I never gave birth, but I think writing this arc came very close to it. Uff. Happy me, it's over! Yep, this chapter ends the Sports Festival! Enjoy!
Usagi didn't feel like going out and see more fights, not when she was so worried for Izuku's surgery, not to mention her father's gloomy aura when he has kicked out the infirmary as well.
«You should go back to your friends, princess» he suggested.
She shook her head «I sent them a message, they understand. And I don't want... You need me more» she changed topic.
Toshinori's eyes widened a bit, but looked down gently «You two are too considerate of my foolish wishes. Midoriya-shonen... I shouldn't have pushed him so much»
Usagi just leaned her head against her father's bony arm, not knowing what to say, but feeling just as guilty for not being able to be of any help.
«I believe Recovery Girl wants to give a lesson» Toshinori admitted «To him and me both. You heard her: we relied too much on the possibility any damages on himself could be healed by her quirk, or yours, and Midoriya-shonen didn't put enough effort into mastering it the right way. It's pretty much my fault as well»
«Mamo-chan will fix him» Usagi affirmed, then leaned her head against her father's bony arm, not knowing what else to say for a while.
The silence stretched for a minute, then: «Papa?»
Toshinori hummed in response.
«Do you know why Izukun pushed so bad Todoroki-kun?»
It was a loaded question. It reminded him of when she was a baby, when he'd come back home on days when she'd learned something new but wanted him to explain it to her as if she didn't. A way to share, maybe make more questions. Except, this time, he wasn't sure what answer she expected from him.
He looked aside for a moment before answering: «He said it was because Todoroki-shonen looked too sad and Midoriya-shonen wanted to help»
«Do you know why?» she threaded, carefully.
«He shouldn't have, but meddling with things that aren't our business is the essence of a Hero...»
«Not that» she interrupted «I knew you'd get that. I meant... Why Todoroki-kun was so sad, do you know that?»
Toshinori looked down, surprised by the somber tone. What did she know?
He found her looking away, though her eyes were unfocused, deep in thought.
«I can guess, for how little I know Endeavor out of work, he must be a strict parent, with heavy expectations on his youngest child. He mentioned that much, when I met him earlier» he admitted.
Usagi tensed «I think he's hurting him» she said, very quietly, as if she was unsure whether she wanted to actually say it.
Toshinori could get why. And, as much as he didn't like the idea of a fellow Hero hurting their own child... well, Endeavor's way of talking about his son - "I will make that into a Hero that will surpass you one day. That's why I created him" -, like he was talking about a clone, an object built for a purpose and not a person to be cherished, a beloved child whose future had to be nurtured...
Still, there was a difference between a strict parent, or even a narrow-minded one, and an outright abuser. Foolproof evidence was needed for that, and he knew that kind of things were out his area of expertise. He said his daughter that much, then added: «What made you think of such a thing, my girl?»
Usagi had to think about it for a moment. Replayed in her mind the conversation she overheard, tried to point out the exact words she could repeat to convince her father of her idea. After all, the only clear hint was that Todoroki-kun said his mother had hurt him, giving him his scar in a moment she was out of her mind. If anything, it said Endeavor used to mistreat his wife, but now she was away from him, albeit in a hospital. Todoroki-kun's words about his father had been less clear, except for his intense anger and hurt at, well, he said "being treated like a tool", not much more.
«I think he must be pushing him way too hard» she backpedalled, because that much was clear enough and didn't need to mention she was behind walls, spying on private conversations. Besides, it was possibly the real root of it, it was safe to say that much.
«Like me with the two of you, Usagi-shojo?» Toshinori sighed back, surprising her «In this regard, I don't think I'm any better than Endeavor with Todoroki-shonen. Is that why you're worried for him?»
«What? No! You're nothing like that man, papa!» Usagi opposed, jumping up «You're not training us for your selfish reasons, the opposite! We want to make the world better and safer and you're taking care of us and we love you lots!» she blurted out, in tears «It's not the same at all» she repeated, hugging him in hope that could convey her feelings.
"Even worse," Toshinori thought, "Because Endeavor sent his son to Yuuei already strong and capable, with a faraway goal to reach, sure, but without the menace of a centuries-old evil looming in the shadows".
