By the time the two returned, the match between Todoroki and Midoriya already started. Despite insisting on staying with her, Mizuha kindly asked him not to and to just let her breathe a little. Her assured tone made him back down, and she sat down back in her usual seat.
Pieces of ice were scattered across Midoriya's side of the stage. Mizuha's eyes glanced at the big screen in front of her, the one that was focused on Midoriya, and saw how he was holding his right hand with his left. And when Midoriya's blocked another one of Todoroki's attacks, his face twisted in pain. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned at the sight of his fingers. They looked just like when they did the fitness test with Aizawa.
Todoroki created a sort of reverse ice ramp and charged forward. He jumped off just in time to avoid falling once Midoriya shattered his ice.
The match seemed to be one of endurance.
Mizuha leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.
There is only so much damage you can take to your arms, Midoriya. As for Todoroki, there is a limit to how much we ice user can emit. You can get frostbite. However, you have something that can fix that. As the son of Endeavor, you also have a fire Quirk. You wanna fight Midoriya without using your father's Quirk? That's not his Quirk. It's yours.
Mizuha kept looking at two different screens during their entire fight because the cameras would focus on Todoroki and Midoriya at the same time, and she wanted to see how they were enduring so far. As far as she knew, Midoriya seemed to be getting more damage from his own Quirk than Todoroki's. The dual-haired boy wasn't able to hit him at all with Midoriya blocking and dodging his attacks.
When she looked at the screen focusing on Midoriya, while she couldn't hear anything he was saying she could actually read his lips. She wasn't able to read the full sentence before the one she actually could.
Everyone. Fighting. Win.
Those were the three words she read on his lips.
"And you're gonna win with half your power?!"
What he said seemed to have shaken up something inside of her because now she was looking at her hands, shaking.
Her classmates were all doing their best, giving everything they got for the event. While Todoroki was only using half of his strength to try and win the Sports Festival. That didn't seem right. That's when she realized that she was even worse. Mizuha was only using a third of her power to win. Even she knew that it wasn't right.
She wasn't giving it everything she had.
"A solid hit!"
Mizuha whipped her head up, just in time to witness Todoroki flying back from Midoriya's punch. It kept on going like that, getting pushed back after getting closer.
Midoriya must have said something particular to Todoroki since he wasn't reacting like he was earlier during their fight. Midoriya landed two consecutive hits and he wasn't fighting back. When he green haired classmate shouted something at his opponent, Todoroki reacted by emitting impressive flames from his body in just a few seconds. The ice on his body was beginning to melt away thanks to his fire.
The heat from his flames were even reaching the audience.
"SHOTO!"
Mizuha recognized that voice she looked across, scowling at the Number Two Hero.
Endeavor was going down the stairs to get a bit closer to the stage, he was looking pleased.
"Have you finally accepted yourself!? That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me… You will fulfill my desire!"
Mizuha clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, "Geez, the heck?" she muttered.
"Endeavor suddenly shouts encouragement…? Such a doting father."
Ice spread over all of the stage and Midoriya lunged towards him with a powered jump.
It happened so fast, but cement walls shot up to block both of their attacks. Mizuha squinted her eyes and covered her face when the shockwave from the explosion happened, and fragments of cement were flying everywhere. Everyone was blown away.
It took a while, but the dust was starting to settle down.
"W-what… was that? What the heck is up with your class?"
"The air that had been cooled off thoroughly was suddenly heated up and expanded."
"T-that's what created this explosion…? Just how hot was that!? And jeez, I can't see a thing down there! Hey, who won the match?"
Midoriya was slowly revealed to be standing, backed up against the wall, but he slowly slid and dropped onto the ground, unconscious.
Shocked, Mizuha's eyes slowly looked at Todoroki, who was still standing inside the stage. He was announced the winner of their match and the crowd cheered for him.
... Damn, this is the power you've been hiding this whole time?!
She shivered.
Mizuha let out a heavy breath once she saw Kirishima fell, defeated.
... Man, Bakugo went ape shit crazy with his explosions. Poor Kirishima ended up unconscious from them...
She was currently sitting in her designated waiting room for the next match. The only distraction she had to calm her nerves was the big screen in the room broadcasting the current fights on the stage. Her attention was absorbed from the fight, forgetting about the next fight that was coming up.
"Kirishima is immobolized! Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced.
Mizuha breathed in while standing up.
She wasn't sure if she was ready for this next fight. Kyouran was definitely not going to hold anything back and she shouldn't either.
Mizuha hastily left the room, playing with her fingers on the way to the stage.
"Just pretend that you don't know him... ignore everything... just ignore..." she repeatedly muttered to herself.
"This is the final match of the quarter-final! These two are always together!"
The screen displayed Mizuha and Byakuren's profile.
"From the Hero Course... Hyoumei Mizuha! Versus... also from the Hero Course... Kyouran Byakuren!"
Instantly, the stadium was filled with more cheering and shouting. The two participants were standing face-to-face silently, waiting for the match to begin.
Mizuha refused to look at Byakuren's face, keeping her eyes just below his chin. She didn't want to see what kind of expression he was sporting, fearing his expression might throw her off in some way.
I need to get him out of bounds! Mizuha tensed.
"START!"
