself, once. I think...I think maybe if I hadn't met Mei...but that doesn't matter now. I did meet Mei. And I am going to become a hero. Part of that is saving people in trouble. And the other part? It's justice."
With that, Izuku turned and walked back to the preparation room. Part of him wanted to be at Mei's side. Maybe even most of him. But he knew what he had to do. He needed to win his next two fights. Then, he could see Bakugo in the finals.
"Don't you dare lose, Bakugo. Not before I have a chance to teach you that just because someone is different, doesn't mean they're worthless."
Authors Note:
I won't be going over every fight in gory detail, but in case you care:
Round 1: Midoriya V. Ashido: W Midoriya
Bakugo V Hatsume: W Bakugo
Todoroki V Kendo: W Todoroki
Bondo V Uraraka: W Bondo
Yaoyorozu V Yanagi: W Yanagi
Fukidashi V Shinso: W Shinso
Iida V Tokoyami: W Tokoyami
Kirishima: Bye
Chapter 12: Finding the Heel
Beta'd by kylekatarn77
12. Finding the Heel
If a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. Hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
-Terry Pratchet, Men at Arms
It took just over half an hour for Izuku's next match to start. In that time, he refitted the Power Suit with HE and flashbang missiles, and recharged all the power supplies. It was hard, doing it without Mei, but Izuku was determined not to fail. When the time came, he loaded himself into the suit, and strode out to the arena floor.
"From the Hero Course Class 1A, it's the stalwart Eijiro Kirishima!" Kirishima walked out, cracking his knuckles and grinning as the crowd cheered.
"And of course, you all know him by now, it's the Quirkless Wonder, Izuku Midoriya!" This time the crowd went wild for Present Mic's announcement, though Izuku hardly noticed it.
Izuku walked into the ring, no waving, no showboating. For once, he wasn't paniced or nervous. Calm filled him. He could do this. He had to do this. For Mei.
"Again, no hard feelings," Kirishima said, activating his quirk. His skin turned hard as stone, and spikes of rock formed on his arms and hands.
"No hard feelings," Izuku agreed.
"Begin!" Ms. Midnight called.
Kirishima came straight on, just as Izuku had figured he would. But he wasn't playing that game. Jumping straight up, Izuku activated his jet pack and hoover boots, then launched his grapple at Kirishima. He dodged to the side, but Izuku hadn't really been trying to hit him. Instead, he flew around Kirishima, using the grapple as a tether. In short order, he had Kirishima wrapped to the grapple spear, bound tightly.
Izuku landed, keeping tension on the line. He slowly reeled himself in as Kirishima struggled, but the high tension wire cable was too much for him to easily break. Izuku yanked out the spear with one hand, then tossed Kirishima into the air, tugging on the other end of the cable to maintain tension. He spun around and around, whirling Kirishima like a hammer throw. He let fly, sending the other boy soaring through the air to crash into the stadium wall.
"Um, wow, that was fast. Midoriya wins!" Present Mike called, but Izuku ignored it. He clambered off the stage, walking over to pry Kirishima out from the wall.
"Friggin' ow," Kirishima muttered. "Thanks man. Geeze, you are strong! And smart. I never even saw that coming!"
"Sorry. But I had to win," Izuku said, helping Kirishima to his feet.
"Hey, no worries. I told you to come at me hard. You kept your word, like a man." Kirishima extended his hand, and Izuku grasped it. His pressure sensors screamed as he squeezed back, Kirishima's grip literally hard enough to crush boulders.
"Thanks. It was a good fight," Izuku said.
Kirishima laughed. "Easy for you to say! Looks like I got a lot of work to do if I hope to keep up with you. Good on you, man. I think you really can make it all the way. But you'll probably face Bakugo or Todoroki in the finals. That's gonna be tough."
Izuku shrugged, the motion slightly exaggerated by the Power Suit. "It had better be Bakugo. It's time he learned that quirkless doesn't mean worthless."
Izuku and Kirishima's match had been the first of the second round, which gave Izuku more time to refit the Power Suit. He felt fairly useless, as while he was good at the minor repairs and refits, he couldn't diagnose if there were any deeper problems. Mei had always been better at that, and being able to tell if there were any problems with their creations by sound, smell, and touch, instead of relying on tools and instruments like Izuku had to. Still, the Power Suit was in fairly good shape. The damage so far had been minor, and thanks to his short battle with Kirishima he'd expended minimal power.
