Today was the day of the UA sports festival.
Normally this day would be celebrated by the families of those that take part in it. This didn't happen in my family. Oh sure, I wished Izuku good luck, but I don't really think that he'll need it.
Chakra is the ultimate tool of war in this world and Izuku is a sage on top of it. Even if he can only bring out 15% of One For All's true power, that is still more than enough to deal with most of his classmates. I must underline the 'most' aspect of this statement.
Katsuki Bakugou and Shoto Todoroki. They will be Izuku's challenge. I'm sure that Izuku can deal with Katsuki easily, if he allows himself to let go of their emotional connection. In Todoroki's case, things are a bit different. If Izuku learns of his situation and the mental block that prevents him from using his fire, then... who the fuck do I think I'm kidding?
Izuku won't let this rest, not until he's saved him. I won't stop him. It's not my place to intervene in what Izuku's doing, but if Endeavour just so happens to lay off his son for a little bit, no one would be suspecting me. Endeavour is akin to a mad dog and if he can't be trained and leashed, then he's better off dead.
"Sir, the festival is staring" came the voice of my secretary
"Hm. I'm off then. Please see to it that the analysis department finishes their analysis on Stain's movement patterns today. Mark it as top priority if you have to" I said
"Of course, sir"
turned and walked to the open window and I was off, flying towards UA.
The trip was short. The distance between Might Tower and UA isn't that great and I was flying at just under the speed of sound. It wouldn't do to get complaints from the people bellow about the sonic booms that I produce when flying at full speed. I came down to land at the entrance to the stadium. They didn't have to verify my identity, not when the entire stadium is under a fuiniutsu barrier of my own design. It won't stop an intruder, but it will detect them a lot better than other safety equipment. After that it was a straight shot to the booth that I will be staying alongside the UA faculty and top pro-heroes.
As soon as I arrived the event started with Present Mic's loud voice blaring out of the speakers. It amused me to see that Aizawa had somehow been roped into attending. Blackmail? Probably, though I struggle to see why would Aizawa even allow such blackmail to exist in the first place. On second thought, it may just be that Mic has hidden it well and I know that Aizawa cares about him as a friend, so torture or counter blackmail is off the table.
My thoughts are getting too dark, aren't they?
Anyways, back to the event.
It started with the usual slow walk of the students from their respective gates. Of course, 1-A got the most attention, after all they did survive a villain attack, even if all they did was hide inside a barrier powered by Izuku's chakra.
Come to think of it, what has Izuku been doing for the past few weeks? I was at Might Tower almost all the time and I didn't get the chance to speak with him in quite some time, though by the looks of things he is determined to win this
"For the athlete's oath, the hero course representative Izuku Midoriya!"
Hm, to be expected, though I'm curious to see what his speech may be
"don't know what to say"
Moron
"but I will say this. This sports festival is the beginning of our journey as heroes in the eyes of the world, so everyone do your best! Plus ultra!"
The crowd cheered. Well, it was simplistic, but understandable. They don't expect a kid to have any kind of experience motivating people and my case was exceptional to the extreme. Still, the hype is there as they prepare to enter the first challenge. It was, just like with me, an eliminatory round to cut down from the two hundred plus students to a more manageable set. As Midnight revealed the challenge I couldn't help but grin. Obstacle course. A better matchup couldn't exist.
As the horn blared the start of the challenge, Izuku was off in a streak of green light with Katsuki spouting insults hot on his heal. He managed to neatly dodge the ice that Todoroki used to stop the rest of the students by running up the wall and on the ceiling.
"Wow look at this kid go! Class 1-A's Izuku Midorya easily takes the lead in style!"yelled Mic
As I look around me I couldn't help but overhear what all the others were saying. Looking at Izuku's bastardization of my lighting armor it's easy to draw parallels between him and me. I could hear the media doing it too. God I hate them.
"It's not just the quirk that makes the hero but also how he uses it. Next up, Robot Inferno!"yelled Mic
This was a relatively easy event as Izuku made himself look like a green ping pong ball as he jetted from one robot to the other, most often than not leaving heaps of scrap in his wake. He easily cleared the area and went ahead.
"Man, Eraser, what are you teaching them?"
"Don't look at me like that, the problem child came that way"
"That's right! Let's not forget that Izuku Midoriya is the brother of none other than Madara Midoriya, the current head of Might Tower agency and youngest pro hero ever, though let's also not forget the most important part. He's All Might's anointed heir and successor"
Ok,where are you going with this Mic?
