Chapter 52: Usopp spell

"WHOO!" Stain jumped up in excitement as Kaminari defeated Shouto. The criminal had been watching the festival with interest to survey the next batch of heroes. Kaminari, Izuku, Watanabe, and Uraraka; Stain was sure they would be true heroes considering the way they had handled Endeavour.

The festival cut to a short break and the advertisements started. Stain sighed and picked up the list of heroes that he planned to attack.

He had given up killing any heroes ever since Storm and Chaos' article. Now, he just injured them instead of killing them. Killing them would make them martyrs but injuring them would cause their ratings to fall as they would be out of commission for a while. And soon, they would be forgotten.

It wasn't a good plan, he'd admit, but he didn't have the intelligence of Storm and Chaos to lash out against them online and succeed. No, this was a better alternative, at least for him. He picked out a specific hero; Ingenium. The man had excellent ratings and there was no public outcry about him. Unlike the other heroes Stain had attacked, Ingenium did not have a single dark spot on his past that would warrant a visit.

Nevertheless, Stain was tempted to attack him and find out whether his ambition was as resolute as it was shown. He checked the timetable for Ingenium's patrol and found that he'd be passing in approximately half an hour, "Good, that gives me time to finish watching the first round," Stain muttered to himself.

Stain picked up his phone; the very one that he had bought instead of stealing because apparently, he had a moral compass. He went to the Kaminari fan page, knowing that it would be brimming after that fight. The fan page was a literal bash on Endeavour and Stain had gotten a lot of information from it.

Stain noticed a new post, that was gaining a lot of traction, very fast. He looked closer into it. His eyes widened as he read through the lines, "Kaminari Denki… All Might's son!?" he thought to himself, shocked.

Now that it had been pointed out, he did see the similarities; the yellow hair, the overwhelming power, towering over their peers in strength. Both of them always had a smile plastered on their faces as well. Stain clenched his hands with resolute determination, he would have to keep a special lookout to make sure All Might's son did not fall!

"And now folks, we will move to our next fight," Mic announced, "It's… Midoriya Izuku vs Shinsou Hitoshi!" Mic presented the two with gusto.

Izuku took a deep breath and walked to the ring. He was aware that if he got caught in Hitoshi's brainwashing, he was done for! All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and his win was assured. He had more than enough experience putting up with Bakugou to know how to keep your mouth shut. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the crowd's chants and keep his cool.

Meanwhile, Hitoshi was much more nervous. He was fully aware that Izuku possessed greater combat prowess than he could match and, he had also shown how his quirk worked in the battle simulation. Izuku had already analyzed it entirely, which meant he couldn't spring any surprise on him… all except one final surprise.

"Are the two of you ready?" Midnight asked. Izuku didn't want to give away a verbal reply and gave a simple nod with Hitoshi doing the same. Kayama nodded and shouted, "START!"

Immediately, Izuku shot forward to end the match as fast as he could before Hitoshi potentially coerced him to speak. But just as he put his foot forward to rush at Hitoshi, Izuku froze, unable to control his body.

Hitoshi looked shocked, "Can't believe it worked," he muttered before snapping out of his bewilderment, "Anyway, turn around and walk out of the ring, Midoriya Izuku," Hitoshi ordered.

Surprising everyone, Izuku did turn and start to walk out, "H-hah!" Mic was surprised, "Izuku's walking out, just like that!"

"Did I miss something?" Kaminari asked Watanabe, "They didn't talk, right?"

Watanabe shook his head, "No they didn't. Interesting…" Watanabe looked on, intrigued by whatever Hitoshi had done to outsmart his cousin.

Yagi looked with concern at his student. He knew that it was quite a long shot for Izuku to win at his current level, but he didn't want him to lose like this! "Don't lose like this…" he pleaded quietly in his mind.

Inside Izuku's mind, he was in a state of panic, "No, no. Don't! Stupid legs, stop walking!" he desperately tried to order. He didn't want to lose! But what could he do? In order to break out of the brainwash, he needed to be given a shock, and there wasn't anyone who could do that. He had researched Hitoshi's quirk extensively to know that this was the endgame…

Izuku's eyes would have widened, had he control over his body, "Of course… I analyzed Shinsou's quirk! I even got him to put me under his control to see what it felt like… and I couldn't control my thoughts!" Izuku remembered. Renewed determination coursed through him, "For me to think freely and still be able to see what is happening… it means his brainwashing is very weak! I just need the smallest amount of shock!" Izuku concluded.

