Toshinori wasn't sure he was used to teaching yet, because surprise meetings first thing on a Friday morning wasn't something he'd expected.
He was just waking up, preparing to start his day before class started, when his cell went off. The only thing the message said was to meet in Nedzu's office in 30 minutes, requiring for him to buff up and jump over to make it in time.
Reaching Nedzu's office Toshinori entered, deflating once the door was closed and he confirmed who was inside.
"Alright, the oaf is here so can we get started?" The low groan of Aizawa came from one of the chairs across from Nedzu. Toshinori quickly made his way to the desk and sat in the free seat. " Good morning Nedzu sir, young Aizawa!" He greeted, bowing to them both.
"A pleasure to see you as always, Yagi." Nedzu hummed, setting out a cup of tea for the newcomer. "Now I'm probably guessing you're both wondering why I've called this meeting?"
"I've asked 20 times already," Aizawa deadpanned.
"Well, it's about one of your students." Nedzu chirped out.
"What did they do?" Aizawa groaned out.
" Now Aizawa, I'm sure it's nothing bad," Toshinori tried to reassure him, though it wasn't working help either of them.
"You are quite right Yagi, quite the opposite actually!" Nedzu laughed. "Mr Midoriya is coming on quite well don't you think?" He added, catching them both off guard.
"…yeah, but I don't see why that requires a meeting?" Aizawa said apprehensively.
"Why, I believe even now he has potential waiting to be unleashed!" The mammal smiled, turning one of his monitors to the two heroes. "Please watch this!" He chirped.
Toshinori leaned in with Aizawa to see the screen. It appeared to be a CCTV video, in it was Izuku and some other students he couldn't quite recognise. Izuku and a blonde boy in his hero uniform started fighting, and both seemed to be trying hard, though he could tell Izuku was holding back his One For All usage as to not destroy his surroundings. After a few minutes of sped up footage, the two seemed to reach a stalemate as the video ended.
" That was quite a good battle, but why show it to us?" Toshinori asked, impressed by his Successor.
"Because," Aizawa sighed out dreadfully. "the other student was Togata Mirio."
The name immediately rung a few bells in Toshinori's head. "Wait, so he's-"
"UA's top heroics student." Nedzu finished, smiling. "You see what I mean, don't you."
"How did this even happen?" Aizawa asked, rubbing his forehead.
" Well, Young Izuku did tell me that he had made contact with young Hado, gaining her quirk and becoming 'wave buddies'." Toshinori explained.
"Indeed." Nedzu responded, taking a drink of his tea. "Yagi, we both presumed that Mr Midoriya would end up being part of the top three by the time he reached his final year. But to already battle our top student to a standstill? He may overthrow them by the end of the year!"
"And if they spar often enough, it'll just boost his skill even faster." Aizawa sighed painfully. "I still think his moves were extremely choreographed, at least from our angle!"
" Yes, well that's what we are here to teach him." Toshinori chimed in.
"Speaking of teaching Midoriya," Nedzu started. "His class with me has shown that it's not just in combat that he has untapped potential."
"Classes with you?" Aizawa asked, going pale.
"Indeed!" Nedzu smiled, unaware to the fear creeping up the other two. "I had him break into third year level servers to locate certain individuals, and he went beyond my expectations."
" Wh-what does this mean, sir?" Toshinori asked.
"Well…" Nedzu paused, taking a moment to deliberate on his thoughts. "Combining his untapped combat prowess, other talents he has, and his unique quirk. Mr Midoriya will likely, before the year is over, have to advance onto special classes tailored specifically to him."
Toshinori paused for a moment. The idea of Izuku needing specialised training made the man feel uneasy, mostly due to Izuku being isolated from his peers. The boy had plenty of that in his previous school, so Toshinori wouldn't wish it on the boy.
"With all due respect, sir." Aizawa started. "While I can see the rationale for it, wouldn't doing something like that make it look like we were favouring him over the other students? Making them seem less capable?"
" Izuku has been through 14 years of being segregated from his peers due to perceived weakness." Toshinori added. " I doubt he'd now appreciate being segregated because he's seen as too powerful."
"Now while I do agree to both of those sentiments," nedzu started, "we need to do what is best for each individual student, and what I believe is right for Mr Midoriya would be personalised training, ideally from outside heroes as well."
"Now you know that's not a good idea Nedzu!" Aizawa spoke up, "Yagi's nearly a passable teacher and he's actually gone through the courses necessary!"
"Now now," Nedzu breather, trying to de-escalate the situation. "It wouldn't be anything extensive, just getting heroes in for sparring. He will likely be our next All-Might; the hero called in for our toughest battles. He'll need all the training he can get."
" Nedzu, if you go around showboating him like that then 'he' will notice. That's if he doesn't already know about Izuku!" Toshi exclaimed, joining Aizawa against Nedzu.
"Yagi, we both know Izuku will eventually have to face All For One, would you have him go in unprepared?" The mammal asked rhetorically.
" I'd give my life before letting Izuku face against that monster!" Toshinori roared.
Nedzu paused, looking at the two visibly annoyed teachers standing across from him. Eventually he sighed.
"How about when the time comes, we ask Midoriya himself what he would like?" The principal offered. The two hesitantly looked at each other, before sitting back down.
" That, wouldn't be the worst decision." Toshinori decided.
"Agreed," Aizawa chimed in. "You know, I don't think we've argued as much over a student before."
"I don't think we have," Nedzu hummed. "The first year sports festival is next week, you will both see that Mr Midoriya is already starting to lean ahead of his peers. That divide will only widen." The principal explained, finishing his cup.
"It's our job to make sure he doesn't stagnate."
The sound of Alarm-Might woke Izuku up the same way as every morning, but things felt different today. Izuku shot up and quickly made his way out of bed.
As he hopped through into the kitchen pulling up his school trousers, Izuku's mother put a plate of eggs down at the table.
"Izuku sweetie it's fine, you have plenty of time before school." Inko said, sighing as Izuku almost tripped over.
"Y-yeah but I want to make sure I'm not late, todays the festival!" Izuku exclaimed, sitting down to eat. "It's super important!"
"I know it's important to you sweetie, I'm so excited to be able to see you live!" Inko exclaimed. She was so happy that Yagi was able to get her a seat so close to the student arena.
"Y-yeah, I hope I do well." Izuku smiled nervously. Things had been tense in class the days leading to the sports festival. Izuku quickly finished his eggs before getting his red boots.
"Oh Izuku, you'll do great! I'm sure you'll do great!" Inko smiled, grabbing her handbag. "You know, your father might be watching… he's proud of you too you know."
"…mum, Izuku sighed, standing up. "Dads a deadbeat, he left us years ago."
"that doesn't mean he doesn't care about you!" Inko teared up. "He still sends us money, more than he has to!"
"It doesn't mean he deserves any place in our family." Izuku frowned, pulling his mother into a hug. "Come on, mum. We're gonna want to leave now to catch the train."
"I don't get it, sensei! Why do we have to watch the hero trash?" Shigaraki growled out, eating a bowl of cereal in one of the bar's booths.
" Because Tomura ." The deep booming voice called from the other side of a monitor. " These students will become your future enemies. It is best to study them and learn how they act, knowing how your enemy thinks is knowing how to defeat them."
"Then why are you coming to watch it, you can blow those NPC's away in a single move!" The pale man scoffed.
" I have my own reasons to watch, Tomura." Sensei's voice crawled from the monitor. " I have a feeling today will be full of surprises."
After going round the stalls with his mother, Izuku quickly made his way to the changing rooms to put on his gym uniform before meeting his classmates in their waiting room. He took a quick glance, making sure that everyone was here.
"Hey mido, you ready?" Uraraka called out as she made her way over to him.
"Hey, uh yeah. Nervous though!" He replied with a chuckle. "How about you?"
"Very nervous." Uraraka replied, scratching the back of her head.
"Not to worry!" Iida called as he patted the two on their shoulders. "I'm sure we'll all do extremely well!"
"Th-thanks Iida," Izuku smiled out.
"Damn, I wish I could've worn my costume!" Kaminari sighed out. "How will I get noticed now?"
"You gotta perform well." Ojiro said, stretching his tail.
