(A/N: Formatting reminder: "Dialogue heard through a sound system." ... "PRESENT MIC'S DIALOGUE HEARD THROUGH A SOUND SYSTEM." )
...
Entering the hallway, Shouto's expression was neutral as usual. His mind partially focused on his upcoming match and what actions he could take against his opponent. The other part was on Midoriya which he found his mind wandering to the other boy more and more as time passed. He wasn't sure why exactly but he didn't really mind either. Currently, his thoughts on his friend were split between his victory against Kaminari as well as lingering on his talk with Midoriya earlier.
Shouto was proud of his friend for advancing on. He knew how society viewed the Quirkless even though he never understood why when anyone without a Quirk were just as capable as anyone with one. No surprise that Endeavor was one of those that looked down on them and considered them a burden on society. But Shouto didn't see Midoriya's Quirk status when looking at his friend. He saw the heart and the skill the other boy had. The kindness. The warmth.
He would make a great Hero if he wanted to be. Actually, I don't think I ever asked him what he wants to be in the future. I wonder…
His wonderings were cut off as he turned the corner and took in the aggravating image of his father, leaning at against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for him customarily surrounded by his intentionally intimidating flames.
What the hell does he want? Shouto thought as his face twisted into one of irritation as he glared at the man.
Wanting to ignore the old man, Shouto walked angrily down the hall aiming to simply walk around his father without a word. But the bastard had other plans and chose to speak.
"Your performance so far has been a disgrace, Shouto," Endeavor's voice boomed, his disappointment reverberating off the walls. "You may have placed in first in the initial two rounds, but your victories could have been even more overwhelming and undeniable if you simply used your left side. The side I gave you."
To hell with your disappointment, Shouto thought, letting out a disgruntled huff as he trudged past. Only you would consider winning first place twice a 'disgrace.' All because I refuse to use your fire.
"This petulant childish rebellion of yours needs to stop. You have a duty to fulfill and your actions so far of half-assing this competition will not do. To do what none of your siblings could ever do and surpass that imbecile All Might. The entire reason why I created you. My greatest masterpiece."
Half-assing, huh? Shouto thought as he paused briefly. Midoriya said something similar. 'You know, you winning by half-ass means is an insult to everyone else in this festival.' Could he be connected to my father somehow?
"Is that all you have to say?" Shouto growls as he continued down the hall away from the bastard. "I'll win this match as I did the past two rounds. Hell, I'll win the whole festival! All the while using only mom's Quirk. I will never give you the satisfaction of using your power in combat."
"That may be enough in this tournament between children," the man sneered, angrily eyeing his son as he walked away. "But once outside of the shelter this school provides, you'll learn soon enough that limiting yourself this way is a hinderance. One that will lead to your defeat in the long run and limit your potential."
Shouto growled again. Out of annoyance and anger. But most of all, out of how similar his father's words had mirrored Midoriya's. Again.
'Todoroki-kun, you have a powerful Quirk. You have the ability to channel ice and fire. That power could be used to help a lot of people. But if you don't use and train with half your Quirk, you wouldn't be fighting with your full potential.'
He may have entered the hallway neutral, but his face contorted into one of long earned resentment as he stormed away without another word. The only thoughts on his mind were of anger. Not of the crowd. Not of his opponent. Not of the match. Only his absolute dick of a father, Endeavour. And whether or not Midoriya was connected to him somehow.
He hoped not.
...
"THAT LAST MATCH CERTAINLY CORRODED OVER TIME! EVEN THE ARENA! BUT NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT PLAYERS! FIRST UP, HE CAN REALLY STICK IT TO YOU…"
"You already used that one with Midoriya. You can't use it again. Also, can you please stop?"
"NO CAN DO, PARTNER! AT THIS POINT IT'S TRADITION SO I CAN'T TAPE-R OFF NOW! SO, IT'S GONNA KEEP HAPPENING 'TETHER' YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"
"Why do you do this to me?"
"'CAUSE I CAN! ANYWAY, LET'S HEAR IT FOR SERO HANTA FROM THE HERO COURSE!"
There they go bickering again, Izuku thought with a chuckle. Down below, Sero, a tall boy with short black hair and odd-looking elbows, walked out onto the field as the crowd cheered. Izuku wondered how the tape user planned to use his Quirk in the coming fight.
"VERSUS…HE'S REALLY ICE-OLATED HIMSELF SO FAR BY STAYING IN FIRST PLACE SINCE THE BEGINNING! LET'S HOPE HE DOESN'T GET COLD FEET NOW! IT'S TODOROKI SHOUTO ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE!"
