"Shotoooo! So you've finally accepted it! Yes! Excellent! It all starts for you now! With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me. You will fulfill my ambitions!" Endeavor shouted, his cheer sounding more like a threat to me.
"A sudden pep talk from Mr. Endeavor, huh? What a doting parent." Present Mic spoke, but it didn't matter. I was finally getting my fight.
"What are you smiling about? In this situation, you must be crazy. It's not my problem what happens to you now." Todoroki told me, and in that moment, we understood one another, preparing the biggest attacks we could and rushing at each other.
I powered up to one hundred percent, my body flickering with green electricity, Todoroki using a fire attack that made his last one look like a lighter compared to a nuclear explosion.
Five thick walls of concrete separated us thanks to Cementoss, but we still decimated them, the cold air getting super heated and expanding, an explosion of raw power rocking the stadium before just as suddenly as it happened, it was over.
"What the? What's with your class!?" Present Mic asked, Aizawa answering calmly.
"All that chilled air was heated in an instant, making it expand."
"What a blast, though! And this heat! I can't see a thing! Has the match been decided?!" Mic asked as Todoroki and I slowly came into view, the both of us standing, out of breath and tired, but the match wasn't over yet, even with my chest was covered in fresh burns.
"You've pushed me beyond all my limits. But I can't keep going like this. Sorry Todoroki, but I'll end this quick!" I taunted, my body hurting, electricity flickering once more as I moved behind him again, this time grabbing his arm and slinging him over to the stadium wall, Todoroki making an ice ramp to try and stay in the competition before falling over, tumbling onto the grass.
"Todoroki is out-of-bounds! Midoriya moves on to the third round!" Mic called as I took in as much air as I could. My entire body hurt, but I had to keep moving, putting on a show.
I took a few seconds to pull myself together before walking over to Todoroki, making sure he was okay before medi-bots took him to Recovery Girls' temporary office.
"Good show, and a good sport, folks! Give it up for Izuku Midoriya!" Mic called as I walked off, stopping long enough to find some water and pour on the burns over my body before heading to Recovery Girl too.
"Every year, I'm left putting you students back together." She grumbled as she worked, giving me the little bit of healing I needed and some candy.
"Go on now, your classmate will be fine. He just needs rest." She told me, and I wondered how badly I'd hurt Todoroki.
"Yeah... okay. No offense, but I hope this is the last time I gotta get patched up." I smiled, heading back out to find my friends.
"Midoriya!" Iida called while Kirishima and Bakugou fought in the arena below.
"Man, I missed the Iida vs. Shiozaki and Mina vs. Tokoyami." I looked up at the bracket.
"Yeah, my acid didn't do much against Dark Shadow." Mina told me, sitting a seat above me, leaning down with a sigh and laying on me.
"Yeah? I guess being able to be intangible works out in his favor. Top eight thought, you did better than most everyone else." I looked up, bending my neck so I could whisper.
"I got you a gift." I told her, looking up as Mic announced that Bakugou had managed to overcome Kirishimas' defenses.
"Damn, I guess that the last fight for this round... man, kinda not looking forward to this next one." I grumbled, standing and stretching.
As Iida and I walked down to the field, joking and laughing, the conversation quickly got serious.
"Midoriya, I must ask you not to hold back for the sake of our friendship." He asked me, and I thought about it.
"Sure, but that means you can't hold back either." I told him, putting my hands behind my head as we walked out.
"It's a battle between friends! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Iida Tenya, coming from a renowned hero family and Izuku Midoriya, the hero courses rising star!" Present Mic announcing our arrival.
I held out my fist, Iida looking at it before bumping it with a determined nod.
"Start!"
We took off towards one another, but as fast as I was, Iida was faster, kicking me in the side and sending me flying.
"I'll end this quickly! Recipro Burst!" He yelled, his engines billowing flames before rushing at me, getting another kick in on me, this time sending me towards the edge as I closed my eyes, embracing the nothingness and flicking my fingers, rocketing towards him before stopping myself.
"I won't lose that easily! I said I'd go all our, and I wasn't lying!" I shot upwards, flicking my fingers until I was firmly out of his reach, further up until the landing would do some damage to the arena.
"On the fly special move, shooting star!" I yelled, needing a moment to charge my fist, throwing both of them towards the sky and sending me shooting towards the ground, smashing the arena and throwing Iida back with it.
"Four seconds!" He yelled, getting up and running at me with that insane speed before I went full power, dodging his attacks as his legs began to sputter until he moved at normal human speeds, fighting until the end, when I grabbed his leg and tripped him, dragging him to the edge as he kicked and struggled, getting a few solid hits in on my back and legs before throwing him out, breathing heavily. His speed had kept me on my toes. Much more, and I'd have lost for sure.
