Chapter 32: With Bated Breaths
"Withdrawing is not an option! HA!"
Uraraka appeared behind the smoke. Bakugo leaped with his explosion!
*BOOM!*
Uraraka was tossed aside again, right next to the line.
"Then you better get ready to die…" Bakugo called out. "Because you ain't winning against me pink cheeks!"
From the stances Midoriya observed the two of them. He had his notebook open on his lap, but there was no mumbling, no movement with his pencil.
His eyes were locked on perhaps the second most desperate battle of the tournament.
Kaminari sneezed.
From the sky, Bakugo launched another explosion. Uraraka rolled out of the way!
She had a piece of rubble from the stage in her hand. Activating her quirk, she chucked it up.
Bakugo however spun around!
Turning off the explosions, he slammed a blast down as he landed, rumbling the ground!
It managed to unbalance her. Bakugo aimed to fire again, but Uraraka ran into the smoke of the previous attack.
"Cheeky little-!" Bakugo fired, but only made more smoke! He missed her–!
Midoriya's concentration broke. Jiro, as she looked a little distraught, had chosen to sit next to him.
Saying nothing, his eyes traveled back to the battle–
"Hey, Midoriya." Jiro said very tensely. "Could I ask something?"
Midoriya nodded. "Of course, anything."
"How do you think she's holding up?" she asked, wincing with hands close to her ears right as Bakugo hammered the arena with another explosion.
Midoriya turned back. "It's hard to say."
With one hand back, Bakugo dived into the smoke, and tried attacking with a sweeping blast!
However, Uraraka still wasn't there.
From further back, she emerged. With her hand open, Uraraka went for a charging slap, but Bakugo instantly blasted her back!
"It's obvious that Uraraka trained up her speed for the competition." Midoriya said. "I couldn't notice it, but with how fast she's recovering from rolls or getting knocked down, it could give Iida from back then even more trouble."
"Really? You think so?" Iida spoke from beside him.
Midoriya nodded, right before he paused.
"W-Well, your version from back then." He corrected himself. "You also look like you trained hard, Iida."
Iida raised his hand with pride. "Thanks. It makes me glad that it could be noticed!"
"But…?" Jiro brought down the mood again.
Midoriya made himself get back on track. "It's still a far cry from Kacchan's reaction time."
Bakugo sent another explosion. Uraraka jumped over it again, only for him to get her with a counter!
Thankfully she could recover, despite the scorch marks now covering her undershirt, and disappear back into the smoke.
Instantly she had gotten far away enough that the spraying and praying was a fruitless effort! Bakugo, everytime he tried it, wasn't hitting anything.
"Keep your intentions unclear, choose your time to strike!"
Putting her arms behind her back, and making her posture lean forward a little, Uraraka repeated her lessons.
"I can't make my footsteps just quite silent yet, not to mention making my presence vanish, but–"
The explosions were facing the other way. "Now!"
Bakugo turned, just like she expected.
"Think you're gonna get me with that!"
He blasted, but Uraraka dropped down, sliding on the concrete!
"Touch his leg, just like you did to Master Yos–"
Bakugo noticed her. He jumped up again. Swiping his hand, he created a twister of fire and rubble!
"It's something he's been passively working on since the day got his quirk." Midoriya said, looking down.
"Coupled with the range and power, he got to a level where he could pick a fight with two fourth-grader students when he still went to first-grade and win."
"Really?" Jiro's eyebrows shot up for a moment, as she then looked back down on the battle.
From behind the smoke, the only things that were coming through were the roaring and light of his explosions as well as Uraraka's pained groans.
Jiro shrunk in her seat again. "I guess it's not that surprising."
"Hold on!" Iida earnestly got to his feet. "What you mean to say is that Bakugo used to get into fights?!"
Jiro raised an eyebrow. "Used to?"
Iida felt checkmated, and so Jiro continued.
"You sure we're going to the same class there, class prez?"
Iida's mouth hung open as he continued to try finding a retort.
"Point taken." he could say, sitting back down. "But it's… It's still extremely unbecoming of a student at U.A.!"
Jiro acknowledged it head on.
"Yes." she said bluntly, turning back to the brawl even though it was difficult to do so. "Yes, it is."