«I am the one who set the bar too high» he said instead «Didn't I push you past your limit, not long ago? Wasn't I unable to see how much you were suffering after being in my care for less than two weeks? Am I not to blame for not tutoring the right way Midoriya-shonen, to the point he has now to undergo a heavy surgery?» he put a hand on her head «I know you and Midoriya-shonen don't want to blame me, but it is my fault much more than yours. I should remind myself more often that you are just kids and those responsibilities you have are already heavy enough without my pressure and mistakes added to it»
He was talking about the respective powers of the kids, of course. The Silver Crystal and One for All, that were burdens and blessings at the same time.
«That's why we have to do our best, papa. It's not only for you, it's for us, for the people we care for, for everyone» she looked up «Please, papa, don't blame yourself. You do your best for the world every day, even when you can't. We'll do that too because it's right and we want to. Izukun did that to help Todoroki-kun, and now Mamo-chan will heal him» Usagi affirmed «It's okay, Izukun will be alright. We're here»
The man allowed himself a tiny smile, his gaze softened at his daughter's reassurances «I'm sure they'll do their best. But the problem stays and we need to find a solution so it doesn't happen again. Despite my intentions, I am not that good of a mentor»
«That's not true, papa. You're doing your best» she repeated.
«Which is far from good enough. Don't worry, though, I fully intend to put every effort on improving as a teacher» he assured, a thumb up and smile back in place, to which she replied with a nod of her own.
They stood there in silence for a while, until Usagi sighed, hit by a sudden thought that made her frown.
«What is it, princess?» Toshinori asked softly.
«Do you think... if the Chart and all those things wouldn't exist, things would have been the same today? Todoroki-kun, his pain... Izukun's surgery... Ochako-chan's tears... Isn't it all because of the competition? Wouldn't it be better if every Hero could cooperate, instead of living challenging each other?»
He furrowed his brows «While it is true some Heroes fight for fame, wealth or some other selfish reason, many more do it because of their will to help others. There's a difference between goodness and greatness. Anyone with a good quirk can be a good Hero. It takes the right heart to be a great one. Society, though, doesn't see that. People see Villains and are afraid of darkness, so as long as a Hero takes that evil away from them, they'll confide in that Hero. The more one accomplishes, the more is trusted. That's what the Chart is about»
«But...»
«I know what you're thinking. In a way, you are right. It's only an outside view, a superficial one. The façade I put on while out there is the same. I built it so people wouldn't be scared, on one side, and so I don't show the fear in me either»
Usagi looked up, eyes wide in surprise.
«No one can be perfect all the time, my girl. You know I'm far from that. But people need to see me that way, so I strived to be invincible, all this time and as long as I'll be able to. Then it will be up to you kids. I just wish time wasn't against us in this»
«What do you mean?» she asked, alarmed.
Toshinori too realized his slip up and tried to fix it «I mean my time as a Hero, my girl, it's decreasing too fast!» he sputtered a bit of blood and took a moment to clean it up.
Luckily, Usagi seemed to buy it and nodded.
Silence fell back in the corridor, but the father-daughter duo didn't mind it, too busy with their own thoughts and worries.
Outside, the pause stretched longer than expected: the whole arena had to be cleaned up and ring re-made yet again. They decided to fill the time with a stroll around, except for Ami, who offered to keep the seats and the shopping bags while she ran through the data she collected so far.
When the girls received Usagi's message she was going to wait with her dad for Izuku to be out of surgery, there was a wave of collective worry. After all, they didn't know him that well, but they all cared for the boy already.
Chibiusa had been walking in silence. It wasn't unusual for the small girl to retreat in herself at times, they knew that much. It didn't mean any of them liked to see her upset.
«Hey, what is it?» Makoto asked.
Chibiusa shook her head «I'm just worried about Izukun»
«Do you want to go too?»
«No. I just... Usagi cares a lot about him, uh?»
«I think she adopted him as her big brother. Which is not weird, Yagi-san seemed to have adopted him full stop» Makoto half-joked «He's a good kid, you know? It's easy to like him»
«And he has a cute face!» Minako added with a wink «Kinda makes you want to squish his cheeks and ruffle his curls like with a baby»
The others ignored the last comment.
«I think I saw him, once, before. I don't remember when, I just think I recognized him the first time we met» Chibiusa revealed «But it does feel like he was family. Is family. Will be. Ugh, you get it» she corrected herself, unsure which was the more apt tense to use in this case.
Rei frowned «You mean in the future?»
