The girls had lunch together and took some time to have a look at the stands outside - on which Usagi and Minako spent tons of money for trinkets and merch of various kind - before walking back to their seats at the arena. It made Usagi almost forget of all the troubles, hers and not.
Almost.
It wasn't something she could fix, not at the moment, she told herself, and decided it was better to follow the flow of Minako's enthusiasm.
The ever exuberant girl had already appointed a personal chart of the cutest boys, which she happily illustrated: she placed Todoroki quite high and pushed down Bakugou because of his scowling and angry faces, even though, she admitted, at first she had found him quite handsome. For some boys she didn't catch the names, so kept referring to their most notable features. Izuku had a good placement, but mostly because they knew him better and she found his shy face cute from day one.
Soon, leisure games, made for those who didn't qualify for the next stage but to which all Yuuei students could partake in, were announced to start as soon as the rounds for the next stage would be established.
«Aaah, look at the cheerleader's uniform! I want one too!» Minako gushed her praise, eyes alight at the sight of the 1-A girls in the orange outfits «Do you think we'll get to wear them too?»
«I'm almost sure this wasn't supposed to happen» Rei was looking down at the 1-A students and their dismay. Present Mic's shocked comment "Class 1-A, why?!" only enforced the belief.
After the surprise withdrawal from two of the students - hard to hear the motivations from the bleachers - the draws were taken by moving up two people.
«Oh. Ochako-chan is against Bakugou!»
Makoto observed the screen «If he's as ruthless as he's rude in one vs one, it'll make a tough fight»
«Does anyone know who Shinsou is? He's the first against Izukun»
«He was the leader of the team that split up. They didn't explain why...»
Minako was looking down, eyes overfocused on someone in particular.
«Minako-chan?»
She kept staring a few seconds more, then turned, a wide smile to reassure them «It's okay, I just thought I saw a familiar face. Maybe I'm wrong, though, we're too far!»
«So did I» Rei replied «Yaoyorozu-san was my senpai at T.A. Academy. She's from a rather rich family. Hard to think she'd wear a cheerleader outfit though»
«That's why you said it was a mistake? Maybe she wanted to do something funny with her friends» Usagi suggested «You wouldn't do that with us too, Rei-chan?»
«Never» was the nonplussed reply.
«Killjoy!» Minako shrieked «You would, because we're friends and a team!»
«I'd rather not» Rei repeated, but she failed to hide a tiny smirk that contradicted her stance.
The recreational games were fun to watch and gave a good outlook of all the students who wouldn't participate in the fights afterwards. Usagi and the others divided their time between some light quirk analysis, which Ami suggested as both entertainment and exercise activity, and simple cheering, but it was clear the tournament was the big event everyone was waiting for.
Soon, the central area was cleared and Cementoss worked on making a ring where the fights would happen.
«Izukun's turn is soon, uh» Makoto noted, hands behind her head «I don't envy him in the slightest. Must be unnerving to go first»
«Let's hope he manages to control his quirk. He didn't have much time to study the new technique and he showed nothing of it, so far» Ami noted, her hand already on her ear to use the visor.
Makoto shrugged «It's only a "give up or out-of-bounds" fight. He'll be okay if he manages to stay calm»
Present Mic introduced the two contenders as they climbed on the ring, their faces shown on the big screens all around, then called the start.
Minako had again the strange, intent stare from earlier, then her eyes widened «It won't matter what he does. If he speaks it's over!»
«What?»
«Do you know him, Minako-chan?» Chibiusa asked, to which the other nodded.
«I think so. It's... a distant memory, but I know his power... ah, yes, here it is»
Izuku had started to walk towards Shinsou, but blocked in his tracks.
«We used to call it Mental Command» Minako explained «It's a very strong ability. It activates after any kind of vocal reply and takes control of the opponent's body. Izukun should have kept quiet»
«You mean... He'll lose?» Usagi was starting to tear up already.
