Mei watched as her business partner walked into the arena. She was genuinely excited to see some of their babies in action but she quickly noticed something. Something was off, was something wrong?! Muscles looked...different? Lately she couldn't explain it but instead of her fascination with the machine...she could only see his flesh. Instead of the marvel that was his jaw...she would look into his eyes and trace the scars...instead of looking at his mechanical strength...she saw his genuine kindness...in a sense she was looking more at the man then the machine...right now though?
She only saw the machine.
His movements were stiff as if he was containing himself, looking as if he'd spring to life at any moment and attack. That's when Liz spoke to her.
"Hatsumei we have a category nineteen shit storm headed our way right now!" It nearly frightened Mei, the sudden voice occupying her ear piece coming to life.
"I've already messaged grand pops but something happened! After what that prick did to Shinso Pops he...he lost it...I don't know how to explain it, but he got mad then... it's like....it's like he changed. I don't know what to make of it...he muted me hell, I have no idea how but he practically kicked me out of his systems!! I'm just running the mental strain pretty much! His chemical release and heart rate are all off fucking the charts! I don't know what to do Hatsumei!" Liz stated, obviously panicking...Mei sat frozen trying to think of an answer and solution...Not only was Izuku not acting like himself....he'd essentially thrown away his biggest advantage...Liz was designed to act as a countermeasure against people with quirks! She could scan, identify, and plan a thousand moves and the best possible course of action if someone even raised their arm at Izuku! So why the hell was he kicking her out, she could control the perfect fight!...that's when it dawned on her...
Or she could stop one.
Mei sat frozen as she watched Midnight ask if both competitors were ready.Izuku gave a single nod as his body trembled and his swords buzzed and arced..Ibarra also nodded before she spoke to Izuku.
"It is clear you have seen great tribulation in your life Obito, I shall keep you in my prayers!" She called out before getting into....well it was a stance?
"Your god abandoned us long ago...He taught us the weakness of flesh"
His words cut through the air like knives on a chalkboard! It felt as if it cut Ibarra's very soul! How the hell was he speaking? And What the hell did he mean "us"?! Before she could truly contemplate the sentence, the whip cracked....so did the arena floor under Izuku's feet.
Toshinori was staring at the match whilst practically eating his fist! He was a nervous wreck! He knew Izuku would fight his absolute hardest to win! He just had to believe in his boy! He knew he could do it!...in his fright he hadn't noticed the silenced phone buzzing on his seat...
Everyone watched as soon as the whip snapped Izuku charge into action! As if a demon was released from hell! Ibarra instantly went on the defence! Her hair coming to life before flying towards her opponent. As soon as Izukus made it halfway is when Mei noticed he wasn't using the Kicks? He was running normally? He could've easily cleared the gap by now! Why the hell was he just running? Like massive living snakes the vine hair rocketed towards Izuku but when they were about twenty feet from the boy. He bit down.
Smoke exploded from either sides of his mouth as the apparent smoke bomb in his mouth activated from either side of the crushed container! In seconds nearly the entire field was covered in a white thick fog! It was impossible to see either combatants in the mess from the stands. Somehow Izuku had managed to get all that smoke to come from that small of a can!?
Ibarra, thinking quickly, recalled her hair and placed it in a defensive manner before swinging them around violently to clear the lingering smoke! It was thick, as if clouds had descended upon them. She managed to clear the area around her before she lifted herself above the smoke ready to attack at the slightest bit of movement! She also laid her hair across much of the arena floor in hopes her opponent would step on one and alert her to his presence! All in all it was a genius strategy to block her line of sight, she in the grand scheme had a very overwhelming quirk, so head on stealth was a viable option.
Everyone in the crowd was trying to see through the smoke to try and spot Izuku as Ibarra watched like a sentry...that's when she felt it, one of her veins being cut...then another...and another! And another!! In rapid succession her warning signals were getting severed faster than she could process where it was happening! Eventually the smoke was beginning to thin and she could slightly see a faint light glowing...red? That's when a projectile hit her square in the chest...it wasn't enough to put her out of the fight but it nearly knocked the wind out of her!! Her vines keeping her upright in the air! In retaliation she swiped a mass amount of vines where the shot came from, the action clearing the smoke from the area....and revealing the demon coming for her...
