"There, it's over, I win."
Duple's arms dropped to his side, as mouth dropped open and he stood straight. The world went hazy and there was almost a sound similar to singing somewhere, encouraging him to listen, listen, listen.
"Turn around and walk out the ring for me."
Yeah, that was a good idea.
NO!
He began walking. He didn't want to do this. He was happy to obey.
STOP!
"EH?! WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING?! WHATEVER THIS ALIEN IS, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE IMMUNE TO WHATEVER SHINSOU CAN DO!"
"The judges weren't rational with the entrance exam. They favoured flashy and destructive quirks. Shinsou's quirk is brainwashing, he can make anyone do what he says so long as they answer a question he asks. Still, the exam had robots, not people. Seeing as he also applied for general studies, he obviously knew he wouldn't be accepted. I can only presume his plan is to succeed here and make it into the hero course that way."
He was getting closer to the edge. Was the singing getting louder? Was it a reward.
I DON'T WANT THIS! SAVE ME!
"SO THEN, SEEING AS IT MIGHT BE THE LAST WE SEE, WHAT WAS THAT ALIEN ERASERHEAD?!"
"Duple, apparently. Another of the three I mentioned earlier. Midoriya possesses two forms capable of cloning. The other shares a unified personality, making a very coherent team. This one has multiple personalities. Undoubtedly Midoriya had planned to use that to advantage so that the brainwashing would be ineffective but he ended up messing up. He would be able to take down shinsou alone but he'd have to overcome shinsou's brainwashing to do that. Either way, this fight is about to be over."
'Ojiro, I'm sorry! I can't, JJ, Mom….I….'
His foot was over the edge. It was about to step down. His fist twitched. His body began to heat up. Red glowing lines started to form.
Midoriya had almost left the room, when Ojiro got his attention again before he could leave. "Hey Midoriya?"
"Hm? What is it?" He asked, raising a brow as the blonde walked over to him, before holding out a fist.
"I know this may sound kind of selfish but I'll say it anyways. Beat this guy, for me and you!" Midoriya stared a moment at the boy's fist as he grinned, before giving one of his own and fist bumping the taller teen.
"I promise!"
'I… can't…. lose!'
Any second now, his foot was about to hit the edge, then his body suddenly lurched as something shot out of him. The world lost its haze and he pulled his foot back, almost falling. He turned, and to his surprise he saw a certain black and yellow Splixson.
"Back off, buster!" She called at the teen in front of her, running forward without regard. 'Did… Did I just summon Shimura by accident?!'
"What the?! How did you do that!?" Shinsou asked, eyebrows raised. Nana went to open her mouth as she ran at him but Midoriya quickly dived atop her, placing a hand over her mouth.
"Don't answer him!" He said quickly, pulling her up. He looked at her confused features with a slightly determined gaze. "Ok, first off sorry, I didn't mean to bring you back like this. Secondly, can you help me just get him out the ring?"
The girl nodded, and the two began running at the teen before them. The blue haired boy's eyes widened and he rushed forward, trying to shove them both. Unfortunately for him, the two splixson were agile and still had a lot of One for All going through them.
"Dammit! I can't lose! You got to run away from it all! The constant belittlement, being told you can never be a hero!" Shinsou shouted as the two kept pushing, Midoriya doing his best not to drop from his shouts or let anger get the better of him again. "You got luckier than the rest of us! Do you even remember what is was like?!"
Midoriya almost ended up answering that, but before his mouth could even open Shimura pulled him back.
"HITOSHI SHINSOU IS OUT OF BOUNDS! MIDORIYA WINS!" Midnight announced, and the transformed teen looked down to see he'd managed to push the brainwasher out of bounds.
"I… still remember." Midoriya said, looking up at the blue haired teen. His tired eyes closed and he gritted his teeth, but Midoriya kept talking. "Your right, I have been luckier, maybe than I had any right to be but… that doesn't mean you can't still be a hero. You got this far right? I know that look in your eyes, I used to see it in myself and I still see it in myself everyday."
