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The tournament begins!! Izuku makes a stand in the stadium and takes the risk of being revealed as the first Quirkless student to ever take part in UA’s acclaimed Sports Festival Tournament.
Foreword: Sorry that this took so long, everyone. All of my writing spoons jumped ship on me, then there was Artfight, and then I got super fixated on a game that I’d been excitedly waiting for the release and- Yeah. I was having a lot of stuff going on in my brain and this fell by the wayside for a long time. I kinda had to whack myself over the head to finally get myself to get back to this instead of scaring myself out of it.
Here we are! I’d actually forgotten just how long BNHA’s Tournament Arc was. So, just to move things along, I’m only going to focus on Izuku and Hitoshi’s matches. Otherwise this is gonna be WAY too much stuff to get through on my own, lol.
I hope this was worth the wait for everyone!
Chapter 21: The Sports Festival (Part 3)
Izuku was sitting between Hitoshi and Mei, the two helping buffer him from the numerous hero students around them. Toru had taken the seat in front of him with Asui (“You can call my Tsuyu, kero.”) seated beside her. Izuku let their conversations flow over him. Talking about what they’d enjoyed in the festival so far. What they were excited to do later.
The school was holding another break before they started the tournament. Thus giving the participating students another chance to catch their breath and recharge their quirks if they needed to. The audience was getting to watch the rest of the students play various games in the arena.
(It was a second chance to show off their skills to the watching agencies. They could still earn internships even if they didn’t get to be part of the tournament.)
Izuku didn’t have a quirk to recharge so he just drank from his thermal bottle and tried to stay calm.
He… He hadn’t thought he would get this far.
Yes, he and his friends had planned on working together to do well but it had never really sunk in that he would genuinely be with them this far into the day. He’d thought he would end up lagging behind or dropping out before the final event. But Hitoshi had turned to him, grinning ear to ear in excitement about them both qualifying for the tournament…
(Not to mention the little kid in his heart, who screaming in delight at the idea of being part of it. Of getting to stand in the arena and show everyone what he was capable of.)
He couldn’t have said no if he’d tried.
The only problem with agreeing to take part? Having to sit in the small cafeteria (more of a large break room, really) and wait for the teachers to signal everyone to come back to the stadium gave his nerves plenty of time to twist themselves into knots. Worst still for his nerves, the tournament was only half of what was eating at him at the moment.
The other half was the strange flicker of- Something that had passed over the stadium before the game of Capture the Flag had begun.
It had had scared him half-to-death when it happened, making him lock up while everyone divided themselves into teams around him. He was glad no one seemed to notice his reaction. Or, if they did notice it, they didn’t ask him what was wrong.
He wasn’t sure he could have explained what he’d seen or why it had made him so nervous.
What had that been? What had he seen in the stadium? Was it someone’s quirk acting up from their excitement? Was it something else? Was it something dangerous? Were the teachers just pretending it hadn’t happened to keep everyone from panicking? Was Izuku just psyching himself out for no reason?
Izuku stilled as a tingling sensation traveled up his leg and a small weight appeared in his pocket. Another, purely metaphorical, weight appeared in his stomach at the feeling.
Why had Nooroo come over? Was something wrong?
“U-umm, I-I think I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” He stood and hurried out before anyone could stop him.
Izuku jogged his way out of the small break room for the students, looking for the nearby washrooms for the students. He darted into the (thankfully) empty boy’s room. He locked them into a stall to hide from anyone else who might come by to use it. The less chance of Nooroo actually being seen, the better.
“Okay, we should be clear,” Izuku whispered. Nooroo bounced out of the pocket radiating delight as he spun in the air to face his chosen.
“Izu-bocchan! You made it! You got into the tournament, just like you wanted to! I’m so proud of you!” The kwami gushed at him. “You’ve been training so hard for this. Oh! I’m so happy for you!”
Izuku flushed, ducking his head at the praise. He hadn’t thought that Nooroo would come down just to congratulate him. (He felt silly for getting so anxious now.)
