My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 34: To Save and To Win
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
With Uraraka defeated at the hands of Bakugo, the first matches of the Sports Tournament were concluded and the 2nd bracket of fights would begin, the first being Midoriya against Todoroki. This left Bakugo frustrated as only one of them would move forward in the bracket when he hoped to crush both of them.
He hadn't forgotten his humiliating loss at Midoriya's hands during the Combat Training, the day when Deku beat him despite not using his Quirk. Then Deku claimed he 'borrowed' the Quirk from someone, but Bakugo dismissed it as nonsense. He knew that no Quirk manifested past the age of five, so it could only mean that Deku hid his Quirk from him all these years, making him look like an absolute fool. He knew something was up and he was determined to find out the truth, then expose Deku as the fraud he was. However, he'd only do this after he beat him and made him pay for his humiliation.
As for Todoroki, their class had already deemed him the strongest student among them. Todoroki had lost in the past, but that was partially because he was only using half of his Quirk; if he used both his flames and his ice, then there was no doubt almost none of them would stand a chance against him. Bakugo wanted to be regarded as the strongest, to called the best in their class and Todoroki stood in his way.
To rub salt in the wound, Todoroki chose Deku as his rival rather than Bakugo. Why would IcyHot choose the worthless Deku as his rival rather than the powerful Katsuki Bakugo? What did Deku have that he didn't?
"Dammit," he growled. "Stupid piece of shit. Why can't Deku just go and die somewhere!? This…this is all Deku's fault!"
"This is very unheroic behavior, Bakugo," Iida scolded, having recovered from his fight with Furaya. Bakugo had been so caught in his angered thoughts that he didn't even notice Iida approaching him.
"Don't lecture me, Four Eyes," Bakugo growled. "You don't tell me what to do."
"I'm your Class Representative," Iida reminded the Explosion user. "Whether you like it or not, I have authority in Class 1-A when Mr. Aizawa isn't around. So I highly suggest you rethink your tone when you speak to your classmates."
"I told you, don't tell me what to do!" Bakugo repeated himself. He was about to walk off, but Iida reached forward and sternly put his hand on his shoulder. Iida was trying to be patient with Bakugo as was his responsibility as Class Rep, but after his recent behavior caused many of the other classmates to hate Class 1-A, Iida felt he needed to be more stern.
"Bakugo, your behavior has done nothing but reflect poorly on our class and our school," Iida scolded. "Do you truly believe you will be popular when you treat everyone in our class with such disrespect, especially Midoriya?"
"I don't give a damn about what you think!" Bakugo dismissed, pushing Iida's hand off his shoulder. "I will become popular and I will be the best in our class! I'm not going to be second-rate to anyone, especially that shitrag, Deku!"
It felt as though every word Iida said bounced right off Bakugo's thick skull, nothing getting through to him. As Class Rep, he wanted to approach Bakugo about his behavior in a mature manner, but his patience for the Explosion user was wearing thin. He debated what it would take for Bakugo to finally understand that he cannot keep acting the way he is.
"I do not understand your hostility towards Midoriya," Iida replied. "You and he haven't interacted much since the Combat Training-"
"It's because you don't know the nerd," Bakugo interrupted. "And why shouldn't I be hostile towards that worthless insect when he's doing his best to make an ass out of me!?" Iida frowned.
"Midoriya is not responsible for your behavior, Bakugo. You're just looking for someone to blame because you don't want to take responsibility for your actions. That's the truth; you're just too selfish to admit it." Bakugo turned and glared at the Engine user as if he had earned a death warrant. However, while Iida was rather unnerved by Bakugo's glare, he didn't back down.
"I'm not going to be talked down to by some four-eyed idiot who only got the position of Class Rep because Deku gave it to you," Bakugo snarled. "Only one person was worthy of that position and that person was me."
"Do you truly believe anyone would vote for you after what you nearly did to Midoriya during the Combat Training AND the way you've treated us?" Iida scolded. "I saw the footage of what happened; you endangered our lives and your own-"
"It was Deku's fault-"
"Quiet!" Iida snapped, his patience for the Explosion user wearing very thin.
"Midoriya was reckless as well, but YOU were the one who escalated the situation, even after All Might warned you that attack could've killed him. Stop being so immature and take responsibility for once instead of blaming everyone but yourself!"
