19

Chapter Text

"So… what is it that you want, exactly?" Izuku's voice rang out, carrying its weight despite the roaring crowds above. He and Todoroki were currently under an archway that led outside of the stadium. Todoroki had asked for Izuku, pulling him apart from the rest of the group who were on their way to a cafeteria. 

Across from Izuku, Todoroki leaned against the concrete wall, eyeing Izuku with a cold glare. Seeing no response from Todoroki, Izuku followed suit. His back found itself against the wall, his mind reaching for a couple of bugs. A few fireflies flitted about, bobbing up in down with their yellow lights. A giant centipede — a mukade — found its way down Izuku's neck and onto his hand, where it milled about at its leisure. Izuku found the time to admire his creepy crawly friends, waiting for the boy across from him to initiate whatever conversation he wanted to have. 

But Todoroki remained unfazed. Izuku sighed. "Look—"

"I swore to myself that I would never use my fire."

The abrupt statement caught Izuku off guard. He ended his spiel before he knew it, wanting to hear what his mysterious classmate would say. After a few moments, Izuku nodded, signaling Todoroki to continue.

"You overpowered me. So much so that I broke my pledge. Nobody that I've met has done that before."

"Your pledge?" Izuku asked. His mind lit with realization. "You mean, you purposely limit yourself to only using your ice?"

Todoroki merely nodded. 

"But why would you limit yourself like that? You could learn from your fire. Adapt to conflict. Strive for more."

Another bout of silence.

"You know that Endeavor is my father?" Todoroki said, ignoring Izuku's rant.

"I— Uh, yeah. I know that," Izuku admitted, confused. 

Is this still related to the topic?

"Hmph. And do you know about quirk marriages, as well?" Todoroki asked.

"Yeah…" 

"Good," Todoroki said. "Then I can explain this to you simply. My father raised me for the single purpose to surpass All Might. Nothing more, and nothing less. And I won't stand to be a tool for scum like that."

"Mhm," Izuku hummed, sounding uncommitted. Outwardly, he was calm. And he wouldn't show it, but in truth, his mind was swarming with questions.

"I will fight you, and I will prove that I can do it without my father's power."

"I— I see," Izuku said. 

Todoroki rose from the wall, maintaining his dead stare and cold demeanor. "I really don't get what the others see in you, Midoriya."

"... What?" This conversation is going all over the place.  

With a glance, Todoroki went towards the cafeteria. "Nevermind." 

Nevermind? "That's it?" What did he even mean?

Staring after the retreating back of the half cold, half hot boy, Izuku took a second to place a bug on Todoroki, hiding it within the folds of the collar of his tracksuit. A small part of it was to see just how the would fare before the tournament. Another, more larger part was Izuku being curious by what he meant by that last comment.

As Todoroki walked away, Izuku attempted to try to understand the introverted boy. Izuku's mind couldn't quite find a hold around the boy known as Shoto Todoroki, especially since the seemingly anti-social boy had now been shown in a new light. A perspective which had destroyed Izuku's previous assumptions on of Todoroki.

It was during these thoughts that Izuku gathered a swarm of bugs from the surrounding environment. Mind still on the departing Todoroki, Izuku haphazardly sent the bugs around the corner of the stone corridor he was currently in, paying no heed to their organization.

As a result, the bugs formed into an amorphous shape in the air, appearing before the only other individual in Izuku's immediate radius. The bugs spoke a broken, harsh screeching, grating on the ears of the boy they flew in front of.

"Nice weather we're having, eh, Bakugo?" 

The boy in question growled in fury, breaking away from his cover. If he was surprised that Izuku had noticed him, he didn't show. Instead, Bakugo stalked past Izuku, brushing past his shoulders and heading straight towards the cafeteria.

Izuku followed not long after, his mind adrift in the mystery of Shoto Todoroki.

Izuku watched the first round of the tournament with great interest. He didn't know what to expect, with Ashido going against the unknown that was Hitoshi Shinso. But it definitely wasn't this.

"What's this!?! 1-A's own Mina Ashido just walked out of bounds on her own! What was she thinking there, folks?" shouted the enthusiastic voice of Present Mic.

It certainly was interesting, though, whatever Shinso's quirk was. High up in his class's designated seating area, it was hard to tell what exactly happened. In fact, from up in the stands, it looked as if Ashido had just given up to allow Shinso the chance to advance to the next round.

The only explanation that came to Izuku's mind in regards to the strange situation was Hitoshi Shinso's quirk. The boy seemed pretty powerful for someone enrolled in General Education. 

