Chapter 12: A Harsh Lesson
Kan sighed to himself, leaning against the hall outside the teacher's box. The rest of the faculty was still inside, but after watching the last round Kan felt he needed to get some air, and collect his thoughts. So, here he stood, trying to make sense of what he had seen in that ring.
He had to admit, the approach that Team Shinso had used was unique…even if he disagreed with the reasoning behind it. He knew it was creative, and showed an ability to plan ahead that was certainly admirable…but it just felt wrong to him. The point of the Sports Festival was to show the prowess of the hero course! It was meant to instil the public with confidence for the future of hero society! Each event was made to emulate that fact in some way…but then that boy had not only ignored that fact, but completely flipped the events on their head!
Midoriya…
Kan truly had nothing against the boy for his quirk status, but he couldn't help but be irritated by the boy's shortsightedness. The Sports Festival was about far more than just him, or any one person for that matter. It is the perfect first step for a young hero hopeful to make a name for themselves, for people and agencies to see them in action, so that the public can feel safe when they eventually take over the protection of the country and so the agencies can see the students and offer to help them improve! Everything here was for a reason…and the quirkless boy simply didn't seem to get that…
…that or the boy knew, and either didn't care, or actively opposed that.
Kan felt a buzzing from his pocket, and pulled his phone out from it, immediately recognizing the number, tapping the answer button, he lifted the phone to his ear, and started to begin speaking, but was immediately interrupted.
"Vlad King," an aged feminine voice spoke from the other end of the phone, one that he knew well, "do you know why I am calling?"
"...I think I can make a guess, Madam President." Vlad spoke, clearing his throat slightly.
"Good, then I won't waste time," Kan could hear the steel in her voice, he knew this was not going to be light conversation, "That quirkless boy is making a mockery of the U.A. Sports Festival. He needs to be taken out of the competition, and it needs to happen now."
Kan sighed, "I have tried multiple times, Madam President, to appeal to Nezu in seeing that for himself. However, the rat refuses to listen to reason! Not to mention Maijima is still defending this charade to this very moment." Kan paused, taking a deep breath, "You know as well as I do the rat loves chaos…and Midoriya is definitely offering that and more."
"Frankly, Vlad King," The President spoke, "I couldn't give less of a shit about what Nezu loves…what I care about is the Hero Commision… my Hero Commission, and from what we have been gathering, at this moment, there is a growing sentiment in the public questioning the necessity of heroes." Vlad felt his heart still, his blood growing cold, "It's still small, easy enough to quell, but it needs to be done soon. In certain circles of social media, people are talking about how a quirkless boy not only showed up every hero student at U.A., but did so in a way nobody had ever seen before! While it isn't much now, the sentiment only grows the more liberties you and your school give the boy!"
Kan sighed in frustration, "I understand, Ms. President, and I agree with you this could be a serious problem…but I have tried to appeal to Nezu, and he really is the only one who has the authority to take him out of the competition! I don't know what you want me to do."
"I want you to try harder, Vlad," Spoke the President, her voice growing even colder, "you know as well as I that the rat won't listen to me on this issue. He knows damn well the problem with this situation, but he has always enjoyed pushing the limits on what he is and isn't allowed to do." She sighed, Kan could hear the age in her voice, "I am reaching out to you , Vlad, because I know you. I know that you see the problem, and want to fix it, just as I do, and get the Sports Festival back on track."
Kan rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in an attempt to quell his growing headache. "...I will try to convince him to take Midoriya out…but I can't make any promises." He let out a chuckle of frustration, "besides…the next event has much more rigid rules…Midoriya won't be able to bend the rules anymore, plus I am fairly confident that he won't win in a straight fight against any of the hero courses, even with that scrapheap he is wearing."
"I certainly hope you are right, Vlad King," the President spoke, "because if you aren't, I will ask that you take matters into your own hands." Madam President let her words sink in, before continuing. "This charade is a problem…not just for the prestige of U.A., but for the future of the Hero Commission as well…that is unacceptable. Am I made clear?"
"...Yes, Madam President…I understand."
"Good," with that, Kan heard the other end of the line click, ending the call, and Vlad stowed his phone away again. He turned to look at the brackets again, his eyes locking onto Midoriya's name.
"Midoriya…I really hope you lose…because if you don't…" he sighed, schooling his features and walking back into the teacher's booth.
The first match is starting…and he didn't want to be late.
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Izuku stares down at the floor of the tunnel, listening to the roar of the crowd above him. His eyes flicked to the corner of his vision, towards the different displays laid out for him. Power was capped at 88% still due to his little stunt in the cavalry battle…he needed to make sure he was careful of that…the lower the power cap becomes, the more volatile the power supply becomes as well. He couldn't let himself shut down in the middle of a fight.
Heat was floating around at low levels, which was to be expected. It was the peak of summer heat, so the heatsink wasn't operating at full efficiency, but it was still able to protect the internals well enough, so it wouldn't do for him to dwell on it.
His fight was up first…the opening act to the single combat tournament, so he had to make sure to make a statement with this. He subtly checked all the joints on the landing apparatus, and checked over his revolver cuff, watching as the cylinder spins freely, locking into place once again.
Diagnostics complete.
He looked out of the tunnel, towards the bracket displayed on the large monitor up ahead. 16 competitors, 4 rounds including the final. His bracket though, was especially dangerous. But he would worry about the specifics later…for now he knew who his first opponent was.
Eijiro Kirishima.
Izuku looked down at his left arm, examining his gauntlet once more for any damage. While not pristine, the mechanism did not appear to be damaged at all. Kirishima was a tough opponent, figuratively and literally. His quirk made it difficult to beat him with frontal attacks, and his attitude was also a problem. The spiky haired boy was not one to give up, even if he was in a losing situation. If Izuku was going to do this, he would have to do it decisively…and quickly.
"Did you build it?"
Izuku whirled around, not having heard anyone approach, only to see the familiar manic smile of Mei Hatsume, looking at his left arm. Izuku felt his face grow cold under his mask, but didn't acknowledge her, turning back around to the entrance of the tunnel.
However, Mei seemed to follow his movements, rushing over to his left side and examining his arm, the crosshairs on her irises spinning as her pupils narrow and dilate rapidly. He kept spinning around, hoping to get her to move away, but no matter how he moved, she followed, clearly not getting the hint.
Finally, Izuku had had enough, and whirled to face her fully. "What do you want from me?!"
Mei flinched at his tone, clearly surprised by his outburst. He stared down at her face, and he saw her eyes begin to rapidly dart around the hall, unable to meet his eyes. Izuku at this point was far too frustrated to care.
"Haven't you done enough to me?! First you pretend to be nice to me, then you give me help on my project, only to turn on me, and tell the entire class about me, and paint a target on my back!"
Mei shook her head, but did not speak, instead all that came out of her mouth was soft grunts.
He was ready to continue his tirade, but stopped when he really laid eyes on his pink haired classmate.
She was gripping her head, still shaking it side to side. He could see her fingers digging into the skin of her head, gripping harshly onto her pink locks. Her face was red, and her eyes tightly squeezed shut, tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes. She wasn't speaking, instead simply continuing to let out weak murmurs from tightly closed lips, as she violently shook her head, no.
