The quarterfinals kick off! Ochako has new moves! Todoroki is angry. Himiko and Ida get some bad news. And wait...the fucks the Hero Killer then?
I can say only one thing...have fun!
As Izuku and Sero walked to the entrance, Sero turned to Izuku and held up his fist. "Hey, good luck out there!" the black-haired boy said with a bright grin.
Izuku smiled back and fist-bumped the other boy. "You too!" With a nod, the two split off to their respective gates. Mic's voice came across the arena speakers.
"Welcome to the Quarterfinal matches! This year has shown a dominating performance by Class 1-A of the Heroics Course, and here we have two of its members ready to show their stuff!"
As Izuku stepped into the arena, the crowd went wild over Mic's attempts to speak. "Entering now, the Class Representative of Class 1-A and the winner of the first and second events, we have Izuku Midoriya!"
As Sero entered the arena, the cheers were still going loud, making the black haired boy preen just a little bit (even though internally he felt a little outmatched, he wasn't about to give up without trying!). "And his opponent, the boy who puts the elbow in elbow grease, Hanta Sero!"
"...Mic…never speak again," Aizawa's exhausted voice came across the speakers at Present Mic's terrible introduction.
Midnight just shook her head ruefully at her colleagues' behavior. She turned to the two boys in question, looking between them. "Are you two prepared?"
"Yes," they replied in unison, eyes locked on the other.
"Very well…begin!" she shouted, dropping her whip.
Sero had no time to blink. A green bolt of lightning crossed the arena, nothing visible to him but a blurry flash and an impact, before he was bouncing across the grass outside the arena. Wincing, he went to get up but found a hand in his face. Looking up, he could see the sheepish grin of Midoriya in front of him.
"Sorry Sero…I wasn't confident I could escape your new tape if I got caught, so I thought a quick victory was my best bet," Izuku tried to explain.
Sero shook his head with a grin, taking the offered hand and letting the other boy pull him to his feet. "Nah man, it's all good. Gotta do what you gotta do to win. I'll take the fact you saw me as a threat as my win."
Izuku chuckled as Midnight called the match, the two boys leaving the arena together.
Match two did not last much longer than one. Mina's acid could partially burn through the ice, but Todoroki apparently was prepared for that…as soon as his glacier hit (once again sending Tsuyu into torpor, but this time the group was better prepared for it and huddled together from the start), he'd walked towards the pinkette as she struggled to free herself and just refroze the ice as she tried to melt it. She wasn't able to reach him to stop him, and the constant acid production started to burn her own skin, forcing her to concede.
The look Himiko shared with Izuku as the cameras focused on Todoroki's face had them both concerned…previously, Todoroki had been blank, but this time, his expression was twisted into a rictus of sheer, unadulterated rage that made the two of them realize something they hadn't noticed until now…the bright orange/blue costume of Endeavor, the Number Two hero, in the audience.
They had little time to speak about it though, as Ochako and Momo were heading into the arena for their match. Tsuyu still bundled between the two of them, once again trying to warm herself from Todoroki's over the top methodology.
"She finished second in the first event and first in the second, she's out of this world, give it up for the master of gravity, Ochako Uraraka!" Present Mic shouted, the crowd cheering wildly along with him as she entered the arena with a small blush.
"And her opponent, the intelligent, resourceful, creative Vice Representative of Class 1-A, give it up for Momo Yaoyorozu!" Another loud cheer resounded through the audience, the ponytailed girl making her way in and giving Ochako a quick bow.
"Are you two prepared?" Midnight asked, looking between them.
"I am," Momo replied, standing with her hands near her waist.
"Yep!" Ochako said, her fingers twitching as she stared across the arena at Momo.
"Begin!"
As Midnight shouted, Ochako tapped herself with her hands and rocketed across the arena, faster than anyone had seen her move before. Momo's eyes went wide, a shield popping out of her arm and being slammed into the ground in front of her to block the strike.
Unfortunately, Ochako had apparently been holding back even more than the others realized. When she reached Momo, she reared back with one fist and smiled wide. Izuku and Himiko watched, entranced, as Ochako's fist actually seemed to shimmer in the air, Izuku realizing she had modified gravity around her fist only, to the point the very air was affected by it.
"Graviton Crash!" Ochako shouted as she punched at the shield, her fist impacting the shield with a loud, almost explosive cracking sound. Though Ochako winced as it hit, the shield itself crumpled, slamming into the arena floor, almost taking Momo with it. The heiress had to drop it quickly to avoid being dragged down with it, eyes wide. She tried to backpedal, forming another shield as quickly as she could, but Ochako spun about midair and kicked it, the same shimmer forming around her foot as she did so.
The second shield fared as well as the first did, shattering beneath the force of gravity's pull once more. As Momo tossed out a flashbang to try to get some space to think, Ochako spun about so her back was to the heiress, eyes closed, dodging the flash of light. But while she did it, she kept in motion, flying up and over Momo, the other girl also having closed her eyes to avoid the flare of light. Momo opened them, Ochako having vanished from her sight, and only figured out where she was when the brunette's hand landed on her shoulder.
Her gravity removed, Momo was tossed from the arena without being given a chance to react this time, falling to the ground as Ochako landed on the arena floor when she released her Quirk. Momo just sat there for a minute, boggled at how quickly the other girl had taken her out. She had no time, no room to think or move or-
"Hey, you okay Momo?" Ochako asked, looking at her worriedly. Momo looked up at the brunette standing next to her, her hand outstretched in a mirror to how Izuku had reached out for Sero earlier.
"...I'm fine. Thank you," Momo replied quietly, accepting the hand. Ochako kept her pinky lifted to avoid activating her Quirk on the heiress, but she was quite capable of pulling the taller girl up with little issue. The two left the arena together as Midnight announced Ochako's victory, Momo unnaturally quiet.
All she could think about was how outclassed she had been. Everything she'd worked for for years, all the effort she'd put into training her Quirk and her abilities, and the first time it was put to the test she failed. She'd barely beaten Kirishima, and here Ochako had completely outclassed her without any effort. The brunette had absolutely wrecked her, and she-
"I didn't, Momo," Ochako interrupted her train of thought, the taller girl blinking as she realized she'd said that out loud. Ochako continued. "You can't see it, but I'm like…really close to throwing up heh. Moving that fast really hurts me, you know? I just couldn't let you set up, else I would have had no chance."
