Ch10: Friends and Enemies
Note: Hey everyone! Hopefully you guys are well. We've got a set up chapter this time around with a little bit of everything mixed in, from romance to back stories, and a little bit of drama! All with a tiny bit of humor to tie it all together. I really hope you guys are enjoying so far!
@SulliMike23: I've definitely got all of that planned out and ready to go! And I cant wait to put it out there. The LOV is gonna be really fun to add into the story. I'm excited to hear what you think :)
@abijayks: Thanks a lot! i was kinda nervous that people wouldn't like the cavalry battle as much as the obstacle race. Thanks for the review!
Quick shoutout to one of this story's newer followers... @SammySosa'sDatBoi... you win the best username I've ever seen award. Keep doing God's work.
As always guys, thank you so much for following along with this story! I really appreciate you all!
I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story...
"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THOSE SEATS AND ONTO YOUR FEET!!! WE HAVE REACHED THE FINAL MINUTE OF THE CONTEST!!!! AS YOU'VE SEEN SO FAR, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN SO DON'T LOOK AWAY FOR EVEN A SECOND AS TIME CONTINUES TO TICK DOWN!!!!"
As Team Midoriya sped towards the other side of the field in hopes of chewing the last vital seconds off the clock, they were once again ambushed by Team Todoroki. Suddenly, a wall of ice appeared in front of them. Quickly they pivoted and headed in the other direction, but another glacial wall appeared. A metal staff pierced through the side of Izuku's jetpack, rendering it useless. They were stuck. They turned to see Shoto Todoroki and his team staring them down.
Shoto narrowed his eyes at the boy... "I'll be taking that headband now."
"I don't think so!" Midoriya shouted back as Dark Shadow appeared in front of them and they began to inch to the right.
Shoto gritted his teeth, 'He's keeping his distance and staying to my left side, if I tried to freeze him now, I'd hit Iida... That's his strategy. If he keeps moving like this, I'll never get a clear shot at his team... Plus it would appear that Tokoyami can defend against Kaminari's electricity... That bastard!'
Iida looked up with an intensity, unrivaled by anyone else on the entire battle field. Nobody knew, but the class rep had one final trick up his sleeve.
"Everyone... We have less than sixty seconds left... This stalemate cannot continue... So I'm going to do something that's going to make me useless to you." He said as Shoto looked down at him.
"What are you planning?"
"Just make damn sure you get that headband! Everyone hang on tight! Brace yourselves!" He said as Yaoyorozu and Kaminari locked their grip on the front horse as tight as they could. Shoto didn't know what to expect, but readied himself. His hand closed and opened again as he prepared to grab the points.
Iida leaned forward athletically as his engines roared and began to glow red.
"TORQUE!!! OVER!!!! RECIPROBURST!!!!!!!!!"
Flames of blue shot from his exhaust and rocketed his team forward at a speed unseen by anyone in the stadium before. He stopped just before the sidelines as Todoroki held the prize in his hand in disbelief.
Team Midoriya was suddenly left without any points as everyone stared at Iida with extreme awe.
"Iida... What the hell was that?" Shoto asked as the boy in question caught his breath after the jarring sprint forward.
"Forced my torque and RPM into overdrive... Which gave me explosive power... But the recoil stalls my engines for a while. All we have to do is hold them at bay for a few more seconds and victory is ours..." He glanced up with a prideful look on his face. "I told you Midoriya... I'd do my best to beat you."
The crowd cheered like never before as Present Mic and Aizawa were left in a stunned silence.
"DON'T LET THEM GO!!! WE HAVE TO GET THOSE POINTS BACK!!" Midoriya screamed as they charged forward. 'This is my responsibility! Uraraka... Hatsume... Tokoyami... They all put their faith in me! I REFUSE TO LET THEM DOWN!!!'
"ONLY TWENTY SECONDS REMAIN! IT LOOKS LIKE IZUKU MIDORIYA HAS FOUND HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF YET ANOTHER SHOW STOPPER!!!! WHO'S GONNA WALK AWAY WITH THE POINTS AND THE VICTORY?!?!"
With the unbridled spirt of a true hero, the power of One for All surged through Izuku's veins and into his right arm.
Team Bakugo raced to the wall of ice. "Damn there's no way around it! What do we do now?" Kirishima shouted as he charged forward.
"I'll take care of it!! Everyone hang on tight!" Peter shouted as he shot a string of webbing to the top of one of the spires. He pulled until the tension was strong enough to give them the lift they needed and slapped the other end to the center of Kirishima's chest and held on tightly. The group was launched into the air and over the wall. As they landed, Peter removed the web while Katsuki whipped his head back and forth to try to locate his prize.
"Who's got the points?!" He said to himself as he launched himself from his team. He zeroed in on Todoroki.
