Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.
To Be a Hero
round one
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"All right! Let's leave the tournament aside for a momentary interlude!" Fireworks immediately started to explode in the air as the hero announced what was next on the agenda and the crowd cheered. "Let's have fun with the recreation! First is the scavenger hunt!"
While some of the finalists chose to join in on the fun to shake off their nerves, some of them left to deal in their own ways for the upcoming tournament. They all knew down in their hearts that the tournament was no relaxing matter; some felt it was necessary to polish their strategies against their opponent or sharpen their senses, while others wanted to keep their presence of mind or physically prepare themselves for the fight.
For Shiro, there was something else she needed to do before she could even think about preparing for her match. Recovery Girl's soft voice answered on the other side of the "Temporary Nurse's Office" when she knocked and she pushed open the large door. The hero turned her chair towards her.
"Aisaka? Do you need something?"
"I'm here to see Aoyama-san, if that's okay," she replied. "Is he doing alright?"
"Ah, yes. His stomach collapsed from focusing too much energy only in that area, but I fixed him up and he's recovering just fine," the hero said before letting out a short sigh. "Class 1-A has a streak of sending people to my office, it seems. You guys are such spirited kids."
Shiro rubbed her head, not sure if that was a compliment or not. However, the hero allowed her inside. She walked over to the bed where the blonde was sleeping with a guilty look on her face.
"Aoyama-san..."
There was no movement from the male and she sighed softly.
"I know you can't hear this because you're resting, but maybe it's better this way for now. I actually don't know how to say this to you when you're awake 'cause it's kind of embarrassing... You're actually really strong... 'Cause, um, to be completely honest... I used to think that you were a little..." she trailed off and felt her left eye twitch slightly at the all-too-obvious way that the blonde was twinkling despite being asleep.
"...Aoyama-san! Are you really pretending to be asleep?!"
His one eye peeked open briefly before immediately closing it like a five-year-old would when they tried to trick their parents at night. "I cannot stop twinkling even in my sleep," he insisted before a stagnant silence passed between them. He peeked his eye open again for emphasis, "Well? Continue with all the good things you were going to say about me. Go on."
He's right back to it in true Aoyama style... she thought with a slightly flustered look since she was basically feeding him praises and he was actually awake to eat it all up. However, she decided to allow him to do so, just this once, because he fully deserved it.
"I guess I was just gonna say... Thanks for never stopping your sparkle and pushing us through the cavalry battle. You shined the brighest."
"Merci! Of course, it comes naturally to me."
"Yeah," she rolled her eyes but grinned. "I bet."
Both of the felt a lot better after that. For Aoyama, it was because he was praised so wonderfully. It wasn't obvious by the way he acted around his classmates, but he deeply respected them and their strengths and was happy that he was acknowledged for once. For Shiro, it was because the male's positive attitude alleviated some of the guilt in her heart. Teaming up with Aoyama today and seeing his true strength really gave her a different prespective of him.
Knock knock.
"Excuse me."
Turning their heads towards the door from the newcomer's voice, Shiro saw Ojiro peeking his head through the doorway.
"Hey Aoyama-san, I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. I'm sorry if this isn't a good time but..." he said before giving Shiro an urgent look. It seemed as if he had been looking for her. "Aisaka-san, I need to talk to you."
"A Quirk that can control people?"
"Yeah. He probably wanted to use me to get on our team," Ojiro said, his voice taut and serious. "After I answered his question, my mind became foggy and I was under his control. I'm sorry that I let this happen—"
"It's not your fault because you didn't know," Shiro interrupted immediately. Her brows furrowed, "If anything, I should be sorry. Actually, I think he used it on me, too, during the game when I got angry at Monoma-san. I can't believe I didn't know it then... I was too careless and only set on trying to win."
Ojiro also furrowed his brows in thought. "He used it on you, but only briefly? I wonder what his motivation was... Wouldn't it be easier to use it on all of us for the entire time?"
Shiro nodded, having originally wondered that as well. But thinking back to the events leading up to the start of the game, she had an inkling of why Shinso didn't use his Quirk on her or Aoyama. "I think he was intending to if I had refused him on the team. Maybe he felt the need to use his Quirk only because he thought that we wouldn't be accepting of him since he did declare war on our class."
"But joining us like this... Is this what he means by sweeping our feet from under us?"
"Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems they may also transfer people out... If you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you."
