Chapter Twentyfour - Thin Ice

It didn't take long for Recovery Girl to look over Izuku's wounds, giving him a bit of a scolding from the recklessness of using so many devices created by year one students.

"I can't fix your arm if you blow it off completely next time," the old nurse had warned him. "And don't forget to eat a lot or you'll run out of stamina quick!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'll be more careful…"

As Izuku and Mei were going to leave, Recovery Girl stopped Mei, insisting on checking her out as well. Izuku learned that his close friend had made several visits to the nurse's office since they started at U.A due to invention mishaps, thus the old woman didn't trust Mei to not need medical attention.

"I'm going to wait for you out he—" Izuku was speaking over his shoulder to Mei as he exited the room, but froze when he saw someone waiting for him there.

Todoroki was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, eyes downcast. As Izuku exited, he looked up at him with a cool, collected expression.

Izuku nervously closed the door behind him and took a step towards Todoroki, feeling uneasy under his dual-colored gaze.

"T-Todoroki, right? You've done really well in the festival so far," Izuku said, giving the boy a smile. "You really made us work for the win."

The boy didn't budge at all, staring at Izuku for a few moments before speaking.

"What's your deal, Midoriya?"

Izuku blinked at him, unsure of what to say, but Todoroki continued without allowing him to answer anyways.

"You're holding back your Quirk, for what," Todoroki stated. "Are you saying that we're not even a challenge for you?"

"I-It's not like that at all! I… I…" Izuku looked down, rubbing his bandaged left arm nervously. "There's a lot for me to prove out there—"

"Everyone could say the same thing," Todoroki interrupted him. "We're all going as hard as we can. Yet you're trying to make a fool out of us."

It's not like that… Izuku thought, clenching his fists tightly. I wanted to leave my Quirklessness generally a secret, to announce it later for everyone to hear!

"My old man Endeavor, the #2 Hero, wishes for me to use my full power," Todoroki continued, lifting his left hand. "I will never do what that man wishes… But even then, I will use my right half to it's fullest."

"T-Then… you're holding back still?" Izuku was surprised by this, imagining how it's possible that Todoroki's relentless and powerful ice attacks weren't even his full capabilities.

Todorki shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, this is my best," he stated, his eyes narrowing. "You can't say the same, can you?"

Izuku thought about the powerful #2 Hero, Endeavor. Looking at Todoroki more closely now, he realized that the boy always used his right half to create ice, so that probably meant that his left half—

"You're going to get crushed if you continue to hold back," Todoroki told him. "Maybe not even by me."

What is this…? A threat? But he's being hypocritical!

"So watch yourself." With that, Todoroki turned and started to walk away.

Do I really still have to prove myself to people? My Mom, Power Loader-sensei, my classmates, the entire crowd, all cheering for me— Is it not enough?

Izuku finally gathered his thoughts and courage and looked up at Todoroki, speaking up:

"Y-You're going to lose!"

Todoroki stopped but didn't look back, so Izuku continued on.

"You may think that I'm holding back… But you're just projecting onto me! You're the one who won't use their full power, and if you don't, t-then I'm going to beat you! I'll prove to everyone that I'm not weak!"

Izuku's confidence was wavering as he spoke his mind, but it felt good to let it out, especially to someone he considered incredibly cocky like the boy before him.

Todoroki calmly looked back to Izuku.

"I didn't even know who you were before this. It sounds more like you're projecting your image of those who don't believe in you onto me."

Izuku didn't know what to say, watching as Todoroki calmly walked away, before finally leaving the hallway.

He's… wrong… Izuku clutched his right arm, feeling the tingling of the cold numbness in his mind. I-I'll show him he doesn't know anything about me!

"Midoriya," came a voice from behind, making Izuku jump a bit. He turned to see his teacher Power Loader approaching. "You've done good out there."

Shaking the thoughts of Todoroki from his mind, Izuku gave a small smile to his teacher.

"T-Thank you. We've all been trying our hardest," Izuku told him.

Power Loader grinned. "I know I told you all to do your best but… You've taken it further than I anticipated… Plus Ultra, right?"

"Right!"

