Chapter 8
"IT'S MIDORIYA VERSUS TODOROKI!" Present Mic yelled as the crowd went wild up above. Oliver and Iida were sitting with Uraraka, who just put away her phone.
"I hope you're alright," Iida said. "That was a gruesome battle, surely you must be exhausted."
"I'm OK," Uraraka assured the class representative. "Thank you. Just...I wish I could've done more."
"Hey, don't sweat it. It's important to remember that the big objective of the sports festival is to get scouted," Iida comforted the normally bubbly girl, who wiped her eyes.
"I know. I just...I don't know. I'll get over it eventually. You know we could've done this up there, right?" Uraraka asked.
"With the fight going on, I doubt we would've been able to focus," Oliver said. "Just know we're here for you."
"Indeed," Iida said. "Anything you need to talk about, you can confide in us."
"Yeah. I know how hard you've been fighting in that battle. Bakugo's a beast with that quirk of his," Oliver said.
Uraraka smiled. "Thanks, but I can manage on my own, I promise. Come on, we have to see how Midoriya's doing," she said, getting up. The three walked out and made their way back up when they heard a massive boom halfway, shaking up the stadium and toppling Iida, Oliver, and Uraraka.
"What the...come on!" Iida said as the three broke into sprinting up the stairs. When they arrived, they could see that Todoroki was on one side of the stadium surrounded by ice, and Midoriya on the other side, clutching his left arm.
His left arm was completely black, as was all fingers but his thumb on his right hand. "Jeez, how much power did he use?" Uraraka asked, hands over her mouth in concern.
"Yeah, I think Todoroki might actually be able to outlast him," Kaminari said.
"Assuming Icy Hot won't try to overwhelm him as fast as he could," Bakugo said. Oliver blinked when he heard that. "Didn't take him for the type to join in on the commentary."
"I hope he knows what he's doing," Iida said before Todoroki made a move. A massive amount of ice paved its way towards Midoriya at top speed.
"WOW, TODOROKI CONTINUES HIS OVERWHELMING ATTACKS!" Present Mic yelled, only for Midoriya to send that ice flying away, as well as Todoroki.
Todoroki managed to make himself an ice barrier at the last second, mere steps away from being out of bounds. Oliver was in awe at the match so far. Midoriya looked beat up right about now, but Todoroki actually looked to be in some trouble.
"Impressive. Despite Midoriya's injuries, Todoroki actually has some competition," Iida said. "I wonder. Is Todoroki holding back?"
"Well...he hasn't used his fire, has he?" Oliver asked, before falling silent. The two had suddenly rushed into close quarters combat. "Wait, he's dealing blows?!"
"Guess Todoroki isn't so great when it comes to fistfights," Kaminari said.
"Yeah, but I didn't think Midoriya would be so good at punches, especially with that busted hand. Guess a certain childhood friend's grown on him!" Kirishima teased.
"Shut up!" Bakugo yelled.
As the class began to chatter while watching, Oliver noticed something else. It looked like Todoroki and Midoriya were exchanging words. Not only was the battle stopped, Todoroki actually looked peeved. Until...
"It's yours! Your power, not his!" Midoriya's voice yelled. Oliver froze, and suddenly his world was quiet.
- 5 years old -
"U-uncle?"
"Do not let your quirk be your undoing. People fear you for what you could do," a man kneeling before him said. "Prove you can be different."
"I...I wanna be a hero, uncle!"
"And you can. You have amazing potential. You just have to use it in the right way," the man said, resting his hand on his nephew's head. "After all, it's your power, is it not?"
- now -
Oliver smiled. "Damn..." he said as fire erupted from Todoroki. As both sides of the arena began to heat up, the crows began to go wild.
"H-he's using his flames!" Uraraka cried.
"Incredible..." Iida gasped.
"But...I thought he wouldn't use his flames," Oliver whispered.
"He wouldn't," Iida said. "He said he never used his left side in battle, but clearly Midoriya has sparked something inside of him."
"But...what is it?" Oliver said before an unfamiliar voice ripped through the battle.
"YES, SHOTO! HAVE YOU FINALLY ACCEPTED YOUR PURPOSE?! YES, VERY GOOD! THIS IS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA FOR US! WITH MY BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS, YOU WILL SURPASS ME! YOU WILL LIVE UP TO THE REASON I CREATED YOU!" the No. 2 Hero Endeavor roared as he stormed to the railing.
"Created?" Oliver muttered before seeing Todoroki. The flaming student facing Midoriya seemed to barely tense up, and the flash of a tear went down his face.
Suddenly, it all made sense. His refusal to use fire. Why he seemed so cold and distant. The fiery pro hero's look of pride that seemed not for his son, but the flames.
Todoroki wasn't holding back on others. He was holding out on himself and his father. For a moment, he should've yelled something about Todoroki. He should've encouraged him and Midoriya, or he should've begged them to stop before someone got hurt.
But all that came out of his mouth was "He's his DAD?!"
His shock later subsided when he saw Midnight and Cementoss frantically attempting to intervene, as Midoriya and Todoroki began to clash with the most power they'd ever used in their lives. As concrete walls shot up and pink mist flooded the arena, time seemingly stopped. When Oliver blinked, the world lit up in white.
