Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Aizawa Shouta is no stranger to being avoided.

Between his career, disposition, and general appearance, it isn't an uncommon occurrence for people to cross the street to avoid passing him on the sidewalk.

Honestly, he hardly has a problem with it. He actually prefers it, most of the time.

The key word of that sentence being 'most'. He prefers it, most of the time.

This is not one of those times.

It has been exactly one week since Shouta has seen Midoriya.

Actually, no, that’s not quite true. Several times he’s caught the fleeting sight of a chunky red shoe turning the hallway corner, disappearing from view before he has the chance to cast a second glance. He’s registered the signature hue of green in his peripheral, only for it to quickly be swallowed by the sea of students before his gaze can snap over to it.

So he knows for a fact that Midoriya is still around, still going about his life at UA just as Shouta is.

He’s just… doing it far away from him.

Shouta would venture to guess that Midoriya’s absence in his life is entirely intentional, too, judging by how common it was for their paths to cross before…  

Before, well…

He supposes the only difference between now and then would be…

The USJ.

It makes sense for Midoriya to still be shaken from the event. Shouta knows he still is.

Several nights this week he’s found himself bolting awake, the stitches holding the skin under his eye together aching with the phantom pain of jagged concrete digging deep into his flesh. Time and time again he’s been chased out of unconsciousness by the replayed memory of the student's body slumped over, bleeding and broken and dead beyond any reasonable doubt. Though, that is only if he even falls into sleep in the first place.

Even more often, he’s found himself lying awake, desperate questions and half-formed speculations and ungraspable answers flitting like highway traffic through his mind. There are just so many things that don’t make sense.

Midoriya Izuku is a puzzle. It’s a cliche phrase, and quite a reductive one, but Shouta finds there is little else to compare him to. He’s a puzzle of thousands of tiny pieces and Shouta is missing all but a few that he was able to dig up between couch cushions and under coffee tables. Even with the few pieces he has, Shouta cannot even begin to assemble the thing because there’s not even a picture of what it’s supposed to look like, goddamnit. He’s completely and utterly lost with these tiny, disconnected fragments and no idea where to place them in order to come to the bigger picture.

The kid is a fucking enigma. And it is frustrating Shouta to no end.

A familiar voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “You’re brooding, babe.” His husband says from his desk across the teacher’s lounge, eyes not leaving a stack of papers in front of him.

Shouta responds to the statement with an odd mix between a huff and a groan.

Hizashi sets his pen down and gives him his full attention then. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asks, knowing Shouta is unlikely to divulge anything unless directly prompted into doing so.

Shouta reiterates his frustration by repeating his earlier noise.

The Voice Hero folds his hands on his desk in front of him, eyes not leaving Shouta as he blinks expectedly. Ah, so it wasn’t a request.

The underground hero sighs. “I’m worried about Midoriya.” He admits, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s been avoiding me.”

Hizashi furrows his brows. “Are you sure he’s avoiding you? I mean, he’s not even technically one of your students. Maybe your schedules just don’t overlap.” He posits.

He considers the possibility before shaking his head. “He used to hang out around my kids all the time. I’d hardly even go a day without seeing him. Now I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

Hizashi hums. “Maybe - and I’m just guessing, here - maybe he’s still messed up about the whole USJ incident.” He casts a glance at Shouta. “About, you know, taking your quirk.”

Shouta nods, as he’d been thinking the same thing.

“I mean, that would explain why he’s avoiding you and not me.” The hero continues.

Momentarily short circuiting, Shouta blinks. “You’ve seen him around?”

“Yeah, I just saw him earlier today.” A wide grin suddenly spreads across Hizashi’s face. “Little Listener actually came to see me all on his own!”

Shouta straightens, ignoring the sharp and sudden pang of undignified jealousy that strikes through his chest. Initiating a conversation of any sort - especially one with a superior - seems largely uncharacteristic of the boy, based on what he’s observed. Whatever pushed the boy to do so is likely to be of extreme importance. “What about?” He asks.

“He, well… he had some, uh,” Hizashi hesitates, waving his hand vaguely. “Concerns about the Sports Festival.”

The Voice Hero leans back as he explains. “So, when I announce people during the festival, you know, I announce their quirk. He, understandably, wasn’t all that keen on the idea of his being broadcasted to the millions of people that watch the event.”

Shouta nods. That makes sense. Shouta typically refrains from disclosing his own quirk for as long as it is socially acceptable to do so. The reactions he’s had in the past have been widely varied, so he just avoids the inevitable fiasco for as long as he can. “So, what? You’re just going to leave it out?”

Hizashi shakes his head. “Oh, no. If the kid is trying to avoid attention - which he seems to be - that’s not the way to go about it. I mean, imagine the theories people would come up with if I announced everyone’s quirk but his!” He exclaims.

“Honestly, I was kind of at a loss at what to do until he suggested that I only announce one quirk.”

Shouta blinks. That… is a solution, he supposes, but... “That would severely limit his ability.”

Hizashi inclines his head in agreement. “While that’s true, I have a feeling that the quirk he told me to announce won’t be the only one he uses.” He explains. “I mean, he’s gotta have some quirks that aren’t visible, right? He might use a few of those as well.”

Shouta narrows his eyes. “They may not be immediately visible, but people will start asking questions if he shows abilities that aren’t natural.”

“True,” His husband acknowledges. “But I think the kid’s smart enough to decide what he can and can’t get away with.” And Shouta finds himself nodding in agreement.

“Plus, the quirk he told me to announce was described quite ambiguously. I have a feeling he did that on purpose, probably with the intention of using multiple quirks under the guise of a single versatile one.” Hizashi theorizes.

“What’s the quirk?” Shouta asks, intrigued.

“A pretty basic telekinesis one. Called it Pull.” Hizashi says, adding air quotes.

(Shouta remembers a monster, likely a thousand pounds of pure muscle, being thrown back and forth like a ragdoll by a child who couldn’t weigh much more than a tenth of that soaking wet with little more and a single gesture of his hand. Shouta wouldn’t necessarily call that ‘basic.’)

“He said that it’s effective with all states of matter, which, well…” The Voice Hero shrugs. “It just seems a little fishy to me.”

Shouta hums in agreement. Telekinetic quirks are common - roughly five percent of all registered emitter quirks are based in some sort of telekinesis. Typically, the scope of telekinetic quirks are confined to a singular substance. Cementoss is a good example - he can control cement-based material. Vlad King can control his own blood. Endeavor can control fire. Oboro could control clouds. There are at least another dozen people - a dozen other heroes, even - that Shouta can think of that qualify.

If a telekinetic quirk is not confined to one substance however, it is typically confined to one state of matter. Perhaps the user has a level of control over solid objects, or gas flow, or liquid movement. Quirks like that though, are quite rare. In fact, he doesn’t think he knows anyone with a quirk like that.

So the fact that Midoriya described his quirk as being effective with all states of matter is, well…

As Hizashi succinctly put it, fishy.

It’s more likely that Midoriya has multiple telekinetic quirks that are each effective over different substances and states, and his intention is to disguise them all as a single versatile quirk.

Because the alternative is that Midoriya truly has a single telekinetic quirk that can control anything, no matter the state.

The very thought of such a quirk existing is, well, quite frankly, terrifying.

The only quirk that even comes close to that is Todoroki’s, which still only grants him control over two different substances. That fact alone makes the kid immensely powerful. Half-Hot Half-Cold is probably one of the strongest quirks Shouta’s ever seen.

And yet it is limited to only two substances.

He cannot imagine the applications, the potential of a quirk that can control all substances.

Shouta can’t help but hope, for the sake of anyone who finds themself in the unfortunate position as Midoriya’s opponent, that the kid was bluffing.

“Yeah,” He says. “Fishy.”

Shouta decides after that conversation that it’s officially time to take the matter into his own hands.

He knows that it’s probably not the best idea to corner Midoriya during school hours, lest the kid make the automatic assumption that he’s in trouble. But what other option is there? Is Shouta supposed to wait until the school day is over and ‘accidentally’ bump into the kid as he’s leaving? Confront the kid in his own dorm? 

He ponders his options as he walks down the hallways of UA. Classes have already ended for the day, so the halls are empty, save for a few straggling students. He did not begin walking with a particular destination in mind, but his strides nonetheless lead him towards the classroom of 1-H. He doesn’t expect to see Midoriya there, but Power Loader typically lingers in his classroom long after school ends, tinkering around. Shouta hopes the man will be able to give him some insights on his student’s behavior.

