"Sumo! Begin!" The crowd cheered as the teams on the mega platform converged on a singular team.

Bakugo could wait, however. While he wanted to push Izuku out of the competition desperately, he needed to see what he was planning to do. So, he sat idly on the shoulders of Kirishima, Sero and Mina, eyeing the greenette from across the platform.

It certainly was fun watching him fling his classmate around with Blackwhip, as he had called it. Still, Bakugo had questions about the quirk, but he just couldn't ask. He'd be pushing his luck.

"Deku is gonna play defense. Fuck me." Katsuki's forearms flexed as he watched Izuku defend his team and launch them away from the large mass of teams. Here it was, his best opportunity for an aerial attack. The rules had nothing against flight. "Shitty hair, toss me!" Instantly, Kirishima grabbed Katsuki by the ankles as he stood and threw him upwards with all he could. A safe distance away, Katsuki began firing explosions, propelling himself towards Izuku's airborne team.

Izuku obviously noticed the angry rocket and acted quick. He reeled Setsuna's upper half back in, making sure she was safely attached to her body, before calling upon a new 'Chimera' form.

"Chimera: Half Beast!" Izuku's hands and arms were shrouded by Blackwhip. Katsuki kept advancing. Suddenly, a massive fist of black energy was hurled at the explosive blonde, who dodged to the right, feeling the energy pass centimeters away from him. Katsuki watched the energy fist be drawn back, as if Izuku has stretched his limbs.

'Great, he's elastic.' Katsuki kept pushing, flipping over a backhanded swipe from Izuku. Above the greenette, Katsuki put his hand forward in a cone like shot.

"AP Shot!" An explosion sounded from the hand as it was forced into a small area. The explosion became charged with energy and shot forwards like a bullet. Izuku quickly raised his arms, but the force of the explosion knocked his team backwards from the air. He could hear Uraraka yelp as she fought to keep her quirk up.

Bakugo gave chase, spinning in a circle, a move Izuku recognized. He couldn't let Katsuki get this titanic blast off.

"Chimera: Kraken!" The effect was instant. A large amount of Blackwhip shot out from his body, the mass splitting into tendrils, long and large. Katsuki paled, recognizing this form as the one Izuku had used at the U.S.J. He directed his path back towards safety, with his team.

Izuku could have grabbed onto the fleeing boy, but was more focused on keeping his team in the game. Both hero students were well prepared for the energy that surrounded them, but Hatsume couldn't help but squirm a little.

"It's okay Hatsume! It's part of my quirk, just trust it to hold you!" Izuku shouted within the dome. Every team on the ground had started to fight with each other, but some continued to pursue Izuku.

-{ ~ }-

It was truly awe inspiring to watch his successor multitask with a large degree of success. The heroes around him were also quite fascinated with his performance.

"He performs well under pressure. His energy dome is quite the defensive measure, and his energy whips are certainly flashy. I expect some of you to send him an offer?" Best Jeanist, the number four hero asked around. Toshinori had to spare some glances too, to see what Izuku might have to deal with after this tournament. Though his eyes were instantly drawn to the number two hero, who stood alone from everyone, glaring at the battlefield.

"Maybe, but other than that punch made of that energy, he hasn't shown that fighting spirit I like!" Most of the heroes present rolled their eyes.

"You mean reckless abandonment, Mirko?" Endeavor grumbled. The rabbit hero just smirked.

"C'mon, I know you're just mad you couldn't fight that big guy on the way here." Mirko was certainly brave ribbing the hero with the least amount of patience the world had seen. Endeavor just grunted, turning back to the match.

"He is indeed strong and knows how to use his quirk correctly." Endeavor said. "But Shoto will do better." With that said, the flame hero turned around and headed for the exit. As the door closed Mirko whistled.

"For a guy who uses fire he sure knows how to bring the temp down." Some of the other members present chuckled slightly. All Might sighed as he turned back to the match.

...
!

-{ ~ }-

Izuku was always pretty good with low temperatures, but this was definitely a new low for him to experience. Setsuna was rigid and he could hear her teeth clattering, while Uraraka tried to rub herself warm again. Hatsume, surprisingly, dealt with it very well. Perhaps working on devices put her in conditions similar to this? Regardless, Izuku just couldn't ignore the giant dome of ice that now surrounded his team and the offending team, led by Shoto Todoroki. The immense pressure he gave off in his glare gave Izuku a small fright, but he couldn't back down after his speech in the locker room.

