Chapter Text
Everyone went to replenish their food and drinks- “So… Midori, despite we tied you up and read your notes… Could you help us? I mean, actively…” -Mina toyed with her fingers nervously. She was ignoring actively the part in where she was the one who picked a rope from a curtain in the theater, and tied Izuku to read his notebooks. The fact that the rest followed her was a small detail.
“Well, after you took away my private notebooks and read my internal thoughts I’m not in the mood…” -Izuku muttered, still a little repentant.
“We already apologized, okay!? Is not that much! …I think?” -Ashido wasn’t that sure about that.
“Yes it was! There are where I write my inner thoughts, and they are not something that I usually let anyone see it without permission!” -Izuku exclaimed, trembling. Despite they considered his notes good and nice, they still saw them without asking him. It was a violation of his privacy…
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was that important for you… I just thought it was cool…” -Mina looked at the floor, not sure about what to say. She initially did it as a joke and by pure curiosity, but when she saw his notes, his draw of her, how detailed was her hero costume, and the theories about the way to produce her acid, if she could create a gas which corroded things at contact, or maybe shoot it with pressure to cut things like the sand or water cutters… She was really impressed.
“Is just… I’m not used to that. That’s all” -Izuku grabbed his things and left as fast as he could.
“I thinks he need some space… We pushed him too far…” -Momo frowned. She felt slightly guilty, because she should have stopped everyone, but she followed the rest.
“I… I feel slightly ashamed. I… I didn’t know we invaded his privacy at that level” -Iida felt embarrassment by the fact that he also tagged along with them instead of acting as the representative of the class and stop the act…
“When I said about seeing his notes I was referring to ask him, not tie him to the chair… But well, you are teenagers. This mistakes happens” -Clark shrugged.
“Why you didn’t warn us?” -Jirou asked with a frown.
Clark snorted- “There are two reasons: one, I’m not your fucking babysitter. I’m not gonna fix every mess you made. You are old enough to clean your shit. And second: I’ll not intervene in your private life. I’m doing enough with these reactions” -He didn’t told them that he changed their terrible future, or at least, he was trying to- “You have to learn the things from your mistakes. I’m not the one who told you anything. Discover it by yourself” -The blond shrugged and left with a whistle.
The students went silent, looking at each other- “We should apologize to Midoriya…” -Reiko muttered.
“Yes… But I doubt he wants to talk with us right now. We should wait a little…” -Momo sighed.
“Yes. Everyone who read the notes must apologize, myself included” -Iida nodded. Despite everyone pursuing him, there were some students who didn't read the books. The ones who didn't were Yui and Todoroki, who said directly no, Homura, Hikari and Nejire also refused because they didn’t want to read something private, and Nia, who directly left after that. She only chased him because she wanted to.
“I don’t really understand why what we did was wrong” -Mei tilted her head.
“It was like someone read your planes and documents about your inventions without permission, Hatsume…” Momo pinched the bridge of her nose while explaining the situation.
Mei opened her eyes widely, and her pupils shrunk- “Oh shit…”
********
Izuku returned to his seat, and sighed, with his fists trembling. He felt… angry, furious, but it was a strange feeling. He felt furious before but… not against his friends… It's not like he had many up until that point…
“Hey, kid… Nana said in his mind- “I’m not an expert here, but looks like they didn’t know it was that important for you. You should talk to them.”
“I… I know, but, right now I don’t wanna even see them. Is… Is it wrong to feel like that for my friends?” -He asked, unsure.
“Oh shit. I forgot that the number of your social interaction were almost negative…” -Banjo cursed in low voice- “Listen, kiddo. You have your rights to be completely pissed by what they did. Is normal to feel that way, but that doesn’t mean you have to ignore them for hours or weeks. Trust me, I saw some people doing that and they were real assholes.”
“When you are less angry, talk to them, and tell them how you feel with what they did” -Izuku could feel the smile in Nana’s face, despite not being able to see it.
“Hmm” -Izuku almost jumped from his seat when he heard the sudden voice of Yui behind him. When he turned around, he was Kodai and Nia.
“You okay? You were staring to the wall…” -The Catgirl asked.
“I… More or less. I was talking with the previous wielders…” -Izuku admitted.
“Oh true, you can do that now…” -Nia mumbled.
“Hmmm” -The black haired girl had an almost imperceptible frown. He looked down and she wanted to make sure that he was fine.
“I… I’m okay. It’s just… I’m a little mad…” -He was upset with them about being tied up, but they didn't read the notes, so he thought they only wanted to make a small joke.
“Hmm…” -Yui nodded. She tagged along, but she didn't want to read his private notes.
“I know, that's why I'm not angry with you…” -Izuku muttered.
“Wait, you can understand her?” -Nia asked with surprise.
Kodai also realized. She didn't notice it until now.
“Uhm… yes? You don't?” -He asked, confused
“No! She practically only talks in Hmms!” -Nia yelled.
“Hmmm?” -Yui looked at the cat girl with an eyebrow raised. Was it that hard to understand her? Maybe that was the reason her classmates found it hard to communicate with her without her phone…
“That’s not bad! It’s just a different way to talk! Despite you, well… you could try to talk more openly for coordination during heroics, you can still be like this!” -He said, nervously.
Yui nodded, contemplative. He wasn’t wrong…- “I’ll try”
“Also, why you were so sad? It was because what happened earlier?” -Nia asked.
