"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE!" Present Mic announced to the audience as the two combatants stared each other down. Emerald Green eyes stared down velvet red ones as Present Mic continued. "WIN BY KNOCKING YOUR OPPONENT OUT OF THE RING, IMMOBILIZING THEM, OR GETTING THEM TO SAY "I GIVE UP"!" Present Mic declared, earning several cheers from the audience. One person in particular with purple eyes smirked as he watched the two down below with interest, adjusting his orange and black striped fedora.
"BRING THE PAIN! WE'VE GOT OUR GOOD OL' RECOVERY GIRL ON STANDBY! AND FIGHT DIRTY, IF YOU HAVE TO! "ETHICS" HAVE NO MEANING HERE!" Present Mic continued before quickly clearing his throat. "OF COURSE, GOING FOR THE KILL IS A STRICT NO-NO! YOU'LL BE DISQUALIFIED IF YOU TRY! BECAUSE A TRUE HERO'S FIST FLIES ONLY WHEN IN PURSUIT OF VILLAINS! NOW! LET'S GET THIS THING STARTED!"
The sound of a horn blared out for all to hear as Izuku charged up One For All – Full Cowling throughout his body, green electricity dancing off his skin as his eyes narrowed toward Utsagi. For her part, she flickered her wrist toward Izuku, sending her Leading The Pack at him, maws wide open, snarling growls leaving their hideous jaws as they tore up the ground running toward him as they prepared to attack.
If this were any other situation, Izuku might have felt threatened even the slightest bit. As the glaring red visors of Leading The Pack honed in on him, the green electricity that was bounding and leaping from all over Izuku's body increased in intensity. Utsagi's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what it was that he was about to do.
And then…. It happened.
In the blink of an eye, Izuku was mere inches away from Utsagi's face. Her eyes widened asLeading The Packtried to turn around, the two fastest ones leaping up to pounce on Izuku, only for him to punch Utsagi square in the face, right on the nose. Saliva and blood flew from her nose and upper lip as she was launched five feet out of the ring and tumbling onto her back, head banging against the grassy floor surrounding the battlefield.
The impact had caused Izuku's knuckles to hurt and left a small amount of bruising, but that was about it. Leading The Pack vanished into thin air as its user lay on the grass, completely knocked out from the single strike Izuku delivered.
He stood there, baffled. After all of that talk, he had expected that she would have at least been somewhat of a challenge. Looking down at his hands, he clenched them into fists.
He wasn't complaining. He just had hoped he'd find a better fight from a Stand User.
"WHOA! DID EVERYONE SEE THAT?! MIDORIYA JUST SENT HER FLYING OUT OF BOUNDS WITH A SINGLE PUNCH! THAT'S GOTTA SMART IN THE MORNING! IT SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT MIDORIYA IZUKU MOVES ON TO THE QUARTER-FINALS!" Present Mic announced as the crowd went wild.
In an apartment building in the Yamanashi Prefecture, an old man with a scraggly white beard dressed in a white shirt and baggy blue jeans sat in a rocking chair facing an old-style T.V., a small smirk on his face as he clasped his hands together. "That's your successor, ey, Toshinori? An interesting pick, if I do say so myself. Let's see if you picked the right one," The old man said, reclining in his rocking chair.
At the Midoriya household, Inko was cheering for Izuku—which was to be expected—with a large smile on her face. She was proud of him—truly she was. She had a bowl of ice cream in one hand, and a handmade green flag with Izuku's face on it. Fly, Fly Away was also holding flags of Izuku, waving them around just as excitedly as Inko had been.
Back in the stands, the purple-eyed man smirked. Out of all of the things that he had expected, he hadn't expected a Stand User to lose so quickly against someone with a Quirk. But, then again, he guessed there was a first for everything.
Blackwell reclined in his chair, crossing his arms as his smirk turned into a frown. He couldn't help but notice that Midoriya Izuku was able to see that wolf Stand. "So, Asahina's report was correct. Somehow, Midoriya Izuku can see Stands. Or, at the very least, Automatic-Type Stands. It must have something to do with One For All." Blackwell mused, rubbing his chin as he pondered on the idea
His eyes drifted over to the staircase closest to him, as he bore witness to something he didn't think he'd see ever again. "There's no way… is that really…?" Blackwell thought, eyes widening as he watched what appeared to be a healthier-looking Toshinori Yagi walk next to Tooru Tomioka.
He was shocked. He never in a million years would have thought that Toshinori would be walking around without looking like a shrivelled-up tissue paper. However, given who it was he was walking next to… a small smirk took up his visage.
"How intriguing, Toshinori. I wonder… what did you sacrifice to regain your lost health?" Blackwell thought as he glanced over at where Class 1 – A was seated. A small wall was erected to block the view of any busybody from peering over at them, but that didn't matter. He knew Yoshihara Kira was there. "Now then, let's see what you can do, Kira Yoshihara. I need to know if my worries are founded in reality or if it's simply me being paranoid."
Meanwhile, with Class 1 – A, Katsuki was fuming. It should've been him down there, not Deku. Yet, here he was, sitting on the sidelines watching him fight to win what should've been his victory.
That's when a thought struck him.
"Am I… Jealous?" Katsuki thought, sneering. "Fuck no. I'm not jealous of that lousy Deku. That lousy, useless, pathetic, waste of air, Deku…" The more he thought that, though, the less he was beginning to believe it. Especially after witnessing what it was that he had just seen.
That had been a pattern as of late. Every time he demeaned Deku, he just seemed to get stronger. Be it mentally or physically, Deku was actually becoming the one thing that Katsuki had vehemently believed was not possible for that lousy, formerly Quirkless, Deku to become.
He was becoming a Hero.
"Then what does that make me?" Katsuki mused to himself, a gleam of something taking up his eyes. He rarely if ever reflected on the past, but now, as he did, he couldn't help but feel more than a little… off.
He remembered that classroom.
He remembered the words that fell out of his face.
"What if he actually did it, though…?" Katsuki mused, gritting his teeth as he shook his head free of those thoughts. "Fucking stop it. Doesn't matter. It doesn't fucking matter."
"Whoa! Did you see that?! Deku-kun one shot her!" Uraraka said, her eyes wide with shock as Ida adjusted his glasses, an impressed gleam in his eyes.
"I've never seen that kind of speed out of Midoriya before. He must've trained his Quirk to the extreme over those last two weeks!" Ida remarked.
As for Yoshihara, she had expected something like that to happen. In a one-on-one combat situation, if you didn't know what it was Izuku was capable of, then there was a fairly good chance that you would lose.
