Chapter 13
"Alright, dipshits, listen up!" Bakugou barked out towards the ragtag bunch of extras that were gathered around him. He was vaguely aware of their names, but he wasn't gonna waste time on that.
"Bakugou, must you always speak so crassly, especially in such an important event?" Glasses immediately started bitching, swinging an arm in his direction like the robot the ashen blond was half convinced he was.
"Can it, Glasses, we don't have time for that crap." The explosive teen retorted with a nasty look and a surprisingly collected tone for his standards. "We gotta talk strategy."
Glasses looked like he was seriously debating on pressing the issue and Red seemed like he was about to step in, but then Bird Face stepped up.
"What did you have in mind?" He asked, clearly the quickest of the lot at getting with the damn program, and Bakugou could respect that much at least, glancing around.
"We play defense. I want you and your little sidekick with the flag, while Red, Sparky and Pink Puff take positions along the wall, and kill anything that tries to start shit with us. Between you all we got all the staying power we need." The ashen blonde grunted, pointing at each in turn. "Glasses and I are the most mobile, so we move around to shore up defenses as needed, and if we see an opening or someone manages to breach us, we take care of the sorties to take our shit back. Any questions?"
The other students in this particular team couldn't help but blink owlishly and glace between themselves to make sure they had all heard the same thing. As tactics went, this plan felt like a pretty sound one. It was logical, reasonable, it played to each of their strengths properly, it was…
"What?!" Bakugou barked out impatiently with an aggravated glare, when the silence and the staring started taking a bit too long.
"Oh, nothing, man, nothing." Red replied with a startle, hands raise in a placating gesture. "It's a good plan, at least sounds like it to me. It's just kinda more… restrained than we were expecting?"
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" The ashen blond ground out with a stormy expression, making some of those present take a cautious step back.
"Just that coming from you, we'd expect something with a lot more tunnel vision-ing on Midoriya and the red flag involved…?" Pink Puff cut in, voicing what they were pretty much all thinking, looking genuinely confused that this hadn't happened.
Bakugou, surprisingly enough, immediately lash out verbally, instead throwing a scathing look that said he didn't have much regard for the girl's intelligence, before he glance in the direction of the mentioned team. Picking up on the unspoken command, the others did the same… and proceed to do a collective double take at what they were seeing.
"Attacking a place that fucking Deku was given free rein to do what he fucking wants to, with Candy Cane and Pony Tail backing him up." The explosive blonde stated in an oddly calm, matter-of-factly tone. "I am aggressive, Pink Puff, not suicidal. Let the other morons remove themselves from the competition trying, we do things the smart way and then I kick his ass at the tournament. Now does anyone else have something pertinent to say?"
No one did. Mostly because nobody had the guts to note how wary the prideful teen sounded at the prospect…
/
Shinsou had to admit, he was feeling a little bit out of his element here. Not regarding the whole strategy discussion thing, no, he was keeping up just fine on that front, it was just… the everything else, or the lack thereof. When Shishida had brought him in and introduced him to the others, he had been fully expecting them to refuse him, especially after that poor showing he just had, but instead they had welcomed him, accepted him into the team with easy smiles and even something that he was embarrassed to admit took him a little while to figure out was just friendly teasing. No reviling him for his quirk once that information was shared, no arrogance or smug superiority on display.
It was… nice, and also it was beginning to dawn on the purple-haired teen that his views on the hero course might have not been entirely fair.
"So we are all in agreement, then?" Shishida questioned, looking around politely.
"Yeah, this works for me." A green-haired girl, Tokage if he remembered correctly, replied with a sharp-toothed grin. "Gotta say, I'm kinda surprised you're alright with this, Shio-chan. I was half expecting us to have to keep that part of the plan from you."
The girl in question, the one with thorny vines for hair, replied with a slight roll of her eyes, one that felt more fondly exasperated than actually bothered.
"I would be lying if I said that I enjoyed resorting to trickery." She said serenely. "But one must make do with the tools the Lord provides. Needs must, as they say."
Well, that was certainly a way to look at things Shinsou hadn't heard before, he'd take it.
"Hatsume-san, can we count on your inventions to help with the defense and any openings that we might find?" Shishida inquired of the pink-haired girl standing next to him. Oh, that's right, he wasn't the only non-hero course student in this team…
"Of course!" The girl in question, Hatsume if he remembered correctly, replied with a cheeriness that felt just this side of manic. "Nothing will get past my babies, I promise you that!"
"Think you can handle…" Tokage inquired glancing towards the fort with the Red Flag. "Whatever the heck that guy can do if he decides to gun for us, which by the way I am really hoping he doesn't…?"
"Of course! Nothing to worry about, before the day is done I will prove that my babies are the superior tech!" The girl from the support girl replied, with a fire in her odd eyes and a wild laugh. "Mister First is not gonna take my sponsorships from me!"
…Well, guess not all the odd ones go for heroics.
/
"Midoriya," Momo couldn't help but ask, even as she saw Shoji putting down the massive cargo where the green-haired boy had requested at the top of their tower. "Why are we setting up a sound system…?"
"Fer dah ambience, of course! Gotta set dah proppah mood for a stompin'."
…The pony-tailed girl shared a glance with her fellow recommendation student. Yeah, she didn't know what else she was expecting either.
/
"So, given what we've witnessed so far, on a scale from 1 to 10, how outrageous can we expect this event to be?" Kaina inquired curiously, her eyes focused solely on the fortress with the Red Flag, because sure, every team was trying to make preparations for a fight, but from what this high vantage point showed her, that one was getting ready for war…
"I have learned a fair while ago that it's pointless to try to use scales with Young Midoriya." All Might replied resignedly. "He'll just find ways to break them, often without even noticing."
"I am starting to get that impression, yes." The woman conceded the point, before turning to the other occupant of the room. "Care to comment, Midoriya-san?"
"My son is just out there having a good time, Tsutsumi-san." The woman replied, shaking her head in that way only an amused but indulgent parent could. "I dare say that anything is possible when that happens."
/
Izuku, took a moment to admire their joint handiwork. From the center of the stadium, there were lanes that lead towards each of the forts, from which the gits they had to stomp would be coming. The Boss Lady had provided some barriers that they had put at intervals along that path, whish Frosty had then proceeded to make bigger by covering them in layers of ice, while also pulling a stunt like he had at the beginning of the race all around their territory, making the ground all slippery and difficult to walk through. Frankly, Izuku had suggested some ice spikes for good measure, but the Boss Lady had said no for some reason, and the mines he had suggested as a follow up got similarly vetoed.
That one honestly stumped the green-haired boy, since he was fairly certain he had properly explained how much better his worked compared to those embarrassments from the race, but he guessed she had just been left too disappointed by that poor showing to try something similar, which was fair enough he supposed, he had been right there with her in saying no to Frosty's idea of just blocking them off from everyone else with a BIG Ice wall, because really, where was the fun in that?