Remembering the declaration made Shiro feel torn. She felt that what Shinso did wasn't fair to Ojiro because he was such an upright and prideful individual. However, she knew she couldn't fault Shinso completely for doing whatever it takes to be transferred, even if she considered Ojiro an important friend. Everyone is aiming for the top... The only way to become a certified hero from U.A. is if you're enrolled in the hero course, after all, and... There's just no other way to use his Quirk.
"In any case, you have to be careful when you go up against him later," the blonde revealed, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Avoid answering him at all costs. I think that's how his Quirk works."
Shiro acknowledged his warning with a nod. "You said you regained your sense of self towards the end. How did you do it?" she asked. "Did he release his Quirk?"
"Actually, it was thanks to you..."
"Eh?"
Ojiro scratched the side of his cheek, "When you fell back on us, I snapped out of it. I remember what happened clearly after that..." As he said that, pink tinting his cheeks. Indeed, he even remembered the double-take he did when he saw what she was wearing, or rather what she wasn't. "It's likely that receiving shock can get rid of his control. I'm not sure what level of shock you need though, and in a one-on-one match, you can't count on outside forces like that. Maybe there's another way to override it, but that's about all I know. I'm sorry..."
"No, that was really helpful!" Shiro said as she stood up from her chair. Her eyes shone with determination as she tried to formulate a plan on what she could do to overcome Shinso's Quirk."I still really wish that you could join us for the finals, but..." she gave him a sad smile. "Thank you, Ojiro-san. I'll do my best."
"I'm going to say something selfish..." Ojiro said as he looked both flustered and touched by her words. He took her hand in his urgently, "But please do your best for me, too."
She nodded and lightly squeezed back.
"Definitely."
With the recreational games coming to an end, it was time for the final one-on-one tournaments to begin.
Shiro made her way to the reserved seats for the U.A. classes in the stadium with Ojiro to watch the first few matches before it was her turn. Finding the section for class 1-A, she looked for Uraraka and Iida, who have likely saved her a seat. Cementoss was down in the field getting the tournament stage ready with his cement Quirk, and everyone was waiting with anticipation.
"Hey guys, are you ready?!" Present Mic asked with full energy. Everyone in the crowd shouted back their cheers and chants. "A lot's happened, but it's now come to this! A serious battle were you can only depend on yourself! Even if you're not a hero, you'll face lots of situations like that!"
"The first match is with Deku-kun!" Uraraka said as Shiro took a seat next to her. The girl was barely able to contain her antsy excitement. "I'm so pumped!"
Iida fixed his glasses as he stared at her from the other side. "Uraraka-kun, are you that excited to cheer for Midoriya-kun?"
"Deku-kun is our friend, so of course! Aren't you cheering for him?"
"Yes, but he is going against Kaminari-kun, who is also our classmate. As the class president, I cannot show bias!" he insisted, however his face said differently. Of course he was cheering for the curly haired boy. "Shiro-kun, who do you want to win?"
"The one that does their best," Shiro replied. She was all for being objective and non-biased during these situations, a trait that she picked up from the rational hero. The rest gave her vague answer an exasperated sigh before turning their gaze back to the event. Down below, Cementoss had finished making the stage and signaled for Present Mic. Without delay, the Voice hero immediately announced for the start of the tournament.
"The finals that you've all been waiting for are finally starting! Match number one—"
The screen above the announcement cube flashed as a snapshot taken from the entrance of the tunnel popped up with the first two finalists and their names below. They could all feel the nervousness from Midoriya emitting from both the picture and as he walked out.
"Even though he's done well, what's with that face? From the hero course, it's Midoriya Izuku! Versus—also from the hero course, it's the Sparking Killing Boy, Kaminari Denki! Let's make this first match go out with a bang, yeah!"
The two opponents stepped into the tournament ring as the hero continued energetically.
"The rules are simple. Force your opponents out of bounds, or immobilize them! You can also win by making your opponents say 'I give up'! Bring on your injuries because we've got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby! Put your morals and ethics aside for a moment—but of course, anything life-threatening is not allowed and will get you thrown out! Heroes should only use their fists to catch villains! Now, ARE YOU READY...?"
Kaminari and Midoriya immediately got into a battle stance, with the former more confident than the latter. They were both strong individuals who can release an immense amount of power within seconds, so it came down to the first punch.
"Start!"
"Sorry, but this match'll be determined in a second!" Kaminari said as large waves of electricity coursed throughout his body with a dangerous yellow glow. He was not taking any chances against the curly haired male because he knew if he stalled, a punch from Midoriya could land him across the stage in an instant.
