Chapter 15: Fight 'til you Drop
Summary:
The Sports Festival continues!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Tenya sighed as he sat, slumped, on a bench in one of the stadium's hallways. A can of orange juice was in his hand, and he stared at it without opening it.
"Are you all right, Iida-kun?" Tenya turned his head to see that Ibara was there, looking concerned.
"Ah, hello, Shiozaki-kun!" Tenya said, trying to affect his usual earnest demeanor. "Is there any way I can assist you?"
Ibara frowned, "No need for that, Iida-kun. I only wished to check on you after your last fight. You were kind enough to ensure that I was well following our bout, and I wanted to return the favor."
"You needn't worry, Shiozaki-kun!" Tenya said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
"And what was it you told me while escorting me to Recovery Girl?" Ibara replied, taking a seat on the bench near him. "That just because you shouldn't worry won't stop you from doing so?"
Tenya's face softened a bit, "I suppose I am guilty of hypocrisy."
"To be aware of your faults and make steps to correct them is a great virtue," Ibara smiled. "But, you looked rather distraught after your loss."
Tenya sighed, "I suppose I shouldn't put on a brave face. After seeing Yaoyorozu-san lose to Shinso-san so easily, I hoped to learn from her failure. Shinso-san's physical prowess was unexpected, but something I could handle. But, when he called me a pale imitation of my brother, I…" he shook his head, "I lost control, shouted at him, and made myself look like a fool."
"All Might told us that part of the point of our schooling was to make our mistakes here, where the consequences are less dire than on the battlefield, correct?" Ibara said, hoping to comfort him.
Tenya blinked, "That's true. And I should expect my opponents to act in an underhanded manner to infuriate me. It's better I learn that from a fellow student than from a villain attempting to do me harm."
"Are you angry at him?" Ibara asked.
"In the interest of honesty, I do harbor some anger towards Shinso-san," Tenya admitted.
Ibara nodded, "I was a little angry at you after our clash. I couldn't help the feeling. It's what I did with that feeling that truly matters."
Tenya smiled, "I suppose I cannot fault him for attempting to become a Hero using whatever tools he has at his disposal."
"Do you wish to return to the stands with our class?" Ibara asked.
"Indeed!" Tenya said, his earnest nature genuinely appearing. As he began to rise from his seat, his phone rang. "Ah, that ringtone means Mother is calling. Pardon me!" Tenya rose and answered his phone. "Hello, Mother? Is everything all right?"
And, unfortunately for Tenya, everything wasn't all right. And it wouldn't be for quite some time.
After getting Akira to the stands holding 1-A (with Mei hanging around for good measure), he realized immediately that attempting to introduce him to Eijiro wasn't so urgent, as that half of 1-A's sharp-toothed tough-skinned manly duo was about to take part in his match of the quarter-finals. Still, introducing him to Tetsutetsu was enough to jumpstart the friendship.
And, of course, the fight between Eijiro and Todoroki was short-lived. Another massive glacier filled the ring, and Eijiro was unable to bash his way out of it the way Izuku was. Izuku shivered as Todoroki melted the ice after the match was called.
Wait, was Todoroki shivering, too?
He worried about Tsuyu, who was in her waiting room until her match against Ochako, though Momo had gone with her to ensure that something like this wouldn't hurt her. Momo texted them a picture of Tsuyu wrapped in a warm blanket next to a space heater to reassure them all.
Of course, as they waited, a certain smug face rose from the partition separating 1-A and 1-B. "So, you're attempting to sway the General Education student against us, are you, 1-A?" Monoma sneered, "Haven't you done enough by removing three of us from the battle in the first round?"
Whatever retort Monoma was expecting was derailed when Akira excitedly said, "Wait, you're the guy who can copy Quirks! Awesome!"
Monoma was thrown completely off his rhythm by that statement, but quickly tried to regain himself, "Why, yes, I am. Good to see that someone has taste."
"Hey, can you do me a solid?" Akira asked. "Could you copy my Quirk?"
Monoma blinked. This was beyond anything he could have expected. "Wait, what?"
"My Quirk is Pep Talk! I can make folks stronger by complimenting them! Problem is, I can't use it on myself! I've never known what it feels like, but if you copy it, I'll finally be able to experience my Quirk myself!" Akira said, holding out his hand.
