Izuku sat back as the match between Tsuyu and Tokoyami got ready to begin. He already had his guesses as to why Tsuyu would win, but it would really depend on Tokoyami almost entirely. Tapping his notebook with his pencil, he realized that he didn't need to take any notes on how to beat either of them; not to say they were weak, but their weaknesses were pretty obvious. Tsuyu suffered from dry environments and the cold, just like any frog. Tokoyami wasn't the strongest physically, and Dark Shadow was weak in the light to begin with. Just a little light magic would make him practically useless. If Izuku just created a chain of bright light and wrapped Dark Shadow up in it, the fight would end just like that.
"BEGIN!" Midnight shouted from her referee position next to the stage. Izuku sat up, watching both of his classmates intensely as Tsuyu started hopping around the ring, getting closer and closer to Tokoyami. Izuku sighed as Tokoyami shot out Dark Shadow, sending it to chase after Tsuyu, who deftly dodged it in one big hop. Following up the dodge, her tongue shot out to grab Tokoyami's waist. Izuku closed his eyes as the edgy bird boy's eyes shot open before he was thrown out of the arena in one deft movement. Tokoyami hit the ground hard, a small dust cloud flying up around him before he eventually stood up. The crowd seemed shocked that the match had been so short for a moment before letting out a roaring cheer.
"IN ONE DEFT ATTACK, TSUYU DEFEATS TOKOYAMI! THE MATCH SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE SHORT, BUT THAT JUST SPEAKS TO 1-A'S RECENT EXPERIENCES! TSUYU MOVES ONTO THE QUARTER FINALS! LET'S HEAR ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR BOTH OF OUR COMPETITORS!" Present Mic shouted over the intercom system. Izuku nodded, it made sense to him. If Tokoyami had played defensively instead of trying to catch Tsuyu, things might have gone differently. She may not be the fastest in the class, but she had plenty of movement options alongside good control of her weaponized tongue.
"Man, Tsu really crushed Tokoyami. I hope he still gets scouted for internships." Uraraka said next to him. Izuku smiled at her before shaking his head.
"He'll get scouted. They look at the whole thing, not just how well you do in the tournament. This is mainly for showing off how strong the next generations top pros are going to be. A lot of scouts for the smaller companies usually pick who they're going to ask to intern with their agencies during the first two rounds. The tournament part of the festival is where the big name agencies recruit the people with the highest potential." Izuku explained. Uraraka stared at him in awe for a moment before smiling brightly at him. Her smile faltering, she stood up and pointed behind her with her thumb.
"I gotta go get ready for my match. Wish me luck, Deku!" she said. Clenching his fist on top of his leg, he stood up and followed her out of the stands to the stairway.
"Uraraka!" he said. She turned around with a raised eyebrow, her eyes sliding down to his notebook. "I thought maybe I could give you some of the information I've compiled on Momo's quirk. I just—" he started before she shook her head.
"Deku… all you've done since we met is help me... at the entrance exams, in the battle training against jerkass and Mina, your advice on uses for my quirk and my costume… during the USJ incident, and even during the festival. Don't take this the wrong way, I genuinely like listening to you talk about quirks and heroes, but… I think I need to fight my own battles, ya know?" her finger twirled around one of her long strands of hair. He let his eyes drop and rubbed his shoulder with his free hand.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to—" He stopped as she touched his shoulder, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Don't apologize for trying to look out for me, Deku. That's what friends do! I just think I need to not rely on you all the time." She said before turning away and walking towards her locker room.
"Don't worry! I have a plan. You're not the only one who was watching their potential competition, Deku!" she shouted. Izuku stared after her for a while before he sensed a presence behind him. Spinning around and looking for his new company, he saw Todoroki standing there, observing him.
"We should talk, Midoriya." he said simply. Walking past Izuku while pointing towards the hallway. Todoroki looked over his shoulder expectantly as Izuku began to follow him.
Izuku stared at Todoroki as they walked down an empty hallway. Trash from the observers littered the halls, and the cleaning bots had not made their way to this hallway yet. The icy boy led him till they were standing in a secluded stairwell that was positioned so that they could hear someone enter either from above or below them. Leaning against the railing, Izuku glanced at Todoroki who seemed to be studying him.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Todoroki?" Izuku asked. Todoroki looked into Izuku's eyes, his vision steely and judging. He seemed to consider his words before closing his eyes slowly and looking up at the stairwell above them.