Beside him, he could practically feel Nana's beaming face.
"It's the drive to never give up so…. I'll see you in the hero course someday, I'm sure." The boy said, turning to walk away once he saw a soft smile on the general educations students face. He decided to leave him be as his friends called down to him, but not before one last thing. "Oh, and Shinsou?"
"Yes?"
"Be very glad I was this alien when you insulted JJ." He said, smiling but his tone was deadly. The boy seemed to get the picture.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" All Might shouted as he looked between the two Splixsons, the green one rubbing the back of his neck nervously while the black one just explored. "She was in a complete panic last time!"
"I'm sorry, All Might!" The boy apologized, looking away. "I wasn't thinking, I literally barely could."
"Honestly, Toshi, give the kid a break." Shimura called from the back of the room as she hopped up on one of the beds to be eye level with him. "I'm fine, aren't I? Not his fault One for All kicked in to save him."
"Still…" The blonde sighed, rubbing his face while Recovery Girl silently wished she had any context for how a dead woman had come back to life in a different form. She was a good healer but not that good. "Is this even allowed? It was supposed to be a one on one!"
"Well it is part of the boy's power, so regardless of whether he summoned a complete clone or another person he would be fine." Recovery Girl pointed out, jotting down a few notes.
"I… I am sorry I brought you back like that." Midoriya said bashfully, looking up at the past holder. "You should have had a proper planned returned, an actual-"
"Kiddo, it's fine." Shimura cut off with a laugh as she hopped over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Best part of being alive was using powers and helping others anyways, I prefer coming back like this. How much longer do we have?"
"Not much, just a minute." Midoriya answered, hopping off his stool. "And I should really make sure I find out who I'll be up against next, though I think I already know."
"Oh, well then I guess it's about time we fused back up." Shimura said, sounding almost sad as she turned to her old student. "Well Toshinori, It was great seeing you again! Don't go to hard on the kid for something that wasn't his fault, I hope you'll bring me out again soon!"
"Uh, yeah. Goodbye master!"
With that, the woman turned back as she began to glow, reaching out and fusing back into Izuku, before the boy turned back normal. He looked up to the blonde, still feeling guilty.
"Really All Might, I'm sorry I put you through that. I…"
"Ah, forget it. I'm sorry I yelled, you were just doing what you had to, to win. Just, please try not to accidentally resurrect anyone else in your next fight." All Might said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Midoriya grinned a little.
"No promises."
After that, the boy had hurried up to the stands, finding his classmates all sitting, staring down at the next fight about to start.
"So… how badly do you think this will end for Sero?" Ashido asked, leaning over the safety rail, while Koda nervously kept his hands near her waist in case he needed to catch her.
"I want to believe in him, but dudes got no chance." Kaminari gave his own two cents, as Midoriya took a seat between Momo and Uraraka.
"You did great, Deku." The brunette said with a grin, while the creation girl just set a hand on his shoulders to encourage him. "What do you think? Todoroki vs Sero?"
The greenette sighed as he looked down. "Sero has a really great quirk, when applied right. It can do all sorts of cool stuff but…"
Midnight called for them to start and their tape creating class mate got a hold of the heterochromatic teen he was facing. Then Todoroki used his quirk.
"Ice beats tape."
As he said that, most everyone else almost fell over as a gigantic ice berg formed, going over the edge of the ring.
"Holy. Shit." Mineta said quietly, getting immediately reprimanded by Iida for his language.
Midoriya sighed as he looked down to the field, as Todoroki was announced the winner, Sero trapped inside the ice.
As the heterochromatic thawed out his opponent, the Omnitrix bearer frowned. 'I know I could just use Pyroform but…. He looks so sad….'
He leaned back in his chair, groaning. It could never be as simple as just winning a quick fight, could it?
Midoriya had ended up tuning out a majority of the rest of the fights, only really focusing for his closer friends matches. He didn't want to ignore the others but he needed to come up with a way to fight Todoroki and he'd ended up making a decision.
