Yeah, like anyone's gonna try to sue me over this shit lol.
Shoto Todoroki opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Midoriya flying down the battlefield and charging an attack to counter him. An attack that used his left side. Then there was that gigantic explosion, which must have been what knocked him out.
The crowd was cheering loudly, so the match had to be over. Midoriya was slumped over, all four of his limbs bloody and broken, but he was inside the battlefield. That meant...
Shoto looked down at his feet and confirmed his suspicions. He lost. And while using his left side too. How ironic, he kept boasting about winning the festival with only his ice and yet he lost in the first round despite using both halves of his quirk.
Well, there was no use in moping about it. Shoto picked himself off the floor and exited the stadium. While he was no stranger to having his body pushed to its limits, that fight really took a lot out of him. Not so much that he needed to see Recovery Girl though. Besides, she would probably be occupied with healing Midoriya, who had to be carried out on a stretcher. Despite winning, his injuries were far worse than Shoto's.
Almost all of those injuries were self-inflicted though. Just like Midoriya said, all of Shoto's attacks combined were only able to draw a drop of blood. Even though he learned how to use his power without breaking his bones, he did so anyway. All so he could get Shoto to use his left side.
Now that it was over, Shoto didn't know how to feel anymore. About himself, his left side, or his mother. It certainly didn't help that the reason he never used his fire was standing right in front of him, blocking his path.
"What's the matter? Not gonna tell me to get lost?" Endeavor asked smugly.
Shoto was in fact about to tell him to get lost, but his father didn't give him the opportunity.
"You'll need to learn to control your left side. Releasing that much heat energy at once is dangerous," he continued, pointing at Shoto's half incinerated tracksuit. "It is a shame you lost, even though you used my quirk. And in the first round at that. But it's a loss I'm willing to accept if it means you're finally starting to see reason! It's about time you abandoned that foolish rebellion of yours! Once your class's internships start, you'll take your place by my side! I will lead you down the path of the mighty, Shoto!"
"I haven't abandoned anything."
"Huh?"
"You're a fool to think my feelings could be so easily reversed," Shoto said, looking at his left palm. "I used my left side because out there, for that one moment... I forgot all about you. Whether that's good or bad, whether it's the right thing to do, I don't know. Maybe I don't need you."
For the first time in fifteen years, Shoto left his father at a loss for words. Just a few minutes ago he would have taken pleasure in seeing his father's stunned expression as he walked past him, but now he felt nothing. Why was that? And why did he use his fire?
There was no way he have done it if it weren't for Midoriya's words. Endeavor wasn't the only one who was a fool to think that Shoto's mind could be changed so easily, but he had to admit that his classmate had some good points. A hero had to give it their all, otherwise people could end up getting hurt. Shoto still despised his father, but it wasn't more important than being a hero.
It also felt good to use his left side. Not just because the heat provided some much needed warmth after overusing his ice, but because like he just said, he forgot all about his father. Endeavor, his training, his mother's crying, how he got his scar, none of it affected him. Shoto's past had been consuming and weighing him down for so long that when he finally shed it away, even if it was just for a moment, it was... freeing.
But it all came crashing back once the fight was over. No matter how much he wanted to separate himself from his past, it didn't change the fact that those things still happened. What would his mother say? Shoto was finally becoming just like Endeavor, the very thing that drove her to madness. Just imagining her face watching the festival on TV made his heart tighten.
For the first time in his life, Shoto didn't know how to feel about his left side. Whether using it was right or wrong, if using it made him feel better or worse, there were so many things he was still unsure about.
But there was one thing he was absolutely certain of. Shoto was going to see his mother for the first time since the incident. He still didn't know why it took him so long to visit her, even when he could have easily done so. Maybe a part of him felt guilty for playing a role in ruining her life. Or maybe he was just scared. He wasn't expecting closure for either of them or anything, but visiting her was the least he could do.
Recovery Girl's lips had been pressed against Izuku Midoriya's forehead for nearly a minute now. The pain in his bones was finally going away and the bruised and bloody skin was returning to normal. The accelerated healing came at a cost though. Izuku felt incredibly tired, but it wasn't as bad as it was the first time he was healed by Recovery Girl now that he'd gotten used to experiencing her power.
That was probably a bad thing, wasn't it?
Recovery Girl apparently thought it was, as once Izuku finished healing, she whacked him over the head with her syringe-shaped cane. "What were you thinking?" she scolded. "You finally learn to control your power without hurting yourself and you still end up breaking your bones?"
Izuku blushed and hastily came up with an explanation to try and defend himself. "Well, I had to use One For All at 100% if I wanted to beat Todoroki after I... provoked him into fighting harder."
Yeah this wasn't going well.
Fortunately, All Might had gotten over the initial shock of her hitting Izuku with her cane and stepped in. "Chiyo, don't you think you're going a bit too hard on him?" he said. "He is making progress after all. I didn't think he'd learn to control One For All as well as he did so soon."
"Don't get me started on you Toshinori! This is your fault too you know!" Recovery Girl snapped, changing the target of her frustrations. "You've lit a fire under him. He's doing all of this to make you proud. I don't like it one bit! You're going too far, both of you!"
Both Izuku and All Might looked down at the ground in shame. It was true that All Might telling him that he had to have his "I am here" moment at the festival inspired a lot of his recklessness, but it was equally his own fault for overusing his power when he had a better option. Sensing the discomfort in the room, Recovery Girl sighed.
"Alright, I may have been a bit too harsh with you two," she admitted. "The way you figured out how to use your power without hurting yourself now is certainly an improvement, but I just wish you'd stop relying on breaking your bones. I'll let it go this one time because you have been making improvements."
"Thank you so much!" Izuku exclaimed, bowing his head down in respect. "Wait, what do you mean 'this one time'?"
"While the damage you've sustained isn't anything out of the ordinary by now, which is not a good thing by the way, this will be the last time I heal self-inflicted injuries like these. You have another way to use One For All now. Use it."
Izuku had to process what he'd just been told before nodding slowly. He hadn't realized how much he'd been taking Recovery Girl's healing for granted. Finally having it taken away from him was a punch to the gut.
"Thank you for your understanding and generosity," All Might said, bowing to her as well. "But if you don't mind, could I have a little private time with young Midoriya?"
