Learning to be the best (Izuocha)

Chapter 55- And the winner is...

*Deku's POV*

The rest of the rounds went on as expected. Shoto won against Honenuki, Kachan won against Kendo and Ochaco had finished her fight against Kirishma. She came into the viewing stands with a bandage wrapped around her forearm. As she came to sit down next to me, I gave her a peck on her forehead.

"Congrats."

"Thanks, but my next opponent is Bakugo. I need to think of a plan. I don't really want a repeat of last year."

"Yeah, I hear. I need to get down for the next round, and I probably won't see you until after your match. So, good luck." I tell her as she smiles slightly. Honestly, I would be lying if i said that I wasn't worried for her. This is Kachan. he doesn't hold back against anyone. and he's been improving a lot. this will be difficult for anyone fighting him. She snaps me out of my thinking by staring at me, with fire in both of her eyes, 

"Thanks, Deku. Good luck to you too. I promise I'll be going to the final, so, you better win your match." She declared determinedly.

"I'll see you there." i say, while looking at her in the eyes. She looked like she was ready to fight Kachan. And from one look she convinced me that she'll follow through.

*Narrator's POV*

The two friends entered the arena. Much like last year, there was much tension between the two. But this time it was different. Mutual admiration was the cause of this tense atmosphere. The two hadn't fought since the last sports festival, and that match went Todoroki's favor. The one question on everyone's mind was, who would win in this intense rematch. Deku entered the field with the blindfold already on, and as he made his way up the stairs onto the field he shouted back to his friend,

"Hey Sho, don't hold back, alright." His friend threw him a smile before readying into a fighting position.

"I won't if you won't."

"Ready?" Mr. Aizawa announced as he looks to both students for their nod. "Begin." As Deku expected, Heaven Piercing Ice wall. Just like last time. And also as if history were repeating itself, Deku readied his finger for non restriced air force smash. 

'Okay, sixty five percent should do.' And it did. The resulting wind pressure faltered the attack of the dual coloured hair hero. Deku didn't waste any time as the ice was blown away and quickly charged foward. Todoroki defended himself by surrounding his left side with his signiture fire. 

'Midoriya won't be willing to burn himself to land a hit, and I have the ice wall to protect me,' The two-tone boy thought to himself. And as he thought, his opponent's flying punch was reduced to a kick from a distance. The wind pressure knocked them both back, and the hot air rushed up into the air, hitting Deku like a heatwave. Todoroki erected an ice wall to stop himself from stumbling out of bounds. 

'This is a problem. He hasn't even landed a hit yet and he's dealt a lot of damage.' Todoroki thought to himself. The two stood at oppostie ends of the field, and once again Todoroki engaged in an attack. Another flurry of ice came towards the blindfolded hero, instead, he ran into the oncoming ice structure and allowed himself to be encased. There was a collective gasp from the audience, even more perplexed at this tactic than the last one.

"Er--- Izuku Midoriya is unable to move. Todor---" Mr. Aizawa started before he saw the ice exploding. Deku used the surrounding smoke screen to his advantage and charged Todoroki. He came in with a strong punch, and Todoroki started flying back. At the last second, he managed to erect an ice wall, stopping him from going out of bounds.

"How did you--?"

"Well, I knew an ice wall was coming. I intentionally got myself caught so I could break out using my quirk. By activating my quirk throughout my body, I was able to heat up the ice and break free. I then used my air force to break the ice, and using the ice dust as a smoke screen, I dealt my attack."