Chapter 22: The Tournament Begins
Izuku, along with the rest of the final sixteen competitors, had gathered in front of the stage that Midnight occupied, waiting for her to address the crowd. He was excited to get the Festival over with, because he needed to figure out what was going on with One for All. It was a hard thing, wanting two things that clashed with each other. Izuku wanted to solve his issues with One for All, sure, but he also wanted to advance in the Festival and announce himself as the next Symbol up on the first place pedestal. He knew he couldn't have both at the same time, so he needed to choose one for now, and the Festival was the thing Izuku was choosing. It probably wasn't the most important thing at the moment, but he couldn't let everyone who had supported him down now, just because he had no powers at the moment. He'd power through.
Midnight spun the event wheel, and it landed on a blue segment labelled '1V1 Battle Tournament', and Izuku knew that he was screwed. He had been shut off from accessing any of his powers, meaning that he'd lost the ability to use three different Quirks, rendering him effectively Quirkless. The only reason he had stayed ahead in the Cavalry Battle had been because of his team, who had pulled their weight when it counted. He was already finished, especially if he had to go up against some of the heavier hitters, like Todoroki or Bakugo.
"The final event will be a tournament of one versus one battles, with no external interference allowed. You can do anything barring lethal force and serious maiming, as it is considered unheroic to irreparably or mortally wound your enemy. If you are forced out of the ring that Cementoss has created, or if you are immobilized, you are eliminated. Okay?" Midnight explained.
After getting a series of 'yeah's and 'okay's from the crowd, Midnight pressed a button on a remote she had picked up and the screens at the top of the stadium changed from an image of her to an image of a tournament bracket setup, with eight battles in the first bracket, four in the second, two in the third and a single fight serving as the final battle. Izuku doubted he would get past the quarterfinals without One for All, but he tried his best to appear confident.
"Get familiar with the people you may encounter if you have some luck. The tournament begins in five minutes," Midnight said.
Izuku looked for his name, and saw that it was the first battle for some reason. He saw that Shinso was paired with him, and some hope returned to his soul. He could manage Shinso. All he had to do was shut his mouth and not respond to him, no matter if he started to throw insults and mocking jokes at him. If Izuku was being honest, he didn't trust Shinso to get too personal with the insults, but he had to be prepared for anything with any of his opponents.
He shot a look at Shinso, who was staring at him with a similar look, fiery determination. Izuku knew Shinso had come into the Festival with a goal, he just didn't know what. His aim was probably similar to everyone else's, proving himself as worthy of being a Hero, but he knew it was more than that. He recalled Shinso dubbing himself 'the Hypnotic Hero' during the USJ Incident, when he had faced off against Shigaraki, so maybe he was planning on announcing himself similar to Izuku. He really couldn't pinpoint a singular motivation for Shinso to advance this far in the Festival, but he was going to find out.
"Shinso! Good job on getting this far!" Izuku said, approaching his friend.
"You too. It looks like we'll be fighting each other," Shinso said, clearly not liking that fact.
"Yeah. Is that … an issue?" Izuku asked, hesitating slightly.
"Nah. I just don't know how I like going up against Super Strength. I'm still getting the image of what that … thing did to Aizawa in the USJ out of my head," Shinso said, shuddering at the memory of Aizawa's carved out face.
That was it. Shinso had tried to Brainwash the Nomu during the attack on the USJ, but it hadn't worked. The Nomu apparently only responded to Tomura Shigaraki, or it simply couldn't talk, so it hadn't replied to Shinso's call in his attempt to use his Quirk on the beast. It had then grievously injured Aizawa. Izuku remembered that Shinso's Hero costume looked weirdly similar to Aizawa's, and realized that the boy must have been a fan of Eraserhead, so being unable to stop him from getting hurt in the field must have been a blow to his pride.
"Shinso, what the Nomu did wasn't your fault. You tried your best," Izuku said.
"I don't wanna be my best. I wanna be the best. I wanna show the people that I can become a Hero, even with this subpar power. I wanna go above and beyond, and you're my first stepping stone. I'm sorry, Midoriya. I'm gonna beat you," Shinso said, a tear falling from his eye.
Izuku watched Shinso walk away, presumably to the other side of the ring. He wondered if he had been treated poorly because his Quirk could be interpreted in a villainous context. Izuku felt, in that moment, that he and SHinso might have had more in common than he thought. He almost chased after him, not knowing what he would even do or say to make him feel better, but understood it was an inherent part of the Festival. Emotions were running high, and everyone wanted to win. That just made Izuku want to win even more than he already did.
As he walked away, Izuku felt another weak spell coming on. He propped himself up on the stage, not wanting to appear like he was injured or hurt in front of everyone. People started to notice, however, and Midnight walked over to him hesitantly.
"Hey, kid. Are you alright? You don't have to keep participating; we know you can't use your Quirk," Midnight said, whispering the last part.
"No. I'm not fine, but I have to keep going. A true Hero will keep fighting no matter the cost to himself, and no matter the odds against him. I need to keep going so I can announce that I am here," Izuku said, gathering the strength to stand.
Izuku pushed himself off the stage, walking toward a waiting room where he could collapse in peace. He walked over to the tunnel to the waiting rooms, but was stopped by Bakugo of all people. The blond put a single hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place while gripping him hard enough to support his weight anyway.
"Don't push yourself, Deku. What's going on?" Bakugo asked.
"I'm fine," Izuku groaned, his voice breaking.
"You're obviously not fucking fine. Spit it out," Bakugo said.
"It's just a drawback of using my Quirk for long periods. I get tired out. I'll be fine," Izuku said, trying to shrug Bakugo's hand off his shoulder.
"You said your Quirk comes from energy inside you, so I guess that's plausible, but I've been meaning to talk to you about your Quirk," Bakugo said.
"What about it?" Izuku asked, hating how weak he sounded.
"Where'd you get it?" Bakugo asked in a low voice, knowing the importance of asking such a question.
"I'll ask again, where did you get that Quirk? Who gave it to you? When?" Bakugo asked.
Izuku had been led to a waiting room to rest by Bakugo, who had been waiting to grill him as soon as they were alone, he could tell. He knew Bakugo was smart, but had he really figured out enough to go asking about this so confidently? Apparently so, by the unwavering look in his eyes that he was right. He only got that kind of look in his eyes when he knew he was going to win.
"Can I ask how you've come to this conclusion?" Izuku asked, his voice stronger from having rested some.
