"This is a lot for one chap dude" -Me after creating the beat sheet for this chapter.
Buckle you seat belts and pull up your boot straps boys, girls, and non-binary folk. You'll want to set aside at least an hour to read this chapter that really should've been split into two.
"Hey! Kageyama, right? That was an amazing match, your stock will definitely be going up."
"Wai—"
"Well his moves aren't that flashy, so it'll be hard to sell any merchandise."
"I'm sorry wh—"
"Nonsense! The tournament hasn't started, there's still time to see what he can do."
'What?'
Ritsu had decided to spend his lunch at the many food stalls set up in front of the school rather than at the cafeteria. He wanted to get some time away from everyone and take in some fresh, non-competitive air.
He had completely forgotten about how UA's Management students were in charge of the stalls, just like how they were with the food being sold inside the stadium. He'd actually forgotten about the Management Department as a whole. A fatal error on his behalf.
Three Management students—one with round glasses and a tablet in his hands, another with red swirls on his cheeks, and the last with blonde hair stacked on his head like a well pampered version of Teruki's hair when he first met him—surrounded Ritsu. As in, they stood on all sides of him, blocking him from escape and making it very hard for him to eat his kebab.
They hurled questions at him and loudly analyzed his...everything, without care for his own numerous questions.
"He is a bit plain looking though, it'll be hard for agencies to market him," the one with blonde hair and long eyelashes said. "But less plain than that Midoriya guy."
'How is a Japanese boy with freckles, curly green hair, and green eyes plain?'
"Kageyama does glow..." The one with the glasses looked up from his tablet and to Ritsu. "You glow blue, correct?"
"Yea—" Wait. He didn't have to answer these guys! Ritsu set his sights toward the freshman entrance. "Actually, I have to go. It was nice talking with you...kinda, not really."
Ritsu pushed squeezed between the one with glasses and the one with swirls—the smaller of the three—and walked (read: ran) toward the stadium and into the hallway that wrapped around it.
He stopped to lean against the wall once he got inside and let himself breathe. The work ethic of the Management students was impressive but they simply had no tact. Pushing himself up, he finished the kebab but kept his mask off.
He didn't want to head to the cafeteria; it would be far too noisy for him to even think. So he instead walked along the empty hallways. Maybe walking would make his body think that everything was fine. That way, he'd be less prepared for his fight and lose.
Walking through the hallway, he already felt relaxed. It wrapped around the stadium, so an entrance popped up every now and again that led to the sunny arena; he mostly ignored them. Thoughts of his upcoming fight filled his head as he absentmindedly threw the kebab stick into a trash bin.
His opponent would no doubt move fast so that he couldn't grab a hold of them with his telekinesis. They would charge straight at him too. He figured that he could act overwhelmed. Sure, he was expected to be better prepared for a fight after the USJ incident, but maybe he could credit his panic to being overwhelmed by the crowd.
Yeah, he thought, and when they tried to force him out of bounds, he'd just go with it. It would be a somewhat risky act but it wasn't like anyone would be able to clearly see him so he could pull it off.
But then again, he had to consider the twist UA added to the tournament each year. Then again, it wasn't like it could affect him too much if he was going to get out in the first round.
He was too focused on his thoughts to notice the figure leaning in the wall. So, when Ritsu was about to walk past another entrance, a hand shot out, covered his mouth, and pushed him back.
The hand belonged to a blond with spiky hair and a scowl on his face.
Ritsu let out a muffled shout but that only made the Bakugou push harder. When he tried to claw at the hand, the boy put his free arm out across Ritsu's chest and over his forearms, forcing his back to the wall and effectively pinning both of his arms down.
He had half the mind to shout even louder before he heard voices coming from the entrance. They weren't moving closer or farther. It rather sounded like they were standing still and in the middle of a conversation.
"Y-you've got it all wrong!" Midoriya's nervous voice rang in the air. "Of course, that is what a secret love child would say...but that's not it!"
"You said 'that's not it'," Todoroki's calm voice replied. "In other words, you are connected to All Might in some way. Whatever way it might be, you're already aware of my dad. He's been the number two hero for forever. If you're connected to the number one, that just means I have all the more reason to beat you."
Ritsu looked to Bakugou who still had his hand over his mouth. The boy had his attention focused on the obviously private conversation between Midoriya and Todoroki.
'Is he eavesdropping?'
"My old man will do anything to advance his position," Todoroki continued. "He made a name for himself at the beginning of his career, but he was never enough to beat a legend like All Might. And since he knew this, he devised a plan."
"What are you talking about?" came Midoriya's hesitant voice. "What are you trying to tell me, Todoroki?"
"You've heard of quirk marriages, right?" He didn't wait for a response. "Choosing partners solely so that an enhanced quirk can be handed down. It's based on a bygone idea devoid of logic."
A pit formed in Ritsu's stomach as he began to guess what Todoroki was getting at.
"As a man of influence, he was easily able to integrate himself into my mother's family. Then, he took possession of her quirk. All he wanted to do was satisfy his hunger and raise a hero to beat All Might." A hatred took over Todoroki's voice. "Fuck him! I'll never be that shit's tool!"
Acid crawled up Ritsu's throat. What kind of hero—What kind of person would do that? This was all too much.
"In my memories, my mom is always crying. She told me that she hated my left side. That it was ugly." Ritsu pictured Endeavor and then the left side of Todoroki's face. The one red hair, a blue eye, and a nasty scar. "And then she dumped boiling water on me."
Okay. This was far too much. He shouldn't be listening to this. Ritsu looked at Bakugou's taut face. They shouldn't be listening to this.
As panic came in through the front door, reasoning threw itself out the window. He couldn't rightfully punch the blond with his arms held down, but he didn't think to kick the boy in the shins with his free legs. He didn't even think to use his telekinesis. All he knew was that they had to leave, now.
He licked Bakugou's hand.
The other boy yanked his arm back like he'd been electrocuted. He let out a disgusted "Augh!" before realizing his mistake and grabbing onto Ritsu. He dragged him back to the closest empty entrance and shoved him into it before either Todoroki or Midoriya could check. Ritsu doubted that they even heard. The last thing he was able to hear of their very private conversation was, "I'll become number one without using his fire. This is my total disavowal of him."
They stood in front of separate walls across from each other. Bakugou looked angry but Ritsu knew that he couldn't be angrier than him.
"What was that?! Were you eavesdropping?!" Ritsu hissed.
"Why the fuck do you care?!" Bakugou hissed back.
"Why do I—Are you insane? That was a total invasion of privacy!" Ritsu couldn't believe that Bakugou had the nerve to sound mad.
"Get off my dick! You shouldn't've come if you had a problem!"
"I shouldn't have come? You're the one who held me there!" Ritsu had to fight to keep his voice down. He took one step forward and Bakugou took one backward. "Do you think that was some sort of show? A movie you could just come to watch?"
"No, I—!" Bakugou started before raising his shoulders up defensively. "I needed to get to know my competition, okay?!"
"By listening to Todoroki recount childhood trauma?!"
"That wasn't my inten—" He stopped and Ritsu almost thought that he could see a flash of remorse come across his face. Only for it to disappear in the next instant. "At least I know that they're trying! What about you?!"
"What about me?!" Was he really trying to turn this onto Ritsu?
"You think I'm blind, Porcupine?! You're half-assing everything!" Bakugou was louder now. This time he stepped forward and Ritsu stepped back. "You were able to take out a group of villains at the USJ by yourself! And now, you're getting something as pathetic as 18th place!"
