Disclaimer: I do not own anything from My Hero Academia, nor do I own concepts of any other anime, manga, videogame or TV shows used in this story.
Author's note: This story is simply written for fun, I expect I would make plenty of amateur mistakes.
Texts like this are Izuku's voluntary thoughts from his perspective.
[Texts like this] represents thoughts that comes from his subconscious, where the majority of his quirk manifests. All of Izuku's subconscious thoughts are not actually verbal. To Izuku, they're merely flashes of notions that happen in very short moments. After all, they come from his intuition.
Chapter 15: Autonomy
On the day of the U.A. Sports Festival
The school was bustling with a large crowd of outsiders that came to see the nationwide famous sporting event. Dozens of food stalls and vendors were set up along the walkway towards the U.A. school stadium, their business booming from the sheer amount of people that came for the annual event. Amongst the crowd, scattered here and there were professional heroes from all over the country, performing their duties as security staff while they patrolled the premises.
Inside the stadium, the students of class 1-A were getting ready for the start of the event in their prep room. Excited chatter could be heard among some of them, while a few others mentally prepared themselves in silence.
Yaoyorozu barged into the prep room door with a worried expression on her face, huffing and puffing as she tried to catch her breath. "E-Everyone, the event's about to begin! Has anyone seen Midoriya yet?!"
"Nope, I'm guessing you can't find him either." Bakugou turned to face her, still sitting cross-legged on his chair.
Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I tried looking everywhere in the stadium, and he's not picking up his phone…"
"I heard a buzzing from inside his locker earlier, that must've been his phone." Iida responded.
"I think I saw Midoriya when I came in just now, he was by that takoyaki stall outside the stadium..." added Kaminari.
"Well, shit. It'll be too late even if we send Iida to get him now." Bakugou rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh, stood up from his chair and shrugged. "Whatever, it's fine, he'll make his way back soon enough. I'll cover for him, it's just the opening ceremony anyway. Let's go."
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAAAAL!" Present Mic's resounding voice roared from the stadium's speakers. "THE ONE TIME EACH YEAR WHEN OUR FLEDGLING HEROES COMPETE IN A RUTHLESS GRAND BATTLE!"
"FIRST UP… YOU KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT! THE MIRACULOUS RISING STARS WHO BRUSHED OFF A VILLAIN ATTACK WITH THEIR STEELY WILLPOWER! THE FIRST YEARS OF THE HERO COOOOOURSEE!..."
"CLASS 1-A!"
With a thunderous cheer from the crowd, all the students of Class 1-A excluding Izuku appeared from the stadium entrances and marched forth towards the centre, with their vice class president at the lead.
Sitting beside Present Mic in the announcer's booth, Aizawa glanced over the 1-A students who were present and grumbled out loud. "You've got to be kidding me… Where's that little slacker?"
As the rest of the first year classes made their appearance, Yaoyorozu turned to Bakugou as they gathered at the centre field of the stadium. "I still don't see Midoriya anywhere. Doesn't he know how important this event is? This is our best chance to get noticed by all the top heroes!" Yaoyorozu whispered anxiously.
"Oh, he knows. He just doesn't care if the heroes notice him or not. He has other plans for his workplace internship." Bakugou answered with a smirk.
"Other plans? What do you mean-"
*FWIP-CRACK!*
The snap of a whiplash drew all the students' attention towards a figure at the centre of the stadium. The hero Midnight was standing on a stage in her suggestive skintight hero costume with a whip in her hand.
"Alright! Now for the athlete's oath!" Midnight announced. "Your student representative shall be…"
"...MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Bakugou was about to step forward when Yaoyorozu stopped him. "Wait, allow me. I know he's your friend, but this is my responsibility as vice class president. That rascal will have a lot to answer for when I find him…"
Bakugou quickly backed off with a slightly shocked expression as soon as he heard the seething annoyance in Yaoyorozu's voice.
Yaoyorozu walked up the stage and whispered to Midnight. "Midnight-sensei, I'm very sorry for the short notice, but Midoriya won't be here just yet. He… had a slight emergency. I can do the oath in his stead."
"Oh my… I see… Very well then." After glancing at Class 1-A and confirming that Izuku was absent, Midnight proceeded to address the audience: "Apologies, everyone! It seems we had a slight emergency, but no worries! The athlete's oath shall proceed as planned, and it shall be conducted by Yaoyorozu Momo!..."
