With no more pro heroes to distract him, Izuku tried to mentally prepare himself for the match ahead. Thanks to his little episode, he didn't have any time to go to the waiting room; he had to head straight for the arena.
Izuku didn't pay attention to the introduction Present Mic gave him or his opponent, he was too focused on the task ahead. He had to convince Todoroki to use his flames of his own volition, but he first had to determine the best way to go about it.
Todoroki was stubborn and hyper-focused; he wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do. Izuku had to get through to him somehow.
He felt his quirk pulse softly, as if it was waking up from the sleep Yao- Momo had put it into.
To Izuku, it was strange to imagine Todoroki was choosing not to use his full power. Izuku wanted nothing more than to be able to use his quirk, but he couldn't. Even beyond its penchant to put him in the hospital or kill him, he was afraid of what it might do if he let it roam free.
Izuku kept his quirk hidden because of fear and danger, Todoroki kept it hidden out of spite and principle.
That wasn't fair. Todoroki was afraid he would wind up like his father; his every waking moment was dedicated to distancing himself from everything Endeavor represented to him.
So they were both afraid. Todoroki of becoming his father, and Izuku of becoming a vill-
Izuku's eyes went wide.
'That's it!'
Shouto raised an eyebrow as Midoriya walked up the stairs on the far side of the ring. For some reason, his shirt was already missing; was Midoriya trying to intimidate him? Regardless, it wouldn't work.
Present Mic was trying to hype the crowd up, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy centering himself, preparing for the glacier he was preparing to unleash.
He had to end it quickly; Midoriya's breath was too much of a threat. His best shot was to freeze him fully, encase him completely like he accidentally did to Yaoyorozu. Only then would Midoriya be unable to use his quirk.
If that didn't work… he would have to figure out a way to avoid his poison. Surely he wouldn't risk threatening the crowd, so his gas would be limited in volume; he could avoid it by rising above it or skating away from it. Not an ideal strategy, but what other real chance did he have?
Fire he could have blocked, ice he could have blocked, lightning or acid… he could have blocked those. Poison gas?
He grimaced bitterly.
That would be tricky.
Across the arena, Midoriya had a small smirk on his face beneath his glowing eyes.
All Might held up his hand. "Begin!"
Shouto slammed his right foot down and a wave of ice erupted across the ring, just like he had done the previous two matches. He couldn't tell if he had caught Midoriya- the ice was blocking his vision- but surely he couldn't have escaped.
His confidence faltered as he heard the beating of wings.
Shouto's vision snapped upward as he saw Midoriya land on top of the glacier, gazing down on him with burning eyes. His wings folded behind him, framing him against the shining ice with a silhouette like a demon straight out of Hell. "Tell me, Shouto Todoroki, what will you do… when your ice isn't enough?"
He took a step backwards, gazing up at the grinning man. His face wasn't draconic- not yet, at least- but his grin still looked predatory… and a little playful.
"Come on now, don't give me the cold shoulder," he taunted. "Go ahead, try again."
He felt his blood pressure spike slightly. Shouto slammed his foot down again, sending a controlled wave of ice curving around, aiming to knock Midoriya off his perch. His opponent jumped, soaring over the sweeping attack and landing on a new spot.
"It's humorous to watch you struggle like a wounded animal." Midoriya's face was twisted into a cruel grin, his fangs glinting in the sun. He licked his lips, his tongue long, green and forked at the tip. "There's nothing like the thrill of the hunt, but playing with my food is a good second choice."
Shouto's grit his teeth. "Why are you doing this, Midoriya?! What do you intend to gain by mocking me?"
"Midoriya?" The man laughed darkly. "Please, call me by my villain name. I am Venomfang… and I'm here to kill you, hero, just as I always said I would. You and everyone here in this stadium."
Shouto paused, blinking a few times as he tried to make sure he had heard correctly.
His smirk grew wider. "Don't look so surprised, hero . After all the years we have fought each other, surely you knew it had to end this way."
"Years?" Shouto's face twisted in confusion. "What…?"