"Ha! Good luck getting him to stand out!" Jiro laughed as she walked past them.
Izuku smiled, the chatter from his classmates around him distracting him from his worry.
"Midoriya." The voice of Todoroki sliced the calmness in half as the boy approached Izuku.
"Y-y-yeah, T-Todoroki?" Izuku stuttered out, not expecting the cold boy to start a conversation.
"I'd say in terms of power, we're at the top of the class," the boy stated calmly.
"W-wha?" Izuku questioned. He didn't understand why Todoroki was talking to him about this now of all times. Was it because of the festival?
"It seems like today will be the day we finally find out which one of us is strongest," Todoroki continued. "You have All-Might supporting you, which means to reach the top I have to beat you!"
"Woah," Kaminari whispered out. "A declaration of war between the class powerhouses!"
"Hey hey, I don't think now is the time for this?" Kirishima butted in, trying to separate the two.
"…I don't know what you want from me," Izuku started, looking Todoroki in the eye. "Maybe you see me as 'the ultimate challenge' or something, but if you keep looking at me then you'll never see everyone else overtake you!"
Izuku stepped forwards, making Todoroki as well as the people near him take a step back. "Everyone here, not just the hero course students, are aiming for the top! We're all going to fight with everything they have, so don't look down on anybody!"
"Manly!" Kirishima smiled, tearing up.
"Yeah, but Midoriya gave of a pretty scary aura there!" Ashido squealed.
"Alright everybody!" Iida called out, cutting through the whispers. "They're ready for us, so let's all get ready!"
As everyone stood up and started making their way to the stadium entrance, Izuku started thinking back to the weeks leading up to this. The training he's done and the sparring with Togata had helped him streamline his activation for his different quirks, and today was the day his work will hopefully pay off.
' Show the world that you are here!' Toshi's voice echoed in his mind. Before U.A. Izuku would have though it was announcing that he was the next symbol of peace, the countries next top hero. Now though, thanks to the USJ Izuku know what it meant. Criminals and villains would likely be watching them, so he had to show them why they should think twice before committing a crime.
Izuku took a deep breath, steadying himself for the battle ahead.
"WELCOME BIG MASS MEDIAAA!" Present mic roared cheerfully from the announcers booth.
"Welcome to this year's first year SPORTS FESTIVAL! ARE YOU READY!!" He yelled out, getting a roar from the audience surrounding the arena. "This is where the worlds next heroes battle it out for your entertainment, and I'm your host today Present Mic!"
"Joining me today is my main man, the mummy man, my good friend Eraserhead!" He cheered out.
"I still don't know how you managed to rope me into this." Aizawa droned out.
"Good one, 'Raser!" Mic laughed. "Now audience, are you ready to meet this year's contenders!"
After receiving a cheer from the crowd he continued, "First up! It's the class you all heard of, the ones that came out of a villain attack swinging! Give it up for heroics class 1-A!"
Out of the tunnel at ground level Izuku and his classmates marched, Iida leading them as their representative. Izuku shied away at the thunderous applause.
"Next up. They haven't gotten as much time to shine, but they're just as full of talent. Give a cheer for heroics class 1-B!" Mic called out. Izuku noted the quieter cheers compared to his class as his sister class came out, stopping beside him.
"That's not all ladies and gentlemen! Next up, showing off their genius and handiwork, give it up for the support course!"
"Next we have students that may not want to show off too much, but they'll still give it their best, the business management department!"
"And finally, they may not stand out but they're choking to prove themselves, say hello to the gen-Ed students!" Mic called. As they entered Izuku noticed Bakugo and Shinso both glare in his directions.
Izuku used his 'location map' and tried to take count of all the students, but somehow, they didn't all fit into his range of use. He looked out into the crowd of competitors as their conversations rushed into his ears.
"I swear, we're just here to make the hero course students look good!" One person grumbled.
"They're treating us like second rate students." Another one sighed.
"I'm gonna show those pricks who deserves recognition!" One student growled.
"Now now, everyone. Let's all calm down and play fair!" The voice of midnight appeared as she walked up into the centre stage.
"Oh man, they got the 'R-rated hero: Midnight' to referee this year!" Izuku heard someone from the audience yell in excitement.
"Why isn't nedzu doing that?" Another person asked.
"He does the seniors' stage." Another person chimed in.
Izuku turned to his side when he heard heavy breathing. Beside him was Mineta who had drool pouring out of his mouth. "Man, I love this place!" The short boy mumbled, making Izuku take a step to the side.
"Oh I'm so excited to see how everyone performs today!" Midnight squealed, rubbing her thighs seductively. "Let's get a special taste of your enthusiasm with todays student representative, Midoriya Izuku!"
From up in the teachers booth Toshinori winced. " I knew there was something I forgot to tell him!"
Izuku froze. He didn't realise this was coming, he didn't have anything prepared. What was he meant to do?
"You can do it Midoriya, just be yourself!" Iida reassured into his ear as he nudged Izuku towards the podium. He stumbled over his own feet on the way over, his nerves making his 'enhanced senses' range widen a bit.
"Why is he the representative? He only came first in the heroic's exam!" One student grumbled.
Reaching the podium, Izuku shakes slightly as he went up the steps and reached the microphone.
"You'll do great, kiddo!" Midnight smiled out of the range of the mic.
Izuku took a breath, trying to figure out what to say. He smiled slightly, deciding to go with the first idea that popped in his head.
"I AM HERE, TO GIVE A SPEECH!" Izuku yelled out, using 'face morph' to change his face into a copy of his mentor's. He paused slightly when he didn't get the laughs he was hoping for. He slowly morphed his face back to normal as he continued.
"Uh, hi. I wasn't really expecting this, so I don't have anything prepared." Izuku spoke, breathing in.
"Only a couple weeks ago, my class was attacked by a group of villains. We saw our teachers run in to defend us, and we saw them get bloodied and beaten. But we still stood and held our own until rescue came. We had to, because that's what it means to be a hero; to stand and fight even when everything is going wrong. I know everyone here could do that too, whether it's our sister class in their own crusades against crime, or the support department building the next great inventions. Even the management department building their own companies and empires and the Gen-Ed student doing anything they want to do!"
"We all have the drive to be the best at what we do, to be our own hero. That's why we're here at UA! But just because we've made it here doesn't mean we can give up now. I hope you all do your best today, because I will be!"
Izuku finished his speech by lifting his arm up, emulating his mentors iconic victory pose. He stood, waiting for a response. He was worried he said something wrong until someone started clapping, soon joined by another person, then another and another. Eventually the entire arena was cheering for him.
"Mido that was great!" Uraraka cheered as Izuku rushed back to his friends.
"Who the hell does that cheating brat think he is!" Shigaraki growled.
" Izuku Midoriya…" All For One murmured from within his own booth, a personal Tv in his hands. "Young Tomura, do you realising what he is doing?"
" You mean other than being an annoying brat?" The boy grumbled in response.
" No, he's motivating his allies. He wants to push them, so that in return they'll push him; that way they'll all become stronger. I'm not even sure if he knows if he's doing it." All For One explained, " what a smart boy…"
"Oh my goodness, what enthusiasm ! And with that face changer, ooh the possibilities!" Midnight practically moaned as she stepped back into centre stage. "But enough of the foreplay, let's get into the first event!"
From behind her, a gigantic screen whirred to life, a wheel of events starting to spin.
"The preliminaries, where most kids shed their tears every year! What will it be?" She cheered as the wheel started to slow.
"This years first event will be…" she paused as the wheel stopped. "AN OBSTACLE RACE!"
"A race…" Izuku hummed, coming up with plans to get ahead.
"A race between all 11 classes, it's about 4km around the stadium." She announced as to the students side a giant gate opened a hole in the wall. "We here at UA like to sing about our freedom, so anything goes as long as you stay within the track!"
The students all made their way to the starting line, all trying to get near the front. Izuku took a moment before seeing a way through and making his way to the back of the crowd.
"Are you all ready…" midnight called out, raising an arm. Waiting a moment, she dropped the arm sharply. "START!"
At the announcement, the herd of students all started making their way through the tunnel.
" Hey hey! Me and mummy man got the commentary throughout this shindig. What do we gotta look out for first?" Present mic chimed in from the announcer's booth.
