Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 12
-|A|-
Endeavor scowled as he stalked through the corridors of U.A Stadium. He already wasted too much time sorting through the mess his son caused. He still had one more brat to find before he could return. If he wasn't present during his son's fight, it would reflect badly on him.
He turned the corner to come face to face with a green-haired boy who seemed to nervously flick his tail.
"You."
"En- Endeavor-san?" Izuku stumbled on his words.
"Your quirk. I don't know why, but it seems similar to All Might's."
"What?" The boy froze for a moment. "I… I'm… uh… I'm honored, but I'm… My quirk is a mutation with emitter-like elements and stockpiling ability. Unless you're suggesting that All Might also has a mutation quirk, and not an emitter as most suspect. It would explain his near-inhuman physique. If the mutation aspect of increasing body density was combined with emitter bodily enhancement, it could explain his strength." Izuku was pulling the theory out from under his tail, but luckily when he was stressed, he mumbled. "This could also link to the wind bursts his punched send. And his unnatural ability to sometimes hang in the air for a few seconds during jumps. It's amazing. Yes. I can see why you called our quirks similar. Truly, an amazing theory. Thank you so much for sharing with me."
"Shut up, brat." The man finally snapped. "It was not a compliment. You're gonna defeat that creation girl, and then face my son. It will be a perfect test before he fulfills his destiny."
"Destiny?" Blessed be Nedzu and his lessons in taking over the world… I mean dealing with media and publicity as a future symbol of peace. Izuku could now at least lie convincingly enough to not give himself out immediately.
"Yes." Luckily, it was enough to convince the distracted Endeavor. "Shouto is my greatest creation. He is destined to replace All Might. You will be a fine stepping stone for him. If only he stopped being a stubborn child and used the full extent of his powers."
"He is not a 'creation'," Izuku growled. When the hero looked at him now, gone was the mumbling, confused boy. In his place, there was an aspiring pro with steel determination that would make lesser men flinch.
"What did you just say, boy?"
"He is not a creation. He doesn't have a destiny. Todoroki is his own person. He is capable of making his own choices. If you continue treating him like an object, he will never wish to even be associated with you."
"You insolent-" Endeavor's flames flared, but he suddenly felt them all go away, including his flaming hair. The fire was suddenly sucked into Midoriya's paw.
"Be careful, Endeavor-san. The fire alarms are very sensitive at UA." Izuku warned. "Now excuse me, I have a match to get ready for."
With that, he raced away.
-|A|-
"And now, let the second round of the final stage begin!" Present mic bellowed through the speakers. "On the right, we have the cat that packs a punch. A paw-ful destroyer. A cat-astrophic brawler. It's Midoriya Izuku!" The applause greeted the green-haired boy. "And his opponent is the girl that packs a whole arsenal in her stomach. She can pull a hat out of her head. Let's give it to Yaoyorozu Momo!"
"I'm ashamed to be associated with you in any way, you know that?" Eraserhead groaned.
"No, you're not." Ingenium mocked.
Momo entered the arena and took her post opposite Izuku.
"Hey, I've seen your first match." Neku smiled. "You seem to have taken my advice."
"Indeed. I was able to purchase a series of patents for various support gear and studied the schematics extensively. Many companies were more than happy to sell me them. Especially the ones that were previously considered unwieldy, too impractical, or simply too expensive to produce."
"I'm happy for you, Yaoyorozu-san. I'm also sorry… I… uh… can't really lose today."
"I share the sentiment, Midoriya-san. Perhaps we could begin the fight then?"
"Aren't you two just so cute!" Midnight gushed. "Now fight! Begin!"
Neku immediately dashed forward, not willing to take risks with whatever Momo could brew.
In a panic, the girl tried to create some sort of net to capture him, weaving graphene-diamond compound string on the run as the object appeared in colorful light from her arm. Alas, she wasn't fast enough.
Midoriya was within her guard before the net could fully form and managed to grab her by the thigh. He then executed some sort of throw that shouldn't be humanly possible. Then again, he was a part cat and had a quirk that let him change the weather with a punch.
The end result was that Momo sailed through the air and landed far outside of bounds. She bounced a few times before she finally sprawled on the ground.
