Chapter 23: As A Team
Rolling one of his blue marbles in his hand, Izuku can't help but feel just a tad annoyed. Midnight had a very long list of do's and don'ts, mostly don'ts for him after the first event courtesy of Nezu. It's like, if you don't want your rules taken advantage of, then why make it so easy?
No using astral projections to watch the broadcast during the event to get multiple angles. No clone in the announcer's booth to mess with Present Mic. No using illusions on the event selector to alter whatever the event may be. How did Nezu know what he was planning?!
He stands in the middle of the field waiting for the next event to be announced along with everybody else who advanced. As it is most years, the crowd is mostly made up of hero students. The top forty were allowed to move on and he's genuinely happy that all of class 1-A made it.
Two kids from 1-B didn't make it, a girl who liked talking about mushrooms way too much, and a boy…Izuku thinks he was a boy who was some sort of glue stick? Meh, who was he to judge, people thought he was strange for years.
In their places was the general education student with crazy indigo hair and a girl from the support course that with her energy, Izuku is pretty sure they'll either end up hating each other or becoming good friends. He is not sure which is better at this time. That doesn't matter, however! Because going back to the most important thing, his whole class was still in it.
After all, he can't make a fool out of Todoroki anymore if the other boy is knocked out of the competition. Izuku kind of wishes Kacchan wouldn't have made it so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore today after their lovely talk this morning, but the universe isn't that kind.
Red eyes glaring at him from a few meters away let Izuku know what's on Kacchan's mind pretty easily. He stands just a little closer to Uraraka who chats aimlessly with Tsu next to her. Her threats to float Kacchan into orbit are always a comfort.
But what's not a comfort? The second event. Ugh. Izuku's not stupid, he's watched plenty of Sports Festivals and while there are different events every year, the types of events stay consistent. And the second event is the team game.
To say it's not his forte would be a bit of an understatement. His father's teachings tended to focus on self-reliance and making everyone around you believe what you wanted them to believe. This is significantly more difficult with teammates.
Allies equal variables Izuku can't control. Doesn't like his environment? Use illusions to make it whatever he wants. Need people to appear as teammates? Make clones and change them to what you need. They do exactly what he wants, when he wants.
Izuku loves to present himself as chaotic to everyone around him, but much like everything else about him, it's a front. Truthfully, while he knows he can seem random at the best of times, most of the pranks and tricks he pulls have actually had a lot of thought out into them, in both presentation and possible consequences.
Pranks are great, but not if they would put his hero career in jeopardy. Not to say he isn't above taking risks, like when he confronted Eraserhead before his last year of middle school, but even then he was fairly confident in what he could get away with.
Teammates on the other hand? Izuku has no control over their actions, and that's a little terrifying. And try as he might, enchanting someone's mind is not as simple as dad makes it sound.
Izuku shutters thinking about all the lessons Loki gave him in defending oneself from mind control. Having someone else in your head, even if it's someone as trusting as his dad, is still not a good feeling.
But that's just it isn't it? For teams to work well together, they're needed to be some level of trust. His education was vehemently against this. Something that Izuku was still unsure of after trusting Uraraka in the battle trials and Denki at the USJ had actually gone well for him but he's sure dad has his reasons.
So, if he does have to make a team? Who does he choose? The green-haired boy knows he should actually wait for the event to be announced and should choose teammates based on that but his limited trust and even more limited social practice take precedence here.
Uraraka was an obvious choice, if she'd accept of course. Iida was as well, but the taller boy may be unlikely to follow if Izuku comes up with something that may treat the rules more as guidelines. Denki is a great choice for obvious reasons.
Maybe Tenko? He gravitated to Izuku pretty easily when school started and the shared nights of playing MOBA's together means they have at least some experience working together. Izuku being the jungler to Tenko's dps meant the two worked together often, it was a good match.
Unfortunately, not that many options. Would he be allowed to possibly bring in…
Izuku conjures his phone and quickly checks the list Nezu sent him. 'Darn it, he thought of that too. I can't use Eri.'
But the second event never had teams over four people so he had enough. Now, if they just did what he said and let Izuku do what he needed to do, they should have this thing in the bag.
"For the record, we don't do whatever you say."
"I know you're new here, but yeah, we kinda do."
Izuku rolls his eyes. His nerves must be really acting up from the festival if his clone's voices are coming through his head again.
"Just get with the program Thirteen, we're here for Izuku."
"That's what I'm doing! And trust me, as soon as I get Green Tea sailing, I'll fall in line."
"As soon as-wait, what?! Green Tea?!"
"My ship name for Izuku and Uraraka. You like it?"
"Sounds stupid."
"YOU'RE stupid!"
"Are we really alive? We can move around on our own but is that truly free will, or is that just another illusion? Do we each share a piece of Izuku's soul, do we each get our own?"
"Oh my gooooood, Eight is having another existential crisis, Three, can you handle this?"
"Sure. Eight, let's discuss the Ship of Theseus."
"How will that help him?!"
"Relax Thirteen, this happens all the time with certain clones. The problem will take his mind off what it means for us to exist and if we're really alive or not and what that entails for our place in this world."
"…I'm just gonna go back to trying to get Izuku to notice the obvious signs that Uraraka likes him back."
"Probably a good call."
'Have I ever told you all how much you scare me?' Izuku thinks.
"Frequently, actually!"