Next, all he could see was a massive explosion as a wave of force sent everyone back into their seats. Oliver and Uraraka held onto Iida as the shock tore through the stadium. Smoke billowed like a massive storm out of the stadium. And with that, it was over.
Ears ringing, Oliver shook his head as he attempted to fully regain his bearings. "What happened?" he asked.
"Izuku Midoriya is out! Shoto Todoroki advances to the next round!" Midnight announced, coughing all the while. When he looked back to the stadium, he saw Midoriya being lifted away to the nurse's office, while Todoroki left.
"We will take a momentary break to repair the stadium, before continuing with the match!" a very dazed and battered Midnight yelled. As the area evacuated, Oliver looked down at his feet. "Endeavor's his dad...now I get it."
"Ollie, you good, man?" Kirishima asked.
"I feel...dizzy. Did Todoroki really win?" Oliver asked nervously.
"Yeah, Todoroki wiped the floor with him. Midoriya...he looks like he's in bad shape," Yaoyorozu said.
Oliver sighed. "Do you think we should visit him?" he asked.
"Definitely!" Mineta said. "Someone needs to tell that idiot he's going too far!"
"Indeed, the injuries he sustains when using his quirk is too dangerous. He may end up with permanent damages," Iida said.
"Maybe...take it easy on them?" Uraraka suggested.
"Yeah, he's still one of our classmates and we should support him. Ribbit," Asui said.
"Come on," Oliver said as he and the other four left the stands. "Nurse's office is this way, I think."
When they arrived, they saw Recovery Girl, a tall nearly skeletal man in a suit, and Midoriya, wrapped up in bandages while lying in bed.
"Midoriya!" they all cried when seeing him. "Are you OK? Huh, oh. Nice to meet you, sir," Uraraka said upon seeing the skinny man.
"Y-yeah," the man said, sweating for some reason.
"Now, now, he's in no shape for visitors," Recovery Girl admonished as Midoriya slowly stirred.
"Hey you guys, not watching the matches?" Midoriya groaned weakly.
"The stage was far too damaged. They're taking a quick break to repair it now," Iida explained.
"You look horrible," Oliver said. "How bad is it?"
"Not too bad, I felt worse," Midoriya coughed.
"That match was the scariest thing I've ever seen, Midoriya! What hero's gonna want a sidekick who hurts themselves?!" Mineta cried before Asui stuck her tongue to the side of his head.
"Now you're just rubbing salt in his wounds," Asui scolded. "Probably not a good time."
"Hey, I'm just speaking the truth!" Mineta spat.
"You're much too noisy! I know you're worried, but I have to focus on surgery now!" the nurse said.
"SURGERY?!" Uraraka, Iida, Mineta, Oliver, and Asui simultaneously cried. They all tried asking questions, but the nurse locked the door on them before they could get answers.
"Well, the ring should be repaired soon. I don't expect the festival to have any more delays with how things have been going," Iida said.
"Yeah. Come on, Midoriya probably wouldn't want us to miss the matches because of him," Uraraka said.
"You said it babe!" Mineta said before getting another tongue slapped against his face. Oliver groaned at the pervert's antics as they went up top again.
Sure enough, the next match was Iida going up against Shiozake. The battle lasted less than a minute, with Iida racing behind her and pushing her out of bounds.
"Hey, Shiozake!" Oliver called when he reached the locker room. "Next match is me, but I saw the match!"
"I don't mind the loss, I just feel so honored to be able to participate this far into the tournament," the vine haired angelic girl said, smiling kindly.
"Yeah," Oliver said sheepishly. "Still, it's OK to feel a bit upset."
"God tells us never to hold a grudge. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," Shiozake said.
Oliver smiled. "You're so sweet," he said before blushing. "Y-you know? Like, super nice and...super helpful. I didn't mean anything weird."
"I know you didn't," Shiozake said, smiling. "Good luck on your match."
"Thanks," Oliver responded, and they parted ways. A few minutes later, Tokoyami and Oliver were at the arena.
"Dark Shadow is extremely powerful. Fast and strong. But...Tokoyami always keeps his distance. Maybe I can use that," Oliver thought.
"BEGIN!" Midnight yelled. As expected, Dark Shadow's first move was very fast. But Oliver was faster, leaping to the side and dodging the attack. Taking advantage of the opening, he dashed for Tokoyami.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami yelled, and the main body of the dark being slammed into Oliver, tipping him over while Dark Shadow himself made a beeline for Oliver.
Leaping up, Oliver's thigh barely skimmed the top of Dark Shadow's head, and he jumped for Tokoyami again, but this time the shadow entity threw his arm up to catch Oliver, his wrist slamming right into his crotch.
Half of the stadium winced and groaned loudly as Oliver landed and crumpled to the ground, before trying to get up. "That was a dirty move..." he coughed, feeling his inward bent knees quiver horribly.
"Sorry," Dark Shadow said before dashing at Oliver, intent on pushing him out before he could recover from that ungodly agonizing pain.
Oliver jumped to the side and began to run, as much as that hurt him. "I can't reach him, he's too protected! He'll keep me at bay by maintaining distance! Think...think!"
