"Izuku?"
"Yeah mom?"
"What are you watching, dear?"
"The UA Sports Festival!"
"Really now? Who are you hoping will win?"
"Shouta Aizawa! His quirk is so cool!"
"Is it now?"
"Yeah! He can disable any one's quirk and win the match!"
chuckle* "Wow, Izuku! That is cool! He must be strong!"
"Yeah! He's so cool!"
"Who's your favourite hero?"
.
..
...
Izuku snapped out of his thoughts when Eri pinched his cheek.
What was that?
Izuku blinked as the students chattered excitedly around him, except Eri was the only one who noticed he was out of it.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, my little unicorn?"
"Are you ok?"
He ruffled her hair. "Yes, I'm fine. I just remembered something that happened at your age."
Eri's eyes glistened with wonder. "Really?"
"Yeah, I was watching the sports festival with my mom, and that's when I saw Mr. long hair and Mr. Mic for the first time."
Eri's eyes widened in glee. "Wow! You saw uncle long hair and uncle Mic! Were they cool?"
Izuku smiled. "Yes, they were super cool. Do you know who's cooler?"
"Who?"
"A princess hero who uses a sword instead of a wand." He grinned when she hugged him and cheered.
She raised her hands, closing her eyes as she screamed out "My daddy is the coolest hero ever!"
Izuku chuckled and hugged her close. "No, daddy is your unicorn steed. You're going to be the coolest hero ever." He tickled her, causing her to squeal in joy.
The students cooed at the interaction, Kirishima wiping a tear from his eye. "So manly."
Momo piped up, hearing what he said earlier. "Quirkless?" He wordlessly looked over to her. "What do you mean when you saw Present Mic and Aizawa? You saw them as students?"
Izuku nodded. "It was the second Sports Festival I've ever watched. I remember Aizawa fighting with no confidence, but I know he got second place to Midnight, who used her quirk at the start of almost every battle. Mic didn't even come close to ranking, but I will admit it was awesome seeing them fight."
"Who's your favourite hero, Izuku?"
He gasped, clutching his head as he keeled over in his seat, a head splitting pain cracked like a whip in his skull. It didn't last long. While it was a few seconds to the outside world, he thought it felt more like a millennia.
What the hell is going on?
"Daddy?"
He looked to Eri, a small smile adorning his face. "I'm fine Eri. How about I leave you with Ms. Momo while I go to the bathroom?"
"Yay! I like her!"
Momo spluttered, not prepared for this. "H-Huh? What?"
"Momo, please watch Eri for a moment, I need to check on something." He pushed Eri into her arms. Looking in his eyes, he pleaded. "Please?"
She just couldn't say no, she knew something was wrong. He was usually so strong.
She nodded, letting Eri play with her hair. Izuku, I hope you're ok.
Kirishima wanted to follow, but noticed something was off. Wait, where's Mina?! He panicked, and ran outside searching for his girlfriend.
"Aizawa."
The gruff, lazing man looked over to a surprising sight. He saw Izuku, who looked absolutely... terrible, for a better lack of words.
"Midorya? What's wrong?"
The green haired boy collapsed in front of Aizawa, whimpering. "I think- I think I'm hearing her voice again."
Aizawa was at a loss for words. He mouthed "again?"
Izuku's mind was a wreck.
His mind replayed that night repeatedly.
The manic grin of the rapist.
The scream of his mother, telling him to run.
His mother's body, broken and unmoving in front of him.
Heroes finally showing up after the police arrived.
A hand landed on Izuku's shoulders. "Young man, are you ok?" Izuku looked up, just for a brief moment. He looked at the tall man adorned in black, a white scarf wrapping around Izuku to keep him warm.
Izuku didn't answer the man.
He couldn't.
What could he possibly say?
He felt the hand leave his shoulders, and the scarf left his torso. He felt cold, and alone.'
'No, please!!! Don't turn away from me! Please!' Izuku collapsed to his knees, watching as each hero left the scene. He didn't care about the other heroes, just the one.
'Eraserhead! Please! Don't leave me!' The small boy desperately grasped at the air in front of him, tears streaming down his face as he watched the hero leave the scene.
...
"IZUKU!"
"Eh?" Izuku looked up to see Aizawa was close to him, hands on his shoulders. Was Aizawa shaking him?
"What happened?"
"You zoned out for twenty minutes, and missed the battle. What's going on?"
Izuku looked at the thawing field, and looked back at the homeroom teacher. "I don't know. I just keep remembering things, Aizawa." He put his knees to his chest. "It hurts."