Midnight's whip cracking through the air is enough to pull Izuku away from the voices inside his head, what a completely normal sentence. The referee gets the attention of the crowd and competitors. "It's time for the second event!"
"YEAAAAAAH, and we're back rabid sports fans!" Present Mic booms to the crowd. "After the treacherous obstacle course, only forty remain, but we're not done yet! Only sixteen will survive to the third and final event, who's ready for a blood bath?!"
Izuku feels he should be concerned about how much the crowd approves of that but he finds it best to not think about it so much.
"I feel the need to point out again for concerned parents and our insurance company that we have a full medical staff available and there is no risk of permanent injury," Aizawa says through his own microphone.
"Press X to doubt," Denki snickers before yelping at one of Jiro's headphone jacks stabbing him.
Izuku decides to take pity on his cousin and conjure a video game controller from his pocket dimension so he can then…press X on it for everyone to see.
Denki bursts out laughing, holding out his fist and after taking a second to line up his own hand(Odin help him if he were to miss), Izuku bumps fists with him.
"Why did you bring a controller with you to the festival?" Tsu tilts her head at him in curiosity.
"You never know when you might need a controller," Tenko answers her sagely.
"And it's because of our wonderful Recovery Girl and medics that our kids can go all out! The best type of action is action with no consequences! YEAAAH!"
Izuku is pretty sure there was another sigh from Aizawa in there somewhere but the crowd is too loud to hear it.
Another crack of Midnight's whip. "Let's see what kind of show our kiddies will put up for us now!" Like before, the holographic screen appears behind the hero, cycling through events too fast to see.
After a few seconds, it begins to slow. 'Oh, looks like it's going to be a Calv-' The machine spins just a little more.
"King of the Hill!" Midnight announces to thunderous applause. "But this won't be your standard game, this is UA after all!"
Behind the R-rated hero, the screen flickers to show what looks like a normal suburban cul-de-sac, at least at first glance. The street is much wider than any normal street. Five two-story houses sit at the end of the street, each with its own huge backyard. In the middle of the street, multiple compact cars were strewn randomly.
What was out of place though, was the six metal poles marked on the screen, one located in back of each house and the last placed right in the middle of the street.
Midnight gestures dramatically to the picture. "Our forty competitors will split into ten teams of four and battle it out here for control. Each metal pole is a 'hill' they will fight for! It's simple, a ring two meters in diameter surrounds each pole, stand in the circle and you will accumulate one point per second for your team. And that's for each team member! So if there's two of you, you'll receive two points per second and so on!"
"But beware!" She wags her finger at them. "To get points, you and/or your teammates must be alone in the circle! If there is an enemy in there with you, neither of you gets points until you push one out!" She holds up a small circular device in her hand. "After you form your teams, you'll all come up and attach one of these to your person, it'll help keep track of your points with the cameras!"
"I bet you're asking yourself, is that all? Of course not!" Huh, Present Mic wasn't the only person who knew how to play to the audience, Midnight clearly knows what she's doing. "During the twenty minute game, only certain 'hills' will award points at a time! There could be one active, or two…or three so who knows! The hill will shine a bright beam of light into the sky when it's active and they will change randomly! So keep that in mind when picking your teams!"
Interesting. The constantly switching hills forces them to be more versatile when picking teams. You can't just choose a bunch of people with defensive quirks and sit on the hill. You need people with mobility to get to the hill, offensive quirks to take it, and someone on defense to keep people away. A little bit of everything.
"Oh…one more thing…" Izuku doesn't need his perception to tell him he's in danger. "Izuku's Midoriya's team will get double points on whatever hill they're on but…if anyone manages to knock Midoriya or one of his teammates out of a circle, they and their team will receive five times the points during their capture!"
When everyone turns to look at him, Izuku imagines this is what an animal sees before it's taken to be slaughtered. It's not a great feeling.
"You have ten minutes to pick your teams, go!"
Some people are very quick to move away from Izuku, well he's off to a great start. There's probably no point in asking Uraraka, he couldn't put her through that-
"Hey Deku, let's team up!"
'Don't cry because this amazing girl still wants to team up with you, don't cry. Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry!'
'Dangit.'
"You sure?…" Izuku questions the still beaming girl next to him. "You're gonna be at a serious disadvantage with me…"
"That doesn't matter! You always come up with some crazy way to win anyway! Besides, it's better to team up with friends, you know?"
'I knew I liked this girl for a reason.'
'He admits it!'
'Shut up, Thirteen!'
"T-thanks," Izuku mumbles, trying and failing to hide him wiping the rest of his tears while Uraraka giggles and looks away to help him.
"Okay I guess we just need two more-"
"First place!" The support girl manifests herself right in Izuku's face out of nowhere! Uraraka on the first day, Mina after that, now her?! What was with girls getting so close to him here?!
"I'll be joining your team! Mei Hatsume! Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! All eyes will be on you first place so with me on your team, all eyes will be on my babies!"
"Your wha-"
The pink-haired girl rambles on, unperturbed by Izuku taking a step back, only for her to step forward with him. "Babies! I've made so many! And I'll have anything you need! Hover boots, nets, jet pack, sludge pills, tasers, death ray-oh darn, Power Loader took that one out- flash bangs, smoke bombs, pretty much any bomb you can think of!"
