Tenko returned exactly as the festival was having its noonday break. He and Tensei left the VIP area together to go meet their little brothers. As they were heading to the food stalls, however, Tensei accidentally told the students that Tenko actually disappeared for the majority of the Cavalry Battle to answer a business call, prompting Izuku to react negatively.
"Tenko, you what?!" Izuku angrily asked.
"I'm sorry! The call was an important one! I wasn't expecting it until next week, and I didn't expect to receive it today." Tenko scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I hope it was worth it." Izuku said sarcastically while crossing his arms. Then Tenko accidentally blurted, "Oh it was."
Izuku glared at his older brother for that statement. Tenko immediately realized and apologized, while Tensei, Tenya, and Ochaco just laughed.
As they were walking, Tenko suddenly realized, "Hm? Won't Shouto be joining us?"
His older brother's question and reminder made Izuku stop in his tracks. The rest of them stopped as well.
"Izuku? Is something wrong?" Tenko asked as he noticed Izuku was clenching his fists.
"Was he ever even my friend?" His little brother's voice was low, inclining to silent anger and sadness about to burst out.
Tenko bowed to get to his brother's height. He then asked his little brother, "What's the problem, Izuku?"
Izuku furrowed his brows then he answered, "It's... earlier today, before the first event, he heard me speaking to Dad and he suddenly got mad at me for no reason. Since then, we've both been trying to beat each other in the events. I still don't know why he's angry with me."
Tenko straightened his posture then he tugged on his chin. "He got mad after he heard you talking to Dad? Well, I guess that answers your question."
Izuku, as well as their companions, looked at Tenko in confusion. The young man with light blue hair understood their confusion and explained, "Well, there are rumors that the Todoroki household isn't exactly a warm home, and that Enji isn't exactly the father-of-the-year type. This is just me being superficial, but could Shouto have been jealous of your relationship with Dad?"
"But Tenko," Tenya interjected. "Shouto mentioned something else."
Tenko became curious, "And what was that?"
"He suddenly accused Izuku of intentionally planning to half-ass the Sports Festival." Tenya answered.
Tenko tugged on his chin again, then he asked his brother, "Izuku, you didn't happen to have been talking to Dad about your bones, were you?"
Tenko's words confused Izuku, "I-I was, why?"
"It's just a speculation but maybe he overheard you talking about being more careful not to break 'them' and mistook 'them' as the other competitors. He probably thought that you were confident enough to think you were strong enough to accidentally hurt other people. Furthermore, if I'm correct and he ended up being a product of Enji's attempt at creating a tool through Quirk Marriage, then Endeavor was probably rough on his training. No one can get as good as you nor him with their Quirks without training since their Quirk had manifested. That was probably why he sought to be your friend. He saw that you were the same as him, a child that had been homeschooled and trained since the first manifestation of your Quirks. The only difference being Enji is an asshole, while Dad is, well, Dad." Tenko explained.
"But again, just speculation. Take my words as you will." Tenko smiled at his little brother.
The final event has begun. Midnight informed the people that two students had withdrawn beforehand and as such, two students from the fifth team, Itsuka and Tetsutetsu, filled in the slots.
The pairings were then drawn. The first battle will be between Tenya and Shouto. Then the next will be between Izuku and Itsuka Kendo.
The battle between Shouto and Tenya was quick. Shouto had made a giant ice wall that went up even higher than the stadium itself, effectively trapping Tenya and rendering him unable to fight. Izuku saw how sad his friend was as he melted the ice around Tenya.
But now, he has to focus on his battle. He's going up against Itsuka Kendo from Class 1-B. She's from Hero Studies as well, so Izuku knows not to underestimate her.
She and Izuku took on a fighting stance.
"Begin!" Midnight yelled.
Activate: Air Cannon.
Izuku sent a punch towards Itsuki which the latter immediately dodged. Itsuka then ran towards Izuku.
I don't think so. Izuku jumped up and over Itsuka using Air Cannon on his legs. Activate: Muscle Augmentation and Unbreakable.
