Chapter 10: Sports Festival Finale
Considering the time that had been spent so far on cleaning up the ice that Todoroki left behind, the break between the semi-finals was considerably shorter. Yaoyorozu had barely been able to rehydrate and inhale a protein bar before she had to report to the arena. At least that meant that Bakugo would be in a similar scenario. Given how his Quirk worked, that could be the tipping point.
It also meant that she didn't have much time to agonize over how she had fumbled the reload on her flamethrower, most likely costing her the match with Todoroki.
She only had time to focus on the task ahead of her. Namely, rendering Bakugo unconscious, preferably by smashing his smug face into the ground. Present Mic started his spiel about how they were about to have the final match, but first... yeah. It was the match for third place.
"If you don't want Midoriya have to watch you get hurt, drop out." Bakugo called out, "I ain't getting lower than third, so you can forget about winning this."
Yaoyorozu said nothing, simply taking her stance. She wasn't going to let Bakugo intimidate her.
"Begin!"
Bakugo ran at her, and Yaoyorozu responded in kind. Her prediction had been accurate, Bakugo hadn't had time to rehydrate enough to use his Quirk like he normally did. She had a chance to win, if she didn't screw up again.
She pushed that thought from her mind as she created a pair of brass knuckles, one after the other. Bakugo's eyebrows went up before he started laughing. "Ha! Maybe you won't be a disappointment after all, Ponytail!" He swung at her with a right hook.
Midoriya said he always starts with that, and he's already started with it twice today. It's a feint!
This was backed up by his left hand starting to spark. She stepped to the right, to get outside of his line of fire. She was interrupted by an explosion from his other hand. "Thanks for making yourself a target!" He yelled.
Yaoyorozu hit the ground, and lost her grip on the brass knuckles. "But... that was a feint!"
"Yeah, it was." Bakugo said, "A feint to trick someone like you, who knows about my habits and overanalyzes their opponents."
Yaoyorozu gritted her teeth. What could she do? What should she do? While she was deliberating, instinct took over and she scrambled to her feet. Bakugo sent rapid fire blasts at her. While they hurt like hell, they weren't enough to keep her back. She lunged through the barrage, grabbed his head, and yanked it down into a knee strike.
Bakugo recoiled, clutching his head. Yaoyorozu created a riot shield and rushed at him. Is this the right thing to do? Am I letting my emotions get the better of me?
Yaoyorozu would quickly discover that she had made the wrong move.
Bakugo unleashed a full power explosion at point-blank range. The good news was that the shield protected her from most of it. The bad news was that it crumpled in such a way that made it so that the impact broke her hand.
She cried out in pain and dropped what was left of the riot shield. No... not... like this... "Midoriya wouldn't let... something like a broken hand stop him... SO NEITHER WILL I!" She ran at Bakugo and threw a right hook of her own.
He easily ducked under the punch, then popped back up with an uppercut to Yaoyorozu's jaw. She fell to the ground, cradling her broken hand. "You can't beat me hurt like that." Bakugo said.
Yaoyorozu glared at him despite the tears in her eyes from the pain. She tried to get up again, but the pain from her hand made that impossible. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Midnight coming over to call the match.
The instant Midnight saw Yaoyorozu's hand, she called the fight. "Yaoyorozu is too injured to continue! Bakugo wins!"
Yaoyorozu barely registered being carried off of the field, instead she was already mentally berating herself for the mistakes she had made. Stupid! Should have fought him at range! I let my emotions get the better of me. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Midoriya knew he should be in the ready room. His match with Todoroki was due to start any minute. But he just... Yaoyorozu would have checked on him if he had gotten hurt, so he wanted to respond in kind.
He walked into the recovery room to find Yaoyorozu sitting on the edge of one of the beds, with her left hand covered in bandages. "Um... hi?"
Yaoyorozu wiped her eyes, and then looked at him. "Midoriya? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your fight with Todoroki?"
He sat down next to her. "Well, yeah. But I wanted to come check on you."
She looked at him and smiled, but it was clearly fake. "Thank you, Midoriya. But I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me, Yaoyorozu." Midoriya said, "If our situations were reversed, you wouldn't let me push you away."