Iida was appalled that Bakugo acted like the whole incident was solely Midoriya's fault because he didn't use his Quirk during the fight. Iida knew that Midoriya's attack was reckless and potentially fatal, but so was Bakugo's. Whether it was pride, arrogance or simply hatred for Midoriya, Bakugo refused to acknowledge his part in the escalation of the Combat Training, endangering himself and his classmates.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Bakugo rebuked. Iida shook his head in disappointment.
"I don't know who you think you are, but this behavior is going to wear thin VERY fast. If you don't shape up-"
"You don't get to lecture me," Bakugo refused to listen. "You only got the position of Class Rep because Deku gave it to you; you didn't earn it. Why should I listen to someone who was given their position rather than earning it?"
Iida understood Bakugo's point. He hoped to be elected Class Representative, but he received zero votes and the position was given to Midoriya while Yaoyorozu was chosen to be Vice President. After the incident when the press managed to break into U.A., Midoriya willingly gave the position to Iida due to his actions in calming the panicked students. So while it was true that Iida was given the position by Midoriya, it was because he proved himself.
"You're wrong, Bakugo," Iida responded sternly. "I can understand where you're coming from, but Midoriya gave me the position of Class Representative because I proved myself when the press broke into U.A. If you wanted the position for yourself, Bakugo, you should've been more respectful towards our classmates instead of treating us like we're beneath you and then calling us idiots for voting for Midoriya rather than you."
"Don't give praise to that worthless insect," Bakugo dismissed. "He doesn't deserve to be here; just you wait!" Before Iida could protest this, Bakugo walked away and refused to listen to the Class Representative any further.
The Explosion user couldn't stand to listen to Four Eyes speak of Deku as though he was better than him. How could Deku in any way be better than him? Deku was a burden, a failure, a coward, a worthless insect he could crush beneath his boot and he wanted it to remain that way. He didn't deserve any praise, he didn't deserve to be in U.A., and he certainly didn't deserve to consider himself his superior, least of all his equal.
"I don't know what you did, Deku," Bakugo snarled. "But I WILL beat you and then I will expose you for the fraud you are. And IcyHot…just you wait, I'll beat you! I'll murder both of you and be the undisputed strongest in our class!"
The next match began, one that was heavily anticipated by Class 1-A due to Todoroki declaring Midoriya his rival that he wished to defeat. As expected, Todoroki relied solely on his ice, launching attack after attack at Midoriya. Each time, his ice was repelled by Midoriya's pressurized wind attacks, obliterating the ice and constantly threatening to knock his opponent out of bounds. Todoroki knew that Midoriya couldn't use his Quirk without injuring himself, so he kept launching attack after attack with his ice to wear his opponent down.
"This is bad," All Might whispered to Open Palm.
"I can tell," the master martial artist replied. "Midoriya's using up all his fingers for those attacks. Todoroki's wearing him down."
"There's not much he can against the ice barrage, but still…"
All Might was worried for Midoriya as he watched the match. After destroying another barrage, Todoroki leapt in the air and attacked yet again. Missing Midoriya, he shot forward his ice to trap his opponent's foot; in response, Midoriya unleashed a massive attack using his left arm. No matter what attacks Todoroki used in the hopes of wearing Midoriya down, the One For All user kept countering with his powerful pressurized wind attacks, regardless of the immense pain he was feeling.
"Quit screwing around," Midoriya spoke. "Every one of us here is giving it our all to prove ourselves while you're still holding back. You honestly think you can become a hero using only half your power!? Come at me with everything you've got!"
Zankoku smiled, happy that someone finally called out Todoroki on using only half his power. He couldn't stand Todoroki's arrogance in believing that he could win using only half his power when the rest of the class gave it their all. At this point, overuse of his ice started to catch up to Todoroki, the right side of his body covered in frost and his movements not being as proficient and strong as they were.
At the same time, many of the Class 1-A students and U.A. teachers were starting to get worried about Midoriya's condition. His fingers were purple, broken and bruised from his attacks and his left arm was limp with pain. Cementoss and Midnight contemplated stopping the match, but had no grounds to stop it.
