Apologies for the late upload! Work has been kicking back up and I'm busy again. I'll upload as much as I can and will be able to put out at the very least one chapter a week. That being said, the regular may be 3-4 days between uploads. Anyway, I own nothing. Let's get started!
Friends, Foes, and Rivals
"IZUKU MIDORIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The stadium erupted in cheers from every direction. Midoriya couldn't believe it, he had won the first event! First place! Everyone else was astounded too, as the plain looking greenette had come completely out of nowhere with is improvised explosion from the minefield. And no one had even seen his quirk yet!
But the race wasn't over yet, people were still coming through every second. Right after Midoriya was Todoroki, Beifong, and Bakugo. It was a near tie between 2nd and 3rd, as Toph had launched herself at the last second, passing Bakugo and getting neck and neck with Todoroki. Speaking of the dual-quirk user, he was panting in exhaustion, letting his hot side warm the frost off of him with the battle over. Toph was sitting down, holding her wounded shoulder carefully until Recovery Girl could arrive. Bakugo was trembling from his loss, even though he was in fact in the top 5. But that didn't matter to him.
More people filled in over time. Toph shook up the competition terribly with her attack from the canyon wall, outright stopping some from advancing much further. That said, everyone from the two Hero Courses had made into the final 42, with one student from General Studies and one from the Support Course. Toph was spending that time in the Medical tent, Momo with her (after prying that purple pervert off her, as he had hitched a ride to advance).
With Aoyoma coming into the 42nd place, the cut off was set. Midnight cracked her whip. "Good job out there, everyone! For those who didn't make the cut this year, don't worry about it! There's always next year and you can join the festivities like everyone else! Now! It's time to determine the next event! The top 16 in this event will be moving on to the tournament! And the next event for this year's Sports Festival is…"
…
"The Calvary Battle!"
'Calvary Battle?' Toph turned to Momo. "What's that?"
"It's like a team battle. I believe she's about to explain."
"The rules are simple! You will all divide amongst yourselves into teams of 3 or 4 into a horse formation, with a front horse, either one or two back horses, and a rider! The goal of the Calvary Battle is to steal the headbands from each team and to defend your own headband from being stolen! But this Calvary battle is a bit different! Each individual has a point value based on how they placed in the Obstacle Race; starting from the 42nd place is 5 points, 41st place 10 points, and moving up like that in a 5 point pattern! That means that 3rd place has a point value of 200 points and 2nd place has 205 points! But there is one more catch! Whomever managed to place 1st is at a large disadvantage, as their point value is 10 Million Points!"
'WHAT?!' Toph found Midoriya easily from her position at the medical tent. Whoever gets his headband has no chance of not moving on, giving him a huge target on his back! In other words…
Midoriya was freaking out a bit.
"The battle lasts for 15 minutes! Whichever team has the most amount of points when time runs out wins! The top 16 will move on to the final round! You have 20 minutes to form your teams! Begin!"
"Ma'am," Toph asked quickly "am I free to go now?"
"Yes dearie, but don't push that shoulder to hard."
"Great, c'mon Momo!" She hopped up and ran for the crowd. If they were working in teams, there was only one person to team up with here. "C'mon Momo! If we hurry, we can team up with…"
"Beifong. Yaoyorozu."
The two girls stopped. It was Todoroki, who had been waiting outside the medical tent.
"Team up with me. I'll need your help to beat Midoriya."
…
"Hey, Toph-san?" Momo started. "If you're going to team up with Midoriya, I think I'll team up with Todoroki. We're still friends, but…I want to-"
"No, I get it." Toph replied. "Gotta stand on your own two feet. I know the feeling." She extended her hand. "Let the best team win!"
Momo smiled and took it. "Got it!"
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Alright, but my offer still stands for you, Beifong."
She walked close to him, looking slightly down as usual. "Nah, you've got Sugar Queen. Besides," She leaned in close to whisper. "I don't work with people not giving their all. Remember what I said about holding back, Half N Half?" With that, she walked away to get her team, leaving a rather flustered boy in her wake.
Give it everything you have, or I will steamroll you. Don't you dare disrespect me by holding back.
"So," Momo interrupted his musings. "What about the rest of the team?"
xXx
"Alright, here's the plan!" Tetsutetsu started. "I'll be the front horse to barrel through whatever the other teams got, Shiozaki, you'll be the rider. Your vines can spread out to defend and take headbands, right?"
"Indeed, but the other teams will surely notice our antics if I attempt to take their fabric crowns."
"Right, that's where Yanagi comes in!" Tetsutetsu was a bit out of his element when it came to the two verbose girls, but a strong team is a strong team, you know! "Yanagi, you'll slip away their headbands while their distracted, ok? Can you do that as back horse?"
"I will require at least one appendage to utilize my talents. Perhaps I should take place as the team rider?"
"No, no, you'll be too obvious. Shiozaki can cover us from the top, too; we need a fourth player, then." Tetsutetsu looked around. "Everyone's got teams, looks like."
Shiozaki looked around too, but spotted someone. "There!"
It was Shinso from General Studies. He was arguing with two guys from Class 1A and Nirengeki Shoda from their class. The team of three moved on, leaving the tired looking boy behind.
'Dammit,' he thought 'I'll never get there will I? Not with this villains quirk.' He was jolted out of his musings when a long thorny vine tapped him on the shoulder. It was a weird sight, but the vine pointed back to its owner and their team.
