Ida's hands clenched in his pockets, still reeling over the news Aizawa-sensei had delivered to him. His brother was his hero. He wanted to follow in his footsteps and be like him, helping out in whatever way he could. Granted, his brother was nowhere near as injured as he could have been from that encounter, but Stain had stabbed him in a vital enough area that he would be doing some physical therapy in the next few months to regain his strength.
He knew that wanting revenge was wrong, but he couldn't help the feeling of intense hate and loathing that was washing over him in waves. HIs brother didn't deserve any of that, but Stain still attacked him. Ida wasn't sure what he would do if he had the chance to go after Stain, but judging by how he was feeling now, it would be nothing good.
A flash of green caught his eye as Izuku-sensei leaned down to see the match a bit better. The first two contestants were just now walking onto the field, both stopping at the edge as they waited for Midnight to start the match. In all honesty, Ida already knew who was going to win. Shiozaki may have a powerful quirk, but judging by the giant attacks Todoroki had been pulling off thus far, she wouldn't last a minute.
Just as he had predicted, the match barely lasted thirty seconds. Shiozaki had attacked with her vines as quickly as possible, likely knowing her odds of winning if she didn't hurry. Todoroki just sent shards of ice to tear through her plants, finishing with a smaller version of his final attack on Sero.
Ida heard slight mumbling and turned in the direction of the sound. Izuku-sensei's hands were twitching a bit and his eyes were both focused and far away from the match in front of him. It was... a little unnerving if Ida was being honest. Snipe-sensei and Ectoplasm-sensei were both staring worriedly at the green-haired teacher. When Izuku-sensei's hands started to twitch a bit more frequently, and Ida was about to get someone to see if he would be all right, Ectoplasm walked up with a pencil and notebook in hand, carefully slipping them into Izuku-sensei's still twitching fingers.
Ida watched in amazement as his teacher didn't seem to even notice the new addition, the pencil moving rapidly as he took scribbled notes. The mumbling grew a bit louder, Ida barely making out some parts.
"Vines could easily catch fire... does she feel them or... can she send out an unlimited amount of them, or does it stop somewhere? Do they work in the same way as normal plants or... does photosynthesis happen..."
Was that what was going through his teacher's mind constantly? No wonder he was so good at analysis; he never stopped thinking about it. And honestly, it was a bit scary that one of his first thoughts had been how easy they could catch on fire and if she could feel them. He's starting to get why everyone was so uneasy around their new teacher after the USJ incident now.
As they were cleaning up the remnants of Todoroki's last ice attack, Ida headed down to prepare for his next match. As he stretched, he couldn't get the attack on his brother out of his head. It was like it was on constant replay, a never ending loop inside his brain. And it didn't stop as he made it to the field. In fact, it almost made it worse.
Shinso was standing directly in front of him, his lips slightly pursed. Ida knew that all he had to do was not answer and he wouldn't be taken control of like Kaminari had been. As Midnight raised her whip to start the match, his heart pounded.
A sharp crack! sounded through the arena, and Ida didn't waste a single second. He lunged forward as fast as his engines would take him, preparing to shove Shinso out of the ring as quickly as possible. However, he had to swerve quickly to avoid throwing himself out when Shinso dodged by rolling to the side. By the time he was fully turned around Shinso was back on his feet, staring at him with eyes narrowed. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
Shinso took the offensive, keeping low to the ground as he ran towards Ida. His eyes widened as the purple-haired boy got closer, preparing to strike at the back of hte knee. Ida barely managed to get away in time, once again narrowly avoiding throwing himself out of the ring. He didn't even have time to catch a breath before Shinos was at it again, leaving Ida no time to launch a counter-attack of his own.
The match continued like this, with Shinso pushing Ida closer to the edge with every lunge he made. Ida's heart was thundering even louder now, and every move became a struggle to stay on balance. He thought he saw an opening to get closer to the center of the ring, but the second he moved, Shinso was there, finally managing to push him out.
Ida felt like time was moving in slow motion as he caught himself before he fell to the ground, glasses balancing precariously on the bridge of his nose. Looking behind him, he could see that Shinso was also panting, heading hanging low with is hands on his knees. The two shook hands while Present Mic announced that Shinso was the winner.
As he made his way back to the stands, he looked at Izuku-sensei, who nodded. At least now that the matches were over for him he could go see his brother. It was almost a relief, to be honest.
