"Alright ladies, gentlemen and anyone in between, let's hear you roar!" Present mic cheered, hyping up the crowd. "Let's say hi to our first fighters!"
" First off! We have the boy that's dominated the first two events, the boy that can do anything! MIDORIYA IZUKU!" Mic announced as Izuku exited the tunnel.
" Facing him, the dark horse that nobody saw coming. Give it up for SHINSO HITOSHI! " Mic called out as Izuku saw the other boy appear. Izuku slowly made his way up the steps into the arena, stretching his arms to loosen himself up.
"Alright boys!" Midnight called out from her podium next to the ring. "The rules are simple! You beat your opponent via ring out, rendering them immobile or making them say 'I give'. Feel free to wound, we have recovery girl on hand for a reason. However no lethal attacks, that's an instant disqualification!"
"Heh, 'I give'... you understand that, don't you?" Shinso asked dryly. Looking straight at Izuku. "This is really just a battle of hearts. If you believe in your future, there's no point in caring about how you got there."
"Are you ready boys!" Midnight called, getting a nod from them both. "START!
"How long do you think it'll take that chimp to realise the mistake he made?"
"What did you just call him!" Izuku yelled out, before he felt his body go limp.
"Game, set, match." Shinso smirked, stepping towards Izuku.
" Uh, the match has started. Why aren't they fighting?" Izuku could just make out the voice of present mic. It felt like he was watching the world through a screen rather than his eyes.
" That's why I've been against our entrance exam for years." Aizawa added. "I pulled up the fighters' files. Shinso Hitoshi, applied for the heroics course, but due to his quirk being non-physical, he wasn't able to secure enough points. Yet he's a force to be reckoned with."
"You know, you really are blessed, Midoriya." Shinso started, walking up to Midoriya in the centre of the arena. "Walk out of bounds."
Within Midoriya's mind, he could hardly hear a thing until Shinso's command boomed through. He saw himself start to turn and walk away, unable to do anything.
"Izuku?" Izuku heard. He turned around, seeing Yoichi and Banjo looking over at him. They were both sitting in chairs that looked like they belonged in a cinema. He was confused, unsure of what was going on.
" Hey, little dude. What are you doing in here?"Banjo asked, hopping out of his seat and jogging up to him.
"W-wha?" Izuku started speaking before what felt like a drill tore into his head.
"Look, he's stopped." Yoichi pointed out. Both Izuku and banjo looked back to the screen to see Izuku's body just standing there. "I think it could be the 'super regeneration' trying to fight back." Yoichi theorised, walking up to join Izuku.
"Listen, I think I have a plan. But it'll hurt for a second." Yoichi said, instantly getting a nod of approval from Izuku.
"Why aren't you moving!" Shinso growled out. Izuku had been a couple of steps from the edge of the ring when the boy had stopped. He could still feel Izuku under his control, though it felt frayed. He didn't understand, his quirk always worked perfectly.
"Go, move!" He tried commanding again. Instead of stepping forwards, Izuku's arm moved, surrounded by green lightning that caused a whirlwind that blowed Shinso back.
Getting up, Shinso looked at Izuku, who was holding up his twisted hand that quickly healed up.
" INCREDIBLE! Midoriya has broken from his spell!"Present mic exclaimed in shock.
"Wh-what, no that's not meant to happen." Shinso stuttered, getting back to his feet. "You're not meant to be able to break out!?!"
'I can't waste this chance !' Izuku thought, planning the quickest way to take Shinso down.
"That much power at your disposal, count me jealous!" Shinso yelled, trying to get Izuku to talk again. "There's no magical door to success for me, not with this quirk! Not that someone like you would understand."
Izuku grit his teeth, understanding too well what Shinso was talking about. He powered up One For All to 5%, shooting at Shinso.
"No, someone born with a quirk like yours would never understand!" Shinso yelled before being grabbed by Izuku and instantly flipped out of bounds.
"MIDORIYA IZUKU ADVANCES TO ROUND TWO!" Midnight roared, and the crowd went wild.
" What a match to start us off with! You both fought well boys you should be proud!" Mic called from his booth.
"Shit!" Shinso spat, getting up and starting to walk off. Izuku paused for a second, deliberating on Shinso's words during their battle.
"Hey Shinso, wait!" Izuku called, running up to the boy.
"What. You won the match, isn't that enough?" Shinso scowled, turning back to face Izuku. "Do you have to gloat too?"
"N-no, Shinso I…" Izuku paused, making sure to word his thoughts right. "… I, I understand what you went through. A-at least I think I do."
"Oh really?" Shinso glared, steeping closer to Izuku. "Tell me then, were you muzzled up, called a villain? Were you blamed for everything other students did wrong? Were you given detentions for speaking to people? We're you!?" He yelled, his pent-up rage coming out.
"Close enough… I was the only student given detentions for trouble, even if I wasn't involved. I was shoved in lockers, pushed down stairs, tripped, and had my bag destroyed more times than I can count. My grades were changed so that I barely passed! The person I thought was my best friend told me to kill myself, all because I was quirkless for the first 17 years of my god damn life!" Izuku spat, a couple tears spilling out.
"O-oh," Shinso stuttered out, pausing in his steps.
"Y-yeah," Izuku breathed out, sniffing. "And it didn't get better once I got my quirk. Instead, everyone ran away, saying I'd steal their quirks, the things that made them special..." Izuku stopped, sighing before looking up to Shinso, a small smile forming on his face. "B-but UA… th-this place the best thing to happen to me."
Izuku paused, turning to look up at where his class was sitting. He used his 'enhanced senses' to get a closer look, seeing Iida, Uraraka and his classmates cheering for him. A soft smile formed on his face.
"Here I've found friends, ones that care about me. They don't care about my quirklessness, or my new quirk taking away their uniqueness. A-an I have teachers that actually think I can d-do well, they push me to become better. It's… more than I could've asked for."
Izuku turned back to Shinso, the smile on his face wide. "This place has been good for me, I think it can be good for you too!" He gestured up to the stands, letting Shinso hear what everyone was saying.
"Yeah Shinso! You had that pompous hero course kid on the ropes!"
"That was great, dude! You were so close!"
"You'll get 'em next time, man. I swear!"
Shinso couldn't believe it. Even after losing, the people in his classes were still cheering for him. They sounded proud. If he listened close enough, he could even hear what some of the nearby heroes were saying.
"Damn, a quirk like that and the kid's put in Gen Ed?"
"I know! I'd kill to have a quirk like that!"
Izuku let Shinso soak in the praise, before stepping beside him, them both looking up at the crowd.
"Wh-why do you want to be a hero, Shinso?" He asked.
The taller boy took a moment to think, his brain still taking in the crowd's cheers for him. "Well… you can't help what your heart longs for, can you?"
"Heh… you're not wrong about that." Izuku chuckled back.
After moments pause, Shinso turned to Izuku, "… even just getting to the third round qualifies me for course change consideration. Even if not now, I will get into the heroics course. And when I do, I'll show you just how much of a hero I can be!"
"I'll be waiting!" Izuku smiled, before his eyes momentarily glazed over. Shinso smirked, letting his hold on Izuku break.
"Keep it up and I'll pull the rug from under you in no time!" He laughed, making his way into the tunnel. "Make sure not to lose too badly, you'll make me look bad too!"
"That purple-hair brat, I can practically feel his hatred from here!" Shigaraki growled gleefully. "I bet he'd make a great villain!" He turned to his sensei, hoping for agreements.
" He would've…" the large man started, a look on his face that Shigaraki hadn't seen before. " Though it seems that young Izuku has gotten to him first." He finished, gesturing to the screen.
Shigaraki looked back. On the screen was the purple haired brat and that cheat Midoriya talking. Shigaraki couldn't tell what they were talking about, but the boy seemed a lot less angry. Growling, Shigaraki slammed his hand down on the table, decaying it.
