Izuku Midoriya was losing his mind.
He was losing his damn mind.
Ever since they operated on him, there has been a flurry of unknown voices in his head. Some were young, some were old, some were male, and some were female. But, they all had one thing in common:
They just would not shut up.
It didn't help in the "Arena," either. Rather than unite to help Izuku defeat their common foe, the voices panicked, started screaming. It didn't allow him to concentrate, didn't allow him to use any Quirks like his opponents did; most of the time, he just slumped to his knees, assaulted by a cacophony of voices screaming in his ear while his opponent took the opportunity and hammered away at him.
It wasn't good for him mentally or physically. Mentally, he felt like he was being ripped to shreds. Physically, he was getting the shit beat out of him and fed essentially nothing but supplements, which did nothing for his growling stomach. Even when they force-healed him, making his wounds fade away, the pain never left.
And they were all spouting nonsense, too. Stuff like, give me back my body or please forgive me, I didn't do anything wrong, let me out of here. It made no sense, but they were now a part of him.
"Momma, momma, please come save me!" a little girl within him cried.
"Fuck you, fuck this, fuck everything—just get me out."
"I don't wanna be trapped inside some little kid!"
"Dad, how am I going to be a hero now?"
Shut up.
"Cram it. Nobody cares about you being a hero!"
"Where are the heroes, anyways? What they're doing to this poor boy… it's inhumane."
"Inhumane, my ass. Think about us! We were essentially turned into Quirk food and gobbled up by this bastard for some stupid fucking villain!"
"Hey, hey, we're all in this together, everyone relax. If our consciousness survived in our Quirks, doesn't that just mean—"
Shut. Up.
"Listen. If we just override the main personality and set ourself as the one in control, wouldn't that essentially bring us back to life?"
"That's the first smart thing I've heard you say in—what, weeks now?"
"I don't know, time is slightly off here, I can feel it."
"We'd be trapped in a little kid's body, but it's essentially our second chance at life. Well, every man for themselves, I guess."
SHUT UP!
A visceral, guttural cry ripped out from his lungs. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
The men in white lab coats around him stepped back, slightly wary of his sudden outburst. Only a well-dressed man in a suit with no face stayed where he was, watching Izuku with interest.
The faceless man spoke. "Do you hear the voices, too? Ah," he looked down at a clipboard. "Izuku?"
"Yes, and they won't. Stop. Talking." His small hands gripped the sides of his face.
"I used to have this problem, early on," the man spoke. "Whenever I took a Quirk, the vestiges of the person would remain. It used to drive me mad."
He got closer to Izuku, who was trying to drown out the voices. Now they were plotting to take control of his body or something, he wasn't paying too much attention—it was all white noise, at this point.
"But then I learned how to control the voices," the man said. "The voices are the vestiges of a human being trapped in their Quirk Factor. If you want the voices to disappear, you just have to make the person disappear."
"But… but how do I make the person disappear?" Izuku asked, desperate. He was willing to do anything at this point.
"The way to make a person disappear is simple," the man said.
Izuku looked toward the man as if he were his savior. He hung onto every word he said.
"You just have to kill them."
Unbreakable
Opening Stage
From the moment it began, the sports festival cavalry battle went trending on every platform of social media.
The U.A. Sports Festival had already been trending in Japan, but the cavalry battle is what tipped the scales towards global trending. Never before had so many people watched the sports festival synchronously, each tuning in with more and more hashtags trending. Personal commentators, TV stations, news agencies—they were all trying to get in on the hype.
"As we can see here, Midoriya is fighting Todoroki while dodging shots from Bakugo," one commentator said. His partner smacked him on the shoulder for stating the obvious.
Onlookers watched as Izuku shattered a massive ice wall. They could tell, instinctively, that these two were strong. The one called Todoroki was capable of conjuring gigantic ice walls and pillars out of thin air, but if that was considered impressive, then the guy who was absolutely demolishing the walls with his bare fists could be considered downright impossible.
Those that didn't watch from the beginning were shown clips of Izuku's opening speech and his declaration of victory before the event happened. People were beginning to see Izuku's logic—the kid looked simply unstoppable.
And then the finale of the event happened. The half-and-half boy sent a blistering stream of fire which enveloped Izuku's upper body. Some stations instantly cut to shocked casters, unable to believe what they had just seen. No person, no matter how strong they were, could hope to escape that unscathed. There were children watching the sports festival, after all—they couldn't show them a man getting burnt to death!
But… somehow, Izuku had come out of that unscathed. He floated in midair, shirt and equipment completely burnt away, but otherwise, he was fine. As he landed comfortably on the ground, Izuku could not fathom the depth of conversation that he had just generated.
The world watched with bated breath as the curtain to the singles tournament lifted.
.:.
Himiko sat in the bleachers somewhere in section four of the stadium.
After being eliminated from the sports festival (more like she simply sat and waited for the race to be over), she returned to her class's reserved seats and sat there. She was sure that if she actually tried, she could have easily made it to the tournament section of the sports festival, but Himiko honestly didn't care enough to give the sports festival a shot. It would've been too troublesome.
Plus, now that she was out, she could watch Izuku wholeheartedly. That was the only thing staving off the boredom. True to his word, Izuku finished first place in both the obstacle course race and the cavalry battle. Now that those two events were over, there was a thirty minute rest period before the final event started.
A few of her classmates tried chatting with her, but after her half-hearted replies and attempts at conversation, they eventually left her out of any further discourse. She didn't mind at all—Himiko wasn't interested in fangirling over how their classmate Hitoshi Shinso made it to the tournament.
While playing a gacha game on her phone and ignoring the seventeen missed calls from Kurogiri, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Izuku had texted her. Immediately opening her messages app, she read:
Izuku: Hey, Himiko. Where are you right now? I'd like to see you before the tournament begins.
Izuku: That is, only if you're fine with that. All good if you're too busy.
Himiko rolled her eyes at Izuku's formal texting habits. He'd always been like this.
Himiko: im never too busy fior my izu~
Himiko: student area section four
Himiko: come find me!
Izuku: Okay.
Himiko put her phone down and eagerly began searching the stairs for any sight of Izuku. Her classmate, a girl she sometimes spoke to who was maybe called Sayaka asked, "Are you looking for someone, Toga?"
"Mhm," Himiko hummed. "Izuku Midoriya."
"Midoriya?" Sayaka repeated, startled. Her high voice caught the attention of a few of her classmates. "He's probably resting up right now before the next event, no? Why would he come here?"
Himiko smiled. "I wonder~"
A bit perturbed, Sayaka and her other classmates resumed their conversation. They were mainly taking bets on who would win the tournament, and Himiko tuned out their conversation. After all, her one love had shown up.
Izuku appeared at the top of the steps that led down to their section, looking for Himiko. When he spotted her and their eyes met, she gave him a wave and beckoned him down towards her. He happily obliged, walking quickly down the stairs to reach Himiko, garnering more and more attention with each step he took. He either didn't notice the attention and stares he was receiving or simply ignored them. If Himiko had to bet on one of them being the case, she'd bet on the former.
Izuku finally appeared beside Himiko, and she was glad that she had a seat right next to the stairs. She was able to instantly jump up and hug Izuku without having to scoot past anyone. Ignoring the hushed whispers around her, she released him and said, "Hiya, Izu. Congratulations on placing first. I knew that you could do it!"
He flushed at the praise. "It's not over yet. I've gotta win this last event, too."
