Chapter 8: Volume 5, pt 1 Tournament Arc!
"After that… informative, match," Present Mic yawned, having evidently fallen asleep as Hatsume used her various gadgets to evade and outwit Tsu's attacks, narrating them the entire hour, "We move on to the long awaited follow up! It's the killer beauties of Class 1-A!"
Steeling herself, Momo clenched her fists and prepared to fight against one of her first true friends. Jiro was so… so cool! It wasn't fair she had to fight someone so impressive. Jiro was always laid back and spoke her mind so easily, and moved so decisively, she was psyching herself out over just the thought of the pre-match greetings. Would she be expected to insult or challenge her? Would it affect their friendship? Oh, there were too many things to consider!
"On one hand: the prodigal daughter, come to jam out to the tunes of victory: Kyoka Jiro!
Versus
She's the 1% Queen, she can be Butcher, Baker, or Candlestick Maker: Momo Yaoyorozu!"
On no, it was starting time!
"G-good Luck, Jiro!" she called, giving the thumbs up and bouncing on her feet a little.
Jiro seemed to turn red, which worried Momo all the more. Was she angry at her?
"Y-yeah…"
"Start!"
Deciding to play it safe, Momo produced a crude shield on her arm first, holding it up in defense as Jiro's jacks came whirling at her. She seemed to be only half-looking at her, which meant the attacks were more tentative and not as accurate as they could be.
Momo produced a simple bo staff, charging closer in an attempt to get Jiro to surrender without being hurt. As she neared, the jacks became more precise and much faster, and she was driven on the defense more and more. She realized her staff was no good, and slid it into the hand protected by a shield, preparing to make a full kite shield to simply push Jiro out with.
Placing a hand on her chest, she prepared to summon it, when a small scream came from her opponent and one of the jacks jammed into her neck, vibrating with Jiro's erratic heartbeat. While normally the action would just stun and daze the recipient, like Mineta and Kaminari experienced rather often, Jiro was evidently too panicked to control it, and after a few seconds of chills running up her spine, Momo fell over.
As she lost consciousness, she registered a few things. One was that Jiro's heartbeat wasn't all that unpleasant to feel running through her, if a bit jarring and painful at the intensity her jacks produced. The second was someone shouting her name in apology. The last was a very soft pillow under her head.
"Poor Yaoyorozu" Ibara sighed, watching Jiro rush by with her on a stretcher as they took her to rest in the first aid room.
She wasn't particularly close with them, or anyone really, but she did have a certain respect for all participants in the tournament. And she supposed it wasn't all bad for the loser. Unlike the heiress, Ibara had some life experience to back up her intelligence, and knew what the looks the two cast at one another meant. It made her happy to see people find happiness together.
Naturally, she couldn't just come out and say it, oh no, no, no. For one thing, her religion was still with the stance that romance and marriage were inherently intertwined with celibacy, monogamy, and procreation; and while she happily congratulated and celebrated anyone who found any form of love in their rather chaotic world: she had to do so quietly and in a way that didn't result in a lot of misunderstandings and hurt feelings on both sides. For another: she wasn't some monster, outing someone's crush without reason. If they kept dancing around one another for the next year, she might consider helping them along, but that was only a maybe.
She shook herself, feeling a need to focus on the task at hand.
"This is the day which the Lord hath made..." she whispered, using the quote from her scriptures to help calm her heart and focus her mind, "Rejoice and be glad in it."
She could worry about the future later. Now it was time to show the world that she was ready to take the path of a Hero, and save the lives of those who could or would not. The first steps had been taken, and she was holding fast. Now it was time to enter the fog of confusion and uncertainty, and see if her strength would prevail.
"Now, for something a little more intense: it's Class 1-B's resident thorny Assassin: Ibara Shiozaki!
Versus
The Dark Raptor from 1-A, The King of the Overtime round: Fumikage Tokoyami!
It's girls versus boys, angel versus demon, light versus dark, flora versus fauna, and even land versus sky!"
She noticed the crowd seemed particularly hyped up by the words he tried that time, and she gave a small wave up at those spectating. Then she realized what he'd said during her intro.
"Excuse me, but what do you mean by assassin?!" she called up, frowning worriedly, "I'm only here to claim victory, not the lives of my fellow students!"
"Oh, s-sorry about that…"
"I see you are a follower of the divine," Tokoyami sighed, releasing his phantasmic companion, "It seems our fate is to do battle, as is fitting."
Ibara felt her whole body snap into combat alertness as she glanced back at him, turning and smiling intensely.
"I believe in mercy and compassion for all, no matter their sins," she proclaimed boldly, "Even those who clothe themselves in the dark are worthy of love and improvement!"
The shadow bird gave her a pair of thumbs up, and raised its arms in clawlike fashion, while her hair readied itself in kind.
"Start, I guess?"
Ibara's vines snapped forward, bashing and snapping against Dark Shadow's fists as they clashed. She started to step forward, using some of her backup hair to anchor herself in with each step, while Tokoyami remained in place. She noticed him watching her, meaning she couldn't get away with a sneak attack. Then again, she'd seen him rely almost entirely on his Quirk in the first two rounds.
Suddenly pulling free, she went all out against Dark Shadow, sprinting around in an arc as she kept the attacks at Tokoyami's front. He seemed caught up in directing her, and couldn't turn fast enough to stop Ibara from getting close. She beamed at him and grabbed his shoulders, twisting and pulling him towards the edge. Her gambit paid off, as he evidently didn't think to train himself in hand-to-hand, allowing her to use the amature move and throw him out of the ring.
He didn't seem to react much, finding himself standing outside and having just lost.
"It seems that light truly is the greater strength."
Dark Shadow meanwhile slid up to her and held out its first for a knuckle-bump.
"That was pretty cool! We should train sometime!" she prompted, earning a smile from Ibara.
"We should," she agreed, gently pressing a vine to the hand alongside her own, "And as for strength: Light and Dark are just two halves of a greater whole. The truth of strength and victory come by good and evil. Despite your motif, I believe you are still the former, Tokoyami."
He smiled wryly at her, but it seemed good natured enough.
"I'm so sorry, Yaoyorozu," Kyoka apologized again, continuing to bow as her almost-but-probably-no-longer-friend got back up from the bed and prepared to return to the viewing area.
The heiress held up a hand, silencing her instantly. She must be so mad right now, she'd probably never speak to her again. She'd give Kyoka that silent and hyper-formal treatment, and while it would be stunning and beautiful like everything Yaoyorozu did; it would also hurt. Kyoka noticed her glance around, and prepared for a "goodbye and good riddance lecture."
Kyoka felt herself stiffen in surprise when instead of telling her off, Yaoyorozu gently took her shoulders and showed her that noonday-bright smile.
"Jiro-," she started, hesitating before continuing in a quieter voice, "Kyoka, I don't blame you. We were both doing our best, and you managed to surprise me. You won our round fair and square, and I accepted the consequences before we even stepped into the field. Please… stop looking so down. It doesn't suit your face at all. I much prefer how pretty you look when you're happy."
She thought her heart might have stopped, hearing those words, and for a moment she just stood there, a bit stunned. Yaoyorozu giggled at her, and released her with a soft squeeze. Then some idea seemed to hit her.
"You seem rather uncomfortable receiving compliments," she noted, "Was I too forward?"
Yaoyorozu gasped, placing a hand over her mouth in realization.
"Was that why you panicked during the match?! Did you think I was going to attempt to mimic Midnight-sensei and seduce you?! I didn't mean to imply I was so flippant with my figure! If I came across as preparing to be sensual, I apologize for doing so, Jiro!"
Before she could bow, Kyoka pulled her into a hug, assuring her totally-gonna-be-besties-friend that she'd done nothing wrong. At least, nothing overtly.
"You… you didn't scare me that way," she said, making sure she explained things clearly, "I just- I thought your creation might expose your chest on live television, and that would've ruined your entire career. I also… didn't want to be seen looking."
"Seen… looking?" Yaoyorozu asked, blinking in confusion.
Jiro pulled back and clasped her hands behind her back, looking away and tapping her headphone jacks together nervously.
"I… I think you're really pretty, Yaoyorozu…" she admitted, "And sometimes I get… really jealous of how you look. And not just jealous for myself, if you understand?"
Yaoyorozu seemed to mull the information over for a moment, before nodding to herself and tilting her head so her cheek faced Kyoka. She pointed at her ear.
"Could you plug in for a second?"