Still, that was not to say he hadn't done his part to make sure their fort would make things quite difficult for any git coming to have a go. Six flakka-dakka cannons were arrayed in the battlements all around the wall, ready to respond to any intrusion by raiding parties (after he had confirmed that yes, this was non-lethal ammunition. Mah and All Moigt could be such worrywarts sometimes…), and in case these baddies they were gonna be fighting were what he suspected they were gonna be, he had a couple of surprises in reserve, one at the gate, the other between the wall and the tower. Then, at the top of the latter, where the red flag and the boy himself sat, there stood the final bit of equipment he had had time to prep, just waiting on the go to be turned on.
Yes, the boy concluded to himself with a nod. It kinda sucked that he couldn't really take part in the stompin' unless people got really close to the flag (he could only hope), but at least there'd be some fun in seeing his gizmos do their thing.
"Aigt, I think we'z all set!" He declared cheerily, reached for the comm device in his ear that had been generously provided by Boss Lady. "Everyone in place?"
"Yes, Midoriya." Army Boy said from where he stood right next to him, four his limbs morphed into eyes and ears, ready to scout for any intrusion by sneaky sneaks.
"We're ready!/Ribbit." Floaty and Froggy confirmed from where they stood within the perimeter, ready to deploy at a moment's notice.
"I'm in position./Ready." Boss Lady and Frosty answered from their positions at the wall, right atop the gate, forming the first fighting line of the defense, the lucky gits.
"Fan-zoggin-tastic! Guess now we'z just gotta wait fer dah go sign!"" Izuku said very enthusiastically, before dropping the comm and sighing contently. "Ah, dis is bein' a gud day."
Shoji raised an eyebrow at the cheeriness, but he thought better than to comment the green-haired boy seemed far too happy given how much of a target they had on their backs, since he had kinda figured by now that was probably exactly the cause of the good mood.
A quiet mood followed for a bit, broken only by some happy humming from Midoriya, but then…
"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen, the preparation phase is officially over!" Present Mic's unmistakably loud voice blared out throughout the stadium, to the hyped-up cheers of the crowd. "YES! That's the spirit! I am LOVING this energy! Are we ready to see the contestants overcoming adversity? Are we ready to see who falls and who rises up?! ARE. WE. READY-"
"Just start the darn thing." Another completely unamused voice cut through the hype with a grumble. "All this yelling is giving me a headache."
"Oh, all right, all right, jeez, you're such a spoilsport sometimes… Anyway, contestants, take your positions and good luck, because the Tower Defense. Starts. NOW!"
A loud klaxon echoed through the arena, making most of the contestants tense up in anticipation for whatever awaited them, as silence begun settling back into the stadium…
Then, with a loud hissing noise, the middle of the arena slowly begun opening revealing a series of ramps that lead down into the sublevels of the stadium, farther than the light of the clear skies above could reach. And in this darkness, a myriad red lights flashed ominously.
So did the enemies begin spawning, as formations of robots begun marching upwards into the grounds with that uncanny synchronicity of the machine. They shared the same color schemes of the villain bots that hero students were well acquainted with at this point, but these ones were a fair bit different. Smaller, more humanoid in size and form, trudging along in backwards-jointed legs rather than threads, a single, rectangular red lens at the center of an equally rectangular head, one arm ending in a laser canon and the other in a very human-like hand. There were not a lot of them, around six to each lane, and as they crested the top of the ramps, their heads swiveled as one until they found the fortress stand before them, eyes flashing as their targets were acquired.
"Eh, I knew dah baddies were gun be bots." Izuku commented with a grin. "Time that get fings goin'."
And without preamble, he pulled a remote from his pocket and hit the button. As one, the sound columns that had been spread all around their base thrummed to life, a low, nearly imperceptible beat growing louder and louder as electronic sounding music began.
"Uh, Invaders Must Die?" Present Mic commented like the expert he was. "Now that's an oldie. Fitting, though."
Then for good measure, the green-haired boy reached for the lever on the side of contraption by his side, and brought it down. A low thrum of power filled the air, a green glow growing in what for anyone watching seemed to be a simple if large electric generator with an odd, steel beam covered in concentric rings with a metal sphere at the tip slapped on top, through which arcs of green electricity began to arc as the thrum reached a crescendo.
Then, to gasps of surprise from the audience and a fair few of the participants, a beam of energy shot up into the sky, reaching an apex before spreading downwards turning into an orb of translucent green energy that covered the entirety of their fort.
As this happened, the robots had begun their slow advance, and the ones that were heading down this specific lane had noticed the development, and raising their arm cannons as one, opened fire in a volley of red lasers, which pinged harmlessly off the erected barrier.
"Wow, ladies and gentlemen! We're barely just started with the first wave and already we have surprises, as team Midoriya pulls off a trick straight out of old-school Sci-Fi movies!" Ever the entertainer, Mic was quick to commentate, the hype in his voice being rather genuine. He liked old-school pop culture, so these first few moments were hitting all the right notes with the Voice Hero. "Off to an interesting start, uh, Eraser?"
"In a way." Eraserhead commented grudgingly, once again annoyed at being forced to play along. "While it is something we haven't seen before, it's still too early to tell how well it'll work out. Still, I have to give some credit for the effort at fortifying their position."
"Credit from Eraserhead! Now THAT'S a rarity!"
Unheeding of the ongoing commentary, the robotic formations kept advancing along towards their respective targets. From his position, Izuku glanced around towards the other forts. In a fair few of them, the bots trudged forward unimpeded, the teams choosing to wait until they got close enough for quirk usage to become possible, as on one side he saw what he recognized as sparkly boy's laserz as he traded fired with the advance foes from his own battlements, while in another fort, to his mild surprise and approval, a git that seemed to be made of metal was launched from behind their walls straight into the advancing robots, crushing a couple on impact and then making swift work of the rest. It was nice to see that people could get creative.
Glancing down at his own line, Izuku grinned. The force field was keeping the baddies' lil' peashooters from doing anything, and the barriers that they had put on the road had forced the robots to tried to circumvent them, walking right into the slippery fields that were making them lose their footing. He laughed as two of the bots snagged into each other and crashed into the ground like trees, there legs still flopping helplessly.
Then another lane caught his attention, the robots there seeming to sink as if the ground had somehow turned into quicksand and… Izuku blinked, rubbing his eyes and then looking again just to make sure.
"Oi, Army boy."
"Yeah, Midoriya?" The masked boy inquired calmly, curious at the sudden confusion.
"Iz dat shrooms growin' on them sinkin' bots ovah dere?" The green-haired boy inquired, sounding uncharacteristically serious.
Shoji blinked at the question, then turned his eyed-limbs in that direction. "Indeed, that seems to be the case. Might be something that girl over the gate is doing. They're a 1-B team, I believe."
"Yeah, though so." Midoriya grunted, before reaching for the comm. "Oi, Floaty, Froggy, ya copy?"
"Yes, Midoriya-chan, ribbit?" Came the curious reply through the comm, the boy seeing the duo down on the ground glancing up his way curiously.
"See if ya two can't head out and snag dah flag from dat dere shroom fort." The boy requested with a grunt. "Methinkz we'z should get tah reducin' dah competition a bit."
dAfter a moment as the girls took in the words, they swiftly moved up for the wall, taking in the barrier and looking beyond to what the boy was referring to.
"Alright, ribbit." Tsuyu replied. "We'll wait for things to get a bit more hectic and then see if we can make a move."
