Izuku quickly made it to the infirmary to check on Momo and Ochako, arriving at the door after his encounter with Endeavor.
"I'm coming in," declared Izuku politely, first knocking on the door and waited for a few seconds before opening the door.
Sitting up on a chair was Momo, cuddling into a blanket while Ochako sat up on her chair with her eyes clearly puffed up, though she was rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of them.
"Hey, nice fight," shivered Momo as she politely raised her hand to wave at Izuku. Despite being defrosted, she had to curl up in a blanket to keep warm. Her fight against Shoto had forced her to use most of her fat reservoirs, meaning the cold had affected her far more than Mina. Not to mention she had been completely frozen in a block of ice while Mina hadn't been completely encased in it.
"Yea, you and Itsuka were so cool!" cheered Ochako.
Izuku smiled, but he could see sadness, doubt, and depression in each of their eyes. It was something he recognized very easily. After all, he had seen it in the mirror for three years straight in his own eyes.
Momo was doubting herself whether she even deserved to be in the Hero Course after losing to Shoto without even scratching him, despite being a recommended student.
Ochaco was slightly better as she had finished talking with her father and crying her tears out, but she was still sad from losing.
Izuku did not want to see his closest friends so sad, but he had no idea what to really say. Instead, he did what his mom did whenever he was sad. He took a seat near Ochako's bed, stretched his arm to drag Momo's chair next to him. Then, without warning and surprising Momo and Ochako, reached for their heads and gently placed them near his chest.
"Whahahahat?" stuttered both girls in confusion and embarrassment at this.
However, Izuku ignored them as he stroked both girl's hair in a calming fashion that both started to enjoy as the tension in their shoulders slowly left.
"It's okay," spoke Izuku quietly to them both, "You both did extremely well against such opponents. There is no shame in losing, but much to gain from it. Don't let this loss set you back. Learn and grow from it. Don't let doubt cloud your judgment and faith in yourself. We're still in high school and heroes in training. There will be more opportunities for us to grow."
Hearing these words made both girls feel a lot better. For Momo, Izuku had managed to blow away the doubts that had been building inside her. For Ochako, Izuku had managed to encourage her forward.
"Did you come up with that?" asked Ochako curiously, "That sounds like a word a wise martial arts master would use from the movies."
Izuku chuckled before replying, "No, Master Rekai would say these words every time in my dojo during sparring practice. That there is always something to learn from losing. I may have taken it and readjusted it for this case, but it works, right?"
'Not to mention I've heard her say that a lot of times when I lost in sparring matches based on point system,' thought Izuku.
"She is wise," hummed Momo, feeling much better now, though very hungry.
Seconds later, the paramedic-bots brought in a fried Hitoshi into the infirmary, placing him on the bed.
"Ah, we missed that fight," blinked Izuku before quickly standing up, "Well, I want to go get a front view seat of the next fight. I'll see you two soon!"
Izuku rushed out, wanting to catch the upcoming fight.
Ochako and Momo looked at each other for a bit before giving each other a small competitive smirk. Both of them wouldn't give up on Izuku so easily but still respected each other. Both knew that even if Izuku dated one of them, it wouldn't affect the lifestyle they currently had. A groan from Hitoshi stopped their little glare off before turning towards the fried Hitoshi. None of them had seen the fight, as they had been too busy moping or being cheered up by Izuku.
"What happened to him?" mused Ochako curiously.
"Well, according to the chart, he was fighting against Kaminari," deliberated Momo, "Perhaps he took a hit from his quirk at maximum power?"
Few minutes earlier
"All right, are you ready!?" screamed Present Mic, causing Shota to stick his pinky into his ear to make sure he wasn't deaf.
"He's sure is excited, isn't he?" smiled Hanta before looking around, "Hey, where'd Iida go?"
"He went to answer a phone call," replied Tsuyu, "His whole body was shaking before picking it up."
"In one corner, he continues to surprise us all! A dark horse in the tournament for sure, Hitoshi Shinso continues to make his way through! And in the other corner, we've seen how much voltage he's got! He's got power enough fuel a 15-minute presentation and light show! From the Hero Course, Denki Kaminari!" yelled Present Mic.
Both fighters looked at Midnight, who had bought herself some time by clearing her throat, snapping her mind back to judge mode.
"Are both fighters ready!?" asked Midnight. Seeing both boys nodded in reply, she raised her whip high into the air.
"Begin!"
Before Hitoshi could try to get a word or even a step in, Denki's body was already crackling with electricity.
"Sorry about this, but I'm ending this in an instant! Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 million Volts!" shouted Denki.
Hitoshi was blasted by electricity, sending him tumbling backward. Unfortunately for Hitoshi, Hanta had warned Denki about Hitoshi's quirk, along with Mashirao and Fumikage, knowing that Yuga wouldn't exactly do a good job explaining it.
Hitoshi had chosen a wooden staff in the hope of being able to hit Denki from a distance while avoiding being shocked. With a metal pole, it would be too easy for Denki to use the metal as a conductor to channel his electricity through if he got hit while wood wouldn't conduct so easily. A hypothesis he never had the chance to test out sadly.
Still, even after being struck by so much volt, Hitoshi surprised even himself by staying conscious while on the ground. Hitoshi groaned as he tried one last chance.
"Hey, you think you're so good with that lighting!?" taunted Hitoshi with a cough.
"Wheyyyy!" replied Denki with a retarded smile, causing Kyoka to laugh once more from the stand.
'Gotcha!' thought Hitoshi as he felt his quirk activate, "Walk out of the arena!"
"Wheyy?" replied Denki puttering around in circles still.
'What?' thought Hitoshi, wondering why Denki wasn't obeying his commands. Hitoshi tried once more before noticing something wrong. Whenever Hitoshi used his quirk, he could feel his victim's frontal lobe and cerebellum, allowing him to temporarily take control of those, forcing them to obey his orders. Denki's brain, however... wasn't working like it should be. If words could describe it, it would be that those parts had short-circuited, thus not allowing Hitoshi's quirk to work properly.
'Damn, did he know?' were Hitoshi's last thoughts before falling unconscious.
"Fighter Shinso has fallen unconscious. Fighter Kaminari proceeds onto the next round!" announced Midnight.
