Chapter 32: Izuku Somehow Makes Friends ft. Hitoshi
The next couple of matches went on and Izuku found himself both intrigued and getting bored as he watched.
He made sure to take notes and try to analyze everybody's quirks and how they used them, but the fights began becoming predictable. Shoto won every one of his matches, as expected with how strong even half of his quirk was. Katsuki hadn't lost any of his either, which again, not surprising. He did notice however, that his first match he was acting a little off. Almost as if he was distracted by something. His opponent trying to punch him out of the ring brought him back though and it wasn't long until the match was over and Katsuki stood victorious.
The only time when Izuku caught himself sitting on the edge of his seat in anticipation was his match against his classmate Ochako Uraraka. She looked like a nice girl, one that Katsuki would've sent running away screaming in middle school, but the way they interacted during the fight and in the past events…it was nice to see him being civil with someone for once.
That being said, he still won the match, but it was a very close win. Uraraka had come up with a brilliant plan of dodging in a way that Katsuki sealed his own loss by blowing up the ground and giving her exactly what she needed to pull one over on him. In the end Katsuki was just too strong to be bested, but only just barely.
And when the girl collapsed to her knees after his finishing move, he lurched after her to catch her before the rest of her body hit the ground.
If Izuku didn't know any better, he'd say that he swore he heard the faint whisper of Katsuki praising her performance and telling her how good of a fight she put up.
Hitoshi had a pretty consistent winning streak as well and from what Izuku could tell, no one had come close to figuring out exactly what his quirk was or how it worked.
That was until this last round. It was the semi-finals and Hitoshi would be going up against Shoto while Katsuki went up against another student from the hero course, Eijiro Kirishima.
Izuku honestly didn't know how this was going to pan out.
From the stands Izuku could tell that something was off. Shoto looked like he was hurting, even from far away Izuku could tell from his usually stale face that was now scrunched in what looked like frustration and pain.
The boy's previous matches had been won without a shadow of a doubt, but he had only used his ice. Izuku couldn't blame the kid, it takes more than one conversation in a random hallway to heal a lifetime of trauma, but he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that his words hadn't gotten through to him like he hoped they had.
Mic's voice rang from the above speakers, and the match began.
For as quiet as Shoto seemed to be, he had sure been talkative today. Although apparently all of that chattiness had run out because it wasn't even ten seconds before Shinso was completely incased in ice and unable to move. Hitoshi struggled against the ice and called out to Shoto in a last-ditch effort to take control of the boy, but he had already turned away and began to walk off with such a sad expression that Izuku's heart hurt just by looking at it.
And that was it for Hitoshi Shinso. Made it to the semi-finals and lost against the strongest student in the hero course. Not exactly a bad run, not by any means.
Izuku let a small smile creep to his lips as he watched his friend being melted from his ice prison and sulk off of the ring. He knew that he had to be disappointed. If Hitoshi was anything, it was ambitious and Izuku knew that unless he beat it into his head, he wouldn't see just how well he did even if he didn't win.
It was insane how far he had come in such a short amount of time. He had almost won basically quirkless and without anyone figuring out how his quirk worked, which was a very big bonus.
He glanced up to the booth that held Eraser and Present Mic and could swear that he saw the two heroes smiling with pride, but he must've been seeing things.
Izuku flickered his eyes from the arena to the booth a few times, debating in his head whether or not he thought he would be able to get away with sneaking off to go congratulate Hitoshi, but just as he was about to slip away Eraser's cold stare met his and the boy crossed his arms as he slouched back down under the pro's scrutinizing glare. He would have time to talk to Hitoshi after.
Katsuki won his match against the hardening kid, Kirishima. It wasn't an easy match, but it was also clear that the boy would have to train some more to be able to go toe to toe with him. That was okay though, they were only first years after all and Izuku didn't know anyone else who trained so vigorously to perfect his quirk along with everything else before he even got into a hero school.
And then it was the finals. Shoto Todoroki verses Katsuki Bakugou.
The match was brutal. Both boys being exceeding good at fighting and controlling their quirks, but in the end, Shoto's unwillingness to put his all into the fight was what took him down. During their fight, it was clear that Katsuki was getting irritated with his opponent holding back, but he somehow controlled his temper rather than trying to beat the fight out of him like he would've in the past.