Yaoyorozu opened her mouth and closed it. He was right. Midoriya had left her no room to argue. "I just... I don't think I have what it takes to be a hero."
Unbeknownst to her, Yaoyorozu had just hit a sore spot for Midoriya. A sore spot that he had sworn that he would never let anyone else suffer through. He hesitated. He had to make sure he got this right. "You're wrong."
"How do you figure that?" Yaoyorozu asked, "I couldn't do anything against Todoroki except keep him at bay for a little bit, and Bakugo took me apart!"
Midoriya's eye twitched. "Yaoyorozu, you kept Todoroki at bay with a flamethrower."
"So what?" She replied, "It didn't matter, I still lost."
"He's fireproof!" Midoriya said, gesturing with his hands as he talked, "And you kept him at bay with a flamethrower! He could've just walked through the fire, but he didn't because you won the mental game!" He pulled out a journal from... somewhere and kept talking. He was on a roll now, and nothing could stop him. "This is the first time in over ten years that someone with an Intelligence type Quirk has gotten to the final four in the Sports Festival, Yaoyorozu!"
Yaoyorozu was unconvinced. "Who was it? Before?"
"Eraserhead!"
Yaoyorozu was shocked into silence. She had accomplished the same feat as Aizawa-sensei? That didn't sound right. "Who'd he lose to?"
"Gang Orca." Midoriya said, "Which makes sense, since he can't erase complex mutations with his Quirk."
Yaoyorozu's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Complex mutations?"
"Yeah, it's... kind of a new thing in Quirk classification. I mean, compare Iida and Tsu. For both of their Quirks to be classified as just Mutant- Okay, not relevant right now. My point is that even though it might seem like you don't quite have what it takes, you do. Back to back losses against Todoroki and Bakugo would demoralize anyone!"
Yaoyorozu swallowed, while her doubt was starting to fade, it still insisted on vexing her. "But what happens when I'm a Pro Hero, and I come up against some Power-type that I can't beat on my own?"
"I'll be right there to help you pick up the slack!" Midoriya said, "That's something... different between me and All Might, I think. He became the Symbol of Peace all on his own -save for the few years he partnered with Sir Nighteye- and I don't think that's how I want to do things. If that makes sense."
Yaoyorozu cocked her head at him, "I'm not sure it does."
Midoriya shrugged, "Eh, I'm just rambling now. My point is that it doesn't matter if you can't do everything alone, and that one or two setbacks isn't the end of the world."
Recovery Girl piped up finally, "Midoriya, your match starts in five minutes."
"Oh, crap! I have to go!" Midoriya started to leave, then stopped, "Um... I have to apologize, Yaoyorozu."
"What for?"
"This match with Todoroki." Midoriya explained, "I'm probably going to have to hurt myself to get him to see sense. If you don't want to watch, I'll understa-"
"I won't miss it." Yaoyorozu said, "I may not like it, but if you're so determined to support me, then I'm going to return the favor."
"Thank you!" Midoriya dashed out of the recovery room and towards the arena. He turned the corner that would lead him to the entrance...
To find Endeavor.
This could not possibly be good.
Endeavor was in his Hero costume, with his beard aflame and a scowl on his face. "You're Izuku Midoriya." He said. It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.
Midoriya decided that even with Endeavor's status and the intimidation he was projecting, he needed to at least try to stand up to him. "And you're Endeavor. The Number Two Hero."
Midoriya tried to slip past Endeavor, but the veteran hero blocked his path. "Your Quirk is similar to All Might's."
"Look, if you're going to throw around the secret love child accusation, don't bother. Your son already did that." Midoriya said.
"Erm... never mind that." Endeavor said. "That's absurd. What I wanted to say is that my Shoto has been trained to surpass All Might, and this battle with you will be the perfect opportunity to see how much training he has left before he can accomplish that goal."
Midoriya had two options. Say what Endeavor wanted him to say, or say what he wanted to say. The choice was one of the easiest choices he had ever had to make. "You mean you created him."
