The stadium buzzed with excitement as Midnight took center stage once more, her whip coiled at her side. The massive screens behind her displayed the four advancing teams, their members standing together as the crowd cheered.
"Congratulations again to our finalists!" Midnight's voice carried across the stadium. "But we're not done yet! The final event will determine our ultimate victor!"
The screens shifted, displaying a tournament bracket—sixteen empty slots waiting to be filled.
"The format is simple: a one-on-one tournament! Sixteen students, eight matches, and only one champion!" Midnight's smile was sharp and excited.
"The rules are straightforward: win by knockout, immobilization, ring-out, or if your opponent surrenders. If I deem you unable to continue, the match ends immediately."
She gestured to the arena floor, where a large ring was being constructed by Cementoss, rising from the ground with his quirk.
"The ring boundaries are clearly marked. Step outside, and you lose. " Her expression became more serious. "These are still training exercises. Injuries happen, but we have Recovery Girl on standby. Fight hard, but fight smart."
The crowd leaned forward with anticipation.
"And now," Midnight raised her whip dramatically, "let's see our matchups!"
The screens flickered, then displayed the tournament bracket in full:
ROUND 1: SHINSO HITOSHI vs MIDORIYA IZUKU
ROUND 2: SERO HANTA vs TODOROKI SHOTO
ROUND 3: KAMINARI DENKI vs SHIOZAKI IBARA
ROUND 4: TODOROKI TSUBAKI vs ASHIDO MINA
ROUND 5: YAOYOROZU MOMO vs TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE
ROUND 6: HATSUME MEI vs IIDA TENYA
ROUND 7: BAKUGO KATSUKI vs URARAKA OCHACO
ROUND 8: KIRISHIMA EIJIRO vs TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU
The crowd erupted into excited chatter, analyzing matchups, making predictions, debating outcomes.
Tsubaki's blue eyes scanned the bracket, his analytical mind immediately mapping potential paths to victory. His first opponent would be Mina a classmate with an acid quirk he was confident in his victory.
But his eyes were drawn to the other side of his bracket section. If they both won their matches, the semifinals would be...
'Shoto and me,' he thought, his expression unchanging but his mind calculating. 'A battle of brothers on the national stage.'
The thought should have brought satisfaction. Instead, it felt heavy, weighted with something more complicated than simple competition.
Uraraka's face had gone pale as she stared at her matchup. "B-Bakugo-kun..."
"You can do it, Uraraka!" Midoriya tried to encourage her, though he looked nervous himself. His first match was against Shinso the brainwashing quirk user who'd stolen the ten million points from Tsubaki.
'I can't respond to him verbally,' Midoriya thought, his mind already strategizing. 'If I do, he'll control me. I need a plan.'
Shinso, standing nearby, had his tired eyes fixed on Midoriya. 'The kid who came in second. Who nearly won with that mine strategy. He's smart. This won't be easy.'
Bakugo stared at his matchup with Uraraka and grinned. "Round face is my opponent? This'll be quick."
"Don't underestimate her," Kirishima warned. "She made it this far for a reason."
"I don't underestimate anyone," Bakugo shot back. "I'm just stating facts. I'm gonna crush her, then move on to the next round, and the next, until I'm fighting Ice Prince or Half-and-Half for first place."
Mina looked at her matchup and swallowed hard. "Todoroki-san... the class president..."
"You've got this, Mina!" Kirishima encouraged. "Your acid is super versatile!"
"He literally flew during the cavalry battle," Mina said weakly. "And he has that ten million point headband which means he beat EVERYONE."
"So what?" Kirishima grinned. "Show him what you can do! Be aggressive! Be confident!"
Mina took a breath, trying to psych herself up. "Right. Right! I can do this! Probably! Maybe!"
Shoto stared at his bracket position, his expression unreadable. Sero first round manageable. Then potentially Midoriya or Shinso. And if he won both...
His eyes tracked across to the other section, finding Tsubaki's name.
'Semifinals. We'd meet in the semifinals if we both advance.'
His left hand clenched unconsciously, remembering the flames that had erupted during the cavalry battle. The shocked horror he'd felt at using his father's power.
'Never again. I'll beat him with ice alone. I'll prove I don't need that bastard's flames to win.'
"THESE MATCHUPS ARE INCREDIBLE!" Present Mic's voice boomed. "WE COULD SEE A TODOROKI BROTHER SHOWDOWN IN THE SEMIFINALS!"
"If they both advance," Aizawa noted. "Nothing's guaranteed."
"Come on, Aizawa! Where's your sense of drama?!"
"I left it in my sleeping bag."
"You'll have a one-hour break before the tournament begins!" Midnight announced. "Eat, rest, prepare! When we return, the battles begin!"
Students began dispersing, heading toward the cafeteria or the prep rooms. The crowd surged toward the food stands and restrooms, excited chatter filling the air.
Tsubaki walked with his team Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Mei—toward the tunnel leading back into the stadium interior.
"That was so COOL!" Mei was still bouncing with energy. "Did you see how my babies performed?! The jetpack, the hovering boots! FLAWLESS!"
