*Midoriya's P.O.V*
The air was cold and tense. I was staring in the heterochromatic eyes of Shoto Todoroki. I don't know what's going on in his head... what could he want to talk to me about.
"When you used your Quirk it felt familiar. The speed, the force, the strength... it felt familiar, like All Might's Quirk." He said.
... Crap.
"Midoriya... tell me." He said as the room went quiet, "Are you really All Might's secret love child or something?"
...
...
All tension has left the room. "That's, what you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Well are you?" He asked.
I smacked him in the back of the head, "HELL NO!" I yelled, "You interrupted my lunch time, and more importantly, my Cake time for this?!" I yelled.
"That's not all I wanted to say." Todoroki muttered.
"Does it involve genetics and All Might?" I asked.
"No... well genetics, yes." He said, "My father is the hero Endeavor, sure you've heard of him. Which means you're aware that he's the number two hero."
By some sheer amount of bullshit he is.
"So if you're connected to the number 1 hero, All Might, in some way... That would mean... that I have even more reason to beat you." He said.
I wanted to ask what he would gain by beating me, but I wanted him to keep going. "My old man is ambitious. He aims for the top. He used his power to make a name for himself as a hero. But he was never able to best All Might, so the Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure. He's still at it, though, trying to take down All Might. One way or another." He explained.
"I get the one sided rivalry between All Might and Endeavor, but why tell me this?" I asked.
He then looked at me dead in the eyes, "Have you ever heard of... Quirk Marriages?" He asked.
... That cruel practice of having kids solely to make them have powerful Quirks? I know it all too well.
"They became a problem in the first few generations after superpowers became widespread. There were those who sought out mates solely with the intention of creating powerful children. Many people were forced into relationships. They were simply viewed as old-fashioned arranged marriages. But, clearly, it was unethical. My father has not only a rich history of accomplishments, but plently of money to throw at his problems." He said, "He bought my mother's relatives to get his hands on her Quirk. And now he's raising me to usurp All Might."
... I should have realized it earlier.
"It's so annoying. I refuse to be a tool for that scumbag. In every memory of my mother... I only see her crying. I remember she called my left side unbearable," He said while he touched his scar on his eye, "Before she poured boiling water on my face."
I shivered at the thought, but he kept going.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on his damned fire Quirk." He said as he pulled down his hand, revealing eyes full of hatred, "You see, I'm going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it."
...
...
"That's fucking stupid." I said.
"... What?" He asked sounding offended.
"Look, I hate Endeavor as much as any other person with a brain. That dude was the main reason why taxes were so damn high. His reckless abandon for buildings as well as other places left my mom and I having to work to scrape by. However... your logic is flawed, not to mention you're underestimating me." I said, "I'm here to win, so I can get cred with the pros, and go to become the Number 1 Hero, so my mom can live the rest of her days in comfort. So if you think I'm going to lose to someone going at 50%, especially since I beat that same person with only 10%, then you're logic is fucking stupid." I said.
"Did you not liste-"
"Oh I listened to every word of what you said." I said, "You got daddy issues, I do too. Had my dad not left to America like a fucking scumbag, maybe mom and I might have not needed to work so damned hard. But we can't change who the fuck are dads are. What we can change is who our dads want us to become." I said.
"W-What?" He asked.
"He wants you to become powerful so you can beat All Might and become number 1 in his stead. Well go up to his face, give him the big middle finger, and say 'I'm not doing this for you, you scumbag' and walk away." I said, "The path to your destination is never one way, or else the freeway would be loaded with traffic. To add on to that analogy, your life isn't his car to drive. It's yours, do things however the hell you want to. If he wants you to be a powerhouse, well say fuck that, and go at it a different way." I said.
"But I don't-"
"Want to use your fire Quirk, sure whatever I don't give a flip whether you do or not. But don't think of it as your scumbag of a dad's Quirk, but yours." I said before walking away... then I stopped a few feet away from the exit, "And have you even talked to your mom?"
"What?" He asked.
"Have you even talked to your mom after the incident?" I asked again.
"W-well... no." He said.
"Then talk to her, considering she has many years to think on that incident, I'm sure she'll want to see you again." I said.
That's the second lecture I've given Todoroki... here's hoping at least one of them sticks.
Anyway, it's CAKE TIME!
...
...
"Okay, which one of you jerks ate my cake?" I asked as I looked at 1-A and 1-B accusingly.
"What makes you think it was us?" They all asked in unison.
"... Fine, no one wants to own up to it. Itake who ate it?" I asked.
"It was the tape guy." She said instantly.
"Wow!" Sero yelled.
"Thanks, I owe you one." I said before looking at him, "You better hope we don't meet in the tournament, I will end you. Because no one... interrupts cake time." I muttered as Sero nodded.
"Good, now time for lunch."
After eating in irritation after being denied my beautiful cake... it was funfetti too. Anyway, we all reconvened to center stage... what the heck is this?