Immediately, Mizuha rushed at Byakuren at full speed, watching him carefully. The moment Byakuren stood on guard, she swung her arm towards him, creating a large ice saucer that flew horizontally towards the white haired boy.
"How foolish." He spat, creating a tornado to counter her ice, shattering it apart. Mizuha quickly side stepped away from his in-coming whirlwind and charged straight towards him again. Byakuren shifted his eyes towards her, sending the whirlwind after her.
It was approaching her from behind, fast.
Mizuha gritted her teeth, and then made a small hop in her step. When she got off the ground, ice formed beneath her and rapidly directed her in Byakuren's direction. His eyes widened when she literally lunged at him. He couldn't focus on two things at the same time so he stopped his Quirk and began defending himself. He threw up his arms in front of him and blocked her fist. He pushed away her fist and aimed one at her face. She barely caught her balance that he threw off, and instantly dropped down to aim a kick at his feet.
Byakuren immediately realized that she was copying his move from when they were sparring together with Kirishima. The boy jumped to avoid her leg and landed before she was able to regain her position. Ruthlessly, he kicked her on the side. The hit sent her flying a few meters away, rolling against the cement on the stage.
"WOW! A strong solid kick from Kyouran!"
Mizuha stopped herself, slamming her fist down on the ground, and getting back up to charge at him once more.
I'm not getting pushed away this time!
Mizuha attacked again, sending her ice towards him, except that they were more immense and stronger.
Hand to hand combat is the only solution to this fight. The bigger the ice, the difficult it is for him to shatter it due to the lack of oxygen he'll be taking away from himself. He might or might not be able to actually destroy the ones I've trained so hard to make! And if my ice is weaker, then he'll just shatter it!
Byakuren avoided her ice.
He can't destroy ice with high density!
Mizuha reached him again, and their hand-to-hand combat resumed.
"Wow, it looks like this is going to be a physical fight!"
The two backed away from each other and stood in a stance, watching the other carefully. They were standing in a similar position. Their legs were apart with their right foot further back. Their right hand was opened, and positioned higher near the side of their face while their left hand was placed lower and a couple of inches away from their waist.
It wasn't your typical fighting stance.
...
...
"Hmm... that looks familiar..." Thirteen spoke.
All the teachers then turned their heads, and looked at the dull-eyed instructor.
"They learned that from you, didn't they?" Snipe guessed before adding, "You have your two unique fighting styles in hand to hand combat. The one for offense and the other one for defense and caution."
"They both understand that their Quirks will continue to counter each other, creating more drawbacks rather than opportunities." Eijin sighed. "They chose to settle the fight in an actual physical fight by taking up the more cautious stance. A style that gives continuous hits to the opponent with quick attacks, as well as being well positioned to make up for slight mistakes. In other words, they're being extremely careful in this fight, especially since they know each other so well."
Eijin observed the two from a nearby screen. Byakuren seemed to be looking more serious than usual while Mizuha was looking a little desperate. They both exchanged blows but neither of them was backing down from the fight.
...
...
...
"Trauma..." Aizawa muttered. "And repression."
"Hmm? What?"
"Hyoumei is afraid."
"Of course she's afraid. Who wants an incident like that to happen again?"
Despite his bandaged face, Aizawa was able to give him a deadpanned look, "You're her uncle. I'm surprised you don't know a lot about your niece."
An imaginary arrow struck Eijin's back. "Whaaa?"
"You told me she had a trauma resulting from the incident, and that she was able to get better after five months."
"Yeah, but she's still scared of any incidents that are similar to it. I can bet that she was a little shaken up when she heard about your condition after the USJ incident."
"What were the water phases that she used during the incident?"
"Um, it was gas and liquid. She wasn't very good with the solid phase yet."
Aizawa fell silent for a moment, obviously thinking about everything altogether. It was starting to make sense now. The reason why she felt like she couldn't do it was because of repression. Indeed, she couldn't use it, and that was because she was unconsciously repressing her ability to use those two other forms. It was similar to repression defense mechanism when an individual is faced with anxiety. Repression was used to keep anxiety inducing thoughts away from the conscious mind to keep the individual 'happy'. In Mizuha's case, the cause of her anxiety was the gas and liquid form of her Quirk; the two forms that she used four years ago to protect her friends. It was a constant reminder and it caused her anxiety.
...
...
...
After Aizawa had explained it to Eijin, everything seemed to make sense.
Mizuha's uncle was aware of her fear that was accompanied by her lack of confidence to protect people. This repression along with her lack of confidence was the biggest obstacle combined that was preventing her from moving on and from performing to her highest potential. It kept dragging her down.
If she were to regain confidence in herself and her abilities then the repression would definitely disappear since nothing would be holding her back.
...
...
Byakuren swung once with his right arm, then attacked with his fists. Mizuha slapped his right arm away and backed away from him, and then ducked down to aim the lower part of her palm under his chin.
Byakuren grunted from getting hit. He staggered backwards, loosing his balance.
There!
Mizuha shot forward and switched to the offense stance, cocking back her right arm and fisting her hand, and then aimed at his abdomen.
Just like her, he was sent flying back, but he caught himself with his Quirk. His body that dipped backwards towards the line was caught by a whirlwind that slowly balanced him back on his feet.