«Yes. I felt something like that with Katsu-kun too. That I could trust him. I'm not sure why, I just know they're good. Do you think it means something?»
Rei and Makoto exchanged an unsure look, while Minako crouched down in front of the little girl «Don't worry too much about that, Chibiusa-chan. We know several things changed, the best we can do is to adapt to those and move forward. We decided it's better to figure out the rest together. Okay?»
After the affirmative reply, the blonde got up «Great. You're going back to the bleachers now?»
«You're not coming with us?»
Minako blushed «I need to... uh, what was it? Ah! Powder my nose»
«Looks like you're finally learning a bit of finesse» Rei commented.
«I'm always refined!» she almost shouted, sticking her tongue out.
Rei rose an eyebrow and smirked «Sure»
Minako hummed «I'm going. If something happens, call me. See you later!» she waved with the hand her comm was fastened on and left.
She must have anticipated a lot of people would have her same idea: the queue to the restrooms was a mile long.
Not that such a thing could stop Aino Minako. After a quick look left and right, she found the entrance to the participants' area and snuck in. She was willing to bet their restrooms were empty.
Okay, maybe going to the bathroom wasn't the only thing Minako had in mind. Perhaps she wanted to see a few of those handsome boys up in person, not just from the close-ups on the big screens or from the far distances of the bleachers, who could blame her?
Artemis would.
She kicked the thought of her cat-partner aside because if he had wanted to have a say in what she did, he would have braved the train trip and come with them. But no! He said someone had to stay at the Control Center to keep an eye on the situation, sure.
What was the point? Ah, right. She was well within the participants-only area now, which didn't look different from the average row of rooms in any stadium, except ten times bigger than any she ever was in. More confusing, too. Turn left. Turn right, no bath nor hunky boys in sight.
And maybe she got a little lost. A tiny, itsy-bitsy lost.
Not losing faith, she went on in her search, until she heard voices approaching from one of the corridors, too old-sounding for her liking. Teachers, she guessed, which was no good. Frantically, she looked for a place to hide.
A door! She ran inside and slammed it on her back and, lo and behold! she found herself in one of the restrooms, which totally counted as a victory in her books.
She waited a bit for the voices to disappear down the corridor, then let out a long sigh and went to one of the stalls to quickly relieve herself and reprise her search before the pause was called off.
It must have taken her longer than she anticipated, or she had been lost longer than she thought because the speakers announced loudly the restart of the matches would be soon, just as she was washing her hands.
She stuck her head out the door, looked left and right to ensure the corridor was still empty and sprinted out towards the direction she thought the stairs for the bleachers could be, disappointed by the half failure of her quest.
In her rush, she rounded a corner, only to almost collide with someone. It was only thanks to her good reflexes she didn't impact headfirst on the tall boy in front of her.
Not that she would have minded, per se. It was a very classic way to meet true love in mangas, and she was an expert of those.
«Whoops. Almost hit, uh?» she joked.
The boy if front of her wasn't exactly her definition of handsome. He wasn't built, had a low nose and the bags under his eyes were darker than the inside of her empty wallet - which wasn't so empty that morning but Yuuei had dozens of stands of Hero merch outside, she couldn't resist, okay? - but he was tall, his hair a nice shade of purple, and she could easily admit he had a certain I-don't-care-if-I-die-now charme.
Artemis would totally scold her for getting lost in this kind of foolish considerations.
He rose an eyebrow «You're not a student. What are you doing here?»
«Eeh, I got lost» she half-lied, in a rush to go away given she should have not been there «I'm going back to my seat now, bye...»
«You're going the wrong way» he said, in low voice but the corridor was silent enough she heard him well.
Minako stopped in her tracks «Right. Ah! You're the boy with the mental quirk! Shinsou, right? Thanks. And, hey, well done in the first phases» she smiled, walking towards the right direction, aiming to get past the boy who looked a bit confused.
«You know what my quirk is, you just saw it, and still answered my question? Either you're insane, or scatterbrained» Shinsou observed, his tone flat enough one could buy the idea he didn't care.
Not Minako. She turned to look at him, not an ounce of worry on her face «You should have the name changed, you know? It's a great quirk but "Brainwashing" makes it sound worse than it is. Plus, it's not even correct since people don't, like, change their stance on life for good at your will. Believe me, I know that stuff. Yours is not that bad»
Shinsou frowned «It can be plenty bad»
«Only if you make it so. But you don't strike me as the evil kind, I know evil when I see it and it's not you. Others will see it too, give yourself time, okay?»