"Well, when All Might was fighting that brainy Villain, the Nomu, its master said it had multiple Quirks. That was when I realized that a person could have more than one. Having that many powers, though, probably made it the way it was; lifeless, like it wasn't really there anymore. Just a puppet. Then I had a little thought. What would happen if you gave a Quirkless person a Quirk? What would it do? It wouldn't break them, because they wouldn't have more than the natural amount. They'd be a blank slate to graft a Quirk onto," Bakugo explained.
"Then, I thought about how your Quirk isn't anything like your parents'. Plus, your power is all over the place with its development. When you showed me your power at our old middle school, it was barely a wisp. Then, during Aizawa's stupid test, it could stop me in my tracks, even when I was moving powered by my explosions. Then, a day later, you could make a fucking shield out of it, which is fucking bizzare. Then, you learn to fucking Float. Are you kidding me? That has nothing to do with your previous powers. Throw in Super Strength, which also has nothing to do with your parents' Quirks, and you get the only way that you could've finally manifested a Quirk after all these years; someone gave it to you. So where'd you get it?" Bakugo concluded.
Izuku had to admit his reasoning was sound. He was fairly sure it was because he was Quirkless, in part, that he was manifesting the Quirks within One for All in the first place. His body was free to be molded how One for All liked, and that involved imprinting the Quirks secretly hidden inside into his body.
"Okay. You're right. I got my Quirk from someone else," Izuku said, hanging his head low.
"HA! I knew it! I fucking knew you were a fraud, Deku!" Bakugo laughed.
"I can't tell you who I got it from, but I can tell you that they believed in me enough to get it. I'll be a Hero, Bakugo. I'm sure of it," Izuku said.
"Alright, alright. I don't really care about that. You've wanted that since we were four years old. All I wanna ask you now is … did whoever is behind that stupid League of Villains give you your Quirk?" Bakugo said, dropping his joyous revelling in a heartbeat.
"Of course not! Do you … think I'm working for them?" Izuku asked, appalled.
"Nah. You're too much of a pussy to work for Villains, unless you're being blackmailed or something, which is fair enough. You were Quirkless. That's plenty of ammo to raise questions and start an investigation," Bakugo said, smirking dangerously.
"What do you want from me?" Izuku asked, making his voice as strong as possible.
"I want to know who gave you your stupid Quirk. I won't snitch, I just want to know who the fuck gave you powers," Bakugo asked again.
"You're not getting that answer. I'm sorry, but I have secrets to keep. I can't just go telling people these things," Izuku said, holding his ground.
"Alright. I think that All Might would be thrilled to know that his favorite's powers aren't his," Bakugo said, smirking like that was a threat.
"Say what you want. I'll make this borrowed power my own, and I'll be a Hero with it," Izuku said.
Izuku let Bakugo go, not wanting to waste any more time. He hadn't wanted to reveal that kind of thing to Bakugo, but if it got him off his back about it, he'd say what he needed to. He didn't need people looking into his past and his Quirk. That would raise alarm with everyone who knew about One for All, including All for One.
He could still feel the battle between the two raging on in One for All's vestige realm. It was like a kind of thick fog that made everything slightly harder, drawing on his energy to keep itself alive. Izuku stood up, knowing it was time to fight Shinso. He had to appear confident and powerful, otherwise this wouldn't work.
As Izuku stepped into the ring, Shinso at the other end, Midnight announced the rules again. The two could use their Quirks and other abilities in any way they wanted, as long as it wouldn't normally lead to mortal harm or grievous injuries. Luckily, neither of them had a Quirk that could do all that right now.
He stared Shinso down, the other boy doing the same to him. As Midnight counted down until the match's beginning, Izuku took some deep breaths, feeling a slight dizzying feeling as the war inside him continued. He wished it would be over, just so that he didn't have to feel this … gnawing is the only way Izuku could describe it. It was gnawing away at him consistently, eating away at his energy and leaving him perpetually exhausted.
"Go!" Midnight cheered, and the match began.
Neither Izuku or Shinso moved. The crowd was silent, waiting to see what happened next. Shinso smirked, knowing what he wanted to say. He began casually walking toward Izuku, clearing his throat as he did.
"So, that's all the formidable Izuku Midoriya has to offer? Standing still and doing nothing? That's a shame. I wanted to see some of that spark that's got All Might so interested in you," Shinso said.
Izuku said nothing.
"Oh, come on! Surely you've got more in you than that. Show me what Uraraka likes so much, or was she mistaken to want to be your friend?" Shinso asked, knowing he'd get Izuku by bringing up Ochako.
"You leave her out of this!" Izuku yelled on instinct, not fully in control of himself.
When Izuku fell under Brainwashing, he knew he'd screwed up. He'd let himself underestimate Shinso, a fatal mistake. He felt his mind disconnect from his body as he went limp, standing there uselessly. He tried to move his legs, his hands, anything, but it was no use.
"Wow. You'd lose to protect your friends. Admirable, but kinda dumb in the grand scheme of things," Shinso said.
Izuku chastised himself for letting himself get done in in such a stupid way. He wasn't even sure how he felt about Ochako, so why did someone else bringing her up make him feel so angry. Was it protectiveness after her injuries, or something else? He had no idea.
"Now, walk out of bounds," Shinso said.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
This was bad.
Izuku tried with all his might to move any part of his body, but he simply couldn't will his body to do anything. He had never really been under Brainwashing before, but it felt like he had this fog in his mind that he couldn't breathe through. He could only stand there and look ahead at Shinso's smirking face until he ordered him to do something.
He felt himself slowly turn around and begin to walk toward the edge of the ring. That was one of the conditions that would get him eliminated; being out of bounds. Izuku tried to get any part of his body to do anything, and as he took another step, his body moving on its own like a soulless puppet, he began to get desperate.
As Izuku reached out to One for All as a last resort, he felt something. He hadn't been feeling anything for the past hour, but now he could. It was like a distant spark, but very much there. He reached out, grabbing it with his mind as he felt something change. It was like he was somewhere else, but there at the same time, and he realized it was the same feeling that he had gotten just before getting pulled into the vestige realm the first time.
The world was consumed by the black smoke that made up the vestige realm. He materialized in the vestige realm, and was immediately assaulted by the colors and the battle raging on in front of him. It was the same scene from earlier, All for One spreading his corrupting lightning through the vestige realm, but the vestiges shooting back a kind of purifying lightning, each a different color, back at him, trying to get him to retreat.
Izuku reached up and touched his face, noting that, while his mouth was still covered by mist, some of his torso was now revealed, meaning he was slowly getting there, like Nana and Lariat had said would happen. He looked over and waved to the vestiges, who noticed him each with a look of joy, but also a look of extreme fatigue. He knew that they were on their last legs, and he had to do whatever he could to help them.
