The students lined up in front of Midnight, who was to announce the final stage of the Sports Festival. She smiled seeing the students so excited. She quickly reminisced her UA days, but quickly pulled herself out of it, realizing she wasted five minutes standing in silence. Blushing madly, she started her role.
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! With the results of the Calvary battle, so give them all a round of applause!" The audience roared in approval of the continuing students.
Midnight grinned. "So now, the stage you've all been waiting for! The next and final part of the festival is the one on one student battles!"
The crowd cheered, louder this time.
The students all grinned. This was their time to shine!
Midnight continued. "The rules are simple. On the board next to me, each student will be facing another student. Almost anything goes! You all cannot make decisions that will permanently end the other student's life, or cripple them entirely. Doing such will result in an immediate disqualification from the tournament. The battle could be won by knockout, or forcing the other student out of bounds! That's all! Here are the matchups!"
True to her word, the matchups were displayed.
Every student approved of the upcoming battles.
STUDENT BATTLES: ROUND ONE
TOKOYAMI, F. vs TSUNOTORI, P.
OJIRO, M. vs ASHIDO, M.
KENDO, I. vs TODOROKI, S.
SHINSO, H. vs URARAKA, O.
KODAI, Y. vs SHOJI, M.
JIROU, K. vs HAGAKURE, T.
ASUI, T. vs TOKAGE, S.
KIRISHIMA, E. vs TETSUTETSU, T.
YAOYOROZU, M. vs SHIOZAKI, I.
Every student grinned in anticipation, ready to prove themselves.
Midnight smiled. "Alright, everyone! Return to your student boxes. The first round begins in twenty minutes, so to the first participants, have a snack, or prepare! Be ready for when I call for you!"
The students complied, daring not to fool with her orders, as have been shown earlier with Bakugo.
{Student box, 1-A and B}
The 1-B students were confused. Kendo spoke up for her class, voicing their concerns. "Mr. Midorya, sir, why is that we're here with 1-A? Shouldn't we be separate?"
Izuku shook his head. "No."
The 1-B students took the time to study him, now that they've had the chance.
The guy always wore a black cloak, complete with a tight, black sleeve that covered his neck, rising up to under his eyes, which were an emerald green. He wore black jeans, but weren't sure what his torso looked like, since it was covered by said cloak. His frizzy green hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which was tied with what looked like a gold ribbon, which was barely visible as it was.
Kendo was immediately fascinated by the man's eyes. In fact, she studied the shape of his cheeks and jaws, which wasn't hidden by the tightness of the sleeve covering. It was hard for her to believe that he was fourteen years old. His eyes held a certain maturity for his age, which made sense given his job description as a vigilante.
She noticed his eyes staring back at her, giving her a feeling of self consciousness. Her brain snapped at her to look away, which she obeyed immediately, blushing profusely.
Izuku ignored her, addressing the class. "Your homeroom teacher is still in the infirmary. 1-A's homeroom teacher is taking a nap. So I'm here to keep you all company. On top of that, if you need a tip to give you an advantage over the other, I can provide that as well. I do have a knack for analyzing quirks."
The classes sat, stunned. Like a herd of cattle, they rushed him, all asking for advice at the same time.
Izuku chuckled. "One at a time, please. I'll be consulting you all separately out of this room if you need the tips. He went back to his notes, finishing an analysis on Tenya Iida.
"Tokoyami, you're up first." The avian like boy nodded and walked with the counselor.
"So, Tokoyami, we don't have much time before you and your opponent head off. So I'll make this quick. Use your quirk sparingly. Use it for defense, but since the sun is at it's peak, your shadow will be weaker. Use what you've learned in our training sessions to gain an upper hand. Any questions?"
Tokoyami shook his head, silent.
"Alright then, best of luck for you. Make 1-A proud." Izuku smiled as he yelled out. "Pony!"
Pony replaced Tokoyami, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"With your quirk, it would be to your advantage to use your quirk more. However, it will lead to self endangerment to constantly use your quirk at once, so speed will be your greatest asset. Don't wear yourself out at the beginning and you'll be fine. Any questions?"
She nodded. "Yes! So what if he corners me?"
Izuku smirked. "An animal is most dangerous when it's cornered. The answer is simple. Fight back."
Pony nodded.
"Best of luck to you. Make your class proud." She ran off, heading to the preparation areas with Tokoyami.
It wasn't like he was helping them cheat. In fact, the instructors suggested he do this to help the students gain more confidence, and to do their best on the field.
He walked back to the box, fumbling with a camera. He was going to have a long few nights reviewing the footage of students. He was looking forward to helping them succeed.
Now, onto a more difficult part of his job. He had to speak with Bakugo on his behavior before the match could even begin. He walked into the student box, eyes landing on an angered teen.
