A Symbol of Hope
Chapter-12
No One's P.O.V
Todoroki stared firmly at his left hand as he sat in the witting room by himself.
Flashes of the last fight were fresh in Todoroki's mind. He wouldn't lie to himself; he almost lost to Shiozaki if he hadn't broken through the ice with all his strength at the last minute.
The young girl had him trapped in an ice prison, using his own quirk against him. Todoroki had no trouble melting his ice after a fight was finished, but he wouldn't use it during the battle.
"What if you come up against someone where your ice isn't enough?"
Todoroki growled as Izuku's words rang in his head. Even though he almost lost, he still won with his ice, and a win was a win no matter how it was done.
"You'll reach your limit soon enough."
"No." Todoroki stood up, his face filled with determination as the mist started to form on his right side. "I'll win with mom's quirk, and prove that bastard I am not his tool."
Hearing a buzzer go off in the distance, Todoroki knew it was time.
"I will beat you, Midoryia, with only my ice."
"Welcome back everyone, I hope everyone is ready for another amazing fight! The first match of the third round! At this year's sports festival, both have shown top-class performance!"
The crowd roared in excitement, so much, so nearly the whole stadium shook.
"First! Arrows, swords, more arrows, and Quirkless to boot! From the Hero Course, it's Izuku Midoriya!"
Izuku walked into the stadium, fully equipped, and ready to fight. "He'll start off with a big wave of ice and try to overpower me. I need to be ready."
"Versus!"
"Second! Fire, ice, and superpowered to boot! From the Hero Course, it's Shoto Todoroki!"
Todoroki walked out of the entrance, his face stone cold as he marched to the arena. "I'll be dangerous if I let him lead the fight. I'll end this fast."
Both teens made their way to the stone arena, and everyone could feel the tension between them. Izuku gave Todoroki a confident grin, only for the archer to get a cold glare.
"He's planning to only use his ice side." Izuku sighed before gripping his fist. "Fine then, I'll show him what will happen when he doesn't go all out, especially against me."
"It's like two great rivals fighting against each other! Now let's see which student will make it to the final round!"
"Just move this along already..."
"START!"
Without any hesitation, Todoroki sent out a giant wave of ice straight at Izuku. The wave was so massive it was about half the size of the arena. It was clear Todoroki was trying to finish the match fast by overpowering the archer from the power and time.
Izuku, however, reacted just as fast. Pulling out his bow, the archer fired off three explosive arrows at the oncoming ice, stopping its growth and creating a large smoke cloud.
"Wow! Midoriya stopped Todoroki's attack!"
Todoroki kept his eyes on the cloud, waiting for anything to come flying out. The crowd was already cheering and roaring with excitement. Everyone waiting with anticipation to see what happened next.
Out of the ice user's eye, Todoroki saw movement and ducked on reflex. A second later, an arrow flew over Todoroki's head as he turned to see Izuku running to the side with his bow up.
Izuku clicked his teeth as he reached for another arrow, his legs never stopped moving. Todoroki saw this and quickly sent another wave of ice, this one smaller but just as fast.
Todoroki expected another arrow of some kind; instead, Izuku lowered his bow and ran towards the oncoming ice.
"Todoroki is a long to midrange fighter; that's where his quirk shines the most." Izuku thought as he ran towards the oncoming ice. "It's most likely that up close he lacks since not many people have been able to actually get close to him. He's going to throw as much ice as it takes to keep me at bay." A grin cross Izuku's face as he stared straight ahead. "Perfect."
Just as the ice looked ready to hit, Izuku pointed his Grapple Gauntlet to the side before firing. As soon as the grapple embedded into the ground, it whipped Izuku to the side, just in time as the ice wave blasted past him.
Izuku skidded across the ground as the gauntlet pulled him along before coming to a stop. Once his feet were planted, and the grapple retracted, Izuku started to run again while firing off arrows at Todoroki.
It soon became a game of cat and mouse. Izuku would run and dodge Todoroki's waves of ice. The archer would escape by the skin of his teeth before shooting another arrow at the duel quirk user.
Thanks to his impressive reflexes, Todoroki could dodge every arrow Izuku shot at him before sending another wave of ice.
The duel quirk user clicked his teeth. He sent another wave of ice at Izuku, only for the slippery archer to shoot another exploding arrow before dodging. Todoroki let out a breath as he felt a chill run through his body.
"I'm starting to feel my own quirk." Todoroki frowned as he let out another breath, this time seeing it. "It's nowhere dangerous, but it could be later." Todoroki dodges another oncoming arrow before glaring at the archer, who was running once again. "Is this his plan, to slow me down with the effect of my ice attacks. He should know I can just use my other-" Todoroki growled hard as he shook his head violently as if trying to shake the thought out from his head. "Are you seriously planning to run forever, Midoriya!" Todoroki yelled as he sent a massive ice wave at Izuku, only for it to be stopped by more explosions. "You'll run out of arrows before I ever start to feel the cold," Todoroki said in a cold tone.
The last thing Todoroki expected was to see a grin on Izuku's face, one that actually made Todoroki feel worried.
"Hey, Todoroki," Izuku called as he lowed CC. "Want to see something cool?"
The archer jumps back, and as Todoroki followed him, his sight was blocked by a large chunk of ice. Todoroki blinked and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Todoroki whipped his head to the side and was about to send an ice wave, only to see a large amount of ice already in front of him.
That's when it hit Todoroki, making his eyes widen in shock.
"Unbelievable! Todoroki is surrounded at all sides by his ice!"
"An excellent tactic, turn your own enemies power against them is always ideal. This right here is case in point."
Todoroki started to rapidly look around, a slight panic filling his chest as he lost sight of the archer.
"Wow, Todoroki, thanks for making me so much cover!" Izuku's voice rang out, though Todoroki couldn't tell where. "Thanks to all this, I don't have to worry about your ice anymore!"
Todoroki gave a low growl as he kept glancing around, trying to see some kind of movement. "He trapped me with my own ice, just like what happened with Shiozaki." Todoroki then remembered Izuku's words and gripped his fist in anger. "Is he trying to make me use his fire... the bastard."
Izuku pushed his back against a pillar of ice before glancing around, seeing Todoroki not too far away as he glancing at his left hand. Izuku's eyes narrowed at the duel-quirk user. "So, you think you can beat me with just your ice?" Izuku pulled back before grabbing an arrow. "Let's see how you feel when the tables have turned."
The young archer pulled out a Putty Arrow and aimed it at a wall of ice. Izuku closed his eyes before taking a deep breath before they snapped open.
*TWANG*
The arrow flew and hit the ice wall at an angle that made it bounce off, flying in another direction.
"Trick Shot!"
Todoroki turns just in time to see the oncoming arrow before it slammed into his chest. Yellow putty exploded from the arrow and wrapped itself around the duel quirk user's arms, trapping him. Todoroki staggered back and started to freeze the glue, only for a Boxing Glove Arrow to nail him in the side.
"Todoroki is getting attacked from all sides! Midoriya has turned this fight into a one-sided slaughter! How is he pulling off those shots!?"
"Thanks to the ice and Midoriya's skills, he can pull off those shots with minimal effort. He turned the plain arena into a field he can take advantage of."
"Holy hell, Izuku is kicking Todoroki's butt!" Kaminari said in shock as he watched the fight.
The rest of Class 1-A silently agreed as they watched the fight play out. At first, it seemed like Todoroki had the whole battle under control, and Izuku was struggling just to stay in. That is until Izuku turned the entire fight around into his favor. Now it was Todoroki who was struggling to stay in the battle while Izuku shot arrow after arrow at the duel quirk user.
"I guess that goes to show how dangerous Izuku's plans are," Sato said with a nervous laugh. "Even someone as OP at Todoroki was caught off guard."
"What I don't get is why is Todoroki leaving behind so much ice?" Sero asked as he scratched his head. "Couldn't he melt it easily with his fire?"
"Hey yeah!" Mina shouted while snapping her fingers. "I wonder why he's not blasting fire right now? That would take Izuku right out of cover."