" The door." Aizawa deadpanned, confirming Izuku's theory.
The students in the gate became stuck, trying to push one another about to get through. What they didn't plan for, however, was someone going over the crowd.
Once Izuku was far enough back from the crowd he lit up One For All to 14% and started running.
"Hey 'Raser, what's he doing ?" Mic asked as he gestured to Izuku.
"If there's no going through the crowd, go over it. Perfectly rational ." Aizawa commentated.
Once Izuku reached the crowd, he jumped up, turning One For All off and spreading his wings shooting through the tunnel. He quickly reached the end, turning upwards towards the sky. He briefly noticed Todoroki and Bakugo ahead of him, it explained the other competitors' legs being frozen at least.
"Get back here you half 'n half bastard!" Bakugo yelled, not noticing Izuku quickly catching up.
"Heh, more made it past my barrier than I thought." Todoroki scowled as he ran.
"Oh and it looks like our top students are nearly at the first obstacle, THE ROBO-INFERNO!" mic announced through the speakers.
Izuku looked ahead and saw a group of dozens of zero-pointers surrounded by a bunch of 3 pointers. He could hear murmurs of shock from some of the students further down, so though he'd do something to help.
The centre zero-pointers were suddenly frozen as they were encased in ice.
"You could've at least had something tougher, my shitty old man's watching." Todoroki frowned as he ran through the gap that his ice created.
" And Todoroki made it past the first obstacle like it was nothing! " Present mic yelped out in excitement.
Izuku stopped. He could tell someone was off, why would Todoroki create a path for everyone? That's when the slight creaking came into his enhanced ears.
"Everyone look out, it's gonna fall!" He called, but it was too late as a couple students were already underneath the robot that crashed under its own weight. He paused, wondering if he just watched people die.
"GAH!" Kirishima yelled out as he dug through the top layer of metal. "That damn Todoroki, anyone else and I'd be dead!"
"RAH!" Another boy appeared from inside the robot, his body a metallic silver. "That 1-A prick! Anyone else would've been a goner!"
Izuku sighed at the ironic comments the two made before deciding to make his move. He flew up higher before shooting at the zero-pointers and activating One For All.
"Everyone look out!" Izuku roared as he pushed 100% into his arm, throwing it forward and vaporising the closest zero-pointers.
" WOAH!" Mic roared as Izuku landed and started using 'Divinity' to suck up some of the debris. " And here I was thinking Todoroki showed power ! Midoriya completely blew the Zero-pointers away and is now sucking up what's left of them! "
After making sure there was a clear path Izuku shot forward using One For All at 15%.
" And our competitors have reached their next obstacle, The fall!" Mic announced as Izuku turned the corner and saw the leaders. The fall appeared to be a large ravine in the course, with the only way across being roped that connected to pillars that were scattered across them.
Izuku smiled. If you had wings, then a hole in the ground wasn't an obstacle at all.
He shot up, switching to his 'angel wings' to fly across the ravine using his momentum. Izuku quickly shot past his competitors, catching up to the front runners. By the time he landed, Izuku was within arm's reach of Bakugo.
"Get the fuck out of here you freak!" Bakugo roared, setting off an explosion in Izuku's face. He powered through it, then used 'erasure' momentarily to stall the blonde. He tripped, letting Izuku ease into second place and quickly catching Todoroki.
"And the competitors have reached their final obstacle, the mine field!" Present mic roared. Izuku looked forwards and saw an open field full of dirt patches.
"Don't worry audience, they're not lethal! They're just strong enough to scare your boots off!" Mic laughed.
Izuku decided to try his luck and rushed forwards into the field. Explosions went off left and right, but due to the lack of potency Izuku's 'shock absorption' could shake them off easily. He quickly made it over halfway through without issue.
"GET BACK HERE YOU DAMNED FREAK!" Bakugo roared, and Izuku looked back to see both him and Todoroki using their quirks to shoot to him. They were slowly gaining, so Izuku decided to disrupt their way.
Izuku stopped, turning back and pulling his built-up force from 'Divinity' into his right arm. Punching at a downwards angle, Izuku let the pressure go, releasing a devastating blast. The force blew both boys back as well as set off all the mines on the field, creating a cloud of smoke that covered the raceway.
Izuku only took a moment to view his handiwork before activating One For All and continuing the race. It only took him moments to reach the tunnel, soaring through it and falling to his knees as he slid into the arena.
" And first place in our preliminary event is MIDORIYA IZUKU!!! " Present mic cheered as the crowd went wild.
Izuku took a moment to let the words register, before leaning up and screaming "YEAAAAAAAHHH!"
He looked over to where his mother would be sitting and focused his eyes, seeing her crying as she waved over to him. He waved back as he wiped a tear from his eye.
Next, he turned to Toshi in the teachers' booth, seeing the man clap and hearing his voice, " well done young Midoriya!"
"You did great Izu!" His aunt called out from beside his mentor.
"Hey, isn't that the kid from last year?" Death arms leaned over to kamui woods on their patrol around the stadium.
"I think so, kinda surprised he's made it this far." The masked man replied.
"Hey, when did he get those wings?" Mt Lady chimed in, eating a meat skewer. "He looks kinda cute with them."
"Oh lord, why did I ever agree to team up?" Kamui groaned through his mask.
"No! Why did that damn cheat have to win!" Shigaraki roared, turning his cereal bowl to dust.
" Now now, Tomura. It's only natural that the strongest triumph." All For One reminded them. "Would you like it if he came last place after he aided in beating the Noumu? What would that mean for the rest of the students?"
"Y-you're right sensei." Shigaraki glared; eyes focused on the green mop of hair. "Once he proves himself stronger than the rest of the NPC's killing him will make them all terrified of me!"
" A battle of the strongest, now that I'll have to see." All For one chuckled.
"Mido, you won! You did incredible!" Uraraka cheered as she jogged up to Izuku. "Wow, you don't look tired at all!"
"Y-yeah, that's my 'super regeneration' at work!" He chuckled as Iida walked up to them.
"I can't believe it. To think I'd place so low in a race, and with a quirk such as mine…"
"D-don't worry Iida, t-the obstacles would m-make it hard for anyone." Izuku reassured.
"Not you though!" Uraraka cheered as she got in his face. "Seriously you were all like 'whoosh' then the robots appeared, and you were all 'kabang!' It was so incredible!" She yelled with awe all the while Izuku was going red at how close she got.
Across the the arena, two boys were both glaring at Izuku for ruining their chance at coming first.
"Damnit damnit fucking shit!" Bakugo growled, punching the ground.
Meanwhile Todoroki silently glared at Izuku while steam emerged from his body.
"Alright boys and girls, that's it all over!" Midnight announced, making everyone look over at her. "Here are your contenders going into the next round!" She called out, pointing to the screen.
Faces and placements lit up, and Izuku saw his in first place. After that he took note of everyone else that had made it. All of his classmates except for Mineta had managed to place into the next round. From what he could tell all 20 of class-B had made it.
Apart from them, there were four others that had made it into the adding 42. A girl from the support course based on her class letter, Bakugo, Shinso and another boy from gen-Ed.
"Sorry to the kiddies that didn't make it this far, but there's always next year!" Midnight called out as the event wheel appeared on the board again. "Now for the final selection! The round that will decide who's gonna get into our final stage!"
The wheel started spinning, and everyone's breath stopped as it started to slow. "For todays heart-pounding second event, ooh what could it be the anticipation is killing me!" She tease as the board came to a stop. "Behold, a cavalry battle!"
"Human cavalry…" the students around Izuku started to mutter.
"For this event, you'll all be forming teams of two to four people and form a horseback configuration!" Midnight started to explain as a video aid was shown on screen.
"The same rules apply as normal human cavalry; swipe opposing riders' headbands and guard your own… except everyone will get points based on how they performed last round!" She announced with a bit of flair.
"Oh, so each team value will change based on who's on it?" Izuku heard Hagakure ask from beside him.
"Exactly!" Midnight cheered. "So 42 nd place will get 5 points, 41 st will get 10 and so on…" she explained
"Except for first place!" She added, sending a teasing smirk directly at Izuku. "For his hard work, Mr Midoriya in first place will receive a whopping ten million points!"
