Welcome back, first of all. I hope you all are not touching your face, going to a large public gathering, washing your hands with good soap, etc. Seriously, this coronavirus thing is serious and I hope each and every one of you is taking do care of yourselves. Now onto the last chapter reviews. Be warned, this will be long, longer than any other time I answered reviews.
Guest: Thanks for the reminder. Her gender was kept a secret for while since the dub actress said they did that on purpose.
Deltablacknaruto: I was hoping to keep it a secret but yes, you are right.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you but please leave something more personal than that next time, I do want to hear your opinions after all.
Scandalf:…I don't even know where to begin with you as I have a feeling you love Naruto, a lot. Firstly, that was just an example of him being a dick. My own father is a doctor, meaning he was almost never present for any of my school, scout, or sport-related activities because he was busy. I never held it against him because I knew his job was demanding and he never made promises he couldn't keep. I'm saying Naruto is a bad parent because he, unlike my old man-made a promise he knew was unlikely he could keep because of his own responsibilities as Hokage(which is made worse because this is the same guy who used to shout to the world, day or night-whether we wanted to hear it or not-that and I quote: 'I'm not gonna run away and I never go back on my word, that is my nindō! My Ninja way!').
Also, in your argument about Bakugo, I have to stand to disagree. Granted many wouldn't turn out like him but that's mainly because many don't have the same circumstances as Bakugo. I went to middle school with a boy who was seemingly born lucky and he was an absolute asshole. He wasn't as violent and short-tempered as Bakugo but that's because, unlike Bakugo's teachers, our teachers and adults wouldn't tolerate such behavior and he grew out of it by our final year together, he's one of my friends now and is studying medicine. Now as for Bakugo, we don't see much of their time in middle school but episode 1 alone gives us more than enough to see just how much he was unfairly held above the others.
(1) When Bakugo insults the entire class by calling them rejects and when they protest, he tells them to keep silent like extras. Now a competent and just teacher would have to reprimand him for this kind of behavior, even sent him to the principal's office if this wasn't the first time, since, with Bakugo, it stands a good chance that this wasn't the first time he had done so but instead. He just states that Bakugo is aiming to go to UA which seems more like he was trying to keep the others in line, not Bakugo.
(2) When Bakugo jumps in his desk and arrogantly proclaims himself the next top hero while talking about how he's better than the rest of them(He also slides in the fact that he'll earn more money than the rest of them would). Once more, a competent teacher should(I heavily emphasize, SHOULD)have reprimanded him, told him to get off his desk, sit down and shut up unless he wants detention, which would end up on his record. But instead, he says that Midoriya also wants to go to UA, like a total idiot.
(3) When the whole class laughs and taunts Midoriya for wanting to go to UA, the teacher-who should be doing his part to prevent bullying and teenage suicide-instead keeps quiet like he couldn't be bothered, showing that he himself doesn't have a high opinion or expectation for a learner he taught and that we know, is a great student.
(4) When Bakugo losses his shit and not only uses his quirk to blast Midoriya's desk(When that same teacher said moments prior that quirk usage is against the school and should have been seen as assault as if that had hit Midoriya himself, he would have done some damage), calls him useless(Deku) and corners him to the back of the class. The teacher, who SHOULD have to step him if nothing else than to stop what could have been a beating, keeps quiet and does nothing! Nothing at all!
To sum that all up, Bakugo was treated like he could do no wrong by his teachers and since students spend most of their time in school, this means he spent most of his time being allowed if not encouraged by such criminally incompetent teachers to do as he pleased without fear of repercussion. Their middle school was terrible and I've seen more the one story where the teachers are arrested, replaced, fired, killed(This last one is mostly by a vengeful Izuku) or the school closed down by the ministry of education due to how bad the place is. Hell there is a story on this very site(though I can't remember the name) where Bakugo has to deal with the consequences of the teachers not doing their jobs of actually teaching him right from wrong-spoiler alert Midoriya took his twisted advice and kills himself, which leads to Inko finding out and making it her life's mission to destroy Bakugo's life a living hell, which she does for the most part)
So yes, most wouldn't turn out like he did but most weren't treated like the second coming of Jesus.
Onto the third point, when did I ever say I was justifying or defending his character? There is a difference between explaining his character and justifying his character. All I did was point out the why. I firmly believe he should still be held accountable, that he should have not gotten into U.A but remember, he didn't make himself into that monster as he is a result of a toxic and criminally incompetent environment. He did what any other child would have done in that situation. He did something like call someone something mean, got praised for it(or at the very least, not punished) so he would make the conclusion that his behavior isn't wrong and keep on doing it. If your parents and teachers didn't teach you right from wrong and you had an explosion-type ability, I can guarantee you that many more would turn out just like him. It is why I believe that teachers shouldn't just be trained and tested for their skills but also be evaluated as you are entrusting them with dozens if not hundreds of young minds to mold, would you want that same person that spends anywhere from 6 ½ to 8 hours a day, five days a week teaching, inspiring and molding your kid to be openly sexist, or racist, anti-vax?
And lastly, I like Bakugo as a character as he breaks so many of the rules for a 'good guy' or even someone who wishes to become a pro hero yet he still gets as far as he does. I want to see him change himself and become worthy of that title since as it stands for me, I still don't like him as a person or thing he'll make a good hero as he seems more like the guy they'll send in when they need a building, which just happens to only have villains inside-destroyed. I wouldn't want him near kids as he would scare them if not, teach them bad habits like constant growling like a rapid dog, yelling at any and everyone who doesn't worship the ground you walk on, name-calling, and swearing. Unless he cleans he act, I don't see him anywhere near the top 20 as they don't just take work ethic and results into account but also public opinion and with his shitty personality and nonexistent social skills, people will view him as a great attack dog but nothing more.(Also, if it ever gets out how bad of a father and husband Enji is, people will naturally become more observant of their heroes to ensure someone like the flaming bastard doesn't get as far as he did or even be allowed to become a hero)
Gunblade2020: Why would Bruce be doing in Japan? Even in the Batman Returns comic and movie, he stays in Gotham. That's like the flash retiring and moving to San Francisco for….reasons.
D3lph0xL0v3r: Yes, I don't like his character either as even Sasuke knew basic manners and morality. Didn't stop him from running Karin through to kill Donzo or try and kill Sakura but hey, at that point he was an established villain, not an anti-hero but a villain.(Which made Naruto's request to the Cloud to call off their elimination order on Sasuke's head even dumber as I personally would have asked again since it was so stupid I would think I misheard it, laugh in Naruto's face when he repeats himself and probably punch him in the face when he insists I do so since Sasuke was aiding a terrorist organization and assaulted and attempted to kidnap a citizen of the Cloud, a village that has been a traditional rival and enemy to the Leaf. He as a leaf genin as no authority or right to even begin asking for clemency for his 'friend'.
Also, thank you for the heads-up on 'The Long Way Around' since I was reading it myself, was really enjoying it but then the author goes and gives Izuku OFA anyway. It defeats the entire point of the story if, after all, he goes through, he still gets it because that's All Might saying that he doesn't think you can be a hero without one, despite the fight you fought and earned your place in the hero course.
Blaze1992: Are you referring to Midoriya or Todoroki? As both are in the infirmary right now.
Mastercheif1229: Thank you.
cam21K: I know, it's Rock Lee with that whole 'no talent' for Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
UnlawfulGentlmen: That's the sad truth. Because of All Might and his near-unstoppable strength, other heroes become complacent since Yagi has effectively made this bubble around everything where they think harm and serious threats either won't arise or if they do, will be handled by All Might. Grand Torino also reminds me of Undertaker during the early 2010s. He isn't always there due to age but when he is, he puts on a show worth watching.
As for the Kendo vs Midoriya fight, thanks for the compliment as I was worried it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. As I've been told, that was the most brutal match of the tournament as both threw everything they had plus the kitchen itself into that which fits them as they both want to win.
As for guess, again. Why wouldn't Falcon be doing in Japan? And no, it isn't Falcon. But I do have several surprises for the hero that it is as I've been watching a lot of Death Battle lately.
Khoashex: Well, that waits over.
Guest: Dude, they do more than ride each other like rabbits you know.
Zukafew119: Well unlike the fighters and the audience(the readers) they don't know the full story so that will, of course, speculate about it and come to the wrong but logical conclusion. Also, I have already said that Izuku is a lot like a Spider-man with a Captain America style role model so of course, he believes that things like pride can get in the way of doing the right thing. He doesn't like it but that's how he sees things, at least at this junction. And of course, it was the edgelords who gave the more morbid bits as both would no doubt become underground heroes who just do most of their work at night.