After his finishing move and the smoke cleared, Katsuki stood in the arena while Shoto was laying on the ground outside of the line having been blown out of bounds.
Katsuki had to be pissed, but apparently only mildly so. If anything, he seemed concerned about his opponent. Even going as far as to walk over and check on the guy once his victory was announced. The two boys exchanged a few words that resulted in sour faces on both parties and then they parted ways, going back the way they came.
The awards ceremony came, with Hitoshi and Kirishima sharing third place, Shoto in second, and Katsuki in first. Izuku was surprised to see All Might giving them their medals, apparently, he had come onto the UA staff to teach the first years? He wasn't exactly sure how great of an idea that was, but what he was even more shocked by was Eraser's self-control. He knew that the two probably butted heads and the fact that he hadn't complained about how stupid the number one hero can be in front of Izuku was impressive. He'd have to have a talk with him and maybe they could exchange their stories of how much the guy sucked sometimes.
Everything seemed fine, but it was clear that there was some tension between each of the students. Katsuki kept on glancing at Shoto and when he did his face would scrunch in anger before it melted into something along the lines of sorrow and then back to normal.
Shoto looked like he was fighting an internal battle in his mind and ignored all of the screams of praise around him.
Kirishima would shoot worried looks at the other boys, clearly uncomfortable with the mood surrounding him.
And Hitoshi made no move to try to hide his hateful glare that never left Katsuki. The boy took notice and was clearly very confused as to why this guy he had never seen before in his life looked like he wanted to jump onto his podium and strangle him.
All Might, oblivious to all of the animosity, congratulated each of the boys and then it was all over.
Izuku opted for hiding in a corner until the majority of the crowds left. He had a feeling that Eraser would want to keep him close while he was on the school campus, and he had already tormented the hero enough for the day.
The people left and the students began to emerge and go home themselves. That meant it was time to find Hitoshi. Or get caught by Eraser, whichever comes first.
Izuku took out his phone and shot a text to his friend to meet him at the front of the school where he was leaning against a pole. Students walked past and looked at him questioningly, but considering that he looked like a student himself, they didn't say anything.
He had been scrolling through his phone when he felt someone walk up to him quietly. Looking up he was met with the blue and grey eyes of Shoto Todoroki.
The kid had looked better. He had some scrapes and bruises from his matches, but overall, he seemed fine physically. Izuku had heard that Recovery Girl was on staff at UA and with her quirk he wasn't worried about anyone leaving too injured.
"Um, hello?" Izuku continued to look at the boy who stood in front of him silently just staring.
"Hi. Did you enjoy the festival?"
Alright… "Uh, yeah, I did. You did great, congrats on second-."
"Did you mean what you said?"
"Excuse me?" The switch was way too abrupt for Izuku to try to recover so soon. The question came out of nowhere and it seemed like one that had been burning within him from his tone and the way his eyes were baring into his own.
"Before the last event, what you said about me not letting my father dictate my life. Did you mean that?"
Izuku softened at the desperation radiating off of the boy in front of him. Maybe his words had done more than he thought. "Of course I did."
"But is that actually possible?"
"I think so. If not, then I'm screwed." He let out a breathy laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Look, our parents might play a big part in our lives, but they are not in control of us. You are your own person who can make your own decisions and forge your own path. Your father might be a dick, but you don't have to let him control you."
"It's not that simple."
"Well, of course not. It's going to take some work, just like everything else in life, but you can begin with taking your power into your own hands. Because that's what it is, your power. Not your mother's, not your father's, it's your quirk and you have to decide what you're going to do with it."
Shoto's eyes continued to stare into Izuku's, to the point that he was getting more and more uncomfortable the longer they held eye contact. "Alright." Was all he said after a few more moments. He broke his gaze and look a deep breath before looking at Izuku again, this time with furrowed brows.
"Um, is everything-"
"What's your phone number?" Interrupting Izuku again, Shoto pulled out his phone that he kept in his pants pocket and held it out to him, his face completely neutral and his tone flat.
"Oh, uh…" Izuku stared at the outstretched phone and then to its owner and then back to the phone. Finally taking it after a second, "Alright…"
He quickly put in his contact info and sent himself a text message so that he'd have Shoto's number as well. He had to stop himself from putting his full name and opted for simply his first name, the boy already called him by it anyway, so why go through the trouble of putting in a fake name?
"Here," He handed it back once he was finished and Shoto took it with a nod."