Izuku was stunned, so much so that he immediately fell silent, his arms falling to his sides as he simply stared at his classmate, unsure of what to do.
"Is…is she okay? No, clearly she isn't…is this because of me?"
"Why should I feel bad?" a part of Izuku's mind supplied, "She's clearly trying to trick me again…it isn't like I said anything untrue."
"Unless…unless I was wrong?"
"She was the only one I told…it had to be her…right?"
Mei slowly let go of her hair, her eyes opening, misty and red, she still looked at the wall, unable to meet Izuku's eyes, but he slowly saw her lips open.
"I…tell…"
Izuku shook his head, "What did you say?"
"I didn't…tell the class."
Izuku's eyes widened, then narrowed again, "sure you didn't, after all you were the only one I told, so it had to be someone else, right?" He crossed his arms, "If you're going to lie to me, at least be convincing,"
"I didn't…tell the class!"
"Then who did?!"
"I don't know!"
"Of course you don't! How convenient !"
"I don't even know what you think I told them!"
That caught Izuku off guard, but he came to grips again, pointing an armoured finger down at Mei, who took a step back. "Stop lying to me! You know damn well what you did!" Izuku turns back around to the entrance of the tunnel, lifting his arms into the air, as if gesturing to some divine to intervene on his behalf. "I made the mistake of trusting you, and was immediately bitten for it! And you continue to deny it, even though I know it's you!"
He continued, "Now, what, are you expecting me to just forgive and forget?!" Izuku raised his arms into the air, his anger over the last few days finally bubbling over. "Do you even know what you did to me?! But, why am I surprised?!" He spun around, moving over to the wall, and leaning on it, an armoured hand clutched against the stone surface.
"This is how it's always been! Everywhere I go, no matter how hard I try, it's never enough! I am always just going to be a quirkless freak!" Izuku's eyes steeled, "but now I can fight back. I'm not going to let the world just keep pushing me down…and I'm not going to let you, or anyone else hurt me again!"
"So…you think I told the class that you're quirkless?"
"I don't think so…I know so!"
"But I still don't even understand why anyone would tell anybody. Why would anyone care that you're quirkless?"
Izuku chuckles bitterly, "You couldn't possibly understand"
"No, but my mom could. She doesn't have a quirk either."
Izuku stops, and turns back towards her, but Mei seems occupied, continuing to speak.
"So I don't get what the big deal is, some people have quirks, and some don't, right? My mom is quirkless, my dad isn't, so why would it matter if you are quirkless? Maybe I should ask her."
Izuku's mouth opened, and closed a few times. He was stunned into silence, unable to formulate a proper answer to her question.
"Her mom…is quirkless?"
Izuku felt his shoulders slump, his body seeming to collapse slightly under an invisible weight. His mind, meanwhile, was swarming under this revelation. Had…had he really been so wrong about her?
"You…you really weren't the one who told the class…were you?"
Mei groaned, "That is what I said, did you not hear me?" The girl seemed to ponder something, putting a hand to her chin. "Can you not hear well in that armour? Maybe next time you should add a noise filter-ooh! Or you could build a selective audio amplifier! That would be super interesting!"
"No, I can hea- that isn't the point." Izuku cut himself off, "I…I guess that…maybe I was wrong…about you." Izuku stood straight, and bowed as best he could with the heavy armour.
"...I'm sorry."
Mei was silent for a time, but Izuku did not meet her gaze, still feeling guilty over how he hurt her. He sighed, and moved to stand straight, but then his classmate spoke again.
"...so can I examine your arm?"
Izuku immediately bent up, his face twisting into confusion underneath his faceplate. "W-what?"
"Can I examine your arm?" Mei repeated, moving closer to her armoured classmate, "The super cute robot arm, not the boring fleshy one."
"...I…uh…"
"Alllright folks!" The voice of Present Mic rings out over the loudspeaker, "Now that our short break is over, it's time to begin the first match! Will our competitors please proceed to the entrance of their respective tunnels?!"
Izuku schooled his features, and took a deep breath, straightening his back, and turning away from Mei. He began his slow march out to the arena. However, before he got too far, he turned his head back, and addressed Mei once again.
"...Once the tournament is over…I'll let you examine the arm for a bit."
He doesn't wait for her to respond, instead, marching over to the light emanating from the mouth of the tunnel, where Maijima waits at the edge.
"...you ready, Midoriya?"
Izuku nods, "I can take him…I planned for this."
Maijima doesn't say anything else, and Izuku walks past him, into the light of the arena.
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"Our first competitor, the Sword and Shield of Class 1-A, the crimson golem himself, Kirishima Eijiro!"
Kirishima took a deep breath, trying to calm his thundering heartbeat. He didn't know much about Midoriya, beyond what he had seen in the prior events. He knew the boy was quirkless, and used a plethora of different pieces of equipment, but he didn't know what he really even had .
He shook his head, and walked out to the arena, to the roaring cheer of the crowd. Nervously, he waved a hand their way, addressing the audience, which only seemed to make them cheer even louder. He could even hear some people shouting at him directly.
"Win this one, hero course!"
"I have a lot of money on you, Kirishima!"
His nervousness only grew, hearing the people counting on him, believing in him. But he also heard some shouts that brought him only frustration.
"Show that quirkless kid that you don't mess with heroes!"
"Put that kid in his place!"
Kirishima's face melted from nervousness to irritation. What the hell did that mean? Midoriya had clearly worked hard to get here! He deserved his spot just like anyone else!
The red-haired boy shook his head, focusing his attention to the mouth of the opposite tunnel, doing his best to ignore the crowd, and focus on the fight ahead of him.
"I can't underestimate Midoriya…no matter what some of my classmates say…"
_________________________________________________________________________
Kirishima was sitting with his classmates in their booth, trying his best to relax before the tournament started. He took deep breaths, eyes flicking around to the other members of his class.
Uraraka and Mina seemed to be doing the same as him, trying to calm their hearts and prepare for the next match. On the other hand, Kaminari and Sero were lounging, staring up at the sky.
He noticed Todoroki and Bakugo, simply sitting unphased by any of this, fully focused on the next match, with Iida pacing rapidly back and forth, wondering if it was ok for him to fight that support course girl.
"I do not feel comfortable fighting a civilian!" Iida spoke, arms rapidly undulating in almost robotic motions, "She has no training, it would be unfair of me to not hold back against her!"
"I mean, the same can be said for that Midoriya kid, right?" Sero spoke, "Not only does he have no training, but he's quirkless too!" Sero looked over at Kirishima, an easy smile on his face, "Guess you lucked out, Kirishima! Easy win for the first round!"
Kirishima looked at Sero with surprise, but his eyes narrowed at the other boy. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sero put his arms up in surrender, "Woah, easy now, Kirishima." Sero leaned forward, a smile still on his face, "All I'm saying is that you are walking into an easy fight! Nothing against Midoriya, his suit is cool and all, but he's quirkless ! No amount of gadgets can make up for that in a one-on-one fight."