When the classroom comes into view, Shouta is surprised to see someone standing in front of it already. He’s even more surprised when the person turns upon hearing him approach, and Shouta recognizes him.

“Todoroki,” Shouta acknowledges.

“Hello, sensei,” The boy responds politely, tilting his head. He’s holding his phone in his hand. A quick glance at the screen reveals what appears to be an extremely one sided instant message conversation. Surprisingly, the bicolored boy is the one sending the messages.

“May I ask what you’re doing out here?” He asks, careful to keep his voice passive and without accusation. The ‘may I’ of that question isn’t rhetorical, he’s moreso asking permission to ask the question than he is asking Todoroki to answer.

Todoroki purses his lips, visibly debating how much information he’s willing to provide. “I was... looking for my friend. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Shouta hums and decides to take a leap, fairly confident in his hunch. “Is there any chance you’re referring to Midoriya?”

If the hero student is surprised by Shouta’s guess, he doesn’t show it. He nods simply. “He offered to help me with my quirk in preparation for The Sports Festival.” He looks up at Shouta briefly. “My... whole quirk.”

If Shouta weren’t hyperaware of his own facial expressions and making a conscious effort to neutralize them, his eyes would widen.

The boy’s eyebrows furrow and he looks down before he continues. “But that was before the USJ attack.”

His hand tightens around his phone for a second before he looks back up at Shouta. “I believe something has changed in him, since then.”

Shouta frowns. “Yeah,” He says. “I think you’re right.” Though, he probably wouldn’t have worded it so cryptically.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, wincing when it gets caught and pulls at the strands. “I’ll tell you what; I’ve been meaning to speak to Midoriya as well. And if you’re planning on training with your quirk, you’ll need me there anyway, so...”

He takes a step forward then, reaching past Todoroki to pull open the door of 1-H.

“Why don’t we look for him together?”

For a long moment, Todoroki just stands there. This... is a test, of some sort, Shouta realizes as the student looks him up and down. He matches his stare evenly, not moving from his position holding the door open.

The boy appears to find what he’s looking for - or perhaps the opposite, he fails to find what he’s fearing - in Shouta, because he silently steps forward and into the classroom.

Shouta follows closely behind, gaze sweeping across the room as soon as it comes into view. As he’d been expecting, Maijima is still there, though he’s not the only one. There are a few students as well - a pair conversing as they tinker on one end of the room, and another sitting in the far corner. Power Loader is not behind his desk, rather he’s crouched on the table in front of the kid sitting in the corner. He seems to be explaining something as he points at and rearranges the various bits and pieces of metal on the desk between them.

Shouta wonders what good deed he’d done to get lady luck on his side, because the student he’s talking to is the exact one he’d been looking for.

While the underground hero had halted as he’d been surveying the room, Todoroki had not, beelining straight for the green haired boy. Midoriya looks up upon hearing the other student’s approach, and Shouta nearly jerks back at the sight.

The boy’s pupils are mere pinpricks, almost swallowed completely by the surrounding green. There are two concentric circles around the pupils, and perpendicular lines spanning across the diameter of his irises. They remind Shouta uncomfortably of Hizashi’s - they’d be nearly the same, if not for the crosshairs.

That’s obviously some kind of quirk - an aiming or sight enhancing quirk, maybe? Shouta certainly doesn’t recall the boy having eyes like that the last time he saw him. It leaves him wondering, is the boy merely borrowing the quirk, or does he intend on keeping it?

The underground hero shakes his head in an attempt to dispel the thoughts. It doesn’t matter. It’s not any of his business.

He walks lazily towards the group, electing to approach from behind Power Loader instead of either of the students lest his presence startle them - both of them tend to be far jumpier than anyone their age should be. Maijima gives him a mere nod of acknowledgement, which he returns. The Excavation Hero is probably one of Shouta’s favorite coworkers - if only because of the man’s blatant disregard for pleasantries.

“Now?” Shouta hears Midoriya ask. The kid’s turned towards Todoroki, but his eyes have drifted to the underground hero. He only allows Shouta to meet his gaze for a second, but it’s all he needs to catch the panic underneath.

“Unless you’re busy, of course.” Todoroki answers, dipping his head towards the metal contraption on the desk. Shouta thinks it resembles a sort of mouth guard - albeit half-disassembled with wires sticking out in every direction.

Midoriya hesitates, gaze dropping to his project.

Power Loader answers for him. “He’s not.” The man says, snatching the item from right under the boy’s nose. He gathers the miscellaneous scraps left behind and deposits them into a bin. “He’s been working on this for too long anyway.”

Midoriya looks like his first instinct is to protest, but he quickly catches himself before blurting a single word of disagreement. Shouta sees Maijima’s face twist under his mask. Challenging his teacher would have displayed a measure of comfortability - which is probably what the hero was secretly hoping for. Instead, Midoriya simply accepts the action with thinly veiled displeasure.

Todoroki blinks. “...Right, then.” He turns to Shouta, as if for guidance.

Shouta straightens. “We should probably go to the P.E. grounds, rather than the gym. I don’t want to be the reason Cementoss has to come in early and reconstruct the entire building.”

The underground hero is well aware that his demeanor comes across as fairly stoic. Even on the rare occurrence that he cracks a joke he typically does so in a deadpan tone. With that being said, he still expects some sort of reaction to the lighthearted jab. A huff, at the very least. But both students respond simply with simultaneous "Yes, Senseis."

These kids really need to lighten up.

Shouta rarely considers silences to be ‘awkward,’ not when he typically prefers them over any sort of chatter that could senselessly fill it. The walk to the P.E. grounds, however, and the quiet that dures it, is one of those rare instances wherein he deems the descriptor to be appropriate. Neither student opens their mouth until the three of them are standing in the middle of the field.

“So, um…” Midoriya starts hesitantly, as if loathed to break the silence. “I’ve... had an idea in my head for a while, about- about your quirk.” The boy looks up from his wringing hands for a moment, as if looking for permission from Todoroki to continue, which the taller boy provides in the form of a nod.

The action appears to increase Midoriya’s confidence considerably. “Well, when- when cold air is rapidly heated, it can cause an explosion, of sorts, due to the change in pressure.” The boy explains, miming a sort of explosion with his hands. Todoroki watches the demonstration intently.

“And I was thinking, if you- if you used, um- both sides of- of your quirk,” Todoroki tenses, just barely visible, but Shouta notices. “And brought them together quick enough, you could, um, do that.” Midoriya seems to lose vigor quickly through his explanation, confidence waning.

Todoroki appears visibly hesitant at the idea, but the way Midoriya begins to slowly pull away seems to be worse than whatever consequence the boy is convinced will come from using his fire. So he swallows his doubt, and he says, “That’s a good idea, Midoriya.”

The compliment - if it could even be called that - has the green haired boy blushing furiously and waving his hands but as he does so, he’s smiling slightly.

The taller student takes several steps back then. He’s farther from Shouta than he is from Midoriya and the teacher nearly tells the support student to get farther away before Todoroki creates a literal explosion but then he remembers - Midoriya’s fireproof. Both of the students are fireproof. That thought unravels the tight ball of anxiety in his chest, just a little bit.

Todoroki lifts his right hand, and with no more than a flick of his wrist, coats his palm in a layer of thick ice. Cold steam wades off of the substance as the rapid temperature drop causes the surrounding air to condense.

He lifts his left hand then, and...

Nothing happens.

A second passes, another, and then another.

Thinking he might have subconsciously activated his quirk, Shouta blinks. The action does not cause Todoroki’s hand to erupt in flames.

“Todoroki.” Midoriya says suddenly, but still quietly, always quietly. He rocks on his toes. “Please remember what I told you.”

Todoroki’s gaze snaps up from where it had been fixed frustratedly on his empty hand. He meets Midoriya’s eyes for much too long to not be meaningful.

And Shouta… Shouta is missing something. There’s something there. Something important. But he doesn’t know what.

Looking back down at his hand, the boy allows a small flame to form. For several seconds he just watches it flicker, before he slowly allows it to expand until it engulfs his entire palm.

Todoroki’s eyes trail over to Shouta then. He quickly realizes that the boy is gauging his reaction.

See, Shouta is nothing short of gobsmacked in this moment. He’s just watched his student complete a feat that the teacher had been tirelessly trying to get out of him for several weeks now. It seemed as if all that was needed was a gentle coaxing from Midoriya to convince Todoroki to finally utilize a power that he’d previously been neglecting so stubbornly that it had begun negatively affecting both his academic and practical performance.