He glanced up at the monitor to see Shinso win another easy victory against Yanagi from class 1B. She seemed to be aware of his quirk to a degree, but after a brief fight she'd slipped up and answered something Shinso had said, then simply walked out of the ring. As for Bakugo, he blasted away at Bondo, easily escaping the glue Bondo threw at him and then knocking Bondo right out of the arena in one solid hit.
This time, it was Bakugo's turn first. His match with Todoroki was long and taxing, but even with a last ditch effort using both his fire and ice powers, Todoroki just couldn't overcome Bakugo's skill and determination, leading to a win by TKO after Cementos and Ms. Midnight both decided the match was too dangerous to continue. However, Todoroki had a bit of a break down after using his fire powers, and was trembling with exhaustion, barely able to stand. This led to Bakugo being declared the winner, much to his consternation.
"He didn't try hard enough!" Bakugo complained as he was led away.
Then it was time again. Izuku climbed back into the Power Suit, taking a deep breath. This time, he'd be going up against someone he considered an ally and a friend. But he couldn't say a single word.
"This match of the semi finals is one for the history books, folks!" Present Mic declared. "We have not one, but two students from outside of the Hero Course, an unprecedented event! No matter what happens, one of them is going to the finals!"
"Coming out now is the mysterious Hitoshi Shinso! His weird but powerful quirk has led to uneventful but decisive battles! He's gunning for the Hero Course, and with skills like his, he just might make it! But can he defeat the unstoppable titan?!"
"You know him, you love him, he's the Quirkless Wonder from the Support Course, Izuku Midoriya! Can he reach the finals to face down his legendary rival Bakugo and avenge his fallen love? Let's find out."
Izuku stood across from Shinso, who gave him a crooked smile. "You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?"
Izuku didn't respond, only falling into a ready stance. To his surprise, Shinso motioned to the crowd for quiet. After a few seconds, the stadium fell silent.
"Shinso, what is the matter? Do you wish to delay the match?" Ms. Midnight asked.
"I have something to say," Shinso said, turning to the crowd. He put his hand on his chest, extending his other arm out in a broad gesture. "I was born with a powerful quirk! As most of you have probably guessed, I can use it to control others. I won't tell you exactly how, but Midoriya already knows the secret. And frankly, that's the match."
"Are you forfeiting?" Ms Midnight prompted.
"Just a moment," Shinso said. He continued on to the crowd, "I was rejected from the hero course. Just like Midoriya was. We don't fit society's definition of what it means to be heroes. He was born quirkless, and I was born with a quirk that scares people. They label me a villain, and him useless."
"Well look at us now!" Shinso pointed to Midoriya, a twisted smile on his face. "We're at the semi finals of the UA sports fest! Now, normally, even backed into a corner like this, I'd try to take on Midoriya. I'd fight for all that I'm worth. Because I too can be a hero. I can use my quirk to save lives, to help others, in ways that people with flashier or more conventional quirks could never dream of."
"But today, I'm going to do something else that a hero needs to be able to do. I'm going to step aside. True, Midoriya could probably beat me anyway. But he's out to prove something bigger than what I am trying to do. I'm trying to prove that my quirk is good enough. I'm doing this for me. But Midoriya? Midoriya is doing this for every man, woman, and child who is Quirkless."
"Our society rejects those who don't fit the mold! We tell people, you can do this, you can do that, but don't try to be something else. Well today, Midoriya is something else. He's proven he's the strongest, fastest, most qualified person in the entire first year at UA to be a hero. But he's not in the Hero Course. Because he's quirkless. I ask you, is that right?"
There were mutters from the crowd, many of them uncomfortable. "It's too dangerous!" someone shouted.
"Really?" Shinso demanded. "Did you see him during the cavalry battle? Because he took on the whole damn school and won, even when every single one of them were gunning for him. I might have helped, but frankly I did it because I thought he could win even without me. I rode him to victory, not the other way around."
"I think Izuku Midoriya can be a hero. No, that's not true. I think Izuku Midoriya can be the greatest hero we've ever seen. We just have to let him."
With that, Shinso turned back to Ms. Midnight, and stepped backwards out of the ring. "I forfeit."
Ms Midnight nodded. "Izuku Midoriya wins the match by default!"
Shinso shrugged, then turned to Izuku. "Prove me right. Don't let the rest of the Quirkless down."
"I won't," Izuku tried to say, but found his voice was raw and husky with emotion. Instead, he nodded and bowed.
Shinso seemed to accept that, and turned away, walking out of the stadium.
"Well, um, that was something! I guess it's down to the grudge match of the century! Midoriya Versus Bakugo! Can these old friends reconcile their differences on the battlefield? We'll find out, in 15 minutes!"
