Todoroki barely tilted his head when, THWACK!
The sound of the collision was hidden beneath the roar of his ice attack.
BANG!
The surging wave of ice stopped less than ten centimeters away from Yuta's body.
'Checkmate'
Yuta inhaled.
For Todoroki, however—
Everything lurched sideways.
'What—?'
The thought barely formed when pain exploded across the back of Todoroki's skull.
His vision blurred instantly—colors bleeding together, shapes distorting.
'I got hit—?'
His balance vanished.
'When—? How—?'
The arena tilted sideways.
THUD.
His knees hitting the concrete before he slumped to the floor. Todoroki's body went limp as he fell to the ground face-first.
The stadium was seized by a stupefying silence. Be it those in their seats or those watching on the screens, the sudden halt of Todoroki's attack, the bizarre nature of the knockout, left the entire crowd suspended in disbelief.
Then,
Murmurs rippled through the stands.
"Did… did he just get knocked out?"
"What hit him?!"
"Was that—ice?"
"Where did it even come from?!"
Present Mic's was uncharacteristically subdued.
"U-Uh… folks… I think… I think Todoroki just got hit. From behind. By… by his own ice? The Match might most likely be over."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed.
'So his quirk really can control objects. But from the looks of it, it's not pure Telekinesis.' His gaze fell on Todoroki.
'He started well, but unfortunately, Todoroki's vigilance wore off.'
Then turned his gaze to someone else. 'Though that can't be blamed on him entirely.'
In the VIP section, Endeavor stood rigid.
His son, his greatest masterpiece, lay face-down on the concrete, unconscious and defeated. By a brick of his own ice?
'Unacceptable!'
Instantly, his expression curdled, flames flaring so violently that the spectators not far away flinched.
"GET UP, SHOTO!"
"DON'T DISGRACE YOURSELF LIKE THIS!"
His fists clenched so hard the armrest beneath his hand splintered.
Midnight stood frozen, whip half-raised.
She looked at Todoroki's crumpled form, then up at the ice chunk resting peacefully behind him—
"Shoto Todoroki is unable to continue!" Her voice trembled slightly at the sheer absurdity of the finish. "The winner is—"
Just then, Todoroki's body twitched.
Midnight stopped. The entire stadium, focused on the referee, immediately turned back to the fallen student.
Todoroki's fingers curled against the concrete.
Then his arm shifted.
"He's… moving?" someone whispered in the crowd.
"No way—after that hit?!"
"Is his skull made of metal?!"
Even Yuta's raised an eyebrow in slight disbelief.
'He's still conscious?'
Todoroki's body trembled.
His hand pressed flat against the ground, pushing.
Slowly—agonizingly—he forced himself upright.
Endeavors cloudy face eased.
"He's still awake?!" Present Mic yelled. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Shoto Todoroki isn't out of the match yet!"
Todoroki struggled to push himself up. His vision was a chaotic swirl of color and light, head pounding with a dull, throbbing pain.
The tingling at the back of his skull was the only coherent sensation. He hadn't lost consciousness entirely, but his state was barely functional.
"It's… Not over." Todoroki uttered while looking down.
"I haven't lost yet."
Meanwhile,
'Dammit! This is bad.'
While his words may sound tough, his current situation was anything but. As in front of him, with he saw wasn't one Yuta Akutami but nine.
'My vision's no good. Forget winning. I can't even fight like this.'
From the stands, Endeavor leaned over the railing.
"Use your left side. Do it Shoto!"
The boy remained unresponsive. Endeavor gritted his teeth. "Do you really want to lose now? After coming so far? Fight."
Fight? 'I'll probably fall if it take one more ...'
WHOOSH!
A blur of wind and speed shot past his ear.
Todoroki's eyes widened, his body activating his right side on instinct, when he felt a force landing on his neck. Instantly, the world darkened.
'I ..'
The last coherent thoughts he could muster was incomparably bitter. '... I lost.'
In the arena, everyone watched as Todoroki dropped for the second time.
This time, there was no chance he would get back up.
Midnight swung her whip up.
"The winner is Yuta Akutami!"