"Izuku Midoriya will move to the final round!" Midnight called, and I helped Iida to his feet.
"I gave you all I had, and even then you almost one. That just goes to show that you've got so much raw potential. I can't wait to fight you again, Iida." I smiled, the two of us walking away, me to the prep room to get ready, and Iida to the stands.
"Okay, Midoriya. This is it. You know who's gonna come out on top of this next fight. You know what you have to do for All Might. Just win this. You got this." I told myself, looking in the mirror and sighing. As much as I wanted to fight Bakugou and prove how strong I was to the world, there was still some part of me that wanted to forgive him and pretend we could still be friends.
I closed my eyes and sat until it was time, ignoring everything as I hyped myself up.
Once the time came, I got up and walked back out into the arena, waiting for Bakugou by bouncing on my toes.
"At last, we've arrived!! The best of the best of U.A.'s first years will be decided. It's the final match, Midoriya vs. Bakugou! Start now!" Mic called, and I powered up to one hundred percent, dodging the first few barrages, before ripping my shirt off and throwing it to the side.
"Look at me! Every day, I wake up with my flesh marred by your hand! Let them see what you've done, "hero!" I screamed, watching cameras zone in on me, then to his stunned face before it turned to one of pure rage.
"Let the country see the man they're expected to love one day!" I was really pushing it now, but I didn't care. A chance to embarrass him on national television? Of course, I took it. I'd been holding this grudge for years.
The crowd began to mutter, some cheering for me, but not a soul was there for Bakugou now. Who'd want a violent maniac as a sidekick?
"Let them see you lose." I told him, moving behind him, hitting him in his ribs before moving, hitting him every time I did, enjoying this feeling far too much than I should have.
"Damn nerd! I won't lose to you!" He tried to blast me, but I was moving at random, before I brought my hands down on his head, making him fall.
"Get. Up. You're embarrassing yourself, Bakugou. " I smirked, using the seventh users quirk and slowly rising upwards.
"Fight me like a man!" He roared, using explosions to create smoke, but all I had to was flick the smoke away.
"You don't want me to do that." I assured him, dropping on the ground as he built up a blast, unleashing an explosive fury like this stadium had never seen. But I had, using my speed to move next to him.
"That it?" I asked, my elbow resting on his shoulder before moving out the way of another blast.
"Admit it. You're just jealous that it wasn't you. That I got this strong, and you got left in the dust. Admit that you hate me not because I'm a weak deku, but I'm a stronger man than you." I taunted, and he exploded, using his explosions to keep up with my speed, needing to focus power in my legs just to keep up.
"Admit it, and maybe I'll let you be my sidekick someday!" That did it. He gave more, pushing his limits to get to me, his hand in my face before I could dodge, blasting me with power like I'd never felt before. Well, at least not from him. The explosion Todoroki and I'd created earlier still dwarfed this one.
He was panting, the smoke rising as I walked towards him.
"Good show. But not good enough." Told him, shaking ash out of my hair.
"Dammit! Just die already!" He roared, holding his right arm. He'd pushed himself too far.
I leaned down and whispered to him, "Thanks to you, I've tried." And his eyes widened, actual tears filling them as he fell to his knees. I'd told him what he needed to hear.
"I was a dumb kid. I still am. Izuku, I swear, I'm sorry for how I treated you, I'm trying to be better now." He told me in-between sobs, and I felt guilt eating me. Kacchan being a better man? A nicer one? Was that why he'd been ignoring me completely these last two weeks?
"Get up. We owe these people a spectacle, Kacchan." I told him, offering him my hand.
He looked up at my hand. "What are you doing?"
"You looked like you could use help."
He looked a few seconds longer, taking the help up.
"Back to our starting positions. We'll give "em something to watch, that's for damn sure." He told me, both of us getting ready and looking at Midnight.
"Uh? Start?" She spoke, looking confused before we rushed each other, a blast hitting me in the side as I punched him in the stomach, both of us getting knocked back, only managing to stay in the ring with his explosions and my floating.
"This is all I ever wanted! A fair fight, equal ground!" I yelled, lowering the amount of power I using. My body was begging to rest, and the last thing I needed was to start cramping uncontrollably in the middle of a match.
"Fine! I was angry! Jealous, it wasn't me! But I didn't like being lied to! I was pissed you didn't tell me!" He told me, blasting himself over and preparing a blast, something in his hurt arm, throwing it at me before blasting with all his might, the explosion nothing for me to worry about before whatever he'd thrown ignited, exploding with a force I wasn't ready for, hitting me harder than anything I've ever experienced.
