"Midoriya Izuku has forfeited the match! Bakugou Katsuki advances to the finals!"
Surprise rolls through the crowd like a rippling wave. But, the cheers the echo through the stadium drown out the murmurs of confusion.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bakugou growls, taking a threatening step towards him.
"Forfeiting," Izuku chuckles, "I thought that was obvious." He pushes himself up with a pained grunt. Now that the match has ended and his adrenaline is slowly starting to wear off, the burns scattering his body have gained a second wind. Not including his newest near-death experience, it's been a long while since he's been hurt this badly.
Recovery Girl's quirk may save him a few scars, but he'll be surprised if he didn't walk away with at least one or two new ones.
"You're giving up," Bakugou growls.
"Giving up?" Izuku asks. "I've never given up on anything you wanted me to, Katsuki. You failed at that. That's probably the only thing you'll ever fail at."
The teen's jaw clenches as medical bots roll out onto the field with a stretcher that Izuku waves off. He turns his back to the other boy. His jacket is in pieces in the middle of the field, a few feet away from it lies Yaoyorozu's staff. Leaving it feels oddly reminiscent of the USJ.
He pauses in stride, tilting his head back towards Bakugou. "You've got a bright future ahead of you, you always have," Izuku states, smiling at him over his shoulder. "Surely you don't need to beat me to prove that, do you? " His word choice is deliberate, a thinly veiled taunt on Izuku's behalf. He knows just how much it'll grate on Bakugou's nerves. Unfinished business, an
unofficial win granted only for the sake of formalities. Izuku was not pushed out of bounds, nor was he knocked unconscious or immobilized. He forfeited . That was not an indisputable win. There was no ultimate conclusion. There was room for the question of 'what if'.
Izuku is led off the field with surprisingly little fanfare. There's supportive cheers above him from his classmates and he waves up at them as before disappearing back into the bowels of the stadium. He makes a show of being fine, but as soon as he's out of sight he feels his legs begin to buckle. The medical bots pause beside him.
"Midoriya Izuku. Your physical condition is worsening. Please seat yourself on the stretcher," the robot's voice grates harshly against his eardrums.
Izuku does not ignore its instructions this time, all but collapsing onto the stretcher before laying down. He's so tired.
"We will now continue moving, please keep your arms and legs away from any moving parts or obstacles we may encounter."
Izuku closes his eyes, letting himself be wheeled through the halls. The quiet darkness is only punctuated by the passing of overhead lighting and the mechanical whir of the robots.
Bakugou does not follow him to Recovery Girl's tent, at least, not while Midoriya's awake. He slips in some five minutes after Izuku's fallen asleep. There's a dried trail of blood starting at his brow that winds its way over his eye and down part of his cheek. His nose is swollen and crooked, face and body dappled with newly forming bruises. Shuzenji has certainly seen worse, but to see Bakugou sporting such wounds is a new experience. Even after the USJ, the boy hadn't been this injured.
She has him take a seat while she looks over his injuries, making sure to reset his nose before activating her quirk. She keeps an eye on him as she finishes a bit of paperwork. Even after healing him, he keeps his tense posture, making a show of keeping his arms folded across his chest and his face set in a scowl. It's then that she catches his straying gaze.
"You two went to the same middle school didn't you?" Recovery Girl asks, taking notice of how the boy's eyes hover over Midoriya.
Katsuki merely grunts, looking away.
"He'll be fine after he gets some rest, in case you were worried." "I wasn't."
Shuzenji's lips quirk at the corners. "Of course, of course. Now it's best if you rest here for a bit. The others will be playing a few more minigames before the finals start to give you some time to recover, but—"
"I'm fine," Bakugou growls, cutting her off.
She sighs. "You did quite the number on each other, young man. You need to rest if you want to be able to give it your all for the last match. Todoroki has had more time to recover so he'll have an advantage if you try to fight me on this. Pick a bed."
Bakugou does, albeit reluctantly, pick a bed. He passes Mina and her previous opponent, still
unconscious from their earlier match, as well as Midoriya and some other kid he doesn't recognize. He picks the bed furthest from everyone else and lays down. Katsuki, however, does not sleep, merely turns his back to the others and pretends to. He keeps his breathing even and slow, his gaze fixed pointedly at the white, leathery plastic of the medical tent.
