Chapter 4
Okay, hot damn it's been a while since I've made an update and, hate to say it but, it will most likely be summer before the next one honestly. The ones to blame are Research Papers and upcoming finals to study for. But I've revamped the first three chapters, with the exception of the fourth, and hopefully they seem more intresting a read going forward.
Also Happy Star Wars Day.
May the 4th be with you. Always. (Super belated I know.)
A loud echoing CRACK broke the silence.
" IDIOT BOY!"
The sound of U.A's resident Physician's cane colliding with Midoriya's head rang throughout the room.
" YOU WERE DOING SO WELL! You found a way to use it safely and you resorted to breaking yourself as soon as you were pressed!" The look she was shooting the young successor was completely murderous. Todoroki had woken up before Midoriya, and had been released from the Infirmiary five minutes earlier (on crutches), so the duo were able to speak freely regarding his quirk.
"Fortunately there wasn't any permanent harm done on you're body. However just to be clear, I refuse to heal any more injuries such as this."
"Wh-what?! Recovery Girl, I'm sorry but I needed to do this. I couldn't just-"
"You have a save method of harnessing your power, no?! Wasn't that what you spent the last two weeks working on? This was not a life or death situation, it was nothing more than a competition, and It was foolish to break yourself for the mere sake of a competition!" She finished with a tone of finality.
Izuku wanted desperately to find a retort to this, but he knew that she was in the mostly right. He knew that it wasn't necessary to injure himself for the mere sake of winning a competition, but he still felt a small grain defiance in himself. After all that he had said to Todoroki about not holding back, it would've been hypocritical to hold to back.
But Wishing to avoid another lecture, he raised his right hand up in a surrendering pose, "I-I swear from now on, I'll only use 100% as an absolute last resort."
At last seeing compliance from her patient, Recovery Girl lowered her cane and nodded as she made her way to her door. "Now I'll be back soon, I need to inform The Principal of your conditions, and that you're fit enough to attend the ceremony. "
With that she made her exit, only for a certain gravity girl to take her place.
The door opened as she made her way out, Uraraka made her way inside.
"Oh, hey Uraraka." Izuku greeted her but noticed that a certain someone was missing. He asked about Iida, but Uraraka filled him in on the phone call, and his abrupt departure, and his apologies for missing his friend's recovery.
"I'm sorry Uraraka. I guess I really let you down huh?" He had knew that it was the truth, and honestly he couldn't blame her for being disappointed in him.
"Of course not Deku! I mean c'mon, you fought Todoroki to draw, you have to realize how awesome that is!" Uraraka insisted, which caused Izuku to stutter bashfully in an attempt to rebutal them. "Y-yeah I guess so, but still I didn't-"
" Don't you remember?" Uraraka cut across him, refusing to let the boy think otherwise. " 'As long as we remember to do our best, we can always get stronger. Together!' "Right?" She asked with a fist extended, and eyes closed.
For a moment Izuku simply stared at the fist, butterflies in his stomach, before bumping it, "Yeah!" He said with red spread on his cheeks.
This nice little moment was interrupted by the door bursting opened.
"I AM HERE, IN THE INFIRMARY!"
All Might entered the room donned in his Silver Age Hero Costume, with his trademark smile.
"Well done Young Iz-Midoriya!" All Might caught himself just in time, as he noticed Uraraka's presence. It wouldn't do well for her to pick up on his familiarity with his successor. "You fought well, and I am very impressed with your performance! As did you Young Uraraka, you showed both rreativty and resilience in your fight! I'm proud to call you Heroes in Training." He continued with a raised thumb.
"Th-thank you, All Might!" Izuku and Uraraka said together.
"Now then there is the Award's ceremony to attend to! You have some time before it offically begins, so I'll leave you young lovebirds to your business" All Might dashed out of the infirmary before he could hear their spluttered denials.