«Most likely»
Usagi and Makoto got up and ran to the border of the bleachers and, like many people around, started shouting, rooting for the green-haired boy to wake and pick up the fight, especially so after Present Mic illustrated Shinsou's quirk to the audience as Brainwashing - to which Minako grimaced since, according to her, it wasn't the aptest definition for it -, but Izuku didn't seem to hear anything and walked in a straight line towards the bounds.
Rei, instead, found herself staring at some point beyond the boy. There was something... odd there. A presence, no, multiple presences, standing in front of him, as if they wanted him to halt.
From the distance, she couldn't feel whether they were malicious or not, but she knew they were there.
Midoriya was only a step away from the limit now. It was clear Shinsou's quirk had a complete hold on him and he was going to win effortlessly.
Until the presences grew stronger.
Rei felt their urgent call, more powerful than before, strong enough to make Midoriya stop and red light, the same they witnessed at the Hikawa Shrine and signalled his quirk was active, glowed on his hand in a tiny point, then two of his fingers snapped as the air around him swirled.
Midoriya woke up ina gasp, just in time not to cross the line that would have determined his loss.
The presences quieted and all but vanished afterwards, but Rei knew they had been there and, judging by Midoriya's stare in the same direction, so did he.
Clearly, there was a lot more than they thought beyond the boy.
Rei didn't pay much attention to the cheers around, or to Minako's surprise, too focused on trying to understand what those presences could be.
If anything, Midoriya looked just as surprised, as he looked at his broken fingers with the other hand clamped on his mouth.
And then he wordlessly charged at Shinsou, who kept trying to make him talk, to no avail. The physical confrontation was over in seconds.
They cheered for Izuku, of course. That's what they were there for.
Except... Minako looked a bit bummed out.
«What is it, Minako-chan?» Ami asked, worried by the sudden silence from the usually loud blonde.
She shook her head «I'll tell you later»
Usagi barely heard it, already jumping away towards the stairs «I'm going to see how he's doing!»
«Wait for me this time!» Chibiusa shouted, running behind her. They quickly disappeared inside and went straight to the temporary nurse office. They found Toshinori and Izuku still mid-door.
«Well done, Izukun!»
«Usagi-san, Chibiusa-chan, thank you. I don't think I deserve it much...» was the boy's shy reply.
«Nonsense again, my boy» Toshinori reprimanded, pushing him in the office «Let's get this hand fixed first thing»
«That should be my line» Recovery Girl addressed from her chair «Bring me the small bandages, Chiba-kun, will you?»
«Yes, sensei» was the immediate reply from behind one of the curtains.
«Chiba-senpai?! What are you doing here?!» Midoriya almost shouted, alternating his gaze between the older boy and the two girls.
It was Recovery Girl who answered: «I often need additional help during the Sports Festival, with all those kids getting injuries on injuries for show» she grimaced «The medi-bots are of great help, but Chiba-kun here has such a unique quirk and insistent recommendations, so I decided to give him a chance to see if he's fit for an internship using this event as a trial»
Oh. So that was the secret Chibiusa mentioned.
«Sorry, Izukun, we couldn't tell you» Usagi apologized with a tiny smile.
«It's okay. I mean, there was no real reason for me to know» he fretted.
«Let's see» the nurse hummed «Better, Chiba-kun, what do you think?» she pointed at the injury.
Mamoru took the boy's harm carefully and spread a bit of his own quirk on the fingers for a couple seconds before answering: «Multiple fractures and a few lacerations, several broken capillaries. The tendons are a little strained but not damaged»
The elderly Hero nodded to herself «I know this should be accurate given what I already saw on your first day with the X-rays we took back then. Want me to fix it or I can let him, Midoriya-kun?»
«Ah, it's okay, Chiba-senpai already fixed my hand once»
Recovery Girl nodded approvingly and instructed Mamoru how to wrap Izuku's fingers before he could prompt the healing, in order to avoid wrong bone-fixing, which was done quickly and painlessly.
It wasn't Izuku's main concern, though.
«I couldn't smile at all, during the match» he moped.