He lays there silently and he waits. He doesn't know what he's waiting for, perhaps for some big reveal, or an answer, or a fight. He's waiting for some sort of conclusion that he simply can't grasp. But, Bakugou has never been very good at waiting, he's impatient, and prideful, and hates useless and impractical people. And Midoriya Izuku is as impractical as people come, quirkless and desperate to become a hero.
Katsuki's been trying for years to prove to the other that it was stupid for him to dream so big, that his only future in heroics was to serve as cannon fodder. However, the fact that Midoriya had made it UA was merely proof that the last ten years of throwing physical proof at the boy had culminated to nothing. He scowls at the wall.
Their fight had been his chance to completely crush Deku's stupid impracticality, to show him, once and for all, without holding back, what a real hero looked like firsthand. He'd intended an indisputable victory. And then Midoriya forfeited. But, he'd forfeited with a smile on his face, like he'd won, like he'd proven something by only making it halfway.
Bakugou Katsuki won. He would have won whether the other boy decided to forfeit or not. So why didn't it feel that way? Why was the sour taste of loss crawling its way up his throat?
"You've got a bright future ahead of you, you always have. Surely you don't need to beat me to prove that, do you?"
But it wasn't his own future that Bakugou needed to prove, it was Midoriya's lack of one.
"If I'm so weak.. then why am I holding my own against you!"
Katsuki suppresses a growl as the tent flap opens behind him. "Tsukauchi Reo," Recovery Girl's voice carries softly, "I don't believe any of the support labs are open today. What could you have possibly blown up to show up here." Her tone is light and teasing.
"That wasn't even my fault," the boy whines with a laugh.
"What can I do for you then?" There's a quiet click of a pen.
"Is Midoriya Izuku still here?"
"Midoriya?" she asks curiously, "Can I ask why you're looking for him?"
There's a shuffling of feet. "We're friends, I was just gonna see if he was awake." Katsuki can feel the teen's gaze boring into his back before they flicker away again, presumably back towards Midoriya or Recovery Girl, he's not sure neither does he care. The Tsukauchi boy's sigh is tired but fond. "It hasn't been that long since he got out of the hospital and he's already hurt again. He really had me worried out there."
"Some of these kids take this whole event way too seriously," Recovery Girl huffs, "Either way, Midoriya will be fine after a bit of rest. You're welcome to grab a seat next to him. I plan on having him sleep until the closing ceremony though so try not to wake him just yet."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Tsukauchi breathes. Bakugou does not see the smile growing on the older boy's face. "He'll need all the rest he can get if he doesn't want to be falling asleep on the
podium."
Bakugou stares at the wall. He continues to stare at the wall. He does not stop staring at the wall until Recovery Girl comes to tell him his match will be starting soon. He pushes himself up, pulls on his shoes, and stares straight ahead as he marches out of the tent.
Deku doesn't know anything. Bakugou Katsuki was destined for heroics. With just a little more time and training, Bakugou would become the one to surpass All Might himself.
Dippy (affectionate)TM @cancelDUPI
I cant believe Piper died of ligma 6:04 pm · 5/1/32 · Twitter Web App 2 Likes
vee uwahhh @vs_verSUS · 1h Replying to @cancelDUPI Who's Piper?
Dippy (affectionate)TM @cancelDUPI · 3m Replying to @vs_verSUS
LIGMA BALLS
Izuku sleeps through the entirety of Bakugou and Todoroki's match. Reo, however, watches the fight on his phone from his bedside. Everything is fire and ice punctuated by blazing explosions that make him wish he was watching it from the stands. Their raw power awes him, these two alone could easily surpass a majority of the current second and third-year hero students. It's a brutal battle, on a completely different scale to anything else he's seen during any of the previous festivals. Even so, he can tell that there's something unspoken happening on the field. He's been friends with Midoriya for long enough to know that the two of them are battling something more than just each other.
