Chapter 18: What Do We Want From You?

Honenuki sighed as he sat back down amongst class 1-B.

No one said a single word.

"It's the second round of the tournament and it's been… an interesting start!" Present Mic boomed. "We have eight competitors remaining – so why don't we give you a little reminder?! Eraser Head! Would you like to do the honours?!"

"Not really," Mr Aizawa deadpanned, "Last round we saw class 1-A's Ochako Uraraka defeat Juzo Honenuki with an innovated use of her gravity nullification Quirk."

Honenuki watched spectacular images of the fight flicker across the massive screen on the opposite side of the stadium – ending with Uraraka jumping into the air, a beaming smile across her face.

He gritted his teeth – the weight of defeat crushing down on him. Honenuki was recommended to get into UA – he had to prove his worth! And he'd… lost.

"Before that, Katsuki Bakugo, from the same class, bested Ibara Shiozaki, his explosive Quirk proving to have a massive advantage over Shiozaki's plant-based abilities."

He looked away for those images – they were a little less heart-warming.

Mr Aizawa cleared his throat, "And Eijiro Kirishima also found himself in a poor match up against class A's vice president, Tenya Iida, the younger brother of the retired pro hero, Ingenium. His engine-powered legs give him great speed that Kirishima had no chance in matching."

"Himiko Toga, a member of the support course, class 1-D, was the decided winner of, well, not much of a fight against her friend and classmate, Mei Hatsume!" Present Mic continued. "Toga was a member of class 1-A last year! Isn't that right, Eraser Head?!"

He grunted in response, "Hitoshi Shinso is in general studies, class 1-C. He forced the hero course's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu out of the ring with a brainwashing power."

"Talk about unexpected!" grinned Present Mic, clearly trying to make this as enjoyable as possible. "He now faces the son of Endeavor, Shoto Todoroki – whose Quirk nearly froze the entire arena in an easy defeat of his classmate, Hanta Sero!"

"Momo Yaoyorozu used creative techniques to take down Mina Ashido, neutralising her acid and trapping her in nets until she finally slipped up and fell out of bounds."

"And who could forget class A's president, Izuku Midoriya! He did some neutralising too, being able to completely nullify Neito Monoma's copy Quirk with his own Quirklessness! What will this round bring, I wonder?!"

Honenuki's classmates looked as disinterested as ever. They sulked in their seats, barely looking any of each other in the eye, as though each of them believed that they were responsible for their collective failure.

"First up, it's sharp-minded Midoriya – with an even sharper blade! VERSES – the girl with an unlimited supply of nets, but will she be using any this time?! It's Momo Yaoyorozu!"

"Come on, w-who do we think is going to win?" Honenuki tried, sitting up a little and forcing a grin.

No one replied.

"Guys come on," Honenuki groaned, desperately trying to push the sickening feeling of anxiety out of his chest, "We've done everything we can, so let's just try and enjoy it now?"

"How can we?" said Setsuna, gesturing vaguely at the arena when Midoriya and Yaoyorozu walked steadily up to their starting positions.

"Like everyone else? This is only our first Sports Festival – we'll have other chances. Come on, I think… Midoriya's going to win – but it'll be really close. What do you think, Pony?"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, smiling glumly, "U-Um, maybe…"

"READY?!" Present Mic proclaimed, "BEGIN!"

Midoriya drew his sword and charged forwards whilst Yaoyorozu pulled a similar looking blade from her arm, a grin stretching across her face as she braced herself for the battle.

"Come on, Midori!"

Honenuki couldn't even tear his eyes away from the fight as the two clashed swords and began deflecting each other's advances at remarkable speed – but he'd just heard Uraraka's voice from the other side of the partition he was sitting right next to.

"You got this, man!"

"GO, MIDORIYA!"

It was so strange… like this thin wall was the barricade between two entirely different worlds.

A gloomy fog seemed to hang over class B, their world in greyscale as they dolefully watched the ex-villains clash below them.

But Honenuki could feel the adrenaline from their sister class, next door. He could hear them cry and scream encouragement at their classmates. He knew that each of their lives had been incomparably challenging – facing mountains Honenuki couldn't hope to truly comprehend. But now, they'd found themselves together, and well, for most of them, that was all they had. A world doused in colours they'd never thought they'd see.

