Izuku was aware of the challenges of teaming up with Kacchan, seeing as the ash blonde was stubborn and did his own thing no matter what. So he quickly learned to just roll with whatever Kacchan wanted to do.
"Todoroki is coming up at our left" Izuku mentally told him. But the fact he was stuck with Kacchan didn't mean he couldn't nudge him into a preferable direction, you know?
Izuku yelped and ducked, avoiding his headband being taken as Kacchan used his explosions to go faster, taking a sharp turn to the right. Shoto had been trying to make them run into a dead end using his ice and there was no way they were losing to him! They also collected some headbands from people, just for the fun of it.
They didn't need any extra points but Katsuki wanted an indisputable first place, including not running away all round long but also going in for the attack. They'll show those extras what the Wonder Duo is capable of! Izuku snatched another headband, hanging it around his neck.
"If we continue like this, there aren't gonna be enough teams to qualify!" Izuku giggled as he held onto Kacchan.
"Well, their fucking bad! Then the final will just be a one on one with me, nerd!" Katsuki grinned.
"That wouldn't be very exciting for the public, now would it?" Izuku mused.
"Oh, we'll give them a fucking show!" Katsuki exclaimed, using his explosions while Izuku simultaneously used his telekinesis to make them jump over an opponent that was heading straight their way. Izuku made sure their descent wasn't too harsh and Katsuki stabilized where necessary. The moment his feet touched the ground again, he was on the run once more. They were in the lead the whole round and basically nailed this thing, up until Todoroki did manage to corner them...
"Fuck..." Katsuki breathed, glaring at the opposing team, ice at both his sides and the end of the field behind him.
"Seems like there is nowhere left for you two to run off to" Todoroki spoke, his face a threatening neutral. Don't ask how threatening can be neutral, it just was. Izuku had the feeling he didn't like to show off his emotions...
"You think you've cornered us?" Izuku asked, raising a brow.
"If so, come at us you coward!"
Iida's eyes widened at the way Midoriya was talking, none of them were used to this tone of voice from the green head. Bakugou was definitely having a bad influence on him... Iida made a mental note to lecture them about their language after this battle.
"You heard him icyhot! Give us everything you got, you bastard!" Katsuki grinned, already knowing what Izuku was planning. They could fly, for fucks sake! They wouldn't be cornered by the likes of them!
"When he comes in, use your explosions to swing us to his left. I'll grab his headband as we pass him" Izuku mentally communicated to Kacchan, getting ready to maneuver as Todoroki's team stormed towards them.
Katsuki did as Izuku told him and Izuku snatched the headband with his telekinesis while keeping his head ducked away. Todoroki's eyes widened, knowing damn well they were taking advantage of the fact he won't use his left side. And for a moment, just a moment, flames licked the side of his face and his arm. Izuku's eyes widened, quickly swatting his arm away as he reached out for Kacchan. He was going to burn him!
It was then that Shoto backed off, realizing how intense his small burst was. His breath hitched and his heart seemed to freeze over. He used his left side... He almost injured his classmate... Wait, Midoriya's hand! He slapped him away, did he burn him? He was too distracted to notice Izuku had his headband in his hand and that the Wonder Duo escaped his grasp.
"That was way too close... I never thought he'd actually use it... His flames..." Izuku muttered.
"Fuck... Wait, you shielded me, how's your hand?" Katsuki asked, panting a little.
"I'm fine" Izuku said, tying the headband to his neck.
"Used isolation"
Katsuki's eyes widened for a moment before he elbowed Izuku in his stomach, making the green head groan.
"You damn idiot! This is the whole reason you wanted to drop out in the first place! No secondary quirks!" Katsuki whisper hissed, making sure no one was around to hear him.
"I-I know! But no one saw a-and you would've gotten hurt-" Izuku stammered, pouting as he clung onto Kacchan.
"Oh shut up" Katsuki grumbled.
"You got their points or not?"
"Of course, who do you take me for?" Izuku grinned, using his telekinesis to make a headband of a nearby team float his way.