"DAMMIT ICY HOTTTTTTTT!!!!!!"
Shoto didn't even notice the blonde heading his way because as Izuku closed in, he felt the most overwhelmingly intense power he had only experienced a single time in his life before... When he witnessed All Might's power first hand at the USJ.
He instinctively ignited the flames of his left side as the successor reached out towards his face. He noticed his action and lost focus.
'My left side! What am I doing?!?!'
Peter saw the brightness of his friend's flames and his eyes widened. "Shoto..."
Izuku remembered the first time he used his power against a person... at the USJ in his attempt to save Asui... He recalled how out of control he was... He pushed the thoughts from his mind. 'This is fine! I'm not hitting anyone, I'm just slicing through the air! Everything will be fine!'
He opened his hand and swiped outward, creating an insanely strong gust of wind that moved the left arm of Todoroki out of the way, and sending Bakugo soaring away in the process.
Peter reacted quickly as he caught his team captain once again with his web and pulled him back to safety. He was awestruck by the power wielded by Midoriya. 'He created that strong of an air current by just waving his arm?!'
Suddenly the reality that the green haired boy had foiled what would be their last chance set in. 'No! There's no more time!'
Izuku had his opening. 'My hand hurts... But it's not broken!' He saw the large collection of headbands Team Todoroki had claimed over the course of the game. He had turned them inside out to hide their values. 'Which one is it?!?!'
His eyes widened as he noticed one of the headbands looked like it had been burned slightly. He remembered Bakugo's attack on Monoma...
'Thanks a lot Kacchan!!!'
He snatched the ten million points as the final second ticked off the clock. The horn sounded as Midoriya screamed with elation. "YES!!! WE DID IT!!!!!"
"WHAT AN AMAZING COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY AS IZUKU MIDORIYA ONCE AGAIN FINDS A WAY TO BEAT THE ODDS!!! LETS HEAR IT FOLKS!!! SHOW THESE KIDS SOME LOVE!!!!!"
The crowd was deafening. All the riders climbed down from their teammates and looked to the score board.
FIRST PLACE: TEAM MIDORIYA
SECOND PLACE: TEAM TODOROKI
THIRD PLACE: TEAM BAKUGO
FOURTH PLACE: TEAM SHINSO
Izuku fell to the ground clutching the most valuable headband in his hands as his team dove on top of him in excitement.
Team Todoroki helped Shoto down with looks of frustration at the celebrating individuals. They were lucky... That's all it was.
Shoto, on the other hand, knew that it was more than that... Much more. He stood motionless as he looked at the group celebrating.
Peter looked over at his friend with concern as Bakugo shook in anger on the ground. 'He used his fire...' his expression of worry wasn't unnoticed by Ashido, though she misread the situation. He turned to his other two teammates who watched the blonde with worried expressions. "Hey! We're moving on. Let's not kick ourselves too hard." He said earning smiles from Mina and Kirishima.
"Try telling him that." Kirishima pointed at Katsuki.
"Nah! I like my face the way it is, thanks." He joked.
"We couldn't have done it without ya man. We should really hang out more." The redhead held up a fist.
Peter smiled as their fist connected. "Sounds like fun! You guys have my number. Thanks for letting me have a spot on the team!" He turned to walk away but was stopped by Mina's voice.
"Uh... Hey Parker?" She looked like something was bothering her.
"What's up Ashido?"
"About what that guy said earlier... Please don't give it any space in your brain. None of those awful things he said to you were true or fair. You're one of us. I hope you know that..."
"Yeah that guy's just a jackass. You deserve just as much hype from this crowd as the rest of us." Eijiro added as he clenched his fist in good spirit.
He closed his eyes and smiled. "Thanks you guys. That really means a lot." He turned around again and headed towards his best friend who had been on his mind ever since the round wrapped up. He noticed the lost expression on his face as he approached him.
On the way he locked eyes with the girl who made his heart race. Her eyes darted towards Shoto as if to tell him he needed to check on him. He nodded his head and hurried his pace.
"Hey! Everything okay?"
Shoto continued to stare off at the green haired boy who had, yet again, bested him.
"Hey! Sho!" Peter shook his shoulder finally breaking the boy out of the prison of his mind.
He blinked and turned his head to his friend. "Oh... Hey Parker. What's going on?"
"I think I should be asking you the same question..."
Before Shoto could say anything Midnight's voice filled the stadium.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO TEAMS MIDORIYA, TODOROKI, BAKUGO, AND SHINSO!!!! YOU SIXTEEN STUDENTS HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE IT TO THE FINAL ROUND!!!"
The crowd erupted. As the students looked around at all the people who were in attendance cheering them on. The flashes from the cameras were blinding. Their hearts pounded with excitement. They had finally done it... But their day wasn't over just yet...