Aizawa didn't expect this moment of vulnerability from the usually talkative vigilante. His gazed softened. "What do you last remember?"
"You."
Aizawa arched a brow. "Pardon?"
Izuku nodded. "I just keep remembering the night, the night she died."
Aizawa didn't get it at first, but when he did...
Oh no.
Aizawa placed a shaking hand on Izuku's shoulder. "That, that boy was you?" He now remembered. He left the boy in favour of taking in the criminal. There was a muder in a hidden alley in Hosu. He received a call about a little boy screaming for her.
He remembered a Bush of green hair on a big head, a stream of red flowing out of a body a few meters away.
He barely remember looking around and seeing the boy's face mentally plead him to stay. Yet, he didn't.
Aizawa was physically shaken.
What have I done?
Aizawa stares in Izuku's direction, his eyes widening when he unwillingly imagined the young boy's face next to the vigilante in front of him.
It was so, so real.
Izuku blinked when Aizawa did something completely out of character.
Aizawa pulled Izuku into a hug. Izuku felt tears stain the shoulder of his shirt. "Aizawa?"
Aizawa released Izuku, still shaking. "I'm so sorry, Izuku. I'm so sorry." Seeing the confused look on the vigilantes face, he didn't stop. "I left you at the scene of the crime. I abandoned a child who needed a hero the most. I...failed." He looked last Izuku, who warmly smiled.
The two didn't notice when the next match began.
"Aizawa. What you did isn't your fault. You just acted in a way acceptable at the time." Aizawa looked at him, incredulous. "Aizawa, I was just a kid who needed a hero. I know it hurts for me to remember, literally speaking, but I don't blame you. I just need a friend right now.'
Aizawa nodded, a silent tear streaming.
He vowed he would never fail another child.
So, the two just sat there, watching the sports festival final, discussing the students fighting. They hypothesized who would win based on advantages and disadvantages, laughing as they placed bets on the two students.
It was the most fun Aizawa had in a long time.
{Thirty minutes ago}
Yui and Todoroki both stood in their respective positions on the field, waiting for the cue to start.
Todoroki was calm. He knew he could win this in a few seconds, to secure a simple victory.
Do you want to, though?
He gritted his teeth at the thought. Of course he did, he reasoned. He won't stop short of being like his hero, like All Might.
Would he approve of this? Todoroki narrowed his eyes, attempting to ignore his inner voice.
Do you want an easy victory, or do you want a fulfilling victory?
He paused. I want to feel like I've won.
He blinked when his inner musing stopped. He almost breathed a sigh of relief if it wasn't for a simple sentence.
Use your flames, then.
On the other side of the field, Yui had her own musings.
What made Asui keep going?
Maybe she had something to fight for.
As do I.
She could have sworn her voice in the back of her head snorted. Really.
Izuku.
But why? He turned you down.
No, he didn't. He said he'll think about it.
Another snort. Really. That usually means no.
But he could be planning!
Well then, let's win and find out.
Yui stared her opponent down, a new determination set in her vision. Yes. Let's win.
The two didn't hear Present Mic introduce them. They only acted when he started the match.
"Start!"
Todoroki instantly sent a sheet of ice her way, which she jumped over. As she landed, she sprinted to the boy, dodging ice after ice, until she was only a few meters away from him.
Looking down, she spotted a long shard of ice that was disregarded. Thinking quickly, she grabbed it and enlarged it to the size of a baseball bat, and hid behind a glacier Todoroki made.
Todoroki lost track of her. For someone as tall as him, she was definitely agile. He focused on his flames, which only came out as fumes at this point. He narrowed his eyes. This was going to take a while.
Yui saw her chance at took it. Silently she sprinted behind him, and swung with all the strength she could muster.
Todoroki didn't know what happened. One moment, he was trying to use his left side, and the next thing he knew, he was sent into a glacier of his own creation.
Agitated and slightly in pain, he lost track of her again. This time, he didn't let her come close. He stomped his foot, sending ice everywhere on stage.
Yui wasn't one for using the same tactic twice in a row, so she dropped the makeshift bat. Instead, she popped a button off her collar that she had sewn on beforehand, and promptly enlarged it. It was to her reward that it stopped the ice forming on the ground from touching her. Taking the bat, she smashed it on the shield, completely shattering the ice that covered it.
With a grunt, she spun and sent the disk flying at Todoroki.
As it grew closer to him, she paled.
Todoroki caught it with one hand.
