20
Seeing the last first years pass through the finish line, Midnight let out an imperceptible sigh.
One event done, two to go.
While she found exciting how hard her students pushed themselves during the competition, she wouldn't deny that it was exhausting keeping an eye on all those little rascals, making sure they weren't breaking the rules or using the events to settle a score against each other.
It's why she was the ref for the first years. If they tried to do something stupid, Sonambulist will put them down before they could drool at her magnificent body. While many believed that her quirk was affected by gender, that was a deceipt that she promoted.
Her quirk wasn't affected by gender; it was affected by sexual attraction.
The more attracted her target found her, the fastest Sonambulist worked. The least attracted they were, it took longer. In simple terms, for a little pervert like Mineta-kun, who ogled every girl around him, he would fall unconscious with just a small wiff. For a straight-pious girl like Ibara-san, she would have to douse her with a large cloud of her pheromones for at least a couple of minutes.
Animals weren't affected, but humans with animal-type quirks were. Principal Nezu too was immune to her Sonambulism, because of his status as a quirked animal. And Midoriya's Pokemon were also unaffected, even the few that had more human-like bodies.
And when it came to children, she had to use a big dose just to sedate them. Fortunately, she rarely had to do it. Even when she was teaching Eri, she never had to use her quirk to calm the adorable girl. The poor girl was more comfortable among women than men, unsurprising considering that every single one of her captors and torturers was male, and her saviour was a teenager. Nezu wasn't going to risk the little girl being used by the Hero Commission's benefits; that's why he made sure that she and Shouta were assigned as her teachers. Shouta's Erasure was perfect to cancel her quirk if it went out of control, and while her hero persona was a sexy dominatrix, nobody who knew Kayama Nemuri would deny that she had a soft spot for little kids.
And little Eri had triggered all her motherly instincts.
Thinking about her pupil made her eyes wander to the greenete who was the talk of the hero community.
Midoriya Izumi.
The girl was the talk of every hero who had faced Overhaul during the week of the billboard announcements. Even with most of the details labelled as classified and top secret, many still wondered about the young greenete and her animal companions. Midnight and the rest of the staff were aware of all the details (perks of being the girl's teachers) and made sure to not discuss it with anyone not authorized.
Not that the secret would hold for much longer. Midoriya wasn't supposed to arrive alone; the plan she and her allies made was for her to return with a diplomatic entourage at her side. However, the facility where the people of the Pokemon World investigated how to travel between dimensions was the target of a villain attack, and during the confusion one of the portals was activated, sucking the greenete and, by sheer luck, transporting her back to Japan without suffering any injury.
The girl truly was lucky when it came to travelling between dimensions by unstable portals.
And now she was certain that the heroes would be talking more about her.
Midoriya was Class President of Class 1-A. She had a strong quirk, a sharp mind, and had a team of capable combatants at her side.
She had won first place on the first event.
Time to see how she handles the next one.
"Listen up! The first part of the preliminary is done! The first 42 students pass! Those that failed don't worry, the festival still has other activities to enjoy! Now for the second event!" Midnight switched on the main screen, all eyes glued to it, waiting to see what the next part will entail.
"CAVALRY BATTLE!"
Confused voices rang across the stadium, all wondering about the similitude to the childish name of the event.
"The rules are fairly simple. You brats will form teams of two to four people, one will be the jockey and the others the horses. Like in the regular Cavalry Battle unhorsing is allowed, but here is our twist. Every contestant will be given a strap with a number; that number is the amount of points earned by the position you guys gut during the first event. Last place gets 5 points, penuntilm being 10 and so on. However! For our first place, we have a special reward! The student that managed to win the Obstacle Race will be given… TEN MILLION POINTS!"
Absolute silence fell among the giant stadium; all eyes immediately darted to the greenete, who had grasped perfectly the situation she was in.
It was so quiet that nobody missed Midoriya's words.
"Fuck."
Izumi was screwed.
She was soooo screwed.