For Mina, the USJ wasn't a walk in the park and I was surprised that everyone come out of it with no issues. Sure it could mean that they are stronger mentally than the average teen but it was a good moment to bring in that trauma to show that they were affected but want to push forward. Tokage says soldiers because they face off against much more risk than police as in a world where someone like All Might is running around, wars of any significance must be a thing of the past.
As for Mitsuki's reaction and the general feel from the crowd. It felt logical to do so as she knows her son and knows he's competitive as hell. Unless he had a damn good reason, he would never throw a match. So people jumping to the conclusion that he was brought or the match was rigged makes sense. This will affect the plot more during the internship/Stain arc since as you can imagine, people are going to react differently if they think you cheated, so Todoroki will have his hands full for a while.
Yu is her best self and I love writing her in whenever I can because she is an interesting character. Yes, she over-reacts like cannon but trust me, she hasn't seen the really bad stuff yet as even if 20% of the global population makes up over a billion, this number is spread out as Midoriya has only met one other person he knows is quirkless in cannon-Mellissa. The two pros she's with may be biased but they do have a good point as Todoroki is a powerhouse and they still don't know how Shinso does it but he's won all his matches with ease so far so they have the right to not have all the faith in the world in one quirkless kid.
As for the fight itself, I drew inspiration from both times Yang fought against Mercury in RWBY as Mercury fights mostly using his legs while Yang relies heavily on her arms and firsts. The only problem was that their first fight isn't very long and their second and final one in volume 5 was only shown in bits and pieces so I had to be creative. It was a brutal exchange but I felt that they deserved it as Izuku winning needed to be as close as I could make it so that Kendo doesn't seem like I weakened her for the sake of plot. Unfortunately, Grand Torino isn't with Nighteye as I did say 'Two old men' Nighteye isn't that old. It was a good guess though as the two do know each other in cannon.
Chapter 26: Festival Finale
(Previously)
"Well?" Grand Torino asked as he paused the screen. He along with an old friend were watching it together from his office as they both were quite curious as to why All Might thought this quirkless boy was all that.
"He shows promise, and he has the drive to boot." The other said as he stroked his beard in thought.
"Yes, Toshi really praised him in his letter, I thought it would be best to see for myself." Grand Torino said as he leaned into his seat and took a sip of the tea they had been served.
"It was the wise move, you cannot base your expectations off the words of others. Sometimes it is best to see for yourself." His host stated in agreement as he reached for his own cup.
"So what do you think? The girl is a good catch so I'm already going to send in a request for her." Grand Torino said even though he hadn't taken anybody as a side-kick/apprentice since All Might, he figured it was high time he did his part to raise the quality levels of pros.
"Do you think it would be approved, you have been inactive for 12 years now?" The other asked as he held his cup in hand and thought about an issue.
"I still take the hero license renewal test every year. Don't worry, this old man still has what it takes to stand with the young and idiotic heroes of today." Torino replied, sounding both annoyed and amused with the topic.
"Don't you mean, stand over them? You and I both know that you could easily make your way into the top 20 if you put your back into it." The other chuckled as he asked the question, to which Torino just huffed and turned away.
"Same thing. They don't make pros like they used to though. The fact that an old dog like myself could even reach the top 20 shows just how poor the quality of the average pros has fallen. It's a no-brainer why villains are gathering again, the guards have become lax and arrogant." He said in disappointment and anger as he had seen 11 pros on the way here, all of which he could easily beat in a 1v1, 2x1 even a 4v1.
"Yes, and if things progress as they have been, we may see the return of….his people." The other said, sounding as serious as a death sentence as they both remembered…darker times…before All Might was even a thing.
"Let's just pray that he's dead and gone, like we've been hoping for all these years." Grand Torino said as he put that piece of nightmare fuel to bed. "You didn't answer the question."
"The answer is yes, I will take this Izuku Midoriya under my wing. We shall see what kind of man he will become." He said as he held up an internship application form, the information about the boy in question already filled in before he reached for his stamp, placed the paper down on the table.
And gave it his approval. If the boy accepts it, well…
Things will get very interesting.
.
.
.
(And Now)
"You guys are back!" Uraraka yelled as she practically jumped out of her seat to greet the two returning class reps.
"That was great! It was neck and neck the whole time!" Kirishima said as he got up as well and swung an arm around Midoriya's shorter shoulders. Not noticing the wince as the boy was still wearing bandages over his forehead and jaw.
"Jesus, you guys beat each other black and blue out there!" Awase cheered from his seat before he got slapped upside the head by a certain religious girl.
"Awase! Mind your tongue before the lord punished you!" Shiozaki scolded him for daring to use the lord's name in such a manner.
"Thanks but it wasn't all that much, you know?" Kendo said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. Like the boy she fought, she too was still wearing bandages, mostly around her hands and the side of her head where she was kicked.
"Stop being so modest, your match was probably the best of the tournament." Honenuki said as he couldn't think of a match that came as close as theirs. Sure Todoroki and Bakugo's match was almost as epic but Bakugo was still standing by the end of it.
"Yeah but the thing is," Midoriya said as he locked eyes with Kendo for a moment before he turned to look at everyone else. "We both want a rematch."
"What, why?" Ashido asked, confused by the statement.
"Because it wasn't a real victory. The only reason I won was that I stayed awake like, two seconds longer. In an actually hero-villain fight, that would be a loss." Their class rep explained as he and Kendo took their respective seats.
"Especially since I woke up first in the infirmary." Kendo teased with a chuckle, giving the class more context as if she were the villain, she could have gotten away-injured but still on the loose.
"Yes, you made that very clear on the way here." Midoriya said as he rolled his eyes. She hadn't been subtle about her opinions on the way here.
"Just saying. Don't forget that I'll kick your ass later." Kendo said over the wall, not noticing her classmates looking at her funny, not used to this…competitive side of her. Too bad they never saw her during martial arts tournaments in middle school.
"Good luck with that, ogre hands." Midoriya shot back as he was already planning ways that he'll come out on top next time, though he'll have to wait till after his jaw healed, man she can throw a punch.
"So what, they're trading insults now?" Sero asked the quiet Shoji who just shrugged his large shoulders. So long as they kept it in check, he saw no need to stop them.
"Well, one tends to do that with their rival, right Bakugo?" Kirishima asked as he turned to asked the quiet blonde, which surprised Midoriya has he had never known the boy to still this still and silent without looking like he was going to blow about 3 gaskets.
"….Yeah, whatever." Bakugo answered, sounding…almost forlorn and thoughtful as he looked away from the group.
'Why is he so quiet?' Midoriya asked himself as this…side of Katsuki was unheard of. The boy never was this thoughtful. He was always prideful, arrogant and short-tempered.
"Where's our resident ice machine anyway?" Midoriya asked to try and change the mood.
"He's getting ready for his match. Though I don't know how well he'll do." Sato answered him as Bakugo had informed them that he had left the infirmary and made his way to get ready for his next match.
"Speaking of missing, where's Iida? Is he taking a bathroom break?" Kendo asked as she didn't recall seeing him when she sat down. At the question, Uraraka visibly sadden.
"No…he said he had to leave, to go to Hosu." She said as she was the only one to know about it, the rest knew he was gone but they didn't know to where or why.
"Hosu? Why there?" Sero asked as far as he knew, Iida had no business there. His family's agency was in Tokyo after all.
"He brother was attacked by a villain. He didn't say much to us but he did imply that it was serious." She revealed to the two classes, shocking them as they could only imagine what he was going through.
"Wait, seriously?" Kaminari asked the first to voice his opinions and surprise at this piece of information. "Ingenium got jumped!?"
"We don't know, that was all Iida told me." She replied as she recalled how he had called her aside and informed her before he literally ran off to change back into his school uniform and leave.
"Shit. Kinda wish I could have spoken with him before he left." Midoriya uttered as he combed a hand through his unruly hair.
"We can see what's he's up to on the group chat later." Uraraka offered through her tears, it was obvious that she cared for the taller boy, but so did he-Iida was their friend and they knew he must be hurting right now.
"Group chat?" Tokoyami asked, he had no knowledge of this gathering.