"How many times do you have to lose before you finally stop using only half your power!?" Midoriya shouted once more after landing a hit on Todoroki, which sent him tumbling. "Your left side is your Quirk, not his!"
Midoriya kept urging Todoroki to use his flames, despite everyone knowing that if Todoroki used his fire, the match would be over for Midoriya. Todoroki kept refusing, fueled by his desire to spite Endeavor and kept using ice attacks. Sadly, his body was suffering from the cold gathered on his body and allowed Midoriya to land a second powerful hit on him.
For a while, both combatants stood still, neither one making an attack. Todoroki looked shocked for a moment as Midoriya kept urging him to use his fire. To the shock and surprise of everyone around them, Todoroki's left side started to smoke, then burn before a great blasting inferno erupted from the son of Endeavor.
"Issssss Todoroki usssssing hisssss flamessssss!?" Nagami burst in shock.
"Holy crap!" Takeo gasped.
"SHOTO!" the voice of Endeavor roared as if in celebratory joy. "Have you finally accepted yourself!? Have you finally accepted your duty!? Good! Now you will fulfill my desire!"
Sunstorm and Razor Shell both expressed silent disgust at Endeavor for using the opportunity to gloat about Shoto 'growing beyond his rebellious phase'. Yet again, Endeavor proved that he didn't hold himself responsible for Shoto refusing to use his fire for so long; all that mattered to him was that Shoto was now using his flames.
"You idiot," Shoto told Izuku. "You kept pushing me to use my fire, even though your body is bruised and broken. Now which of us is the fool? Please don't be mad at me for what happens next."
Shoto and Izuku began to prepare for one final attack to determine the outcome of the fight. Cementoss and Midnight, concerned by Midoriya's injuries and the vast power of Todoroki's growing attack, finally acted to stop the match and prevent them from potentially killing each other. Sadly, they were unsuccessful and the power of Izuku and Shoto's attacks caused a massive blast that erupted throughout the entire stadium.
The force from the blast was powerful, forcing many people to take cover or anchor down to avoid getting caught up in the strong winds. Debris went flying everywhere, forcing some people to take cover behind seats to avoid getting hit or using their Quirks to shield themselves. Only Endeavor stood at the edge of the stadium near the arena, completely unaffected by everything around him.
When the dust finally cleared, Todoroki was left standing with the entire left side of his shirt burned off. Midoriya, unfortunately, had slammed into the wall of the stadium and been knocked both out of bounds and unconscious. He fell onto the ground, defeated and his body devastated.
"M-Midoriya is out of bounds!" Midnight announced as she recovered from the blast. "Todoroki moves onto the next round!"
"Dammit, All Might!" Recovery Girl snapped at the Symbol of Peace in private with Open Palm nearby. The master martial artist and #1 Hero both knew this was bad if Recovery Girl was cursing, which she never did unless she had been truly pushed to anger. Upon recovering Midoriya's unconscious body, she had determined that the damage done to him was very severe, so much so that it almost destroyed his arms and hands. She had left him with Sunhealer in the next room while she took All Might to a more private room to scold him.
"This is inexcusable," Recovery Girl scolded. "Midoriya's arms have been severely damaged from the overuse of One For All. If the match had continued any further, Midoriya could've lost full function of his arms permanently. It's indisputable at this point: you cannot teach him how to use One For All."
All Might had no room to argue. When he gave the Quirk to Midoriya, he was certain that he'd easily adapt to it as he did in his youth, but that wasn't the case. Now Midoriya was in the infirmary, his arms badly crippled and broken from his fight with Todoroki and requiring surgery. As Recovery Girl stated, he couldn't teach him how to use One For All properly as he didn't struggle with adjusting to it as Midoriya did.
"Do not congratulate him for this," Recovery Girl demanded. "He must learn how to use his Quirk without destroying himself and it's very clear that someone else must teach him. You know who that is."
"She's right," Open Palm agreed. "Midoriya will destroy his body unless he receives proper tutelage. We need to contact Gran Torino."
All Might was personally hoping to avoid having to contact his old mentor, but he had no room for argument as was evidenced by the immense injury dealt to Midoriya. He couldn't teach him how to use the Quirk he inherited, so he was left with no choice in the matter...even if it filled with immense dread and fear at the idea of contacting his old master.
"Oooohhhh," he shivered in fear. "I think he'll make me undergo training again once I tell him."
Whack.
"OW!" Toshinori cried out in pain from Recovery Girl having hit him in the foot with her syringe-like cane while Open Palm chuckled at All Might's frightfulness towards their old master.
"Stop complaining about this, Toshinori!" Recovery Girl scolded. "You chose Midoriya as your successor; it's your responsibility to make sure he receives the training he needs. He can't keep destroying his body like this!" She then stormed out of the room to make her way to where Midoriya was. All Might looked at Open Palm, doing his best to suppress his laughter at his misery and glared.
"Oh, I'll enjoy watching you get hit by her when your apprentice gets injured," he groaned.
"No, I'm laughing at you being terrified of Gran Torino," Open Palm responded. "He's not as bad as you think." All Might's entire aura was filled with immense dread, fear and anxiety.
"Did we train under the same man?" he questioned.
"We did, Toshinori," Open Palm chuckled. "But you do need to contact him before Recovery Girl stubs your toe again."
Meanwhile, in the room where an unconscious Midoriya was resting, Himari Kataiya was preparing Recovery Girl's surgical tools and identifying the broken bone fragments that needed to be removed from Midoriya's arms. She kept thinking to herself in horror of what could've happened had the match kept going, especially since Midoriya proved he would've kept fighting regardless of the damage he caused to his arms.
"He must've been in immense pain," she spoke with worry. There was a knock at the door of the infirmary, so Himari walked over and opened it, where she was greeted by the sight of Shoto Todoroki. He was still wearing his half-burned gym shirt, showing off his well-developed physique and causing Himari to blush.
"Are you alright?" he asked her as she turned her head away. "Do you have a fever?"
"N-n-no," she stammered. "I-I-I just need to g-get ready for Midoriya's surgery."
"Surgery?" Todoroki questioned with concern in his voice. "Were his injuries that severe?"
"I'm afraid so," Himari replied.
Todoroki entered the infirmary and looked at Midoriya. His arms were bandaged up and in white cloth slings, implying that the damage to his body was indeed very severe to require surgery. Todoroki knew that Midoriya was willing to injure his own body during fights, but he never meant for this to happen. He merely wanted to wear Midoriya down and claim victory, not brutalize him.
"Apologies," he sincerely spoke. "I shouldn't have pushed him to break his own body. If I had known he was willing to go this far-"
"And you need to be careful!" Himari scolded, once again breaking her rather timid front. "That final attack could've severely injured people other than you and Midoriya! Someone could've been seriously hurt; you need to be more conscious of the people around you!" After her short outburst, she quickly shied away and went back to preparing the surgical tools for Recovery Girl.
"Shouldn't your Quirk heal the damage to his arms?" Shoto asked.
"I've healed them as best as I can, but there are bone fragments in his arms that need to be removed," Himari explained. "The surgery is needed to remove those fragments before they can do even worse damage. Recovery Girl has requested that the room be vacant for the surgery."
"I understand," Todoroki replied as he prepared to walk out of the room.
"Actually, before you go…can I ask you something?" Himari asked timidly. Todoroki stopped and nodded his head to grant her request.
"Why did you use your flames?" she questioned. "You said…you viewed them as evil."
"It's your Quirk, not his!"
Todoroki looked down at his left hand, the hand that he'd use to ignite fire. For the longest time, he refused to use them out of spite and hatred towards his father, to disregard the 'destiny' Endeavor had in mind for his youngest son. But in that match, Midoriya kept pushing Shoto again and again to use his flames as his ice powers prove ineffective and nearly cost him the fight. Only after remembering a long-suppressed memory did Shoto finally ignite his flames. He remembered his mother's voice.
"You can be any hero you want to be."
"In that moment…I forgot everything, especially my bastard father," Shoto answered. "Midoriya kept pushing me until I finally ignited my fire. But I remembered something…I can become any hero I want…and I can become the hero I want to be, not what my father wants me to be."
"I-I'm very happy to hear that," Himari responded. "I do hope-"
"I actually have a question of my own," Shoto interrupted. "You said you understood why I won't use my flames. What did you mean by that?"