"Hurts you?" Momo asked, her previous self-reflection being set aside as Ochako spoke, her worries growing.
Ochako nodded. "Everyone's Quirk has a weakness, right? Mine is I get super nauseous if I overdo things. The faster I use my Quirk to move myself through space, the more it hurts. And increasing gravity is much more difficult than removing it. Also," Ochako winced as she twitched her right hand, her left coming over to grab her wrist tightly. "I think I fractured my knuckles hitting the shield."
"Oh my goodness, we need to get you to Recovery Girl!" Momo remarked, eyes wide as she placed her hand on Ochako's back and began to push her along.
"I was going there anyway!" Ochako giggled as she protested Momo's sudden fretting. Internally, she was glad she'd managed to distract Momo enough, but she knew the taller girl wouldn't forget her loss that easily. Izuku had mentioned offhandedly how often Momo seemed to doubt her own suggestions when they were doing class representative work, and seeing how quickly the other girl had started lambasting herself for losing worried Ochako about how much pressure she was putting on herself. But for now, at least, she could distract Momo with her pain…which she was very much not being honest about how much her hand and foot hurt!
'I really need to figure out how to add some durability to myself if I'm gonna use that move,' Ochako thought to herself. 'Oh well…hopefully Himi and Katsuki's match doesn't cause as much damage!...Oh I just jinxed it, didn't I?'
"Here we are, the last Quarterfinals match of the day for our first years! On one side, we have the explosives expert, the grenadier of his class, Katsuki Bakugo! And his opponent, the sneaky and shifty master of many shapes, Himiko Toga! I can't wait to see how this match goes!" Present Mic practically screamed into the microphone as he introduced them.
"I ain't holding back, Fangs. You best bring your A-game!" Katsuki said, his teeth bared as he crouched low, hands popping menacingly.
"Fuck the A game, I'm going S+ on your sorry ass!" Himiko replied, her fangs visible as she lowered herself closer to the ground, ready to dash in any direction.
Midnight arched an eyebrow at the two of them. "If you two are done with your banter…?"
"Oh we're ready," Himiko promised.
"Lets fucking do this! Give us the go, teach!" Katsuki said, eyes locked onto Himiko's form before him.
Midnight let out a deep breath…she had a feeling this was about to get bloody. "Alright…begin!"
Gray sludge quickly engulfed Himiko's form, Katsuki having to face a mirror of himself with his own feral grin. Katsuki smirked. "If you think that's gonna throw me off, think again!" he roared, rocketing towards the copy with explosive force. Himi-Kats smirked back, raising her hands in a manner Katsuki was familiar with. He quickly shielded his eyes from the oncoming Stun Grenade, but when no flash occurred he realized she'd been tricking him. He quickly shot up into the air, barely dodging the swipe from a now Ochako-fied Himiko.
His hands popping to hold him midair, he narrowed his eyes down at her. "Every time I think I know all your tricks and every time you find another fucking one."
Himiko shrugged, still in Ochako's form. "Tricks are what I got. They didn't lemme bring my knives."
"Tch. Fair enough. Get ready Fangs, I'm coming for you!"
Himiko smirked up at him, the expression odd on Ochako's face but one that Izuku in the audience was very privately thinking looked incredibly hot. She held her hands out to the side, waiting for his dive, which came a moment later.
With a loud yell, Katsuki blasted down towards her, a pair of smaller blasts leading the way to try and force her to dodge backwards. Instead, she flipped in between them, sliding underneath him and moving to where his back was turned. Automatically, he threw his hand back and tossed out a wide range blast to force her back, the smoke clearing to show she was back in her normal form as the two faced one another once more.
Katsuki rolled his shoulders, holding one hand up in front of him. "Time to see how well you handle this!" he shouted, a smaller, much more concentrated and much faster blast firing out as he spoke. 'AP Shot!' he cried, firing again and again as Himiko did a handspring back, then bolting to the left as he tried to follow her speed. The blonde leapt into a roll, coming up through another dodge to the left, then back to the right as she sped closer to Katsuki.
Katsuki ripped his hand from down low, sweeping it up to grasp part of the arena as he went, sending a flare of rubble and his explosion towards her to force her back. As the smoke filled the arena, his fine tuned senses made him react quickly, barely dodging a punch coming from behind him. As he threw his hand back to throw another blast, his wrist was grabbed by Himiko, the vampiric blonde quickly launching Katsuki in a hip throw.
Katsuki rolled across the ground, using the momentum to blast the ground beneath him and send him up into the air. He swept his leg out, feeling an impact on his foot as Himiko grunted, her body flying out of the smoke a moment later. She quickly planted her hands and flipped herself upright as Katsuki came in for another strike, the heel of her foot catching him beneath his chin and making him bite his tongue, blood filling his mouth.
The two reset for a third time, Himiko favoring her bruised right side as Katsuki swiped at the blood on his chin, grinning at her with a mouth full of the red liquid. She smiled back, amber eyes shimmering at the sight.
"Nice moves, Himiko," Katsuki said with sincerity.
"You two Katsuki. But I think we should end this, don't you?" She replied, tilting her head to the side.
"Read my mind," Katsuki shot back. As Himiko gave him a wink, the blonde vampiress seemed to disappear from his sight. Katsuki knew what was coming…she'd gotten him with this a dozen times before. She wasn't stupid enough to just always go after his back, she'd always look for the weakest possible target and snatch her victory that way, even if that meant a sucker punch to his face. But this time, he had a new tool at his disposal…hadn't planned on revealing it this early, but…he wanted to win.
Holding his arms out akimbo, he focused on his firepower, focusing it into both palms as he smirked. "AP Shot: Auto-Cannon!" he shouted, spinning in place as he fired out dozens of smaller, more concentrated blasts in every direction as fast as he could.
