Chapter 10: Shattering Dreams
All Might
The air is permeated with a feverish excitement he hasn't seen in so long.
'It doesn't seem like there's an empty seat at all in here.' He muses. Really, he shouldn't be so surprised knowing how much the media promotes U.A.'s Sports Festival in comparison to the other Hero schools.
Did Gran Torino show up? Like Aizawa, he wouldn't be impressed unless he saw Young Midoriya in action with his own eyes though he has yet to catch sight of him through the crowds.
"So what tricks will your successor have up his sleeves this time?" Yamada asks as he plops down into the empty seat beside him. He's already taken advantage of the concession stands he notes at seeing faint traces of mustard and ketchup along the ends of his mustache.
"Young Midoriya is a planner, he works by researching his opponent's quirks and deciding what it's weaknesses are that he can use to his advantage." He relates back.
Yamada nods along, before the smile briefly slips from his face peering towards the faculty entryway at who has just come through.
Endeavor.
"He's early, I thought he wouldn't be showing up until the actual tournament began." Yamada whispers conspiratorially as if keeping their voices low will somehow prevent Enji from looking their way.
But he's already felt his stare long before he decided to truly show his face.
"Things are different now that Shoto is here at U.A. He wants to see if he'll finally use the left side of his body." Toshinori reasons.
However so far, Shoto is doing his damnedest not to use the quirk he's inherited from his father.
They both give him a nod of acknowledgment when he eventually glances their way that he returns before his focus moves back to below awaiting when Shoto will be front and center to show off the true power of his quirk.
Toshinori casts his gaze back around to the stands, searching for anyone out of the ordinary.
Someone had clearly breached security telling by one guard found unconscious near the back exits from an inhaled poison, that much he knew from a quickly whispered report from the head officer though he can't determine for sure just who it is yet amid these grinning and cheering faces.
'The fact that they aren't openly attacking right now means they are scouting out the students, looking for someone with a strong quirk or one dangerous enough to cause damage in a short period of time. There's no reason yet to cancel or shutdown everything and elicit panic considering I don't even know who the suspect is and if they are truly going to make a move. Toshinori frowns.
Most of the freshman class of this year are filled with unique quirks, he didn't even know what type of quirk he or she was targeting or looking for...
Power? Stealth? Persuasion?
Almost immediately Young Midoriya comes to mind and he clenches his teeth.
For now he has to unfortunately wait to see if they were going to make the first move.
-X-
U.A. Sports Stadium- Mustard
'Damn it, now they know there's an intruder.'
He shuffles his legs to stop them from bouncing, willing his heartbeat to relax to stop drumming in his ears. Right now he looks the complete opposite of an excited fan in his dark attire and jittery behavior...
If that stupid officer hadn't harassed him on his return back from the bathrooms none of this would've happened.
A cloud passes overhead mercifully giving him a brief respite from the sun, even the weather was too clear and nice for him at seeing blue go on for miles with no other clouds in the distance.
"Look, that's the kid they were saying was a like a monster on the news, right? Hope he doesn't go ballistic in here." A man nudges his friend beside him and he follows their stare and pointing to a green haired kid below.
"Nah, he isn't going to try anything with all these Heroes and security surrounding the place. With the reputation he's got I wonder if any agency is going to even want to give him the time of day." His friend remarks before taking a sip of his drink.
'He looks way more nervous than me.' Mustard scoffs at seeing the boy's stiff shoulders to pinpointed gaze right ahead avoiding the mix of cheers and boos sent his way, but studying him closer now he recognizes him as well from a few articles online.
The quirk that can attack others silently.
A grin etches his lips, he would be one to watch carefully.
And then he mimics the pair beside them, matching their roaring applause and clapping as a Hero he can't be bothered to remember what their name is introduces each freshman class.
Capture the flag is about to begin.
The monitor above randomly sorts them all into groups, eyes following in particular the names of the ones his superior told him to look out for.
'There's Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, Tenya Iida, and now Izuku Midoriya.' He reminds himself at seeing each student wave or nod at hearing their name called.
All of them wished to becomes heroes obviously, though feelings can change...
"Wanna make a bet? I bet Endeavor's son comes out in first place and that kid with the vicious quirk gets disqualified!" The guy next to him speaks again, his friend snickering loudly in agreement as they shake hands.
Mustard turns away from the duo before they can see his eye roll, they reek even more so now of the cheap beer from the stands and sweat of afternoon heat falling on them.
'Cruel. Vicious. Evil.' He wondered how many times that kid had heard that muttered behind his back or shouted directly to his face...
Yes, feelings can indeed be altered when infested with negativity. Especially when one is reminded of how cruel this world is to people with quirks like his and among the League.