"What the heck are you 6 wearing?" I asked as I saw all of the girls wearing cheerleader outfits.
"Mineta told us that Mr. Aizawa wanted us to wear these." Yaoyorozu said before pointing to the cheerleaders on the other side of the stadium, "Like them."
...
...
*SLAP*
I collided my hand straight onto my forehead, "You know for the number 1 scorer in the midterms you're pretty naive." I said, "You're the Class President, for petes sake you'd think Mr. Aizawa would have told you about that, would he? Those are the cheerleaders they ported from America." I asked.
"How did you know that?" Hagakure asked.
"I overheard it from mom yesterday. She has a tendency to talk about things going on in school." I said.
Also... why do the American girls have such big noses?
Realization dawned on her as she tore apart her pom poms, "I'm going to murder him."
"Please don't. Murder is a door you don't want to open." I said, "Anyway it's kinda too late to go back now, Midnight is about to have us-"
After that weird interractinon, Present Mic announced the final event tournament of power... thing. It was a one on one competition, the only difference it was a stick fighting competition. Everyone was confused by what the heck is a stick fighting competition.
Midnight was willing to explain. Basically you are given two options between a bo staff, and two smaller staves for dual wielding, Quirks are obviously allowed, but your only method in terms of physical attacks are with your weapons. I like that idea, it makes people think of how to use their Quirks with conjunction to their weapons, and it's convenient I practiced stick fighting when I was younger because I was bored one summer. It also gives people without combat oriented Quirks a chance to win.
"Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against. Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. the 16 finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina." She said before walking towards me, "I'll start with the first place team."
The first round matchup is as follows.
Me vs Todoroki... well aint that a kick in the teeth.
Iida vs Kaminari.
Bakugou vs Sero.
Kendou vs Shiozaki.
Itake vs Yaoyorozu.
Ashido vs Shinso.
Setsuna vs Tokoyami.
For the final match, Honenuki vs Kirishima.
"Okay. Let's pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, IT'S TIME FOR SOME PULSE-POUNDING SIDE GAMES!" Present Mic yelled.
... I'm going to pass, too much work. I instead headed outside to prepare myself for my battle against Todoroki. Since I can only use my Quirk for speed as well as how hard I swing my staves it basically makes barely any difference on how I would have gone with this battle. However, it's Todoroki I'm thinking about. It's a toss up whether he actually listened to my words and is considering going all out, or if he'll just use his ice. Even with his ice, what will he do.
It's not like I can't smash through the ice, but it's what he'll do after that matters. He could either jump through the smashed ice wave and attack, that or he could send another one after me. Besides I haven't picked up dial wield staves in a long time.
"You." A deep voice said... oh great.
Endeavor is here.
"Yes?" I asked.
"You're Izuku Midoriya correct?" He asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"And you are fighting my son, correct?" He asked.
"Yes, is there a point I'm missing here?" I asked, trying to sound as unsarcastic as possible... which didn't work at all.
"Steel your tongue, anyway, my son is in a... rebellious state at the moment." He said.
... Rebellious doesn't even cover it.
"I've seen your power, resembles a certain Symbol of Peace. Are you two related?" He asked.
"No." I said simply, "Our Quirks just so happen to be near the same. Strength and Speed." I said... I glossed over the whole barely any HP part of it.
"I see, well my son is destined to succeed me, and over take that fool as the Symbol of Peace in my stead." He said, "Which means he'll have to beat you to do that."
"Yeah... good luck with that." I said simply before standing up, "Good luck getting him to do that for you."
"What do you mean by that?" He asked as I felt the air get hotter.
"Look, he might become Number 1, however, there is no way in heck he'll do it for you." I said before walking away, "Do keep that in mind."
I walked inside the stadium before he could respond to my statements. Man... what a pain.
"Would Midoriya and Todoroki please head to the stage." Mr. Aizawa said sounding completely over this whole thing. You know what same, I could use a nap right now. But I won't get my nap until I win this whole thing... or lose immediately. Honestly I'm weighing my options.
No... I need to meet Sero in the tournament so I can avenge my cake. Or at least beat Todoroki, then I can consider bailing so I can nap.
Todoroki and I stood on center stage, and we were presented with our options of bo staff or dial wield staves. I chose the dual wields... so did Todoroki. After that we separated to opposite sides of the stage.
"So... what do you plan to do?" I asked.
"... You'll find out." He said, that's... a good sign?
"BEGIN!" Present Mic yelled.
Todoroki opened up with an ice wave. I was half temped to smash it, but I decided around it in a flash. I was behind him when the ice wave reached higher than the roof of the stadium.
"Holy shit dude... that could have hit me." I said as he flinched to look at me, "Jeez, have some respect." I said as I rushed over to smash the whole ice wave. If the crowd was shocked before then they were speechless when I smashed it completely. "Now... where were we?"