Smirking, Monoma took his hand, and as he copied Akira's Quirk, he stated, "Well, it appears you've made the correct decision. You'll be the perfect addition to allow us to show 1-A who the top Hero class truly is!"
I suppose that's a good compliment from Monoma's point of view, Izuku thought, shaking his head at the response.
Akira, however, frowned, "No, man. It doesn't work that way. It has to come from the heart! Has to be honest! Has to be something you truly believe! It can be as superficial as 'I like your hair!' or 'that was a sweet punch', but you can't use my Quirk if you don't mean it!
"Here, let me show you," Akira pointed at Monoma, "It was really cool how you used your fight with Izuku to show off your classmates' abilities! That's the kind of camaraderie that really gets my blood pumping!"
As he said those words, a red aura engulfed Monoma, pulsing for a bit, before dispersing. Monoma looked shocked at it. Akira gestured that it was his turn.
"I…" Monoma seemed utterly lost, before he pursed his lips like he'd drunk curdled milk, and said, "It's very generous of you to allow me to use your Quirk. That means a lot to me." It was muttered, it was out of character for the boy's rants.
But, apparently, it was sincere, because Akira felt a yellow glow engulf him, and he laughed. "This is so awesome! Thanks, man! I've been wanting to feel what this was like for years, and it's better than I ever dreamed! I owe you!"
It was about that time that Eijiro returned, shivering but mostly fine, "Hey guys! How's everyone…" he stared at Akira, who stared back, "Bro, your hair…"
"Bro, YOUR hair…" Akira replied.
"Bro…" Tetsutetsu added.
"Bro!"
"BRO!"
"BRO!"
Izuku turned away, and whispered, with dread, "What have I unleashed upon the world?"
"These two ladies were on the team that won the cavalry battle! Now, they have to face each other to make it to the top! First up, with the way this frog trounced Ashido, you'd think it's pretty easy being green! It's Tsuyu Asui! And she has to beat someone who can tell one of the four fundamental forces of reality to go away and leave her alone! Welcome to the stage, Ochako Uraraka!" Present Mic introduced the last of the quarter-finals contestants.
Ochako was a little worried.
Could you blame her? Tsu was amazing! Ochako had to risk motion sickness to do what Tsu could do as second nature! Not to mention the ranged attack! And she was unflappable! Ochako really admired how nothing seemed to phase her.
Well, okay, she knew that things could phase her, thanks to the bond, but even when she was scared, she could handle things well! It was so cool!
And then there was the bond they shared. She didn't know if she'd get any insight on her opponent from the bond, but if so, any advantage she had over Tsu would be an advantage Tsu had over her.
And then there was the fact that whoever won this round would be facing Todoroki in the next round...
"You know, Tsu-chan, you may not want to move on, given who the next opponent is…" Ochako decided to bring it up.
"If I make it to the next round, I'll concede the fight, ribbit," Tsu stated bluntly. "I'm not going to make this easy for you, Occhan."
"Didn't think you would," Ochako admitted, preparing herself.
When Midnight's whip announced the beginning of the match, Tsu leapt into the air. Ochako chose not to follow. Tsu was a three-dimensional fighter thanks to her ability to leap, and her tongue gave her range that Ochako didn't possess. Running up to engage Tsu in melee wouldn't work.
So, Ochako had to do two things: Dodge and wait.
She made sure that she was always facing Tsu, ready for the upcoming tongue strike. The first one aimed low, approaching her feet, but Ochako dodged out of the way. The second went high for her head, forcing her to duck, but she quickly looped her tongue around to aim low. Ochako jumped over it like she was skipping rope.
Finally, an idea came to Ochako in a flash. Removing her gravity, she leapt towards Tsu. As the frog girl wrapped her tongue around Ochako, she pressed her fingers together. The sudden increase of Ochako's weight caught Tsu off guard, Ochako falling to the ground suddenly. As she fell, she grabbed Tsu's tongue, removing her gravity.
Ochako landed as Tsu rose, and with a few twirls, Ochako flung Tsu out of bounds, releasing her to allow her to land. Tsu landed gracefully, retracting her tongue, looking fine.
The two walked out of the stadium together, the crowd erupting into thunderous applause.
When they were out of earshot of anyone, Ochako said, "Well, good news, the bond doesn't give us away when fighting each other."
"Ribbit, it's a good thing to know. It'll help when you fight Izu-chan," Tsu smiled at Ochako.