"How quaint, pretending not to know your own nemesis. I'm hurt." He held his hand over his heart and pretended to wallow in despair for a moment. "But what hurts me even more is that even after all the times we've fought, you still refuse to use your full power against me. Why do you look down on me so much?"
Kyouka blinked a few times, her eyebrow cocked as hard as she could manage. Next to her, Pony and Momo held her other jack between them, both listening to Midoriya and Todoroki talk.
Momo had shown up right before the match started and, while she had been absolutely ice-cold since her match ended, she seemed to be doing a little better now. Whatever she had done to improve her mood, Kyouka hoped she got more of it.
Pony noticed the change in Momo's mood too and had kindly offered to share Kyouka's jack with her. Momo had paused, before smiling and accepting graciously.
Kyouka had smiled at the two. They were both so adorable.
But right now, all three of them were looking at each other with mixtures of confusion and shock.
Kyouka was the only one whose mouth was still working. "Is… Is Midoriya roleplaying? "
"Look down?" Shouto repeated with a mix of bewilderment and frustration. " What are you talking about?"
"Time and time again, you've refused to use your fire against me," Midoriya explained. "So I've decided to give you some… encouragement. That's why I brought you here!" He gestured around to the stands. "If you wish to save the lives of these pathetic people, you will have to use your fire."
Midoriya jumped from the ice, slamming down on the floor of the arena about halfway across the ring from Shouto. "So again I ask you: what will you do when your ice isn't enough? "
Shouto snarled; enough of this farce. Something about Midoriya's voice unsettled him, reminding Shouto of the end of the cavalry battle. It disturbed him on a fundamental level and he was tired of it.
He created another wave of ice, but he had learned that Midoriya was too agile for his ranged attacks. This time, he rode with it, streaking towards his opponent; a single solid touch from his right hand would end this fight.
Midoriya pushed off with his powerful, scaled legs and dodged back, unsurprisingly. "Oh, did that light a fire beneath you?"
Shouto lunged for the man, who simply beat his wings and soared across the arena, casually smashing through the remnants of one of his previous attacks. Shouto wasted no time chasing after him, riding another wave of ice, but he dodged that one as well.
He swung his foot along the ground, sending a sharply curving wall of ice wide of his opponent, twisting it behind him to block off his escape routes.
Midoriya smirked as Shouto dashed towards him, furthering his ire. The draconic man reared his right fist back and swung forward.
Shouto's eyebrow raised the smallest amount as the attack closed in on him. The punch was incredibly telegraphed, Midoriya was surely trained better than that . Perhaps his father was right when he disparaged Stormclaw.
Shouto shifted left, letting the fist streak past him as he moved his right hand in to freeze Midoriya.
Then he noticed the arm being pulled in tight.
His eyes went wide.
Midoriya was trained better than that.
Using the momentum from his punch to turn, Midoriya slammed his tail into Shouto, sending him skidding across the arena, but not before his fingers made contact with Midoriya's scaled right arm.
Shouto groaned softly as he pulled himself to his feet, satisfied that he made the first step towards victory.
"Bravo, bravo." Midoriya's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Shouto's vision snapped to his opponent and saw his entire right arm and shoulder covered by thick ice. Why was Midoriya still smiling?
"It's easy to forget, I suppose, that I'm descended from Silverlight, whose breath was winter." Midoriya laughed once before he flexed, cracking the ice and sending it falling from his arm. "I resist fire and ice, hero. You won't be able to beat me down with only half your strength."
Midoriya took a step forward as his quirk flowed stronger, growing him taller and bulkier. "I will ask. You. Again ." His face stretched longer, his jaw curving and his horns flaring above his eyes to form a ridged crown. His human eyes shut for a moment, then reopened with a renewed glow. His now-slitted eyes stared into his soul.
Midoriya's curved maw opened, his voice dripping with anger.
"What will you do when your ice is not enough?!"
"What are you doing, boy?" Hisashi muttered, glancing at the shorter woman to his left. "Are you hearing this?"
"Yes, Uncle," Ryuko responded, "He's trying to get that Todoroki boy to use his flames, but the question I have is… why won't he use them?"
