Chapter Nineteen: The Sports Festival Part 3

"Um… Excuse me." Ojirou said, raising his hand. Midnight had begun to explain how the matchups would be made, but the boy interrupted. Why, you might ask? "I'd… I'd like to drop out."

Everyone surrounding the boy looked on in confusion as the boy looked down. Izuku turned to the tailed boy and looked at him questioningly. "Why Ojirou? This is your chance to be noticed by the pros!"

The boy looked down, seemingly in frustration. He then faced the rest of his class, and the audience of onlookers. "During that cavalry battle… I have no memories of what was happening up until the end… It's probably his quirk that did it."

Ojirou had then pointed to Hitoshi Shinsou, the lilac haired boy who declared war on 1-A before the Sports Festival. Izuku turned and stared at the boy, who simply looked away. What was his quirk?

Ojirou then began to explain how he wanted to win with his own power, and standing here to compete with the others felt wrong… It felt undeserved. Then a group of other students had begun to pull out of their matches as they too were met with the unfortunate fate of being used by Shinsou.

"How naive." Midnight said, drawing her whip before cracking it loudly. "I LIKE IT!"

Izuku and Kyouka looked at each other before sighing at their teacher's antics. She really was a strange woman, but it just added to her character.

The people who were replaced by the people who had withdrawn were from 1-B. It was team Tetsutetsu, with Ibara Shiozaki, and Tetsutetsu taking their place. Everyone then began to draw their lots, and Izuku had been paired with the one person he had seriously hoped he wouldn't have.

"Hitoshi Shinsou…" Izuku mumbled, staring up at the tournament bracket. If he were to win his match, he'd be up against Todoroki. He sighed before he felt someone's presence behind him.

"You're Izuku Midoriya, aren't you..?" A voice spoke, causing the boy to jolt in surprise. He turned and was about to speak to the boy, but a tail found it's way over his mouth. It was Ojirou!

"Don't respond to that guy!" He said, covering the boy's mouth. Kyouka then ran over to the two of them and was about to chew Ojirou out before she noticed the serious expressions of the two boys.

"What's going on..?"

Izuku stood in the corridor waiting for them to call him to the stage. His nerves were at an all time high, as this was going to be his first battle. Was he even truly ready? All-in-all he doubted it.

"Hey kid!" All Might's voice called from behind him. He turned to see the suited man standing behind him. "It's been such a short amount of time, and yet you're using One For All amazingly! Keep it up, kid!"

Izuku smiled at his mentor's praise, and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. His hero really praised him!

"I-It's all thanks to you, and Kyouka All Might! Please don't p-praise me so much." He said, smiling nervously. "H-Honestly everything up till now has been a bit of good luck…"

All Might then chopped Izuku both on the head, and in the throat. The boy began to hack and cough as All Might scowled at the boy's disbelief in his capabilities.

"You'll never be a hero acting so mopey all the time!" The man scolded, before changing into his muscle form. "Now listen. When you're feeling worried or scared, that's when you gotta smile!"

The man then smiled down at the boy and gave him a thumbs up. "You've come this far, even with help, it's all because of you! So show some bravado, even if it's fake! Never forget that I'm expecting big things from you, my boy! And I know you'll do great!"

Izuku nodded in determination and smiled nervously at his hero. All Might smirked at the boy's shaky smile but nodded approvingly. Izuku then turned to the exit of the corridor and took a deep breath.

It was now time for battle.

"'I give up,' huh?" Shinsou quoted, cracking his neck and turning to glare at Izuku. "Get it, Izuku Midoriya? This battle's going to test your strength of will."

Shinsou then smirked as the boy stayed silent, and turned to stare at the purple-haired girl in the spectator stands. He then faced Izuku with a sadistic smile on his face.

"Y'know that little girlfriend of yours is kinda cute. I think I'll take her for myself. What I'd give to have her…" He said, chuckling softly while putting his hands in his pockets.

Now Izuku wasn't the type of person to let such an obvious taunt draw him to make a reckless decision, but in that one moment… In that single moment, Izuku felt nothing but pure unbridled rage. It was possible that his anger could be even greater than Bakugou's as his glare hardened and with a flare up of One For All the boy began to rush the boy.

"THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY-" His voice boomed throughout the arena, before he halted his movements. Izuku felt an empty sensation in his mind, and his body would no longer listen to him. Ojirou looked on in a panic as he knew exactly what had just happened. The boy had fallen into Shinsou's brainwashing.

"It's my win." Shinsou declared, smirking at the boy's foolish actions. He really was so easy to break. He thought that getting help from that damn monkey kid would help? No way in hell.

'No way! Izuku!' Kyouka thought as panic began to set in. Why wasn't he moving? He was standing there frozen, with a blank look on his face. Shinsou's face then turned into a blank stare, this was just going to be an easy win for him.

"Must be nice having everything handed to you, Izuku Midoriya… Now turn around, and walk out of the ring." The boy commanded, causing the boy to turn around. Izuku then began a slow walk towards the edge of the arena.

