12/11/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 24 - War Horse

They'd barely comprehended the words when the attacks began. From what Izuku could see, the blond wanted to attack them but they were fending off another attack which meant Endeavor's son was free to attack them. This time the attacks were more precise. Spears of ice shot up towards them.

"Left!" Hitoshi screamed, leaning hard. It was enough to avoid the first one but they didn't move much.

"Urg," Ochaco's exclamation was muffled.

"Don't you hurl on me!" Mei yelled.

"Right!" Hitoshi called again and they all leaned right… straight into the path of another shard of ice. Thankfully they just hit it, it didn't pierce anyone but it was dangerous.

"Ochaco, can you hold us?" Izuku asked, kicking the next shard that came towards them.

"Somehow," she replied. But it did sound like she was reaching her limit. She might have been training and sounded fine earlier but there was a narrow line between what was enough and what was too much. They'd just entered into too much territory. He made himself lighter with Kilo, hoping she thought the change would be because she found new strength. It was all he could do for now. If he carried them then-

Another shard came at them. This one was going to pierce their formation, and maybe go straight through Mei! Did these students have no sense of safety? If their formation broke apart, it wouldn't be that they were disqualified, though that was a possibility, it would probably break Ochaco's concentration and they'd fall. He'd be fine but-

"Left again," Izuku ordered, and he pushed them to the side, just enough to avoid it. "Bring us down Ochaco," he added. If the teams thought they were coming down then maybe they'd stop attacking. Thankfully they were now against one of the stadium walls so that would limit the avenues for attack.

They dropped suddenly when Ochaco processed that but began hovering again before they reached the ground. With them lower the shards came from in front of them and Izuku braced himself to hit them away. He was wary of another glacier but that might be good for them. Yes, they'd be trapped but at the same time, no one was getting the headband. But… "Mei, or Ochaco, can you touch the wall?"

"Yes."

"Can you run us along it?"

They knew what he meant immediately. If Ochaco could keep them light, they could move on the wall, which would help.

"Thirty seconds," he announced, glancing at the clock as he whacked another ice shard away. He glared at the teen, daring him to try it again. That apparently got him a small smile but Izuku wasn't focused just on him. One of his other team members had a black quirk stretching out from his body and it had been approaching from their side. It quickly retreated back and while it was difficult to read the expression of someone with a beaked face, it appeared the feather covered teen was troubled by something. He didn't have time to think about it.

"From the left," Hitoshi warned as another team came close. This time, it wasn't ice that came towards them but bright green, thorn covered vines.

"Run!" They didn't so much as run but shuffle along the wall and while it wasn't enough to get them out of range it told the other teams they weren't sitting ducks. Even so, Izuku knew that those vines would be trouble. They reminded him a bit of his chain quirk, especially with the way the girl was able to move them.

"Hitoshi, just keep that headband safe," he instructed. He didn't get an answer but already knew that would be all the other teen would be focused on.

From experience with his chains he knew the green haired teen would be braced for when they hit and was probably prepared for them to be cut. What she probably wasn't prepared for was for someone to grab them and pull. Gigantomachia had done it often enough to him that he knew what it did for balance.

He braced himself and grabbed at the oncoming vines. The thorns weren't that long but he could feel them cutting into him. He yanked as hard as he could. It was somewhat gratifying to feel the tension in the vines disappear and to see her jerk forward. She had been braced but not for that.

It bought them a few seconds and as another, larger ice sheet launched itself at them, the siren sounded.

Ochaco let them drop the last bit of height instantly and it came as no surprise when they actually collapsed to the ground.

"It worked!" Izuku cheered.

"It did," Hitoshi agreed, pulling the headband from his forehead. It was noticeably damp from sweat. He might not have done much, other than ride the horse, but he had kept the headband safe.

Ochaco was dry heaving. Izuku got up and went over to her. "You okay?" He asked as he rubbed her back.

She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. "I'll be okay," she confirmed. Izuku gave her a critical look. She looked a little green around the edges but it did appear as if she'd be fine.

"My compliments to Vlad again," he said. She might have been heaving but she wasn't sick and she was already recovering.

"Yeah," Ochaco agreed. "The drills are paying off."

Izuku looked towards Mei. "Your babies did fantastically!" he told her. "Can they be repaired?"

She was looking at her boots. "I think so, but maybe not in time for the tournament," she added a bit sadly.

"They showcased themselves two times," Izuku pointed out.

Mei grinned at him. "Yep. Time for other babies to shine," she said, seemingly no longer mourning her baby booties.

"Hitoshi?" Izuku looked over at the purple haired teen. His friend was now sitting there, staring at the head band. "Hitoshi?" Izuku called louder.

That got through to him and he looked up. "First place," he whispered. At least, that's what Izuku thought he said over the noise of the crowd.

