The Final Round Part 3

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-(U.A. High School/Sports Festival Stadium: Recovery Girl's Temporary Nurse's Office)-

"That match with Shinso..." Izuku felt pretty defeated after believing he had failed to live up to All Might's expectations. "I couldn't smile through it as you would..."

All Might, sensing his pupil's shame, shook his head and sighed.

"I heard some of the things he said to you. It must've been painful, knowing how much you could relate to him."

"Yeah. But I still couldn't go easy on him. I have to keep my eye on the prize... aiming for the top... just like you've said-"

"-You poor little darling!" Recovery Girl interrupted, stopping her examination of Izuku's hand for injuries and spinning around her chair to confront All Might. "Have you been putting too much pressure on him again?!"

Fortunately for Recovery Girl, her spinning chair landed a hit on All Might's side.

"YOWCH!! It was necessary!" All Might argued. "And that hurt!"

"Oh, wait- I almost forgot!" Izuku said, getting up from his chair. "All Might!"

"Huh-"

"I had... some kind of vision in the match. There were... people. Maybe eight or nine of them? I'm not sure. When I was under Shinso's control, it felt like my brain was full of fog or something. But when the vision appeared, it completely drove the fog away. That's when I was finally able to move just my fingertips for a second!"

All Might's eyes widened a little when he heard this since, unbeknownst to Izuku, this was something essential in his successor's progression to inherent 'One For All.'

"Not only that -- one of the figures had eyes just like yours, All Might," Izuku admitted. "Do you think all the people who've used One For All in the past were there, pushing me on? Like spirits?"

"..."

-(...)-

-(...)-

-(...)-

"Spooky... I'm a ghost...?" All Might remarked, shuddering and sweating a little out of fear; was he dead all along or something?

"HUH?! I THOUGHT YOU'D HAVE ANSWERS?!"

"Well, actually, I saw something like that, too. In my younger days."

"Uh? In your prime?"

"Mhm, it's a clear sign that you're getting closer to making 'One For All' your own power," All Might remarked, pointing out another important fact in the process. "Plus; you didn't break your body this time around!"

"OH, YEAH! THAT'S GREAT NEWS!" Izuku shouted, getting a bit excited at this good news. "Ahem- What was it though, exactly? The vision, I mean."

"I think it's like a trace of the user's spirit that's left behind in 'One For All' when it's passed on. Don't worry. Whatever you saw, it won't be interfering with you or your progress in the future, I'm sure. In other words, that vision wasn't what got rid of the brainwashing effects."

'Wait, those guys didn't save me?'

"Regardless of what you saw out there, it was your passion that allowed you to overcome Shinso's power, even if it was only long enough for you to wiggle your fingertips and expel some energy."

"Man, that explanation is so not satisfying..."

"Forget about it-"

"Actually, there's something else I saw in the vision too... it was... well..."

"Well, spit it out, kid!" All Might urged. "You ain't got all day-"

"There was just... someone else in the vision," Izuku said, scratching his head. "Uhm, I didn't get a good look because that person was... different."

"Different...?"

"Well... something was just entirely different about that figure had control over the others, y'know? Or just caught their interest before I had."

"Uh, you're losing me, Midoriya; can you be more specific?"

"Sure? I dunno, that figure was just... different..." Izuku didn't know how to exactly describe the entity in his vision; it was too indistinguishable, yet distinguishable at the same time. "I think the only way for me to describe it was by its gravity."

"Gravity? Like the atmosphere and stuff?" All Might asked, cupping a chin. "Was that thing giving you good or bad vibes?"

"Good, maybe? It didn't really do anything but I think it said my name," Izuku continued. "And all of the others surrounded him, including your figure!"

"Huh? Me too?"

"Uh-huh! It pretty much was controlling its own gravity or something; like it was revolving around him as if he were a..."

"Sun?" Recovery Girl suggested.

"Yeah! Like a Sun!"

"Huh, that's new..." All Might muttered. 'There were only seven when I got that vision, and Midoriya should've only seen eight once he got his...'