"You're here. Good. Izuku, All for One was right when he said that dead people don't do anything. I'm afraid that we can only guide you; you'll have to do the rest!" Yoichi said, the closest to Izuku.
Trying to talk, Izuku found that it came out as a muffle, as opposed to nothing at all. That meant that he could talk here given some effort. He put his hand on the mist flowing around his face, and willed it away, knowing that this was his power and that he was the one that had control over One for All, not anyone else.
As the mist responded to his wishes, it vanished. Izuku almost stopped to celebrate, but turned to the scene in front of him, of the corrupting lightning slowly overtaking the vestiges' power. He turned back to Yoichi, who looked nervous.
"What do you need me to do?" Izuku asked.
"We need you to be a conduit for our energies! Like using regular One for All, except in here," Lariat shouted from his spot in line.
"Alright. What do I need to do for that?" Izuku asked.
"Stand right there and we'll channel our power into you. Then, like you're using One for All, let it empower you to banish my older brother from your mind," Yoichi said, grunting from the effort of keeping the corrupting lightning back.
The vestiges stopped their counterattack for a moment, and the corruption immediately began to spread even faster. Izuku now understood why they had been taking from his energy, seeing that All for One was overwhelming in terms of raw strength of will. He had been at this for over an hour, and the vestiges probably had little power to actually affect anything with, so had been taking his.
"Right. What do I do with your power?" Izuku asked, seeing the vestiges crowd around him.
"Channel it into your body just like you would with One for All. Then, you must try to force your will on All for One. That's how we'll force him out of here," Yoichi said, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Got it," Izuku said, bracing himself.
Suddenly, Izuku was pulled out of the vestige world, ripped from his mind and being put back into his body. Shinso had released his Brainwashing, or … no. He had been knocked from Brainwashing by something. Izuku looked around, seeing that he was in the air. Blackwhip was surging out of him, similar to the way it had in the entrance exam. He looked around, finding Shinso falling through the air after being hit by Blackwhip, it seemed, as there was a strand slinking away from him.
"What the hell?" Izuku asked himself, looking around, dazed.
Shinso grunted in pain as he landed on the grass outside the ring. Midnight called the match, Shinso having been eliminated. Izuku pushed Blackwhip back into himself, the wild, raging whips obeying his command now that he was back in control. He dropped onto the cement, feeling even more tired than before.
The match had been won, but he hadn't been conscious of it. Izuku looked at his hands, wondering if it had been him or the vestiges that had awoken Blackwhip from its dormancy. His hand ached, and he felt like he had died and come back to life, but he had won, even if it was from letting Blackwhip run wild momentarily. He saw that he was still in bounds, so he had definitely won, but he didn't feel like a winner.
Izuku ran over to Shinso, seeing him get up from the grass. He went to reach a hand out, but Shinso looked at the ground, a scowl on his face. Izuku went to speak, but Shinso beat him to it, his voice breaking.
"Fuck! How can anybody beat that thing?" Shinso asked, getting up off the ground.
Izuku chose to say nothing, fearing that if he said anything that he might upset Shinso even more. He didn't know how he had awakened Blackwhip again, but he had been able to use his other powers; he'd tried. When he was in the air, Izuku had tried to Float, and had tried to pad his landing with One for All, but he hadn't been able to summon either of the Quirks. It was just Blackwhip that had returned. Maybe it meant that the vestiges were turning the tide, and that they were able to expend more energy for Izuku to use now. Maybe.
"You got me to respond to you. Nice job, though I do wish you wouldn't use Uraraka against me like that," Izuku said.
"I'll stop when you stop looking like a puppy in love around her," Shinso said with a small smirk.
Izuku laughed, and the two began to walk toward the tunnel leading to the stairwell closest to Class-1A's segment in the stands.
The two got to talking on the way to their class's segment, and Izuku felt like he could trust Shinso with a newer part of himself.
"Do you actually think that Uraraka and I are … you know, together?" Izuku asked.
"Of course not. I just think it's obvious that you like her. Tsu thinks so, too. Hell, you guys call each other by your given names. That, coupled with the way you two talk to each other and just generally act together, I wouldn't blame a stranger for assuming," Shinso said.
"How do you know how we talk to each other? Do you watch me or something?" Izuku asked.
"No, but Jiro and Shoji have very sensitive hearing, and they asked me what was up with you making secret phone calls during our lunch break to Uraraka," Shinso said, sporting a wide smirk.
Izuku felt like he could die. The one time he had to excuse himself from the conversation during lunch because he got a phone call from Ochako stating that she had just had her cast removed had to be the one that was overheard by the two best intelligence gatherers in his class. That was great.
"I … don't know how I feel about Ochako. It's complicated," Izuku said.
"How?" Shinso asked.
"Well, I've recently figured out that I'm asexual. I just … don't see people that way at all. I do still feel something for Ochako, though, and that's what's tripping me up. I don't know how to reconcile those two things," Izuku revealed.
Shinso was quiet for a long time, and Izuku was beginning to get worried. Was he going to think that Izuku was odd or weird for not being able to feel those kinds of things for people? He didn't think Shinso was the type to act differently toward someone after finding out about something like this.
"Those two things don't have to be incongruous. They can coexist. I think you'll just have to figure it out," Shinso said.
"Yeah, that's what I said to Yaoyorozu," Izuku groaned.
"About what?" Shinso asked, his cheeky smirk returning.
"Oh, never mind! It's nothing, really," Izuku chastised himself for letting it slip.
As Izuku and Shinso were about to turn into the seats designated for Class-1A, Izuku spotted All Might in his true form barely not hiding around a corner, pretending to be on the phone because of Shinso's presence. Izuku excused himself, and made his way over to his mentor, who was looking both elated and nervous at the same time, if that was possible.
"Young Midoriya! You called upon Blackwhip again," All Might said.
"I did. I think my powers are coming back, slowly," Izuku confirmed.
"That's good news. You'll be able to fight much better with your powers returning!" All Might said.
"Yeah," Izuku said, a sombre tone to his voice.
"What's wrong, my boy?" All Might asked.
"I'm sorry I got so worked up before. I just … was working off some of the stress from the Festival, I think," Izuku said.
"That's alright. I didn't blame you; I actually agreed after thinking about it some more," All Might said, chuckling at himself slightly.
"You did? So …?" Izuku trailed off.
"You should tell Aizawa," All Might said, looking away mournfully.
"'I'? Not 'we'?" Izuku asked.
"That's right. I think that you were right about needing to make your own decisions sometimes as well. I no longer hold One for All, so it isn't mine to control in any sense. I should be letting you learn how to make choices, not making them for you. I'm sorry I tried to control you like I did," All Might apologized.