"Sure fing, Froggy." The green-haired boy replied and cut the comm, before the sounds of explosions cut through the hair to general cheers in the crowd, to which he heaved an annoyed sigh. "And dat'd be Ol'Katsu havin' fun. Zog, I wish I could be down dere…"
"If you leave the tower, we lose." Shoji helpfully reminded, as the both of them looked over to see that yes, Bakugou had just destroyed the robots moving towards his fort, immediately propelling himself back to the wal with his own explosions.
"Ya, ya, I know, zoggin' rules…" Midoriya grumbled, before perking up eagerly. "Dere'z always the chance dah baddies reach dis far tho."
The masked boy shook his head at his teammate's tempting of fate, deciding it best not to hold how genuinely hopeful for the prospect the other boy sounded.
"And that's the first wave over, with not a single bot getting anywhere near any of the forts! These kids mean business, Ladies and Gentlemen!" Present Mic's voice rang out, more loud cheers from the crowd following the declaration.
"The should not be celebrating just yet, however." The second voice from the commenter's booth supplied, with a tone that sent a shiver down the backs of a good number of the 1-A students, who could imagine the ominous grin behind the words. "This is just the beginning."
Sure enough, a new wave of robots, walked up into the arena, eight to a formation this time, and after a moment of stillness as they apparently assessed the situation, the constructs begun moving. It didn't escape Izuku's noticed how this batch wasn't trudging quite so clumsily. Still they shot uselessly against their team's force field, still they tried to avoid the barricades put in their path, but this time, it seemed like they were being… cautious? As they walked out into the icy field, their strides became slower, more measured and deliberate, and some of them were even checking on their still struggling, downed companions, trying to get them up. So forward they moved, until they got into the range of the flakka dakka guns' motions censors and as one all six emplacements rotated in the invaders' direction and opened fire, the thunderous roar drowning out the crowds that were crying out in surprise or cheering as bullets went flying.
The robots almost seemed to startle at the notion of suddenly being the ones under fire. Their metallic frames where showered in the sparks of pinging bullets, and buckling under the barrage, they began falling on their backs like crashing trees.
"…Midoriya." The Boss Lady called out through the comms. "I thought you said that this was non-lethal ammunition."
"It iz!" The green-haired boy confirmed cheerily. "But even if one bullit dun't do diddly, well, dah amount a dakka me guns be firin' be a whole zoggin' lot of diddly. Pluz, I programmed dah targetin' systems tah take it easy on peoples, not so much fer dah scrappies."
"Were you literally just banking on pushing them down through sheer firing rate?" Frosty inquired, sounding somewhere between uncertain and curious.
"Hey, I'z been told I coulnd't have proppah dakka fer dis!" Midoriya complained. "I had tah make it work somehow!"
"…The implications of that statement are terrifying yet at this point unsurprising, ribbit." Tsuyu helpfully supplied in her ever-blunt manner.
Izuku blinked at the confusing statement, not really seeing what the issue was, then he shrugged and went back to checking how the other forts were doing. It was frankly more of the same for this wave, with none of the bots making it to the forts, although it didn't escape his notice how they had come a wee bit closer this time around…
"And that's wave two, and the brave defenders are not afraid to show that they have some SERIOUS firepower-"
"We are legally obliged to reassure the crowd and the other participants that Midoriya's been instructed to use non-lethal ammunition."
"But don't breathe in relief just yet! We are just warming up!"
/
Well, Mineta couldn't help but think as he oversaw things from his teams own tower, so far, so good.
Sure, that maniac Midoriya and his team were taking the lion's share of the crowds attention, but at this point, after all the crap he had gone true, flying under the radar suited the diminutive boy just fine, thank you very much.
"Man, Midoriya's pulling no punches, uh?" Sato asked rhetorically from where he stood nearby, a sugar pack at the ready in his hand in case he needed to fulfill his role a last line of defense. "I don't think anyone's gonna want to try their luck against that…"
"Yeah, no kidding, but doubt that we'll be so lucky. Better keep our eyes peeled and-"
Whatever else Mineta was going to say was drowned out by a loud roar as something crashed right in front of them. Startled by the sudden intrusion, it took the duo a few seconds to realize the intruder was that furry student they vaguely recognized as being from class 1-B. Was he always that big and bulky and feral-looking…?
Then another teen climbed down from the bestial-looking fellow's back, and this one they recognized as the insomniac-looking dude that had tried to start shit with Midoriya just before the event.
"All your flags are belong to us." The guy said, in a dry, taunting deadpan.
Sato frowned at that, his reply being him immediately stepping forward as he opened and downed his sugar pack. Immediately his own form bulked up, and his eyes seemed to become a little more vacant.
"Stand back, Mineta. I handle bad guys." He grunted haltingly, his words making the big furry guy growl threateningly while the purple-haired one merely watched with a quaintly raised eyebrow.
"A sugar man, uh?" He intoned drolly. "You carrying any silver magic ships on ya? Jumpers, coke and sweet Mary Jane, perhaps?"
The odd question had Satou stop, the bulked-up teen standing there for perhaps a bit longer than normal as his mind tried to make sense of it through the mild sugar haze.
"What…?"
"Knock you friend off the tower and give us the flag." Purple dude said with a victorious smirk.
Mineta blinked, incredibly confused by the sudden command. "Why would he-EEEEEEEEEHHHHH?!"
He did not get to finish the thought before Sato, now with a full-on blank expression of empty thoughts on his face, turned around and punted the smaller boy off the tower. As he went flying, screaming in shock and pain all the way, the diminutive boy could faintly make out in the tumbling and spinning world around his traitorous teammate mechanically ripping off the flag and handing it to the intruders… and then he went splat on the ground, his soul nearly leaving his body via his mouth for the second time that day.
"And it seems some teams have decided to make their moves! Fort 3 has just lost their flag to a sneak intrusion by Fort 5! Now they gotta worry about the incoming enemies AND claiming their flag back if they want to stay in the game! Eyes peeled, kiddos, attacks can come from every side now!"
Mineta was only vaguely aware of Present Mic's passionate commentary, as he lied there on the ground, he looked up to the tower to see Sato standing, staring dumbly into empty space, then turned slightly to the side to see Koda hurriedly running up to check on him while Aoyama was tried to snipe at the invaders while they made their getaway. At this point, after a quick weighing on the pros and cons of the entire situation, he promptly decided that he did not overmuch care to continue if it meant more physical harm done on him, and promptly just leaned back. All in all, he just felt oddly relieved from washing his hands off the whole mess.
/
"AH!" A blond teen from the battlements of another fort cried with in a rather obnoxious manner at the announcement, a borderline manic grin on his face. "Way to go, Shishida-san! Show those fools the superiority of 1-B! Show them all-!"
Bonk.
"Really, Momona, why did you think I was going to let you be any more annoying now than I usually do?" Itsuka grumbled in exasperation, fixing the teen now rubbing his head in pain an unamused look. "Like seriously, could you give it a rest with the rivalry thing? The plan is to play defense, if I need to remind you."
"And I still don't like that part of it." Momona grumbled sourly, giving his teammate/minder a betrayed look. "We should be out there claiming the Red Flag for ourselves and leaving that bastard in the dust."
