Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Mario Characters, or My Hero Academia characters.
Chapter 15: The Fighting Tournament
Mario and Luigi were helping the teachers prepare the field for the next event by putting away the karts and the box that held the arena. While they were doing this, the students had all gathered to talk.
"Man, that last event was so intense but fun!"
Uraraka said.
"Indeed. I never expected this kind of event from our teachers. I'm curious as to what the next event will be."
Iida said.
"I don't know, but I bet it'll be exciting! Hey, where's Deku?"
"He was here a moment ago. Where did he go?"
"Maybe he's at the cafeteria already. Then let's go join him."
Uraraka and Iida took off not knowing that Midoriya was not in the cafeteria. In a hallway labeled staff only, Midoriya was standing on the opposite side of Todoroki. Todoroki had dragged Midoriya here right after the winning teams were announced. They just stood in silence for a moment.
"Midoriya."
Todoroki said, getting Midoriya's attention.
"There's something that's been on my mind now. It has to do with your relation with All Might."
"Oh no, did he figure it out?"
Midoriya thought. He was afraid that Todoroki had discovered his and All Might's secret.
"Tell me, are you All Might's secret love child?"
"Huh? What!?"
Midoriya was shocked by Todoroki's question.
"Well?"
"What, no! We look nothing alike. Plus my father is working overseas right now. That's not the kind of relation me and All Might have."
"I see, but you do have a relation then."
Midoriya cursed himself out for that. He shouldn't have said that last part.
"If it's something you can't talk about, then I won't pry into it any further. Just know, that this gives me even more reason to beat you."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know the number two hero, Endeavor?"
"Yeah. Wait, what does he have to do with this?"
"He's my father, though he doesn't deserve the title. He spent his whole life trying to beat All Might. But when he couldn't, he figured he would make an heir that could."
"You mean?"
"Yep, I'm that heir he created."
"How?"
"Have you heard of quirk marriages?"
"Yeah, when quirks first appeared many high-standing families tried to find partners with compatible quirks so their children could be strong. But the practice has been outlawed for years now. Still, some are made in secret to this day. Wait, don't tell me."
"Endeavor is a scumbag, but he's managed to make a name for himself as the number two hero and has the wealth to get what he wants. He bought my mother just to get his hands on her quirk. In every memory I have of her, she's crying. One day it was too much, and she snapped. She called my left side unbearable and poured hot water on my face, giving me this scar."
"Todoroki, I..."
"Ever since then, I refuse to be a tool for that piece of trash. I will deny him, by winning this festival with only my mother's quirk."
Midoriya just stood in silence at this revelation. He didn't know Todoroki had such a terrible past. Midoriya couldn't help but compare the reasons why they were competing. Todoroki was like a comic book hero with a tragic backstory, trying his best to rise above it.
"Well, that's all I wanted to say Midoriya. Sorry for taking your time."
Todoroki began to walk out of the hallway.
"Wait!"
Todoroki turned to Midoriya who had a look of determination on his face.
"I can't say that I understand where you're coming from, nor can I say that my reasons to fight are better or worse than yours. But I'm going to give it everything I have out there. So you'll have to do the same Todoroki because I'm not backing down, no matter what. So many people have helped me get to where I am now. I owe it to them to win. You declared war on me earlier, well, back at you. I'm going to beat you Todoroki."
Midoriya and Todoroki stared at each other for a few moments before Todoroki turned and left. Midoriya followed soon after, but unbeknownst to the two, someone was watching. Bakugo came from around the corner having heard everything. He scowled a bit before he left for the field. Midoriya had just entered the field and was confused by what he saw. The girls were staring at Kaminari and Mineta, but they had grins on their faces like they were planning something.
"Hey, Uraraka, what's going on?"
"Oh, hey Deku! Nothing, just, we have something planned for Kaminari and Mineta."
"What? And why?"
"Well, you see."
Flashback
The girls were in the cafeteria sitting with Peach and Eri. They were discussing the events and gushing over how cute Eri was.
"Hello, there ladies. Might I say how lovely you all look right now?"
Kaminari said while he and Mineta walked in.
"What do you want Kaminari?"
Jiro asked in annoyance.
"No need to be so hostile Jiro. We just came to give you a message from Aizawa."
"What message?"
Yaoyorozu asked.
"About the show he wants the class to put on. You know, to show some U.A. spirit for the crowd."