The fight was going no where. Every time one of them would get knocked back, their Quirk was used to stop them from approaching the boundary lines, and they would continue to fight after reaching the center.
For a split second, Mizuha saw Byakuren give her a scornful look, making her flinch.
Byakuren landed a hit on the side of her face, causing her to stumble backwards. He then kneed her straight into her guts, knocking the wind out of her. Before he could land another hit, Mizuha created a giant ice pillar between them to stop his assault.
Byakuren backed away just in time, "Damn it, so freaking annoying!" He growled before running around the pillar, however the ice began to shift and lean towards his side. Sensing the danger, Byakuren jumped away and propelled himself in the air with a large whirlwind.
The ice crashed down on the spot where he previously was.
When he landed, they both stilled again and panted.
It was going on too long.
Byakuren clenched his fists and glared at her from afar, "... You have no right to be here... no right at all." said Byakuren, loud enough for her to hear before walking towards her, slowly increasing his pace until he started running.
Mizuha grimaced, shakily taking a step back from him.
"A damn coward who gets other people hurt!" He screamed at her.
Mizuha tensed just as he reached for her, hesitating to either block or move away from his reach. Byakuren grabbed her the front of her shirt, and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her roughly against the ground.
"You're so stupid!"
She let out a pained groan.
"You'll never be able to be a Hero!"
Mizuha quickly scampered away from Byakuren before he could reach her.
Just ignore him!
She lowered herself and kicked him back away from her by aiming for his solar plexus. The white haired boy fell back on his rear. The blow was harsh and he was coughing a little as he rose back up on his feet, a bit unstable.
"F-freaking damn hazard to everyone around you!" He managed to stay between his coughs, "Everything was your fault! All your damn fault!"
Mizuha's movements became sloppier with every word, creating more openings for Byakuren. As much as she tried to ignore him and tried to listen to the crowd instead, she couldn't ignore him at all.
"You're running away from all your problems!"
He was playing dirty. The guilt was building up within her and he was throwing it all in her face.
"You can't protect anyone!" He shouted.
"STOP IT! STOP! STOP!" Mizuha screamed frantically.
They were both beaten up, and now they were breathing heavily from their fight and from their words.
Kirishima rushed back to his class and quickly looked down at the stage.
The moment he woke up from his match, he quickly thanked Recovery Girl and ran back to stands. He knew who were currently fighting on the stage, and he didn't want to miss any of it. Especially since the fight was going to be a little more personal.
"What did I miss?!"
"Kirishima! You're awake!" said Kaminari cheerfully.
The redhead quickly gave the lightning user and thumbs up before taking a seat next to Midoriya. The green haired boy quickly filled him in on the current situation of the fight.
"There's no way they're not getting their personal feelings involved... not after what happened before the event started." Uraraka said, clearly not liking the way how the fight was really going on.
Ashido frowned, "... Look at Hyoumei." she said while pointing at the screen focusing on her.
She was clutching the front of her shirt with her hands and her knuckles were turning white. Everyone saw how pained she looked, and it looked like she was about to cry. Kirishima noticed it was similar to the expression she had during her outburst in the hallway.
As the audience cheered and encouraged them, Class 1-A was not comfortable with witnessing the fight between the two. It was like watching the continuation of their argument and they could only watch the feud play out.
Worried, Kirishima clenched his fists on his lip.
It was frustrating to not be able to help her now.
But this was her fight.
"It's all your fault!"
I know it is!
"You're the reason my sister ended up in the hospital!"
I'm sorry!
"You're the reason my parents cried that day!"
... I'm so sorry.
Before she knew it, she found herself on the floor, facing Byakuren above her. She tried fighting back against his hold, but was too weak from all the guilt inside of her. He straddle her and stopped her from trashing around.
He loomed over her, "I don't want you attending U.A if you can't forgive yourself. I don't want a cowardly Hero having my back who will fail to help me when I need it. I don't want to be friends with someone who is scared to protect people." he hissed.
Mizuha felt her eyes sting.
If it was someone else who said it then she wouldn't be as affected from it. However, this was coming from someone who stuck to her like glue. It came from someone who she cared for, someone she wanted to protect, someone who she felt like was the only person that was keeping her from falling apart thanks to endless support.
And now, he was throwing her away because she was scared to protect others. It hit her so strongly that she felt like he was telling her she had no right to care for him nor to be his friend.
Byakuren landed a rather violent punch on her face to try and knock her out. Mizuha's eyes shut from the impact and her head lolled to the side. Then she didn't move at all.
The white haired boy observed her carefully just until he decided to get off her.
Can I count on someone to protect you? I'm sure anyone else could do much better than me. Yeah… that seems about right.
But is that guaranteed? What if they fail too?
Nothing is sure.
…
…
…
Could I do it?
Mizuha could hear Midnight's heels clicking as she approached her. She was going to check if Mizuha was out of commission since the girl didn't even twitch.
Maybe I wasn't wrong to help them.
The wind user huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to walk to the end of the stage where the stairs were. That punch he gave her wasn't enough to knock her out but he was certain that it should be enough to take her down after he saw how tired she was.
"Hey, Midnight, is she down?!"
Kirishima and his classmates watched silently as Midnight got down on one knee to check on the girl.
I want to be a Hero. I know I do.