"Let's see if I make it there, first," Ochako gave the briefest smile.
"Occhan, that's not the way to think about it, ribbit," Tsu said firmly. "I couldn't beat him if I tried, ribbit. He's my weakness personified. You, ribbit, have a serious chance. If he doesn't take you seriously, he'll lose."
Ochako's eyes were blazing as Tsu spoke, "You're right, Tsu-chan! I won't worry until it's over! And I'll beat him for you! As revenge for having to concede if you'd won!"
"I don't think revenge works like that, ribbit," Tsu countered.
"Call it prevenge, then!"
"And now for our first semi-final match! On one side, we have the dark horse of Class 1-C, who's gone further than any other Gen Ed student in a Sports Festival since my buddy Eraser took to the field! Hitoshi Shinso!" Present Mic called out.
"I must admit, I love to see it," Eraserhead commented.
"And his opponent, Class 1-A's rising star, who's been indomitable every time he's been out here! Izuku Midoriya!"
"Must be nice, having so many people cheering for you," Shinso said. "You really won the Quirk lottery…"
Izuku's fist tightened, but he said nothing.
As Midnight cracked her whip to begin the fight, Izuku zoomed over in a flash, a green blur of lightning, as he punched Shinso hard in the stomach, sending him flying out of the ring immediately. If someone blinked, they would have missed it.
Shinso landed on the ground outside the ring, as the match was declared in Izuku's favor.
As soon as Izuku looked at Shinso, he paled, "Crap, Shinso-kun, are you okay?!"
Shinso groaned, "Knew I should've conceded beforehand. I just didn't want to let Akira down."
"Need a hand getting up? Or do you want to wait for the medic-bots with the stretcher?" Izuku asked.
Shinso held his hand up, "I already ate shit on national television. I'd appreciate whatever dignity you can help me salvage." Izuku took his hand, and helped him up, to the roaring applause of the stadium.
As Shinso walked off, Izuku followed, "Mind if we talk?"
Shinso looked even more tired than usual, "Well, Akira basically attacked me with friendship on the first day. Guess there was bound to be another one here."
"First of all, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for going after you so quickly," Izuku said.
Shinso looked at him incredulously, "Not gonna lie, the part of me that's been called a villain my entire goddamn life hates it. But the rest of me realizes that you treating me as enough of a threat to take out in a heartbeat is a compliment."
Izuku winced, "I'm sorry, I know the feeling. Part of me keeps wondering when the other shoe is going to drop and I'm going to wake up unable to use my Quirk, with my friends turning on me again…"
Shinso looked sympathetic, "Kids are bastards. Eraserhead said your Quirk came in late. How late?"
"Day of the U.A. entrance exam," Izuku answered.
Shinso's eyes widened, "Holy shit…" he paused. "Feel free to tell me if I'm crossing a line, but, did you get red spider lilies on your desk, too?"
Izuku grimly nodded, "Constantly. I was considered a waste of oxygen throughout middle school. Teachers encouraged it."
Shinso shook his head, "Ugh. Same. I wasn't even allowed to talk to people."
"I could, not that anyone would ever listen," Izuku said.
Shinso paused, "God, U.A. is such a breath of fresh air. I thought Akira would be an outlier, but no one's scared of me here. Hell, I fought two of your classmates and we're acting civilly."
"That's a mood," Izuku replied. "I told them I was Quirkless for most of my life, nobody cares. Hell, I think I'd have been fine here even if my Quirk didn't manifest."
"Maybe not in the Hero Course," Shinso replied.
"Probably not. But, hey, I'd still make it into Gen Ed… and maybe I'd be scheming with a pair of people about how to win the Sports Festival," Izuku shrugged.
Shinso chuckled.
Izuku paused, "Hey, there is something I'd like to try…"
Shinso raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"My Quirk has a bunch of weird moving parts to it," Izuku said, in an understatement. "Some of it is mental. I'd like to know what would happen if you used your Quirk on me."
Shinso blinked. "You're serious?"
"Deadly," Izuku nodded.
Shinso seemed disbelieving, but he activated his Quirk on Izuku.
As he did so, something odd happened. Izuku went stock still, the way anyone would when brainwashed. Then, he blinked. His posture changed. He cocked his head and began to feel his own arms and face.
"Huh, that's a feeling I've not felt in a long time," Izuku said, his tone different, sounding more wispy, like he was short of breath.