"Yep," he grinned. "You gonna go give that back?" Izuku asked, taking the few steps to his friend and offering his hand.

Hitoshi grabbed it and Izuku hauled him upwards. "First place… Twice," he said it as if he couldn't quite believe it.

"Without showing your quirk," Izuku added.

That caused a chuckle from his friend. "Or yours," he retorted.

"Yeah, but it's not important for me," he replied, with a shrug as Midnight made an announcement. She was calling the winners of the Cavalry battle to the front to determine the third event.

The first four teams had qualified. Izuku glanced at the board to see the names and saw that there were 17 students. Convenient and… well, he sort of felt bad when he saw the names. They were overwhelmingly from Class 1A. Hitoshi being from General Studies stood out, as did Mei and himself. Momo, Ochaco and a teen named Tetsutetsu were the only students from 1B.

Well… slow and steady wins the race and he was sure in the end they'd be the better heroes. And while he could probably win now… that would raise far too many questions.

Midnight looked a bit disturbed. "There wasn't meant to be 17 of you," she muttered.

"It's alright, I withdraw," Izuku called.

That got her attention. "Are you sure?"

Izuku knew what she meant. He was the only Management student to enter, let alone qualify for the final round in… he hadn't checked but probably forever. "I'm sure," Izuku replied. "I only participated to help my friends get to this round," he added, ignoring the way Mei was glaring at him. He gave the other students a sideways glance. "They're not going to need any more help to shine," he said.

"Why you!" the blond yelled, with his hands popping.

Izuku turned to him and gave him a bland look. It did allow him to see one of the other competitors from Class 1A actually shrink away from him. "I see you are planning to model your future on Endeavor," he commented, ignoring the way the teen was trying to assert himself. If you acknowledged it, then you had to match it. He could do that but there was no point now.

"What do you mean?" the blond demanded.

Interestingly, Endeavor's son was listening curiously with his face studiously blank.

"No one can work with him long enough to actually market him," Izuku replied. "Which is probably a good thing," he added.

"Yeah, of course, he gets to control what freaks like you say about him," the blond snapped.

Izuku laughed, wondering why Midnight wasn't interfering but she seemed interested in the exchange as well, or maybe she just wanted them to establish a pecking order. "No, since he took over his own marketing, the number of civilian injuries and deaths as a result of his missions have gone down, and that's something heroic, don't you think?"

Endeavor's son actually smiled at that. Wasn't that interesting?

The blond didn't appear to know how to respond so he did what all bullies did and raised his fist. Izuku looked back at him blandly but before anything could happen Midnight stepped in.

"And with the cavalry battle over, and one surprise withdrawal, I present you with the final round!" she announced, gesturing towards the large screen.

It showed the draw. Izuku was still listed there, as withdrawn and the rest of his friends… That wasn't too bad. Hitoshi and Ochaco were in separate halves of the draw and Mei was in Hitoshi's side but it would be the third round before they met and Izuku wasn't sure Mei would go that far. She just wanted an opportunity to show off her babies after all. He wasn't entirely sure what Hitoshi wanted to show people but he figured with the show they'd put on in the first two events, whatever it was, had to be at least partially communicated. And Ochaco would do well. She might not win but she'd show people that she wasn't going to be just a pretty little piece of eye candy hero.

If he continued in the event… No, best not to think of that.

Izuku smiled. It was going to be nice to watch.

-ted-

"Doctor?" All For One called. He had been listening to the commentary from the UA Sport's Festival. Not the inane drivel UA supplied but one of the independent channels. It was amusing hearing the way people were reacting to his Little Dragon, even when it was equally obvious Izuku was being careful not to be seen as too strong.

When he made a decision… he was going to be magnificent. What had Giran told him once? Oh yes, heroes wouldn't be running for their lives, they'd be running for their quirks. How very true.

But it was quirks that concerned him now. The copy of All For One that he currently had could only hold a limited number of quirks. Garaki had told him it was about fifteen but he thought he could stretch that.

"Sensei?" Kyudai said softly. He knew what he had been doing.

"They are on a break," All For One indicated. "The copy of All For One you have given me can only hold fifteen quirks, yes?"

"Maybe a few more," Garaki said but All For One could hear his doubt.

For day to day use, fifteen would be fine, however, for combat… he could make do but against All Might… it wouldn't be enough.

"The Nomu are mindless because of their multiple quirks, correct?" He asked.

"Yes," Kyudai agreed. "And because they usually die in the process," he added and All For One knew the statement was also to apply if the body hadn't started out dead to start with.

"You implant those quirks medically, yes?"

He could feel the Doctor's confusion but the man knew better than to refuse to answer. "Yes, though it is easier when you can transfer quirks," he indicated.

"Could you implant quirks in me?" All For One asked.