"Whey? Whey whey wheyyy!" cheered Denki, no idea what was going on. Kyoka had been laughing the whole time while the paramedic-bots had to guide Denki out of the arena while another pair took Hitoshi to the infirmary.
Shota could only cluck his tongue as he watched his apprentice carried out. This match had just been rather unfortunate for Hitoshi, as a straight out brawl was rarely the case in the real world. Not to mention the lack of any real gears to help Hitoshi.
"Aww, are you sulking?" asked Present Mic with a grin.
"Shut up and get to the next fight," growled Shota.
"Can do!" replied Present Mic, "After we take a short 5-minute break for everyone to stretch their legs or use the bathroom!"
Shoto sat in the waiting room, waiting for the next match. Just one more match and he would be in the finals, fighting against Izuku. He had no doubt that Izuku would win his next match, considering who his opponent would be. It was the perfect set up. In the final match, with the whole world watching, he would defeat Izuku with just his mother's quirk and deny his father.
In another waiting room was Katsuki Bakugo, pondering about his plan. For this specific plan to work, he would...(he mentally shuddered at this thought) have to think like Izuku for a bit. He had the information he needed from 'accidentally' eavesdropping from the two conversations. Now he just needed a plan to get Shoto to fight at full power while also making it align with his own goals.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Mitsuki was getting irritated hearing people talking about how her son's match against Shoto was a foregone conclusion with Shoto winning. She almost attacked Endeavor herself when he passed by her in the hallway while she was coming back from the bathroom, commenting to some other pro hero that his son would be in the final while so casually dismissing Katsuki.
Sure she was rough on her son, but that was tough love! The only reason she didn't attack Endeavor was because Inko managed to drag her back to their seat.
"And now for the semi-finals! This will be a big match!" announced Present Mic as the audience sat back down once more, "And here they come! He's been practically unstoppable as well as untouchable! He's got the blood of the number two Hero, he's got the power back it up! All his matches today have left his opponents and the audience frozen, the former literally while the latter figuratively! From the Hero Course, Shoto Todoroki!"
Shoto stepped out into the sunlight as pillars of fire burned brightly to signify his entrance.
"On the other hand, this opponent's no joke either! He's blown all his opponents away and hasn't gotten a scratch either! He fired off the challenge, now can he back it up against this opponent!? From the Hero Course, Katsuki Bakugo!"
As Katuski walked up the stairs onto the arena, Mitsuki shouted out, "Kick his ass brat!"
Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he cocked his eye to his parents. His mother was busy shouting other expletives while his father politely waved at him. With a little blush but cocky smirk, he raised his fist towards his parents in acknowledgment before turning back to face Shoto. Katsuki blinked as he saw a flash of anger, irritation, and sadness flash through Shoto's face before it was schooled back to his usual scowl.
Shoto was, in short, jealous at that moment. Seeing that scene made him recall his own family and just how dysfunctional it was. He was blessed with a great quirk, one that many would give up their leg and arm for, and yet he had a shitty family life. He barely knew his brothers and sister, had a shitty father, and a mother who hated him because of his father. And now, his opponent had a quirk that was great (though not better than his), but had a somewhat functional family, but most importantly a father and mother who cared about their son.
So when Present Mic screamed start, Shoto immediately launched a barrage of ice, slightly overpowering it despite his attempt to push down that jealousy. However, this did nothing to deter Katsuki as he fired a barrage of explosions into the ice, creating a hole inside the forming glacier while cursing as usual. The glacier quickly covered half the arena, hiding Katsuki from the audience.
"Todoroki gets a blow in right away! Is he trying to avoid close combat with Bakugo? Has the winner been decided!?" reported Present Mic.
"Don't be stupid, you know it's not," lectured Shota.
Muted explosions could be heard within the glacier, causing the audience to look at their neighbors in confusion. Suddenly, a hole was made at the center of the glacier, revealing Katsuki wholly unharmed.
"Asshole, you already froze me once, you think I'd let you do it again!?" shouted Katsuki. With a grin, Katsuki blasted himself forward towards Shoto, who ran forward to meet him.
"The stronger the quirk, the more likely the attack will be imprecise!" shouted Katsuki as he suddenly used his quirk to change directions, avoiding Shoto's right hand and grabbing onto his left shoulder and head. With the momentum, Katsuki hurled Shoto towards the edge of the ring.
"Are you underestimating me asshole!?" shouted Katsuki as he used his quirk to enhance his throw, hurling Shoto farther than he usually could.
Shoto quickly flipped in the air, finding his center of gravity before summoning a wall of ice to stop himself from falling out of the ring. Then, within the same moment, he used the wall of ice to skate back towards Katsuki to attack.
Katsuki quickly dodged the strike and attacked once more, only for Shoto to grab the attacking arm with his left hand. This would've been the perfect time for Shoto to use his fire, but instead, he opted to throw Katsuki away from him.
'Asshole? Does he think I'm not powerful enough to use flames!?' growled Katsuki as he landed on his feet unharmed, 'Fine, I'll just have to provoke him to use it!'
The two traded a few more blows, Shoto trying to freeze Katsuki, but Katsuki kept moving, never staying in one place to let Shoto freeze him. Soon, Katsuki could see Shoto slowing down while he himself was starting to dominate over Shoto.
'I knew it,' thought Katsuki, 'In the long game, the more I sweat the more powerful I get. Half and half can't last too long with just his ice, otherwise he develops hypothermia. If he wasn't an idiot, he could use the flames in his quirk to counteract that condition.'
It became obvious to the audience that Shoto was being pushed into a corner.
"Huh, looks like the son of Endeavor isn't all that after all."
"Man, I'm kinda disappointed."
"Yea, I thought it'd be more than this."
Endeavor had to grind his teeth as he heard these comments, resisting the urge to shout at his rebellious son to use the flames. This was dragging his own stocks down, but if he could somehow convince his son to use the flames, then he would've already done so. Yelling out would just push Shoto further away.
Katsuki looked at the shivering Shoto for a second before giving a scoff, "You sure talk big for a weakling. Bragging how'd you would beat fucking Deku when you should've been focused on me! But I can see why you aimed for Deku, as I'm gonna be the number one here! Go for the weaker one, put a realistic goal. But hell, you should've aimed lower. Even my fight against Uraraka was more exciting than this shit."