Endeavor took a step back in shock. "That's... that's preposterous, what are you-"
"Save it." Midoriya snapped. Yep, he was going for the nuclear option. "Todoroki told me everything. Your arranged marriage, where and how he got that burn on his face, and... let's be generous and call the abuse you heaped on him training. I'll guarantee you one thing. If Todoroki does not use his flames, he won't beat me. if he does, it won't be because you want him to. It will be because he's come to the realization that he needs to use them to become the hero that HE wants to be, not the hero you want him to be."
Endeavor was speechless, but Midoriya decided to leave him with a parting shot, "You know, you're an amazing hero, Endeavor. But as a person, you're just the worst."
Midoriya turned and walked away. There was only one thing he had left to do in the Sports Festival.
Save Shoto Todoroki from himself.
Present Mic was practically screaming at the microphone without his Quirk. Because that would just deafen everyone. "Alright, everyone! It's time for the final match for our first years!" The crowd got loud enough to blow the roof off of the Sports Festival arena, metaphorically anyways. "Let's get right down to it! Our first competitor, well there's no other word to describe him but an absolute madlad! He'll leap across chasms, cling to cliffs, overcome Brainwashing, and tank explosions to the face! It's the little green-haired brawler that could... IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
Midoriya stepped up onto the arena and cracked his knuckles. This was it, time to put his money where his mouth was. Across the arena stood Todoroki. "Are you going to use your flames?" He called out.
"No." Todoroki said.
"Alright then, deep end it is." Midoriya muttered to himself.
Present Mic continued, heedless of the drama playing out before him. "And now, for his opponent! He's given the entire competition the cold shoulder, but could his hot streak end here? It's the son of the Number Two Hero, SHOTO TODOROKI!"
Midoriya dropped into a boxing stance. If I'm right about his limitations, he'll try to overwhelm me with an ice attack. I don't know how much power I'll need to counter, so I'll have to abandon control.
Todoroki assumed his ready stance. I can't let him have free reign, or he'll evade and blitz me like he did the Brainwashing guy and Iida. So, right at the start...
"Begin!"
Ice surged from Todoroki's right foot in a massive wave. It flew towards Midoriya, only to stop at the last second.
"SMASH!"
The ice was shattered and flew back at Todoroki, who had to create a barrier behind him to avoid being knocked out of bounds. The crowd behind him was blasted with a cold wind thanks to the air pressure from Midoriya's strike. After the dust had settled, Todoroki looked up to find that Midoriya had broken his left middle finger to stop his attack. He was clutching his arm with his other hand. Thought so. He's prepared to injure himself to counter me!
"I thought I told you, Todoroki!" Midoriya said, "You'll never beat me like that!" He activated Full Cowling at ten percent and sidestepped to the right, dodging another wave of ice. Todoroki pivoted and fired another wave of ice ahead of Midoriya, trapping him.
"Midoriya is trapped! What will he do now?" Present Mic said.
"That should be obvious." Aizawa said, finally decided to get in on the commentary himself. "He'll go through."
"This is the end, Midoriya." Todoroki said. He sent out more ice. Maybe Midoriya wouldn't want to injure himself further?
That hope would prove futile. "SMASH!" Once again, the ice was cleared away by a full power Delaware Smash, and Todoroki had to rely on a hastily constructed barrier placed behind him to prevent a ring out.
Midoriya grinned. "You're slowing down, Todoroki. Must be that frost that's building up on your body. If you used your fire, you could solve that problem immediately."
Todoroki clenched his fist. "You want my flames? Did the bastard I have to call my father bribe you or something?" He ran at Midoriya, creating a ramp of ice to jump off of. He leapt from it, perfectly on target.
The instant Todoroki's foot left the ground, Midoriya moved. He ducked under the arc of Todoroki's blow and delivered a punch to his gut. "DETROIT SMASH!"
Instead of following up, Midoriya allowed Todoroki to regain his footing. "You know what I don't get, Todoroki? It's how you think you're so much better than the rest of us that you only need half your power, but you almost lost to Yaoyorozu with a flamethrower."