Bakugo sat alone in the booth corner as he watched the fight and listened to his classmates. Mina's question rang in the dirty blond's head. He remembered the conversation Deku and Todoroki had after the Cleverly Battle. Bakugo happened to follow the two after seeing them walk off together. At first, Bakugo wanted to rant at Deku for wining another event, only to stop and listen as he heard them talk.
The dirty blond had no idea All Might himself told Deku to give up on his dream, then started training the Quirkless teen (All be it being muscle just training) after the Slime Villain incident.
Todoroki's problems were a whole different can of worms altogether. His dad Endeavor, the number 2 hero, being a massive dick of a parent, his mom giving him that scar on his face, and half-and-half's stupid vow to not use his fire half.
Despite what many people thought, Bakugo did have some tack. Even he knew he couldn't bring up something so casual up with half-and-half, not without getting a face full of ice.
Bakugo will never say it out loud, but he agreed with Deku. No one ever became a hero by holding back. So if Deku couldn't bring out the half-and-half's full power, then he would, or beat him so far into the ground, he'll be forced to use his full power just to survive.
In the stands a certain flame hero frowned as he watched the fight before him.
"This is what I warned you about Shoto. This is what happens when you only relay on your ice half."
Endeavor felt even more anger that it was the Quirkless student giving his son such a hard time. The same one who told him, the number 2 hero, off about being a bad parent.
"It is your destiny to surpass All Might Shoto, that is why I made you. Use my fire and win this!"
Despite Endeavor's thoughts the fight continued, and with each passing second the flame user slowly became more and more enraged.
"YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M FUCKING TALKING ABOUT! GO, LITTLE BRO! KICK HIS ASS!"
"Lila, calm down," Inko said with a surprised tone. She saw the young woman cheer louder than before, catching even Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki off guard.
"Sorry!" The young woman laughed as she kept her eyes glued to the fight. "It's just... this is perfect!" Lila cheered as she pumped her fist. "Izuku used Todoroki's own quirk against him perfectly, now he has a solid chance to win this match!"
"But, can't Todoroki just melt his ice and get rid of Izuku's advantage?" Tamaki asked in a low tone while looking to the fight.
That made a thoughtful look cross Lila's face. "True, but for some reason, he hasn't used it yet." She said before folding her arms and frowning. "And I have no idea why. He should at least be able to melt some of his ice, yet he doesn't even try."
"Maybe he's holding back?" Nejire guessed while tilting her head.
"Not a smart move," Mirio said with a small frown. "Holding back is good if you want to minimize damage or save your energy. However, in a fight against an opponent who's giving it their all, the last thing you should do is hold back. You'll just be insulting your opponent and putting yourself in a bad position."
"Like being trapped while taking several arrows from all angles," Nejire said as she watched Todoroki get hit with a shock arrow before sending an ice wave in a direction.
"Exactly." Mirio nodded.
"Well, then that's on the kid." Lila huffed with an annoyed look. "If he thinks he can beat Izuku with only half his power, he has another thing coming, specifically his ass out of the tournament."
"Wow, you curse a lot when there are no children around." Nejire pointed out in an innocent tone, making everyone sweatdrop and Lila dropping her head.
"Runs in the family." Lila gave a weak laugh as everyone turned back to the fight.
Inko was silent as watched the two boys fight. Her motherly instincts kicked in as she saw the Todoroki boy fight with a look of pain and desperation as if he was fighting to not use his full power. Inko wasn't sure why, but she could feel the young boys struggle was more then just a fight.
"Please, let everyone come out of this in one piece."
Todoroki panted hard as his body shook in pain. His uniform was tattered, covered in burns and frost.
For nearly five full minutes, Todoroki has been taking a near-constant barrage of arrows coming from all angles. No matter what the duel quirk user did, he could not follow the arrows' trajectory since they would bounce off multiple ice walls before coming at him. This gave Midoriya more than enough time to hide somewhere else before firing more arrows.
Hearing a whooshing sound coming from behind, Todoroki quickly made an ice wall behind himself before jumping forward. The wall exploded from an explosive arrow, showering Todoroki with ice before the duel-quirk user started to move.
Izuku glanced around an ice pillar and caught Todoroki moving, not too far away. The young archer saw the damage the duel-quirk user was in. He was winning the fight, the Quirkless archer was going to beat the strongest student in his class.
"But is this really how I win?" Izuku thought while tightening his fist.
Despite Izuku turning the tables and winning against one of the most substantial quirks he ever faced, the victory felt hollow.
Against a villain, Izuku would use any dirty trick to win since winning meant everything in hero work. However, this fight was different. Izuku was here to prove he could fight against the strong, to prove that even though he was Quirkless, he could become a hero one day.
Yet Todoroki was holding back against him, albeit for his own personal reason, he was still holding back against Izuku. If Todoroki had used his fire to melt the ice, he would have removed Izuku's current advantage and brought the archer into the open.
Instead, Todoroki was adamant about not using his fire half in the fight, as if Izuku wasn't worth going all out.
Izuku's anger started to rise at the thought of Todoroki not taking him seriously, as if the Quirkless archer wasn't even that dangerous.
"Do you really think your ice is enough to beat me, Todoroki!" Izuku growled behind the ice wall as he tightens his Grapple Gauntlet on his arm. At the same time, Todoroki searched for Izuku after hearing his voice. "Think again!"
Jumping out from behind the ice wall, Izuku pointed his Grapple Gauntlet at Todoroki.
"Get over here!"
The grapple flew across the arena and latched onto Todoroki's left arm before he could react. Overclocking the retraction, the Grapple Gauntlet pulled Todoroki with enough force to pull him off his feet.
Once Todoroki was close enough, Izuku detached the grapple from the duel quirk user's arm before thrusting his leg forward. Todoroki slammed into the thrust leg with enough force to knock the wind out of him in his exposed stomach, yet Izuku wasn't finished.
Pivoting his body Izuku spun around and back kicked Todoroki right in the jaw.
The ice user felt his brain go fuzzy as his vision blurred as his body started to fall back. Todoroki tried to use his ice but found it was difficult. "I... I can concentrate-" Through his blurry vision, Todoroki saw Izuku winding up for another deadly attack. "Haaaa!"
Just as Izuku was about to land another deadly blow, ice exploded from Todoroki's right leg, forcing Izuku to jump back.
"What an amazing fight! Midoriya has Todoroki on the ropes and is forcing this powerful quirk user into a corner!"
Izuku glared at the ice wall Todoroki made as he gripped his fist. "You know Todoroki, all quirks have a very common weakness to them." Todoroki panted as he pushed himself off the ground while glancing back, hearing Izuku's voice. "They all require mental focus, meaning if your mind is hazy using your quirk is much harder to use, especially for Emission users like yourself." Izuku then started to pull out an explosive arrow while glaring forward. "But, you wouldn't be in this mess if you stop holding back against me."
Slamming the arrow into the ice wall created an explosion strong enough to bring it down. Todoroki stood just in time to see Izuku as the ice wall fell, though the archer didn't advance.
The two stared each other down. Todoroki crouched low, and mist started to form around his right side.
However, Izuku did the last thing Todoroki expected to do.
"I'm done." The archer said while dropping his guard, glaring at the duel quirk user.
"...What?" Todoroki blinked in confusion.
"I said I'm done now, I'm done fighting you. I'm bored," Izuku said as he looked Todoroki straight in the eyes with a neutral look on his face. "You're boring me."
"What is this, some new tactic to throw me off guard, because it won't work," Todoroki said while glaring at the archer.
"Todoroki, give yourself a long, hard look," Izuku said while pointing to the other teen. "Your beaten, bruised, and throughout this whole fight, you have not managed to land a single hit against me."
Todoroki couldn't help but do what Izuku said and looked to himself. While he was beaten and bruised with his uniform coming to shreds, Izuku was relatively unscathed with only minor scuff marks and shine of sweat on his skin.
"You see," Izuku said while folding his arms. "With the way this fight is going, I'm going to either push you out of the ring or knock you out without taking any kind of damage. All because you won't face me at full power."
