It was once again time to get serious. Midoriya was in the midst of surgery, and I was set to battle next. I didn't have time to be concerned for my friend, but that didn't stop me from caring. This match was gonna be hard enough without any distractions. It was a terrible matchup on top of that. "Do you have a plan for beating Shiozaki?" Iida asked, curiously. I closed my eyes and lowered my head.
"I'm not the one with the plans. That would be Midoriya. I'm just the guy who thinks of stuff on the fly." I said, negatively.
"He's got rhymes!" Uraraka said, enthusiastically.
"Oh shit, that did rhyme. Totally unintentional." I replied, moronically.
"But seriously Y/N, how do you think you can defeat Shiozaki? Her quirk is not to be taken lightly!" Iida stated.
"Yeah, I know. She defeated Kaminari in less than a minute, right? Well, lucky for me, Kaminari isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. So it all comes down to how I can use my quirk against her..." I said, thinking. I crossed my arms, considering my options. Uraraka eagerly raised her hands up.
"If only you had some kind of chainsaw support item. You could cut her vines to rivets and just refill the fuel!" Uraraka complained.
"Okay Uraraka, first of all, that's a great idea. I'll explore that in the future. Second of all, I don't have time to put together something like that. My match is minutes away." I explained.
"Besides, you have to register support items before you can use them in the Tournament or for Hero work." Iida added.
"Which reminds me, do any of you know who that pink haired girl was? From the obstacle race?" I asked, curiously. Both of them looked at me, surprised at my question. Then they started grinning. "Not like that! She looked like she might've been from the Support Course! I was thinking she could help me with this idea I've got!" I elaborated, blushing.
"Wait. What kind of idea?" Iida asked.
"Ibarra Shiozaki and Y/N L/N, report to your ends of the arena." a nearby intercom said.
"A support item to help me beat Todoroki. Now, I gotta go. I'm out of time." I stated, running off. Shiozaki and I reached the arena stage and stood across from each other. I wore a determined look on my face, but in reality, I had no idea how I could defeat her. 'I could shoot her in the foot at the very start. No, I don't want to shoot a girl. Wait, is that sexist? Is it more sexist not to shoot her? Do I care? I don't have any options, either way. I think crippling her foot at the very start might be best...' I thought, intensely. The match began and Shiozaki sent her vines towards me at great speed. I had managed to draw my pistols in time but couldn't get a shot on her. Her vines wrapped me up and suspended me a few feet in the air. In the millisecond before Midnight could call the end of the match, I had an idea. I used my quirk and suddenly a massive amount of ice appeared on Shiozaki's side of the arena.
"Whaaaat?! A sudden ice barrage envelopes the stadium?! Did Todoroki illegally jump in to help L/N?!" Present Mic screamed, overwhelmed. Shiozaki's vines broke apart, from the cold, and I fell to the ground. I waved to get Midnight's attention.
"Hey! Ms. Midnight! It wasn't Todoroki! I did this!" I shouted. I felt the eyes of the entire stadium now on me. "Yeah, someone told me that Todoroki enveloped the whole arena in ice while I was in the infirmary. So, I used my quirk to refill the empty space inside the stadium with Todoroki's earlier ice attack." I clarified, scratching my head.
"L/N employs a clever use of his quirk to overpower his opponent! And with someone else's previous attack!" Present Mic screamed, in awe.
"Shiozaki has been immobilized! L/N is the winner!" Midnight declared. The stadium roared at the strange yet exciting outcome of the match.
"S-So c-cold..." Shiozaki said, quitely. She was still enveloped in the ice.
I turned back to Midnight. "You might want to call Todoroki down to melt this ice." I advised. Midnight nodded and did just that. Then I started making my way back to my friends, in the stands. On my way back up, I ran into Endeavor in the hall.
"What exactly is your quirk?" Endeavor asked. His expression was his usual frown.