Izuku punched with his right arm but Itsuka was able to easily deflect using her enlarged left hand.
Then with her right hand, she went in for an uppercut, only enlarging her hand on contact. Izuku immediately blocked with his right hand but Itsuka was still able to push him back, and the former lost his connection to the ground.
Seeing the chance, Itsuka grabbed both of Izuku's hands then she threw him out of the ring. But as she expected, the green haired boy used his strengthened claps to send himself back within the ring.
Itsuka ran to where Izuku's trajectory would be and grabbed the boy's leg while he was in the air, then proceeded to throw him out of the ring. And again, the latter used his claps to bring himself back within the ring.
This time, however, Izuku seemed to have sent himself toward Itsuka's location. Before Itsuka could realize, the green haired boy cocked his arm back and punched downwards at the ginger.
The girl used her enlarged hands as a shield but the force was still enough to crack the floor beneath her.
Izuku landed on the floor and while his foe was temporarily blinded by her own shield, then he grabbed one of her hands and threw her away. Itsuka couldn't manage to bring herself back and she landed outside the ring.
"Izuku wins!" Midnight announced as Itsuka touched the ground. Izuku ran towards his schoolmate and he helped her up.
"You alright? I didn't throw you too hard, did I?" Izuku asked.
"No. Did I?" Itsuka asked.
"No, I'm fine. Great fight, by the way." Izuku told her with a smile.
"Next fighters, please come to the ring." Midnight announced which prompted Izuku and Itsuka to get back inside the stadium. They soon went their ways to meet up with their classmates.
Izuku went to the designated seats for Class 1-A and watched the next matches with them. At the fifth battle, Fumikage ended up going against Mei, the girl from Support Studies that offered to be in Izuku's team at the Cavalry Battle.
The whole thing went on for 10 minutes and Mei had essentially used Fumikage as her test monkey while showing off her 'babies' to the audience. Fumikage ended up winning after Mei stepped out of the ring but he refused to show his face to anyone until it was time for his next battle.
Ochaco won against Sero in the sixth battle. In the seventh battle between Katsuki and Denki, it was immediately apparent who would win and Katsuki did win without breaking a sweat.
The eighth battle was between Momo and Mina where Momo won. Afterwards was the tie breaker for Tetsutetsu and Eijiro. Eijiro won after Tetsutetsu's steel arms gave.
Then it was time for Izuku and Shouto's fight.
At the waiting room, Izuku was visited by his brother.
"Hey, you alright?" Tenko asked as he peered into the door. Izuku smiled at his big brother, then he answered, "Yeah. I'm just..."
Izuku paused for a bit then he asked, "Tenko, how do I even fight him? How do I fight Shouto? If he's my friend... and what you said were true... what do I even do?"
Tenko let out a sigh then he took a seat beside his little brother. Then he asked, "Izuku, you want to be a hero, don't you?"
Izuku looked at him in confusion, "Yeah. It's my dream, you know that."
Tenko chuckled a bit then he told his little brother, "Well, here's some advice from me. The thing with heroes is that they meddle. They butt in on matters that people would usually leave alone." -believe me, Dad would know all about this with All Might, Tenko wanted to add but he kept it to himself instead.
Then he continued, "So your friend has a problem, then it's your job as a hero to meddle and help your friend out."
Izuku nodded, trying to understand his brother's words.
Izuku walked up to the ring, there he saw Shouto, eyes filled with anger that had fit his Quirk, ot and cold at the same time. Izuku's brows furrowed with worry.
Izuku clenched his fists.
"Begin!" At Midnight's words, Shouto immediately sprung into action, sending an ice attack through the ground towards Izuku. The latter reacted quickly and activated Impact Recoil on his body, shattering the ice as they touched him.
Shouto followed up with another ice attack. Izuku activated Air Cannon and punched the incoming ice, shattering it.