"While the tournament committee and myself put together a sixteen player bracket for the final round, you will be given an hour to rest, eat, and mentally prepare for one of the biggest moments of your young lives! Be sure to give it your best!"
And with that, their intermission had begun. Peter looked back at Shoto. "I think we shou-"
"I have to speak with Midoriya. I can't explain everything to you right now but I promise I will later. Please don't worry about me. I'm fine." he said quickly as he began to walk away.
Peter stepped in front of him and kept his voice down. "Look. I know what's going on with you, or at least a large portion of it. I saw your flames. I'm not trying to press you, but I need you to know that I'm here for you man. I'm not gonna stop you from talking to Midoriya either... I'm sure you have your reasons. But don't you dare think you can shut me out. Find me when you're done with greeny."
Shoto looked at his friend. He was always used to pushing his feelings aside and dealing with his problems on his own. He was fortunate to have a friend like Peter. It felt good to no longer feel alone. An authentic smirk appeared. "So... How does it feel to keep losing to your girlfriend?"
Peter laughed. "Get the hell out of here dude." He joked. "It's actually pretty nice... She really believes in herself now. If nothing else, that will be my real success of this whole thing." They both looked over at the girl talking with her friends.
"Go talk to her. I'll find you when I'm done with Midoriya. I promise." Peter nodded and with that the two split up momentarily.
"Toru...*pant... I swear to... *Cough... whatever God will listen... *Pant... I will never forgive you... *Wheeze... For what I have had to endure today." Jiro said with her hands locked on her knees.
"I don't understand... Wasn't Sato in your group Toru? Why did you make Jiro your front horse to carry the most of the weight?" Momo said completely unable to understand the line of reasoning that left her best friend with a possible chronic back problem.
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!" Jiro screamed at the invisible girl with all the breath left in her lungs as she clutched her knees with frustration.
"Oh come on Jiro! I said I was sorry like ten times! I really thought I'd have a hard time seeing over Sato! He's huge!" Hagakure tried to defend her reasoning.
"Your feet would've been at waist level Toru... *Ribbit" Tsu said through half-lidded eyes.
"Oh yeah... Oops.. heh heh."
As Momo chuckled at the antics of the two in front of her, she caught sight of Peter strolling towards her with his hands in his pockets as usual. Her heart ran in circles as he smiled at her. That damn smile never failed to make her weak, even in a stadium full of thousands.
"Hey guy- Whoa! What's up with Jiro?"
"She's exhausted from having to carry Hagakure around during the whole competition *ribbit ribbit." Tsu answered as Ochako and Mina joined the group.
"Yikes. Wait... Wasn't Sato on your team? Why didn't he-" he stopped his sentence when he noticed Momo gesturing for him to not continue his thought any further.
He turned to notice Jiro side eyeing him with annoyance from her hunched over position.
"Got it! Sorry!" He said nervously as the punk rocker finally stood up and sighed.
"I can't be mad at you..." She said with a tired tone.
He laughed as he rubbed his neck. Suddenly he noticed a flash on the jumbotron. The rest of them followed his eyes to find the names and pictures of the sixteen finalists displayed on the giant screen.
"Wow our class really showed out huh?" He said as he scanned over the board.
"It went about how I expected it to honestly, *ribbit though I was hoping my team would have been a little more competitive." Tsu said with her usual easy going tone.
"Huh it looks like only one person from class B made it through..." Jiro noted.
Mina scoffed, "One too many if you ask me..." She muttered as she folded her arms.
Only Momo seemed to notice the reaction, as she raised an eyebrow. It was out of character for her friend to hold a grudge of any sort. She filed the information away in her brain to bring up later in a more private setting.
The screen suddenly showed a flashy transition. The words at the top read: CROWD FAVORITES
1: SHOTO TODOROKI
2: MOMO YAOYOROZU
3: KATSUKI BAKUGO
4: PETER PARKER
5: IZUKU MIDORIYA
"YAOMOMO THEY LOVE YOU!!! THAT'S SO AWESOME!!!" Mina shouted with a wide smile.
"Yeah I bet your list of internship offers is gonna be a mile long!" Jiro said as she continued to look at the names with a huge sense of pride in her best friend.
Momo looked at the tournament popularity rankings with disbelief. She knew she was doing well, but to see it with her own eyes was truly something special. She was succeeding beyond her wildest imaginations. Her dream of becoming a pro hero was becoming a reality so clearly in front of her. She allowed herself to take a moment to appreciate her accomplishment. As she continued to stare up at the screen, a bright smile formed on her face as a short laugh of shock managed to escape from her mouth.
Peter took his eyes away from the rankings and looked over to her. Her reaction was everything to him. He had successfully torn down the cage she put around herself, and now she had an image to hold onto if she ever ran into any doubt along her journey. He was extremely proud of her. He walked to her side.