In less than twenty seconds, the fight was over. And even that was a generous estimate.
"The winner is Midoriya Izuku!" Midnight announced. The boy ignored her and rushed to where Momo landed.
"I'm so sorry, Yaoyorozu!" He helped her get up. "I just… You're really dangerous and I didn't want to risk it so I came at you with everything mumble mumble mumble." He rambled as he helped her out of the arena.
"What a show of sportsmanship! This is a sign of a true hero!" Ingenium cooed through the speakers, but neither Momo nor Izuku really cared now.
In the corridor, Harry already waited. Izuku technically didn't need help, but Potter didn't really think far enough about it.
"I… I'm okay. I think I can walk on my own." Momo took a few steps forward before leaning on the wall.
"I'm so sorry, Yaoyorozu. I just…"
"You treated me seriously. I can't hold it against you." She calmed him.
Izuku wanted to say something more, but his phone suddenly beeped.
"You brought a phone into the arena?" Harry question as he raised an eyebrow.
"I… uh… forgot to leave it…" Izuku blushed in shame.
"Better drop it at the locker room before your next fight," Harry advised.
"Right!" The part-cat dashed away.
Momo couldn't hold it anymore. She collapsed on the floor and started sobbing.
"I didn't even last ten seconds. He defeated me before I could even blink."
Harry took a seat next to her. "Midoriya is probably the strongest student among the first years."
"What kind of Hero am I if I can't even stay in the fight long enough to make a move…" She pretty much ignored what Harry said.
"Hey, look at me." Harry gently(-ishly) placed a hand on her cheek and moved her head so she was facing him. He could now clearly see tears streaming down her cheeks. "You were still amazing in the tournament as a whole. You got to the finals. That's more than most can say already. And you've won your first fight. So what if Neku beat you?"
"I… I probably could've accepted the defeat, but… I… I froze. I should've been able to produce that net." To prove her point, a net shot from her forearm and splashed against the opposite wall.
Harry struggled to find something to cheer her up. "What is that net made of?"
"A compound of diamond and graphene fiber. In theory, it's practically unbreakable. It was a theoretical project since without my quirk, it's impossible to make."
"You hear yourself? It's something that was thought impossible until you made it. You're one of the smartest people I know, right beside Hermione." He admitted.
"Really?" Momo knew how big of praise it was from Harry. She only heard a bit about Hermione since her best friend disliked talking about her, but the little she gleamed showed that Harry had nothing but good things to say about the witch.
"Do you know anyone else who could memorize the molecular structure of graphene and diamonds and arrange them in her mind into a net?"
"I still lost."
"So? I lost multiple times. I didn't manage to clear my godfather's name. I would've never survived the Tri-Wizard tournament without Snape. Heck! The only reason I'm alive is that I have my quirk." He finally confessed. "By all rights, I should be dead trice over by now."
"What?!" The shock of that statement made Momo pause her self-pitying.
"Uh… yeah." Belatedly did Harry realize what he just admitted. "You know about the USJ, but… During the first task of the tri-wizard tournament, I took the brunt of a dragon's fire breath. It's not something anyone can walk away from. My quirk seemed to… evolve back then. At least I think. Maybe it had something to do with the whole Phoenix rebirth thing. Anyway, there was also the fight in the Chamber of Secrets. I was bitten. By a basilisk. When it happened, I thought I survived because Fawkes the Phoenix cried on my wound, but now I know it was because I am immune to basilisk venom and my blood is almost just as toxic."
"I… um…"
"The point I'm trying to make is that… just because you failed doesn't mean you should give up. You must get back and get stronger. I'm painfully aware that there is still a Dark Lord back in Britain all too focused on killing me for some reason."
"When you put it like that…" Momo slowly gathered herself. Harry helped her stand back up. "I guess I was being silly."
"Heh. I wish I had a chance to cry back when I failed." The boy's dry sense of humor came out now that the situation was more under control.
"Are you mocking me now, good sir?" Momo playfully smacked his shoulder.
"By no means! Perhaps tease a bit, but I wouldn't dare mock your highness."
The two walked off. Harry's match would be starting soon after all.