“I… Yes” -Izuku was going to deny it, but he took a deep breath- “Maybe is not a big deal, but… For years, those notebooks were the… the only thing that kept me focused in the hero world. They gave me the illusion of the possibility to become a hero if I studied enough Quirks. They were…”
“Your safe place?” -Nia said with serious expression- “I… I can understand it. When things became tough, the only thing I could do was to read, especially the history books, because they were usually never picked for the people in public library… When I became homeless, the receptionist was kind enough to let me in for hours, especially on cold days…” -She admitted to the group nervously.
Izuku and Yui looked ad her with surprise, but a quick look at each other made clear that it was better to not say anything- “So, if anyone invaded my little world of comfort I would also be incredibly pissed. So I can understand you.”
“I… Thanks…” -Izuku blushed slightly.
“I… I can’t understand how would you feel because I don’t know your class that well, but you should made clear why you are angry and why you need space” -Nia nodded.
“Hmm” -Yui agreed. not saying anything and keeping inside the bad feelings were always bad.
“...I will try it. Thanks, Kodai, Nia…” -Izuku smiled briefly, making Nia blush.
But Yui frowned slightly. She wanted him to call her by her name, like nia…- “Hmmm…”
“What!? But isn’t that personal!? We haven’t know that long!” -He didn’t know Nia’s last name, that was the reason he called her by her name!
Kodai’s small pout made izuku nervous and stained his cheeks red- “Ugh… Fine… I’ll call you by your name…”
The corner of her lips raised slightly, which meant for her a huge smile. It was the first step! Soon, he will be captivated by her charms, and they will begin to going out, to kiss, and then he'll hold her against the wall and…
“You are thinking something weird, right?” -Izuku asked nervously. He saw how her expression changed slightly while she was silent, making a strange face. Some people would say that it was even a pervert one…
Yui looked at him in the eyes- “Wouldn’t you like to know?” -She raised her eyebrows repeatedly, being that thing really weird considering her deadpan expression.
“I, uh…” -Izuku stuttered, very embarrassed.
Nia looked at both widened, and with a small blush.
“I returned” -Shoto appeared with a plate of soba and a bottle of water.
“T… Todoroki! What are you doing here!?” -Izuku asked nervously.
“ I went to pick soba and some other things. I heard your conversation with the others, so I decided to wait until you were less affected” -He answered- “I didn’t know if I had the permission to look at your notes, so I decided not to do it” - He didn’t do it because he respected his privacy, but because Izuku didn’t gave him permission, and he said it like it was completely understandable.
“Well, seeing it in that way, he was right…” -Nia sighed- “But Midoriya, I think you are a goo…”
“Izukuuuu!” -Nejire ran since the moment she saw him from the door, and tackled the green boy. Todoroki just raised his food to prevent it from falling to the ground- “I wanted to ask you if you can analyze my Quirk!” -She asked excitedly while in top of him.
“H… Hado-Senpai!?” -He stuttered. He could feel her weight and her soft smell of lavender. Yui was looking at Nejire with interest, approving her physique. Nia was pinching the bridge of her nose, slightly irritated because she interrupted her sentence.
“Yes! Could you analyze my Quirk!? I want to see how good you are and if you can help me with it!” -She was smiling.
“What? But… Why?” -Midoriya asked.
“I felt that it was rude to see the notes without permission, so I decided to ask you directly! As far as I heard from you and others, your analysis is as good as your other self, and I thing it could be a great opportunity to know you better and talk about my Quirk!” -Hado nodded while smiling.
“I, uh… I could do it, but… We don’t have much time left, so maybe we could meet at the school after the episodes of today?” -He asked nervously.
“Okay! Hey! I do you wanna hang out after that too? I want to know all of my Kouhais!” -Nejire turned her head to Nia and Shouto.
“I can do it” -Todoroki nodded.
“I… I have to ask N… my guardian, so I will tell you later” -Nia said, unsure.
“Perfect! I will go to pick some food before the episode begin!” Hado stood up, because until that moment she was on top of Izuku on the floor.
“Wait, where were you?”
“Taking a bath! They are great, and I decided to relax a little bit before the end of the third event! The Seihai sisters were with me!” -She smiled.
‘That’s why she smelled like lavender…’ -Izuku shook his head with a blush, trying to not imagine the three girls naked in the bath- “I… I’ll sit patiently… here…”
The adults soon returned after talking and sat in their chairs.
Bakugo appeared and directly sat in his seat without saying anything.
The rest of the first year students crossed the door, and looked awkwardly at Izuku. Uraraka opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it and avoid his gaze.
The sisters appeared with a giant bag of candy and popcorn. They had a little steam surrounding them due to the bath.
“Are we ready? Okay” -Clark nodded.
"Hope you aren't too tired of the fights, folks! Cause we still have a bunch more to go!"
Mei and Poppi stood in the ring across from Reiko and Azami.
"In the pink corner! Inventor supreme and the little bot that could! The Support Course's Mei Hatsume and her Artificial Blade, Poppi!"
Usually, Mei or any of the students would say something, but everyone was silent and tense. The teachers looked at the rest with confusion.
There were murmurs in the crowd about Poppi being an 'Artificial' Blade and what that meant.
Mei looked down at her daughter. "Are you ready, sweetie? If you're uncomfortable, we don't have to do this."
"Poppi not nervous." Poppi shook her head. "Poppi is strong like Papa."
“I want to see how well she does…” -Yagi muttered.
Mei smiled warmly at her.
