AN: Hey everybody, it's been crazy for a bit. Finished up 2024 by finally taking a belated Honeymoon with my wife to New Orleans. Then the day after we got back the attack happens not even a ten minute walk from the hotel we stayed at. Now that we're back my wife and I have found a house we want to buy so that's going to be taking my attention until it's finalized in March. I'll still try to post but it'll just be the two story updates until things calm down.

A Fool's Bonds

Chapter 29

-Momo-

Striding into the ring, Momo observed her opponent as the crowd shouted for one fighter or another. This was her first time competing with Bakugo since their first practical Heroics lesson and she had a feeling he wouldn't be as unprepared as he was then.

"Are you both ready?" Midnight questioned as Momo nodded, plans already forming in her mind as she dropped into her combat stance. She wanted to meet Izuku in the finals and Bakugo was an obstacle in her way to that goal.

"Ready." Bakugo grunted, twisting his head as his neck popped, hands outstretched and flexing, ready to release the blond demolitionist's quirk.

"Then begin!" Midnight called out as Momo brought her hands up, firing rubber bullets rapidly to test Bakugo's reaction speed. She had expected for him to doge, get hit, or maybe blow them away with his quirk.

What she hadn't expected was for him to snatch the bullets out of the air, cupping his hands as he fired his quirk to act as a makeshift shotgun, sending her own creations hurtling back at her.

"Oh, what's this?! Has the master of demolition found a way to use even the pinnacle of creation's own quirk against her?!" Momo tuned out the commentary, and it's embarrassing new nickname title for her, as she focused on the fight. The bullets had caught her off guard, but she wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. But something told her Bakugo was already aware of that. Charging, Momo swiftly constructed a shield and spear as she charged her opponent, thrusting out with the, admittedly blunted, weapon.

"Of course you copy the nerd's spear." Bakugo grunted, grabbing the shaft and pushing it aside as he worked to throw a hard punch at the side not shielded "He got the damned thing from you." Momo felt her cheeks burn when she realized her opponent was right and she had indeed copied the spear Izuku used in the Empress form he'd acquired, the only difference being that the gems were red and not green. She quickly headbutted Bakugo when he tried to capitalize on her flustered shock, hitting her opponent in the nose as he reeled back. When he wiped his hand across the damaged area it came back red but rather than seeming angry he looked thrilled.

"That's more like it!" Bakugo let out a triumphant roar as he rocketed forward, using his quirk to fly, "A victory without struggle isn't worth a damned thing!" Bakugo used his quirk to suddenly spin himself, using momentum to build up to a powerful kick that slammed into the shield she'd made earlier, "So give me everything you've got!"

"You'll regret those words!" Momo propelled some flash bangs out of her back as she timed her attack to capitalize on her opponent's sudden blindness.

Except Bakugo wasn't blinded.

"My explosions get brighter than that dumbass!" Bakugo crowed, meeting her charge as he wrested the spear from her, capitalizing on her surprise to snatch it away before she could use the muscles she'd built up with One for All to keep a grip on it.

Silently cursing her oversight on that one, Momo hastily created a gas mask for herself while pumping out a knockout gas similar to what Midnight could create. It was a combination she'd been practicing diligently to be able to do rapidly ever since that first conversation with Izuku when they had started brainstorming new ways to use her quirk.

"Thunderclap!" Bakugo slammed his palms together, the explosions meeting and escaping the funneled cone as the shockwave blew back her gas attack and managed to stagger her. Cutting off the gas, Momo threw the clunky mask at her opponent as he flew, the blond's reflexive moving to destroy it buying her time to get some space between them. That distance was rapidly dwindling as Bakugo rocketed toward her. Raising her shield, Momo started to form a new weapon as her opponent reached her, slamming both palms into her shield before detonating the biggest blast he'd used in the fight. The shockwave knocked her off her feet as Momo swung the club she'd made, hearing Bakugo's arm crack loudly, the limb now limp and broken.

She didn't have time to react to that, whether in shock at doing that to her classmate or to capitalize on it to secure her slot in the finals, as her back slammed into the ground outside the ring.

"Winner, Bakugo!" Midnight declared even as her opponent grit his teeth and approached her, offering the not broken arm with a conflicted expression on his face.

"…Good fight." His voice was soft, and Momo honestly couldn't tell if it was from pain or if there was something else going on.

Her gut said that when the blond fought Izuku it would come out somehow.

-Izuku-

Striding into the ring to face his opponent, Izuku's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.

Momo had lost to Bakugo, yet during the fight and after Bakugo hadn't been acting the same way that Izuku had expected. He'd been having the same thought ever since that first Heroic training exercise, but something was off from Bakugo. There was more going on that the blond who had been second Arcana wasn't saying.

That he likely wouldn't say unless forced to.

"And here we are at the last fight of the Semi-Finals!" Present Mic's voice carried, "Midoriya, the man of a many faces and powers against Shoto Todoroki, son of the number 2 Hero Endeavor!"

Izuku saw Todoroki flinch hard at that description, but couldn't say he blamed his classmate given what Todoroki had told him before. The fact that Endeavor's flames stood out like a beacon in the top seats likely only made Todoroki's tension worse.