Shinso regarded them carefully as they pitched their strategy. This just might work.
xXx
"YOU THERE! TEAM UP WITH ME, MISTER FIRST PLACE!"
"Aaah! Who are you?!"
Midoriya had gotten Uraraka on his team, but needed two more. Which was when the Support Girl came out of nowhere to recruit herself. She pitched several support items, which, in Midoriya's opinion, were amazing. 'She definitely got some cool looking gear, but I also have someone in mind, someone like…'
"Yo."
"Toph-san!" he cried with joy. "Are you joining our team?"
"You know it, muttermouth. We just gotta defend the whole time, right? With me, we got options."
"Alright!" Uraraka cheered. "Welcome aboard, To-"
Hatsume popped between them, facing Midoriya. "I SEE! WELL YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU AND BLIND GIRL REALLY COULD USE SUPPORT ITEMS TO WIN THE-OOH LOOK A GUY WITH A TAIL OK BYE!"
With that, the strange girl sprinted away. The three sweatdropped, as they were going to have her on the team as well.
"Well, I guess we need one more, then" Midoriya thought aloud. "Someone with good long-range abilities and maneuverability."
Toph smiled. "I think I found your guy, muttermouth." She pointed to her left.
xXx
"AND WE'RE BACK, HAVING TAKEN A 20 MINUTE BREAK TO DECIDE TEAMS! AT THE FIRST PLACE SPOT, WITH 10,000,530 POINTS, IS TEAM MIDORIYA!"
"Let's win this, guys!" Midoriya called.
"Right!" Uraraka replied.
"We got this!" Toph shouted.
"Indeed. Aye aye!" Tokoyami agreed, along with Dark Shadow.
"AT SECOND PLACE WE HAVE, AT 650 POINTS, TEAM TODOROKI!"
"We're winning this, team." Todoroki assured them. 'And not with your damn fire quirk.'
"IN THIRD PLACE WE HAVE, AT 635 POINTS, TEAM BAKUGO!"
"I'M COMING FOR YOU, DEKU! ICYHOT! BLIND BITCH!"
"Dude, relax! We're trying to win, here!" Kirishima reminded him.
"SHUT UP, WEIRD HAIR!"
The rest of the teams were announced in order of points, but most were so focused on the 10 Million headband, they didn't care much.
Most, anyway.
Everyone was set on the field in spaced out locations to provide as even a start as possible, but Team Midoriya had a good idea already what was about to happen.
"READY? BEGIN!"
All at once, 5 different teams rushed Team Midoriya, ready to take first place immediately.
"TOPH, NOW!" Midoriya yelled.
A huge spire of rock launched the team into the air, having been made mostly weightless by Uraraka's quirk. As soon as they launched, Uraraka floated Toph, too.
"AND TEAM MIDORIYA TAKES TO THE SKY TO EVADE THE OTHER TEAMS! BUT WAIT! NONE OF THEM ARE FLIERS, HOW DO THEY PLAN ON GETTING DOWN OR MANUVERING IN MIDAIR?"
xXx
10 minutes earlier…
"Hey Toph-san, can I ask you something?" Uraraka asked.
"I suppose." Toph turned to listen.
"So, your quirk can levitate boulders, right? Like rocks and stuff?"
"Yeah, what's your point?"
"Well, I was wondering if this would work, if it doesn't it's fine, but…"
"Spit it out, already."
Uraraka shook herself off. "Right, sorry. If you can draw earth to yourself, can you draw yourself to the earth?"
…
"What?"
"Like, in midair?"
"No. I-I don't think so. But I don't spend a lot of time in the air, so…maybe?"
"C-can I try it? If you're weightless, then you might be able to land by drawing yourself back to the ground. Maybe. I don't know, it's probably stupid…"
boink
"Stop that." Toph jabbed two fingers towards the girl. She was being underconfident, for no reason. "You know what? Try it. I'll see if I can."
"Really? Ok! Here goes…"
xXx
Present…
"Toph-san! Left!" Midoriya yelled through the wind.
"On it!" Toph focused. Though she couldn't feel the earth, she knew it was there, below them. And since she was weightless and airborne, she didn't have a proper anchor to draw the earth to herself. And thus…
"HUH? TEAM MIDORIYA IS TURNING! SOMEHOW!"
"THIS IS REALLY FUCKING SCARY, JUST FYI!" Toph screamed at them. She was drawing them back to earth in a directed manner to steer and land. They descended as they did that, but it was at least a controlled decent.
"Hang in there, Toph-san! A little more to the left! That's it!" Midoriya yelled back. "Tokoyami! Incoming!"
"Dark Shadow!"
"Aye!"
Attacks rained from below, trying to knock them down. Out of nowhere, Bakugo had flown himself up to get them, but was blocked by Dark Shadow as well.
"DAMN IT!" he screamed as he fell back, retrieved by Sero's tape so they wouldn't disqualify.
"We're landing soon!" Midoriya called. "Uraraka! Get ready to release!"
"Got it!" They landed roughly, but a landing was a landing. "Release!" Toph's weight had returned while Uraraka reapplied her quirk to the others.
"Toph! Defensive tent!"
"On it!" As soon as she could, she erected a stone tent for two reasons. One, it allowed a small reprieve from attack and, two, it allowed Dark Shadow to grow stronger in the temporary darkness. The flying jump would only last so long, but there was another facet to the plan.
