Chapter 32

As Izuku was preparing to grab a bite to eat with Tsuyu and a now fully clothed Toru, their path was, unsurprisingly, blocked by a certain icy-hot with an admittedly good reason for his daddy issues.

"Can I borrow some of your time?" asked Todoroki.

"Sure," replied Izuku, "But only a little. It isn't very gentlemanly for a boy to keep girls waiting, after all."

Shifting his gaze to Tsuyu and Toru, Izuku added, "You girls go on ahead. I'll catch up shortly."

While Toru was quick to respond with a spirited "Okay~!" Tsuyu took a moment to look between Izuku and Todoroki before stating, "Wanting to compete against one another is fine, but classmates shouldn't fight..."

"It's fine," assured Izuku. "Todoroki-kun and I aren't on legitimately bad terms. If we are to fight, it will occur in the arena. Isn't that right?"

Nodding his head in affirmation, Todoroki added, "There's no meaning in defeating you where people can't see..."

Though he knew Todoroki wasn't trying to threaten him, Izuku raised his brows and remarked, "Wow, that's ominous..." before shifting his gaze to Tsuyu and reiterating, "Go on ahead, I'll be fine."

"Kero..."

Casting one last look at Todoroki, Tsuyu exhibited extreme reluctance as she and Toru departed. She knew Izuku was capable and becoming even stronger as time passed, but if he and Todoroki were to fight one another, Tsuyu didn't think he would win. If that were to happen, Tsuyu feared that Izuku's spirit would be broken. Others may not notice it, but she could tell he wasn't nearly as confident as he pretended to be. The moment he felt even a little pressured, the smile that rarely left his face would disappear, replaced by a serious, almost grim resolution...

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In the wake of Tsuyu's and Toru's departure, Izuku and Todoroki moved to a more 'private' location. There, Todoroki stared intently at Izuku, his eyes narrowing as he stated, "You keep getting stronger every time I see you..."

Crossing his arms and narrowing his own eyes, Izuku replied, "Of course. I may fool around, but I also work hard to improve. You should give both a try, just like that left side of yours."

Touching the scarred left side of his face, Todoroki's expression became especially severe as he said, "I can't–no, it would be more accurate to say I 'refuse' to use this side. I won't give that man the satisfaction of seeing me use his power..."

Feigning confusion, Izuku tilted his head to the side and asked, "What do you mean? Someone 'gave' you your Quirk? And here I was, believing you had won the genetic lottery."

"..."

Misconstruing Izuku's confusion as genuine, Todoroki attempted to clarify things, asking, "You're aware that my father is Endeavor, right? This is the Quirk I inherited from his side of the gene pool..."

"Oh, so it 'was' something you were born with?" asked Izuku, adding, "Actually, that makes me even more confused. You claim you're denying your father the satisfaction of seeing you use 'his' power, but all I see is you restraining yourself out of...what, spite?"

Shaking his head, Izuku's expression became serious as he said, "Let me tell you something, Todoroki-kun. A wise man once said that hatred is like a poison you consume expecting someone else to die. I'm sure you have a good reason to hate your father, but the only way you win in this situation is by becoming happy. Holding back a power you were born with to teach him a lesson? He probably just sees it as you throwing a tantrum or going through a rebellious phase."

"..."

Unable to refute Izuku's words, Todoroki fell silent and remained that way for quite some time. It was only once Izuku turned to leave, remarking, "I have places to be," that he called out, "Hold on, Midoriya-kun. I didn't ask you here to talk about my past or personal circumstances. I wanted to tell you that I acknowledge your power and that among the other students in our-"

Finishing Todoroki's speech, Izuku joked, "I need your acknowledgment about as much as I need a third coat in Winter. It's not useless, but I can live without it."

Without waiting for Todoroki to respond, Izuku turned around and began walking away, raising his right hand as he added, "I would wish you luck in the Finals, but people who expect to succeed while living half-assedly aren't worthy of such consideration. Not when so many others are trying their best just to survive..."

Punctuating his statement, Izuku surprised Todoroki by raising his middle finger. After all, while he sympathized with Todoroki's situation, the types of people he hated the most were those who wielded their tragedy as an excuse to act entitled. Todoroki had clearly experienced some shit, but if he seriously believed he could become the No. 1 Hero while holding back more than half his power, he was a self-righteous cunt spitting in the face of everyone else's efforts...

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Finding a familiar figure waiting for him in the corridor connecting to the contestant dining area, Izuku adopted a smile and remarked, "I'm pretty popular today..."

Exhaling a lighthearted chuckle, Toshinori, presently in his All Might form, replied, "You've certainly made quite the impression. Keep it up, and every Hero Agency in the country will be vying to have you intern with them. I'm really proud of you, Midoriya-kun."

Not expecting such a heartfelt response, the gears in Izuku's mind briefly stalled. He recovered fairly quickly, but the smile on his face became a lot more sincere as he asked, "I'm guessing you're here to ask me about what happened during the previous round?"

Shaking his head, Toshinori corrected, "That can wait till later. After all, if it were something to be concerned about, you would have come to me or the Principal posthaste. No, what I'm really here for is to congratulate you on your performance in the previous rounds. You've performed far beyond my expectations, and I know you'll do just as well in the Finals."

Feeling a potent 'sourness' building in his nose, Izuku furrowed his brows and clenched his teeth. He didn't know if it was due to the original Izuku's memories or something else, but it felt...painful to be on the receiving end of such considerate words. Not when he hadn't done anything to deserve them...