"He's not the only talent in the class. Right behind him are Katsuki Bakugou and Shoto Todoroki, another heroic legacy as the son of the number two hero, Endeavour"
I looked at the screen that was now following those two. Todoroki seemed to be highly annoyed and his annoyance was somewhat visible in the vicious way he dealt with the robots. Katsuki was the same, though his rage was clearly visible as he seemingly used every curse word under the sun and then some all the while violently tearing through the robots on his way to the next obstacle.
"Here comes, the next obstacle The Fall!"
Sure enough there was a giant chasm with a few pillars sticking up from its depth. They were connected to each other by rope and it seemed sturdy enough for even the heaviest person in the group to be able to cross. Izuku was, of course, the first to arrive. He didn't stop though and took a leap through the air, landing on the middle most pillar. Another giant leap and he was on the other side, powering forwards.
"Man, this kid's unstoppable! Though it is to be expected seeing as he has the blood of the Symbol of Strength in him"
"It's not just power on his side, but also skill. Even with all that power, if you don't channel it the right way all you'll end up doing is destroying your surroundings. Just like his brother, he has impeccable control over his power"
"Dam, Eraser, I didn't think you had a soft spot"
"It's a rational observation"
I snorted. Yeah, right. Aizawa's the biggest softy short of All Might
"Hey, I just figured out something, since he's Madara's brother and Madara is All Might's heir, does that make him the Prince of Peace?"
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"I mean look, All Might's the Symbol of Peace, Madara's the Symbol of Strength, so shouldn't Izuku be something like that? Maybe the Symbol ot
Hope"
looked at All Might. He seemed as stunned as me and the rest of the teachers, bar Nezu who was smiling
"Did you put him up to this?" I asked the rat
" don't know what you're talking about" he replied
Yeah right, I bet this was all done by your order. It seems that my disbelieving expression was noticed by Nezu
"I did not tell Mic to put Izuku in the spotlight like this, but it was inevitable for someone to make the connection" said Nezu
"But still, isn't it a bit early to call him that?" asked
All Might
"Not at all, after all, Madara was given a similar title at a much younger age"
I swear that rat is smiling. All Might has a right to be worried. What Mic has done is elevate Izuku to the rank of a Symbol. Izuku won't be allowed to show any sort of weakness after this. All Might, Izuku and me are now the three symbols of society. Should even one of us fall or falter the whole system could collapse.
"Don't be like that you moron. Izuku Midoriya hasn't done anything to earn him that title"
"But he can, can't he? After all, his brother was named the Symbol of Strength after finishing his sports festival an event early, so couldn't he do the same?"
Dammit Mic! You had one fucking job and you ruined it. If Izuku doesn't finish first in all events, then he would have to work much harder for his place at the top and to earn the recognition befitting a symbol.
"Here we go again folks! Midoriya has just reached the final obstacle, the mine field! Don't worry though, all these mines would do is spray you with paint when they explode"
The green blur that was Izuku sped through the mines, without a care in the world and the mines all exploded in a giant cloud of pink paint. Izuku won, obviously.
"Man, this kid's truly unstoppable. The winner of the first event, Izuku Midoriya!"
The little shit waved at the crowd. He wasn't even tired, though I suspect that Katsuki is more pisses at this than anyone, judging by the near mental breakdown he's having over there.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Izuku was having the time of his life. He'd heard what Present Mic had said and was determined to live up to their expectations.
'This is how I'm going to do it, ni-san, All Might. I'm going to win this festival and prove myself worthy of your faith and power'
Izuku looked towards the podium where Midnight was explaining the rules. He knew that the sports festival always had three stages. A first stage to weed out most of the students, then a cooperative stage and finally a one v one tournament to decide the victor.
If there's one thing that Izuku learned from his brother it was that life wasn't fair. As such, he made sure to have contingencies in place to deal with almost all situations. After all, he did spend the better part of a month, before and after the US incident learning the water walking technique and studying fuinjutsu.
As Midnight explained the event, Izuku couldn't help but touch the area on his right arm that was now covered with a forearm guard. Under that thin piece of fabric lay his greatest discovery and weapon. A storage seal, or the closest approximation of the concept that izuku could reasonably create. He couldn't wait to see his brother's face when he saw what he had created.
Unbenounced to him, a maniacal grin stretched across Izuku's face, making him look than much more like his slightly deranged brother. Up in the stands, Madara saw this as well and gave a small smirk of his own, all the while powering his Sharingan for the fight ahead of him.
"Izuku's planning something, and it's going to be great!" I said in a sing song voice all the while looking down at the arena with a demented grin on my face
"Should someone do something?" asked Snipe quietly in the back
"No, it's all right.. I think" replied All Might without much confidence
"You should pay more attention to your successor's team, All Might. You'll see something very interesting about to happen" said Nezu as he drank some tea
Where the hell he took that tea from, I have no idea, so l'll just roll with it. He was right, though.