"In the grey corner! Her skating skills stole your breaths and Todoroki's dignity! And her Blade is the stuff of nightmares! Class 1-B's Reiko Yanagi and her Blade, Azami!"
"Stuff of nightmares?" Azami let out indignantly. "How dare he!?"
"I take it as a compliment." Reiko chuckled. "I find your nightmarish appearance more than beautiful, Azami."
"Aww, Reiko." Azami cooed at her Driver. "You are just the sweetest."
“I still feel her looks strange” -Hikari muttered, ignoring brazenly the tension between the 1-A.
"Are all of you ready?" Midnight asked, getting nods from everyone. "Then begin!"
Reiko had her cannon in her hands as soon as Midnight started the match. "Fallen Cannon!"
A large Dark Ether projectile shot out of Reiko's cannon and towards Mei and Poppi.
“A direct attack that could put them in problems…” -Nezu hummed.
Mei held her large shield in front of her. "Protect Matrix!"
Reiko's attack was blocked by a wall of Ether that appeared in front of Mei's shield.
"Impressive." Reiko hummed before firing regular attacks at Mei, hoping to keep her on the back foot.
“Oh, so she can also do a Ether barrier despite being artificial!” -Nejire smiled.
"This is the power of an Artificial Blade!" Mei declared proudly and loudly. "Even someone lacking in aptitude like me can match blows with a Driver like you!"
"An equalizer of an equalizer." Reiko mused before starting to move forward with each shot. "A part of me is upset that you created something that essentially takes away the advantage that was granted to us quirkless by Blades."
"And the other?" Mei asked as she moved forward alongside Poppi, blocking Reiko's shots with her shield.
"Well, the other finds Poppi to be the most precious thing I have ever laid eyes on." Reiko admitted.
“Agreed…” -Everyone muttered.
"Poppi has been told that she is, in fact, the cutest." Poppi said humbly.
"Well, it isn't wrong." Azami admitted. "You can tell she's Izuku's child by how cute she is."
"Poppi is happy to have inherited Papa's cuteness!" Poppi cheered, a bright smile on her face. "Thank you, auntie Azami!"
"Urk-!" Azami clutched her Core Crystal.
“That was a critical hit…” -Homura said. She would also be affected is something as cute and precious as Poppi called her auntie.
"It looks like a stalemate so far." Taiga observed. "I must say, I'm impressed with Hatsume's Artificial Blade. From what I can see and feel, she functions exactly like a natural Blade."
"Pretty awesome." Majima agreed. "She gave me a note during the break, let's see… Poppi is the world's first fully functional Artificial Blade… baby? Well, whatever. She allows even those without Aptitude like Hatsume herself to experience what it's like to be a Driver! Now that's badass!"
A long nosed man in the crowd looked extremely fascinated with what was being said.
“He’s the director of Detnerat…” -Momo frowned slightly. She knew him due to the various events she assisted with her parents, and she saw him sometimes.
Mei remembered what the hologram of her other self said, and she couldn’t help but to have a bad feeling when she saw him. Something inside her made her incredibly furious.
"She has a bunch of sick ass abilities that I'm just not going to read out. Oh! Apparently she was created with Lil' Midoriya and Pyra's help! So that's why he always went to the support studio after training."
"Papa provided valuable data for Poppi's creation!" Poppi declared proudly, her voice sounding out through the speakers.
The stadium went silent.
A second after that, everyone there heard a high pitched scream of sheer glee that shook the earth.
“Was that Auntie Inko?” -Bakugo asked with a frown.
Back in the stands, Izuku and Bakugou both face-palmed calmly while nearly everyone else was freaking out over the quaking.
"Auntie Inko definitely heard that." Bakugou said.
"Yup." Izuku groaned.
Inko hid her face in her hands, incredibly embarrassed.
"Wait, that scream was Midoriya's mother?!" Jirou asked in shock. "Is her quirk Present Mic's on steroids or something."
"No." Izuku and Bakugou said at the same time.
"Then how?" Shoji asked.
“The power of a mother who will become a Grandmother” -Mic nodded wisely.
"Don't question it." Izuku and Bakugou once again spoke in sync before glaring at each other.
(Play Music: Xenoblade Chronicles OST: Mechanical Rhythm)
Back in the ring, Mei had gotten tired of simply blocking and decided it was time to go on the offensive. Her and Reiko had gotten close to each other, which was to Mei's advantage.
The compartment at the center of Mei's shield opened up, revealing a large drill.
Clark had to hold the urges to scream a reference to a certain anime of a mecha and drills.
Reiko's eye widened, she threw her cannon on the ground as Mei rushed forward.
"Drill Tackle!" Mei charged forward, but her attack missed.
Her eyes went to the side where she saw Reiko circling around her on her board.
"That Chip baby I made you works wonders, huh?" Mei grinned, not even slightly upset her attack missed.
“She’s so proud of her inventions that she can’t be mad to losing…” -Aizawa muttered.
"Indeed it does." Reiko smiled, expertly dancing circles around Mei and Poppi with Azami flying beside her. "You have my deepest gratitude, Hatsume."
Reiko suddenly twirled on her board and pushed down on its nose, the action caused the board to go flying in Mei's direction. The ghost girl and her Blade ran as soon as she stomped on her board, they reached Mei at the same time as the board and Reiko grabbed it.
“That’s gonna hurt…” -Izuku muttered.
With her board in her hands, Reiko swung it with full force at Mei's face. "Reaper's Kiss!"
