Izuku gulped thickly as all forty-one contestants stared him down.
"Ten... Te-Ten Million Points?!"
"Alright, everyone! You only have fifteen minutes to organize your groups, starting now!" Midnight called.
It wasn't long until everyone had formed their own little cliques. Uraraka had almost immediately joined up with him, and the girl with all the support gadgets, Hatsume Mei, had also asked to join in. Iida had rather loudly declared his intention to rival Midoriya, so he was out. That left one potential team member.
Izuku scanned the crowd, before settling in on his target. He made his way over, glad to see that they weren't taken up by any other team members yet.
"Hey, you... um... You're not taken, right?"
"Excuse me? Are you seriously considering me as your teammate?"
Izuku nodded. "I've seen the results you got from both the obstacle course and the practical exam. You would be a great help to our team."
"Even though I'm not in your class?"
"I don't care about which class you're in, you should have been put in our class to begin with. I'm asking for you because you are stronger than most of us here."
"...Very well, Midoriya Izuku. I accept. I hope your trust in me will not fail you."
The two made it back to Hatsume and Uraraka. The new team member politely bowed before introducing herself.
"Greetings, my name is Shiozaki Ibara. It is a pleasure to work for you all."
The other two team members greeted her with a smile. Many of the Class 1-B students however, glared at her. Izuku heard some murmurs and calls of her being a traitor. Shiozaki simply smiled and shook her head.
"Pay them no mind. Many of them had thrown the obstacle course simply to observe your quirks. I disagreed with their tactics, so it's natural that they would dislike me for playing fair and square."
Izuku shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter. After all, we're here to work together, right? I hate useless rivalries like that."
The girl smiled in response. It seems he found the right words.
Uraraka chimed in. "Okay, so what should our formation look like?"
Izuku covered his mouth as he began to mumble to himself. The others looked at him expectantly, before he looked back up, smiling.
"Shiozaki, I noticed how you organize your hair..."
Aizawa was jostled awake by the reassuring hand of Present Mic on his shoulder. The pain killers made him incredibly drowsy so whenever nothing interesting was happening, he would doze off.
"Time is up, everyone! It looks like everyone has managed to group up rather effectively! What do you think Eraserhead?"
The second announcer gazed over the teams placed at the ends of the arena. He snorted. Most of the groups he saw were expected. Class 1-B stuck with their own teammates. Class 1-A did mostly the same. The Gen-Ed student managed to get some powerful team members, most likely due to his quirk. A look at their spaced out faces confirmed that. The girl from the support course had-
'Wait. What is this?' He leaned forward.
Midoriya's team consisted of himself, Hatsume Mei from support, Uraraka, and Shiozaki from Class 1-B. Uraraka being a part of his team was no surprise, but the other two choices intrigued him. The anti-gravity girl and gadget girl both acted as flanking members, both of them wearing special boots provided by the support girl. And Midoriya...
Midoriya wasn't on top?
It seems the green-haired student opted to be in the front, with Shiozaki riding on top with a jet pack on her back and her headband wrapped around her neck?
Aizawa knew Izuku had a good eye for talent and was very strategic in the things he did. Watching him fight during the practical exam and the mock villain battle proved that. Whatever this boy was going with, he had a clear plan in mind and the quirk erasing hero knew this strange team and formation was more than deliberate.
A smirk grew on his lips. This was going to be interesting.
"I see a few interesting combinations..." He muttered into the microphone in front of him.
"STAAAAAAAART!"
Izuku and the rest blasted forward, moving towards the center of the field. What surprised the boy was that it seemed many of the teams opted to avoid them for the most part. Perhaps they felt threatened? Maybe they thought that going after such a big target at the beginning would be disadvantageous?
He shook his head. That wasn't important. What was important was getting as many headbands as they could. They weren't going to run away, not now.
It was rather simple with Shiozaki's versatile quirk. Her vines would skillfully snap outward and tear the headbands right at the velcro strap. Within the first five minutes, they had already managed to get two headbands, with each of them turned around and layered onto her neck.
Bakugou's team had initially charged towards them, but it seemed some student from Class 1-B managed to tell him something that set him off. He was probably going to stay locked onto the other student's team until he was utterly defeated.
Izuku recognized his face from the list of profiles he collected from the records office when he broke in before the USJ incident.
Monoma Neito. Quirk: Copy. He can copy a multitude of quirks at their full strength, but can only use them one at a time and only for five minutes after touching someone's skin. If he was going to have to fight him, it was going to be a tough one, especially if he accidentally gets both of Izuku's quirks.
