Alright! Chapter 16, twice my lucky number. I'll try not to break my arm from tapping myself on the back, but I'm pretty proud of this one. I will work hard on chapter 17, which will probably end the Sports Festival, but I think it's been going on long enough as it is. After that, we get to filler. And I'll tell you right now, first chapter of filler will be a flashback. Now enough secrets, time to answer guest reviews!
Guest
You want an update? here it is. Also, is it really that hard to come up with a nickname?
X
Wait, who are you? XD I'm joking. As for tenya and Ochako, well, It kinda happened I started planing with those two as a pair in my mind, so at this point, we can't exactly stop, now can we? But thank you for reading on, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.
Guest
Well, no one is forcing you to read it. Also thank you for the flames, my pet dragon was hungry.
Reakefit
We're all idiots in our own way. Like how I'm an idiot, not giving Abigail an amethyst for her birthday in Stardew Valley. Also.. Your next words will be: "NPGAMER IS DASHINGLY HANDSOME!" Thank you for your compliment.
Guest
Well, I already finished with Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency and both seasons of Stardust Crusaders. When I'll start with the next part? I dunno. But Battle Tendency so far is my favorite part. GO JOSEPH YOU ARE THE BEST JOJO! Also, I'm happy that you like reading my filler. More of that incoming soon (after the new year)
Guest
Get out of here with your perversion! We're nothing but pure souls gathered here to listen to the world of the Lord, Mineta-sama, to teach us his ways.
That does it for guest reviews. I love to hear your thoughts and hope to hear many more. Also.
I OWN NOTHING! I'M BUT A HOBO THAT SNEAKS INTO THE LIBRARY AND WAISTS TIME WRITING THIS INSTEAD OF WATCHING PORN!
"Hey there!" -regular dialogue
"Who is this guy again?" -inner thoughts
"I AM HERE!" -All Might muscle form
"Time limit is nearing!" -All Might muscle form inner thoughts
Thank you irmadbro and Anyomonus Wolverine for beta reading this, so it could go up today.
Izuku stood over Togaru, who was still in shock, looking at the shattered ends of the blade on his forearm.
"That was your freebie. Will you walk away, or do I have to do it for you?" this snapped the lime-haired teen out of his stupor. He gazed upwards, only now realizing, that at some point he dropped to his knees. HE should surrender. It was a safe move. A sensible move. But...
"It is not in my blood to surrender. The only way I'm leaving this ring is victorious or unconscious," he told his opponent, a cocky smirk dancing on his face. And for a second, just a second! It seemed like Midoriya was smirking back. That was surely his imagination, right?
"Suit yourself then." Before Togaru could react, he was grabbed by his shoulder, and in the next second, he found himself promptly standing just out of bounds.
"TOGARU KAMAKIRI IS OUT OF THE ARENA! MAN, THE TENSION HERE WAS SO THICK YOU COULD CUT IT!"
"Dude, you're regressing. Try to keep your level."
"SORRY!"
Mineta was confident. So confident in fact, he hadn't bothered to check who he's gonna be fighting. How did the bracket system work again? Maybe he'll get to fight Yaoyorozu. Heh. Yaoyorozu sticking to his balls. What a great idea. He's totally gonna say that to her once she falls into his perverse trap.
"Well well, Yaomom, look at you. I could have sworn you never wanted to be near me again. But look at you now. Kneeling on the floor with my balls on your-" he bumped into someone, falling on his ass, bringing his daydreams to an abrupt end. He then looked around him and saw that during his daylight fantasies, he wandered straight into the arena where Midnight and his opponent were waiting.
"AND HERE'S OUR SECOND COMBATANT, THE SELF-PROCLAIMED CASANOVA AND PICKUP ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE, MINORU MINETA."
"Keyword being "self-proclaimed".
A lonely clap resounded from where his classmates sat, and immediately the camera focused on Izuku, who was clapping with the most boring expression one could manage.
Mineta looked at what he ran into. Or rather who. Over him stood, in all his explosive glory, Katsuki Bakugo. Now, if Mineta would have known about that beforehand, he might have been able to muster some bravado. He tried to think of a witty remark. But Bakugo beat him to it.
"I ain't Spiky ponytail, and I sure as hell ain't kneeling. But I know someone who will be." if smirks could kill, half the stadium would drop dead.
"Huh. Feels like I forgot to think here for a moment. The guy has battle potential, that's for sure. But, if what he said in the first fight was true..." Ryukyu sometimes cursed her draconic hearing. Like when her friend Rumi brought girls home, and she could hear everything happening even when she hastily made her retreat into her agency. She checked her phone during a short break, to ask her protegee how she did.