He looked at her and sent the disk back, and this time it connected. Yui was sent backwards, the disk knocking the wind straight out of her. Yup, she was definitely feeling this in the morning.
Todoroki smirked when he accomplished the task, and walked up to her. He grinned, an unnerving sight for the girl, as he picked her up with one hand, lifting her by the collar.
Yui panicked, struggling to be released, and was sent back by a punch to the torso.
The crowd was in an uproar.
Todoroki sent her flying by a heated punch of flames.
She sluggishly stood up, her vision wavering.
I can do this.
I need to know. What's keeping me going?
Her subconscious didn't answer her. Yui already knew.
Todoroki looked at her, almost pitying her. He smiled when she looked him in the eyes. He had his fun. Time to move on.
He walked to her, and promptly froze her up to her neck.
He gave her a small smile. "Good match."
She nodded, shivering.
He nodded to Midnight, who announced that Todoroki was being sent to the final match.
Todoroki thawed the girl out, and slung her arm over his shoulder. He was carrying her to the infirmary, where she was to join Tsuyu.
The crowd cheered for the dual haired boy, excited to watch him in the next match.
During the break between Todoroki's match and his, he found Mina. Kirishima sat next to her, and attempted to hold her hand.
His eyes widened when she pulled away.
"Mina, what's wrong?"
She refused to look at him. Resorting to silence, she just played with her nails.
Kirishima just sighed and leaned against the wall. "Please, Mina, just talk to me. How are we going to solve this without talking about it?" He looked at the quiet girl. "You're scaring me, babe."
"You're scared?" Her voice was low.
"Huh?"
"Kirishima, how do you think I felt when I watched your little act?"
"Mina, what are you talking about?"
She huffed. "And as usual, you're clueless about these things! When you fought against Shinso and Tokoyami! You were scary!"
His eyes opened wide. "So that's what this is about? Babe, it was just to defeat them!"
"And you couldn't have gone against them head on?"
"It wasn't my plan! I just went along with what Quirkless plann-"
"We're not talking about him! I'm talking about you, Kirishima! What made you think that was ok to do?!"
Kirishima was getting more agitated as this went on. He legitimately didn't know what was going on.
"Mina, I won, right? Isn't that what matters?"
She snapped at him. "Oh, well, then conversation over! You won, whoopdie doo! Call the press cause any moron could have figured it out!"
"Hey!" Kirishima was quickly losing patience.
He stood up, facing her.
"I DID WHAT I HAD TO, ALRIGHT?! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"
WHAP!
Out of all things Kirishima didn't expect, it wasn't a slap to the face. Stumbling backwards, he held a hand to where she smacked him. Looking at her, he was shocked to see her on her knees, crying her eyes out.
His temper diminished instantly, and he slowly approached her, and held her. He let her cry.
"I-I'm sorry, Kiri." She sobbed harder.
He stroked her hair, letting her cry. "I'm sorry too."
"Kiri, its just that, you a-acting like y-you did, it reminded me so much about w-what happened a few months ago. It was so scary seeing you like him."
Kirishima's eyes flew open.
Oh, so that's why. He quickly placed his hands on her shoulders. "Mina, I'm so sorry I did that to you. I-I didn't know you felt that way."
She didn't speak, only sniffled.
Kirishima flashed her a warm smile. "Ok, I promise I won't do that anymore."
She lightly punched him, her head nuzzled on his shoulder. "Good."
Kirishima looked at his phone, his eyes flaring up in surprise. "Oh! My match is about to start! I have to go, Mina."
She smiled and sent him off with a chaste kiss. "Go win for me."
He grinned. "I'll do my best. Dinner tonight?"
"Definitely. Now go!"
He threw her a thumbs up and sprinted away, pushing over anyone in his way.
Mina giggled at his antics. They were definitely going to have a heart to heart talk after dinner.
The crowd was excited. They were anticipating an amazing match. And a lot of pro heroes were expectant of the masterpiece they assumed would be a battle.
Todoroki stood on his side of the field, blankly staring at the crowd, and finally located his siblings, who waved.
Kirishima... hadn't arrived yet. Murmurs of confusion went around, trying to figure out if he'd jump from the air, or if he was just late.
In the student box, Mina just sighed, but giggled shortly after. It would be like her Kiri to be late to this. She figured he finishes snacking on something after their talk.
The rest of the class looked at the field nervously. Where is he?
Present Mic ripped through all musings, and announced in a deadpan voice: "If the other competitor isn't here in one minute you are disqualified."
Everyone waited. Thirty seconds passed. Everyone waited. Ten more seconds passed. Everyone waited. Ten seconds on the clock.
