Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.
nirmtheworm14 – I'm so you glad you liked the character development. It's definitely something I thought a lot about. Thank so much.
RubixJr – He sure was and he's not someone who swears a lot so you can tell how angry he was with Endeavor. There will be more development between Todoroki and Lewis in this chapter.
Djinn – Thanks so much. You are right about Endeavour having a lot of influence, but I doubt he will want to do anything if he values his reputation with the media. I'm also glad that you liked the battle.
Neo Infinity – Thanks you so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. The battle between Lewis and Bakugo will be tough, but I think I've come up with a good solution. Ochako will not be in the harem as she will be paired with Midoriya. I want Lewis to have female friends that won't be love interests.
Lelouch of Zero – I'm glad you liked the Lewis encounter with Endeavor. It's lucky that Lewis made out there alive because, as you said, there are many ways that could've gone wrong. I hadn't done many scenes with Hagakure yet, so I need to remedy that. Thank you again for all your support and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
wellingtonlucas282 – Thank you so much, I hope you like the next chapter.
Re Lovely Lover – Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.
Tikio – I know what you mean. I'm not quite sure he'll ignore her, but you'll have to see.
MBS41 – Thank you and hope you like the next instalment.
Wolfeborn – I'm so happy that you are liking it so far. Endeavor really had it coming. Thank you also for checking out my Fairy Tail fic.
LostBastaille – That's really good. I never thought about it that way. Thanks so much.
Thank you all for reviewing :)
Language keys:
"English,"
"Japanese,"
Quirk analysis
Chapter 16: The Grand Finale
The Pitch
Present Mic had barely finished the word 'begin' before Lewis had to dodge out of the way of an explosion. He rolled to the side but couldn't stop before Bakugo tried to hit him with another explosion.
Lewis flipped and jumped as Bakugo kept on sending barrage after barrage of explosions at him, not once letting him rest.
'Well,' Lewis internally sighed, 'I can't say I wasn't expecting this to happen,' he thought miserably.
"Stop moving you bastard!" Bakugo shouted furiously as he jumped at Lewis.
"Then stop attacking me!" Lewis shouted back as he ducked under a swipe.
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"
'Worth a shot,' Lewis wearily thought before he noticed the smoke swirling around him.
It was the same as his fight with Ochako, Bakugo's quirk kicks up a lot of dust and debris. If there is enough he can use it against him.
"Come on," Lewis encouraged with a smirk, "I thought you were going to defeat me."
Bakugo growled and swiped at Lewis, but once again he just dodge.
From the 1B Seats, Monoma tutted condescendingly as he shook his head, "Honestly. That Bakugo is falling into the same trap Ochako had put hi-"
"SHUT UP, MONOMA!" all of Class 1B shouted at him (except for Shiozaki who frowned crossly at him) before turning back to the match.
Monoma looked around in shock before hanging his head in disappointment.
By then the pitch was almost submerge in grey smoke, making it difficult for the audience to see the two battlers. Bakugo didn't seem to notice the abundance of smoke, to enrapt to knock Lewis out of the pitch. Lewis was now getting tired of avoiding the attacks, but he knew that he only a few seconds left until he can use his quirk.
'A little bit more. A little bit more,' Lewis thought in desperation.
He continued to chant those words in his head until...
'Now!' Lewis told himself as he felt his quirk work and disappeared.
Bakugo only blinked for a second before Lewis vanished before his eyes.
"Damn i- GAH!" he cried as something hit him the back of the head, making him fall forwards.
Lewis had disappeared in the air behind Bakugo and kicked him. Powerful enough to shock him, but gentle enough to not cause any damage. He then appeared kneeling in front of Bakugo and punched up into his stomach. The blond haired teen doubled over in agony and Lewis disappeared once again. He appeared on the right side of Bakugo and aimed a left hook to the side of his face to completely knock him out. However, Lewis didn't expect Bakugo's right outstretched hand aimed at his body.
He anticipated Lewis' movement.
Bakugo's hand sparked and exploded, causing Lewis to go flying back and land on the opposite side of the pitch and out of the smoke. He rolled into a kneeling position and took a few deep breathes until his ears stopped ringing.
'That hurt,' Lewis groaned as he looked down at his singed P.E Kit.
"You're too predictable," Bakugo called out to him as he stomped over, "You might have gotten a few hits on me, but you can't trick me like the rest of those losers."
Lewis staggered to his feet, "And here I was thinking you were just a irrational hothead," Lewis quipped back with a small groan.
"Stop trying to get a rise out of me," Bakugo growled, "that shit only works for people like the fucker with the copy quirk."
"HEY!" Monoma shouted in offence, somehow overhearing what Bakugo said.
Lewis and Bakugo ignored him.
"So are you going to keep on trying to insult me or are you going to fight me like a hero?" Bakugo snarled questioningly.
...
...
...
"Your hair looks stupid," Lewis replied, causing Bakugo to roar and charged at him.
He ignited his hands and propelled himself off the ground, flying towards him with his hands outstretched. Lewis had thee options. He could wait until he comes closer and then ram Bakugo in the stomach with his shoulder. However, Bakugo would certainly explode him out of the pitch before he could get close. He could slide under Bakugo and attack him on the flank. However, Bakugo can still attack him using his explosions for mobility in the air.
There was only one option left.
He wait until he saw the sparks ignite in Bakugo's palms before he leaped and flipped over the blond haired teen. However, Bakugo noticed this and grabbed Lewis' leg mid-air. Using his explosions to propel himself, Bakugo swung Lewis around and throw him onto his back on the ground. Lewis grunted in pain as the collision, but he didn't have time to stop for a single second as Bakugo aimed at fiery fist at him.
