Izuku woke to the sight of his mentors at his side. He felt a mattress under him, so he figured that he was in the infirmary.
"What… happened?" the teen slowly got into a sitting position.
"You passed out from overusing your chi with that stunt you pulled," Anima stated softly. Izuku's heart dropped at the werewolf's words. His mind came to a simple conclusion of 'I lost'. Toshinori patted his inheritor's shoulders.
"Young Todoroki was pushed out of bounds by the shock wave, so the judges are still debating who really won." The haggard man calmed his student. It worked to an extent, but that only left the anxiety of not knowing that, to one like him, was still agonizing. Soon the door to the infirmary opened and Izuku saw Ochaco, Tenya, Kirishima, Tsuyu, and Mashirao.
"That was awesome Deku!"
"Exemplary performance in the match, Midoriya-san."
"Manly way to go down, dude!"
"It's kinda scary that you could go toe to toe with such a quirk." Izuku was getting embarrassed at the praise his friends were giving him. He scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin. Soon, Mashirao spoke up.
"That last move…" he started, trying to find the right words to use. "That didn't feel like you." Izuku knew what he was talking about. Every fighter had a "signature" that was unique to them. Every person's body was built different, even before quirks, and that meant that everyone's body responded to movement differently. When he copied Anima, he didn't just copy the move; he copied his teacher's "signature", his tempo, his persona.
"It wasn't," He tried to answer in the way that made sense. "I couldn't see myself beating Todoroki's final blast, but I could Imagine Anima-sensei doing it, So I copied him to the best of my abilities." while most people in the room didn't understand the entirety of it, the martial artists did. Recovery Girl came in only a moment later.
"I'll need to talk to Midoriya-kun, so I need you kids to leave for now," she told the students. As soon they left to go watch (or attend) the match between Katsuki and Eijiro, the school nurse turned to her patient.
"There are a few scratches and a minor burn, but the worst injury is a minor fracture in your right Ulna. I can treat the fracture, but if I go any further, I'll drain too much of your stamina for you to keep going. Hold still." she instructed as she used her quirk on Izuku's arm. His eyes felt heavy suddenly, but he could stay awake for awhile longer. She finished treating his injuries and left the teen to talk with his mentors.
"I think you should stop right now." Izuku turned to Anima, surprised at his words.
"I can keep going though…" he reasoned, but the werewolf cut him off.
"It's not a matter of being able to, but that it's dangerous to. Look…" He took a seat to be at eye level with his disciple. "When I said 'You passed out from overusing your chi', that's not a good thing; it's your life force, and to use it any further will cause you physical harm. I mean… even I can tell you're having trouble focusing." Anima hated the words he was saying, but he felt they needed to be said. Even Toshinori agreed with him, as overworking yourself past your limits could end up working against you.
Izuku stopped to think as he tried to come up with a solution to the two problems he was presented with; the inability to use his chi, and the fact he couldn't think straight.
"What if I don't use it? My chi, I mean." Anima gave a look of 'I don't like it, but continue', and the green haired teen did.
"The main problem is that I've used it too much, so if I don't use it anymore, then I'll be safe. My focus will still suffer, but I'll be able to fight." Toshinori couldn't understand why Izuku would go to such lengths in the competition, but he couldn't say he disapproved of that drive.
"I may not know about this subject as well as the two of you, but I have to side with young Midoriya on this one due to his sound logic." Anima honestly didn't know what he expected from arguing, but at least he made his opinion known. Giving a sigh, he gave consent.
"This only counts if the judges say you advance instead of Todoroki," he added before instructing his student to relax and regain what little energy he could and walked out of the room.
"Do you think I screwed up?" Toshinori looked at the prone teen who asked.
"Why would I think that?" the haggard man inquired.
"Even though I could have won the fight easier if I didn't, I couldn't stop seeing that look in Todoroki-san's eyes, and said all those words…" Izuku tilted his head down. He didn't know what he felt, as it wasn't 'regret'. He wanted to help, but there's a time and place to try. He could've urged him to Jesse or talked to him later about it, but for some reason, he chose then.
"As foolish as it was at the moment," Toshinori started. "You tried to help even your opponent when you saw him troubled. I can't berate you for that." the frail hero gave a warm smile before he sat closer to his inheritor.
"And you know what?" he asked. At Izuku shaking his head, he answered.
"'Butting your nose in' is one of the principle qualities of a good hero." Anima heard the cheesy line from beyond the door and shook his head in exasperation. 'But' he thought, 'the cheesy lines are told so many times because they're often true'.
Shouto was trying to find his way to Midnight. When he received help from a janitor, he knocked on the door to the room.
"Coming…" a voice, Midnight's by the tone, called from the other side. When the heroine opened the door to see the dual quirk user, she was mildly confused.
"May I please have a word?" the teen asked as politely as he could. Receiving a nod, he took a breath. 'This is harder than I thought' he voiced to himself before managing to speak the words he wanted.
"I'd like to give Midoriya the win from our draw, and let him continue." whatever Midnight thought he was going to say, he didn't. Though she found it odd, by the rules, she had to let him.