Izuku, who was at one of the exits while taking notes, raised his eyebrow at Katsuki's words, especially the use of a name. Katsuki rarely used anyone's name, especially twice.
"Are you planning to blab me to sleep?" shivered Shoto, feeling a twinge of anger at Katsuki's words.
Katsuki glared at Shoto before speaking words that shot Shoto's anger up higher.
"Use your flames."
"What!?" growled Shoto, "Did my old man put you up to this?"
"Fuck him," shot back Katsuki, forcing Shoto to blink in surprise, "This ain't a place where you can bring some fucked up daddy issues. This is a place where we show off to everyone what we... well more specifically, what I can do! I don't want a half-baked win from a half-assed guy who won't use his full power! This battle is just about you and me!"
Shoto struggled for a bit before charging at Katsuki in anger, his rage blinding him. Katsuki easily dodged it and gave a vicious knee right into Shoto's chest, pushing him back towards the ground.
"Come on! Don't fucking hold back on me!" roared Katsuki once more as Shoto got back up once more, "I'm aiming to be a hero! What about you faggot!"
Shoto's emotion was all over the place now. He had no idea what to think anymore. He knew this was very out of character of Katsuki to do this. But why was he doing this? His mind couldn't help bring up the shitty memories of his childhood, never having a moment to even play with his older siblings. Always training as soon as he got his quirk. His face, especially his left side, pushed his own mother to hurl hot water on his face in retaliation against Endeavor as it kept reminding her of him.
Katsuki growled as he saw his words weren't getting to Shoto. This was harder than he thought. After all, he wasn't fucking Deku. Speaking of Deku, Katsuki took the risk to glance over at the exit, seeing Izuku standing there. Their eyes met, and Izuku immediately mouthed words to Katsuki. From a simple glance and from Katsuki's words, he knew what Katsuki was trying to do. Katsuki saw the words Izuku mouthed, and immediately memorized it. He quickly began to build on how to lead up to those words from what he knew.
"My quirk comes from the combination of my parent's quirk, Glycerin and Oxidizing Sweat. Both aren't very good for fights, but hell, my old hag could probably kick half of the hero's ass even with her quirk only giving her smooth skin. (You got that right, brat!) My parent's quirks combined gave me a kick-ass quirk, even when they didn't even plan for it."
Shoto felt anger surge forward at this statement. He had been carefully bred to have a superior quirk and had a fucked-up childhood, and his opponent right now had been created out of love and had a powerful quirk.
"But you know what? It's not my father or my mother's quirk. It's my fucking quirk! We're in a battle, fighting to see who's better. There's no who's father or mother shit. There's only ourselves. So use those flames of yours. It's your fucking quirk, isn't it! Not your dad, not your mom, your FUCKING own power!" shouted Katsuki.
The last words from Katsuki suddenly brought forth a memory in Shoto that surged past all the dark memories. It was a precious memory he had almost forgotten.
He was sitting on the couch with his mother, watching a live talk show All Might as the guest.
"Yea, that's right! Children inherit Quirks from their parents. But the really important thing is not that connection, but recognizing your own flesh and blood. Recognizing yourself. That's what I mean when I say: 'I am here!'"
A young Shoto was gazing at the television with awe and wonder at the number one hero while his mother, Rei, was sitting next to him. Shoto had been crying to her, telling her how he didn't want to be like his father. It had been luck that Rei managed to pull up the channel for her son.
"But you want to be a hero, don't you?" asked Rei sweetly as she hugged her son, "It's okay for you to be one. You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood. It's okay for you to become one who you want to be."
Shoto looked into his mother's eyes to see pure love for her child, accepting all of him despite who his father was.
'Before I knew it, I had completely forgotten about those words.'
Suddenly, flames surged out of Shoto's left side, enveloping his body in flames as a fire pillar burst forth, lighting the stage even further. The audience could feel the heat the flames were giving off, making them sweat.
"What the hell is this!?" shouted Present Mic in surprise.
Izuku couldn't help but grin at the sight of this. If it had been him fighting against Shoto, he would've done the same thing as Katsuki did, except maybe with gentle words and a slightly different goal than Katsuki, aiming to save Shoto. The flames that Shoto swore not to use, the restrictions he placed on himself, had been broken.
On the stands, Mitsuki couldn't help but shout out more curse words cheering Katsuki on. Masaru couldn't help but sigh while giving a small grin. He knew his family, and he knew Katsuki hated winning if his opponent didn't give it their all.
Toshinori couldn't help but stare in surprise and shock. He had been surprised to see Katsuki not finish the fight when he could've had, but instead, provoked Shoto to use the left side, the flames, that Shoto swore not to use in a fight.
"Even though you want to win... to go out of your way to help an enemy... which one of us is screwing around now!?" gritted Shoto as the ice that had been building up on his body melted away. The ice that he had created during the match also began to evaporate.
"I'm still going to win," grinned Katsuki as rolled his neck and shoulder, feeling his sweat starting to pour out some more, "Don't fucking think I was trying to help you. I want an indisputable victory. I don't want some pansy-ass putting out 'what-if' situations. I want to make sure that everyone knows that I'm the strongest one!"
"Sounds like you," chuckled Shoto, "Did Midoriya help you with that whole speech to motivate me?"
"Hell no. He'd probably sprinkle some cheesy shit to get you to break out of your shell. I just want to kick your ass," shot back Katsuki, not admitting that Izuku's words did help give that final push.
Just before the two were ready to clash once more, Endeavor's voice could be heard ringing out in the whole stadium.
"SHOOOTOOO!"
Endeavor began to slowly descend down the stairs, the flames on his shoulders flickering in excitement.
"Have you finally accepted yourself? That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me... You will fulfill my desire!" roared Endeavor with a maniacal grin.
"Endeavor has suddenly shouted words of encouragement?" announced Present Mic hesitantly, "Such a doting father."
"Heh, what a nuisance," chuckled Katsuki, "Getting all sentimental in our fight."
"Indeed, there's no him," replied Shoto, "Just us two in this arena. Nobody else."
The two stared at each other, ignoring the shouts of the crowd.
"Kick his ass, brat!" shouted Mitsuki "Splatter that two-faced punk!"