Ritsu bristled. Bakugou was paying attention to him? "You heard what that blond said. Sorry—" he wasn't sorry—"we can't all go rushing in, chasing after first in everything like some tunnel visioned dog!"
"You only got one fucking headband in the cavalry battle!" Bakugou shouted. He jabbed a finger into Ritsu's chest, pushing his back to the wall. "You had no intent! You didn't even try to grab all of Icy Hot's headbands! Snagging the ten million was pure—"
Jab.
"—dumbfucking—"
Jab.
"—luck!"
Jab.
Ritsu tensed up, his body even more prepared for a fight now. He stared into Bakugou's eyes and Bakugou glared back. His red eyes screamed, "Explain yourself!" and he didn't let up in the slightest.
Ritsu's blood was pumping too fast. His breath was shallow. His mind was racing everywhere and nowhere. He stayed silent.
"Nothing to say, huh?" Bakugou pushed away from him in the same manner as when they ran into each other months ago, before even getting into UA. "You better not give me any bullshit during the tournament."
He walked back into the hallway.
Ritsu stayed against the wall, his chest heaving. It felt as though he just got into a fight rather than a whisper-shouting match. This was far from the non-competitive air he'd been looking for. How did he even end up here?
He retraced the events that led him to where he was. First he got bombarded by management students when he was just trying to eat. Then he ran into his classmate eavesdropping on his other classmates and he's the one meant to feel bad. Anger built back up in him.
Ritsu raced out the entrance way and looked into the hallway. The voices of Midoriya and Todoroki were long gone, but they weren't what he was looking for.
He turned the other way and found Bakugou's back to him as he walked down the hallway.
Ritsu yelled, "You don't get to walk away like you have the moral high ground Bakugou! Like you've done nothing wrong!"
Bakugou didn't even have the decency to turn around when he flipped him off.
Ritsu stared at the offending finger and dully wondered if infiltrating the office of one of the top heroes was giving Teruki an easier time than participating in an otherworldly highschool festival.
The van was getting attacked.
Toga was already climbing out her window, brandishing multiple knives at two of the heroes and laughing. The driver was going well over the speed limit, trying to shake off the two cars on either side of him. Teruki was leaning out his own window, hand ablaze and getting ready to create a wall of fire to separate a car from his side of the van.
A powerful current of water blasts him in the face.
Great.
The car ride had been going...fine. Sure, nobody was talking, the air was tense, Teruki was pretty sure that he saw Toga drinking the doctor's blood, and he probably just witnessed a murder, but at least they weren't being attacked.
Then, two cars came up besides the van, which wasn't too much to worry about, but then they never moved. When they constantly matched the driver's speed and wouldn't allow him to turn into another lane, Teruki grew weary. When they began to force the driver to make turns until he reached an empty road, Teruki knew that a fight was coming.
There were four heroes in total, two in each car. They were apparently after the driver—who so helpfully informed his passengers that he'd done a string of robberies in the area—and apparently couldn't chase after him some other day.
The hero who had sent water up his nose was a man in a blue suit with fins attached to his head like a mohawk. While he never did infiltrate his office, Teruki recognised him as the hero Manual. He knew that his water quirk and the jugs of water inside of his car would be a problem for his pyrokinesis.
He ducked back into the van, turned away from the window, tore off the red bandana from his face, and coughed out water.
"Are you okay?" Dr. Ikande, who had to be told to "Stay. In. The. Van" firmly hit his back.
Teruki rubbed his wet mouth and wrung out the bandana. "I'll be fine doctor. Don't come out, okay?"
"Now I feel like the child." She somehow found it in her to laugh, "I'm 25, dang it!"
He chuckled with her through his retied bandana as he wrung out his black beanie. Maybe he could convince himself that he wasn't in the middle of a high speed chase with a serial robber, a man dressed like a fish, and a crazy girl with throwing knives who was about to fall out the window of a car going 90.
'Wait what?'
Things began to slow down, like when you trip and fall and your brain tries to take in all the information it can in half a second. Dr. Ikande raised her eyebrows before following his line of sight to Toga. Teruki began reaching for her with air whips but hesitated. Toga let out a yelp as more and more of her body left the car.
Then, as though switching between key frames, Dr. Ikande's hand wrapped around Toga's ankle and yanked her back into the car. They fell back, Toga on top of the doctor, and their combined weight crashing into Teruki. He hardly even registered the extra pressure as he tried to grasp what just happened.
That was the third time Dr. Ikande moved that fast. First she took out the bouncers. Then she punched the driver. Now she was able to grab onto Toga before the girl could go tumbling to an untimely death. Each time, the doctor moved too fast for Teruki to see. Too fast for it to even be classified as moving.
"Chineke mee!" Dr. Ikande cursed in a language Teruki couldn't make heads or tails of. He watched as the doctor held Toga close to her chest. She pulled the girl back and grabbed her face. "Are you okay?"
'Super speed?'
"Yeah!" Toga replied, far too cheerily for someone who just almost died.
No. He would've seen it if it was just super speed. It had to be something faster like—
'Teleportation!'
It all made sense! Teruki would've laughed in victory if one of the pursuing cars didn't just ram into the side of the van.
"Bastards!" the driver cursed as he rammed the van back.
Teruki shook out his damp beanie and got ready to go back to the window. As he pulled the beanie back on, his hands brushed the sides of his hair. His coarse hair.
He slowly looked to the doctor as she scolded Toga.
'Who are you?'
At the end of lunch they were all brought back to the arena. The winning teams, along with Midoriya's and Todoroki's, stood closest to the stage, excited and nervous to hear about the next event.
Ritsu made it a point to stand as far away from Bakugou as possible. He was still mad about what had happened and couldn't even begin to guess how he would react if he had to talk with the blond again. All he wanted to do was relax and forget about Todoroki's terrible tale and the scar seared into his skin.
"We spent a lot of time considering which team will go onto fourth place," Midnight began, skipping any pleasantries. "You guys really didn't make it easy, but we've decided which team will be proceeding to the finals!"
Midoriya was practically shaking to his left, anxiety no doubt filling him. Ritsu looked back to Uraraka, who was dressed as a cheerleader with the other girls for some reason, and she looked just as nervous.
"Um, excuse me," a voice spoke up from the back of the crowd, breaking the suspense. It was Ojiro, looking down with his hand raised. "I...I don't want to participate."
"OJIRO! WHY?" Present Mic voiced the question everybody was thinking. "YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE MANY CHANCES TO SHOW OFF YOUR SKILLS IN FRONT OF PROFESSIONAL HEROES!"
"I know walking away from an opportunity like this would be stupid, but—" he clenched his fist—"Everyone here gave it their best to get this far. I truly can't say that I've done the same."
Well not everyone gave their best.
In that moment of guilt, Ritsu fancied the idea of forfeiting too, but decided against it. It would be too strange of a decision after winning his team first place. Especially Bakugou was watching him.
"You don't need to do that!" Hagakure exclaimed. "There's nothing wrong with not giving your best until the end!"
"Yeah!" Ashido pointed to herself. "If you say it like that, aren't most of us like you?"
Ojiro rubbed the corners of his eyes. "No, it's not like that! I didn't want it to be that way..."
'Oh.'
Ojiro's 'performance' came back to Ritsu's mind. The one where he acted as nothing more than a chair, hauling Shinsou around as the other boy stole the headbands of other teams.
Another boy, short with neatly combed light blue hair raised his voice. "I would also like to resign!" He had also been on Shinsou's team. "To win without doing anything... Doesn't that go against the spirit of the Sports Festival?"
Ritsu scanned the group of students for Shinsou. When he saw him, he found that he was just staring blankly ahead, as though the things going on around him didn't even matter. Two of his teammates just forfeited a thrice in a lifetime opportunity. Didn't he care?