«Well, what he was saying must've been though to hear» All Might conceded, scratching the back of his head. He had stood at the arena's entrance, so he was one of the few ones who heard what was said on the ring.
«But that didn't mean I could lose like that. That's what it means to aim for Number One, right?»
Recovery Girl sighed «This poor boy! You put a lot of pressure on him again, didn't you?» she scolded Toshinori, punctuating it with a punch surprisingly energetic for such an elderly. The kids were too astonished to react and the man was left gaping a moment.
«It was necessary!» he protested, unlistened.
«It's amazing you managed on your own!» Chibiusa chimed «Minako-chan said Shinsou-kun's quirk is really strong»
«She knows him?»
Chibiusa nodded «She didn't say how. Maybe they went to the same middle school?»
Mamoru gave a lopsided gaze that was caught, luckily, only by Usagi.
«How did you do it?»
«Well, something weird happened,» Izuku said, lost in thought «There were eight or nine people, I'm not sure how many. But when my mind was clouded by brainwashing, the vision appeared and cleared out the fog. I managed to snap my fingers thanks to that moment of lucidity... One of them sort of looked like you, All Might. I thought...»
He caught his tongue on time. He was about to ask if it was possible those were the souls of the previous owners of One for All before he realized there were people in the room who knew nothing of it, nor were supposed to.
«That sounds scary!» Toshinori was clearly spooked, more than any of them expected.
«What? I assumed you'd have a clue about it!»
Usagi and Mamoru exchanged another look. They knew there was something about Izuku they couldn't point out and they had spoken a bit about the visions Mamoru had had that connected Izuku to Silver Millennium, but this sounded a different matter.
«We can talk about it at a later moment, my boy» Toshinori nodded to himself «Right now, we can take this outcome as the sign you have a better grasp on the quirk. I can suppose what gave you clarity during the brainwashing was your own emotion at seeing the vision, rather than it interfering with it. It's only a guess, though»
Midoriya sighed «It's not a satisfying explanation at all»
«Eh, what can you do now?» Usagi intromitted «There'll be time to think about it, and you can ask Rei-chan to help you with that later, now you need to get ready for your next fight!»
«She's right, you'd better go and see who your next opponent turns out to be» Toshinori reiterated.
«Ah! Sure. I'm going then! Thank all of you» Midoriya bowed and ran out.
«We're going too, Toshi-papa. See you later, Mamo-chan» Chibiusa waved and she and Usagi left.
Usagi and Chibiusa barely had time to get to their seats again that the torches on the ring were lit and the next contestants were introduced.
This time, it was Usagi the one who stared at the screens. Todoroki looked off-put, angry and more upset than the situation required. She wondered if it was because of his conversation with Izuku or it was something else.
The match was over even more quickly than the previous one: an incredibly large portion of the stadium was filled with a literal glacier that froze Todoroki's adversary in place and almost hit the bleachers.
«Show off» Rei muttered, then attached an ofuda on the piece of ice closest to them and lit it, effectively starting to melt the wall and warm them all in turn.
«I-it was a l-little extreme, yep» Minako agreed, between shivers «But wasn't it cool?»
«Minako, no» the rest whined, to which they got a tongue stuck at them.
«He looked sad to me» Usagi said, hugging Chibiusa, who had gotten closer for warmth «Angry and sad»
The little girl nodded «I think so too, but I don't understand why. Maybe he's just really nervous?»
Usagi didn't reply, her mind was going back to the conversation she overheard, the things she wasn't supposed to know about the boy that were so terrible. Of course he felt like that, it must have been a burden to bear. But it wasn't her place, or the right moment, to speak.
The next fights were quicker but more lively, Makoto had lots of fun watching Kaminari failing to consider plants aren't conductive and succumbing to Shiozaki. Then came Iida against Hatsume, which was another kind of fun since the girl used the Hero course student to show off her equipment like a sell-off rather than actually fight. Ami kept her face hidden in second-hand embarrassment half the time, using the other half to consider the remarkable ability that took to create such advanced equipment. Hatsume ended it of her own will, leaving the ring when she was finished with her extended presentation.
