Howdy folks, how's it going?
Not much to say up here, but there is a bit more in the notes below if you wish to see it.
As always, shout out to Chaos Productions for his assistance.
And as always, I own neither WH 40K nor BNHA.
Now, without further ado, enjoy.
/
"Well, at this point I am starting to understand that it's gonna be a common thing where the kid is concerned, but still," Kaina commented, sounding like she was still flabbergasted by everything that she had witnessed up to this point, but at least slightly less so than at the beginning, which all things told, was the kind of adaptability one would expect from a veteran like her. "Can't say I saw that coming. Also, what was up with that interruption up in the booth?"
"I know what you mean…" Toshinori replied with a commiserating sigh as he looked down at the arena bellow where his blocky colleague was in the process of clearing out mess. "And that would be Power Loader. Apparently he had been dreading the thought of young Midoriya meeting that support course student of his."
"I'm not sure if I want to know, but dare I ask why?" The heroine replied, eyebrow raised curiously as she turned to the emaciated man.
"Power Loader… well, let's just say that trying to understand the boy's technology did a number on him. Young Midoriya is considered persona non grata in the support studios and nothing Nezu says or does will sway him on that matter." He replied, trying to find the words to phrase it as diplomatically as possible. "And from what I understood, that girl has a similarly… free-spirited reputation among her own course. I think he had concerns about the results of such a meeting, though I have no idea what he'll make of how it turned out…"
"…Uh. So even the support eggheads couldn't figure out his gadgets? I guess I can understand that. I mean, not even considering how they're made out of trash, just today I've seen energy barriers, inertia dampeners, an honest to goodness tractor beam, and that's not even counting the other things on the file you sent me. That's stuff that even after a couple of centuries of quirks existing is still considered science fiction, except in a select few places like I-Island." Kaina conceded with a slight nod, before looking around the crowds observable on the booth's windows with the eyes of an experienced sniper. "Just checking the audience from here, I can pick out who's a support company rep just from how they're drooling at the thought of getting their hands on that stuff. If the kid wasn't as dead set on being a hero as you say he is, and managed to work out the limitation of his quirk, he could change the world with that kind of tech and never have to work another day in his life. I'd hazard the guess he'll be getting more invitations from those companies than hero agencies when this is all done."
"Picked up on that, did you?" Toshinori replied knowingly, to which the heroine replied with an equally knowing smirk.
"That's what you brought me here to judge, isn't it? Kid's got a method to his madness, I'll give him that. Every insane stunt he pulled throughout this whole thing was done with purpose. Behind that eagerness to fight and jolly belligerence is a cunning mind. The most competent of us watching will pick up on that, but most of the glory hounds and money-grubbers are just gonna see a walking hazard, a lawsuit waiting to happen. And the civilian audience may be entertained now, but out in the field it's gonna be a whole other matter." The heroine concluded, before turning towards the boy's mother apologetically. "No disrespect meant, Midoriya-san, but your kid's gonna have a rough road ahead of him in this line of work. Most people are not gonna see past the crazy to the person beneath."
"Oh, none taken, Tsutsumi-san, I know my son." Inko replied pleasantly with an amused little chuckle. "Not to worry, though. Izuku has never backed down from a challenge, after all."
/
Well, that hadn't taken very long at all.
After wrecking that incredibly rude git, Izuku had been told that it wasn't worth it to be heading all the way back to the stands again, as there was only one match left before the final, and to make his way back to his waiting room instead. Which turned out to be more accurate than even the teachers thought, cause he had waited in that room for all of five seconds.
He had to admit, he had had every expectation that that phony frosty git was gonna get another half-assed win in his own fight, but it turns out, there hadn't even been a fight at all. That splitty girl from class B had forfeited the fight before it could even begin. Izuku could hazard the guess that she had figured she was too outgunned in that match-up, but it still disappointed him. It truly felt like all the best gits, the ones that understood the point of a tournament, had been taken out too soon to have good fun with. On the whole, in the boy's opinion, this whole thingie had been off to a great start, but past the first stages it had been going downhill fast…
Still, unlike some other people, Izuku was no lazy half-ass, and he certainly was no quitter. He was gonna see this through.