XXXX'
About thirty Minutes later, the end of the Sports Festival had reached it's end. The top three, or four in this case, were chosen, the Students were give their time in the spotlight were, and the pros had their pick of the litter for future promising sidekicks.
The crowd roared as their champions stood on their respective podiums.
In third place Fumikage Tokayami stood in his reserved stance, with his shoulders crossed.
In second place stood both Izuku Midoriya, who sported a freshly wrapped cast on his arm and Shoto Todoroki, who managed to stand with assistance of crutches seemed to be out of scene at the moment, both looked as if they belonged in the hospital wing. Both injuries were treated as best they could by Recovery Girl and should completely heal up, in a few days time.
And the official champion of the Sports Festival, standing in first place was, Katsuki Bakugo...
tied up...
with a muzzle ...
struggling with all his might...
and screaming like a raging bull.
"LET ME... THE FUCK ... GO!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.
In the end, and to the great disappointment of many, neither Midoriya nor Todoroki were cleared to participate in the final match, resulting in Bakugo winning by default. Which wasn't taken well by Bakugo, as expected the boy took it as an insult at being handed the victory on a silver platter, which led to his... restraints.
Turning her attention to the crowd the R-rated Hero exclaiming,"As you can see our champions for this year's festival have been decided now it's time for their hard work to be rewarded, the Award Ceremony begins now!"
"So without further ado!" She announced, with medals in hand.
"I AM HERE... TO AWARD YOU!"/All Might is here!
All Might shouted from atop the stadium as he lept down to the arena, creating a cloud of dust. If it was even possible the cheers grew even louder at Number 1 Hero's appearance, after all seeing the Symbol of Peace was a sight to behold.
"Yeah, All Might!"
"They're so lucky!"
"They've really got the best hero teaching them!"
" I uh, I really ruined that didn't I?" The R-rated hero offered apologetically, handing All Might the forward the Symbol of Peace, pulled a Bronze Medal out, as the Raven Headed teen lowered his head in acceptance.
"Young Tokoyami , you truly have proven your strength today." All Might praised, pulling the young raven into a hug. "However you can't solely rely on your quirk in battle. You must sharpen your skills, and you will open a whole new world of possibilities.
"Yes sir, and your words humble me greatly."
With a nod, All Might stepped forward to the second place platform with Todoroki and his successor standing on top of it. Both lowered their heads allowing All Might to place a silver medal on each of them.
"Young Todoroki and Young Midoriya congratulations to you both, for giving it everything you had. Though I'm assuming you had your reasoning for holding back your flames for most of the Tournament, Young Todoroki?"
"Midoriya reached out to me, made me open my eyes to the way I was acting. However... I still have doubts about my path going forward, I have much to think about. And I need to settle thins with someone, very soon. But it's clear you've taken an intrest in Midoriya, and I think I can understand why you have." He said gesturing towards the blushing Midoriya.
All Might embraced the young man, stating "I've never seen that look on your face before now. You're business is your own and I won't pry, but I just want to say trust yourself and I'm confident things will turn out all right."
Turning toward his successor, All Might embraced him as well, though was careful to avoid hurting him.
"Young Midoriya, not only have you prove your skill in battle, but you've once again prove you possess the heart of a hero, willing to help anybody in need. Take pride as this is not common.
"Thank you!" Izuku thanked, glancing at the silver medal with glistening eyes.
All Might then made his way to the Final podium with gold medal in his hand.
"And now finally Bakugo... " All Might sweatdropped at the rabid look on his student's face.
"Well... You did live up to your promise, well done!" All Might congratulated while loosening the muzzle restraining his mouth . All Might held out his gold medal before Bakugo, who's face morphed into one of pure anger and fury, exploded.
"FUCK OFF, I DIDN'T EARN SHIT! THOSE TWO SCREWED ME, IT DOESN'T COUNT!" Bakugo bellowed, glaring at Todoroki and Izuku, making the latter flinch.
