Chapter 13: Elements Ablaze
Midoriya stood at the entrance to the arena, his breath shaky.
I've fought dragons, frost giants, even villains, he thought, trying to keep his hands still. But I can't remember the last time I was this nervous for a fight.
Maybe it was because no ones life was on the line or because he knew Todoroki's complicated upbringing. He swallowed his nerves, remembering that he needed to keep to Todoroki's right.
He heard Present Mic announce him and, in his jittery anxiousness, he only half-heard whatever terrible moniker the teacher had given him. He set Mjolnir down on the grass and walked onto the cement arena.
"HE'S HOT THEN HE'S COLD, TODOROKI SHOUTO!"
Todoroki made his way out, never once taking his eyes off Midoriya with an icy glare. The malice in his gaze was almost palpable, but it sparked a new feeling in Midoriya's gut.
This is kind of bullshit, Midoriya realized, gritting his teeth right back. Acting like fighting me is going to fix his daddy issues? I'm the God of Thunder and he's going into this at half strength? I never asked for -
"GO!" Midnight cried, interrupting his thoughts.
Midoriya jumped and raised his hand, staring down the wall of ice rushing towards him.
Icicles climbed his legs and enclosed his body, ensnaring him in place. He gasped as the air around him was solidified and began to encase his body, freezing him in place and dropping his body temperature. He couldn't feel his legs as the ice climbed past as his eyes.
But he could feel Mjolnir break through the enclosure, shattering part of the glacier that hard formed around him. The lightning in his soul swelled at it's touch.
Midoriya was the God of Thunder.
As the audience wondered if the match was over, a lightning bolt crashed from the clear, blue sky and struck the mountain of ice Todoroki had created in his rage. It exploded into millions of fine crystals and mist as Midoriya stepped out, eyes glowing blue with electric power.
"Nice try," Midoriya snarled.
Todoroki glowered right back, throwing his left hand forward again, sending ice streaming forth.
Deku wasn't having it, throwing Mjolnir at his opponent. The hammer smashed through the ice attack and blasted Todoroki in the chest, throwing him on his back.
Midoriya was already charging forward as he recalled Mjolnir to him. Catching it, he charged it with electricity and jumped into the air, looking to bring the hammer down on Todoroki with an electrified smash.
Todoroki's eyes widened and he rolled onto his right side, using his left hand and leg to generate a dome of ice to protect himself.
Deku hammered the barrier and it exploded as before, sending electricity scattering through the air. But Todoroki was standing on the other side and shot a pillar of ice out of his left hand. It grew jagged and splintered, pushing Midoriya into the air, cutting up his gym clothes and cutting his shoulders.
Groaning, Deku smacked Mjolnir into the side of the pillar and sent lightning through it, zapping Todoroki and causing him to drop the attack as he collapsed to the floor in pain.
Deku pried himself off the pillar and landed on the arena floor, panting, as Todoroki got up. Their eyes met, exchanging death glares again, and the two charged forward towards each other.
As they met up, Todoroki waved his left hand in the air to create a trail of spikes, but Deku simply smashed through them with a downward swing of Mjolnir. "It's not going to work, Todoroki."
Todoroki jumped backward and stomped down on the ground, causing an ice slick to slide out. But as it approached Deku, he slammed his hammer against the ground, sending a wave of electricity up the ice, shattering it. "STOP HOLDING BACK!" He screamed.
"I don't need my father's power to be the best!" Todoroki sneered, coldly, but he was already starting to frost up and slow down. As he lifted his left hand to attack again, Midoriya swung Mjolnir, the hammer smacking against Todoroki's wrist and breaking it. The taller boy howled in pain as the audience groaned sympathetically.
"It's YOUR POWER!" Midoriya yelled. He dropped Mjolnir to the ground and balled his hands into fists. In his rage, his electricity was only slightly weakened as it coursed up his arms. He swung a right haymaker across Todoroki's scarred eye, sparks crackling as the taller boy yelled backwards. "How can you be a Hero if you don't give it your all?!"
Enraged, ice encased Todoroki's entire left arm and he returned the punch, hitting Midoriya on the side of the head and sending him crashing to the ground. "Don't sit here and act like you know the shit my father put me through!"
