AN: Guess you can thank the voluntary quarantine in my area for this chapter finally being finished. All my classes switching to remote meetings—I'm sure many of you are facing a similar situation—so hopefully the next chapter won't be as long of a wait.

Chapter 19

oooOo Chizome oOooo

Hosu city was quiet at this time of day. Noon had long-since passed, the lunch rush died down, leaving the streets remarkably unoccupied. At least until the standard work hours ceased and commuters returning home would begin milling about like the mindless sheep they were…

It was an ideal hour, less bodies to get in the way of his work… Chisome did not have the luxury of being able to clock out. He couldn't afford to, else the sickness infesting these modern heroes would continue to grow unabated.

Chisome's steps were feather light as he ghosted along the labyrinth of side streets and back alleys that made up the seedier parts of town. He stuck to the shadows, making sure that those that were still on the streets barely caught a glimpse of his movement if they were even lucky enough to see him at all.

He took a left at the next alley, before leaping from wall to wall all the way to the third story roof, his ragged, crimson scarf whipping behind him like a bloody tail in the wind.

Chisome settled in a crouch, the pose reminiscent of a gothic gargoyle, muscles coiled, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. His sharp, crimson irises surveyed the crowd below, settling on his prey in a fraction of a second.

"Ingenium…"

The name dripped from Stain's lips even as the turbo hero boosted his way through the streets below, jauntily waving at every odd citizen that recognized him. It was a sickening amount of them that did so… If only they knew how he exploited their trust, just like the rest.

Fame, money, power… The false heroes that littered these streets all were in it for some ulterior motive, and the latest in the Iida family line was no different. No, there was no world-shattering scandal concerning the young hero—not every crime committed in this world was so conspicuous. But that did not make him any less guilty of the greed and gluttony that plagued today's hero society.

The Ingenium hero agency, so proud of its record quantity of sidekicks and squeaky-clean arrest history. No one ever mentioned the billions of yen they raked in yearly leeching from the sorry sheep that simply didn't know any better.

No, expunging the sickness that was Ingenium and everything he stood for was a job not many would tackle, but Stain was willing to get his hands dirty.

All for the sake of curing this flawed society.

oooOo Tensei oOooo

Despite the formidable force of sidekicks as his disposal, Iida Tensei would always be the first to volunteer to patrol the streets personally—it was one of the reasons he'd become a hero in the first place after all. Fighting for the average citizen, becoming a protector that his brother could be proud of.

So it was nothing out of the ordinary for him to be patrolling the streets of Hosu, one of the few cities that fell under his agency's jurisdiction. However, despite the normalcy of this particular routine, there was an added edge to Tensei's demeanor.

Oh sure, he would greet the various citizens that still happened to be out and about with his usual air of cheerfulness, but those that met him on the street would mention that he seemed distracted, that his attention seemed to be focused elsewhere.

But who could blame him? With all the particularly gruesome reports of murdered heroes popping up around the city, now was the time to be extra vigilant.

He was making his usual circuit, doing his heroic best to keep any nefarious individuals from disrupting the peaceful citizens of Hosu, all the while keeping an eye out for even greater threats, when he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye.

A glimpse of red. One so brief that for a moment he thought it was a trick of the light.

It couldn't be so easy, could it? Stumbling upon the very individual he'd been searching for purely by chance?

But there was no time to second guess himself, leaping into action was what a hero was meant to do!

Activating his tricep boosters with pinpoint accuracy, Tensei skidded to a stop before vaulting from wall to wall, flipping acrobatically into the alleyway where he'd sensed the disturbance.

The mechanical boots of his super suit clicked audibly against the asphalt as he landed the sound echoing off the walls that surrounded him. Tensei's eyes darted around the darkness, searching for anything out of the ordinary, but, oddly enough, the alley itself appeared to be empty, no sign of whatever had caught his attention earlier. Nothing but sound of his own breath and stench of the several-week-old garbage that caked the dingy walls of the two adjacent buildings.

The strike came out of nowhere.

One moment all was quiet, the next, fiery orange sparks filled his vision following the clang of tempered steel meeting the reinforced plates of his forearm bracers. It was only the unconscious reflexes honed by years of hero experience that spurred the slight raising of his arm, and it was that nearly-imperceptible movement that saved his life.

