Chapter 67: Shoto Todoroki — The Starting Point
If Yoshikage Kira had called the previous match between Midoriya and Hagakure "brutal," then the damage Midoriya was inflicting upon his own body in this fight could only be described as "cruel."
Blood dripped from his fingers to the ground below. His trembling hand had gone from bruised black to a deathly gray. And yet, he remained standing, his determined gaze fixed on Todoroki.
Across from him, half of Todoroki's body was covered in frost, which was severely slowing his movements.
Todoroki laboriously raised his hand. A stream of ice surged from his feet, spreading toward Midoriya. Clutching his arm, Midoriya stumbled and leaped out of the way, avoiding the attack.
At that moment, Todoroki stomped his foot again. Another wave of ice, this time forming a massive glacier, rushed toward Midoriya. He didn't dodge. He raised his left hand, flicked his already blackened middle finger, and a powerful gust of wind instantly shattered the ice, blasting through it and slamming into Todoroki, sending him flying.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, Midoriya's finger turned a deep gray. He grit his teeth and looked toward Todoroki, who had crashed into an ice pillar but had not been knocked out of the ring.
By now, most of the audience could no longer bear to watch. No matter how spectacular the fight was, seeing Midoriya's blood-soaked and mangled body made it impossible to feel any excitement.
Is this really a normal match? The thought arose in countless people's minds.
Yoshikage Kira was the same. He couldn't understand what the two of them were trying to prove. One, though physically unharmed, was being encased in ice, his movements growing more sluggish by the second. The other was bathed in his own blood, his arms on the verge of being permanently crippled.
Uraraka gripped Kira's arm, her voice pleading. "Class Rep, Midoriya's injuries... they can be healed, right!?"
Yoshikage Kira shook his head. "I warned Midoriya before. Even if his injuries can be healed, they will leave indelible marks on his body. If he continues to push himself like this, even if he becomes a Pro Hero, his career won't be a long one."
Kira frowned. He had once used Hamon to examine Midoriya's body. Under normal conditions, using his full power just once would cause his body's nervous system to react to the pain of a crippled arm by shutting down—he would pass out immediately.
Even in a heightened emotional state, the most he should be able to do is remain conscious. His body's limits should have prevented him from using his Quirk again.
But now, even though he was distributing the pain by using one finger at a time, he should have long since passed his breaking point. Something... something unusual had to be pushing him.
Down in the medical tent, Ryanne was rubbing her temples in frustration. She had been angry at him earlier and had, in a fit of pique, injected an entire arm-sized syringe of unpurified serum into Midoriya's body. After the initial healing, the excess dosage was now acting as a stimulant, suppressing the pain signals from reaching his central nervous system. As a result, his adrenaline was pumping, and he was completely ignoring his own injuries.
A good thing this wasn't an official athletic competition, otherwise Midoriya would have already been disqualified for doping.
Being injured in a battle with a villain could be called an honor. But suffering an incurable injury during a normal training exercise would lower a hero's evaluation, giving the impression that he was someone who couldn't control himself.
This Sports Festival was a showcase for the Hero Course, but it was also a recruitment fair for Pro Heroes. Midoriya's reckless actions would make most of the hero agencies that had been curious about his Quirk shy away.
Few people would choose a sidekick they had to babysit, just as few people would willingly place an unstable bomb next to themselves.
Of course, Yoshikage Kira was an exception. He glanced nonchalantly at his watch.
Midoriya slammed a fist into Todoroki's stomach, sending him flying into an ice wall. His own hand cracked again.
"Izuku Midoriya, what are you trying to prove? How many fingers do you have left to use?" Todoroki said calmly, standing up and coughing up blood. "Your injuries are far worse than mine."
"Because... I want to live up to everyone's expectations!" Izuku Midoriya said, dragging his broken arm as he ran forward. He slammed his head into Todoroki, pinning him against the ice wall, and said through gritted teeth, "I want to be the kind of cool hero who can save people with a smile!"