Sighing, Kurogiri used his warp to make the dust disappear as a new table appeared through a second portal. All For One used a telekinesis quirk to correct it's position as he put his miniature tv on it.
" Please try not do that again, Tomura. Those tables are extremely high quality and very expensive."
" For our next fight, the first competitor is 1-B's resident copycat! MONOMA NEITO!"
"H-hey guys, what did I miss?" Izuku asked as he walked into his classes seating area. He saw Iida call him over and saw a seat beside the boy.
"Nothing much, Kaminari's fight is about to start." Iida informed him. "Your match was very interesting by the way."
"Yeah, it took longer than I thought it would, Kero." Tsu added, leaning over Iida to see Izuku.
"Sh-Shinso was a tough opponent," Izuku said, smiling. "I can't wait what he does in the future."
" His opponent, a student I've seen be used as an actual charger. 1-A's KAMINARI DENKI!"
"So Midoriya, you're into analysis right?" Jiro asked, leaning forward to his row. "How do you think this match is gonna go?"
"W-well, as powerful as Kaminari is, I-it'll be a tough battle." Izuku started, leaning his head in his hand as he leans forward in thought.
"Really? That guy doesn't look like he has any way to defend himself?" Uraraka chimed in.
"W-well i overhead some of his and B-Bakugo's battle, h-he has a copy quirk." Izuku explained. "H-he probably h-has quirk made to d-defend a-against electricity… the question is does he have a limit to his quirks, or maybe something like a time limit? I wonder if he can use multiple at once?…"
"Midoriya, I apologise for interrupting, but we cannot understand what you're saying." Iida said, bumping Izuku's shoulder to break him out of his muttering spree.
"O-oh, sorry…" Izuku chuckled, embarrassed.
"START!" Midnight called out.
"Well then, greenie. Let's see if your hypothesis is right." Jiro leaned back, getting comfortable as the competitors started making their way to each other.
Izuku leaned in as he noticed Kaminari start to spark, his eyes focused on Monoma. The boys hair started to change, going from its natural blonde to a darker green. Not as dark as Izuku's but dark enough to make it blend in with the grass at the edge of the arena.
As Kaminari called out his attack Monoma paused, his hair shooting out in large ropes. Upon a closer look using his 'enhanced senses' Izuku noticed that Monoma's hair had turned into spiked vines. The vines curved out, creating a wall between the students.
As Kaminari's attack died down, Monoma quickly let his hair turn to normal as he instead grew two curved horns on the top of his head. They shot out, hooking onto the now stupefied Kaminari's arms and dragging him out the arena.
" Monoma Neito advances !" Midnight called out.
"Damn, guess you were right." Jiro hummed as they watched Kaminari get guided off the arena.
"Guess you'll be going against that guy next, huh Midoriya?" Kirishima added.
"Seems so, I-I wonder what kind of quirks he'll use?" Izuku started muttering before Iida stood up.
"Well, my match is after Todoroki's, so I believe I should go warm up. Wish me luck!" He smiled, starting to walk away.
"Ooh, Iida wait up!" Uraraka called, jumping up. "I was thinking of getting drinks. Do you want one Mido?" She asked, looking over at him.
"O-oh, j-just some water, t-thanks Uraraka." He smiled, her nodding before turning to catch up to Iida. Izuku took a moment to calm himself, his blush disappearing. He never understood why being around Uraraka made him blush so much.
"Man, when are you gonna ask her out?" Kirishima asked, leaning down and hooking his arm round Izuku's neck. "Seriously you two are so cute together."
"Yeah, the lovey eyes you two make when you think no one's looking is so cute!" Hagakure squealed.
"Wh-wh-what?!" Izuku yelped, his eyes widening comically large at the shock and bluntness. In the back of his mind, he decided that he should make sure to remember to test why 'face morph' activates on instinct like that sometimes.
"Come on, are you telling me you haven't thought about holding her in your arms, gazing at the stars together?" Ashido chimed in, holding herself in her arms and making kissy faces.
"W-w-wh-wha… n-n-no-no, n-no-not t-th-th-tha-that e-e-ex-exact t-t-th-thing." Izuku stuttered out, trying to get his blush back to normal. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about Uraraka in any kind of romantic situation. After all, she was the most wonderful, kind, pretty and thoughtful person he'd ever met. But he knew his feeling were probably due to her being the first person that showed him any kindness.
"Maybe not that, but he's definitely thought of being with her, he blushes way more around her than anyone else. Kero." Tsu added nonchalantly, making Izuku's blush come back even redder.
" Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our third match of the day!" Present mic roared, getting everyone's attention. " Our first contender's been a powerhouse so far, he's so cool he'll freeze you on the spot, it's 1-A's TODOROKI SHOTO!"
Izuku watched as the boy entered into the arena. The he has an expression that made Izuku worry.
" His challenger. He's put up an excellent showing so far, but his plain expression makes it hard to remember his feats. Also from class 1-A, SERO HANTA!"
" Don't insult the students." Aizawa chimed in as the crowd cheered for the two boys.
The two made their way to the arena, bowing to each other before midnight explained the rules to them.
"Battle start!"
Sero made the first move, quickly jumping to his right as he shot out a strand of tape. He didn't get a moment longer however, as Todoroki sent a massive glacier at the boy, encasing him and half of the stadium in ice. Izuku dived towards Tsu, pulling her down as a spike shot at them.
" And in a single move Todoroki completely encases Sero!" Mic exclaims.
" S-Sero, can you m-move?" Midnight asked.
"N-n-n-no…" Sero shivered out, thankful that his face was left uncovered.
" Sero hanta is immobilised, Todoroki Shoto continues to round two." Aizawa grunts, while you could hear present mic try to warm himself up.
"Oh my god, what happened? Is everyone ok?" Uraraka asked, nearly dropping the drinks as she walks back into the booth to see it overshadowed by ice.
"T-T-Todoroki went a l-little overboard" Kirishima responded, standing up to check on everyone.
"Oh my god, Midoriya!" Jiro yelled, looking down to where Izuku dragged Tsu. He sat up, shaking his head slightly as he refocused on what was happening. He felt a cold sting on his arm, so he looked down to see the tip of an ice spike lodged in his arm, coming out the other side.
"Oh…" he murmured, before looking up. "Is everyone else ok?"
"Are you kidding dude, you're the one that we should be worried about!" Sato yelled, trying to get closer.
"D-don't worry, I got this," he hummed, still feeling slightly fuzzy. He got back into his feet, grabbing the wide end of the icicle and pulling it out. He heard a few gasps behind him as he did it, but payed them no attention. Not even a moment later, his 'super regeneration' started pulling his arm back together.
Izuku sighed, looking through the hole as it healed up. Out the other end he could see Todoroki start to walk away, just having freed Sero. Despite his recklessness, Izuku couldn't help but notice that Todoroki looked extremely sad.
He needed to do something, but what?
"Oh thank you young man, would you like a homemade chocolate?" An elderly woman asked as a man in a suit of armour held an orange and white cat out. The cat immediately jumped off of him, purring as it rubbed itself against the lady's leg.
"No thank you, miss. Your smile is all the reward I need!" The man replied, a smile evident by his tone.
"Take one anyway, I remember when all heroes were as kind as you." The lady sighed, handing him a small paper bag tied together to hold the chocolates. The armoured hero sighed playfully before laughing as he took it, wishing the woman a good day as he walked away.
Continuing his patrol, Ingenium took off his helmet, is blue hair waving out as he shook it out of his eyes. Iida Tensei looked about, smirking before pulling out a chocolate and throwing it up, catching it in his mouth.
"Mmm, Tenya's gonna love these!" He bummed, happy with the sweet taste. He put the bag into a small pouch in his uniform before putting his hand to a radio in his ear.
"This is Ingenium, status report?" He asked, continuing his patrol route.