Reiko knew right away that her attack was blocked, Mei effortlessly held her back with her shield.
Mei grinned. "Now, Poppi!"
"Roger! Roger!" Poppi took advantage of Reiko and Mei being locked in a stalemate to attempt to attack Reiko directly.
“That’s not gonna work” -Yagi frowned. He knew from experience that a direct attack too obvious and would be hard to be effective. especially after the yell of Mei.
"I don't think so!" Azami raised up an Ether Barrier that halted Poppi's mechanical fist from reaching Reiko.
Reiko disengaged from Mei and hopped on her board to make some distance.
"Poppi! Don't let her get away!" Mei called out.
“I think that’s gonna end bad…” -Mei muttered.
Poppi nodded and fired up her rocket boosters, chasing Reiko and Azami around the ring. The Artificial Blade kept following after the grey haired Driver and her Blade, staying on their tails, but not quite catching up. Poppi was without a doubt faster than Reiko's board, but the ghost girls skill and experience made the chase quite difficult.
"You won't escape Poppi!" Poppi called out while trying to push her boosters further.
"We already have." Reiko smirked and abruptly changed directions, too quickly for Poppi to follow.
“Wait, she’s going straight to…” -Nemuria widened.
Poppi kept flying straight… on a collision path with Mei.
Mei and Poppi both yelped in shock, but Poppi was moving too fast for Mei to get out of the way and for herself to halt or change direction.
The Artificial Blade collided with her Driver and both were sent flying out of the ring.
“That was a sad way to being disqualified…” -Mei sighed.
"Hatsume and Poppi are out of the ring!" Midnight announced. "The winners are Yanagi and Azami!"
Reiko felt a bit uncomfortable with all of the praise, her gaze went up to the students' boxes to find a certain someone, but to her surprise, he wasn't there. She felt disappointed that Izuku didn't see her victory and that he wasn't there to cheer for her.
“Oh, poor Yanagi…” -Mina frowned with sadness.
Before dark thoughts could fill her head, Azami tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at one of the gates of the stadium.
Reiko looked over and saw Izuku and his Blades standing at the gate, his smile set Reiko's heart at ease instantly.
She and Azami went over to help Mei and Poppi out before heading for the gate that Izuku was waiting for them in.
“Aw…” -Homura smiled.
"Hello, love." Azami greeted Izuku as soon as they were out of the crowd's view.
Izuku blushed. "Hey… you were all amazing!"
"But Papa, Poppi lost…" Poppi said sullenly.
"Sweetie," Izuku knelt in front of her and put a hand on her head. "Win or lose, you did your best. I'm so proud of you."
Inko smiled with a tear in her eye. She could understand the other Izuku’s feelings.
"Really?" Poppi looked at him with wide eyes.
"Of course." Izuku grinned and looked at her and Mei. "You and your Mama did amazing."
'You know what…' Mythra thought. 'You were right. Seeing him be all 'dad-like'… this is doing something for me.'
Mina hold her urges to mess with Hikari, especially due to the fact that she still was unsure about to talk to Izuku and the sisters after what they did.
'Told you.' Pyra said victoriously.
"Hey…!" Azami pouted. "Reiko and I won, where's our praise?"
"Azami." Reiko chided.
“She’s so jealous…” -Kaminari coughed, holding a laugh.
Izuku gave Poppi's head a rub and stood up, looking at the ghost girl and her Blade. "You two did amazing! It was really awesome how you won! Really clever!"
"That's more like it." Azami smiled smugly.
"Thank you for the praise, Izuku." Reiko smiled as well, a blush on her pale cheeks.
Reiko nodded with a small smile.
The large group made their way back to the Hero Course's seats, Mei and Poppi were invited to come with them. Izuku wanted to be there for the next match so he could support Iida.
“Considering how brutal he was in the multiple battles and trainings, he has reasons ot be worried” -Aizawa frowned.
He already wished his friend luck against his former abuser, even giving him a word of advice to not underestimate Bakugou and to not let things get drawn out.
Izuku didn't care about Bakugou anymore, but he cared about Iida. And he didn't want his friend to get hurt because he made the mistake of thinking that Bakugou was just a brute with no brains.
During their walk to their seats, they encountered someone.
The group found themselves standing in front of a tall middle aged man, he had a peculiar appearance. He had pointed ears and a long pointed nose, a clearly receding hairline, and two liver spots on his forehead. He was dressed in a business suit.
Mei looked intensely at the screen. A small voice in her head told her that he was dangerous, but… she didn’t know where it came from.
"Mei hatsume?" The man addressed the inventor.
Izuku and Reiko noticed the man looking at them with disgust while he addressed Mei.
"That's me!" Mei nodded.
"My name is Rikiya Yotsubashi." The man introduced himself.
/Rikiya Yotsubashi/
“He’s weird. Why he did that face to Izuku and Reiko?” -Nejire tilted her head.
"I am the CEO of Detnerat.Co." Yotsubashi gave Hatsume his card. "We're a known quirked lifestyle company, I'm sure you've heard of us."
Reiko glared at him as soon as he revealed who he was.
“He wants Poppi” -David stated- “The first artificial Blade, which allows anybody without aptitude to be a Driver? He clearly wants the robot.”
“Over my cold and dead body…” -Mei muttered.
Mei frowned, has she heard of that company?
Yotsubashi kept talking. "We've recently moved into making support items for heroes-"
"Now I remember!" Mei exclaimed. "You're the incompetent losers who made creation girl and invisible girl's outfits!"
