- Some Time Later -
I jerked awake with a start, hyperventilating, and feeling my heart race. I couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed, but I guessed it was not a lot: Because I could still hear the crowd and see that the sun was overhead.
I sat up, looking around. I had been moved to the back of the 1A stand area, laid down on a bench.
"Hey hey, don't move around too much!" Called a deep voice from behind me.
I turned sharply, ignoring their request. It was Mezo Shoji, or more accurately a mouth at the end of one of his tentacle arms.
"What... What happened?" I asked, putting a hand to my head.
"You passed out shortly after coming into the stands. Collapsed straight forward onto several of us. I carried you up here to rest." He explained.
"Well that's not embarrassing at all." I responded, mortified.
"You just pushed your body too hard today. You should rest while you can." He insisted.
I nodded in return. "I will. And I won't go anywhere until my next fight. What did I miss?"
Several of his stalks scoped out the surroundings while the mouth continued to talk. "Kirishima had his fight with Tetsutetsu. It was a draw. They have very similar quirks actually. When they regain consciousness the judges want to settle the fight with an arm wrestling tournament. The Bakugo/Uraraka fight hasn't begun yet."
"That's a bizarre solution at best. Also, very coincidental that they would face each other. Did Deku take notes?" I probed.
"Hmm, unsure. He isn't here right now, Iida either. They are probably both with Uraraka currently." He reasoned.
"Fair guess. Thank you for... all this, but you can head back down, I'll be alright."
He nodded from behind his mask and casually walked back to the group. The class did seem thin on numbers, but I suppose it's not unusual if we've all been (or are about to be) fighting.
I caught Jiro peeking paranoid glances back to me, now more worried than ever. I'd have a lot of explaining to do, but not here and not now.
Just then: Class Rep, alongside the resident otaku, strolled into the area. I waved Izuku up to me as relaxed as I could.
He came bounding up, "Great fight out there! I didn't realize your quirk could do things like that."
"Yeah. I've been able to display a lot of showy applications with the small window of opportunity I have, but that's not what this is about. I have questions about some quirks. Would you mind if I picked your brain or books for a little while? I'll probably need to borrow them considering the circumstances right now, if that's ok?"
His face lit up, "You want to study my hero books? Which ones?! I've got loads of books going back to ten years and more in my head that might be only circumstantial..." He began to ramble.
I held up a hand. "Sorry, gotta stop you there. I'm looking for notes about mixed rank, pro, Japanese heroes, specifically: Edgeshot, Hawks, and Mirko."
"That's an interesting list, what about them? My data isn't really compiled by the hero, unless I learned about them all at once." He expanded.
"I'd like to see if you've done a risk analysis on Mirko. Tracked the lethality or potential for it in Edgeshot. And lastly, the breakdown for Hawks' quirks; assuming they don't conform to any single mutation." I concluded.
"Well it's nothing I have a lot on, though I could tell you Mirko is probably the highest risk pro I've seen operate in a while. No sidekicks, no history of team-ups, and a generally bad track record of playing well with others, not to mention her flash-point anger." He answered a bit dismayed.
"I was hoping you'd have some hard data I could see." I said, trying to focus him. I could see my weak points poking through the armor I had built around me, and these were the most likely pros who could round them out. If I could get offers from them.
"Yeah, I should have a couple notebooks I can lend you when we get back to the classroom. Fair warning: There are a lot of other things you'll have to sift through if that's all you want though." He seemed suddenly disappointed with his lack of organization.
"I don't mind the extra info. In fact, I'd like to eventually see everything you have." At that his face lit up again but I pressed on, "These are just topics of interest on my mind right this minute."
"I totally get it! I'm just glad there's someone else who appreciates the nuances that pros bring to the table and..." He drifted out, muttering.
I took the time to check the arena, it looked like the next match was about to begin.
"Hey... Umm... Decklin?" His words cut into my awareness. He looked a little nervous and was sweeping his surroundings visually. "Would you also like book #7? It has info on... Well... You know?" He insinuated while pointing at me.