“I-I, yeah. Thanks. I-I’m happy too,” he mumbled with a smile. “B-but… Um, Nooroo? Can I- Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, Izu-bocchan.” Nooroo said with a smile.
“Did… Did you see that weird… Flicker earlier?” he asked hesitantly. He just… He needed to know if it was just his imagination. If he’d been seeing things from stress or if there was something else going on. Nooroo paused at that. Then let out a small sigh.
“Ah, that… Yes. Duusu and I both saw it as well, Izu-bocchan. It wasn’t just your imagination.”
Izuku’s nerves returned.
“What was that? I-is it dangerous? Should we be warning people about it?!” If they were the only ones to see some sign of something dangerous, then they had to tell people! He needed to build up a script so he could tell heroes about it as Sasakia.
He knew Eraserhead’s patrol route now, thanks to checking in with Flashstep on the hero’s recovery after the school’s temporary break was finished. (The man wasn’t cleared for field work yet, apparently. They were being careful with his health.) He could tell him about what he’d seen and then the entirety of the school’s staff would be alerted in short order.
Or should he risk telling Nedzu directly about it instead of having Eraserhead act as a middle man?
“Izu-bocchan! It’s okay! Calm down, please!” Nooroo’s tiny hands squished his cheek to get his attention. “They’re not a sign of something dangerous. Well, not on their own at least.”
Izuku blinked at that, worrying at his lower lip.
“What do you mean? How are-” he cut off at the small gesture Nooroo made to quiet him.
Nooroo drifted back slightly with a thoughtful look on his small face. (He was thinking over how to explain it, he was sure.)
“What you saw was a Ripple, an Echo, in Time. It happens when one of two miraculous are overused by their holders. Specifically, the Snake or the Rabbit. Both of them have a certain domain over time and it’s flow, and sometimes Ripples like that happen when a holder uses their power too many times in a quick succession or tries to push it further than they should.”
“R-really?” he asked. There were miraculous that could affect time? Those sounded powerful…
“Yes. You see, time itself is fairly malleable. It can be altered and changed quite a bit, despite what most people think. Especially smaller incidents and events. Like the choice of what someone will eat for breakfast and how that impacted the rest of their day, or a single hit in a battle that unwittingly turned the tides. Often, the Snake is the one to be used for such things. A single battle is more easily changed then an entire war!” Nooroo bounced slightly with emphasis. Changing something like that sounded simple, but it sounded like it was a lot of power for someone to have. To Izuku at least. “However, certain things are much harder to change if they aren’t intercepted early enough. They have effects that stretch out much further than the things that built up to it. Unless those smaller things are changed as well, the event in question can’t be stopped or changed. The rabbit is usually the one to change those events, to prevent large scale catastrophes from coming to pass.”
Izuku nodded slowly. That… Sounded like a logical split. One miraculous to help smaller events and one to safeguard larger ones.
He remembered reading about some old theoretical paper that was referenced in a story he’d read. About how certain events were anchors in time, things like tremendous wars or large-scale disasters, that were impossible to remove because how much they affected the rest of the world. History was so thoroughly impacted by the events that it was impossible to change them without wildly altering the rest of the world by it.
The snake was made to fix small events, but the rabbit was designed to lessen the impact of tragedies.
Nooroo continued speaking;
“Ripples like what we saw usually happen from a Miraculous wielder getting fixated on an event that’s technically not something their miraculous is supposed to be used to change. Like a Snake trying to change a Major Event or a Rabbit getting fixated on changing a bunch of smaller ones that don’t matter to the larger picture. They push and push for their changes to come to fruition. But it’s harder to make them stick since it’s a different scale than what they’re meant to handle. Sometimes, a ripple can also happen from a holder going back too far to change something. The universe doesn’t really like people bringing that level of knowledge with them through time. Even if it doesn’t try to stop them outright.”
“So… Someone with either the Snake or the Rabbit is- Trying to change time? But it’s not working right and that’s what’s making the ripples?” He asked, arms crossing in thought.
That made sense too. If a story is changed too much, then it becomes a different one entirely. If the person making the changes expects everything to remain the same after changing a bunch of things, then they could be clashing with their own actions. A kind of- of dissonance between expectations and reality.