If she had known that getting first place during the race would have meant ending with the equivalent of a bath of blood in the middle of the ocean surrounded by a school of Sharpedos, then she would have let Todoroki or Bakugou have it.
No matter. What's done is done. It was useless to cry over spilled milk, she had to focus on forming a team that would be willing to to work with her with the huge bait on her head.
The rules of the game were fairly simple. Each student was given a band with their points, which was to be tied to their foreheads. Being unhorsen or losing a horse didn't cause elimination, so they could still participate until the end. However, like in the race, willingly causing serious damage to another student was ground for instant elimination for the whole team.
Izumi took a step forward and deadpanned at how every single one of her classmates took a step backwards.
'Cowards!' She cursed inwardly.
"Izumi-chan!" Ochako ran straight at her, Tsu right at her side. "Want to team up with us? Izumi-chan?" Izumi couldn't answer, her hand was busy whipping out the tears that burst at how kind great she had.
"Are you guys sure? We are going to be hunted relentless by every other team." She warned them.
"I am sure! I will always team up with my friends!" Ochako smiled cheerfully, not worried at all by the repercussions of being in a team with Izumi.
Tsu nodded in agreement. "I still owe you and your team for saving my life during the villain attack. This seems like the best opportunity. Also." The frog girl rubbed her fingers, "I too want to work with my friends."
Izumi smiled widely. For many years she had been so lonely, even while travelling through the Regions, catching and training Pokemon, learning about Aura with Riley, looking for a way home, she had barely made any friends. The scars left by the bullying were deep; it took her years to accept that not everyone was like the children and adults of Aldera, that not everyone was like Kachaan.
Trusting her Pokemon was easy, like breathing. Trusting others took her longer, but she eventually overcame her fears.
And she was so glad she did.
"Great, now we just need one last person." Her eyes darted around the area, looking for someone who wasn't already teamed up. Bakugou was surrounded by people asking to team up with him, Shouji was talking with Mineta, she couldn't see Hagakure anywhere, and Iida and Yaoyomo were...
With Todoroki. Nodding at something he was saying. Yaoyomo realized that Izumi was staring at them and looked downward, shame visible in her eyes. Iida too turned towards Izumi, his face stern, but there was no hiding the small amount of guilt he leaked.
"Iida! Yaoyomo!" She called them out. "Let's do our best!" Yaoyomo smiled gratefully at her, understanding that the greenete had no hard feelings for choosing to side with the two toned boy.
"Midoriya! Despite our friendship, I don't plan to lose today!" Iida said passionately.
"Good! I wouldn't expect less!" Izumi grinned at them.
She didn't mind that her friends sided with Todoroki for this event; part of being a Pokemon Trainer was having friendly rivalries with your friends. This was just like that. Her friends wanted to win the Festival, and so did she. She would never begrudge them for that.
"Guess we will need to find someone else." Ochako murmured.
"Three people should be enough, but having a fourth wouldn't hurt." Tsu added.
"Then can I join, Miss 10 million points?" A pink-haired girl suddenly popped up in front of Izumis face, making her flinch back and yell in surprise.
"Whaaa?! Who are you?!"
"Wait! You are the Support girl with all those machines!" Ochako pointed at the strange girl who had used all kind of gadgets during the race.
"Hatsume Mei from the Support Department! I want to use you to show off my babies!"
"Eh? EHHH?!" Ochako and Izumi shouted, bewildered by the strange girl's choice of words.
"As the first place, all eyes will be on your team; that means that if I stay by your side, all the big companies will see my super cute adorable babies in action! This is my one shot to show my great abilities as an inventor! Look! I brought a diverse bunch of my babies for the whole Festival! At least one or two of them will synchronize with your quirks!"
Izumi analyzed the devices that Hatsume brought, a plan beginning to take shape.
"Hatsume-san." She interrupted the pink-haired girl's exuberant explanations about a jetpack she had built. "I have some ideas in mind, but first I need to know your abilities."
