Chapter 15
Izuku watched Todoroki with curious eyes, after the second round of the festival the red and white boy asked Izuku to talk in private, now they have been looking at each other for a while and Izuku started to feel awkward
"So… what do you want to talk about Todoroki? We've been looking at each other for a while now, if we don't move quickly the cafeteria will close and we will have to fight on an empty stomach" Izuku felt the tension in the air and tried to joke a bit "If this is a confession, I'm sorry but I can't accept. I mean you're handsome and all but we don't know each other that well, maybe a couple of da-"
"I was overwhelmed," Todoroki said finally breaking his silence "Even if you didn't attack me the moment you teleported behind me I could feel… the pressure of your power" Izuku raised an eyebrow "Your simple presence overwhelmed me so much that I broke my promise"
"You broke your promise?" Izuku saw Todoroki look at his left hand with narrowed eyes
"I used my left side… nobody else felt it but I did… I've met only other person that put me that on edge with only his presence All Might" Todoroki then looked directly at Izuku's eyes "You've been trained personally by All Might don't you? That's the reason he has his eyes on you"
"Nope" Izuku answered quickly and Todoroki halted for a second after looking at the sincerity on Izuku's face
"I see… Endeavor is my father, he has been the number two hero since always, maybe you have no relation with All Might but for some reason, he has his eyes on you… for me, that's enough reason to defeat you" Izuku tilted his head to the side
"He climbed the ranks with his overwhelming strength, still his power wasn't enough to surpass the legend of All Might, and so he decided to use another route. Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?" Izuku's eyes widened and Todoroki notice that "I see that you know what they are. I'm the product of one"
"When Endeavor understood that he couldn't beat All Might he decided to use his plan B, have a child stronger than him, so he found a wife whose quirk could counter the drawbacks of his own" Todoroki's eyes narrowed again and Izuku could hear the strain in his voice "I hate it… I refuse to become a tool for his delusions. In my memories my mother was always crying, she said that my left side was unsettling while she poured boiling water on my face" Izuku flinched at the image
"I hate my left side, and now that you've put yourself on the top of the mountain I picked a fight with you to show him that I don't need his power to beat you… that I deny his power his power completely and I'll reach the top spot without using it!" Todoroki turned to leave "Maybe I was mistaken about your relation with All Might… but he is interested in you, and that's all that matters, I'll beat you using only my right side"
"I'm sorry about all that happened to you Todoroki, honestly I can't even imagine what you've been through" Todoroki looked over his shoulder "but let me tell you something if you don't come at me with everything you have, you're going to lose" Izuku saw Todoroki narrowing his eyes "I'm done holding back Todoroki I'm not disrespecting you all by doing that anymore"
"And hopefully you'll give me the same courtesy and come at me with all YOUR power" Izuku smiled at Todoroki who stood looking at Izuku for a while and then left without another word, when Todoroki was out of earshot Izuku talked again "You should know that is a bad habit to hear other people's conversations Bakugo," Izuku said while walking away
Bakugo turned the corner to only catch a glimpse of Izuku walking away
Izuku stood on his side of the arena waiting for his opponent, Monoma Neito, the guy who insulted Aizawa sensei the other day. He could feel his anger starting to bubble again and took a deep breath to calm himself. "My senseis were right I need to control my anger it's dampening my progress"
"Sorry to make you wait I had to make preparations for our battle," Monoma said smugly and Izuku just nodded trying to not retort to the annoying boy in front of him
"Well now that both combatants are here let's start with the last round of the U.A. Sports Festival! Are you ready? Begin!"
Izuku waited patiently for his opponent to make the first move, while Monoma was just smirking smugly
"What are you not going to attack me with that speed you have?" Izuku still didn't move "Well let's see what you can do about this!" Suddenly the floor softened and Izuku started to sink in it "Wait isn't this the quirk of that Juzo guy?"
