A/N: I know this was a long time coming, but life got away from me. A bit short, but I hope it lives up to the hype.

Izuku had to wince as he witnessed Ibara hit the ground hard. She had unfortunately been matched against Katsuki and if he knew anything about his old friend, it was that he didn't hold back. Todoroki's fight with Iida went similarly. All it took was a single wave of ice and the speedster was cornered and quickly knocked out of the ring. Those two were really scary and yet, he was excited to face them. Must be the Zoro in him talking.

The most surprising outcome in his opinion was Kirishima's victory over Setsuna. Though Setsuna was incredibly skilled with her Quirk and smarter than most, she just wasn't capable of hurting Kirishima and the guy won through endurance alone. Which meant that as quickly as they started, the first matches of the finals had ended.

And this left him facing none other than Shoto Todoroki in the Semi-Finals.

Which would have just been another match had Izuku not been pulled aside by his fellow classmate earlier and given a lore dump that made all four of his past lives burn with rage. And he himself was no different.

"Don't hold back," Todoroki said as frost began to form around him. "If you don't transform, you'll definitely lose."

Izuku nodded and exhaled as he transformed into Noelle.

Her green eyes narrowed as she took a combat stance.

"The same goes for you, Todoroki-kun."

The ice user scoffed. "I won't use his power, no matter what! I will succeed with only my ice!"

"Then," Izuku said as her fists clenched. "You'll lose."

She launched herself forward and pierced directly through a wave of ice thanks to her Geo vision's barrier. "It'll take more than that to stop me, Todoroki-kun!"

Despite her bravado, she knew that even though he was only using ice, Todoroki wasn't one to be underestimated. He quickly adapted to her close-combat fighting style and began to use ice at close range in order to redirect her punches and kicks. He even managed to disperse one of her Geo constructs with a well-timed pillar. It was clear to her that when he said he only needed ice, he meant it. The amount of time it had to have taken to gain such mastery . . . and yet.

She deflected one of his projectiles with her right hand, green eyes staring at him. "You're strong, Todoroki-kun," she said, her breath visible due to the drop in temperature around them. "But it's not enough."

Todoroki gazed back at her, expression near unreadable. "I know."

That nearly caught her by surprise. "You do?"

He nodded. "Because you still have far stronger forms, right? And even now, I can tell you aren't going all out. And as I am now, we're evenly matched. Which means, even at what I consider my full power, I'm still far below your maximum."

She stepped closer, though she didn't drop her guard. "Then what are you going to do?"

His eyes narrowed at her. "I won't use his power. I will not be like him. And yet, I know that I cannot beat you. It's strange, before this match began, I swore that I would push myself beyond my limits with ice to defeat you. But now, it feels like my will is faltering. And I don't know why."

It's his lack of ambition. Zoro's voice reverberated from within her head. Even if I'm not actively partaking in this fight, you've inherited the same will I had. The will of the King. And Todoroki is no King.

The name came to her unbidden. Haoshoku Haki. And it made sense. Todoroki, who didn't even have the will to claim his power from his father, would undoubtedly falter before the will inherited from the world's greatest swordsman. Not to mention that the wills of all the other past lives, and Izuku's own, had all been intertwined, making it even greater than it had been in the past.

She hesitated at this moment, unsure what to do. She wanted to prove to Todoroki that he didn't need to fear his father. That his quirk was his and his alone. But wouldn't that be insulting to his pride as a warrior? Sure, she had lectured Momo. But this was different. Momo was merely lost, Todoroki was . . . well, he was stubborn, shortsighted and full of angst.

In short, he was a real pain in the ass and he'd definitely take offense to her trying to console him like some kind of battle therapist. But, it was the only way forward. Maybe she'd channel some Remilia brattiness?

She clenched her fists. "Are you an idiot?" she asked, finally finding her voice.

Todoroki blinked. "Huh?"

"You're being so damn stubborn. Refusing to use your fire. You claim it's his Quirk. But last I checked, he can only use fire. How is your Quirk anything like his?"

Todoroki glowered. "I've already told you, I won't use it-" he was cut off by a fist smashing into his face, causing a sickening crunch as his nose broke and blood spewed out. He stumbled back, eyes wide with shock.

"I changed my mind," the voice was much rougher and definitely masculine. "I said I had no interest in this kind of thing, but you're being such a whiny brat that I had to come out and play."

Noelle was gone, replaced with the towering, one-eyed form of Roronoa Zoro. His green outfit billowed in the wind as he glared at Todoroki. "Let's make one thing clear," he said as his Haoshoku Haki exploded outward and knocked out several audience members, making it clear that Izuku had taken the backseat for this. "If you don't use that fire of yours-"

-he reappeared in front of Todoroki and grabbed him by the face, slamming the back of his head into the concrete floor of the stadium and creating a crater as a result. "It'll cost you your life."

Izuku and the other three past lives were worried that Zoro was going to take this too far. Especially since even the teachers were looking concerned with his actions and choice of words.

But Zoro's actions seemed to have lit a spark in Todoroki as he stood up. He was dazed, and bleeding, and possibly even shaking from the dose of Haoshoku he had taken, but there was a light in his eyes. A light that wasn't there before.

"So that's what it feels like."

Zoro regarded him with a neutral expression.

Todoroki's frown slowly shifted into a grin. "Facing someone who's stronger than you."

Zoro's mouth shifted into a feral smirk. "The answer is clear. Get stronger. Get so strong that your father's fire won't even hurt you. Make that Quirk entirely yours. Think about it. With it, you'll be able to face more foes like me. Foes that will help you improve even quicker. Foes that will help you surpass your father in no time."

Todoroki closed his eyes and then erupted into a mixture of flames and ice. He smiled. "Don't regret this, Midoriya."

Zoro chuckled and then with a flash, he was gone, replaced with Noelle, or rather, Izuku as Noelle.

She blinked. Oi, Zoro?

All yours, kid.

She swore but composed herself. This is what she wanted after all. She channeled her Geo power and faced down Todoroki, who didn't seem bothered that she was back. They stared at eachother for a moment and then lunged. Geo-powered fist versus a fusion of Ice and Flame.

The moment they collided, a massive explosion reverberated throughout the arena. Some more people passed out from a passive burst of Haoshoku. Others had to scamper behind cover to avoid shards of rock, ice and bursts of flame.

And as the smokescreen caused by the collision was slowly carried away by the wind, only one person stood. It was Izuku. Her right arm was heavily burned and frostbitten and she had several other cuts and lacerations dotting her body, but she was still coherent. The same could not be said for Todoroki. He was laying slumped against a rock, bleeding from several different places. He was breathing though, and he had a smile on his face, as if he was content with the outcome.

Izuku sighed and undid the transformation. He allowed himself a smile to match Todoroki's. "Good fight, Todoroki-kun."

"Winner," Midnight began tentatively, as if still in shock. "Izuku Midoriya."