"It's just you and me, Midoriya." Todoroki said as he opposed Izuku's team. Iida stood as the front horse, while Denki and Yaoyorozu shouldered some weight at his sides. It was a powerful team build, Izuku had to admit that.

"It is just us, Todoroki." Izuku steadied his breath as a faint green glow surrounded him. Todoroki glared at the power surrounding Izuku, while Izuku kept his gaze steady on Todoroki's left side.

Once again, insider knowledge proved useful, as Izuku knew exactly how to attack the dual powered boy.

A wave of ice came barreling towards Izuku's team. He urged his teammates to the right, Todoroki's left. Izuku threw his arm up, Blackwhip shooting from within and grabbing hold of the ceiling of the frozen dome overhead. Pulling himself off of his teammates, he kept his momentum side bound to the right.

"I thought I could be a hero with just my left side. But ice wasn't the key to everything. I was half the hero I could've been, and when the world needed the other half, it wasn't there. I wasn't ready. It's a mistake I wish I never made."

'I won't let you make it twice!' Izuku flung himself towards Todoroki, who fired off another lance of ice at the airborne greenette. Izuku simply charged up a fist of Blackwhip and let the power fly.

The wind pressure blew Izuku back towards his teammates and made Todoroki's team stumble slightly, though Todoroki himself still remained on his three horses. Izuku landed in the disconnected arms of Setsuna's upper half as she caught him midair and helped him adjust to sitting atop his team once more. Around the two teams, the dome of ice fell and let the world see Izuku's team unharmed, while Todoroki was pinned against a wall of his own creation.

"Would you look at that folks! Wonder what happened under that dome! But now they're back in the spotlight, and Team Midoriya looks no worse for wear!" The crowd erupted in cheer, but Izuku was honed in on his battle however and managed to tune out the roar of the people.

'I need to save him from himself!' Izuku thought as he shrouded himself in Blackwhip.

Todoroki, meanwhile, was having a crisis. He was shivering, not from the cold, but from the heat. The heat of battle, as well as the heat of his flames. He didn't know if anyone under the dome had seen it, but Izuku had been such a menacing presence, that he almost used his flames.

"Dammit! Dammit! I can't lose control, not again!" Todoroki clenched his right hand harder, frosty air falling off the forearm as he stared the green haired juggernaut down from across the ring. Concerned with the small outburst, his teammates looked up at him for answers.

"You okay dude? You lost your chill there... No pun intended I swear." Kaminari shakily asked. Todoroki looked down at his classmate and regained his composure.

"I am fine." He said as he took a deep breath. "I will need you for an attack in just a moment Kaminari. Be prepared. Yaoyorozu, prepare the blanket." Kaminari just looked forward, a smirk adorning his face as small sparks of yellow electricity jumped off his body, while Momo had started to create a gray blanket from her stomach. "Iida, be prepared for that move." Todoroki said, putting emphasis on the word 'that.'

Iida shifted his feet as he grunted, staring down Izuku. He was having a discussion with his own team, one they couldn't hear, but they were no doubt plotting something. The field was rife with tension, enough so that some of the remaining teems stopped their fights to watch.

Izuku moved first, courtesy of Setsuna. The girl had detached her torso and carried Izuku into the sky, hauling him over her shoulder. With a yell, she threw the green rocket forward, his arms surrounded by a giant mass of Blackwhip. It was clear that Uraraka had made him weightless, as his trajectory was much faster than Todoroki had seen before. "Kaminari, give it everything!"

"You got it man!" Kaminari jumped forward, arms splayed as electricity built up around him, making everyone's hair rise. Yaoyorozu quickly threw the giant blanket she created up over her team. "'1.3 Million Volts: Indiscriminate Shock!'" A wave of electricity surged forward but oddly enough, only forward. Kaminari was confused until he opened his eyes.

There, in Izuku's energized hand was a simple metal pole, provided to him from one of Hatsume's inventions. It was drawing in the electricity into a singular point, but the moment the lightning touched Izuku's arm, it simply vanished. Izuku smirked as the lightning quirk was cut off.

"'Redirect!'" Izuku swung his arm as a bright flash of light came from the metal pole. Kaminari instantly recognized it as his own lightning and jumped to the side, able to dodge the attack as he was on his own. His team however, had to waste their trump card.

"'Recipro Burst!" The remaining trio of team Todoroki was only able to dodge because of Iida's superior speed, but the burst wouldn't last long. They had moved left, putting Izuku in the perfect position to be overwhelmed by Todoroki's ice. With a grunt of effort, Todoroki attempted just that.