Kirishima opened his mouth to rebuke that, but Ashido had beaten him to it. "So if that's the case, then shouldn't we have won the last event, instead of coming in 2nd?"
Sero began to sweat, and swiftly moved to placate his classmates. "Yeah, but that was a team event! Not to mention he had Todoroki and Kaminari on his team to carry him." He turned to the electric blonde next to him, "hey, back me up on this one, dude!"
"Actually," Kaminari spoke nervously, "Midoriya was the one that came up with the plan for the cavalry battle." Kaminari sat up, looking down at Sero, "He had a theory about the point system and wanted to play into that, and it worked really well." Kaminari shook his, "Frankly, if he wasn't on our team, I don't think we would have won…though I would have appreciated him not stomping on my chest." The electric blonde crossed his arms, but seemed otherwise unbothered.
"He cheated," Bakugo said, anger clear in his voice, "That little freak cheated and that's the only reason he won!"
"Dunno, Blasty," spoke Ashido, looking at Bakugo with irritation, "sounds like you're upset because he beat you."
Bakugo stood up, and bared down on Ashido, "Quirkless. Deku. Didn't. Beat. Me. He cheated, him and that purple haired fucker too." He gestured to the rest of his former team, "Plus I was busy carrying your worthless asses to the final! If you three losers had pulled your weight, we would have won!"
"I'm sorry, you seem to be forgetting who was carrying you the whole time!" Ashido stood, violently poking Bakugo in the chest, "Maybe if you had been more of a team player, we could have won, but you just kept yelling at us and being unhelpful!"
For a moment, Bakugo stood, stunned, as if bewildered by Mina questioning him, before his face contorted into anger. He swatted her hand away from him, and grabbed her by the shirt, throwing her to the ground and quickly moved to engage her while she was prone.
"I don't make mistakes…and I don't need a team." He sneered down at Ashido, while several of their classmates stood to intervene.
Bakugo had approached a downed Mina, baring down over her, hands outstretched and palms pointed forward, but after taking in his surroundings and seeing several of his classmates poised, and ready to stop him, he huffed in irritation, and leaned back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He made to walk past Mina, but stopped, and leaned down over her.
" Never touch me again!"
He walked past Mina, checking her with his hip, and stomped out of their booth. Kirishima immediately moved to Mina's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Ashido looked up at Kirishima, a small smile breaking out on her face, "Yeah…I'm ok. He's all bark."
Kirishima was unconvinced, he looked up towards the doorway, teeth grit and eyes narrowed, but he felt a hand lay on his shoulder, and turned to see Mina outstretching her hand to him, the smile on her face not matching the sheer steel in her gaze. The message was clear. Be patient…he will get his eventually.
Sero looked conflicted, and leaned back into his chair, "...I mean…is he wrong though?"
All eyes locked onto Sero, who seemed to shrink into his chair a bit. "I'm talking about what he said, about Midoriya cheating. Maybe he's overreacting, but what Midoriya did was definitely bending the rules. Is it really fair when he manipulates the competition like that?"
"He didn't cheat," Kirishima said, turning and standing over Sero, "Midoriya played by the rules, and he did it well, so stop trying to diminish his win!"
"Ok, ok!" Sero put his hands up, "Jeez…I was just saying…"
"Yeah? Well, stop 'just saying'." Ashido crossed her arms, glaring at Sero. Sero sighed, and turned his head away, doing his best to ignore his classmates' stares of disapproval.
Yaoyorozu, who looked up from her book, looked at Kirishima and Ashido in confusion, "I don't understand…why are you defending Midoriya? As crass as he is being, Sero is right."
Kirishima turned to Yaoyorozu in shock, "Wha-you too, Momo?!"
Momo nodded, "It is undeniable that quirkless people are more fragile, and generally less physically capable than quirked people, even those who don't have natural body enhancers." She closed her book, turning her attention fully to Kirishima, "It's simply a fact, Sero was just acknowledging that fact."
Kirishima grit his teeth, "Y'know, I'm getting really tired of you all deciding what someone is and isn't capable of before you even see what he can do!" Kirishima stepped over to Momo, who looked at him in shock, "So what if he's quirkless?! He beat you in the last event, didn't he? What does that say about you ?!" Yaoyorozu looked down at her closed book, with a sour expression.
Kirishima shakes his head, moving over to the entrance of their booth, and stopping in the entryway. "...I may not be the smartest of our class…but even I'm smart enough to know that quirks aren't everything." With that, Kirishima walked out the door.
_________________________________________________________________________
Kirishima sighed to himself, focusing himself back on the coming fight. It wouldn't do for Kirishima to lose focus now. He had to stay in the moment, right now…it's between him and Midoriya.
"And in the other corner…" Present Mic started, hesitating slightly, "The Armoured Wonder of the support course, Izuku Midoriya!"
Kirishima noted that while some cheered, most of the crowd was silent, or actively booing the quirkless boy. Though, Kirishima heard the thunderous steps of his mechanised opponent echoed out from the other hall, the glowing blue 'eyes' of the mask visibly cutting through the darkness. He saw Midoriya exit the tunnel, the suit's surface glittering from the sunlight, slightly. Kirishima felt a brief spike of fear enter him, but he quickly quelled it, instead choosing to stand resolute before his opponent.
Midoriya eventually stopped, standing directly across from Kirishima, the suit making him a fair bit taller than the red-haired boy. Kirishima took inventory of the armour, of every visible component, and found himself leaving his observation with far more questions than answers. He couldn't make heads or tails of anything! Shaking his head, he smiled over at Midoriya.
"Hey!" Kirishima shouted, "let's have a good match, ok?!"
Midoriya stood motionless, before finally speaking, "What, is this some kind of game to you?"
Kirishima tilted his head, "...what?"
"This isn't some fun little competition…for some people, this is their only chance to prove a point." Izuku said, leaning forward and outstretching his palms.
"...looks like that's a lesson that you need to learn…"
Kirishima looked at Midoriya in confusion, but before he could speak, he heard Midnight crack her whip.
"Both competitors, ready!"
Kirishima shook his head, leaning forward into a three point stance. He took a deep breath, eyes hardening.
"Begin!"
Kirishima immediately hardened his body, and felt the impact of a hot blast of energy on his left side. He stumbled slightly, and looked up at Midoriya, outstretching his left palm at Kirishima, a glowing blue light in the centre of it. Midoriya fired again, but Kirishima rolled forward, breaking into a sprint towards Midoriya. Midoriya fired again and again, impacting a few times but none able to break through Kirishima's hardened skin.
However, as Kirishima approached, Midoriya brought his left arm back, clenching his hand into a steel fist. Kirishima heard the sound of steel grinding against steel, and watched as sparks fired out from the elbow of the armoured student's left arm. He watched as what looked like an iron rod shot out, its surface crackling with sparks as it shot backwards, sticking out about a metre from the boy's elbow.
Still Kirishima pressed on, he got within a metre of Midoriya, and hardened his fist, pulling back to hit Midoriya in the chest. When his fist impacted, He heard a clang, followed by some small sparks as his stoneflesh impacted against treated steel, grinding across its surface, but doing seemingly no damage to the boy within the armour. Kirishima pulled back another fist, but before he could punch, Midoriya pulled his own left fist back, and drove it directly into Kirishima's chest.