A few weeks ago, inside Principal Nezu's office
"...Regarding your participation in the upcoming sports festival, it's unlikely you will be able to hide your abilities during the event, young Midoriya." Principal Nezu spoke with a resolute tone. "The villains who attacked the school already know about your ability to use multiple quirks at once, the cat's already out of the bag, so to speak. After some careful consideration, I've decided that it would do you no benefit to hide yourself anymore."
The Principal continued in a serious tone. "...However, there is a silver lining. From what I can gather from the USJ attack, the villains only witnessed your multi-quirk ability, and nothing more. That means, your quirk's true ability: your mind's supernatural ability to intuit information, along with its uncanny processing power, is still unknown to them."
Without missing a beat, Izuku responded: "I'm guessing… you want me to keep the villains focused on the cat, instead of whatever else that's still hidden in the bag."
Principal Nezu smiled and nodded. "Exactly. The League could not have known about your full capabilities from the attack. The less they know about your quirk, the higher the chances you have of fighting back when the time comes."
Izuku's eyes moved around rapidly for a few seconds, then he spoke up. "Actually, Mr. Principal, I have a different plan in mind…"
"Oh? Do tell."
"The League, and especially All For One, will come for me no matter how hard I try to hide my quirk. It's just a matter of time. What they've seen during the incident is good enough reason for them to get their hands on my quirk, regardless of whether I have a hidden trump card or not. I think it's time for me to reveal my hand instead, and show them what I'm truly capable of. I've stayed under the public's radar for long enough, but now that we have Aizawa-sensei who can keep my quirk in check, and the school's reputation to reassure the public, I don't have to hide anymore. I already fought off that Nomu, who was supposed to be able to take on All Might on its own. Rather than waiting as a helpless target, a show of strength from me could serve as a warning and deterrent to the League. Their next attack is just a matter of time, but doing it this way might actually delay it further, giving me more time to prepare."
"I see... That sounds like an equally valid strategy." The Principal furrowed his brows in deep contemplation for a moment. "Very well then, we'll proceed with your idea. Looks like this year's event will be an interesting one..."
Present day
The obstacle race was about to begin. In the middle of the stadium, the first year students were all crowded in front of a massive doorway that was displaying a countdown timer above it.
Arriving in from one of the side doors, running at a full sprint, was none other than Midoriya Izuku.
Shitshitshitshit! Shouldn't have gone for takoyaki!
"RACERS… TO YOUR POSITIONS…" Present Mic's voice echoed with anticipation.
"READY UP…"
"STAAAARRT!"
The giant doorway to the obstacle course slowly opened up, and all the students started to pile into the narrow opening, squeezing against each other in their frantic attempt to stay ahead of the race. Meanwhile, Izuku had just arrived at the central field, about to join the very rear of the massive congestion that consisted of more than 200 students.
*crackle-crackle* *krkkkkkkkkkkkkkk*
From the choke point at the entrance, a sheet of ice rapidly creeped along the ground and enveloped most of the students' feet. Right after the ice, a gust of frosty air buffeted the students, and caused quite a number of them to cry out and shiver.
"Guh! I'm all f-frozen!" "I can't move!" "I-it's so c-cold…!" Cries of frustration erupted among the crowd of students.
Really, Todoroki? Slowing down others in a race?
That's not very nice...
"You think this cheap trick's gonna work on me, Iceman?! THINK AGAIN!" Izuku could hear Bakugou's scream coming from the front, followed up by the familiar voice of his classmates roaring with determination. Then in an instant, he saw them leap over the other classes' students, propelling themselves over the icy ground and charging forward.
Looks like they'll be fine…
Now then, my turn…
No turning back now…
Time to show the world what I can do…
Taking a deep breath, Izuku looked down at the ice and clenched his fist...
[Analyzing structural weaknesses…]
...then slammed a mighty punch into the ground, causing a seismic shockwave just strong enough to shatter most of the ice.
*KA-THOOM!* *KRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!*
"WHAT'S THIS?! LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE AT THE BACK JUST SMASHED ALL THE ICE! AND FREED EVERYONE WHO HAD THEIR FEET FROZEN, WHAT SPORTSMANSHIP! IT'S THE LATECOMER FROM 1-A, MIDORIYA! NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A SMAAAAASHIIING ENTRANCE!" Present Mic's voice echoed with exhilaration throughout the stadium.
"Huh? The ice just broke!" "We're free!" "Everyone, run! Now's our chance!" The students were reinvigorated with hope as they charged forward again. A few students near Izuku turned to glance at him, and gave him a quick thanks as they ran ahead.
