UA Stadium, UA High
Musutafu, Japan
"After one amazing fight and a great display of sportsmanship, we are following with another upcoming battle!" Present Mic calls as everyone cheers. "Now, let us continue with our next round. We have a young gadgeteer genius who managed to get into UA! Don't underestimate him just because he's small or younger than all of his first years! We all saw what he could do during the Cavalry Battle while working with his teammates! Let us give it all to Miles Prower of Class 1-H!"
Miles walks towards the stadium as he takes a deep breath, holding a device in his hand with his tails swishing left and right nervously. He wasn't exactly expecting himself to get into the finals in Sports Festival, but here he is. And he's against someone who could summon spores around the air and grow them at a faster pace than a zombie outbreak, which made her even more terrifying.
"And on the other side, we have a girl who has reached the finals along with her classmates with her small stature and wits! Her mushroom powers are unlike the ones we encountered in video games, and not taking them seriously might've cost your victories! Give a round of applause to Kinoko Komori of Class 1-D!" Komori walks into the stadium while giving the audience a small wave as everyone cheers for either Miles or Komori. Komori looks at Miles, and she can't help but see him as an obstacle.
All of her fellow General Department friends had lost their matches, and she couldn't lose hers. She and her friends had worked very hard to get into the hero courses, and she needed to win this match. She had gone far enough, and she was not planning to lose.
"Let the match begin!" Miles immediately presses the button on his gadget before it turns into a blaster. Komori widens her eyes before she spreads spores in front of him and creates a giant mushroom. Everyone was in awe at the size of the mushroom, but it quickly died out when they were destroyed by Mile's blaster in one shot.
Before Miles could say anything, he noticed a lot of spores start to spread from the giant one and immediately used one of his devices to form a mask around his face before switching his blaster mode to air cannon and blasting all the spores away from him. Komori clicks her tongue before growing the spores that manage to land on the ground, turning it into a mini mushroom forest. She thought she had managed to immobilize him, but Miles summons a pair of drones through his blaster before it starts to destroy the mushrooms one by one.
Komori begins to panic but calms herself down before spreading the spores on the drones and letting them rapidly grow inside them, taking them down. But Miles had already escaped and tried to blast her. Thankfully, she manage to evade before growing more mushrooms and using them as platforms to avoid Miles' line of sight. But, to her horror, Miles uses his tails to fly like a helicopter before switching his blaster's mode and shooting an energy ball into the arena, creating enough explosion to not only destroy her mushrooms but also knock her out of bounds.
"Kinoko Komori is out of bounds, the winner of the 6th match is Miles Prower!" Miles flies down towards Komori and tries to offer her a hand. But she was too upset with everything and just left without saying a word, which made Miles a bit guilty. He can't hold back for her because it'll insult everyone who had worked so hard to get here, which is why he created the support item from the scraps destroyed in the Cavalry Battle and the ones that survived the attack. It's not his masterpiece, but it's something.
Meanwhile, Komori rushes through the back of the arena with tears streaming down her face. She lost badly during that match, and it frustrated her. She felt an overwhelming sense of shame in her heart towards herself and the thought of facing her friends. But, the universe had another plan as she bumped into her classmates, all looking at her.
"E-everyone….I-I…" Komori didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Togeike pulled her into a hug, "I….I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, Komori….you did your best…" Togeike says shakily, tears threatening to escape her eyes.
"T-this isn't fair….this is so not fair…" Komori says as she cries before the others join in, hugging the poor girl. All of them were frustrated by their losses, but none of them could do anything about it, which made it sucks for them.
Meanwhile, Vlad King, who has just come out of the restroom, notices their interactions and frowns. He has seen and heard of what they wanted, and it left Vlad King quite conflicted about this, either spoiling them regarding their performances is enough to get them recommended for transfer to the Hero course, but he can't since it's up to Nedzu's decision.
Vlad King then notices that Hound Dog is nearby and also accidentally eavesdrops on the kids. The man merely shakes his head and signs, 'Only Nedzu has the final say about this,' which makes Vlad hesitant again. He takes a deep breath before he makes his choice.