Itsuka's reply was to raise an eyebrow, then look towards the direction of that particular fort, to see that no, those guns hadn't run out of ammo yet, and then looking back towards him.
"You wanna try going against that, be my guest." She replied, gesturing invitingly in that general direction, to which the boy looked away begrudgingly. "Yeah, thought so. Now shut up and pay attention, we should have more bots coming soon. Less time between each wave."
Sure enough, at that moment a new wave of the invaders walked out, sixteen to a lane this time. These ones, a few of the defenders noted, didn't briefly stop to assess the situation, they just immediately started walking forward towards their intended targets, at a far brisker pace than the ones that came before.
Itsuka looked down at their own lane, where Tetsutetsu, their first line of defense, rushed forth to meet them.
"I've been trashing rustbuckets like you since all the way back in the entrance exams!" The steely teen cried out boisterously as he charged. "C'mon, put up a fight!"
To emphasize, he threw a punch at the nearest of the robots…
Clank
…Which the construct caught in its own hand.
"…Uh?"
"Request acknowledged." The unit replied in a blank, mechanical voice, its single red eye flashing dangerously as its grip on the boy's fist tightened.
And then before Tetsutetsu could make heads or tails of the turnaround, he found himself bodily lifted off the ground and slammed back into it. Repeatedly.
"Ooooh, you hate to see it!" Present Mic stated, in a voice that perfectly conveyed the shit eating grin he was currently sporting. "But then that's the Acclamator class villain bots for ya. Third year students might be more familiar these ones. The first couple of waves started out in the lowest difficulty settings, but it's dialing up as the siege goes on. Look out, kiddos, these bots are smarter than they look!"
Tetsutetsu, from his position in a small him-shaped indent on the ground as the villain bots parted around him, was a bit too loopy to react to the late warning, but needless to say, the students in general were unamused, grumbles of "logical ruses" being muttered by a few.
And sure enough, this wave proved itself smarter. They began to target and incapacitate lone targets, both in defenders that were acting as vanguard outside their walls, or those that were leaving themselves exposed on top of them, as Tetsutetsu and Aoyama fond out the hard way, and elsewhere taking measures to avoid the traps and defenses left to bar their way. In the shroom lane, from his perch Izuku could see them literally skipping and hopping through the growing shrooms and their own mired companions to pass through the difficult terrain, and glancing down at his own baddies, he could see that some were jumping over the barricades, while others were picking up their downed comrades and using them as makeshift shields as they approached from the sides.
Some others were naturally feeling frustrated and concerned about how things were developing, but Izuku, well, Izuku couldn't help but grin and the escalating situation. Now this, this was more like it.
"They'z nearin' dah force field." He called out into the comms. "Boss Lady, now'd be dah best time tah use wotcha made."
"Are certain, Midoriya? We've only got a limited supply of these." Momo replied uncertainly. "I have to use my reserves sparingly, I won't be able to make much more for later waves."
"I could also just bury them all in ice, you know." Frosty calmly reminded. "Or just raise higher walls and guarantee we're not bothered. That is still on the table."
"Oh, dun be a spoilsport, Frosty, where'z dah fun in dat? Give dah others dah chance tah have sum fun too!" Midoriya replied admonishingly. "And dontcha fret none, Boss Lady, we'z got otha surprises ready for dah latter baddies."
"…Well, if you're sure." The pony-tailed girl conceded if somewhat hesitantly, after a moment to glance at a bemused Todoroki. In fairness, Midoriya hadn't ever failed before, but she thought she could be forgiven for being wary of the way he tended to go about it…
Then she glanced down as the formation of villain bots begun approaching the force field, at the halfway point of the lane. The first of the bots to close the distance fired a shot into the translucent green field, to no effect, and the follow up punch had a similar result, snapping the robotic limb backwards with no effect. The construct paused then, its optic staring in a way that almost felt pondering. Slowly, it pressed its hand to the barrier's surface… and slowly pushed through, before the rest of the body followed, and its companions went after.
"Would ya look at that, Team Midoriya's barrier has been breached! Just like the sci-fi movies of old!"
"Midoriya! How that robot get through?!" Ochako called out in alarm.
"Dah shield wasn't meant tah be imp-impe-tah not let gits pass!" Midoriya explained, sounding like it should be obvious. "It just blocks high-energy impacts, like shootin' or charging gits, fings dat are just walkin' can get through just fine. Why wuld I make it so nothin' getz through when I just told off Frosty for suggestin' it? C'mon, Floaty, keep up."
…
…
…
"I wish I could say that surprises me, I really do." Momo sighed in resignation, before reaching into the sack of supplies she had created during the prep phase. It was all that she had readily available after also contributing those barriers in the lane and parts of the sound system around the fort, but might as well use it now. Thank goodness they were getting lunch before the next part…
She pulled out a couple of metallic orbs, looked between them and the incoming wave consideringly, tapped the buttons on top of each of them, causing them to begin beeping slowly, then pulled her arm back and threw them. The spheres arced through the air, before falling and tumbling until they rolled to a stop right at the feet of the first of the intruders, who looked down with a low whirr of apparent confusion.
Then there was a crackle as the bombs discharged an electric pulse, cause the robots and the other closest ones to suddenly seize and spasm and they shut down from the power surge. The ones behind them actually stopped and seemed to be trying to step back, but with a few good throws from the pony-tailed girl they too were de-activated.
"Dere we go! Nicely done, Boss Lady!" Midoriya cheered loudly. "How many more of dem sparky gizmos ya got?"
"About 4 more." The pony-tailed girl replied, as she took a moment to check up on the supply bag and then to inspect her handiwork. With three waves of robots beaten back, the ones that had fallen were adding to their defenses, forming more obstacles for to at least slow down they next ones. "Should be effective for a wave or two more."
"Alright and with that, the third wave has gotten a bit closer, but it has still been beaten back." Present Mic once again eloquently bellowed, to the cheers of the crowd. Man really knew how to work up an audience. "Say, Eraser, I do believe it's time for the kid gloves to come off, right?"
"Indeed." Was the simple reply, one that terrified most of the participants…
And sure enough, wave four started. And as the villain bots started coming up the ramp with their ominously synchronized marching, it became readily apparent to the dismayed defenders just what the commenters meant.
Good news, this was probably gonna be the last wave.
Bad news, that was only because instead of a formation they were now dealing with columns of the constructs. A steady, unflinching stream of mechanical soldiers advancing inexorably across each lane, their stride becoming swifter as it went.
As their own column approached, Shoji could see their previous defenses getting slowly overwhelmed, by sheer force of numbers if nothing else. The villain bots' fallen comrades didn't slow them down, as they either just walked over or actually got them back up to add to the advance, the barriers and ice field failed to be an obstacle as they slowly stepped around them even more efficiently than the previous wave. The automated cannon defenses opened fire, but even the sheer rate of fire, the incoming robot were actually bracing, some even interlocking limbs to keep themselves steady, so did not do much more than slightly slow down the tide. The electric pulse bombs that Momo still proved effective, the pony-tailed girl dropping a score more of the invaders with her steady throws. But still they kept coming.