Lewis slid underneath him as Bakugo punched the ground, sending pieces of concrete flying in all directions. He quickly turned around, got on to his feet, and wrapped his arms around both of Bakugo's arms in a full nelson, making sure his hands are away from his face.
"GET OFF ME!" Bakugo bellowed as he tried to get out of Lewis' hold, gritting his teeth in pain.
Lewis aimed a sharp knee kick to his left kidney to try and take him down. However, Bakugo ignored the pain and used the opportunity of Lewis' leg being of the ground to double over and flip Lewis over him.
Lewis anticipated this and as soon as he was completely over, he landed on his feet spun around and delivered a right hook to Bakugo's jaw.
It was powerful.
Lewis used the momentum of his spin to power it. He didn't think much about holding back.
Bakugo spun 180 degrees and dropped onto his hands and knees. A deathly silence followed from the audience as they stared at a shocked Lewis.
Lewis waited for a few seconds to get back up or do something, but he just kneeled there. He glanced towards Midnight, but the judge frowned in concern. He looked back at Bakugo and saw that he had 't moved a muscle.
"Oh no," Lewis gasped as he made his way towards him.
This was exactly the the reason why he didn't like fighting. It just causes nothing but pain. This was the complete opposite of what he wanted to achieve at the Sports Festival.
"Bakugo are you alright?" Lewis asked in panic as he placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
He wasn't expecting an answer from him, so imagine Lewis' surprise when Bakugo whispered something.
"D-" he quietly said, his face looking away from Lewis.
Lewis frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry?"
"Di-" Bakugo whispered again.
Lewis couldn't understand him. He was about to ask him again when Bakugo's whipped up towards him. His eyes were filled with fury, he had a victorious smirk across his face, his hands were aimed at his chest.
It was at that moment that Lewis realised his mistake.
"DIE!" Bakugo roared before setting off an explosion that lifted Lewis off his feet and once again go flying back.
The audience gasped in shock at the sudden explosion and how Lewis landed roughly on the concrete pitch. His landing wasn't as elegant as the last one and he almost rolled off the edge of the pitch before he dug his fingernails into the ground. Lewis coughed as he tried to get rid of the smoke in his lungs and slowly sat up. His ears were ringing and his chest felt like it was on fire. He looked down and saw that the front part of his P.E kit completely burned away and his exposed chest was burned in places. It wasn't too damaging, but he knew that Recovery Girl needed to take care of it.
"That's what you get messing with me," Bakugo's voice coldly called out to Lewis, "there's no way you can defeat me. Your quirk is useless against mine and I'm not going to fall for your stupid tricks," he outstretched his arms and presented his sparking palms, "I'm going to give you two options. Either fight me and I'll kill you or you can surrender like the weakling you are," he told him as looked over him with a vicious smile, "your call."
Lewis glared up at him, mulling over his words. He was right. He couldn't defeat him, the odds were too much against him.
However, Lewis was not going to surrender. He doesn't give in to bullies like Bakugo, no matter how much everything against him. If he let him walk over him now, then he will always hold it over Lewis. He needed to show Bakugo that he can't always get what he wants.
And that's when Lewis had an idea.
Lewis shakily stood to his feet, making sure Bakugo is watching the confident smile on his face. Bakugo seemed surprise by his actions, but didn't complain. If he wanted to be squashed like a bug then who would he be to deny him.
"So you chose death, huh," Bakugo mocked.
"Actually," Lewis said, "I just found a third option," he told him, earning a confused look from Bakugo.
Lewis turned around and simply stepped out of the pitch.
...
...
...
Everyone was shocked by what happened. The audience was silent, Midnight and Cementoss shared a perplexed look, but the person who looked the most stunned was Bakugo.
The blonde's smirk was replaced by a gape as he stared at Lewis who turned around and gave him a simple smile, despite the pain he was in.
"You," Bakugo finally uttered before the sound of Midnight's whip caught everyone's attention.
"Fleetwood is out of bounds," Midnight announced, "Bakugo is through to the final round."
At the dark haired woman's announcement, the audience cheered for Bakugo's win. The students of Class 1A looked at each other, uncertain of what just happened.
"Why did Fleetwood do that?" Karminari asked out loud.
"I know right," Sero agreed, "I thought he would at least surrender. What's the point of walking out?"
"I think I know," Midoriya piped up, making the class look towards him, "it's so he can fight on his own terms," he explained.
Bakugo and Lewis, meanwhile, stood across from each other, ignoring the cheers and Present Mic's announcements. Bakugo's shocked expression eventually tightened into snarl, while Lewis gave him a cold look.
"What...did...you...do?" Bakugo growled, his hands sparking in anger.
"I decided to lose," Lewis calmly told him, "you've been fantasising this for years, haven't you. The perfect victory. Either you defeat your opponents or they surrender to you. That's why you gave me those two options. Well guess what Bakugo, despite what people say, I'm not a doormat and I do not give into bullies like you. I will not be treated as another step towards your egotistical goal. By stepping out of the pitch, I lost because I wanted to and not because you forced me to. Putting it simply," Lewis smirked, "I may have lost, but you didn't win," he turned around and headed to the exit tunnel, "good luck in the next round," he called back.
Bakugo's eye twitched in rage, "COME BACK!" he shouted, "COME BACK AND FIGHT ME PROPERLY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
He began to march towards Lewis, but Cemetoss stopped him before he could get any further.
"The battle is over," the teacher calmly informed him.