"You did excellent work, Hatsume-san," Yaoyorozu said genuinely. "Without your equipment, we wouldn't have had that mobility advantage."
Tokoyami nodded.
Tsubaki nodded. "We worked well together. Thank you all."
As they entered the tunnel's shade, a voice called out.
"Tsubaki."
The temperature seemed to drop. Not from any quirk activation, but from pure tension.
Tsubaki turned. Shoto stood several meters away, his heterochromatic eyes locked on his brother.
The space between them felt vast, unbridgeable, heavy with years of complicated history.
"I need to talk to you," Shoto said, his voice flat and cold.
Tsubaki glanced at his team. "Go ahead. I'll catch up."
Yaoyorozu looked between the brothers, concern clear in her expression. "Todoroki-san..."
"It's fine," Tsubaki assured her.
The three of them left, though not without backward glances. Tokoyami's dark eyes lingered with understanding—some conversations needed privacy.
The brothers stood alone in the tunnel, shadows cutting across their faces.
Unknown to them, two other figures had paused in different parts of the hallway.
Bakugo, on his way to the cafeteria, had spotted them and stopped. His red eyes narrowed with interest. 'What's this about?'
And Midoriya, coming from the opposite direction, had frozen when he saw the two Todoroki brothers facing each other. The tension was palpable even from a distance. 'Should I... should I leave? This looks private...'
But neither could quite bring themselves to walk away.
Shoto spoke first, his voice controlled but carrying an edge. "During the cavalry battle, you forced me to use my fire."
Tsubaki said nothing, his blue eyes steady.
"You positioned yourself on my left side. Taunted me. Pushed me until my instincts took over and the flames came out." Shoto's jaw clenched. "That won't happen again."
"Won't it?" Tsubaki's voice was quiet, almost neutral.
"No." Shoto's voice hardened. "I refuse to use that bastard's power. I'm going to beat you with my ice alone. I have no intention of becoming like him becoming what he wants me to be."
His eyes locked onto Tsubaki's with cold certainty.
"And I'm not like you, Tsubaki. Even when given the easy path, you still choose to seek his acknowledgment. Still want his approval like some desperate..."
Tsubaki's eyes changed.
The temperature in the hallway plummeted not from ice, but from the sheer force of barely contained fury radiating from him. His blue eyes, usually so controlled and cold, now blazed with anger.
But Tsubaki remained silent, his jaw tight, his hands clenched at his sides.
Shoto, interpreting the silence as having nothing to say, turned to leave.
"When," Tsubaki's voice cut through the air like a blade of ice, "did I ever say I was seeking his approval?"
Shoto stopped, his back still to his brother.
"You talk about knowing what kind of man our father is," Tsubaki continued, his voice low and controlled but carrying an undercurrent of something dangerous. "But you understand nothing about me. Nothing about what I want."
He took a step forward.
"I have no intention of becoming like him. I know exactly what type of man Enji Todoroki is. I've known since I was five years old and he told me I was a failure. A mistake. A waste of his time and effort."The words were matter-of-fact.
"And you..." Tsubaki's voice dropped even lower, "you think using half your power makes you different from him? You think refusing your flames puts you outside his control? You're delusional."
Shoto turned back, his eyes wide.
"If you think you stand a chance against me with half your power, you're about to get a rude awakening," Tsubaki said, his blue eyes boring into his brother's heterochromatic ones. "You're limiting yourself. Making yourself weaker. And for what? To prove a point to a man who doesn't care about his family?"
"Shut up—"
"I'm going to make him watch," Tsubaki interrupted, his voice taking on a sharp, cold edge. "His greatest pride. His masterpiece. His hope for surpassing All Might. I'm going to destroy all of it right in front of him."
The air between them was ice cold, tension crackling like static electricity.
"You wouldn't understand," Tsubaki continued, something raw bleeding into his voice despite his attempts at control. "Being ignored. Put on a shelf. Deemed inferior before you even had a chance to prove yourself."
His hands clenched tighter.
"I saw what he did to you, Shoto. The training. The abuse. The way he pushed you past your limits over and over." Tsubaki's voice was steady but carried weight. "I'm not saying you didn't suffer. Our whole family suffered because of him. Mother, you, even Fuyumi and Natsuo in their own ways."
He took another step closer.
"But that doesn't mean I didn't suffer too. It just means my suffering was different. Easier to ignore."
Shoto's jaw was tight, his fists clenched.
"You think by not using your fire, you're free of him," Tsubaki said, his voice cutting. "But you're wrong. He's so deep in your head that you think your own quirk belongs to him. That half of your power is 'his' instead of yours."
He leaned forward slightly, his blue eyes blazing.
"That's not freedom, Shoto. That's just another kind of cage. One you built yourself."
"You don't know what you're talking about—"
"I know exactly what I'm talking about," Tsubaki cut him off. "And I know this: when we face each other if we face each other you're going to lose. Because you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back while I'm using everything I have."