If he can't say a word regarding the rules, he would at least comfort them.
With Shoto
Shoto can be seen walking while contemplating what Izuku had said earlier during the break. Izuku's words remain stuck in his mind, more specifically, what he said regarding his powers.
He remains unsure how to react to it. For his entire childhood, he believed the flame was his father's, a curse that the man gave to his child for the sake of his ambition, a curse that made his mother hate him. Yet, Midoriya simply stated the obvious thing. He wants to agree, but his past makes him hesitant.
As he walked, he was greeted by Endeavor standing in his way, crossing his arms. Shoto's mood worsened when he laid eyes on a man covered in fire, Endeavor, his sperm donor, and he already hated what the man was about to say based on the look he gave him.
"Your behavior has been nothing but disgraceful, Shoto." Endeavor says as Shoto scowled. "If you use your left side, you could have crushed both the obstacle race and the cavalry battle easily, even defeating your copycat."
"…." Shoto was merely silent, not bothering to acknowledge Endeavor.
"Your teenage rebellion has been nothing but childish; I suggest you stop messing around and see your duty to surpass All Might." Shoto's hand balled into a fist as he grits his teeth in anger. "Has it gone through that thick head of yours? You are my masterpiece, far better than your siblings."
Shoto had enough and walked past Endeavor, trying to desperately ignore what Endeavor said. All the attempt Izuku made to help was wasted with that conversation.
Back to the matches
"And the…winner…is Tokage Setsuna?" Present Mic says, unsure how to react to what he had witnessed earlier. Somehow, Mei had convinced Setsuna, of all people, to help her advertise her gears while hacking the speaker. How does she do it? Uses Setsuna as multiple moving targets, and she uses every device to shoot each of her body pieces, either nets, glue guns, tasers, rubber bullets, bombs, bolas, you name it.
After all of that demonstration, she decided to walk out of the bound, much to Setsuna's frustration and humiliation. Mei had successfully beat Setsuna, but she chose to give it up since she had no products to advertise. Present Mic's confusion is reasonable here.
"The Sports Festival is getting out of hand…" Aizawa comments dryly.
"Anyways, let us proceed with our next match! From one side, we had the man of lightning himself! He has the speed to rival our resident's Goliath and the Formula One Engine themselves and the raw power of the multiple thunderbolts themselves! Let's give it to one Denki Kaminari of Class 1-A!" Everyone let out a happy cheer as Kaminari rushed towards the arena while waving at the crowd.
"Then, from another side, we have the epitome of Ice King himself! With the power of summoning glaciers that could freeze anyone in his way, he could've crushed everyone if not for other competitors who could rival his might! Let us give a warm welcome to the one and only Shoto Todoroki from Class 1-A!" Aizawa groans as everyone cheers. Shoto walks to the arena with cold rage brewing inside him. Kaminari seems to sense the rage, and he can't help but be nervous.
"Let the match begin!" Kaminari didn't hesitate to charge in by covering his muscles with electricity, running at Shoto with a burst of speed that caught Shoto off guard. But due to his 'training' with Endeavor, he manages to dodge but barely. Shoto calls upon the power of ice from within him and tries to immobilize Kaminari, but it doesn't work, given how Kaminari casually dodges away the attack.
Shoto had tried multiple times to hit Kaminari, but he kept missing the target. Annoyed, Shoto decided to freeze the entire field, and Kaminari's attempt to dodge ended up with him slipping on the ice floor. Once he falls, Shoto takes the chance to unleash glaciers on Kaminari, which traps Kaminari in the giant ice.
As everyone gasped and Shoto took a breather, they heard a loud crack. This immediately puts Shoto on edge as the ice shatters, and a powerful thunderbolt blasts out of the ice. Shoto grits his teeth as frost starts to take over his upper body while Kaminari crawls out of the glacier. Before Kaminari could do anything, Shoto attacked with multiple icicles protruding from the ground towards Kaminari.