" Copy that." A voice at the other side of the radio chimed in. " Your brother passed the first round, but his opponent from the support course made a fool of him then stepped out."
"Ouch, Tenya's not gonna be happy." Tensei winced, Looking around. "Guess I'll need to let him know that-" he paused, noticing a glint come from an alleyway.
He took a step towards the alleyway. Now that he was closer he could hear a slight scuffle. "Come in command, I think I have a disturbance, send backup and police just in case." He whispered as he came up to the side of the building.
He peered round the corner, looking into the alley. Although it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, he noticed a single figure landing from a second-floor balcony. He couldn't make out the figures facial features, but he noticed a red scarf and headband, along with twin katanas on the figures back. That alone clued Tensei into who he had just found.
"Hero killer!" Tensei called out, quietly activating his quirk as he made himself more visible. "Stand down and come quietly, I don't want to cause a scene.
The figure turned, his eyes practically glowing in the shade of the alley. Although Tensei still couldn't make out his features, he could tell that he was being analysed.
"Turbo hero: Ingenium." The figure spoke, his voice raspy yet smooth at the same time. "I have no qualms with you. You are not a true hero, yet you aren't yet tainted by the darkness. Leave now any you shall be spared."
"What kind of hero would I be if I let a murderer like you get away," Ingenium stated, putting his helmet on as his engines roared, screaming to let loose and shoot forward, yet he waited for the perfect moment.
"Don't mistake my kindness for weakness," the hero killer hummed. "Just because you aren't tainted by modern heroics does not abstain you from my blades of judgement."
"Don't think I'll let you take me down so easily!" Tensei growled, finally letting his quirk go. He shot forward, too fast for the hero killer to do anything except block the incoming blow. Tensei shot past him, only scuffing the hero killers forearm. Not enough to take him out.
Using a dumpster to jump off of, Tensei made a quick turn to go for a second hit. His eyes widened however, as by the time he turned the hero killer had moved, sword in hand.
Trying to stay clear of the hero killer's katana, Tensei made his way to the other wall in the alley. He jumped up, wall running a couple steps to get extra height, and lunged over the hero killer swinging to kick the side of his head.
The hero killer moved swifter than expected, his katana slicing into the gaps in Tensei's suit.
"Ah shit!" Tensei groaned as he came to a stop. Taking a moment to inspect it he saw a small pool of blood starting to form. Thankfully the cut didn't feel too deep, but it would probably keep him off his feet for the next month or so.
"Impressive, I don't remember the last hero that actually managed to land an attack on me." The hero killer mused as he turned to face the hero. Tensei looked up to see the man raise his blade, tongue wrapping around the end of it.
"Alas, all those who face my blade shall fall." The hero killed smiled as his tongue left the blade. Suddenly Tensei's body started feeling heavier, and he fell into his stomach. Tensei quickly tried to move away from the approaching villain but found himself to be unable to move anything below his neck.
"You fought valiantly, be proud that you are worthy to keep your life," the hero killer exclaimed bending down and using his blade to tilt the hero's face towards him. "However, if you step out of line, be ready to be culled."
Tensei ignored the villain's words, instead inspecting the man's face now that it was visible. His eyes were a worn white with streaks of red, either due to fatigue or a natural hue. He wore a mask that covered his eyes and nose, although there was a distinct lack of protrusion where the nose should be.
His face, along with his fighting style and posture all started ringing bells in the hero's head.
"S… Stendhal?" The hero breathed out.
"…what did you just call me?" The hero killed growled out, changing his handle on his katana to appear more threatening.
"…you're Stendhal, aren't you? Nobody's seen you in years." Tensei gasped out, still trying to get his body to move. "What the hell happened to you; didn't you want to fight for justice?"
"I am not Stendhal… not anymore!" The hero killer growled. "My name is stain! Killer of those that abuse their power."
The hero killer stood up, walking out of Tensei's field of view. The hero tried to turn his head to see what Stain was doing, but with his body still paralysed he couldn't manage it.
"It's a shame. You would've made it far in your heroics career." The hero killer started to hum. "However, such a simple mistake has led to your downfall. Those who know my past cannot be left to hunt me."
"W-wait, what are you-" Tensei tried asking,
"I do my best to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but this is unavoidable. Today will mark the end of your career!" Stain yelled, then Tensei felt searing pain in his back. The pain went all the way through into his stomach, the hero felt like throwing up. His breath started to shorten, and he could taste iron in his mouth.
"I wish your soul peace, and your-" the hero killer paused, hearing sirens approaching in the background. "It appears that our time has been cut short. At least you won't be coming after me." He growled, running off to the other side of the alley.
Tensei started coughing onto the pavement, and he noticed a red puddle forming as he did so. His finger started to tingle, though the pain was overpowering any other sensation.
"Ingenium, Ingenium where are you!" A voice called out from the street. Tensei tried moving, and found himself able to move his arm to push himself up.
"I-I'm," he stopped, coughing up more blood. "I'm… I'm I'm here." He rasped out. Finally seeing a stab wound going through his stomach.
As a couple officers and a sidekick ran into the hallway, all Tensei could focus on was the fact that he couldn't feel his legs.
" Next up, our first contestant is the ultimate shield, 1-A's KIRISHIMA EIJIRO!" Present mic roared.
"Well, my match is next, I should go warm up." Uraraka smiled, though Izuku could tell there was uncertainty hiding behind it.
"Ok, good luck. Kero." Tsu replied.
" Against him 1-B's ultimate shield, TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU!"
Izuku watched her walk off, knowing that anyone facing Bakugo is going to be disadvantaged. He thought for a moment, humming to himself before getting an idea. He pulled out his notebook, looking through the pages for an empty page and started getting to work.
Uraraka sat down in the waiting room, closing her eyes and trying to meditate until she was called. It wasn't working very well so she was happy when the door opened, giving her a distraction.
"Oh, Uraraka. It's just you in here." Iida smiled. "Are you feeling ok?"
"Y-yeah." She answered, furrowing her brows. "Nervous though aha."
"Yes, your match is against that Bakugo fellow." Iida hummed, coming to sit down next to her.
"Yeah. And I'm pretty scared." Uraraka sighed. "I mean we saw him battle at the start of the year, and he used to bully Mido. I don't want to let him down by losing."
"Uraraka, you couldn't possibly do that." Iida assured her. "But remember, what Midoriya would say is important is winning this battle for yourself, not for anyone else. He believes in you, we both do!"
"Thank you Iida." She smiled, looking up at him. "But it's just that-"
"Uraraka!" Izuku called out, slamming the door open.
"M-Mido! Aren't you gonna watch Kirishima's match?" Uraraka asked, her cheeks going slightly red.
"Don't worry, I'm having it recorded at home so I'll be able to analyse it later," Izuku smiled. "What's important is making sure you're ready!"
"It should be fine, should it not?" Iida asked. "Wouldn't even someone as uncouth as Bakugo go easier on a female opponent?
"Not at all," Izuku replied, "everyone's giving it their all, and Bakugo especially wouldn't even think of not going all out to win it all." Izuku turned to Uraraka, giving her a soft smile. "B-but you've helped me out so many t-times. So, I-I've thought of some way I could h-help you." He explained, handing over his notebook.
"Oh, this looks like some good information on Bakugo's style and counters to it," Iida muttered as he read the open page.
"Thank you Mido," Uraraka smiled "but I think I'll be on."
"A-are you sure?" Izuku asked, knowing how ruthless Bakugo can be.
"Yeah. You're amazing, Mido. I know I said it's good to rely on friends during the cavalry battle, but if I can't beat one man without relying on you then what kind of hero would I be."
She stood up, smiling at Izuku as she stretched her arms. "I've got this, Mido. Let's meet at the finals!"
"Well said!" Iida clapped with a big smile. "Midoriya, I think we should leave Uraraka to prepare." He said, making his way to the door.