Recovery Girl scowled at All Might, who could only smile sheepishly in response, but she relented. "Fine, you have five minutes. But you have to promise that you won't praise him for any of this! He admires you so much, telling him that abusing his power like this is okay will make him keep doing it!"
"I promise," All Might quickly agreed.
Recovery Girl looked at him skeptically, but left anyway. All Might waved to her as she left the room and as soon as the door was closed, he sighed with relief.
"Young Midoriya-"
"All Might, this is my fault," Izuku said, cutting All Might off. "If I had just shut up during the fight, I would have been able to win just using Full Cowling. I wouldn't have had to break any bones. I deserve this."
Izuku closed his eyes, unable to bring himself to look at his mentor.
"I was going to say that... I'm so proud of you young Midoriya!" All Might exclaimed, immediately breaking his promise.
"What?"
"I know Chiyo told me not to praise you for your actions, but how could I not after what you did! I guess that means I owe you a bit of an apology too. To be honest, I wasn't on board with you focusing on helping young Todoroki instead of winning the fight. I thought that it would end up costing you the fight on top of being meddling where you didn't have to. But look at you now! You managed to do both and figured out how to use your power without hurting yourself!"
"That's nothing you have to apologize for All Might!" Izuku said frantically. "You're right, I almost made things worse at first. I was just being stupid and I only managed to win because I got lucky. That's all."
"I'm not finished. It's true that involving yourself in Todoroki's personal issues was meddling where you didn't technically have to. But that's the essence of what being a hero is. Helping those in need even when they're not asking for it. You realized that and I didn't. That's why I'm sorry."
Izuku blushed, still feeling uncomfortable that All Might was apologizing for something he really didn't need to. "Well I can't really celebrate right now. Todoroki was only the first match and I have to get through the entire rest of the festival without using 100% of One For All."
"Yeah, we have been relying on her healing too much," All Might admitted. "She's probably refusing to heal you because knowing that you'll be healed after a fight makes you reckless. You'll have to change up your whole fighting style."
Izuku nodded. If he wanted to continue fighting in the festival, he'd have to rely on Full Cowling. That wouldn't be so bad, as Full Cowling was much less painful, didn't require as much thought, and gave him other benefits such as faster speed and reaction times. On the other hand, he could only comfortably use 5% of One For All that way. Smashing giant robots and glaciers just wasn't possible with that amount of power. Or fighting one of the Elite Four.
"But without 100%, I don't stand a chance against any of the Elite Four. They're at least as powerful as Ryuko and she's stronger than me even when I do use 100%! Not to mention any other weird abilities they might have. Gamagoori's quirk was size changing, but his Goku Uniform let him transform into different forms that could absorb and release energy, which is a completely different power. Who knows what the others are capable of? There isn't much footage of them in battle, but there are tons of online forums talking about-"
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," All Might interrupted his muttering. "Who is your next opponent anyway?"
Izuku put his finger to his chin and started thinking. "Let's see, mine was the last fight of the first round so I'll be going up against whoever won their match before me. Which was..."
Izuku's eyes widened as he realized who he'd be fighting in the second round. He would have actually preferred an Elite. At least none of them would go out of their way to hurt him as much as possible. At least none of them hated his guts and thought that he'd been lying to them for over a decade. At least none of them were thirsting for revenge against him because he beat them in combat training.
At least none of them were Kacchan.
Izuku walked back to the stands shaking the whole way back. Part of the reason why was because his legs were broken a few minutes ago and had just been healed. The larger part was because he was thinking about his upcoming fight with Kacchan.
His childhood friend-turned-bully's terrifying smirk only made his fears worse. Though seeing Mankanshoku smile and offer him Ryuko's now vacant seat made him feel a little better. Even if it meant that he'd also be sitting next to a very angry and very shirtless Gamagoori.
"Hey Mankanshoku!" Izuku greeted his new friend. "I wanted to say thank you for the advice. Spreading my power throughout my whole body really worked! If it wasn't for you, I would have never been able to beat Todoroki!"
"It's no problem, anything for a friend of Ryuko's! Which means you're a friend of me too! So, what kind of microwave do you want to get? I know they're super expensive these days, but my brother could probably get one for you! He's super great at getting things! I don't know how he pays for it all though."
Izuku had no idea what she was talking about. Well, he had an idea about why her brother was so good at acquiring things and it wasn't a good one. "Uh, maybe we can discuss this later?" he offered.
Mankanshoku stood up from her seat. "You're right! The next match is starting up and Ryuko needs me! I might not be allowed to be her assistant and the festival staff might have given me another friendship bracelet, but I can cheer her on victory! Come on Midoriya, Ryuko needs your help! Cheer with me!"
Izuku barely had time to see that Mankanshoku had a second ankle monitor before she pulled him up from his seat and moved his arms against his will like a puppet. She was a lot stronger than she looked. But not everyone was so enthusiastic.
"Hmph. Cheer all you want, it won't make any difference in the end!" Gamagoori bellowed. "No one can beat Lady Satsuki's elite fighters! No one!"
"If that's true then how come you're sitting here?" Mankanshoku pointed out.
Izuku had to admit, he found that pretty funny and a small chuckle slipped out from his control. Apparently Jakuzure and Sanageyama found it pretty funny as well, if their full-on cackling was any indication. Gamagoori did not. He immediately started screaming at the top of his lungs.
"GET HER INUMUTA! BASH HER, CRUSH HER, SHOW HER NO MERCY!" he bellowed. "SHOW HER THE POWER, NO, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR RESOLVE! ALL THOSE WHO OPPOSE LADY SATSUKI SHALL BE MADE AN EXAMPLE OF!"
"Kick his butt Ryuko! Kick it! Kick it!" Mankanshoku screamed as well, apparently seeing Gamagoori's screaming as a challenge. "Throw it into the sun! Or the moon! Whichever one is farther! Your outfit is way cuter than his! And your breasts are bigger too!
"AN ASININE COMPARISON! THE ELITE FOUR DON'T NEED BREASTS!"
"Yeah, that much is obvious," Sanageyama remarked, earning him an elbow to the side from Jakuzure.
Izuku just shifted in his seat ever so slightly away from the pair's... cheering competition? He supposed that every good sporting event needed cheerleaders on the sidelines, but they weren't usually this... bloodthirsty. Hopefully he'd still be able to get some good notes from the fight, after hearing what Ryuko said about Senketsu coming up with a new form on the fly, he was more interested in her powers than ever.