The request was so odd and out of nowhere, Kyoka was certain she'd heard wrong.
"I- what?"
"Plug in," Yaoyorozu repeated, "Your jacks. Could you plug one into my ear for me?"
"Wh-why?!"
"Call it an experiment. I want to check something before I say anything else."
Extending one of her ear-attachments, Kyoka offered it up to Yaoyorozu's hands letting her ease it in so she would be comfortable. As the rich woman gently took it in her soft fingers, Kyoka shivered at the sensations rushing up the chords.
She eased the tip into her ear, letting it rest comfortably against her skin while not damaging any of the internal systems. Yaoyorozu's heartbeat rushed into her head, a little faster than usual, while her own was likely through the roof, and probably rushing through the heiress' body just the same.
Yaoyorozu smiled, closing her eyes and nodding her head a little, as if listening to her favorite song. The sight made Kyoka's heart flutter a little more, before relaxing just a little. Momo seemed to notice, and smiled all the brighter, her own heart speeding up just a little.
After a few moments, she gently removed the jack, but kept hold of it. She smiled at Kyoka, before suddenly seeming bashful and glancing down at her shoes.
"Th-thank you for letting me do that. I realize how personal of a request it was…"
"N-no problem!" Kyoka squeaked, "D-did you figure out the thing you were talking about?"
Yaoyorozu nodded, before turning to look at her, a crimson blush across her cheeks.
"I, um… I really like your heartbeat."
Kyoka was pretty sure she was turning into a mouse, with the sounds her throat was making.
"And… I'd like to ask you a favor," she continued, fingering her adorable hair wisp which sat over her cheek, "Could you… may I take you on an outing of some kind, in the near future? I feel as if I barely know you, but… I just feel so comfortable around you, and even when you were attacking me: I felt safe, somehow, as if you couldn't harm me, even if you injured me. I would like to- to explore these... feelings, I have for you."
If her heart could explode from sheer , it would have done so about a sentence and a half ago. For a few moments she didn't say anything, and Yaoyorozu evidently was going to take the worst possible implications as her face fell and she seemed to shrink.
"W-w-w-wait!" Kyoka said, waving her hands as she noticed the rather tall girl start to seem shorter than usual, "I'm not saying no, I'm just really surprised!"
The heiress blinked and glanced back to her, a little hope still in her eyes.
"I um… I guess I'm just not sure why someone as cool as you would… would want to be friends with me, let alone want to take me on a date," she admitted.
"Kyoka, I don't wish to seem rude, but that line of thinking is rather unbecoming of someone in the Hero Course," Yaoyorozu admonished, seeming a little like Ida for a moment, "You've done so much to even get this far, and you made it to the finals of the U.A. Sports festival! You're so dedicated, and I foresee you'll make a wonderful Hero one day! But even if those weren't the case… I would still want to see why I enjoy being around you so much. I suppose what I mean is: I don't know why I like you either, and that's why I want to find out."
Taking a step forward, Kyoka pulled her into another hug, feeling her eyes start to dampen her shoulder.
"I take it… this is a yes?" she asked, her heartbeat picking up enough to be heard even without Kyoka's jacks as she hugged back.
"S-sure. W-whatever, Yao- Momo?"
Momo giggled.
"Yaomomo… I've never had a nickname before. I'm happy you gave me my first."
Kyoka felt ready to die now.
"And with our second boxing match of the day wrapping up," Hizashi sighed, glancing over at Shota with a look he knew very well, "Young Kirishima taking the narrow win with a showing of camaraderie and chivalry at the end there, we once again turn to our resident 1-A expert to ask: Have you got anything to say for your kids?"
Shota leaned towards his microphone with exaggerated slowness.
"No."
"Really? We've had nothing but jarringly quick wins and three slug-fests that really aren't jazzing the crowd. You didn't teach them anything about spectacle for the crowd?" Hizashi complained.
"Showing off is more your domain, Mic. Besides, so far we've had a string of awful matchups."
"I mean, I wouldn't go that far-"
"I would," Shota said, drawing the crowd's attention, "We started with a match between morons who don't understand the concept of holding back, a recommendation student with range and power versus one of the more deadly close-quarter quirks, a pair of students who've probably spent so long being overlooked they've started to internalize their neutrality, a timid fighter against one who wasn't looking to win, two girls who have difficulty operating on their own at the best of times, and now a set of Quirks that are at an equivalence stage. Any respectable Hero in one of these matchups would have had to grow or do something unexpected to win in a way that had any "spectacle.""
"Aren't you the one who's always saying not to be a one-trick-pony?"
"A lesson not all of them have implemented yet. They're still relying almost entirely on their Quirks, instead of developing secondary and tertiary skills. Midoriya and Shinso, for instance, were barely even boxing; while Jiro and Yaoyorozu ended up making a major mistake each and frankly choosing a winner by chance, or who could stay conscious longer."
The crowd was silent, either processing, or awed, or annoyed at his words. He didn't really care.
"Right… Well, maybe this next match will give us something more flavorful to sink our teeth into?! Our next contestants were some of the MVP's of the last round, with one helping to run the Overtime contest, and the other being the first to emerge with a bandanna, as well as being the only person to capture two!"
"Uraraka?"
Ochako looked up from her table, rousing herself from her thoughts as she looked up at the doorway to the prep room.
"Deku!" she beamed, seeing him wince out a smile at her, his face covered in bruises and patches, "Are you okay? Did Recovery Girl patch you up alright? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"I'm okay," he assured her, unable to move his arms as they were both secured in casts from not resting or taking much care of them after his odd super-punches during the cavalry battle.
"Then… shouldn't you be watching the matches?" she asked, not sure if she should be worried he wasn't talking up his usual storm.
"Kirishima and Tetsutetsu are fighting. It won't change much for the next… I'd say hour?" he guessed, wincing a little.
She realized he was trying not to move his jaw very much, and guessed it was more injured than he wanted to admit. Smiling at his stubbornness, she patted the chair beside her.
"In that case: what can I do for you?"
He grimaced and sat down gratefully, shuffling his arms a bit to reveal the edge of one of his "Hero Analysis" notebooks. She recognized the pristine edges of a new addition, and smiled.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but if you're coming to give me a strategy to defeat Ida, I can't accept."
Deku blinked at her.
"I wasn't going to," he said, a bit surprised, "Actually, I was gonna say you didn't need my help, if you asked."
Ochako was surprised at his faith in her, and blinked at the notebook, then at him, confused why he brought it up.
"Uraraka… you're so much stronger than you know," he whispered, managing to get the notepad onto the table and trying to nudge the pages apart with his casts, "And… I don't think I've ever said how honored I am to be your friend. I was actually coming down here to ask… to ask if you'd sign my page for you."
Her heart might have skipped a beat at hearing those words. She quickly pulled the notebook over and flipped through their classmates' pages (carefully ignoring Ida's, thank you very much) until she came to the one of hers she'd seen once or twice in passing. She noticed he'd colored her costume in, as well as added a few more notes which looked like they continued on the next page. She flipped over to it, and saw a slightly different version of her outfit, along with notes of a dozen possible support items.
Deciding to leave it be for the moment, she flipped back to the front where a blank line was open for a signature. She noticed it was labeled as "Hero Name" and decided to put down both.
Closing the notebook, she slid it back into Deku's arms and smiled at him.
"I'm the one who's honored now. You said you only have like two other signatures in here, right? All Might's and Aizawa-sensei's?"
"Yeah, but the last one was mostly just me taking a note he wrote and slipping it in with his analysis," Deku admitted, his usual bashful side showing off like normal.
Ochako giggled and patted his shoulder.
"Well, one day you'll be able to get it all filled up, I bet. In fact, pros will be coming to you for autographs soon enough!"
A thought struck her, and Ochako leveled a finger at his face.
"I'll even make you a bet: If you make it to the finals: the next Pro-Hero you meet out of school will ask for your autograph!"
Deku frowned in thought, before looking up at her in confusion.
"Um, what are we betting with? I know you're tight on cash, so I don't want to make you pay when they don't like me…"
"Hm… that's a good point. How about: when they ask you for you to sign, you have to buy me a good dinner! At a buffet somewhere, so I can go all out getting my week's food in one bet! And if they don't… I'll... "
She considered, not sure what she could really offer, especially since she'd just given him her signature. Then she remembered how flustered he got around girls sometimes. Ochako put up her best evil grin.
"If you win, I'll help you train to overcome a major weakness!" she promised, knowing he wouldn't refuse.
"Deal!" he expectedly agreed, "which weakness? Endurance? Striking power? Taking damage without falling? Dodging?!"
"You'll see…" she giggled, "But first thing's first: we have to get there!"
"Right!" he cheered, his casts jostling a little as he tried to raise a fist like hers, but was stopped by the pain.
"He's the Hero Course's fastest contender, with a hunger for victory and orange juice, it's Tenya Ida!
Versus
She's the Master of Gravity, Mistress of the Centrifugal Force, welcome Ochako Uraraka!"
Hizashi watched the two get set, stretching and preparing for their match.
"These two will be interesting to watch," Shota muttered, nodding to himself, "Along with Midoriya, these two have been some of the fastest friends I've seen in a while. I was worried Jiro and Yaoyorozu would freeze up when they fought for similar reasons, and was mostly proven wrong, but these two might hold back more."
"We're about to find out, Eraserhead!" Hisashi roared, noticing Midnight holding up her whip, "Start!"
The two charged one another, Uraraka standing tall and holding her hands out at either side not unlike Bakugo's usual pride stance. Ida was sprinting right for her, his hands locked open palmed as if intent to switch from lunging to pushing. As he neared, she leapt over his arms, managing to tag his shoulder.
"And with a heart-pounding opening, Uraraka is the first to land a successful hit!" he screamed amongst the cheers, "But it looks like Ida isn't going down so easily!"
Ida's engines started sputtering, not like he'd stalled, but as if he was trying controlled bursts to prevent himself from spinning like the alleged "Emergency Exit Man" stunt from a few days earlier. He managed to get his body into a whirling kick, spinning towards the ground.
Uraraka evaded him, able to see him building up speed and jump aside well before he got close to the ground. Still, some of the damaged concrete hit her, mostly just a few shards bouncing off her uniform, but a handful of smaller stones might have hurt.
Ida dived again, and she evaded, but remained closer this time. He attacked, and she dodged. They continued the pattern, both seeming to become very tired.
"Well… looks like another duke-out," Hizashi sighed, "Though, really I'm not surprised. Neither of them really could win quickly after she tagged him. He can correct his flight if she throws him, but he's also forced to project a lot when he attacks."
"He was."
"Eh?"
Glancing back down, Hizashi realized Ida had begun to change direction at the last second, moving to actually kick Uraraka when he came down to break the ground. The crowd began to quiet, a few of them making discontented sounds as he started hurting her, unable to get her too far towards the edges before the kicks' momentum threw him back upwards or away, and she could recover.
"It looks like Ida's losing some of the crowd support," he noted, seeing the grimace Uraraka was making even from there, "And really, I'm kind of starting to sway a bit too. Didn't you say they were fr- agh!"
Shota had thrown an elbow in his face, leaning forward to get his microphone to full volume.
"Oi. All you booing out there. If any of you are pro-heroes, stop watching and go home. Start job-hunting," he commanded, deadly serious, "And for those of you who are calling her a "poor little girl," yes I can hear you, and no she isn't. These two are fighting this way because they're friends. They both recognize one another's strength and danger. If either of them were going any less intensely, it would be an insult. If Midoriya was in there with them, aside from probably egging them on, he'd be hitting both of them with more than everything he had."
His words sank in, and Hizashi realized he wasn't exactly offering up a new opinion. A large number of the crowd seemed to be considering their challenge in the second event, which certainly supported the idea these three were a bit zealous about their goals.
"Regardless, it's too late."
Everyone paused and blinked at the odd shade which had been cast over the ring. Looking up, they saw the dozens of small stones all hovering in a cluster over the center, still moving up, but very slowly.
Uraraka placed her fingers together and leapt up at Ida. The stones began to fall, most no more than an irritant, but as they started to bounce off of Ida's back and head, and his own gravity returned, Uraraka managed to grab his arm. The sudden shift back and then from normality threw his internal ear for a loop, and his kick went wide, allowing her to swing him around and throw for all she was worth. Ida was sent spinning past the boundaries, but not quite into the wall. He breathed heavily, hovering above the grass.
The crowd started to cheer, but gasped as Uraraka fell to the ground, her arms over her head. They released why when the stones started landing on her.
There was silence, as Ida prepared to guide himself back in. If he touched the ground before she was declared incapacitated, they'd have to pull a tie-breaker. But as he revved his engines a final time, there was a soft rumble. He feel to the grass, and a pair of familiar hands burst from the rubble.
The audience screamed in delight as she managed to make it out, ignoring the rainbow colored pool seeping out from under the stones. She got to her feet, and managed a desperate smile, seeming to sway oddly.
"Uraraka wins!" Hizashi screamed, much to everyone's approval.
Then she fell over.
"That was most insightful!" Tenya praised, chopping his hands as Recovery Girl helped patch up Uraraka.
"It was awesome!" Midoriya agreed, his own batch of repair scheduled now that he'd had a chance to eat and rest for a bit, "I was worried you were being too reckless by letting him get close, but then I saw the piece that you blocked go up, and realized you were trying to trick him!"
Uraraka blushed, itching at the back of her head.
"It wasn't that cool…" she mumbled, "plus, now I'm pretty much burnt out. I don't know if I can float much more than a pebble without my stomach giving out at this point, even with all out training, Deku."
Blushing at the admission of his help, Midoriya looked away and flexed his hands a little, likely feeling the heavy wraps around his arms restricting their movement. Tenya knew his friend well enough to guess his mood.
"Midoriya: I do not regret failing this day," he said, catching his friend's attention and smiling brightly.
He clenched his fists and heldi them up, facing the ceiling. Midoriya and Uraraka lifted their own forearms to bump against his, smiling and in the former's case: wincing.
"You called me out in the cavalry battle, and forced me to use my Recipro-Burst early, but in doing so I had no more tricks to hide. When we reached the tournament section, I could fight without holding back in any way. And I did. The crowd hated me for it, but I gave Uraraka no quarter or reprieve, and yet failed to her similar dedication. This is not my doing ill, but rather proving to the world that my friend has the strength to be a great hero, and that by our friendship I will be just as great!"
His friends smiled at him, nodding and tearing up just a bit at his emotion. Tenya grinned back, before feeling his pocket vibrate. He pulled out his phone, grinning at the ID. Tensei!
"Pardon me," he apologized, stepping towards the door, "My brother's calling, and I can't often speak with him. Midoriya? Best of Luck."
The green-haired boy gave him a thumbs up and a nod, and Tenya tapped the "accept call" button. As he exited, he heard Uraraka pull out her phone and say with glee: "Daddy's calling! Deku, can I take this real quick?"
He put it out of his mind.
["Tenya!"] came the excited, but slightly electronic voice, carried as it was all the way from Hosu, ["How could you brutalize that poor little girl? She must hate you so, for that. Did she break off your friendship? Were you going to ask her out, and now must spend eternity alone, you robotic rugrat, you?"]
"No," Tenya sighed, recognizing his brother's sarcasm but still a bit miffed at the teasing, "Tensei, I did what I had to in my attempt to win. Had I tried one wit less, she would have defeated me much earlier. And I- ...I believe she's taken."
["That Midoriya they kept mentioning? The lead horse during the prior battle? I managed to catch that bit by watching at 2x speed after it got posted."]
"I apologize for failing so spectacularly in the second event! I promise never to hold back that way again!"
["Hold back? Tenya, you're in a Sports Festival, no one expected you to act like your lives were on the line yet. That's the Third Years' domain. I was proud you rose to the challenge, and when I saw you give your friend the respect she was due? Tenya, I don't think I can explain how proud I was to know you're able to give it your all for this."]
Tenya felt himself start to tear up a little, but held back for the moment.
"Thank you, Tensei. How's Hosu? I heard you were on assignment there?"
["Emergency Patrol. I hear Endeavor himself is going to be headed out here in a week, if we don't smooth things over."]
He remembered his brother saying something about a major villain who they were busy looking for. One who didn't hurt civilians. He remembered what Midoriya had said about the villain when they'd discussed Tensei's most recent assignment.
"Tensei… my friend and I suspect… are you hunting the Hero Killer?" he cut straight to the chase, knowing he couldn't be delicate about it.
The line was silent for a moment, then Tensei sighed in resignation, the sound coming across as little more than a hiss.