Before Izuku could muster about it he felt his senses scream at him to move, he looked up and saw Monoma aiming his hands at him. After a second a powerful explosion roared in Izuku's direction. Izuku instantly threw a kunai to the side and teleported avoiding the attack
"You are really fast huh?" Monoma Taunted
"The first one was the quirk of one of your classmates, Juzo if I'm not mistaken; the other one was Bakugo's quirk. So you can copy quirks… that's pretty cool actually" Izuku said forgetting his feelings towards the blonde for a moment after understanding his quirk. Izuku quickly threw two kunai at Monoma who turned into steel deflecting the attack
"You did copy a quirk for defense, pretty smart!" Izuku said with a smile "How many quirks you can store? Do the quirks that you use have a time limit or are they just one-time use? How do you know how to use them? Do you get a basic understanding when you copy them? How do you copy the quirks? Monoma was startled by the sudden appearance of Izuku beside him and the sudden barrage of questions. Before he could say anything or Izuku could continue his rambling another voice intervened
"Midoriya I know that your love for quirks sometimes gets out of hand but this is ridiculous," Aizawa said on the microphone snapping Izuku out of his thoughts.
Izuku disappeared again avoiding another explosion from Monoma who also snapped out of the sudden daze Izuku put him on. Izuku reappeared on the spot he was at the beginning picking up a kunai
"You left one of your knives there to teleport back huh," Monoma said with a sneer "It seems that you always think three steps ahead"
"I like to be prepared for every scenario," Izuku said with a smile "would you mind telling me later about your quirk? It is amazing to think about ever tying you can do with it, you're a Jack of all trades!" Monoma eyes widened at Izuku's words, all his life he was mocked for his quirk, and he would think the same was happening there but Izuku's words, eyes, and expression seemed sincere
"It seems that you aren't that bad for someone in class A, still I'm sorry maybe after I beat you I'll find a time to entertain you," Monoma said with a confident voice
"Ah! You're right we're fighting I'm sorry" Izuku made seals with his hands "Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb" the sphere of air clashed against Monoma who only withstood the attack thanks to his steel body, Izuku then took a bunch of shuriken from his pouch and threw them at the dazzled Monoma, who tried to avoid the attack only to realize that the shurikens weren't aimed at him
When the attack passed beside the confused boy, Izuku pulled the wires attached to the shuriken making them curve and wrap against Monoma
"So you think you can trap me? I'm made of steel!" Monoma said before using his metal body to try and break the wires only to realize of what material the wire mas made "Metal wire?" Izuku smirked
"I'm hoping you were serious about telling me about your quirk… and sorry about this… Chidori" Electricity appeared on Izuku's hand then went through the wire to the trapped Monoma who could only watch in terror what was about to happen. Ten seconds later Midnight declared Izuku the first winner of the third stage of the tournament through his opponent not being able to continue
"Deku you were amazing!" Uraraka cheered "What was that thing you did with your stars! That thing you did with the rope?!"
"Ah I didn't use rope Uraraka, it was metal wire, and I just used it to electrocute Monoma," Izuku said with a soft smile
"It is really creepy when you talk about electrocuting someone with that smile Midori," Mina said with a shiver
"She is right Midoriya you need to understand how you make people feel with that kind of statement," Iida said nodding solemnly, before Izuku could say anything Kirishima changed the topic
"The next match is about to start guys!" Kirishima said excited, Izuku turned to the arena and arched an eyebrow
"Does Todoroki seem tense to you guys?" The rest of his friends nodded at him, Izuku's anxiety started to rise up
"NOW ARE BOTH COMBATANTS READY?!" Midnight shouted
"As ready as I'll ever be!" Sero said while Todoroki just nodded curtly, Izuku felt the air shift on the environment and his eyes widened when he understood what was about to happen
"Well then BEGIN!" Midnight snapped her whip and Sero didn't hesitate to start the attack wrapping Todoroki in his tape and using all his strength he tried to swing Todoroki outside the ring, Izuku appeared on the arena outside the ring "Earth Style: Great mud wall!"
A massive wall of earth appeared just in time to stop Todoroki's powerful attack from reaching the audience
"I should be angry at Todoroki for putting the audience at risk… but damn he is powerful" Izuku whispered to himself, moments later Todoroki melted the Ice and Izuku canceled his Jutsu.