Izuku's team was something else. Unlike everyone else from his class, his team was made up from a gen ed student, a support course student and another from his class, the kid with the shadow, Tokoyami I think his name was.
"That's a most unusual lineup, can see some reason as to what he would want the support course girl and Tokoyami, but the gen ed student?" I shrugged
"I believe that he chose them because they are friends" said Nezu
I raised an eyebrow. Friends? He didn't tell me he made friends. Tough to be fair I haven't been home much since he started school and all the time I did spend at home was mostly to sleep in a bed rather than my office couch. I said nothing as I continued to look down on the field. I saw the support girl give Izuku some unusual equipment that was imbued with Chakra?
"Hm, something's wrong" I said
This drew the attention of the pros
"What do you mean?" asked All Might worriedly
"The equipment the support girl is giving zuku, is it allowed?" I asked
Power loader frowned "It is, I checked it myself.
Hatsume Mei is one of the rising stars in the support department. That gun is supposed to fire net cartridges to incapacitate the other students.
Nothing to dangerous"
I continued to look down, only half paying attention to Power Loader's explanation. Though my Sharingan I could see the truth of the matter. I laughed. I couldn't stop myself
"Young Madara, is something wrong?" asked All Might with concern
"Oh, it's nothing, All Might. I'm just happy, that's all.
Izuku's proven himself craftier than he looks" I said
"Oh? Do enlighten us" said Nezu
I turned towards the rat and smirked. He knew what was going on. Heck he probably even approved of it.
"Izuku's going to win, easily. That gun you see, they have been modifying it from the moment the team assembly timer first started. If I'm not mistaken, that's now a chakra rifle" I said
"What! How could this happen? That weapon is dangerous, we can't allow that!" exploded Power loader as he got up, presumably to confiscate the weapon.
"You will do nothing" I stated, allowing my chakra to leak out and exert my presence over the seating area.
Power loader was stopped dead in his tracks
"Madara is right. You will do nothing. They have not gone against the rules set for them by us and a lot of the quirks that our students use are just as dangerous, if not more. Besides, I'm sure that weapon isn't as powerful as the one Madara uses" said Nezu
I retracted my presence and that allowed Power Loader to breathe again, though sweat could be seen coating his entire body
"Nezu is correct. That rifle design is inefficient at best. All it'll do is num the area of the body where it hits and create a small explosion if it strikes the ground due to its kinetic energy. You have nothing to worry about" I said
The match started shortly afterwards. As expected there was a big rush towards Izuku. What was not expected was the rifle in Izuku's hands to start barking out high velocity emerald bolts of energy, forcing a majority of the teams to stay away. Some stray bolts even hit a couple of students and made one of the teams to break apart.
"In an unexpected turn of events, Izuku Midoriya keeps everyone away with a weapon created by Hatsume Mei! Even so, it seems that there are some who are willing to brave the fire to get that headband"
It was true. The teams led by Todoroki and Katsuki were closing in. Katsuki was relying on Kirishima's hardening to weather the storm and Todoroki was using a mixture of his ice powers and Yayorozou's creation quirk. Even so, lzuku's team was holding their own.
If what Nezu said about them being friends was right, then they could have planned this, or at the very least planned to use Hatsume's equipment.
That equipment seemed specially designed to give a high degree of mobility to whomever wore it.
That was evidenced by the fact that Izuku took a jetpack flight away from his team and into the air.
With my Sharingan I could see the thin line of chakra that tied Izuku to a device on Hatsume's belt. It was ingenious and really, I shouldn't have underestimated the amount of chakra Izuku has.
Right now, I'd say that he has the same quantity as I did when I was 12, so I suppose that somewhere in the upper chunin, but not quite jonin. Still, he rationed what little chakra he had wonderfully. In a way his control over chakra is even better than mine, though that may be because he had help from One For All and the Nature Energy within.
With the horse and rider separated, Izuku's team had a greater range of options than what the others even though possible. It didn't really matter if the horse changed configuration now that Izuku waMelatively safe in the air. It came as a surprise to both the audience and the competitors when Izuku's teammates began attacking and stealing headbands.
"Would you look at that, class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is reigning as the undisputed ruler of the field. I'd say it's pretty clear folks, this kid is going places"
I smirked. Oh, would you look at that, Katsuki is throwing a temper tantrum. Though I have to say that the choice to blast himself in the air came just in the nick of time, otherwise his headband might have been snatched away by some B class reject.