["Yes. We are. He hasn't done anything but hurt or kill other Heroes, but that's more than enough for us to try and get him brought in. A lot of our friends have had brushes with him, and… well, I don't think someone like that should be running loose."]
Tenya considered his brother's words. They didn't sound like his. They sounded vengeful, yet also full of regret.
"Tensei, do you remember when you told me why you wanted to be a Hero?"
["Yeah, sure? What brought this up?"]
"You said you thought people who worked at lost children kiosks were the coolest… because they made people in fear feels safe, and that Heroes were the extension of that job."
["I did, but I was over-simplifying it for your robot brain, back then."]
"I don't think you were," Tenya said, not really believing it but desperate for his brother not to fight the Hero Killer, "And- and if you were telling me the truth when you said that, then please: stop hunting him. Protect the people, and stay close to your friends, your sidekicks. Help them feel safe."
["Tenya… he's never even scratched anyone but Heroes. The civilians are safe-"]
"That could change at any time! If he can kill a Hero, then what civilian is going to stand a chance?!"
Tensei went silent, before laughing softly.
["How about this: I promise to keep a sidekick nearby at all times, so if we run into him, we'll be able to have someone clear civilians while the other deals with him? Something every Hero has to know is Preemptive Actions, capturing villains before they can hurt someone. Not all actions or Quirks leave much time after activating before people start dying, and if we could stop them before that, even for a moment, then it's our job. To keep with your metaphor: sometimes it's best to talk to a parent who's holding their child's hand a little to loosely, rather than help them find one another again."]
Swallowing, and knowing he wouldn't get any better deal out of his brother, Tenya nodded.
"Very well, Tensei."
["Cheer up, Tenya! I have a feeling I'll see you sooner than you think. Just keep your eyes open, and when you get to pick your Hero name: I want you to consider taking up our family name too."]
Tenya felt a chill run through him.
"But, you're already Ingenium! It would confuse the civilian populace, and likely fail to be approved by the Hero Association!"
["I've been thinking about taking on a new name. You remember Nemuri? She's been chatting about maybe taking some time off to come work with my agency and help us do some rebranding. Evidently we're not doing very well in public ratings these days."]
"Well… I can't imagine it will be an acquisition soon. I'll consider it."
"And that concludes the first round, Listeners!" Hizashi continued, always so enthusiastic that one, "Next up: four battles of skill v skill! Recovery Girl's on hand to take care of injuries, but since we can't have our participants out cold: she's only able to heal them up a little bit, and has to use conventional medicine for their wounds unless they tap out. But ah… well, I think we all know that's not gonna happen! So that means all our quarter-finalists will be going in tired and battered from the last round. Bet Midoriya, Kirishima, and Uraraka regret letting their opponents pummeling them for so long, eh listeners?"
Nezu sipped his tea, considering and computing the thousands and hundreds of thousands of possibilities. Who would win? How would they win? He'd already been surprised once, by that Midoriya boy's choice to openly challenge everyone all at once, and to go on the offensive with his advantage. The odds were nearly 15,000,047 to 1, as his timid personality and limited control over his power would have made a more cautious action the more likely, with chance captures being marginally more likely, but…
Ah. It was the Uraraka girl, and the Todoroki boy. He could see the latter was restraining his power, but without the reason of self-preservation that Midoriya had in flying too fast. The stubbornness of the one conflicted with the ideals of the other, inflaming him to force the issue. And the former… human mating cycles and methods were so complex and overly-layered, full of betrayals and self-denial, and not even logically arranged. Even the vaguely genetic-based actions of the elder Todoroki still failed to meet any standards of logical or rational mating. But even with that aside, the Uraraka girl was influencing Midoriya, and he: her.
They'd been training together, unlike the other students who'd been going solo to prevent others from seeing what they were doing. In doing so, they'd pushed one another further than they could make themselves go. The odds said their Quirk development was at least 6% ahead of the others, and their personalities might be similarly advancing. If the desire to impress was alone in the motivations, then Midoriya would be picking up some of her straight-forward thinking, while she would be gathering some of his analytical nature.
It followed, therefore, that his willingness to brute-force situations and encourage others to defeat him by leveling the playing field was some manner of her influencing him to stick to his ideals more firmly, though sloppily. Perhaps a counter-action from an abusive background? The mother was more than clean, but evidence from his middle school wasn't exactly forthcoming.
Toshinori wasn't teaching the boy nearly quick enough, especially with his variance of control. Carrying Nana's Quirk made him difficult to instruct, and based on how he'd acted under hypnosis, it was she who'd tapped into the true well of power during the battle, leaving Midoriya still limited to only his gliding tricks. A worrying prospect, with the Nomu report having come back.
If All-for-One was indeed still active, then the new Symbol of Peace would need to be prepared with haste. Midoriya needed to begin tapping into his true power now. But who could teach him to use more than one Quirk? And even if he could use all eight powers presumably contained within the Quirk, he wouldn't be able to master them in any timely fashion. No, they needed a staying action, to buy time.
Numbers were the issue. All-for-One was an unknown quantity. His numbers were variable, but his inner circle wasn't clear. At least two… but how many more? And their own side was shrinking. Heroes were retiring, and many died to incompetent training or the Hero Killer. Few were graduating with the ideals and strength to hold the Pro status, and not merely that of sidekicks. Merchandising revenue alone indicated the Heroes the public trusted were shrinking in number. A new Symbol of Peace might not be enough anymore.
Chapter 9: Volume 5, pt 2 Round Two!
Midoriya v Todoroki
Ojiro v Asui
Jiro v Shiozaki
Kirishima v Uraraka
The next rounds seemed particularly interesting. The challenger, and the one who'd continued to defy the call to action. The straight-forward ones, yet not so plain as others believed. The ranged fighters, who'd won their battles relatively quickly. And then the two who'd taken the longest time to win, barring Midoriya's odd chivalry match at the beginning.
Still, it was disappointing, seeing Toshinori's new protege only use technology and a few basic hovers. Was that his own Quirk, or perhaps he was tapping into Nana's old Float? He didn't know. Either way, it was depressingly limited. At one point, when purple lightning had danced over his arms, he'd been hopeful the boy had somehow tapped into One-for-All, but when his arms had gone limp and then his punches had shown how truly damaged he'd been left, he realized that it couldn't have been conscious, and was self-damaging beyond practical use.
Was Toshinori an idiot? Had he not been able to show his student how to distribute the power? To limit its release to what his body could handle? Had he even trained him long enough to survive the output, or just transferred it on a whim? So many questions, but no answers.
Taking a bite of his taiyaki, he settled into his chair and watched as the loud announcer started hyping the crowd for the next match. Perhaps here the boy would show some potential. Maybe he'd throw an actual punch, or maybe kick for crying out loud!
"Folks, I don't think these two need any introduction. He won the first round, he blasted the second to bits, and now he's showing the bruises of victory: Izuku Midoriya!
Versus
He froze the competition so hard we spent an hour thawing and cracking it so you and the next group didn't get frostbite: Shoto Todoroki!"
Shoto sighed. He couldn't keep losing like this. He'd already resorted to using his flames once, right before Bakugo had blown them all to bits, and that was once too many for his lifetime. The moment Midnight said go, he'd have to freeze with a wider range than he ever had, ensure Midoriya couldn't fly around. Luckily, he wasn't very fast, so he could afford a few seconds.
Shoto blinked at the boy standing opposite to him. What was he doing?
Midoriya waved at him, both of his arms wrapped in partial splints, leaving his hands, elbows, and shoulders free, but nothing else. The other boy must be insane, trying to fight with those injuries. Any blocked or off-set hit would end with the bandages in tatters, and the injuries reopened. Shoto wouldn't let his career be ruined by rumors of his hitting an injured opponent for sport. He'd be precise and ensure that Midoriya would be able to get fully healed as soon as he was thawed out.
"Hey, Todoroki!" Midoriya shouted at him, "Look: I'm only able to go at half-power too!"
It took a moment for him to realize Midoriya was doing his best to be sarcastic. He was just too earnest, and it came across more like a kid saying he was just like some fictional character because they had the same eye color.
"I won't be taking it easy on you, injured or not."
"Good! I was just gonna say that we're even now!"
The entire crowd let out an "oooooh!" which irritated Shoto even more.
"Start!"
Slamming his right foot down, Shoto blasted the widest wall of ice he could, hoping to cover the entire arena. For a moment, it appeared like he'd won, but a green blur shot by his left side at the last moment, clearing the edge of the ice. He tried to turn, but felt a familiar red boot hit him in the small of the back. He stumbled forward on top of his ice, tripping on a sharp bit and landing on his arms.
"And Midoriya evades the iceberg, getting in a solid kick!"
"Out."
Shoto spun on Midoriya, who was hovering just above where Shoto had been.
"What?! I'm still in the ring!" he shouted back, now embarrassed and angry.
"You are," Midoriya conceded, "but if I'd chosen to hit you in the gut, you'd be out."
"Then why didn't you? Are you playing with me?!"
"Are you playing with the rest of us?" Midoriya asked, his voice so earnest for an answer that Shoto was taken aback, "I was only able to kick you because I know your left side's a free pass. If you'd used your fire, I would have had to go the long way around, and you'd have hit me while I turned. But because you won't, I could strafe close and even start slowing before I passed you."
Growling, Shoto fired another iceberg, but forgot to make it wide. Midoriya simply leapt upwards into the sky, before dropping at him with blinding speed. It seemed faster than Midoriya had been during the cavalry battle.
Shoto produced a cylindrical shield around himself, attempting to turn to catch him but preparing to miss. The purple lightning danced across Midoriya's legs, the color and shape Shoto thought he'd imagined during the cavalry battle around his arms. The kick blasted through the shield and sent him flying up his own glacier, higher and well past where the ring would be, if they were on the ground.
As he rounded again, he saw Midoriya's leg was limp, the pant leg ripped but still hanging over the bruised and possibly broken bones. His thigh seemed less damaged, and since he could still concentrate: his femur was probably not broken.
"You're shivering," Midoriya noted, his voice full of concern but also with the same tone Aizawa had when he lectured the class, "You'd probably be fine for another six glaciers of this size normally, but with them still present and you're stuck on top of them, you're unable to warm yourself."
"Then again-!" he strained, now behind Shoto.
When had he moved around to get behind him again?! Was he moving faster, or had he been reacting slower?
The next kick was from the left leg, and not enhanced by the lightning.
"-you could turn on your flames and be as warm as you liked!"
Shoto spun in place, trying to find Midoriya. He'd vanished, but he could still hear the boy taunting him.
"Everyone here's giving their all!" he screamed, clearly trying to reach the audience too, "My team drew out everyone's best, but they all gave it! You've only tried in this festival once! If you want to win, then you'd better do it again!"
"He put you up to this!" Shoto spat, generating a pillar to get him higher so he could see where Midoriya was.
"Stop thinking about Endeavor for Once In Your Life! Is Endeavor gonna fight me, or is Shoto Todoroki?!"
He felt himself chill at the words, and not just from the cold. Then he felt something crack. The pillar below him was more fragile than his normal ice, a side-effect of his growing hypothermia. He began to fall, and tried to think of a way to land softly.
A pair of arms slid under his, catching and slowing him. He turned to see Midoriya helping him land back on the glacier.
"I-I-I could freeze you… right now…" he managed.
Midoriya only smiled, before dropping him the last foot.
"You could have burned me too. But I don't think you want that."
Midoriya flew back up, before shouting down to him.
"So I think I deserve to know: what do you want?! Not what you want to avoid! Not who you want to scorn. What do you Want?!"
He thought about it. It had been so long, but his dream was still there. To be a hero. No. To be a Hero. Not just a Pro, or the best, but someone others could look up to. Someone his father never could be.
"I want to be a Hero, without using his power!" he responded, raising his fist, "To show the world I don't need his-"
"You don't have his power!" Midoriya screamed, "You never have! It's yours! It always has been! Your power is your own! You decide who you'll become!"
Something snapped inside him, and suddenly there was heat. No. There was fire.
Roaring in triumph below, Endeavor started shouting something, but Shoto couldn't hear the words. He didn't care, at least for that moment.
"What Do You Want?!"
"I… want to be a Hero…" he whispered.
Raising a hand, he started blasting the flames around him, melting his glaciers and preparing to blast the pesky flier out of the sky. He unleashed a wave of heat, missing Midoriya just barely as he began to circle and weave. As he continued to descend, his flames started to crack and crumble the ice, fracturing the delicate pieces and letting them fall to the ground.
Before long, he was standing back on concrete, the waves of roiling energy coming off him quickly clearing the field. Midoriya was sweating, above and in the way of the heat as he was. Someone screamed Midoriya's, sounding afraid for him, and Shoto felt a pang of emptiness. No one shouted for Shoto like that. No one shouted for Endeavor like that.
Preparing to go all out, Shoto angled for Midoriya and let loose. Midoriya dived, his arms suddenly extended. The purple lighting sparked over his arms, catching his irises and seeming to light his grin as he pulled back for a straight punch. He wasn't going to use half-strength either now.
The flame obscured his vision as he fired, and for a moment he seemed to have won. But then the wind blew Shoto's fire away, and Midoriya was right there, his bandages burnt and his arms darkening in the heat and strain. Some parts seemed almost black, and the lighting around them seemed much more blue-green than purple, but Shoto couldn't be sure.
"Shimura-Style: Glacier Smash!"
Then his chest received an impact that might have cracked his ribs, and he slid back. He erected an icy wall, managing to stop himself, but then another punch hit his stomach, and he shattered through it, skidding across the ground.
He stood and prepared to retaliate blindly, but heard the snap of Midnight's whip.
"Todoroki out!"
He looked down, seeing he wasn't standing in the ring, but on the remains of ice above the grass. He'd slid past the line he'd so nicely revealed after the second punch.
Glancing up, gasping for air, he felt his throat catch as he saw Deku.
He was hovering less than an inch above the ground, and looked dead. His arms were both purple and black, cracked and damaged, the black and glowing portions fading away, and revealing no cooked flesh, thank Kami. His leg was still in tatters, and his chest was covered in a red not unlike that of a sunburn.
Despite all that, he was grinning at Todoroki with what he could only describe as pride. It felt… good, to be looked at that way. Shoto felt tears in his eyes. How long had it been?
"Midoriya Wins!" Midnight quickly declared, and upon saying so: he let his Quirk give out, and landed on his back.
"He should be disqualified."
"I know."
"He won't be able to be awake for the next match, let alone win it!"
"I know."
"Blast it, Toshinori, why did you let him go this far?!"
"I couldn't stop him. He's always had the drive to save everyone, regardless of his own safety."
"Have you considered that he might be suicidal?" Recovery Girl asked, tapping Izuku's forehead, causing him to groan.
"I'm not-"
"Quiet, you! You don't get to talk! Take the anesthetic so I can get to work on those arms of yours."
Izuku continued to breathe into the mask, but he didn't want to sleep yet, and held on.
"He's been throwing himself into deadly situations he knows he isn't prepared for, and been given nothing but reward for it. A Quirk for trying to save his childhood bully from a villain when the Pros were scared. Entrance to his dream school for smashing through a super robot to help a girl in a test where he should have known she'd be protected from permanent injury. Now: bashing his injured arms to bits against a boy who could freeze a small town with a thought, all so he could become even stronger! Toshinori, his arms were already damaged, the bones weren't protected in any way! It's a miracle they aren't cooked when he dove into that fire, but I can't imagine he'll have full use of his fingers after this!"
Izuku tried to reach out, desperate to tell her he could feel and move his fingers just fine. Something moved from his skin, and he gently pushed her shoulder. Blinking, he sighed and felt the sleeping gas starting to take effect.
Recovery Girl gasped as the black and blue tendrils he'd unlocked from Tokoyami got her attention, before fading back into him.
"I won't… I won't let this keep me down…" he managed, "And I'm not… I'm not doing this to die. I'm doing this so… so other people can live. Not just survive… live…"
Her expression softened, and she brought her cane around to smack All Might in the gut.
"You need to teach him better! Teach him when his body is going too far! And even if you say otherwise, I'm not convinced you don't have some deep-set death wish," she chided.
"How could I die… when I have a promise to keep…?"
Ingenium sighed, hearing the spoilers from the crowd around him as many of them watched the Sports Festival on their phones. Enigma didn't seem to mind, but then again she didn't really seem much of anything most of the time.
"I guess Tenya picks powerful friends," he muttered to his sidekick, hearing someone scream about Midoriya.
"Your family tends to do that."
He smiled, noticing her ever-so-subtle teasing in her tone.
"Look, if this is about Midnight wanting to spend a few weeks on patrol with us, I swear it's purely for branding purposes."
"Whatever you say, boss. Just don't mess up the office while we're out."
Laughing to try and brush past the implications, Ingenium shook his helmet and refocused on the civilians. Technically they were hunting The Hero Killer, but with his modus-operandi of using the night and shadows, they were really just doing PR at this point to show they weren't scared, much like the Sports Festival itself.
A scream pieced the air, and without even pausing to register the sound, the two sprinted towards the sound. Ingenium got there first, but Enigma wasn't far behind, expanding and taking larger steps to catch up. He skidded to a stop, sliding in between the one who'd raised the alarm and an alleyway. A figure stood there, a rough and long blade in his hands.
"Enigma!" Ingenium called, his armor amplifying his voice so she and the civilians could hear, "Get the citizens away from here! I'll hold him off until they're clear!"
"Hold me off?" the man rasped, readying his sword to a quick-slash position, "Shouldn't you be telling them you'll defeat me? That you'll capture me and hold the glory of defeating the Hero Killer?"
Tensei remembered his brother's words, and grinned behind his mask.
"Glory can wait. Lives don't."
"It seems you aren't one who must be purged. Stand aside, and I will let you live, Hero."
"Your titles and approval mean nothing to me, murderer. So long as I can hold you: you won't be leaving this place."
"So be it."
"She's sharp as a tac, blunt as a sledgehammer, and sudden as a Springtime monsoon, she's Tsuyu Asui!
Versus
He's the beast of the ground, and gives the middle finger to evolution's thoughts on the tail, he's Mashiro Ojiro!"
"Don't go easy on me, Kero," Tsuyu said, stretching a little, "I've got a new super move I wanna try out, and it won't look cool if I beat you up while you're holding back."
Ojiro laughed, giving her the thumbs-up.
"Sure thing, Asui!"
"Start!"
"I told you to call me Tsu!" she shouted, dashing forward with a leap and launching a kick at him.
His tail whipped up, meeting her leg and deflecting her with ease, sending Tsuyu spinning around towards the edge. She managed to grab the ground just shy of the line, sticking to it and leveraging herself around to just land inside. The audience screamed their approval of the acrobatic action, but she didn't pay them any mind.
She lunged again, going for a punch this time. Ojiro met her again, but his tail was thick enough she was able to graze past instead of being knocked aside. But he was also shifting his style, and had brought his fist around to meet hers. Their knuckles knocked together, which hurt her a lot more than it probably hurt him.
Leaping back, Tsuyu tried to keep some distance. She had the range, but only if she could use it. She had to attempt something first.
Launching her tongue forward, she snatched him around the waist and began to twist and throw him towards the edge. His tail slammed down on her tongue, bruising the muscle a little and cutting off her leverage. She released him instantly, retracting herself and swallowing a few times to try and soothe the pain.
"Not bad," he admitted, dropping into a martial arts stance.
"That wasn't my super move."
"Well, then let's see it!"
Tsuyu inhaled deeply and leapt at him again. She didn't hit him this time though. Instead, she got just barely out of range of his tail. He swung, and as he overextended, she attacked.
Her tongue lanced out, but rather than wrapping, she let it impact his chest. He groaned and brought his tail into a defensive stance, which she wasted no time in pummeling. Tsuyu fired her tongue out over and over, retracting it as soon as she felt it hit something and then firing it again. She could feel the bruise on the length starting to hurt, and a newer one starting to form on the tip, but she kept going, seeing the purple spot on the tail start to darken.
In desperation, he swung again, and she leapt upward. A final strike of her tongue hit his waist, wrapping around him as his tail extended past where he could defend with it. She swung to knock him out of the ring, but a hand snapped out and gripped her. She squeaked in surprise as he swung her down to impact the ground inside the ring.
Breathing heavily, she grinned at him.
"Not bad," she returned.
He held up his fists, and she got into her usual frog pose. It was time to go all out, Midoriya-style.
Chiyo sighed as she placed a kiss on the open flesh, watching it knit back together into mostly repaired skin. The bones were back together, in much better condition than she'd expected, but still damaged enough she'd had to set them just so in surgery before she could heal him.
His hand carried scars now, which she couldn't and probably wouldn't have healed. He was already fighting off the sleep, now that he was repaired. Which gave her only a little time to wrap him up again. She made sure to secure the hardest casts she could, securing the joints this time so he wouldn't even be tempted to use them. If she had her way, he would bow out in his next match, but she knew he wouldn't.
"Just like Toshinori… only more reckless," she grumbled, glad that at least his leg had been an easy fix.
Turning away from Midoriya as he stirred, and wishing he would just go to sleep and avoid going back out, she watched the match on her drop-down screen. Technically, Toshinori was allowed to come in now, the surgery over, but she didn't feel like giving him any favors after this.
The Asui girl was laying into the Ojiro boy, her fists and feet and even tongue flying out with blinding speed as she tried to knock him out or over the edge. The tailed-boy on the other hand, was sacrificing his extra limb solely for defense, while his hands and feet optimized openings to go for her sides. Chiyo sighed, seeing Midoriya's spirit in the both of them. The boy would be the death of his class if this continued. Something drastic had to be done.
Midoriya groaned, trying to roll into a more comfortable position, but found himself stuck, and settled back down. The poor boy couldn't even let himself rest. What exactly pushed him so far? Why wasn't he able to just take it easy?
He blinked his eyes open, wincing at the pain in his arms as he tried to move them above the wrist and felt the patch-job. He looked over the skin, not daring to move them. There were scars up and down the entire thing, and his fingers seemed much more crooked than he remembered. The worst were probably the three rings of scars which covered his palm and forearm.
Each one looked like the place where his arm had been torn off and reattached, the jagged, shining skin showing the places where he'd been put back together. If nothing else, he'd be re-learning how to write for a while.
Some part of him realized he'd also be stunted in other areas of life. He'd never given it much thought before, but… he would probably suck at holding hands now, if he ever found someone to do so with. Then again, even if he did make it to becoming a Hero, his devastated arm would drive off anyone who might have taken a passing interest in him, again supposing they somehow overlooked how boring he was.
"You owe me an explanation, young man," she scolded, turning back to him and pointing at his scarred hand, "What possessed you to risk losing use of your most valuable tools for a single tournament match? You're lucky your fingers aren't in tatters too. I had to make sure your knuckles hadn't thrown fragments through your hand before I could heal you, and you'll likely lose some sensation in your palm!"
Midoriya looked at the reminder of what going overboard meant, and sighed, laying back.
"I can't stay behind everyone," he whispered, a pair of tear lines appearing at either eye, "I've only had this power for a few weeks, and already I'm falling behind again. Three Quirks, and I haven't even mastered Float yet… my body can't handle the stockpiling power, and the dark energy isn't even under my control… what happens if more appear? My friends are mastering one Quirk each, and they'll start lapping me before long if I can't at least command one… But if I neglect the others, I won't be giving it my all. I won't have all the tools I need to save everyone. I'd be just like Todoroki was: holding myself back when people need me."
Chiyo sighed exasperatedly, pulling over her cane and bopping him on the head.
"You aren't the Symbol of Peace yet, boy!" she lectured, hitting him again, "And you never will be if you end up crippled before you can graduate! I hate to do this, but I have to make sure you get it through your thick skull before it cracks too. From now on I won't heal you from injuries of this kind. Someone kicks your arm in, I'll see what I can do, but if I see you coming in with black and purple arms after a training session: you'll fall even further behind while you heal up the old fashioned way, and not just in Hero work."
Midoriya nodded, sighing.
"I understand, Recovery Girl-sensei…"
Silently, she turned away, knowing she'd probably end up having to fix him again after a real encounter like the fiasco of the USJ, but he couldn't rely on that being possible, or he'd risk it anyways.
"And another thing," she grumbled, noticing Asui's arm make a strange angle as she hit Ojiro's tail, and Ojiro's leg twist oddly as he tried to get his balance, "If your classmates start coming in with injuries like yours, I'll start refusing to heal them too. Know that it'll be on you that they're staying hurt, if you push them like you did today again."
She heard a pained chuckle and turned to see him grinning at the screen.
"I'd rather know they all have scars up and down their limbs and had to spend months healing than see them die against a villain they could have defeated if they'd pushed just a little harder in high school. I know it sounds cold, but what good's being the new Symbol of Peace if everyone you love is in the ground?"
Chiyo realized Midoriya was still partially anesthetized and probably was being a little more bold than he would otherwise be. Pulling around a syringe of adrenaline, she stabbed his side and injected him. He blinked, shifting back into his much more jittery self, and seemed like he was about to go on an analysing muttering spree the likes of which would drive Nezu mad, when the pain registered. He let out a tiny sound which might have been "ow…" before falling back and shivering in agony, unable to pass out. She couldn't stand it when students tried to be eloquent.
"Great Job, Tsu!" Momo cheered, smiling over at the frog-girl as she limped back into their booth, "And an excellent showing, Ojiro! You two didn't hold anything back!"
Tsuyu gave her the thumbs up, her tongue currently hanging from her mouth and in a loop so the spot Ojiro had smashed could be given a bandage. She took her spot beside the tailed-warrior, his Quirk wrapped at the center and twitching here and there as he fought not to make it sway like he usually did. He gave her his fist, which she gently met with her own, before sitting next to him.
"By the way, have you seen Midoriya?" she asked, glancing over at Uraraka and Ida, who seemed worried he still wasn't back, "They said he was going into surgery, but Recovery Girl was able to tend to you both, correct?"
Ojiro winced and turned to look over at her.
"He was done and healed up when we saw him. His arms are wrapped up bad though, and…"
"He was shaking and staring at the ceiling the whole time we were there," Tsu managed, her voice less muffled than Momo had expected, "Recovery Girl said she'd cut off his pain suppressants, but he was keeping himself awake through sheer will."
Momo sighed. That was Midoriya, alright.
"Well, I hope he's not expected to fight you in the semi-finals," she said, shaking her head, "I doubt he's in any condition to stand, if she's doing that to him."
"Oh no, she said he wouldn't back down," Tsu clarified, wincing a little and shifting her loop of tongue to her lap, "And she offered to let me rest there too, so I could lay down and recover my strength, but Midoriya's kind of freaky-looking."
Nodding, Momo glanced to the empty chair beside her, where Jiro's phone was still sitting. She'd been showing her some of her favorite music, and she was quite impressed with the complexity Jiro had been able to point out to her. So many moving and shifting lines of notes, all woven together in a loud and emotional melody. But now… now she had to wait to see how far the next match went.
"A vs B folks! She's the longest lasting warrior from outside the USJ victims, and she's swept the entire competition with religious quotations: it's Ibara Shiozaki!
Versus
The jamming queen; she's not just a shoe-in for the victor's slot, but a plug in! Kyoka Jiro!"
Jiro stepped onto the ring, and for a moment she glanced up at their box. Momo waved tentatively, knowing the motion was too small to be seen, but wanting to show her support anyways. Still, she was nervous.
The cameras caught her returning wink, and while many of the audience probably thought it was just for show, Momo felt her face grow warm with emotion at seeing it. Oh, she'd never survive the week like this.
"Start!"
Tensing and holding her hands to her mouth, Momo watched as the vines launched across the ring, as swift and as terrible as any attack before, divine or mundane. Jiro seemed to remain calm though. Her jacks launched forward, but instead of knocking vines off course or attacking, she embedded them in the nearest tendril.
Shiozaki screamed, and a cluster of vines broke from her head, writhing in pain before they burst in a small explosion of chlorophyll. She held the spot where they had broken off, her expression one of surprise, pain, and appaul. Frowning, she sent the vines on the attack again, only for Jiro to impale and explode more of them, her confidence in the attack allowing her to force them to break more quickly.
"In the vein of all the other matches thus far: Jiro isn't holding back a single iota! Shiozaki seems to be returning in kind! Where did that sweet little angel go?"
Present Mic's words were quite correct. Shiozaki's expression, which had been calm and kind up until now, had shifted into one of utter rage. Blood streamed from her scalp, while tears came from her eyes, and she sent her entire quaff of hair to attack Jiro without mercy.
She was being overwhelmed, only able to explode two at once, and Shiozaki had enough to start entrapping her. Jiro wasn't just being entangled either. She was being squeezed, as if Shiozaki had an intent to knock her out.
"Jiro!" Momo shouted, worried for her… for Jiro.
Roaring in defiance, Jiro stabbed her jacks into the vines over and over, trying to get free. Shiozaki seemed to be about half out of her old amount when she suddenly froze. She fell to her knees, the blood and tears starting to flow faster.
She closed her eyes and swung Jiro out of the ring, detaching a few more bits of hair as Shiozaki cast her away as if in shame. Instead of cheering or holding for victory, the remaining vines swirled around to wrap around Shiozaki, encasing her in a cocoon of sorts. In the moment before she was hidden from view, Momo caught her expression. It was now one of utter devastation. She couldn't believe what she'd done, or had planned to do.
"Sh-shiozaki wins?" Present Mic proclaimed, surprised at the reaction of the victor.
As the robots came out to take care of them, Shiozaki's bundle shuffled away, remaining closed as it slid towards the prep room. Jiro was able to jog after her, and the robots seemed a bit miffed about it.
Standing up, Momo turned to run down and check on them. True, she mostly wanted to check on Jiro, but the expression on Shiozaki's face… she looked like someone who needed help too.
She'd become a creature of Wrath. A demon of anger and evil. For that one moment, she'd given in to her family curse, and she'd moved to hurt her opponent. To restrain and to disable were acts she could take to save others, and would gladly do so. Entrapment, inflicting discomfort or pain to dissuade, these too she could handle. But in that instant, she'd squeezed Jiro with fire in her heart and meant to hurther. How could she ever forgive herself for such weakness?
Ibara heard a soft voice outside her ball. Was it Recovery Girl? Perhaps it was Midnight, come to lecture her on being an improper hero? Maybe Jiro had come to give her a piece of her mind? Peeking out, she realized it was the worst possible option of all. It was Yaoyorozu.
Letting her hair fall into clumps around her, Ibara surrendered herself to being berated.
But Yaoyorozu didn't start to yell. She didn't even speak. Instead, a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, followed by a smooth pair of tendrils which she recognized as Jiro's jacks. She looked up, confused.
"Wh- why are you-?"
They didn't answer, simply hugging her tighter. She felt the tears welling up again, and managed to get her arms around them as well.
"I'm sorry," Ibara managed, praying with all her might that they'd be able to forgive her, "I hurt you, and then I couldn't even face you…"
Jiro pulled back a little, and Ibara prepared for the worst again, when she heard the confused tone in her voice.
"Hurt me? Girl, I stabbed you repeatedly and blew up your hair. You didn't start to squeeze more than a tight hug before you let go and went all mopey. Seriously, Emo's really Tokoyami's thing, you're way too… bright, I suppose."
Ibara slid her hands down to look at them, almost expecting them to be coated in blood or ash. She hadn't hurt Jiro, as she'd feared, but she'd meant to. In that moment, when all the anger had broken free, she'd attacked with the intent to do damage, to hurt, and to inflict pain. It was unforgivable to do such heinous things to someone so forgiving.
"I wasn't… the results don't justify my actions," she managed, adamantly not letting herself be swayed from her self-deprecation, "I meant to injure you, in that moment. I- I won't let myself become someone who believes such an act is acceptable. I can't believe you when you say "it's alright.""
She brought one of her remaining vines to her hand, looking at it mournfully.
"This power… it's a blessing and a burden. A trial I have tried to bend to the cause of helping others. With it, I can fly between buildings or catch that which should not fall. But… with a single twist, I could snap necks, or break bone, or steal from the unwary. I- I know who I come from, and if I allow myself to become casual about this Quirk's use, I will become little more than a villain with an excuse."
There was silence for a few moments, with the others likely now afraid of her. It would be as it would be. She'd been ostracized before. Told religion was outdated or contemptible, feared for her dangerous powers, or simply told she looked weird.
"Bull."
Ibara glanced up, confused.
"Pardon?"
"Bull," Jiro repeated, frowning, "You got into the match, so what? Girl, you got down to business, whooped me out of action, realized you were about to go to far, and then stopped yourself in like a heartbeat. How are you not just oozing self-confidence right now?"
"I- I shouldn't have been tempted to hurt someone I didn't know. Needing to stop myself was the only thing I did well."
Yaoyorozu frowned at her, and she leaned away from her, worried she'd disappointed her.
"Shiozaki… who told you that?" she asked, gently.
"Told me? I don't have to be told," Ibara countered, folding her arms, "I've seen how my family acts when they think they're being slighted or challenged. If I let myself be as competitive or quick to anger as I could be… I won't let myself fall so far as that."