"Yeah, yeah, overachiever," Himiko said fondly. She could feel the stares that she was receiving, and Izuku, finally, seemed to realize it as well, face burning up. "Anyways, why did you want to see me?"
Izuku glanced around. "Uh… maybe it was a bad idea."
"It probably wasn't. Come on, you can tell me." Himiko grinned at him.
She watched as he floundered in place under the heat of all the surrounding stares. As cute as he was in that moment—really fucking cute—this was a sight reserved for her eyes only. Making sure that he wasn't watching her, Himiko turned around and leveled her personal death glare at the people watching them, causing them to quickly avert their eyes.
"Well… I just wanted some encouragement from my girlfriend before the final event," Izuku said under his breath. "I don't know, I was just feeling—"
Himiko placed a finger over his lips. "Encouragement is what you'll get, then. I know you'll do great, Izuku. The drive within you won't allow any outcome other than complete domination, isn't that right?"
Her words struck a chord within him. Himiko was right, after all. In a 1v1 fight, he will not lose.
"Also." Himiko got on her toes so that her lips were right next to his ears. "When you win… I'll have a very pleasant reward for you tonight, when we are alone."
Her eyes sparkled with unspoken implications, and Izuku found himself unable to match her gaze. He whispered, "Himiko, you don't have to bait me—"
"It's not bait. It's a promise—something for you to look forward to."
That was unfair, Izuku decided, trying to remain level headed especially since they were still in public. Himiko took one look at his expression and giggled.
Their lapse in conversation was interrupted—very rudely, if Himiko might add—by Sayaka, who ventured forth and asked, "Uh… Toga? We were just wondering… how do you two know each other?"
Himiko blinked at the question. Then, smile turning devious, she looked at Izuku. "How do we know each other, Izuku?"
"Himiko's my girlfriend."
Wow. Himiko expected a lot more blushing and stuttering, but the confident way in which he uttered those words… Himiko couldn't deny it; she loved that part of him just as much.
Ignoring the flabbergasted look on Sayaka's face and the stunned expressions of pretty much everyone who could hear those words, Himiko teased, "Shameless now, are we?"
Izuku's face flamed up. Now that was a reaction Himiko was more used to seeing. "W-Well, I'm not ashamed of the fact that you're my girlfriend. I could never be ashamed of you, Himiko."
Ah, fuck. Her attack had backfired on her. Hiding her rapidly reddening face behind a hand, Himiko switched the topic. "Does that answer your question?"
Sayaka nodded dumbly, but Himiko could tell that some people weren't convinced despite the words coming from Izuku's own mouth.
Himiko was instantly irked. Why were there people that looked like they didn't believe Izuku? Like, she could understand if she'd said it and they didn't believe her, but what right did they have to doubt her Izuku?
Her Izuku.
Mine.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
He's mine.
She reigned herself in, determined not to have an… episode in public. She just had to prove it, right? Prove to everyone that he was hers.
She reached up and kissed him gently. It was a chaste kiss—no tongue, nothing crazy—but it still succeeded in making Izuku light up like a Christmas decoration. After she was done, Himiko took a glance at the nonbelievers, who sat there with their jaws hanging slightly open.
"I'll walk you back. Come on, let's go." At her insistence, Izuku acquiesced and the two walked off, leaving behind some very shocked human beings.
After a comfortable silence developed between them, Izuku suddenly began speaking. "By the way, the bracelet," Izuku started, already sounding apologetic, "it was burned up by Todoroki when we fought. I'm so sorry that I didn't take better care of it."
She looked down at his wrist and saw that his pair of the matching black and green bracelet that they shared was missing. "Oh. That's perfectly okay, Izuku. Let's just go out and get another matching pair, yeah?"
He still looked distraught, but he nodded nevertheless. Himiko spent the rest of the walk assuring him that it was okay, and she said that it was sweet of him to place that much emphasis on it. When they reached the waiting room, Himiko stopped and gave him a hug, once again wishing him the best of luck before walking away, alone this time. Alone to think.
Todoroki… Shoto Todoroki, huh. Another name added to her shit list, right next to Momo Yaoyorozu.
.:.
At about five more minutes until Izuku's match, Izuku was interrupted from his meditative state by a tap on the shoulder.
Glancing up, he saw Momo looking sheepishly at him. Taking out his earbuds and turning off the music on his phone, he asked, "Yes, Yaoyorozu?"
"Ah, I'm sorry for disturbing you—"
"No, no, don't worry about that. What's up?"
She wrung her hands together and looked to the side. "I just wanted to say… good luck."
Iziki blinked. "Thanks, Yaoyorozu, I really appreciate it."
"Can Izuku Midoriya and Tenya Iida come forward to the entrances?" Midnight called suddenly. Momo, who looked like she had more to say, shut her mouth and nodded at Izuku. "Izuku Midoriya, blue entrance. Tenya Iida, red entrance."
Before Izuku headed towards the blue entrance, he turned toward Momo and said, "Hey, Yaoyorozu? Can you hold onto this for me?" He held out his phone and earbuds.
Oh." She stared at his hand before taking what Izuku was offering. "Yeah, of course."
"Appreciate it. I'll come back for it." He smiled at her disarmingly and jogged off towards his designated spot, completely unaware of the mental gymnastics he'd just put the poor girl in. That smile… it did something to Momo's heart, and she wasn't even sure what it was.
Momo convinced herself that it meant nothing.
Izuku jogged around, getting warmed up for his match. He already warmed up when he and Himiko had split up a while ago, but he'd just spent the last couple of minutes sitting and thinking about nothing to calm himself. Now was the time to get himself hyped up again.
Remember what you said, Izuku told himself. The pressure is on.
This is a one versus one. Get fired up.
The door suddenly opened and Izuku found himself following the cheers to the outside. As he jogged to his starting spot, he saw Tenya do the same on the other side of the field. Izuku kept watching him, attempting to single mindedly focus on Tenya.
He drowned out all of the other sounds around him—the cheers, the clamor, the sound of Midnight explaining the rules. The rules he knew already. It was a fight until one of them gave up or was pushed out of the boundaries marked by white paint.
"I hope for a fair match, Midoriya!" Tenya called out from his side, voice barely heard over the clamor.
He walked up almost mechanically, extending his hand out. As the crowd wondered what was going on—weren't they about to start fighting? Why was Tenya walking out to the center of the field?—Izuku got the message, walking up to meet Tenya. When he got there, Izuku took Tenya's hand in his and shook it.
Even before a fight, Tenya acted with the utmost courtesy. Izuku respected that. The crowd roared, appreciating the sportsmanship on display.
"I wish to test myself against you," Tenya slowly said. "I know that my chances of winning are slim, but that won't stop me from doing my best to beat you."
"Understood," Izuku nodded. "Against you, Iida, I will be serious."
Tenya nodded in kind, satisfied with Izuku's words, and he walked away towards his side of the field. Izuku watched as Tenya's back slowly got further and further away, knowing deep in his heart that while his words were not false—he will take Tenya seriously—they weren't necessarily entirely true either. He had to hold back against Tenya for the other boy's safety. This was a friendly competition, not a death match.
It's not like I'm not gonna be fed if I lose, Izuku thought to himself, but then he thought about what he just said. As Izuku walked back towards his side, he wondered where those words had come from.
As he got situated on his starting spot, Izuku mentally ran over the strategy he'd come up with to counter Tenya with. Tenya was fast, but really only in straight lines and on even terrain. If he could somehow make the terrain uneven and difficult to sprint across, he'd put Tenya in a disadvantaged state. Then, close the gap and finish the job, preferably safely with Blackwhip or something.
