Chapter 18: The Reckoning
Shoto Todoroki sat alone in the player waiting room, brooding.
Do I use my fire against Bakugo or not? I...I'm just not sure...
The sound of cheers stirred him. The semifinal was over. Shoto stood, and began heading toward the door.
"Bakugo is out of bounds! Katayama advances to the final!" he heard in the distance, a ringing shout through dozens of walls.
Shoto froze.
...
"YES!" shouted Toru.
"WOOOHOOO!" Mina stood and pumped her fist, shot full of energy.
"Holy shit...how," Kaminari breathed.
"I thought he was done for sure," said Sato.
"Katayama just keeps pulling through...but he must be awfully exhausted by now," Ojiro pointed out. The grey-haired boy was slightly slumped, still holding his fist up to the cheering crowd as medical bots escorted the unconscious Bakugo off the platform.
Kirishima snorted. "He's sure not gonna be happy when he wakes up."
"Why didn't he see it coming?" Yaoyorozu wondered aloud. "It seemed like a pretty obvious trick to me."
"Because Katayama changed his tactics," muttered Midoriya.
"Hmm?" Most of the class turned to listen.
"Kacchan's reflexes and instincts in combat are incredible. He knew in an instant what Katayama was doing with the concrete, and even correctly guessed that he'd try to flick one from behind his back. Because that's combat. That's where Kacchan's brain puts all its work, and usually that gets him the victory. But...then Katayama tried something else. He attacked Kacchan's pride with words. Kacchan can't be physically tricked, but verbally? Most definitely. Katayama said he wouldn't run, so Kacchan believed him...and paid the price. All Katayama had to do from there was teleport behind like he did to Ashido, under the light of the explosion, and finish him off."
Everyone gazed at Midoriya in wonder. He glanced around nervously, squirming. "At l-least, I th-think so. Why's everyone staring at me?"
...
"Goodness, boy. I really wish you hadn't gotten this far." As Recovery Girl healed him, the burned and charred skin disappeared, replaced by new fresh skin.
Doko blinked, his vision suddenly getting all fuzzy.
"How do you feel?" the healing heroine asked.
"I was doing great until just now..." he moaned, rubbing his eyes. "Why did you do that?"
"Here." She tossed him an energy bar. "Eat that. Sorry, my Quirk only speeds up your own body's healing process. You're tired now, right?"
Doko chewed on the bar sullenly. "Yeah."
"Were you not before?"
He raised his eyes to the ceiling, considering it. "I don't think so."
Recovery Girl blinked. "You've been using your Quirk nearly nonstop for hours."
"Well yeah, but..." Doko swallowed the bite. "My Quirk IS energy, stored inside me. It's connected to hyperactivity and adrenaline."
She ruffled through some papers. "Goodness, lad. We've really got to work on the registry notes for your Quirk. I barely know anything about it."
"Sorry," he scratched his head, finishing the bar. "I mean, my muscles ached a bit, but I think you just healed 'em. I'm fine now."
She stared at him. "I'm not sure if your Quirk has somehow taken you past a threshold where you can be tired anymore, or if your adrenaline is just hiding it from you. In any case..." she sighed again. "I'm probably gonna be in for some more work after this bloody final. Sports Festival days are the worst."
Doko looked toward the door. "I believe it's time for me to go." As he stood up and walked out, he passed the unconscious Bakugo on one of the beds. "When that one wakes up, you may wanna restrain him," he called back to her.
Recovery Girl pinched her eyes in exasperation.
...
"The final match is here! From the hero course, it's Shoto Todoroki!"
Shoto walked out a bit faster than usual. barely paying attention to the cheers. I thought it was going to be Bakugo, I was so sure...but Katayama beat him. Somehow he did, and I didn't see it. I was too busy...urgh!
He kept his promise, Shoto thought, suddenly disturbed and worried. He had to snap out of this, and get focused. Focus. Calm.
...
"From the hero course, it's Doko Katayama!"
Katayama was not doing his now-normal thing of waving to the cheering crowd as he came out. This time, he strode straight forward, his hands curled into fists.