"How did you know he was about to do that Midoribro?" Kirishima asked after Izuku returned to his seat
"Since the moment he appeared everything of him screamed anger, I felt the energy around him gather at an alarming rate, it was obvious he was going to do an attack of that magnitude"
"Do you think he is going to be okay?" Mina asked with a small frown
"We can only hope Ashido… we can only hope," Izuku said already thinking on his next course of action
Xxx
The next battles of the first batch didn't go as Izuku expected, Mina Whipped a win against Aoyama after dodging all his lasers and destroying his belt "Do you think he is going to charge me for his belt?!" was the only thing on her mind after her battle, Izuku had to explain to her that it was the support course who'll be in charge of that
The next battle was the fight between Tokoyami and Ibara Shiosaki the last student from class B, Tokoyami finally won thanks to the claws of Dark Shadow, Then was Kirishima's fight against Tetsutetsu… Izuku just knew that it was going to be a long fight by both combatants with a heavy defensive quirk, but to reach the point of having to define the winner in an arm wrestle battle was really weird.
Then it was turn for Iida's fight… or whatever that thing was, after using Iida as an advertising space for ten minutes Hatsume Mei left the Ring making Iida the winner… even if he didn't feel like it. Yaoyorozu's fight surprised Izuku, he knew of her capabilities but it seemed like Shinso managed to make her talk and she couldn't break his control.
Finally, it was time for Uraraka's fight and even if Izuku didn't show it he was scared for her, Bakugo for all his wrongs was a natural fighter, and his quirk made him a complicated opponent for almost anyone. So here he was walking to the waiting room to talk with Uraraka if not to calm her nerves to calm his
"Hey Uraraka, how are you feeling?" Izuku asked softly from the door, Uraraka flinched a bit at his sudden appearance
"Did you just teleport here Deku?" She asked with a smile
"Nope, I wasn't going to risk using your mark and you being in the bathroom, nope!" Izuku said with his face reddening
"You're always thinking ahead Deku" Uraraka giggled "I'm not going to lie… I'm nervous Bakugo is strong" Izuku nodded at her "But looking at how incredible you're, I'm inspired to give my best on this tournament!" Izuku's face reddened more at her compliment
"You're pretty amazing yourself Uraraka, don't sell yourself short," Izuku said smiling at her, a few seconds later his face turned serious "Do you have a plan?"
"I do… I can't make a hundred plans like you but making one, that's easy!" she said while giving him a victory pose
"That's nice! I came here to give you a plan but it seems that you don't need that!" Izuku smiled widely
"D-Do you believe my plan could work even if you don't know what it is?" Uraraka asked softly
"Uraraka you're going to be one of the most amazing heroes in Japan, it would be very disrespectful of me to not believe in you" Izuku's smile became softer and Uraraka's cheeks reddened more
"Thanks for believing in me Deku… I may not use one of your plans… but I can always take a bit of good advice from the strongest in the class" Uraraka grinned
"And advice huh…. you should probably have an ace under your sleeve, right?" Uraraka nodded with determination "Don't call it" Uraraka's eyes widened "Bakugo is an incredible fighter Uraraka if you give him even a hint of your ace he will counter it or avoid it, his fighting skills and instincts are that good" Uraraka nodded slowly
"Don't show my ace until is too late for him to react" Izuku nodded with a smile
"I know you can do it Uraraka, you're that amazing," Izuku said before walking her to the exit of the waiting area
Izuku watched with rapt attention Uraraka's fight and couldn't help the smile growing on his face, where everyone was watching a poor girl being pushed around by Bakugo, Izuku saw the powerful will of a girl taking head on an opponent that is stronger than her and the incredible plan she developed to beat him
"He should stop playing around with her and just explode her out of the Ring"
"Yeah that kind of treatment to a girl is not heroic at all"
Izuku was about to say a piece of his mind to the dumb heroes when Aizawa interjected
"To hear a pro thinking like that is disappointing, how many years do you have as a pro? If you really think like that leave this place and go change careers, Bakugo is being cautious because he knows the capability of his opponent, that's why he isn't going easy on her or dropping his guard!"
Izuku smiled proudly at the words of his sensei and then focused again on the fight.
