"Start!" Present Mic announced, the match officially starting.
As soon as it started, ice erupted from the stage to the direction of where both Midoriya and Ashido were. Ashido jumped, dodging the ice. Although it was only by a sliver, it didn't matter to her as long as she dodged.
Midoriya on the other hand, activated his Quirk and flicked his fingers, creating a tremendous amount of wind pressure, destroying the ice that was coming to him. The cold icy wind relentlessly erupted from the stadium.
"So cold!" Ashido exclaimed from afar.
In order to prevent himself from being knocked out of bounds, Todoroki summoned a wall of ice behind him just in time as he put his arms in front of him to brace himself from the violent wind pressure.
'Just as I expected.' Todoroki thought to himself while looking straight at Midoriya. He took notice of his broken finger. 'He was prepared to injure himself to negate the attack.'
"Wow! Midoriya stopped Todoroki's attack!" Present Mic exclaimed.
"Since Todoroki always finishes his fights in an instant, he doesn't know how powerful Todoroki's attacks would be against him. That's why Midoriya would use all of his power to negate Todoroki's attacks." Boboiboy explained. His friends seemed to agree.
"Indeed, however, the question is, how much more can he fire off?" Tokoyami stated. "Also, since when did your clothes change colors?" Boboiboy's clothes were now in a lighter blue color.
Ever since the first gust of wind, Boboiboy transformed into Ice, nullifying the icy wind. It was just was too cold for his tastes. The others just noticed and was about to start questioning him about it until another gust of wind came by.
"He stopped it again!" Present Mic exclaimed once more as Ashido couldn't hold on anymore as she started to slip away and had gotten out of the boundary.
"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight called out.
"Darn it! I couldn't do anything!" She exclaimed as she then moved away from Midoriya and Todoroki's intense fight.
'From what I know of Todoroki's fighting, he always attacks in an instant, so I don't have much data on him. Data... During this fight, I need to find an opening...' He thought to himself as multiple parts of his body shivered from pain.
'The ice he's stuck behind him is probably how he plans to keep from being blown away. Which means, I was right to use my fingers. It's likely that it could even work against a 100% smash where I can sacrifice my arm.'
'I've got to look carefully...' He thought as he set his gaze upon Todoroki. 'Think... Find it... I've got six more chances...!'
"You're..." He said before attacking once more with his ice, making Midoriya use his Quirk. As expected, Midoriya blew the ice away like with the others. Another violent gust of wind filled the stadium.
"It started?!" Kirishima exclaimed as he arrived.
"Oh, Kirishima! Nice going on making it to the next round! You were awesome!" Boboiboy complimented.
"Yeah, I'll be up against you and Iida next! Let's have a good fight!" Kirishima smirked at Boboiboy.
"Let's have one good fight, all right." Boboiboy returned the smirk.
"But man, you, Bakugou and Todoroki can all shoot off powerful attacks that cover a lot of ground. Like "Bam"!" Kirishima stated.
"And all three of you can do it with no time lag." Sero said as Boboiboy scratched his cheek bashfully.
"I'm not just shooting them off. Don't underestimate 'em." Bakugou stated.
"Huh?" Kirishima questioned, being confused.
"If you overuse your muscles, the muscle fibers tear, and if you keep running, you'll run out of breath." Bakugou stated.
'There's a limit to how much power I can produce too. That's why I designed my costume so that I could fire blasts in excess of what my body allows without any risk.' He thought to himself.
"Quirks are physical abilities, too. They must also have some kind of limit." Bakugou stated to the group.
"If I think about it like that, I guess that makes sense..." Kirishima stated. "Then, against the instant-killer Todoroki, Midoriya wants..."
'... an endurance match, huh?' Todoroki thought. "I'll end this quickly." He then attacked once more.
Midoriya negated the attack again at the cost of another finger. All of the fingers on his right hand had been used up.
"Todoroki doesn't recoil from Midoriya's power and gets in close!" Present Mic commented with excitement as Todoroki used his ice and went in closer to Midoriya.
"Damn!" He said before destroying the ice Todoroki was running on. Anticipating this action, Todoroki jumped in advance and immediately attempted to attack. Midoriya saw this and dodged.
However, Todoroki wasn't going to stop there. After his previous attempt, he then attacked once more with ice, going towards to where Midoriya was. The ice had gotten hold of Midoriya's right foot.
Midoriya used his arm rather than his fingers and blew the ice away once again. In result, the wind pressure this time became much more powerful and Midoriya's left arm was now broken.
"That's a lot more powerful than before." Todoroki stated. Midoriya then gasped at the sight he was witnessing. He had stayed on bounds.
"Are you trying to tell me... to stay away...?" Todoroki said as he moved a block of ice out of his way.
