Even after his feet were unfrozen, part of the stage was still covered in ice. So there was a short break.

When Izuku returned to the stands, Iida called out to him, "Midoriya! Congratulations on your win!"
Izuku faked enthusiasm as best he could, "Right. Thanks!"
"How did you win against Todoroki's ice, anyway?"

Still wearing a fake smile, Izuku sat down beside Iida. Before speaking, he went over how much Master said he was allowed to share.
"Well… I knew my physical equipment and abilities wouldn't count for much against Todoroki's speed and quirk… So I dodged as soon as the match began and shot him with a bullet filled with a potent knockout gas!"
Iida's face was shocked. "They approved that kind of equipment?!"
"Uh… well…" Izuku looked away from him toward the arena, "They said- as long as I provided my own equipment, and as long as the gun was incapable of firing real bullets, it was fine!"
"Huh… I suppose that makes sense. They allow Aoyama to use his belt, as it's a necessary support item. With you having no quirk, any equipment you normally use would be necessary to even the playing field!"

'He's right… So why does it feel like that comparison is wrong?'
Izuku looked back at Iida. The other boy looked…
'… "contemplative" isn't the right word…'

Already, the ice was almost melted.
"So now your in the final four," Iida said, "I hope my match against Hatsume… was informative for you."
Izuku couldn't help noticing how the look on Iida's face changed when he said that.
'Oh, of course…! He's upset that he lost!'

Hoping to cheer Iida up, Izuku switched topics.
"Yeah, it was… Hey! Do you know if your brother Ingenium has been watching you this whole time, Iida?"
"He called me earlier, but he was busy with work… I'm actually glad though," Iida smiled warmly, "Even after coming this far, I still can't say I'm number one yet."
Because of that smile, Izuku couldn't tell whether the change of topic was a success… or not.

Soon, though, they were distracted by the next few matches. Izuku pulled his notebook back out.

Tokoyami barely needed to put any effort into his fight against Ashido. It was practically over the same moment it began, and the tournament moved on to the next match.

Kirishima lasted better against Bakugo than Izuku would've thought possible. His hardening seemed strong enough to stand up to anything Bakugo's explosions could dish out. Meanwhile, Kirishima was wearing Bakugo down with a relentless barrage of physical blows. However, Bakugo was ultimately victorious, wearing Kirishima down, in turn, with some rapid-fire, weaker explosions.
"AND WITH THAT, WE'VE GOT OUR FINAL FOUR!"
'Looks like Bakugo was playing the long-game from the beginning…' Izuku scratched some notes down onto the paper in front of him, 'Since, for the moment, Kirishima can only turn his quirk either all-on or all-off, Bakugo forced Kirishima to keep it on.'
Izuku sweated, once again realizing exactly what he could be up against in the final round.

But first, he had someone else to deal with. Someone with a distinctly different advantage over him.
An advantage that almost had him more worried.

Unpredictability.

There was another quick break before the Final Four matchups. Then…

"BOTH OF THESE COMPETITORS HAVE ALL SORTS OF GADGETS UP THEIR SLEEVES. IT'S A BATTLE OF EQUIPMENT AND SKILL! IZUKU MIDORIYA VS. MEI HATSUME! START!"

Izuku tensed, wary and unwilling to make the first move.
"Well, this is a little awkward. And I'm afraid it won't boost your reputation, either, but…" Hatsume said, rocking on her heels, "I aaactually was planning to forfeit during my match with Iida, once I was done showing off my babies… But Iida got blown away before I could!

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is…" She walked over to the boundary line, "they've seen it all now. There's nothing left to show, so I'm out!"
She stepped over the line.

Present Mic's voice reflected everyone's shock, "HATSUME HAS STEPPED OUT OF THE RING!"
Izuku blinked, relaxing his stance. Was this really happening?
"MIDORIYA MOVES ON WITHOUT LIFTING A FINGER!"

The audience booed as he walked back inside. Why did this outcome make him even more nervous?
'… Because next… I'm fighting either Tokoyami… or Bakugo,' he swallowed, 'And I'm pretty sure I know which it's going to be.'