At first, Kirishima felt nothing more than the familiar dull thump of an impact as the steel fist met his hardened chest. But then, he heard a click, followed by more sparks shooting out from the back and front of Midoriya's left arm. He watches as the rod, still jutting out from the armoured students shoulder shoots forward, back into the forearm.,
Then he feels it. Pain beyond anything he had ever felt. Kirishima immediately gasps out, acknowledging a new snapping sound in his chest. He stumbles back, falling onto the ground, trying and failing to catch his breath. He lifts his head, looking back up at Midoriya, and seeing something jutting out from the left gauntlet. Above the armoured student's left hand is a small iron spike, similar to the head of a jackhammer, sticking a few inches out beyond his left fist.
Kirishima looks down at his chest, immediately noticing that on the right side of his chest, there was severe cracking in his hardened skin. At the epicentre of the cracking was a circular dent, bending inward. He knew immediately the impact had broken a few ribs, and he let go of his quirk, letting himself catch his breath, though noticing an acute stinging of his broken ribs as his lung expanded, leading to them digging into his bruised flesh.
Kirishima took a deep, ragged breath, not being able to pay attention to the thumping of footsteps approaching him, until the sun was blotted out by the armoured figure standing above him. He immediately noticed the silence of the crowd, but was too busy staring up at his opponent, in bewilderment.
Midoriya raised his steel boot above Kirishima's head, poised to send it down, but before he did, he heard Midoriya speak.
"This a good enough fight for you, hero?"
That was the last thing Kirishima heard before the boot rocketed down, sending him into darkness.
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Toshinori stares down at the arena in barely restrained horror. From a quick glance at the other members of the faculty, they were in similar states. Even Maijima, who had previously been outspokenly supportive of Midoriya's participation, was at a loss for words. Toshinori turned to Aizawa, who's expression gave nothing away, but after a month of knowing the man, he could recognize tension in the underground hero's pose. Every muscle in his body was wound tight, ready to move at a moment's notice.
Kan was the first to break the silence, slowly marching over to Nezu, who appeared indifferent to the situation. The hulking hero took a deep breath, and leaned down over the diminutive chimera.
"Nezu," he began, voice hoarse with seriousness, "I know I have made this same argument time and time again, but I need you to consider what I am saying right now." Kan takes another deep breath. "This is no longer about the spirit of competition, or the sanctity of the Sports Festival…not anymore." Kan lifts a hand, and points it at the screen, still displaying the still form of Kirishima, breathing shallowly on the concrete.
"You need to disqualify Midoriya…and you need to do it now . I understand you were hesitant before, but the facts are laid out for you, plain as day." Kan slammed both hands on the desk, "Before, he walked the line between necessary force and senseless endangerment…now? Now he has made his side of that line very clear!" Kan had slowly increased in volume, causing the other teachers to break from their stupor, however Nezu still had yet to even acknowledge the man. Maijima, at this point, had stood, moving to intervene.
"Now, hold on. Sure, that seemed…excessive. But I highly doubt it was senseless! Midoriya was going up against a hero course student!"
Kan whirled around to Maijima, his expression morphing into rage. "You are not about to justify that, Maijima! He put a hole into Kirishima's chest! You are trying to tell me that level of violence was justified?!"
Before Maijima could retort, Nezu held up a paw for the first time, eyes closed. After some time of tense silence, Nezu opened his eyes, and addressed Kan.
"...so you are saying that Midoriya's attack was senseless?"
"Yes, now please Princi-"
"I'm afraid I do not agree, Kan."
Kan doubled back, bewildered to silence. All eyes turned to the rodent, as he stood from his seat, and walked across his table.
"While to some, that may have seemed gratuitous, maybe even malicious…I see something different." The principal turns, facing the rest of the teachers, "I see tactics."
Ishiyama interjects, "Principal…are you trying to say Midoriya planned for this?"
"That is exactly what I am saying," Nezu hopped down from the table, moving towards the large viewing window at the front of the booth. "I cannot speak for the rest of you, but over the course of the last two events, we have seen Midoriya's mind at work." Nezu reached the viewing port, and gazed down towards the still silent arena, "He is intelligent, giftedly so…but he is unorthodox. He is adept at thinking outside of normal avenues…likely a learned trait rather than naturally gifted, given his quirk status." Nezu turned around, letting the skyline frame his form.
"And later, we saw his capacity to plan ahead, and find creative and unusual solutions to various problems, using simple tools. Given the time limit on constructing the armour, Midoriya has demonstrated a capacity for using simple tools to solve complex issues, and all with a fairly extreme time crunch."
"Wait," Present Mic interrupts, "What exactly are you getting at?"
"I am saying that given what we know about Midoriya, he would not have constructed this tool if he did not think it was necessary…otherwise it would have been a waste of time, resources, and effort." Nezu gestures to the screen.
Aizawa stands, and moves over to the principal, "So, Midoriya made that item…to specifically counter Kirishima's quirk?"
"Maybe not specifically," Nezu shakes his head, "But it was likely the major driving force of that tool."
"But wait," Ishiyama seemed deep in thought, "By that logic…he would have had to have prior knowledge of Kirishima's quirk…maybe others as well…"
Nezu smiled, "Yes, he did. Because I gave it to him!"
All eyes darted to the Principal, save for Maijima, and a deafening silence followed.
Then, the screams of disbelief started.
A symphony to Nezu's ears.
Chapter 13: Powerless
The class stared down at the arena, in shock at their fallen classmate, currently being carted off to Recovery Girl. They watched as his armoured opponent stomped back down to the tunnel, his footsteps echoing out as he approached the mouth of the dark hallway. Mina immediately got up, running to Recovery Girl's office to go check on her best friend. Everyone else simply stared in shock. Kaminari looked up at the jumbotron, seeing the face of the armoured student staring back at him.
25 seconds…
…In 25 seconds…Midoriya had beaten Kirishima…decisively…
"What…what just happened?"
Kaminari looked at the speaker, Uraraka, who stared down at the arena, her hands covering her mouth. She trembled slightly, the silence of the crowd deafening to the girl.
"I think…Midoriya just won," said Tsu, who was staring at the portrait of the boy in confusion, "...pretty easily, actually, kero."
Kaminari looked over at Sero, who sat staring at the arena floor in shock, "Still think it was an 'easy win'?"
Sero didn't respond, seemingly frozen as he stared down at the battlefield, where their classmate had been so thoroughly thrashed.
Momo had dropped her book, her expression one of disbelief, and maybe some fear. Her mind fired off a mile a minute, trying to process the events of the last fight. That…that was impossible. There was no way a quirkless person could beat a quirked person in single combat…it was infeasible.
She thought back to everything she had read in her books. How the quirkless were physically and mentally inferior to the quirked. Every textbook she had read said the same! She held nothing against the quirkless. In fact, she held an acute fascination for the quirkless…a genetic anomaly. They are strictly less capable than the quirked, at anything beyond menial tasks.
