Ch 11

Like after his first fight, Izuku rushed back upstairs to the spectator's area, not wanting to miss the next match. He was kind of nervous though. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in Ochaco, but she was at a serious disadvantage in this setting. Her quirk wasn't nearly as useful in an arena battle like this, with nothing for her to float. She had very limited options against someone like Todoroki who could keep her at long range.

The match began just as Izuku reached his seat. His classmates congratulated him for his victory, and Izuku thanked them distractedly, trying to keep his eyes on the arena. Todoroki and Ochaco weren't wasting any time. As soon as Present Mic announced the start, Ochaco sprinted full speed towards the boy. Todoroki responded by sending ice spiking out in a tall line towards her. To Izuku's surprise, Ochaco didn't dodge to the side. Instead, she jumped upwards, tapping herself on the arm as she did so.

The crowd gasped as Ochaco floated through the air. Rather than fly straight up, her momentum took her forward, feet just clearing Todoroki's attack. Before she got too high, Ochaco put her hands together, reversing her ability. Overall, the move was essentially like a super powered jump, getting her over Todoroki's ice and into close range.

Clearly the boy was caught off guard, because rather than counterattack, he made a large shield of ice in front of himself. Izuku frowned. There was no way that Ochaco could break through that. However, without missing a beat, Ochaco spun back around towards the remains of Todoroki's first attack and performed a beautiful side-kick, shattering it into large chunks which she then tapped and floated into the air. She was able to do that a couple more times before Todoroki caught on to her strategy and sent another attack towards her.

This time, Ochaco used her quirk to jump backwards. When she returned gravity to herself, the pieces of ice that were floating in the air fell, forcing Todoroki to shield himself with ice again. When her projectiles hit the ground, they shattered even more of the ice, creating extra rubble. Also, as soon as the boy was distracted, Ochaco continued breaking and floating the remains of Todoroki's attack.

"Oh I see," said Iida. "She's warping the environment to suit her favor."

"How clever. Uraraka's using Todoroki's quirk against him," said Yaoyorozu.

She was right. Before long, Ochaco and Todoroki were at a sort of stalemate. The air above the arena was full of floating chunks of ice. Every time Todoroki sent an attack towards Ochaco, he just made more ammunition for her to use against him. However, even Ochaco's best attacks weren't enough to penetrate Todoroki's defenses. Izuku was just starting to wonder how the two would proceed when Ochaco stiffened. Ice gradually crept up her body until she was encased up to her neck.

"What the hell?" asked Kirishima.

"Dang," cursed Izuku. "He tricked us."

"Huh? I don't get it," said Kaminari.

"Todoroki wasn't just sitting back and hiding behind those ice shields. Look at the pattern of the rubble."

It took them a moment, but eventually they saw what Izuku had noticed. "Oh. Wow," whistled Kirishima, impressed.

With their bird's eye view of the stadium, they could see that Todoroki's attacks hadn't been random at all. There were lines of ice snaking through the rubble, forming paths towards Ochaco. Her goal had been to make piles of ice for her to use, but in doing so she'd created multiple blind spots that Todoroki had exploited. A few lines of frost converged on her location.

"While he distracted Uraraka with large, showy attacks, the real threat was small and subtle," observed Yaoyorozu. "Todoroki is rather impressive."

"What a match!" enthused Present Mic. "Uraraka put up a fierce performance but it turns out that Todoroki was too much for her. I suppose greatness is to be expected from the son of an incredible hero like Endeavor!"

Izuku winced at the carefully blank look on Todoroki's face. He was irritated at the boy but he still understood why Todoroki wouldn't want to be associated with his father.

"Well, there will be a slight delay again as the arena is cleared off and repaired." Present Mic chuckled. "But after that look forward to watching the only contestant not from the heroics course- indeed, the only competitor not from class 1A. Shinsou Hitoshi will face off against the powerful and mysterious Tokoyami Fumikage!"