A small, tentative smile spread across her lips. "That's my Izuku…" She blinked, her cheeks flushing pink for a few seconds before she calmed herself down. "Oh… I really have fallen for him, haven't I?" She never thought that she was capable of having any kind of romantic feelings toward anyone.
She was such a fool. Thinking that nothing else had happened other than her having fallen for him. He was kind, selfless and sometimes to his detriment. He was caring, and while he was a bit of a mess emotionally and had very little understanding of social cues sometimes, that just made it even more fitting.
Back at Knock Out Lane, when her heart pounded against her chest… when they kissed… the whole night after the fact she could hardly sleep. It wasn't just because The Sports Festival had been coming up, but she also couldn't stop thinking about him. When she had pressed herself against his body back at Knock Out Line, she felt everything.
She felt his muscles, she felt how warm his body was, and could feel his heart beating just as erratically as hers had. She even felt his arousal, though it was probably an automatic response from being so close to the opposite sex.
It made her mind wander into dangerous places, but that was nothing new for her.
"Kira-san? Are you good? Your face is a little red," Uraraka's voice cut through her thoughts like a pair of garden shears as Yoshihara blinked, the blush in her cheeks fading as she cleared her throat.
"Oh, nothing. Just… thinking about Izuku."
"Huh? Oh! So Ashido-san was right. You do have a crush on him!" Uraraka said before looking away. "I can see why. He's nice. He's not my type, though."
"Oh?" Yoshihara prodded, raising an eyebrow as Uraraka shrunk into herself as she spoke barely above a whisper.
"Don't tell anyone I told you this… But I like girls…." Uraraka whispered as Yoshihara blinked. Uraraka quickly turned to look away, her face red with embarrassment. "Ah, I probably shouldn't have said that! My parents don't even know! I'm too scared to come out to them."
"Well, it is possible to be more comfortable around friends than Family, Uraraka-san," Ida spoke up as Uraraka paled.
"You heard me?"
"I am sitting next to you, Uraraka-san. Even if you whisper, you're not exactly that quiet," Ida said before shrugging. "I will say this until the day I die. I personally do not think that any of us should be getting into any sort of romantic relationship until after High School. We should be focusing on our studies and our training as heroes. Not romantic affairs. But that is just my personal opinion."
"So… you don't care that I'm… not straight?" Uraraka asked as Ida levelled her a neutral gaze the likes of which oozed sarcasm—something that Yoshihara was not even aware Ida was capable of. He always struck her as the kind of person who seemed to be immensely dense to that sort of thing.
"I assumed that you liked the same sex the moment I saw you, Uraraka-san. No offence," Ida replied as Uraraka sank into her seat. Yoshihara had to repress a giggle as she turned her attention back to the arena below. Everyone had cleared off, and the next match was about to begin.
In the tunnels leading to the arena, Shoto narrowed his eyes. Midoriya winning that fight meant that he was going to fight Midoriya in the Quarter-Finals—he was sure to win his match-up, especially because he was leagues stronger than his upcoming opponent.
During the "fight" that Midoriya had against that General Course student, he noticed that he was using his new speed that he had more than likely all of the last two weeks to be able to use in combat. He would give credit where it was due, it was a rather smart idea. It was hard to not notice Midoriya breaking his bones whenever he used his Quirk.
However, he also noticed that using this faster mobility made him weaker than when he was going all out. Plus, just because he was fast didn't mean he was faster than his ice.
"I'll defeat him before he can move. But first…"Shoto thought as he made his way to his fight with Sero, whom he knew he would defeat easily. But as he walked down the hall…. "Out of my way," Shoto said flatly as a man covered head-to-toe in flame stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed and annoyance on his face.
He was dressed in a dark blue costume with steel gauntlets, a fiery mask as well and flames covering his chin, mimicking that of a beard, along with his shoulders and upper arms. He stood at around 6 feet, and he had the muscle mass of a professional bodybuilder.
"You disgrace me, Shoto," Endeavour growled, watching Shoto walk past him. "You and I both know you could've crushed both the Obstacle Course and the All-Out War if you had used your left side. Grow up. Stop this rebellion like some petulant child. Remember, your duty is to surpass All Might. Understand?! You're different than your brothers and sister! You're my greatest creation!" Endeavour, aka Enji Todoroki, the number two hero in all of Japan, said as Shoto growled under his breath.
"That's all you've got to say to me? I'll win this with Mom's power alone. I'll never use your power in battle," Shoto said through gritted teeth, passing Enji with a deep scowl on his face. Enji could do was scoff.
"That might work as a school kid. But when you're out in the real world, all you'll be doing is risking lives. Your mother's ice is strong, and had she not reduced herself to a housewife, with proper training, she could have been quite the Hero, perhaps even worthy of the Top Ten. But, do not forget your fire. You may not have trained them, but the flames that you have inherited from me are meant to be used together with your ice. Refusing to use them is childish and will only get those who rely on you killed because someone has an ice resistance or control Quirk," Enji spat, glaring into the back of Shoto's head. "Face it Shoto. One day, you won't have a choice but to use those flames."
As Shoto stepped out onto the battlefield, completely disregarding his father's words, he stood across from his opponent, Sero Hanta. He was lanky and didn't look even the least bit impressive. However, appearances were often deceiving.
And if Shoto was any other person then maybe Sero would've been more imposing with how he was smirking. But Shoto had seen worse. Dealt with worse in the form of those villains back at The USJ—even if those too were pathetically weak—so in reality it didn't really matter.
All that mattered was that he cleared this minor obstacle and pushed forward.
Just as the pair stepped out onto the field, the speakers around the stadium crackled to life as Present Mic's loud and slightly obnoxious voice boomed throughout the entire arena.
"THE WAIT IS OVER! MOVING ON, THERE THEY ARE, OUR COMBATANTS FOR ROUND TWO OF THE QUALIFIERS! THE CREAM OF THE CROP! YET THIS GUY'S SOMEHOW STILL AS PLAIN AS THEY COME! IT'S HANTA SERO FROM THE HERO COURSE! VERSUS… THE BEST OF THE BEST, THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG! SHOTO TODOROKI, WHO IS ALSO OF THE HERO COURSE! BEGIN!"
Sero stretched his limbs, cracking his neck from side to side as he let out a short groan, all the while Shoto stared at him with disinterest. "Hrm… I don't really feel much like winning…" Sero muttered as a victorious glare appeared in his eyes, launching two long strands of tape around Shoto, and lifting him into the air. "BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE LOSING EITHER!"
"HE'S TRYING TO PUSH HIM OUT OF THE ARENA WITH A SURPRISE ATTACK! IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST STRATEGY FOR HIM! HE'S GIVING IT HIS ALL!" Present Mic announced as Shoto glared at Sero.