Izuku's once soft blue blades that looked as if they were living electricity...were now a deep red and orange....they flickered and burned like a rageful fire as heat emanated from them in ripples! The toxic green eyes of the mask glared directly at Ibarra! She watched helplessly as Izuku perfectly slid under her attack...and severed the line of vines without any issue. His fire-like blades partially ignited the veins leaving the ends burning as he continued his assault!...like cauterising a wound. Ibarra could no longer cause the ends to grow....she immediately recalled the mass, as she sneered at her "opponent" she could see it now! What he meant by what he said! His visage! His actions! He wasn't a person! But truly a devil sent to destroy them!!!! She gritted her teeth as she went on the offensive.
Like massive whips, Ibarra threw her attacks at Izuku. The man in question jumped, slid, and bounced off the snake like appendages all the while never breaking his gaze at the woman. Ibarra quickly became frightened and angry as her opponent seemingly knew her every oncoming attack! He was closing the gap, and fast! He dodged and sliced every attack as she could see him baring his teeth as he heaved air! When he power slid right under a vine that would've taken his head off! Steam ejected from his mouth transforming his already frightening visage into something...monstrous, with his evil eyes glowing through the dark smoke. No matter what she did, she couldn't defend against him! This agent of chaos sent by Lucifer himself!!! She did the only thing she could think of! Vines began to circle Izuku as he was nearly on top of Ibarra and like a wave began to close in on him as he ran! Sprinting as fast as he could, the tunnel of vines began to close around him as he worked his way through! Eventually they started to arc upwards with Izuku periodically jumping and climbing trying to make it to the end of the tunnel! He hacked, slash, ripped, and teared as the tunnel closed and the veins began to cave in, so they could try and crush him.
Everyone sat in awe for a moment as there were no signs of movement...everyone nearly thought Ibarra had won! That she managed to contain the machine man! That's when the top of the vine tower exploded! A shadowed Izuku flew from hole and into the air! Small veins laid across him, some of them were even on fire! Trying to grab a hold of him once more, Izuku saw the vines arcing behind him...so he used it like a spring board! Both opponents stared at each other right before Izuku rocketed himself forward! With the sound of a gunshot he went flying towards Ibarra like a human bullet! She threw everything she possibly could at him! Her Vine perch was no longer there as she felt the arena floor! Her hair became shorter and shorter as this unstoppable force tackled into her...
Everyone cheered as Izuku made contact with the saintly girl, both of them tumbling and skidding across the arena floor.
Thrown away from each other due to the speed, Ibarra rolled against the ground before looking up to see Izuku crouched against the ground, his right hand digging into the concrete!
"HAAAGHHH!!!" Ibarra screamed, throwing her hands forward to send a pillar of veins at Izuku!!.....but nothing happened? No attack ever came as Ibarra looked up...her once long hair, her gift from God to save his creations!!!
Was cut short to a charred mess.
Before she could take her eyes from her ruined hair the sound of a canon exploded in front of her! Concrete debris flew in the air! As she was tackled once again! As Ibarra was slammed against the ground she was about to attack with her fists before she heard a truly awful sentence...
"IBARRA SHIOZAKI IS OUT BOUNDS! OBITO WINS!!!!!!" Midnight shouted as the crowd exploded into cheers!!!
Ibarra looked up with tears in her eyes only to see a horrific visage...the shadowed face and horrifying toxic green eyes, steam bellowing from his mouth as he perched over top of her pinning her to the ground...her head over the boundary line. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths as they came out with a mechanised ragged sound... she thought this was the end that his mechanical fist was going to cave in her face! But just as he was about to strike!...he released a pent up breath, and his iron fist fell as he stood. She could see holes in parts of his outfit, various large thorns in his skin and blood mating his hair and running down part of his visor, staining one of lenses with a red hue.
Ibarra sat frozen as Izuku ran a hand through his hair and sighed, shaking his head back and forth slightly as he looked back down to his opponent. Before he.....extended a hand?