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Ida walked down the halls of the hospital alone after seeing his brother, face now set in a dark shadow. Seeing the damage done to his brother made the burning hatred grow a bit stronger, and now he didn't know what to do with it. All he truly knew was, if he got the chance to hurt the hero killer, he would take it in a heartbeat.
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Izuku continued to watch the matches with rapt attention, barely noticing the new addition of pencils and paper in his hands. The motions of writing down what he observed was instinctual now, after filling hundreds of notebooks in the course of his long life. He had entire bookshelves filled with his analysis, and it was an unusual day when he didn't find something to add to them.
His eyes avidly tracked the match between Bakugo and Kirishima. It was a bit brutal, with Bakugo sending explosion after explosion into the red-haired boy. It was a match of pure offense and defense, with Bakugo not giving Kirishima any space in between hits for recovery. It wasn't until Kirishima's skin started to crack that he was pushed out of the ring by Bakugo's biggest explosion yet.
The blonde boy stared straight at Kirishima with what anyone else might ahve thought was anger. However, Izuku could see the slight gleam of respect in the explosive teen's eyes. Kirishima was obviously a bit upset, but he also was gazing at Bakugo with admiration. Looking down, he saw Mina whisper something to Uraraka, which had the brunette squinting down at the match and nodding. Could this have something to do with the deal they had made earlier?
The next round of the event would start in ten minutes, giving the students proper time to prepare themselves for what could be their last fight. Who won these two matches would determine who would battle in the final, and all those who had made it this far were completely focused on the task at hand.
Izuku could see Shinso staring at Aizawa and Present Mic, likely thinking about how Aizawa had won the Sports Festival in his first year. He smiled slightly, remembering that year. Aizawa hadn't been in the hero exam initially, having an ill-suited quirk for the entrance exam. He was able to transfer classes due to his exceptional skill shown in the Sports Festival, causing him to be in Izuku's class. His former student really hadn't changed at all, right down to the yellow sleeping bag that he would use even as a student.
Izuku was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw Endeavor crossing over to the direction Todoroki's prep room was in. His mouth was set in a firm line as he followed the hot-headed hero through the halls. The number two hero still hadn't seen him yet when All Might jumped out behind Endeavor and in front of Izuku.
The green-haired teacher quickly pressed himself against the corner of a turn, deciding to listen to the two hero's conversation before proceeding further. What he heard from Endeavor didn't exactly fill his heart with the warm fuzzies. It sounded like All Might was complimenting Endeavor on Todoroki, and when the ever-burning hero responded, it wasn't exactly the warmest of thanks. In fact, he didn't think that it was thanks at all.
When All Might had given up on having a conversation with Endeavor and walked away, passing straight by Izuku without any indication of having seen him, Izuku walked up behind Endeavor, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. Him and his former student were about to have a chat...
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Endeavor huffed as he turned away from All Might, the other hero finally catching the hint and walking away. Why would All Might think that he would want to talk about things over tea? He scoffed and was about to turn the corner to where his son was getting ready for his next match when he felt some sort of presence behind him.
Turning around with a sharp remark already on the tip of his tongue, he stopped completely when he saw the green hair and the short figure of his previous teacher, Izuku-sensei. His blood ran cold for a split second as he stared wide-eyed at his previous teacher. This was not what he was expecting today.
"Hello, Todoroki."
It had been a long time since someone had called him something other than his hero name. He hadn't been in Izuku-sensei's class for many years, but he still remembered just how terrifying his old teacher could be. In fact, even though he had long left the school, he had heard a story about his old teacher, from when his son's homeroom teacher was still at the school. Apparently, kids had been crying in the halls, with Izuku-sensei just looking at them disappointed. So he knew that the teacher hadn't lost his edge since he had last seen him.
"Izuku-sensei. Just what are you doing back in Japan?"
The green-haired man's smile was sharp enough to cut glass, eyes glinting dangerously. Whenever Izuku-sensei's face made that expression, it always sent a shiver of fear down Endeavor's spine. His former teacher almost always had that glowing smile on his face, sure, but that smile was one of the most deceptive he had ever seen. Izuku-sensei always had some sort of trick up his sleeve.
"I came back to teach at UA. I see you never got over your little one-sided competition with All Might in the time I was traveling, however."
Endeavor flinched a bit at the cold tone in his teacher's voice. Izuku-sensei just cut through all of the pleasantries and got to exactly what he was thinking. The hot-headed hero could see that this conversation wouldn't exactly end well for him. He was in for a rude awakening.