Izuku swallowed upon noticing this. "Katayama's whole aura has changed," he whispered, but Uraraka heard him, and nodded. "He's angry about something," she said. "But Todoroki looks...wary. It's like the reverse of what I was expecting."
"What we were ALL expecting," said Kirishima.
Mina, Tsuyu, Toru, Shoji, and Sero were all sitting in the front row now, leaned forward. The group of friends was still newly forged, but Doko felt like their representative from this point forward. "I hope he has a plan, ribbit," said Tsuyu.
Shoji shook his head. "He's not much of a planner, he said so himself. I don't know how much that would even work on Todoroki, though."
Sero grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. "Can confirm from personal experience. I thought I knew what I was doing when I went up against him, and then..." he made a poofing motion with his fingers. "It all comes down to instinct, with someone that powerful."
Mina bit her lip and muttered under her breath nervously, although only Toru noticed. The acid-emitting girl could not seem to tear her eyes away from the field.
...
The two boys faced each other. Todoroki had re-assumed his usual cold, determined expression. Doko could barely hold back a snarl.
Midnight strode out between them. "Let's have a nice fair match, okay?" She looked back and forth, as if she was anxious. Then, "Todoroki, are you ready?"
"Ready."
"Katayama?"
"Let's light this candle." He felt the purple rising up around his mouth again. It was possible, Doko supposed, that his voice might begin to teleport like it had when he'd gotten too excited during training. If that happened, everyone in the crowd would hear anything he said. Good.
Midnight stepped backwards out of the ring, and waved her brush thingy that Doko didn't know the name of.
Present Mic's voice rang out. "FINAL MATCH, BEGIIIIN!"
...
Katayama immediately got into a prepared stance, but Shoto did not stomp right away. He considered a moment. I have upset him somehow, I ought to try and make things right before I defeat him. "You were lucky to get this far," he said, meaning it as praise, "but here it ends."
Katayama's mouth opened in shock, and then Shoto stomped his right foot down, sending out his massive ice attack.
The crowd gasped collectively. In the stands, a girl screamed. The ice enveloped the teleportation user, causing him to disappear. It was just like Shoto's first match against Sero, or the many ice structures he sent out against Midoriya. That was quick. And now I've done it. He sighed, cold breath vaporising in front of him.
Midnight opened her mouth to declare the winner...and then Katayama reappeared with a flash of purple, standing in front of the ice pillar. He was breathing hard, partially keeled over. And his violet eyes were glowing with fury.
...
The crowd went wild. "YES!" Mina shouted, leaping out of her seat. "Wow..." Izuku murmured. In another part of the stands, Endeavour leaned forward, interested.
...
Doko looked up at Todoroki. "I could just barely move my feet in there. You nearly had me," he growled. When he heard the shocked noises from the crowd, he knew his voice was teleporting again. "Either think of a different tactic, or surrender."
Todoroki's nostrils flared. He slammed his right palm into the ground, doubling the ice output by adding it to his foot ice. Another pillar shot out at Doko, its shining blue spikes bearing down on him. Frantically, Doko threw his hands out...and purple light enveloped the oncoming ice.
As the ice came at him, he teleported it to the side, its velocity sending it up toward the stands at a different angle from how Todoroki was shooting it. The crowd gasped again.
"HERE WE HAVE AN UNFORESEEN DEVELOPMENT! KATAYAMA IS THE FIRST COMPETITOR WHO IS ABLE TO MOVE TODOROKI'S ICE!"
The ice was heavy and plentiful, and Doko instantly felt his arms resist the effort, urging him to stop. It was more weight than they'd ever born before. But he grimaced and held out, sending the ice away from himself, until the attack ended.
Todoroki re-angled his hand, now sending out ice from two places at once. Doko threw his hands out in an arc, and the purple light crossed the ice as if cutting through it. Great pillars of ice teleported to the sides of the ring, crashing down and shattering in great explosions that caused the whole stadium to shudder. One nearly crushed Midnight, causing her to scramble out of the way. Present Mic was going wild. "WHAT A SHOW OF POWER! THIS IS TRULY WORTHY OF BEING THE FINAL MATCH, DON'TCHA THINK?"
