Beta'd by kylekatarn77
12. Finding the Heel
If a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. Hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
-Terry Pratchet, Men at Arms
It took just over half an hour for Izuku's next match to start. In that time, he refitted the Power Suit with HE and flashbang missiles, and recharged all the power supplies. It was hard, doing it without Mei, but Izuku was determined not to fail. When the time came, he loaded himself into the suit, and strode out to the arena floor.
"From the Hero Course Class 1A, it's the stalwart Eijiro Kirishima!" Kirishima walked out, cracking his knuckles and grinning as the crowd cheered.
"And of course, you all know him by now, it's the Quirkless Wonder, Izuku Midoriya!" This time the crowd went wild for Present Mic's announcement, though Izuku hardly noticed it.
Izuku walked into the ring, no waving, no showboating. For once, he wasn't paniced or nervous. Calm filled him. He could do this. He had to do this. For Mei.
"Again, no hard feelings," Kirishima said, activating his quirk. His skin turned hard as stone, and spikes of rock formed on his arms and hands.
"No hard feelings," Izuku agreed.
"Begin!" Ms. Midnight called.
Kirishima came straight on, just as Izuku had figured he would. But he wasn't playing that game. Jumping straight up, Izuku activated his jet pack and hoover boots, then launched his grapple at Kirishima. He dodged to the side, but Izuku hadn't really been trying to hit him. Instead, he flew around Kirishima, using the grapple as a tether. In short order, he had Kirishima wrapped to the grapple spear, bound tightly.
Izuku landed, keeping tension on the line. He slowly reeled himself in as Kirishima struggled, but the high tension wire cable was too much for him to easily break. Izuku yanked out the spear with one hand, then tossed Kirishima into the air, tugging on the other end of the cable to maintain tension. He spun around and around, whirling Kirishima like a hammer throw. He let fly, sending the other boy soaring through the air to crash into the stadium wall.
"Um, wow, that was fast. Midoriya wins!" Present Mike called, but Izuku ignored it. He clambered off the stage, walking over to pry Kirishima out from the wall.
"Friggin' ow," Kirishima muttered. "Thanks man. Geeze, you are strong! And smart. I never even saw that coming!"
"Sorry. But I had to win," Izuku said, helping Kirishima to his feet.
"Hey, no worries. I told you to come at me hard. You kept your word, like a man." Kirishima extended his hand, and Izuku grasped it. His pressure sensors screamed as he squeezed back, Kirishima's grip literally hard enough to crush boulders.
"Thanks. It was a good fight," Izuku said.
Kirishima laughed. "Easy for you to say! Looks like I got a lot of work to do if I hope to keep up with you. Good on you, man. I think you really can make it all the way. But you'll probably face Bakugo or Todoroki in the finals. That's gonna be tough."
Izuku shrugged, the motion slightly exaggerated by the Power Suit. "It had better be Bakugo. It's time he learned that quirkless doesn't mean worthless."
Izuku and Kirishima's match had been the first of the second round, which gave Izuku more time to refit the Power Suit. He felt fairly useless, as while he was good at the minor repairs and refits, he couldn't diagnose if there were any deeper problems. Mei had always been better at that, and being able to tell if there were any problems with their creations by sound, smell, and touch, instead of relying on tools and instruments like Izuku had to. Still, the Power Suit was in fairly good shape. The damage so far had been minor, and thanks to his short battle with Kirishima he'd expended minimal power.
He glanced up at the monitor to see Shinso win another easy victory against Yanagi from class 1B. She seemed to be aware of his quirk to a degree, but after a brief fight she'd slipped up and answered something Shinso had said, then simply walked out of the ring. As for Bakugo, he blasted away at Bondo, easily escaping the glue Bondo threw at him and then knocking Bondo right out of the arena in one solid hit.
This time, it was Bakugo's turn first. His match with Todoroki was long and taxing, but even with a last ditch effort using both his fire and ice powers, Todoroki just couldn't overcome Bakugo's skill and determination, leading to a win by TKO after Cementos and Ms. Midnight both decided the match was too dangerous to continue. However, Todoroki had a bit of a break down after using his fire powers, and was trembling with exhaustion, barely able to stand. This led to Bakugo being declared the winner, much to his consternation.
"He didn't try hard enough!" Bakugo complained as he was led away.
Then it was time again. Izuku climbed back into the Power Suit, taking a deep breath. This time, he'd be going up against someone he considered an ally and a friend. But he couldn't say a single word.
