She's The Man

Chapter 21: Izuku Vs. Izumi: Sibling Rivalry

"WHAT!?" Izumi and Izuku shouted together at Midnight.

"I'm sorry you two, but after discussing the matter with Recovery Girl, it's been decided it's too risky for you two to fight in your current conditions. So the two of you will step out and we will call the match an immediate draw."

Izumi jerked out of bed shoving All Might off as he fussed with her. She was bandaged nearly head to toe.. Her eye was the worst of it, and she would lose partial vision in it, but on top of that Recovery Girl had only been able to heal a fraction of the burns on her arms so she reeked of aloe.

"Too dangerous to fight? I think that's for us to decide! Besides it's the finals! We can't just call it a draw!"

"I know you're frustrated Izumi…" she looked the girl up and down, and then to her brother. "Both of you. You've worked hard to come out on top… but think of your well being."

"I don't give a damn about that! I'm thinking about our classmates, and the other first year students we beat to get here! How do you think they would feel? You're just giving us the title, rather than letting us earn it."

"Izumi's right!" Izuku stood up. "Everyone's worked so hard, it's not just us! Bakugo, Todoroki, everyone strived for the top. Some of them are angry, frustrated and sad because their all just wasn't enough… so for us to just be given something like this… IT ISN'T RIGHT!"

Midnight crossed her arms, tapping her fingers on her forearms. She eyed them both carefully then slowly up at their father. "All Might… what do you think?"

"Me? Well uh…" All Might fidgeted under the sudden pressure. He looked down at his two eagerfaced kids, Izumi angry, and Izuku pleading. "I say… it's dangerous to fight… for a long period of time."

"Hmm?" Midnight's brows rose curiously. "Time?"

"Yes… These matches have been sporadic as far as how long they can last. Izuku's battle with Kirishima for instance took about ten minutes… while Izumi's with Yaoyorozu was almost instantaneous. I want them to earn the title… but I don't want the battle to drag out when they're injured like this."

"I see… Alright, it's decided!" Midnight cracked her whip, snapping Izumi and Izuku to attention. "You two will have your finals fight… however…" Midnight's sadistic smile spread and her dark aura came out. She held up three fingers. "You will have only 3 minutes to determine a winner."

"HUH?!" Once again both siblings looked dumbstruck and shocked.

"Three minutes!? That's not-"

"I won't hear anymore of your arguments. That's my final decision as referee. I shall let the officials know of our decision." She stepped out laughing and Izumi trembled with anger.

"DAMN IT!" She grabbed her father by the lapels of his jacket. "You just had to go and say something! You couldn't just let it go."

"I know it sounds harsh Izumi, but we're doing this for yours and your brother's own good." He wobbled as she continued to shake him, his voice vibrating.

"This is fucking ridiculous! Heroes risk their lives all the time. We shouldn't be babied just because we're teenagers!" She stopped shaking him and immediately sat down on her bed. Damn it she was hot in all these stupid bandages. She wiped a bead of sweat from her cheek. Izuku watched her and his eyes soften.

"Maybe… it's a good thing we're being timed."

"Hah? A moment ago you were just as upset as I was!" Izumi looked up at her brother. "What's with that face?"

"You look… really tired, Izumi."

Izumi's temple throbbed.

"Baka, brother… we've only got three minutes to show those idiots out there that we deserve the top spot. We can't waste a moment! So don't you dare hold back!" Izumi lectured him. "Don't make me give the same lecture to you as you did to Todoroki."

Izuku clenched his fists at his side. He looked at the fierce look in Izumi's one good eye, and immediately felt the fight return back. Izumi was hurting, burned and half blind.. But she was still raring to fight. He couldn't meet her with half assed feelings.

"Right… sorry, I lost it for a minute."

"Heh…" Izumi smirked and held out her right hand, and Izuku clasped it. "Just don't lose it a minute while we're fighting, or I'm gonna use it to wipe the stage with your sorry butt."

"Don't worry I won't!" He gently squeezed her palm in the promise.