Aizawa sighed. "If you're asking me, I..."
Present Mic just yelled over him. "OH? TODOROKI HAS STOPPED?"
...
Shoto stood up straight again, looking at Katayama carefully. The warping boy was bent over, his arms hanging limper than normal, and he was breathing hard. "Your abilities have a limit," he observed. "And that was from just three of my attacks. I don't need a repeat of Midoriya. There is no point in exhausting yourself."
When Katayama replied, the whole crowd heard.
"Ohhh? I think a repeat of Midoriya is just what we need. I'll keep negating your ice as a threat to me, because it's solid. But do you know what isn't solid? Fire. I can't warp fire. Use your flames if you want to end the match."
...
Mina was watching closely, chewing her nails with chattering teeth. Doko's eyes and mouth were now coursing with violet light, and his face looked positively crazy. That combined with his hunched posture made him look like some kind of creature, and the whole crowd felt similarly unsettled. It was in the air.
Endeavour smiled.
...
Shoto was furious. How many people in my class has my old man spoken to? "Never," he snarled at Katayama. "Never for you."
Katayama let out an inhuman roar, and suddenly he was charging.
The crowd began to scream and lose control. Shoto's eyes widened in panic, and he stomped out another pillar of ice, but Katayama only teleported lazily out of the way, and then re-adjusted his course, right for his opponent.
...
Doko was glad for their brief exchange, because it had given his legs that last bit of time to recharge their power. But that was the only thing he was happy about right now. All the rest of him was rage, pure rage.
Two-thirds of the way across the ring, he couldn't take it anymore, and warped the rest of the way to Todoroki.
The first hit was a punch connecting solidly into the ice-and-fire user's belly. "HOW DARE YOU SAY I WAS LUCKY TO GET HERE!" Todoroki tried to counter, but Doko had already warped to the side, landing another hit against his head. "I'VE WORKED SO HARD..." another warp, a kick to the back. "JUST TO GET TO THIS POINT..." warp, elbow to the face. "JUST TO KICK YOUR ASS!" Todoroki swung blindly again, whiffing, and Doko warped, punching him low near his liver. Todoroki nearly threw up, and, screaming with frustration, covered his right arm with ice and tried to freeze-grab Doko the next time he appeared in front of him. Doko warped back to avoid it, quick as a cat, and then forward again to keep up the assault.
...
The crowd was losing its collective shit. "KATAYAMA GETS IN CLOSE! NO ONE HAS MANAGED TO TOUCH TODOROKI LIKE THIS ALL DAY! OOH, THAT'S ANOTHER HIT! AND ANOTHER!"
Mina was clenching her fists and breathing very loudly, while most of the boys in the class were going "Whoa!" and "Holy shit."
Izuku leaned forward. "This is the fighting style of a warp Quirk user in all its glory. Katayama's strength is unenhanced, so none of the blows are very powerful on their own...but the persistence of it, and the constant changing of direction and placement...no one without some kind of resistance Quirk will hold out for very long. He's like a swarm of stinging insects."
...
Indeed, Shoto was beginning to lose his strength, and he kept trying to land a counter-attack, to no avail. Katayama appeared right in front of him, and Shoto finally managed to freeze part of the boy's elbow...but then Katayama LEAPT into the air, and disappeared in a purple flash.
Doko had warped right on target, and he landed on top of Todoroki's head, locking his legs around the other boy's shoulders and falling to the ground, pulling his opponent with him in a takedown. The crowd gasped.
Doko flipped over and pinned Todoroki to the ground before the other boy could react. He held his opponent's chest down with one hand and punched him in the face with the other, twice, three times. "GIVE UP!" He shouted, punching him again. "CONCEDE!"
Through all the pain, Shoto grimaced and slammed his right elbow into the ground, sending an ice pillar straight up into the air. Katayama went flying with it, off his chest and into the sky.
"OH NO!" shouted Present Mic, as the warp user went flying into the air like a ragdoll. Midnight and Cementoss got ready to take action. The crowd was buzzing. All Might's eyes widened. And Mina Ashido screamed.