“Exactly. That’s when the ripples start happening. You’re seeing time trying to reconcile itself and re-situate back into place.” The butterfly kwami confirmed with a nod. “What was, what is, and what may have happened are all overlapping for a second. It’s not dangerous though! It might give some people headaches or a really strong feeling of dejavu but it won’t hurt anyone.”
That was a good thing, he supposed. But that meant the person was still trying to change time, didn’t it? The ripples were harmless right then. Except things might not stay that way.
There had to be a turning point that could be it where the universe couldn’t handle the constant changes and pushing from the miraculous.
“… Which- Which do you think it is? Which miraculous is being used to cause this?” He asked, looking up. Knowing which it was could tell them what they needed to look out for to either help or prevent things getting worse.
Nooroo hummed in thought.
“If I had to guess, and this is just a guess mind you, I think it’s a Snake trying to go too far back. The Snake has much tighter limits than the Rabbit about how far back it’s able to go to change something. Because of that it’s much easier for someone to push too far. Especially if it’s someone with access to the full power of the snake.”
The full power of the snake… Meaning an adult who had and was using it and not someone his age.
Someone who was Of Age to use the miraculous’ powers without the limiters to reign in the scope of what they could do. (Someone stronger than him…)
Nooroo looked at him with a serious frown.
“If they are a snake, then there’s a chance they may have started looking for other miraculous wielders for help. So they might try to reach out to us at some point.” Nooroo said, his voice soft and firm. Izuku felt his breath catch in his chest. “I don’t know which side they’ll reach out to first, but it’s something we should keep an eye out for later.”
Someone… Might come looking for him? Looking for Sasakia?
He swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat. (No, no, no, he worked too hard to keep Izuku and Sasakia separate. They were supposed to be separate!)
“I don’t think this person is dangerous. The ripples that I saw in reality… It hard to explain what I see in human terms, but they give an impression of the intent of the person who’s making them.” Nooroo’s voice was soft and kind as he spoke, getting Izuku to look up at him. “The person is trying to help someone, possibly many people. They’re trying to do good. This isn’t a self-serving goal they’re chasing.”
“So… If they go looking for us, it’s because they want our help?” He asked quietly. That- That helped him calm down a little.
Someone wanted his help. He just had to keep his eyes out for when they appeared to ask for it.
He took in a deep breath, held it, then slowly let it out.
“Okay… Okay, so we need to just- keep an ear to the ground for anyone looking for Sasakia’s help.”
“That’s right. But we wont have to worry about that now.” Nooroo smiled warmly at him. “Right now, you have a festival to be apart of. I know you can do well.”
Izuku nodded.
He needed to go back now. They were bound to be calling everyone out to start the tournament soon. He needed to be ready for it. His heart still felt tight in his chest, even with one of his fears was soothed. It was time to do his best.
His hand didn’t reach for the lock on the bathroom stall’s door. It stayed clenched at his side.
(There was lead in his stomach, his feet were stuck to the floor, he still wanted to hide but he wanted to keep going.)
“Izu-bocchan? Would you like me to hide in your pockets until it’s your turn?” Nooroo asked in a gentle voice as he looked at his chosen.
“Yes. Please.” Izuku answered quietly.
His cheeks burned with embarrassment at his own frozen feet. He should have been better about this. Braver. But the idea of going out there, his face being under genuine focus by the audience and not just as a member of a lager group.
“It’s okay, Izu-bocchan. Don’t be hard on yourself! You’re not used to getting a lot of attention. You’re used to being in the background,” Nooroo comforted. “To letting others stand in the spotlight. This is something you’ve never done before, you’ve never had the chance to do before. It’s okay to struggle with your feelings because of it.”
“It’s okay to be afraid as long as you don’t let it stop you.” Izuku repeated the phrase Nooroo had said to him plenty of times before. The Little kwami smiled proudly at him.
“That’s right. So don’t let this stop you. Keep going forward, one step at a time.”