Midnight's eyes went wide, the teacher diving to the side of the arena to dodge them as the shots slammed into the arena walls, each shot only having a small amount of force, but so many of them causing the arena wall to crack slightly…until a distinctive high-pitched shriek sounded, Himiko's blonde locks visible as she was hit by first one, then a second, a third, before Katsuki bolted towards her. One final explosion before she could get her bearings, and she went soaring over the boundaries, landing harshly on the grass with a groan.
Midnight clambered back to her feet, brushing dirt and grass off herself as she grumbled, annoyed. "Katsuki Bakugo is the victor!" she announced, waving her whip and glaring at the blonde boy as he stood in the arena, panting for a moment. He swiped at his forehead and stomped over to where Himiko was just now sitting up.
"Good fucking match, Fangs. Good shit," he said, offering her a hand up.
She took it, growling good-naturedly. "Yeah yeah, you too. Everyone pulling out new moves today, I gotta step up my game."
"So that's 28 to 27 now, by the way," he remarked, his smug grin ruined a little by the blood still visible between his teeth.
She shoved his shoulder as they walked towards the exit and Recovery Girl's office. "Oh shut up, I'll even the score up next time!"
"I'm sure you will. C'mon, let's get yelled at by the old lady."
"And with that, the Quarterfinals are concluded! We'll have a thirty minute break followed by the first Semifinal match, Izuku Midoriya vs Shoto Todoroki! Who will win, the energetic and powerful leader of Class 1-A, or the cool, confident, and talented son of the Number Two Hero? Stay tuned to find out!"
"Okay, spill," Katsuki ordered, Ochako and him having cornered Izuku and Himiko while they were getting a quick lunch. Katsuki took another bite of his spicy curry as he glared across the lunch table to his brother.
"Spill what?" Izuku asked.
"What's up with you and Fangs, and why do you two seem to know something about Half and Half the rest of us don't? What'd he tell you when he dragged you off?"
Izuku sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I…I can't tell you. He told me in confidence. This one listened in when she shouldn't have," he remarked, poking Himiko as she gave him an exaggerated pout in response.
Ochako took a slurp of her noodles, her gaze calculating. "Is it something that could get you hurt?"
"No."
"Yes."
Izuku and Himiko turned to glare at each other at their opposing responses, Izuku sipping at his drink.
"No," Izuku tried to insist, but unfortunately for him, neither Ochako nor Katsuki trusted him about his own well-being.
"Spill something, then," Katsuki demanded.
"I told you I can't!" Izuku shot back. "And I won't get hurt, ugh. Don't be so dramatic, Himiko."
"You're going to fight him next, Izu. And I know you. You're gonna try to get through to him. And to do that, you gotta put yourself at risk rather than just winning the fight," she hissed back at him.
"Get through to him? Why?" Ochako asked.
Izuku groaned, dropping his chopsticks and placing both hands over his face. "I told you I can't explain why!"
"Tournament's not the place to work out fucking issues," Katsuki muttered, already recognizing a lost cause when he saw it.
"It's the best chance I have, okay? I promise I will be careful. I'm just going to play defensively until I can get him to listen. This break gives me a ton of time, I'll be almost full before I go into the match versus him!" Izuku tried to reassure the others.
Katsuki pointed his chopsticks at him threateningly. "Whatever you do, you better fucking win. I wanna kick your ass and take number one today!"
"Pfft, as if Katsuki. I'm fighting Izu in the finals," Ochako replied, arrogantly flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"...cocky 'Chako is hot," Himiko remarked after a moment of Ochako's partners staring at her smug grin, which instantly vanished into a blush at Himiko's comment.
"We'll see, Cheeks. Just be sure you show the fuck up, I ain't accepting any half-assed fighting."
"Same to you!" she shot back, her embarrassment at her girlfriends comment vanishing in her competitive spirit.
"Hey, room for one more?" Eijiro asked as he brought his tray over, smiling down at the quartet. Katsuki just gestured to the seat next to him, Eijiro sitting down as soon as he did with a bright grin. Himiko waggled her eyebrows at Katsuki, the other blonde glaring at her and silently telling her to shut up as Izuku struck up a conversation with Eijiro about his Quirk.
Slowly, the rest of the class congregated around the lunch table the quartet had taken, all but Todoroki visible before ten minutes had passed. Most of them congratulated the three who made it to the semi-finals, a few taking bets (Kaminari was trying to track them but eventually Shinso got tired of him getting distracted and took the notepad Kaminari was writing in and started handling it for him).
It was at that moment Ida and Himiko's phones rang.
Tensei Ida, known as the Pro Hero Ingenium, was on a mission. A mission to find the aptly named 'Hero Killer', a Villain who had been murdering professional heroes left and right. His agency had taken on the case, and through consummate research and effort, he believed the Hero Killer was hunting in the city of Hosu now. His sidekicks were all in three person groups, but he'd split off just a minute before to do a quick scan of the alleyways in Hosu. He figured he was quick enough he'd be safe, and his sidekicks were only a couple minutes away.
Ingenium was a swift, powerful hero with a good head on his shoulders and was well known for being both patient and perceptive. But even he could not see every shadow, every dark little corner in a city alleyway. He did not notice the tiny black trail slowly slinking along the wall, following his movement, following his path. He did not notice the way the shadows deepened, or the gossamer threads that slowly creeped along the walls.
What he did notice was a man just down a dead-end alleyway to his left, wearing a black bodysuit and with a set of swords slung across his back. Without pausing, he bolted towards the figure, skidding to a stop feet away as his eyes went wide under his helmet as he recognized the very distinctive, featureless mask that covered his face.
"...Stendhal? Y-you're the Hero Killer?" he asked, disbelief in his voice. While he could not officially condone the vigilante, nor did he approve of the man's tendency to kill rather than capture dangerous villains, he had worked with him before and understood his work ethic. He could not possible be-
"What?" came the raspy reply, the figure looking taken aback. "Of course not, I'm hunting the Hero Killer!"
"He…he…he…he," a tittering, halting voice came from the alleyway back where Ingenium had come from. As the two men turned to face the sound, the light of day around them seemed to fade, becoming dimmer. A mist seemed to flow into the alleyway, a shimmering, silver mist, as a shadow rose up at the end of the alley, an amorphous blob of shadow and a tar-like substance.