"There! That rock tent!" Mina yelled from Team Bakugo. They rushed for the defensive structure.
"I GOT YOUR ASS NOW, DEKU!" Bakugo blasted the tent to rubble.
But no one was there!
"Where'd they go?!" Kirishima yelled.
In their confusion, a hand passed over the team, snatching Bakugo's headband. "They got us!" Mina yelled.
"OI! GET BACK HERE!" Their attention was on Team Monoma now, who was taunting them relentlessly.
"My, my, if it isn't Class 1A. Aplogies if we don't bow down to your superiority." A droopy eyed boy was speaking with veiled malice towards the team. "Say, aren't you the guy who was involved in the Sludge Villain incident? I wonder how it must feel to be the victim so many times? You'll have to tell me later…"
"HAAAAAAH? I'LL KILL YOU, BASTAAAAAARRRRDDD!"
While the two teams clashed, Team Midoriya was having problems of their own. While burrowing worked for a while, it was too difficult to navigate past the weirdly softened rock they kept running into, so they emerged on the far end of the field.
When they emerged, they found most every other team to have been electrocuted and frozen to the floor by Team Todoroki. They found themselves facing the two-toned boy's team.
"I'll be taking that headband now, Midoriya." Todoroki declared.
"Midoriya, remember what I said." Toph reminded him.
"Right."
…
Ice erupted towards Team Midoriya and was met by a large wall of stone as they moved to their left. Momo had made an insulation blanket and a lightening rod to defend against Kaminari's discharge attacks, which were being fired at Team Midoriya. But Toph's earthen defense negated the electricity easily. While she couldn't see the attack herself, she still felt Sparky fire it, getting more and more brain-fried. So far, they had a perfect defense, with Dark Shadow harassing them from above. Time was on their side.
This fact didn't escape Todoroki, who was getting more and more frustrated as he couldn't freeze them without freezing his own team. Their opponents were sticking to his left side. 'That blind girl must have warned them.'
"Todoroki." Iida gained his attention. "I have an idea. I can only do this once and I'll stall for a moment once I do it, but I can get in their guard. Be ready."
Todoroki raised his eyebrows, then nodded.
"ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"
Toph felt a change in their stance, particularly Iida's. "Muttermouth, they're about to do something. Be ready."
"Do what?"
"Not sure just-GET DOWN!"
Iida's engines roared to life and jolted forward, rocketing Team Todoroki towards them. Had they not known something was coming, they might have taken the 10 Million Point headband. But Toph had felt it, and in the last half second…
Shifted the entire team 6 inches to the right.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHH "RECIPRO BURST!"
They rocketed forward, Todoroki reaching for Midoriya's headband, when his head moved to his left suddenly. By the time he realized, it was too late.
"DARK SHADOW!"
"AYE!"
Dark Shadow slammed into their left side, snatching a 35-point headband while he was at it. But as soon as he struck, he suddenly backed off, slightly shrinking in size as Tokoyami winced.
Todoroki's left arm had started to flicker with flames without him realizing and had burst forward in the attack. Todoroki was shocked and retracted his fire immediately. 'No! my vow!'
"TOPH-SAN!"
"HRAH!"
Team Midoriya slid away on the ground to create distance between them and the stalled team. Iida's Engine was stalled and Todoroki was in shock. "C'mon Todoroki!" Momo yelled. "We can still win this!"
Then, out of nowhere, a flying Bakugo.
"DEKU! THAT HEADBAND IS MINE, BASTARD!" He blasted towards them, with a few more headbands around his neck than before. Though Iida's speed was gone, Todoroki centered himself and fired streams of ice towards the two teams. Midoriya charged his arm with power, Toph readied a boulder towards the sound, the ice nearly reached them and…
"TIMES UUUUUUPPPP!"
Bakugo fell to the ground.
"AND THAT'S THE END! IN FIRST PLACE, HAVING HELD ON THEIR WINNING HEADBAND, WITH 10,000,565 POINTS, TEAM MIDORIYA!"
Midoriya dismounted, sobbing up a storm as the rest of them celebrated in their own right, Uraraka petting Dark Shadow, Tokoyami nodding stoically, and Toph raising a fist to the crowd in victory.
"AND IN SECOND PLACE, WITH 820 POINTS, TEAM BAKUGO!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
"AND IN THIRD PLACE, WITH 675 POINTS, TEAM TODOROKI!"
The Team stretched themselves out. Momo was comforting Iida for his attempt while Kaminari derped around from overuse. Todoroki stared at his left hand, then to Midoriya.
"AND IN FOURTH PLACE, WITH 370 POINTS, TEAM SHINSO!"
All at once, several players in the field regained awareness as Shinso jumped off his team. They had employed hit and run tactics, using Shiozaki's vines for defense and cover while Tanagi used her Poltergeist to rob teams of their headbands without them noticing. Tetsutetsu beat his chest in celebration while Shiozaki thanked the Lord for their triumph, despite such devious methods. Tanagi remained impassive, as always.
"And that fills our 16 person bracket! Thank you all for participating and do enjoy our side events such as our scavenger hunt! We will break for an hour for lunch and to prepare for the final event! See you soon!" Midnight finished with a flick of her hand.
As everyone moved to leave, Todoroki approached Midoriya.
"Meet me by the corner in 10 minutes." He said lowly.
Unbeknownst to Midoirya, a certain blind earthbender overheard. She was about to follow when she felt something else.