Sharing a significant look with Jiro, Yaoyorozu leaned towards her a bit. She lowered her voice to a whisper, but her words were just as clear and cutting as if she shouted them.
"Ibara, I don't mean to offend you, your family, or your religion, but you sound like a victim of abuse when you berate yourself."
She shook her head, trying to deny the accusation. She tried to say that her parents had never done anything extreme to her, but knew that it wasn't so clear as that. She mentally amended it, that their actions had always been to teach her and to ensure she was able to think clearly, but that… sounded like an excuse an abuse victim would come up with, even though she wasn't!
"Yaoyorozu… I don't agree with everything my parents do," she admitted, "I find many of their ideas and decisions foolish. But I don't believe I've been abused. And while some of our views are… controversial, my church promotes compassion and forgiveness above all else. I promise I haven't been abused."
"Then why are you having such a hard time forgiving yourself?" Jiro prodded, one of her jacks poking her cheek, "Doesn't sound like something the Big J would approve of: hating yourself over nothing."
"Please… don't call him that," she sighed, trying not to smile, "And I fully intend on forgiving myself, once I've found a way to make it right."
"Made it right? What does that entail?" Jiro asked, suspicion on her face and now poking both cheeks with her Quirk.
"It mostly entails understanding what you did wrong, making amends with who you wronged, and then asking for forgiveness from them," she managed, holding it together.
"Okay. You got over-eager, I forgive you. That about wrap things up?"
"I have to ask forgiveness from everyone I harmed," Ibara insisted, her vines quivering as she fought not to poke back, "That includes… well, I need to repent to the Lord, as well as to you."
"Yaomomo can make a confession booth and sit in it," Jiro offered, smirking and no doubt knowing exactly how close she was to smiling.
"...I'm not Catholic."
"You're not?" Yaoyorozu asked, surprised, "But you always quote from biblical sources, and your favored position is of the prayerful hands."
"Yeah, and you call down heavenly light on a whim."
"Well, prayer would require I fold my arms, which would be debilitating in an emergency," she explained, a little frown on her face. She didn't summon heavenly light… did she?
"Besides, I quote from all my Religion's scriptures when I need to. Biblical terminology's just better known."
"So it's a byproduct of branding?" Momo asked, surprised and evidently giddy at the concept.
"I thought Greed was a deadly sin?"
"It's certainly a vice," Ibara quirked a grin, giving into temptation and bringing one of her vines over to poke Jiro's head a little, "But I also don't intend to become known as the Homeless Hero."
"Pretty sure Aizawa-sensei has that one locked down, but go on."
Chuckling a little at the interruption, Ibara shook her head.
"Regardless. I use biblical quotes and imagery so people will be able to identify me as a helper or a savior more quickly, and not someone who's simply come to capture villains and gain glory. I intend to start implementing a little more of the other facets of my beliefs when I'm better established, perhaps help spread the word a little, but I have to be patient about such things."
Jiro snapped her fingers.
"Right, we got off topic. We were talking about why you believed you had to wait to forgive yourself after I forgave you. Seriously, how long is this gonna take, I'm not up for spending the rest of the day cheering you up, I wanna get popcorn for the final four."
"Jiro…" Yaoyorozu sighed, shaking her head.
"I'm afraid repentance is a Sunday thing," Ibara apologized, "I'll be able to feel truly better then."
"Ugh… religion takes too long…"
"I'd invite you to come along and enjoy the ride, but… well, you might not like me much afterwards. Some of the views I ascribe to aren't exactly seen as… very modern."
"You believe some guy was able to beat every evil in the universe onto himself back during the roman empire. I don't think we'll be surprised if it's not exactly straightforward."
Leaving Jiro's description of her Savior as "some guy" aside, Ibara shook her head.
"I mean… well, for instance, my church still encourages a view on personal identity and romance that were considered old-fashioned in pre-Quirk days. We try to treat anyone who doesn't believe as we do with same the kindness as anyone else, but… we still receive some public disdain for it."
Jiro blinked at her.
"And you don't think we'd let you explain if we heard something contradictory like that, when you're a literal teddy bear most of the time?"
"You'd be one of the first."
"Dang… now I want to go and see what kind of stuff you're doing to make a you and also get slandered by misunderstandings. Yaomomo, you can free up a weekend, right?"
"I'd love to come with! We can take the Saturday beforehand to get ready and make a day of it!"
Ibara shook her head, hiding a small smile and sighing to herself. Why did she have to be beset by beautiful girls who wouldn't let her mope in peace?
"And our last match of the round:
He's the king of the ring, and armed to the teeth: Eijiro Kirishima!
Versus
The Diva of Delta-V, The Gravity Goddess: Ochako Uraraka!"
"Do well Uraraka!" Tenya cheered, standing at the back of the 1-A box.
He didn't know why, but he felt rather anxious right then. It was probably just because his friend was going into battle with someone so well-acquainted with close quarters fighting, which was what she needed to act.
"H-have they started yet?" came an exhausted voice from behind him.
Tenya turned and stiffened in shock.
"M-m-midoriya?!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the other students.
"Midoriya!" they shouted in turn, drawing the attention of some of the other members of the crowd.
"Heyguys,Imadeit…" he managed, stepping over and leaning his casts on top of the little wall Tenya had been standing before.
"Midoriya, your speech is slurred beyond all reason!" Tenya lectured, chopping his arms like he did when he wanted to calm himself down, "Should you not be resting in the First Aid room?! You are unfit to stand, let alone continue in the tournament at this rate!"
"Can't sleep," he managed, clearly slowing himself down a little, "Recovery Girl didn't let me."
From deep within the bowels of the arena, a distant shout of "Midoriya! Where are you?!" echoed up, and he laughed in a manner which stated very clearly he was at least somewhat delirious. Had he been fully in control of his faculties, the sound of Recovery Girl calling for him with murderous intent would be reason to cower in fear.
"Midoriya, I don't think we should fight in the next round," Tsu managed, turning to look at him, "I don't want to break your arms again, but I also don't want to get kicked in the face again."
Midoriya's more serious face showed again, and he turned to nod at her respectfully.
"Tsu, I promise not to kick you. But I will give you a match, and I won't break anything. You have my word."
"If you say so. I'll try and ring you out early then."
They remained silent for a moment, and Tenya wondered if Midoriya had passed out mid-conversation. He seemed to still be responsive though.
"Midoriya, do you intend to counter-challenge?"
"...no."
Shaking his head at his friend's oddity.
As Uraraka and Kirishima charged one another, Ida wondered if his friend would fall to blows or her stomach first. She'd complained that her Quirk had been overused, even with her training, and hadn't indicated she was feeling better before going to prep.
Uraraka's fists were closed, which indicated she wasn't planning to null his gravity. Meanwhile, Kirishima wasn't hardening. Perhaps he'd overdone his own battle with Tetsutetsu? The two had certainly gone to the literal breaking point.
Kirishima swung a straight, and Uraraka seemed to take it right in the solar plexus, her hands at her stomach. But as they impacted one another, it was the red-haired boy who went flying back. He spun through the air, head over heels as the force of his punch pushed him one way, the lack of traction preventing him from slowing as he spun away and up.
Uraraka had fallen to her knees, heaving in a way which likely would have emptied her stomach if she had anything still in it. She waited only until Kirishima was at the edge of the ring before releasing him, falling to her hands and taking ragged breaths. The hardening boy tried to land inside the line, but hit the ground outside anyway.
It took only a few moments, but the slow drift as her opponent had slid away was agonizingly slow, and seemed to take an eternity. He half-expected her to pass out and lose by default, but she seemed to hold out until the last moment. As Present Mic announced her victory, Uraraka finally sighed and slumped to her stomach.
"'Chako…" Midoriya whispered, his voice holding a flurry of emotions.
Tenya was surprised a single word, a nickname at best, could contain such complexity. Pride, Admiration, Fear, Worry, Affection, and something else he couldn't place. He didn't know Midoriya was so deeply attached to Uraraka, and only after two or three weeks.
"Midoriya, if you feel the need to cry again today, I recommend drinking some fluids first," Tenya sighed, pointing towards the hallway down to the concessions stand, "And also that you do so somewhere away from the seats. Soaking unremovable cushions is a truly villainous act, after all."
"Yeah…" Midoriya muttered, clearly not hearing a single word Tenya had said.
Placing his hands on his friend's shoulders, he began to guide him back towards Recovery Girl. Hopefully they'd be able to recover somewhat before the semifinals.