Mizuha felt a hand rest on her body.
"You're too scared and that clouds everything!"
"Have faith in yourself. Don't let the past bring you down, let it push you forward. If you don't try to protect others then you won't ever be able to. You'll hesitate too much. You need to have courage."
Can I really though?
Midnight's blue eyes widened by a fraction in surprise when she saw Mizuha turn her head to face the sky. Her onyx orbs open to absorb the sight before her.
"I believe you can do it!"
…
…
…
I stared at my brother as he did his homework in the living room.
"Shinsui, why did you want to become a Hero?"
At this question, he perked up with a smile and then turned to look at me. "Well… I wanted to become a Hero like All Might that's a Symbol of Peace."
Confused, I squinted at him, "So… what, you want to become the next Symbol of Peace or something?"
"You didn't let me finish!" he booped my nose. "I want to be something helpful like a spark of hope."
"Huhhh… really? I thought you just wanted to be cool or something."
"I mean, yeah, Heroes are cool and all. I wanted to becoming a Hero at first because they were cool but then I realized people sometimes needed hope when things get tough." He said with a grin before shuddering with a grimace. "Besides I'd hate working in an office. Being a Hero has much more freedom in my opinion."
…
…
…
I stood next to my uncle and watched with him as a woman ran past her.
There was a raid on a warehouse that had support items for Heroes, and her husband and several workers were present at the time. They got injured from gunshots and had to be reeled into an ambulance.
My eyes were glued on her as she saw the woman cry in front of a stretcher.
"That's my husband!"
"Ma'am, please move out of the way, we have to bring him to the hospital."
"Take me with you!" she said frantically while tears fell from her eyes.
As I watched her, I felt saddened by how distressed she looked. If things didn't go well at the hospital, the woman was going to lose her husband. Did she have a child at home waiting for their dad to come home? They'll never see him again if he dies.
I imagined my own family in that situation. Coming home from school without knowing at all what happened to one of my parents until the news bombed on me. It's scary.
I felt scared for them.
Being shorter than my uncle, I just reached for his shirt and grasped it in my hand as the ambulance closed. My uncle looked down at me and saw the worried expression I had on my face. He took my hand in his like as if I was a little girl and then pulled me away from the scene so that we could resume our walk to the grocery store.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked him after a moment of silence.
"Judging from his injuries, I think he'll be fine."
"… Oh. Okay." I let out a deep breath. "I hope he'll be okay. He really didn't deserve that. That lady shouldn't be crying in the first place… why do Villains have to do this?"
My uncle released my hand and ruffled my hair. "That's why Heroes are here. We do our best to protect people so that they don't have to cry and stuff."
…
…
…
Right. That's how it started.
Seeing people sad and distressed because Villains always made me feel uneasy. I just didn't like it. Instead of turning away, I wanted to be a Hero to try and fix that. A selfish desire, not a selfless one.
The clouds above her floated together and then the sunlight started peeking from behind the clouds to brighten the stage. The sky looked bright and clear.
Everything seemed so clearer now for some reason just like the sky above her.
"Hyoumei-san, can you move?" Midnight asked.
It just seemed so clear that it somehow brought her to tears.
I might have been right or I might have been wrong, I don't know. But I do know that I can't just keep looking away from it. I feel like I made a mistake, but I don't want it to happen again. I want to protect people who can't do it themselves.
I have to get up.
I need to believe in myself just a bit more.
And right now, I need to prove that I have the ability to be a good Hero.
"I'm not done."
Mizuha was slowly rising up to her feet with a surge of determination pumping in her veins. Seeing Byakuren's back getting distant was just insulting. Was he seriously done with this match?
Midnight stepped back from her when she saw how that Mizuha was indeed not done with her match. She hadn't even started. She hurriedly ran back to her post to allow the fight to continue.
Mizuha growled and stomped her foot on the ground. "I SAID I'M NOT DONE!" she screamed at him.
"Hyoumei is still standing! Oi, Kyouran get your butt back there!"
The boy froze in his tracks. He felt alarmed. His ears had heard something just now. There was something in her voice that told him that she was awake. She was awake after being asleep and hiding away for four years. There was something that told him to look back now or else he'd miss something.
He swiveled around readily and looked at her. She was staring at him with determination burning in her eyes.
A trigger was set off within her.
The girl quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and hardened her resolve. It was now or never. She had to do this now before her weak self resurfaced and teared down this newfound confidence.
Byakuren slumped a little before suddenly charging towards her, both of his fists enveloped in small tornadoes.
He didn't know what was up with her, but he didn't want to find out by giving her a chance.
"Just fall already! Stop acting so tough!"
When he was only a few meters away from her, he saw her take a step back and she pulled her right arm back.
Their eyes made contact with each other for a split second. Onyx hues burning with determination meeting puzzled light purple ones.
Then, she swung it down in his direction.
Byakuren gasped with wide eyes and moved away just in time to avoid her attack. Behind him was a rumbling sound that slowly died down near the boundary line.
He slowly glanced back, gaping at the sight behind him.
There was a straight line that went straight towards the line behind him; it looked like something was drilled into the floor all the way to that end. That most noticeable thing about the dented cement was the fact that it looked soaked around it.
"High pressure water...?" Byakuren mumbled before flinching and whipping his head back in front of him. He gasped a little and stepped back.