To his vision he could see the way the Doctor paused. "Could I…" he trailed off as he thought. "Implant the quirks," he murmured as he thought. "Ah, I see," the Doctor said after several moments. "The quirks would be permanently in you and you would rely on All For One's ability to allow you to have multiple quirks without mental issues?"

"Yes," he agreed.

The Doctor nodded and All For One could tell he was still thinking. "It should be possible. All For One allows you to have multiple quirks without the usual strain on your body and mind. The copy should give that aspect regardless of how many quirks you had. But you would not be able to give those quirks away."

He waved one hand, the quirks he'd want permanently weren't the ones he'd need to give away. "How will impact my impressions?"

Again, the Doctor thought. "I cannot be entirely sure but I believe if I use fresh copies of a quirk to implant that will reduce the chance that any of you will imprint upon the quirk. Or at the very least, there will be far less imprinted."

All For One nodded. That seemed reasonable and he thought for a few moments. "I will give you a list of quirks to copy," he said.

"How many?"

All For One smiled. The Doctor should already know that answer. He heard the man sigh and chuckled. "I have faith in you Doctor," he told him.

"I'll prepare them," Kyudai told him.

"Good," he agreed. If he had to come up against All Might in future, before he could transfer to Tomura's body then…

This would give him a better chance.

-ted-

With him qualifying for the tournament round but pulling out of it, Izuku's status was a little fluid, a fact he was taking full advantage of. Those who hadn't qualified had been politely herded out of the competitors area, while those who had, were told to use the facilities they needed during the break. There was food and some small rooms for people to rest in. Izuku had gotten a snack and was now looking for Ochaco. He had an idea for how she could use her quirk to move things horizontally.

It had come to him while they were in the air but it hadn't been one they could try. It probably wasn't something she could try today either since it would definitely require practice and a delicate touch but he was sure she could master it.

The problem with looking for someone was that others were looking for people as well and so he was running into them. He'd literally come around the corner and almost run into Endeavor. The Number Two Hero had glared at him, flaring his presence. Izuku figured a lot of students would have been intimidated by that but Gigantomachia and his father did it all the time. The Number Two Hero wasn't as strong as dad.

He smiled at the Hero, looking him in the eye. "Good afternoon, Sir," Izuku said, giving him a nod as he made to go past the large man.

"You won't go far with an attitude like that," the Flame Hero rumbled.

"I think I'll get far enough, Sir," he replied.

"You'll never manage the top heroes," the man said.

Izuku actually laughed. Everyone at UA assumed that everything was connected to heroes. He was here because their management course, while focusing on Heroes, was still acknowledged as one of the best, if not the best in the country. "But at least those I manage will be heroes," he replied with a smile as he continued on.

From the growl and the flare of presence, he knew he'd hit a nerve or something with the Hero but nothing he had said was false, and Endeavor knew it. Plus as a management student, Endeavor would know that the threat to sue him would be met with laughter or the absolute rock solid belief that it wasn't possible or not worth Endeavor's time and that made the threat rather untenable.

Izuku continued along the corridor, wondering where Ochaco was. Mei had gone to get some food and was picking out which babies she would take to the final round. Hitoshi was… actually he wasn't sure where Hitoshi was either. He hoped his friend was resting. So, after he'd found Ochaco, it was time to find Hitoshi.

Except the very next corner he went around had Endeavor's son. "What is it with your family and corners?" Izuku demanded, as the red and white haired teen blurted, "Was it true?"

The teen blinked at Izuku's question. "What do you mean?" they asked together.

Izuku sighed heavily. "You first," he offered. His question was only rhetorical.

Endeavor's son nodded. "Was it true?" he asked again.

"Was what true?" Izuku asked for clarification.

"That with my father doing his own marketing, civilian deaths and injuries have gone down?" he specified.

At that, Izuku grinned. "No idea," he admitted. "But it stands to reason. I know he has a marketing group but without someone he trusts to run it, he has to make the decisions, which means less time for missions, therefore less civilian death and injury," he laid out his logic.

The teen looked disappointed before he schooled his features into a blank look. "And you asked?" He finally prompted.

Izuku shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said. It really wasn't important. "Good luck," he said as he moved off.

"Because I'll need it?"

He chuckled at the challenge. "My friends entered for a number of reasons but they just want the chance to show what they can do." He cocked his head slightly. "Which is really what all the hero students want too, isn't it?" he asked.

It almost appeared as if Endeavor's son hadn't thought about it that way. "Think about it," Izuku said before he moved around the red and white haired teen to continue his search for Ochaco.

She had to be around here somewhere!

-ted-

I am aware that Endeavor doesn't kill or injure that many civilians. Remember, Izuku is pretty much assigning those who died as a result of the villain actions, to Endeavor :D

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

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