The fifth match was more entertaining, Ashido was quick and agile and managed to avoid the light attacks from Aoyama with ease, while the sixth, Yaoyorozu vs Tokoyami revealed itself a bit underwhelming.
«Rei-chan, what is her quirk?» Ami asked before they started.
She thought about it, then pulled out the memory from this life «Creation. She can make about anything non-living»
«Wow!» Usagi breathed out «That's cool. She can make armour or a weapon or...»
«With unlimited options, choosing can be hard» Ami observed «She needs to think fast and act faster. It's no easy task»
The genius girl's assessment proved itself right in seconds: with no time to attack back, Yaoyorozu was pushed out of bounds far too quickly to even realize. She had managed to produce a shield soon, but took too long to make a weapon to match.
«I'm sorry for her. It must be frustrating» Minako had her chin in her hands, then fussed loudly «He didn't even break a sweat! It's unfair!»
«Practical abilities need quick mind to back them up as much as mental abilities need reflexes just as fast to be effective» Ami sighed «This is what I worry about the most, to be honest»
«Uh?» the others turned.
«My mind is even faster than before since we're here and started special training, but my body is often unable to keep up. I know the theory of ten martial arts, but I can't apply them as I'd like because I lack the correct training and muscle memory that comes from it. Yaoyorozu-san must have a similar trouble, not unlike Izuku-san, albeit in a different manner. In theory, it's easy to figure out the situation but, on the field, prowess and instinct can make the difference»
The seventh fight's start interrupted the discussion, but with the opponents, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, reaching a stalemate soon, the girls got distracted by Ami's analysis of potential scenarios.
«Let's take Tokoyami-san as a possible opponent: Rei-chan could have used the fire of the torches to keep the shadow away and attack at the same time, a long-distance fight on both ways. Mako-chan could have broken through his defence, it's not outside her abilities, to get a close-quarters fight, Usagi-chan could have pointed on agility towards the same goal, while we can assume Minako-chan's ability would be very effective against a shadow-figure. On the other hand, what could I do? Theoretically, a lot. Practically, not much. My chances against someone like him are the lowest among us»
«Don't be so hard on yourself, Ami-chan. This kind of fights, with those type of rules and without any kind of environment to exploit are far from the norm in real life» Minako remarked «Like Izukun did during the obstacle race, you could find a way to use the things around you. I'm certain under different circumstances, the outcome would change as well»
«Remember our extra training? Depending on the place we were, we were more or less capable» Usagi added «There's no need to beat yourself up!»
Makoto snorted, drawing their attention to the ring again, where Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were being brought away, unconscious «What a pair! They've been going at it for a lot, but they kept doing the same things. They're too similar and neither thought about changing technique to prevail»
«You'd do that, Mako-chan?» Chibiusa wondered.
The brunette nodded «Strength is good, but it's not everything. They're too stiff, although passionate. Like the electric boy and vines girl, they got a bad match-up and couldn't adapt to it»
«Talking about bad match-up...» Usagi looked down «I'm worried for Ochako-chan»
Chibiusa was excited «It'll be crazy. Katsu-kun is strong!»
«Ochako-chan is very good too!» Usagi opposed.
«I'm not saying she isn't, duh! Just that it will be a challenge for her. You've seen what he did until now, no?»
Usagi gaped, worried about her friend, and watched as the next match started.
Uraraka's attempts were good, but Bakugou showed no mercy or hesitation. The more it went on, the more desperate it looked for her. Usagi hid her hands in her face most the time, while Chibiusa stood speechless, eyes wide open.
Yes, she knew he wasn't the kind to be nice in a fight, but it was... unsettling to see how ruthless he could be.
Soon, people started protesting and booing, until Eraserhead took the microphone to scold the crowd.
«Was that a pro saying he's playing around? How many years of active work?»
The bleachers shut to listen.