Izuku took a moment, before hugging Uraraka. "You'll do great, I just know it!"
"I-uh-uh-th-thanks." Uraraka stammered, her blush becoming more pronounced. Izuku let go of her, giving Uraraka a smile before joining Iida as they made their way back to the 1-A booth.
" Alright ladies and gentlemen. We now have our final match of the first round, get ready to meet your competitors!" Present mic cheered and the crowd roared.
"First up is the blonde bomber of gen-Ed, the only thing louder than his explosions is his attitude. Welcome 1-C's BAKUGO KATSUKI!" Mic roared.
Uraraka looked up, watching as Bakugo entered the arena. His eyes were glued to her, scowling like she was a fly that wouldn't go away,
" His opponent. A girl so powerful she'll send you up into the stratosphere! From class 1-A and the person I'm routing to win, URARAKA OCHAKO!"
"You're meant to be impartial ." Aizawa groaned as the crowd cheered. Uraraka stepped up, walking into the ring of the arena, a determined frown on her face. She knew that this would be a lot tougher than any of the heroics training she's done.
"So, round face. You're the one that floats shit, right?" Bakugo asked, not stopping his glare. "If you're gonna withdraw, I'd do it now. An 'ouch' during the match won't cut it."
After a moment waiting to see if Uraraka would respond, Bakugo's scowl turns into a sharp smirk. "Good, that means I can show that damn freak Deku how shitty he is by beating his bitch to a pulp."
"What the fuck is wrong with you." Uraraka asked, disgusted.
"What? That freak has it coming." Bakugo scoffed, stretching.
"Battle start!" Midnight called out.
With a pounce, Uraraka moved first, shooting towards bakugo while staying low. Bakugo quickly moved to intercept her, his fists starting to spark. Remembering the first battle practice they did and Mido's moves against their opponent, Uraraka leaned to the right. She slightly underestimated the blast however, as she was quickly covered in a layer of smoke as she felt the heat of the blast.
"Oh Jesus, he really doesn't hold back…" one person from the crowd started muttering.
"And against a girl too!" Another one commented.
"Heh," Bakugo scoffed, not seeing his opponent come out from the smoke. He raised his fist, it already sparking again. "Now, you die."
Taking a step in, Bakugo notices a shadow moving and smirks. Sending his hand careening towards it, he lets loose another blast. he pauses when he doesn't get any reaction. Looking down, me finds that the shadow was just a floating gym jacket. "Huh?"
"HYAH! Uraraka yelled, appearing from the smoke behind Bakugo. She jumped higj, aiming to get on top of him to use her quirk. For a moment she thought she had him, until the blondes open palm swept towards her, unleashing a large blast that threw her back.
" What moves! Uraraka made her jersey float as a decoy then used the smoke to sneak behind her opponent! Unluckily Bakugo's reaction speed is just too much for her to handle." Mic called out.
Undaunted, Uraraka crouched down, sprinting in for another try.
"Really, round face. Is that the best you got!" Bakugo roared, blasting her away yet again. "No wonder Deku chose you, you're just as delusional as he is!"
Bakugo kept blasting, his temper rising at the fact that Uraraka was trying the same attack over and over again. Slowly the entire arena became filled with smoke, the only visible areas being spots that the two competitors clashed.
"Come on you bitch, face me!" Bakugo roared, swinging his arms to encompass the entire area in front of him in an explosion. The blast cleared the area of smoke, revealing Uraraka on her back, clinging to her arm.
"Found you." He grinned, walking towards her. Uraraka quickly pushed against the floor, standing up with a wince. She grabbed her arm again, gritting her teeth as she touched a sore spot from the last explosion.
"Oh Jesus, don't you think he's kinda going too far?" One person in the crowd called out.
"Yeah, what kinda hero keeps attacking like that!" Another yelled. "If you're so much stronger then knock her out of bounds!"
Soon, the entire crowd started booing for Bakugo, who looked up at them with a scowl before turning back to his opponent.
" Aw jeez, I'm kinda agreeing with the crowd here." Present mic commented before being elbowed by Aizawa.
" Who started this, are you a hero? If you are then you better consider hanging up your cape! I'm disappointed at all the heroes that are judging this fight purely based off the gender of one of the competitors. Uraraka is a fierce fighter, and Bakugo is obviously recognising it. He's refusing to let his guard down for an 'east' knockout." Aizawa growled out in explanation.
"I'm surprised that Aizawa would go so far as to defend Bakugo." Iida hummed as they watched Uraraka dodge another blast from Bakugo.
"W-well he's not exactly wrong," Izuku commented. "It's not like Uraraka doesn't have her own plan."
"What do you mean?" Iida asked.
"Haven't you seen it?" Izuku questioned. Getting a look of confusion from Iida, he pointed up.
"Are you done yet, round face?" Bakugo huffed, staring at Uraraka now that the smoke had started disappearing.
"Thanks Bakugo," she smirked, wiping a bit of blood off her cheek. "Thanks for not letting your guard down!" She yelled, putting her hands together.
"Huh?" Bakugo hummed, deciding to look up. Above him was a collection of large and small rocks that had started to drop, that's when he realised that her staying low had been the setup to her trap.
" WOAH! A meteor shower!" Present mic roared as they watched nearly an entire stage worth of rocks quickly fell towards the ground.
Uraraka let out a breath, thankful that her plan was working. She gave a slight smile, finally feeling like she has a chance to move to the next round.
"Not so fast, bitch!" Bakugo roared, lifting both of his hands, one supporting the other. With a yell, he unleashed an explosion that covered nearly the entire arena, destroying all of the fallen boulders.
"Heh, should've known you had something up your sleeve…" Bakugo grunted. He turned round to face Uraraka, a scowl on his face.
"OH MY GOD! In a single hit Bakugo has completely unravelled Uraraka's secret gambit!" Mic roared in excitement.
"Finally, that was a move worth getting serious for!" Bakugo grinned; his hands ready to blast him at Uraraka.
The girl tried steadying herself, feeling her legs wobble slightly. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to go on for but swore to make sure she won.
"LETS GO!" Bakugo snarled, shooting through the air at Uraraka. She tried to take a step towards him but felt her legs buckle, dropping her to the ground.
It didn't stop Bakugo however, as the boy send an explosive powered fist into her cheek, sending her sprawling onto her back, her eyes rolling shut. Bakugo a quickly got to his feet, pausing to find his opponent passed out.
" Is Uraraka out, is this the round over?!" Present mic questioned with anticipation oozing in his voice.
"Oi! Get up, our fight isn't over!" Bakugo growled. Not getting a response, he send a kick into the girls stomach. "I said get up!
"Uraraka is unconscious, Bakugo forwards!" Midnight yelled, running up to the pair to get Bakugo off of her.
"I said get the fuck up, I'm not done with you!" Bakugo roared, grabbing her by the shirt, before punching her in the face again. Her head hit the ground with a resounding thud.
"Bakugo I said the match is over!" Midnight hissed, ripping her sleeve open to activate her quirk.
"I don't give a… flying… fuck…" Bakugo whispered out as Midnights gas hit him, making the boy fall unconscious.
" Well ladies and gentlemen. I guess that's the final match of the first round over." Mic announced, his voice muted due to the savagery he had witnessed.
In a gust of wind, Izuku appeared next to Uraraka slowly lifting her into his arms.
"Midoriya what are you doing? The med-bots can take her to recovery girl." Midnight asked as she reached them.
"I-I-I can get her there faster." Izuku quickly rushed out, inspecting the back of her head. As his fingers left her skull, he saw them covered in blood. "I can help heal her too." He explained, giving her a gentle kiss to activate his 'heal'.
After ensuring that her head has healed enough, Izuku spread his 'angels wings' and shot into the entrance tunnel, making his way to the infirmary.