Iida continued to feel defeated in their argument. Midoriya finally intervened, raising his hands.
"The point is…" he said, still pretty softly, and out of concern. "This is one of her worst matchups."
Bakugo perked up as he felt something touch his shoulder! It was one of Uraraka's wristbands.
The real one came from his side, and with a crackling blast, he launched her straight outside the smokescreen!
Like a demon brought freshly out of hell, Bakugo stood in the middle of the crumbled arena with smoke obstructing him, and his eyes glowing without a hinge of mercy.
And Uraraka was forced to look at him, getting thrown on her knees once more in one day.
"I hate to say it, but she might need a miracle then." Iida said.
Midoriya shrugged. "Maybe."
To him, it felt hard to say… and Jiro snapped him out of that mindset.
As the smoke was dispersing, she pointed above the arena. "You mean a miracle like that?"
Midoriya's jaw dropped.
In the meantime, outcries rose from the stances as some of the pro-heroes started to criticize Bakugo for being so harsh on his fellow classmate!
"We get it, there is a huge gap between your abilities! Just hurry up and send her out of bounds already!"
Some other woman got to her feet too. "Yeah! How could you want to be a hero, but still do so much harm to a poor girl!"
"Hey!" Uraraka took offense to the last comment! "What do you mean poor?!.. I mean, it's true but still."
But it got drowned out under the booing from the crowd.
"The crowd's now booing Bakugo! They're really unhappy…" Present Mic also felt forced to commentate it.
Eraser Head, grumbling from his own seat… turned on his microphone with his elbow.
To all those that could enter these premises only to complain about this… the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head had a few words to say.
"Where–"
"HEY, THAT'S ENOUGH!"
To the shock of him, and perhaps everyone, the eccentric blonde pro-hero got to his feet.
The crowd fell silent, as the guy who started it was slack jawed.
Present Mic couldn't seem to be able to find him due to his frustration, but his co-host could. He had kept an eye on him ever since this whole thing started and could very well see that the guy was a hero.
"You're a pro-hero? Did they actually give you a license with that kind of attitude?!" Present Mic asked sarcastically.
The man was starting to get covered with cold sweat, so Aizawa decided to take over.
"Yes, Bakugo's not torturing his classmate for the fun of it. He's being careful because he knows the strengths of his opponent. He wants to win, and so he's not letting his guard down and not going easy."
Aizawa sat back down, scoffing.
"If you can't tell, go and look into changing careers. As for the 'so-called' puny girl, sit back and watch."
Bakugo, even though it didn't take away his attention from his opponent, felt the rageful front he put on, cool off.
"Not yet…" He thought.
Uraraka was out of breath and wiping her own sweat but still on her feet.
He instantly leaned forward, expecting an attack. "She's not dead yet!"
"Thanks… Bakugo." Uraraka said, out of breath. "...for not holding back."
Bakugo carefully observed her.
"I said we… had special training… at the door… do you remember?"
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. Now that she mentioned it, he did.
"We had a couple of rules there… and the first one… I think you'd quite like it."
Achingly, she brought her fingers together, shaking as they approached each other. She echoed Master Yoshi verbatim.
"The first rule of being a ninja is do no harm, unless you mean to do harm…"
"She's about to release the gravity on somethin." Bakugo said observantly. "Well, her feet are pressing the ground, so…"
His eyes darted around, only for them to turn above him. The sight of numerous, big or small boulders and rocks greeted him.
"...THEN DO LOTS OF HARM!" Uraraka pressed them together! "RELEASE!"
The laws of physics went back into effect, and the rubble of the arena turned into a meteor stream raining down. Without watching out for herself, Uraraka ran straight ahead at her opponent!
"A meteor shower?!" Present Mic exclaimed, while Eraser Head replied in his usual deadpan manner.
"You should have noticed."
Midoriya jumped to his feet. "She had that plan all along?!"
"It's THE miracle you mentioned." Jiro said, quite satisfied.
"With this much debris, his focus will be split no matter what." Uraraka thought and activated her quirk on her own body. "And in that, there will definitely be an opening…"
She frowned as she jumped towards him with as much power as possible!
Bakugo raised his arm… and with his other, he held his left arm steady.