Once again, Shinsou was taken aback. Minako didn't give him time to reply and hurried past him, a lock of her golden hair brushing his exposed arm.
Rattling of chains, flashes of golden light, whispers in dim-lit corridors.
Sneaking jealousy and pearly tears.
Blood on a sword of stone.
Minako had kept walking past the vision, used to the shock of them as she was at that point, barely missing a heartbeat at it, so she was gone by the time Hitoshi recovered, leaving him to wonder if he had just imagined the whole encounter. Maybe, he assumed, his insomnia was playing new tricks on him, or he overused his quirk for that day and it messed up with his own head.
But the smell of myrtle and roses was a bit too real to be a trick of his mind.
Midoriya was out of surgery faster than expected, only a couple of matches went on without him being able to watch.
He was going to bear scars on his right hand, the one he had damaged the most. They weren't as severe as they could have been and the nerve damage was limited, but they were going to be a painful reminder.
When Usagi saw them, she almost burst out in tears again.
Mamoru, on his side, seemed disappointed when Recovery Girl stated she wasn't going to treat Izuku's self-caused injuries anymore. Sure, he understood her reasoning when she pointed out such efforts had to be avoided by learning how to use his quirk better, but it didn't sit right with him the idea of abandoning a patient, a kid, to his own devices when there were ways to help him.
Usagi must have been thinking the same thing, if the grip on her skirt's fabric was any evidence. Even so, she didn't say a word - even when Recovery Girl reminded yet again that Usagi's interventions over Izuku's injuries added comfort on his irresponsibility and such things should not be repeated - until she, Toshinori and Izuku were out.
«I'm going back to the girls» she announced, her smile a bit forced «See you later?»
Izuku nodded, obliging himself to do the same. He was glad she was leaving, because it gave him the chance to clear his mind with his mentor, things he wasn't sure he wanted her to hear.
Doubts, about being qualified for One for All, about his ever-present feeling of inferiority when compared to his classmates.
Doubts that, to Toshinori, had no reasons to be. He was sure of his choice, he felt it was right and nothing would change his mind. His decision had a meaning that was beyond mere rationality.
«Not even... I mean, Usagi-san could heal herself with her quirk so the backlash of...»
All Might interrupted him «Midoriya-shonen. You know Usagi-shojo has another ability, other than her quirk, right?»
Izuku nodded.
«It goes with a duty that has nothing to do with your goals. I think a part of her always knew, ever since she was a baby, that her future held a unique path for her. That's why, even if I had, long ago, considered the idea of making her the heir of One for All, I felt that would have never happened. Nor I wanted it to be»
This surprised the boy, but not as much as what came after.
«You know, I was quirkless, too»
Izuku turned in mild shock «Quirkless...? You...?»
Toshinori smiled «It wasn't as rare as for your generation, but it was uncommon already. My master had her own quirk, but even so, she believed in me and gave One for All to me, and raised me to become a Hero»
«You never told me tha...»
«Because you never asked, even though I thought you would» was the easy answer.
The shock had still to wear off the kid, so All Might went on: «At first, I saw the old me in you. But you have gone beyond what I imagined, time and time again. There is something that only you can show the world. I believe that»
Once again, Izuku was on the brink of tears, of shame for doubting All Might's decision, at the same time of pride - a next to unknown feeling for so long in him - at the praise no one else before expressed to him.
«Now, the Sports Festival isn't over yet! Make sure you make the best out of it by watching until the end»
«Yes, sir!»
The rest of the tournament went in a blur.
Minako had come back while Tokoyami was about to beat Ashido, while Usagi found Makoto and Chibiusa arguing over Bakugou and Kirishima's match, each rooting on opposite sides, but they stopped as soon as they saw her.
«Is Izukun out of surgery? How did it go?» Chibiusa eagerly asked.
«He's fine. Could have been better, his right hand is full of scars now, but...»
«He could have lost functionality of it, from breaking it all those consecutive times» Ami completed «What about that?»
«He'll be okay» Usagi confirmed, then sat down with a sigh «He surely gave us a good scare. I never saw Toshi-papa so gloomy»
«Well, good thing he's fine and he'll manage to see the semi-finals at least» Makoto smiled «We should visit him tomorrow. I'll make cookies»
«Oooh, cookies!» Usagi cooed, only for it to be covered by Chibiusa cheering loud for Bakugou's victory ticket to the semi-finals.