" Well folks, time for a 15 minute break while we clean up, then we'll begin the quarter finals." Present mic sighed as two med-bots slowly carted Bakugo away.
Chapter 14
Bursting down Recover girl's door, Izuku swiftly landed in the room, gently placing Uraraka on one of the beds.
"How is she? Did you heal anything?" Recovery girl asked, quickly appearing at the other side of the bed to inspect her.
"U-uh-uh, th-there w-was a w-wound on th-the back of her h-head." Izuku quickly stuttered out. Recovery girl gently turned Uraraka's head, inspecting it before going moving to her arms and chest.
"Alright, you did a good job. Her skull seems mostly healed, but she'll likely have a headache for a day or two." Recovery girl explained, finishing her inspection of Uraraka. She leant in, giving the girl a kiss as her quirk activated. Uraraka groaned slightly as her broken bones and burns healed but stayed unconscious.
"W-will she be ok?" Izuku asked, tears starting to drop from his eyes.
"Yes. She'll feel sore for a few days, but otherwise she'll be fine." The elderly hero explained to the boy, writing notes onto a sheet of paper.
"O-ok, good…" Izuku sighed, sitting down on the seat next to her. He still couldn't believe that Bakugo had done that. Going after Izuku himself was one thing, but attacking someone else because they knew Izuku was way too far. The fact that it was Uraraka Bakugo used made it even worse. And Izuku knew that it's why Bakugo did it, to get to Izuku.
"My boy!" The yell of Toshi came as he rushed into the room, quickly deflating as the door closed. He quickly made his way to Izuku's side, resting his hands on Izuku's shoulders reassuringly. " I came straight away. Recovery girl sent me a message saying she's ok?"
"Y-yeah, Sh-She'll be ok." Izuku sniffed out, holding Uraraka's hand in his. "Sh-she'll j-just be sore a-and have a h-headache f-for a while."
" You did good, my boy. Getting her here as quickly as you did could've saved her from more severe damage." Toshi whispered, noticing Izuku's worry and self-doubt.
"I-I just c-can't believe he-he'd think that this w-was ok…" Izuku sniffed, squeezing her hand a little tighter.
" Listen…" Toshi shifted, pulling up Recovery Girls desk chair to sit next to Izuku. " We weren't going to tell you this until it started, but Aizawa, Nedzu, Naomasa and I are setting up a case against your old school district, the local police there and Bakugo specifically."
"Wha-" Izuku paused, looking up at his mentor. "B-but that's so much work, I-I'm not worth all that.
" Izuku, my boy. Try not think of this for yourself, I know that'll make you feel bad." Toshi chuckled. " Instead think of all the other children with weak, 'villainous' or no quirks that they're affecting. Because you choose to speak up against their hatred and indifference, so many other children that are suffering can be saved."
Izuku took a moment, wiping away his tears as he took in Toshi's words. He knew the man was right, but still thought that doing this all because of him is too much.
"The original plan was to strike them all at once, to stop any one group from having a chance to clear any evidence. Although, due to Bakugo's aggressions we just witnessed today, I am thinking of going after Bakugo today."
"W-what w-would that mean?" Izuku asked, looking back at Uraraka.
"Well I'd start by pulling him from the tournament, frankly I don't know how that wasn't a disqualification." Toshi huffed, imagining that Nedzu has something to do with it. " Then I'd leave for a while, making a statement about his transgression and why I'm personally going after one student."
"W-what would you say?" Izuku asked. The only reason that he could think of would be revealing their connection of mentor and student.
" I'll be honest, the public reason is a half lie, I'm omitting anything that could form a connection. Although it would reveal that you are a late bloomer. " Toshi explained, smiling sympathetically at Izuku. " I would reveal my own past as a late bloomer, and tell the press how hearing of your torments due to your quirkless childhood sparked personal interest, which led to the investigation."
"W-what? Izuku yelled out. "I-I thought the w-world was meant to think you're natural born?!"
" Izuku, I can be a late bloomer and still natural born. There was one lady that didn't know she had a quirk until her late 20's when she created a hole that dug right through the earth's crust."
Izuku chuckled at the image of that happening, then taking a minute to think of what to do. He knew that Bakugo had to face consequences for what he did to Uraraka, and if he was going to be charged anyway why wouldn't it be better to do it now? But something about it didn't sound right to Izuku, the punishment didn't fit the crime.
"T-Toshi, I don't want B-Bakugo pulled from the tournament." Izuku said, looking at his mentor. In his eyes, Toshi could see a strong sense of determination, the kind that he was used to seeing on his successor.
" Why is that, my boy?" He asked, wanting to know what other idea his successor had come up with.
"H-he did it to… Bakugo went too far with Uraraka because he wanted to get to me, because he thinks he's above everyone else." Izuku spat out, squeezing Uraraka's hand again gently. "W-well I think the best thing to d-do is show him that h-he's not at the top of the food chain."
"I'm going to beat Bakugo in the finals, and I'll make it easy!"
Toshi looked at Izuku as the boy made his vow. On a surface glance the pledge could seem arrogant, but Toshi could see the true meaning. He wasn't making it for himself, to fulfil some ego fantasy. Izuku made the vow to avenge his friend's pride. Toshi couldn't be happier.
" Of course, my boy!" Toshi smiled, looking down at his watch. "You should get going, the next round will start soon! You're going first, aren't you?"
"Huh? O-oh yeah!" Izuku helped, looking at the clock on the wall. He gave one last look at Uraraka, living her a small kiss on the forehead for good luck.
"Get well soon ." He whispered, before running out the door.
" Heh… you've found yourself a good man,"Toshi chuckled, speaking to Uraraka as he decided to stay with her in Izuku's stead.
"And with Kirishima Eijiro winning the tie breaker we now have all our contestants for the second round! Matches shall begin shortly." Present mic's voice boomed from the break area.
"So, what did you guys think?" Mt. lady asked, chewing on a meat skewer.
"There were some interesting matches, that's for sure." Death arms huffed, leaning back as he ignited his cigarette.
"Can you not do that here? I'm pretty flammable you know." Kamui woods groaned, before turning to Mt. Lady "well I really liked the look of that Tokoyami kid, with the right training he could probably use his quirk in similar ways as mine."
"Yeah, or he could use it like mine. It'd be better if it makes use of his strength instead of reach." Death arms butted in.
"Come on guys, there's no need to fight. Besides he's not my go-to winner anyway," Mt. lady stopped them. "That Midoriya kid is definitely winning this!"
"You just think that because you think he's cute!" Kamui complained.
"Well excuse me for finding his wings attractive. It's also why I'm a big hawks fan."
"So you like 'em young too." Death arms joked, getting a laugh from kamui.
"Oh my god he's like a year younger than me!" Mt. lady groaned.
"Yeah well he's still younger." Kamui laughed, before relenting. "Oh come on Yuu, you know we're just kidding around-"
He stopped when he was bumped from behind. He looked back to see a blonde-haired boy in a gym uniform was the one that knocked into him.
"Sorry sir, I didn't see where I was going." The boy apologised.
"It's ok kid, you're not meant to be in here though. Pro heroes only." Kamui chided.
"Yes sir, sorry." The kid bowed as he walked away. Once out of view from the heroes, Monoma looked towards his arm, the skin turning to wood as he activated his quirk. He smirked, now only needing one more quirk.
" ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU READY!" Mic roared, the crowd cheering alongside him. " Our first match of round two is sure to be a doozy! It's meta quirk vs meta quirk. Who will come on top!?"
"Our first competitor, his first round showed off his skills and wit. Welcome to the arena MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Izuku walked out, looking around the the crowd. He had managed to calm down mostly, but still felt a bit of anger in his system. It was an unusual feeling for him, but very warranted given the situation.
" Our second competitor finished his first match in a flash. Welcome to the arena MONOMA NEITO!"
