Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.
To Be a Hero
what we're aiming for
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Class 1-B had a long-term strategy that involved throwing the qualifier, huh? It's true that they could leave a stronger impression by overturning the mood that favored class 1-A before the sports festival started... Midoriya thought when he saw how provoked Bakugou and Shiro were on the other side of the playing field by the guy named Monoma. Looking around, he saw that teams were still coming after him, but with a few of class 1-B focusing on their own plan, he felt that he could at least breathe a little easier.
Based on their way of thinking, it means they won't necessarily come after me.
"Everyone," he announced to his teammates. "It'll be easier to run awa—"
His words got cut off when a loud skid screeched across the field. Skating towards them at a fast pace was Team Todoroki as they blocked off their path. Midoriya felt the sigh leaving his mouth turn into a shaky breath of determination rather than relief.
"...It won't be that easy, huh?"
The look in Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes were that of purpose as well as danger. The male was here for the 10 million, and he fully intended to get it by the end of this game.
"Monoma, stop provoking them!" One of his teammates rebuked. "You'll be the same as them."
"That's right. It wouldn't become a hero," the haughty blonde agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. He was acting so damn nonchalant about the entire thing and it was only further fueling the fire. "Besides, you don't often hear about it... Heroes who get done in by villains who want revenge?"
"HA?!"
"Bakugou, calm down!" Kirishima urged. It wouldn't be good if the male was filled with too much rage to function normally. Then they'd really have no chance. "Calm down first so we can actually get the points back!"
"Forward, Kirishima! I'm totally calm right now!"
Just across from them, Shiro's team was doing the same thing to get her emotional turmoil to subside. Aoyama, in his completely self-absorbed glory, ended up complimenting himself while attempting to calm her down. Ojiro had been, and still was, silent. Shinso sighed. It was up to him, huh?
"Hey, do you not want to get those points back?"
Shiro's eyes snapped towards him angrily, "Obviously—!"
The words fell empty through her mouth as she slouched a little with a blank look. Seeing that she had efficiently calmed down, albeit with a little help, Shinso released his Quirk again. Immediately, she regained responsiveness and blinked in confusion.
"Then are you ready to get those points back with a clear head this time?" he asked.
"What..." Shiro swore her mind went blank for a few seconds there, but she ignored the weird feeling because there was a more pressing problem in front of her. The purple haired male was right; Bakugou was already moving towards Monoma to get those headbands and she couldn't stall anymore. "Aoyama-san!" she rotated her position and the team knew what needed to be done. "Full speed ahead!"
"Full sparkles ahead!" Aoyama said and a giant beam shot them straight towards Monoma. Despite his grin, his face was showing faint signs of discomfort again from using his navel laser too much... However, the important thing was that they neared the male first.
"I'll take those back!" she shouted with her right eye swirling as she reached out to grab at his headbands. The left side of his gray eyes suddenly spun with a familiar black dial and she found herself just nicking at the edge of a headband with a fingernail as he easily dodged. She stared at him with shock, "That's my Quirk—!"
"DIE...!"
Bakugou's palm popped with dangerous sparks as he swiped at Monoma's face, only to miss as well from the probability being lowered and his arm scraped across skin. Pigtail's Quirk?! Surprised, he immediately turned around again but a blast exploded in his face from the male's palm. Now it's mine?!
"Wow, what nice Quirks!" Monoma praised with a derisive grin, his palm coming down as it touched Kirishima's hair.
"Bakugou, someone has the same Quirk as you?!" the redhead exclaimed.
There's no way he could have both mine and Bakugou's Quirk, unless... Shiro's eyes narrowed as she swung her whip at the male, aiming for an arm to restrain so that he can't move easily and she can get down to the bottom of this. However, Bakugou was quick to turn around again with an enraged growl, his palm sparking again and she widened her eyes when she saw a glimpse of another familiar Quirk.
"Wait, Ba—"
"You BASTARD!"
BOOM!
Shiro felt the wave of aftershock when the explosion hit the arm she was currently restraining. When the smoke cleared, she saw that her speculation was right. I knew it...
"Wha...? Mine, too?!" Kirishima cried when he saw that half of the male's face and left arm had hardened to block Bakugou's impact. "The same again...?"