"Hm, that doesn't sound good for Shinsou," mused Ashido. "He's got to get people to reply to him for his quirk to work, right?" She giggled. "Well Tokoyami is one of the quietest boys in our class."

"Yeah," drawled Yaoyorozu. "Looks like I'll be facing Tokoyami in the semifinals." She smirked in Kacchan's direction.

"As if," scowled Kacchan. "I'm going to crush you like a bug."

"Hey, hey," Kaminari placated. "Save the trash talk for the arena. Don't distract me from seeing that Shinsou asshole get butchered."

"Sounds like someone's bitter about losing," teased Kirishima.

Kaminari scowled. "I wouldn't mind losing, if it wasn't to a massive dick like Shinsou. Ojiro warned me about his quirk you know? How do you think he got me to open my mouth?"

"Did he insult your drooly face or something? sneered Kacchan.

Kaminari rolled his eyes. "The fact that I tolerate you, Bakugou, should say something about him." Kaminari paused, scowling down at the arena. "He threw every insult at me, including stuff that was way below the belt. And then when he won he was so fucking smug, like "you guys in the heroics course think you're so great" blah blah." Kaminari scoffed. "Shinsou's the kind of guy who only cares about winning, no matter the cost."

"Wow. That's..." Izuku didn't really know what to call it. This was coming from the kid who'd called Kacchan's personality "crap, mixed with flaming garbage" with a grin on his face. He'd never heard Kaminari sound so ruffled. Shinsou must've seriously gotten under his skin.

"Okay! Now that the stage is all set, let's get this battle underway. I already introduced them to you earlier, so without further ado, let the match between Shinsou and Tokoyami… BEGIN!"

Shinsou immediately started talking to Tokoyami, although Izuku couldn't hear what was said from his spot in the stands. For some reason, Tokoyami… replied. His body became lax, and he turned around towards the edge of the arena.

"Oh no!" cried Hagakure. Izuku jumped; he hadn't realized that she was there. "Did no one warn him about Shinsou's quirk?"

"No! I definitely did," Kaminari protested.

"Yeah, I told him everything I know," agreed Ojiro tensely.

To their surprise, before Tokoyami could take more than a couple steps, Dark Shadow emerged from his body and shook his shoulders. The bird-headed boy snapped out of his hypnosis and turned back to Shinsou.

"Huh? What was that?" Kirishima wondered.

"Shinsou's grasp on people is pretty fragile," mused Izuku. "A strong jolt probably frees his victims."

"Yeah!" crowed Ojiro. "I didn't tell you guys. In the cavalry battle, I first came to when someone bumped my shoulder."

"And since Dark Shadow is a companion quirk, he has a mind of his own. Brainwashing Tokoyami isn't enough to win the match," Izuku continued enthusiastically.

He and his classmates watched as Shinsou repeatedly tried to brainwash Tokoyami, only for the same pattern to repeat over and over again. Each time Tokoyami broke free of Shinsou's quirk, he stepped closer to his opponent, prompting Shinsou to retreat.

Just then, Ochaco sprinted into their spectator box, huffing. "What… what'd I miss?"

"It turns out that Shinsou's quirk only affects Tokoyami, and not Dark Shadow," Kaminari replied eagerly.

"Yes!" Ochaco cheered. "Go Tokoyami!" Down in the arena, Tokoyami's shoulders hunched up slightly, but he gave them a tiny wave. "Why isn't he finishing him off?"

"Tokoyami's driving Shinsou towards the boundary line," explained Izuku. "He probably doesn't want to hurt Shinsou, so he's just going to wait until Dark Shadow only has to give him one good push."

Shinsou seemed to realize the same thing, because in a fit of desperation, he ran at Tokoyami. Dark Shadow intercepted him, blocking each of his punches. He wasn't even trying to brainwash their classmate anymore.