Again, if this were anybody else, then this would actually have meant something.
But this was Shoto Todoroki.
"Sorry 'bout this…!" Shoto growled, and as soon as those words left his mouth, a massive icicle large enough to poke out of the stadium formed right underneath Shoto's feet in less than a second. The icicle came close to touching some of those in the crowd, including Yoshihara, Ida, and Uraraka. Shoto flexed once, shattering the tape around him as Sero was ensnared within an icicle, his face and upper body free, minus his tape shooters.
"That's… a bit overkill… don't you think…?" Sero chittered out through shivering teeth. Meanwhile, Midnight, who had half her face and body covered with ice, asked the rather stupid question of whether Sero could move, which was met with an obvious answer. A minute later, Endeavour, along with a few other fire Quirk users, helped melt the ice, along with Shoto.
It was more than obvious, but he moved on to the quarter-finals.
The next two fights went on without much fanfare. Rikido Sato came victorious over Kirishima by knocking him out cold with a supped-up sugar-filled punch to the dome. As for Ida and his fight, he was able to get Hatsume out of bounds by getting her to fly out of the arena using her jet pack. The whole time, he was also wearing gear made by the inventor, mind you with annoyance on his face and a new "hatred" for someone that he barely even knew.
The next fight was Mina Ashido versus Yoshihara Kira, the former of which was not too excited about the fight in question. However, even if that was the case, the fight still had to happen, and Mina still had to try her best."C'mon, you can do this! She's just a little bit creepy… You can do this!"Mina cheered herself on in her head as she stood at the end of her entryway to the arena.
Meanwhile, Yoshihara stood underneath the archway on her side of the arena, summoning Killer Queen to her side. She wasn't going to hold back—within reason, of course. The moment she got onto that stage, and the moment the announcements were done, Ashido wouldn't even know what had happened to her. She knew about Stands, but she never truly fought one before.
As the two approached on stage, one was nervous and on edge, while the other masked their emotions behind an uncaring mask. Tension was built up in the air, and despite that, Present Mic began his announcement to the audience with the same vigour he had since the beginning of The Sports Festival.
"ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE! ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR AN EXPLOSIVE MATCH?! BECAUSE HERE WE GO! SHE'S A KILLER QUEEN, CAN PACK A PUNCH LIKE THAT OF A DYNAMITE AND IS AS PRECISE AS A LASERBEAM! IT'S YOSHIHARA KIRA FROM CLASS 1 – A'S HERO COURSE!" Present Mic announced as a part of the crowd booed, some of them told her to walk off stage, and the rest cheered, not that Yoshihara cared. "AND HER OPPONENT! SHE'S FLEXIBLE LIKE AN ACROBAT, SLIPPERY LIKE A SNAKE, AND CAN STING LIKE A WASP! IT'S MINA ASHIDO, ALSO FROM CLASS 1 – A'S HERO COURSE!"
When Present Mic finished his announcements, Yoshihara had Killer Queen move in front of her, her eyes narrowing toward Ashido, who had acid building up on her palms. And then, as the horns sounded for the fight to begin. Ashido, who despite her best efforts, still looked terrified, ran toward Yoshihara with a glint of determination in her eyes. Once she got in about 3 feet in front of her, she shot out her acid in a large glob that was aimed to hit her in the chest.
The acid nearly made contact with Yoshihara, only for her to sidestep the attack and circle Ashido's left flank, hands in her pockets with a tilted head, almost as if she was measuring a distance for something to happen.
Ashido quickly turned around and sent a punch directly aimed at Yoshihara's face. However, just as it came two inches from making contact, Killer Queen grabbed the fist, pushed her back close enough to the line that threatened to take Mina out of the competition, and then squeezed. The moment that happened, blood erupted from her knuckles and between her fingers.
To the audience, it showed them that something was pushing Ashido back and that something had pretty much blown up her knuckles and in between her fingers; all the while Yoshihara had her hands in her pockets. To those with Stands that were watching, such as Blackwell, Josefumi, Shinso, Heimei, Utsagi, Johnny, and Tooru, they saw Killer Queen do all of that.
Ashido cried out in pain as Yoshihara stared at her with a deadpanned, emotionless, apathy-filled expression. "You seemed so confident before, and now you're crying. How sad for you," Yoshihara mocked, venom dripping from her words as her expression became dark. Her soulless, dead eyes stared into Ashido's, which made her gasp, not only in pain from the wound that had been inflicted on her but by the shock of just how dead her classmate now looked—devoid of emotion, compassion, backed with a relentless pursuit to win.
"I hope there are no hard feelings between us after this match." As soon as she said that, Killer Queen reared back its right fist and slammed it right into her gut, saliva spewing from Mina's mouth as she doubled over. Pain surged throughout Mina's body as she coughed up small specks of blood, her wide and shocked eyes staring shakily at the small splotches on the ground in front of her. Then, the final attack came with a knee to the face, knocking Mina back and over the line.
"AND UNLIKE THE LAST FIGHT, THIS BATTLE LASTED ONLY FIVE SECONDS! I GUESS THAT GOES TO SHOW JUST HOW POWERFUL THIS YEAR'S HERO STUDENTS ARE! HOWEVER, I HAVE TO WONDER JUST HOW KIRA WAS ABLE TO FIGHT WITHOUT EVEN MOVING AN INCH! EITHER WAY, YOSHIHARA KIRA MOVES ONTO THE QUARTER-FINALS!"
Several loud boos came from the crowd, though, once again, Yoshihara shrugged it off, not caring in the slightest."They keep booing me as if it's going to do something. If they don't like me, I'm not bothered by it. I don't need a public reputation. As far as I am concerned, once I'm done with U.A., I'll slip out of everyone's minds and become an underground hero. If anything, this is a blessing in disguise."
As she walked into the tunnel that led to the stands where her class sat, a group of four people were standing by the boy's washroom, all of whom were in their late 20s to mid-30s. All of them were normal civilians, and all of them were talking to one another about something that she had no interest in listening to. That was until one of them saw her from the corner of their eye, that being the one to her far left.
"Hey! Is that kid the one who murdered that woman?!" The one on the left asked, his dark wavey brown hair almost blocking his eyes. His tone of voice was a mix of shock and anger at her appearance. It was almost as if they didn't even pay attention during the whole Sports Festival. Otherwise, they would've known she was there.
"Yeah, it is!" Another one of them said, his dark grey eyes staring at her with anger.
"Hey! You there! Get back here!" A third guy shouted, reaching out for her. However, what none of them knew was that Killer Queen was standing beside its user, dark pink eyes staring into the man's own eyes. All Yoshihara did was slowly turn her head, and as soon as that happened, chaos sprung forth.