"No! I appreciated your help, All Might! I really did. It's just that I wanted a bit more independence," Izuku said.
"I know," All Might said, before turning to walk away.
"Wait!" Izuku shouted.
"What is it?" All Might asked.
"I had another vestige vision!" Izuku remembered.
"Oh? What happened this time?" All Might asked, turning back around fully now.
"I was in the vestige realm, and they were still fighting All for One. They told me that, because they were just vestiges, they couldn't properly confront him. They told me that they'd need to channel their powers into me to defeat him in their realm, but I was dragged out of it by waking up," Izuku said in a hurry.
"Hmm. That's certainly something. Maybe we'll have to put you under so you can go back and help them out," All Might suggested.
"Uh, yeah. Maybe," Izuku said, glancing back at the entrance to Class-1A's seats.
All Might saw him glance back at the tunnel, and his expression softened. He smiled at his successor, and ruffled his hair.
"Go enjoy the Festival, kid. Recovery Girl, Nezu and I will talk about how to get you back to the vestiges' realm when you're done," All Might said.
"Really?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah. We'll figure it out," All Might said, before leaving.
Izuku stood there, contemplating if he was making the right choice in the Festival over One for All. He was so tired, and he was likely going to get even more exhausted through the next fight he had to go through, which, unless Sero pulled an extremely powerful powerup out of nowhere, was going to be Todoroki. He hadn't expected for them to meet at the quarterfinals, but that was how it was going to go down.
"You did a really good job, Shinso," Tsu said, sitting next to the boy in question.
"It wasn't anything special. I lost," Shinso said, a neutral expression on his face.
"You did successfully trick Midoriya into replying to you. You did almost make him step out of bounds, until his Quirk exploded out of him like some sort of monster. You almost won against the person who'd won every event so far. I wouldn't call that nothing," Tsu said.
"Huh. Thanks, Tsu," Shinso said, smiling. It was a smile, this time, and not the smirks and kind of unnerving manic expressions he was known for making when he was excited or heard a joke he liked.
Izuku dragged himself into a seat beside the two, feeling weaker than ever. He gave Shinso and Tsu a strained smile and a weak wave, and the two locked eyes, worried for him. Izuku felt even weaker than he had during the end of the Cavalry Battle, and that was a fresh draining from All for One. The vestiges might not have been turning the tide in their battle against All for One after all. His hand ached, too, from Blackwhip running amok. He wasn't sure how long Blackwhip had raged without his control, but it had been enough to strain his arm a considerable amount. Nothing in need of healing, it just hurt like crazy.
"Are you okay, dude?" Shinso asked.
"Yeah. I'm just a little … tired from having to keep going at full throttle for basically the whole day," Izuku said, his voice breaking.
"You should rest in a waiting room before your next match," Tsu said.
"No. I need to see the fights. If I get some notes down about the different fighters' Quirks and tactics, I'll never let myself off the hook," Izuku said, pulling his Hero Analysis Notebook from out of nowhere, at least nowhere Shinso or Tsu could see.
"Are you sure? You look like you just rolled out of a grave," Shinso said, pointing at his face.
Izuku opened his phone and looked at his camera to see that his face was pale; really pale. Paler than was probably normal. His eyes were kind of … dulled and he had dark circles under them. He looked like he hadn't slept for days, but he had just been getting his stamina and life force drained to fight an immortal supervillain from within his own mind. Completely normal teenager stuff.
"I'm fine," Izuku said, putting away his phone.
"No, dude. I think you need to go and lie down," Shinso said, stronger this time.
"I agree with Shinso. You don't look good," Tsu said, getting a thankful nod from Shinso.
"I said that I'm fine! What don't you understand about that?" Izuku yelled, raising his voice loud enough to legitimately spook Tsu, who recoiled from fear.
"Hey! Don't yell at her just for trying to help you. That isn't fair to Tsu, and it isn't fair to you!" Shinso was about to go on a rant about accepting help, but then he saw Izuku's eyes.
They were shining a bright red.
It was only for a moment, before returning to their natural, yet dulled, green, but it had definitely happened. Shinso and Tsu exchanged a worried glance, but didn't say anything in fear of setting Izuku off further. Luckily, he seemed to immediately regret raising his voice.
"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry, Tsu. I didn't mean to yell, I'm just … freaked out about having to face Todoroki, and doing what All Might asked me to do, and get this … monster out of my head!" Izuku said, squeezing his eyes tight to make the pain in his arm, his chest and his head go away. He started hyperventilating, and Shinso knew what was happening.
"Hey, Midoriya. Are you okay?" Kirishima asked, sitting a row behind them.
"No, he isn't. I think he's having a panic attack. Someone, go get Recovery Girl," Shinso said, shooting a look at Iida, the fastest of the bunch.
As Iida took off, a few more students voiced their worries, but Shinso put a hand up to warn them about coming much closer. He took a step back, pulling Tsu along with him. Shinso then got low, and slowly approached Izuku, making sure to repeat the things that Tsu had done for him at the USJ when he had freaked out.
"Hey, Midoriya. Can I help you?" Shinso asked, and Tsu's eyes lit up, remembering that she had said the exact same thing in the exact same way back during the USJ Incident.
Izuku looked up and muttered a small 'yes', making Shinso grin and adjust his position so that he was looking up at Izuku from the ground.
"Great. How can I help you?" he asked.
"I need … to fix it," Izuku said, not entirely aware he was saying it.
"Fix what?" Shinso asked.
"One for All," Izuku mumbled.
"What the …? How do you fix …. One for All?" Shinso asked, with no idea what One for All was.
Todoroki, who had been sitting in the back, narrowed his eyes at Shinso's mention of 'One for All'. He had heard Izuku and a strange man talking about All for One earlier, and while he still didn't know what that was, it was clearly connected this new 'One for All' thing, whatever it was. The way Izuku had spoken about All for One earlier almost sounded like he was talking about a person, so maybe they were Heroes, or Villains, or one was a Hero and the other a Villain. One for All and All for One certainly sounded like parallels of each other, with one being correlated with altruism and one with selfishness. Todoroki would look into it later.
Bakugo had also begun thinking heavily on One for All, trying to figure out a connection between it and Izuku's so-called 'borrowed power', and that's when it clicked in his mind. One for All must be the borrowed power. The name fit with a power that could be given, being one power for all people to have. Bakugo looked into the sky, wondering where he could've gotten such a Quirk from.
Iida came rushing back, having carried Recovery Girl to the seats instead of waiting for Izuku to recover enough on his own that he could walk. After that, she helped him through a breathing exercise that helped Izuku greatly.