"Hah. This is great," Kaminari grinned. "In a fair fight, he doesn't stand a chance against Tokoyami, let alone Dark Shadow. You see how weedy Shinsou is?"

Izuku frowned. While he agreed with Kaminari's assessment, his instincts told him something was off. It wasn't until he looked closer that he noticed it. Shinsou wasn't trying to talk to Tokoyami anymore, but he did seem to be saying something to Dark Shadow. "No way, is it even possible?" Izuku muttered. Kacchan glanced at him, eyebrow raised. Their other classmates weren't paying him any attention, but Kacchan knew to trust Izuku's assessment of things like this.

"Oh no," sighed Izuku, right before it happened. Iida and Ochaco glanced at him right as Dark Shadow stopped moving.

"Why's Tokoyami giving him a break?" asked Kirishima, confused.

"Shinsou got Dark Shadow," Izuku explained glumly. He was sad for his classmate, even though he was equally fascinated by Shinsou's amazing quirk.

"What? No way! Dark Shadow can't talk!" Kaminari protested.

"Yeah he can," Sero grimaced. "I heard him in the cavalry battle. Tokoyami was on our team and when he tells Dark Shadow to do something, Dark Shadow says 'okay' or something like that."

"Damn it!" wailed Kaminari.

Down in the arena, Shinsou confirmed Izuku's hunch when he smirked and apparently ordered Dark Shadow to turn against Tokoyami. Dark Shadow wrapped himself around Tokoyami's body like a cloak, and held him still while Shinsou ran at him. Maybe Tokoyami could've fought off one or the other, but both at the same time was too much for him. Izuku and his classmates watched grimly as Shinsou manhandled Tokoyami out of the ring.

"Wow, wow, wow! I can't believe it! The winner of this battle—advancing on to the semifinals—is Shinsou Hitoshi from the General Education department!"

"Tch," scoffed Kacchan. "Bird Boy got arrogant. Creepy Fucker only knew what to do because he had Dark-whatever snap him out of the brainwashing so many times. If he'd gone all out from the start, it would've been an instant win."

Izuku winced at the gruff assessment, but couldn't deny it. Shinsou probably wouldn't have guessed that Dark Shadow had an independent mind that he could manipulate if Tokoyami hadn't demonstrated it for him so clearly. Tokoyami probably could've had Dark Shadow pick Shinsou up and throw him out of the arena from the very start. Actually, why hadn't he? Tokoyami was a lot of things, but Izuku wouldn't peg him as arrogant.

"Unless…"

"What was that, Deku?" asked Ochaco.

"Oh! I was just thinking- what if Tokoyami knew that would happen?"

"Of course!" Iida exclaimed. "He must know Dark Shadow's capabilities much better than any of us. The whole time, he was careful not to allow Shinsou to get close to Dark Shadow, backing him up so that he'd only have to use his quirk quickly at the end to push Shinsou out of bounds."

"That makes sense," said Ashido. "Maybe Dark Shadow isn't smart enough to know not to respond to Shinsou, or too stubborn to listen if Tokoyami told him so."

"And that's why Tokoyami intentionally let himself be trapped in Shinsou's quirk," mused Izuku. "He was trying to scare Shinsou, either to back him up to the edge of the arena or maybe to make him forfeit."

"Either way," said Kacchan. "I won't make the same mistake in my fight with him!" The blonde threw himself over the railing with a grin, rocketing down to the ground again.

"Good luck, Kacchan!" Izuku called afterwards, shooting an apologetic glance towards Yaoyorozu afterwards.

"Damn it," muttered Yaoyorozu. "Now I have to do that too."

She created a parachute from the skin on her stomach, before jumping after Kacchan and floating to the ground.

"What an entrance!" Present Mic cried enthusiastically. "Of course you saw it last time from Bakugou, but we didn't get a chance to see Yaoyorozu's quirk in action. Maybe this battle will be a better show!"