"We're both cursed with incredible power. I know that you hold back a lot; Uraraka told everyone what you did in the USJ. Some people didn't believe her, but I do. That support item you can summon is obviously there to channel your power in a more controlled manner, but, your power is a mutation as far as I can tell." Todoroki began. Izuku nodded, remaining silent. He wanted to get out there to watch Uraraka's match against Momo, but… well, he might learn something about their mysterious classmate. All he really knew about Todoroki, aside from his quirk, was that he was the son of Endeavor and that he really liked cold soba.
"Between the two of us… you were the luckier one. You have so much you can do, so much freedom to make your own decisions. My path was picked for me before I was even born. While you got to pick your own path and how to walk it, I didn't because my quirk isn't like yours: my quirk wasn't a mutation. I was… made to surpass All Might." Todoroki said.
"Tell me Midoriya, do you know what a quirk marriage is?" Izuku nodded, swallowing deeply as he began to ponder what Todoroki really wanted to talk to him about.
"I do but, Todoroki, what does that have to do with what we're talking about here? Quirk marriages were famous for being… barbaric, I mean, forcing someone to marry you for the chance at creating a strong kid? Who would do that?" Izuku asked. Izuku slowly started to realize what Todoroki was starting to tell him, and he could feel his stomach begin to churn.
"Yes, they are barbaric, and they were outlawed years ago, but… my father has the money to turn away any eyes that would care. My mother has a powerful ice quirk; she could have been one of the top pro heroes, and she was a great hero… for a time. Before my father convinced her family to force her into a quirk marriage. My father… well, I know you've been watching me train, so you can figure it out. I was made to be able to surpass All Might with the combination of quirks I was given, but I'll be number one without ever using my left side. That's all I wanted to say. That I'll beat you without using his power." Todoroki said. Turning around to walk away, Izuku stepped forward and narrowed his eyes.
"That story is… horrifying, but thinking that you'll beat me by half assing it might not work out for you, Todoroki. Regardless of its origin, I think—" Izuku started before Todoroki silenced him with an icy glare. Izuku stopped short and stared at Todoroki who shook his head.
"I didn't ask what you thought, Midoriya. This is the only way I can choose my own path. It's the only way I can stand up and tell him that he can't control me." He said as he started to walk through the entrance back to the stands. Izuku stared after him, his eyes downcast before shaking his head. Running forward and shouting, Izuku swung his hand out in a wide arc in front of him.
"Todoroki, what happened to you is horrible. It makes me sick, but you can't expect to beat everyone here, let alone be a hero, if you reject half your quirk while everyone else is giving their all!" Izuku shouted. Todoroki looked over his shoulder, his glare even more intense, giving Izuku a brief pause.
"I'll beat everyone with just my ice regardless of everyone "giving their all"." Todoroki said before continuing back to the stadium. Izuku clenched his hand into a tight shaking fist.
'I'll get through to him. If we both make it to the finals, I know I can convince him his power is his own,' Izuku thought as he followed the same path the icy boy took. Making it back right as Uraraka's match was about to begin, he leaned against the rail. Todoroki's words were taking priority in his brain as Present Mic announced the two competitors.
Momo stretched her arm across her chest tightly, flexing her wrist as she got ready for her fight against Uraraka. Momo didn't want to underestimate her classmate, but… well, from what Momo had seen of Uraraka practicing, not that Momo spied on her classmates, she was more of a rescue hero than an all around amazing hero. Momo was sure that her plan would allow her to easily beat Uraraka.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GET READY FOR THE MATCH BETWEEN THE GRAVITY DEFYING URARAKA AND THE CREATION QUEEN HERSELF, YAOYOROZU! LET'S GIVE THESE TWO A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND CHEER THEM ON TO GO BEYOND!" Present Mic shouted. Momo dropped her arms and unzipped her jacket, sighing at the cool breeze passing across her stomach. Momo took a moment to take in a deep breath and ignore the shouting of the crowd, finding her center before opening her eyes and staring at her opponent. She just needed a quick shield to delay Uraraka's quirk, and then, she would overwhelm her with martial arts and weapon prowess. Uraraka looked unnaturally aggressive, hopping from side to side and flexing her fingers rapidly.