"I DEMAND A REMATCH!" Bakugo shouted at him, "IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"
Lewis ignored Bakugo's rant and looked up to 1A's Seats. His classmates waved down at him in encouragement, making him smile and wave back.
'Thanks guys,' he thought gratefully.
His eyes were drawn to a bright flash coming from 1B Seats and turned his eyes towards to see Kodai aiming a camera at his exposed chest. The sort of camera a professional photographer would use. After a few more snaps, she lowered the camera and gave Lewis a thumbs up before casually moving out of sight.
"...Should I be worried?" Lewis asked himself.
Hallways
Lewis walked down the corridor on his way back to his seat. He was seen Recovery Girl and she gave him a spare uniform after she patched him up. Lewis was relieved that this whole thing was over for him. Sure it wasn't the most glorious of exits, but he thought he's done enough.
Competitions are exhausting.
He was about to climb the stairs to his 1A Seats when a gruff voice called out to him. He turned around to see Aizawa walking towards him.
"Fleetwood, I want a word with you," he sighed as he stared lazily though his bandages.
Lewis frowned in concern, "Is this about the battle?"
"No. We just received a call from Iida's family," he informed, making Lewis' eyes widen in surprise.
"Is he alright?"
"He's fine, however," Aizawa sighed, "how much do you know about the villain known as Stain."
"Can't say I can," Lewis answered honestly.
"He's a villain who targets pro-heroes," Aizawa explained, "unfortunately, Iida's brother was attacked by Stain and is now in intensive care."
"Oh God," Lewis uttered in disbelief.
He has known that Iida had belonged to a family of heroes for a while. His older brother was known as the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, a popular hero in Japan. Iida was very proud of his brother and has looked up to him since he was young. Knowing that his brother is fighting for his life must be devastating.
"I'm telling you this because I need you and Yaoyorozu to take over his duties as class rep for a while. Just until he's recovered," Aizawa told him.
"Of course. I'll talk to her later," Lewis agreed, "Should I keep this from the rest of the class?"
"For now, yes," Aizawa said, "Although I doubt they would kept in the dark for long if the media gets wind of this. Those vultures will do anything for a story and a prestigious hero being injured by a villain is like Christmas for them," he began to turn away, "I'll keep you and Yaoyorozu updated. Well done getting third place," he congratulated before walking back to the commentator box.
'Poor Iida,' Lewis thought as he climbed the stairs again to the 1A Seats, 'I hope he'll be alright."
As soon as he entered the booth, he was immediately swarmed by his classmates. Lewis jumped back as he was bombarded with chatter.
"Fleetwood, I can't believe you did that," Sato uttered in disbelief.
"I would watch your back if I was you," Asui said, "Bakugo didn't look happy, ribbit."
Lewis shrugged, "Let him," he said before looking around the crowd of students, "has Todoroki already gone down? I was going to wish her luck."
"You just missed her," Momo told him, "her match will start in a few moments."
"Well we better get back to our seats before we miss it," Lewis told everyone as the entire class moved back. However, Lewis called out to Momo before she could leave, "Yaoyorozo, I need to talk to you...about Iida," he said.
The black haired girl frowned in concern before listening to what Lewis was going to say.
It was clear that Bakugo had not recovered from the previous fight. The spiky haired teen was seething with anger as he stared at his opponent across the pitch. He was determined to win this match and show everyone the champion he was.
Todoroki, however, was lost in thought. So many thoughts, doubts and emotions were running through her head that she couldn't concentrate on the match at all. Bakugo had threatened her earlier in the waiting rooms. He had basically bombed the door down, stomped up to her and told her that she better use her fire and not hold back in the finals. She didn't watch the match between him and Lewis, but it was obvious that he had done something to anger him.
Todoroki couldn't help but give a small, brief smile in amusement at the thought of that.
She glanced up at the 1A Seats and saw Lewis talking to Momo about something and felt a hint of saddened that he didn't at least try to offer some sort of encouragement.
It wasn't as if she needed it or wanted it.
She was just…expecting it.
"LOOK AT ME, HALF AND HALF!" Bakugo bellowed at Todoroki, causing her to stoically turn towards him, "DON'T LOOK AT THEM! I'M THE ONE YOU'RE FIGHTING!"
Todoroki gave him an annoyed looked but otherwise didn't respond.
"Yes, it all comes down to this, folks!" Present Mic loudly announced drawing the battlers' attention, "from the Hero Course: Shoko Todoroki vs Katsuki Bakugo!"
From the 1B seats Tetsutetsu sighed in disappointment, "Damn, it was a 1A showcase after all," he muttered.
"Yeah, sorry about that," a voice from the above the wall divider called out. Class 1B turned around and saw Lewis giving them a sheepish expression, "I really wanted more representation from your class."
Tetsutetsu gave him a broad grin, "No problem, man. We'll win next time," he stated in determination.
"That's right," another student Lewis hadn't been introduced to yet chirped. He was short with pale skin and would have looked ordinary if it wasn't for the speech bubble he had instead of a head or neck, "plus you were the one who gave Shiozaki and Tetsutetsu a chance. Thanks bro," he happily said, his speech bubble head forming the word 'Arigatō'.
"Why does he get to climb the wall divider and I don't," Monoma muttered bitterly.
"Because he's not antagonising us," Tokage firmly scolded him from the row of seats behind.
"BEGIN!" Present Mic suddenly announced as he started the match, making everyone turn to the front once again.
It had been barely five minutes into the match, but it was clear that Todoroki was not doing great. Once Present Mic announced that start of the match, she had submerged Bakugo in an iceberg, trying to subdue him quickly. However, Bakugo broke through the ice with his explosions and continued to bombard her.
