Another chapter has arrived
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"Hrm…" All Might watched in the stands. He sat next to Aizawa, reverently close to the front. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Hey… Aizawa?"
"Hmm? What is it?" Aizawa replied back.
"By chance… do you remember that World War III incident about a year or so ago?" All Might asked, turning toward the man sitting next to him.
"Yeah. As an international force, outside of rescuing civilians if needed, Heroes were barred from picking a side… what about it?"
"I remember that part. What I'm asking about is if you remember that news report? The one that was accusing Academy City officials of sending its young Espers into the combat zone?"
"What about it?"
"Take a look at that Kamijou Touma boy… he looks a lot like the boy in the footage the news outlets used as proof to run the story. A teenager running around in enemy territory." All Might held out his phone with a still-image from the footage. Aizawa looked briefly back and forth, then narrowed his eyes, analyzing.
"Now that you mention it… the resemblance is uncanny. Black eyes, black spiked hair… about 15 to 16 years old… replace his outfit with winter clothing and it'd be a match for sure…"
"…Do you think it could be him?" All Might shifted his view back to the arena floor where the participants were standing. "I managed to look though some reports; apparently that boy went missing a short-time after the war was declared and only re-appeared a few months ago… The war wasn't long, but his disappearance could have been linked if it was indeed him…"
"I… don't know." Aizawa responded. "It's possible, but we don't have all the answers…"
"I'm starting to worry… a boy vanishes at the start of a war, appears in captured footage taking shortly before the wars end, boy is missing for a good chunk of the year… and then pops up again." All Might rubbed his chin again.
"Grasping at straws won't help…" Aizawa sighed. "Midoriya and his friends came across this Kamijou Touma last night, clashing with a villain. It sounded like he saved them all. Why are you worried?"
"…I'm just concerned. It feels like something might be going on here we're not fully informed of."
"You think Academy City is plotting a double-cross?"
"No… I doubt that. Making enemies of Heroes around the world would be a terrible idea… something just doesn't feel right." All Might sighed, rubbing his neck. "I guess I'm just trying to figure out what. The oddities surrounding that boy is just an idea I had."
"Perhaps… it would be best if after the round today we keep the students in the hotel." Aizawa crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
"It's too bad though… we told them that outside of the competition they have free reign within reason… Academy City rarely lets heroes inside its walls unless it's extreme circumstances. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity they'll be missing out on…"
"…You're not wrong." Aizawa's eyes wandered around the arena. Guards were posted at several locations. Cameras were everywhere. You wouldn't be able to move without someone being able to see you. "I was planning on keeping the incident with the villain to us so we could have another hero look into it, but maybe it would be a smarter move to forward the information to the officials… their police force, Anti-Skill, is supposedly trained to take down super-powered individuals."
"Security is tight… not sure if a villain could break into here."
"A plan then… afterwards, I'll get ahold of someone and call in some favors; I'll feel a lot better about this bad feeling of yours if we get some allies of our own here."
"Sound's good… sorry that I can't directly help…"
"…All Might would be able to take care of all of this, true, but sooner or later the world would have to get used to moving on without you. It was inevitable." Aizawa crossed his legs. "It's time for the next generation to take over."
"Yeah… and the world will get to see just a small piece of what that next generation has to offer." All Might smiled a bit.
-Arena Field-
"Alright, as sure as I am that you'd all like to get started, we have some last minute things we need to take care of! But before that, it is time to decide the eight matches in round one!" The announcer cheerfully announced. All sixteen participants were anxious to a certain existent. The sooner they knew who they were fighting, the sooner they could plan.
The boards around the area appeared with a side-ways bracket. The spaces were blank. Suddenly a variety of names and faces began to randomize in the first bracket; it was randomly selecting the fight.
"So it's about to start, huh…" Izuku commented.
"It's about time." Katsuki said in an irritated tone.
"Hey, knowing Kami-yan's bad luck, think he will get stuck in round one?" Aogami asked.
"Who knows, it's possible, nya!" Tsuchimikado replied.
"Both of you, stop trying to jinx it! I don't want to be here! If Fukiyose didn't threaten me to stay in or else, I'd be at home!" Touma lamented.