Class B was a group of privileged individuals who had committed their blood, sweat and tears to a future that was bound to bring more of the same. Here they were, realising that all this wasn't quite what they hoped.

Class A was a group of unlikely, disadvantaged individuals who had lost blood, sweat and tears to a past they'd never had control over – and a future that was more uncertain with every step. But here they were, realising all was not lost, after all.

Honenuki stood up, grasping his classmates' attention, but he didn't say a word. He just glanced at each of them in turn, and after none of them tried to stop him, he clambered out of his seat, and marched away.

– to the other side.

"Honenuki?" croaked Tsu. She was standing up on a chair beside the invisible girl at the back of their section.

"Hey, Tsu," he sighed, "How are you?"

"Ok," she nodded.

"Hey, Honenuki!" grinned Uraraka, "You did a super good job! I'm sorry you lost!"

He couldn't help but grin back at her, "Don't be, really – you were amazing. You earnt that win."

She beamed.

Present Mic's commentary continued, "But Yaoyorozu's a step ahead of him – and she brings a shield out of nowhere!"

"Mind if I join you?" Honenuki asked, stepping further into class A's seating area. Not a single one of them were sitting down – either standing on chairs or squeezing alongside each other and leaning over the barricade to get as close to the battlefield as possible.

But a few of class A didn't seem keen for him to be there.

"Why don't you go back to your hero course buddies?" sneered the purple haired girl with the number 12 written across her back – Honenuki didn't quite know all their names.

"They're kind of sulking," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "And if I start cheering Midoriya on, I think they might throw me out."

A few of them laughed.

"Honenuki helped Midoriya expel Mineta," Tsu perked up, informing the others.

Honenuki had no clue he had been involved in some plot to expel someone – but he did know Mineta was expelled after that fiasco at the USJ. He decided not to question it.

"Come on, there's a space here!" Uraraka waved him over to the edge of the barricade, where he squished up against class B's partition wall and leant over beside the others.

Midoriya skidded backwards when Yaoyorozu pushed him with her shield.

He didn't waste a second, before he charged forwards once more. They clashed blades. Midoriya seemed to kick at the taller girl's ankles and she stumbled a little. It was enough of a mistake for Midoriya to twist her blade out of her grip and toss it across the concrete floor with a satisfying clang.

Honenuki clapped his hands when the rest of class A let out whistles and whoops, too on edge to celebrate quite yet.

Midoriya lunged to supply what could have been a finishing blow. Yaoyorozu was having none of it. She'd swapped her shield to her right hand to better defend but had a trick up her sleeve.

At the last second, she dropped the shield, a new sword extending from her arm to strike Midoriya when he least expected it.

But he too, had a secret, a little more literally up his sleeve.

He clenched his left hand around something, bringing it forwards in a sweeping motion as the new blade darted towards him – the world almost moving in slow motion – depicted in a larger view on the great screens around the arena – as a see-through shield sprung into existence from the fingerless gauntlet he wore.

The blade clashed against it, leaving a sizeable gash in the support item, but despite that, Midoriya grinned. Yaoyorozu was without a shield, and more than that – Honenuki narrowed his eyes and he could see it too – she seemed a little lethargic.

Shifting his body, Midoriya began to spar with her again – jabbing aimlessly at her, side to side and up and down. He even managed to skim past her head, so close that it snapped the band that held her hair in a ponytail. Unphased, she parried again and again, unable to get close to him herself because of the problem the shield supplied.

She was forced backwards, eyeing up the shield she'd abandoned nearby.

Midoriya noticed it too and made a move that could have easily gone very well or very poorly. He tossed, what was most likely his last smoke bomb, onto the ground, and their view was completely obscured.

"Is he going to do the same to her like he did to Monoma?" frowned another member of class A that Honenuki didn't know too well, marked 8.

"I don't think she'll fall for that…" muttered Honenuki.

The dust cloud faded soon enough. Perhaps this smoke bomb was a little different from the others, because Honenuki was sure that there was an awful lot more dust remnants on the floor. In fact, he could barely see where the border line was.

"I think he's trying to trick her into walking out the ring," Honenuki realised, leaning further forwards and trying to picture himself in Yaoyorozu's shoes.

"Oh, that's a good point!" Uraraka exclaimed.