He'd recognized Todoroki earlier, going as far as to tease Izuku about their first encounter while Shinsou was getting snacks. But, Todoroki's name was familiar to him for more than that. After the USJ incident, the teen had featured in an article where he vouched for Piper's intentions during the fight. He'd also been one of the last people to see 'Piper' alive. Reo bites at the inside of his cheek. As part of 1-A, Bakugou was sure to have been there too, both of them had surely watched Izuku fighting for his life. Surely they'd seen the near-fatal blow that Izuku had taken firsthand.
He could be wrong of course, but... Reo wonders if they too had already heard the news of Piper's death, or, at the very least, suspected it.
The boy can hear the deafening ring of explosions from the stadium before he sees them happen on screen. They're both fighting for something more than gold medallion, even if Reo can't quite place what they're trying to prove by taking first. A two-story iceberg shoots up from the center of the field and Reo figures that's the end of the match until Bakugou emerges from the ice in a flurry of explosions. Todoroki meets him with a wave of fire when he tries to get in close, blasting him back. It's a brutal fight between future heroes, the perfect balance between flashy and powerful quirks.
It's a close match, but, Bakugou, in the end, is overwhelmed by an incandescent display of ice and fire.
Present Mic's voice crackles loudly through Reo's headphones. "Bakugou Katsuki is thrown out of bounds! Todoroki Shouto wins the match, taking first place in this year's sports festival!"
"–zu. Izuuuu~"
The boy's eyes flutter open softly.
"Midoriyaaaaa," Reo drawls, gently rousing him.
Izuku lets out a disgruntled string of incomprehensible words as he rolls over, blinking blearily up at his friend.
Reo smiles at him. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty. Have a nice nap?" Midoriya groans. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm here to wake you up. You don't want to be late do you?"
Izuku throws an arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the light. "For what?" He's still tried, drained both from all his fights and from Recovery Girl's quirk. It'd be easy enough for him to drift back to sleep.
"For the winners' circle." Reo grins.
"What?" It sounds like a cruel joke in his ears, but Reo's never been one for cruel tricks. He peels his arm away from his face, looking up.
"You tied for third, stupid," his friend explains with a quiet laugh. "It's about time to went to get your medal, don't you think?"
Midoirya pushes himself up slowly, as if moving too fast will wake him up from whatever dream this is. Izuku blink at him.
Reo grins. "They're calling for you."
Like the silent roar of the universe in motion, the deafening rumble of thousands of voices greet the rising of the winners' podiums. Tokoyami Fumikage shares the third place pedestal with him. Beside them, on the first place podium, stands Todoroki Shouto. His eyes are downcast, shoulders stiff, clearly at war with himself for something. Midoriya recognizes that same face as one he's often seen in the mirror. Izuku had been asleep for the final match, but considering the visible
scowl etched into Bakugou's face from the second place stand, he's sure that their fight had been a brutal one.
Midnight's voice echoes over the loudspeaker, "Meet your winners! Tied for third! We have Tokoyami Fumikage and Midoriya Izuku! In second place! The explosive Bakugou Katsuki! And in first place, after overcoming the competition with a masterful combination of fire and ice! It's Todoroki Shouto of 1-A! These are the winners of UA's 2232 Sports Festival! And this year, presenting the first years' medals, it's everyone's favorite hero! All Might!"
Izuku's eyes widen, shining brighter than stars as they watch All Might descend from the top of the stadium, taking his place on the field in a billow of dust and mighty bellow of, "I am here!" The crowd, however loud or excited it gets, pales in comparison to Midoirya's unrestrained awe at once again being able to meet his idol.
Midnight appears behind him with a tray full of medals. He takes one before approaching Tokoyami, his smile blinding. "Congratulations Tokoyami! You've proven yourself to be a strong opponent, indeed!"
"You honor me too highly," the boy murmurs, bowing his head as All Might settles the medal around his neck and pulls him into a firm hug.
"Your quirk is powerful, but it's dangerous to rely on it too heavily," the hero explains, "You won't always be faced with an adversary for which your quirk is a good match."
"Understood."