Todoroki growled as he tightens his fist. "I won't use that power, his power! I will win with only-"
"Oh my god, are you serious right now!" Izuku growled while face palming, cutting Todoroki off. "I admit at first I understood where you're coming from, but now, all I see is someone who doesn't deserve to be here, to be a hero!" Izuku growled in an angry tone as he slammed his fist into some ice next to him, shattering it.
Todoroki gained a shocked look on his face as he looked to Izuku. "W-what..." He muttered before his face turned angry. "What did you say?" He asked in a low.
"For over seven years, I have trained my ass off to get where I am despite being Quirkless. And I'm not the only one!" Izuku pointed to the Class 1-A and B booths. "Do you think they got into the Hero Course just because of their quirks? No, everyone worked their hardest to become stronger, to become heroes by going Plus Ultra!" Izuku looked back to Todoroki and gave the teen a glare. "Bakugo might... is an asshole and a shitty friend, but he is one of the hardest workers I have ever met who wants to become a hero more than anything. Aoyama's own quirk works against his body. Yet, every day he pushes himself and his body so one day, he can become a hero. Hell, even Mineta deserves to be here more than you right now! Sure he's a perv, and he doesn't have the purest reason for becoming a hero, yet when push comes to shove, Mineta pulls through with all he's got. They all have in common what you lack, the drive to push yourself, and become better not just for yourself but also for others. But you... you're going out of your way to hold back over a promise you made to yourself."
Todoroki's fist shook as he glared at Izuku. "I thought you could understand-"
"I don't think you understand," Izuku cut off the duel quirk user, the young archer was far from finished. "If I was a villain, do you know how many times I could have killed you or escaped?" Izuku said while releasing his killer intent, making a cold chill run up Todoroki's spin. "Several, easily. I could have killed you, escaped, or done both, all because of a promise you made to yourself. However, if you had used your fireside, I would have been in real trouble."
Todoroki gained a look of rage as he gave Izuku a cold glare. "Why are you trying to make me use his fire? Did my old man put you up to this, pay you off?"
Izuku returned the glare. "No, you're father did not pay me off. I wanted to fight you at your full power and beat you to prove I have what it takes to be here. Instead, I'm having this pathetic excuse for a match."
Todoroki's rage finally peaked, and he lunged forward. "Don't screw with me!"
However, much to Todoroki's shock, Izuku was much faster than the duel quirk user and closed in on him as soon as he raised his left leg.
"Shit," Todoroki thought in worry. "My left leg is off the ground, I can't make any ice-"
Izuku cut Todoroki's thoughts off when the archer pivoted his body and slammed his foot into the ice users' chest. Todoroki flew back and slammed into a block of ice with enough force to crack it.
"See, right their," Izuku said as he gave Todoroki a board look. "Right now you're probably thinking how fast I am, but that's the thing, I'm not faster; you're slower. Because you've been only using your ice side during the fight, your own body is starting to freeze, slowing your reaction time to a near crawl. You can fix this by using your fire half to warm up your body, but we both know you won't do that."
Todoroki pushed himself up with a painful grunt as a shocked look crossed his face. "H-he's right, I've used my ice for too long. How did I not notice?"
"At this point, there's not much you can do," Izuku said with a shrug. "You can throw as much ice as you want, but I'll dodge it before your attack even hit me. I'll win when you collapse after your own quirk freezes you over, or when the teachers call the match and declare me the winner." Izuku then gave Todoroki a stern look. "So I'll repeat myself, Todoroki, you're boring me. So step out of the ring, I rather fight Bakugo right now. At least he's not stupid enough to hold back against his opponent."
Todoroki stood still as Izuku's words ran in his head. "Why..." He said in a low tone. "Why are you going this far..."
Izuku looked up with a sad smile on his face. "I promised someone significant to me that I would be the best hero I can be. I'm going to be a hero like All Might, Eraserhead... Hawkeye, because anything less would be spitting on that man's grave!" He said before pointing to Todoroki. "The fact that you think you can become the No. 1 hero without using your full strength and that you're doing this to disavow someone is a fucking joke!"
Todoroki was suddenly hit by flashes of his past after hearing Izuku's words. Images of his father's intense training were still fresh in his mind. He would cry to his mom nearly every day. His other siblings would play and have everyday lives only for him to continue training under his father.
"You live in a different world Shoto."
"Shut up..." Todoroki growled as his emotions were going crazy. Anger, shame, hope, love, regret, hate, all of these emotions were whirling in Todoroki's mind as memory after memory flashed in his mind.
The memory of how his mother gave him his scar came next. He remembered how she talked to her mother before he went into the kitchen, saying how his left side was ugly before dumping boiling water on his face. She was sent away to a hospital with barely a word, and his father seemed to hardly care. Her job was done, she gave him a worthy heir with a quirk that could rival All Might in power.
"It's your fault..."
"My father-" He started to say while glancing at the flame user in the stands.
"It's yours!" Izuku shouted at the top of his lungs, stopping Todoroki from finishing his sentence. "It's your power, Shoto!"
In the stands, All Might was looking at the fight with a critical look. The teachers were allowed to listen in on the battles, thanks to Midnight's earpiece.
All Might was pleased to see the fight going in Midoriya's favor. Still, after the conversation started, All Might was confused at what the young archer could be planning.
Now it was clear as day what Izuku was trying to do.
"Could you be... trying to save young Todoroki...!?"
All Might was brought out of his thoughts at what he saw next.
"But you still want to be a hero, right? It's okay, Shoto, you... you aren't a slave to your blood. You can become the man you want to be."
Todoroki's mother's words hang in his head louder than any memory.
What Todoroki did next was something that he thought he would never do while in combat.
"RAAAAAAA!"
*FWOOSH*
"What the-"
A fire erupted from Todoroki's left side as if a dragon roared. The fire was so hot and large that all the nearby ice evaporated into steam or started to turn into water.
Izuku, despite feeling the intense heat lick his skin, had a massive grin on his face as more and more ice evaporated around him.
The young archer wasn't the only one, as Todoroki also had a broad grin on his face as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Even though you wanna win... god damn it... going out of your way to help your enemy... which one of us is the joke..." Todoroki said with a shaky grin on his face. "I... I'm gonna be... a hero!"
"Todoroki has unleashed a tornado of fire, whipping away all the ice cover! The tables have turned yet again!"
For the first time since Izuku has met Todoroki, he could hear the conviction in his voice.
"This... this feels right." Izuku might have lost his one advantage he had over Todoroki, yet Izuku didn't feel any regret.
"SHOOOTOOO!"
Izuku glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Endeavor marching to the stadium's front row. A look of pure pride on his face as the fire on his body blazed as dozens of eyes were on the pro hero.
"Now, this is your true beginning! You who hold my blood, surpass me, and realize my ambition in yourself!" Endeavor shouted while his fire blazed, grabbing a lot of attention from the audience.
However, despite Endeavor making a grand speech, Todoroki kept his eyes on Izuku, his grin never faulting.
"And Mr. Endeavor with a very sudden... pep talk? Must be quite the doting dad."
"Wow..." Izuku couldn't help but mutter with a grin on his face. The heat was so large and intense it was evaporating all the ice Todoroki had made in seconds, leaving only the very farthest ones up. "So, this is what your full power feels like?"
"What are you smiling about?" Todoroki snorted as he rubbed his face. "You might not be wounded, but you're still exhausted and running low on arrows, in your current state... you're absolutely nuts."
Todoroki was right. Izuku was practically empty on explosion arrows, save for a few, and his other arrows wouldn't cut it with the current fight. There was also the fact he was beyond exhausted. With Recovery Girl healing him before the match, combined with all the running and dodging, Izuku was beyond winded.
But he wasn't out of the game just yet.
"Your not so good yourself." Izuku pointed out with a grin as he reached for the bottom of his quiver and pulled out four pieces of arrows. If Todoroki was going all out, then so was he. "Your body might be warming up, but your not in the best shape."
Todoroki gave a small laugh. "Look's like we're both on our last legs," He said while crouching low. "So, I guess I'll have to go all out." Suddenly Todoroki's left side blazed while his right side started to make ice as well. "Don't blame me for what happens next!"