The katana that would have sliced through the soft material just under his armoured jaw—one of the few necessary vital areas of his hero suit—instead ricocheted off his block, but he was far from out of the water…

Another blade, a shorter dagger this time, sliced through the air as he boosted himself backwards to create some distance between himself and the unknown assailant. Well, unknown wasn't quite accurate as a brief glance towards the man revealed a figure matching the vague description the police had distributed to local hero agencies.

Hero Killer: Stain, the plague that had been sweeping hero society for the past few months. Though his earliest kills could have dated as far back as a year or two… The villain's total body count was still unknown.

And even with such disturbing statistics to back up his reputation, Stain's sheer speed was staggering to witness in person. Almost enough to match the overwhelming bloodlust that oozed from the man's being.

"This is group B calling in for routine check-in." Tensei's built-in headset buzzed to life, but he wasn't given the chance to respond as the demonic figure rushed him once more.

A flicker of movement was all the warning he was given as the man closed the gap in an instant, battered katana flicking out to nick a chink out of Tensei's polished white armour as he dodged to the left.

But once more he found himself outclassed in terms of speed, even boosted by his quirk, Stain was somehow already there, dagger flashing out to meet a hastily erected cross guard.

Was he predicting his movements, or was the monster really just that fast?!

Neither option boded well for him in an extended one on one fight, but luckily Ingenium's strength was in his comrades. He didn't have to fight alone!

"This is squad leader Alpha requesting backu—sssargh"

Tensei hissed in pain as his call for aide was interrupted almost immediately by a speeding throwing knife. The blade had just barely nicked the crook of his elbow as he'd raised his arm to activate his voice comms. A weakness that had been exposed for a fraction of a second, but one that had been exploited immediately. Just what kind of monster was this guy!? Any more close calls like that and he'd be finished before backup even arrived, but luckily he wouldn't be left alone for long. He could already hear his second in command barking out orders over their linked communication network as the rest of his currently active sidekicks converged on his location. It wouldn't be long now.

Until suddenly, he slumped bonelessly onto the pavement.

He—he couldn't move a muscle!

Something was wrong.

Why couldn't he move?!

Every desperate command his brain sent to his limbs were ignored, as if he were a puppet that'd had all its strings cut.

It…it had to be Stain's quirk… that was the only explanation that made sense. But knowing that and escaping whatever ability had ensnared him were two vastly different directives, and what had previously seemed like such a brief amount of time he'd needed to stall, had suddenly transformed into an eternity. A harrowing stretch of time that he'd be completely at the hero killer's mercy.

Those twenty-something previous victims of the man suddenly seemed so much more real to Tensei in that moment, as he realized that he could quite possibly be adding to that statistic very soon.

He'd always imagined his final moments either in old age, surrounded by friends and family, or dying heroically in a blaze of glory after saving the lives of his precious citizens. Not face down in some random alleyway, nostrils filled with the stench of whatever garbage and who-knows what else that stained the dirty concrete.

Slow, booted steps approached his position, mockingly relaxed in their cadence, until finally, they stopped less than a meter away. A steel toe dug into his shoulder, flipping Tensei face up and giving him the first uninterrupted glimpse of the man who'd rendered him so helpless.

Cruel, crimson irises glared down at him, and a long—far too long—tongue snaked over chapped lips, exposing long rows of even, surprisingly-white, teeth.

Tensei glared right back, though the hero killer probably couldn't tell through his mask. "Well, villain? Nothing to say!? Not going to gloat over your—".

The katana flashed out in the blink of an eye, descending in an instant, and Iida Tensei knew no more.

oooOo Chisome oOooo

The deed was done, and yet Stain felt no satisfaction from the act. The man was but a drop in the vast ocean of corruption. There were hundreds more heroes in Japan, and thousands all over the world that would be more than happy to take up the mantle of corrupt hero politics.

He knew that one man could never feasibly cull every corrupt hero singlehandedly, but perhaps the elimination of Ingenium, quite possibly the most distinguished hero he'd slain to date, would spur the masses to take a closer look at these so called bastions of society, rotting hero culture to the core.