Izuku's eyes bulged out, feeling everyone's eyes hungrily latch onto him.
"Alright kiddos, you have 15 minutes to make teams, good luck!" She smiled, walking off stage.
"Heh, now this is what I'm talking about." Shigaraki smirked, watching as everyone steered clear of Izuku.
"Yes, those at the top often have many working against them, even ones on their own side of the law." All For One commented, taking a drink of whiskey. "I wonder how Izuku shall bare in his trial?"
Izuku didn't know what to do. No matter where he looked, the people in that direction quickly left his sight. At this rate he wouldn't have a team, does that mean he'd be disqualified?
As he looked around, he already noticed people forming teams. Todoroki was standing beside Iida, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari; even Bakugo had managed to fill his team's slots. They were solid teams, while Izuku would be lucky if he even managed to fill out his team.
"Mido, what's the plan!" Uraraka called as she ran up to him.
"W-wha?" He asked, confused about what she meant.
"Well duh," she smiled out, grabbing onto his arms. "We make a great team! So I'm not leaving you now."
"Ohhhh Uraraka!!" Izuku cried out, tears flooding out dramatically. He pulled the girl into a hug, crying out his thanks.
"Hey, you're the guy with 10 million points right?" A voice aggressively asked, interrupting their moment. Izuku looker round and saw a girl with pink hair standing a little to close to him. She was completely covered in tech, most of it looking thrown together.
"Y-y-yes, th-that's me," Izuku wobbled out.
"Perfect!" She yelled out, pulling her goggles off of her face, revealing golden eyes with crosshairs on them instead of regular pupils. "I'll be able to use you perfectly!"
"U-use me?" Izuku squeaked.
"Wait, you're that chick is saw during the fall," Uraraka commented, stepping between Izuku and the odd girl. "The one with those wire shoes!"
"Yep!" She proudly confirmed, opening a large case she had been carrying around with her. "Us in the support course get to bring in tools to help us, as long as we can prove we designed them."
Izuku looked over the equipment she pulled out, and quickly noticed some useful things. "Is this a jetpack, based on the buster hero Air Jet?"
"I see you have a good eye there, Mr first place." She smiled, "yes, his design was based to work around his quirk, but I managed to get it working independently…"
"Those two are getting along well…" Uraraka huffed, her cheeks going slightly pink.
"Y-you'll be a great help to our team, thank you!" Izuku smiled out, plans starting to form in his head.
"Good, I'm Hatsume Mei, future CEO of Hatsume Industries!" She introduced herself.
"Midoriya Izuku, we should talk about your tech later!" He smiled, before looking around him. "Alright, w-we just need one more member."
"Have any ideas, Mido?" Uraraka asked, walking next to him.
"I think…" he started, looking for anyone not in a team yet. "…perfect!"
In the announcer's booth, Aizawa looked down as the team-up time ended and the teams collected their headbands.
"Some interesting teams we got this year, what do ya think?" Zashi asked, leaning over to him.
"There are some good combinations of players," Shota responded, "I see the non hero course students are all in different teams too."
"Yeah, I wonder if any of them'll place well?" Zashi murmured. "So, who do you think's gonna win?"
Shota sat, staring at the different teams for a moment extra before responding. "The rat thinks there's a specific student that's going to dominate the entire festival, so with that in mind it's hard to be unbiased."
Zashi followed his eyesight, homing in onto the team Shota was looking at. "Oh, well at least I can see why."
"Alright everyone, assemble your horses!" Midnight called out as she gave the last team band out.
Breathing deeply, Izuku stepped up, taking the spot of the rider on his team. "Does everyone remember the plan?"
"Of course!" Uraraka chanted.
"Hehehe," hatsume grinned in response.
"We shall not fail you." Tokoyami grunted as Dark Shadow appeared. "We won't let you down!"
"Ready up!" Midnight announced, as she reached her referee's podium. "You all have fifteen minutes to gather as many points as you can. Be sure to show off your skills and give us a good show!"
"Remember, stay out of their way at first. We want them to wear down." Todoroki reminded his team.
"3!"
"We're taking that shit down!" Bakugo growled, glaring at his opposition.
"2!"
"Alright, we can do this!" Izuku reassured his team.
"BATTLE START!"
Chapter 12
"BATTLE START!"
It took less than a moment for the field to turn into chaos.
In an instant nearly all of the opposing teams rushed Izuku, many of them with their quirks activated ready to attack. He noticed teams from both his class and 1-B approaching him, the only notable threats missing being Bakugo and Todoroki's teams.
Thinking quickly, Izuku told his team to ready up as he reached down and used 'anti-gravity' on Uraraka as she used her quirk on both Hatsume and Tokoyami.
"Phase one, go!" Izuku yelled, using his 'angel wings' to lift off into the air, thankful for his quirks' passive effects remaining, letting Uraraka stay weightless. Izuku and his team quickly shot into the air, narrowly missing other teams' attacks. Hatsume pressed a button on her gloves, activating hover boots her and Uraraka were wearing to assist in the flight.
"Damn, they're airborne. get them!" A silver haired boy from 1-B yelled, as a few teams shot ranged attacks at them. Dark Shadow swiped at a rope of vines that shot at them, while Hatsume used a pop-up shield to block a volley of scales from another direction.
"Great going guys, we just need to keep up until they get tired and go for other teams." Izuku explained, noticing some teams already targeting each other. Once only a couple teams were left, Izuku sent his team a quick warning, "alright, time we join the fun!"
Izuku switched his active Quirk to 'Wave Motion' letting himself start to drop. He sent forward a blast once he got close enough to the ground, sending the dirt flying as he used his wings to slow his descent.
"Alright, time to plunder!" A voice called. Izuku looked over and saw Shoji, his arms curled up to create a dome on his back.
"Wha- is Shoji working alone?" Uraraka questioned. Izuku took a closer look, his 'enhanced senses' helping make out the shape of someone in the crack between the large boy's arms. He tried taking off to the air again but was quickly shot down as a long pink tongue shot out, ensnaring Uraraka's leg.
"What? Tsuyu!" Tokoyami called in confusion.
"Yep." The greenette croaked, peering out from shoji's arms. She started trying to pull them in as Izuku tried using his wings to push away.
"First place, can't you just fly up and pull her off?" Hatsume asked as she looked through spare gear in her pockets for something to use.
"I can't do that without the risk of hurting Uraraka!" Izuku replied, switching his quirk to 'explosion' setting off a small blast with enough heat to make Tsu let go.
"Quick, get into the air!" Uraraka yelled, trying to kick the spit off of her uniform. The team once again made it safely into the air, dodging the occasional scale firing past them.
"DON'T THINK YOU'RE SAFE UP THERE YOU SHIT!" The roar of Bakugo appeared, quickly followed by the sound of blasts getting closer.
Izuku repositioned his team and saw Bakugo quickly shoot towards him. Bakugo readied a palm, smirking as he launched it right towards Izuku's head. Izuku knew he'd be able to power through but was worried about Bakugo being able to steal his band.
"Eat shit!" Bakugo laughed, launching a blast at him. With a moment to spare, Dark Shadow appeared, taking the hit. The shadow wailed in pain from the blast, but happy to have protected the team leader.
As Bakugo readied a second blast, tape shot up, grabbing onto Bakugo's leg and pulling the boy back down to his team.
" Hey hey hey, what was that!?!" Present mic called up from the announcers' booth. " Is a rider detaching from their horse allowed?"
"On a technicality!" Midnight replied. "As long as the rider doesn't touch the ground, anything goes!"
Listening in, Izuku looked down at his team. "I think we should keep that as a last resort plan," He suggested.
"Looks like we have space to land." Tokoyami pointed out.
"Let's land, don't want you to tire out too quickly dude." Dark shadow continued.
Izuku and his team once again landed on the field, looking round at the battles for points around them. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku noticed a team approaching.
His team turned, giving Izuku a look at the opponents. The team was made similar to shoji and Tsu, with two riders on top of a singular horse. The horse was a large man, easily over double the size of Izuku or even Iida, the boy wore glasses and was covered in thick brown fur.