"Yeah, Midoriya, Iida, and I made a group chat the other day to keep conversations going after school." Uraraka explained as she wiped her tears away.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling Iida won't be on for a while. We have to wait for tomorrow-if he shows up at all." Midoriya said as he had a feeling that Iida's phone will go forgotten for a couple of days at least.
"I hope he does, you shouldn't be alone at a time like this." Yaoyorozu added in for the rest of them, gaining a nod of support from most of the class.
"That is something we can agree on, Yaoyorozu but for now," Midoriya said as he turned his attention back down to the field, where the last match of the semis will be fought. "Let's focus on the here and now."
(On the field)
"Alright folks, our first match of the semi-finals sure got brutal at the end there but they really gave us a show!" Present Mic called to the crowd as the screens changed to show Midoriya was moving on to the finals.
"Yes, those two put their all into the fight and should be proud of that, but I will expect them to take this as a learning opportunity to better themselves." Vlad added in, his choice of words sending shivers down the spines of the students of 1-B as they already could tell he was going to make sure they all trained harder.
"Man, always in teaching mode, aren't you?" Present Mic asked with a laugh but Vlad just gave him a deadpan look that said the answer for him. "Okay…Let's get going."
"Indeed. Our next and final match of the semi-finals will determine who Midoriya will face off against in the finals for the title of champion of the first-year sports festival." Vlad announced as the screens switched to show the names and pictures of the next two scheduled to battle.
"Oh yeah, baby! In the one corner, we have the mysterious fighter from the general. He has blitzed his way to the top with absolutely no opposition! Hitoshi Shinso!" Here the crowd cheered louder than they did the last two matches the boy participated in, something Shinso was secretly loving as it was one of the oh so few moments in his life where people were praising him for his skills, not for damned potential for evil.
"And in the other. The ice king of UA. He can probably play in the snow without a jacket and mittens, lucky! Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic said as he turned the crowd's attention to the ever silent duel hair colored boy. Not to anyone's surprise, the reactions they got were mixed as no one really knew what to think of him. Hell his own class didn't know all that much about him as unlike any of them, he hadn't joined any social clique or even had decent conversations with any of them. He was just…there most of the time.
'Kinda low hype but it's to be expected. Most think his last match was rigged or something.' Present Mic thought to himself with a frown as this was going to come back to bite the lad, he just knew it.
'Aizawa going to have to speak with that one, all he's doing by holding back like this is isolating himself from the people he's might to save.' Vlad thought to himself as he would have settled this whole foolish affair a long time ago.
"Midnight, do you think this will…?" Cementoss asked as they watched the two boys walk to the center of the arena. It was clear to their practiced eyes that Todoroki wasn't at his best.
"I don't know, with one this fight is sure to be a quick one but the other, Recovery girl did clear him for the match, right?" She asked as this wouldn't be the first time a student had lied about being cleared for combat.
"Yes, she just confirmed it with me. But still, she isn't too sure about his condition. The boy must be exhausted from the healing. He can't be at 100%." Cementoss said as he Recovery Girl was hesitant to even allow him out of her sight as he was nearly fallen to hyperthermia by the time the medical bots had gotten him to her. She did her best by soaking him a hot bath while feeding him warm food with her healing but there was no way it was enough for him to be able to give his all.
"We will just have to keep an eye on things. If things go south. We end the match." Midnight said as they now knew that one student's health was a factor in this match.
"Agreed."
"Are you two fine young boys ready?" And just like that, Midnight made a total 180 as she went from the calm and serious to the playful and teasing in a second.
"I am, though I don't know about him. He seems a bit on the cold side." Shinso mocked as he kept his eye on Todoroki, though on the inside he was furious that this prick didn't think they were worth his full power.
"." Luckily for him, Todoroki was thinking clearly enough to know not to speak, but it wasn't like he wasn't facing his own inner crisis.
"What's the matter, too cool to be bothered unless they don't praise you?" Shinso probed him again, wondering if this was normal for the boy as he was more talkative in his last match.
"Alright you two, the fights haven't even started yet. Save your strength for the real fun." Midnight stopped them before they could do something out of line.
"Ready?" Midnight called out as the two got ready, with Shinso actually getting into a boxing stance which was unusual as he hadn't even tried to throw a punch the entire festival.
"Start!" Midnight brought her hand down, in that same second-two things happened. The first was Shinso making a dash towards Todoroki to try and close the gap as he had yet to use any ice at close range. His plan was to try and throw his opponent off balance and force him to try something risky, at which point he could capitalize.
The second thing that happened was Todoroki seeing his plan for what it was and, perhaps uncreatively sending a car-sized pillar of ice towards him.
"Holy-!" Shinso gasped but was interrupted when that same pillar of ice smashing into him, he was thankful that surface was flat so it didn't stab or cut into him but it still hurt like a mother as he not just pushed out of bounds but smashed out of bounds, landing in a pile well over 10m away from the boundary line. At least the grass was a little soft.
(With the students)
"And again with the iceberg! Is that the only thing you know?" Midoriya yelled as he was hoping that he'll learn more about his classmate but clearly the boy was as creative as a brick!
"Well, it proved to be effective. Overkill it may be." Tokoyami said as he closed his eyes, he never liked the forward approach as it almost always meant the power approach but if it worked, who was he to judge?
"Dude, he knocked the guy with a giant block of ice, that's gotta be painful." Kaminari shivered as he could only imagine how painful such a thing would be, something they all noted when Shinso didn't get back up.
"Still, has he learned nothing from his engagement with Bakugo? It takes more than brunt force to be a hero." Ojiro said as they looked down at the field as Shinso started to speak up.
(Back on the field)
"Shinso is out of bounds!" Midnight called out as Shinso slowly got back up to his feet. "The winner is Todoroki!" With that, Todoroki started to walk off the stage, not even bothering to melt the ice he made as he was still lost and confused after his match with Bakugo. Sadly for him, he wasn't getting out of this without more baggage to deal with.
"It must be so great, to be born better than everyone else." Shinso spat out along with some blood as he got back up to his feet. His words causing Todoroki to pause as the crowd quieted down to hear what he had to say.
"The way you walk, the way you act, the way your fight. Everything about you screams 'I'm better'." Shinso said as he glared at the back of the other boy's head. "You couldn't even be bothered to use your full strength, but then again. When your dad has money, you can do what you want." He hissed at the other, the mere notion that his father, that bastard of a hero had rigged the games was enough to get Todoroki to turn to face him with his own fiery glare.
"Don't you dare…" He started but Shinso wasn't threatened.
"Dare what? What you gonna do, freeze me? Admit it, you're not taking this seriously, you're treating this like a joke." Shinso said as he waved his hands to the whole place. He was livid, he was working his ass work, that Midoriya kid told them to do their best in the opening ceremony but here this prick was. Going around with half his power. He thought that Bakugo was the only ass in 1-A, clearly, he was wrong. "You lost against that explosive ass! And yet, here you are! Why? Why did you get to go on when you didn't even fight using the full power of your quirk when you were overwhelmed?" He yelled at him, finally asking the question that had been on his mind the whole time.
"Enough! The battle is over, please leave the field." Midnight shouted to the two of them, it didn't take a genius to know such an accusation was serious. Midnight herself couldn't even remember a time when someone actually accused a UA student of cheating during the festival, going overboard sure but not this. And the crowd was of the same mind though those against Todoroki were growing in number after this first-year student said what they were all thinking. Though if you were to look at Endeavour, you would see the picture of rage as he tried to burn a hole in Shinso's head with his glare alone. Though he was less angry about the actual accusation and more on how this will reflect on him if only that rebellious brat just used his fire.
"Whatever." Shinso said and with one last glare, he turned around and wobbled off.
"I'm not what you think I am." Todoroki said, sounding both angry and confused though Shinso didn't really care.
"All evidence to the contrary." He answered before he was out of sight and off the field.
"Wow….That…that was something I didn't see coming. Any thoughts Vlad?" Present Mic asked as this was really turning out very different than he or anyone was expecting.
"I got nothing." Vlad said as he shrugged his shoulders.
(With the pros)
"Shit, did he just?" Mt. Lady asked as they had turned to the screen when Shinso started taking and were caught off guard by the…nature of the conversation.
"Accuse the son of Endeavour of cheating on live television?" Death Arms summarized as he folded his arms over his chest. "Yes, yes he did."
"But you heard that Bakugo boy, he said didn't want that kind of win." Kamui Woods stated, pointing out the obvious flaw in that argument as they all saw how Bakugo willingly walked off the stage.