These thoughts did nothing to quell Ritsu's already soured mood.
"It seems as though there's some weird revolt." For once, Present Mic wasn't shouting.
"But the final decision is still Midnight's," Aizawa added.
"What innocent words." Midnight's voice was cold as she looked down on the crowd of students. However, Ritsu could've sworn there was a smile on her face. "I LIKED THEM!" She cheered, dramatically waving her whip. "I accept Shouda and Ojiro's resignations!"
With two of the previous participants gone, the gathered students looked among each other, hopeful. Who would be taking their places?
"That stole a bit of my thunder," Midnight sulked but quickly brightened up. "But that's quite alright! The team that placed fourth is..."
She paused, letting anticipation build in the crowd. Midoriya surely didn't seem to appreciate it based on how sweaty he was. He looked as though the wait would quite literally kill him.
"TEAM TODOROKI!"
Ritsu already began making his way to Midoriya's side, knowing that the boy would be crushed. He placed a hand on the boy's trembling shoulder. Midoriya wiped roughly at his watery eyes but he didn't cry.
"It was a tough decision, but we ultimately recognized that Team Todoroki was able to both steal headbands and keep their points from getting stolen for almost the entire cavalry battle."
Uraraka came up on Midoriya's other side and rubbed circles on his back.
"Thanks you guys," the boy sniffled. He then looked to Iida and gave him a weak smile. "Congrat—"
"However..."
Midnight's words drew all their attention back to her.
"Our next event requires 16 participants and, with the withdrawal of Ojiro and Shouda as well as the three person team that placed first, we still have three more openings!" Midnight smiled wide and pointed a red fingernail right at Midoriya. Ritsu could feel the boy practically vibrate. "Team Midoriya! Choose three of your members to go onto the final round: a one on one tournament!"
Midoriya cried this time.
Uraraka hugged him and Tokoyami and the pink haired girl—Hatsume—joined them to discuss who would be going on to the tournament. Hatsume reluctantly admitted that the cavalry battle was a good enough showcasing of her 'babies' and, in the end, it was decided that the three hero students would go on.
The brackets for the tournament were blasted up onto the screen. Ritsu noted that he was up against Kaminari as he removed Midoriya's tears from his clothes with telekinesis. The boy had to have the largest tear ducts in any world.
Uraraka was up against Bakugou. A match up that seemed to honestly frighten her. Ritsu wanted to tell her that she'd do great and to even get a few good hits on the blond, but his attention was pulled elsewhere when he noticed Ojiro covering Midoriya's mouth with his tail.
"Don't respond to his provocations, Midoriya."
Midoriya was up against Shinsou. If Shinsou's amused face was anything to go by, he most likely tried to brainwash the freckled boy.
'He's already getting ready to fight?'
Recreational events began afterwards. The girls actually cheered for the students participating in a weird game that involved rolling around a bunch of giant balls. Midoriya and Ojiro left the arena, talking quietly with each other and a good number of the final event participants followed them in order to prepare for their own fights.
Ritsu didn't want to join in on the recreational events and decided against wandering around after what happened last time. So instead, he made his way over to the stadium seats closest to the arena, which were reserved for the students, and waited for the tournament to start.
About 30 minutes later, the students filed out of the arena and one of the teachers, Cementoss, used his quirk to craft a rectangular stage with UA's logo engraved into it and even four olympic-esque pyres burning at the corners. The students joined Ritsu in the stands and Uraraka sat down next to him with Iida to her left. Midoriya, set to fight first, wasn't with them.
—-—
Midoriya vs Shinsou
Todoroki vs Sero
Ashido vs Asui
Iida vs Shouji
Kageyama vs Kaminari
Bakugou vs Uraraka
Kirishima vs Aoyama
Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu
—-—
"THE ONE ON ONE BATTLES HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED! ARE YOU GUYS READY?"
The crowd broke into thunderous cheers. Ritsu could practically feel the excitement in the air as the students, even those not competing, leaned in closer to the action.
"WILL, ABILITY, AND RESISTANCE WILL BE PUT TO THE TEST! ONLY ONE OF OUR COMPETITORS WILL BE ABLE TO CLAIM VICTORY!"
When Midorya and Shinsou entered the stage, it almost looked like the fires grew. Uraraka began to shake next to Ritsu and Iida's glasses seemed to shine.
"OUR FIRST FIGHT! WITH A WEIRD LOOK ON HIS FACE AND HAILING FROM CLASS A, WE HAVE MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Midoriya looked like a nervous wreck from where Ritsu was sitting. He couldn't see his face but he could see that his first was shaking. Despite this, the boy kept his attention forward, locked onto his opponent.
"STANDING ALONE IN A TOURNAMENT AGAINST THE HERO STUDENTS OF CLASS A! FROM CLASS C, WE HAVE SHINSOU HITOSHI!"
Shinsou, looking completely tired, almost seemed to be the exact opposite of Midoriya. But he too kept his attention locked onto Midoriya, and it reminded Ritsu of his declaration to take one of their spots in the hero course.
"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! IF YOUR OPPONENT LEAVES THE RING, CAN'T MOVE ANYMORE, OR SAYS 'I GIVE UP', THE VICTORY IS YOURS!" He then added, "AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT OVERDOING YOURSELF! RECOVERY GIRL IS READY TO HEAL ANY AND ALL INJURIES! SO GIVE IT YOUR ALL!"
'That sounds extremely dangerous.'
Present Mic went back to getting the crowd riled up but Ritsu couldn't pay attention to him. His attention was drawn instead to the stage where Shinsou was talking to Midoriya. While Ritsu had no idea what he was saying, he definitely knew what tall boy was trying to do.
Midoriya didn't respond, most likely aware of Shinsou's quirk after talking to Ojiro. Ritsu, however, saw that his shoulders were hunching with as he grew increasingly agitated by his opponent's words.
"READY..."
Shinsou kept on talking.
"START!"
He said one last thing and Ritsu could literally see the moment Midoriya snapped.
The green haired boy charged toward Shinsou, shouting, "What did you say!?"
Then he froze and Shinsou smiled that same smile Ritsu was getting all too familiar with.
"Shit!" Ojiro cursed from his spot next to Satou. "Midoriya, didn't I warn you?!"
"HE'S STOPPED MOVING!" Present Mic loudly voiced the question almost everyone had, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"
Ritsu felt as though the answer was simple. Shinsou goaded Midoriya into responding and it worked. Not even a minute into the match and Shinsou was going to win.
The boy's efficient and he thinks things through and even though he's selfish, Ritsu struggled to understand why he wasn't already in the hero course.
"It must be nice to be so blessed, Midoriya," Shinsou spoke loud enough for Ritsu to hear. "Now about-face and walk out of bounds."
Midoriya spun on his heels and began to slowly walk off the stage. Uraraka was shouting, asking what in the world he was doing, but it was useless. The blank look Midoriya had on his face already showed that he was too far gone.
"Although I can't exactly expect you to understand where I'm coming from." Midoriya kept on moving while Shinsou talked. "But even with a quirk like mine, I've still got dreams."
As Midoriya inched closer and closer to the edge, a weight settled in Ritsu's gut. He still remembered how the other boy looked when he told Ritsu that he was going to become a hero in Recovery Girl's office. It didn't sit right with him to see Midoriya out so soon into the tournament.
Uraraka and Iida continued to shout at Midoriya as he walked. Ritsu was almost ready to look away but then the boy stopped. And, for a second, Ritsu could've sworn that he saw eight—maybe even nine—spirits surround Midoriya.