He shook his head again. More unimportant thoughts. He looked back at Shiozaki. She had four headbands now. The clock read ten minutes left.
"Shiozaki, I think that's enough. Let's focus on evasion and defense now." She nodded.
Luckily, it was apparently the right time to switch tactics. Izuku stopped as he felt his feet sink into the ground. Something was wrong. He looked down to he that he and the rest of his team were sinking into quicksand.
Team Tetsutetsu rushed straight at the group, with the guy in front staring intently at the ground. It was likely his quirk causing the ground to shift.
"We've got you now! That ten million point headband is as good as mine!" The leader called, gritting his teeth.
"Let's get out of this mess! Uraraka, Hastume, watch your faces! Shiozaki, activate it!"
The girls looked away as Shiozaki pressed the button on the remote she was given. The hover boots and the jet pack activated, and the group felt themselves rise quickly out of the sinking sands beneath them. They rocketed over Tetsutetsu's team, causing him to shout something in return. Izuku couldn't hear it over the sound of wind rushing in his ears.
He quickly looked down to see that Team Hagakure had noticed their escape. Jirou, in the front, extended her earphone jacks directly at them. Izuku called out, but before he could say anything, Shiozaki had batted the attack away with her hair. A small smirk grew on his face when he saw that Team Monoma
When they finally landed, Izuku's heart sank as he heard a familiar squish! Their team stopped as the boy realized Uraraka had stepped in one of Mineta's traps. He turned to see Mezou rushing them, the sound of Mineta's laughter and a ribbit echoing from inside the large dome that Mezou's web of skin and arms created around his back. It was a smart idea, with all but one opening covered, the team could trap and steal from the other teams with minimal risk to their own score.
The group collectively dodged the large volume of grape shaped sticky balls that rocketed from the small opening in Mezou's defenses. They needed to get out, and fast!
"Let's kick this into overdrive!" Hatsume called. They activated their gadgets again. Uraraka felt her foot remain on the ground for just a moment before they rocketed upwards with the sound of metal creaking and a loud snap!
"MY BABY!" The support girl cried.
Despite the broken gadget, they were propelled into the air by the combination of the jetpack, hover boots, and Uraraka's quirk. Izuku felt the air thin out as they rose above the entire arena.
The familiar sound of a rage-filled monster caught his attention.
"Deku! Get back here!" Bakugou screamed as he literally exploded himself into the air after them. "Don't think for a second that you're safe!"
Izuku briefly wondered if this sort of action was actually against the rules or not. He was clearly not with his team.
"Shiozaki, it's time!" Izuku looked back. The girl nodded in response.
Izuku looked back to see the blonde directly in front of him, reaching for the headband. Bakugou caused a large explosion, but it was completely blocked by a large wall of vines that sprouted around the boy. It completely encased him, only puffs of smoke escaping between the cracks of the plant shell. When the vines receded, Bakugou was held in the air, glaring directly at Midoriya.
It was in that moment that Bakugou realized he couldn't breathe. Time slowed as the smirk that appeared on Izuku's face told him exactly why air wasn't getting to his lungs.
It was because there wasn't any air around him to begin with, it was being compressed into-
His thoughts were cut short as a massive shockwave blew directly above his head, sending him straight down and Team Midoriya backwards. The blonde screamed in rage as he saw the ground rapidly approach, his yelling cut short as he felt something grab his arm and yank him in a different direction.
It seems Hanta managed to catch him just in time, his tape quirk pulling Bakugou back into his team like a bowling ball into a set of pins.
"Since he didn't touch the ground, Team Bakugou is not disqualified for the leader going off on his own!" She gave a smile and a thumbs up.
The team quickly reformed themselves, but it was quickly pointed out that Bakugou lost his headband in the struggle. He growled, looking up to see that, far in the sky, Shiozaki placed yet another headband on her neck.
Team Monoma passed them again, the leader sneering. "Looks like they got to you before I could. That's sad, but not unexpected. You know we've had our eyes on you for a while now."
Katsuki turned around, hands smoking in rage.
"You know, the first round was only a preliminary round, right? Plenty of people were going to get in the second round. So why not just stick in the middle spot and observe the proclaimed Class 1-A's talents? And hey, if rumor has it correctly, you were pretty much no use during the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, right? Stuck in the downpour zone, what good could someone like you do? Pretty useless, if you ask me."
Neito left as he laughed.