"Oh, okay, that makes sense. What's the show?"
"Cheerleaders!"
Kaminari and Mineta said in unison.
"C-C-Cheerleaders!?"
The girls asked in shock.
"Yeah, we are at a sports festival after all. What better way to show school spirit than a group of cheerleaders from U.A.'s hero course?"
"But why didn't he tell us about this Kaminari?"
"We just managed to catch him in passing. He was dragged by Present Mic to be an announcer for the festival after all. It was just a fortunate coincidence."
Mineta answered. The girls were pondering about this when Mineta noticed Peach nearby.
"Oh, and he also asked that you join them as well Peach."
"What? He did?"
"Yeah, since you're a new teacher. He thinks this is the best way to show that you are fully committed to the school."
Kaminari added.
"Is that so?"
Kaminari and Mineta were confident that the girls and Peach would go through with this. But Peach pulled out her cell phone.
"Let me just verify this with Aizawa myself then."
Both of Mineta's and Kaminar's faces morphed into a look of shock. They tried to stop Peach before she could make the call.
"There's no need! Just trust us on this!"
Kaminari said with a worried smile.
"Hmm? Why are you against Peach asking Aizawa herself Kaminari?"
Jiro said in a suspicious tone.
"Well, because, um, oh! Because he's taking a nap!"
Mineta answered. Kaminari nodded with him hoping to still convince the ladies to dress up as cheerleaders.
"Yeah, that's right! He was going to take a nap after the events. You don't want to bother him now do you?"
The two boys expected this to convince Peach to stop trying to contact Aizawa and believe them, but it just made things worse.
"Oh right, Aizawa did say that. So, if he was going to take a nap, then how did he tell you two about this show he wanted, hmm?"
The girls looked at the two, slowly getting angry at their attempts to trick them into wearing scantily cheerleader outfits.
"Um, well, you see, uh. Oh, hi Aizawa."
Everyone turned to see no one in the direction Kaminari was waving at. When they looked back Mineta and Kaminari were running down the halls.
"You sleaze bags!"
Jiro yelled while shaking her fist in anger. Peach placed her hand on Jiro's shoulder to calm her down.
"That's enough now."
"But!"
"It's alright. We managed to see through their plan before they succeeded, so no harm was done. Besides, I have a plan to get back at them."
"Really?"
"Yes, Uraraka. It was just for Mineta because of what he did during the obstacle course, but now I'll add Kaminari to it."
Yaoyorozu shivered a bit, remembering what had happened. But she was happy Peach had a plan to deal with that tiny pervert. Peach brought all the girls into a huddle and whispered her plan to them. When she was done, they all had Cheshire grins on their faces.
"I like that plan Peach. Ribbit."
"That's good Tsu, because I'll need all of your help to make it work."
"You can count on us!"
The girls said in unison.
Back to the present
"And that's what happened."
"Wow. I can't believe they would try to pull something like that here. Good thing Peach was there to help see through their plans. It would've been embarrassing to dress like that in front of all these people."
"Yeah. I don't think I would've looked that good in all honesty."
"Huh? What do you mean Uraraka? You would've looked great! I think you would have been a great cheerleader."
Uraraka stared at Midoriya before she turned away to hide her blushing face.
"Oh, Deku! You don't have to flatter me so much!"
"But, I was just being honest."
Midoriya was confused by Uraraka's actions, but before he could dwell on it, Midnight called all the remaining contestants to the center of the field.
"Alright! Now that the breaks are over, let's decide the next event!"
The holographic board appeared behind her and the roulette of games spun. It spun a bit before landing on the next event.
"One-on-One Fighting Tournament! How exciting! Now we will determine the brackets. Lottery drawings will choose all the slots."
"Makes sense."
Midoriya said as he watched the brackets form. He was in the first match against Hitoshi Shinso.
"Hitoshi Shinso? Wait, isn't that the person who was teamed up with Ojiro?"
Midoriya said to himself. As he was pondering this Shinso walked up to him.
"Hey, you're Midoriya, right? Let's have a good fight, okay?"
Midoriya was about to answer, but Ojiro stopped him with his tail.
"Don't answer him Midoriya."
Ojiro said. Midoriya was confused by what Ojiro was doing.
"Right. Of course, you would be wary of me."
Shinso just laughed it off and walked away.
"What was that for Ojiro?"
"It's his quirk. I'll explain later."