"Yes, but it still seems oddly convenient timing-wise." Death Arms said that was also an angle that one could view this turn of events. "There is also the fact that people will always be critical of those in higher positions, so this could get ugly." He finished as he had seen such things time and time again, granted it was mostly politics as a very popular politician can have their entire career's ruined by an unconfirmed rumour, it did apply to them as unlike police, each hero was unique in just about in look, attitude, approach and skills-so like politicians they have to always been seen as necessary and well reserved.
"Ugly for all of us or just for Mr. Fire mustache?" Lady asked as she was concerned by this. She hadn't been solo long enough to really see it but she knew of it as Jeanist was a man that ensured all those who worked under him was always prim, proper, and approachable to keep things like this from occurring in the first place.
"This will affect all the pros in the top 20 since they are seen as the best of the best, so to have the son of the number two be called out for charges that may or may not be false, it's gonna shake things up." Death Arms explained, giving out his wisdom from almost a decade of hero work.
"I can already see the reporters now, trying to get the fresh story. But what I want to know is," Kamui Woods said as he could only imagine how the office will be quite busy come tomorrow from all the press that would want a statement from heroes. "You don't think Todoroki is innocent?"
"I have no opinion because I know nothing about the boy, I got no evidence swaying to either guilty or innocent. Remember to let the evidence be your guide, if you go into a case already thinking this was how it went down, you'll end up biased and only looked at what proves your view and ignore everything else." Death Arms told him as he went back to their patrol, the other two following close behind as they took in his words and found that they were logical. They would just have to either look into this themselves or hold their judgment till more information comes out.
(With the Bakugo and Midoriya's)
"I….I didn't see that coming." Inko said slowly as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"What? The purple-haired boy losing or the claim that Mr. Fire and Money bags rigged this shit?" Mitsuki asked as she was in the same boat with the confusion.
"Both actually, I thought Todoroki would have tried something else but he seems to be of the mind, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'" Inko replied as she raised a son that never liked looking at problems from one angle so this one method approach was new to her.
"This won't be good for the school, last someone claimed a UA learner cheated at one of this was a good 30 years ago, maybe more." Hisashi said as he looked around and saw that this topic was the discussion of the hour.
"And you know this, why?" Mitsuki asked him, a brow raised.
"I did want to be a hero too you know, once upon a time." Hisashi answered her with a small chuckle as he recalled how he would run around and play heroes with his friends. He grew out of it in middle school but still.
"Still, wonder how Endeavour is taking all this, he isn't really known for his cool and patience." Masaru asked as he looked over to where he recalled seeing the flame hero standing but he couldn't see the distinct fiery silhouette, maybe he walked off, went to the bathroom.
"Chances are that he won't take this lying down and try and do something." Mitsuki replied as she folded her arms underneath her bust, she could see that he could act like her brat but it was unlikely as he was a grown-ass man. It'll only make him look like a total bitch if this was all it took to get a violent reaction out of him.
"Which might just backfire on him, oh boy. Things are going to get messy." Inko said as she could feel the mood of the crowd shift and change, and not in a good way.
"Oh by the way, what did the boss want with you?" Mitsuki asked as up till now, it had slipped her mind that Hisashi took a work phone call.
"Oh, they want me to have dinner with a potential investor. In about two weeks." He replied to them, sounding a little confused by it.
"Dinner?" Inko asked. That was a…older tradition of business meetings. She didn't think Hisashi had ever been inviting to one for work-related reasons.
"Yes. The investor heard of my work and wants to meet with me first before signing anything. They said I was free to bring my family." Hisashi explained before he dived into detail as to who was this new investor.
(With the boy of the hour)
'Am I like him?' Todoroki asked himself as he walked down the empty corridors of the stadium. He knew that he should be getting ready for the finals but he also knew he had to clear his head as he had been quite confused for a while now.
-'The way you walk, the way you act, the way your fight. Everything about you screams 'I'm better''- He heard Shinso biting comment in his head.
'No! I'm not using that power, I won't let him win, not after everything he has done.' He thought to himself as he shook his head to rid himself of such opinions.
-'If you're not going to live by the school motto then I don't see the damn purpose in fighting someone who isn't taking this seriously like everyone else here'- Once more, this time it was Bakugo's resigned words to him from their earlier encounter.
'I am! I worked, I train every day so that I won't need his power!' Was his opinion, though there was a small part of him that wasn't too sure about it anymore.
-'Everyone here, we all want to achieve our dreams. To see them realized. I have always been a terrible person but even I know that. Deku is fucking quirkless and looks at him!'- Another once, once more Bakugo as he tried to get him to use his bastard father's powers. He was conflicted and didn't have a clear answer. He didn't really know if what he wanted for right anymore, he didn't know how he'll get back at his old man.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he ended up turning a corner without looking and bumped into someone else.
"Hmm?" A familiar voice said as the person in question rubbed his head to soothe the pain before looking up at him with eyes that went from surprised to annoyed. "Oh, it's you."
"What are you doing here?" Todoroki asked him, also annoyed but also curious as to why Midoriya was down here. In response, the boy jerked his head to the hallway behind the taller boy.
"Heading over to the waiting room to get ready, they say it'll take a little longer than normal since you left them a ton of ice to clean up." Midoriya answered as he kept his tone steady, he was not amusing to know that Todoroki made a careless move like that as Cementoss has to break the ice and move it away, which will take time.
"Oh" He totally forgot about that. That was….odd behavior for him as he always made an effort to clean up after he was done with….anything really. 'I can't believe I forgot about that.'
"Why are you here?" Midoriya asked him out of the blue, catching his attention.
"What?" Todoroki asked him, confused by the nature of the inquiry.
"Why," Midoriya started again, this time stepping in close to look the taller male in the eye as he asked. His tone is as serious as the grave. "Are you here?"
"The hall?" Todoroki asked him, not understanding the value of this. Was he that far from his own waiting room?
"UA, in the hero program." Midoriya told him, not giving him an inch as his eyes narrowed in on him and even though he was shorter than he was, Shoto couldn't help but feel a chill go down his spine from the intense look in Midoriya's eyes. It was like an Eagle's.
"That's s loaded question." Todoroki managed to keep his cool as he replied back yet didn't give an answer to the question.
"It's a logical one. Why would someone who thinks they can go around using only half their power want to save people?" Midoriya asked him, taking a page from aunt Mitsuki about subtle being for bitches and going for the kill.
"…." Todoroki paused, not sure how to answer that as from the way Midoriya asked it, you would think he had kicked the dude's puppy for something. But then again, that same small part of Shoto from earlier couldn't help but agree with the question.
"What? No answer?" Midoriya asked him again before he scoffed at him, the sound he made being foreign to his tongue as the disgust started to show in the green-eyed boy's face before he pushed him aside as he walked past him and stop with his back turned. "You want to join the profession where we have to give our best each and every day to save as many people as we can, and only use half your power? Pathetic?" He told him, not even deeming him worth the effort to turn around, something that Todoroki took offense to.
"What did you…"How dare he think he didn't care for the people they'll help? The lives they'll save? But clearly, Midoriya was daring and not just slightly, he might as well slap him across the face with a glove while he was at it.
"I mean, I'm sure the friends and loved ones of those who can't save will love to know that you gave it your 50%! That'll surely cheer them up when they mourn their loss." Midoriya said as he turned his head to look at him as he gave that little piece of sarcasm. Really, the entire thing Todoroki had been doing had been something that was on his mind ever since the USJ. He had hoped such a life-threatening experience would shake some sense into him but clearly, he was in need of a heavy dose of reality.
"Midoriya, no I wouldn't-!" Todoroki tried to defend himself as he was ashamed to admit that he never saw it like that. He never stopped to consider an event where his ice wouldn't be enough. How would he help then? Sadly for him, his class rep was far from done with him.
"I am going to say this once, and once only." Midoriya said as he turned to face him once more, his face a picture of restrained anger and disgust. "I spent my whole life working my ass just to earn a chance to even be here, so that I could prove the naysayers wrong, to be able to inspire all the quirkless like me but," He paused as he took in a deep breath before going on, his breath lacking that bite from earlier. "More than anything I want to be a hero that can smile and bring hope, just like All Might. I don't care for being number 1, I don't care about your family and how successful for father is. I do care that someone like you would only tarnish the good name of a hero that All Might and so many others worked tirelessly to build." He said as he looked at Todoroki, straight in the eye as the other boy back-peddled slightly in the face of his resolve and his goal.