As soon as the one that yelled at her to 'get back there' had reached out far enough to get in its physical range, Killer Queen grabbed the base of his wrist and with very minimal effort, twisted his arm around a full 180 degrees, snapping the arm at the elbow. Blood splattered all over the floor below, staining parts of the floor red as the man screamed in pain. Immediately afterward, Killer Queen roundhouse kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him against the wall, and causing him to fall unconscious.
The guy next to him, who was staring at his friend in abstract horror, got a punch to the face which sent him flying back into a vending machine, marking him unconscious. The third man tried to rush at Yoshihara, shouting in anger at her. "YOU BITCH!" The man roared, rearing his fist back to punch her in the face. His reward for his efforts was getting his left leg smashed in from the back of the knee by Killer Queen, who then knocked the third attacker to the floor, making him land face-first.
"Well, what do you want? Can't you tell I'm busy?" Yoshihara questioned as the fourth and final guy stammered, trying to get whatever it was he wanted to say out of his mouth. He couldn't speak, too scared by what it was that just happened. It finally culminated with the man running away, leaving his friends alone with Yoshihara.
She sighed, shaking her head as a frown took up her visage. "Pathetic," and with that, she brushed a hand through her hair before putting it back into her tracksuit pocket. "A bunch of grown men wasting their time on a child they don't even know… completely, utterly, disgustingly pathetic."
Turning to walk away, Yoshihara continued on her way to get to the preparation room where the rest of the contestants who were a part of Class 1 – A were waiting to be called down. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel as if she may or may not have gone a bit overboard.
Although, even if externally and internally she had been telling herself the constant talk about The Incident wasn't bothering her, in reality, it was. It was bothering her immensely. The more people talked about it, the more she wanted to bash their skulls in.
"Calm yourself. Do not let it get to you…" Yoshihara thought as she entered the preparation room. She drew the attention of the people in the waiting room, some of them shooting her dirty glares. The only people who didn't were Ida and Izuku, who had waved her over to sit next to both himself and Ida.
As she sat down, she caught a glimpse of Yaoyorozu, who glared at her hatefully. She ignored it and focused on Izuku and Ida. "That was fairly brutal, Kira-san," Ida remarked as Yoshihara shrugged.
"Eh, it ensured that I won. I just hope Ashido won't hate me after the fact," Yoshihara replied as Izuku waved her concerns away.
"D-Don't worry, Yoshihara. Ashido-san seems like a forgiving person," Izuku said as Yoshihara hummed in acknowledgement. She sure hoped so. The last thing that she wanted to happen was for her friendship with Ashido-san to have ended right then and there.
After a couple of minutes of waiting, the next three fights came and went, all of which had victors of varying talents. Tokoyami beat Yaoyorozu by using his Quirk, Dark Shadow—a sentient mass of shadow which formed out of Tokoyami's stomach to command and attack its opponent. Depending on the light level, Dark Shadow would either weaken or become stronger.
However, even in the light, it was physically stronger than that of a normal human. That was obvious during Tokoyami's fight against Yaoyorozu. Despite her best efforts, Yaoyorozu didn't really stand much of a chance against something that was as unrelenting as Dark Shadow. Its rapid attacks were more than enough to push her out of the arena, which resulted in Tokoyami winning.
The battle after Tokoyami's and Yaoyorozu's was Itsuka Kendo versus Tsuyu Asui. In the end, Kendo was able to defeat Asui by catching her mid-hop with her massive hands and pinning her down to the ground in the span of five seconds, winning by making it so that Asui was unable to move.
The next fight after that one was Neito Monoma versus Mashiaro Ojirou. It was a bit more interesting, as Monoma displayed the same Quirk as one Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and was able to beat Mashiaro by using his copied Steel Skin Quirk to knock Ojirou out with a single uppercut, rendering Ojirou unconscious, and securing Monoma the win.
Yoshihara watched all of those fights with the rest of Class 1 – A in their designated seats. At first, when the idea of The Sports Festival had come up two weeks back she had come to the premature conclusion that she wouldn't have liked it.
But now that she was here, her opinion had changed immensely. In reality, it was kind of fun. Despite her opinion on competitions and her not liking them, this one was different. It carried a different kind of energy than every other competition she had seen.
Maybe it was because she was biased due to the nature of said competition, and that she was in it, but either way, it was still a lot more fun than she had originally given it credit.
Once everything had died down after the final fight for the Qualifiers, the next round of battles was finally revealed to the eager crowd, and after reading them over, Yoshihara couldn't help but feel a little bad for Izuku.
Quarter Finals:
Fight 1: Izuku Midoriya – Versus – Shoto Todoroki
Fight 2: Rikido Sato – Versus – Tenya Ida
Fight 3: Yoshihara Kira – Versus – Tokoyami Fumikage
Fight 4: Itsuka Kendo – Versus – Neito Monoma
"So, he's fighting Todoroki. This can either go well or poorly," Yoshihara remarked mentally as she glanced over at Izuku, who was sitting to her left. He looked nervous as all get out, but he seemed to be calming his nerves by doing some sort of breathing exercise.
"Are you okay, Izuku?" Yoshihara asked as Izuku glanced at her, a small smile on his face.
"Y-yeah, just nervous…" Izuku murmured, looking down at his hands as green electricity bristled around his hands. "I've grown a lot since I started here at U.A. but I still don't hold a candle to someone like Todoroki…"
"That's a lie, and you know it," Yoshihara said, ruffling his hair as Izuku jolted at the sudden touch. He hadn't been expecting it, but it wasn't like it was unwanted. It was… strangely comforting. "I think you're better than him."
"But… he's objectively stronger than me. He's had more time to train than me, even if he refuses to use his left side, he's still stronger than me," Izuku muttered, only to have Yoshihara kiss him on the cheek. It was quick—very quick. If you blinked then you missed it, but Izuku felt it, and all of his worries melted away.
"Feel better?"
"Yeah…" Izuku said a small smile on his face. "Thanks, Yoshihara…"
"I saw that," Josefumi's voice abruptly spoke up as he took his seat next to Izuku, who very quickly went from fine to spooked in a matter of seconds. Josefumi smirked as Yoshihara frowned. When she looked at him, though, there was something… off.
"Your hair," Yoshihara pointed out as Josefumi blinked, before whatever sly confidence he had withered away in an instant.
"Uh huh… Yeah, I know. I have Bakugo to thank for this," Josefumi said, grumbling under his breath as Yoshihara had to hold back a laugh.