Kaminari yelps before getting away and sliding through the icicles, moving from one icicle to another, like how Sonic slides through railings. Shoto grits his teeth before touching the ice, and multiple spikes appear in Kaminari's path, which he manages to dodge before getting close to Shoto and shocking him. Shoto shouts in pain before gritting his teeth and touching Kaminari before freezing him.
Shoto lets out heavy breaths as he looks at his opponent, who is unconscious from the low temperature. He let out a sigh before collapsing down, sitting on the ground while he continued to pant tiredly.
"Denki Kaminari is unconscious! The winner is Shoto Todoroki!" Shoto didn't hear the words as he got up and started unfreezing Kaminari from the ice prison.
"Sorry…I was…angry…" Shoto mutters as he uses the left side of his quirk. Then, the conversation with Izuku starts playing in his mind once again. Shoto was unsure how to deal with this, but right now, he needs to thaw out his competitors from the cold prison he made.
Meanwhile, Izuku can be seen watching the scene and frowns a bit. Shoto had regressed to an 'I don't need to use my father's fire' mindset during the fight again. If Kaminari managed to find a way to keep their distance from Shoto and knock him out or even think of other strategies, he would've won the match.
"Kaminari has truly improved a lot." Yaomomo muses. "I still remember how he shocks his brain every time he uses his quirk."
"Indeed, now he's able to run alongside Midoriya and me when we use our quirk." Iida muses.
"So, how's your brother, Iida-kun?" Ochako asks.
"Tensei had chosen to stay, wanting to scout a potential internship student," Iida says with a beaming smile, which makes Izuku sigh in relief. That means Tensei won't be the target of Stain, but another thing comes to mind. If Tensei didn't get targeted, then who will be? He had caused another butterfly effect by asking Tensei to come so he could support his brother, but he didn't consider the other potential target.
'You can't save everyone, Ninth. Didn't you remember that lesson?' Kudo says.
'Yeah, a lesson I had to learn the hard way…' Izuku thought bitterly, remembering how he was helpless against the robbers targeting his family in his past life.
'….fuck, I'm sorry,' Kudo says, wincing at how he unintentionally stepped on a landmine.
'….don't be sorry. You just remind me not to dwell deep into fantasy…' Izuku thought before focusing on Shoto's retreating form. 'Endeavor has to be the culprit who regressed Shoto into his old mindset. Gah, I was hoping that conversation would help him….'
'Kid, no therapy session would be that super effective.' Banjo deadpanned.
'Tell that to Naruto's Talk no Jutsu!' Izuku exclaims.
'….I want to say that's a manga, but….' Banjo decided not to finish his sentence, but he did grumble at the end.
'Even after so long, all of us would expect to get used to it.' Nana says while pinching the bridge of his nose.
'It's not something people can ever get used to. Only those 'transmigration' manhwa would casually get used to it and never bring up how weird it is to happen! One chapter mentions it, and bam! They were never talking about it!' Yoichi complains.
'I think it more like they have no one to discuss it,' Kudo says.
'….now that's just sad,' En says.
'Yeah, it's a reminder that not all isekais are sunshine and rainbow.' Nana says.
'I think that's enough discussion about isekais.' Izuku sweatdrops before he was snapped by the announcer, declaring Takechi had won. 'Wait, what!? What did I fucking miss!?'
'An entire match, it seems,' Shinomori says as he sweatdrops.
'Yeah, let's not focus too much on discussion and let Ninth strategize,' Nana suggests.
'Can we even call that strategy?' Bruce comments.
'Rude!' Izuku exclaims. After Takechi was declared a winner, Monoma started to brag at how Class 1-A had lost to one of their students and how ashamed it must be. Thankfully, he was stopped by Kendo, who knocked him out and apologized. Izuku swears, for some reason, that Monoma acts even worse than his canon counterpart, and it worries him. Bakugou's change were for the worse, and he can't stop thinking about it.
Bakugou's growth was not…good story-wise, but he ended up becoming a better person by the end of the story. But, seeing him admitting he wishes Izuku to die concerned Izuku. If one person who could turn for a better ends up becoming worse due to the butterfly effect, then what other worse thing could happen? It's terrifying to think about.