"Thank you. I will text you and I hope that you will do the same." And with a quick bow the boy turned around and left. Leaving Izuku standing in front of the pole he had been leaning against gaping.
…what just happened?"
Of course, this was when Hitoshi decided to make his appearance. "Wasn't that that Todoroki guy? The one with the ice quirk?" He asked as he walked up to Izuku's side.
The boy could only nod in response, still majorly confused by whatever interaction he had just had.
"What did he want?"
"…I think he wanted a friend."
"A friend? And he chose you?"
This brought Izuku out of his daze with a laugh, "I know right! Man's got terrible taste."
"You're telling me," Hitoshi rolled his eyes as the two continued laughing.
"What are you two gremlins laughing about? What did you destroy?" Eraser's voice came from behind them, and the two boys just descended further into laughter.
Izuku took a breath in between wheezes and dramatically put his hand over his heart, "Your lack of faith in us is hurtful Eraser."
"It's not my lack of faith in you, rather my lack of faith in your ability to behave. I'm not so much worried about Shinso, but you two tend to feed of each other so it really depends."
This caused the two boys to fall back into fits if laughter while the pro rolled his eyes at his problem children.
"Alright, I have to go back inside to talk with Nezu briefly, but I'll be right back. Stay here and please, for the love of God, try to behave."
"No promises!" Izuku yelled as he waved to the fleeing hero who groaned at his response.
Once he left the boys quickly fell into comfortable conversation. Izuku congratulated him on his performance and smacked the back of Hitoshi's head when he tried to say that he didn't do well or that he was weak. They joked and laughed as they waited, and students passed them on their ways home.
It wasn't too long before two students that Izuku recognized walked by. He hoped that they would just keep going and that they weren't as nice of people as he thought they were. Of course, nothing ever worked out in his favor and the two boys stopped walking as they caught glimpse of him.
"Hey! Minori right?" The blonde with the lightning quirk yelled as he walked up to the two boys.
Izuku grimaced at his stupid coverup, and he caught the look of his friend at his side that he knew meant he was never going to live this down. "Uh, yep…I guess."
The red head with the hardening quirk followed the blonde with a very similar look of joy at seeing them. "Hey, what's up man? How did you like the festival? I was pretty manly right?!" The red head, Kirishima, flexed his arms as the group laughed at his comment.
"Very manly. Yeah, you guys did great, although your quirk confuses me a bit," He turned to the blonde, Kaminari. "Has it always had that drawback?"
Kaminari's cheeks lit up pink as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah…it's just something that happens when I go over my wattage limit."
Izuku put his hand on his chin as he thought, "From what I could gather, your quirk is generating electricity right? Not manipulating it?"
The two hero course students looked at each other and then back at Izuku with surprise painted clearly on each of their faces. "Woah dude, are you like some kind of genius or something?"
"Definitely not." Shinso muttered under his breath that earned him a quick elbow to his side.
"No, I just like observing and analyzing quirks. From what I can tell, you're using your quirk well, but not nearly as efficiently as you could. You're generating all of this electricity with no way of directing it and so you're forced to overuse and overcompensate for it. I have some ideas of how you can get around that if you'd be interested-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, the blonde was up in his face with the widest grin he had ever seen, "Are you kidding? I'd love that!" He grabbed both if Izuku's shoulders and bounced in excitement, leaving the boy to look around in panic of what he was supposed to do.
"Alright man, that's enough. You're going to scare the guy off before you even start." Kirishima pulled Kaminari back by the scruff of his collar and apologized to Izuku. "We'd better get going, but why don't we exchange numbers?"
Izuku and Shinso looked at each other in confusion. This was new for them. Sure, they had become friends, but neither really understood exactly how or why. And the thing with Shoto earlier was weird and not something that Izuku thought would be considered the 'norm' for making friends. These two however, seemed to be experts in the subject.
"Uh, sure." Izuku handed the red head his phone and took his in order to add themselves to each other's contacts.
"You too dude!" Kaminari thrust his phone out to Shinso who just stared at it wide-eyed for a minute before taking it.
Once they were all finished the two boys said their goodbyes and left, leaving Izuku and Shinso reeling from what just happened. They both stood in silence for a while, before the boy beside him let out a noise that sounded like he was holding in a laugh, "Izuku Minori?" He choked out followed by another fit of laughter.
"I panicked!"