Hisashi glowered down at Endeavor far below, who himself was glaring at the match, a look of barely-contained fury on his face.
"I have a pretty good idea," Hisashi snarled.
"My ice will be enough!" Todoroki yelled back. "I'll make sure of it!" A wave of ice streaked towards Izuku, but he shot up into the air, his increased strength from his further transformation helping him move even faster.
Izuku landed on a shard of ice from Todoroki's initial attack. "Surely you can't believe that," Izuku laughed, before becoming much more serious. "And if you do, you are a fool. I thought I would give you a chance to prove yourself here, to save these poor, innocent people, but you are determined to keep your pride at all costs. Are you so arrogant that you can't see that your ice won't stop me?"
Izuku was bluffing, at least a little bit. He was definitely resistant to frost and cold, but it didn't render him immune to Todoroki's quirk, not by a long shot. His classmate was a powerhouse, there was no doubt there, and if he kept hitting Izuku, he would wear him down sooner rather than later.
Even so, Izuku had to keep up his facade if he wanted all this bravado to work. He was trying to use 'Venomfang', ridiculous as it was, to convince Todoroki just how short-sighted his refusal really was.
Izuku felt a little guilty, truth be told. He was trying to get his opponent to use his full power… but he couldn't bring himself to trust his instincts. Not after what happened earlier…
He tried again, just as he had several times during the match already.
'Let go. Trust .'
Izuku felt his quirk flowing into his consciousness, becoming less and less distinct with each passing moment.
He is burdened with anger and hatred.
'He has shut himself off from others.'
He was melting, mixing, becoming something else.
He is an emerald in the rough.
'I'll help him become a hero.'
He held onto his control with his figurative fingertips, willing each one to pull back, letting go one at a time.
I will save him.
'I will save him.'
Four fingers, three, two, o-
"Your father was a sufficiently powerful hero before he was crippled."
Let's see how 'sufficient' you are once I tear off your arm!
Izuku snatched his control back as fast as he could as Endeavor's face filled his mind.
Another failure.
'Dammit…'
He shook his head slightly, refocusing himself on the slightly stunned Todoroki. Lying came naturally to him, he would just have to fake it until he made it. As long as he helped Todoroki, his own problems were secondary.
"Why aren't you taking this seriously?!" Todoroki shouted, sending another wave of ice at Izuku. He beat his wings, soaring up and above it easily and landing on a new pillar.
"You want serious? Fine ." Izuku leveled his gaze at the man below him, dropping his persona. "Then let me give you a history lesson, Todoroki, about one of my relatives: daughter of Silverlight, sister to Gallant. I am, of course, talking about Frostheart. The first, but certainly not the last, supervillain in my family."
Todoroki paused for a moment at least, furrowing his brow.
"Perhaps you learned about it in school. I learned about it on my own, once I found out what my quirk was." Izuku hopped to another perch as a pillar of ice streaked towards him, not stopping his tale. "Frostheart rampaged across Japan and, while it was put to shame by the carnage wreaked by Terrorflame a generation later, it was one of the worst crime sprees since quirks began to appear."
"Stop talking!" Todoroki yelled, charging at Izuku again on the back of an ice wave. He wasn't prepared for Izuku's increased speed- or was he just slower? Either way, he didn't get out of the way before Izuku slammed him square in the stomach with a full-bodied punch, knocking him from his perch and streaking towards the ground, but not before he touched Izuku again.
Even slow, Todoroki was still dangerous. Izuku flexed again, letting the ice crack and slide off his body.
Izuku shivered; he couldn't take too many more of those. That quirk was really something else.
Todoroki managed to touch another pillar of ice in the winter wonderland he had created in the ring, sending a wall down with him to catch him and let him skate to the ground, even as he coughed to catch his breath.
He's unsettled, making mistakes.
"Frostheart made her lair at the peak of Mt. Fuji. A squad of ten heroes was dispatched to bring her to justice as she fortified herself." Izuku glared down at the man bitterly. "Of the ten, seven lost their lives that day."
Todoroki glared at him, panting… and shivering.