"Alright, but why?" Shouto had found it easier to explain his reasoning.
"He's given me a lot to think about, and I think it'll help me that I don't have anything distracting me while I figure things out. If you can, could you not mention that I asked when announcing this to the crowd? My old man would give me hell if he found out that I did this." He wasn't being hyperbolic, but the 18+ heroine didn't know that. She gave a slight smile.
"Sure thing. It'll probably be along the lines of 'Cementoss and I decided to have a tie-breaker backstage, and Midoriya-san won'." the Dual quirk user nodded in consent before making his way to the locker rooms. He didn't know why, but he found his steps lighter. Maybe tomorrow, he'd try going to Jesse for a therapy session; his classmates swore that it helped, and he didn't think it'd hurt to try.
Izuku had been woken up from his nap by Shouto.
"Your match is up next," he stated. Izuku, just waking up, had no clue what he was talking about.
"Wasn't there suppose to be a tie-breaker between us?" The scarred teen froze for a moment but decided to let his benefactor know.
"I didn't care to continue, so the judges made a story that we did while you rested up." The green haired teen was feeling more awake now, so he fully understood the explanation.
"I, um…" not knowing what to say, he decided to be simple. "Thank you, Todoroki-kun." There was an awkward silence between the two before Izuku tried to break it.
"Who will I be facing?"
"Iida-san. You should get ready." Izuku started running around the room while he got as ready as he could. When the announcer called him to waiting room #2, he turned to his previous opponent and bowed goodbye.
"Good luck." Shouto nodded in response.
"IT'S TIME FOR THE LAST OF THE SEMI-FINALS FOLKS! HERE WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE WHO RELY ON SPEED, SO BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT!" President Mic stormed up the crowd as the two friends walked in the arena.
"Let's do our best, Iida-kun." Izuku gave a bow.
"Of course, Midoriya." Tenya returned the gesture.
"START!"
At the signal, Tenya went into second gear as fast as he could as he ran at his opponent while Izuku braced himself. When they were close, the engine quirk user tried to grab the martial artist's shirt only to receive a punch right below the ribs. Izuku capitalized on his opponent's recovering form by going for a kick to his side, but it was narrowly dodged. Gathering some distance, Tenya tried again to gain the upper hand, but every time, the one with nine years of training had made it next to impossible. Deciding that it was all or nothing, Tenya used his trump card once again; Recipro Burst.
That was a mistake.
Running at his full speed would have been hard for many people to see him, let alone tag, but Izuku was a speedster as well. The speeding teen was stopped by a palm strike from an unmoving Izuku to his sternum. The pain was immense as his lungs forgot how to breathe through the coughing fits. Izuku put him in a more comfortable position while pinning him with little resistance. When his breath was under control once again, he managed to tap out. Letting go almost immediately and helping him to the stretcher, Izuku's worried look didn't go away. 'Call me a damn bleeding heart, this is my friend' he told himself.
"How did you do that?" finally, the engine quirk user had managed to work enough air through his system to ask the question he had on his mind.
"It's hard to turn when you move fast, so I used your momentum as the force in the strike. Hitting the sternum hard enough disrupts the lung's ability to work temporarily, so you felt like you were choking. Sorry, I was too harsh." the inheritor of One For All clasped his hands in apology.
"It's fine, but get first for me, will you? It'll soften the blow to my pride if I lost to the best." the two friends laughed at the half-joke, lightening the mood considerably. Now was just the fight between the oldest of the rivalries.
"WE REACH THE FINALE AT LAST! THE TOP STUDENT AMONGST THE FRESHMEN YEARS WILL BE DECIDED HERE! OUR FINAL MATCH, MIDORIYA VS BAKUGO! READY… START!" at the signal, Katsuki was charging in as fast as he could shouting his signature phase.
"DIE!" his explosions were no laughing matter, but Izuku stepped into the blond's guard. Grabbing his wrist, the martial artist threw his opponent over his shoulder. The explosive teen had coughed at the sudden loss of air. Throwing his palms outwards, he tried blowing up Izuku to find him retreating from the blast before it happened. Again and again, it was the same stalemate. Izuku could get a hit now and then, but Katsuki retaliated too quickly for anything else. The blonde was only getting glancing blows, but with his area of effect, it was enough.
"That's it! I'm gonna fucking finish this!" Katsuki bellowed before doing something Izuku hadn't seen before. The explosive teen shot himself into the air before his explosions trajectory caused him to spin.
"SCHNEIDER BOMB!" he used the spin to gain more energy before blowing half of the stage up. Izuku used his quirk to give him a burst of speed towards Katsuki. Throwing a blind roundhouse kick, the martial artist had surprisingly managed to hit his aerial opponent, though he didn't know where due to the smoke. The explosions had stopped, and when the dust settled, everyone knew why. The explosive blonde was clutching the inside of his thigh, where the kick had landed.
"D-due to Bakugo being unable to battle, Midoriya wins!" Midnight declared. neither contestant liked the outcome.
The rest of class 1-A was watching the award ceremony from the front row of the stadium. Izuku was trying to keep his calm, but everyone could tell that he never thought he'd make it that far by his nervousness.