Todoroki decided that he had waited long enough, and accompanied Sero in walking to the ring, where they were due to duke it out.
Chapter 23: Preliminaries, Battle On!
Izuku sat next to Shinso, Tsu and Iida, the three sitting in a circle around him to make sure he didn't leave. He had been calmed down by Recovery Girl, who had left shortly after due to being called into her temporary infirmary to treat a person that had scraped up their leg badly enough for her to excuse herself immediately and rush to the infirmary. He had been okay with it, but that didn't change the fact that he was still exhausted and nervous about his fight with Todoroki.
Speaking of Todoroki, he and Sero were standing at opposite ends of the ring on the ground, and Todoroki looked seriously pissed off. He looked like he had when describing the horrible things had done to Izuku during their lunch break. It made Izuku want to get up and scream at him that everything would be okay, but he knew that he shouldn't. He doubted he even could, with his fatigue having eaten up so much of his stamina.
"I don't think we need to debate who's winning this one," Kaminari said.
"I'd still bet ten thousand yen that Sero wins," Kirishima said.
"What? Why? He's clearly out of his depth with Todoroki," Jiro asked.
"I guess I like underdog stories," Kirishima chuckled.
"That's not an underdog story. That's cruel," Kaminari said, looking concerned for multiple parties in this situation.
If Izuku was being honest, he knew that Todoroki was going to beat Sero. He liked Sero, he had even talked him through how to manipulate his Blackwhips better, but he was almost exclusively a mid-range fighter, whereas Todoroki could operate in most situations without much change to his overall fighting style. His Quirk was objectively superior as well, Sero's Tape being good for grappling and capture, Todoroki's Half-Cold-Half-Hot being an overwhelming assault of ice that could counter just about anything.
"The second round of the first bracket, Hanta Sero versus Shoto Todoroki will begin … now!" Midnight yelled, cracking her whip to signal the start of the match.
Sero stretched out his arms, seemingly getting ready to attack.
"Man, I don't think I can win against you," Sero complained.
Todoroki said nothing back, simply letting Sero warm up in peace.
"Too bad. I don't really feel like losing, either!" Sero said.
After a moment, Sero threw his arms forward, ready to attack.
Tape flew from his dispensers, and Sero fired off his Quirk at Todoroki, who let the tape wrap around him, pinning his arms against his sides and seemingly capturing him fairly tightly. Sero yanked Todoroki off the ground slightly, causing him to be dragged closer to the edge of the ring, his feet skidding across the ground as he moved closer and closer to the edge.
Izuku saw the look in Todoroki's eyes before Sero; pure rage. Todoroki let out a breath, and the frost that flowed from his mouth was what did it for Sero. He quickly tried to cut off his tape from his body, but Todoroki grabbed onto the strand with his right hand, sending a wave of ice up the tape and toward Sero, all happening in a split second.
"Sorry about this," Todoroki said, more freezing breath pouring from his mouth.
A gigantic glacier formed from Sero, the ice that had been crawling up his tape and expanding rapidly to cover him, as well as almost half the stadium, in solid ice. The edge of the glacier rose up just a few meters from the stands, and Izuku had to lean back to avoid getting grazed by one of the sharper edges. The crowd watched in fascination as the ice cleared the stadium's roof, no small feat.
Todoroki was clearly upset, but something had to have made him overdo the fight in such a way that it was more trouble than it was worth. Izuku remembered that Endeavour had arrived earlier in the day, during the break for lunch. Maybe the two had run into each other and, their relationship being what it was, it hadn't gone well. Izuku was worried about Todoroki, because he had seen the boy's expression before he had created the massive glacier that had dwarfed the stadium.
"Sero, can you move?" Midnight asked.
"Are you kidding me? Of course not," Sero said, Izuku seeing from the screen to his left that Sero's entire body except for his head was encased in the glacier.
"Sero has been eliminated. Todoroki moves on to the second bracket," Midnight announced, knowing it was going to end up this way.
As Todoroki began to melt the glacier, Izuku's phone started ringing. He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, the pain in his hand making it hard to maneuver properly. He brought it out and saw that it was from Ochako, and almost jumped out of his seat. He heard a few snickers around him, so he got up and began to walk toward the hall, but saw Jiro whisper something to Kaminari, who giggled in response.
"Could you please not listen in on my conversations, Jiro?" Izuku asked, dipping into the hall.
"My Quirk's passive, dude. I can't exactly make myself hear less!" Jiro shouted, knowing he was already gone.
"Hello," Izuku answered the phone.
"Hey, Izuku. I've been watching the Festival! You're doing really well so far!" Ochako said, sounding very enthusiastic.
"Yeah. I'm not sure how long that streak is gonna last," Izuku said, letting his exhaustion bleed into his voice.
"Are … you okay?" Ochako asked, hesitantly stuttering.
"No. Something is going on with me, and I think my Quirk is siphoning energy from my body to power itself. That, combined with me having to go all out all the time to keep up with Todoroki and Bakugo has drained me of my stamina. I'm barely standing. I'm trying to stay awake, but I don't think I can for much longer, let alone fight Todoroki, who … well, you saw it, didn't you?" Izuku explained.
"Izuku, you sound like you want to give up," Ochako asked, a worried tone to her voice.
"I do want to. I'm not going to, though. I can't. Not after so many people have put their faith in me for this one day. I have to get through it. That's what being Plus Ultra means," Izuku said, his voice breaking.
"I know you can do this, Izuku. I believe in you," Ochako said, sounding like she had the sweetest smile in the world on her face.
Izuku thought back to Shinso telling him that he may just have to figure out his feelings for Ochako, like he had told Yaoyorozu she may have to do for Kendo. He looked around, trying to see if anyone was watching him or listening, knowing that Jiro was probably tuning in out of spite, and whispered.
"Ochako, there's something I have to tell you, but it can wait until after the Festival. I'll … see you then," Izuku whispered.
"Alright. I'll probably see you on the winner's pedestal before you see me," Ochako laughed.
"Right. See you," Izuku said.
"See you," Ochako replied, and hung up.
Izuku leaned against the wall, feeling utterly wiped out. He didn't know if he could keep going like this, but he knew that he had to. He pushed himself off the wall, barely supporting his own weight, and shuffled back into his seat, where he noticed that Jiro and Shoji were looking at him strangely. He groaned knowing they'd heard what he said, but had been somewhat affected, so he guessed that they weren't going to do it again.
When Sero got back, dripping in water, Todoroki didn't accompany him. He had melted the massive glacier he had made, so he should've been told to go right back to the class's segment of seats. That meant that he was wandering around, probably looking for his father to say something to him about what he guessed was the reason he was angry in the first place, their first meeting that day.