"Bet that feels pretty good huh?" He whispered with a grin, "I'm not normally one to pull the 'I told you so' card buuuuuut, I totally did. I bet you have a lot of young girls looking up to you right now."
Momo shed a tear and wiped it away quickly as she finally took her eyes off the screen. The smile remained on her face as she looked back at him then to her other friends. They were all still glued to the list.
"It's strange that Midoriya just barely made the top five considering he's been on the winning side of both events so far..." Mina stated as the others nodded.
"Yeah I wonder why that is..." Toru added.
"It's probably because he hasn't really shown off his quirk like every one else in the top spots." Tsu theorized.
"Todoroki seems to be doing pretty well for himself." Momo nudged the boy beside her.
"Yeah, Sho's really been going full boar this whole time. Can't really say I'm surprised." He answered.
"Speaking of Todoroki, do you know what he wanted to talk to Deku for Parker? He came up and took him off somewhere after the round ended... It seemed pretty important." Ochako said as she turned to him.
Jiro turned around as well, "Yeah, and what was with him calling out Midoriya before the festival started?" She remembered the look Peter gave them when Shoto stood up to challenge Midoriya in the waiting room.
He suddenly grew nervous. "Sorry I don't really have a lot of details on the whole thing. He just told me he'd catch up with me later." He answered Uraraka while selectively letting Jiro's question go unanswered.
Momo noticed the spot he was in and quickly thought of a way to save him from any further interrogation.
"Hey guys we should get going! I'm sure the cafeteria is going to be absolutely packed if we wait too long." Momo suggested to change the subject in a way that seemed natural at face value.
"I could definitely use some food *ribbit."
"Now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry after packing around Toru FOR NO GOOD REASON!!!!"
"How long are you gonna stay mad at me for that?!"
"Probably at least through the weekend." Jiro huffed.
"You gonna join us Parker?" Ashido offered.
He grinned, "I can't say no to food." And with that they headed for the tunnel.
As the group reached the stadium cafeteria entrance, they were surprised to find it not too packed. Apparently, in order to keep the competitors focused and the media at bay, the school had roped off the cafeteria for the entire hour long intermission, allowing the students the ability to eat in peace. Peter scanned the room. There was no sign of Todoroki... Or Midoriya for that matter. They still had plenty of time before the hour was up though so he didn't let thoughts linger too long. They grabbed some food and found an empty table.
"That's quite a lot of food you two!" Jiro said as she stared at the mound of food Peter and Momo sat in front of them.
"Well to be fair, her quirk requires her to eat... I'm just a glutton." He joked earning a chuckle from the group.
"So how are you guys feeling about your chances in the final round? *Ribbit"
The four in question took turns answering.
"I'm trying not to get too worked up until they reveal the bracket, but I am feeling a little nervous..." Ochako admitted with an anxious chuckle.
"It still hasn't really set in yet for me." Mina answered honestly. "To be honest though, I'm not gonna get my hopes too high... Everyone left is so strong."
Momo finished her bite before speaking, "It's strange... If you told me I'd be in the final round last week, I would have been a little skeptical, to be quite honest... And then if you told me I would actually be excited about it, I definitely wouldn't have believed you."
"You've seriously improved a lot YaoMomo! It's extremely impressive!" Uraraka said cheerfully.
The girl smiled at the praise. "Well I can't take all the credit... I had a lot of help training this week that really went a long way." She nudged Peter with her knee under the table.
He smiled as he continued to eat and nudged her back.
"I still have no earthly idea how you survived Parker. Her quote unquote, light days leave me worn out for a week. I can't imagine what she put you through." Jiro said as she watched him put away some noodles.
"Yeah but Parker is an animal too! No wonder the two of them have done so well today!" Uraraka said with her usual upbeat outlook.
"Speaking of which, You look pretty calm Parker *ribbit. I'm guessing you're not too worried about the final round?"
He swallowed his food, "We all just have to do our best. No sense in working ourselves up over it... But there are three people that I'm watching out for in this tournament. If I get paired up against them, then I might be a little nervous." He said without looking up from his food.
Momo and the others turned to him in shock. Peter was one of the strongest highly capable fighters in their class as far as they were concerned. The fact that he would be nervous about facing three of the other contestants gave them goosebumps.
"Well who are they?!" Toru asked the question on all of their minds.
"Well for starters I'll get the easy ones out of the way." He pointed his thumb to the girl beside him. They all whipped their heads in her direction.
"A couple of you saw the tail end of one of our sparring matches. What you aren't aware of was that it wasn't an outlier. We each won exactly half of our practice fights and I wasn't holding anything back. She's the only person I've ever fought to have such an impressive handle on their technique and fighting style. She's worked extremely hard, and when her back is against the wall, she has a whole different level to her intensity."
Momo noticed the wide eyed expressions from her friends. She smirked as she continued to eat silently.
"Shoto is another one for obvious reasons. His power is insane... I've only managed to beat him a handful of times when we've gone at it during our joint training sessions. The scariest part of him is that he only uses half his power and is still nearly unstoppable. He's a bad matchup for me in a ring setting too. I just don't know if I could beat him if we met in this tournament."
That revelation was a lot less surprising to them. They were all aware of Todoroki's capabilities. They would even estimate that he was stronger than some pros already. They continued to listen as they watched Peter's facial expression harden.
"The third one is probably the one you'd least expe-"
He was cut off as the elbow of Neito Monoma smacked into the back of his head as he walked by, purposely spilling a small amount of his food onto Peter's shoulder.
"HEY WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING YOU JERK!" Mina shouted at the blonde as he turned around with a smug look on his face.
"Oops, sorry about that. Guess I just couldn't get out of the way of that big head of yours... How clumsy of me."
Mina gritted her teeth as Momo began to see red. Never before had she witnessed something that instantly filled her with such a protective brand of anger. She began to turn around to give him a piece of her mind but was stopped by Peter's hand on her own.
The rest of the group looked on in shock and frustration at the rudeness of the class B student.
"Not as clumsy as losing that headband and your spot in the final round." Peter jabbed without turning around as he brushed the spilled food off of him.
"Oh you think you're being clever... Well, I'm not surprised you haven't heard... You were probably too busy stuffing your face or strolling around with your little girlfriend here to pay attention to anything else going on around you..."
He turned his attention to Momo who was glaring at him with anger that rivaled Bakugo, "Honestly, I can't for the life of me figure out what you could possibly see in him... Maybe you aren't as smart as everyone says after all..." He turned back to Peter with a sneer.
If the boy was looking to get a reaction from Peter, then he definitely pushed the correct button. As the words left his mouth, the brown haired boy felt a certain type of anger he never knew existed: The need to defend the honor of someone he deeply cared for.
"...The three other members of Team Shinso voluntarily withdrew from the match... Since my team finished in fifth, three of us got to take their place. I do hope we get to meet in the ring... I'd just love to wipe that annoying little smile off yo- mmmph? MMMMPH!! MMPH!"
Before he could finish his sentence a glob of web was plastered over his mouth, effectively silencing him. The ladies of class A turned to see Peter stand up from his seat with his hands in his pockets.
"You know it really does take quite a bit to get under my skin... But the moment you involve her... That's where I draw the line." He nodded his head in Momo's direction as he spoke.
The group of ladies were at a loss for words. They had never seen the boy angry before. Though he kept his hands in his pockets and spoke calmly, the stone faced expression of Peter Parker brought a wave of intimidation with the words that came from his mouth towards the boy, who had insulted him and his friends too many times now.
"I like you a lot better when I don't have to hear your mouth. Take your over inflated sense of self importance and get lost... And you better pray to whatever God you believe in that we don't meet in this tournament bracket."
He stepped closer to the boy and ripped off the web and sat down. Monoma just stared angrily at him. He took a step towards Peter before stopping at his last warning.
"If you're not going to apologize, then I'd cut your losses now and leave. I don't care to force them to continue the festival with fourteen contestants..."
With a glare he turned and walked away. Momo suddenly understood her pink friend's reaction earlier. She managed to finally calm herself as she looked back at Peter. He had resumed eating as if nothing happened as the rest of the group looked at each other.
"Uh... Are you okay Parker? *Ribbit..."
He looked up from his food and sighed. "Y-yeah I'm fine. Sorry about that. I may have let myself get a little carried away..."
"Uhhhhh... No! I'm pretty sure that was an appropriate reaction to getting hit and having food dumped on you..." Mina said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah dude, no need to apologize to us, I would have totally flipped out if I were you... How did you stay so calm?" Jiro asked him.
"No sense in escalating it any further than necessary..." he said as he finished his last bite of food. "Besides... I might get the chance to embarrass him on international television." As he looked up he noticed a familiar face entering the cafeteria. He stood up as Momo followed his eyes to find Todoroki waiting in the doorway.
"Well ladies, I appreciate the concern and the invitation to join you guys... Hopefully I minded my manners enough while stuffing my face for us to do this again sometime..." His eyes drifted to Shoto as he spoke. "I've gotta go. Can I take that for ya?" He gestured to Momo's empty tray.
She smiled with a nod and handed it to him. He took her tray and said his goodbyes to everyone.
Toru waited until the boy was out of earshot before she whipped around to Momo. "I'd absolutely die to be you YaoMomo..."
She looked at Toru with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Dude... He's so obviously into you! He might as well walk around with a neon sign hanging over his head that says so." The invisible girl blurted out.
"You're just reading into things too much." She dismissed.
Mina and Jiro jumped into the conversation in agreement.
"Yeah dude... He totally is." Jiro added.
"Yeah he's not even trying to hide it at this point... Or if he is, he's just extremely bad at it." Mina chuckled
"Even I've noticed it *ribbit, and I'm terrible at reading these kinds of things." Tsu added plainly.
Momo's heart started to race at the thought of him returning her feelings. She had actually been beginning to suspect that to be the case, but was too unsure of the uncharted land feelings she now found herself in. She wanted to be absolutely certain. The unreachable itch in her brain was beginning to reappear, but she would have to push it aside for now and continue to focus. As she began to respond her eyes drifted to the boy in question who smiled at her as he exited the cafeteria with Todoroki.
She looked back at her friends, who had all watched her gaze linger on the boy and soften as he smiled at her. Every single one of them (including Toru presumably) stared back at her with knowing grins plastered on their faces.
"So you told him everything huh?" Peter asked as he hopped down from the ceiling and pulled up a folding chair to sit in.
"Yeah...it's not like I wanted to but I couldn't explain why I've singled him out without telling him about my background." Shoto said as he leaned against the wall of an unused waiting room. His arms were folded across his body as he blew a strand of hair out of his vision. "Another thing about this whole situation that bothers me is that I was barely able to get him to say anything about his own power... Or his involvement with All Might."
"Well what did you get him to say? You said the word 'barely' right? That must mean he gave you something."
Shoto sighed. "I asked him if he was All Might's secret love child..." he looked up at his best friend who was having trouble keeping a straight face and trying to desperately contain his laughter. Before his friend could comment, he pointed a finger sharply at him as his voice raised slightly, "And before you say anything, just know that I had a totally valid thought process that led up to that question!"
Peter couldn't hold it in any longer as a chuckle escaped his mouth. The pitch of his voice rose higher due to his amusement. "I'm sorry dude I really don't mean to laugh, but dammit... I just can't understand how that was the question your mind told you to ask first instead of... 'why are you two always together?' or 'why have you guys been eating lunch in the teacher's lounge lately?'... Do you see what I'm saying?"
Shoto rolled his eyes, "Laugh it up Parker... Just know I got a rather interesting answer from asking that specific question."
Peter immediately stopped laughing as his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "...No... No. No no no nonononono... There is no freaking way you're about to tell me that it's actually true!"
"As much as I'd love to rub it in your face and say 'I told you so'... No... No I'm not about to tell you that... But the way he answered in the negative was what was interesting to me."
"What did he say?"
Shoto furrowed his brow and looked up at his friend. "He said: that's not it at all..."
Peter sat up straight and cocked his head to the side. "That would imply that there is, in fact, some kind of secret between him and All Might that he's not supposed to share with anyone."
"Exactly."
"Well, this does give validation for targeting Midoriya during this whole thing... Are you doing okay man? What's going through your head?"
"Same as before... If Izuku Midoriya has a connection with All Might, then I will beat him without using my fire. In a ring setting, he's going to be forced to fight me without any tricks... He doesn't stand a chance."
Peter started to tread carefully. They were now stepping into a very delicate part of their conversation... But something inside of him told him that he needed to push a boundary with his friend.
"Hey man, listen, I know that it isn't my place to have any input on your personal and family situations... And I don't want to upset you by sticking my nose anywhere it doesn't belong... But can I say something to you about your power."
Shoto studied the face of his friend. It was the sympathetic face of someone who only wanted to help him. He sighed, "It's fine Parker.. you don't have to tip toe around this conversation. What is it?"
He looked at his friend and began, "You were born with an incredible power that can be used to help a lot of people who need it... That was something my uncle used to tell me growing up... Sho, you don't have to limit your power just because of where it came from... Your dad sounds like a real piece of work... But you aren't anything like him. I'm not trying to convince you to start using your left side. It's your power, you get to choose how you use it... But I hope you can see the gift you have been given as a part of you instead of him."
Shoto stared unmoved at the boy in front of him, who began to fidget with his hands, hoping that the words he had said didn't cross any lines that would jeopardize their friendship.
The silence of the room was deafening as Shoto's eyes moved downward, his expression remained unchanged, almost as if to consider the words that had been spoken to him.
He looked back up and began to speak, "I know you're just trying to help Parker... You sound a lot like my sister, you're both incredibly caring people... I'm not sure I could ever be upset at either of you..." His face softened for a brief moment, as it did, Peter was able to see the internal struggle inside his friend manifested in his expression. "I hate my left side. I hate this scar on my face. I hate the color of my hair. I can't not see my father when I look at those things."