Heh, even after the past few weeks, it's still just as fun to use these mutations…
Feels good not having to concentrate to keep them active…
"Hey, you!" Izuku turned to see a familiar boy with indigo frazzled hair calling out to him. "Is your quirk super strength or something?"
"Well, yeah. Something like that, but-" Izuku was halfway through his sentence when he immediately stopped talking, his eyes faded into a blank stare and his body stiffened.
[External Operator access granted]
"Perfect, that sounds very useful." The indigo haired boy grinned wide and approached Izuku. "Now carry me on your back, and run ahead of everyone else as fast as you can!"
Izuku's empty stare focused right into the boy's eyes as he replied in a monotone voice: "Affirmative."
"Wha-?!" The indigo haired boy's eyes widened, and he was instantly taken aback at Izuku's response. Then he frowned and leaned closer while tilting his head, seemingly concentrating on Izuku's face. "How did- But I'm still… huh…?"
Izuku then hoisted the confused boy onto a piggyback in one swift motion, and proceeded to leap over the congested crowd of students.
[Commencing external Operator directive...]
[Navigating optimal trajectory...]
What's... happening..?
I can't control my body…
Why is it... listening to him...
Everything feels so… fuzzy…
The front-runners ahead of the race had just managed to escape the dreaded chokepoint, when they ran into a small army of the faux villain robots that were used in the hero course entrance exam; and what's more, there were not one, but multiple of the gigantic zero-pointers positioned along the obstacle course.
"EVERY OBSTACLE COURSE NEED OBSTACLES! STARTING WITH THE FIRST BARRIER: ROBO-INFERNOOOOOOO!" Present Mic screamed into the PA system.
Through his blurred vision, Izuku could see one of the zero-pointers up ahead towering over the students. In a blink of an eye, it was flash frozen into a giant ice sculpture, then it started to wobble and tilt forward.
"Avoid the robots, keep running ahead!" Izuku's passenger commanded. "Get past that frozen one before it falls!"
"Affirmative." Izuku's voice answered robotically.
[Analyzing target trajectory…]
[Plotting optimal navigation route...]
Out of the corner of his eye, despite the lack of clarity, Izuku could see that most of the students who were in the path of the falling robot had scrambled out of its way, all except for two vague figures who stayed motionless.
No! Those two… they didn't get away in time…!
I… can't focus...
"Don't slow down! Stop looking at those two, keep going!" The voice on Izuku's back called out.
[ALERT: PRIMARY DIRECTIVE VIOLATION IMMINENT]
[EXTERNAL OPERATOR COMMAND OVERRIDE; ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL]
[EXECUTING PRIME DIRECTIVE]
"Hey! Keep going! That's an ord-AAHH!"
With a sharp turn, Izuku's body dashed towards the falling robot, skidded to a stop right between the two students and raised both his arms.
*WHIRRRR-KATHUNK!*
The falling robot's massive metallic chassis creaked loudly as it came to a halt right on Izuku's palms.
Kirishima and a familiar gray-haired student both exclaimed "Eh?" at the same time as the hunk of metal stopped right above them. They each had their arms braced above their heads, with Kirishima's Hardening activated throughout his body, while the other's entire body now shined like solid steel.
Kirishima looked to his side and smiled. "Oh hey, Midoriya! Glad you could make it! Thanks for the save, man!" Then he fist-bumped Izuku on the shoulder. As the gesture shook his body, Izuku's consciousness immediately came back with a jolt.
Whoa! I'm back!
Was that some kind of mind control quirk?
I felt that fog in my head disappear right as Kirishima bumped me...
"Midoriya? Hello? You okay?" Kirishima asked after seeing the confusion on his face. Meanwhile, the grey haired boy simply nodded his thanks to Izuku and continued running.
"Uhh... I'm fine. I guess I didn't realize how strong I was, haha…" Izuku waved Kirishima off to reassure him, his other hand still firmly holding the robot aloft. The redhead then gave him a nod and ran off. "Oh, okay. Uh, I gotta get back to the race, thanks again for the cover dude!"
As Izuku looked around to look for any other students under the impending weight of the robot, he noticed the indigo-haired boy sitting on the ground behind him, glaring at him with disbelief in his eyes.
He must've been the one that mind-controlled me...
Is he sticking around to try it again?