"Come on, Midoriya, come on," muttered 6 under his breath. They were all on Midoriya's side, rather than their other classmate's. Maybe it was just because he was their class president – but was there more riding on this than he knew of?

The cover that the smoke had given did not result in either competitor's defeat, but the two had changed positions. The abandoned shield seemed to have moved and was now lying right on top of the border line, hidden by the thick layer of black dust that persisted to float around them.

After gathering their bearings, the fight continued. Midoriya still had his shield and Yaoyorozu had little to protect herself with. From the way she held herself and the slower way she moved; it was clear that she was running out of time. Perhaps her Quirk had zapped her energy? It seemed likely.

Midoriya had no such disadvantage.

Yaoyorozu didn't risk making another shield – something that Present Mic was keen to acknowledge. Mr Aizawa swooped into defend his student by pointing out the same matter that Honenuki had thought of – she was fast approaching her limit after everything she'd already pulled off today, specifically her match against Ashido, from which she had little time to recover from.

The clanging of metal against metal as their battle continued seemed to fill the arena, despite the vastness of it and the noise of the crowd. They circled around one another. Honenuki saw Yaoyorozu eyeing up that shield again, knowing she'd make no more advances without it.

They completed their circle so Yaoyorozu was closest to the shield again. Just as Honenuki was sure she'd take a dive for it (likely Midoriya thinking the same thing), she deflected her opponent's blade and sent a devastating blow at Midoriya's flimsy shield.

And although Honenuki winced and Present Mic made it out as a bad thing, he soon realised Midoriya's smile.

The blade dug deep through the plastic, pushing through to the other side – but when Yaoyorozu tried to strike again, it was clear that her weapon was stuck fast.

Like Uraraka's grappling hook, the shield seemed to have an emergency release button, because it wasn't long before the plastic was detached from Midoriya's arm and it, along with Yaoyorozu's sword, was tossed out of bounds.

Honenuki held his breath as Midoriya lunged again at defenceless Yaoyorozu.

But to his surprise, she ducked and rolled, reaching for her boot and pulling out a stashed knife. Now in a fighting style Midoriya surely wasn't used to, she lashed out and drove him backwards.

Honenuki didn't know what he'd expected – but it definitely wasn't for Midoriya to shove his sword back into the sheath on his back and fight weapon-less. And it definitely wasn't for him to instantaneously disarm her with a show only comparable to someone very competent at self-defence martial arts.

From the screams and roars of approval from his classmates, it was clear that this wasn't too much of a shock, but still an unexpected development. Honenuki had seen class A teach each other such moves during PE once or twice.

Clearly not wanting the knife to be a factor, Midoriya tossed it out of the ring so it clattered beside the other discarded items as he drew his sword again.

And this was it – Honenuki didn't dare say a word, let alone breath, and class A seemed to do the same.

Yaoyorozu ducked and rolled away from Midoriya, her loose hair in her eyes as she grasped for the shield and stood up, ready to fight once more –

But Midoriya simply lowered his sword and smiled.

Her own expression faded as she stood up straight and blinked, brushing the hair away from her face as she looked down at the skid marks she'd left behind in the dust.

She was over the line.

With Midnight's announcement of his victory, class A burst into screams, cries and an applause to rival that of the entire stadium – and Honenuki laughed as he joined in, unsure why some had tears in their eyes as Yaoyorozu and Midoriya bowed to each other in respect, each grinning from ear to ear, laughing and leaving the arena, side by side.

"I-I can't believe it!"

Midoriya and Yaoyorozu walked up the stairs, back towards the seating area and out of sight of the cameras and crowd for once.

"I-I won!" Midoriya beamed, so excited that he barely acknowledged that he was talking to the person he'd just defeated. "I actually won!"

"You deserve it – the win," Yaoyorozu grinned. "I wasn't going easy on you, just as you requested."

Maybe Midoriya should have stammered his thanks to her – about teaching him to fight with the sword or even giving him a chance. But he was just so excited, that the words never left his mouth.

He'd completed Nezu's task.

The only students that now remained in the competition were either members of class 1-A, or were the exceptions to the rule, such as Toga and Shinso. All they needed to do now was battle their way to the end – mess around and have fun.

The pressure had gone – and Midoriya had already won.

When the two of them reached class A's seating area, they were greeted with an enthusiastic applause. Even Honenuki was there.