“I have to ask… those outfits are only in that universe, right?” -Nia asked, but the whistle of Hagakure and the blush of Momo made her blink- “...Really?”
“I… I was thinking about my Quirk when I designed!” -Momo defended herself.
“You could literally walk naked and you could have the same protection!” -Nia yelled with her accent with a laugh- “Is not even a durable fabric! Is fuckin’ cloth!”
Momo hid her face in her hands.
“In defense of Hagakure, the fabric made of DNA is not something everyone knows.
During the two-week training for the Festival, Majima and Taiga saw Momo and Hagakure's 'costumes' and were straight up outraged. They marched right up to the support studio, both of them were out for blood.
When Power Loader saw the costumes himself, he was just as enraged, shocked that those costumes ever made it past… anything!
Costume requests had to be passed through and approved by the students' homeroom teacher, no teacher would approve of such horrible costumes. Except 1-A's teacher… who didn't even look through requests.
Aizawa almost spilled his drink when he heard that, being caught off guard. He didn’t reply because he couldn’t refute anything.
Power Loader had promised to make proper costumes for both, and Mei caught a glimpse of the costume forms, specifically the company that made them: Detnerat.
"Incompetent!?" Yotsubashi asked sharply, Izuku noticed his liver spots growing darker.
"If you made Momo and Hagakure's costumes, 'incompetent' is the nicest thing we can call you." Mythra crossed her arms.
“Yes, undoubtedly…” -Hikari sighed.
“Eveb I have some limits to talks about certain themes, including costumes and suits…” -Midnight muttered.
“Those limits exist by yourself or by the law?” - Clark asked with a grin.
“Hush it!” -Nemuri throwed some popcorn at him. She was slowly returning to her previous self.
"Calling them 'costumes' is being generous." Izuku frowned.
Yotsubashi looked at Izuku like something he scraped off of his shoe. "Ms. Hatsume, I believe that a person of your skill should find better company."
“He’s Quirkist? Really?” -Momo frowned. She wasn’t liking that subject.
"What company is better than my daughter, future husband, and sister wives?" Mei asked honestly.
"I'm sorry, what was that last one?" Izuku did a double take.
Yotsubashi actually looked ill at Mei's words. "You created something marvelous, don't you think? A Blade that even those without Aptitude can use… my company would love to invest in your creation."
David looked at the screen with an obvious disgust. His daughter was one of the most brilliant minds of the world without the need of a Quirk. She could embarrass a lot of people with an intelligence Quirk with her inventions.
Izuku prepared to warn Mei against it, but to his surprise-
"No." Mei said near instantly. "I've seen your 'support products' and I am not letting your incompetent company anywhere near my babies, you'll ruin them."
"I implore you to reconsider." Yotsubashi loomed over her, eyeing Poppi greedily. "Your machine is the solution to the problem that the Blades created."
“What problem?” -Denki asked.
“That the Quirkless can be stronger than anyone with a Quirk with the help of a blade. That the superiority of the Quirks can’t be overridden" -Clark said with a hateful expression.
Izuku looked at Clark with surprise. he usually didn’t show such expression or disgust in his words.
"And what problem did we create, Doofenshmirtz?" Nana asked challengingly.
‘I will steal that insult from my other self’ -Nana snorted, but then her tone became serious.- ‘But that doesn’t look good. His eyes reminds me like that monster…The eyes of anyone who will do whatever it takes for it’s objectives’
Izuku was now sure that Yotsubashi's liver spots were getting darker, in fact, they were expanding.
"Ms. Hatsume," Yotsubashi was getting too close to Mei and Poppi, his eyes fixed on the clearly uncomfortable Artificial Blade. "Your machine opens so many possibilities-"
“Stay away from her…” -Mei growled while clenching her teeth.
Izuku stepped in his way, glaring at him. "Get your slimy eyes off of my daughter."
Yotsubashi seemed deeply offended that Izuku would even dare stand in his way, his darkened liver spots expanding and covering one of his eyes.
Everyone in the room tensed at that sight.
Izuku reached for the sword handle jutting out of his left shoulder.
"You have no idea who you're messing with, kid." Yotsubashi warned.
"Neither do you." Izuku returned in kind.
“I have a bad feeling about this.
"Mama…" Poppi whined and buried her face in Mei's side. "Poppi scared…"
Izuku felt his rage growing.
Mei glared at Yotsubashi. "I'll say this one more time and I'll speak slowly so your feeble, incompetent mind can understand. I will not be working with your company and I won't allow you anywhere near my babies. And don't think you can just copy her, I have everything related to the Artificial Blades patented."
“I doubt something like patents will stop him…” -Aizawa frowned. Only with his words and looks it was clear that he wanted desperately the artificial Blade, no matter what.
"You little brats…!" Yotsubashi looked like he was about to attack them when-
"Is there an issue here?" A commanding voice asked.
Todoroki tensed slightly at that voice.
All eyes went to its source to see a tall, muscular man with red hair and a flaming beard. The man's cold blue eyes glared at Yotsubashi.
"Endeavor…!" Izuku growled.
Endeavor took note of Izuku's clear hostility, but put it aside and focused on the man in the suit. "Rikiya Yotsubashi, what is an influential business man like you doing here?"
“Well, I’m glad that he appeared just in time, despite he’s a bastard…” -Saika sighed.
Yotsubashi's liver spots went back to normal and his face turned friendly. "Oh, just looking out for any future heroes, my company will be making their equipment after all."