Izuku's head started hammering. It was happening again! He looked to his right to see that Todoroki and his team had evaded the wave of lightning. They must have been too fast for him to see, but right now, he could very clearly see that pillar of ice that was about to bisect him from below. Acting rash, Izuku pulled his arm back and let One For All flow through Blackwhip.

Just like what happened under the dome, a massive burst of freezing air tore through the field, knocking people off of their teammates, and this time, reaching the spectators in a chilling blanket of wind. Waves of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' resounded through the masses, but none could bear witness to the spectacle on the field, lest they wanted their eyeballs frozen over.

"The Sumo Event is over! All Remaining teams cease all fighting!" As the wind chills died down, the crowd could finally see what had happened on the field. Gasps of shock came from every part of the seating.

Four teams stood where numerous had before. The two that weren't team Todoroki and team Midoriya barely held onto their spot of the platform. Students lay in heaps on the grass outside, most of them shivering from the cold.

"In a complete upset, the fighting between team Midoriya and team Todoroki had wiped the rest of their competition out of bounds! Isn't that amazing?!" Izuku could hardly believe what had just happened. He landed softly; his fall cushioned by Blackwhip sprouting from his legs. His team surrounded him instantly, Setsuna being a tease and using the frigid air as an excuse to latch onto Izuku closely. Uraraka looked at the scene with slight annoyance, while Hatsume simply thanked Midoriya for putting her into the tournament section. Izuku nodded back. "We'll be having an intermission of half an hour to get the stadium ready for our one versus one tournaments. All participating students, be ready at a moment's notice. The brackets will be revealed just before the first match!"

-{ ~ }-

Izuku stared at the boy in front of him, waiting for the first words. Todoroki had pulled him aside after the sumo matches had ended, saying it was urgent. Izuku had to stand here with bated breath, as he assumed Todoroki was building up the willpower to speak on whatever it was he wanted to speak about. Todoroki sighed once more before straightening his gaze.

"Are you familiar with quirk marriages?" Instantly, Izuku knew the topic would be deadly serious.

"Of course."

"Then you should know that I'm a child of a quirk marriage."

"Endeavor would really do such a thing?"

"Of course he would. For as long as I knew him, he sought power. He wanted to be number one but couldn't because of All Might. He needed a successor and produced 3 'failures' before I came into the fray." Izuku gulped at the information. "He trained me to death but stopped just short of it. That happened the moment my quirk came in. He was abusive to me and my mother, who tried her hardest to keep me away from his training." Todoroki looked towards his feet. Izuku couldn't see it, but there was a sheen of liquid in his eyes. "When I was six..."

"My mother poured hot water on the left side of my face because it reminded her of my father too much. She hit a breaking point and I can't really blame her. She tried to cool off the burn but did so with her ice directly touching my skin." Izuku was somewhat familiar with what came next, as this story had been relayed to the future wielder at some point.

"My mother, disgusted with the side that resembled Endeavor so much, poured hot water on my face." Todoroki stopped for a second. "She tried to stop the scalding with her ice, barely managing to do so before my body reacted." Izuku's eyes widened slightly. "It's a blur, so I can only go off of the classified documents I had stolen from my father's workspace, but I released an enormous amount of ice and fire from my body. The kitchen caught on fire, and the rest of the house followed suit. My mother, father, sister and one of my brothers escaped before they were hurt." Todoroki put a hand to his face, tracing the scar that surrounded his blue eye. "But my oldest brother died in that fire." Izuku felt his heart beating in his throat like a drum. "My father tried running in to look for Touya, but was unable to make any progress without his hero suit on. When the news caught wind of the house fire, Endeavor took all of the blame stating that it was a training mishap that got his own son killed." Izuku could hear it faintly and noticed a singular wet spot on the ground.

"I- I'm so... I don't know what to say other than sorry, but I don't think you want to hear that anymore." Todoroki looked up slightly, but not enough to reveal his tearful eyes. He nodded in response though.

"You're right. Thank you." He sniffled slightly, trying to hide it from Izuku. "But that's why I can never use my fire. Because I've already killed someone with it. The H.P.S.C covered it up, but I'm a murderer, Midoriya."

"I don't think that. I don't think anyone would think that if they heard the story." Todoroki didn't move. He had heard this all before.

"When you approached me, under the dome, did you notice it?" Izuku took a moment to think.

"Notice what?"

"I almost broke my vow. You pressured me so much that I almost used my fire. I can only think of one person who can lay on that type of pressure." Todoroki looked up, staring straight at Izuku, "Are... Are you All Might's secret love child?"