My father? He had him in the books too? Interesting, but not pertinent. "Nah. I've got a whole lifetime worth of that knowledge. But..." I drifted a little closer. "I wouldn't mind taking a look later to help you add onto or straighten out things about THAT."
The telltale alarm bell rang out through the arena, ending all conversations abruptly. Then, the reader boards brightly displayed: "Katsuki Bakugo vs Ochako Uraraka".
"Hey Deku, any possibility Uraraka even walks out of the ring?" I asked coldly, and perhaps too loud.
"Hmm... Well honestly it all hinges on her ability to touch him. If she can make him float, she can push him out of bounds." He replied holding his chin, deep in thought.
"I can't see that working." I said flatly. Many of my classmates now turning, in shock.
"B-But why?" Deku stammered back.
"Simple. He has already used his quirk for air and land movement before, reducing his weight would only reduce the drag. That would make him faster assuming he could adjust to the new balance on the fly."
The onlookers changed their expressions from shock to fear. We all knew he was more than capable of adapting that rapidly.
Iida responded first, "That would mean her only chance at victory lies in a one off strategy, or a straightforward assault."
"Precisely. The problem is that her quirk doesn't have any offense by itself, certainly not one that Bakugo can't counter." Came my conclusion.
Everyone moved slowly towards the front of the seating in our area except me. I wanted a higher vantage point for this fight; as well as the next. I knew surprisingly little about Bakugo's strategic abilities in different settings. And, seeing Deku and Todoroki fight after should also provide a lot of insight, as long as the match pushes past the initial assault from the ice user. Midoriya has a lot of power, but it seems to come at a steep price.
"Begin!" Shouted the under-dressed Midnight, with a crack of her whip.
Both fighters ran full speed at each other, staying low and ready to strike. Bakugo far outpaced Uraraka though. He launched across the stage and blasted her before she could attack.
The fight went on like this for a long time, with Uraraka even using her jacket as a diversion in the smoke created by the explosions. But, nothing she did ever connected. Really, what impressed me was Bakugo's willingness to take her seriously and let her display her strengths. It's essentially what I had done in my first match as well.
"Looks like this is the kind of attitude we can expect from 1-A!" Yelled a blonde head peeking over the privacy wall. It was the same little shit from 1-B, Monoma. He had a tactical enough mindset, but it's overshadowed by his unbearable attitude.
He began laughing maniacally and I was ready to freeze him in place when a large hand struck the back of his neck and he fell limply. A girl with orange hair twisted into a ponytail now appeared over the wall. From the commotion earlier today, I remember they called her "Kendo" like the martial art.
"Sorry about him!" She said, obviously embarrassed by her classmates' behavior. Most of my class just turned back away, but I looked on. She caught my distant position in her peripheral vision and turned to see me. Our eyes met, but we didn't say anything. Then she flashed a quick smile, waved at me, and disappeared behind the wall. This school is full of weirdos.
The fight had been going far longer than it should have before I realized what Ochako was actually doing. She never intended to touch him, it would have just been a bonus. Instead she had been nullifying the gravity of all the debris created by the explosions and hurdling it straight up into the air.
When she eventually releases this field of rubble: it will pick up velocity because of the effect of gravity. The result is a concrete meteor shower. It would be near impossible to avoid and very damaging. She may incapacitate or even bury Bakugo under the loose rock.
I had just finished my thoughts when some heroes I didn't recognize began booing and shouting from the stands. They didn't see what was happening, they just saw a young girl getting tossed around the arena.
This is when Mr. Aizawa got on the PA system. "If you really can't see what's going on, then you should quit trying to be heroes right now." A line that really delivers on numerous levels.
The fighters had a brief stare down before Uraraka released her trap. I had to make doubly sure that our area would even be shielded above from the attack. It was, and time seemed to slow as I watched for Bakugo's next move.
