Chapter 38:
(Woo! I'm back, it's been a hot minute, but I'm back! Now we focus on the rest of the matches, and learn of stuff with Tenya! I'm still open to the ideas of where Lucas should intern during the Hero Killer Arc, btw. I know I said I wouldn't write it and I'm tempted to say he'll intern with Endeavor, but I'm also open to other ideas. Enjoy the chapter!)
Lucas helped Izuku out and helped him walk. "You're gonna be okay? Thankfully the surgery was a success, but I'd be careful, all the same." Lucas had advised. "I'll be okay, Lucas. Thanks for helping out with my recovery." Lucas smiled, "Not a problem! Say hi to the others for me, Izuku!" Lucas said, before turning to Toshinori ashamed. "A-And…Yagi-sensei. I…apologize for the way I behaved and blamed you." Lucas said.
Toshinori smiled, "No, you were right, Sakai. Still, I've never seen that anger in you before." Lucas looked to his side, ashamed even more. "Well, we'll be off."
(… …Expecting something to happen? Just go to the next scene.)
Toshinori was thinking about what Shuzenji and Lucas had mentioned about finding a new way for Young Midoriya to use One For All, while walking with his protégé through the hall. "Hey, All Might." Izuku said, "Huh?" Toshinori snapped himself back to the real world to see him. "Remember when you told me why you came to UA in the first place? To find a worthy successor to inherit One For All." Izuku asked, to which his mentor affirmed. "I put everything I had into the Sports Festival. But still…There were other competitors who fought for the victory harder than I did." Izuku said, thinking of Shinso, Ochaco and Shoto. "So…Maybe—"
"You're thinking it might be better for someone else to be my successor. Yes?" Toshinori asked. Izuku gasped, hearing the words sting. "Yes." Izuku said, believing himself to be incapable of being the successor if he saw other people working harder than he did. "You speak the truth, this place is full of incredible potential heroes. One For All is a crystallization of power. It bolsters Quirks. For example, if Young Todoroki were to inherit it, the strength added to his own Quirk would probably make him an unbeatable superhero." Toshinori explained, Izuku winced, believing he knew what was next. "Then—"
"But, you know, I was Quirkless, too, as a kid." Toshinori pointed to himself and watched Izuku's stunned face looked back at his mentor. "Quirkless? Seriously?" Toshinori smiled and acknowledged that it wasn't as rare of a thing as it was nowadays. "Even though I didn't have a power of my own, I had someone who believed in my potential." Toshinori explained, "My master gave me One For All and raised me to become a hero." Izuku was stunned, "You never told me about that!" He said.
"It's not my fault you never asked. Which is honestly surprising." Toshinori expected his protégé to be a nerd about this sorta thing. Izuku stepped back, "I just can't believe the number one hero was Quirkless."
Toshinori nodded, "It's true. When we first met, I saw a little of the old me in you. But, kid, you've gone beyond my expectations time and time again." He admonished Izuku's achievements in both school and the attack on USJ. "One day, you're gonna do incredible things with One For All. That's something I truly believe." Izuku wanted to tear up again, and quickly shut his eyes. "I'll do my best." He said. Before returning to watch the Sports Festival. It wasn't over yet.
(In the waiting room)
Tenya heard his phone ring, wanting to call his brother. "Hey, are you there, Tensei? It's Tenya." He said and heard it go to voicemail. "Oh, well. We'll talk soon, brother." Tenya said, before hearing a knock on the door. "H-Hello, Tenya? Can I come in?" It was Sakai's voice, "You may enter, Sakai." Tenya said, seeing the boy enter the waiting room. "I've come to wish you good luck out there. O-Oh…were you talking to someone already?" Lucas asked. "No, I was trying to call my brother and he never answered. So, I assume he's busy." Lucas smiled, "What kind of person is Ingenium? I've heard stories from the news, but since you're his brother, I wanted to know…?" Lucas asked.
"Ah, he's an incredible person. Kind, helpful, caring…He even suggested offering those who did not earn their Provisional Licenses apprenticeships at his agency. Tensei truly is incredible, I'd said." Lucas smiled, "That's sounds cool! I can tell you look up to him a lot. Ingenium has been one of my favorite heroes since I heard about him." Lucas noted. "Indeed. Which is why I've set to dedicate my time here to work as hard as he did." Tenya said, fixing his glasses.
"Yeah, I guess we're in the same boat for that." Lucas said, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh? Who do you look up to, Sakai?" Tenya asked. "My father and teacher, mostly. They're Pro Heroes, too. Though, you wouldn't believe me if I told you who they were." Lucas let out a mischievous chuckle, Tenya was left confused, before hearing the next announcement. "As much as I would like to figure that out, I am up. I'll see you later, Sakai." Tenya had said, "Bye, Tenya! Good luck!" Lucas said, cheerfully. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. I can't help but be a little jealous that Tenya has a great one, it seems." Lucas thought to himself. "Still, I'll bet his brother's gonna be proud of him when he becomes a hero!" Lucas then decided to walk back to the medical area. He had seen an alarm on his phone for reports of the rumored Hero Killer: Stain. "No one's caught him yet? That's not good." Lucas didn't know much about Stain, but he going either killing or incapacitating Pro Heroes. Lucas felt horrified at the idea of that. "I hope someone'll be able to take him down."