"Bakugo." The angry teen shot a glare in his direction. "Let's talk."
"So I watched the calvary battle, you know."
The student scoffed, not meeting the dean in the eyes.
"You know, what I saw was interesting. Ms. Yaoyorozu really utilized her quirk well to bring about a weakness of your own." Izuku's eyes held an amused glint.
Bakugo was less than impressed. "And what of it? The bitch obviously used a support item, and should be -"
SLAM!
Bakugo halted his tirade immediately, watching as Izuku slammed his fist in the concrete wall, cracking it.
"Katsuki. We talked about this. Attempting to sabotage another student? Unacceptable." Izuku held a tone that wasn't to be taken lightly.
"Katsuki. You have an anger management issue. It's obvious. When will you stop acting like you did when we were five fucking years old?! You bullied me, burned me, psychologically tortured me.That much I can tolerate. Hurting two students in one day because you believe them to be better than you?" His fists tightened. "I will not let it stand. You are so FUCKING CLOSE to being EXPELLED, KATSUKI." Bakugo flinched at the tone.
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "And what do you expect me to do?"
Izuku had to stop himself from strangling the kid in front of him.
"I expect you to be honourable, Katsuki. There's a reason I'm sending you to the Hosu Prison next week, for a week. You need to learn that people like you need to grow up."
He turned away from the explosive teen. "And for the record, both Ms. Yaoyorozu and Mr. Kirishima are better than you." Bakugo tightened his jaw.
"By a long shot."
Present Mic beamed as he cheered, ready to get the show on the road.
"HEY ALL YOU LISTENERS! Are you ready for the student showdown?!" He waited for the cheering to quiet. "ALL RIGHT THEN! Let's get this track playing!
"On the left field, he's a wielder of shadows, a frightening avian of the dark. He may look small but he has huge potential! It's FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!"
The audience had a small cheer for him, mostly perturbed by the description.
"And on the right field, she may have horns of steel but she has a heart of gold! She looks soft but she can prove you wrong in a heartbeat. Its PONY TSUNOTORI!"
The crowd cheered, warmed by the description.
"And begin!"
Tokoyami immediately started the battle. "Shadow!" the dark entity shot out towards the steed like girl. Old habits die hard, mostly.
Unlike before, Tokoyami was moving with the shadow, instead of standing still. He rocketed towards the girl as she continuously blocked the shadow's fists, and she fell to the ground as Tokoyami swiped at her feet.
She rolled away from the duo, more nervous than before.
She thought about the advice given to her.
Smirking, she ran around the duo, galloping to gain speed. She halted, and waited for the shadow to come at her.
Tokoyami was completely focused, mistakenly assuming that she retreated, when in fact she readied -
"HORN BARRAGE!"
Dark Shadow instantly recoiled from the attack. Usually nothing hurts him, but the horns were reflecting the sunlight beating on them.
Tokoyami widened his eyes, he wasn't expecting this. Forcing the shadow to retreat, he sprinted to her. Ducking under horns shot his way.
Seeing her opportunity, she gallopped to her opponent, jumping a short distance away.
Tokoyami didn't allow any emotion to stir. Internally, he had a plan.
As Pony was in the air, he knew she'd land her hooves on him, and he let her believe it. Just before she landed, he jumped away from the girl, spewing a dust cloud as she landed.
It was then that he activated his quirk.
Wordlessly, the shadow loomed over the girl and tossed her towards the boundary line, sending her skidding.
She grunted and stood up, confused as the avian like teen stood still.
"Pony Tsunotori is out of bounds! Tokoyami is the winner!"
Pony dropped her shoulders as she heard Midnight's call.
She failed. She failed her class and Shinso.
"AND TOKOYAMI TAKES THE PRIZE! LET'S GIVE BOTH OUR COMPETITORS A HAND!"
The audience roared in approval, excited to see the underdog advance.
When the two students returned, both students were surrounded by students.
"Good job Tokoyami!"
"You did good out there, Pony!"
Good try Tsunotori!"
"You did great Tokoyami!"
Both students blushed at the praise. They looked towards the counselor, who was clapping for them.
"Good job, both of you. That match was a great one! Tokoyami, congratulations for advancing. Pony, good try. You gave it your all, and that's what counts." Pony smiled at his conclusion, vowing herself she would do better.
The next two students, Kendo and Todoroki, felt they didn't need any tips and walked down before Izuku could protest. After they left, Izuku sat stiffly. He still wasn't sure if Todoroki was ok, but the match would tell.
Ochako sat close to Izuku, studying the counselor and his mannerisms. "Hey, Mr. Izuku, who do you think is going to win?"