All Might releases Tokoyomi before receiving another medal from Midnight and turning to Izuku. "Young Midoriya of 1-C! You've shown everyone here what a powerful strategy can accomplish in the face of opponents stronger than you."
He bows his head as All Might slips the medal over his unruly hair. The weight of it settles across the back of his neck, rubbing against his scar. He lifts his head to meet the hero's eyes. Izuku croaks out a hoarse "Thank you," before he's pulled into a hug identical to the one Tokoyami received.
"Should you decide to further hone your physical abilities, I believe you'll become a valuable asset to hero society in the future, young man."
Midoriya bites back the wobble of his lower lip, pressing his face into the hero's shoulder. He doesn't dare wet the man's costume with any tears. "I will."
To All Might these two words mean very little. They are only a reply to his usual encouragement. To Izuku however, they are a promise, a vow.
He releases him, moves on, bestows Bakugou and Todoroki with their respective medals. Bakugou accepts his defeat quietly and Todoroki accepts victory with a masked sort of reluctance. The sports festival comes to a resounding close.
The announcement of Piper's death is easily buried beneath the wave of excitement following the conclusion of UA's sports festival. The news of the vigilante's death is replaced by the victors of the sports festival, and the blurred images of his corpse are covered by a picturesque moment of All Might awarding medals on the winners' podium. As such, it takes several days before the news of Piper's death really gets out. But, as with most things on the internet, all it takes is one post seen
by the right people before the revelation spreads like wildfire, before the whole of Japan discovers that the vigilante Pied Piper is dead.
3 · Trending in Japan
Piper's
Trending with Pied Piper, USJ, HE'S DEAD
Luck READ @byesexyuhaul · 3h tw / death , vigilante
Why is no one talking about Piper's death until now?? Like I get that it was announced during the sports festival, but its been DAYS! HIS BODY WASHED UP ON SHORE APRIL 29TH AND THE POLICE STILL HAVEN'T RELEASED A CAUSE OF DEATH!!!! SOMETHINGS GOING ON HERE
Silver / GOING DARK @pipersimp · 1h
HE'S DEAD?? YOURE TELLING ME THAT PIPERS DEAD DEAD???
Luciii @miruko_mi · 1h
tw death , police
You guys aren't taking Piper's death seriously enough and here's why, a :
let me start this off by saying this is definitely some kind of coverup by the police/hero commission, Piper goes missing mysteriously after being hurt at the USJ? How does that (1/?)
Fyre - HES DEAD @flamingfyrefist · 58m
no because pipers had this coming, y'all can stay mad, idc if this is all a coverup or not, that bitch
was hurting HEROES he deserved what he got
Tuesday @updates_orelse · 2h
Does no one else find it weird that the police waited until the middle of UA's sports festival to announce Piper's death?? They literally chose the time where the least amount of people would be
able to hear about it.
Cryptid Jackalope @DesertCrytpid · 2h
Pipers dead, twitter is in shambles, and i just spilled chimichurri all down the front of my stove Able @CannibalisticApple · 1h
there's so much debate going on about pipers body, why is it so hard for the police to release the cause of death????
Belgan @ commissions @piiperrsiimp · 34m
Now I know y'all aren't actually donating to that "Piper's gofundme" bs, HE'S DEAD, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HIS IDENTITY TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY, WHAT ARE Y'ALL ON
Eli CH@EeCeKe_PeeIiNoN·E1D2!m!
Posting this again because it's getting buried under a lot of info threads, but here's the gofundme
that's been set up for Piper's family, please rt to spread the word and link it under posts about him Musutafu Mourns for Vigilante Pied Piper
By Akihito Jun May 4, 2232
In a press conference held last Saturday, the Musutafu chief of police confirmed the death of the beloved vigilante Pied Piper. Civilian government workers discovered the body early morning, Saturday, April 29th whilst conducting a routine survey of Dagobah beach. After calling it in to the police, detectives arrived on the scene and confirmed the victim's identity to be that of Pied Piper.