It hadn't left Shoto's mind about Himari's response to him refusing to use his flames; where others criticized him, she, besides Midoriya, was the only one who showed understanding about why he wouldn't use his fire. He wanted to know what she meant when she said she understood as he didn't believe that it was simply a poor choice of words.
"I-I guess it's fair," she timidly replied. "Do you know…the Science Teacher, Sunstorm?"
"Yes," Shoto answered. "He shares your last name; he's your father, correct?"
"I wish he wasn't," Himari replied with some hints of bitterness in her voice. "You're…you're not the only one struggling with a father." Before she could elaborate, Recovery Girl returned to the room.
"Todoroki, I need the room vacant please," she instructed, gesturing for him to leave. Just then-
"Midoriya!" Iida cried out as he, Uraraka, Tsuyu and Raionhato burst into the room, filled with worry for their unconscious classmate. Recovery Girl groaned in annoyance as she started to make them leave so she could perform the surgery required.
Tsukiba wondered around the stadium, choosing to spend his time being physically active rather than just sitting and listen to Monoma's ramblings towards Class 1-A for their 'arrogance and disregard for others'. No one was hurt in the final attack between Midoriya and Todoroki; that's all that mattered, but Monoma was using it as a means to demonize Class 1-A.
But Monoma wasn't the only one talking badly about Class 1-A; thanks to his wolf-like hearing, he'd often catch other students badmouthing Class 1-A as well, especially in the General Studies classes. However, it seemed their bitterness and disdain were mostly aimed at Bakugo for his condescending and disrespect and Todoroki nearly getting people killed during the Obstacle Course.
But Tsukiba would have the chance to beat humility into Bakugo since their match would come at the end after Raionhato vs Tokoyami. However, he couldn't deny that Bakugo was a very competent fighter and would have to be careful around him; he wouldn't be able to outrun him like he did with Kaminari.
"Hey," the voice of Nagami Kiyama greeted the wolf, who was slithering down the hallway to his left. As usual, she had a big smile on her face as she approached. Tsukiba didn't know her name, but knew that she was from Class 1-A.
"Hello," he responded. "How are you?"
"I'm doing great, thankssssss," Kiyama replied with her usual hiss. "Sssssso you're the guy who teamed up with Raionhato in the Cavalry Battle. He ssssssaid your name wassssss Okami, right?" Tsukiba nodded his head in response to confirm Takeo's words.
"Man, you were sssssso fasssssst in your fight againssssst- Sssssstupid lisssssp!"
Okami understood what she was feeling. Mutant Quirks were both a blessing and a curse; it gave them the strengths and abilities of the animal's power they possessed, but also gave them their weaknesses. However, he himself wasn't bothered by Nagami's hissing noises.
"I came here to escape Monoma's ramblings about your class being 'egomaniacs' and I'm certain it'll go on until the arena is repaired," Tsukiba informed. "The only real egomaniac I see is Bakugo."
Kiyama couldn't deny that Bakugo was indeed very egomaniacal, focusing on himself at the expense of his classmates as he had done so earlier. His poor actions and blatant disrespect had reflected poorly on Class 1-A, leading many people like Monoma to view them as arrogant, egotistical and condescending. Now, not only was Bakugo unpopular with his classmates, but he was now also unpopular in general.
"Sssssso much for being popular," Kiyama groaned. "But anyway, my name'sssss Kiyama. Nicccccce to meet another fellow mutant."
"Same to you," Tsukiba replied. "How's Midoriya? I know he got pretty banged up from his fight with Todoroki."
"He'sssss recovering, but he needed ssssssurgery from what I heard," Kiyama answered. "I'm honesssstly worried for him. Hissssss injuriessssss were quite bad, but….ssssseeing Todoroki usssssse hisssssss-" She shook her head in frustration once more at how much she was hissing.
"Does Todoroki not use his flames before this?" Okami questioned, surprised that Todoroki using his flames was such a shock to everyone.
"Never," Kiyama answered. "He only ever usssssssed hissssss icccce before thissssss. If he keepssssss usssssssing hisssss-" She stopped once more, yet again annoyed by how much she was hissing. It couldn't be helped due to her snake-like physiology, but that didn't make it less annoying for her.
"If he keeps using his flames, he'll pose a real problem to whoever he goes up against next," Tsukiba finished. "It'd either be your classmate, Kirishima, or the Quirkless, Furaya."
