Chapter 60

Bonus chapter because we hit the power stones goal. 

Enjoy everyone.

*

Crazy, I'd completely forgotten he existed.

My eyes quickly scanned the crowd behind him.

Teenagers of various sizes (none taller than me) with their arms crossed or their hands in their pockets.

They were really trying to look the part, with their closed faces and dark expressions.

Good, very good: I wanted to see exactly the same attitude at the tournament, once I'd redefined the rules of the game.

Right now they were just pissing me off.

"It's so sad to come here and realize that the mythical 1-A is just a bunch of self-centered teenagers," Shinso began.

Blah blah blah, Quirk of villain, blah blah blah, I continued in my head.

I don't give a shit.

"Move" I abruptly cut him off.

Let him save his bad mood for the championship.

He closed his mouth and stared me down slowly and calmly.

"You're the famous Todoroki Shoto, right ? I've heard all about you. Son of Endeavor with two Quirks, you were instrumental in stopping the villains at the USJ incident"

I was sure that none of the students in 1-A had time to make friends with students outside of our class, so I wondered where he got his information.

"And you are?" I asked, not the least bit impressed. "No, don't answer, I'm not interested"

If he was upset by my words, he didn't show it.

"They say you're violent too. I heard some of the things you did in middle school. Not very glorious for a future hero, don't you think ?"

He smiled. The fool smiled.

I stepped up to him, my face inches from his.

Shinso barely reached my shoulder and had to raise his head to look at me, but he acted like he was the dominant male. It pissed me off.

"And what ? You think I care because you know things about me ?"

You don't even know a quarter of what I did before I landed here.

"You think I care about you and your idiot friends in the back just because there are more of you ?"

I laughed contemptuously.

"My father is the hero with the worst reputation, and you think revealing some unfortunate incident about me will make me worry ?"

I saw his confidence falter, doubt creeping into his face.

He had tried to threaten my career as a hero when I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be a hero.

My eyes went to the other students behind him.

"At least we didn't lie to you about one thing"

A flame flashed across my face, licking the top of my cheekbone before disappearing just as suddenly.

Shinso's eyes widened.

In my pocket, my left hand went into another spasm.

"I am a violent person"

There was a long moment of silence.

The tension between 1-A and the other students reached its peak: the air was heavy, almost unbreathable. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as lightning flashed against my skin: it was stronger than me, but I could barely control my chakra. And that was normal: after fire and ice, lightning was the element I had the most affinity with - and therefore the one that responded best to my emotions.

Hitoshi had annoyed me so much that I was hoping it would get out of hand, just for the chance to rebuild his face.

"Todoroki-san" I heard someone call me with a worried expression.

Inaza, again ?

He broke the silence, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the room.

I didn't have to turn around to see him. Shinso craned his neck to see who was coming over my shoulder.

I wouldn't have thought Inaza to be the violent type, but-

Inaza walked past me and stepped between Shinso and I, pushing the boy back behind him ina protective gesture.

He challenged me with his eyes, his expression more serious than ever.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

I'd been wrong: he wasn't really worried about me, but about them - and what I might do to them.

I thought Inaza was a complete idiot, but he's actually smarter than he looks.

Shinso was about to protest, but a look at Inaza made him shut up.

I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that he was wondering when things had gotten so out of hand.

"You think you can stand up to me ?"

It was a genuine question on my part, and my voice sounded surprised and incredulous: I wondered if he really thought he had what it took to stop me if I ever snapped.

The cold determination in his eyes gave me all the answers I was looking for.

Oh. I see.

Deep respect for the boy rised in me.

"Todoroki-san, I'm going to ask you to calm down and stop using your Quirk" the teenager began in a low voice.

And he was right: I hadn't noticed, but the temperature in the room had risen by several degrees. Far from obeying his demands, I turned up the heat a few more degrees.

"Or else what ?"

Inaza or Shinso, it didn't matter.

From now on, I wanted to break necks.

"I don't fucking believe it," Bakugo grumbled.

He walked toward us, his feet dragging on the ground.

Inaza and Bakugo, can handle both of them with my fingers-

Bakugo's hand slammed into the back of Inaza's skull with a resounding thud.

Dumbfounded, I turned my eyes to the blonde.

"What do you think you're doing, picking on someone from our class, you idiot ?"

He then turned to the other students in 1-A, who had remained frozen throughout the incident.

"Ain't you ashamed ? You're being bullied and you let a guy defend you to the point where he almost has to come to blows for your honor"

His expression changed to show all the disgust he felt for the other students in 1-A.

"You're pathetic"

He then turned to the other students.

"And you all better get out of here before I personally come and help Todoroki kick your sorry asses," he growled.

The crowd dispersed and Shinso was one of the last to leave.

Bakugo hailed him.

"And if you want to complain to the teachers, tell them it was the 1-A representative who scared you off, shitty extra !"

Inaza rubbed his neck and looked at Bakugo, who kept lecturing him between two well-chosen insults.

But he did his best not to meet my eyes.

There was a moment of intense embarrassment as the 1-A students began to leave the room, passing us by: some thanking Bakugo for defusing the situation, others apologizing to me for not stepping in, talking over each other.

I nodded vaguely in their direction as Bakugo replied, "Yeah, yeah," while gesturing for them to get lost.

Eventually, Bakugo and I were the only ones left in the room.

I glanced at my watch: I had missed the call slot, the old hag was now probably busy selling drugs or killing enemies in her channel suit.

As frustrating as it was, I'll just wait until tomorrow night.

"Care to explain why you went after Inaza earlier ?"

I'd been the threat, and if Inaza had realized that, so had Bakugo.

The blonde was serious now, all his jumpy adolescent airs gone.

He's straightening up too, I remarked absent-mindedly.

"You don't mess with one of your precious comrades," he breathed softly, his voice bordering on sarcasm.

I almost rolled my eyes.

"You're not Iida to come up with such rubbish and expect me to accept it as an answer"

He stared at me for a long moment, as if weighing the pros and cons of answering. And then he said:

"As much as it pains me to say it, you and I are the same"

I raised my eyebrows.

The same ? Bakugo and I were the same ? I didn't see how: he was self-centered, narcissistic, arrogant, violent, and I... I…

I opened my mouth to argue, closed it immediately, and a cold realization washed over me.

Bakugo and I are the same ?

"You may not be as amazing as me," he continued (I arched my eyebrows), "but I know what it's like to stand in front of the fool of the century and want to give him a thrashing"

Was he talking about Izuku ? He looked in the direction of his desk.

"But if you had done that with Inaza, you would have used your Quirk. And as you so rightly said earlier" he clenched his teeth as if it cost him to admit it, "fighting in the school grounds outside the allotted hours is tantamount to a direct dismissal"

Even if it had been a lie in the first place, I'm pretty sure turning the whole floor into a furnace would have landed me in jail instead.

He was angry now.

"And you and that idiot aren't getting out of here until I show you who's number one"

Oh yes, that's right. I'd almost forgotten about Bakugo and his superiority complex.

He threatened me with his finger.

"Remember, that was the first and last time I helped you"

And with that, he abruptly turned and walked away, his feet stomping furiously on the ground. I was stunned for a moment, unable to take my eyes off his hunched form.

"I don't like being indebted," I said as he walked away. "Tell me what you want in return"

He stopped.

He turned slowly and looked over his shoulder.

"You and me fighting, in the tournament, with no one else"

I nodded.

After all, this championship is unlikely to look anything like the canon.

*

Author's note :

P@treon : Nar_cisseENG where you can read up to 50 chapters ahead

See you in the next update !