"Are you two ready?" Midnight called, causing the stadium to slightly hush. After Izuku and Tenya both nodded at her, she raised her hand and then chopped down, signaling the start of the match. "BEGIN!"
That was what Izuku had been waiting for. The second the word left Midnight's lips, Izuku had raised his foot. Since the target was the ground, he didn't hesitate in putting a restricted one hundred percent into his leg, and he stomped down, hard.
What happened next shook everyone out of their seats. Literally.
Izuku had basically directed a one hundred percent stomp into the ground beneath him. While it was restrained by Chrono Force, it was a lot of power, instantly creating a mini, localized earthquake. The ground beneath him fractaled and cracked, creating what Izuku liked to call unfavorable terrain for Tenya. Now, instead of flat ground that Tenya could run upon, Izuku had created a crater of sorts with uneven terrain abound. Perfect for Izuku, less than ideal for Tenya.
The moment of hesitation coming from Tenya was all Izuku needed. Before the other man could even regain his bearings, Izuku was on him. Bounding across the field in the blink of an eye, Izuku stopped five feet before him and fired a point blank Blackwhip at Tenya.
To his credit, Tenya's reflexes were fast, fast enough to force him to instinctively dive to the right. As the first strand of Blackwhip missed, Tenya let out a quick breath of relief… until he realized that Izuku didn't only have one strand of the black stuff.
Jumping to his feet, he barely avoided the second one, and right when he was about to activate his Quirk Engine and blast off uneven terrain be damned, a third and a fourth strand of darkness caught him and tripped him up. That was the beginning of the end for Tenya.
As they wrapped around his legs and hoisted him up into the air, more strands of darkness came to grab Tenya. Even as he struggled futilely, the strands seemed like they were made out of adamantium or something—they were simply unbreakable! With his legs off the ground and in the air, Tenya was reduced to kicking with Engine activated to try and escape, but soon his legs were bound together and rendered useless. He felt Izuku use the strands of darkness to carry him past the boundary line and drop him outside of it, signaling the end of the match.
The entire fight took less than thirty seconds.
As a stunned Midnight blew her whistle and began to announce Izuku's victory, Tenya stood up from where Izuku had dropped him. Tenya supposed that he should have felt humiliated, but on the contrary, he felt strangely… invigorated. So this was the difference between him and Izuku. He'd have to work harder to bridge the gap.
"Are you okay, Iida?" Izuku asked, walking over to him. "I didn't mean to just drop you like that."
"It is fine, Midoriya," Tenya answered. Swallowing, he looked at Izuku. It was like the boy was at a peak that Tenya was miles from, but… one day, he swore to himself he'd reach it. "It is evident how unprepared I was. Thank you for showing me my folly."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say. He surveyed the stadium, where people were just beginning to recover from their shock. Some were still getting back into their seats after being shaken from them during Izuku's stomp, but all of them were cheering… cheering for him.
Surprisingly, he found little joy in being applauded. Instead, where he found the most joy was in the knowledge of one little fact:
He had utterly dominated Tenya, no?
Thinking that thought… it did two things to him.
First, it made him disgusted at himself. How could he even think of such a thing?
But, the other thing it did to him: it filled him with happiness. Happiness that he not only bested Tenya—he incontestably defeated him. He dominated him.
Dominate was a word that kept on popping up in his mind during moments like these—why did it keep showing up?
Izuku did as he always had done when faced with an unanswerable question. He shoved it down deep within him and resolved to think about it another day.
.:.
In a specialty lounge, a group of heroes sat and watched the sports festival.
As the reigning top ten heroes currently active in Japan, they were certainly an auspicious bunch. Aside from All Might, the current top ranked hero, who was missing due to being an instructor and thus was helping run the sports festival, the other nine were all present.
Endeavor, the rank two hero, tapped his foot impatiently. "When is Shoto's match happening?"
"Should've paid more attention during the announcements," Hawks said. The rank three hero sighed when Endeavor glared at him. "It's the fifth match."
The fiery hero groaned, closing his eyes. "Wake me up when my son goes."
"Don't you wanna watch Izuku Midoriya, though?" Crust cut in. With all the prospective heroes that he was checking out for internship offers, the rank six hero felt like a little kid in a candy shop. "He's the first match, and his performance in the cavalry battle was simply spectacular."
Endeavor opened his eyes to level yet another glare at Crust. "Still not better than my Shoto, though."
"I think there's clear favoritism at play here, and it's clouding your judgement."
Endeavor looked at the person who had just spoken: Mirko, the Rabbit Hero. The diminutive woman was smirking infuriatingly at him. "What, and there's no favoritism from your end? Ever since the green-haired squirt gave his speech, you've been obsessed with him."
Mirko just laughed at him, loudly. The rank seven hero wasn't scared no matter how many withering glares Endeavor sent her way. "Izuku's got guts, declaring that he's gonna place first in all of the events. While I admire a man with guts, I love a man who can back it up. And from what I've seen so far, Izuku can definitely back it up."
And there had been the way that he fought in the cavalry battle event. He relied mostly on his own strength. Mirko loved to see that—teaming up, relying on other people's power, it all just didn't sit well with her. She preferred duking it out solo, and Izuku seemed like he'd be the type to understand her sentiment. After all, there was nothing better than a good ol' 1v1.
"So… favoritism," Hawks cheekily summed up.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Mirko admitted readily. "And you're right, Enji—I am obsessed. I've decided that I'm going to have him intern with me, so you all better back off."
Edgeshot, the rank five hero, raised an eyebrow. "You don't even work with an agency or any other institution. How's that going to work out?"
"Eh, I'll make it work. After all, I—"
The breath was stolen from Mirko's lips as the whole stadium was suddenly assaulted by the earth shaking. Intrigued, the pro heroes all looked out towards the field and realized that while they had been talking, the match between Izuku and Tenya had already begun. A massive crater suddenly appeared with Izuku at its epicenter, and before anyone could say anything, the boy was gone, appearing right before his opponent and trapping him with… black strands of darkness? Then, Izuku dumped the other boy out of bounds, effectively winning the match.
The pro heroes all sat in silence for a moment.
Crust whistled and took out his phone to make a voice memo. "Remind Tracey to send an internship offer to Izuku Midoriya."
"Hey!" Mirko growled. "I called dibs!"
"I wonder how he'd do with a blade…" Edgeshot wondered aloud.
"Eh, couldn't hurt," Hawks flippantly said, jotting down a reminder to send Izuku an internship offer on his phone.
"You guys…" Best Jeanist sighed, glancing warily at Mirko. "Stop teasing her."
"Fine!" Mirko suddenly shouted, a fire now burning in her eyes. "If that's what you all want to do, let's get it. May the best hero succeed."
She had to formulate a plan. Edgeshot was right—she wasn't affiliated with any agency or heroic institution. If Mirko wanted Izuku to intern with her, she had to take matters into her own hands. She couldn't rely on prestige or connections to land this fish. Izuku had caught her eye, and she was not the type of person to let a person like that slip away.
The competition for Izuku would be fierce. But Mirko—Rumi Usagiyama—loved competition.
And she was not planning to lose out on this opportunity.
.:.
After returning to the waiting room, Izuku watched the beginning of Katsuki and Tetsutetsu's match. The stadium's ground was apparently repaired by a terraforming pro hero that was fortunately on the scene—it would have made Izuku feel bad if he had caused any irreparable damage. That was a fortunate occurrence.