The randomizer slowed down and eventually stopped, displaying the picture and name of two people.
"Alright! Match One! It is Tokoyami Fumikage, the Tsukuyomi, versus The Accelerator!" The announcer blared. Tokoyami turned toward Accelerator, eyeing him. He couldn't describe it, but he got a very odd feeling looking at him. Accelerator didn't move; he seemed more bored than anything else.
The next bracket started quickly.
"Match Two! Iida Tenya, who goes by the hero name Ingenium, versus Tsuchimikado Motoharu! A Hero is facing off against a level zero! Can the one of the lowest of the low hang with one of the big boys!? We're about to see!" Tenya glanced over at Tsuchimikado, who responded by waving with a smile.
'He doesn't seem worried at all…' Tenya thought to himself. 'Auto-rebirth… what kind of ability is that… revival from the dead or extreme healing…?' As he thought, the next randomizer began.
"Match Three! Uraraka Ochako, the Uravity versus Shirai Kuroko!" The two in question looked back and forth out of curiosity; but not much of an exchange between the two.
"Match Four! Half-way done! Bakugou Katsuki, the King of Explodo-Kills, versus Kamijou Touma! Another level 0 match! Will it be a stomp, or will we have a devastating upset!?" The Announcer spoke with such enthusiasm the crowd cheered. Katsuki turned toward Touma and slam one fist into an open palm; an explosion triggered. Touma only sighed in response.
"What kind of reaction is that!? You're not scared, right!?" Katsuki shouted.
"Oh no, believe me; I'm shaking. I don't think I can go on…" Touma replied.
"You making fun of me!? Huh!?" Katsuki shouted louder.
"Me? No. Never. I'd never consider such a horrible thing…" Touma replied, earning more anger-induced reactions from Katsuki. Izuku could only chuckle lightly at the situation.
'Ha… Kacchan doesn't know about Touma's right arm… I don't think I could be as relaxed as Kamijou but…' Izuku thought to himself. It gave him a bit of hope seeing a friend he had just made be so relaxed. The randomizer once again started.
"Match Five! Kirishima Eijiro, the Red Riot, versus Sogita Gunha, the Attack Crash! We got some tough sounding titles here folks!" The two glanced at each other, a smirk forming on both of their faces.
"Match Six! Yaoyorozu Momo, going by the simple name Creatie versus Aogami Peirce! An Esper with an ability level that not even Academy City is allowed to report!? How unusual! This bodes to be an interesting match!"
"So I'm fighting you huh? You seem a tad interesting to be wearing such a revealing outfit like that in public! Are you an exhibitionist, perhaps!?" Aogami suddenly appeared behind Momo, causing an unsettling reaction in Momo as she recoiled away from Aogami.
"W-what are you saying!? Exhibitionist!? And when did you get here!?" She replied, a blush of embarrassment thick on her face.
"Come on, you can talk to me! I'm into a bunch of stuff too! Aogami-senpai will- ow ow ow! Kami-yan!" Aogami was literally being dragged away by his ear by Touma.
"I knew it was a bad idea to let you out into public…" Touma said as he walked.
"But Kami-yaaan!" Aogami protested as he was forced to follow. Momo let out a sigh of relief.
"He was so creepy… ugh… I'm dreading my match now…!" Momo lamented. Ochako laughed nervously and patted her on the back to try and comfort her.
"Match Seven! Midoriya Izuku, who simply goes by the hero name of Deku, versus Shokuhou Misaki, the Mental Out! We have second match of a boy fighting a girl, I wonder how this one will turn out!"
Izuku turned to Misaki, and then looked back at the brackets.
'Mental Out… I don't even know if I can fight a girl… more-over… what kind of ability is Mental Out…?' Izuku thought.
'Don't worry, I'll play nice with you with my Esper-power~' a secondary, much for feminine voice sounded in his head.
'Oh… thanks…' Izuku thought back. It took him a moment that the voice he heard wasn't his own thoughts and his head shot up. 'Who said that!?' he thought. He looked back at Misaki, who this time was looking back at him. She was holding some kind of a remote. She promptly blew a kiss at him, causing Izuku to blush. Ochako, who looked in curiosity after noticing Izuku's sudden reaction, shifted from curiosity to apparent frustration upon seeing Misaki act flirtatiously with Izuku, a blush of her own forming on her irritated face.