On the other side, Midoriya had thought that his opponent might use his electricity discharge to cover the area, but he didn't expect the blonde to release one of his high voltage electrocution right from the beginning. He had no idea what he could do to block it; without Tokoyami's Dark Shadow, he was like a sitting duck!
But he couldn't lose here! Everyone was watching! All Might was watching!
"Indiscriminate Shock... 1.3 Million Volts!"
I can't hit him, but I still need to move away... Midoriya let One For All's power activate through three of his fingers because from experience, he knew that two couldn't give him the height that he needed on a hard surface like cement. I only have one chance...!
As soon as Kaminari forced his palms down towards the ground to release all 1.3 million volts, Midoriya ran and jumped as high as he could before flicking his three fingers on the ground. The volts blasted across the stage with high velocity and power, but the force of his One For All effectively blew him up high enough from the voltage zone to keep from getting shocked. He knew it was going to be a rough way down, but he didn't have to worry about that as the blonde short-circuited from exceeding his wattage limit.
Falling towards the hard cement floor, the curly haired male managed to catch himself enough to not break his legs. He ran towards the confused and currently very mindless blonde and pushed him out of bounds.
"It was decided in an instant! I'll say it once more! An instant!"
"Man, he did that cool move again! Even though he was scared! Again!" Mineta said as the crowd around him cheered loudly. Tsuyu tipped her finger against her mouth as she remembered what the boy was talking about.
"Midoriya-chan did the same thing during USJ, huh?"
Using his power on part of his body like at the fitness test and knowing the amount of force behind the portion of power it can discharge... Rather than calling it the best use of his experience, it's like he's using any experience he can to force the flow to change in his favor, Aizawa thought as he watched the boy carefully.
"Yahoo!" Present Mic threw up his arms from the screen. "The first person to advance to the second round in the finals is Midoriya Izuku from class 1-A!"
Jiro almost couldn't contain her laughter as she watched the blonde shuffled his way off the stage with that stupefied look on his face. Although both of them were her classmates, she was rooting for Midoriya only because Kaminari pulled that stunt on the girls with Mineta. "Serves him right," she snorted.
Sitting just in front of the Earphone Jack user, Shiro cheered for the boy along with a more vocal Uraraka and a conflicted Iida. She was suprised that Midoriya had chosen to injure himself in order to evade Kaminari's volts. The aftershock from his own Quirk was that powerful to blow him that high in the air. It was ingenious in a way when he was cornered...
Though, if I had a choice, I'd definitely make it less painful, she pondered thoughtfully.
At the announcement of the first winner, Todoroki got up from the player waiting room and got ready to go into his own match. Midoriya won, huh? He turned around the corner and stopped, lips turning down into an even deeper frown at the person who was waiting for him up ahead.
"You're in my way."
Endeavor, with the flame ignited around him from his Quirk, stared back at his son with narrowed eyes.
"You're acting disgracefully, Shoto," the hero responded as the boy started to walk towards him. "If you used the power on your left side, you would've had an overwhelming victory in the obstacle course and the cavalry battle."
His words were ignored as Todoroki stepped past him.
"Stop this childish rebellion already. You have a duty to surpass All Might. Do you understand? You're different from your siblings. You are the greatest masterpiece!"
Gritting his teeth, Todoroki kept walking as he finally spoke up. "Is that all you can say, bastard? I will win and advance with just Mother's power. I won't use your power when I fight."
"You're making a foolish mistake to waste the tremendous power on your left side, Shoto. You waste such a power on thawing the opponents you freeze. What is it? Do you feel bad?" That managed to get the boy to pause, but he kept himself from blowing up at Endeavor. However, it just prompted the Flame Hero to continue.
"Even if it works for now, you'll soon reach the limits of that power."
As Todoroki finally walked out of earshot from his father, he wasn't just angry. He was absolutely livid.
"Thanks for waiting! Next up is... These guys!"
The screen displayed the pictures of both Todoroki and Sero as they walked into the stadium and up the stairs of the tournament ring. Midoriya also returned at this time from Recovery Girl for his broken fingers and joined Shiro and the others in the front row. He watched as both of the players got ready while Present Mic continued his short introduction for Sero and then Todoroki.
"First up! He's good, but what's with that plainness he just can't get rid of? From the hero course, it's Sero Hanta!"
Shiro raised her brows at the hero's harsh introduction for the Tape Quirk user. However, it wasn't necessary untrue. Especially when you're up against someone like Todoroki...
"Versus—taking third, then first in the prelims! You're way too strong, kid! He wasn't recommended for admission for nothing! Also from the hero course, it's Todoroki Shoto!"