Izuku continued thinking of the possible implications of the battle, digging himself deeper into the recesses of his mind to ponder. It was only when he heard Present Mic announce the next matchup, as well as the appearance of a sudden gout of flame that sprung up from one corner of his mind, that Izuku honed in on the eyes of one of his bugs. The bug, which he took note, was on Todoroki. Considering Todoroki's previous statements from a mere hour ago, the fire could only mean one thing: Endeavor.

"—cting disgraceful," came the voice of Endeavor, the hulk of a man endowed in a cloak of his own flames. "If you just used your left side, you could've overwhelmed everyone in the Obstacle Race and the Cavalry Battle, instead of being shown up by somebody who controls bugs." 

Really…? I bet that he'd—

"Stop this childish rebellion. You have a duty to surpass All Might. Unlike the rest of your siblings, you are the true masterpiece."

Izuku cut his connection, then and there. Did he really just— I can see why Todoroki hates him so much. That self-righteous jerk! And the way he talked about his own children, like they were just pawns on a chessboard! How could a hero be like that! And the Number Two, no less. 

Izuku's attention was brought away from his newfound insight of Endeavor by sudden shift in temperature he felt with not only his own body, but with the death of hundreds of bugs.

He found the giant iceberg (because that's what in truth the only thing it could be called) encasing the frozen form of Kirishima below. Despite the red-headed boy's brute strength and durability, the sudden blast of cold left him in no position to break out, his arms and legs frozen in place. He yielded not too long after; Todoroki then began apologising, waiking forward to free the disabled Kirishima.

And with that, Izuku stood up and made his way down to the locker rooms. The third round was coming up, after all. It was only a matter of time until the field was ready for round three.

 "It looks like this time it's going to be one hero class against the other, fellow listeners! Hopefully this time, third time's the charm! Maybe this round won't be another uneventful curbstomp! Introducing class 1-B's Sen Kaibara! He looks like a good looking guy!"

The boy across from Izuku, Sen Kaibara, had a smirk on him, signaling that he was ready for a fight, and confident to win.

"On on the other side is— Uh, ahem. Is class 1-A's scarifying, horrifying bug master of terror, Izuku Midoriya! He's someone who I really wish would tone it down a bit in class. In mean, there was this one time with this spider that he —"

"Mic," eased the deadpanned tone of Eraserhead.

"Right, right. Sorry."

Down on the ground, Kaibara and Izuku stared down the other. One looked on with an unopposed glee. The other, beared an inquisitive, collected stare.

When Midnight signaled for the fight to start, Kaibara activated his quirk, his arms gyrating at immense speeds. "Alright, bug boy," Kaibara spewed. "I'll keep this short and si—" His words were drowned out by the giant mass of bugs that appeared behind him, immediately blanketing his entire body.

Izuku could feel the boy's limbs gyrating, attempting to — and successfully — remove the bugs covering his body. Of course, Kaibara was at a disadvantage since he wasn't actually killing all too many of the bugs. Then there was the fact that Izuku kept on replacing the bugs that were launched off, ensuring his opponent stayed under constant assault. The muffled screams did little to deter the waves of insects. Izuku simply looked on.

Eventually, the scene came to be interrupted. "Midoriya!" came the voice of Midnight. Izuku looked over to his Modern Hero Art History teacher, meeting her eyes. "I believe that he's had enough," she said

Izuku considered her words, looking back at the squirming form of Kaibara. Eventually, he nodded his head. The bugs lifted off of Kaibara's body, freed the boy with a look of relief on his face. 

"Kaibara, you remained unable to move for an extended period of time. I deemed it that you were unable to continue. Do you understand?" asked Midnight.

Kaibara slowly got up to his feet. A visible lump appeared in his throat as he steadied his gaze at Izuku. Kaibara readily nodded in to relay his understanding.

"'Then it's agreed. Izuku Midoriya is the winner!" 

Unlike the previous fights, the crowd wasn't immediately filled with cheers. A few moments of silence eventually brought upon the missing cheers, the initial shock having worn off the crowd. But it was easy to tell that the sound wasn't the same. It was a mixed signal of cheers and disapproval. Izuku then walked back, making his way back to his seat up back with his class.

Present Mic's voice boomed over the heads of the audience once again, joining the mix of critiques that made up the stadium.

"You see what I mean?!? Eraserhead, how the heck do you even—"

"Mic."

The rest of the tournament's first batch of fights finished off quite spectacularly.

Shiozaki proved her angelic grace with her quick action. Her vines burrowed effortlessly into the ground to entrap a helpless Jiro. The battlefield didn't prove to be to the ear jack girl's advantage, especially with the lack of terrain for her to use, or with her lacking any of her amplifying equipment.