...
Wait...thought Doko, still going up, watching the stadium shrink below him. Then, he slowed...slowed some more...stopped. At the exact moment he reached the peak of the arc Todoroki had sent him on, with no velocity left to hurt him on impact, he teleported down to the ground in sequence, five meters at a time. It took him fifteen warps to reach the ground, in lightning succession. When he landed, it was like he'd fallen no more than a few feet. He bent his knees lightly and hit a palm against the ground. When he looked back up at Todoroki, now gaping in shock from the other end of the ring, he smiled with determination.
Midnight and Cementoss relaxed, and the crowd went nuts. "A GENIUS MOVE AND A GREAT USE OF PHYSICS! DID YOU TEACH HIM THAT?"
"Not that I'm aware of," said Aizawa.
...
Shoto was tired. He was exhausted, actually. And his whole body was in pain. His face was hot with forming bruises. His right side was starting to feel numb. And Katayama's whole body was now glowing violet, as if he'd somehow passed the point where overuse of his Quirk would weaken him, and he was even stronger on the other side.
The decision somehow felt much simpler this time. Shoto ignited his flames.
"OH! TODOROKI LETS THE FIRE SHOW ONCE AGAIN! HAS KATAYAMA SHOWN HIS WORTH AS AN OPPONENT?"
Endeavour's smile grew larger, and so did Katayama's. Shoto's expression remained grim, even though the warmth of the fire was spreading through him, healing him.
"Try and touch me now," he said.
Katayama shrugged. "Okay."
...
He repeated his charge from before. Todoroki sent out another ice pillar. He warped to the left to dodge it. Then there was a spurt of fire coming in, and he warped to the right. Another jump brought him in close range, but as he swiped a punch, Todoroki sidestepped him, and fired fire right into his face. Coughing, Doko warped backwards, feeling the sting of the heat and the smoke, filling his head with a dangerous lightness.
Todoroki suddenly took off on a right-foot slide, attempting to encircle Doko with a banked wall of ice. Doko tried to turn towards him to counterattack, but Todoroki shot fire inward into the circle, and Doko was forced to escape, skirting the closing ice wall by the skin of his teeth. Was his hair smoking?
Thinking on the fly, he flexed the purple energy through his arms and yanked off parts off the ice wall, warping them over Todoroki's head in rapid succession. The other boy dodged one by sliding out of the way on more ice, dodged another, and attacked the last one with fire, causing a burst of steam and boiling water to spray out.
Doko flashed backwards to avoid that, but still caught some glancing droplets that stung against his face. Owww...
"KATAYAMA TRIES THE DROPPING TACTIC AGAIN, TO NO AVAIL! OH? WHAT'S TODOROKI DOING?"
...
Fine, Shoto thought, grimacing angrily, spraying fire all over the platform, aiming at any and all remaining ice. I'll get rid of all your solids. And then there will be fire. Just fire.
Bursts of steam and small floods of hot water were erupting everywhere. Shoto watched as Katayama frantically warped into the air to avoid them, sitting atop a piece of rapidly melting ice. He can't teleport liquid either.
Shoto sprayed more fire, turning slowly in a circle and enveloping the place. The water had all but evaporated away. Katayama was standing clear on the platform again, but his uniform was once again tattered and singed. His purple eyes darted around frantically, as the flickering firelight danced in their reflection.
Shoto had turned the fighting ring into a hellscape.
...
"OOH! THERE'S FLAMES EVERYWHERE! WHAT WILL KATAYAMA DO?"
"Cementoss!" Midnight shouted frantically.
The cement hero got up out of his chair, ready to form up walls between the two boys.
All Might leaned forward in his seat. Don't. Don't interrupt...like Midoriya and Bakugo before them, they must finish this business on their own.
Endeavor was chuckling as he watched the fire envelop the platform, giddy. Finally.
...