The brothers stared at each other, blue eyes meeting heterochromatic ones, years of complicated history and pain and anger swirling in the space between them.
"You want to beat me to prove something to Father?" Tsubaki's voice was quiet but intense. "Fine. But you won't. Because while you're busy refusing to use your full strength out of spite, I'm going to use everything I have to stand at the top for all the world to see."
He turned, beginning to walk away.
"Use your fire or don't. It doesn't matter. You'll still lose."
Tsubaki's footsteps echoed down the hallway, leaving Shoto standing alone in the tunnel, his left hand trembling slightly, his mind a storm of conflicting emotions.
Bakugo stood in his hiding spot, his red eyes wide. 'What the hell was that about? Ice Prince and Half-and-Half have some serious family drama.'
But something about the conversation stuck with him. The raw anger. The pain beneath the cold words. The desperate need to prove something.
He shook his head and continued toward the cafeteria, but his mind was churning.
Midoriya had heard most of the conversation, and his heart ached for both brothers. The abuse Shoto had endured. The neglect Tsubaki had suffered. The way their father had damaged them both in different ways.
'They're both carrying so much pain.'
He thought about his own journey, about All Might's support and belief in him, about his mother's unwavering love.
'I'm so lucky. I had people who believed in me, who supported me. But they... they had to fight for everything.'
He quietly moved away, not wanting to intrude further on what was clearly a private moment.
But the conversation stayed with him, adding weight to the upcoming tournament.
Cafeteria
Students gathered in the massive cafeteria, eating lunch and discussing the upcoming matches. The energy was a mix of nervous excitement and competitive determination.
Tsubaki sat alone at a table near the window, his lunch barely touched. His mind was still processing the confrontation with Shoto, the words that had been said, the anger that had surfaced.
'I shouldn't have let him get to me,' he thought, his blue eyes distant. 'Shouldn't have let him see that he struck a nerve.'
But Shoto's words the accusation that he was seeking their father's approval had cut deeper than he wanted to admit.
'I don't want his approval. I want him to regret throwing me away. I want him to see what he missed. That's not the same thing.'
But even as he thought it, doubt whispered at the edges of his mind.
"Todoroki-san?"
He looked up to find Yaoyorozu standing nearby with her tray.
"May I sit?"
He nodded, and she settled across from him.
"Are you alright?" she asked quietly.
"I'm fine," Tsubaki said automatically.
Yaoyorozu studied him for a moment, then spoke carefully. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But... if you need someone to listen, I'm here."
Something in Tsubaki's chest loosened slightly at the genuine offer. He didn't take her up on it couldn't quite bring himself to but the fact that she'd offered mattered.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "But I'm alright. Just focusing on the tournament ahead."
Yaoyorozu nodded, accepting his answer. "Then let's both do our best. We're facing each other if we both advance."
"We will both advance," Tsubaki said with certainty. "And when we face each other, it'll be a good match."
She smiled slightly. "I'll hold you to that."
Prep Rooms
As the break continued, students prepared in different ways.
Midoriya sat in a prep room, mumbling to himself as he strategized about facing Shinso. His notebook was open, filled with frantic notes about brainwashing quirks and potential countermeasures.
Bakugo was doing push-ups, his palms creating small detonations with each rep, his face set with fierce determination.
Uraraka sat quietly, trying to calm her nerves before facing Bakugo, her hands clasped together.
Shinso stood alone, his tired eyes distant as he prepared mentally for what might be his only chance to prove himself worthy of the hero course.
And in separate corners of the building, two brothers prepared in isolation, each carrying the weight of their family's complicated history, each determined to prove something to the world, to their father, to each other.
As the hour drew to a close, the crowd returned to their seats, excitement building. The food stands had done record business. The pro heroes settled back into their section, ready to evaluate the next generation's one-on-one combat skills.
Endeavor sat in his seat, flames crackling around his shoulders, his turquoise eyes fixed on the empty arena below.
Both his sons would be fighting today. One in the first match of his bracket, one in the fourth.
If they both won their matches, they'd face each other in the semifinals.
The thought made his flames burn brighter.
'Shoto will show them all what my training produced. What my masterpiece can do.'
But his eyes shifted slightly, acknowledging the other name.
'And the other one... let's see if his delusions of grandeur can match reality.'
"WELCOME BACK, SPORTS FESTIVAL FANS!" Present Mic's voice boomed as the students filed back into the prep area. "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ONE-ON-ONE COMBAT?!"
The crowd roared in response.
"Our first match is about to begin! We'll see the strategic mind of MIDORIYA IZUKU face off against the brainwashing power of SHINSO HITOSHI! A battle of wits and wills!"
In the prep room, Midoriya took a deep breath, his fists clenched.
'This is it. Time to prove I belong here. Time to show All Might what I can do.'
In another room, Shinso stared at his reflection.
'This is my chance. My only chance to show everyone my quirk isn't villainous. That I can be a hero.'
The tournament was about to begin.
And by the end of the day, one student would stand above all the rest.
The question was: who?
To Be Continued...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Authors note:
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.