"Well we've finally cleaned up the ridiculous amount of ice from the last match and now it's time to move onto the first match of the second round and we're kicking it off with a flashy fight! That sailor uniform might look super weird, but its power is undeniable! Her heart's laid bare, but she doesn't care, it's Class 1-A's Ryuko Matoi!"
Ryuko was walking onto the battlefield as her name was announced, brimming with determination just like she always was. And her opponent was there to face her.
"And her opponent, the master tactician and expert hacker, Honnouji Academy's Houka Inumuta!"
Houka Inumuta stared at the screen on his phone with mild amusement. If nothing else, the sight of the mighty former Disciplinary Committee Chairman reduced to a naked no-star raving from the stands was almost worth the trip to UA by itself. But anymore time wasted would just distract him from what he was really here for.
"And activating the noise cancellation!" he said, muting the video coming from the stands. "I'd rather not listen to the croaks of a beaten toad, not when there's something far more interesting to dissect right in front of me."
Matoi just glared at him, which only made him more interested in her. Everything about her, her Kamui, her scissor blade, all of it defied every convention he'd learned of Life Fibers at his time at Honnouji. That didn't upset him though, quite the contrary. This was an opportunity to learn how the impossible could be possible. And he'd get that opportunity through battle.
"Even though you've had ample time to recover, my sensors indicate that you're breathing heavier and your heart rate is elevated compared to the average levels after your battles," Houka observed. "I hope you didn't overexert yourself fighting Gamagoori!"
"You wish!" she shot back. "I've still got plenty of energy left to kick your ass!"
She responded just how Houka expected her to. Compiling the databases of everything she said and what it was in response to revealed that in addition to her already short temper, Matoi particularly hated being underestimated or looked down on. Extra points if it was from an authority figure or even someone posing as one. She wasn't very fond of admitting her own weaknesses either.
"Let the first match of the second round begin!" Present Mic announced. If only Houka could mute that infernal PA system as well.
"So let's start. Do you have any impassioned speeches to make? Any grand showcase of power and will to start the match off?"
Matoi just scoffed at his suggestion. "Nope! You're just two out of four, so let's get this over with! I don't got all day!"
Houka laughed. She was straight and to the point just as always. He'd always respected her combat ability and was intrigued by her use of a Kamui, but now he was really starting to like this girl. "Agreed. I hate wasting time too!"
His collar snapped shut and the three stars on it flashed a brilliant light. Houka felt his body being wrapped in Life Fibers as his Goku Uniform began reconstructing itself into its regalia form. Once the keyboards had taken form, he entered his 48-character password and booted up the operating system, just in time for the HUD to activate right as his visor clasped around his face.
"Three Star Goku Uniform: Probe Regalia!"
"Probe Regalia huh?" Ryuko Matoi said. "It sure doesn't look like much."
Unlike Gamagoori and Sanageyama, Inumuta's uniform didn't expand in size or even change its shape all that much. it was just a blue bodysuit with some wires and keyboards placed on it. It looked more like a hero costume than a Goku Uniform. Then again, Shackle Regalia didn't look all that intimidating at first either and it was still more than capable of thrashing her.
What was making Ryuko a lot more nervous was what Inumuta was doing. His body was still, but his fingers definitely weren't. They flew across the keyboards on his uniform at lightning speed typing god knows what. While his eyes were obscured by his visor, she could tell he was staring at her like a lab rat to be analyzed. It was discomforting to say the least and Senketsu agreed.
"I don't like this Ryuko," he said. "It feels like he's stripping us down."
Ryuko thought back to what Midoriya told her about Inumuta. "He's an expert at analysis. He can take one look at an opponent and know everything about how they fight, what their weaknesses are, and how their quirk works."
"Yeah, he's giving me major creepo vibes too," she said. "But if what Midoriya told us about this guy's deal is right, we should be able to end this quickly. Do you remember the plan?"
"If by 'plan' you're referring to your complete and utter lack of a plan, then how could I have forgotten?"
Ryuko decided to ignore his sarcasm. "If you remember, then let's do this! Life Fiber Synchronize: Kamui Senketsu!"
Inumuta wasn't fazed by her transformation in the slightest, even as she drew her scissor blade. In fact, he almost looked like he was pleased with himself. "Yes, her stage one combat mode! That's how she always starts a fight!"
Amazing. He was able to figure out that she started a fight by activating her powers. He truly was a genius. This would be even easier than Ryuko expected. She dashed forward without warning, thrusting her scissor blade toward Inumuta's head.
To his credit, he was able to dodge her first attack quite easily, nonchalantly shifting his body to the side so Ryuko just missed him by a hair. But she wasn't planning to only attack once. Ryuko quickly pivoted around and while Inumuta attempted to move out of the way again, she ended up striking him in the face, launching him back. He landed on both feet and quickly got back to typing, striking several poses while he did so.
"She's faster than I thought!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
Ryuko smirked as Inumuta continued typing on his keyboards, ignoring just how weird the poses he was making were. Midoriya hadn't told her much about him, but she heard everything she needed to know. His fighting style was hardly unique and he wasn't even the best at it.
"You think you're the only one who knows about their opponent?" she taunted. "I've seen your type before with your 'I've analyzed all your capabilities' and 'I can anticipate your every move'! It's the same old same old every time! There's only one way to beat you at this game Geekster! Get reckless!"
Ryuko pushed her acceleration to the max and ran all around the battlefield at top speed, making it look like she was in hundreds of places at the same time. She wasn't gonna make the same mistake she did in her first fight with Sanageyama though, every step she took was random. Inumuta made his analyses by taking the data from his sensors and using his quirk to calculate the most likely outcome, but there was no way it would work if her actions were completely unpredictable!
"Matoi's moving so fast I can't even see her! She's literally running circles around her opponent!" Present Mic announced.
"She's incredibly strong, but it's her speed that's usually her biggest advantage over an opponent," Aizawa said. "Since Inumuta is fast enough to react to her charging head-on, she adapted by using it to confuse and disorient him instead. She's more clever than she looks."
Despite being completely surrounded by Ryuko's afterimages, Inumuta still wasn't shaken even a little. "Ah, now I get why your reaction speed was higher than my sensors predicted! You can boost your Life Fiber link through the force of your willpower too! The Goku Uniform's interface is the same, but since your Kamui is 100% Life Fiber, the effect is greater! But can your body sustain this pace? You were looking awfully tired after fighting Gamagoori."