"... I'll prove it to you! I can do this!" Mizuha shouted at him, letting out the true form of her Quirk with a burst of adrenaline. The wind picked up from it and her hair whipped around.
Surrounding and swirling around her was water in different phases. It was a maelstrom of steam, water and ice. It looked like they were all clashing together in order to be the one that their user would choose for her next attack.
...
...
...
"Water, ice and vapor...?" Midoriya muttered. "It's all water."
"That must be the true nature of Hyoumei-kun's Quirk." Iida realized. "She doesn't manipulate ice... She controls water in all possible states."
Kirishima's eyes shone with excitement. "That's awesome!" he was on the edge of his seat, "I can't believe she was hiding such a cool science-y Quirk this whole time!" he laughed.
The screen zoomed in on Mizuha who had the definition of determination on her face as her hair whipped around from the wind caused by her Quirk.
...
...
...
Byakuren looked the ground below her feet and found the ground frost forming around her. Why did he feel like he was suddenly going to have a hard time?
"... Holy shit. Are you kidding me?!" Byakuren exclaimed before making himself fly into the air. He needed to get away from her!
Mizuha jumped up, creating a small platform of ice and she rode a huge wave of water that rose to the same height as Byakuren.
"Hyoumei and Kyouran are engaging in the air! And, is this really Hyoumei's Quirk?! Eraser, I thought she was an ice user!"
"No... her Quirk is Water States. She can manipulate water in whatever state she wishes by changing the water's temperature."
"... man your students are full of surprises."
When she launched high pressured water spheres at him, he aimed at the water and intended to make it fall apart like her ice. Unfortunately, the water that split apart reconnected itself with its rest and struck Byakuren once it reached him.
The boy's eyes widened in realization, Ice is obviously harder to reconnect compared to water...
Instantly, he was knocked off his own tornado, falling down towards the stage.
Mizuha kicked the ice platform down at Byakuren, successfully striking him down to the ground. He was able to lessen the impact by a last-minute catch of his wind.
The boy struggled to get up while Mizuha froze the water and literally slid down the ramp of ice and then she easily got on the ground and shattered her ice into a million pieces, making it rain and glistened in the sun.
Once he got back up, he inhaled deeply before releasing an immense tornado. Mizuha yelped as she felt herself getting lifted off the ground. She firmly placed her hands on the ground and froze them stuck to it.
"I can't believe it! Kyouran actually created a natural disaster! But Hyoumei is still on the ground; she's not giving up!"
He's not thinking straight! I threw him off guard! Now he's being careless, he knows that he can't keep up this tornado once he starts lacking oxygen.
Byakuren stopped his tornado when he realized she wasn't giving up. He breathed in heavily, trying to take in as much oxygen as he can.
I can't think of anything... this unexpected development is preventing me from coming up with any possible moves. How can I turn the tide? I need to think, quickly!
Mizuha melted the ice from her hands and stood up calmly, watching him pant. She had time to make something big.
He hasn't realized that he's near the boundary line. Now's my chance!
Mizuha breathed in and gracefully waved her arm horizontally, creating a wave of water, and then waved it back while her other arm did the same in a symmetrical manner. Her hands rose up gently. To the audience, it looked like she was conducting the water as though she was leading an orchestra. The water swirled around and grew lightly with each motion she made until it finally grew exponentially high as soon as she slammed her hands down on the concrete, imitating a tsunami. Its width was literally the boundary lines from both sides and it was coming down fast.
"Hyoumei made her own natural disaster; a tsunami! ... Unbelievable!"
Byakuren immediately tried to run away from the incoming wave, but the moment the water reached him, it turned into steam.
He was surrounded by white steam. Dense steam.
I can't see anything...!
Wait.
Byakuren paled when he realized what she was doing. He immediately dispersed the steam with a small whirlwind, but was instantly faced with ice rushing towards him.
When he moved away from it, he felt something grab his shirt near and he was roughly pushed down to the floor on his back. His light purple orbs widened when they met onyx ones.
He realized what happened.
When her water evaporated into dense steam, Mizuha ran towards his left side while making it seem that she was in front of him by directing her ice in that particular direction. The moment he moved away from it, he unknowingly jumped right into her way, and was shoved down pass the boundary line.
Mizuha looked down at him, "I win!" she panted.
He couldn't believe it. She turned the tide so fast and won.
"Kyouran is out of bounds! Hyoumei wins!" Midnight announced.
The audience cheered loudly (while some booed because of her previous match).
Mizuha slowly loosened her hold on his shirt and dropped, sitting in front of him. Her entire body was shaking from the adrenaline. She couldn't believe how easy it was to use her Quirk properly. The girl looked over her head and looked at the stage. The proof was right there.
I used it properly... I can't believe it...
"Can you two walk? Do I need call in the robots?"
Mizuha jumped in surprise and looked at Midnight. She didn't even hear her approach.
Byakuren was the first one to speak after propping himself up with his elbows.
"I'm really out of it, but I think we'll be fine."
Mizuha blinked, we?
She looked at Byakuren. He was smiling at her with a hand towards her.
"Help me up?"
Mizuha stared at his hand, too shocked to say anything or to move.
... Are you kidding me?