Even through their masks, the two men shared a glance and a single nod to communicate their intentions. Ingenium's engines revved, preparing to launch him forward, as Stendhal pulled one of his blades from his back and took up a defensive stance. As the laughter faded and the silence fell over the alleyway…spindly, black, leglike structures formed from behind the shadowy figure at the end of the alleyway.
A voice came from the figure…"Brother…w-why do you…continue working…as a hero…", Ingenium's eyes going wide at one of his fondest memories of his little brother as a child, a conversation that he was proud of, because he saw how it inspired Tenya. His jaw clenched as he revved his engines…he didn't know what Quirk this way, but-
Tenya's voice called out to him from the figure. "H-help meeeeeeee…"
"Shut up!" he roared, bursting towards the figure, Stendhal seconds behind him…
"Mother, wait, what? What are you saying?" Ida asked, his voice rising slightly as he leapt to his feet. Half the class was staring at him, the other half at the now frozen Himiko, her eyes wide as she held her phone up to her head. "N-no, t-that's impossible, Tensai wouldn't…" Ida sputtered.
"Ida? Himi?" Izuku asked quietly, trying to get their attention.
Himiko dropped her phone, her voice quiet, stuttering, her hands shaking as she started grabbing her things. "I-I need to go. M-my dad w-was just taken to the hospital in Hosu-"
"My brother was as well," Ida interjected, staring wide-eyed over at Himiko, the girl looking back at him in shock. Ida's hand shook as he ended the call on his phone. "He was attacked by the H-Hero Killer…"
"My dad too!" she replied, eyes wide and panicked. "B-but I don't know why, he's not a h-hero…"
"Perhaps a bad timing thing?" Izuku tried to offer, but neither person seemed to be thinking about it.
Ida took a deep, bracing breath and squared his shoulders before looking at Himiko. "My mother is sending a car to take me there. Do you have a ride?" Ida asked Himiko.
"N-no. If it's okay I'd like to ride with you," she replied, clenching her fists as her hands trembled.
"Of course. Let us go, we can wait at the front gate."
"Himi…should we-" Ochako began, but was cut off by the blonde hugging her tightly.
"No. You guys go on. I wanna see one of you win, okay? I-I'll call soon as I know anything, okay?"
"Yes, please, all of you just…my brother is strong. I'm sure he'll be okay. As I am sure of your father, Himiko. I'm sure we'll get there and they'll be just banged up a little!" Ida said, his smile brittle and plastic, but no one dared call him on it.
Himiko nodded rapidly, gulping as she did. "Y-yes, of course. We'll see you all later!" She gave Izuku a quick hug as well, shaking slightly in his arms as she felt Katsuki squeeze her shoulder, before she broke the hug and half-walked half-jogged to follow behind Ida, the blue-haired boy already heading for the doors at a very fast pace.
Class 1-A stood there, quiet, worried, all the cheer and happiness that had been there bled out from the fear and concern as the two left. Izuku stared after them, green eyes locked on their retreating forms as he clenched one fist. He felt, more than saw, Ochako in a similar position as he was, standing next to him, the two of them taking comfort in the presence of the other.
Katsuki's hand landed on both of their shoulders as he spoke, quietly but with force. "She needs us to be strong for her. It'll be okay. C'mon. Finish lunch, we have a tournament to win. We're gonna present her with our trophies soon as she's back, okay? Her and Glasses too."
"...yeah. You're right, Kacchan. Let's…let's get going. I don't have much of an appetite now."
Ochako glanced down at her tray…she wasn't hungry anymore and worried if she ate she'd just throw it up, but wasting food? Childhood habits die hard, especially ones you reinforced on yourself so as not to worry your parents. With a deep, painful breath, she picked it up and followed her boyfriend to the trash, leaving the remainder in the trash and ignoring the twinge in the back of her mind.
Most of the class went back to their food, albeit a few were worried enough they joined the trio in heading back to the stadium. Izuku split off from them, it being almost time for him to go prepare anyways, so he went to his preparation room and just…sat. His spine straight, his muscles clenched, he simply couldn't relax.
But then he felt it…a simple, calming hand on his shoulder, a gentle ruffling of his hair. No words, no thoughts, just emotions…faith, patience, care…warmth. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he smiled softly and murmured "Thanks Nana," feeling the returned warm welcome from her though he could not hear her voice just now.
Closing his eyes, he breathed deep, just focusing on himself and the upcoming match. He had to believe Himiko and Ida would be okay. For now…he had a dual-haired boy to focus on.
"He's been an unstoppable force this entire tournament, welcome to the arena, Izuku Midoriya! And his opponent, the master of ice himself, the cool cat Shoto Todoroki!" Mic introduced the two boys, each of them entering the arena. Todoroki's expression was determined, but a slight glare was in his eyes as he stared over at the uncharacteristically blank face of Izuku Midoriya.
"Are you two prepared?" Midnight asked, looking between them.
"Yes," Todoroki replied. Izuku simply nodded, standing perfectly still. Midnight held up her whip.
"Begin!"
Todoroki barely let the first letter finish before his ice was rocketing across the arena, the massive glacier covering over two-thirds of the arena this time. Izuku merely held one hand up, his eyes glowing green as sparks jumped off his body, before vanishing under the ice.
Todoroki turned to look at Midnight, expecting her to call it. She blinked rapidly, as surprised as anyone else. The crowd was silent, not expecting this turn of events. Midnight lifted her hand up, ready to call it so they could rescue Midoriya…when the ice began to glow green. A crack was heard, a second, a third, a fourth, ten, twenty, over and over the ice began to splinter and shake. Todoroki's gaze snapped back to it, eyes narrowed as he saw the glow and understood what it meant.
His foot slammed down once more, sending another spear of ice racing across the arena towards where he'd last seen Izuku…but it was too late. The ice exploded, the same ice he'd been sending to reinforce shattering as a pulse of force was sent back at him. He felt himself skidding back, his heels digging into the arena floor, finally stopping as he forcibly generated an ice wall behind himself. He lowered the arms he'd instinctively brought up in front of his face to defend himself.
Covered in green sparks, dripping green energy flowing across his body like rivers, emerald eyes alight with a radioactive glow, Izuku looked almost terrifying surrounded by the shattered remnants of Todoroki's glacier. He took one step forward, ice crunching beneath his feet as he moved.