"To me it looked like you were threatening them." Endeavor stepped towards them, his sheer presence made Yotsubashi shake. "Get lost."
Yotsubashi scrambled away as fast as his quaking legs allowed him.
“Despite his intimidation, he ran away like a coward” -Camie snorted.
Endeavor looked at Izuku and his friends. "Are you all okay?"
Izuku and his Blades were openly glaring at him, but Reiko spoke up. "We are well, sir. I must thank you for stepping in when you did."
"It's my job." Endeavor said before noticing Poppi hiding behind Mei and Izuku. "So this is the Artificial Blade? Quite an ingenious invention."
“I can’t deny that he’s great at his job, despite how bad of a person he is…” -Yagi frowned.
"You think so?!" Mei asked excitedly.
"Blades are undoubtedly powerful, but their use is limited due to how unlikely it is for a quirked person to have Aptitude, but your invention makes that irrelevant." Endeavor explained. "Your invention could potentially change the future of heroics."
"Izuku!" Mei shook her future husband. "The number two hero likes our baby!"
“Endeavor is a good hero, no matter how bad as a father is. He can recognize the potential of anyone or anything seriously” -Nezu nodded.
"Poppi really that amazing?" Poppi asked innocently.
“Aaaw, she’s so cute!” -Nejire screamed in joy. She wanted to squeeze her cheeks
"You are impressive, to say the least." Endeavor confirmed.
Izuku kept glaring at the man, clenching his fist so tight his knuckles popped. He wanted to hit him, hit him hard.
“That’s a bad idea. He can’t stand a chance against him, ribbit” -Tsuyu said.
Mythra changed into Pyra who put a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Come on, let's go. We don't want to miss Iida's match."
"Yeah." Izuku nodded.
They all left, Izuku glared at Endeavor over his shoulder.
'You wouldn't have won against him.' Third informed him.
'I know.' Izuku glared at the ground. 'But I still wish I could have slugged him.'
“I understand why he feels so hateful, but he must keep calm and think before acting” -Aizawa sighed.
*****
Rikiya Yotsubashi stomped his way through the halls of the stadium, seething in anger at being denied such a wonderful item that would have doubtlessly allowed them to retake their rightful place above the baseline.
"That little null lover thinks she can deny me her invention?" Yotsubashi muttered. "She dares deny me what I want?!"
Mei glared intensely at the screen, with her fist clenched of fury.
He'd show her! One way or another, he'd have what he wants!
And then the idea hit him.
A sinister smile came to his face, he had to make a phone call.
“I have a really bad feeling about this…” -Denki gulped.
By the time Izuku and his friends got back to their seats, they were shocked to hear that the match was already over.
At the start of the match, Iida had apparently used some sort of boost that made him go even faster than usual and tried to kick Bakugou out of the ring right away. He had kicked Bakugou square in the chest and Jirou said that she heard something crack, but rather than crumple and get sent flying, Bakugou grabbed onto Iida's leg and used an explosion boosted elbow strike to break Iida's leg.
'He tried to finish things quickly because of me.' Izuku thought, clenching his fists. 'If I hadn't told him to take care of Katsuki quickly…!'
“I doubt is his fault…” -Iida frowned.
'This is in no way your fault.' Third cut in.
"Iida…!" Izuku looked down.
"Hey, chin up!" Nana slapped his back. "You have to cheer for Uraraka to beat Todoroki!"
“I doubt that our Ochako could beat Todoroki, but I’m not that sure with the other… Oh, no offense, Ochako” -Jirou said.
"She's going to win anyway." Izuku said with absolute certainty.
"Seriously?" Jirou asked skeptically. "What's she gonna do when Todoroki makes one of those massive fuck off icebergs?"
"She'll win, is what she'll do." Izuku didn't even looked at the purple haired girl.
“I doubt that Izuku says that without thinking a plan or theorize the battle” -Momo frowned.
"Izuku…" Momo approached him. "Would you mind telling me how you believe Uraraka will counter Todoroki's large attacks? I am quite curious about your take on what her strategy will be."
"Uraraka already has an advantage from the fact that Todoroki is only using half of his quirk, as long as she stays on his left side, he can't touch her." Izuku started. "As long as she avoids what I'm sure his initial attack would be, that being a large all out ice blast, he's easy pickings."
“Makes sense. Young Todoroki in that moment refused to use his fire, so attacking his left side is a great way to put him at disadvantage” -All Might nodded.
“If Uraraka survived my ice in an hypothetical fight, she could have won…” -Todoroki confirmed.
Izuku and Momo continued to discuss how the match would go while Pyra and Brighid watched with a smile.
And then they saw Uraraka and Todoroki walked out into the ring.
*****
"Let's keep this going, folks! In the peppermint corner! His quirk is half and half, but he's a full half-ass! Class 1-A's Shouto Todoroki!"
Todoroki glowered at the introduction he received, why did everyone feel the need to mock his ideals?
“Because the ways you’re doing it is hurting you and is stupid, kero” - Asui commented.
"And in the objectively better corner! She has big cheeks and even bigger dreams! She'll curb stomp you in Zero G! Class 1-A's Ochako Uraraka!"
Uraraka rubbed her head sheepishly at the introduction she got from Mr. Majima.
“Aw, how cute!” -Mina smiled.
Midnight asked the two of them if they were ready.
Both nodded.
"Begin!" Midnight cracked her whip.