So…how did a quirkless person build something so advanced? Despite its appearance, the suit he wears is fairly complex, and contains a wide variety of equipment and mechanisms that should be beyond the abilities of a quirkless individual.
Unless…he didn't build it…
Of course…it all made sense! Most quirked people couldn't possibly build something so advanced, let alone a quirkless person! He had to have had help, someone who built that suit for him! It was all a ruse! It was even highly likely that somebody was feeding the quirkless boy all his ideas. A quirkless person could never utilise such thought patterns, it was simply scientifically impossible.
Momo looked up at the jumbotron, displaying the bracket for the next fight. She was up next…fighting Sero. Once she beat him, she would be facing off against the quirkless boy then.
Then, she would get her answers.
_________________________________________________________________________
Shinso had conflicted feelings about his former teammate. On one hand, the quirkless boy was undeniably smart, in both mechanics and tactics. The strategy he came up with was amazing…even in the recruitment phase, Midoriya proved that he knew how to think his way out of a problem, even when the odds are against him.
On the other hand, the boy was cold. Sure, he and Shinso had bantered slightly, but it was clear that Midoriya was focused solely on winning the Sports Festival, and going to any length to do so.
Something Shinso sympathised with.
But there was something different about Midoriya, compared to him. Ever since he was a child, Shinso had known he wanted to be a hero, even with his quirk. Despite how hard everyone had tried, Shinso was in U.A., one class transfer away from his dream. This was why Shinso couldn't give up…this could be his only chance to become a hero.
The entrance exam had not been favourable for him. He couldn't use his quirk on the robots, so he had to try and fight them hand to hand…that had not gone well, and in the end he had been well below the cutoff for the hero course. But the Sports Festival offered opportunities for transfers between courses, and in these events Shinso could truly shine.
But while Shinso was fighting to become a hero…he almost got the opposite impression from Midoriya. It was almost like the quirkless boy was fighting in the festival to spite the heroes. The green haired boy was brutal, and efficient. The gadgets that he used were clearly made with specific opponents in mind, as the last fight showed. Had…had Midoriya really made equipment to directly counter the hero course?
What exactly was he trying to prove?
Shinso looked back down to the arena, where two students from Class 1-A were facing off. He supposed it didn't really matter what Midoriya was trying to do…he wouldn't lose to him. He wouldn't lose to anyone else, not when he was so close to his dream. Midoriya was the only one who knew how his quirk truly worked…something the green haired boy had even aided him with, despite it making things easier for somebody who was, ultimately, still an opponent.
'Of course I would want you on my team!'
He really didn't understand Midoriya
'Your quirk is amazing!'
But he also didn't have to.
The fight began, and he watched as a girl with a long black ponytail was immediately restrained by her opponent, some sort of long bands coming from his arms. The girl immediately froze, and tried to plant her feet, but her opponent only used the bands to pick her up and try to spin her out of the arena. She managed to launch something from her foot to stop it, but it was clear she was getting flustered.
Damn, could she not handle pressure?
Eventually, she managed to loosen the bands, which seemed to stick to her body, and produce something from her abdomen with a soft glow. Holding it up, she jammed it into the tape, and Shinso watched as an arc of electricity travelled across it, arcing into the black haired boy, and stunning him long enough for her to cut the bands with a knife.
Shinso got up, walking towards the exit to his class' booth, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Ginji Maeda glaring at him, teeth clenched.
"So," Ginji opens, "you refused to team with me, but chose to team with a quirkless freak, instead?"
At the mention of the word quirkless, Shinso saw some heads turn towards the confrontation, and sighed. Fucking vultures, the lot of them.
"Yeah, I did," Shinso smirked darkly, "y'know…the quirkless kid that beat you within the first 10 seconds of the cavalry battle?"
He saw Ginji's fists clench, but the smirk never left his face. Shinso knew Ginji was all talk. He was proud of his quirk, and his hero father, but not proud enough to attack Shinso. The silver haired boy had already embarrassed himself once today, he knew that responding to Shinso's question would only embarrass him further.
Shinso turned back around to keep walking to the ready area, when he heard one of his classmates shout at him.
"Hey, Shinso, one of these guys could be your opponent down the line…don't you want to see who wins?"
"No," Shinso didn't turn around, "I've seen enough…"
"...and neither of them stand a chance against Midoriya."
_________________________________________________________________________
Midoriya hung his suit onto the rack in the locker room, looking at the bulky armour and sighing to himself. He looked up at the TV in the corner of the locker room, watching the match between Yaoyorozu and Sero play on screen. He knew that he had memorised both of their files, and their battle trial performances, but he still wanted to see how this match turned out. It would be good to measure not only their own personal growth since the battle trial, but also the overall growth of the hero course.
And given what he has seen so far, he could make plenty of observations…all of them bad.
Sero was still rigid, not fully utilising his quirk in this fight…though he must admit, this particular environment is not suitable for Sero's quirk. He is launching ranged attacks at Yaoyorozu, and refusing to move from his spot while he does it. Likely he is trying to concentrate on his target, but in turn, he is letting his opponent control the bulk of the arena. A smart opponent would be joyfully taking advantage of this misplay.
And while Yaoyorozu is certainly intelligent…Izuku hesitates to call her smart .
She clearly had a good grasp of what her quirk could do in a practical sense, but she lacks creativity. Her moves are basic, her technique is by the book, and what little martial arts she seems to know, Izuku swears could be pulled right out of a demonstration video. But that wasn't the worst part.
Despite all of this, the most egregious error Izuku notes is that she still can't think on her feet. The second that Sero puts any amount of pressure on her, she crumbles, flailing around like a fish while she desperately tries to think up a solution. The entire fight, she has been trying to respond to Sero's attacks, and only barely succeeding. The creation quirk user is only fighting defensively, relying on reactionary action to keep herself afloat.
He rolls his eyes, and goes back to checking the systems on his suit. The jackhammer worked great, perhaps more effective than he anticipated, but it was better than it not working at all. He likely caused some significant damage to Kirishima…maybe even caused some serious pain, but it was nothing that Recovery Girl couldn't fix. For now, it was best to focus on what his next opponent would do.
Looking back up at the screen, he notes that Yaoyorozu has finally gotten close enough to Sero, holding up what appeared to be a Matryoshka doll, and throwing it towards him. The doll cracked open, and released a white gas out. He sees Sero start to cough, his eyes growing red and watery.
Tear gas.
Yaoyorozu closed the gap, a gas mask strapped to her face, and began to push the coughing boy out of the arena. With one final shove, Sero tumbled off the side, and Yaoyorozu stood victorious, marking herself as his next opponent.
Izuku nodded to himself. Ultimately the result didn't surprise him, but it did make his next fight more difficult to plan for. As he began to brainstorm ideas, he heard the locker room door open. As Izuku turned, he noticed the figure of Shoto Todoroki standing at the entrance.
"Finally," the heterochromic boy said, "I was looking for you."
Izuku sighed, standing up from his crouch, and turning to the other boy. "You were looking for me? Why?"
Todoroki stared at Izuku with a cold expression, but opened his mouth, "You tricked me before…you and that Shinso boy. I want you to know that that only worked because you had Shinso to do it for you, and that that will not work again."