"Righto, Miss 10 million! I may not know how to fight like you guys in the Hero Department, but I make up for it with my offensive babies! And with my Zoom, nobody can hide from my sniper eyes!"
"Sniper eyes? How far and at what quality can you see?"
"5 kilometers top! 20:20 vision!" Hatsume boasted.
Izumi pondered quickly on her team's abilities. She had One For All and her aura to power up her physical traits, not at All Might's level, but more than enough to fist fight Bewear alone. With Ochako's gravity nulification and Tsu's frog traits, they could get away from a tight spot quickly. And with Hatsume's sharp eyes and her inventions...
"Ok, we don't have much time left. This is my plan."
"I have to say, I am surprised that you wanted to see the First Years Events. Usually I have to force you to see the Second and Third Years." A blonde woman said to her friend, who simply shrugged nonchalantly.
"Nothing good on TV."
"Right. The TV setted with your favorite movies and series."
"Too repeated. Boring."
"Lethal Weapon is boring?"
"..."
"..."
"Shut up Ryuko."
Ryuko, or as many knew her, Ryukyu, the Dragoon Heroine, laughed at the scowl that her friend was giving her for calling her shit.
"C'me on Rumi. Just admit it. You wanted to check on that girl, didn't you?" Ryuko nudged her.
"Tch. Don't overthink it, Ryu. Just wanted to see if the little rabbit showed up with the big rabbit. That's it." Rumi replied, her ears twitching betrayed her mask of aloofness.
Ryuko rolled her eyes. "Every hero on the top 50 has an eye on the girl Rumi, even Endevour, and he only pays attention to fire quirk users. Is it because she fights in a team?" Ryuko knew well that her friend disliked team-ups, preferring to work on her own during patrols but willing to partner up if it was necessary. Mirko was a proud, brash, arrogant woman, but she never let her ego affect her hero work. If she had to work together with a hundred heroes to defeat a villain, then she would do it a million times without a doubt.
And afterwards, she would step up her training to get stronger.
Rumi sighed. "Team up to rescue civilians after high-level disasters? I can do it. Team up to beat the crap of some overpowered jackass I can't touch because of some bullshit bad quirk interaction? Don't like it, but I will live with it. But the fuckers that willingly hide in the middle of a team? That do the minimum on the field? That complain about never making it to the top 100 and trash talk the heroes that should be there but that nobody speaks about because they are not so flashy?" Mirko was snarling in rage the more she spoke, her animal features more wild than usual.
Ryuko didn't interrupt her; she was well aware of the animosity Mirko had for those she called coward heroes, and, unfortunately, she could understand her feelings.
Normally, Ryuko didn't care what motivated a person to become a hero. Whether it was altruism, a desire for fame, or to secure a job, it was their business. At the end of the day, the important part was that they actually did their work as heroes when it mattered.
Unfortunately, these days there seemed to be a big trend of heroes more interested in keeping to their image and sponsors than in actually acting as heroes. There had been a couple of battles or incidents where the heroes would skip by claiming that their quirks weren't compatible with the situation, only skipping punishment by later joining another pro's company, and the Hero Comission let the matter sly pass.
"But that kid. She is different. I saw it. I saw her stand off against those pencilpushers of the Comssion when they demanded that she gave up her creatures and the little girl she was protecting. When they threatened her with bringing charges for illegal quirk use and vigilantism, she didn't back down; she called their bluff and screwed them by pointing at the hundread of phones recording everything." Rumi let out a small grin. "She didn't treat them as tools. Her creatures. She didn't even treat them as pets or minions. She treated them as friends, as partners. It reminded me of how you treat your interns and sidekicks, Ryu."
Ryuko smiled at that. Ryukyo always took seriously her responsibilities as the leader of her Hero company, mentoring her sidekicks and interns, encouraging them to spread their wings and push past their limits. She never hesitated to give credit to whoever belonged.
Ever.