"Well, since Kirishima isn't here then-"
"SORRY!!!"
Everyone jumped in surprise to see Kirishima throw himself through a wall. Right next to the entrance. Wiping the dust off of him, he ran to his spot, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Everyone in The hero course facepalmed. They all should have seen this coming.
Present Mic coughed to gain control of the situation."Well then! Since he's here, lets get this show on the road! On the left field, He's late! He's tough! He's Eijiro Kirishima, from the hero course!
"And on the right field, He's resistant, he can pack a punch! He a man of two elements, so lets see which one he's in today! He's Shouto Todoroki from the hero course!"
The crowd cheered for the two.
"Begin!"
Todoroki immediately threw his hand out and a barrage of flames was sent Kirishima's way. With a yelp, Kirishima leapt to the side, then used his arms to spring himself upwards to dodge a sheet of ice that aimed for him. Hardening his legs to ensure a sound landing, he chuckled.
"Nice! You have control over two quirks now! About time!"
Todoroki didn't respond as he sent a glacier at the hardening quirk user.
Smirking, he ran at the glacier and with a hardened body, dove to the ground, his hardened fingers like a mole's.
Since Todoroki couldn't see his opponent, he assumed he was trapped inside the glacier. Breaking it, he was surprised to see a hole.
What?
Before Todoroki could react, Kirishima barged out of the ground, sending rock and dirt everywhere and grabbed onto Todoroki. Before Todoroki could move, Kirishima dove underground with Todoroki in tow, leaving the dual quirk user defenseless as he was tossed back and forth underground.
"Whats this? We can't even see what's going on! What's happening down there!" Present Mic was in a shock as well as the audience.
Next to Aizawa, Izuku smiled.
"You're saying I could use my quirk... underground?" A battered Kirishima looked perplexed at the statement.
Izuku laughed as he delivered a roundhouse kick. "Exactly! Your hardened self would easily be like a human bulldozer, and you could dig tunnels to help you gain and advantage. Especially against those who primarily use the field on the ground and above ground."
Kirishima grinned, knowing what his next training session would be.
Todoroki was thrown out of the grown and he landed unceremoniously on the ground, dizzy. He stumbled but stood, keeping an eye out for the hardening quirk user.
He felt a shift in the air.
He spun, launching a fireball out of his fist, only to see a charred rock fall and crumble.
He narrowed his eyes, knowing his opponent was in the ground.
Before Todoroki could asses what cups be going on under him, he turned at rapid paces and sent ice and fire at any sound around him, not realizing dirt was slowly caving in under him.
Unbeknownst to Todoroki, Kirishima was setting off traps he created while dragging his opponent through the ground. Now, Kirishima was able to throw the child of Endeavor off.
thirteen meters away. He set that trap off.
twenty meters from that. Trap used.
Kirishima enjoyed this. While Todoroki's domain was on the ground, he certainly wouldn't be able to do much underground. It was dark, and the dual user wouldn't know when to stop.
Kirishima stopped his pondering.
Todoroki stopped moving.
Kirishima was right under him.
Kirishima suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Looking around the tunnel he made, he noticed frost building up around him. His eyes flew open in realization.
Todoroki was trying to lure him out!
Kirishima smirked. Not happening. He dug his way up and thrust his hand forward.
Todoroki looked around frantically, feeling a minor earthquake. He stood rigid. Did his plan to lure Kirishima work?
Before he could answer, A hand exploded out into the open, grabbing onto his leg, and pulled him down.
Todoroki flailed, but to no avail, his leg was trapped deep in the concrete. He rose his hand, but it was being dragged into the ground. He couldn't use his fire here, he'd create lava, and he'd rather not do that.
He attempted to use his leg for ice, but he watched helplessly as it also sunk into the ground. The same thing happened with his only other arm.
He was eventually neck up above ground, his legs and arms dangling underneath, seemingly numb from the pressure of the dirt sorrounding him.
He was trapped.
He tried to move, his teeth grit as he struggled, but he was done.
He was outdone by a landshark.
A meter away, Kirishima popped out of the ground in a cloud of dust, and walked over to the dual user. He grinned. "How's that for playing dirty?"
Todoroki scoffed at the lame joke, and watched as Midnight announced the victor.
It was around five o clock in the evening. The sun was in its beginning stages of setting, lighting the sky with a very slight shade of violet, while the rest of the sky was still blue.
Midnight stood next to a stand that held the top three placers of the Sports Festival. She smiled at the three, and looked to the crowd. She yelled into her portable mic.