Izuku rolled his eyes, "If you are trying to intimidate me, you should probably know by now that isn't going to work."
"It isn't intimidation, just a statement of fact. I have spent far too much of my life being controlled, and I'm not going to let anyone do it ever again." Todoroki spoke neutrally, but there was an icy steel in his voice. "I am going to crush Shinso, and then, I am going to crush you. I want you to make sure you understand that."
Izuku's blood starts to boil at the boy's words. He looks over to the silent monitor, noting the match between Shinso and Tetsutetsu just starting, and begins to get impatient. "Is there a point to all this or did you come down here just to whine about the cavalry battle?" Izuku crossed his arms, glaring at the heterochromic boy.
Todoroki shook his head, and continued, "My point is that you have gotten this far because people underestimate you. I will not be making that same mistake, underestimating you would be a miscalculation." Todoroki closed his eyes for a moment, before continuing, "Just know that if you do make it far enough to face me, I will defeat you, just like everyone else. I have something to prove, and I won't let you get in the way of that."
Izuku raised an eyebrow, "So…you came all the way down here to tell me that you aren't going to hold back? Does that mean you are going to use your fire against me, then?"
Todoroki's face twisted into a snarl, "I already told you that I will not use that quirk!"
"And I already told you that that didn't make any sense." Izuku smirked, noticing that he was getting under Todoroki's skin, "You keep saying you're gonna crush me, and that you won't be underestimating me, but then you come back around and tell me you wont even use half your quirk? Talk about arrogance."
"Arrogance?!" Todoroki steps closer to Izuku, bearing down on him like a growling mastiff, "you know nothing about what that quirk did to me! What it stilldoes to me!" Todoroki corralled Izuku on the wall, pressing the boy to the back of the locker room. Izuku felt a spike of panic set in, the one exit to the room far behind Todoroki at this point. He feels his breathing begin to quicken, his heartbeat begin to hammer louder and louder, as the familiar fear sets in.
"Tell me," Todoroki continued, as Izuku tried to calm himself down, "do you know anything about quirk marriages?"
Izuku takes a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling, getting his heart under control. He slowly sidesteps Todoroki, putting his back to the exit of the locker room. "Yeah, they're an old practice, when people are arranged to be married because of quirk compati…bility." The pieces begin to set into place, as Izuku begins to realise what Todoroki was saying.
"Yes," Todoroki says, noting Izuku's realisation, "I am a product of a quirk marriage. My father, Endeavor, bought my mother, and with her, tried to create the perfect heir. Once whose quirk would be perfect, perfect enough to surpass any obstacle…even All Might." Todoroki's eyes glazed over, lost in a memory, "I was trained brutally, every day, Endeavor pushing me to my limit. But it was nothing compared to the abuse my mother went through at the hands of my father…so much so that she couldn't stand the sight of me…of my left side." Todoroki put a hand to his scar, "One day, she snapped, unable to take it anymore. She turned to me, her eyes manic, and poured boiling water on my face."
Todoroki looked towards the screen, "So you see, that's why I have to win…and why I have to do it with my mother's ice alone. I refuse to use his quirk, under any circumstances!" The heterochromic boy clenched his fist, "I am going to prove to that bastard that he doesn't control me…that I'm not his perfect creation. By winning this, and becoming a hero without his fire, I rob him of everything, and prove that I am free of him."
The two boys are silent for a time. Todoroki turned towards Izuku, expecting to see the understanding of his situation clear on his face. But as soon as his eyes fall onto the shorter boy, Todoroki is stunned by his expression, and takes a step back.
Midoriya is glaring at him, teeth clenched, and fists shaking. The boy's posture, which one seemed hunched in on himself, weight pulled behind him, is now hostile. His feet are staggered, and his shoulders are rolled forward, his weight shifted forward. But none of that compared to his eyes. In Midoriya's eyes, Todoroki sees a rage boiling within them that he is entirely unfamiliar with. Where Todoroki was used to quick bursts of spontaneous anger from his father and siblings, the green haired boy's eyes reflect a fire that seems to have been burning for years…a fire that is now swarming out of control.
The shorter boy marched up to Todoroki, grabbing him by the scruff of his collar, and lowering him so that he was eye level with Midoriya, and Todoroki found himself stunned into inaction, following along with the boy's physical commands.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Izuku roars, throttling Todoroki once for emphasis, "That is your big reason for why you refuse to use your quirk?! Because you want to spite your daddy ?!"
Todoroki shakes himself out of his stupor, "I told you, I have to pro-"
"I don't care what you're trying to prove, you moron!" Izuku was raging now, throwing Todoroki back a few steps, "You're telling me that you refuse to use your quirk to its fullest to spite your dad ?! Do you have any idea how disgusting that statement is?!" Tears of long pent up rage began to well in Midoriya's eyes, and Todoroki could tell that he had struck a particularly sensitive nerve.
"Can you imagine what it's like to have no power?! To be born with a quirk that is either unhelpful, outright harmful, or even not having a quirk at all?!" Izuku lets out a barking laugh of frustration, "No, of course you don't, because here you stand, born with the perfect quirk! Complaining to me about it!" Izuku approached Todoroki, "can you even fathom what I would have done for a fraction of what you were bornwith?! And you spit in the face of that, of all of that! And for what? To prove to your father, what exactly?!"
Izuku turned back around, clenching his fists at his side, but seeming to reign in his anger a bit. "Look at yourself, someone who was set up from the start to be an amazing hero, whining to me about how you can choose to not use half your quirk, and doing all of that for as stupid of a reason as trying to spite your dad." Izuku chuckled again, though there was no humour in his voice, "You know what you just showed me? You proved in that moment that if you ever do become a hero, that you will be nothing but a waste of a licence !"
Todoroki had had enough, and began to argue, "I already told you! I don't need his fire to win this, or to be a hero! I never did!"
"The worst part about all of this, is that I know you actually believe that! Well, fine! You want to gimp yourself for your entire life, and let your daddy control you until the day you end up in a grave, be my guest!"
"I'm doing this so that he can't control me!"
"Really?! Is that what you think?! Who am I kidding, of course that's what you think!" Izuku had had enough, moving over to his suit, and beginning to work on it again.
"If you really want to go out there, and let your life be ruled by your own inability to put your pride and feelings aside for the greater good, then fine." Izuku turns away from him, "but when the day comes, not if , but when , that your ice isn't enough, and your little oath leads to the deaths of the people you swore to protect? Just know that it's on you. Not your father, not your mother… you ." Izuku turns around, and smirks to Todoroki, but the heterochromic boy sees nothing but rage and disappointment in his eyes.
"But I'm sure that their families will understand…after all, you made a promise , right?"
Todoroki felt his rage bubbling just under his skin, wanting to be unleashed on the quirkless boy in front of him. How dare he…how dare he! Before he lost himself, he turned away from the boy, just as he heard an announcement ring out. "And…that's it folks! Tetsutetsu just…walked out of the arena! Shinso takes the match! Will the next two competitors make your way to the arena please?!"