"This match of the semi finals is one for the history books, folks!" Present Mic declared. "We have not one, but two students from outside of the Hero Course, an unprecedented event! No matter what happens, one of them is going to the finals!"
"Coming out now is the mysterious Hitoshi Shinso! His weird but powerful quirk has led to uneventful but decisive battles! He's gunning for the Hero Course, and with skills like his, he just might make it! But can he defeat the unstoppable titan?!"
"You know him, you love him, he's the Quirkless Wonder from the Support Course, Izuku Midoriya! Can he reach the finals to face down his legendary rival Bakugo and avenge his fallen love? Let's find out."
Izuku stood across from Shinso, who gave him a crooked smile. "You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?"
Izuku didn't respond, only falling into a ready stance. To his surprise, Shinso motioned to the crowd for quiet. After a few seconds, the stadium fell silent.
"Shinso, what is the matter? Do you wish to delay the match?" Ms. Midnight asked.
"I have something to say," Shinso said, turning to the crowd. He put his hand on his chest, extending his other arm out in a broad gesture. "I was born with a powerful quirk! As most of you have probably guessed, I can use it to control others. I won't tell you exactly how, but Midoriya already knows the secret. And frankly, that's the match."
"Are you forfeiting?" Ms Midnight prompted.
"Just a moment," Shinso said. He continued on to the crowd, "I was rejected from the hero course. Just like Midoriya was. We don't fit society's definition of what it means to be heroes. He was born quirkless, and I was born with a quirk that scares people. They label me a villain, and him useless."
"Well look at us now!" Shinso pointed to Midoriya, a twisted smile on his face. "We're at the semi finals of the UA sports fest! Now, normally, even backed into a corner like this, I'd try to take on Midoriya. I'd fight for all that I'm worth. Because I too can be a hero. I can use my quirk to save lives, to help others, in ways that people with flashier or more conventional quirks could never dream of."
"But today, I'm going to do something else that a hero needs to be able to do. I'm going to step aside. True, Midoriya could probably beat me anyway. But he's out to prove something bigger than what I am trying to do. I'm trying to prove that my quirk is good enough. I'm doing this for me. But Midoriya? Midoriya is doing this for every man, woman, and child who is Quirkless."
"Our society rejects those who don't fit the mold! We tell people, you can do this, you can do that, but don't try to be something else. Well today, Midoriya is something else. He's proven he's the strongest, fastest, most qualified person in the entire first year at UA to be a hero. But he's not in the Hero Course. Because he's quirkless. I ask you, is that right?"
There were mutters from the crowd, many of them uncomfortable. "It's too dangerous!" someone shouted.
"Really?" Shinso demanded. "Did you see him during the cavalry battle? Because he took on the whole damn school and won, even when every single one of them were gunning for him. I might have helped, but frankly I did it because I thought he could win even without me. I rode him to victory, not the other way around."
"I think Izuku Midoriya can be a hero. No, that's not true. I think Izuku Midoriya can be the greatest hero we've ever seen. We just have to let him."
With that, Shinso turned back to Ms. Midnight, and stepped backwards out of the ring. "I forfeit."
Ms Midnight nodded. "Izuku Midoriya wins the match by default!"
Shinso shrugged, then turned to Izuku. "Prove me right. Don't let the rest of the Quirkless down."
"I won't," Izuku tried to say, but found his voice was raw and husky with emotion. Instead, he nodded and bowed.
Shinso seemed to accept that, and turned away, walking out of the stadium.
"Well, um, that was something! I guess it's down to the grudge match of the century! Midoriya Versus Bakugo! Can these old friends reconcile their differences on the battlefield? We'll find out, in 15 minutes!"
Instead of leaving, Izuku crouched down, waiting. He'd already loaded the suit for Bakugo. He had known he could easily beat Shinso as long as he kept his mouth shut, since the suit gave him overwhelming force. He hadn't wanted to hurt the other boy, but he had also been determined to win.
"Thank you, Shinso," Izuku whispered. "Thanks for reminding me this is about more than me. More than Mei. I have to show the world that being Quirkless doesn't mean you can't become something more."
After the allotted time was up, Bakugo strode out onto the field, his clothes plastered to his skin with sweat. So, he'd learned. Izuku knew Bakugo had needed to see Recovery Girl to mend his wounds from his fight with Mei and Todoroki, he had to be at least a little tired. But he knew about the anti-perspirant, and he was ready. That didn't matter. Izuku stood up, waiting for Bakugo atop the stadium.