With a match that included a recommended student who was also the son of the second ranked hero of all time, everyone was paying close attention. But Shiro noticed there was something off about the bicolor haired male at the moment. It wasn't like he would walk into the match with a smiling face, but his head was just lowered in a way that she couldn't see any type of expression. That could either mean that he was sad or angry, and she doubted it was the former at the moment.
"And now, for the second match of the finals! Ready..."
She watched as Sero stretched his arms and cracked his neck at the hero's countdown. He seemed to accept that he may not stand a chance against someone as overpowering as Todoroki, and plus that introduction by Present Mic was a total downer, but...
"Start!"
He immediately shot out multiple strips of tape from both of his arms and grabbed ahold of his opponent right away. Shiro widened her eyes at how fast Sero was and more curiously, how slow Todoroki was to react to that.
What is he up to? He was able to dodge the majority of my attacks with no problem before!
Sero used the arm that was still attached to the tape around Todoroki's bounded body and swung it heavily. His attack was quick and concise, aiming to push his opponent out of bounds right away, and Shiro had to agree that it was the best choice that the male could make in a situation like this. Todoroki was getting increasingly close to the white line and she wondered if the match will really end here.
No... And she knew it wouldn't.
Todoroki gained footing at the right moment and ice rapidly formed under his feet. It took less than a second for him to overtake the Tape Quirk user, but that wasn't all. The whole stadium jolted with a boom and Shiro inhaled sharply as the underside of the colossal iceberg blocked off nearly half of the stadium. The entire stadium fell into a deathly silence after that.
From the outside looking in, the ice was so large that it spilled over and looked like dangerous spikes.
"Don't... Don't you think that's a bit much?" Sero chattered his teeth as he was frozen on the spot. On the referee stand, half of Midnight's body was also caught in the freeze.
"Sero-kun, can you move?"
"O-Of course not... Ow..."
"Sero-kun is immobilized! Todoroki-kun advances to the second round!" the hero announced.
Too shocked to cheer for the winner, and seeing that it was hardly the right response for his opponent's dignity, a Pro Hero who felt bad started to chant an encouragement for Sero.
"DON'T MIND!"
Immediately, more followed.
"DON'T MIND! DON'T MIND!"
As Todoroki walked up to Sero to thaw the ice that he created, Shiro finally was able to see the expression on his face and was surprised again.
He looked really sad.
It took a while for all of the ice to be removed from the stadium, but after it did, the tournament was back on track. The following matches couldn't compare to Todoroki's match, but everyone watched with a renewed appreciation for the following battles that showed off each students' Quirks in a less-intimidating way.
The match between Iida and Hatsume ended up taking almost 15 minutes because the support course girl had used Iida to showcase all of her wonderful "babies" aimed at the support companies. Needless to say, the girl was good at hard selling... And after all of her babies were extensively presented, she voluntarily walked out of the ring. It was quite unfair to the earnest male to be played a fool and then given an automatic win, but Hatsume really had no interest for the tournament.
Contrasting the third match, the fourth match ended within a minute of it beginning. Because Creation takes a longer period of time to make more elaborate and stronger weapons, Momo was no match up against Tokoyami's swift and powerful attacks. He didn't even move from his spot as Dark Shadow's reach was able to push Momo out of bounds.
Now in the player waiting room on standby during the fifth match, Shiro had some time to think about what she was going to do for her own match. After everything that Ojiro told her and even experiencing her soon-to-be opponent's Quirk herself, she knew that she had to end the match swiftly to avoid talking to Shinso.
Once she answers him, it was game over for her.
I think there's one thing I can do, but... Can I really pull it off? she wondered.
The door to the waiting room opened and she turned to see that Uraraka had come to join her. "Hey, Urara—" Shiro blinked a few times at the tight look on the girl's face. "Your brows!"
"My brow?" she answered with the same cheerful tone, but her brows were brows were furrowed so far that it was almost connecting as one. Since she had that look, the way she walked up to take a seat looked like she was on a prowl. The girl then rubbed the back of her head as she tired to relax her face a little more. "Oh, it's just my nerves... Must've reached my brow."
She's more nervous than I am, yet I'm the one going next! Shiro thought before feeling a wave of empathy for her friend's emotional state. "Your match is with Bakugou, huh?"
"Yeah. Bakugou-kun's kinda..." the girl lowered her head as a sigh left her mouth. "I guess you can say I'm really scared. But you know, I'm trying to be braver and fight him head on like you always do, Shiro-chan."