The moment the match started, Katsuki took off into a dead sprint towards Tetsutetsu. The other boy turned his body to what seemed like steel and swung at Katsuki, but Katsuki was able to evade that pretty effortlessly.
Surprisingly, Katsuki wasn't going for the "blast 'em" strategy that Izuku had expected the fiery boy to use. Instead, as Katsuki ducked and wove between Tetsutetsu's strikes, it seemed more and more like he was conserving his energy. The only times he used his Quirk were when he needed an extra boost in speed to evade one of Tetsutetsu's blows. It was clear that getting hit by Tetsutetsu would hurt, a lot, but Katsuki simply wasn't allowing himself to be hit.
Their dance went on for a few minutes, but Tetsutetsu never managed to land a hit on Katsuki. Katsuki was displaying a surprising nimbleness and level of finesse that Izuku had never expected to see from the blonde. It was obvious that Tetsutetsu was getting frustrated that nothing was landing, and his strikes became even more and more aggressive.
That proved to be his downfall.
As Tetsutetsu swung and overextended his right arm, Katsuki backed under the blow, grabbing his wrist with two hands and throwing Tetsutetsu over his shoulder. That fact alone—that Katsuki had managed to throw the full metal boy—indicated that either Katsuki had a lot of raw strength or really knew how to use leverage to his advantage. After the other boy had landed on the ground, Katsuki joined him, their bodies momentarily becoming a mess of unidentifiable limbs. But to Izuku, it was obvious that Katsuki was winning; he was just struggling to get some kind of grip on Tetsutetsu's arm. It was clear that Tetsutetsu's lack of maneuverability was hurting him more in this situation.
Soon, it became obvious what Katsuki was going for: a submission hold. With his legs positioned perpendicularly to Tetsutetsu's body and his arms wrapped around Tetsutetsu's right hand, the message became clear. Submit or I break your arm. How Katsuki managed to strike fear into someone who was made out of metal, Izuku did not know.
Izuku saw Tetsutetsu stop struggling and Katsuki release his grip, unheard words evidently being spoken between the two. As the two got up, Tetsutetsu raised his arms in surrender, leveling a stare at Katsuki and asking, yet again, an unheard question. Katsuki just smirked in response.
"The second match goes to Katsuki Bakugo!" Midnight announced. "The next match is between Denki Kaminari and Mei Hatsume!"
"I expected Bakugo to be more… showy," a voice to the left of him said. Izuku turned, recognizing the voice.
"Same, Yaoyorozu," Izuku agreed, watching her take a seat next to him. "He was definitely holding back."
"Well, so were you," Momo observed, causing Izuku to chuckle lightly.
He was glad to have someone to talk to. While participants of the tournament were allowed to wander outside, they ultimately had to return to and wait in one of the designated waiting rooms. He and Momo were in waiting room four, but the words "waiting room" were a bit misleading. Each individual waiting room actually had multiple rooms designed to give students privacy as they warmed up in addition to a room with a view of the field. Right now, he and Momo were the only occupants of the room with a view of the field.
"Oh, and before I forget." Momo fished around in her pockets and pulled out Izuku's phone and earbuds, handing it over to him.
Accepting it, Izuku smiled. "Thanks. I'm really looking forward to this next match. Mei's going to be an interesting one, that's for sure."
Momo watched as Mei entered from the red side and Denki, their classmate, entered from the blue side. She was decked out in a sort of power armor that she'd seen once or twice in fantasy single-player RPGs and carried a tube of some sort.
"Yeah… I can't help but think it won't end well for Kaminari."
Izuku nodded, echoing her sentiment.
They watched as the match began. Denki began charging a powerful blast of electricity that would for sure knockout Mei in one hit if she wasn't careful, but that seemed to be the least of her worries. Instead, she turned her back on him, pulling out a small mic of some sort.
"Ahem, is this thing working?" Mei asked, mic checking. The feedback caused Izuku's ears to ring, and they were protected against the worst of the noise since they were literally behind concrete a few feet thick. He couldn't imagine what it would've been like for all of the audience members sitting in the coliseum proper.
"This is my baby number one: the Loud Voice-inator!" Mei said happily, voice carrying far and wide. Izuku sweatdropped at the unoriginal name. She held up a small, black square where the voice seemed to be emanating from, and she paid Denki no heed, an act which served to confuse the boy more than anything else. "Its primary function is to amplify voices—super useful in rescue operations. It's cheap, small, and portable, so you can carry it on your person while searching for people. To aid in this, it even has a thermal energy detector, so it can help you locate people if they are unable to respond!"
As Mei showcased her invention to the world, Denki stood there awkwardly, unsure of whether or not he should fight.
"My baby number two is this suit of armor whose name is a current work in progress but I'm leaning towards Anti-Sparky Suit!"
Mei did a little spin, showing off what she was wearing. Sleek black pads covered her entire body with small wires running down the side of the armor to the bottom of her feet.
Then, what she did next left everyone in the audience feeling a bit shocked. Mei spread her arms wide towards Denki and said confidently, "Blast me!"
Denki's stunned face was broadcasted to every channel. It would later become a meme template, but that was a topic for another time.
Denki grinned and said something, but what he said wasn't loud enough to be picked up by any microphones or even Mei's Loud Voice-inator. He flashed briefly with yellow light, streams of electricity bolting out of his body, spreading in every direction and barrelling into Mei. For a moment, Izuku was concerned for the eccentric girl… until he heard her cackling.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mei laughed. The bolts of electricity coursed through her suit along the wires and was deposited safely into the ground. "IT WORKS! OH, BABY I KNEW YOU WOULD—ahem." She seemed to realize that she was still using the Loud Voice-inator. "Anyways, the suit's rubber protects its wearer from electricity, while the copper wires attract and safely dispose of the electricity into the ground. Hence the name: Anti-Sparky Suit!"
Denki stopped his blast of electricity, coming to the same conclusion that everyone else in the stadium had: Mei had completely counter-picked him. It was so egregious of a counter that it was hard for people to find humor in the situation; most people felt bad for Denki and a tinge of begrudging admiration for Mei.
Knowing that his Quirk would be of no help to him at the moment, Denki changed tactics, charging at Mei. But, based off of her next words, he had fallen into her trap the moment he started running at her. Well, it'd be more accurate to say that he never stood a chance from the beginning.
Mei pointed her last object of interest at Denki, the long, cylindrical tube or rod thing. "And now, ladies and gents, my final baby of this live demonstration: the Villain Container 9096! I'll let the demonstration do the explaining for me!"
Right when Denki got ten feet away from her, Mei pressed a button on the rod and a loud pop echoed throughout the arena. Out of the cylinder, a large net emerged, propelled by some explosive force, entangling Denki and causing him to trip, face planting magnificently right at Mei's feet.
"As you can see, my baby shoots a large, self-adhesive net that is partly fire-proof and water-proof!" Mei said, thrilled at her invention working. "It ideally works out close range, but it is a nifty tool to aid with the detainment of villains. See?" Mei pointed at the still-struggling Denki. "Even a healthy young man is struggling to break free from it."
Mei spun in a circle, arms held wide open. "And this is just the tip of the iceberg! I've got more fantastic babies just waiting to be showcased. Remember the name: Mei Hatsume, U.A. Class 1-H! Currently looking for internships at hero support agencies, cough cough."