"That's not it," Bakugou interjected seriously, having come to the same conclusion as Shiro.
"Really, such nice Quirks. Mine's better, though," Monoma drawled as his team backed up. However, Shiro pulled on the whip to keep him from moving any further as she looked at him pointedly.
"You copied all our Quirks, didn't you?"
The male gave her a smile of approval, though mockingly.
Monoma Neito, Quirk: Copy.
"That's right! You certainly don't seem as stupid as your friend over there, but when you associate with idiots, I see you really do become slower. It really took you this long to figure it out?"
While Bakugou fumed in the background at his comment, Shiro's eyes narrowed. "First of all, he's probably smarter than you," she defended and swung at him with her right eye swirling. "But I still don't appreciate being lumped in the same category as him!"
"Now!"
A white wall of wet glob suddenly shot out between her and Monoma. Thanks to her left eye, she dodge in time before any of it could get on her team or herself. However, Bakugou's team was not so lucky as some splashed on Kirishima's leg.
"Bondo!" Monoma greeted at the one who attacked. The muscular male with a glue dispenser-like head was from Team Kodai. "Picking a fight, huh?"
Rather than Bondo answering, his expressive classmate in the back of the team projected a bubble of speech that read "We're here to take our points back!"
"Monoma!" the blonde's teammate called out when he realized that Shiro had released her hold on the male's arm from Bondo's timely distraction. "We just have to keep from getting caught now! With this many points, we'll definitely stay in the top four!"
"After them!" Bakugou shouted.
"It's solidifying?!" Kirishima cried when his leg wouldn't budge from the ground.
"That's glue," Shiro told them before taking off after Monoma. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to get the points back, yours included!"
"Oi, like hell you will!" the blonde shouted after her. "Kirishima!"
"I can't move!"
"Wait a sec!" Mina stepped on the hardened glue on the redhead's foot. "I'll dissolve it with my Quirk!"
"Hurry!" Sero urged when he saw Shiro's team dashing behind Monoma. "We've got zero points right now!"
Hearing them struggle, Monoma had to twist his head around again to say something else. "Oh, don't get mad at me," he said while a small spark flashed from his palm to imitate Bakugou. "You're the one who provoked us, right? What did you say for the pledge again? That embarrassing thing... Let me think..."
"I'll be number one."
"I think you're forgetting about someone here, prick!" Shiro shouted with a twitch from her eye. The grin on his face was just asking to be wiped off.
"Oh, you're still here... It doesn't matter though. You've both done enough today."
"Three minutes left! Todoroki made it so he'd have the ten million to himself to seize in an instant!" Present Mic's voice boomed as he commentated on the other side of the field. "At least that's what I thought five minutes ago! But unbelievably, Midoriya's been able to keep away in that cramped space for five minutes!"
Shiro whipped her head towards the other side of the field where a ring of ice from Todoroki had secluded the two teams in. "We need to get those points back soon so we can get to Midoriya-san!" she ordered as they neared Monoma.
"Ah, we're at number two right now?" Monoma commented with a smile when he saw the leaderboard. "We might've done a little too well for ourselves. Anyway, focus on keeping that spot."
"'A little too well'?" Shiro echoed his offhanded drawl incredulously. What kind of attitude was that? Everyone was aiming for the top, for goodness sakes!
"Wait! I said wait!" Bakugou's voice could be heard from a distance away as they pulled further ahead.
"Honestly, your friend is so persistent," he sighed, his words addressing at Shiro as he completely disregarded what she said previously. That ticked her off. "As a hero, not to mention as a person, that persistence will—"
"Stop being so damn cocky!"
"Oi!" Shinso called after Shiro when she leaped over towards the other team. Likewise, seeing that the girl was getting ahead, Bakugou leaped as well.
"Don't act on your own, Bakugou!" Sero exclaimed exasperately.
In the air, Shiro was set on taking back her points, and most importantly, shutting Monoma up. Her leg aimed to make contact with the blonde at the same time as Bakugou when he blasted his way over. Monoma was visibly shocked as he ordered his teammate to guard him.
"Tsuburaba!"
The brunette under him drew in a giant gulp of air before blowing it at them, and they both collided into the invisible surface with a bang.