Todoroki stomped out of the locker room, eyes zeroing in on the light of the arena at the mouth of the tunnel, and shook his head.
He would prove it…right now, that he will never need that bastard's fire!
_________________________________________________________________________
Mina sat by an unconscious Kirishima, looking down at his healed chest. When she had rushed into the nurses office, she had been expecting a panic. Instead, Recovery Girl seemed calm, maybe even a bit bored. She had also reared her staff back, and smacked Mina on the head for making too much noise.
Mina couldn't get over how effective Recovery Girl's quirk is. Kirishima looked completely fine…and according to the elderly hero, he was. The damage had looked bad, but after a quick smooch to his temple, there wasn't even a mark. Mina had asked to stay with Kirishima, choosing to watch the next few matches from a television screen. Looking back up at said screen, she noticed that Todoroki was standing across from a red skinned boy that she didn't recognize. She knew he was from the support course, clear enough from the plethora of gizmos he had on his person, but other than that, didn't know much about him.
However, seeing Todoroki's expression, she could tell he was upset. Furious, even. Almost instantly after Midnight started the match, a glacier taller than the stadium shot out from Todoroki's right foot, completely encasing the opposite side of the arena in a frozen monolith. The match was called shortly after that, with Todoroki almost seeming to stomp out of the arena, leaving Midnight to call for a break while they thawed out the other competitor.
Jeez…that was fast…
As if on cue, Mina heard someone groan. Her eyes snapped down to Kirishima, who's eyes were beginning to flutter open. He looked around in confusion, taking in his surroundings.
Mina immediately shifted her attention entirely onto the red haired boy, grabbing one of his hands. "Eijiro! Thank god, I was really worried about you!"
"Wh…what happened?"
Kirishima was still slightly delirious, but Mina grabbed his hand, leaning closer. "You uh…you lost. I'm sorry, but that Midoriya kid took the fight way too far!" Mina began ranting, venting her frustrations over that match to the still prone boy, "I mean seriously?! A spike?! He could have killed you! He didn't need to be so excessive abo-"
"Ooooh, I remember now." Kirishima spoke again, lifting a hand to his temple, "yeah…Midoriya really got me, didn't he?"
Mina shook her head, and prepared to defend her friend, but stopped when she heard Kirishima begin to laugh.
"Man, Midoriya really went all out, didn't he?" Kirishima continued to laugh, taking the full situation in, "yeah, he got me good. I'm really impressed! I didn't think he would have a way to break through my quirk like that!"
"Y-you're not upset?" Mina was staring at Kirishima as if he had grown a second head, "I mean, you lost…and Midoriya really hurt you."
"What? Oh, no it's fine." Kirishima shrugged as best he could, laying on his cot. "I mean, I think he broke a few ribs, but ultimately I was more surprised than anything." Kirishima squinted his eyes, trying to recall the details of his defeat, "honestly, it felt more like he knocked the wind out of me, and then knocked me out."
"Eijiro, you had a hole in your chest! You weren't fine! I thought you had been seriously hurt! Or worse!"
"No, it didn't feel that serious. I mean it hurt. A lot. More than anything I had ever felt, actually." He faced Mina fully, smirking to her, "but I'm fine now! See? Nothing to worry about!"
"No offence, but I think I'd rather ask Recovery Girl when she gets back." Mina shook her head, "you have a tendency to downplay your injuries."
Kirishima shrugged, "I think the thing that Midoriya hurt the most was my pride, but that just means I need to work harder, and get better, so that doesn't happen next time!"
"Oh, the patient is awake?" Recovery Girl walked through the open door of the nurses office, a bag in her hands. Walking over to Kirishima, she pulled a few gummies out of the bag, and handed them to him. "Here, these will give you energy."
Kirishima swallowed the gummies, and Mina turned to Recovery Girl. "Is he ok?! Is there going to be any lasting damage?! The injury looked really bad, and I'm just worried that he might have some serious issues!"
Recovery Girl rolled her eyes, "Oh, he's fine, sweetie. Honestly, the injury looked far worse than it was, some major surface damage, sure, but underneath? Nothing more than a few broken ribs."
"R…really?" Mina was in disbelief, they had all seen the wound, but was the damage really so minor?
"Yes, really." Recovery Girl huffed, turning towards an x-ray mounted to Kirishima's bedside, "ribs 3 and 4 experienced a clean break, but most of the damage was done to Kirishima's epidermis. Due to the nature of his quirk, when the skin was cracked, it left some nasty looking markings, but those faded quickly, like a scrape to you or me." Recovery Girl tapped Kirishima's nose, "honestly, I was far more worried about his nose. It was broken pretty badly, and the force of the stomp compounded with the wind being knocked out of him from the initial hit led to Kirishima falling unconscious."
Mina looked like she was buffering, trying to process what Recovery Girl was saying. The doctor sighed, and put a hand on Mina's shoulder.
"The damage, while not insignificant, was nothing life threatening, or permanent. He will be just fine."
Mina let out a breath she was holding, the tension seeming to leave her body. Recovery Girl looked down at their still intertwined hands, and smirked at the two students.
"Kids these days…so bold."
Mina blushed a dark lavender, and quickly yanked her hand away from Kirishima. Recovery Girl rolled her eyes, and gestured to the bracket now displayed on the TV.
"Well, girlie. It seems that you're next up." She turned back to Mina, who had recovered from her embarrassment, "You had better get down to the waiting room."
Mina slapped her forehead, "crap, I forgot!" She bolted up from her seat, but stopped, and turned back to Kirishima.
"Root for me?"
Kirishima smiled at her, "Always."
Mina nodded, taking a deep breath, and heading out of the nurses office, down the hallway and towards her waiting room. She didn't notice, however, the emaciated figure of Toshinori standing on the other side of the doorway, having heard everything that occurred in that room.
"Kirishima…you never cease to impress me."
Toshinori walked away from the room, back to the teacher's booth. He would have to keep an eye on that boy.
He may just be the one.
_________________________________________________________________________
"And with a dynamic attack, Ashido takes the match, knocking Kaminari out of the competition! Well done, girl!"
Present Mic's announcement rings out, but Bakugo doesn't pay it any mind. Instead, he focuses on stretching, preparing for his match. There were still two matches before his, but he didn't care about those extras, or their stupid play fights. He was going to go out there, and wow the crowd.
As he stretched, he was interrupted by a pink haired girl walking down the hall. Bakugo paid the extra no mind as she hummed to herself, reapplying the straps on her little gadgets. Eventually, though, her humming started to annoy him, so he whirled around to the girl, who wasn't even facing him.
"Hey Bubblegum Hair, do you fucking mind?!"
She continued to ignore him, further irritating Bakugo, who marched over to her, and put himself directly into her line of sight. She stopped her humming, and looked up at him.
"Do you need something?"
"Yeah." Bakugo answered, leaning down and glaring at the girl, "I need you to shut the fuck up, your humming is annoying!"
"Oh," she seemed to think to herself for a moment, "In that case, can you leave, my match is after lizard girl and vine girl's match!"