The two of them were given some recovery time. With a little more pampering Izumi had recovered most of her stamina, and the bruises and scrapes on the rest of her body were healed.

She sat in the waiting room now, flexing her sore muscles. The burns still hurt as did her eye, but she could fight. Her brother, she knew, wasn't in great condition either because of the tears at his old wounds. He was in the clear from the concussion, which made her relieved as it was the one injury she had been truly worried about. Still neither of them would be at their best, which made this whole situation frustrating.

"Damn it…" she clenched her fist and jolted a bit when the door opened.

"Midoriya…" Todoroki's voice was like a cool salve against the burn of her pains. She felt her heart skip and all the emotions of the battle fly away as her gaze lifted to him.

"Todoroki-kun… Why are you here?"

"I wanted to finish our talk… You've got time, though I imagine you want to spend it strategizing for your brother."

"Not really…" Izumi sighed and closed her eyes… and when she opened them again, scowled at the miserable look on his face. "Why do you look as though you've just kicked a puppy?"

"I hurt you…"

"Hah? No you didn't we didn't even… oh." She blushed as she thought about their interaction before his battle. "That… it's fine. I told you, you don't have to apologize."

"I do, call it breeding or whatever but-" he bowed to her his eyes cast downward. "I'm sorry I hurt you, it wasn't intentional."

Izumi sighed and she reached out stroking his hair. Todoroki tensed and flushed red at the intimate touch.

"Do you see now that it wasn't your quirk that was the problem?"

"Yes… even without using it I did something I swore I would never do. I turned into him, just for a split second." He straightened and looked at his left hand. He remembered how shocked and hurt she'd been when he'd smacked her hand away from him.

"You're not him, Todoroki-kun." She touched his hand squeezing it. "You're not cruel, you're just angry and resentful. You finally let it out, set your fire free." Her smile spread sweetly. "You may have lost the match… but you won something better."

"Yes… you were right. Izuku knocked me down a peg. He only had to say a few words to get me to understand what you were trying to tell me."

"Izuku does have a bigger vocabulary than I do…" She smiled warmly and pulled back leaning on the table staring at her own hands. "As my twin, he knows everything about me… and he can speak exactly the way I feel. He's an amazing person." She laughed and bared her teeth in a smile. "You two will get along great in class, I'm sure of it."

"Mmmm" Todoroki returned the smile and sat across from her. "We all will. Your performance today will cinch your spot in class."

"I dunno about that. Even if I manage to beat my brother, there's no guarantee I'll be accepted." She lowered her head. "By the school maybe… but your classmates. They've only known Izuku… or how I've always seen him. My brother is a bit of a cry baby, but he's strong, smart, and genuinely cares for other people. He always thinks of others before himself, but has the strength and bravery to give it his all in everything he does."

"Sounds like you really admire your brother."

"I love him more than anyone or anything." She clasped her hands together tightly suddenly feeling the nerves and doubts of her upcoming fight. "I know he's the better twin."

"I don't think so…" Todoroki interrupted, and reached out to take her hands in his. Izumi's gaze lifted up and looked into Todoroki's eyes. She felt the flush and flutters of emotions rise up when he stroked his thumb over the bandaged knuckles. "I really don't think so."

She let out a shaky sigh and her smile was so soft and female, Todoroki felt his own heart flip around in his chest. Their fingers laced together, and he was in heaven.

"Mmmm so what did your jerk of a dad say about the loss?" She laughed when he grunted in annoyance. "That bad huh?"

"I don't want to talk about him…" He stood up and pulled her to her feet, but kept her hands locked in his pulling her close.

"Okay…" she let out a small breathy sigh. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"This…" He bent his head down and kissed her. Those soft supple lips parted in a sigh as the feel of him encasing her sent her heart galloping. His hands let go only to pull her in by her waist and wrap intimately there. They were chest to chest, mouth to mouth, heart to heart.

Izumi had been kissed by Bakugo, but that short sudden heat was nothing compared to the soft lulling embrace that Todoroki was giving her. Each of her senses were being stroked and tickled til she was giddy with the pleasure of it.