The teacher patted Izuku's shoulder, his proud expression dropping a bit.

"Actually, I came to tell you guys that you've been a bit reckless. Midnight is pulling the plug on your inventions."

Izuku gasped. "W-What do you mean? These were all approved before the festival!"

Power Loader sighed. "It seems that inventions blowing up and injuring students is a bad look. But I managed to convince her to be lenient." The man held up a finger. "From here on out, one invention is allowed to be used by each of you."

Just one? That's… Izuku thought for a moment. That really messes with Mei's plans to show off to the investors!

"That's not fair—"

"It's what's been decided. You're on thin ice for now, not to make a pun" Power Loader interrupted him. "Pass on the message for me, will you? I need to get back. Make sure you guys get a big lunch."

"A pun…?"

Power Loader motioned behind Izuku. He turned to look down the hall where Todoroki had left. To his surprise, he saw a frozen footprint facing towards him, where Todoroki had stopped and said his final words to him.

"Seems like you're getting on someone's nerves," he stated with a smirk, patting Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku closed his eyes for a moment in thought, then he gave his teacher a serious look.

"Please sensei… I need you to bump that number up to two, at least," he told the man. "I… I don't care about my chances, just don't restrict Mei because of my carelessness!"

"She's the one who broke her own invention too," Power Loader pointed out. Seeing Izuku's expression, he sighed. "I'll try my best. No guarantees though, alright?"

With that, Power Loader walked off, not waiting for Izuku to say anything else.

As if on cue, the door to the nurse's office was thrown open, and Mei walked out confidently.

"I'm perfectly fine! Just some leg sprains and bruises is all!"

"That's not perfectly fine then," Izuku mumbled. "What about Yuki?"

"She's letting him rest a bit. She told us to bring him lunch before we go back out," Mei explained. "But I'm pretty sure Shiro will do it, so that solves that!"

"Got it," Izuku responded bitterly.

"Something wrong?" Mei got into his personal space, gazing at him intensely.

"There's… something I have to tell you."

When they got to the lunchroom, there was a sort of quiet that washed over everybody was they saw them.

Uh oh… Izuku looked around nervously. Luckily, the tension was shattered when the entirety of the 1-H class rushed up to them.

"Midoriya! Hatsume!" Their class crowded around them happily, excited to see their successful classmates.

"H-Hey guys. This is…" Izuku smiled, not sure what to say, unused to the attention.

Taka was near the front of the pack, the bespectacled boy fighting back tears. "You all really did us proud! I've been rewatching it over and over in my head!"

"You guys totally socked it to the Hero students!" Wakata happily punched the air in front of herself. "I'm gonna have to work out even harder to keep up with you now."

Ken approached him and lifted a fist, giving a simple nod to Izuku.

"I'm envious Midoriya, but you'll never be able to beat me in a building competition," he said.

Izuku laughed and gave his friend a fist bump. "I guess we'll have to test that again soon then!"

To this, Ken gave a small smile.

A few of the other 1-H classmates gave Izuku congratulatory pats on the back and hugs. The nervousness had completely faded by now, as Izuku laughed and celebrated alongside his class, not caring about the others watching them. However, he soon noticed that something was missing.

"Where'd Mei go?" Looking around, he couldn't see her.

"She's over there," Ken pointed out. Nearby, Mei had grabbed a tray of food and was heading for another door. "Something happen?"

Izuku sighed. After he had told Mei about the one invention limit, she seemed to have retreated into her thoughts and hadn't said anything since.

"I really caused problems for us," Izuku said.

"Can't be that bad," Ken retorted. "The fight's not over, you guys have a lot to go still. Whatever it is, you'll fix it."

Izuku nodded at this, unsure if it was the truth or not.

I need to go to Mei… I should apologize and make sure I help her with whatever she needs! If I don't then-

"-she might hate me, or even worse, what if I cause her to worry so much that she doesn't do well in front of all those investors? Then she'll definitely hate me and everything we've worked for will be gone!"

Ken watched as Izuku slipped into a mutter storm, accidentally speaking his thoughts. Ken produced a paper fan from his hand with his Quirk and smacked Izuku on the back of his head, bringing him back to reality.