"You look ridiculous," Yoshihara said as Josefumi scowled.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But one day, my glorious hair will return! I know it will!" Josefumi proclaimed before sighing, changing the subject. "So, how long have you two been a thing?"
"A day," both Izuku and Yoshihara said at the same time.
"Huh, coulda had me fooled. I mean, you two've been close for a while now. Even when we first properly met you two were like… inseperable. You always sat next to one another, I can only imagine how much you two talk to one another," Josefumi listed off as Yoshihara drew herself into her thoughts.
Now that he said all of that, he was right. They kind of were inseparable, weren't they? When she wasn't busy studying or doing research on The Stand Bullets, she was either reading manga, watching anime, or texting Izuku.
She left her phone back at the suite, but there were days and days worth of chatlogs between herself and Izuku, and dozens of hours of phone calls of just the two of them talking and rambling about stuff.
It was odd. She guessed surviving a life-or-death scenario together, even if it was because of his mother, built an inseparable bond. In a way, she had to thank Inko for that. If it wasn't for her stupid actions, she probably wouldn't be nearly as close to Izuku as she was now.
"Huh… I-I guess you're right," Izuku said, looking back over at Yoshihara, who wrapped her arms around Izuku, leaning into him, his face going a little red as she smiled.
"Well, I'm not complaining. Are you?"
"N-No!"
"Get a room…" Josefumi groaned as the speakers in the stadium bristled to life.
"Would the next combatants get ready for the next round? You have a minute. We are on a tight schedule," Aizawa-Sensei's voice rippled through the stadium as Yoshihara let go of Izuku, but not before kissing him properly this time. Izuku stammered for a second, before standing up, smiling, and oozing with confidence.
"Kick his ass, Izuku," Yoshihara said as Izuku nodded, a determined gleam in his eyes. Without any more delay, he made his way to where he was needed. Josefumi snickered, watching him leave as Yoshihara frowned, sitting up straight in her seat with her arms crossed. "What?"
"Uh huh, just a day. Bullshit. Either that or you repressed your real feelings for way too long, and now they're all coming out at once," Josefumi commented before turning his attention back to the field below. "Welp, time to cheer on your boyfriend, I suppose."
Yoshihara couldn't help but blush at Josefumi saying it as loudly as he did. It garnered a few looks from a couple of people in their class. She guessed they didn't expect the shy, timid, and stuttering mess that was Izuku to be dating someone.
Down in the arena, Izuku stood at the opposite end from where Todoroki was standing. Both of them had determined looks in their eyes, but Izuku's was moreso than Todoroki's. He was going to make him use his left side, even if it cost him the match.
That still didn't stop him from being nervous, though.
"Breath, Izuku. Just breath…" Izuku thought, closing his eyes, inhaling, then exhaling. After he calmed his nerves, he steeled himself as Present Mic's voice came on over the speakers.
"BOTH OF THESE COMPETITORS HAVE WON TOP MARKS IN THIS FESTIVAL SO FAR! BOTH OF THEM ARE INSANELY STRONG! BOTH ARE PRETTY MUCH EQUALLY MATCHED! BUT THERE IS ONLY ROOM FOR ONE OF THESE GREATS IN THE RING! IT'S MIDORIYA! VERSUS TODOROKI!"
As soon as the horns went off, Todoroki stomped his right foot down on the ground, leaning forward to send out an icicle to encase Izuku, that way, the fight would've been over before it even began. As the icicle formed, Todoroki glared at Izuku. It was clear he didn't want the fight to be a prolonged one.
It was just too bad that Izuku didn't have the same idea.
Todoroki only had a second to react once he saw green lightning out of the corner of his eye. Before he could do anything, he felt a sharp pain in the center of his back, and then, not even a moment afterward, his face met the smooth end of the small icicle he had created.
Just like that, he and Izuku traded places. Now, Izuku was on the left, and Todoroki was on the right. Todoroki groaned, slowly standing up as he recovered from being kicked in the middle of his back. When he looked back over to Izuku, he was a little shocked that he was unscathed. The only thing that was even remotely ice-related on him was the small particles of ice dust on his shoulder which he promptly wiped off.
"I gotta say, Todoroki, that was pretty good. You almost had me there," Izuku said, stretching his legs, and bouncing from his left leg to his right leg before standing up straight. "That hurt me, as well, you know? If I had used any more power, I would've broken my leg. I'm still practicing my control," Izuku continued as green lightning danced around his body.
"Hmph," was all Todoroki said in reply as he attempted to do the same thing, only for Izuku to charge at him. Sparks of green lightning channelled all around his body as Todoroki's eyes widened. He dived out of the way, just barely avoiding a punch meant for his face. A wave of pressurized air shot out from where Izuku threw the punch, and yet, his arm didn't even hurt.
"That was only 4% of my power… Holy crap, I didn't even realize how strong I was until now!" Izuku thought as he quickly turned on his heel, and just in time as well, as Todoroki launched another wave of ice his way. All it took was a single backhand and 3% of One For All to completely mist the trail of ice.
Todoroki stared in both awe and annoyance that Izuku was handling his attacks with ease. "I need to amp up the pressure," Todoroki concluded as he sent out another sheet of ice, with the same goal to completely ensnare Izuku in ice. Just like last time, however, it didn't work. Izuku outsped the ice and closed the distance between himself and Todoroki.
However, unlike last time, Todoroki was able to create an ice wall between himself and Izuku, which protected him from being hit in the chest. When the wall of ice shattered, Todoroki used the brief opening provided to him to punch Izuku in the face with a right hook, staggering and stunning him for just a second.
And a second was all he needed.
Once again, he tried the same tactic. He launched another wave of ice out at Izuku, however, he misjudged how quickly it would take for Izuku to recover from the sudden attack. Green sparks leapt off Izuku's body as he narrowly avoided being ensnared by another icicle, and as a result, the icicle was shattered by a 3% One For All filled jab.
Todoroki frowned, annoyance colouring his expression as Izuku smirked. "Ice is very brittle, meaning you'd be able to take those punches. Your ice? Not so much, so going on the defensive isn't really a good idea, don't you think?" Izuku stated as Todoroki stomped down on the ground, creating a sheet of ice that finally trapped Izuku.
"That should keep him still long enough for him to be considered immobilized," Shoto thought, his frown deepening as his eyes narrowed in thought. "For a moment, I was worried I'd lose. But I won't lose to you, Midoriya. No matter what you do, I refuse to use my fire!"
For his part, Izuku tilted his head, looking down at the ground, and then he looked back up at Todoroki before sighing. "Did you not hear a single thing I said?" He asked as he effortlessly lifted his legs out of the ice one after another, freeing himself by shattering the ice with a simple flex of his leg muscles, thanks to the help of Full Cowling.