As soon as she did, a massive iceberg covered half of the stadium.
“Despite that move can be effective, is really predictable.
The audience screamed in horror, both at the power that Todoroki displayed and the fact that he may have killed his opponent.
'That'll show them.' Todoroki thought as he exhaled a freezing breath, his whole body was shaking, but he already won. 'Then why isn't Midnight declaring the match?'
Over in the commentator's box, Majima cackled before hitting a button on the console. "Let's put on something good."
(Play Music: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity OST: Un-gravitify)
“Okay, why there are such bangers in that universe?” -Jirou asked in a mix of annoying and proud.
Todoroki frowned at the sound of the music, why was there music now?
"Hey, half-ass!"
Todoroki's head snapped upwards to see Uraraka floating just over the tip of his iceberg.
“Obviously, Uraraka saw that coming easily” -Momo rolled her eyes.
Uraraka kicked off the iceberg's tip, flying straight at the stunned Todoroki. Uraraka flipped midflight to have her feet pointed down.
"Release!" Uraraka pressed her fingers together and called out, with her gravity returned, she dove at Todoroki even faster.
Todoroki tried to get out of the way, but his right leg suddenly flared up with pain, forcing him to stay in place when Uraraka dropkicked him in the chest and sent him sprawling to the floor.
“That seems to hurt, ribbit”
The dual colored boy didn't have time to even process the fact that who knew how many of his ribs were undeniably broken, he forced himself to roll away when Uraraka attempted to touch him. He knew that if the girl touched him once, it would be her victory, so he had to keep away from her.
Todoroki forced himself to his feet and prepared to launch another attack on Uraraka when he found himself getting to first base with her fist and then with her other fist.
“He’s at great disadvantage. I doubt that he can win her if she’s so close…” -Ojiro said from experience.
Uraraka mercilessly pummeled Todoroki's face and torso, robbing him of the chance to retaliate due to both Uraraka's unending onslaught and the inexplicable pain in his right side crippling his movements.
"I can see some of your influence in her moves, bro." Taiga hummed appreciatively. "She's learned well from both of our instruction."
"Nyehehehe!" Majima cackled proudly. "This is all her, bro! I only showed her the basics, but she took those basics and forged her own unique style of fighting!"
“Wait, what!?” -Ochako looked at the screen with intense surprise, but when she heard that, she stood up.
Uraraka's style was one that took advantage of both her natural strength and her ability to cancel gravity.
The Crush Style.
Uraraka began writing intensely at one notebook. Where did she picked it? Well, it was an old one she had in her backpack.
'I can't break out of her combo!' Todoroki realized before Uraraka's hand hit him flat in the chest, splayed open with all five of her fingers touching Todoroki. 'No!'
Todoroki felt his gravity being robbed from him, his feet leaving the ground.
'Why can't I use my ice!' Todoroki yelled in his head, he could barely open his mouth. 'My quirk isn't working!'
“Why his Quirk’s isn’t working?” -Kaminari asked.
“The mental tension, troublesome thoughts, and the pressure can make you unconsciously being unable to use your Quirk” - Nemuri said. Despite being Ryo the main counselor, she also was a licensed one, but she usually took care of the students with physical and sexual problems, like genre identity, their own sexuality…
Uraraka grabbed the floating Todoroki and held him over her head. The peppermint princess could do nothing but flail helplessly against Uraraka's iron grip.
“He lost…” -Mom muttered.
(Music End)
"TODOROKI!!"
(Play Music: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST: Drifting Soul)
Uraraka and Todoroki both stopped moving, they looked over to their class' box to see Izuku glaring at the ring.
“Oh no…” -Uraraka hid her face in her hands, sighing.
"Are you really okay with this!? With losing in such a pathetic way!?" Izuku demanded. "Look at you! All of my life people mocked me for how weak and pathetic I was! But you're more pathetic than I ever was! You're more of a Deku than I ever was!"
Everyone stood silent at Izuku's taunting.
"Go ahead and toss him, Uraraka!" Izuku shouted. "That worthless Deku doesn't belong in that ring! He doesn't belong in the Hero Course either! Damn half-ass, worthless Deku!"
Izuku stared at the screen, without even blinking. He couldn’t help but compare it with his battle with todoroki. He wanted to help his classmate, but his other self was much more confident with himself, with his words. He wasn’t willing to talk gently at the traumatized boy. He still wanted to save him, but their methods were incredibly different. While Izuku tried to make Todoroki understand that his actions weren’t healthy, and how his plan was dangerous for him and others, Rex the other Izuku wanted to ridicule him, to forcefully teach him that his idea was stupid and pointless, that he didn't deserve his seat in the hero course if he wasn’t willing to give his everything. He felt like they were two completely separate beings despite being called the same [because they were]. The other Izuku became worthy, while he continued to have problems with his Quirk despite having it for a longer period of time.
'Midoriya!' Todoroki glared at the green haired boy.
"You have everything I ever wanted! But you squander it because you're an idiot!" Izuku roared out. "A pathetic, idiotic, delusional Deku who clings to his stupidity and stubbornness instead of waking up and facing reality!"
'You don't know what you're talking about!' Todoroki shouted in his head.
The audience were looking at the screen, in silent.
"So go ahead and lose!" Izuku shouted. "Because that's all a worthless Deku like you can do! You lose! And you disappoint others! Your siblings! Your father! Your mother! I bet your poor mother is so ashamed to have a worthless Deku of a son like you!"