In spite of Midoriya's clear anxious look though, there is a determination shining in those verdant eyes of his to prove himself as if he can hear these two drunken men beside him chattering away about him when he hasn't even done anything yet.
And it's this very thought that circulates into one singular idea, mind running through a new option he or even the League could possibly go with.
'How long could it take to corrupt him?'
-X-
Ochako
'I knew this was coming.'
Not that it makes it any easier to accept, being in the same class meant at some point she was going to end up crossing paths with him in having to complete some assignment or task.
But Katsuki Bakugo being one of her team members for Capture The Flag isn't an easy pill to swallow, particularly when his scarlet eyes watch her with such suspicion and anger that she feels her skin chill with goosebumps.
'He thinks you're going to sabotage him and the team or possibly make him look bad. You can't really blame him what with these pathetic feelings of ours making us look so weak.' Her callous inner thoughts remind her before she can shut them away.
"My intentions are to win, no matter what you're thinking." Ochako breathes out even though Katsuki hasn't said anything yet.
His eyes simply narrow and she steadfastly refuses to follow his stare away from her to Deku who is on the other side of the stadium. A minute ago he didn't even know her name though really he probably only recalls the names of their classmates that he considers a threat to his goal of becoming number 1...
Her other teammates consist of Momo and Kaminari and she feels just the tiniest bit at ease that she won't have to suffer alone under his steely gaze or barking of orders.
Their plan has each split them into designated roles of 'protector' or 'attacker' with Kaminari planning to electrocute anyone who gets too close to their base while Momo uses her creation quirk not only to keep reconnaissance on the other teams, but provide Kaminari back up in keeping their flag protected.
That left her and Bakugo as the attackers, the ones going straight into the field.
"Prove it." He says after a moment before turning his back on her.
'I will.' She wants to hiss just as nastily in return.
Because somewhere in the sea of faces above, Gamps, Gamma, and Nishimura-sensei are ready to see her in action.
"Listen up everyone as you will only be hearing these rules once! All students remaining have been divided up now, you and your team will have from as soon as I blow this whistle exactly one hour to capture as many as possible of your opposing teams' flags and take them back to your home base! If you are tagged indicated by the glow of your marker then you are officially out; no being stuck in 'jail' or any variations of that. Play off of each of your teammate's strengths and weaknesses based on their quirk if you want to succeed!" Midnight announces.
The sound of her whistle screeches across the field then, the catalyst that sends people tumbling out of their bases left and right.
Zero Gravity plus Nishimura-sensei's training help in the first initial minutes, twisting the arms of unsuspected challengers down to sidestepping a girl who attempts to leap at her from behind. They float away as soon as soon as they are close enough in range to tap, too late realizing what exactly her quirk can do.
"And Release!" She smiles as she watches them tumble back to the ground, tagging their marks quickly before one of their teammates can attack her in retaliation.
"Round Face! Don't make me have to cover your ass in this!" Katsuki growls, blasting away a boy slinking up on her from the ground who can apparently camouflage himself into the scenery, nearly invisible if not for the outline of his figure.
The barbed retort that simmers up she bites away, it isn't like he'll be able to hear her among this canopy of noises from all sides.
"I just got Team 4's flag!" She states instead, handing it over quickly to Momo. Kaminari points behind her, already looking lightheaded and giddy reeling towards the limit of his quirk at observing sparks around him.
"Behind you." He manages to slur out again, Ochako shifting out of the way just as a cascade of ice barrels towards her.
Shoto doesn't let up despite missing, another swarm of jagged ice hurtling into the left wall of Momo's brick formation whizzing by her ear. Despite the rate of his ice beginning to slow, it still creates a large enough crack sending ripples across the wall.
"You're one of the last ones left, you can't escape from my quirk even with your ability." He mentions.
'I can use the debris from the fields to knock him off his guard by shooting them out in every direction. There's enough stones and clumps of dirt to do so or I can use some one of his ice crystals and make them float off out of his view stopping both him and anyone else from targeting me for.' Ochako thinks quickly, tapping at few stones already nearby her.
Shoto's eyes are piercing though, watching her carefully for her next move.
And she's reaching her weight limit quickly, if this plan is to be executed perfectly it will leave her utterly nauseous afterwards...
Defenseless and open.
-X-
Izuku
'Infliction, strengthen my hand!'
"Smash through!" He yells.
The resulting punch utterly cracks the wall of Team 5's barrier, Tooru slinking behind their team's protectors while they're distracted by him nabbing them their 3rd flag.
It leaves only his and Kacchan's team left, Shoto already having moved on ahead to weaken their barrier. This isn't how they originally discussed their plan, but telling from his continued steely glare him on from the scavenger hunt up until even now he doesn't care too strongly what his opinion is yet.
He tracks him onto the opposite of the field, Shoto's focus having moved from Uraraka to Kacchan.