"If you won't bring you're a-game to our match, I can assure you that I'll beat you into the ground." Midoriya promised him before he turned on his heel and started to walk off, but not before dropping one last line. "Someone like you doesn't deserve to be called a hero." With that, he left the even more confused and hurt Todoroki behind as he tried to make sense of his life. Of this feeling of disappointment from someone other than his father. He clenched at his hair as he tried to find a solution to this problem. Did he have to let go of years of abuse, neglect, anger?
Meanwhile, behind another corner, All Might stood, having listened to the two talks ever since the beginning since he came down here to speak with young Todoroki, too bad someone beat him to it.
'[sigh] Young Midoriya, you have a passion to you that many wouldn't envy, and a drive that would leave others in awe. But sometimes you remind me too much of Aizawa. You have a habit of not taking human nature into account, not everything will work as one of your machines.' All Might thought to himself as although he agreed with him, his approach to telling young Todoroki of this truth of their profession left much to be desired.
(With the students)
"That was…underwhelming." Tokage said as she summarised the feelings of the group as a whole.
"Yeah man, he beats us no problem but can't do a thing against Todoroki?" Kirishima asked, agitated that he was so easy to take down.
"What, you think they paid off him?" Rin asked.
"I don't think so," Yaoyorozu spoke up as she held her chin in thought. "Todoroki asked me some questioned on Shinso when he called me away."
"Oh yeah, he did ask to speak with you." Jiro asked as Yaoyorozu hadn't really told them what the boy had wanted with her when she returned.
"Yes, I told him about how my own encounter with Shinso went and he said that he had a working theory as to how his quirk worked." Yaoyorozu revealed to the classes as she could now see that his theory may have been right all along.
"Wait, he did." Sero piped in.
"Yes, he believed that he could only use his quirk on those who talked to him. It's why he taunted me, he was baiting me to answer-which I did." Yaoyorozu said as Todoroki had raised some good points on the issue as if he didn't need you to speak, why talk anyway? It could have been arrogance but it was unlikely as he had already failed the entrance exam and was not even in the hero course.
"Wait a minute, now that I think about it, he did the same thing to me too! You mean to tell me all I had to do was not speak?" Kirishima moaned as he let his head fall, that knowledge just made him feel worse.
"It would seem so as Todoroki didn't say a word when they fought and he came out on top easy." Shoji said as he did recall Shinso asking him something prior to the cavalry battle but he couldn't recall what it was.
"Yo Bakugo! For the next match, who do you think will win?" Kaminari asked their resident explosives expert who up till now had been oddly quiet.
"…If that half and half bastard holds back like last time, then Deku will pound him into the ground." Bakugo answered half-heartedly as he looked down at his own hands.
"And if he goes all out?" Kaminari asked him again as they had all seen how far Todoroki can go.
"Don't know, Deku will probably pull another win anyway." Bakugo answered as he could imagine that Midoriya had already cooked up some plan for how to take on Todoroki.
(Later)
"I wonder if he's ready for this." Uraraka asked as she and Tokoyami walked down the hallway towards one of the waiting rooms. They wanted to wish Midoriya some good luck before his match began.
"You needn't worry, our friend is not one that can catch on a flat foot easily." Tokoyami replied as they rounded the corner. But as they did so, they started to hear something coming from where they wanted to go.
"Is that music?" Uraraka asked as they walked closer and sure enough, it sounded like the music though they couldn't understand what they were saying as it was an English song.
"It seems to be, is it Midoriya." Tokoyami agreed with her as he brought up his hand and knocked on the door a couple of times.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Midoriya, it's us. Uraraka and Tokoyami!" Tokoyami said through the door before they heard a response.
"Come in, the door's open!" Midoriya replied as Tokoyami gripped the knob and opened the door. Inside they found Midoriya zipping up a dark blue body glove suit before he started putting his sports gear back on.
"What are you doing?" Uraraka asked. Normally she would be blushing up a storm at walking in on a boy changing but he was already wearing the body glove so it was like he was wearing scuba gear without the tank and mask.
"More importantly, what is it you are wearing?" Tokoyami asked him as they could both see the small lines of piping going around the suit, though they were underneath the surface.
"I figured I'll have to fight Todoroki in the 1v1 so I came prepared. This is just a full-body glove to help keep my body temperatures stable." Midoriya answered as pulled up his pants and tightened them around his waist. They weren't allowed to wear belts so they wore pants with those tough inner string things going to keep them secure.
"You mean like the one you wear with your hero costume?" Uraraka asked him as she came closer to him to get a better look at it.
"Yes but not to the same quality as this one was the prototype. Flying at high altitudes means facing cold winds all the time." Midoriya replied as he reached for his jacket.
"Yes, that would make sense." Tokoyami nodded his head as he had learned about how cold it could get the higher you went up back in middle school.
"I just thought Hawks wore the jacket for style," Uraraka joked as she chuckled, only to be met with stares from the other two boys present. "Just kidding guys, geez."
"By the way, what are you listening to?" Tokoyami asked as he tried to change the subject from that rather poor joke.
"Zayde Wolf." Midoriya answered as he showed them his phone as he closed up his jacket, the phone screen read 'Rumble' "My father always listens to music before he does something stressful to calm his nerves, though I'll try it."
"Is it working?" Uraraka asked as it was a very good sing, even though she couldn't understand what the heck they were saying.
"Yes, though not as much as I thought." Midoriya answered as he grabbed his boots and wing pack to put them on.
"You ready to win this whole thing?" Uraraka asked him with a fist pump as she really hoped her friend won this whole thing.
"Yes, Todoroki isn't going to know what hit him." Midoriya answered as he fastened the wing pack with a resounding click as he buckled the last fastening into place.
"If I may, how is it that you intend to combat this problem?" Tokoyami asked as he had noticed that each fight Midoriya fought in, he approached the situation differently. Midoriya's response was to give them a cryptic-looking smile as he walked over towards the door, fully dressed and ready.
"That's easy," He started as he reached for the door. "I'll bring down the flames." He finished as he walked on out, just as the intercom went off to inform him to do so.
(On the field)
"Folks, it has been an eventful and entertaining festival but all good things came to an end." Vlad announced as people all over Japan paused as they turn to whatever screen they had to see this.
"No kidding. Our next match will be the last of today's festival! And the winner here will be crowned the winner of the first year sports festival!" Present Mic added in as the crowd cheered for this unprecedented final between the son born the son of the number two and a quirkless underdog with both smarts and gear.
"At this point, these two don't need an introduction. On one side, we have Izuku Midoriya!" Present Mic said as the cameras panned over to the boy in question, though people were surprised by his change of clothes, they didn't look that much into it.
(With the parents)
"Do your best Izuku! Bring home the gold!" Inko cheered the loudest of all the parents as her boy was the only one who made it this far. Sure Shoto had siblings but one had to work and the other had a test he had to study for so he only had his father present who was keeping his support quiet.
(On the field)
"And on the other side of the field, Shoto Todoroki!" He said as directed people's attention towards the duel-haired ice prince, who unlike before looked serious but there was a hint of deep thought on his face.
'I wonder, both aren't in the best shape but they have been cleared.' Midnight thought to herself as it was clear to everyone that Izuku was still in bandages going by the one still present wrapped around his chin while Shoto had a peck of ice on him. "Are you two ready?" She asked the two, who looked like they were primed and set for battle.
"Yes." Midoriya answered as he reached for his staff.
"I am." Todoroki answered as he got into a stance that by now, Midnight could tell let him fire off attacks easier.
"Then," She brought her arm up and waited a couple of seconds to feed the tension in the air before she brought it down. "Begin!" Not a second later, a rush of ice raced towards Midoriya who didn't even seem fazed.
'So predictable.' Midoriya thought to himself as activated his wings and merely flew over the ice. "Gonna have to try harder than that." He taunted as he didn't see the need to entertain a ground battle against an opponent that had no real air-based options.
"[Tick]" Todoroki sounded in annoyance as he ran up the same rush of ice he made towards him before he created another even taller wave aimed towards Midoriya who just rolled his eyes and moved out of the way but not before turning his staff into its hammer form and hitting the pillar of ice on the side, smashing it and leaving the top part to fall back down to the floor.