So yeah, Shouta is gobsmacked.

Obviously though, he doesn’t show it.

So when Todoroki meets his gaze he does no more than nod, face completely impassive. It appears to do the trick, because then the boy’s eyes shine, and though his mouth does not follow the movement, Shouta knows well enough to identify the expression as the boy’s version of a smile.

It’s gone in a second, completely overshadowed by determination as he appears to brace himself, planting both digging his feet into the ground and spreading his arms straight out. He swings them both forward then, smoke and steam trailing behind his hands before the two opposing elements collide in an entirely underwhelming clap.

Todoroki blinks at his hands, one dripping with melted ice and the other steaming with extinguished fire. “Hm.”

“Hm.” Midoriya agrees. He brings a finger to his lips in contemplation. “I think…” He hesitates, looking anywhere but at Todoroki as he visibly struggles to get the words out.

“...I think that, um, maybe, your fire isn’t, er- hot enough?” Midoriya says, voice getting gradually higher throughout the statement until it ends sounding as if it’s a question.

The smaller boy cringes at the silence that follows. But as Shouta looks at Todoroki he notices that the boy doesn’t appear the least bit affronted at the words. If anything, he just seems bewildered.

“Maybe… you’re right.” The hero student says dejectedly, eyes trailing down at his left hand once more.

“Um, do you mind if I- uh, try?” Midoriya asks meekly, followed by a quite frantic, “Not that I think I could do it any better than you! I don’t mean it like that! I just- I mean- I think that, maybe- I can- um,”

Todoroki appears briefly startled by the outburst, but quickly smothers his expression. He places a gentle hand on Midoriya’s arm, halting both his words and the painful looking wringing of his hands. The smaller boy jolts, head snapping up to look at him.

“Sure,” Todoroki says, catching his eyes. “You can use it.”

And then, softer, “I trust you.”

Midoriya’s eyes widen. Shouta wonders how many times he’s heard those words. He wonders if he could count those instances on his fingers. He wonders if it would even take up one hand, because with the way the boy is looking at Todoroki it seems like this could very well be the first time.

“...Thank you,” Midoriya breathes, wonder evident in his eyes as if Todoroki is bestowing him anything more than what Shouta considers a common decency.

He supposes that Midoriya probably hasn’t been on the receiving end of very much decency in his life.

The students simultaneously glance over at Shouta then, who promptly averts his eyes as he always does in the face of public displays of affection. He still cannot help but notice that this kiss seems suspiciously… soft.

Not that the other ones Shouta’s observed have been particularly harsh or anything of that sort. It’s just that, with Kaminari, Mina, and Uraraka, it seemed that there was a level of… playfulness to the action. It wasn’t genuine, at least not in the romantic sense.

And yet, when Shouta’s gaze drifts back over to the two students after he deems it has been enough time for them to do... the transfer, he finds the pair lingering for much longer than what is probably strictly necessary. Shouta’s no expert, but the way Todoroki’s hands are placed, one gently grasping Midoriya’s upper arm and the other hovering so closely to the smaller boy’s cheek, reads as much more than friendly to him.

Shouta barely restrains himself from groaning aloud. This is just what he needs. Two of the most emotionally enigmatic students he’s ever fucking seen forming a relationship. He can’t deal with this.

Midoriya’s eyes flutter open first.

“Todoroki,” He breathes. The boy looks down at his hands, opening and closing them into and out of fists and stretching each of his fingers.

“Your quirk feels amazing!” He exclaims. His face is bright and his smile is wide and all teeth and Shouta nearly reacts visibly upon seeing it because he's never seen the boy's teeth before. Todoroki doesn’t even make an effort to hide his shock.

Midoriya continues obliviously. “We can work on increasing the temperature of your fire in the future, I think. Right now though, I think it's, um- most important that we establish whether or not it’s even- whether it’s even possible to produce an explosion like this. Using your quirk.”

“So, um, for now, I think- I think I’m just going to use mine.”

The support student suddenly takes a deep breath in, puffing his cheeks out, before blowing the air back out in a thin stream of white fire. With a quick twirl of his fingers, the flame warps oddly, twisting out of its natural trajectory to settle in the boy’s left palm.

Todoroki’s gaze locks onto the flame, eyes wide. “I,” He starts, before closing his mouth, throat bobbing. He swallows and tries again. “I didn’t know you had a- you had a fire quirk.” He says, voice coming out stilted. “I hope I didn’t- if I had known... I’m sorry if I- I offended you.”

“No!” Midoriya exclaims, waving his hands in a motion frantic enough that the fire in his hand promptly dies out. “You didn’t- I wasn’t offended . You had your reasons for- for not using your fire. And I- and I understand.”

What? Shouta thinks, somewhat desperately. What are you talking about? What do you understand? What is going on?

“I’m just glad that I can help you now. I’m glad we can- we can use our fire together.” Midoriya says. He smiles again, and it’s different from the one before. It’s a small thing, but no less warm and bright.

“...Yeah,” Todoroki says, voice unnaturally high. Shouta has to physically restrain himself from barking out a laugh at the blatant voice crack.

Midoriya nods then, taking a couple steps back. He breathes out another flame, white hot. Shouta can’t even look at it directly without his eyes stinging. He theorizes that the greater temperature of Midoriya’s fire has to do with the fact that it’s originating from the already-warm climate of his body, instead of being generated out of the cool air around them, as it is with Todoroki’s.

The boy gathers the flame in one hand and coats the other with ice. He spreads his arms out wide and appears to steel himself, planting his feet firmly on the ground before he swings his arms forward and-

Oh, it looks like it’s going to rain soon.

Shouta’s vision is blurry. He can tell even though the only thing in his sight is the clouds above him. There’s a high pitched ringing in his ears that thankfully lasts only for a few seconds before it dissipates, leaving the man to wonder in silence what the fuck just happened.

He gathers his arms under him and pushes himself upright and into a sitting position. He blinks several times in an effort to clear his vision but it does very little to help as there appears to be a large cloud of dark smoke a short distance in front of him.

Luckily it disperses quickly in the cool air. Though, unluckily it reveals a gaping crater in the ground, at least Shouta’s height in diameter.

He realizes then, what has happened.

He scrambles to his feet, and with the higher vantage point comes the sight of two bodies in the grass.

Todoroki’s sitting upright, and while shocked, he doesn’t appear to be visibly injured aside from a few scrapes and likely some soon-to-form bruises. 

In contrast, Midoriya is lying still on his back - already a bad sign. Shouta elects to tend to him first.

He crouches next to the boy, which seems to startle him into bolting upright. He uses his hands to push him upwards, likely on instinct, and while it does the job it makes the boy hiss in pain.

“Careful,” Shouta says. He nearly reaches forward to steady the boy but thinks better of it, instead placing his hands on his thighs, empty, visible. “Are you hurt?” He asks.

Hearing a scuffle behind him, Shouta turns just in time to see Todoroki crouch on Midoriya’s other side, concerned eyes mirroring his own. The student doesn’t appear to have the same reservations as Shouta, as he quickly places a comforting hand on the smaller boy’s arm.

Returning his attention to Midoriya he watches the boy shake his head. He crosses his arms tightly around his middle.

He’s lying, Shouta realizes with a sensation no less painful than a knife stabbing straight into his chest. He’s lying to you. He’s afraid of you.

The hero clenches his jaw against the temptation to allow his face to twist into anything that could be interpreted as negative.

“Midoriya,” He says. It’s not harsh, but it’s firm. “Are you hurt?” He asks again.

The boy in question purses his lips, weighing his options. He seems to ultimately decide that the consequences of lying would be worse than the consequences of admitting his injury. He slowly uncrosses his arms and bears them to Shouta. The sleeves of his uniform are lightly singed at the ends, but burns are not what the teacher’s worried about.

What he’s worried about is the unnatural angle of his left wrist, the way the obviously dislocated bone juts outward and pushes against the surrounding muscle, resulting in a misshapen lump underneath the skin. The whole area is a timid red, but Shouta knows from experience that it will very soon darken - likely into angry hues of blacks and purples, judging by how bad the break is.

“Shit,” Shouta hisses. “You need to go to Recovery Girl. Can you stand?” The question isn’t necessarily rhetorical, but the teacher isn’t sure what he’s going to do if the answer is no. Shouta highly doubts the kid would be comfortable with being carried by him.