"Oh well, that's something to talk about for another time; right now, and more importantly, shouldn't you be worrying about who you're fighting next?"

"Huh? Oh, wait- You're right!" Izuku remarked, bowing before heading to the door. "Thank you both very much!"

"You're welcome," Recovery Girl said with a nod.

"Goodbye!"

Izuku ran out and shut the door behind him to see the next few fights before his next match. Deep within his heart, it was something he was and wasn't looking forward to. However, it was absolutely necessary if he wanted to surpass All Might and become the next 'Symbol of Peace.' Therefore, no matter what, it was either Izuku or Jotaro that was going to win in their bout.

Recovery Girl turned to All Might with a raised eyebrow; she was a little interested in Izuku's tale about a ninth figure in his vision.

"So, he saw you there, too?" Recovery Girl remarked, referencing the time All Might saw his master show up in his own vision many years ago.

"That's a good thing..." All Might sighed.

"But a ninth one? That's weird."

"Yeah, it really is pretty bizarre, huh?"

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Walking down a corridor was Shoto Todoroki, making his way back to the stands of the stadium. However, there was someone blocking his path: Endeavor.

"Get out of my way," Todoroki demanded, glaring at the sight of his father.

"You're acting disgracefully, Shoto," Endeavor stated, frowning a bit at Todoroki's immaturity. "If you simply used the power on your left side, you would've had an overwhelming victory in both of the first rounds. It's time to stop this childish rebellion of yours. You have a duty to surpass that imbecile All Might. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Todoroki ignored his father the whole time and kept walking past him, hurrying in his steps a little to get away from him as soon as possible; he was getting more and more pissed off hearing his voice.

"You're different from your siblings-"

Endeavor suddenly coughed a little when he said 'siblings,' as if he were referencing something. Todoroki didn't care or notice, of course, he only wanted to get back up to the stadium and away from his poor excuse of a father.

"Do you even hear me?!" Endeavor started to raise his voice. "YOU'RE MY GREATEST MASTERPIECE!"

"Tch! Is that all you have to say to me, you bastard?" Todorkoi said, still not facing his father. "I'll win this match and advance using only Mom's Quirk. I won't give you the pleasure of seeing me use yours."

Todoroki gritted his teeth and continued to walk towards the exit. Endeavor subsequently made one final remark to his son before watching him take off.

"Even if that works for you in this tournament, you'll soon find the limits of that power."

"..."

'Especially... when there are opponents out there, competing against you with exceptional power...'

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'Which one of them is mine, though?'

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"Ah! There you are, Deku! You did good!"

"Uraraka?"

"Come on down here ‐‐ we saved a seat for you!" Iida said, patting a seat between him and Uraraka.

"Ha! Thanks, guys!" Izuku sat down and looked toward the stage. "So, whose fighting who this time around?"

"Didn't you see the bracket? It's going to be JoJo against Sero, of course!" Hagakure exclaimed, slowly allowing the realization to hit her. "Oh wait- OH CRAP, JOJO!!"

"Indeed..." Iida pushed up his glasses a bit. "Well, never know what happens, right?"

"Yeah, maybe Sero's got a shot at beating JoJo! Who knows!" Uraraka said with a fist pump. "I wanna see him lose for once!"

"Yeah, lose..." Izuku laughed a little sarcastically; both out of worry and concern for Sero's safety. "Right..."

Suddenly, Present Mic's voice came back on the intercom; I'm getting really tired of saying 'suddenly' all the fucking time.

"Enough standing around, folks! Now welcome to the ring, our next players!"

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Jotaro stood facing Sero, unfazed and determined to be as striking as possible to the audience. Sero, surprisingly, looked a little nonchalant about who he was facing, almost as if he had a secret card up his sleeve that Jotaro didn't know about.

"He's got skills! But at the expense of some really creepy‐looking elbows. From the hero course, it's Hanta Sero!"

"Pfft-" Jotaro covered his mouth to hide his laugh; nobody participating in this contest can get a break from that damn spokesman.

"HEY, THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!!" Sero yelled. "AND YOU! STOP LAUGHING!"