It had still taken longer than Izuku’s heart would have liked to talk himself out of the bathroom and returning to the cafeteria, but he managed it. And he even got back to the table his friends were at before the mini-games the other students were playing had finished.
“You okay there, Izuku-kun?” Hitoshi asked as he sank back into his seat. Izuku let out a shaky laugh as Toru passed him a fruit bar to nibble on.
“Yeah, I just… Needed some quiet time for a couple minutes.”
“I can understand that. My cousin gets really nervous at times too. Going some place quiet for a few minutes helps a lot. Kero.” Tsuyu said, looking over at the boy from over her own water bottle. “I’m sure there’s a couple actual Quiet Rooms in the stadium. They might even have a viewing TV so you can still know what’s going on. Kero.”
Hitoshi propped his cheek on his hand with a hum.
“That would actually be kinda nice. Might hang out in one of those after I get knocked out of the tournament.”
“Aw… Don’t say that Hitoshi-kun! I’m sure you and Izu-kun will do great!” Toru said in a pouting tone.
“Oh, I’m sure gonna try to do well. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna be realistic about my chances of making it to the end. My quirk’s not great for an open battle field like that.”
Izuku nodded at that.
“Yeah, your quirk’s better as a ambush tactic than open combat. You might be able to get away with it once or twice to get a win, but people would catch on after that,” he confirmed. He avoided actually naming Hitoshi’s quirk where the other competitors could hear them. “Plus, having your quirk get broadcast in the open like that could pose a problem later on.”
“Both of you are better off using all those combat moves you’ve learned to fight. At least you both have back up from my babies!” Mei loudly declared, grinning at the two. “Make sure you use them during your fights. The sponsors need to see how great they are for anybody to use and not just me.”
Both of them laughed at that.
“The chart said that Izu-kun’s match was first, right? So that means you can get it out of the way first!” Toru said in an encouraging tone. Tsuyu hummed.
“Your opponent… He’s from 1-B. He was the one that declared war on 1-A a couple weeks ago. Kero.” Tsuyu tapped a finger on her chin. “I think his name is Monoma. He was rude to our class.”
“Oh, yeah… Then again, Bakugo-san was rude first. I think a lot of people are just- assuming we’re all like him instead of getting to know us.” Toru wilted in her seat. He could feel the sad aura that fell over her. “It stinks ’cause I wanted to make friends in the other classes too. You guys are so much fun, but you’re the only friends I have from outside my own class.”
Toru was a social butterfly, she loved being around people. It really did suck that Katsuki had ended up ruining his class’s chances at networking with the other students.
“Any idea what his quirk is? He doesn’t have any obvious tells about what he can do,” asked Hitoshi. He frowned slightly as he did.
Izuku’s fight would be easier if he had some idea of the kind of quirk Monoma had. Even if it was just a vague class it was was in. It would make it easier for him to come up with a plan for the fight if he did. The other students around him shook their heads. None of them knew what the blonde was capable of. Which meant he would be going in blind.
Above them all, the speaker in the cafeteria crackled and Sunda-sensei’s voice started speaking.
“Attention all students, the tournament is about to begin. Please make your way back to the arena and take your place in the assigned seats for your classes. Would students 1B-18 and 1I-18 please report your respective class waiting rooms and prepare for your match. Good luck to everyone participating!”
There was a scraping of chairs and shuffling feet as everyone got to their feet, moving to the halls that lead to the stands.
“Good luck, Izu-kun. I’m sure you can beat Monoma-san!” Toru said encouragingly. “You can do it!”
He nodded and parted ways with his friends to go to the waiting room, Nooroo’s comforting weight in his pocket. Neither of them spoke as he stepped inside the small, quiet room.
“Monoma-san’s quirk isn’t something loud and obvious.” Nooroo’s quiet voice drifted up from his hiding spot. “I didn’t seen anything specific from him when Duusu and I watched everyone playing Capture the Flag. So it’s not something you can spot right away. It might be something discrete instead.”
“It’s possible that he’s more of a support-type. His quirk could either not have an obvious tell or it works better in tandem with someone else.”