It didn't matter if the one to save the day had been a second-year intern, a police officer, or a civilian brave enough to step up in the face of danger.
"She is definitely not a normal first-year student." After the incident with Overhaul, the Ministry of Security had taken control of the situation, keeping any mention of the girl under red tape. Only a handful of people were allowed to know about whatever secret the girl held and that Ryuko thought involved those creatures she used.
Ryukyo had been a heroine for many years; she had met many heroes and trained more than a few. She had seen all types of quirks wielded by heroes, villains, and civilians. Quirks that involved controlling others weren't the most common; usually it entailed controlling either humans or animals, but she could certainly say that she had never seen creatures like the ones that Midoriya invoked or the strange method she used to call and recall them.
And she had never heard of a person with more than one quirk.
Because right now Midoriya had displayed another quirk, an augmentation type, certainly, with interesting visual effects. But she had also commanded one of her creatures, the blue bipedal canine, and for some reason she had used a sphere to recall it and then gave it to Midnight.
It was strange.
If invoking those creatures was her quirk, then why had she only called one of them. From what she could recall, she had used at least four or five of them during the fight against Overhaul. And she didn't seem exhausted at the time. Bruised and tired, yes, but she knew when someone had overused their quirk, and she didn't have such signs back then, and neither now.
"Course she is not. She faced off a fucking yakuza boss on her own, Ryu."
Ah. Now she understood why her friend was feeling so confused about the young girl.
Mirko disliked teaming up, something that Midoriya obviously preferred, yet the young greenete had obviously remembered Mirko of her own teenager self, back when she faced a villain organization on her own, which ended up giving her the motivation to enroll in a hero school and eventually become the Rabbit Heroine, Mirko.
That Midoriya Izumi seemed to follow on her same steps must resonate with the white-haired woman.
Ryuko let out a small giggle at the frustrated frown that Rumi had, letting out a full laugh when her friend gave her a scowl.
"I'm sure you will figure it out, Rumi."
Rumi kept scowling at her cheerful encouragement, grumbling about annoying overgrown lizards.
If one were to ask Izumi what the Cavalry Battle felt like, she would say one word.
Chaos.
The moment that Midnight finished the countdown and the thirty-minute timer started, all teams rushed towards hers, their eyes glued to the 10 million points bandana around her forehead.
"AND IT STARTED! AND LOOK! TEAMS HAGAKURE AND TETSUTESU ARE THE FIRST TO STRIKE! WHAT WILL TEAM MID- eh? Team Uraraka? I was almost certain they would use Midoriya as their horsemen."
"They must have a strategy in place to select this team configuration." Eraserhead deduced calmly.
"WELL, ANYWAY! LETS SEE WHAT OUT MILLION POINTS TEAM DOES! RUN OR FIGHT!"
Izumi narrowed her eyes at their opponents. Like she suspected all teams wanted their chance at first place, and her headband was a guaranteed way to get it.
When it came to points, without counting her, her team barely had almost 300 points. Without her band, they would need to attack most teams to get a chance to qualify. However her band itself was a giant target, like a Bounsweet's scent calling for all avian Pokemon to eat them.
Good thing that like a Bounsweet, she could defend herself.
"Tsu, NOW!" Like they planned, she and Tsu used their stronger legs to jump high, aided by Ochako's nullification of their gravity, their horse was soaring high above all their opponent's heads, out of range of most attacks.
"Second part!" She ordered. Hatsume activated the jetpack on Ochako's back, letting them fly away towards a less congested part of the arena. Before Ochako deactivated Zero Gravity, Izumi started the third and more gambling part of her plan. It would take away the attention from her team, a lot of it, but it would allow them to win more points and if things went well, maintain first place.
"Hatsume-san!" "On it! Fly, BABY!" Hatsume grabbed a small drone and sent it flying in the oppositive direction, with the 10 million point headband grabbed by one of its claws.
"The headband!"
"Grab it!"
"Go, go, gooo!"