"W-What was that for?" Izuku rubbed the back of his head, looking at Ken, confused.

"Take some food at least if you're gonna go after Hatsume, jeez," the boy said, rolling his eyes and walking off.

"Were my thoughts really that obvious…?"

Within the Sports Stadium, where was a small workshop that was utilized mainly to fix any malfunctioning equipment that might cause problems during the event. Within it were parts of robots and defused mines scattered around.

Mei sat at one of the work desks, a lone lamp shining on it. She didn't respond as a knock sounded at the door, and Izuku slowly peeked inside.

"...Mei?" The boy spotted her in the darkness, stepping inside and closing the door softly. "Are we even allowed to be in here…?"

He approached her, setting his tray of food down and looking down at what she was focusing on. Almost instantly, he recognized it.

"That's… That's our…"

Mei looked at him, blinking in surprise, as if she had just noticed him. Closing the journal, Izuku could see the worn title on the cover:

Hatsume and Midoriya's Path to U.A

It was the journal that Izuku had given the girl during the last Christmas. Within it was the chronicles of their training and sketches of several ideas they had come up with over their ten months of preparing for the U.A entrance exams.

"Oh, sorry Izuku! I really started thinking about something, and I kinda zoned out I guess," Mei said.

Izuku smiled a bit. "I-I'm just glad you're alright… But why are you reading that?"

"Getting some ideas!" Mei scooted over and pulled up a nearby chair. Izuku sat down beside her as she continued, opening the journal again, "We had some good stuff in here that I totally forgot about!"

Taking a look at the page she was on, Izuku was surprised to see the ideas sketched out on there that had left his memory.

"Wow, I forgot what crazy ideas for babies we came up with," he said, smiling.

"Right? When we do crazy things, we're really at our best!" Mei nodded to herself. "That's why, I don't really need to use more than one baby in the next stage."

Izuku was surprised by this statement. "A-Are you sure?"

Mei nodded, taking the goggles she had created to allow her Quirk to zoom in further, gazing at them.

"I've enjoyed the babies we've created or experienced together more than anything from before," the girl said. "I don't exactly know why, but… The amount I value the babies really goes up if you're involved."

Izuku stared at Mei for a few moments, before he finally looked away, feeling himself blushing a bit.

"I-I feel the same way," he responded. "Though, the baby terminology really makes it… Kinda embarrassing."

Mei chuckled and leaned over to him. Izuku's face reddened even more as the girl rested her head on his shoulder, making him tense up a bit.

"Izuku, can I borrow your Drift?"

"B-Borrow it?" Izuku looked

The girl glanced up at him. "Yup, I'm going to make some modifications and use it. It'll be our first baby for me to show off to the world!"

"I-I see, well…" Izuku smiled. "Of course. I know you'll be able to make it even better… Mei?"

Izuku looked at the girl, her breathing growing steady and her eyes closing as she drifted off to sleep. He looked away, feeling his face burning with embarrassment.

Well… I can let her nap for a few minutes at least…

When everyone made their way back to the stadium field, a concrete arena had been formed at the center, with steps on either side of it, created by the Pro Hero and U.A teacher Cementoss.

Every year there's a 1-on-1 competition of some kind, Izuku thought as he made his way through the tunnel, knowing this from his many years of watching the festival on TV.

"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal our last game! But first, there's good news for those of you who didn't make it to the final round," Present Mic exclaimed as everyone was returning. "This is a sports festival after all, so we've prepared recreational games for everyone to participate in too!"

As Izuku made it out onto the field, he was surprised by how lively it was now, with the air of competition momentarily halted.

"We even brought real cheerleaders over from America!"

Sure enough, a line of tall American girls were cheering their hearts out near the stands. Up above, in the highest seats of the stands, two Pro Heroes from America grumbled about having to ride with those loud cheerleaders on the way there.

"H-How did we fall for this?!"

Izuku looked towards what appeared to be another row of cheerleaders, but he quickly recognized them as the girls of class 1-A. The one from Todoroki's team, Yaoyorozu, fell to her knees in defeat.