And he was on his way back to the arena to do just that, when someone suddenly dragged him out of his grumpy musings.
"Ah, here you are. I have been looking for you." A harsh, strict voice called, and the boy turned to one of the side galleries, to see none other than the number 2 hero standing there, staring back at him with the near perpetual, flaming scowl that was his trademark.
Where these any other circumstances, Izuku would've been quite excited to meet the man. Sure, All Might was the best hero ever, but Endeavor had an awesomeness all his own. Most of his designs for incendiary weapons had been inspired by the awe he felt whenever he'd watch the man's quirk in action on the news, after all. At any other time, he'd have pulled out his notebook to ask for an autograph already.
Right now, however, having learned what he did, he couldn't really find it in himself to feel the hype.
"Oh, it'z you'ze." He grumbled, dissatisfied with the interruption. "Wotchu want?"
"…You lack respect, boy." The man replied sternly, eyebrow raised, sounding less offended and more mildly surprised at being snapped at. "Discipline too. You are wild, chaotic… Things that normally I would say no self-respecting hero should be, but credit where credit is due, you have managed to make it work to your advantage. It makes you unpredictable. Perhaps you can be the what my son needs."
"Say wot?" Izuku replied, eyes narrowing.
"Shouto has what it takes to be the best hero in the world." The man proclaimed, less bragging and more like it was a mere statement of fact. "The sheer potential my son holds is something I have sought to cultivate from the moment of his birth. It is his duty, his destiny, to surpass me, to surpass All Might, and stand at the top of the hero world. But for that, he needs to let go of the limitations he insists on shackling himself with, and for that, he needs to be pushed to his limits. So I am here now, to tell you to be that challenge, push him past his foolish rebellion so he can be the hero he was meant to be."
"The hero he wuz meant tah be." Izuku repeated, frowning deeply. "Accordin' tah who?"
"What?" The number two hero replied, his frown deepening in confusion. That had not been a response that he would have expected.
"Who got tah decide wot Frosty's destiny wuz gun be? Cuz from where I'z standin', it sure as zog wuzn't him." Izuku replied with a shake of his head. The flaming hero made to reply, but to his continued surprise found himself cut off. "Unlucky fer you, I ain't nice enuff tah be coddlin' either a'you'ze. Like I said tah yer lad, I'z gonna give him one chance tah show me he's takin' this serious, and if not, Imma end thingz roigt there. Dere's a time an' place tah be sortin' out yer issues, and dis ain't neither."
For a split second, the fires surrounding the hero's body flared at the words, matching his rising temper, before reason kicked in and the man settled for a stern glare, to which the boy simply stared back, unmoved. Grudgingly, the hero had to acknowledge some merit to that, as grown men and veteran villains alike had crumbled and quailed before his anger frequently.
"There is only so much disrespect one can tolerate, boy." He replied in a cold rebuke. "You are still speaking to the number two hero of Japan."
"And if dat title meant what it should tah you, ya woulnd't be tryin' tah break yer boy into doin' bettah."
…
…
…
Without waiting for further comment, Izuku stepped around the quiet hero resumed his walk into the final match, paying no mind to the piercing, judging stare that followed him.
/
"And here we are, Ladies and Gentlemen! It has been a wild ride this year, but at long last, we have arrived to the end stretch, the final match of the tournament! Can you feel the excitement, Eraser?!"
"Absolutely."
"Oh, don't be-Wait, really?"
"The sooner we are done with this, I sooner I can go sleep."
"…Ah, what a relief. For a second there I thought you weren't gonna be a grump. ANYWAY, Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, we all know what's coming, but still, bring in the contestants!"
The crowd all over the stadium roared louder than they had at any previous point in the day, worked into a frenzy by the hero's expert goading and the general mood of the event. Given everything that had been witnessed today, all spectators, civilians and heroes and company representatives alike, were looking forward to the culmination that loomed ahead.
"IN THIS CORNER, A BOY WHO HAS BEEN SURPRISE AFTER SURPRISE AFTER SURPRISE. THE AMAZING, THE STUPENDOUS, THE probablyslightlyinsane, IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
And once again, the crowd roared, if some a bit more cautiously than one might expect, but this time, the green-haired boy hardly paid it any mind, red-eyes firmly set on the one standing before him.