As the blonde boy walked up across from Izuku, the greenette analysed his opponent looking for any clues to possible copied quirks. He sighed, not seeing anything though Izuku didn't expect to. Unlike himself Monoma could turn on and off the quirks he had copied.
"Alright boys, do you need me to re-explain the rules?" Midnight asks from her podium.
Both boys shook their heads, readying their quirks.
"So, you're my inferior copy from that pompous A class?" Monoma sneered, looking Izuku up and down. Izuku Immediately took to disliking the boy. He gave off a similar auto of egotism that Bakugo did.
"Alright boys, give us a good show… BATTLE START!"
Both boys raised their arms, firing off their quirks. Izuku fired up 'wave motion' shooting out a large blast at Monoma, who in returned sent branches coming from his now wooden hand shooting at Izuku. Their attacks met in the centre of the field, the wave blast smashing through the branches before dissipating.
"Heh, Kamui woods' arbour." Monoma smirked, his second hand also turning to wood. "I knew you'd start out with a flashy attack, so I found a good quirk to both defend and attack at a range."
Monoma sent a wall of intermingled wooden tendrils towards Izuku. The greenette quickly flew into the air, dodging the attack as he aimed himself for a counter strike. He dived down, switching to 'big fist' to smash the tendrils off of Monoma's arm. Leaping back to get some distance from the boy, Izuku activated 'Divinity', sucking up the wooden debris.
"Of course. You weren't satisfied with your own class, so you had to take our superior quirks too." Monoma scoffed, changing his stance.
Izuku charged up One For All to 8% keeping, it low enough that he wouldn't shoot straight out of the ring. He crouched down, preparing to dodge any attack that Monoma could make.
"Come on, fight back!" Monoma yelled, shooting another group of tendrils, thicker this time. Izuku activated 'bone armour' on his arms, blocking the wooden tendrils and pushing them up, before switching to 'explosion' to destroy them.
"You want me to f-fight back?" Izuku smirks. "L-lets go then!" He rushes at Monoma, not even needing to use One For All to destroy the branches due to his 'muscle enhancement'. Upon nearing the boy, Izuku activated 'wave motion' readying another blast.
Thinking quickly, Monoma used arbour to push himself into the air. Before retreating to the other side of the arena.
"That's it, I'm not wasting time on scum like you!" He growled. Monoma shot his hand up again, his fingers all pointed out. Wood shot from the tips of all five fingers, creating a tunnel from Monoma to outside the ring.
"R-really? I-I don't even need to use m-my strength quirks to break out," Izuku questioned his opponents' strategy.
"Don't worry," Monoma grinned, his hands turning back to normal. "I plan to make you use the quickest way out."
Monoma once again raised his arms, both of them aiming straight at Izuku. Then all Izuku saw was a blast of bright orange flames shooting towards him.
"Where the hell did he find a quirk like that!" Iida heard a feminine voice yell from over the wall into the B-class seating section. In honesty, he was worried. As surprising as it was, Izuku and his opponent seemed to be evenly matched, even if he did seem to use more quirks.
"Wait a second…" he heard beside him. Iida turned round to see Todoroki leaning in towards the arena, a scowl on his face.
"That's my damn old man's fire!"
"How do you like that, Midoriya!" Monoma laughed, starting to walk towards the boy that was engulfed in flames. "I'm lucky I found Endeavour wandering the halls before our match!"
He kept approaching the spot he last saw Midoriya at. He was confused slightly, as there was no sign of Izuku breaking through the now alight wooden tunnel or him getting out through the end. That meant that he was somewhere inside the inferno.
"You know, for a usual match I'd only use quirks from my class, need to represent my comrades after all." He smiled smugly, finally noticing the shape in the fire that had to be Midoriya. "For you, though, I knew I had to make an exception. I've left one spot in my arsenal open, though." He chuckled, now only a couple feet away. "After all, why would I not want to test what would happen if I copied your quirk!"
He reached one hand out, stopping the onslaught of fire to touch the boy. Before he could, though, a fist coated in lightning appeared through the flames, smashing into his stomach sending Monoma flying out of the ring.
"Monoma Neito is out of bounds. MIDORIYA IZUKU ADVANCES!" Midnight called out, the crowd roaring in excitement.
Drowsily, Monoma looked up to where he had been flung from. Kneeling in the remnants of the fire was Midoriya, his wings covering his body as best they could. Despite his wings taking the brunt of the attack, his clothes had almost completely burnt off, only his gloves and just enough of his trousers to cover himself remained. His skin was charred, some parts completely black. His wings themselves were completely burnt, the feathers on them almost all gone.
Izuku slowly stood up, wincing as he felt his skin slowly start to heal. 'Super regeneration' was being pushed to its limits. He looked down as the skin on his arms slowly puffed to their regular size, regaining their pink hue.
"O-oh gosh. I still feel the heat." Izuku sighed to himself, wincing again as he slowly walked up to the edge of the arena. He flapped his wings slightly, thankful they seemed to be growing back to normal too. He would've hated waiting for his feathers to regrow.
"How-how… how the hell did you do that!" Monoma yelled, finally getting to his feet. He winced slightly, clutching his chest, but continued towards Midoriya anyway. "That was Hellflame! How are you still conscious?"
"I… I dunno," Izuku coughed out. "M-my regeneration d-did most of the work."
"Alright boys, enough chat." Midnight interrupted. "We need to clean up your mess before the next match, so you boys head off."
"O-oh, I can h-help." Izuku smiled, turning back to the arena. He lifted one of his arms, the pain of the heat now dulled, and activated 'Divinity'. The charred branches flew towards Izuku, breaking and disintegrating as they got sucked into his fingers. Making sure he had collected all of the debris, he smiled and turned back to Midnight.
"D-done." He nodded. Out of the corner of his eye Izuku saw Monoma scowl at him, before storming off into the tunnel.
"Oh, thanks sweetie," Midnight smiled. "By the way, I want you to go to recovery girl's office."
"Wha-but I'm fine?" Izuku questioned, showing off his arm.
"Well first off, Midoriya," Midnight started, putting a hand on her hip. "The fact that you're only barely covered means you need a new uniform. You'll get one in her office." Midnight explained. Izuku looked down, only now figuring out why he felt a stronger breeze than earlier. Izuku's face went red, quickly using his wings to cover himself.
"And also as a precaution. I could feel the heat from here, I just want to be safe." She said, hiding her laugh behind her hand at the boy's actions. She was surprised at how timid and shy he could act after showing the amount of power that he casually wielded.
"Y-y-yes ma'am, I-I'll head off." He sighed, trying to smile as he quickly ran off.
Sighing as he closed the door behind himself, Izuku started peeling the remaining charred strands of fabric that used to be his gym shirt.
" That was an intense fight, young Izuku." Toshi smiled, handing him a new uniform. " I got this out as soon as I saw that your old one was ruined."
"Thanks Toshi." Izuku smiled, putting it on the spare bed. He smiled as he saw the holes for his wings already there, meaning he didn't have to make new ones.
"Young man, you better be lying on that bed by the time I get there!" Recovery girl snapped, walking out of the storage room and over to him. Izuku relented, sitting up on the bed.
"I-I don't see th-the problem, I-I'm fine?" He questioned as recovery girl poked at his arms and legs.
"The problem, you little fool, is that you sat inside of flames for at least half a minute!" Recovery girl growled. "You might have caused internal nerve damage!"
"B-but my 'super regeneration' healed me, d-didn't it?" Izuku asked, starting to feel worried.
Recovery girl sighed. "It seems so, but your regeneration slowed as you finished healing. You're overtaxing it." She explained, tapping on Izuku's knees to test his nerves.
" My boy," Toshi spoke up. " Why did you sit in the flames instead of attacking?"
"W-well I-I was trying to deal with the heat, I-it was mostly making my eyes sting." Izuku explained, rubbing his eyes on instinct.