Instead of leaving, Izuku crouched down, waiting. He'd already loaded the suit for Bakugo. He had known he could easily beat Shinso as long as he kept his mouth shut, since the suit gave him overwhelming force. He hadn't wanted to hurt the other boy, but he had also been determined to win.
"Thank you, Shinso," Izuku whispered. "Thanks for reminding me this is about more than me. More than Mei. I have to show the world that being Quirkless doesn't mean you can't become something more."
After the allotted time was up, Bakugo strode out onto the field, his clothes plastered to his skin with sweat. So, he'd learned. Izuku knew Bakugo had needed to see Recovery Girl to mend his wounds from his fight with Mei and Todoroki, he had to be at least a little tired. But he knew about the anti-perspirant, and he was ready. That didn't matter. Izuku stood up, waiting for Bakugo atop the stadium.
"You really do think you're better than me, don't you, nerd?" Bakugo demanded as he walked up the steps. "Or are you just mad that I hurt your girlfriend?"
"Furious," Izuku said, falling into his fighting stance once more. "But this is about more than that, Bakugo. Once, we were friends. I would have done anything for you. I looked up to you, admired you, for your strength, your drive, your courage. I was blind to your flaws. But now, I see them. And it's time for me to open your eyes."
"You talk a lot. But that's all you've ever been good at, isn't it? Your girlfriend made you that suit. Now she can bury you in it," Bakugo snarled.
Izuku clenched his fists, readying himself, but Ms. Midnight stepped out onto the field. "Now I want a nice, clean fight. From both of you! No reckless displays of violence! If the other fighter goes down, you stop, you understand me? If I have to step in, I'm disqualifying the offender. You won't even take second place!"
"Whatever. If he's down in the dirt, who cares about a medal?" Bakugo demanded. "Everyone will know who won this, no matter what you do. So will you get out of my way, or are you going to try to protect the freak?"
Ms. Midnight's lips formed into a tight line. "I won't accept any hate speech either, Bakugo. Especially not for his being quirkless."
"Oh will you give it a rest? He's a freak because he's a nerd, because he's a cry baby, because he thinks he's better than me, and because he hangs out with the nerdette. His being quirkless is just a result of him being weak."
Ms. Midnight blinked. "Young man, I think you need therapy. But I'm going to let this match go on, if for no other reason that I think you're about to learn a valuable lesson."
"Yeah right. I'll show you what it feels like to have you idiots eat your words. Now get out of my way!"
Ms. Midnight glanced at Izuku. "I will stop the match if you rough him up too much."
Izuku nodded. "I won't leave him any more battered than he left his other victims."
"That seems fair," Ms. Midnight agreed. She winked at Izuku. "Just make sure you're not too rough with Hatsume later, either. You are a naughty boy." With that, she giggled and stepped out of the ring. "Begin!"
Bakugo came straight at Izuku, launching himself forward and up into the air, expecting Izuku to do what he'd done at the start of the cavalry battle, and at the start of each of his matches. Instead, Izuku ducked and straffed to the side, launching out half a dozen antiperspirant missiles. Bakugo dodged most of them, shielding himself with a volley of explosions, but the field was still coated in the misty spray.
"Damn you!" Bakugo roared. "Don't think you can stop me so easily! I worked up a nice sweat before we even started!" He rubbed his hands on his shirt to get more fuel, then flung more explosions at Izuku.
Now for the second part of his plan. Izuku fired off the other six missiles he had, all loaded with anti-acid foam. The missles flew up a few feet, then exploded, coating the entire arena and both combatants in a thick layer of foam.
"The hell is this?" Bakugo spluttered, shaking the foam off of himself. "What are you even-"
He was interrupted by a sudden explosion that flung him into the air as all the sweat in his shirt detonated.
"Nitroglycerin is unstable," Izuku commented. "But it's even more unstable in a basic solution. Which that foam is."
Bakugo gasped and tried to rise, but more tiny explosions covered his body. He cried out in pain, twisting and writhing as every sweat gland on his hands that wasn't blocked by the anti-perspirant continually exploded as soon as sweat formed. His convulsions only coated him in more foam, causing even more reactions.
Seeing Bakugo broken and bloodied on the ground did something to Izuku. While he was still angry at Bakugo, he also felt pity for him. The rage went out of his heart, and Izuku felt sick, knowing he was responsible for the humiliation and breaking of a boy who had once been his friend. But he still had to win.
"It's over, Bakugo." Izuku walked forward, grabbing Bakugo by the collar and preparing to fling him out of the arena.
"Damn you," Bakugo hissed. He clapped both his hands onto Izuku's arm, causing a small blast. Bakugo flinched back in pain, but Izuku's armor was only dented: the blast had been too weak to do much. Izuku felt as though he were manhandling a child now.