If that was correct, then both of them would be left with just their physical skills. He, at least, also had Mei’s support gear to fall back on. Some of the pellets that he’d been given would do well enough, but Izuku would rather save those for later boughts.
Maybe a smoke pellet, at the very least? One could never discount the benefits of a smoke screen. He wanted to save the powder pellets for Katsuki if he ended up fighting him.
“I’ll stick with martial arts and the umbrella first. I can scale up in response to whatever Monoma throws at me.” He nodded to himself.
The signal went off over the speakers in the small waiting room.
It was time.
Izuku hurried out of the room, following the signs to the arena proper.
The light was blinding, and he reflexively shielded his eyes as he stepped into the sunlight. The crowd was just as loud as it had been before, but now the lowest stands were filled with students from the first year.
Izuku forced his feet to carry him forward, Nooroo still hidden in his pocket and waiting for the last second he could slip away.
He stepped into the ring, trying to not feel overwhelmed by the cheering audience around them. He didn’t know much about Monoma. He wished he’d had more time to gather information, but he didn’t have that luxury for the tournament.
Monoma, the blonde boy from class 1-B, calmly strode into the ring across from him. He looked perfectly relaxed as he did. His expression was perfectly calm, almost friendly as he looked over Izuku.
“You are… Midoriya-kun? Is that right?” His opponent asked. His tone was surprisingly polite, considering what Toru had told him about the boy.’s attitude several weeks ago. (Maybe it was because Izuku wasn’t from class 1-A?) “Before our clash, there’s something I feel like I need say to you.”
“Yes?” Izuku hesitantly answered with a frown. What did he want to say before they started fighting?
“I must applaud your skills, Midoriya-kun. You’re from the management track and yet you’ve perfectly kept pace with the students in the hero course. It’s been years, no decades since someone from your course has done so well!” The blonde glowed with something positive as he made an extravagant gesture to Izuku. “If I wasn’t already part of the spectacular class 1-B, I would be in complete awe of you! You’re really giving folks an underdog to root for. Someone to show how valuable talent is, even outside of the hero courses.”
Monoma meant what he was saying. The glow of his emotions made it clear alongside his over-the-top tone.
Izuku couldn’t help ducking his head slightly, his smile turning sheepish.
“Ah… Thank you. That’s… Very kind of you to say.” He managed to keep from mumbling his words. He wanted to say his efforts weren’t special. That he was just doing his best. But he swallowed the words back.
(Nooroo and Duusu kept telling him that he needed to get better at accepting compliments. Being humble was good, but there was such a thing as thinking too lowly of oneself.)
“I almost feel guilty for having to be the one to battle you here. You’re working so hard to be seen, but I can’t let my class down. I’m only one of the few members who managed to get into the tournament, you know.” Monoma’s smile looked sad as he spoke. But there was a hard, determined glint to his emotions. “I need to prove how great our class is. That, despite the attention that’s been taken up by class 1-A, class 1-B is just as magnificent. So I need to give this my all and get to the next match. I hope you won’t begrudge me for stopping your progress.”
His view of what 1-A was dealing with was different, but he could kind of see Monoma’s point. Because of the USJ attack, people were constantly talking about Toru’s class. Long before they should have been debuting before the public. Considering the (healthy) competition UA generally tried to encourage among the students, it wasn’t hard to imagine that the attention would feel like an unfair advantage for later public work.
Monoma was trying to bolster his class, his friends, by showing that their class was just as skilled as 1-A was.
Well, he could sort of respect the desire to do well for one’s friends.
“I can understand that. I promised my friends and my little sister that I would do my best. That’s why I’ve kept going as long as I have. So…” He slid into a stance, raising his umbrella like it was a sword. (he could feel the slight, tingling sensation of Nooroo phasing through his leg and into the ground.) He gave the blonde a small smile. “Don’t think I’m going to just give up just because you’re from the hero course. Win or lose, I’m going to give this all I can.”
To his pleasant surprise, Monoma returned it.
“Good! It would be a shame to leave the audience with a lackluster first match.”
“Are the two of you ready then?” asked Kayama-sensei. Monoma and Izuku both nodded. “Good. Let the match begin!”
Izuku treated the crack of Kayam-sensei’s whip like it was a starting pistol.
He lunged at Monoma with his umbrella. He aimed at the other boy’s wrists for his first strike. A strange action to some, but there was a purpose behind the choice.
He needed to see how Monoma fought to get an idea of what he needed to do to win against him. Izuku needed to know whether his instinct was to fight defensively or offensively when challenged. Izuku himself usually stuck to a defensive style he’s learned from Sango-sensei. Letting whomever he was sparring with make the first move and set the tone for how the battle would end up going. (It was safer for someone without a quirk to be reactionary, as they were usually the ones being attacked and not the ones attacking.)
But it would be a problem for the match if Monoma and he were both defensive style fighters. They would end up spend far too much time circling each other before they would actually move.
Which meant one of them them needed to take the risk f the first strike. Izuku had enough faith in his own skill to take that chance.
Monoma dodged, using a standard block to redirect Izuku’s umbrella away from him. The blonde tried to grapple him by grabbing hold of his outstretched arm. The greenette wrenched his weight to the side and rolled out of he reach before he could actually get a grip.
There were several moves like that that quickly followed. Both students trying to catch the other off guard to preform the maneuver they wanted. One would lunge at their opponent, the other would parry and attempt a grapple, then the first would do their best to dodge in the close quarters they both seemed to prefer.
They were both testing each other. Trying to figure out how the other fought, what they reflexively did when confronted.
As far as physical skill went, they were both making a good show for the hero agencies watching them. Showing off how they handled a one-on-one bought and the mix of skill and caution they used against an opponent they weren’t familiar with.
Then Monoma finally managed to grab hold of Izuku’s bare wrist.
Izuku ignored the look of surprise and confusion that had appeared in his face, far more focused on the sudden stumble from the hero student. He’d dropped his umbrella to free his own hands, reversing the grip and twisting to throw the blonde with a shoulder throw. Monoma let out a pained “whoof” when he hit the ground. He moved back fast, snatching his umbrella and moving back to prepare for the next strike.
It didn’t come.
Wide, periwinkle blue eyes started up at him from the ground.
“You-you’re… A full blank? But I thought- There would be at least- But there’s not even a passive?” Monoma slowly pushed himself up, still looking thoroughly bewildered. Izuku raised a brow in confusion. “I’ve never met someone that didn’t have something I could copy…”
Copy? Full blank? What did he mean by-
A memory flashed through his mind.
Kneeling atop Todoroki’s icy bluff and feeling the chill of the ice through his clothing, watching the other students fighting and sneaking around the arena below him. The vantage point made specifically so he could keep watch and give directions through the minuscule comms Mei had passed out before the game had begun. He’d been slotted at the eye-in-the-sky for the rest of the their team.
Izuku hadn’t asked for the team’s quirks, instead asking what they all felt confident doing and organizing everyone by that measure. (And giving both himself and Hitoshi an excuse to not announce their quirks to their year mates.)
He watched Katsuki lunge at a group of 1-B students on the field. Seeing two explosions in an unusually quick succession that the angry blonde normally didn’t use before the group were able to escaped the red-eyed blonde. He’d been too far away to properly see what had happened to make that happen.
He’d wondered, quietly, if one of the students had a shielding quirk to protect from the flames and force of his former-friend’s explosions. But he’d looked away and quietly resolved to look more into the quirks of class 1-B at a later date. He’d needed to focus on coordinating his team, not on his own curious nature.
It seemed he’d gotten his answer, then.
The second explosion must have come from Monoma, not Katsuki. He’d used surprise from either copying or mimicking Katsuki’s quirk to get the cluster of students with him away from the enraged boy. Something that required contact then…
He frowned hard, jabbing the tip of his umbrella into the cement below them. The harsh crack was loud enough to make the other jump.
“I hope you plan to get up and keep going, Monoma-kun,” Izuku stated, staring down the blonde across from him. “If you don’t, then this “Full Blank” is going to be the one moving on to the next round without having to work for it.”