Izuku stops his attempted backing up. "Did you say bombs?" Maybe she's not so bad after all-
"Deku!" That was not Uraraka. Though, she did use Kacchan interrupting them to get in between him and Hatsume for some reason. Can things slow down for just a second?
"Hey, Kacchan! Perfect! We needed a fourth teammate!" Izuku jokes, waving the boy over.
"Shut the fuck up." Kacchan crosses his arms and glowers at him.
Izuku waits for whatever insults the angry boy is ready to throw while looking around for Denki. It takes him too long to realize that Kacchan is still standing there, not saying anything. Izuku shares a confused look with Uraraka while Hatsume is oblivious.
"Uh…" Izuku raises his hand like an idiot trying to get his sensei's attention. "Kacchan, what are you doing?"
The angry boy slaps a hand across his face, slowly dragging it down, and answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "What the hell do you think I'm doing? You idiots are joining my team."
Oh, well I'd that's all then-
wait…
Wait…
WAIT…
"W-w-w-w-w-"
Kacchan stomps over, getting right in front of him. "Listen, Deku, because I ain't repeating myself. You owe me a goddamn rematch and an explanation after I win and I can't have that if your dumbass is knocked out of the festival by some no-name extras! So if I gotta carry you and whoever else to the final round to get that, then I will!"
Izuku is…confused. Uraraka doesn't look much better. Hatsume is again, unbothered and apparently, has no fear as she examines Kacchan very closely, her eyes darting all over him and her hands feeling all over his chest and arms.
"You're explodey boy, right? Can you make them only from your hands or your feet too? What about somewhere else on your body? Is every explosion exactly the same or can you control different aspects of each one individually? Hmm…yes, very firm…"
"What the f-"
"So much potential here, yes!" She takes off her goggles, getting impossibly closer to his face. "You and I can make some great babies together."
He is half-alien, part frost giant, and even part god, but not even Izuku can believe what he sees when Kacchan backs up and barely squeaks out, "w-what?"
"Two minutes, kids! Better finalize those teams!"
"I guess…this is happening," Izuku whispers to Uraraka the best he can.
"Are you ok with this?" She replies, clear objection to their new teammate all over her face.
"Not really." Izuku grimaces. "But we don't have time to really find someone else and at the very least, I know he won't sabotage us." Uraraka opens her mouth to say more but it became her turn to get bombarded by Hatsume and she was dragged away.
Well, it could technically be worse, he thinks? Looking around, Izuku gets a look at some of the other teams, starting with Todoroki, who has Yaomomo, Iida, and Denki on his team. That was a problem. Tokoyami stood silently with Dark Shadow, Kirishima, some green dinosaur-looking boy from 1-B, and the general studies student. Interesting combination.
"Time's up! Get your sensors and let's get this show on the road!"
Izuku and his teammates place the point trackers on themselves and proceed through another one of the giant doors in the stadium, finding the cul-de-sac from the screen. This sensor was an unfortunate problem as it meant Izuku couldn't dump clones around the area and get free points but he'll work with what he can.
'Team Bakugo' as they are so affectionately called thanks to Kacchan's insistence and none of them having the energy to fight him, start in the middle of the road, the other nine teams spread out among the houses and yards.
"So, what's the plan?" Uraraka inquires.
"Stay out my way," Kacchan growls.
"In a big confusing battle like this, I'll be better on my own," Izuku says. "Sneaking around and attacking people and getting points while no one's looking. Uraraka, there's plenty of things for you to use as weapons, starting with these cars, and Hatsume." The inventor looks up from a piece of tech she has a screwdriver too but that's also currently smoking. "Nevermind."
"Deku, that's not-"
"Aaaaand BEGIN! You know the drill, no countdowns, so go! Attack, conquer, win! Slaughter!"
Three of the six metal poles immediately light up, including the one right next to them and two behind houses on either side of them. The four teenagers immediately take advantage and step inside the circle for maximum points, but they wouldn't go unchallenged very long.
Multiple teams quickly converge on their location. 'Not even clones are useful now! I could make copies of everyone but they know we have to stand in this small circle or no points! Dad was right, I'm not meant for teams.'
To the surprise of no one, Kacchan is the first to respond. "DIE!" He puts his hands together and lets loose a huge explosion on his side. Izuku is barely able to dodge a piece of tape and a tongue aimed right at him but it doesn't matter because Sero and Tsu are already reeling themselves in.
'Sorry!' Izuku conjures a knife and cuts both the tape and tongue, causing Tsu to cry out but let go. "Fancy meeting you here, Midori!" Izuku twists just as Mina lobs a glob of acid at him. Only a few droplets land on him but he still hisses at the sting. He's thankful that at least Mina is keeping the pain low for them.
Mina spins and turns, throwing more and more acid at him, and between all the people fighting around him and the small circle he's in, Izuku can barely dodge. Finally, deciding to sacrifice a few points, he turns invisible and gets behind her, kicking the acid user into the incoming vines of another girl in 1-B, who's surprised at who she's ensnared.
Izuku is quick to get back in the circle, only to have to use his daggers to deflect several flying horns headed his way, and then immediately roll out of the way from a devastating punch by Sato. The sensor attached to his uniform is constantly beeping to let them know when someone's entered their circle and when they're getting points again, attacks are flying everywhere, people are yelling, it's chaos.