And it's then his eyes meet with Uraraka's for a split second before she hurriedly looks away, this activity requires never backing down no matter who your current 'enemy' is.
Whatever Kacchan has said to Shoto though has clearly struck a nerve, the beginnings of flames swirling up his left arm.
"You know nothing about me to make such a remark." He snaps, tone laced with an anger and malice he's never seen Shoto exhibit.
Before he can get close enough Shoto abruptly switches his attention back to Uraraka, stopping the icicles she was about to send hurdling into his back with a burst of fire.
Ice rains down on them from the blast, shards large and small dispersing across the field.
He lets loose another river of flames, Kacchan sliding out of the way of its impact while pushing Uraraka out of its range.
But he sees it in her expression, tight-lipped and still that one of said ice fragments has already pierced her somewhere.
"I've never used my fire ability until now, giving my father this cruel satisfaction." Shoto mentions, stoic mask back in place. He can feel the intensity of his Father's smirk, that all his hours of training are finally being put to good use.
Overuse of his ice has begun to get to him now however Izuku notes at his slower movements, frowning.
"You know your fire could've helped us earlier, the flames would've stopped Shiozaki's vines from nearly slipping through our barrier." Izuku remarks getting in range beside him.
Can he really talk though? Infliction could just as easily prevented Shiozaki from getting too close and could have helped even just now in stopping Uraraka's attack earlier, though with this rising pounding in his head it wouldn't have been the best idea.
At Shoto's silence he goes on, hoping he isn't going to frustrate him in the same way Kacchan just has.
"I know I don't know your history, but this quirk you have is yours; not your Father's, Mother's or anyone else's." He replies.
And Shoto's expression changes just slightly, a mix of equal surprise and wariness.
"Was that something All Might taught you as well?"
Izuku pauses for too long of a second to say 'No', telling him all he needs to know of how closely tied they are. It's a known fact Endeavor hates any mention of being reminded he is the number 2 Hero, All Might even saying he has only seen him sporadically over the years.
'I honestly think a reporter or tabloid columnist could tell you more about him than me!' He had joked once during a discussion of how he interacted with his fellow Heroes in his younger days.
All Might and Endeavor belong to the first generation, their actions and behaviors trickling down now to he and Todoroki. Funny, he could understand a bit more why he originally thought he and All Might had a family related connection rather than a mentor-student one...
"Better we finish this fast; you saved Infliction mostly for last, right?" Shoto questions, getting him focused again.
'Right. Sorry about this Kacchan, Uraraka.' Izuku nods, pinpointing on them both before time is up. He can make this as painless as possible for them both so they and the audience know he isn't sadistic.
Katsuki's glare meets his as the smog clears, ready for this final standoff.
-X-
Katsuki
'This means nothing.'
There's no way he can admit defeat to Deku of all people here like this in front of so many people, in front of All Might...
He again has broken his hands, his primary way of attacking and no matter how much he pushes through the pain none of his blasts are truly affecting him or landing with Shoto providing further backup.
"Don't give me that look Deku, I can still fight unlike you." He growls out at seeing his body start to sway just lightly from overdoing it as well.
"You're losing blood...stop doing this Kacchan." His voice goes in and out, still concerned for him in spite of the pain he just forced upon him.
'Focus. Ignore all the burning, the aching.'
His next blast manages to swipe the side of his cheek and yet still Deku is standing, getting closer if not just a bit more wobbly. He swallows down a metallic taste singeing the back of his tongue, steadying his breathing.
Fine, it's true...
He can't keep thinking of Deku as a weakling, as the quiet nerd that will just accept his taunts and cold remarks...it ended as soon as he used Infliction on him the first time and when he saved from that shitty sludge villain despite his continued harsh behavior towards him.
'I guess this is what All Might sees in you...'
Damn it, he absolutely refuses to go down though without one last burst of Explosion that will truly knock him off his feet.
But it's then he feels his vision blur and Deku, Todoroki, and the roars of the crowd begin to fade into darkness.
'Shit, I fainted; didn't I?' Katsuki grits his teeth when he wakes to white walls and the scent of disinfectant in the air. His eyes sluggishly trail to his bandaged hands, the remnants of burns to the sides of his arms. Moonlight shines on each fresh bruise and cut, soon to be healed and gone anyways before morning comes.
From the Sports Stadium to the Recovery Wing just like that...
"I want to know what he muttered to my son back on the grounds, let me through!" A voice snaps from behind the curtains and he scowls at the familiar sharpness of the man's tone.
Endeavor?
"He's still unconscious, you aren't going to be able to get anything out of him! He was probably just taunting Todoroki to get a reaction that would throw him off. There's no point standing around here when he may not wake up until tomorrow." Chiyo counters before Enji can say any more on the matter.