Shinso blinked, utterly confused, "What."
Izuku blinked, "Ah, right. That. Shinso-kun, thank you for this…"
"I'm sorry, but what's happening here?" Shinso was extremely worried.
"Sorry, I haven't been in control of a physical body for the longest time," Izuku said with a wan smile. "It's… nostalgic."
Shinso couldn't help but sound scared, "What the hell are you?!"
Izuku blinked, then looked around. Seeing no one, he leaned in close, and whispered, "What I'm about to say, you can never repeat, am I clear?"
Shinso nodded, fearful.
"Izuku's Quirk grants him, among other things, the memories of his ancestors. I am the first of his relatives to possess a Quirk. A great-great-great grandfather," Izuku, or rather the spirit possessing Izuku, stated.
Shinso blinked, "That's… I want to say it's impossible, but so is whatever you're doing right now."
Izuku smiled, "Perhaps you should release your Quirk, Shinso-kun."
He did so without hesitation. Izuku blinked and looked around. "Huh, that never happened while I was awake before."
"Your Quirk is haunted ?!" Shinso whisper-shouted.
Izuku nodded, "Seriously, you can't tell anyone."
"No one would believe me anyway," Shinso shook his head in disbelief.
"It was nice to give Jii-san some time in the physical world. Maybe we should do this again, let my relatives experience the waking world again," Izuku said.
"Honestly, Midoriya, given all this, and the fact that you'd have been able to kick my ass even if I used my Quirk on you, I'm half-ready to never Brainwash you again," Shinso said.
Ochako kept her breathing even.
It helped in so many ways. It kept her from panicking. It kept her stomach settled, which in turn would keep her Quirk from overtaxing her. And it let her focus on her thoughts.
She could scarcely pay any attention to the bombastic announcements that Present Mic used to introduce both her and her opponent. She crossed the arena to face Todoroki.
And Todoroki looked distracted.
Granted, he seemed to be rather unemotional, but being in a class with Tsu and Yui helped her to know how to gauge someone who didn't emote well. And this jerkoff wasn't concentrating on this fight! He believed this battle was already won, and he was preparing for his clash with Izu-kun!
Sure, she felt like she had an uphill battle against him, but he was writing her off entirely!
Her eyes narrowed as she looked his way. He was going to pay for underestimating her! She slammed her fist into her open palm. She was determined now!
The match began, and Ochako immediately clasped her fist with the fingers of her open palm as she leapt into the air. She could feel the glacier forming beneath her feet as she rose up and up, releasing her Quirk and dropping onto the top once the ice settled into a solid mass.
Of course, the top of the mass of ice wasn't exactly made to be a platform for a person. She slipped and nearly plummeted, but managed to get her bearings. As she gripped the iceberg, she came up with a plan. It was crazy… It was probably a terrible idea…
Ah, screw it. Plus Ultra ! Ochako thought as she focused her Quirk on the glacier. The ENTIRE glacier.
The mass of ice cracked and split as she removed most of the gravity from the ice, enough that the force of the Earth's rotation tore it from the ground. The chunk of ice rose quickly and swiftly, letting it rise until she was almost out of the stadium.
She then released her payload.
As she did so, she removed her own gravity to prevent her from getting caught in the impact. The glacier crashed into the arena, Cementoss hastily erecting a wall around the stadium to prevent the ice and debris from hitting the audience.
"Eraser, what the hell are you teaching these kids?!" Present Mic shouted.
"You think I'm capable of teaching someone to do that?" Eraserhead almost sounded shocked. "I don't know whether that's a wholly unearned compliment or if you haven't been paying attention to anything I've done since we were in high school."
Ochako slowly wafted down amongst the dust and chips of ice still in the air, covering her mouth with her jacket to prevent herself from inhaling something she shouldn't. As she got close to landing, the dust settled, and Cementoss lowered the walls he'd created.
Todoroki was safely ensconced inside an igloo-like structure, which he stepped out of.
Neither of them looked well. Todoroki was shivering and stiff. His skin was pale and his lips were blue. Ochako's entire digestive system had been twisted and knotted like a balloon animal, and she was dizzy.
As they stared each other down, Ochako sped forwards to hopefully tag him with her Quirk, but her body gave out halfway there. She fell to her knees and began to vomit.
Damnit, she thought, as she managed to slump away from the puddle of her own bile and land on her side before she passed out.