Or it is, until a horn sounds and the pole they're guarding goes dark, three new poles light up and it turns from chaos into a race. "You guys get the house on the right, I'll go left!" He hears Uraraka yell something after him but they don't have time to debate, he works better on his own anyway.
Creating a dozen clones, Izuku runs around the side of the house, hops the fence, and sends them into the fray of a new battlefield already started in the large grassy backyard. It's the general studies boy's team who has control of the hill.
He stands in the back, hands in his pockets, smirking. Kirishima's hardening and the 1-B's student's quirk that seems to allow him to produce blades from his body (so cool) are enough to handle most attacks thrown their way, and anything they can't is decimated by Dark Shadow. No one can seem to touch them.
Izuku is quick to distract the team with clones and plans to sneak up behind them while invisible, maybe the purple-haired kid is giving them some sort of boost? Izuku will aim for him first. But the moment he puts a foot in the circle-
Beep!
Crap! The sensor just gave away he's here! It happens so fast that he can barely process it. Dark Shadow destroys his clones in an instant and because the circle is again, so fricking small, the shadow creature is able to cover the surface area of it quickly, too quickly.
Just because Izuku is invisible doesn't mean he's not there.
Dark Shadow knocks him back and turns him visible, landing with a hard grunt on the ground. Izuku is quick to roll onto his feet and run back, daggers ready. Dino boy extends blades from his forearms and moves to intercept him. That's fine. From the little Izuku saw of him, he has little actual form.
Izuku dodges two quick slices from his opponent and a precise elbow strike to the boy's chest stuns him momentarily, but that's all Izuku needs. At least, usually. When he goes to slice the boy's arms, his blades are met by the hardened arms of Kirishima, protecting the other from damage.
No! That's not fair! Izuku would've won without Kirishima there! Another swipe from Dark Shadow puts Izuku on the ground again, hard. He barely hears the horn sound off again, and the people around him running to the next hill while he picks himself up to one knee, panting.
What was going on? None of his usual tricks or tactics were working! What did his dad teach him to do against teams of people again? Think! Right, use illusions and tricks to separate them and pick them off one by one.
…
He can't do that! The teams are going to stick to their hills and they're so close together, that they'll know if he tries to impersonate one of them or use a clone. Frontal attacks aren't his style, maybe there was some sort of animal that could help him? Alligators tend to scare people…stop! Get back on track! He knows his dad must've taught him something for this, think!
Izuku tries to stand on his shaky legs but is surprised when both his legs sink into the grass like it's quicksand. He instinctively tries to pull himself out but that only causes him to sink more! What is-
"Look what we caught." He doesn't have time for this! Izuku looks up, not even trying to hide his annoyance, at the smug face of Monoma, standing on a platform of air with another boy with brown hair and oval eyes. "A rat."
"You're too late," Izuku taunts while still trying to free himself. "The hill's already moved!"
Monoma's face darkens. "And who said that's why we're here?" Izuku has all of about two seconds to realize what was happening before the other boy jumps off his platform and thrusts his hand forward, letting off…an explosion from his hand?!
There's no time for him to question the other boy having the same quirk as Kacchan before heat, smoke, and pain fill his face. Izuku is launched back, skidding painfully on the newly hardened ground before coming to a rest, but as soon as he stops rolling, the ground softens again underneath him.
Izuku looks around frantically to find a boy with a skeleton type face with a glowing hand on the ground. That's gotta be who's trapping him. He sees Monoma being helped back onto his air platform by the brown-haired boy.
Conjuring throwing knives, Izuku heaves them at the skeleton boy and for good measure, some at Monoma too. His stomach twists painfully when another air shield protects the boy softening the ground and Monoma only laughs while he uses a smaller explosion to deflect the projectiles.
"We've been studying you, traitor." Monoma spits the last word out. "I was ready to take your whole team out so please accept my humblest thank you for running off on your own and making it so easy."
"And Team Shimura is giving Team Ashido no leverage to take the hill they want! And what's this? Looks like some in 1-B have got a personal grudge to settle with 1-A's Izuku Midoriya! Oh! That explosion has got to hurt! Our first event winner is trying his best to defend himself but the combination is too much! 1-B's Kaibara has entered the fray and a nasty hit from one of his drills puts Midoriya down again! What do you think of this, Aizawa?…Aizawa?"
A pause.
"I apologize about that! My co-host left in a hurry, hey when nature calls, am I right? But Midoriya can do nothing while Honenuki keeps him trapped, Tsuburaba's air platforms keep his teammates safe, and Monoma and Kaibara attack! But they gain nothing from any of this, what's the point?!"
Izuku ducks from another drill again but a nasty explosion on his back sends him tumbling forward and Kaibara's drill gets a clean hit on his arm. He yells in pain and tries to set his footing and think but the other boys jump up and the ground softens again.
On cue, another explosion rattles the greenette and Izuku meets hard ground again. "It can end whenever you want, just admit to the world you're the traitor," Monoma sneers.
The son of Loki, chuckles, standing back up, the ground softening to trap him again. "Sorry guys," Izuku says in between gasps of air. "I'm not the traitor, and ask anyone, I'm a terrible liar." Izuku feels a part of his cheek. "I think you missed a spot."
Monoma looks furious and Izuku thinks he's doing a good job at hiding his internal freakout but he isn't sure. He's never been in a situation like this before. He's always been able to pull on dad's training but it's done nothing but hurt him this round. If he can't rely on that, then what can he-
"HEY!"