The first rider that Izuku saw was a tanned boy, who had braided black hair that went to his shoulders. One of his arms had scales covering them, so Izuku assumed that he was the one shooting at his team while they were in the air. He was the one with the headband.
The other rider had white hair; it was slicked back with darker striped at the sides. His eyebrows were very pronounced, shooting up past his ears before curling out. His hands had large shiny claws on them. Izuku was guessing that would be his quirk.
"Mido, what do we do?" Uraraka asked, realising the team wasn't slowing in their approach as the furred man charged.
"Dark shadow, grapple their rider!" Izuku commanded, the shadow following its orders. The two ensnared each other, Dark Shadow increasing size to meet the furred mans impressive height.
As the two pushed against each other, the two riders lunched onto his shoulders, getting good angles at Izuku's team. The black-haired boy shot more scales at them, Hatsume blocking with her shield before passing it to Uraraka.
The white-haired boy went for Izuku, slashing at him with his claws. Izuku threw up his arm in defence. The cows sliced off his uniforms sleeve, showing his muscle shaped 'bone-armour' underneath it. Despite only one slash, the armour already looked slightly chipped. The boy went for another swipe, but Izuku used 'big fist' to punch the boy away. As the boy fell back onto his teammate, Izuku felt a slight sting, noticing a cut healing up on his other arm.
"Shoot," Izuku hissed, he had been hoping to get through the cavalry battle without any damage taken.
"Dark shadow, dodge!" Izuku called out, powering up a blast of 'wave motion'. The shadow jumped left, letting Izuku send the wave at the giant man. Thanks to the small distance between teams, the wave's speed wasn't an issue as it smashed into his chest, sending him sprawling back.
" Alright listeners, it's been 7 minutes so we're about halfway through!" Present mic called out through the speakers as Izuku, and his team ran off to a safer section of the arena. " We've already seen some heated battles, so let's check out how these scored are doing!"
Everyone in the stands looked over to the board, pausing slightly once the teams and their scores came up.
"That's not something I expected. " Toshinori questioned aloud.
"That's because you've just been watching Izu's team!" 13 joked.
"Well… so have you." The man quickly replied.
"W-what happened?" Zashi asked from beside Shota. "I'd have thought that class-A would be taking it by a mile!"
"Then obviously you're biased." Shota groaned. "Just because my kids have had more practical experience doesn't mean they're the only ones with skill." He said, pointing to Bakugo's team.
"It's like taking candy from a baby." A smug voice laughed from behind Bakugo as he felt his headband slip off.
He turned round and saw a blonde boy smirk at him as his team ran past. Bakugo's team followed his lead, turning to face them.
"What the fuck, you piece of shit give me that back!" Bakugo roared. "I swear to fuck I'm going to kill you!"
"So vulgar, no wonder they kicked you from the hero course!" The blue eyes blonde laughed.
"Uh oh," Ashido sighed as she could feel Bakugo start to shake.
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Bakugo asked, oddly quietly.
The blonde boy smirked, looking up and down at Bakugo. "Well, I doubt that's the only reason they kicked you out, maybe you just weren't up to snuff?" He chuckled. "Though that's definitely part of it. You rage like a Neanderthal."
Kirishima looked around, getting worried. "Uh, guys. Their nearly their whole class is here!"
"I mean, from the moment that Midnight called the first event the 'preliminaries' we knew that they wouldn't be thinning the heard too much. Not much of a festival without people to compete after all. That whole race was just a perfect chance to examine quirks and personalities."
"You fuckwhit, events are meant to be won!" Bakugo growled, eyes burning straight into the boy's skull.
"Not that event," the boy replied, pointing to himself. "Why I came in 36 th place, yet here I am! We decided to sit out the first event, watching and learning what makes the arrogantly incompetent class-A tick. That gives us an advantage when it really counts, it'll point a bigger spotlight once we win!"
The boy started to turn but looked back at the seething boy. "Although you're already famous, aren't you? You were the victim of that sludge villain last year; you should tell me about it." The boy smiled. "How does it feel to be attacked by villains every year?"
"Kirishima… change of plans." Bakugo growled quietly. "We're showing these shit stains on our heels to an early grave!"
Bakugo and his team shot at the blonde boy, Bakugo charging up a blast to knock the boy down. As he got close enough, the boy pushed Bakugo's hand away, sending an explosive blast into the raging boy instead.
"Wha- does he have a quirk like yours?" Kirishima asked, confused.
"I don't think so," Bakugo growled as he threw an explosion at the boy. The smoke disappeared from the blast and showed the boy's arm, sharpened and hardened.
"Of course not, my quirks simply better." The boy grinned out.
"This fucker has a copy quirk!" Bakugo growled, "he's a shitty copy of shitty Deku!"
Izuku watched on as Bakugo and the other blonde continued to battle before looking around.
"Alright, everyone. Let's keep moving, don't give anyone a chance to corner us!" Izuku called out as his team started moving throughout the field. They weaved through stray attacks as Izuku watched the minutes count down.
"MIDORIYA!" A voice yelled from behind them. Izuku's team turned round and came face to face with Todoroki and his team. Izuku started feeling tense, analysing the opposing team. It was well rounded, and each member was powerful in their own right.
"I suppose we'd have to face them at some point," Tokoyami muttered. "But they look really determined, don't they?"
"Iida, advance." Todoroki ordered.
"Got it!" Iida replied, starting to fire his quirk for extra speed. The rest of the team followed suit, Kaminari and Yaoyorozu wearing skates to keep up.
"Yaoyorozu, prepare guard and conduction!" Todoroki continued.
"On it! She called out, multiple points of her body starting to glow.
"Kaminari-" he started.
"Don't worry man, I got it!" The yellow haired boy cut him off, smirking.
Everyone look out!" Izuku called to his team. "It's not just Todoroki after us!"
"Now!" Todoroki yelled, wrapping a cloth around him and his teammates, separating them from Kaminari.
"Alright!" Kaminari cheered, starting to spark. "Indiscriminate shock: 1.3 million volts!"
Lightning shot out, following the ground and shocking all of the surrounding teams. Todoroki growled at Izuku's team who had flown up slightly to avoid the shock, but he continued his plan.
Taking a long metal rod from Yaoyorozu, Todoroki grabbed it with his right hand, placing one end on the ground and letting his quirk run down it.
"Sorry everyone, just hold on." He muttered as Ice shot out, spreading over the arena and trapping the opposing teams.
" What's this!? Todoroki's frozen the entire mob in one fell swoop! " Mic called out.
" He used Kaminari's electricity to stop everyone in their tracks, ensuring they were able to be frozen." Eraserhead chimed in. " It's smart, he's improving. In the race too many people dodge his ice."
" Good commentary!" Mic applauded.
"I'll take these." Todoroki frowned, taking the headbands of the teams near him as he made his way to Midoriya.
"The ice has stopped, we can descend!" Tokoyami informed Izuku. Dark shadow made a move, stretching out one of her claws to push their opposition back.
"Yaoyorozu!" Todoroki called, preparing for the attack. She wordless complied, creating a giant metal plant, stopping the hand in its track.
"That creation quirk, it's something else." Uraraka muttered as dark shadow came back.
"No, it's Kaminari." Tokoyami replied. "His electricity is a direct counter to dark shadow, especially under direct sunlight.
"Don't worry, they won't know about her weakness." Izuku told them, before smirking. "And I see the flaw in their formation. Swerve to our right!"
Izuku's team complied, making their way over and circling the other team. Izuku looked round, noticing the Todoroki had entrapped them in a circle of ice. He could get out, but he wouldn't be able to see what teams waited for him until they were already there. Too much risk.
"Don't think you can run away Midoriya, that headband will be mine." Todoroki called out.
"W-we'll see about that!" Izuku called back, thinking of the best plan. He likely only had a couple minutes left of the round, but he wasn't sure if running would be enough to give them the win.
"Everyone hold on!" Izuku warned. At once both teams moved, Iida leading the charge forwards as Izuku pulled his team into the air. Todoroki's team slid to a stop, The two-toned boy frowning at Izuku's team in the air. He quickly turned his ice pole upwards, creating a thin spike that shot into the air.
"Crush it!" Izuku yelped as he swerved out of the way, narrowly avoiding being impaled. Dark shadow came out, punching at the spike to both smash the sharp end off and topple the rest of it over.