"SHUT UP!" Another ice attack was sent out.
And countered. "SMASH!" Only one finger left on my left hand. Might have to break some twice if this keeps going. "Everyone fought their hardest to get this far, Todoroki! Stretched their power to their limits and beyond! We're all running towards our dreams of becoming the heroes we want to be!" Midoriya took a step forward, "And you're here in the finals half-assing it against me!"
Todoroki froze. "The heroes... we want to be?"
(Eight years ago...)
"But Shoto, don't you want to be a hero?"
"Not like daddy, not someone that hurts you and bullies you."
"What about him?" Rei Todoroki pointed at the TV.
Shoto turned and looked at the TV just in time to hear All Might's catchphrase.
"I am here!"
"Forget your father!" Midoriya cried out, "Do you even want to be a hero?"
Todoroki looked up at Midoriya. "Yes." He stomped the ground, sending more ice racing towards Midoriya.
I'm making headway against that thick skull of his, just a little more... "SMASH!" That was all the fingers on his left hand. "Then prove it, Todoroki! Use all your power, right now!"
"I TOLD YOU, I WILL NOT USE THAT BASTARD'S POWER!"
"IT'S YOURS, YOU IDIOT!" Midoriya cried out, "IT'S YOUR POWER, NOT HIS!"
There was a moment of complete silence in the arena. Then there was fire. Midoriya had to shield himself from the initil wave of heat.
"SHOTO!" Endeavor cried from the sidelines, "Finally, you've ended your little temper-tantrum! Good, now I'll guide you down your path, the path to being the Number One Hero!"
"Joke's on him..." Todoroki said.
"Todoroki?" Midoriya asked.
"I want to be a hero... A HERO LIKE ALL MIGHT!" Ice and flame swirled around Todoroki as he concentrated them for his final attack. "Let's end this, Midoriya!"
The air around Midoriya hummed as he activated One For All at one hundred percent in his right arm. He couldn't give anything less than his best right now. "Bring it on, Todoroki!" He leapt at Todoroki just as ice surged at him, covering the ground.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
"FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE!"
Just as Midoriya brought his fist down, there was an explosion that blew him backwards. Suspended in the air as he was, there was nothing he could do to avoid being flung out of bounds and hitting the wall. By some miracle he remained standing.
The steam from Todoroki's attack dissipated. Midoriya looked down at his arm to see it was broken. His right leg looked like a giant bruise where his PE uniform had ripped away, but was still useable. Could his legs handle higher percentages of One For All? Questions for later.
"It's over!" Midnight said, "Midoriya is out of bounds, Todoroki is the winner!"
Midoriya smiled. "I... saved you... Todoroki."
The world went sideways, and darkness took him.
In a darkened apartment attached to a Hero Agency, a certain Hero made a call.
"Hey, Shota, it's me. Got a question." The hero rolled their eyes, "Yeah, I know you're working! This is a work thing, damn it!"
They waved their hand dismissively, as if Aizawa was in the room, "Listen, I just need- Don't hang up on me! I just need to know how to request one of your brats for an internship."
After Aizawa's pointed interrogation, the hero who had never so much as teamed up with any other hero explained, "Cause, he puts it all on the line in every fight he's in. Wanna train him how to do it right, without breaking all of his fucking bones."
"Yeah, he'll be kicking ass with the best of them!" The hero claimed, "Don't worry, darling. I'll make it up to you. I'll get you a new sleeping bag. Deal? Deal."
She hung up the phone and turned off the TV. "Alright, Izuku Midoriya." Rumi Usagiyama, better known as the Rabbit Hero, Mirko said, "I hope you're ready for the big leagues."
All Might had come to a conclusion. Inko was going to kill him.
Correction, she was going to kill young Midoriya, then him.
Izuku Midoriya lay in a bed in Recovery Girl's office, with both arms in slings and his right leg in bandages. He was trying to pretend that he wasn't in any pain, but failing miserably.
"This is your fault!" Recovery Girl admonished All Might, before rapping him on the shin with her walking stick "Because he's trying so hard to be like you! So much so that he's willing to destroy his body to do it!"