"You really do think you're better than me, don't you, nerd?" Bakugo demanded as he walked up the steps. "Or are you just mad that I hurt your girlfriend?"
"Furious," Izuku said, falling into his fighting stance once more. "But this is about more than that, Bakugo. Once, we were friends. I would have done anything for you. I looked up to you, admired you, for your strength, your drive, your courage. I was blind to your flaws. But now, I see them. And it's time for me to open your eyes."
"You talk a lot. But that's all you've ever been good at, isn't it? Your girlfriend made you that suit. Now she can bury you in it," Bakugo snarled.
Izuku clenched his fists, readying himself, but Ms. Midnight stepped out onto the field. "Now I want a nice, clean fight. From both of you! No reckless displays of violence! If the other fighter goes down, you stop, you understand me? If I have to step in, I'm disqualifying the offender. You won't even take second place!"
"Whatever. If he's down in the dirt, who cares about a medal?" Bakugo demanded. "Everyone will know who won this, no matter what you do. So will you get out of my way, or are you going to try to protect the freak?"
Ms. Midnight's lips formed into a tight line. "I won't accept any hate speech either, Bakugo. Especially not for his being quirkless."
"Oh will you give it a rest? He's a freak because he's a nerd, because he's a cry baby, because he thinks he's better than me, and because he hangs out with the nerdette. His being quirkless is just a result of him being weak."
Ms. Midnight blinked. "Young man, I think you need therapy. But I'm going to let this match go on, if for no other reason that I think you're about to learn a valuable lesson."
"Yeah right. I'll show you what it feels like to have you idiots eat your words. Now get out of my way!"
Ms. Midnight glanced at Izuku. "I will stop the match if you rough him up too much."
Izuku nodded. "I won't leave him any more battered than he left his other victims."
"That seems fair," Ms. Midnight agreed. She winked at Izuku. "Just make sure you're not too rough with Hatsume later, either. You are a naughty boy." With that, she giggled and stepped out of the ring. "Begin!"
Bakugo came straight at Izuku, launching himself forward and up into the air, expecting Izuku to do what he'd done at the start of the cavalry battle, and at the start of each of his matches. Instead, Izuku ducked and straffed to the side, launching out half a dozen antiperspirant missiles. Bakugo dodged most of them, shielding himself with a volley of explosions, but the field was still coated in the misty spray.
"Damn you!" Bakugo roared. "Don't think you can stop me so easily! I worked up a nice sweat before we even started!" He rubbed his hands on his shirt to get more fuel, then flung more explosions at Izuku.
Now for the second part of his plan. Izuku fired off the other six missiles he had, all loaded with anti-acid foam. The missles flew up a few feet, then exploded, coating the entire arena and both combatants in a thick layer of foam.
"The hell is this?" Bakugo spluttered, shaking the foam off of himself. "What are you even-"
He was interrupted by a sudden explosion that flung him into the air as all the sweat in his shirt detonated.
"Nitroglycerin is unstable," Izuku commented. "But it's even more unstable in a basic solution. Which that foam is."
Bakugo gasped and tried to rise, but more tiny explosions covered his body. He cried out in pain, twisting and writhing as every sweat gland on his hands that wasn't blocked by the anti-perspirant continually exploded as soon as sweat formed. His convulsions only coated him in more foam, causing even more reactions.
Seeing Bakugo broken and bloodied on the ground did something to Izuku. While he was still angry at Bakugo, he also felt pity for him. The rage went out of his heart, and Izuku felt sick, knowing he was responsible for the humiliation and breaking of a boy who had once been his friend. But he still had to win.
"It's over, Bakugo." Izuku walked forward, grabbing Bakugo by the collar and preparing to fling him out of the arena.
"Damn you," Bakugo hissed. He clapped both his hands onto Izuku's arm, causing a small blast. Bakugo flinched back in pain, but Izuku's armor was only dented: the blast had been too weak to do much. Izuku felt as though he were manhandling a child now.
"You can't beat me! You're just a worthless nobody! A weakling! I'm better than this!" Bakugo wheezed.