They all look up and Izuku has to check to make sure he didn't make an illusion by accident…because that was Kacchan descending on them all at a frightening speed.
"No one gets to beat the shit out of that nerd, but me!" Tsuburaba inhales but Kacchan is there faster than any of them expect, planting his boot in the boy's face. Monoma has no time before Kacchan raises both of his hands and eviscerates Monoma with a double explosion.
"When did he-" Honenuki can't finish before Uraraka is there, wearing what looks like Hatsume's hover boots, grabbing him and using her quirk to make him weightless. It makes his subsequent flip over her shoulder onto the ground even harder. She's really taken to those grapples he showed her.
Kaibara yells in surprise when he's wrapped up in a net and taken to the ground. "You think I can't get out of this stupid net?!"
"How dare you insult my baby?!" Hatsume yells indignantly from where she hovers with her jetpack. She turns up a dial in her hand and Kaibara yells as the net shocks him into submission…with probably more voltage than needed but Izuku is not going to be the one to point that out.
He also keeps silent on the many explosions Kacchan sends at Monoma while yelling something about him being a useless copycat.
With the ground solidified, Izuku gets onto his steady feet for the first time in minutes. He goes to smile at Uraraka but it quickly vanishes when he sees her face. To put it lightly…she is not pleased.
"You…you…" she shakes a finger in his face and Izuku idly wonders which is more terrifying at the moment, a pissed off Uraraka, or the Kurse from the USJ. "You…dummy! We're going to have a talk about not abandoning teammates after this, do you understand me, mister?" Answer: Uraraka.
Izuku can only nod so fast, putting his hands up in defeat. "Yes ma'am."
"Did that feel good?!" Explosion. "Beating on someone like that?!" Explosion. "Made you feel better, did it?!" Explosion. "How does this make you feel like a piece of shit!" Three more explosions.
Monoma groans on the ground, his uniform smoking. When he tries to get up, another explosion from Kacchan takes the rest of the fight out of him. "You got anything else you wanna say?! Keep running your mouth, I dare you!" Monoma answers with another groan. "That'll teach you to gang up on someone who can't fight back, you blonde smug bastard!"
When Kacchan does nothing else but stare down at the other boy, his fists clenched and shaking, Izuku decides to speak up. "Uh…Kacchan…"
"Don't look into this, Deku!" The much angrier blonde whips his head around. "I want no excuses about why you lost when we fight! I'm gonna earn that victory! Now, c'mon!"
Kacchan blasts himself to the roof of the house and Mei follows with her jet pack. "Is that how you convinced him to come here?" Izuku asks a calmer Uraraka.
To his surprise, she shakes her head. "We were helping him defend one of the hills, with him yelling at us the whole time obviously, when we heard what Present Mic said was going on. I was about to tell him we had to go but he made this…really weird face and blasted off on his own."
"…huh." Uraraka touches his shoulder with all five fingers, making him weightless, and uses the hover boots from Hatsume to fly them both up to the roof of the house by where their teammates kneel.
"About time. I thought you two were going to make out the entire fucking challenge." Bakugo is uncaring at the two now very red teenagers. "We got a good amount of points while you were doing fuck-all Deku but it's not enough so-" several horn blasts cut him off.
"It's time for the final push, kids! In one minute, all hills are lighting up! Get your points while you can! Oh and one last thing, the one in the middle is worth double points, go go go!"
From their vantage point, they can make out team Todoroki already overtaking the hill. "We need those points," Kacchan states.
"They're all bunched together, none of my tricks will work as long as they can see each other," Izuku says, feeling utterly dejected, his only solace being he can feel his regen working on his injuries.
"So, let's make it so they can't!" Hatsume looks equally confused at the bewildered looks the others give her. "What?" She reaches into her bag and pulls out two canisters. "Flashbangs, remember?"
"Okay, but we have to do this as a team," Uraraka stresses, giving a pointed look to both Izuku and Bakugo.
Every instinct is telling him to go at this alone. Even though he can feel a plan forming in his mind looming between his teammates and Todoroki's, his brain is screaming at him that displaying so many powers to his allies will make it easier for them to tell him from his clones, or easier in the case of Uraraka.
No, he had already messed up this round. Making his team waste time they should be getting points in order to save him. He's a hero! He shouldn't be the one being saved! No, he has to make it up to them. "I have a plan."
Uraraka looks relieved, Hatsume waves some sort of gun at him, probably hoping he'll include it, and Kacchan scoffs. "If you think I'm gonna go along with one of your stupid plans, then you got another-"
"You wanna do something for me, right?" Izuku interrupts, shocking the other boy. "That's what you said this morning? Well, this would be a great place to start. Help us, and like you wanted, I'll give it my all next round."
Kacchan grinds his teeth so hard, that it's a miracle they don't break. His arms shake with small explosions popping in his hands and like Izuku, it looks like he's also fighting every fiber of his being telling him to do something, anything else. Eventually, he answers. "Fine."
Dispatching another team of 1-B students is trivial for Shoto. He exhales, letting out some of the frost that was building up inside him. It was almost over and looking at the scoreboard, his team was securely in first, with Bakugo and Midoriya all the way down in sixth.
He will admit, he's surprised they aren't going to make it to the final round but if at the end of the day, it makes it easier to displease Endeavor, he won't complain. Winning the second event with only his ice was a great start.