"You did it, you did it!" Uraraka cried, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands.

"Both of you did an amazing job, ribbit," Tsu added.

Yaoyorozu smiled and thanked her, clearly unbothered by the fact that she'd lost.

"Yeah, you were awesome too, Momo!" Hagakure clapped. "That was the best match of the day!"

"Midoriya."

The seriousness of the tone surprised him. He turned around, and at the top of the stairs that ran through their seating area, was Monoma.

The smiles faded from class A's faces. Honenuki awkwardly leant against the barrier, turning his head to exclude himself and watch Shoto and Shinso make their way onto the pitch below for their match.

Monoma hesitated, unsure about their reaction to his arrival. "Um, can I talk with you for a moment?"

Midoriya narrowed his eyes at him, and folded his arms, "About what?"

"I – err – maybe not here?"

Midoriya marched up the stairs until he was at the same height as Monoma, "Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of everyone here."

He wavered again but realised there was no way out of the situation. He sighed deeply, tension fading from his shoulders. Brushing the hair out of his eyes, he said, "Look, I'm… I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

"Why?"

Monoma blinked at the snappy remark, "W-Why?"

"Yes, why – why are you saying this now?" Midoriya insisted, not at all pleased by the interruption. He wanted to watch Shoto's match.

Monoma's eyes flickered between Midoriya's and the rest of class A. "Because I lost. And… you deserve it – the apology."

Midoriya didn't reply for a moment. Instead, he shook his head, a small smile stretching across his lips, "No – no, that's not why."

"I'm just trying to –"

He froze. Midoriya had drawn his sword, and the point was now inches from his nose.

"You're saying this now because you realised that I'm Quirkless, aren't you?"

Monoma's gaze was fixed on the gleaming weapon for a moment. He tried to look unbothered and continued, "You've clearly had to work hard to get where you are without a Quirk. When I thought you had something different, I treated you like the villain you're clearly not."

Midoriya could have interrupted at any point. Instead, he glared daggers at him, and lowered his real blade as Monoma spoke.

"I said things about Quirklessness that I would never have said if I knew the truth," he explained. "I shouldn't have been targeting you or trying to one up you all the time! What else do you want me to say?! You won – it could have been a fairer fight, but I know you don't work like that! Shiozaki told me to come speak to you so here I am!"

Midoriya just stared at him for a moment longer, blocking out the sounds of Present Mic's announcements as he focused on Monoma.

"You're not seeing it the right way," he told him calmly.

"What do you mean – I'm sorry, what more do you want?!" he snapped.

"I want you to understand," Midoriya glowered; whatever expression was on his face made Monoma take a step back. "You shouldn't have acted like that, whether I had a Quirk or not. You had no reason to pick fights with class A other than to boost your own ego."

They were silent again for a moment. Midoriya was painfully aware of how his classmates had turned to listen in, and how even class B had started to peer around the corner to eavesdrop.

Monoma stood there, his arms folded, expression blank. Eventually, he spoke up, "No, I don't understand," he said. "I don't understand you. Y-You you're… you're Quirkless why – you're the representative of class 1-A and you're… H-How… How are you in UA?"

Silence.

"How?" he demanded, taking a step closer, seemingly desperate for the information.

"You want to know why I'm here?"

He raised his sword again, watching Monoma refuse to back away further or be phased by the threat.

"I'm here because I'm fed up with people treating me differently because I don't have a power. I have plenty of other abilities, including the ability to make you regret doing exactly that," he said, spitting every word like venom. "I'm fed up with people changing their minds – backing down because I'm not worth it, or because they pity me. But I think – ha, ha – I think I've proved that I'm as much of a threat now as I was before you knew the truth. Thinking I'm weak – THAT'S what I don't deserve – and I don't want any stupid apology! I want the likes of you to stop judging people for something that they have no control over! And that goes for people like me and the rest of my class!"

He started to advance. Monoma had no choice other than to slowly back away from the blade.

"You know why I'm here, Monoma, in class A? I'd had ENOUGH of the way I was treated, so I decided to finally do something about it! And apparently my methods were a little scary, because here I am. But you know what? I don't care. I'm glad I'm here – and I finally know what I'm going to do with it."

He took away his sword, letting it fall into his sheath once more.

"So, let me ask you, Monoma," he grinned.

"Why are you here?"