Like Izumi expected the teams were so concentred with grabbing the band that they forgot to pay attention to each other. In mere seconds it became a campal battle, everyone striking at each other and launching attacks at the drone, trying to strike it down and get their hands on the first place.
Izumi smirked. With their attention distracted, it was time to finally make their move.
"Hatsume! Tsu!"
"On it, Boss! Twelve o'clock! 90 points on the big guy, 60 on the girl and 15 on scribble guyl! They are distracted!"
Tsu quickly stretched her tongue towards their opponents, blinding the tall boy with a mutated head and grabbing his headband. Hatsume threw a sphere at their feet which released a big BANG, disorienting them and giving Izumi the opening to grab the other bands and dash away before they could refocus.
For the next couple of minutes, Team Uraraka continued on with the strategy. With Hatsume's sniper vision they could see how many points each team had; between Tsu's and Izumi's enhanced strength and Ochako's gravity control, they could sneak away faster and put more distance between them and the rest of their competence.
While Izumi focused on getting more points for her team, Mineta's team was trying to conserve the 10 millon headband. Thanks to his aim and sticky balls he had managed to nail Hatsume's drone, giving Dark Shadow a window to grab the headband and bring it inside Shoji's protective barrier.
Their victory, however, was short lived. The moment they successfully obtained the band they were accosted by their own classmates and those that lost their points to Izumi's strategy. And leading the chase was Todoroki.
"I didn't expect that Midoriya would willingly give up first place so easily. No matter. My strategy will work no matter the enemy." The boy stated coldly. "Iida, speed up. Yaoyorozu, prepare the defenses. Kaminari-"
"I know! Be ready!" Electricity began to run across Kaminari's body. The static blonde stepped away slightly from his team, just enough to let Yaoyorozu cover the other three, herself included, in a black cloack, and then he released a powerful electrical shock.
"Indiscriminate Shock! 1.2 Million Volts!" From the blonde's body was released a large electrical current that impacted everyone around him, shocking them in place and making a path for Todoroki's ice to partially freeze them. The combination of attacks overcame Shoji's pain tolerance, making him retract the wing membrane surrounding his horsemen, who were also affected by the attack.
With all three boys disorientated and affected by the combo, it was easy for Iida and Yaoyorozu to grab all their headbands, including the much codicied 10 million.
"Great! We got it!" Kaminari cheered, happy that Todoroki's plan worked.
Yaoyorozu and Iida smiled, pleased that their team was assured first place, and inwardly wishing that their other friends managed to make it too.
Shoto didn't say anything, his eyes sorely focused on a man he had noticed standing on the VIP lounges, a man he hated with his entire being.
His father.
Enji Todoroki.
The number two hero, Endeavour.
His father was easily recognized, standing in his hero uniform, with his powerful arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Shoto glared at him, letting a small amount of smugness show on his face.
He had vowed to never use his father's fire, to achieve what his father never could only using his ice.
And he was closer to it.
Yes, he had lost first place to Midoriya and her dog during the race, but that had obviously been a fluke, since the girl had given up cowardly on first place and was scrambling to get enough points just to classify.
"Todoroki, look out!" Kaminari warned him.
Shoto's eyes widened in alarm when he saw Uraraka's extended hand aiming right for his head. He created an ice shield along his right forearm, shielding his face and then he let it crumble before she could activate her quirk.
Green eyes met with icy blue.
"Hey Todoroki. Thanks for keeping an eye on my band." Izumi cheerily said, ignoring the scowl on Todoroki's face.
Time to get first place again.
Katsuki was pissed off.
He was angry.
He was mad.
The only thing on his mind right now was beating the smug smirk on that fucking copycat that thought himself better than him just for getting a cheap shot.
When the battle started his goal was simply. Get the 10 million headband and blast anyone on his way. Shitty Hair hardening could handle his explosions and his former childhood friend punches. Pinky was pretty athletic and her acid was a nasty thing for combat types. And Tape Arms could catch him when he launched himself towards the other teams.