"That all you got?" Izuku asked, his voice quiet and calm as he spoke. Todoroki didn't reply, his lips twisting in a snarl as he sent another glacier towards Izuku, the greenette waving one hand forward, creating a field that curved to his left. As the ice slammed into the barrier, it followed the curve, arching away from him. Izuku rolled his wrist, glancing at it without a care in the world. "I hope you can keep that up, because honestly, that doesn't cost me much to do. Unless you got something else to show me?"
"What are you playing at, Midoriya?" Todoroki demanded, his breath coming out in puffs.
Izuku took another step forward, slowly walking towards the other teen, his arms relaxed but his eyes focused on the other boy. "Why are you here, Todoroki?"
"To win, just like-"
Izuku cut him off. "I don't mean the tournament. I mean here, at UA."
Todoroki glared, his fist clenched at his side. "You know why! I'm here to prove-"
"-Because I'm here to be a hero," Izuku said, cutting Todoroki off again. The other boy paused, his heterochromatic gaze meeting Izuku's emerald eyes. "What you told me, about what your father did…that was awful. I get why you're so mad. I'm still angry at the man from the USJ too. But I almost died there, Todoroki, because I let my anger control me. And if All Might had been moments later, more people might have died too. I forgot why I was here!"
"Shut up!" the other boy yelled, slamming his foot on the ground again. Another glacier speeding towards Izuku. He didn't bother moving out of the way, the sparks around his body strengthening as he called upon Full Cowling once more. He'd been able to go up to thirty percent safely, and that was more than enough as he spun about, his leg sweeping through the air, the air pressure rocketing out and shattering the ice coming towards him. Todoroki ignored it, seething as he spoke. "You have no idea what he did to me, to my family! I made an oath! I keep my promises! I will prove to him I don't need him!"
"You're right. You don't. You're strong, very strong. Your Quirk is powerful, even if all you're using is the ice. But you're forgetting something, Todoroki." Izuku paused in his slow march towards the other boy, looking down at his hands for a moment before continuing.
"Every single one of us fought for the right to be here. We studied till our brains hurt. We dealt with the exams to get in. We went through Sensei's little test. And then…we fought to live. In our first week here. Then we come here, and everyone gives their all!...except you. You're half-assing this tournament. Half-assing everything you're doing here. You're being half the hero you could be!"
"Why do you even care?! What does it matter to you what I do? Is it because my brother asked? Because my father tried to pay you off or something?! Why?!" Todoroki's right side was slowly frosting over, small sparkles of snow forming on his jacket as he spoke. He shivered once, twice, before gaining control over himself and clenching his fist so hard his nails began to dig into his palm, a little red seeping between his fingers.
Izuku raised his voice, a growl seeping into his tone as he stared the other boy down. "Oh I don't know, maybe because you're insulting everyone here? Maybe because I actually, shockingly, give a damn about the thought of you getting hurt someday because you don't want to use your fire? Maybe I'm worried about the civilians who might get hurt or die when you try to rescue them and your ice isn't enough? Or about the fact that we won't have All Might forever and I want a world where we don't depend on a single man to hold the entire world up? A world where you're there, protecting them all, helping to hold everyone up!" Izuku strode forward again, his pace quickening as he went, his hands at his side clenched into fists.
"Maybe it's all those reasons and more! But maybe, just maybe, most of all, it's because you just don't fucking get it!" he screamed at the other boy.
"Get what?!" Todoroki yelled back, his entire body starting to quake. He shook even more when he heard a voice from the side of him, heat rising as he glimpsed the blue and orange outfit of Endeavor in the audience. The hero opened his mouth to speak, to shout something to Todoroki, but a massive green wall cut the man off before he could speak.
Izuku had slammed his foot into the ground, the green energy that was running off his body flooding the arena, a massive dome covering the entire area around the two boys and cutting off all outside noise.
"Forget about him! This is between you and me!" Izuku shouted, the meter on his wrist almost sparking from how quickly it had dropped from nearly full to less than half. He ignored it, focusing solely on his opponent as he continued. "It's not his Quirk or her Quirk! It's yours! No one else's! No one can take that from you! And only you get to choose what to do with it! So, here, now, today…Choose! Sit here, doing half the effort of everyone else, get left behind or die someday because you let him ruin your life! Or choose another path! Choose to be what I know you can be, the very thing your father isn't…A HERO!"
Todoroki stared at Izuku, as frozen as the ice he created. Somewhere inside, he could remember…words his mother had told him long ago, when he was but a child. Watching All Might, the hero his father so desperately sought to be as strong as, telling him, telling the world, anyone could be a hero. And his mother, her touch so gentle, so warm regardless of her Quirk…telling him he could be a hero. How…how had he forgotten?
The green barrier began to flicker and fall, slowly dissipating as Izuku's expression finally turned to a grin. The air began to warm, to hiss and steam, the ice around them all melting and disappearing into vapor. A single spark at Todoroki's eye, a second, a third, a swirl, orange and red, hints of white and blue roaring into existence, flames covering his entire left side.
A feral grin crossed Todoroki's face, matching the one on Izuku's, the two staring each other down. "I…I'm going to be…to be a hero!" Todoroki choked out, the flames flickering with each word he spoke, steam coming from his eye as a single tear evaporated into nothing.
"...yes. You are," Izuku agreed quietly.
"I have to say…this wasn't a great plan, Midoriya, helping your opponent," Todoroki replied, gazing at his own hands with a sense of wonderment.
Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet, his smile softening, almost contemplative as he spoke. "What do you mean? Now…we can really kick this fight off."
"Don't blame me for what happens next," Todoroki warned, as his fire began to roar even higher.
Izuku clenched his fists, green energy pulsing from his chest, as the rivers of energy began to rage across his body. "Let's finish this."
Todoroki reared back, his left hand flaring into light and heat as he pointed it towards Izuku, the air surrounding Izuku misty and cool. The greenette grinned as he launched himself at the other boy, green filling the air as the flames from his opponent were launched towards him.