Interesting.
His body was running cold. While Todoroki refused to use his flames, every use of his quirk slowed him down more and more. Izuku assumed it worked the other way around; each side negates the drawback of the other, allowing Todoroki to have little limitations beyond his own stamina.
Izuku eyed him across the field; if he could get him to break free of his psychological shackles, Todoroki could be an unparalleled hero.
At least he wasn't attacking... for now.
"It took Gallant, her own brother, to finally take her down. He loved his sister, but he did what he had to do. That's what makes someone a hero." Izuku hopped down from his ice pillar so he was on even footing with Todoroki. "Imagine, if you would, you were part of that assault team. Your ice… would have done nothing. Worse than nothing, your ice would have just given her home field advantage."
Todoroki paused for a moment, analyzing him. "I… I wouldn't have gone on the mission. There are other heroes that would have gone."
"Fair enough," Izuku admitted, "but let's say that you were on patrol when Frostheart attacked. She just... slammed down in the middle of a busy street right in front of you and started freezing people solid. You would have been helpless, not because of your quirk, but because of your choice ." Izuku took another step towards Todoroki. "How many people would you allow to die for that choice?"
"Why are you doing this?" Todoroki asked, his voice full of anger. "Did my scumbag of a father put you up to this?"
Bastard.
"No," Izuku declared. "Forget Endeavor. This is about you. "
Todoroki was silent. Izuku saw that he was finally hearing his words.
Now was the time for action.
"Why are you here at UA?" Izuku asked simply. "Because I'm here to be a hero. I'm here to learn how to be the best I can be… and that means doing whatever it takes to get there." Izuku kicked off, running towards Todoroki. "I know what I want! And that's why I'll beat you right here, right now!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Momo's hand shook slightly as she held Kyouka's jack between herself and Pony. Zu and Todoroki were evenly matched, it seemed. Both had only landed a few hits on each other, but the hits were solid. Zu was making a show of breaking free of the ice both times he got frozen, but she could see the chill on his breath.
She could see the chill on both of their breaths.
But more importantly, Zu seemed to be… intentionally dragging it out. Try as she might, she couldn't think of a way Todoroki could reliably defend against his poison breath… not without his fire. His fire could heat the air, creating a draft to pull the gas away from him, but Todoroki refused to use it. He made that clear in their preparations before the cavalry battle.
'When I'm in battle, I never use my left side,' he told her.
Everything Zu was saying- the taunting, the gloating, the history lesson- he was trying to get him to break that vow. He was trying to get Todoroki to use his fire… but why?
She remembered something he said during training last week.
'It's my job as class rep to make sure you all grow into the best heroes you can be.'
A noble sentiment, to be sure, but that didn't explain… all this.
Maybe Ochako or Mina would know.
Either way, right now… she had a friend to cheer for.
'What I want…?'
Shouto knew the answer… at least he thought he did. Midoriya's words were resonating with him for some reason. Something in the way he spoke told Shouto that he… he understood , at least a little bit.
A long-repressed memory made it's way to the surface. For the first time in over a decade, he remembered his mother kindly, her face not full of fear or hate.
"You still want to be a hero, don't you, Shouto?"
He did, but what did that mean?
Almost out of reflex, he shot another blast of ice at the man rapidly closing on him, but Midoriya launched into the air, spinning around the shards and doing a front-flip in mid air right above him, bringing his weighty tail down at startling speeds.
Shouto threw up a barrier of ice to block the attack, which it did, but was shattered in the process. The force from the contact threw him backward, towards the edge of the arena. He created a cradle of ice to catch him, preventing him from being tossed out of the ring.
"You know, you may not believe me and you may not understand why… but I hate my quirk too," Midoriya almost whispered across the space between them.
He was wrong. For some reason… Shouto did believe him.
"I want nothing more than to be to able to use my quirk freely, without fear, but I can't!" He sounded almost… desperate.
"This was the hand I was dealt but I have to make the best of it! I don't have a choice!" His right arm bulked up larger as his voice grew in volume.
'Why?'