«If you're convinced about it, there's no point in you watching anymore, just go home! Go home and look for a new career!»
«That's harsh!» Usagi protested.
The comment went on: «Bakugou is being careful because he's acknowledged the strength of an opponent who has made it this far. It's because he's doing his best to win that he can't go easy on her or let his guard down»
«It's out of... respect then? That he's going all out?» Makoto wondered, then tilted her head «It'd make sense, but he's still too rough on her. If he can win, he should do that quickly and not play...»
Rei shook her head «It's not only that. He is in difficulty. She did a good job leading him around and he fell into her trap»
She got a few inquisitive looks from around, not only from her friends.
«No, really. From here, is easy to see it. It's a disgrace to the category there are pros who didn't. They really should change careers» the miko shrugged.
Usagi and Chibiusa squinted to figure out what was going on and Ami pointed discretely up, to the sky immediately above the stage.
The floating debris were a sight both frightening and marvelous.
«This... was her strategy all along?!» Usagi marvelled «Amazing!»
Minako stared «He couldn't see it from the bottom, with all the smoke and dust, but from here is far too clear. He's goners»
When it fell, the meteor shower was impressive and Uraraka lost no time charging underneath it. Usagi cheered loud, but then...
Bakugou rose his arm and, holding it with the other hand, blasted the debris to dust.
The whole stone rain effect was annihilated by two powerful explosions. The aftershock sent Uraraka tumbling around, ending up with her back to her opponent.
She got up, slowly, but when she turned to counter-attack her legs gave up and she fell to the floor. Bakugou did, in fact, stop when he saw it, but didn't let loose the fighting stance until Midnight declared the girl out of commission and pronounced him winner.
«Ochako-chan...»
«She did great. Better than all the others until now» Chibiusa said, then grabbed Usagi's hand «Let's go see her! I want to tell her how amazing she was! Come on, Usagi! Before the pause ends!»
She let herself be dragged, but had to ask: «Weren't you cheering for Bakugou-kun?»
«Yep, I'll congratulate him too, but he knows he's super strong already. And I don't think he looked too happy to have won»
«You really have to explain me this thing with him» Usagi grumbled.
«Another time!»
The two girls reached the infirmary quickly. Uraraka was already on her feet, looking more tired and dejected than hurt.
The blonde threw herself at the senpai with a hug «You were amazing! It was super-extra-smart strategy!»
It didn't do much to cheer Ochako, who stumbled a bit «U-usagi-chan... I wish it worked...»
«It did!» Chibiusa replied «You put him in a serious pinch there! You did great!»
«But the sponsors and...»
Recovery Girl let out a deep sigh that turned the girls' attention her way «I shouldn't say that, but you kids put too much in this event and it's bad for your health. Whether you receive offers or not mostly depends on what you show, not for how long. Most pros seek for attitudes they like or similarities with themselves for applications, so you did plenty good at showing what you're made of»
She offered a candy and Uraraka took it gingerly «Thank you» she said, and shook off the tears out the corner of her eyes «You too, Usagi-chan and Chibiusa-chan»
Usagi too took a tear out her eye, but deposited it on the other girl's arm.
«Your quirk?» Uraraka wondered when she felt the comfortable spike of energy, to which she got an eager nod and a wide smile.
«It's not much, but I hope it makes you feel better»
Ochako, finally, smiled and they left the infirmary «Thank you! Ah, it was a bummer, but I'll do a lot better in the future! Like Deku-kun!»
«That's the spirit!» Usagi cheered, then turned to call Chibiusa to go back to the bleachers, but couldn't find her.
«Where did she go?»
«Katsu-kun!»
Bakugou was almost at the section of the bleachers reserved for his class when he got stopped by the now known voice of the little girl.
He didn't turn but stopped anyway, with barely a dark gaze behind «What?»
Chibiusa wasn't smiling, big red eyes staring in uncertainty.
«Spit it out, brat! Bet you think I was a fucking moron» he shouted.