"Izumi…" he whispered against her lips, his hands bravely dipping under her shirt, stroking up her back and caressing skin.

"Kacchan I think that's-" Izuku's muffled voice came from the hall.

"Shut up I know where I-" Bakugo kicked the door down, and he paused mid sentence to gawk at what he found on the other side.

"What? What is it?" Izuku fidgeted and squirmed enough to get a look and he choked at what he saw.

His sister was wrapped around Todoroki like a vine, the guy's hands halfway up her shirt. Izuku in the meantime was tossed over Bakugo's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Bakugo's hand firmly gripping his ass and in a compromising way.

"Todoroki-kun? Izumi?" Izuku teared, suddenly wanting to die from embarrassment.

"Bakugo…" Todoroki held a gawking Izumi close. With his face stoic. He and Bakugo shared looks of understanding. "This never happened?"

"I wasn't even here…" He turned and walked away, Izuku fidgeting and begging him to set him down. When the door closed Todoroki looked down at the irritated and embarrassed Izumi and smiled.

"Now then… where were we?"

~Later~

Bakugo and Todoroki sat side by side in the student seating area, red welting marks on opposite cheeks where their significant others had smacked/punched them.

"You breathe a word of that to anybody, you're dead Todoroki." Bakugo grumbled low and scratched irritably at the cast on his arm. It'd been hard enough hauling Deku around, but then the guy had to get all self conscious and squirm. A stray palm had caught his cheek making him drop him and his lover got away. "Stupid nerd."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Todoroki grumbled rubbing his sore cheek. Girls were so complicated… Izumi had been more than willing to kiss him, and yet the moment Bakugo and her brother had walked in she'd tensed up and shied away… if you call punching him and ordering him to his seat shying away.

The thought of Izumi and Bakugo suddenly brought the strip tease and near kiss in her and Bakugo's fight. Annoyance, and jealousy had his temper flaring a bit. "Actually, I'm curious. Is it really Midoriya that you have feelings for?" He kept his voice low so only no one else would hear. "Or is he a convenience to you?"

"I don't have to answer to that… and besides it's Izumi's feelings you should be concerned with not mine. She's the one who made that move, not me."

"She did it to win."

"Not completely… even she's not that good at faking." Bakugo narrowed his eyes and he touched his lips. Still, it plagued him a bit that he'd given into the temptation so easily. He thought he'd been over her completely, and Deku was the one he was attracted to… but sure enough a five year crush didn't just disappear was still some things he was attracted to about Izumi… her fire, her passion… but little by little Deku was filling that void and becoming more and more vital to him. Whether or not that was a good or a bad thing he wasn't quite sure yet.

"Did I miss anything?" Uraraka rushed down the steps with two sodas in hand She handed one to each of them and then sat opposite of Todoroki. "Oh good, they haven't even started yet. I'm so excited!"

"So…" Kirishima leaned in from behind. "Who do you guys think is gonna win? My money's on Izuku, he's been kicking ass all day."

"Me too! Deku-kun has the advantage. He's really strong, and like Todoroki said the guy's like a tank!" Uraraka waved her fist in the air mimicking punches.

"What about you Bakugo, you're their childhood friend aren't you? You would know better than anyone."

"Tch… Doesn't matter to me since I'm not the one fighting." He glanced down at the ring, his good fist clenching over his knee. "but… out of the two of them, I say Izumi will win."

"Are you just saying that cuz she beat you or-"

"No… and shut up!" he glared back at Kirishima, his body twitching, obviously still sore from his humiliating loss. "The reason I choose Izumi is she's not afraid to play dirty to get what she wants… and she wants to win."

"Bakugo's got a point…" Todoroki pointed out. "They're both injured, so it may not come down to who the stronger fighter is, but who has the biggest will to win."

"You think Izumi is that person?" Uraraka asked, and watched his face harden. She looked down and her face went blue when she saw the two fighters walk out. "Good grief, Izumi looks like a mummy!"