"What the—?"
A large gust of wind hit Ritsu's face and ruffled his clothes. His eyes began to water at the dryness and he had to furiously blink the tears away as he tried to understand what just happened.
Midoriya stood right at the edge of the boundary. His chest heaving and two of his fingers were a gross red color.
Ritsu blinked one more time, to ensure that he wasn't seeing things. Had that been the cause? Only two measly fingers created enough wind to reach the stands?
"How?" Shinsou's calm facade cracked. "You shouldn't be able to move!"
Midoriya slapped his hand over his mouth and turned to look at Shinsou. Ritsu watched as he shook his head as though he were forcefully clearing it. He completely faced Shinsou again and covered up his injured hand with his other one.
Shinsou took a half step back before stopping and relaxing. When he smiled again, it was almost as though he were trying to paint over his previous moment of doubt.
"So you've literally got that much power in your little finger! Count me jealous!" Midoriya didn't reply. Rather, he began to make his way toward the other boy. "There's no gateway to success here for me, not with my quirk! Not that someone as blessed as you would understand!"
He kept on going on about blessings and not understanding.
"No, people like you born with perfect quirks would never understand!"
His calm facade shattered at the same time Midoriya rammed into him. Ritsu had never seen him look so angry, so frustrated.
When Midoriya started pushing him backwards and out of bounds, Shinsou punched him. "Say something, dammit!"
Midoriya kept his grip and said nothing.
"Trying to push me out? Don't be stupid!" Shinsou took a step back, turning his body, and Midoriya lost his grip and stumbled forward from the momentum. He then shoved his hand into Midoriya's face, pushing him toward the boundary. "Get out of here!"
Midoriya grabbed the wrist of the outstretched arm and shoved his own hand into Shinsou's chest. Then, in one feat of strength, he flipped the taller boy over his shoulder and sent him crashing into the ground; Shinsou's shoes just barely went over the boundary.
"Shinsou's out!" Midnight called, extending her arm toward Midoriya. "Midoriya Izuku advances to round 2!"
Shinsou stayed on his back, staring, no—Ritsu squinted—glaring at the sky.
"YEAH! BIT OF A NO-FRILLS BATTLE TO START THE TOURNAMENT OFF, BUT EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS AND GIVE THESE TWO A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!" Present Mic shouted to the quiet stadium. "YOU FOUGHT WELL, BOYS!"
As the crowd began to clap, the two boys made their way to the center of the ring to face each other. They didn't truly look at each other though, instead they looked down to the ground. Shinsou then turned away from Midoriya seemingly responding to something the other boy said.
Ritsu recounted the fight while the purple haired boy made his way off the stage. It was a simple, un-flashy one, yet it triggered so much in him. What was with the spirits and why did they all surround Midoriya? Why did Midoriya's victory—what Ritsu wanted—not remove the weight in his gut?
"You were so cool, Shinsou!" A voice from across the stadium broke his thoughts. It was another student. She was leaning forward and waving down at Shinsou.
Another boy joined her. "We were on the edge of our seats, dude! For real!"
And another. "You gave the kid who placed first in the obstacle race a real run for his money!"
And another. "You're like the hope for all of us Gen Ed kids!"
Shinsou stopped in his tracks to stare up at them. They continued to shout words of praise and Ritsu could even see pros talking amongst themselves while sneaking glances at the boy.
He didn't exactly know why, but Ritsu knew that he had to listen to what Shinsou would say next. He was too far away to clearly hear anything the boy might say, so he leaned forward, cancelled out the clapping, the talking, and the shouting and focused.
"...these results, I can still come under review to be placed in the Heroics Department. And remember this," Shinsou was talking to Midoriya, "even if not now, I'm going to qualify for Heroics, enter your department, and show you all up as a fantastic fucking hero."
Ah, that was what the weight in his stomach was. Ritsu plopped back into his seat. Knowing what it was did nothing to alleviate it. He just felt worse. How could he not? He was an imposter in a foreign world who came in and stole the place of some hero hopeful.
It wasn't the first time Ritsu had thought about this. He came into this mission and entered the Heroics Department knowing that he didn't belong, but he'd hardly thought of whose spot he had taken. He didn't care about it. How could he when he was trying to save two worlds?
But now he's thinking about it again. Who was the kid who had dreams of becoming a hero only for them to be dashed when they got 41st in the entrance exam? It had to be one of the students in the crowd that had surrounded the door of 1-A. Someone who was at the Sports Festival, taking another shot at the chance to become a hero. He couldn't help but wonder who would take his place when he was gone.
Ritsu watched as Shinsou's figure slowly began to disappear through the entrance.
He realized that it was selfish that he only cared now that he'd gotten to know one of them. Even more selfish that he wanted the one he knew to be the one to take his place. But he didn't care.
Shinsou probably hadn't gotten 41st place in the entrance exam, or even 42nd, but he'd been able to get this far. His words still rattled in Ritsu's head, and, as though he were brainwashed, they made him get up out of his seat and make his way out of the stands.
Uraraka let out a yelp as he rushed past. "Woah, Kageyama! What are you doing?"
Something very stupid.
"You were so cool, Shinsou!"
"You gave the kid who placed first in the obstacle race a real run for his money!"
"You're like the hope for all of us Gen Ed kids!"
Never in his life would he have guessed that people would cheer for him. With the quirk he had been handed, a quirk 'fit for a villain', there was simply no way. Hitoshi was used to whispers behind his back when his classmates thought he couldn't hear. Hesitation from even his teachers to talk to him because they were scared that a kid would brainwash them. Middle school him never would have imagined cheers, of all things, replacing loud whispers and silence. It was so different. So impossibly different.
He slowly walked through the circular hallway of the stadium, rubbing his aching back. It baffled him that someone as small looking as Midoriya was able to throw him over his shoulder. That's probably just what the Heroics course does to its students; it makes them strong. As Present Mic introduced the next fight, Hitoshi looked to his own thin arms and clenched his fists. He'll get stronger and he'll take one of their places.
Footsteps resounding in the empty hallway caught his attention. They were loud and quick, clearly moving with a destination in mind. He didn't expect them to stop when they saw him. He also didn't expect them to belong to Kageyama.
The boy's chest was only slightly heaving, which pissed Hitoshi off for some reason. He had come running from the stands on the other side of the stadium, why wasn't he gasping for air or leaning against the wall for purchase? Even more evidence of the training hero students get.
Kageyama stared at him, doubt clear on his face. Hitoshi had no intention of alleviating it. He wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with him. To think that he actually thought that he was wrong about the boy after the obstacle race, but what he so ignorantly said during the cavalry battle proved his initial impression of him to be right.
Kageyama embodied so much of what Hitoshi hated about society.
"Uhh," Kageyama was off to a terrible start, "...you did good out there."
Hitoshi didn't bother quieting his loud scoff. The way that Kageyama cringed at the same time showed that he knew how ridiculous he sounded. What nonsense.
"You ran all the way here just to say that? About a fight that didn't even last five minutes?" He couldn't hide his bitterness.
"I'm not wrong," Kageyama said, straightening up like his word was fact. "Midoriya just had the advantage because he knew about your quirk beforehand."
"And because he has hero training. And because his quirk is so devastatingly strong," Hitoshi quickly shot back. How ignorant could one person be? "That monkey telling him about my quirk was just extra padding."
"Don't call Ojiro that." A frown fell onto Kageyama's face.