"Be that as it may, in a world constantly grade on a curve, not many can constantly find themselves on top! So accept this, if not as a reward then as a wound to serve as a reminder!" All Might insisted.
"I SAID... I DON'T FUCKING WANT IT!"
All Might and Bakugo struggled for a moment, before the pro simply called it a day and hooked the medal on his teeth.
" Remember the hard work that brought you all here. As well as that Every student here today has the potential to not only win, but be amazing heroes! Competition, encouragement, and pushing each other. With that in mind, let's all give one last cheer! ALL TOGETHER NOW!"
"PLUS U-"
"THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!"
"-LTRA! Are You Kidding me!"
"But... they did work hard!"
Despite the n tIzuku was oblivious to noise of the crowd, as he gazed at his Silver medal. Sure things didn't go as he wanted them to, but he gave it everything he had and he didn't gave up. So what if he didn't win like he wanted? He didn't make the announcement to the world, but the Pros were impressed with him, and now... now people would KNOW that he is here.
xxxx
The Sport's Festival' Champions, with the exception of Bakugo, made their way down the hallway to the main exit, before someone called out the the Green Haired Introvert.
"Midoriya."
Deku whirled around to Todoroki approaching him on crutches.
"Is it okay if I ask you something."
"Sure, what's up?", Izuku nodded.
"Why?" , Todoroki asked, an inquisitive look on his face.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You broke yourself, just to make me use my flames. You injured yourself, when you could have defeated me and moved on to the next round, why would you forfeit the chance to do that? Why did you want to help me so badly?"
Izuku stopped and thought for a moment, the best answer he could come up with was what what once told Bakugo over a year ago,"You just seemed like you needed help."
Todoroki gazed at Izuku for a good long moment, and for that long moment Izuku had worried he went to far before, "I truly meant what I said back there, about how you opened my eyes. And I can't thank you enough for doing that. Especially for what you made me realize, for making me realize the lengths I'd go to, simply to spite Endeavor."
To Izuku it was clear, that last question of his struck Todoroki far harder than any of his punches. To Todoroki, the thought had never crossed his mind before now. But now the question weighed down on him. In Todoroki's eyes, Izuku could've sworn he saw tinge of shame. He must've felt ashamed to realize that two hours ago he wouldn't have had an answer, or maybe even worse... that he did know the answer.
A bashful stutter exited the Midoriya's mouth, as he attempted to play off the compliments payed to him, but Todoroki said,"What do you say to a rematch?"
Izuku eyes widened. Did... did he really hear Todoroki correctly?
"Not right now of course, but... this fight was a draw, so what do you say to a rematch one day? No hold's barred , winner take all, with out full power?" The Zuko look alike proposed, with his hand extended. The introvert simply gaped at the hand, before snapping back to his senses and returning the gesture.
"I-I'd like that." And he truly would.
XXXXX
Unknown to the Heroes, certain people were also viewing the Tournament,namely the creator of One For All. He viewed the screen in front of him in euphoric joy. An eery smile making its way to his face.
Tomura had told him of the boy, whom as his apprentice put, " was as fast as All Might" . He had considered it as a possibility beforehand of course, but he hadn't been certain of it before now.
But... that form that Izuku Midoriya displayed , and the sheer power he had displayed ... It was unmistakable, as he knew that power quite well.
There was only one possible explanation. All For One's body was just as foul and decrepit as All Might's, from the sheer amount of damage the two had wrought on one another. So it seemed for once All For One and All Might were united in the same desire.
"So my old foe. It seems... you've chosen a successor for yourself. Now I know... that HE is here!"
XXXX
Izuku opened the door to the teacher's lounge to see All Might in his skeleton form resting on the couch. He wore a smile on his face as he saw who had entered.
"Well done Young Izuku !" All Might congratulated, affectionately noogieing his young protege.
"I'm sorry about earlier, I was planning on checking in on you but..." He paused wiggling his eyebrows, with a knowing smirk. "It would seem that Young Uraraka beat me to the punch."