Todoroki's eyes widened in disbelief. "Did he just… step out of my ice?" Todoroki thought, confusion marring his face as Izuku chuckled to himself, rolling his right shoulder before taking a few steps forward, green sparks jumping around his body like static electricity.
"I'm sure you already know where this is going. But if you're keen on continuing this, go right ahead. I'll prove to you that your ice is meaningless in this fight," Izuku taunted, a small, confident smirk taking up his visage as Todoroki's eyes narrowed; the disbelief in his eyes fading as he analyzed the situation.
There was something off about Midoriya, that much he knew. Midoriya was cowardly, for the most part. This confidence was extremely out of character for him. Although, it wasn't out of place. "Back in the Quirk apprehension test, he displayed confidence like this with Aizawa-sensei. It must be the pressure. But someone can only take so much of one thing at once. If I can put on the pressure, he'll break and start to panic!" Todoroki thought, ready to launch another wave of ice toward Izuku.
However, at that moment, right when he was about to unleash it, Izuku launched forward, slamming his whole arm into Todoroki's stomach, close-lining him and flinging Todoroki across the battlefield. He tumbled and turned before stopping himself with a small wall of ice. Todoroki gasped, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath.
He hadn't been hit like that before. Then again, he had never had to put his all into a fight before. His ice had made it easy to end a fight before it even began. This was the first time he actually had to try. The only other time that he remembered having to try in a fight was…
"That creature from the USJ…" Todoroki thought as he slowly came to his feet, coughing as he tried to catch his breath. A small line of saliva trailed down his chin as he wiped it away. Looking over to Midoriya, Todoroki's eyes narrowed. "He's definitely grown since then. There's no denying it now. This won't be as easy as I thought it was going to be."
As for Izuku, he felt a bit of pain in his arm, but it wasn't nearly as bad as what it could've been. Quickly turning around, Izuku charged One For All into his finger as a large wall of ice came barrelling toward him. He'd need more than 5% of One For All to destroy it, so, that was exactly what he did. He charged enough of it into his finger to blast the large wall of ice away, turning it into small slivers of reflective frozen water.
The only problem was that he broke his finger after that. He had only used 8% of One For All in that flick. "Note to self: train with higher percentages to get your body used to the feeling," Izuku noted as he ignored the pain in his finger, balling his hand into a fist.
"He's really going all out with his ice, isn't he?" Izuku thought, narrowing his eyes toward Todoroki, who was slowly starting to get pissed off. Izuku noticed it but chose not to pay it any mind. "You good over there, Todoroki?"
"Shut up," Todoroki replied, glaring at Izuku. Midoriya had successfully deflected all of his attacks. Every single one of them, either with a flex of his leg, a flick of his fingers, or moving fast enough to avoid them all together. But even still, he wasn't about to give up. Especially since Endeavour was watching. "I'm going to beat you."
"Doesn't seem like that to me, Todoroki," Izuku replied. The cheers from around the stadium had grown a few magnitudes louder since the beginning of the battle.
"You're getting cocky, Midoriya," Todoroki said, ice travelling up his leg. Alongside that, however, there was a tiny bit of frost starting to build up on his face, and if one squinted, you could notice him shivering.
Izuku saw this and smirked.
"You're shivering, Todoroki," Izuku said, rolling his neck side to side. "And you're right. As of late, I've noticed that my confidence skyrockets when I'm up against adversity, and I get a little cocky. I guess this is what having people who believe in you does to someone, right? But that's something you wouldn't know, would it? Especially since you seem to want to distance yourself from everyone."
"I'm not here to make friends, Midoriya. I'm here to become a Hero."
"A half-assed one, at that," Izuku replied, a hint of disgust in his voice as Todoroki scowled. "But go ahead. Keep this up, and see where it gets you," just as Izuku said that, he took a single step forward and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Todoroki.
"He's too close!" Todoroki thought, and then, without thinking, his left side flared to life as brilliant orange-red flames danced off his arm. They flashed forward, and it forced Izuku to leap back to avoid being burned. Todoroki's eyes widened with shock on his face as Izuku once again smirked.
"Made you slip up," Izuku said as Todoroki seemed to get genuinely pissed off.
"You… You made me use his flames. You bastard," Todoroki bit out as Izuku sighed. "I know what you're trying to do. You're right, I slipped up. But it will never happen again," Todoroki said as he slammed his right foot down as hard as he could, attempting to do the same thing he did to Sero by generating a massive glacier to trap Izuku. "This is over, Midoriya!"
"You're right. It is," Izuku's voice echoed behind as Todoroki's eyes widened. If this were earlier in the fight, he might've been able to dodge. But due to his constant use of ice, and the fact that hypothermia was slowly starting to set in, he was far too slow to react. Izuku's leg slammed into his side, sending him into his own glacier.
The impact of the attack shattered it into tiny little pieces, as Todoroki spat up a small amount of blood. It trickled onto the floor below Todoroki, his breathing shallow as he tried to catch his breath. All the while Izuku menacingly stalked toward him.
Todoroki collected himself, wiping the blood away from his mouth as slammed his right hand down onto the ground, creating a pillar of ice. He needed a little bit of time to recover and warm himself up before he continued the fight. "There's no way Midoriya can reach me up here," Todoroki thought as Izuku looked up at the pillar of ice.
"Oh, it's like that, is it?" Izuku thought, green sparks jolting and jumping off of his body as he crouched down, channelling 5% of One For All into his legs. With all the physical exertion he could muster, he leapt up into the air, scaling the pillar of ice in a second. Todoroki's eyes widened, as genuine panic began to set in.
"No! There's no way he's this strong!" Todoroki thought as Present Mic's voice boomed out with exasperation, mirroring the energy and feelings of just about everyone in the stadium.
"ARE MY EYES DECEIVING ME! OR DID MIDORIYA JUST JUMP UP INTO THE SKIES WITHOUT BREAKING ANY BONES!?" Present Mic exclaimed as oohs and awes came from the audience. And while Present Mic was correct, it was only partially. Doing the jump broke a few of his toes, as well as injured his ankle.
Izuku hung in the air for a few seconds, his body sparkling with green lightning. Time seemed to slow down for just about everyone. Everything that had happened in the last two or so minutes had been so unbelievably unreal that even some of The Pro Heroes in the crowd were astonished.
Endeavor had a manic smile on his face. That boy, Midoriya Izuku, had forced Shoto into using his flames, and with each attack getting progressively harsher. The reality of the situation was obvious. Shoto was going to have to use them more if he was going to win.
He recalled the brief interaction that he and Midoriya had. He remembered approaching him and telling him to give Shoto a good fight, so that way he could use his birthright and stop his little temper tantrum.