"Midoriya isn't much better," Kaminari pointed with a finger. "He still hasn't recovered from his fight with Todoroki. Are they okay to fight like that?"

"It's finally time for the final match of the top first years! This year has been one exploding battle after another, and the top two heroes are a pair of twins that didn't let anything stand in their way! They fought tooth and nail and now the only thing standing in their way is each other!"

"That and their battle scars…" Aizawa commented offhandedly and had Present Mic twitching as he finally took notice of the fighters.

"Oh… you're right. Their previous battles were pretty intense." Present Mic laughed a bit rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah well, they've been given the okay by recovery girl and Midnight to fight, in the accordance that their battle lasts no more than three minutes."

"Three minutes!?" Sero blinked. "Are they serious? They're giving those two only three minutes to fight each other?"

"That's too bad…" Uraraka pouted and saw the disappointed and frustrated looks on Izumi and Izuku's faces. "I really wanted to see them go all out. They must be so disappointed."

They were disappointed, in almost identical poses the two faced off, heads hung, eyes hard. The brief little reprieve they had in the waiting room was over, and now with only the fight in mind, the two couldn't help but feel they were getting underestimated, and cheated.

It's not fair…

It was that single thought that started the chain reaction of emotions.

Everyone that fought us deserves closure by seeing a win…

We deserve a chance to show our stuff!

I worked too hard to be here to just let it slip away.

I fought too hard to be on top to just give it all uup

We promised Dad to show the world who we are…

Three minutes!? How can I win in three minutes!?

"It is a shame…" Aizawa commented over the speaker as Midnight took her spot in the center. "Those two are on top and given the proper recovery time probably would have given quite the show… but truth be told in their condition, it wouldn't have been much of a fight anyway."

That triggered it. Izumi and Izuku's heads snapped up in unison, their matching green eyes met and suddenly the fight was on. Before the signal to begin was even started, their quirks swelled, and power exploded around their bodies, electrifying and kicking up wind. Izumi's hair flowed up, her band new uniform fluttering around wildly. Izuku's muscles bunched and flexed and he grit his teeth lifting his hands up ready to fight.

It wasn't just their emotions and thoughts that were linked now. Their power was linked, pulsing and throbbing like synchronized heartbeats. They had the same goal, the same finish line.. And it was to win. That single solitary desire was enough to surge adrenaline through their entire beings and make any of the pain they were feeling slip away.

The hairs on the back of Todoroki's neck stood up and he slowly sat upright.

"What are they doing…"

"Does anyone else suddenly feel that?" Uraraka shuddered and rubbed her arms, her eyes unable to look away from the two in the center. "Their energy is giving me chills!"

"I know, it's exciting isn't it?" Kirishima held out a fist grinning ear to ear. "Looks like they're prepared to give this three minutes everything they've got! That's so manly!"

"Izumi's a girl though…" Tsuyu pointed out. "Ribbit, still… I've got a bad feeling about this."

"It's time! Put three minutes on the clock!" Midnight raised her hand, the large 3 minute countdown appearing behind her. "The final fight, Izuku vs Izumi… BEGIN!" She brought her hand down, before it even made it to chest height Midnight was tossed off her feet by an exploding ricochet of power. "KYA!"

"WHOA!" Uraraka held onto the railing in front of her to keep herself from being blown out of her seat. She hadn't even seen the two move, and suddenly Izumi and Izuku were in the center of the ring, fists connected, power pressing on power. "That was some wind!"

"Wind nothing, look at the stage!" Jiro pointed out noticing the crack that appeared right down the center of the ring.

"What was that?" Yaoyorozu peered over her heart thudding hard as another ripple of power pushed her back into her seat. "Such power! How are they generating that much strength?"

It started off slow… one punch… then two… fist meeting fist... Block, counter, block, until their moves just blurred together in a flurry of movement. Wind pushed out, and even if the officials did want to to stop their fight now, there was no way anyone could get close enough to do so.