"What the—!"
"Hey!"
Tsuburaba Kosei, Quirk: Solid Air.
Shiro hung onto the top edge of the solid air barrier as Bakugou used his fist to smash at it. The barrier wasn't that big to begin with, and at the rate the blonde was going, the thing was going to break. But while he had Sero to bring him back, she didn't—
That's it! her lips quirked up as she prepared to jump. Her right eye spun as Bakugou's fist came close to the barrier and she pushed herself off into the air above both of them. Reaching down just as the solid air shattered, she grabbed at a headband.
"Not so fast!"
Bakugou's arm shot through the opening to take the points for himself. Since he was closer to Monoma, he ended up grabbing two while she looped a finger around the one on the top of the pile. Monoma raised his elbow in defense to guard the last two as Shiro and Bakugou recoiled back into the air. Then, thanks to her fast thinking, Shiro was also able to hitch a ride with Bakugou as she wrapped her whip around his torso while Sero pulled him back. When she neared Shinso and the rest, she snapped it back to let go and allowed her team to catch her from the air.
"Shoot!" Monona held onto the two remaining headbands on his neck possessively as his team started to run again. "Lose them! Hurry!"
"Team Bakugou seizes two headbands at once while Team Aisaka snags a big one! Team Bakugou moves to fourth place with 810 points and Team Aisaka moves back to second with 1185 points!"
"Ha?!" Bakugou glared at the two in his hands while he was still being dragged back. They were the 420 and 390 ones, so that meant that Shiro got his headband. "Pigtails!"
"I told you to say something when you're gonna jump!" Sero reprimanded as he landed back to his team. They were still a little behind the other two since Mina just managed to break Kirishima free from the glue.
"At least he got something! This means we'll get through to the next round—" Kirishima encouraged but the blonde was not having it. He slammed his fists down on the male's hardened head repeatedly. "Bakugou! What the hell—!"
"Not yet! We're gonna get an indisputable first place! I couldn't brace myself earlier on my own and Pigtails managed to get our points..." he gritted his teeth. The thought of Shiro besting him yet again wasn't sitting well with him at all. "We're gonna get that back after getting the rest from that bastard! Then we're not stopping until we get the 10 million!"
His teammates all sighed at his ambitions before grinning. They knew he'll really do just that.
"Geez... Tell us what to do then!" Kirishima prompted determinedly as he charged at full speed towards Monoma.
"Flat Face! Tape!"
"It's Sero!" Sero shouted before the white cellophane shot out ahead, missing Monoma's team by a hair purposely.
"Raccoon Eyes! Lay down a weak dissolving solution in the direction we're going!"
"My name's Ashido Mina!"
Meanwhile, when Shiro landed on top of her team, the weight of the force made Ojiro jolt out of his silent state.
"Huh...?" Ojiro looked around confusingly, unsure of why he was in this formation or why he was with Aoyama and the purple haired guy from earlier. One second he was looking for another team member and the next... "A-Aisaka-san! W-Why are you in your—?!" his sudden realization caused him to blush a crimson red matching her sports bra.
"You've been acting pretty weird until now," Aoyama turned to face him with his eyes sparkling in question. "Why is that?"
"What's this?! Team Todoroki finally got Team Midoriya's 10 million! The rankings keep changing during the final stage! It's the passion of youth!" Present Mic's voice shouted overhead. "There's only one minute left!"
"...I don't know," he admitted, but he'll think about the consequences later. Right now, he at least can gather that Shiro needed his help since they were still in the middle of the game. "Aisaka-san! What do you need us to do?"
"That damn class 1-B prick..." Shiro was mumbling as she stared at the 665 on the headband with a stubborn pout. Tying it around her neck, she pointed at Monoma again with a look of resolve. "We're getting the remaining two headbands! Go!"
While he and Aoyama started to move, Shinso stayed still and unbudging.
"We don't need those," he stated when they stared at him in question. "We have enough even if Bakugou gets the other two. We'll still be at third place."
"Hey—" Ojiro furrowed his brows, but Shiro beat him to it.
"What? Of course we do! Are you content with just third place?"
"Frankly, yes."