Todoroki vs Iida was next, and Iida was smart to exploit his quickness to reduce the physical gap, going very close to win, if not for the fact Todoroki played him on smartness by blocking his adversary's exhaust pipes and immobilizing the engine.
Once it was the turn of Bakugou vs Tokoyami, Ami had confirmation of her theory that, in a hypothetical scenario, Minako could overcome Dark Shadow, who was susceptible to light.
And then came the final: Bakugou vs Todoroki.
«He has such a scary face! How can you be his friend, Chibiusa?» Usagi asked, once again trying to coax her future daughter to give her the explanation she wanted.
The little girl ignored her.
Todoroki went with his glacier attack immediately after the "Start", which didn't take Bakugou aback in the slightest: a rapid-fire of explosions kept him out the cold wall, making it burst from the inside.
«Yay!» Chibiusa cheered as soon as she saw him emerge. Most of the bystanders were too shocked to do the same.
Todoroki didn't seem pleased, he probably thought he could keep the adversary inside, and jumped back, only for Bakugou to propel himself forward with his explosions and grab him in an unexpected move from above, manoeuvring himself with a small explosion.
«Both have impressive motor skills» Rei observed, then tilted her head and lowered her voice «Bakugou's move now reminded me of the Phobos' Dragons, the elite force of Mars' army. I didn't see enough of Todoroki's fire side to say the same about him. He has an exclusive preference on his ice powers»
«Maybe he trained them better?» Makoto guessed.
Usagi bit her lip, knowing it was unlikely for the boy to change fast, if his stance on the matter of his fire side had not changed for good. She hoped it did: after all, Izukun mangled his hands for that to happen, but... well, non-magical healing took time.
In fact, Todoroki kept not using his left side moreover, as Eraserhead said during his commentary, his attacks had lost refinement.
«He doesn't seem in his right mind. Tired or unfocused, either way, we can assume Todoroki is not at his top at this point»
«This is going to piss Katsu-kun off» Chibiusa affirmed «He said he doesn't like half-done things»
Midoriya's exhortation towards Todoroki resonated in the lower part of the arena despite the chaos, but for some reason, Bakugou looked strangely pleased with that, if the smirk shown on the screens was any indication. Well, not so strange, given what Chibiusa said.
It didn't work anyway. Yes, Todoroki used his fire side to re-balance his body temperature but he didn't use it to attack, even if, for a moment, it looked like he would.
Bakugou's impressive rotating attack, instead, broke what remained of the glacier and threw his adversary out of bounds.
When the dust settled, Todoroki was slumped, unconscious, against the icy debris.
As predicted, Bakugou didn't take it well. He stumbled a bit after he got up - his own attack must have been too powerful even for himself - but after a few steps, he started running angrily, shouting with broken voice at the unconscious Todoroki it wasn't a fair win, going as far as to grab him, other hand clenched in the same way he did when ready to use his explosions.
Midnight didn't let him try - even though Chibiusa doubted he would attack - by ripping her sleeve and activating her sleeping quirk. She then declared Bakugou winner of the Tournament.
«He isn't going to like it at all» Chibiusa muttered before getting up.
While the girls could watch all the Sports Festival, Mamoru met more than a few students who ended up in the infirmary, most of them too out of commission to ask much about his presence there, some others too wrapped up on their recent fights to chatter. Mamoru guessed the fact he looked older than his age helped a great deal not raising questions about his presence there.
A few of them, though, were amicable. Kirishima, for example, was cheerful when introduced himself and chattered happily while being bandaged despite his recent loss. A couple of third years too were nice enough to exchange a few words with him and Recovery Girl, and looked remarkably less tense than their younger peers.
Recovery Girl explained, in passing, it was because third years usually were hired part-time by Hero agencies already, so the Draft didn't mean to them as much as it did for first years, who needed that first contact to prompt their field job.
Eventually, everyone was healed or patched up enough to watch the awards ceremony and Recovery Girl exhorted the boy to go see that part at least, assuring she had the medibots to help packing up most of the temporary infirmary and that he would have his evaluation soon.
«Not that you have to worry in this regard. You were of great help today. I look forward to teaching you» she added with a smile.