'It's not just his Quirk.' Midoriya realized. 'His judgement, application skills, mobility... All of his abilities... are strong!' Midoriya thought as Todoroki gave a sigh, his breath being visible.
"What, you're that beat up just from defending and running away?" Todoroki said like it was nothing. It was then that Midoriya realized.
'He's trembling...? Is that how it is...? Damn it...'
"Sorry... Thanks, Midoriya. That guy's face is clouded over thanks to you." Midoriya gritted his teeth even more, with a certain memory playing in mind.
"Without using my damn old man's Quirk... No... I'll reject him completely by winning first place without using it." Todoroki declared with a face filled with bitter anger.
"With your arms like that, you can't fight anymore, can you? Let's finish this." Todoroki said before attacking with his ice attack once more.
"Todoroki keeps attacking with overwhelming power! Here comes the finishing ice attack!" Present Mic commented. However, just before the ice reached him, something unexpected happened.
"Where are you looking?" Midoriya asked his opponent with a scary look.
Midoriya then somehow broke the ice attack and sent Todoroki skidding off from wind pressure until he summoned ice behind him, just before he could go out of bounds. All of the people watching were in shock.
'Bastard... With your broken finger...?' Todoroki thought to himself. 'Why are you going so far?'
"You're trembling, Todoroki." Todoroki was surprised at the statement.
"Quirks are physical abilities, too. There's a limit to how much cold your body can take, isn't there?" Midoriya stated, his arm still quivering in pain. "And isn't that something you could solve by using the heat from your left side?"
"Everyone's fighting with everything they've got... To win and get closer to their dream... To become number one..." Midoriya stated as the audience watched with uneasiness, not knowing what would happen next. "You want to win with just half your strength?"
"You haven't put a single scratch on me yet, you know!" Todoroki glared intensely at him. "Come at me with everything you've got!"
'Midoriya... You...' Boboiboy thought.
"Midoriya... What are you planning? Everything I've got? Did my damn old man buy you off or something?" He questioned. "Now I'm angry!" He stated before running towards him. Although, there was one thing that didn't seem to be right.
'His movements are...' Midoriya thought.
'...slow!' Both Bakugou and Boboiboy thought in unison.
'Maybe it's because of hypothermia? No, not maybe... It definitely is!' Boboiboy thought. 'So does that mean that huge attack against Sero earlier... was his limit?'
'In close quarters, you won't be able to do anything about it!' Todoroki thought as he jumped towards him.
Midoriya then found his opening and went for it after he jumped. Todoroki looked at him in sudden surprise.
'The instant I lifted my right foot... This guy...!' Todoroki thought as the both of them kept getting closer.
"Imagine... the microwave..." Midoriya said to himself. 'It won't explode... It won't... It won't...! It won't...!' He thought as he then punched Todoroki right in the gut.
"A solid hit! We've got some action!" Present Mic commented once again as Todoroki had gotten ice on Midoriya's left arm before being flung away.
Todoroki got up from his spot and coughed before his breathing was stable. 'Why...?' Todoroki then let out another ice attack. This time, Midoriya was able to dodge it.
'The ice isn't coming as fast...' He thought as he dodged the incoming ice attack.
The two then began to struggle in the fight. Midoriya's fingers were all broken yet he still fought. Todoroki was no exception. He was using his ice so much that the right side of his body started to freeze up.
"Should I stop it Midnight?" Cementoss asked the other hero over his communication device. "That Midoriya's probably thinking, "Recovery Girl will heal me anyway," and is being reckless."
"He's full of adrenaline right now, so he probably isn't feeling much pain... But, those injuries... They probably can't be fully healed in one go." Cementoss said while both Todoroki and Midoriya still fought. "Even if he wins, he might not be able to fight his next match."
In another scene, Aizawa is in the commentator's booth, looking back on a certain memory just before the festival started.
"You can't keep saying you can't help it because you can't control your Quirk." Aizawa told Midoriya.
'His power's gone down, but he's gained some control.' Aizawa thought to himself as his student seemed to have listened to his statement from before. 'He's not just fighting recklessly. This is the best he can do to win at this point of time.'
'But man... Even if it can be healed, to be able to jump into intense pain like that requires a lot of resolve.' Aizawa thought to himself. 'What is stirring him up?'
'All Might. I want to be like him. In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to be number one.' Midoriya thought as he ran towards Todoroki. 'My motivation might seem trivial compared to yours...' He thought as Todoroki unleashed yet another attack, which Midoriya took notice of and prepared to counter.
'I can't make a fist...!' He thought before using his mouth in order to flick his thumb with One for All's power surging through it. 'Smash...!' He thought in his mind before unleashing it and destroyed the incoming attack. From the wind pressure, Todoroki was being blown away but got saved by summoning ice behind him.
"Why are you going so far...?" Todoroki asked him as he stood up from the attack.
"Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations..." Midoriya answered, which took Todoroki by surprise.
"I want to be able to smile... and respond to them... To be a cool Hero..." Midoriya said as he ran towards Todoroki once again. "That's what I want to be!"
Meanwhile, in Todoroki's mind, a memory was playing. He and his mom were in the living room, watching television. "Shoto..." a familiar voice called out his name.
"That's why—!" Midoriya said as he punched Todoroki again. " Everyone's giving it their all!"
"There's no way I can know all of your circumstances, or your resolve. But for you to become number one without giving it your all, to completely reject your father... Right now, I think you should stop screwing around!" Midoriya said as memories surged through Todoroki's mind.
In a flashback, young Todoroki was there on the ground, crying, holding his stomach in pain as he coughed. He had also vomited from the brunt of his father's fist, after all, he was still a child.
"Stand up!" His father commanded. "If you're downed by something like this, forget beating All Might, you won't even be able to take out the small fry Villains—"
"Please, stop! He's only five!" His mother intervened, putting her hand on her child's back.
"He's already five! Get out of my way!" He said before slapping his mother away.
Todoroki looked up to see his mother holding her cheek in pain. "Mom...!" He exclaimed, tears still flowing down his face.
In the present, he's there just standing as the frost on his right side started to expand throughout his body.
"Shut up." He muttered out before another memory appeared.
In the flashback, young Todoroki was there again, but this time, he was in his mother's arms, crying.
"I don't wanna, Mom..." He told his mother while sobbing. "I... I... I don't want to be like Dad... I don't want to become someone who bullies you, Mom!" He exclaimed before burying his face in his mother's chest. (A/N: Not in a perverted way, people.)
"But you want to be a Hero, don't you?" She said as she patted his head. Young Todoroki looked up to his mother.
"It's okay for you to be one. As long as you have a future you feel strongly about." She said to him.
In the present, he was there, doing nothing, Midoriya was about to attack him again as he was having these flashbacks of his own memories from when he was a child.
"That's why... I will win!" Midoriya declared before punching him right in the gut again, flinging him away. "I 'll surpass you!" Midoriya declared once again as Todoroki was having another flashback of another memory.
In this flashback, young Todoroki was outiside, watching a ball game between his older siblings. He wanted to play with them as well, being a child and all. It was all before his father came and took his hand, dragging him somewhere else.
"Don't look at that, Shoto. They're from a different world than you." His father said, not even looking at him as young Todoroki struggled to keep up.
In the present, time seemed to slow down as he was still in the air. All before having another flashback.
"Mom, I'm going crazy..." She started to say on the phone as young Todoroki got up from his sleep and saw his mother.
"I can't take it anymore... Everyday, the children seem to become more and more like him... Shoto's... That child's left side sometimes looks very unsightly to me... I can't raise him anymore... I feel like I shouldn't..."
"M...Mom...?" Young Todoroki called out as his mother jumped in surprise. Silence came with the exception of the whistling kettle filled with boiling water. His mother then looked at him, almost looking mentally ill, as she then poured boiling water on him.
After she realized what she had done, she immediately tried to ease her son's pain as she used her Quirk on him. And thus, the ice burn scar.
'I...' He thought to himself, still being blown away. Then, another flashback came to him.
"Good grief, this is an important time, too..." His father said. Young Todoroki was there standing in front of a wall with a bandage over his left eye while looking down.
"Where's Mom?" He asked.
"Oh, she injured you, so I put her in a hospital." He said like she meant almost nothing to him. Young Todoroki was still looking down, however, this time, he was crying. Although, his father did not seem to notice.
"It's your fault." Young Todoroki said as his father then looked at him. "You're the one who made Mom..." He said, glaring at his father with a look of anger while trying to hold back his tears.
'I will reject... my old man's power...' He thought to himself as he found it hard to stand up again.
Midoriya grit his teeth harder than he ever did. "It's your power, isn't it?!"
Todoroki found himself surprised at the statement. It made him recall a time when he and his mother were watching television.
"Yes, That's right! Children inherit Quirks from their parents." All Might explained on television. "But the really important thing is not that connection, but recognizing your own flesh and blood— recognizing yourself."
"That's what I mean when I say: "I am here!" You see?" All Might said while pointing his thumb at himself.
"But you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for you to become one." His mother's words rang throughout his mind. And as if on cue, something lit up inside him. 'Before I knew it, I had forgotten...' He thought to himself.
"You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood. It's okay for you to become who you want to be." As he remembered his own mother's words, he found the strength to do the unexpected. His left side suddenly lit up and created a torrent of fire around him.
"Th-This is...!" Present Mic exclaimed from surprise.
"The fire's here..." Uraraka said.
"Wo-Wouldn't it be dangerous for him if he just let it all out at once?" Boboiboy questioned his classmate's actions with worry.