"You were born with a gift, Bakugo. I envied you for it. But you've turned that gift into a handicap with your arrogance." Izuku grabbed Bakugo with both arms, squeezing hard enough to crush the air from Bakugo's lungs. Izuku winced when he heard a crack, and he knew he'd broken at least one of Bakugo's ribs. He hadn't meant to do that; he'd wanted to simply force Bakugo into giving up without hurting him further. The real disgust though came when he realized at least part of him was reveling in his former friends pain.
Gently, Izuku lifted Bakugo up. "He's done! End the match!" he shouted to Ms. Midnight.
"I...I.. can still fight," Bakugo cried. He coughed, and a few flecks of blood escaped his lips. "Don't, don't you dare-"
"He needs medical attention!" Izuku called, but Ms Midnight was already running over, ripping her sleeve to release her somnolent mist. Izuku's mask kept it out of his system, but Bakugo mercifully passed out.
Gently, Izuku lifted Bakugo into his arms, then carried him over to Recovery Girl, who was hurrying out onto the arena floor. Looking down at Bakugo, broken and bloody, a lot of the hate drained out of Izuku. Instead of feeling good about beating his long time tormenter, he just felt...empty. What had he taught Bakugo? That if you were stronger, you really could beat up someone weaker than you? That hadn't been what he'd wanted. He set Bakugo down so that Recovery Girl could use her quirk, and stepped back.
"Broken bones, bruises, and multiple lacerations. You kids just don't know how to take it easy, do you?" Recovery Girl asked. After bending over Bakugo and administering her quirk, she looked up at Izuku. "Do you feel better now, young man? Did revenge feel like you thought it would?"
"No," Izuku admitted, feeling dull and empty. "Mostly, I'm just worried about Mei. How is she?"
"In the first aid station. You can go see her now, but don't get her too excited. She needs rest. Her eyes were badly damaged. I fixed the worst of the injuries, but she'll need days of rest yet before she's at 100%."
Izuku deactivated the Power Suit and climbed out, tossing his helmet aside. "I'll make sure she gets it, ma'am. Thank you."
Hurrying through the halls, Izuku's heart pounded with worry. He threw open the doors to the infirmary, wildly looking around and-
"Hey! You! How did my babies do? Did Izuku win? Did everyone see him beat up Bakugo?"
Mei was sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around her eyes. The typical manic grin was back, and she was humming to herself softly as soon as she finished speaking.
"Mei, you're OK!" Izuku cried, hurrying over and grabbing her hand. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Izuku! You didn't answer my questions! What about our babies? Are they OK? Did they work? Was everyone impressed? Did you beat Bakugo?"
"I did," Izuku whispered, squeezing Mei's hand. "I won Mei. Everyone saw how amazing you are."
"No, I'm pretty sure they saw how bad I am at fighting. I think from now on, I will exclusively leave the field testing to you, Izuku. I did not like it very much. But the Power Suit is OK? Bakugo didn't hurt it?"
"It's just fine," Izuku laughed, wiping away tears. "Hardly a scratch on it! Everything worked perfectly. I used the antiperspirant to prevent him from sweating, then sprayed him down with the anti-acid foam. It's basic so-"
"So it would react with his nitroglycerin-like sweat! Great thinking Izuku! Ha! I bet you blew him in half!"
Izuku looked away, feeling guilty. "Um, no. I sprayed him with the anti-perspirant first so it wouldn't kill him. I...I was really, really angry, Mei. Seeing you get hurt...it was the worst thing I've ever seen."
"It's a good thing you never came to my old school then," Mei observed. "That's one reason I like being at UA. With you around, I get beat up a lot less."
"Mei, I...I…" Izuku choked up, unable to speak, instead just squeezing Mei's hand.
"Izuku, do you need a hug?" Mei asked quietly. "Sometimes, people need hugs, Mr. Onizuka said. And it's OK."
"Yes," Izuku whispered, a strange mix of emotions swirling inside him.
Mei leaned over and gave Izuku a tight squeeze. "I like hugs. You hugged me two days ago. I think you should do it more often. I liked it."
"I'll hug you whenever you like, Mei," Izuku promised, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'll never let that happen to you again."
"What? Hugs? You just said you'd hug me!" Mei said, sounding confused.
"No, I mean, Bakugo hurting you. I won't let anyone hurt you again."
"Well that's really stupid."
Izuku blinked, jerking back. "What do you mean? Mei, I just want to protect you."
