Izuku waited patiently with the second and third placed groups as the five '0' point groups continued to fight for the fourth spot. He sipped on his water bottle, watching Kacchan and Yaoyorozu's teams fighting in an updated version of 'freeze tag', Monoma and Uraraka beside him.
Monoma snickered, "That Pomeranian is going to get fried! The ponytail sno-ugh…girl… (Midoriya glared at her for calling one of his classmates' names) can create anything! She can create some kind of weapon that could attack her!"
Midoriya shook his head, "Kacchan has trained her whole life to be a heroine. No doubt she's calculated every move that Yaoyorozu could make. I bet she is going to win." Uraraka cleared her throat.
"You seem to have a lot of faith in that, Deku-kun." Midoriya nodded, smiling in a bittersweet way, thoughts of his child-self being pulled around by Kacchan.
"Yeah. Me and Kacchan, we…we grew up together. She knew who she wanted to be since I knew her-that confidence, that drive…" His green eyes remained fixated on the screaming blonde.
"I've only seen that side of her grow as we did. She'll do anything and everything to win. It's one of the things that I admire about her."
Jirou looked smug as she asked, "Admire, huh?" He looked at her blankly for a few seconds before turning into a tomato.
"N-n-not like that, Jirou-san! Only like a-a-a role model! Or-or a big sister! N-n-n-n-not like tthhaaattt!" The purple-haired girl sniggered.
"That's too much stuttering to be a true denial." He groaned, covering his face.
"But it is true, though…"
Jirou chuckled again, both her and Midoriya not seeing the weird expressions on Uraraka and Monoma.
…
Todoroki sipped on her water bottle as she stared between Bakugou and the one male that's been bothering her since he saw her: Izuku Midoriya. He was so strong, so powerful-it was so annoying.
He also caused her to do the one thing she swore to herself she would never do.
No one saw it.
Not the people in the arena.
Not her mother.
Not her teammates.
And not Izuku Midoriya.
She was reaching out, trying to touch one of his headbands when something made her freeze.
There, wrapped around the upper half of her palm and all her fingers were flames.
Flames mean hurting someone. Flames mean abuse.
Flames mean she was becoming her.
She immediately took back her hand, forcing Shinso to pick up the slack and that cost them the match.
And not only was he the problem, but there was also another obstacle in her way.
Bakugou Katsumi.
The first-place examinee.
She displayed so much prowess on the practice field and she still saw that same talent right in front of her. If she could ever prove to her mother, her father, and her siblings that she would never become another Homura Todoroki (That's Enji's name-means 'flame').
…
Bakugou snarled, "DIE!" and threw an explosive shot at the ponytail girl. Yaoyorozu wailed as she felt the heat against her skin and she was thrown out of the field.
"And Bakugou won! We have the final team for the third round! Let's give her a round of applause for all leaders in this special round!" Yaoyorozu looked down at her hands in shock, a bomb she had just created in her hands.
I…I was so slow. I couldn't do anything! Tears filled her onyx-colored eyes but they stopped in surprise as a hand reached out to her. She looked up at Bakugou, who was looking away in a mix of rage and embarrassment.
"That was a pathetically easy win, Ponytail. And frankly, I'm even embarrassed." Yaoyorozu blinked.
"But, I know you have some potential. You got into the Hero Course after all. Next time we have a fight, you better give me a challenge!"
Yaoyorozu chuckled wetly, placing her hand in Bakugou's. "I will endeavor to make sure that happens."
…
Midoriya smiled, "See, I told you!" Monoma scoffed, taking some grapes from the refreshment table.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Oh, no." She looked up to see Midoriya's eyes suddenly filled with fear. "This means I'm probably going to fight her eventually, right?!" Jirou smirked.
"Didn't think too far ahead, eh, Midoriya?" The greenette glared at her, only making her laugh harder.
Both students looked up to see a teacher running over to Iida with a phone and bending over her, whispering to her in serious tones. Iida looked at him in confusion and followed after the woman.
"Iida, what's wrong?" The bluenette looked at him, concern in her eyes.