Izuku waited outside the nurse's station. He knew that interrupting Recovery Girl wouldn't be good, either for Ochako's treatment or for his shins. Still, he was a ball of nerves.
"Izuku, this isn't good for you," Yoichi said.
"She's not injured that badly," Daigoro tried to reassure him.
"Danger Sense didn't detect anything too severe," Hikage stated.
"She didn't need to go into that super-adrenaline state like she did against Bakugou," Nana added.
"You don't need to worry so much," En finished.
I know, Izuku said. I can't stop though.
Soon enough, however, Ochako came out, looking slightly pale, but not nearly as bad as it looked when she went unconscious. She gave a smile as she saw who was waiting for her, thankful that she'd been given the opportunity to brush her teeth and thoroughly rinse her mouth before leaving.
Unfortunately, Izuku could tell the smile was false, even without their bond.
"Oh, hey, Izu-kun. Sorry I won't be fighting you in the finals…" Ochako began to say, trying to appear chipper.
Izuku walked over and hugged her tightly, "I'm so glad you're safe. When it looked like you were going to fall, I was so scared for you, and so angry at Todoroki… I know it's just a tournament, but for a split second, I felt so helpless…" He smiled at her, "But when you unleashed that attack, that homemade comet… I was so happy for you. I was cheering like a maniac! I… You're so amazing…"
Ochako blinked back tears that had unknowingly formed on her face. The pride, admiration, worry, and love all poured out of him, radiating like summer heat off of pavement, warming her as much as the warmth of his body.
As she drank it in, the two of them were on the same wavelength. Izuku felt his head empty as his passengers gave him privacy.
And the two of them kissed.
It was awkward, tentative. Neither of them had kissed anyone before. But they were passionate. They were willing to learn. And thanks to the bond, they had a hell of a cheat sheet.
Ochako broke the kiss, mostly for air, and nuzzled her head into Izuku's side, "That… that was amazing, Izu-kun…"
"... Want to do it again?" Izuku said, blissful at the contact and wanting more.
"If I do, we'll be stuck together and you'll miss your final match," Ochako said.
"... There's still about twenty minutes left for them to clean the field and for Todoroki to recover…" Izuku tried to bargain some more.
"Yes, I know," Ochako said. "Do you really think we wouldn't keep going until you were disqualified?"
Izuku sighed, realizing that she was right. He reluctantly let go of her.
"Look on the bright side, something for us both to look forward to after you win!" Ochako cheered.
In his waiting room, Izuku was enraged.
It wasn't entirely because he wasn't still making out with his girlfriend (though he had to admit, that didn't help), but because of Todoroki's actions.
"You're this angry just because he hurt Uraraka-san?" Daigoro asked.
Nana scoffed, "Makes sense to me."
"No, it's more," En said.
Damn right it's more, Izuku thought. We're all here in this round to show ourselves to the world. We're here to try and kickstart our careers as Heroes and get opportunities to learn from the best. And Todoroki's been disrespecting every single one of us by using only half of his power. He had to be treated for hypothermia when he already has a built-in failsafe against it. Every single other person here has been giving it their all and he hasn't. He nearly lost his last match because he was holding back, and he won anyway.
"True," Hikage said, "He still won. It's not like he's going to be in a situation like the one against Ochako all the time."
No, Izuku replied. But he will be, at some point. And it could cost him his life. Or the lives of the civilians he's supposed to protect. No, this needs to stop.
There was a pause. Finally, he heard Yoichi say in his mind, "You're right. He's not taking this seriously. Question is, what are you gonna do about it, Izuku?"
Izuku thought for a bit. And then he smiled.
"This feels like a breach of privacy," Momo stated.
"Trust me, Yaomomo, this is necessary," Toru countered, deadly serious.
"Look, I only know the slightest thing about what's going on with Green and Half-and-Half, but I need to see where this ends up," Kyoka said.
"I suppose that this is a public forum, even if we couldn't be expected to hear this under normal circumstances," Momo acquiesced. She lifted her shirt slightly and her skin began to glow with the light of Creation.
At this point, Ochako returned to the 1-A stands. She knew Mei had been staying there, but now there were two faces she wasn't expecting. Akira was seated next to Eijiro and Tetsutetsu, each of whom had faces streaked with manly tears. On Akira's other side, Hitoshi Shinso looked tired beyond all reason.