Lewis noticed how she could turn the fight around if she used her fire side, but it was obvious that she was conflicted about using it. The memories of her past still haunting her. It didn't help that she could feel her father's expectant eyes leering down at her from his seat.
Todoroki felt the right side of her start to freeze over like in the match with Midoryia. She just stood still, not knowing what to do.
She waited for Bakugo to send another blast at her and knock her out.
"Don't stop!" a voice yelled out to her, "Use your fire side!"
Todoroki glanced up to where the voice had come from. She saw Lewis waving at her from the seats, encouraging her to keep on going.
"Don't let Bakugo defeat you!" he shouted, "Don't think about your father, just concentrate on you!"
Todoroki's eyes widened slightly in surprise, 'He's encouraging me. After everything I did to him. He still wants to support me.'
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw his smiling face and her right side started to unfreeze as her body got warmer. Bakugo noticed this, looked up at the seats and snarled when he saw Lewis.
"Really!" he shouted at Todoroki, "You'd listen to that bastard!"
Todoroki tore her eyes away from Lewis and gave her opponent an icy glare, her left side starting to smoke slightly. Bakugo grinned at the smoke and prepared his final move.
"FINALLY!" he bellowed as he used his explosions to create a small cyclone.
In the stands, Lewis saw that her left side was starting to smoke and was about to sit down when he noticed something. Despite the oncoming danger of Bakugo's attack, Todoroki was still not doing anything. It was as if she didn't want to attack.
"HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bakugo roared before releasing one of the largest explosions in the entire Sports Festival.
Lewis saw Todoroki put up a shield of ice, but it was clear it wasn't enough. The smoke from the attack and the steam created from the rapidly heated ice, covered the area. Nobody could see what had happened.
Soon the smokescreen lifted, and the audience saw Bakugo lying on the pitch. He looked just as confused as everyone else as he looked around for where Todoroki had gone. Once more of the smoke disappeared, everyone found Todoroki unconscious on a bed of ice. She must have put it up before Bakugo attacked, but it didn't do anything to help her.
Bakugo staggered to his feet and walked over towards her. He gripped the front of her shirt and shook her knocked out body.
"Get up!" he demanded through gritted teeth, "It can't end like this! I have to win! GET U-"
He didn't notice the pinkish gas drift around him and soon he too fell into unconscious next to Todoroki. Midnight walked up behind them and inspected the two students. She was forced to use her quirk:
Somnambulist: allows her to put nearby people to sleep by exuding a sleep-inducing aroma from her body. Her Quirk worked better on males than females.
Bakugo didn't look like he was going to give up and decided it was best to put him to sleep. After a few seconds, she cracked her whip.
"Todoroki has been defeated," she announced, "Bakugo is the winner!"
The audience recovered from the shock and roared at Bakugo's victory, despite him being unable to hear them. In the 1A Seats, the students started to chatter to each other.
"I can't believe it," Hagakure sadly said.
"I can," Sero said from beside her, "Bakugo is totally OP."
Midoriya looked sadly down as nurse robots took Bakugo and Todoroki away from the field, "I guess Bakugo won," he said out loud, "Just like he wanted," he turned to Lewis in the seat next to his, "what do you-"
He suddenly stopped when he realised that his friend was no longer there. He looked around in confusion.
"Fleetwood?"
Infirmary
The first thing Todoroki heard as she drifted into consciousness was the sound of clacking metal. Her heterochromia eyes slowly opened and looked around the unfamiliar room until she found the source of the sound. Lewis sat by her hospital bed, peering down at the knitting he was doing.
His eyes glanced up at her and jumped in surprise once he saw that he was awake, accidentally dropping his knitting.
"Todoroki," he gasped in shock before looking down at his dropped knitting in annoyance, "Damn it, I dropped like six stitches," he muttered as he picked it up again.
"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously as she sat up in her bed.
Lewis, after fixing his knitting, made it disappear before giving her a smile, "I came to see you."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to make sure alright," he simply answered.
Todoroki frowned and turned her head away, "I told you to leave me alone," she coldly reminded.
"I know," Lewis shrugged, "but I'm not going to do that."
Todoroki sharply turned to him and gave him a stern stare that would usually make him back down. However, Lewis barely flinched and only responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that. As soon as I left you alone, you suffered injuries on two accounts. The last one of which made you end up in a hospital bed," Lewis argued confidently.
Todoroki maintained her icy glare for a few more seconds before turning away in defeat. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right.
"Todoroki," Lewis said, making her look his way again, "I'm really sorry that I annoyed you and pestered you. I understand how it seems like an ulterior motive and I know it's difficult for you to trust people, especially with your past. But I genuinely care for your well being. For everyone's well being. It may sound ridiculous but that's just the person I am. Always have been. So if you tell me to leave you alone, I'll do that. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here no matter what. Most of people's problems today are caused by or made worse the lack of people wanting to listen to them. Imagine how many lives could be improved if they knew that somewhere out there someone cared for them, whether it was a family member, a friend or whoever. People like to believe that they are better off alone, but the truth is that human nature doesn't allow us to be isolated. It's an internal instinct that has been with us since the dawn of humanity. When my parents died, I wanted to be alone, but I soon realised that I couldn't keep on living in that state. I reconnected with my uncle and I eventually crawled out of my rut. And that's what I want to do with others. Support them and make sure they are living a great life. That's why I keep annoying you, Todoroki, and I continue to pester you until you feel better. I want to assure you that," he looked into her eyes, showing as much compassion as possible, "I will never abandon you," he told her with a gentle smile.