It was the best news of the day. Sure, it didn't mean his transferral to Yuuei was 100% certain yet, but a good evaluation from an esteemed professional plus the experience he gained in that single day was worth more that he wished for when the whole ordeal started.
At that point, there were only two people left from the first years' tournament, the one that dragged longer because of the continuous interruptions and needs to rebuild the ring: Todoroki and Bakugou.
A few of their classmates peeked from the infirmary door soon enough, but only Kirishima dared to enter and ask. Midoriya, limping and with the face who just got horrible news, was a bit further, side by side with Uraraka, and didn't look like he had any intention of going in.
Recovery Girl shooed them all away just in time for Bakugou waking up. The blonde boy had, at first, looked around in mild confusion, then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs such a string of cusses that Mamoru was torn between stuffing cotton in his own ears, or shout an earful to the younger boy about manners.
The issue was handled by the nurse, who sent her temporary student start packing a few items in the back room while she and a few teachers tried to contain Bakugou.
«Mamo-chan!» Chibiusa poked her pink head inside shortly after the two finalists were brought out.
«Chibiusa. What are you doing here?»
She frowned «I wanted to see Katsu-kun, but they didn't let me in until now, so I thought I could see you at least. You done, right? Will you come to sit with us for the ceremony?»
Mamoru nodded, packing the last item Recovery Girl had asked him to before he was free to leave, when a bit of ruckus from the corridor caught their attention. They exchanged a look, then the girl sprinted to see what that was about, followed suit by Mamoru.
There was a lot of discussing, scolding, coaxing and a sudden clang of metal that made think of an attack of some kind, although... who would be so stupid to attack in a place filled to the brink with pro Heroes and aspiring Heroes?
The plastic sign on the corridor said it was the way to the moving platform that hosted the podium, so the winners of the tournament were supposed to gather there to emerge in the arena like a big show.
There they were. Well, Todoroki and Tokoyami were, the first leaning on one wall, seemingly lost in himself, the other a bit further but eyeing from a safe distance the fuss, at the center of which there was a thrashing Bakugou, arms blocked in a contraption that kept his elbows straight, plus another on his hands. It looked like teachers were trying to tie him with other things, but he was running around, kicking and even biting, not stopping sprouting profanities the whole time.
«Katsu-kun?» Chibiusa called, unsure what was going on. Her small voice got the attention of a teacher, Cementoss, who moved to keep her away.
«No one should be here now. Please, go back to the...»
She ignored him and peeked beyond the concrete-man, letting Mamoru do the apologies and explanations.
Bakugou too noticed her and screamed «Stay the fuck out of it, cotton-candy hair! No! I said I won't go to that bullshit ceremony!»
«Eh? But you won!» Chibiusa objected in loud voice, brows furrowed. Who wouldn't want to receive the award they worked so hard to obtain?
«I didn't win shit! Half-and-half bastard held back! He went all out on fucking Deku, of all people, but the asshole didn't give a shit about me?! He looked down on me as if I was garbage!»
Todoroki didn't even look up, Mamoru noticed. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to take Chibiusa away or let her intervene. In all honesty, he didn't like the idea they were forcing a kid in chains only to attend a celebration if he didn't want to go, even if said boy had the worse bad mouth he ever heard.
The girl pouted «I think you would have won anyway. He was tired and not that focu...»
«Are you trying to piss me off more, brat?» explosions were muffled by the... well, whatever they used to restrain his hands. The teachers tried to talk to him over again.
Chibiusa just ignored the shouts and went on «But so were you. Tired, I mean, you're always mad. So you were on even ground, after all»
«I wanted a perfect fucking victory! Which is not. this. shit!»
He had managed to get past the teachers long enough to take a breath, and Chibiusa took the chance to put herself in the middle of the ordeal, forming a small but unexpected block between the raging boy and the pro Heroes, who currently looked quite un-heroic, if one was to ask Mamoru.
«Heroes win when they win, it doesn't matter how, as long as they do it right, no?» the little girl asked.
«Like hell it was right! I want a rematch! He needs to use his damn left side against me too!»
Some of the teachers looked ready to drag the tiny girl away, but she stood, nonplussed, with the most serious and assured stance they ever saw on someone so small.