"You can't beat me! You're just a worthless nobody! A weakling! I'm better than this!" Bakugo wheezed.
"You were born with a gift, Bakugo. I envied you for it. But you've turned that gift into a handicap with your arrogance." Izuku grabbed Bakugo with both arms, squeezing hard enough to crush the air from Bakugo's lungs. Izuku winced when he heard a crack, and he knew he'd broken at least one of Bakugo's ribs. He hadn't meant to do that; he'd wanted to simply force Bakugo into giving up without hurting him further. The real disgust though came when he realized at least part of him was reveling in his former friends pain.
Gently, Izuku lifted Bakugo up. "He's done! End the match!" he shouted to Ms. Midnight.
"I...I.. can still fight," Bakugo cried. He coughed, and a few flecks of blood escaped his lips. "Don't, don't you dare-"
"He needs medical attention!" Izuku called, but Ms Midnight was already running over, ripping her sleeve to release her somnolent mist. Izuku's mask kept it out of his system, but Bakugo mercifully passed out.
Gently, Izuku lifted Bakugo into his arms, then carried him over to Recovery Girl, who was hurrying out onto the arena floor. Looking down at Bakugo, broken and bloody, a lot of the hate drained out of Izuku. Instead of feeling good about beating his long time tormenter, he just felt...empty. What had he taught Bakugo? That if you were stronger, you really could beat up someone weaker than you? That hadn't been what he'd wanted. He set Bakugo down so that Recovery Girl could use her quirk, and stepped back.
"Broken bones, bruises, and multiple lacerations. You kids just don't know how to take it easy, do you?" Recovery Girl asked. After bending over Bakugo and administering her quirk, she looked up at Izuku. "Do you feel better now, young man? Did revenge feel like you thought it would?"
"No," Izuku admitted, feeling dull and empty. "Mostly, I'm just worried about Mei. How is she?"
"In the first aid station. You can go see her now, but don't get her too excited. She needs rest. Her eyes were badly damaged. I fixed the worst of the injuries, but she'll need days of rest yet before she's at 100%."
Izuku deactivated the Power Suit and climbed out, tossing his helmet aside. "I'll make sure she gets it, ma'am. Thank you."
Hurrying through the halls, Izuku's heart pounded with worry. He threw open the doors to the infirmary, wildly looking around and-
"Hey! You! How did my babies do? Did Izuku win? Did everyone see him beat up Bakugo?"
Mei was sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around her eyes. The typical manic grin was back, and she was humming to herself softly as soon as she finished speaking.
"Mei, you're OK!" Izuku cried, hurrying over and grabbing her hand. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Izuku! You didn't answer my questions! What about our babies? Are they OK? Did they work? Was everyone impressed? Did you beat Bakugo?"
"I did," Izuku whispered, squeezing Mei's hand. "I won Mei. Everyone saw how amazing you are."
"No, I'm pretty sure they saw how bad I am at fighting. I think from now on, I will exclusively leave the field testing to you, Izuku. I did not like it very much. But the Power Suit is OK? Bakugo didn't hurt it?"
"It's just fine," Izuku laughed, wiping away tears. "Hardly a scratch on it! Everything worked perfectly. I used the antiperspirant to prevent him from sweating, then sprayed him down with the anti-acid foam. It's basic so-"
"So it would react with his nitroglycerin-like sweat! Great thinking Izuku! Ha! I bet you blew him in half!"
Izuku looked away, feeling guilty. "Um, no. I sprayed him with the anti-perspirant first so it wouldn't kill him. I...I was really, really angry, Mei. Seeing you get hurt...it was the worst thing I've ever seen."
"It's a good thing you never came to my old school then," Mei observed. "That's one reason I like being at UA. With you around, I get beat up a lot less."
"Mei, I...I…" Izuku choked up, unable to speak, instead just squeezing Mei's hand.
"Izuku, do you need a hug?" Mei asked quietly. "Sometimes, people need hugs, Mr. Onizuka said. And it's OK."
"Yes," Izuku whispered, a strange mix of emotions swirling inside him.
Mei leaned over and gave Izuku a tight squeeze. "I like hugs. You hugged me two days ago. I think you should do it more often. I liked it."
"I'll hug you whenever you like, Mei," Izuku promised, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'll never let that happen to you again."
"What? Hugs? You just said you'd hug me!" Mei said, sounding confused.
"No, I mean, Bakugo hurting you. I won't let anyone hurt you again."
"Well that's really stupid."