The next match was chosen and it was Mashirao Ojiro versus Shoto Todoroki.
"Ah, crud."
"I wonder if this counts as karma?"
Shinso wondered having seen Todoroki's strength. The third match was Tenya Iida versus Mei Hatsume. The fourth match was Ochaco Uraraka versus Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. The fifth match was Katsuki Bakugo versus Setsuna Tokage.
"Huh? Who the hell is that?"
Bakugo asked.
"Over here, boom boy."
Bakugo turned to see one of the students from 1-B.
"Oh, another extra."
"Such an arrogant attitude. I can't wait to knock you down a few pegs."
"Tch, whatever."
The sixth match was Ejiro Kirishima versus Itsuka Kendo. The seventh match was Juzo Honenuki Mezo Shoji. And finally, the eighth match was Fumikage Tokoyami versus Momo Yaoyorozu.
"Now then, will the next competitors please wait in the waiting rooms? The rest of the competitors please return to your seats until it is your turn to compete."
With that, everyone left to their designated areas. Midoriya went with Ojiro to the waiting room so he could hear what Ojiro wanted to tell him.
"Okay, so what's up Ojiro? Why didn't you want me to answer Shinso?"
"It's his quirk Midoriya. He has some kind of brainwashing quirk that activates once you answer him."
"Is that how he got you to join his team?"
"No. The truth is, I didn't have much of a choice. Everyone was already paired up so I had to join him or be disqualified. But I saw his quirk in action. Once he has you in his grasp, you can't escape unless he lets you go, or you're hit by an outside force."
"I see. Ojiro, while I'm grateful you told me this, I also wish you hadn't."
"Huh? Why?"
"Think about it Ojiro. This is Shinso's chance to make it into the hero course. Imagine if you were in his shoes, you were giving it your all to make it into the hero course and someone ruined it by spilling your secrets. How would that make you feel?"
"I, I see your point. I just thought I'd warn you since he has a villainous quirk."
This made Midoriya frown.
"Ojiro, there is no such thing as a villainous quirk. It's the person, using a quirk for evil purposes is what makes someone a villain, not the quirk itself. That's nothing more than discrimination. Again, what if someone called you a villain because of your quirk? Something beyond your control. How would you feel?"
"Once again, you're right. I'm sorry Midoriya."
"It's not me you should be apologizing to."
"Yeah."
Before they could continue, Midnight announced that the arena was ready and for the competitors to enter the arena. Ojiro left for his seat and Midoriya left for the arena. Ojiro had a lot to think about thanks to Midoriya. He didn't like it, but Midoriya was right. His actions were selfish and not that of a hero. He just hoped he would have the chance to make things right with Shinso later. In the arena created by Cementoss during the break, Midoriya and Shinso entered from opposite sides.
"All right, now let's start the fighting tournament! The rules are simple, you keep fighting until one person is knocked out, gives up, is immobilized, or is knocked out of the ring. Now then, if our announcer will introduce our competitors."
"Hello everyone! It's Present Mic, here with Erasure Head, Vlad King, Mario, and Peach to bring you more hot commentary! Our first competitor is a plain-looking student with surprising power and tactics. It's Izuku Midoriya from Class 1-A!"
Midoriya just waved nervously at the crowd as they cheered for him.
"And our next competitor. A dark horse who has made his way here without revealing his quirk. From general studies, it's Hitoshi Shinso!"
Shinso just smiled as the crowds cheered.
"Alright, now you two know the rules. Are you ready?"
Midoriya and Shinso nodded to Midnight.
"BEGIN!"
She announced. Midoriya got into a fighting stance, but Shinso just stood there.
"Man, this is nerve-racking."
Shinso said confusing Midoriya.
"I'm going against the guy who got first in the entrance exam. Plus all that power you have at your disposal. It's unfair to me, but you have no idea what that's like, do you?"
Midoriya was about to respond, but he stopped himself, remembering Shinso's quirk.
"He's trying to make me talk. I can't answer him or else I'll be brainwashed."
Midoriya thought. Shinso noticed the look in Midoriya's eyes and groaned.
"That tail kid must have told him about my quirk. This is going to be harder than I thought."
While this would make things difficult for Shinso, he was not perturbed. He just had to find the right words, and that's when he remembered where he had seen Midoriya before.
"You were there when that sludge villain attacked, right? Good thing All Might was there to save you. It was a stupid move to rush at the villain like you did."
Still nothing.
