An Angel Becoming a Hero [BNHA X OC]

21 - Cheer Pressure

With the cavalry battle over, Present Mic announced lunchtime. "Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya! Hey, Eraser Head, let's go grab some food!"

I found Todoroki off on his own. He gazed at his left arm, looking completely disappointed in himself. I went over to him and tapped his shoulder. "Todoroki."

He looked back at me. "Takami. Congrats on placing fourth again."

I grinned. Right. I guess 4 is my lucky number today.

"I'm the one who should be saying congrats. You placed higher." He looked away, still staring at his hand. "You okay?"

He frowned. "I won't use this to attack. That's what I decided, but I was overwhelmed, by you and Midoriya. I can't. At this rate, I'll be doing what my old man wants..." He made a low growl that only I could hear.

I wanted to get his mind off it. "Hey, we should get going to the cafeteria before it gets really crowded—"

"I was overpowered. So much so that I broke my pledge."

"Well, it couldn't be helped. Or are you saying you weren't going to use it even if it would put you at an advantage?"

"Iida, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, none of them felt it. At that last instant, I was the only one who was overpowered. Only me, overpowered by Midoriya's strength." He looked over at me with a cold gaze. "You felt it too, didn't you? After all, we both experienced All Might's full strength up close, so when Midoriya attacked, I felt something similar..."

I gasped. Uh oh. What does he suspect?

"I know you two are childhood friends, so you would be the person I should ask."

I nervously replied, "Ask what?"

"By any chance, is Midoriya... All Might's secret love child or something?"

Secret... love... child?

After a few awkward moments, "Pfft," I burst out laughing. I clutched my stomach and covered my mouth. "Love child?! No, that's not it..."

"That's not it, huh?"

Whoops!

"Since you said it, that means there's a connection between them that you can't talk about, right?" I couldn't respond to that. "Endeavor's my old man. I'm sure you know that he's been stuck as the number two hero forever. If Midoriya has something from the number one hero, then I have even more reason to beat him.

"My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself with crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he moved onto his next plan."

"What are you talking about, Todoroki? What are you trying to tell me?"

"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right? That thing that became a problem for the second and third generations after superpowers appeared. Choosing a spouse based only on strengthening your own Quirk and passing it onto your children, and forcing people into marriage. The old-fashioned way of thinking brought about by a lack of ethics."

I nodded.

"My father was a man with both accomplishments and money. He won over my mother's relatives and got a hold of my mother's Quirk. He's trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to be a hero to surpass All Might. It's so annoying! I won't become the tool of scum like that.

"In my memories, my mother is always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly,' my mother said as she poured boiling water on me, when I was just five."