Shockingly, Uraraka started running towards him. She is so focused on victory that she is risking the threat of her own attack. I can understand wanting to win, but this gamble is outright dangerous.
Bakugo drew his hands over his head, in an instant causing a massive eruption that decimated the falling debris, and shoving everyone in the crowd back into their seats with a powerful shockwave.
Just like that he had won. The same trick would never work twice and Ochako had taken too much damage to make it happen. I could see from here that her legs were barely supporting weight anymore.
She wavered and began to fall. Bakugo's eyes widened and he sprinted forward to try and catch her to no avail, skidding to a stop several feet short. No one else probably saw what I did: True concern from the least likely person. It was only after he realized that his actions were in vain that he stopped.
Bakugo was announced the winner, but he didn't celebrate. Instead he stared onward as the medical team carried Uraraka away for treatment.
"What an exciting end to the first round! Our quarter-finalists are all locked in, and the heat is really turning up!" Shouted Mic.
The next round would be Midoriya versus Todoroki. I turned my gaze to the class. Shoto was nowhere to be seen, but Deku looked nervous if not determined. Sometimes it's hard to know where his thoughts are going. Either way, this was going to be a telling match.
It took a bit for the staff to repair the stage and clean the outlying field. Enough time for Uraraka to come back from the medical room and up to our area in the stands. Her eyes were swollen as if she had been crying a lot downstairs.
She seemed as if she wanted to hide that from everyone who hadn't seen, and walked quickly up to my seating row. I gave her a mild smile and a thumbs up, as encouraging as I could manage. Ochako weakly returned the gesture and sat next to me.
"Everything good?" I questioned looking straight ahead.
"Yeah..." She mumbled. "I was just talking to my parents on the phone downstairs."
"Oh. I'm sure they were very proud of you." I replied knowing that she was doing a lot of this for their sake.
"They always are." I could hear the smile in her voice. "Almost overly so."
I felt a quiet storm kick up inside of me. I hadn't received that kind of support in years. If I had, it's likely things today would be different. But, it had just been me and my father ever since my mother...
I dropped my eyes, sinking into my thoughts, only to see that Jiro and Jenna were looking back over their shoulders towards us. This probably didn't look the best to Jiro, but I'm not in a position to explain. I couldn't even smile or wink to her with Jenna also looking. Why is she even looking over here?
"Let's get ready for the next match!" Present Mic's booming voice cut through all other noise.
"First up: We have the shy guy with tough stuff, Izuku Midoriya of class 1-A!" The crowd seemed excited to watch what more he could do, seeing as he hadn't used his quirk even once today; but still placed first in the race, and survived the flag tag against all odds.
"And opposing him is his fellow classmate and cold blooded contender, son of Endeavor: Shoto Todoroki!" The metaphorical light bulb went on in my head. They aren't going to announce my connection to my father right? That would wreck the low profile I've been trying to keep.
"Begin!" Shouted Mic at full volume.
Todoroki launched an ice assault just like we saw in his other fight. It raced across the stage at Deku who made a… flicking motion?
A wave of force ripped out, shattering the ice, throwing his opponent back, and sending a strong gust into the stands.
Was that how his quirk could function at higher levels?! That was an immense amount of power with just one finger, which looking closer seemed badly damaged.
Shoto, however, had used his ice behind him to stop himself from being thrown out of bounds. A smart and rapid response, but it made things look worse for Deku. He needed to avoid getting too close because of how fast the ice could move and trap him. But, staying far away meant he would just have to endure hit after hit.
This happened several more times before Todoroki took to the offensive and moved towards Midoriya. Deku had to keep his hand held up to fend off a direct attack, which worked well enough.
After some maneuvering Shoto sent out a new ice barrage which threatened to engulf Midoriya from the leg up. As it reached his foot, I saw him draw his left arm backwards. It was an odd form of strike that seemed familiar despite having no place in trained hand to hand combat.