"Uraraka, are you ok?" Izuku asked when he looked to see her. Ochako's blush intensified and her mood shifted back to normal quite quickly, aside from some shock at being noticed.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine! T-thanks for asking!" Ochako stuttered out, moving back to looking at the screen in front of her, noticing that it had, by process of elimination, chosen the final match.
"Final match of day one, round one! Todoroki Shouto, merely using his name as a hero title, versus Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun! The son of the former Number 2 Hero, now number one, Endeavor, against Academy City's own electric princess!" The crowd cheered. Mikoto and Shouto exchanged glances but other than that, they didn't interact.
"And that is our first round people! We have some background work we need to do, so once we are ready, we will begin! Contestants! There is a waiting-room for you in the north hall, close to the entrance. It even has a nice view of the arena you can watch the matches from, and several monitors of the arena you can use too! You can go ahead and mingle with your competitors while you wait, yeah? We will call you when it is time to begin!"
-Shortly After, Waiting Room-
"I don't like that announcer… he's way too over the top and loud…" Touma said. The room was rather large, a variety of chairs, tables, and couches, refrigerators and freezers, ovens and microwaves, the monitors that displayed parts of the arena as the announcer mentioned. True to his word; several windows showed the battlefield. One might say it's the closest you could get to being on the field without actually participating in a match.
"Yeah… the room is really high class though." Izuku commented. "Looks like they came prepared for a long event!"
"Too bad it's all self-serve, nya. But at least it's free!" Tsuchimikado said, digging through one of the refrigerators.
"…Free food sounds like a dream, now that you mention it…" Touma replied.
"Still complaining about money troubles, huh? Figured even and idiot like you would be able to get a part-time job or something." Mikoto approached them with her arms crossed.
"Ah…? Yelling at me after sending Shirai out for something outside, and using the opportunity to mock me eh?" Touma responded.
"Unlike you, I have plenty of cash lying around to use." Mikoto smirked.
"I would have plenty of money too if a certain biribiri wasn't chasing me all around town so I could get a part-time job. Dealing with you takes a good chunk of time out of my day, you know?" Touma shot back.
"What was that!?" Mikoto shouted, sparks of electricity flying form her bangs.
'S-she must be the one Kamijou was talking about yesterday, huh!?' Izuku thought to himself.
"S-Scary…!" Ochako commented.
"H-hey! You can't go shocking people in here! You'll fry the whole building!" Touma warned.
"He's right Misaka-san~ you can't go blowing up the building with your electric power~ you'll get turned into a monster if you do." Misaki was sitting in one of the chairs near-by.
"I don't need to be lectured by a fake-middle-schooler like you…!" Mikoto turned around, pointing accusingly at Misaki.
"That's an interesting insult you know…" She leaned back, thrusting her impressive bust forward. "I wonder how you could have gotten to such a conclusion~ hehe!" Mikoto's sparks intensified, but suddenly ceased when Touma put his right hand on her head, which started patting her head, causing her to blush.
"There there, don't let her get to you." Touma continued to pat her head, causing Mikoto to fidget in place.
She didn't want to admit that being patted by him actually felt really good.
"You know a lot of people, Kamijou…" Izuku commented.
"I… get around apparently. It's not intentional…" Touma rubbed the back of his head.
"Hey, Mr. Hero." A gruff voice said from behind. Upon turning around, the group that was quickly gaining members recognized Accelerator. "Mind telling me what the fuck you're doing here?" He pointed a finger at Touma, clarifying who he was speaking to.
"I could ask you the same…" Touma shot back, subconsciously rubbing Mikoto's head, causing her to fidget more and her blush to spread.
"Tch… fuckin hero…"
"…You don't want to be here either?"
"…The brat wanted to see me on TV or something like that."
"Ah… I got conned into it by those two." Touma pointed to Tsuchimikado and Aogami, who were now fighting over something they found in the fridge. "And threatened by a classmate to stay in or she'll break my legs…"
"…Unfortunate."