"Why am… I here?" he frowned, a little stunned by the interaction, "To… be a hero."

"Right… And err, how well is that working out for you?"

He glared at Midoriya, who simply smiled wildly.

"Maybe I shouted at a few heroes for not doing their jobs properly," said Midoriya, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I did the same to a few teachers. But they had no excuse – none of them! Teachers – heroes – they have lives in their hands – futures that depend entirely on their decisions! And look at you! Doing exactly the same thing – if you want to be a hero, you've got to start acting like one!"

Midoriya took a breath, blocking out the stunned silence at his outburst. He wasn't finished yet – he hadn't gotten his point across. Brushing his hair from his eyes, he let his face melt into a smile once more.

"But it's oh so difficult for people like us, isn't it? Because you don't have a Quirk either, do you?" Midoriya reminded him, watching his facial expressions flicker and change. He circled him for a moment, "Powerless, useless – poor Monoma, having to rely on everyone else's abilities to carry him through. What is he going to do when he's on his own?"

"Shut up," he snarled, head lowered, fists clenched and shaking.

"Surely you can't be a hero with a power like that –"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Midoriya stopped, dropping his smile and his façade, waiting for Monoma to realise what was happening here.

"Do you get it yet?" Midoriya asked, mocking tone completely devoid from his voice now, as he watched Monoma blink, and realisation wash over him. "D-Do you get what it feels like? Or have you always known – and is that why you felt the need to be so competitive with class A? Because you were scared that you'd end up like us? That you'd end up like me?"

He just stared for a moment, until Midoriya sighed, forcefully turned him around and steered him back towards class B, who backed away a little at his approach.

In a hushed voice, Midoriya said, "I don't need a Quirk – I have all the power I need, right here."

With Monoma back with his class, he turned around one last time to see Midoriya smile a little less menacingly and tap the side of his head with his finger.

"You'll figure it out too, eventually," Midoriya almost laughed, stopping when he heard Present Mic announce the end of Shoto's match. Shinso was frozen in place, far below them, and Shoto's dull expression was caught on the many screens decorating the arena.

He frowned at the sight – something wasn't quite right…

Midoriya sighed, "Watch the rest of the festival," he told class B, "I won't be winning next round. This isn't the real battle I'm fighting in –

"– I've already won that one."

Iida's match with Toga lasted barely a second.

Toga just smiled and waved at the cameras before spinning around on her roller-skates and happily stepping out of the arena, knowing her job was already done for the day.

Uraraka was up against Kacchan next. Midoriya would have offered to let her look in his notebook to see if any of his notes could help her out, but she stole the thing so often anyway, that he doubted there was much point.

Instead, whilst he heard the distant explosions of their fight going on in the middle of the stadium, Midoriya found himself outside a waiting room – the only one with the door firmly shut.

He knocked twice.

"I know you're in there Shoto."

No response.

"Come on, Shoto!" he sighed, "I know something's up. You looked so… sad in the arena just then. Sure, you didn't go quite as overboard this time as you did with Sero, but something's on your mind, and I have a feeling I know what it is."

He waited there a moment longer, hoping that Shoto would at least make a sound. When he didn't, Midoriya reached out to push the door open. It didn't move as easily as he'd hoped. In fact, Midoriya had to put all his weight on the thing to make it budge. It did so suddenly, with an unexpected crunch as it opened wide. Midoriya almost fell over.

The cold hit him in an instant, and Midoriya's eyes rested upon a room that could have been an abandoned hideaway in Antarctica, from the way that the ice crept up the walls, covering the table and hanging from the ceiling in sharp spikes that would easily done some damage Midoriya if they were to hit him on the head.

Shoto sat in the middle of it all, not shivering nor moving a muscle, snowflakes resting on his eyelashes, a cold covering his very soul as he stared unblinkingly at the table he was sitting at. For a moment, Midoriya wondered if he, himself, was entirely frozen.

Instead of saying a word, Midoriya grasped the nearest chair, tugged it away from the icy floor with some difficulty, and sat down opposite Shoto.

After perhaps half a minute of cold silence, in which Midoriya's hairs stood on end, and he struggled to not shiver and curl in on himself, Shoto finally raised his eyes to meet his.

"Why don't I scare you, Midoriya?" was his question.

Midoriya cocked his head to one side, "S-Should you?"