"I CAN WIN!" Uraraka's eyes were fixated on his opponents chest. She reached forward! "I'LL PROVE MYSELF–!"
Tensing every fiber on his arms, Bakugo sent an explosion that darkened the bright sky.
*KABOOM!*
It launched the weightless Uraraka back. The ground shook like Todoroki himself was present! It blew back everyone's hair, student, and pro-hero alike.
And the debris… It got launched to where it came from.
Uraraka had landed just in front of the line again, and she managed to get up just enough to sit on her legs but now it was different.
"I'd figured you and that damn nerd would have a plan for me." Bakugo said, as the smoke subsided, and he emerged still in the same position.
Dread had completely enveloped Uraraka's face. It had only taken him one shot to do away with her entire secret plan.
Present Mic continued to commentate on what just happened, saying how much of a demonstration of power it was, but Bakugo chose to tune that out.
Taking a deep breath, he attempted to close his left fist, the one he had just used to fire that big blast with. But his muscles couldn't obey him.
"That was close." He remarked under his breath, before looking at pink cheeks again.
"But I will not go down that way." Bakugo stated rather calmly, before taking up his fighting stance again. "Not yet!"
Midoriya leaned forward. "Oh man…"
From how she shook, it looked like a miracle for Uraraka to be up on her feet. However, Bakugo still didn't give her a moment of respite. He continued to stay on guard for any attack.
She turned around, and Bakugo grinned. He took a deep breath of his own.
"All right! Let's get serious, Uraraka!"
Just hearing her name gave Uraraka another shot of energy to run ahead. Bakugo waited for it excitedly.
However, it was only momentary.
Uraraka slipped on some rubble, as the last bit of stamina fizzled away. She fell face first, and Bakugo's grin dropped.
He took a step to go check, but instantly retracted it.
She was convulsing on the ground, before starting to crawl.
Midoriya fell silent. "She… passed her limit."
Her movements came to a stop, and as Midnight came onto the stage to do what he was about to do a second earlier, Bakugo dropped his guard.
"Uraraka's out of commission." Midnight acceptingly said, before rising to her feet. "Bakugo advances to the next round!"
The crowd cheered, almost like they were trying to compensate for earlier, but Bakugo didn't take it in like Tennyson would.
His heart was beating like it was about to pop off his chest, and even though his hands felt toasty, they were only like that because of the amount of explosions that he fired off.
"Good." he calmed down, putting his hands in his pocket. He had secured his place in the quarter-finals and… the guy who everyone said was the "favorite to win".
Bakugo looked up to Tennyson, only to find him staring right back.
He was tense, much like a couple of weeks ago when he was 'in that phase' after the USJ crap.
Bakugo finally managed to move his fingers on his left.
"Today…" he said, putting one hand on his elbow. "We'll settle this."
He went back through the gate and as everyone dispersed for the break before the start of quarter-finals, Kirishima also took notice.
Ben 10: Hero Force
Chapter 32
With Bated Breaths…
"How can I be calm, huh?" Ben said, opening his arms.
Kirishima decided to pull him away for a second to talk about the situation in the corridor right outside their stances.
"Yaomomo's on a mission all on her own, and there is nothing I can do."
"You're right, man." Kirishima said, channeling his own frustration as well.
He hardened his arms. "I'd like to be out there too, punch some tin cans right in the face, or aliens, or whatever. And even see how Iida's brother's–"
Ben put his index finger on his lips. Kirishima almost jumped as he realized how loud that was.
"How Iida's big bro fights against this kind of stuff." He whispered. "Or just how he is in general."
Ben crossed his arms and smiled in reminiscence.
"Oh, just imagine Iida, but ditch the glasses, engines on his shoulders, and without the robotic gestures."
Kirishima was taken aback. "Glasses and engines I get but without the robotic style? Is that possible?"
"You'd be surprised." Ben remarks, before sighing. "And I'm missing the second round."
Kirishima gritted his teeth, looking down.
"Well, what would Gwen say?"
Ben raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She literally just told us–"
"I know." Kirishima raised his hands. "But what if she didn't–? Like, if you had called her, before she knew any of this stuff… Or Magister Labrid? Or any other Plumber for that matter?"