Luckily, the boy nods. He gathers his feet under him, somewhat awkwardly, as he does so without the use of his hands. Shouta suspects that his left wrist isn’t the only one injured.

Straightening, Shouta turns to his student, satisfied in this moment that while Midoriya is injured, he’s not in immediate danger of making it worse. “Todoroki, what about you? Are you alright?”

The student in question doesn’t take his eyes off of Midoriya as he answers with a distracted, “I’m alright, Sensei.”

The teacher purses his lips at the reply. Similar to Midoriya, Todoroki doesn’t necessarily have a good track record of admitting his injuries. To his credit though, the kid was farther away from the explosion from Midoriya, and wasn’t producing it with his own hands, so it’s unlikely that he was injured to the same extent as the smaller boy. Still, he was closer than Shouta, who went down pretty hard himself.

“Okay, well,” He sighs. “We’re all going to go to Recovery Girl anyway.”

Todoroki does look over at him in response to that statement. Not in an ‘are you serious,’ kind of way, but in a ‘duh,’ kind of way, like he was going to be accompanying them no matter what Shouta said.

Recovery Girl seems to be in the process of packing up when they enter, which does make Shouta feel a little guilty. He catches her sour expression when she turns to them upon hearing the door, but it dissipates entirely when she catches sight of the two students. She drops everything she’s doing to hobble over to them.

“Oh, goodness!” She exclaims. The heroine hovers over Todoroki briefly before turning her attention fully to Midoriya. “What’s happened this time?”

The support student flashes a nervous smile, but he doesn’t speak. 

Recovery Girl purses her lips, glancing at Shouta expectantly… and a little venomously.

He cringes. “He was using Todoroki’s quirk to produce an explosion.” He glances at Midoriya’s wrist, now an angry purple around the disjointed bone. “I think the resulting shock wave forced his wrists to bend backwards too quickly, probably dislocating at least one.”

The older heroine hums as she examines the injury. “Looks like it,” She agrees. “Why don’t you sit over on the bed, sweetie?” She says, turning her attention to Midoriya, who complies only after casting a nervous look at Shouta.

“And what about you, child? Are you in any pain?” She asks Todoroki, tapping him lightly on the ankle with her cane when his eyes don’t stray from Midoriya.

The boy blinks, finally looking down at her. “I think I hit my head when I fell. My shoulder, too.”

Recovery Girl frowns, but then nods. “Alright, hon. Why don’t you go sit on the other cot, across from Midoriya.” She turns around to follow Todoroki towards the beds when he obeys, casting Shouta only a brief glance. “If you’re injured, I don’t care.”

And that’s… fair, honestly.

He lingers in the doorway, not quite ready to leave the students alone in her care.

“Todoroki,” Recovery Girl addresses. “You should be fine to leave right after I heal you, if not a little drowsy.”

Turning towards Midoriya, she says, “You already know how my quirk works, sweetheart. You’ll probably be knocked out, if you’re as injured as I think you are.”

The boy looks a little displeased by that, but he nods anyway. Though when she leans forward to kiss him on the forehead he leans backwards.

“Wait,” Midoriya says, the first word he’s spoken since the incident. His eyes trail over to Todoroki. “We- I should- I should... give it back?”

The hero student blinks. “Not yet,” He says. “No need to waste your energy before you’re even healed. We can do it later.”

The underground hero rolls his eyes at the excuse. Kissing in front of Shouta was fine, but they draw the line at Recovery Girl, apparently.

The heroine looks back and forth between the two students several times, a suspicious look on her face. She sighs and shakes her head, muttering something along the lines of ‘I don’t get paid enough to deal with this.’

She turns then to kiss Todoroki on the forehead, who sways but doesn’t immediately pass out. Returning to Midoriya, she gives him the same treatment. The boy lists to the side, eyes drooping but stubbornly remaining open as he visibly fights unconsciousness.

“It should go without saying,” She starts sternly. “That you should not even think about attempting that move again.” The statement is made towards the students, but the woman casts a glance back at Shouta, conveying who the threat’s really for. “Especially not during the Festival.”

And Midoriya, eyes half lidded and wearing a tiny pout, looks a little too disappointed for his liking. Shouta sighs. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be scrapped entirely.” He says. Recovery Girl narrows her eyes at him, but he continues anyway as if he’s not currently fearing for his life.

“It's possible, we proved that today. It would certainly give Todoroki a leg up in combat if utilized correctly.” He muses.

Green, green eyes stare up at him, and something in Shouta’s chest cracks.

“We’ll revisit it later.” He says, somewhat begrudgingly. “When we can be sure it won’t break your fucking wrists.”

And the boy looks bashful, at that, but it’s better than the defeated expression from before. So even as Recovery Girl tears him a new asshole that evening, Shouta counts it as a win.

Shouta speaks very little about the Sports Festival in its preceding days, only entertaining the topic if someone else brings it up first. Other than that, he hardly grants his students anything more than offhanded comments and casual reminders of its imminence under his breath, hoping they all get the hint. He doesn’t tell them to prepare, and certainly not to train. If any of them need him to explicitly coax them into training for one of the most important events of their hero career, then he figures they weren’t all that serious about it in the first place. It isn’t until the day before, at the very end of class, that he finally addresses the event to the class as a whole. 

“As I’m sure you are all aware, The UA Sports Festival is tomorrow.” He pauses for a moment, partially for dramatic effect, partially to gauge the student’s reactions. Luckily, none of them appear particularly surprised by the statement. “I will not see you before the event starts, so allow me to give you my advice now.”

“This tournament and its three events are the only chances you get to show the professional heroes and hero agencies throughout the country what you have to offer.” He drones. “If you slack off in your performance, you will not receive an internship, and you will promptly fall behind.” Several students appear invigorated by the threat, some absolutely terrified.

“Keep in mind, your opponents do not only include your fellow hero students. The support, business, and general courses also compete in the tournament. The Sports Festival gives students of those courses a chance to prove themselves as deserving of a transfer into the hero course.” He sweeps his gaze across the room.

“Just as it gives you a chance to prove yourself unworthy of your position here.” He does not rest his gaze on any student in particular, but with the way the temperature in the room seems to immediately drop, he would guess that each and every one of them took that statement as a personal offense. Good.

“This event marks the beginning of your uprising as heroes in the public eye. Every move you make will considerably affect the trajectory of your career. Do not take it lightly.”

He reaches under his desk, pulling out his sleeping bag and stepping into it. He looks up to see each and every one of his students still watching him intensely.

“Dismissed.”

Present Mic marks the beginning of the Sports Festival with an exuberant “HEY!” Swinging his arms out wide and nearly catching Shouta straight in the face with his reinforced leather knuckles. Being so familiar with his husband’s antics, he dodges easily.

“The UA Sports Festival is about to begin! Are you ready?” He asks, pointing twin finger guns at the camera in front of him. The crowd goes wild.

“It’s time for the first-year students to enter the stage!”

With that, the viewing screen switches to display the aforementioned group. As per tradition, the hero course students are announced first, followed by the general, support, and business courses.

His students come out a bit staggered as friends stick close to each other and far away from outsiders. Some raise their fists and declare their presence proudly. Others clutch the sleeves of those around them with trembling fingers as the reality of their current situation finally sinks in.

Shouta squints at the screen. He’s pretty sure Yaoyorozu is trying her best to hide behind Shoji and out of the camera’s view. He remembers doing something similar in his school years.

The underground hero pays little attention to the other classes. He vaguely recognizes a few students from 1-B, not that he would be able to tell anyone their names if they asked. His gaze slides over the management and general classes before landing on support - on 1-H, in particular. He searches for a single familiar figure among the sea of children that pretty much all look the same to him and- there he is.

Midoriya, hunched over and looking absolutely petrified to be inhabiting a physical body. Next to him is a student with pink dreadlocks who gestures widely and animatedly as she chatters away. The boy’s posture loosens minutely when he looks over to acknowledge her, which causes the girl’s excitement to increase tenfold. The sight is familiar, but this time, it’s heartwarmingly so.

As he sweeps his gaze across the sea of support students, he notices quickly that Midoriya’s attire is considerably... bare, compared to his peers. The girl next to him is donning a vast assortment of scarlet and gold support items, as are just about every other student in those courses, and even some students in the others. It’s expected for the students of the support classes to take the Festival as an opportunity to show their contraptions to the world, or, more importantly, to potential recruiters.

Why wouldn’t Midoriya have the same objective?