Izuku quickly landed, his team going to the farther end of the mini arena Todoroki created.
" I cannot believe this! With only one minute left team Midoriya still has their original 10 million point band! " Present mic exclaimed excitedly.
Todoroki's frown turned into a snarl, his patience wearing thin. He had to get that headband, he had to prove his father wrong.
"I swear that the most expressive I've seen him." Uraraka pointed out nervously. Izuku looked ahead, worried about what his opposition would do. It was clear from his expression alone that Todoroki was getting desperate.
"Todoroki, we haven't much time left." Iida called to his rider. "I have a move I've been hiding, but it'll leave me out of commission."
"Do it." Todoroki replied simply.
"Grab his headband!" Iida yelled out. "Torque over: RECIPRO BURST!"
I'm an instant team Todoroki was in front of Izuku. It was only his instinctive activation of One For All that let him know what was happening. He could feel the headband tear from his head as Todoroki shot by.
Izuku was shocked. He didn't know that Iida could move nearly that fast, Izuku thought that it could've been faster than Ingenium's faster speeds. He was barely able to get a strand of 'BlackWhip' out to wrap around Todoroki's head, taking a headband in return.
Iida came to a stop, nearly tripping over as black smoke sputtered out of his exhausts. "My engines have stalled, my quirk's no use anymore!" Iida called out.
"No worries, we got it." Todoroki replied, trying the 10 million point band to his neck
"INCREDIBLE! With almost no time left team Todoroki has managed to claim the 10 million point band! Not without losing one of his own, however, as Midoriya shoots down to 5th place." Mic announced out.
"We need to get that headband back!" Uraraka exclaimed.
"Their mobility is shot, they're sitting ducks!" Izuku yelled out as his team shot towards team Todoroki. As they enclosed on them, Izuku decided to activate One For All in a power play. As his hand reached Todoroki, the boys left sight went alight, Izuku's hand going red at the heat. In a moment the teams had separated.
Todoroki stood frozen, staring at his left hand. It was only a moment, but that one moment had him breaking the one promise that he told himself he'd never break. The pressure he felt, it was overwhelming.
"Why… no." He muttered to himself before looking back up.
Izuku took a moment to catch his breath. 'super Regeneration' healed the burning, but he could still feel the heat. Maybe he should get a temperature resistance quirk, it would be extremely helpful against many many quirks that produce heat or coldness as a side effect.
Did we get it?" Hatsume asked, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. He looked down at the band, sighing when he only got a band worth 70 points.
"Not it, we need to try again!" Izuku said, looking up at Todoroki. The two faced each other at the same time, glaring at each other before Izuku smirked, lifting his hand.
Todoroki was confused for a moment before a band glowed green and shot towards Izuku's hand.
"Quick, get it!" Todoroki roared, Iida wincing as he ran forwards. Izuku's team moved at the same time.
" TEN SECONDS!" present mic roared in excitement.
Izuku noticed that Todoroki was ever so slightly closer, so decided to change tactics.
"NINE!"
As the teams got closer, Izuku brought forth 'BlackWhip'
" EIGHT!"
Bakugo appeared from over the ice walls, shooting towards the two teams.
" SEVEN!"
Izuku's strand of 'BlackWhip' shot at the band.
" SIX!
Izuku smirked as the rope of 'BlackWhip' shot past the headband.
" FIVE!"
Team Todoroki reached the floating headband as 'BlackWhip' stole the one still round Todoroki's neck.
" FOUR!"
Izuku quickly reeled back in 'BlackWhip'.
" THREE!"
Bakugo shot over to Izuku, preparing an explosive punch.
" TWO!"
Dark Shadow shot up, taking the blast to protect Izuku as he grabbed the Headband.
" ONE!"
Todoroki scowled, shooting as much ice as he could down his pole at Izuku.
" TIMES UP!" Present mic called, marking the official end of the cavalry battle.
Noticing the iceberg still shooting at his team, Izuku quickly hopped off of them, pushing the full power of One For All into his arm, and punched it away. The entire arena was filled up in a twister of cold air as the ice was instantly evaporated by the power of the uppercut.
Izuku took a deep breath, falling on his butt as his arm healed up.
" What a whirlwind of events to end our second event! Present mic called back as the audience struggled to sit in their seats.
" Awful pun." Aizawa chimed in.
" Seriously though, I swear I've only seen All-Might do that kinda thing!" Mic added as Izuku's team walked up to him.
"Mido, that was insane!" Uraraka called out as she hugged into his back, making the boy go red.
"W-w-well I-I had to do something; I-it wasn't slowing down." He stuttered out as he pulled the headbands off his head.
"Midoriya, why did you go for the band around Todoroki's neck, not the one you pulled into the air?" Tokoyami asked as Dark Shadow scratched her head in confusion.
Izuku looked up to the boy, smiling as he showed off a band with two knots in it, showing off the 10 million value. "My 'enhanced senses', I was able to see the tighter band which had to be due to the second knot from tearing it off me."
"Wow first place, that was incredible!" Hatsume called out. "So what did you think of my babies!?"
"They worked great, Hatsume!" Izuku smiled, looking up to Midnight.
"Alright everyone, time to announce the winners!" She called out as she walked up in front of the giant screen.
"In first place, taking back their original headband last second. It's team Midoriya!" She called out as the screen showed him and his team. Izuku waved awkwardly as his wings bristled themselves to look nice.
"In second place, after hard fought battle. It's team Bakugo!" She applauded.
"GOD DAMNIT!" Bakugo roared as he kicked the sand at his feet in rage.
"I'm third place, coming out of nowhere. It's team Shinso!" She announced, the screen showing the purple haired boy and his three teammates who all look confused. Izuku noticed the crowd cheering lessen, likely due to the leader not being from he hero course.
"And fourth place, making it in by a hair. It's team Todoroki!" She cheered, showing his team on screen.
"Shit," Todoroki sighed, looking up into the stadium audience. Despite being nearly the furthest away, he could easily make out his father glaring at him.
"Wow, what a show! What did you think mummy-man?" Zashi asked, looking over to Shota.
"The teams played well, those who placed higher simply worked harder to attain victory." He hummed out. "I don't understand why you're even calling me 'mummy-man'; I'm not wrapped up in that many bandages?"
"Still fits!" Zashi laughed out. "Well, that's all for now folks! We'll have an hour lunch break before returning to the events. See you then!"
Turning off his mic, Zashi turned to Shota. "Yo, you wanna go get some food?"
"I'm tired." Shota bluntly responded, pulling out his sleeping bag.
"Come on, man. You can't be serious?"
"Congratulations on the win, Mina." Tsu smiled, walking next to her. "I'm surprised you teamed up with Bakugo though, Kero!"
"I just went along with Kirishima, and I was only accepted as a countermeasure to Todoroki's ice." Ashido sighed. "Not like we even had a chance to go against him!"
"Iida, that speed was incredible!" Uraraka cheered, running up to him. "Where did that come from!?"
"Well, I needed a surprise to edge me ahead." Iida explained, chopping his arms. "I had been hoping to keep it hidden until later, alas Midoriya pushed me to my limits!"
"Actually… where is he?" Uraraka asked, looking around. "I swear he was here a moment ago?"
"I think I heard him get pulled away by Todoroki." Tsu chimed in.
"A-alright, Todoroki. Y-you wanted to walk about something?" Izuku asked, swinging on his heels. Todoroki had pulled him into a side exit, leaving the two boys alone staring at each other.
After a moment of Todoroki looking down with a frown, Izuku tried again. "Y-you know, if we d-don't hurry the cafeteria will get real crowded-".
"You completely destroyed me." The two-toned boy cut him off.
"What?" Izuku tried asking.
"You left me in the dust, completely blindsided." Todoroki frowned. "So much so that I broke my pledge."
Izuku stood for a moment, looking down to Todoroki's left arm. "… your left side."
"No one else felt it." Todoroki continued, staring at Izuku. "Not Iida, Kaminari, tokoyami. No one but me. In that one moment, only that moment you used your quirk against me. It makes sense, I'm the one one that saw All-Might at his full power so close up."