«Well, you're surely being one now» she skittishly replied, then her face softened and she tilted her head «Was it hard? To beat her? You could have done it faster, hurting her less, or not?»
It was the tone of pure curiosity, with no trace of contempt or sarcasm that gave him pause.
«I never half-ass anything, cotton-candy hair. I fought like I had to»
Which was true, all the bashing in the world wasn't going to change his stance. Uraraka's strategy was ridiculous and almost suicidal but effective as hell, he knew she had to have something up her sleeve from the beginning, even if he believed she had Deku's help to put it together at first. He had to keep his guard up, she had gotten the third-highest score in the practical entrance exams, for fuck's sake!
He didn't say that, of course, he wasn't supposed to explain himself to a little kid.
Still, there was a second when he felt his stance untighten when Chibiusa finally smiled.
«Then, congratulations! Keep doing your best!» she ran away down the corridor, waving.
«Didn't need you to tell me!» he shouted back, with a second of lateness, feeling just a bit lighter at his strategy being acknowledged as necessary means, not outright cruelty on his side.
Now, if his classmates were smart, they wouldn't pester him when he made his way to a free seat.
It was Chibiusa who found Usagi, and refused to answer her question on where she had disappeared to, so they rushed back to their seats when the first 1vs1 of the second round was about to start.
«This may be the most challenging match for him» Ami observed as Midoriya and Todoroki marched upon the ring «We saw the technical and raw ability of Todoroki-san and we also know Izuku-san doesn't have full control of his quirk most the time. Although, every quirk has limits and so forth, so perhaps, being in the same class, Izuku-san managed to understand some of his opponent's»
«I think he should focus on closing the physical gap» Makoto gave her two cents «Someone who can rely on a powerful ability hardly takes care of hand-to-hand combat, no?»
On her side, Usagi made a face and limited herself in keeping her hands clasped in a silent prayer. The last thing she wanted was for her friend-brother figure to end up too mangled for a competition, at the same time wishing strongly he'd come out the winner.
«I wouldn't be sure about that» Rei opposed, lost in a somewhat thoughtful state.
There had been something tugging at her mind ever since they arrived at Yuuei that morning. Between the spirits in front of Midoriya-kun, the vague memories elicited here and there, and a puzzling number of questions about how many people there were tied in their previous lives and to which lives - Silver Millennium or their original reality - to refer the memories to, not to mention the amount of mismatched aura she felt from all over around, there were moments she felt dizzy at best.
She decided the best course of action was to focus on the mundane aspect of the situation: the tournament and hanging with her friends. The rest was, as she said earlier that day, not that important.
«Oh no» Usagi whispered, the second after the match was on.
Before the girls could ask what she meant, they realized as well: Izuku had planted himself on his feet and faced the incoming glacier with a hand in front of him and the other to support it for when he used the air pressure from his fingers.
It managed to break the ice, the powerful wind knocked it out and spread the cold all around the stadium two times, but at the price of one finger. It went on, four more small glaciers on Todoroki's side, two broken fingers on Izuku's hand in what could have easily become a battle of endurance.
Although, it wasn't all. Before the wind from the last attack fully dissipated, Izuku started to charge himself and jumped aside, ready to avoid the next icy attack and countermeasure to Todoroki's back wall, which he made not to be knocked out of bounds by the wind pressure. The answer was a rush of new attacks, countered the same way as before.
«It must be unbearably painful, breaking his fingers one by one like that. Not sure if he's impressive or plain stupid»
«Rei-chan!» Usagi scolded.
Ami shook her head «He's doing the only thing he can right now. He doesn't know Todoroki-kun's limits yet, if there are any, so he's taking time. The only chance is that he won't reach his own limit first»
Minako pouted «You really think he doesn't know? He must be smarter than that and they are in the same class...»
«How long have we known each other?» Makoto tossed back «And still not even we know our respective limits, and we fought together lots of times. They had even less time and were probably busy improving themselves than analyzing others»
The attempts to make it a battle of endurance were cut short by Todoroki moving to closer attacks. Midoriya barely had time to change direction, powering his body just enough to jump away from the ice and shift to use his arms and legs to keep the spikes away.