"That's likely because your eyes were drying up and almost bursting!" Recovery girl grumbled, making Izuku's eyes widen in shock. "Now let me see 'em."
Izuku lay back, opening his eyes as recovery girl shone a light into them. It was uncomfortable for a moment until his 'face morph' shrunk them down to handle the bright lights.
"Oi, grow those back out." Recover girl grumbled, poking Izuku's forehead.
"S-sorry," Izuku sighed, making sure to grow them back to normal. "I-I don't know why it does that. F-'face morph' does that a lot actually."
" Does what, my boy?" Toshi asked, getting up from his seat to get closer.
"W-well if I'm surprised by something it'll e-expand my eyes, l-like you would see in a cartoon. O-or if I'm… embarrassed, m-my face will turn b-bright red." Izuku explained, his face going slightly pink as if on cue.
"Well that's only normal, if I'm honest I'm surprised it's only that one quirk that reacts to your emotions." Recovery girl said, stepping back from Izuku and starting to write on a clip board.
"Wh-what, why?" Izuku asked.
"Well quite a lot of people have quirks react to extreme emotions. Present mic, for example, will activate his if he gets to excited. It's why we pair him up with Eraserhead so much." She chuckled. "If I had to guess, I'd I say the reason it's only that quirk that reacts to your emotions is due to two things. First is that it chose that particular one since it's the most expressive. And the second is that it had to choose one to use since your body can only currently activate one at a time."
"O-oh, that makes lots of sense actually." Izuku hummed, starting to go into analysis mode. "I-I guess I just never thought about how emotions would interact with quirks. Come to think of it Bakugo's hands would always spark when he got too angry, but I always thought it was just for intimidation."
"My boy, you understand what this means, don't you?" Toshi interrupted. He smiled as he got a confused look from his student. " It means that once you're able to use multiple quirks, you'll have multiple that can activate on instinct like that. "
"O-oh," Izuku spoke, before he sighed as the implications formed in his mind. Now he would have to go through his notebook estimating what quirks could activate and which ones wouldn't.
" Alright, my boy. You should go get changed, your friends fight will start any moment now."Toshi smiled, nodding to the bathroom door.
After quickly putting on his new uniform, Izuku rushed back into the room, taking his seat next to Uraraka's still asleep body as he noticed Iida's match was just beginning.
" Just in time my boy," Toshi smiled.
And please try not destroy that uniform too, we only have one more spare with your wing gaps." Recovery girl prompted from her computer.
"I-I'll try." Izuku smiled sympathetically, having the feeling that he'd end up ruining at least one more.
The room went quiet as Midnight announced the start of the match. Izuku knew that Iida's next opponent was Todoroki, so he'd be at a disadvantage. Todoroki's quirk would greatly decrease Iida's mobility, both due to the large glaciers that he can make and the slipperiness of the ice itself.
Izuku leaned in, focusing as Todoroki made the first move. He sent a more streamline volley of ice towards Iida. Izuku was at least happy that the dual toned boy was using restraint this round.
It seemed that Iida had let Todoroki go first on purpose, since as soon as Todoroki shot his ice out Iida shot to the right, curling round Todoroki's left side until he was behind him. Izuku saw Iida crouch quickly before yelling out " RECIPRO BURST!"
Iida shot up, aiming a kick at Todoroki before he could realise. The hit landed and Todoroki was sent to the ground, scraping against the floor as he shot backwards. Iida continued to chase him, grabbing Todoroki's back to hopefully throw him out the ring.
"Looks like young Iida might have this." Toshi hummed, sounding slightly surprised.
"He let his guard down." Recovery girl pointed out. As Iida pulled Todoroki along, the two-toned boy grabbed onto Iida's arm, sending ice along his body, eventually clogging up his exhausts.
Slowly Todoroki stood up, looking back at the now completely encased in ice Iida.
" With Iida unable to move, TODOROKI SHOTO advances! " Midnight announced. Izuku felt bad, he knew what doing well meant to Iida. He just hoped the boy didn't take it too harshly.
"Nemuri, can you get Iida to come to my office, I'll need to check for hypothermia again." Recovery girl sighed, talking into a speaker on her desk.
"W-wait, you can speak to Midnight from here?" Izuku asked, surprised.
"Of course," recovery girl shrugged. "Did you really think any of the referees would be smart enough to get the students to come here? Heroes are all the same." She chuckles.
" Well, I believe that's my cue to leave." Toshi chuckled, groaning as he got up off his seat.
"Wha- already?" Izuku asked.
" Yes, my boy. I only stayed to look after young Uraraka while you were away. The other teachers will be wondering where I am." Toshi laughed as he made his way to the door. " I'll be cheering you on my boy!"
As Izuku was left alone, he looked back down at Uraraka's sleeping body. He didn't know how he was meant to focus on anything else when he was so worried over Uraraka. He still had Todoroki to face, but it was so hard to think of a plan when Uraraka still hadn't woken up.
"Hello, miss recovery girl?" Iida knocked as he entered the room. "Oh, Midoriya. I didn't know you were still here!"
"Oh, h-hi Iida, I-I'm just looking after Uraraka." He responded with a smile.
"Alright, if you two are gonna chat then at least get onto the bed first!" Recovery girl groaned as she came from the storage cupboard.
"S-so Iida, y-you did well on your fight." Izuku smiled, watching as Recovery girl checked for signs of hypothermia.
"Yes, it is a shame that I lost though," Iida sighed, still shivering slightly. "However, this does mean that you will be facing Todoroki next, will it not?"
"Uh, y-yeah it does." Izuku sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Alright, you seem to be fine enough. You're fine to head back to your class stands." Recovery girl muttered, taking Iida's pulse.
"Thank you very much." Iida bowed, heaving himself onto his feet. "Midoriya, would you like to join me on my way?"
"Huh?" Izuku muttered, looking at Uraraka quickly before turning back to Iida. "U-uh sorry, I-I'm looking after Uraraka."
Iida paused for a second, before sighing and walking over to Izuku. "Midoriya, she'll be fine. You have a fight against Todoroki to worry about. Stressing about Uraraka will do you no good." He calmly stated, putting his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "How do you think Uraraka would feel seeing you like this?"
Izuku paused, looking down. "…uhh, heartfelt? Ehe." He tried joking, making neither of them laugh.
"Come on, my friend. It'll do you good to see everyone else." Iida smiled, nodding to the door.
"…ok," Izuku relented as Iida made his way to the door. Izuku gave Uraraka's hand one last squeeze before making his way to Iida.
"So, do you have any ideas for taking on Todoroki?" Iida asked as they made their way along the hallway.
"Uhm, not exactly…" Izuku hummed. At the questioning look from Iida, Izuku explained his thinking. "W-well Todoroki's hurting himself, b-both mentally and as a hero. I-I think I can help him with both… but I need him to use his fire."
"…are you sure that's a good idea Midoriya?" Iida asked, sounding apprehensive. "Wouldn't that just make him more dangerous-"
Iida was cut off by a humming sound, accompanied by him starting to shake. Izuku looked on in confusion as Iida stopped, taking out his phone from his back pocket.
"Sorry, I put my vibration on full blast, the excitement from the stands could've blocked it out otherwise." He sheepishly explained as he answered the call. "Hello, mother?"
"Yes. I am glad I made it this far, however I hope Tensei isn't to upset that I…" Iida broke off, his face becoming slightly pale. Izuku got worried, as even during the USJ he didn't see Iida look this worried.
"W…what do you mean he was attacked?" Iida rasped out, his voice sounding hoarse. "B-but he… I am coming immediately. Please send me the hospital he is at."
Iida quickly put his phone away and started running through the corridor, which let Izuku know that something was really wrong since Iida would never break rules as small as that. He quickly activated One For All to catch up to the boy.
"I-Iida, hey w-what's wrong?" Izuku asked, stopping Iida.