"Now, let us follow with the next round! On our side, we have the goddess of creation herself, with the power to create and destroy! She is the true badass independent girl that everyone desires, and without those flaws from the dark age of social media!" Izuku chokes at Present Mic's description. Did he seriously say those with zero hesitation!? Now that he thinks about it, didn't he say similar lines when talking about the winners!? "Let's give a round of applause to one Momo Yaoyorozu of Class 1-A!"
Yaomomo is walking towards the arena with her face completely bright red, trying to stop thinking about what Present Mic had said earlier. It didn't help with the Victoria Housekeeping start cheering for her again, fueling her embarrassment even more.
"On the other side, we have the man of steel himself!" Izuku chokes once again at the unintentional reference. "He has the defense and the heart of silver! Like our fellow tank, he is willing to defend his friends from harm and dish out a lot of damage! I can tell you that getting hit by metal is no joke! Let's give a round of applause to our one Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu of Class 1-B! Okay, seriously, who name this kid!?" Tetsutetsu walks into the arena with a similar embarrassed expression to Yaomomo's, but he still waves at the crowd. Both opponents face each other, each having a determined look, and all their embarrassed feelings disappear.
"So, um, no hard feelings to those who lost, okay?" Tetsutetsu says.
"Not to worry, Tetsutetsu. Our class are rivals, not a nemesis." Yaomomo says.
"Yeah, tell that to Monoma…" Tetsutetsu says while rubbing the back of his head.
"What is his deal anyway? Someone almost died, and all he cares about is the attention we gain from the news?" Yaomomo asks incredulously.
"I'm not trying to defend him, but his reason is due to his….inferiority complex caused by having to live a life with a quirk that 'merely' copies other quirks," Tetsutetsu said as Yaomomo scoffed.
"That's stupid. If he focused on improving himself, he could be the biggest threat our class could face, yet he let his pettiness and hatred take over him. I would never understand why he would hate Midoriya-san ever." Yaomomo says.
"I don't get it either…" Tetsutetsu says with a sigh.
"Alright, let the fight begin!" Yaomomo immediately summons a cannon, and she uses it to shoot Tetsutetsu, who panicked and dodged away. It was the right move made by Tetsutetsu since the cannon wasn't using the normal cannonball but a spider web bomb. Izuku was once again getting stares from everyone, wondering why is it a good idea to give her that damn formula.
"Please stop staring at me…" Izuku says while groaning.
"It's your fault that we had to deal with Koda's deadly attack involving bugs burying us alive!" Mina exclaims as everyone shivers in fear while Koda blushes and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Now, we had to deal with nigh-unbreakable web from Yaomomo!" Tooru exclaims.
"To be fair, I was just helping them get stronger…" Izuku says nervously.
"Well, it ends up biting on our asses…" Sero grumbles.
Tetsutetsu immediately rushes towards Yaomomo with his quirk activated in his entire body. Yaomomo pulls out a shotgun and starts shooting at Tetsutetsu. At first, Tetsutetsu was confident he could tank it, but to his shock, when the bullet hits right at his head, the bullet knocks him back and causes him to stagger.
"What in the world did that bullet made of!?" Tetsutetsu asks in disbelief as Yaomomo grins.
"A special alloy used for Lycaon's prosthetic, able to handle high or low temperature and more durable than tungsten!" Yaomomo grins.
"And you use it for a bullet!?" Tetsutetsu asks incredulously.
"It's satisfying!" Yaomomo says before she shoots another bullet again, but this time, Tetsutetsu activates Haki to block it, causing Yaomomo to click her tongue before creating several matryoshka dolls and tossing them towards Tetsutetsu. At first, Tetsutetsu was confused at the sudden switch of weapons before he noticed too late that they were smoke bombs and flashbangs. This immediately blindsided Tetsutetsu, and it was bad for him since he hadn't unlocked Observation, but not Yaomomo, as she could see her target clearly with it.
Instantly, she uses the same cannon again and uses a different ammo before shooting at Tetsutetsu. Upon making contact, Tetsutetsu was sent flying toward the wall, and he ended up creating a human-sized crater while his entire body was stuck in it.