He faltered for a moment more, "Everyone else looks at me and sees something to be frightened of – something to change or something to fix. But you're different. Why?"

"…I'm sorry, I don't know what you w-want me to say, I –"

"When we first met. You stepped in front of Monoma to protect me from him – Why?"

Midoriya rested his elbows on the freezing table, lacing his fingers together as he cast his mind back, "Because… it was unfair? And I thought you needed help."

A flicker of a smile passed across Shoto's face. "You're not a villain at all, Midoriya. You never were – Mr Aizawa was right."

Midoriya blinked at him. Well, he had just shoved a blade in someone's face and laughed at them – that couldn't have been the most heroic thing to do. He decided not to inform Shoto of that.

"You're not a villain either," Midoriya insisted, now picking at the ice. "I think you'd make a better hero than your dad."

He glanced up, hoping to see that smile again, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't think I can be a hero," he said, emotion buried skin deep.

"I think you can."

"No, I can't," Shoto insisted, the temperature dropping just a little further. "I… No matter what I do, if I become a hero, I'll be doing exactly what he wants."

Midoriya leant back in his chair, "You're doing that thing again – where you live your entire life around what Endeavor wants or doesn't want. What do you want?"

Shoto gripped at his hair, lowering his head, "I want him gone. Out of my head – out of my way. He wants me out of UA, and I want out of UA, but I-I don't want to leave yet, I don't know…"

There was another moment of tense silence as Midoriya studied the emotions churning in his friend's mind.

"I can help with that," Midoriya finally said.

Shoto looked up, "What do you –"

"I can't get him to leave you alone," he explained. "But I can get him to want to stay away from me –for the sake of his reputation."

He seemed shocked, "Midoriya… that matter doesn't concern you…"

Midoriya just grinned, "But that's my favourite kind of matter! And I have everything I need – no digging required. If I could get Jiro to help out too… Principal Nezu would believe me – and once the necessary information is in his, well, paws – just imagine what it could do to Endeavor… Oh, it would be so fun –"

"No," Shoto snapped with a ferocity that made Midoriya jump. "Do you have any idea what he can do to you – to your family; your name; your future?!"

Midoriya waved the comment off, "I'm the Quirkless president of UA's class 1-A. Things can literally not get much worse for me – but they can get better for you."

"I…" Shoto clearly didn't know what to say. He shook his head in disbelief, that inkling of a smile returning once more. It made Midoriya grin too.

"We don't have to do anything at the moment," Midoriya insisted. "Just know that we are in control – not Endeavor. And he can't get you out of UA until Mr Aizawa graduates you. Number two hero or not – he can't touch you here."

"Until the monitored week we get at home after the Sports Festival," Shoto reminded him harshly.

"Ah, right, yeah. I forgot about that… But we don't have to think about that right now… Look I-I get you have mixed feelings about heroes but just… Shoto, do you want to be able to help people?"

Midoriya didn't know what was going through Shoto's mind, but he was clearly thinking hard about something. After a while, he exhaled deeply, his breath rising before him in a column of steam. He met his eyes once more, and said, "…Yes."

This was the moment that Present Mic's booming voice rang through the halls, announcing Uraraka's defeat. Midoriya had optimistically hoped that Kacchan would fall short in this match up, but he knew it was never meant to be.

Midoriya stood up as Shoto did the same.

"We can always try escaping UA again before the home visits," Midoriya added as a slight joke before they left.

Shoto grinned, "That would be fun."

They walked in silence until they reached the corridor in which they had to part ways, to face again a minute or so later in the arena.

"Um, please don't murder me instantly," Midoriya winced.

Shoto actually laughed. A slight, snort of air that could be mistaken as nothing else. "I thought you didn't want anyone going easy on you."

"Yeah, but… still?"

"I'll try not to."

"…Thanks."

Midoriya… was unexpected – and Shoto was sure there was no one else quite like him. But above all – past all the trickery, sly wit and deceptive games he played – he was a good person, a little too good, considering, well, everything. He just… wanted to help people. Sure, he went about it in a strange way, but he got results. Yeah, he definitely got results.

Shoto had once had his doubts, but as he walked out into that arena to the eyes of an unjust world, Shoto was reminded that it didn't matter what happened in the end –

– as long as he was on the same side as Midoriya, that is.

They smiled at each other, face to face on the battlefield.

