A boy was walking down the street with his father, but unlike many others this father-son pair had attracted quite the crowd.

"Endeavour-san! What do you think about the recent spike in terrorist attacks?"

"Endeavour-san! Could we please get an interview with you and your son?"

"Endeavour-san!"

"Endeavour-san!"

"Endeavour-san!"

Todoroki Shoto was not amused in the slightest. He initially chose his father's agency because he wanted to train and improve his control over his left side, not galavant around as the Number One Hero and his oh so proud successor.

Shoto narrowed his eyes at the sight of his father actually answering one of the vultures, scoffing at the disgusting sight. Just when was he going to stop pretending?

After the fall of All Might, Todoroki Enji had changed, or at least appeared to have. For a few weeks after the death of Japan's greatest hero, the one slated to take his place had went through a difficult crisis. The time off that had piled up to a decade was suddenly spent as if it was pocket change, his agency and the rest of Japan were left in the hands of The Flaming Sidekickers.

But after he finally left his scorched room Endeavour still remained distant, he reached home at later and later hours, he hadn't trained with Shoto for what felt like years to him, he hadn't even spoke to anyone outside of Fuyumi and even then it was simply about minor housekeeping issues.

And then more recently there was this.

"Endeavour-san! In your professional opinion is there any cause for concern with the surge in villain attacks this past year?"

"…"

In the past Shoto would have expected the bastard to brush the reporter off with a malicious glare and a huff that burned hotter than the very flames radiating off his body. But now…

"No… Not while I still stand, that I promise."

The reporters seemed to be satisfied with that answer, either that or they were simply basking in awe.

But Shoto couldn't care less, whatever came out of that man's mouth was hotter air than his usual. Endeavour was no hero, not in Shoto's eyes at least. His power didn't make him strong, nor did it give him the same atmosphere and authority that All Might once did. Even if he was the Number One hero, he wasn't Number One.

Shoto knew the reason well…

The next match was about to begin, Shoto was standing in position but his opponent was nowhere to be seen.

*Tap Tap*

The chimera like boy impatiently tapped his foot, why was his opponent taking so damn long? He just wanted to get this over and done with already, the time he spent waiting before his matches was always the longest.

Because every single match he had would always end in an instant.

Shoto honestly couldn't blame them, they were simply too weak. It wasn't a matter of looking down on them or anything so prideful, it was just a simple fact. Even in a class of scholars there was only a single place for a valedictorian, no matter how strong everyone else grew they were simply feathers trying to get a thousand ton weight to budge. He was just in a whole nother class…

He was just too strong for them.

If he wasn't stronger than all of them then what would be the point? If he wasn't the strongest then what would have been the point of all of her suffering? If he wasn't stronger than every single hero in this arena then her suffering meant nothing.

Shoto looked up to glare at a certain member of the audience.

And if her quirk wasn't stronger than his, then why did he have to make her marry him.

That's what Todoroki Shoto had to prove today, in front of every camera broadcasted to the whole world.

That his mother was stronger than Endeavour ever was.

"Ah! Sorry for being late!" A bushy haired boy came running in.

Shoto narrowed his eyes, this was the boy who made his ice disappear. He kept saying he was quirkless but Shoto knew that had to be a front, he had to have some sort of banishment quirk or something along those lines. Perhaps along with a passive strength boost that helped him break through his classmates hardened skin.

"You're late Midoriya-kun!" Midnight scolded. "I was almost going to have to disqualify you!"

"Thanks for not doing it anyway Sensei!" Midoriya had the cheek to look embarrassed.

"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook Midoriya-kun…" Midnight licked her lips. "There will be a suitable punishment for your ~naughty behaviour…"

"Eep!" He shuddered.

After, whatever that was. Midnight gave the all clear to the announcing box, while Midoriya took his position on the field.

As Present Mic gave his usual loud, annoying introduction Shoto was already in position to strike, if he was truly as quirkless as he claimed, Midoriya would be finished off before anyone could even blink.

Midoriya gripped his right hand with his left.

Shoto edged his right leg slightly forward.

"START!"

A large wave of ice came flowing out of the hero student's foot, crashing into the quirkless boy like the physical incarnation of winter.

The match was over in an instant.

Just like the one before.

And the one after would be.

He was the strongest student in the hero course.

He would end all his fights in a single attack.

And he would do it with only half of his power.