'Okay, so she's ready, just keep calm and—' Momo's thoughts were interrupted by the buzzer signaling the start of the match. Momo started to form a buckler to parry Uraraka's hands so she couldn't be floated as Uraraka called it. She felt a little bad for her brunette friend; she was unknowingly going to make things easier on Momo if she touched her shield. As she started to form a bo staff to use as her weapon against Uraraka, she felt her shield lose all its weight causing her to smile.
"Thanks for the help Urar—" Momo started to say before suddenly the shield was pushed up, showing an aggressively glaring Uraraka. Momo gasped. She hadn't taken into account that without the weight she would need to actively push it in the direction she needed, and Uraraka was physically strong since she worked in construction, more than strong enough to force Momo's shield away from her body! Trying to quickly hop back, Uraraka pulled her forward with that same shield, throwing Momo off balance before slamming her palm against Momo's exposed stomach. Another miscalculation! She should have created more layers of clothing to protect against Uraraka's touch! She felt her heart sink as Uraraka shoved her off the ground and out of the ring.
"IN A MASSIVE UPSET, URARAKA DECISIVELY BEATS YAOYOROZU! DESPITE BEING ANOTHER SHORT MATCH, LET'S HEAR IT FOR THESE TWO HEROES IN TRAINING!" Present Mic shouted. Momo spun around on the wall she'd hit to see Uraraka running over to her, reaching up, and grabbing her leg before pulling her down and touching her fingers together. Feeling gravity's effect quickly return, Momo looked at her classmate who was wearing a smile.
"Sorry Yaomomo, I kinda gathered what you were planning to do while we were training and… I mean, you were kind of predictable. Sorry," her friend said as she walked away. Momo felt her head drop as she held her shoulder. She hadn't just been beaten, she'd been crushed. Uraraka hadn't even been hit or inconvenienced by her strategy at all. Uraraka had just punched through… Momo sniffed as she started to walk back to the stands herself.
"Yet another short match. Why am I even up here? Shouta, you could do this without me- oh fu- the mic's on! AND IN A DRAMATIC CONCLUSION, PONY KNOCKS IIDA OUT OF THE RING! LET'S GIVE A HAND TO OUR COMPETITORS. HOPEFULLY ONE OF THESE MATCHES WILL LAST LONGER THAN A MINUTE!" Present Mic complained. As the crowd cheered, just as loudly as earlier despite this being yet another short match, all of class 1-A, well the ones who cared, were sitting in shock. After Momo and Uraraka's match, Iida had gone to face off against 1-B's Pony… and had been defeated in under a minute. The horned heroine had launched her… horns, which lifted Iida up while he'd been focused on her charging at him before the horns flew him out of the arena.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, feeling bad for all the competitors that weren't really getting to show their stuff due to bad matchups. Clenching his fist a few times, he saw Todoroki leave. Standing up to follow him, he saw Uraraka grinning wildly as she walked past the icy boy.
"Deku! That fight was so awesome, it's hard to believe that I beat her so quick! I can't wait to see you do even better!" She shouted holding up a hand. Izuku smiled at her and gave her a high five before pointing at where Todoroki had just walked through.
"I'll be right back, Uraraka. I just need to talk to Todoroki real quick." Izuku hurried off, missing the confused and slightly hurt look on Uraraka's face. Walking quickly after the red and white haired classmate, he stopped short when he heard the unmistakable voice of Endeavor. Leaning against the wall to hide, he kept his breathing shallow to not be heard.
"—stop being a child and embrace the gift your mother and I—" Endeavor started angrily.
"Don't. Don't you dare talk about her." Todoroki said. Izuku flinched as he heard the icy tone his classmate took with his father.