Small feet, jumpy, short height, heavy breathing, water dripping. Drool?
'Oh hell no.'
xXx
"Really?" Jirou asked to be sure. "I didn't hear Mr. Aizawa say anything about that." Momo hummed in thought.
"Hey, don't look at me! I'm just the messenger!" Mineta reasoned, with Kaminari nodding. "If you all want to get in trouble that's not my busin-"
"In trouble about what, Mineta."
It was as if the Fear of God was struck into the two boy's hearts, right in that cafeteria.
"Oh hi, Toph-san!" Momo greeted sweetly. "We were just hearing from Kaminari and Mineta here about how all the girls in Class 1A need to dress into cheerleading outfits with the American Exchange Students! Since you're the Vice-Rep, have you heard anything about that?"
"As a matter of fact," A dark aura engulfed her form. "no. I hadn't heard anything of that nature. Care to enlighten me, you two?"
"W-w-w-well…you see…ah…Aizawa-Sensei…he…"
"Aizawa? So, our homeroom teacher told you to tell us instead of telling the female Class Representative? Is that so? Choose your words carefully, Minoru Mineta."
"A-a-a-Aizawa-Sensei, yeah! He uh…he said to…for you to dress in cheerleading outfits! Yep! That's right!"
…
Toph tilted her head and grinned. "Congratulations are in order, grape."
"R-really?"
"Oh yes! You are hereby the only person in the world stupid enough to lie to my face while knowing I am a natural born lie detector."
Kaminari was gone at this point, but that's ok. She'll get him later. Mineta eyes bulged at the revelation.
"Oh? You didn't know that? Pity."
cccccrrrrrraaaaaaaccckkkk
Jirou and Yaoyorozu had watched with glee as Mineta soared through the air and into the stands, where he had landed directly into a large bin of popcorn. The aura faded.
"So, anyway." Toph wiped her brow. "You two doing ok?"
"Yes, thank you for clearing that up."
"You're like, an actual rock star, Toph.
"Thanks. I gotta take care of something, save me a seat?"
"Ok! See ya!"
Toph rushed to one of the corners of the stadium, where Half N Half was with Muttermouth. However, she felt a separate presence there as well. Apparently, she wasn't the only one dropping eaves.
She listened for a while and began to understand. Todoroki's father was the Number Two Hero: Endeavor. A bastard of a man, he forced a woman with a strong ice quirk to marry him and bare the perfect child to surpass All Might, which is how Shoto Todoroki came to be. His mother had taken too much stress trying to protect herself and her children, whom she loved despite their heritage. So, in time, she lost parts of her sanity. And one day, Shoto had been listening to his mother on the phone, as she told her own mother that sometimes, she can't even bare to look at her son's face. Upon realizing that she had been overheard by her young child, she snapped. She took a steaming kettle and poured the boiling water on the left side of his face. She realized what she had done and tried to use her own ice quirk to stop the burn, but had accidentally made it worse, leaving a scar. Toph shed a small tear at that; she didn't even know he had a scar. Despite the disfiguration, he never blamed his mother for her actions, as it was his father who pushed her to that point. And so, he vowed to never use the fire aspect of his quirk to fight, that he would surpass All Might without his damn power.
And so, Todoroki had decided that Midoriya was close enough to All Might in comparative power that he would defeat him with only his mother's power, to spite his father.
Midoriya seemed to take that in, stating that he couldn't even begin to understand the trauma Shoto had endured. But that he had people who believed in him and he wasn't about to let them down. With that said, they both left. Leaving Toph to process what she had just heard.
'That's why he's been holding back this entire time? Because of a grudge?'
She was so engrossed in thought that Bakugo ran right into her.
"GAH! THE FUCK!"
"OUCH! THE FUCK?"
"WHAT WHERE YOU'RE GOING, BITCH!"
"NO, YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING BASTARD!"
"DON'T BE IN THE WAY IF YOU'RE BLIND, FUCKWAD!"
"THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, EXPLODO-FUCKER?"
"YOU WANNA FUCKIN' DIE?"
This rather colorful conversation went on until they both ran out of breath, or shall we say, a long time.
"All…I'm…saying is…you're a lil bitch…" Toph panted.
"Well…your…a…a fuckin' banshee…" Bakugo panted back.
"Well…you're a…a…fuuuuucccckin'…dunderhead…"
"The…fuck?"
"It's…polite…for…dipshit…you fuck."
"Oh fuck…all…the…way off…"
They gasped for a while, taking another breather. Then they sat for a bit, both trying to understand what they had both heard.
…
…
"You know, it's kinda stupid."
"What is?" Bakugo asked.
"Half N Half. Like, I get it. I hated my parents for a long time too. But to handicap yourself out of spite?"
"Yeah. Makes me mad."
"What doesn't?"
"Fuck off."
…
…
"Just," he tried again "I'm putting everything I've got into being number one. And he's dicking around…trying to make a fucking point?"
"Right? I'm fucking blind, but I'm working harder than him to get where I'm going. What makes him think he can just cruise by?"
"Like I'll let him."
"Well I won't let him, either."
Bakugo took a moment to look at her properly. Her eyes were down, but they were alight with determination and anger. The same sort of eyes he saw when he looked in the mirror.
He turned his head in disgust. 'We ain't the same. Besides, she friends with fucking Deku.'
"Tell you what."
He turned to look at her again as she stood up. "Let's make a deal."
He narrowed his gaze. "What kinda deal?"