"And it begins! The beacons are lit! Your point totals call for aid! May the best team win!"
Shoto certainly plans to.
There's a clanking on the ground around them. Shoto thinks he's hearing things until first, he realizes the rest of his team is looking around as well, and second, when a small green light shines at his feet revealing two previously invisible canisters.
"Loo-" Shoto can't hear any more of Yaoyorozu's warning before his world goes white. He clutches his head, throwing an ice wall in front of his team in reaction. He can't see, there's a ringing in his head, Shoto feels disoriented and can do nothing when he feels something wrap around his waist and pull.
He hits the ground hard, nothing still moving right in his vision, the wire or whatever is starting to make him feel numb, and just when it feels like it might be too much, it's ripped away and Shoto can feel himself being shaken.
"H…hey! …on…c-…le…" Finally, Shoto's vision and hearing return to find Kaminari kneeling in front of his prone body. "You good, buddy? Flashbangs and some electrified wires, got the rest of you good but I'm a bit more resistant to that stuff."
Shoto answers by pushing him away and with more effort than he'll ever admit, forcing himself back on his feet. "Where are they?" He snarls. The question is mostly rhetorical because Shoto finds them easily, Midoriya's team, who look as if they were caught in their own attack somehow, getting off the ground. Amateurs.
But he will not allow himself to be humiliated by Midoriya again. Shoto glances behind him to see Iida and Yaoyorozu walking up, good. Moving his right foot forward, he easily encases their entire team in ice, signaling the others to move back to the hill and get their points, which Denki does but for some reason, Iida and Yaoyorozu stay behind him.
Shoto leaves Midoriya's team all with their heads free except for Bakugo who he traps all of except for the front of his face, his explosions may be an issue. No matter, his team has retaken the hill and-
"Todoroki! What is the meaning of this?!" Iida yells except…Iida is right next to him but said nothing. It was his voice, there was no mistaking that, but why was it coming from Midoriya who was trapped in ice?
Shoto's anger burns as he realizes what is happening but again, he's too late. Green light surrounds the team trapped in ice to reveal a decoy and his three teammates. Yaoyorozu puts her hand on his shoulder and Shoto sees a soft pink glow as his weight disappears. "Sorry about this." Uraraka apologizes.
With a twisted grin Shoto never thought he'd see on Iida's face, the boy he now knows is Bakugo raises his palm. "Dumbass." Then, an explosion sends him flying.
"Spectacular! With some nifty tricks, Team Bakugo tricked Todoroki into trapping his own team in ice and sends their leader flying south for the winter, and now they have the lead hill to themselves, getting those much needed points! Time's almost up! Can they hold it?!"
"Release!" Uraraka puts her hands together so Todoroki won't be sent flying out of the stadium, just hopefully to the farthest house. Now all four of Izuku's teammates are getting points and they're moving up the leaderboard fast. '6th…5th…c'mon almost there…'
An explosion of ice and electricity startles them and Denki emerges from the smoke, smirking and looking like he's having the time of his life. "You didn't think that could really hold me, did you Izuku?"
"It held you long enough to knock Todoroki out of the fight so yeah, I think it did what it needed to do!" Izuku snarks back.
"We're not out yet! Iida!"
Ingenium's brother's engines roar like Izuku has never seen before. "On it!…Recipro Burst!" And he's gone before Izuku can blink. Oh no…
Izuku conjures a few knives. "Make these weightless!" He puts them in Uraraka's hands. "Kacchan, I need you to-" Izuku is cut off by the roar of Iida's engine and just like that, Todoroki is back. Oh, he looks mad. In an instant, he surrounds both teams by a wall of ice.
"This ends here. Nowhere to-"
And that's when the ice began to crack. Izuku knows he asked already but seriously, could things slow down for two seconds?! To their right, the ice crumbles to dust thanks to Tenko with a few 1-B teammates behind him. "Gank, middle lane!" He moves for a boy with what looks like a comic book page as a head.
"WHOOOOOOOSH!"
A strong gust of wind bowls over both teams, Izuku is barely able to grab onto the metal pole of the hill and Uraraka before they're sent flying. Hatsume digs two of her cables into the ground to keep her stable and Kacchan forces explosion after explosion to keep him on the hill.
"For the record, Midoriya!" His eyes widen at the sight of Kendo coming at them with two enlarged hands, using the wind to make her approach faster. "I'm gonna beat the crap out of those guys who attacked you after this!"
Izuku pushes Uraraka away just before he's hit. Kacchan cries out when Izuku barrels into him, both forced out of the hill with the rest of their team.
"Vive la France!" Todoroki's team doesn't fare much better, with Yaoyorozu's hastily made shield already cracking from Aoyama's attack while the rest of his team, Mina, Sero, and Tsu try to get past to attack the hill, which is now controlled by Tenko, Kendo, Tokage, and the comic book boy. How did that team happen, and why was Tenko dusting all the cars around them?
Oh, anytime anyone got close to the hill, Kendo clapped her giant hands and covered whoever approached in dust, blinding them and making them cough up a lung so they couldn't stop Tokage from forcing them back.
"Deku!" Izuku thanks Uraraka for handing back his weightless knives just in time. They need to take back the hill, he doesn't have time to check the score so he has no idea where they are but they need the hill back and not to worry about Todoroki at the same time. One look from Kacchan and he knew they had the same thought.