Ryuko immediately felt her temper flare. What the hell did this guy know about her? She could keep this up as long as she wanted to! She could get through the entire tournament without a break!
"Don't let him get to you Ryuko," Senketsu warned. "He's pushing your buttons so you make a mistake."
While Ryuko was still incredibly annoyed, she knew that Senketsu had a point. A few more seconds of random movement would be enough to confuse him, then she could move in for an attack. Once she was positioned directly behind Inumuta, she rushed at him and swung her sword, only for him to grab her arm and kick her in the stomach.
How was he able to sense her? She was running as fast as she could and made her movements as unpredictable as possible!
"Attacking me from behind? I didn't think a hero in training would resort to such methods!" Inumuta teased. "You thought that you could confuse me by making random movements, but in reality, the moves you made were almost guaranteed from the start! I have every fight you've ever had at Honnouji Academy stored in Probe Regalia's database, even some from before. By analyzing the data with my quirk, I have a rough estimation of how your brain will react in a given scenario. I don't need some Hypersense quirk to read your mind!"
He was really proud of himself for landing that one hit wasn't he? While the blow sent Ryuko back, she barely felt it. When Sanageyama successfully predicted her moves, he was able to at least make her bleed. Actually, that started to give her an idea. If Inumuta wanted to make her slip up by taunting her, then why couldn't she return the favor?
"Yeah that's pretty neat and all, but I gotta say, Sanageyama does the 'predict everything you do before you do it' thing way better," Ryuko said.
To her surprise, Inumuta actually stopped typing. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well y'know, he doesn't need his Goku Uniform to do everything for him. Plus he can actually hit harder than a wet noodle. I mean come on! I thought you wanted to beat me, not tickle me! How about this? I'll let you have a free hit, just try not to embarrass yourself this time!"
Inumuta looked at her for a bit then started laughing. "You always did have a knack for turning your opponents tactics against them. A nice try, but a futile one. While you may have figured out my quirk, you've yet to see just what Probe Regalia is capable of. I think it's about time I stop holding back!"
Before Ryuko could even try to figure out what that meant, he vanished into thin air.
Izuku Midoriya watched the fight with his notebook open, eager to add more to his sections on both Ryuko and the Elite Four. He always wondered why sightings of Inumuta on the battlefield were so rare and now he had his answer.
"He disappeared!" Mankanshoku exclaimed.
Izuku rapidly jotted down notes, theorizing while he did so. "So he can turn invisible, that's why people don't see him much! It must be a feature of his Goku Uniform, since he never used that ability in the previous rounds and his quirk has something to do with how fast he can analyze data. I wonder how it produces the invisibility effect though. Maybe panels that bend light around the uniform?"
"When Inumuta's Goku Uniform turns invisible, it glistens like a white butterfly in a snowbank," Gamagoori explained. "He didn't disappear. IT'S OPTICAL CAMOUFLAGE!"
"Oh I get it! It's not bending light, he's changing the pattern of the uniform to blend in with his surroundings!" Izuku realized. "With all those sensors, he should be able to make perfect camouflage wherever he is!"
"Well I don't get it!" Mankanshoku shouted out. "That doesn't make any sense! There aren't any butterflies in the winter, they die from the cold!"
"Actually, there are multiple species of butterfly that have been discovered to have the ability to survive in colder climates," Izuku corrected her. "Kind of like how even quirkless people would have been considered superhuman 200 years ago due to the rapid evolution that resulted in quirks. It is weird that the rapid evolution is extended to animals though, since animals with quirks are extremely rare and scientists still don't know how quirks arose in humans in the first place."
Mankanshoku raised her hand in the air. "Oh I know an animal with a quirk!"
"Really? What is it?"
"My dog Guts! He eats people food, I think he can understand me... and that's about it actually. He does wear clothes though. What if wearing clothes is what gave him a quirk?"
While Mankanshoku's dog probably didn't have a quirk, based on what she said he seemed oddly human-like. Izuku immediately started coming up with a theory in his head, but before he could write anything down or ask Mankanshoku any clarifying questions, he was interrupted very loudly.
"THAT ISN'T THE POINT!" Gamagoori roared.
"Inumuta has been out of sight for nearly a minute now! Will he break the calm with an attack? Or will this high-stakes game of hide and seek continue? If it does, Matoi doesn't look to be doing so hot right now!"
Ryuko Matoi's eyes darted across the battlefield, looking for any sign of her opponent. If only there was some way she could hit the entire field at once, then Inumuta wouldn't be able to dodge no matter where he was! Actually, she did have a way to do that.
"If I can't hit you, then I'll just hit everything around you at the same time!" she shouted.
Ryuko forcefully planted her sword into the ground, releasing a tremendous amount of energy that took the form of a shockwave. Even though she was holding back so she wouldn't hit any of the spectators (though it did send Midnight and Cementoss flying), the blast still pulverized the battlefield into gravel and spread cracks up the stadium walls. She didn't know if Inumuta was still in the ring, but she wasn't taking any chances.
Three more swings and three more shockwaves rocked the stadium to its foundation, but the fourth was stopped by someone grabbing Ryuko's arm and kicking her in the chin. Even after all that, Inumuta was still standing.
"Very clever!" he mockingly congratulated her. "But I'm afraid I'm not some one-star you can send flying though the air with the mere air pressure of your strikes. If you want to hurt me you'll have to actually make contact! Like this!"
A swift jab to the stomach caught Ryuko off guard, followed by dozens and soon hundreds more. While they still didn't hurt, the sheer volume of blows was rapidly pushing her back. Ryuko was no genius, but even she realized that the majority of the blows were aimed at her face and stomach. She raised her arms to block Inumuta's assault, just in time to avoid being pushed out of bounds.
"At least you've added additional data to confirm my theory that your Kamui enhances your entire body's durability regardless of what's actually covered," he said. "But that's hardly a revelation, so start fighting harder!"
"Ryuko, I can't hold this much longer!" Senketsu cried out. "We need to get him off of us or he'll push us out of bounds!"
"Yeah I know! But the only way I can hit him is by hitting the entire arena and it didn't work!"