It took powering up to one hundred percent to endure it, but I was still thrown back, and I was sure I'd lost, a great anger inside me, at myself for losing, but some was happening, black tendrils shooting out my hand and planting themselves in the ground, keeping me from going out of the ring until the smoke lifted, Bakugou and I both exhausted, and the tendrils disappearing just as quickly as they'd come, needing to use float to keep myself from falling and flicking away from the edge.
"Can you keep going?" I asked, my lungs on fire as I swallowed air
"Screw you." He replied, both his arms beginning to bruise heavily as he fell forward, huffing for breath like I was, and it was then I noticed his shoes were gone. He must have used the sweat in them to boost his last explosion.
As gross as that was, I was the only one standing, and Bakugou couldn't get up, no matter how much he struggled to.
"Katsuki Bakugou is unable to continue! The winner of the tournament and Sports Festival is class 1-As break out star, Izuku Midoriya!" Present Mic yelled as I walked over to Bakugou and helped him to his feet and down to the medi-bots that would take him to Recovery Girl, a short break happening while I stumbled off, heading to find All Might. I did it. I'd gotten my fair fight, I didn't... I didn't hate Bakugou anymore. Well, there was a bit of leftover anger, but years of pain wouldn't just stop after one friendly conversation in the middle of a competition.
"Midoriya! Izu-kun!" Voices called, and I could see Mina and Uraraka right up to the point I passed out
I woke up in Recovery Girls office, my body aching, but it wasn't anything too severe.
"Good, you're awake. The award ceremony is happening soon." All Might told me, his true form standing over me.
"Award ceremony? Wait... I won... I did it All Might! I won! I actually won!" I laughed and cried a little bit, wiping my tears at the proud look on All Mights face.
"He should be resting, but since he has no lasting injuries, it wouldn't hurt him to let him go to the ceremony. Drink plenty of water, though. You had minor dehydration when you came in." Recovery Girl told me, unhooking the iv from my arm, a fresh shirt by the bed for me.
"Hurry along, kid, I've got to ready myself." All Might told me, moving back so I could get up, putting the shirt on.
"You? Oh man, are you doing the award ceremony?" I asked, adjusting the shirt.
"Indeed. No run along kid." He told me, shooing me off.
I made my way out to the award stage, Tokoyami and Bakugou already up on the platform already.
"Now, let's move on to the awards ceremony!" Midnight called, the crowd getting riled up. Maybe that's why they put her on the first year stage to boost ratings since the other years did better numbers.
"In third place, we have Tokoyami and Iida, but Iida was forced to leave early due to a family emergency. We hope you all understand. Now for the medals! Presenting them this year is... you know who!"
All Might lept out from God knows where and landed down. "I am here with the medals!"
"He's everyone's hero! All Might!" Midnight cheered, seeing him made me realize just how much further I could push myself. If he was that strong, how much more could I do?
As he slid the medal over Tokoyamis head, he spoke to him. "Congratulations , Tokoyami, kid! You're a strong one! But relying on your strength won't be enough to overcome a bad match-up. Hone your innate strength to open a world of opportunity." He told him, Tokoyami just saying he understood, getting a pat on the back before he moved to Bakugou, sliding his medal over his head.
"Bakugou, kid. Congratulations. Second place is no joke. From what I've seen just since the beginning of the school year, you've become incredibly strong. Keep it up, and you'll be one of the greats." He told him, patting him on the back as well.
"I'll be the best! Better than even you All Might!" He roared, All Might just nodding as he moved to me, and suddenly it dawned on me that the entire country was watching this.
"And finally, Midoriya! You've lived up to your promise wonderfully. Congratulations on this achievement." He put the medal over my shoulders, and I raised my hand left fist over my head, swallowing back my nerves.
"I got this far because I want to be a hero who saves people with a smile, and so I could tell the world, "I am here!" I told him, getting a pat on the back like others.
"Well, these are your winners! But hold on, everyone! Everyone here has the potential to be standing up here! As you all witnessed! Competition! Encouragement! Pushing each other to climb higher and higher. The sprouts of today will grow into the heroes of tomorrow. In that spirit, let's have one final cheer! Everyone say it with me! One, two, and... Thanks for the hard work!"
As he thanked us for our hard work, literally everyone else said plus ultra.
"We're supposed to say "plus ultra" All Might!!" Midnight told him, shaking a finger in his direction.
"Oh... right. It's just that they really did work so hard..." the hulking hero told us, pushing his fingers together a little embarrassed.
We went back to class, Aizawa waiting for us with an announcement.
"In light of the festival, you'll have tomorrow and the next day off. Scouting reports and such from the pros will be waiting for you here after the break. So look forward to that as you enjoy your time off." He told us, and we all just sat back and relaxed a little, a new chapter of our hero academia waiting for us.