"Whoever fights him first, we'll beat him so bad he'll have to use his firepower."
He got up slowly. Truthfully, he was planning on doing just that anyway, but it's nice to know someone else is on the same page.
She seemed to know what's important.
"Don't need to tell me twice." He turned to leave as Toph located Momo from afar.
…
…
"Good speech."
"What was that?"
"Fuck off."
xXx
"HEEEEEEEEY! HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GOOD BREAK, BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO FIRE THINGS UP AGAIN WITH THE FINAL EVENT: THE FIGHTING TOURNEMENT!"
The audience roared with excitement as the contestants awaited their line-up. The wrong match-up, and they might be benched after the first fight. Midnight took the stage again.
"Time to shuffle our competitors! The first round will consist of eight matches, the second, four matches, the third, two matches, and then the Final Match! Let's see who will be facing who in the first round!"
Toph didn't see the display, but could listen all the same.
"And the match ups for this years Sports Festival are as follows!
Midoriya vs Shinso
Todoroki vs Sero
Iida vs Beifong
Kaminari vs Shiozaki
Yaoyorozu vs Ashido
Yanagi vs Tokoyami
Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu
Bakugo vs Uraraka
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! THE FIRST MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND WILL BE MIDORIYA VS SHINSO! WE WILL GIVE THE FIRST COMPETITORS 20 MINUTES TO PREPARE! WHATCHA THINK SHOTA? WANNA GET ICE CREAM?"
"Not really."
"AWW, YES YOU DO! C'MON!"
The rest of the students left for the stands to watch the upcoming battles. Maybe they didn't make it, but watching the Sports Festival in person was still a treat, so they weren't too worried. Shinso approached Midoriya after the announcement. "Good luck out there, Midoriya was it?"
"Midoriya was about to respond, but found a tail in his mouth. "Don't answer him!" Ojiro warned. Shinso simply smiled and walked away.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Let's talk. I need to warn you about him."
The two left to discuss the match while Toph considered the matches. If she beat Iida in the first round and won the second, she could potentially fight Midoriya or Todoroki in the third match. That is, if neither of them loses. Looks like she'll get to him first, unless Midoriya manages it. But for now, better focus on her current match.
It didn't take long for Iida to find her. "Beifong-san! I wish you luck, but know that I won't just let you win." He extended a friendly handshake.
She returned it. "Likewise."
xXx
"Why am I watching this garbage again?"
"Because, Tomura, you're looking at the cream of the crop of heroes. Their strengths, their weaknesses, everything is on display."
"I guess. There's the green-haired kid, again." An image of Midoriya was plastered on the big screen for the first round.
"I think I hate him almost as much as I hate All Might."
xXx
"Why am I up here? I can't see a thing." Toph questioned from the stands.
"Don't worry, I'll explain what's going on." Momo assured her. "And Present Mic's narrating too."
"Yeah, like I could miss that Cockatiel of a guy."
"TO START OFF THIS COMPETITION, WE HAVE THE WINNER OF THE FIRST TWO EVENTS, THE GREENEST, BADDEST, IMPROVISOR OUT THERE, IZUKU MIDORIYA!" The crowd cheered for the boy, which was still surreal for him in general.
"AND IN THE OTHER CORNER, HE HASN'T DONE MUCH TO STAND OUT YET, THE INSOMNIAC HIMSELF, HITOSHI SHINSO!" The other boy walked to the ring too, with an almost bored expression.
"You know," he called over to Midoriya "that blind girl at the pledge." Midoriya looked back at him, surprised.
"READY?"
"Who does she think she is? She should probably just quit already, she must be delusional, right?"
"BEGIN!"
Midoriya started towards him, not thinking straight. "What did you sa-"
ping
"Gotcha."
"WHAT? MIDORIYA'S STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS! WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Momo! What's going on?"
"I'm not sure! He just stopped. Could you hear them?"
"No, if I was touching the ground I could."
Back down to the ring…
"I've already won, Midoriya. Sorry, but I have a goal in mind. Turn around and walk out of bounds."
And he started to do just that.
"HUH? MIDORIYA'S WALKING AWAY! HE'S HEADED OUT OF BOUNDS! WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
"It's his quirk, Brainwashing. It's an incredibly powerful quirk that is completely ineffective in our entrance exam. Which is why I've been trying to get it changed for years."
"Stop it, Midoriya!" Toph shouted. Her words fell on deaf ears as Midoriya continued towards the boundary line.
'I…can't move…gotta…do something…'
He was 10 feet from the boundary.
'can't…fail now…sorry…All Might…' A rush of colors filled his head.
5 feet away.
He saw…something. In the entryway, ahead of him. Eight figures, wreathed in shadows.
2 feet away.
Power surged through his left two fingers.
1 foot away.
'NO'
BBBBLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH
A powerful blast of power burst from his fingers, breaking Shinso's hold. He stopped 2 inches away from the boundary line.
"Hah…hah…hah…" His fingers broke from the power, but he could move!
"HE STOPPED!" Momo yelled.
"WITH A BLAST OF POWER, MIDORIYA BROKE FREE FROM THE BRAINWASHING!"
"NO! Impossible!" Shinso shouted. Midoriya rushed towards him lit with power, with a hand on his mouth.
"You must think you're better, huh?"
Wham! Midoriya slammed into him, pushing him to the other side of the boundary.