The supercooled air began to expand quickly with explosive force, a massive burst of heat and light filling the stadium. But the cameras managed to catch a glimpse of Izuku, his barrier forming beneath his feet and using the force of the explosion, throwing him into the sky above to dodge the worst of it. The greenette began to fall from a great height, his heel pointing down as he brought it screaming down where Todoroki was standing. "Manchester Smash!" Izuku called out.
Todoroki quickly formed an ice slide beneath him and bolted out of the way, the heel of Izuku's boot hitting the concrete so hard it exploded, sending shrapnel flying about in every direction. Without pausing, Izuku spun about and threw two of his disks at the other boy, Todoroki using a gout of flame to disperse one and a line of ice to intercept the other. He slid further away, jumping off the ice and running to his left as he began to focus more heat into his hand, the glow going from orange to white.
Izuku dashed towards him in a flare of green, one hand reared back as he went for another punch. The split-haired boy quickly shoved an ice wall in his way as he ducked behind it, running to the right in the hopes of keeping his foe from seeing his movement.
"Not so fast!" Izuku shouted, his fist shattering the ice and throwing something towards Todoroki. The other boy, well aware of how dangerous it was to let anything reach him, used another burst of flame to disperse the energy. With a sweep of his right, he sent another massive glacier at the other boy, well aware it wouldn't stop him, but just needing the cool air to try and do the same explosion again.
Izuku dodged around the glacier, his eyes going wide as he saw the flame heading his way. He had no time to launch himself up once more, so instead, he fell to one knee and pulled, forming a barrier around himself as best he could before the flame hit…and then it hit.
Everything was heat and light, flame and fury, pressure and sound and force. The barrier cracked, shook, quivered, but it held. As the explosion faded, silence returned to the arena, all anyone could see in the smoke was a glowing green figure. Izuku stood up, gasping for air, his hair looking a little singed and the top of his UA uniform burned. Across from him, Todoroki was panting as well, steam escaping his mouth as he breathed heavily.
With an annoyed grunt, Izuku ripped the rest of his top off, exposing his scars to the world. He reveled in the light as it touched his skin, feeling it begin to slowly, ever so slowly, charge him back just enough, his meter very slowly creeping up. Todoroki's uniform was half burnt off, the split-haired boy just blinking at Izuku's action…before apparently deciding to copy him, pulling the remainder of his off as well. (Neither boy was aware of exactly how many people were struck silent by the visual).
To them, the outside world had ceased to exist. This was between them and them alone. For once, Todoroki didn't hear the voice of his father in his head, the memories and worries and fear and hate. For once, Izuku didn't hear the voice in the back of his head that called him a murderer, a monster, unfit to live much less be a hero.
There was one voice for both of them, one that said this was it. This, and nothing but this. Izuku held up one hand, focusing, the gasses in the air swirling into his palm, forming into a single pressurized container. Todoroki, his left flaring into heat once more, his right generating ice, one eye aflame, staring down the other…and they both moved.
The arena shook, the entire stadium full of light and smoke and nothing but a raging sound of the very elements themselves in conflict. Midnight, who had been hiding behind a pillar Cementoss had created on the fly, glanced around it, her mask askew. The smoke slowly began to clear, visibility being restored just barely, showing…Todoroki, out of bounds, laying in a puddle of slowly melting snow. Izuku, one arm dislocated, swaying on his feet, a half a step from being thrown out of bounds, green energy fields wrapped about both legs and latched into the concrete, holding him in place.
With a rasp in her throat, Midnight managed to hold up her whip and speak into her microphone. "Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds! Izuku Midoriya is the victor!"
When the match between Izuku and Todoroki began, Ochako had not been worried. Even when Izuku vanished into the blue, she hadn't for one moment thought he'd been beaten, and when he erupted from it, all she could think was how goddamned hot her boyfriend looked…but then he spoke to Todoroki.
Almost a year of training with Izuku, Himiko, and Katsuki had cemented how they all fought in battle. Himiko favored hit and run tactics, relying on her natural agility and ability to vanish to strike at weaknesses she identified within moments of engaging her opponent. Katsuki liked to switch it up, learning from his foes as best he could before erupting into an extreme offensive. She knew her style focused heavily on her grappling, but she also tends towards big, wide angle strikes to keep people within her range as best she could since hers was so limited.
Izuku originally had been very punch focused, very much a brawler, like their mentor. Nighteye hadn't discouraged it per se, but had insisted Izuku master using all parts of his body, not just his arms. Izuku's Quirk gave him a lot of flexibility in combat, so Nighteye had told him to take advantage of that…and Izuku did. Now, Nighteye was no expert in most martial arts, so he could only teach so much, but Ochako was used to Izuku fluidly switching how and where he struck from.
This fight was not that. Izuku wasn't fighting like Izuku, and she knew Katsuki saw it too. The blonde boy muttered under his breath as he leaned forward, asking himself 'What the hell is the nerd doing?', a sentiment Ochako agreed with…until she saw the dawning horror on Kyoka's face, her jacks just barely tilted forward. Behind her, Shoji's visible eyes showing enough concern and worry she realized the two of them could hear the conversation…and did not like what they heard.
Ochako turned to Momo and asked for a favor, the heiress granted it though she was confused. Once the item was in her hand, she stepped over to Kyoka and held it out to the purple-haired girl. Kyoka took one look at it and tried to demur, but Ochako insisted. This was her boyfriend beating himself up to get through to the only member of their class who wouldn't interact with the others without being forced…and she needed to know why.
She almost wished she hadn't asked. While it didn't clear everything up, there was enough in their shouted words at each other, in the words that Kyoka's sensitive hearing could pick up through the green dome, that the class were able to piece a lot about Todoroki together. Not a one of them missed the sight of Endeavor across the way from them, the way Todoroki's eyes flickered to the man, the way Izuku cut off the sight of him with that dome that had Ochako worrying exactly how much energy he was willing to expend to make his point.
Then the final clash hit, most of the arena was struck dumb and unable to comment. Even Mic's announcement of the winner was delayed by a good half minute after Midnight called the match, the microphone catching him asking Aizawa what the hell he was teaching his class (to which Aizawa very quickly claimed he had nothing to do with that).