-|A|-
Back in the arena, Kaminari squared against Todoroki. Despite how intimidating the electricity boy tried to look, his opponent was absolutely unbothered.
"Begin!"
As soon as Midnight declared the start, Todoroki sent a wave of ice at Kaminari, coving him in a sort of Igloo. This time, he held back and didn't make another iceberg.
"I win." He declared.
He turned to Midnight so she could announce him the winner when a wave of electricity traveled through the ice, zapping the dual-haired boy.
The ice melted to reveal a goofy-looking Kaminari.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, what a twist! Todoroki's ice is apparently conductive."
Shoto struggled under the current for a moment. He could feel his muscles seize up. With titanic effort, he slammed his fist into the already-formed ice, creating a less-controlled burst of ice that slammed into Kaminari and sent him out of bounds. A mini-glacier.
"Looks like Kaminari is out of the arena, but Todoroki, are you able to move at all?" Midnight looked at the boy, who now collapsed flatly on the stomach. She had half a mind to immediately call medics and rush to check on him.
Slowly, a single clenched fist rose to the air. Todoroki gave her a single thumb up.
He slowly sat down a moment later, proving that he is okay enough to continue.
-|A|-
"Dear listeners, the next fight will be between the young wizard of UA, the master caster, the fiery spellfire, the serpentine…" Mic was interrupted and there was a brief sound of a scuffle in the commentators' booth.
"It's Potter Harry." Tensei took the opportunity to make the introduction.
"And his opponent will be the vine…" More scuffle occurred.
"Shiozaki Ibara!" Tensei once more came to the rescue.
Back in the arena, Midnight sweatdropped over what was going on in the booth. Then again, the public loved them. Even Aizawa, who was pretty much the staple underground hero.
Harry looked at Ibara, who seemed strangely… serious. Compared to her previous image, she looked downright vicious.
"Well, let's get this show on the road! Begin!" Midnight called and cracked her whip.
"Father, forgive his sins…" Ibara sighed before the entire stage became a mass of thorns. The vines exploded from everywhere.
Harry created a shell of flames around him to get a small respite before he transformed into a snake.
The reptile leaped into the dark thicket. Even then, he was constantly assaulted by the vines that weaved more and more. There was now no more light anywhere inside the forest.
Save for a small spot he realized.
He managed to find a spot to turn back to human form for a second. His entire body was immediately assaulted by the thorns, creating dozens upon dozens of small cuts. It made every move painful.
Another second later he burst into green flames, eviscerating the plants in his proximity. The heat was enough to stop any more plants from getting close to him. They would wither before reaching him. It seemed that Shiozaki could control her vines only when they were still alive and connected to her.
Slowly, step by step, he progressed through the jungle that now filled the arena.
Harry found Ibara standing in a small clearing she made, with a ray of light falling on her as she seemed to be frantically praying.
Wanting to end this fast, Harry switched into hybrid-snake form and dashed forward. His skin was now all but invincible and his strength and speed improved greatly. Also, his jacket tore again, not that much of it remained after the thickets and the fire. It seemed that indeed, Harry now only had his underwear remaining for him.
"No! Spawn of satan! Stay back!" Ibara yelled and assaulted Harry in a last-ditch attempt. Her vines seemed to all collapse on the boy, but in doing so, she relinquished the defense it provided her.
Harry slammed both fists into the ground in front of him, sending a small tremor that made Shiozaki stumble back and lose control for just a second. Then, like a snake he leaped at her from down low, punching her out of bounds.
"The winner is Potter Harry!" Midnight announced.
Harry slowly walked to where Ibara was on the ground. He extend a hand to help her get up, but she only sneered at him and marched off.
"Huh?" A wave of his wand conjured him a temporary set of clothes as he flamed away back to his seat on the stands.
"Hey, you know what got into her? She seemed downright vicious?" Sero asked him as soon as he appeared. The rest of the class seemed startled for some reason. Was the fight really that surprising?
"Shiozaki is deeply religious," came from the booth next over.
"What does it matter?" Harry turned to see a girl with an orange ponytail leaning over to them.