He needed to get him to use his left side, to see it was ok to use his fire. To get him to give it his all.
Unfortunately, this killed his original plan A, B and C in the water. As he watched Mina skate around Aoyoma, he placed a finger to his chin. 'Pyroform and Chiller are completely immune to fire, hell Pyroform gets stronger with it so… no way Todoroki will use his fire against them. Crystalize would basically be us going at each other the exact same way, chances are I'd win but…. He wouldn't use fire on a material that can't melt fri'
Mina uppercutted Aoyoma, securing a victory as he fell backwards out the arena.
"AOYOMA IS OUT OF BOUNDS, ASHIDO WINS!"
'Cannon Shot, even if I could use a technicality to bounce off the stadium walls, that would be super risky. No way I can try that. Maybe…. No that's stupid, I'd probably shatter the ice instead of bouncing off.'
"NEXT UP! HE'LL GIVE YOU ALL QUITE THE SHOCK, IT'S 1-A'S DENKI KAMINARI! VERSUS, THE 1-B ASSASSIN IBARA SHIOZAKI!"
'Rath and Braniac would be…. Really bad ideas. Even if Rath could maybe fight, he would so not be the right transformation for this kind of thing. Braniac might as well just be giving up.'
The 1-B student paused the match a moment to berate present mic for her introduction, insisting she was nothing like a cold-hearted killer. After the commentator apologized, the battle commenced.
'Goliath can't fit on the stage and Colossus would be able to ignore the fire to easily. It's weird to even be trying to delibaretely putting myself at a disadvantage….'
Kaminari started to spark as he tried to end the fight quickly, blasting the entire arena with electricity, only to be intercepted by Shiozaki's vine like hair which she used like a shield.
'Blink would probably struggle on the ice, and I don't want to just end the fight as soon as it starts. Dammit…. I really am losing a lot of options here.'
After his attack, the electricity producing teen had ended up stumbling dumbfounded, being picked up by vines and thrown out, making him the loser.
"KAMINARI IS OUT OF BOUNDS! SHIOZAKI ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
'Aside from the fact I just used him, Duple would be a terrible idea here as well. I'd just be making it easier for Todoroki if anything, I have no idea how clones are counted when they're shoved out.'
"NEXT UP! SHE'S 1-A'S MISTRESS OF CREATION, MOMO YAOYOROUZU! VERSUS, ALSO FROM 1-A, THE EMBODIMENT OF DARKNESS, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!"
'That leaves two. Reverb and Goop.'
The two stared each other down on the stadium, ready to fight. Midnight told them to start, and Dark Shadow shot out as Momo panicked, creating a shield to hold it off.
'Goop could melt through I guess and…. I have no idea how he reacts to fire, he would probably be good for forcing it out though. But…. No, I can't, I…. dammit. That leaves one then…'
"MOMO YAOYOROUZU IS OUT OF BOUNDS! TOKOYAMI WINS!"
All his thoughts suddenly disappeared into nothing as he processed that, actually taking in the field. Momo's foot has slipped out the ring by the smallest amount, forced back by the shadow creature.
Tokoyami didn't look back to see his opponents face as he left, but Midoriya could. The shock, the crushing feeling of defeat. Even after he'd began to win so much, Omnitrix pulling him through, he could recognize it instantly.
Then the girl, despite her best attempts to stay composed had started sprinting near the end to get out of the crowds sight, and Midoriya had leapt to his feet before he could be stopped.
"Midoriya?" Someone questioned, not getting an answer as he hurried through the door and pelted himself down the stairs. He ran towards the area he'd seen her disappear off to and looked around.
For a moment, he thought he had missed her, and then he heard a sob. He began to move towards it quietly, as it continued, breaking his heart. He walked up to one of the waiting rooms, pushing the door open gently and finding Momo with her head in her arms, body shuddering.
"Yaomomo?" He asked quietly, frowning as he walked in. the girl looked up surprised, before flinching when she saw the greenette. Gently he knelt down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulders. "You ok?"