Now, Kirishima knew he had a lot of ways to describe himself. Reasonable… wasn't so often one of them. But he was getting there when the subject was aliens. Admittedly, he was still completely in the dark. Unlike hero work where he had an idea, he didn't know how to be a proper space cop.
"Any other Plumber, huh?" In response, Ben directed his gaze to the sky.
"Thanks for coming to see me, sport. What's on your mind?" Only one voice came to mind. The elderly, wise voice that guided him through this the first time. His grandpa… and he imagined him in the good old RB, cooking up some exquisite dish.
"Just for good measure." He quipped, before turning serious. "What do I do about this, grandpa? What would you do?"
As the pan that was filled with all kinds of exotic alien… 'ingredients' sizzled in the back of his mind, grandpa sat down on the couch near the door.
"Your friend…" His version of grandpa spoke. "He's right, you can't leave now, and you don't have any other friends to send in. There is nothing you can do. So, nothing you are doing right now is going to help."
"Tell me what to do." Ben pressed out of desperation.
"Ben, part of a leader's burden comes from learning to accept when a situation is out of our control. Do you trust her?"
Ben's response was instant. "Of course, I trust her."
"Good. Then trust she'll succeed." His grandpa smiled. "It would be the Ben move."
Feeling a weight on his chest, Ben Tennyson took a deep breath… and came back to the real world.
Kirishima was still concerned and impatiently had his eyes on him.
"So?"
Ben could still feel his anxiety, but his nerves were notably calmer.
"We're staying." He said, before turning back towards their stances. "Wanna watch some matches in the meantime?"
Kirishima's face lit up.
"Of course I would!" His arm wrapped around Ben's neck again. "It's Midoriya's turn too!"
Ben nodded. It was, wasn't it?
"Huh, wonder what he's up to."
"Man, can't believe I lost!.." Uraraka said in a chipper tone with one hand on her hair.
Within the spacious waiting room, and her new jacket in front of her in a plastic package, there was Uraraka and Midoriya both in Player Waiting Room 1.
And Midoriya was frankly very surprised by her mood.
"Huh..?" He expected her to be frustrated, and tearing up the waiting room, or just for her to be on her feet at least. She seemed so nonchalant.
"Guess I got carried away at the end." Uraraka lowered her hand from her hair. "Overestimated myself a little, thinking I had it in the bag."
"Uraraka…" Midoriya said, as his thoughts were stilted, trying to figure out the best kind of response.
"Umm, so Recovery Girl already treated your injuries, huh?"
"Yep yep." She shrugged and pointed to the bandage on her cheek. "This time she was careful not to drain me too much. So, I still have a few scratches and stuff."
"I see…" Midoriya responded, and like it was on the flip of a coin, Uraraka was on her feet.
"Man, but Bakugo was still so strong though!" (ᗒᗣᗕ) She waved her fist in frustration with closed eyes. "I'm gonna work harder and wipe the ring with him right back next time!"
Uraraka then half-opened one eye to check for Midoriya's reaction, and rightfully he was even more freaked out.
"Are… you sure you're okay?"
"Yep! Maybe even better!" Uraraka said. "Because, like Yaomomo said, I got to learn from my mistakes!"
*Brrrrrr!* *Brrrrrr!*
The phone in Uraraka's hand was going off. Midoriya backed away.
"Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes…" She clutched the phone close to her. "That's another thing I got to learn Deku, and… you're already so good at that."
"As in… Good at making mistakes?"
"No!" She corrected him. "You're a quick study, and I'm not… kind of evident by the moves." Uraraka said, blushing embarrassedly with one hand placed on her hair.
"Oh, about that, where DID you learn those moves?" Midoriya asked. "You were so stealthy and quick on your feet."
Uraraka faintly smiled. "So, you think I couldn't have thought up those moves myself?"
"N-No–!" Midoriya waved her hands and Uraraka was just laughing it off.
"I'm just kidding. Guess I could tell you." She said. "Ojiro introduced us to a master, and he took us in."
"Really?! A martial arts master?"
Uraraka nodded rather pensively.
"Do you think he could take me in?" Midoriya asked.