From his vantage point several buildings away, Stain could already see the fallen hero's companions rush into the alley where he lay still. He could imagine their despair as they tried to resuscitate the man, futilely, of course… Stain had left survivors before, but this was not one of those instances. Ingenium would die today, and with him, his elitist, capitalist mentality.

"Quite impressive, Hero-killer… Your reputation precedes you…"

Stain wasted no time pondering how someone had managed to sneak up on someone as skilled and as paranoid as he, instead, his katana flashed out towards the perceived threat, sinking into a substance that offered no resistance whatsoever.

The voice, originating from a swirling vortex of black and violet energy continued as if the blade posed no threat to him whatsoever, so Stain relaxed his posture marginally. His eyes, however, remained trained on the newcomer, ready and willing to respond accordingly to any sudden movement.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he rasped, withdrawing his katana from the gaseous substance.

The man—or so he assumed judging by his deep, echoing tone of voice—answered with a chuckle.

"It is not what I want from you, but what we could each do for the other…"

Stain scowled. "I'm not here to play games—"

"—This offer is not in jest, I assure you… Come, there is someone I think you should meet…"

The purple miasma suddenly swirled around him, obscuring the light of day, before swallowing him into the darkness.

oooOo Izuku oOooo

"C'mon, nerd, I can't be the only one itchin' to see if this shit lives up to the hype!"

Izuku sighed as he paced down the flight of stairs leading to the north stadium entrance. The intermission between the first and second tournament rounds was coming to a close, and once again he was slated as the opening match.

It was something he had no problem with. As much as he enjoyed watching his classmates strut their stuff during their matches—not to mention the extra data on all their quirks he'd managed to collect—he was ready and raring to get out in the ring again himself.

No, that was not the issue at hand…

"Seriously, don't you feel any different? It's All Might's quirk for fuck's sake!" Katsumi shouted from his side. "All-Powerful, unbeatable! Kick-ass take no-fuckin'-names unadulterated badass!" Her fists swished through the air with every new descriptor. "Aren't you even a little curious?!"

It wasn't even close to the first complaint she'd voiced in the last five minutes, though he couldn't quite blame her…

"I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to feel any different…" All Might was concerningly vague with his explanation if he were being honest with himself… "Besides," he said, hooking an arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer—he really loved doing that—"Like you said, it's All Might's quirk. You really think it'd be such a great idea to try it out for the first time on my classmates?"

Katsumi's face scrunched into a scowl, wordlessly conceding his point, until the expression morphed into one that was cause for concern.

"You've forgotten who you're matched up against in the next round, nerd! That b-lister with the shitty quicksteel knockoff has got a head harder than Kirishima's! It's like a fate or some shit! He's the perfect sandbag!"

By this point her grin had shifted into something downright sadistic… and was she… drooling? Izuku would ignore that for now… But more importantly… there wasn't much he could say to refute her claim. Tetsutetsu, his next opponent, was, by all accounts, just as sturdy if as Izuku's own classmate. If he were being completely honest, this was the best opportunity to test if One for All had taken root…

"Fine…" He sighed, as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Fuck yeah!" Katsumi growled, spinning in his grip so they were face to face. Her crimson irises seemed to shine even in the dim lighting of the tunnel. "Get out there and show em' what a real elite looks like!"

"Got it." Izuku puffed out a gust of air before making to turn towards the end of the tunnel.

"Oh, and Deku—" He paused, turning back to where Katsumi stood grinning suspiciously. "Remember what All Might said…"

—Smack!—

"Don't forget to clench that ass, nerd!"

With the way his girlfriend's laughter echoed off the walls of the tunnel, Izuku just couldn't find it in himself to be upset as he walked away rubbing his stinging backside.

The north entrance to the stadium stood out quite clearly where the light from the open-top stadium shone through. He could already hear the roar of the crowd and Present Mic's over the top introductions to what he assumed was his own match.

Well… there was no point in making the fans wait any longer…

oooOoOoOooo

"Are you ready?!"

The answering roar was deafening. Apparently, the brief intermission had been too much to bear for the crowd, they seemed to exude anticipation, visibly leaning forward in their seats making certain they wouldn't miss a second of the coming action.

Izuku could only hope that he would live up to their expectations….