And what Midoriya said back to him had, in all honesty, impressed him.
"He's not like you, and he never will be."
Those were the words that Midoriya Izuku had said to him. In no uncertain terms, it was rather gutsy for him to have done that. For that, he had Endeavor's respect. Especially now, what with how he was pushing Shoto to use his flames.
As for Toshinori, he was shocked with just how much Midoriya was getting away with by using his new Full Cowling technique. It was almost as if he was already close to mastering the ability. What was even more shocking was that, as far as he could tell, he hadn't broken any bones the entire fight.
He remembered back when Midoriya first got the Quirk. He was breaking his bones left and right. But now? Now he wasn't, at least not nearly as much as he used to be. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in his chest, watching his successor in combat. "Midoriya, my boy…." He paused that train of thought, thinking about his own master for a moment. Toshinori smiled. "Nana, are you watching this? I think you would be just as proud as I am right now."
As for a certain somebody else… "YOU GOT THIS! KEEP GOING, IZUKU!" Yoshihara called out, a larger-than-life smile on her face. It had been so long since she had felt this kind of way toward anyone. She truly believed in him, wholly and utterly.
Back in the arena, Todoroki's eyes widened even more as Izuku prepared to drop the mother of all hammer kicks atop his head. Todoroki was able to bring his arms up to protect the top of his head just as Izuku landed the blow. A ripple of pain shot through Todoroki as he was shot through the entire pillar of ice.
During his rapid descent, a thought crossed his mind. If he didn't want to get hurt too badly as a result of landing on the ground as fast as he was, he… he had to use his father's flames. Again. "I have no choice!" So with no real choice in the matter, for the second time during the fight, the left side of Todoroki's body sprung to life as he slowed his descent to the arena below with the same ever-brilliant fire from before.
As Izuku landed across from him, striking a heroic pose to boot as the ground cracked beneath him, all Todoroki could do was stare. Stare in pure and wild belief at what was unfolding before him. "Why? I don't get it…. Why?!" Todoroki thought as he slowly took to his feet, levelling a glare Izuku's way as a cold chill swept across the arena.
"I don't get it…." Todoroki murmured, anger in his eyes as a scowl was plastered firmly on his face. "How… how is it that you keep making me use his fire!" Todoroki shouted, glaring at Izuku, who slowly stood up to his full height, a slight limp in his stance as he adjusted to the broken toes in his left foot.
"His fire?" Izuku asked, a confused and insulted look on his face. "I don't see Endeavor in this arena. I see you, Todoroki," Izuku shot back, crossing his arms as Todoroki's ice bristled to life once more. He shot out another attack, and once again, as the green lightning danced over Izuku, he shattered the ice with a single bat of his arm, rendering it into little shards.
"Endeavor told me to give you a good battle. You know what I said to him?" Izuku asked, rushing toward Todoroki and closing the distance, punching him squarely in the stomach and knocking him to the floor. "I told him that you weren't him," Izuku continued before picking Todoroki up by his arm, and throwing him across the arena in the other direction, Full Cowling dancing over his body as he did so.
As he tumbled to the other side of the arena, creating a small ice barrier to break his roll, and as he slowly rose to his feet for what felt like the umpteenth time in the fight, genuine anger seeped into his voice. "I REFUSE TO USE HIS FIRE!" Shoto shouted, once again stomping his right foot down and unleashing another wave of ice at Izuku, all the while Izuku simply batted it away like it was nothing.
His ice was starting to become useless. No matter what he threw at Izuku, there was nothing that seemed to work. No amount of ice was going to cut it. That was obvious. It was becoming increasingly clear what it was that he had to do, but he refused to do it. He refused to let that bastard control him.
"But you already have, Todoroki, twice now, actually," Izuku stated, enraging Todoroki even more as he sent a massive icicle Izuku's way… only for it to be flicked away, breaking another one of his fingers, specifically his index finger. Todoroki's body was shivering even more prominently than before as more ice spread over the right side of Todoroki's body.
At this point, some people in the audience were starting to get concerned. While they weren't loud enough to be heard, a few people in the stadium muttered to themselves and their friends and family. Even Midnight was getting a little worried.
"You think by taunting me, you can force me into using his flames! I will never use his flames! Even if it gets me killed, I refuse to use that monster's fire!" Todoroki shouted as, suddenly, an angered look appeared on Izuku's face as he approached the livid Todoroki.
"THEN IF THAT'S HOW YOU'LL BE, THEN YOU SHOULD JUST QUIT! WITH THAT ATTITUDE, ALL YOU'LL BE IS A DAMNED HINDERANCE!" Izuku spat, grabbing Todoroki by the throat and slamming him to the ground, cracking the arena floor and causing Todoroki to forcibly exhale. Despite that, he rebounded from the attack, kicking Izuku in the chest, and knocking him back toward the edge of the arena, allowing Todoroki to keep a fair distance between the two.
"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!" Todoroki yelled, unleashing another wave of ice, although this time it was almost large enough to nearly eclipse the entire stadium. While it was huge, it was extremely brittle, and all it took to break it into little shards was a left hook Midoriya used by incorporating 5% of One For All with the punch. When the iceberg shattered into nothing but tiny fragments Shoto stumbled forward, breathing heavily as ice covered parts of his cheek and left arm.
"Look around you, Shoto Todoroki. Everyone here in this class has been working their ass off to get this far. All of them using their full power. What have you done? Used half of that power?! These wounds have only been caused by myself defending against you! You barely even scratched me! Start pulling your weight, Todoroki. GIMME EVERYTHING YOU GOT!" The rage in Izuku's voice was palpable, and annoyance and anger in Todoroki were the same.
"He set you up… he told you to do this, didn't he? That bastard told you to do this, didn't he?!" Todoroki snarled, clenching his right side, preparing another wave of ice, only for Izuku to lunge forward and close the distance between them, grabbing his right arm.
For a second, Todoroki had no idea what it was that Izuku was doing. Grabbing his arm was a dumb idea, especially since he could just flash-freeze him right then and there. That was, until, Izuku bent his arm backwards with enough force that shattered the bones from inside his arm. Todoroki let out a scream of pain as he slammed into the ground, landing on his freshly broken arm.
"HOLY CRAP! MIDORIYA IS PISSED OFF! HE BROKE TODOROKI'S RIGHT ARM!" Present Mic announced to the audience as Aizawa frowned underneath all of his bandages.