(Later)
"Now, who do you think has the upper hand here, pup?" Nezu asked his child. "I'm going to still say Bakugo-san. Kirishima-san's defense will only get him so far, and Bakugo-san seems to excel in close range combat." Lucas analyzed, "Kirishima-san will only prolong the inevitable if he makes one wrong move in close range. Not to mention, there may be a limit on how much he can use his durability until it starts to hurt him."Lucas was already impressed by how well Eijiro was holding up. He was happy to see Tenya had made it to the next round, but he wasn't going to play favorites. Lucas acknowledges how quick and swift Katsuki is and acknowledges that Eijiro's defense can't last very long. "—Bakugo's having a heck of a time dodging Kirishima's attacks!" He heard Hizashi say. The boy then thought of how Fumikage and Tenya had won their battles and wanted to congratulate them. "Hmm…Hey, Papa. After I help with this match, can I go back to my class?" Lucas asked. Nezu smiled happily, "Of course, my boy! Go spend time with your friends! We'll call you if we need you, okay?" Nezu said. "Okay, Papa." Lucas said.
(Meanwhile with out subversive speedster and shonen protagonist)
"Midoriya! I take it that your surgery must've gone well. I'm glad!" Tenya said, walking ahead. "Thank you. And congrats on your win!" Izuku congratulated Tenya, before the two of them looked at the brackets.
"I'm up against Todoroki. I watched your fight with him closely. Maybe I can learn from it." Tenya hypothesized. Izuku agreed with the notion, "Is Ingenium excited that you've blown through the bracket? He must be so proud of his little brother." Izuku said. "Mm. I'm not sure. I called him earlier, but he was working." Tenya said, "Oh. Sorry." Izuku said, thinking of when Tenya explained how he strives to be like his older brother.
"WHAAAHHAHA?! Bakugo is countering again!" The two looked on and saw what Present Mic was speaking about. Katsuki had torn through and partially burned Kirishima's gym shirt.
"You been straining to keep your body rock-hard this whole fight, right?" Katsuki asked his opponent, Eijiro turned to him, sweat dropping and a nervous look in his eyes. "But that means you're overusing your Quirk. And sooner or later, you'll fall apart!" Katsuki said, sending a mass amount of explosions at Kirishima! Eijiro had no time to escape with each fiery burst coming. "Too much!" Eijiro said, his voice beginning to strain.
"THE FINISHING BLOW! DIE!" Katsuki grinned, viciously. "Now I understand why you were trying to avoid a drawn-out match with me." He said to his opponent. "Kirishima has been knocked out! Bakugo is the winner!" Nemuri had said.
Lucas walked out to help with medical treatment, and overheard that Tetsutetsu guy shout at Kirishima for being an idiot. "With that vicious carpet bombing, Bakugo advances to the third round. "All right, give me a second, Kirishima-san." Lucas did the first thing and healed the burn marks and scratches. "Don't talk, okay? We're heading to see Chi-Uh-R-Recovery Girl!" Lucas said.
This was it. Four more students in the semi-finals:
On the left was Shoto Todoroki vs. Tenya Iida.
On the right was Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Katsuki Bakugo.
Tenya put on a serious face, "Right. I'm off." Izuku watched his friend go off for his next battle. Izuku walked back to the bleacher the rest of his class was at. "Deku!" Ochaco said, "Hi, Midoriya! It looks like your surgery went well." Tsuyu had said.
(Somewhere else in Japan)
Tensei Iida ran through the city, then commanding his squads while reconning the area. "Squad A, head north. Squad B, check the west side!" Ingenium said, with both squad leaders offering a "roger!" as a response. Tensei could hear the sirens going off all around the city. He then ran through a narrow street, and not long after the pro hero sensed an ominous presence coming from the alley. "Back there!" Ingenium said, jumped from one wall over to jump above the roof. "No doubt about it. It's him!" Tensei said, using his Quirk to safely land, he stood in guard and saw. "I've found you! Hero Killer!" Ingenium spoke to his target.
A man in the dark stared back at Tensei with a piercing glare in his menacing red eyes.
(Okay, we're ending it here! I know I didn't do the whole episode, but I still wanted to prioritize each match on its own, and I'll focus on Tenya and Shoto's match in its own chapter. And after that, I plan on returning to Claus for a few chapters. Anyways, that's all. Stay strong and awesome!)
Psalm 62:8 KJV:
Trust in him at all times; ye people, Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
(One thing I feel like I keep forgetting, but God is our refuge. We can go to Him when we have problems, spend time in His Presence, we can talk to Him through prayer! And this was made more possible because of Jesus, who died for our sins. It's just something to think about. Hope this helps in some shape or form!!)