"Stupid Mineta," the girl grumbled. The others looked equally distraught, except for Toru, the invisible girl waving her pom-pome around excitedly.

"Even class 1-A jumped into the cheerleading action too! But where's their excitement at?!"

Not far off, Izuku could see the familiar figures of Mineta and Kaminari both chattering excitedly. Izuku chuckled at this.

I hope I get to know the Hero classes better soon, he thought. Especially if I'm aiming to join them!

Once everyone was present, Present Mic began to get everyone pumped once again:

"Alright everybody! Let's have fun with the recreational games! And after that, the sixteen from the four top teams of the last round will duke it out one-on-one tournament style!"

"So it's going to be straight up battles huh," Izuku commented to himself.

Beside Izuku was a groggy Mei, having barely gotten to nap and working hard on messing with Izuku's Drift device. Yuki and Shiro were also nearby, the well-built boy looking much better already.

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Yuki?" Izuku looked over at him.

"Of course. I ate a lot after Recovery Girl healed me up, and it's as if I'm brand new," Yuki responded, flexing his hands.

"Ooh ooh, can I feel your muscles just to make sure they're heathy?" Shiro hopped up and down excitedly.

"Something tells me you did that while I was asleep anyways," Yuki said with a sigh.

Shiro turned away, crossing her arms. "No faith in me? Sheesh…"

Up at the front of the students, Midnight begab to speak.

"Now let's draw lots to determine the brackets," Midnight told them, holding a yellow box in her hands. "Once the bracket is decided, we'll have the recreational games and then begin. Of course, the top sixteen from the last round can choose to participate or not, since they may want to rest. Anyways, from the first team—"

"Um… Excuse me," came a voice. A boy near the front, who had a distinguishing tail, raised a hand, stopping Midnight. "I want to withdraw."

Everyone was surprised by this sudden statement.

"Ojiro? But this is a rare chance for Pros to see you," Iida said to him.

"I barely remember anything from the Cavalry Battle until almost the end," Ojiro stated solemnly. "I think it was that guy's Quirk…"

That guy? His team was… Izuku scanned the crowd of students, trying to see who it might be.

"I get that it's foolish to waste this opportunity, but… Everyone here competed by giving their all! I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened!"

The nearby girls of 1-A tried to tell him that it was alright to continue on, but Ojiro hid his face with a hand, obviously shaken.

"I'm talking about my pride here… I can't…" Ojiro shook his head, not wanting to look at anyone. "Also… Why are you guys wearing cheerleader outfits?"

The 1-A girls looked away, a bit embarrassed and bitter from being reminded of the trickery.

A shorter boy with light-blue hair then approached Midnight. "I'm Nirengeki Shoda from Class B, I also want to withdraw for the same reason."

Someone from Class B as well…? Izuku was surprised narrowing down who it must've been.

"Regardless of ability," Shoda continued, "Don't you think it's wrong for those of us who didn't do anything to move onto the final round?"

Everyone began to whisper about the scene unfolding, even Present Mic unsure about the unusual events that were transpiring. Izuku, on the other hand, was gazing at a certain boy in the crowd who was purposefully turned away from the others, his distinguishing wild purple hair making him easy to spot if you looked for it.

"Youthful talk like that is something I like!" Midnight flicked her whip, an odd smile on her face. "Shoda, Ojiro— I accept your withdrawal!"

The person Izuku was looking at turned his head slowly, catching Izuku's gaze. He then let a sinister smile slowly creep onto his face, making Izuku's skin crawl a bit

"Though I guess we'll need to move up someone from the fifth place team of the Cavalry Battle…" Midnight scanned the crowd, finding the fifth place team, which was led by Kendo of Class 1-B.

Kendo shook her head before even being acknowledged.

"If that's going to happen, than rather than us… It should be them, correct?" Kendo looked to her other teammates, who nodded in agreement. "The ones who fought til the end and stayed in the top, Team Tetsutetsu."

Tetsutetsu and his team were shocked by this sudden shift in focus. The silver-haired boy looked over to their class rep.

"Kendo!?"