The platinum haired girl trailed her eyes from his hand all the way up to his face. He was grinning and his eyes were expressing something sly as he raised his eyebrows at her. Mizuha quickly got back up on her feet and pulled him up to his, and as soon as was he ruffled her hair.
She didn't even hesitate. Mizuha's arms shot forward, hugging him tightly.
Midnight gushed at the two, "How youthful!"
Byakuren returned her hug, patting her head like as if she was a kid.
He snickered, "You cried on TV. Pfft~"
"Shut up."
"With Hyoumei's victory, she advances to the third round! And with that we've got our final five!"
The two supported each other to Recovery Girl's temporary infirmary. While they did both did get beat up pretty bad it was Byakuren who ended up being the injured one in their fight.
He congratulated her for winning the match.
And then he started to apologize to her.
"I'm sorry I hurt you when I said all those things. In fact, I kind of meant what I said but also didn't. Everything I said was kind of expressing how I really thought, but at the same time I also exaggerated to hurt you."
Mizuha listened to him quietly.
"I told myself I would help you slowly go back to the way you used to. I tried to make you open up to one person as a start. I thought I had enough time to help you move on until the Sports Festival, but when I went to your house that day... and I saw that you were already planning on changing schools after your expulsion... I just snapped. I had no idea you had given up so easily, and it made me angry. I was pissed at myself for being too soft and that I didn't try hard enough. I purposely made you think I didn't want to be friends with you in order to have you think I had a reason to be furious with you. I was literally forcing you to move on, and while people would think ill of me for it... I think I made the right choice... I really hope I didn't make a mistake."
His voice got smaller, "I'm sorry for hurting you Mizuha."
She couldn't help but smile a little, butting her head lightly against his, "I forgive you. You didn't make a mistake. You helped me. So, thank you."
All that matters is that everything is alright now.
As soon as Recovery Girl healed them, they sat next to each other, and Mizuha watched as the little lady added a small patch on his right cheek.
"Mizuha~ you know you can leave, right?"
"Nope, I'm staying here."
Recovery Girl laughed, "I see that you two are good friends."
Byakuren grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Normally, Mizuha would cringe and try to pry him off, but instead she chuckled and leaned towards him playfully.
It was as if the fight between them never happened at all.
The door opened.
The white haired boy looked at the door and instantly lightened up, waving his hand to greet them, "Hey, Kirishima!"
Kirishima greeted him back, "You doing okay?"
The white haired boy smiled and waved his hand to dismiss his concern, "I'm fine."
Mizuha looked down and away from her classmate. She felt a little out of place, knowing that Byakuren was the one he was worried for. It's as if she went back to square one with Kirishima. She simply sat on the stool, rubbing her index fingers against the rubber as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Byakuren immediately noticed how she fell silent. He then plopped a hand on her head and leaned his cheek on it.
"But most importantly, Mizuha is fine too." he said cheerfully.
Before they can prolong any conversation in the infirmary, Recovery Girl quickly shooed them away and told them to go back to their seats and watch the rest of the fights. Byakuren and Mizuha thanked her and left the office together with Kirishima. Mizuha was the last one to leave the office, shutting the door behind her. It was quiet. Until she was suddenly, and literally, swept off her feet.
She let out a cry of surprise when she felt her body get squished against another.
"I'm so proud of you!"
Kirishima gaped, "K-Kishokei-sensei?!"
How odd it was to see his classmate get hugged by their strict math teacher. She was pulled up against him while he bounced a little, clearly happy.
Mizuha started trying to claw at him, "Old man! Damn it! Let me go!" She cried while pushing away his face.
Byakuren chuckled in amusement. The redhead looked at him in search of an explanation for the current display in front of them.
"Kishoukei-sensei is Mizuha's uncle."
Kirishima nodded and looked back at the two until he completely registered what Byakuren told him. He did a double take.
Mizuha whipped her head towards Byakuren, "You big mouth!" she accused with a finger which he responded with a silly face.
Eijin finally set her down, smiling at her. He ruffled her hair affectionately, "Good job on overcoming your problem. I'm really proud of you."
Mizuha turned red from his praise, "... thanks." she muttered.
"Now, this is a big step for you and I don't want you backing down, you hear me? Do your absolute best from now on, alright? Do so in a way where your brother will be proud once he wakes up."
She realized that she forgot about her brother in the hospital. Instead of imagining a negative scenario of getting blamed by her brother, she started thinking about how nice it would actually be to see him smile at her. She wanted to be hugged and praised by her beloved older brother.
Mizuha nodded, confidence shinning in her eyes.
"Good luck on your next fight."
Eijin wished her good luck on her next match and gave her shoulder a squeeze before leaving her with her classmates, going back to his seat with the other teachers upstairs.
Mizuha sheepishly caught up with Kirishima and Byakuren.
"... sorry about that." She practically whispered, embarrassed from the display that just occurred.
Before they could start walking, however Byakuren spoke up.
"Mizuha, listen to me — you too, Kirishima. You should hear this— no more fakery, okay? Don't stop yourself from doing what you want anymore." Byakuren said seriously, looking at her eyes.
"... what do you—"
Byakuren cut her off, "You think I don't know what you're thinking when you look at others? When we were in middle school, I noticed the way you used to look at the other group of friends in class. You always have this longing expression on your face. You want to be surrounded by people like them but you stop yourself from doing what you want."