Doko warped side-to-side in a zigzag, trying to confuse Todoroki, but the boy somehow seemed ready for everything he threw at him, and it was harder to maneuver with all the fire everywhere. This is what I asked for, I suppose. Another dodge, another shot of fire. Doko felt his arm get hit, and then his shoulder. His clothes were singed and torn. Very well then, a straight on attack it is! He charged forward, and Todoroki sent a swipe of fire out to the left, anticipating Doko to warp that way, but he stayed on his current course, putting both hands onto Todoroki's torso and shoving hard.
Shoto's eyes widened as he realised that his opponent wasn't warping, and was instead pushing him back.
He's going to push me out of bounds oh no oh no no I can't...
Shoto remembered what he did with Dark Shadow, and dug his right heel into the ground, sending up an ice wall behind himself at the edge of the ring. The two boys slammed into it, and then Shoto stepped to the side, making Katayama give chase. He put up another ice wall, this time in front of him, and he heard Katayama smack against it. The warp user tried to go around, and then Shoto reached out with his left and blew up the ice wall.
The crowd gasped again as the wall burst into steam and boiling water, raining down on both of them. Shoto was mostly unaffected, but most of the torrent was angled toward Katayama, and the boy had no resistance.
Doko felt blinding pain, more than he'd ever felt before. "AAAAAARGH!" he shrieked, clutching at his face, stumbling backwards. Somewhere behind him, Midnight was getting ready to call the match. The crowd was stirring up a storm. A girl was screaming. No, he thought. No! I made a promise! Not just to this idiot that just scalded me, but to...but to MINA!
The blinding red and white seemed to swirl and fade, darkening, until all was violet. Nothing but violet.
"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Doko went to his knees, and threw out both his hands.
...
As Shoto watched the warper crumble to the ground, the first thing he thought was Recovery Girl will heal him, and then, I just did the same thing that my mother did to me, and then, oh my God. What have I done?
Shoto suddenly saw a purple glow appear around himself, and then he felt a tugging, an unnatural force, almost lifting him off his feet.
Time and space turned inside out.
He blinked, and then he was falling flat onto the ground...just outside the boundary line.
Katayama had just teleported him out of the ring.
The entire crowd went silent. Midnight's mouth fell open.
"...Todoroki is out of bounds!" she announced. "The winner of the match...and the first year U.A. Sports Festival...is Doko Katayama!"
Doko lowered his hands, and the lilac light surrounding his body flickered out. Tattered and scalded and burnt, he collapsed forward onto the ground, unconscious.
He never heard the cheers.
…
The Sports Festival was over. Izuku watched as Ashido, Asui, and a few others attempted to go down to the hospital room to see Katayama, to no avail. Cementoss was blocking their way.
"What do you mean we can't go now?!" Ashido tapped her foot in annoyance, hands on her hips.
"Katayama is being treated so he may appear on the platform for the ceremony," Cementoss explained, unmoved. "The rest of the students shall gather out on the green for the final remarks. You are all required to go there now."
"Sensei?" Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "As class president, I will ensure that everyone goes where they need to…"
"Good. Handle it." Cementoss rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. "Off with you now."
"Yaomomo, please…" Ashido folded her hands and feigned begging.
"You cannot suede me. We should be getting down to the green!"
"Hurry up, Class A!" Tetsutetsu shouted, as Class B walked past toward the exit tunnel. Itsuka Kendo gave them an apologetic smile.
"I'm still on a high after that match," Kirishima was saying as Class A walked out together.
"I know, right!" Sato exclaimed. "Who knew Todoroki had that much fire in him? And who knew Katayama could warp other people?"
"I can't believe he saved that for the very last second," breathed Kaminari.
Jiro rolled her eyes. "I don't think he knew he could even do it."
"He deserved the win," said Shoji sagely. "Every victory he took was hard-fought, and in most of them the odds were stacked against him."
"The crowd eats that sort of stuff up, huh?" Sero commented, scratching his ear and glancing upwards. Through the ceiling and many walls, they could still hear the crowd cheering and whooping and applauding over the end of the festival, despite it having been several minutes.
"The media will be all over this," Aoyama swooned. "A brave garcon breaking every barrier that stands in his way."