She waved and smiled widely at the crowd before simply walking out of bounds, technically forfeiting the match. But anyone with a brain could see that Mei had won out big: she had gotten the interest of various support agencies around the country with her display of gadgets, which was probably her main goal of participating in the U.A. Sports Festival. The eccentric inventor had definitely made a splash.
"I almost feel bad for Kaminari," Izuku commented. "But he 'won,' so I guess…? But how did she know to counter him so efficiently?"
"I… may have contributed to that," Momo admitted, looking at the ground. "We were chatting about our other classmates during the cavalry battle. I told her about the Quirks of some people."
Izuku laughed at her admission. "Unlucky Kaminari."
Momo sighed, but she eventually relented, smiling a bit in response to Izuku's laughter.
The next two matches were interesting to watch, albeit for different reasons.
The next match was a slugfest between Eijiro Kirishima and Rikido Sato. At the start of the match, Rikido popped a sugar packet into his mouth while Eijiro hardened his body, and then they just started swinging. Comparisons could be made to Katsuki and Tetsetetsu's match earlier, but this time, blows were actually landing rather than one person just dodging all of them like Katsuki did.
It ended up being Eijiro's victory, but that was only after a very, very long fight. It seemed that Eijiro's hardening managed to outlast Rikido's Sugar Rush, but the thirty minute fight must have been draining for both of them—Rikido straight collapsed and fell asleep after his tenth and last sugar packet was exhausted, and only then was Eijiro declared the winner. It was by far the longest fight of the tournament so far.
If that fight was interesting for how long it took, then the next match between Pony Tsunotori and Shoto Todoroki could be deemed interesting for the exact opposite reason. The moment the match started, Shoto just created a massive glacier of ice, forcefully pushing Pony out of bounds. The fight, if it could even be called that, took less than five seconds, even shorter than Izuku and Tenya's match.
Izuku grinned, already formulating plans and countermeasures against Shoto.
The following match, with Mina Ashido as blue and Ochaco Uraraka as red, was definitely less flashy than Todoroki's, but it was much more evenly balanced. The fight mainly revolved around Ochaco having to dodge Mina's acid attacks, the girl displaying laudable nimbleness and control over her own Quirk, using weightlessness to effectively surprise Mina by closing the gap rapidly or dodging acid attacks at seemingly impossible angles.
The match ended when Ochaco finally got a hold of Mina, making her weightless and pushing her up and out of the white boundaries. Ochaco released Mina before she got too high, but with Mina out-of-bounds, Ochaco was declared the victor of the match. In a show of good will and good sportsmanship, Ochaco went over to help Mina up, the two girls laughing at something said between the two of them. What was said was reserved for their ears only, the mics being unable to pick anything up.
As Midnight started a new match between Itsuka Kendo and Tsuyu Asui, Momo and Izuku got up and walked towards one of the warm-up rooms since Momo's match was up next.
During the last three matches, Izuku and Momo had been chatting about a topic that they both loved: heroes. While they had discussed everything from best merch to worst superhero movies, Izuku still paid close attention to the matches, knowing that he could go up against any one of the people that he was watching.
Now, as they walked towards the warm-up room, the two had the one must-have conversation between any hero fan worth anything: the debate over which hero was cooler.
"Look, I get what you're saying," Izuku said in a hushed voice, "but I still think Edgeshot is cooler than Crust."
"Crust?!" Momo laughed. "No one was arguing that. I'm saying that Edgeshot isn't cooler than Mirko, though."
"I don't know," the verdanette sighed, "bunny girl or badass ninja? Too close to decide."
"Bunny girl that can stomp your face in," Momo corrected quickly, to which Izuku couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Momo continued, "Plus, she's so young and has risen to the top ranks of heroes so quickly!"
"She's… twenty-seven? Twenty-six, maybe?"
Momo nodded enthusiastically. "Barely older than us! I mean, have you seen her legs?"
An instinct told Izuku that he was in dangerous territory here. "What about her legs?" he answered diplomatically, safely. It wasn't like he could conjure up a perfect image of Rabbit Hero: Mirko's legs in his mind on demand, no, nothing of that sort.
"Her legs are sublime," Momo gushed. "For such a small woman, her legs are so long and beautiful. So powerful. I'd love to just feel one—"
Momo's eyes widened and she coughed loudly, awkwardly. Izuku, bless his soul, did not comment on anything at all. Momo was getting too comfortable around Izuku—she had been on the verge of saying I'd love to just feel one of her legs wrapped around my face, and that was just downright unbecoming and obscene. She knew Izuku said something along the lines of it being okay for Momo to gush to him about heroes, but what she was about to say was a line she was not ready to have crossed just yet.
Momo just—she couldn't help it, all right? She loved all things hero-related, doubly so if they were related to Mirko. The woman was her celebrity crush, after all! If she wasn't so sure she liked guys, then Mirko… that train of thought didn't need to be further explored. Momo was even a Mirko main in League of Heroes, for crying out loud!
But still, she never could have imagined that she'd be having a casual conversation about something she loved so much at U.A. Momo was expected to work hard, achieve good grades, and live up to the Yaoyorozu family name. Time for fun, mundane chats like this was not supposed to exist. She was blessed, Momo felt, to have friends like Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Kyoka, even overly aggressive touchy-feely friends like Mina, friends she could just be a girl with.
And Izuku, who she could just be herself with.
There was a slight red tinge on her face when she zoned back in, catching the tail end of Izuku's words: "—just think it's pretty badass that she does all of that, alone. Like no help."
"I've always wanted to intern with Mirko," Momo said, hoping that her words would be enough to cover for her lapse in attention. "I was pretty sad to hear that she doesn't really do internships."
"Don't worry," Izuku said brightly, smiling at her. That damn smile. "I'm sure that, no matter what happens, you'll get a fantastic internship offer."
Momo laughed heartily. "You, too."
They finally arrived at the entrance to the warm-up room. The whole area shook with roars and cheers from the hundreds, if not thousands of onlookers above them.
"Well, I just wanted to say… good luck!" Izuku said, mirroring Momo's own prior words to him. "I'll face the winner of this one, right? Let's have a good match next round, then."
Izuku's confidence in her brought a smile to Momo's lips. That confidence, that belief… it felt nice.
"But," Izuku added, "I don't plan on losing."
That got the competitive fire lit up within her. "I don't, either," Momo agreed. "Oh, by the way—watch this for me?"
She deposited her phone into Izuku's waiting hands.
"Of course. Don't forget to come back for it."
"I won't."
With those words, Momo entered the warm-up room with a sweet smile on her face.
She had to perform. For the sake of everyone's expectations—her parents', Izuku's, her own—Momo had to get through this round at the bare minimum. What happened next when she faced Izuku… well, everyone could understand if she lost that fight.
But not this one. Against this Hitoshi Shinso, Momo had to win.
She ran through her stretches and jogged around a bit to warm up. Momo didn't know anything about Hitoshi's Quirk, so her first plan of action was to create a staff just so she could have something to protect herself with. Hopefully, it wasn't a physical enhancement Quirk like Izuku's. Momo doubted that she could handle someone on Izuku's level. Maybe a net of some sort could work…?
As she pondered over possibilities, a voice buzzed in over the intercom that was connected to every room the future heroes were currently in. "Itsuka Kendo will proceed to the next round. Can Momo Yaoyorozu and Hitoshi Shinso come forward to the entrances? Momo Yaoyorozu, blue entrance. Hitoshi Shinso, red entrance."