The medical robots zoomed onto the field while the official announcement ignited the arena.
Cheers and roars erupted from the audience. Regulars and Pro heroes alike.
"HE DID IT!" Present Mic screamed, his voice strained with genuine excitement. "THE GENERAL STUDIES DARK HORSE HAS DEFEATED THE CROWN PRINCE OF U.A.! AN INSTANT KNOCKOUT! A CLEVER, TACTICAL WIN!"
In the VIP section, Endeavor didn't move. His flames burning so intensely that anyone would think he was about to explode.
The sheer humiliation of the loss—defeated by his own son's stubbornness and a cheap trick—was clearly boiling inside him.
Down below, Yuta finally exhaled as his eyes returned to normal.
'This would have been so much easier if I could use Genjutsu.' He flicked toward Todoroki's unconscious body as the medical bots scanned him.
'Stubborn bastard… I honestly thought he'd stay down the first time.'
His attention came back to the thunderous applause from the audience.
People jumped to their feet. Chants began spiraling through the stands.
"A-KU-TA-MI!"
"A-KU-TA-MI!"
"A-KU-TA-MI!"
Cameras flashed from every direction. The spotlight locked onto Yuta, who after a brief moment, broke out of his daze and waved.
In class 1A, the reactions varied.
"Kaminari, pick up your jaw," Jiro muttered.
"I can't! It's stuck!" Kaminari squeaked, leaning forward in disbelief.
Uraraka clapped a hand over her mouth. "He really won…"
"I can't believe Todoroki lost."
"Well, nothing is impossible it seems." Iida uttered solemnly. "Todoroki's loss wasn't unjustified."
"Right. So is no one going to talk about the thing with Endeavor and refusing to use his fire side? .."
Midoriya wasn't listening.
'Todoroki's lost.' His gaze turned to the see Bakugo standing and leaving the viewing area. He remembered Bakugo's last words on their first battle training concerning Todoroki. 'Then I saw the guy with the Ice and I realized .... I couldn't beat him.'
It had been nearly a month since then.
'I wonder what you think now ... Kaachan.'
__
The audience devolved into murmurs on the last battle as Cementoss began clearing out the ice. None of this had anything to do with Yuta who headed back into the tunnel towards recovery girl's office.
'Great. Now I need a new uniform.'
Yuta thought, peeling away the charred remains of his left sleeve. The skin beneath was perfectly fine. A testament to his Quirk's chakra powered ability. He didn't need an examination.
Apparently, Recovery girl didn't care about his opinions when it came to personal health.
Midnight's orders came right after the match to head to the Nurse's office.
'Meh. No harm done anyway.'
She'd probably chew him out for overusing his "healing factor" and then kiss his non-existent injury anyway.
'I wonder what Mom and Eri think. They must have been worried sick when I got hit by the fire. I should give them a call.'
He turned a corner toward the medical wing. The hallway was brightly lit, and perfectly empty—except for one figure.
Standing directly in the middle of the corridor, blocking the route to the infirmary, was Endeavor.
Yuta paused, his good mood evaporating.
'Well, this can't be good.'
The Number Two Hero was massive. His armor-like suit gleaming under the fluorescent lights and his face was devoid of the wide, grin he had when Todoroki unleashed his flames.
"Akutami Yuta," Endeavor finally spoke. His voice lower and harsher than he probably intended it to. "I have questions I want you to answer about your Quirk."
__
Back in the arena, the crowd detonated with noise.
Present Mic's voice thundered across the stadium:
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE—THIS IS IT! THE FINAL MATCH OF THE SEMIFINALS!"
Bakugo walked out first, feral expression nowhere to be scene.
From the opposite tunnel, Tokoyami emerged.
The audience roared, stomping, chanting, vibrating the whole arena.
Present Mic practically screamed into the mic:
"THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH WILL ADVANCE TO FACE YUTA AKUTAMI IN THE FINALS!"
Bakugo rolled his shoulders.
Tokoyami's arms remained folded.
Midnight lifted her whip.
"Combatants ready…"
The stadium held its breath.
Present Mic leaned forward—
"SEEEEEEMIFINALS… MATCH START!"
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading