Summary: The semi-finals!
Notes: Art!
Chicax Memes!
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text"Are you sure you don't want to adopt him?" Hizashi teased.
Shouta glared at him, "I hope you at least made sure our mics are muted before saying something so stupid."
"I'm a professional radio host, of course I did, that's old hat." Hizashi waved away his worries. "Come on Shouta! The kid literally just won his last fight by taking a nap! If that's not your son, I don't think anyone is."
"He won his fight by confusing his opponent and focusing on his quirk." Shouta argued. "It was only logical."
Hizashi grinned, "Exactly! He's logical just like you are!"
"He already has parents." Shouta repeated. "And are you forgetting that you would also be his parent in this hypothetical? The way you're describing it, you'd basically be adopting a smaller version of your husband, which would just be weird."
"Nah, he's chaotic enough that I'm sure we'd have fun!" Hizashi shrugged. "So…?"
"Still not happening."
Kirishima could practically feel the confused rage coming off of Bakugo in waves as they waited for the match to begin. He could relate, at least a little bit. This sports festival hadn't gone anything like how Kirishima had thought his first sports festival would go when he was growing up. Looking back, it was kinda stupid, but for some reason he'd thought that he'd mostly be fighting his classmates in flashy fights that would be determined by who was stronger. It was supposed to be simple, straightforward, and easy to understand, but instead he'd gotten a good mix of both 1A, 1B and even a few support and gen-ed thrown into the mix that were actually pretty decent threats. The support students had both disqualified themselves by stepping out of the ring, so he couldn't even assume that everyone's goal was always to win! It made things more complicated and harder to predict, but Kirishima thought he was doing a pretty decent job at rolling with the punches.
Which was what his job was now as well. Bakugo was having a much harder time adjusting to the reality of the festival and Kirishima thought he'd heard something about him being childhood friends with the support student that was supposed to fight him last round, so it made sense that he was getting angry and frustrated. They'd all come into this event with a set of expectations that had been immediately turned on their heads and Bakugo wanted to be the best, so it probably hurt a lot that he'd had his victories swept out from under him in practically every round so far, which was why Kirishima was determined to let his friend fight out all those tricky feelings. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to win, even though he was definitely gonna try, but the support students had shown him that his motivation didn't have to be to get first place. It could be just to help his friend feel better.
That didn't mean that it wasn't going to hurt getting pelted with explosion after explosion, but that was why Kirishima had his quirk! The second midnight began the match, Bakugo launched himself forward and Kirishima instinctively hardened his body right as an explosion went off in his face. He immediately returned a punch that Bakugo dodged, but he didn't give up. He'd probably reach his quirk's limits before Bakugo did, and if that happened, the fight would be over.
"It's ok, Baku-bro!" Kirishima grinned and launched another punch. "Let it all out!"
"Shut up, Shitty Hair!" Bakugo yelled back. "This isn't some stupid therapy session, I'm gonna kill you and I'm gonna win!"
Kirishima laughed, "Alright, bro, I believe you! Just keep those explosions coming, I can hardly feel them!"
"That's because you're skin is a fucking mountain." Bakugo grumbled, dodging another one of Kirishima's blows. "And stop smiling! You're just like stupid fucking deku!"
"Deku?" Kirishima asked curiously. "Is that the support student you're friends with?"
"We're not friends." Bakugo growled. "I think the nerd made that pretty fucking clear."
The explosion that followed seemed slightly hotter than some of the others, so Kirishima figured he must have hit a nerve, "Is that part of why you're so frustrated? He seems like a nice guy, I'm sure you two can work things out!"
"Shut up!" Bakugo let off another huge explosion that made Kirishima hiss as some of his skin chipped under the force. "That stupid nerd gave up! He gave up being a hero and he gave up on our fight before I could even give him the beating he deserved!"
"Well then, don't give up!" Kirishima shot back, pushing through the urge to soften his body. "You can be better than him!"
"I already am!" Bakugo screamed. "I already am and that's the point! The idiot deku is looking down on me and he won't even fight me! I'm a threat, dammit! Fight me!"
Kirishima rolled his eyes and kept talking even though he was quickly running out of breath, "I am fighting you, Bakugo."
"Then why! Didn't! He!" Every word was punctuated by an explosion and Kirishima felt his quirk finally give out after only two. "He! Owed! Me! A! Fight!"
The smoke cleared and Kirishima didn't know how he looked, but considering the gasps of the crowd, it couldn't be good. He could already tell that one eye was swollen shut and the places that his skin had chipped away when he was in his hardened form had already started to bleed.
"You did it, bro. You won." Kirishima smiled and looked up at his friend, unable to really see his expression with only one eye. "I hope you're feeling better. Glad I could help."
He could feel his head spinning until he finally gave into blissful darkness.
"Kirishima is KO'd." Midnight announced. "Bakugo advances to the finals!"
The stadium erupted into cheers, but Katsuki couldn't help watching with muted horror as the medbots wheeled Kirishia from the field. That beating hadn't been meant for him. It had been meant for Deku, but then Deku had flat out refused to fight him. Katsuki's rage had been growing so much all day that he just needed to take it out on someone, and he'd thought that with his quirk, Kirishima would be able to take it, but either Kirishima was weaker than he'd thought, or Katsuki was a lot angrier than he'd realized. He hadn't meant to really hurt him!
Katsuki numbly made his way back into the tunnels, Kirishima's injuries burned into his brain. That beating hadn't been meant for him, but he'd taken it because he thought that's what Katsuki needed. He did need it, but...well, maybe he needed a better outlet?
"So, still no idea how Shinso's quirk works?" Kamakiri asked.
"I almost thought it might be something like verbal response or something." Kendo said. "But he didn't say anything to Dark Shadow before taking control of him in the last fight."
"I think the nap has something to do with it." Kodai suggested. "He might have a limit of people that he can control before he has to sleep and reset."
"That would explain why his eyebags are so bad." Tsuburaba agreed. "But then why wouldn't he do that backstage? He had time between rounds, right?"
"That she-demon from support probably distracted him." Monoma dismissed. "But it doesn't matter, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out once I get my hands on it."
Monoma smirked confidently and reached out to grab the quirks he wanted for the fight. Shiozaki's vines would help him pull Shinso in close so he could steal his quirk, Komorri's spores would be a good backup plan just in case he wasn't able to steal brainwashing, and Tetsutetsu's steel would be good if it came to a hand to hand fight, with the added bonus that he could use it to anchor himself into the concrete so that Shinso couldn't tell him to walk out of bounds. There was absolutely no way he could lose!
He confidently made his way through the tunnels and out onto the field, where Shinso was already waiting, a bored expression on his face. Midnight nodded to him and Monoma tuned out whatever introductions Present Mic gave before the match officially began. He'd show everyone that 1B was the best in the whole school.
"Begin!"
"So…" Shinso raised one eyebrow, still looking infuriatingly bored. "You're the 1B guy who thinks he's so superior, aren't you?"
"I don't think I'm superior." Monoma laughed. "I am superior. It's only a matter of time before I take that perfect little brainwashing quirk and turn it against you."
"Is it?" Shinso asked. "Well, I would be looking forward to it, if I thought you could actually do it."
Monoma snarled and snapped some vines toward Shinso, who even dodging looked just as bored as he had at the start. Perhaps the lack of expression was his quirk's limit. It would be inconvenient if he had to maintain the same emotion or facial expression to activate brainwashing, but Monoma wouldn't let something small like that keep him from taking his rightful place on the winner's stand.
Shinso was obviously fairly physically fit, because no matter how many vines Monoma sent after him, he just kept dodging! In frustration, Monoma sent a sparse cloud of spores in his direction, just enough to mess with Shinso's breathing and give him the opening he needed. Sure enough, it took less than a minute of this treatment for his opponent to start running out of breath. Monoma smirked and finally wrapped Shinso in tight vines from his shoulders down, then sauntered up to him and within seconds, had a copy of his quirk replacing the spores. It was like taking candy from a baby.
"Well, time to finally solve the mystery!" Monoma laughed. "How does this quirk…"
His copy of brainwashing only gave him a few seconds of warning before his mind started going fuzzy. If he hadn't already copied the quirk, he probably wouldn't have gotten any warning at all, but as it was he had barely enough time to harden his body into steel and drive his feet into the concrete before he lost control of his body entirely.
"Cute." Shinso smiled. "But unfortunately, not enough. Deactivate your quirk."
The vines loosened and Monoma's skin reverted back to it's normal texture as he was forced to let go of his stockpile of quirks. Shinso's hold on his mind just got tighter as Monoma's copy dissipated into nothing more than hopeless wisps of smoke in his mind. He would have grit his teeth if he had any control left, but unfortunately, he was nothing better than a trained monkey that could only follow orders.
"Pull your feet from the ground, gently. Then walk out of bounds."
The rough edges of the broken concrete scraped at his legs, but the pain wasn't enough to really bother him as he pulled himself from the ground and started slowly making his way toward the line. There was a slightly pained expression on Shinso's face as Monoma passed him, like he was having to fight to maintain his quirk and Monoma felt a brief ray of hope. Whatever move he'd pulled during his fight with that birdbrain from 1A had made him pass out, so he must still be tired from it! If he could just find a way to maybe slow down and stay in the ring for long enough for quirk exhaustion to set in.
Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck and he was starting to have trouble focusing on escaping since the scrapes on his legs were starting to sting. One of the cuts throbbed and there was a split second where Monoma almost felt like himself again before Shinso's hold over him tightened again.
Pull your feet from the ground, gently.
If Shinso had just wanted him to free himself, he would have just ordered Monoma to pull himself from the ground, but he didn't. He took the time to specify that he did so gently so that he wouldn't injure himself! Monoma smirked internally and focused on the pain. Shinso had obviously had practiced maintaining control in non-optimal conditions, but if the link was mental, if Monoma was more aware of the pain he was in, that might be enough to strain the link and make it more difficult for Shinso to maintain the connection.
He heard Shinso let out a sharp breath and then Monoma's head finally cleared. He cheered in triumph and whirled around, feet less than a foot from the line, "Nice try, gen-ed, but you're going to have to try harder if you want to beat a member of class 1B!"
Shinso lowered himself into a fighting stance, "I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."
Monoma laughed as Shinso ran toward him and reached out to steal his quirk again. Now that he had a taste of it, he had no doubt that he'd be able to figure it out quickly and turn this fight around. He blocked a punch to the face by grabbing Shinso's wrist and started to explore the quirk, but before he had a chance to really understand it, his feet were being swept out from underneath him. His eyes widened and he instinctively loosened his hold on Shinso's wrist, which turned out to be a mistake because the next thing he felt was Shinso planting both hands on his chest and shoving him as hard as he could. Monoma stumbled, just barely managing to maintain his footing, and tensed for the next attack.
"Monoma is out of bounds!" Midnight yelled. "Shinso advances to the finals!"
"What?!" Monoma looked down, hoping that perhaps Midnight had made a mistake, but sure enough, he was two inches away from the line, on the wrong side. He'd lost. Not only had he lost, he'd lost to some nobody from general education! He growled and let go of Shinso's quirk in frustration. How?!
Monoma expected Shinso to make some snarky comment rubbing in his win, but to his surprise, Shinso simply turned around and started heading back to the tunnels.
"What, you're not even going to acknowledge your win?" Monoma snarled. "Do you really think you're so much better than the rest of us that I don't even merit a snide insult?"
Shinso looked over his shoulder and raised one eyebrow, almost like he thought the answer was obvious, then a look of confusion passed over his face briefly before something seemed to click. A smirk slowly made its way onto Shinso's face, but he didn't make any other response before he turned back around and disappeared into the tunnels.
"Alright, the lights are off, and we already gave you water…" Izuku fretted. "Is there anything else we can do?"
"It's just a migraine, Izuku…" Hitoshi groaned. "I get them all the time and I overused my quirk against Tokoyami, so it was gonna happen anyway. We're just lucky that blond kid's an idiot and didn't bother to figure out my quirk after the match, otherwise the secret would be out."
"He's not an idiot, Hitoshi, be nice!" Izuku squeaked. "He's actually got semi-decent grades and he's at UA, so even that...
Hitoshi tuned him out as he felt something cool touch his forehead. He cracked one eye open to see Mei holding some kind of ice pack that he was 90% sure she'd only brought along in case one of her inventions overheated.
"Be quiet, Izu-kun!" Mei whisper-yelled. "Don't you know that too much noise makes migraines worse?"
"But you…!"
"Quiet!"
Mei glared at Izuku until he started silently pouting and Hitoshi couldn't hold back a small smile as he closed his eyes again and settled back into whatever nap he would be able to get between rounds. Considering that, from what he'd gathered, his next opponent used to be Izuku's bully, he'd need every second of rest he could get.
Summary: The Sports Festival Conclusion!
Notes: Art!
Cat Grandma Memes!
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text"Hey, we should ask 1B what that Shinso guy's quirk is!" Kirishima grinned and jumped to see over the wall between their classes. "Hey, guys! Have you figured out how that gen-ed student's quirk activates?"
"Shut up Shitty Hair!" Katsuki grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. "I don't need those stupid extra's help to win! I'll do it on my own, got it?"
Kirishima yelped and rubbed at his neck, but Katsuki was 90% sure that was just for show. Recovery Girl had patched him up pretty well, so he just had a few bandages and none of his injuries would even scar, so Bakugo was trying not to feel too bad about it. If he let himself think too much about it, he just started feeling more angry, which defeated the whole point of him taking things out on Kirishima to begin with. Luckily his next fight was with Deku's creepy brainwashing friend, so even if he couldn't take things out on the guy who deserved it, he'd at least be able to beat someone associated with him. He couldn't wait.
"Even if your pomeranian was willing to accept our help, we wouldn't tell you." Monoma grinned as he peeked over the wall. "That information is a class b secret, so why would we willingly assist our rivals?"
"He's only saying that because he hasn't figured it out yet!" Kaminari laughed. "Your class is just as clueless as ours is!"
Monoma's face turned red and he seemed like he was about to say something, but before he could that Kendo girl with the big hands gave him a karate chop to the neck and some other members of his class dragged him back down to their seats. Kendo sighed and gave their class an apologetic smile, "Sorry about him, he gets a little carried away."
"It's quite alright!" Momo said kindly. "But Bakugo should probably be getting ready for his fight unless you have any info."
"I already told you, I don't want your damn pity help!" Katsuki yelled.
"We're clueless anyway. Our best guess is that he has to cause a certain level of confusion in his opponent before his quirk can take hold." Kendo shrugged. "But good luck!"
"Don't need it." Katsuki huffed. "I'm the best."
He rolled his eyes and ignored the shouting of all the extras as he stalked out to go to the prep areas. He was in prep room one, right? He glared at nothing and didn't talk to anyone until he found the room and kicked the door in, only to be met by Deku, Deku's crazy girlfriend, and the brainwashing extra.
He saw red, "What the hell are you doing in my room?!"
Deku had the balls to glare at him, "This is Hitoshi's prep room, Katsuki. Prep room two. You're in prep room one."
"This is prep room…" Katsuki glanced at the door and scowled. "Whatever, Deku. You're lucky I don't pound you to the ground right now!"
"We're still on school property." Deku said confidently. "And Nedzu has cameras everywhere. Not to mention that if I end up with unexplained injuries, there's live footage of you threatening me. How would you explain that to Eraserhead, I wonder?"
Katsuki let out a few threatening explosions in his hands, but that was all he could do. Unfortunately, Deku was right, but that just meant he'd have to work extra hard in the next fight to make sure the nerd and his dumb friends knew their place.
"Both of you, shut up!" That crazy bitch who played Monoma for a fool in the first round stalked up to them, hands on her hips as she glared up at him, "Your stupid shouting is bothering Extra-Credit-Kun!"
Katsuki glanced over and, sure enough, the purple-haired extra was grimacing and he had his arm held over his eyes like he was trying to block out the light. Katsuki resisted the urge to smirk at the obvious display of weakness and turned to leave. He didn't know why he'd ever been worried, he had this fight in the bag.
"Later, Deku." Katsuki threw over his shoulder. "Can't wait for your friend to give up just like you did."
He let the door slam shut behind him.
"Any word from our spy?"
Tomura glared at the television set. Sensei had left him alone during the fights, but he kept nagging him anytime the students weren't actively fighting, "No. Cheat Code hasn't shown his stupid cheater face, but considering the packets he gave all the baby heroes, he has to be watching."
"Yes…" Sensei said thoughtfully. "I read through the information he provided our spy. He has a good eye for quirks and his analysis is well developed, but his formatting is immature...keep me updated on any leads on that front. Are any of the students catching your eye?"
Tomura shrugged, "They've got a rager on their team."
"Ah, yes, young Bakguo." Sensei agreed. "You should keep an eye on him, young Tomura, perhaps we can find a way to turn him to our side. Some of the other students have potential as well, do they not?"
"Maybe the brainwashing kid." Tomura frowned. "But he's got those NPC's who won't leave him alone…"
"Perhaps that's not such a bad thing." Sensei pointed out patiently. "Having good support can make the difference between success and failure."
"So, they're more like party members?" Shigaraki frowned. "I guess it's hard to win a dungeon with only fighters…"
"Just keep it in mind." Sensei said. "And watch carefully. These students will be your enemies soon enough, young Tomura."
Hitoshi's head was still pounding when he stepped out onto the field, squinting his eyes in the harsh sunlight and trying to ignore the roaring of the crowds. Thankfully, Recovery Girl had given him some pretty strong pain killers for the fight, but this fight still wasn't going to be fun, especially since he was fighting a bully that someone had decided to strap a nuke to. A few months ago, he might have thought winning this fight was as impossible as beating a bunch of robots, but he was stronger now.
And he was here to win.
Midnight gave Bakugo a warning glare, but she didn't stop him as he set off a few warm-up explosions in his palms. Hitoshi had to concentrate hard not to wince at the noise. When this was over, he was going to sleep for a solid three days.
"Alright, boys, I want a good clean fight!" Midnight warned them. "Remember, you're here to win, not to kill each other."
Hitoshi figured that was meant for Bakugo, not him. He'd seen Kirishima in the nurse's office after the last round: Bakugo could be brutal when he wanted to be. Hitoshi's best bet would be to not give him a chance to hurt him. The only trick was getting him to talk.
"The final fight begins in three, two, one…" Midnight cracked her whip. "Begin!"
Hitoshi opened his mouth to say something, only to be blindsided by a bright boom just feet from his face. He hissed and ducked away as his head started throbbing. Shit.
"Your stupid quirk hurts your head, doesnt it?" When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was smirking down at him. "People forget that quirks are physical abilities and can get tired just like anything else and you? You've been using that stupid brainwashing quirk since we got here."
Hitoshi swore and rolled to dodge another explosion, then jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could to put some distance between them. His eyes were watering so much that he could only hope that he wasn't getting close to the line. He just needed to get him to talk and then this fight would be over. He just needed a response.
"I don't know what Deku even sees in you." Bakugo snarled, letting off another explosion far too close to Hitoshi's face to be comfortable. "You're just a weakling and a future villain to boot, with that quirk of yours. You should just give up now!"
Hitoshi swallowed thickly. He felt like he was about to throw up, but he couldn't give up. He wouldn't give up! He wasn't going to let all of the training and help he'd received go to waste. He was going to be a hero!
"Seems to me like you're the one acting like a villain." Hitoshi grit out. "And why are you so obsessed with Izuku? I bet you admire him, don't you? You want to be just like him!"
"I'd never want to be like that nerd!" Bakugo let loose an explosion so powerful that it chipped the concrete where Hitoshi had been a half-second before. "He's nothing, got it? He's not even a pebble on the side of my path to greatness!"
Hitoshi's head was pounding so badly that he could barely feel the link as it finally formed. Bakugo was readying another explosion, but Hitoshi forced himself to stand tall and stare him down, even as he charged to begin his attack. He was going to be a hero.
He activated his quirk and Bakugo immediately stopped in his tracks like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His hold was a lot more shaky than it usually was and he could feel Bakugo fighting against his control, but Hitoshi took a few deep breaths. If his brain took control of his victim's body, then maybe he could force Bakguo to calm down by going through those same motions himself.
After a few moments, Bakugo's shoulders slumped and even though Hitoshi could still feel him fighting, it was weaker than it had been a few minutes before as the adrenaline started ebbing away. Hitoshi kept breathing and the crowd held their breaths as they waited to see what happened.
"You're wrong." Hitoshi's voice was scratchy from exhaustion, smoke and dust, but he pushed through anyway. "Izuku is a lot more than a pebble that you can crush into powder or kick off the sidewalk. He's a brilliant analyst and the only thing you accomplished by tossing him aside was shooting yourself in the foot."
That obviously made Bakugo angry because he started fighting harder again and it took all of Hitoshi's concentration to maintain his control. He was starting to feel lightheaded and the only thought he could form that wasn't pure pain was that he had to win. He had to win to be a hero.
Hitoshi set his shoulders confidently, "Walk out of bounds. Lose for me."
Bakugo fought with everything he had, but none of that showed on his face. No, the real fight was happening in Hitoshi's brain and the only thing the crowd could do was watch with bated breath as the top hero student took those final few steps out of bounds, and then everything exploded into so much noise that Hitoshi was forced to instinctively release his control. He immediately screwed his eyes closed and slammed his hands over his ears, but he could still hear Bakguo growling and using his explosions to launch himself back toward his opponent.
Thankfully, the sounds of Bakugo's renewed attack were quickly muffled by what sounded like one of Cemontoss's walls, and Hitoshi could barely hear Midnight above the roaring of the crowd as she made the announcement, "Katsuki Bakugo is out of bounds! Hitoshi Shinso wins the sports festival!"