"...Me?" Shiro wondered.
At this time, the door opened again and Midoriya walked in with purpose, "Uraraka-san!"
"Deku-kun? You followed me here?"
"Yeah, I wanted to give you something before your match but I didn't think you were going to leave so soon," the male answered as he took a seat across from Shiro and Uraraka. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, Shiro-san!"
"It's okay," she replied. "How's Ashido-san's match looking?"
"Both of them are going head to head! Ashido-san's acid is able to to dissolve Shiozaki-san's vines, but Shiozaki-san can produce a large amount of them at at time...!" he said before immediately switching to his muttering mode while flipping through the notebook in his hands. There was just so many amazing Quirks and abilities around him that he had to write them all down.
The two girls allowed him to continue with a supportive expression; he was sort of amazing in his own quirky way.
"Ashido-san's amazing physical ability is managing to keep her from getting caught so far... But Shiozaki-san is a strong opponent who placed fourth in the entrance exam... Vines... I think it can be comparable to Hero Kamui Wood's Quirk... I didn't get see the end of the match since I came here, but as expected, binding types are tricky—"
"Ashido Mina has been immobilized! Shiozaki Ibara from class 1-B advances to the next round!"
The room grew quiet once the announcement was made and Shiro stood up. "It's time, huh?" she said softly.
"A-Ah! Sorry for keeping you from preparing!" Midoriya exclaimed. "But... Good luck!"
"Yeah, you can do it, Shiro-chan!"
At their encouragements, Shiro nodded and left the player waiting room.
It was finally time to face her first opponent.
"And here they are! Our sixth match of the day!"
Shiro walked out from the tunnel and headed towards the center stage. Her face bore a neutral expression as the grip on her weapon tightened once she saw Shinso walk up from the other side.
"The spectacular bringer of luck and karma! Taking second for both rounds in the prelims with astonishing skill and finesse, she's simply the best! She's the one Mummy Man and I are rooting for—"
"Oi, get on with your introduction."
"What a killjoy! Anyway, it's Aisaka Shiragiku from the hero course! Versus—sorry, he hasn't done anything to stand out yet! From general studies, it's Shinso Hitoshi!"
Shinso quirked a brow up at the Voice hero's obviously biased commentaries. "Class 1-A really do get everything and everyone in their favor, huh?" he asked, but Shiro only gave him a tight-lipped frown.
"It seems that fate will have it that we've pitted two former teammates from the cavalry battle against each other! This will be an interesting match, so let's get to it!"
"You know, the point of this tournament is to test the strength of your spirit," Shinso continued as Present Mic shouted overhead for them to get ready. "If you know what you want for your future, then you can't worry about appearances."
"Start!"
Shiro didn't waste any time as she drew her whip towards the purple haired male in one swift motion. Like Sero, she was going to throw her opponent out of bounds for the quickest way to end the match. That was the plan that she first came up with, and in the student section, Ojiro pumped his fist at her success at binding the purple haired male.
However, her opponent wasn't finished.
"You're angry, aren't you?!" Shinso shouted while attempting to brace himself. He already assumed that she knew how his Quirk works, but he also knew the type of person she was and what to do to get a reaction out of her. "Like you said, there's a difference between those who are always aiming for the top and those who aren't..."
Just throw him out... she thought as she drew him closer to the edge while lowering her head with gritted teeth. That's all I have to do!
"But tell me, who are you more angry at? Me for using that monkey, or the fact that the monkey wasn't aiming for the top and stupidly threw away this chance?" At that accusation, he could tell that he had hit just the right button and made Shiro angry by her lowered head and shaking form. He smirked, "So much for aiming for the top, huh?"
"Shut up—!"
And just like that, she froze in her position. Shinso steadied himself as the hold on his bindings slacked. Looking down, he was one inch away from being thrown out.
She was close, but not close enough.
"I win, Aisaka."
I've been racking in hours for work since I need money for rent and food, but I managed to push this chapter out ~ Ahhhh, I really need to focus on my other story but I keep finding myself inspired by BNHA instead haha TT-TT Anyway, I'm so excited for the next arc in the anime and WOOOOO, I have my first fanart of Shiro (thank you animefairy299!) I'm super happy to recieve any fanart, so feel free to draw your interpretation of Shiro :)
Link: anim-nee-chan tumblr com/post/175931487980 (delete spaces and add dot inbetween)
Also, here is long awaited character sheet I made: aominekkid tumblr com/post/175954705092