Shiro was not giving up despite his terse response. "There's a difference between those who are always aiming for the top and those who aren't, Shinso-san," she countered determinedly. She wasn't raised to give up so easily. Besides, she vowed to be better than everyone else and she was determined to make that a reality. Especially since he claimed that I was in the way... Hell, I'll make sure to take that first place!
"It doesn't matter if you're not in the hero course. This is U.A. and we go beyond the limits! Didn't you declare war on us? Then where's your 'Plus Ultra'?!"
Looking at the expression on her face, Shinso realized just how seriously she was taking this. It wasn't just simply about playing it safe; like her classmates, she was aiming for an indisputable first place.
This is what you mean when you said you will do better, huh?
"Fine..." But Shinso knew Bakugou was going to reach Team Monoma first this time, and running after them would be fruitless. He may not be physically powerful, but what he lacked in raw strength, he made up for with calm and intelligence. His eyes shifted to the teams either stuck in ice or trying to pass through Todoroki's ice barrier as a last attempt to get the 10 million.
"I'll get you more points," he said definitely while the look on his face challenged Shiro's glare. "But you have to listen to me."
"Bakugou is merciless! If he's gonna do it, he's gonna be thorough! He's what you'd call a perfectionist! Team Bakugou is now in second place, followed by Team Aisaka and Team Tetsutetsu!"
"Next!" Bakugou shouted after securing the two headbands he took from Monoma onto his neck. He turned towards Shiro; her team was headed to the ice barrier. "We're going to where Pigtails is going with our 665!"
Bakugou's heading our way! Shiro perceived as they stopped before the mountain of ice. Her left eye swirled as she concentrated on her three team members. "Hold on, I'll decreased the probability field around you all against—"
"Hold it right there!"
Tetsutetsu and his team suddenly jumped out of nowhere and intercepted their path. The gray haired male gritted his teeth with his face hardened to steel, "You class 1-A people think you can just fight it out within your own class without batting an eye at us?! Take this!"
"Oji—!"
"Got it!" Ojiro already turned his body so that his tail blocked the male's steel fist. Now that he wasn't under that weird senseless state, he was faster and could move on his own without direction. Team Tetsutetsu recoiled back a few feet to defend from the muscular tail but they were still determined.
"Thanks!" Shiro grinned as her right eye swirled at the opponent team. She signaled for her team to move towards the barrier and continue with the plan Shinso told her. "We're not ignoring you, Tetsutetsu-san. It's just that there's less than a minute left so we're aiming for the top!"
"Ha? Just how arrogant can you get?!" he also motioned for his team to charge after them.
"Get out of my way!" Bakugou shouted as his Quirk exploded in Tetsutetsu's face. "Pigtails is mine!"
"Shiozaki!"
"Forgive me for this," the cute girl with green vine-like hair in Tetsutetsu's team crooned humbly before multiple vines shot out from the ground around Bakugou's team, effectively building a wall to cage them in.
Going up ahead, the two teams then fought their way up. The trek was not easy for a single person to do, let alone a team, but with the advantage of Ojiro's tail for grip and Shiro's decreased field of harm, they were able to make their way up faster. However, Tetsutetsu's team was close behind.
Given their proximity, Shinso grinned.
Meanwhile, Mina quickly worked to dissolve the vines with her acid, but there was just so many of them that it took time—time that they didn't have. The other two teams were already getting across! Getting impatient, Bakugou stood up with fire in his eyes.
"YOU BASTARDS! GET BACK HERE!"
"Wait—are you going to jump again?!" Sero asked just as the blonde blasted his way out from the top. Tape immediately shot out from his elbow to follow. If their rider went over the barrier without them, they'll be disqualified! "Bakugou!"
"Keep dispensing the tape and make it strong!" he ordered as he blasted his way up the ice. Multiple strips of tape shot over and wrapped around his torso when he landed at the top. He then used a hand to grab onto the icy tip and the other one forcefully pulled the tapes forward.
"Everyone grab onto Tape Arms!"
"I told you, my name is Sero!" the male said as the entire team soared through the air.
"20 seconds left and three teams are scrambling over the ice to get to the 10 million! Team Midoriya also made a grab for Team Todoroki in retribution... But he got the wrong headband?! He only has 125 points and that's not enough for the next round!"
"OI, PIGTAILS!"