He couldn't remember the number of times he saw her like that. During breaks; during lunch periods; on the way home, she would occasionally stare at the people who were around her age that hung out with their friends. He knew that she knew that she couldn't rely on one person in her life forever, having friends in her life was important. But she always chose to solely rely on him.
"It sucks y'know? Being the only person that is able to see who you truly are. I can't share what I see with others because you don't want people to know. You refuse to let anyone in. You're always refusing to show who you really are. Sometimes I find myself questioning whether or not you really know yourself anymore. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I want you to be happier. You're practically my sister and I want you to be happy everyday, and not just at home or when it's just the two of us. Yes, I know you're not going to be that happy kid in elementary school, I'm not dumb. We grow up. The past makes you who you are. And, whether it's going to be a good thing or bad thing, it still remains to be seen. What matters now is what you choose to do next. So please don't suppress how you truly are, it's not fun that way."
Mizuha was at a loss for words. She never knew that he felt that way about her and this revelation made her feel empathetic towards him. His feelings reached her and she understood them. His feelings made her feel a little guilty.
She nodded, "Alright. I'll be more honest with myself from now on."
Byakuren pouted, crossing his arms. He wasn't very convinced. This made her frown a little, feeling insulted once again. He couldn't trust her?
"Prove it to me, now. Do or say something that you really want in front of me" Byakuren pointed his index at the redhead standing next to him, "He will be our witness!"
Kirishima visibly tensed, "Wait, what?"
Mizuha stepped in front of Kirishima, looking straight into his eyes. If she was going to be more honest with herself, then she was going to do the first thing she wanted. Her bow was quick and short, "I'm sorry for playing pretend with friendship."
When she straightened up, her words wouldn't come out as easily as she thought they would. Years of holding her tongue was making her hesitate to speak out loud. She didn't know why, but speaking honestly was a little embarrassing since it felt a little foreign. She opened her mouth and held up a finger, thinking about what to say to the boy in front of her who was staring back at her curiously.
Deflating, she slumped and dropped her head.
Then she stomped her foot on the ground, startling both boys.
She looked up, breathed in deeply and finally said it.
"I'm sorry for what I said this morning! I didn't really mean it! I lied! I actually do want to be friends with you. You're a nice guy, you're so friendly and I appreciate you thinking of me when I've been nothing but... kind of a liar since we started school, I mean I was honest sometimes, but not really? Uh... like I'd really like it if we were friends? If that's okay? Um—" and she continued to ramble on.
It was pretty amusing to see Mizuha act so flustered with her words, it was pretty much the opposite of her previously desired image of herself. She kept talking about what she really thought of everything during all the events, including today.
"-and I want to stay in this school. I don't want to leave!" She ended, panting.
...
...
...
Byakuren smacked his lips, cutting the silence, "Welp, that was more than I expected. See what happens when you bottle up too many things?"
Mizuha glared daggers at him, red faced. She was aware that she rambled it but it wasn't necessary for him to rub it in her face. While she was busy keeping her attention on the white haired boy, the other one finally responded.
Mizuha found herself enveloped in a tight hug. Her body immediately stiffened from the contact out of surprise. She was confused as hell. Why was the redhead hugging her?
Kirishima laughed a little, patting her back a few times before pulling away, "Don't worry! I still considered you my friend even after what you told me. Can't get rid of me that easily!"
She relaxed.
Relief was written all over her face but then was immediately replaced by a tiny smile. Suddenly, Byakuren caught her in a headlock and started walking down the hallway with Kirishima walking next to them. The way back was filled with laughter and protests.
The trio arrived just in time to witness Iida and Todoroki step onto the stage. As Present Mic starting giving introductions for both participants, Byakuren released Mizuha from his lock and went to sit. Kirishima followed him and encouraged Mizuha to come sit with them when he saw her fidget on the side.
Mizuha sat in next to Kirishima and the moment she leaned back in her seat, Ashido, who was sitting behind her leaned, towards her.
"Are you okay, Hyoumei?"
"Um, yes. Recovery Girl healed me..."
"No, not that." she pouted.
"Um..." Mizuha was lost.
"Kyouran made you cry!"
Eh?
Byakuren blinked with a smile, "Hm?"
Yaoyorozu sighed, "You guys were fighting about your argument from this morning. Honestly, Kyouran you should know better than to make a girl cry."
Uraraka puffed her cheeks, "Yeah, you made her cry in front of everyone! Including those who are watching on TV!"
"That wasn't very nice." Tsuyu pointed out. "I didn't think you'd actually be the type to strike a girl in the face."
"Whoa whoa! Hold on a sec!" Byakuren held up his hands in defense, "This is a tournament!"
Jiro crossed her arms and gave Byakuren a look. "You gonna tell us you weren't fighting because of what happened this morning?"
"Um..."
Most of the girls in the class were now giving him a nasty look for making their fellow female classmate cry. He tried searching for help from his other classmates, but they looked away leaving him to fend for himself. Some of them were actually siding with the girls on that one.
"No, it's fine. I deserved it." Mizuha rubbed the back of her head, "He helped me so it's okay."
