"Oh boy"

That was all that Leizcio said when he got back into the stands. Midoriya and Todoroki. Both of them are extremely powerful so it'd be quite the match to see. But Leizcio can't shake the idea of Midoriya continuously breaking his bones this much into this point in time. Either way, he sat down and got ready to watch.

Soon as the match started, Leizcio was invested. He truly didn't know who'd be able to win this. However, he was also worried for Midoriya. Each ice attack that Todoroki threw, Midoriya would negate with a full-power blow, breaking his fingers. In a short amount of time, he used up all the fingers on his right hand. Todoroki immediately created an ice path towards him ready to send another blow. Using his other fingers, Midoriya shoots another blast but misses. Freezing the floor around him, Todoroki nearly catches Midoriya but he counters by using the force of his arm to break all the ice around him but sacrificing his left arm in the process.

Midoriya was stunned for a bit from the damage was seemingly defeated as Todoroki sent another rush of ice. But in a turn of events, Midoriya used his already broken finger to send another blast, catching Todoroki off guard and nearly knocking him out of bounds. The two then rushed towards each other and Midoriya was able to land a solid hit to the gut knocking Todoroki back. Unsurprisingly, Todoroki's ice was starting to get slower. But what was concerning Leizcio was the fact that Midoriya continued to use his already broken fingers, even resorting to using his thumb to get a shot on Todoroki. The two ended up using their quirk so much to the point that they've resorted to melee. However, whatever Midoriya shouted at him must've awakened something him as he used his fire and practically made an inferno from it. A sudden large pillar of ice was approaching Midoriya but he leaped over it and was about to hit Todoroki as he unleashed more fire. Cementoss was able to stop it and the walls he had formed created an explosion leaving the stadium astonished and being blown away almost literally. But at the end of it, Midoriya was knocked out against the wall out of bounds, making Todorki the winner.

As Midoriya was sent to Recovery girl to get healed, Leizcio dashed over to her office but was quickly shooed away since she was going to do surgery on him. Leizcio was worried about how damaged his friends were becoming from all of this. As he was thinking about the match after Iida's, his own, he began to become extremely nervous. Seeing as how there was a break for the match to be fixed, he decided to go into one of the waiting rooms to mentally steel himself. However, as he went down to the rooms, someone had also taken notice and followed him down.

When Leizcio entered the waiting room, he just put his hands on his forehead looking into the table, trying to let go of the memories of that night. But they're far too vivid, he can practically feel every single punch that shadow beast quirk landed on him. The fear in himself when he was fading. However, something had just interrupted his train of thought.

"Esperanza, are you okay?"

"Yaoyorozu? Why're you here?"

Walking into the room, she takes a seat across from Leizcio.

"You seemed very nervous going into this. You were calm when you fought against Ashido and even when Jirou attacked you back in the battle trial. Why are you nervous now?"

Leizcio realized he didn't have much of a choice but to answer, he can't just up and leave the room. How is he supposed to explain that he's practically reliving the night he almost died when he sees Tokoyami's quirk? More so when it was when he was a vigilante?

Taking a deep breath, he just tells her,

"His quirk reminds me of something that happened in the past and it left me shaken I guess."

"I see, it must be tough Esperanza, but you're also strong yourself. You've already proved that many times throughout this festival. You can do it, fight past your memories, and don't let them get to you."

Leizcio understood what she was saying and she was right, how else can one move past their fears if they don't face them head-on? Even if it's tough, Leizcio has to do his best to move forward. However, he wasn't exactly done.

"Actually Yaoyorozu, can I ask you something?"

"Of course Esperanza, what's your question?"

"Are you sure you're okay? Ever since your match, you've looked upset the whole time."

She had a similar reaction as well, not expecting him to ask her that. But regardless, she decided to tell him.

"With the last match, I feel that I might not have planned well against Tokoyami, which pros would probably start losing interest in my capabilities. He was just able to overwhelm me so easily that I didn't even notice until Midnight said I was out of bounds. I had a plan yet I wasn't able to beat him. " Yaoyorozu said in a disappointed tone looking down at the table.

"Yaoyorozu, you can't expect every plan to follow suit. I remember when Jirou had also broken down the door which we didn't expect but you were still able to trap her which let us win! You might've lost now, but you still made an impression! We're still heroes in training so we're still learning the ropes!"

Yaoyorozu was a bit surprised that Leizcio remembered the battle trial, especially the plan that she had come up with. Perhaps he did have a point.

"Thank you Esperanza, I needed that. However, I do believe you should be getting ready for your next match, Iida just finished his."

"Oh damn, you're right! Well, thank you Yaoyorozu!"

"I'll be watching Esperanza, good luck!"

As Leizcio makes it to the stage, Yaoyorozu was returning back to the stands, however, there was someone making down their way to the hall to which Leizcio was going to. Although they look nothing like Leizcio, she assumes it's just his relatives who came by to watch him so she leaves them be.

As Leizcio entered the stage, he was much more relaxed with the number of eyes on him no longer stressing him. Getting ready for what lies ahead, he starts to do some stretches.