"I can ask–" She replied, as the phone rang in her hand. again.
"Oh, sorry." Midoriya said. "I should probably leave so that–"
"No, it was okay." Uraraka said. "It was nice talking like this– Oh wait!"
It just hit her.
"Since I was here, you didn't have any chance to prepare."
Midoriya put a hand on the doorknob.
"No, that's okay." He shook his head. "Like you said, it was nice…"
He delved deeper into his own thoughts, specifically about his next match against Shinso. And there, Midoriya felt like he saw his theories clearer.
As he then opened the door, Uraraka's smile became that much bigger and that much more genuine.
"I'll be watching, 'kay? Don't lose, and good luck." She raised her hand.
Midoriya raised his fist in response, putting on a nervous grin.
"Thanks."
He left her alone to tidy up and put on the new jacket given to them. However, he could see the tears she was trying to hold back.
As he left for the arena, he caught her taking out her pink flip phone.
"Of course she must be so upset. I thought I could help her in some way. But instead, she cheered me on…"
He gritted his teeth, recalling her words.
"She's got my back." He wiped away some tears of his own."She's the one encouraging me again."
"Hey Bakugo!" Sero's called out as Bakugo had just arrived back at the stances. "Playing the villain, huh?"
He didn't entertain the comment. Bakugo just perched on one of the seats on the edge, glaring at Tennyson, only for the student in question to not really notice him.
It only added to his frustration.
"Must have been tough out there with this crowd." Sero said.
"Ribbit, even if it was just because you were up against Uraraka, you made a pretty convincing bad guy." Asui leaned forward as Jiro was still unsettled.
"Shut up you idiots." He groaned. "OR ELSE!"
"For real dude…" Kaminari rubbed his nose. "I don't know how you can aim a powerful attack like that on a girl."
Jiro perked up at that comment as did Ashido.
"Uhhh… you wanna run that by us again?"
"I'm just saying." Kaminari held up his hands. "If I had to fight against a frail girl… I don't think I'd have it in me."
Jiro narrowed her eyes.
"Keep that same energy Kaminari…" Ashido said, arms crossed as acid manifested in her palms. "Now I can't wait for the next training exercise."
Kaminari sweated.
"N-Now hold on for a sec Ashido…"
Bakugo however couldn't care less.
Falling into deep thought, he thought about that recent match… His opponent's agility and… that freaking move she pulled over him for a sec.
With one eye looking at Kaminari who was still trying to suck up to the girls, he grunted.
"What part of her was frail, taser face?"
"Oh good, the quarter-finals haven't started yet?" Uraraka then, speak of the devil, just arrived at the stances.
"Huh? No, they–?!" Iida freaked out. "Oh my, your eyes haven't healed fully yet!"
In front of them stood Uraraka, with reddened puffy eyes and runny nose.
"You should hurry to Recovery Girl."
"I already did." Uraraka said as she sat down in between them, rubbing her eyes. "This is… different."
Feeling for her, Ben side-eyed her… but didn't want to join in.
"It's different?- Ah, of course." Iida said, turning to the arena as well. "You must have been really frustrated. I'd be too."
Bakugo looked away, arms crossed, huffing with zero remorse.
"This is no time to wallow." Tokoyami interjected. "If you were really that bothered, you should use the following matches as encouragement to be better."
"Yep!" Uraraka straightened up. "That's the idea!"
"You're so wise." Iida said under his breath, as fire erupted from the arena.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!" Present Mic yelled out. "I can just feel your anticipation my dear listeners. What do you say, Eraser?"
"Yes." Eraser Head deadpanned. "You can just *feel* the intensity."
"That's what I thought! Now, we're opening the first round of the second set with a bang!" His arms opened all the way to his sides.
"It's the student who put up a fierce show of determination, all against an opponent with armor! Seriously, he took his hits and paid them back double! It's Midoriya Izuku of the hero course!"
Midoriya determinedly stepped up to the arena.
"On the other hand, we have the enigma of the show itself! Give it up for Shinso Hitoshi of General Studies!"
Shinso was mirroring him exactly. He wasn't looking to lose, not here, and Present Mic immediately picked up on it. "Ohhhh, look at the two of them, Eraser!"