'No..!' Kyouka watched in fear as the boy listened to Shinsou's command. His quirk, brainwashing, allowed him to manipulate the boy to his will.

The world around Izuku had begun to move in slow motion as each step he took brought him closer, and closer to defeat. No! He couldn't let this happen, he needed to put up a fight!

All Might saw his successor walking closer to the stairs leading from the stage and began to mutter a pleading, "no", repeatedly. He couldn't just walk off the stage and lose just like that!

'No..! My body won't listen to me!' Izuku screamed internally, 'Stop! Stop damnit!'

The boy had begun to scream internally as he pleaded to some god that he would be freed from the brain washing. He didn't want to lose like this! Izuku looked around, before coming face to face with shadowy figures standing in the corridor where All Might was hiding.

There had appeared to be a plethora of people with their eyes on him, telling him to snap out of it. It was as if his own psyche was screaming at him to get it together. Was this One For All?

Izuku's finger then twitched, and the boy realized that he could in fact move, if only a little. He needed to act fast as he was one step away from walking out of the arena!

The boy poured all of the power he had into his fingers and flicked them with all of his might, causing the area around him to cave in. The mind control had been undone, and Shinsou.

Well, he was fucked. Royally.

Izuku rose from the dust of the impact, and turned to Shinsou slowly. He glared that all intensive signature glare, and began to pant for air. Kyouka stared in amazement at the boy freeing himself from the grasp of Shinsou's quirk. He did it!

"You're not… Taking me out… That easily, Shinsou." The boy exclaimed between breaths as two of his fingers had been broken. As soon as his breathing returned to normal he turned and faced the boy.

"What the hell did you just do!? You're just going to break yourself in front of your girlfriend like that!? She deserves someone better than a glass cannon!" Shinsou exclaimed. Izuku was going to rebuttal, before forcing his mouth shut with his hand. He wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.

Instead, he decided to let his fists do the talking. He began to fill himself with five percent of One For All and dashed towards the boy, slamming his fist straight into Shinsou's gut. His pose was reminiscent of All Might's when he struck the Nomu for the last time. He held a wide smile on his face, and launched the boy with a single punch.

Shinsou was knocked straight out of the ring in a single blow, Midnight had called the end of the match and declared Izuku Midoriya as the winner. Izuku walked over to the edge of the arena and stared down at Shinsou, as he panted with a smile on his face.

"You could easily be a hero." He said through labored breaths. "But your first mistake was mentioning Kyouka."

Izuku then walked off, leaving Shinsou to his own devices. That green-haired idiot… That was the first time someone had told him he could be a hero. Perhaps 1-A wasn't so bad…

His classmates had begun to praise him, hell even a few pros had taken notice of Shinsou and begun to admire the boy's determination to be a hero. Notably a single Shota Aizawa.

Izuku walked off to Recovery Girl's temporary office to get his finger's fixed up, as the next matches were soon to begin. The door to the nurse's office soon burst open as Kyouka stepped in.

"Izuku!" She shouted, glomping on the boy. Izuku was sturdy enough to keep his footing, and quickly hugged the girl back. All Might and Recovery Girl had smiled at the scene, and quickly excused themselves so that they wouldn't interrupt the two's moment.

"Dude, you have no idea how cool that was! And yet that was so stupid! And yet so cool!" She said, with sparkles in her eyes. Then Izuku began to remember Shinsou's words from before.

Was he good enough for Kyouka as he was? He really was just a glass cannon a majority of the time, but… But what if she really would leave him for someone better? She could get with someone who didn't come with the risk of being hurt daily, and be loads happier…

No, Izuku wasn't going to have any of that. He wasn't going to let that happen, he would train his ass off and make it so that he'd never break again. He would train so that they could live together without the fear of him landing in the hospital.

The boy pushed the girl off of him slightly, just so that he could see her face. Kyouka stared at the boy confused. His gaze was really intense, but before she could question him he had leaned in and brought his lips to hers.

The girl blushed in surprise, but was quick to kiss the boy back. The longer the kiss had gone on the more it began to intensify, and Kyouka had noted that this was definitely new. She wasn't so disapproving of it, however, but the fact of the matter was; they were still in the nurse's office.

Izuku had soon pressed Kyouka up against the wall as his lips lingered on hers, and had no intention of letting go of her. His tongue had begged for entrance into her mouth, and Kyouka soon relented and gave the boy access.

The two sat there for some time, before the lack of air caused them to separate. The girl's knees had begun to feel weak, and she looked up at Izuku as they both gasped for air, and locked eyes with unknown expressions on their faces. Izuku didn't know why he did what he did, but he knew that he wanted to act. He wanted her to be his, and his alone.

"Izu… Wh-What was that..?" The girl questioned, her labored breaths made her pause in between her questions. Izuku looked down, unsure of the answer before locking eyes with her.

"I just… Needed you more than I realized." He whispered, breathlessly. The girl brought her hands up to his face and brought her forehead to his. She could tell that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong, Izu?" She questioned, as his gaze averted hers. He feared telling her the answer, it was just a dumb insecurity right? He could get over it on his own. As long as he had her, he'd be fine.