"The fastest match winners we've seen so far! The kid too fast for his own good Leizcio Esperanza!"

"Vs the fast samurai of darkness, Fumikage Tokoyami!"

"Start!"

"Dark Shadow!"

"Got it!"

Leizcio immediately freezes up seeing Dark shadow lunging at him. The way Dark shadow was lunging at him was all too familiar to that night. He doesn't see Dark shadow, he sees that beast about to punch him. He's not able to resist as he's smacked by Dark shadow towards the boundary. Serving as a wake-up call, Leizcio immediately gets up and starts dodging Dark shadow. His mind isn't running on logic anymore, it's running on instinct. His mind starts shaping his vision into what he thinks is a rematch against the shadow beast. He starts moving faster and everyone in the stadium doesn't see him at all, just gusts of wind moving around. But to Tokoyami, Leizcio was dodging each of Dark shadow's attacks even if he didn't throw a punch. But something didn't seem right. However, he didn't have enough time to react as the next second he felt a strong force on his chest with energy electrocuting him. He's sent over to the other side of the arena in the blink of an eye.

"Tokoyami has fainted! Esperanza advances to the next round!"

Leizcio is terrified of what he just did right now, he didn't want any of this to happen. He'd hoped that his memories wouldn't halt him but instead it hurt Tokoyami immensely. While the crowd cheered him on, Leizcio couldn't help feeling guilty for the damage he did to Tokoyami. He knows that he'll be fine since Recovery Girl can heal him but he never really hit anyone like that before, more so on a classmate. He walked back into the halls going back to the stands but someone called out to him.

"Leizcio." was all that a figure awaiting him in the shadows said, as there was another clearly with them. However, Leizcio was able to recognize that voice. Leizcio immediately started to panic but at the same time steeled himself so he would show no weakness.

"What do you want Mashito?" Leizcio asked in an irritated tone with a strong glare in his eyes.

"Is that how're you going to talk to me son?"

"You have the audacity to call me son after leaving me behind and disowning me?"

"That doesn't matter right now, but I overheard that a child of mine had made into UA, and I was surprised it was you of all people. You used to be quirkless but now you run at the speed of sound with all this electricity. You might be worth the trouble after all."

"I've got no interest continuing your legacy, so back off."

"Shame, either way, this one is going to be carrying my legacy, but you have a shot at it. She's your competition."

Mashito pushes forward a girl who was the same age as Leizcio but taller. She was wearing a simple shirt and jeans, but looking into her eyes, Leizcio could see that Mashito has already gotten to her and she's his shadow now, but he can also feel the smallest bit of regret buried beneath it all.

"You might finally be worth something now, come on Hisako, we're going back to the stands to see his fight later."

After Mashito and Hisako left, Leizcio slowly walked back to the stands. This was just all too much for him right now. He let loose on his classmate because he couldn't control himself. Sure Tokoyami will recover thanks to Recovery Girl but it still hurts Leizcio. And with his father suddenly coming back after years, it's fogging his mind. There had to be a bigger reason behind why Mashito would come back now of all times. Sitting back in his seat, Leizcio was lost in his thoughts.

"Esperanza, you did great against Tokoyami man! I thought that dark shadow of his was unmatched!" Denki leaped onto Leizcio congratulating him.

"Thanks Kaminari, he'll be fine though right?" Leizcio said with a half-worried face.

"Course he will! If Recovery Girl can fix up Midoriya, then Tokoyami will be fine! Plus it's a competition anyways! You did good and now you're advancing to the semi-finals!"

Leizcio also failed to consider that despite his match a few moments before. He automatically moved forward. Since he beat Tokoyami, the next in the bracket is Kirishima vs Bakugo. A fight in which Leizcio is going to struggle either way.

"Thanks Kaminari, I needed that."

"No problem man! Anything for my elec-bro!"

"Elec-bro?"

"Yeah man! Electric bros!"

"Haha, alright then 'elec-bro." Leizcio said with a small laugh. Feeling a bit better, Leizcio continued to watch the matches but still had those thoughts lurking around deep in his mind. Even watching the other matches, they still didn't make him feel any better. Especially watching Bakugo and Kirishima's fight. Bakugo was easily able to find a weakness in Kirishima's hardening quirk and finished him with a repetitive barrage of explosions.

Seeing that Iida's match was about to start, Leizcio went into the waiting rooms to get ready for his match against Bakugo. But he wasn't really strategizing, his mind didn't have the clarity to think of a plan for it. He needed to clear his mind before the battle but it was no use. All of this right now was just a bit much for Leizcio to handle. Hearing Iida's loss over the speakers, Leizcio just takes a deep breath and walks out onto the stage, unsure of everything and the battle ahead, he has to face it head first.

Will Bakugo's unstoppable explosion rush be able to beat the speedster? Or will Esperanza be fast enough to knock out the competition?

The match that will determine who makes it to the finals!

Let the match begin!

Chapter 20

END