"Kendo Itsuka." She introduced herself. "I'm the class rep for 1-B. You're the foreign student, right?"
"Yeah. What does her faith have to do with the fight? If anything, I would've expected her to be somewhat more controlled because of it." He scratched the back of his head.
"Normally, yeah. To be fair we were all quite surprised by her actions. But, then again, the church is heavily against magic. While since the appearance of quirks the church had to heavily adjust many of their ideals, it also made them harsher toward magic."
"Right!" Ochako remembered something. "There was this huge controversy when a woman refused to sell bread to wixes."
"Yeah. They consider magic unnatural. Totally unmanly!" Tetsutetsu also joined in, leaning in over Kendo's head.
"But… why? It's not that different from quirks."
"Except it is. And quite a lot of quirked people consider magic to be unfair."
"I guess it doesn't help how heavily regulated magic is. And how expensive."
"I heard that even mediocre wizards are like… super-rich."
"I wouldn't go that far…" Harry chuckled uncomfortably at Uraraka's remark. It kinda briefly reminded him about Ron. He quickly shot that train of thoughts down though. She was nothing like that traitor.
"I mean they trade in pure gold. Literally. One Ryo is about a hundred thousand Yen." Ochako explained, causing Harry to blanch. Before he came to Japan, he arranged all his galleons to be transferred to Ryo.
"Oh." Technically, he was already aware that he was rich by wizarding standards. This made him suddenly realize just how rich though. As in he could probably rival Yaoyorozu's fortune with some coins to spare.
"Yeah, so anyway, the people weren't exactly all too happy with it often enough, so the church latched onto that and they are the most avid magic haters there are. Well, at least outside of Europe and the US."
"I can't understand Europe, honestly. How can they even function without quirks? It's almost like they are stubbornly trying to live two hundred years in the past."
With that, the discussion slowly moved on to other subjects and Harry happily decided to think about his money 'issues' later.
"It is time for Kirishima Ejiro versus Bakugou Katsuki." Aizawa's monotonous voice carried over the stadium.
"I hate you. I'm supposed to be the main announcer here." Yamada huffed.
"I'm the guest! Shouldn't I get to do this at least once?"
"You don't like this? Here's the exit. Want me to help you get out faster?"
"Okay, boys. I want a clean fight." Midnight warned. "We wouldn't want to punish either of you now, would we?" She smirked at them.
"Just get this on so I can win this." Bakugou snarled.
"I like your enthusiasm."
"Get lost."
"Fine. Begin!" She cracked her whip.
Kirishima hardened and charged at Bakugou, who easily evaded the attack by launching himself into the air with his quirk. The blond boy then proceeded to launch a powerful explosion at his opponent, but the redhead easily tanked the hit.
When Kirishima tried to retaliate, he found nothing but air. His opponent moved again, which was marked by the powerful explosion to the back he received.
Katsuki snarled and tried to capitalize on the initial surprise, but his enemy was tougher than he expected. Shitty-hair could tank most hits he could land.
The fight fell into something of a routine. While Bakugou kept launching attack after attack at Kirishima, the other boy was too tough to get seriously hurt.
"What's goin' on, Baku-bro. You seem to be holding back."
"Shut up you moron!" Bakugou roared and sent a much more powerful explosion at him. "I'm trying to not hurt you too much, bastard!"
"Huh? I can take it."
"It's not for you. For me."
Kirishima didn't get what Bakugou was talking about, but it seemed apparent that Katsuki was dealing with something. So like a good friend, Ejiro just kept the fight going.
The fight slowly seemed to draw to the edge of the arena. While Kirishima wasn't hurt, he also slowly started to feel tired. His muscles started to hurt and the hardening became harder and harder to the point it was almost impossible to keep it going. In the battle of attrition, Katsuki was only becoming more and more powerful where one would expect him to slow down.
On the stands, Midoriya watched everything carefully.
"He is actually holding back…"
"Why though? Wouldn't it be better to end the fight faster?" Kaminari asked.
"Maybe, but… Battle of attrition will always favor Bakugou to a point."
"Why?" Sero was surprised. He always thought Bakugou's quirk was more of a burst damage thing.