Katsuki leaned over to Ochako and spoke quietly. "...you know we have to follow that, somehow."
Ochako shook her head to clear the awestruck expression stuck on her face. "I think we can manage," she replied, a half smile crossing her face.
Katsuki grinned back at her. "Fuck yeah. I'm heading to my prep room. See you in the arena, Ochako."
"In the arena then, Katsuki," she nodded at him as he got up to leave.
Izuku sat quietly in the room Recovery Girl had commandeered for her healing efforts during the tournament. He'd already been read the riot act by her multiple times for his actions in the tournament semifinals, and he was not ready for another lecture. Todoroki had also been given a talking to, the nurse hero having some strong words for him about never using his fire then suddenly wielding it with little to no control.
After telling both of them to rest up for at least fifteen minutes (which they had time before the next match considering Cementoss was still fixing the ring), she left the room, the two of them alone, with the only sound being various machines quietly beeping.
"...so," Izuku began, now feeling incredibly awkward. His meter was scrapped, apparently having broken in the final confrontation (to the extreme annoyance of both Recovery Girl and Power Loader), and now he was sitting, shirtless, waiting for a replacement uniform to arrive.
"...yeah," Todoroki replied quietly. He was in a similar situation as Izuku, the split-haired boy refusing to look over at Izuku.
"I…I'm sorry for forcing the issue," Izuku began, wincing internally.
"No…you gave me a lot to think about," Todoroki replied, shaking his head slowly. "I do have one question, though."
"Hmm?"
"...during the fight, you said you cared if I got hurt or died. Why?"
Izuku blinked at the other boy, confused by the question. "Huh?"
Todoroki finally turned to look at him, confusion present on his face as well. "Why would you care what happens to me? We are classmates, but we are hardly friends."
Izuku wanted to reply dismissively, the idea that he wouldn't care anathema to who he was as a person. But it occurred to him that Todoroki was being genuine and did not understand the why, so he paused for a moment to consider carefully before speaking. Slowly, but with feeling, he began. "Even if you were a stranger, I would want you to live and be happy. There are very few people I wish ill upon, and you are not one of them."
"...I feel like there is more to it," Todoroki replied, tilting his head to the side.
Izuku's grin was rueful as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, your brother did ask me to look after you…but um…our pasts aren't very alike. Except for one big thing…you lost your family too."
"They aren't gone though-" Todoroki began before Izuku cut him off.
"You don't have a dad, you have a sperm donor. And your mom and siblings you don't get to see. I…I know what it's like to lose your family, even if I was lucky enough to find another shortly after. But I still…I…"
"...like the song said. You thought you'd have them for your lifetime," Todoroki whispered as he pulled his knees up to his chest.
Izuku shot him a sideways glance. "You heard us?"
Todoroki nodded. "I…listened. That day. I just…wanted to know what you guys were doing, I guess."
"You could have joined us," Izuku offered.
"...no, I don't think I could have. I-I've never had anyone who cared, not after mom left."
"...you do now," Izuku said, turning to face the other boy fully. "If you want them, that is."
"Never had a friend, either. I don't really know how it works," Todoroki said.
"Well, have to start somewhere. Hi, I'm Izuku Midoriya, and I like to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong!" Izuku said with a bright, sunshine smile.
Todoroki snorted out a half-laugh, Izuku's chest feeling tight at the first sign of a laugh he'd heard from Todoroki yet. "...I'm Shoto Todoroki, and I have no idea what else to say to that."
"So blind leading the blind, works for me!" Izuku's grin turned softer, gentler, as he got up and walked over to Todoroki's bed, taking a seat next to him as the other boy looked at him oddly. "You can call me Izuku."
"...you can call me Shoto. I don't like my last name much anyways."
"Himi's like that too," Izuku began, before his eyes widened as he realized something. He winced. "Umm…so you know, when you told me your story, uh…so, she was worried you were gonna do something so she followed and um…mighta overheard?"
Shoto turned and looked at him blankly, before sighing. "Did it help, when you found out the class knew about you?"
Izuku thought about it for a moment. "...in some ways, yeah. It did."
"Do you think they'll judge me?"
"They didn't judge me. You did nothing wrong, your father's the prick. I killed a bunch of people, so I mean-"
"You didn't," Shoto interrupted him, his eyes narrowed. "Bakugo told us the story…I can't believe he was right. For how smart you are, you are remarkably stupid about this aren't you?"
Izuku goggled at the other boy for a moment. "...wow, first friend and you're already calling me stupid. Quick turnaround there."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not."
"...no, I'm really not," Shoto chuckled, a small smile crossing his face. "I have one more question."
"Sure, what's up?"
"You spoke to Toya?" Izuku nodded, wanting to see where this was going. Shoto took a deep breath. "...co-could I…could I talk to him?"
Izuku nodded. "After the tournament, I'll ask Tenko for his number, okay?"
"...thanks."
"Anytime, Shoto. Anytime."
"From Class 1-A, she makes a fundamental force of the universe bow down before her and beg for her forgiveness, Ochako Uraraka! And her opponent, also from Class 1-A, the blonde bombshell himself, Katsuki Bakugo!"
As the two entered the arena, both simply stared the other down, refusing to back down an inch. Midnight looked between them and nodded. "Are you two ready?"
"Born ready!" Katsuki remarked.
"What he said," Ochako replied, her eyes locked on the blonde across from her.
"Begin!"
Katsuki began to run towards Ochako, his hands out wide, but the dark smile on her face as she dropped to her knees made him pause for one brief second. Midnight's eyes went wide, the heroine having all of her heroic instincts pinging at once as she leapt off the arena…as the concrete began to shake.
Ochako's entire hands glowed pink, the light streaming across the concrete beneath their feet. Katsuki found himself losing his balance for one moment as the concrete crackled, buckled, shook and shivered. Meeting her eyes, he was startled to see them glowing pink as well, moments before the entire arena lifted off the ground.
Slowly, it floated up and up and up, until it was well over a dozen meters in the air, a circular disc of concrete gently floating in the air. Ochako slowly climbed to her feet as Katsuki blinked at her.
"...the fuck is this shit? It's impressive, but the fucks the point?" Katsuki asked, utterly confused.