"You're not dissing my class, are you?" asked Vlad with narrowed eyes
"No" Yes
He was still glaring at me, though I could feel Aizawa's condescending smirk from here.
At any rate, the battle between Katsuki and Izuku became an aerial dogfight, with each combatant trying their level best to knock the other out of the sky. It came to a point where Izuku's gun was too damaged by the explosions it took to save its wielder and Izuku had to toss it. Of course, he tossed the weapon at Katsuki, who, like a moron, caught the weapon and squeezed one last shot that damaged Izuku's jetpack. The gun promptly exploded in his hands and sent Katsuki crashing down to earth, that is if he wasn't snatched back by one of his teammates who then proceeded to give Katsuki the few headbands that they had collected. Of course, the hothead set off in hot pursuit of Izuku, only to have his path blocked by a wall of ice. He screamed, as was ordinary for Katsuki when something doesn't go as planned.
"Two minutes left!"
Ilooked at the leader board. Izuku's team was in first place, followed by Todoroki's, then Bakugou's and Tesutetsu.
Todoroki had cornered Izuku with some ice and used Kaminari's electricity to try and take out their team, to no avail. Then something interesting happened, Todoroki's team was shot forward by Ida using some kind of overdrive technique and Izuku's headband got stolen. Although Ida's overdrive seemed to make him motionless, or at the very least paralyzed for a short time. Izuku used this to his advantage as he closed the gap and charged up for a punch. For a fraction of a second, Todoroki's left arm burst into flames, but once Izuku sped past they were quickly extinguished.
The horn blared
"That's the end folks. First place and the headband with the million points goes to team Midoriya! It seems that the king of this festival hasn't been dethroned yet. Second place, team Todoroki. Third place, Team Bakugou and finally fourth place, team Tesutetsu. The 16 champions of this round will be advanced to the next, the one on one tournament to decide the winner of this sports festival! For the rest we've prepared games that all are welcome to partake, even the ones that got to the next round. We'll be taking a break for now, but until then these are the matches"
I looked at the screen and the matches went like this
Midorya vs Denki Kaminari
Todoroki vs Sero Hanta
Ashido vs Ibara Shiozaki
Shinso vs Yosetsu Awase
Honenuki vs Fumikage Tokoyami
Mei vs Ida Tenya
Kirishima vs Testetsu Tesutetsu
Katsuki vs Momo Yayorozou
I left the stands shortly after that announcement and went to find Izuku. On my way down, I met two unexpended people.
"All Might, Endeavour" I greeted calmly
The two top heroes turned towards me.
"Rikudou, I didn't expect to see you here" rumbled
Endeavor
"Ho? You think I wouldn't come and see my little brother's first sports festival?" I shot back
Endeavour was visibly grinding his teeth at my reply
"Now, now, let's not be hasty. This is a chance for all the young students of UA to shine" said All Might attempting to defuse the situation
"That's quite correct, All Might" I said as I began walking towards the stairs. As I passed by Endeavour, I said in a low tone that ensured only he could hear "Be careful that you don't snap the leash"
I continued down the stairs towards the cantina. I didn't look back to see what Endeavour's expression would be like, I already know his thoughts. Endeavour is not foolish enough to think that the Hero Commission doesn't know about his abusive behavior towards his family and what saved his ass so far was his usefulness as a hero.
Furthermore, the Commission helped cover up the death of Toya Todoroki and his wife's mental breakdown. For these two crimes alone,
Endeavour could lose his license and custody over
Shoto as well as a good portion of his wealth and all of his prestige. My words were a warning and a threat. Should he take a single step out of bounds, I can and will destroy him and he know it.
After some time, I found Izuku on a bench under a tree not too far from where the entrance to the student waiting rooms were.
"Izuku!" I called out with a smile
He looked up at me, seemingly startled by my presence. What could have caused this? Due to Izuku's sage abilities, his sensory abilities are far beyond what mine could ever be.
"Oh, ni-san, hi! Did you see me?" asked Izuku excitedly
I chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"Of course I did, symbol of Hope" I said with a slight grin
Izuku blushed and beamed up at me
"So, mind telling me why you're moping under this tree? Not that I disapprove or anything, it's quite the spot you've found" I asked
Instantly, Izuku lost his smile and his previous sullen mood returned. He was silent for a few moments. I didn't speak and just sat down next to him. If one was to see us, they would be surprised by the similarities between us, despite the fact that I was wearing battle armor and Izuku a simple sport get up.
"Nii-san"
"Hm?"
"What would you do if you see someone suffering and don't know how to help them?" asked Izuku
Ah, I see, the Todoroki problem has reared its head.