The stage cracked and crumbled under the pressure, bits of debris popping up, and exploding to dust around them. The audience was awestruck, no one able to speak or move, and all eyes just stayed fixated on the battle in front of them.

Izuku made the first solid hit, catching Izumi in the stomach. She coughed and spat up, bending over in surrender to the punch but then matched it by bringing up her clenched fists and catching him under the chin. He fell backwards, and quickly rolled away before Izumi could punch his lights out. Her hand hit concrete and the power exploded the rock out creating a crater… but one on a much larger scale than in her fight with Bakugo. It sank so deep she could see the spread of mud and grass underneath them.

"Tch…" She quickly dodged her brother's full cowl, pivoting to the side and sprinting around the ring, backflips, hands springs, somersaults, dodging left and right avoiding any direct hits that would send her flying. Debris kicked up everywhere, the pebbles swirling around them like a dust storm.

"They keep this up, there's not gonna be much of a stage left for them to fight on." Todoroki pointed out, his voice numbed, but the was a small tremor in it that made him self aware of his shaken emotions.

"They're moving so fast…" Uraraka's eyes darted around, trying to follow the blurs of green light that dashed and zipped across the crumbling stage. "I can't keep up with them!"

"Where did this speed and strength come from?" Bakugo sneered his entire body shaking, and eyes wide. "Izumi was fast when I fought her but not this fast."

"I know what you mean…" Todoroki rubbed his ribs, wondering if they'd have merely been bruised if Izuku had shown this strength in their fight, "Midoriya didn't have this much raw power either. They've either been holding back this entire time… or something's snapped."

Izumi bounced and leapt dodging the gust attacks and building up he own momentum. She jumped up her hands raised over her head preparing to come down on Izuku but he caught her wrists pushing his power against hers.

Izumi touched down breathing the hold long enough to clasp hands with her brother. The power built up causing their hair to fly bodies to shake. Izuku wore a smile that was bright and cheeky.

"The hell are you smiling about?" Izumi snarled.

" Sorry I can't help it... You just looks so cool Izumi." Izuku admitted. "It makes me want to fight harder!"

Izumi's face showed surprise and then lit up with a confident smile.

"You too! You look so cool, Izuku." She pressed her forehead to his the two of them sharing identical grins as their surroundings turned chaotic from their rising power. The ground underneath them cracked under the pressure of their battling power, the heat of it rising higher and higher until it was too much and needed release.

Izumi twisted her brother's hands, breaking the hold, and their fists just flew. The pressure released, kicking the wind up and around them in a spiraling tornado. As dust and gravel lifted and covered their bodies behind it, Izumi and Izuku continued to battle at the epicenter completely focused on each other.

On the outside, Midnight stood next to Cementoss her eyes serious and cold. "I was a fool," she told him simply. "There's little more than a minute left, but even if time ran out they won't stop." She brushed at the hair the wind kicked around. "They're determined to give this fight everything they have, and won't rest until a victor is chosen."

"This power…" Cementoss said on a shocked whisper. "There's only one hero I've ever seen who could possibly match the level they're on right now."

"Yes…" Her eyes glanced behind her at the hero in question. "All Might."

The air aorund the twins made it easy for their bodies to be lifted upward, but even in mid air the fighting didn't stop. Hit and counter, block and dodge, It was a blurof power and speed that seemed endless. Izumi made the mistake of going for a grab hold, locking her arms around her brother and squeezing, but he quickly slammed his elbow into her ribs repeatedly to make her let go. Izumi choked and wheezed, her grip breaking as she coughed into her hands, tasting bile in the back of her throat.

This time Izuku grabbed her, and hurled her downward straight at the stage floor. Izumi felt that familiar fear of freefalling. Her instincts took over at that point, thrusting her fist out to catch her fall before she crash landed. The Tornado broke apart from the attack and Izumi bounced and crouched, her legs shaking. The bandage over her eyes came out revealing the pale orb behind it, but it didn't diminish the fury in her face.

Izuku landed hard on the ground, cracking the cement under him and slowly lifting his head and smiling at her.