"Sorry for tackling you...good match" he said in the "demonic" mechanical voice
Ibarra flinched at the action staring from the hand back to Izuku, over and over for a few seconds. Before her breathing grew harsh and ragged and she slapped his hand away before pushing herself backwards to get farther away from him.
Izuku was stunned as his hand was slapped watching the girl forward away from him....what had he done? Stepping forward he tried to calm her down when she started to scream...
"GET YOUR HAND AWAY FROM ME DEMON!!!" She screamed her eyes filled with genuine hate...the words threw him for a loop completely stunning him as she began a rant!
"I SEE IT! I SEE IT NOW! YOU WERE SENT BY LUCIFER TO CORRUPT US WEREN'T YOU! HE'S USING A BROKEN VESSEL OF THE LORDS CREATION AS HIS TOOL! YOU CAN'T FOOL ME MONSTER!! I SEE THROUGH HIS FACADE!!" Izuku began to step back shocked by the outburst, he looked to Midnight who was equally stunned.
"YOU'LL DOOM US ALL! YOU ARE GOD'S MISTAKE!!!" Those words pulled at something within Izuku, that dark part of himself he tried to bury all those years ago...confused scared and getting angry Izuku stepped farther back before he turned around and started to limp away from the irrational "hero" he did not walk away from the fight uninjured it had taken everything he had to win.
"DEMON! HELL SPAWN!!!!!! YOU FORSAKE THE GIFT GIVEN TO YOU!!'" Her breathing got more aggressive and ragged as she got to her feet and began screaming harder! Izuku's pace quickened as he just wanted to get out of the spectacle.
"FREAK!" The word caused him to stutter in his stride as he ducked his head the painful memories following in.
"MONSTER!" He could remember his mothers words. His teeth beginning to clench as his hands tightened into fists, he tried to ignore her as he limped faster!
"YOU HAVE DESECRATED A VESSEL OF HIS ALMIGHTY GLORY! YOU DESECRATE THE FLESH GIVEN OF HIS BODY!!!!!!!"
Izuku began to tremble and twitch as he tried to suck in breaths, his lungs struggling.
"POPS CAN YOU HEAR ME!" He could hear Liz shouting in his ears again....but she couldn't overpower Ibarra. His right hand twitched at his side as her hurtful words cut into him.
"YOU HAVE FORSAKEN GODS WILL FOR THIS VESSEL YOU HELLISH FIEND!!!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME!! YOU VILE BEING!!" Her charred hair began to grow. By now the crowd was shocked at her near obsessive and fanatic rant. Was this really a kid in the hero course???! It was that which caused Izuku to snap.
In a quick motion like from an old western the hand canon was drawn from his side and his arm extended! A single shot sounded off as the projectile smashed into Ibarra and sent her flying multiple feet backwards and knocking her out......just in time as the thorn tipped vines fell at his feet.....each and every person was silenced as Izuku painfully limped into the tunnel leaving the scene behind him.
Hatsumei quickly got up from her seat, and as if on auto pilot, she sprinted from the stands and headed down to the tunnel. A certain blonde hero ran from the staff viewing box and bolted to the same location, after hearing the cruel words of that hero-in-training towards his son...
Izuku slumped up against a wall as dug into his pouch to grab an identical inhaler like device before placing it into his mouth and taking a deep breath. His hands shook as his breathing remained ragged as he fought off tears...he felt like every one of those things she called him. He wasn't himself...he felt so hollow and empty as he sat in the dark, what had he done?......
Everyone in the crowd talked in a hushed whisper about the match, watching as the unconscious Ibarra was taken from the field. A lot of people actually booed her for what she said....if she was like that to a fellow student....what would she possibly be like out in the field?
Hatsumei peeled around a corner as fast as she could! Liz was instructing her on directions to help best find Izuku...Toshinori was doing the same. Eventually she found the tunnel hearing small chokes and sobs coming from near its entrance. She ran forward to find Izuku pulling out bloody thorns that were covering his hand as he kept trying to wipe his eyes of his tears the orbs, blood shot with blood leaking from the corners of his eyes. She did the only thing she could think of.....
She hugged him.
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Editor's note:
Hope you all enjoy, and thank you again for letting me edit the story!