Clicking the arrows together, Izuku grabbed the last of his explosive arrows. "I was about to say the same thing. So bring it on Todoroki!"
Todoroki sends a giant wave of ice at Izuku. It was so large the ice wave practically spilled out of the arena. Izuku acted fast and fired his Grapple Gauntlet forward. As the gauntlet pulled, Izuku jumped with enough force to have the gauntlet whip him over the ice wave, sending him flying right at Todoroki. Pulling out the last of his explosive arrows and the two Warhead Arrows, Izuku aimed at Todoroki while passing through the air.
"Midnight!" Cementoss called out as he started to use his quirk. "If those two attacks hit...!"
"It'll be bad for both of them!" Midnight said while ripping his suit and using her quirk.
Izuku flew through the air and took careful aim at Todoroki. "The heat might set the arrows off early, and even if they didn't, this explosion is too dangerous for a direct hit." Izuku fired the arrows at the ground a few feet from Todoroki. "Even if Todoroki puts up an ice wall, the explosion will be too big and send him fly-"
*Boom-Boom-Boom*
Without any warning, several stone walls were erected from the floor between Izuku and Todoroki. Six in total.
Izuku's eyes widen as a thick stone wall went up just between his arrows and the target he was aiming for, several feet from Todoroki.
Aiming his Grapple Gauntlet back, Izuku quickly fired before being pulled back in midair, just as another stone one shot up from the floor.
"Shit, the aim is off, and with the stone walls, I don't know if-
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
A massive explosion erupted from the arena as both Izuku's and Todoroki's attacks collided.
The stone walls Cementoss made were blown away and turned to dust, along with Midnight's gas.
The whole stadium throws up their guards, and some even used their quirks to block the intense wind from knocking them down.
"Not that such huge force is a good thing, but..." Cementoss groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. "That force was incredible..." He said with some amazement.
Once the explosion and wind died down, all that was left was a huge smoke cloud covering the arena.
"What was that... what the hell even is your homeroom class, dude..."
"Todoroki simply applied heat to the air he'd cooled down, which then expanded. Midoriya's Arrow's also added to the force and heat, only making it bigger."
"So that's how they made such a fiery wind blast! Damn, that's hot! And I can't see a thing! Just who won this match..."
Everyone in the stadium waited with anticipation to see who had won the first match of the third round.
Finally, a strong wind blew into the stadium and revealed the arena for all to see.
And what a sight it was to see.
Todoroki was at the very edge of the arena, a thick wall of ice behind him as he leaned his body back to hold him up. His jersey was torn and burned off, exposing his left side. The duel quirk user was panting heavily as he struggled to stand. The attack he throws out was not something his body was used to, not to mention when the explosion went off, he had to make more ice just to keep himself in the arena.
However, what caught everyone's attention was the fact that one of the fighters was missing.
Midnight and Cementoss glanced around the area but saw no trace of the green hair archer.
"I'm calling this fight," Midnight said as she looked to Cementoss. "We'll search for Midoriya-"
"Raaaa!"
Looking back to the arena, the stadium stared in shock as the young archer pushed a large slab of concrete off himself before immerging from a pile of rocks. Izuku stood from the heap of debris as he throws the large chunk away with one arm.
"I'm not done yet."
Despite his words, Izuku looked more than finished. His left arm looked to be slack and even slightly longer than his right arm, implying he had dislocated his shoulder. His Grapple Gauntlet looked to be totaled; his sword and bow were missing, along with most of his arrows. His upper PE uniform was gone entirely, leaving him in only his blue PE pants, revealing his battered and bruised chest.
Yet despite all this, Izuku stood tall on the rock pile.
"A-Amazing! Even after such a large explosion, both fighters are still in the game! This is what it means to go Plus Ultra, ladies and gentlemen! Who will win and move on to the next round!?"
"I don't think they can even move?" Midnight gave both students a worrying look. The injuries they had were pushing the safety zone quite a bit. Another explosion, even close to the last one, might leave something permanent. "I'm calling it, this match will earthier be a draw or decision."
If the match became a decision, it would be up to the teachers to judge the game's outcome on who performed the best. If the game was a draw, they would have to rest and fight again after the next match or do something else that wasn't so dangerous.
Back to the fight, Izuku glanced at his left arm and winced as he felt his shoulder move. "Fuck, that's not supposed to be there."
Dropping his left shoulder down, Izuku leaned back before whipping his back straight.
*Crack*
The sound was practically audible through the entire stadium, making everyone wince at the cringe-worthy sound.
Izuku's eyes widen as he let out a silent scream, his body staggering forward as he nearly fell to the ground. The archer's eyes watered as he slammed his foot down, making sure not to fall from the intense pain.
"D...Damn it..." Izuku thought as he struggled to move forward, his body screaming in pain. "I... I can... barely move... that last attack took everything out of me..." Izuku remembered his last checkup with Recovery Girl. Recovery Girl had drained more than half his stamina just to heal him up for this fight if he had to guess. "I'm running on empty... but... I'm not giving... up... just... yet... I... will... be..."
Giving a growl, Izuku pushed his body forward, taking a single step before he started to move.
Midnight gave both students a worrying look. The fight had pushed them to a hazardous point that might have injured them permanently if not for Cementoss's interference.
"Todoroki, can you still fight?" Midnight called to the duel-quirk user, who leaning against the ice wall and had yet to move.
Todoroki gave a grunt as he pushed himself off the ice wall and stood on shaky legs. The duel-quirk user panted hard as his body felt both pain and exhaustion. Yet he refused to fall.
Midnight might not have gotten an answer, but the fire in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Giving a sigh, Midnight turned to Midoriya but her words caught in her throat at what she saw.
"How... how is that possible...?" The R-Rated Hero thought in shock, her jaw-dropping a bit as she stared at the young archer.
Todoroki took deep breaths as his vision blurred, yet he could see the green archer slowly advance on him, albeit at a slow rate.
"I need to finish this in one go..." Todoroki thought while panting hard. "I only have enough for one last ice wave, after that... I don't know." Ice then started to form on Todoroki's right, his face hardening. "I won't give up, I will be a hero-"
*Crack*
Before Todoroki could react, Midnight's whip wrapped around his body and pulled him down hard, stopping his attack.
"Wha-"
"Todoroki, stop!" The Hero called in a firm voice.
"But... but I can still fight!" Todoroki said in a desperate voice as he saw Izuku continue his shuffle. "I can win!"
Midnight brought her whip back and climbed onto the arena. However, to everyone's surprise, the R-Rated Hero did not make her way to the battered duel quirk user, but to the shuffling archer.
Murmurs filled the stadium as Midnight made a b-line for Izuku, her face both serious and showing concern.
Once Midnight made it in front of the archer, Izuku didn't stop his walk and continued to march forward.
Midnight raised her hand and brushed Izuku's hair aside, revealing his eyes. The R-Rated Hero then waved her hand in front of his face, seeing no reaction as Izuku bumped into her.
Midnight sighed as she raised her arm high in the air.
"Izuku Midoriya... is unconscious!" Midnight out, shocking the entire stadium as she pointed to Todoroki. "The Winner of this match is Todoroki!"
A profound silence filled the arena as everyone from civilians to pro-heroes had their jaws dropped.
Then the stadium erupted in applauds.
"Wh-wh-what a shocking ending to a great fight! Both fighter's show what it truly means to go PLUS ULTRA! Now Todoroki moves on to the final round, where he will face the winner of the next matchup!"
Todoroki gave a shocked look at the announcement of his victory. The duel-quirk user was honestly worried he would have lost the match after taking so many attacks from Midoriya in the beginning, draining his energy.
Midnight lightly grabbed Izuku's body and laid his body on the ground as the medic bots rolled in. The R-Rated Hero offered a small smile to the battered archer as the medic bots moved up.
"You are one amazing person Midoriya."
(AN: READ AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END PLEASE!)
"Holy... just... that was way too intense," Kaminari muttered as the whole class nodded in agreement. "That explosion throw me off my seat."