Todoroki blinked in surprise at heartfelt speech. The pain that had been torturing her heart had disappeared as if it was never there in the first place. In it's place was the sickly feeling she had felt whenever Lewis was around her, however it now felt different. It was nicer, more agreeable. It was as if the things that annoyed her before, didn't bother her as much now.
"Err...Todoroki," Lewis unsurely said, snapping her out of her shock.
She looked at where Lewis was looking and saw that her left shoulder was on fire and her right shoulder was starting to freeze over. She didn't notice activating them at all and quickly stopped herself.
"Sorry," she muttered looking away from him, "can you get me some water...please."
Lewis gave her a brief concerned look before smiling once again, "Sure. I'll be back in a minute," he told her before standing up and leaving the infirmary.
Todoroki waited until the door was completely closed, before she put her hands of her cheeks. She was confused as to why they were so warm since she stopped her quirk. Was she unwell?
A soft chuckle from the other side of the room caught her attention. She turned around and saw Recovery Girl at her desk facing away from her.
"You're not ill, if that's what your thinking," Recovery Girl as she turned around in her swivel chair to look at her.
"I-I didn't know you were in here," Todoroki stammered in surprise.
"Why wouldn't I be," Recovery Girl said, raising an eyebrow, "it's my infirmary."
"Oh."
Recovery Girl smiled sweetly at her, "You know he didn't want to leave your side for a single second. Even when I told him to leave. People like him are rare so don't ever let him go," she told her before turning back to her desk.
Todoroki was about to inquire what she meant, but the door opening interrupted her. Lewis entered and passed her a bottle of water.
"Thanks," Todoroki quietly said before taking a drink, "What did you mean when you said 'especially with your past'?"
Lewis smile dropped as soon as she asked that. He completely forgot he wasn't supposed to know about that and now he has gotten Midoriya into trouble. Lewis rubbed the back of his sheepishly as Todoroki glared at him questioningly.
"Well...you see," Lewis stammered as he tried to find the right words, "I...assumed...deduced, yeah that's a better word, deduced that...your actions were caused...by...childhood...trauma-"
"Midoriya told you," Todoroki stoically guessed.
"...yeah."
Todoroki hummed in irritation.
"Please don't be mad at him," Lewis begged, "I was the one who forced him."
"I'm not mad at him," Todoroki told him, much to his surprise.
"You're not?"
"No," she plainly answered before lifting her right hand and incasing it in ice, "I just need to make sure he doesn't run his mouth anymore by freezing it over."
"I think I prefer you just being mad at him."
Todoroki sighed and lowered her hand, "I suppose you're not the worst person to tell," she admitted.
Silence fell between them. Neither Lewis nor Todoroki knew what to say to each other.
"I tried to call the police," Lewis eventually told her, "once Midoriya told me. He convinced me to not go through with it though."
Todoroki nodded, "It wouldn't have worked," she plainly said, "my father has an important role in society, so I doubt nothing will come of it. But...thank you. I appreciate it."
It may have a trick of the light or Lewis' imagination, but he swore he saw a small smile on Todoroki's lips. However, she didn't have to smile for Lewis to know she was happy. Something about her posture or demeanour told him that she was glad that somebody tried to help her.
People show emotions in different ways. Just because Todoroki doesn't express her feelings, doesn't mean she doesn't have them.
It just makes her unique and that's what Lewis liked about her.
"You two should be heading to the field," Recovery Girl called out to them from over her shoulder, "the award ceremony is about to begin."
"Right, of course," Lewis said while Todoroki nodded in understanding.
The two students thanked Recover Girl and left the infirmary. They walked side by side in comfortable silence. Now that they were on friendly terms, Lewis was less cautious of her. He glanced at her in the corner of his eye and for the first time in a while saw how pretty she was. He was, of course, awed by her appearance when she first walked into the classroom, only for that awe to turn into wonder when she saw how confident and intelligent she was. However, this was the first time he really appreciated the beauty that was Shoko Todo-
"Why are you staring at me?" Todoroki suddenly questioned with a glare, making Lewis squeak in surprise.
"S-sorry," he stammered, "I was just...wondering why you didn't continue to fight? You could have taken Bakugo down if you used your fire side."
Todoroki shrugged, "I saw no reason to continue," she calmly answered, "I thought I had achieved my aims once I showed my father my quirk is mine and not his. It wasn't my original plan but I am more then satisfied with how everything turned out."
"I see," Lewis said before frowning in confusion, "but hold on. You did that before the match with Bakugo, meaning that you would have needed another goal in mind otherwise you wouldn't have fought or at least surrendered. Does that mean you'd achieved another aim during the match? Did it have to do with when I called out to you near the end?"
Todoroki fell silent for a few moments. Lewis could have sworn her cheeks turned slightly red, something he didn't know Todoroki could do.
"My father mentioned that he met you," Todoroki said after a few moments.
'She changed the subject!' Lewis thought in shock.
"He hates you. What did you do to him?" she asked.
"Err..." Lewis stuttered, "I may have given him a...lecture on how poorly his actions in the past were."
"Like what?"
She seemed very keen to know the answer.
"Well...I may have sweared at him...many times...told him he was a bully...mentioned how badly he treated his wife...hinted that his libido was weak...told him he was a disgrace to the hero society and then I threatened to set a fire extinguisher on him," Lewis explained.
Todoroki nodded and hummed in interest. Her facial expression didn't change throughout the whole explanation, but Lewis could tell that she was amused.
"Next time, make sure I'm there or record it," she told him seriously.
"Next time?"
The Arena
The Sports Festival was coming to an end.