Shouto kept sending an ice attack one after another, but each attack would always be shattered either by contact with Izuku's Impact Recoil or by the force of an Air Cannon punch. The bicolored boy was effectively pissed. Izuku hadn't used his Power Limb at max since that morning. His arms haven't swelled and twisted like he made them do before his stupid declaration. Not during the Obstacle Race, not during the Cavalry Battle, and definitely not now.
Shouto sent another ice attack at his foe, this time much stronger. I will make you use your full power. He declared.
Izuku noticed how bigger this attack was. He cocked his arm back and the moment the attack was arm's length, Izuku punched, letting the combined power of Air Cannon and Impact Recoil in his arms shatter the ice.
When the ice had cleared, Izuku noticed that Shouto was no longer where he had stood before. Before he could look around, he felt a hit-a punch on his face! Before Izuku could recover, Shouto followed up by grabbing the green haired boy's shirt and pulling him closer for another successful hit, sending Izuku back again. But then Izuku grabbed onto the bicolored boy's shoulders and headbutted his opponent's head making both of them stumble back.
Before his opponent could recover his footing, Shouto took the opportunity and shot another ice attack at Izuku with the same magnitude as the one he used to distract the boy.
This was effective as it was able to send Izuku flying out of the ring. Only recovering after the green haired boy used Air Cannon to spring him back to the ring.
Shouto gritted his teeth, then he sent another ice wall towards Izuku, similar but smaller than what he used against Tenya, hoping this would force Izuku to use his Quirk at max, while bringing his body's temperature to its limit.
However, Izuku, still refusing to use more than his five main Quirks, only used four of them on a punch to shatter the incoming ice.
Shouto clenched his now-frostbite covered fists. Despite being covered by frostbite, however, his blood was boiling. The absence of Izuku's twisted limbs was fueling his anger, until he finally yelled in frustration, "YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO USE THEM! WHY DON'T YOU JUST USE THEM?!"
"WHY DON'T YOU USE YOUR FIRE THEN?!" Izuku answered.
"MY SITUATION'S DIFFERENT-!"
"DIFFERENT HOW EXACTLY?!" The green haired boy retorted.
Shouto bit his lips. How dare he flip this on me!
"YOU WERE TREATED KINDLY BY YOUR FATHER! EVEN AS HE WAS RAISING A POTENTIAL WEAPON, HE STILL TREATED YOU LIKE A HUMAN! AND YOU WOULD DARE NOT USE YOUR FULL POWER? FOR WHAT?! JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE IT?!"
Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing and broke into tears.
"YOU'RE NOT USING YOUR FIRE TO SPITE YOUR FATHER! I'M NOT USING MY POWER BECAUSE IT'S SLOWLY DESTROYING ME!"
Shouto winced.
"IF YOU HAD BOTHERED ASKING WHAT I WAS BEING CAREFUL NOT TO DESTROY, THEN YOU WOULD'VE KNOWN THAT I'VE BEEN SLOWLY DESTROYING MY BODY BY USING MY QUIRK! LOOK AT YOU! YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO MELT ALL THAT FROSTBITE BUT YOU'RE REFUSING TO SO YOU COULD SPITE YOUR FATHER!"
Izuku's tears continued to fall.
"YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL THAT THE NATURE OF YOUR QUIRK LETS YOU FIGHT LONGER! MEANWHILE MY CONTINUOUS USE OF MINE IS SLOWLY REMOVING MY ABILITY TO EVEN FIGHT!" Izuku yelled.
It was then that Shouto realized the full magnitude of his actions.
"I will prove to him that throwing away his father's training is the worst mistake he'll ever make."
Shouto teared up at what he said. No. No. What have I done? He's my friend! Why was I treating my friend like an enemy?
Shouto fell on his knees and started apologizing profusely.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Izuku. I'm sorry!" Shouto said through his tears. Izuku walked towards his opponent and sat in front of him as Shouto continued to let his tears stream down his face.
Izuku placed a hand on the bicolored boy's shoulder, making the latter look up to find a warm smile on Izuku's face.
"Let's be friends again, Shouto." Izuku offered the bicolored boy.
In the end, Shouto forfeited the match, giving the win to Izuku.