Xxx
Bakugo was standing still waiting for the dust to dissipate he knew that Deku must have helped round face to develop a plan to beat him, that's why she was attacking so desperately. Before the dust dissipated completely Bakugo noticed a small pink glow "She's releasing her quirk? Why would she-" Bakugo's thought was interrupted when a rock hit hard him on the shoulder
"She used an attack from the sky?!" Bakugo tried to lift his hands to destroy the attack but the rock that hit him on the shoulder hurt him more than he thought and couldn't lift his left arm enough, growling he lifted his good arm and braced himself for the pain that was about to feel. Before he unleashed his attack from the corner of his eye he could see Uraraka running at him and felt nervous for a second.
He used the strongest explosion he could muster to destroy all the debris and blow Uraraka away from him, after the massive blast his arm was screaming in pain and he could barely move it. He saw Uraraka stand up slowly preparing herself for another clash
"I'm not done yet, Deku wouldn't give up. I can still fight!" Uraraka said with strangled voice but determined eyes and then she started running at Bakugo
"That was a pretty good move for a desperate attack… okay let's get serious then Uraraka!" Bakugo screamed and started running at her too, suddenly he saw her stumble and drop to the floor. But just before she could hit the floor Deku appeared beside her catching her head "What are you doing here shitty nerd!" Bakugo halted immediately and screamed but Izuku ignored him
"You did amazing Uraraka," Izuku said softly "She is unconscious sensei" Midnight ran at them to check on the girl who was unconscious with her eyes open
"Uraraka can't continue the winner of this fight is Bakugo!" Midnight declared while Izuku carried Uraraka in his arms towards recovery girl
Bakugo didn't say anything just stared at Izuku's back while he disappeared into the tunnel, when Izuku appeared he expected at least a harsh look for beating Uraraka but that didn't happen, he didn't even feel the hostility that Izuku radiated towards him every time they were close since their reencounter, no all he could feel was his instincts telling him to stop and don't take another step towards the fallen girl… or there would be consequences towards him or anyone who tried to harm her… and he hated that feeling with all his might
Xxx
Izuku waited for Uraraka to come out from Recovery girl's office, thinking about how he could help her or what he could say to make her feel better. When she finally left the nursery, both looked at each other in silence for a while. Until finally Uraraka decided to speak
"It seems that I lost huh?" Uraraka said scratching her head "I really thought that I had him but damn he is really strong!" Uraraka's voice sounded cheerful but Izuku saw behind her act
"How are your wounds?" he asked softly the smile leaving his face for the first time
"They are just fine, Recovery Girl took care of that, I only needed a small dose of her quirk that's why I'm not drained" Uraraka send an ok sign to Izuku who nodded
"You did amazing Uraraka you know that right?" Uraraka's smile wavered for a second but nodded
"I know right!" Uraraka said cheerfully again but was surprised when Izuku suddenly hugged her holding her head against his chest "DEKU?!"
"Don't be too hard on yourself Uraraka, you put against the ropes one of the strongest people in our class, you know that that makes you one of the tops on class 1-A right" after a few moments Izuku could feel Uraraka's arms wrapping around his back and the small hiccups of her sobs "This is your starting line Ura- Ochako, from here onwards you'll only get better and better and when you less expect it you'll be one of the top heroes of Japan and everything that worries you right now will be just a bad memory" Uraraka kept sobbing quietly while hugging Izuku for a few minutes, after she calmed down enough she talked again
"Thank you so much Izuku" He felt his cheeks reddening after hearing her say his name
"I'm just trying to help" both finally separated and Uraraka looked directly at Izuku's eyes taking his hands on hers
"You did… do me a favor Izuku and win this tournament, show them the strength of my hero" Uraraka grinned and Izuku chuckled a bit
"Hey how can I say no to that petition, don't worry young lady everything is going to be okay, I'm here!" Izuku said with his best All Might voice
"The first battle of the second stage is about to start! Combatants, please come to the ring!" Present Mic screamed
"It seems that is my turn again," Izuku said smiling and squeezing Uraraka's hands "I'll see you soon Uraraka"
"Ochako… you called me Ochako, please keep calling me that" both teens' faces reddened
"Yeah only if you call me Izuku from time to time"
"Ah you drive a hard bargain, Mr. Deku, I'll see what I can do for you" Both chuckled and finally let go of each other hands, Izuku nodded and walked towards the Ring "Izuku!" he looked over his shoulder and saw Uraraka with her hands on her back smiling softly
"Izuku, show them then what the future Symbol of hope is made of" Izuku grinned and nodded firmly, walking towards his fight with his heart soaring in the sky, it felt like its gravity was suddenly stolen from it
Midnight called the start of the fight but nobody move, Izuku stood in front of his opponent with a soft smile, Mina was grinning smugly at him from the other side of the ring.