Some of his kicks were moderately powered up, giving him the chance not to get stuck, but the control was lacklustre and he could hold it only for short bursts.
Ami gasped, alerted by something on her visor.
«What is it, Ami-chan?»
«Todoroki-san's body temperature is a lot lower that earlier. It must be the drawback of his quirk!»
«You think Midoriya-kun knows?» Rei wondered. There was that something again, just barely out of reach...
«I don't know, but even if not, he's bound to figure it out soon» Makoto replied, fists clenched.
The two boys had paused after one of Izuku's blasts had launched Todoroki away in defence, at cost of his whole left hand. They exchanged some words, impossible to say what from the bleachers, and Usagi had a terrible feeling at seeing Izuku's frustrated, borderline enraged, face.
It wasn't because he was losing. He showed he could keep fighting by shattering yet another, larger attack, with the sane pinky finger of his right hand, broken with only one blast but still effective.
He even closed his fist, broken and purple-ish as it was, to show he was giving his all and was not beaten yet, or so it looked from where the girls sat.
An angry shout, like a challenge.
Todoroki replied and charged, remarkably slower than before. Slow enough Midoriya could curl down and punch him in mid-waist, sending him tumbling away. The first solid hit of the match, even if Todoroki had managed to freeze Izuku's other arm.
The dual user went back to long-range ice attacks, slower and smaller, and the other had to keep defending with jumps and mangling his already broken fingers.
«He's not regulating his output, again» Ami noted «He started well, but he's in a pinch now. If he can't keep a level head and find another strategy, I fear he could seriously hurt himself beyond repair...»
They kept watching, staring as Izuku strained himself in what had to be, without doubt, enormous pain, using as much of his body he could, mostly his devastated arms, but his legs and even his head at some point.
A battle of limits, of who, between the two boys, would reach his first, just like Ami said.
Usagi wanted, desperately, to tell Izuku to stop, to not go forward in a meaningless fight, that there was no reason for it to be so drastic... but couldn't. She knew, in his place, she would have stopped, going down crying long before, if that had been a simple game.
Except it wasn't.
Izuku was pushing to win, yes, just not the kind of victory everybody around could think about. Otherwise, why keep shouting, hoarse voice and angry face, as if he wasn't the one with too much stubbornness?
He promised he was going to win with all he had. He wanted Todoroki to do the same, look past his hatred for a part of himself that represented choices not his.
It worked.
Midoriya's crazy actions had pushed Todoroki to use his fire side in a display that warmed the whole arena and unfroze his blocked half.
And made Izuku's loss.
The referees got ready to intervene as soon as they realized the amount of power both boys were accumulating for their last attacks.
It was impressive and terrifying.
Blocks of concrete and ice flew around with the explosive wind that resulted from the impact and subsequent thermal shock.
Usagi held strongly to Chibiusa and prayed Izuku would be fine after that, shielding her eyes with her free arm.
Ami, eyes shielded by her visor from the dust, let out a dejected «Oh» way before Midnight got up to check.
It was all the answer Usagi needed, although not the one she wanted to hear.
Izuku had lost.
Usagi started to run down to the infirmary before anyone could stop her.
In passing, she heard the scorching remarks of the people around, bashing Izuku's lack of control and what they thought would be an hindrance once in the field, and elected to ignore them.
She felt she knew what happened, they didn't have a clue. Even if she couldn't hear what Izuku had said to Todoroki, she knew the words weren't to cruelly provoke, but to help. She was sure, because she would have done the same, he neglected the chance to win in order to help.
If all those pros couldn't see how selfless Izuku was, how great his heart was, that was their fault. The same fault that allowed someone like Endeavor to be called a Hero without wondering what kind of man he was in truth.
Wrong. So wrong.