The students all gather in the center of the arena where Midnight stands tall on a raised podium. She cracks her whip loudly. The sharp sound reverberates throughout the stadium, and the audience’s cheers wane significantly (though, that might not be from the sound, rather, from the sight of the R-rated hero herself. Shouta has never been a fan of the woman’s choice of hero attire or persona, but he can begrudgingly respect her ability to command a room.)

“It’s time,” She declares. “For the player's pledge!”

“Representing the students is 1-A’s Bakugou Katsuki!”

The screen switches to capture the aforementioned student, who stalks languidly towards the podium, hands in his pockets. His face appears utterly indifferent, tired even, as if he’s not about to speak in front of the thousands of people in the audience, and millions of people watching from home.

When Bakugou stops to stand in front of the microphone he pauses. It lasts just long enough that the silence begins to feel awkward. And then, he says,

“I pledge that I’m going to win.”

Shouta pushes his chair back as he slowly lowers his head, letting it land on the table in front of him with a bonk that he hopes the microphone in front of him caught and projected.

Incredulous outrage quickly sweeps across the crowd. Boos bounce against the walls of the arena as Hizashi attempts in vain to placate them. It isn’t until Midnight cracks her whip again that the noise lessens enough for any one voice to be heard.

“Enough!” She shouts, which roughly translates to 'shut the fuck up'. “Let’s begin!”

“The first of the three events is what we call a ‘qualifying round’. The majority of you will be eliminated here.” She explains. A collective groan sounds from the students.

“Let’s see what fate decides!”

Shouta lifts his head from the desk to watch the large screen at the top of the arena. Characters rapidly flit in and out of view like a slot machine, too quick to read. After several seconds, the screen goes completely black. When it comes back to life, two words are shown.

“Obstacle Race!” Midnight announces.

“All eleven classes will be participating in the race. The track is located at the outer circumference of this stadium - about four kilometers.”

A handful of students appear to slump at that, as if trekking four kilometers is an unattainable feat. Midnight allows them a moment to brood.

“In this school,” The heroine continues. “We value innovation and freedom.”

She licks her lips. “As long as you stay within the barriers of the course, anything goes.”

The crowd goes absolutely nuts at that. Students excitedly chatter amongst themselves.

“Now,” The R-Rated Hero says. “All students gather at the starting point!”

Atop the arch under which the students are clumped, there are three green lights.

One dims. Ready.

Then the second. Set.

The audience and students alike hold their breath.

The final light shuts off. Go.

Instead of immediately spouting out commentary as the students begin to funnel through the passage, Present Mic turns to look at Shouta, lips quirked on one side. “Are you ready, Mummy Man?”

The underground hero huffs at the nickname. The only bandages he still has are some wrapping around his head, a patch under his eye, and the cast around his arm. Thus, the moniker is illogical. It doesn’t make him smile. It doesn’t.

“Let’s just get started.” He says, looking resolutely away from his husband.

He can hear the grin in Hizashi's voice when he turns back to the microphone and says, “Right on!” 

“So, what should we be paying attention to in the early stages?” The Voice Hero asks.

Shouta sighs, watching the students bottleneck around the starting point. “This.” He says simply.

The narrow pathway at the very beginning of the race is the first and perhaps most important obstacle that the students need to overcome. The choice of whether to strive towards the front of the group or wait in the back until the commotion dies down is the key. Both strategies can be effective based on their utilization. The majority of the students, it seems, are going for gold, all fighting each other to get ahead.

Suddenly, dense frost shoots out of both ends of the tunnel, obscuring all of the students from view. It dissipates quickly in the warm air, revealing the thick layer of ice that has formed on the ground, trapping most of the students in place by their feet.

Hizashi lets out a vague exclamation at the sudden turn of events. Shouta regards the scene coldly. He’d expected some student to use their quirk to create a widespread barrier to debilitate the majority of the other participants from the start and eliminate the competition. It’s a smart thing to do. It’s certainly not surprising that Todoroki was the one to do it too, with his powerful quirk and strategic thinking. 

“The first sifting.” The underground hero drones.

The bicolored boy is the first to be seen stepping out of the tunnel. Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, and Aoyama follow shortly after, all shooting out of the darkness of the tunnel with flashy displays of their quirks. He’s not surprised by the former two, but Shouta is a bit surprised by the latter. He wonders how exactly Aoyama was able to use their quirk to escape the ice, as they likely had very little room to move around and bend their body to shoot their naval lazar at their feet. They must be fairly flexible. Shouta makes a note to cultivate that skill in future lessons.

Kirishima makes it out of the tunnel next, quirk activated. He’d likely used his quirk, coupled with brute strength to break his way through the ice keeping him in place.

The next person out of the tunnel surprises him as well. It’s Midoriya. He’s running across the ice as if it’s solid ground. Chunks of ice fly through the air in his wake.

He must be wearing spiked shoes, Shouta realizes, leaning back in his chair. It’s such a simple innovation, and yet it has him running ahead of nearly every other participant...

Shouta furrows his brows. The shoes may help Midoriya find purchase on top of the ice as he runs, but they wouldn't have provided him any aid at all if they had been trapped in ice... which is what had happened to every other participant. How was Midoriya able to get out of the ice in the first place?

Shouta leans closer to the screen, squinting his eyes. If Midoriya had been encased in ice like everyone else, his shoes would be damp, as would the bottoms of his pants, due to how thick the layer is. But they’re not.

He thinks of the interactions he’s observed between Todoroki and Midoriya, the only friend the boy appears to have, and he has a realization.

Todoroki avoided freezing Midoriya. 

Shouta purses his lips. The Sports Festival is not the time to be honoring friendships. Midoriya is probably one of the biggest competitors for first place, not only because of the boy’s quirk(s), but also because of his innovation and capacity for critical thinking. It would have been wise for Todoroki to eliminate him from the beginning like he had done with most of the other participants. And yet, he purposefully did not. Shouta wonders if the hero student is banking on Midoriya making it to the finals, and hopes to fight him directly. That would make sense. Though, Shouta has a feeling the support student would be able to make it there even without his help.

Shouta watches Ojiro exit the tunnel next, bashing his tail against the ground both to increase his speed and to break the ice, leaving uneven, jutting fragments behind him. The shards are large enough to be easily tripped over. It’s a clever way to handicap the participants behind him.

Tokoyami is next, flying through the air with the aid of Dark Shadow and avoiding the ground entirely - also a smart choice.

Ashido comes out after him. She stumbles at first but quickly regains her footing. The ice behind her sizzles and steams, and Shouta realizes she’s letting acid out of the soles of her feet, allowing her to skate across the ice.

A loud exclamation from Hizashi diverts his attention. “More obstacles have appeared!” He says, and the screen cuts to show an overhead view of the aforementioned obstacle.

Robots. The same ones from the entrance exam.

Todoroki, like he had done with the tunnel less than thirty seconds before, immediately freezes the largest one.

Shouta frowns. That’s not… the wisest choice. The boy may be getting past the obstacles, but he’s also eliminating them for everyone behind him, giving them the opportunity to catch up.

The robot shudders suddenly, and the ice encasing it cracks and begins to fall apart. The machine itself follows soon after.

Ah. Todoroki had frozen the robot in an unstable position, and allowed gravity to do the rest of the work. Shouta takes back his earlier criticism. That was smart.

Dust and frost billow up into the air as the massive robot crashes to the ground. As it clears, the disassembled corpse of the machine is revealed. It takes up the entirety of the course, leaving the rest of the participants with no option but to climb over it.

“Todoroki Shouto. Quirk: Half-Hot, Half-Cold , is the first one through! Amazing!” Hizashi comments.

Shouta decides to chip in some praise as well. “The action was logical and strategic.”

“As expected from a recommendation student!” Mic agrees. “He’s never fought them before, and was still able to beat them in a single move!”

Shouta watches as the group of students gather at the base of the robot, some using their quirks and some using nothing but their own hands and feet to attempt the climb.

There’s a commotion suddenly on one of the upright surfaces of the robots. The ice cracks as the panel underneath it breaks apart, revealing a head of spiked red hair.

“Kirishima Eijiro had been underneath the robot! His quirk: Hardening, causes his body to become super hard like a rock!” Mic explains.

Shouta’s face twists. If it had been anyone but him that had gotten trapped under the robot, they would have died. 

Another panel of the robot splinters and breaks apart then, and a silver-chrome boy climbs his way out of the inside.

“Woah! Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu was also under there! His quirk is called Steel! It allows his body to become super hard like, well, steel!”

…If it had been anyone but those two, they would have died.