Dragonlady420: How are you doing, Neji?
Hadouken: I'm in the finals, against Mirio X_X
Hadouken: How's my cute little kouhai doing?
Dragonlady420: He's in the semi-finals. And you might wanna call him something else, like parter.
A loud squeal echoed throughout the land, making every single person with sharp hearing wince very uncomfortably. Except for Ryukyu herself. She learned to live with it a while ago.
Izuku also heard the squeal. And he knew only one person who could make such a noise.
"Christ, did she win?! No, she couldn't. Last time you checked, she barely got into the second bracket. There's no way she'd win. You're safe, izuku. You're safe."
"Oi, Green! You're muttering. Again." said Kyoka. Izuku turned to look at her with his empty face, only to have her empty face stare back. But she did not hold out long and turned back forward. But it made Izuku think.
"Wait, if she can hear me muttering, she can probably hear a lot of things. Wait. That means-"
"Shit."
"Language!" called out the president.
"Yaomomo, shouldn't you be preparing for your match?" Mina, as well as most other people, paid no attention at what was happening in the arena, where a very scared Mineta was running form Bakugo, while constantly having explosions lit underneath his behind.
"I suppose you're right. Soda stain won't hold out for long."
"AND CONTESTANT MINETA PASSED OUT IN THE ARENA! HE ALSO SEEMS TO HAVE A SEVERE CASE OF BURNED BOTTOM. BAKUGO SURE DOESN'T SHOW ANY MERCY!"
"He was expecting a different opponent and panicked. He still has potential, so I guess he's not getting expelled."
"WOW, DEAR LISTENERS, THIS WAS A FIGHT TO REMEMBER! PONY SURE HELD HER GROUND, BUT AGAINST AN ONSLAUGHT OF DIFFERENT WEAPONS, TRAPS, AND DEVICES, HER HORNS JUST COULDN'T KEEP UP THE PACE.
"It was over as soon as she allowed the sugar cubes to distract her. That allowed Yaoyorozu to create the weighted cuffs, and locking her up, immobilizing her, and then capturing the horns flying around."
"AS SOON AS THE ARENA IS CLEANED AND FIXED, WE WILL PROCEED WITH THE FIRST FIGHT OF THE SEMI-FINALS, IZUKU MIDORIYA, VS SHOTO TODOROKI!
Izuku was sitting in his waiting room, deep in thought. His normally emotionless face melting away, to be replaced with one of self-hatred. The words he said to Shinso, and the bitter hypocrisy behind them. Really, he should-
RING RING.
His train of thought was interrupted by him loud ringing of his phone. What that thing on loud the whole time? He could have sworn he set it on silent. Good thing almost no one messages him then.
"Hello? Izuku Midoriya speaking."
"You still remember our deal, Mr. Miodriya?"
Izuku's heart almost stopped. While the voice was deep and muffled there was only one person he made a deal recently. Or ever.
"How did you get this number?!"
"I sent myself a text while you were cooking breakfast. Figured you wouldn't give it to me yourself."
"Damn right I wouldn't! Delete it right now!"
"No. I don't think I will. Besides, you'll need it to notify me of our meeting time and place after I win our bet."
"How many-"
"Just one. It's against our class ace, but I've got a plan. See you on our date, Mr. Midoriya."
The mysterious caller hung up. And Midoriya saw that his hands were trembling. And while it was tempting to just hide into a dark corner for the next month, he still had a Sports Festival to win.
"Izuku Midoriya, please enter the arena."
That was his cue. He stood up, cracked his back, and donned his regular expression of not giving a fuck about anything. He was ready. but, deep down, there was still a faint echo, repeating the word.
"Hypocrite. Hypocrite. Hypocrite."
Todoroki calmly sat in the waiting room. His father came knocking, to warn him that he won't be able to beat Midoriya with only his ice, but he gave him the cold shoulder. He will end the fight fast, just like he did before. Then he'll have to fight either Bakugo or Yaoyorozu. Neither should pose much threat, his ice will cool the area and prevent sweating, and Yaoyorozu, while certainly agile, did not possess the speed to evade his glacier attack. He was distracted by the ringing of his phone.
"Hi, Fyumi, why are you calling?"
"Shoto? I'm not interrupting your preparations, am I?"
"No. I don't need to prepare, this fight will last as long as my previous ones."
"R-right. I just felt like I should check. The guy you're fighting seems super strong, hehe."