"I don't understand how he's not dying of embarrassment." Shiguro muttered, his goblin ears twitching in second-hand embarrassment. "I'd be mortified if I had to be chained up on national television like that."
"He's an asshole." Kohaku said dismissively. "He sees being angry as a personality trait, so obviously, he's gonna have to be held back."
"Still, it seems like he'd just take the loss at this point." Hanzou observed.
"Katsuki doesn't give up." Izuku said. "He never has and he's never been satisfied being anything but the best. Even if it wasn't Shinso in first place, he would probably still be throwing a fit, just because he didn't get what he wanted."
"He's a spoiled brat, that's what he is." Mei complained. "But we did it! Extra-Credit-Kun won the sports festival! We're gonna get our extra credit Izu-kun!"
"Don't you two only get extra credit if he actually transfers into the hero course?" Kohaku argued.
"Not technically." Izuku said, smiling widely as All Might placed a medal around Shinso's neck. "But that's always been the goal."
"As if the teachers could actually say that the winner of the sports festival doesn't deserve a place in the hero course." Hanzou snorted. "Let's be honest, the only thing holding him back now is paperwork."
Izuku's cheeks were starting to hurt from how widely he was smiling, but he just couldn't stop. They'd done it. All that training, all of his analysis, it really made a difference! His new dream was worthwhile and he was already doing it! He was helping heroes become better and that was almost worth everything he'd had to go through to get on this path.
"Come on, Izu-kun!" Mei grabbed his hand the moment that the awards ceremony ended. "Let's go see our baby!"
Summary: The aftermath of the sports festival
Notes: Art!
xXJoshowoXx
EmEm
Die_sonne
Flumphish
khoshekh the (not) cat
Claire ;) Memes!
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextMei slammed open the door to Recovery Girl's office and Izuku had to jump to grab the handle and prevent the door from banging into the wall. He smiled sheepishly at Recovery Girl, who was glaring at him, and he could only hope he was apologetic enough for both of them because Mei didn't even give Recovery Girl a second glance as she made a beeline toward the bed Hitoshi was lying on.
"Extra-credit-kun!" Mei squealed. "You did so good!"
Both Izuku and Recovery Girl shushed her when Hitoshi winced, "Nice to see you too Mei, but can you be excited any quieter?"
"Oh...sorry!" Mei whispered loudly. "You did amazing!"
Izuku stifled a quiet chuckle. Mei was trying her best, but it was still entertaining watching someone who was so undeniably loud trying to be quiet. It was like asking Izuku not to mutter. It was theoretically possible, but that didn't mean it wasn't funny to watch. He stopped laughing when Recovery Girl glared at him again.
"You had better be quiet!" she scolded. "It's the least you two gremlins can do for the poor boy, considering that it's at least partially your fault he's in this state!"
Izuku looked at Mei in confusion, but she just shrugged helplessly and turned back to playing with Hitoshi's hair. He relaxed slightly under her touch and wrinkled his nose at the school nurse, "It's my own fault that I went over my limits, Recovery Girl. Don't blame my kidnappers just because I'm an idiot."
"They encouraged you to be reckless!" Recovery Girl argued.
"Yeah, well, they encouraged me to be a hero too, so there." Hitoshi groaned. "I would be just fine if I hadn't tried taking control of Dark Shadow though Tokoyami."
"So you did do that!" It took all of Izuku's self control to keep talking quietly. "I was wondering, because I didn't think you said anything to Dark Shadow directly, but then you took control of him and not Tokoyami and it was so cool!"
Hitoshi gave a tired chuckle, "Yeah, well, we'll see if it was even worth it. I still don't know if they'll let me transfer or if they'll keep me stuck in gen ed."
Mei poked the medal that was still around his neck, "They'd be idiots not to let you into the hero course after this. You're gonna be an amazing hero Extra-credit-kun, and if those stupid teachers can't see that, then…"
"Then what?" Hitoshi cracked one eye open and smirked at her. "You're gonna blow up Nedzu's office?"
Mei huffed, "Well what if I did, huh? What are they gonna do about it?"
"Can we please not threaten the teachers when there's one in the room?" Izuku fretted, glancing nervously over at Recovery Girl. "Mei, at least wait until we're outside of UA!"
"I quite agree. In fact, you should save all of this until you're outside of UA! Out!" Recovery Girl ordered. "Shinso needs rest and you two obviously have far too much energy. You can give him congratulations once he's recovered."