It was a good team.
And then IzumiMidoriya threw her band away and began to hunt other teams, slowly and steady rising in points.
When he saw that his ex childhood friend no longer held the band he froze momentarily. And it was on that moment that the fucking bastard took advantage and stole his band.
His band.
And then the smug bastard started to prattle about how Class 1A were so showoffs that they recklessly showed off their quirks during the first stage, eager to make it to first place, to proud of themselves.
The fucking extra whose name he didn't bother to remember, or know, went on to say that he and some of Class B decided to safely make it to the lower ranks, all to keep their quirks hidden and have an advantage during the rest of the event, a smarter plan than those of Class A.
Katsuki didn't really care much about most of his classmates, he just didn't know them. He could acknowledge that a couple of them were strong, strong enough to compete with him, and that others weren't useless extras. He didn't like Icy Hot, but that was because the bastard was a fucking arrogant that thought himself so strong that he could hold back and still make it to the top.
Katsuki was arrogant, he would admit it. But he never held back. Not during classes. Not during training. Not in a fight.
Holding back was just a way to ask to be killed.
And this copycat was pissing him off as much as Icy Bastard did.
"Fuck it. We are nailing this bastards and then we go for the 10 million points!" He decided before launching himself at the smug bastard.
"Bakugou!" Shitty Hair yelled.
"Tsubura! Barrier!" Tsubura expelled a burst of wind that solidified on top of them, blocking Katsuki's path.
"FUCK!" The explosive user swore at the smug sneers both blondes sported. Using his anger he launched a small explosion at the barrier, breaking part of it and stealing some of the bands that the copycat had around his neck and jumping backwards, getting caught by Tape Arms.
"The hell you were doing bro! We barely caught you!" Shitty Hair scolded him.
"Shut it! That bastard still has our points!"
"So lets get them!" The redhead shouted back. "Our points, his and all the points here! Lets win this! Together!"
Katsuki smirked when he saw that Pinky and Tape Arms held the same desire as him and Shitty Hair to win.
"Pinky! Block their way with your acid! Tape Arms catch them!"
"Got it!"
"Name is Ashido! Not Pinky!"
Pinky's acid made copycat's team stop in their tracks and with Elbows tape they caught two of the horses, using them as leverage to pull themselves right behind them and knock them down with his explosions.
"GRAB THEM!" Pinky and Tapes quickly grabbed all the bands that Monoma and his team had with them, their new score tying them with Midoriya's score in second place.
But not for long.
"Let's go! For the ten million!"
Shoto was getting frustrated. No matter how much ice he used, no matter what he created, no matter what he tried, he couldn't stop Midoriya's strength.
He made a barrier? She broke it with a kick.
He made a weapon? She shattered with a punch.
They tried to evade them? She and Asui jumped in front of them.
They had already lost Yaoyorozu and Iida's bands, Kaminari, his and the million band the only ones still in his possession. He even lost the extra ones he took from Mineta's team, making Midoriya's team (for she was the brain behind the horse, even if Uraraka was the rider) land on second place.
And she didn't have any intention of ending there.
Only one minute was left on the counter.
One minute.
They just needed to hold until then.
Midoriya and Asui were the most dangerous of the group, but their position as horses limited their movements. Uraraka's quirk was difficult to deal with, but her lack of experience fighting gave him an advantage. And the pink haired girl wasn't a threat whatsoever.
They would win.
He would-
Midoriya leaped in front of him. Both greenetes had jumped in front of him, dragging Uraraka and their fourth teammate with them. Midoriya had an arm aiming for him, for his headband, the one around his neck. She was going to grab the 10 million band and win first place.
Again.
His body reacted without his input. His left arm moved to block, flames sprouting and creating a fiery barrier that collided with the greenete arm, obscuring her view and making her miss her target at the last moment.