Time ran out before long, making Izuku realize he actually collected the headbands of all teams... They... They did it..? Kacchan did say they were gonna obliterate their competition but Izuku didn't think they'd actually pull it off!
"Ha! Take that you fuckers!" Katsuki exclaimed, Izuku already back on the ground. Izuku laughed, hugging his childhood friend.
"We did it! We actually beat everyone!"
People stared in amazement, surprise and confusion. This never happened before in any sportsfestival... What were they supposed to do now..?
"Well, uh, the winners of this round are Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki of class 1-A of the hero course!" Midnight announced, making a certain part of the stadium roar and cheer louder than any other.
"As for the others, we'll get back to you with the results after a short break!"
Katsuki was also laughing, allowing Izuku to hug him as they celebrated their victory.
"Whoa, I've never seen you this happy dude!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"Congrats on your win guys!"
"Thanks!" Izuku smiled. Yet that smile faltered when he caught a glance of Shoto. He seemed completely out of it, staring at his left hand with something akin to terror. Was using his left side really that much of a big deal to him..?
Izuku was tempted to use his Emotional Vision on him, but there were too many people around for that. It would be overwhelming.
"You were really awesome Deku-kun! You and Bakugou moved so in sync!" Uraraka praised the green head while Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero were pestering Bakugou.
"Thanks! I guess that's what you get when you've known each other for so long" Izuku chuckled.
"Yeah, the two of you really are something else" Ashido added.
"You guys pulverized everyone! It's totally not fair Midoriya!"
She pouted, crossing her arms.
"S-sorry about that... Guess we really did go a bit overboard huh?"
"Never apologize for delivering such an outstanding victory Midoriya!" Iida stated.
"You two were obviously the better opponents here and you won fair and square! Also, I've been meaning to ask you but are those people acquaintances of yours?! They are rather distracting!"
Iida pointed out the part of the public that was filled with Izuku's unofficial siblings and his parents, making Deku's face flush in embarrassment.
"Y-yes, uhm, a-about that-" Izuku mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. He hadn't told any of his classmates about his father's work or his home situation... He wasn't sure how they'd take it, seeing as he basically lived together with kids and teens that were mostly known by the police due to their troubled past and dangerous quirks. Some had pulled things they shouldn't and Hisashi had already paid his fair share of fines. Some would say they were a...bad influence...
"-you see, my dad he-"
"Midoriya! Save us!" Kaminari yelled, interrupting him as the electric blonde suddenly grabbed his shoulders, hiding behind the green head.
"Wait what? What's going on?" Izuku asked, confused. But that question was answered when he heard Katsuki scream.
"DIE DUNCE FACE!"
This was followed by an explosion, of course.
"What did you do?" Izuku whisper hissed towards Kaminari as Katsuki stormed their way.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A CHEATER HUH?!"
Oh. Oh... Izuku frowned, turning around to look at Denki.
"You think we cheated?"
"What? No! It was a joke, I swear!" he exclaimed, forcing a laugh. Soon enough the whole class joined in on the banter, joking and stopping Katsuki from killing anyone as they congratulated both him and Izuku on their win while they waited for the jury to come back with the rest of the results. It was announced that the teams who hung onto their headbands the longest would pass.
It basically meant the last three teams to have lost all their points to team Wonder Duo would get another chance to show what they were worth in this sportsfestival. This meant Todoroki passed onto the next round and Izuku had the feeling they'd face off again soon... That feeling only intensified when the halfa asked him to come along for a moment. Katsuki didn't trust it one bit, following the two to find out what they were talking about.
"So, uh, why did you wanna talk..?" Izuku asked, standing awkwardly against the wall. Shoto was standing on the other side, a shadow cast over his face as if this was a dramatic soap series...
"I made a promise to myself, long ago" he started.
"I made a pledge to never use my left side in battle... But you made me break it"
What? Izuku didn't make him do anything, that was all him! Yet he didn't open his mouth, seeing that Todoroki's monologue wasn't over.