Before Ochako could comment, Pony yelled out, "'Chako!" then ran up and hugged her with surprising strength, lifting her in the process. "You almost beat the iceman! It was awesome!"
Eijiro snapped out of whatever trance he was in and turned his head towards her, "Yeah, that was super manly!" as several girls stared at him, he amended, "You know what I meant! You went as Plus Ultra as it gets! He was expecting to walk all over you, and you made him work for it! If you could've held on a little longer, you'd have won!"
Ochako sighed. "I know. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did so well, but it's still frustrating to go all out and lose like that."
"Tell me about it," Hitoshi said. Akira sympathetically patted his shoulder. Momo, having handed off some equipment to Kyoka, was now being comforted by Tsu and Mei.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Ochako asked. "I've been out a bunch for the last few matches."
Itsuka decided to run interference, "Midoriya-kun brought Fuki-kun over here after his match, hoping to introduce him to Kirishima-kun and Tetsutetsu-kun. The three of them… share a great deal of personality traits."
"Didn't think there'd be two more Akiras here," Hitoshi muttered. "I'm just thankful the openings are in the other class."
"And following Shinso-kun's match with Midoriya, Fuki-kun insisted that he join us," Itsuka finished.
"I've already apologized to the Vice-Rep," Hitoshi said. "And if your speedster was still here, I'd apologize to him, too."
"Where is Iida-kun, anyway?" Ochako asked, realizing the tall boy was missing.
"He… had a family emergency," Ibara said, looking sad. "I don't know the full details, but he was forced to leave immediately."
Ochako frowned. She went to Momo, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Momo nodded, and Ochako could tell it was sincere, "While the loss did sting, in hindsight, I do understand why our match played out the way it did."
"It's the same principle that led to Small Might punching me out of the ring in a millisecond," Hitoshi said. "I didn't want her pulling a mortar launcher on me and blowing me to kingdom come." Momo seemed to perk up at those words. She hoped others would see it that way.
"And the equipment?" Ochako asked.
"That's for eavesdropping on the final match!" Setsuna cried out cheerfully.
"Jiro-san overheard something disturbing the Ice King said," Denki clarified. "Hagakure-san decided to spy on their meeting. Knowing that much, we think some prime stuff's going to get aired out on the field."
Mei held up one of the devices, "This is a directional microphone! Earlobes can plug into this and pick up any conversation they might have without the crowd drowning it out! And if she plugs the other lobe into this," she held up a speaker, "we'll be able to hear it, too!"
"This seems excessive," Ochako said.
"You're saying you don't wanna listen in?" Mina asked pointedly.
"Don't put words in my mouth," Ochako grumbled in defeat.
And whatever debate they may have had needed to be put on hold, as the loudspeakers came on to announce the beginning of the final match.
"And now, we have the match you've all been waiting for! On one side, the strongest student of the Hero Course's Class 1-B, the son of the Number Two Hero Endeavor, who's frozen his opponents in their tracks! Welcome, Shouto Todoroki! On the other, the representative of Hero Class 1-A, the one who smashed All Might's record in the entrance exam, and who's been indomitable this entire festival! Welcome, Izuku Midoriya!"
The two young men stared at each other over Present Mic's introduction. Izuku looked Todoroki dead in the eye and asked, "Are you going to continue insulting all of us?"
Todoroki glared in response, "I already told you why I must reject my old man's fire."
Izuku sighed, "You don't understand what you have… but if you're going to continue like this, I might as well play down to your level."
Todoroki blinked, confused, as Midnight signaled the beginning of the match. Todoroki let out another glacier, hoping to push Izuku out of the ring, rather than engulf him like last time.
Izuku, in response, ran around the wall of ice and kicked Todoroki in his left side.
Todoroki fell, rolling across the ground, before he stopped his momentum with an ice wall, he looked up at Izuku. He expected to see the shorter boy wreathed in green lightning, red veins of strength bulging throughout his body.
Instead, nothing. He looked the same as he had.
"What?" Todoroki asked disbelievingly, "You're fighting me without using your Quirk?!"
"No," Izuku said sadly. "I wish I could, it would be poetic. I'd always wanted to try being a Quirkless Hero, back before I could use Decade Force. It was why Bakugou tormented me so much. But, no. I couldn't beat you without using my Quirk."