Shoto looked at his left arm in disbelief, not understanding how he lost control of his quirk. Ever since he swore to never use his father's fire he trained to never invoke the flames. He only used some heat to melt the ice created.
Only heat. Never ice.
Until now.
"Todoroki! Focus! Midoriya got your headband and Hatsume got Kaminari's! We only have the ten million headband left!" Iida warned him, shaking him off his confusion. His eyes widened when he realized the precarious situation they were in. If they lost that headband, then it was over.
They would lose.
Shoto clenched his teeth in concentration. He had wanted to focus all his energy for the matches, not now. But he had no choice. Midoriya's current strength was capable of smashing his ice. If he wanted to beat her, he would have to produce more ice than ever.
"TODOROKI!" Bakugou screamed while propelling himself towards him. "Don't you dare look down on me Icy Bastard!"
Shoto began to gather as much ice as he could, his right arm covered in frost, ready to launch a devastating attack when Midnight's voice cut him.
"TIMEEEEE! The Cavalry Battle is over! I will start announcing the winning teams!" Everyone stared with waited breath the final results, eager to know who made it to the matches and who would have to wait another year to shine.
"First place: Team Todoroki! Second place: Team Bakugou! Third Place: Team Uraraka. Fourth place: Team Tet- eh? Team Shinshou? What a change in place. Congratulations guys! You are now part of the final event! The Fighting Tournament! But first enjoy a one hour break filled with fun activities! This is school festival after all!"
Shoto breathed out in relief. It was over. He had qualified. Now he only had to freeze anybody that was unlucky to face him.
And yet… he stared at his left arm uncertain.
He couldn't let it happen again.
He couldn't.
Endeavour wasn't a hero known for smiling cheerily like a certain overpowered buffon.
He wasn't known for crying at the sight of dead civillians, no matter their age or the state their corpses were found.
He wasn't known for being a listener or showing up on charities, no matter how much his PR team tried to press him.
He was a hero with a no-nonsense attitude, a hero who showed results, who defeated any villain that faced his path, who pushed himself to his limits in his fruitless attempt to surpass All Might, to become the new Number 1 Hero in Japan.
Endeavour, despite his scowling attitude, was a great hero loved and admired by the public.
Todoroki Enji, on the other hand, was a sorry excuse for a human being that had a reserved place in Hell when it came the day for the shinigami to reap his soul. And while he had never been a religious man, he was certain of that fact.
Because that's what he deserved.
He destroyed his wife life, pushing her to insanity, unable to see the signs of her mental break until it was too late. All he could do was use his position as the Number 2 Hero and force the Comission to sweep it all under the rug and make sure that Rei was sent to the best psychiatrist ward in Japan.
He destroyed his children's life. His eldest, who he failed by not teaching him correctly how to harness his quirk, dead. Natsuo hated him, not that he faulted him. Fuyumi tried to keep the family together, acting as Natsuo and Shoto's mother figure, the only one of his children who still visited Rei weekly.
And Shoto.
Shoto was willing to risk his life just to spite him, his father.
He could get Shoto hating him. He accepted it. He deserved it. There was nothing in the world he could do to fix things. Nothing. The only thing he could do was make sure that his remaining children and wife lived comfortable lives and that Shoto became a stronger hero than him.
He needed Shoto to become stronger than him.
Stronger than All Might.
Otherwise, everything he made his family suffer for would have been for nothing.
All the pain, the suffering, the sacrifices.
After everything he caused, he couldn't let it end like this.
But Shoto didn't understand.
Shoto wanted to be the Number 1 Hero in Japan, but only using his ice. The ice he got from his mother's side.
Shoto didn't understand that his attempt at teenage rebellion, his way of revenge for the pain he caused to Rei and their children, would not have a happy ending.
If for some reason Eraserhead didn't expel him for refusing to use his fire (which he was amazed hadn't happened yet) then Shoto would have to face a harsh cold truth that every true pro hated.
There were enemies they couldn't win against.