"Are we sure the class president is Quirkless?" Sero asked while looking around. "Because what kind of Quirkless guy stands up after an explosion like that and falls unconscious standing up?"
"Apparently, our class president can," Jiro said while gulping. "I can't tell you what was scarier. Midoriya somehow bringing Todoroki to his knees, or Todoroki having that kind of power."
Bakugo had a blank expression on his face. He watched Deku being taken away by the medic bots; his body was broken and battered. Todoroki chose to walk out of the arena on his own feet. Though he appeared to struggle, he still held his head high as he made his out.
The dirty blond glanced back and heard more chatter from the surrounding audience.
"That Midoriya kid..."
"He provoked him, only to be beaten in the end..."
"I thought for sure he had some plan, but was it really just running and hiding?"
"Did he want to win against Todoroki, or did he want to lose?"
"Whatever the case, that power was something scary..."
Bakugo said nothing as he stood up from his seat and started to make his way out for his next match.
"Big brother..."
The blond glanced to the side to see the white-haired girl with a worried look on her face. The girl looked ready to cry as Ochako and Mina held her close.
"Don't worry, Eri-chan, Recovery Girl will have Izuku all the better in no time!" Mina said with a broad smile on her face.
Eri looked down before looking up to Mina. "Can I see him, please?" The little girl pleaded, tears in the corner of her eyes.
The girls looked at one another for a few moments, wondering if it was a good idea to bring Eri to Izuku or not.
The first to speak up was Mei, giving the young horn girl a big smile. "I'm sure when Recovery Girl makes your big brother all better, he'll what to see you smile." Mei offered with her own kind smile.
Eri gave the pink-haired girl her own shaky smile before nodding softly.
Ochako smiled and stood up from her seat. "Come one, let's go see your big brother."
"Hey, wait for me."
"I'm coming too!"
"I need to check on my babies!"
"Hold up, I don't know the way."
"Wait... wait for me, girls..."
In just a few seconds, a little less then half the class made their way out of the booth. Bakugo heard some movement in the booth over and knew that another class president was making her way to Deku.
Bakugo felt his annoyance spiked as he saw several students flock to the loser of the match.
"Nearly everyone in the class, All Might himself... what makes Deku so special? He's Quirkless, all he can do is some fancy tricks or relay on scope-eyes' inventions." Bakugo let out a huff as he started to walk out of the booth. "I need a walk. Then I'll show everyone why I'm going to be at the top."
"Izu-Izu-Izu!"
"Can I get a god damn water here!" Lila yelled while patting the grin hair mother on the back. "Breath Inko, Izuku's alive, so just breath."
"Here," Mirio said as he handed a bottle of water to the two.
Lila snatched the bottle and quickly brought it to Inko's lips. The older woman gave a shaky sip before taking a few ragged breaths.
"Better?" Lila asked as she took a step back.
Inko looked down before shaking her head. "No, no I'm not." Inko said in a shaky tone.
"Don't worry, Recovery Girl will have Izuku as right as rain!" Hado said with a big smile on her face. The upbeat smile seemed to put Inko at ease a bit. "She patched tones of heroes in even worse conditions, she'll have no trouble!"
Inko looked down for a moment before she stood up. "I'm going to go see him, Mirio, can you-"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Lila said quickly, making Inko turn to her with a surprised look on her face. "Look... Izuku just suffered a big loss, and trust me when I say it sucks to lose. He's going to want some space for a bit to get his emotions together. When he's all better, he'll come to you."
Inko looked at Lila for a moment before she sat down. She knew the hero woman knew what she was talking about, so the mother trusted her.
"Please be well Izuku..."
Todoroki panted as he walked out of the arena, feeling mixed emotions on his supposed win.
Before, as long as he came out on top, Todoroki didn't care how he won, as long as he won with his ice.
Now, however, after using both his fire and ice half, Todoroki's victory felt hollow.
Suddenly the duel-quirk user stopped as he saw a very familiar flame hero standing in his way.
"You're not going to say 'out of my way'?" Endeavor said while crossing his arms, a smug and prideful look on his face as he looked to his son. "The flame control of your left side... it's still too dangerous like you can't take your foot off the pedal and have no choice but to go all out. But now that you have abandoned all that childish whining, you've finally become the perfect 'upgrade of me!" Endeavor praised with a broad smile on his face as he stuck out his hand. "After you've graduated, come back to me! I'll let you be the one to walk the conqueror's path!"
Todoroki looked at his father with a blank look on his face for a long moment before he finally spoke. "There's no way I could just let go of that 'whining.'" That made Endeavor's smile falters as Todoroki looked at his left hand. "There's no way I could flip things around so easily, even with Midoriya's help. It's just that, at that moment, that second... I forgot about you." That statement stunned Endeavor; however, Todoroki wasn't finished as his face scrunched up at the words he just said. "No, it wasn't just that I forgot you. I guess Midoriya helped me realize if I wanted to become a hero, a hero who can save everyone and not be a burden, I needed to move past my vow, move past you, and give it my 100%. Even If that means... using my fire half."
Todoroki started to walk past his father, who still looked to his son with some shock.
"As for whether that was good or bad, or right, or whatever, I just don't know. Because this victory, it felt hollow. For the first time, I feel like I didn't deserve this victory. I can't tell if it's because I used my fire half, or because I didn't use it sooner, or because I know that the only reason I won this match is dumb luck." Todoroki said before he closed his eyes and marched forward. "I need... to think a little."
"He's got a crushed fracture on his left hand." Recovery Girl said with a sigh as she looked at her chart. "And don't even get me started on his shoulder. The relocation he did on himself put some strain on the cartilage in his shoulder, it's nothing dangerous for now, but it's still broken." Recover Girl gave Midoriya a worried look. "His right arm was broken again, along with several other fractures around his body. This kid took a serious beating. It's a miracle he was able to stand up in the first place with the amount of pain he should be in. I would normally heal him right away, but because he was drained before and after the fight, I can only use a weaker version of my quirk's power to dull the pain. I'll heal him when he regains his energy."
All Might gave Midoriya a worried look as the archer lay in a hospital bed. The archer had both his arms in a cast, and nearly half his body wrapped up in bandages.
The young archer had a pained look on his face as he went in and out of consciousness.
"You lit a fuse in the boy," Recovery Girl said as she walked to her desk. "I can't say it's fully your fault. From what you've told me, Midoriya had others he wants to prove to, and your his idol and an inspiration to him." Suddenly a frown crossed Recovery Girl's face as she looked to All Might. "But that led to this, his body destroyed. I can't stand this... this is overdoing it. You're his mentor now, you cannot praise him for this, or he'll start to think this is what it takes to be a hero."
All Might stood by Izuku's bed with a grim look on his face. He knew Recovery Girl's words were right. This kind of condition was not something Midoriya should be. All Might wanted to praise Midoriya more than anything. To tell the young man he did a fantastic job, he made his former mentor proud, but what effect would that have on the boy.
"'I want you to show the whole world 'you've arrived.'"
"Recovery Girl is wrong. This is my fault." All Might thought while looking down, shame clear on his face. He told Midoriya to win the sports festival to achieve his dream and go Plus Ultra, and that all led to this.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't make good..." All Might turn to Izuku, who laid on the bed and struggled to talk. "If I kept my mouth shut... if I held nothing back... I could have won... but I couldn't win like that. So I open my big mouth... and stuck my nose into something that wasn't my problem."
"You tried to impart him with something, young Todoroki." All Might said, starting to get a much more clear picture of the situation.
"Todoroki was... making a big mistake... one that could mess him up down the line," Izuku said with a snort before wincing in pain. "Maybe I could of... did something else after the fight... or just not care... but I think that would only... fill me with regret..." A bitter chuckle escaped Izuku's mouth. "I thought I could take Todoroki's full power on... without my armor and gear... but I lost sight of my surroundings and in the end... I lost..."
All Might gave Izuku a long look as he thought about what to say next. "It certainly is an unfortunate outcome. And don't take this the wrong way, but it's an outcome that couldn't be helped. Even so, you know what?" Izuku turned his head to All Might, who gave the archer a small smile. "'Butting your nose in' is one of the principles of being a hero."