Piper, while notorious for many things, is perhaps most recognizable for his involvement in the USJ incident three weeks ago (which can be read about in one of my previous articles here). After escaping police custody in the wake of the incident, Piper would disappear off-grid for several weeks. With no reported sightings and without any solid leads, the vigilante was be labeled MIA. Following the event, theories concerning his condition began circulating the internet, a surprising number of which had predicted Piper's possible death. However, no one expected what police now assume happened to the vigilante. In a direct quote from Musutafu's chief of police, he says, "It's suspected that, after his escape, Piper was unable to have his wounds healed and as a consequence, was picked up by either a group of villains or someone working on their own." Despite this, the exact cause of the vigilante's death, as well as his civilian identity, and what events took place following Piper's escapes from the USJ, are still unclear.
However, this lack of information does not prevent Pied Piper's supporters from mourning his loss.
Since the news of the vigilante's death, well over a dozen memorials have been erected throughout the city. Appearing most commonly in the impoverished neighborhoods that Piper was known to patrol. Other memorials have taken shape at some of the vigilante's notorious fighting spots. The largest memorial to date, however, appears around the perimeter of Dagobah Municipal Park, the location where Piper's body was originally discovered.
In a show of goodwill, local hero Death Arms made an appearance at one of the two memorials within proximity of his office, something which has recently been met with backlash from fans. Many feel that the hero's presence was disrespectful to the memory of the vigilante in light of the recent indictment Death Arms faced for use of deadly force against the vigilante whilst in the presence of civilians. Several of UA's staff were also spotted at different memorials throughout Musutafu. The voice hero: Present Mic and space hero: Thirteen were both seen offering gifts at the memorial that has recently taken shape at the outside perimeter of the USJ. Pro hero Snipe was also spotted at a memorial, offering his condolences yesterday at the location featured in one of Piper's viral escape videos that Snipe appears in.
The people that Piper saved throughout his time as a vigilante are the hardest hit of the growing number of mourners as news of his death only continues to spread. In an impromptu interview I had with a man by the name of Genji Kohaku, he relives part of his encounter with the vigilante. "He [Pied Piper] never even told me his name. He just showed up, beat up the guy that was wailin' on me an' made sure I was okay. He didn't want nothin', didn't expect nothin'. I was so out of it that I never even got to tell him thank you," Genji explains, "I wish I could've. You always see people thanking Pros, but I'm sure that guy didn't hear it too often. He deserved better." Online, people with similar stories are making their own encounters with the vigilante known, only able to thank him after the news of his passing has spread.
"Criminals will celebrate that kid's death, I'm sure of it," one anonymous commentator offers over the phone late last Tuesday night. I couldn't help but find myself agreeing with the statement. The vigilante Pied Piper, while no longer with us, continues to live on in the hearts of many. No matter one's thoughts on vigilantism, Piper's presence will be made permanent by his many accomplishments. His memory will undoubtedly be honored by those he positively impacted in the community for many years to come.
[Disclaimer: Both Musutafu Hero Reporting and its writers neither support nor condone any form of illegal activities including that of vigilantism.]
© 2232 Musutafu Hero Reporting, a division of Musutafu Daily Network, LLC.
Napht
@m0thh0urs
GUYS I SWEAR I DIDN'T FUCKING KNOW, THIS IS BULLSHIT STOP LIKING IT
Napht · 4/13/32
@m0thh0urs
rip Pied Piper he's not dead i just miss him _
4:26 pm · 5/4/32 · Twitter Web App
976 Retweets 139 Quote Tweets 18.6k Likes
Tea Time @sippinonurtears_ · 1h Replying to @m0thh0urs
NAPHT NO
chug jug w/ u @pissTcup · 33m Replying to @m0thh0urs
quick, what lottery numbers should i pick im trying to buy more hero merch /j
fahara @thebootydiaries · 48m Replying to @m0thh0urs WHAT THE FUCK NAPHT
fae.exe @exeexeexe · 1h
Replying to @m0thh0urs
YOU, YOU DID THIS. HOW DARE YOU. /lh
Ashy @PLMBH · 26m Replying to @m0thh0urs
Caee @ikiit · 37m
where is the /j
Replying to @m0thh0urs
rip piper, you would've loved hearing about the dude that broke into Death Arm's flat just to shit
in his bathtub