'Don't talk about her!' Todoroki had tears running down his face.
"Son of the number two hero!? You're a joke!" Izuku hopped up on the railing, earning warnings and cries of worry from his friends. "A pathetic Deku scared to death of his own quirk! It's so pathetic I want to laugh!"
“He will become even more angry, or he will lose his will of fight…” -Sato frowned.
Todoroki honestly wished Uraraka would just throw him off of the stage and get it over with.
"Does it feel good!?" Izuku asked. "Does it feel good to know that you're insulting us!? Insulting all of us!? Hurting yourself!? Killing yourself for the sake of an Architect damned grudge!? Does it feel good to know that you are putting your own life at risk because daddy didn't love you enough!?"
Todoroki, through sheer force of will, managed to give an answer. "I won't use his power-!"
"It's yours!" Izuku shouted, willpower rolling off of him in waved, causing Todoroki to shake in Uraraka's grip. "Your quirk! Not his!"
Shouto remembered briefly at his mother while staring at the other self.
Todoroki's eyes widened, Izuku's words, emboldened by his boundless will, struck deep into Todoroki's heart. His mind rewound to a time before his mother snapped, he was sitting on her lap and watching an All Might special... All Might explained how children might have similar quirks to their parents, but those quirks were all their own.
'Shouto,' He heard his mother's voice in his head. 'You still want to be a hero, don't you? Just remember to stay true to who you are…'
'Mom…' Todoroki felt tears build up in his eyes. 'It's been so long that I've forgotten those words.'
Todoroki looked away. He didn’t want to get sentimental again…
'You are not a prisoner of your lineage.'
Uraraka felt the boy in her grip heat up immensely, she yelped and threw him back into the ring. 'Dang it, Midoriya… why did you have to make things harder on me?'
Todoroki burst into flames, the ice around the ring began to melt. The floating boy's left side was engulfed in fire, making him look like a miniature sun.
“Finally…” -Izuku stuttered with a small smile.
"SHOOOOUUUTTOOOOO!!" Endeavor shouted from the stance. "Finally! You've done it! You've finally stopped denying yourself! You have finally accepted yourself! Excellent! Now that you're no longer holding back, there are no limits to what you can achieve!"
"Damn…" Majima hummed. "Endeavor is such a doting dad."
“I doubt that’s the case…” -Camie frowned.
Todoroki ignored his father and looked at Midoriya with a crazed grin on his face. "You just screwed your friend out of a victory, you know that!?"
"Nah! She has this!" Izuku yelled back with his own grin. "Kick his ass, Uraraka!"
"Easier said than done…" Uraraka grumbled, but couldn't help but smile. She put up her fists and got back into fighting form. 'This… it's kind of exciting.'
“She can do this!” -Mina was smiling intensely.
"I'm going to ask you to give me my gravity back." Todoroki said politely, still floating in the air. He lowered his flames considerably so they wouldn't propel his out of the ring.
"Sure, I'll return it." Uraraka said with a smile. "Once you're out of the ring."
"Then it appears we are at an impasse." Todoroki said.
"Not at all." Uraraka charged at the floating boy who used his flames to propel himself towards the girl.
“This is the real fight…” -Kirishima smiled with manly tears.
The two roared as they rushed each other, Todoroki throwing his right hand forward to hopefully freeze Uraraka in place and end the match.
Uraraka leaned to the side to avoid Todoroki's hand and grabbed his forearm before spinning around on her heels.
Essence of Hammer Throw!
"Hrraaa!" Uraraka roared and launched Todoroki, the boy flying helplessly out of the ring. "Release!"
“That’s a great move of martial arts” -Ojiro nodded with proud.
The flaming boy fell to the grass on his face, turning off his fire quickly so he wouldn't cause a conflagration by accident.
"Shouto Todoroki is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "The winner is Ochako Uraraka!"
(Music End)
The entire stadium erupted in cheers for the gravity defying girl.
“She won. She won to Todoroki despite he used his fire…” -Melissa muttered before being interrupted by Ochako, who stood up yelling.
“FUCK YEEEEES!” -The gravity girl rose her fists.
Uraraka felt tears build up in her eyes. 'Ma… Pa… I won!'
"Way to go, Uraraka!" Izuku cheered the loudest. "I knew you could do it!"
'Even against someone so strong, you believed in me.' Uraraka grinned brightly at him. 'You're so strong and incredible and I want to be just like you. I feel like this win… it made me a bit closer to what you are… Izuku.'
“Aaaaw! She’s so cute! He’s her role model!” - Hagakure smiled.
Todoroki flipped himself onto the grass and stared at the sky… he lost.
He finally gave it his all and he lost.
"Hehehe…" A few chuckles escaped Todoroki's lips. "Hahahahahahahaha!"
He was so frustrated! He went all out and he still lost!
Shouto smiled briefly at the screen. He was… happy. Happy that his other self lost. Because he won, but he was still confused. His other self lost despite he gave it all. His Quirk was incredibly strong, but it wasn’t everything. He had to learn it after some quiet nights in the internshipa, and he hoped the other Todoroki could see that sooner.
So why was he laughing?
Why did his body feel so light all of a sudden?
His dual colored eyes went to his class' box where he saw Midoriya was still cheering for Uraraka.
"Midoriya…" Todoroki whispered with a smile on his face. "Thank you."
With that, the chapter ended- “It was great!” -Mina yelled with a smile.
“I liked the fight. I can see how strong your other one is, fam” -Camie winked at Ochako.