"Forget about Deku. We're going to pound that piece of trash into the ground!" He yelled. "I want to completely defeat him!"
Up in the air, Shiozaki turned the headband inside out and wrapped it around her neck.
Midoriya looked back. "You did it, right?"
She nodded. "I still don't like it. Feels like cheating."
He smiled and shook his head. "The difference between this and the obstacle course is that we're not throwing anything. It's insurance, not spying!"
She looked back, closing her eyes. "Yes, I know. I just hope it works."
Izuku looked at the timer. One and a half minutes left. They were close to wining, but it was too early to let their guard down now.
That sentiment was proven correct when they touched the ground once more. Ice immediately sprung up around them, separating them from the rest of the teams. They were surrounded by a giant ring of ice, and on the opposite end of them was Team Todoroki.
Izuku recognized Iida at the front. The boy with the engine quirk looked down momentarily, but quickly stared back at him in determination. The green haired boy's gaze did waver at all.
It was hard to feel sorry or guilty for facing someone you felt nothing for.
Todoroki sent his ice out in sheets, but they were easily dodged by Team Midoriya. Shiozaki sent her vines lashing out, but they were easily batted away by Yaoyorozu, who quickly created a weed whacker, shredding the girl's hair on contact.
Izuku could do little in this fight in its current form. They were moving around too much for Izuku to make powerful air bombs. Even if he did, the opposing team was out of his range for him to do enough damage. He could make small booby traps, but it wasn't going to do much against Todoroki's ice if they kept moving out of range of the bombs he was making. He would simply have to rely on his teammates, which seemed to be doing the trick for now.
Suddenly, Todoroki's team stopped attacking. Iida bent down low to the ground, staring Midoriya down.
'He's got something up his sleeve?!' Izuku opened his mouth to warn his team, but before he could even say anything a gust of wind rushed past him as Iida's Recipro Burst shot his team across the field. The green haired boy watched in slow motion as Todoroki slipped past any defenses they had, grabbing every single headband around Shiozaki's neck and tearing it off, nearly sending her off her riding position.
As soon as the dust settled, Izuku reeled back at the speed of his class mate.
"You... you hid that the whole time?!" He gasped.
Iida continued his determined gaze. "I had no idea when it would be useful in a competition. This is the first time anyone has seen it in this school."
Izuku looked back at the clock.
Twenty seconds.
"We need to go now!" Izuku screamed.
Shiozaki nodded. "But we don't-"
He gritted his teeth so the other team couldn't see that he was speaking.
"If they look away from us, they'll catch on. Don't give them the chance!" He hissed.
She nodded. Izuku dashed forward, feeling Uraraka make them lighter as the jetpack and hover boots rocketed them forward. Izuku began forming small air bombs to push them forward in small bursts. Izuku reached out, screaming.
Todoroki's eyes widened as he reached out with his left hand to defend himself-
He gasped as he realized he was on fire. Before he could do anything, an air bomb was set off right on his shoulder, knocking his hand back.
Izuku grabbed a headband, and pulled back.
At the same time, Team Bakugou had blown a hole into the ice wall, ready to charge. They had a few headbands, so Midoriya assumed they must have succeededin defeating Team Monoma.
"TIIIIIIIIIIME!" Present Mic called.
Todoroki smiled as he realized that he looked at the headband in Midoriya's possession. It was only worth 50 points.
"And in first place..." Present Mic called, pausing for dramatic effect. "is Team Midoriya!"
The smile the half and half boy had fell into an expression of horror. "...What?!"
"Second place... Team Todoroki! Third Place was taken by Team Bakugou, and Fourth place, the last team to advance, goes to Team Shinsou!"
This time, it was Izuku's turn to smile. The shadows crossed his face in just the right way, sending shivers down Todoroki's spine.
"Something wrong, Todoroki? You look shaken." Izuku snickered. He normally would just put on his kind and gentle student persona, but this boy seriously pissed Izuku off. Had it not been for his planning, Todoroki would have knocked him out of the competition. And that would have meant he would have failed Tomura. So making Tomura's wishes come true... coming in first place again, while shaming this insolent boy who dared to ruin his big brother's wishes? It was pure elation to see the look on Todoroki's face.
"How? I have..." Shouto tore his headbands off, looking for the ten million point headband. "It's not here?"
"You wouldn't have it because it never left our possession." Izuku grinned. He pointed up at Shiozaki.