"Trust me I know." Touma sighed. "Such misfortune…"
"It seems like a lot of bad stuff happens to you, Kamijou." Izuku commented.
"Story of my life…" Touma lamented.
"Y-y-you can stop rubbing my head now y-you i-idiot!" Mikoto stuttered out. Touma didn't even realize what he was doing and pulled his hand back.
"S-sorry!" Touma held his hand back as Mikoto walked away.
"Your friends are… interesting." Tenya commented.
"Yup… that's definitely… a word." Touma rubbed his hand. Most of the other contestants seemed to scatter and go about their own business, save for a few.
"I'm gonna go lie down. Don't die." Accelerator said, walking way with hands in his pockets.
"I don't intend to, you know…" Touma replied.
"Kami-yan!" Tsuchimikado shouted, seemingly trying to hold back Aogami. "Aogami's fetish meter is reaching critical mass! I can't contain him for much longer, nyaaaa!"
"C-critical mass!?" Touma shouted back. "H-hold on I'm coming!" He then dove over the couches and tables to tackle the duo, causing them to tumble.
"It looks like Touma's class-life must be just as wild as ours… despite being a more normal school… heh…" Izuku commented.
"I think that Misaka girl has a crush on Kamijou-san!" Ochako added. "She must just react violently to try and hide how she feels!"
"Y-you think so?" Izuku replied.
"It's possible… also, that Accelerator called Kamijou a hero… I wonder why…" Tenya asked out loud.
"Well he was our hero yesterday… he must get stuck in situations like that a lot." Izuku replied.
A click was heard above the room, shortly after; the announcer's voice was heard once more.
"Preparations are complete! Will Fumikage and Accelerator please report to the ring? We are ready to begin!"
"It's time then." Fumikage stood up from his seat and approached he exit.
"Hey! Good luck Fumikage! We're rooting for you!" Izuku called out.
"Do your best!" Ochako joined in. Fumikage turned and smiled, then exited the room.
"Let's get this shit over with…" Accelerator stood up and exited as well, leaning on his walking cane.
"Man… Accelerator looks like he's in fairly rough shape." Izuku commented.
"Don't feel too bad for him... I'd start worrying about your friend." Misaki commented.
"What do you mean?" Tenya questioned.
"He got the number one…" She leaned her head on one arm, reading something, as if bored. "Poor little bird friend won't last very long… it's sad really…"
"What are you talking about…?" Izuku questioned further. Misaki sighed.
"He's fighting against someone who can supposedly do the calculations of God." Misaki responded.
"Calculations… of God…?" Tenya was taken aback. "What does that even mean…?"
"It's better for you to see…" Misaki spoke softly. She directed them to the field as the two opponents would be fighting shortly.
"Someone like that…" Izuku trailed off, looking out the window. "Fumikage… please be careful…!"
-Arena Field-
"Now remember, no killing, no outside help, understand?" The announcer said briefly. Both Accelerator and Fumikage stared each other down.
"…Hey." Accelerator called out.
"…? What is it?" Fumikage answered.
"No hard feelings. I don't want you coming back for revenge." Accelerator responded, cocking on head to the side. Fumikage's eyes narrowed.
'…A comment like that… he has a plan…' He thought, preparing himself. His dark shadow started to gather below him.
"And… begin!" The announcer sounded an alarm, signaling the start of the match.
"Let's go, Dark Shadow!" Fumikage leaped forward, splitting off, but his shadow went a different direction. Spawned from Fumikage a creature of shadow raced around the other side. Fumikage was going for a pincer attack from two sides.
"…Interesting." Accelerator commented. He slowly reached up for the electrode on his neck, and Fumikage bounced with his shadow in unison.
'That electrode… if I can…!' he thought as he sped as fast as he could, a fist chambered, he would attempt to strike Accelerator to prevent him from reacting after activating the device.
The device clicked; the electrode switched on a green light. His chance to catch him off guard and foil whatever plot Accelerator had, while he was still focused on making his next move after activating the electrode.
That is what he thought. What he dreamt in his mind. But reality is much crueler than pleasantries of a dream.
Almost as soon as Fumikage got close, he was launched back. His arm was fluttering in the wind limply, and in great amounts of pain.