"Are you boys ready?" Midnight clearly picked up on the tension as well as they both nodded. As her flag dropped, ice raced out from Todoroki who did a wide blast that enveloped Izuku in a tight contained sphere.

It was what he'd expected though.

Channeling his quirk, Izuku's cerulean flames filled the ice, the frozen prison glowing as Izuku transformed "Number Nineteen, the Sun!" Izuku shouted as he began to grow "Quetzalcoatl!" and grow some more. With a mighty roar, the ice prison shattered into flying shards as Izuku flared his wings, hissing at Todoroki who didn't seem surprised at this rematch. Those in the crowd were far less composed at his giant 'monstrous' form, all the other ones he'd shown looking far more human than that of the Aztec deity. He didn't stay in that larger form though, it being too easy to slip and have a tiny part touch outside the ring. Cerulean flames enveloped him again as he shrunk down, keeping the wings on his human form as he rocketed back down towards Todoroki who hurled another blast of ice.

Flapping his wings hard to avoid the frigid attack, Izuku did a sharp fly by, lashing out at Todoroki with a sharp kick while trying to use the winds to buffet the dual quirk user. It almost work, but Todoroki's quirk made a barrier of ice behind him to catch him before he could be flung out of bounds.

"SHOTO!" Endeavor's voice was audible even from where he stood at the top of the arena, making Izuku feel sorry for those sitting next to the man "STOP PLAYING AROUND ALREADY!"

"Ignore him." Izuku's voice was firm and commanded as he gazed down at Todoroki, feeling the resolve of the guardian deity he was currently embodying "He is beneath you. Focus only on me, hold nothing back." Izuku flapped his rainbow wings, the feathers glimmering in the sunlight.

"What?!" Todoroki gapped at Izuku's instructions, "You know what you're asking! What his quirk-"

"It isn't his." Izuku narrowed his currently slitted eyes, flapping his wings with extra force to cause a burst of air to strike at Todoroki, slamming his opponent back against the ice wall with a thud, "It is yours." As he spoke, Izuku used Quetzalcoatl's domain of wind to blow around the ring, drowning out any sound from Endeavor.

"His fire-" Todoroki tried before Izuku shot down, grasping a fistful of his opponent's shirt as he slammed the dual-colored hero hopeful against the ice wall, driving a surprised gasp from their lungs.

"It is not his fire Todoroki, it's yours." Izuku continued to hold Todoroki against the wall "You accept his dream of becoming a strong hero but refuse to use every tool at your disposal? He has no control of your quirk but he seems to have a firm grip on your mind. Put Endeavor aside, why do you want to be a Hero?" Izuku's voice was gentle as the winds ensured that that nobody but Todoroki could hear him. The flames of his transformation as he held his partial form flickered, travelling along his hand and onto Todoroki who seemed to be calmed by them.

"I…I want to be someone who can make people smile." Todoroki's voice was gentle and quiet, eyes a million miles away as they looked up at the sky, clearly seeing something that wasn't there now "I want to be a Hero that makes those around me feel safe."

"A hero gives it their all." Izuku grinned, remembering a lesson that Aizawa had hammered in thoroughly, "Do you still plan to be one?" as he spoke, Izuku let go of Todoroki's shirt and grasped his arm, pulling his opponent up to his feet. As their arms clasped and Todoroki's eyes blazed with renewed determination, the nature of the cerulean flames around them changed, and Izuku's wings and wind vanished.

"I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow." Izuku froze in shock, Todoroki just as stunned while those in the stands wondered what was happening "I shall become the bringer of the end, he who defies his oppressors. With the birth of the Tower Persona, you have obtained the power of defiance, that shall lead to the shattering of chains." As the flames faded, Izuku staggered back with a gasp, clutching his head as he processed the new shocking Arcana form he had acquired.

"SHOTO!" Endeavor's voice, no longer blocked by the wind, "HE'S WEAK! STOP DITHERING ABOUT AND USE THE FLAMES I GAVE YOU TO FINISH HIM!"

A burning rage bubbled up in Izuku's gut at that as his voice came out like a snarl, "Number Sixteen, Tower." Izuku's voice carried as those in the stands and booths heard him "Vanagandr!" with that he started to grow…and grow…and grow. His feet barely fit inside the arena while his front 'hands' slammed on the arena stairs, careful not to hit anyone, as he glared down at Endeavor.

"Be…silent." Vanagandr, also known as the dread wolf Fenrir, was his latest form, commanded Endeavor with a furious snarl that actually made the hero stagger back in fear before Izuku shrank back down, carefully not touching the ground out of the ring.

"…I surrender." Todoroki's voice was soft as he grasped Izuku's wrist once he was back in normal form, lifting it skyward "Good luck in the finals." Izuku nodded, able to tell that Todoroki had a lot on their mind now that they needed to process, and a fighting tournament wasn't the place for the thoughts he was having.

AN: So yep, Todoroki is the Tower. And if you know about Persona and the Tarot that ain't a good thing. I'll go into more details in the next few chapters but for those who are curious let's just say that just being the tower would be enough to clue Aizawa in that there were serious problems in Shoto's life.

But, next chapter we get to the Final Fight between Bakugo and Izuku so be ready.