Out came Todoroki on the other side as the crowd cheered even louder than for Sero. Ouch, to Sero, but that wasn't what Izuku was paying attention to. Instead, his eyes were solely on Todoroki. His stride…his expression…it all screamed angry to Izuku. What could have made his friend so mad?
But that question answered itself as Izuku caught sight of a certain literally-flaming man enter the stands a few sections over. Endeavor seemed to glare down into the arena with his arms crossed over his chest. This alone was enough for the greenette to guess that he had talked to Todoroki before the match.
That can't be good, Izuku thought as he wearily turned his attention back to the two down below.
"AND NOW, FOR THE THIRD MATCH OF THE FINALS! READY? BEGIN!"
Todoroki Shouto VS Sero Hanta
Much like during the Battle Training, Todoroki's match was over almost instantly. Not to say Sero didn't put up a good fight though! As soon as Present Mic called to start, Sero shot out his tape, capturing Todoroki, and made to swing his opponent out of the ring. It was a good plan and would have worked, only…
"WHAAA?! TALK ABOUT THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!"
"Isn't it technically a glacier?"
Before he reached the boundary line, Todoroki had stomped his right foot down and in an instant ice spread across the arena. Frozen crystals formed and grew, capturing Sero in their icy grip along the way, until in the blink of an eye there was a towering mass of jagged spires of ice.
Holy crap, Izuku thought, stunned at the sight. It's so tall that it's jutting out beyond the stadium's roof! Talk about overkill.
The greenette looked back to the field. Sero was frozen in place, his arms still outstretched from his attack. Todoroki broke out of the frozen tape that bound him with ease. His right side was littered with patches of frost, most likely due to the large amount of ice he had just produced. The attack was so intense that even Midnight had been partially encased in ice.
"Tell the truth, Sero," Midnight said, shivering from being half frozen. "Can you move?"
Obviously not. He's basically an ice sculpture right now!
"Sero has been immobilized!" Midnight stated as Sero confirmed below though the crowd couldn't hear him. "Todoroki will advance to the second round!"
...
Shouto shivered as he walked toward his classmate once his victory was announced. The crowd started to cheer out chants of 'nice try' in hopes of cheering Sero up from his sudden and overwhelming defeat. Shouto felt bad about going all out like that.
"Sorry…I went a bit overboard," Shouto said as he raised his left hand and placed it on Sero's chest. Steam began to rise from the point of contact as he used his left side to thaw the ice. "I was angry. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"I-It was a b-bit much," Sero stuttered back. "But n-no worries, m-man. It's a c-competition and I d-didn't really think I could w-win. But I g-gave it my best."
"Yes, your strategy was a good one," Shouto replied with a nod. "On another opponent it could have worked."
"Humble m-much?" Sero mumbled as the other boy finished thawing him out.
Shouto then moved to help unfreeze Midnight as well while a team came to start clearing the remaining glacier. Both Sero and he were then instructed to report to Recovery Girl to check for frostbite. For Sero it made sense to him, but Shouto knew he would be fine now that he had used his left side.
I swear to never use that bastard's power in combat, and although I'd prefer to not use it at all, it does have some potential for rescue purposes, I guess. I'm sure Midoriya could come up with dozens of applications.
Speaking of Midoriya, usually he didn't mind his thoughts wandering to his friend. However, now Shouto couldn't help but think about how similar the other boy's words were to his father's. He thought that Midoriya was his friend and genuinely wanted to spend time with him. But was it possible it was all an act? Was the warm boy that he held hands with merely pretending to be his friend because Endeavor willed it? Shouto very much hoped not, but the idea festered in the back of his mind, tainting his memories of his 'friend'.
Shouto and Sero continued to Recovery Girl's temporary nurse's office in silence. As predicted, the tape user needed more attention as his body wasn't accustomed to exposure to ice as his own was. Recovery Girl gave the ice user a kiss on the forehead to any scraps or small injuries Shouto had before sending him on his way so she could focus on Sero. He left his classmate in the Youthful Heroine's capable hands and joined his class to watch the rest of the matches.
...
Izuku was concerned. Todoroki had appeared angry before his fight and it definitely showed through his attack. Such a powerful burst of glacial force had come from his friend that was fueled by the animosity he held for his father. It wasn't healthy. The greenette was becoming even more determined to get it through his friend's thick stubborn head that he needed to use all of his Quirk, his asshole of a father be damned.
Perhaps, if I make it far enough, I could, uh, 'beat' some sense into him, so to speak? Maybe…
But that was a problem for future Izuku. Right now, there wasn't much he could do about the situation since his words before didn't seem to do the trick. Plus, there were other matches to watch and Quirks to analyze of possible future opponents. Izuku wasn't going to rule anyone out who made it to the finals.