"Anything else?"
The silence on her end was foreboding.
"Sister?"
"Shoto... She's watching."
"..."
"Shoto?"
"I have to go. Keep watching, Fyumi. I'll win. For ALL of us."
With those words, Shoto hung up, leaving his sister with a bad feeling in her stomach. Fyumi knew she shouldn't have said that. It would distract Shoto. But... he deserved to know. He deserved to know that his mother is watching his debut to the world.
Once Izuku and Shoto were both in the ring, Izuku could see something burning in Shoto's eyes. Something that wasn't there before. He'd think about it later. Before the fight could start, he had a proposition to make.
"Kayama-sensei. Could you do me a favor and count to 20 before declaring one of us immobilized or unconscious?" the heroine gave it some thought, before deciding.
"I suppose I could. Do both parties agree?" Shoto just gave a small nod.
"Then it's settled." She pressed on a small device in her ear.
"Small change. if the opponent is not out of bounds, we're having a 20 seconds countdown."
"Roger that. We'll announce it."
"IT LOOKS LIKE THIS FIGHT GOT EVEN SPICIER! UNLESS THE OPPONENT IS OUT OF BOUNDS, THERE WILL BE A 20 SECOND COUNTDOWN BEFORE DECLARING THE WINNER."
Crowd cheered. While the sport of boxing wasn't nearly as popular as before, due to many quirks giving fighters unfair advantage, and online celebrities trying to use it to gain clout, it was still well enough known that the prospect of a count down excited many people.
"Now, are both fighters ready?" after receiving a nod, she held her whip up.
"3... 2... 1... FIGHT!"
As soon as her whip came down, Shoto did what everyone knew he was gonna do. He launched a glacier attack towards Izuku. Once the mist faded away, it showed the greenette himself, crossing his arms in front of his face, trapped in a mountain of ice, but still in bounds of the arena. Midnight started the count down, with some of the crowd joining in.
"20, 19, 18, 17-"
Shoto looked at his handy work, calmly awaiting the countdown to finish. But, the more he looked, the more he found something.. Odd.
"-14, 13, 12,-"
Something was different. But he couldn't put his finger on what that was.
"10, 9, 8,-"
Then it hit him.
"6, 5, 4,-"
Midoriya was smirking.
Right before Midnight could finish the countdown, the whole glacier began to pop. Then it began to crack. Then it crumbled. And Shoto looked on in shock. His one-hit K.O was just flexed off like nothing. As if to confirm his ability to continue, Midoriya spoke.
"I have no feeling in my fingers or my thing. But seeing that look on your face... So worth it.
"AND IZUKU MIDORIYA REMAINS IN THE FIGHT! HE BROKE THROUGH TODOROKI'S FINISHING MOVE!"
"He just HAD to wait until the last second to do it. Irrational punk."
Izuku clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to get some feeling back, when Shoto attacked again. But this time, instead of getting trapped inside the glacier, he punched it away halfheartedly.
"Sorry Todoroki, but you used up your freebie. Now, it's all fair game."
He then blurred into the mist created by evaporating ice, before charging at Shoto head-on. The bi-haired teen sent out another ice attack, but it was swiftly dodged, and Shoto received... A flick on the forehead. That almost knocked him over. He sent another ice attack and leaped backward, trying to gain some distance, but, when he landed, izuku was already behind him.
"So, I wasn't really listening back there, since I had to go take a leak, but you mentioned using fire. Where is it?" Shoto narrowed his eyes. Was this another one of his father's schemes? Did he bribe his classmate to coax him into using his left side? Well, good luck with that!
"I'll never use that bastard's power! I'll win this festival with only my mother's ice!" the rebellious look in his eyes made Izuku want to ask more questions.
"And with that, you'll achieve what?"
"It's my way of avenging my mother! He drove her to the breaking point! It's his fault and by refusing to use his power, that small victory over him, to me, it's worth anything."
Shoto sent another wave of ice at his opponent, but this one was noticeably slower. The side effect of overusing his right side was becoming apparent, and slow marks of frostbite spread over his face. Izuku punched away the glacier, but this time he did not do it with half-assed effort. No. That punch was powerful enough to instantly pulverize all the ice into tiny crystals, almost akin to snow.
"So to spite your father is worth everything to you?" receiving a determined nod, Izuku continued.
"Even the lives of the innocent?"
Wait, what?