All the blood in Izuku's body suddenly rushed to his face, as he furiously waved his hands denying the implication," N-N-No it's it's not like that!"
All Might's smirk made it fairly clear that he didn't believe Izuku in the slightest, as the heat in his cheeks grew even more.
"A-anyway All Might... do you think I did the right thing? With Todoroki I mean. I just... if he wanted to be number one, he had no business holding back while everyone else was giving it all they had. But, but maybe if I kept my mouth shut, I wouldn't have lost ". Izuku finished in a wavering voice, as he fought back his tears.
The blonde's face scrunched up in thought as he answered," I'm sure what was said exactly, but I figured that's what you were trying to do, from the talk I had with Todoroki and since you didn't just knock him out of the ring."
All Might gave Izuku a smile, the kind of smile that can only be given from a proud teacher to his student.
But honestly, you completely did. And you did NOT lose that fight Young Izuku, you fought him to a draw, and you did well. I admit this was an unfortunate outcome, however..." All Might paused placing his hand on his Student's shoulder, giving help that's not asked for, is what makes a true hero in my opinion. "
"After all that simularity between us was part of the reason I chose you that day. Two Quirkless boys, with a strong desire to help those in need, who-
"Wait, What?!"
Izuku's head shot up at this, staring dumbfounded at his idol.
"You're quirkless? You never said that before!" Izuku exclaimed with widened eyes. Toshinari Yagi, A.K.A All Might the Number One Hero and Symbol Of Peace himself, was born just as powerless as he was.
Realizing his mistake All Might informed him,"Well you never asked. Besides didn't you think it was strange that you never saw my original quirk?" Izuku couldn't deny his point, in the year they had known each other he never really pried into All Might's personal life.
"Now it wasn't as rare as it is right now , but it still wasn't the norm. Even though I lacked a quirk of my own, I had someone who believed in me, just as I believe in you. My own master chose me to succeed her,and trained me to become the Symbol of Peace. And If I had to be honest I saw some of the old me in you, but you've constantly prove that there is something special in you, and you alone, and you've prove that once again today." He finished with a proud smile on his face.
"Thank you!" Izuku cried, wiping the tear that had fallen off his face.
"Anytime. No head on home, you've earned a break for the next couple days. Enjoy them!"
XXXX
It had been an exhausting day for one Izuku Midoriya as he trudged up the stairs to his home. He had been put through both the physical and emotional ringer , and he had never been more grateful to see his apartment door coming up. Finally resting on that heavenly rectangle called a bed, that glorious resting place, it sounded like heaven. Deku pulled his key out, as he pressed opened the door.
"I'm hom-" He didn't get the chance to finish as he heard footsteps, before his vision was blocked by dark green hair, and found himself enveloped in a rib breaking hug. "MY BABY, IZUKU!" Inko wailed, threatening to drown him in her tears. That was his Mom all right... Seriously, whenever it came to Izuku's safety he was confident she possessed greater speed then All Might himself.
"Hey Mom. I'm-I'm okay see, I promise!" He swore to her. However he noticed a certain someone was missing, usually when he arrived home she'd be waiting for him a the door.
"Wait where's-"
"She's on the couch, I tried to get her to bed, but she didn't want to miss welcoming her brother home." Inko answered, wiping her tears and leading him inside their home.
He found a little girl with a horn adorned atop her head sitting half asleep on the couch, fighting a losing battle to keep her eyes opened. Izuku couldn't help but let out a chuckle at this, it was rather adorable. They weren't related by blood, but Izuku still thought of her as his sister and that feeling was reciprocated by the little girl.
"Big Brother." Eri muttered sleepily.
"You must be sleepy, huh?" Eri blinked tiredly in response.
He lifted her into her arms, as she wrapped her arms around him, ready to doze of then and there. He laughed as he carried her to their shared bedroom.
DUN-DUN-DUN-DUUUUN!