It was game time.
Momo found the blue entrance and jogged out to the pitch, taking in the sights. There were a lot of people watching. On the other side, a young man stood with his hands in his pockets.
After ascertaining that both participants were ready, Midnight shouted, "BEGIN!"
"Good luck," Hitoshi called out.
Momo, appreciating the gesture, returned, "You as well, but I—"
Momo didn't know what happened.
At one moment, she was in the stadium, standing opposite of Hitoshi. And then—
She was back at her house. No, house wasn't quite the right word to describe it—mansion was more apt.
Her hands were smaller. Her legs were smaller as well. Everything was smaller.
In front of her stood her father, a stern look on his face. He held a yellow manilla folder while her mother held up a cellphone to her ear, a frown growing on her face.
Momo trembled. This was all too familiar.
Her mother sighed, hanging up. "Your teacher says that you've been goofing off recently, and it's affected your work."
Momo could only stare down at her feet. "I'm sorry."
"And it certainly has," her father began, rifling through the manilla envelope. "I see three B's and only one A. You and I both know that this is simply unacceptable."
"I'm sorry."
"Being sorry won't get you anywhere," her father said, exasperated. "Will being sorry change these grades?"
Momo remained silent.
"Well? Will being sorry change these grades? A Yaoyorozu speaks up when spoken to, remember?"
She mumbled, "... no, they won't."
"I didn't hear you."
"No, they won't."
"You're right." Her father gave her the look. "Look, Momo. The next head of the Yaoyorozu's… whether you like it or not, it's going to be you. You should start acting like it."
"Yes, father."
Her mother held out another folder, this time one stamped with various hero memorabilia. "And get rid of all this hero junk. It's unbecoming."
"Yes, mother." She took the folder from her mother and cradled it to her chest.
"This goofing off nonsense…" her mother started, shaking her head. "I really do hope it's just a phase. The Momo I raised isn't like that."
Inexplicably, Momo began to feel the prickling of tears building up in her eyes.
"Remember, Momo." Her father raised a finger. "You must act mature. Dignified. The 'best' behaves a certain way, and I expect you to do the same. Do not disappoint us."
Unable to say anything, Momo nodded.
Why?
Why am I remembering this now?
Momo blinked.
She was back in the stadium, standing solidly outside of the white boundary line.
The crowd was silent, not believing their eyes. Momo had just… up and walked outside of the boundaries, seemingly forfeiting the match. As Midnight went to blow her whistle, the unfortunate truth revealed itself to her.
She'd lost. But… how?
.:.
"Oh, yikes."
The top ten heroes sans All Might all cringed when they watched Momo Yaoyorozu turn on a dime and walk out of the boundaries.
The girl seemed lost and confused as Midnight declared Hitoshi as the winner. She just stood there, rapidly looking around her as if she didn't know what was going on before burying her head and hightailing it for the nearest exit.
"The tournament will now go on break for thirty minutes," Midnight announced. "Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, Denki Kaminari, Eijiro Kirishima, Shoto Todoroki, Ochaco Uraraka, Itsuka Kendo, and Hitsohi Shinso will proceed to the next round."
The pros all stewed in silence for a moment before one of them spoke up. It was Ninja Hero: Edgeshot who said, "It's been a while since I've seen a mind control Quirk that nasty."
Best Jeanist raised an immaculate eyebrow. "You think so, too?"
"The signs are all there," Edgeshot replied. "Confusion. Lack of awareness. Poor girl must've been completely blindsided by it."
Mirko frowned. "How do you think he activates it?"
"Hoooo~ worried about Midoriya's next match against Shinso?" Hawks prodded.
He got the reaction he was expecting. With a humph, Mirko said, "As if Midoriya would lose against a Quirk like that." Then, more to herself than to anyone else, she said, "well, I guess it's time to see if he's as mentally strong as he is physically…"
"Mind control Quirks are exceptionally powerful if used correctly and effectively," Edgeshot said, casting a sidelong look at Mirko. "Dangerous, even, if used for the wrong reasons. This Shinso kid, he was a general education student?"
"Well, he's not in Class 1-A or Class 1-B," Crust offered.
"They should probably change that," Edgeshot said. "Brainwashers can be exceedingly powerful. I've fought against one or two in the past. Get him on the right path to be a hero early."
"Want me to write U.A. a letter?" Hawks said, half in jest, but Edgeshot replied much more seriously than he anticipated.
"If you could, that'd be a big help. I'm already planning on writing the university a letter about Shinso, too. And, does anyone mind if I ask all of you a question?"
A couple of no's later, Edgeshot continued. "Would you all mind if I pull a Mirko and 'call dibs' here on Momo Yaoyorozu? Sure, she lost in the first round, but I can see the potential in her. A ninja's all about the tools he uses, but if one can have an unlimited supply…"
"Go ahead."
"Yeah, I don't mind."
"Suit yourself."
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a damn second," Mirko spoke up, fury in her eyes, "how come you guys are all so respectful when Shinya calls dibs but don't seem to give a rat's ass when I do the same thing?"
Crust grinned. "It's because you're cute when you get flustered."
"Shut it, old man. Maybe a line like that'd work if you looked thirty years younger."
.:.
By the time Momo had regained her bearings and was conscious of her surroundings, she was a fair distance from the stadium.
The sun beat down on her sweaty back, and her deep, shaky breaths clued her in to what she'd just been doing for the past couple of minutes: running. Stumbling a bit, she deposited herself at the base of a tree, shuffling to hide in the shadow. Breaths still deep and tremulous, Momo curled up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest.
It was silent save for the heaving breaths Momo took. She desperately tried not to think about it, about why she'd just spent the last few minutes of her life running like a damn coward, but in the silence, memories poured over her and flooded her mind with phantom images.
Images of her past.
Images of her humiliating defeat.
Why, of all the memories of her childhood, had that been the one that she'd seen?
Momo was a smart girl. She knew she'd been brainwashed or mind controlled—the distinction between the two didn't really matter. She should've been prepared for that outcome, should've done more research into Hitoshi Shinso. She should've done more, should've been better.
The memory that she'd seen just served to twist the knife deeper into her gut.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us.
Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us. Do not disappoint us.
Momo shut her eyes and placed her hands over her ears in a futile effort to stop hearing her father's cold tone repeating the same damn words over and over.
She was the Yaoyorozu heiress. She was a student who got in on recommendation. She was supposed to be better than this. And she'd just… she'd just gone and—
Momo could imagine the disappointment in her parent's gaze.
"Yaoyorozu?"
Momo's eyes jolted open, and she gazed upon quite possibly the first and the last thing she wanted to see: Izuku Midoriya. The boy's worried gaze was too much for Momo at the moment, so she looked away, face burning up in shame.
"I'm glad I could find you. I got worried when you ran off without taking this back." He held out his hand, showing her the phone that she had entrusted to him.
Wordlessly, she took it back, unable to meet his gaze.
"Well, that's a lie. Or a better way to put it would be that's not the entire truth. I was just—" he deflated, confidence gone. "I was just worried about you. You seemed… distraught, after your match."
"I'm fine," she forced herself to say. Momo looked up and put on the demure smile that she'd practiced to perfection. "See? No need to worry."
Izuku, clearly not buying it but too inept socially to say anything else, settled for sitting down next to her.
"You should go," Momo said, speaking slowly to keep her voice even. "Your match is soon, right? No need to waste time—"
With me. With a failure like me.