"Well now I have a name to put to the face. That doesn't change anything." Hitoshi kept his cool. So much was out of his control in his life but he had his emotions. He still had the ability to make a taunting smile and give others just a taste of what he constantly felt. He gave Kageyama the same smile as he asked, "Actually, you're close with Midoriya, right? I saw him trying to team up with you during the cavalry battle. He looked really hurt when you turned him down. Wouldn't it hurt him even more to know that his own friend didn't give him information about his opponent before his first fight?"
"No. Why would I do that to you?"
That response absolutely floored Hitoshi. He had said it so simply. Not 'Midoriya needs a proper challenge to improve' but 'Why would I do that to you?' Him. Hitoshi. Like they were best friends and breaking each other's 'trust' was something unthinkable. Like he somehow cared. The way that it so quickly shut him up was hilarious enough to make him laugh.
"Do you even know what you sound like? Are we lovers?" he forced out through a loud laugh. It only grew hysteric as he watched Kageyama's confused face and wondered how someone could be so stupid.
"I'm not stupid," Kageyama declared as though Hitoshi had voiced his thoughts. He knew that he hadn't; it was getting hard to breathe through his laughter, much less speak. "You deserved a chance to keep all your cards to yourself. Telling him wouldn't have been fair."
Hitoshi finally, finally, stopped laughing. There was only so much ignorance that he could take.
"Fair? How could you possibly think of such an outdated idea like that in this day and age?" He moved toward the shorter boy. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be painted as a villain by the time you're four? You couldn't even begin to fathom the vile things said to me in retaliation to nothing. How confused I was when I was being told that my quirk would make me a perfect villain when all I wanted to be was a hero."
He wanted to hysterically and breathlessly laugh again but he didn't. He'll stay in control.
"And then I meet you," he hissed. "A Heroics student with a quirk that can hold people against their will, throw them into walls, and force their hands away from shoulders. It's so familiar that it hurts, Kageyama.
"Your quirk can hurt. Force people to do things. It can be used for evil. Every quirk can be used for evil. So why me? How can our quirks be so similar yet treated so differently? And how can you be so impossibly ignorant about everything that you call me the hypocrite? How can you be so stupi—"
"I'm not stupid!" Kageyama repeated, cutting him off. His angry eyes stared directly up into Hitoshi's, but he got the feeling that the anger wasn't directed toward him. "And I think they're wrong!"
"You do?" Hitoshi softly asked, the fire leaving him. He truly couldn't think of anything else to say. At least his classmates were familiar with him, so their faith in him made sense. Kageyama wasn't his classmate and their very short history together consisted more of fighting than anything remotely friendly, so how could he so boldly say something like that?
"A lot of things about life aren't fair—I know." With the way he said it, Hitoshi was inclined to believe that, in some way, Kageyama truly did know. "I'm sorry that I called you a hypocrite and for every evil thing people have said about you. I was wrong and they were wrong. You're going to be an amazing hero, Shinsou."
Again. There he goes, making bold declarations of what he decreed as fact. Despite how much Hitoshi hated the 'if I say so then it is so' nature that just had to belong to every hero student, Kageyama's words seemed to lift weight off of his shoulders. He could even breathe easier with just the feeling of someone else believing in him.
He threw his head back and laughed. Honestly, it came off as more of a chuckle than a laugh but he liked it. "You know that means taking one of your classmates' seats. Maybe even yours." Threatening the boy's spot again was risky, but he couldn't help but push at least one button.
However, Kageyama didn't get on the defensive like last time. He actually let out a far more nervous chuckle of his own and peaked a glance behind him. For a moment, it looked as though he wanted to run.
"That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about," he slowly started. He seemed to second guess himself a thousand times within a single second and Hitoshi got the sense that what he was about to say would be stu—not thought through. He finally took one deep breath, squared his shoulders, and looked forward. "I'm not going to be here for long. When I'm gone, I want you to take my place."
"What?" Hitoshi asked dumbly because he couldn't, maybe even refused to, fathom what Kageyama just said. There was no way the boy who had told him that he had the tightest grip on his seat was the same boy standing before him and offering up that same seat in the number one hero course in Japan.
The burst of courage Kageyama had dissipated and he glanced over his shoulder again. He shakily laughed. "Yeah, my family moves a lot so it's only a matter of time before we leave again." He then added, almost like a rushed afterthought, "That's actually why I want to hold onto my seat! I know that I won't have it forever and want to enjoy it while I do."
"And you want me to take it when you're gone?"
Kageyama looked him dead in the eyes and nodded. "I do." He said it so confidently that Hitoshi had no other choice but to accept. It would be ridiculous of him not to.
"Great." The shorter boy said as his eyes crinkled, hinting at a smile behind his mask. Hitoshi gave him a small one back. "I better go get ready for my match. It was nice talking to you."
Hitoshi watched as Kageyama walked back in the direction he came from. He himself made his way to the next entrance and came out just in time to see a white and red haired boy—Todoroki—melting an absolutely giant spike of jagged ice from the stage. He didn't bother looking at the spectacle for long, too enraptured with the mental task of trying to wrap his head around Kageyama.
Fun and irritating, that's what he was. Not to mention a little ignorant—not stupid—but he had heart. Apparently enough of it to care about a boy he'd mostly fought with and even offer up his prized seat. Something which Hitoshi still couldn't fully understand.
UA seemed to be a hub for weird people. From a boy who screams about killing everyone being in the Heroics Department to a freckled kid whose quirk breaks his bones. Out of all of them, Kageyama had to be the weirdest.
"That was fun!"
The van sped down the road, backlit by flames and indignant shouts. Teruki had been able to successfully create a wall of fire to block off his car. Toga, after a stern warning from the doctor to not "lean so гребаный far out the window", had managed to throw one of her knives into the shoulder of the driver if the pained screams were anything to go off of. She then made two more knives pierce two tires of the already decelerating car, slowing it down even more.
"Ha ha! No it wasn't." Dr. Ikande reached out for Toga's face and Teruki let out a snort as she lightly shook the girl's head. "Is there a brain in here? Think about your safety, kid!" She then whipped around to look at Teruki, hands ready to grab him in the same manner.
"Can I touch you?"
He blinked owlishly at her. Did he want her to touch him? Did he trust her to touch him? He saw the gentle way she handled Toga, so he wasn't worried about getting hurt. But could he couldn't just forget that she's involved with—maybe even directly behind—the portals helping madmen take over two worlds.
He shook his head and she brought her hands down. She didn't, however, back away from him. She gave him the same flustered and concerned look she gave Toga.
"Don't think that just because you didn't almost fall out a window that you're exempt from the same message. You were throwing fire around for goodness sake!" She took a deep breath and pinched her nose. "At least tell me that you haven't attacked your classmates before."
His own classmates? Well he had to show that he was tough in order to become the shadow leader of his school's gang, but that meant proving that others couldn't attack him rather than that he could attack others. Other people? Yeah. He still vividly remembered the day that he attacked Salt High School's Body Improvement Club and ended up fighting Kageyama. It didn't go well.
"You have to think about it?" The doctor exclaimed, snapping Teruki out of his thoughts. "Lord give me strength. You guys really do a lot of dangerous stuff." She pointed a finger at Toga, "Especially you!"
Toga laughed and Teruki couldn't help but join her.
He was 16 in an entirely different world, trying to go up against two super-powered criminal organizations all with the help of a 15 year old. Dangerous stuff? She had no idea.
Oh.
No.
This wasn't fair.
Out of all the possible possibilities, this was simply the most unjust.
The fight had started out fine. Present Mic introduced them to the cheering crowd and began the fight. Like Ritsu had expected, Kaminari went straight on the offensive. He was so ready to let the boy shock him and push him out of the ring.