"Honey, you're getting too loud," hissed Masaru as he futilely tried to pull Mitsuki down, "That's Endeavor's son your talking about. What if he hears you?"
"Then I'll kick his ass too!" shouted Mitsuki.
"The Bakugo family sure is... something," sweat dropped Toshinori while Inko giggled, "No fear in them."
Shoto suddenly stomped the ground with his right leg, ice quickly forming all around him, chilling the air as it did so, but the flames on his left protected him from freezing himself. Another barrage of ice, this one far stronger than his previous attempts, was launched towards Katsuki, who let of a huge explosion to dodge it before releasing another one to fire himself towards Shoto.
Katsuki quickly crossed his arms across his chest, his hands facing behind him before detonating a smaller chain of explosions, sending him spinning towards Shoto. Shoto had already activated his flames once more, melting the ice pillars that he had created behind him.
"Midnight, this is too dangerous!" shouted Cementoss in concern as he put his hands onto the concrete, ready to manipulate the cement.
Midnight shook her head in reply, "They know what they're doing... I think. Be ready though."
Katsuki was now spinning towards Shoto with a high rotation rate, increasing at every second. Shoto slowly raised his left hand towards Katsuki, ready to fire his next and last attack for this fight.
"Midnight!" shouted Cementoss.
"Do it!" nodded Midnight.
Cementoss quickly intervened, raising a single cement wall in between the two competitors before trying to make more, but it was futile.
"Howitzer Impact!" howled Katsuki as he extended his right hand forward, creating the biggest explosion yet in front of him.
Shoto held his left palm and shot out a stream of wild flames right towards Katsuki in reply, heating the cold air, forcing it to rapidly expand.
The two attacks collided right at the center of the arena, causing a huge explosion that blew up the cement wall. Poor Midnight was at ground level of the attack and was blown away to the wall, along with the stand she had been standing on. Gusts of winds swept throughout the whole stadium, forcing many of the audience members to grab onto seats to prevent themselves from being blown away.
"Fuck yea!" shouted Mitsuki as she clung to her husband to prevent herself from flying away. Masaru had grabbed onto the chair to stop himself from flying.
Inko clung onto Toshinori to hold her ground before noticing despite his seeming bony body, he had no trouble withstanding the shockwave. In fact, he merely shifted his arms around Inko to help bring her down while gazing down at the stage, not even grabbing the wall in front of him nor lifting his hand to his face to block out the wind. Almost as if he was used to such large scale attacks. She supposed being a hero trainer, he was used to such things, but something in her mind told her otherwise. Still, Inko didn't say anything, opting to tuck her head deeper into Toshinori's chest.
"Just because something is powerful doesn't mean it's a good thing," rumbled Cementoss, "But seriously... this is quite something."
Present Mic had fallen backward on his seat, his feet in the air, "What was that just now...? What the heck is with your class?"
Shoto made a quick explanation of how Shoto's attack created an explosion matching Katsuki's own explosion.
"Urg, I can't see a thing!? Just who won the match?" complained Present Mic.
Midnight slowly picked herself up from the rubble, her mask having fallen off her face due to the shockwave. Luckily, despite being so close to the impact zone, her ultra-thin bodysuit didn't tear up nor cause a wardrobe malfunction. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see past all the dust that was slowly clearing up.
First to be seen was Shoto, who was heavily panting as he stood at the edge of the boundary line, nearly falling over. He was using his ice to freeze his legs in place so he wouldn't fall over. The left side of the shirt was completely burnt off due to his flames, his body littered with scratches and bruises. On the other end of the stage stood Katsuki, his hair shadowing over his eyes as he also stood right before the boundary line. Slowly but surely, Katsuki began to fall forward towards the ground.
Gasps could be heard around the stage as Katsuki was keeling forward. Most were thinking that the match was over, including Midnight, Endeavor, and Shoto, and many others. Even Shoto began to relax, thinking it was over. Only a few thought otherwise, being Inko, Toshinori, Mitsuki, Masaru, and Izuku.
"Come on brat, don't keel over now!" shouted Mitsuki
"You can do it son!" voiced Masaru.
Izuku was staring at the fight, seeing Katsuki teetering back and forth before falling forward. As he began to fall, Izuku could only shout one word.
"Kacchan!"
Midnight, thinking it was over, almost began to make the announcement, "Fighter Bakugo is-"
Suddenly, Katsuki's hands, which had been facing behind him, exploded. Two large explosions almost as big as the one he had made against Ochako hurled Katsuki forward headfirst right towards Shoto. Shoto's eyes widened as he tried to move out of the way. In spite of such fast reactions, Shoto had forgotten he had frozen his own feet to keep himself standing. By the time he unfroze his legs and started to move, it was too late.
"Don't count me out asshole!" shouted Katsuki as he headbutted Shoto in the stomach.
Spit could be seen coming out of Shoto's mouth as Katsuki's head struck him in the stomach. Due to the impact force, Shoto was sent tumbling backward for a bit before managing to summon some ice to stop his momentum. Shoto quickly lit his left hand to fight back before seeing Katsuki flat on his face. He could see burns all over Katsuki's body, most of them 1st degree burns though a few were 2nd degree. Katsuki wasn't even moving after his last attack, laying flat on his face.
Suddenly, Midnight made an announcement that shocked the audience, "Fighter Todoroki is out of bounds! Winner is Bakugo, who advances onto the finals!"
Shoto blinked as he looked down at his feet, noticing that he was indeed out of bounds. The audience looked in stunned silence at the announcement. Shoto was clearly still standing while Katsuki was... twitching on the ground for the moment. Yet Shoto was out of bounds, thus making Katsuki the victor. And it was all due to Katsuki's stubbornness for victory.
A clap broke out from somewhere in the audience, which was followed by a multitude of clap until the whole stadium broke out in applause and cheer.
"Holy shit that was unexpected!"
"That was epic!"
"Man, can't believe that kid managed to punt Endeavor's kid out of bounds."
"I know, right? Not only that, he baited the other to go all out and still won, even if it was by a technicality."
Needless to say, many had their eyes on Katsuki while he was being carried on a stretcher to the infirmary by paramedic-bots.
Shoto slowly walked out of the arena and into the hallways, only to stop as Endeavor stood in his path.