Izuku looked over at Ochaco. He hadn't gotten a chance to ask, since she came up right during Tokoyami's match. "Um. Ochaco. I just wanted to… uh, I was wondering-"

"You must want to ask if I'm okay after losing my fight," Ochaco said brightly. "No worries, Deku! I wished that I could've won, but against someone like Todoroki it was silly to think that I had a chance. Hah."

Izuku wanted to protest, hearing the hint of strain in Ochaco's voice, but he wasn't really sure how. He didn't want to embarrass her after all. "Uh. You did really good, you know? I never would've thought of that strategy, throwing yourself forward like that to distract Todoroki. And since when can you kick so hard?"

Ochaco smile looked a bit more genuine. "Oh, that. I grew up at construction sites, after all. I'm a lot tougher than I appear."

"R-right. I'll remember that," chuckled Izuku.

"Thanks for looking out for me Deku," Ochaco said appreciatively. "But I'm fine. Let's pay attention; it looks like the match is about to start."

Kacchan and Yaoyorozu took their place across from each other on the stage. "Alright then, if our combatants are ready? Let's… START!"

Kacchan immediately rocketed himself forward. He knew better than to give Yaoyorozu time to create objects at her leisure. Yaoyorozu was able to make a metal shield to block his attacks, turning her body towards the center of the stage so that he couldn't drive her out of bounds. Nevertheless, it was clear that Kacchan had the advantage. Yaoyorozu's quirk was limited by the time it took to make an object, as well as the complexity of them. In the middle of combat, she could only make simple things. Kacchan blasted her shield out of her hands, but she was quickly made another one.

"Hey what are those?" asked Ochaco, pointing to the ground behind Yaoyorozu.

"They're… Matryoshka dolls," Ashido replied. "My grandma bought me a set once."

"Those are the kinds that have dolls inside that keep getting smaller and smaller, right?" asked Hagakure. Izuku jumped again. When Hagakure was quiet, it was really hard to remember that she was sitting with them.

"But what's she doing that for?" asked Kirishima.

"Wait," mused Izuku. "Those things are supposed to be hollow, ri-"

Izuku was cut off by a blinding flash of light. It took him a few blinks to clear the spots from his eyes. Once he could see again, he looked down at the arena. Yaoyorozu was holding… "A fire extinguisher?" Izuku wondered, right before she sprayed Kacchan with it. Izuku could imagine Kacchan's sputtered, indignant response. He winced. Kacchan's quirk worked by exploding his sweat. Not only would cooling him off make him produce less sweat, but the foam was probably also designed to make the nitroglycerin inert. Kacchan was at an immediate disadvantage.

Cursing, Kacchan retreated backwards, managing to just barely dodge the weighted net that Yaoyorozu tossed after him. He was desperately trying to wipe his palms off on his back, which was largely dry. Surprisingly, Yaoyorozu let him retreat, instead taking the time to make a canon of some sort. She fired it, the shot aimed above Kacchan's head. When it exploded, it released more of the extinguisher foam, thoroughly soaking the blonde in it.

"What the hell, you crazy hag!" Kacchan yelled loudly enough for Izuku to hear it in the stands. "Fuck you!"

Yaoyorozu ran towards him, creating a long metal staff. Kacchan was forced to duck and roll around her expert swings. Izuku noticed that she'd been careful to choose a weapon with enough range to keep Kacchan at a slight distance, so that he couldn't use his superior physical strength against her. She'd also refrained from cluttering the field with her creations. Other than the net and the staff, she'd only made things to spray Kacchan down. Since the Matryoshka dolls had exploded, he couldn't pick anything up and use it against her.

Even though Kacchan was being herded towards the edge of the arena, he didn't look worried. Maybe some else might think so, given the blonde's copious cursing, but Izuku recognized Kacchan's focused expression. He had a plan of some sort, Izuku could tell. And whatever it was, it'd be soon.