Monoma’s face went through several expressions before settling on a smile that almost looked like a challenging smirk. He emotions were a powerful mix of determination and awe as he pushed himself back to his feet.
“This… Only makes you more awe inspiring, Midoriya-kun. But this is not the time to explain why.” He didn’t elaborate, and Izuku was rather thankful for that. He didn’t want his quirkless status to be released to the rest of their year just yet. (One more match, at the very least. Then he would be willing to take the heat from the audience for his quirk status.)
Monoma lunged and their battle resumed. But his style had changed, ever so slightly, this time.
The blonde had stopped trying to brush his hands against or get a grip on Izuku’s bare arms. Now the was properly fighting back instead of just blocking or parrying Izuku’s strikes. And he was suddenly far more acrobatic in his movements than before.
He’s taking the fight more seriously now. Because his quirk won’t work with me. He thought, using his umbrella to push himself away. Because I don’t have a quirk for him to use against me.
He lashed out at Monoma’s leg, trying to trip the boy so he could pin him to the arena floor. The blonde flipped away from the move.
He’s a good fighter. A lot better than most people who aren’t able to use their quirks in the hero course. He must have taken proper martial classes before joining UA.
Strike, block, parry, kick, flip, strike, block, parry-
Izuku could feel himself breathing hard as they continued to fight the best they both could with physical skills alone. His chest was burning in a deeply satisfying way, his heart pounding in his ears from the work he was putting in.
He needed to do more if he was going to win.
He slipped a hand into the holster bag he still wore. Compared to his friends, he had used far fewer of the tricks Mei had made for him through out the festival. Letting them lead the charge and stand in the spotlight while he supported them from the shadows.
But there were a few things that Mei had supplied him with that she hadn’t given to the others. And there was one that would be perfect if he could just time it right.
He blocked another strike, snapping open the umbrella to shield himself. Behind it’s cover, he checked to see if he’d pulled out the pellet he’d wanted.
(He did.)
He carefully palmed the pellet.
Now he just needed to get his timing right.
Hitoshi fidgeted in his seat as he watched the match progress below. He wished he could have been allowed to sit with his friends, but the school was requiring everyone to sit with their classes instead of mingling with the rest of the student year.
(Which was dumb. For plenty of reasons besides his frustration of not getting to talk about the matches with his friends. He couldn’t think of them all at the moment, but he knew they were there.)
“Hey, hey, Shinso-san.” He glanced over at the brunette girl sitting beside him. He couldn’t remember what her name was, ‘Mori’ maybe? He was pretty sure she did some kind of martial arts, though. He could swear he’d overheard her talking about a competition she was excited to be in. “You and that management boy are friends, right? Do you know why he’d not using his quirk?”
“Izuku-kun doesn’t have a combat quirk.” That wasn’t a lie. Izuku didn’t have a quirk for combat, he didn’t have a quirk at all. But outright saying that, no matter how proud he was of his friend, was sure to light a powder keg.
He didn’t want to risk the class’s reactions to a quirkless kid being in the Sport’s Festival. It would be sure to spread to the rest of the audience if it did.
Izuku deserved the chance to show what he could do without any quirkist randos ruining it for him.
He’d started looking, started seeing, the quiet discrimination his friend faced because of his quirk status. The off hand dismissals, the pointed comments, the lack of care that others had when that innocent little detail came up. He’d gotten better at figuring out where Izuku’s quiet insecurities came from. He’d started to see where his own quirk was respected more than the green-haired boy’s complete lack of one. He life wasn’t great because of his “villainous” quirk, but people still respected what he had to say more than they did Izuku.
“Oh… I guess that makes sense. He’s doing really good against that hero student, though! Is he in a karate club too?” Mori asked.
“Not really. We both attend a self-defense class near Tatooin station. It’s a good class.” He said with a shrug. Mori brightened excitedly at that.
“That’s really cool! He’s really good.” Mori’s smile turned nervous. Almost shy. “Do you… Do you know if he’d be interested in joining the Karate Club?”