"During the fight, Bakugou will naturally sweat more, which leads to more fuel for his explosions. Which in turn powers him more. It's a cycle that keeps strengthening him."
"So he can fight constantly forever?"
"No. He will still suffer from quirk exhaustion. At some point, the other side effects will kick in. the explosions will become too dangerous to use and control." Midoriya spent years learning everything there is to know about Bakugou's quirk. "Whereas most people's power curve using their quirk is a slope going down faster and faster, Bakugou's rise until it sharply starts to fall."
Bakugou finally seemed to be getting to that point. His moves were stiffer and less controlled. But Kirishima was also reaching the bottom. His hardening kept failing and some burns appeared.
"Howitzer impact!" Bakugou spun in the air before launching himself in a fiery tornado that smashed into his opponent. Kirishima sailed through the line and out of the stage.
"I win." the boy snarled and marched out.
In the corridor, Kirishima caught up to him.
"Hey, bro, what was that on the arena. You seemed…"
"I seamed what!?" Bakugou raged, but he quickly calmed down. "Tch. Get lost, extra."
"Okay. Look. I don't know what're you going through, but… Just remember that I'm here and willing to help."
He started to walk away and Katsuki hesitated for a moment. In the end, he decided to take a dive.
"Fine. And better listen up because I won't be repeating myself, got it? Eh?"
"Cool. Whatever you need." The redhead was being genuine.
"Fine. I'm in therapy. I have… issues."
"I admit you have a temper…"
"I was a bully. A worthless piece of trash. I was this close to becoming a villain. I… I did things I regret."
Kirishima was silent, waiting for Bakugou to continue. He was making sure to look in no way judging.
"My quirk makes me produce nitroglycerin. But the downside is that my body is poisoned by it. I'm constantly in a state of fight or flight. Don't ask me how it works. I don't know. My adrenaline is off the charts. Which's led me to have an even shorter fuse than normally. I… Today I lost control. During the second round, I completely ignored any reason and chased that stupid janitor wannabe into the sky. I wasn't thinking. I need to keep a lid on my anger during this thing. I can't afford to blow anyone into oblivion."
"Wow. I… wasn't expecting it." Kirishima paused. "Lisen bro, I'm here for you, and if you need to talk or someone to help you say grounded, just say a word and I'll help."
"Tch." Bakugou wanted to dismiss. Honestly, he wanted this discussion to have never happened. But he recalled some of his therapy sessions. "Fine. But that doesn't mean we're friends, you extra."
"Whatever you say, bro."
-|A|-
"Ladies and Gentlemen! We now come to the semi-finals! Only a few fights left."
"It's getting really juicy now!" Tensei smiled. "In the right corner, we have Midoriya Izuku! The feral cat that keeps surprising us. Will he purrservere?"
"That's it," Aizawa growled. "You're disowned."
"No, you!" Tensei retorted while blowing a raspberry.
"And in the other corner! The candy cane smackdown, the toothpaste cold, and the mint fire! It's Todoroki Shouto!" Mic took the chance to wrestle the lead from his two co-commentators
"You're even worse than he is." Eraserhead wanted to facepalm, but his hands were kinda busy pushing Tensei away, who decided to act his mental age of five instead of his actual physical age of thirty-five.
Back in the arena, Midoriya eyed Todoroki. He wasn't his usual cheerful self. Instead, there was somber determination almost radiating from the part-cat.
"Even I can feel the chill…" Midnight commented. "Begin!"
Almost immediately, a giant iceberg covered half a stadium. This one was even bigger than what Todoroki showed in the first fight.
"Well, that was fast. I don't think most listeners could even…" Present Mic's comment drifted off as everyone could see white and orange light dance inside the ice.
At first, it was just a glimmer. Then, it became clearly visible.
Several small cracks appeared. A sound of cracking, normally barely audible, echoed through the arena.
In one large burst, the iceberg shattered into a fine dust.
Midoriya roared. His skin was glowing orange. All his major veins were brimming with so much energy they were shining through. White lightning and flickers of flame coursed across Midoriya's body. His shirt was tattered and his pants wouldn't probably be of any use after the fight, but otherwise, he seemed unscathed.