"We're almost out of time…"

"Good.. then why don't we finish this!" Izumi powered up hair flying as she put everything into one final attack.

"Dad's move huh? Alright then! One final attack! Hold nothing back!" Izuku's pant legs and arms ripped as he let the power surge throughout his entire body.

"Let's do this, Zuku! It's time to show the world who we are!"

Izuku pounced and Izumi mirrored him, and together they screamed out so the whole world could hear them.

"SMASH!"

Their fists met again, but instead of a surprise pop of air, this power outright exploded. Todoroki felt his ears pop as the sound barrier broke and the matching wind nearly knocked him and his classmates up and out of their seats. The Tornado was back, and full of fury and ferocity. Echoing screams of surprise rang out across the stadium as it lashed dangerously up and out. Many had to use their quirks or help others to keep from being lifted away.

Then, nearly as fast as it had appeared, the tornado dispersed, and faded. People shakily got to their feet and into their seats, trying to see through the dust cloud at the center ring.

"W-what the hell was that? Those kids are crazy!" Present mic jerked upright, his normally sleek updo now poking out everywhere around his head.

"That's just what happens when powerful fighters go all out." Aizawa, a bit shaken but not at all surprised by the turn of events, commented.

"And I thought their semifinal matches were impressive, but this… WHAT THE HELL!?"

Midnight coughed and waved dust out of her face as she looked around at the surrounding area. Her eyes went wide and she nearly fainted at seeing the stage demolished but for one single centerpiece which both fighters still stood on.

Thunder clashed above, and rain pattered down. Already shocked audience members stared up at the sky and the sudden gathering of dark clouds that spiralled overhead.

"They're still standing…" one person said in a shaky voice. "How can they still be standing after something like that?"

"Their attacks were so strong that they changed the weather. They're just as strong as All Might!"

"They're exactly like All Might… it's almost as if they're…"

"These ARE his brats…" Endeavor said aloud, scowling down at the two.

Izumi coughed loudly, her breath wheezing out as she tried desperately to breathe. Her fighting arm was broken, her bandages peeling off and blood dripped from her old wounds. The rain dampened her skin and hair, and she shivered suddenly feeling so cold. On top of that she could barely make out what was in front of her. "Shit…"

"Izumi…"

"Don't say it!" She ordered her brother. "The timer hasn't gone off, so don't say let's call it here."

"I'm pretty sure we broke the clock… Izumi come on, I can barely move and you look ready to drop. We gave it our all like we said we would."

"Don't be a coward!" She coughed into her good hand shaking and wheezing. "I'm still standing, and I still got one good arm left and that's more than enough for me."

Izuku sighed… his eyes soft and his will to fight dropping at the sight of his sister struggling to stand. Enough was enough. His head was pounding, his muscles aching, and his spirit was content by what they'd accomplished. He turned to Midnight. "Midnight sensei-"

"Don't you dare!" Izumi jerked forward and gasped for air. She couldn't breathe, and the blurry vision suddenly became non existant. "No… I can't… mnnng!" Her world went dark and she collapsed to the ground just as the timer went off.

"IZUMI IS DOWN!" Present Mic shouted out in thunderous shock. "The three minutes are up! Izuku Midoriya is the winner!"

Izuku sighed and shook his head at his sister. Holding his broken arm he hobbled over to her.

"So stubborn… if you'd just stayed still-" He knelt beside her, turned her over, and his eyes went wide at the sight of her pale face. She'd lost all her color in a manner of seconds, and the sight of it had his heart racing. "Izumi?" He placed a hand over her forehead, she was so cold, and barely breathing. "Izumi! Hey! Wake up!" Tears filled his eyes when she didn't respond. "IZUMI!"

~Ask Briry~

Briry: I am the queen of cliffhangers… I'm so gonna die for this.. I can feel the daggers in my back already. The next chapter is the finale, but be sure to look for the sequel "He's the Hero," shortly after this is concluded. Also if you like this fic, and haven't already, be sure to check out the Midori series as well!

Next Chapter: Conclusion