In a blink of an eye, it was like Team Tetsutetsu and Team Bakugou switched places; the former was curiously at the bottom of the barrier again while the latter was inching closer with Bakugou's palm popping with his explosions.
"15 seconds!"
"Ojiro-san, defend!" Shiro shouted. "Aoyama-san, can you still shoot out your laser?" she asked through the loud clashes of tail and explosion. The male gave her a weak grin while trying to keep up with his dazzling appearance.
"O-Of course! I cannot stop twinkling after all!" he said determinedly.
"Then blast the biggest sparkle beam you can make at the ice when I say so, okay?"
"Ten seconds!"
He quickly nodded and her right eye spun to calculate the best opening they have. There was only one chance from the limited time that they had and she was going to take it with everything they've got. Below, Tokoyami was attacking as Kaminari let out another one of his Indiscriminate Discharge, electrifying the entire area below. When Bakugou went in for another swipe, her eyes flashed.
"...Eight seconds!"
"Everyone, jump!" she shouted as an explosion boomed at their right. In the air with her whole team, she then turned to the blonde. "Now, Aoyama-san!"
"S-Sparkle...!"
The blast from Aoyama's navel shot against the thick layer of ice and it propelled them at a straight line towards Todoroki. With the electric field subsided, Midoriya also ordered Tokoyami to advance towards the male again.
"Damn Pigtails! Deku!" Bakugou blasted closely behind with his explosion as the rest of his team slid down the inner edge of the barrier to follow.
"...Five!"
"Bakugou! The time!" Kirishima shouted urgently.
"Ha?! Fine!" Forced to change plans because they were running short on time, Bakugou's eyes narrowed on the team with the 10 million. "Half and Half Bastard!"
"...Three!"
Rooted to their spot because of Iida's Recipro Burst lag that initially got them the 10 million headband, the three teams closed in and Todoroki immediately ordered Momo to create a spear. To his right, Tokoyami's Dark Shadow shot towards him as Bakugou's explosions kept the male in the air, inching him closer. He turned towards them slightly and at his distraction, Shiro wrapped her whip at the tip of his spear and used it as an anchor as she jumped towards him to decrease the distance faster.
Aisaka...! He quickly encased the spear with ice and it traveled up the whip, threatening to freeze her arm since she cannot let go of the 'handle' that was Mineta's sphere.
All three reached forward at the same time and Todoroki braced himself for attack.
"TIME'S UP!"
And just like that, everyone froze. Dark Shadow's claw stopped just inches from Todoroki's neck as Bakugou fell to the ground in midair. Shiro, in a more graceful manner, did the same with a wince. The entire stadium rumbled with the loudest cheers they've ever heard in a lifetime.
"That's the end of the second round, the cavalry battle!"
Despite being faced down, everyone could see the anger emitting out of the blonde as he slammed his fists repeated on the ground.
"Aisaka-san!" Ojiro called when he and the rest caught up to where Shiro was. "Are you okay?"
"Hey," Shinso's voice was right behind her, but she was too busy kicking the ground harshly as a disappointed frown marred her face. She thought she had timed it well, but with so many things happening at once, she couldn't make it. He got me with his ice again...
"Now, let's take a look at the top four teams right away!" Present Mic concluded with his voice laced with thrill from watching the excitement unfold. He pointed to the leaderboard with an excited grin, "In first place, Team Todoroki!"
Momo let out a relieved sigh. "Even though we won, it felt like we were skating on thin ice," she said as Iida looked at her with an expression of guilt.
"Sorry... I caused everyone trouble because I couldn't move in the last seconds."
"That's not true! Without you, we would not have gotten the headband and won."
"In second place, Team Ba—" the Voice hero paused as he looked at the score again. "It's actually Team Aisaka!"
"WHAT?!" Bakugou jumped up at the demotion. He was the one who got the four headbands from that class 1-B bastard, so if they could do the math right, he should at least be at second place with a few hundred points above Pigtails! His eyes shot over to the girl who was blinking equally with surprise.
"What...?" she was staring at the leaderboard. Yes, that was her team's name on the second place slot. But how? The rest of her team also looked baffled, but Shinso was the only one with a bored look on his face. "Shinso-san?"