"Both of them are strong-willed." Aizawa thought. "It will be interesting to see how they match up against each other."
Midoriya brought his fists up, and exhaled, calmly letting One for All flow into them–
"So, the tournament has brought us face to face, Midoriya?" Shinso stated in his deadpan tone.
Midoriya saw his eyes go down to his hands.
"You're planning to use your super strength, aren't you?"
Midoriya's mouth ever so slightly opened, gasping, only to close back up.
Shinso's eyebrows went up. "What the–?"
Seeing his facial reaction, Midoriya then put one hand over his mouth.
"So you figured it out." Shinso's eyebrows knitted down. "Guess I should have been a little more careful."
The green haired hero student took a stance with only one outstretched.
Present Mic excitedly pointed at the arena. "READY?!"
Shinso gritted his teeth. All or nothing then.
"Good! Go right ahead!" He called out towards him. "I will be glad to go down like the Uraraka girl!"
Midoriya's eyebrows seemingly went up.
"And here I was thinking she could be a good fighter, seeing as you were so tactically proficient."
"BEGIN!"
"I can't believe you'd put such trash on your team."
Midoriya gritted his teeth. "Don't talk about Uraraka like that–!"
Midoriya's eyes went blank, losing their green tint as he stopped dead in his tracks. The world had flashed gray in one second, and in the other… everything disappeared.
"I'm sorry." Shinso said under his breath.
The sight of seeing a fired up student suddenly coming to a stop threw everyone for a loop a second time in one day. Especially for those that knew him.
From the stances, All Might gasped.
"Huh?! What's the matter?" Present Mic called out. "Is everyone sleeping on the job against Shinso today?!"
"Midoriya…" Iida got up and so did Uraraka.
"Not you too, Deku!"
Tennyson's breath hitched.
"Come on Midoriya! The match just started!" Present Mic shouted.
"Where… am I?"
Midoriya looked around, and found himself in an empty space, gray ground, pitch black sky, and… with a lineup of thrones.
"Wait… this place feels familiar–"
Eerily, he got goosebumps. This place felt familiar to him–
"Looks like Shinso has gotten the better of Midoriya!"He heard a faint, echoing version of his English teacher, Present Mic. "Will the bottom really overthrow the top like this?!"
There was constant background chatter too.
"Are they perhaps the audience?- Hmm–?!" Midoriya tried to talk, but his mouth was covered by a black shadow which illuminated green.
"You're lucky to have been so blessed, Midoriya Izuku."
This was Shinso!
"Now turn around and walk outside the ring, like the good little hero they make you out to be."
A pink, and then rainbow colored veil then opened up, showing him the outside world from his own eyes like a film reel. However, right then and there, that vision shook.
Step by step, his own body was complying with the command!
"No!" Midoriya let out an outcry. "Stop!"
"Woah?! And Midoriya's being obedient?!" Present Mic exclaimed.
"No, Deku, what are you doing?!"
That one was Uraraka.
"He can't let himself walk out of the ring!"
And that one was Iida!
The question of how he could hear them this clearly from such a distance was utterly and completely lost on him.
"I think he knows that, four-eyes…"Midoriya could even hear Bakugo murmur, as the rest of Class 1-A was also waiting with bated breath.
"No, NO!" Midoriya held up his shadowy hands. "Stop! Obey me, my body!"
He felt so disappointed. "Ah, I knew his quirk was brainwashing, and correctly guessed that responding to him was the trigger too!"
His body then fully turned around. In front of him now were the stairs, and the door he came from… as well as All Might.
In his skinny form, he had grasped the side of the entrance, squeezing it.
"What are you doing, Young Midoriya!" He yelled under his breath. "Get back in there!"
"I'm trying!" Midoriya screamed desperately inside his own mind. So many people were counting on him… No, they still ARE counting on him!
"My body's moving on its own, and my head…"
He tried reaching into the darkness, but his arms were covered by the same shadow. "It feels fuzzy, like I'm in a fog…– No, don't get distracted, concentrate! Izuku!"
His body tensed, as the little version inside his mind reached out, almost like he could find a handle to turn this off!
"Find a way… It… isn't unique." He thought, as the memory came to mind.