"I-I've got some time," Izuku stammered out, clearly grasping at straws to not leave her alone.
They stewed in an awkward silence for a little bit. By all means, Momo could have just gotten up and left the heavy atmosphere behind, but something compelled her to stay. Izuku didn't seem like he was faring any better, and a quick glance at him told Momo all she needed to know: brows knit and gaze firmly set on the ground, Izuku looked like the textbook definition of uncomfortable.
But he was still here. He didn't run away.
"Yaoyorozu," Izuku tried again, turning to look at her, "I… we're friends, right?"
Perplexed, Momo turned to look at him, but she shrunk away under his earnest gaze. "Of course, Midoriya."
"And friends… they help each other out. Just like you've helped me out so many times in the past. S-So, this time…" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let me help you out. What's wrong?"
Momo put on her practiced smile again. "Like I said, nothing is—"
"Please don't lie to me."
Momo's smile faltered. "Really, nothing's—"
"Yaoyorozu."
Momo's gaze burned a hole into the ground.
She couldn't bring herself to look back at Izuku.
"I'm just being a sore loser," Momo finally said.
"I don't think it's that," Izuku mumbled. Then, more clearly, he said, "Shinso used a mind control Quirk, didn't he? It was the only conclusion that I came to other than he blackmailed you on the spot."
The hitch in Momo's breathing told Izuku all he needed to know. "It's not the fact that it happened that bothers you. It's… what you saw that's affecting you the most, right? There's a theory that, whenever a Quirk makes you lose grasp of your own consciousness, it also makes you relive old experiences when you're 'asleep.'"
"The Absconder Theory," Momo sighed, recognizing what Izuku was talking about. "But… it doesn't really bother me that much. Just saw a memory that reminded me of something."
"Do you mind telling me what it was about? If not, I totally get it—"
"No, no, it's fine." Momo's own words surprised herself, but she supposed that it was okay. Izuku had demonstrated that he was a trustworthy person. If he wasn't, everyone would be making fun of her for the fact that she was a huge hero nerd.
"I saw a memory of my parents."
"… an unpleasant one?"
"No, not necessarily." Momo looked up at the tree branches shadowing them from the oppressive sun. "I was," she paused, deciding on how to frame it. "The Yaoyorozu name is famous in Japan's business world, and I'm considered to be the heiress of that name. Yet, despite that, I didn't enroll in the business course at U.A., choosing instead to become… a hero."
Momo let loose a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. "My parents were… not particularly pleased with that decision, but I don't usually ask for anything, so they relented and got me a recommendation even though I was fine taking the normal entrance exam. But they let me go here with a few expectations in mind."
Do not disappoint us.
"What I saw when Shinso… it just reminded me of all of that," Momo admitted, sorting through her feelings on the fly. "I guess I just… I don't know."
Expectations, huh. Momo remembered that Izuku said the higher the expectations, the better I perform inside that little storage room before the first event of the sports festival. She wished that the same applied to her.
"I just feel like I… failed spectacularly at meeting their expectations," Momo explained, both to Izuku and herself. "But I'm good now, really! Thanks for helping me sort through my thoughts, Midoriya."
As she began to get up, Izuku's next words floored her.
"Yaoyorozu, please… stop lying to me."
Surprised, Momo looked at Izuku. He continued, "I-I may have the emotional intelligence of a brick, but I like to think that I can tell when someone's hurting. Disguising pain with pretty words… it's a tactic that's all too familiar."
Izuku's expression was unreadable, but the look in his eyes…
It told her that he had personal experience.
Momo spoke. "I felt powerless."
Izuku waited for her to elaborate.
"Not only was I defeated so humiliatingly, but also because… because for a split moment, I thought my parents were right. That I belonged to their world, rather than the world of heroes, that I was wasting my time attending U.A. for its heroics program rather than its business program." She lowered her gaze from Izuku's face.
"You wouldn't understand," Momo said, laughing. Even to her own ears, it sounded painfully fake. "You were born with such a powerful Quirk, you're basically invincible. You wouldn't—"
"I was given this Quirk of mine." Izuku interrupted her calmly. "I was born Quirkless, originally."
Silence hung in the air between them.
Memories of a conversation that she'd overheard between Aizawa-sensei and Izuku surfaced within her, and with it, it brought along every suspicion and theory that she had, speculations from the female members of Class 1-A. The request to ask about his Quirk for us.
"It's a long story of how I got it," Izuku said, a faraway look in his eyes. "But, long story short, I met someone who told me this: you, too, can be a hero."
Izuku, in an uncharacteristically bold act, shifted his weight so that he was in front of her and gripped her shoulders with his hands, all but forcing her to look up at him.
"So I'm going to say this because it's obvious no one has told you this before," Izuku announced, looking her square in the eye. "You, too, can be a hero—no…"
"You will become a great hero."
Ah.
That was it.
This moment.
Momo knew that, in the future, she'd look back on this moment and be able to pinpoint the exact moment she'd fallen for Izuku Midoriya.
Well, if she were being honest with herself, she probably already had a crush, but this moment just sealed the deal.
Godammit. The realization hit her like a truck.
"So… yeah. That feeling of powerlessness… I can relate to it," Izuku told her, scratching the back of his neck, completely unaware of what the girl opposite him was thinking. "I never want to feel that powerless ever again, and I doubt that you do as well, right? That's why I came here, to push myself to grow every day. And… you're growing each and every day, too."
Izuku continued. "Not just as a hero, but also as a person. Before, when I called out to you while you weren't paying attention like that earlier, I bet that you would've screamed. But now, you didn't." He grinned good-naturedly at the embarrassed look on Momo's face.
"So it's fine for you to keep trying to be the best you." That hadn't come out the way Izuku had intended for it to, but he continued regardless. "What I mean is… screw the business program. You're here, in the heroics course. That's what matters. You might trip, you might stumble sometimes, but…"
He smiled. "Stay on this path. It's the path that you chose for yourself. There's incredible value in that. So, Yaoyorozu… I'm not asking you to cheer up or anything like that, but I'll just say this: you're not wasting your time in the heroics program. It wasn't a mistake. You might fail to reach the expectations that others have for you or you have for yourself, but just because you failed today doesn't mean you can't rebound and try again tomorrow."
Izuku finally ran out of things to say—not that Momo noticed particularly, since she was so fixated on his smile. That damn smile.
She remembered the smile he showed her back when they first met and she thought he was All Might's errand boy. Momo had made quite possibly the best mistake of her life and started blabbering and befriending Izuku. Thinking about her first memory of him and that critical mistake of hers brought a heady flush to her cheeks.
Izuku released her shoulders and resumed his sitting spot next to her underneath the tree, rubbing his arm.
The two sat in yet another silence, but this time, Momo broke it. "Thank you. I think I needed to hear that."
"I'll say it as many times as you need," Izuku offered. That caused a small giggle to emerge from Momo. "Plus, it was about time I could do something for you."
Momo stood up, dusting off her butt. "I genuinely feel a lot better now. Let's get back to the tournament so you don't miss your match. You're the first one after the break, right?"
Izuku still gave her a suspicious look.
"I really am," Momo assured him, pulling him to his feet. Sensing the truth in her words and seeing her generally cheerier attitude, Izuku relented, allowing himself to get dragged back up to his feet.
Momo took one look at their joined hands and gave him a squeeze before letting go, the two standing up outside of the tree's shade.