His left hand drew out of his pocket to reveal another headband. Her ruby eyes widened as he swirled the thin material around his finger, the number on it read 705—it was the points that Team Tetsutetsu started off with. "As promised, I got you more points."
She stepped towards the purple haired male with eyes that still showed a bit of disbelief. How did he...?
"You did say something about 'Plus Ultra', right?"
"...I did!" she answered as a grin stretched across her face.
However, Ojiro looked troubled as he stood at the sidelines. His tail was helping to steady Aoyama, whose face was contorted in discomfort as he leaned on the strong appendage. 'Plus Ultra', huh?
"Now, for real this time! In third place is Team Bakugou!"
"Ah, we were so close!" Mina let out an tired breath as she shook her arms around. It was sore from holding onto Bakugou as well as constantly releasing out large amounts of acid because of the blonde's escapades. Sero simply shrugged.
"Well... Third place isn't too bad. All's well that ends well."
Kirishima stared at their team leader's fuming form before them with exasperation, "Do you really think that's how he feels?"
"AGHHHHHH!"
On the other side of the third placed team, Midoriya was also shaking with regret.
Uraraka walked up to the male as Hatsume Mei took off the jet-pack from his back to fix the inside. "Deku-kun?"
"Um... I'm really sorry..." Midoriya turned to face the two girls sadly. It looked like his time at the festival ended here. He couldn't carry this team to victory after all... However, they just grinned and pointed to Tokoyami.
"Todoroki was clearly shaken by your first attack when you went to swipe for the headband. I had hoped to get the 10 million points, but things don't always go as you wish... But Team Aisaka isn't the only one with a surprise. I got one, too," the crow-headed male walked up to him with his eyes set pointedly. Dark Shadow slowly raised up from within him with a headband hanging from his beak. The number read 615. "I took the one on Todoroki's head where his guard was the weakest. Midoriya, it was thanks to the opening you created with your last spurt."
That was enough to make the already emotional male cry.
"In fourth place, Team Midoriya!" Present Mic's voice rang through the stadium as he finished up. "These four teams will advance to the final round!"
At another deafening cheer sounding from the crowd, Todoroki stared at his left hand critically to think over what happened in the last few seconds. He knew his headband had been stolen, but only after the fact. He was just so stunned by the power that Midoriya emitted that he lost sight of his focus for that one second. It just felt so familiar—almost like the power he witnessed All Might used back at the USJ incident.
He had vowed to never use his left hand to attack, but in the face of such a powerful and overwhelming Quirk, the fire from his left arm had unconsciously released. Not only that, it was the first time he felt so forced to the edge. Midoriya aside... Bakugou and Shiro did their fair share of making him feel pressured.
"I can't... At this rate, I'll be doing what my old man wants..." he gripped his left hand into a tight fist. At least he was able to stop himself and only use his right for the remaining of the time. My right...
...Aisaka, his heterochromatic eyes widened slightly when he remembered that at the last second, he had released a blast at her. Drawing his eyes over across the field confirmed it. Although she was smiling, there was a wince of pain whenever she moved her right arm. It wasn't encased in ice, but he knew that she had some level of frostbite. I should help her, he thought, but he was hesitant.
"...I won't assume to be your friend anymore..."
What happened between them after the first round wasn't at all what he planned... He didn't know why he felt so uneasy hearing those words from her. When he told her to stay away, he was only thinking about proving his old man wrong without adding her into the crossfire. I didn't mean... He found a deep desire to want to clear up the misunderstanding he placed between them.
"Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya!"
Seeing that people were staring to disperse from the field at Present Mic's dismissal, Todoroki made up his mind and walked towards Shiro.
HEYA! I know a few of you wanted to see Shiro and Bakugou to team up and beat the crap out of Monoma, but staying true to Bakugou's personality and Shiro's stubbornness, they were never going to let that fly (directly, at least). They both came at Monoma for the points of course, but they're far too competitive to share the glory of beating Monoma. I hope that was still to your liking! Shiro ended up getting second place because what she said to Shinso really touched him, so I had to let him shine a lil (it happens in the anime anyway) and that was one of the only ways Team Midoriya could've secured fourth place in my version.
Thanks for reading! Please consider leaving a review :)