Todoroki punched downwards at Deku, but the green haired boy rolled out of the way onto his knees. The ice around Todoroki's hand shattered, and he screamed in pain at his broken wrist. Deku lunged forward and buried his fist into Todoroki's stomach, causing the taller boy to double over in pain. "You're right! I don't!" Deku growled, stepping forward and uppercutting Todoroki with his other hand. Electricity ran through Todoroki and he was flung a few feet into the air. He created a slide under his left foot and slid a few feet away from Midoriya.
Midoriya summoned Mjolnir back to him. "But is that who you want to be? Some half-assed hero who holds back because of the shadow placed over you?" He began spinning Mjolnir at his side, lightning crackling around him. "Or make your own legacy to be the best hero possible?"
As Midoriya charged his next attack, he could see the gears turning behind Todoroki's eyes. Just as he was preparing to unleash a lightning blast, he could just barely hear Todoroki mutter: "Fine."
Before Deku could raise his hammer for a lightning strike, a wave of fire came careening towards him. He was barely able to spin Mjolnir in front of him to create a wind barrier at the last second. Even still, flames licked over the circumference of his hammer, causing sweat to explode from his pores.
Maybe that was a bad idea, he thought through clenched teeth.
Todoroki was on his feet, approaching with his right hand extended, and left hand limply tucked towards his stomach. The flames only grew more intense as he got closer.
Making a split second defensive decision, Midoriya pulled Mjolnir over his head and flew up into the air, cringing as the fire licked his knees and ankles.
"YOU'RE RIGHT MIDORIYA!" Todoroki shouted as a grin spread across his face. He waved his right hand, and wall of fire jettisoned towards Deku. The green haired boy-swerved in the air to his left, just barely dodging. "I'M GOING TO BE THE GREATEST HERO! WITH ALL MY POWER!"
Todoroki punched the ground, and a circle of flames surrounded him, reaching up into the sky. It moved outward, giving Deku nowhere to escape.
"Can't fly up in time," he panicked, "which just leaves..."
Deku flew straight down towards the arena grounds, smashing Mjolnir into the pavement. Chunks of debris and rubble the side of chairs flew up from the ground.
"Hate to steal your idea, Uraraka, but..."
Spinning Mjolnir in front of him, he created a horizontal wind vortex that pushed the rubble through the wall of fire, cutting a safe opening for him, and pelting Todoroki with the debris. The taller teen staggered backwards.
Seizing the opportunity, Midoriya unleashed the lightning blast he'd been saving towards Todoroki. Todoroki stomped the ground with his left foot, raising a wall of ice to protect himself, and jumped away from the frozen liquid. The lightning crashed through the ice wall, just barely missing him. But as the ice wall fell, he let loose another massive stream of fire.
This time, Deku was unprepared and the flames washed over him. He screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground, burnt. As the fire subsided, he still was able to pull himself to his knees.
"I'm going to be the greatest hero, with my own power," Todoroki repeated, stepping forward. "And no amount of flying, wind, or lightning can stop me!"
The short monologue was all Deku needed to see Todoroki had stepped on one of his ice slicks, a small pillar of ice still connected to it.
Deku threw Mjolnir, and Todoroki immediately braced, until he saw the hammer going for the pillar. His eyes widened a split too second.
As Mjolnir struck the pillar, electricity exploded out of it, sending the charge through the ice slick and zapping Todoroki. The son of the number two Hero screamed skyward in agony, dropping to his knees as the electrocution stopped.
Todoroki twitched as he looked up. Burnt and scarred, Deku was already charging towards him, summoning Mjolnir on the way. As the hammer his hand, Todoroki could only muster the energy to mutter, "oh."
Deku reached Todoroki and hit him with a hammer uppercut, lightning crackling through the taller boy once more. Finally, Todoroki collapsed on the ground and twitched once before passing out.
"WE HAVE A WINNER!" Present Mic screamed as the arena erupted into cheers.
The feeling from the crowd was palpable; this was one of the matches people were waiting for, and it didn't disappoint the live crowd that day.
Deku wiped the sweat off his brow and went to check on Todoroki, but he was quickly accosted by Recovery Girl, who had already made her way out.