"Deku?" Uraraka asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah...fine." Izuku was lost in thought over what Iida had told the two of them.
A villain attacked his brother…
Ingenium is hospitalized…
They don't even know how bad it is yet…
Iida would have to hang in there.
…
Doko blinked his eyes sleepily, rising slowly out of the bed. "Easy there, lad," said Recovery Girl. "You got moderately burned, and pulled nearly every muscle in your arms and legs. I've healed you again, but you're low, low, low on energy."
Doko leaned back and groaned, moving his eyebrows up and down. The white light of the hospital room buzzed at him in a low tone. His Quirk was asleep, he could feel it. Violet matter settled low in his gut, not planning on moving anytime soon. My Quirk knows that its work is done. It's over. I…I won.
"Todoroki," Doko mumbled, turning over to face Recovery Girl. "Is he alright?"
She blinked. "You bruised him up pretty badly, but that I can heal. Otherwise, his body seems to be used to the difference in temperatures he subjects himself too, so…"
"No, I mean…he has all his limbs? He's…complete?"
"Why wouldn't he be?"
"I warped him. I've never…warped another human before. The only other time I tried it on a living thing was a lizard, and its tail fell off."
Recovery Girl's jaw dropped. "You'd never done that before? And you tried it on another student without knowing if he would survive?" She slapped him.
"OW! I'm sorry! My mind…wasn't in the best place, at that moment."
"Clearly! Goodness gracious." She pinched her eyes. "Well, I suppose he did burn you up pretty badly, so I'd have to get mad at him too. Ugh, these young heroes. I just can't with them. Some of the older ones, too." She made to turn away from him, but then paused. "You know, boy, I didn't really expect you to make it this far. I know I've said that before, but I really…mean it. I did not expect you to win."
"Well…" Doko squirmed, feeling a little more awake now. "I didn't really want to. At least, not at first. But…I had a few promises to keep."
Recovery Girl opened her mouth to answer, and then a shadow fell over the bed.
"Huh?" Doko turned over again, and saw Todoroki standing over him.
Doko gasped and slid back a little, pushing himself against the back wall of the bed. "Todoroki, I…"
"I'm sorry," the other boy said, his mismatched eyes cast downward. He looked pensive, miserable. "I…I, um…"
Recovery Girl stepped back. "I'll give you two the room. I think they're busy tying that blonde boy up to the podium for the ceremony, maybe I can be of some help."
As she left the room, Doko glanced at Bakugo's empty bed. "He woke up?"
"Yeah, after you came back here unconscious. He was a bit upset." Out of someone else's mouth that might have been humor, but Todoroki just said it straight.
"What was it you wanted to say?" Doko asked him carefully, eyes glancing up and down.
"I…I told Midoriya this before, but…have you ever heard of Quirk marriages?"
Doko shook his head.
Todoroki's eyes widened. "You haven't? Well, it's…it's where two people are arranged to be married because their compatible Quirks may lead to…desirable children. It's a publically frowned upon practice, but…my father married my mother for her ice Quirk, you see. And he tried and tried to create a child that had both of our powers, because he wanted his offspring to do what he never could."
"Surpass All Might," Doko muttered. "You weren't his son. You were an experiment."
Todoroki nodded. "In his eyes, I was just a thing to be trained. My mother hated it. She grew to hate the sight of me, because I'd inherited my father's power. And then…she dumped a boiling kettle on my left side, giving me the scar you see today." He gestured to the red half of his face. "I haven't spoken to her in years. My father put her in a mental hospital. From that point on, I decided to be a hero to spite my father…but I was going about it in all the wrong ways. Midoriya showed me that holding back half my strength isn't fair to others. And you showed me that by being unfair to others…I wasn't spiteing my father. I was being just like him." Todoroki stood up taller, recomposing himself. "So I'm not angry about the result of our match. I have been watching you somewhat, Katayama, and I've watched as you slowly came to realize that you wanted to do well. And then you just…did it. You beat the odds. That's a much better story for a victor than my own." He looked down at his fist, and closed it.