"NOW THAT THE ARENA IS ALL THAWED OUT TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED TEMPERATURE, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT MATCH! BRINGING US CLOSE TO THE HALF WAY POINT OF THE FIRST ROUND OF MATCHES, HE VROOMED INTO FIFTH PLACE THE FIRST ROUND AND BEING ON THE WINNING TEAM IN THE SECOND CERTAINLY GAVE HIM A BOOST! IT'S IIDA TENYA FROM THE HERO COURSE!"
Out came the stiff rule-abiding class president of Class 1-A, a serious look of determination on his face.
Iida's Engine Quirk definitely gives him an edge with his improved speed. Although his maneuverability is affected by the increase in velocity. Which could prove to be an issue in a close quarter fight such as this. He'll have to be careful of how much speed he uses and be mindful of where the boundary lines are.
"VERSUS…IT'S NO ISSUE TO SEE THAT SHE IS SUPER FOCUSED ON HER GEAR! IT'S HATSUME MEI FROM THE SUPPORT COURSE!"
From across the field came his friend, Mei, decked out in her babies walking out with a look of pride.
Mei-chan's Zoom Quirk isn't much help in a fight physically. But, like me, she relies on her babies to get the job done. I'll bet she's going to try and show off as many babies in this fight as possible.
"SIMILAR TO OUR FIRST MATCH, IT'S HERO VERSUS SUPPORT! WHICH DEPARTMENT WILL BE THE WINNER THIS TIME?"
It was at this point that Iida, much to the confusion of the crowd, suddenly started to deck himself out with Support Items that, to Izuku, were obviously borrowed from Mei. The greenette smiled at the thought that Iida was willing to help Mei show off her babies.
"WHAT'S THIS? LOOKS LIKE IIDA IS SPORTING SOME NEW THREADS! ARE THOSE SUPPORT ITEMS? AREN'T THOSE FORBIDDEN TO HERO COURSE KIDS?"
"Correct!" Midnight confirmed with a snap of her whip. "Hero Course students are not allowed to use Support Items unless they have to."
Unless they fill out the proper paperwork, Izuku thought as Iida appeared to be arguing his case. With robotic arm motions, of course.
"True, however Aoyama turned in the proper forms for his belt," Midnight responded to an unheard conversation.
See?, Izuku thought, once again watching Iida passionately speaking. I wonder what he is saying…
"Ooh! Such vigorous youth!" Midnight squealed, her body wiggling in excitement. "To be willing to equal the playing field in an act of sportsmanship. And at your opponent's request and your respect of her earnest spirit and integrity. All in search of a fair fight. It's so deliciously naïve! I'll allow it!" She emphasized her decision with another whip crack.
That…doesn't sound like the Mei-chan I know, Izuku thought, confused. She doesn't care about a fair fight. Only showing off her babies. It's almost as if she…oh no. Mei-chan, you didn't…
"IS THAT REALLY OKAY?"
"Well, I guess if both parties are in agreement, then yes?"
"WELL, UH, LET'S GET GOING, I GUESS? READY? BEGIN!"
Iida Tenya VS Hatsume Mei
Izuku's suspicions were confirmed when Mei activated her own microphone with a crazed giggle as soon as Present Mic called for the start of the match.
…Mei-chan, you did, Izuku thought with a sigh. No wonder she answered weird when I commented on Iida helping her earlier.
Iida, quick as ever, initiated the fight immediately. His speed seemed faster than usual though.
"Don't you love how incredibly fast that gear makes you, eh Iida?" Mei called out, obviously having managed to hack into the stadium PA system. How exactly was a mystery, but also didn't surprise Izuku one bit. Mei was a mad genius after all.
"HUH?"
"Is that a mic?"
"HEY, NOW! I'M THE ONLY MIC ALLOWED HERE!"
That, clearly, was not something Mei cared about as she pushed forward on announcing her babies, one after the other. However, while she was determined to make the match into one big commercial, Iida was taking the fight seriously and quickly went in for the attack.
"…that's what you'll get with my custom Leg Enhancers!"
Iida ran forward to try to get close to her and push her out of bounds as she commentated her own fight. But Mei easily evaded him.
"…dodging made easy with my Hydraulic Bracers!"
The telescopic metal pole that shot out of her baby effortlessly pushed Mei out of the way without her having to do a thing. Iida tripped slightly over the suddenly appearing pole and flailed to right himself before going in for the attack again. Coming from behind, he seemed to have the advantage only for another pole to shoot out.
"…no need to watch your back because my Sensors will do it for you!"
