"So, you're trying to stretch the match out? Not happening. I'll end this quickly."
Todoroki stamped his foot on the ground and another wave of ice rushed towards Izuku. He reacted instantly and, breaking the last finger on his right hand, smashed the incoming attack apart.
'My hand is done!'
This time, Shoto did not stand still and began to close the distance, sliding across the frozen ground.
"Todoroki, undaunted by Midoriya's power moves in to close the gap!"
He created a small slide in front of him to climb higher, but Izuku destroyed it with another shockwave. Unfortunately for the green-haired teenager, Todoroki was already in the air and attacked from above, Midoriya barely managed to dodge another block of ice.
"Close one!"
But that wasn't the end, and Todoroki sent more ice towards Midoriya, this time freezing his right leg. Izuku was able to react in time and free himself from the ice at the cost of his left hand. The blast knocked down the podium where Midnight stood and tore off the hats from many people... even a wig flew off someone. Todoroki also flew a few meters, but stopped again with the help of the ice wall.
"Now that's a lot stronger than your earlier attacks. Are you trying to tell me to stay back?"
"Ughh...!" Izuku's left sleeve was torn and everyone could see his swollen arm. Todoroki, on the other hand, stood to his full height without a single scratch on his body.
"Only defending and dodging? It's taking a toll on you."
Midoriya said nothing, but finally noticed Todoroki's body shaking. Millions of thoughts immediately began to rush through his head. He found an opening.
"Sorry for all this. I appreciate it, though, Midoriya. Thanks to you, he doesn't look too happy." Todoroki glanced at his father and something broke inside Izuku. He couldn't say anything after hearing Shoto's story, even Potter said something, but not him!
"With both hands destroyed, you can't fight anymore. Let's end this."
Another wave of ice rushed towards Izuku.
"Todoroki continues his restless assault! Could this next attack end this all?!" Present Mic said excitedly, only miraculously shouting over the crowd.
"Who says I'm done?!"
Midoriya raised his right hand and sent another blast in the direction of Shoto, breaking his finger the second time and sending Todoroki to the edge of the arena. He was able to stop only thanks to his ice. The teenager got up from the ground and looked at his classmate with a frown.
"You... Why go that far?"
"You're shivering... Todoroki. Quirks are still physical abilities! You must have a limit to how much of that cold you can bear! But than... You could always use your left side to thaw yourself out, right?" Midoriya's voice grew louder with every word. Shoto just looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"Everyone is giving it their all. To win, to achieve their goals... To make it to the top! And you're gonna win with half your power?! I still haven't put a scratch on you!" he clenched his broken fingers into a fist with a terrible crunch "Give me everything you got! Come at me!"
In the stands, Harry Potter was smiling like a madman.
"What are you planning? Everything I've got? Did my bastard of a father pay both of you off or something?! You're pissing me off!" Todoroki began to get angry and ran forward to get into close combat. But as soon as he lifted his left leg to take a step, Midoriya also went on the attack.
'The instant I raised my left leg...'
Midoriya's right arm was covered with a mix of green and red lightning and connected to Todoroki's stomach, sending him flying from the hit. Harry stopped smiling.
"What a hit! Things are really heating up!"
Izuku raised a bloody fist to his chest, the skin was torn from his knuckles. Todoroki got up on one knee and coughed while holding his stomach.
"So now you're on the offensive?" he gritted his teeth and sent out another wave of ice, much smaller than before.
"It's not just you, that's slowing down. Your ice is getting weaker too."
Midoriya could no longer clench his fist, so while holding his thumb with his teeth, he sent out another shockwave to interrupt Todoroki's attack.
"Why're you going this far?!"
Izuku started to run towards Shoto.
"Just trying to meet expectations! A smiling, dependable, cool hero! That's what I want to be!" he hit Todoroki with his head in the chest, forcing the teen to back up a couple of steps.
"That's why I'm giving it my everything! For everyone! Your experiences... Your determination... I can't even begin to imagine what all that's like... But..." Izuku got up from the ground and looked Shoto in the eye.
"If you became number one without giving it your all... Than I really don't think you're serious about denying him everything!"
A grin appeared on Todoroki's face.
"Shut up!" he tried to send more ice towards Midoriya, but could only cool the air around him. His body was covered with ice and he could not use his right side anymore. Izuku approached Todoroki again and raised his right hand to strike.
"That's why I have to win!"
He punched Shoto in the face using his Quirk all over his arm, sending him flying over the arena again.
"I have to surpass you!"
Todoroki was breathing heavily and got up off the floor.
"I'll show my father..."
"Your power Is your own!"
Old memories of his mother flashed through Todoroki's mind, and the teen's eyes began to tremble. 'You decide who you want to become.'
'When did I forget that?'
A column of fire suddenly appeared around Todoroki's body, forcing Izuku to step back.
"I thought you wanted to win? Dammit... So why're you trying to inspire me? Which one of us isn't taking it seriously now?" he asked in a weak voice.
"But I... Wanna be a hero too!" his voice regained its strength and the burning teenager prepared to attack. Identical grins appeared on the faces of the two teenagers.
