It had already been half an hour since Thomas's match. They were now on the fifth question, and neither Izuku nor Kacchan had managed to press the button fast enough yet. The earlier matches had lasted longer than Thomas's, though no one had won yet. Each contestant had ended up passing out, unable to continue. Many speculated it was because they were completely exhausted - or because the opponent was just that powerful.
Izuku and Kacchan were worried about the other contestants."Is this really safe?""Something about this feels off,"thoughts like these circled in their heads as they watched the injured participants.
"We don't have all day, so I hope someone strong steps up now," the announcer said, visibly uneasy, scratching his head as he looked at the question card.
"Next question!"
"Who founded U.A. High School's hero program?"
Izuku and Kacchan instantly knew the answer. They both slammed their buttons at the same time, but who had been faster?
The spotlight turned toward them, but it still wasn't clear who had gotten in first… until a voice rang out, brimming with confidence:
"The answer is Principal Nezu."
The audience recognized the voice immediately and began whispering."I know that voice…""Isn't that one of the heroes?"
Izuku stood up. His vision was clearing now, and everyone could see who had answered. Kacchan glanced at him and sighed, the kind that said, I really wanted to beat him to it. Izuku left his seat and began walking toward the center. His steps were steady. He wasn't smiling - his face was unreadable, serious, composed.
He stopped in front of the announcer. The announcer looked noticeably intimidated, even stepping back a bit to keep some distance from Izuku.
He cleared his throat."W-We all already know your name, so could you tell us your quirk?"
"No," Izuku replied bluntly and walked away, creating space between himself and Ihsasih, preparing to fight.
A display appeared on the screen:
Name: IzukuQuirk Name: UnknownQuirk Type: OffenseDescription: you can come up with one
It didn't take long before the announcer shouted,"Fight!"
Both Izuku and Ihsasih stood perfectly still, staring each other down with serious expressions.
Kacchan watched Izuku and let out a breath."He's so damn stubborn sometimes…"
Suddenly, Ihsasih sprinted at full speed toward Izuku, something he hadn't done in any of the earlier matches. It caught Izuku off guard. Just before the strike landed, Izuku jumped into the air, performing a backflip to avoid the attack. From midair, he tried to find a weak spot.
Ihsasih spun around quickly and reached toward Izuku, blasting a wave of fire directly at him. Izuku's eyes widened in shock. Until now, Ihsasih hadn't used any quirks, relying only on brute strength. Reacting fast, Izuku snapped his fingers upward, forcing himself down to narrowly dodge the flames.
He hadn't even landed when Ihsasih's fist was already an inch from his face.
BAM!
Izuku was sent flying straight into the protective barrier meant to shield the audience."Izuku!" Kacchan shouted, standing from his seat. But Izuku wasn't one to go down easily. The dust around him began to clear. Ihsasih stood ready, waiting for his next move, but when the dust settled, Izuku was gone.
"Where did he go?" the crowd murmured, surprised.
TEXAS SMASH! came a cry, and Izuku's fist struck Ihsasih's head.
BOOM!
But Ihsasih didn't even flinch. He simply turned his head, grabbed Izuku's arm, and hurled him straight into a wall.
"No damage at all…" Izuku thought as he crashed into the wall again.
"Izuku!" the same worried voice called from the stands.
Ihsasih teleported directly in front of him.
Kacchan stared in shock, mouth agape, as Ihsasih grabbed Izuku by the torso and began slamming him into the ground over and over like he was beating dust out of an old rug. Kacchan ran to the barrier and began punching it in desperation.
Dum. Dum. Dum.
Tears began to form in Kacchan's eyes, but he kept hitting the wall and shouting Izuku's name. He realized now that the announcer was in on this, and wouldn't disable the wall no matter what.
Kacchan collapsed to his knees… and a memory resurfaced. Eight years ago.
Kacchan had been lying lifeless on the ground, blood everywhere, wounds all over his body. It had happened during a massive battle between heroes and Shigaraki. Izuku was supposed to be there, but he'd been sucked into a different teleportation portal. The other heroes were too injured to continue. Eventually, Izuku arrived to find Kacchan on the ground, not breathing.
Even though Kacchan had been unconscious, that moment burned into his mind—and now he saw it happening again. Not to him… but to Izuku.
He looked on as Ihsasih kept throwing Izuku around. Izuku was still conscious, but barely. Kacchan's expression shifted. His entire demeanor changed.
Just one thought echoed in his head:
Save Izuku.
Kacchan rose to his feet, clenched his fist, stretched it forward, and struck the wall over and over. But instead of his usual explosion, white fire erupted from his hand.
He kept punching, faster and harder, until-
CRACK!
"The wall broke!" the announcer shouted.
Kacchan didn't hesitate. He ran so fast it looked like he'd teleported.
He appeared in front of Ihsasih, grabbed Izuku, and rushed away from him. Looking at Izuku's bloody, battered face, Kacchan gently wiped the blood from his cheeks. Then, white sparks flowed from his hand - and slowly, Izuku's wounds began to heal.
Kacchan gasped for air, watching in awe as the injuries on Izuku's body faded away.