"Okay, personal attacks don't work. What about his friends."
Shinso thought as he put his new plan of attack into action.
"You know, I don't think most of the students in class 1-A deserve their spot in the hero course. I mean, look at that arrogant explosive kid. He had to be rescued from the sludge villain and at the USJ attack. And that tail guy, blabbing away other's secrets even though it's not his place. Really makes you think when most of the kids in class 1-A are nothing but victims and snitches."
"Take that back."
Midoriya said in an angered tone. Shinso smiled as his ruse worked.
"Sorry, I couldn't hear you. What did you say?"
"I said take-"
Midoriya was now caught by Shinso's quirk.
"Gotcha. Now, walk off the arena."
Midoriya turned and started to walk toward the edge of the arena.
"Hey, what's Deku doing!?"
Uraraka asked in concern.
"I don't know. Is this some sort of strategy?"
Iida answered, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Oh no, he must have talked to that guy. That's exactly what he wasn't supposed to do!"
Ojiro said, getting Iida's and Uraraka's attention.
"What do you mean Ojiro?"
"It's his quirk Uraraka. He can control anyone who answers one of his questions."
"Oh no! That means he's making Deku walk out of the ring. Come on Deku! You can fight it!"
"Don't give up Midoriya! Fight against his quirk!"
Uraraka and Iida cheered for Midoriya, hoping their words would reach him.
"What's this? Midoriya is walking towards the edge of the ring!"
Present Mic announced. Mario watched, knowing what had happened. Luigi did train Shinso with Aizawa after all, and he told Mario all about Shinso's quirk. He watched, seeing if Midoriya could break Shinso's control. If not, well, that was something he and Midoriya would work on after the sports festival. All Might was watching from his booth at the top, anxious and confused about what Midoriya was doing.
"What's happening? My body, won't listen! I can't control my actions. I have to break free!"
Midoriya struggled to break free, but he couldn't. Meanwhile, Shinso just watched with a smile, but he did feel bad about this.
"Sorry, but I have a dream. To become a hero. So please, just walk out of bounds so I can win. This is what you wanted after all. For everyone to give it their all. Well, I'm going to do whatever it takes to become a hero!"
Midoriya continued to struggle against Shinso's control, but nothing was working.
"I can't break free! I guess this is it. I'm sorry, All Might, Mario, all that training went to waste."
Midoriya was about to accept his defeat, but then he looked at one of the entrances to the stadium and saw something weird. In the hallway leading out, he saw the silhouettes of eight people. It was strange because when he focused on them they appeared made of smoke or haze, like they weren't really there, just spirits. Before he could ponder on this any longer, he felt a wave of energy rush through his body to his fingers. Suddenly there was a small release of air force surrounding Midoriya. Everyone was shocked by this, including Midoriya. He was now free of Shino's control, but he felt pain from two of his fingers. He looked down and saw that his right index finger and middle finger were broken.
"What!? How!? Did I unconsciously release a one hundred percent finger flick? And what were those figures from before?"
"Hey! How'd you do that!?"
Midoriya was broken out of his thoughts by Shinso's yelling. He covered his mouth so he didn't answer him.
"Right, no time to think about that now. I need to end this!"
Midoriya rushed forward to push Shinso out of bounds.
"Damn it, he's not responding anymore!"
"I'm quite impressed. I didn't know you had so much power in your fingers. I'm kind of jealous of you."
Shinso said, in an attempt to get Midoriya to talk.
"I know what that jealousy feels like. I've been there."
Midoriya thought as he continued forward.
"Thanks to the way my quirk works, I've always been at a disadvantage. But someone as blessed as you wouldn't understand!"
"I get it. Even though he's right. I have been blessed."
"You're lucky enough to have been born with a heroic quirk! It'll be so easy for you to achieve your goal!"
"I've been blessed by others. That's why I'm here!"
Midoriya lunged forward at Shinso, but Shinso jumped to the side to avoid the attack.
"So you're not going to answer me then? Fine, plan b it is."
"What? Plan b?"
Midoriya thought, concerned as to what Shinso was about to do.
"You know, that speech you gave at the beginning of the sports festival. Had I heard it a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have understood it, but now I do. Just like you, I had some amazing people come into my life to offer me help to achieve my dream. They even told me that I could be a hero. Something no one has ever done before. Now I put that training they gave me to use."
Midoriya got into a fighting stance, ready for whatever Shinso was about to do.
