Izuku did manage to get a team—though to most people watching, it looked less like team-building and more like controlled chaos.
Somehow, standing beside him were Ochaco Uraraka, Mei Hatsume, and Ibara Shiozaki from Class B.
It was an odd lineup.
The entire match was basically "everyone versus Team Midoriya."
Teams crashed into them from every direction. Headbands were snatched, reclaimed, stolen back again. Explosions rocked the field. Vines tore through formations. Gravity flipped attackers upside down mid-lunge. Mei's gadgets screeched, sparked, and occasionally caught fire.
Through it all, Izuku stood at the center—steady, focused, terrifyingly calm.
When Todoroki's team finally made their move, the air temperature dropped instantly.
A massive glacier surged forward, ice crawling across the battlefield like a living thing, forcing everyone else back. Todoroki advanced atop it, eyes locked on Izuku, frost and steam swirling around him.
For a moment, it felt like everything narrowed to just the two of them.
Izuku stepped forward, fist drawn back.
The buzzer blared.
BWAAAAAAAM.
Time.
Everything froze.
Izuku's fist hovered inches from cracking ice. Todoroki's hand trembled slightly from the strain of holding his wall in place. Steam hissed in the air between them.
"TIME!!" Present Mic roared, voice nearly cracking from excitement. "WHAT A SHOWDOWN! TEAM MIDORIYA HOLDS ONTO TEN MILLION—BUT TODOROKI'S TEAM BROUGHT THE HEAT! OR SHOULD I SAY THE COLD! THIS IS A RIVALRY TO WATCH, FOLKS!!"
The stadium erupted.
Stomping. Screaming. Chanting.
Izuku exhaled slowly, lowering his fist as the ice crumbled harmlessly away. His grin was sharp, satisfied.
"…Close one."
Todoroki met his gaze, eyes calm—but cutting.
"…Next time, Midoriya, you won't stop me."
Izuku chuckled. "Looking forward to it."
Behind him, his team exploded in celebration.
"We DID IT!" Ochaco cried, nearly collapsing from relief.
Mei suddenly launched herself at Izuku, wrapping her arms around him as he caught her reflexively. Ochaco stared at them.
Hard.
Very hard.
Ibara clasped her hands together serenely. "The Lord smiles upon our victory."
Izuku laughed, still holding Mei up. "Yeah—this was fun."
A bit later, as the adrenaline faded and the stadium prepared for the next announcement, Izuku stretched and glanced at the group.
"We surprisingly did good," he said casually. "Maybe we should form a hero team one day."
Mei laughed instantly.
"I'd be down—but I'd rather make your suits than actually go fight villains. You're basically a walking stress test."
Ochaco's eye twitched.
She folded her arms, looking away, clearly unamused by how close they were acting—like they'd been friends for years instead of minutes.
'Why,' she thought bitterly, 'is he so close to every girl he meets?'
Izuku, completely oblivious, just smiled—already thinking about the next round.
The scoreboard flickered to life once more, its massive surface rippling with static before numbers began to shuffle rapidly. The entire stadium leaned in as one, breath held, waiting for the final results to lock in.
For a few tense seconds, names jumped up and down the rankings—points recalculating, margins narrowing, the tension stretching thin.
Then—
The screen froze.
Huge glowing letters burned into place above the arena:
1st Place: Team Midoriya
2nd Place: Team Todoroki
3rd Place: Team Bakugo
4th Place: Team Shinso
The stadium erupted.
The sound was deafening—thunderous applause, screaming fans, feet stomping in unison as the stands shook with excitement.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Present Mic shouted over the noise. "Midoriya held onto TEN MILLION points all the way to the end! He didn't just defend it—he controlled the battlefield!"And Todoroki and Bakugo right behind him—what a terrifying lineup for the next stage!"
He was practically vibrating as he continued.
"AND THAT'S A WRAP ON THE CAVALRY BATTLE!" he roared, voice nearly cracking. "ONLY FOUR TEAMS MOVE FORWARD, AND BOY, DID THEY EARN IT!! GIVE IT UP FOR OUR FINALISTS!!!"
The cheers somehow got louder.
"MIDO-RI-YA!"
"MIDO-RI-YA!"
"MIDO-RI-YA!"
Izuku stood at the center of it all, posture relaxed, hands resting casually at his sides. A faint smile played on his lips—not smug, not arrogant, just quietly satisfied.