Izuku tensed, his brain immediately turning to the worst possible outcome of Todoroki realising that One For All is the same quirk. In all honesty he wouldn't like it if people even thought that he had copied his predecessor since that would form a connection between the two.
"So… what is… what do… do you want… what?" Izuku tried speaking, but he wasn't able to form sentences.
"Are you… are you All-Might's child?" Todoroki asked, his face showing that he wasn't joking.
"What?" Izuku asked, dumbfounded as to how he came to the conclusion.
"It makes too much sense," the boy continued. "The fact that you two meet up for lunch, even before the USJ. The fact that before starting U.A. you already copied his quirk. He filmed your acceptance letter, and he was on your timetable when it was a mystery for everyone else. Even his and your mother's attraction quirk could reasonably produce a quirk that mutates into your one."
"W-w-what?!" Izuku asked, surprised at how much effort Todoroki had put into this. "N-no that's not it at all! Gosh I wish he was my dad; my actual father is a deadbeat that could breath fire." Izuku tried explaining.
"That's not it at all, huh?" Todoroki repeated. "So, there is some kind of connection then? I suppose I won't dig too deep then."
He paused for a moment. Before kicking off the wall. "I'm supposing you know about my father, Endeavour." Izuku nodded, wondering where the conversation was going. "He's been stuck as the No.2 hero for decades now. If you're connected to All-Might then that means I have even more reason to beat you."
"W-what are you talking about?" Izuku tried asking. But was ignored.
"He made a name for himself during his early career by firing at all cylinders, but it was never enough to beat a living legend like All-Might. He knew that he couldn't beat All Might on his own, so he took more desperate actions."
"W-what's do you mean, Todoroki... What are you talking about?" Izuku asked, a bad feeling forming in his gut.
"Midoriya… you you the term 'quirk marriages', right?" The two-toned boy asked. Behind his steeled glare Izuku could see hints of despair.
"Th-they're… I know of them." Izuku croaked out.
"They came about during the second and third generations of quirks, but by All-Might's debut were completely outlawed. Of course, with enough money and influence you can get away with anything." Todoroki stared at the ground. "He didn't buy her directly but bought her family everything they needed for the rest of their lives."
As he spoke, Izuku noticed Todoroki's voice raise, being filled with more and more anger.
"He used her ice quirk to combat his own weaknesses, said he was making a hero to rise above All-Might! I'll never, never be that piece of shit's tool! Whenever I think of my mother, I can only ever see her crying, because that bastard would make all of our lives hell!"
Todoroki took a moment to calm his breath. "He never gave me a choice, trained me from the moment my quirk developed. I was never allowed to see my siblings; I wasn't allowed to play or make friends."
"T-Todoroki.. did- did he?" Izuku asked, looking at the scar around Todoroki's left eye.
The boy knew what Izuku was talking about. Sighing before explaining, "one day it became too much. My mother started screaming, calling my left side disgusting because it looked like him. She took the kettle… dumped it all onto me."
Izuku was frozen. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if there was a right thing to say.
"I don't blame her." Todoroki softly sniffed. "Even with the scar, I think I look too much like him. I'm sickening." The boy growled, looking at his left arm.
"That's why I have to beat you," Todoroki continued, looking back up into Midoriya's eyes. "I need to prove that I can make it without that bastard's quirk, Then I'll save my mother from that piece of shit."
"I…" Izuku couldn't respond. Nothing he could think of would help in the situation.
"I don't care if you can't tell me anything, you just keep being All-Might's whatever. Just don't tell anyone what I told you today." Todoroki asked as he started walking away. "Sorry for taking up your time."
"Todoroki wait!" Izuku called out, needing to say something to the boy. "I-I can't start to imagine what growing up like that must have been like. B-but I feel like I've only made it this far thanks to the people around me. All-Might, I want to be a hero like him. I know that's nothing compared to why you're doing this, but I can't lose either. Not for myself, but for everyone helping me!"
He took a step closer as Todoroki turned to look back. "Your declaration of war, I accept and I'll echo it. I'm going to beat you, but I'm also going to help you!"
Todoroki took a moment to look over Midoriya, eyes glued to the boy. "Whatever," he scoffed as he turned to leave.
Izuku let out a breath, hoping he had said the right thing. He took a moment to recollect himself, before deciding to depart too.
"Bakugo." Izuku called out to the other side of the hallway. "I know you're there; y-you better keep all of that to yourself!" He called out, before walking to get lunch.
What scared him the most was that not one did his 'Lie-detector' go off.
Making his way to the cafeteria, he noticed Iida waving over to him. Izuku made his way to the table, noticing both Tsu and Uraraka there too.
"Midoriya, good to see you finally join us!" Iida smiled. "I went ahead and got your usual lunch, a larger proportion to keep you energised!"
"Th-thanks Iida. Izuku smiled, sitting next to him.
"So Mido. What did you and Todoroki talk about?" Uraraka asked as she ate her lunch.
"Oh, j-just personal stuff." Izuku replied quietly, opening and closing his fist.
"Ooh gossip!" Uraraka glowed.
"I don't think it's stuff he can tell us, Kero." Tsu replied.
"N-no, sorry." Izuku frowned at the brunette's pout.
"Midoriya, is something wrong with your hand?" Iida asked, noticing Izuku hands clenching.
"O-oh it's nothing, m-my fingers are just buzzing." Izuku explained. "I-I think it could be a new quirk."
"Ooohhh, what is it?" Uraraka asked, leaning over to him.
"I-I'm not sure. Should I speed it up?" He asked.
"You can do that?" Tsu questioned, tilting her head.
"Y-yeah, it u-usually hurts though… but maybe my 'super regeneration' will counteract that?" He theorised.
"Well if it hurts, I highly advise against it. It could affect your later performance!" Iida spoke up.
"No no, do it do it!" Uraraka yelled, staring at his eyes.
Not being able to go against the brunette, Izuku lifted one of his hands to speed up. He started the forceful activation process and immediately felt the burning. It still caused him to hiss but thankfully felt a lot more filled than last time he tried.
After around a minute of waiting, Izuku could feel it activating. The four students watched as from Izuku's fingers, sharp metal claws appeared, looking like they teared their way out. The claws themselves were about double the width of Izuku's actual fingers and added a couple centimetres to their length ending with pointed sharp edges.
"Oh my, quite a dangerous addition to your quirks wouldn't you say?" Iida sweat dropped.
"Woah, isn't it the quirk of that guy from the cavalry battle?" Uraraka pointed out.
"Yeah, I think so." Izuku replied.
"They seem kinda stubby." Tsu chimed in.
"Th-that's probably because of the forced activation." Izuku explained. "Over the next half day or so they'll likely grow out to a more reasonable length. I'd guess maybe 4-5 cm longer."
"Well as exciting as this is, I believe we should get back to lunch. We don't want to compete in the next round hungry!" Iida exclaimed as the four got back to eating.
"Yo, endeavour. It's been a while, let's have some tea!" Toshinori exclaimed. Across from him was the number two hero, Endeavour.
The man was nearly as tall as Toshinori and had a figure just as bulky, which was impressive considering he didn't have a physical enhancement quirk. The man wore his heroics uniform, a blue body suit with orange accents that blended in with the man's fire.
"All-might…" the man growled out, looking less than happy to be talking to him.
"It's been far too long. What is it, a decade since our last chat?" Toshinori asked, walking up to the man. " Just thought I'd see how you are since I saw you walking about."
"I see." The man frowned. "Well, you've seen me now, are you satisfied? You can take your damn tea someplace else." The man gruffed, making his way to the nearby staircase.
" Come on, for someone with a fire quirk you're so cold!" Toshinori joked, hopping down the stairs to block Endeavour off. " You know, for only using half his quirk, your son's doing awfully well for himself!"
"What are you getting at!" The man nearly snarled out. The flames covering his face flaring for a moment.
" Well, I was wondering if you have any tips, you must have raised him well!" Toshinori asked, his smile starting to feel strained.
"Why would I tell you a damn thing?" Endeavour huffed.
" Well, I just want to do my best!" Toshinori softly chuckled.
"God, I hate that easy-breezy attitude of yours, it's perfectly annoying." The man growled. "Someday that boy will become a hero, I'll ensure it. He'll surpass even you… it's why I made him."