"I'll… I'll tell you later, I just need this right now. I need you right now." He said with a pleading tone. Kyouka sighed and nodded, before embracing the boy. If she wasn't going to any answers out of him yet she could at least fulfill his request and be there with him. Though the next match was going to start soon.

"The next match is going to start soon, how about we just sit together?" She'd suggest, patting the boy on the back. He grunted in response, which she knew meant okay, and the two separated from their hug. The girl stood on her toes and gave Izuku a quick peck to his lips before taking his hand and leading him out of the nurse's office.

The girl had led the boy to their classes assigned seating area, and the two sat a few chairs away from the rest of their classmates. Unfortunately for them a certain brunette had seen Kyouka leading the boy over with their hands together, and felt a pang of jealousy.

'Those two sure are close…' She thought, watching the two of them sit down away from their class. Uraraka had felt a tightness in her chest watching the two acting so friendly, but had concluded that she just wished she could interact with her friends more. Could that be it?

Before Uraraka could ponder it more, Present Mic called out the contestants; Shouto Todoroki, and Hanta Sero. The boy's walked up to their positions in the arena, and stared each other down. Sero stretched his arms and began to sweat as he really didn't want to go up against Todoroki.

"Hm… I don't really feel much like winning…" Sero stated, cracking his neck. Suddenly, in an attempt to surprise Todoroki the boy shot his tape at the dual-haired boy and bound him with his quirk. "But I don't feel like losing either!"

Todoroki was yanked to the side by Sero as he attempted to swing the boy out of bounds, but before he could even get the chance Todoroki glared up at Sero.

"Sorry about this." Todoroki said in a cold tone. Suddenly the arena went quiet as a massive spiked-mountain of ice protruded from the stadium. Todoroki had completely engulfed Sero, and half of the audience in ice. Even a few participants sat beneath the massive ice mountain, and left speechless at the boy's sheer power.

Todoroki then broke out of the frozen tape and gathered his footing. Sero was immobilized as ice had surrounded him. The boy was sitting at the forefront of the mountain completely engulfed in ice.

"That's… That's overkill, ain't it?" He muttered as he shivered fiercely. Sero was declared the loser of the match, and both Izuku and Kyouka stared at the dual-haired boy with intensity. His power was surely something short of amazing.

"Todoroki…" Izuku mumbled as he watched the dual-haired boy defrost both himself and Sero with his left side. Something struck a chord with Izuku, this seemed really sad to the boy. He declared how he promised not to use that side, and yet… And yet he was forced to. Both when he fought Izuku and to save himself from the backlash of his ice quirk.

"Izuku you fight him next right? That might be too much even for you…" Kyouka stated, panic beginning to set in at the possibility Izuku could end up with frostbite just like Sero. Having to see the boy in that state would be less than desired.

Izuku nodded, but continued to stare at the dual-haired boy as he melted the giant mountain of ice he had just created. Shouto had moved on to the second round and Izuku realized one thing.

He needed to prepare for what he was up against.

The next match went on, and ended fairly quickly as Kaminari had severely underestimated 1-B's Ibara Shiozaki. Seriously he used his full power, short-circuited himself, and got immobilized by the girl's vines. He really was a fool.

Izuku had made sure to take plenty of notes, muttering aimlessly beside Kyouka as they watched the match. He had also taken notes from Todoroki's match and noticed that there was only so much ice he could take before he needed to defrost.

"IthoughKaminari' ' -" Izuku started before geting jacked by Kyouka. He yelped in pain and snapped out of his note-taking trance. "Kyo!"

"Sorry, Izu. You gotta stop the muttering." She said, patting the boy on the back as he rubbed the spot on his neck she had just jacked. He pouted at her before resuming his notetaking. Kyouka sighed and stood from her spot as her match was up next. She had been pinned against Tenya Iida himself.

"Go for the legs." Izuku stated as the girl walked off to find her way to the arena. She gave the boy a thumbs up as she left, and headed for the stairwell leading to the arena entrance.

Iida had already arrived at the arena as Kyouka made her way onstage, and the girl took a shaky breath. Fighting someone like this in front of a whole load of people is really nerve wracking!

"The first round's just about half over! Next up is Tenya Iida from the Hero Course, versus…" Present Mic shouted, introducing the students. "Kyouka Jirou! Also from the Hero Course!"

The two future heroes stared each other down, and readied themselves for their match. Kyouka was feeling nothing but unease, and uncertainty as she knew in a battle of strength she had no chance against Iida. But she knew she had to try.

Present Mic then took a deep breath so that he could announce the beginning of the match. Izuku put down his notebook and watched on, and wished he could send Kyouka all the encouragement he could muster. She could do this.

"START!"

And that's chapter nineteen!

In this chapter Izuku takes on Shinsou Hitoshi, and begins to notice things about himself that he didn't notice before!

Kyouka is also revealed to have her match be against Tenya Iida in the first round! Who will win? Find out in the next chapter!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you all for the next chapter! Please do check out a few of my other works in the meantime!

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