"I can be a hero."
Shinso said to himself. Midoriya was confused by this.
"I know I can."
Shinso's eyes suddenly went blank.
"Did he just brainwash himself? Why?"
Midoriya didn't have much time to think about this when Shinso rushed forward and attacked him. Midoriya was barely able to dodge a punch from Shinso. Midoriya was about to counterattack when Shinso corrected himself and threw out a kick.
"Looks like Shinso is unleashing a barrage of relentless attacks against Midoriya! All Midoriya could do is avoid his strikes! What happened!? It's like Shinso is a completely different person now!"
Present Mic yelled into the microphone. Everyone else was wondering the same thing. Luigi and Aizawa on the other hand were smiling at this new development.
"I see that smile. Did you train that purple-haired kid Luigi?"
"Yeah."
Luigi said while rubbing the back of his head.
"That's interesting. Mario trained that green-haired kid, and you trained his opponent. I wonder who will win. Who is the better teacher?"
"Come on Daisy, it's not a competition."
"Um, that's exactly what this is Luigi."
"I meant between me and Mario."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Luigi just brushed this off and went back to watching Shinso's fight. Midoriya was still evading Shinso's attacks.
"Amazing! He hypnotized himself to push his body and reflexes to its absolute limit. What a powerful technique! But I can't stay on the defensive."
Midoriya threw out a kick, but Shinso ducked under it and hit him with an uppercut. Midoriya reeled back and had to sidestep an incoming punch from Shinso. Midoriya was trying to think of a plan when he noticed he was right on the edge of the ring.
"And Midoriya has been pushed to the edge of the ring! How will he come out of this one? Any thoughts?"
"Don't count him out just yet Yamada. Midoriya has been so to be resourceful in tough situations like this."
Mario said. Back with the fight, Shinso attacked Midoriya with a right hook, intending to end the fight. But Midoriya grabbed Shinso's hand and flipped him out of bounds.
"And Shinso is out of bounds! The winner is Izuku Midoriya!"
Midnight announced. Shinso had returned to normal to hear the announcement. He got up and was about to leave when someone called out to him.
"You did great Shinso!"
Shinso looked up to see his classmates cheering for him.
"That was amazing! I can't believe you gave the guy who got first in the entrance exams a run for his money! You were awesome!"
"Look! They think so too!"
One of them pointed to heroes nearby.
"What an amazing quirk. It would be easy to capture criminals. I wish I had it."
"And they stuck him in general studies!? What a waste."
A hero with a reptilian body and a heroine wearing a mask with smiley faces commented.
"Well, there are thousands of applicants every year. It makes sense that some would fall through the cracks."
"Wait, didn't they move him to a reserved position?"
"I guess U.A. also saw his potential. If he had more combat training, he would have dominated."
"Plus that technique he has. I would have never thought of hypnotizing myself to boost my combat abilities."
"That kid has a bright future, that's for sure!"
More heroes chimed in to praise Shinso.
"Do you hear that? They think you're amazing!"
"Way to go Shinso!"
"Hey Shinso!"
Shinso turned to see Luigi giving him a thumbs up. Shinso smiled and gave one back. He then turned to Midoriya.
"Depending on the results of the sports festival they could move students into the hero course. I may have failed this time, but I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep getting stronger, and when we compete against each other again, you best be ready. Because I'm going to keep fighting for my dream. I will be a hero."
"Right!"
Midoriya answered, only to be brainwashed again.
"What? Did he brainwash me? Why? The fight is over."
"Man, you drop your guard way too easily. Most people tense up around me."
Shinso released Midoriya from his quirk.
"You better make it to the finals and win this thing. Otherwise, it'll be embarrassing that I lost to you in the first round."
Midoriya simply nodded at this. Shinso smiled, glad that Midoriya didn't fall for quirk again, and went back to the stands. Midoriya went to see Recovery Girl for his broken fingers. While there, Mario and All Might visited to see how he was doing.
"Well, seeing as it's only your fingers, and the damage wasn't as bad, I won't scold any of you. I must say, you've been a blessing Mario."
"Really?"
Mario asked, confused by what she meant.
"Yes, not only did you fix this muscle-headed buffoon, you helped him train Midoriya. If it was just him teaching the boy, I have no doubt I would have seen Midoriya many more times in my office. So thank you."
Mario just rubbed the back of his head while All Might moved to speak to Midoriya.