"I'm sorry." Midoriya said, "Even with everything I did, it still wasn't enough to win. I couldn't do it, All Might, I couldn't show the world... that I am here..."
All Might didn't have to look over at Recovery Girl to feel her glare boring a hole through him. He shivered. Yeah, she was married to Gran Torino, alright. "Kid, you did show them. You didn't have to win to do that, and I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you."
Recovery Girl banged her staff on the bed frame for attention. "Now that we've got that settled. Midoriya, unless there are extenuating circumstances, after today I will no longer heal any self-inflicted injuries you incur. To constantly break yourself like this... is not right and should not be the way forward for you. Do you understand?"
Midoriya nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
"Where is he?" Inko burst into the office with all the urgency of a mama bear protecting her cubs. Upon seeing Midoriya on the bed, she was by his side in an instant, that is before plucking his medical chart off the wall. "One broken arm, four broken fingers, extensive bruising on the right leg. Izuku, what were you thinking? All this just to win a fight?"
Midoriya weakly shook his head, "No, mom." He said. "To save someone."
Inko shook her head, "Of course, why else would you..." She turned to All Might, "Toshi, you need to find a way for him to not hurt himself like this so often."
"Yes, I know. Recovery Girl was already very clear on that." All Might took her hand and was eternally grateful she didn't pull away. "I have an idea for a hero for him to go to for his internship. He should be able to-"
"Where is he?"
All heads turned as Momo Yaoyorozu stormed into the office. She moved to Midoriya's side in the blink of an eye. "Give me that!" She took the medical chart from an amused Inko. Unlike her, she didn't read the litany aloud. "Midoriya, you fool. You absolutely wonderful fool. You realize that you might have permanent damage after Recovery Girl heals you, right?"
Midoriya's brain stalled out. "Uh... I didn't think about that."
"That is almost a certainty." Recovery Girl said, "I'm going to have to do surgery to make sure there's no bone shards fouling up your joints." She gave Yaoyorozu a pointed look, You will likely have to wait until tomorrow for whatever talk the two of you were going to have."
"How much damage?" Midoriya asked.
"You'll still have full functionality, but there will be scarring on your hands." Recovery Girl said, "Now, everyone out! I have to prep him!"
Yaoyorozu found herself pulled from Recovery Girl's office by Inko. "Um... excuse me?
"Oh, where are my manners!" Inko said, "I'm Inko. Izuku's mother."
"And him?" She asked, pointing to the deflated All Might.
"Oh, he's just my boyfriend."
All Might was incredibly amused at being introduced as "just" a boyfriend. After all the years he had fought and bled for Japan in solitude, it was nice to be introduced as something normal. "I'm Toshinori Yagi, All Might's personal assistant. And yes, I know I bear a passing resemblance to him. It's why my coffee mug says Small Might." He looked at his phone, then turned back to Inko, "Crap, I've gotta get going. Have to make sure that All Might is in place for the awards ceremony." He departed after kissing Inko on the cheek.
"Anyways, I think you know what this is about, yes?" Inko said.
Yaoyorozu nodded solemnly. "Yes. An interrogation."
Inko laughed, "Well, at least you're resigned to your fate. No, this is the serious talk, where I make sure you know what you're getting into. The fun talk where we embarrass Izuku comes later."
They left the arena and found an empty bench. "So." Inko started, "I'm going to assume that it's a forgone conclusion that you and Izuku are headed towards a relationship."
Yaoyorozu regarded Inko for the first time. She was a shorter woman with hair the same shade of green as Midoriya. A bit on the chubby side, but not overly so. She wore hospital scrubs. "Yes. He confessed his feelings to me after the Obstacle Race, and I told him that I feel the same way, but that we needed to save the conversation until after the Sports Festival. And... well, you can see how that went."
Inko gasped, "He confessed first?"
Yaoyorozu cocked her head in confusion, "Er... yes?"
Inko started to cry, "To think he's already grown so much..."
Yaoyorozu created a handkerchief and offered it to her. "It's one of the things we've been working on. It mostly involves me beating him over the head with a metaphorical You Matter bat."