Better keep Omega activated this time…
[Activating quirk: Phantom Familiar]
With the giant hunk of metal still looming over them, Omega fizzled into existence and stood beside Izuku. Seeing the appearance of the shadow creature, the indigo haired boy stammered out loud: "Y-you… Another quirk?! What the hell are you?!"
Izuku was about to respond, but stopped himself before he could make a sound, then he turned to Omega. "Hey 'Mega, gimme a bump if you see me blank out."
"Boss, I'm only less than two weeks old and you're shortening my name already?" The Familiar retorted, only to receive a glare from Izuku in return. "Okay, fine, I'll do it! No need to put on your scary face…"
I'm not sure how that guy did it...
All I remember is that everything went fuzzy right after I responded to him…
Was it eye contact, verbal response..? Maybe something else?
Only one way to find out…
All I need is to watch for the moment when the fuzziness kicks in…
Funny, it almost feels like Aizawa-sensei's Erasure, except this one suppresses me instead of my quirk...
"Before I give you an ans-" Izuku blanked out mid sentence. Omega then lightly punched him on the shoulder to snap him out of it. *bump!* Then, Izuku immediately continued as if nothing happened. "Before I give you an answer, I'd say you owe me one first. What exactly did you do to me, was that some kind of mind-control quirk?" Izuku asked calmly, one arm still propping the giant robot above them.
"Y-yeah, but why does it even matter to you? You could still talk even under my Brainwash! And you shouldn't have been able to act on your own!" The indigo-haired boy slowly rose to his feet as he exclaimed with an anxious confusion in his voice, and he was becoming increasingly upset. "Why the hell are you even still here, you trying to mock me?!"
"Hey, I meant no offense, I really just wanted to ask about yo-..." *bump!* "-your quirk! Look, just stop your mind-control for a minute, I just wanna-..." *bump!* "-talk! Dude, cut it out!" *bump!* "Hey, I'm still in control!" "Heh, my bad, my arm slipped."
Visibly disheartened at the futility of his mind-control attempts, the indigo-haired boy sighed deeply. "My Brainwash quirk doesn't work on you, why do you even care? Don't you have a race to win?"
"Not exactly, I don't really care about first place, I'm just aiming to qualify. Hold on, this is getting heavy, lemme just…" With a heave, Izuku tossed the giant robot aside, and the loud clang of the metal drew the attention of the camera robots standing just outside the race track.
Blaring across the P.A. systems, Present Mic's voice echoed: "OH? WE'VE GOT SOME MOVEMENT IN THE BACK! LOOKS LIKE 1-A'S MIDORIYA AND 1-C'S SHINSO ARE BOTH STILL IN THE GAME! BETTER CATCH UP BOYS, YOU'RE DEAD LAST IN THE RACE!"
Massaging his shoulder, Izuku continued: "Shinso, right? Hey, how about I help you finish this race anyway? If it wasn't for me, you'd probably be way ahead of the race right now. Let me make it up to you. I'll carry you to the finish line and help you qualify for the next event, and I'll do it willingly this time. How's that sound?"
"What, just like that? What's the catch?" Shinso scoffed in disbelief at the offer.
"No catch. Well, maybe don't mind-control me again, but that's it. By the way, you're not afraid of heights, are you?"
Shinso shook his head and chuckled, then climbed onto Izuku's back once more. "You're weird… Whatever, let's go, I didn't plan to finish the race with my own legs anyway."
[Analyzing target physiology…]
[Emitter quirk detected]
[Quirk data unavailable; Neural network analysis required]
Just as I thought, mental quirks are still out of my reach…
No matter, it's better if I don't know how it works…
Him and Aizawa-sensei might just be the perfect duo for my contingency plan…
I'll have to introduce them some other time…
[Activating quirk: Lumber]
"Alright, hold on tight! Prepare for lift-off!" Izuku said as Omega dissipated, then a multitude of tree branches sprouted from his sleeves to wrap around Shinso like a safety harness. Then, with an excited grin, he released a downward Explosion towards the ground, and leapt as far and high as his legs allowed.
"LOOKS LIKE OUR FRONT-RUNNERS ARE ABOUT TO REACH THE THIRD AND FINAL OBSTACLE: THE MINEEEEEFIEEEEEELD!"
At the lead, Todoroki was about to navigate his way through the field of concussive mines, all while competing with Bakugou, who was trying to overtake him by maneuvering over the mines with bursts of Explosion.
About two hundred meters behind them, Izuku had just cleared the second obstacle and was rapidly gaining ground with his Explosion enhanced super-jumps.