"...Don't lose. The world expects great things from my son, and I didn't make you just so you could disappoint me." Endeavor said. Izuku took in a sharp breath before leaving, the pressure of the conversation starting to get to him. He walked quickly through the hallways, hoping to get as much distance between himself and Endeavor as he possibly could. Looking behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, he ran headlong into what felt like a wall. Falling onto his butt, he looked up to see All Might turning around to look at him with a smile, holding what looked like a small lunchbox.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA! JUST THE PERSON I WAS LOOKING FOR! I KNOW YOUNG TODOROKI'S MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, BUT I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD JOIN ME… I-I need to discuss something important with you young man, FOR TEA!" Izuku blinked, surprised at All Might's smile dropping and his voice dropping in volume. Izuku nodded, unknowingly taking on a serious look towards All Might.
"Yeah. I think there's time before my match, All Might," he said. All Might smiled at him before leading him towards one of the offices in the stadium. Walking into the office and sitting down on a couch, All Might took the black leather seat opposite to him and sat down heavily, the furniture creaking under his weight. All Might reached into a lunchbox and pulled out a thermos and two cups of tea. Pouring them both a cup and offering one to Izuku, who took it and sat it down in front of him…
All Might proceeded to pull out a pill capsule. With a solemn expression on his face, he opened the capsule and dumped out a wide variety of pills. Izuku knew something had been wrong, but this many pills, none of which Izuku recognized, meant something was terribly terribly wrong with the Symbol of Peace.
"A-All Might, what are those?" Izuku asked, feeling his body shake with dread. All Might looked at him with a sad smile.
"Before I answer that young man… I believe it's time to share my secret. Brace yourself." He said. Izuku felt like throwing up as all the muscle mass evaporated off All Might slowly with steam pouring off his body. What was left before him was a skeletal man, his eyes sunken but still burning bright blue. The shriveled form of All Might coughed in front of Izuku, wiping blood off his knuckle.
"I… All Might…" Izuku spit out. Tears clouding his vision before he rubbed them away. All Might genuinely smiled at him this time, letting out a much quieter more subdued laugh.
"I believe you asked what all these were right? Well, I'd rather not bore you with all the medical terms, but in short, I have a blood thickener, something called Prazosin which helps me not have as many flashbacks, vitamins to help my body deal with my missing natural stomach, and lastly, I have something called CBD tincture which is basically a super painkiller. I also carry morphine on my person in case of particularly bad spikes in pain. All because of…" He proceeded to reach into his jacket and pull out a case, presumably to hold said morphine, before unbuttoning his jacket and taking it off, then pulling up his white undershirt. "...this."
Izuku felt like he was going to be sick. It couldn't even be called a scar, there weren't words for how badly damaged All Might's skin looked. A massive hole shaped divot was surrounded by far too many jagged lines of scars. Izuku instantly felt better(just a little), when All Might pulled his shirt down and pulled his jacket back on before buttoning it up.
"I don't mean to scare you, Young Midoriya. I just need you to know why I need to talk to you. There are things I have to prepare for; things that are already in motion that neither I nor anyone else can stop now. I believe the man who did this to me is lurking around, gathering strength... to finish what he started." Izuku sat, silently listening to All Might talk about someone who had actually been able to not only hurt him badly, but cause enough damage to destroy internal organs.
"I believe that he sent that creature that you subdued to further my injuries and the strain my power takes on my body, all in an attempt to reduce the amount of time I can spend in my hero form, perhaps even to kill me. However, you stopped it, without me having to even lift a finger to intervene. You have my gratitude. However… I've been thinking about what will happen when I'm gone." Izuku grimaced, but All Might continued speaking. "Don't make that face. Even without my injury, I would have had to retire eventually," All Might said with a joking smile. Izuku nodded, rubbing his shoulder as All Might waited on him to respond.
"Why tell me all this, All Might? I mean, why me out of everyone?" Izuku asked. Dreading his answer, Izuku could feel his heart pounding in his chest. All Might's smile lessened and he looked down at his tea before taking a few of his pills.
"Because Young Midoriya—" he stood up, transforming into his hero form and making a fist. "—I WANT YOU TO INHERIT MY POWER. MY QUIRK HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION TO FIGHT FOR PEACE! WITH WHAT I'VE LEARNED BY WATCHING AND SPEAKING WITH YOU, IF YOU WERE TO INHERENT THIS POWER, YOUR QUIRK WOULD COMBINE WITH IT! I BELIEVE THAT YOU COULD BECOME THE NEXT SYMBOL!" All Might said before shrinking back down to his small form. Izuku looked down, staring at his hands. All Might thought he had a quirk, one that would work well with All Might's quirk that he wanted to pass down? His hand shook as he thought about revealing the truth to All Might. It would only be fair, he rationalized.