"I am not my quirk!" he declared at the top of his lungs. His left arm followed his right.
He heard his mother's voice again.
"You are not a prisoner of your lineage."
"I will take this damn quirk and I will break it! I will make it my own!" His voice was filled with passion. "I WILL DEFY THE BURDEN PLACED ON MY SHOULDERS! I WILL DEFY IT AND BECOME WHO I WAS MEANT TO BE!" The rest of his body grew to match his arms; Midoriya stood over ten feet tall at this point, a towering mix of man and dragon. "I'LL BE A HERO!"
'Defy...? How?'
No. No this was wrong. He couldn't use it.
He couldn't betray his mother.
Shouto found his voice. "I'll… I'll never use his power." His words were well-practiced over the years, but for some reason, they felt almost foreign in his mouth.
"IT'S NOT HIS POWER!" Midoriya bellowed at him. "IT'S YOUR'S! YOUR QUIRK, NOT HIS, NOT ANYBODY ELSE'S!"
Suddenly, it all came crashing back. Everything he had forgotten.
He remembered sitting on the couch with his mother when he was only five. They were watching an interview with All Might; even back then, he was larger than life. Shouto looked up to him more than anyone else.
"Children often do inherit quirks from their parents, or develop similar power sets, but the most important thing to remember is that a quirk is what you make of it," All Might said. "Regardless of your history, you decide how you use it. That's what I mean when I say I am here! Only you can decide to become a hero, no one else."
"You still want to be a hero, don't you?" his mother asked, petting his hair. "Just remember…"
"Stay true to yourself."
Shouto's breathing picked up.
"It's okay to use your power…"
' My power…'
"To become who you want to be."
His left side burst to life, flames pouring forth and illuminating the entire arena. Nearby ice began to melt just from the heat flowing from his body. In a moment, his spark became an inferno, causing his opponent to shield his eyes slightly.
"I- I know what I want," Shouto choked out, tears beginning to roll down his face. "I want to be a hero!"
"YES!" Midoriya shouted in triumph. "That's it!" He took to the air, diving backwards and landing on the massive glacier Shouto has used to start the fight.
As the flames burned the frost from his right side, so too did they burn away the weight on his shoulders. For the first time in over a decade… he felt free.
He couldn't help but smile.
From his vantage point, Midoriya was smiling too.
"You've let go of your burdens… " His eyes burst to life with an intensity he had never seen before. The glow was so fierce that his slitted pupils were impossible to see beneath the yellow-green light burning within. "You've inspired me! You aren't holding back any longer… and neither will I!"
Midoriya's arms slammed down as his body began to grow larger and larger.
For that moment, everything else ceased to exist. It was just him and Midoriya.
"COME AT ME WITH YOUR FULL POWER, TODOROKI!"
"All Might, we should stop this!" Cementoss called over the microphone.
Toshinori was of a mind to agree with him. These were two of the most powerful students at UA, even outside of their year, and they were preparing to go at it at full blast.
"You aren't holding back any longer… and neither will I!"
Young Midoriya doubled over and began to transform.
He remembered what the boy's father told him. 'No, he's going too far! He'll hurt himself!'
"You're right, Cementoss," he responded finally. "We shoul-"
Young Midoriya's eyes snapped to him, giving him a look he couldn't mistake.
He had to do this. Not just for himself, but for Young Todoroki as well.
Toshinori balked. What should he do? He was a teacher, yes, but he understood the hard path to become a hero.
"...Not yet," he said over the radio.
Hisashi was going to kill him.
Young Midoriya kicked off from the glacier with such force that the massive iceberg shattered into a thousand pieces. Even as he soared through the air, his body bulked up and his wings lengthened.
At the same time, Young Todoroki sent a massive stream of ice shooting out at the dragon, even as he raised his left arm, which was engulfed in flames.
Young Midoriya unleashed a literal earth-shaking roar as he swerved over the wall of frost. Green gas poured forth from his open mouth, but the heat from the searing flames was creating an updraft Toshinori had only seen when he used one of his smashes. The gas was ripped skyward as the dragon streaked towards Young Todoroki like a massive, green bullet.