"… what…" Toshinori asked breathlessly. He wasn't a parent in any way yet he knew that saying things like that wasn't right.
"Out of my way, I need the toilet!" Endeavour snarled, shoulder checking Toshinori as he barged past.
" Enji… what have you done?"
"Alright, everyone. The break is over and to get everyone back into the mood we've got a special surprise!" Present mic announced from the tannoy. "We've got recreational events and even cheerleaders from America!"
"What the hell?…" Aizawa added. Izuku was confused at his teacher's interruption until he saw what the man must have been looking at.
Near where the cheerleaders were performing, the girls of his class had appeared with their own cheerleader outfits. It explained why he couldn't find Uraraka or Tsu, but he had no idea why they were wearing those outfits.
"aw man this is great heheh." Izuku heard Mineta snort. He looked over to find him and Kaminari giggling to themselves with their thumbs up.
"Did you two do this?" He asked, scaring the two.
"Wha-wha-no-you-I-we-what do-uh" Kaminari stuttered out at Izuku's disappointed gaze.
"Chill out, man. It's just a joke." Mineta tried laughing out but took a step back from Izuku.
"You two better apologise to them, don't you understand how embarrassing it must be to be tricked into wearing those outfits in front of who knows how many people?" Izuku said, using his 'iron claws' to make sure they understood how serious he was.
The two audibly gulped, before running off, distant tells of confirmation following. Izuku sighed, leaning against the wall as he shook his head. He looked up, catching a glimpse of Uraraka in the cheerleader outfit. "Wow, she looks great."
"I can't believe I fell for Mineta's tricks again. I'm an idiot!" Yaoyorozu groaned, hiding her face behind her pompoms. Uraraka patted her back gently to reassure her.
"I'll kill those idiots!" Jiro yelled, throwing her pompom to the ground.
"Oh come on, we might as well go along with it. The final event is up soon, and this'll stop us from stressing!" Hagakure cheered out, waving her pompoms about and jumping up.
The girls looked at her with a confused look. "Really?" Jiro asked, wanting to leave. With a smirk, Ashido leaned over to Uraraka, pointing to the other students.
"Hey, Uraraka. Looks like you've got an admirer," she giggled out. Uraraka followed her finger and saw Izuku looking their direction, looking closely they could see that he was looking straight at her, his face slightly red.
"Woohoo, UA!" Uraraka suddenly cheered, waving her arms in the air to match Hagakure's movements.
"I don't know which of them's more whipped?" Ashido giggled, leaning to Tsu.
"Tough call, but I'd say her. Kero." Tsu replied.
"Alright students, gather round!" Midnight called out. The students all made their way over to her, noticing the battle brackets on the screen behind her.
"A tournament huh… man it'll be great to finally fight on the same stage we see on tv every year!" Kirishima cheered out pumping a fist.
"It was a tournament last year? I kinda forgot." Ashido asked.
"Every year ends with a tournament." Sero explained. "The style changes, but it's always 1v1 fights."
"Y-yeah, l-last year was f-foam sword fighting." Izuku added.
"Alright kiddies!" Midnight called once everyone had arrived. "We'll be deciding the brackets via lottery. Once the matches are decided we'll do the recreational events, you can use that time to either warm up or you can join in."
"Excuse me!" A voice called out. Everyone looked over to see Ojiro stepping forwards, a defeated look on his face. "I'd… I'd like to forfeit."
"Wh- Ojiro this is a great opportunity to show off to the pros?" Hagakure pointed out.
"Yeah man, why would you wanna waste this chance?" Kaminari added.
"To be honest… I don't remember anything that happened during the last event. I know that it's meant to be my big chance, but a spot in this tournament is earned through everyone working at their full power. It wouldn't be right to cruise in without knowing how I got here.
"Come on dude, you can make it up in the fights!" Ashido called out.
"No, my price wouldn't allow it. I can stand it." Ojiro spat out.
"I would like to abstain too!" A shorter boy from the B class came forwards. "For someone to rise up without doing anything, it defeats the point of the festival!"
Everyone stood in silence, looking between the two boys and waiting for what would happen next.
" Well, this is highly unusual…" present mic added from his booth. " It all comes down to the referee's judgement."
"What naïve children." Midnight started, before waving her whip in the air, "I love it! I hereby recognise Ojiro and Shoda pulling out!" She announced, before putting a hand to her ear.
"Alright, the two last spots will be taken up by members of the fifth-place team: team Kendo." Midnight called. She looked at the team, seeing the girls whisper something to each other, before looking forwards.
"Miss midnight. We'd like to decline the offer." Kendo frowned. "We were frozen solid nearly the whole game, so we believe we don't deserve it."
"Alright then," Midnight sighed, still listening to an earpiece. "In that case, sixth place is a two way tie, so we'll use the riders from each team. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Monoma Neito!"
After getting the confirmation from the two boys, Midnight started the lottery. Izuku watched as the nameplates on the brackets spun until they slowed to a stop, showing off the match order.
Izuku looked for his name, seeing that he'd be up first. He also recognised the name of his first opponent. "Shinso…"
"You're Midoriya Izuku, right?" The bored voice of Shinso asked from behind Izuku, scaring him.
"He-whoa!" Izuku was cut off, Ojiro's tail wrapping around his arm and pulling him away.
"Midoriya, we need to talk!" He pleaded, continuing to pull Izuku to a side alley.
"Uraraka, who the hell is that?" Bakugo drawled out reading the name of his first opponent.
"Ojiro, what is it?" Izuku asked as he and Ojiro went into his waiting room for the first match.
"You can't answer him. I think it's his quirk." Ojiro responded.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Izuku continued to question.
"The moment I answered him, my memory cut off." He explained.
"So a mind control quirk? That's really powerful." Izuku theorised. "One thoughtless response and it's game over."
"Maybe not." Ojiro cut in. "When he stole one of Shinso's bands their horse bumped into me, my memories started again from there."
"So physical interference breaks his quirks connection?" Izuku asked.
"In all likelihood. But I don't know how strong, and you'll be facing him alone, so you won't be able to get any help." Ojiro pointed out. "That's all I know."
"Th-thanks Ojiro." Izuku smiled.
"No problem man, just beat him for me." Ojiro said as he made his way to the door
"Of course." Izuku replied as he was left alone, planning his match.
"Alright, that's me done." Cementoss called out, putting the finishing touches on his concrete arena.
"Thanks Cementoss. Alright everyone are you ready!!" Present mic called out from his booth "now that our stage is set, the tournament can commence!"
"The only person you can rely on is yourself! This tournament will test our students bodies, skills and very souls! Everyone get ready!" He announced.
From within the entrance tunnel, Izuku stood as he levelled his breathing. This was it, where the festival really got going. This is what he practiced for.
" Young Izuku!" The booming voice of his mentor broke Izuku from his thoughts. " You doing ok?"
"Oh, h-hi Toshi. Y-yeah, just the nerves c-catching up to me." He chuckled, activating some of his quirks to calm himself.
" That claw quirk looks new." Toshi said, gesturing the the claws coming from Izuku's fingers.
"Y-yeah, developed them at lunch. Th-they're still growing out, but they're getting there." Izuku explained, holding up the sharp blades for Toshi to see before switching again, now morphing his face to a more angular one.
" My boy, look at me." Toshi calmly asked, kneeling so that he was eye level with the boy. He rested his arms on Izuku's shoulders, giving the boy a gentle nod. " Izuku, you will do great. I was speaking to your mother at lunch and she's unbelievably proud of you… so am I."
"Th-thank you, Toshi." Izuku sniffed, wiping away a tear.
" You're really coming into your own, my boy. To be honest, when I first gave you my quirk, I was worried you'd emulate me too much, but when I look at you, I don't see a miniature me. I see a fine young hero in training." Toshi smiled, putting Izuku's head.
Hearing present mic announce the first battle Toshi buffed up, giving his successor a great smile. "Remember to smile, young Midoriya! The most powerful people are those who can smile in the face of adversity, never forget that." The man laughed as he wished Izuku luck.
Izuku quickly hopped from one foot to the other, psyching himself up.
This is it.
Izuku can do this.