Her vine hair lifted up, and shifted. Wrapped around her forehead was a single, white headband. She removed it, and turned it around to reveal the monstrously large number emblazoned upon it.
Iida opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the snap of a whip silencing everyone.
"Congratulations to everyone who advanced! We are now going to have a midday break. Please clear the field as we prepare for the final event!" Midnight called from her stand.
Aizawa couldn't help but smile at what he saw. He knew Midoriya had something up his sleeve, but something that crazy... if he hadn't seen it happen, he would have been just as shocked as Todoroki was.
"So Eraserhead, what do you think was the highlight of this round?" Present Mic asked.
"That's an easy answer. Team Midoriya used the cover Bakugou created when he flew up to them to ensure their victory." He waited for a video feed to show up, a replay of the event. "To the players, it was a simple evasion. But while none of the other contestants were looking, she used two of her vines to pull the ten million point headband from her neck to her forehead. Because she wraps her head with a ring of vines normally, no one noticed that she had placed the headband under that same ring of vines. If people were more attentive, they would have noticed she used more vines that usual around her forehead. But to everyone else, it was simply hidden among the ones around her neck. A very cunning ploy, using the other points as a decoy."
'No, it wasn't just that.' Aizawa thought quietly. 'Team Midoriya could have run off after Team Todoroki stole all their decoys and they would have had a decent chance of still getting in first. Instead, Midoriya pushed his team to rush the opponents, not giving them the time to look at the scoreboard. At the same time, their reaction was one of a desperate team, not one that had essentially won. He used his opponents expectations against them, and for that he had a better chance of winning than running outright.'
Aizawa smiled under his bandages. Monoma Neito thought he had been cunning when he threw the first round with the majority of his class. But what Izuku did was much more subtle and much more effective. It was something that he hadn't seen in the school in such a long time.
Tomura was watching the competition intently. Kurogiri made sure to move all the expensive items he could out of the main bar as the young adult watched the competition on the small CRT television they had. Once that had been done, he sat next to Tomura, looking at the competition.
"I must say, Midoriya is doing quite well." Kurogiri noted, watching the boy bound about the field.
Tomura didn't respond. When the ice wall sprang up, he began scratching his neck. "They shrank the playing field... not good..."
Kurogiri nodded, leaning in. Scarcely any time had passed before Team Todoroki disappeared from the screen, and when the camera caught up to them, they had taken all of Team Midoriya's headbands.
The villain pounded the counter in rage. "Cheaters! Cheaters! That's not fair! Why didn't that brat use that move at the USJ?!"
"Please calm down, Tomura. Believe in Midoriya."
That seemed to make him stifle his rant. Surely enough, Izuku rushed forward, closing the space between him and his opponent. However, Kurogiri could tell that Izuku wasn't desperate. He knew what Izuku was really like when he was on the cusp of failure. And that yell... that face... that wasn't it.
"Tomura, it appears that Midoriya has secured his victory."
"How do you-"
"And in first place..." The TV speakers crackled. "TEAM MIDORIYA!"
Tomura paused, his hand stuck mid-scratch. "He... He cleared the level in first place?!"
Kurogiri smiled, or at least he gave the closest approximation a large amalgamation of black mist could do. "Of course he would, you told him to."
Izuku stood in the shadow of the hallway that Todoroki led him to. Izuku tried to give a weak smile as the other student stared him down.
"You know... I promised not to use my fire side in battle." He began.
Izuku didn't respond.
"Are you All Might's illegitimate child?"
The other boy choked on his breath. "Where is that coming from?"
"He constantly calls you out for private conversations." He noted.
Izuku grimaced. "Trust me, if I had that man's DNA in my system I would kill myself."
That statement caught the other off guard. "Why do you despise him so much?"
"He..." Izuku looked down, closing his eyes. "He did something I couldn't forgive... and someone I hold very dear to my heart was abandoned by him. And he keeps trying to make things better... but words can't fix things. You can't undo something you said or did with more words."
"I see. I won't pry."
"So did you call me here just to ask me that?" Izuku sighed.
"No, but... I do have to explain my previous actions in the waiting room. Are you aware of Quirk Marriages?"
"Yeah, it's when two people marry with the intent to conceive a child with a stronger quirk. Basically modern arranged marriages, but they've died off. If you're bringing it up, I assume you are a product of one?"
Todoroki winced, and nodded. "He paid my mother's family to force her hand in marriage. And after their first child, my sister Fuyumi, failed to show a mix of their quirks, he tried again with me. The moment my quirk's nature was made apparent, he started training me."