How was she supposed to both hit Inumuta directly while hitting the entire battlefield at the same time? If only Senketsu had another transformation that was perfectly suited for this situation. How was he able to create his Senjin form anyway? Making all of those blades must have taken a huge amount of Life Fibers.
Wait, a huge amount of Life Fibers that he could shape at will... now Ryuko had an idea.
"Senketsu, remember that blade form you made? Instead of making a bunch of little things, can you make one big thing?" Ryuko asked.
"I guess I could, but- Oh I get it! I like what you're thinking!"
"I'm afraid asking your Kamui for advice won't help you! Unlike me, you don't have anywhere to run!" Inumuta taunted, still rapidly kicking Ryuko. "I hope you start providing some more interesting data soon, or I'll be very disappointed!"
"If you want interesting, you're gonna love this! Senketsu, now!"
"Right!"
Ryuko felt Senketsu tighten around her body and steam erupted from her skin. As many of his Life Fibers as possible were being moved to one spot, making it rapidly expand. Straining to move in her shrunken uniform, Ryuko hoisted her shoulder pad high above her head, covering the entire battlefield with Senketsu's giant eye.
"No way!" Inumuta exclaimed. "That's one big eye!" He stopped attacking Ryuko, now focusing all of his efforts on typing commands to find some way to dodge her incoming attack. "Evade! Evade! Wait, what does it mean 'evasion impossible'! Nooooooo!"
Ryuko slammed Senketsu's eye onto the battlefield, making a massive cloud of dust when it finally hit the ground and crushed Inumuta beneath it. When Senketsu's proportions returned to normal, his head was buried in the ground and sparks were flying off his uniform. He pulled his head free, only to see that Ryuko already had her scissor blade right in his face.
"You see? If you make a crazy attack even crazier you're bound to hit something! Let's do this Senketsu!"
"Gah! I've reached the limit of my processing capacity!" Inumuta cried out. The only thing he could do was sit still while his uniform started to short-circuit, blue sparks flying off his visor.
"Scissor Blade: Decapitation Mode!"
Ryuko swung her extended scissor blade at Inumuta, ready to tear his uniform to pieces and absorb its Life Fibers into Senketsu. But just as it was a millimeter from making contact, she was interrupted by a bright flash of light. Inumuta had deactivated his uniform and raised his hands in the air.
"Whoa there! Not so fast! I hereby forfeit this battle!"
"Uh, did I hear that right?" Present Mic asked. "Is he... giving up?"
Midnight emerged from the debris left behind from Ryuko's various battlefield-covering attacks covered in dust and pointed her riding crop at Ryuko. "Inumuta surrenders! The winner is Ryuko Matoi! She will be moving on to the semi-finals!"
Now that the battle was officially over, Ryuko deactivated Senketsu, though she still wasn't exactly comfortable. He could be letting her win so he could attack her while her guard was down. "Okay, what's the deal?"
Inumuta shrugged. "I just didn't want to lose all the data I gathered up to this point! I don't care at all about the festival or even beating you, what I want is data."
"I certainly wasn't expecting that," Senketsu remarked as Inumuta casually left the field, apparently not upset over losing at all.
"Eh, a win's a win. And this is only the second round, so I'll take what I can get. It does suck that you didn't get absorb any of his Life Fibers though."
"I can't believe the nerve of that nerd, sauntering off like he didn't just get his ass beat!" Jakuzure exclaimed. "That last attack totally wrecked him and he knows it!"
"That's what happen when you rely too much on your eyes," Sanageyama said smugly.
Jakuzure roughly elbowed him in the side. "Yeah, look who's talking!"
If Izuku Midoriya hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. Another Elite defeated and another new transformation perfectly suited to beat them. Senketsu's adaptability really was something else, likely because he could actually think for himself. But a quirk that powerful had to have some kind of drawback. He just didn't know what it was yet.
Maybe he would get his chance to figure out a bit more now, as both combatants returned to the stands. Ryuko went over to talk to Kirishima first, but Inumuta sat down next to his fellow disgraced Elite. Though unlike Gamagoori, he had changed back into his tracksuit from the previous events.
"You know how I feel about forfeiting, so I won't harp on you over your decision," Gamagoori said. "HOWEVER, WHY ARE YOU WEARING A TRACKSUIT? HAVE YOU NO SHAME!"
"I had to give up my Goku Uniform as punishment for losing, but nothing says that I can't wear clothes. Knowing the rules trumps knowing shame. Wouldn't you agree, Disciplinary Committee Chair? Oh I'm sorry, former Disciplinary Committee Chair!" Inumuta said, pushing Gamagoori with his shoulder.
"Thanks for the reminder, former Information and Strategy Committee Chair!" Gamagoori retorted, pushing Inumuta back.
The two former Elites glared at each other, putting everyone in the stands a bit on edge. There was no way Izuku was going to ask Inumuta about the fight now, not when there was a chance he'd be throwing punches with Gamagoori in a minute. Mankanshoku had it the worst though. She was shaking with fear as she was getting caught between the two Elites fighting. Literally between them.
"Uh, a little help here?" she squeaked out. "I like pancakes, but I don't want to be one! Actually, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. I wonder if I could eat myself."
"Oh! I'm coming!" Izuku said.
He reached out for Mankanshoku's hand and tried to pull her away from Gamagoori and Inumuta, who were so busy glaring at each other that they didn't notice Izuku at all. She was wedged between them so tightly that freeing her was difficult even with Full Cowling 5%.
As soon as Izuku pulled her out, Mankanshoku immediately thanked him while jumping around. "That was amazing! You're the best and don't you ever forget how amazing you are!"
Izuku blushed at her praise. He really didn't do all that much. "Well it wasn't that impressive, I only-"
"Hooray for Mako! You go girl! You're not gonna let those guys get you down! M! A! K! O! I'm running out of things to say-o!"
Oh. She wasn't thanking him, she was... cheering for herself? Why? And where did she get that banner from?
After returning to the stands, Ryuko Matoi walked up behind Kirishima to tell him that she kept her promise to him. "I told you I'd kick his ass for you," she said. "Well I beat him at least."
Kirishima didn't even turn around to look at her. "Yeah. You sure did. You always find a way to come out on top, don't you?"
Ryuko wasn't the most experienced when it came to social interactions, but she wasn't completely tone-deaf. Something was obviously up with her friend. "Alright, what's bothering you?" she asked.