"The hell's he…" Kyoka trailed off as she pointed at Katsuki.
"He's been like that since he recovered," Eijiro told her. The teen in question was restrained to a pillar of cement by multiple chains, up to and including a muzzle, as he thrashed around enough the audience could hear the metal rattling.
"Third place could have gone to Iida as well, but he had to leave due to family circumstances. Please understand!" Midnight informed the crowd. Ochaco was clearly upset of what happened to her friend's brother, and by the looks of it, so was the number one freshman.
"It is I!" came a booming voice that everyone knew. "And I am here with medal-"
"Our hero, All Might!" Midnight accidentally spoke over him. After a small pause, the #1 hero continued.
"Congratulations, Tokoyami my boy! You certainly are a tough customer!" All Might then spoke a few words to the third place winner that no one could hear. Turning to Katsuki, he reached for the muzzle until Izuku shook his head.
"He's furious enough that he's not going to watch his words, and we're on live TV; little kids are watching." the teen reasoned.
"Fair point…" the symbol of peace admitted. "Well, seeing as you loath second place, take this and bear it as a 'wound', so that you can strive to be better!" Trying to salvage what little face he could for the chained teen, he asked for Cementoss to give him a hand as he put the medal around the contestant's neck. Leaving Katsuki to his flailing, All Might turned to Izuku.
"Young Midoriya, congratulations for getting first in this tournament! Take this and continue to grow to new heights!" The first place winner bowed his head to accept the gold medal, but his face was troubled.
"I will, but I can't help that I feel I won by a lucky shot…" Izuku admitted. The teen's idol gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him his thoughts.
"A lucky hit it may have been, but sometimes, that's just what happens. If you still feel troubled, get to the point luck plays no role in your fights!" the green haired teen nodded in thanks before All Might turned around.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! THIS YEAR, IT'S THESE THREE, BUT TAKE HEED FOLKS; THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY EVERYONE IN THIS ARENA TO STAND HERE! THE SEEDS OF HEROES WILL SURELY SPROUT FROM THE SEEDS PLANTED ON THIS DAY! AND TO ADD TO THAT SENTIMENT, I'LL ADD ONE MORE THING! EVERYBODY WITH ME NOW; GREAT WORK!" At the end of the speech, there were many broken "plus ultra's" from the crowd at the hero's bad final words, which elicited a fair amount of disapproval. Up on the podium, Izuku knew that before the end of the day, Katsuki would give him hell for winning on chance.
"It was an impressive tirade." Anima was ruefully shaking his head at his disciple's understatement as they walked to the teen's house. The rant in question was fifteen minutes long and, from what he overheard with his enhanced hearing, was given the tenth place for the most colorful language Anima had borne witness to. Nothing compared to Oliver's hour-long oration about the fey being "acid-dropping toddlers", but it was definitely a solid ten.
"You have the patience of a saint. I'd have decked him by now if I was in your shoes, consequences be damned." the hero admitted. It was Izuku's turn to shake his head.
"Heroes don't pick fights," he chided.
"You're not a hero all the time; people will pick fights, and I'm a person. Deck 'im" the teen was laughing at his teacher's bad advice for a good minute, forcing them to stop. Gathering his composure, his face steeled as he decided to bring his worries to his mentor. Anima saw the change and acted accordingly; those eyes were for a hero, not a kid, and he treated his student like one when he saw them. The inheritor of One For All started the conversation in Italian.
"I, I hate to say this, but I think Todoroki-san's father is…" Izuku tried to find the words before he continued. "I think he's in an abusive household." even without projecting his aura, his rage was palatable to the point everyone stepped around the werewolf. In his first language, the two could talk in private while crowded with little worry of being overheard; answering in kind, the older of the two simply asked a question.
"I take it you want to give him an out, a safer place to rest?" if Izuku wanted his classmate to talk it out, he'd get the martial artist's wife, as it was her actual job to help. Both of them knew going after the #2 "hero" wasn't going to work unless the flame-user acted first, as he still had more publicity than the older hero. The only thing he could within reason was offering Shouto asylum within his abode. Izuku was mildly worried about his mentor saying no, but intellectually, he knew the chances were slim. His worries were unfounded, as his teacher said his next words.
"If he wants, Todoroki can stay at my place as long as he likes." Anima was a hero, and as he taught, it could be the little things that help the most. His house was more than big enough to comfortably house a dozen of people, so adding a third residence wouldn't do much; he couldn't think of a reason to say no to the request. Of course, it was entirely up to the scarred teen himself if he even wanted to, but the werewolf's doors were always open to those who needed it.
"Thank you," Izuku spoke softly, the steel in his face melting into a relieved smile.
Believe it or not, it was this last part that was giving me a headache more than anything. Thank you, Death of Snipers and Sang28 for your input, as you really did have the deciding factor for answering my question last authors note. Canon divergence is hard for this manga mainly because it's a school setting, and Izuku's skill can't change the curriculum the school has. Do not worry; I try to (and so far in successfully) read every review I get and take your words into consideration! question for you to decide; I'm thinking of writing an omake, but do you want it as an interlude, or do you want me to make it on another story?Till next time!