The walk back was coated in a comfortable silence, both just enjoying the other's company. When they reached the stadium, Izuku waved at a few curious onlookers who immediately recognized him, but they were otherwise uninterrupted as they made their way towards waiting room four.
By that point, there were only a couple of minutes before Izuku's match began, so Izuku left his phone and earbuds with Momo before going to a private room to warm up.
But, right as he was about to leave, Momo spoke up and said, "Um, can I ask you a question?"
The response was cheerful. "Yeah, go ahead!"
"Can I call you Izuku?"
"Of course you can, Yaoyo—"
"Momo. Please call me Momo."
"Right, Momo."
"And, Izuku?"
"Yeah?"
"After your match is over… can you come back?"
To me, but those last two words were tactfully left unspoken.
"Sure, no problem."
He smiled at her.
That damn fucking smile.
.:.
Tomura Shigaraki stared at his soup, deep in contemplation.
The way that Izuku had shattered the earth was definitely not in his portfolio. He shouldn't have a strength-inducing Quirk of any kind, yet here he was, smashing the earth and creating craters and destroying ice walls with a single punch.
"Kurogiri, how long does it take to get a hold of Himiko?" Tomura snarled, tapping his foot in impatience.
"She's not responding," the billowy man said.
"How many times have you called her?"
"Multiple times."
Tomura groaned. "Giving up isn't gonna help things. Give me the phone."
Kurogiri handed Tomura the phone as the dark haired man watched languidly from the corner of the table. Tomura dialed Himiko's number and was immediately sent to voicemail. He couldn't see Kurogiri's facial expression, but Tomura was sure that his face screamed I told you so.
He dialed again; sent to voicemail.
"You have the wrong number," Himiko's recorded voice said, "never call again."
He dialed again.
"You have the wrong number—"
Hung up and dialed again.
"You have the—"
Hang up. Dial.
"You—"
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Tomura idly thought about how many times he'd stressed to the girl to always pick up the phone if he or Kurogiri called her. How many times did he have to call to break out of do not disturb?
The next time he called, he finally got an answer. "What, Kurogiri."
"How many times do I have to tell you—pick up the damn phone when we call," Tomura hissed into the phone.
"Shiggy, huh." Silence from her end. "Godammit."
"How many times do I need to tell you to not call me that," Tomura said flatly.
Himiko completely ignored him. "Shiggy. What do you want?"
"Information. And why is it so loud on your end? Where are you right now?"
"In the U.A. Sports Festival stadium thingy," Himiko answered. "Gimme a moment."
Gradually, the din on her end of the phone lessened until it was completely silent.
"What do you want." It was less of a question and more of a demand.
"Izuku Midoriya," Tomura said shortly. "His Quirks aren't the same as they are in his profile, they're different. Do you know anything about this?"
The line was silent. Then:
"What do you mean different?"
Tomura sighed. "He noticeably did not have a strength enhancer Quirk. It was one of the things that he regretted not putting in him when he was being made, yet here he is, creating earthquakes by stomping his feet. Got any info?"
"… no."
Her delayed response was suspicious. "Aren't you supposed to be close to him?" Tomura asked, knowing that these words would get a reaction out of her. "Do you really know nothing? I guess Izuku doesn't trust you that much, huh."
Her response was cold, just like he expected. "Watch what you say, Tomura."
"I'm just saying that it seems like our little spy isn't as close to the target as we initially thought," he sneered. "Maybe we should call her back and send in someone else as a replacement."
"Take me away from him and I'll kill all of you," Himiko threatened in return.
Tomura paused. Depending on whether or not she still had their blood in storage like she usually did, she might just be able to follow through on that threat. Her Quirks were very specialized, but their effectiveness against targets she prepared against was indisputable.
"Relax, I was only kidding." Not really, but Tomura said so anyways. "Just keep an eye out for it, will you? Maybe try and figure out for us. That'd be really helpful."
She hung up on him.
Tomura threw the phone back to Kurogiri, who wasn't expecting it and thus dropped it, cracking the screen. Paying that no attention, Tomura sat and thought for a while. All For One had taken Izuku initially, or so he claimed, because he was Quirkless, and being Quirkless made it more likely for someone to survive gobbling up all of those Quirk factors.
There were three options as to what was happening here. The first option was that All For One had simply forgotten that he had given Izuku a strength enhancer Quirk and all of the files that they had on him also conveniently forgot. This option was so unlikely to be true that it would have been extremely hilarious if it ended up being the case.
The second option was that Izuku actually had a Quirk initially that All For One didn't notice. This was also unlikely to be true, which left the third option wide open:
Izuku Midoriya had been given a Quirk by someone who was not All For One.
And a strength enhancer Quirk that was passed on from generation to generation all pointed to one possibility…
.:.
"And we're back from the break!" Present Mic joyfully declared, voice reaching far and wide. "Due to popular demand, in the thirty minute break, we have installed microphones inside the arena so you, the viewer, can also hear what the participants are saying! And without further ado, on with the show!"
"Can Izuku Midoriya and Hitoshi Shinso come to the entrances?" Midnight called. "Hitoshi Shinso, blue entrance. Izuku Midoriya, red entrance."
Izuku headed towards the red entrance, bumping into Katsuki on the way. Katsuki didn't even wish him good luck; all he had to say was, "You better not lose to this shitter."
"Not planning on it," came Izuku's response.
He arrived at the red entrance and walked out onto the pitch, taking up a ready position at his designated spot. Hitoshi was already there at the opposite spot waiting for him.
After confirming that they were ready, Midnight signalled the start of the match. "BEGIN!"
"Before you say anything Shinso," Izuku immediately said, beating the other boy to the punch, "I just wanted to let you know that I am aware of the fact that you have a mind control Quirk of some sort. I have no idea how it works, but I want to domi—beat you fair and square, so I'll let you activate the Quirk first instead of just rushing you. How does that sound?"
Hitoshi studied him with calculating eyes. "Are you sure about that?"
"Of course. I've always—"
A cold, dark room.
A faceless man in a black suit.
The words, "You… are my greatest creation."
Izuku blinked.
He was still standing where he'd started, not having moved a single inch. The look on Hitoshi's face was one of genuine surprise when Izuku took a step towards him instead of towards the boundary like he'd ordered Izuku to.
Izuku hummed.
It seems like your Quirk isn't strong enough, Hitoshi Shinso.
Some notes:
1. Firstly, sorry for the long wait. Had to take care of finals. School's over, so expect more updates!
2. Hopefully you guys got a healthy dose of Himiko and Momo this chapter! Momo more so than Himiko, this chapter was a pretty big one for Momo as a character. Hopefully I handled things alright. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how I've written Momo (and Himiko) so far.
3. It may feel like I skimped out on Izuku and Tenya's fight, but in my personal opinion, I don't think Tenya stands much of a chance with the current Izuku. And this isn't even full powered Izuku, by the way. Though, I will say, expect Izuku's future matches to be a bit tougher. Maybe not Shinso's, but definitely the next two.
4. I guess an important thing to note is that Izuku's just doing what he feels a good friend would do. He is still all about Himiko; Momo's own affections are unfortunately unrequited. But the story is ever evolving, so who knows how things will be down the line…?
5. Expect more Mirko, by the way. I'm a big Mirko fan. She's gonna play a big role in Izuku's character development.
6. It's fun writing Izuku's slips—periods of time where he reverts to AFO-trained Izuku—and sneaking them in here and there.
7. I had to cut this chapter short, but expect the culmination of the sports festival next chapter.
8. Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews!