The stage was set for the first match of the third round and Zuku was already out there waiting for him.
"Fancy seeing you here." Hitoshi smirked.
Zuku smiled.
"I wish we didn't have to do this."
"BEGIN!" Yamada screamed.
Sorry Zuku.
"You're Aizawa's brother, right?"
"Yeah, I-."
Got ya.
Zuku's eyes blanked out as he fell under Hitoshi's control.
"Now walk out of bounds."
Zuku turned and began walking.
Hizashi couldn't believe what he was seeing; the power Hitoshi possessed had truly left him speechless, so much so that he forgot he was supposed to be commentating.
"Oh my god…" Shouta's voice broke the silence.
"THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN AND IZUKU MIDORIYA IS… COMPLETELY FROZEN!"
He muted the mic as he turned to his husband.
"He's incredible!"
"I'm still worried." Shouta sighed.
Zuku was one step away from crossing the boundary and then-
Hitoshi had to steady himself as a huge gust of wind blew through the arena.
His eyes widened.
"WHAT'S THIS?! MIDORIYA STOPPED JUST IN TIME!"
"No! How did you do that?!"
Zuku broke his control.
It was then that he noticed his fingers, more specifically how they were now broken.
But more importantly, he was charging towards him.
Oh shit, oh shit!
"Having a power like that, I'm quite jealous." He attempted. "Because of my quirk I've always been at a disadvantage, and then the League got hold of me and I was just a tool to them, someone to open locked doors they couldn't talk themselves into. But someone as blessed as you wouldn't understand that! You're lucky enough to have a heroic quirk and a family that cares about you! It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal!" He screamed.
Zuku's hands grabbed the front of his gym uniform as he shoved him backwards towards the boundary.
"Say something, damn it!"
Hitoshi swung a punch and hit Zuku across the face.
Out the corner of his eye he could see Tsukauchi on his feet by the tunnel with an expression of concern.
But he didn't care. Fuck them.
He wasn't going to lose!
"You've got to be kidding me?!" He elbowed down to strike Zuku on his broken fingers before kneeing him in the stomach to dislodge his grasp.
Hitoshi then attempted to use the momentum to swing him round and out of bounds but Zuku recovered too quickly. They resumed their hold on each other's uniforms as they pushed.
"Get out of this ring you lucky brat!"
Did he even mean that? Where was this all coming from?
Zuku grabbed his arm and flung him over his shoulder; he was simply a passenger as he flew through the air before slamming against the ground hard.
He cried out as the wind rushed out of him, the back of his head throbbing and probably bleeding from the impact, but he didn't care.
'You're nothing; you better do well to remember that, pet…'
'Oh look pet got all dressed up. Is that supposed to be Eraserhead's capture weapon? Oh it is… Pet reckons himself a hero, does he? Not with a quirk like yours. If you're not imprisoned before you're twenty it'll be a miracle…'
He screwed his eyes closed as the League's words came hauntingly back.
"Damn it!" He slammed his hand against the ground.
"Hey." It was Zuku.
"Get your hand off me!" Hitoshi slapped away the offer as he got to his feet with a wince and brushed himself off.
As he looked around he could see all the expressions he had expected from the start.
Disgust and fear.
He felt sick.
"Why do you want to be a hero?" Came Zuku's voice. "What's driving you?"
"You can't help the things your heart longs for."
Hitoshi turned and walked back towards the tunnel.
He paused.
"You know, people usually tense up whenever they talk to me. You and your family have never been scared of me." Hitoshi admitted with a small smile. "If you're not on guard then somebody's going to defeat you, so be careful. You better not lose and make me look bad."
"I won't!"
After the match was over Shouta made his way down to console Hitoshi leaving Hizashi to continue commentating.
"And our next match will be coming up in ten minutes folks so take the time to use the facilities or grab yourself a snack but be sure to be back soon because you won't wanna' miss more incredible quirks at work." He muted the mic.
His phone began to ring.
"Weird timing…" He picked up. "Hello?"
"Yamada, the kid's parents, they just saw him on TV and called us."
His eyes widened.
"They know everything, his birthdate, the hospital he was born at, full name, they've even got pictures, they're the real deal."
"So how did he end up with the League?"
"I asked them to come to the police station; we can ask any questions there. I thought you and Aizawa might want to join in on this one, given the circumstances."
"We can't leave until after the festival ends."
"It's okay, from the sounds of it they're travelling in from quite some distance so don't expect them anytime soon, do what you need to do and then meet me at the station."