But no. Only one of those things happened. Kaminari released a large and painful voltage of electricity that served to still Ritsu for what should have been long enough for the blond to run and knock him out of bounds, but it backfired horribly and now they were...here.
On one side of the stage stood Ritsu. Clothes a bit burnt but ultimately alright. He'd already regained control of his body and was using that control to form a look of absolute horror.
On the other side of the stage stood Kaminari. Drool leaking out of a stupid smile on his face and arms extending two thumbs up, forward and back. His dumb laughter rung like a taunt in Ritsu's ears.
You think you can get out of this that easily?
Kaminari had short-circuited.
The previously roaring audience was dead silent. They waited sympathetically for the obvious conclusion.
Curse Daguchi's aunt.
This really wasn't fair.
Ritsu reluctantly lifted up his hand and Kaminari lit up with a blue glow that he subsequently began to giggle at. The giggling boy floated through the air and landed softly out of bounds.
"V-VICTORY FOR KAGEYAMA! ...Although it wasn't much of a fight."
Polite clapping broke out as Kaminari was carried away on a stretcher by two robot medics and Ritsu made his way out of the arena. He took his place in the stands surrounded by empty seats. Uraraka was in the waiting room and Midoriya and Iida had followed her not too long after, ready to help her strategize. Ritsu could only hope that they had enough time to plan despite his incredibly short fight.
"This next fight is that one," Tsu said from behind him. "This is going to be upsetting."
Jirou, sitting next to Tsu, hugged herself. "I think I might look away the whole time."
Midoriya and Iida reappeared, stopping Ritsu fully forming any thoughts about what the two girls said.
"How did it go?" he asked once they settled down.
"Uraraka didn't want any of my advice," Midoriya admitted. "She wanted to challenge herself and figure it out on her own."
"It was really admirable of her. I'm happy to see her trying to improve herself," Iida added with a small smile. "But our conversation was cut short. Kageyama, what happened?"
Ritsu crumpled a bit at the reminder that he was still in the game. "Kaminari fried his brain so the 'fight' was really easy from there."
"Well that's good!" Midoriya exclaimed and Ritsu had a hard time believing so. "Oh, and Uraraka said that you better be ready to face her when you guys fight." The boy then sent a worried glance to the arena where Uraraka and her opponent, Bakugou, were entering.
Ritsu couldn't see what was going on in Midoriya's mind but he knew that it had to be similar to what many of them were thinking. He couldn't deny that he too was worried about Uraraka. Bakugou was a irate person but he was a good fighter. The way he fought the smoke villain at the USJ was enough proof for Ritsu to know that. He couldn't confidently say that he expected Uraraka to wi—
"My dream is to become a hero, make lots of money, and give my parents the life they deserve!"
Ritsu loudly smacked himself in the face. How could he have such thoughts when Uraraka had already so proudly displayed her conviction to become a hero?
Midoriya looked at him in surprise and Ritsu smacked him too.
"Kageyama!" Iida gasped. "What are you—"
"Let's all cheer Uraraka on," Ritsu cut him off with a smile that felt a lot like the one Uraraka had when she declared that she was 'gonna go for it!'
Midoriya, holding the side of his face, smiled back at him and the worry from earlier left his face. "Alright."
Iida nodded with a smile of his own and all three of them faced the upcoming match up. Whatever happened, Ritsu knew that Uraraka would fight amazingly.
"THE BOY WHO'S BEEN SOMEWHAT FAMOUS SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL! WITH A FACE OF SOMEONE WHO DEFINITELY ISN'T ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW, BAKUGOU KATSUKI FROM THE HEROICS DEPARTMENT! VERSUS..."
The energy from the crowd was chaotic as they waited for the fight to start.
"THE KID I'LL BE ROOTING FOR! URARAKA OCHAKO, ALSO FROM THE HEROICS DEPARTMENT!"
Ritsu cheered loudly along with Midoriya and Iida, which startled their classmates. He was startled too to be honest. He'd never been so loud in his life.
"START!"
He cheered as Uraraka dashed for Bakugou, aiming to touch him and use her quirk to send him into the air. When Bakugou set off a large explosion right in front of her face, he watched closely to see when she would reemerge from the smoke. And when she used all of the smoke to her advantage by making her PE shirt a decoy and Bakugou fell for it, Ritsu cheered even louder.
The fight was explosive and not in the way one would think. Uraraka still hadn't been able to touch her opponent, which was fine because she was still fighting. But then, a so-called hero opened his big mouth to loudly criticize Bakugou for being 'toying' with her. When the crowd began to join the hero in booing him, Ritsu had half the mind to boo at them back. How could they so openly disrespect Uraraka like that?
"GO FOR IT URARAKA!" he shouted instead, making sure he was louder than the booing crowd. He wanted to give her as much encouragement as possible in the sea of doubt.
"Toying with her? Who was the man who said that?" Aizawa's voice silenced the crowd, it even drew Ritsu's attention away from the ongoing fight. He sounded mad.
"You a pro? Because if you said that with your full chest, I suggest you go home now. In fact, I suggest that you consider a career change."
The 'hero' in question, a man with blond hair and a gaudy headpiece, had both of his arms outstretched with his thumbs down. He looked like the exact opposite of Kaminari and yet stupider.
"He clearly recognizes the strength of an opponent who's made it this far, and is on guard as a result. It's because he's doing everything in his power to win that he's refusing to let his guard down or stay his hand."
The movement on the stage had come to a standstill. Bakugou stood his ground as smoke surrounded him, waiting for the next attack. Uraraka was heaving but still on her feet.
"Really, that guy is such an idiot." The blond—Monoma was what he believed the scoreboard had said— from class B was looking up at the sky with a smirk on his face. Ritsu followed his line of sight and—oh.
"Keeping a low profile and continuing to charge at him, all while stockpiling her own weapons," Monoma continued. "Her ceaseless attacks combined with the smokescreen completely narrowed his vision!"
Uraraka brought her pressed her fingertips together and shouted, "I WIN!"
Rubble, boulders, and debris created from merciless explosions came crashing down from the sky and straight onto their creator. Uraraka ran towards Bakugou as the meteor shower cascaded down, ready to finally touch him.
Ritsu smiled. She was going to win.
And then, Bakugou raised his hand to the sky and set off the largest explosion Ritsu had ever seen in his life. It blew Uraraka back, filled the stadium with wind, and completely destroyed the descending rubble.
"HE COMPLETELY CRUSHED URARAKA'S SECRET STRATEGY!"
The weight that had left him after talking with Shinsou made itself at home again. But—he watched as a scratched, beaten, and bruised Uraraka got back up—she hadn't given up, so neither could he.
The two fighters charged at each other and Ritsu cheered Uraraka on for what was the last time. For the girl faltered in her step as exhaustion took over her body and she crashed to the floor.
Midnight came onto the stage and held out a hand to stop Bakugou. She crouched down and placed a gentle hand on the back of Uraraka who still tried to claw her way forward. She reached one more hand forward, trying to drag herself along, before finally collapsing.
"Uraraka can no longer move." Midnight stood up. "Bakugou advances to the next round!"
Ritsu watched silently as Uraraka was carried away to Recovery Girl. She was so close. So close that it hurt. He couldn't even begin to imagine how hurt Uraraka would be when she woke up. With that in mind, he made his way over to class A's room to wait for her; Midoriya and Iida joined him.
As they made their way through the hallway, Bakugou came in through one of the entrances. All four of them stared at each other, frozen with surprise, before Midoriya finally spoke.
"...Hey Kacchan."
"What the fuck do you think you were doing, why don't you just fucking die you piece of shit!?" Bakugou immediately shot back. It was so nonsensical that Ritsu seriously considered just walking away.