"Young Midoriya, did you hear—" All Might started, but was interrupted as Izuku looked up, panickedly shouting.
"I don't have a quirk, it's magic, it's been magic this whole time! I'm quirkless. I'm sorry I lied pleasedon'tkickmeoutofUAallIwannadoishelppeople!" He quickly ran over his words as he felt tears well up on the edge of his vision. He could feel a panic attack coming on, his breathing getting shorter and shorter, black spots passing across his eyes as he started hyperventilating. He felt two hands grasp his shoulders tightly. He looked up, still breathing heavily, and saw All Might in his "true" form kneeling in front of him.
"Breathe, young man, then we can continue discussing what you just said. No one is going to kick you out of UA, at least not on my watch. Just take a deep breath, and then we can continue our conversation." All Might promised. Izuku nodded slowly, thanking All Might, calming down and feeling the dark edges of his vision dissipate. Looking down at his arm, he stared at the tattoo that had become a normal sight for him now. Glancing back at All Might, who nodded at him patiently, Izuku took in a deep breath.
"I'm quirkless. The power I've been using, the support item I made, all of it, is magic. It's why there's no real drawback to it, at least physically, besides exhaustion. So.. like I said, I'm sorry for lying. I just, I've always wanted to save people. For as long as I can remember, I just wanted people to feel safe around me." Izuku said. His eyes slowly falling back to the only thing that even allowed him to pretend being a hero. He closed his eyes, expecting All Might to admonish him, or worse, kick him out despite his promise not to.
"Hmm. Well, I don't take you for a liar Young Midoriya, but I'm afraid I would need some serious evidence to believe that—" All Might started before Amelinda, bracelet Amelinda specifically, started shouting at him.
"Izuku just opened up to someone besides… oops almost let it slip. Anyways, he opens up to you, and this is how you react?! Really?! Well boy, I can tell you that I am one hundred percent pure magic, and all the power Izuku has been using is magic as well!" Izuku blinked in surprise at Amelinda's outburst. All Might seemed surprised as well, that a leather looking bracelet was talking to him. Pinching his own hand he let out a yelp followed by a sigh of relief.
"O-okay then. So... magic is a thing, that's something I'm going to have to wrap my head around. Just to be clear, that bracelet is talking to me?" All Might asked. Izuku held his hand over the "bracelet" to stifle Amelinda while nodding.
"Well, yet another thing to wrap my head around. Don't get me wrong Young Midoriya, I have about a hundred questions to ask. Hmm, I still want you to inherit my quirk but… would it interfere with your magic?" Izuku's eyes shot wide. He hadn't even considered that, what with how worried he'd been about getting kicked out of the heroics course. Taking his hand off Amelinda he heard he huff angrily.
"Despite Izuku's rude treatment of me, I shall explain what inheriting power would do to his magic. Firstly what does your "quirk" do? Don't bore me by telling me you punch really hard. I know that, Izuku never shuts up about how awesome you are. Tell me EXACTLY what your quirk does." Amelinda demanded. All Might looked at Izuku who was discreetly pulling out a notepad and pen, cursing himself for having left his journal at his seat.
"Your bracelet is very pushy, Young Midoriya. My quirk, One For All, is a power passed from generation to generation meant to ensure peace and happiness for that generation! It is—" All Might started. He paused when Amelinda let out a loud huff.
"FOOL! I said tell me what it does, not what it represents! What, in exact words, does it do? We're on a time crunch here!" she said, referencing the tournament. All Might looked slightly panicked for a moment before taking in a deep breath and smoothing out his jacket.
"One For All gives a massive increase in physical abilities as well as an exceptional increase in stamina. While I was able to use one hundred percent from the moment I got it… well, Young Midoriya would probably destroy his limbs even with the workouts I've been giving him." All Might said holding up a hand and making a fist. Izuku was furiously scribbling away in his notepad, quickly writing all of this down before stopping when he heard Amelinda let out a hum.