Iida versus Mei proved to be exactly how Izuku thought it would come to. Iida's general attitude made it likely that he would accept Mei's offer to "even the battlefield," as she so eloquently put it herself. The end result was Mei getting free exposure to the world at large in showing off her babies. Sure, Iida ended up winning in the end, but Izuku knew it wasn't a true victory to the bespeckled boy.

The fight between Bakugo and 1-B's Rin… Well, it ended in the only way it possibly could. It was true that Rin's scales were highly versatile. A perfect blend of offense and defense. But Bakugo was the king of brute offensive power, no matter how much Izuku hated to admit. There were few that would be able to take him in a real one-on-one fight, the exception Izuku was sure of being Todoroki at his full strength.

Tokoyami and Pony had an interesting fight. Pony was able to dodge a good portion of Dark Shadow's attacks, her horns doing a good job fending off the creature of shadow. But it only took one mistake, a missed projectile, for Tokoyami to close in and commit to a takedown.

Funnily enough, the last round was a rematch of sorts. Tsuyu versus Sero yet again, starting with Sero's voice of dread and subsequent words of a hopeful retaliation. It didn't seem that fate was within Sero's favor, however, since there wasn't much change from the original fight back in the first few days of school. Tsuyu demonstrated her superior ability, using Sero's attempt to launch her out of grounds against him.

And so, with the winners of the first bracket known, Midnight went on to announce the next round. And Izuku ended up being first. He again made his way down in preparation for the next battle.

"Izuku Midoriya," announced Hitoshi Shinso, his voice filled with genuine delight, "I'm glad to see that you've come this far."

"Shinso," Izuku said, returning the goodwill of his opponent. "A pleasure."

The two found their place on opposing sides, facing each other without batting an eye. 

"I'll be honest with you, Midoriya," Shinso said. "I was surprised to learn that someone like me had gotten into the hero course."

"Oh?" Izuku voiced with intrigue. "What do you mean?"

"Start!" announced Midnight.

Shinso smirked. "I suppose that I can say that I look up to you, in a way. It just goes to show that just because I have a quirk that has been labeled villainous, that doesn't mean that I can't make my goals to become a hero a reality." 

"You… A quirk? Like mine?" asked Izuku.

Shinso sighed. "I'm sure you know how it is. And, I do apologise, Midoriya. But you out of anyone would know what I am striving for. No hard feelings?"

Izuku froze up then and there, a purple haze creeping in from the periphery of his mind.

"Kindly walk out of bounds, if you will."

Izuku turned, slowly making his way to the boundaries of the battle's confines.

"What's this! He's done it again! Just what is this madness?" Present Mic yelled.

"Interesting. Acoustic based psychological manipulation?"

Izuku slowly made his way to the edge, the crowd watching in quiet anticipation. 

But then something else creeped up from the back of his mind. Izuku sensed it — it was nothing like ever before, yet in the same way somehow familiar. Nothing like his bugs. But something else. Something clicked, and he felt it. A giant expanse. A crystal. A lifeform. Interconnecting. Changing. Morphing. Evolving. 

A single bee from his swarm landed on his hand. It stung, hard. The purple haze faded. And so had the presence. Almost like it was never there to begin with. But Izuku knew better.

Izuku blinked, shaking his head. Her brought his breathing under control, which at some point had devolved into harsh, shallow breaths.

"H—how did you…"

Izuku turned around, spotting the amazed face of Shinso staring back at him.

"Mind Control, huh?" 

Shinso flinched at the words, reeling from the sudden appearance of bugs behind him. But when he realized that the bugs had spoken, his eyes widened. Izuku felt the hold of Shinso quirk take hold again. 

But instead of like the previous time, the effect dispersed amongst his swarm, rippling in each and every one of the bugs gathered near Shinso.

"Go out of bounds," Shinso said in a curt manner. The bugs begin their way to follow Shinso's orders. Shinso looked on dumbfounded, watching the bugs move while Izuku stayed in place. Izuku then tightened his control on the bugs, breaking Shinso's connection. 

In an instant, Izuku ran forward, arms aiming to grapple Shinso. Shinso attempted to counter, raising a fist to meet Izuku's approaching form. It did little to aid the inexperienced boy. Izuku took the opportunity to grab Shinso's arm, pinning it behind his back. Izuku effortlessly forced Shinso to the ground. By the end of the short spree, Izuku had his body weight over the downed form of Shinso.

"Do you yield, Shinso?"