Seeing Izuku getting choked up, Toshinori's expression visibly softened. He knew about the situation concerning Izuku's father, so he interpreted the latter's response as him being unaccustomed to praise from someone he viewed as a paternal figure. After all, with Izuku being 'Quirkless' for the first thirteen years of his life, he likely didn't receive much praise from his frequently absent father...

Closing the distance between them, Toshinori surprised Izuku by placing a hand on his shoulder. Then, without a word, he suddenly pulled him into a hug, whispering, "You're doing great, kid..." in a gentle tone.

("This son of a bitch...") thought Izuku. Yet, in spite of his internal cursing, he didn't attempt to break free from Toshinori's grasp. Instead, he closed his eyes and internally groaned ("Now I feel like even more of a piece of shit...")

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After refusing Toshinori's invitation to chat and eat lunch together, Izuku finally arrived at the contestant's dining facility, his eyes briefly scanning the room before he closed them and exhaled a faint sigh. Most of the girls from Class 1-A were seated together, so if he attempted to make good on his promise to eat with Tsuyu and Toru, he would be invading their space. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice when Toru bounced to her feet, waving her invisible hand as she shouted, "Over here, Izuku-kun...!"

Ignoring the many gazes that shifted to him, Izuku made his way over to the girls' table, smiling as he noted, "It looks to me like you already have a full table. I'll just go sit with the guys."

"What kind of nonsense are you speaking?" asked Mina. "We saved you a spot between Ochaco-san and Tsuyu-chan. Don't tell me you're shy after showing off like that in the first and second rounds."

As there was, in fact, a space available between Ochaco and Tsuyu, albeit with very little clearance, Izuku just shook his head in mock exasperation before taking a seat. Doing so resulted in him being sandwiched between the two girls, their thighs touching his, but he pretended not to mind it as he asked, "Happy?" with a deadpan expression and tone.

Undaunted by Izuku's standoffishness, Mina smiled to her limits as she pointed out, "I know at least two people who are very happy. Just look, you have Ochaco-san blushing up to her ears!"

"Mina-san...!"

Glaring at Mina with an expression about as intimidating as a chubby-cheeked Quokka, Ochaco suddenly wished she had Toru's Quirk instead of her own. At the same time, the thought that she may have put on a bit of weight crossed her mind. After all, the space between her and Tsuyu wasn't 'that' small...

Refusing to give Mina the reaction she was looking for, Izuku appeared calm and unflustered as he remarked, "I can leave if you're going to use my presence as an excuse to tease others."

Raising her hands and shrugging in an expression of mock helplessness, Mina replied, "Then I don't really have a choice, do I? After all, If I were to cause you to leave, I think everyone here except Jiro would be upset with me."

Furrowing her brows, Jiro said, "Don't go dragging me into this..." in her characteristically neutral tone.

Seemingly having failed to hear Jiro, Mina leaned forward, staring intently at Izuku as she added, "Speaking of which, I'm curious to know why you haven't tried flirting with Jiro like you have the rest of us. I definitely saw you sneaking a peek at her on the first day of school."

Inserting herself into the conversation, Yaoyorozu stated, "I don't believe now is the appropriate time to ask such a question, Ashido-san. It places an undue burden on Midoriya-kun, and I don't think Jiro-san appreciates it in the slightest."

Contrasting Yaoyorozu's assertion, Jiro surprised everyone but Mina by stating, "No. I'm actually curious to hear the reason. It's been bothering me quite a bit, so now is as good a time as any to clear things up."

Smiling awkwardly, Yaoyorozu replied, "I see...that's a very pragmatic way of looking at this situation. You're very mature, Jiro-san..."

Ignoring Yaoyorozu's 'praise,' Jiro directed her somewhat lazy-looking eyes at Izuku, absentmindedly fiddling with the cord-like lobe of her right ear as she asked, "Well, let's hear it. It's because you think I'm ugly, isn't it? Not everyone can have a figure like a supermodel, you know..."

With everyone looking to him for his answer, Izuku adopted a half-lidded expression of his own as he pointed at his face and questioned, "Is that supposed to be a joke? I mean, look at me. No matter how much I train or exercise, what awaits me when I look in the mirror is a rounded face with oversized eyes and freckles. I even had to prepare an extra Hero costume because my last one made me look like a wannabe military geek."

Shaking his head before any of the girls could attempt to 'console' him, Izuku's expression hardened as he revealed, "The only reason I haven't tried flirting with you is because I didn't want to bother you. You present yourself as very aloof, so I thought you would be annoyed if I approached you out of nowhere. In truth, I've wanted to ask you what kinds of music you're into since the start of the term. I just never found a good time. It's that simple."

"Oh..."

Slumping in her seat, Jiro suddenly felt the same way Ochaco had a few minutes prior. It didn't help that Mina pointed out, "See? I told you there was nothing to worry about, Jiro-san. You might not have a bodacious body, but you're definitely cute. The way you press the tips of her earphone jacks against each other when you're embarrassed is especially adorable!"

Hearing Mina's remark, Jiro looked down to find that she was currently doing precisely what the bubbly pinkette accused her of. She had never really noticed it in the past, so now that someone had pointed it out, her face became nearly as ruddy as the shirt she wore in her Hero costume...

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(A/N: Izuku(David) has experienced his fair share of shit...(O ^ O)...)