"..." Izuku couldn't believe it. Was that seriously his ultimate question? The one thing he wanted from this confrontation? "No... And frankly, that's just a ridiculous theory, no offense." Todoroki scoffed.

"None taken, that was just the first thing I thought of. You're right. Your quirk is only somewhat like All Might's, but it can do a lot more than wind blasts and sheer force brawling." Izuku mentally rolled his eyes. If only he knew. "Well. I will leave you to your own devices." With that, Todoroki walked off, leaving Izuku with the weight of the conversation. He slid down the wall, putting his face in his hands.

"There's no tutorial on how to save someone from trauma like this, is there?" The memories stayed silent. Hilarious.

-{ ~ }-

"Our first match of the first-year tournament will be Izuku Midoriya of Hero Class 1-B versus Hitoshi Shinso of General Education Class 1-C! General education students are fightin' for their shot at the hero course, so don't mess up now fledglings!" Izuku smirked as he walked into the field. On any normal day, he would be quaking in his boots, but today was not normal. He had to meet Todoroki in this tournament.

"Glad you can look all smug with your fancy quirk." The purple haired boy across from him said. His opponent, Hitoshi Shinso looked like he was ready to nap at any moment. Studying him further, Izuku determined that he didn't need to go all out, as Shinso looked below average physically and the bags under his eyes may be signs of insomnia or lack of sleep. Either way, Izuku could write this match off.

"You boys ready?" Midnight called from the side, her whip raised high. Shinso nodded lazily, while Izuku flashed a smile at the heroine. "Begin!"

"I don't know how close you hero students are, but that tailed kid sure is a dumbass for throwing away his spot in the tournament." Izuku's eyes bulged at the statement.

"How could you even sa-"

"Gotcha'!" The effect was instant. Izuku's body froze completely as his vision became blurry and shrouded. "Now walk off stage like a good boy." Izuku tried his hardest to protest, but his body started moving towards the edge.

'That has to be some sort of speech activated mind control! He got me by baiting me, damn! Think Izuku!' It seemed futile, however. Izuku tried to manually override his body but couldn't push against the force that was Shinso's quirk. 'No wonder he's in general education. He probably couldn't think of a way to beat the robots! But this quirk is so insanely powerful!'

"Powerful it may be, but you are not alone..." A flash of multicolored light streaked across the fog. Izuku reached for it, desperate to claw his way out. In the distance of his real vision, he saw the silhouettes of eight people. None of them were clear, but each were surrounded by a different color. "Push forward, wielder." Izuku grabbed onto the light. A flash of green flooded his vision and surrounded his ethereal body, bringing him comfort and security. Most importantly, it gave him willpower.

The stadium watched as the boy had turned around and started to slowly trot towards the edge of the platform. Everyone was confused, but more confusion would arise when the same boy generated a wind force from just the flick of his fingers.

Izuku gasped as he came to. He was in control of his body once more, able to breathe and walk on his own volition. He turned to stare his opponent down, who started to cower under the invisible pressure Izuku was emanating.

"H-how?" Shinso squeaked out. Izuku didn't respond. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Instead, he threw his arms forward, letting Blackwhip grab Hitoshi from a safe range. To his credit, Hitoshi did dodge one of the tendrils, but did so in a novice way. As he crouched down, he left himself with no other movement options as the second tendril of energy grabbed the balled form of Hitoshi Shinso and dragged him out of the arena.

"Winner by ring out, Izuku Midoriya!" Midnight announced to the crowd with the snap of her whip. They cheered endlessly, but Izuku paid no mind.

Hitoshi grumbled to himself as he noticed Izuku approach him. "What, here to gloat that you beat my quirk?" Izuku however held out his hand and bent down.

"I underestimated you based on your physical appearance, Shinso! I am truly sorry for not taking you seriously." Shinso stepped back slightly.

"So, you think you can just apologize to make yourself look good in-" Shinso's rambling was cut off by Izuku standing upright.

"I'm not doing this for them." Izuku said firmly, gesturing towards the crowd. Hitoshi just rolled his eyes. "Your quirk is really strong and has so much potential. It's just bad luck that you couldn't show it off against robots in the entrance exam." Hitoshi blinked. Was he being serious?

"Save the flattery hero boy..." Hitoshi began to walk off, trying his best to ignore Izuku.

"I'll be waiting for you in the hero course!" Izuku called out. Hitoshi simply walked forward, head down and disappeared into the halls of the stadium. Izuku dropped his hand, but quickly bright it back to an even level as the sudden blood rush to his broken fingers irritated him.

"Go see Recovery Girl, young Midoriya." Midnight pointed to the hallway behind Izuku and the boy simply nodded.