"Don't ignore me!" Shinso tried for a punch, which hit, but was returned with a fierce glare. Green sparks surged brighter as Midoriya grabbed Shinso.
"You think you're better because of that power you were born with, right?"
'No, that's not it at all.' He thought this to himself, not letting a word out. With an almighty heave, he threw Shinso.
Who hit the ground hard, out of bounds.
"Shinso is out of bounds!" Midnight announced. "The winner of the first match is Izuku Midoriya!"
As the crowd erupted in cheers, Midoriya rushed over to his opponent, who was still laying on the hard ground.
"You're wrong."
…
"What?"
"I don't think I'm better. It took so much time to master this power, to not break myself. But your quirk is so cool! I think you'll be an amazing hero one day!"
…
…
'I was just trying to piss this guy off so he would speak. He took it seriously, huh?' He accepted the hand, pulling himself up.
"Promise you won't lose, ok? At least put on a good show, don't make me look bad now." He said with a depressed smile.
Midoriya returned a determined nod. "I won't!"
ping
…
…
"Idiot."
xXx
"So, Todoroki and Sero are next, right?"
"Right. You should probably get ready yourself. You're after them."
"Got it." Toph left the bleachers, locating Midoriya in the Med Bay as soon as she touched the ground.
She kept walking to the waiting area. 'Just a couple busted fingers, he's had worse. Gotta focus up here.' She had a decent strategy in her fight, so she wasn't too worried. Doesn't help anyone to underestimate an opponent, though.
While she waited, she could feel the next fight going on. Sero seemed to have Todoroki wrapped up and was swinging him to the boundary when…
…
'Holy shit.'
A giant glacier appeared from nowhere, enveloping half the stadium. Sero was completely immobilized.
'Bit overkill, Half N Half.'
xXx
"NOW THAT THE FIELD HAS BEEN MELTED, IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT THIRD MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND! INTRODUCING, THE VICE CLASS REP OF CLASS ONE A, THE GROUND SHAKER, THE BLIND BANDIT HERSELF, TOPH BEIFONG!"
The crowd roared in excitement and Toph was living on it. 'Blind Bandit? I kinda like that!'
"AND FACING HER, THE CLASS REPRESENTITIVE OF CLASS ONE A, THE SPEEDIEST, THE BROTHER OF INGENIUM HIMSELF, TENYA IIDA!"
Iida looked determined to win, though he wasn't sure how to counter her abilities. 'Perhaps I can rush to end this before she has a chance to react.'
"WHO WILL WIN BETWEEN THE LEADERS OF THEIR CLASS? READY?"
Toph took her horse stance. Iida's engines roared to life.
"BEGIN!"
Iida shot towards her, ready to kick her out of the ring…
The very moment he took a step, Toph felt his trajectory. The second step, she slid her foot in place. By the fourth step, she had shifted her entire body to his left. And when he prepared to jump for a kick…
The ground shifted, tripping his foot.
CCCCCRRRRRRRAAAAAAAASSSSHSHHSHHHHHHH
"AND THE WINNER, IN UNDER A SECOND, IS TOPH BEIFONG! WE'RE GONNA NEED THAT INSTANT REPLAY FOR THAT ONE!"
Iida had tumbled toward the wall past the boundary, knocking himself out. In a single, swift move, Toph had moved the ground to both dodge and trip him, causing him to crash at just the right moment. Midnight ran over to check on him. Toph rushed over too. "Is he ok?"
"Just a concussion, he'll be fine. Medbots!" Midnight called over. He was lifted onto a stretcher to be healed up as Toph left for the bleachers. 'I guess that's why he wears a helmet.'
xXx
"That was…amazing!" Kaminari yelled. "She just ended his whole career!"
"She moved at just the right time! Go, Bei!" Mina cheered.
Jirou tapped the electric boy in the shoulder. "What are you doing here, aren't you next?"
"What? Oh, crap!" He ran off to get ready for the next fight.
Midoriya, who had gotten back from the Medbay, was writing furiously in his notebook. "IidaprobablythoughthecouldoverwhelmhisopponentwithgreaterspeeddespitethedisadvantagebutBeifong'spredictionandreactionspeedistoogoodtokeepupwithprobablybecauseshecanfeelhimmovebeforehemovesthatopensupsomanyfightingpossibilities…"
Uraraka jolted him out of his musings. "Hey, want to go check on Iida? That was a pretty big crash just then."
"Oh! Yeah, sure!" The two left for the Medbay, only to find Toph there already.
"Hey Muttermouth, Twinkle Toes."
'Twinkle whats?' "Hey Toph-san. Is Iida ok?"
"Yeah, Sonic just hit his head too hard. He'll be up in a bit, Recovery Girl's in no rush to get him fighting fit though." She guided them to his bed, where he looked ok, just sleeping.
"He got the full healing treatment, so he must be exhausted." Midoriya commented.
"Yep!" Recovery Girl strode in. "Which is why you should go back to the stands, now. Don't worry, he'll be fine."
The three left, not noticing Iida's phone buzz.
With the name "Tensei Iida" lit on the phone.
xXx
"wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyy…"
"AND KAMINARI HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED, DECLARING SHIOZAKI AS THE WINNER!"
"Jeez," Toph winced "I get the disadvantage, but he could've at least tried to strategize."