The orange-hair girl gave her classmates a smile. "This isn't collusion, it just makes sense, that's all."

"Y-You guys…!" Tetsutetsu sniffled as he began to tear up a bit.

Midnight nodded in approval at this development. Soon after, Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki stepped up as the two that would move on into the final round.

"And so; Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make sixteen! Here's the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"

The bracket appeared on the screens, everyone going wild in the stands as they read the matchups:

Izuku Midoriya

vs

Hitoshi Shinso

Shoto Todoroki

vs

Adatari Yuki

Ibara Shiozaki

vs

Minami Shiro

Iida Tenya

vs

Hanta Sero

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

vs

Eijiro Kirishima

Denki Kaminari

vs

Mina Ashido

Mei Hatsume

vs

Katsuki Bakugo

Yuga Aoyama

vs

Momo Yaoyorozu

Shinso! Izuku gazed up at the matchups, then noticed someone approaching. He gasped, seeing that the boy he had been staring at, Shinso, had somehow gotten closer so quickly while he was distracted.

"Looking forward to the first round, Midoriya," the boy said with a grin.

Izuku was startled for a moment, but finally began to say 'You too', but was stopped as something was flicked to him and hit his neck. Confused, Izuku bent down to pick it up, seeing it was a tiny pebble.

"Don't answer him, Midoriya," came the voice of Shoda as he approached the two.

Shinso smirked and turned to walk away. "Well, don't bore me at least, Midoriya."

"Hey—" Izuku was going to say something to Shinso, so Shoda sighed, activating his Quirk. Suddenly, Izuku's neck took a much harder hit in the same spot from seemingly out of nowhere, sending him stumbling away, rubbing it and tearing up. "What the— What was—"

"Just take my word for it," Shoda said, shaking his head as he walked away.

While Izuku questioned everything that had just happened, Mei ran up to him, seeming very excited.

"Izuku! Did you see who I'm facing off against?"

Nearby, the familiar voice of Bakugo could be heard asking. "Who the hell is Hatsume?"

Mei turned and waves to him. "I am!"

The blonde boy turned and looked to her, at first seeming not to care, before his expression suddenly darkened as he remembered her from the Cavalry Battle. Izuku gulped, not sure if Mei could see her opponents resentment.

"You… Support… Nerds…" Bakugo could seemingly barely get the words out through gritted teeth.

While Izuku and Mei experienced the burning rage of Bakugo, another person was gazing at Izuku with serious intent.

Looks like we'll be facing each other sooner than I thought, Todoroki thought. Midoriya.

When the recreational games were set to begin, fireworks fired off over the stadium as a much lighter mood took over the air.

However, Tetsutetsu sought out Shoda for a quick question before he went to prepare for the final round.

"'Ey, Shoda!"

The short boy turned to see the loud Tetsutetsu approaching him.

"About that guy… What the heck did he do to you? You guys said he controlled you," Tetsutetsu asked.

Shoda rubbed his neck, the memory of suddenly waking up after the battle was over still a fresh wound in his mind.

"Y-Yeah, it seems like… If you respond to him when he's talking, you just… Fall under his control," Shoda tried to explain. "Apparently Ojiro and I were moving the entire time, but we can't remember it at all."

Tetsutetsu scratched his head. "That sounds… scary. I'll have to watch out for him! Whoever's fighting him is toast though—"

"Er, I believe it's Midoriya—"

"Midoriya?!" Tetsutetsu scowled. "My bro Midoriya needs to be warned then!"

"I already tried—" Shoda stopped as Tetsutetsu ran off suddenly, sighing. "Nobody listens…"

Izuku was in the waiting room, sitting alone to gather his thoughts and calm his nerves about the upcoming final round. Mei had gone to continue her work, while Shiro and Yuki seemed to have their own separate things to do.

Suddenly, a door burst open, surprising Izuku.

"Midoriya!"

"Tetsutetsu?!" Izuku watched the boy who always looked angry as he approached him, unsure of what he could want.

Tetsutetsu thumbed to himself as he got close.

"I'm here to save your goddamn life!"

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: SILENCE - Izuku vs Shinso (SF Arc)