"Keep everyone else off our backs!" Uraraka gives him a determined nod and Hatsume only answers with a cackle while she launches herself at Denki who had just punched Shoji back. Izuku is sure his scream and the pink smoke aren't as bad as they sound.
Kacchan attacks Todoroki's right side and when he predictably raises his hand to defend, Izuku launches the weightless knives at a speed too fast for Todoroki to see. They pierce his arm, stopping his defense and allowing him to take a shot from Bakugo.
Todoroki looks furious as the two boys jump him again, Kacchan on his right, and Izuku going for the left. An ice wall stops Kacchan's explosion and Izuku thinks he's home free as he's never seen Todoroki produce ice from his left, and that's when he feels it. Heat, unbearable heat.
For just a second, Todoroki's arm bursts into flames and Izuku feels like he's being stabbed by a thousand knives causing him to jump back in pain. Todoroki looks at himself in shock before Yaoyorozu appears, being carried by Iida, and she covers herself and her two teammates in a sheet. "Kaminari, NOW!"
It feels like all the fight is knocked out of Izuku when the sound of Thunder rocks the stadium and he's hit by an electrical shock that knocks him and everyone else off their feet. The chaotic battlefield, now eerily silent.
"Why…why didn't we start with that?" Denki pants.
"We kept getting separated…" Yaomomo sounds pretty out of breath too, taking the sheet that protected her and her team off themselves. "I couldn't protect us all until just then."
"Okay, let's get that-"
"And that's time!" Everyone jumps at Present Mic's announcement. Izuku looks over to see Tenko and his team still have the hill. He groans in the realization that since they pushed his team out, they actually got five times points on top of the double points from being there.
What a wild finish to the second event! Did ya like that?!" The crowd answers enthusiastically. "I've got all the chills! Hey, Business course, those gift shops wouldn't happen to sell winter coats, would they? With so many shakeups at the end, let's check that final scoreboard! And with their daring strategy at the very end, it's Team Kendo that wins the second event!"
Izuku gets up slowly. Did they do it? After all of that, did his team get enough?
"In second place, coming out of nowhere is Team Shinso! Wow!" Kirishima, Tokoyami, and the 1-B boy look confused coming over from wherever they were, while the aforementioned Shinso walks away, seemingly pleased.
"In third place, Team Todoroki! Look at him folks, switching things up this time!" Todoroki didn't need to send any more ice Izuku's way, the glare he was giving him was cold enough.
"And finally, our last qualifying team it's…Team Bakugo! Who sneak in by the skin of their teeth!" Izuku is so happy that he doesn't even freak out when Uraraka hugs him at the announcement, laughing and cheering alongside her and Hatsume.
He had done it, it went against everything dad had taught him but he worked with people as a team and succeeded! Maybe…maybe there was more for him to learn.
Kacchan stares at him from afar and Izuku gives him a small nod, a promise. Bakugo had held up his end, so Izuku would hold up his as well next round.
"And now, for the list of our sixteen finalists!"
Izuku Midoriya
Ochako Uraraka
Katsuki Bakugo
Mei Hatsume
Tenya Iida
Momo Yaoyorozu
Denki Kaminari
Shoto Todoroki
Itsuka Kendo
Manga Fukidashi
Setsuna Tokage
Tenko Shimura
Hitoshi Shinso
Togaru Kamakiri
Eijiro Kirishima
Fumikage Tokoyami
"We'll be back for the third and final event after a lunch break and some recreational games for those who couldn't make the cut! So until then, we'll leave you with the bracket! Place your bets now!"
It's easy to find his first opponent since Izuku is fighting in the first match and it's certainly not what he's expecting and looking at everyone else on his side, it was going to be a tough climb to the top.
"Aww maaaan, it feels so unmanly to fight in the third round when I don't even remember doing anything in the second!" Kirishima moans to his teammates.
"You can back out if you want, but I'm not losing out on this chance!" Dino boy declares before walking away.
"And neither are you!" Kacchan marches right up to Kirishima and gives him the most threatening finger point Izuku has ever seen.
"But, Bakubro-"
"Don't call me that! And you wanna bitch and whine about making it to the end of the festival, or do you wanna go out there and prove you earned your spot?! Because you sure as shit can't do that sitting on the sideline!" That was…oddly inspiring.
Izuku was not the only one to think so. "Yeah…yeah you're right! A man wouldn't just wait around feeling sorry for himself, he acts!" Kirishima punches the inside of his palm before pointing at Denki. "You hear that bro?! I'm coming at you with everything I got!"
"Alright, but no hard feelings when I win, yeah?!" Denki yells back.
"You mean when I win!" Kirishima puts his hand on Bakugo's shoulder. "What about you, man? Worried at all about your first match?"
"Hell no! I'm gonna destroy her!"
"Taking every opponent seriously! So manly!"
"Um…Midoriya?" Izuku turns around to the pleading voice and can't stop the laugh that escapes him at the sight of Tenko being dragged away by the back of his uniform by Hatsume. "Help?"
"Hush, you!" Hatsume enthusiastically silences the poor boy she's dragging away as if he weighs nothing. "We have much to discuss before our match and I have so many babies that would be perfect for you! Have you ever thought about gloves that could retract when you flex your fingers? Baby #7714 has only chopped the fingers off three mannequins this week! A new record!"