«Well, you can't have it now, so stop acting like a baby!» she scolded, a hand on her hip, the other with a finger up «My point stands, Katsu-kun. You won, just like you said. If you don't like how it was, do it better next time. For now, just accept you fulfilled your pledge and move on, because if you go out there tied up like that you'll make a fool of yourself and no one will take you seriously, ever»
She spoke from experience. Granted, a different one, where she had stubbornly insisted to attend a banquet in one ridiculous gown she could barely walk around in, despite everyone had advised her to wear something more sober and appropriate. People had laughed at her for a good decade over the mishap, taking it out on occasions for the following century. Not the same thing, but, eh, close enough, no one there needed to know the exact event.
People were cruel when it came to public image, that was what mattered there: «They'll remember this and only this, and good luck making anyone forget about it anytime soon»
Bakugou paused, for the first time since the end of the tournament not thrashing to free himself, actually considering what he was told. Memories of how he was, until that very day, outed as "the victim of the Sludge Villain incident" by the quirk-copycat, burned in his mind, and adding more to that blemish on his reputation was not what he wanted. An undisputed victory would have done the trick to the reverse and this wasn't as good to him, but the little brat had a point.
«How old did you fucking say you are?»
«901, turning 902 in June» was the smiling reply.
The teachers were still staring, uncertain of what they were witnessing.
«Very fucking funny, cotton-candy hair» he scoffed, to which she pouted.
«You don't believe me!»
«What the hell... are you surprised about that?!»
«Not really» she agreed, then pulled out a sly smile «Still, you calmed down, no?»
Small red eyes widened «You're a smart little shit for one who is such a brat»
«And you have too much of a bad mouth for a future Hero» she replied in tune «And bad temper. You're terrible»
«No shit, Sherlock» he spat, then turned his head at the nearby teachers «Oi! Take those things off me, I give up. I'll go to the stupid ceremony»
Everybody was too astonished to register what just happened, so it took Bakugou another shout for someone to move and free him. On his way to climb on the podium, he turned to Chibiusa «Don't you believe, even for a second, that I accept this, because I fucking don't. I didn't win today, no matter what people think» and marched away, hands in his pockets, without giving her time to reply.
«I have no idea how you did that, but well done» one of the teachers said, «Although, you shouldn't...»
«Are you sure you're teachers?» she interrupted, an eyebrow high and arms crossed «Or even Heroes? Because if you can't deal with one student being upset, you should reconsider yourselves»
Tokoyami's eyes widened and even Todoroki looked up in a mild show of surprise.
«The courage of the innocent is truly a power to behold» Tokoyami said.
«C-chibiusa, I think we should go now» Mamoru grabbed her hand and lead her away from the stunned teachers, who could only look at each other in between incredulity and a tad of uneasiness.
All things considered, the ceremony went on without a hitch.
Sure, the first two, technically the winners, looked more like they lost than the actual losers, Bakugou's pissed off face broadcasted around on the arena's screens didn't gain him much sympathy, while Todoroki's dejected, borderline downcast air, downplayed the general festive feeling. The mysterious absence of Iida, justified by Midnight with family problems, put a further damp on it.
Not to mention the incredible lack of coordination between Midnight and All Might at his entrance in big style. They talked over each other and made minor gaffes, which showed how much improvising there was at play.
While Tokoyami had gracefully accepted both his third-place medal and All Might's hug, Bakugou had grabbed the medal without wearing it, moving away from All Might when the man went to hug him. Not that the Hero let him get away, he more or less crushed the boy in a grip vice that engulfed him and ignored the small explosions.
«A first place like that is not worth anything!» Bakugou affirmed «Even if the world recognizes it, if I don't do it myself, it's trash!»
«In this world where people are constantly being compared publicly, there are not many who can keep aiming for the top of an unchanging scale. Think of this medal as a wound, so you never forget»
But more than on Bakugou, All Might focused on Todoroki and he paid attention to his words in the brief exchange they had, making sure he hugged the boy with extra-warmth. The poor kid probably needed that, along with the encouragement he could make his own good choices, no matter what others wanted. He received a pensive "yes" back as answer at the end, which was something, he guessed.
And if, at some point, All Might was going to speak with Nedzu-sensei about Usagi's intuition, no one was going to judge the Number One Hero for sticking his nose in business not his, not when this was exactly how he became the Symbol of Peace.