"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu is out of bounds, the winner of the match is Momo Yaoyorozu!" Yaomomo let out a sigh of relief as everyone cheered loudly for her. She immediately rushes towards Tetsutetsu in concern before helping him by pulling his entirely stuck body out of the crater.
"T-thanks," Tetsutetsu groans. "I would have a broken back if not for my quirk."
"Sorry," Yaomomo chuckles sheepishly. "But, to be fair, I know you're durable enough to tank that."
"…gotta love the confidence…" Tetsutetsu says as Yaomomo chuckles again. "Good game."
"Yeah, good game," Yaomomo says before she helps carry him to the infirmary.
"And once again, we have another showcase of sportsmanship! Wow, this year, students, while being competitive, all have standards: either humbly accept their victory or gracefully accept their loss!" Present Mic exclaims wildly. "Now, let us have a 5-minute break before we start our quarter-finals. Our competitors deserve some rest, after all!"
And with that, everyone has a short 5-minute break as Cementoss clears the arena for the next round. Izuku gets up before preparing himself for the next match, along with Koda and Hanzo. But, suddenly, Izuku was greeted by Toshinori, Inko, Hackmon, Eri, and Kota. He was surprised by this before Hackmon jumped towards him and hugged him before nuzzling his cheek like crazy, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Your fight was amazing, Izu!" Hackmon exclaims as Izuku chuckles.
"Not that I mind, but what are you guys doing here? I thought it was not okay for spectators to enter the participant's section." Izuku says.
"That is why we sneakily get in," Toshinori says with a grin.
"For the record, I disapproved of the idea," Inko says. "But….Toshi could be convincing…"
"Mom.." Izuku groans, but his lips twitch upwards.
"You're awesome, Izu-niisan!" Eri exclaims happily. "You fought two people at once, goes boom, then pew, and they went fwoosh!" Izuku can't help but chuckle at Eri, innocently imitating the actions.
"Thanks, girl," Izuku says while ruffling Eri's hair before looking at Kota. "So, why are you here, champ?"
"Champ?" Kota asks while furrowing his eyebrow.
"A nickname," Izuku says with a chuckle. "A short for champion."
"…" Kota looks away while putting down his hat. "I…I was dragged here by Eri…"
"Nuh-uh, I didn't say anything, but you sneak out of the seat to join us," Eri says as Kota flushed.
"L-lies!" Kota exclaims as they all chuckle. Izuku chuckles before looking at Hackmon.
"It's great to have you guys here, but I think you guys should get back," Izuku says with a smile. "After the festival is over, we have all the time to talk about it."
"Of course, and please take care," Inko says as Izuku grins before giving her a thumbs up.
"I will, Mom," Izuku says as Inko brightens up before Izuku leaves for the arena. The five-minute break is over, and the announcer starts calling Izuku, Koda, and Hanzo to the arena.
"Alright, we are all back, and now, we are starting with the quarter-final!" The spectators cheer wildly. "Now, we don't need to do many introductions for our competitors since we all see them in action! So, let's just get into it! For this match, we have Koji Koda of Class 1-A! Next, we have Izuku Midoriya of Class 1-A! Last, we have Hanzo Hasashi of Class 1-A! Whoa, we have three class 1-A students against each other! I wonder who will win!"
"I…don't expect to fight against you, Zuku…" Koda mutters nervously.
"Well, so do I," Izuku says with a chuckle. "But I expect the best from you, Koda."
"Y-you can call me Koji, you know…" Koda points out as Izuku chuckles before nodding.
"… If this is a date, I would feel like a third wheel." Hanzo deadpanned, which earned a confused look from Koda while Izuku facepalmed before chuckling lightly.
"Well, let the best man win," Izuku says as they both nod.
"Let the match begin!" The moment they heard the announcer, all of them jumped into action.
"My friend, come forth!" Koda immediately uses his quirk to summon a swarm of bugs around them and surround the group. Hanzo yelped at the sheer number while Izuku tried to control himself. Like Koda, he once had a fear of bugs, and due to the exposure therapy he unintentionally did to himself while helping Koda, he is less scared, but it still made his skin crawl.