"That wouldn't interfere with Izuku's ability to perform his magic. In fact, it would make it easier on him if anything. Even if he has to regulate the power from "One For All," I can't imagine it being much different from him having to regulate his magic output, albeit on a scale across his entire body instead of a focus point. My friend, who convinced me to give up my physical body, was a great magician, but he was a devil with the blade as well. I can't imagine anything but positives from you passing your quirk onto Izuku." Amelinda finished. All Might's smile could not be bigger as he stood up and flexed into his muscle form, almost hopping in place from his excitement.
"WELL THEN, YOUNG MIDORIYA, THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT TALKING POINT! WHILE I WON'T BE PASSING ONE FOR ALL ONTO YOU UNTIL AFTER THE TOURNAMENT BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE SUSPICIOUS IF YOU ACCIDENTLY BROKE YOUR ARM DURING THE TOURNAMENT WHEN THAT HASN'T HAPPENED BECAUSE OF YOUR "QUIRK", I NEED YOU TO DO SOMETHING FOR ME DURING THE TOURNAMENT!" All Might said. Izuku hopped up and nodded, determination coursing throughout his being. All Might held an open hand out in front of him before closing it into a fist slowly.
"I NEED YOU TO PROCLAIM THAT YOU ARE HERE! SHOW THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU HERE BUT THAT YOU ARE THE TOP OF THE TOP!" All Might said. Izuku let his head hang, his mind already racing at how nearly impossible that was going to be. He had two real competitors that he knew of in terms of power and neither of them had the same limits as him when it came to big moves. At least not according to what Izuku had heard about both of their performances during the USJ. He'd only beaten both of them so far because it hadn't been a drawn out battle and both of them had been preoccupied with having to worry about other competitors. Still though…
"I'll do my best, All Might! I um, I kind of want to let other people show their stuff too though, especially since I know the tournament is the main part that people watch to determine who they're going to ask to be interns." He said. Feeling his cheeks burn slightly at his admission. He didn't want to just blow people out of the ring, not unless he had no other choice but to do that so he could win.
He looked up to see All Might deflate with a surprised look bursting onto his face followed by a smile. Izuku tilted his head at the smile, he'd expected confusion or maybe even anger, but not happiness and… was that pride?
"Um, d-did I say something funny All Might?" he asked nervously. All Might just shook his head as an announcement blared over the intercom.
"AND DOWN GOES SETSUNA IN AN INSTANT! All that waiting and it's over in a second, surprise surprise. GIVE HER A HAND FOR EVEN BEING ABLE TO GET A FEW HITS IN ON THE ICY TODOROKI! NEXT UP, WE HAVE MONOMA FROM CLASS 1-B UP AGAINST MIDORIYA FROM 1-A. GET TO THE LOCKER ROOMS YOU TWO!" Present Mic shouted. All Might just waved a hand at Izuku telling him to get out of the office and go get ready.
"You're just full of surprises, Young Midoriya. Good luck in your match!" All Might said as he inflated back into his muscle form and followed Izuku out of the office. Izuku quickly walked towards the stairwell leading to the locker room, looking over his shoulder to see All Might laughing to himself, confused Izuku but made him smile all the same. All Might might have just dropped a lot on him, but he also believed in Izuku wanting to be a hero which meant Izuku must have been doing something right. Heading towards the locker room, he felt a sudden surge of confidence.
Izuku strode out towards the arena. His eyes shot up towards the stands where he knew his classmates were. He felt a little down, knowing that he disappointed Uraraka since she wanted to talk, but what with his listening in on the conversation with Todoroki and his father, followed by All Might dropping several bombshells on him… well he hoped she would understand. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes as he reached the arena. Taking in a deep breath, he tried to dispel a feeling of general unease he'd had growing in his chest ever since he'd overheard Endeavor's "encouragement" to Todoroki.