Ochako smiled back at him with a bright, sunshine grin, one that he knew was a facade for her internal gremlin nature that made him even more wary than before. "Leverage!"
"Levera-?" Katsuki began, but found himself cut off as Ochako lifted one leg up. She stared him down, still smiling brightly…before bringing her leg down fast.
The audience had been privy to some impressive feats from her ability to alter gravity and its relationship with the objects around it. But this, this one was new. And most of them did not realize why she was doing what she was doing…at first. And that's when those who understood her Quirk a little bit better (including the newly arrived to the audience Izuku and the quietly contemplative Shoto), realized she had not applied her gravity ability equally…instead, she'd created a central line that would act as a fulcrum for the disc.
Since one side of the disc was hit by a force that pushed it down, the other side had no choice but to move up. Katsuki was not prepared for him to be hit in the back by the damned arena, and was being forcibly moved towards Ochako, the brunette now flying towards him at an incredible speed.
He snarled at her, planting his hands against the moving concrete. Physics affected both of them, after all…he shot a massive explosion back into the concrete, causing three things to happen at once. One, the momentum of the arena reversed. Two, his hands now fucking hurt. Three, large chunks of the arena were shattered, flying off to float in midair, very slowly floating about.
The reversal of the disc was both a blessing and a curse for both fighters, as now it was just moving the other way, leaving the two of them still having to fight. Ochako stabilized the moving arena for a brief moment with another kick, the two now rushing at each other on a wobbling arena as each footstep triggered another movement.
Katsuki blasted himself to the left to dodge a swipe from Ochako, sending a rippling torrent of explosive force towards her. The brunette flew back, forcibly yanking herself to the side (wincing as she did), before skidding to a half on the arena. Grabbing two pieces of broken concrete, she launched them both at Katsuki, the blonde quickly destroying them before they reached him.
She flipped forward, her heel slamming down the same way Izuku had earlier, this time wrapping gravity around her foot so as to break the concrete to give herself ammunition. With a spin, she tapped each piece one by one to alter the force and kicked as she went, sending the shrapnel towards Katsuki.
Katsuki didn't trust that he'd get them all, and launched himself up and over. He rocketed back down towards her, launching a blast to fill her vision with smoke. He focused his explosive power into one hand as he flew over her to the center of the arena, planting his hand firmly on the point he was pretty sure she'd chosen as the discs center. As she dashed out of the smoke, she saw as he smirked, her eyes going wide at the glow beneath his fingers.
"Bunker Buster!" he shouted, his visage vanishing in the orange-yellow glow of the explosion as it broke the arena, the entire thing erupting into a thousand smaller pieces now free floating in the air. Holding himself up with the force of his Quirk, he landed on one of the bigger pieces, staring across the way to where Ochako was now standing atop another piece, waving the smoke out of her face. "No more of that shit," he remarked, grinning.
"This is just more ammo for me, you know!" She shot back at him.
He shrugged. "Harder for you to control them and yourself. Plus I can wreck them."
"If you're flying about, harder for you to use your explosions on me," she countered.
Katsuki rolled his shoulders, surrounded by floating rubble as he cracked his knuckles. "What's the score between us again?"
"30 to 30. Tie-breaker time," she replied, rotating her wrists.
"Let's finish it then, give them a show. Zu should be out of the old lady's room and be ready to comfort you for your loss!" he said with an arrogant jerk of his head.
"At least you know Eijiro's down there to tell you how 'manly' you are when you're lamenting third place!" she shot back.
His grin didn't fade, but the look in his red eyes sharpened in intensity. She matched him, her brown eyes slightly glowing with a pink hue, hands spread wide. A few pops appeared in his hands, an orange glow suffusing them as pink suffused hers…and at an unseen signal, the two moved.
As they flew at each other, darting between floating rubble, the intensity in their fight was as much as yet different than their predecessors. Rather than massive, explosive moves, theirs was quick and brutal…a punch to Katsuki's jaw, a kick to Ochako's back, a cracked sternum where Ochako's boot hit, a burnt hand where the blonde managed to catch Ochako with an explosion she could not dodge in time.
The two were grappling midair, punching, kicking, snarling in the other's face as if it was a duel to the death, even if the two of them were close as family. Neither would give an inch, retreat one single step, because they both had something to prove.
But Ochako had made one, final, desperate gambit before she'd even begun this fight. She had a sneaking suspicion Katsuki would destroy the arena. And she had a suspicion he would correctly guess the weakness that she couldn't alter the rubble properties without messing with her ability to fly…but right now, she didn't need to fly. As she wrapped her left arm around Katsuki's, locking the two together, the blonde headbutting her with a vicious growl and making her see stars, she smiled at him with blood dripping from her broken nose…because now her right hand could reach her left.
She kicked off him just as her hands touched, and the air was suddenly filled with falling rock and debris, surrounding the two of them. Katsuki's eyes went wide as he caught on, witnessing Ochako falling back towards the earth with a manic grin on her face. With a loud roar, he brought his right up, bracing with his left even as he felt gravity take hold of him as well, falling towards the earth…but he needed to clear the rubble.
Everything in him screamed as he forced the largest explosion out of his hand yet, his hurt now burnt and blackened for the force as his own scream of rage was swallowed by the eruption of sound…but most of it was gone. He tried to steady his fall with his left, but that's when he felt it…a simple, almost gentle tap on his chest. He looked down, seeing a single glowing, pink piece of rock against his chest, and let out a rueful smile as he realized it…just as he felt a force grip onto his body and launch him at the arena floor, slamming him into the ground with a boneshaking force.
Ochako stood amidst a shattered, broken arena, debris littering the ground around her as she gasped for air, one eye swelled shut. "...Ochako Uraraka is the winner!" Midnight announced, already looking up nearby bars because goddammit she needed a drink and Recovery Girl would need a dozen.
"...well, there you have it! The finals match will be between Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka! We'll be back with our coverage in a half an hour! Err…maybe longer to repair the arena…"
Finals
Izuku Midoriya vs Ochako Uraraka
So, yes, a couple people guessed it, Himiko's adopted father is Stain!...except not, he's still Stendhal here, and he is not the Hero Killer!...so who is? You'll find out!