"Todoroki…" Doko's mind spun over and over itself, as the cold curtain of realization fell. "I had no idea. About any of it. I'm so, so sorry. I just wrote you off as some rich privileged kid, obsessed with yourself…but I hadn't known about any of your past…if I'd known I wouldn't have acted like such a…jerk."
"Your anger was righteous," Todoroki protested. "I was the one who really…messed things up, you see. When I blew up that ice wall and all that hot water rained down on you…I saw the kettle again. I realized I'd become the thing my mother feared. That I'm just some massive hypocrite."
"No," Doko mumbled. "I'm a hypocrite, too. I came all this way, getting first and everything…but I never had the motives like Midoriya, or Iida, or hell, even Bakugo. I'm only here because of the support of my friends. Todoroki…I never even once considered that you might have had a troubled home life, and even if I did, I didn't think too deeply into it. And that's the worst thing I could have possibly done, because…my parents are Quirkless."
The ice and fire user rose his eyebrows. "Come again?"
"They were two Quirkless mutations and they got married, planning on raising Quirkless kids who got normal jobs and lived normally. I came along, and then my sister…right as my Quirk manifested. They never told me where in the family it came from, but they resented me. When I used it to bring objects to me instead of just picking them up, or to get from place to place more easily…they called me lazy, good-for-nothing. They told me good people don't rely on their powers to do normal things." He sniffed, feeling tears flood his eyes. His voice grew faster and more airy. "They made me stay away from my sister, who remained Quirkless. They gave all their love to her. They forbade me from ever using my Quirk around them. I do most of the housework these days, all manually. The only reason I'm at UA at all is because I passed a bunch of other difficult high school entrance exams that they made me apply for. They didn't think I could do it. But now I'm here, and…" the tears flowed freely now. "I never once thought that other people here may have gone through just as bad. I'm not a hero, man. I told Midoriya I wanted to help the downtrodden, but all I've done is…is…"
Todoroki leaned forward, and hugged him.
Doko froze in shock, feeling his face go pale, his tears melt away. Slowly, he returned the hug. "I…I haven't told anyone about that yet. Not Mina, not Tsu, not anyone."
Todoroki leaned back awkwardly. "I'm no expert on such things…but they probably deserve to know."
"Yes, you're right." Doko wiped his face off and slowly stood up out of bed. "I'll start thinking of when and how I'll tell them."
"And, Katayama…" Todoroki put a hand on his shoulder. Even though the boy's face was awkward and uncertain, he seemed sincere with his next words.
"You are a hero. You and Midoriya opened my eyes. And…maybe there's kids out there, who watched the festival…you probably inspired them, you know."
Doko exhaled, his shoulders falling. "I…I don't know what to say. I mean, I already told you that you'd be a good hero…" he scratched the back of his neck. "But I rescind my other statement. I guess you are a good guy, Todoroki."
"...Yes. That's how I'll work past this. You said you won because of support from your friends? Maybe that's…part of why I lost. And…I may need to pay someone a visit."
…
"It's time for the closing ceremony!" Midnight declared, to the cheers and applause of everyone watching. "Here are your top four!"
The UA students watched as a podium rose from the ground. The lowest two pillars were of the same height, both with a golden 3 on them. Tokoyami stood cool and silent on the left one, while Bakugo raged on the right, complete with chains, ropes, and a muzzle to keep him from going on a rampage.
The pillar with a golden 2 on it stood slightly higher. Todoroki stood on that one, his eyes still cast somewhat downward. One arm gripped the other in a nervous gesture.
The top pillar in the center was where Katayama stood, his hands folded in front of him. He was leaning forward slightly, as if his body was hanging a bit limp. There were absurd bags under his eyes. He looked…exhausted. But when he managed a weak smile for the crowd, their cheering only grew louder.
"And now for the presentation of the medals!" Midnight announced. "Presenting the medals today will be…"
"I AM HERE!" All Might shouted, and the crowd went nuts as the Symbol of Peace leapt into the arena, landing in front of the podium.
As he stood back up straight, his eyes fell upon the top four of the first years. All from Class A, all boys. Someone somewhere will write an article complaining about that, he thought, straining his smile for the camera and the crowds.