"M-my brother, he… I-if anyone asks It's a family emergency." Iida sniffed out before continuing to run down the hallway.
"U-uh… ok." Izuku muttered, worried as he watched his friend nearly use his quirk as he rushed away. From the small bits of information Izuku understood, he guessed that a villain attack went wrong when his brother was on patrol. Izuku decided that he had to check the news after the festival, news reports on it should be up by then.
Sighing, Izuku started making his way to his class's booth. He only got a couple corridors over before he was stopped once again, this time by a mountain of muscle that he bumped into.
"O-oh, I'm so s-sorry…" Izuku's voice broke off, looking up at who he had bumped into. Standing nearly two heads taller than him was endeavour, scowling down at the boy. "Ah! E-Endeavour s-sir, I-I am so s-sorry!" He bowed.
Endeavour just grunted in response, before leaning in closer at Izuku. "You. You're that Midoriya boy, right?"
"U-uh, y-yes sir!" Izuku responded, looking in nearly any direction but ahead. The number two hero has a reputation for being scary, but what Izuku was feeling was way beyond 'scary'. He was surprised endeavour wasn't higher on the 'villainous looking heroes' poll.
"Uh y-yes sir, th-that's me." Izuku stuttered out, trying to stealthily take a step back.
"Your battles so far have been quite extraordinary," Endeavour grunted, stepping even closer to Izuku, dwarfing the boy. "That copy quirk of yours is quite something. Your strength alone compares to All-Might."
"U-u-uh s-sir, you know my quirk?" Izuku practically whimpered out in fear. He knows he doesn't hide it that much from his schoolmates, but they all signed waivers not to reveal each others quirks to anyone else. Toshi said that other than staff and students, the only other people that would know about Izuku's quirk are people that Izuku decides. Toshi personally assured that it would be kept confidential.
"Of course I do, boy." Endeavour scowled down at him. "Your quirk may officially be confidential, but you're just a student. As top heroes we get special privileges. The only one able to ensure the privacy of their quirk is All-Might, since by the time anyone cared about it he had risen to a top hero himself."
"O-oh," Izuku sighed. He decided that he had to be a lot more secretive about his quirk from now on… or maybe just not care about it. He doesn't completely understand why Toshi made it confidential in the first place
"Not only that, but due to your quirk type we were directly informed about its existence." Endeavour huffed. "Not like that matters, my creation will beat you either way."
"Your creation…?" Izuku repeated questioningly.
"My Shoto has a duty to surpass All-Might, and with your wealth of power you'll be an excellent test." Endeavour smirked. "So do yourself a favour, and don't embarrass yourself."
Endeavour barged past Izuku, leaving the boy slightly confused. Izuku turned his head to face the hero, feeling the need to reply.
"Endeavour, I'm not All-Might," Izuku frowned, making the hero swivel to face him.
"That much is obvious…" Endeavour replied, scanning Izuku up and down.
"It's obvious…?" Izuku frowned. "Then it's obvious that Todoroki isn't you either, right? He's his own person with his own dreams, not some tool you can use for some made up rivalry with All-Might."
Izuku turned fully to face the hero, stepping towards him as he continued. "I'll be fighting Todoroki with my full power, and I'll make sure he does the same. But don't you forget that this isn't some fight for All-Might vs Endeavour. We're fighting as Midoriya Izuku vs Todoroki Shoto!"
Izuku finished with a scowl, not letting Endeavour reply before he left the hero's sight. Endeavour sighed and made his way back to the viewing area.
It wasn't until he was nearly there that he realised that his flames had gone out.
Izuku sighed as he finally made it to his class's seating area. He slid to the front row, taking a seat next to Tsu. Looking down into the ring he noticed that Bakugo and Kirishima were already battling.
"Oh, d-did I miss Tokoyami and Ashido's fight?" He asked, looking over to Tsu.
"Yep, Mina lost!" Hagakure dramatically cried as she fell on top of Ojiro.
"You took your time coming back from your fight? Kero." Tsu added, looking at Izuku quizzically.
"Y-yeah, I went to check on Uraraka then I r-ran into someone." Izuku explained, quickly glancing up at Todoroki.
"Midoriya have you seen Iida? I would have thought that he'd be back by now?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"O-oh yeah, h-he said there was a family e-emergency." Izuku told them, his smile dampening slightly.
"Oh, man I hope he's doing ok." Jiro frowned.
The class went quiet, and Izuku decided to focus on the battle. He was impressed by how well Kirishima was taking Bakugo's explosions. He knew from experience how much they could hurt.
Sadly, as Izuku focused his enhanced eyes in on the battle, he could already tell Kirishima was going to lose. He was standing trying to tank the hits and out-stamina Bakugo. The problem was that Bakugo gets more powerful the more he battles.
"Bakugo moves on…" Izuku sighed, and everyone looked over at him confused.
"Dude, don't you have more confidence in Kirishima?" Kaminari gasped, leaning forward to look at Izuku.
"Y-yeah, but his p-plan is counter-productive." Izuku hummed back, watching as Kirishima finally stumbled back due to one of Bakugo's attacks.
"Whadya mean?" Jiro asked, then they all saw Kirishima get blown out of the arena.
" AND THAT'S KIRISHIMA OUT!!!" Present mic roared " BAKUGO ADVANCES TO BE THE FINAL MEMBER OF OUR TOP FOUR!!!"
"K-Kirishima tried to outlast B-Bakugo in a match of stamina, b-but the longer Bakugo battles the more p-powerful he becomes" Izuku explains as he notices Todoroki get up and leave. "Th-the best strategy w-would've been to t-take him on at th-the start, before Bakugo c-could gather up sweat."
"Dude, how'd you time that so perfectly?" Kaminari yelled, shaking Izuku by his shoulder.
Izuku chuckled slightly, sliding away slightly to avoid his hands, "w-well I j-just saw Kirishima s-start to tire out, s-so I k-knew what was about to happen." He explained, going slightly red.
" Alright ladies and gentlemen! We'll now have a 5-minute break before the semi finals so that our competitors can warm up!" Mic announced.
"Oh man, and I j-just sat down," Izuku groaned as he got up. "W-well, wish me luck!" He chuckled as he started making his way down.
"You'll need it!" Sero yelled back, laughing.
Standing in the tunnel facing the arena, Izuku sat there going through his quirks. He pulled a small rock to him, changed his face slightly and grew out his sharp claws just a little bit further than before. He found it soothing and helped him calm down as he finalised his plan for facing Todoroki.
He knew it wasn't much of a plan and required stretching one of his quirks beyond their already strained limits. But it would have to do, Izuku needed to help Todoroki.
" HELLO EVERYBODYYYYYYY!" Present mic roared from the speakers.
" I think my eardrums burst." Aizawa groaned.
" No time for injury, because now's time for the SEMI-FINALS!" Mic continued, bringing the audience to a cheer.
Izuku took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as he let his wings pull him to his feet. He may not have a perfect plan, but if Izuku couldn't win with it, then he shouldn't win at all.
" Our first competitor. A student with a cool head and even colder powers. Give it up for TODOROKI SHOTO!"
Izuku watched as the two-toned boy exited the tunnel opposite from him, his face as even as usual.
" His opponent. A powerhouse that's been decimating his competition, he even takes multi thousand degree showers and comes out… mostly ok! Put your hands together for MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Taking one last breath, Izuku stood into the light and towards the arena. Looking up the the stands, he saw his mother waving to him. Izuku smiled, his wings flapping around happily.
Stopping across the arena from Todoroki, Izuku cooled his face, analysing the minor movements he made to try deduce what move he'd make so that Izuku could act accordingly.
"Alright boys," midnight called out from her podium. "I'm hoping you both know the rules by now. Are you two ready?" At the two boys' nods she smirked. "Good…"
"BATTLE START!"