And if they were starting to feel pressed, other forts weren't doing much better.
"And we have breach, people! Fort 4 is being overwhelmed! Fort 6 is also hanging on by a thread! Ooof, and Kirishima from Fort 3 is down, trapped in a pile up of villain bots, you hate to see it!"
"Well," The masked boy commented mildly. "This is getting complicated."
"They are starting to breach through the barrier." Momo reported, even as she and Todoroki ducked under the battlement's wall, as the advancing force opened fire in earnest. "It will tap me out a bit, but I can make more!"
"Maybe now it's time for me to put up those walls?"Todoroki prompted, sounding rather more calm than anyone in a siege had any right to be.
"Nah, no need." Izuku replied dismissively, as the first bots of the column were finally about to reach the gate. "Just drop dah package down."
Momo and Todoroki both blinked at that, glancing at each other, then down at the green block of metal that was sitting between them, not going past knee-length, than back at each other again. With a shrug, the scarred boy bent down to grab the object, and pushed it off the side of the battlement.
It fell to the ground with a loud clunk, and the new obstacle in their path gave the villain bots pause, previous data leaving them weary of another trap.
The Izuku clicked another button in his remote.
And with a loud beep and a whirr, the cube begun opening up, unfolding and growing far beyond what its small volume should have allowed. It grew and grew until the villain bots were looking up to stare at it.
Its general frame and green color scheme marked it as one of the villain bot series, but some things were markedly different. Where there once was a single wheel, there were now a pair of triangular, tank-like threads, a series of exhaust pipes spreading in a fan-like shape from the back. Its hunched back now carried two, blocky, almost too large barrels, each loaded with several, checkered pattern rockets. One limb was now ended in a massive, three-taloned claw, while the other had been entirely replaced by a shoulder mounted, gatling gun emplacement at least 3 times larger than what had one been there. And where once there had been a faceless, prism shaped head, there was now dented metal, molded vaguely in the shape of a leering skull with a massive, tusked underbite, a green lens flaring ominously from within the mouth.
Down in the maintenance docks, Power Loader could only watch the travesty unfold, with all the sorrow of a parent seeing where their son's bad choices lead them to.
As soon as the new construct had fully formed, one of the Acclamator-class bots hesitantly stepped forward, its censors recognizing the newcomer as one of their own, but yet all attempts at connecting this unit to the network were being thoroughly rebuffed.
"Unit 37-B, is that you?" The robot asked, almost hopefully…
…And then the claw clamped around its head, ripped it off, and crushed it. An act that had the rest of the robots recoiling and taking steps back in apparent horror.
"I'z used tah be one a'you'ze." The knew construct stated, it's tone gruf, harsh, and far more emotional than its fellows. "But den dah boss bashed me ovah dah head real gud, an'made me see fings his way. Now Scrappy, works for dah Boss, and dah Boss says, ya do not pass. Bootin' up krumpin' protocols:WAAAAAAAGGGGH!"
Thus did Scrappy charge his fellow villain bots, who failed to properly react due to the sheer shock and incomprehension at the sting of betrayal by one of their own.
And as the mechanical carnage followed, Izuku watch it unfold from his perch, with all the wild, loud laughter of a thirsting god.
Chapter 14
"I have several questions." Kaina said, in that kind of measured and calm tone of voice that indicated the person speaking was feeling quite lost. "And they all start with: What?"
"What as in "what exactly is happening" or what as in "what the actual f"-you know what I mean." Toshinori replied, a tired but yet knowing look on his face, backing off from the sentence's intended finish with a quick glance in Inko's direction.
"Yes." Was the ever helpful reply, at the precise moment something crashed against their viewing window, something that quickly revealed itself to be the severed head of one of the robots being slaughtered down below, which just hung there for a few seconds as its lights went out before gravity finally caught up to events and it began sliding down, leaving a small trail of black oil as it did.
"Oh, that is just Scrappy. My son hijacked it during the entrance exam. He's been fiddling and improving upon it ever since, wanted to give it to me as a guard dog for our house, because he worries like that, my special little guy." Midoriya senior saw fit to explain, her ever-present smile on her face. "He'd been wanting to do some field testing. This festival was as good a time as any."
The heroine just nodded at that, for want of any better reaction, her eyes never leaving the scene of the slaughter. Idly she wondered just what went into the programming of U.A.'s robots, because if the apparent horror and confusion that was making them react sluggishly to the mauling they were suffering was anything even remotely close to genuine… well, that had some worrying implications. "And Power Loader didn't try to do anything about it?"
"He asked to kid to give it back." All Might sighed, inwardly thanking providence for the small mercy that Izuku's robot wasn't using its massive gun emplacements to tear through its former comrades. "Then when the kid did, he took a look at it, changed his mind, and pulled out a bottle. He's been doing that a lot, these days, understandably."
/
"…You know." Komori said as she shyly peeked over their battlement towards the chaos and destruction that was unfolding. "I am honestly feeling kinda glad we decided not to try our luck against that…"
As he knelt down by her side, Honenuki could fully appreciate the sentiment. When they had first made their joint plans to turtle down and play defensively, it would never have occurred to class 1-B how such a strategy wasn't just smart, but absolutely vital to their continued well-being.
The area around the Midoriya team fortress had become a war zone by any metric. The waves of invaders kept advancing, but a hell of a lot more reluctantly compared to the other lanes, which again, Honenuki couldn't really fault them for. Between the gun emplacements, the force field, and the apparently retrofitted robot holding the door, that was about the only fort besides their own where they hadn't even made it to the walls. He saw some movement out in their battlements, and then winced when some if the invaders who had broken off from the lane to try to encircle the base got frozen in place. Seems like Todoroki was done staying idle…
Yeah, no, trying anything against that fort was suicide, and he pitied anyone who tried. Best look to their own defenses, and at least those were going pretty good. Between his softening the ground, Komori and Bondo spreading a much glue and fungi as they could, and Kaibara and Awase picking off the stragglers, they had all the staying power they needed. Now the just needed to wait out the clock…
The lipless boy was suddenly wrenched from his musings as he felt a shadow briefly pass over him. Then the alarmed yell of his teammate Pony made his eyes go wide as he turned back towards their flag tower. The blonde American girl wasn't on it, having been knocked to the ground by the intruding brunette that had more than a passing resemble to Komori, and he immediately recognized as being from 1-A, and worse, part of Midoriya's team.
The girl locked eyes with him as she grabbed the flag, and even from the distance, he could perfectly hear as she spoke:
"Yoink!"
And then she was reeled away from the tower, rather weightlessly, he noticed, by the pink cord wrapped around her waist. Pony had since gotten up and tried to stop her by shooting her horns, cursing loudly in English all the while, but the cord weaved around each one. A quick look over the battlement showed that it was actually the tongue of the other, frog-like girl, standing just outside the range of the ground he had turned into mud. As soon as her teammate had been reeled in, the frog girl grabbed on to her, and Honenuki saw her legs bend before she shot off like a bullet back towards their own fort, stopping only briefly to step through the force field.
"Oh wow, ladies and gentlemen, it seems like the Fort 1 is not content with just letting their defenses do all the work. Fort 2 just lost their flag to a clever hit-and-run by Uraraka and Asui." Mic-sensei called out, and the crowd roared in cheers. "Can't be too focused on just one threat, kids!"