Tetsutetsu stood across from him, fists clenching and unclenching at either side of his solidly built frame. The animosity dripped off of him in waves as the unique markings around his eyes—were those his eyebrows?—pinched into a firm scowl.

All in all, he made for quite the intimidating sight, and if prematch posturing were all it took to bring in a victory, Izuku might have had his hands full. But fortunately, that was not the case. Not only was Izuku quite confident in his own abilities, unlike his match against Setsuna, Tetsutetsu's quirk and overall combat style were not unknown to him.

Barring any tricks that the 1-B student may have withheld in the first round, there shouldn't be any surprises.

That only left the issue of One for All…

Could he really justify its use in this situation? Izuku was certain that he'd be able to take on his opponent without it… Hell, he wasn't in the habit of looking down on his competition, but his martial ability even without his own quirk could quite possibly be enough to take him down.

But the truth in Katsumi's earlier claim couldn't be denied, of all his possible future opponents this tournament, Tetsutetsu certainly fit the bill in terms of ability to tank a hit. But that scenario was under the assumption that Izuku's version of One for All would be identical to All Might's. The symbol of peace had been quite vague when describing how the quirk would manifest itself… He'd been vague about a lot of things, really. The was always an aspect of exponentially increased power, but One for All was practically a living thing itself, how that power would assert itself was the question…

Power. Such an ambiguous way to describe such a multifaceted ability… Even All Might who, due to his quirkless nature—and hadn't that been a surprise—utilized One for All in arguably the most straightforward manner possible to boost his already inhuman strength, speed, stamina… well, the list went on and on… The point was, for a quirk to enhance all those traits of someone without a quirk to begin with… He couldn't truly imagine the implications of what AfO might do to his own body.

Izuku chuckled under his breath. All Might… despite not having spoken to him since he'd passed on his quirk earlier that day, Izuku knew for a fact he would be watching. He of all people would certainly be expecting to see his quirk in action, and that was the final nail in the coffin for Izuku's deliberation. That, and the red-hot stare he could feel on his back from the tunnel behind him. It wouldn't do to disappoint Kacchan, now would it?

"It's the undefeated golden boy from 1-A who's been carving his way through the competition all day!" Present mic cried from the announcer booth. "He's taken a couple spills along the way, but remained largely undefeated so far in this competition! Give it up for Midoriyaaaa Izukuuuuuu!"

With a grin, Izuku decided to play to the crowd a bit. He quickly wrestled control over his quicksteel, morphing it into a massive hand that mirrored his own, and waved it overhead to the cheering fans. They went wild as he'd hoped, but quickly wondered if it'd been such a great idea upon hearing some of the more explicit things shouted by a few female fans. He wasn't sure whether to worry for his own safety or theirs…

A glance over his shoulder to see the seething glare directed at certain individuals in the crowd gave him his answer. Theirs, definitely theirs…

"Aaand his opponent! Taking down his fellow classmate in the first round, it's the man of many names, or maybe just one! The iron dynamo himself, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"

The crowd responded appropriately, though perhaps not with the same amount of vigor as his own introduction.

The hero hopeful standing opposite Izuku slammed his fists together with a sparking clang, his mouth stretching into a shark-toothed grin, his pinprick pupils met Izuku's own steady gaze, blazing with determination.

Unfortunately for Tetsutetsu, Izuku couldn't let that admirable determination bear fruit…

"BEGIN!"

Tetsutetsu immediately rushed Izuku's position as he knew the boy would. Everything from his posture to his speech screamed straightforward and earnest, the steel-bodied student had employed the same tactics in his previous match, and nothing had given any indication that he would switch things up now.

Izuku, who of course was ready to counter the sudden charge, danced to the side of the full-body tackle employed by his opponent—incidentally the same one he'd used to conclude his previous match—and slammed a quicksteel-coated shin up and into the boy's exposed torso. The force of the sudden blow seemed to rattle the boy to his core, as well as providing just enough lift to lead into Izuku's followup. With a heavily practiced motion, Izuku pivoted on his left leg and snapped out a devastating roundhouse kick that slammed into his opponent's suspended body.

The crowd roared at the sudden clash as Tetsutetsu was sent rolling, skidding to a halt several meters away. Izuku's eye's widened slightly. Not only was it far less distance than he'd have expected given the amount of power he'd purposefully put behind his strike, but the hero-hopeful had already planted his first to the arena floor in an effort to regain his footing.