Izuku blinked, jerking back. "What do you mean? Mei, I just want to protect you."
"Well I'm glad, but you told me not to fight Bakugo. I didn't listen. And you can't protect me all the time. Are you going to try to take away my welding torch like my teachers used to do? Because I hurt myself all the time with that. Not as much anymore, but look here. See the burns? I had to go to the hospital so many times 'cause I burned myself. I will be very upset if you try to take away my welding torch."
"No, I mean, I mean prevent you from being hurt by other people," Izuku explained.
"Well you can't do that either. Other people still hurt me all the time. You hurt me sometimes, but I think it's because you care about me. I don't like it when you make me leave our babies and go get food. But I'm also glad you do it later because I really was hungry. Are you going to stop doing that?"
"Um, no," Izuku admitted.
"Well, then just be my friend, OK? And tell me if I'm doing something stupid, like fighting another Bakugo. Just say that. 'Mei, you are trying to fight Bakugo again.' And then I will remember and listen better. Even if I'm not actually fighting Bakugo. It's a reminder."
"Uh, yeah, I understand," Izuku agreed. "I...I guess I just felt responsible, because Bakugo really hates me."
"He is a jerk," Mei agreed. "I don't like him. He's mean to you."
Izuku shook his head. "You don't like him because he's mean to me? Mei, he just beat you bloody!"
"Yeah, but he gave me a chance to give up. I just forgot that I could, because I really wanted to show off my babies. But I used a smoke bomb so no one got to see anyway. Kinda silly, huh?"
That brought Izuku up short. "Bakugo tried to get you to give up?"
"Uh huh. A couple of times. But I didn't listen. He was still mean though. He hurt my babies. And he broke my goggles! That's baby number 1! I'll never forgive him for that."
"Ok. We'll make new goggles Mei, together," Izuku promised. Now he felt guilty about telling Iida that Bakugo had deliberately targeted Mei for being disabled. Truth be told, Izuku didn't really think Bakugo had gone after him just for being quirkless, but he had been too angry to think straight then. Oh well. Iida probably wouldn't spread it around much anyway.
Mei thought about that, humming to herself softly for several seconds. At last, she nodded. "I think I like it better when we make our babies together, Izuku. I used to think I wanted to make babies by myself forever with no one to bother me. But now, I think I want you to keep bothering me, forever. Let's keep making babies together, OK? They're way cuter that way."
"Ok, Mei," Izuku agreed, a warm feeling suffusing his body. On an impulse, he leaned over and hugged her again. "We'll keep on making babies together forever."
"Well, I think it's high time someone had a talk with you two."
Izuku jumped about three feet straight in the air from a sitting position, causing Mei to gasp in surprise.
"Recovery Girl!" Izuku gasped, clutching his chest as his heart thundered. "I didn't hear you come in!"
"You were involved. Sit down, young man. Tell me, has anyone ever had the Talk with you?"
Izuku blinked. "Um, we get talks all the time, usually about not exploding the lab."
"Yeah, Izuku caused two explosions! I was really proud," Mei said happily. "He mixed the propellent wrong. I warned him, but he didn't listen!"
Izuku winced. He'd thought he'd known better than Mei, which was a mistake all on its own.
"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the Birds and the Bees," Recovery Girl stated, pulling up a chair. "Sit down, young man."
Blushing, Izuku sat. "Look, when she says making babies, she really means-"
"You can make whatever excuses you want. It's high time someone sat the two of you down. Now, I'll ask again: has anyone ever told you two about the Birds and the Bees?"
"They're both pollinators," Mei said helpfully. "Biology isn't really my strong point. Can we talk about Strong and Weak forces instead? I like that a lot better."
"Oh, we're going to talk about a strong force and attraction, alright." Recovery Girl reached into her pocket, rooted a round a bit, and to Izuku's mortification, pulled out a condom.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Nope, I can't see right now," Mei said brightly. "Izuku, what is it?"
The conversation went rapidly downhill from there in Izuku's opinion. As it turned out, no one had ever talked to Mei or Izuku about the Birds and the Bees. And Recovery Girl was something of an expert on the subject.
Authors Note:
In case you care:
Round 2:
Midoriya V Kirishima: W Midoriya
Todoroki V Tokoyami: W Todoroki
Shinso V Yanagi: W Shinso
Bondo V Bakugo: W Bakugo
Round 3:
Bakugo V Todoroki: W Bakugo
Midoriya V Shinso: W Midoriya
Round 4: Midoriya V Bakugo: W Midoriya
Final Ranking:
1st Midoriya
2nd Bakugo
3nd Shinso, Todoroki (Tie)