He punched out, shattering the attack with an even more concussive blast than before. That level of power was multiplicative of the attack earlier, and the definitive pop of the air reminded me of why it seemed familiar.
In all of my father's time as a hero: Only a handful of people ever used quirks which manipulated air so aggressively, and only one had ever used their physical form to do it like that... All Might.
Of course! The world's greatest hero was technically a brawler despite how he seemed on TV. None of his strikes ever had to be technical because if they did connect: The fight was over. And if they didn't hit: The air force alone would stagger the opponent leaving them open to any other hit.
So, Izuku Midoriya has a quirk like his; just without the buffer to impact damage. Were they related somehow? Secret lovechild? No, that wouldn't explain why the only aspect of his power that was different was a missing piece. If anything he'd be more diverse. Perhaps his uncle? That could explain why his father wasn't a hero. Not many people would want to use their quirk if it broke their bones. That would also explain why they are so informal with each other, compared to a typical teacher-student relationship.
I checked Todoroki again. He had caught himself again, but it had taken much more ice this time. He was even looking worn out and cold as he sat against the icy wall. Is his body not immune to the cold it produces? Then why...?
Just then, Midoriya shouted at the chilly teen. "It's yours! Your quirk! Not his!"
His? Was he talking about Todoroki's father, Endeavor? Is there something going on there that gives him a reason to not use Endeavor's fire quirk? We all knew he could use fire, but none of us had ever really seen him use it.
The two stared in silence at each other for a short time before Shoto stood. He relaxed his shoulders and the ice buildup steamed away almost immediately.
Was Midoriya stalling the fight so that he could fight the hero's son at full power? That's ballsy, and very stupid from a publicity perspective.
Another frozen wave rushed at Izuku. Again he broke it, but this time using fingers that he had already damaged. They looked an awful mix of purple and black. How much was he willing to hurt himself for a single school match?
"That's right, Shoto! Use my power and show the whole world how superior I have made you to any other hero ever seen before!" Cut in the gravelly voice of Endeavor from the stand. Shoto didn't react, but I did, inside.
He said, "How superior I have MADE you". Is Endeavor just another power hungry hero? Is he really just like my father?
A memory resurfaced, "You have everything you need to be a perfect hero because I MADE you!" Came the voice of the "great" Blasting Zone after yet another "life lesson".
Finally, they both locked eyes and began to power up. The quirk activations racing to full speed from what I could see. Even the teachers were yelling now, desperate to stop what was about to happen. Midnight ripped her suit and Cementoss slammed his hands down onto the stage forming huge barrier walls.
Midoriya's strike hit one side of the many walls while Todoroki fused his fire and ice into a gigantic compression explosion on the opposite side. I had to divert my gaze from the glaring brightness. Ochako had done the same and we knocked heads slightly.
When I looked back, it was all over. Izuku was down on the grass after crashing into the back wall of the arena, far out of bounds. Shoto however was lying against another ice barricade, hastily set up to stop a similar outcome.
"The winner is: Shoto Todoroki!" Midnight announced as she waved her whip in his direction.
The medical team came in and scooped up both boys for care. The outcome was what I had expected, but definitely not in the way I had imagined. I am glad it turned out like this though, since it gave me the most information possible. Even lots of things I'd like to know more about. Soon, if possible.
I stood up, stretching and getting ready for my upcoming fight when Uraraka spoke suddenly.
"Are you going to go check on Deku too?"
"Huh? Oh uhmmm... Yes." I replied hesitantly. It wasn't my intent, but I may as well since I needed to go downstairs and wanted to see if I could get some answers.
"Let's head down there then!" She said with conviction, her energy returning.
I nodded, walking down the outside section. I cut a path for Jiro and entered the row behind her before turning for the tunnel. I ran a single finger over her shoulder and up her neck into her hair, making sure no one could see. She shuttered a little and I could see her smile ever so slightly.
I had just barely joined Ochako in the tunnel when I heard a female voice call to me, "Decklin!"
We both turned and could see Jenna jogging towards us.