Izuku's hair shadowed his eyes as he leaned back into the bed, his lip trembling as his eyes started to water.
*SLAM*
"Big Brother!"
"Izuku!"
"Midoriya!"
"Green!"
"GHA!"
All Might practically jump out of his skin as the door to the room slammed open, and several students came rushing in.
Ochako, Tsuyu, Jiro, Momo, Sato, Mina, Mei, Kendo, Shinso, and even Mineta all rushed into the room with the worried looks on their faces.
"I think I just had a heart attack..." All Might huffed as he held his chest.
"Oh, hello again, Mr. Toshinori," Ochako said with a small bow before turning her attention to the battered archer.
"Big brother, big brother!" Eri rushed to Izuku's bed, tears forming in her eyes.
Izuku's eyes fluttered open as he turned his head to Eri. "Hey, Eri..." Izuku said in a low tone, giving the girl a sad smile. "Don't worry, Recovery Girl is just making sure I'm at 100%. It actually looks worse than it is." He said while trying to hold back the wince of pain for moving his body.
Eri didn't look the least bit as she still was sniffling while tears were in her eyes. Her eyes trailed down his injured body, making the young girl freeze up.
"It's just like... like..." Eri hand shot up to her arm, grabbing it in a tight grip. The young girl started to sweat, and her breathing became more ragged. Suddenly the images of a man with a crow mask flashed in her mind, making her skin turn paler than it already was. "The crow man..." Eri's hand left her arm and latched onto Izuku's shoulder.
Izuku noticed Eri's change, and that seemed to snap him out of his pain filled haze.
"E-Eri, are you okay?" Izuku said in worry as he tried to push himself up.
"Big brother... will have scars..." Without warning Eri's horn started to glow and spark with energy, shocking everyone in the room. "I want... big brother to be better!"
*WOOSH*
Energy exploded from Eri's horn and body, washing over her thoroughly. The power then transferred to Izuku and quickly washed over him. Everyone took a step back while giving a shocked look to the two.
"E-Eri?" Izuku asked in shock. He felt the energy wash over him, feeling a bit surprised seeing his little sister make so much energy. "Is... is this her quirk... the same quirk she was taken for..." Izuku's mind started to race as he tried to figure out what Eri's quirk was and what it was doing. "Is it energy manipulation? A force field? An electric quirk similar to Kaminari? The energy is mostly coming from her horn-why do I feel tingly all of a sudden?"
Izuku looked down, and his eyes widen along with everyone in the room as they watched something shocking.
Right before everyone's eyes, Izuku's wounds started to heal at a rapid pace, practically rivaling Recovery Girl.
Izuku, however, noticed something very different. "I'm not feeling drained," He thought with shock as he felt the pain in his body slowly fade. "Recovery Girl's quirk speeds up a person's own healing but draining them of their stamina and energy. The upside is she can heal what normally could have taken weeks if not months in seconds, even something life-threatening. The downside is her quirk drains the stamina of the person, and draining too much could affect their health." Izuku was very familiar with Recovery Girl's quirk since she was one of the world's most famous healers. "But this... with Eri's quirk... I don't feel any drain, none. It's almost like she's taking away the injuries."
When the energy died down, everyone stared in amazement. Practically all of Izuku's wounds were healed, his arms, his legs, his batter body, they only saw the faintest scars on his body.
"Eri... this is amazing-" Izuku cut himself off when he saw the look on Eri's face.
Fear.
Pure fear.
The young girl was white as a sheet. She had sweat running down her face as she pulled away from Izuku.
"You're a monster. Your power is a curse." The crow man said as he held a scalpel in his hand. "Only I can use your power for good."
"NO!"
Without warning, Eri pulled away from Izuku and ran out of the room before anyone could react.
"Eri, wait-OOF!" As Izuku tried to reach for Eri, his cast body made it difficult to move, making him fall off the bed. He also noticed that he might not have lost any energy from the healing. He was still beyond winded and dizzy.
"Izuku, are you okay?" Ochako asked in worry as Sato quickly put him back on the bed.
"I'm fine," Izuku said with a small groan as he shook his head. "But Eri's not. I need you guys to bring her back here now, please!" Izuku pleaded.
All the students quickly nodded their heads.
"Leave it to use Izuku," Kendo said before turning to the others. "Let's move. She couldn't have gotten far."
With that, everyone quickly exited the room in search of the little girl, though a few lingered behind and gave Izuku a worried look.
"Are you sure your okay?" Mei asked as she looked at his bandage body with worry.
"Now I feel way better," Izuku said with a smile. "Whatever Eri did just healed everything."
"So it seemed, but I'll need to make sure if this is permanent or otherwise." Recovery Girl said as she quickly examined Izuku's body.
Izuku nodded and looked to Mei and the others. "I'll be fine. Just make sure Eri is okay and bring her back."
"Right!" They said before rushing out of the room.
Recovery Girl continued with her inspection as she removed Izuku's bandages one at a time. As she pulled them, amazement was evident on her face.
"All of your injuries seemed to be healed with minimal scarring." Recovery Girl said in amazement. "What kind of quirk does your sister have?"
Izuku and All Might gave each other a look before Izuku spoke. "The truth is, we don't know." He said, making Recovery Girl look at them with a raised brow.
"Let me explain young Eri's situation." All Might said.
As All Might started to explain the situation to Recovery Girl, Izuku began to think about Eri.
"Eri has always kept her quirk to herself. Hell, I think she doesn't even know what it fully is. One thing for sure, she's scared of her own power." Izuku looked to his arm, still amazed at what she did. However, Izuku also felt a rage he wish he could take out on the right person. "What the hell did these guys do to make a little girl scared of such a kind power."
Bakugo grumbled slightly as he walked down the stone hallway. Thanks to Deku and Pretty Boy's fight, it would take a while before the arena was put back together. The dirty blond would go to the waiting room and wait for his match, but Bird Boy beat him to the one he went to. Now Bakugo had to make his way to the other side stadium just to be in the waiting room.
The only upside was he was alone and could think in peace.
*Sniff*Sniff*
"The hell..." Bakugo blinked as he stopped in his tracks. His ears picked up the faint sound in the distance. "Is that a kid crying?"
Bakugo followed the sound and turned a corner. The dirty blond was surprised to find Deku's kid sister crying in a corner next to a janitor's closet.
The little girl held her legs close to her body as she sniffled softly, not noticing Bakugo yet.
Bakugo looked at the girl in confusion and step forward. "Hey," Bakugo called out, making the girl jump and looked at him in shock. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with-"
"Hmmm!" Eri gave a small cry of worry as she moved away from Bakugo, making the blond stop in his tracks.
"Crap..." Bakugo rubbed the back of his head with an annoyed look on his face.
Bakugo wasn't good with kids. He found brats to be annoying and would rather be away from them. He also knew his personality wouldn't work well with kids since they were always too sensitive and stupid.
Bakugo could just walk away, it wasn't his problem, and he had a match coming up.
But that didn't sit right with him for a second.
"I'm going to become the No. 1 hero, and I'm running away from a kid? Like hell!" Bakugo snorted in his head as he crouched down to Eri's level. "Oi, kid," Bakugo called, grabbing Eri's attention as she sniffed. "Why aren't you with De-... Izuku." Bakugo stressed out with an annoyed look on his face.
"..." Eri turned away from Bakugo and looked to the ground, tears still coming out of her eyes.
Bakugo gave an annoyed sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Look," He said in a rough voice, making Eri jump again. "You're not going to fix anything by crying your eyes out. If you want to fix whatever happened, do something." Bakugo said in a neutral tone and kept his face blank. "So, what happened, kid?"
Eri gives the dirty blond a long look as her sniffs started to die down. "I'm... I'm scared of my quirk..." Eri sniffed as she looked away.
"Why?" Bakugo questioned with a raised brow.
Flashes of Eri's past were still fresh in her mind, making her shutter and looking away. "Be... because I'm a monster..."