"SHOTOOO!" Endeavor screamed into the air and began to descend the stairs "So, you've finally accepted it, yes! Excellent! It's all starts for you now! With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me! You will fulfill my ambitions!" he leaned on the railing and the whole crowd waited for Shoto's answer... There were none.
"A sudden pep talk from mr. Endeavour, huh? What a doting parent." Present Mic said in a confused voice. In the stands, Harry snorted at the words 'doting parent'.
"Incredible..." Izuki grinned.
"What're you smiling about? With those wounds and in this situation... You must be crazy." Todoroki's face became completely calm again "It's not my problem what happens to you now."
Midoriya's body was covered with red-green lightning and he prepared to attack, Todoroki kicked the floor and sent a wave of ice towards Izuku.
Cementoss jumped up from his seat and began to change the ground to stop the match.
"Midnight!"
The heroine ripped her costume apart and activated her Quirk at the same moment.
Izuku concentrated his Quirk on his right leg - breaking it - and dodged Todoroki's ice. He his right hand to strike and heard Shoto's voice.
"Midoriya... Thank you."
Todoroki raised his left hand and sent a sea of fire towards Izuku.
Several walls appeared between the two teenagers from the ground in an attempt to stop the attacks, but in all vain. A loud explosion thundered in the arena and a huge cloud of dust rose, blocking everyone's view.
"What's happening?!"
The spectators looked at the arena in shock and could not understand anything. Present Mic fell off his chair and only his legs were visible from the commentator's booth.
"What the...?! What's wrong with your class?"
"All that chilled air was heated in an instant. Making it expand."
Aizawa was not surprised and explained what was happening in a calm voice.
"...warm." said Harry in a dead tone taking off his gloves.
"What a blast though. And what heat! Can't see a thing. Has the match been decided?"
The dust settled a little and the audience could see Midoriya's body slowly sliding down the far wall.
"Midoriya is out-of-bounds..."
Todoroki was standing in a completely destroyed jacket, but still within the arena. As soon as the audience saw him, they broke into loud cheers.
"Todoroki... Moves on to the next round!"
---
Harry watched as the robots carried Izuku's unconscious body away and frowned. He's seen broccoli boy use his Quirk before, but until recently he didn't know much about the Philosopher's Stones. How could he miss the red lightning?
'No, there were two colors. Red and green. And he doesn't have the typical Homunculus regeneration... So he's a human. Does he possess one of the Philosopher's Stones? Then why can't I feel anything from him? I'll need to check it out later... '
Potter sighed heavily. There's still the fight between Ida and Kaminari before his match, so he should go get ready. He got up from his seat and went to one of the tunnels.
"Harry, are you leaving already? The arena will take a long time to fix." Mina leaned in her seat and looked at her classmate.
"Yes, my match will start pretty soon, so I want to prepare. I need to come up with a suitable strategy."
"Well, good luck!" the girl waved and Harry left the stands.
---
"Well, dear listeners, our next match will be a test of skill! Two users of shadow Quirks will face off in a fight! It's Potter vs Tokoyami!"
Harry put on his gloves again and tied his hair in a tight ponytail, for his strategy he won't need a shadow from them. Fumikage stood opposite him, silently speaking to his Quirk. 'Most likely giving orders ahead of time... He can't waste time during the fight.'
The green-eyed teenager crouched down a bit, preparing for the attack, and the bird-headed guy stopped dialogue with the Dark Shadow.
"May the strongest win." said Harry with a smile.
"My darkness lies deeper than yours, Potter." Fumikage answered with the same grin.
"Start!"
Fumikage immediately began to move towards his opponent, sending Dark Shadow in front of him. Potter's Pride rose into the air and dozens of mouths appeared in the shadows. They immediately bit into the floor, opening the way for the teenager to go underground. He saluted with a mad smile and stepped into a deep hole, disappearing into it in a second.
"And Potter goes underground! Eraser, what exactly is he doing?"
Tokoyami sent the Dark Shadow after Potter. But as his Quirk approached the pit, shadows of Pride with eyes appeared from under Fumikage's feet, completely surrounding him.
"Potter can only control and materialize shadows and in daylight his radius will always be limited, so he created himself a shadow underground. Although I have never seen him use his mouths like this before..." Aizawa replied 'where did all the concrete disappear...?'
Tokoyami pushed off the ground with the help of the Dark Shadow, but new shadows were already waiting for him at the landing site. This time, he couldn't dodge and fell right into Harry's trap.
"Dark Shadow, release me from his control!"
His Quirk nodded and tried to rip the shadow ropes from its master's body. But as soon as it touched the shadow, it's body was completely tied with the same ropes.
Midnight looked at Tokoyami trying to break free for a couple of seconds and cracked her whip into the air.
"Tokoyami is immobilized! Potter advances to the next round!"
Pride let go of Fumikage and he fell to his knees. Harry rose from the pit the next second on the shadow platform and walked with a confident step to his opponent.
"It was a good match, you just lacked an original idea. You can't defeat all your enemies with a direct attack." he extended his hand to him and helped Tokoyami rise back to his feet.
The teenager shook his bird head and smiled faintly.
"Perhaps I can learn something from you. But for now, I will acknowledge you as the true Lord of Shadows."
Harry's eye started twitching and his smile became fake, but Tokoyami didn't notice.
"...Thanks."