"Will do, thanks, Tsukauchi."
Hitoshi made his way through the empty corridors towards the cooldown room.
"Shinsou, did you forget?"
Snipe-sensei.
He sighed.
"I'm not in the mood right now."
"I don't care." The pro answered before walking closer. "Give me your wrist."
Hitoshi reluctantly held it out before the enforcement bracelet was recharged.
"Can I go now?!"
Snipe scoffed before he walked off.
Hitoshi looked down at the bracelet, anger growing before he screamed.
"FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
Everything that had been brewing inside him, everything he'd never been able or allowed to show came pouring out of him in one long curse.
His breathing was heavy as he scrunched a hand in his hair.
"Fuck…" He sighed.
Arriving at the cooldown room he paused.
Aizawa was stood outside waiting.
"Hey, kid."
He walked towards the pro before wrapping his arms around him.
Aizawa looked equally as taken aback but didn't shove him off, instead reciprocating the hug and holding him closer.
"I think half of Japan heard your remarks back there in the hallway, I can imagine it made you feel better though?"
Hitoshi nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologise for."
"I lost control back there in the battle and hurt Zuku, I didn't mean it though I was just so… I don't even know what. I wanted to win so badly and it brought out the real me apparently. Guess everyone was right to be scared of me."
"I'm not scared of you, neither is Hizashi, or Kacchan, or Zuku. And you were fighting to prove you could handle your peers and their quirks, there's no shame in giving it your all. I know you're scared that there's some evil in you that's gonna' one day leap out and hurt people but there's not. You are an amazing kid with a big heart and a lot of heroic potential; you just need the training for it."
"The training they won't let me have because they don't even trust me to eat fucking rice!"
Aizawa held him a little tighter.
"I'm working on it, so is Hizashi, we'll get those stupid things off you."
Hitoshi took a breath.
"Do you think Zuku hates me?" His voice was small and scared.
"No, Zuku will be more excited to write about what you can do in that notebook of his then he will be angry. You're his friend."
"Really?"
Aizawa smiled.
"Of course you are, Kacchan too."
His phone began to buzz with an alarm alert.
"I need to go back up to the booth but promise me you'll go back out there instead of staying in here on your own."
"I will, don't worry."
Aizawa nodded.
"I'll see you later; we can go out for pizza or something to celebrate."
"Celebrate what, I lost?"
"You got to the third round kid, that's definitely worth celebrating." Aizawa smiled. "We're proud of you, Hitoshi."
He walked off.
Hitoshi didn't know what to say, not quite believing what he'd just heard before a smile came to his own face too.
'We're proud of you.'
"Hey."
It was Kacchan.
"You're not gonna' miss my match are you?" He teased.
"Of course not."
Hitoshi followed him out to the student viewing area.
As Shouta entered the commentary booth he immediately knew something was off.
"What's wrong?"
Kacchan's matches proved to be incredible to watch, it was obscene how much control he had over his quirk and the aerial moves he was able to perform in the sky to glide around the ring. He seemed to be the only one cheering him on though out of their class which was a little annoying but seeing the small group Kacchan had left him sat with did make him smile.
Kacchan had friends after all.
Kaminari was a new name to a face he'd come to learn while Kirishima obviously was chatty from the cavalry battle.
With the fights not lasting too long Kacchan was back up in the stands pretty quickly.
As he threw him his water bottle Hitoshi smirked.
"Save a kitten from a fire?"
"Shut up, Purple Hair."
He took a seat.
"You could actually win this." Hitoshi stated.
"Of course I can." Kacchan quipped back with a grin.
"And now it's time for our final match, Shoto Todoroki vs. Katsuki Bakugou!"
Hitoshi was probably more nervous than Kacchan as he watched the two of them walk out into the ring.
The hand on his shoulder made him jump.
"Hitoshi Shinsou?"
It was… a cat in a police uniform?
"Could you come with me please?"
"AND THE WINNER IS, KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"
Kacchan beamed as he looked around the crowd trying to find the student viewing area. When he finally spotted it he deflated.
The seat Hitoshi had been sitting in was empty.
He'd left.
Author's Note: He doesn't get chained up and muzzled in my story because FUCK THAT. It annoyed me so much to see Kacchan treated like that so here's how my version goes:
The fight with Todoroki is exactly the same with him wanting Shoto to give it his all to show he could still beat him. Shoto gets knocked out after the huge explosion thing, which worries Kacchan, he doesn't get drugged by Midnight and then he turns round to see Hitoshi isn't there.