With his mother's power.

Everything was as it should be.

*BREAK*

At least, that's how it should have been.

But the moment the ice made contact with that boy, it shattered and dissolved into nothingness.

The weak quirkless boy who should have been annihilated in an instant was standing there with his right hand stretched out.

But how?

'Does he have a banishment quirk after all?'

"AMAZING! Midoriya negated that attack like it was nothing!"

Shoto sent out another wave, one much larger than the one he overwhelmed Yaoyorozu with.

'This time for sure.'

*BREAK*

The result was the same.

Shoto switched strategies, planting his hand on the ground the dual quirk user sent a continuous stream of ice.

*BREAK*

Midoriya's right hand was negating the ice as it flowed, seemingly forming an invisible barrier around him.

It was as if the heavens reached out to protect the powerless boy like divine intervention.

Like Moses who parted the red sea, Midoriya carved a path through the glacier and charged forward. Closing in, Midoriya kept forward and slammed his right fist into the ice, crashing right into the ice user's unsuspecting face.

*SMASH*

Shoto was sent flying by Midoriya's fist.

Shoto quickly recovered, creating an ice slide to stop himself from being thrown out of bounds. Sliding out of Midoriya's range, Shoto sent several spikes of ice toward the green haired boy. The spikes were aimed at all of Midoriya's vital areas, but Midoriya only had his right hand. It'd be impossible for him to negate all of them at once.

Thankfully for Midoriya he didn't need to.

From what he observed Shoto could only release his ice over a surface. The ground, the pole from earlier, he always required some form of solid surface for him to spread his ice across. Even now, the spikes of ice were merely extensions grown from the large ice slide Shoto slid on. So Midoriya merely aimed for the closest spike…

*BREAK*

And Shoto fell rolling across the arena, having all his ice negated at once.

'Damn!'

*SMASH*

Midoriya wasted no time in attacking his downed opponent before he could recover.

*SLAM*

In desperation Shoto slammed his fist on the ground, creating a tower of ice to raised him above anywhere Midoriya could possibly reach.

But Midoriya didn't need to reach Shoto, he simply needed to reach his ice.

*BREAK*

Midoriya negated the giant tower of ice in an instant sending Shoto crashing down toward his fist.

*SMASH*

Midoriya gave Shoto a strong uppercut to his chin, almost knocking him out.

"Ughhh…Damn…" Shoto tried to reagin his bearings.

"You're holding back aren't you?"

Shoto jolted back up from his defenceless position.

"You're strong, probably the strongest one in the whole year. You finish all your matches in an instant with a single move, you could probably demolish an entire town with just a single thought. So why…"

Midoriya clenched his fist even harder.

"Why is it that the weakest student is winning? Against you! The Strongest!"

Midoriya ground his feet, twisted his hips and put all his weight into a strong blow that gave a resounding crack as it hit Shoto's ribs. Spit dribbled out of Shoto's mouth as he struggled to take a breath.

"You haven't even gotten a single scratch on me, so tell me Todoroki. Why? Why did she have to struggle so much against you!?"

*Cough* "Shut up… You don't know anything about me! So shut up…"

Shoto grit his teeth and released one final attack.

"AND STOP ASKING ME TO USE THAT BASTARD'S POWER!"

A huge glacier eclipsed the stadium, it was as if Shoto used all of his might to block out any trace of the bright burning sun.

"HOLY SHIT! Talk about making mountains out of molehills, because Todoroki just made one right now!"

Shoto panted and clutched onto his right side in pain, the frostbite was starting to set in. But he did it, all he needed to do was wait for the them to announce his victory. He had proven it to everyone.

"My…Mother's power… is enough…"

*BREAK*

"What!?"

The entire glacier was demolished with just a single touch.

And out of the dust walked Midoriya Izuku.

"You're right Todoroki I don't know anything about you. Why you decide to hold back, why you're so determined to win using only your Mother's power. So tell me…"

Shoto listened in shock.

"Explain it to me Todoroki! I'm not smart enough to understand! I'm just a weak quirkless idiot who failed the entrance exam to the Hero Course after years of training. I'm just a worthless student who cuts classes, the only reason I'm still here is because of the kindness of Midnight-sensei and the other teachers. I'm just a lousy son who makes his mother worry and cry, despite her being nothing but supportive. But you're nothing like me! You have a quirk with two incredibly strong powers, you got in on recommendations, you're the top of the hero course, and you obviously care a lot about your mother since you're doing all of this in her name!"