Bakugou is the next to overcome the obstacle, flying over it with a few well timed explosions. Sero and Tokoyami follow soon after. Instead of facing the robots offensively, they each evade them by flying overhead. Mic rattles off their quirks so quickly and easily that it’s honestly impressive.

“Bakugou Katsuki. Quirk: Explosion! He sweats a substance called nitroglycerin from his palms, which he can ignite at will and create explosions!”

“Sero Hanta. Quirk: Tape! He can shoot a tape-like material from those contraptions you see on his elbows!”

“Tokoyami Fumikage. Quirk: Dark Shadow! This student’s got a sentient shadow-like monster living inside of him that can materialize and change shape!”

The next students to make their way through are all familiar faces. Iida runs through the fray at top speed, only changing trajectory to deal a quirk-powered kick to the robots that come too close. Jirou extends her earjacks and plugs them into the robots, breaking them apart from the inside out with the vibrations she produces. Kaminari short-circuits any machine that he comes into contact with. Uraraka negates the gravity of any robot she can get all five fingers on and sends them crashing back down to earth with enough force to break them into pieces.

“Wow! The majority of the students in the lead are from hero class 1-A!” Mic exclaims.

Shouta hums. “Class 1-A doesn’t spend a lot of time standing around. Those who experienced the villain attack at the USJ firsthand were forced to learn the consequences of hesitating.” In his mind’s eye, he watches Midoriya divert his attention from the beast in front of him to glance at Shouta, the action resulting in the monster crushing his windpipe with a single massive fist. He watches the student look over at the Hand Villain instead of the Noumu, only to be rewarded several broken ribs and two collapsed lungs. A lump forms in his throat.

“They were forced to learn that a half-second of inaction could lead to a horrific end.”

Not ‘could’, would. It would lead to a horrific end. It did lead to a horrific end. Several, actually.

Shouta swallows.

“The attack was by all means unfortunate and should not have happened. But the fact is that the heroes and students who were involved became better as a result of it.” He finishes. For some reason, the statement leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

Speaking of the USJ attack, the next student to face the robots is Midoriya Izuku himself. The first few the kid is able to evade, but as a three-pointer takes a wide swipe at him, several things happen at once. He throws his arm out, and a piece of rubble from the downed zero-pointer flies off of the ground and into his hand. Just before the three-pointer is able to get a hit on him, he swings the panel forward and straight into its shoulder joint, dislodging its arm entirely.

“And there’s Midoriya Izuku from class 1-H! His quirk, Pull, allows him a measure of telekinetic control over any substance of any state of matter!” Hizashi says, reading off of a sticky note rather than referencing the kid’s file, because for whatever reason, Nedzu has made it so they can’t do that.

Shouta furrows his brows. He wonders if Hizashi intentionally didn’t mention Midoriya’s involvement in the USJ. Nedzu probably instructed him not to. People would ask questions if a student from outside of the Hero course attended a strictly Hero course field trip.

Several zero-pointers seem to suddenly drop at once, rattled with explosions. For a second, Shouta thinks Bakugou returned to the scene to give them another piece of his mind, but when the smoke clears, he sees what’s actually happened. Each of the robots have large, perfectly circular holes carved into their vital areas. Looking back to the group of students, he sees Yaoyorozu, uniform shirt unbuttoned and standing next to a large cannon that he cannot even begin to theorize how she was able to force out of her body.

“Yaoyorozu Momo just took three zero-pointers down like it was nothing! Her quirk: Creation, allows her to create any object through the transformation of her body’s lipid cells! Though, in order to make something, she must first understand its chemical composition!”

Shouta sighs. Sure, it’s an impressive show of power, but she’d not only eliminated the obstacles for herself, but for everyone else as well.

“So you think the first obstacle was a piece of cake? Then what about the second?” The Voice Hero challenges. The screen above them switches to capture the referenced obstacle.

“The Fall!”

It’s quite frankly a terrifying sight. Likely even more so when you’re standing directly in front of it. Islands of earth are separated by gaping chasms that are so dark that Shouta wouldn’t be surprised if they led to the very center of the planet. The only thing connecting the platforms are thick wires, only a single one between each island.

“If you fall,” Mic says. “You’re out!”

The first student who dares to take on the challenge is Asui. She wastes no time in getting on all fours and crawling across the rope. It looks like an easy feat, watching her do it so quickly. What the audience can’t see is the sticky substance she is able to excrete from her hands and the malleable joints of her ankles and feet that help her maintain her balance.

“There goes Asui Tsuyu, leading the pack! Her quirk, mutation based, is called Frog - which, as you could probably guess, grants her many of the same abilities as the creature of the same name!”

Several students who don’t know any better attempt the same strategy as the girl. Most of them immediately swing upside down due to poor balance, and many subsequently fall into the chasm below.

“Here comes Uraraka Ochako!”

Uraraka, after getting a running start, jumps into the chasm, not even aiming for a rope.

But then, she places all five fingers against her chest, and her descent slows considerably.

Shouta’s eyes widen. The girl is wearing a startlingly familiar set of fingerless gloves and chunky boots. 

Suddenly, the fact that Midoriya isn’t wearing any support items makes perfect sense. He doesn’t make them for himself.

With a few well-angled bursts of flame, Uraraka maneuvers herself into a position where her feet are parallel to the slope of the chasm she had jumped off of. Then, fire bursts out of the soles of her shoes, and she goes rocketing towards the next island, where she promptly releases her quirk, and does the exact same thing again.

“And there she goes! Uraraka’s quirk: Anti-Gravity allows her to negate the gravity of any object she can get all five fingers on! Right now she seems to be using it on herself!” Mic exclaims. “Typically, she has very little control over her movement after she’s used her quirk on her own body, but with the help of those nifty little gloves and boots she’s wearing, she is able to better control her trajectory!” He says.

“And speaking of, the mastermind behind those support items is not far behind her!”

The screen flits to capture Midoriya, hand in hand with the same girl he had been basically attached to when the event first started. Shouta’s eyes widen at the sight of her. Now that the camera is so close, he can easily make out her eyes. They’re a bright yellow with pinprick pupils and crosshairs.

A tension leaves his body that he didn’t even know he had been harboring. The quirk he had seen Midoriya with the other day had been merely borrowed, and from a friend, it seems.

The two support students are flying through the air, hair whipping wildly and wide smiles on both of their faces. Midoriya still has the panel he had used to fight the robots, currently wrapped around his torso with cords.

“Midoriya Izuku is the maker of Uraraka’s support items! With him is Hatsume Mei, another student of class 1-H! Her quirk: Zoom, helps her see things that are really far away, and things that are really small!”

Shouta leans back. That would certainly be a helpful quirk for designing support items, with all the tiny pieces that are involved. It’s no wonder Midoriya was using it.

“They are flying high over the chasms with the help of those boots on Hatsume’s feet, which she created herself!”

The underground hero squints. As he looks at the pair on the screen, Shouta notes that Midoriya isn’t wearing the same boots as the girl - meaning, he’s basically dead weight to her. Why would she have allowed him to latch onto her before taking off? Why did she take him with her? He must be considerably reducing her speed…

Midoriya suddenly throws a hand out in front of him, adjusting his other arm to wrap around Hatsumei’s waist. He makes a fist with his outstretched hand and pulls it towards his chest. The pair goes careening towards the nearest island, unearthing dust and rocks as they land.

Ah, so he isn’t quite a dead weight, then. It’s a mutually beneficial team up. Hatsume is able to get them into the air with her shoes, but probably has a difficult time landing or controlling her trajectory. Using Midoriya’s quirk to pull them back on track is a good way to make up for those shortcomings.

“Now, let’s get back to the frontrunners of the race! Todoroki and Bakugou have made it past the second obstacle, leaving everyone else in the dust!” Present Mic points a finger gun at the camera in front of him despite the fact that it isn’t broadcasting him.

“They’ve arrived at the third and final obstacle of the race!”

“The Minefield!”

“If you look carefully, you can tell exactly where each and every mine is buried - so participants must employ both their legs and their eyes if they want to get through unharmed!” The limelight hero explains.

“That being said, these mines are not powerful enough to cause serious harm. They are, however, loud and flashy enough to make you wet your pants if it goes off underneath you!”

Heeding the warning, Todoroki carefully begins to shuffle across the field. It’s a slow process - slow enough that the student in second place is able to quickly catch up to him.