"Well, I would go and seek advice, kind of like you just did. But I think I know who you're talking about" I said
Izuku's head snapped towards me and his eyes went wide. I could almost see his inner thoughts and turmoil.
"But-" began Izuku
"Tell me, what do you think of this festival?" I asked abruptly
He blinked
"Um, it's important for our careers" said Izuku, but his tone betrayed his uncertainty
"From one point of view, that's true. My journey as the Symbol of Strength began here and yours will to. When people ask where did the Symbol of Hope begin, most will point out this day as the origin of your legend. However, there's another facet to this 'great sham' as I like to call it" I said in a humorous tone as Ituned my hard eyes onto Izuku and looked straight into his, dark green boring into light green "It's here, at this sport festival where careers are bought and sold, made and unmade all the while the masses look on in awe and from this awe the media companies and the hero commission forge the image of the pure, jusMand exceptional heroes that has been shoved down your and every other child's throat since they could understand what a hero was"
Izuku was silent, struggling to come to grips whit what I've said
"Now tell me this, Izuku. What would happen if suddenly the world lost All Might? Endeavour would step up as the number one hero, at least until I take his place. Sure there will be some turmoil and villains would spike in activity, but it would be a rather smooth transition of power. The image of the unbeatable heroes isn't really broken.
The world would eventually forget about All Might and move on. Now think what will happen if Endeavour's acts of abuse against his family were to come out"
"The world will lose it's trust in heroes" said Izuku
Inodded gravely.
"But it's not right! Can't the Hero Commission do anything?" asked Izuku in a fit of sudden anger
I raised an eyebrow "The Hero Commission helped cover Endeavour's tracks" I explained
Izuku recoiled as if struck "What?"
I sighed "They provided the contacts that ensure Endeavour was able to make Rei's family give her up to him, they provided the doctors that checked on and delivered all four children of the Todoroki family, of witch Shoto is the youngest, they provided the specialist expertise to Endeavour so that he could mold Shoto into the next All Might and finally they covered up the death of Endeavour's fist born son, Toya Todoroki"
Izuku looked sick "H-How? How could they have done that? Aren't they supposed to be the good
guys?"
I snorted "They're bureaucrats. All they care about is to maintain the status quo. They only reason why I don't have their leash on my neck is because they know that nothing could stop me if I turned to villainy. Not only that, but I also have extensive connections with many large corporations that make huge profits from the technology I sell them.
If I wanted to, I could make support gear that much more expensive nationwide and it doesn't stop there. Japan's overpopulated with heroes and most of them aren't of the best quality. Fact of the matter is that most heroes aspirants with so called
'villainous' quirks that could be truly useful in the field, much like your friend from the general course, often find better offers abroad. Now imagine the hit to Japan's reputation if I suddenly leave for America or England. All it will take is a couple of interviews and suddenly all the heroes in Japan will have their reputation smeared and then they can do one of two things. They either remain on the sinking ship, or they leave in disgust bringing even more shame down on Japan. Do you see now just how much power words have? How easily I could ruin an entire county by just a few words?"
Izuku was silent. I couldn't blame him. Al his life, heroes have been larger than life figures. The mere idea that something could send this house of cards come crashing down, was... horrifying.
"Why-Why didn't they stop Endeavour before he did this?" asked Izuku
"By the time Endeavour decided to put this plan into motion he was already the number two pro hero, second only to All Might and one of the world's most powerful heroes. How difficult would you think it would have been for him to do all he has done without the Commission's aid? l'Iltell you, not very. All the commission has done is help streamline the process and ensure that this doesn't turn into a scandal of epic proportions.
Furthermore, what could they have done? Sick All Might on him? To convict Endeavour, one would need solid proof of his deeds and by that time, Endeavour had amassed enough money and influence that the government wouldn't dare go against one of their hardest working and most successful heroes" I said
"So, it all boils down to politicks in the end, doesn't it?" asked Izuku in a depressed tone
"This is how it's always been and how it always will be. All that anyone can do is try and fix what they can and entrust the rest to the next generation" I said
We sat like this for a few moments until Izuku got up
"I-I have to go and... think. Thanks, ni-san" said
Izuku
"One more thing" I said, causing Izuku to look back
"You have to win this, no matter what. The worlds had its eyes on you, you who embody the best in us and the hope for a better tomorrow. You can't let that flame die out, not for me and not for anyone. Do you understand Izuku?"
"Yeah, I do" said Izuku as he walked away
I watched him go. Honestly it looked like he was carrying the entire world on his shoulders. I didn't want to do this, but it's better than to let Izuku go out unprepared. Only time will tell if I made the right choice.
A/N a new mha story have been uploaded UA's ghoul