"...Why are you saying something so stupid." Bakugo sighed while face palming, making Eri look to him in surprise. "Look, brat, quirks don't make people monsters. People make themselves monsters." He said as he stood up and looked down at Eri. "If you're so scared of your quirk, then learn how to control it, own it, then once you master it, you'll have nothing to fear. It's stupid to be scared of a power that belongs to you."
Eri looked up at Bakugo with a shocked look on her face. No one had ever spoken to her like this in such away. The words and tone were hard, but they were sincere and genuine.
"Can..." Eri said softly as her hands fidgeted. "Can I really control my quirk?" Eri asked in a hopeful voice.
"How the hell would I know?" Bakugo asked with an annoyed look on his face, making Eri slump. "Do you want to control your quirk, or do you want to continue to be scared of it?" The dirty blond asked in a severe tone.
Eri looked down with a confused look on her face. All her life as far as she could remember, Eri has always tried to not use her quirk to hid her power away since she was told it made her a monster.
No one ever asked the young girl to control her power, to own it.
"I... I want to control my quirk." Eri said while looking at Bakugo with big eyes. "I... I don't want to be scared anymore!"
Bakugo looked down at the girl with a smirk. She might have said that in a soft voice, but she spoke with resolve. "Good."
"Eri!"
Both turned to the source of the voice to see Ochako look at Eri with relief and worry.
"There you are. Everyone's been looking for you." Ochako said as she stepped forward. As she did so, she finally noticed the scene of the two making a confused look cross her face. "Is something going on?"
"Nothing!" Bakugo grumbled as he stood up while looking away.
Now Ochako looked utterly lost as she made her way over to Eri. "Eri, you shouldn't have run away. It made everyone worry." Ochako said in a soft voice while bending down to the girl.
Eri looked down with a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry."
Ochako offered the girl a kind smile as she offered her hand. "Let's go back to Izuku."
Eri grabbed the hand and picked herself up. The two started to walk away, but Eri suddenly stopped, making Ochako look at her.
"Eri?" Ochako questions while tilting her head.
Without warning, Eri pulled away from Ochako and ran the other defection. The young brunet was about to call out for her but stopped at what she saw.
Bakugo had no warning until he felt little arms wrap around his leg. The blond's head whipped down to see Eri hugging him.
Eri looked up to Bakugo with a smile. "Thank you, you're very nice."
Bakugo had a strained look on his face as he tried to pull away but had no success. From the look on Bakugo's face, it was clear he wanted to get out, but even he wouldn't push the girl away.
Finally, after an agonizing minute, Eri pulled away. Bakugo clicked his teeth and pointed to Ochako, making the girl jump.
"You. Saw. Nothing."
With that, Bakugo turned and walked away.
Ochako was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Eri grab her hand. The young girl then started to pull Ochako back to the infirmary.
Only one thought was going through her head right now.
"What the hell just happened?"
Recovery Girl had a grim look on her face as All Might finished explaining Eri's situation. The old doctor had just finished taking off Izuku's bandages and cast after determining Izuku was healed by the young girl's quirk.
"So neither of you tried to find out what her quirk was?" Recovery Girl asked with a raised eye.
"It wasn't that easy." Izuku sighed as he pushed himself up on the bed. "Every time anyone asked, Eri would just get defensive, even with me. If we knew what her quirk was, maybe we could have found her parents."
"Well, now we have some idea what young Eri-Chan's quirk is. A healing base quirk." All Might said while folding his arms.
"Maybe?" Izuku said in a confused tone, grabbing the adults' attention. "I mean she was able to heal me without draining me, but I feel like there's more to it."
"He's right." Recovery Girl said while tapping her cane, making the two look to her. "While examining Izuku's body, I discovered that the wounds he gained during his match with Todoroki were not what I expected. Most should have left a scar once they were healed. Advance healing quirks might have made some faded or disappeared, but there should have been more scars." Recovery Girl then gave Izuku a hard stair. "Yet, there was no practically no scarring."
That made Izuku and All Might blink. "How is that possible?" They asked with confused looks.
Recovery Girl shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe her quirk is something else that can just heal, maybe it's a quirk with more advanced healing than my own, or maybe that strange energy she uses to heal does better healing. We will now nothing for certain until we find out."
Izuku had a thoughtful look on his face as he put a hand on his chin. "I think healing might be only one application of her quirk," Izuku said, grabbing the Pro-Heroes attention. "Like Recovery Girl said, Eri's quirk did more than just heal me. Erased, takeaway, reverse, whatever you call it, it was not conventional healing. Also... I think the villains who had her knew exactly what kind of quirk she had. A quirk dangerous that even they were wary of."
"Why do you say that, young Midoriya?" All Might asked while paying close attention to Izuku, knowing the young boy had a sharp mind for quirks and puzzles.
Izuku looked down with a sad look on his face before he spoke. "Eri was scared of her quirk, confused as well. I think the villains who had her told her the quirk she had were something to fear, so she would never try to use it or learn what it was. They must have told her so many times she's going to great lengths to hold it back herself."
I see," All Might said with a grim look on his face. "And her desire to help you must have made her subconsciously activate her quirk. Yet once it was over, the shock was so much for her, she ran away."
Recovery Girl sighed heavily and seemed to age a bit more. "Have you taken the girl to see a child counselor?"
Izuku quickly nodded. "Every other weekend I go with Eri for about two hours in the morning. Thanks to the doctor, Eri adjusted much faster to the real world, but she's still sensitive about talking about her past." The young archer said, remembering all the times he and his mother were with the young girl during the sessions. The young girl had come a long way from the frightened child Izuku had found in the alleyway.
Before the conversation could continue, the door open to reveal Ochako and Eri entering the room.
"Eri!"
Izuku wasted no time jumping off the bed and running up to the girl. He then quickly knelt down and brought her into a hug, catching her and Ochako by surprise.
"I'm glad you're okay," Izuku said in a soft voice as he tightens his hug ever so slightly.
Eri returned the hug and buried her face into Izuku's shoulder. "I'm... I'm sorry... I was just so scared-"
"It's okay," Izuku said softly as he pulled away and looked the girl in the eyes. "I understand."
Eri whipped the tears from her eyes and looked at Izuku with a determined look, surprising him quite a bit. However, it wasn't as surprising as what Eri said next.
"I want... I want to train my quirk." Eri said while looking Izuku straight in the eyes.
Izuku, along with the other adults, looked at the young girl in surprise.
"Really?" Izuku blinked in confusion. "What brought this on?"
Ochako raised her hand, grabbing the archer's attention. "Before I found Eri Bakugo found her." She said, making Izuku's eyes widen. "I don't know what they talked about, but she seemed better than before!" Ochako said in a cheerful tone.
"I... I don't want to be scared of my own power anymore." Eri said, determination in her soft voice.
Izuku's mind was racing, trying to figure out what Bakugo of all people said to Eri. Yet even Izuku's sharp mind couldn't figure out what the dirty blond said to change Eri in such away.
Izuku smiled down at his sister. Whatever the explosion user said did some good for Eri, and that was good enough for him.
"Alright, I'll help you master your Quirk Eri." Izuku smiled at his little sister.
"Really?" Eri asked in a hopeful voice. "Thank you, big brother!" Eri said while hugging Izuku tightly, one he returned.
The scene brought a smile to everyone in the room as the siblings hugged. Izuku picked Eri up and held her close to his chest before looking to Ochako.
"Let's go tell everyone we found Eri. Then let's see the next match."
"Right!" Ochako grinned.
With a quick goodbye, the teens made their way out of the medical room.
Once the teens were gone, Recovery Girl looked to All Might.
"I seemed to have noticed you seemed hesitant in mentioning the progress of Eri's case." Recovery Girl said while giving All Might a pointed look
"Because Young Midoriya should not have to worry about such a thing." All Might said, making Recovery Girl nod in agreement. "He has enough on his plate with school and his life. It's up to the Pro-Heroes to handle crime until the next generation is ready."
Recovery Girl gave All Might a small smile as she moved to her desk. "Not bad, pretty soon, you'll be a proper teacher who won't need notecards just to teach."
That made All Might trip. "You saw that, huh?" All Might laughed while rubbing the back of his head.