"True. It could potentially hurt him." Tokoyami answered his question. Meanwhile, Iida had his own flashback of a memory not too long ago.
It was during the cavalry battle, they were making a plan in order to steal Midoriya's points. However, when somebody told him that his left side would be useful. He said the following words:
"In battle... I will never use my left." Todoroki stated while glaring at what seems to be his father.
"He used it!" Iida exclaimed, his eyes widened from shock. In another scene, a certain Hero was in surprise from his successor's actions.
'You made him use his left side... Young Midoriya, don't tell me you're trying to save Young Todoroki...?' The skeleton known to be All Might, thought.
"Even though you want to win..." He said as the fire gradually decreased in size, revealing Todoroki. "Damn it... To help your enemy... Which one of us is screwing around now?" He said as the frost that fell on his right side dissipated.
"I want... to be a hero, too...!" He stated before Midoriya's look of surprise then turned into a grin. The two stared at each other, both with grins on their faces. To another person, this had amused him greatly as he grinned.
"Shoto!" He screamed to the world, his fire intensely stronger than it normally was. The crowd looked at him with looks of either surprise or confusion.
"Huh? Is that Endeavor?" Boboiboy questioned himself as Endeavor descended down the stairs.
"Have you finally accepted yourself?! That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me... You will fulfill my desire!" He shouted in his amusement.
"Endeavor suddenly shouts encouragement...? Such a doting father." Present Mic said, also being confused from his actions. Meanwhile, Midoriya and Todoroki constantly stared at each other.
"Wow..." Midoriya muttered out in amazement of Todoroki's Quirk.
"Why are you smiling?" Todoroki surprisingly asked him. "With those injuries... In this situation... You're crazy..." He said before Midoriya turned serious.
"Don't blame for what happens next." Todoroki stated before powering up his Quirk, preparing to attack him with all he's got. Midoriya did the same by activating his Quirk, specifically on his leg, preparing to launch off. Wind pressure emitted from both of them.
"I'm really worried for what's going to happen next...!" Boboiboy exclaimed with worry.
"They'll destroy each other if this goes on!" Tokoyami agreed with his friend's opinion.
"Midnight!" Cementoss called out to the other Hero, already using his Quirk on the cement before him. "If they keep going, it'll be bad—"
"His body won't hold up!" Midnight continued his statement as she then activated her Quirk by lifting her sleeve up, releasing an aroma.
Todoroki then commenced his attack as he shot out a barrage of ice attacks towards him. And by using his Quirk and reinforcing it around his leg, Midoriya launched off before getting hit.
'Try to get close... and give him everything I've got! Come at me with your full power!' He thought to himself as he rapidly got closer to Todoroki. Todoroki also planned to hit him with everything he's got, including the power of his left side.
"Midoriya..." Todoroki said as both of them were about to hit each other. "Thanks."
Both of them gave it their all. However, their attacks were intercepted by walls that popped out of the ground. When the attacks made contact, it resulted in a large explosion that almost covered the whole stadium with debris. Even people outside of the stadium could see it. The explosion was so great that the wind pressure blew most people away.
"This is intense!" Boboiboy exclaimed as he braced himself from being blown away.
"What the heck?!" Mineta exclaimed as he was being blown away if not for Shoji grabbing his leg.
"Man, seriously?!" Kaminari exclaimed, too. With a face that read "surprise" all over.
"What happened?" Yaoyorozu questioned the scene happening before her.
"Just because something is powerful doesn't mean it's good, but this is amazing..." Cementoss said as he looked around, seeing the damage the kids had done.
"What was that just now...? What the heck is up with your class?" Present Mic questioned. He literally fell backwards from the pressure of the explosion.
"The air that had been cooled thoroughly was suddenly heated up and expanded." Aizawa, who was beside Present Mic, explained as if it was a normal thing to happen.
"That's what created this explosion...? Just how hot was that?!" He said, immediately getting up. "Jeez! I can't see a thing!" He exclaimed as the smoke just started to dissipate.
Midnight held the back of her head in pain as she was also blown away. After a few moments, she could see someone. It was Midoriya.
"Midoriya...?" Boboiboy muttered out.
"M-Midoriya is out of bounds..." Midnight said with a loss for words. "Todoroki advances to the third round!"
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Yo! Chapter 9's here! Took me a long time, huh? Sorry about that, I was being lazy! I was playing a game I hadn't played for like... months. It's because the game is on my laptop and my brother uses it 24/7 so... yeah. I don't blame him though.
Anyways... the fight is pretty much the same from the anime because poor Ashido got blown off the boundary. She couldn't do anything about it because her Quirk wasn't specialized for this kind of stuff. So the next fight will be completely be by my own imagination.
Poor Ashido though. (QwQ)
Welp, see you next chapter!