"'Get out of my way'... Aren't you going to say that?" stated Endeavor with his flaming eyebrows raised before starting to lecture, "You need to control your left side. All you're doing is just letting it out and it's dangerous. You even lost despite using it. But at the very least, you've abandoned that childish tantrum and have begun a path to becoming the perfect 'upgrade' of me!"
Endeavor raised his hand towards Shoto, "After you graduate, come work for me. I'll lead you to the path of the mighty."
'And finally beat All Might!' added Endeavor in his mind.
"There's no way I abandoned anything," replied Shoto dully, causing Endeavor to blink, "After all that's happened, it's not something that can be reversed so easily. It's just... back then, during the fight... for that moment... I forgot about you."
Endeavor gaped in shock at that statement, but whether Shoto noticed that or not remained to be seen. Instead, he went on, "Whether that's a good thing or not... whether it's correct or not... I need some time to think about it."
Shoto walked past Endeavor, pondering about the future, when he heard Endeavor clears his throat.
"That's good and all, but you may want to ponder about your choice fast, most likely after the next round for the finals."
Shoto turned around at those words in confusion. He had lost, hadn't he? So why would he need to ponder about his choice so fast? He wasn't fighting the next round.
"The damage you dealt against that brat can't be easily healed within half an hour, even with Recovery Girl's help," stated Endeavor, "You may have lost the battle, but you can still win this war. U.A's Sports Festival is one of the biggest hi-lights in Japan. To have a final where one side can't fight would tank the ratings. So most likely, they will have you fight against the winner of the other semi-final, which would most likely be this Midoriya Izuku. This is your second chance to show the world what you, my progeny, can do. With both your ice and flames, you can defeat him. So go get yourself to the infirmary and heal up."
Endeavor left, leaving Shoto by himself. Shoto leaned against the wall, taking in that information. It was true that despite the fight, he was in better fighting condition than Katsuki, but that was only because Katsuki had delayed the match to bring out Shoto's full power. Shoto had no doubt that if Katsuki hadn't done so, he wouldn't have sustained as many injuries as he did now. And Shoto did want to fight Izuku, but the goal was slightly different now. It was more to prove himself now. But to earn the fight like this? It left a bad taste in his mouth.
"If it does come to that...," mumbled Shoto before making his decision.
"Geez, you kids these days," scolded Recovery Girl as she bandaged Katsuki's burns, "So reckless. Now hold still."
Chuuu
Katsuki held back a shudder as he felt Recovery Girls' kiss on his cheek before feeling the soothing sensation of his burns fading away. However, that feeling ended too soon for his liking, and Katsuki noticed that he still had a lot of burns still on him.
"Hey, what gives!?" shouted Katsuki, only to get a whack to the head with a syringe cane.
"No shouting!" lectured Recovery Girl, "I can't heal all your injuries at once, as it would exhaust you to death. I healed all your more serious burns, but you'll have to wait before I can heal your other burns. Not to mention you seriously fractured your wrists. You're running on fumes right now, so you barely have any energy I can use to heal you. Now eat these gummies!"
"Dam old hag," muttered Katsuki as he obediently ate some of the gummies. He did feel exhausted after the kiss, which was saying something as he was somewhat a stamina freak along with Izuku and a few others.
"I'll be good to go later, right?" demanded Katsuki, "I need to go kick Deku's ass."
Recovery Girl sighed as she hopped off her stool, "In my opinion as a medical practitioner... I don't think you'll have enough time to heal up."
"What!? Why? Just heal up my other burns, I can take it!" barked Katsuki "I'm not tired yet! I have enough energy to spare! Just give me some food and a drink and I'll be able to beat the shit out of Deku!"
"You idiot, don't lie," snapped Recovery Girl, jabbing her syringe can into Katsuki's chest, causing him to wince, "I only healed up your second-degree burns and applied some dose onto your wrist! It hasn't even fully healed yet, not to mention your other burns! You chained so many explosions that it caused it to fracture! And I've yet to even go into details about your muscles! Now stay in bed, get some rest, or I'll shove this syringe up a place you don't want to go, and I'm not squeamish to do so! I'll be the judge of whether or not you can participate in the next bout!"
With a huff, Recovery Girl slammed the door shut, leaving Katsuki alone in the room.
"Tch, miserable hag," huffed Katsuki, but obediently obeyed her orders. He could use the nap anyways. He set the alarm for 20 minutes, and if Recovery Girl didn't finish healing him by then, he was busting himself out.
"Well it took a while, but we got the stage fixed up! Now who's ready for the next fightttt!" screamed Present Mic.
The audience cheered in reply, eager to see the next fight after such an epic fight.
"Alright, let's continue on with the show! He's shown us power, he's shown us skill! He's been number one in all of today's events! From the Hero Course, Izuku Midoriya! Versus! He's got some serious voltage that's he's been bringing out. From the Hero Course, Denki Kaminari!"
Both boys were standing in front of each other, ready to fight.
"So... I can't somehow convince you to just give up?" asked Denki.
"Unless you can somehow use Shinso's quirk, no," chuckled Izuku.
"Yea, thought so," sighed Denki, "Just... yea I have no real chance do I?"
Denki knew that he was going to lose this match for sure. Izuku's rubber body completely neutralized both any lighting attacks he could throw and any punches or kicks would be just as useless. In short, Denki had nothing to help him. Maybe if he had some support gear, he might stand a chance, but he was from the Hero Course, which didn't allow for support gear unless requested and given permission. There was really only one thing to do in his mind.
"Are you ready? Fight!" shouted Present Mic.
Just as Izuku took a step forward, Denki raised his hands up in the air with a proclamation.
"I give up!"
Izuku stumbled into the ground at that statement, though he wasn't the only one to be surprised. Midnight, Present Mic, and quite a few others fell backward in shock at that statement.
"What the hell is this?" shouted Present Mic into his mic despite laying on his back, "The fight just started, and it's already ended with a forfeit?"
"Err Fighter Kaminari has forfeited the round. Izuku Midoriya wins..?" trailed off Midnight, "Kaminari, are you alright? Are you injured?"
"Na, just don't want to fight a fight I'm have no chance of winning," waved off Denki, "I also don't want to be beaten up too badly either. So why not just forfeit and get off scratch-free?"