"WAIT, WHAT'S THIS?! MIDORIYA AND SHINSO ARE IN HOT PURSUIT, WHAT A COMEBACK! THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY INTO THE TOP 40 AND THEY ARE NOT SLOWING DOWN!"
Among the audience that were spectating the first year's event, heated discussions of Izuku's mysterious quirk were starting to spread among the Pro Heroes. "Wait, I thought that kid had super strength?" "Oh! Does he have two quirks? Like Endeavor's son?" "Wait, but his other quirk looks just like the quirk of that blonde kid in first place!" "I thought he had three! Didn't you see that black mist thing attached to his body earlier?" "Must be a copy type quirk then, that's so rare!"
Hearing Present Mic's announcement of Izuku's name, both Bakugou and Todoroki turned to look in surprise. In the distance, they could see Izuku using Explosions to rocket-boost through the sky as he rapidly approached, along with the silhouette of second person clinging on for dear life on his back.
"Tch!" Todoroki clicked his tongue and turned around for a brief second. Then with a wave of his right arm, a huge torrent of ice erupted from his right foot, and a surge of cold gust pushed back all the students behind him. The avalanche of ice enveloped the now-unoccupied space and solidified into a giant glacier that was taller than even the stadium complex itself, completely barring the entire width of the race track up to almost 40 meters high and 100 meters long.
What the hell, Todoroki?!
Is this even necessary? I'm just trying to qualify!
[Analyzing target structure…]
No way around from the sides, anyone stepping out of bounds would just get disqualified…
I need to take a closer look...
Izuku landed on the ground with a cat-like grace and stopped near the glacier. Some of the students were already starting to smash or carve a path through the ice, while a few others tried to find a way over it. It was also starting to get more and more crowded near the wall of ice as more and more students piled in with every passing second.
"How are we supposed to finish the race now?!" "How's this fair! This is ridiculous!" "Someone do something about the ice, please!" Frustrated complaints were starting to build up among the students who were blocked by the glacier.
"Wow, and I thought your quirks were insane, but looks like that guy has you beat." Shinso said with awe as he admired the glacier from Izuku's back. Smiling at Shinso's remark without any intention to reply, Izuku took a deep breath and looked at the rising chaos around him.
[Assessing situation…]
I can easily fly over it using Zero-G and Explosion…
Looks like the mobility-type quirks will be able to make it over too…
But what about the others? It's gonna take them forever to dig their way through...
"Well? What are you waiting for? Can't you jump over it?" Shinso asked.
"Uhh, I can. But I think I'll stick around for a bit, see if I can help everyone else get through the ice." Izuku replied as he put Shinso down. "I'm sorry I only managed to get you this far. This wasn't exactly what I promised."
"Nah, it's alright. You already did me a big favour by carrying me all this way, I can finish the rest on my own. I'm sure I'll find another ride soon, there's plenty of others stuck here anyway." Shinso replied with a smirk and started to slip into the crowd of students. "Good luck!"
Okay, that's settled, he should be fine...
Now, about the ice, I could try digging through it with Explosion…
Or even just punching through it with my new strength...
But this is also an opportunity to show what I can do…
Let's see if there's a better quirk for the job around here…
[Scanning for possible quirk candidates…]
Taking a quick look around, Izuku could spot a few Class 1-B students around him, particularly, a few of them that were trying to break through the ice. A student with short spiky black hair was trying to drill into the wall by spinning his hand at high speeds just like a drill, another taller student with a bright green mohawk was chipping at the ice using sharp blades that he sprouted from his arms. The one that really caught Izuku's attention though, was an athletic girl with long ginger hair tied up into a side ponytail, she was making good progress by smashing up the ice with her fists that were enlarged to about twice her own size.
[Optimal quirk combination found]
Izuku deftly slipped through the crowd of students and quickly tapped each of those three students on the arm before they even realized it.
[Analyzing targets…]
[Transformation quirks detected; Assimilating…]
[Quirks: Titan Fist, Razor Blade, Spiral]
[Assimilation complete]
Izuku then found a relatively unoccupied section of the ice wall and placed a palm onto the frigid surface.
[Analyzing target structure…]
Yep, this should work...
Oh, he's going to want to see this...
[Activating quirk: Phantom Familiar]
"I'm here, boss!" Omega fizzled into existence right next to Izuku, which made the students around him flinch away in surprise.
"Watch this." Izuku looked at Omega with a twinkle in his eyes and a wide goofy grin.