Shoto knew his father's gaze was on him, but he refused to look for it. He rolled his shoulder as Present Mic hyped up the match, letting the itch of his flames melt away the ice that covered him like stiff armour from an unforgiving world.

He didn't hear Present Mic proclaim the beginning of their battle, but he did see Midoriya begin his charge, drawing his sword and activating his fixed shield. From the shouts and screams of excitement from his battle with Yaoyorozu, Shoto knew that she'd damaged it significantly. This must have been a spare that the support course girls had ready for him.

With a grin, Shoto sent his first tirade of ice at Midoriya. It wasn't a giant wall akin to his battle with Sero, but if Midoriya's reflexes hadn't been good enough, he wouldn't have dodged it.

Luckily enough, he did, almost slipping on the ice in the process. This made Shoto laugh a little harder and Midoriya to yell at him to shut up.

Midoriya was right. He's always right. Shoto just needed to stop thinking so hard about it all.

And whilst Shoto clambered and crawled up the slippery slope to a recovery he didn't know he needed, Midoriya was right there to point out where he was going and help him find his footholds. Even when he fell back down again, seemingly to where he started, Midoriya didn't give up on him – like he knew exactly how it felt.

But like Shoto, Midoriya had changed during their short time at UA. He had started off so meek and unsure of himself, a determination and scarcely hidden malice only bubbling at the surface. Now, Midoriya had found his rightful place at the top of class A's pecking order. Maybe he didn't stand a chance against Shoto, as he skidded side to side to dodge Shoto's constant attacks, who was barely focusing whilst he laughed at Midoriya's advances. Maybe he'd grown to be a little scary and UA should really offer more psychiatric help to members of class A and B alike. But Shoto couldn't imagine him any other way.

If UA hadn't forced Midoriya to attend, not only would the remaining members of class A have struggled immensely to get as far as they already had, but Midoriya himself could have easily become a threat to hero society unlike anything they'd ever seen before.

He'd send this League of Villains running, and the heroes would be shaking in their boots at the thought of a Quirkless man who they could easily take down one on one, but would never stand a chance against the power that Shoto knew Midoriya had the potential to gather.

With a smile across his face, Shoto glanced up at the stands, where the teachers sat. It was hard to tell, especially with the way Shoto's hair covered his left eye, but he could just see the little white blob that he knew was Principal Nezu, smiling back at him.

So, that was why Midoriya was here.

And maybe it was why Shoto was too.

The class A system had its problems – glaringly obvious ones, at that, but Shoto didn't mind anymore. The real way that UA rehabilitated its students, was not through teaching nor this idiotic festival – it was through the exposure to each other.

Shoto turned back to the match. Midoriya was standing about two metres in front of him, panting heavily and holding his sword ready.

He just rolled his eyes, flicking his wrist to freeze him in place, but Midoriya just jumped out of the way again, always moving, well, right – from Midoriya's perspective.

At first, Shoto thought this was his usual, sword fighting routine. He'd overheard one or two of his lessons with Yaoyorozu and was quite convinced she said to always move to the right, him being right-handed. But then Shoto realised the difficulty he was having, hitting Midoriya with his ice, was not just down to him initially being rather distracted, but because he really couldn't. Shoto could only use his ice power on the right side of his body – which Midoriya consistently evaded.

And now the circles Midoriya was running around him were getting closer and closer, the jabs and slashes from his sword now becoming a serious threat. Present Mic too, noticed that Midoriya was getting closer than anyone had before.

Had Midoriya had another trick up his sleeve – one more smoke bomb, one more little gadget – been slightly better at wielding his blade, Shoto could have really lost.

But one wrong move and Shoto got too close to him. He grabbed the sword itself, which cut into his hand, but it didn't matter. Midoriya was frozen solid in less than a second, and the round was over.

"You were just messing with me the entire time!" Midoriya snapped, hurrying along beside Shoto as the left the arena, brushing the remnants of ice off his slightly damp clothes.

He shrugged, "I learnt from the best."

"H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"

"Besides, I couldn't freeze you because you were sticking to my left side," Shoto admitted. "I'm serious, you were far more of a threat than anyone else I have faced today."

Midoriya didn't say anything, but Shoto could feel him grinning.

He may have been dreading it. But… this Sports Festival wasn't so bad after all.