Just as Izuku suspected, the next time Yaoyorozu swung her staff, Kacchan stepped closer to her rather than away. He grunted as it impacted his shoulder, but it shouldn't have hurt as much as it would've had it hit him at its tip. Yaoyorozu began making something else; she probably had a plan for what to do when Kacchan managed to get into close range. However, she—like everyone else in the audience—was surprised when Kacchan pulled her towards him, falling onto his back and rolling. He planted his feet into Yaoyorozu's stomach, and once he'd rolled onto his shoulders, kicked outwards. Small explosions ripped through the soles of his shoes, propelling her through the air until she fell to the ground out of bounds.

"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Bakugou wins this match and advances to the semifinals!"

"Hah! Everyone always forgets about Kacchan's feet," grinned Izuku proudly.

"Including you during the battle trial, Midoriya," teased Kaminari.

"O-oh, right."

"Still, Bakugou kept that in reserve until the moment he could use it best," mused Sero. "He had one shot and waited for his chance. It doesn't seem like the hothead we all know."

"He's a lot cleverer than he wants you to think," Izuku smiled.

"Okay Midoriya, we get it." Kirishima rolled his eyes. "Your boyfriend is the coolest blah blah blah. Don't you have a fight to get to?"

"Oh right!" Izuku jumped up and jogged out of their seating area and down the stairs. He figured that he had a little bit before they cleaned up the stadium, so he didn't need to take the expedited route that Kacchan and Yaoyorozu had. On the way, he ran into Kacchan.

"Great job!" Izuku cried. He was about to throw his arms around Kacchan, but saw that the boy was still covered in congealing goop and thought better of it.

Seeing his hesitation, Kacchan scowled. "I have to wash all of this crap off, so you'd better not start the next match until I'm back up in the stands."

"Uh, I don't know if it's my choice, Kacchan," said Izuku sheepishly.

"Hmph."

Despite his words, Kacchan didn't move towards the locker rooms, instead gazing at Izuku intently.

"Um. Did you have something to say, Kacchan?"

The blonde kicked a foot against the ground. "Yeah. Uh. You nervous?"

Izuku grinned. "Are you trying to comfort me, Kacchan?"

Kacchan scowled. "Jesus fuck, forget about it then."

"No, no!" Izuku laughed. "Sorry for teasing you. Yeah, actually, I'm a little nervous." Kacchan's scowl slid off his face. "But not in a bad way! I'm not sure if I can beat Todoroki, but I'm confident that I can at least put up a good fight. I have a strategy. Really, I'm kind of… excited." Izuku laced his fingers behind his head and chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still annoyed at him from earlier, but… he's also a good measuring stick, you know?"

Kacchan nodded. "Yeah. You're gonna win though. You owe me a fight, after all."

Izuku felt like someone had stuck a heat lamp in his chest. His smile grew wider, somehow. Kacchan didn't lie to spare others' feelings. If he didn't think Izuku would win, he wouldn't say so. "Thanks, Kacchan."

The blonde smiled just slightly. "Alright I gotta go wash up so I can see your fight. Later."

The two of them parted ways, but Izuku's grin didn't last long. Endeavor rounded the corner right in front of him.

"Oh, there you are," the flaming man said.

"Wha- E-Endeavor?" Izuku's newfound confidence fled him at the sight of the massive man in front of him. He had an Endeavor action figure. It was surreal to think that the hero was there in the flesh, apparently seeking him out. "Um. What are you doing here?"

"I watched your fights," Endeavor replied. "You have an impressive quirk. It reminds me of All Might."

Izuku gulped. "You think so? Thanks. I have to go now." He walked awkwardly around the man's huge frame. He wasn't sure how to act around Endeavor, now that he knew what a terrible father and husband he'd been. Izuku had to quickly recalibrate his entire view of the number two hero. He'd never imagined that famous heroes like Endeavor could be so… monstrous in their personal lives.