"Everyone give a hand to every participant of The sports festival!"
Every student smiled at the applause they received.
Midnight wave one of her whips in the air. "And please give a huge round of applause for our three top placing students of the festival!"
The three blushed lightly at the bigger uproar for them.
Kirishima grinned at Todoroki and Yui, while the two nodded at their fellow students. Todoroki, despite covered neck down in Brown dirt, gave a small smile.
Midnight cleared her throat. "And now, distributing the medals, is All Might himself!"
On cue, a big burly man leaped out of the sky and landed in front of the placers. "I AM HERE! TO HAND OUT MEDALS!"
Midnight smiled. "Due to the beginning of the Sports Festival, I'd like to invite Quirkless, Vlad King, Power Loader, and Present Mic to the stands as well, since they placed in the top three spots in our staff showdown!"
Every faculty member called promptly made their way to the stage, clearly not expecting it. Izuku left Eri with Aizawa, and arrived with the others, standing behind the respective place.
All Might smiled brightly at Yui. "Yui Kodai. You have come a long way from being that shy girl in class 1-B. Stay proud of this accomplishment, and may you strive for first place next year! We're proud of the progress you've made." He wrapped the bronze medal around her neck, and received a small smile.
He walked to Todoroki. "Shouto Todoroki. While you are your father's son, keep in mind that the legacy he tried to force on you is not yours. All of the staff at UA is impressed by your courage to wield your flames, and we hope to see more of them. Congratulations for second place." He wrapped the silver medal around his neck, and gave him a hug. "And maybe take a shower. You're just covered in dirt." Everyone laughed, and Todoroki playfully glared at Kirishima, who attempted to whistle.
Moving onto Kirishima, All Might smiled the brightest. "Eijiro Kirishima! Stand proud of your accomplishment today! Congratulations! You are the champ of the Sports Festival! You have shown us great durability and strength, and you have yourself to thank. We hope to see nothing but greatness coming from you, young Kirishima. Congratulations!" He wrapped the gold medal around Kirishima's neck.
All Might didn't stop there, he motioned for the four staff members to step forward, their medals in his hand.
He moved to Power Loader and Present Mic. "Thank you two for a wonderful display of prowess. You honour UA quite well." The two teachers nodded.
He moved to Vlad King, who grinned. "Vlad, my old friend, you showed a spectacular amount of ruthlessness and power today. You showed your class just how amazing a teacher and hero you are. Lets hope they take this to heart in your classes." Vlad laughed as All Might placed the medal around his neck.
"Quirkless." Izuku looked at the hero quizzically. "How the hell did you actually manage, at fourteen years old and with no quirk of your own, to best some of the finest teachers in our school?!" Izuku would have been hurt if he didn't hear the hearty laugh from All Might.
"My boy, you are destined for amazing things. You definitely represented the quirkless population well, and you deserve the honour of being here at UA. To us, you are more than a hero." He placed the gold medal around Izuku's neck. Izuku only nodded and grinned.
All Might turned to meet the audience. "Any one of these students has the potential to win the Sports Festival. Remember that, students. Remember, as long as you focus and do your best, you will be your best. Now everyone say it after me:
PLUS ULTRA!/THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK!"
All Might sweatdropped as he stared at the crowd, who was stunned.
"WHAAAAAAAT???"
Well, I thought they worked hard." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Review time!As always, thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! It means a lot and it encourages me to continue!So, to answer some minor and major concerns:
1. Muscular: A reviewer asked about muscular and why he didn't just expand his muscles. Well, it's simple. Izuku used his formula to temporarily disable the quirk. This was used on Midnight in the story, as well as a couple others. Another reviewer asked about him being a small time criminal, when he was seen as a big shot in cannon. My answer is this: At the introduction of Muscular, this is months before his original introduction in the manga. Seeing that this was before students Izuku'a age are coming close to the trip. Every big criminal starts off small, and I would imagine he did some horrid things in the months passing the events of this story.
2. Pairings: So if you'll recall earlier in the story, Nezu gave Izuku the permission to date students his own age. Nezu's reasoning is that Izuku is still a teenager. He needs social development, otherwise he won't develop mentally at a proper rate. it's up to Izuku though, to make the call.I have a few ideas of who I want to pair Izuku with, just nothing solid right now. I'll hint to some people that have a thing for him and want to achieve it, but for right now I wanna wait to see what happens.
3. Eri: I have nothing bad to say about her. She's just so much fun to write!
That's all from me!