She didn't need to tell her class her whole life story. She just explained that she needed to face her problem and Byakuren was forcing her to do it. A simple explanation that didn't reveal too much. Byakuren mentally praised her as a saint for saving him from the female army of their class. The girls were somewhat satisfied with the explanation but it didn't stop some of them to give the boy stink eye.
As soon as Todoroki was declared the winner of the match, the match brackets were displayed on the screen to keep the public updated.
Mizuha sighed and her body slouched in her seat; she started sinking when she found her name and the person who she would be facing. She completely forgot who else in the right part of the brackets came out as a victor.
"Someone is going to be fighting an extra match."
"It's Tokoyami, Kacchan and..." Midoriya trailed off but was cut off when Mizuha raised her hand and announced her own name.
Bakugo was the one fighting the extra match. She was pretty sure he wouldn't care as long as he climbed his way to the top.
Oh, she was absolutely thrilled about going up against the mad bomber. Sarcasm. She didn't know what kind of monster she would be facing until she got down there.
But her heart started beating in anticipation for her next match. Bakugo was determined to win the event with all he got so half-assed power wasn't going to cut it if she planned on going against him.
It was the perfect opportunity to finally show everyone her true power and stand out a little.
Mizuha groaned loudly and slumped further into her chair until she just dropped on the floor.
Kirishima laughed, "Do your best. He isn't going to hold back." he said, patting her head a few times.
Mizuha let out a shaky breath to calm her nerves and stood up.
Not even five minutes and I'm forced to head back down to the waiting room. Good lord.
Sensing her unease, Uraraka leaned forward in her seat and looked at Mizuha from the side. She understood how the platinum haired girl was feeling. After all, she went up against the angry bomber during the first round.
"Hyoumei." The brown haired girl called.
Hearing her name from the side, Mizuha curiously looked at the shorter girl with an attentive look.
Uraraka beamed a smile and gave her a thumbs up, "Good luck! Do your best!"
She wasn't ready to just spread her arms and tackle everything at once. No. Her heart and mind had decided to open up slowly, making her more open and attentive to the things around her. If she was still stubborn and closed off, she would have nodded at Uraraka's encouragement and let it fly out one ear after going through the other. She was used to Byakuren's words of encouragement but it was different to hear others do it while actually taking it in. Uraraka and a few others were wishing her good luck.
Mizuha gave them a quick nod, "Thanks."
Mizuha then turned around and started down the hallway.
It was brief and practically non-existent. However, he was always attentive when it came to her. He had grown to notice even the smallest details about her just as she did with him.
Byakuren watched her figure leave with widened eyes.
She smiled a little... it wasn't forced; fake or towards me... it was a genuine little smile.
After Bakugo and Tokoyami's match, Present Mic added a three minute break for Bakugo's next match; the one he needed to win in order to proceed to fight Todoroki for first place.
Mizuha was pacing around the room, breathing in heavily and telling herself to do her best. She even made sure to summon up some water and vapor to make sure her last match wasn't a fluke.
There was no doubt in her mind that the possibility of beating him was very slim. It was obvious. But the idea of forfeiting the match was obviously out of the question. If she was going to go down then she might as well go down fighting.
Mizuha glanced at the screen and noticed how there was only a minute left before her match would start.
I wonder how this fight is going to turn out.
Bakugo was arrogant, violent and aggressive. He was always ready to explode just like his Quirk.
Mizuha was like her Quirk too. A mess of different things.
"Well, now. This might as well be fate's work! This next fight is between the two who are representing our students! Bakugo Katsuki vs Hyoumei Mizuha!"
Mizuha was met with Bakugo's intimidating glare. She merely scowled thinking how he was already trying to take her down with his eyes alone when the match didn't even start yet.
He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, glaring at her.
The ash blond haired boy was facing a girl again. But this time it was going to be different since, unlike Uraraka, he recognized Hyoumei as the combat type based on the fights and the class training that he witnessed so far. She was able to able to deal with close range, mid-range and long-range combat. The chick was an all-rounder type. Sure, she wasn't an expert at every range but it was still impressive. However, whatever power she just displayed earlier didn't seem to be her forte; in fact, it looked rather chaotic and something from a spur of the moment.
Well whatever it was, it didn't matter. She had better fight him with everything she had so that he could crush her without any doubts. No one was going to be an exception.
"Bakugo."
His eyes narrowed.
"Come at me with everything you got. Don't you dare hold back on me." she practically ordered him. She was challenging herself to go all out.
The boy merely huffed in annoyance.
As if he was going to.
She wanted to give this fight all she had, and to do so it was going to require something was going to really force her to fight. Like Uraraka, she wasn't going to back out. She was prepared to fight against him knowing full well how strong he was.
Bakugo removed his hands out of his pockets, "Don't blame me if you get hurt, Mole Face."
...
...
...
"The fuck did you just call me?"
"START!"
...
...
...
U.A Sports Festival IV
Hyoumei Mizuha: Origin
I was having a hard time trying to find Bakugo's nickname for Mizuha. I was originally going to go with Crybaby but then I realized it had to be something that was a constant feature on Mizuha.
It completely slipped my mind that she had a mole on the left side of her mouth.
The next chapter will conclude the Sports Festival.
Aye, it's October 16! Happy birthday to Kirishima and Tetsutesu~