"It's my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might," called Endeavor. "A quirk like yours… it could be a good testing ground for him." Endeavor paused. "Please try not to disgrace yourself."

Izuku froze. He couldn't help but think back to Todoroki's words from before the tournament round. His classmate was so screwed up, enough that he refused to use half of his power… all because this stubborn man was so obsessed with the past. He was so caught up in his anger that he barely heard Endeavor apologize for disturbing him.

"I am not All Might," gritted Izuku.

"Yes, obviously-"

"And Todoroki isn't you!" he finished. Izuku turned around to glower at Endeavor. That's what it came down to, after all. Endeavor wanted to use Todoroki because he saw the boy as a reflection of himself. Todoroki wanted to fight Izuku because he viewed him as a measuring stick for All Might. He refused to use his left side because he didn't want to be his father. Neither of them got the fact that they weren't Endeavor and All Might. No matter how much Endeavor might wish otherwise, they were Todoroki and Izuku. He didn't know if the man understood him or not, but he didn't have any more time to waste.

Izuku turned around and walked towards the stadium entrance without a backward glance. He wasn't here for Endeavor. His goal was to beat Todoroki. Izuku entered the stadium with his head held high. He stared straight at Todoroki as they ascended the stairs. In the background, Present Mic was chatting about their accomplishments to the audience, trying to build the hype for the first match of the semifinals. Izuku ignored all of that.

"Todoroki," he called quietly.

"Hm." Todoroki looked just as intent as he was.

"I met your dad just now." Izuku smiled as Todoroki's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Even with that brief exchange… I think I understand you a bit better." His smile fell off his face, replaced with a glare. "But if you still think you can hold back against me and win… I'll destroy you," he promised.

Todoroki scoffed. "Midoriya. I've already said everything I have to say about that."

Izuku nodded. Alright then. If that's the way it was going to be, then fine. He had his suspicions about the limits of Todoroki's ice. Ochaco's fight had tipped him off. If Todoroki was capable of taking out his opponents in one shot like he had with Sero, then why not just do the same with Ochaco? He didn't seem like the type to hold back against a girl, or for the sake of making his opponent look better. No, Todoroki must have some limits; Izuku suspected that his display against Sero had been his top strength. Plus, he'd noticed that Todoroki's ice always originated from his body. Was there some sort of maximum to how much ice his body could create?

Izuku's hand trembled by his side. Todoroki probably noticed it, given the way his scowl deepened. Izuku smirked. It wasn't against the rules unless the proctors said so. When Present Mic finally called the match to a start, Izuku swung his hand across his body, releasing the attack he'd been storing up during the hero's chattering. Todoroki swore and created a wall of ice behind him to brace himself against the winds.

He should've used the opening to run towards his opponent. With his enhanced strength, his best bet was to get into close quarters and try to blow Todoroki away. Instead, Izuku grimaced and stayed put, using the time to gather more energy to his palms. It made him a massive hypocrite, but somewhere along the lines his priorities had shifted. He didn't just want to win anymore, he wanted to beat Todoroki at his best.

Izuku huffed, and began walking calmly towards Todoroki. The other boy narrowed his eyes and sent another wave of ice towards him. He waited until it nearly reached him—Izuku wanted to wear Todoroki down, after all. Then, he slapped the ice as if he were swatting a fly, shattering it into pieces. Todoroki used another attack, and Izuku destroyed it with his other hand. Next time, he kicked it. The blast wasn't as strong, but it was effective enough.

"I can keep going faster than you can recharge your smashes, Midoriya!" shouted Todoroki.

Izuku shrugged. "Who says I need them?"

Todoroki scowled, but a light dusting of frost coated his left arm. The next wave of ice was just a hair slower. Izuku clenched his fist, enhancing his strength as much as he could. He punched the approaching attack, and the front of it shattered. Unlike before, the rest of the line wasn't blown away, but it was effective enough to stop the wave in its tracks.