"So we meet each other again evildoer!" Mina said dramatically, Izuku raised an eyebrow but quickly decided to follow Mina's actions
"You don't know when to surrender hero do you" Izuku answered
"Justice never surrenders! Prepare yourself for yourself I'm here to put an end to this madness!" Mina took her fighting stance
"You will try," Izuku said taking a fighting stance too, both fighters took off running and clashed in the middle of the ring throwing hits at each other, Mina using her mobility and acrobatics to avoid Izuku's attacks, Mina dashed around using her acid and threw acid shots at Izuku who avoided them with ease, Izuku then threw a kunai in front of Mina making her stop on her tracks but she wasn't quick enough to avoid Izuku who appeared in front of her and hit her with a powerful kick that sent her flying towards the edge of the ring. Izuku appeared again in front of her and she was suddenly held in the air by Izuku's hand
"Surrender hero you're defeated," Izuku said in an ominous voice
"I will never surrender, you killed my best friend!" Mina said with a strangled voice "You kicked me really hard" she whispered
"No hero I didn't kill your best friend… I'm your best friend!" Izuku said with a smug grin "I'm sorry I got carried away!" Izuku whispered back
"Noooooooooo- Augh" Mina screamed dramatically and then complained after being dropped to the floor, she pouted at Izuku who just chuckled a little, a few moments later both friends laughed freely
"What just happened?" Midnight asked "Ashido Mina has been thrown outside the ring Midoriya Izuku is the winner! …. I guess?" The audience clapped confused but happy at the act both friends just did
"Problem child you need to be serious about this tournament" Aizawa sighed on the microphone, Izuku just shrugged and was about to help Mina up when she jumped on her back grinning wildly
"You need to win this tournament Midori! I would look bad if you lose after defeating me!" Izuku chuckled
"Don't worry Mina I've already promised that I will win"
"Oh you so you already promise that huh" Mina started teasing Izuku after that
The next fights passed quickly, with Shinso being defeated by Tokoyami, apparently brainwashing Tokoyami didn't transfer directly to Dark Shadow, well Shinso found out the hard way. Todoroki and Kirishima's fight was amazing to Izuku, Kirishima destroyed three times the ice Todoroki used to trap him even got a good hit on him, sadly Kirishima's stamina ran out and he couldn't destroy the fourth ice pillar and loose after being immobilized
Iida fight against Bakugo was a close one, but Bakugo was smart enough to keep Iida at bay with ranged attacks, even if Iida got a few hits with his Recripro burst, Bakugo withstood the attacks for ten seconds then it was over, an explosion to the chest and Iida was out of bounds
Now it was finally Izuku's turn again, Izuku stood in the ring for the third time on that day looking at his opponent's bi-colored eyes. Todoroki had his eyes focused on Izuku with a frown and Izuku could feel the energy around his opponent shift
"Remember what I told you earlier Todoroki, you either come at me with everything you have or you won't have a chance"
"And I told you that I'll beat you without his power" Todoroki growled
"Are both combatants ready?!" Midnight asked both teens nodded "Then Begin!"
A/N: Another chapter is finally done! So as I told you before I don't particularly like this arc so I'm rushing a lot of stuff, also I changed some battles to have Monoma fight against Izuku on the first round, I used a tournament generator and all that. Oh and since I knew that I couldn't just skip this arc I've decided to make Izuku and Mina have a fun fight… for them at least. Hope you enjoy the chapter next chapter is the end of this arc! Finally!