Mamoru was right, that society swung on the wrong hinges. They were going to fix it, though. She, and Mamoru and Izukun and the girls, them alone, if they had to, but she had a feeling there would be more people willing to help.
But that wasn't the most urgent worry. Right then, she was more upset with Izuku's injuries, the fact he was brought away on a stretcher unconscious with more broken bones than she could count.
She got to the nurse's office about at the same time her father did, but she barely registered his presence.
«Izukun!» Usagi shouted, already in tears, her hand fishing out her brooch from her pocket.
«Not now, dear» Recovery Girl warned her, without even looking up from her patching up her patient with large bandages «You irresponsible boy shattered all the bones in your fingers and a good part of your arm. It'll never be the same as it was before» she reprimanded.
Usagi and Toshinori stopped looking at the pained expression of Izuku's face to turn at the nurse.
«I need to remove the bone shrapnels to make sure they don't stay in your joints. You can't be healed before that»
«Can't you let me...?» Usagi went to ask, but Recovery Girl shook her head and sighed.
«If the bones fix the wrong way he may end up never being able to use his hands again. It will be a surgery already difficult enough without that complication»
The girl immediately stopped, worry all over her face. She relented the grip on her brooch and shook her head in frustration. She never intended to use the Tears. Recovery Girl knew about the Silver Crystal, even so, it looked like she wasn't going to let her use it.
Mamoru put a hand on her shoulder and nodded to her, reassuring with his gaze, as only he could, that all would be alright.
Recovery Girl didn't seem so sure and sent a hard look at All Might «To think you pushed him to this point. I don't like this kind of things. You're going too far. Don't you dare praise him for this»
The man lowered his head a bit.
Recovery Girl shook her head again and looked at Mamoru «It'll be a baptism of fire, it seems. First years are always more careless, but usually don't end up with such severe injuries. If you think you aren't ready for it, please move aside now, Chiba-kun»
«No need, sensei. I'm here to help at the best of my abilities» Mamoru answered, «Is it okay for you, Midoriya-kun?»
The other boy nodded «S-sure. I t-trust you»
«Go get ready, then» the nurse told Mamoru, who left, not before he squeezed lightly Usagi's hand in reassurance.
Suddenly, the door opened with a thud and a group of 1-A kids barged in, calling for their friend and giving a good scare to Toshinori.
Uraraka was the only one who greeted the man, assuming he had to be Usagi's father who had a mysterious role in Deku's training. The awkwardness was short-lived since Izuku asked about the next match and was reassured by Iida there was plenty of time before it since the ring had to be rebuilt.
More comments followed, about the match, the injuries the boy sustained, how he scared off the pros - the latter prompting Usagi to lay a reassuring hand on Izuku's shoulder when Recovery Girl wasn't looking - and were concluded by the elderly nurse chasing the students out.
«Everybody, off you go» Recovery Girl kicked out the worried group of kids, reassuring them a bit before closing the door behind them.
Usagi moved forward again after the door was slammed shut «Recovery Girl, are you sure I can't...?»
«I said no. You're partly to blame too for this, he wouldn't have been so careless hadn't you used your quirk on his injuries so often»
«P-please, Recovery Girl...» Izuku called «Don't blame Usagi-san... she wanted to help...»
The elderly pursed her lips, even if her gaze softened the tiniest bit «I'm sure she did, it doesn't mean she did right by lending you crutches when you needed to learn how to walk on your own. Now, Usagi-chan, out you too»
She walked out the door, followed a minute later by her father.
It was going to be a worrisome wait.
Notes:
Did I say one more chapter? Silly me, I meant two. Okay, I meant one, but then I decided to split it. I changed a bit the Midoriya vs Todoroki fight, but it more or less went the same way, there was no actual way for Izuku to win, sorry.
I also kept intact the Bakugou vs Uraraka because it was great just the way it was. I stand that with (almost) anyone else her strategy would have worked wonders. And Bakugou knew that and the placements at the practical exams (yes, I checked, she got the third highest score, right behind Bakugou and Kirishima).
