This ought to be interesting.
Midoriya against declaration-of-war boy.
At this point, Midoriya is easy to read.
As he walks to the center of the concrete arena, he contorts his face into a weak imitation of confidence.
His trembling lips and wide eyes betray his uneasiness.
The other boy is harder to read.
As he makes his way to the center, his sleepy eyes seem unbothered.
The reason why becomes evident soon.
Just before the match is to officially start, the Shinsou - I learn as Present Mic-sensei shouts the contestants' names - starts speaking. Amongst the cheers and bursts of the crowd, I can't hear a word, but it's obvious from Midoriya's angry expression that he said something to goad him. Just as Present Mic hollers at them to start, Midoriya charges forward, only to freeze in place. His stance changes from running position to dummy position. His eyes are glazed over, seeing something that the rest of us cannot see. The crowd is surprised. I am too, but I'm also intrigued. I had thought this Shinsou character would bring some entertainment during the Festival, and I wasn't wrong. He has some brainwashing quirk, which activates when his subject responds to him. I assume he wills his quirk to activate, otherwise having conversations with him would be impossible. What makes this even better is when Midoriya turns around and moves back. The second he steps out of bounds, he's out.
I have to hand it to the guy. He's good.
But at the same time, I don't want it to end like this. Looking at the pair ups, I had noticed that if I beat Sero, I would face off either Midoriya or Shinsou. And I really wanted it to be Midoriya because I had to stay true to my declaration of war. It's selfish of me - I feel guilty, too - but I pray that Midoriya wins this match.
And my prayers are answered.
He stops just before the white boundary line, and a blast of immense power explodes, blowing everyone back. He snapped out of his trance by breaking two of his fingers. Ready now, he turns back and doesn't respond to any of Shinsou's taunts, having figured out the trick. Instead, he surges forward and pushes Shinsou back, trying to force him out of bounds. In an attempt to save himself, he punches Midoriya and swivels around, only for Midoriya to pick him and swing him midair. He falls on hard on his back, body completely out of bounds. That move is familiar; Bakugou used it on Midoriya during the Trial of Battle almost three months ago.
With the match over, Midnight-sensei announces that Midoriya is the winner and that he'll proceed onto the next round. But not all hope is lost for Shinsou. The crowd praises him instead of Midoriya for his intelligence and skill. Even Hanada-chan, who I glance at out of the corner of my eye, smirks in agreement. Without turning her head, she glimpses at our classmates briefly before clapping silently.
After this match is mine. But there's a fifteen-minute gap between, so I tell Hanada-chan that I'm going for a breather. I get up out of my seat and leave the stadium. But of course everything cannot go my way.
Because as I traverse the hallways, I come across Endeavor, who stands against the wall, arms crossed, as if he was anticipating me to come here.
I don't want to deal with this right now. "Out of my way," I tell him. I don't even have the energy to address him by his name.
Obviously, he doesn't move. He ignores me and chastises, "Your behavior has been nothing but disgraceful, Shouto." As if I care. If he won't move past, I will. I do just that, but he continues. "If you had used the power of your left side, you could have crushed both the obstacle race and the cavalry battle easily." Instinctively, I clench my teeth. "Your resistance is childish and tiresome. So stop fucking around and see your duty to surpass All Might." Now, I grit my teeth. His voice rises. "Has it penetrated you yet?! You're different from your older brothers! You are my great masterpiece!" Ultimately, my teeth rub against each other. I can't keep quiet anymore.
"Is that all that will ever spew out of your goddamn mouth? I will earn my victories using only Mom's power. And I will never, ever use your power in any battle," I seethe selfishly. It's the same argument every time. Not once did I look at him during this encounter, and I won't look now. Not breaking my stride, I keep walking. I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he's got to me.
But clearly he's not finished. He has to have the last word. Just another irritating thing I inherited from my father. I would have been so much better off without it. "Even if that works for you now, in high school," he says, "You'll reach the limit soon enough."
Again, I refuse to give him that satisfaction.
And now it's time for my match.
The fifteen minutes I could have spent in calmness were spent in another tongue-lashing. That's why when I take my place in the arena, a heavy aura of barely suppressed wrath emanates from me like waves.
Sero flexes his arms before unleashing streams of tape at me. I'm his hostage. He swings me around, planning to use centrifugal motion to throw me out of the bounds, but I have other ideas. "Sorry," I mutter before summoning the largest glacier I have ever dared to make. It's twice as tall as the stadium, which says a lot. No one speaks for a moment. Sero's encapsulated in the ice, and the tapes binding me become brittle and break off.
Only now I do realize the scope of what I've done. Sero affirms that he's unable to move, making me the victor of this match. I stroll over and melt the glacier, apologizing that I overdid it. He repeats that it's alright, but I'm not really listening. "I was just a bit pissed," I mumble to myself.
I'm not listening to anything.
Once again, I let my emotions get the better of me.
Though I won, I feel hollow.
Defeated.
What I need the most right now is a distraction.
Hanada-chan's match against Kaminari is up next.
Hanada-chan ... that's right.
She's the only one who will understand what I'm going through and won't judge me for it.
I summon just enough willpower to reach the section where our class's seats are situated, but she's not there.
I have no right to, but I feel dejected at not seeing her there.
I really am selfish.
So very selfish.
Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The link to the chapter is here: .online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-34/