"Well-it's not-that's not-"
"But it is. Your petty little rivalry is only active on your side and you know it. At this point it's like your biggest goal is to beat All Might, not to be the best hero that you can be. A little rivalry is good, but only when both sides are using it to their advantage and using it to fuel themselves. The best rivalry is one that helps the two become the best versions of themselves, and this is not that. You've been dragging others into this feud you have with All Might, and after only a short while back I can see that this is affecting nobody positively. I'm disappointed in you, Todoroki."
Izuku-sensei was staring directly into Endeavor's eyes by the time he was done speaking, dark green orbs staring into his own. Those words rang inside the hero's head, 'I'm disappointed in you, Todoroki.". Shame washed over him in waves as he realized the validity of Izuku-sensei's words. He really hadn't been considering anyone or anything once he started in pursuit of that one goal, the one that he failed at time and time again.
"I- you're right."
Izuku-sensei continued to look over him with the same critical gaze, finding every little chink in Endeavor's armor. This was just more proof behind the fact that he already knew; his old teacher was terrifying.
"It's good that you admit it. How are you going to change? You don't have to give up your competitive spirit with All Might, all you have to do is make sure it is healthy."
With that final statement, Izuku-sensei walked away, leaving Endeavor alone with his thoughts. He really had been blind to all the damage he was doing to those around him, focusing only on that one goal. He glanced in the direction of his son before sighing and walking away. He had some thinking to do before he did anything else.
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Shinso breathed deep, steady breaths in and out as he walked up to the center of the arena. If he won this next round, he would be in the finals, but he would first have to beat Tododroki, which would be no easy task. The half-and-half teen was currently staring stoically at his from across the field, meeting his eyes with an icy precision. Standing across the field from him, his mind was focusing even more intently on what Todoroki had said to him after the cavalry battle.
The fact that he didn't use his left side bothered Shinso quite a bit. He had been bullied for the majority of his life because of his quirk, and there Todoroki was with the perfect quirk that he refuses to use. They were two very different problems, but they both had similar solutions. For Shinso, it was the realization that his quirk didn't influence who he was or who he would be. He thinks that Todoroki needs to realize something along those same lines.
The match began, and Shinso immediately sprang into action. Just because he wanted to help Todoroki doesn't mean that he didn't want to win this match. He kept low to the ground, preparing for the attempted giant ice spike that would end this match on the first attack. When it finally came, Shinso could see the path that would allow him to doge, jumping up and over the ice like a hurdle.
He caught Todoroki's eye for a second, seeing the minute gleam of annoyance before it was smothered by his fellow classmate. Shinso needed to end this quick because if he didn't Todoroki would completely overwhelm him with his attacks.
"Hey, Todoroki! Do you think you can beat me only using your right side?"
Shinso could see his mouth open, then snap shut abruptly, no doubt remembering his first round with Kaminari. Winning had just got a whole lot harder now that someone had caught on to the nature of his quirk.
His breath was now sawing in and out of his lungs as he dodged every spike of ice Todoroki sent his way. The other teen made sure that Shinso never got the chance to counter-attack, always leaving him on the defensive. Just as he thought that this would be it, Shinos saw the state of Todoroki's left side. There was frost covering parts of his skin, leading Shinso to believe that he was nearing his limit. Frustration roared through his body as he thought of the fact that Todoroki wouldn't be this bad if he would just use his left side. It was his quirk, wasn't it?! Wait...
"Todoroki! You do know that it is your quirk, not his?!"
He saw his fellow classmate's eyes widen for a moment, before settling back into the expressionless state he usually lived in. However, Shinso thought he saw just the smallest spark of something light up the other teen's eyes. He grinned as Todoroki's left side started to light up with flames, seeing the brilliant red flames race across the arena, heading straight for him. He may have just orchestrated his own defeat, but he couldn't help but be glad, even as Present Mic announced his defeat.
They had to send him to Recovery Girl for minor burns, but it was nothing too serious. He had made it to third place in the Sports Festival, something that his younger self could never have seen himself doing. A sigh made his way past his lips as he closed his eyes, slightly tired from the power of Recovery Girl's quirk. He indistinctly heard his papa announce the next match, Bakugo against Tokoyami, as he drifted off, warding away the slight feeling of disappointment hovering in the edges of his mind.