A grin tugged involuntarily at Izuku's lips. For someone who normally preferred to sit back and observe his opponents, that opener was a significant deviation from his ordinary approach to a one on one battle. However, he'd wanted to be certain that he hadn't been misinformed about Tetsutetsu's durability.

He wasn't. The 1-B student already regaining—albeit shakily—his normal fighting stance, confirmed that he'd been correct, and perhaps even undersold the boy's vitality.

Well then… how much punishment could he take…

oooOo Tetsutetsu oOooo

He'd been raring and ready to take that cocky 1-A asshole down a couple pegs when he made his initial charge…

That had been his first mistake…

The kick—at least, Tetsutetsu thought it was a kick, his head was still spinning after all—seemingly came out of nowhere, and had handily sent him rag dolling across the arena floor.

Tetsutetsu had never been hit that hard before… Not even Kendo, who had no qualms about going all-out during the frequent spars, had ever sent his head spinning that badly. He was made of metal for god's sake! And this cocky bastard had tossed him around like a backpack after one of Ectoplasm's calculus lectures…

Ironically, Tetsutetsu's head felt awfully similar to how it usually did after one of those lessons, but after a moment of struggle, he finally managed to get his feet back under him and straighten up into a relatively stable stance. A heavy puff of air left his lungs as he raised his eyes back up to an opponent that he was quickly reassessing his opinion of.

He'd of course heard the rumors of a promising first-year student in particular that'd become the class representative of 1-A, but since the guy had apparently been injured during the villain attack and had been conspicuously absent when they'd all gone to check out the competition before the sports festival, Tetsutetsu had written them off as just that: rumors.

Oh, the way the audience fawned over this kid's every move still pissed him off to no end, Tetsutetsu doubted that that would ever change… But he was beginning to consider the fact that all the hype surrounding class 1-A's golden boy may not have been all for show…

He'd been focused on recovering points for his own team after Midoriya ambushed them in the previous event, but he'd have had to be blind to miss those cocky 1-A bastards tossing around ice and exploding shit above the heads of the rest of the contestants.

He'd initially written it off as simply the nature of flashy quirks like theirs, but after Midoriya had taken out Setsuna, who was objectively 1-B's best fighter, in the first round, he was beginning to have his doubts… And the sheer force behind the two hits he'd just taken himself? Well… In combat there was nothing better than first-hand experience…

He straightened his stance, raising his fists into the classic peekaboo boxer's stance that Kendo had taught him earlier in the semester. He'd found her claims of 'you can't always rely on brute force, dummy!' sort of a bother at the time, but against the freaks of nature that he'd seen glimpses of in this competition, maybe a little bit of defense wouldn't do much harm…

But that didn't mean he couldn't go all out! It was Kendo-san that he'd defeated to get to this point! How could he face her if he went out so easily in the first round!?

Tetsutetsu kept his eyes on his opponent, recognizing the real threat that the boy—despite his stupid floofy hair and unassuming stare—posed to him. As much as he'd much prefer to wail into the guy and give him something to really be concerned about, he kept his guard up and waited, ignoring the way the crowd jeered, eager for another exchange of blows after such an explosive start to the fight.

The moment that Midoriya realized Tetsutetsu wouldn't be making another charge was obvious, as the boy began a casual approach. The taller boy bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, strafing slightly as he closed the distance between the two of them, that odd metallic quirk of his whipping back and forth at his side. But there was something… else…

The approach was predatory… lithe. Like a jungle cat that was certain that its prey was beyond the point of fleeing.

Tetsutetsu's heart hammered in his chest, his limbs shook as an unfamiliar sensation wracked his frame. His quirk prevented certain ordinary bodily functions while active, but he certainly felt like sweat would be beading on his forehead were that not the case. He gulped audibly, a token effort at choking down the lump that had seemed to form in his throat. It was almost as if his body subconsciously knew the danger it was in and was doing all it possibly could to avoid the situation.

His eyes flicked down to his metallic fists to ground himself, powering through the near-debilitating fear that had nearly overcome him. They'd never failed to protect him before, he simply had to trust in them as he usually did.

His eyes flashed back up to an empty stadium.