All Might took the medals from Midnight and walked over to Tokoyami. He'll be the easiest. "Congratulations, Tokoyami-shounen! You sure are strong!"
"You are too kind," the cool bird boy responded.
All Might leaned in and gave him an awkward hug. "Your Quirk is incredible, but in order to improve, you must overcome its weaknesses…perhaps by improving yourself a little, separate from Dark Shadow?"
Tokoyami looked down at the bronze medal as they separated. "Yes, sir."
All Might stiffly moved on to Bakugo, who strained at the muzzle and chains, his eyes bloodshot with pure fury. "Ah yes, Bakugo-shounen…"
The crowd was a mixture of laughter and noises of discomfort. You really do know how to make things difficult, don't you? "You…have incredible natural power. Perhaps you should work on strengthening the soul and mind, moving forward…and then you'll get that number one spot you so desperately crave…"
Bakugo somehow spat the muzzle off. "I DON'T WANT THE DAMN BRONZE, YOU SMILING BASTARD! JUST LET ME AT THE CRACKHEAD! I WANT TO BE NUMBER ONE! NUMBER ONE, I TELL Y…" All Might stuffed the medal in his mouth, and his ranting became incomprehensible gibberish.
All Might stepped up to Todoroki. "And for you, Todoroki-shounen, the silver. Congratulations." The boy bowed and accepted the medal graciously. "I…assume there is a reason for how you used your fire so sparingly, but then began to somewhat turn to it later on?"
"I was unsure of myself," Todoroki said to his shoes…but then the boy looked up. "I'm no longer unsure of myself."
"The look in your eyes is different from before." All Might felt the warmth of pride spread through him, and hugged the boy. "I won't pry for details. Whatever it is you feel like you need to do, you will accomplish it. I believe that."
"Thank you, All Might."
Then, finally…All Might met eyes with Doko Katayama.
The boy seemed to straighten, as if briefly banishing the exhaustion that permeated in his limbs. It had been five years since the fight with All for One, and All Might knew the look of one who had strained themselves past their limits when he saw it. The boy's face still seemed to sag…but there was a light in his purple eyes.
"Katayama-shounen, my deepest congratulations," All Might said, bestowing the gold medal. "I…I wanted to apologize, as well. For assuming…certain things about you. That behavior…was truly unheroic of me."
Doko lifted up his head. "There's nothing to apologize for, All Might. If I'd really tried from the start, then you would have never assumed anything. But now…" he looked down at his hands. "I realize what I can do when I push my abilities instead of resting on them. I never thought getting first place was possible. Not once."
"And you deserved it, my boy." All Might hugged him. "I was worried about your lack of drive, yes. But somewhere along the way, you found your motivation…and watching you fight tooth and nail to the top from there tugged on the heartstrings of this old hero." Even if that motivation may have been…spite. The desire to have others lose. What is brewing behind that face of yours, boy? You're even harder to read than Todoroki. But All Might knew…his duty as a teacher. These students would continue to grow, and find the right path.
He'd help them do it, with all his heart…and one day, they'd replace him, and carry on the torch.
Well…that's it. Last chapter of 2019, and the closing of the Sports Festival. I hope I concluded it in a way that was mostly satisfying. This has honestly been the sequence that's been in my head since I first conceived Doko as a character. Just…everything in this chapter.
Updates may begin to slow from here, I'm sorry to say. I'm about to get really busy again. But there will be more to this story…most immediately, Doko's hero name, Doko's internship, a resolution of some family tension…and resolution of some romantic tension as well. All that will be coming soon…just maybe not as soon as these past chapters have been coming in.
With that being said, have you guys been watching Season 4? Of course you have, why am I even asking. That's some crazy stuff. I'm already getting ideas as to how Doko might play an interesting role in those events…which means I'll be writing up to that, at least, and hopefully further on. There will never be a massive divulgence from canon, but hopefully I can still deliver enough originality to keep this interesting. Plus there's romance to look forward to, which the main story seems to avoid like the plague...grrr.
All of your support means a lot to me. Thanks for reading.