"LET'S GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR NEXT TWO COMPETITORS! FROM CLASS 1-A, WE HAVE THE POWERHOUSE, MIDORIYA. HE'S THE ONE WHO MELTED PART OF TODOROKI'S ICE WALL DURING THE KING OF THE HILL EVENT! HIS OPPONENT IS MONOMA! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS KID FROM 1-B'S QUIRK IS!" Present Mic announced. Knocking Izuku out of his thoughts, he flinched and stretched his legs before really examining his opponent. Monoma didn't look like he had a physical quirk, in fact, Izuku couldn't really get a read at all on his quirk based on his physical appearance.
"BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted. Izuku hopped backwards as his blonde competitor sprinted at him, moving surprisingly quickly. Izuku braced himself, using earth magic to root his shoes to the ground bracing for some kind of enhanced strike against him. Blinking in surprise as the blonde boy just grabbed his arm. Raising an eyebrow and staring at the boy, they both just looked down at Izuku's arm.
"U-um, are you going to do something?" Izuku asked. His opponent glared at him, looking between his arm and Izuku's quickly.
"Why aren't I copying your quirk? I've got you, so I should be copying—" Izuku rammed his head forward, interrupting the boy's rambling and feeling the boy's nose crumble under his forehead. Rearing back and ramming his fist into Monoma's stomach, the boy crumpled under his physical assault. This was bad. Did Monoma know instantly if he'd copied someone's quirk, or was he just confused because he didn't know how to use Izuku's quirk?
Standing back and getting ready to keep fighting, Izuku blinked as he looked down at his opponent… who wasn't moving. Kneeling down before shaking him lightly to try and make him get up, Izuku stood up and looked at Midnight who was staring at him.
"I uh, I think I knocked him out with that gut punch Midnight." Midnight just smiled and flicked her whip towards Izuku as he backed away from the unconscious boy.
"Midoriya wins by knockout!" Midnight declared. Izuku felt bad, he hadn't even had to use any magic on his opponent. On the other hand, it was on Monoma for having really bad reaction times and not being able to adapt. Izuku started to walk off the stadium before Present Mic even declared him the winner, complaining about yet another short, and this time boring, match. He sighed as he realized he hadn't gotten to show off his "quirk" at all. Hopefully agencies noticed how quickly he's subdued his opponent without utilizing his quirk at all.
As Izuku walked back into the entrance hall to head back up to the stands, he saw Bakugo round the corner. Glancing at him, Izuku stayed silent as they passed each other. The silence was deafening to Izuku, too used to the blonde boy shouting and filling a room with his own noise. Hurrying out of the quiet hallway, Izuku quickly made his way back up the stands hoping to see Ojiro maybe pressure Bakugo with hand to hand, something Izuku knew Bakugo was bad at. Reaching the stands, he quickly walked down to his seat next to Uraraka, smiling briefly at her and, thankfully, receiving one in return from her. Sitting down next to her and picking up his notebook, he glanced down at the arena.
"How's the match goi—" Izuku started before seeing the two competitors already walking away, Ojiro with a slight limp it seemed. Izuku blinked as Uraraka looked at him and shrugged.
"I mean, we all kind of knew how that match was going to go… but your match was great. You just knocked him out with two hits! That was super cool, Deku!" she said. He smiled at her praise, a small blush burning onto his cheeks before shaking his head.
"I wish I could have shown off my quirk more... or really at all. The heroes looking for interns aren't looking for hand to hand skills for first years like us, they're looking for quirks and skills with those quirks." Izuku said. Looking down at his hands he let out a sigh. Looking up at the tournament board, he knew he'd get a chance to show off his "quirk" against his next opponent as Bakugo's name slid up next to his.
"Tomorrow is going to be rough." Izuku said. He saw Uraraka nod out of the corner of his eye; her matchup wouldn't be easy either. Though she'd surprised the entire class, Izuku included, when she just overpowered Momo almost instantly. Tsuyu, Izuku realized, had an even worse weakness than Momo when it came to fighting Uraraka. Stealing a look at Uraraka, Izuku smiled brightly, happy to see that she didn't just go in gung-ho like some of her classmates. Izuku smiled as Kirishima ran off, full of energy as usual, towards his match.