As he said this, he dodged more attempts by Todoroki to freeze him. At no point did his lightning appear.
"That's impossible!" Todoroki cried out. "How?!"
"See, I learned this technique just after the entrance exam. I wanted to make sure my body was acclimated to my Quirk, so I learned how to use it surreptitiously. I call it Full Cowl: Invisible Mode. Normally, for Full Cowl, I pour as much energy as my body can handle to enhance my strength, but it's very noticeable. But, I learned that I can use it without showing off the way I usually do. I just use less of my body's acclimated maximum…
"Specifically, up to half of my usable maximum," Izuku practically spat.
Everyone in 1-A's class stands was boggling at the information they were hearing. Setsuna's jaw literally dropped to the floor.
"Did anyone know he could do that?" Toru asked.
Ochako sat up straight, "Oh, right, Izu-kun did mention that before we got into U.A.! It's been so long, I kinda forgot!"
"You really mushn't forget something that important," Kinoko stated disbelievingly.
"Well, it has been really eventful since then," Itsuka stated.
"Mm," Yui nodded along.
"He hides his light under a bushel," Reiko said eerily.
"All the better to fight in the shadows," Fumikage agreed.
Todoroki's glare somehow turned colder than his ice, "You…"
"I should note, though, that thanks to using it constantly, I'm holding at somewhere about nine to ten percent maximum now. So I'm somewhere in the four-point-five to five percent range right now. As in, the same percentage I could use during the entrance exam," Izuku explained.
"Man, I knew the guy was hardcore, but I had no idea he was that hardcore!" Akira said, hyped up beyond all belief.
Hitoshi looked fully awake. "I got off lucky," he finally said.
Denki shook his head, "Yeah, you start to worry you're gonna be irrelevant your entire life. Then Mido comes in with one of his notebooks telling you about ideas he had for your Quirk and you realize he's trying to pull all of us up with him."
Hitoshi paused, then looked at Denki, "If I asked, how long would it take him to make one of those entries?"
Denki laughed, "Dude had like five pages on each of you written between your first and second rounds."
"I could have stayed at this level. If I wanted to coast by, like you seem to want to," Izuku said, punctuated by attempting to punch Todoroki and being blocked by an ice wall, a wall he shattered like tissue paper.
"Of course, if I did that, there's a good chance some of my classmates might have died."
Todoroki turned his head, "What?" and narrowly dodged a kick.
"The USJ. You know, where villains teamed up to try and kill us? We all lucked out back there. Mostly because none of them knew our Quirks. We had the element of surprise. We don't anymore. Between that attack and this Festival, the villains know all about us. We're sitting ducks if we don't grow and improve," Izuku said.
He looked at Todoroki's shivering form, "You seem like you're cold."
Todoroki growled, "Did my father put you up to this?"
"He tried to," Izuku said. "I'm currently doing the exact opposite of what he asked, so he's probably annoyed with me. Which, not gonna lie, I'd be really happy about. No, this is about you, not him. He's already dug his own grave. I'm trying to make sure you don't end up in one yourself."
"What are you on about?" Todoroki snarled, hurling more ice.
"I'm playing down to your level, using half my strength. And I'm still managing to kick you around," Izuku said, dodging. "Do you think villains are going to play nice? Do you think they'll listen to your life story and play along, or do you think they'll use every weakness they can find to try and kill you? Because, speaking from my admittedly limited experience, they won't. In middle school, a man made of slime tried to suffocate me so he could pilot my corpse and hide from All Might. I'm sure that kind of guy would empathize with the fact that the Number Two Hero's a domestic abuser and come to jail quietly."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Most of 1-A shouted upon hearing that.
"Eee-yup," Toru stated.
"We've gotta do something about this!" Tetsutetsu growled, Eijiro and Akira joining him in righteous rage.
"Nezu's already on the case," Toru replied.
Hitoshi looked towards Toru curiously as Eijiro and Tetsutetsu calmed down considerably, leaving Akira confused, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"The last time Nezu was investigating something, it led to the open seats in the Hero Course," Momo explained.
"Ah, so just take it as a given that this won't be a problem soon enough?" Hitoshi asked, to the nods of the people around him.
"My mother's ice will be enough!" Todoroki howled. He sent another blast of ice forward.
Izuku effortlessly dodged, "Really. Because I'm not taking this seriously at all, and I could have thrown you out of the ring a dozen times even with my self-imposed handicap. And that's within the rules of this tournament. If I was trying to kill you, it would have been easy.