This space, it was the exact same as the one he defeated that DNAlien Xenocite in!
With his hand drowned in the shroud, he reached for the scar still on his face from that.
"Live up to his power Izuku." He repeated what that shadow said back then. "Live up to it… AND MOVE..!"
Suddenly, eight strands of smoke struck down from the sky like lightning!
Midoriya tried to cover his eyes with his own shadowy hands, but it didn't help.
Now, as if they were stars in the dark sky, Midoriya saw several rainbow lights manifest on the lineup of thrones.
"There's sixteen of them..!"
Power surged in his body. Midoriya tried to cover his eyes, but soon, everything was covered in white!
"What… is… this?!" he said labored, as the sound from the outside world faded into pure silence.
"He is."
When he came back, he was greeted with the tournament grounds again.
"You wouldn't get it… but even with a quirk like this, I have my own dream to follow." Shinso said, as he looked up to his class' stances, turning his back on the fight.
"So, lose for me."
Like a divine hammer had dropped, Midoriya flicked both fingers and a tremendous shockwave rocked the ground!
"See. Told ya guys it was gonna happen!" Dark Shadow pumped his fist to the sky.
"It was never a matter of if." Tokoyami shrugged. "Only when."
Shinso, All Might and Midnight, all who were on the lower ground had to shield their faces.
And as it subsided, all they saw was Shinso and a Midoriya… who was way too close to the edge for comfort.
"T-THIS IS..?!" Present Mic called out. "MIDORIYA STOPPED!"
The greenette huffed and puffed like his life depended on it. There was the line just one more foot in front of him!
"Midoriya!" It was Iida's turn to be excited. "That's the way to do it!"
Ben breathed a sigh of relief as did Uraraka.
"Whew." She said. "Almost lost my cool there."
Ben leaned to Kirishima. "See, I taught him that."
"And I sincerely doubt that." Jiro deadpanned, catching Tennyson with her earphone jack quirk.
From the commentary booth, Eraser Head's eyes widened as well.
"His fingers…" He saw his two outstretched fingers from a distance, reddened and swollen. "Did breaking them snap him out of the brainwashing?"
Coming back to his senses, and his survival instincts blaring at him inside his head, Midoriya side-eyed Shinso.
'Shocked' didn't even begin to describe his opponent.
"No… How?! You're not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!"
Midoriya immediately put a hand over his mouth. He had no clue what happened either, but… he knew this wasn't the time to think about it.
Holding his hand with the two broken fingers, he faced his opponent!
"He won't answer me again." Shinso thought. "It was hard enough getting him the first time…"
"Come on, say something. It's rude, you know." Even though Midoriya knew, Shinso knew he had no other choice but to still try! "So, you can generate that much power with just your fingers? I must admit, they didn't look like much during the cavalry battle! But now I'm jealous!"
Midoriya ran straight ahead, shutting him out. Shinso pointed to himself with his thumb.
"Whereas because of my quirk, I've been behind from the start. BUT someone who's been blessed can't understand that though, can they?!" Shinso called out, as he made one hand into a fist. "You were lucky enough to get one of the heroic quirks! It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal!"
Midoriya didn't say anything. He gritted his teeth and put one arm on Shinso's shoulder as he put the other's forearm onto his stomach, pushing him back!
"Say something, dammit!" Shinso didn't surrender. He slugged Midoriya in the face!
As blood came out of his nose though, the greenette didn't stop! That fierce look in his eyes didn't vein!
Shinso looked back. That line was getting ever closer. "Is he really trying to push me out?!"
He punched him in the hand with the two broken fingers! And when Midoriya stumbled, he got out of his grip.
"You have got to be kidding!"
As Midoriya stumbled, he did the same move right back, but instead of his stomach, Shinso put his opened hand right on Midoriya's face. "Get out of this ring, you damn lucky brat!"
Midoriya grabbed him by the collar in response! Then his arm with the other. Bakugo's eyes widened. He recognized that throw! "Bastard…"
"AHHH!"
The cracking of his fingers as they shifted around was loud, but Midoriya persisted.
"I… won't…"He finally opened his mouth, lifting Shinso up over his shoulder.
"LOSE!"
He slammed him to the ground!