Inko laughed. "Oh good. That's about the only way to do it. I assume you know about Bakugo."
Yaoyorozu produced a sound that could only be described as a ladylike grunt. "Yes. From what little I've been able to gather, Midoriya had some sort of corrective talk with him after their fight, but wouldn't tell me more."
Inko pinched the bridge of her nose, "That's typical, I'm afraid. He... Izuku has secrets. Some I know, some I don't. But what I do know is that he doesn't keep them to hurt others. It's... complicated."
"That tracks." Yaoyorozu said, "I think what I admire most about him is how kind he is. Most people who had to endure what Bakugo put him through would be bitter, vengeful, or... dead." She choked on the word. "Yet, all Midoriya wants to do is be a hero."
Inko sighed. "Yes, yes he does. Did he tell you what happened to his father?"
Yaoyorozu nodded, "Yes."
Inko fixed Yaoyorozu with an intense stare, "If you do nothing else, promise me one thing. Do not let Izuku end up like my Hisashi. Ever since he started at UA, that's been my greatest fear. That one day while I'm at work, it'll be Izuku that's the injured hero just beyond saving brought to the ER, and I'll be powerless to do anything except watch as-" She broke down crying at the mere thought of her son dying. Yaoyorozu enfolded Inko in a hug.
"I promise." Yaoyorozu said. "I will not let him fall."
Todoroki did not want to talk to him. He didn't want to hear the gloating.
"Shoto!"
"What, father?" Todoroki said, just barely keeping the tone of his voice on the good side of the you just earned an extended training session line.
"Why use your flames now?" Endeavor asked.
Todoroki turned to him and met him glare for glare. That wasn't going away any time soon. "Because, in that moment... I forgot all about you. And... all my classmates are running towards their dreams, and using all their power to do it. I need to do the same."
"I see." Endeavor said. He paused for a moment before reciting what Midoriya had said to him earlier. "You know, you're an amazing hero, Endeavor. But as a person, you're just the worst. Your... are you and Midoriya friends?"
Todoroki frowned. He wasn't sure, but if he knew Midoriya.. "Yes, I suppose so."
Endeavor sighed, "Of course you are. Your friend said that to me. Do you concur?"
Todoroki didn't even hesitate. "Yes."
They lapsed into a silence that neither seemed in a hurry to break. They had almost made it to the car when Todoroki spoke up again. "I want to learn some of your moves, I think. Jet Burn, Hell Spider."
"Then come to me during your Internship." Endeavor said, "So I can train you as a hero and avoid any... pitfalls."
"I need to talk to mom first. The doctors said I could when I'm ready."
Endeavor instructed the driver to take them home. "Do you want to go today?"
Todoroki shook his head, "No, I'm too tired. After everything. I'll go tomorrow."
They went silent again. What did they really have to talk about right now?
They were almost home when Todoroki broke the silence again. "Father, there's something else."
"What is it?"
"Midoriya. He asked me whether I wanted to be a hero like you are now, or a hero like All Might. I chose All Might."
Endeavor didn't say a word. He was still processing the fact that when his son had used his flames in his fight with Midoriya, he had looked more alive than he had in years.
Third place. It wasn't a total victory.
Yesterday, Katsuki Bakugo would be furious at that. Now? Now he didn't know how to feel. He figured that was a step up from being angry all the time.
It didn't help matters that he didn't understand why Midoriya had made that call. Why? Why help him like that? Midoriya had it right during the fight when he had accused him of making his life hell. For eight years. And instead of torpedoing his dreams to hell, he... just said to be better?
How the hell was he supposed to do that?
His phone buzzed. A text from Kirishima. What does he want? As it turned out, it was another gut punch.
"Hey, Bakugo. Aizawa-sensei told us about your... uh .. situation. Me, Aizawa, Tokoyami, and Kaminari are coming tomorrow to help you and your dad get the hell out of there. I know you're probably dead tired, but try packing as much as you can tonight. That way we can be sure to be out of there before your ... whatever (I ain't calling her your mom, good moms don't pull that crap) comes and crashes the party. Hang on just a little longer, buddy."