For a moment, Young Midoriya was the size he was at the USJ. A real, massive dragon, just like his father.
He could just barely make on the smile on both students' faces before everything went white.
A massive rush of air burst through the stadium like a bomb had gone off in the middle of the arena. If he didn't weigh 600 pounds, he surely would have been blown away by the rapidly expanding air.
In hindsight, he was glad he held back Cementoss. Any walls he would have erected might have created deadly flying debris when Young Midoriya and Young Todoroki had their final clash.
"What the heck is going on down there?" Present Mic asked over the loudspeaker. "I can't see a thing. And what was that explosion?"
Midnight answered promptly. "The air was cooled from all of Todoroki's ice and then his fire caused a rapid expansion. Such a drastic change in temperature caused winds powerful enough that you might say they caused a localized typhoon for a moment."
"How hot did that fire get?!" Present Mic asked, astounded. "And since when did you become a weather expert?"
Midnight huffed. "I graduated from UA just like you did. Maybe if you had paid better attention in physics class, Hizashi-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Present Mic muttered dismissively. "Look, the smoke's clearing!"
Toshinori waved his hand, casually blowing the rest of the smoke away.
"Oh, you couldn't have done that sooner, All Might?"
At the edge of the arena stood Young Midoriya, his form much more normal sized.
His right arm was still noticeably larger as it reached down to the ground.
Beneath it, his shoulders just outside the ring, was Young Todoroki.
Toshinori raised his arm high, so quickly he created a small breeze. "Young Todoroki is out of bounds, Young Midoriya advances to the grand finals!"
There was a beat of silence before the crowd erupted in cheers.
Shouto coughed a few times as the weight on his chest kept him flat on his back. Midoriya had shrunk down like a popped balloon as soon as he had slammed into Shouto, but it had been enough.
Midoriya had won.
Shouto had lost.
He didn't feel sad, however. For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel a crushing weight on his shoulders.
The vicious glow in Midoriya's eyes was fluctuating, fading and returning erratically, and he seemed to be having trouble holding any amount of his transformation.
"Todoroki, you've lost," Midoriya pointed out astutely. He leaned back, removing his massive claw from Shouto's chest. "In your quest to outdo us all with only half your power, you've fallen behind. I won't allow that."
'Won't allow ?'
Midoriya reached his left arm down, offering it to Shouto. "You can either continue on your path, or you can take my hand and embark on a new journey. If you don't want to be like Endeavor, then you'll accept my help. Only with others helping us can we become the best we can be. Take my hand and we'll become heroes together."
Shouto stared at his hand for a few seconds before he reached out and grabbed it. Midoriya hoisted him to his feet with a tired, beaten smile on his face.
"Thank you," Midoriya muttered as he let go of his quirk, ending his transformation fully.
"Shouldn't I be the one than-"
Midoriya suddenly clutched his head with both hands as a horrific scream tore from his throat. If not for Shouto quickly reacting to grab onto him, he would have collapsed to the ground.
Midoriya stood there panting for a few moments, propped up by Shouto. "You used your full transformation despite telling us it could hospitalize you again," Shouto observed. "Why?"
Midoriya looked over at him, his vision slightly unfocused. "It… it wasn't right for me to hold back when you weren't. You deserved it. Besides, if I didn't, you would have blown me away. I barely made it through."
Shouto stared, blinking for a few moments. "Can I take you to Recovery Girl?" he asked finally.
Midoriya nodded slowly. "Thank you, Todoroki."
"Hmm," Shouto huffed. "Call me Shouto."
Midoriya's vision turned up to his, eyes wide. "... Izuku," he breathed after a moment.
Shouto nodded and began to help Izuku move across the stage.
He had lost, there was no doubt about that.
He held his left arm out, letting a small fire spark to life in his hands. For once, he didn't hate it. With this power, he would become a hero.
Shouto had lost the match, he had lost the tournament.
But he had won so much more.
Notes:
This fight went on longer than I thought, so I decided to post it as its own chapter.
See you next time for Ochako vs. Katsuki!