Todoroki's team was quickly moving towards ten million points. Momo created isolation for her allies and Kaminari activated his Quirk to its fullest, shocking several teams at once and making Harry's head ache due to the use of Pride in the bright light. Todoroki immediately released the ice pole from his right hand and froze the stunned teams in place.
"What's this now?! Todoroki's taken out a herd of cavalry teams with one fierce attack!"
"He waited until they were stopped by Kaminari's shock before freezing them in place. I wouldn't expect any less... He must have recalled how many competitors dodged his ice during the obstacle course."
"Nice play-by-play!"
Harry ignored Aizawa's analysis and looked around. Things weren't looking good. They had only smoke grenades left, everything else was destroyed.
Two teams were attacking them right now, Todoroki's team came running up to them from the front, and from behind he could see Midoriya's familiar green hair.
'Well, he's trying to win this shit.' Harry thought with a small grin.
"I'll be taking this." said Todoroki as he stole another headband.
'Well, he won't take ours.' Harry thought.
Their team headbands were completely safe. Pride completely covered them with the shadows, preventing other teams from even seeing their location. This is why Todoroki was one of the biggest threats in this round, if he uses his fire at full strength, then Harry's brain will be overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.
Midoriya's team was also a problem, broccoli boy definitely remembered where Hatsume had hung her headband. If he uses his Quirk at the right time, he will be able to break through the protection of Pride and the Dark Shadow.
"Tokoyami, I will collect more shadows, get ready and keep to Todoroki's left! Hatsume, protect the headbands as your own eyes. We're going to evade!"
"Okay!" Two voices sounded in response and the teams began to move.
Over the next five minutes, Hatsume's team dodged Todoroki's ice, Kaminari's lightning, Momo's flashbangs, Midoriya's surprise attacks, and Ojiro's tail inside a small ice arena. The Shadows of Pride no longer covered the bodies of the three teenagers completely, concentrating only on Tokoyami's Quirk and Mei's upper body. Harry's face was now open and everyone could see the steady steam of blood that was flowing from his nose down to his neck.
"Only about a minute left! Todoroki made his own little area and was primed to snatch the ten million in an instant! And Midoriya wanted to take back the first place that was stolen by Potter at the first round! The situation is looking bad for Hatsume's team!"
The three teams faced each other in a Mexican standoff looking for an opportunity to attack. Team Todoroki currently had two headbands, Team Midoriya had one, and Team Hatsume still had ten million and Tetsutetsu's headband.
"Or so we though. But it's been five minutes now! Hatsume's managed to evade both Todoroki and Midoriya inside this small space for five whole minutes!" Present Mic enjoyed the show that the students put on, which was perfectly audible in his voice.
"Everyone. In the minute or so than remains... Well, what I'm about to do will render me useless. Than it's up to you, guys." Ida spoke in a serious voice and crouched down, preparing for the dash.
"Less than a minute left, Uraraka, use your Quirk on the three of us on my mark. Ojiro, get ready to move!" Midoriya gave commands with a confident expression, looking at only ten million.
"Bloody hell... Hatsume, do it. We'll counterattack." Harry tried to wipe the blood away with his sleeve, but only smeared it across his face.
"Grab it, Todoroki!" Smoke poured from Ida's legs and he reached Hatsume's team with incredible speed.
"Now!" Midoriya shouted and Uraraka activated her Quirk. Ojiro kicked off the ground with his tail, sending the whole team flying forward.
"Boom." Harry grinned and three smoke grenades exploded in the ice arena, completely obscuring the view of the cameras.
---
Present Mic jumped up from his seat to get a better look at what was happening into the arena, pushing Aizawa's chair a little.
"Wha-?! What happened?! That was too fast for the naked eye! And what's with all the smoke?! Who's got the ten million?!"
The bandaged hero moved away from his colleague and narrowed his eyes, looking at the smoke.
"Team Hatsume used her equipment to create a smokescreen at the very end of the round. For the remaining thirty seconds, each team will try to find any headbands, but they won't find ten million."
The host looked at Aizawa with interest in his eyes.
"Why are you so sure?"
The hero just crossed his arms over his chest and continued to stare at the smoke that slowly began to fade away.
"In Hatsume's team, the brain of the operation is Potter, I know his tactics. And he just got the perfect playing field for himself."
"Well time's almost up, let's count down. Hey, everybody say... 10...! 9...! 8...!"
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard in the ice arena and a strong stream of wind dispersed the smoke. Midoriya clenched his hand into a fist to relieve the pain of a broken finger and quickly looked around trying to find other teams. In his other hand, he held a headband with 615 points, but he had nothing on his head and neck.
"6...! 5...! 4...!"
Hatsume's team stood in the middle of the arena. Harry's shadows no longer hid the upper part of the girl and everyone could see the headband with ten million glasses on her head. She had three more headbands in her hands.
"3...! 2...!"
Todoroki tied the Tetsutetsu headband around his neck and frowned. He stole the wrong bandage and immediately lost two of his. Bakugo again jumped towards Hatsume's team, hoping to steal the bandage and the last second...
"1! Time's up!"
But he did not have time and fell face down on the ground.
"Let's see who the top four teams right now! In first place team Hatsume! In second, team Bakugo! In third, team Tetsu... Huh? Whoa! Team Shinso?! Who saw that turnaround coming?! Who even saw it happen?! And in fourth, team Midoriya!"
The green-haired teenager entered the ground knee-deep due to the strong stream of tears that escaped from his eyes.