All the students who participated were gathered back at the field for the award ceremony. The audience were roaring and celebrating for the last time, fireworks were set off overhead. There was only one thing that dampened the mood a little.
Bakugo, clearly upset over how things played out, had to be restrained to a concrete block and had a gag mask over his mouth. He thrashed around viciously, and his muffled shouts of protests were heard by everyone as he stood on the 1st place podium. To his right was Todoroki on the 2nd place podium who looked at Bakugo indifferently. While on his left was Lewis who, despite the restraints, stood as far away from Bakugo as possible without falling off the 3rd place podium.
'I wonder if he's angrier at me or Todoroki?' Lewis mused.
"And now the award ceremony!" Midnight announced as she presented the top three winners of the Sports Festival, "Third place could have gone to Iida as well as Fleetwood, but due to home life circumstances, he was forced to leave early," Midnight continued, giving a sexy wink to a nearby camera.
Midnight then noticed the dry look Lewis was giving her, "Not to downplay your achievement or anything," she added sheepishly.
"TIME TO CONFER THE MEDALS!" a familiar voice bellowed from the top of the arena. Everyone turned and gasped in joy as All Might boldly stood on the roof of the stadium, "AND THE ONE WHO'LL PRESENT THE MEDALS THIS IS NATURALLY THAN…" he leaped from the roof and performed several somersaults in the air, "IT IS I!" he declared as he landed on the field, "AND I AM HERE WITH THE MEDALS!"
"Our hero, All Might!"
However, Midnight apparently didn't anticipate All Might saying anything and so accidently spoke over him. She immediately apologised to him.
'Why do I feel that all of this was badly planned,' Lewis thought to himself.
All Might coughed and presented three medals in his hand before walking over to Lewis.
"CONGRATULATIONS, FLEETWOOD!" All Might said as Lewis bowed his head so he could put a bronze medal around his neck, "DESPITE YOUR RELUCTANCE TO PARTICPATE AND THE DISADVATATGES YOU FACED, YOU HAD MANAGED TO OBTAIN A RESPECTABLE PLACE!"
Lewis picked up the bronze medal from around his neck and observed it, "Yeah, I wasn't expecting this at all," he admitted.
"Remember young Fleetwood," All Might said in a quieter tone that Lewis was unaware he could do in this form, "sometimes you have to make decisions or do things that you don't want to do. But as long as you stay true to your morals, you will never veer away from what you want to achieve. I have no doubts that you will be a great hero someday."
Lewis mulled over All Might's words for a few seconds before smiling at the hero, "Of course, thanks All Might."
All Might nodded and headed over towards Todoroki, "CONGRATULATIONS TODOROKI!" All Might proclaimed as he placed a silver medal around her neck, "I'M SURE YOU HAD YOUR REASONS FOR NOT USING YOUR LEFT SIDE!"
Todoroki nodded plainly, "The fight with Midoriya triggered my confusion…and I lost grasp of what I should do," she admitted, "I wanted to be a hero like you, but…I thought if I needed to get over all by myself. Someone has shown me that is not the way and I feel…more hopeful. There are many things I need to come to terms with, but I know I won't be alone when I face them," she glanced over to Lewis, "Not anymore."
All Might followed where she was looking and chuckled slightly, "A WISE CHOICE. HE WILL BE A GREAT ALLY!"
Lastly, All Might turned to Bakugo and sweat dropped as he saw he was still trying to break out.
"FINALLY, BAKUGO!" All Might as he carefully took of his mask, "CONGRAU-"
"ALL MIGHT WINNING LIKE THIS…AIN'T WORTH SQUAT! EVEN IF SOCIETY ASCKNOWLEDGES IT. IF I DON'T THEN IT'S TRASH!" Bakugo bellowed as he pulled the angriest face Lewis had ever seen on a living creature, "AND YOU!" Bakugo sharply turned to Lewis, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU BETTER WATCH OUT BECAUSE I WILL COME AFTER YOU GAIJIN! I'M GOING TO ANNIHLATE YOU! YOU HEAR ME!"
'…I guess he's angrier at me then,' Lewis thought with a sweat drop, 'there has also been an uncomfortable amount of upper case letters in a short period of time.'
"Err…well," All Might stammered, "USE THIS AS A LESSON TO ENCOURAGE YOUR PROGRESS!" All Might suggested as he tried to place the medal over Bakugo.
However, Bakugo viciously denied the medal and after a few moments of squabbling All Might decided to place it in Bakugo's mouth with the blond haired teen chomping it furiously between his teeth.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!" All Might proclaimed turning to the crowds and the other students, "THIS YEAR, IT'S THESE THREE! HOWEVER, TAKE HEED FOLKS! THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY FOR ERVERYONE IN THIS ARENA TO STAND THERE! IT JUSTA S YOU SAW WITH YOUR VERY OWN EYES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THEY COMPETED AND BOOSTED EACH OTHER UP! EVERYONE CLIMBING TO EVER HIGHER HEIGHTS, ADVANCING EVER FARTHER! THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES WILL SURELY SPRROUT FROM THE SEEDS PLANTED THIS DAY!"
As All Might gave his speech, Lewis looked around at the faces of his fellow students and participants. He started the Sports Festival by saying that he wanted to make sure that everybody got an equal amount of representation, but it ended up being a 1A show as everybody predicted. Lewis couldn't help but feel guilty that he won. It was hypocritical of him.
However, All Might told him that things like this cannot be planned. He was just unfortunate to do things that he didn't want to do. All Might told him to stick to his morals and he will achieve what he wanted. There are other times that Lewis could help everyone get the respect they deserve. Times that would be more in his favour.