"I suppose that's one way to look at it," admitted Midnight, "Fighter Midoriya goes on to the finals!"
"Eraser Head, what's with your students?" sighed Present Mic.
Quite a few of the audience members had started to boo at Denki's decision, wanting to see another exciting fight.
"It's not a bad idea," replied Shoto, "Sometimes in fights, if there is no path to victory from charging head-on, a strategic retreat is wise. Of course in a real fight, a hero should always engage the enemy even if there is no chance of victory, but instead, try to distract the villain until reinforcements arrive. In this case, though, Kaminari's reason is sound... except for the getting beaten part. Kamanari, expect heavy training after this."
"Why me?" cried Denki as he left the stage.
"Well... due to the quick match, we will proceed with the finals without break, if that's fine with you Midoriya," announced Midnight.
Izuku nodded, standing back up once more, eager to fight Katsuki.
"Then we move to the finals!" shouted Present Mic, quickly getting himself back up and bringing the hype back, "It's finally the last battle! The best of UA freshmen will be decided right here! The finals! Izuku Midoriya vs. Katsuki Bakugo!"
A minute passed with no Katsuki walking out of the exit, Present Mic sweatdropped.
"Err, will Bakugo-," started Present Mic, only to pause as he put his hand on his earpiece, "Hmmm... ok! I've received word from Recovery Girl that Bakugo is not in any condition to fight! Which is understandable considering his last match. So... what do we do?"
"Just end it here," said Shota dully. Ending the tournament meant he could go home faster. Going home faster meant he could get some precious sleep.
"We can't do that! It would be a disappointing ending after such a radical battle!" pouted Present Mic, though not fully denying Shota's words. There had been times where such events happened in the past.
"Then again, we don't really have much choice, do we?" shrugged Midnight.
It was here that Endeavor's voice intervened.
"How about letting my son fight in the finals?" boomed Endeavor, drawing all of the audience's attention, "It would be a disappointment to end the Sports Festival of U.A. in such a way. Shoto Todoroki has already recovered from his injuries and is ready to do battle. And after such a battle, I believe everyone can expect another one just as grand?"
The audience looked at each other, conversing with each other in quiet whispers.
"Todoroki vs. Midoriya, eh?"
"Well we did see Todoroki pull some epic moves, and so did Midoriya when he fought against that copycat."
"It would epic!"
Soon, the audience began to chant words that Endeavor wanted to hear. They were all calling for a fight with Shoto and Izuku.
"Err, I'm not sure if we can do that, it seems highly improbable," sweatdropped Present Mic before noticing boos heading towards his way, "But we can probably ask Principal Nezu about this!?"
"It's illogical," huffed Shota, who just wanted to be finished with the festival itself.
Midnight had already called Nezu with her headset, waiting on his instructions.
Nezu, meanwhile, was enjoying the epic battle he was overseeing for the 3rd year students. Mirio Togata had surprised all his classmates excluding his best friends Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado when he crushed last year's first-place winner in the 2nd year students' Sports Festival in the first round of the battle tournament. The said loser had bragged he would easily win, only to be sent out of the ring with his butt sticking up into the air.
'Clearly, he's improved even more drastically after studying with Nighteye,' thought Nezu, 'Mirio only moved into the Heroic Course in his second year, and even then, didn't stand out too much. However, he caught Nighteye's attention, and with all that special cultivation... well it's no surprise that his opponents are no match for him.'
As he was watching the semi-finals with Mirio fighting against Tamaki, he felt his earpiece vibrating.
"Nezu here," murmured Nezu as he carefully kept his attention onto the fight.
"Midnight here, we have a small situation," whispered Midnight before launching the whole explanation to him.
Nezu hummed for a bit while declaring Mirio the winner of the fight.
"Go with the flow I suppose," nodded Nezu while letting the announcer do her job for a while, "But I will be speaking to Endeavor about his... words."
'And squeeze out a sizable donation from him,' Nezu laughed mentally.
"Alright, going along with popular demand as well as permission from Principle Nezu, Todoroki will be taking Bakugo's place in the finals!" announced Midnight, causing the audience to scream in fervor... except for a few people, counting a certain pair of parents.
"#$%$##$ That's bullshit!" cursed Mitsuki, booing as she did so, "My son was the one who beat his ass! Why does he get to go again!?"
"Well it would draw in more excitement," started Toshinori, though privately agreeing with Mitsuki. He was attempting to explain it from a business point of view.
"Shut it!" barked Mitsuki, causing Toshinori to zip it, "Fucking brat, where are you!? You can't let this match go!"
Soon enough, Shoto was standing on stage once more, facing against Izuku. Shoto frowned as he shrugged his shoulder. He certainly wanted to fight Izuku, but not like this. So there was only one thing to do... and the fact that it would piss off his dad just sweetened the deal.
Izuku didn't like the situation either. He was ready to fight Katsuki, who had rightfully earned his place. He didn't have anything against Shoto, but Katsuki had sacrificed a lot to get his opponent to fight full power. Izuku knew Katsuki would've won if he didn't spend extra time baiting Shoto to use his full power so he could show everyone that even with Shoto's full power, he would still stand victorious.
"Alright, Todoroki vs. Midoriya! Ready... Fi-"
"Hold the fuck up!" barked a voice from one of the exits.
Everyone's head turned towards the exit to see Katsuki walking out of the exit with bandages still wrapped around various parts of his body.
"Who the hell said I was done!? I ain't fucking giving my place to someone who lost to me! I'm the one who's going to kick Deku's ass!"
"Errr, Bakugo seems to be alive and kicking I guess?" blinked Present Mic, looking over to Shota, who merely shrugged, "Midnight, did you get any notice from Recovery Girl that Bakugo was up?"
Midnight shook her head before Recovery Girl's voice could be heard blaring into their mic.
"That stubborn child! I told him he was in no condition to participate! He knows he's running on fumes and needs bed rest! Instead, what does he do? He somehow managed to get an espresso, energy drinks, and whatever ungodly drinks that have caffeine, mixed them together, and drank the whole damn thing! I don't even know how he got those drinks!"