Midoriya readied another attack.

"I just don't understand why the fuck are you even here!? Why does everyone else have to work so hard to train their quirks, if you're just going to fight with one hand tied behind their back? Why did she lose to you, if you're just going to lose to a useless bum like me without even trying? Have you thought of the excuse you're going to give when you let someone die because you were holding back!? Especially to another deadbeat like me!?"

*SMASH*

"So tell me Todoroki, how powerful do you feel now? Is this how everyone else felt when they were up against you? Against the worst student in all of UA!? What is it going to take to make you stop holding back your power!? I don't understand how, Todoroki! How can you be the 'Strongest'? When you're too weak to even accept yourself!"

Midoriya dished out another hit.

"Accept…" Shoto gritted his teeth in an effort to dull the pain. "You want me to accept HIS POWER!"

"You just don't get it do you Todoroki… I'm not fighting against anyone else but you. If you think this right hand belongs to my mother or father then I'll rip it off and beat it into you! I'm the one who's fighting you right now! You're the one who's been blasting me with a winter full of ice! Does that left side of yours make you the hero with the most solved cases!? Does it make you the one who saved all those people!? Does it make you the Number One hero!? Does having Endeavour's hair make you just like him!? You're a damned idiot if you think whosever blood you inherited has any merit to whatever you do or whatever power you use. That power you speak of, that power you wield. That power doesn't belong to anyone but you. Not your Father's, not your Mother's, but Todoroki Shoto's power."

Midoriya raised his fist toward him.

"So are you just going to hold back and let the weakest student pummel you into the ground?"

There was an unexplainable gleam in Shoto's eyes…

And suddenly there was a flash.

*WHOOSH*

And the whole stadium burst into flames.

"WHAT'S THIS!? Todoroki's finally using his fire!? Did he finally find himself a worthy opponent or something!?"

The ice melting from his side Shoto got back up and faced his opponent. His left side finally ignited, and Shoto exhaled. It was like finally relieving an itch that he needed to scratch for years.

"Midoriya…"

Shoto gave him a manic grin.

"You wanted my full power didn't you? So don't blame me for what happens next…"

The flames danced around in the air, ripe with destructive power.

These were the flames of his Father, the flames of the Number One hero.

No…

They were Todoroki Shoto's flames, that would burn brighter than Endeavor's ever did.

These were the flames that would burn bright enough to eclipse the Number One hero.

These were the flames that would save more people than Endeavour ever would.

These were the flames that came from the boy that Todoroki Rei gave birth to.

"Incinerate."

The flames heeded his command and a large Wall of Flames burst into existence.

"OH MY GOD! Is Midoriya dead!?" Mic screamed.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Aizawa chided.

True to Eraser's words Midoriya simply swung his right hand toward the scorching hot flames and they vanished as quickly as they came.

*BREAK*

It was as if the flames feared Midoriya's very existence.

"Amazing, Midoriya… you said you were nothing like me, and you were right…"

Shoto grinned even more.

"You're incredible!"

Shoto slammed his right foot down, preparing to unleash his strongest attack.

Midoriya simply charged forward, readying his right hand to negate Shoto's attacks whether they be flame or ice.

Shoto released his ice once again, this time focusing on lowering the temperature of the arena as much as possible instead of letting loose a mountain size glacier.

The whole arena floor was covered in frost, nearly trapping Midoriya in it.

*BREAK*

Very nearly.

Shoto then switched to his fire, and let out a burst that rivalled the flames that burned deep within his heart.

But it was no use.

*BREAK*

With just a touch the flames were extinguished, and Midoriya Izuku had finally reached his opponent.

"Grit your teeth strongest one… This attack from the weakest…"

For Shoto it was as if time had stopped, at that moment his body felt more frozen than it ever did. The flames of passion were extinguished by the chilling fear of imminent dread coming from the boy in front of him.

"Might just shake you up a little!"

*SMASH*

Midoriya's right fist sank into Shoto's face who was flung to the ground where he rolled out of the arena, arms and legs strewn across the ground.

The strongest hero student with a dual quirk had been knocked unconscious by the weak right fist of a quirkless nobody.

Midnight waved her flag down. "Todoroki is knocked out and out of bounds!"

"Midoriya wins!"