"I can refill things. Kinda like a focused time reversal. I can't really explain it better than that." I replied, monotone. Endeavor was a Hero who always came off as a jerk to me. His power was badass but I was never able to see him as a true Hero. Of course, much of the public shared the same opinion. I started walking again.
"As of that last match, you'll be facing off against Shoto in the Semifinals. Do you intend to use your power in such a shameless way then too?" Endeavor asked, ridiculing me. I turned back to look at him, with narrowed eyes.
"I intend to become a Hero. Today, he's an obstacle to that goal. I'm going to take Shoto down any way I can. I have a promise I need to keep." I explained, confidently.
"Foolish boy. Shoto was created to surpass me. To surpass All Might. What can you hope to do?" Endeavor asked.
"You talk about him like he's a car. Like he was designed to perform better than anything else on the road. That's your son, man. Your child." I detested, glaring. My words must've hit Endeavor hard since he didn't say anything more, as I walked off. I was beginning to think maybe Shoto wasn't so bad. It seemed like his father was the problem. ''Maybe Midoriya knows something about him that I don't..." I thought, curiously. There were two more matches of the Quarterfinals before the next round would begin. Before I would have to fight again. In the meantime, I had an idea that I had to see through. I made my way to the Support Center of UA. Sure enough, the pink haired girl from the Obstacle Race was there.
She was tweaking with some kind of technology. After a moment, she noticed me standing in the doorway. "Oh hey, you're that guy who uses pistols. How are the non-lethal rounds I made working out?" the girl asked. I gave her a puzzled look.
"So, you made them. I had no idea." I said, surprised. I ejected a magazine from one of my pistols. She immediately took it from my hand and started looking the bullets over.
"Yeah. You gotta be careful with these babies. They may have way less penetrating power than typical bullets, but one shot to somebody's neck or head and you're in prison, becoming some big guys butt buddy." the girl casually stated. I couldn't help but laugh at her comment. Not to mention, she had a personality that I found somewhat charming. "So, Gunslinger, how have they been working for you?" the girl asked, once again.
"Well, considering I'm going onto the Semifinals soon, pretty great." I replied, proudly.
"Oh, I don't really keep track of that. Once I knew I wasn't gonna get to participate in the Tournament, I just came back here to do some more tinkering." the girl explained. She picked up a wrench and started tightening a bolt on something.
"You don't even care about the Tournament?" I asked, shocked.
"Nope. I just wanted to participate in the Festival as much as I could, so I could show off my babies." the girl said.
"Babies?" I asked, confused.
"My inventions! I've got so many! And they're all great for different things! Or the same things!" the girl raved, excited. "Oh, wait. Why are you here? Do you need more bullets? It sure took you awhile to run out. What, did you start making them yourself?" the girl asked, sarcastically.
"No. My quirk lets me just refill the ammo when it runs out. But listen..." I began.
"Seriously?! So, what, you can refill stuff? Is that your quirk? That's so great! Think of all the potential uses! I've got some things here I need to show you!" the girl rambled.
"Listen to me! My name is Y/N L/N! I need your help to build a special support device that will help me beat this incredibly overpowered guy that I'm due to fight soon! So, can you please help me!" I finally screamed, desperately.
"Hell yeah! Anything to show off my babies! I'm Mei Hatsume, by the way. Just call me Mei. Let's get started, shall we?" Mei said. The two of us worked together on my idea for awhile. I missed the battle between Ashido and Tokoyami as well as the battle between Bakugo and Kirishima. Nezu had shown up, looking for me, shortly after my support item was complete.
"Ah. Here you are, L/N. The Tournament is into the Semifinals now. Your match against Todoroki will be the first of which." Nezu reminded.
"Yeah, I know. I just had something I needed Mei's help with. Really quick; I need this piece of support gear approved." I said, hurriedly. I held up the device. It was a long fingerless gauntlet that covered my entire left hand and forearm. It had incomplete metal plating over it, covering its wires and inner workings.