Izuku's heart beat faster as he was fast approaching the boundary, "Wait, all I need is a mental shock!" Izuku thought to himself, "Come on think, think!" he ordered his mind, "What can make you get some sort of a shock?"

Izuku tried to think of the times Bakugou hurt him but all that did was infuriate him and sadden him at the same time. He tried to think of all the stupid stuff Watanabe and Kaminari did but that didn't work either. He needed to get a chill up his spine, "Wait that's it!" Izuku grinned evilly in his mind.

"You get a papercut and rub sanitizer over it," Izuku visibly winced at that, but it wasn't enough for him to break out. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn that he saw Izuku move involuntarily but there was no way… right?

"A needle is embedded into the skin under the nail," This time Izuku almost broke out, as a small squeal was heard from him. Shinsou grew more hesitant and ordered, "RUN OUT OF BOUNDS!"

Izuku involuntarily started running. Izuku cursed in his mind and swiftly imagined the last thing he could, that he hoped would break the brainwash, "A spoon rubbed against a plate, chalk scraping on a board!" This time a chill went up Izuku's spine and the shock was enough to break him out from the brainwash. Izuku gasped loudly, "I can't believe it worked!" he thought to himself as he gasped for air.

"What's this now!? Izuku has somehow broken free! What a strange turn of events! Aizawa, what is up with your class!?" Mic demanded from his friend.

Aizawa gave a confident smirk and refused to answer.

"Fine, keep your secrets!" Mic replied. Aizawa's smirk did not fade as he thought to himself, "I have no clue myself. What am I supposed to tell you?"

Hitoshi could not believe what he was seeing, "How did you get out!?" he demanded, asking the same question that the audience was. Izuku didn't reply, he couldn't let Hitoshi place him under control again. He rushed once more at Hitoshi who cursed, knowing that he couldn't get Izuku to budge. Still, he tried, "What, don't I deserve the answer because I have a villainous quirk!?" he tried to bait.

The bait didn't work as Izuku caught Hitoshi's collar and struggled to throw him out of bounds. Hitoshi knew he had no chance but that didn't stop him from trying to counter the grab. He tried to knock Izuku's feet from under him but Izuku was quick to jump up and use his quirk to throw him away.

Hitoshi plopped onto the ground with a grunt.

"You really have no shame, huh?" Izuku asked rhetorically.

Hitoshi grinned, "None at all," he replied as Izuku helped him back up to his feet.

"MIDORIYA IZUKU WINS!"

Izuku and Hitoshi went up to the seating area after their fight, "What the hell happened in that fight!?" Kaminari demanded, "I mean, Izuku got brainwashed without even uttering a word, and then somehow he broke out of it too! HOW!?"

"Yeah, how?" Watanabe asked too. He was also confused as to what had happened during the fight. Izuku took to explaining his part first, "I don't know how Hitoshi got me, but it was very weak. I still had control over my emotions and thoughts," Izuku told them.

"But anyway, I understood that I just needed a little shock, even a mental shock would do. So, I thought of anything that could send a chill up my spine," Izuku explained to them.

Ashido didn't understand what Izuku was talking about, "Like what?"

"Like imagining the sound of a spoon rubbing against a plate, and also the feeling you get when you put sanitizer over a papercut,"

The entirety of the class winced at the imagery, "…I can see how that would cause a mental shock," Tsuyu agreed, "But what about Shinsou?" she asked with interest.

Hitoshi grinned sheepishly, "Well remember when Izuku was describing everything that was happening during Shouto's fight?"

"Yeah…"

"Well after getting the response, I just shut up to maintain the link. And then when the fight started, I just activated my quirk…"

The class went silent. Hitoshi gulped; he had really done it this time. He had been so happy to have gotten proper classmates and friends but this one stupid action probably threw that all out the window, "You guys must think I'm a villain, huh," He asked, staring at the ground in shame.

"It was unprofessional and unjust," Iida warned, "But, Watanabe has been doing that ever since the start of the festival, so you need not worry about us thinking you as a villain. You are still a hero in training, much like the rest of us," Iida lectured.

"Yup," Hagakure said cheerfully, "Watanabe has the higher chance of being mistaken for a villain!"

"Can attest to that," Kaminari said. "Hey!" Watanabe sulked at his friend's words.

A/N: Just wanted to try a different take on this fight. Any one piece fans get the reference?