As Eijirou stood in the arena listening to a crowd going wild, he couldn't help but feel excited. This was his moment to show Ashi- his bros how much he'd grown! He shook his head clearing his thoughts as he got ready to fight his opponent. She looked, well, pretty didn't really cover it, but she had that serious look he'd seen Midoriya, Bakubro, and Momo all get before a fight. Her eyes slightly narrowed, examining her opponent, sizing him up. He grinned as he got ready to charge the second Mic told them to start.
"LET'S GET THIS FIGHT STARTED. GET GOING YOU TWO!" Present Mic commanded. Eijirou started charging towards the orange-haired beauty, activating his quirk and feeling his entire body stiffen up, his hands held out in a knife hand formation while he ran. For her part, she just stood there and reared back while holding her other arm forward. What, was she actually going to punch him while he was this hard? She'd break her hand! He smiled as he got closer to her, before suddenly she swung forward and he felt his body soften again as she slammed a massive hand against him. Feeling his body's defense failing, he tried to harden again only for her other fist to slam into his face, sending him flying before he could even harden his body at all.
Feeling his vision flash white and black, he coughed as he forced himself to stand up, his arms hardening again before he felt her fists slam into him again sending him tumbling. Laying on his back, panting as he forced himself to sit up he looked up to see her already running at him again. Standing up again, wearily, he raised his own arm to throw a fist when she wrapped both hands around him, completely restraining him.
"I believe I have subdued my opponent, Midnight!" She shouted. Eijirou shook his head as he heard her talk, listening to anyone speak right now made his head scream in pain. Breathing out heavily as he looked to see Midnight smiling and nodding, he felt his eyes burn as tears started to well up. He hadn't grown at all...
"Right you are! Nice work!" Midnight shouted. He felt Kendo set him down, his legs turning to jelly and collapsing under his own weight as his vision seemed to throb in his head. Hearing the medical bots pulling up, he took in a deep shuddering breath as they pulled him onto a stretcher. Feeling embarrassment and resentment for himself well up inside of himself as he thought of Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakubro, all of them powerhouses that people knew were going places…
Izuku felt his heart sink for Kirishima. The guy hadn't gotten to show off his quirk at all, he'd been completely and utterly crushed by Kendo from 1-B. He shook his head as he wrote down the information about Kendo he'd just learned, basically increased strength, can grow her hands and possibly other parts of her body(?), and she obviously had some kind of hand to hand training. Her quirk was simple, at least it looked that way, but simple could be very strong. Either Jiro or Shoji would have a tough time against her especially since Kirishima, who was super tough, was powerless against her.
The entire class was silent, mainly because of Kirishima, but Izuku could tell some of the class just didn't want to break the uncomfortable silence.
The fight between Jiro and Shoji went about as Izuku expected. Jiro blasted him with her sonic waves, but Shoji just brute forced his way to her and carried her out of the arena. At least she actually got to show off her quirk and speed. Shoji actually got to show off less than she did, he literally just sprinted at her and picked her up before throwing her out of the ring. Izuku knew Shoji's quirk was way more versatile then he had shown off during that match. He might be holding back so people didn't know what he was really capable of, which was smart actually.
"AND WITH THAT, WE END OUR FIRST BRACKET FOR THE FIRST YEARS! LET'S SEE WHO'S FIGHTING WHOM TOMORROW!" Present Mic shouted as the screen showed pictures of each of the students from the first round on the screen. Each of the winners moved up on the bracket while the loser's pictures were darkened.
"TOMORROW, WE'LL START WITH OUR RESIDENT TONGUE TWISTER ASUI UP AGAINST THE GRAVITY DEFYING URARAKA! FOLLOWING THAT, WE HAVE THE QUICK AND STRONG PONY UP AGAINST THE FROSTY TODOROKI! AFTER THAT IS THE MYSTERIOUS MIDORIYA UP AGAINST OUR BOMBASTIC BAKUGO! FINALLY, WE HAVE THE SURPRISINGLY STRONG KENDO UP AGAINST THE OCTO-LIMBED SHOJI! FOR NOW THOUGH, GET READY FOR THE SECOND YEARS' FIRST BRACKET!" Present Mic shouted. Izuku turned to talk to Uraraka, but she was already gone. He needed to apologize for running off on her earlier. It would probably have to be later tonight though, unless she came back to watch the other years fight it'd be impossible to find her in the crowds.