"Of course. If you'll just tell me what it does." Nezu requested. I explained what it was and what it did. "Yes, of course, you can use it. But I hope you understand, you can only have one piece of support gear at a time for the Tournament. It's either this or your pistols." Nezu explained.
"I know. My pistols are going to sit this one out." I simply said. I took off my shoulder holsters, with the guns still in them, and set it down.
"Don't forget, that piece of equipment is just a prototype. It'll work just fine, but it's only good for about eight uses before its worn down." Mei warned, smiling. I only nodded and made my way to the arena.
"It's the first match of the Semifinals! We've seen these two do some incredible things today! Shoto Todoroki vs Y/N L/N!" Present Mic yelled. The match began, but surprisingly, we both just stood there. "Huh? Aren't they going to fight?" Present Mic asked.
"Are you shocked I made it this far?" I asked, sarcastically.
"I'm shocked they counted your win in your last match. All you really did was take advantage of my previous match." Todoroki stated, coldly.
"Hey, I did that by using my quirk. It's called looking for a new angle. You should try it sometime." I fired back.
"I'll do that." Todoroki said, attacking. He launched one of his usual ice attacks. I put on a big smile before I pressed a button in the palm of my support device. A booming reverb sound erupted from it. Todoroki's ice suddenly shattered into tiny particles before it could reach me. The stadium got quite as Todoroki and everyone else was stumped as to what just happened.
"Todoroki's ice is mysteriously shattered?!" Present Mic said, confused. Todoroki actually stumbled back, in shock.
"Wh-What was that?" Todoroki asked.
"Ha! You think I'm gonna just reveal my secrets to you? I'm not an anime villain." I said, running. I started rushing Todoroki at full speed. His eyes widened in panic and he launched a massive ice attack, like he had used against Sero. I hit my support device again and the loud reverb sound emitted once again, shattering the ice. As I reached Todoroki, I threw a right hook into his nose. He reared back and blood splattered on the ground. With me close, he launched another ice attack but I slipped out of the way, grabbed him from behind and lifted him over me. He fell behind me and hit the ground hard.
"L/N gets in close and dominates!" Present Mic shouted. The stadium cheered.
"Ha, ha! I saw that move in a Power Rangers movie." I said, laughing. While on the ground, Todoroki touched the ground and ice spread over to me, trapping my feet. I casually used my support device, again, and freed myself. "You don't get it do you?" I asked, punching. "Your ice won't work." I said, punching again. My relentless attacks were staggering Todoroki so bad that he couldn't think of what to do. He finally backed away from me, panting. I just stood there, on guard. After a moment, he grimaced and his left side ignited with flames.
"L/N. I will beat you. If I can't use my ice, then I'll use my fire. It's as easy as that." Todoroki claimed, irritated. He obviously still didn't like using his flames, but at least he had learned from his battle with Midoriya. I once again rushed towards Todoroki and he blasted his fire at me. Seconds after being engulfed by flames, the fire stopped. Cementoss had put up a cement wall between us. The entire stadium went quiet, concerned for my wellbeing. As the smoke and dust cleared, I stood with my chest and six pack abs showing. My entire shirt had been burned to ash. There were no burns or injuries on my body.
"L/N is completely fine?!" Present Mic screamed, shocked. Since I was okay, Cementoss lowered his wall. I released a loud chuckle, as I panted.
"Oh, by the way, I'm fire resistant, on my mother's side." I declared, smiling.
"Wh-What?" Todoroki asked, in denial.
"If you had ever listened to me speak, you'd know... My mother was the Pro Hero, Torch." I clarified. The stadium crowd let out applause and cheering at my mention of the famous Hero and the fact she was my mom. "I may not have inherited my mom's quirk, but I did inherit her fire resistance. Your fire can't burn me, just like it can't burn you." I added, smiling widely. I could tell, this fight was going to get interesting.