Despite Furaya's victory over Iida, Tsukiba had some reservations about the Quirkless swordsman. His goals were admirable, but he was one of those who questioned whether they were achievable or not. Although he understood that the Quirkless were just as much discriminated as mutants were, Okami was uncertain if Furaya would have a chance against Kirishima or Todoroki, especially Todoroki.
"What do you think?" Tsukiba asked. "Do you think a Quirkless can become a hero?"
"I'm honesssstly not ssssssure," Kiyama replied. "But I'm not about to give a ssssssolid no; it'd feel hypocritical becaussssse the Quirklessssss sssssuffer prejudicccccce and disssscrimination assssss well."
As she said, Kiyama didn't know where she stood concerning the topic of Quirkless becoming heroes. On the one hand, both Quirkless and mutants were susceptible to discrimination from the populace, Quirkless because of their lack of powers and mutants because of their physical characteristics and animalistic behavior. On the other hand, mutants still possessed powers while Quirkless had none; more people questioned the idea of a Quirkless becoming a hero than they did a mutant.
"Well, we'll see what happens," Tsukiba responded. "It was nice meeting you, Kiyama. I'm going to go and move for a bit, train even so I'm ready to fight Bakugo."
"Ssssssee you," Kiyama replied. The wolf then walked past Kiyama to walk for a bit and then train for his match against Kiyama's classmate.
"I wouldn't mind sssssseeing Bakugo losssssse," Nagami hissed. "Ssssssomeone needssss to teach him some humility."
"Man, I wished I had finished the upgrade for Falcon's Talon," Mei groaned as she walked around Hayata, who was training as usual. "Everyone sounded so shocked when…White-And-Red-"
"His name's Todoroki," Furaya corrected. "And it doesn't matter if he uses his flames or not. If he wishes to fight me with only one half of his power, then that's his failure, not mine."
"Hayata, you saw how powerful he is," Mei brought up. "I mean, he covered half of the stadium in ice…in ONE MOVE. You know what'll happen if you lose in the Sports Festival; it would've been better had you accepted Principal Nezu's offer-"
"No. If I am to be in the Hero Course, then I must prove myself and leave no room for question among my doubters. To accept a place in the Hero Course without securing a true victory leaves room for question; I won't accept that, not after what they did to me."
"So what will you do if White-And-Red uses his fire?" Mei asked her old friend. "You shouldn't have a problem against his ice, but his fire…well, that just makes it harder."
"It doesn't matter," Furaya answered. "As I said, if Todoroki won't go all out, that's his shortcoming, not mine. I will give it everything I have."
"Just imagine if you did beat him," Mei spoke, sparkles in her eyes. "The son of Endeavor beaten by a Quirkless…oh, it'd be such a sight! And more people will be interested in my babies!" Furaya looked at Mei while she gushed over the pros of him beating Todoroki and cracked a small smile, which she didn't catch.
"Furaya?" Sunstorm addressed. "I've been looking for you."
"Yes, sir," Furaya responded.
"The arena's been repaired," the Sun Hero informed. "You're up next; please get to the arena." Furaya nodded his head and started on his way to the arena where he'd face against the Class 1-A student, Kirishima.
"ARE YOU READY!?" Present Mic announced, once again earning a loud cheer from the crowd in the stadium. The two combatants walked onto the stadium that had been repaired from the damage of Midoriya and Todoroki's match. On one side was Kirishima, the Hardening user who had managed to beat Zankoku; standing across from him was Furaya, the Quirkless swordsman who had beaten Iida.
"Kirishima," Furaya addressed, immediately gaining the redhead's attention.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Do you believe a Quirkless can defeat you?"
"It'd certainly be manly, that's for sure!"
"Then you know not to underestimate me."
All Might stood away from his fellow teachers, silently contemplating his views on the Quirkless swordsman, Hayata Furaya. As shown in his match against Iida, Furaya was a strong, quick and skilled swordsman despite his lack of a Quirk. He moved and fought with such speed and precision that it was almost impossible to buy the fact that he was Quirkless, meaning that he achieved all this through training and hard work.