"You're shivering, Todoroki," Izuku observed. "Your quirk makes you cold. If you used your left side I bet it wouldn't be an issue."

His statement was answered with a spike of ice that Izuku batted aside like it was nothing. Truthfully, Todoroki's attacks were incredibly strong, even weakened, and it took all of his strength to fight them off. Still, half the battle was maintaining appearances. Izuku grinned. "That one was even weaker. Are you getting tired?"

"Why the hell do you even care?" shouted Todoroki. "Did my father pay you off or something."

Izuku clenched his fists, reminded of why he'd been so irritated. "Will you stop with that? 'My father' this, 'my father' that." He scoffed. "Do you ever do anything for yourself?"

Todoroki opened his mouth to reply, and Izuku thrust his palm forward, releasing the smash that he'd been preparing. It was a waste; he'd have been better off saving it for defense, but he didn't want to hear any more of the crap that came out of his classmate's mouth. Todoroki barely caught himself in time, surprised as he was by the attack.

"Look," began Izuku. "I can't possibly pretend to understand what you've been through. I know that. But don't you see? You go on and on about how much you hate your dad, but you've defined your whole life by him."

Whatever Todoroki thought he was going to say, it clearly wasn't that. He gaped at Izuku. "What-"

"You're telling me your dream—the whole reason you want to become a hero—is just so that you can piss him off by not using his quirk?" Izuku spat. He was winding himself up now. "You won't use his quirk because you don't want to give him the satisfaction, but you never once stopped to realize that his satisfaction doesn't matter. All you're doing is wondering what will make him mad. Have you even bothered to ask what would make you happy?"

Todoroki swallowed. "I- It would make me happy to see him understand that I don't need-"

"That's still him!" Izuku punched another spike of ice out the way. "That's defining yourself based on his expectations, even though it's intentionally counter to them."

Todoroki was trembling in earnest now. Izuku felt ice creep up his legs, trapping him in place. Sneaky. He hadn't even noticed it. However, it was only the work of moments to punch it, knocking it out of the way. Izuku closed the distance between them, fisting the front of Todoroki's shirt. The other boy grabbed his wrist, encasing it in ice. Izuku hissed in pain and threw him across the arena, until he skidded to a stop in the center. He could bolster himself against blunt force but apparently cold was still harmful to him. Good to know.

"You could've thrown me out of bounds, Midoriya." Todoroki called. "I thought you were going to come at me with your all?"

Izuku stared at him. "Why are you even doing this?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What's the point? So you become the number one hero, using just your right side. What next? You call him up every day and remind him about it? Do you even care about being a hero except to spite him?" Izuku shook his head. "If that's all that matters to you—spite and ambition—then it doesn't matter which quirk you use. You'll just become his mirror image."

"Shut up!" screamed Todoroki. "You don't know shit! I'm nothing like him!" He thrust a fist towards Izuku, shooting large icicles at him. Izuku crossed his arms in front of his face, letting them impact him harmlessly.

"Really? Because when I see him, all I see is how much he hates All Might. And when I look at you, all I see is how much you hate him… how much you hate the parts of yourself that you think he gave you."

"I will reject every part of him!" spat Todoroki. "I will foreswear his accursed quirk-"

Izuku couldn't help it. He snapped. He immediately closed the distance between them and punched Todoroki in the stomach, sending him skidding backwards. "God damn it!" Izuku screamed. "It's not his fucking quirk!" He panted in anger. "It's your power. I'm not All Might. You're not your father. The only person who can make you anything like him is you. If you don't want to be like him, then don't be but stop pretending that you're punishing anyone except for yourself!"

Todoroki froze, starting at him, but Izuku knew that it wasn't him that Todoroki was seeing. The boy seemed to be deeply conflicted, almost like he was caught up in memories. Izuku waited for him to decide what he was going to do next, eyes widening when he first saw smoke rising from the left side of his body. "Holy crap," muttered Izuku. "Did that actually work?"