Back at the stands, Eijiro guiltily looked away at the stage. It was he who had brought all stuff for Katsuki. Katsuki had called him to bring all those drinks over. Eijiro thought nothing of it, thinking it was manly that Katsuki was already up. Then he witnessed Katsuki pouring those drinks into another cup, shaking it, and then chugging it without hesitation. Katsuki then proceeded to kick Eijiro out, saying he needed room to change. Without even replying, Eijiro walked back to his seat. Mina had asked him what was up, but Eijiro didn't reply. He didn't exactly know how to describe what he had just done or saw.
"Get your ass off half and half bastard!" barked Katsuki as he stomped up the stairs.
Midnight looked at the three boys in confusion, not sure what to do. Katsuki hadn't been cleared to fight, but he was still standing on the stage, ready to fight. Izuku looked at Katsuki with a small smile on his face. Shoto just stood there with a stoic face, unsure what to do either.
"Well nobody can say this year's Sports Festival for the first year isn't interesting," muttered Present Mic, "Umm... Eraser Head, a little help here?"
"Zzzzzzz...," was the reply.
Katsuki wasn't able to do anything else when he suddenly felt a prick on his neck. He quickly pulled out whatever was stuck in his neck to see a syringe.
"Whhaaaa-" slurred Katsuki before slumping down into the ground.
"I told him that I'd be the one to decide whether he fights or not," muttered Recovery Girl as she appeared out of the exit, walking up to Katsuki before dragging him away. Katsuki was twitching on the ground and somehow grabbing the ground, leaving a trail mark to show just how stubborn he was even when unconscious.
"Well... that happened!" exclaimed Present Mic, "Let's get the show on the road now!"
"Hold up," said Shoto, interrupting Midnight's attempt to start the match, "I would like to say something."
"Alright go ahead," waved Midnight.
"I forfeit," declared Shoto, shocking everyone, "As much as I would like to have another chance to fight and show my skills against a worthy opponent, I do not deserve this chance. I lost to Bakugo fair and square. Not only that, but Bakugo's desire for victory, the desire to fight, Despite his injuries that I inflicted, he still managed to summon the willpower to walk up here to fight another battle. To take his place would be nothing but disgraceful if I accepted. So, therefore, I will not fight."
Shoto turned around and left the stage, causing everyone to fall silent once more.
"Ehhh... well since Todoroki has refused to fight, Bakugo can't fight, and Kaminari already fought Midoriya and lost... I guess the tournament is over! The winner of this year's class one Sports Festival is Izuku Midoriya!" declared Present Mic, stuttering at first before going strong.
The audience looked at each other before starting lightly applause for Izuku. Izuku looked around at the crowd applauding at his apparent victory. Although he had won, it felt like a hollow victory. The real fights he had were the first two rounds. He couldn't blame Denki for forfeiting as anything he did couldn't hurt him, but he really wanted to prove himself in the finals. As his eyes wandered, he managed to lock eyes with Toshinori, as well as his mother who was crying tears of joy again.
Toshinori locked eyes with Izuku, and knew what Izuku wanted. He merely shrugged at Izuku, showing Izuku that despite what he wanted, there wasn't much he could do. Each fighter had their own pride, too. Not to mention Izuku did put an impressive showing in the first two games as well as the first two rounds in the tournament.
Plus, having Inko crushing his hands every time Izuku got hit was no joke, even for him. Though he did admit it felt nice... if the pain hadn't been included.
But in the end, Izuku did show to the world that he was here indeed.
Several minutes later
All the first-year students were soon standing out in the field once more for the ending ceremony. While reporters were rapidly taking photos.
"All of the first-year events for this year's U.A. Sports Festival has been completed. And now, we will begin with the award ceremony!" announced Midnight.
The audience began to cheer and applaud as fireworks were sent up into the air. Behind Midnight, smoke erupted from the ground as podiums began to rise up. Going from right to left, standing in third place, stood Denki and Shoto, sharing the podium. While Shoto was dully staring ahead, Denki was waving towards the crowd, though his head kept checking the second place winner nervously. In first place stood Izuku Midoriya, looking at the crowd with a smile though his eyes also twitched towards the second-place podium.
In the second place podium, where most of the contestants and audience were looking at due to its unique sight, stood Katsuki Bakugo... heavily chained up to a wall that Cementoss had made while also being muzzled. They could all see him struggling to get out of the lock while attempting to shout curse words.
"Oh geez, he's been struggling ever since he woke up," sweatdropped Eijiro.
"He's like a man-eating fiend," commented Fumikage.
"Hahaha, oh this one is for the record books," cackled Mitsuki while kicking her legs up.
"Mitsuki, come on, it's not that funny," sighed Masaru, though his lips were slightly curling up, "By the way, where did Yagi go?"
"Toshinori said that he had an important call he needed to take," replied Inko, beaming at her son with pride.
Izuku was looking around at the contestants, his eyes lighting up when he found Momo, Ochako, and Itsuka. Yet somehow, Tenya was still missing from the crowd.
'I hope he's alright,' thought Izuku to himself. Tenya had just suddenly left without telling him anything. The only reason he even knew was that Eijiro told him he had left. His mind snapped back to the present when Midnight began to make an announcement.
"Now, we will award the medals! The presentation of the medals, of course, will be presented by this man-!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
A familiar booming laughter rang throughout the stadium, one that everyone was familiar with. They all quickly looked around before seeing a shadow of All Might standing on top of the stadium, the sunlight slowly illuminating his figure. Then, with a quick dash, All Might jumped off the stadium, flipping in the air while the crowd cheered before executing a perfect landing right in front of the podium.
"I have brought the medals here!"
"-Our very own hero, All Might!"
Silence ensued for a second as the two finished their statements, Midnight's voice overlapping and overpowering All Might's declaration due to the fact she was speaking into a microphone.
"Sorry, I talked over you," apologized Midnight in embarrassment as she clasped her hands together.
The audience quickly began to discuss how lucky the first-year students were for having the number one Hero watching over them.
"Now then, All Might, please present the medals, starting with the third place," said Midnight quickly. All Might nodded as he passed over the medals case to Midnight for her to hold while he presented the medals first to Denki.
"Young Denki, congratulations. You certainly have a lot of power with your quirk. However, in order to fight well against different types, especially ones that you seem weak to, you'll have to strengthen not only your quirk, but your body and spirit. Try to think of different ways you can use your quirk," advised All Might while putting the bronze medal over Denki's head and around his neck before giving him a gentle hug.