Again, Iida's momentum pushed him forward and this time he tripped hard over the pole. Mei-chan is really taking Iida-kun for a 'trip', huh? However, the engine user didn't fall.
"…manuevering has never been easier with my Auto Balancer!"
The borrowed Support Item righted Iida up and away from the boundary line, keeping him in the ring in a comical spinning motion. Clearly looking irritated with what was going on, Iida used his anger to push himself more and made for Mei again. But he couldn't get close as she shot up into the air.
"…you'll feel like you're flying with my Electromagnetic Soles!"
Iida appeared ready to attack yet again as soon as Mei landed. However, when she did, she shot a gun at him and out came a net that captured the engine user where he stood. And then subsequently fell as he lost his balance.
"…capture Villains in seconds with my Capture Gun!"
Now there's an interesting idea. But I already have my Tape Gun so perhaps a sort of Capture Bomb instead?
Izuku may have the goal to make Quirk Replicating Support Items, but that doesn't mean he can't take inspiration from other sources. Such as his spastic Support genius friend with the scary yet impressively long list of babies. And Izuku knew she was only getting started even after five minutes of 'fighting' and announcing.
"…all of these items were designed by yours truly, Hatsume Mei! A Support Course prodigy at your service! If you're a Support Company looking for promising recruits, clearly, I'm the one you want! Again, that's Hatsume Mei, H-A-T-S-U-M-E! And now, to show you a few more of my beautiful babies!"
Called it! Mei-chan is a natural saleswoman. But…I do feel bad for Iida.
Mei spent the next ten minutes showing off as many babies as she could with Iida as her patsy. The engine user kept running at the pinkette but again and again found himself being pushed and pulled by his opponent and said opponent's borrowed gear. He kept running at her as she announced each of her babies, one by one. But all of her Support Items countered every attack at the same time the borrowed ones kept Iida in play. The match seemed to drag on with no end in sight until Mei, obviously pleased with herself, simply stepped out of the ring bringing the commercially viable fight to an end.
"Uh," Midnight uttered, clearly surprised at the outcome. "Hatsume has stepped out of bounds. Iida will be moving on!"
Izuku could see how infuriated Iida was from being used like that and Mei had the decency to look a bit apologetic. He'll have to talk to her about apologizing properly to the engine user after the festival was over. They've been sitting together at lunch for weeks now and Iida seemed the type to count that as being friends. But Mei hadn't called him by his first name yet, at lunch or during the match, which to her was the mark of friendship. He'll have to talk to her about that too.
Down below, his two friends had already cleared the field and the arena, having not been destroyed this time, was ready for the next match. Now that Mei was out, he didn't expect her to be back right away since she would have to put her babies away. In the meantime, Izuku focused on the field below.
"WELL, UH, AFTER THAT ~INTERESTING~ LAST MATCH…"
"That was more of a commercial than a match."
"…LET'S MOVE ON TO SECOND HALF OF THE FIRST ROUND! NOT TO BE OVERSHADOWED BY THE PREVIOUS PLAYERS! HE'S THE MYSTIFYING MASTER OF MYSTERY, GIVE IT UP FOR TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE FROM THE HERO COURSE!"
Tokoyami exited the dark pathway into the sunlight of the open-air stadium and made his way to the ring.
With his Quirk, Dark Shadow, Tokoyami-kun is a strong opponent. Although Dark Shadow is weak to light, the spirit can still pack a punch during the day. However, Tokoyami-kun seems to rely on his Quirk, keeping his distance, more than on close combat. So, getting in close would be the best plan of attack by…
"VERSUS…GET READY TO MARVEL AT THE HANDIWORK OF THE CREATIVE QUEEN OF UA! MAKE SOME NOISE FOR YAOYOROZU MOMO ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE!"
From the opposite end of the field, out walked Yaoyorozu with her ponytailed head held high.
Yaoyorozu-san also relies on her Creation Quirk, however she obviously has trained to use the weapons she can create. Especially a bo staff which she seems to favor. She's already proven ingenuity with her Quirk with how she changed the material of the net she used during the USJ attack. If she can realize Tokoyami-kun's weakness and create something to exploit it, then she has this fight in the bag.
"READY? BEGIN!"
Yaoyorozu Momo VS Tokoyami Fumikage
Tokoyami immediately released Dark Shadow while Yaoyorozu produced a shield to defend herself. Ok…not the route I would have gone. Dark Shadow's advance was blocked by the shield to which the spirit reeled back and attacked again. And again. And again.
The attacks from Dark Shadow are so rapid and in quick succession that Yaoyorozu-san can't seem to focus on her Quirk. Is Dark Shadow aiming for the shield on purpose?