“Uh… I don’t know. He’s not big on competitions.” He saw Mori slump slightly at that. He gave a half-shrug. “I… I guess I could ask him for you. After the festival.”
Maybe Izuku would be interested in joining a club though. When Hitoshi transferred into the Hero Course (when not if), he wouldn’t be allowed to have anymore after-school classes. It was a health thing he’d read about while looking through the After Acceptance requirements. If they were already worn out from a heroics class, it wasn’t safe to further stress themselves out with a martial arts class or a part-time job. Which meant he wouldn’t be allowed to attend the class and spar with his friend anymore.
He didn’t like the idea of leaving Izuku on his own, even if he was one of the best students in the class. Suggesting the Karate Club probably wouldn’t be a bad thing. (Hopefully. As long as they weren’t a bunch of quirkists.)
He saw the way the fight changed. Monoma was fighting differently now. The guy was finally taking the fight, taking Izuku, seriously. Suddenly both of them were fighting much faster, striking much harder, and being far more acrobatic as they wove their way back and forth over the arena.
Hitoshi saw Izuku’s hand slide into the holster bag Mei’d given him. He felt himself smirk, leaning forward slightly.
“Heh, looks like Izuku’s finally dipping into the bag of tricks. Wonder which he plans on using?” He muttered quietly.
“Bag of tricks?” Mori asked curiously. “Oh! You mean the gear that girl from Support gave you?”
“Yup. Mei-chan’s a whiz at making stuff but we knew she wouldn’t be able to show it all off by herself. So Izuku-kun looked into the rules and found out she was allowed to give some to other students to use.” He patted his own bag, hanging in several connected pouches from his belt. “She divided everything up into bags for Toru-chan, Izuku-kun, and me to use. She even made some of ’em more specific for each of us to use. Best way to show off the variety she can do.”
Another of his classmates spoke up behind him.
“Woah, that’s actually really clever. I’m surprised we don’t get support kids storming the other classes for help showing off their gear.”
“They probably don’t know it’s an option. It’s not like everyone reads through the entire rule book for the Festival.” He answered, idly waving his hand. “Pretty sure most people just read the stuff that’s not allowed and that’s pretty much it. If they think to read it at all, anyway.”
The students around him murmured at that, but his eyes were locked on his friend. Waiting for Izuku to spring whatever trap he’d come up with for Monoma.
It was deployed fast.
He saw Izuku’s arm snap out toward the blonde, something exploding into a small patch of green on the ground. One of the sticky pellets.
According to Mei, the glue of the pellet was super strong and very good for snaring someone quickly. The drawback of it was that it lost it’s strength very fast when it dried and it didn’t take long for it dry out completely. It only worked for a few minutes at best, making it a poor idea for long-term trap. But perfect for tripping someone up in the heat of a fight.
His friend’s timing was perfect, catching the blonde’s foot in the same moment he’d tried to dart around Izuku’s umbrella.
Izuku took advantage of the shock and stumble to grab one of his opponent’s arms, twisting it around behind him and shoving him to the ground. Rapidly shoving his knee into the hero student’s back and seizing his other arm to pin him in place.
He grinned wildly and Kayama-sensei called the match a few seconds later.
His friend had won. Izuku would get to round two.
Now he just had to wait for his match to start, and then he’d be right there with him.
Afterword: The next chapter is probably going to be more along the lines of quick snippets instead of me trying to connect everything together. (Even though I’m trying to get better at stringing long chapters together for an OG story I’m working on.)
At least I managed to get some lore into this! And some new character interactions with folks outside the friend group!
I decided to have Izuku take on Monoma to rock the guy’s world over getting his ass kicked by someone with no quirk at all. Considering his secret inferiority complex about his quirk, I thought being up against a quirkless student, one who managed to fight his way into the tournament would have an impact on him. One that could even change his attitude for the better. After all, Izuku’s feat is worthy of being a Main Character. Made all the more grand by his lack of a quirk to accomplish it.
I think Hitoshi is gonna be fighting Ojiro in the tournament, but I’m still plotting that one.