"You there!" She huffed, "help me get this boy to the recovery ward, so I can examine both of you!"
"Both... of us?" Midoriya asked.
"Of course," she replied, tutting as though this should be obvious. "Can't have you running around here with burns. Honestly... such a foolhardy event. Sports Festival my bony, old keester..."
Deku helped Todoroki, now half conscious and mumbling to his feet, and slung an arm over his shoulder. He looked down at the burns over his arm and saw them fading.
--
A few months ago...
--
"My mom is going to kill me when she sees me covered in these burns," Midoriya cringed, sitting down in front of the throne of Asgard.
"The flaming skeletons were new," Thor admitted, collapsing on the throne himself. "Still, you handled yourself well. Can't expect to fight on a magma planet without a few burns."
"I know, but I can only imagine what she's going to say..."
Thor leaned forward. "You haven't noticed it yet."
"Huh?"
Thor shook his head, a grin on his face. "You are deceptively light on your feet, so you tend to dodge or deflect attacks, but just sit here awhile before going home, and hold on to Mjolnir."
At first, Midoriya didn't realize what his mentor meant, but after half an hour, it became apparent; the burns faded away until they were minor markings, barely visible against his skin. "How did this work, Thor?"
"Contact with Mjolnir accelerates the body's healing process and removes foreign toxins," Thor explained. "It's not perfect; I once knew someone who suffered from cancer and the hammer removed the effects of her chemotherapy because it was a foreign entity."
As Thor retold the events, his eye fell to the floor, and a certain gloom seemed to surround him. Midoriya knew Thor was a lot of things, but subtle with his feelings was not one of them. "I'm sorry..."
Thor looked up, shaking himself from the tale. "No matter. While it has some potential drawbacks, Mjolnir will heal you from burns, abrasions, cuts and the like. If a bone is broken, you will still need to have it set, but it will help with that too. Think of it as brute-force healing. Just try not to shattering your arms."
"Oh, yeah, that would be awful." Midoriya laughed.
--
Present Day
--
Midoriya sat on the infirmary bed, one hand on Mjolnir, patiently waiting for Recovery Girl to examine him. He watched the television in the room, waiting for the next match to start.
By the time Todoroki was secured in his own bed, Recovery Girl walked over to Deku and did a double-take. "Hmm. Doesn't look like there's much I can do for you. I must have been mistaken, in my old age."
Deku looked himself over and saw what she meant; most of his burns were already fading away. "Am I free to go?"
Recovery Girl still performed a quick examination on him before finally dismissing him and Midoriya rushed down to the one of the arena entrances, wanting to watch from as close as possible. As he reached the clearing, staying as far back so as not to interfere or get in the way of the match, he saw Bakugou had already taken the field, while Asui was hopping out to Present Mic's announcement.
"Good luck, Tsuyu," he muttered, knowing she couldn't hear him.
Midnight signaled the start of the match. Bakugou propelled himself forward and Asui crouched down to all fours in preparation. As he approached he threw his hands downwards to hit her with an explosion, but Tsuyu jumped over him, his explosion kicking up dust and debris.
Bakugou was already turning around and launching himself towards Asui landed in another crouch. "GET BACK HERE, KERMIT!"
Asui proceeded to jump and Bakugou made a ninety-degree vertical turn, launching himself straight up into the air after her. But Tsuyu had predicted this and shot her tongue down to the ground, pulling herself down to just barely dodge Bakugou.
Katsuki turned himself in mid air to attack downwards, but he was a bit too late. Tsuyu shot her tongue up, wrapped it around his neck, and pulled Bakugou face-first towards the pavement. Before he hit the ground, he created another explosion under him, stopping Tsuyu's pull enough for him to land on his feet. Grabbing her tongue, he pulled her in towards him, just as Kendo had done. Taken by surprise, Tsuyu was hit by an explosion as she was within close range of Bakugou.
She was thrown across the platform, rolling across the pavement, as Bakugou pursued. As Asui stopped rolling and landed on her back, she tucked her knees into her chest as Bakugou drew near, and kicked him in the face with her powerful legs.
Bakugou was thrust into the air from the force and Asui sprang to her feet. She grabbed him by the neck with her tongue again and pulled him down, this time hitting him in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick.