"We were just going to go wait for Uraraka," Midoriya said over Iida loudly scolding Bakugou's language. "And uh, congrats on the first round by the way."
When he got no reply, Ritsu nudged his shoulder. "Come on, let's just go." That just drew Bakugou's attention to him instead and it was at that moment that he remembered that he'd be fighting the blond next.
He suppressed a groan and actually started walking away, taking Midoriya and Iida with him.
"It was you who put that shitty plan into her head, right Deku?" Bakugou asked, clearly not done with their 'conversation'. "The plan that had her flinging herself so dangerously!"
The three of them stopped to look at Bakugou. He was staring directly at Midoriya who tensed up at the scowl he had on his face.
"Don't go fucking around in my business and trying to mess with me."
"You've got it wrong." Midoriya shook his head. "Uraraka made that entire plan by herself. If anyone was messing with you then it was her, tossing you around."
Bakugou's scowl became deeper and Ritsu took that as his cue to grab Midoriya again and guide the three of them to the waiting room. When they got there, Uraraka was already sitting at the table, in her black undershirt and her burnt PE shirt in a clear bag in front of her.
"Damn, guess I lost!" She was laughing as she spoke and had a wide smile on her face. It felt wrong to Ritsu. "I thought I'd be able to make it at the end but I got carried away!"
"Uraraka!" Iida shouted, waving his arm. "Are you hurt?"
"I got recovery-ed!" She pointed to a bandage on her check as the three of them moved closer to her. "She went easy on the recovery because of my stamina, so there are a few nicks and bruises here and there!"
Uraraka burst out of her chair, much to the protest of Iida, and shook her fist. "Man, Bakugou's really strong! He totally annihilated me, so I've gotta step my game up! But I could hear you guys cheering me on! I think that was the loudest you've ever been, Kageyama!"
The three of them gave her small smiles but said nothing, which seemed to calm her down. Midoriya gave her a confused look as he asked, "Are you okay? I mean, after that fight and all..."
"I'm fine! Even I'm surprised how fine I am!" She laughed again and again it felt wrong. Her face sobered up a bit as she earnestly looked at Midoriya.
"Deku, you always look straight ahead and because I lost, I can't stand to lose again."
"It's al—"
Present Mic's voice loudly announcing the end of the first round cut Midoriya off.
"Already?" Midoriya whispered.
"SHALL WE BEGIN THE NEXT ROUND SHORTLY?"
He looked to Uraraka dejectedly. "I guess that's me..."
"Ah! Sorry for holding you up Deku!" Uraraka looked to all three of them. "You guys all go, I'll join you soon!"
She smiled and waved at them as they made their way to the door but Ritsu still felt a deep wrongness. Her smile, it looked familiar. It reminded him of the one he used to wear around Shigeo and that realization just hurt Ritsu more. Leaving her like this didn't feel right. He didn't have much experience comforting others but he knew what helped.
"Wh—Kageyama!" Ritsu had his arms wrapped around Uraraka. It was foreign and awkward but he wouldn't let go until he was sure that his message got through.
"You know, it's okay to be sad," he mumbled into her ear, trying not to be too aware of Midoriya and Iida's eyes on his back.
When she finally hugged him back, he knew he did the right thing. He said nothing of her shaking shoulders nor of his shoulder getting wet nor of the added pressure from Midoriya and Iida.
"I really hate that I lost," Uraraka finally admitted through muffled tears. She pulled back from what had become a group hug and looked at all of them as Present Mic's voice became mere background noise. "Thanks you guys."
"It's no problem," Midoriya said with a smile.
"Yes," Iida nodded. "Know that you can come to us when you're feeling down, Uraraka."
"I'm just glad that you don't have to hold that all in." Ritsu personally knew the dangers of pent-up emotion.
Uraraka sniffled and gave Ritsu a wobbly but determined smile. "Make sure to give Bakugou a good punch for me."
Ritsu smiled back. "Okay."
"Now go! All of you!" She looked to the clock. "They're probably waiting for you Deku!"
The three of them were collectively shoved out of the room by Uraraka. They stumbled out just in time to run face to chest with a tall, fiery man.
They craned their necks to look up at the scowling face of Endeavor. He, being completely rude, pointed a gloved finger straight into Midoriya's face.
"Ah, so here you are." Ritsu could hear Midoriya gulp as he wordlessly pointed to himself. "You made a huge showing for me. What a wonderful quirk. All that power with just the flick of a finger!" The man laughed. "Yes, in terms of power, it's a quirk to rival All Might's."
When Midoriya just walked past the man, Ritsu actually laughed. It was a small one, but it brought the hero's focus to him. He squinted down at him.
"Telekinesis..." Endeavor said, mostly to himself. His scowl deepened. "Yes, you're the one Shouto lost to. Trust me, it won't happen again."
Ritsu didn't try to hide the complete disgust that fell onto his face. From the crowd of sexist pros to Endeavor. Just who did they think they were? Ritsu couldn't help but wonder how many more 'heroes' like them wandered this world. How could so much disregarded and even abuse exist in those who so proudly call themselves heroes? And how was it able to reach the number two position?
Endeavor turned to look at Midoriya again. "My Shouto has a duty to surpass All Might." Both Ritsu and Midoriya tensed. "His match against you will be an excellent test. So do your best to not give him a disgraceful match. That's all."
He began to walk away but stopped when Midoriya spoke.
"I'm not All Might."
"That's obviou—"
"That's obvious right?" Midoriya boldly cut him off. He turned to look over his shoulder at the hero, eyes flaming. "And Todoroki isn't you."
Endeavor looked absolutely furious but he said nothing. He continued walking on his path but the tension stayed.
"Wh—" Iida looked between the two of them in bewilderment. "What was that about?"
"I better go before they disqualify me," Midoriya said, not answering the question at all.
Ritsu nodded. "Good luck, Midoriya." With the way the fight was already shaping up, he needed it.
Omake #6
1 Week till entrance exam
Ritsu held one hand over his mouth and the other clutched around a yellow marble. He couldn't risk drawing attention with his loud breathing that he was desperately trying to control. He needed to stay hidden from him.
"You know you can't hide for long, Brother-kun."
He can try.
For their final lesson, Hanazawa had proposed a simple game to test how far Ritsu had come. The arena was Black Vinegar High, which was entirely unfair to Ritsu, and the game was as so: Place a yellow marble in the hands of a statue Hanazawa placed on the school's roof. He could use all of his psychic abilities and property damage wasn't an issue.
"How is property damage not an issue?"
"Eh, I can just mend everything together when we're done."
His opposition? Hanazawa. Who planned to do everything in his power to keep Ritsu from the roof and steal his marble.
Ritsu's arsenal:
Telekinesis
Barrier/Shield
Psychically enhanced physical ability
Air whips
Hiding his aura
Pyrokinesis
Hanazawa's (known) arsenal:
Telekinesis
Barrier/Shield
Psychically enhanced physical ability
Air whips
Hiding his aura
Pyrokinesis
Experience
Home field advantage
Ritsu was crouched behind one of the school's many statutes of people making different fluid poses. He didn't bother with heading straight up to the roof. It would be impossible with Hanazawa patrolling the sky. Besides, he was almost done setting up. He just needed a bit more time.
"There you are."
"What the—!"
Hanazawa, mere inches from his face, blasted fire at him. Ritsu instinctively threw his barrier up to protect himself from the onslaught of heat and ash. When the statue he'd been hiding behind came falling down on him, he barely rolled out of the way on time. But Hanazawa used that and the cover of smoke as an opening to give Ritsu a psychically enhanced kick to the gut.