"Heh, my bad-"

"Versus, the frontrunner in the competition who wears a hat whose rear doesn't make sense! It's Jotaro Kujo!"

"Wha-"

"IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!!" Present Mic reaffirmed, further drowning out Jotaro's voice with the help of the hyped-up crowd. "Now...!"

'Good luck, Sero.'

"NOW!!"

'It really is a shame; there isn't any sort of power scaling in this tournament, which means...'

"FOR THE SECOND MATCH OF THE FINALS..."'

'...I've already won.'

"READY?!"

Sero started doing some stretches to limber up before engaging in combat against Jotaro; was this the best he could do, though?

"Hrm... I don't really feel-"

"-BEGIN!!"

"‐Like I can win this fight..." Sero continued to act like he didn't care about the tournament; Jotaro was slowly beginning to understand what his classmate was trying to do. "But, man..."

Sero then sent his tape at Jotaro, binding him tightly before pulling him in his direction.

"I DON'T FEEL LIKE LOSING, EITHER!!" Sero yelled, clipping the tape off his elbows as Jotaro is now hurling toward his direction. "GET OVER HERE!"

"That attack could throw his opponent out of bounds!" Present Mic remarked. "A brilliant, surprise opening from the underdog!"

Jotaro, meanwhile, was about to ruin Sero's moment in a flash; to be specific, Star Platinum had already positioned himself to tear off the tape with his bulging muscles.

"I don't think you quite understand, Sero..."

"Huh...?"

"What kind of situation you're in right now."

"ORAAAA!!" Star Platinum uses his arms to snap off the tape instantaneously, flipping his master onto his feet to face his opponent once again.

"I-IMPOSSIBLE!! NO ONE CAN JUST DESTROY MY TAPE SO EASILY!!"

"Let me clue you in on the situation you're in, alright?"

And then, as if it were teleportation, Jotaro was right behind Sero.

"I am not in danger, Sero: I AM THE DANGER."

"OH, SHIT-"

It was too late. Sero was already flying out of bounds as Star Platinum flung him backward with one hand; Jotaro didn't even break a sweat -- apart from doing his outstanding 'Kalter Smartwell Height' expression.

"Sorry, man, but I really want to take this win."

"Sero has been immobilized! Kujo advances to the second round!" Midnight declared, causing the audience to cheer in excitement.

Some of the audience said 'nice try' to Sero, attempting to make his loss a little bit more bearable; the guy was more concerned with the fact he had flown several feet off the ground almost instantaneously -- also the pain he was feeling in his back from the fall.

"Lower back pain..." Sero moaned. "Couldn't you have taken it down a notch, man...?"

"Yeah..." Jotaro sighed, tipping his hat down to cover his eyes.

"Good Grief..."

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"SURPRISE!! THE PREVIEW IS HERE!!"

"GAH-" Jotaro yelped, holding his left ear; he made the mistake to stand next to All Might. "I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE, MORON!"

"HA HA HA!! I APOLOGIZE, YOUNG KUJO!!"

"STOP SHOUTING!"

"Uh- guys!" Izuku said, getting both of them back on topic. "Ahem- It's the UA Sports Festival finals tournament, where 16 players will clash in a battle of wits, Quirks, and pride!"

"It's still anyone's game at this point!" All Might declared, getting an eyebrow raise from Jotaro.

"Er..." Jotaro raised a finger to try and argue with the claim. "But I'm participating-"

"The only ones who can win are those who train diligently every day and cling to their dreams of becoming heroes! Come on, kiddoes, show us what you're made of! Do your best and act like real pros!"

"I'll just let you have this one..."

"Next time: 'Battle on, Challengers!'" Izuku announced. "Or 'The Final Round Part 4!'"

"Young Iida is manipulated by a girl and ends up humiliated!" All Might added. "And Todoroki is also going through some tuff stuff, too!"

"By the way, we're doing previews now, so that's new," Jotaro commented.

All three of them now point at the fourth wall.

"GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!"

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HE HE HA HA; CHAPTER DONE!