Beside him, Ochaco clapped her hands excitedly, eyes shining.
"We did it! We really did it!"
Mei punched the air with both fists, laughing wildly as her gadgets buzzed and sparked around her like celebratory fireworks.
Ibara bowed her head gracefully, hands folded. "Glory be. Our efforts were rewarded."
But the celebration didn't last long.
"DEKUUUU!!"
Katsuki Bakugo's roar tore through the cheers like an explosion.
Smoke billowed from his palms as he stomped forward, boots slamming against the ground, teeth clenched so tightly it looked like his jaw might crack.
"You think you're hot shit, huh?!" he snarled. "First that damn entrance—now this?! I'll blow that smug face right off your skull in the next round, you bastard!!"
A few nearby students flinched at the sheer violence in his voice.
Ochaco stiffened, instinctively stepping closer to Izuku. Izuku, however, just tilted his head slightly, unfazed. His grin widened—calm, confident, almost teasing.
"Looking forward to it, Kacchan."
That did it.
Katsuki's palms sparked hotter, explosions snapping and popping as his rage visibly spiked. He had to be held back by officials before he could lunge any closer.
Meanwhile—
Todoroki said nothing.
He simply turned away, adjusting his stance, eyes narrowed and distant. The noise of the crowd faded from his awareness as his thoughts sharpened into something cold and absolute.
'Next round,' he thought. 'I'll crush him. This won't be a game.'
Above them all, the stadium lights blazed brighter, the air electric with anticipation.
The finals were coming. And every remaining competitor knew it. The real battle hadn't even started yet.
um fed off the rivalry like it was oxygen.
Midnight stepped up. "That's enough!" she barked, eyes sharp. "Save it for the next stage, you brats! And trust me—" she smirked wickedly, "—it's only going to get bloodier from here."
The entire stadium shivered with excitement.
---
Back in the Class A Waiting Room
Izuku stepped inside as the stadium roar muffled behind the heavy walls. The room was quiet—too quiet—filled with stiff shoulders, tapping feet, whispered breaths.
Everyone felt the weight of what came next.
Izuku? He sat down, leaned back, and folded his arms behind his head like he was settling in for a nap.
'It's been fun so far,' he thought casually.
'What's next after this arc? Oh right—hero internships.'
He smirked.
'If Mirko's available… yeah, that's an easy pick.'
While everyone else was on the edge of panic, Izuku looked like a guy deciding what snack to buy later.
His calm confidence made some of his classmates steal glances at him—half impressed, half confused how he wasn't freaking out.
Then—
Creeeeak.
The door opened.
A cold breeze swept into the room, brushing past ankles and raising goosebumps along arms. Frost crept faintly along the metal hinge.
Todoroki stepped inside.
Every conversation died instantly.
His mismatched eyes—one calm, one burning with unspoken resolve—locked directly onto Izuku. He didn't look at anyone else. Didn't acknowledge the class. His attention was a laser, frozen and sharp.
Even the warmth of the room felt like it dipped.
"I won't hold back just because we're classmates," Todoroki said, voice cool and clipped, each word deliberate. "I just want to make that clear."
The class shifted nervously. Even Katsuki paused, squinting from across the room.
Todoroki took a slow step closer.
"I have more to gain from defeating you than you know."
His tone held something deeper—pressure from his father, the weight of expectations, the quiet fury of proving he didn't need his flames.
The frost on the doorknob behind him thickened, ice branching out like veins.
Izuku didn't flinch.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, head tilted up as a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"If you plan on going all out," he said calmly, "then make sure you use that fire."
A faint ripple went through the room.
"Because if you don't…" Izuku continued, voice dropping slightly, the air around him suddenly feeling heavier—
"…not even a second will pass, and you'll be flat on the ground."
The silence that followed felt electric—
like static clinging to skin, like a fuse waiting to ignite.
A few students swallowed. Others stared wide-eyed. Todoroki's jaw tightened. His fists clenched so hard the skin over his knuckles whitened.
A tiny puff of steam escaped his left palm.
"…We'll see," he muttered.
He turned sharply and walked out, the frost on the metal melting as the door clicked shut behind him.
Izuku leaned back again, exhaling slowly.
' Man I am not built for these anime rivalries' he thought.
TO BE CONTINUED