[Activating quirks: Razor Blade, Spiral]
Izuku raised his right hand up high, and two curved Razor Blades started to sprout outwards from his wrist, coiling and twisting around his clenched fist then merging into a sharp point, forming the shape of a drill. Then, Izuku used Spiral to rotate the drill, and it started to emit a high pitched screech as it rapidly gained speed.
"Uh, boss? What are you... OH NO FUCKING WAY-"
[Activating quirk: Titan Palm]
*WHIRRRRRRRRRRR!*
Izuku's drill hand instantly expanded into an enormous drill that screeched at a deafening volume above his head. It's spinning motion started to kick up a small tornado around him, causing even more students to back away from him. Then, he kicked off the ground and launched himself into the glacier, thrusting his drill arm into the ice with all his strength.
*CRAAAAAACCCKKKKKK!*
"GIGAAA DRIIILL BREAKAAAAAAAAAA!" Omega screamed amidst the sound of crunching ice.
"DON'T YELL IT OUT, DUMBASS! THAT'S EMBARRASSING!"
*CRAAAACCCKK!* *KABLAM!*
Within seconds, Izuku burrowed through the entire length of the glacier and blasted out of the other end, stopping just before the minefield obstacle. As his giant drill arm shrunk back to normal, he placed his other hand on the ground and ice started to form beneath him. Using Frost to conjure up his own ice structures, a thin layer of ice erupted ahead of him like a shockwave, covering the entirety of the minefield ahead; behind him, all the cracks and fractures caused by his violent drilling all faded away as the ice tunnel was refrozen solid by another wave of Frost.
"Everyone, the tunnel is s-safe! C-come on through!" Izuku's trembling voice echoed through the ice cavern.
Brrr! It's so cold! I'll have to learn Todoroki's other quirk as soon as I get the chance…
This self-freezing side effect is terrible!
To think Todoroki actually went this far to slow me down...
You better be taking that number one spot Kacchan!
"AND NOW, THE FIRST ONE TO RETURN TO THE STADIUM IS…"
"...BAKUGOU KATSUKIIIII!"
The crowd exploded with cheers and fanfare as Bakugou raised a fist in triumph. Todoroki arrived right after and came to a stop in the stadium, panting cold vapour with every breath as he clutched his trembling right arm close to his body. A few moments later, Izuku came running into the stadium, seemingly unaffected by his self-induced freezing earlier.
"AND NOW, THE REST ARE POURING THROUGH THE FINISH LINE, ONE AFTER ANOTHER! WE'LL BE SHOWING THE LIST OF RESULTS SOON, SO STAY TUNED!"
Third place, eh? Not bad…
Mom must be crying a whole river right now…
"Yo! Deku!" Bakugou walked up to Izuku with a surprised expression. "What the hell was that, you're letting loose with your quirk now! Your dad's okay with this?!"
"Yeah, he's probably even watching us right now. The villains already forced my hand in USJ, I might as well roll with it." Izuku said as he looked at the stadium's audience in contemplation. "This feels very freeing somehow, finally being able to let loose and all."
"Heh, I can tell. You have that same look on your face just like when you're reading your space encyclopedias." Bakugou said with a grin. "Any chance you're interested in the number one spot now? I'd welcome the competition, y'know."
"Nah, I'll pass, but don't think I won't be trying at all though. If we get a team event this year, I'll have to help my teammates, I won't be ruining their chances of winning."
Bakugou shook his head and chuckled. "If we do clash at some point, at least do me a favour and put up a good fight, yeah?"
"Uh, no promises." Izuku looked away from Bakugou's eyes and pretended to pick his ear.
"Piece of shit…" Bakugou mumbled under his breath as they both smiled.
Midnight walked onto the centre stage, and cracked her whip in the air once more. "Well done, my adorable students! But don't get too comfortable just yet, because we're going right to the next event! CAVALRY BATTLE!"
I figured I'd just slot in Shinso earlier in the story, to free up an opening for Izuku to fight someone else in the 1v1 matches after the Cavalry Battle.
For that Gurren Lagann reference, I couldn't resist renaming Kaibara's quirk for Izuku as Spiral, for obvious reasons.
I only have a rough draft for the next chapter so far. I've yet to decide the different permutations of team members for the Cavalry Battle, there's so many variations to choose from. I can say there's a good chance that Izuku's team won't be the same as canon. However, Hatsume Mei will still be a part of it, I've got some big plans for her.
Feel free to leave a review. Thanks for reading!