Lewis still had his goals and achievements. As long as he sticks to the right paths, he knew he could reach them. And then everyone will be happy for once.
"AND TO THAT SENTIMENT!" All Might continued as he raised a fist and pointed to the sky, "I'LL ADD ONE MORE THING! EVERYBODY SAY IT WITH ME NOW!"
Every student and audience member joined him in pointing up, anticipating what he was going to say.
"Plus…" everyone began to say.
"GOOD WORK!" All Might shouted suddenly.
"Ul- wait what."
"That was supposed to be a Plus Ultra moment!"
"Why would you change it!"
All Might sheepishly looked around at booing crowds as the students looked at the hero in sympathy.
'Oh All Might,' Lewis sighed as he shook his head.
Hallways
The Sports Festival was officially over and Lewis couldn't be happier. Even if it was just one day, to Lewis it felt like it had been going on for months. However, now that it was out of the way and the crowds were starting to depart, Lewis can go home and try and forget about they day. Aizawa mentioned how they have two days off to recuperate and Lewis couldn't wait to just do nothing.
He had left later then his classmates as he volunteered to help clear up, so now he was walking back to the changing rooms and get back into his own clothes.
"Hey!" a voice called out from behind him. He turned around and saw a brown haired woman in a business suit walking towards him, "you're one of the winners, aren't you. Please follow me," she said, placing a hand on his back and gently pushing him down the hallway.
"Err…sorry. Where am I going?" Lewis nervously asked.
"Some people just want to interview you. I already asked the other two, but one ignored me and the other…looked feral," the woman explained as she led Lewis down another hallway.
"Right, but I should probably ask my teacher first," Lewis told her, but she shook her head.
"They won't mind. It's only a small one," she insisted as they stopped outside a door, "ready?"
Lewis was starting to panic. He didn't think he could go through with this. However, before he could say no, the woman opened the door and pushed him in.
The flashing of cameras blinded Lewis as soon as he entered the room. He was completely submerged by loud shouting of interviewers trying to ask him questions.
'This is not a small interview,' Lewis thought to himself as he looked over the sea of reporters and cameras staring back at him. There had to be at least fifty of them, all packed into one room and were frantically waving at him, trying to get his attention.
The woman led a stunned Lewis to a table and sat him down in front of everyone. She then turned to address the press.
"Okay everyone, this Lewis Fleetwood. He is from…"
"Don't say it, don't say it,' Lewis begged.
"…Canada…"
'Huh, that's different,' Lewis thought in astonishment, 'Still wrong though.'
"…and he came third in the Sports Festival. I want it to be an organised session and Mr. Fleetwood will be choosing who to talk to."
'I will?' Lewis questioned in shock before he was assaulted by shouting once again.
Lewis frantically looked around the room, trying to choose at least one reporter from the crowd. He soon settled on a balding man from near the front.
Once he pointed at the man, the shouting stopped briefly, "Mr. Fleetwood, how do you feel about getting third place in the Sports Festival?" he quickly asked.
"Err…good. I honestly wasn't expecting to get that far," he answered before moving onto the next reporter who happened to be a woman with small antenna poking out of her hair.
"Mr. Fleetwood, why did you walk out of your last battle? Isn't continuing to fight to the end an essential part of the Sports Festival?"
"There were many reasons why…I lost on purpose, but the main reason why is that I didn't want my opponent to win on his own terms. It may be essential to…continue to the end, but I feel that it is important to show my individuality. I demonstrated that I could make proper judgements and not get carried away in meaningless fights," he answered with barely a stammer.
'Wow, I'm doing better than I expected," Lewis thought in disbelief before pointing to a woman with wavy hair.
"In regards to internet phenomenon that is Cheer-wood-"
"Next question," Lewis interrupted before pointing to a reporter with a pointed nose.
The reporter grinned once he was chosen, and Lewis could tell he made a mistake. He looked like the type of person who would give questions to make the interviewee accidently slip up.
"Mr. Fleetwood, I wanted to ask you about your opening speech," he said in smooth tone, "you mentioned how you wanted to become a hero to not only to protect those in need including villains. I just wanted to know what you meant by that. You're not implying that villains need as much help as innocent people, are you?" he asked with a smirk.
All eyes turned to Lewis, waiting for his answer. He had to be careful about what he said.
Commentator's Box
Meanwhile, Aizawa was taking a well-deserved nap now that the festival is over. He was still waiting for updates from Iida's family and wouldn't have to meet up with his class for half an hour. He climbed into his yellow sleeping bag and prepared to drift deeper into unconsciousness before Present Mic interrupted him.
"Hey Aizawa," Present Mic unsurely said as he looked at a T.V in the corner of the room, "are we allowing the press to interview the students?"
Aizawa groaned, but kept his eyes shut, "Don't be stupid, of course we aren't," he mumbled, "Why do you ask?"
"Err…because," Present Mic trailed off as he turned up the volume of the T.V.
"…and now an exclusive interview with U.A Class 1A student…" the presenter said, making Aizawa's eyes snap open, "…Lewis Fleetwood."
Aizawa groaned in annoyance and quickly stood from his seat.
"Of course, it had to be him," he mumbled as he fast walked towards where the interview was taking place.
"You're saying that villains aren't people," Lewis questioned back.
"I'm saying that villains are villains," the reporter smirked.
"Then you're wrong," Lewis told him, making a few people chuckle.
The reporter he was taking to laughed as well, "I'm wrong," he repeated humorously.