'What was…!?' The event was so quick; he didn't even notice the pain at first. His hand was broken, seemingly in multiple places, and his arm was dislocated at the shoulder. The force of whatever attack Accelerator unleashed had done it in the fraction of a second. The shadow's attack was deflected at the same time. Fumikage grinded against the ground the best he could to stay in the ring.
"Even Dark Shadow's attack… and my arm…!" Fumikage spoke out loud without realizing it, gripping his dislocated arm. It was like it was just smashed into an oncoming vehicle. Dark Shadow slowly returned to Fumikage, who was breathing heavy, trying to deal with the pain.
"What… did he do…!?" Izuku questioned form within the waiting room.
"Fumikage's attack was completely deflected… forced back even…" Tenya added.
"How… we didn't miss anything, right? Accelerator didn't even move…" Ochako held her hands together.
"I'm going to tell you this now… with an ability like that, you can't beat me." Accelerator stated.
"…Black Ankh!" Suddenly the Dark Shadow enveloped his body, covering him like an exoskeleton. "I'm not finished yet…!" Accelerator clicked his teeth in response.
"Fuckin… didn't you hear me!? You're just gonna break your other arm next!" Accelerator shouted.
"Not as long as I can still move…!" Fumikage choked out. The pain was immeasurable. He wondered if this is what Izuku felt each time he used his own Quirk.
"…Vector Change." Accelerator stated. "My ability's classification is Vector Change."
"Vector Change…?" Fumikage questioned.
"Yeah. When you move an object, you exert energy in a direction, both of those together forms a vector, its basics in physics." Accelerator explained. "My ability is to change both the energy and its direction. I can completely reverse it, move it up down, make it stop dead… or launch it back with ten-times the energy. That's what happened to you. And… it's not just limited to forces you make either." Accelerator stomped his foot onto the ground. The ground itself shook as it shattered into pieces. The entire fighting area was pulverized; Fumikage almost fell over from the sudden change in landscape. "Understand now…?"
'…That much power…!' Fumikage regained his balance and stood in place. He closed his eyes, as if in thought. 'I didn't even reach him… and he couldn't have seen from both directions at the same time… he was able to tell and manipulate with his mind…? Just by me getting close…?'
"…But if you want to keep getting knocked around…" Accelerator started to walk forward.
"I surrender." Fumikage called out. Dark Shadow faded from his body as he opened his eyes with a painful expression. "…There is a way past that defense of yours."
"Oh? So confident… then why are you giving up?"
"Because I'm not the one who can find it, and even if I could, I doubt my ability to use it." Fumikage responded. "You are not as invincible as you claim…!"
"Big words." Accelerator answered simply. "Hey, announcer-fucker! Call the match! He surrendered!"
"R-Right…! Accelerator is the winner!" There was a lot of applause and cheering form the crowd. Accelerator merely turned towards the waiting room and started making his way back. He shut-off the electrode on his neck and resumed relying on his cane to walk. Fumikage fell to one knee.
"Fumikage!" Izuku dashed from the waiting room's corridor running full speed. When they crossed paths, Izuku and Accelerator glanced at each other; it felt like time had stopped. Izuku was burning mad, while Accelerator was stoic; as if the event hadn't happened at all. That only fueled the fire in Izuku's stomach more. He pressed on, running passed Accelerator.
"Midoriya…" Fumikage managed to say as Izuku as he got close.
"Hang in there, are you ok!?" He knew the answer, but felt the need to ask.
"It's… not as bad as it looks… just a broken hand and a dislocated arm." Fumikage managed to stand. "…It hurts a lot."
"It's ok, we can get you some help, alright?" Izuku replied.
"Midoriya… be very careful… examine what he did and how he described doing it…" Fumikage stated. "I'm more than certain… a way to defeat him is in those words somewhere…"
"Don't worry about it, let's get you some help ok?" Izuku helped Fumikage by hoisting him up over his shoulders.
"I'll be fine… just be careful…" He looked Izuku in the eye. And then merely said the following:
"We aren't fighting other heroes… we aren't even fighting villains… with powers like that, with that much control… we are fighting monsters."