"Okay buddy, I ain't the titanic. Icebergs won't do me in. Try something else." Midoriya goaded him as he flew a little lower and started to move about like a fly just to showcase how much control he had over him while in flight. In response, Todoroki just gave him the stink eye before he launched off smaller and much sharper ice spikes towards him. This attack making him actually have to move about to avoid them but still, he wasn't much of an effort on his part-which was somewhat of a letdown as he was having so much fun so far as his last three matches pushed him to think outside the box, to face the problem and find a solution.
This….this was so boring it wasn't even funny.
"Fine, if you won't try something new," Midoriya said as he smashed apart a couple of the ice spikes and made a break for Todoroki on the ground. "I will."
"Second form…" He started as his wing pack started to visible shift around and pieces become visible while others moved into the thing. The wings themselves started to change shape and color.
'Shit, he's changing tactics.' Todoroki thought to himself as he mistook this for a frontal assault and countered with another wave of ice, this one larger than the first one as he sought to bury him in a tone of ice.
"And another wave of ice, this guy must have really loved Ice Age! The third one was my favorite." Present Mic commented as he along with the rest of the crowd waited for Midoriya to simply veer off to the left or right to avoid it but, defying expectations as he kept on flying straight, right into the counter. Before anyone could even ask what he was doing, he was encased in the ice wave which seemed to hit straight home.
"Why did he fly right into it?" One of the people in the crowd asked.
"Is that the match?" Another asked as they looked down at Midnight who looked ready to call the match.
"No." Tokoyami said as he had a feeling that was merely another show of strength from his friend. And within that same moment, he was proven right as they all felt a quake move through the stands and their bodies. Then another one, and another.
'Just like with…no it's different.' Todoroki thought to himself as he could feel that these explosions…may not be an explosion. Not knowing who was in there, they were shockwaves which wasn't good for him as ice crystal wasn't the best substance to put up against shockwaves.
CRACK!
And with that last one, the ice around Midoriya suddenly cracked as one and blasted apart with most of the pieces that were closer to him showing signs of melting or were already gone, showing that not only was Midoriya still in this but he had finished his form shift to something that was expecting.
"What!" Todoroki asked as this new appearance stunned him, not for the reasons other were but because this form…it reminded him of the one person he hated most.
Of Endeavour.
"What that an explosion!" Present Mic asked as he looked down at the glowing figure standing in the ring of rapidly melting ice.
"In a way, but unlike Bakugo's pure explosives. That was an explosion caused by both the shockwaves his boot create and the build-up of steam from the melted ice." Vlad pointed as they could see the flames from here. This kid was just full of surprises, wasn't he?
"FIREBIRD!" And true to the observations of the crowd and students watching. His second form was radically different from both his base and first form as unlike the other two, there were clear add-ons. The most obvious would be the flames being generated from back the spaces in-between his feathers and the fact that each feather had changed color from their steel blue to a brilliant yellow. The pack also had 6 glowing red dots on it as his sports uniform top burned away due to the heat, leaving him only in the body-glove. "What you think. Looks good on me, doesn't it." He asked as he twirled around on one foot. He was quite proud of this little number, after all.
It was quite the hassle to duplicate Endeavour's hellfire quirk powers in this, though he didn't have as fine control over the flames as the elder hero did which meant this was strictly for combat as if he tried to hold someone like this….it would be fair to say it wouldn't be a painless way to go.
"When did you?" Todoroki asked, wide-eyed as he couldn't believe the sight in front of him. He knew it was Midoriya but in his head, all he could see was his father standing there…gazing at him…opposing him.
"Did you really think I didn't make a plan for you? After all," Midoriya asked him, knocking out of his stupor as he focused on the here and now, which was trying to beat the over-loving crap out of him. "If you weren't going to use fire, then I will." He finished as he raised up his hammer with one hand, showing excellent arm strength before he pressed another button on the shaft.
"In fact, I have a feeling that my hammer won't be good against you so," He started as the weapon begun to change once more, shifting from a bulky rocket-powered end to a more…slim and sharp form. "Why don't we change this to?" He asked with a smirk that said 'I just outsmarted you' as he held what was now a three-pronged spear, but there was a cup-like add-on at the hilt of the blade that was producing a steady stream of fire, coating the sharpen spear prongs in a flames.
(With the students)
"How many surprises can one guy have?" Kirishima asked as Midoriya used his spear like a long-shafted flame thrower and started to spew flames towards Todoroki, forcing his opponent to create walls office to protect himself.
"Apparently, more than we thought." Sero answered him as Midoriya now used his advantage to advance closer towards Todoroki, keeping on the retreat as his ice walls started to melt, one after the other.
"Kick his ass Midoriya!" Tetsutetsu yelled in support.
"You really must like this guy." Honenuki said as this was something he wasn't expecting from their classmate, though he wouldn't say this turn of events wasn't anything if not entertaining.
(Back on the field)
'Great, now he has a flamethrower/halberd hybrid cause why not!' Todoroki asked himself, pissed off as he could feel the sweat from the heat moving down his brow as he created another wall of ice as he dodged to the side moments later as he didn't stand a chance. 'How do I counter this?' He asked himself. But he was granted some much-needed reprieve when his opponent broke off the attack and took the skies again.
"You know, you're a pretty boring guy. All you do is through ice-wave after ice-wave. It gets kinda repetitive." Midoriya told him, much like one would inform a friend of some mundane news. "At least your old man knows how to mix it up." He said as he jerked his head to the side where he could see Endeavour looking at the both of them with avid interest, it must have been quite the show watching his son go up against someone who took a page out of his own playbook.
"I'll show you repetitive!" Apparently, Todoroki didn't appreciate the sentiment but he didn't mind-even when he slammed his hand onto the ground and created eleven different spikes of ice, each once quite thicker than the ones from before he sent them towards Midoriya.
"Oh, that is new! He's created a multi-directional wave of ice!" Present Mic remarked as Todoroki purposely fired them in a way that Midoriya wouldn't be able to just fly away from as 2 of them were coming at him from above and the other 9 were coming in from multiple angles to limit his options.
"Creative," Midoriya said with a raised brow as the shoulder pads and the upper portions of his wing pack opened up to reveal dozens of bullet-sized projectiles. "But otherwise pointless." He finished as he fired off about two dozen of the revealed to be missiles towards the ice blocks. Though they were small, each one packed quite the punch as they were filled with an artificial variant of Katsuki's explosive sweat. He had hoped to use this against his old friend but oh well, it was a good time to use them anyway. When the missiles hit the ice, the resulting explosions tore through them and smashed or melted the ice spikes, leaving him untouched as he hovered in the same spot, his flames giving him quite the angelic appearance.
"Which gets countered by a barrage of what looked to be really small missiles from Midoriya." Present Mic called with surprise in his eyes as he, like everyone else, was not expecting that. In fact, he should just start expecting these kinds of things from Midoriya.
"I told you," Midoriya said as he rushed towards him again, this time using an unpredictable flight pattern to make it hard for Todoroki to defend. "If you don't take this seriously, I'll beat you into the ground!" he finished as he was able to avoid a blow from his foe, land behind him, and give him a kick right in the back-sending him flying forwards.
"And the attack continues, hammering away at Todoroki's defense!" Present Mic announced as they watch what was turning into a one-sided assault as no matter what Todoroki did, he simply couldn't land a blow. It was quite clear to most of the pros that Izuku simply wasn't playing around.
"If you think I'll let you off the hook for not listening to my speech earlier, you have another thing coming!" Midoriya yelled as he got in close once more and fired off a shockwave towards his side, the force of which nearly breaking Todoroki's ribs which meant it hurt like hell. "Your wide open." Midoriya said as he gripped his spear and once more used it as a flame thrower. Todoroki was caught on the flat foot as he created an icefall as think as he could to tank the hit.
'Hot! How can something be making a flame this strong. The only saving grace I have is that they aren't as strong as Endeavours." Todoroki thought to himself as he could at least feel that the rather high temperature of the fires was keeping his quirk's drawback from hitting as hard, though he was in for a shock when he was struck by an explosion to the back which knocked him into the ice wall. Breaking his nose. "Urg!" He yelled in pain as he looked up and realized that Midoriya's left shoulder pod was still open, it didn't take a genius to figure out he fired a missile when he wasn't looking.
"You can see that your current tactics are ineffective yet you insist on using them. Even an untrained monkey would think you a fool." Midoriya said as he ceased his fiery assault as he took to the air again, this time hovering around 15m off the ground.
"Man…I didn't think this fight will be so one-sided. I don't mean to sound rude but I don't think I've ever seen a quirkless person have such an upper hand in a fight." Present Mic said as he watched as Midoriya merely kept out of reach and the more and more desperate-looking attacks from bruised and sweaty Todoroki.