"I must say, you had me worried there young Midoriya. I thought it was over once young Shinso had you under his control."
"Yeah, me too. But then something strange happened."
"Hmm? What was it?"
"When I looked into one of the halls leading out of the arena, I saw the silhouettes of eight different people. It was like I knew them, but I didn't recognize any of them. Oh, wait! One of them looked like you, but spectral-like."
"Oooh, spooky! I was a ghost?"
All Might said while doing a ghostly impression.
"Whoa, freaky!"
Midoriya said in shock.
"Come on Toshi, let's not freak him out anymore now. He's genuinely confused by this, and I'm interested as well."
Mario said. All Might coughed a bit to regain his composure.
"Right, right. As to what you saw, they were the vestiges of One for All."
All Might answered.
"Vestiges?"
"That's right young Midoriya. Images of the past wielders. I saw them once too. It's nothing serious, just means that One for All is adjusting to your body."
"Oh, I see. Still, it felt off. Like they were cheering me on. I think they are the reason I activated One for All in my fingers."
"I see."
All Might and Midoriya were pondering over this when Mario chimed in.
"Hey! Want me to take a look?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Midoriya asked with All Might and Recovery Girl interested as well.
"With Cappy, I can go inside your mind and see what's-a going on with your quirk."
Midoriya thought about this and smiled.
"All right Mr. Mario, I trust you."
"Thank you Midoriya, and just Mario is fine."
Mario placed Cappy on Midoriya's head and flew into him. Midoriya grew Mario's iconic mustache and his eyes changed into Mario's deep blue eyes.
"So? Do you see anything, Mario?"
All Might asked.
"Give him some time Toshi!"
Recovery Girl said while smacking the top of All Might's head with her cane. Inside Midoriya's mind, Mario was walking inside a black void. He looked around to see if he could find One for All. He passed by Midoriya's consciousness so this should be where his quirk is. Mario looked around and saw nothing, but he felt that he was being watched.
"I know you're there. Just come on out."
Mario said, but he got no response. Sighing to himself, he clapped his hands, and the darkness was chased away. That's when he saw eight individuals in a crumbling, half-destroyed room.
"So, I'm assuming you're the vestiges."
Mario said, but they said nothing.
"You don't-a look like memories. You appear to be something more. Like spirits trapped within this place. Is that-a it? Are you all trapped inside of One for All?"
Mario asked. But the people still didn't answer.
"You know, I can just use Cappy to get the information I want. This is for Midoriya's sake, so if I have to force the info out of you, I will."
"Please don't."
One of the people answered. He was a thin man with white hair that covered his face.
"We'll answer your questions, but you can't tell Midoriya."
Mario was confused by this and was about to ask why.
"You are confused, that's understandable. Allow me to explain. We are the vestiges of One for All. The past wielders whose spirits live within One for All."
"Okay, that's-a interesting. But why don't you want me to tell Midoriya about this?"
"Because he's not ready yet. Thanks to your training, he's grown by leaps and bounds, but he still needs to grow some more before we reveal ourselves."
"Okay. And what do you mean by 'reveal yourselves'? All Might didn't mention anything about this."
"That's because he doesn't know. He saw us once, but it was not time yet. One for All was not at the point of convergence yet. But ever since Midoriya received the quirk and your training, it has been growing rapidly. Soon he will be able to access all the quirks the past users have held."
Mario nodded in understanding at this. It was surprising, but given what he's been through, this was pretty tame by comparison.
"Okay then, so I won't tell him about you all. But I will have to say something. I'll just tell him the quirk is evolving. I'll even tell him if he continues growing stronger he will be able to access the quirks of the past users. That should give him more motivation to train."
Most of the vestiges nodded at this in agreement. Mario then looked around at the mindscape.
"By the way, why this?"
Mario's question confused them.
"What do you mean?"
"Why this half-destroyed room? Being in a mindscape, you should be able to alter the place you rest. Why not something better?"
The vestiges pondered on this.
"We, um, never thought of that. This was just how the place looked and we just accepted it."
The thin man answered.
"Well, let me change that up for you."
Mario clapped his hands once again and a bright light engulfed them all. When the vestiges opened their eyes they saw they were in a castle now with windows that showed a bright blue sky.
"What is this?"
The only female in the group asked.
"It's a recreation of Peach's castle. It was the only thing I had in mind. Still, better than before. And your seats should be much comfier now."