"But…" Mei tried, but Recovery girl simply swept her cane at their legs until the two caved in and let themselves be shooed toward the door. "We'll see you later Extra-Credit-kun!"
"Yeah!" Izuku added. "Thanks for beating Katsuki! That was awesome!"
Izuku smiled at the sight of Hitoshi practically giggling as Recovery Girl forced them out and shut the door behind them with a quiet finality. He could begrudgingly admit that Recovery Girl was probably right and they were a little too much to help someone recover from a quirk-induced migraine, but at least Hitoshi knew they were proud of him and they'd made him laugh!
"Well, that was rude!" Mei pouted. "Is spending a little time with our baby too much to ask for?!"
Izuku shook his head, "You realize that even your whispers are loud, right? And you have a habit of blowing things up if you stay in one room for too long."
Mei opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again, "Fine. You might maybe have a little bit of a point."
"Thank you." Izuku grinned. "That's why I'm the smart one!"
Mei gasped, "What?! Mr. Let's Blow Up All the Landmines?! Smart?!"
Izuku started laughing, but then the door behind them swung open again and both Izuku and Mei jumped when Recovery Girl poked her head out to glare at them, "Shhh!"
Mei grabbed Izuku's hand and started dragging him down the hall, "Come on Izu-kun! I think I can tell when we're not wanted."
"I don't think you even want to." Izuku muttered with a smile, "So...where are we going?"
"Uh…" Mei stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway, making Izuku run into her. "I, uh, hadn't gotten that far, I guess."
Izuku felt a buzz in his pocket and hesitantly took his phone out of his pocket. He shot Mei a curious look, but she simply shrugged. Izuku turned back to his phone suspiciously and read the new message.
From: Rat Overlord
You could always try exploring the tunnels!
The drive home was awkward at best.
Shouto stared sullenly out the window as he waited for his father to explode. It was inevitable, he knew. He'd known ever since he'd seen Tokoyami steal the headbands from around his neck, but it had been confirmed when Endeavor had dismissed their usual driver and said he'd drive Shouto home himself. At least if they were surrounded by staff, his father showed at least the bare minimum of restraint, but without that protective barrier, Shouto had no idea when the tirade would start. It was exhausting.
Finally, Endeavor broke the silence, "Did you really lose just to spite me?"
His voice was deathly quiet and Shouto froze. His father's anger normally ran hot, but somehow it was always more frightening when he was cold like this. Yelling, fire, tirades, those were things Shouto had been enduring for years, he knew how to handle them, how to coat his mind and body in ice so the fire couldn't hurt him, but this? This had only happened a few times, which meant that Shouto had no idea if his usual strategies would work. He had messed up even more than usual and was going into his father's rage almost completely blind.
He set his shoulders stubbornly and glared at his father in the rearview mirror. He refused to let the fear show. Losing to his classmates was one thing, but he refused to lose to his father.
"You could have won." Endeavor observed quietly. "You could have stopped that bird-brain from stealing your points if you'd just used your fire."
"Your fire." Shouto snapped before he could stop himself. "It's your fire, not mine and I'm going to make it to the top without it."
"Well you seem to be doing a bang up job of that so far." Endeavor spat. "Your ice didn't even get you past the second round. "
"I…"
"What?" Endeavor scoffed. "You'll be the best with only your mother's power? I believe you found out today just where this childish rebellion will lead you Shouto. If you hadn't shamed me so much by allowing general education and support students to surpass you, I'd almost be happy you lost. At least now hopefully you've learned your lesson."
Shouto flinched as if he'd been slapped. His father was happy he'd lost. His own father. And it wasn't even for a good reason, was it? No, it was because Endeavor was hoping that losing the sports festival would teach him a lesson. Well, he was wrong. Shouto refused to be the masterpiece that Endeavor wanted him to be.
And to make it worse, even if his father was happy, he was still going to get punished, just because of who he'd lost to. He hadn't even fought that team directly. The only interaction he'd even had with them was when they'd destroyed the ten million point headband, but his father didn't care about that. The only thing his father even cared about was that a general education student had won the sports festival while Shouto had been pushed to the sidelines and that was completely unacceptable.
"I raised you better than this." Endeavor lectured. "You were created to surpass All Might, Shouto, so act like it! You've been blessed with the perfect quirk and I've given you as much training as I could, but that's all going to be for nothing if you keep acting like a spoiled little brat. I made you to become a great hero, Shouto, my masterpiece. So stop wasting that potential and actually be my successor."