"Present Mic and the principal are making a special section of the Yearbook filled with only pictures of you with your notecards."
That made All Might facepalm. "Damn rats..."
"AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Match two of the semifinals! Bakugo Versus Tokoyami!"
"Skipping the intros now?"
"Less talking, more fighting! Go!"
Bakugo wasted no time blasting his way to Tokoyami. However, every time the blond got in close, he was pushed away by the shadow. Yet as time went by, Bakugo started to move closer to Tokoyami.
"Bakugo's rush is unstoppable!"
"This thing's annoying!" Bakugo yelled as he let off an even stronger explosion, forcing Tokoyami's shadow to block. "Something's different..." Bakugo thought as he throws another blast. "He's getting easier, sluggish. What could... of course!"
Bakugo grows a wolfish grin as he started to bombard Tokoyami's shadow with an explosion after explosion.
"This viciousness..." Tokoyami muttered with a worried look on his face.
"Tokoyami has advanced this far with his amazing Quirk, but this time he's completely focused on defense!"
True to Present Mic's words, Bakugo continued is bombardment on Tokoyami, forcing the bird-teen on the defensive with no room for attack.
"Is he trying to wear me down?" Tokoyami thought in worry as Bakugo blasted himself forward. "He's getting faster and faster!"
As Bakugo flew through the air, Dark Shadow took another massive blast while crying out in pain.
"Grab him, Dark Shadow!"
Acting on command, Dark Shadow throws his arm at Bakugo while the dirty blond was in midair. However, the bomber worked fast and sent a strong blast that pushed him out of the way.
Bakugo landed behind Tokoyami with ease while holding his hands out, facing each other. Bright sparks started to build up in Bakugo's hands as Dark Shadow flew at him.
"Stun Grenade!"
An explosion went off that was not only large but also very bright.
Smoke covered the area making everyone lean forward with anticipation.
"Did you know..." Todoroki said in a calm tone while looking to Bakugo. "Dark Shadow's weakness?"
When the smoke cleared, everyone saw the results of the explosion.
"I figured it out after attacking over and over, moron," Bakugo said with a wicked grin.
Bakugo held Tokoyami down by the bird-teens beak while his free hand sparked brightly, weakening Dark Shadow.
"I give up..." Tokoyami grit out. Without Dark Shadow, Tokoyami was defenseless. He was too weak to take on the brute force of Bakugo, and he would just be knocked out before he could even try.
This was Tokoyami's loss.
"Tokoyami gives up!" Midnight called out. "Bakugo wins!"
The crowd roared at the call; however, Bakugo didn't care as he had his eyes on a particular duel-quirk user in the stands. Bakugo wasn't the only one as Todoroki also stared down Bakugo.
It was finally time.
The final match of the long tournament.
Bakugo verses Todoroki.
Who would come out on top and become No. 1?
Izuku sighed at the outcome of the match.
After returning to the class 1-A both everyone was surprised to see the young archer up and about so soon after a hard fight. Izuku just said Recovery Girl did wonders while giving Eri a knowing smile, making the girl blush.
Izuku and the rest of his class were able to make it just in time for the start of the match.
From the beginning of the fight Tokoyami was on the defensive. Any time he did attack Bakugo would dodge easily before attacking again.
"What the heck?" Mina shouted with a confused look on her face. "Tokoyami was much stronger against me! What happened?"
"The same with Kaminari," Izuku muttered to himself as the two students walked away from the arena. Izuku knew that Tokoyami's greatest weakness was bright lights, and thanks to Bakugo's quirk the dirty blond could make explosions that were as bright at a Stun Grenade. Tokoyami might have some resistance to bright lights thanks to fighting in the sun for so long, but not enough to face Bakugo head on.
"It is time for the final match." Momo said with a serious look on her face.
Everyone nodded slowly as Present Mic continued to talk. After a long day, with challenge after challenge for the UA students, the festival was slowly coming to a close.
The Obstacle Race, The Calvary Battle, and The Tournament. All were hard trills for the UA students. Some got their moment of glory, others discovered they had much to improve on their skills and power, and others found new drives to become better so one day they can become heroes.
"I lost to Todoroki." Izuku thought with a bitter smile as he pulled out his notebook. "Skills will only take me so far when facing an overwhelming opponent with a powerful quirk." Izuku started to draw up new arrow designs. "I'm going to need more in my arsenal for the stronger enemies I may come across. Something to even the playing field for a Quirkless hero."
"Not bad."
Izuku glanced at the side to see Mei looking at his notebook. Her keen eyes were taking in the detail of Izuku's weapon ideas as she pulled out her own notebook.
"Hey, Izuku, think you can use this?" Mei flipped to a page and showed the archer a new arrow design.
Izuku looked to the page and his eyes widen. "Can you seriously make something like this? And isn't this overkill?"
Mei let a big smile cross her face as she started to write. "Well after seeing Todoroki take on the Warhead Arrow, I think it's time for an upgrade."
Normally Izuku would stop Mei from going overboard on any invention. However, after the last couple of weeks with the USJ invasion and facing Todoroki, Izuku realized he needed to up his game.
"I'm only in high school and by the time I graduate the villains are only going to become stronger. I have a lot to learn and improve until than, so it's best to keep an open mind." Izuku thought as he gave Mei a smile. "Let's test it out, see if I can use this in an actual fight."
Mei's grin grow wider as her eyes seemed to glow with excitement. "In that case you should check this out!"
And just like that Izuku's loss seemed to drift away as Mei's enthusiasm grew. The girl was so passionate about invention it was sometimes infectious.
"Failure is the mother of all inventions."
Izuku smiled as he remembered Mei's favorite quite as he looked at her notebook.
"I might of failed today, but thanks to that I'm looking for new ways to become stronger." Izuku thought as Mei went on about a new invention idea. "It might not be the most ideal situation, but it is my situation and I will own up to it."
Izuku and Mei continued to go over new ideas as Present Mic spoke.
"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen! It's time for the last match of the Tournament!"
"BAKUGO!"
"VERSUS!"
"TODOROKI!"
21A: PLEASE READ THIS! PLEASE READ THIS! Seriously, don't skip this part.
Oh I can already feel the hate and disappointment from here. So many people wanted this story to go differently, but I did my own thing!
Now it's time to do some serious cleaning up.
1: Izuku vs. Todoroki.
A: I believe I did the fight perfectly. At this point Todoroki will never use his fire while fighting, not even to melt his own ice or warm himself up. This was a major weakness since Todoroki couldn't melt his own ice, it could of gotten in his way. That's what Izuku did as he turned Todoroki's overwhelming ice against him. Also, while Todoroki might be fast with his ice, it has been shown that it is possible to dodge the ice attacks.
B: The outcome, what I'm sure everyone want's to know why I fucked over my story.
Look, despite what many people say, Izuku is not Batman... yet. Izuku may be skilled, but he is only 14 and does not have a tone of battle experience. At the moment, Izuku is around the skill level of Robin or even Speedy. Able to give a tone of villains a good fight and take a few big names down.
Yet can anyone honestly tell me they can imagine Robin taking Todoroki out with no armor, and minimal gadgets. Sure, if I pull some bullshit out my ass.
Listen my faithful readers. I personally do not believe Izuku could beat Todoroki without his armor and full arsenal of arrows. Also, add the fact Izuku was injured in his last two matches while Todoroki only struggled adds to the results.
I could of bullshited and had Todoroki lose by some random luck, but that felt cheap. I just can't see Izuku winning with the bare minimum against Todoroki's full power.
No matter how may people don't like it, Todoroki is good at using his ice, just as Bakugo is good at using his explosives.
If Izuku had all his arrows, armor, gadgets, and even some special arrows, I could see him easily wining every fight that came his way.
2: Bakugo.
Lately I'm seeing Bakugo in a slightly different light. He's still a prick and asshole, and should repent for all the bullying he did to Izuku. Yet I can't hate him 24/7. Bakugo can say some good things here and their, helping people and giving advice.
But don't worry, I'll make sure Bakugo get's some payback from the Universe.
Well that's if for now!
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