Ritsu went flying.
It hurt.
He flew through a classroom window and crashed into the desks. As he struggled to stand on his aching legs, Hanazawa came through the shattered window and immediately began attacking him by using chunks of earth and concrete as projectiles.
"Come on!" Hanazawa shouted as Ritsu deflected his attacks with a barrier. "You gotta fight back if you ever hope to win!"
He wanted to curse at Hanazawa and scream that he was trying to. It was just so difficult to think of anything when his senses were so overwhelm—
An idea popped into Ritsu's mind. One that cleared up all the smoke in his head.
He pushed himself up to his feet, fighting against the rocks that tried to keep him down. Then, rather than trying to push forward and through to Hanazawa, he went up. Through the ceiling—multiple ceilings—and just as he was about to reach the roof, Hanazawa's air whip wrapped around his ankle.
"Trying to outrun me won't work, Brother-kun!" He then yanked Ritsu out of the air and sent him flying through another wall and back down to the earth. Ritsu had to resist a smile.
Instead of crashing into the earth like one would expect, Ritsu opened up the ground below him and went into it. Just as he shifted the earth to cover the hole, he saw Hanazawa emerge from the school, looking for him. In the darkness of the earth, Ritsu allowed himself to smile.
He quickly began to move, he had previously wrapped different objects in his signature blue glow earlier to throw Hanazawa off, but it wouldn't work for long.
Ritsu traveled through the ground like a tunnel. He headed as close to the school building as possible, knowing that Hanazawa wouldn't be able to see him from his vantage point in the sky if he kept to the walls. He then peaked his head out of the ground like a gopher to look up at the blond. He was up in the sky and looking furiously around, just like Ritsu wanted.
Pulling himself fully out of the ground, Ritsu stuck to the wall. He made his way back to the destroyed classroom and set up a barrier to keep the smoke detectors from going off. Then, he began to touch some of the pieces of rubble, earth, and concrete Hanazawa had attacked him with and set them on fire, trying to ignore just how close the blond's voice was to him.
Satisfied, Ritsu stepped out of the classroom and to the open ground, making sure that Hanazawa could see him.
"Oh, there you are!" Hanazawa looked down on him from the sky. "When did you learn to hide so well?"
Ritsu simply clenched his fist tighter and said nothing.
Hanazawa shrugged. "The best fights always have talking, but we can do this silent game if you want." He then rushed down to the smaller boy and Ritsu used that as his signal to attack.
The windows shattered even more as flaming and non-flaming masses of rubble and rock came through them and to Ritsu. With them came the objects Ritsu had wrapped in his aura and even the fallen statue that had been broken into two. They all floated around Ritsu, glowing and ready to be sent toward the blond.
This was his retaliation.
"So this is what you were planning. I knew you were cooking something up in that mind of yours!" Hanazawa laughed and flexed his hands in a "come at me" motion. "If you honestly think that'll work, try it!"
And so, Ritsu sent everything he had up in a large, bright, blue, and fiery barrage.
He stayed on the ground as he watched Hanazawa. He wasn't deterred when the blond effortlessly blocked most of them with his barrier. He just continued to throw everything he could at him to make sure that Hanazawa didn't even get a moment to breathe.
An esper is useless when their senses are overwhelmed.
Ritsu kept on mindlessly throwing glowing objects, making sure that they were as bright and distracting as possible. He was almost there.
Hanazawa crashed into him and it took everything Ritsu had not to lose his concentration as he fell to the ground.
"It's time to end this!" The older boy held him close and clawed at Ritsu's closed fist. Ritsu pulled it further back, which was useless because his wingspan was smaller than Hanazawa's, and kept his attention glued to the sky.
Almost.
Almost.
Almost.
There!
Ritsu let his body slump as he relaxed onto the ground below him. Hanazawa actually stopped trying to pry his hand open to instead look quizzically at him.
"What's wrong?"
Ritsu simply opened his fist. His empty, marble-free fist. He used that same hand to point up to the roof of the school. On it, a man held his carved hands together above his head, and in them was a single yellow marble.
Hanazawa stared dumbly at the statue, no doubt trying to figure out how that happened. When he started laughing, Ritsu knew that he got it.
"You sent the marble up with the concrete?!" He threw his head back. "Unbelievable! You Kageyamas really are something else!"
He got up off of Ritsu and extended a hand out to help him up. "Congrats, Brother-kun. I've taught you everything that I know."
"Thank you Hanazawa," Ritsu replied with his own smile. He wouldn't have been able to get this far without the blond, annoying as he could be.
"Actually..." Hanazawa said, looking around himself. Ritsu didn't trust anything that single word was hinting at. "How would you like to learn one more thing from me?"
Ritsu looked around at the absolute mess of a school. Multiple windows were shattered, some shrubs were on fire, teenage boy sized holes were in the walls, and he was pretty sure that the sprinkler was going off.
His grip on Hanazawa's hand became tenacious. "You wouldn't dare."
Laughter was his only response.
Author's random thoughts they had whilst writing the chapter
I've raised heaven and earth to bring this behemoth of a chapter to you! 12 THOUSAND WORDS! AH-HAHA AH-HAHA AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—
ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ
(◍•ᴗ•◍)✧* chapter recap because it was really long *✧(◍•ᴗ•◍)
-Ritsu has a run in with some management students and that somehow leads to him unwillingly eavesdropping on Mido and Todo
-He gets into a heated argument with Bakugou where Baku calls him out for not trying
-Teruki's van gets attacked by heroes, Toga almost died, and he comes to the conclusion that Dr. Ikande can teleport
-Both team Todoroki and 3/4 of team Mido make it to the final event: a tournament
-Shinsou and Mido fight and Ritsu comes to a stupid conclusion
-Hitoshi and Kage talk and sleepi child can't handle short boi's friend/lover-like honesty. Malfunctions due to kindness
-Ritsu tells Hito to take his place in the Heroics Department when he's "gone"
-Local masked boy's cheers aren't enough for his friend to win her fight. Remedy: group hug
-Tall fiery man is about to throw hands with teenagers
I know that this chapter was long T-T but I wanna know what you guys thought of it! Mainly the BakuRit argument, Teruki's epiphany, HitoRit conversation, and the Dekusquad group hug (/・ω・(-ω-)
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Who do you think would win between Asui and Ashido?
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So many people in the anime called Midoriya plain, especially toward the beginning (even Uraraka! With brown hair and brown eyes!) and I was just ?% What?
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Bakugou has no concept of personal space and decency smh. Just casually spying on someone talking about their trauma.
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It took me like a month to give you guys a 6k word chapter and less than 20 days to give you a 12k word one, wth.
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I'm learning russian and the language has invaded my dreams
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Chineke mee (Igbo) = My God!
гребаный (Russian) = fucking (adj.)
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Special thanks to fadumo2468 for giving me the idea to do a scene with the management students!
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I used ?! so much in the BakuRit argument and I'm gonna use like 50 more for their fight smh.
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Inspo for traveling underground came from Atla and how the earthbenders can make tunnels and pop up somewhere else like that hammer game at carnivals
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The omakes are officially over. I made sure to end with a not-fight so prepare y'all for the next chap. Todoroki vs Midoriya and Bakugou vs Ritsu! More characters will be popping up that chapter and I'm excited. Let's go!
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Editing this chapter is going to be the bane of my 4am - 6am life (〒﹏〒)
Edit: I fell asleep and ended up spending the rest of the next day (today) editing it which actually took like 4 hours
Favorite, follow, and review or else an angry man made of fire will break into your house and demand that you fight his son