The boy clenched his fist, but kept his eyes trained on the green haired kid in front of him. "I can't remember a single day during his training regimen that I didn't cry or vomit... to my father, I was just a tool to surpass All Might. He was stuck in the number two spot that he felt the only way to beat him was to have a child. That bastard... he only cared about power and prestige. It put so much stress on my mother, she couldn't stand to see me beaten day in and day out..."
He knew he was getting off topic, but he didn't care. Someone was there to listen to him, and the words just kept spilling out of his mouth.
"It was too much for her... she broke down before I did. She called my left side unsightly, before pouring water on my face. That's how I got my scar. After that, my dad carted her off to a behavioral center for full time hospitalization. My sister had already left, so it was only me and Endeavor left. It only got worse after that."
Izuku quietly listened, but his expression didn't change.
"That's why I must beat you, Midoriya. I want to become a hero, but if I refuse to use my left side, I will deny that bastard of a hero everything. I will make it clear to that man that I will not let him have his twisted dream. If I can become number one... I can show him I'm nothing like him!"
Once it was clear that he was done, Izuku responded.
"I don't get you." He deadpanned.
"...What?" Todoroki looked legitimately confused.
"Have you taken into consideration that Endeavor may ultimately consider your refusal to use your fire side nothing more than a minor annoyance?"
Todoroki didn't respond.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I want to become the number one hero without-"
"You plan on becoming the number one hero. And you were born specifically because...?"
"Todoroki Enji wants me to surpass All Might." After uttering that sentence, he gasped in realization.
"So even if you do deny your father... you're still doing exactly what you were literally born to do. You could become the strongest hero in the world and you'll do
exactly what your father wanted in the first place."
Shouto clenched his fists, looking down. "Then... what have I...?"
"You've come all this way and you haven't even thought of that. Perhaps you should take some time to consider what it is you truly want to do." Izuku began to step away. He stopped for just a moment, adding in, "If you continue down this path, then I want you to be aware that what I said still stands. If you are going to beat me, then you will need give everything to do it. I will not stand down for your family issues. I have people I cannot fail watching me."
With that, he left Todoroki to his thoughts. As he continued walking back to the Class 1-A waiting room, he saw a large man turn the corner.
It was Endeavor, covered in flames. The hero's eyes locked onto the young boy, and he walked directly up to him.
"You tricked my son."
Izuku didn't say anything. He stared back up at the man, undaunted.
"You may have swiped first place from him, but you won't-"
"Shove it." Izuku quipped back. "I don't care. I'm not here for you. Besides, I have to ask... what is it like to know that despite his rebellious nature, your son is still wrapped around your finger? He won't use his fire side, but he is still going to be the hero you wanted."
Endeavor paused, before smirking. "You... you've got quite the mouth on you. I can't tell if I like you or not."
"I'd prefer the latter. I definitely don't like you."
"My son will beat you if that's how you treat heroes."
"Last I checked, ability matters more than attitude. Otherwise, you wouldn't be number two, would you?"
The pro hero couldn't tell if that was an insult to his position or a compliment to his ability. In the end, he couldn't help but laugh.
"You know what, brat? I'll play along." He leaned down to look Midoriya directly in the eyes. "If you manage to get a medal, I'll consider giving you a personal invitation to intern at my agency."
"And if I wipe the floor with your son?"
"Then I'll give it to you personally while you're in class."
Izuku smirked, before bowing. "Consider it a deal, Endeavor. I hope you don't mind the intrusion."
"Speaking as if you've already won... If you do make it to my agency, it will be my pleasure to grind you to dust." He pat the boy heavily on the shoulder, before walking off.
Izuku saw Bakugou sulking in the shadows behind him. He probably heard his talks with Shouto, too.
"You know, if you're jealous about not being a part of a rivalry, you could ask nicely." He called back.
Bakugou grunted, before walking past him to the waiting room. He made bumped into Izuku's shoulder roughly as he passed.
Izuku felt happy. Seeing his classmates moody and writhe in doubt... is this what Tomura felt like when he attacked the USJ?
He smiled, before shaking his head and dropping his malicious grin into a much more gentle one. He couldn't afford to appear too cruel to his classmates. He was a spy, wasn't he.
Speaking of spies... Izuku made a mental note to speak to Touru after the tournament. It was about time they talked.
A/N: Holy crap, I did not think I would write as much as I did! I usually don't think I'm that good with action sequences...
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave your thoughts and comments, and thanks for your support!
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