Toph had decided to start heading to the ground for a while, as Sugar Queen was preparing for her match. Not to say that Toph was worried, but honestly? She had no idea how she would defend against acid, especially with bare feet. Apparently Momo had an idea, so that was good enough for her. But before she left…
"HAHAHAHAHA! HOW STRANGE! DIDN'T HE SAY IT WOULD BE OVER IN A MINUTE AND THEN IT WAS ONLY HE DIDN'T WIN? HOW EMBARRASSING FOR CLASS ONE A! ALMOST AS IF YOU ARE ALL NOT AS GOOD AS YOU THINK YOU AR-"
BONK
"Sorry about him!"
Toph neither knew or cared what was going on there.
xXx
"INTRODUCING, THE TOXIC DANCER, THE PINK SLIP N' SLIDER, SHE'LL MELT YOUR BONES OFF IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL, MINA ASHIDO!"
Mina strutted onto the field, happily drinking the attention.
"AND IN THE OTHER CORNER, THE BRAINS BEHIND THE BEAUTY, THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF HEROES, THE I-DON'T-KNOW-WHAT-SHE'S-WEARING, MOMO YAOYOROZU!"
Unbeknownst to Toph, Momo had revealed as much skin as possible, rolling her sleeves, pant legs, and unbuttoning her shirt to expose her midriff. Some people in the crowd seemed to forget that she was 15 if the whistles were anything to go by.
"READY? BEGIN!"
Momo immediately formed a metal shield to defend against any acid shots as Ashido began sliding towards her. She had brought her special shoes, which had holes to channel her acid to slide around. She threw small amounts of acid at the shield, expecting for it to corrode.
But it didn't.
"Hey! What gives!" she yelled.
"The shield has a thin coat of PVC plastic! Not even hydrochloric acid can touch it!" She explained as she made a net, also coated with a PVC blend.
"Aak!" Mina tried to dodge the net, but she was too close and got caught. The netting wasn't melting either!
Midnight called it after a minute of struggling. "Mina Ashido is immobilized!"
"AND THE WINNER IS MOMO YAOYOROZU!"
xXx
Somewhere in Hosu…
"Fakes…all of you are fakes…" A dark figure stood over the sprawled form of the Turbo Hero with bloodlust. For whatever reason, Ingenium couldn't move an inch after a single cut!
"All the fakes…all the glory-hounds…must be purged!"
shink
xXx
"IN ONE CORNER, THE MASTER OF DARKNESS, THE GENIE IN A BOTTLE, THE BIRD-HEADED FORCE OF NATURE, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!"
Toph coughed a bit in surprise from her position on the ground. 'Wait, wait, wait, bird-headed?'
"AND IN THE OPPOSITE CORNER, THE GHOUL OF CLASS ONE B, THE SILENT POET, THE SERENE POLTERGEIST HERSELF, REIKO YANAGI!"
Tokoyami regarded his opponent's introduction with interest. "You enjoy poetry?" he asked.
Yanagi didn't seem to hear him at first, but responded rhythmically. "Indeed, for I have found serenity in the complex art of words and the emotions they strike in your heart of hearts. As for you?"
Tokoyami thought for a second, picking his words. "I too enjoy the way words flow through the soul, no matter how deep they may transverse. You must regale me with your works another time, shall we begin our bought?"
A rare smile found itself on Yanagi's features as she nodded to Midnight.
"READY? BEGIN!"
"Dark Shadow!"
"Aye!"
Tokoyami's quirk burst forth, ready to push Yanagi out of bounds, when it was struck in the face by a flying ball. "Hey! What gives?"
Yanagi had summoned a small, red stress ball and was smacking it against Dark Shadow. Though the ball came from her, several items were drawn from the audience by her quirk. Food, drinks, loose articles of clothing, and more miscellaneous items rained down to assault the duo.
Yanagi attempted to create a spiral of items to push Tokoyami out of the ring, but Dark Shadow was stronger, managing to make contact after getting over its initial shock.
SLAM!
Tokoyami was filthy, covered in food and sticky substances, but was victorious in the end.
"YANAGI IS OUT OF BOUNDS, TOKOYAMI WINS!"
When her loss was announced, the vortex of items fell to the ground as she calmly walked over to Tokoyami.
"It was a fair dual, my avian friend. We shall cross paths again, for fate demands it."
Whatever a blush looked like on a raven, it was there as Dark Shadow snickered.
xXx
"That was something else, that's for sure." Uraraka commented. "Oh hey, Toph! I though you were staying down there?"
"Eh, couldn't see anything anyway with those two." Toph replied.
"Makes sense. Don't know what I'm going to do against Bakugo, though. I wonder what Deku would do?"
Toph hummed. "You want my honest opinion?"
"Sure! What is-"
boink
"Ow!"
"My honest opinion: stop that. You need to stop comparing yourself to Muttermouth. You're not going to beat anyone trying to be someone you're not. Believe me."
Uraraka rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "What would you know?" That made Toph snort.
"You think I never pretended to be someone I'm not? Of course I have, but I'm not now and neither should you."
Uraraka sniffed. Toph might have been to blunt, so she tried again.
"Look, you just…you just need to be centered. You're not going to beat Bakugo if you fight like Midoriya. You need to fight like Uraraka!"
That made more sense. Uraraka looked out to the arena, where Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were duking it out already. They could be there a while.
"I dunno. Don't you have someone you admire? Someone you want to be like?"
Toph thought for a moment. "Hmm, I'll be honest, not really. I guess I admire Yaoyorozu, she's my first friend after all, but do I want to be her? No, not really."