Mario gestured to the chairs with golden trims and royale red cushions. The vestiges sat in them and nodded in agreement.
"This is nice. But what's with the giant portraits behind us?"
One of the vestiges wearing biker clothes asked.
"Oh, that's-a also something from Peach's castle. You see, in my world, we use magic to create worlds inside of paintings. Go on, take a look."
The biker man did that and poked his head into the portrait. He came out with a confused look.
"There's nothing there. Just a white void."
"For now. It's your portrait. If Midoriya is going to get your quirk later on, then maybe you can make a world he can practice using it."
A wave of realization came over the vestiges. They all liked this idea. Mario was about to leave when two of the vestiges approached him.
"Hey, we need a favor."
One of them asked. Mario couldn't help but notice how similar he looked to Bakugo.
"Yes?"
"Despite being a part of One for All, we haven't accepted Midoriya yet."
This confused Mario.
"What he means to say, is that Midoriya still needs to prove himself to them."
The white-haired man said.
"Okay."
"So, we were wondering if you could help us hide ourselves. At first, we were just going to face the walls, not letting Midoriya see our faces. But if you could make the mindscape like this, can you make disguises for us?"
"Sure."
Mario snapped his fingers and red robes with masks appeared in front of the vestiges that wanted to hide their identity.
"This should help, and you could use curtains to hide your portraits."
"This should do. Thanks."
The one who looked like Bakugo said as he and the other walked off. Mario waved goodbye to them and left Midoriya's mindscape. Back outside, Mario and Cappy flew out of Midoriya and took their normal form.
"Well? Did you find anything odd about One for All?"
Midoriya asked.
"It's-a nothing to worry about Midoriya. Your quirk is just evolving."
Mario answered. Everyone was shocked by this information.
"Wait, what!? What do you mean by that?"
Midoriya asked.
"Just as I said, your quirk is evolving, becoming stronger. It's been growing exponentially ever since you started training with me. By my guess, if we continue your training, you should be able to use the quirks of the past users."
"What!?"
All Might and Midoriya yelled in shock.
"That's just my educated guess after seeing your quirk. But I'm fairly confident in it. I believe you will awaken the next stage of One for All."
Midoriya just sat there in silence with All Might doing the same.
"Wow, I just can't, wow."
"I know. This is amazing young Midoriya."
All Might said in awe. He then stood up and did a pose while pointing at Midoriya.
"This just further proves your worthiness. You are achieving something that not even I could achieve while I had the quirk. Well done!"
Midoriya began to tear up at hearing this.
"Hey, come on young Midoriya. No tears, you still have a few matches to go. And it wouldn't do if you went out there crying."
"Right."
Midoriya wiped away the tears and had a look of determination.
"That's more like it! Once the festival is over, we will continue your training. Heck, if One for All is evolving now, we might need to increase it. I hope you will still aid us, Mario."
"Of course, we've come this far, why stop now?"
Mario answered.
"Make sure he rests as well. I don't want you two to run the boy ragged."
Recovery Girl commented. Before anyone could answer, they all felt the stadium shake.
"What in the world!?"
"Is it an earthquake!?"
"Stay calm everyone!"
All Might, Midoriya, and Mario said aloud. Soon the shaking stopped, leaving everyone to wonder what it was.
"What was that?"
All Might asked. That's when Mario had an idea.
"Hey, who was next to fight?"
Suddenly everyone realized what must have happened and left outside, except for Recovery Girl, to see if they were right. When they reached the arena, they saw a huge glacier covering a large portion of the stadium and extending above it.
"Ojiro, tell the truth, can you move?"
Midnight asked, with half her body covered in ice.
"Are you s-s-serious, I'm stuck. C-C-Completely trapped in i-i-ice."
Ojiro answered, his body frozen in the ice with only his head free.
"Then Shoto Todoroki is the winner!"
Midnight announced. Todoroki walked forward and began to melt the ice.
"I'm sorry about that. I was angry about something."
Todoroki said while melting the ice. All Might and Midoriya stood in shock while Mario just whistled in admiration.
"Wow, this year of students are strong. Aren't you facing him next Midoriya?"
Mario asked.
"Yeah, I am."
Midoriya said as he examined Todoroki. He noticed that, despite winning with an overwhelming victory, he seemed sad.
And that's the end of the chapter. Thank you all so much for reading it, feel free to leave a review and have a nice day."