It was Katusuki's turn to hit the ground hard, landing on his side. Asui's tongue still around his neck, she pulled herself towards him and hit a dropkick on his spine, hoping to knock him out of the ring. But, as Bakugou approached the edge of the ring, he thrust his hands towards the edge and let loose another blast, pushing himself back to the middle of the ring.
He turned and the combatants met with determined gazes.
From the entrance way to the field, Midoriya watched intently. Bakugou was normally an intimidating person with his boisterous, aggressive personality but he was at his most dangerous when he was quiet. And he hadn't said anything in awhile.
Bakugou charged towards Asui, who shot her tongue out for his throat again. But Bakugou pivoted to the side, rolling past her tongue to dodge, and hit it with an explosion. Asui flinched as she reeled her tongue back in and tried to jump over Bakugou once more as he reached her.
But Bakugou had only used one hand to draw her into the jump; he reached his free hand up and was able to hit against her stomach, unleashing another blast that sent Tsuyu flying back through the air. She crashed against the pavement, hard.
Bakugou was on top of her in an instant, holding a hand against her forehead. "I've got you."
What he wasn't expecting was for Tsuyu to spit poison directly into his eyes and nose. He immediately sprang off of her on instinct and she wrapped her tongue around his waist to throw him.
But Bakugou was quick-witted. Blinded, he used explosions to rocket up into the air. Despite how hard Tsuyu pulled, he ascended, and used his explosions to spin, rapidly.
Attached to him, Tsuyu got spun through the air a few times in a radius around Bakugou. The crowd gasped as she became a blur, and she finally lost her grip, crashing back onto the pavement below, barely moving.
In the air, Bakugou stopped, rubbed the poison off his eyes, and spotted Tsuyu on the ground. He rocketed himself to the ground and pounced on her again, this time covering her mouth. He waved Midnight over.
As the teacher approached, Bakugou growled. "You stole my headband. If you try anything else, I'll blow your fucking head off. Got it?"
Asui's eyes were glazed over though; she was barely conscious.
"She's in no condition to fight," Midnight advised him, "the match is -"
"I WANT HER TO YIELD!" Bakugou turned, screaming.
Midnight had no time for his shit, her eyes turning cross. "Take a look at her. She can't." She furrowed her brow sternly. "Get off her or I will disqualify you."
Infuriated, Bakugou rose to his feet. Midnight signaled the end to Present Mic, who wasted no time shouting, "AND WE HAVE A WINNER!"
The crowd erupted again cheering for the quick and exciting match. Bakugou stormed off the field as Recovery Girl stormed onto it to collect Asui.
--
"Oh dear, that's Izuku's friend, isn't it?" Inko asked, leaning forward. "I hope she'll be okay."
The four fell silent, listening to Midnight announce the small intermission before the finals would take place.
Thor leaned forward, knowing, that despite all his teasing, Midoriya had grown somewhat close with Asui. Don't lose control of yourself, Midoriya, he thought, folding his hands in front of himself and resting his elbows on his knees. I have faith in you.
--
Midoriya knew he only had a few minutes to prepare for his match. But, as he paced back and forth in the waiting room, he was itching to fight.
He had followed Recovery Girl to the infirmary, but she shooed him out, assuring Midoriya that Asui had a minor concussion and she would be fine after some treatment.
There were a lot of feelings mixing in Deku's head, none more troubling than anger and guilt. Anger, of course, that he had watched Bakugou give some he cared about a concussion, even if it was unintentional. But guilt in the fact that Katsuki was carrying a grudge against Asui for stealing his headband... which was Deku's plan in the first place.
He had heard Bakugou's words at the end of the match.
"If you move, I'll blow your fucking head off."
The sentence repeated in his head with each step he took, his knuckles white and shaking slightly.
Other words and phrases he had heard throughout his life began stacking up in his mind, too.
"Why don't you kill yourself?"
"Quirkless."
"Loser."
"Shitty."
"Useless."
"Deku."
He was interrupted as Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium. "IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST YEAR'S FINAL ROUND OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
Midoriya stopped pacing and picked up Mjolnir.
A small grin spread across his face as Present Mic called his name.
He was going to enjoy this.