"You don't deserve to hate anything about yourself..." Peter said lowly, "There's a lot of things in life we have no control over... Who our parents are is one of those things, but we do get to control how we live our own lives. Your power is a gift. You get to choose what you do with it. You don't have to use your fire if you don't want to... You're more than capable of winning this whole thing without it... I just thought I needed to say that to you."
Shoto was quiet for a moment. His fingers rhythmically tapped against his arm, until finally he spoke again with an unexpected question. "Have you ever wanted revenge on someone who has wronged you before? Do you know what it's like to need some sort of justice that won't ever come unless you yourself take matters into your own hands?" He said as he set himself up to make his next point, assuming that his friend would say no... Peter didn't seem like the vengeful type to him.
"You're talking to someone who knows that feeling better than anybody..."
Surprised by the revelation, Shoto watched as his friend's face hardened in a way he had never seen from him. "Really?..." He looked at Peter for an explanation.
Peter dropped his head as his hands clasped together. "Two years ago, a man in Queens was walking to his car after a long graveyard shift at work, when a car thief stopped him at gunpoint and demanded he give him his keys... The man was not one to believe in solving problems through violence, instead he believed in the power of words. When he refused and tried to deescalate the situation... He was shot three times in the chest... He died right there on the sidewalk before any help could arrive."
Shoto listened intently to the pain soaked words that had come from him. He already was able to tell who the man in this story was, but he let him continue without interruption.
Peter lifted his head and looked into the eyes of his friend with sorrow. "That man was my Uncle. The man who had taken me in and raised me as his own along with his wife after both of my parents died." The memory of that night was still as fresh as if it had just happened. "I hunted that guy down for weeks without rest, shaking down any criminals on the streets of New York for information that would lead me to him... When I finally found him, I hardly showed any restraint. I left him bloodied and unconscious in an alleyway on a rainy night before making an anonymous call to the NYPD..."
He stood up and walked over to place a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Vengeance is hollow Sho... At least it was for me. I'm not one to talk out of my ass. If I didn't know a somewhat similar feeling to what you're experiencing then I promise you I wouldn't open my mouth... No matter what you decide to do about your father... I just want you to find peace. You're my best friend... I'll always be here for you man."
Shoto was silent... He now understood why the boy in front of him had been so hell bent on putting his nose into his business. He once again felt lucky to have him as a friend... But the need to reject his fire still lingered inside of him. He moved Peter's hand from his shoulder and wrapped an arm around him and patted his back. "You're a good friend Parker." He said as he separated himself from him.
"So I take it that we're good now?"
"We never weren't, man." Shoto responded.
The PA system decided at that moment to return to life.
"Those students who are a part of the final sixteen, please report back to the field for the bracket reveal and start of the closing round."
"So... About what you said Wednesday night at the apartment..." Peter said with a smirk.
"No matter what happens Parker, there will be no hard feelings between us if we face each other... I promise."
"Good... Because if I had to bet, I'd say we're probably gonna have to go through each other at some point in this thing. I guarantee I'm not lucky enough to be put on opposite sides of the bracket from you." He chuckled as he opened the door and they exited the room.
"Well then you better make sure you enjoy your early matches then..." Shoto smirked as they started towards the tunnel. "Anyone you're hoping to get to take a crack at?" He joked.
Peter kept his smirk as he continued to look forward. "Oh yeah... That blonde kid from class B had better hope he liked his food enough to see it a second time."
Shoto turned to him with a cocked eyebrow. "What did he do to you?"
"Besides insulting our whole team in the cavalry battle... He made sure to introduce the back of my head to his elbow in the cafeteria before you showed up, dumped his food on my shoulder, and then insulted Momo."
Shoto's head spun in his direction. "He what?!"
"Yup... If I get lucky enough to fight him you're gonna get to see a real show buddy."
"I guess you really are the vengeful type..."
"It's rare... But it's down in there, whether I like it or not I guess."
Shoto smirked. "In that case, I'm gonna send him straight to Recovery Girl if I get to fight him."
The jet black haired girl led Mina and Kyoka into the nearest unoccupied waiting room. And closed the door behind them.
"Alright. I need your help again." She turned to Mina, "You said if we needed to change up our approach we'd meet up again and talk it over... I know now is a time we should be focusing on the matches ahead of us, but until we talk about this I'm not going to be able to concentrate on anything else."
Mina hopped up and down, "Ooooh! Sounds like there's some new developments in the YaoyoRomance department!!!! What's up?"
Her interactions with Peter throughout the day, and the week, flashed through her mind. "I-I think you guys might be right... About Peter liking me."
Jiro scoffed, "Dude seriously? It's about time you realized it... I mean when that one guy started to mess with him, he didn't seem to have a reaction until he brought you into it... By the time I was about to stand up, he had already taped his mouth shut and was up in his face... I don't think I've ever seen something so intimidating in my entire life."