"Uhh, hey. Do you... have a second?" She asked, uncharacteristically avoiding eye contact.
"I... guess?" I spoke, turning back to Uraraka. "You should go, I'll be right behind you."
Ochako tilted her head and gave a soft wave. Surely I'd get questions about this later. Maybe from more than one person since Jenna had chased me here from the seating area.
"What's up? Everything alright?" I asked.
"Y-yeah. I... just wanted to wish you luck out there." Jenna answered, still not looking at me.
"Oh. Thank... you?"
"It's not like I'm going to be your personal cheerleader or anything..." She trailed off, beginning to stroke her long blonde hair; the red stripe intermixing as she moved. "But I will be cheering, you know, for you or whatever."
"Personally cheering?" I joked.
She huffed and kicked me in the shin. "I'm trying to be nice, jerk!"
"Owww." I overplayed the pain, rubbing my leg and laughing.
We stood in silence before I spoke again. "Thank you though. Seriously."
She looked up at me, almost shocked. "I... well... just... yeah." She stammered before running back to the stands. What a bizarre girl.
By the time I caught up with Uraraka the door to the med room was closing. All I could see was a slender, pale man with frayed blonde hair, and dark eyes. Then the door closed completely.
"What's going on? Why are you out here?" I questioned.
Uraraka turned, frazzled, "They- She- Recovery Girl said she had to take Deku into surgery!"
"Surgery?!" I shouted too loudly.
"There are some bone fragments she has to remove before she can heal him." She explained.
"Damn." I swore under my breath as my teeth and fists clenched tight. This would be the perfect time to call Patch, but I can't just bring strange medics into the staff rooms.
"And that's all she wrote folks!" Boomed Mic. "Another match is over in a flash!"
"Shit!" I swore again.
A hand touched my arm. "You should go, you're up next. Nothing we can do but wait to hear more." Said Uraraka.
"You're right..." I said with a sigh. "I'll be right back up to the stands."
With that I turned and ran to the tunnel leading to the field, passing Iida on the way with a smile and a high five.
"Stay safe out there! And do your best!" He called after me.
"Thank you, everyone." I thought to myself as the on-deck light turned green and I strolled into the sun.
"Here he is Ladies and gentlemen: coming off a stellar win against a difficult opponent, and right into another fight with a classmate! The unstoppable storm that is Decklin Finn!" Introduced Mic.
Much to my relief he avoided any personal details in favor of flair for the dramatic. The crowd gave a healthy roar.
"And here comes the pink devil herself: Mina Ashido! Will she be just another stop on the trip to the top, or will her potent acid melt down her challenger?" Another good cheering came down, though not as loud if I gauge it myself.
"Ready?" Mic gained volume, "begin!" He concluded with such volume that it shook the arena.
She was essentially in slow motion, gathering acid to throw and running my way. With a steady exhale my hand came up and I felt my eyes chill over.
Mina abruptly fell to the ground, acid splattering, eating into her clothes and the concrete all the same as she gripped her head and began to scream in pain. I winced, but kept her in my sight, and kept my hand raised. It was only maybe a second of writhing in total before her body went limp and she blacked out.
The stadium was deadly silent for a moment before the arena built into an eruption of applause. I don't feel good about it. I didn't want to cause her such pain, but there still isn't any way for me to know just how much it will take to crash someone, and I don't want to do immense damage to her brain.
"Woah! In a record setting bout: Decklin has proven he doesn't need to get hands on at all! Winner: Decklin Finn!" Commentated Mic.
I turned to leave and could already see my father in the shadows. I certainly don't need this now, but what choice do I have?
I walked off the stage and into the tunnel, already talking at him. "Good enough for you?"
He shrugged, "Could have been faster, but you made the point."
"Did you want me to put her in a coma?" I retorted, angrily.
He picked me up by my shirt over my chest and shoved me against the back wall hard enough to take my breath away. "Don't be insubordinate now! You only have to win two more fights to walk away from this with a fucking gold medal!"