"Hey," he said, groaning as he sat down next to Kaminari, still dripping wet.
"Didn't Todoroki offer to dry you off?" Kaminari whined scooting over until he was pushed back by Jiro.
"Nah. He said he was sorry, that he was angry and needed a place to vent. Then he left," Sero said, looking like a traumatized child who just had their worldview rocked.
"The next match will be Ibara Shiozaki versus Denki Kaminari! Please make your way to waiting rooms," Midnight announced.
"Alright, that's me," Kaminari said, almost leaping off his seat.
Kaminari went to walk away, but his hand was caught by Jiro.
"Don't lose," she said, looking him in the eye seriously.
"Yeah. Don't worry," Kaminari said, not expecting sincerity.
He left, going to wait for his match to begin, and Izuku looked around. He saw so many people in the stands, all having a good time, but they didn't know how stressful it was for the participants of the Festival. They were out there, cheering and laughing at the winners and losers, but the people, the children who were fighting for their chance to be seen, were giving it their all and then some. It was quickly literally draining Izuku. They didn't see that side of the Festival, the scary part.
Izuku spotted Yaoyorozu, and remembered that she had been talking with Kendo earlier, both before the Cavalry Battle and in line with her at lunch. He strained to get up, getting curious looks from Shinso and Tsu, but slowly walked over to her and sat down beside her, whispering so that nobody but Jiro and Shoji could hear. He knew it was useless, but he was still going to try.
"How did talking to Kendo go?" Izuku asked.
"Ah, yes. Kendo," Yaoyorozu said, a blush covering her cheeks.
"Did it not work out?" Izuku asked.
"No! She was great, and a lovely conversation partner. Kendo has so many interesting thoughts and ideas about so many different topics, sometimes I get lost in her energy and passion for everything she talks about. She also calmed down on the aggressive flirting after a few minutes and we talked earnestly for most of our lunch break," Yaoyorozu explained.
"And …?" Izuku trailed off.
"And … it was very fun. More fun than I've had in a long time. When she smiles, it's like she's lighting up the world! Her laugh is like the sweetest music I've ever heard! Kendo's incredible!" Yaoyorozu quietly gushed.
"Well, then, I think you have your answer," Izuku chuckled
"I don't think so," Yaoyorozu said, suddenly downcast.
"What? Why?" Izuku asked.
"I'm … not sure that Kendo feels the way I do. The only times we've really talked are during the one meeting for the Class Representatives, when you make it happen, or today. She never comes to me. That's what is making me think that she simply likes to tease, and isn't actually interested in me that way," Yaoyorozu said, looking away, embarrassed.
"I'm sure that she likes you. You just have to show that you're willing to like her back. Make some advances, the same way she's doing. That'll show Kendo that you're serious about her," Izuku said, hoping this was all good advice. He really had no experience in this, and he had been avoiding his own feelings, but he felt compelled to help people out where he could, and this was a situation where, though out of his depth, he could help.
"Thank you, Midoriya. You're a good friend," Yaoyorozu said.
"You're welcome, Yaoyo-" Izuku tried to say, cut off by a yawn.
"I've been meaning to say, Midoriya, but if my surname is too long, you can use my given name if you want. Momo is much easier to say than Yaoyorozu," she chuckled.
"Wha-? No, I couldn't. We don't really know each other very well, and I don't think I'd be comfortable with that. I barely call Ochako by her name. I mean, uh, what did I just say? Nothing, you're the one who's nervous. I'm going now. Bye! Good luck with your match," Izuku said, suddenly feeling a surge of nervous energy, which was possibly even worse than having no energy.
He walked down the stairs, almost falling down them, and sat in his previous seat next to Shinso and Tsu. They were engrossed in a conversation about the different types of jelly, and which flavor was superior. He thought it was a pointless argument to kill time, but Shinso and Tsu argued their respective points like it was going to save their lives if they won.
"No, all I'm saying is that raspberry flavoring is the best flavor. It's an objective fact," Shinso said, gesturing wildly with his hands.
"It isn't really an objective fact when it's your favorite, is it?" Tsu asked.
"Whatever. What's your favorite, I'm sure it's not as good as raspberry," Shinso said with a cocky smirk.
"Lime," Tsu said, and Shinso froze.
"Shit," he said, his cocky smile fading into an embarrassed expression.
"Alright, I'll give you lime; it's really good. Nothing compares to those two, though," Shinso said, waiting for Tsu to object. She didn't.
"HA! I'm counting this as a win," Shinso said, leaning back in his seat.
"Midoriya, you're looking very … tired," Tsu said, searching for the right word to say for a moment.
"I know," Izuku said, writing in his notebook about how Todoroki had won, easily.
"Hey, Midoriya. What do you write in those notebooks?" Jiro asked, causing everyone to look in Izuku's direction.
Izuku jumped, not expecting the question. Nobody had ever been interested in knowing what was in the notebooks except for his mother and Bakugo, but the latter had destroyed it moments after. He snapped it shut as a reflex, but opened it again once he saw that nobody was trying anything. Taking a few deep breaths, Izuku relaxed, knowing that nobody was going to hurt him. He reasoned that his nervous and tired state was leaving him more on edge than usual. Or maybe he was always like this, and made a conscious effort to be normal. Ignoring that thought, Izuku turned back to the class.
"Uh, just some general Hero analyses. I put any thoughts on any interesting Quirks I see in my day to day, and how I could counter or improve them," Izuku said, writing in it some more.
"Like who? Are we in there?" Ashido asked.
"Uh, yeah. I have notes on every Quirk in our class. As well as all our teachers and any Pro Heroes that I've met," Izuku said.
"How many Heroes have you met, though? It could only have been like three or four," Sero asked.
"Well, this is the thirteenth one, so knowing that an entry takes up about five pages, and these are one hundred an fifty page notebooks, I'd guess that I probably have about three hundred and sixty entries in the others, and I'm about halfway through this one," Izuku did the math quickly.
"THIRTEENTH?" the class shouted.
"Yeah. I like taking notes. It's like a comfort for me," Izuku said, scribbling in a crude diagram of how Todoroki's ice had crawled up Sero's tape.
"Y'know, I never noticed before, but that one kinda looks wrecked, doesn't it?" Hagakure asked.
"Oh, yeah. It looks like it's been set on fire or something," Kirishima agreed.
Izuku flicked his eyes to Bakugo subconsciously, but Shinso caught it. He followed the brief line of sight, and realized he had been looking at the only person he had known before UA that had a fire Quirk. Shinso knew that Bakugo had bullied Izuku pretty harshly when he was Quirkless, but destroying something that was clearly so beloved by him was downright evil.