Having looked up Furaya's files, he learned about his circumstances from the Entrance Exam. He should've been in the Hero Course, but instead, he and another student were denied entry to make way for two more students coming in on recommendation. Furaya was placed in General Studies Class 1-C while the other student left U.A., understandably angry at this unfair turn of events.
"Some villains can't be fought without powers, so no, I don't believe that you can become a hero without a Quirk."
"I should never have said that to Young Midoriya," All Might spoke softly. "Young Furaya may prove me wrong today if he wins."
"You okay, Toshinori?" Kenzo Suzukaze asked his old friend. "You sound like you're regretting something." Toshinori let out a quiet sigh and turned to look at the blind master martial artist.
"When I look at Young Furaya, I…I feel as though I've made Young Midoriya ashamed of himself," he answered. "When he first saw my skeletal body, I told him that people without Quirks cannot become heroes."
Whack.
"That's rather hypocritical, coming from you, Toshinori," Open Palm scolded, having just hit the Symbol of Peace with his staff. "And let me guess, seeing Furaya compete despite being Quirkless is making you reconsider what you thought."
It did indeed. Toshinori never would've been able to do the things he did without inheriting One For All from his master, Nana Shimura. But seeing Furaya fight in the Sports Festival, seeing him win against Tenya Iida had made him wonder what would've happened had he never inherited One For All…if Young Midoriya had never inherited One For All.
"Ready? CLASH!"
Kirishima activated his Hardening just as Furaya raced towards him and slashed at him with Falcon's Talon. His Quirk protected him from the warrior's attack, so he countered by throwing a punch at Furaya, who blocked the attack with the blade of his katana. He retaliated with a punch, but Furaya dodged the attack by speeding backwards, followed by him getting in close again to deliver three swift, powerful strikes of his katana.
"Hard to believe he's Quirkless," Sato commented from where he was sitting.
"You sound surprised, Sato," Takeo replied. "He was 3rd Place in the Entrance Exam, just behind Bakugo and I. Why would they just drop him?"
"Because he's a Quirkless, that's why!" Bakugo corrected. "What, do you honestly think he can become a Pro?"
"I know I'd rather have him for a classmate than you!" Takeo snapped at the Explosion user. "Especially since it's your fault the other classes hate us."
"It's not my fault the rest-"
"Shut the hell up, you degenerate!" Takeo viciously told Bakugo. "You need to learn something called respect!"
"Hey, come on, guys," Kaminari spoke, coming between them. "Let's just enjoy-"
"Don't give me orders, Dunce Face!" Bakugo interrupted.
As the fight continued, Kirishima was unable to land a hit on Furaya, either hitting his blade or missing entirely. He was much stronger than he anticipated, his Hardening being the only factor that kept the Quirkless from doing any damage to him. Unfortunately, his Quirk was starting to wear out due to losing stamina; he had to defeat Furaya and quick.
When Furaya attacked Kirishima once more, he tried to throw punch after punch at his opponent, hoping to land a hit on him. Much like Zankoku, Furaya was too quick for Kirishima, either dodging his attacks or using Falcon's Talon to deflect them. Luckily, Kirishima managed to cut Furaya's cheek, right beneath his eye. It stung, but Furaya remained unfazed by it as he couldn't give Kirishima a chance to catch him off guard.
Once again, so many people were impressed by how well Furaya was doing, including those who originally doubted him from his match with Iida. He fought as well as any Hero Course student, evidenced by his match against Kirishima and his victory against Iida. His speed, his skill, his swordsmanship...many were awed by his combat prowess.
"You're fast and I don't mean just because of your boots," Kirishima commented. "How did you not get into the Hero Course?"
"Because I'm Quirkless," Furaya responded. "But I will claim victory today. Final Strike."
Before Kirishima could react, Furaya raced towards him with his sword sheathed. Just as he got close, he pulled out Falcon's Talon and landed a powerful slash on Kirishima's torso. The two stood still for several moments with Furaya holding his katana blade and Kirishima standing as if frozen in ice. Kirishima was the first to move as he fell to his knees, his Hardening disappearing, and then fell face flat onto the concrete of the stadium.
"No way!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Kirishima!"
"Did Furaya just cut through his Hardening!?" Raionhato gasped. "I wasn't able to do that with my weapons! That katana's one powerful sword!"
"Kirishima is unable to fight!" Midnight announced. "Furaya moves onto the next round!"