"S-seriously, Midoriya, help!"
Izuku can only wave back without a trace of guilt. "Don't steal my win next time!.. Oh, real mature! Might as well get some use out of that finger now, you might not have it much longer!" Izuku laughs more when Tenko looks like he's about to hurl.
Izuku shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when he leaves Recovery Girl's office to find Todoroki waiting for him, also having been just patched up by the doctor. But he was surprised by what happened next.
"EH?!"
"I've been watching you and picking up the signs." Todoroki continues, unnoticing and unperturbed by Izuku's plight in the abandoned hallway they stand in. "Your obsession with All Might and American heroes, your fluency in English, clear training, and a quirk that has many different applications, just like one hero I know. Just admit you are Star and Stripe's secret love child."
"Wooooah! As cool as that would be, that's-that's untrue! She's an amazing hero but I have an even more amazing mom I wouldn't trade for anything! My quirk is mostly illusions that come from my dad, he trained me, nope, that's it! N-nothing else to it h-here!" Izuku covers his mouth to stop his rambling.
"I see…" Todoroki looks down in thought. "So your father is a hero?"
Wanting to get off this topic as soon as possible Izuku does what he always does when people ask about his parents. He tells the truth. "Nope. My dad's Loki, the God of Mischief from myth."
Silence. Phew. That's better. Maybe now he can-
"From what I've read about Loki, your quirk would fall in line with his abilities." Izuku bluescreens.
"You don't actually believe me, do you?!"
"No, I don't believe you." Izuku can't even get his sigh of relief out before Todoroki presses on. "But I also don't disbelieve you either. This will require more research."
"…WHAT?!"
"Shota, you need to calm down."
"Hizashi, I am asking you for the last time, calmly, to get out of my way." Present Mic found himself in the middle of another emergency meeting after the second event in the staff room. Currently, he was doing his best to keep his best friend from possibly choking his co-worker.
"Let him come!" Vlad yells from the other side of the room where Midnight keeps him pushed back.
"That's not helping!"
Nezu looks on between the madness.
"It's probably not as bad as you think Shota," Hizashi says, trying to defuse the situation, but he wasn't dumb. He knows what he saw.
"You watched the same drone footage as I did," Shota fumes. "Monoma and his team attacked Midoriya for being a traitor. You don't need to be a P.I. to figure out what happened, Hizashi. Vlad threw a fit like a child after no one took him seriously after the USJ and sicked his class on my student."
Vlad defends his actions. "It's only fair to the students we are supposed to protect that they know they're in danger and who endangers them!"
"They're not the ones in danger-"
"Enough." Nezu doesn't yell but his voice is still able to silence them all. "Despite your misgivings on Mr. Midoriya, the contents of our meeting were highly confidential and you broke that agreement. You are confined to the staff viewing room for the rest of the festival. Now go. Nemuri, please make sure he gets there."
The blood hero moves to disagree but is promptly shoved out the door by a despondent Midnight. As soon as the door shuts, Shota rounds on Nezu. "You can't be serious? All that shit he just pulled and you're letting him off with a goddamn timeout?!"
"Of course not," Nezu responds curtly, typing away on his phone. "But Vlad is in an emotionally unstable state, if I were to suspend or fire him now, he would surely lash out at both UA and maybe even the student in question. Where is Mr. Midoriya at this moment?"
"You've heard of quirk marriages, right?"
This was a far from ideal situation for Nezu, especially on a day already as unforgiving as today. But he had to play this carefully, both for the already dwindling reputation of UA and for the emotions he knows the humans are dealing with.
"Letting Ectoplasm know to find him and get him with his friends, not telling him why yet." Shota sends a text on his phone. "So, what? You wait until after the festival to discipline him? Vultures surely saw that and will want answers. Not to mention Midoriya's parents."
Nezu's nose twitches. "Believe me, Midoriya's father came to see me rather quickly after the events unfolded to see who initiated the attack on his son."
"And what did he say?" Hizashi decides to be the one to ask.
The principal thinks back.
"It is only because of Izuku and how highly he speaks of you that I am giving you and your school one chance to handle this yourselves. If you do not, neither my brother nor Odin himself will stop me from painting your office red with his blood."
"He was…insistent that there be punishment involved," Nezu decides to say instead. "And make no mistake gentlemen, I do not take the purposeful endangerment of one of my students, by a staff member no less, lightly. Vlad will answer for this crime."
"And we're back with the third round everyone! Can I get a YEAAAAAAAH?!"
"Yeaaaaaaaah!"
"You guys rock! What about you Eraserhead?! Give me the best you got!…we'll try again later! But it's time for the part you've all been waiting for, the one-on-one fight! First up, it's the master of illusions himself, Izuku Midoriya!"
The crowd cheering him on helps a lot in pushing what Izuku had learned about Todoroki and his home life out of his head. He needed to focus, if he was going to help Todoroki, he couldn't be lost in his head.
Izuku takes his place on the risen platform, Midnight and Cementoss stand off to the side, waiting to intervene if need be.
"And for his opponent! He's the comic book come to life! Please welcome, Manga Fukidashi!"
Izuku faces down his opponent who comes out of his tunnel, waving to the crowd, little 'gushes' coming from where his mouth would be.
"The stage is set and our competitors ready! I think it's time to begin a third round like none of you have seen before! Who's with me?!"