"I don't care when your match is! I'm not leaving, so do me a favour and shut your damn mouth!" Bakugo whirled back around, going back to the middle of the room and trying to get back to stretching, but was stopped when Bubblegum Hair spoke again.
"Wow, you are even worse at listening than Midoriya! Do you need a hearing aid?"
Bakugo whirled around, face twisting into anger. "I can listen fine! I just need you to shut-" He stopped, fully processing her words, "what do you mean, Midoriya?"
"Izuku Midoriya. He is the one with the super cute exo-suit, and he is my classmate!" Mei was not looking at Bakugo, who's fist had begun to clench. "I want to know how he built that. He said he would let me examine his arm!"
"...Are you friends with Deku?" Bakugo spoke slowly, but if Hatsume had been watching him, she would have noted the barely restrained rage.
"Who is Deku?" Mei paid him no mind, only turning away from her inventions when Present Mic's voice rang out. "And just like that Ibara takes the match! Excellent show of power by both competitors, both of you should feel proud!"
"Oooh, I can't wait to show those investors what my babies can do!" Mei got up, and jogged out of the waiting room, leaving Bakugo alone, but instead of getting back to his stretches, Bakugo simply stares at where the girl runs to. He looks up at the bracket on screen, and his face twists into a venomous grin.
"I really hope you win, Bubblegum Hair. Bakugo thought, maliciously, " because after that, you're mine."
_________________________________________________________________________
Uraraka still found herself dumbfounded by the match currently happening on screen. That Hatsume girl was drawing out the fight, and had hacked into the loudspeakers in order to show off her inventions. She felt bad for Iida, he was getting thrown around the arena by some crazy mechanism that Hatsume had made, the apparatus keeping him from falling over the side.
If there was more screaming, Uraraka would almost think it was torture.
Eventually though, the 'match' drew to a close, Hatsume switching off the apparatus, and letting Iida fall off the side of the arena, knocking him out of the competition. The conclusion of that charade lets Uraraka focus on the obstacle currently in front of her.
Katsuki Bakugo.
Uraraka did not hate easily, but Bakugo certainly frustrated her to no end. His attitude was exhausting, and his behaviour was so against what she imagined a hero would be like. But, she couldn't deny, he was strong, possibly the strongest member of their class. His quirk, and technique, are amazing. This would be a difficult fight.
Honestly, she was panicking a bit.
She didn't know how to fight him…not without being able to touch him, but she wasn't about to give up here, not when she still had so much to prove. Maybe if she drew out the match a bit, she could create some ammunition? But how would she do that?
She took a deep breath, hearing Present Mic call her name out. She stepped into the light, looking ahead at her opponent, who stood on the edge of the arena, looking bored. Uraraka clenches her fists, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath, trying to calm her raging nerves. Eventually, she reaches her spot, and Midnight begins her speech for the match.
"Ok, kiddos! I want a good clean fight! If you go out of the-"
Bakugo rolls his eyes, and turns to Midnight, "Oh just call the start of the match! I want to get this over with so I can move on to the next round."
Just like that, Uraraka's nerves were quashed by irritation. Midnight seemed affronted by Bakugo's behaviour, but rolled her eyes.
"Fine, let the match begin!"
Uraraka rushed towards Bakugo, hands outstretched. If she can just get her hands on him, she could win. Bakugo stood in the same spot, hands in his pockets, clearly not taking this seriously, which made Uraraka even more frustrated. Eventually, when she got close enough, Bakugo pulled his hands out, and thrust a palm forward, clipping Uraraka with an explosion. Uraraka stumbled to the side, but went for another strike. Just like before, Bakugo repelled her with an explosion, sending her tumbling to the ground. While Uraraka lay on the floor, she feels a heat approaching her from behind, and rolls to the side, right before Bakugo unleashes an explosion directly where her head once was.
"Is he trying to kill me?!" Uraraka thought to herself, eying the cracked and scorched concrete where she once was.
Cracks…that's it!
Uraraka rolls back over to the other side, and Bakugo unleashes an explosion where she was again. She reaches towards the cracks, and grabs a loose rock, immediately using her quirk on it, and letting it float up. The gravity girl crouches up, getting to her feet, and grabs the rock, throwing it at Bakugo.
She had been practising this technique for a bit. An object while not under the effects of gravity can accelerate indefinitely, so by throwing an object that has no gravity, and then releasing it at just the right moment…
She does just as planned, releasing her quirk on the rock after it accelerates to a high speed, allowing the full weight of the rock to crash into Bakugo's stomach. Bakugo doubles over, surprised by the attack, and she takes advantage of his surprise by picking up another, and doing the same. This time, Bakugo sees it coming, and manages to move out of the way slightly, but not before the rock grazes his temple, cutting him just above the eyebrow.
Uraraka sees shock plain on Bakugo's face, followed by him reaching up and touching the bleeding cut on his temple. A moment passes, and Bakugo's face erupts into pure rage, his eyes filling with red hot anger, and he charges Uraraka. Uraraka tries to grab Bakugo, but he sidesteps, grabbing her forearm, and unleashing a weak explosion onto it. Uraraka cries out as the explosion sears her flesh, but Bakugo follows this move by punching Uraraka just under her jaw, causing her ears to begin to ring.
Again and again, Bakugo relentlessly attacks Uraraka, explosions followed by punches and kicks. The gravity girl tries to defend, but the overwhelming pressure Bakugo puts on her keeps her from being able to regain her balance. Bakugo unleashes one more explosion, blasting Uraraka point blank to her stomach, and knocking her back, falling onto her back. Uraraka tries to get up, but before she can, she hears Midnight call out.
"Uraraka is out of bounds! Bakugo is the winner!"
Uraraka looks down, seeing the painted border of the arena a few inches away from her feet, and her vision begins to swim, exhaustion and the damage from the fight catching up with her. She feels her vision fade, and her body slacken.
"I failed…"
_________________________________________________________________________
Bakugo reaches up, and touches the cut on his forehead again. He looks up at the scoreboard, seeing as his name moves forward to the next match. The crowd cheers for him, praising his efforts, but he can't pay them any mind. Instead, his vision locks onto the clock in the corner of the arena.
1 minute, 18 seconds.
He grits his teeth, pressing a hand to his forehead, and walks out of the arena. Deku had won his match faster than he did, that fucking cheater. Not to mention Gravity Bitch had managed to hit him with one of her pathetic attacks.
He was distracted by Bubblegum hair! Yeah! Deku must have sent her into his waiting room to throw him off! That fucker had been hoping he would be preoccupied and Gravity Bitch could take him out! Probably gave her that strategy with the rocks too. Quirkless little shit was so afraid he needed to try and sabotage Katsuki.
He looked back at the unconscious girl, and smirked.
"Not that it mattered. I'm too good to lose to shitty little tricks like that."
He looked up at the brackets. The quarterfinal was next, and he saw the face of Bubblegum Hair paired up with him.
Deku is a worthless, pathetic loser. Anyone who actually would want to be friends with him? They're equally as worthless, and pathetic.
Well, if Bubblegum Bitch wants to try and make him slip up, he just needs to make sure she doesn't ever forget her place.
On the ground, under his boot.
Just like all the other worthless people in the world.