"He just…"
"Did he…"
"Problem child just…"
"He flexed off the glacier!" Present mic was the first to finally find the words. In the excitement, he might've used his quirk.
The stadium went wild. People were whistling and chanting. The students got over the amazement one by one and started to cheer for their classmates. Kirishima was crying about the example of manliness.
"If you want to win, you've gotta try harder!" Izuku called. Todoroki was clearly in shock. The part-cat could've probably ended the fight in seconds if he wanted. Instead, Midoriya just stood there. "Everyone here today has given it their all. We all fought to get to the top spot. You might've gotten lucky while half-assing it, but no more! Give it your all!"
"You know why I can't! I refuse to use his power!" Todoroki sent a wave of ice at Midoriya, who responded by flicking his finger at it to break it.
Shoto noted that the boy's finger was now red and swollen, but not only the ice was destroyed. If not for some heavier chunks of the glacier, Todoroki would've no longer been in the match.
"Ida, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Mina. They all consistently gave it their all to get to the finals and fight us. They went Plus Ultra! You're not even trying your hardest!" Midoriya sent another flick at him and the air pressure caused Todoroki to be sent flying. He had to use even more of his ice to stop himself. His right side was covered in a thin layer of frost.
"Look at yourself! You're barely standing!"
"I refuse! I refuse to use his quirk. I don't care how much he's paid you!"
"No one paid me! I don't care about your father. You are here, not him! It's your quirk Todoroki!" Midoriya roared.
For a moment, everything seemed to go still.
The public watched the entire fight with bated breaths. This was probably the closest they've ever seen to All Might facing Endeavor.
Now, everything paused.
Both Midoriya and Todoroki were staring at each other.
Some sounds of struggle came from the commentators' booth, but no comments were made.
Finally, Todoroki burst into flames. His left side ignited. The flames were almost five times his height.
"It was foolish, Midoriya. You can't defeat me now." He sent a barrage of flames at the part-cat.
"You forgot," Izuku commented offhandedly from inside the torrent.
"What?"
"You forgot the name of my quirk."
Belatedly, Todoroki realized what Midoriya meant. Then again, it was hard not to when all the fire he pushed at the boy was not forming a giant cat.
Izuku was in the middle of the construct. The flames were levitating him in the air. The cat filled more than half of the arena.
"Hellcat catastrophe!"
Izuku lifted his left hand and the cat-shaped fire mirrored his movement.
He started to swipe it down on Todoroki, who just stood there with his mouth open wide. The flames somehow generated force that sent the chimera boy flying out of bounds.
Slowly, Izuku allowed his cat form to disperse.
"Uh… The winner is Izuku Midoriya?" Midnight was still shocked, probably the same as most of the others in the stadium.
"Can I just say that his quirk seems broken as duck?" Tensei cut through the tension.
"Problem child…" Aizawa just sighed.
Midoriya walked off the stage, confused as to why people were so stunned by his quirk. The cat construct was not that special, right?
-|A|-
"And now, time for the second semi-finals fight!"
"Potter Harry versus Bakugou Katsuki." Aizawa interrupted and his smugness was almost palpable.
"You monster! I wanted to do that!" Present mic overdramatizes.
"As the only adult here, I claim the right to the microphone." Eraserhead calmly asserted
with the shit-eating grin that would probably haunt the dreams of sane people had the commentators been visible to the audience.
On the stage, Harry took a light stance and prepared whereas Bakugou seemed to be doing some light meditative exercise.
"Ready? Begin!"
Both teens eyed each other.
Harry twisted his wrist slightly and allowed his wand to slide out.
"Heh? You gonna cheat?"
"No. I'm going to just make things a bit easier for me."
Bakugou launched himself at Potter, not wanting to give him any time to prepare, but Harry dodged him with surprising agility before vanishing in a burst of flames.
The ground of the arena started to shift and reform. Mounds of earth and trenches marred the previously flat surface. Several holes opened everywhere.
"I admit that I'm nowhere near the level Snape's at, but I've got some tricks of my own." Harry dashed toward one of the mounds when Bakugou charged at him. Midway, he transformed into a serpent and by the time he was at his destination, he could easily slither into the hole.