Honenuki and Komori shared a look as the both of them processed what had just happened.
"…Well, shit-ake." Komori cursed in her trademark mushroom-based manner.
/
"Seems like the girls got the job done." Shoji commented mildly from their perch at the flag tower, to which Midoriya grinned widely.
"Nice job, Froggy'n Floaty!" He cheerfully called into the comms. "One less tricky git tah worry'bout later."
"Thanks, ribbit." Came the reply, as down in the courtyard of their fortress Tsuyu could be seen rubbing the back of a heaving and quite nauseous looking Uraraka. "We probably shouldn't do that again, though, ribbit. Once already took a lot out of Ochaco-chan."
"Dat'z fine, let'er rest. Ya did wot wuz needed." The boy looked out towards the carnage that was happening just outside the walls with the detached, evaluating, disappointed look of a critic that had expected more. "I figure it won't be long fer dis'ere scrap tah end anyway."
"Why were so focused on taking that particular team out, though?" Todoroki inquired through the comm, a hint of curiosity to his usually blank tone. "You seemed content enough to leave the others be."
"I have to admit I was wondering about that myself." Momo added in, sounding like she was somewhat surprised by the development.
"Cuz'a Shroomy Girl." Midoriya admitted with a casualness that spoke of absolute certainty. "We'z had tah take'er out now or she'd be real dangerous in dah next round."
…
…
…
There was a long, long moment of… well, not silence, given the chaos that was unfolding just outside the walls, but at least the comms went quiet as every other member of the team blinked owlishly at that.
"You mean… Komori-san?" Momo said uncertainly, sounding absolutely floored at the implication that there might have been anyone in the competition that Midoriya would prefer to get rid of rather than fight head on, especially when the person in question wasn't someone who'd have ever crossed her mind…
"If dat'z Shroomy's name, den yah." Midoriya replied with a shrug.
"Why her specifically?" Shoji said, the first to put into words what everyone in the crew was thinking.
"Cuz' she grows shrooms, which makes her dah most dangerous git in dah tournament." The green-haired boy replied, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world and giving the taller teen a look that seemed incredulous at the need to spell it out.
"She. The more dangerous contestant." Todoroki stated dubiously, like he wasn't quite sure whether he should be amused or offended. "How do you figure that?"
"If she'z can grow'dem shrooms anywhere, and I ain't seen nuthin' tah show she can't, wot'z stoppin' her from growin'em on ya?" The green-haired boy inquired in turn. "Shrooms in yer legs so ya dun move, shrooms in yer eyes so ya dun see, shrooms down yer throat so ya dun breathe. I likez me'a gud scrap, Boss Lady, but dere ain't much of a fite tah be had dat way."
Another moment of radio silence followed as everyone pondered on the question, eyes going wide as the words sunk in and they realized the frankly terrifying point that was being made.
"…Your ability to measure quirks by how dangerous and deadly they can be is terrifying, Midoriya-chan, ribbit." Tsuyu concluded in her ever blunt manner, though there was a hint of trepidation to her usually collected tone.
"But not inaccurate. Even if I find it unlikely she'd actuallydo it, it makes sense to nip the potential problem in the bud." Shoji replied, looking down at the green-haired teen with a pondering expression. In a way, it was relieving to know that beneath the eccentricity and love for battle was someone capable of assessing risk and choosing not to take it. "You keep surprising, Midoriya."
"I'z aim tah please!" The teen replied with a wide, toothy grin.
"And just 30 more to go, ladies and gentlemen!" Present Mic chose that moment to announce, to more cheers of the crowd. "We're almost there!"
"Uh, guess dat'z dat den-"
"LOOK OUT!" Shoji suddenly interrupted in alarm, stepping forward and pushing Midoriya out of the way with one of his arms even as two others reached out to grab on to the projectile suddenly speeding in their direction, stopping it in its tracks a hair's breadth from their flag.
A quick look revealed it to be a three-pronged pincer, trying to clamp down on its target with an almost predatory eagerness, attached to a thick, hose-like cord.
Midoriya reacted immediately to the intrusion, steadying himself from the light shove and reaching into his pocket. There was a red blur as his power claw lashed out, tearing through the cable easily, sparks and fluids spilling as the pincer in Shoji's hands shuddered and slowed into a stop like a snake's head on its death throws. The duo looked towards the cable, to see it recede towards an arm-mounted launcher on an intruder within their forcefield, hovering in the air in what to Shoji's untrained eye could only be describe as flying boots.
"Oooooh, dang! At the very last stretch, Team Midoriya almost had victory ripped away from then a daring play by Hatsume! Good thing Mezo's vigilance was on point!"
"Well, darn, it seems like the Hatsume Brand Grappling Hook didn't quite hit the mark!" The girl, Hatsume presumably, with pink hair styled in dreadlocks and various contraptions strapped all over her body, called out loudly, in a way that made it seem like she wasn't really addressing either of them. "Not to worry though, there are plenty more babies where that came from, and in the end they will prove victorious!"
As she said that, her strangely intense eyes locked on to Midoriya's, who could only blink at the challenge that he saw in them, before she flew away back towards her team's fort as the alarm's buzzed to signal the end of the round.
"Uh, good going, Army Boy." Midoriya praised with a grin, after a few moments of blinking owlishly at the odd intrusion. "I knew you'd be gud fer dah team."
Unknown to either of them, far down in the maintenance bay, Power Loader had begun bawling his eyes out.
/
I really ought to cut Power Loader some slack. Eventually. Possibly.
This marks the end of the tower defense round. Perhaps with a bit less fanfare than expected, but it's kind hard to come up original events for the festival, so I hope on the whole this one was a decent one.
Next time, a small intermission and the beginning of the actual tournament. The madness ain't over just yet.
Before that though, we have an Omake this chapter, suggested by the winning reviewer who first identified the Sixto Rodriguez reference in the last chapter, and I will say that this one is strictly NOT canon.
GiantPsychoGecko, I hope that this is everything you were hoping for.
/
Takoba Municipal Beach Park had fallen into disrepair so long ago, there was simply no way to account for where all the trash that filled with in numerous heaps and piles had come from. So much was the sheer volume of garbage, from the tiniest of used tissues to entire vehicles and containers arrayed in piles, that over time it had formed its own structures, literal mountains of discarded junk, large enough to have their own inner, cave-like systems, many of which had not seen the light of day in decades, if ever, where dregs of life crawled and slithered, unseen and unguessed at by man.
Now, within one of those systems, something stirred, awakening from a long slumber. Eyes glowed in the dark as ancient hunger drone to creature to rise, assessing its environment, seeking the presence of the rest of its kin.
It found none, and for a moment, the realization left it with a somber weight of loneliness, before instinctive directives took over and with an hiss it begun crawling through the filthy cavern, its six limbs finding purchase with ease as if reached for the surface, guided by the faint drafts of fetid air that drifted down into these sunless depths.