Shinso attempted to escape from his position, wiggling under Izuku's grasp. "I…" he drawed out.

"Hmm?"

Shinso again attempted to fight for control of the insects, relaying a command of "Attack Izuku Midoriya." The command took into effect for just a moment, the nearby bugs going towards Izuku, yet they immediately were reigned in yet again by their true master. 

Shinso growled in frustration, using jagged movements in an effort to dislodge the boy holding him down. But after a few moments of his struggle, Shinso tsked. "I yield," he muttered.

"Then it is settled! Izuku Midoriya wins this match!" yelled Midnight.

Izuku promptly removed his body from atop his captive, easing the stress on Shinso body. Izuku, his face permeating his impressed state of mind, then lowered a hand towards the downed Shinso. Izuku's opponent made a loud sigh, yet ultimately accepted the help and pulled himself up. The two ended standing face to face, both faces filled in a manner of intrigue and fascination in the other.

"That was rather impressive, Shinso," Izuku said, breaking the silence between the two. "I've got to say, that is quite a quirk you have there! I mean, imagine the possibilities! Diffusing hostage situations! Forcing villains into submission in seconds! You just need to work on your hand-to-hand, and then you'd be set!"

Across from Izuku, Shinso was wide eyed in surprise. To the boy, Izuku's enthusiasm in his brainwashing quirk was a first. He'd been faced with countless others before, who saw only the misdeeds he could enact with his quirk. Never had someone thought of the possible actions he could pursue that fell under the topic of heroics. 

But here was someone, someone who had come under the effects of his brainwashing himself, that was praising him. Spouting out the nonsense of heroics. Someone who wasn't afraid of his quirk, but instead was hopping around like one of those bobtails he played with as a kid. 

Shinso felt a smile coming onto his face. "Thank you, Midoriya."

Izuku froze up at the words. "I—"

"Oi!" came the shout of Present Mic! "Get off the field. You can talk in the locker rooms! We still have the other fights to get to, you know!" 

"Shoot!" Izuku shouted. He then proceeded to gather up some bugs near the commentator's box, a swarm of bugs appearing in front of the glass in an instant. "Sorry Present Mic! We'll get going!"

Izuku ignored the screams of terror he had heard originating from Present Mic, as well as the way it was broadcasted amongst the stadium. He turned to talk to Shinso. He noticed that the boy had already walked off, and was now facing the crowds where Izuku could hear the praise Shinso was getting from his classmates.

It wasn't too long until Shinso began to walk further away, back into the bowels of the stadium. It was then that Izuku began to jog towards him. He still had one thing he needed to do, after all.

Izuku caught Shinso just before the entrance to the locker room. Shinso turned at the sound of Izuku's breathing, looking at Izuku in wait for whatever he was going to say. 

"I, uh, I'm sorry, Shinso," Izuku said. "You— Your striving to be a hero. And I sort of just took that opportunity from you, didn't I? I guess… I just got caught up in the moment, you know? I wasn't really thinking. I know how it is, having to pressure of a quirk like mine wearing me down. And I know how unfair the practical was. If you didn't have a combat quirk of some physical training, you were basically a sitting duck. And I can imagine that your mind control wouldn't be able to affect the robots, and it's just that—"

"Midoriya. Shut up."

"I— huh?"

"Your priorities are all over the place. And don't you have a tournament to win?"

"What? But your dream to—"

"You shouldn't worry about that," Shinso interrupted. "If anything, you just showed me that I still have a ways to go before I'm truly hero material. If anything, you deserve to go on." Shinso chuckled. "Besides, between the two of us, your much more impressive. You broke out of my brainwashing yourself, after all." 

A gleam came to Shinso's eyes then, as if realizing the words that had come out of his mouth. "How'd you do that, anyways? Breaking out of my quirk?" 

Izuku though back on the voice, that massive presence he felt. And the way that it had disappeared as well. He tried to find it again, but no matter how far he tried, he just couldn't seem to find it again. 

"I'm not entirely too sure, actually," Izuku admitted.

"...Really?" Shinso said, disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah."

"Huh. Well, as for parting words, you better not lose in some pathetic way, you hear me? I won't forgive you if you do."

Notes:

Looks like it'll be one more chapter 'till we can wrap up on the Sports Festival. The final part was originally going to be here, but I couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that I was having a bit too much happening in this chapter by going that route.

On the other hand, that also means that the butt end of the festival is only going to fill up the first part of next chapter. The rest will be other stuff. Oh well.

But hey, it's not like it matters to you guys! The next chapter is already there, after all!