I was so focused on him that I didn't even see Patch. A slim, but built man in a suit that looks like a military doctor got dressed with the SWAT team. His black hair hanging over his round glasses, trademark surgical mask over his mouth.
Patch's hand gripped the left side of my head and my vision went black in my left eye. Searing pain as my eye was taken apart and "patched" back together. The sting, the fatigue, and the cold was gone, but I was too pessimistic to be happy about that. I knew it was only half over.
While my father held me against the wall, despite my fighting: Patch walked to the other side and repeated the process with my right eye. I nearly blacked out from the pain part way through, feeling my body seize against the persistent overstimulation.
I let out a gasp for air and was dropped onto all fours on the ground. Tears streamed out despite the pain being over. "I was fine! I didn't need this!" I shouted at the concrete.
"Like hell you didn't. You'd have never made it through a long third match." He said disdainfully at me. "All this potential and you never learn your limits."
They walked away, not even waiting for me to stand. Without them around, I didn't. There was no reason for me to stand if I'm just by myself. But I wasn't.
"Dude! Hey! Are you okay?" Yelled a masculine voice. It was Kirishima at my side. He quickly threw an arm under me and hoisted me to my feet.
"I'm... I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I said, pushing him off of me and propping my back against the wall.
He was looking down the hallway and still ready to catch me. "Who the hell were those guys?! Should I call for security?"
"No!" I shouted. "No... It's fine. That's just... my old man."
I heard his breath escape his mouth. "That? That was your dad?! What the hell was he doing?"
"Oh you know, classic pep talk." I grimaced, looking down the empty hallway.
"Was he... wearing a hero costume?" He asked, looking in the same direction as me.
"Yeah... Real heroic, right?" I spat.
He stared back at me in silence for a moment longer than I was comfortable with, so I spoke again. "You're going to be late for your big entrance."
He looked down towards the stage, his light flashing as they waited for the contenders to take the ready position.
"Just try to put on a good show. These last couple fights have been over too quick for TV." I joked, with a fake smile.
He swallowed hard and stepped back. "We'll talk about this later, 'kay?" He said clearly, extending his fist outward.
I gave him a solid fist bump and a nod. I wasn't going to say we would. Hopefully he'd forget with all the excitement going on today.
I took my time heading back to the seating, having forgotten saying: I'd be back soon. By the time I reached our section, Deku was already back with his arms in casts. Clearly the surgery went fine. Good.
"Decklin!" Uraraka exclaimed. "There you are! The semi-final are about to start and we hadn't seen you yet."
I looked to the board. Kirishima had lost against Bakugo; not overly surprising given their skill levels and quirks. Next up was Todoroki vs Iida. No doubt Shoto will win if Iida misses his chance with a first big attack. After that, it's me and Bakugo.
Can't say I'm overly confident with the pairing. He has big area of effect attacks that I can't necessarily defend against. The explosions produce lots of energy for me to manipulate, but the smoke is inert and the blasts are very rapid. My best chance is a fast takedown, after that it will be touch and go.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I walked back up into the seating without ever responding. I slipped around a couple people and nearly bumped into Jenna who was standing in between me and Jiro.
"Uh... What?" I asked, confused.
She furrowed her brow and tapped me on the forehead. "What are you doing in there?"
I rubbed my head. "I've just... got some things on my mind right now."
She cocked her head to the side and relaxed slightly. "Wanna talk about it?"
"God no." I immediately replied, flatly. Not thinking about the context.
She flinched a little backwards, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."
I reached out to her, "No, it's not... Oh god my head!" I wavered. I'd never had this much compound mental stress. Patch couldn't fix mental fatigue or burnout. I had been running on fumes for two weeks with only a short night of rest.
"Decklin?" She said, concerned this time.
I dropped sloppily to the nearby bench seating and slumped over. My body was fine, but my consciousness had taken about all that it could without a break.
Things faded out as I saw several faces turn to look at me.