"Over the past month, Midoriya's learned to control his Quirk. His power output is less, far less than what it used to be. But his speed has increased tenfold. He opted for speed over power, and that speed equals power. Not only that, but he seems to know basic offensive maneuvers as well as a bit of proper fighting etiquette. Someone's been teaching him how to fight, and how to fight dirty. Not only that but he's grown far past the point I would've expected from him. This kind of progress only comes from years of practicing with one's Quirk, yet he only took two months. What exactly drives you, Izuku Midoriya?" Aizawa thought as the fight continued down below.
Todoroki tried to get up, only for Izuku to stomp on his chest, glaring down at him. "You have two choices, Todoroki. You either use your flames, and quit being a moron, or, you forfeit. You've seen what happens when you go up against someone who's not only stronger than you but faster than you in a setting where you don't have to worry about dying. If this is how you're performing, I can only imagine how quickly you'll fall off out there."
"You—" Before Todoroki could finish his sentence, Izuku pressed down hard, making Todoroki gasp for air, sputtering and coughing as Izuku continued.
"What happens when you fight someone who is actually trying to kill people and chaos havoc? What happens when your ice is not enough?! People will die, and it won't be anyone's fault but yours. This… all of this is pathetic. You are pathetic. You'd damn the lives of hundreds just to get back at your father? If that's how you think, you should just drop out. Think about the outside world. Not just yourself, you selfish bastard."
Todoroki glared upward at Izuku as he growled. He was about to say something, only for Izuku to interrupt him "You and I… we both want to be heroes. But right now, the only thing I see is something I once was. A scared little child who refuses to move past his past."
At that moment, Shoto remembered something. He remembered something that his mother told him. Something that she told him long before everything. Actually… he wasn't being told something, but rather, he was being asked:
"Do you still want to be a hero?"
Those eight words in the voice of his mother awoken something in him. He remembered sitting on his mother's lap watching T.V. They watched the news and saw that All Might had saved an entire building from collapsing on a bunch of people. She asked if he wanted to be a hero, and when he replied, she said something that inspired him to push through his training. To be the best hero he could be.
"That's fine. You're not bound by his blood. You decide who you want to become."
"When did I forget that…." Shoto thought, his mind racing as, once more, a brilliant surge of elegant orange fire began to pour off of his right side with a blast powerful enough to knock Izuku off of him and back to the other side of the arena. The explosion of red-hot flames warped the area around him as he pulled back all the rage in his system.
Everyone in the stands watched as the fire warped the surrounding temperature to a whopping 50 degrees Celcius, the heat being enough to nearly put some people into heatstroke if they stood too close to him.
"I thought you wanted to win damnit," Todoroki said, pushing past everything, including his broken arm as he activated more of his ice, creating a makeshift cast, mixed with the adrenaline in his system, pretty much blocking out all of the pain he had been feeling. "So why're you trying to inspire me?! Which one of us isn't taking this seriously now? Because I… wanna be a hero too!"
"SHOTOOO!" Endeavour roared, catching everyone's attention, walking toward the edge of the stands as he spoke. "You've finally accepted it! Yes! Excellent! It all starts now for you! With my blood pumping through your veins, and your mother's ambition, you will surpass me! After all these years, you will fulfill my ambitions!"
"A sudden pep talk from Endeavour, his father… such a dotting parent…." Present Mic said over the speaker, a little bit confused seeing as he knew that they weren't on the best of terms.
"Well, that's the spirit!" Izuku said, smiling as he got ready to prepare an attack, his whole body charging up with One For All. To hell with the percentages, if Todoroki was finally going to use everything he had, then it only made sense to match it. "If you're going all out, then so will I!" Izuku shouted as the two charged up massive attacks.
"What happens now… is not my problem!" Shoto stated as he raised his arm to unleash a massive blast of fire, all the while he cooled himself off by surrounding himself with ice.
"Midnight, we need to stop this!" Cementoss said over the comms as he prepared to send down several massive concrete walls to mitigate the damage to the arena and to the others, but more importantly, to Izuku Midoriya and Shoto Todoroki so they didn't wind up killing themselves.
"Already on it!" Midnight replied, ripping a part of her costume off to unleash some of her sleep gas in a vain effort to knock both of them out before anything bad could happen.
As the two attacks met in the center, the walls were erected, and the gas coated the area. However, when the attack landed, a massive explosion rippled throughout the stadium, the shockwave being enough to knock Endeavor off his feet despite his grip on the railing. Those who were seated felt the air pressure press up against them, most people covering their faces as the wind whipped up icy debris from the ground and the arena below.
Smoke filled the arena as Present Mic cleared his throat, fixing himself as he sat back up in his chair. "WHAT A BLAST! THOUGH WITH ALL THIS SMOKE CAUSED BY THE FIRE, I CAN'T SEE A THING! HAS THE MATCH BEEN DECIDED?" Present Mic asked as a shoe sticking out of the smoke, and then another. Stepping out of the smoke was…
"You're crazy, you know that?" Izuku ground out, keeping Todoroki standing tall by having his broken arm resting on his shoulders. "Your left arm is mangled to hell… Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, my rights are basically useless right now…." Izuku said as Todoroki chuckled mirthlessly, barely clinging to consciousness.
"You're… just as insane… Midoriya," Todoroki muttered as his head dipped down and the rest of his body went limp, a sign that he had lost consciousness, with the only reason he was standing because Izuku was keeping him there. Izuku raised his broken right arm into the air, pushing through the pain it caused him the arena exploded with cheers and applause.
"Shoto Todoroki is unconscious, so by default, Izuku Midoriya moves onto the Semi-finals!" Midnight announced as Izuku smirked. Several recovery robots came out of the woodwork, and the two were taken to the medical wing, all the while the arena was being repaired by Cementoss.
In the stands, Yoshihara was taken aback by the ending of the battle. She was happy that Izuku won—of course, she would be. She was rooting for him after all. But after that epic display of pure, raw, unfiltered power she felt something stir in her chest. It was akin to both excitement and panic all rolled into one.
She had no idea Izuku was anywhere near that strong. It was such a massive contrast in comparison to when she first met him—which was a good thing. But now, assuming she won her battle with Tokoyami, she would be one step closer to having to fight Izuku.
Oh, who was she kidding? Of course, she was going to beat Tokoyami. She wanted to win The Sports Festival, and so she was going to go all out. Then, after she beat Tokoyami, and whoever was after him, she'd be fighting Izuku—because she was confident that there was no one else in The Sports Festival that could give him a run for his money like Todoroki had. Not even her.
"Just you watch, Izuku. I'll be seeing you in the finals, and regardless of whether you're my boyfriend or not, I refuse to hold back," as that thought floated around her mind, her eyes gained a determined shine. "Nothing will stop me from winning The Sports Festival. Not even you!"
-To Be Continued-