Wait. Empty? Where did he—.

The thought was immediately cut off as a fist cracked into the side of his jaw, his head snapping to the side from the impact, nearly making him lose his painstakingly gathered composure once more.

But Tetsutetsu was expecting the power behind Midoriya's strike's this time. He recovered quickly, throwing a jab that the green-haired boy dodged with a swift duck of the head. That was no surprise, with how absurdly fast the bastard had dashed to his side, it was no wonder that he could dodge a punch. But Tetsutetsu wouldn't let something like that stop him!

Another jab with his left followed by a right hook were thrown into the mix, each avoided just as easily as the first. Tetsutetsu's world was suddenly yanked at a ninety-degree tilt as his legs were swept by an intricate looking maneuver that he doubted he'd ever be able to emulate with his powerful, but admittedly bulky frame.

He slammed into the concrete of the arena floor, eyes shooting wide at the sight of a glinting metallic heel descending towards his downed form. He managed to raise his arms in a cross block, grunting slightly as the relentless assault from his opponent was halted, however briefly.

"WOW! Midoriya shows no mercy to his opponent, hammering blow after blow into Tetsutetsu's formidable defense!" Present Mic cried from the announcer booth. "Is this what you came here for, Folks?! Yeaahhh!"

The fans echoed his shout, whipped into a frenzy by the excitable announcer.

"Midoriya doesn't seem to be holding back too much, it seems he's acknowledged his opponent's strength…"

The answering drawl seemed to come from Aizawa, who Tetsutetsu recalled was 1-A's homeroom teacher.

Well, at least he could count on the opinion to be credible enough, but he wasn't quite sure how much that would help him when he already seemed so heavily outmatched…

Tetsutetsu, as quickly as he could manage, gripped Midoriya's ankle where it had impacted his guard. The falling axe kick might have knocked him out had it landed, but since he'd blocked the initial damage, the technique left the attack wide open to a counterattack.

At least on a normal opponent it would have…

The odd metal substance coating Midoriya's leg suddenly lost all its tension, not only allowing the boy to slip out of his grip and flip away from danger, but also latched around his own hand and flung him bodily towards the other end of the arena.

Tetsutetsu skidded to a stop, head spinning once more, and wondering for the first time whether it would be in everybody's best interest to stay down for once.

Well, that may have been the smartest decision, but no one had ever accused Tetsutetsu of being a genius…

He struggled to his feet once more, wobbling slightly, but overall, still capable of moving.

His fists slammed together threateningly. "Cmon, asshole! You think that's all it's gonna take to put me down!? Get that weak shit outta here!"

Loosely practiced technique obviously wasn't gonna do him any favors here, but at least he had his guts to rely on! Tetsutetsu began another charge, one clanking footstep at a time.

oooOo Izuku oOooo

How much punishment could he take?

A lot.

It wasn't long before that was made perfectly apparent.

Of course, anyone watching would most likely be able to pick apart the vast disparity in their technical skill.

Tetsutetsu was a brawler, straight and simple. His punches were formidable, they certainly had power behind them, that's for sure. But they were telegraphed, easy enough for someone as agile as Izuku to weave around and often led to counters that inflicted more damage than the original punch would have in the first place.

He rarely mixed up any kicks into his attacks, which made Izuku think that it wasn't an aspect of martial arts that he'd spent any significant amount of time learning. It only made his attack patterns even easier to predict.

And yet he kept coming…

Izuku had grown up with Kacchan for god's sake. He knew the definition of tenacious when he saw it. No disrespect meant to his girlfriend, but Izuku might even say that Tetsutetsu had her beat in this regard…

It was with that realization that his mindset changed.

Tetsutetsu was no longer the 'safe' option to test One for All on. No, he was a worthy opponent that deserved to have it used on him. Izuku smirked… Not that the boy would ever be privy to the significance of whatever happened next.

Izuku met his opponent's next charge head-on, lowering his center of gravity slightly to flip him overhead, slamming him bodily into the concrete. He deftly leapt a way to create a bit of distance between the two as the crowd groaned in sympathy for the guy.