Bakugou tried to explode the hidey-hole Potter used, but his blasts barely did any real damage. Especially since Harry was already gone.
He leaped out of a nearby hole and smashed in Bakugou's back, only to vanish into a different hole. The angry blond turned to blast him, but it was already too late. He tried to find his opponent, only for Harry to jump out of a hole below him and smash into his stomach. Yet again, before Bakugou could re-orient himself, he was already gone.
Seeing that on the ground, Potter has all the advantages, Katsuki launched himself in the air, using spaced-out explosions to keep himself flying.
"Come out you coward! Fight me like a man!"
The serpent stuck its head out of one of the holes and hissed something. No one present spoke Parsletongue, but it was rather obvious that it was something mocking. Probably it translated to "come down here and fight me like a snake"
The two found themself at a stalemate. Neither could actually reach the other without exposing themselves to an attack. First strike advantage could easily decide the outcome of the fight.
As such, it came as something of a surprise when Harry slithered into the center of the arena and transformed from the snake into a base human. Bakugou landed on one of the higher mounds.
"Tired?"
"You wish." Harry grinned. "But I was bored waiting."
Green flames burst around him and rapidly started to coalescent into a single place. More and more flames focused into a single space.
Not interested in actually testing what that move was, Bakugou launched himself forward.
"Howitzer blast!"
"…" Harry had no idea how to name his super move, so he just gave a wordless roar as the two attacks clashed.
The constant stream of explosions kept Bakugou in the fight while Harry pushed more and more fire into the same space. What at first was a ball transformed into something closer to a beam that constantly pushed the explosions away.
Somewhere, there was probably a scientist pulling his hair on the number of laws of physics that were being broken at that moment.
But, finally, one of them had to give. Or rather both started to feel the strain of overusing their quirks. Harry saw the ground under them melt slightly. He and Bakugou were fairly evenly matched when it came to strength and power, but Harry had one thing that Bakugou lacked.
He teleported out of the way and kicked the blond in the back when he was still confused.
"Winner! Potter Harry!" Midnight announced, finally removing the hand she was using to shield her eyes from the heat.
"What!?" Bakugou roared and was about to launch himself forward when he took account of his position… outside the arena.
Granted, he was barely outside of the line, but he was out of bounds nonetheless.
"You've heard it, folks! The finalists of this year's firsties sports festival are Midoriya Izuku and Potter Harry! See you after a short break
-|A|-
Two finalists entered the stage.
"I want a clean fight. As per rules, no killing or maiming. Magic is allowed, but not directly to attack. Giant constructs of fire are allowed but discouraged." She gave Midoriya a pointed glare. "Similarly, keep the heatwaves below the critical point." She glared at Harry, who just shrugged. "I don't want to have to replace my chair again." He still didn't look all that bothered. "Show some youth! Fight!"
The moment those words left her lips, Midoriya charged One for All and prepared to leap forward. All of his muscles tensed and he was about to leap when his instincts made him freeze.
A very aggressive hissing permeated the air. Everyone in the hearing range felt themselves stop, paralyzed in fear. It was unnatural and made their bodies wish to flee while their minds wanted to fight.
As he kept hissing, Harry started to cast several spells in a quick chain, all non-verbally. Instead of concrete, the ground was now made of sand, making Midoriya start to sink in lightly. From one of the tunnels leading into the arena came his black long coat and his charmed glasses. He also managed to somehow substitute his pants with his leather pants without taking off either.
Finally, he created a dry mist that permeated the arena. Only then did he stop hissing.
Midoriya could no longer see his opponent and he was well aware that Harry moved somewhere before he let him go.
"What was that?" Snakes have a great sense of smell and Izuku knew Harry already had a spell to mask his smell, making any attempt to track him less than useful while he could locate him anyway. His best bet was to make him come to him. No killing meant that he didn't need to fear poison, and Harry was smart enough not to use any fire. It would be a physical fight with as much magic support as Harry would get away with.
"A little trick I figured between the USJ and today." Harry's smug voice came from everywhere around. He was using some spells to make his sounds spread evenly. Tracking him by the ear was then impossible too. "The sound makes your brain receive constant signals of danger and paralyzes you in fear. There is probably also a small bit of magic involved, like with my teleportation."