Mina crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow with a grin, "Yeah I was starting to wonder if I was gonna have to find a chalk board to spell it out for you..." She chuckled. "So give us the details."
Momo took a breath and began to list all the things that furthered her suspicions since the beginning of the week. She also told them how hard it was becoming to keep her feelings for him to herself with each passing day, along with all the times she nearly let it slip.
"I don't understand, what more proof do you need??" Jiro asked her. "This whole thing seemed pretty straight forward from the outside looking in."
Mina gushed at all the mushy interactions between her two friends. The way they were both tip-toeing around their feelings was clumsy and sweet at the same time. Like a baby deer trying to figure out how to walk. Her brain started working on the next course of action as Momo tried to explain herself to Jiro.
"I understand how you could feel that way... But it just feels complicated for some reason. I'm probably overthinking it..." She admitted.
"Well hold on now, don't be too hard on yourself. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting him to make the first move." Mina countered as she finished devising a plan for her friend. "That being said, it seems like Parker is as gun shy about the whole situation as you are... maybe a little bit less but still... Anyway I think I have an idea on how to move this along a little faster... If you're willing to play a little dirty that is..." She smirked with a wink.
"Depends on what you have in mind." Momo responded skeptically, as Jiro remained silent and allowed Ashido to work her magic.
"I promise it's nothing too crazy... All I'm suggesting is a little bit of harmless flirting." She said using a soft tone to try to sell her pitch to the rather apprehensive girl in question.
Jiro thought for sure that there was no way her best friend was going to entertain that idea, but to her surprise she actually seemed like she was considering it.
Momo mulled the idea over in her head. It would be taking quite a step outside of her normal comfort zone, but she figured that if she could apply her newfound confidence into her hero training, then she could use it in this case as well. After all, she did find the idea of being more forward with him very appealing, and as a bonus she would be able to gauge his reactions relatively easily. It wasn't a difficult decision, but she would need some advice.
"I'm willing to try anything at this point... But I've never really flirted with anyone before..." She admitted.
The pink skinned girl in front of her rubbed her hands together, "Well, luckily for you, you happen to be talking to a world class expert on the subject!" She said as she pointed a thumb towards herself. "It's a pretty simple concept that just requires a little bit of confidence with a dash of charisma."
Momo nodded and waited for her to continue.
"So if I'm understanding the situation correctly, your feelings are kinda like a bottle of soda that's been shaken up, causing a lot of pressure to build up over time... Right?"
Momo's eyebrows raised at the strikingly accurate comparison. "Yeah?"
"Well, just think of it like this, every time you flirt a little bit, it's like unscrewing the lid to that bottle just enough to let some of that pressure out before tightening it back up... You don't have to do anything crazy, just get a little close to him when you guys talk, tease him a little, play with your hair, maybe even get a little touchy with him... Just give in to what your feelings tell you to do just a tiny bit and see how he responds." She said with an excited tone.
"It's scary how smart you can be when the subject interests you." Jiro said with her eyebrows raised.
"Right?!" The girl responded before turning her attention back to Momo, "Just give it a shot... I'm sure you'll be happy with what you find." She winked.
"Gotta agree, it couldn't hurt..." Jiro shrugged at her best friend, "but if I were you I'd wait until after today is over with. Not only do you have more pressing things to focus on... But you don't want to make poor Parker's brain implode before he has to fight or anything."
"Yeah that's a good point... Plus he's coming over for dinner tomorrow so it'll probably have to wait until after that too... He'll probably be nervous enough to meet my parents as it is." She reasoned.
"Waitwaitwait... He's coming over to your house tomorrow??" Jiro latched onto the new piece of unmentioned information.
"What the heck?! Why didn't you say anything?! That's some S tier gossip right there!" Mina exclaimed as she tried to keep her voice down.
"It just happened this morning." She defended her silence on the matter. "Turns out, I maaaay have hugged him yesterday in front of my dad and Mr. Kenichi by accident and my parents have been on my case about meeting him ever since."
"What. The. Hell. Dude! When were you gonna tell us about this?!" This time it was Jiro's turn to scold her.
She chuckled nervously, "Sorry my brain has been so focused on today it must've slip-" she managed to say before she was interrupted by the PA system.
"Those students who are a part of the final sixteen, please report back to the field for the bracket reveal and start of the closing round."
Mina stamped her foot in frustration knowing that she was going to have to wait to hear about the unbelievably juicy story she had just found out about. "You do know that when this whole thing is over with, you're morally obligated to tell us everything right?" She pointed a finger at her.
Momo chuckled as they made their way towards the door. "I promise I'll tell you everything."
"So... I bet YaoMama is unbelievably excited." Jiro smirked as she pushed the door open.
Momo let out an exaggerated groan. "Like you wouldn't believe." She said as the door shut behind them.