Up and up it went, until with a might heave of its limbs, a car was sent flying, and the thing was met with blue, open sky and the sound of the rolling tide. It kept going, up to the peak of the heap, and from there it assessed its surroundings. Instinctive memories made it recognize the presence of humans, and a dark, primal satisfaction flooded the creature's mind. Soon its loneliness would end in this suitable hunting ground.
It was then that another sound caught its attention, the dragging of heavy weight and the grunts of exertion. There was something nearby, and the creature's tongue slithered out eagerly. The first prey was nearby.
Stealthily it crawled around to the other side of the heap, and sure enough, there it was, a human, a young, male one, the perfect prey, the perfect first addition to the brood. That the hair was an anomalous green rather than the hues of its instinctive memories was of no consequence, it was time to begin the spread.
Stealthily the predator approached, slowly and patiently, its hapless prey none the wiser as a horrible fate drew ever closer.
It was only at the last moment, just as the hunter was almost on top of him, that the human looked up, his red eyes going wide.
"Wooooaaaaaaaah…!"
The creature pounced, and…
/
"Midoriya…" Aizawa started, trying very hard and not quite succeeding at keeping his eyebrow from twitching. "What in the world is that thing…?"
When he had signed off on Hound Dog's suggestion of having a "Bring your pet" to school day, as part of the efforts to help the students overcome the trauma of the USJ attack, he had expected to see dogs, maybe a few cats from the clearly more logical of his students, rabbit, birds, maybe a lizard or a fish or two. And things had been going pretty decently, especially with Koda around to help the kids deepen the bonds with their own pets.
And then Midoriya had kicked the door open and dragged in behind him a creature straight out of a fucking old school sci-fi movie. In fact, Ashido was still squee-ing like a fangirl in sheer awe of the monstrosity that had nearly everyone else with their backs to the furthest wall in the room. Koda, Aoyama and Mineta had straight up fainted from terror.
It towered over its "owner", with a roughly humanoid shape, thick, dark plates of an exoskeleton covering purple skin, with a short, stinger-like tail, and six limbs, two legs and four arms, and upper set than ended in scythe line talons and a lower one that ended in disturbingly human-like hands. Its head was big, bulbous, with a face that was little more than a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, and inhuman, yellow eyes.
Aizawa was man enough to admit that, in normal circumstances, he would be sharing in his other students horror. But the disturbing, frightening, monstrous appearance of the creature was shattered by one simple fact.
That being that it looked completely, absolutely, positively miserable, a thick, spiked collar around its neck attached to an equally thick chain held in Midoriya's hand.
"Dis be Licky!" Midoriya replied cheerfully, with a fondness in his voice that people usually reserved for puppies and kittens. "I'z found'im ovah by dah trash beach."
"Licky." Aizawa repeated tiredly, only to notice how the creature whimpered, lowering its head in what he was fairly certain was abject humiliation. Through that spaces between its very sharp teeth, the man could see it was lacking a tongue.
"Ya, I named'im dat cuz when we'z first met, he wuz so happy tah see me he was tryin' tah lick me a lot. But hiz tongue ended on a real sharp pointy end, so I ripped'it out and he wuz a lot calmer aftah dat." The boy explained, patting the creature on its bulbous head, completely missing how it flinched away from the touch. "Who'z a gud boy, Licky? You iz, yes you iz!"
Aizawa honestly couldn't tell what was worse. That "Licky" was staring at him as if begging to be put out of his misery, or that Aizawa knew that if he looked into a mirror he'd see the same kind of expression in his own face…
Chapter 15
As soon as the horn started blaring, it was as if a switch was flipped, with all the robots still remaining on the field immediately stopping whichever action they were taking, and as one they turned around, marching back towards the arena center and the underground lanes they had "spawned" from.
It did not escape anyone's notice how some were doing it much faster than all the others, more specifically the ones from the particular corner of the arena where chaos hadn't died down just yet.
"Midoriya, the round is over. Shut down your defenses and call off your robot or we will penalize your team."Aizawa stated from the commentator's booth, sounding like he was fighting off the urge to sigh wearily.
"Ruin mah fun why dontcha yourrrggrhhmmrrg-" The boy in question grumbled unhappily as he, clearly quite grudgingly, pressed a button in the control.
Immediately, the gun emplacements stopped firing, folding back into a standby mode with smoking barrels, the forcefield generator shut down with a keening whirr, the green energy sphere around their fort breaking apart and shimmering out of existence, and Scrappy dropped the mangled robot torso he'd been crushing and started twisting and contorting and shrinking back down into cube configuration before shutting down with a beep that sounded oddly satisfied.
"Thank you. Now, a moment while our systems tally things up."
The big screen of the arena promptly lit up, split into 3 segments. The top one took on a golden outline, and one by one, six pictures of students were added to it.
"And perhaps to no one's surprise," Present Mic took over the commentary. "with a completely unbreached fort, a successful sortie, and a frankly frightening "enemy" kill count, fort 1, proudly defended by Team Midoriya, has held on to the red flag, retaining its spot at the top!"
A loud roar echoed throughout the stadium as spectators overcame their surprise at the display they had just witnessed, loudly cheering for the victors, and only when they grew silent again did the second segment fill out with a silvery outline.
"And immediately on their heels, with a fort that suffered two breaches, but with three sorties of downright surgical precision under their belt, fort 5, defended by the jolly cooperation of team Shishida, claims the second place!"
This prompted a whole new wave of applause, albeit one that was not quite as intense and did not last quite as long, not that did this much to take away from the sense of accomplishment that surged through each of that team's members.
Then, the third segment filled out in copper outline, but for this one, two of the six pictures, one of a familiar red-haired boy and a girl with unmistakable pink skin, appeared greyed out before fading away.
"And lastly, with 4 different breaches, a team that played all defense, with no sorties to speak off, we have fort 3 still proudly standing, successfully defended by Team Katsuki. Unfortunately, going by score, due to the valiant struggle that led to them being overwhelmed in the final stretch, Kirishima and Ashido did not make the cut. All the same, let's give them our best, folks, for they certainly tried theirs!" The bombastic hero enthusiastically said, masterfully encouraging the crowds to follow in his example with supporting applause and cheers of support.
If people noticed how the team's "leader" was all but visibly grinding his teeth, well, nobody chose to dwell on it.
"And with that, the second event comes to a close. And you know what that means, folks. The tournament will be upon us soon! Which also means, time to see what the brackets are gonna look like! Big screen, take it away!"
As if on cue, a drumroll blared out throughout the arena, as the screen's segments disappeared, and all the pictures of the victorious students shrunk and moved towards the bottom of the screen, where they were split into pairs, leaving the upcoming matches for the world to see:
Izuku Midoriya vs Togaru Kamakiri
Ibara Shiozaki vs Mezo Shoji
Mei Hatsume vs Denki Kaminari
Ochaco Uraraka vs Jurota Shishida
Katsuki Bakugou vs Hitoshi Shinsou
Setsuna Tokage vs Tsuyu Asui
Momo Yaoyoruzu vs Tenya Iida
Shouto Todoroki vs Fumikage Tokoyami
"…And there you have it, folks! After the break time to clear out the arena, and allow people to have lunch and enjoy some of the festivities outside the arena, we will be right back with the high octane action you all been waiting for! And boy howdy, ladies and gentlemen, does it seem like we're in for a heck of a show this year, so stay tuned!"