"You know who my father is, Endeavor, the forever number two hero of Japan. That's why, if you have even the slightest connection to All Might, I will beat you. And I will do so without using my old man's quirk"
"So that's why you won't use it? Because of Endeavor?" Izuku asked, raising a brow. He knew the number two hero was a hotheaded bastard, or at least that's how his dad described him. But that wasn't a reason to only use half of your quirk, now was it? Well, Izuku isn't one to talk, really... He wasn't using basically 95% of his quirk because of his father...
"Do you know what quirk marriage is, Midoriya?" Shoto asked, countering Izuku's question with another one. Quirk marriage..? Izuku's eyes widened a bit, already placing down the pieces of the puzzle before Todoroki started to speak up again. Of course he heard some things from Dabi, but he was never really open about his past...
"My mother was forced into a marriage with my father. It was all arranged in order to produce a child with a quirk strong enough to beat All Might... Do you understand it now, Midoriya? Why I must defeat you at all cost? You hold a strong connection to All Might, one you're not willing to admit. Yet everyone can see how the two interact... So what's your deal? Are you All Might's secret love child or something?"
Katsuki slapped a hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. He was unable to suppress a snort, yet he didn't think they heard. Izuku himself was shocked by the accusation. All Might's secret love child..? All Might's child?!
"Me? All Might's kid?" Izuku wheezed, bursting out into laughter. Oh no! Quite the opposite! He was the kid of All Might's greatest enemy!
Shoto didn't seem to see the humor in this situation though... He still had that stoic look on his face, not reacting at all.
"No! No, that's not it!" Izuku stated, wiping away a tear. This was comedy gold! He was grateful Kacchan was listening in because this wouldn't be as funny if he had to retell the whole story.
He had sensed his presence since the beginning of this conversation when he was checking to make sure nobody was listening in. Kacchan wasn't just somebody though.
"Not it, huh?" he hummed, making Izuku freeze up for a moment.
"So there is something there, like I suspected"
Izuku composed himself, getting serious again.
"Even so, I don't think you have an excuse not to give it your all" Izuku stated.
"On the contrary, you should give it your all if you wanna beat me! Because I'm not going easy on you! Everyone here is trying their best, giving it their all and you're here just half-assing this whole thing!"
"I won't use my father's quirk" Shoto stated, pushing himself off the wall, glaring at Izuku now that his face was fully in the sunlight.
"But it's your quirk, isn't it?" Izuku reacted, raising a brow.
"Sure, quirks are seen as inheritable...but even then there are mutations and changes with each generation. No quirk is the same, Todoroki. You are not your father"
Shoto frowned. If he was not his father, then why did he have this scar? Why did his own mother pour boiling water over his face if he wasn't like his father? Midoriya didn't understand him at all... He shouldn't have thought anyone could ever understand what he was going through...
"Goodbye, Midoriya" was the only thing he said before leaving the green head alone in that alley. Izuku sighed, facepalming as he let out a soft groan. Did he mess up somehow? Shoto looked even more closed off than before! It was only a second after that that laughter erupted from around the corner, making Izuku drag his hand down over his face before glaring at the source.
"Sorry, sorry, I just- No, no, I'm not sorry at all! That was absolutely hilarious!" Katsuki laughed, stepping in sight.
"Was his face as good as I imagined it was?"
"Kacchan, this is serious! If he finds out that All Might wants me arrested, we'll have a big problem. If he finds out about my quirk then-"
"Jezus Deku, there is no reason to worry about shit like that when his best guess just now was a secret love child" Katsuki snorted.
"Come on, let's get lunch before our break is over. We can go swing by uncle Hisashi and auntie Inko and the others too if we have the time. I'm sure all those psychos would love to hear what just happened here"
Izuku rolled his eyes and bumped shoulders with Kacchan as he passed him.
"You're a jerk, you know that?"
"I'm not the one who laughed straight in halfie's face though~"
"Oh shut up!"