"AND IN THAT CORNER, TEARING DOWN ALL BEFORE HIM WITH COLD PRECISION, THE CALCULATING, THE MIGHTY, THE INCREDIBLE, SHOUTO TODOROKI!"
On his end, the dual-haired boy simply stared back, heterochromatic eyes cold and determined.
"IT IS A TRUE CLASH OF THE TITANS, FOLKS! STEEL VS COLD, MACHINE VS FROST! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?! LET'S FIND OUUUUUT!"
Heedless of all the uproar around them, the boys simply stood, glaring at each other.
"Remember, Frosty." Izuku called out, voice oddly calm under the circumstances. "One shot."
Shouto said nothing, the intensifying of his glare his only response.
As was the case in every fight, Midnight stepped forth, demanding a clean fight from both, and asking if both contestants were ready. Neither replied with words, each instead taking a stance, which spoke volumes. Silence fell over the stadium, a sense of anticipation filling the air.
"Very well then," The heroine said, tense from the general mood despite herself as she stepped slightly back. "Then… BEGIN!"
Shouto wasted no time. The moment the word was out, he swung his arm forward, and a surging wall of ice and snow was sent barreling against his opponent, less than the glacier he had tossed at Tokoyami, but still more than what he'd thrown at Yaoyoruzu, because he too had a point to prove.
But Izuku, upon seeing the veritable avalanche surging towards him, simply… sighed, disappointment overtaking readiness. He should have expected as much, but a small part of him had still been hoping…
"Have it yer way, then." He muttered softly, reaching for his pocket and pulling out… something too small for all but the most keen-eyed of the audience to make out. It was a simple, plastic tube, like the hollowed out carcass of a hand lantern, with a red button at the tip.
One moment, the goggled boy pressed his thumb on the button. The next, the surging ice was upon him. It happened so, so fast, that nobody noticed the brief flickering. Only one girl in the whole stadium, feeling a sudden itch at her fingertips, realized something was off…
"Holy crap, Midoriya seemed to be trying something, but he got swallowed up by the avalanche! Is this the end?!"
Shouto sure wanted to believe so, but as much as it had stung his pride, the bout with Tokoyami had taught him not to presume victory. And so he stood, waiting for any sign of activity from his opponent, fully expecting Midoriya to dig himself out of the ice and ready to-
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!"
-It wasn't the bellow that shocked Shouto. It was the fact it had come from behind him.
The boy immediately turned, eyes wide as for a split second he looked into that red glare, desperately trying to freeze…
…And then the shoe struck his groin, and all thoughts of reacting were abandoned as the only thing crossing Shouto's mind was how could there be so. much. pain?
After the split-second in which the kick had lifted him off the ground, the dual-haired boy bent over, a wheeze of agony the only sound that could escape his lips, the entire stadium, and spectators the world over, wincing as if they had felt the blow themselves.
Naturally, in that hunched position, Shouto never saw the hands coming down on the back of his head in a hammer blow, knocking him into merciful unconsciousness.
"Todoroki is down! Midoriya wins!"
…And just like that, it was done.
/
Probably not the epic and intense final fight that people might have been expecting, but in fairness, Izuku did warn Todoroki. And he's nothing if not a git of his word.
With that, we are finally beginning to see the end of the Festival Arc.
And speaking of ends, we all know that BNHA had its own shortly after I published the last chapter of this fic. Honestly, in my personal opinion, it was a good ride. I mean, yeah, the series had its flaws, some of them quite blatant. The final arc kinda dragged on way too long and the ending could've been waaaaaaay better, but on the whole, I think it was a fun read. Really, I am kinda wondering if we're ever going to see more official spin-offs in this setting, because I'd be quite interested in seeing the world of BNHA explored in greater detail. At the very least, even if there's a dip, I hope that good fanfiction in this setting keeps rolling.
Anyway, next update, closing ceremonies and celebrations, before things move on to the next phase.
Before that, in two weeks we got the next update to Through the Eternities, so look forward to that.
Cya all on the next one, stay safe and take care.