What? Why? Why did they care about him? Hell, out of everyone that was coming, he only knew Kirishima by name. Wasn't Tokoyami the bird head guy? Which one was Kaminari?
He ended up sending a single word back. "Why?"
Bakugo stared at the notification that Kirishima was typing for about ten minutes before he sent a response.
"You're my friend."
Bakugo didn't know how to accept help. Getting help meant he was weak. But he'd been around Midoriya enough to have a pretty good idea of it.
"Thank you."
He hauled himself off of his bed and went to the mini fridge under his desk. He pulled out an energy drink and popped the tab.
He had some packing to do.
When Midoriya opened his eyes, he didn't expect this.
He was standing on a barren platform floating in a void.
Is this a dream?
"Quite right, Ninth."
He whirled around to find a man. He wore simple clothes and had some sort of scar down the left side of his face. "Who are you?" Midoriya asked, "What is this?"
The stranger placed a hand over his heart, "I am Hikage Shinomori, the fourth wielder of One For All. As for where, for lack of a better explanation, you are currently in One For All. For now, we can only communicate like this. As you grow stronger, your connection to this place -and myself and the other wielders- will improve."
"Okay... that... makes sense. I think." Midoriya said, "Why are you reaching out now?"
Shinomori raised his pointer finger. "That is the question isn't it? We don't have much time, so I'll be brief. You used my Quirk during the Sports Festival."
Midoriya blinked. "Wait, are you telling me that all the Quirks of the previous wielders of One For All are part of it? What's your Quirk, though? I don't remember anything except this stabbing pain in my head right before... danger... some sort of warning system?"
"Danger Sense." Shinomori confirmed. "As you progress along your path, you will unlock the rest of our Quirks. We will do our best to grant you these powers when you have need of them. Be diligent, be brave."
He faded from view. Soon after, Midoriya woke up. Sunlight was streaming through the window, and he could hear the sound of sizzling bacon from the kitchen. Right, it was a tradition that mom always fixed an American breakfast during or after the Sports Festival, depending on work. His eyes fell on the second-place medal dangling from his desk chair.
"How the heck am I going to explain this one?"
A/N: Well. There's the Sports Festival done.
Yeah, Yaoyorozu was always going to lose to Bakugo. Sorry about that. The good news is that this is the beginning of her improvement arc. Say it with me, dear readers: Secret Agent Momo. Her internship will be key in helping get some of her self-confidence back, and as for the rest, well she's got a certain green-haired guy to rely on. This is why I love this ship so much. They make each other stronger.
Endeavor is Endeavor. His arc is getting jump-started but will still take around the same amount of time to get there. There's no easy path for him.
As a reminder, there is no character bashing in this house.
I know a popular thing in fics where Midoriya is stronger in the Sports Festival is to have him win. Not here. Sorry. Not how I wanted to do things. Remember, Midoriya doesn't care about being number one. He just wants to be a hero and help people.
This is Todoroki's starting line. Not much else needs to be said, since his arc will be largely unchanged from canon.
Inko and Yaoyorozu meet! Awesome! Don't worry, the fun talk where they embarrass Izuku with baby pictures and all of his past and present All Might onesies is coming. (You're kidding yourself if you think he doesn't still wear them on the regular)
Bakugo starts to figure things out. Sort of? Right now, he's just going off of 'What would Midoriya do", which... isn't incorrect, but not what he needs to do. Again, his internship will help with that.
Mirko? Married to Aizawa? And Midoriya's going to go to her for his internship? Yes, yes, and yes. I regret nothing.
Okay, put your torches and pitchforks down. Yes, the additional Quirks stored in One For All are showing up much earlier. This is all part of the plan. Also, as you can already tell, Midoriya will be getting the Quirks in a different order. (I'll say this, one of them will drop in in the middle of the Overhaul fight once we get to that point. It will be Midoriya's "Give me more... Barbatos!" moment. If you're a Gundam fan, you know. Get hype.)
Also, uh... don't expect this kind of update frequency going forward. This chapter lit a fire under me.