As the bug gets closer, he takes a deep breath before emptying his mind. Ever since he accidentally used Conqueror's Haki (he still can't believe he ever had one), he had tried to ask Gran about it, but he was not helpful at all since he didn't have one. He had tried to activate it by will, and it took him a month to do so, usually practicing after tiring himself with Gearshift, Armament and Observation, Full Cowls, normal exercise, and Fajin. Since Conqueror's Haki didn't require physical, he can train to use it anytime.
One observation he discovered regarding Conqueror's Haki is that he unconsciously activated twice when he was pissed. But he knows Conqueror is more than rage, so he tries other ways, and he discovered it requires a huge concentration on willpower, more specifically, the willpower to lead. It was hard to do so, given how he never seen himself as a leader, but he tried. He tried to research more regarding leadership, asking for wisdom from his mom and Toshinori (Who was so glad he could mentor Izuku again) and even asking Hackmon about the experience of having a leader.
After all the mental training, he finally did it, but only if he concentrated very hard. He had never used it due to how easily distracted he is, but right now, he has no other choice. He could kill the bugs using flames, but he didn't want Koda to be sad after finally managing to get over his fear and befriend some bugs. Opening his eyes, a powerful pressure emits from Izuku through the entire stadium before the crowd goes silent.
In an instant, all the bugs start crawling away from Izuku out of instinct as Koda and Hanzo feel their legs shaking. Then, some of the crowd started to faint, much to some people's confusion.
"…that is something," Aizawa says, completely unphased. "I'll be taking over the mic. It seems that Present Mic somehow fainted."
"Okay, now the bug's gone," Izuku mutters before rushing towards Koda, who barely dodges by taking a step back from Izuku's punch. But, due to his legs still feeling like jelly from that unknown pressure, he staggers back. Koda managed to regain his bearing before trying to call his allies, but to his shock, no animals were willing to aid him, saying they 'fear the king' much to Koda's confusion.
Koda didn't get the chance to process what was going on before his Observation picked up Izuku's movement and barely dodged again by rolling away. Before Izuku could attack again, he dodges a chain spear attack from Hanzo, who's still shaking from the pressure. Izuku grabs the chain and tries to yank at him, but Hanzo manages to detach it before he can do anything, and the weapon disintegrates. Hanzo creates a knife and coats the blade with Haki before rushing towards Izuku. Class 1-A seems to notice the haki-coated blade and is surprised that Hanzo could pull it off as well.
Izuku ducks from an incoming blade swing before taking a step back and blocks another blade swing. Hanzo switches the blade to another hand before attempting to stab Izuku again. If it weren't for Izuku's Observation, he would've been unable to dodge most of his more fatal stabs. Hanzo's proficiency with the knife reminds Izuku of Winter Soldier, and he can't let his guard down at all, given the successful scratches he did on him before he get the chance to activate Armament. He blocks an incoming knife attack, and without giving Hanzo another chance to switch hands, he grabs Hanzo's wrist and punches his face in a matter of a second, causing him to stagger as he holds his bloodied nose.
Koda tries to sneak on him, but Izuku manages to detect him and dodge him. Apologizing to Koda silently, he grabs Koda and tosses him at Hanzo, causing Koda to crush on top of Hanzo. In an instant, they were immobilized by Izuku's ice, and to keep them at bay, Izuku made sure to coat the ice with Haki. Both of them struggled to move as Hanzo was unable to move his wrist to toss his iron daggers. He can't launch his weapons through his palm unless he tosses it himself. With a heavy sigh, they give up.
"Both Hanzo Hasashi and Koji Koda are immobilized; the winner is Izuku Midoriya." The crowd cheers for Izuku despite most of them still being confused by what is going on.
"Midoriya had claimed the victor of this match," Aizawa says plainly as everyone starts booing at Aizawa's plain delivery. "Don't like how I comment? Deal with it until Present Mic wakes up."
Izuku merely chuckles before freeing Hanzo and Koda out of the ice prison, and they all walk out of the arena together.
To be continued