"It's fine. It was just the cover that was damaged. It's actually got a bit of water damage, too. Thanks, Kacchan," Izuku mumbled, the old nickname slipping out in his exhaustion.
The class's attention snapped to Bakugo, who simply looked like he had been caught stealing from the cookie jar. He looked around, not having been paying attention to the conversation thus far. He quickly got annoyed at the attention, and huffed while looking away at the ring on the ground.
"What?" Bakugo asked.
"Did you … blow up Midoriya's notebook?" Iida asked.
Realizing that was what this was about, Bakugo's eyes widened. He looked at Izuku, who was quietly dying from embarrassment, though it was self-inflicted this time. Izuku hadn't meant to let that slip, but he was tired and nervous, so he had accidentally revealed that Bakugo was the one to damage his notebook. It wasn't a big deal, it really had been just the cover. Sure, the water damage was more impactful, he had tried for weeks to get the smell of burnt seaweed off the book, but it was all fine. Izuku had forgiven Bakugo.
"Yes," Bakugo said.
"Why?" Tsu asked.
"Because I hated him," Bakugo said, still looking away.
"Why?" Hagakure asked, looking more confused at the idea of someone hating Izuku than the idea of Bakugo hating something in general.
"Because I hated myself," Bakugo said, stunning even Izuku. He had never heard this side of Bakugo before.
"Bakugo," Izuku breathed.
Bakugo, instead of staying to answer their questions, left.
Izuku had never heard Bakugo admit something as personal as that, even when they were friends. He remembered that Hound Dog had probably given him some things to think about, being the country's top guidance counsellor. He had probably been putting a lot of effort into Bakugo, the reason he had been forced to attend their sessions being such an extreme show of aggression and rage. Izuku still had nightmares of the way Ochako's body was, limp and bloody, after the explosion that day. He could tell that the image of what he had done that day had stuck with Bakugo as well, because he hadn't used explosions anywhere near that size on anyone else since.
As Kaminari and Shiozaki, a girl with green, rough looking hair lined up at opposite sides of the ring, Midnight called the match. Izuku wrote some notes on what he thought Shiozaki's Quirk was. Maybe some sort of summoning power from her hair, which looked to be moving, despite the lack of wind. It was probably malleable by her will.
"Ibara Shiozaki versus Denki Kaminari, begin!" Midnight called.
"Hey. You're pretty cute, do you wanna go out some time?" Kaminari asked, smiling genuinely.
"Oh! I'm flattered, but I'm not interested in dating," Shiozaki said, smiling softly and blushing.
"Eh, can't blame a brother for trying," Kaminari said, holding his arms in such a way that it looked like he was going to hurl electricity at Shiozaki.
Izuku was confused. During the first week of their training for the Festival, Izuku had made a suggestion to Kaminari about the way he used his Quirk. He had asked Kaminari about how his Quirk worked, and when told that he could coat himself in electricity no problem, but that firing off that electricity was a problem, since he had no control over where it went, blasting it in all directions at the same time like an explosion of lightning, Izuku had suggested that he cover his hands in electricity and fight hand-to-hand, removing the issue of firing it off and the frying of his brain, two serious problems surrounding his Quirk.
Kaminari had been excited to train that ability, and had gotten to work on it right away. Izuku had watched Kaminari as he had struggled to contain his electricity in his hands, but had eventually gotten the hang of it with the help of Izuku explaining the method he used to channel his own Quirk into his body. Imagine that each of his body parts has a switch. Flip the switch to turn on his Quirk on that specific area, and off to turn it off. That had helped some, and he had gotten used to it much faster than he had ever anticipated.
As the match continued, Kaminari rushed Shiozaki. He ran toward her, hands sparking with electricity. He ran with such speed that Izuku was impressed. Kaminari could easily outpace Izuku at three percent of One for All, which was an impressive feat to him. So many people in this tournament could contend with him, and that scared him.
Shiozaki put up a barrier of her own hair, confirming Izuku's theory that she can mold her own hair into shapes. Kaminari ducked left, passing the barrier easily. Izuku could see that Shiozaki's hair had shortened considerably, so she probably had a finite amount that she could use before she had to wait for it to regrow, which probably was far less than a regular person's hair growth. If she had to wait months and months for it to grow back to full length, that would be a nightmare for Hero work.
Kaminari quickly jumped up to his full height, the two being about the same height, though Kaminari was slightly taller. He put his hands on Shiozaki's shoulders, letting the electricity flow through his hands and into Shiozaki's body. Her eyes widened, realizing what was happening far too late to stop anything.
With a bright yellow glow, Shiozaki was electrocuted by Kaminari's hands, sending a million volts, his most common output, into her body. She tensed up, twitching slightly as the electrocution continued. After a moment, Kaminari removed his hands, letting Shiozaki fall to the ground, unconscious. Izuku watched as Shiozaki's clothes smoked slightly, and he was curious about what it felt like to get shocked, writing all the information in his notebook.
"Shiozaki has been eliminated. Kaminari advances to the second bracket," Midnight cheered.
Kaminari grinned brightly, waving to the audience, cheering for his victory. Izuku thought that he saw a few tears escape from his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and walked out of the ring, making his way back to the seating segment of Class-1A.
When Kaminari got back, he arrived to cheers from his classmates. He was grinning proudly, and Jiro immediately scoffed when he sat down next to her, positively glowing with happiness. She poked him with one of her earphone jacks, getting him out of his good mood.
"What? You couldn't let me have one win?" Kaminari whined.
"I just wanted to knock that stupid grin off your face. Heroes don't brag about their victories," Jiro said.
"Nah, I don't think that's it. I think that you like seeing me down," Kaminari said, looking at the ground.
"Oh, shit. Kaminari, do you think that I don't like you?" Jiro asked quietly.
"Kinda. You always laugh at me whenever I overdo it with my Quirk, or get an answer wrong on a test," Kaminari said, managing to pull his eyes away from the ground and lock eyes with Jiro.
"Hey, no. That's not how it is. I laughed at you because I thought you were fine with that. If you don't let me know that it bothers you, how will I know?" Jiro asked, her earphone jacks twitching in what Izuku could only describe as disgust at herself.
"I thought that I could just … take it? I don't know. It's kinda stupid. Like me, I guess," Kaminari mumbled, though everyone was so quiet in fear of interrupting the moment that they all heard him.
"Hey, you're not stupid, man. Remember what you said in the changing rooms on our first day of Foundational Heroics? 'You're smart in a different way'," Kirishima said.