-{ ~ }-

Izuku seemed to attract attention, whether he wanted it or not. In front of him stood the hulking figure of Endeavor, who simply glared at the hero student. It was obvious that he wanted to speak to him alone, but this felt more like a silent interrogation than a conversation. The crackle of flames was the only thing audible past the low rumbling of the stadium outside.

"I spoke with my son just a moment ago. I'm sure you already know him." Finally, Endeavor spoke. Izuku tried to look up but kept his gaze focuses on the flames that wreathed the flame hero. "Our conversation went a little south." The hero shifted a little as he finished his sentence.

"Okay... Why do I need to know this, sir?" Izuku's eyes finally landed on the hero's face. Normally, Endeavor was known for his rough demeanor and permanent scowl, but that wasn't present at the moment. Clear as day, even for a social novice like Izuku, he could see a look of guilt on Endeavor's face.

"You pressured my son in his bout against you. And from what I can gather from my conversation with him earlier, you did the same under his ice dome previously." Endeavor crossed his arms across his chest as his flames died down a little. "I trained Shoto as soon as I could. He should be the top of his class, bar none. His loss to a student who isn't from the recommendation program is simply unacceptable." Izuku wanted to laugh, but before he could, Endeavor spoke again. "Which is why I'm asking for you to help my son." Endeavor dropped his arms to his sides and bowed slightly, which was a shocking sight to Izuku.

"C-come again?!" He squeaked out.

"I'm sure you noticed it. You did pass U.A's rigorous examination after all, but Shoto has yet to utilize the fire I bestowed upon him. I'm asking you to make him use it. I have no doubt that he will win his match and that you will meet him as your next opponent. If you can do that, I can trust you with more information that even the public has no knowledge of. I'll even send in an internship letter." Endeavor kept his head low, staring at the unmoving legs of Izuku Midoriya. When the red shoes finally shuffled, he raised his head to meet Izuku's eyes.

"I won't do it for you." Izuku watched Endeavor's head jerk slightly, the flames that fluttered around his head faltering from their natural pattern.

"And by that you mean...?" Endeavor questioned, his eyes still trained on the trainee's.

"I already planned on getting Todoroki to use his fire. You don't have to know why now. Maybe he'll trust you enough after our match, but for now, keep your offers." Izuku, his body high on the adrenaline of talking back to the number two hero of Japan, decided to turn heel and briskly walk back to his locker room. He completely missed the bewilderment on the pro's face.

-{ ~ }-

Everything about this day seemed to irritate Todoroki. The way the air bent around his body. The way his clothes felt on his skin. But especially the way everyone looked at him as the son of a hero.

He was the son of a monster.

After his talk with Midoriya, Shoto couldn't help but dive back into the memories of his childhood. Every training session, every night spent crying, every day spent cowering. His body ached in spots he had long forgotten were injured in the past. They itched and burned and felt raw against his clothes. He needed some sort of release and fast. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who you were in this situation, he was next up to fight.

"Sorry about this Todoroki! I don't plan to lose." His opponent and fellow classmate, Hanta Sero, raised his arms up, pointing the dispensing part of his quirk at the bipowered teen.

"Begin!" Midnight called for the start of the match and Sero wasted no time in throwing tape towards his opponent. Immediately, Shoto was bound and was quickly tossed to the side.

He had to admit, his classmate was a fast thinker. His actions, however, just weren't fast enough.

"For what it's worth," Shoto mumbled eerily. "This isn't personal." Todoroki stomped with his right foot, stopping his momentum from Sero's toss while simultaneously, releasing the power of his ice.

The glacier that erupted was enough to shadow the bystanders and tower over the overhangs of the stadium. Sero himself was covered from head to toe, save for his face, which left him enough room to breathe and left his teeth clattering. Midnight, who wasn't even in the direct line of fire, was huddled in on herself, trying desperately to keep herself warm lest she suffer hypothermia. The winner of the match was obvious, so Todoroki stepped forward and prepared to melt Sero from his icy prison.

'At least I feel somewhat better now...'

-{ ~ }-

End Notes

There's no salvation for this chapter. The hiatus is due to me being uninspired with the Sports Festival. The more fanfics I read, the more I realize that the sports festival arc is MAINLY about getting Todoroki to use his fire. I am sorry if this chapter isn't up to standard. It truly isn't. I feel as though next chapter will have a bit more content that I actually enjoy though, so do forgive me.

3 weeks for a pile of slop, I am sorry. After this arc, I will have a clearer story projected. R&R as always.