At least, that's what it looked like to him. With each hit to the shield, Yaoyorozu was being pushed back little by little. A fact she didn't seem to be aware of, though not surprising if she couldn't even focus enough beyond blocking. Which was confirmed by her shock when, after she had unknowingly crossed the line and Dark Shadow stopped attacking, she was readying to fight back only for Midnight to stop her.
"Yaoyorozu! You are out of bounds!" the R-rated Hero announced with a crack of her whip. "Tokoyami will advance!"
The crowd cheered for Tokoyami's win as he bowed respectfully, but Izuku focused on Yaoyorozu. She was visibly upset by the outcome of the fight. She didn't get to be on the offensive even once. Perhaps he could talk to her later about planning to counter the Quirk rather than just the physical attacks. Maybe at the same time he asks her about helping to redesign her Hero costume.
By this point, the pair below exited the field and Mei had returned to 1-H's booth. Various other Support students in the class awkwardly congratulated on her successful advertising while avoiding the topic of her forfeit. Izuku greeted her as she sat in the seat beside him.
"Hey, Mei-chan," Izuku said, giving her a brief hug. "Uh, congrats on showing off your babies, but did you need to use Iida-kun like that?"
"Yeah, uh, about that," Mei replied, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. "I may or may not have manipulated the situation to best serve my needs and possibly got a bit carried away. Heh heh."
"A bit?! Mei-chan, he was practically your puppet!" Izuku exclaimed. Mei started to look a little more guilty. "You know he considers you a friend, right?"
Or at least did and hopefully still does.
"Huh?" Mei said, surprised.
"We've eaten lunch with him for a while now," Izuku explained. "Uraraka-san, Tsu-chan, and Todoroki-kun too. For a lot of people, that's something friends do."
"Huh," Mei said again, the guilty look was back. "I didn't think about that. I guess I may have considered them more your friends than mine. After all, I already have you and Hitoshi."
"You can have more than two friends, Mei-chan," Izuku responded.
"But you two are more special than the others!" Mei asserted. "You have so much baby making potential!"
Despite how long he had known his friend and her tendency to not watch how she says things, context-necessary moments like these keep popping up. Izuku blushed as he facepalmed at Mei's lack of tact while the students around them sputtered at the comment.
"Mei-chan, you really need to work on your wording!"
"What?" Mei questioned, oblivious as ever whether purposefully or not. "It's true! You and your blank canvas-ness and Hitoshi's obvious need for a voice changer as well as other helpful babies. I could be happy making babies with you two alone!"
And the tactlessness continues. Tune in next time for more embarrassing ramblings featuring Mei-chan and me as her hapless perpetual victim. Same Mei-chan time, same Mei-chan channel.
"Ok ok, I get it," Izuku conceded, still red in the face. "Well, best friends are a thing, you know?"
"Hmm…that's true," Mei replied, hand on her chin in thought. "There is a tier system in the concept of friends. I hadn't considered that before."
Well…that's a weird way to put it but ok. Whatever works for you, Mei-chan.
"So, will you go talk to Iida-kun later and apologize?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah, I guess I need to," Mei sighed.
"Good," Izuku said, giving his friend a comforting hug which she gladly returned. "By the way, why did you step out of bounds? You obviously could have won that fight easily with how you threw Iida-kun around like a ragdoll."
"Seemed like the thing to do at the time," Mei said with a shrug. "I showed off all the babies I wanted to and didn't see much of a point to continue on."
"I guess," Izuku said. "But you could have shown how your babies work against other Quirks besides Iida-kun's Engine."
"Huh, didn't think about it that way," Mei replied thoughtfully before clapping her hands together with a grin. "Oh well, nothing I can do about it now! Besides, with me forfeiting, that means Ii-Tenya can have a real fight. Plus, the Sports Festival is mostly when the Hero Course gets to show off while the Cultural Festival is when it's the Support Course's time to shine!" She gave him a wink.
Oh yeah, that is true about the Cultural Festival. Students from all grades and courses get to participate in de-stressing activities together. Such as musical performances, themed cafes, games, and various contests to name a few. And the Support Course students get to show off what they've made. Good point, Mei-chan.
"THAT LAST MATCH LEFT NO SHADOW OF A DOUBT OF WHO WILL BE ADVANCING TO THE NEXT ROUND! LET'S KEEP THIS BALL ROLLING!"
Oh right, the next match. Hitoshi-kun is up next, I think. Go Hitoshi-kun!
...
Tumblr blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/637593028478074880/chapter-44-sports-festival-friends-and-friends