Shinso was knocked onto his back, getting the air knocked out of him, as Midoriya wheezed and sweated.
Shinso gritted his teeth.
"That kid, he pulled a fast one on me–"
A light clattering greeted his ear, as Midnight's hand with the handcuff raised to the sky.
"Shinso's out of the ring!" She declared. "Midoriya advances!"
A wave of cheering erupted from the crowd.
"WHAT?!" He quickly got himself off the ground and saw that his feet were lying outside of the arena.
"And with that, we have the first participant of the semi-finals! Midoriya of class 1-A!" Present Mic further rubbed it in… as they were then called to the middle of the arena.
His fist shook.
"Honestly though, that was kind of a boring first match, but they both definitely battled bravely! LET'S SHOW THEM SOME LOVE EVERYONE!"
As both of them bowed their heads against one another, his bloodied and battered opponent stood. Shinso didn't look at him. Instead, he kept his eyes to the ground…
"Shinso." Midoriya spoke. "I have a question."
He scoffed. "Go ahead."
"Why do you want to be a hero? What's driving you… exactly?"
Shinso's eyebrows went up. He… hadn't expected that.
Sighing, he gave the answer which first appeared in his mind..
"You can't help the things your heart longs for."
After that, he walked away. This was it, his failure. It pissed him off beyond words, because…
"Okay, okay, fine. We'll secure our seats together." He had said to Hagakure. And–
"Shinso!"
From down the stairs, he looked back at Midoriya.
"You were amazing today!" Midoriya spoke with conviction, as he held his hand. "And… I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that!"
Shinso shook his head. Who cared what he thought…
"YEAH SHINSO! WHAT HE SAID!"
Above the gate, there were his classmates from class 1-C, all led by Hagakure!
"You were so cool!"
"Good job!"
"I was really surprised!"
Shinso's expression was one of tired confusion.
"You see?!" Hagakure opened her arms. "You got to be the star of general studies!"
"Heck, maybe just a bit more than that…" The guy next to her, with brown flat hair, pointed behind them with his thumb.
Discussion was ramping up from within the pro-heroes as well. They criticized UA for placing him in the general studies of all places and marveled at how useful of a quirk he actually had.
"YOU SEE?!" Hagakure said.
"You already said that." The girl with the clown makeup said.
"Oh, I know. But I want to say it again!"
Midoriya looked up to them as well, not able to help himself but smile.
"Hey!" Shinso called out, allowing Midoriya to hear humor in his tone for the first time. "You remember that, depending on the results, they can still transfer people over to the hero course…"
There was a whimsy and proud tone behind him now.
"It might not have been my day today, but there is always tomorrow. I'm going to get on the hero track, get certified, and beat you all at your own game."
Midoriya lost the slack-jawed face he had and responded to his determination.
"Yeah, understood–!"
His eyes went blank again. Shinso stretched the back of his neck.
"People usually tense up when they talk to me. If you're not on guard, someone's going to trip you up, even with that power on your fingertips."
He deactivated his quirk, and Midoriya came back to the real world.
"Keep that in mind. Don't lose and make me look bad." Shinso said.
The pupil of All Might took his words to heart.
"Okay, I got it–!"
His eyes went blank again, and Shinso could do nothing but facepalm.
Back on 1-A's stances, Bakugo scorned Deku. "You never cease to piss me off."
However, Ben had his arms crossed, standing filled with nothing but pride!
"That was unnecessary… but–"
Ben knew it was something close to what he would do.
"You never cease to surprise me."
"There, that should do it for now." Recovery Girl said, as she had just finished applying the last bandage.
Back at the nurse's office, Toshinori patted Midoriya on the back. "Good job on the semifinals kid! You're really moving up in the world."
"Thanks, All Might." Midoriya said, a little less excited than expected. His glance darted. "But… I haven't been able to smile through my matches like you would."
Toshinori leaned back to the table.
"Kirishima was hard to fight, physically at least." Midoriya admitted. "And Shinso…"
Nervously, the number one put a hand on his neck. "Yeah, I heard some of the things he said to you. His cries must have hit close to home."
"Very." Midoriya responded. "But I also knew I needed to keep my head up high and perform better myself. Just like how you instructed."