Bakugou comes rocketing forward, propelled by the explosions from his hands. His feet don’t even touch the ground until he reaches Todoroki. The blonde immediately attacks the other boy, hoping to throw him off enough to give him a larger lead. Todoroki is quick to respond, freezing Bakugou’s hands in an attempt to stall the assault.

“Woah! Bakugou has caught up to first place and is now fighting Todoroki for victory! But the rest of the participants are quickly catching up as well. Even as they push and pull at each other, will these two remain in the lead?”

So focused on the frontrunners, no one foresees what happens next.

A huge explosion, easily twenty times the size of what the mines are supposed to produce, goes off at the back of the field.

Shouta stands in startlement. What the fuck? A blast like that could easily kill someone. Why would there be a mine that powerful in the race? What if someone was hurt?

“That’s a big explosion!” Mic exclaims, sounding alarmed to Shouta, but probably not to the audience, who don’t know him quite like he does.

Before the dust can even clear, a figure shoots out of the cloud and across the field, smoke trailing behind them. When the camera focuses on the blur Shouta lets out a sharp bark of a laugh.

“Midoriya Izuku of class 1-H is in hot pursuit with that blast!”

It seems as if every other participant on the field stands completely still to watch Midoriya as the boy soars over them.

“Actually, he’s taken the lead!”

The crowd goes absolutely fucking nuts.

Todoroki and Bakugou shake out of their stupor at the declaration. Completely foregoing their previous efforts to sabotage each other, they each shoot forward to beat Midoriya for first. Bakugou takes to the sky once again, and Todoroki creates a path of ice as he runs, keeping him from stepping directly on any of the mines.

As Midoriya begins to descend, Shouta identifies quite the problem. The boy’s trajectory will land him near-exactly where Bakugou and Todoroki will be if they maintain their current speed. Midoriya appears to figure this out as well.

Doing a quite impressive front flip midair, Midoriya grabs the cable attached to the metal panel he had been surfing on, and slams it into the ground, planting his feet on both Todoroki and Bakugou’s shoulders for purchase.

The resulting explosion is effective in both propelling him forward and pushing Todoroki and Bakugou back.

“And look at that! Would you believe it? He’s cleared the minefield in only an instant!”

Todoroki and Bakugou are quick to regain their footing and shoot forward once again. Shouta thinks for a second that Todoroki might actually overcome him, but as Midoriya’s speed begins to decrease, he thrusts a hand forward, towards the final arch signaling the end of the race, and pulls. With the renewed speed, Midoriya flies towards the finish line.

Shouta doesn’t even have to wonder who won.

“UA Sports Festival, the first-year’s stage! Who could have predicted this?”

The camera cuts to show the final arch, to capture the first figure to run through and re-enter the stadium.

“In first place, we have the underdog, Midoriya Izuku!”

The boy doubles over, gasping for air. When he straightens, his eyes are glassy. Reminiscent of using his quirk, he holds his hand up, pulling his fist towards his chest and over his heart.

Present Mic continues to rattle off the names of students as they finish the race. Shouta listens only until he hears Hitoshi’s name, and then he slumps back.

He feels warm.

After a brief interlude wherein the disqualified students dejectedly leave the field and make their way to the stands, the remaining students gather before Midnight in the center of the stadium once again.

“Standing before me are the first 42 students who finished the Obstacle Race.” Midnight says. “Congratulations, children, you have made it to the second round!” The audience briefly cheers.

“Speaking of, let’s see what the second round is going to be!” She says, pointing towards the projection that has materialized behind her.

The selection screen is the same as before. Different choices rotate through like a slot machine as if the events hadn’t been predetermined long before the school year even started.

The screen goes black, and then,

“Cavalry Battle!”

“Allow me to explain,” Midnight starts. “Participants will form teams of two to four. It’s basically the same as any regular cavalry battle. Though, there’s one key difference: each of you has been assigned a point value based on your placement in the last event.”

The screen switches to show each qualifying student and their assigned point value. “The number of points assigned increases by five starting from the bottom. So, 42nd place gets 5 points, 41st gets 10, and so on.”

The heroine pauses, allowing the students to find their name and point value on the screen. Though there’s one student whose name is absent from the list.

“And the point value assigned to first place is…” Midnight licks her lips.

“Ten million.”

The screen immediately cuts to show the current first place scorer, Midoriya. Shouta thinks the kid looks like he’s about to die - which is saying something, seeing as Shouta has literally seen the kid as he’s about to die on several occasions.

The boy slowly lowers into a crouch as if the entire weight of the world is being steadily piled atop his shoulders. He drops his face into his hands for several seconds, before leaning back and allowing himself to fall and lay flat on the ground. He removes his hands from his face then in favor of stretching them straight out, his body assuming a starfish position.

Midoriya looks straight into the camera then, and though the feed isn’t recording sound, Shouta can easily make out the emphatic “what the fuck,” the kid intones.

Shouta wants to feel bad for him. But it’s also really fucking funny.

“In other words,” Midnight drawls. “If you take down the first place player’s team, you will climb to the top no matter what place you’re in.”

For whatever reason, the camera is still on Midoriya, who lets out another “what the fuck.”

Both the group of students and the audience burst into excited chatter.

“Now, I will explain the rules of the event.”

The viewing screen switches to show an image of All Might atop the shoulders of Present Mic and Snipe, with Thirteen in the front - demonstrating the structure of the team units.

“It will last for exactly fifteen minutes. Each team is worth the total of its members’ points. The designated rider of the team will wear a headband with that number on their forehead.” Midnight explains. The computer-generated All Might displays his headband, smiling at the camera.

“The objective of the game is to get as many points as possible, either by grabbing the headbands of other teams, or by keeping your own headband safe. Stolen headbands must be worn around the neck, making them harder to manage as they pile up.”

“Getting your headband stolen does not result in immediate disqualification, so don’t give up!” The heroine encourages with a fist pump.

“During the game, you may use your quirks, but keep in mind - this is a cavalry battle. Any attacks with the explicit intention of making people fall will result in your removal!” Several students groan at that. Probably the ones with the more offensive quirks who thought that they could overpower their way to victory. Shouta’s face twists. Hopefully this event will be a wake up call for them.

“You have fifteen minutes to make your teams.” Midnight announces. “Start!”

Shouta already has his sleeping bag two-thirds of the way zipped by the time the students begin to turn to their neighbors and seek out their friends. Before the underground hero can even open his mouth to make the request, Hizashi says, “I’ll wake you when time’s up.”

He knows him so well.

When he wakes to Hizashi’s gentle coaxing, he gets up with only minimal groaning. Sitting back in his chair, he immediately scans the field, looking for a few students in particular.

Hitoshi is in a team of four including Tokoyami, Aoyama, and another boy he doesn’t necessarily recognize, but is familiar enough for him to deduce that he’s probably in the other hero course. The lilac haired boy is the rider with Aoyama in the front, Tokoyami to his right, and the other student to his left.

Midoriya is also in a team of four - Todoroki, Uraraka, and that one support student with the pink hair that he’s already forgotten the name of. Midoriya is the rider with Uraraka to his left, Todoroki to his right, and the other support student in the front.

And Shouta can’t help but question that choice. Any team with either Midoriya or Todoroki on it would be an automatic target. The fact that the first and second place scorers are on the same team puts them in even more danger.

…Now that Shouta thinks about it, he’s not sure that has ever happened before - typically the top trio try to snuff each other out.

“Now then,” Midnight starts, stretching her arms out. “It’s time to get started!”

“After having fifteen minutes to form teams and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are lined up on the field.” Present Mic says.

“Now, shout your battle cries, because the fight is on!”

“In three, two, one-!”

“Go!”

As expected, nearly every group flocks towards Team Midoriya, who immediately takes to the skies with the help of the heavy-looking metal boots Uraraka and Todoroki are wearing. Uraraka’s probably used her quirk on them, Shouta muses.

Jirou, from her place on Team Hagakure, attempts to snatch the boy’s headband with her earjacks but is thwarted by Todoroki. He freezes her earjacks together, which earns a high shriek from the girl.

After flying a good distance away from any offending groups, Team Midoriya begins to descend, landing on a relatively empty section of the field.

“Even though barely a minute has passed since we’ve started, it’s already turned into a free-for-all! There are fights breaking out everywhere!” Present Mic announces. 

“Ignoring the team with the highest score and going after the smaller teams certainly isn’t a bad idea!”

Shouta barely holds back a snort at Hizashi’s blatant attempt at helping Team Midoriya.