Todoroki's ice-covered elbow struck out at Midoriya. Once, twice. Midoriya finally let go, his strength failing.
But as if he felt no fatigue, he climbed back to his feet. Todoroki quickly put some distance between them, realizing that something was not right with Midoriya's condition.
"You want to win without using your full strength? What a joke! Everyone is fighting with everything they've got, but you're just standing on this stage trying to spite your father! Do you think you're someone special!?"
Midoriya stared at Todoroki. "Why won't you use your fire!? If you just used your fire, you could melt the ice covering your body! Then you could beat a cripple like me with ease! If you just tried, you could win!"
Midoriya charged forward and slammed a fist full of righteous anger into Todoroki's face, right on his burn scar. "Why are you rejecting it!?" he roared. "Isn't that... your power, too!?"
Todoroki crashed through the ice wall he had made to cushion his fall and tumbled to the ground. The glacier-like ice covering the stage began to melt, and the temperature in the arena suddenly shot up.
"A Quirk is something passed down from parent to child. But what's truly important isn't that connection. It's realizing that this body is your own to control. That's why, every time I make an entrance, I make a point of saying—I am here."
The image of a laughing All Might seemed to appear before Todoroki, completely eclipsing the image of Endeavor that he had always loathed.
"I'm the same as you," Todoroki said, getting to his feet. Flames erupted from around his left eye, burning as fiercely as Endeavor's. A new light shone in his eyes, a glimmer of hope that had never been there before.
Todoroki suddenly smiled. It was like ice that had never melted suddenly thawing, filled with a strange, deep emotion. He laughed and shouted the rest of his sentence. "I want to be a hero, too!"
The flames erupting from Todoroki's body burned even hotter than the sacred torches at the four corners of the stadium. Like a phoenix being reborn, he announced his existence to the world.
Endeavor, completely unconcerned that Todoroki was now outshining him, saw that his son had finally used his fire in public. Overjoyed, as if possessed by the spirit of fire itself, he strode from the back of the stands to the railing.
"SHOTO! YOU'VE FINALLY ACCEPTED YOURSELF! VERY GOOD! THIS MATCH WILL BE YOUR NEW STARTING POINT! CARRY ON MY BLOOD, SURPASS ME, AND GO FULFILL MY AMBITION!"
Todoroki shot him a cool glance and let out a disdainful snort. If Endeavor knew that the only reason I accepted my fire was because of something All Might once said on a TV show, would he lose his mind right here and now?
Let him keep thinking that. Todoroki turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya, you're so badly injured, yet you can still smile. I really don't know what you're thinking."
Todoroki crouched down. Frost condensed under his right leg, and flames roared in his left hand. "Whatever happens next," he said in a low voice, "is on you."
Todoroki didn't believe that Midoriya, who was already on his last legs, could possibly defeat him at his full potential.
"That's just what I wanted to hear!" Red veins spread across Midoriya's entire body. This time, he wouldn't hold back. He would use the greatest power he could currently muster to defeat his opponent.
Cementoss's expression changed. He pressed his hands to the ground, and the concrete shifted, forming multiple towering walls between the two boys.
Their attacks slammed into the walls simultaneously. The multiple, sturdy barriers shattered in an instant. A shockwave, like that of a nuclear bomb, blasted through the entire stadium.
Izuku Midoriya was thrown against a wall like a ragdoll. The stimulant in his body had been completely burned away by that last punch. His eyes could no longer stay open, and he desperately wanted to sleep, but his broken body sent continuous waves of pain through his brain, forcing him to stay conscious.
Midnight tore open her sleeve. The sweet aroma of her Somnambulist Quirk filled Midoriya's lungs. He could no longer stay awake and, amidst the overwhelming pain, fell into a deep sleep.
All Might... I'm sorry. I couldn't live up to your wish.
That was Midoriya's last thought.
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