"Midoriya has already proven that he can think on his feet and change to the situation. If Todoroki doesn't change his approach, this fight will be lost to him." Vlad pointed as he had already seen the boy adapt to two of his best close-quarters fighters and come out on top. As sad as it was, this was the end result of Todoroki going about things half-assed.
"If all you can do is throw some ice and ran around, just step out now." Midoriya said, tired of this farce of a match as he stayed in the air as Todoroki slowly got up to his feet. His broken nose still leaking blood along with an ever-darkening black eye from one of his kicks.
"Man, you do remind me of Endeavour. If you don't count the scar and black eye, you look a lot like him too." Midoriya said out of the blue as he gestured to him with the spear as he rubbed his chin in amusement at the clear anger on Todoroki's face as he sent off another wave of ice spikes towards him. If he didn't know any better, he'll say the boy was trying to impale him!
"I'm nothing like him!" He yelled in anger at his opponent that had been trashing ever since this match had begun about 6 minutes ago.
"Touchy," Midoriya teased as he just sent off a blast of fire to destroy the spikes before they could ever reach him. "But really, then what are you?" He asked him as he sent off another 13 missiles down on him, forcing him to both make makeshift shields and ran and duck from the onslaught. "Are you some lone-wolf asshole? Yes, just like your dad." He started as he fired off a couple of low-powered falcon strikers to make things even harder for him once the missiles had all detonated. "Do you have a powerful quirk? Just like daddy." He went on as he could feel the sheer anger flowing off Todoroki as he kept on poking the wounded snow wolf. "Are you thinking about the lives you should be saving and not about yourself? Nope." He finished as he blasted him right in the chest, knocking clean halfway across the arena where he crashed into one of the few remaining blocks of ice laying around.
"You say you're nothing like him but you do seem to fit the mold." Midoriya said as he watched Todoroki struggle to get up from the puddle he landed in.
"You…have…..no idea-ARG!" Todoroki started but was forced right back down into the muddy puddle as Midoriya landed right next to him and placed a foot on his back before pushing the now much weaker boy down.
"Now that is something we can both agree on. I don't know shit about what your life has been like. But I don't give a shit." He said as he kept on increasing the pressure, making it but impossible for Todoroki to force him way back up. He was only lucky his face wasn't in the mud so he could at least breathe. "You can bitch and moan about how bad your life is, or you can do something about it. Besides," Something in his tone shifted as he removed his foot from the boy's back. "You want to talk sad childhood with me? Get real!" Only for him to kick him clean halfway across the arena again, this time he crashed next to the boundary line in a heap.
"What? No more ice? You don't seem that cold, or maybe you're finally listening to reason. Either way, I'm done playing around." Midoriya said as he walked, that right-walked since he didn't even need to fly now(maybe he didn't need it for the match at all) towards his beaten foe. When he got close enough, Todoroki tried to coat the floor with a sheet of ice to try and slow him down so that he could think of…well anything that could help him out but it was for naught as the layer of ice he laid was very thin and weak due to his exhaustion. 'Really, this is just sad.' He thought to himself in pity as he used his actual leg strength to break the ice keeping him in place and keep walking.
He reached Todoroki soon enough and picked him up from the guff of his dirty and ripped top. The crowd had long since stop cheering when he became painfully clear that Todoroki had no chance of winning. Endeavor was quite angered, he has enraged by this turn of events as his best creation was so soundly defeated and humiliated, by some quirkless brat no less!
"I deal with you later, don't think this will be the end of our little...talk." Midoriya told the barely conscious Todoroki as he then flexed his muscles and then threw him clean out of the field where he landed on the grass and didn't get back up.
"Todoroki is out of bounds!" Midnight announced, though the crowd was so silent she may have not needed to say it over her microphone. "Midoriya is the winner!" At this, there were some cheers and applause from the crowd but compared to the opening of the festival, they weren't all that much. Though to be honest, Midoriya himself didn't feel all that great after his pitiful excuse of a match. He just felt mentally exhausted.
'You call me a winner but that wasn't a victory.' Midoriya thought to himself as he deactivated his second form and reverted back to the base one. He looked down at his reading and saw that his second form consumed a large chunk of his remaining power, leaving him with only 22%. He then looked over at his fallen opponent as the medical bots came round to collect him and take him back to the nurse's office. 'Hopefully, this serves a wake-up call, before he gets someone killed just cause he has an issue with his powers.' He turned his attention to the crowd, more importantly, to the one person that stuck out like an open fire at sea.
'Old man, I don't care what you have to think about me. I beat your son, I won over the best-quirked students UA had to over' He said in his mind as he locked eyes with Endeavour and could admit, the glare he was getting was scary, almost enough for him to want to take back what he had just done. "To all you who said I couldn't do it, eat your hearts out cause I'm the one standing at the top." He said aloud just as he always promised himself he would, though….
It was a rather bitter victory, after being cheated out of a worthy final battle.
(Later – During the Award Ceremony)
"I wish Iida was here, he was really looking forward to today." Tsuyu voiced as all the first years had once more gathered on the field. The concrete arena had been dismantled leaving only the pitch.
"Don't worry, the next time we'll speak with him, we'll make sure that he knows he wasn't forgotten." Uraraka said as she promised herself that she would not rest till Iida was through this difficult patch.
"We thank you all for watching this year's first-year sports festival, these kids gave it their all and proved to be the best of the pack. So why don't we show them some love!" Midnight announced as the leading ranking podiums came out from underneath the pitch. On it, both Kendo and Shinso shared one and although she was wearing bandages around her head, Kendo seemed quite proud of herself. Todoroki was standing on the second-place podium though he looked exhausted as Recovery Girl had done her best to ensure he was able to keep himself up though he was also wearing bandages mostly around his exposed torso as he couldn't close it shut due to having one arm in a cast. His final landing broke his arm. Lastly, standing on the first place podium was none other than Midoriya himself was now only wearing his sports gear, having removed both the wing pack and body glove earlier. Thought like Todoroki, he didn't look all that pleased to be there.
"Is it me or is she enjoying this more than she should?" Tokoyami asked, referring to Midnight.
"It's not just you." Rin said with a sweat drop going down his face.
"Sharing third place as is the norm, we have Hitoshi Shinso from General Studies and Itsuka Kendo from the Hero Course!" Midnight announced as the crowd have very loud cheers for these two, something that they both enjoyed very much, even if they were a bit embarrassed by the attention.
"In Second place and runner-up, we have Shoto Todoroki of the Hero Course!" Now the cheer was still present but they weren't as loud as the first time around. Though Todoroki didn't appear to notice.
"And in first place, ladies and gentlemen we have Izuku Midoriya of the Hero Course!" And even though he won, he got the least amount of cheers with some even sounding awkward, something he noticed and had to resist the urge to flip the bird at them.
"Never thought I'll see this." One student said to another.
"No kidding, first place happens to be UA's first quirkless student and a guy from general studies shares third? Today was just full of surprises."
"The presentation of the medals for these fine young men and women will be this man!" Midnight announced as a familiar silhouette appeared over the stadium, along with a booming laugh.
"It's All Might!" One of the people in the crowd screamed in joy as All Might jumped down from the roof of the stadium unto the field below.
"Our very own number one hero, All Might" Midnight said just as All Might announced his own entrance.
"I am here with the medals!" All Might said as just Midnight was announcing his entrance.
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"Sorry, I talked over you." Midnight apologized as All Might gave her the stink eye over their bad timing. It took moments for the two to collect themselves and for the rated-R hero to pull out the box holding the medals.
"Now All Might, why don't we start by handing third place their medals?" She asked as she presented the four medals to the number one.
"A fine idea Midnight." All Might said as he took both bronze third place medals and hung them around Shinso and Kendo's necks. "You two put on a real show for us today, take pride in that."
"Thank you sir." Kendo replied as she gave the pro a bow of respect, Shinso followed suit once the medal was placed around his neck.
"What she said."
"However, also take this as a chance to learn. Young Shinso, you have a powerful quirk that will no doubt aid you on your journey but you shouldn't rely so much on it. Many heroes take up martial arts or other practical skills for this line of work. You should consider signing up for a self-defense class." All Might advised as even he had to admit, if he had to rely on his fists, he probably would have lost in the first round.
"Thank you All Might, I'll look for a dojo as soon as I get home." Shinso replied as he could imagine that he will up late researching this.