"I…. no…. why…. I'm not but…. Why…" The girl choked on her words, unable to form any sentences as she kept changing her mind about what to say. Swallowing she looked at him while wiping her eyes. "W-why does this h-hurt so much? I t-thought I was… b-better than this. I couldn't even… last more than a few seconds. I've lost… before but… It was so fast. I t-thought I was good at m-making decisions but….i g-guess I'm n-not as smart as I thought…"
Midoriya frowned at that, not sure what to say as he rubbed her shoulders gently. He wouldn't just leave her alone though, so he had to think of something. Then he had an idea, as he pulled up the Omnitrix and scrolled through. 'I really hope this doesn't backfire…'
"I-it's o-ok if you w-want to go watch the fights. I-I'm not so pathetic as t-to be unable to c-cry alone at least." Momo waved away, not looking at him. He gritted his teeth as he pressed in his watch. At the flash, she looked back and her teary eyes went wide.
"Let me tell you something, Momo Yaoyorouzu, class vice president and smartest girl Rath knows! YOU ARE THE SMARTEST GIRL RATH KNOWS!" Rath said pointing at the girl, shaking his other fist. The creation girl just stared dumfounded "YOU ARE ALSO THE LEAST PATHETIC GIRL RATH KNOWS, AND RATH KNOWS NO PATHETIC GIRLS IN THE FIRST PLACE! RATH DOES NOT APPRECIATE THESE LIES ABOUT YOURSELF!"
"Midoriya…"
"YOU ARE ALSO THE BEST STRATEGIST RATH KNOWS, HAVE ONE OF THE BEST QUIRKS RATH KNOWS, ONE OF THE GREATEST FRIENDS RATH KNOWS! YOU ARE THE PRETTIEST RATH KNOWS AND ANYONE WOULD BE LUCKY TO KNOW YOU LIKE RATH KNOWS YOU AND RATH IS STARTING TO THINK RATH SHOULD SHUT UP BEFORE RATH ADMITS SOMETHING RATH WILL REGRET!"
Silence rung out after that as the bipedal tiger scratched the back of his head, and the creation girl looked away with a small smile, that slowly started to grow. "he…heheh…hehehehehe."
Then she burst out into full blown, genuine laughter, rocking back and forth as she did, unable to contain it. She held her stomach as she did, and to Midoriya it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. Rath however wasn't done.
"ARE YOU LAUGHING AT RATHS COMPLIMENTS?! RATH DOES NOT APPRECIATE BEING BELITTLED LIKE THIS! BUT RATH WILL PUT UP WITH IT, FOR YAOYOROZU'S SAKE!"
She continued laughing, actually hitting her fist off the table at one point and wiping her eyes, finally starting to calm down as she looked up with a real smile. There was a silence between them as their eyes met before she rushed forward, wrapping him in a surprisingly tight hug. "T-thank you….thank….oh wow your soft…"
"SOFT?! RATH IS NOT SOFT! RATH IS, HOWEVER, THE BEST EARTH ON THE PLANET HUG!" The bipedal tiger continued, wrapping his own arms around the girl while she quietly put in the input to turn him back to normal. As he did, having to look up at her now instead of down she smiles happily at him. "Better?"
"Better. I really don't deserve to be friends with you?"
"If we're talking deserving, I'm sure you've got it the wrong way around! The fact I even got to meet you is amazing in of itself." Midoriya laughed, letting go. Then the girls grin turned teasing.
"So… what were you gonna regret admitting if Rath kept talking?" She asked, raisng a brow. Gulping the greenette swilred on his feet, grabbing her wrist to pull her along.
"OhheyIhearKirishima'smatchstartinglet'sgowatchrightawayi'msurehecandowithallthesupportevenifhedoesn'tneedit,he'ddothesameforus!" The boy blurted out as fast as possible, not looking the girl in the eyes as they began to walk off so she couldn't see his face go red.
Behind him, the girl felt a million times lighter. And not just because the boy had made her feel better, but for another reason related to him as well.
'Maybe…. I do have a shot after all…'