"Yes, although I can't blame you," Lewis simply replied, "society has dictated that those people who do wrong are villains and those who do right are innocent. And that's not wrong, but it's not completely correct either. The term villain is too general of a term. You're taking away a person's humanity away by labelling them as such. Has anybody stopped for a moment and wondered why people turned to life of crime? Perhaps they felt like nobody cared and acted out in desperation. Perhaps they had been discriminated over their quirks. Or perhaps they just had no choice. A hero's purpose is to protect those in danger, but it is also a hero's responsibility to prevent people from endangering themselves and trying to stop them from turning to crime. It is one of the problems our modern governments are facing. So yes, I believe that everyone, including those labelled as villains, deserved as much help as possible."
"You sound awfully critical of the government," said a new voice, "do you have a problem with today's hero society, Mr Fleetwood?"
Lewis turned to where the voice had come and saw it had come from a woman near the back of the room. She seemed to be in her early thirties and had long light purple hair and blue skin. Like Mina's, the sclera of her eyes were black and her pupils were green. Lewis would have considered her attractive if wasn't for the fact that something about her made him on edge. He didn't know if it was the her calculative eyes or her smile which was too innocent. He had no idea, but there was definitely something that he didn't like about her.
"I wouldn't say critical," Lewis finally answered, "just concerned with how things are."
"I see," the blue woman said with a giggle, "would you say you'd be more open to...alternatives?"
Lewis really didn't like the way she said that last word.
"Well...I'm not really that adventurous to be honest," he admitted earning a chuckle from the crowd, "I think I would prefer the system we have now and improve it some ways. I believe that our society has lost what's important about what it means to be hero. It has become a popularity contest and the amount of people wanting to be heroes because they want to be famous is awful. I believe that we have to fix it before...we suffer the consequences."
Satisfied with his answer, the blue woman nodded at Lewis. He was about to continue before the door to the room slammed open and Aizawa walked in.
"You have not been given permission to conduct interviews, especially with one of my students," Aizawa growled as he pulled Lewis to his feet, "all of you leave before I call the police."
The reporters loudly complained but Aizawa didn't care and began leading Lewis out of the room.
"Mr. Fleetwood," one of the reporters shouted above the rest, "do you have any final comments?"
"Respect women!" Lewis called back before Aizawa pushed him through the door.
Aizawa sighed as he led Lewis back to the changing rooms, "I know I didn't exclusively say not to talk to the press, but then again I didn't think I had to."
"I'm sorry sir. It just-"
"Happened. Yeah I know," Aizawa interrupted, "things do tend to happen to you. Don't worry about it, I know you're not stupid enough to say anything you shouldn't. It's also the faculty's fault for not getting rid of them. But word of advice, don't mention your views on the government to the Press again. I know you were backed into a corner, but people will start to think U.A is teaching you to be rebellious."
"R-right," Lewis stuttered in agreement as they reached the changing rooms.
"Get change and get back to class," Aizawa ordered firmly.
Lewis opened the door and was about to walk in when Aizawa called out to him again.
"Fleetwood," he said looking at him through his bandages.
Lewis stopped and looked back curiously, "Yes sir?"
"...well done dealing with the media. It's clear that your progressing well," Aizawa simply said before walking away.
Lewis blinked in surprise at what he said. He watched him walk down the hallway for a few more seconds before smiling proudly and entering the changing rooms.
Class 1A
After Aizawa's final messages, the students began to filter out of the classroom. Bakugo was the first to leave, but not before snarling at Lewis on his way out. He was then followed by the other students until Lewis was one of the last to leave.
Lewis had only took one step out of the door before Mina jogged up to him.
"Hey Neko-chan," she cheerily said as she hugged his arm, "well done getting third place," she congratulated.
"Thanks Mina," Lewis chuckled, "when do you want to have your English lesson."
Mina groaned when he reminded her of the bet, "Fine. Since we have two days off we can meet up then" she suggested, "I'm going to busy tomorrow, but what about the day after."
"That's fine with me," Lewis agreed happily.
"Great," she gave his arm another tight squeeze before letting go and walking down the hall, "see you then, Neko-chan," she said as she waved goodbye.
'She's never going to stop calling me that, is she,' Lewis thought as he waved back.
"You two seem close."
Lewis jumped and yelped at the unexpected voice. He turned around and saw Todoroki, now back in her school uniform, looking plainly at him. How long had she been there?
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Todoroki apologised.
Lewis gave her a sheepish smile, "You just surprised me. And yeah, I guess we're close," he admitted,
"I see," Todoroki hummed. Lewis could have sworn she frowned for a brief second before she looked down at the ground in what Lewis assumed was her version of timidness, "I was planning on meeting...my mother in the hospital," she told him.
"Oh, that's great," Lewis said.
Todoroki hummed, "It has been a few years since I last saw her. I have no idea how she would react to seeing me. Especially after...everything that has happened."
Todoroki continued to look down at the ground until she felt a gentle weight on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Lewis giving her a reassuring smile as he held a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be okay," he told her, "you're her daughter and I'm sure she would love to see you after all this time. Please don't be worried. I guarantee that she would be excited to see the wonderful person you are."
Todoroki stared blank at him for a few moments before she nodded in understanding.
"If there's anything I could do-" Lewis started before Todoroki cut him off.
"I want you to come with me. To visit my mother."
"Um..." Lewis stammered in surprise.
Sorry for the late update.
Hope you enjoyed the battle and Lewis' interactions with Todoroki. I know in the anime that the Press weren't allowed on the U.A grounds, but I decided to change it a bit.
The things Lewis said in the interview will definitely come back to haunt him in the future. You will also see how his and Iida's relationship comes under strain because of it.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time.
Thanks :)