"World is not fair. There will come the time, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 10 years, when you will be forced to choose between keeping your stupid promise to yourself or save a life. What will you do then?" Izuku has forgotten about the fight, about the stadium full of people, or his bet. Well, maybe not that one, but it was pushed into another part of his brain.
Sho stood still, mulling over what his opponent said. He never thought about it. He wants to say that he would use his fire in that instance. But... Would he really? Then the image of his mother appeared in front of him. It was the moment right before she poured the boiling water over his left side. His hatred and anger overshadowed his rational thoughts. But, izuku could see, a tiny glimmer in that darkness. He just had to draw it out.
"I will cross that bridge when I get to it." Izuku as not satisfied with that answer. Maybe if he took a small page out of Bakugo's book...
"Answering like a true coward. Instead of fucking lying to yourself, you can at least admit you don't know the answer..." He could hear the voices in his head rise in volume, calling him a hypocrite over and over. but he didn't have time for that right now. He was too close to stop.
"...But it's not my problem that you're a coward. And I couldn't care less that you're lying to yourself. No. What I hate about you right now is that you're throwing all the effort our classmates put into training straight into their face, and spitting on it. By not giving it your all, you're insulting all who gave it, and still failed."
"-crite, hypocrite, HYPOCRITE!"
Izuku really hoped Todoroki wouldn't call him out on his bullshit. He already felt bad as it was. But, he forgot the universe loved fucking with him in unforeseeable ways. With a stick.
"How can you say that, when you have been doing exactly the same! Why should I use my father's powers, when you haven't shown an ounce of power you used to combat Nomu!"
During their talk the sunlight thawed off some of the frost off of him, so the next ice attack he sent was stronger than the last. Still, that meant nothing to Izuku. After he smashed it like the previous ones, and the mist enveloped the arena, Shoto heard a woosh, and before he knew it, there was a finger placed on one of his ribs. Kid gloves were off now.
"See that? I could do that to you. All Might could do that to you. Why I'm not going all out? Because no matter how strong you seem to yourself, you are still frail. You are still human. You love, you hate, you get angry. And all this bullshiting about 'my mother's ice' and my 'father's power'... That's not how it is!. It's YOUR power."
Another image of his mom appeared. it was one of the happiest memories he had, yet one he hardly even thought about. Had he really allowed his anger and hatred to consume him this far? They were watching one of All Mights many videos, the no.1 hero teaching the viewers about... something. But what he really remembered was his mother's words.
"Honey, you still want to be a hero, right? Just remember, stay true to yourself."
He felt a familiar heat surfacing, and this time, instead of holding it back, he let it out.
"You are not your father. It is alright to use your quirk."
The frost marks slowly disappeared and his left side erupted in a warm glow.
"To become who YOU want to be."
For the first time in many years, Todoroki let his flames surge. Letting the heat of his fire surround him like a coat, he felt rejuvenated and ready to continue this battle. He looked towards his opponent to find him smiling widely. Seeing that, Shoto couldn't help but smile himself.
"You crazy bastard. Don't you want to win as well? Quit screwing around, AND COME AT ME!"
Izuku could feel his cheeks hurt. When was the last time he smiled? Was it during the USJ, when he fought that monster? That was an unnerving thought. He could hear Present Mic and Endeavour shouting in the background. but that did not matter. What mattered now was to scope out Todoroki's new abilities.
"I decided to give you another freebie. After all, no offers will come your way if you don't show off what you can do." Shoto's eyes widened in realization.
"Wait. You weren't giving freebies to mock us. You were giving us a chance to show ourselves!"
Izuku could feel a drop of sweat on his forehead.
"How did he arrive at that conclusion? I gave freebies because I wanted to see their quirks, so I could write them down in my notebook... But I guess he doesn't need to know that."
"Yes!" he said out loud.
"You've figured me out. Very impressive. Now, to borrow a page from your book, COME AT ME!" Shoto grinned.
"Gladly."
An intense chill enveloped the area and suddenly izuku's top half was encased in ice, the air around him rapidly cooling. Shoto, still grinning sent a wave of fire towards him. And Izuku knew well what happens if you rapidly heat up the air.
"You clever son of a b-"
KABOOM!
A loud explosion echoed through the stadium and the surroundings. Everyone in the audience had to blink spots out of their vision and wait for the ringing in their ears to stop. Those with sharpened senses had it worse than others. But they all managed to recover and were intensely gazing into the arena, which was surrounded by smoke. Slowly it revealed two figures, a panting Shoto, looking like he was about to collapse, and Izuku standing, unperturbed by the devastation around him... and apparently by his state of dress. The entire top half of his gym uniform was now nothing but ashes, and only his pants remained, although those were also singed with holes in places. Luckily none of them anywhere embarrassing.