"But let's say that you are literally willing to die on this hill. If so, I'd prefer you leave the Hero Course and give your seat to someone who won't throw their life away to spite someone, but that's your prerogative. What about civilians? Are you willing to gamble innocent lives on your need to spite your father? What if someone dies on your watch and your fire could have saved them? Do you think that your need to prove your asshole dad wrong will matter to their loved ones?"
Todoroki was getting angrier, and he was suffering the effects of hypothermia. One of those side effects was irrationality. And so, he hurled more ice at Izuku, "I will surpass him without his power! I will be the Number One Hero without his fire!"
Izuku rolled out of the way, "Number One Hero… Why are you and your father so obsessed with the number one title?"
Todoroki shook, partly due to the cold, partly out of anger, "Well, if you don't care, why are you trying so hard to win? Why are you trying to be the best?"
"Because All Might isn't going to be around forever!" Izuku bellowed.
Todoroki's eyes snapped open at that proclamation.
"One day, sooner or later, All Might's going to retire, or god forbid, die. And when he does, there's going to be chaos ," Izuku stated. "Right now, the world is watching. I want to show the world that even if he's no longer working, that a hero will rise to replace him! That I am here! I don't care who's the next 'Number One Hero'! I'm trying to be the next Symbol of Peace !"
Todoroki was stopped colder than he would have been if he'd frozen himself, "You… you're serious… Then, why are you bothering trying to convince me?"
"Because All Might made one big mistake in his career. He was a symbol, but he was the only symbol. If All Might died tomorrow, how many people would look at Endeavor and say, 'Everything's fine, I still feel safe'? We need more than one great hero. We need several," Izuku looked at Todoroki, "I want every single one of my classmates to be the next All Might. Your class, too. And with your power, your whole power, you can be one of the strongest pillars our society could ever have."
Izuku held out his hand, "What do you say, Todoroki-kun? Do you want to be a Hero?"
In response, Todoroki's left side was engulfed in flames.
"I have to say, Midoriya-kun, this wasn't a great plan," Todoroki said, feeling the warmth of his flames lick away the debilitating effects of his ice. "You just lost."
Izuku smiled, wide and genuine, "What makes you think that, Todoroki-kun?" His body sparked with green lightning, "I don't have any reason to hold back, anymore."
1-A (along with Mei, Akira, and Hitoshi) thought this battle couldn't shock them anymore, but, somehow, it had. Every single one of them was struck dumb by Izuku's words.
Denki felt like he'd just jolted himself with electricity, "He's been trained by All Might, now he wants to be the next All Might, but he doesn't want there to be one next All Might, he wants forty next All Mights, so he's trying to make all of us into All Mights!"
Kyoka was pale as she said, "The sad thing is, despite really wanting to hit him for being stupid, nothing he said was wrong."
Eijiro put his hands on Akira and Tetsutetsu's shoulders, "Gentlemen, I think we have just witnessed peak manliness."
"Zen manliness," Tetsutetsu agreed.
"The Buddha of manliness," Akira nodded along.
"The word 'manliness' has lost all meaning to me," Hitoshi muttered.
They were interrupted by the flames bursting from Todoroki. As they did so, Endeavor rushed to the side of the stage, laughing like a madman. He started to yell something towards his son, but he was interrupted by Izuku flying at top speed. Todoroki countered with a blast from both sides of his body.
In a second, Cementoss tried to form barriers to stop them, and Midnight ripped her suit to release her Quirk, but the two of them shattered the concrete barriers and the superheated air prevented the gas from reaching them. Cementoss managed to form a barrier to once again prevent the blast from harming the audience.
When the barrier fell and the dust settled, the audience could see the aftermath.
Todoroki was slumped unconscious against the wall of the stadium. He had tried to erect an ice wall to stop himself from going out of bounds, but the force had destroyed it.
Izuku, meanwhile, was still standing, breathing heavily, bruised and burnt. His right sleeve was blown off and his right arm was clearly broken.
From his left arm, and from both of his feet, came tendrils of black energy, tethering him to the ground.
From the loudspeakers came Present Mic's voice, "Shouto Todoroki is out of bounds! Ladies, gentlemen, and that lovely rainbow in between, your Sports Festival winner is Izuku Midoriya!"