"Young Kendo, your already have taken to the piece of advice I have given young Shinso, why don't you aid him in finding a suitable place of study and exercise?" All Might told the girl standing next to him who just looked at the man with stars in her eyes. "As for my opinion, keep training and always be mindful of your surroundings, turning your back on your enemy is a mistake that may prove deadly one day."
"I will see what we can work up All Might, and I will take your advice to heart." Kendo replied wholeheartedly as she did see that was her main mistake as if she hadn't reached for it, she would have won.
"Young Todoroki, I assume there is a reason that you did not use your fire during the tournament?" All Might as he moved to the next person.
"Yes sir." Todoroki responded, not even looking up as he was lost in thought.
"Well, now isn't the time to discuss it. If you over wish to talk, my door is always open. Part of being a hero is pushing through the bad days and fighting to return to the good ones." All Might told him as he reached forward and gave the boy a hug.
"I will try, sir." Todoroki replied as he looked up to the man so he could see he was serious. He may be confused but he will find his answer.
"That look on your face is different than before, so I know that you will definitely keep your word." All Might said before he moved onto the last person on the podiums but not before giving Todoroki his silver medal.
"Now onto you, Young Midoriya! You certainly went beyond what many thought you would do today, you should take pride in that." All Might him as he handed him the last medal, the golden one.
"Clearly your one of the few that don't think so." Midoriya said softly as he could feel the negativity from the crowd. But a hug from All Might brought him back down to earth.
"My boy, let me give you this piece of advice. You can't please everyone, some people will be against you just for the sake of it, I know that there are a lot of people who don't like me, with or without good reason. The key is to not let them get to you. You have already proven them wrong, that's all that matters." All Might told him as he held out one of his massive hands for the boy to shake and though his hand was dwarfed by his elders, he still reached over and gave it a firm shake.
"Thank you All Might. That was something I needed to hear." Midoriya told him as he gave him a grateful smile.
"Now then, these are the winners, this time around!" All Might said as he turned around to address the first years as a whole while at the same time he turned on his microphone. "Any one of you could have been the ones who made it up here. It is just as your saw today, you competed, improved, and climbed even further than you knew you could!" He encouraged them as he pulled back his head and gave a mighty chuckle of relief. "It is quite the comfort to know that the next generation is already sprouting into such fine heroes!"
"I have just one more thing to say, so would you all say it with me now!" All Might started as the crowd geared up to say something they had been waiting to say since morning. "Ready, go—"
"Thanks for your hard work!" All Might yelled, though it was clear he had the wrong thing in mind.
"Plus Ultra!" The rest of the students and crowd yelled thought it only took a couple of seconds for everyone to realize something was off.
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'This idiot, how could he get that wrong? He went here for Christ's sake!' Midoriya asked himself as he slapped his own forehead in disbelief as the crowd them it be known that they couldn't believe the number one hero made that mistake. Leave it to All Might to inspire one minute and goof up the next!
(Later – In class 1-A Homeroom)
"Good work out there. You all performed above the minimum." Mummy Aizawa informed them as they all had to return to their respective classes that following afternoon for a debrief of the day.
'Jeez, even when he is complimenting us, he sounds disappointed.' Was the collective thought as this guy would make birthdays depressing since he'll probably tell the person of the hour that it marks one less year you have on earth till you die.
"There will be no classes tomorrow and Wednesday on the account of the 2nd and 3rd-year festival happening on each day respectively." He informed the group as they all sat at their desks, wearing their regular school uniforms. "I'm sure that the pros watching your performance will be taking this time to review it and make their final decision so you can expect them to be done by the time you get back." He explained to them as he expected them to be refreshed came Thursday, they weren't getting off with that 'long weekend' excuse, not on his watch. "Take this time to rest and enjoy yourselves, pros don't get much time to relax so don't take it for granted." He finished his little speech as even he knew they would take this time to goof off, he wouldn't deny he did the same thing in his first year.
"Yes sensei!"
'Iida, I hope that it wasn't too bad.' Uraraka thought to herself as she gave a silent prayer for the sake of her friend who was still absent.
(Hosu General Hospital)
It was later that evening that Iida was finally able to reach the hospital where his brother was being treated. It was cold out but he still removed his blazer as he ran into the reception and after finding out where his brother was being treated, he dashed off to find him. For once, not caring about the rules as he could vaguely make out one of the nurses telling him not to run. But that didn't matter to him as he raced up to the third floor and turned the corner, seeing his mother seated outside a room he knew was his destination.
"Mother!" He called as e slowed down as he came to stand in front of his shorter mother, who looked equal parts relieved he wasn't hurt and here and heartbroken that the same could not be said for her other boy.
"Tenya!" She called out she gave him a hug, one that he returned as he could see she was barely keeping things together. Thought this little moment didn't last long as he remembered why he was here.
"How is brother doing, is he alright?" He asked as he broke off from the hug and jogged right past her and opened the door onto a sight he never thought….or wanted to see.
"Tensei!" He said in what he thought was a shout but came out as more a soft whisper of disbelief as saw the condition his strong and noble brother had been reduced to. His body was covered with graze and white medical patches where they had to cut him up, his once unruly hair that he vowed to never comb-like Tenya did-cut leaving him bland. His eyes were once so full of life, dazed and confused.
"Tenya, please put your mask on and keep your voice down. This is a hospital." His mother said which came out like a whisper as the doctors took this as a chance to explain the situation.
"The aesthetic wore off a while ago so he regained consciousness. He is still in a haze though, from what we can tell, the painkillers are still in his system so thankfully, he isn't in pain right now." One of the surgeons explained as he gave them his condolences for this tragedy on their house.
"He is quite lucky though if he had entered surgery two minutes later than he did. He wouldn't have made it." Another said, bringing down the cold…hard truth that….this was mercy as it was either seeing him so broken or not seeing him at all and only seeing a corpse.
"Tenya….Mother, is that you?" Tensei called out as he heard a noise but couldn't really make it out with all the cobwebs on the brain.
"Tensei…Big brother, it's me! I'm right here big brother!" Tenya said as he came to his brother's side and took one of his hands into his own, his mother couldn't find the strength as she collapses at the door in tears. Tenya found that he hated the fact that he had to be gentle with hands that he always saw as strong.
"I….really….screwed up….didn't I?...I have…..such a…accomplished younger brother….that looks up to me…and yet." He took a deep pause as he seemingly collected what little memory of the past 12 hours he still had left, though the sad smile his brother tried to give him drove him to even deeper tears. "And yet….I couldn't win….I couldn't bring him in….and instead lost….two amazing sidekicks….Forgive me….Tenya." He pleaded….pleaded! For forgiveness that wasn't needed. How could he be laying here and still be thinking about the lives of the sidekicks? How could such a wonderful person be struck low like this? Why did his big brother have to be hurt!
"Big brother!" Tenya cried as he collapsed to his knees in anguish. Today he woke up thinking things would be so wonderful with the festival and all.
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How could things go so terribly wrong?
It is past 3 am and I'm about the drop from exhaustion as this coronavirus has closed my university so it's just been me and my roommate rocking things up till we can pack up and go home for the time being as we get three weeks off. I would have had this up sooner but studying took longer the normal with things as they are throwing off my schedule.
Anyway, I'm happy that I was able to end with Sports Festival as that was going on a lot longer than I thought it would but then again, there was a lot to cover. I hope that the Todoroki vs Midoriya fight was satisfactory as I never intended for it to be as epic as cannon for the simple reason thought Midoriya wants to help him with his issues, he wants to take the more direct approach by showing him that he needs to give it his all as you all just read it-it was a one-sided beat-down that only lasted as long as it did because Midoriya wanted to get the point across. As for the dialogue, I took hints from 'Building from the Ground Up'.
As for the new form he showed off, that was something I had in the works since I conceived the idea for this story, I mean there is a reason that Pyrokinesis is such a popular power. Who wouldn't want to use fire as a weapon? Mankind has always had a fear of the stuff.
As for the talk before the battle, Midoriya is someone who views the job of heroics in a very different as he wants to do so for the simple reason of helping people so it makes sense he would be infuriated by someone doing so but not to their best of their ability. That goes double for the fact that UA is all about pushing your limits, doing your best, and going beyond.
Anyway, the next chapter will be the beginning of the Stain Arc which, with the way things are going, will be at least seven chapters on its own.
Thanks for reading, please favorite and follow my story and don't forget to leave a review.