"It's just that watching you down there is only making me realize how weak I am!" he shouted. "I lost in the first round and I was completely helpless! I could only do one thing and when it failed, I was useless."
"Join the club," Kaminari spoke up. "Those Elites are just something else. Don't beat yourself up about it man, these guys beat pros like they're nothing. We're just first years."
"Yeah I lost in the first round to that support course weirdo," Mina added. "Being a loser isn't so bad! Besides, Yaomomo lost her match too. You're not exactly in bad company."
"That's different though! Yaoyorozu actually made Sanageyama activate his transformation, you got to do a lot with your quirk and still made an impression, and Kaminari lost so quickly because he's... kinda dumb."
"Oh come on man!" Kaminari protested. "I try to cheer you up and this is what I get as thanks?"
Kirishima ignored him and kept talking. "What I'm saying is that you guys still have powerful, versatile quirks that will get better and better with training. With me, there's really only one thing I can do. Inumuta said that I don't have any idea how to use my quirk properly, but what else can I really do? I'm just worried that this is the best I can get."
"Alright, so you can only do one thing. What's so bad about that? Being amazing at one thing is still better than being alright at a lot of things. It won't matter what kind of flashy moves your opponents have if they can't even put a scratch on you." Ryuko said.
"That's sort of the problem. My Hardening keeps getting worn down! Sure I can take hits and punch back while its up, but once it breaks, I'm done."
"If that's the problem, then what if you just... didn't break?"
Ryuko knew it was a stupid suggestion the moment the words left her mouth. "Just don't break" wasn't very helpful advice and keeping his quirk active while being attacked was probably a lot easier said than done. But Kirishima actually had a thin smile on his face.
"Standing strong against anything thrown at me. Being an indestructible wall. I kinda like that idea."
Ryuko was about to go find Midoriya when she heard some loud screaming, specifically Mako's screaming. She looked over to the source of the sound and saw Mako jumping all over the seats while waving banners and shouting about how great she was.
"Apparently your friend has started cheering for herself," Senketsu observed.
"Yeah, that's classic Mako. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Your pulse and breathing rate have returned to normal, which was way faster than it took you to recover from fighting Gamagoori. She's the key to getting you to relax, isn't she?"
Ryuko smiled, but she was quickly taken out of her thoughts by Present Mic's loud announcement.
"The second match is about to begin! Both fighters are taking to the battlefield!"
"She ended her last match in nearly an instant with overwhelming firepower! Will this one go the same way? From Honnouji Academy, it's Nonon Jakuzure!"
Nonon Jakuzure sauntered up to the edge of the battlefield. Just one more opponent and she'd finally get her fight against Transfer Student. And if they were anything like that last guy, the announcements would end up taking longer than the actual fight. Wait, who was she fighting again?
"But don't count her opponent out just yet! With some super-cool gadgets, she might just have an answer for anything thrown at her! I won't say anymore since she already knows how to sell herself, it's the support course's Mei Hatsume!"
"Oh you've got to be shitting me," Nonon said to herself.
Compensating for something was putting it lightly. Her opponent was slowly shambling up to the battlefield, piloting a massive mech suit nearly three meters tall. Each step it took made the machinery whir loudly and cracked the ground under its weight. A spherical blue dome served as the mech's cockpit, allowing Nonon to see the face of the wackjob who made the monstrosity.
"Let the second match begin!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Hatsume shouted in a shrill voice that made Nonon's tone-sensitive ears cringe, amplified by the suit's speakers. "What I've shown you in my last match was just a small sample of the amazing babies produced by Hatsume Industries! Today I bring you the future of the support item industry! Goku Uniforms will no longer be the pinnacle of combat-enhancing clothing! I like to call this one My Adorable Baby, but you lovely investors may call it the Anti-Goku Uniform Platform: Project VEGETA!"
Nonon burst out laughing.
Mei Hatsume's speech rang out in the stadium as she gestured to the crowd with her baby. Everyone present was taken aback by her bold claim, which was more or less the reaction she was hoping for. Until the silence was interrupted by the laughter of her opponent.
"Oh man, you really think that... thing can beat a Goku Uniform?" Jakuzure said, wiping tears from her eyes. "Look nerd, even a one-star could crush your 'baby' like the tin can it is! I'd suggest turning that thing around and walking out of bounds if you want it to leave in one piece."
Mei's eye twitched with anger as her baby was insulted, but she quickly reigned herself in. This was the moment she had been dreaming of ever since getting accepted into UA. The chance to show that traditional support items could not just compete with, but defeat a Goku Uniform. It was surprising that the chance came so soon, but Mei wasn't complaining. Power Loader definitely was though. She practically spent the last week living in the development studio (and also nearly burning it down) trying to get VEGETA ready for the Sports Festival.
There was no way she'd blow this opportunity! Mei made VEGETA raise its leg and slammed it down on Jakuzure as hard as it could, sending a massive plume of dust into the air. It probably wouldn't be a one-hit knockout, but that had to do some serious damage.
"As you can see, VEGETA's legs are powered by extremely powerful hydraulics, capable of outputting over ten tons of force! Now let's see what kind of damage it can do to a Goku Uniform!"
The could of dust started to clear up, giving Mei a clear picture of the destruction left behind from VEGETA's stomp. At the point of impact, there was now a huge crater nearly five meters wide. And Jakuzure casually holding up VEGETA's leg with a single arm.
"Was that all you can do?" she drawled. "Look, I'll be nice. You have one more chance to give up before I send that thing to the scrapyard."
Jakuzure threw the mechanical leg back, making VEGETA stumble, but Mei was able to stabilize herself before falling over. Were Goku Uniforms really that strong? She could have passed for a middle schooler and yet she was able to throw her three ton mech like it was nothing! Sure it was a three-star, but she wasn't even activating it!
No, this wasn't any time for Mei to doubt herself! It didn't matter if Jakuzure was stronger, VEGETA was more than just a big robot after all! Mei pressed a button on her control panel and VEGETA's left hand retracted into its arm, replaced by a massive four-barreled gun.
"VEGETA is also equipped with a more powerful version of the net gun I already showed you!" she announced. "These babies are capable of firing one hundred rounds per minute at speeds of nearly mach two!"
The targeting software took aim and started firing a rapid hail of bullets on her target. Despite the speed of the projectiles and the precision of the targeting system that Mei had meticulously tested, her opponent dodged each net with almost no effort, leaving the floor of the battlefield covered in nets.
Mei was starting to get a little flustered. Why wasn't this going how she planned? "Uh, that isn't all it can do!" she said, trying to cover up the failures of the last two features. "Check this out!"
Two massive turbines on VEGETA's back and two on the soles of its feet whirred to life, slowly lifting the mech suit into the air. The flight system was rudimentary given how heavy VEGETA was, but it was still able to get a good two meters into the air. Jakzure just rolled her eyes.
Mei giggled. She'd like to see her roll her eyes after this! She took aim at Jakuzure again and disabled the turbines, letting VEGETA plummet down.
She cocked VEGETA's fist and when the moment was right, she punched the spot Jakuzure was standing at full force. The Elite quickly dodged the punch itself by rolling to the side, but there was no way she'd be able to escape the damage radius. The weight of the fist combined with the momentum from falling made a shockwave upon collision, spreading cracks across the battlefield.
Jakuzure had braced herself though and the blast did little more than get dust on her uniform. She walked up to Mei's uniform with a furious scowl on her face, which might have been scary if she wasn't so short. Mei readied the net cannon for another burst of fire, but for some reason its arm wouldn't move.
*Power levels critically low. Initiating shutdown mode.*
Oh crap.
"Uh, don't worry! Everything is under control! There's just a few kinks to work out on the power supply, but that's it!" Mei frantically shouted.
Surprisingly, she could only hear her own voice. Were the speakers out of power too? But they used so little energy compared to the rest of the VEGETA's functions! Mei looked around the cockpit searching for an explanation when she saw it. Outside.
Each of Jakuzure's hands held a massive pink sphere. They were vibrating unstably, like they could explode at any second. "You know, I'm really sick of listening to that scratchy voice of yours," she growled. "How about I give you a little tune up?"
The two spheres morphed into beams that pierced cleanly though VEGETA's center and didn't stop until colliding with the stadium's wall. The blue lighting in the cockpit was quickly taken over by flashing red lights, each one reporting a system that had failed. Mei was trying to manage the situation as best as she could, but it was no use. VEGETA would have shut down soon even if its guts weren't blasted across the stadium. The most she could do at this point was try to survive.
Thankfully Mei designed the eject system with power failure in mind, so she was able to launch her seat out of the now flaming cockpit. Once she landed she turned to look back at the smoldering remains of VEGETA. It wasn't so bad, other than the giant hole in its chest, the overall structure was still intact. She'd get the chance to repair some of the other dangerous defects that thankfully didn't emerge in this fight. Come to think of it, what were they again?
While she was thinking, VEGETA exploded in a fiery inferno, leaving behind a mushroom cloud and sending debris flying all across the battlefield.
Oh right. That was one them.
Mei was going to surrender. It wasn't worth getting beaten up when she knew she had no chance of winning. But before she could pick herself up off the ground, Jakuzure grabbed her by the collar, swung her around, and threw her out of bounds. Ouch.
Midnight pointed her riding crop at Mei, making a sharp crack. "Hatsume is out of bounds! Nonon Jakuzure wins and moves on to the semi-finals!"
"Well at least you put up a good fight," Jakuzure said. After a second, she burst out laughing. "Sorry, I can't say that with a straight face. That was pathetic! See you never, nerd!"
Mei had skinned both her knees and elbows upon landing, but the defeat stung far more. VEGETA blowing up wasn't the worst thing in the world, as she was kind of used to it by now. What was far worse was blowing her big opportunity and the knowledge that she had been wrong all along.
Over the past two years, everyone had told her that making support items that could compete with Goku Uniforms was a fantasy. Her teachers, her friends, and even her own mother just gave up when she was fired by the company she'd worked at for decades. Mei was the only one who refused to believe that support items were a dying industry.
This was supposed to be it! Not just her chance to shine, but her chance to prove that her babies still had a place in the world! But instead she just proved everyone else right. After all the work she put into VEGETA, all it managed to do was break some concrete and blow up. What a joke.
At least UA still had a support course open, though Mei couldn't foresee that lasting too long. Even if by some miracle the department didn't shut down and Power Loader didn't expel her, what good would inventing support items be in the real world? She should have just become a regular engineer like everyone else at her middle school did.
Mei instinctively picked up some scraps from VEGETA's wreckage and began tinkering with them as she left the arena. It was usually cathartic, but now it just made her feel worse. Why did she choose to design support items for heroes anyway? Of course it was what her mother did, but was that it?
No, she admired heroes and what they represented too, but there just wasn't any way she could be one herself. While Mei wasn't given a quirk that was suited towards being a hero, she was still able to use the gifts she did have to help them. Mei smiled and held her head up high. She'd continue to support heroes no matter what!
"Amazing! Jakuzure must have been manipulating the sound from VEGETA's speakers!" Midoriya said while writing in his notebook. "She turned Hatsume's own invention against her!"
"If you ask me, it's karma for all that shameless self-promotion," Mina said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
Ryuko Matoi watched the fight finish with mild interest. It was exciting sure, but it wasn't like she had any personal stake in who won. Once again, Jakuzure didn't show off her Goku Uniform, but at least Ryuko got to see her quirk in action for a bit. Making soundwaves that were perfectly tuned to resonate with any material was a powerful ability. She hoped she couldn't make soundwaves that could resonate with Life Fibers.
Ryuko felt Midoriya tapping her shoulder. "Hey Ryuko? I didn't get the chance to talk with you about your fight with Inumuta and I just have so many questions!" he said, his face brimming with excitement.
"Go ahead, shoot."
"I was just wondering about Senketsu's transformation abilities. Both times he transformed it was perfectly suited to beat your opponent. You said that he was the one who came up with the forms, but does it have to be in response to a dangerous situation or can he come up with a new form right now?"
Ryuko didn't know how to answer that. She never really though about Senketsu's abilities too hard after all. "Uh, I don't really know how it works. I was the one who suggested the giant eye thing, but I don't know where the Senjin form came from."
"Hmm, it's not like I can automatically make a new form as soon as I need to. I think it's just because I have to think more creatively in high-pressure situations," Senketsu said. "I suppose I could come up with a new form right now if I really put my mind to it, but right now there's no reason to."
"Yeah, what he said."
Midoriya just stared at Ryuko blankly. "Did Senketsu say something?" he asked.
"Right, you're the only one who can hear me. Tell him 'necessity is the mother of invention'."
"Sorry, what he said was that he thought of the form in the moment because that was what we needed. He wanted me to tell you that necessity is the mother of invention."
Midoriya put his hand on his chin. "So he doesn't automatically adapt to new situations, but just thinks of a way out of it by using his transformations. That's... pretty human-like thinking. And you said he was made by your father?"
"I have a question for you too," Ryuko cut him off before he started to tread on unknown and uncomfortable territory. "It's about your fight with Todoroki."
"Sure. What is it?"
"How did you do it?"
Midoriya chuckled nervously. "Uh, you'll have to be a bit more specific. I did a lot of things in that fight. Some a lot less impressive than others."
"How did you make him use his left side?"
Ryuko hadn't forgotten how Midoriya was able to get Todoroki to change his mind on his life-long conviction to defy his father and never use his fire. She also hadn't forgotten about how set he was on "saving" her from her desire to avenge her father as well. Ryuko didn't agree with him or even understand him, but she knew she couldn't stop him. So she had to prepare herself for what he might say to get her to drop her quest for revenge.
"Well, it wasn't easy, that's for sure. I tried telling him that not using his fire meant he didn't deserve to win because that meant he wasn't giving it his all, but that just made him angrier. I shifted towards how not using his left side was hurting himself and would continue to do so in the future, and that went over a bit better with him. Then I said 'It's your quirk, not his' and he's suddenly lighting himself on fire! Not even Endeavor's shouting made him stop."
"So that was it? You think he'll use his fire from now on and won't even think about Endeavor anymore?"
"I got him to use his flames once, but I don't think that solved all his problems. I'm not a professional therapist, I'm just some kid who couldn't keep his mouth shut. Maybe you should talk to Todoroki about it- Hey wait, where is he?"
"He never came back to the stands after your fight with him," Iida informed them. "I guess he thought that there wasn't any point in staying and left."
Ryuko smiled with relief. That meant there was no way Midoriya or anyone else could convince her not to seek revenge! She wasn't hurting herself, on the contrary she'd feel great once she finally got her revenge! What would come after that was still a work in progress, but she didn't need to be fixed because there was nothing wrong with her or her goal.
Shoto Todoroki walked down the long hallways of the hospital before he finally spotted the door he was looking for. The one that said "Rei Todoroki". He reached out for the door handle, but stopped himself at the last second.
"I feel like I'm going crazy. I can't take this anymore. Every day, the children seem more like him! And Shoto, that child's left side sometimes looks unbearable to me! All I can see is his father!"
Shoto tensed up. He never visited because the sight of him would cause her so much pain. And after what happened at the Sports Festival, just seeing him might completely break his mother.
But they would always be bound to each other. Both by blood and their history with Endeavor. That was why if he ever wanted to use this body and its powers, if he ever wanted to become a hero who gave everything he had, he needed to see her. There was so much they needed to talk about. Shoto opened the door and walked in.
His mother didn't notice the door opening. Or she didn't care. She kept staring out the window, sitting at her desk in her hospital gown. Shoto stepped toward her and broke the ice.
"Hello Mom."
She turned around and for the first time in years, Shoto saw his mother's face. She looked like she couldn't believe he was actually there, which Shoto could hardly blame her for. What he was still afraid of was that her expression would quickly turn to fear, but it didn't. Instead, she was smiling.
"Shoto! It's... been a while hasn't it?"
Shoto couldn't hold it back any longer. "Mom, I'm sorry. I used my left side. I used his quirk. I ended up becoming just like him and the worst part is that it felt... good. But I have to use it. That's the only way I can become the hero I want to be. I know how much pain that must cause you and hope you can forgive me."
His mother grabbed him by the hand. "I don't forgive you. Because you have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I'm the one who's sorry for what I did to you all those years ago," she said, gently caressing his scar. "And I'm sorry that you never used your left side for so long because of me."
"That wasn't you fault and I never blamed you for it. It only happened because of what he did. So you're fine with me using my fire? Even though it means I could become more like him?"
"Shoto, I always wanted you to use your fire. And the fact that you're willing to use it in order to become a hero who saves people means that you're nothing like him."
Shoto felt a weight coming off his chest. "Thank you. I- I needed to hear that. But I'm not so sure if I'll be able to become a hero now. I lost in the first round of the Sports Festival. I doubt there will be many heroes willing to take me on as an intern after that."
His mother smiled. "That's not important. Your first year at UA has just started, I'm sure there will be other opportunities that will come. But if you're set on getting an internship now, I know for a fact that there's one top ten hero who would be more than happy to take you on."
Who was she referring to? The top ten heroes rarely if ever offered internships to first years. Even on the rare occasions they did it was almost always exclusive to the winner and runner-up. Shoto would have to have a huge personal connection with one of them if he wanted-
"No. You aren't talking about him, are you?"
"I know how you feel about him. I feel the same way after all he's done to us. We can both agree that Enji Todoroki is not a very good person. But it's a fact that Endeavor is a great hero. You could learn from him."
Shoto never thought of it that way before, being able to respect the hero and condemn the man at the same time. But when he became a hero, people wouldn't have to make that distinction. He'd make sure that Shoto the hero and Shoto the person were the same.
"Thank you. I'll think about it."
A/N: Oh thank god it's finally done.
So this chapter definitely took longer than expected it to or wanted it to. I have my standard excuses like finals and whatever, but the big reason that it took so long to finish is that I'm starting to really hate my writing and this arc in particular. I wanted both worlds to feel seamlessly integrated, but this arc is just feels like the two canons running parallel to each other while characters from the other verse just comment on what's happening. It's more like a reaction fic than an actual crossover. I mean what actually happened in the past few chapters? Just canon fight after canon fight with only a few minor changes. And next chapter will just be two MHA characters fighting. Sure it diverges from canon a bit, but no one reads a KlK/MHA crossover to read about Deku and Bakugo fighting.
That being said, I started writing this fic because I have a vision and I still intend on seeing that vision to the end. There's so much I'm excited to write about and it's not worth giving up on it just because I'm dissatisfied with what's ultimately a small fraction of the story. And there are some things in this arc that I'm still excited to write about. Don't want to give too much away, but Satsuki's role as a background character is going to end very soon. Hopefully I'll see you sooner than in over two months.