"Man, I did not know Mean Green was so shredded," commented Mina, shamelessly ogling their classmate.
"Hey, Yaomomo, could you make a pair of binoculars?" asked the floating set of gym clothes.
"N-no! And Please act decent. There's already one pervert too many in our class." said the class president, although one could not miss the redness on her cheeks. Of course, before anyone could tease her about it, they would receive a paddle to the back of the head, or, worse, a jack to the ear.
UNKNOWN LOCATION
"Damn it! And he's hot too? Aww, how much hotter would he be if would just BLEED!" But as she was saying that, there was a hand descending down south towards her skirt. The girl noticed what her hand was doing and after a few seconds of internal struggle, she decided to just let it be.
"Eh. Why not, I've got time."
That day the nearby police station would receive several noise complaints. Some said it was a cat, trapped in a warehouse, others that it was a guard dog that was probably dehydrated. But when they finally sent someone to check later that day, all they could find was a broken television and a puddle on the floor.
Shoto was barely standing. And he had a bad case of blurred vision. But, as he tried to blink it away, he could hear steps approaching him. Suddenly he was face to face with a shirtless Izuku. Now, Todoroki was certainly well built for his age. But Midoriya? He could probably make even All Might self-conscious.
"That was a powerful attack. Make sure you think of a good name for it."
"Like (pant) your "Sure-kill" (pant) tiers?" That got a chuckle out of him.
"You know (pant) I'm not leaving this ring (pant) on my feet, right?"
"Of course. I just wanted to do this." he extended his hand towards Shoto. And after a second of looking at it, Shoto took it and shook it."
"No hard feelings right?"
"Ri-" Shoto did not get a chance to finish. he felt a karate chop on his neck and started falling towards the floor. His last thought was:
"Dick move."
"UNBELIEVABLE, LADIES AND GENTS! THIS IS WHAT THE SPORTS FESTIVAL IS ALL ABOUT! WHAT BRAVERY, WHAT SELFLESSNESS, WHAT A BATTLE! BUT, AS EXCITING AS IT WAS, IT HAD TO END, AND WITH ITS ENDING, THE WINNER OF THIS FIGHT, AND OUR FIRST FINALIST, CLASS 1.A VICE PRESIDENT, IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
"Both gave it their all, but in the end, the stronger one prevailed. If Todoroki was more in tune with his flames, maybe he could take this one. More work for me I guess. Man, it's gonna be a pain to fix that.
"HUH. I GUESS YOUR ANTIDEPRESSANTS WORE OFF. ANYWAY, OUR NEXT FIGHT OF THE SEMI-FINALS IS GONNA BE, THE ONE, THE ONLY, CLASS 1.A NUKE, KATSUKI BAKUGO, AND HE'S GONNA BE FACING OFF AGAINST HIS CLASS PRESIDENT! SHE'S LIKE A WALKING TALKING 3-D PRINTER, MOMO YAOYOROZU."
"Don't miss out."
Izuku was pacing around the hallway, mulling over the previous matches he had. What drove his opponents to where they were today? What was their reason for being a hero? He contemplated that, as he waited for Katsuki to deal with Momo. His class president was strong, there's no denying that, but Bakugo... He was on another level when it came to combat.
Honestly, he wanted to go home. There he could think everything over without anyone disturbing him. His mother should be working the late shift, again. But, he owed Bakugo a chance to fight him again. He could see the frustration in his eyes after the end of their last fight, the unyielding desire to fight again, to give it his all. Izuku understood that all too well. He saw that every day when he looked at the mirror.
Hearing the crowd cheer loudly, he took that as his cue and headed for the waiting room. This shouldn't be much longer. Yet as he was walking, he couldn't think about his own resolve.
"To stand at the top. To look down upon those who looked down on me. That's why I want to be a hero."
Man, that was something, wasn't it? How did you guys like the fight? it was the longest fight scene I ever wrote. Also, I'm out of the hospital now, regaining strength and looking for a job. So much fun is being had here. I also joined a discord server, dedicated to fanfiction, My Hero academia and other things, there will be a link below. if you catch me there, we can have a little chat. Just don't anger the owner. Alright, I think that's about it. READ. REVIEW. Let me know what YOU think, and we'll read each other next time. NPGamer out.
PEACE!
P.S Join me on the server Epsi's Hoard, https:SLASHSLASHdiscordDOTggSLASH7eqfCTE