"Maybe that's the problem." For some reason, Shouto couldn't stop the words from spilling out. "I'm your masterpiece, right? And you're an eternal failure. You've been number two for how long again? Face it, Endeavor, I'm your son, so can you really expect me to be any better than second best?"
Endeavor slammed on the brakes with enough force that Shouto went launching forward and hit his head on the seat in front of him, "What did you say?"
Shouto gripped his nose, which was now bleeding, and tried to stop the blood from getting on the car's upholstery, "You heard me, old man. I'm a better failure than you ever were."
Endeavor glared at him for a long moment, then unlocked the doors, "Out."
Shouto stared at him in shock, "...what?"
"Out." Endeavor growled. "If you don't appreciate everything I've given you, then maybe you don't deserve it. You insist on acting like a spoiled child, Shouto, so let's see if a night on the streets will help you grow up."
Shouto opened and closed his mouth a few times, but there really wasn't anything to say. He ripped the door open and didn't even grab his phone as he got out of the car and slammed the door behind him. He half expected Endeavor to roll down his window and say that it had just been a logical ruse, like Aizawa always did, but no. As soon as the door was closed, his father just...drove away. Just abandoned Shouto on the side of an almost deserted street like he was nothing. Maybe he was.
The few people on the street were beginning to stare, not that homeless people and druggies were probably that interested in the downfall of the great son of Endeavor, but still, his father would get even more angry if the media got wind of this. Thankfully, Shouto had changed into street clothes after the sports festival, so at least he was in jeans and a hoodie instead of his school uniform. That would have been harder to pass off.
Even if he walked home, Endeavor probably wouldn't let Fuyumi let him in, so Shouto shoved his hands in his pockets and resolved to just wander the streets until the sun rose and his punishment was over. He gave one last look down the street, but Endeavor's car had already turned the corner out of sight. Shouto shook his head and cut through an alley, grabbing a beanie he'd found on the ground as he passed. It was a little too big and smelled like cigarette smoke, but at least it would cover his hair. There wasn't much he could do about his scar at the moment, but whatever, it was only one night, right?
"Yeah! Those cheerleading outfits were amazing!" Mineta drooled. "Yaoyorozu really outdid herself this time!"
"I guess so…" Kaminari grinned. "Still not looking forward to the detention Aizawa's gonna give us, though."
"He just doesn't appreciate art!" Mineta complained. "It's like he's gay or something!"
Kaminari shrugged awkwardly, "I dunno. I gotta get going, man, but I'll see you Monday, alright?"
"Sure thing!" Mineta gave him a big thumbs up. "See you Monday!"
Kaminari gave a wave when he reached the end of the street and Mineta waited until he disappeared around the corner to let his smile fall. Hopefully the whole gay comment would get the guy to leave him alone. Everyone avoided the class pervert, but it was much more difficult to get ignored when someone as loud as Kaminari kept seeking him out. It was irritating.
Mineta was taking a shortcut home though the bad part of town when his phone rang. The caller ID was blocked, but he thought he had a pretty good idea of who it was, "How did you enjoy the sports festival? Pretty good show, right?"
Kurogiri was business-like as always as he responded, "Sensei has a few students he wants you to keep an eye on."
"Did he say who?" Mineta asked. "I'm already watching everyone in 1A. Class 1B will be a little more difficult, but I think I can manage."
"Actually, there's a mix this time." Kurogiri informed him. "Shigaraki has suggested that young Bakugo might be a good addition to our organization, so test the waters there."
"If he doesn't blow my head off first." Mineta grumbled. "Fine, who else?"
"That is for you to discover." Kurogiri said cryptically. "Sensei believes that Cheat Code might be a student."
Mineta almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, "What?! Seriously?!"
"Are you questioning Sensei's judgement?" Kurogiri asked, far too calmly.
Mineta gulped, clearly hearing the threat hidden behind the words, "No, of course not. I was just surprised is all. The analysis the guy gave me on my quirk was pretty intense."
"His analytical skill is advanced beyond his years, true." A new voice joined the call and Mineta froze. "But he is inexperienced. That being said, it is most likely an upperclassman in the hero course, although the support course is another likely option. I would like you to see what you can find out. Will that be a problem?"
"N-no, Sensei." Mineta stuttered. "I'll put in a request to adjust my hero costume and start keeping an eye on the upperclassmen first thing on monday."
"Good." Sensei sounded like he was smiling. "And good work on the sports festival. You're exactly where we need you to be."