Izuku didn't blame them; he'd been quite brutal up to this point…

A glance at the downed figure of Tetsutetsu and an audible moan told him that the boy would be a bit slower getting up this time, giving Izuku the respite he needed to concentrate properly. And so, for the first time since that fight had begun, he closed his eyes…

It wouldn't surprise him if One for All was fundamentally different from using his own quirk, but unfortunately for him it was the only frame of reference he had for using such an esoteric skill... Despite Kacchan's wholehearted support of All Might's 'clench your buttocks' strategy, Izuku had a feeling that a different approach might prove more effective… For him at least…

So, he looked within… for that same sensation he associated with various aspects of his connection with quicksteel. For that odd, superhuman quality that had become all but ordinary to anyone born in the modern era.

One that was similar to his own… but distinctly foreign.

The clanking steps of Tetsutetsu nagged at his ears and for a moment, Izuku feared he would have to abandon his attempt and return his attention to the battle, until suddenly, he felt it…

A spark. One that once felt, immediately swirled and surged into a raging inferno, so vastly different than the smooth, metallic tang of his quicksteel, and yet decidedly the same.

A quirk…

The quirk.

"Think you can win so freakin' easily that you can close your eyes?! Huh, buddy?!"

Izuku ignored Tetsutetsu's taunts in favor of tugging lightly at the foreign power that swirled at his core, and One for All responded, seemingly latching onto his original quirk of its own accord and immediately making its presence known.

Izuku's eyes flashed open, every one of his senses kicking into overdrive. The scent of ozone filled his nostrils, the tips of his fingers tingled like acid in his veins. The roars of the crowd buffeted his eardrums, that same metallic tang manifesting on the tip of his tongue.

But drowning out the rest was his quicksteel, back in it's spherical form and hovering just at eye level. The orb crackled with barely restrained energy, verdant electricity arcing along its metallic surface in a dazzling display of power.

To what end, Izuku had no idea, but he was certainly about to find out as whatever miniscule amount of control he'd had over the mounting energy snapped in an instant.

The air itself seemed bend around his quirk as an unseen force expanded outward. Izuku braced himself for impact, but was curiously unaffected…

The same could not be said, however, for his opponent.

Tetsutetsu, who, in a moment of either admirable fearlessness or utter stupidity—Izuku wasn't sure which—had charged straight towards his location in a last-ditch effort to secure a win. He was thwarted immediately as Izuku's attack reached critical mass.

The boy's frame seemed to stop on a dime, freezing, suspended mid-stride, before his trajectory was suddenly reversed. At an exponentially faster velocity than he'd started…

Tetsutetsu positively whistled through the air, his steel body zipping across the length of the arena like a massively oversized bullet. He slammed with a sickening crunch into the reinforced concrete stadium wall. Spidery cracks arced away from the point of impact, his steel frame remaining embedded in the concrete—at least until the boy lost consciousness, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head, steel skin fading back to its natural flesh tone.

Izuku remained standing in place, huffing out great lungfuls of air as his mind raced to figure out what the actual shit had just happened…

"M—Midoriya wins!" Midnight cried suddenly, before immediately waving over the emergency responders that were on call for precisely this sort of situation.

Izuku's initial concern was that his fellow student didn't retain any lasting injuries. But that was before he registered the damage to his own body…

His vision spun, and as if the world had suddenly tilted on its axis, he was overcome with a violent sense of vertigo. The roaring crowd faded to a muted hum, and a tentative touch at the shell of his ear had his fingers coming away red. Whatever unknown ability One for All had unlocked within his body had clearly come at a cost.

The horizon tilted once more, only this time it wasn't his perception, but his body physically collapsing to the ground.

The last thing his mind registered as his vision faded to black was Katsumi rushing to his side, her normally harsh features stricken with concern.

Ah, damn. He'd made her worry again, hadn't he?

AN: Well, there you go! A hint of Metallurgy Izuku's OFA that is about as vague as All Might explanation… I promise it will eventually make sense, and perhaps some of you can puzzle some of it out from the events of this chapter, but we'll see!

Please no complaints about how I decided to go about this, I recognize that everyone has their own opinion, but I promise you that I've already agonized for months over how OFA would effect Izuku and his natural quirk and I've finally settled one something I'm somewhat happy with, and that fits properly into the already established power scale of the story. (You haven't seen everything yet.)

Until next time!