"Oh."
They sat for a while longer, the meatheads below were starting to come to a draw. "I gotta get ready." Uraraka announced. Toph moved aside so she could get out. "And Toph?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. I think I know what to do now." She left the bleachers for the waiting area.
Toph kicked back for a bit, waiting for the brawlers to be done. They eventually did end up in a draw and would settle it after the next match. Midoriya showed up with Iida a while later.
"Hey Sonic, how's the head?"
"Feeling much better, thank you! That was some maneuver, Beifong-san!"
"Hmm." Midoriya sat down next to her, muttering a storm about gravity and explosions.
"Thinking about the next match, Mutters?"
"Oh yes! We ran into Uraraka too, she's was getting ready for her fight with Kacchan. I tried to show her my notes so she could strategize, but she declined. I hope she has a plan…"
Toph was silent as she listened to his muttering for a minute, before punching his arm.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Tell you later, I'm headed to the ground floor. See ya."
xXx
"NEXT UP, THE FINAL MATCH OF THIS ROUND BEFORE THE TIEBREAKER! INTRODUCING, THE CHEERFUL GRAVITY SHIFTER, WITH A WILL THERE'S A WAY, OCHACO URARAKA!"
'C'mon, Uraraka. Give him everything you got.'
"FACING HER, WE HAVE THE BLOND BOMBER, GROUND ZERO OF THE EXPLOSION, GIVE IT UP, FOR KATSUKI BAKUGO!"
'Bakugo, you better not hold back.'
"READY? BEGIN!"
xXx
And that's Chapter Nine! Seems like there's a lot of information in this one despite the word count being average. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed!
There were some things I changed and some things I didn't for various reasons. Didn't want to rehash, per usual, but I also wanted to give Class 1B some love. Except Monoma. Also wanted Shinso to work with his team instead of straight brainwashing them. C'mon my guy, you're better than that.
For the Calvary Battle, I tried to get my math as right as possible, but it might not be exact. But that's ok. I kinda snubbed Hatsume, I know, but her attention span isn't big enough to care, so whev. Toph's ability to steer them in midair was an idea I've been playing with and is not canon whatsoever. But I figured if Toph's ability to manipulate earth is possibly based in magnetism, then the reverse of gravity would reverse the polarity and mess with her ability to bend the way she normally does. Or I'm full of shit. Oh well.
Uraraka is the new Twinkle Toes. Had to be done.
And the first official ship is…completely out of nowhere! Hehe. Idk, I thought they looked cool together. I saw a similar deal with Tokoyami and Yanagi in a different fic that I can't remember, but I liked it.
Momo has a bit more battle experience due to sparing with Toph so much, so she's a bit better at fighting here than in Canon. Hope it makes sense.
And now for the reviews!
To Forum Explorer
Exactly my thinking. Everyone who's reading likely has heard the story before, so I'm focusing of Toph's reactions. Glad you enjoyed!
To D3lph0xL0v3r
Good catch on the blind joke, that was exactly what I was referencing.
The respect is there, now there's no way he'll hold back. Not that he would, though.
Nope, not Mt. Lady. Good guess!
The fight will be vastly different and yet not. It's weird, but I know you'll love it. I also hope you liked the grape's retribution! Being sent into the stratosphere seemed fitting.
To DodemGM
Glad you enjoyed! I personally have a hard time getting into OC stories unless I just connect with the OC. But an OC similar to Toph would be interesting, I must admit.
To SebjectCrimsonStorm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAno. LOL.
Cliffhangers are my bread and butter my good friend, hehehehe.
To AnimeLuver1492
Mamadoriya is one of my favorite characters to write, right alongside Toph, Aizawa, and Bakugo.
He is getting more guidance, but his body is still growing at the same rate, so there' not much difference in power, just technique. Glad you enjoyed the fried chicken analogy and that it made sense. The chicken and the egg joke wrote itself.
Exactly the scene I was thinking of! I'm really hoping no one gets uptight about the blind jokes, but Toph wouldn't be complete without them. So yeah.
I was honestly a bit nervous about the speech, but I'm glad it reflected her so well. Hope you enjoyed the Calvary Battles!
To Sebecca
(Chapter 7)
A lot can happen in a short amount of time in combat and it does seem quick. I hope you enjoyed all the same.
You're right, most everything here has to do with the League and All Might. So not as much Toph-time.
For Iroh and Zuko's potential involvement, all I have to say is wait and see. I might put out a short of some of their adventures as the story progresses, let me know what you think.
You're right about that! She easily sails right through that, so I had to delay her somehow. Bakugo was convenient.
(Chapter 8)
I like Shinso, but she doesn't have much to do with him I'm afraid. I may do something about that later.
You didn't miss anything, I'm just hiding it lol. You'll see!
Glad you enjoyed!
To Tiamatio
Nope, good guess!
To Yrmbe
I'm glad you see it that way! They all bounce off each other really well. And the nagging voice belongs to Aizawa, just fyi ;P
I thought about that concerning martial arts, and she pretty much taught it to herself in Canon, so idk. Maybe.
Can she, indeed?
Sorry, as much as I'd like that, Monoma doesn't deserve the spotlight. She'd kick his ass, though!
To Otakufreak1799
Thank you!
Cataclysm or Terraform, interesting concepts…
Glad you enjoy!
To Guest
Maybe, maybe not. Certainly not today, but there are other opportunities afoot! So you'll see!