His astonishment was quickly replaced by glee when flames sprang into being on Todoroki's left side, quickly blazing into a roaring inferno.

"What are you smiling about, Midoriya?"

Izuku grinned wider. "I'm just really excited to finally fight you… Shoto."

When Shoto attacked, his ice was as strong as it'd been during his match against Sero. Izuku couldn't help but laugh as he jumped over it, assisted by shockwaves from his feet. He ran along the ice, miniature shockwaves keeping it from ensnaring him. Izuku was pushing himself too hard. He could feel the skin on the soles of his feet split since he wasn't giving himself enough time to prepare them safely. Still, how could he hold back after lecturing Shoto about the same?

Shoto drew his left arm back, flames burning brightly. Whatever was coming, it was going to be intense. Izuku pressed his palms together, energy crackling between them. He needed more, more, more. The skin on the palms of his hand cracked open as Izuku forced more power through his pores than they could handle. Strangely enough, the pain brought him clarity. What he needed wasn't just overwhelming power, but also pinpoint precision.

Izuku sprang forward, angling his body like a dart, so that all of his momentum was concentrated behind his outstretched hands. "TOKYO SMASH!" he screamed, but it was drowned out by the screech of their attacks making contact with cement walls. He released another shockwave from his feet to keep Shoto's blast from blowing him backwards, even as he felt its heat rushing around him on all sides. The angle of his body should've made his attack act more like a sword than a cudgel, cutting through the force of Shoto's move while still carrying its own power forward.

It wasn't until the dust cleared that Izuku was even sure that he was still in the arena. He'd fallen onto his chest close to the edge, but still within bounds. Shoto, on the other hand, had his back pressed to the wall. He winced as he pushed himself to a standing position. Izuku's hands and feet hurt something fierce, and his entire body felt like it'd gone through the wringer. Still, he plastered a grin on his face. A hero had to look confident, especially when he was most injured.

"Incredible! Todoroki is out of bounds. The winner, and advancing to the final match… is MIDORIYA!"

Izuku ignored the cheers and screams from the stands, wincing with each step he took towards Shoto. When he finally got there, the boy was groaning and rousing himself. Izuku extended a bloody hand down to his opponent.

"I'm sorry if what I said was out of line," Izuku said solemnly. "Please forgive me. I was wrong about you."

Shoto shook his head, but grabbed Izuku's hand, blood and all. "No you weren't," he refuted. "But… for just a moment, I forgot that I was his son. So thank you."

After Izuku pulled Shoto to his feet, the boy turned and walked towards the exit tunnel. "Hey, Shoto!" called Izuku. The boy paused. "It was… it was good to finally meet you for real."

Shoto didn't turn around, but he nodded once before he walked out of the arena. Izuku wasn't sure if he'd done the right thing, but looking at the place where Shoto's flames had burned away his uniform… Izuku felt lighter than he had when he walked into the stadium. He only had one more fight left. Only one more challenge separated him from being number one.

Something told him that it might just be his hardest fight yet.

A/N: So I'm not trying to bash Shinsou here. I like him, and I think he's got a lot of potential as a character. That being said, he's portrayed in canon as extremely ambitious, and not just a little bitter. The very first thing he does in the fight against Izuku is insult Ojiro. Like, that was his opening move. I have no doubts that he'd only get nastier and nastier from there, trying to provoke a response. I don't think that it's because he's a bad person, but rather because he's desperate to prove himself, and sees this as his one shot. We're going to see his good side eventually, but uh, he's definitely going to dig himself into a hole, first.

Also, I have bad news for you all. I'm going to be busy moving thousands of miles and such for a short while, so there will be no update next week. The next chapter is pending updates and should be posted in two weeks, but if I'm not on the dot, don't freak out. It'll get up when I'm all settled in and ready.