"Well I'm glad, but you told me not to fight Bakugo. I didn't listen. And you can't protect me all the time. Are you going to try to take away my welding torch like my teachers used to do? Because I hurt myself all the time with that. Not as much anymore, but look here. See the burns? I had to go to the hospital so many times 'cause I burned myself. I will be very upset if you try to take away my welding torch."
"No, I mean, I mean prevent you from being hurt by other people," Izuku explained.
"Well you can't do that either. Other people still hurt me all the time. You hurt me sometimes, but I think it's because you care about me. I don't like it when you make me leave our babies and go get food. But I'm also glad you do it later because I really was hungry. Are you going to stop doing that?"
"Um, no," Izuku admitted.
"Well, then just be my friend, OK? And tell me if I'm doing something stupid, like fighting another Bakugo. Just say that. 'Mei, you are trying to fight Bakugo again.' And then I will remember and listen better. Even if I'm not actually fighting Bakugo. It's a reminder."
"Uh, yeah, I understand," Izuku agreed. "I...I guess I just felt responsible, because Bakugo really hates me."
"He is a jerk," Mei agreed. "I don't like him. He's mean to you."
Izuku shook his head. "You don't like him because he's mean to me? Mei, he just beat you bloody!"
"Yeah, but he gave me a chance to give up. I just forgot that I could, because I really wanted to show off my babies. But I used a smoke bomb so no one got to see anyway. Kinda silly, huh?"
That brought Izuku up short. "Bakugo tried to get you to give up?"
"Uh huh. A couple of times. But I didn't listen. He was still mean though. He hurt my babies. And he broke my goggles! That's baby number 1! I'll never forgive him for that."
"Ok. We'll make new goggles Mei, together," Izuku promised. Now he felt guilty about telling Iida that Bakugo had deliberately targeted Mei for being disabled. Truth be told, Izuku didn't really think Bakugo had gone after him just for being quirkless, but he had been too angry to think straight then. Oh well. Iida probably wouldn't spread it around much anyway.
Mei thought about that, humming to herself softly for several seconds. At last, she nodded. "I think I like it better when we make our babies together, Izuku. I used to think I wanted to make babies by myself forever with no one to bother me. But now, I think I want you to keep bothering me, forever. Let's keep making babies together, OK? They're way cuter that way."
"Ok, Mei," Izuku agreed, a warm feeling suffusing his body. On an impulse, he leaned over and hugged her again. "We'll keep on making babies together forever."
"Well, I think it's high time someone had a talk with you two."
Izuku jumped about three feet straight in the air from a sitting position, causing Mei to gasp in surprise.
"Recovery Girl!" Izuku gasped, clutching his chest as his heart thundered. "I didn't hear you come in!"
"You were involved. Sit down, young man. Tell me, has anyone ever had the Talk with you?"
Izuku blinked. "Um, we get talks all the time, usually about not exploding the lab."
"Yeah, Izuku caused two explosions! I was really proud," Mei said happily. "He mixed the propellent wrong. I warned him, but he didn't listen!"
Izuku winced. He'd thought he'd known better than Mei, which was a mistake all on its own.
"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the Birds and the Bees," Recovery Girl stated, pulling up a chair. "Sit down, young man."
Blushing, Izuku sat. "Look, when she says making babies, she really means-"
"You can make whatever excuses you want. It's high time someone sat the two of you down. Now, I'll ask again: has anyone ever told you two about the Birds and the Bees?"
"They're both pollinators," Mei said helpfully. "Biology isn't really my strong point. Can we talk about Strong and Weak forces instead? I like that a lot better."
"Oh, we're going to talk about a strong force and attraction, alright." Recovery Girl reached into her pocket, rooted a round a bit, and to Izuku's mortification, pulled out a condom.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Nope, I can't see right now," Mei said brightly. "Izuku, what is it?"
The conversation went rapidly downhill from there in Izuku's opinion. As it turned out, no one had ever talked to Mei or Izuku about the Birds and the Bees. And Recovery Girl was something of an expert on the subject.
Authors Note:
In case you care:
Round 2:
Midoriya V Kirishima: W Midoriya
Todoroki V Tokoyami: W Todoroki
Shinso V Yanagi: W Shinso
Bondo V Bakugo: W Bakugo
Round 3:
Bakugo V Todoroki: W Bakugo
Midoriya V Shinso: W Midoriya
Round 4: Midoriya V Bakugo: W Midoriya
Final Ranking:
1st Midoriya
2nd Bakugo
3nd Shinso, Todoroki (Tie)