He gasped before sliding to a stop, barely dodging Oliver slipped his shoe into his hand. "Dark Shadow works best with distance, right? Well, I'll attack from a distance too! Try this!" he yelled as he hurled his shoe to Tokoyami as hard as he could.
Dark Shadow attempted to intercept, but the shoe bounced off Dark Shadow's arm with ease. Snapping his fingers, Oliver landed and leapt atop Dark Shadow, much closer to Tokoyami while taking his other shoe.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami ordered, but his creature was still stunned from the brief and intense flash of light from that teleportation. Oliver rolled to a stop as a part of Dark Shadow slammed into the ground in front of him.
"One shoe left, gotta make this count," he groaned before sliding it hard towards Tokoyami. The darkness acquainted student yelled for his quirk once again, but by then it was too late.
Oliver used the flash of his quirk to quickly blind and get behind Tokoyami, pinning his arms and using him as a shield against Dark Shadow. Tokoyami struggled, but it was clear he was not too physically strong.
"Tokoyami is immobilized! Rowe advances on!" Midnight yelled. As the crowd went wild, Oliver let go of Tokoyami.
"Good game," he said.
"Of course. Congratulations," Tokoyami said while bowing in respect, Dark Shadow doing the same. Oliver smiled back at the bird headed student, before grabbing his groin and collapsing to the ground, crying into the concrete.
A few minutes passed as Kirishima and Bakugo began their match. Oliver was holding an ice pack between his legs while Tokoyami scolded Dark Shadow for such an underhanded tactic.
"Hey Oliver."
Oliver looked to see Shiozake and Kendo peeking over and waving from atop the small wall that separated Class 1-A's and 1-B's seats. "Hi," he said, tossing away the ice pack and slowly standing up. "How's it going?"
"Monoma would like to say something to you," Kendo said. "Come over."
Oliver blinked. "Not sure I wanna," he said.
"Don't worry, he'll behave," Kendo reassured. Oliver walked around the wall to see Kendo having restrained Monoma with...an enlarged fist.
"That has to be her quirk," Olivia thought before clearing his throat. "Hi?"
"I refuse to apologize to a cocky student of Class 1-A," Monoma said, somehow sounding calm yet extremely irate at the same time.
"As I've said for the last several times, Rowe is not that kind of person!" Shiozake countered. "He is kind and pure, and he never once did anything sinful when we were partnered!"
"And he's always acted humble," Kendo said. "Learn to think of people separately rather than group them all together because of a single class reputation."
"Guys, it's fine," Oliver said nervously. "I get the idea of rivals, OK? He doesn't need to say sorry."
"Oh, looking down on me, eh?" Monoma asked, his face turning a bit deranged. "It's only ever so clear that despite the facade you put on, you're nothing more than just a cocky loser who puts himself above others! Unlike you Class 1-A degenerates, Class 1-B will be your enemy till the very end!"
"Go, Kirishima! Go for the chin, THE CHIN!" Tetsutetsu roared.
"You were saying?" Kendo asked as Monoma groaned.
Oliver, however, had been deeply hurt by Monoma's words despite knowing he shouldn't be. Was he really like that? Had he been giving such a terrible impression this whole time? What if he only gained more enemies, what would his uncle think? How would he cope with going against everything he stood for? What if-
"Monoma, how dare you?! You made him cry with your words, shame on you!" Shiozake growled, an uncharacteristically dark tone.
"I-I'm crying?" Oliver asked, before feeling the tears going down his cheeks. His face went red in shame and he tried to apologize, only to be unheard as Shiozake whipped her thorny vines across Monoma's back repeating "Shame, shame, shame" over and over again.
"Kinky," Mineta said as he peered over the wall to watch, only for Kendo's oversized fist to shoot up and punch him back on the other side.
"Sorry about Monoma. He often lets his pride get in the way of cognitive thought. Heh, sorta dumb," Kendo repeated. "Also, Tetsutetsu thinks of you and Kirishima as friends now. He cried when you recommended him for the event after the cavalry battle."
"Did not!" Tetsutetsu complained in the background as Kendo sighed.
"Honestly, it's sort of surprising for Shiozake to talk about someone like that. You must have made one hell of a first impression," the orange haired girl said.
"Well...I may have been a bit timid when we first met, but I may have prioritized safety over staying in the match," Oliver said.
"Huh. Yeah, many wouldn't go out of their way to do that, so that must've been extremely hard to do," Kendo said. "Though the last part confused me. She didn't call you a lecher or lust-filled sinner with the whole shirtless thing?"
"I-It was a split second plan, and Shiozake agreed!" Oliver squeaked in embarrassment.
"Kirishima has been KO'D! Bakugo advances to the next round!" Midnight yelled. Oliver paled instantly, and Kendo knew why.
"Wow. Good luck. I doubt he likes anyone in both your class and mine. But hey, you lasted this long," Kendo said, smiling in encouragement.
Oliver shakily gulped. "Yeah. I'm gonna go...prep," he said, walking down the stairs as Shiozake now held a tied up and battered Monoma while still lecturing him on being polite to other people.