"Clever." Midoriya nodded while trying to think of something. Harry was currently locked in using only half of his quirk without delivering his opponent more ammunition. Izuku's greatest weakness was that he didn't have a reliable way of generating fire. He could only take it from elsewhere. This was precisely why he used support gear to do it for him.
But the arena had fire. The four torches in the corners were lit and he could use it.
A chill went down Midoriya's back. Without even comprehending what was going on, he ducked and rolled to the side, only to see Harry in his half-serpent form sail over him. Midoriya crouched and used One for All to leap high in the air.
When he got above the mist, he saw that the torches were still lit and untouched. An oversight most likely. He grabbed the fire and pulled it to him. His paws and feet were now coated in the flames, making them look even more catlike. People on the stands cheered, finally getting to see some actual fight and not just the x-ray cameras.
The mist slowly fell, revealing Harry standing there with his wand drawn. He returned to his human form, but he also seemed to have a bit more avian features, clueing Midoriya to the fact that he was using his lowest phoenix form for something.
"Come down here and fight me!" Harry taunted. Midoriya tried to send a flick of his fingers at him, but a golden shield shimmered around his opponent. There was no point in trying again.
Izuku already heard the lecture from Recovery Girl about bruising his fingers. At least they weren't really broken this time, but he still felt a little stiff for a while. He was even now risking it. She warned him that he might permanently damage his tendons if he wasn't careful in the finals.
Seeing no other option, he fell down, using the fire to boost himself down. His flaming fist smashed in the ground, causing a small burst of sand. That was another problem. Midoriya would be slowed down by the sand. At least Harry would too.
They started exchanging blows and Harry transformed into his half-serpent form. The scales that now covered his body softened most of Midoriya's hits at 10%, meaning that he would have to push to his limits. Harry didn't really return punches, instead focusing on erecting stone walls around them, slowly closing them in.
Izuku tried to figure out what he was trying to do when he noticed that the dome finally closed above them, putting them in complete darkness sans Midoriya's flames. Harry then disengaged and smirked.
"It's over."
With that words, the orange veil that usually covered his eyes lifted with the next blink and Midoriya realized that the walls weren't stone. They were mirrors now. Mirrors everywhere.
The mirrors broke.
Outside, people wondered what was the dome for. They saw it change from stone to something more metallic and then they heard the glass shatter.
Midoriya was standing there in the center, completely still and slightly grayed. The fires he was holding died out.
"Midnight-sensei. Midoriya is petrified and can't move. I have the antidote ready." He added the last part quickly to alleviate any risk of being disqualified.
"Midoriya? Can you move at all?" Midnight asked wanting to make sure that it was really over.
It seemed so because the part-cat was absolutely unmoving.
"Well… The winner is-"
She was interrupted when a powerful roar echoed across the stadium. It was strong enough to tear through the silencing spell that separated the arena from the viewers.
Everyone watched with bated breath as Midoriya dashed forward and punched Harry out of bounds.
"The winner is Midoriya Izuku." Midnight said it automatically without realizing what she announced. The boy in front of her quite possibly broke both his legs and his arm to deliver the finishing blow. The only thing that kept Midoriya standing straight was the adrenaline.
Barely conscious, Izuku lifted his left hand with a closed fist.
"I won…"
"Ladies and Gentlemen. The man that flexed the glacier now can also break through petrification!"
"For those unaware, petrification is a magical state of being turned into stone, either partially or fully. Mi-"
"Stop being a nerd!" Tensei interrupted Aizawa's explanation. "Midoriya is the winner! It means that my little bro only lost to the winner! Ha!"
"I will hit you with a dictionary. I just need to put a bookmark on the word 'impartial'." Aizawa growled.
"I won." Midoriya smiled to the camera.
He tugged his legs, leaving the arena through the nearest exits. Only then did he collapse. Now, without adrenaline, he felt the full brunt of having three of his limbs shattered.
-|A|-
A/N sorry for no updates, but Uni is a pain. But there should be more coming soon :)