People started to leave the stadium in excited chatters, but the girls waited a bit longer. Luna had mentioned, that morning, she would wait for the end of the events to speak with Nedzu about the reprise of their training, although they didn't think it would be possible to resume immediately given the works that had to be done to disassemble the giant structures appointed for the Sports Festival.
Instead...
«The school will be closed until Tuesday, so we have the weekend for training» Nedzu cheerfully announced, much to Luna's surprise «I'll have the spaces appointed for the Sports Festival not be removed until Sunday, so tomorrow you'll able to use them. Sunday we'll proceed with the usual training away from the works. The exam is approaching and we don't have much time left. I assume they don't intend to miss Monday classes?»
Luna shook her head «It wouldn't be the best idea»
The headmaster nodded back «Far from me wanting to withhold students from their academic development. Tell them to get here earlier, tomorrow. I have the traditional press conference to attend to now, otherwise I would have been happy to start this very evening» and then he had padded away.
When Luna explained it to the girls, she received mixed reactions.
«And there goes our tea party with Izukun!» Minako moped.
«Priorities, Mina» Rei reminded, to which Ami nodded.
«Eeeh, I know that! It doesn't mean I can't want normal things once in a while» she fussed, with Usagi expressing her approval in the background.
«Do I come too?» Chibiusa asked. They then realized no one took into account her presence.
«Is it a good idea?» they wondered.
«At this point, there isn't enough time for her to get the same preparation you had, but it can't hurt letting her try. She's going to follow you and we can't rely too much on leniency based on her age» Luna reasoned.
Chibiusa looked happy about the situation and the cat assured she could deal with arranging things with the principal.
«I thought we could talk with Izukun and the others after all of it» Usagi complained, «I didn't think they'd have to go back to class even today!»
It seemed like the press conference Nedzu mentioned was planned so students could get back to the main building without being crowded by the journalists, who would be kicked out at the end of it with the rest of the crowd before the students left the campus.
So, the group decided to head to Usagi's house for the moment.
«Nothing to do about that» Rei turned back to look at the tall central building «A lot went on today. The aura of defeat, anger and disappointment is all over the place. They can use all the fireworks they want, this kind of things doesn't go away»
«It's the nature of fight» Makoto replied «A tournament has only one winner, everyone else loses»
«But is it right? For them to compete? To always feel like this...» Usagi asked.
Ami agreed: «Nedzu-sensei wants us to unlearn collaboration. I think he should do the opposite, and encourage cooperation among his students as future pro Heroes, instead»
Minako nodded «Standing on your own is important, but standing with others is more important. It's about finding the best outcome for everyone, not just a single person. We'll have to show them the way»
Usagi beamed. She was sure the girls would understand her immediately.
«We will!»
Notes:
About Todoroki's situation... I made a bit of research and, as far as I found out, there wouldn't be legal ground to take the custody from Endeavor. It's sad and unfair, but at this point of the story he isn't doing anything technically illegal and even past abuse would be hard to prove. All the stories where the Todoroki kids are rescued are great, but this is something that had to be done when Shoto was little and actual physical abuses were happening, at this point of the plot I don't see in canon strong enough evidence there still are any. Even the psychological damage would be hard to prove as Enji's fault and not Rei's.
I'm not saying it's right, mind you. Endeavour is garbage but, technically speaking, in a patriarchal society such as the Japanese one, there would be no way of changing the situation. What can be done is to give the boy some friends and teach him self-acceptance (and, of course, the dorms later on).
I have lots of fun writing the bits with Bakugou and Chibiusa, I'm happy how this one came out, especially the fact Bakugou didn't end up chained to the podium, it felt too damn wrong.
The part with Minako and Shinsou was partially suggested by a reader, Prin Exe (thank you again!), who gave me some ideas for the pairings' interactions and I added my spin to them. You'll see more in future chapters, but be patient and keep in mind this a family-and-plot-oriented story so I focus more on other things. I decided to go with the results of the poll (67% on over 40 votes seems like a big enough majority) and I'm starting to place hints of the ships.
In this regard, thanks to everyone who voted, messaged me, gave their opinions and so forth, it means a lot to me that you took a bit of your time to help me out or to just leave a simple review. Support is always important to writers, in whatever form it is, thank you all!
And I rambled enough, so just some last bits of info: myrtle and roses were two of the plants sacred to Aphrodite. Dragons were sacred to Ares. Didn't I say I am a Greek Mythology lover? ;)
Stay safe!