Izuku snapped out of his musings and smiled. "Personally, I can't say. Both have so much potential, and either one of them could win if the other trips up."
Momo sat on the other end of Izuku, smiling sweetly. "Yes, but don't you think Todoroki would have an advantage with two quirks?"
Ochako glared daggers at the other girl, who briefly stuck her tonugue out at her.
Izuku, ever oblivious to this, stroked his chin. "I suppose it's a possibility. However, quirks aren't everything. Remember, with any amount of preparation and wit, you could take down the strongest of them all. I was able to take down five pro heroes at this school without a quirk to call my own."
Momo looked thoughtful. He was right, of course. "So basically even an ant could take down a lion with simple preparation?"
"Exactly!"
Ochako smiled. "I guess I need to focus on a plan then!"
Izuku grinned. "You should get to that then. I'll be right here if you need me."
The two girls didn't move.
"Er, girls? Why don't you split and figure out strategies?"
The two girls glared at each other, speaking unanimously. "I'm good right here."
Izuku sighed in defeat. "Right, well, I'm just going to move over there then." He collected his things and moved to the back of the room.
Even if he needed to be around people, it didn't make him all that comfortable to be close to more than one person at a time. His methods of work on patrol have built in a closed in practice.
Momo and Ochako glared daggers and swords at the other, silently accusing the other of sending their crush away. No one knew Ochako even has a thing for Izuku, but she wasn't one to vocalize her romantic affection to anyone. As they glared at the other, one person held an amused smile as he entered the room.
Nezu had come down to check up on the counselor and ask him a few important questions involving his work. Now, he had a new agenda: Make Izuku's love life as entertaining for Nezu as possible.
Why? Because he's sadistic and really has a nothing better to do other than work a school.
He cleared his throat, gaining a surprised audience. "Izuku, May I see you in the hall, please and thank you?"
He turned to the classes. "And good luck to all those participating! I do believe we're about to start!"
The classes were stunned at the speedy entrance and exit of the principal, with the counselor in tow.
When the door closed, Setsuna glanced worryingly at her friend. Yui was in quiet contemplation. Making a decision, Setsuna dashed towards the doors.
"How can I help you, Nez?" Izuku was impatient. His new tenant and his opponent were about to start in a moment, and he wanted to be there to support the already troubled teen.
"I know you're busy flirting with the students," Izuku started to protest at that "but I do bring about urgent matters. It appears young Todoroki's siblings have arrived after what happened to their father. I would like for you to sit with them, at least until the match is over. Win or lose, Shouto will be a guest in your home."
Izuku nodded. "Alright, just show me where in the stands they will be and I'll be with them. You can count on me!"
Nezu smiled. "Great to hear! Now, one more matter." Izuku paled dramatically as his bosses smile curled into a devilish grin. "You know, if you really wanted to date a student or two, I'm not going to stop you. You are their age, after all." He turned and walked, despite the protests and sputtering behind him.
Messing with kids is fun. I should embarrass them more.
Izuku shook his head, then followed Nezu. Surely he's kidding. He stopped.
Right?
Izuku grinned as he introduced himself. "Hi! I'm Izuku Midorya. I'm the new counselor and dean of students at this school. It's nice to meet you all."
A tall, white haired male stepped forward, shaking Izuku's hand. "Hi there! My name is Natsuo Todoroki," He motioned towards the shorter female standing next to him. She had predominantly white hair with red specks every here and there. She wore glasses over her eyes, and she wore a purple t-shirt with a light purple pullover. "and this here is my sister Fuyumi. We're so grat-"
The eldest Todoroki son was cut off when Fuyumi tackled Izuku in a hug.
"Thank you."
The words were barely audible, but Izuku heard them all the same.
He smiled warmly at the two. "You're both very welcome. I will do anything and everything to make sure your mother will be set free." He started walking to their seats. "Even when that happens, you four are more than welcome to stay with me until you can all support yourselves."
Natsuo nodded. "And we will do everything in our power to make sure we help out as much as possible."
Izuku nodded. "We'll talk details later. Now, I assume you want to watch your younger brother?"
The answer was didn't need to be said.
{The field}
"ALRIGHT YOU LISTENERS! ONTO THE NEXT BATTLE! In left field, she's the president of class 1-B! She's a master of Martial arts! And her hands can grow so big she could overpower this match! Please welcome ITSUKA KENDO!"
The crowd cheered as the redhead jogged to her spot. "AND ON RIGHT FIELD! He wields the power of fire and ice! He's a man of few words, but his actions speak for him. He's SHOUTO TODOROKI!" The crowd cheered, albeit smaller, most likely because of what transpired with the patriarch of the Todoroki family. He walked over to his spot on the field, and looked into the crowd.
He saw his siblings, and smiled. He wondered why Quirkless was with them.