Furaya bowed his head and sheathed Falcon's Talon before looking up at the Class 1-A bleachers and catching sight of his next opponent: Shoto Todoroki. A victory over him would solidify his strength and skill to the people here, especially when he was considered one of Class 1-A's strongest students. Whether or not he used his flames didn't matter to Furaya; all that mattered was that he give it his all when he went up against the son of Endeavor.
Then two out of the four other students, Raionhato, Okami, Tokoyami and Bakugo, would move on. If he managed to defeat Todoroki, he'd have to take on any one of them in the Final Round. Just two more rounds and victory would be his, but it'd be very hard-won, one where there was no room for question or doubt.
As Furaya started to leave, he saw Bakugo looking at him with disdain and contempt. This was followed by Bakugo giving him a thumbs down, but did nothing to deter Furaya. Iida and Yaoyorozu saw Bakugo's disrespectful gesture and scolded him for it, but he dismissed them. It was people like Bakugo who gave Furaya the drive he needed to fulfill his goal: to prove to the world that Quirkless people can become heroes if they're willing to put in the effort.
"Raionhato," Tokoyami addressed. "We're up next. We should get to the waiting rooms."
"Right," Raionhato agreed. The two students stood up from their seats and started making their way out of the bleachers.
"If Tokoyami wins, we get to scratch the back of your head!" Jiro teasingly told Raionhato.
"I do NOT like head scratches!" Takeo denied.
"But you were purring back at lunch," Tokoyami brought up.
"Shut up, Tokoyami," Takeo groaned in annoyance.
"What if Yaomomo asks you?" Ashido questioned. "Yaomomo, ask him for head-scratching privileges!"
"No!" Takeo shouted at her.
"Wow," Seika Shigaraki exclaimed after watching the match between Furaya and Kirishima conclude. "He does all that while being a Quirkless. The speed of his attacks, his fighting style, his prowess…now that is someone who would make an excellent member. We should have Talos and Kurogiri do a deep dive on them."
"I really want that Bakugo kid," Tomura spoke. "Letting someone as violent and unhinged as him into the Hero Course…yeesh, U.A. is so full of double standards, wouldn't you say?"
"You sound surprised by that," Seika deadpanned. "U.A. will always disregard their own rules when it benefits them. This damn society…" Just then, the door to Tomura's room opened and in walked Kurogiri and Talos with a stack of files. They placed them on a table on the side of Tomura's room, setting them down in two separate piles.
"What're those?" Tomura asked.
"Mistress Seika requested deep dives of all the first year Hero Course students in U.A.," Kurogiri answered. "We dug up what information we could find them; I have to say, some of them look like they'd be great candidates." He picked out several files from the piles and handed them to Tomura and Seika.
"These are the ones you think would be great candidates?" Tomura asked.
"Yes, sir," Talos informed. "I strongly predict that these few candidates would make excellent members to our group based on the information we collected and the current behavior so far."
"Thank you," Seika replied. "Any word from Giran?"
"Yes, ma'am," Kurogiri answered. "He wishes to see you tomorrow morning to discuss matters."
"I'll be there," Seika answered.
She hoped Giran had good news to share. Finding recruits had been hard since the failed USJ Attack and, as powerful as each of the five current members were, they couldn't hope to carry out their mission on their own. They needed help, but they'd need help in the form of experienced fighters, not common street thugs.
She hoped to plan something that could erase the humiliation of the USJ Attack, but there was nothing that could erase such a stain on the League's image. What was bigger than attacking Japan's most prestigious school and fighting the Symbol of Peace himself? If they were to prove that they were worth joining, they'd need to do something to convince potential members or they'd continue to be disregarded as a bunch of useless idiots.
"We should get rid of Bloodmoon," Talos suggested. "I do not believe it was so much our failure at the USJ that are making us undesirable, but the fact that animal cannibalized some of our own followers."
"They were dead!" Bloodmoon shouted. "And I wasn't beaten like a weak little pup like you!"
"Perhaps if you tried keeping your animal instincts in tact for once, we'd have a higher probability of gaining members!"
"Why the hell would I listen to a machine? You're a mockery of life!"
"Shut up!" Tomura commanded. "The next match is about to start!"