In most cases, it was due to lack of experience or a bad quirk interaction. It had happened to him when he was still young. Villains with stronger quirks than his or that could negate his or their quirks gave them bodies inmune to his fire.
So he trained. He grew. He strategized. He made sure that those situations were never repeated, that the next time he faced a villain with a type of quirk that he struggled against, that he would win. That if he was called to help in a emergency, he could save any civillian in danger.
He learnt and he advanced.
But Shoto's situation will be different from his and of any other pro. Because if Shoto was incapable of dealing with a villain, if he was unable to save a civilian from harm, it wouldn't be because of lack of experience or a bad quirk interaction.
It would be because he was helding back.
And if that happened then his life will be over.
He may be the Number 2 Hero, a role model for many kids all over Japan, but he couldn't protect Shoto if a disaster happened and he was caught refusing to use all his power because of a personal grudge.
Enji was a shitty excuse of a father. He didn't deserve the title of a father. But he never wanted to harm Shoto. He didn't want to see his youngest son die or be injured because of him.
Unfortunately, Shoto refused to listen to him, his rage blindling him against reason. Endeavour wished that his son would use his full power, use his flames and conquer UA's Sport Festival. But it didn't seem that it would be that way,
Shoto didn't win the race like he obviously expected and while his team won the second event, they only did it by managing to hold to the surprize prize. He had overestimated the power of his ice and underestimated the strength of his opponents, which almost ended with his loss.
His son didn't understand that his actions today were severely harming his future as a hero. Right now, with this presentation, none of the strongest heroes would considering him for an internship. The common rabble would do it, of course, but that's because they still thought that having a shiny quirk was all what was needed to be a hero.
But not the top 10.
Not if he continued to refuse to show his true potential.
However, Endeavour wasn't discouraged. For one brief moment he had seen Shoto use his flames. It might have been totally involuntary, but he did it. And it was against the mysterious girl that he met almost one year ago.
Back then he hadn't really paid much attention to the girl, finding the powerful villain more interesting than some vigilante and the creatures she could conjure. Her fire monkey was interesting, of course. He had been internanly amused by how its eyes shined in wonder when it saw the power of his flames unleashed.
The monkey had good taste, he would give it that.
His position as the Number 2 had given him access to more files and secrets than many other heroes could; only All Might held a greater clearance. But, it was enough to let him know the truth of the teenager girl that was declared almost six years ago.
Midoriya Izumi had traveled to another dimension by mistake, she had tamed strange powerful animals from that world and then came back to Japan, planning on becoming a hero with her team, her 'Pokemon' as they were called. And from what he had seen she had become more powerful in the past year.
Good.
Endeavour had been incapable of convincing his son to use his fire for the past couple of years. No matter how much he beat him up during training his son remained stubborn. His flames never so much as flickered, even when his rage was visible.
But now his flames showed up.
Right while he was facing Midoriya.
Maybe that girl would be the key to successfully beat the stubbornness out of his son's thick head.
I'm not putting the total scores of the Battle Calvary. As an idea Izumi and Bakugou got more than 1000 points each. Izumi beat some of class B teams with lesser members and then stole Todoroki's points, including those he stole from Mineta's team. Bakugou has all the points of his team and the ones he took from Monoma and a couple more from those Monoma stole, giving enough to surpass Izumi. Shinso did as canon and stole all of Tetsutesu's points.
I'm not condoning Endeavours abuse of his family. I'm not. But I did love the flashback storyline in canon that explained why Endeavour chose Rei and why he was so obsessed with having Shoto. In this version Endeavour acnowlodges that he is a bastard and that nothing can change it. He knows that apologizing won't revive Touya or heal Rei and his children's emotional scars. So he doesn't try. And he still is obsessed with Shoto to surpass him but he is genuinely worried for his wellbeing.
Basically, he is shitty father but he admits it. There will be more development to this.
Hope you guys liked the chapter! I have a couple of changes already in mind for the Internship Arc. Including Izumi's hero name.