"Yeah. You're emotionally intelligent, dude. Don't fret about it," Sero said, pitching in from behind Kaminari.
"I agree. I feel like the way you talked about love that day really sunk in, too. You helped me figure out a core part of myself, and that takes some smarts, no matter where you focus it," Izuku chipped in, remembering what Kirishima and Sero were talking about.
"I … helped? What did I help you with?" Kaminari asked, sitting a bit straighter.
All the eyes in their segment turned on Izuku. He almost wanted to flinch, but looked to see both Shinso, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu nodding at him. He decided that it was as good a time as any to come out to the class, though he wished he would have revealed this with Ochako present. He supposed that he could tell her separately, as he had done with Yaoyorozu and Shinso.
"When you asked me if I liked girls, and I said no, and then asked me if I liked boys, and I said no to that, too, I didn't know that there was a name for that, or that it was possible to feel that way. You helped me realize that I'm asexual, and I'll always be grateful for that. You're a smart person, Kaminari, you just like helping people more than you like studying math," Izuku said, smiling brightly despite his fatigue.
The people around him were stunned, for a multitude of reasons. Kaminari was touched by the message of Izuku's words, whereas everyone was taken aback by the sheer positivity that he was channeling into his failing body. He still looked abnormally pale, and his voice was hoarse, but he had resonated with all of them, even Bakugo, who had just been about to re-enter the seating segment but had stayed back when he heard Izuku's confession.
"Thanks, Midoriya," Kaminari said, smiling brightly.
"Thank you," Izuku said.
Suddenly, Midnight started speaking about the next match. It was Hatsume versus Kendo, and Izuku had to give this round to Kendo. He knew that Hatsume had some impressive inventions in that pack of hers, but Kendo's raw strength rivaled his own at five percent of One for All. He watched as Midnight approached the podium on her stage.
"The fourth round, Mei Hatsume versus Itsuka Kendo, will now begin!" Midnight announced.
Without warning, the speakers around the stadium began to fizzle, and soon they went out entirely. Hatsume pressed a button on the small headset she had on, and a microphone extended out of it that warped around her head and settled in front of her mouth. The speakers came back on with a whine of feedback, until it stabilized with Hatsume's voice being projected out of them.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Mei Hatsume, and today, you're getting a sneak peek at my babies! So, let's get started. If you could try to attack me, that'd be nice," Hatsume started, looking around the audience.
"What the hell is this crap? I'm not playing your games, missy!" Kendo said, standing with a hand on her hip.
"What? I gotta show all the big tech companies my babies! How can I do that if I don't have a test subject?" Hatsume whined.
"I don't care. I know your type; you're just gonna give up and go out of bounds when you're satisfied, giving me an unearned win. Screw that. If I'm gonna win, I wanna do it against an enemy that actually wants to fight," Kendo said, turning to leave the ring.
"Wait! Come at me seriously, and I'll prove to you that my babies can secure a win against even a Hero Course kid," Hatsume said in a panicky voice.
Kendo stopped, still facing away from Hatsume. She rolled her shoulders, warming up, then dashed toward Hatsume. Kendo crossed the distance between her and Hatsume in a flash, almost appearing before her in the blink of an eye.
Izuku noted that, despite giving Hatsume the ability to see extremely long distances away from her, and miniscule details in things, it didn't give her better processing speeds. It just let her see better, not be able to react faster to the things she saw. Quirks had all kinds of niches they fit into, so Izuku wasn't surprised.
Hatsume pulled out the net-gun she had been toying with at the lunch table earlier, and aimed it at Kendo, who immediately enlarged her fist and grabbed Hatsume's hand. Kendo then yanked her fist back, pulling Hatsume with it. Hatsume flew through the air, tumbling around with no control over her body.
As she neared the edge of the ring, Hatsume pressed a button on her belt, and her hover-soles activated, generating enough lift to propel her away from the edge and toward the safe zone. She landed on the ground, her hover-soles keeping her a few inches off the ground. She fumbled with her gear, trying to find a counter to Kendo's strength.
"Ha! You're alright! Come on, let's fight!" Kendo roared.
Hatsume pulled another gadget out of her pack. It was a collection of tiny spheres, and Hatsume clenched her fist around them, a crack sounding out around the arena. Kendo charged Hatsume, increasing the size of her fists to around three times their normal size. Hatsume threw down the collection of balls, which hit the ground and exploded, sending a plume of smoke larger than should have been possible from a ball that small.
With all of the smoke pellets combined, the plume of smoke created was large enough that it obscured Hatsume completely. Kendo smiled, dashing toward the smoke and swiped at it, her raw strength powerful enough to push the smoke around, dispelling the cover. Kendo was about to laugh, but Hatsume had disappeared, nowhere to be seen by Kendo.
"Sneaky!" Kendo said, glancing upward, spotting Hatsume hovering above her.
Hatsume dodged around an uppercut, but fell to the ground without her hover-soles pointed downward. Kendo stood over her, and glanced down at her hover-soles. Hatsume knew what the other girl was going to do, so quickly tucked her feet in to avoid Kendo grabbing and breaking her hover-soles. That didn't work, however, as Hatsume herself hadn't moved.
Kendo ripped the hover-sole off Hatsume's foot, tearing the piece of equipment to shreds. She had the decency to look like she felt bad for Hatsume when the other girl teared up at the death of her baby, though Izuku thought it was more confusion than actual sympathy. Izuku knew how much love and effort Hatsume put into every little thing she built, but Kendo didn't, so she couldn't fully grasp what destroying the hover-sole had done to Hatsume.
In response to her hover-sole being destroyed, Hatsume tried to hit and kick Kendo, but she was firmly contained in Kendo's enlarged fist. The large hands had wrapped around her to eliminate her based on the mobility requirement. If you could no longer move, you were eliminated, so Kendo had gone that route.
"Hatsume, can you move?" Midnight asked.
"No!" Hatsume said, still squirming.
Midnight cracked her whip, signalling the end of the match. Kendo released Hatsume, returning her hand to the regular size. Hatsume fell to the ground, looking at her hover-soles, heartbroken. She stood back up, bowing to Kendo as she had done to Hatsume. The two then walked away from each, Hatsume hastily collecting the scraps of her gear as she left the ring.
"Itsuka Kendo moves onto the second bracket!" Midnight shouted, bringing the third match of the first bracket to an end.
Izuku saw the way that Hatsume had looked at her broken baby, and at Kendo, the destroyer. He knew that she was upset by the small expressions of fear and anger that had crossed her face in the few moments before the breaking of her hover-soles and her defeat. Izuku decided to help Hatsume any way he could, and promised to make time for her after the Festival was done.