"You'll never be strong enough with only your ice, if you're just becoming a Hero and all to spite your Father or whatever then you should quit now."
It wasn't taunting, he was being honest based on what he'd seen of Todoroki up until that point.
Even with Chiyo's assertion, he can still feel the heat of Endeavor's presence in the quickly warming room.
He's never been one of the Pro-Heroes he's kept up with in the news unlike Deku and his inane habit of studying all of them.
Although, he and All Might must go way back notwithstanding his current contempt for the man he can't ever seem to best in terms of the public's eye or against any Villain who threatens to harm Musutafu and the surrounding areas.
'Does he know about it?' He suddenly wonders, waiting until he hears the pattering of Chiyo departing to slide his curtain open just enough for Endeavor to see he is indeed awake.
All Might coughing up blood flashes to mind, his easygoing grin pretending it is nothing for him to worry about...
Endeavor must know the cause behind it, the secret that he puts so much effort into keeping from the rest of the world.
Enji smirks at his frown, stepping forward. "So you waited until that old hag was gone to announce yourself, huh? Good, I don't want her getting in the way of the questions I have for you."
'Yeah? Well, I have questions for you too old man.'
-X-
Ochako
"How's your leg holding up Ochi? Gamma and I can go fetch some more ice from the 24-hr convenience store down the block if need be." Mr. Kimura repeats, fretting over her still swollen leg.
The pain wasn't so much in removing said ice shard, but in the knowing in between the whole scuffle she had been tagged...defeated.
This bruise that was once a mash of violets and blues has calmed to an angry red now though, Recovery Girl's efforts on top of promising Gamps and Gamma she would properly rest has dulled the throbbing for the most part unless she tries to move it too quickly.
"I'm okay, really Gamps! You and Gamma need to get some sleep as well!" Ochako relates at seeing his lingering skeptical look, gesturing towards the living room clock slowly ticking towards 1:00 am.
Gamma does her best to restrain a yawn beside him as if to refute her point before sighing and nudging Gamps along back to their bedroom. "Come on, Ochi makes a good point! We all need some shut eye right now after this eventful day! Good work out there sweetie by the way no matter how things ended! I recorded all the highlights of you kicking butt out there for your Ma and Pa to watch over and over."
'Ah that's right, my phone should be finished charging by now!' She realizes.
Her phone is right where she left it on her bedside table, moonlight shining silver along the battery symbol reaching nearly 3/4th's full.
"It's late now to call them, but I should update them that I'm doing okay." Ochako breathes out to herself, thinking through the best way to approach this in not making her text too long.
Unlocking her phone though reveals they've already left her a voicemail at seeing the red dot in the corner, clicking it open to show it was just a few minutes ago she missed them.
Her father's voice slips into quiet of the room beside her, shaky and rough.
Coils gather at her stomach then, feeling her hands start to tremble at the clear sadness, emptiness in his tone.
'Has he been crying?'
"I know it's late Ochako; you're probably sleeping right now as I send this. I...I just didn't want to spoil your activities for the day. Gamma has been flooding both me and Ma's phone with pictures and clips of you, some too blurry to even properly make out it's you. Heh, she isn't the best when it comes to technology, though she managed to capture a few clear ones."
Ochako smiles then, she'd have to look them over during breakfast tomorrow.
But then his voice cracks again, Mom's voice coming in beside him. "We can't wait on this Pa, it's best she hears this from us and not through the grapevine..."
It takes almost a minute for him to gather his resolve, Ochako picturing him nodding in agreement as if she is there at the kitchen table with them.
"So as you heard your Ma say just now, I'll cut right to the chase. The construction business is bankrupt, we're going to have to shutdown. Your Ma and I's plan is to sell off the rest of the supplies and perhaps-"
And just like that the coils in her stomach burst and give way, phone sliding from her hands to her blankets with a soft thump.
Faintly she still hears her Father's voice now muffled by the sheets and she pushes her phone farther and farther away as if it were on fire until she hears the sound of it clack against the wood flooring echo out into the room.
Why did they wait so long to tell her how bad things were getting? Did Gamps and Gamma know about this too and if so, since when?
The room begins to spin, nausea resurfacing.
Her leg throbs in silent protest as she shifts herself out of her sheets rapidly afraid she'll make a mess of the linens. Before she can even get to the bathroom though she finds herself tumbling down to floor, squeezing at the end of her bedspread until her knuckles are white and clammy. One thought repeats over and over, burying into her chest.
'I'm too late.'
-x-
Hey guys, I have a quick question! Would you prefer to see a majority of the major story arcs of MHA covered or would you rather they be skipped completely with new story arcs or maybe even going out of order of how events take place in the manga/anime?
I've been debating with myself which option to go with and just wanted to get a bit of feedback on you guy's opinions. Let me know your thoughts as well on all the new developments!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!