What made his remaining uncertainty worse, though, was that - while he couldn't see what was happening from the prep room - he could still hear Present Mic's commentary…
"BAKUGO'S UNSTOPPABLE! TOKOYAMI'S COME THIS FAR WITH A SERIES OF WINS THANKS TO HIS NEAR-INVINCIBLE QUIRK, BUT… NOW HE'S TOTALLY ON THE DEFENSIVE! HE CAN'T EVEN GET CLOSE!"

'He could still turn this around if Bakugo doesn't figure out his secret weakness.'
"HE'S BEHIND HIM!"
'Who's behind who?!'
"ALWAYS WITH THESE DUST CLOUDS! WHAT'S HAPPENED DOWN THERE?!"

There was silence…

Then Midnight's voice, "Tokoyami has surrendered! Bakugo wins!"
"LOOKS LIKE OUR FINAL MATCH IS SET. MIDORIYA VERSUS BAKUGO!"

Izuku got up.

'I can't even leave for the arena yet…!'

There was still Bakugo's prep time before the match.

He started pacing instead.
'So… it's us two…

'…How's this gonna go?'

Meanwhile, in the stands…

.~*~.

"Poor Tokoyami…" Uraraka said.
Iida agreed. "Observe and learn now, and we'll get him back later!"
"Right!" She shouted, clenching her fists and looking determined.

Suddenly, Iida's entire body started vibrating.
"Whoa! What's that?!"
"My phone," Iida replied calmly. But when he saw the caller I.D.-

-he decided to walk away before answering. "Hello. I lost, mother… I apologize if I've disappointed you…"
"No! This isn't about that… Oh, Tenya… Stay calm and listen to me… it's Tensei… Your brother…"
Iida froze. That tone of voice… and his brother…
What was she…?

"A villain got him…"

Hosu City

.~*~.

A lone, masculine figure perched on top of a water tank on a roof.

"You people haven't realized… How they're mired in vanity and hypocrisy…" they spoke to no one, or perhaps the crowds below, who were too far away to hear them, "hahh… These so-called heroes… in this twisted society.
"But I… will make you realize…"
They were interrupted, "We meet at last, Hero Killer… Stain!"

Stain swung the sword on his back in the voice's direction. If its owner had been corporeal, he probably would have killed them.
"Oh, please, relax… We're on the same side… You're already quite infamous. I really wanted to meet you."
The owner of the voice appeared to be a living shadow. But out of that shadow came another figure.

One that didn't have any eyes.

"May we have a moment of your time?"

Back at the Sports Festival

.~*~.

Still waiting in his prep room, Izuku was sitting in his chair again, nervously tapping his foot and staring at the page of instructions and predictions in front of him - when the door flew open.

Bakugo stood there, his foot in the air where the door used to be.
"Huh?" He lowered his foot, his confusion turning immediately into anger, "Huh?! Why're you in here, stupid Deku?!"
Izuku, despite his previous nerves… 'Now that he's here… in front of me…'

Without any emotion in his voice, Izuku said, "This is prep room two."
"Huh?!" Bakugo glanced back outside the door, "Prep room… Ah, crap."

Izuku looked back at his notes - but he wasn't seeing them.
'What's with my reactions lately? …Is it a side effect of that plant? … Maybe it lasts longer than I thought…?'
"Hey, I mean I get that I walked into the wrong room… But giving your final opponent the cold shoulder? What's the big idea? Look me in the eye, Stupid Deku!"

Izuku looked up at him, that question still in his mind. Then it occurred to him…
"We've been friends since we were kids, right? And you said that I've been acting weird… right?"
Bakugo looked taken aback for a split second - then the anger came back, even fiercer than before.
"You damned nerd… Who the hell cares?!" He kicked the table over, and Izuku's notebook went flying. "All your stupid plans… You're asking me about your damned feelings? Who cares?! Just come at me with all you've got."

He walked over to the door, "And I'll crush you like the damned PEBBLE you are!"
As the sound of Bakugo's footsteps faded, Izuku picked up his notes. He stared at his plans for the final match.
'"With all I've got," huh? …Alright.

'I suppose… There's nothing else left TO do.'

Read my original book Crossroad of Infinity FOR FREE on my website (just remove the spaces and add a dotcom to the book's title, or look in my profile for the link), on Tumblr, and on AO3!