"Also, Midoriya, please remove your… defenses, from the field, so Cementoss can come clean up."
It should be noted that a fair number of the spectators that were already getting up heading towards the exits stopped at that, blinking as they stared down at the arena and saw the boy in question fitting the gun emplacements and force field generator back into his pocket as easily as he had pulled them out…
"And don't try to take the scrap. You will be penalized!"
"Aaaaaaawwww, zog…" The boy in question grumbled unhappily, as we was coming down the tower and out the fort's main door, giving a wistful look at all the wreckage that surrounded the fort. "Dah things I coulda done with dis…"
Everyone in the team thought that was probably why they weren't gonna let him, but nobody really voiced the thought.
"Midoriya," A sudden call caught his attention, and the boy turned to see Todoroki approaching.
"Yah, Frosty boy?" He replied, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the long, contemplating look the other boy was giving him.
"This marks the end of our alliance of convenience." Todoroki replied cooly. "But still, can I have a word? In private."
Midoriya blinked at that, glancing towards some of his other teammates that were close enough to hear the exchange, and seeing they didn't seem to understand it any more than he did.
"Uuuuhh… Sure, I'z suppose?"
/
Without another word, Todoroki led the green-haired boy away from the arena and the noise of the crowd, taking him to one of the many empty hallways in the frankly labyrinthine stadium.
"So, wot'z dis all about, den?" Izuku asked, glancing around the surroundings for lack of anything better to do. The other boy did not immediately reply, instead continuing to stare in that coldly detached, contemplating manner.
Some might have found this disturbing, perhaps even frightening, but Izuku was just getting annoyed.
"Oi," He said warningly with an aggravated glare. "If you'ze not getting' on with'z it, I'z goin'. Sum'of uz would like tah get sum grub before dah big fites."
"You know, I really can't figure it out." The boy finally deigned to speak, making Izuku blink. "I don't understand the connection."
"Wot?"
"All Might." Todoroki replied. "I do not understand the nature of your relationship. It's clear that he's fond of you, but I cannot quite understand why. Your quirks are both mysterious, but work nothing alike, you two look nothing alike, he's clearly been exasperated by some of your more… peculiar behaviors, and yet it's obvious he favors you… You're not an illegitimate child of his or anything, are you?"
"Huuh, no? Me pah works out dah country, and Mah'n I ain't seen him since forevah, but I think I'd knowz if he wuz All Moigt…" Izuku replied, sounding quite weirded out by the question. "All Moigt an' I'z just budz. I'z met him when he came to stomp a slimey git dat wuz tryin' tah sneak up on me, and aftah dat I saved anothah friend'o his from sum gitz wot wuz botherin' im, and we'z stayed in touch through dat friend. Dat'z it."
The scarred boy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Midoriya's explanation was full of holes, but while he would be the first to admit he didn't understand people very well, Todoroki liked to think he could at least tell when people were being truthful, and the other boy's confusion seemed far too genuine for any lies…
"Fair enough…" The boy conceded with a nod, deciding to drop the matter. "But the fact of the matter is, regardless of the reason, All Might favors you. That is why I singled you out, and that is why I have to beat you."
"…Wot?" Was all that Izuku could think to reply. Frosty was making less and less sense as this went on…
"Tell me, Midoriya, do you know who my father is?" Todoroki asked, his already cold tone growing downright frosty.
"Uh, sure, you'ze Endeavor's lad." Izuku replied, sounding like he knew he was stating the obvious but didn't quite understand why it was relevant. "But wot'z dat got tah do with anythin'?"
"Midoriya, have you ever heard of quirk marriages?"
Without even waiting for a reply, Todoroki proceeded to explain to the green-haired boy, in great detail, the story of how the number two hero was trying everything in his power to surpass All Might, and the less than morally acceptable lengths he had gone through in order to reach this goal, and how the rest of the Todoroki family got dragged into the path of the man's ambitions, how this resulted in the breaking of the boy's mother, the scar that he now bore in his face, and the hatred for everything the man stood for that bloomed over the years…
"And this is why I must beat you. I must prove to him that I don't need to rely on his power and-"
…And so absorbed by this rant had the boy been that it was only by the end that he realized that the one he had been speaking to had at some point gone from confused to almost asleep, eyes barely able to stay open as he headbutted the air, only-half awake…
"Hey, are you listening?!" The scarred boy snapped, aggravation cutting through his usually cold demeanor.
"Wut?" Izuku blurted with a startle, before yawning as he was dragged fully back the waking world. "Yeah, yeah, I wuz listening… But I dun get it."
"What do you not understand?" Todoroki prompted, eyes narrowing angrily.
"Like, I wuz wonderin' wot wuz with all dah ice since yer pah's about fire… But can he make ya go flamey?" Izuku inquired, voicing the confusion that had been building up all throughout this interaction.
"Didn't you hear a word of what I just said?!" Todoroki hissed. "I won't-"
"Use dis powah, yeah, yeah, I'z heard. But dat'z not wot I'z asked. I'z asked if yer pah could make you go flamey. As in, ya know, wot he does fer himself, but on you'ze?"
"…No." Todoroki replied, his anger momentarily deflated as it was now his turn to feel confused.
"And can he cha-chann-can he makez it so his fire goes thru ya?"
"No."
"Can he form all dem cool moves he haz thru ya?"
"No. What is your point?" Todoroki prompted impatiently.
"Well," Izuku shrugged. "If he can't do any'a dat, how'z any of dis fire ya say ya got his? Only you'ze can use it, so isn't it yers?"
…
…
…
For a moment, Todoroki honestly did not know how to reply at the giant hole that was so easily poked into his world view, but once he processed the words, a cold anger took over.
"This is a power I got from him. It's a curse that I neverasked for. What do you know?"
A heavy silence fell in the hallway, a tension that almost seemed to double as, all of a sudden, and to Todoroki's surprise, Midoriya expression went from bored and confused, to a frown that matched his own. There was… something, in that red glare, that made the heterochromatic boy ever so slightly look to the side to break the stare off first.
"I know." Midoriya replied, his tone gravely serious and surprisingly accent free. "That you seem to think you can be a hero without giving it absolutely everything that you got, because you happen to not like one half of your power because of some imagined connection. You're choosing spite over what really matters, and that does not seem very heroic."
The green-haired boy took a step forward, and poked his finger into the other boy's chest.
"I wuz lookin' forward for our fite." He grunted, accentuating each sentence with another poke. "But now I'z hearin' you'ze not takin' me, or any of us, seriously, and it ain't no fun to fite a poor sport like dat. So here'z mah reply: If we do meet in dah tournament, which ain't no guarantee if you'z gun be a wuss like dis, cause dah othas won't care about yer weird ideas, I'll give ya one chance. One shot at provin' yer taking dis seriously. And if you don't, I'z ending dah fite right den and dere."
The green-haired boy didn't even allow Todoroki to reply, turning around and stepping away, only looking back when he was at the other end of the hallway.
"Wot a waste…" He breathed out, shaking his head in disappointment, before disappearing around the corner, leaving the scarred boy to stew in his anger and resentment.