"My mother is calling me. Our teacher says I must talk to her."
Midoriya nodded, "Okay. Let me know if everything is okay." Iida nodded, running after the teacher.
Neither noticed Zelda following the bluenette.
…
"Okay, let's start the third round: Battle Tournament! Let's start with the first two: Izuku Midoriya vs Haadiya Shinso!"
Midoriya shook his head in disbelief at his luck. "Is…is she serious?! That girl wants to kill me!" He hesitantly turned to look at the lavender-haired girl who was giving him a smile. He gulped and looked up at Rauru in the stands. He was giving him a calm look.
Don't falter. Stay focused.
He nodded quietly at his mentor. Taking in a deep breath, he walked upstairs and onto the stage.
…
Midoriya watched Shinso trudge up the steps on the other side of the arena, hands in her pockets. She looked like the epitome of 'I don't care', but he knew she did. He knew deeply.
"Midoriya." He looked over to see the tail girl had walked closer, almost reluctantly. The moving uniform was looking like it was angry as it faced the two. Midoriya walked closer. Mashirao cleared her throat and murmured, "I faced her during the obstacle course. She has some sort of mind-control quirk. Whatever you do, don't answer her. Alright?"
Midoriya nodded, straightened up. and faced Hitoshi.
…
Shinso sighed, looking at Midoriya with tired jealousy and contempt. Midoriya stared right back, green eyes glowing with determination.
"Alright, begin!"
Midoriya held out his gauntlet, allowing the stones to shine brightly in the sun. He immediately raised his hand and was about to wave it to the left when-
"I bet it must feel real good, huh?" Midoriya paused as Shinso began to speak in an even tone. "You're the only male in known history that received a quirk. I bet it must feel great, seeing a bunch of girls being humbled because of your presence."
Midoriya opened his mouth but remembered Mashirao's warning at the last second. He raised his arm again, but she opened her mouth again, "My quirk is useless-not fit for heroics. Everyone fears it; they wanted to ignore me so much, I may as well have been born a male." Her lavender eyes darkened, her contempt more noticeable.
"And then you came along. A male that defied the odds: strength, smarts, and a quirk as well! You must've had a fabulous upbringing!" Midoriya paused in sheer disbelief.
A fabulous…upbringing..?
…
Memories of his mother crying about his want to be a hero; Kacchan not being his friend anymore; his teachers and classmates ridiculing and scolding him…
"Just pray that you will be born with a quirk in your next life and-"
A look of self-hatred and horror on the girls' face at what she almost finished saying to her former friend.
"I wish things were different, sweetheart."
…
…A Fabulous Upbringing?!
Fabulous?!
Pure rage soared through his heart as he stared at the girl and he wordlessly moved his arm to the left. Shinso froze, frustration on her face. He wordlessly walked over to the frozen girl, punched her a few times, dragged her to the edge of the stage, and pushed her off.
…
When Shinso could be aware of her surroundings again, she felt like her face had been run over. She looked up and gasped in distraught as she realized she was out of bounds! She looked up and saw Midoriya facing her from the stage, green bangs covering his eyes.
"I. Did not. Have a fabulous upbringing." He raised his head, tears filling his eyes. "I was a male-the only people that ever gave a crap about me were my parents! I was ridiculed and torn down every day of my life! And yes, I'm aware that the only reason I'm in UA is because I'm an enigma! A male has a quirk, let's enroll him in our school-we'll be famous! You think I don't know that's why I'm here-I do!"
He breathed deeply, "And I'm sorry you feel that me being here took you away from your dream of being a hero! And it's not right how you were treated either! Your quirk is amazing; you can get the enemies to be arrested quietly or get hostages to calm down! Things don't have to stay that way for you, Haadiya!"
Haadiya widened her eyes, for once looking alert.
"Uh…we have a winner! Everyone give it up for Izuku Midoriya! He will be competing in the next round!" Midoriya sighed and left the stage wordlessly. Back in the stands, Toshinori and Rauru left to meet him.