Completely going against the suggestion, several teams continue to ignore every group other than the highest scorers. Shouji, completely obscuring his rider, darts towards them. Through the gap in his arms, a tongue shoots out - Asui.

Team Midoriya flies up into the sky to avoid the groups coming towards them, but is halted by Asui’s tongue wrapping around one of Uraraka’s boots. It’s at that moment that Midoriya activates the scarlet and gold jetpack strapped to his back. The added force causes the team to rocket upwards, though at the expense of the boot, which breaks apart and falls to the ground below.

Even in the sky, Team Midoriya cannot seem to find peace, as Bakugou, completely separated from his team, shoots towards them with explosions coming from his palms.

Midoriya looks panicked for a second, before he thrusts a hand out - towards the rapidly approaching Bakugou - makes a fist, and pulls his hand back.

The hero student, who had been losing momentum as he peaked in his arc through the air, increases in speed once again as Midoriya’s quirk pulls him forward. As Bakugou comes careening towards them, Midoriya yells something, and both Todoroki and Uraraka activate their boots.

Due to the missing boot, their trajectory doesn’t send the team shooting straight up like it’s supposed to. Instead, the group is sent diagonally up and to the right - but that seems to be exactly what Midoriya’s banking on. Bakugou flies right past the team, through the space they had just been inhabiting a second before. The hero student yells obscenities and lets loose explosions but can’t quite get his trajectory under control by himself, ultimately having to be saved by Sero, who shoots his tape out to retrieve him.

“Uh- Is that allowed?” Mic asks.

“Yep!” Midnight chirps. “Though, it wouldn’t have been if Bakugou had touched the ground.”

Team Midoriya descends to the ground again, their landing a little rough due to the missing boot.

“We’re halfway through the event now at seven-and-a-half minutes! Let’s take a look at each team’s points!”

The viewing screen switches to show each team and their current point values. It’s not pretty.

For one of the very few times in Shouta’s life, he witnesses the pro-hero Present Mic shocked into silence.

“...Huh,” The hero muses. “Other than Team Midoriya, Class 1-A isn’t doing too hot! Even Team Bakugou has gotten their headband snatched!”

Bakugou’s subsequent “WHAT THE FUCK” is loud enough that Shouta can hear it all the way from the announcer’s booth.

The resulting scuffle between Team Bakugou and Team Monoma is so riddled with explosions that it hurts his eyes to look at, so he averts his gaze to Midoriya’s team once again.

In front of the group is Team Hagakure - with Jirou, Satou, and Kouda; and Team Kendou, which consists of three other 1-B students that Shouta doesn’t know. The two teams are closing in slowly, backing Team Midoriya against the edge of the field.

Midoriya sweeps a calculative gaze across the two teams. And suddenly, he coughs. He ducks his head, raises his right arm, and coughs into the crook of his elbow.

And the underground hero’s vision is suddenly assaulted by a wide arc or white fire, so bright it makes his head ache.

Blinking rapidly, he watches the offending teams back off, granting Midoriya’s team just enough room to escape in between them.

And Shouta…

...has no idea what just happened. 

Actually, no, that’s not accurate. He does have an idea, though his head struggles to wrap around it. 

Because that… that didn’t look like Todoroki’s fire.

Sure, the boy’s hand had been the one to sweep out and send the flames shooting in every direction.

But it wasn’t his. Shouta hasn’t seen Todoroki’s fire be anything other than warm hues of orange and red.

With the two teams still distracted and reeling from the unexpected attack, Team Midoriya is able to snatch their headbands.

Shouta watches Midoriya’s team even more intensely after that. 

The team seems to decide that simply evading the other teams isn’t effective enough, and subsequently decides that their next move is to hide for the remainder of the event - which, Shouta can admit, is a good choice, given how many points they already have.

The group finds an unoccupied corner of the field, and Todoroki erects a large wall of ice, effectively cutting them off from every other team.

“It looks like Team Midoriya is officially over it! Now that their lead is secured, they’ve decided to remove themselves from the competition!” Mic comments.

Several minutes pass after that without any noteworthy occurrences. Several teams attempt to break the ice to no avail.

It’s enough time to make Shouta begin to suppose that he’s simply making something out of nothing.

But then, Teams Shinsou and Yaoyorozu target the barrier simultaneously. Tokoyami sends Dark Shadow forward just as Iida deals an engine-fueled kick and Yaoyorozu shoots a cannonball - the combined attack making the wall shatter completely.

It’s almost an ethereal sight, watching the ice fall to the ground and frost billow up into the air around Team Midoriya.

And then, as Dark Shadow grows larger and larger to loom over them, it happens again.

Now that he’s hyperaware of what he’s looking for, Shouta feels like he’s watching it in slow motion when it finally happens. Midoriya’s eyes widen as Dark Shadow poises to strike and then-

He lifts his right arm, and coughs into his elbow.

Then Todoroki lifts his left hand, the action being nearly lost amongst the commotion. It reaches for something above his head, and is temporarily obscured by Midoriya’s still hunched over body.

When Todoroki’s hand comes back down, it is wreathed in flame. White flame.

Shouta’s eyes widen. Holy shit.

Todoroki is using Midoriya’s fire.

Which means, Midoriya is blatantly using a quirk other than what he registered.

It’s risky, incredibly so. But…

It’s smart.

Midoriya’s fire burns brighter and hotter than Todoroki’s. Using the smaller boy’s fire instead of his own makes the boy’s quirk even more powerful than it already is.

The only reason Shouta even noticed it was happening in the first place was because he is able to immediately recognize both Midoriya and Todoroki’s fire.

And the thing is… No one else can do that.

Todoroki has never shown his fire to the public until this event. Midoriya has never shown his fire to the public, ever.

Which means, no one has any reason to believe that Tododoki isn’t simply using his own fire.

Shouta falls back in his chair and lets out a bark of a laugh, probably loud enough for his microphone to pick up and broadcast to the entire stadium. 

These kids. These fucking kids.

Todoroki sends the fire outwards in a wide arc similar to before, causing Dark Shadow to retreat and the team he’s connected to to reel back and shield their faces. Team Yaoyorozu however, seems to have been expecting the assault, already having covered themselves with a large fire blanket just as the ice shattered. They throw it off of themselves as soon as the fire dissipates enough to be safe.

Shouta distantly hears Mic counting down the seconds.

Iida crouches at the front of Team Yaoyorozu, revving his engines. Fire bursts out of the pipes on his calves, a bright orange turning into cool blue as the heat condenses. Ojiro lifts his tail and just as Iida takes his first step, slams it down against the ground to increase their acceleration even more.

The team shoots forward faster than Shouta’s eyes can follow. They approach from Uraraka’s side, likely deeming her less of a threat than Todoroki. When it appears that the team is about to run straight past the border and out of bounds, Iida changes directions so sharply that it appears as if he’s ricocheting off of an invisible wall behind Team Midoriya, escaping their reach by running behind Todoroki.

“Times up!” Present Mic says, but Shouta’s barely listening - too busy squinting at the screen in an attempt to read the numbers on the headbands clutched in each student’s fists. There’s one in Midoriya’s hand, one in Todoroki’s... and one in Yaoyorozu’s.

Shouta’s eyes widen. His gaze snaps to Midoriya. The boy’s forehead is glaringly bare of any headband.

Oh, no.

Midoriya looks utterly devastated as he steps down from his team’s shoulders. He hides his face in one hand, and raises the headband he snatched from Team Yaoyorozu with the other. Written on it is a bold 70.  

Oh, no.

The kid looks like he’s about to cry, which Shouta doesn’t think he could physically or emotionally handle at this moment. Seemingly, neither could anyone on his team, because they all rush to console him. More frantic than Shouta has ever observed the boy do anything, Todoroki shows Midoriya the headband he retrieved.

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“In first place, is Team Yaoyorozu!” Mic announces.

Midoriya stares at the headband, uncomprehending.

“In second place, Team Bakugou!”

His gaze slides up to look up at Todoroki.

“In third - Team Shinsou! What a comeback!”

Green eyes widen, glimmering with something dangerously similar to hope.

“And in fourth place - Team Midoriya!”

The green haired boy bursts into simultaneous laughter and tears, throwing his arms around Todoroki. The bicolored boy appears to lag for several seconds, unsure of how to react, but as Hatsume and Uraraka join in on the hug, he slowly wraps his arms around them.

“These four teams will be advancing to the final round!”

If Shouta were a hypochondriac, he would be calling an ambulance, because his chest is starting to feel suspiciously tight.