"Thanks," grinned Denki, "But man, being third place? Never thought I'd get to here. Think my chances with girls are better now?"
All Might ignored that question and turned to Shoto, presenting the second bronze medal.
"Young Todoroki, congratulations. I assume there was a reason why you never used your left side until now against Bakugo?"
Shoto nodded, "There was a part of me that I despised until now. Now, I realize it's a part of me. Bakugo's speech was tinged with Midoriya's characteristics, no doubt. Bakugo did it to prove himself, while I'm sure Midoriya would have done it to aid me. I'm beginning to understand a little about why you're interested in him. I want to become a Hero like you, but it wouldn't be right for me to be the only one to break away. There's something now that I must settle first before moving on."
All Might nodded in approval, "The look on your face is completely different from before."
He then bent down to give Shoto a gentle hug, whispering to his ear, "I won't ask about the details, but I'm sure you'll be able to do what you need to do. If you need help, you know where to find me."
"Yes," nodded Shoto as All Might stood back up once more, walking over to the still struggling Katsuki.
"Now then, young Bakugo!... This is a bit much isn't it?" laughed All Might as he took off the muzzle, "You almost did what you said you would do in your player pledge! You knew you could have defeated Todoroki if you didn't provoke him to use his fire, but you not only aided him, but proved that you could defeat him still! Not only that, but I couldn't help but admire your stubbornness to prove yourself! That tenacity will take you far!"
All Might looked down and sweatdropped when he saw Katsuki's rage face, the edges of his eyes pointed upwards.
Katsuki barked out in anger, "All Might! I don't accept this! I didn't get to fucking fight Deku! I can't accept second place if I didn't even get the chance to prove myself stronger than Deku, to which I am! That fucking nur-"
His rant was interrupted when All Might quickly placed his hand on top of Katsuki's mouth, "Shhh.. You don't want to piss off Recovery Girl after what she did last time, do you?"
Katsuki glared but reluctantly complied as All Might pulled away his hand.
"In this world where people are constantly being compared publicly, there are not many who can keep aiming for the top of an unchanging scale. The fact you aim for that without losing any of your passion, is commendable. Keep that up and perhaps tone down the anger, and you'll be one of the top heroes for sure! It was mere unfortunate circumstances that you were unable to heal up fast enough for Recovery Girl to pronounce you capable of fighting. I have no doubt that the next time you two clash that it will be epic. Now then, just accept this medal as a 'wound' as one you won't forget."
"I don't want it! I want to fight!" growled Katsuki as All Might tried to place the medal over his head. Katsuki leaned back to prevent All Might from placing it over his head, causing All Might to just opt putting the band into his mouth.
"If it's any consolation, young Midoriya's actions might put some of that anger to rest," whispered All Might as he gave Katsuki a small hug before moving onto Izuku.
"Young Midoriya! Congratulations on winning this tournament! Though don't let it go to your head! One must always push themselves to improve, otherwise other can easily catch up."
As All Might was about to put the medal around Izuku's neck, Izuku stopped him, placing his hand forward before gesturing him to place it there. Slightly mystified, All Might decided to do so.
Izuku held the medal before turning towards Katsuki, who was still trying to break out of his chains.
"Bakugo," stated Izuku, causing Katsuki to turn his head towards him, "Just like you, I don't really want to accept this medal. I may have won, but I don't feel like I proved myself enough to deserve it. Especially since my last two fights were pretty much 'given' to me. So I'll hold onto this medal for now, but sometime later, we'll duke it out once more to see who truly deserves this medal. You, too, Todoroki. I know it took a lot of effort to forfeit your second chance, especially with all those declarations you made against me. I look forward to fighting to see who will come out on top."
Katsuki couldn't help but give a malicious grin as he stopped struggling, "It's a fucking deal, Deku!"
Shoto couldn't help but smirk in agreement at this statement, too.
Izuku turned back to All Might with an apologetic smile, "Sorry. I don't feel like I lived up to the expectations set for me."
All Might leaned in, giving Izuku a hug before whispering into his ear, "No. You far surpassed my expectations ever since the beginning of the Sports Festival. Your will, your dedication, and your ability to inspire. The fact that you still remain so humble. I have no regrets in passing One for All to you for sure now. You are everything I envisioned you would be. I have no doubt that you will become a Symbol of Peace after my time fades, a pillar of support. And with your strength, you will inspire others to become pillars of peace. So stand tall, Izuku."
Izuku had to turn his head away to wipe off a tear from his eyes, smiling back at All Might. This was also one of the first time that All Might used his first name, showing just how much trust and care he had in him.
All Might quickly turned back to the contestants to address them all, "Well, they were the winners this time! But listen up, anyone here could have ended up in these podiums! It's just as you saw- Competing! Improving each other! And climbing even further! The next generation of Heroes is definitely sprouting! I just have one more thing to say! Everyone, please say it with me! Ready, Go-!"
Everyone took a deep breath, excited to yell out the phrase that was U.A's school motto.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
There was an awkward moment of silence before the audience began to boo at All Might for saying the wrong phrase, though all done teasingly. All Might himself stammered out words to defend himself, but it was already done. Soon, the students began to walk back to their respective classrooms.
"Well, that ended," yawned a hero in a temporary staff room, "Guess we should head back out to help the audience leave in a calm and timely fashion."
The others agreed and were about to walk out when Kamui Wood suddenly blocked the exit with his Quirk, sprouting out a wooden wall.
"Hey, what gives?" asked another.
"Ahem" coughed Death Arms, causing everyone to turn towards him, "I believe we had a little bet about who would win this tournament?"
Silence reigned in for a bit before...
"Really? Come on!"
"That's not fair, he won by default!"
"Yea, my bet had to fight the other top competitor there!"
They complained and complained, but Death Arms and Kamui Woods held firm. A few minutes later, most of them grumbled as they formed a line, each one shoving money into Death Arms hands while Kamui Wood let them go.
"You really milked them didn't you?" said a flabbergasted Mt. Lady as Death Arms whistled, counting the bills in his hand.
"Hey, we told you the kid would go far," grinned Kamui Woods.
"Yep. And here's your share," nodded Death Arms as he passed half of it to Kamui Woods, "Now let's get out there before Nezu gets mad at us."