He was shocked but for a moment, "As expected." He said before he used ice to slide towards me... now this is where it gets fun. He launched himself off his ice slide and took a powerful swing at me, I stood my ground and blocked his hit, a mini shock wave erupted from our collision.
Todoroki jumped back before sending another ice wave at me. I waited for it to get close before smashing it to pieces. Once the ice shattered he jumped towards me... I thought me might do that. I swiftly dodged out of the way, but he used his ice to surge back to me. He took a swing, but I blocked it again.
"I must say, you're pretty good at using your ice." I said, "But you're not going to win at this rate. In all honesty I could have eliminated you like 30 seconds ago... but I wanted to see what you would do... turns out to be a complete waste of time." I said as I knocked him towards the back of the stage, he used his ice to stop himself.
"Then why don't you finish me?" He asked.
"Because then this whole match would have been a waste of time." I said as I rushed towards him, but stopped a foot before him, "Whatever happened to that killer instinct? The always win no matter what attitude? This is boring me..."
He was angry now, "Why are you doing this? Did my dad talk to you?"
"That man could go suck a railroad spike for all I care. It's you I'm worried about idiot." I said as I whacked him upside the head, "Forget that sorry excuse of a human being, and worry about you. Last I checked, he isn't fighting me. Not that he would win against me, but that's not the point. It's you, your power, your fight, your everything!" I yelled.
Todoroki tensed up, "So give that man the middle finger, and fight me with your power!" I yelled as I pulled back for the finisher... then it happened.
Steam was eminating from his left side, as flames erupted from Todoroki. I jumped out of the way and reached the other end of the stage, "Heh... about time." I said.
"You're helping your opponent. You fool." He said as I see the ice on his left side melt away, "Even though you want to win this battle. Now which one of us is screwing around?" The flame tornado faded away, revealing a determined Todoroki, "I want it, too. I'll be a hero!"
"Hmm, atta boy." I said as I dropped my staves, "Well, I don't want to be a hypocrite... I might as well go all out too." I said as I pulled up my sleeves revealing the weights.
Midnight was the first to react, "Izuku Midoriya, if you take those off you won't advance to the next round." She said.
"Worth it." I said as I took off my arm weights, then my leg weights. I then tossed them behind me, a dust cloud floated around the impact zone.
"Arm and leg weights?" Todoroki asked.
"250 Kg each, adding up to about a 1000 kgs, or a ton." I said as I stretched my body, "And man... does it feel good!" I yelled as I took a large leap, causing me to launch right up to half the bleachers. "So let's go, show me your full power." I said.
Todoroki nodded and sent a massive ice wave like at the beginning, we clearly said fuck the rules at this point. I lept over it and began flying towards him. He then used his fire to send a massive flame blast towards me. All the while I dropped my staves and began to use a full powered punch... then 5 concrete pillars intercepted our attacks.
The combined force of our attacks created a massive explosion along with an even bigger shockwave. The dust cloud was massive and covered the stage.
"W-What happened just now? What the heck is up with your students?" Present Mic asked.
"The air around the ring had been thoroughly cooled down, and then rapidly expanded when heated up." Mr. Aizawa said.
"Wait, that's what caused the explosion? How hot did that fire get? Jeez, I can't see a thing!" Present Mic yelled, "Is the match still going on, or what, huh?"
... The crowd has been in suspense long enough. I flicked my finger, causing the dust to fly away, revealing an unconscious Todoroki over my shoulder, "Technically I lost because I broke the rule specifically against me, so, Todoroki advances." I said.
"H-How?" Midnight asked.
"Simple, you should have added more concrete." I said, I broke through those 5 easily and before I made it to Todoroki I toned down my power so I won't kill him. He may be all powerful, but he's still a kid." I said before handing Todoroki to Cementoss. "In a way, I'm glad I broke the rules. Tournaments are such a drag." I muttered before picking up my weights and putting them back on.
But man... what a powerful boy. If I'm not careful around him, I might actually lose to him. Key word being 'might'. I walkd up the stairs and headed to the Class 1-A spectator booth... once I was there I was met with looks of shock, confusion, and one anger from Bakugou... before it cooled down completely, and he looked away from me. "What?" I asked.
"Did you seriously have weights on the whole time?!" Kaminari yelled.
"Well... I had them for about 2 weeks." I said, "The teachers agreed this would be a proper disadvantage for me, or else I would have beaten you all by a country mile. However in turn of doing this I got stronger and faster as a result. So win win." I said with a smile.
"B-But 1 ton?" Uraraka asked.
"Yeah, though technically I didn't need to remove them. I didn't want to be a hypocrite and tell Todoroki to go all out while I'm being weighed down. Besides, I kinda didn't want to keep going. Tournaments are such a drag." I muttered before looking at Kaminari, "Isn't your match next?" I asked.
"R-Right! See you all!" He yelled before running off.
I took a deep breath and leaned into my chair, this is going to be a long tournament.
*End of Chapter*