"ALRIGHT! START!"
Kendo, taking advantage of Todoroki's distraction, enlarged her hands. She sprinted to him, her hands raised, and as she prepared to swing was shot backwards.
Her eyes widened. There's no way he saw me coming! He was looking straight into the audience!
Alas, Todoroki did. He wasn't a recommended student for nothing.
Sprinting to him again, she made sure to dodge the ice, but something slammed into her gut. Keeling over, she looked at it and noticed...burn marks?
She wanted to slap herself in the head. Of course! He controls fire and ice! She looked over to Todoroki, who only stared at her, uninterested. "Can we get this moving? I don't feel like playing around."
His words sank into her faster than a bullet ever could.
Not bothering to answer, she slammed her hands into the ground, forcing chunks of concrete into the air. If now was a time to use plan b, now was the time. She batted each chunk to Todoroki at a blinding speed, but grit her teeth as he froze each one and sent them back to her.
They continued hurling chunks at each other for a full minute, appearing to be in some form of a tennis match.
Todoroki quickly grew tired of this. He dodged the pieces sent at him and stomped his foot onto the ground. In his stead was a glacier that was sent straight to her.
Groaning at this new development, she slammed her hands in the ground and vaulted in the air, prompting cheers as she flipped over the towering ice with grace. She looked more a ballerina than a student at this very moment.
And she was sent backwards into the ice she vaulted over via fire.
She glared daggers at the boy, who didn't even look remotely tired. Just annoyed.
She was about to run at him again, but an idea came to mind.
She used her hands and spun herself like a top, using the momentum to gain speed. She was going to feel so dizzy after this but she hoped it was worth it.
She created a tornado of concrete and dust, and spun over to the dual user.
Todoroki didn't show it, but he was bewildered by the super move his opponent showed off. He didn't know how to stop it without permanently damaging her, and before he could blink was brought in to the raging winds.
Then, it stopped, abrupt, and Kendo slammed a fist into Todoroki's torso, and he was sent flying.
He landed a few meters from the boundary line, so he wasn't out just yet. He walked over to his previous spot, his shirt in tatters and a few scrapes in tow, but he could keep moving.
His opponent, not so much.
She was on the ground, begging for air, desperate to regain her senses. She'd never tried that before, and her sight was a nightmare of triples and doubles of everything around her. She barely registered three Todorokis walking to her, and the next thing she knew, darkness over came her.
She slumped before he could touch her, surely passing her limit, and the super tornado not helping matters either. She was dizzy, out of stamina, and she was so tired.
Todoroki hesitated when he saw her pass out. He ignored the announcers scream, talking about her super move, and looked over to Cementoss, who then checked up on her. Once it was confirmed, Present Mic was the only voice to overshadow the cheers.
"THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH! SHOUTO TODOROKI!!! What a match! And here I thought Kendo was a winner to her super move! However, Todoroki was in control the whole time! He didn't even use a full moveset on her!"
If Todoroki heard him, he made no acknowledgement. He calmly walked out if the field and rushed to the student box, hoping the counselor would meet him there.
{Audience}
"Come on." Izuku smiled at the siblings as he stood. "I think it's time we congratulate our student here."
The brother and sister smiled, quickly following.
"Good job Todoroki!"
"I knew you could keep up!"
"was there any doubt?"
"Did you see that super move? Of course there was some doubt!"
"Great job Todoroki!"
Todoroki blushed lightly as he received the praise. This was newer to him, since he never really had praise offered to him.
He and the rest of the class looked over to the door, in which Izuku walked in. The counselor looked to him and smiled. "Congratulations are in order, Shouto. Could you please walk with me?"
Todoroki nodded and walked with him.
Izuku stopped and turned to the classes. "The next two students, please make your way to the preparation areas. I apologize for not being able to give tips but I have something important to attend to." He walked out, Todoroki quickly following.
"What is it, Quirkless?"
Izuku smiled, and faced towards the dual teen. "So you've been through a lot so far. I'll spare you the details of your life, but I thought you could use some moral support at the moment."
Appearing from behind a column was his brother and sister, beaming.
Everything for the dual user halted. He couldn't even breathe as he watched the siblings walk out. Everything since he was younger, he barely spent time with them, due to his father's training. He remembered growing up beside him, but there was a transparent wall surrounding him from them.
Like a hammer swung at glass, the invisible barrier between the youngest Todoroki and his siblings shattered.
Shouto lost track of what he was about to say, and only walked mutely to them. Without warning, he tackled them into hugs, crying his eyes out. It soon became too much for the other two, since they teared up as well.
Izuku smiled at the weeping trio. It was good for them to be together, only to be shot with a feeling of longing.
A part of him wished for what the siblings had.