"These four teams will proceed to the final event! We'll procced to the afternoon portion after a one-hour lunch break! See you than! Hey, Eraser, wanna grab some food?"
"I'm taking a nap."
"Wha-!"
---
Harry and Izuku looked at Shoto expectantly. Todoroki called them over as the results were announced, but he hadn't said a word yet.
"Why do you need me here, Todoroki? I can understand Midoriya, you declared war on him, but I should not be of interest to you." the black-haired teenager folded his arms over his chest and looked into Todoroki's eyes.
"You two overwhelmed me. So much so I broke my own pledge."
The teenager recalled how inside the smoke screen he felt the pressure from Midoriya and used his fire. Potter was bugging him for another reason...
"Ida, Kaminari, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami... None of them felt it. In that last instant, I was the only one feeling that pressure." he looked at his left palm with a conflicted look "I experienced All Might's true power up close, remember?"
"So, what're you saying?" Midoriya began to sweat a lot and Todoroki looked him in the eyes.
"I felt the same pressure coming from you. So... Are you All Might's illegitimate child or something?"
Harry looked at Todoroki for a moment and rubbed his face, ignoring Midoriya's shock.
"Seriously?"
"Nah, I- well... I mean, I'm denying that but, obviously, if I really was his kid, I'd try to deny it, so I realize I don't sound very convincing here... But, no, that's not it..." Izuku's muttering made Harry's aching head hurt even more. "So... Let me ask you then... Why would you think that I-"
Todoroki frowned and interrupted him.
"'No that's not it' interesting way to phrase it... There's definitely something you're hiding. I'm sure of it." the teenager turned his gaze to Harry.
"And you... What's wrong with your Quirk?"
Harry blinked.
"What?"
"When you detonated the smoke grenades, I noticed red lightning in the dark. It was coming from your body, but your quirk is shadow control. What was that?"
He stared at Todoroki with unblinking eyes. Harry did not notice the red lightning and if he is telling the truth, then...
"You know, my father is Endeavor." Shoto did not wait for an answer and continued talking to Midoriya "The second greatest hero of all time. So if you're somehow connected to the number one guy... All the more reason for me to crush you."
Todoroki leaned against the wall and looked towards the exit.
"My father is a powerful bastard who only thinks of becoming stronger. Yeah, he's gone all out to make a name for himself as a hero but... He's always seen that living legend, All Might, as a roadblock and an eyesore. My father could never beat All Might on his own. So he came up with another plan."
"...Quirk marriage." said Harry, looking at Shoto in a new light. Todoroki nodded.
"What? That's still a thing?" Midoriya looked at his classmates in confusion.
Quirk marriages became a problem during the second or third generation of Quirks. People were looking for a mate with a strong Quirk so that their children inherit an enhanced version of their powers. The human market was flourishing at that moment.
"With his wealth and fame, my father made my mother's family agree to the marriage. All to get his hands on her Quirk. Raising me as a hero who could exceed All Might, just to fulfil his ambitions. I hate it! Being no more than a tool to that human garbage. As I remember it, mom was always crying..."
Harry frowned more. He didn't like Todoroki's story at all, but continued to listen. He can say what he thinks later.
"'I can't stand to see that left side of yours.' she said, before throwing scalding water on my face."
'Well, his family is fucked up.'
Todoroki breathed a couple of times, calming his nerves.
"In short, not using my left side against you was my revenge on him. Never using my rotten father's Quirk... no... By rising to the top without using it... I'll have denied him everything."
Harry looked at his classmate and sighed.
"Rotten Quirk... You know Todoroki, no matter how smart you seem, you're still an idiot. No one can take that away from you."
Todoroki didn't answer and after a couple of seconds Harry continued his talk.
"My Quirk... It awakened only at the age of eleven. Until that moment, I was an just a child with a dream of a slightly better life. My relatives treated me like a slave... or a sandbag if they felt like it." he rubbed his hand, remembering how Aunt Petunia put it on the hot stove after a ruined meal. Harry shook his head to chase away the memories and looked back at Todoroki.
"If I were you, I would rip this festival apart and spit in the bastard's face. Use all your powers, because they belong to you, not to your father." with that he started to walk away, but Shoto's next words stopped him.
"Either way, I'll rise above you with just my right side. Sorry for wasting your time."
"You don't get it, do you?" the green-eyed teenager growled. Harry turned and grabbed Todoroki's jacket, pulling him towards himself.
The teen's head was still aching after the battle and his mind decided to throw out annoyance on the person who was able to piss Potter off. Since childhood, he spent one hundred percent of his power just to survive. And now Todoroki tells him that he can reach the top with only half of his strength?
"You dumb fuck. You can't reach the top with that half-arsed effort. I already told broccoli boy something and I'll repeat it just for you. Give it all you got."
Harry let go of Todoroki and walked into the cafeteria, only to stop again when he heard Midoriya.
"I've always had help.... No matter the situation... I... I've only come this far because other people helped me." black haired teen looked at his classmates over his shoulder "All Might, I want to be like him. For that I have to become the strongest. Might seem like a lame motivation compared to yours... But I'm not gonna lose."
Fire flashed in Midoriya's eyes and Potter grinned.
"All the people who helped me... That's how I'll repay them! Let me return your declaration of war with my own. I'm gonna beat you both!"
Izuku clenched his fist and looked at Harry and Shoto.
"Good. At least one of you got it." with this, Harry finally left.